##VIDEO ID:COlRxrx69vc## e e e e e e e e e our meeting to order everyone who is able please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance theu stands Nation take M on behalf of this board and the Cherry Creek School District I would like to acknowledge that this meeting is being held on the ancestral and unseated lands of the Cheyenne Arapaho Ute oti Shack people who stewarded it for Generations the oti shaki includes seven bands like to recognize that over 40 additional tribal Nations likely use this area for trade ceremonies and social Gatherings I'd like to call for a motion to approve the agenda for the October 21st 2024 regular Board of Education meeting so moved is there a second second roll call please directors Allan I Bates I Egan I Garland I noes I motion carries I'd like to call for the approval to approval of the minutes as listed on the October 21st 2024 agenda so moved is there a second second roll call please directors Allen I Bates I Ean Garland I nolles I motion carries at this time we will have comments from our board of directors director Allen good evening and thank you to principal Shelley mccort and Sky Vista Middle School for hosting tonight's event as well as the our security setup and it teams for making this meeting possible as we headed into fall break we received an email from our superintendent Smith wrote in Cherry Creek Schools we are grounded in a strong belief that every student matters our classrooms must be safe and inclusive places where all students feel valued and respected over break I took the opportunity to reflect on these words and how we are operationalizing these beliefs tonight two resolutions on our consent agenda show how we are united in creating the best environment for our students first we recognize October as National principales month our principles lead their schools support teachers and ensure every student is cared for When I visit schools and talk with principles I see their leadership in action building positive supportive communities that Unity makes us stronger second with safe schools week we recognize that school safety is a shared priority we all work together principals teachers staff and families to create spaces where students can learn and grow safely those resolutions remind us that focusing on what unites us builds better schools stronger learning communities and a thriving Community where every child can succeed I also take this opportunity to address the upcoming Mill and bond election over the past few weeks I've presented the mill and bond measures at meetings across the district along with all of my colleagues on the board a common question is about marijuana tax revenue while some marijuana taxes fund education Cherry Creek Schools receives none of it that money goes to rural districts and as more states legalize marijuana the revenue is shrinking we can't rely on it for the construction projects we need some also ask about the recent increase in state funding while the school Finance act now fully funds education it only brings us back to 1989 levels 1989 in 1989 there were no Mass school shootings and in 199 1989 technology the way we use it and um rely on it today to educate our students didn't exist and Colorado still ranks in the bottom thirdd for K12 funding with 2,000 to $2500 less per student than the national average others are ask about Rising property taxes even though local taxes have increased they don't provide more money to schools because higher local Revenue reduces what we receive from the state our only way to fund capital projects teacher salaries and safety upgrades is through the 4A and 4B voter approved measures if you haven't filled out your ballot I encourage you to flip it over and start with the local issues that impact us most by voting yes on 4A and 4B we strengthen our school schools and Community raise home values and grow our dedication to Excellence thank you thank you director Allan director Bates thank you good evening and thank you to principal Shelley mccort and Sky Vista for hoping help excuse me hosting us this evening and of course thank you to the amazing team who make these meetings happen in a different location every month I hope that each of you had at least a bit of time to rest and relax during fall break October is bre bre Cancer Awareness Month please encourage your friends and loved ones to get those mammograms early detection saves lives October is also a great month to make sure you and your loved ones are protected with the annual flu shot and covid booster immunizations for these and other vaccine preventable diseases are available at our stride Community healthc Care Centers and through our partnership with the rapo county public health and CU health Care at Belleview Point more information is available on the district website our medical Advisory Board met earlier this month and we were grateful for the 20 plus area Pediatric and Adolescent healthc care providers for donating their time and expertise to our evidence-based physical and mental health care efforts in the district I am grateful to be the board of education leison for this committee from a mom whose children have been treated by at least two of these professionals I will attest that they are truly some of the best in their fields as of today CCSD has 837 students identified as mckin vento students as a reminder these are students who are identified as having not having a permanent residence please keep these students in mind while you are grocery shopping or when you find great deals on clothing or school supplies as these numbers continue to grow we are fortunate in Cherry Creek to have mental health professionals in every building I would like to recognize a huge milestone of this group this past year we had zero suicides amongst both students and staff thank you to everyone that puts in the extra effort to ensure that the whole child is taken care of we know that children cannot be fully engaged in their education if they are not well either mentally or physically Mental Health Services were one of our top priorities of our last Bond and budget election thanks to our community voting yes for 4A and 4B we were able to implement many resources for our students promises made were Promises Kept 50 to 70y Old buildings need to be replaced to keep up with our educational changes as well as failing infrastructure most of us do not live in a home for that long so we don't see the decline of the plumbing and the electrical repairs at this point are only a bandage these schools need to be rebuilt 20 years ago it was believed that higher education was the only future for our students to be truly successful today we have seen that technical education can provide a bright future for students they can receive certific ations that lead to impressive careers I encourage anyone that has not visited the ccic or the Cherry Creek Innovation campus to schedule a tour you will be amazed to see how education is changing for the future of our students vote Yes on 4 a and 4B for the future of our kids and that completes my comments for the evening thank you director Bates director Egan can you good evening thank you to principal Shelley mccort and Sky Vista Middle School for hosting us and to our setup safety and Technology teams and preparing for these meetings since our last board meeting I've had the opportunity to learn about many great things happening across our district and state I just returned from the Colorado Association of school boards fall meeting and delegate assembly in peblo with the theme Mission possible I also attended the Money Matters Colorado school Finance project conference conference as well as the great education Colorado luncheon these meetings are so important in learning about the other 177 school districts in Colorado having important conversations and establishing and building relationships with our colleagues across the state one of the common and obvious themes for all school districts and public education Advocates is that money does matter for our schools and students to this end I've been busy in our district schools and communities talking about the importance of passing 4 a and 4B the district's Bond and budget measures you should have received your ballot by now and as you know it's a hefty one if youve heard my message you'll know I say begin at the end of your Val ballot by voting yes on 4 a 4 B if you haven't yet received your ballot please check your voter registration today at www.colorado sos.com ov/ voter it only takes a minute the online registration deadline is next Monday October 28th register by mail must be postmarked by that day and the in-person registration deadline is election day Tuesday November 5th I'd also like to spend a minute talking about the dangers of amendment 80 constitutional right to school I'm voting no on this because school choice already exists in Colorado and enshrining this in the state constitution will result in public school funds being moved to private schools public education is woefully underfunded in Colorado and I won't support something that would likely result in that becoming or being made worse there is a lot of misleading information circulating on Amendment 80 so please don't be deceived public schools accept all children no questions asked private schools select their children that's why they are private public tax dollars should only support public schools and private money should pay for private schools I attended the Cherry Creek School District's annual veterans and Military Appreciation lunch in and Community event with my colleague director Bates if you haven't had the opportunity to participate in one of these events I'd encourage you to do so to honor our veterans and Military past present and future it's a special celebration and day October is careers and construction month and we're incredibly grateful for dedicated educ Educators like Mike Deus from the infrastructure engineering pathway at the Cherry Creek Innovation campus Mr detis was named a grand prize winner of the Harbor Freight Tools for Schools prize for teaching Excellence winning $7,000 for ccic and $30,000 for himself his commit to fostering a passion for trade jobs and teaching valuable Hands-On skills prepares students for both college and future careers beyond their time at Cherry Creek Schools Mr Deus was an important and influential educator for my boys at Cherry Creek High School and since my family is in the construction industry it's been wonderful to watch him grow this important pathway at ccic we've also been honored to be part of Transportation and construction girl day at ccic helping to accelerate the participation of young women in this industry these are examples of the wonderful work our Innovation campus does in helping CCSD students find their uni unique pathway of purpose and on the day this award was presented I was attend the Cherry Creek Schools Foundation lunch with the superintendent almost 50 community members and corporate sponsors along Ong with former board member Janice McDonald and state senator Nancy Spence came to learn more about the recent work of the foundation and how to support the future of this District we encourage everyone to check out how the foundation supports the district by funding future educator grants mental health and Equity programs and funding access to basic needs and Essentials and this is national school lunch week please thank our dedicated food and nutrition staff for their work ensuring that each and every student has access to healthy nutritious and well balanced meals future Bruins night will be held on November 6 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. this open house is for fifth through eighth graders feeding into Cherry Creek High School and their families come learn more about Creek academics activities and Athletics and congratulations to the Cherry Creek High School of boys 5A golf team on their state championship the first since 1981 well done don't forget to vote and go for a 4 B this concludes my comments thank you director Egan director nolles good evening thank you to everyone who helps make our traveling boardroom possible thank you to Sky Vista for hosting the board has had some very busy months since unanimously voting at our August board meeting to put a bond and M Levy override on the November ballot we have all been visiting schools to educate our community on ballot measures 4A and 4B and encouraging people to vote Yes on 4A and 4B I have thoroughly enjoyed attending school accountability voices of color coffees with the principal ptco meetings and other events it's not only been an opportunity to inform people about why we need to pass this Bond and Mill but for me to get more connected with families and caregivers I've absolutely loved it and look forward to staying connected hats off to our principles for working so hard to make sure our community's voices are heard I especially want to recognize schools that do all they can to engage families whose primary language is not English you inspire me and I learn so much from you I ask everyone to please keep in mind that our schools deal with so much today's news be it about local issues or about issues on the other side of the world will likely eventually make their way into our schools immigration homelessness lack of health insurance or mental health support these all show up in our schools even though it's not their jobs our schools do what they can to help fill the gaps because they care about kids and learning can't happen if a child is hungry sick experiencing a mental health crisis Etc I ask that in addition to voting that you please please stay civically engaged in all levels of politics City County state and federal please ask questions demand Solutions and keep them accountable on Wednesday October 9th the district accountability committee met and discussed the unified Improvement plan or the uip I appreciate all the work Norma lerta Christina Ethier Daniel Daniel M Mullen Shannon Hulk and jod Rose have put towards the district uip if you are looking to get more involved I highly recommend getting involved with your school's accountability committee or with a district accountability committee the next District account accountability meeting is on November 6th at 6:30 p.m. at Fremont their business meeting occurs right before that at 5 5:30 p.m. everyone is welcome you are also encouraged to join an accountability subcommittee which is budget unified Improvement plan and family and Community engagement go to the Cherry Creek District accountability committee web page for more information on when these committees meet most meetings you can attend virtually I'd like to end my time tonight by talking about Amendment 80 Colorado has long been a school choice State however this amendment includes broad language that could lead to significant legal challenges potentially undermining public education funding just as we've made strides in eliminating the negative factor in school finance and updating our allocation formula for high needs districts Amendment 80 is unnecessary and could devastate struggling Public Schools particularly in rural areas by Paving the way for a system that could divert public taxpayer dollars to private schools it is my personal opinion that you should vote no on Amendment 80 thank you very much thank you director nolles uh my report will will be brief as I too have been going around the district meeting uh with schools and Community organizations for the 4 A and B but I would like to highlight um being able to register newly minted 18year olds and young 20s somethings to register to vote for the first time it is simply a joy to see them exercise their Civic rights and as all my colleagues have mentioned vote Yes on 4 a and 4B thank you that concludes my report now we will have um Communications from superintendent Smith thank you president Garland my comments will be brief as well I just want to say thank you to the board thank you for the staff for getting the word out on 4 a and 4B is critical to the Cherry Creek School District I want to thank the board for their advocacy at the state level around funding fing schools adequately as was stated earlier going back to 1989 is not fully funding schools what happens in 2024 is not the same as 1989 while I appreciate the effort of our legislators is far from done so we will continue to Advocate at the state level but mostly I just want to say thank you to our staff for a great first quarter thank you for taking care of our students thank you for making sure every day is a great day thank you make for making sure that our students learn and I appreciate the fact of school lunch month so for the first time in many many years our food and nutrition service department is fully operational with full employees so huge hats off to that department for serving over 30,000 meals a day so it's just so exciting that they actually have a full staff to do that and I'm so excited about what they do for our students so again thank you for our staff I hope they had a good break and we're looking forward to the rest of the school year and it is now my privilege to introduce two executive directors Joe Glover and Heather Woodward for our um presentation this evening on discipline I would like to state that you've heard this presentation in depth from our assistant superintendent Derek molner he had a family um situation that he needed to do so Joe and Heather will take his place today but a much higher level overview of our discipline processes and be happy to answer your questions when they are finished thank you superintendent Smith and thank you uh Board of Education directors for allowing us to present and share about how we're approaching discipline in Cherry Creek Schools um and not only about the data and Technical aspects of discipline but how we're supporting schools in the difficult task of balancing uh positive creating positive and inclusive School cultures and keeping all students safe and ready for learning uh thank you again for this opportunity and I'm going to turn it over to Heather Woodward our elementary education executive director um to start off with our Cherry Creek School District discipline belief statement so through the great work of our expulsion task force an belief statement was created this belief statement really encompasses our beliefs principles and values that are focused on student discipline when engaging in conversations about discipline we always want to make sure that we ground ourselves in our core values first we're continually elevating our core values and centering them in our conversations as we recog recognize the importance of holistically educating our students we speak frequently about Behavior being a form of communication when adults recognize that all behavior is a form of communication it can help us to reframe our thinking and be mindful of our students needs that are both shared with us verbally non-verbally and through their actions we know that relationships are the foundation of this work when students are seen valued and understood it supports engagement learning and positive behavior we recognize that every adult in our system matters and we are a community we all play a role in shaping our students paths forward the roles each person plays can be different depending on the circumstances of the student we continually balancing this need for consistency with the need to address every situation individually for each student all the while student learning is at the center of our belief statement and it's important to not Overlook it when we're working through individual discipline situations so the next slide is the more technical side of discipline and this is where we consider what we're legally obligated to do under law and policy including our own Schoolboard policy um in Colorado revised statutes and awareness of what is currently being proposed in legis legislation and the latest research and mental health and behavior um and informing new propositions we also have our student contuct discipline rights and responsibilities handbook that communicates rules and standards of behavior that are reasonable and agreed to by all and that every parent guardian and student agrees to as a part of the Cherry Creek community this handbook is made available to parents and caregivers and helps align our expectations and our actions we also monitor CDE and especially their disproportionate discipline task force and recommendations and we appreciate our senior District leadership work at the capital to make sure we're on top of all the changes in legislation that might might impact us as well we always make sure we're grounding ourselves in law and policy while we ensure progress towards meeting our strategic plan goals which leads into our next slide on disproportionality we're fortunate to be working through a strategic plan in the area of disproportionality and have goals set forward that align ourselves with the 2030 goal within literacy as well we have an additional belief statement that's stated here on the slide and this dis this um belief statement is really around our disproportionality as it relates to the Strategic plan encouraging that all students be highly engaged in our learning environments the belief statement also recognizes the necessity to provide fair and Equitable access to high quality educational opportunities for all of our students time spent learning in the classroom with engaging learning experiences and positive teacher and student relationships is at the heart of this statement we utilize the statement continually in our strategic plan disproportionality group and ground ourselves in the beliefs with in it this next slide will speak specifically to our overall goal that's listed within our strategic plan disproportionality group our overall goal is to reduce disproportionality in discipline to reflect our student demographics through Dr Perry's leadership our strategic planning team has focused on elevating specific goals with aligned metrics that we are utilizing each time we meet our annual goal is to focus deeply on re iism and preventive measures we want to look at the leading metrics and indicators that are connected to students with multiple disciplinary incidents so that we can help solve to meet their needs in more proactive ways we are studying the needs supports and systems that are students encounter to determine why some students have multiple incidents we want to ensure that the services and supports we put in place meet the individual needs of our students Incident Management is the main data platform where we can access data it's a it's robust and it allows us to dial down to review the disproportionality uh data aligned to our overall goal additional leading metrics and data come from our social emotional screener Panorama where we can review the data responses focused on belonging which are interconnected with our district core values of whole well-being engagement and relationships attendance is one other data set that we are looking at is we know that showing up to school each and every day matters looking at discipline through holistic view with multiple data sets helps us to more deeply understand Behavior as a form of communication and it enables us as adults to better problem solve around students as individuals so part of our strategic actions around discipline is restorative alignment PBIS culturally responsive education and that is aligned to our core values and relationships and engagement one of the next pieces of that if we can go to the next slide is on Incident Management and with that you're going to see some of the data up here from uh 2021 22 on to 23 24 um this illustrates the number of students with no incidents and the number with multiple incidents the first thing I want to do is acknowledge incredible work all of our school around creating positive cultures while ensuring the safety of all of our students and that's incredibly difficult and complex task in our current environment on average over the last three years 86% of our students have not had any reported incidents our students with repeated incidents are relatively small considering our overall numbers with a slight increase from 2122 um to 2324 showing at 6.3% and this just shows that the majority of our students are not having reported incidents that there is only a small percentage that are but we also know we have work to do with our students that have one or more incidents previously on disproportionality and the goal of eliminating disproportionality on our discipline data and that is our area of focus for our students that are having documented incidents this is where all of our strategic goals come into play and because they don't and cannot operate independently they all have to work together towards uh our main goal our Collective efforts are in service of engaging relevant rigorous and culturally responsive educational experiences where each student can find their own pathway of purpose if we can accomplish this our Behavior data will follow right now we know that restorative practices PBIS and mtss practices mental health support counseling including self-regulation and drug and drug and alcohol intervention will help reduce recidivism with our students part of the outcomes of the expulsion task force was the recognition of the need for clean data and the student support plan Talis help schools have a consistent method across the district to be able to see Trends and patterns this is also connected to our strategic planning team goals and special thanks to assistant superintendent Latoya tolber and Derek mner that lead the discipline disproportionality working group we also have other groups led by our district leadership team members working on different facets of our strategic plan and these include literacy Mental Health Services and special education neurodiverse student disproportionality as well all this ties in with our last slide that outlines some of the measures and strategies I just mentioned so one of the things that we mentioned earlier was the common um support tile student support tile and that's comes with the common Behavior referral in all of our support uh of our student support plan tiles we have alignments with our safety intervention plans re-entry plans no contract agreements student Behavior referrals um to be able to have one place where we house all that information and that it's available to every school in the system it documents unexpected Behavior events as well so we've got time date location type of behavior and actions taken and when a behavior referral is filled out it just really provides information it does not assign consequences and that's the work of the schools to go through as these come in but the great thing about this is that we have one place where all this is housed before we had multiple referral documents schools were using their own um and it was just honestly kind of all over the place and now we've got one central place to house that and it's just been a game Cher for us to have clean data look at patterns take strategic actions um another strategic action that we've uh undergone is the consequence guide for school administrators and this is in partnership with the um with the form that goes out to parents for the school conduct and discipline guide um there's three guides for each level elementary middle and high we uh went through and looked at the middle school um consequence guide worked on that Elementary had one as well and then we developed one for high high school and what this does is it gives us um kind of updates to Colorado law CCSD policy and pass forward in service to our belief statement and allows us a place to where we can be consistent in our outcomes for discipline and also have the ability to look at each student as individuals and make sure that are supporting our students and also supporting our schools um the last piece is the expulsion task force a lot of this work has come out of the expulsion task force um we continue to maximize implementation of the strategic planning team uh another aspect of the expulsion task force is we received feedback on attendance uh Our IT team has been amazing they've also in addition to working with the student support tile they've uh helped us develop the attendance dashboard which is a great tool for schools to go through and look at their attendance patterns um what students need what interventions uh all sorts of ways that they can look and make strategic actions at their own school and then we continue to reflect on policy and practice regarding expulsions specifically um and where our policy is in service to our schools and making sure that Mr Glover sorry can you lean into the mic a little bit more please oh sorry thank you is that better yeah yeah that last piece for the expulsion specifically um on policy and practice and we've done a lot of work around our expulsion policy again maintaining support for students and for schools in keeping our schools safe um and we've seen some pretty good data outcomes with our expulsion rates um in the last year we do want to focus on disproportionality but we have seen a significant increase in expulsion or decrease in expulsions since um last year in 23 24 and really that's all do you have anything to add no Heather all right so thank you very much and uh questions thank you director Allen thank you so much for the presentation and um I do do appreciate the much more in-depth presentation we got at the study session which is where I say where all the work so much of the work takes place um so much of our learning um and I I appreciate this time um to educate the public and also to give us the ability to ask any questions that we didn't think about the first or second time we've received the presentation the one that I have that jumped out to me um was I I appreciate the discussion about um the inter between attendance and um discipline and I was wondering if there's a plan to also look at the relationship between our literacy rates and discipline um what you would expect to see what if there's a plan for looking at whether there's a you know Co causation or correlation um between those two um in my previous worlds um when I I I when I worked at some PRI some prisons um representing some of our inmates I realized that our inmates were um so many of them were there because they couldn't read and um I I wonder about whether or not that starts at in school um and as so I'm just thinking about different ways that we can stop that prison that school to prison pipeline that's definitely part of the work of our strategic planning team and we're looking at all different facets of the Strategic plan what we do notice in the behavior referrals that come forth uh students that are being suspended or that move forward for expulsion is a lot of times that lack of Engagement in their academic um Endeavors in school and a lot of times that correlates directly to their literacy scores um and across the board as well so the connections are definitely there and it goes back to um the overall kind of goal of the Strategic plan if we can engage our students if we can have highly rigorous classroom experiences if we can make education relevant to our students and make it meaningful and they can see themselves and we're responsive all those pieces tie in to behavior communication right so we'll see that reflected in how our students uh perform um both in the classroom and with their behaviors so long answer to a short question yes um we are looking at that in the strategic planning team well that's very kind I think my question was also long so I appreciate it and um I don't have any other questions thank you for your continued work on this thank you director Allan director Bates thank you um thank you for the presentation again this evening and um I always appreciate hearing it uh second third time in a shorter form um so you're talking about the engagement of our kids too and how it affects this how are we also um can you explain what we're doing to get kids more engaged and to see themselves and um are reutilizing like talking to kids more about going to CCI or somewhere like that or or other Pathways right a lot of that comes in our Pathways of purpose right CCC is a big part of that um how we're engaging students at our school sites as well uh it is really you know and culture responsive education is part of that too with our work of our ECC office and making sure that students see themselves in their education all these are tied into you know the engaging curriculum kind of what we're rolling out with a new math curriculum uh with students and trying to speak to that need of our our students are more um I'm trying to think of the right word for it they're just more Savvy and how they intake information and they've got the a world of information at their fingertips how do we put that together in a form that speaks to them makes it relevant um and really how they just enjoy being in school I think we saw the presenters uh from our students today that were just amazing we want every student to have that experience and there's a lot of work goes into that um and it really does start with how are we crafting the educational experience in our classrooms through our curriculum and what we're putting in front of students and how do we make it culturally responsive and engaging I I think we even heard that from our second speaker tonight when she said really wasn't that great in school at first or or didn't really appre then it's was like Wow look where she is today so I appreciate that I also thank Miss Bates that the other conversation that we're leaning back into as professional learning communities and you heard that this evening from from our students as well really really having that conversation that it's a team approach it's not an isolated teacher approach so all of our teachers need to understand the needs of our kids that you know what what exactly are we expecting them to know what resources are we putting in front of them and I think that's important that we have those conversations as a team not as an individual isolated teacher and so that is one of the things that we're grounding ourselves in as well great okay thank you so much I don't have any other further questions thank you thank you director Bates director Egan hi thank you for being here appreciate hearing this again I don't have any questions just a couple points that I've made in the past couple months around this uh one we know that our students are much more than a data point so I appreciate you really leaning in to this work with the exposion task force and around the Strategic plan particularly around attendance I've me I've mentioned this before but there are really so many factors that play into attendance and so I think appreciate you doing that work and making this less punitive and more positive as we go along on this process and then I would also just like to add that you know so much of this is State policy so we have some room to work around some of these things and to make it more positive for our students in our district but a lot of this comes down to us from the state and I think it's important to also realize that there are a lot of parameters that we follow as well so just wanted to it actually benefits your work knowing that you do have that kind of framework as well too so thanks again I appreciate you being here and um thanks thank you director Egan director noes thank you so much for coming and presenting this again to us um I commend you for consolidating where data are captured and working towards common data definitions across the schools I think that's super important that we do that this also came up at Dak when we were talking about disproportionality and discipline of just making sure that schools all understand this the same way um and have the same idea what an incident is so I think that is great and that is good groundwork for um the continued work that you're doing um I have no other questions I asked a bunch at the study session so I have no other questions thank you thank you director nolles um I don't really have I think I just have one quick question um just and I know you probably can't answer it now but just um as we are tracking the data um and as we work really hard to normalize mental health do are we making any connections in that uh area too where who's accessing Mental Health um just as you know a regular routine and then who isn't or who's asking for mental health after the fact if they've gotten in trouble already so I know you wouldn't have that data right now but just are we tracking that as well we absolutely are that's part of Michelle weinrod Chief Health officers work um with our Mental Health Department it's not only those accessing mental health inside of our schools through our psychologists and um social workers but it's also accessing to Hazel Health the opportunity that students have for free on online Mental Health Services we're also tracking those um individuals at a staff level as well seeing which staff members are accessing these resources which staff members are accessing the um health and wellness opportunities at the district level but that one 100% is part of the impact on what we see in discipline as well um so 100% we're looking at that and that's part of what Michelle wein Rob's doing around whole wellbeing um inside of that so yes it does correlate to discipline but it's more in her strategic planning scorecard around whole well-being in the school district but that's a great question thank you and and I also want to um just point out the work and defining an incident as well um because I do believe that sometimes that's where bias or just sometimes as my grandmother say you've gotten on my third nerve today and so and so and helping teachers to kind of figure out that um you know when they need a break as well or they or they may need mental health supports but that we're working hard to just ultimately just um give our children Grace and I I just really appreciate all this work so thank you it is at this point in our meeting that we make time for members of the audience who have completed the online public comment form prior to 12:00 noon today to address the Board of Education in order for every one to be heard please limit your comments to a maximum of 2 minutes a buzzer will sound at the end of the 2 minutes and the microphone and audio will be automatically muted each speaker may only speak once during public comment speaking time may not be shared between speakers this is your opportunity to make comments to the Board of Education in accordance with board policy it is not a question and answer session please confine your comments to matters that are Gering to the business of the district further please recognize the students attend most of our meetings any speakers any speaker whose statements or behavior are unrelated to the business of the district appear threatening or unsafe or are inappropriate for K through2 students may be interrupted or warned in their opportunity for comment terminated audience members who speak are asked to do so in a respectful Manner and the audience is encouraged to listen respectfully any speaker or audience member who disrupts the good order of the board meeting including the speaking time of others may be asked to leave we are very interested in your feedback and we'll listen carefully on behalf of the board I want to thank you in advance for your comments and for taking the time to come to tonight's meeting Mr conic could you please call our first few speakers five people at a time please uh line up behind the podium in order and remember to state your name at the beginning of your comments Brooke Martinez Paul Wagner Barry Alpert Beth Bowen Rema wadon a solad uh Brooke Martinez is my name um I'm a parent of graduated senior from CT mother of current students at Black Forest Hills in Fox Ridge on October 8th I received an email in the evening indicated rumors of a threat um worked with District security and law enforcement to determine quote no evidence that support a credible threat as indicated in the district safety plan the board understands violent and aggressive behavior against students undermines the environment for Learning and student students are especially vulnerable to emotional injury associated with this conduct there's lack of trust Brewing among parents that can be directly correlated to incidents that have occurred on District property and the intentional Playbook of pushing out emails with as little information as possible to check a box that notification was pushed out as the bylaws of the board State the board is responsible for keeping public informed and provide the means of Furnishing full and accurate information favorable and unfavorable with interpretation and explanation of school plans and programs in addition the safety plan developed by the districtwide crisis management coordinator and overseen by the superintendent shall provide guidance about how to prevent prepare for and respond to various crisis situations I'm asking as a concerned parent for more transparency and collaboration on the following uh Define credible versus non-credible threats and what constitutes evidence uh number two categorize threats it would be helpful if we had um threats categories such as weapon use bomb threats bullying fighting this would provide parents with opportunities to make informed decisions rather than ambiguous notifications that create anxiety and mistrust um offer education to parent communities how we address um at risk behaviors of students in crisis is there a record kept for threats made outside of school property or after hours and monitoring of repeat offenders um How are schools responding to student bodies to address anxiety and Trauma following widespread rumors students pay attention to a actions taken in response to threats um in nearly all if not all incidents of targeted School violence there are warning signs that cause others to be concerned as a concerned parent and concerned students we want more communication on what is being done to prevent violence in our schools thank you your time is up good evening on Friday October 12th on Friday October 11th at 3:6 p.m. Chris you sent an email CCSD titled message from CCSD superintendent Smith it starts by reflecting on the first quarter of the school year and moves on to in the third and fourth paragraphs which provide statements which are not only inaccurate but leaves out very important information it reads dear dear Cherry Creek School's Community our classrooms must be safe and inclusive place where all students and adults feel valued and respected unfortunately as our society struggles increases anti- lgtbq anti-Semitism islamophobia racism and other forms of hate will see similar Behavior filter into our schools our student are students are also impacted by the exposure to social media and the internet where hate and discrimination are prevalent Cherry Creek will not stand for the hate motivated motivated Behavior I responded to this email on Monday October 14th at 8:20 p.m. m i provided my cell phone number My Views and invited you to call me so we could have a conversation I gave you the opportunity to handle this privately but here we are instead in a public form unlike your statements which left out key information I will base my premise on fact and provide vetted and reliable sources 2023 Pew Research Center 7% of the people in the US identify as being part of the lgtbq plus Community which is made up of nine different communities 3% of people in the US identify as being part of the Jewish Jewish faith two 2% the Islamic faith 63% of the people in the US identify as being part of the Christian faith thank you your time is up so it's a hard two minutes right I can't okay um good morning Board of Education directors my name is Barry Alpert I'm a severe needs par educator at Fox Hollow Elementary School I have been working as a par educator in Cherry Creek schools now for about 5 years I love my job community school and most importantly the students and families I work with the families of our students trust us with everything from diapering ging gtube feeding and even being their child's voice for those who do not have a voice we Advocate and protect our students all while giving them an enriching wonderful School experience we help our community celebrate the beautiful diversity at Cherry Creek I couldn't be prouder of the work I do and the job that I have however we the Paris must have a seat at the table we must be able to voice our concerns regarding working conditions our roles and our stories we are professional dedicated and driven Educators this is why I've been actively involved with forming a union for the par educators of Cherry Creek Schools it is my pleasure to introduce you to the pack the par education par Educators Association of Cherry Creek we are especially thankful to the board for creating board policy to facil facilitate this process we support all efforts to improve the school district including measures 4 a and 4B we need better for our schools students and Community the pack is committed to voting yes on 4A and 4B we must have safe schools we need to retain the incredible Educators that we have we need to upgrade older buildings Let's help to ensure students well taken care of and always protected on every level just as voting yes for 4 A and 4B improves the district supporting the pack will help Elevate Cherry Creek Schools our schools are the foundation of our community thank you your time is up I'm Beth Bowen I found my passion for supporting School AED children through my jobs with CCSD I have 21 years of experience as a CCSD classified employee I'm currently a special LED par educator at Black Forest Hills and I'm a member of the par Educators Association of Cherry Creek I thank the school board for recognizing and valuing that employee groups May select an organization to exclusively represent them with the district by collective bargaining I appreciate the school board's work with the policy for bargaining unit certification I'm really impressed with how thorough it is it's clearly a clearly defined Pro process and has supported us greatly we look forward to our opportunity to vote for our certification of our organization and to be a successful and mutually beneficial relationship of negotiation with the district just like our sister organization CCE AA ccea and CCTA in keeping with that Cooperative Spirit Pat supports the district on bot issues 4 a and 4 B just as we recognize in our own homes we see that the age and condition of many CCSD buildings facilities point to the need of repair maintenance Improvement or replacement to ensure healthy and safe physical learning environments for the students and the staff we also agree with the mil issue for a recognizing the need for increased staff with except with exceptional experience in all areas of supporting education learning whole well-being and safety and hopefully addressing the retention hiring and training of educ educational support staff such as par Educators to continue to provide the additional and important level of support for student learning thank you for your time your interest and everything that you have done for us kids we and we encourage everyone to vote Yes on 4 a and 4B thank you start good evening Dr Remo Adon I'm here today as a Alum parent and deeply concerned member of the community um our family's home was targeted um and shot out last year so we are acutely aware of the rise of of islamophobia in the district and while I noted these incidents and to um superintendent Chris Smith and the ecce team my letter was forwarded to a political organization that has been harmed has harmed Muslim and Arab communities without my consent further placing my family safety and harms way equally disturbing is on 9/11 a teacher at Campus Middle School showed in a sopoby video portraying harmful rhetoric such as Muslims want to Orphan the children of the world they said Arabs are terrorists followed by students shouting in the hallway kill these terrorists um shockingly this incident has yet to be transparently communicated to our school's Community procedural fails have occurred including violations of board policies IMB the district was duplicitous on how it handled this situation compared to the anti-semitic Semitic um incident last year um and we commend these actions because they were Swift and proper but for the Muslim Community it highlights a very severe um um anti-muslim bias and harms Muslim communities the consistency is not a request it is a necessity when addressing discrimination in any form today I urge the district district to take the concrete steps of establishing an anti-muslim task force as was offered to the um our our Jewish brothers and sisters providing mandatory training for our teachers students and staff especially at campus in um combating anti-muslim hate also enhancing Community involvement in policies ensuring consistency and disciplinary action stopping you stop using our Muslim teachers and um Paras as translators and not compensating them for their time and removal of any and all political organizations from schools especially those who support foreign countries every child deserves to be safe in suppor in our schools where islamophobia and all forms of discrimination are are not are confronted headon this is non-negotiable in on our children deserve nothing less thanks air abar Kathy Duncan n Edris Shaden aada Bethany Jackman good evening my name is air and I am a mother of three students in Cher Creek School District for the past three years my daughter has faced repeated harassment from both peers and adult at Campus Middle School despite reporting this incident the school has failed to provide a safe environment for her this has taken a severe toll on her mental health to the point where despite being a straight A student she felt our life would be better without her feeling unseen and unheard I am here today to acknowledge the experience of my daughter and other Muslim Students who have face similar challenges in our schools and for that I am asking for an immediate action to prevent further islamophobia and harm by implementing a development lesson on islamophobia for both staff and student I believe that only through knowledge we can defeat stereotype and harassment schools must be an environment of learning and growth for All In addition I hold the district responsible for ensuring that schools are held accountable and that issue are properly addressed thank you okay um hello my name is Katie Duncan and my husband and I have lived in the Cherry Creek School District for 15 years our adopted children attended Arrowhead Horizon and Eagle Crest High School they graduated in 2021 um thank you so much for the work that you do on behalf of the students and the families um since n since 2019 my husband and I have participated with Greenheart exchange and have hosted four Japanese students who came to participate in a 3-we um English skills um prior to them joining high schools across the US who welcom them as exchange students and this program has been coordinated by the foreign language department chair Thor keset at Smokey Hill High School um this year my husband and I decided to try and host a student for the entire school year and our progress towards this goal was impacted when we found out that our exchange student could not attend our now local high school which is Smoky Hill so my purpose in coming here today is to understand the background um regarding the board policy jfab BB that for foreign exchange students and to encourage the board to consider or change make changes to this policy um in Cherry Creek School District um for high schools only three to four students are accepted per school um some schools will only offer one semester some schools with no seniors accepted and only two students from one um country only um from One exchange organization and host families must have a student attending the same high school so my kids already graduated from high school so we don't have that option of having a kid go to high school with them um our exchange student that we have today I'm going to ask her to stay it's Maria and helica Molina Roselle she's 18 years old from Bolivia she's a straight A student who speaks three languages sorry your time is up good evening my name is n Dre I graduated from Overland this past May and I'm coming here today on behalf of other Muslim Students here in the district I've asked my Muslim friends in school and alumni if they've experienced islamophobia at school and all of them did I've personally been called terrorist I got told to blow up a building I've been called the nword among other things by kids at Prairie who didn't face any consequences at Overland I had a teacher show my class the movie Roots without any trigger warning my black peers cried after watching their people be Brandon killed whipped and dehumanized and while I had reported him privately he further confronted me to say you don't like these movies huh this teacher had a history of being offensive and was reported countless times by myself and other students yet we never saw any sort of change and after that day I never felt safe reporting him again because I didn't need another Target on my back this happened at Overland and Prairie some of our most diverse schools within this District I'm here today to say that something has to change this isn't just theophobia but racism I have cousins at West Middle School that had to read a book made by a white woman depicting Northern Stane people as barbaric and Islamic extremists they had to go to school with a student that made a video saying he didn't believe black people should even be alive having these things happen to me and my peers has filled me with anxiety so I wonder why students aren't being supported why doesn't the district offer CRS 22-1 d104 a Civics course on the contributions of minority in Colorado that was mandated by the state legislature a course that could have supported me and other students why don't we even get our legally mandated representation so how can we as students feel represented like we matter why do we have to go to school and not feel safe or comfortable during last year's elections my friends and I showed up for all of you so today I ask that you show up for us please help us please protect us please keep us safe we can't keep living like this thank [Applause] you good evening my name is sh nada I stand before you tonight as a CCSD Alum a CCSD leadership Alum a parent of three children in the district and a former board member of cherry cre Academy I'd like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for your partnership and Excellence to support the academic success of all of our students and for engaging our Community to guarantee that we Foster a culture of equity and inclusion for all I also stand before you saddened by F how far we have not come as the daughter of immigrants and a former student in the district I was always taught by my parents to keep my head low not to challenge the status quo and to always respect our Educators and our educational system I can unequivocally tell you the same microaggressions that our students are facing today are the same microaggressions that I experienc as a child sitting in class over 3 decades ago go much as my parents taught me to respect our educational system I have instilled the same values of my children however I recognize that the privilege of being able to stand up here tonight and have my voice being heard a privilege that I do not take lightly and one that I will never teach my children to shy away from as a Muslim parent I have seen firsthand how critical it is for our schools to include islamophobia and racism against Muslim groups in their EDI efforts when schools Overlook these issues they allow for harmful stereotyp ypes to thrive impacting students sense of belonging my children have faced their own moments of isolation and misunderstanding simply because of their identity in my experience Educators sometimes lack the training to recognize the unique challenges that our childrens face when schools actively acknowledge and address these issues it sends a powerful message that all students including those from marginalized communities are valued teachers and staff training focusing on islamophobia and anti-arab racism need to be mandatory part of our school's professional development process now more than ever our teachers and our staff must be equipped with the necessary tools to recognize the biases within themselves and to respond appropriately and additionally revising the curriculum to include the perspective thank you your time is up hi good evening thank you for having me it's an honor to be here this is my first time my name is Bethany Jackman and I am married with four kids and they all they all currently attend schools here in the school district and they have since 2015 I think I would I could call myself one of the district's biggest fans because I love the schools and the teachers and the staff so much I am a Colorado Native I grew up in Littleton I'm a Coline high school graduate and a Survivor I have a bachelor's degree in marriage family and human development Child Development and social science is a true passion of mine I'm a photographer and a huge fan of using technology wisely as a tool for good and for wholesome entertainment and connectivity I believe that people are more amazing and important than the smartphone and that face-to-face interaction and real life relationships and experience trumps all screen time based on Legit and current research and personal experience I believe that our middle schools especially should be phone free Bell tobell not just in the classroom but at their invaluable short time at lunch and recess the CCSD student conduct manual has a section titled student use of electronic communication devices and it was last revised in August of 2014 over a decade ago and allow students to carry smartphones and for principles to determine when they are permitted I imagine if the whole District adopts Ed a policy that protects our middle schoolers ages 11 12 13 and 14 from distracting and sometimes irresponsible smartphone use and would better support the district's core values of equity growth mindset whole well-being relationships and engagement my daughter's in seventh grade at foxford she's a new student there and she sits sorry your time is up president Gara that's all for tonight thank you I would like to call for a motion to approve the consent agenda consent agenda resolutions 24101 through 24105 so moved is there a second second roll call please directors Allen I Bates I eag Garland I nles I motion carries our next regular meeting will be held on Monday November 11th 2024 at 700 p.m. at Liberty Middle School located at 21500 East Dry Creek Road in Aurora I'd like to call for a motion to adjourn the October 21st 2024 Board of Education meeting so moved is there a second second roll call please directors Allan I Bates I Egan Garland I nolles I motion carries our meeting is adjourned thank you