--------- That's right. Canadian. Well, 18. Beautiful. Yeah, my son and I got at 6:30. I better go up there. It's great.
I'm pretty sure Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the June 25th, 2025 Board of Education special meeting. The time is 6:32 p.m. and I am calling this meeting to order. Can I get a roll call?
Davala here. Hyle here. Livia Wright here. Schmidt here. Thompson here. Can we please stand for the pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States of
America and to the stands nation for all. Can I get a motion to approve the agenda? I move to approve the agenda. Second. Any discussion?
Director Hy. Uh yeah, the there had been a couple of emails the notifications of um folks who had um possible updates for the um the AEC resolution. So I don't know if we want to um move that to
discussion and and uh go into that into more detail or if everybody feels comfortable with voting yes or no to the updates, we could move. remember that you had provided a few updates, but Jamie Lynn, when are these uh due to
CASBY, which I think so the due date to CASBY is July 18th and we have a working or we have a regular meeting on July 10th. So, we would still be able to discuss it today and um move it for action on that date.
Um, oh, Director Dola, I am not opposed to um having the discussion and voting on it today. I don't know if anyone else uh has an opinion on that. I'm okay with voting on it today. Director Schmidt,
I'm okay with voting on it today as well. Okay. Can I get a vote, please? Dvala I Hyle H I Levier Wright I Schmidt I Thompson I and that passes. Okay, we
are on to 2024 2025 supplemental budget resolution. Can I get a motion for action item 4.1? I move to approve the 2425 supplemental budget resolution is presented. Second.
Any discussion? Can I get a vote, please? Dvala I Hyle I Levia Ray I Schmidt I Thompson I and that passes. We are on to the interfund borrowing
resolution for 20242. Can I get a motion for action item 4.2? I move to approve the 2024 2025 interfund borrowing resolution is presented. Second discussion.
Okay. Can I get a vote? Dvala I. Hyle I. Levia Wright I. Schmidt I. Thompson I. And that passes. We are on to 4.3. Use of beginning fund balance resolution for 2024 2025. Can I get a motion for
action item 4.3? I move to approve the use of beginning fund balance resolution for 2024 2025 as presented. Second. Any discussion? All right. Can I get a vote? Davala. I.
Hyle. Hi. Levier Wright. I. Schmidt. I Thompson I and that passes. Okay. Item 4.4 superintendent contract of employment. Can I get a motion for action item 4.4? I move to approve the superintendent's
employment contract as presented and authorize the board president to execute the agreement on behalf of the board of education. Second. Any discussion? Can I get a vote? Dvala I. Hyle. I.
Levier Wright I Schmidt no Thompson I and that passes we are on to item 4.5 pro proposed revisions to policy AD. Can I get a motion for action item 4.5?
I move to approve the proposed revisions to policy AD. Second. Any discussion? Okay. Director Schmidt. Yeah. Yeah, I'm just kind of curious in the future. This had like multiple bullet points, so it was really hard to
read and really hard to site. I'm wondering if we can consider using numbers instead of bullet point dots. Maybe um that's just a suggestion. Um I also like the newest revisions to bullet point number 17 in the educational philosophy statement. Parents and staff
need to work together on this to ensure parental rights come first. And that is all. Director Dvola, I also wanted to make sure everyone was aware of that change and had an opportunity to look over it before
voting on it tonight. Um, and I'm not not opposed to having it numbered. Do you want to talk about because just so you know what director Davilla is talking about is there was a sentence that was a little bit inarticulate that she streamlined and so that's when I said we'll go ahead
and put it in and Mike I should have put up forward too any the proposed revisions to the AEC. Um but if anyone has any questions about the streamlining of that sentence you're just talking about the green correct the green and red change. Yeah,
though it's actually far better. I had a problem with the way it was written before. Okay. And is there any other discussion? I like your suggestions for future revisions. Um but if there's no other discussion, can I get a vote?
Dvala I hy no. Leight I. Schmidt I Thompson I and that passes. Okay. We are on to 4.6.
Um AEC resolution to submit to CASBY. Can I get a motion for action item 4.6? I move to approve submitting the AEC resolution to CASBY. Second, any other discussion? Director Hy.
Yeah. So, um, the board was in receipt of two whereas clauses that, um, I was suggesting to add because I think that we have missed two of the most important arguments in favor of this. One is that the um the state already recognizes that
AEC's are different in how they evaluate them on the school performance framework, but then when their data is rolled into our um uh district performance framework, it's unmodified. Um, and then the other argument,
if I can pull it up, um, was that essentially it penalizes districts who have um, uh, AEC's and it discourages districts who don't have them from opening them to the detriment of the the students who could
benefit from them. So, I thought those were important arguments that we should articulate before CASBY. So, if the board agrees, I will give you a properly um worded uh of a motion to amend and uh we can add those.
Okay, Director Dvola, uh I agree that we should add those two bullet points. Um so, I am in favor of that. And then um I don't know if you guys had an opportunity to look at the email that uh Lynette, thank you. Lynette sent uh to
all of you. That was actually from me. Um I'm not sure if that was clear, but the therefors are targeted with the board. And this is supposed to be from CASBY. So my recommendation is to um strike out the
words the board and say CASBY. And then um yeah, so that would also apply to be it further resolved. And there's two other be it further resolves that mentions the board instead of CASBY. And so my thought would be
this is not a policy where we're looking at a double read. This is a resolution. And so I think if we could make those I am in favor of making those changes with the two whereas and modifying the board to CASBY
director lever right. Well and I think where we kind of ran into a problem. So like there were two separate things that were supposed to happen out of the last meeting. One was a board resolution specific to our situation with goal that
would be used as a board resolution to then from a district position lobby legislatively. That was supposed to be a resolution that we would then vote on and have you sign as board president. The second is submission to
CASBY which was a separate piece that um would then be um where we removed reference to goal and talked about AEC's in general because um goal is a flash point will be a flash point
at CASBY AEC's the importance of AEC's and providing districts a way in which they are no longer punished for a willingness to accept accept an AEC and to start schools that serve at risk populations within their communities without the risk of it punishing their
district is an important thing to advocate for educationally that we should be able to get many districts to understand. Um especially because it's smaller districts who may want to do something. So if you think in rural communities, a small AEC there could
actually like if if if we have an impact as a very as a large district, imagine what that does to a small district in a rural community and the likelihood of them being able to sponsor something that could serve regionally in their community. Um an atrisisk population,
maybe one that was designed to target migrant students, for example, in agricultural areas. No district is going to separate that population out to provide special a specialized a special school that can meet their needs. If in creating that disagregated school, it
destroys their district rating, right? And there's a high risk of that. The smaller your district is, the higher the risk it of that happening. Um, and we see it on a larger scale here because of the AEC we authorize. But I think that's maybe where the mixup is because I don't
know that when we submit something to Casby, we sign it the same way, right? Like I don't think we don't and I think what we could do because our original resolution which was carried over from last year with just the modification on the years
on it um would be our resolution for district 49. That is not as timesensitive and I know that was unanimously moved forward and it was unanimously passed last year. So, I think we could um add that into our next
meeting for the district one, but um I'm in favor of making the changes to the one that has to go to CASBY um with the corrections, the two whereas and then changing board to CASBY on this resolution because it does fit in with
our cultural compass of value all people. Like director Levier Wright said, if you have a district that would not want to take in an alternative education campus for the fear of how it would hit them, and we know how it has
hit us when people have falsely used those numbers as our graduation rates because they take the statewide alternative education campus and combine it with our our brickandmortar schools to take us from a graduation rate in the
'9s down to 56. And so I I like the changes. Director Dola. Yeah. Upon second read, the last two be it there be it further resolves might not actually be pertinent to CASBY. So I'm in favor of actually striking both
of those. And then of course we would remove the adop approved and adopted this 25th day and Lorie Thompson District 49. All of that would be um removed. Although the second be it further resolved that CASBY encourages
district leaders, school principles and all education and support staff to reach out to their local legislatures to support such legislation. I think I don't know that that would need to be struck. I don't know that that fits what CASBY. So I think it's important to look
at what CASBY's general form is and I don't think that they take a position that in that then instructs school district staff members, right? Um, and so I think that when we're submitting something to Cosby, we
want to be careful to follow their form in terms of what is what's consistent with how we pres how how they how their resolution process works and how those are presented. Um, Mike has something. Okay. Direct
director. And so it was this part of the the presentation and just to let everybody who's watching at home know um you know we shared information with each other via email but it was just as a presentation of something that is going to be talked about and now we are first
having this discussion right so that's how we honor open meetings while also you know informing each other and and being able to be prepared to have this conversation. So um when uh my edits can just be, you know, simply
incorporated. I dictate the uh the change, but these other changes that we're talking about and they're good points, but they're a little bit fuzzier. And so that was why I was suggesting that we might, you know, push this in, have this discussion, but then bring it back for action on July 10th.
Um I think we could also get a motion for this resolution as amended. And so I don't know that we couldn't take action tonight. The question is how do we frame that amendment? Director Dvola. Well, could we have a
motion? Well, we could also we can get it. So, because we have board dogs and we have Lynette here who is amazing. Lynette could actually, you know, go into the draft document here and delete those things
that we just said delete and add the things Mike said and then present the amended document. Correct? And then we refer to the amended document in our motion and that does it. Is that correct, Mr. Miller? So Brad
Miller speaking, yes, this is a resolution. We can do these sorts of amendments on the fly here, but to Mike's point. Um I don't want to overt tax Lynette if she's able to get those done. I'd like to have a reading, you know, a a visual of this that you're voting on. Oh, 100%. She can refresh. We
can put it up and I can actually read a motion with the amen. I can read the whole resolution as the amendment in the motion and then we're okay I think because we're talking about basic we're deleting anywhere where it says be it further resolved
that first be it further resolved down is just deleted right and then adding in and then we add in the one above it. So let's go let's help her edit. So first just do that and when she's got that done give her one minute. Give her one minute. Yeah Lynette no no pressure.
We're not all looking at you. No no no. So before we get too far into that though, I'd like to point out that you raised a very good point that we should be looking at how CASBY presents resolutions and matching that in our conclusion. And I think that that's the problem here. I I don't want to
pressure, you know, Lynette uh in public on a time crunch. I'd rather we take that time, bring it back, look at it, make the comparison, make the edits, and then just bring it back for action. Director Schmidt, I agree
with my Kyle. Thank you. Haven't been there in seven, well, actually 11 years. I did it a long time ago. Well, no, it's been five years. I did I was the CASBY rep for six years. So, um, but they changed how they were doing it my last year there. So, I don't
know if they do whereas statements or if they do just a They don't. So, we really should. It's just that resolution statement that you would have. Then I think the whereases would be an argument that the delegate presents probably. Correct. Director Dvola. Uh yeah, I was
the delegate um this past session. So yes, they they usually do not have the whereas statements. Um so I agree with my Kyle actually. We should probably rework it, stick it with our July meeting so that we can task
administration to take the warehouses out which is basically Okay. Well, that's easy to do cuz then I can just withdraw my motion. Okay. So, that happened everybody. We have it on video. No takebacks. Okay. Do I have a consensus to move this
to the next meeting then with the changes we have discussed? Can I have you on microphone? Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. And that makes it unanimous and takes a little pressure off Lynette
there. I was almost done. Okay. Next up we have revisions to policy GBEC. Can I get a motion for action item 4.7? I move to approve the revisions to policy GBEC.
Second. Any discussion? Okay. Can I get a vote? Oh, Mike. Director Hy, I just want to say um thank you to the administration for and and Mr. Miller for uh hearing my concerns and coming back uh on a pretty quick
turnaround. Yeah. Okay. You're here. Okay. Can I get a vote? Javala. Hi. Hi. Hi. Livia Wright. I Schmidt. Hi. Thompson. I. And that
passes. See where we are here. Come on. M. Okay. We are on to discussion item 6.1 policy JICJ student use of cell phones and
other personal electronic devices. Now I know earlier director Schmidt asked me for like three and a half minutes. So just so you know any board member who wants it you can have up to three and a half minutes for discussion on this topic. So Lynette, can you set the time
clock real quick? Is she going to present or Oh that's right. We should have Nancy, Dr. Lemon, present it first. Sorry, I read it. That's been presented. You Okay, go ahead. Dr. Nance Lamont, deputy superintendent and executive director for individualized education,
bringing you a new policy, JICJ. Um, this is the use of cell phones and other electronic devices within our schools. We have been operating under guidelines for the last year based upon what we're anticipating from Colorado legislature and also based upon feedback from
principles um student board of representatives um zone superintendent we have moved this into policy of which multiple again stakeholders have reviewed and provided feedback. Um so this is the first draft um of the policy
JICJ. What questions can I answer for you? Do we have any questions about this policy so far? We're just going to start off on discussion or director. Right.
Okay. Director Schmidt. Okay. So this policy says the board of education believes that personal electronic devices may be used useful tools for students in the educational environment and can play a vital role during emergency situations. I do not
believe that at all. Personal electronic devices are a major distraction for our educators. The policy should be a firm stance on keeping our students learning environments free of these distractions. I believe that students have access to a 1:1 device in D49 which which is a
useful educational tool. But students don't need cell phones when we provide onetoone. We are also providing the advantage of filters to keep students safe from the pitfalls of social media and the cyber world. This proposed policy falls short of achieving digital
protection and safety for our students. When we allow cell phones, we are not just giving students access to the outside world. We're giving the AC outside world access to our students. During an emergency, cell phones can pose a big problem for security and
security teams and police. Students phone home. Parents naturally come to pick their students up and now there is a major traffic jam in the parking lot that emergency vehicles need access to for the safety of the students. All those calls can also overload cell phone
communication systems as well as the front office staff. In addition, the beeping buzzing of the phones can alert the person who means harm to the location of students, putting them in danger. We should confer with security on this point. The policy
should be districtwide and the responsibility of enforcement should not turn our educ educators into cell phone police with no clear direction. Teachers don't want to be police. There should be no room to offer inconsistent discretion across the
district. Our staff should be able to say in D49, our board has given us a clear, consistent district-wide policy on cell phones. Doing so takes the onus off professional educators and puts it squarely on the administrators and the
board where it belongs. Since becoming phone-based, kids are being harmed in fundamental ways. social deprivation, sleep deprivation, attention fragmentation, and addiction. These kids are addicted to their phones. They think about them all the time. They
give up time with friends to be on them. They are on They are on them half the night. We have policies that keep addictive drugs and alcohol out of the schools. Why is this addiction any different? Important policies need to be given
proper time and consideration. Being in a hurry to get this done before the first day of school is a reach. Other districts took a couple of months to gather stakeholder input input, speak with security personnel, and conduct focus groups regarding cell phones. If
we do not, then we have not done our job completely. At this time, I would like to ask for a board consensus for me to work with one other board member, the custodian of the draft, staff members, and anyone else that is interested in
giving their input. Thank you. Real quick, I just want to make one point. We actually did have focus groups and we had input from student board of representatives, parents, uh the principles, we talked to the zone superintendent. So, we actually did have some of that pulled together just as a
point of clarification. Director Hy, you want to give him? Yeah. So, um the policy clearly states that anybody uh only any student prek through 8 cannot use their um devices um on school
premises during the designated school day. So, they can't use them period. So there's a carve out for 9 through 12 where they can use them uh but um uh not during instructional time um unless there's you know the teacher has just
determined that there is a you know educational value to having them take out their phones and use them for some educational purpose. So um so for preK through 8 there's already an effective ban. Um, and for 9 through 12, one of
the things we have to keep in mind is that these students have a phone in their pocket because they a parent provided it. They paid for the device. Um, they are paying for this subscription. Um, and so that's their right to make that decision whether
their child should have that um, phone on them. Um, as far as the security stuff, we did talk about that at the um safety and security um uh open house that we had and um it was a controversial topic. Uh there were, you
know, statements that you don't want to have a phone going off because that would alert uh you know, potential, you know, harm uh where somebody is at. But there was also um
argument that in certain circumstances um when a child can text their parent or or call them and let them know that everything is okay that that actually prevents the crush of cars to um show up at the school and prevent uh first
responders from from getting access. So um it's it's a tricky one. Um but I feel like we have um we we got inputs from all kinds of places. Plus this has been piloted uh in the we we've had it in
practice for the last year. And so we've had feedback from our parents and our students and our educators as this has been affecting them in the real world and they've determined that that it's working for them. And I don't know why we wouldn't um formalize this for them.
Director, right? So, um, a question first. My question is, how close is we've been piloting something for a year. How close is this to what we were piloting? Uh, it's relatively close. I mean, there were some additional things put in. The principles asked that they still keep some of the discretion, so we
put that in. Um, we spelled out K through eight in the 9th through 12th. So, some of those things were kind of pulled out, but it is um relatively close to what we've been piloting or what we've been actually not piloting, it's what we've been doing for the last
year. Um, this just puts it into policy to where when um we get questions about the use of cell phones or electronic devices, um instead of saying we have a procedure or we have a process or we have guidelines, we can say we have a policy, which I believe was the goal of the
pilot. Um, and I appreciate, so now it is my comment time, but um, I appreciate that it's split because I do think 9 through 12 is a different situation. We have kids who are working. We have kids who are um, my daughter, we did not buy anybody in my home a cell phone. My
daughter bought one off a friend because her RORTC instructor required leadership to have one because they had to be able to communicate with other cadets. So it turned into a battle in my home because we had um she circumvented our rule to meet a teacher's role at the time. Um so
we had to have a conversation. But there are things students do on those phones that they need them for in between outside of instructional time including kids who are leaving campus for classes leaving um and then coming back because they attend college classes or work study experiences or leaving campus for
lunch. So I appreciate that. Um, one comment I'm going to make on the safety piece is when my cousin was shot at Deer Creek Middle School, um, she was one of the two kids shot there, she is the one who survived. The way that, um, her
friend was able to provide first aid and the way that her family knew um, was because her friend had a cell phone in that emergency situation. So, I um I would argue that in emergency situations, if you've trained your kid,
there's a reason sometimes they need to have them. um because the student who helped to save Reagan's life might not have known what to do or um if they didn't have access and they wouldn't have been able to tell Mike Reagan's mom
who was stuck in an airport in December watching the shootout on the news um that she had Reagan and Reagan was hit but you know they had it under control and they wouldn't have been able to communicate with her dad and um so as
someone who had a family member who was shot in a school. I appreciate that that emergency com that that recognition that you're not breaking the rule and that you can use your phone in emergency is important to me. Director Dala.
Yes. So, was there a board member that was assigned to work with administration on this policy? Not to my knowledge. Okay. So, that's I find that as a problem. Um we I think we should probably have had um board input on the
draft of this. Um so I am in favor of uh for consensus for Deb Schmidt's idea to have um someone be working with admin from the board. Um also,
um there's a couple of things that I noted, um that needs to be a little bit stronger, such as how will it be enforced? So, it leaves it very broadly um stated
that there may or may not be consequences for breaking these rules, but they're not spelled out. They're not in here. um and leaving it up to the discretion of the principal could pose a problem. Uh I did have a principal talk to me specifically
uh about the problems of enforcement when it's not clearly defined in policy um and um being able to enforce the protocol was very very challenging um at her school. So that was something that
was noted and uh touring schools. I saw many many phones and many many violations of this protocol and um different types of enforcement going on between schools. So I think it needs to be very strongly stated. First violation
this is the consequences. Second violation this is the consequences um across um high school level. and then K8 level. So, so if this or when this if this
policy is adopted then there are two subsequent documents that would have to be updated. The first one would be JICDA our code of conduct in order to incorporate this policy into JICDA our code of conduct and then along with that
our disciplinary matrix would be updated um in order to incorporate this into our disciplinary matrix. So those two things are outside of the policy, but those are two documents that are also supportive to um administ school administration and
zone superintendent. Okay. I just thought that the wording in here makes it up to the school administrator at administrator at his or her discretion establish and enforce an additional rules. So that doesn't make it clear that it's we're all going to
have um the same rules across the district. So there's a lot of things because of auton autonomy at our schools that are left to the discretion of the principal. Um it it varies based upon the student um the circumstances surrounding the student the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Um that's why the the disciplinary matrix are guidelines because ultimately it is at the principal's discretion. Do I want to suspend for one day or for three days? Um do I want to move forward with a recommendation for expulsion? And again it depends on the situation of the
student, the situation of the phone use, the situation of whatever it might happen to be. So we do leave the discretion which in the in the principal's group that um I led to draft this first um and there was his own superintendent in that also to draft
this that was their request that they maintain some discretion over the application of um discipline and um how this is applied. My understanding is also that the expectations around the policy will be set by zone
superintendent at their kickoff meetings. Um so they will be the ones to let their schools their zones know that their expectation as a zone superintendent of what the um again I'm going to use the word again expectation is around enforcing or adhering to
policy JICJ. Um and again as situations come up that would be a conversation with that zone superintendent um with other uh school leaders to determine what steps are they taking. But we will offer in the disciplinary
matrix um guidelines that we would recommend. Um again as for anything assaults um drugs on campus um whatever it might happen to be we would provide guidelines so the principles have an idea of in what area in what um standard
they're working within. Are they looking at 1 to three 3 to 5 days that's broken out from K to 8 or is broken out elementary and secondary a couple of things before we go back around. Um when we first launched the protocol
there was the focus group and there was a lot of input that came in through that but the protocol was never defined as a policy. So what I heard from back then is in the beginning it was very very well enforced in the beginning and then
it slacked off a bit. Um student board was overwhelmingly in favor of it. They said they got more face-toface time and it makes sense because there's a lot of medical information that show mental health impact due to technology addiction. Um, so I think that it's not
a bad idea to just work a little bit maybe with two board members, but the one thing we cannot do is ignore the voice of the community as well and the input and the practice that they've had. Now, um, Director Hy and I attended Engage 49, Safety and Security, put on
by our very own Dave Watson, and he did address cell cell tower overload. He said was what was a bigger problem was parents rushing to school. And this is something I'd like to get on the record because unfortunately, we didn't have a lot of people show up for that. And it
was really valuable information that if you are loading up the parking lot, do you think the emergency responders and ambulances can get through? So, as a parent, it's a knee-jerk reaction, fight or flight. Well, I'm fighting to get there. I want to get my kid. I want to
keep them safe. And they might actually be doing the contrary at that moment. So there are arguments that too in an emergency situation for verification because this also applies to staff where there has to be some type of
communication. Um so I think that uh we have to have the guidelines set up. We have to have the enforcement set up. But I don't I I'm not too hard on the fact that the protocol began to slip because it was a protocol. It was a test run and
it wasn't yet a policy. But I could see areas where this could be improved a bit. Um, the other thing is, oh, like for instance, there's something in here about short trips and extracurricular activities. Well,
extracurricular would be sporting events, plays, dramas, other areas. And I don't want to get so restrictive that anytime we have a school event that nobody can have a cell phone out for those things, especially not for trips, for photos and things that you use a
phone for these days. But I think overall the more we keep it out of instructional time, it's good. Um, older kids, I don't even mind if they have access to their phones during lunchtime. So, um, if the board would be open to that, I would be happy to work with
Director Schmidt to work with you to see if there's anything else that we could get input on because this is a discussion item and so this is a time to bring other information together. Um, director, well, I'm going to go this way because Director Schmidt had her flower up first. So, we'll come back this way.
Director Schmidt. Okay. for reasons I'm not going to go into. I was not at the security meeting. Um, also I have some kind of some questions. You had said there there were two places
that you needed to change policy. Um, in way points on page eight under student responsibilities bullet point two that cell phone uses usage disrupts the classroom. So, you're saying it disrupts
the classroom? Uh, well, not you, but you know, the the waypoint says that. I want to know, are phones banned on state testing days? I can't answer that question. I don't know. Okay. As far as I know, there are no phones allowed within a testing room,
but are they banned from campus? I don't believe so. They're just not allowed in the testing room. The only thing you can take into the testing room, to my understanding, is your pencil. and if you're using a pencil still and a calculator, if the calculator is used for that specific assessment. Um, but everything else has to be in a locker,
in a backpack, in your car. If it's banned from testing, and that's so important, I think on the other days of the school year, it's just as important. Um, students are going to keep their phones in their lockers and say they need the
bathroom, go get their phone. There have been people caught in compromising positions with cell phones in the bathrooms. That's not something we want. The policy addresses these concerns somewhat, but it doesn't go quite far enough. Um, we need to remove all the
excuses because we know what's best for the kids. We're going to have fewer kids facing depression and anxiety if we put a kibash on this. And it seems that everybody, including parents, agree that the excessive phone use is detrimental to teenagers. We know about
the negative effects on academic performance and mental health. Yet, as a society, we haven't had the collective will to address the problem. And I don't think this policy addresses that problem. Director Hy. So, I want to start off by saying that use of the phones in the
bathroom and other private areas is already explicitly banned in this policy. Um the um I I don't see a whole lot of value in revisiting this and it's because again this thing has gone through a number of um feedback sources
including this board because Peter presented this as a protocol with the intention of bringing it forward as a uh policy eventually and this board was very supportive of it at the time. It is largely unchanged from that iteration.
Um and I my support for it has not changed. Director Levier Wright. So um I agree with Mike that although it was a while ago, this was actually a pretty large discussion when we put it in place as a guideline. Um
but the other thing that we all need to be cognizant of is they will be te training teachers and doing their building admin meetings pretty much beginning right about when our next meeting is in July. So if we want this in force for next school year,
the reason it's a discussion item today is so that you can pass it at the July meeting so that it's in place for the beginning of school which starts August 1st. So if you'd like to say we'd like so it to me instead of saying well let's delay putting a policy in place that
largely restricts completely restricts them for K8 and puts significant restrictions 912 in place and makes it policy so it can be enforced from day one which anyone who's taught in the classroom knows that's the best way to do it is we really need to move this
pass it and then if you'd like to see how it goes and review it again in 6 months um that probably is the better approach. I might also add to that if this were passed as is, that doesn't mean we cannot work on it and edit it um or make changes to it, such as we're
also going to make changes to JICDA, the code of conduct. Um and that probably will not be in place by the time the school year starts. So, director Dola, sorry, I was in mid thought. Um,
so in order for this to be in place in August, we would need to vote on it at our July meeting. Um, so that's going to be an important thing to to discuss. I still would be in favor of like passing
it the way it is, but still also having two board members come along um alongside uh to see if there's any tweaks or things that we could add for potential review for the next year.
Okay. Um you can see cell phones are very disruptive. Um, but I I agree with Director Dvola. Um, and I really hope we can get another safety and security presentation done. Um, because that really was an excellent
presentation, but I want something in place for August and I would like to add some teeth with some of the other revisions and I don't see any reason why we can't go back and make changes to this in the future. When it comes to words like ban, that's the only thing
that I I have a push back on because we're not teaching any of our older students agency. We're not teaching them consequences. We're saying you can't have this, which makes sense for younger, underdeveloped brains. But there comes a time, I think, where we
have to trust our parents to do what they think is best for their child. Marie and I have both talked about different cell phones where you can restrict the applications that are safer than some of the family plans through the major carriers, but uh I'm in favor
of moving this forward then because I think it's too confusing to the community to start the school year with no policy in place and then move with a bunch of changes. I'd prefer we start with something with expectations right up front and then there can be revisions
done to it later. I I'd also want to discuss the idea of band um and the reason being so many of the smartphones these days are used for medical purposes um for heart rate monitors for diabetes for a variety of
things and so I'd want to be careful of banning um the electronic devices and so I feel like we put some pretty strong guard rails in place but certainly am open to a further discussion and some additional again uh work on the policy
um in order bring it back to the board. Director Dvola, we'll go this direction. Yeah, I was going to suggest we can still have some input before we vote on this this next round um and have some suggestions
um specific suggestions that we can bring back um before we vote on it in July. Director Schmidt, I want to know why we waited so long on this. I mean, this is ram and jam and I don't like that. Um, medical, of course.
Of course, there would be exceptions for that. Definitely. So, it's been working its way through a variety of focus groups and a variety of readroughs um different organizations since January. And where were board members? Were board members part of that
at all? Not to my knowledge. board members should be a part. I think we should move forward with using the protocol until we get this hammered out. That's an option as well. Um like I said, this is something that
can be revised at a later date, but it has had a lot of input. Director Hy. Uh yeah, I just wanted to briefly come back to that point about uh the discretion. I really feel like we should not be micromanaging our staff. Uh so I
want to make sure that they have guidance but that they we're not telling them you know any violation must lead to a particular step. Um but uh also to the point of a board involvement again we were all involved in the discussion when
it came before us last year. Um it was it it was basically the same document. Um and um I also want to add too that this has come before me twice um because I joined the superintendent
at the skiac. I strongly suspect that this came forward at the DAC and so our uh it would have been discussed there. Um all right. I can also add in that it was brought before the student board of representatives and uh they they had a
lot of input and overall they were in favor of it. They also told us ways that matter of fact they said if you were to outright ban it or prohibit it or if you had the little uh things where you could put your cell phone in over the door. They talked about dropping burner phones
because they said every house has extra cell phones. They were very creative in how they told us how they could defeat it. Um, and so the only question that I have as far as the discretion piece of it is if we take away a phone or if
there's a consequent for a student. And we always like to have the differences between the zones. I'm just looking at it from a different perspective. If a parent came up and said, "Is this enforced consistently throughout the district? What you've done to my child's phone?"
So, those are some of the things I think that we could look at or work on, but I I think it's better to have a policy in place at the beginning of the year and not a protocol because a protocol has no teeth and that this is something that
can be amended at a future date. Director Dvola. Yeah, just just to to be clear this um I was not aware that we were having this discussion until it was posted in board docs. And so um not being involved in any of this process is
a little it's it's a little shocking to me actually. Um it's different from the protocol. I knew what the protocol was. Uh so knowing that it was going to become policy. I knew that was coming but I didn't realize it was coming tonight. like it. There wasn't a
specific, hey, we're working on this. We've been working on it since January. We were not informed of that. Um, second, the DAC never discussed it. It never came before the DACK. Um, I've been to every board meeting or every DAC meeting this whole school year and
except for one um that was canceled because of snow. Um, so I do feel like it it this policy was done outside of the board. Um, and I do have a problem with that. Having said
that, we have to have a policy. We cannot go through another year of protocol. Um, so I would still like to have it a little bit stronger, have the enforcement there. Um, and I think administrators would appreciate
having support from at least their zone of this is how it's going to work, how this is how it's going to work. Okay. And our legal council wanted to have some input. Brad Miller speaking. I just wanted to point out that the communication devices and schools bill, which comes into effect July 1st of
2026, mandates that we have a policy by that date. So we we have just a year to get a policy and move from a protocol. And so Director Leight, did you want to add something? Um just two quick things. One, it says
um personal electronic devices that are reasonably suspected of being used or possessed in violation of this pal policy shall be subject to temporary confiscation. So the things parents get most ticked off about is that their kids' phone gets taken. And this doesn't say maybe, it says shall be. So that
expectation's consistent in the policy, but I do think it's important to have a policy in place at the beginning of the school year. I think that's the best way to set it off correctly and then you can accommodate or change or edit in some way if if we need to. Um, but
interestingly enough, what came out in this discussion is we actually had two board members who were in the room hearing this discussed. So, we actually wasn't done with no board awareness, but based on how we have divided up board responsibilities, two board members because they're part of groups that
these things run through actually did um hear it. So, I don't think it's fair to describe it as zero board involvement. Okay, we weren't all clued in, but we a knew it was down the pike and b we did have two board members who heard it. And and just to to segue on back of
that, it she's correct because I was also in addition to the discussions we had at student board of representatives, I was invited to the community one where they had input throughout the community, but I could not make that one because of work obligations. So, so director Levier
Wright is correct. There has been board input. Director Schmidt, I just really think that we should hammer it out. used the protocol to begin with. It's only going to take a month, maybe two. That's what it's been taking the other districts in the area.
I I just think we go with the protocol and then get a decent policy. From what I'm hearing, I think what we what I'm going to propose is that we move forward with this with the knowledge that we can amend it at a later time. But I want to start the
school year with a policy in place with the understanding that it can be updated. H okay. She want to say something. Director Dvola, did you want to add anything? Uh yeah. I I live in breathe in educational
worlds. If you're going to do something, you have to do it at the beginning of the school year and it has to be in place for that. you can't just change in the middle of a school year or change a month in or two months in. Um it doesn't work. It also has a a mind game to it
and uh you'll get a lot more push back when um you are more lenient to begin with and then you get harsher in the middle of something. So we do have to have something in place. I would love to be able to make some suggestions between now and
and July. um 12th. Is that the date? I think something like that. Okay. So, for the time being, what we're gonna do is we're gonna go ahead and um ask if we can move this forward. And so, if I could get your answer on
microphone, please. No. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Okay. And that is move forward. Next, we are on to item 6.2, Waypoint, Students Rights and Responsibility Handbook. And um Dr. Lamont, I'm
understanding that the only changes at this point is the years in this one. Correct. Um there were no other changes made to the handbook other than um the year 426. I just also want to note that based upon requirements around accessibility, this
will probably be the last time you will see this as a PDF that's presented this way. this will um probably take life within our website um on a couple of web pages. So those dates and things will not um become an issue as far as having
to be updated. We will just notify you whenever we are looking at making updates or changes to the web pages. So it will kind of change a little bit what it looks like. Um but it will still go through an annual review, but once it's on the website, um no changes will occur
to it um without board approval. And again, that could occur in the middle of the year if something comes down from the legislature or could occur at this time frame. Um, also my apologies. Um, I understand going back and forth between Microsoft Word and Adobe and whatnot. It
condensed a lot of the wording in JICDA, which again I'm going to probably pull out of the document and just create a link to the new board docs where JICDA can be um when I say referenced instead of having to keep it up to date on two
different locations both in board docs and on the web page. So way points as you see it um in this form. This is probably not what the final form is going to look like. it will end up on web pages for accessibility reasons.
Okay, Director Schmidt. Okay, so page three says that way way points is a guideline. So is the handbook a guideline or mandated rule or policy? It's a guideline. It's a guideline. Okay. Page four is going to
need to be updated to include the new mission vision statement. I'm sure you already know that. Um, page five has some equity and diversity language that according to presidential executive order 14151 should not be in there. And I just wanted to mention again that on page
eight under student responsibilities, the bullet point says that using a smartphone during class is disruptive, which it is. Thank you, Director Dola. Yeah, I have a couple of suggestions for
um amending. On page three, paragraph 2, sentence two, um it talks about limiting the rights of students, which is um um let me read it. In support of the latter goal, school district 49 recognizes that the rights of students, including rights
to free expression, freedom of religion, and other civil liberties, may be appropriately limited because the school is a special institution. Uh, I would like to amend that to say um to in sport of latter goal, school district 49
recognizes that the rights of students, including uh rights to free expression and other civil liberties, may be appropriately limited because the school is a special institution. I don't think we need to sit there and list out everything that's on there. Um, so I
would be in favor of that if I could get consensus to take that out. consensus. Okay. Can you be a little bit clear on on the change of how you want that? Yes. So, instead of saying including rights to free expression, freedom of religion and other civil
liberties may be appropriately limited, we would say including rights to free expression and other civil liberties may be appropriately limited. So, you want to remove freedom of religion. Correct. You know, it's kind of interesting if you don't if just of a situation that
happened in school district 49 many years ago where my daughter had a Jewish teacher and during a discussion she brought up how they celebrated Hanukkah and my daughter was really engaged in
the discussion. I think she was in the second grade. So she began to share our family's Christmas traditions and was told by the teacher she was not allowed to discuss that. So I actually went on to the ACLJ and I got a bunch of
information on the first amendment rights of students in a public school setting to include freedom of religion. And I brought that I met with the principal and with the teacher and was able to share these documents from the ACLJ and it was a very productive
conversation. And so I'm actually not in favor of having that removed only because I personally experienced it with a second grader who will now turn 30 this year. And so um it was an interesting time where that exact situation came up within my family in
school district 49. Director Schmidt, wait. So Oh, go on. Director Devil, you wanted to finish for you. So you'd be in favor of that second grader not being able to share? You're confusing me. It doesn't say that they can't share. It says limited.
So here's the director living right. So for example, there is um someone is Wiccan and at lunchtime they decide to have a Wiccan ceremony at their lunch table with their peers.
Um that is something that can be limited. So there was a a situation you know that a school can say this is becoming disruptive because another kid is or so um it applies to all faiths but it is also it's saying that in specific
circumstances there may be an appropriate way to limit and I think listing it naming it explicitly says hey if something is becoming disruptive to the student environment because we're a
special institution you these some of these things are limited and I think leaving it there lets them still do that, right? So, um because a parent showing up with tarot cards at lunchtime would not be something that you would necessarily want your second grader participating in. Um it lets them limit
that equally to the person who insists that they must read scripture out to their their peers when maybe their peers have asked them not to. So in both cases a school could say you can have a a space to do that in but we can limit it as well when it is disrupting what our
educational environment is. I think that's kind of the point of this. It isn't to say you have no freedom of it because I guarantee you there's all kinds of faith-based discussions going on among our students all the time having kids who are in our schools. Um but it also let gives this identifies it
as one of those. I don't know why you wouldn't list it. um when because when you say and other civil liberties and you're removing those three words, it's not saying they're not going to. It's just them pretending they can't. And so I think leaving it there, saying yes, they can
they can explicitly limit all of these things as special institutions is probably appropriate. Miss Thompson. Yes, Jamie Lyn. Well, I I actually do really appreciate where you're trying to go with this. I know that I've had to litigate um sharing of tarot cards at a
at a lunchroom. And uh in in an instance like that, if we too much circumscribe the school's right to protect um other students from these
expressions, we we run into problems. And so I would either prefer that you leave the full clause in there or if you're going to pull it out at all, you're going to pull out free expression as well as free freedom of religion and just say civil liberties. Um because to
to list one and then not others sort of overtly excludes that other one and it makes it harder to sort of affectuate our our policies. And just to follow up with what happened with my second grader is the principal
Annie Herets said that when the teacher introduced the discussion of Hanukkah, she could not then shut down discussions of other people's beliefs. So she ended up saying and and it was an educational moment for all involved, but it was
because the teacher introduced a topic about her particular faith that had opened the door to other people sharing some of their traditions. Director Schmidt, there is nowhere in here that says the word disruption anywhere, so I don't
know where that's coming from. Um, well, burning the flag is a protected first amendment right, but I don't want any of our students doing it because I think that would definitely be a disruption. I think it's said in the affirmative in in the sense that the school may place reasonable time in or place restrictions to protect the
unique. Um, so it's it's about just saying that we can we can monitor and and limit those expressions and that's the way it's being stated here. So we're limiting freedom of religion or
free expression and freedom of relation. my real world experience having a a student bring tarot cards out and begin to procilitize, so to speak, their peers with um you know, readings of these tarot cards was an expression of
religion that was disruptive. And so it was incumbent on us to be able to say, you know what, no, the the the cafeteria leader can can restrain you from doing that in that context. And um the limited freedom of expression
means a student can be removed from class for saying explicative you explicative explicative to their teacher. Um that's freedom of expression anywhere else. It can be limited in a classroom because we have a policy. You
can stand out on a street corner and scream that sentence. You can put it on a poster and hold it at board members all you want as we walk in and out. You best not call my students teacher that because yes, you'll your happy butt will be marched out of the classroom and you'll be in the principal's office and
we can suspend you because you don't get that freedom of expression in the classroom. So yes, we limit those things and you are allowed to in a school um to make sure you're promoting the environment that will allow learning to occur. And that has been true since we were kids. Um, in fact, they didn't even
bother to say we can limit it in a policy. They just hauled your butt out and called your parents and your parents made sure it ain't never going to happen again, right? But, um, in our in this environment and there are plenty of other environments where in fact we restrict that, right? Workplace people
are restricted. So, we're training our kids. In your workplace, some of these rights are restricted. Um, in the military, you sign all of them away. Um but yeah, that's true. We 100% restrict students freedom of expression
in some ways um to ensure that the learning environments appropriate. We actually prayed. Well, real quick, Director Schmidt, because Director Hy has not had an opportunity to speak, but I was just going to add on I think even a president can drop an Fbomb and I think a previous vice president did the
same, but I don't want our students doing it. Director Hy. Yeah. And it's one of those things this this is in there because of existing case law. Um and so that's why we're referring to it. Um and it's worth
bringing the attention uh of our parents to it when when they see this document. Um we have most of the time when we have these limitations on rights, it's because there's a collision with another right. And so our students do have a right to a free and appropriate public education.
And so anything that in interferes with their access to that uh that has to be limited in some way. So for the same reason we can't have a student um you know on a prayer mat chanting in the middle of instruction time, we can't
have somebody doing yoga in the front of the room during instruction time. We can't have somebody you know singing Christmas carols at the front of the room in instruction time. So that's why this is there. Um, I wanted to bring up a a separate point though, um, because
it's still in the document for this year for our approval and I just wanted to have the conversation in the JICDA code of conduct and in the um, use of technology. There were a couple of um, references to things like um, you know,
plagiarism and things like that. And I feel like that there's a gap that we're not addressing and that is um authorized use of artificial intelligence. And so I sent some um comments to um Nancy uh about possible adjusting those
understanding that if we're going to make those edits, we're also going to have to bring JICDA in front of us to edit that too. And um the the responsible use of technology, is that a policy? Uh yes, it is. So we would have to update that too. I don't I am not the
holder of that policy. I think it's held by it's probably held by the business office because it is under the business office. So um sorry I'm running through my brain right here. I I am not the holder of that policy, but there is a policy about
internet usage and appropriate internet usage within the school and on the school's um internet. So, I'm just wondering if the board um agrees that those are um worth addressing and we can ask to have those
policies brought forward uh with edits for votes as well. Yes. Director Dola, did you want to Oh, I thought Did you have your hand up? Okay. Yeah. Um page five, bottom of the bottom
line, the value all people. Uh, I would like to suggest an edit to that one as well. Uh, it says, "We value all people by putting our values of care and respect into action through strategic initiatives that promote equity, respect diversity, and celebrate the contributions of all." Think that could
get us in some hot water by having those words um in there. So, I would like to revise it to say we value all people by respecting and celebrating everybody's individual worth and contributions. Can I get a second on that revision?
Second. I think that is a good update. My my only concern and I that's one that I definitely support. This will be the fourth time the handbook has come forward before the board that during the time that Jaime Lynn and I have been on it and I always like robust discussion
and this will be translating into a web page and once again to have something in place before the end of the school year but I do support that change to value all people. Um can I get a consensus on that? Can we Isn't that pulled from
somewhere? because that's a definition of a rock. So, isn't that pulled from somewhere somewhere else? Like this is a document that pulls a whole bunch of stuff from a whole bunch of policies. I would have to a whole bunch of statements and so it's
in policy a or it's yeah or they right it's there there's somewhere that that definition comes from right but there's still somewhere where we have those rocks right so that's also on the website the website has yeah
there's um the rocks the strategic plan right so I I just we're starting to kind of get into the weeds. If we want to come back and review it, my suggestion would be let's find where that is and go back and have a more robust discussion on that. Leave it as is for right now.
Equity and education means something different than necessarily what Yeah. And you all are going after correct especially for special education um where it can have you know assisted technology or something that they have equity and learning opportunities. Not the way we're just trying to remove
buzzwords at this point. So I think hold on that would be equitable education. It's on the website. Mr. Miller said under about D49. Director Schmidt, did you have a policy just it's just on the about page. So,
someone wrote that someone, right? But I'm wondering if it's when they formally voted on that rock, right? And I wasn't on the board. I don't think that was the only place that shows up. And so, I think before we start kind of getting too far in the weeds on that one, Peter would know the
history and he'd be able to give us more information. I don't think you're going to get nailed by anybody for having those words in there. um because educationally they can apply in
many different ways. Director Dola. Yeah. So then I would like to have consensus to task administration to research where this came from so that we can change it. Yes.
No. Director Li, right? I don't have any problem with researching it. I think we're going a little too far into the weeds. Yes. Editing tiny words out. So, I'm a no. Okay. It sounds like we have a consensus to look into it. And on this
one with the handbook, once again, we have to have something in place and it's something that if we wanted to make changes could be done at a different time. Can I get a consensus to move this forward to the next meeting? No. Dr. Davilla, you had one more thing and then we really got it.
Yep. Uh, page seven, bullet point one. This is going to be directed more towards um, Mr. Miller. Um, is there a way for us to uh, instead of listing all of the
protected classes to just say uh, the of the students protected class classifications period? Or do we have to actually list every single protected class? It's seven. Page seven, bullet
point one. Oh, student under student rights. Thank you. Interestingly, uh, thank you for the question. Interestingly, this doesn't actually capture all of the current listed protected classes and and that is
not an evergreen sort of thing as our legislaturator's been pretty proactive in expanding those protected classes. So, we've had some discussions, Jaime Lynn, in the past about the um optimally
you you list these and there's a implied um good faith aspect to having, you know, declared that you're protecting these classes. And I I've rendered the opinion in the past that to
say something like regardless of a student's protected classification is more or less adequate. Um I think frankly having a incomplete list is worse than having a generic statement.
So, it's one of I think either we need to augment this and add gender expression and pregnancy status and all the different things that aren't listed or else to say what you've done which is to just say generically. So, do you think uh state and federal protected or
just leave leaving it to state because sometimes there's a conflict and we could have a robust discussion on the 10th amendment but in the meantime you could say applicable protected classes or something like that I suppose. So then can I get consensus to uh
instead of listing all of them to just say applicable applicable protected classes director hy so I prefer listing them all out and the reason is because I don't think that every person reading this
document would immediately know what is meant by protected classes and when they see them being listed out then that makes it much more clear and I think if we But as defined by the state can encourage them to look up to
what is protected by the state. So yeah, I'm not in favor of sending our um families home with homework. Okay. And so there was a suggestion made under that bullet point to change instead of having a partial list which
we have received legal advice that can be problematic. I also see a problem with anything else added because since I've been on the board, I think hairstyles and even hats have been added that we just if we protect ourselves more by
changing it to protected classes in the verbiage recommended by our legal council. Can I get a vote consensus? Yes. No. No. Yes. Yes. Okay.
Okay. Can we move this forward? No. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Okay. And that will be moved forward for action at the regular July meeting. And finally, now
we are on to honor charter school a Marzano Academy presentation. And thank you for being here and thank you being patient. All right. Well, hey, good evening uh
members of the board, uh Dr. Le Man, Mr. Miller, good to see you again. And for those who I have not yet met, I'm Todd Marzano. And uh on behalf of everybody on our team, I just want to say we are very excited and grateful for the opportunity to be here tonight uh to share our proposal for opening Honor
Charter School in District 49. Uh I'm joined tonight by my father, Dr. Robert Marzano. He's the founding member of our steering committee uh as well as a founding member of MarzanoMies uh which is going to be our school's educational support organization. Uh also here is Dr. Paul Wright, the
director of operations for MarzanoMies uh and Mr. Patrick Bozle, our partner with Highark School Development. And you're probably aware that Highark uh is one of our nation's leading independent uh facility developers for charter schools. And Patrick's going to provide you just with a brief overview of our
facilities plan uh to ensure that we're able to successfully open our doors for the 2728 school year. And speaking of our school, uh this slide here shows you just a quick snapshot of our growth plan as well as our enrollment numbers on the righth hand column. Uh we plan to open
as a K through five. Uh and then we are going to add a grade level each year to get to uh 8th grade. So I'm I'm sorry to interrupt, but nothing's been broadcasting to these screens, which didn't matter until now because nothing was being presented. It was all just a
single document. But when he's we can't see us, he can't advance a slide for us to then see because nothing's on these screens here. So give us just a minute. You can see behind us, but we don't see there's nothing here. These are technical difficulties.
Yeah, there hasn't been anything the whole meeting, but this is the first presentation where that matters. Um, but we didn't need it. Can we see it? and thank you for your patience whether you have it or not. We got it. Okay. All
right. Yeah. So again, this was a a snapshot of our growth plan uh for the first four years of operation. The the right hand column there shows our uh enrollment numbers. uh we'll start as a K through 5 and the plan is to add a grade level each year uh to get up to uh
to 8th grade. The uh the vision for our school is to ensure that all students are properly equipped to be uh highly successful members of society and experience joy and satisfaction in life and we will accomplish that through our mission of utilizing Dr. Robert Marzano's highly coordinated
personalized compy based education system uh to ensure that all students achieve academic success and develop a sense of honor and agency. And speaking of Dr. Marzano, I believe most of you here are aware of his work. Uh he's been a leading researcher in the field of
education for over 50 years, has written more than 60 books uh and has generated extraordinary results in countless schools across our nation uh to include a partnership relationship uh with Johnny Flynn, which is a K through8 school up in Westminster, Colorado. Uh
but all that said, it's always been his dream to open up his own charter school using his proven educational model uh to positively impact the students and the community it serves. uh which again is why we are here this evening. So without further ado, it is my privilege to
introduce to you Dr. Robert Marzano. Thanks. Well, members of the board um and Dr. Lamont and Mr. Miller, thanks thanks for having us. We're very honored. Um the uh I want to emphasize that uh this uh proposal is really uh
two bodies of work coming together. one is my 50 plus years in K12 education trying to put research and theory together, you know, into practice. Uh but then what Todd left out is his 30 years in the military. So he just retired from 30 years as a naval
officer. Um and actually uh when he retired, we estimated that during that 30 years, we had seen each other less than 100 days. Uh and that's because he uh was deployed seven different times, flew off air aircraft carriers 800
times, you know, uh you know, way too much combat combat, way too many sleepless nights for relatives at home. And then he spent 10 years commanding ships. He was a commanding officer of an amphibious assault ship named the USS Arlington. He was second in command of
the of the USS Nimmitz uh and the shoot it's Lincoln I'm sorry USS Lincoln. Uh uh and then his final command was of the newest enable the newest nuclear carrier in the world the USS uh Kennedy. Uh and so uh it's very Yes. Yeah. He deserved
Yeah. Uh it's very much you amalgamation of those two worlds. Um and that's why it's named honor. That's the first that's the lead honor charter school. And the whole idea is that those ideals, respect, integrity, discipline, teamwork, courage, won't just be words on a wall. You know, they'll be the
they'll be the ethos of the entire K12, excuse me, K through8 K8 experience. And interestingly, uh that those those terms came from his command that they were translated into what good sailors should do. Uh uh it translates easily into what
good teachers should do and what good uh students should do. And it's not just military. Uh it's, you know, we're trying to honor all first responders, you know, and and the like. So that's that's that's an important message, probably as important, if not more important than the academic side of
things. Um the academic side of things has taken me over five days, five decades to develop. Uh I'm not going to go into any detail. We gave you a little present whether you like it or not. Sorry. If you're interested, you might look at that. I've been told it's very informative, but very boring. too. So,
you've been forewarned in terms of going, but if you have any questions about specifics, we'd be happy to answer the the uh uh driving force in terms of the uh educational side is 16 what we call level school level indicators. You can see in there. The book explains all
16. Some things are just traditional education. There are some really cutting edge things there too that have been developed over the years. They all fit together too because they've been built by myself and colleagues. They're designed so every piece fits with every
other piece. Uh, another big component of the instructional model is a high reliability perspective. Uh, and that really came from, you know, his world more than mine. Uh I've you know high reliability organizations like air traffic control um oh gosh uh the the uh
power grid you know they've operated this way for years. Uh so is the military uh years ago we developed a model that that schools could use and actually some of your schools here in district 49 are participating you know in that school version of it. I had the
opportunity to meet some of some of your educators at a conference we did in San Antonio. Gosh, uh, last January, I believe. Um, the, uh, there's a very detailed instructional model. Now, oh, by the way, one thing I want to mention, everything we do in the academy, if
we're so lucky enough to be able to open a charter here, everything is available to any school in the district. If they want to learn how we do any one of those 16 things, welcome to it. We'll provide, you know, professional development for that. Same thing with the instructional model. very detailed, very granular
instructional model designed from the research on uh expertise, development of expertise. Uh uh a lot of feedback, a lot of granular feedback to teachers. You can use this or not use it. Uh if you're interested, we know we'll help you do that districtwide or schoolwide.
Uh real centerpiece for us is what we call proficiency scales. We've been developing these over years. Uh and this makes this makes the curriculum completely transparent to students, you know, to parents, etc., etc. This happens to be fifth grade mathematics
and so fifth grade mathematics has about 20 topics with proficiency scales. So when I say transparency, fifth grade parents will be sent the 20 proficiency scales at the beginning of the year to say this is what fifth grade mathematics
looks like, you know, in this charter school. So they can support their students, see where they are, um help them when there are um uh missing components. As I say, you've got this uh uh in in in in the book. Uh uh the um as
I say, the the pieces and parts have been designed to go together. They uh they work very well. Um in terms of teacher development, that's a big part of it. It's not easy teacher development. We actually uh over the years I've created a teacher evaluation
system. Uh and the teacher evaluation system is actually one of the hardest in the country. Sometimes teachers don't like it because it's hard, but it was designed to be hard because not difficult. I I shouldn't say it that way. It was designed to help people develop. And you don't develop expertise
in a complex field like education without very very specific and very honest uh feedback. So I think you'll find all 16 areas will kind of have that tone to it. You know, granular designed to help people get better. Um uh it's a
very much of a team effort and a big part of our team is Hi Mark. And so without further ado, okay, click advance. Okay. Uh my name is Patrick Bosle with Highark School Development. Um I'm the VP at
Highark and um as Todd mentioned, we are an independent national developer of charter school facilities. Uh we do this around the country. We've been doing it since ' 08. Uh over 100 charter school facility developments, some of those right here in Colorado, including Ben
Franklin Academy, Colorado Military, Loveland Classical, that was what we would call an adaptive reuse. Um Prospect Ridge, Parker Performing Arts. Some of these were new from the ground up on Fresh Dirt. Um it's what we do. Um we're independent. We're not married to
a management company. We don't take a seat on a board. were officially agnostic as to school program. You name a school program, we probably done them all. This will be the first Marzano Academy with high reliability and whatnot. But um we just get them their
building affordably and we get out of the way. It's truly what we do. And if this board approves the charter application, we will take good care of this team on one of the heaviest lifts they're going to have, which is the facility. So, right now, everything real
estate wise is on the table until it's not. Some things come and go. We're looking at standing buildings. We're looking at dirt. And that said, I think this is showing up front. Todd and I talked about this. I thought the most helpful thing might be where we are in the process. We're kind of at a
Goldilocks moment. We are not compressed for time. It is not luxurious yet, but we are acting with great urgency on the facility because Dr. Marzano said some people have described his book or his book as uh informative but kind of
boring. Real estate can be kind of boring. But we got to be informed. It's tough tough tough tough tough tough tough. And we are talking, we are texting, we are in constant contact. So here's what we are looking at today. Look at each month or span is kind of
the latest what we envision today. We hope to accelerate this in an appropriate manner but not without we we cannot make mistakes. So we got to do it right. My dad is a high school shop teacher. He said you either either get it done fast or you get it done
right. We're going to do this right and it's going to take the time you see up there. So that's all I've got. I see 45 seconds left. So, let's step back. All right. Yep. I think that that concludes our presentation. Obviously, we'll turn it over to you at this point for any uh
questions, comments you may have. Director Hy. Uh yeah. So, I see that it's coming before us in a vote as a vote in July 2025. That is going to be for the um charter application. Correct. When will
we see the charter application? If the board moves this forward, I'm assuming we'll have that by the July 12th or haven't you already prepared the charter application? Yeah, the charter application has been submitted. Um, so I think that's perhaps a internal process.
I'm not sure exactly when that will be delivered to to the board. So we can find out and I can let you know. Director Levier, right, you had a question too or Brad speaking. They've gone through their capacity interview. they've gone through the all of the
diligence in terms of our internal teams doing things. I'm not aware, you know, I'm external, so I don't know how things are going in terms of you getting the document and so forth, but we will have obtained the DAC review and and all of the recommendations in advance of a vote
and it should be very soon that you get this stuff and I'll push. And typically um in prior application processes what happens is they come and do a presentation at this meeting where we ask them questions. Then at the next meeting when it's brought for action,
admin comes the whole application is in there and admin gives their recommendation for approval, conditional approval or denial at that time and they do their presentation on a separate day that I in the multiple that I approved over the eight years I was on
previously. That's always been the process. So that all of the internal people and the DAC people have all reviewed it and we get that as her ne secondary packet after they've done their presentation. Director Dvola, you were going to add something about DAC. Yes, it has already
gone before the DAC. So I do know that director. So I like the transparency and the sharing aspect of this. Um I do wish I would have had this a little bit earlier. I could have looked it over and had some good questions for you. I have no questions because I haven't looked at
it yet. So, but thank you for being here and I would encourage the board as you go through this that if we could have a contact where they could even submit questions that would be awesome. So, that's something that that I can have Lynette get out to you.
And Mike, you wanted to finish something? Yeah, I just wanted to um on the sixth page of your um uh document here where you've got all the you know the the honor charter school and the the various patriotic pictures and stuff like that. I just wanted to point out as
a former sailor myself, I note that you have two of the three core values here, honor and courage. And I'm wondering what happened to commitment. Nice. Um but uh one one final question I had for you. My understanding is that
the power zone has implemented the Marzano model. And so just from an innovation uh um perspective um what is the additional benefit that bringing a Marzano Academy into the district
provides? Sure. uh the um in the power zone this those schools they've have they've implemented the high reliability school process that doesn't have those 16 school level indicators embedded. Uh the high reliability school process is really kind of agnostic in terms of the
programs but it has levels. First level is a safe supportive and collaborative culture. Second level is effective teaching in every classroom. Now, we don't tell them what to do for a safe supportive in culture or what what teaching model to use with the academy.
For each one of those things, we say it's one of these 16 things. So, that's the difference uh that um uh yeah, did that answer it? Yes, it did. Thank you, Director Levier. Right.
Yeah. They use the HRS and have been doing it for well over a decade. Um cuz that was put in I think within two years when Mike came as the director he did that but I think the difference is this part of it. Oh yes correct. So you refer
to personalized competencybased education. Can you tell me what that means? Sure. Um not quickly but I'll try. Uh the uh in a traditional system uh you advance by age. Uh so at a certain age you're first grade, second
grade, third grade, fourth grade. uh in a competencybased system uh age doesn't stop you from going to higher levels and it doesn't automatically move you to the next level. So a competencybased system is one in which you can advance more
quickly than your age or more slowly than your age. Uh but there's no one way to do it. There's absolutely not one way to do it. Every compassybased system will have its own nuances. I mean there are you know there are more difficult
ways and simpler ways. Can you want can I add a little? Yeah. Oh yeah. Okay. Okay. Okay. Yeah. I mean there are I mean here's why I bring it up. It might be that uh let's say we're so lucky that we can start a charter here that there be some schools who say
we like some of this but not all of it. Well great. and and and and even in terms of how to have a composite based system um start here's a composite based system you still have your grade levels I'm still a first grader second grader etc etc and I stay at that uh and uh
however the topics that I'm supposed to master for fifth grade math are identified ahead of time they don't have to be proficiency scales but let's say they are now first grading period uh first quarter you cover one/4 of those proficiency scales okay And each student
has a score on each one that's translated in an overall, you know, ABCDF, very traditional. But what students also have an opportunity to do is go back and raise their scores on previous topics. So now the second quarter you introduce
new topics, you know, and the at the end of that quarter is an overall grade, but now it's based on the ones you did that quarter and the ones but the students can still go back and raise. Are you following me? That's a form of competency based education which looks very traditional. You don't change the
report card you know overall omnibus grade but still students have had a chance to you know make sure that they've uh you know and raise their scores. Next level up would be they have to raise some scores. You say out of these you know 20 topics you don't go on
to sixth grade unless you master these 12. uh you know and and next level up would be okay you can not only do that but if you want to start working on higher level mathematics you can that's what I mean there's no one way to do it so we
have a very specific way so the the charter school will say this is the way we do it but other schools might say okay I'm we want to make this twist and you know and and we have the experience to help people do that did that help oh yeah I'm so very much like mastery is
another term is mastery level learning. So, um my follow-up question then is so um how does that then impact elementary level students who have developmental reading or math disorders in terms of how they
progress through your system? Uh well, they still have proficiency scales, but they might have an IEP. So, the topic and the scale would be, you know, meet their specific needs. uh the um very transparent again uh if a student meets
those they can always still go higher so there's no limit on them and my personal bias is I'd rather pe you know push students say well let's try it at the next level let's try it at the next level okay so but I guess more specifically to kind of give an example
so if I have um and I have experience kind of as a combination of a parent and a teacher as a parent as well Um, so I had a kid with a developmental reading disorder who is in that 3% that never got above a second grade reading level.
Um, if she was required to to go through a system that didn't ever expose her beyond second grade because she didn't meet that second grade competency, she would not have developed her. She still reads at a second grade level as a
22-year-old. her vocabulary and her ability to orally understand and learn, however, um was age appropriate. So, they'd test her vocabulary in 10th grade and she had 10th grade vocabulary. She had 10th grade understanding in history. She couldn't read the history book. She's in
that couple of percent that regardless of the fact that she received a heck of a lot of research-based support and instruction, um she's in that small percent where that is a pervasive developmental disorder. How does your
system support those students to ensure that they continue to develop? What what do you do with that student in your system? Because you said it's not age-based progression. What happens if that kid hits that wall in your system? Well, I the system built into the system are proficiency scales which are at a
very very granular level. TR here traditionally you just mentioned it. She reads at a sec what' you say second grade except that's based on the based on an assessment a certain type of assessment that they call a reading
assessment which might not be a complete you know and accurate measure of whether they can comprehend and read you know so the proficiency oh I guarantee she can't read it um because I've sat with her but she can understand if it's read to her
that girl understands so I guess had a comment she wanted to make. I'm sorry. Dola, say that again. You say she you I can guarantee you that it's not just the like I I can sit next to my daughter and tell you she can't read that. What is
it? But you said she can understand it. But she can un So, but if it's read to her, okay, 100% understands the material, can give it back to you, she can orally take a test um and answer it correctly. It's she's in that 2% that
even though she had all of the interventions through the district plus private intervention plus an SLP plus um and so my question is what have you built in your system to ensure that those kids aren't held back by those
piece that piece? No, she wouldn't be held back. Director Dvola, did you want to add something into that? So students on an IEP um need that specialized learning and specialized uh being able to go from
different levels and things. Uh the beauty of charter schools is that there's different charter schools for different needs of different kids. And so uh this particular school may or may not have exactly what Marie Levier Wright's daughter might
have needed. The beauty of that is it's a school of choice. So, um I believe it's very important that we have charter schools to have other uh to have options um and to be able to let parents choose
the best school for their kids depending on what their kids' needs are. So, that's extremely important. Um that doesn't mean that there there's not going to be students with IEPs in the school. There obviously are. Uh there's um IEP students in in all of schools. um
and to the best of their ability they're able to accommodate those kids at that level. So I think there's a differentiation there between legally they have to. So legally legally they're so they have to be able to provide the
same special education that Falcon Elementary does only if they are provided the funds in order to um support those students. Yes, that is true. Can Can I just I think I think I'm not opposed to your school. I'm just
making sure that I would like to ensure that you were thinking through these things. Oh, no, no. Believe me. But but I think it sounds like you're coming from the perspective that on a charter will say here are the 20 things in reading and if you don't pass all of them, you don't move on. That's not the way we run it. Uh it sounds like with
your daughter, what happened is well, this is an area she's not developing, but in the grand scheme of comprehension, she's doing well. she will no that we don't we I don't operate that way. So they'll actually I think facilitate you know her pro progress his
or her progress uh through through a system because we're not going to you know say you don't have this one thing that's kind of a the danger of a competency based system where it's rigid you know I think it's one correct that's why I was asking the question I wanted to ensure it's on the radar because um
yeah but you have that obligation you have picked up a real trap in competency based education no there's all of them here you know you have to pass everyone or you don't you don't move up and that that that that can create real havoc, you know, and I really have always
appreciated your advocacy especially for students with special needs. I wanted to make sure we have time if other directors have any other questions or if Brad wanted to weigh in on this or Dr. Lman. I just wanted to say I was part of the um competency hearing with the Marzana group that um provided a bunch
of information as we asked a bunch of questions and um my understanding again with the responses and you'll get this information at the next meeting was that they are aware of the requirements under the IDEIDA and the exceptional children's education act and and um 504
and CLLD. So they're they're very much aware of that. um we have said that we would like to work more closely with their administrative team whenever that is selected, but that's beyond the board approving the charter and having us move forward with the relationship and beginning again to tease out some of
these things. So again, the team is very much aware of their requirements and obligations under the IDA under exceptional children's and a variety of other state and federal laws. So thanks. Are there other questions from the board?
Okay. Well, if there is no objection, can we move this forward to the next meeting? Can I hear have you on microphone? Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.
Okay, we will move this on to the next meeting. Thank you. Thank you very much. Appreciate it. And we are on to item 6.4 fourstar end of the year presentation. Do you pull that down or do you want me to take that down? I got
Good evening, members of the board. Christina Tieran, the coordinator of math performance. Happy summer. Um I'm here to talk to you about um our end of year star performance. We're going to take a look mostly at um
proficiency. Um our first slide is um we're looking at our state benchmark. Part: 2
dips a lot. Um, is there a reason you think? So, I think Well, I think there can be many reasons why there's a dip um within middle school. I think that um sometimes when there isn't a strong
number sense and or other things that um students can um be pushed too far, too fast, and there's gaps. Um there are other reasons. Um they're teenagers, they're pre-teens. Um and uh there's uh
also uh the other thought that I had was sometimes teachers will spend a large amount of the beginning of the school year um talking about sixth grade when they're in seventh grade. talking about seventh
grade when they're in eighth grade when really they should be just feeding the roots of sixth grade when they're in sixth grade and not just trying to make up the math along the way. And that's what our coaches um can be relied on to
support and plan that out um for our teachers. Director Hy. So, I wanted to thank you for pointing out that it's like a three-year journey of professional development and um depending on how you look at it, we're
we either just completed year one or year two for for different cohorts, right? Yes. And so I think one of the things we need to focus on, I think we all agree that the the scores aren't where we want them to be, but this is one of those situations where we're not a speedboat and we're not going to be
able to, you know, quickly turn this thing around. This is a a large um massive, you know, transport ship, right? And it's going to take some time to turn. And we're seeing that in the data that that things are already improving. And as we continue to do the
things that we're doing um and build upon them, I think um we're going to get there. Um you know, it takes time to do the training for the teachers and then have that go into practice and then meet with the coaches and see what's
working and what isn't and uh you continue to build on that. So I think one of the things too is that our next step with teachers would be to actually go into their classrooms and do student
talk versus teacher talk because one of the things that I have seen myself and even with the coaches is that we are seeing that can often sometimes happen and can even happen to myself as a parent. We answer our own questions when
no one else is answering us. And so this is something that we are going to try to stop in its tracks. It's very difficult to do and it's very difficult to do when you're a seasoned teacher. um that um it
so we have we have a large we have a big journey ahead of us and thank you for pointing out that it does take time and what I can say as an educator of over 25 years is that this is not just the next
latest and greatest thing a one day professional development this we know is going to take time and our consultants are with us and stand by us and are just a phone call away. They know that it is
it it's it's hard to change. Um so thank you for pointing that out, Director Levier. Right. Okay. So just if we can go to the slide where you had the side by side star. I um the one one more back. Oh, two more
back. Sorry, that one. Okay. So everybody's kind of comparing well first grade to first grade. What I wanted to point out is if you take um the first grade on the first graph that says 41.8, those are the same kids who in the next graph are in second grade. They went
from 41.8 to 51. Yes. Right. And if you do that with each of the grades, Yes. you actually see significant profession. So like the 10th graders on this first graph are at 26. There are the 11th graders that were at 39.6. So you're seeing they're jumping each
year. Um and so that's kind of something else to think about as you're looking at that. Right. So our you're exactly right. So our seventh graders on this particular um graph Yeah. Um would be
your ninth graders. The sorry no no those are your oldest that that's your newest group right. So but the seventh graders that were at 16% would be 9th graders there. 34.2 here. So we're those those are pretty big
jumps especially given that you're evaluating them on more rigorous material each time. So also th those are huge gains, right? You're that's not a static gain. And so I that's an important piece to think about. Um so that's a huge kudo in my book. Those are
those are the comparisons I make in my own head every time I look at this data is I'm following the kids longitudinally to see where they went. Um and it's a very nice trend. Um but then on the other thing I wanted to ask about is the algebra readiness.
So um if we see we have 81% saying they're now is this kids who are in eighth grade that we're giving this to? Yes. So knowing that number how many of them are we putting in algebra? So that is at at this point um we have many
of our students are headed to algebra. Um and so algebra is at the different high schools looks different. At San Creek High School, we do have an algebra um that is meeting every day. And research shows that um an
algebra when students are in this far below basic, below basic um algebra that meets every day andor algebra with a support lab, hands down, students are the most successful. Um and so that is
what the what I have um talked to both Amy and Sean about. Um and so you know in terms of talking to people before they schedule everyone as well, right? So there's a lot of moving pieces with
this. When is the best time to give this test? When is a full year of algebra? So all of these moving pieces. Um looking ahead to next year, we're going to give this test in March. Now a full year of
um algebra hasn't been completed by then. So we need to think about and maybe pair down what we think is essentially important. What I can tell you after meeting with each one of the schools is that
this is just one example. Students are taught to graph a line. There's points on a line. So point point. Then students are given h a set of points x y. Here's a set of points. They're taught to
graph. there's no connection between this and this and then they're given um coordinate pairs in parentheses. There's no connection to the parentheses to the table and then to the line. they're all
separate entities. And that's exactly the conceptual understanding when it is not all connected. Like that's just one little thread that I can point out that if students don't understand these
points are on this line, we got a problem. Well, because I guess that's having, you know, putting my parent hat on and then also living out in Falcon where um math has been the thing that we get beat up
like the failure rate at the freshman level is, you know, um is a topic of conversation on social media quite frequently in the Falcon parent groups. But if we're placing kids who are
scoring far below basic on an algebra readiness class in algebra. Yes. That to me as a parent that's part of the problem, right? Yes. And are we looking at and yet as someone who is a high school teacher like if I say it's
algebra, it best be algebra on that transcript. So how do we justapose? because it's not fair to stick a kid who's far below basic and have the only class option for them be algebra, right? And not also teach it better be algebra
when it's on the transcript because we're implying something to those who receive our students when it says algebra. And so I don't know what the resolution of that is, but as a parent watching a kid who went from
a math class that was probably more appropriate to algebra A to failing that to then, oh wait, now we're going to create a like there's I think I don't know what the sequence is, but are we trying to figure that out um to address this? What I can tell you is that my
team, we're in our infancy. Next year will be our second year together. Um, I think that I was brought on because there was an idea of this problem. We have a pulse on this problem. Um, I
believe that I talked about a solution for that problem. Um, where we have math every day or we have a support with that math. It hasn't happened at every school yet. Um, again, we're in our infancy
here. Um, I'm well aware of what's happening at Falcon. I was out there almost every day last year. Um, and so I I know that when you have new leadership, um,
Sean has a very good pulse on what is happening in the math department. And um, some people have left and uh, Justin who is the math department head is beloved. And I know that great things
are going to happen there. It takes a little bit of time. Well, and that just cuz I'm looking I I don't necessarily even know Justin's amazing. Um it's just structurally it seems to me that if we know that's the score when they're walking in. I I what are we doing by
putting them in to think about it and that's why I put this in place. It's on your radar now. So now you see what I see. That's my accent. I just came back from Massachusetts. You were doing so good until that one.
That was great though cuz I miss it. I miss your accent. So, I think this is what I am dealing with on a consistent basis and I wanted to bring it to the forefront because it can't it we're
working. We're working so well and it's just devastating to the kid. I mean, when you put a kid in a room and you say, "Well, here's algebra, but here's where you're scoring, but we're putting you in algebra, like I that would have
killed me." And I I'm a math person, so for me, that but I I don't know how you don't have a kid walk in and end up defeated in the first two weeks if that skill mismatch is that big. And then therefore, what does that mean for what we need to be offering to get them
there? And those are not questions I expect you to be able to answer, but I think they're questions that folks need to ask. Start with middle school achievement and bolstering um and supporting and again I this may be the
10th time that I have said it tonight is more teachers in mission DNA willing participants. Um, we have the best mathematicians in the United States here to train us and we need to listen to
what they have to say. Director Dvola, so what can we do as a board in order to ensure that we're teaching algebra every day every day like and h how can we how can we help
Mission DNA do what's best for our kids districtwide? Okay, so I see that as as two things. one, I see math being taught every day. That to me is a is a building. Um it is for our students that
are in the below basic and far below basic. Um I think that that is um it is a building decision. That is not something that I can control. I can make a recommendation on that for mission
DNA. um any any support that you can give us physically to come and see what's happening and see our teachers. Um
being a part of what's bubbling up in the district so that you can spread the word to other secondary teachers would be greatly appreciated. Well, my question was is what we did as a board and that's the fine line between policy governance and and governance and
micromanagement is we did have a focus on math. And so what I wanted to make sure of too is that when you go to the different zones and the different schools, if they're letting you in, if they're receptive to the coaching um that you're providing to help improve this.
Um, I think that some schools are more receptive than others. That's kind of what I expected and just, you know, to encourage when we set that goal is to hope that there would be some cooperation. But I also wanted to give
you kudos on the side by side, especially that jump like when you look at what happened with 8th grade, which were the seventh graders the year before. That's a huge increase. It's not where we want to be, but across the board, I see the increases with
beginning to implement this. And so hopefully, you'll continue to get access to what you need and a receptive ear to what you're trying to implement with the mission DNA. Thank you. Our teachers are working very hard.
Director Hy. Yeah. I just wanted to address the point that uh Marie was bringing up about a student getting to a certain point in their career and the only class that's available is um algebra um and they are not yet algebra
ready. Just throwing this out there for consideration. This board would probably be open to considering an an additional class. Uh maybe call it algebra readiness. Um, and that might be something that could be offered to
students who are, you know, and yet far below. Um, but, um, is they could take that, um, and have that math class and then the next year be, um, or even next semester if they make significant enough progress. Um, it's full year class. But
anyway, just throwing that out there is something to think about. Thank you, Director Schmidt. Yeah, the idea of algebra readiness sounds pretty solid. Um I'm thinking and
it was a long time ago. Um in like seventh and eighth grade we had that type of getting us ready. Is there a better time than others to have that type of class? Um, I think that if we
have on everybody's radar to have all hands on deck 6 through 8, we are going to make a huge improvement. I think we are hemorrhaging at Falcon, right? I think we're hemorrhaging for our
algebra. And what I do know, the re the research shows that if students fail algebra 1, they are more likely to drop out of high school. They're more likely to not be successful in other classes. I
I know that. I wear that. I feel that. And so I think that if we can get them ready in middle school and have them and we before I I arrived I well what from
my perspective some of our high schools and middle schools were not necessarily talking to each other. Now they are. Um and so I think that you know things are are bubbling up that haven't before. So um 6 through 8 is where it's at right
now. Director Dilla. Yeah, I've just had a thought roll through my brain. So, I know at uh Patriot they are doing the integrated math. Is that something that's an option to help students that are not algebra
ready having that integration? We do have integrated at um Stand Creek and at Vista. First of all, I want to say thank you for all of your hard work. And it really hits home when you say, "I live with this. This bothers me." It does. And so it does show your passion and your
commitment to implementing the improvement in the math scores. And so I just wanted to give you a thank you and keep up the good work. And and I can see once again from the side by sides, it's starting to pay off. And I hope you get
more cooperation where whenever you need it. Thank you. So is there anything else? If not, we'll say thank you very much. Thank you. Okay, next up we have the primary primary literacy report.
Good evening, Georgia Raport. I'm the coordinary coordinator of literacy performance and just here to prevent present an update at the end of the year with our end of year data. So, as you'll remember, this was our goal for the year that 80% of our
students, K3 students were at or above at the end of the year. And then we also teased out that alternate goal specifically for our third and fifth grade students considering how important those grade levels are that they either are proficient in doubles 8 or that they
have 95 96% accuracy or that they move from that well below category to the below category. um just understanding that it takes time for students to move out of that well below category and knowing that that accuracy is showing that they're on track with that word
recognition piece. So this is our um from the beginning of the year to end of the year data for our K3 population. We now have two years of data because we've been using Dibbles 8 for two years. Um and so at the end of this school year, we had 76% of our students in that at
scoring in that at or above category and 13% um still in that well below category. And interestingly enough, that is exactly where we were at the end of 2024. So we are consistent in that matter. Um but that's up from the
beginning of the year at 28% of well below students. So that's a huge improvement. um and we were at 55% at and above at the beginning of the year. So we always like to share um kind of how we compared to the national norm. So
this chart is just showing by grade level um how we compare district 49 compares to the national um performance for Dibbles 8. And you'll see in almost every category we're outperforming um of note is students in the above
benchmark category um is definitely a high point and you know even more important is students in that well below benchmark category. We want to have a lower percentage and you can see that across the board. So um trending really well compared to our national data.
So if we dig in specifically to third and fifth grade, I wanted to share that we set a goal um for above average progress and we we we use we set that goal based on a tool that CD provides called the progress planning tool. Um
and we said that for our students performing in that well below category at the end of the year we wanted to make above average progress which would mean that we had 14% or less of our third grade students in that um well below category and we met that goal. So at the
end of end of this year we we had exactly 14% of our students in that well below benchmark category. We moved 43 students out of the well below category. Um, and excitingly, 92% of our students are reading with an accuracy of 96% or
better, which is definitely a piece of celebration. That means they're decoding words. They might not be reading as fast like, but they have those word recognition skills. And then if you look at fifth grade, again, our goal was that we made above
that above average progress. Um, and our goal was 17%, we ended the year with 25% of our students in fifth grade in that well below category, but we have 95% of our students reading with accuracy of 96% or better. So then you might be
wondering, well, what's keeping these kiddos in this well below category? And that's a measure called oral reading fluency, and we call it ORF. So that measure is basically measuring how many words correct per per minute a student reads. So, it's a timed assessment. It
is a very good indicator of reading comprehension. Reading comprehension is a vast thing to measure, but oral reading fluency is an outstanding indicator of how well a student will be able to comprehend text. It just makes sense if they're able to read words
fluently. They have the working memory to understand what they read and they're not spending that memory decoding words. It's a measure of real automaticity. So, as we think about that and we're thinking, okay, so that oral reading fluency measure is not exactly where we
want it to be. Um, in our conversations, we've started to ask a question, but how much is that really impacting other things? And so, we're taking um a look at data in this way that you now see, which is okay, so how many percent of students were proficient on Devil's ETH?
What was the percent of students who were proficient in oral reading fluency? Um, and we look at that because that is that really important measure of reading comprehension, that indicator, but it also is really heavily weighted in that composite score. And then we're looking
at star reading and also even using amazing tools like educ looking at previous CAMs data. So looking at all these points of data, we can really say, okay, so what is this telling us about instruction and where do we need to go next? Because we don't want to just
focus on kids reading faster. there's so many other pieces that we can focus on to help students be um grade level readers and comprehend that grade level text. So I think the the message that I want would want you to hear is how we're using the data and using it in ways to
really pinpoint instruction as at an aggregate looking at things but also looking at that student level data um using tools like Edgeclimber to really have some really rich conversations. Looking at our STAR early literacy data, this is always a highlight. Our kindergarters and our first graders
ended the year at 78 and 76% proficient um with some really outstanding growth measures. That growth number, that 76% and that 66% is a percent of students who had typical or higher growth in that
STAR early literacy um assessment. And again, I can't, you know, have to echo Christina's thanks that middle school is a priority. I think that really is a lynch pin to help her students and it's going to be a great area of growth as we support them. But
this is um just showing our proficiency data at middle school for sixth, seventh, and eighth from um at the end of the year and looking at our median growth percentile. Um, keeping in mind the median growth percentile is when we're comparing groups, it is typical
growth is 50%. And that can help us understand so where are we in terms of did we have more growth compared to typical or less growth. So you see especially in seventh and eighth grade we have an a higher a higher level of growth um and about average or typical
growth in sixth grade. And then we have um read camp going on right now. So I've shared some pictures from read camp. Read camp we have we enrolled 221 students. We had over 40 staff members from leaders to teachers to pair professionals to nurses aids. Um
so it's it's been a big initiative for the past four weeks. Um, I have to just give a huge shout out to every teacher, every staff member, all our leaders that have just put so much time and effort to make this not only a fun experience for kids, but a really awesome opportunity
for them to get some very intensive instruction. Um, Yuki Rockwell, our our literate district literacy coach, is providing intensive instruction one-on-one with some of our most neediest, about seven or eight students at two of our sites. Um and so it really
has been just a collaborative effort to make um make sure these students these are this was our mission, right? We want to have fun. We want to provide an experience that um reduces some summer regression, creates some increase in their reading skills um and just so they
can go back to school in the fall with with some increased confidence in their reading and their self-efficacy. We did set some goals. We set some pretty ambitious goals in terms of where we wanted students to be and what we wanted them to be able to do at the end of camp. And we're monitoring that,
monitoring those goals um with data. So, we are using double a doubles progress monitoring. We did it um we did it once about halfway through camp um and we're doing it again this week at the end of camp to monitor um progress of our students. We're also looking tracking
our attendance data. Um, Reed Camp is funded by our read funds and it's it's a hefty expense and so we want to make sure that this um, money is making the impact that we would expect. Um, and looking at our attendance rate um, at our three sites, Falcon Elementary
School, our attendance rate was at 84%, Stson Elementary was at 75% and Odyssey Elementary was at 75%. Um, we've also sent out a staff survey to get feedback from all the educators that were supporting Reed Camp in terms of how
were the instructional materials we provided. We provided a day of training um at the end of May before camp started. So, we're really collecting lots of data and our team will meet on Friday to discuss and look at all that data and see um what it tells us about about Reed Camp and how we can we're
always looking to improve to improve it um going forward. But just a huge shout out to the reamp team. They've done an amazing job for the past four weeks spending their summer supporting kids. Okay. Um, by the way, I heard that it's
all hands on deck and you even bring in members of the security team to participate in Read Camp. Absolutely. We have um we they each have with the the schools each have their own security team member this year, which has been
outstanding. So yes, do we have any director Dola? Thank you for all the work that you're pouring into this for sure. Um I was wondering if you could explain that slide actually with the endofear numbers like what is what are we looking at
there? Sure. So this was this is just a snippet of where we're collecting the data from Read Camp. So that first column is the end ofear nonsense word fluency correct letter sound score for the student. And then we will do a progress monitoring probe on those two
same measures. So we can compare where they were um around the first week of May and where were they the second week of June and where will they be at the end of camp. So we can see did they at least maintain that skill that they had or hopefully increase it. Okay, that
makes sense. So those were individual student scores. Yes. I just that makes a lot more. I took their names off. Yep. Any other questions? All right. Thank you very much. And now we are on to
item 6.6 to appoint a board representative to attend the CASBY delegate assembly. And I didn't know if Jaime Lynn wanted to continue with this for the September meeting.
Sure. I move to appoint the very enthusiastic Jamin Deava as our Casby representative. Can I get a second? Second. Certainly her um
enthusiasm for it speaks volumes. I move to appoint Deb Schmidt as the alternate. Someone second. Can I Okay. Second. If there are no objections, this will be moved forward for action at the July
10th regular meeting. And with that, we are adjourned.