##VIDEO ID:jTbU57PrVMQ## this meeting is called to order at 7:02 p.m. good evening this is a regular meeting of the Ferndale School Board of Education being held on Monday December 16th 2024 our meeting is being video recorded and will be posted on the Ferndale schools YouTube channel all meetings in the Ferndale schools are held in public in compliance with the open meetings act printed documents discussed in tonight's meeting are available to the public upon request with the exception of any information protected by student or employee privacy rights board information is posted on our website at www.fo school.org if you do not have access if you do have internet access need information please contact the board offices at 248-5868 652 by Thursday of the week prior to the meeting and District staff will do their best to work with you item 1.1 roll caller El here here here latach here Turner here president du here thank you thank you item 1.2 approval of the agenda after review of the agenda are there any items that anyone wants to update no then without objection and with unanimous consent the agenda is approved item two presentation of building fale Upper Elementary uh by principal Jeffrey sorry okay all right uh good evening uh Board of Education uh my name is Katie Jeffrey principal at Ferndale upper um we are excited to present our uh exploration of the pillars of Ferndale Excellence um so our five pillars we know are self-reflection transparency attendance collaboration and data as a flash so I'm going to talk briefly tonight about um where fuel is supporting the district in these five pillars um and then I'm excited to share the more important part uh share a student group um to represent what we've been doing this year all right so self-reflection we encourage all to reflect on their performance and identify areas for growth um I would say this is a big strength of our building uh this is our ninth year as the Ferndale upper there at the beginning uh be well many of you were actually but um this year our one word is Imagine uh we open the year with a read aloud uh called maybe um focusing on the ways in which we can push ourselves further um where we can reflect on where we're strong where we need to go every student every staff member I'll show you a picture at the end made a a jar it's in the main hallway this beautiful display of their dreams and their hopes from the for themselves um we also have lots of activities um weekly announcements we have uh refueling zones which I presented a few years ago where we buddy up younger grades and upper grades uh they did they created these um imaginary chocolate factories last month in November uh I think some of the pap the work is actually coming here to this building so um just lots of focus on where are we and where can we go we also have regular embedded reflection activities uh staff surveys data digs I'll talk a lot about that in some of the other slides um we also do connectors we have two-hour staff meeting with full staff that includes Paras um everybody on staff which are really powerful we start 15 20 minutes with connectors self-reflection or gratitude journaling led by our mental health specialist um Miss Janelle um and those parts really help us to connect more with each other too um I'm a firm believer as a leader that if the um adults in the building are not well then the children will not be well and I really do I think we pride ourself at at fuel because of this pillar because of that constant self-reflection work on um making sure their adults are well so that the students and the children can Thrive um and then the final thing this year really we have a really robust Student Success team um and then weekly Behavior team huddles which are focused on self-reflection um where are we supporting our students who are students most in need uh looking at those tier one tier 2 tier three under the multi-tiered systems of support identifying kid by kid um who's not thriving right now who who needs more support and then what do we as adults need to do um and then um the final one under this is principal check-ins I meet monthly with um all of the classroom teachers um on one-on ones uh to look at their data to self-reflect this month for example was um looking at their progress monitoring and aadience which is our literacy um how we're tracking their growth in between Benchmark periods and then also what's their big celebration for the first three months of school so those embedded self-reflection opportunities uh transparency uh leads to a more inclusive and successful Ferndale so um under this pillar we have weekly family newsletters that go on that go out um that are connected with family supports and what I love about them is they also have this theal Focus that's in our morning meetings with the students um it is in there's a homeschool connection who's reading it there's a homeschool connection I no 177 no um I um so they have this homeschool connection with theal Focus so that that we can be on one page together uh with parent resources we have weekly shoutout announcements for students that's like what's coming ahead also where we give on a role so not on a role but who's on a role academically so it's more inclusive um and kindness shoutouts and those come from staff but they also I find 27 little Post-it notes in my mailbox every day with student shoutouts to each other or to their teachers too um and that when I and we have word nerd wall uh word of the week so we focus on our vocabulary skills the sore behavior for the week um our seal look ahead so to me that's transparency for the students like we are all coherent we're on one page here's where we're here's where we were this week here's where we're going the huddles I disc I discussed briefly before is under this pillar as well uh this is all the behavior team members myself our Behavior specialist mental health specialist social worker liaison our communities and schools support coordinator and we meet together every week to talk about behaviors throughout the week or again that get that kind of teared support but this is a little less structured than student support uh the Student Success team this is about like who did everybody see this week who did everybody talk to this week what's going on and it's really a nice uh way to touch base 35 40 minutes total but with the team that talks the most to our families um we also have the school initiative of the last three years that I think has made a big difference which is monthly positive calls so the goal is five per month for all staff so that positive Outreach um for to families and being transparent about what's happening in the classrooms and then our shared leadership model uh under transparency is we have lots of different teams and this year we started new committees initiative where we're actually embedded our committees uh 15 minutes into every two-hour staff meeting so that there's accountability so the weight of a committee is not just on the one go-getter that likes to answer emails from Miss Jeffrey right it's like team model and so I think you're going to see much more robust um initiatives this year like our Black History Month our reading month we're going to have a lot more heads in at you know at the table so mine's at the table our next pillar oh so small I'm getting old attendance at Ferndale upper you know overall we have strong daily attendance we're in that 94 95% range so for us we're really focusing on um our our chronic treny and trying to help wrap around wraparound Services how to we support our students that are not coming to school a big part of attendance I think is just School culture um I love it where with my kids I like it is I love coming to work it is a fun place to be and why would you not want to be there like that that's how I feel and you know there are bad days yes but it it is a a place that should feel um coherent we have Open Door policies with all of our sometimes too much uh but people I think the kids feel that they they are heard they are seen and I think that really contributes to positive attendance we did work on a uh communities and schools created a tracker for families this year like green yellow red like once you hit nine or above you're in danger um so this is something thank you this is uh something that were in the Popsicles folders this year that was new this year um and so you you know right now we're in like a really sick period gross today actually um but uh you know we know we're going to see some absences but we really want to be tracking those chronic chronic um attendant that are impacting their education uh oh so far away okay and then um our newsletter we have a uh We've added an attendance section this year because of the pillars uh and then our monthly treny polls and really working on um being on top of our attendance letter so that our 10 letters 10 absences 20 absences so on and then coordinating with the Oakland County truancy officer which is not something that we had done as much in the past more of a secondary level tool but we are using it this year to get ahead of it in the fourth pillar collaboration again kind of with self-reflection like I think we're rocking this one um our staff Charter we focus on the ruler model we want each other to feel supported appreciated respected accomplished and happy and that comes when you have a I think shared leadership model and a collaborative approach um to leadership um we have staff L committees I talked about Flex PL last um last week Bridget Jan uh new third grade teacher presented on academic discourse which is a focus for fuel Mason fenig uh presented on building like technology tools the Box light and then Claire Burgess led a book talk on the anxious Generation Um which is greatly impacting our students um if you have you haven't read it I check it out um so that again like just giving more staff the opportunity to get in front of staff and share I think that's a huge part um Miss Reed who's presenting tonight she's LED some Miss Yak who's here our literacy coach she has led some our literacy coach is an example of shared leadership model um lots of reflective conversations with staff and then we have our school-based amazing I I shout out our Special Education team they are amazing their communication their collaboration their intense Devotion to supporting our students uh with IEP um is unparalleled um and then again I keep talking about these principal check-ins but it really it under these pillars that is how I have not always been great at accountability and so the check-ins allow for more accountability for me like are you doing your progress monitoring for a cadians who's not coming to school let's put them on the mtss let's bring this child to team so I think that part is much more collaborative than in past years and then just a shout out to our parent groups uh the PTA and Elementary connections groups we have um really robust um I think activities opportunities focus on Equity from those two groups um you know bringing back our camp programs all the things we lost in covid um the collaborative work with our parent groups has really made a difference okay last one data as a flashlight um again something that we have grown towards but I'm feeling really good about uh over the last couple of years and you know as you know you know I don't put everything in I put almost nothing in it okay but mstep I don't you know it's one of those tools that we we use right it's one of our many assessment tools but our third graders last year were one of the highest um growth in the in Oakland County I think the second in Oakland County and that's because I think teachers are getting much more comfortable think talking about their data meeting with their literacy coach changing instruction uh prek 5 to make some changes for our students um we do three data dig the year a Cadance I ready and Panorama which is oural um surveys for students family and staff we have PLC Reflections we have principal check-ins each every after each one and then some followup and accountability aspects uh the mtss SST we talked about already we also have a data committee so instead of school Improvement meeting every month our data committee meets three times a year um CX is a part of that committee to look deeply at the data so teachers do their individual debt digs the seal committee does anal deeper building level dig and the data committee does the building level data so the trends and and that kind of thing and then they bring those back back to um transparency collaboration they present those to full staff so it's not just little pockets of people understanding our data it's every adult in the building um and then I think a cool part about this uh is that the social emotional learning committee which has four staff members numbers um they then take that the data dig presentation make some goals to present to staff but they also update oural modules which the whole state of Michigan would steal if they could and uh they are updating them with the Panorama Playbook so that there's great resources in Panorama beyond the data portion the instructional aspects are fantastic um I actually just used one for a staff connector last week on self-reflection actually so um that that's another cool part of how they're using data and then improving programs there's some awesome picks this is our new steam lab thank you board thank you tax pairs it is open this is an example of refueling Zone with a fifth grade I think a fifth grade and a fourth grade in there it's a great multi-use space we just moved art in there and then our steam aspects will open up um for checkouts this spring this actually in January uh working with Kelsey Perkins um we have our stride and Girls on the Run running programs just bringing back the activities we have Mr Jackson from Royal Oak Township we work with friends of Royal Oak Township to bring an MSU Garden extension program uh Healthy nutrition healthy eating uh so the bottom left is Mr Jackson one of our Partnerships I wanted to show and then our imagine tree small but this beautiful tree on the bottom right um Jen bodan is one of our language arts teaching assistants also an artist in Ferndale and Ferndale parent and she made a tree based on the book that we read to open the year and all those things at the top are all the students individual imagined jars so when you come by Fuel check it out because it's really like tear inducing it's awesome and beautiful she's a beautiful artist all right so the the student group we'd like to um briefly highlight I'm going to call up Miss Reed and our students here um we were very lucky to have Grant through the Ferndale youth assistance this year K5 um we ended up running like eight or nine different programs balanced Minds executive functioning one a board games and books Club walking and Tutoring Club lots of really cool things so we're going to highlight the photography and Poetry Club so I'm have Miss Reed come up to explain the club and the uh all my students come on up time to come up to the middle you're gonna face these and um it was amazing because we are teers by I'm a writer and so then I get to like show off these um and so these are four our friends that came and [Laughter] tell them tell them your name too and then if you're going to share your poem or photography or both soor a [Music] [Laughter] loud and loud voice my friend PR good job goad topography come put it right my my my name is my name is Charlie and my my room is so clean that you can see yourself on the floor my room is so cold it's like a freezer my room it's a bed of roses my room is a FL and this is a Hy hyperb [Laughter] my name is is Talia and this is my poem of for Seasons these are the seasons winter spring summer and fall Four Seasons for love Four Seasons one love winter spring summer and fall Four Seasons for love that was a high c I I I enjoyed it I was thrilled I was so sad when it was over I I look forward to it I am so grateful the everyone I couldn't have done it without everyone's support and obviously you see is [Music] well this is the work of the students this was their own photography and self-portraits and all sorts of things very very it's be photography The Poetry was lovely as an English major it warms my heart that you're writing poems the photography is also remarkable congratulations you could all be professional photographers [Applause] awesome around don't forget it good J I know don't forget this one too when you go yeah uh item three uh plar real Point presentation I hope he brought like some cute kids was I can't follow lot of pressure I know thank you so much so just to te this up good evening um last uh two weeks ago at the committee of the whole presentation I had an opportunity um to speak uh regarding the meeting that superintendent wri and myself help with Nicole blacker of plant Mar in real point about a potential opportunity to partner um and this board meeting Miss blacker is here Mrs blacker is here on site um to be able to answer some of the questions that arose from the board meeting thank to arose from the committee of the whole meeting um so I did have a a chance to um be brief with her um so this is definitely a conversational presentation um but she has directly responded to the questions and commentary that was presented at the committee of the and with that I'll turn it over to miss black good evening good evening okay so is this like going somewhere else and not okay okay I'm sorry I just um good evening I just want to project that's what um so anyway um my name is Nicole blocker I am with plant Moran Realo plant Moran Realo we are the number one owners in the state of Michigan um I believe at the previous presentation you learned about our firm uh we are overseeing over5 billion dollar right now in capital projects for um K12 districts in the state of Michigan um I am a principal with plant morand real Point I've been there for six years my specialty is K12 that's my passion that's my purpose for being on this Earth I believe is just to uh help students uh get the right capital buildings and help districts align their curriculum their strategic Vision goals to their buildings how do we make our buildings work to achieve our educational goals so that is what we do overall for um plant Mar real Point um there were four questions that were given to me that uh the board wanted a response to again like superintendent hibler said uh this is a conversation so I'm going to answer the questions that were presented to me if there's any followup you need please feel free to ask so the first question was um what has been the success rate of plant Mar real Point helping districts get their bonds passed so our success rate is 97% over the last 10 years uh We've helped um 50 districts with Bond campaigns um 48 of those bonds have passed successfully only two did not pass the reason why the two didn't pass was one uh the board uh had some uh teachers union issues so the teachers had a strong no vote for one of them the other one was um a couple of the board members um did not uh want the bond to pass so there was a huge like no issue there I don't for see that happening here I think everyone is on board here but we're proud of our passage rate of 97% I know the current Bond here is being planned by gmbb and Clark they have assisted the district with your PQ application uh we have worked with gmbb and Clark on hundreds of millions of project Bond programs uh we work with GMB and Clark right now in Birmingham School District uh we work with gmbb at Three Rivers Wood Haven and Mason we're currently planning a bond with them right now for Mason schools and we've worked with Clark at uh Warren Consolidated Leonia and I'm currently working with them at Detroit public schools Community District as an owner's rep so we are familiar with your current a CM were there any other questions related to that one any [Music] followup okay next question question number two was given that Ferndale Public Schools is much smaller than most of our other districts that we work with does plant morand have the bandwidth to take on our district uh the the answer is yes uh we have extensive experience uh with varying sizes of projects we don't just look at a district for how many students they have I know Ferndale has about 2200 students we look more so at the capital campaign budget overall so our I would say sweet spot is about 50 million 25 25 to $50 million or more um as as far as the capital campaign budgets um we also look at the complexity of the project what are you doing are you doing new builds are you doing heavy renovation are you doing mostly mechanical because that that um factors into the services that we provide and then also the districts have to have a bandwidth we don't make any decisions or contract you into anything so we need someone to work with from the district that can help us with key decisions that are needed from the architectural design uh construction side and also just make approvals and decisions we don't do that we only make recommendations to you uh we're scalable um just to give you some uh examples of some of our uh districts that we work with that aren't so large like dpscd and um Grand Rapids um Lancing uh Westwood that's one of my first projects they have about 1,500 students we just recently helped them pass their 23 million Bond and also they did it we helped them pass their syncing funds so we we're doing about $35 million there refer Union they have about 2,000 students that's another one of my projects that I've helped uh we helped them pass their bond and we're actually planning their new Bond and that was about $60 million um Flint we were just recently engaged with them um they're doing $125 million um new high school middle school campus and they have about 2500 students Mount Clemens has about 900 students we're currently planning their $92 million Bond and then beer uh 600 students uh very small only two buildings um they just received um State enhancement dollars for a $20 million um new Academy High School and feature so we do have a varying um and again I'm helping dpsc with their billion doll program so we go from here to there and we have the staff we have over 130 people on our staff that specialize in owner rep Services any questions followup for that one okay question three can plant Mar share how the construction in industry changed postco yes I put a lot here um we we are currently working again on5 billion doll just in southeast Michigan so we we understand the market we hope um not only our K12 clients but also our corporate clients um we're working on the Huntington uh Place multi-billion dollar project right now Henry Ford's multi-billion dollar project we finish Little Caesar Arena and we do anything that's complex that's happening in southeast Michigan someone from my firm is working on that project so we do understand the market right now and right now postco is labor shortages uh a lot of younger students and that's what a lot of K12 our clients are trying to do now is is introduce the construction trades as a a a Avenue for employment after after school cuz right now young students unfortunately are not excited about working outside and doing manual labor and working so we're trying to introduce that and we actually have mentoring programs for that as well um as far as that we have Labor shortages um most of the people who work in the construction industry are up there in their upper 40s 50s um and then you have those are your seasoned people and then you have the younger staff coming in and still need to learn from those season people so there's definitely a a labor shortage right now supply chain disruptions um I know I don't know if any of you have recently done any home renovations but when they tell you it's going to show up sometimes it shows up on time sometimes it doesn't so there are there have been some supply chain disruptions uh increased costs um escalation and the cost escalation due to co it it's skyrocketed almost 30 sometimes 50% depending upon what was purchased it is settling down now however we are monitoring the current uh Administration change with these tariffs unfortunately a lot of our construction materials come from places outside of the United States so we are monitoring that right now we have a whole team right now that is dedicated to seeing what that's going to do to our Market uh adoption of Technology uh one of the the good things was there's a lot more remote collaboration right now postco you don't have to all Drive in your car and come to a meeting anymore you can um collaborate remot remotely we get a lot more done that way uh we do design reviews that way um with people out of state all of that you don't have to fly people in sometimes if you have an out ofate um consultant so that has helped tremendously there is more focus on health and safety now um we see a lot of our clients now wanting to upgrade get AC in the uh in the in the um buildings upgrade their mechanical system for better air flow air air filtration cleaner air get their Windows fixed so they can actually open the windows um and there's just more focus on actual security with um secure vestibules as well um flexible workspaces a lot of teachers now don't want the teachers sitting up front and then rows with those desks that don't move uh a lot of teachers now are adapting because of covid and having to have students learn different ways remotely they're using flexible spaces in their classroom where they have like an area for um more oneon-one learning then you have students who can work on their own so they're moving their desk around so they're wanting more flexible Furniture more of that so they could collaborate with their students and we're also having clients that are actually putting in like coffee cafes and um putting in um areas where students who are trustworthy and can learn on their own do small group exercises outside of the classroom so they're asking us to provide more Open Spaces outside of the classroom outside of the media center so students can collaborate and do group activities there as well um and then sustainability priori ities a lot of districts are looking into sustainability U how do we uh maximize our new equipment so that our um utility bills go down so we're looking more into Energy Efficiency right now as well postco but overall we've adapted to these changes um we've included escalation costs for projected costs for these types of things but uh again post Co it was bad it's leveling off um but uh that's where we are with that any questions regarding that did I answer the question all right good three for three um question number four was uh what kind of opportunities for savings can plant help us realize um Clark I.E Clark construction and gmbb Engineering or other firms um to answer this question I just wanted to briefly go through our process um procurement and contracts um what we what we do is we clearly when we come on in we clearly want to understand the district's vision and their goals what do you want to do what is your capacity what is what is what is your what are your priorities once we understand that we help you develop a plan for what you want want to do and then we help you communicate that plan to the professionals so they understand the goals they understand what the what is the end result you're looking for what is that timeline what is your budget what are what are all of the parameters that they need to work within we make sure that's clearly communicated during the procurement and Contracting process um once we do that uh typically because we know the market and we work with a lot of um districts we know how much they charge other districts so the same architect CM you have here we know what they charged on one down the street for instance at dpsc uh when we first started there at Detroit um they were getting a uh Detroit Factor put onto their bids and literally the same roof that I bid in Birmingham and Bloomfield like within two weeks before Detroit their roofing prices per square foot were like $10 to1 122 a square foot same kind of roof same thing same exact work when I got the bids in for uh the projects in Detroit they were at like $1 19920 a SC so I was like uh I just got your bid here why are you doing this here so we able to save them millions of dollars on our roofing project so you when you hire us you get that expertise you get that person the room that's your trusted advisor who is just there for you I don't I don't get anything more or less if if if um things aren't communicated because that is our job so um that's the first thing we do then we optimize the relationship with the construction manager and architect we get them in early we help them understand the scope we manage the scope we manag the budget we managed the uh value engineering and then we also um track your budget so if we see any budget overruns if we see the change orders coming in we're going to communicate with you very early on so that we can develop a plan so you won't be going through it thinking oh we're good with scope scheduled budget you'll get monthly updates from us on how you're doing how are things going what what's what do we need um what's lacking or or what's going well what can we be doing better and all of that so that's what we do as far as the budget management and cost control and then schedule with construction time is money so um we tell them we need it done by this date period that is it can't go past it this is the money you have can't go over it we have to work with what we have um one example I have is uh recently Southfield schools they um were in a similar situation where we weren't involved with the bond planning process uh we were hired after the bond passed um once the bond uh passed we were brought on as the owner rep um there were some some questions from the board like are they an extra layer why are they costing so much why do we need them we already have an architect we already have a construction manager what are they going to do to to help us well the first thing was um in the bond application they said that the architect and CM put it together they said that it would take 10 years to do the $345 million Bond campaign when we came in we were like oh no we don't need 10 years we can do this in eight let's work this out so again time is money with us uh working with the architect and CM to come up with the scope budget schedule and with the district we able to save Southfield $20 million on their bond campaign and they were able to use that $20 million to help them in other areas for um technology so again um what we do is we work for you and um looking at your current um Bond uh preq app I do see opportunities there that I won't get into to tonight but I do see opportunities for Savings in that in that Bond program so that is question number four any questions follow up for that one oh four for four so that is that is uh answering your questions the rest of the slides are are what you presented on the December 2nd anything else thank you all right C oh and I just want to say I just love what I just because everyone think school is about math all that but it's other stuff too that gives the kids that want to come in and just complete a photography the poems it just warm my heart thank you brings us to item for Eagle Excellence presentation U good evening again um so this is an opportunity to celebrate ferndale's best and brightest um our staff I do want to highlight that these are all nominations that have come from other from their peers colleagues Etc um it has been shared in the eblast but because we are all about celebrations I'm going to share again here in this space um so the there are a number of you in the audience so far and I'm going to call up first Miss taiwania Robinson and Miss Tracy GX it's a group so we want to take a moment to recognize and celebrate the incredible dedication of our fale School staff in their pursuit of professional growth and excellence and a special thank you goes to Taiwan Robinson and Tracy X for their exceptional leadership in developing a full day professional development for our K5 staff these efforts are Testament to the commitment of our Educators to provide the highest quality education for our students during this valuable training staff engaged in Hands-On learning focused on implementing our new reading resource fish CH this Innovative tool is designed to enhance literacy instruction enabling Educators to deliver engaging and effective reading lessons teachers also collaborated to create lesson plans that put their training into practice ensuring they could immediately apply these strategies to support Student Success professional development days like this Empower our teachers to stay at the Forefront of educational best practices which directly benefits every every student in our schools thank you to all who participated and made this day impactful and thank you Miss Robinson and Miss we have small gifts for you in just a second the next Eagle Excellence is Miss Mars this is a a bit lengthy but it is very very very special I'm going to read every word so what sets Miss morot apart is her unw unwavering dedication to continuous Improvement and collaboration she opened her classroom to colleagues for observation an act that demonstrates her confidence in her methods and her willingness to share best practices this openness is a to her belief that great teaching is not just about individual achievement but about building a community of Educators who learn from one another she embodies the spirit of a lifelong learning learner constantly striving to improve her craft in the classroom Miss morfoot ensures that everything she does is driven by the needs of her students whether through differentiated instruction personalized support or fostering a welcoming and inclusive environment she is always looking for the best ways to engage and challenge each learner her students not only succeed academically but also Thrive socially and emotionally because of the care she takes to create a supportive Dynamic atmosphere where they feel valued and empowered as a natural leader Miss morfoot brings energy and enthusiasm to every situation she is the type of educator who inspires others to arrive to their potential offering encouragement and support to both her students and her fellow staff members her outgoing personality and infectious positivity create a classroom and a school environment that are life warm and fun it is clear that her leadership extends far beyond the walls of her classroom as she is a role model for her parents offering guidance and fostering a culture of collaboration and mutual respect Miss Mora is a teacher who exemplifies excellence in every sense her dedication to her students her openness to collaboration her natural leadership and her ability to create a fun and positive learning environment make her truly outstanding educator it is a privilege to witness her impact both in and out of the class thank you next we have Mr Nathan Mr Baker is doing great things with our computer science courses at U chess this year he added a robotics class to our course offerings and the students are learning a variety of different class platforms the students are thoughtfully engaged in collaborating to do amazing work he is also exploring ways to bring cyber security to UHS modernizing our computer science curriculum and working with the Ferndale Public School computer science team on opportunities to pursue as a district thank this year there were more see you don't mind perect back a little second us to item five public comment this is the time for public participa participation in the meeting the Board of Education intends for the public to have many opportunities to address the board and administration of their school district these include email phone calls face-to-face meetings Community Gatherings public hearings and other public meetings we welcome individual and group input into the important issues that confront our schools as noted at the top of the agenda this is a meeting of the school board open to the public public want to provide fair and impartial guidelines for participation as required by the open meetings act and to encourage transparency and equal treatment for everyone in attendance we also recognize that an effective meeting facilitates better decisions and promotes openness by allowing more people to stay for the full length of the meeting to meet these goals please note the following we ask that you identify yourself and list contact information on a comment sheet to help administrators follow up with you on your comment if you do not wish to do so in writing please identify yourself at the podium if you need a response please provide contact information with an administrator I will call on people who have completed a comment sheet first each person will have an opportunity to address the board for up to three minutes comments or questions should be directed to the board president vice president pulmer will raise our hand when your time is within a few seconds of expiring this period of public comments is both for non-agenda items and issues that are on the agenda public comments will end at the close of this part of the agenda in the event that the number of people wishing to comment requires longer than 30 minutes public comment will be temporarily postponed after 30 minutes and time will be added to the end of the meeting for those who didn't get a chance to speak complaints about staff should be made outside of board meetings and should follow applicable board policy please contact the superintendent's office if you have any questions regarding this item the board cannot respond to complaints about employees and public this is meant to promote fairness to the staff person and the complainant Public Schools Community acts with great civility towards one another please help us maintain that position during public comment public comment anyone do a comment sheet all right all right so there's a comment sheet so you can go first with the comment sheet and who else is here for public comment all right so after let's just go then you and then you hi thank you can I go yes go ahead sorry uh hi I'm Jessica pero um I have a fifth grader at um upper um and I'm here tonight as a representative of the PTA advoc advocacy committee um following up on the November 14th meeting that the team had with Juan Rickman who is the school climate and culture admin um I wasn't in attendance at that meeting it was uh midday I wasn't able to make it but three of our members were there I I believe superintendent hippler was there and maybe Mrs Wright is well yes thank you um so for some context um we thought overall that it was a very positive discussion um we were really happy to kind of bridge the gap um with uh Mr Rickman we had never met him before um formally and uh there was a really positive discussion on many of the initiatives that the advocacy committee is is trying to focus on um with the community um but specifically today I wanted to follow up on uh the code of conduct discussion um from what we understand the code of conduct uh document is currently under legal review and there's no copy available for the public yet um what we'd like to ask is that the board uh of Education communicate uh with the school Community parents and students about the process of uh putting together the code of conduct and the impact of this ruling ru document on students um we understand that it's going to be a very large document um that will govern how kids will be treated and um we want to ensure that families will be able to understand the language in the document um we'd like to understand better how the code of conduct will be made accessible to all families and understand how it will actually impact specifically students with IEPs um would like to also understand how if you um as a board are discussing ideas about making it more digestible for the community um as the advocacy committee would like to see the document broken up into smaller parts um so that it can be more digestible um perhaps offering uh a parent sign off uh of the doing in in those smaller parts as well um we also have been discussing as a team the idea of instructional videos for the different levels uh from lower to to high school um we thought that might be um something something that would be uh easier for the students as well as the parents to to view and reference from time to time um Jessica 30 seconds okay thanks um that's really uh the gist of it um ultimately we just really wanted to um have this more open discussion and um bring the process to the broader Community for better understanding going forward that's it thank you thank you hello good evening my name is Gavin sailor I am a parent of a first grader at Ferndale lower and I'm here to talk about technology use at Ferndale lower screens iPads TVs when my son was in kindergarten a different school when he would come home from school we ask him about his day he'd talk about the Jupiter's red spot or the rainforce creatures now at for lower since he''s been a first grader for four months when he we talk at dinner he talks about the animations on the math app which level of Lexia he's on um the you know the gym screen basically his most stimulating parts of the day are on screens to him that's what comes out that's all I hear about and I'm also a family medicine doctor local doctor so as a professional I talked to families and patients about how to keep their kids safe and healthy we talk about food exercise and we talk about technology quite a bit because it's a big part of our current landscape to keep Kids Safe um parents have a hard time keeping kids away from screen time at home it's a huge Challenge and it's essentially it's too stimulating it's it's too good it's it makes real life can't compete with the screens um which can be a great tool for some things but it's it seems like in our community as principal Jeffrey said about uh Fern upper they had mentioned they were talking about the anxious generation this big book that's made a big splash I'm sure you've all heard about it but if not pleas everyone should check it out because we know that the devices for older kids are certainly it's coming out that they are harmful they're addictive there's serious depression anxiety I mean it's clear in the data that this is a real feature so my question is what about the elementary school you know when when are we going to um see the evidence coming out there or can we get ahead of it is it already there uh because there's so much screen at F to lower like I was just there today doing some volunteer thing the gym has a gigantic screen like you go to gym you're going to run there's a humongous screen and it's even like a video game it's actually interactive you can throw a ball and hit number four and it's called the L device that's a gym and every screen has a big TV every classroom has a big TV every child has an iPad the Brain Breaks you know you're taking a break but it's a huge screen that you're watching a YouTube video people doing silly dances hopefully you do a dance or you're finding there there's a Mario Super for Mario Bros find the Mario characters for the brain break you know I don't know if that's the kind of break that I would want to have um Emil talks about books on TV like they have someone reading a book on the TV reading the book you know it's a lot of screens and we know that's linked to attention problems 30 seconds attention problems behavior problems academic performance can lack with is linked to excess screen time so I we know they're addictive and they can be problematic so my question is you know we have policies on recess we have policies on what is in the food for lunch but what about the policy for technology use and how to implement it how much what kinds is there some guidance we can get for our school thank you hi my name is Jamie Solomon and I have twin second graders at flower this is our second year in the district professionally I've dedicated myself to the early childhood education field working in the field for over 17 years I'm coming to the board today with a very timely and what I believe to be a very serious concern for our children's education and well-being and that concern is the use of media and technology in our schools um while we all can agree that there are great benefits to to the accessibility of resources and information these days we have a responsibility as Educators and as schools to protect children from harm there are both well established harms as well as many unknowns about our current day Tech and media use brain research shows that children learn best through Hands-On Active Learning experiences a great deal of media in contrast gets consumed as passive entertainment that requires very little cognitive effort on the part of the consumer even media proclaiming to be educational seeks to keep children's attention with speed sound effects and energetic characters Ed Tech components that are sold as part of of curriculum while some are great value added resources many do not align with what we know about Child Development brain research or best practices instead some of the programs have similar features to online gambling with dings scorekeeping and rewards that provide that hit of dopamine to users and my children serious uh similarly that's all they talk about at home for the past two years or year and a half in the classrooms media often takes the place of something a teacher would otherwise be doing such as leading a brain break or reading a story and there are real and significant differences between a human being engaging with young children in these activities versus you two even if short in duration 5 minute video here 10 minute math game there I believe that the pervasiveness of the screens and the frequency with which they pop up in the curriculum even in art class and gym is one teaching our children how not to pay attention and two could lead to our children's Reliance on and addiction to screens um a quick peek at the headlines this week from high schools around the country can tell us where this might lead us um in my research of the district's policies on the matters I've found found only policy on cell phone use um and then some policy from 2019 pre pandemic that focuses on users responsibilities well well online at SCH sorry 30 seconds to my knowledge District guidelines outlining outlining the importance of limitations discretion and intentionality in deciding if and when to use media and Tech does not exist to to my knowledge um so social psychologists are sounding the UNESCO has issued an urgent call for regulation in our schools so I look to the board for guidance on how to put some policy in place for our schools thank you thank you item six consent agenda uh item 6.1 request to approve minutes of the special meeting Committee of the whole Monday November 4th 2024 6.2 request to approve minutes of the regular meeting Monday November 18th 2024 item 6.3 request to approve new hires resignations and transfers item 6.4 request to approve bills and accounts November 2024 does anyone wish to remove an item from the consent agenda for questions or discussion later seeing none I'll entertain a motion to approve the consent agenda as presented by Jonathan Jackie El yes bumer yes yes yes Turner yes president yes thank you with six yes votes the motion passes and the consent agenda is approved item seven action items please note that all the note that all action items being voted on tonight were discussed in depth in Committee of the whole meeting held on Monday December 2nd at 6m we invite and encourage community members to attend our committee of the whole meetings which are also open to the public item 7.1 Quest to approve the English 11 curriculum proposal good evening everybody as you probably recall Miss Robinson presented a proposal a couple of weeks ago about updating some Ela 11 novels we would like like to request approval of that proposal but before I ask for that I will give you a quick update that uh for your request we did dig into whether there were alternate modes of of acquiring that text and there are that we can get large print and audio versions of the text you think to add theity oh okay thank you yeah the equity audit was completed as well thank you uh thank you for doing the equity audit as requested I really appreciate the opportunity to read it and review it I'll entertain a motion to approve item 7.1 request to approve English 11 curriculum proposal so moved by Jackie by Sarah any other discussion on the motion thank you just did a little thank you following up on shepher Omar yes har yes L yes Turner yes elter yes president duy yes thank you thank you with six yes votes the motion passes and thank you thank you thank you item 7.1 request to approve the English 11 for which The Proposal is approved item 7.2 request to approve the resolution for preliminary qualification to issue five good evening December 11ed application to Department treasury represent along withm our financial advisors Park construction GM superintend so parti looking for a proposal for spr specifically May 6225 and the resolution presented you preliminary applic as well as our expect I'll entertain a motion to approve item 7.2 request to approve the resolution for preliminary qualification ISS move by Sarah second by Jonathan any discussion on the motion not a more of a question I guess so the resolution is just pretty much boiler plate will it is there an attachment that'll go with it that details the the date of the election and the the money be sought to the bond sure so this is the first step in the process right this resolution in Janu janot Lang got it okay thank you roll Sheer Art yes latach yes Turner yes delter yes yes president I'm going to say yes go ahead I'm going to ask in January we will have hopefully by then appr so that's why okay thank you yes with six yes votes the motion passes in item 7.2 request to approve the resolution Pro preliminary qualification to issue bonds as approved item 7.3 request to approve the sinking fund project burndall High School of track replacement spring 2025 so we're really excited about this project was bid in 2022 and we did not get any responses we bid the package previously as the football field and track to see for the football field so the bid again and this time we receive two complete package responses um in this instance Nal Paving is a successful bter um we're making a recommendation to award the contract dollar amount of 88,9 there's some Fe for architectural services as well as project management the pendency um I need to know that this was presented to you previous and I had to change the number so architectural design at 5% right previously that was so I I modified that that is the architect and then the contingency is a little bit of 9,475 um again we did a post qualifying interview of the bidder they understood the St work there's nothing they would change everything is ined and they've done this DBC for district really confident that this change I'll entertain a motion to approve item 7.3 request to approve the sinking fund project fale high school track replacement House Spring in 2025 so primary second second johathan any discussion on the motion want to say I appreciate the uh level of detail that was presented to us at the committee of the whole meeting and who the representative was but from Wy um so it'll be nice to have a new track I think the other one is what 10 years old almost for those dog workers now the track will mat the me yeah appreciate it and I'm G to say it's always like I appreciate the report and having all the details in the budget and all that and so thank you call Sheer latach yes Turner yes El yes bmer yes yes president do yes thank you with six yes votes the vot passes and item 7.3 the request to approve the sinking fund project foro high school track replacement spring 2025 is approved item eight the superintendence update good evening again um I debated on keeping this for Eagle Excellence but I uh I am going to share it during my update because I think to I think it speaks to our um focus as a district on continuous Improvement continuous development Etc um so I'm holding in my hand a a letter from the Michigan school business officials um where it is explain exping that Aaron cordius our grant accountant has met the requirements for certification under the msbo volunteer certification program um she has earned the business office specialist certification um so again um wanted to share uh very publicly another celebration just acknowledging the um the focus around continuous development and to congratulate Aaron pus one of our own for continuing to focus on development I am also holding a letter from the Michigan multier system of support technical assistance center um that is um writing me a letter that is sharing that Miss taiwania Robinson represented Ferndale schools at the 19th annual Michigan multier system of support state conference um she shared um many many stories of the successes of burndale schools her title for her presentation was refining mtss processes building Upon Our early literacy successes so again um just a testament to we are around the state teaching people about all of the great things that are happening here in ferdale schools um and just want to say thank you very much to taian Robinson the teaching and learning Department um for sharing all of the great things that brings us to item nine Dynamic planning update say good evening again that would be my fifth time saying it um but um Dynamic planning we have been busy um with the dynamic plan um since we have met um for committee of the whole we have had our first strategy development team meeting this is the team team of staff students um parents uh representation from each building this is a team that is going to drive the work of developing the plan we had our first kickoff meeting um and there the biggest piece um thank you to Jackie and Miss mner for being a part of of that team um but I think the Highlight for that meeting was we had a chance to take a look at our um our completion rates for our surveys and it was not at all reflective of our community um we were uh right around 300 responses um for that is reflective of parents staff and students that is not keeping close to being representative of our community once we broke it down even deeper by ZIP code um by the building where um they may have a student or staff uh in attendance and we spent quite a bulk of time trying to decide how we might move forward and I think that collectively as a team we agreed that we could not move forward it was not a representative set um of the stakeholders it felt very uncomfortable to develop a plan with such a small percentage of responses from our community um so from we got lots of feedback and what I was very happy to see was that the team rallied support here's how I might be a if we were to reopen the surveys here's how I could help if we were to and it was just like a a uh it was just idea after idea so it was very exciting to hear some very specific and not just very large Collective ideas but on a person by person student by student parent by parent basis how might we get feedback that we need to be able to truly drive this plan and it be reflective of our um from that discussion um myself and Dr Peterson who was our Dynamic plan facilitator the very next day um we unpacked that discussion further and we made the decision to reopen the stakeholder CS based on not just reopen to reopen but reopen with the strategy so there's a few things that we've done um the first thing is what we notice from the unpacking of the stakeholder um input was that was of the the smallest percentage of participation was from our um black families and students so we made some very intentional invitations to the community um to ensure that we were making a special effort thought it was necessary to do just that as we know that is the majority stakeholder for our district at this time um so we made some very intentional invitations to the community to the family as well as to the students um regarding that that stakeholder input from that Community specifically um we also did some very intentional efforts for staff staff also had there were more parents who responded to the survey then staff so um each of the principles um were able to share how they were to ensure that their staff or give intentional time not just resend the survey but provide intentional time for staff to be able to complete it's a very brief survey it might be I think it was like maybe 10 questions um to give that time first 10 minutes of a staff meeting um just intentional time to be able to complete the survey so that has happened um we also got the support of the students that were well it was one student that was able to attend the the team meeting um but the students then were able to share with their peers directly we thought that if they heard it from another student about how it was important how their voice matters that we would get a better response rate um so the students were actually driving those um pushing that stakeholder from that student body as well um there were other a variety of other ways that we were much more intentional and strategic based off of the information that we had to ensure that we got additional stakeholders what we also decided and this is very important was that we realized that there was a very important group that didn't have did not have the opportunity to give inperson stakeholder input was our staff um so what we decided and this was based on feedback from the um inperson focus groups from the community um there were some specific staff groups that kind of came up pretty regularly in the input that we already had so we were able to gather the High School teachers counselors and Mental Health Specialists special ed Department we were also able to gather the middle school middle school teachers and then restorative practice staff or they Co coaches or facilitators those were again what I was very happy with was that this was strategic it wasn't just oh we need to open this up for staff we heard the responses from the focus groups the these are the groups where we need more information from so that's what we targeted so again um we understand that December is extremely busy and we were very hesitant um to reopen however we thought it was more important to ensure that we had done all that we could to gather as much input as possible so that again our plan is is rooted in the needs of our community and not just what we think will um move the so I'm very pleased and I'm very appreciative of all of the staff families students that have rallied together again during a very very busy time in December in a short time frame um and responded to some of my more direct emails as the verb I'm going to use um and I am very much so looking forward when we meet again with Dr Peterson in January to see how that um the impact of that intentionality and I will be sure to update the board and what those numbers look like but I have no doubt that they have increased so again I'm appreciative to the community for their support for their engagement in this process um I appreciate well I attended the meeting unfortunately I had to leave a little early but I do appreciate because that the going back to um get more feedback because that wasn't concern mind as well that the numbers didn't reflect our community no I'm glad you feel good about the strategy development team and their engagement and just Echo what Jackie said about taking the pause and Gathering more feedback ultimately is only going to lead us in a better Direction so once those surveys close again um over our break um Dr Peterson and her team will be um kind of analyzing the data um and the stakeholder input phase of our Dynamic plan will be ending um and just for the community that is watching and that's here in the audience our next phase uh we will analyze the data in a board retreat it will be myself um Deputy superintendent Wright as well as the board um and we will take a look and analyze that new data as well as begin um the dreaming process which is in in other words our attempt to look at the data and consider what is a u i don't know if I would say a perfect state but where do we want to see this plan at the end of the five years where do we want to be um so that will be the next phase and then again we'll have our second meeting with the strategy develop team development team based off of that but please take a look at our Dynamic plan page on the website and it will take you through each of the phases um where we're headed the camera when when is the um the window um what have you opened it up for right now until ends on Friday five Okay window Clos is fr all right that brings us to item 10 informational items 10.1 budget to actual report good evening evening uh this is the budget to actual report for November 30th 2024 do you have any questions you want to highlight Don um no we're um we're spending a little bit more money than the plan the original budget due to the contract um that the contracts that were negotiated um over the summer the FEA and the the um faes and ASA but other than that um things are just moving along from this P yeah I just wanted to remind the I'm sorry I just want to remind the community um that UAW negotiations um will be launching in 202 just as a reminder U than on all right item 11 consideration of any pulled consent agenda items we had none item 12 our next special board meeting is Tuesday December 17 2024 at 7M item 13 our next annual organization and Committee of the home meeting are Monday January 6th at 20 uh 2025 at 6: p.m. uh it 14 our next regular board meeting is Monday January 27th 2025 at 700 p.m. which brings us to item 15 uh Eagles points of Pride comments and John's gonna go first so the entire board which is as some of you may not know this is our official board meeting three wonderful board members and and the team just want to take the time to say thank you guys for all your service that you've done with your board for me personally I really enjoyed working with you guys um I would just say that I was very nervous going into the board when I first started and working with you guys like each one of you has been an amazing journey on just the decisions that we made so far even though they haven't been a lot I feel like they've been a lot to me I just want to say thank you I will go next um my point of pride is going to be about the three exiting board members um there's a lot I could say about the district but tonight I'm going to focus on the three of them start with Sarah um I truly appreciate the passion that you bring or you brought to the district in your voice as a trustee I know sometimes you always say oh I'm sorry I'm sorry but never apologize for asking the questions that many of us are thinking but you're quick to to ask them and um I hope you continue even if you're not sitting at the table to be as involved and know that I'm just a phone call away okay yeah Mary um I've known you for a while but it's been a pleasure serving with you on the board to learn and to get to know you in a different way um we've been parents in the district we've been volunteers through PTA band boosters Etc but it's been a treasure having you as a colleague as a trustee I've learned a lot from you um in how to analyze and really think about the approach to take the questions to ask and I app and I will most certainly still look to you for some insights uh because I truly appreciate how you evaluate and look at situations from a lens that many times outlines everything more clearly and makes it more um I guess makes it easier for us as a board to really get to the heart of the matter so so thank you for for doing that and and bringing that lens to the table and then and then Jen um I can't believe we've served together for nine years um I truly appreciate you for starting with the group of bringing the equity and the inclusion to the district because diversity was always there and has been there for a while the missing parts were the EI and B so thank you for being my partner and my colleague and pushing the needle to get us to where we are now um you've been an asset as like I said a colleague but truly even a stronger asset for the district you're going to be missed and um I know you'll still be around so I'll definitely call on you at times just to get your insights but thank you go next because I know I'll start crying if I don't with others um I'm G to start by um shouting out to the giggle pickles who have done amazing for friendo Middle School robotics I know those kids have worked super hard um and I'll say if anybody's interested in helping to donate or do anything else to help make sure that they can make it down to the world championship in Houston they are doing a ton of fundraising so if you know anybody or there's any sponsors out there um the next one is this weekend I was able to go to um the band concert which I'd never been to band in the gym before and that was absolutely amazing to see it was very different from what I've seen with like Orchestra concerts so that was a lot of fun to see again how much the kids improve from one time to another um and then was able to go to probably what is one of my favorite events to attend um which was the dance so the Middle School through high school and Casa and then the Elementary uh dance program and it is just if you've never been it is a blast and a ton of fun and just the kids have fun and it it's just a really good time it's not long like but it's a really good a time you've ever go whether you go for the one in the winter or the one in like the spring summer it's it's a blast um and then I wanted to I swear I don't cry a lot um I have um I didn't think I was going to I've had a like I've really enjoyed um the four years being with the board um I I have enjoyed working with the district before I got onto the board and when I got the call from neon of like hey we know it's co but would you want to do this um wasn't exactly sure if like that was the time but I'm happy I did at that time for it um I have enjoyed all the time that I've been with people I've enjoyed being able to work with all of you um John it has been great having you as a mentor and so I could always call when I had questions I appreciate it I appreciate everybody who has listened to all of my questions my sorry it's my everything um I'm going to miss it a lot I will probably still be here as Robert said I will just be coming and annoying you with a different hat on um but I have very much appreciated all of you um through the time so thank you all for making you enjoyable I will miss you all but I will be back so thank you and sorry for crying so much I swear I all the time do you want to go it's hard for an Irish woman to follow a woman in cries so I I uh started out just by writing a page of things that have gone on in the district in the last month so I just want to shout out parents staff administrators students it's like just been this flurry people are tired they're also the kids are trying to get ready for exams at the secondary level people are trying to get ready for for holidays but Athletics in full swing basketball swimming winter track Winter Guard music it's like every other day there's been a concert or something at the high school all of that involves parent volunteers we had a um we had a group of students participate in the msboa honors Orchestra at Rochester High School on Saturday I think there were five high schoolers six Middle School schoolers was very cool that they did high school and middle school together they got to work with some really cool um uh Orchestra teachers uh speaking of Orchestra because I always have to shout it out tonight there's a couple of orc support parents who are at a meeting of the Ferndale Community Foundation because orc support got a grant from Ferndale Community Foundation to do more to bring more like specialized instructors to work with the students so super grateful to the Ferndale Community Foundation for that donation um just had a huge turnout of kids audition to be in the spring musical there was a lot of energy and excitement around it they had to add special audition times um really fun to see that um energy and enthusiasm it feels like I always hesitate to say this feels a little prec like maybe we're you know actually coming back um so just sincerely sincerely grateful to everyone who's involved in in all of that which all is in addition to the instructional significant learning happening every day and then I wanna I want to shout out the parents of seniors who uh got the Fafa in if you got it in if you got it in without calling for extra help uh my hats off to you um some of us hit some technical issues but shout out to the seniors for getting those Comon apps in and doing what they need to do and shout out to the team I think it's Isabelle Kinowski who I feel like I'm hearing from on a daily basis I'm waiting for her like my daughter to ask what's for dinner uh as she is prompting the senior parents um it's super important I some of you you don't know this that I am finishing up a term that an Ibrahim started and then had to resign from and I just want to thank Ann for her service um it's really been a pleasure to be on this board for the last 28 months it's a little it's a little amazing not that I was counting but I didn't count it today I knew there was a way I could get a higher number than Jen hat hats off Jen to you but actually the reason it struck me is because in the in the next 28 months both of my kids will graduate and that is that took me back and I won't bore you with this whole journey but it took me back to volunteering in in Mike Thomas's kindergarten classroom 13 years ago when Kieran was in kindergarten that was my introduction to volunteering in the district and I've been in every uh one one of the buildings that they've been in and and tried to uh contribute where I could I I talk about it as some of the most important non-paid work I've done and it's someone who's spent her career in the nonprofit sector I've done a lot of non-paid work um and so I I think the thing that made me say yes to the opportunity to apply to be appointed to this board was um first and foremost the desire to support the district in creating opportunities for all of our kids to thrive um but secondly just incredible respect for the professional Educators and staff and community that make up this district and um make it the incredible place that it is um I will be forever grateful for all of the people um many of whom got celebrated tonight or were examples of all the amazing stuff that happens in this community we don't know what the next four years are going to look like for public education um I think we have to go in with our eyes open in my world there's there's similar concern about what the next four years are going to look like as we you know work to create opportunities for people uh who don't have an equitable playing field and what we have committed to is to stick together uh and I think that's what this community has going for it that's our strength uh we have incredibly gifted and talented people we have an amazingly supportive Community this community somehow is going to help the giggle pickles get to Houston I've seen this community step up uh time and time again and uh we are stronger than whatever we're going to face um and I want to thank my fellow board folks who will serve through that and the new people who will serve we're not going anywhere I'm not going anywhere I'm I'm happy to be a phone call away as you continue this important work um because I I there is nothing more important that we do than provide opportunities for our kids to create a better world we we've mucked things up a little bit for them recently um and so let's Empower them with what what they need to do better than we have done you're it I'm it all right um a lot of things I wrote down everything that's happened in the last 11 years um I'm just kidding I I just want to say a couple short things um and kind of talk about you guys and Mary I want to thank you so much for saying yes um when I asked you to come over and set on my porch I just had a very important question that wouldn't take up too much of your time so thank you I appreciate all your Insight and your consideration and all the way you you thought about things and the different issues that we've had presented for the last 28 months and I've really learned a lot from listening to what you have to say and how you say it so I appreciate that um Jonathan you asked some of the most thoughtful questions and I think you have been by far one of the most impressive board members by always thinking about students first you always put them first and I I appreciate that so much and it's and it's been something to behold to see how you always bring it back to the to the students um it's it's been wonderful and I really enjoyed working with you and getting to know you and I can't wait to see what your future is I think it's going to be amazing so thank you for sharing the time with me here on the board um Sarah you came in at such a crazy time and it has been such a ride for you I know just a few phone calls and chats youve had but like Jackie said your questions are great um I love the fact that you are not shy about asking the questions because everyone wants to know the answers and you're always the first one to ask those questions so we've all learned a whole lot more in the four years that you've been on the board by ask by you asking your questions um and really focusing on Littles and focusing on the teachers and making sure everyone is okay um so I thank you for sharing your four years with us I know it's been a wild ride in that four years um and we actually didn't even none of us I don't think had met you in person it was on the screen when we first started so how hard to come in and really get to know people on that way and you you did an amazing job so thank you I really appreciate getting to know you Jackie oh my goodness have we been stuff together yes um I you know you're you've always been so calm and dependable and you've when I was President you helped me through so much um trying to get through some of the difficult times and I I depended on you so much during that time even when we didn't agree on stuff we could always talk through things and I will always appreciate that it's been fantastic working with you the last nine years I wouldn't have wanted to do it with anybody else um it's we've seen a lot of changes I think for the better there's a lot of little way to go um but you've been a such a strong Advocate and such a a wonderful board member and it's been a privilege to serve with you and our fearless leader it's no easy task being a board member and it's really no easy task being the president of the board and you are a superb board president um you've loved this District in some really tough times I know how hard that is and you've done it with calm and with Grace and compassion and you always put the kids first and put the staff first and made sure that everyone is taken care of and safe and learning and that no one's being left behind so I can't thank you enough for as for all the parents and all the students in this District you've done an amazing job and thank you for being such a great board member and such a great friend and such a wonderful person for Ferndale and ferndale's kids um like I said we've seen so many things happen in this District um and I know that the next iteration of the board is going to take this and run with it we have a strong fund balance that wasn't always the case we have Equitable schools that all the kids are getting what they need and we're getting them more and more and more and no kids are getting left behind um with a new Elementary building which is beautiful this new Bond that's coming out next year which I would be happy to put little things on everyone's door knob and knock and all that good stuff um and just the daily things that we see our students and our teachers do hearing the poetry and seeing the photography and knowing that you know Katie's managed to lead her team into having the second highest growth rate for third grade reading um she's a rock star we' always know she's a rockar and she'll continue to be a rockstar I know for this district and there are so many rock stars in this district and I know that this team is going to support them moving forward um it's been extremely heartwarming to to be able to serve the district this long my kids were in third grade when I started and they've graduated so it's time to turn the path over for new folks and I'm really excited to see where the district is and where it's going to go and I just want to thank everyone here for that opportunity thank always said patient as are there last year and so over the course of the Year felt sa right to grow to make mistakes um you will be sling missed and U how is that possible one year but you've been extremely impactful extremely encouraging especially for women will be missed and I said to it feels weird it will be weird not seeing you at the or hearing your voice or connecting online it will a little voice so I really hope that me it that you'll come your questions have been thoughtful they've been necessary in my mind um because none of us this work is not easy it's difficult and the hard questions are welcome because it makes all of us better for our job is to make things better for children that's it that's not hard um and so when you hold us accountable it's thank you for your leadership thank you for your guidance thank you I apologize I'm not crying I'm just my eyeballs are sweating a little bit I don't know what's going on um I'm going to start with um I'm I'm going to start with um some uh District of one thing that wasn't mentioned was um on Friday at lower was the second second grade um imaginary field trip and I don't know if you guys heard but we went to Egypt this year and it was spectacular okay it was wonderful as it always is I had a lovely time um and I just want to shout out uh lower um it there it's a lot of prep work to get ready for that one day um but the experience is wonderful quick story so you know I'm full-fledged in the uh you know imaginary trip we're we're in Egypt you know so I go and I'm talking to a small group of students and I say man it's uh I asked them like so so how was the flight and they said really short and I'm like oh well I was like yeah really short like 13 hours I'm trying to get them back into the imaginary and they're like we're like 13 seconds guess we're not guess we're not there but okay it was fun it was a lot of fun so it was um it was great um also had a great time at the All City band event I mean just being able to like you literally can hear the pro the progression of the program um from elementary all the way to high school it's just a beautiful event and I was as always happy to be there um and as far as our departing trustees um I wasn't expecting to cry like I'm not a crier um but um I will just say that this is this is the team this is the um group that hir me you s gonna miss you guys not g to go individual because it's a lot but um I'm just appreciative um of you seeing me I did not plan to be in this seat let me be very clear um but you saw me um and you believed in me in my abilities and in in turn believed in this team great book and um I want you to know that um we will continue this work as you have planned it won't stop um we are committed to this work um I'm grateful this was I didn't know how um having seven bosses was going to be but you guys um have made it great um you made it great um thank you for um holding me accountable um it makes us better for our students and that's at the end of the day what this is all about um so thank you for your time service this is not a goodbye it's just I'll see you soon you know just see you differently Jen has already volunteered to knock on doors we will need that support so I'll be looking forward to seeing you there but no just um sincerest appreciation to each you will be missed um I am grateful and I hope that you will answer the call than but thank you all right so I'm going to rewind I was here the commit of the whole I am not the crier of the board sorry so if I go there there's a problem let's go there I want to rewind and I actually got the opportunity to present uh in November at the National Association of black school Educators we presented on school board uh superintendent relationships and um with with uh being black women in the seat in all that that is wrapped up to be um and we had a room that that sat 100 and it was at least three4 full um and it it was in Atlanta and it's a national conference at both of our first yes um and it was it presenting with Camille is easy so let's just go there but it's good to like it was good to get out and like tell ferndell story particularly our story as coming together as a governance team um it was well received but in the audience like you don't realize how many when you go to those things like who's there we had a big Michigan faction there um and I just want to say that Camille did an awesome job like so um I I thank you for signing this up it was fun looking forward to doing it again um um in April so if anyone's bored wants to go to the Schoolboard conference so we're going to be there all right so I have to do this all right and we're not crying right everyone's agree not cry sweating none of that we're not leaking from the eyes all right so Sarah um yeah I'm going to miss you being at the table um sitting in this seat during covid was a fun ride let's just say okay it's not it was fun but you were the one that I could get like the real from like I mean Jen and Jackie would give me like this is how you sit in the seat but you were like was that person nuts like are you okay and I appreciate that cuz I can't say that right I can think it but sometimes I'm like maybe it's just me and you were really good with like you all right like that that was wrong like people are like crazy um I'm going to miss that hopefully someone incoming is going to have that but I need that um so I know that I don't have to worry about you showing up in a different um form because I know you will be there so I'm hoping that you still do some of that have my number you know how to reach me um Mary I don't know how to say it other than how Jackie said it um I learned from you like when you say something it's like I didn't see it that way or I didn't think about it that way or that makes total sense um and I appreciate that I also um have had the privilege of having BPS that have been presidents before so sometimes it looks like I'm in the seat but they're actually in the seat um and having you was a VP was different um I had no worry like I know Mar's going to run that and I'm not going to get no questions no one's going to follow up it's just going to run smoothly and I missed a couple meetings and when I say missed it I mean missed it like no one called and was like Hey it just happened um not to say that it always happened that way with my other VPS sometimes I did hear from board members but every time you have taken over from me I've never heard from no one so um I off and I also know you're not going anywhere for the next two years and I know where to find you so I ought to know that speech that Jen gave you I didn't get it from Jen though I got it from Jackie same speech no big deal come send it out fun ride yeah so I'm glad you said yes did you know we're having interviews tomorrow if you back just saying the opportunity is still out there Jen I'm not gonna say nothing because remember we're not crying uh it's been a ride I gained a friend um yeah um I appreciate you for all that you led and like open the doors and all that good jazz um yeah sitting in the seat alongside you has I could not have sat in the seat without you sitting here first followed by Jackie here I got to watch two of you do it and it helped right like cuz I know what I wanted for what I want in CRA Ferndale just because of who I am but watching you two run this table um you also have a level head so not that Jackie doesn't have a level head but typically when I'm heated de's also heated she just she doesn't wear it on her face and I when those things happen it's like hey Jen and you're like breathe and in the long run what does that really mean and this is here's my if I were in your seat like oh that makes sense so I appreciate that so although it looks like I'm very calm cool and collected up here behind the scenes right before I blow up I'm calling one of you so I probably will still call you because with Jackie here we we could go in hot and not that I mean you know with him he he comes in hot sometimes too so we may still be calling you all to like temper that like without divulging board Secrets just like I'm hot and yeah so thank you all for your service um I will give you all of pre for like one meeting what was that called one meeting so that's like January say Wednesday so this is their last regular board meeting they will be back tomorrow um to help us Fill A Seat um thank you so while these things are happening um item 16 we need a request to go into close session to to discuss the superintendent's midyear evaluation with the board Ward and superintendent hler go move move by Jackie I'll second second about Jonathan we'll take uh five minutes or less um oh roll call is shepher Turner yes El yes bumer yes yes lash yes president doie yes thank you thank you with six yes votes uh request to in the close session to discuss superintendent hibler's midy evaluation with the board and the superintendent is approved take a 5 minute