[Music]
[Music] [Music] Good evening and welcome to the business meeting for Gley Evans School District 6 Board of Education on this Monday,
September 22nd, 2025. This meeting will now come to order. Please join me for the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Miss Lemon, will you please call the role? Director Ozari, present. Director Bentley, present. Director Campos Spitzy. Director Mash, present. Director Matthews,
present. Director Norwood, Ford members, present. Thank you very much. Well, a couple of weeks ago, we declared this week to be UNCC week. And so, happy UNCC week leading up to their um homecoming game this weekend. Please attend and
celebrate the amazing um higher education we have here in Gley. Um I also wanted to introduce this evening our student our council of student representatives um president Sarah Venegas and Representative Abby Tobar. Thanks for being with us. We always
appreciate your voice in the room. Um so it was a festive couple of weeks um as all of our high schools celebrated their homecomings I believe. Um, and the board appreciates the yearly invitation to participate in the Gley Central Homecoming Parade. Um, it was great fun
to see two middle school bands, Chapel and Heath, marching with the high schools and to have three elementary schools get to cheer along the parade route. Um, a huge thank you to all the staff who helped to organize the parade and the festivities at each school and to chaperone the dances so that our
students can have a fun and safe time. Um, we apologize for the delay in this meeting. Earlier this afternoon, we convened an executive session in order to have the opportunity to share with Dr. Pilch our appreciation of her continued innovative, collaborative, and solutionoriented leadership and to
provide our recommended topics of focus for the coming year. I would like to share our deepest sympathy to the community of Evergreen High School and to Jeffco School District after the shooting that took place on September 10th. There are no
words that can describe the loss, the sorrow, and the disruption this type of tragedy causes. Instances like this allow time for us to continue to examine our own safety and security, and to thank our chief of safety and security, Wade Corass, and his team. They are
innovative and proactive, securing additional funding for our command center and for other equipment. They are relational and they train our school resource officers and techniques to deescalate and to build relationships with students, staff, and the community.
We want to thank our voters for providing the bond and mil levy override dollars which allowed the construction of secure vestibules at every building, updated locks and additional cameras to improve security. I want to thank our social workers and counselors who work
tirelessly to support our students and to improve mental health. All of these pieces, staff, technology, and secure buildings, help to keep our community safe. But perhaps even more importantly is our focus on student engagement. One of our stated values and beliefs is that
we build positive relationships with students, families, and communities. Students who feel seen, safe, heard, and valued, those students help to build a safe environment. So my encouragement to every student, staff, and community member is to go the extra mile to reach
out, to smile, to encourage, and connect. We are all in this life together, and kindness can help to keep us safe. With that, we will move on um to our superintendent's honor role this evening.
Thank you, President Mash, and good evening, board of education. Um, I am so honored this evening to yet again honor the Northridge High School Marine Corps Junior ROC program. Uh, I am honoring them tonight in my superintendent's
honor role for being named a naval honor school here um in in Girley, Colorado. Northridge is just one of five schools in the region 2 for Marine Corps Junior ROC programs who have been named the Naval Honors School who have been named
a Naval Honors School by the Commanding General of the Marine Corps Training and Education Command for their and this is for their outstanding performance this past school year. They competed against 244 schools nationwide and we are the
only school in Colorado to be selected and it is the 11th year that they have earned this prestigious honor. So I'm I'm so proud of Major Kinsley and uh his team and his cadet cadets out there at Northridge. Um they're also uh reaching down to eighth grade and doing some
mentoring and and coaching with eth graders and and bringing them up um to begin to explore the program a little bit. I'll let him talk a little bit more about that. Um, Major Kinsley, I'd like to invite you um and your cadetses if if if you'd like to come and tell us a little bit more about this honor and
about the program and about the work you're doing with our eighth graders. Thank you very much. Appreciate that. Board members, I appreciate you having us tonight once again. Although this time we're not talking about the shooting team. Uh we pretty much lost our whole shooting team except for one. Uh but that's okay. We got a lot of freshmen in there starting to build it
back up again. Um so what Dr. Pilt is talking about is for the National Honors Program. It's a little bit with instructors. They inspect us, make sure we're doing the stuff that we're supposed to do, but 99% of it is these young cadets. And today I have Michelle Logos. She's our battalion
commander. She's in charge of the the whole program from the cadet side. And we have our battalion executive officer, Robert Schultz. Um, and it's amazing. We have meetings like this, but with their their staff meetings, they run it completely. Uh, and you'd be pretty impressed with how it's run and and how
smooth it is. Um, she looks pretty innocent, but I'll tell you what, she she holds the feet their feet to the fire. Um, keeps them on point, holds the standards, um, with the whole intent that their character continues to be built along the way. So, um, and I won't
go into everything. If you guys have questions about what goes into an honors program, um, there's there's quite a bit there. Uh, one of the big things that I'd like to mention the most is that you understand that a program is working well when when the kids hold one another
accountable and not just in our class but throughout the school. So when they're in other classrooms and they see, you know, maybe one of our cadets putting their heads down or something, they're like, "Hey, that's not the right thing." And that's when you know it's a fine oil machine and it starts here with the leadership that we have here
tonight. Um, another initiative that I like or one initiative I'd like to talk about is you mentioned the eighth graders coming there. So, we have uh right now 11 11 eighth graders coming from uh Winterrad. This was something we had thought about doing for a while, but there's actually
one parent that kind of pushed it a little bit with Winterrad, which was pretty nice. I appreciated that. Um, and it's it really helps the program. So, they're they're integrating really well. They're super motivated. Um, so I think that's going to be a nice transition from them and I I noticed that nine of
the 11 that we got are failing at least one class in Winterrad and you know talking to them about the importance of academics and everything. I talked to the assistant principal down there and she said since you spoke to them I see more effort by them and so I I think when they have something to push
them in a different direction maybe they're up there hanging out with some high schoolers and stuff I think it's a little bit motivating for them. Uh they are wearing the uniform so they get to go back for that. It was really cute because they I guess cute's the right word for me. I don't know if you hear me say that very often, but um they got their physical fitness clothes and when
they got it issued, they're like, "Can we wear these back to the school?" And I said, "Knock yourself out." And so they all went down there really proud to do that. So um that's one of those things I'll keep working um with the district and and Winterrad and see if there's I'm going to talk to the regional director and see if there's a way we can branch out even more to maybe a couple other
schools if the the logistics work and timing works. So, uh, I would also like to recognize our district 6 facilities. So, one of the things that we're trying to build up is our physical fitness team that we have, but not just that, but use it also for
for all of our cadetses. And so, we went out and got a lot of the supplies and everything without blinking an eye. Facilities stepped in and put this whole idea that we had into um a really nice product. And Mr. Allen, our principal,
knows he went out there and exercised with all the cadets one day with a couple of the the staff up up in the front office. Um, but we really appreciate um one the craftsmanship and the planning and the workability with them. It went so smoothly. So, um, we thought about getting you a plaque, but
we're like, well, how many people have plaques hanging around? You know, you know, you come and go. Uh, but what we did do is we got we know you guys work outside a lot, so we wanted to get you something to cover the sun a little bit. So, we got some hats for for you, one for you and for the the workers. And then one you can give them over here.
One of our challenge coins for each of you as well. But we really appreciate everything you did and to make such a fine product for these kids and for for all the future kids that come through this program. So, thank you very much for that, sir. You bet. Um, and lastly, we have u the 250th Marine Corps
birthday is coming up. Uh, we are older than the United States. Uh, so se uh dece or November 10th, 1775 is the birth of the Marine Corps. And obviously we know July 4th, 1776 is the United States. Uh so we are older than that. A lot of traditions in history. Uh and so
I'd like to invite you all to to join us for this um I guess a milestone. Although what's the difference between 249 and 251? But um it is the 250th and we're trying to do something a little extra special. Getting a lot of alumni uh coming as well. So, um, our our warmest invitation for you all to
attend, and I'm this is going out to anybody in the community would like to go, but, um, we always like when we see teachers, staff, board members, superintendent, uh, if you're available, please check your calendars for that. Um, any questions for me? I appreciate that.
Oh, absolutely. They they were scared about talking, so they would love to talk. Yeah, look at this. It's nice. Thank you. Say whatever.
Um, I think I'll just give an appreciation for the students just cuz they give their all to the program and it's really nice to see that they have so much fun and are able to have like really fun
experiences with each other and yeah, it's just really nice to see. for this program. Um, I've really like grown up through it. It really helps me get through um, high school especially. It teaches you a lot of like
it teaches you a lot more than you would learn in just your classes alone because math, English, all those you'd learn. But this program definitely gets you out there. Gives you a lot more skills like speaking out. Of course, not everyone
would do this, let's be honest. But yeah, it definitely helps you, gives you that courage to just talk amongst everybody and I just really have liked it the past four years.
Thank you very much. Congratulations. Thanks. Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Pilch. I always enjoy seeing your honor role. Um, the next item on our agenda is to approve the agenda. This is an action item that will require a motion. I move that the board of education of Gley 11 school district
6 approves the agenda as presented. Second. Is there any discussion on the motion? Seeing none will can you give us a roll call vote please? Director I. Director Bentley I. Director Mash I. Director Matthews I.
Motion carries 40. Okay. Miss Lemon. Is there a proclamation that goes along with item 6.01? There is not. There's a presentation though. There's a presentation. Okay. Um, our next item is a presentation on suicide
awareness month. Thank you, President Mash. Um, I have invited this evening a former parent of ours, Mr. Ronald Chicone uh to share with us a little bit about the importance of this month and some work that he and and his foundation have done
um in in our community um to create an awareness around the importance of suicide prevention and and also to honor his his late son. So Ronald, I'd like to invite you to the podium, sir. Thank you very much.
So, I uh my name is Ron Chan. Uh born and raised here in Gley, Colorado area. Went to Valley High School. Graduated from UNCC. I have two bachelor's degrees in biology and chemistry. Decided in 1999 to start a family with my son and
my wife and my son Logan was born. So, um you know, typical family. We, you know, wanted the best for him. He was an athletic kid and for us it was about for me it was about giving my childh what the best that I
could possibly give him. Um so there's a stigma that goes along with suicide and part of that is you don't really want to talk about it. You can look in people's faces when they look at me and I can see that there's sorrow, that there's pity and what I really want to happen is that
there be some sort of understanding. And that first step is just to be able to talk. It's hard to say the word suicide. We we used to say they committed suicide and now we say they completed suicide. So part of that whole stigma is just being able to reach out and let people
know that we're talking about them because so many times adolescence and youth are lost. They have nowhere to turn to. They don't they don't they can't they feel like they can't speak with their parents. They feel like they can't speak
with counselors at school. And I've talked with many kids. And I'm not a counselor, but I'm somebody that's speaking from a position that's gone through losing a child, our only child, Logan. Um, just a little bit about him
is we I'm just hitting the This is taken in Hawaii uh on top of Halakala. Um, but he was given a lot of opportunities. We've given tried to give him the best that we possibly could, but overall it's
he seems so happy. Like there's not a typically when you're talking about a standard bell curb, you're talking about people that were bullied or um you know really problems at home. And yes, those problems do exist and it's an issue, but
it's not something that's limited to those people. It encompasses the entire bell curve. Nobody's safe. And the first step for our foundation is to make sure that people are aware that this is an issue for everybody. Nobody's safe.
Nobody can. And never in a million years would I thought I'd be standing here talking about the death of my son and yet here I am. So what do we do is, you know, we we provide scholarships to students at Northridge High School. um
when when Logan first passed away in 2018 and actually uh Rob Norwood was one of his teachers, but we were so devastated the the thought the we can't go on. And I remember looking
on my Ring camera and seeing a police officer and some counselors standing at my door. I knew what it was. I didn't know how, but I knew what happened. So when they they came in and they told us and utter it's just disbelief. It's
utter disbelief. So you know we talked we we politely asked them to leave and my wife and I looked at each other and said we are not going to be here anymore. We walked across went through the kitchen went into the garage and we
were going to start up the car and we were going to end it. Logan was our only kid, you know, no grandkids for us, no nothing. And a thought of my my own mother popped in my head and I thought, how can I put her through what I'm going through right now? At the time she was
84 years old. So realization struck us and it's just like, you know what, like we can't make this worse than what it already is. Uh because that's really it's a selfish feeling. We want our pain to end. And
not realizing what that would entail, losing Logan and then losing my wife and I at the same time, it would just compound the problem. So, you know, we just we have to be able to find something to do to reach out to try to
help people that need help. Um, so that's that's that's really kind of the the foundation is really twofold. So, one, we do provide scholarships to North Ridge of which I just the first three years I was just paying money out of my own pocket. Uh, and then we started
fundraising and and actually increasing the amount of money that we're giving to students. But the second one is is we're we're helping families that are experiences experiencing what we went through. Um, and it's it's it's something that people
can only imagine unless you've been through it that you don't know the depth and despair that you can possibly feel. Multiply that by 100 and that's what you feel and it's you wake up in the morning thinking it was all a bad dream and realize it and
that it wasn't and you just have to keep going. So what what my wife I I'm I'm in sales, so I work for Waste Management. I run their oil and gas division, but my wife, she's she's not a talker and she
likes to be back in the shadow. She pushes the scholarship and I push the scholarship and I also push awareness and I push awareness to to families um that that need help, to kids that need help. And and when I talk to these kids,
I'm telling them that they are not I'm not a counselor and I always push them to to seek that help. But that initial step of getting help is often hard to to overcome. To be able to ask for help is a very hard thing to do, especially if
you're an adolescent. I mean, as adults, we we think it's it's hard to to to comprehend of what how do I ask for help? As a kid, when information's at their fingertips for whatever type of information they
want, something as easily as looking at your phone, it's not so easy to do. So I I try to bridge a gap with those kids to have somebody to initially talk to and kind of bridge them over into seeking professional help when they have those issues.
So since 2018, we've given $32,000 to to in scholarships and and families that that lose children to suicide. I want to apologize a little bit for this this photo, but I think it's an important photo. Um, one
I have a I'll call him a friend, but he's a colleague. He he's a he manages a refinery in Wyoming. He reached out to me. His daughter um was doing this to herself and he had told me about this before and and I in
my mind I'm thinking a cutter is somebody that, you know, scratches themselves to something like this. But this is this is something that happens. And over a period of about 3 months, I got to where I can talk to her one-on-one and and and I got to ask her, I said, you know, it's like, why do you
do this? And she she had tears in her eyes. And she goes, because it makes me feel. So I I mean, you stop and think about stops you in your tracks as to something like this. It people don't want to see it, but it happens. And it's important
to be able to see things that say why do we why do we, you know, poor kids, why are we not doing more to help them? It's just such a complex problem that not any one thing can can solve it. It's it's it's
to me I feel like even though the suicide rates going down and we had talked a little bit about that, one is too much. So what what can we do? What kind of resources are available that we can kind of help? So like I said, I want to
apologize, but this is real. This is what happens when when kids want to feel. That was her answer to me. Um I won't go through all this plus it's kind of it's basically um the it's a
social media connotations and and how it affects them. There's negatives and there's positives. social media. Um, and and the problem nowadays is that kids have information instantly. When I was a kid, if I wanted to go on a date with a girl, I had to be on the
phone with her for a month and talk with her parents. And now everything's done on their on their phone. They're instant gratification. And when they when when you take that that phone or that information away from them, they have anxiety. So there there's a lot of
things to do with with what we do. As far as the benefits, you know, it still is connection and support that can be provided for peer groups. Platforms can be placed for young people to express their creative side and develop their identities and can serve as a gateway for young adult adults to find information and in initiate mental
health care. And that's a big one for me is reaching out and trying to get that help. So, the last part I just want to show if if you guys can listen and I hope this works. Um, I want you to listen to this story
real quick. The volume's not working. He was really never there. So, that made me fall into the streets. I'm Kaden. I've moved around my whole life, but I call Chicago home.
I like playing sports, playing video games. I like hanging out with my family and friends. There was a lot of gang violence in the neighborhood, a lot of shootings. Some of my family were gang involved, so I grew up in it since I was a little kid. I lost a lot of friends to
gang violence and gun violence and a lot of tragic scenarios. Life was really rough. Family troubles, just it was hard finding myself. I got dragged into that looking for acceptance and guidance.
I did a lot of damage to myself through gang banging. It really didn't help the community, didn't help me, didn't help my family, put me in a lot of bad situations. [Music] First time I came here, the people were
very loving and accepting of all backgrounds. It didn't matter who you were, no matter what you did, no matter what type of person you were, they accepted you for who you were and they took you in like family as their own. Higher grounds has really helped me.
Anthony invited me to church and I went to church with him. Pastor had came in and he noticed me as soon as he walked in the building and prayed for me and Anthony introduced me to all these loving people. They accepted me for who I was and helped me get through things
that I never thought I would get through. And just knowing that they had faith in me helped so much. I see my people at higher grounds like my family. I've dabbled in other religions, but them talking to me about the Bible and using the Bible in real life scenarios.
They word it in a way that I can understand that means a lot to me. knowing that they're praying for me and they have high hopes for me. That helps a lot. I've turned everything around them, getting away from the streets as fast as I can. I've got sober, going to
school, getting good grades, um building better relationships with people around me when I started going into higher grounds that helped me find myself a little bit more. There's people here have switched everything around and became way better
people than they were. And they helped guide me a lot. And I know if they could do it, I could do it. Knowing somebody I have to talk to helps so much. And knowing that they're believers in Christ and it really helps. I've learned that God forgives and I should forgive. It
just helped a lot going to church and coming here at the same time. So Kaden shot himself three weeks ago and he did it in front of his mother and his
older brother. Um and and to be able to think that somebody that can speak like that eloquent eloquently, he said Chicago was his home. He lived here in Gley. Um, and it it it's hard for me to kind of
realize. It's like, okay, look like somebody's got they're going on this on on the on the right path. And means you can never give up. Uh, his mother and his family, they they had to leave their house. They could not
stay there. So they they're living in a hotel. So we we the foundation paid for a month's worth of hotels for them to stay. till they can find someplace else to live. But that's the the what what we're trying to do is is is make people
realize that the job is never done. Um you know, Kaden found some peace through church, but it it wasn't obviously enough for him. So um that's all I had for you guys, but I just want to remind
you that this is September. Um, we we do have a fundraiser that at the end of the month, it's a poker run for our motorcycle. That's our major fundraiser. I'm really appreciative of of of our sponsors and our and people that that that help give us money because we get to help not only students, but we also
get to help families that lose somebody to suicide. And it's I think it would be helpful all of us to help understand why we're here. Why are we here? That's a bigger question. Why are we here? You know, my I I know why I'm here. I'm here to reach out and try to help somebody
because that's the only way I can go forward. I can't I can't live for me anymore. I'm living for my son. So, thank you for giving me this time. School board, thank you very much.
Thank you very much. Thank you for your presentation and for being so real with us. Um, and I'm sorry, did you Thank you, President Ma. Thank you, Mr. Chone. Um, I'd like to invite Tammy
Brham up next, our director of student staff supports, who's going to just share with you a little bit about the work that we are doing here in District 6 around suicide prevention and and suicide awareness. Thank you. Um, so District 6 has made suicide awareness and prevention a top
priority with support from the Colorado Department of Health Suicide Prevention Grant. Our district has focused on aligning systems of both prevention and intervention. As we move into the final year of the grant, we are proud of the progress made and remain committed to sustaining those efforts. Our prevention
efforts include um we just trained two schools this month in sources of strength to bring to 10 um schools in district six who are implementing the sources of strength program which is a nationally recognized strength-based suicide prevention program that builds
protective factors and empowers students to be agents of change. Um we have trained staff in QPR training which is question, persuade and refer. Um, and it helps staff to recognize warning signs of suicide, ask direct questions, and
connect students to help. Um, all district six schools will continue QPR training and will be trained by May of 2026. We've already trained transportation and nutrition services in that program. um our intervention and staff capacity.
Um we are training our mental health professionals in assist training um which is equipping all of our mental health staff in advanced suicide intervention skills. Um and we have a district-wide plan to ensure all mental health staff have been trained by May of
2026. Um and we also have trained our staff in the prepare model um which is the National Association of School Psychologist um model for crisis intervention and crisis support. Thank you very much. Um are there any
questions or comments from board members? Again I thank you very much for coming Mr. Chone and um also Tammy so that we can know um the ways that we are are trying to help our students here in district 6. And um yes, thank you very
much for for helping to spread that awareness and um yeah, it is a is certainly a heavy topic and and uh I admit that I have not um reached out um to folks who have experienced that and so this will will
change my my personal behavior. So, I really appreciate you being here. All right. Our next item on our agenda is a proclamation celebrating National Principles Month.
Um, this is an action item. So, we'll require a motion. I move that the board of education of Weld County School District 6 adopts the resolution declaring October as National Principal Month as presented. Second. Thank you both. And Mr.
Matthews, will you please read the proclamation? Certainly, President Mesh. Proclamation of the Board of Education of Weld County School District 6, National Principles Month, October 2025. Whereas school leaders are tasked with
the immense responsibility of serving as educational visionaries, instructional leaders, and assessment experts. Their roles extend to being disciplinarians, community builders, public relations specialists, and budget an analyst. All
while managing facilities and ensuring compliance with a myriad of legal, contractual, and policy mandates. Above all, they are entrusted with the well-being and education of our young people, our most valuable asset. And whereas a principal's leadership is
instrumental in establishing a school's academic culture, they work collaboratively with teachers to develop and maintain high curriculum standards, define those schools mission, and establish clear performance goals and objectives. And whereas the vision,
dedication, and determination of a principal are the driving force behind successful school improvement initiatives. And whereas research from the Wallace Foundation confirms that the leadership that leadership is the second most influential school-related factor
after classroom instruction in contributing to student learning. And whereas the observance of national principles months is a tribute to principles at every level recognizing the vital role their leadership plays in ensuring that every child has access to
a highquality education. Now therefore, be it resolved that the board of education of Weld County School District 6 does hereby declare October 2025 as National Principal Month, given under my hand and the executive ski seal of Weld
County School District 6, this 22nd day of September 2025. Natalie Mash, President. Thank you, Mr. Matthews. Um, are there is there any comment or on this proclamation before we have someone
come in? Um, accept it. Miss Venegas. Thank you, President Mash. Um, I just wanted to say I'm very glad that District 6 continues to celebrate the hard work of our principles. Our principles are truly amazing people who continue to work closely with our staff
in order to create a safe and educational environment for all of our students. I am very thankful for the principal at ECA, Mr. Fern, who continues to build up our school spirits through so many new fun additions to our school and just continues to support both his students and staffs regularly.
Thank you once again to all the amazing principles at District 6 and for all your hard work. Thank you, Miss Venegas, Miss Tovar. Thank you, Mrs. Mrs. Mash. Um, I think this proclamation is great. Being able to recognize our principles and their
hard work is essential to the growth of our students and staff. As an example, my principal at Girley Central, Mrs. Zulof, she does a great job at being involved with the students and she goes out of her way to actually try and know her students. Dedicating the month of October to our principles is a great way
of recognizing their hard work. Thank you very much, Mr. Matthews. Yeah, I will just echo our students comments. Um our our principles are certainly un unsung heroes in in our district. Uh when I read read off
everything uh that they do, all of that is true. They are disciplinarians. They have to uh they build community with the with the neighborhoods in which their schools reside. They uh are public relations specialists. They are on the front lines many time when many times when there's something controversial uh
that some of the things maybe that we see in our boardroom our principles also deal with uh they are budget analysts uh managing their uh their buildings and and those budgets deciding how and and where is the best place to to put uh
monies they they have to manage those buildings. uh when we talk about ensuring uh compliance and legal contractual and policy mandates um it it is an immense job um that our principles do and and it's very easy
often for us to to sit here and say we we would like for for the school district to do this um uh such as such as cell phones uh when we said we we would like to have uh less cell phone use in in our schools and certainly
that's a good thing and a and something we should strive for and that it's our principles that that make that happen. And so uh we we are so appreciative of the work that they do, the impact that they make uh in in their buildings, in
the in the lives of of the teachers and staff that work for them and certainly in the lives of our students. So uh thank you uh so much to to our principles that are that are in the room, our principles that are watching. and we appreciate the job that you do.
Thank you, Mr. Matthews. Mr. Bentley. Um, yeah, I agree with everything that everybody said so far. I I just I just wanted to comment on the the stark contrast I noticed in our principles compared to, you know, the only other public education experience I have, which is when I was in public education
as a student. Um, growing up I you you you basically at all costs avoided your principles and they were some polarizing figure that walked around the school once once a day and and and that was it. But through the four years I've been on the board and just seeing the the relationships that our principles have
with the students and staff, it just it's really mindboggling and I think uh to me it's one of their their greatest assets and and one of the reasons we're so successful as a district just, you know, on our school tours and seeing um them welcome the kids and the the personal relationships they have with almost with every almost every single
one of them at some shape or form is very admirable. And I and I just want to tell them, you know, from from all of us up here, just thank you for what you do day in day out. the the the technical tangible items that that Michael touched on and and the intangible, you know, side of the of the job that you guys are
are are very good at. Thank you guys. Mr. Aari, well, since these two guys made a comment, I will too. Uh, I was a I was a teacher in school district 6 for many many years as most
people know and and I got to say um I I can't remember a time that I I didn't have a principal that was supportive. They were all were very supportive of what I did in the schools and I would often notice that
uh they were often consulted only when there were problems going on. Uh very rarely do folks go to the principal and say, "Hey, I really like what's happening here. Uh I wish it would happen more often uh throughout the district, but I really appreciated the
fact that they were solution finders and not problem makers." So again, I I fully support this uh resolution that we're making this evening for our building administrators. Thank you all. I will just echo what my
colleagues have said. When you see this list of all of the roles of all of the attributes of a principal, it just sounds like a superhero and like a mythical creature. But we have they are they're unicorns
for sure. And so we are so um thankful for each each one of you here in district 6 and we're pleased to honor you in this way. Miss Lemon, will you give us a vote, please? Director Ozari, I. Director Bentley, I. Director Mash, I. Director Matthews. I. Motion carries 40.
And I believe Mr. Erin Allen, principal at Northridge High School, is here to accept this proclamation. Thank you board members. Thank you so much for this honor. Um, speaking on behalf of all principles in district 6, we appreciate your support and we of
course feel very lucky to have such wonderful sta staffs uh and then also to have such wonderful students to work with. So, thank you so much Next is our superintendent report. Thank you, President Mash. I have two announcements and one um just a reminder
that tomorrow at 5:00 pm we will celebrate the 10year anniversary of Prairie Heights Middle School. It's it's hard to believe that they've been open a decade, but um it's a very exciting time for us to celebrate them. And I'll I'll just remind you all that uh the passage
of this bond issue uh came at a time where district 6 really needed to begin to build trust of the community and and passing this bond and partnering this bond with a a a state of Colorado best grant allowed us to u build a beautiful
school and and to demonstrate to our voters that we could be trusted with their dollars and I think helped lay the groundwork for uh the much larger bond issue that came in the future. So, I hope you'll join us tomorrow evening at 5:00 pm at Prairie Heights Middle School
for a short anniversary celebration. And then I also want to announce that uh we just released today uh the possibility for applications to our new Discovery District 6 Academy. This will be a monthly academy for seven months um that
will be conducted October through April at different sites throughout the district at schools and district sites. Uh the program will be run from 11:30 to 1:30 uh once a month on a Thursday. Uh you do have to fill out an application to participate. To get to that
application, you go to our website and just keep scrolling down and then you'll see discover District 6 Academy and then you'll see a link to get to the application to apply. Uh we hope to take up to 25 participants in the program. Um
and our and our hope with the program is really to get community members involved in the district to to help um them to discover and learn more about finance in the district and and how the the money is spent in the district. Learn more
about elementary literacy and early learning for students. We're also going to talk about focus schools in the district and and the offerings at the different focus schools. We'll talk about graduation rates and the graduation initiative and and what that work has been around getting to nearly a
90% graduation graduation rate. Uh career pathways and college prep preparation will be uh one of the sessions, special education services, safety and security. And then of course we'll we'll spend some time looking at operations, visiting the centralized kitchen uh and learning more about
nutrition services and human resources and technology and probably much much more. Um when participant participants are done uh we hope they'll have a clear understanding of our strategic plan um how that's being implemented districtwide and have an overview of the
daily operations of the district and of the schools. Um, and we just hope that we we can further our relationship with the community by offering this academy and by having folks come in and learn about the district who maybe haven't had the opportunity to do that, learn about committees they can serve on or a task
force they could serve on or maybe even run for a board of education position at some point in the future. So, um, I hope that you'll go on our website, learn more about the District 6 Academy, and apply for participation. You do have to
have your application in uh by end of business on October 6th. Thank you very much. That's all I have tonight. Thank you. The next item on our agend agenda is our innovation 2030 strategic plan update operational and
organizational effectiveness goal two recruit, hire and retain. Welcome Mrs. Overton. here. Thank you so much for having us. We're excited um uh President Mash and um school board members and Dr. Pilch,
we're excited to be here to give you the information that we have around our organization, our operational organizational effectiveness goal two. As you know, it's all associated with innovation 2030 and we focus our efforts
on the mission um that's listed here and also the vision of the district. And um looking at the values that we have here, there are two that we are really committed uh to that really find our work. We're grounded here. Um we
commit to hiring and retaining quality staff and we commit to excellence, innovation and continuous improvement. Um here is the focus area in light of all of the areas that we have. Ours is the operational and organizational effectiveness in that bottom um that
bottom quadrant and that is the district 6 ensures innovation, transparency and accountability to our community through measurable outcomes and continuous improvement. So our goal really is focused around maximizing recruitment, hiring and
retention of all employees in the district. And I'd like to invite Scott Gray, one of our directors in human resources, to come and share insights into our recruiting from last year. Good evening. Sorry. I'm excited to be here tonight to discuss the innovation
2030 recruitment efforts. Our goal is uh to advance a comprehensive plan that builds a workforce that reflects the Gley Evans community. This will help strengthen our schools with professionals who embody the values of those we serve.
All actions tied to the recruitment plan are designed to expand the overall candidate pool of those interviewed. Our human resources team in collaboration with partners is focused on increasing the number of applicants and interviewees for district positions. Recruitment efforts include local local
university and statewide career fairs, plus expanded social media and job board use to reach wider audiences. We are also strengthening talent pipelines through future ed educator programs, university partnerships, and community c uh collaborations.
This past year, District 6 attended 18 recruiting events. Highlights include our own classified staff fair, major uh career fairs at several area colleges and universities, and statewide events such as the Colorado Education Recruitment Fair. In total, we reached
more than 2,000 candidates and had 355 direct interactions, uh many of which included on-site interviews. As you saw in the detailed breakdown provided in August, these events not only are helping us hire now, but are also creating lasting connections. For
example, example, after speaking with a student at a recent career fair, I received this email. Mr. Gray, it was truly a pleasure to talk to you yesterday at the career fair. Hearing about the K8 Academy of Pre-Eering was very intriguing. Thank you for the details on alternative and substitute
lensures. That was one of the most valuable takeaways from the whole day. Could you remind me again when would be the right time to really start looking at applying to District 6 for a teaching position? This message highlights why our presence matters. These events spark interest, build relationships, and position
district sick as an attractive place to work. We've also expanded our online job board postings to include 22 free and paid boards to reach as many potential candidates as possible. Our social media efforts are showing measurable impact. Engagement across
platforms is growing with users reached up uh with users reached up 29% link clicks up 24% page visits up 3% and page follows up 13.5%. This demonstrates that our goal of celebrating staff while tying posts to
recruitment is resonating with our employees and the and the broader community. Social media continues to be an important tool for both employee recognition and our recruitment efforts. District 6 continues to build strong talent pipelines to develop future
educators and strengthen our workforce. Our CTE teacher cadet program continues to give high school students hands-on classroom experience and teaches them the importance of self-esteem development in the in education. This year, level two cadet students are working in several uh programs, while
our uh cadet level one students uh have had the opportunity to create and read children's books to kindergarten through first grade students. Our teacher job shadow program led by Lauren Applehans involved 26 students, 30 teacher
volunteers, and 15 different schools. Survey results showed high engagement with 88% of students uh would say that they would participate again and 92% rated the program uh experience as either excellent or mostly excellent and three students have
applied to teacher prep programs. District 6 has expanded university partnerships with Rocky Mountain College of the Art and Design and Western Governor's University to host more practicum students and student teachers through a D6 UNC uh grant uh
partnership. Three D6 pair of professionals received full fundings uh to receive their master's degree in special education and are currently enrolled in UNCC. The I2030 recruiting committee also recreated uh excuse me, also created a guidance and checklist document for
schools hosting student teachers and long-term subs. This will help ensure consistent support, help student teachers feel valued, and increase the likelihood that they'll stay within District 6. Administrators and mentors praised the resource for providing clear
expectations and uh giving them some confidence in hosting these uh student teachers. These initiatives collectively strengthen our teacher pipeline, build connections with future educators early, and support long-term retention within the district.
I would now like to introduce Miss Crane to talk about our recruiting and hiring uh actions and outcomes. Good evening. In the past year, the hiring team's focus and actions have been forward- facing. We anticipate seeing the impact
of these actions in the coming years. District 6 job descriptions and postings are getting a facelift this year. Our team partnered with legal council and the District 6 communications team to ensure our job postings fulfill all legal requirements and they'll be easier to read, more inclusive, and more
accessible to candidates. They'll debut this coming spring during the upcoming hiring season. Another committee has been working on creating a help document for district leaders who are responsible for hiring. The guide includes step-by-step instructions for each step of the process in addition to tips,
tricks, and best practices. We intend this resource to be helpful to everyone from brand new leaders who are hiring their first employees to our experienced folks who are just looking for a quick reference or need a refresher. The third hiring subcommittee has focused on the
candidate experience specifically around creating a candidate checklist and contact sheet and their work has expanded to streamlining all of our candidate communications. The hiring satisfaction survey has continued to guide the work of these three teams. Feedback from the surveys reviewed
weekly so our team can respond to feedback in real time. This is very exciting. The 2025 feedback we've received from our new hires, rehires, and transfers continues to be positive. Our big celebration this year
is that 100% of survey respondents would recommend District 6 to a colleague or friend. That percentage increased from just over 90% last year. In fact, responses in every single survey area went up this year, and a vast majority of respondents are very satisfied or
satisfied in every area. Uh when we asked about the most helpful parts of the process, the most commonly cited aspects were clear communication, the support provided by HR staff, and having a smooth and efficient process. Comments indicated that most respondents viewed our district's hiring process as better
than other districts, spec specifically in friendliness and efficiency. We've received many positive comments, and we know that we still have opportunities to improve. The most common frustrations identified by new hires were related to delays in the process, the length of the application,
and unclear or inconsistent communication. While most people were satisfied with no changes needed, a few suggested changes in salary placements, of course, and better access to employee documents or resources. In addition to the survey, HR staff completed focus
groups this fall with newly hired teachers at most of our school sites. One piece of feedback that's consistent across schools and levels is that they appreciated the employee basics session that was added to our new professionals academy this fall. Uh that was requested by the GA negotiations team. Thank you.
Uh our new teachers received information from HR payroll benefits and student information services and left feeling better prepared to be a district 6 employee. As we look at our outcome data, one measure of the effectiveness of our recruiting and hiring efforts is the
number of applicants in for each posting. Over the past five years, we've seen steady growth in the number of applicants per posting. Two years ago, we were at five per job. Uh and this year, we're currently at 7.2 applicants per job. Having more candidates per
posting means having deeper pools from which to select and a better chance of finding the right fit for our schools and departments. Another critical metric for evaluating recruitment efforts is the time it takes to fill positions. Over the last five years, we've dramatically reduced our
hiring time to just 33 days from job posting to onboarding. A substantial improvement. Shorter days to hire are important because they support the candidate experience. We can secure top candidates before they accept other offers. Uh we minimize staffing gaps,
reduce recruitment costs, and support smoother operations and workforce planning. Thank you for your attention to the recruiting and hiring efforts and Dr. Thompson will now speak about the work of the retention team. Right. Thank you.
Uh we have two main retention outcomes uh to outperform the state's average retention rate and to improve retention rates across all of our employee groups. Uh this is the second year that we've been using a new reporting uh method that allows us to better compare our
data to the state data. Uh to support these outcomes, uh we're doing the following things. Uh we're continuing with our exit and stay interviews. Uh we're finding ways to better support, train, and recognize our substitute teachers.
We're honoring all employees through best practices and building leadership skills among operations staff and offering career uh career lad opportunities for all groups. And finally, improving mentorship for new uh
teachers primarily in their first three years and then also new to special education teachers and future leaders who reflect our community. Uh we now have a full year of our exit and stay interview data that we've had
an opportunity to use to guide our actions. Uh you can see on the screen uh some of what we've collected with our exit interviews and our stay interviews. The exit interviews show that employees are more likely to return uh when they
see opportunities for career growth, when they get feedback, uh recognition, and fair treatment in their work, and when they strongly believe in our district 6 mission. Uh stay interviews show that our employees are more likely to stay uh
when they feel like they're making a difference, when they experience a close, supportive, team focused work environment. uh and they value the one-on-one meetings with their supervisors and uh they really appreciate our health and
wellness programs. Uh from what we shared last year, we've seen strong improvements in areas like training which have increased from 64% favorable to 74% favorable. Uh communication from 60% to 84%.
Supervisor feedback from 56% to 84%. Workplace safety from 36% to 85% and clear expectations from 73% to 97%. Uh we do still have work that has yet to
be done and that includes uh future supervisor development for feedback, support, communication and employee recognition as well as uh improved uh operational uh organizational communication for all of our employee
recogniz recognition. Uh some of our next steps for that in development will include how we select, train, and promote our substitutes uh into full-time roles. Uh rolling out our D6 leadership essentials to promote
better communication, performance management, and team collaboration. Increasing opportunities for employee recognition. uh offering more professional development especially for our classified and trades employees and as
Miss Crane mentioned earlier enhancing the employee basics sessions uh for new staff through our new professionals academy. Uh we are meeting our retention goals. Uh in this graph uh it shows a five-year comparison of our retention rates versus
the state average. Uh the state is shown in purple. uh district 6 is shown in dark blue. The graph zooms in on the rates uh for a range of 75% to 85% for more detailed uh comparison. Uh and
despite a small dip of less than 1% uh district 6 continues to outperform the state and has now for the past four years and our retention rate remains over 80%. In this graph, uh, we're breaking down retention by employee group. Uh, we
measure retention from December 1st to November 30th, uh, just like the state. And the bar graph compares retention um between our district, which is in the light and dark blue bars, the state, which is in the lavender and purple
bars. Uh the graph here zooms in uh to 60 to 90% for a more detailed comparison. Uh some of the highlights here is that district 6 is above 80% in seven of the nine employee groups that we outperform the state in six of nine
groups and that five of nine groups showed yearover-year gains. Now I'd like to talk there's a noticeable drop in retention within our prayer professional group. uh the group is smaller and so losing even just a few employees impacts that data more than it
might in larger groups. Uh and the calculations do not differentiate between resignations uh retirements and promotions from within. Uh this is also true for the state and as you can see pair professionals are also one of its hardest groups to
retain. Our I2030 retention committee uh continues to use this uh data to guide our strategies. Uh as a result, we've conducted listening sessions to learn from uh high retention groups uh low
retention groups and groups where we fall behind the state um such as with uh paraprofessionals. So we focused on uh listening sessions to gain a deeper understanding of their challenges which has led us in the last year uh for
workplace improvements uh a significant pay increase for both special ed and pair professionals and quarterly retention increase. Uh these changes were implemented in late fall of 2024. And with that uh model ending in
November of uh each year, November 30th, uh we'll expect to see better results when that data comes out here in a couple months. So, and at this time, I'd like to hand things over to Miss Overson, who will close out her presentation. Thank you. So, looking at um our next steps, uh
both or all three of our directors here have talked about a little a little bit more about what we're doing, but just to give you um kind of a overall caption, we have good work to do with our classified staff around training um for our classified employees in in Weld
County. Students can practically attend college for free. You all have heard that and have said that before. We're working with school leadership to make sure that our staff understands what that looks like and how we can motivate students from a very young age to um
know that their college dream is real is a reality for them. We've heard employees say that they'd like to have the opportunity to meet face to face to learn more about how to be a good District 6 employee or how to be an employee in District 6. And so we're continuing to work, payroll, benefits,
and um human resources will continue to work to refine that employee basics session that came out of negotiations and um we want that to be really delivered in a meaningful way and in a variety of ways that can meet the employees needs. Uh we have the one year
as Dr. Dr. Thompson talked about the beyond feedback data and we know we have work to do to get that word out so that people can better understand the culture of district 6 supervisors as they um uh manage their sites or their departments
and um human resources analyzing how to best target higher ed um institutions so that we can provide the best candidates for our student success. All right, we'd like to we'd be happy to entertain any questions that you may have.
Thank you very much. That's very thorough pres presentation. Mr. Ozari. Yeah, just a couple clarifying question. Actually, one clarifying question, one kind of open-ended question. Uh, when do applicants fill out the hiring
satisfaction survey? So, they they get hired and then what's the turnaround time on that? It's four weeks after they on board with the with the human resources office. So, they've already begun their position. They should just be getting into into work when they fill out the survey.
Okay. And then the uh next question is a a while ago, maybe a year ago or so, maybe longer, uh we were concerned about the housing costs for our employees. Has has that in your opinion as HR has
that continued to be a block toward people applying for positions and and going after positions in not just Gley but all over this state. Mr. Zari, I'm not sure that I would say that it's a block, but it it definitely
is a concern. So, we've had we still have our partnership with UNCC in order to be able to maintain some of those um apartments that are in Lawren Hall. And then we've also met uh Doc um u Mr. Gray has met with um a real estate agent that
could help u manage some of the financials or help support financials for new employees that come in. But they that is something that um they talk about. I don't know if it's ever um um deterred people from applying in gley.
Okay. Thank you. You want to address that? Yeah, I can just add a little bit to that. We're looking to find partners such as real estate companies that can help uh offer our potential employees guidance in relocation support with that
um appropriate housing. We've even worked around uh having conversations around if somebody's coming into a community and they're looking for a very specific type of community or neighborhood um so we can give them advisement on on finding the right fit for them when they come into the community so that they can start to
build those community relationships quickly as well so that Gley becomes their home that much faster. I was um most struck by the the graph that showed the decrease in the time to fill positions. So I assume that that somewhat refers to those hard to fill
positions. Do you feel like some of your efforts have have helped us to fill hard to fill positions and maybe or maybe define what hard to fill positions means? Sure. Uh hard to fill positions are negotiated each year with the Gley
Education Association. It's anou that is completed every spring during the hiring season and uh the team looks at positions that went unfilled the previous year, takes those types of things into consideration and the list does change slightly from year to year.
I have a little sticky note in my binder that that stays right there and moves from page to page every week. Um but those are positions like science and math, CTE, world languages. um trying to think off the top of my head. Special education, all of our uh
school supports, SSPs, um uh preschool would fall into that category as well. So, we do have all of those areas identified annually uh based on the data. And then, um as we look at those hard to fills that, it does actually or excuse me, the time to fill that is for
all positions. So, all of our time has decreased for for positions across the board. Okay, that's excellent. I also saw for next steps um enhanced mentorship program. I know we introduced the mentorship program for new teachers a
few years ago and it sounds like it's been really successful. Can you speak to how you're going to enhance it? We talk through we've been working um Dr. Thompson and um GA President um Snyder and um Erica McNichol and I, we
meet together to talk about how we can really make a mentor program for teachers better and to expand on that is looking at what they can do um at the school level, how we can really support and um shore up our mentors so that they
can provide more support for the new mentors as opposed to just assigning something. that's really training them up in the summer to make sure that they've got some good skills to help support um teachers. We're also open to what principles say that teachers need that they see that they need. And so
we're flexible in what we need, what we provide and what we offer through the professional development and um under school leadership. So great. Well, I don't see any additional comments, but thank you very much and keep up the good work.
Thank you. Thank you very much. The next item on our agenda is public participation, but I don't believe we have anyone signed up to speak. Next is um a motion to approve our consent agenda. I move that the board of education agree
school district 6 approves the items as presented on the consent agenda and authorizes the officers to sign any and all contracts. Second. Is there any discussion on the motion? Seeing none, Miss Lemon, will you give us a vote, please? Director Ozari, I. Director Bentley,
I. Director Mash, I. Director Matthews, I. Motion carries 4 Z. And our final item of business is to approve our superintendent evaluation. This is also an agenda item and will require a motion.
I move that the board of education of Gley Evans School District 6 approve the superintendent evaluation as presented. Second. Thank you both. Is there any discussion on this motion? Mr. Matthews.
Well, our now it's on. Um wasn't staying on. Um, no, I our evaluation certainly speaks for itself and I encourage uh our public to go into to read that eval evaluation, but um it is it is a positive evaluation
and uh as it has been for for 10 years and um I think our public also would would recognize the excellence that our superintendent pro superintendent provides for our school district. Um I
know that she has been recognized even just as recently as this last week at the Gley Dream Team as the educator of the year. Um she's been recognized throughout the community throughout the state as she's superintendent of the year. Um and and with all of that, I would still
say our our community probably still doesn't know the half of it. and um we just as a board member, as as a parent, um as a community member, and I just appreciate the job that you've done, and
so thank you, Dr. Pilch. Thank you, Mr. Bentley. Yeah, I just want to echo what Michael said and just uh make sure that you know on the record that Dr. Pch gets the recognition she deserves. It's it's pretty hard to uh find anything uh as we
go through these that we want to change or advise her on. And she's also always so receptive, you know, throughout not just during the the evaluation period, but all throughout the year of of our wants and wishes and and um just to to watch her as an executive of a of a
operation like this and see the uh the amazing job she does day in and day out is truly impressive and uh we're very lucky to have her for as long as she'll have us. So, thank you Dr. feels worthy. Thank you, Mr. Ozari. I fully endorse the evaluation that
we've given Dr. Pelch and all the words that we had said about building level administrators apply to her position and the words that I said about administrator finding solutions rather than problems definitely extend to Dr.
Pelch. So, I just want to let you know that for the record. Thank you all. I also agree with my colleagues and um three words that I chose to put in her written evaluation are innovative, collaborative, and
solutionoriented. Um she continues to see where the needs are, what can be um added to or subtracted from to create something more efficient, whether it affects our entire district or whether it affects a very
small number of students. Collaborative, we all agree that um the partnerships and the relationships that she's built in the community are in are so imperative for the success of this district. we can't do it by ourselves.
Um she can't do it by herself. She also surrounds herself with excellent leaders and helps to to bring them up. And then solutionoriented. Um one of her famous quotes is we can't do it. We can't do we can do that. We just can't do everything. But anyway, um
she's always looking for the solution. It's always yes, we can do that. We might have to tweak something here or there. Um, so yes, I also um I'm in full support of this positive um evaluation. Thank you, Dr. Pilch.
Will you please give us a vote? Miss Lemon. Director Ozari, I. Director Bentley, I. Director Mash, I. Director Matthews, I. Motion carries 40. Thank you very much. Thank you for attending our meeting this evening and have a great week. This meeting is
adjourned. [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. [Music]
Heat. [Music]