At this time, I'd like to call our January Bessie meeting to order. Can I get a roll call, please? >> Mr. Appel, Mr. Appel is present. Dr. Armstrong. Dr. Armstrong is present. Mr. Berkin, >> Mr. Berkin is present. Mr. Cal, Mr. Cal
is present. Mr. Castile. >> Miss Castile is present. Miss Champagne >> here. >> Miss Champagne is present. Dr. Clark. Dr. Clark is present. Mr. Harris. Mr. Harris is present. Miss Holloway. Miss Holloway is present. Miss Melerin. Miss
Melerin is present. Mr. Morris. M. Morris is present. You have a quorum. >> Thank you. Uh, if everyone could please stand. The invocation will be provided today by our own Germaine Gillson. Thank you. Gracious God, how we thank you for this
day. We thank you for the new mercies that you've bestowed upon us. God, we pause this morning to ask that you bless this meeting, bless the leadership, bless our superintendent, bless all of the teachers who do the work, and God, we ask that you protect our students.
Now Jesus, we give you all of the glory. In your name we pray. Amen. >> Amen. If you can remain standing, please. We will be led and pledged by Arthur Smith Middle School out of Rapids Parish. 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. Next item, please. >> The next item on The next item on the
agenda is item 2.1, approval of the agenda. >> Do I have a motion? >> Any objection? >> Uh, Dr. Armstrong makes the motion. Right. And the second is Bob, Miss Holloway.
Is there any objection? Seeing none, motion pass. Next item, please. Next item on the agenda is item 3.1, consideration of the oath of office oath of office for the 2026 officers. Uh, and Mr. New member,
Mr. Cow. >> Do I have a motion? >> Mr. Harris, Mr. Cast deal. Any objections? Seeing none, motion passes. I would like to now at this time introduce a very special guest of ours.
I'd like to introduce the 26th Chief Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court, Chief Justice John L. We will provide with some remarks and conduct the oath of office of the 2026 Bessie officers
and our new member, Mr. Joseph Kyle. Uh, Judge Weamer, it's a really special day. Uh, and Judge Wemer, I would like on behalf of Bessie to thank you for all that you do for children across this state and how hard you're working on the truency issues. So, thank you. His his
role goes way beyond being the chief justice and uh his service to our state is exemplary. So, thank you, Chief Justice. >> Thank you. I am, I assure you, merely a small cog in a big wheel of people that
have stepped up over the past year since we were together to do such remarkable work in the area of truency. We all know that education is transformative
and exponentially enhances opportunities to be successful in life. Recent upward trending test scores in Louisiana demonstrates that teachers
guided by the efforts of this board and the superintendent are enhancing the value of education throughout Louisiana. I sincerely commend the board and superintendent Brumley for your
invaluable efforts in that respect. Truency deprivives children of the transformative value of an education and costs society in so many ways, including
becoming embroiled in our system of justice. the last place, the very last place you want to see anyone. The Louisiana justice system and the school systems have a symbiotic
relationship. my time as a truent in high school which I say without any sense of accomplishment and my time at Harvard and I'm speaking
of Harvard on the bayou Nichols State University in Tibido as a student and then for 16 years as a teacher taught me that attendance is a necessary component
being educated. I am immensely grateful to be invited back before this board and for the opportunity to work collaboratively with the board and the superintendent,
educators throughout Louisiana, teachers, district attorneys, sheriffs, Governor Landry, Attorney General Mural, House Speaker Dil Deilier, and Senate President President Henry
along with the immediate past president and the superintendent to improve student outcomes. And I'm pleased to know how much everyone cares and how much has been
done and continues to be done. Now, your staff was very kind and very competent. uh past my staff and your staff would have given me a couple of bullet points. Uh your staff's one out and so I would like to share
just a couple of points very briefly in bullet point form since we met last year. U there were a lot of things going on before we met last year and there's a lot of things that have been done this year.
the truency study group and the legislative charge led by someone I'll administer the oath to momentarily um has done remarkable work and I commend you for that. the Bessie
attendance summit and power of presence that was put together to emphasize how important it is to prevent truency before it escalates
early detection and remediation is incredibly important and essential. the truency solutions summit in September where the court and the board of education and the
children's cabinet and this board collaborated to host the summit in Alexandria, judges, educators, child welfare professionals, law enforcement, district attorneys, legislators, sheriffs,
teachers, local school boards, and a number of members of this board were in attendance. Believe it's one of the largest I am told gatherings of that type in the history of the state. Uh it highlighted the highlighted the value of
coordinated cross sector approaches over isolated or receptive responses and how critical and essential local response is guided by best practices.
Ongoing coordination and consistent messaging has worked very well. There are more people talking about truency than ever before and how essential it is to abate that and
focusing on prevention and early invention is also essential. In October, as I indicated, a letter was sent out which I believe is significant.
Wish the media would have given that more attention, but it demonstrates how much collaboration there is on this issue and it was signed by the individuals I mentioned earlier.
The Supreme Court also responded by retaining Judge David Matlock who had the first truency abatement court in Freeport no less and he uh has
been touring the state working towards assessing needs. He and Storm elders with the Louisiana Supreme Court developed a plan to enhance the number of pins officers and the conversation
about that will continue. Superintendent and I spoke about this very thing on Monday. I conclude my remarks by saying truency prevention is about supporting children, strengthening families and improving
outcomes across systems. The judiciary, I assure you, remains committed to collaborative efforts that emphasize prevention, accountability, and shared responsibility. And when education leaders, the courts,
policy matters makers work together, Louisiana's children and Louisiana families benefit. Let us continue our collaboration. Thank you so much. At this time, I would ask that the
officers are they going to come down to be sworn? >> Yes, sir. We'll have Mr. Kyle come down first for his uh swearing in if you don't mind. M. to go. >> Mr. Cow, I know you have taken this oath before. >> I have. Yes.
>> Have you ever administered the oath? >> I have not. >> Okay. As a notary, you can swear yourself in. >> I am a notary. >> Yeah. I I don't recommend it, though. I would like you to uh you know the
drill. Raise your right hand and repeat after me. >> All right. State your name. I, Joseph, >> do solemnly swear >> wholy swear >> that I'll support the Constitution >> that I support the Constitution >> and laws of the United States >> and laws of
>> and the Constitution >> and the Constitution >> and laws of this state >> and laws of this state >> and that I will faithfully >> and that I will faithfully >> and impartially >> and impartially >> discharge and perform >> discharge and perform >> all the duties >> all the duties >> incumbent upon me
>> incumbent upon me >> as a member >> as member >> of the board of elementary and secondary education >> for of the board of elementary and secondary education >> for the state of Louisiana >> for the state of Louisiana >> according to the best of my ability >> to the best of my ability >> and understanding
>> and understanding. >> So help me God. >> So help me God. >> Congratulations Congressman. >> Thank you. >> Nice to see you. >> Now may I have the incoming officers? Dr. Clark, Mr. Birken >> and I believe I have to do this
individually. Okay. Together. Okay. I have a uh brief introduction. U let me say that uh it is a wonderful honor to do this.
Two of them I'll introduce as lovely. One of them I will not let you imagine which one I'm talking about. It is my honor to administer the oath of office to Simone Kan, president of the
Louisiana State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. She and I have a history. Uh she was my constituent when I had the opportunity to serve on the Supreme Court from her hometown home
area and we shared all of her constituents. I did. She is a lovely, dedicated, diligent individual and brings to this role more than four decades of leadership across private and public
sector. 26 years in the banking industry as an operations officer, devoted two decades public service, building a strong foundation, governance, accountability, and stewardship.
She previously served in the legislature where she made history as the first and only woman to represent state house district 49 until he was succeeded by her legislative service combined with
her work on local education boards including the St. Joseph Elementary School Board and Kadiana Renaissance Academy School Board reflects their deep and sustained commitment to education
and community leadership. In addition to a professional in electric service, he has given countless hours in volunteerism at both local and state levels, supporting school, chambers of commerce, nonprofit organizations, and youth athletics for those who are
softball coach. >> That's all right. Her record reflects a lifetime dedicated to service and to the well-being of Louisiana's families. As she assumes the role of president,
she brings experience, perspective, and clear understanding of responsibility to this board. behalf of the state of Louisiana, I commend and congratulate you for your willingness to serve.
I will administer both to all of you together. Next is Mr. Kevin Burken. It's really my honor of office as vice president. He represents district 7 and brings a
strong record of leadership, public service, and dedication to educational excellence. His work on the board reflects thoughtful and collaborative, and I like that word a whole lot, approach the
policy with a focus on accountability, student outcome, and responsible government. As I mentioned, the scores keep going up that we can all
as vice president will play a critical role in supporting the work the board and its leadership on behalf of the state of Louisiana. I congratulate you and thank you for your continued service and certainly
absolutely not least my good friend very lovely Dr. Shannon W will serve as secretary graduate. She represents district 2 and brings an
extensive amount of experience as an educator, administrator, public servant and teacher. There is a point distinction between a teacher and an educator. One of my teachers taught me her leadership
is marked by strong commitment, educational integrity, and service to students and families across Louisiana. She led and continues to lead the truency task force guiding critical
discussions and recommendations based on improving student attendance and engagement statewide. She also leads a statewide assessment review force known as STAR which examines Louisiana student
assessment system to ensure it remains rigorous, transparent and align with the needs of students, educators and families. She assumes an important role ensuring board work conducted with transparency,
accuracy and accountability to have a state of Louisiana and the judiciary to the extent that I speak to the judiciary. I commend and congratulate you for your willingness to serve. Now my privilege
on administer the oath. Now, ordinarily and customarily, I would wear my judicial robe that the oath, but I purposely decided not to wear my instead. I'm wearing the outfit
that I customarily wore when I taught at the for Harvard State University. And uh I believe that's symbolic of uh what I miss and where I'd prefer to be on many days.
But uh I recall I mentioned to Sandy that I used to speak at a school which is on the way to New Orleans. She did.
And uh one time I did not bring my robe and she told the students I was hoping Justice Lema was um dressed and uh I said uh well let the record reflect that I'm indeed dressed. I uh the students thought that was
hilarious uh but I wanted to correct the record. I just did not have my role. Well, I am dressed today ladies and gentlemen and u at this time I'll ask you to raise your right hand to come and she will hold the Bible for
Dr. member right hand. There you go. I got and and please repeat that. I state your name. Do solemn swear >> do swear >> that I'll support the Constitution >> that I'll support the Constitution
>> and the laws of the United States >> and the laws of the United States >> and the Constitution and laws >> and the Constitution and laws >> of this state >> of this state >> and that I will faithfully >> and faithfully >> and importantly >> and important >> discharge and perform
>> discharge and perform >> all the duties incumbent upon me >> all the duties incumbent on >> as an officer >> as an officer >> of the board of elementary and secondary education
>> secondary >> according to the best of my ability to >> and understanding >> so help me God >> congratulate I think the lovely individual might
count. Thank you. Thank you again, Judge Weamer, for making this a very special day for not only us on Bessie, but the entire state that you you gave us your time today. Uh I I'd like now to ask uh Mr. Castile to
make some remarks if you don't mind, Jeff. >> Uh absolutely. First of all, uh, congratulations, Madame President, and to all of our new officers, both lovely and otherwise. U, and, um,
my remarks are on behalf of the board to, uh, to say some kind things about our outgoing president, my very good friend, uh, Mr. Ronnie Mars. I want to start first by apologizing on
behalf of the entire board to the department of education staff and the superintendent because as all of you know Mr. Morris is an electrical engineer. He approaches everything in a very stern detailed detailed
fashion and I know he has challenged the department and this state to be the very best that it can be. And for that, I think that we're all better for it. When Mr. Morris and I were uh taking office six years ago, someone made the mistake
of saying to Mr. Morris uh that you won't make a difference. Being elected to this position, you won't change anything. Everything will be the same when you leave as it was when you came here.
And that was a challenge to Mr. Mars in the most incredible way because he took that as his own personal challenge to do just the opposite and he has done so. I have watched him over the last six years
and I just can't say how proud I am of him. Mr. Chief Justice, when you spoke of truency, a lot of people don't recognize sometimes the hand of a Bessie president and that Mr. Mars when he first joined this board, that was one of
his rallying cries. Why aren't more of our students in school? They cannot succeed. They cannot learn if they're not in school. And so, Dr. Clark, the work that you're doing now, that groundwork was laid in large part by our
Bessie President. When Mr. Morris came in two years ago as Bessie president. We were still wrangling with how do we improve our accountability system? The superintendent had been challenging us with not the success that he had hoped
to accomplish over the four years prior, but with Mr. Morris's leadership and and his very methodical way of working through how he would bring this state together, we have developed a much improved state accountability system.
And many people may not recognize the importance and significant of that. And for our educators know that years to come and Mr. Chief Justice, as the scores keep going up, but more importantly, as our children continue to learn and make gains and become better,
it'll be because of the work that Mr. Morris, as our president, put in for this great great state of Louisiana. Many of you may not remember that in terms of of our college and career readiness efforts in terms of defining
how students should be prepared once they leave the K12 system. Mr. Mars was in the trenches helping us, guiding us, leading us to that point. Many of you know now that Mr. Mars is a fan of
computer science and he is an extraordinary fan of artificial intelligence. He leaves that with the same fervor as he has led everything. This state of Louisiana is now going to be a leader. I am confident in the space
of artificial intelligence and how that intersects with education. He will continue to lead and this nation will follow us because of the work that he has put in. Mr. Mars is changing the shape of
education here in the state of Louisiana for children and families. I am so incredibly proud, Madame President, of the work that our president has put in. And for you, the officers, please be aware that you have some very, very big
shoes to fill. Mr. to go to the extent that you didn't know that your service in Congress was only preparing you to serve on the state board of elementary and secondary education. I put you on notice that this board is an extraordinarily talented, smart board
and we have been so privileged to have been served by the likes of Mr. Ronnie Morris. Mr. Ronnie Morris, thank you for your service. Miss Mr. Morris, Mr. Morris, would you like to say a few words or
>> I just uh thank you, Mr. Castile. It's been a real pleasure. Uh certainly these comments were unexpected, but uh certainly appreciate your comments. Um, I would guess just I would say personally it's just been a very humbling experience for me. Appreciate
the opportunity to serve and it's been a pleasure uh working with all you guys. So, thank you so much. And also like to thank uh Superintendent Brumley and his staff. Just really been a real pleasure to work with everyone. I know a lot of that work is not recognized uh routinely um but it's very very appreciated and
just a personal thanks to you guys. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Mars. Before we go on to the next item, I would like to acknowledge uh Superintendent Ber and Superintendent uh Paxton for being with us today. They're
they are normally here, so we do appreciate your involvement and everything that you do for the children of this state. Thank you. Next item, please. The next the next item on the agenda is item number four, recognition of Louisiana Public Interest Fellowship and Presidential Award for Excellence in
Math and Science. >> Do I have a motion, Mr. Conrad and Miss Armstrong? >> This will be led. Is there any objection? This will be led by Miss Molly Talbot
and Miss Jamie Abear from LOE. Thank you ladies. >> Good morning. My name is Molly Talbett and I'm the director of science and environmental education here at the department of ed under the um office of teaching and learning under the direction of Dr. Jenna Chasson. I'd like
to start this morning by introducing the state's newest honores of the 2025 presidential award for excellence in mathematics and science teaching. This award is the nation's highest honor for K12 mathematics and science educators at
the elementary and secondary levels. It recognizes teachers who demonstrate exceptional exceptional content knowledge and a proven ability to inspire, motivate, and help students achieve academic excellence. Mathematic honores, as I call your name,
please come forward and remain standing until all math honores are up front and then we'll take a group photo. Our math honores for the 2025 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science are Emily Dunn, Ben Franklin
High School, New Orleans. Jamar Ferguson, Arthur F. Smith Middle School, Magnet School, Raped Parish, and Kathleen Olrich, Liberty Magnet High School in East Baton Rouge Parish.
Now, we'll take a group photo with Bessie. you again for these wonderful math educators. Our science honores, as I call your name, please come forward and remain standing until all science honores are up front and we'll take a group photo.
The science honores are Cecilia Gillum, Ben Franklin High School, New Orleans, Michelle Shirley, Northwestern School Elementary, University Lab School, Nadines College, and Callie Tran, Early Learning College
Academy, Lafayette Parish. Now we'll take a picture with Bessie. Thank you to the science educators and congratulations to this year's presidential award and uh math and science honores. Hello, I'm Kelly St.S. I'm with the office of school.
>> I'm sorry. I'd just like to thank you all for your service and taking the time to be with us today. Y'all are very important and critical to the needs of this state and your advocacy for children is unmeasurable. So, thank you very much. >> Thank you. I'm Kelly Somson with the
Office of School System Relations is under the direction of Trey Ples and I have the privilege of managing the Louisiana Public Interest Fellowship Program. This fellowship allows recipients to spend the school year advocating for a key education initiative of their choosing. In
October, we introduced our 2025 public interest fellow Beth Melton to the board. Today, she's here to give an update on her progress of her initiative. I'm g pass it down to Beth. Good morning and thank you for having me. Um, and thank you so much for this
incredible opportunity. As a 2025 public interest fellow, my initiative focuses on enhancing math fluency and strengthening students ability to solve word problems by prioritizing both numerical understanding and the cognitive processes,
excuse me, involved in interpreting and tackling word problems. This initiative aims to give students the skills they need to succeed in mathematics and in real world problem solving. As a key component of this work, it's engaging
our parents to make them more involved. This initiative includes the development of userfriendly mathematic resources and the distribution of math kits designed to help families support learning at home. So today, I'd like to give you an
update on what we've accomplished so far and to share what's coming next. So during the first phase of the project, I collaborated with stakeholders to design and assemble the math kits as well as to to develop a
plan for distributing through schools, libraries, and social media outreach. The kits created that were created are four different bands. I have kindergarten and first grade together, second grade, then third grade, and then
fourth and fifth grade. To date, we have assembled 150 kits for each grade level band for a total of 600 kits. Additional materials are available and ready to be assembled as the demand continues. So
far to date, I have distributed 150 kits to parents and their students. I've also established an afterchool math club that incorporates peer tutoring and hands-on math activities to reinforce
fluency and problem solving. Math club started in October and will continue through the end of the school year. And just as a side note, my math club students absolutely love to be there.
They see me in the hallway and they point at me and they're like, "That's my math my math club teacher. That's Miss Melton. Hey, Miss Melton." I'm getting little love notes from them in the afternoons on Thursdays. It's just really fabulous. And I can see the joy.
And for me as well, it has really been exciting. I didn't realize I would enjoy math club so much, but I do. And they are just fabulous. I I look forward to every Thursday. So, currently I have 30 students in grades one through three
participating. I have eight first graders. I have eight second graders and 14 third graders. And we meet weekly um each Thursday after school. So, in November and December, I hosted parent workshops at St. Tammy Parish
Public Libraries. These workshops focused on sharing simple strategies, tools, and games that families can use at home to support math learning. Students rotated through the interactive math game stations while parents participated alongside their children.
Many parents commented on how accessible and easy the fluency games were to implement at home, and they were excited to receive the math kit. So, that's the thing. parents don't realize how simple some of those fluency games are. And so
they were so grateful and so thankful and they're like, "This kit's for me." And I'm like, "Yep, go home and use it as long as you're using it." So looking ahead, my next goal is to continue expanding community partnerships by scheduling additional
events with parish libraries and collaborating with schools to support their parent student events. I'm also exploring opportunities with the to host Math with Melton events at the Children's Museum in Mainville. I
actually had a Zoom call with them on Monday with their children's um little area director and after I leave here, I'm going to meet with her and go tour their facility and pencil in probably about three or four days um with them.
So, I'm looking forward to that. Math Club will continue weekly every Thursday until the end of the school year. And again, I'm not sure who's going to be more upset when it ends, if it's going to be me or the kids. We will also be hosting an end of the year math fair on
Friday, May 8. Friday, May 8th at 10:00 a.m. Please, please join us if you're free and available. It will be held at my school, Bayou Woods Elementary in Slidell. Our entire school will be immersed in math focused activities during the fair and my math club
students will play a leadership role by welcoming visitors and guiding them around campus and answering questions. So I just want to end with saying thank you to every single person that has supported me through this. It's been
very overwhelming but in a good way. Kelly assures me constantly that I'm doing fabulously. So, I'm listening to Cali, but just special shout out to my um my school, my teachers that I work with that help with math club, as well
as my school board people that have helped me through all of this. So, I couldn't do it without them. So, thank you. >> Thank you, Miss Melton. On behalf of Bessie, we appreciate your passion, your commitment, and your service to the children of our state. Thank you very
much. Next item, please. >> The next The next item on the agenda is item 5.1, approval of December 9th, 2025 special call meeting and December 10th, 2025 uh regular meeting.
>> Can I have a motion, please? Mr. Harris, Miss Armstrong, is there any objection to the motion? Seeing none, motion passes. >> Next item, please. >> Next item on the agenda is item 6.1,
report by the state superintendent of education. May I have a motion, please? Miss Armstrong, Mr. Conrad. >> Uh, thank you, uh, President Champine for the opportunity to share some remarks. Uh, I too wanted to just, uh,
share very briefly my appreciation for, uh, the officers from, uh, last term. Being able to work with with Ronnie and and Stacy and Kevin uh, was um, I just felt like we got a lot of work done. We got a lot of quality work done for the
state of Louisiana and we had a good working relationship and so I just want to personally thank uh the three of you all uh for that relationship and the student centered way in which you approached the work and uh at the same time I look forward to uh working uh
Miss Shanine with with you and and Dr. Clark and and Mr. Burkin again to continue on that progress. Uh we're certainly uh not uh where we need to be u but we're making progress and we certainly aren't where we were. So that
is all good. I did intend to uh also recognize the uh presidential award winners and public interest fellow but they left. So um I'll I'll someone can share with them that I congratulated them. The presidential award for math
and science is a really big deal. Um, we have a lot of celebrations that we do to bring energy to the state around education. They're all worthwhile. Um, but I will I will indicate that that presidential award for for math and science is a really big deal nationally.
Um, especially in an area content areas where it is uh more difficult to staff teachers. And so I I want to just shout them out even though they're no longer with us. And then our public interest fellow um is playing a role in the
greater picture of the math elevation that we're trying to do across the state that you know her her selection was not by accident or not by chance. It's because we're deliberately trying to elevate the conversation around math around the state. So you know I encourage Mr. Fals and his team working
alongside Dr. Shassan and her team to to find ways uh with that particular fellowship to to see if we can expand those types of things with what she's doing with math clubs across the state of Louisiana. Um a few comments. We uh
recently were provided from Hel and Ed a copy of their uh 2026 uh education policy playbook that they're sharing u for legislative sessions around the country. And uh they have a few key areas listed and one of those is
accountability. So they have a a such a page on accountability and they've encouraged um state boards of education and legislators across the entire country to focus on building stronger accountability systems for for school systems and for schools. And um on this
one pager on accountability, their state exemplar is the state of Louisiana. And so I just wanted to congratulate and thank the board. Yeah, that's worth a round of applause. I I I know that it I know that accountability is a very sensitive issue. I know it's a very complicated
issue. Uh it's not one that that anyone can wrap their hands around overnight or over a few weeks or months. And this board spent considerable time exploring that. But I do just want to read um what their national document says about
Louisiana as a state exemplar. It says, "Leiana has set a national standard uh with its grow, achieve, and thrive accountability framework. The state now will use a simple, transparent, and rigorous formula that holds schools accountable for three clear goals.
helping all students reach grade level proficiency or higher, ensuring individual growth for every student towards proficient or advanced achievement, and prioritizing growth for the most struggling learners. Under the
new AF grading system, schools are measured on student growth in math and English language arts with the focus on the lowest performance proficiency across core subjects and post-secary readiness through on-time graduation rates, nationally recognized exams and
preparation for college, career or military pathways. So that is that is a document that legislators and state boards across the entire country are receiving uh and it is talking positively about the work that you all uh completed. So I say thank you for
that and I'll make sure everyone gets a copy of this. Um beyond that uh we have mentioned that teacher leader summit um this upcoming year we have an intent for it to be the largest uh summit that we've ever held and we will open early
bird registration on February 9th uh and hope uh that we are able to hit the attendance mark that we have internally set to indeed make this the largest event that we've ever held. Um it will be strictly tied to the uh priorities of
the agency and Bessie. Um and it's a good time. Teachers enjoy that event. Uh the the development is high quality and we appreciate uh your attendance if you're able to attend. Again, want to reach out uh over the next few weeks from our team and make sure that
everyone feels comfortable about legislative session. I know Mr. Harris is going to be leading that work. But it's really important, I think, that um we protect the progress that we've made. Um we're not entering into a legislative
uh session uh behind. We're actually entering legislative session with momentum and we need to make sure that uh that is known. uh we've we've made uh progress and we've had secured we've secured key policy wins in uh raising
the standards, expanding efforts in literacy, improving efforts in in numeracy, increasing school choice, uh workforce development policies. So, I just want to make sure that uh you all feel comfortable this legislative session and certainly reach out to Ashley or Ben uh on our t our team if
you need any uh support. Um, finally, uh, January is schoolboard recognition month. Uh, Mr. Mr. Gal, uh, we welcome you, uh, to the board. Um, and you're not going to get enough recognition for
the work that you do. That's quite simple. Um, but school board members both uh at at the Bessie level um and at the system level do uh just uh God's work uh to try and improve outcomes for students every day. Um and so January is
appreciation month for all school board uh members across the state. So I recognize you as our board and um as I told someone just this morning, Louisiana is blessed to have a really strong state board of education. Uh and it's it's an honor to work alongside all
of you and we have really important uh work to do over the course of this this year. Uh and if our office can help in any particular way within uh your districts, just let us know. So uh thanks Miss Sean Pine. >> Thank you, Superintendent Bro,
Mr. Conrad. >> Thank you. Um something came up this morning that highlights the significance of everything that superintendent just talked about. Um, you all know for generations our state's been known for bad education outcomes, bad corruption,
everything bad. We're always been at the bottom of the list. Well, this morning again, and it's happened a few other times, uh, the Wall Street Journal published an opinion piece that highlighted the success of Mississippi, Louisiana, and a couple other states in
educational uh, improvement. uh that is subtle but it's increas important because it gets a message to the uh the rest of the United States to the world that Louisiana is a success and it means something because it means
for the for the opportunities for our people to have better jobs higher paying jobs and prosperity. So everything we're doing here gets done to the minutiae the superintendent talked about but it has a big picture impact and this is huge.
Now, um I would hope that we can capitalize on that in in some of our efforts. We've talked about that amongst the board members to uh further enhance our message, get our message out to the people of Louisiana, but more important to the people of the United States in
the world that Louisiana made a huge turnaround. The ship has turned around and is heading in the right direction. And we want to open our arms for those folks that are I'll just go ahead and say it come from New York and California and other places where they're they're
just pounded by bad results. Uh we want them here. We we welcome them here and we are we can present them with an opportunity for their employees and for their uh work collaboratives uh to do a better job. So, I want to thank every, you know, everybody thanks everybody,
but thank you, superintendent and staff, superintendent, teachers, everybody that made uh an effort to contribute to this great ship turning around and understand there's a significance to it uh way beyond just better grades and education.
Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. uh Appeal. Mr. Harris, >> I'd like to jump on what uh my colleague, Mr. Conrad, has said. I can't say this eloquently, but um it's great
to see the culture change. And we talked about that our first year on this board. Uh that when you're in the grocery line anywhere, say stuff positive about Louisiana's teachers, about our students, about our superintendent,
and don't let someone get away with saying negative things because it's just not true anymore. We're on the Wall Street Journal's opinion page. We have all these great articles. But that leads me into my next thing. I like I want to thank uh President Morris for his two
years of service, but this culture change and these things that are happening is due to a very diligent effort by our superintendent, Mr. Cade Brumley, who I've worked with for years and his staff. And I thank y'all so much
just uh working with Cade and the legislature, working with you guys in the legislature. found my two years here. Uh I dare say that we would not be at this point if it wasn't for y'all's dedication, intelligence, and your leadership. And
thank you, Kate Bramley, because I'm about tired of hearing how good you are. But I want to tell you, thank you so much. >> Thank you, Mr. Hats. >> Mention something. I I would like to continue the pontification. Um Conrad
makes an excellent point about individuals moving from other states because they don't like some of the policies. They don't like some of the results and and they're going to places like um Texas or the Carolas or Tennessee um uh Alabama and and we're
seeing that and and and you know it's it's important with the renaissance that's happening in in the South that we be a part of that. Um, and we have to be a part of that through our education system. And our teachers in the classroom are are really leading the
charge every day of absorbing these changes and and making these shifts. And I'm so proud of the work that they do um while other while other sectors have to also improve whether it's crime or healthcare or insurance or all those things that our legislature and our
governor uh are working on. But one one segment of the population I think that is probably no I believe it is more important than the individuals even that we would like to see come to our state but it's our kids and our grandkids and
them not leaving the state and never coming back. Um, and I know that several of us on the board have experienced that. Um, or are in the process of experiencing that. And we we just need to make sure that we do our part every single day to create an environment
through our body of work that that doesn't happen. Um, and so we have made a ton of progress. We have a lot of work left to do. Um, but I hope not only do we see the the U-Hauls wanting to move here, but I hope that we we don't see our kids and our grandkids continue to
leave the state and never come back. >> Great words. Thank you, Dr. Brown. >> Next item, please. >> Next item on the agenda is item 7.1, reports from members of Bessie Statutory and Legislative Task Force Council appointees.
Mr. Cow second Mr. Burkin object objection seeing none motion passes comments >> Mr. Durkin.
>> Madam President, uh just MFP task force will be meeting at 11:00 today in this room uh to talk about our statutory requirement to have MFP to the legislature by March 15th. Um, we'll
meet today to listen uh to the concerns of all involved and then later in February we'll probably have another meeting uh before our March meeting where we will need to vote on the MLP that would go to the legislature. Thank
you. >> Thank you, Mr. Berkin. Any other reports? Mr. Mars. >> Yeah, thank you, Madam Chair. I just want to share briefly uh comments from uh President Henderson who uh chairs the Bessie uh committee. Um
uh President Herson shares with us. He says, "I was pleased that the substantive substantive uh work performed by the subcommittees over the holiday break. Uh I believe we're on track to have the deliverables in near final form for discussion uh at our
February meeting. Uh so they'll be reporting to he'll be reporting uh to the board uh in March. I believe the February meeting is scheduled for February 6. I believe uh my understanding is that's going to be an all day meeting this time. Uh so look
forward for that group to convene again and again uh President Henderson will be reporting to us uh at March Bessie. >> Thank you, Mr. Morris. Any other members? Any comments? Thank you.
Next item, please. Next item on the agenda is item 8.1. Rece uh receive a report on outcomes from the family engagement pilot in partnership with the Louisiana Department of Education and the Center for Literacy and Learning.
>> Can I have a motion, please, Mr. Morris? Second. Do I have a second? Miss Clark. Uh thank you. We have some presenters today, but I kind of saved a few of my remarks uh and thanking everyone until
Dr. Wyel, Representative Wyel came to the table because everything that was said to date from this Bessie board, the thanks for our superintendent for us being where we are today and his staff that are so willing to help not only
locally, but they are on the state level, statewide. They have boots on the ground every day. They answer the calls. They answer our calls. They're smart. They're uh a very intelligent and they're very passionate about what they
do. So, I want to thank them along with our Bessie staff because we we we still have a lot of work to do like Superintendent Brumley said, but we're going to continue on that path. We're going to gain momentum, more momentum this year than we have in the previous
years, which is the way it should be. However, we can't do that just this board or the superintendent or LDOE without uh looking at our state representatives. We have three former representatives on this board. So, we
understand how important it is that everyone works in conjunction with each other and representative Wyel, you as one of them. I think we've all understand in this state now that we have to pull the wagon in the same direction and never forget that we are
here for the children of our state. So in conjunction with the governor's office, the legislature, Bessie, Judge Wemer, when he comes into truency, you know how they say it takes a village to raise a child? Well, it's going to take an entire state to raise a child.
And I want to thank you on on Bessie's behalf for being a part of the legislature that is open-minded enough to be able to take on some of these issues and not worry about if you offend anyone and that you're not doing it for
political gain. We all remember it is part of politics. However, we remember that we are here for the children of this state and we will continue to do the right thing. So, I want to acknowledge you today. I was waiting until you came up to the table as a presenter uh to thank you and know that
that work with the legislature is ongoing and we are totally excited to participate in that. So we have Dr. John Wyel, Representative Wyel with us. Miss Dejon Clark Jackson, did I pronounce it correctly? >> Close. DJ Jane
>> Dejane. I like that. Thank you'all for being here with us. >> The center of lit literacy. President Shine, before Representative Wyel begins, I just want to also um extend my uh thanks to Representative Wyel. Um
we've worked together for six years now on uh improving literacy outcomes in the state, and I know uh he's in constant communication uh with our team, which is the greatest team in the country, um on ways to further uh improve outcomes in
the state. And so with him stepping into the uh role of the legislature um along with a a solid freshman class from across the state um you you have been able to uh expand on some of that work there and so we've appreciated that
partnership and uh DJ as well always willing to serve on task force and and committees although we don't necessarily need all of them but um we're always thankful that you're there and the expertise that you provide. So, I just want to acknowledge you all at the
center for the work that you do. >> Well, thank thank you both uh so much. And I I'll just comment very briefly. Uh thank you for recognizing Superintendent Romley and President Shan. Uh really the the depth and breadth of
expertise and innovation across the entire legislature. Uh and we see it in the administration. We see it in the work that you guys are doing. and it's just a fantastic partnership and I'm just honored to be a small part of that. Um, so, um, I I know you guys have had a
full docket to this point this morning. So, we're going to be as brief as possible. So, I'm going to publicly uh grant permission to my colleague here to nudge me uh here because I'm I am pretty excited and pretty passionate about the work that we're doing, where we are as a
state, but certainly recognizing that there's a lot more work to be done. Um I want to first start, you know, everybody's got a great team and we have some of our program team uh here in the audience and I want to acknowledge them first. Nonique Jala, Miranda Grimon,
Katherryn Jackson, Leay McKinley, they're part of our family and parent engagement team. We have a lot more team across this state uh watching online and working in our our schools as we speak. But I I certainly we have I think about 300 years of combined educator
experience on our team and I'm just really honored to be a part of them. So kudos to these these outstanding ladies behind me. Um just very briefly again uh the center for literacy and learning was founded in
1992. We've been around more than three decades and we lead as both experts and advocates for high quality evidenceinformed instruction in every classroom, every learning center from birth to high school graduation. We're a Louisiana based nonprofit with a
national footprint. We do work all over the country. We work with school districts, west coast, east coast, and every uh point in between. Um I like to think of our work in three broad buckets. Uh the work that we do, that's professional learning, whether it's uh
boots on the grounds with school districts or our national conference that we do. That professional learning piece, family engagement piece, and then the advocacy and awareness piece of it. And those three buckets working together, working hand in hand really
create uh our model that we use to uh advance our mission and our vision. As you can see up there, many of us know us best by our uh prestigious national um event, Plain Talk About Literacy and Learning. It's a national premier event.
Uh this is our 31st u uh institute coming up in March. It's um probably has sold out or is a days away from selling out. We sell this event out every year. We bring thousands of educational experts and researchers
to New Orleans every year right here in Louisiana as a part of Plane Talk about literacy and learning. Um I also want to highlight real quickly a new partnership we have. Uh we just established an office on the campus of Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond. We're
beginning a new exciting partnership with Southeastern and President Waywright. Really working to uh explore opportunities to bring more research and fellowships to Louisiana to look specifically at the areas that we work in. In addition to the campus on
Southeastern, we have offices in Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and we have an office in Washington DC. Um and I also think it's of note just to to give you an idea of our capacity. uh last year sometime around August or September we
surpassed uh 1 million impressions and engagements in our uh through our social media platforms. So educators and parents alike are seeking our services and seeking our uh support. Very briefly
um just to kind of walk through real quickly where we got how we got to this point in 2019. in the center worked with uh the superintendent at that point and the legislature at that time and created the first early literacy commission. Uh rep then then representative and
chairman Harris you were a part of that uh 2020 we all know the challenges that came with that but still despite the challenges of the COVID year um the center worked with the legislature and secured $2 million to pilot uh literacy
coaches across the state. Um, Michael Willis, young man who's an outstanding leader, taken away from us way too early. Many of you uh probably knew and worked with Michael Willis. He worked relentlessly. You you guys had I don't know how many sessions that summer and
uh we were able to secure that funding uh for the department to do the uh literacy coach pilot statewide. During the COVID years 20 to 21, we partnered with uh Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, the committee of a hundred and many others and we did
lunch and learns all over the state. We got in front of more than 300 business leaders across this state and said literacy, particularly early literacy, is not an education issue. It's an economic issue. It's a workforce issue.
And um through that work and through that momentum we were able to start really building recognition around uh the need for that. Um then in 21 we actually piloted or or started a statewide literacy coach program with
Dr. Brumley and the department. We issued a fall 2022 report that uh underscored the success of that work and then um continued that work to grow. And through that early literacy commission came a lot of the reforms in all of
those years that you guys have passed and today we're seeing the results of that work. Um you know and so as we work through and what got us to this point is we recognize that what's the missing element? What's the piece that I believe
Mr. Harris is tough to legislate and that's parent engagement. We've heard a lot about it today from Justice We Truency to the public uh interest fellow from St. Tamony Parish and incredible work she's doing. that engagement uh is
a significant component of education success and it's why in 2023 we sought to um get uh legislative approval and funding approved through Bessie to do this pilot on family engagement. And so with that, I'm going to turn it over to
my colleague and we're actually going to talk about the pilot and that work that we were able to accomplish. >> Good morning everyone again. Uh I'm Djan A. Clark Jackson and I serve as president at the center uh for literacy and learning alongside Dr. Wyel to do
such incredible work across the state. I support our um areas of uh program development and implementation and I really am excited to present to you the highlights, outcomes and impact of the family literacy engagement pilot that actually concluded this past summer.
So before I jump into the family engagement pilot, I want to first set the ground with you all about what the basis of this pilot was built on and that's the dual capacity building framework. This framework was developed by renowned Harvard professor Dr. Karen
Map and it shows the challenges, conditions and and the goals that are necessary for effective partnerships between school and home that support academic success. In response to the researchbased
framework, we developed our Louisiana reads program back in 2020 at the center where we focused on these three these four C's. Connect where we create an uh community of families dedicated to fostering literacy development by
providing resources and support. Collaborate, where we partner with schools, libraries, and other organizations to bring Louisiana Reads to families. campaign. We raise awareness for the importance of literacy, the impacts of
illiteracy on society, and reading as a civil right. And then champion to lay the groundwork for a love of literacy and a commitment to lifelong learning. Our ultimate goal is to merge classroom instruction and practice with atome
learning through intentional solutions. So, we talked a little bit about how we got here pre-pilot, but this uh lets you know that the the work extended through Louisiana Reeds. We developed the family literacy engagement pilot, also known as Fle internally. And so, this highlights
uh that timeline of that implementation. As a part of the two-year pilot, the centers work closely with uh a cohort of public schools to establish, strengthen, and maintain an effective infrastructure that supports family engagement
surrounding literacy. Targeted family literacy engagement pl uh plans uh plays a vital role in Louisiana's efforts to improve literacy outcomes. As family engagement in a child's education is associated with increased academic
achievement, our mission is to build a community of families committed to literacy and offer resources that connect classroom learning with support at home. So again, this slide notes how our journey through that implementation
happened. So we set some goals early on that were uh adopted and approved. We partnered with uh 15 LEAs across the state. We developed parent and family literacy engagement uh education awareness. We set out to strengthen
school infrastructure to increase families capacity and to bridge the gap between classroom and home. Moving on to the program's reach and support. Through Fle, we were able to reach 29 schools and 15 LEAs in 10
parishes. We reached we had four communities of practice where school teams across the state participated in collaborative professional learning. There were 128 monthly office hours where individual school teams receive targeted support.
29 toolkits that were customized to the needs of each individual school. and 116 need surveys for families and staff, one in the fall and one in the spring per school to identify the needs and set the goals.
Our work spanned from the early childhood sector to adolescence which is really important as we look at that continuum of learning. For example, through our growing reading brains parent edition workshops, which are science of reading aligned, early childhood families learned how to
effectively read aloud to their child. K3 families learned how to understand their child's dibbles data and how to support foundational literacy skills at home. And middle school families learned what proficient writing looks like and
how to support writing at home. At every event, families also receive high-quality books tailored to their student population. These books served as an all access tool families can reference as they implement their new learning.
In total, 5,670 books were distributed through the family literacy engagement pilot to build at home libraries and encourage reading at home. Access to quality literacyrich environments is a pivotal
component of continued learning. And one school's literacy coach emphasized at this very point also noting that it helped to encourage students to develop that love of literacy that we hear often. And through the fle program, we were
also able to support 2,440 adults uh that were present at the 51 literacy events. One parent shared that the workshops were very beneficial and that books even uh helped to grow her child's love of learning.
As a part of the literacy events, families completed a registration form which asked about access to books. We found that 68% over twothirds of families had 15 or less children's books and magazines in their home. And this
clearly showcases that access to books is a need in our state. Just think about how many books of print materials you have in your home. After the events, families were sent a follow-up survey where we reported that 97% say they uh
were satisfied with the books that they received and were able to implement them. Again, we view these books as sort of a byproduct of our programming, second only to our engagement that allows families to understand on a deeper level. And that is a crucial and
vital part of our work. Here you'll see that from the family literacy event registrations, we also found that 38% of families read to their zero zero to 10 year olds at home five plus days a week and that only 39% of
children aged seven plus read on their own at home for five plus days a week. This actually mirrors the data that is collected across uh access to books and roughly a third had more than um 15 uh
books at home. After the events, school staff were also sent a survey and we are proud to report that 100% shared that Louisiana Reads family literacy engagement events met the needs of the families they serve. As seen in the final report, which you
all have full access to, the needs assessment data revealed a need for capacity building among both staff and families. This was a critical step in supporting schools and families. This is aligned with the research of the dual
capacity framework that was shared at the start of this presentation. And like was mentioned before, we can't do this in a silo. So we did have partners. So throughout the duration of the pilot we partnered with the following organizations and programs.
Fle received uh registration from uh school participants received registrations to our plain talk conference the plain talk about literacy and learning institute as well as the plain talk about dyslexia summit. These are nationally recognized and renowned conferences held right here in
Louisiana. Additionally, uh, resources were provided through the Louisiana Statewide Family Engagement Center, Kids Scoop News, and Family Engagement Lab. Finally, the Blanco Center Public Policy Center completed an external evaluation
of the work that we were doing. So, here are a couple of key highlights from the Blanco Center's uh, report, which will be uh, finalized soon. Some of these highlights uh were a sort of evaluation of literacy plan reviews prior to us
supporting their work so we can identify the areas uh that were consistent across many schools. And as you can see it showed a lot of limitations in what and inconsistencies in literacy engagement and what schools felt as though engagement activities looked like. So we
also helped to bring consistent language and understanding around engagement versus involvement. And then the results of our family literacy engagement was the framework that was what we set out to do. This was a key result of our pilot. Uh it's a
researchbased model that schools and families can use to drive lasting change in family engagement. And then you have access to that through the QR code provided. And then finally, as a culmination of our work, we also developed that final report which we
provided full access to you as well. Some of the data has been highlighted here today, but you can access all of the work and um more in depth through that report. With that, I'll turn it over back. >> Thank you. And and again, thank you for the opportunity to be here. I know
you've got a a full agenda. Um but we felt it was important to share this information and for you to understand um that you know this is just the beginning. We realize that family engagement is the most challenging area of um I'm my te my
wife of 34 years as a teacher in tell you in my role as a school board member but it's essential and it's it and we have to find a way to connect to our our parents and in a state where for the majority of our lifetimes we've
struggled in education for whatever reason I think it's okay and and just natural to assume assume that a lot of the parents we're working with probably didn't have the best experience in their education themselves. And so we're
really trying hard to to get out there and to reach them where they are and to provide them the support because we do know that it's critical for us to get from where we are now as a state in education to where we want to be. And so I'll just say um you know in our
feelings and and our philosophy of the center it it's unreasonable for us or or Baton Ridge to expect that fam we saw family engagement. We see our role as building capacity. Family engagement's organic. It really needs to happen between the
teacher and and the parents and the family. But we can help them with capacity with skill building the tools that they need. And that's what we're trying to do here. So look, once again, um I I think uh our partnership is so
unique. U is so unique that we hosted a symposium uh with Speaker Johnson in Washington DC last fall. We invited national partners to hear about the Louisiana story. And part of that is because of the department and Bessie and
the center have worked so quiet um seamlessly together. And I want to um just conclude by giving my own flowers to to Dr. Brumley. Um he has been just what we need. I'm I'm going to try to do
this so he can still fit his head through the door when we're done. But I mean he Dr. Brmley was just what Louisiana needed at that time and it's just what Louisiana needs today. And uh I'll say it. I I consider him a a great
friend and colleague and if we could have an army of Dr. Brumley's there's no telling where we would where we would go but thank you all so much. >> Thank you Miss Jackson. Thank you Representative Wel. >> Madam Chair. >> Oh I'm sorry
questions if we could. >> Yes. >> So thank you so much for the uh presentation. I I just really appreciate the challenge for parental engagement, how important it is and and obviously how challenging it is, but I had a couple questions. Um, you mentioned 116
needs surveys. So, I was just curious, could you share with us um a little bit more the the feedback that you got from those surveys. What were the top two or three needs that that parents uh shared with you? And then my second question
was um you know and and I know it's very challenging to to actually engage parents on this topic. You know what's the secret sauce to the keys of engagement as you think about the the other parishes in the state that you haven't you haven't reached yet? Uh
where where have you found success that you know what brings parents uh into this conversation to come out and bring their family out and and so forth. So couple questions there. feedback on your needs survey and then also uh what have
you learned you know from these these first 10 or so parishes that you expect to leverage going forward with the rest of the state. >> Yep. >> The um so our need surveys I can tell you identifi helped the schools really identify the areas of misunderstanding
and misconception around family engagement. And so while many schools believe that they were engaging families, they were actually inviting families to activities rather than engaging them on a deeper level. And so our needs assessment allowed us to identify where the gaps were where we
can help support uh those schools. So access to books was one for our families. The need for supports in multiple languages is another. And then having the understanding of activities versus engagement. So we were uh we were
able to bring the research and the practice to help curate really strong family engagement opportunities. >> And and I would just add very briefly uh Mr. Morris that um Miss Clark Jackson
made a good point in her presentation. The books for us are the byproduct. Obviously we want every family and every child to have books, right? Books, books, books, books. It's great, tangible, but frankly, if you're just
sending books and there's no support, then the books I I probably get chastised for saying this, then the books become dust collectors. And so, when you look at the 5600 books, I'll tell you, I'm like, ah, 5600.
But when you understand our model and that the books are the byproduct, they're the the entree if you will into that engagement and just having and helping parents understand, you know, you don't have to be a rocket
scientist, you don't have to be a teacher, you don't have to be whatever. You just that engagement that's so critical and I think that was a big part of what we're doing. So, we're very intentional in our model and how we support our our local schools that those
books are great and we want to build that library, but we also want to meet that parent where they are. And that's the the other part of that. The last thing I'll say, president, madame president, is we also intentionally provide resources on various platforms,
whether it's a book, uh an app, uh texting services, we do we try to meet parents in a variety of different ways. >> And I'll I'll conclude with your your final questions. What can we learn from the districts and how we move forward? You know, taking that work with us. the
framework was the culmination of that making it a accessible to schools. I think the largest um ending to this was uh the sadness that a pilot the pilot had to end. And so these schools that have built for the last two years their
toolkit to be able to support schools hopefully they can sustain that um in our absence. And so we do plan to continue our check-ins with them to ensure that they have the resources that they need to continue implementation. Maybe maybe one more question just curious. I don't know if you have this available with you or not, but what what
was the top one or two books or area of interest that was expressed? Can can you share that with us? >> Look, I'm not going to uh talk uh make something up from the team, but I I know what the library looks like in our office building. So, I will say that uh
the books that are most interesting are those STEM focused books. >> Oh, bravo. >> And so, we have those. >> Belle, did you catch that? and girl empowerment books. We do like to to have, you know. Yeah. So, I would say
that we we distribute a lot of those and they they go well for boys and girls. >> Thank you so much. Appreciate your work and thank you for the report. >> Thank you, Doc. Thank you, Mr. Morris. Thank you. Have a great day. We we look forward to working with y'all more. Thank you.
Next item, please. Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Berkeley. um earlier the comments were so eloquent and um I wanted to give it some time so that I could speak and they wouldn't compare me to them. So, but I wanted to
take the time as um uh newest member of the board last year to thank uh President Ronnie Morris for including me in on everything and to giving me uh the toutelage and uh to make me a
an officer that uh of this board that uh the the board deserves and I thank him for that. I also want to thank outgoing vice president Stacy Melerin for her work um here on the board for the last
two years. Um she's put in all the time and effort to uh be on here and I wanted to thank her. When people ask me um uh how are things on the board, how are
things at Bessie? And I always tell them the same thing. It's fun when you're winning. And right now we're winning, but we have to keep winning. Uh so that is the challenge. Success
is the best medicine uh for our state. Uh Louisiana's educational system is succeeding, but we're not there yet. As Dr. Brumley keeps uh saying let's
celebrate for 15 minutes but we have to go back to work. Um so I'm looking forward to what's coming and I would just say to all of us here um we have done good things but let's continue to
do good things. So with that uh thank you Madam Chair. >> Thank you Mr. Bergen. Anyone else? Okay, next item please. Next item on the agenda is item 9.1, academic goals and instructional improvement committee. Mr.
Appel, do I have a second? >> I'm sorry. You got to read the motion. >> Okay. >> You ready? >> Yes. >> On behalf of the Academic Goals and Instructional Improvement Committee, I move to approve motions one through nine. >> Do I have a second?
>> Mr. Harris, >> is there any objection? Seeing none, this motion passes. Next item, please. 9.2. >> Next item is 9.2, Board Administration, Education Finance Committee, Mr. Burken. >> On behalf of the Board Administration
and Education Finance Committee, I move to approve motions 1 through 18. >> May I have a second, please? Mr. Armstrong, are there any objections? Seeing none, motion passes.
Item 9.3. >> The next item on the agenda is item 9.3, educator effectiveness committee. Dr. Clark, >> on behalf of the educator effectiveness committee, I move to approve motions 1 through 32, noting that item one as a notice of intent. Also note that Mr. G
abstain from motions 27 through 32. Do I have a second, please? Mr. Castile, are there any objections? Seeing none, the motion passes. >> Next item, please.
>> Next item is item 9.4, Legislative and Governmental Affairs Committee. Mr. Harris, >> on behalf of the Legislative and Governmental Affairs Committee, I move to approve motion one. >> Do I have a second? Mr. Kyle, are there any objections?
Seeing none, that motion passes. Next item, please. Next item is 9.5 school innovation and turnaround committee. Mr. Castile, >> on behalf of the school innovation and turnaround committee, I move to approve motions 1 through 10. >> Do I have a second, Miss Clark?
Do I see any objections? That motion passes. >> That concludes the agenda. >> Thank you. We are adjourned.