Good morning. Welcome to Bessie and our board meeting for Tuesday, June 3rd, 2025. Uh, first item, please. I'm sorry. Uh, like to call the meeting to order. Could we get a roll call, please? Mr. Appel, Dr. Armstrong,
here. Mr. Burkin, here. Mr. Castile, not present. Miss Champagne here. Dr. Clark not present. Mr. Harris, Mr. Hollis here, Miss Holloway here, Miss Meerine, Mr. Morris here. You have a quorum. Thank you. So, folks, we'd like to start
out with our invocation. Our invocation this morning will be led by Deacon Don Allison. Deacon, if you would step forward and uh maybe we could all stand in prayer. How about that? In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy
Spirit. Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for all your wonderful blessings. Especially the blessing of being able to gather here today. Help us to always remember that your son taught us that where two or more are gathered together in his name, he is there among
us. We ask that you bless this uh the board that's here today. We ask that you bless their staff and and the members of the public that are here today to to carry out and to and to communicate with the
board and for the board to deliver the business of the elementary and secondary education system of this state. We ask that you bless the board through their deliberations with wisdom and knowledge and understanding and good judgment and clear
thinking. We ask that you bless the staff and everyone else here with and good judgment and clear thinking. We ask that you help everybody here try to discern your will today as they carry out the important business of governing
the elementary and secondary education system of this great state of Louisiana. Help them to carry out your will. Help them to understand what that is. We ask all this through your son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God
forever and ever. Amen. Amen. Thank you, Deacon. If I would ask you to remain standing for the pledge, uh, Miss Ash Elizabeth Fontnau uh, from the Louisiana School of the Visually Impaired will lead us in the pledge this morning. I pledge of 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. Thank you. All right. Now, let's go to that first
item, please. The first item is 2.1, approval of the agenda. Can I get a motion, please? Melerin, Mr. Harris. Thank you. Any objection hearing? None. Motion passes. Uh, next item. I believe uh Dr.
Armstrong has a motion for us. Yes. I move that item 5.1, the superintendent's report, be moved to the first agenda item. Thank you. Uh, Senator Pel's going to second. Is there any exception? Hearing none. Motion passes.
Item 5.1 is report by the state superintendent of education. Mr. Superintendent. Thank you, uh, Mr. Morris, and thanks to the board for allowing me to, uh, make comments while we have a robust, uh, crowd this morning. Um I think we have a good story to tell uh in the state of Louisiana. Uh
and we'll tell some of that here through these uh comments. But one of the first matters I wanted to address, Mr. Morris, was a question you asked me about uh last week, which was evaluations. Uh we have launched a new evaluation system statewide over the course of last year.
I think it's really strong in um prompting educators in the classroom to understand the indicators that are most important to student learning. uh that's gone really well over the course of the year and we'll continue to refine those uh practices. We're also working with colleges and universities so that they
can better prepare uh future teachers to understand those expectations so when those teachers come out of the the university setting they'll be ready on day one. Uh there were a couple of of groups within the profession uh that needed a bit of a different uh rubric.
So we've worked with counselors to make sure that we have a an alternate uh rubric there. Uh we're also presently working with a a task group of librarians uh to form an evaluation that makes the most sense for the instructional librarians across the state. And so our goal with that task
force is to make sure that um that rubric is in place for librarians at the beginning of of the school year as well. So I just wanted to level set around that. Um the next thing that I think is really important is with this board uh our legislature, our governor's uh
commitment to literacy. we have been able to drive dramatic gains um across the last few years and and I think that um obviously that's really good news but I wanted to share specifically this year our results on our literacy screener. So
it was the first year where we had this um where we've been in the last couple of years where we've had this standardized approach uh to this screening a few times every year. And so this year's results, what we actually were able to to note is that students from the beginning of the year to the
end of the school year in kindergarten through third grade grew 17 points in proficiency overall. And that's as the test gets more difficult over the course of the year. So we saw a 17 point proficiency jump over the over the course of the year. Um we also saw most
notably in kindergarten those students from beginning of the year grew 33 proficiency points. So they kind of led uh the entire elementary with growth, which is what you would expect. You would expect your younger kids to show more growth and as you move to first, second, and third, probably not as much
growth, but we did see growth across all those bands. Um and what I think is also pretty um worthwhile to note is that um when we compare the end of the year results uh last year to the end of the year results this year, we saw a 9
increase in proficiency. So um if you're looking at a kindergarter at the end of last year or a first grader at the end of last year or a second grader or third grader at the end of last year compared to those same grade levels this year, nine points of proficiency difference. So that speaks volumes to what's
happening uh in classrooms ac across the state and that's that's really really important. So I wanted to acknowledge that. Um the next thing is more um comprehensive and holistic which is why I'm I'm really excited that everyone's in the room today because individuals in
the room today are a major reason why why I am able to announce uh and and share once again these results. Um Louisiana is in many ways the story uh across the country for educational outcomes and the improvements that are being made and that's a result of of
individuals in the audience today. Um if we look at the nation's report card for instance you know in 2019 Louisiana was ranked 49th in the country and today we're ranked 32nd in the country across all states. And if you look deeper into that uh data on the nation's report card, you
see that for two consecutive cy cycles of the nation's report card, we've led the country in reading growth. Um this year we were top five for math growth. Um students with disabilities in the state of Louisiana are both outgrowing and outperforming and absolute performance their peers across the
country. students from economically disadvantaged, economically challenged homes uh are both outgrowing and outperforming in absolute performance their peers across the country. So there's a lot of really good information in the nation's report card that reflect positively on the state of Louisiana and
the work that you're doing. And then uh on top of that um about a month ago uh US News and World Report came out uh and they have moved us up for preK12 education. uh we've moved from the the the late 40s over the last uh few years
and now they have ranked us for pre-K12 37th in the country. So likewise you see another group that evaluates education across the country saying Louisiana is moving in the in the right direction and in fact if you look at both the nation's
report card and US News and World Report for preK12 there is not a state in the country that is more rapidly improving than the state of Louisiana. So, I just I wanted to acknowledge that um because I wanted to acknowledge you all in the room this morning because you are uh
helping uh to move that every single day. And as I as I share, uh we're we're pleased with the progress but not satisfied. We know we still have a lot of work to do. Too many students aren't reading on grade level. Too many students aren't proficient at at math. Um too many students don't have access
to high quality school. And so those are the things for which we all have to continue to work um each and every day. And part of that is our commitment to uh continual improvement, continually getting better. And so we're excited because next week we're hosting our uh
teacher leader event which is our signature our pro our premier professional collaboration um annually. And so just a show of hands, are there any of you in the room that plan to attend that event next week? Our team Okay, great. So, um, we have over 500
sessions planned for next week. Um, we think that this will be our best event yet. They are specifically tailored to the priorities of Bessie, the priorities of our agency, and we think that that will make a a really big difference. We have roughly, you know, seven 7,000 or
so educators coming to join us next week. And so, we look forward to you all being there. uh because the the the theme of that event is writing a new story for Louisiana education because I think that's what we are doing and we have to continue to do. So uh Mr.
President, thank you for allowing me to uh move these comments up today because I think it's really important that the individuals in the audience, whether they're students or parents or educators, realize that the the the news that we are able to consistently share
as a result of uh in in so many ways of their work. So, thank you. Thank you, Mr. Superintendent. And and I would just ask everyone in the audience today if you would go home and share this news with with everyone in in uh in your family and your friend group uh because it's great news for the state of
Louisiana. It's very promising going forward and and as the superintendent said, you know, we we attribute this to your hard work. So uh looking forward to the acknowledgements this morning, but uh please help us spread the word. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Superintendent. There any comments from board
members? Mr. Bell, thank you. Um, just to point up what the superintendent was saying, if y'all saw the newspaper this morning, the advocate, the front page story is a uh a description of the changes that have taken place in my city, New Orleans, since Hurricane
Katrina. For those of you who don't know or aren't aware, before Katrina, New Orleans was the worst school system um perhaps in the country. It was horrible. And people had just said, "Well, the kids will never learn. It's impossible. we can't overcome all the problems in New Orleans. It'll never
happen. Well, 20 years later, if you read this article, you'll see that there's been a great turnaround and the school system in New Orleans is not what it was 20 years ago, but it's performing at a not a super high level, but a very
uh high level uh where in comparison to the rest of the state, it's just it's an amazing turnaround story. And Dr. Brumley and the the staff of uh Department of Education should be very proud of being strong participants in that and previous Bessie boards
obviously. Uh so if you want to see a current um a current iteration of this great success that we're having, it's right there on the front page of the advocate this morning. So thank you all. Appreciate it. Thank you, Senator Pel, for sharing. Any other comments from
members? Mr. Hollis, thank you. Um I just wanted to get some comments. uh from the superintendent because one of the articles that I read and it made me particularly prideful because of the um peculiar challenges that co brought and I hope that's not even once a generation, not even once a
century. It was really challenging for people across the country and across the world. Um I like seeing these articles though that are specific to Louisiana and how as it pertains to education, we've really set the standard and we are leading the way. And if you would could you speak a little bit to that because
when I read that article it was nice to see and we weren't top 20 percentile it was Louisiana set in a way and with tests that were being done our students have come back bigger and better than ever um for such a very challenging time that I do think is going to have you know implications to kids as we go
forward in the future but it was a peculiar aberration in time and I'm just so pleased that Louisiana's done so well with that. Yeah, I think um there are two there are two main research studies that come to mind relative to Louisiana's work through COVID. Um the
first is the Stanford Harvard Education Recovery Scorecard. uh they looked at every state uh through a pretty comprehensive uh research study between those two uh organizations or or universities and they determined that Louisiana was the only state in the country the only state in the country
where the average student had had recovered from the impacts of the pandemic. So that that gained a significant amount of national press just because of the institutions that had conducted that study. Um the second one that comes to mind is a a different
organization that took um the results of the national assessment of educational progress and they adjusted for demographic. They essentially made every state the same in terms of uh income levels uh and all the various demographics that are represented in the
school system. And they said if you adjusted them and put all of them on the on the same uh level it equalized all of them out across demographics. Louisiana's performance was actually second in the country on the national um
the the the the nape stores. And so um that that is an overall performance that's not just growth from a demographically adjusted uh context. So that too over the last really that one too over the last probably six weeks has gained a lot of national attention. So those are the two studies Mr. Hollis
that that I think about the most whenever um a question similar to yours is asked. I appreciate that information. And I just remember seeing it was really complex. It was deep in the weeds and it's you know so out of normaly that I just thought it was worthy of mention and I was very excited to see us leading
the way. So thank you for that information Mr. Superintendent. Thank you for the question Mr. Hollis. Uh members any other questions. All right hearing none. Next item please. Next item on the agenda is item 3.1 consideration of the recognition the dasin students of the
year. Can I get a motion please? Mr. Burkens, Dr. Armstrong. Thank you. Uh, thanks, Mr. Morris. So, Mr. Fals and the school system relations team have invited a few friends this morning, uh, to come and visit with us. Um, and so,
uh, Kelly Stomps, Joey Lacy, at this point in time, thank you all for the coordination around this. Uh, we will rightfully recognize a number of individuals from across the state. uh after the group has called and you guys may get into these logistics but uh board members we'll just stay on the
deis uh and we'll kind of move to the center and we'll take uh group photos uh at that point. So there we go. Good morning Dr. Brumley members of Bessie and everyone in the audience today. My name is Joanie Lacy and I serve on the school system relations
team. It's a pleasure to be here this morning on behalf of my colleagues to help recognize more than 100 outstanding education stakeholders today. Before I begin, I'd like to thank my colleagues who are helping today and all colleagues
who uh tirelessly and beautifully led the award programs that we are celebrating today. Today's honores represent over 10 statewide award programs. They reflect excellence at every level from students to educators, school leaders, and support staff.
Because of the large number of honores and limited time, we will not be able to announce every individual by name during this ceremony. Do know that every honore has been recognized more personally at another time. For groups of 10 or fewer honores, their names will be read and
for larger groups, honores will be called forward by district while their names will be displayed on the screen. Honores, please know that each of you is deeply appreciated and valued. Now, let's begin celebrating these incredible individuals who make Louisiana's
education system better every day. And starting with the Catholic schools, yeah, Catholic schools students of the year. On March 10th, the competition to select the overall Catholic school students of the year took place. Judging consisted of
portfolio review, written essays, and interviews. On April 4th, all student of the year honores were recognized and the overall honores for grades 5, 8, and 12 were named. And we're happy to have those guys with us here today. Honores, please come forward as I call your name
and remain forward. The 2025 Louisiana Catholic School Students of the Year are in fifth grade, Sawyer Katherine Hartman, St. Mary's Nativity School in the Dascese of Homa and Tibido. Eighth grade 8th grade, Breeze Elizabeth
Basquez, St. Anthony Catholic School in the Dascese of Alexandria. And 12th grade, Mary Elizabeth Aanel, St. Elastica Academy in the Arch Dascese of New Orleans. And now for a photo. Congratulations to these outstanding
students. Thank you, Miss Lacy. Next item, please. Next item is item 3.2, consideration of the recognition of LDOE students of the year. Thank you. Can I get a motion, please? Mr. Harris, Miss Millerin. Thank you,
Miss Lacy. Now to celebrate Louisiana students of the year. This work is led out of the office of school system relations under assistant superintendent Trapos. On May 16th, the department honored the 2025 Louisiana students of the year, student of the year finalists,
and the overall honores for grades 5, eight, and 12 were named. Selection was based on academic excellence, leadership, character, and service. Now, to introduce the Louisiana Department of Ed and Louisiana students of the year, please come forward when your name is
called. For grade five, Mary M. Thornton of Kado Parish. and they were not able to be present today, but we still congratulate them. Grade eight, Ryland Renee Viotor, Vermillion Parish. Grade 12, Neil Fromad Tanden,
Jefferson Parish photo. congratulations to these outstanding students. Thank you, Miss Lacy. Next item, please. Next item is item 3.3 consideration of the recognition of Louisiana seal for biiteracy honores. Thank you. Can I get
a motion please? Mr. Holloway, Mr. Hollis. Thank you Miss Lacy. Now to recognize the seal of Louisiana seal of biiteracy honores. This work uh takes place in the office of teaching and learning by deputy superintendent Dr. Jenner Jenna Chasson. The Louisiana Seal
of Biiteracy Award recognizes bilingualism, supports language education, and prepares students for global opportunities. This year, 1,38 graduating seniors from 67 schools in 38 systems earned the seal. Additionally,
31 high schools were recognized for at least 5% graduating class earning the seal. And now to introduce those honores. Please note, school systems and school names are displayed on the screen. Honores, as I call your school system,
please come forward and remain for a photo. Ascension Parish, Boer, Hado, East Bat Rouge Parish, Jefferson Parish, Lafayette
Parish, Richland, St. Charles Tangabajoa and West Bicana Parish. We'd also like to congratulate and call forward the honores from the state's
special schools, independent charters, and non-public school honores. I'd like to note that one non-public school was inadvertently left off the slide, and that's St. Frederick High School. Congratulations to these honores.
Congratulations. Thank you, Miss Lacy. Next item, please. Next item on the agenda is 3.4, consideration of the recognition of Louisiana State Certified World Language Immersion Site Honores. Thank you. Can I get a motion, please? Miss Champine, Mr.
Burkin. Thank you, Miss Lacy. This work is led out of the Office of Teaching Learning led by Deputy Superintendent Dr. Jenna Chesson. Now, to recognize the Louisiana State Certified World Language Immersion Site Honores. Since 2012,
certification has set statewide standards supporting high quality language immersion programs. It's a very vigorous accurate application process that reflects a commitment to excellence. Now to do introduce the honores by school system and school
names from East Baton Rouge Parish, Baton Rouge Foreign Language Academic Immersion Magnet and Westale Magnet, excuse me, Westdale Middle School from Evangeline Parish, Mamu Elementary
School and from Lafayette Parish, Lafayette High School and Prairie Elementary School and From Orleans Parish, we have Otaban Charter upper and lower school campuses.
Congratulations to these outstanding honores. Thank you, Miss Lacy. Next item, please. Next items. Item 3.5, consideration of the recognition of the United States Department of Education, Green Ribbon Schools. Thank you. Can I get a motion,
please? Miss Champine, Mr. Burkin, Miss Lacy. This work is also led by under the office of Deputy Superintendent Dr. Jenna Chasson. Now, let's recognize the US Department of Education Green Ribbon School nominees.
This award celebrates nominees for outstanding achievements in reducing environmental impact, promoting health and wellness, and advancing sustainability education. Honores, please come forward when I name your parish and school. From East Baton Rouge
Parish, Scotlandville Pre-Engineering Magnet Academy, represented by Principal Miss Janette C. Davis, and Dr. Kristen Higinbothan, magnet site coordinator from Westdale Middle School, represented by principal Ramona J. Remble and Dr.
Laura Lee Edelman, the aquafonics teacher at our non-public honore Eco Vang Doula Nuve Orleon represented by principal Mr. Pierre Louie Denshu and STEM teacher Miss Katherine Lewick. And
I hope that I pronounced those names pretty close to correctly. I tried. Congratulations to the Louisiana Green Ribbon Swans Dominique. Thank you, Miss Lacy. Next item, please. Next item is item 3.6 consideration of
recognition of the school physical activity award honores. Can I get a motion please? Miss Millerin, Miss Mr. Harris. Thank you Miss Lacy. This work is the school physical activity award honores. This work is led out of the
office of career and college readiness under the direction of assistant superintendent Dr. Eric Singleton. Now, we'd like to recognize the outstanding school support employee of the year finalists. This award recognizes schools that have outstanding physical activity
programs before, during, and after school. Now to introduce the state finalists from Boer Parish, Plantation Park Elementary from Clayburn Parish, Homer High School. from East Feliciana
Parish, East Feliciana Steam School, from Livingston Parish, South Live Oak Elementary, New Orleans Military and Maritime Academy School District. And from St. Tam Parish, Bonnie P
Elementary, congratulations to the school physical activity award honores. Thank you, Miss Lacy. Next item, please. Item 3.7, consideration of the recognition of the sped fellow academy honores. Can I get a motion, please? M.
Holloway. Mr. Hollis. Thank you. Now, let's recognize the sped fellow academy honores. This work is led out of the office of teaching and learning under the direction of deputy superintendent Dr. Jenna Chasson. Now, we'd like to recognize the 2025 cohort
five sped fellow academy honores, some of the state's most outstanding emerging special education leaders. These honores have completed an extensive year-long program that includes training, coaching, and collaboration for improving outcomes for students with
disabilities. Please note the names of the honores along with their mentors and school system names are displayed on the screen. Now we have three slides that we will proceed through slowly as we invite all honores to come forward representing
school systems from all across the state from Ascension Parish to Boer to Iberia Parish and down to West Baton Rouge Parish. If you guys anyone present today y'all come forward.
Let's give this outstanding group of honores and mentors a round of applause. Thank you, Miss Lacy. Next item, please. Next item is item 3.8, consideration of the recognition of the expiring principal fellowship. Thank you. Could I
get a motion, please? Miss Melerin, Miss Holloway. Thank you. This work is also led out of the office of teaching and learning under the direction of deputy superintendent Dr. Jenna Chasson. Now, let's celebrate the 2025 aspiring principal fellowship
honores. These honores have completed a transformational year-long fellowship that was focused on knowledge, school visits, sessions, and coaching. Again, as we invite all aspiring principal fellows forward, we'd like to call your attention to the names and the school
names on the screen. Please note that our honores are displayed on the following four slides. If you guys will come forward now I need little cheerleaders on the front row. Y'all want to come center?
Can y'all step back a little bit, guys? It'll be better for the photo. There we go. And then maybe come forward maybe some to the center of the little cheerleader bin. There we'll be sharing all the photos. But you look great. Congratulations to these honores.
Thank you, Miss Lacy. Next item, please. Next item is item 3.9, consideration of the recognition of school health provider of the year. Honores, thank you. Can I get a motion, please? Mr. Burke, Miss Champine, Miss Lacy. This work is led out of the office of
teaching and learning under the direction of deputy superintendent. Oh, I'm sorry. Sorry, I'm on the wrong one. Let's go to school health provider of the year. This work is led out of the office of career and college readiness under the direction of assistant superintendent Dr. Ernise Singleton. And
now to recognize the outstanding school health service provider of the year finalists who are recognized for their excellence in providing and expanding health services in their schools. Finalists, please come forward as you are announced. from Ascension Parish,
Sue Lynn Simpson from Parish, Melissa Batson from Plaeman's Parish, Rebecca Bourne Amos from Richland Parish, Emily Tristley Tristler Turner and from St.
Tamony Parish, Carrie Anne Kitsky. Congratulations. Thank you, Miss Lacy. Next item, please. Next item. Item 3.10, consideration of the recognition of the outstanding school support employee of the year. Thank you. Can I get a motion, please?
Mr. Hollis, Mr. Harris, Miss Lacy. This work is led out of the office of school system relations under the direction of assistant superintendent Treyels. Now we'd like to recognize the 2025 outstanding school support staff employee of the year finalist who are
recognized for their exceptional services to their schools and school systems going above and beyond. Please come forward as I call your name. from Beanville Parish. Rhonda Whitfield from Kaukashu Parish. Eva
Davis from Dodto Parish. Betty Carter from Evangeline Parish. Pauline Tusaint from Jeerson Parish. Cheryl
Donald from Lefouch Parish. Rodney Bean Taber from Parish. Mary Lee Dunn from St. Landry Parish. Laura Jackson from St. Mary Parish. Donella
Wagner and from St. Tam Parish, Mary Anne Ladner. Congratulations. Congratulations. ations to these outstanding finalists. This concludes our celebrations of celebration of honores
here today. What a truly exciting morning. Again, many of these honores have already been celebrated at special recessions receptions. Today, some of the honores will continue to meetings for further gatherings and celebrations.
One such celebration includes the school physical activity health provider and school support finalist who will be transitioning next to a reception at the old state capital. While there, the overall school health and school support
staff honores will be named and we'll invite them back to our future Bessie meeting so that you guys can meet them. A special thanks to Dr. Keith Corville and Apel for sponsoring this uh reception at the old state capital. On behalf of the department, Bessie and all
of us here from the department, we'd like to say congratulations again to all honores. We appreciate you and we thank you. Thank you, Miss Lacy, and the team. Uh, next item, please. Next item. Item 3.11, consideration of the recognition
of the special school district validictorian and saludiatoran. Can I get a motion, please? Miss Champine, Dr. Armstrong. Thank you. Did you know that? members. I'd like to uh I'd like to kick
off this next item. Just a little just a little bit of background. Um it it's my pleasure as a Bessie member to serve on the board of the special school district, the district that serves the uh the the deaf, the heart of hearing, and the visually impaired students in our state. And then at a recent uh board
meeting, uh I was I was just really blown away. I was totally impressed uh by the the young lady that led the the pledge at the meeting. She's the class validictorian and uh her her academic accomplishments were just so outstanding. I just felt it's appropriate to share with you. So, I
invited them to Bessie this morning and uh she's accompanied by her teacher and her mom. Uh so, if we could, I'd like to ask them to come to the table and uh and and I'd like for mom and teacher to please introduce yourself and then I'd like to read through uh some of her
academic accomplishments. Good morning. I'm Ash Elizabeth Fontau. I'm Elizabeth Carnegie, her mother. And I'm Susan Cington, the executive director of Louisiana School for the Visually. Thank you, ladies. So often before our board, we we hear
about challenges and hurdles and barriers and and uh and we we work as a board to make best efforts to to hear from our constituents about what what those are and and how we can help uh to provide support to overcome those barriers and
those challenges. But but I just want to share with our board this is clear demonstration that those that those most uh most challenges most challenging barriers can be overcome. Uh so as a student at uh Louisiana School for the Visually Impaired, uh Ash Elizabeth
graduated as a class validictorian. Uh she graduated with distinguished honors of gold for TOPS graduation pathway with a 3.5 GPA or above, green for her five dual enrollment classes, blue for her ACT
classes. She was the student of the year. Additionally, she's a member of the National Society of High School Scholars. She earned the President's Award for Educational Excellence, scoring 33. I just need to repeat that. 33 on
her ACT. And in the 85 percentile of students who took the ACT with a minimum 3.5 GPA, ACT awards 33, STEM award 30 plus, ACT score jumper award, ACT benchmark beater award in all subjects. She earned
15 college credits through the dual enrollment program, earning one of the highest GPA for English 1010, winning the southeastern Louisiana's outstanding writers award. She earned an A in dual enrollment English 101020, dual enrollment US history 2020,
dual enrollment algebra 1021, and a B in dual enrollment and dual enrollment trig 1022. I took that class. Um, she earned a national certification in CPR and first aid. She was president of the student council. She was accepted into
the Western New England University's College of Arts and Science forensic Biology program earning $40,000 in scholarships. Additionally, additionally, she's recipient of the Louisiana School for the Blind, Visually Impaired Alumni Association Scholarship
of $500. Thank you again, ladies. Next item, please. Next item is item 4.1, approval of April 19th, 2025 minutes. Can I get a motion, please? Mr. Hollis, Mr. Harris, is there
any objection? Hearing none. Motion passes. Next item, please. Item 6.1, reports from members of Bessie U statutory and legislative task force council appointees. Can I get a motion, please? Mr.
Hollis, Miss Holloway. Uh, members, do we have any any reports from any committees? Dr. Armstrong. I do. Uh, I want to commend first our Department of Education staff members that work so closely with the non-public
council. Uh, we've been working with some equitable services. And so there has been a plan so that all the non-public schools can receive these services that they may not have gotten in the past. And so certainly Keith
Leger, Lexi Pitchford, Matt Johnson, and Beth CNA. And um I appreciate your efforts and hard work in working with the nonpublic council and so that all these schools can receive those services. So thank you very much.
Thank you, Dr. Armstrong. Any other members? Any comments to share? Miss Hall? Yes. Uh, a reminder that the America 250 Louisiana State Commission meeting is June Wednesday, June 18th at 1:00 at the Louisiana State Archives
building. Thank you. Thank you, Miss Holloway. Any other members with a share this morning? All right, hearing none. I did have one thing to share. Um uh unfortunately at the uh school for the
deaf uh at the SSSD board meeting this last week uh we received the resignation of the district superintendent. Uh he'll be returning to family and friends in Tennessee. Uh so that'll put our board in search of a new superintendent. So uh if you have anyone you think is
qualified uh be interested in that opportunity, then we'd love to hear from you. Um but uh we certainly got a good example of the work that's coming out of there this morning. So, uh, hopefully we're going to be able to fill that vacancy soon. Any other comments to share? All
right, hearing none. Next, Miss, uh, Dr. Armstrong is the superintendent of the special school district. Oh, okay. Yep. Uh, any other any other comments or questions? All right. Hearing none. Next item, please. Next item. Item 7.1,
Academic Goals and Instructional Improvement Committee. Mr. Appel, on behalf of the Academic Goals and Instructional Improvement Committee, I move to approve motions 1 through 23, noting that motions 19 through 21 are notices of intent.
Can I get a second? Dr. Armstrong, I have a few comments on that one. Uh before we before we proceed, um we heard some testimony yesterday uh on item 5.2 two that just really struck me very very strongly and and I believe
appreciate appreciate I believe uh an appropriate response at this time is in order. Uh so I wanted to first of all thank Dr. Armstrong for for bringing the item to our attention. Uh it's an extremely important matter. I know we started working this my first year at Bessie
which would be incredibly five years ago. So it's been a work in progress for some time now to to take a reook at our accountability system. um it deserves appropriate due diligence. So I appreciate the motion that Dr. Armstrong offered. Um and then yesterday Dr. Armstrong
requested that we submit questions uh for the two committee meetings that are appropriate for that due diligence. Uh and so I want just want to advise members of the dates for those two meetings because this is an extremely important matter if your schedule allows and you could attend. uh love to see you
there and and then I want to speak to a minute about maybe some things we should consider going into those two meetings. So the sack meeting is scheduled for July 27th that there is actually a sack meeting scheduled for this week but obviously we wouldn't have time to prepare for that. So the next sack
meeting is July 27th and then the next accountability council meeting is September 8th. Um the the next thing I want to discuss briefly or share my comments briefly um is is maybe some thoughts and considerations that we as board members
should have going into those two meetings. Yesterday we heard from representative from the uh uh from LA, the Louisiana superintendent. Um and and uh and on behalf of LA, he stated, "If
you want to do what's best for kids, do away with the accountability system." He closed his remarks by stating on behalf of LES with do away with accountability if you want to do what's best for kids. On behalf of Bessie, I'm calling
BS. While while we have said and we will con and we will continue to consider adjustments with appropriate due diligence. This board voted unanimously for the current accountability system
which we believe does serve the best interest of students, parents, and all citizens in the state of Louisiana. What career pathway has no accountability? If this board in its wisdom does deem it appropriate to increase the incentive
for eighth grade algebra participation, let's do it. But let's carefully consider the means to the end. Let's give credit where credit is due. Give extra credit to middle schools and not deceive parents by inflating and
masking the true performance of high schools. Above all, let's not message the students that we expect them to abide by the honor code and take pride in their work while adults take credit for others work to improve their
self-image. So, I ask you to consider going into the meeting, how do you spell integrity in the state of Louisiana? That that concludes my comments. Is there anyone else like to comment? Is there any exception to the
motion? hearing. None. Motion passes. Next item, please. Next item is item 7.2, board administration and education finance committee. Mr. Berky. On behalf of the board administration
and education finance committee, I move to approve motions 1 through 43. Can I get a motion, Miss Champine? Is there any exception to the motion? Hearing none. Motion passes. Next item, please. Next item is item 7.3, Educator Effectiveness Committee.
Miss Melerin, on behalf of the Educator Effectiveness Committee, I move to approve motions 1 through 24. We get a second, Mr. Harris. Thank you. Is there any exception? Hearing none. Motion passes. Next item, please. Next item 7.4,
Legislative and Governmental Affairs Committee, Mr. Harris. On behalf of the Legislative and Governmental Affairs Committee, I move to approve motion one. Can I get a second? Miss Holloway, is there any exception? Hearing none, motion
passes. Next item, please. Next item is item 7.5, School Innovation and Turnaround Committee. Miss Champagne. Thank you. On behalf of the School Innovation and Turnaround Committee, I move to approve motions 1 through 10. Can I get a second, please? Mr. Burkin.
Thank you. Is there any exception hearing? None. Motion passes. Next item, please. Next item is item 8.1. Consideration of an update report regarding the Bessie bridging success tour. So members, just the superintendent just reminded me just just a couple of uh
things to share that um on on the last item, the uh resolution that we sent over uh to the uh JLCB. Uh we did um add uh one comment
to that. Uh it's being passed out right now. uh that that additional item references the number of students uh the voucher students that would be impacted if the Odyssey contract were not approved by JLCB. It also speaks to the
uh concern that we would have uh with regard to planning for school systems, transportation resources, building capacity and so forth. Uh in addition to the time it would take for parents to actually make those decisions. Uh so those those copies are being handed out
to you right now. That's right. And we we also wanted to include the number of children that uh whose parents applied for the program so that we're clear that um we've captured the um the demand uh for the
product. We just give you a second to look over that if there are any questions. Senator Pal, I I would uh make a motion that we rescend the vote that was taken yesterday on the um resolution and that we uh now take a
another position in support of the newly crafted resolution. All right. Would you like would you like to offer that motion? Please put that in proper English. Got it. I'm I'm going to take that motion and look for a second, Mr. Burkin. All right. Um so that first motion is going to uh both resend the
previous one and adopt the current one. Thank you. All right. Is there any exception to that motion? Hearing none. Motion passes. All right. Mr. uh Walker, if you could refresh us on the current uh motion on the table. The current item on
the table is item 8.1, consideration of an update report regarding the Bessie bridging success tour. Thank you, sir. Can I get a motion? Mr. Millerin, Mr. Harris, Mr. Walker, I believe you have the ball. Yes, sir. Um, what we had
before you is a high level um data points that we thought was important. Uh, when we embarked on this tour, we have now um had about seven or eight of these events. We have our last one tentatively scheduled for Cattle Parish
that we will seek to have in September. But I think it was it's very important uh that you kind of see u the work that has been done in collaboration with our office the Bessie staff and the LDOE team. Um and it's just some reference charts for you to look at to see how
many school systems we invited how many registered and how many participated. So currently as we standing at uh 53 school systems um have uh participated in one of these events uh that was hosted. We did a attendance makeup. Uh we've had
about 536 people who have actually showed up uh for for these events. We've invited about a,044. Uh and it just breaks down each site, how many people we invited, how many registered, and how many attended. And then the last two pages go to show
you the demographics of all the important uh spokes in the wheel, all the important partners that is needed at the table uh to accomplish those goals around CTE and uh work-based learning opportunities. And so you can see that
it is both traditional school systems, uh, charter school systems, uh, various educational partners from higher ed to local community efforts, uh, and, um, a large swat of business and industry representatives, um, a few hundred that
we've invited and uh, have participated in these events. And so when we finish the last um, tour, we will provide a more robust uh, summary report. But I think it was important to see the numbers um of of the attendees and and
the large swat of people we've touched across the state. Mr. Walker, thank you for sharing that. Um as everyone knows, I have reached out to uh members and asked you to uh to task uh a formal summary report for the governor uh working with Dr. Kingum and uh the
governor's appointees on that. Uh so as soon as we uh get the KTO parish visit scheduled and completed uh look for the appointees to reach out to each individual Bessie member for input uh on uh on their particular Bessie stop and
anything they would like to point out uh relative to to their specific Bessie district with regard to response and uh again get that summary in place um working with Dr. Kingdom uh to Governor Landry uh Senator Appel. Yeah. The one
thing that um jumped out to me at least at the very first meeting which I attended uh or or tour which I attended was um a lack of participation by local schoolboard people members. Uh there were probably four or five school boards
within that area and I think we had one attendee. It's my belief that school boards have an ex an extraordinarily strong relationship with the business community in their regions. And so, uh,
if it's possible, I'd like I don't know if we have that data, but you know, how many school board, uh, members attended these events and how we could enhance their attendance in the future. I think more than anything else, the school boards can talk to business people and
tell them the importance of uh of the of the um apprenticeships and the internships and the so forth that we're uh pursuing. And again, I was very disappointed in the first meeting. Could have been because it was the first meeting and we
just didn't have it organized properly. But uh I would like to know going forward where we are. Yes, sir. That's an important data point. I I do believe that we've gotten better over the over time and I can't
take credit for it. Um the staff over there particularly uh Jada Joseph has taken over this responsibility and it has grown both in size and spoke um over the uh time period. Uh Lafayette um really hit it out the park and we've
been you know humming as at 100% ever since then. So yes and we will look for that data point. Uh I'm not sure if we can track particular schoolboard members, but we can definitely look at that data point. Thank Thank you for that feedback, Senator Pal. Mr. Burkin. So now that I
this is completed or nearly completed, I don't um can't can't leave Alcado Parish. So what um where do we go from here? How do we follow up with all of these people? What I don't we did all of this
and all this work and kudos to you for all putting all this together. How can we move with this information and continue to build on the CTE type system for these schools and districts and all
of that? Well, I I would offer my comments and then I would point to the superintendent for his. uh from from my comments I would just share that you know the original intent for the Bessie stop was twofold. It was number one to raise awareness of the initiative to recognize the value in communities
throughout the state. Uh and the second was to bring uh some examples. So so we don't want to just create the policy and you know wish people good luck. uh you know we work diligently to to bring examples from multinational corporations
as well as nonprofits to share examples of their high school internship programs that have been in place for four more years. So feel like we've we've we've accomplished that with the exception of our last stop. Um I think there's probably some consideration about do we want to have another tour for the next
school year uh to f to follow up. I think that's something the board should consider. Um and and then obviously we're going to provide the governor with some feedback which I'm sure he'll share across the state as well. Um and then I would look to Superintendent Brumley for any additional comments he'd like to
add. I mean uh briefly, Mr. Burton, our our team led by Dr. Singleton. Uh we have individuals out in the field routinely working with school systems andor business and industry to try to cultivate those partnerships andor uh
just increase the level of understanding around the expectations. Um I I mean I know even this week our team is out in the field having some of these conversations in uh local communities or with uh some of the school system groups. So we will continue to do that over the course of the summer and and
throughout next year. Miss Champine. Yes. Thank you, Mr. uh President. Uh I I think it was awesome. I think with us getting out and meeting the people and and going out and letting people know uh what we do here and how we go about it and asking for their
input was invaluable to all of us. Very valuable. And uh I would like to see us continue this in the next uh school year because even though we had great tremendous attendance um we there were some that we know we
missed for whatever reason. So I would like to see us continue this and the possibility of maybe putting it further discussion or to see what the members of the board and the superintendent have to say on our retreat. Uh maybe look at it at that point. But I look forward to
going into Miss Melerin's district in Kado. There we go. We should be bringing all those learnings to Cado, right? Thank Thank you for that. Any other comments, members, about the Bessie tour? All right. Hearing none. Next item, please.
Next item is Next item is item 8.2, consideration of a discussion regarding the Bessie retreat. Thank you. Can I get a motion, please? Mr. Harris, Mr. Hollis. Um, is there any comment on the
retreat? May maybe uh we've got four comment cards here. Let's go ahead and kick off the public comment and we can come back to members comment. So, um, yeah. So just I was just reminded that this opportunity for public comment is specific to item
8.2. So we certainly welcome public comment but by uh by rule it's got to be tied to the agenda item. So uh the particular agenda item here is the the Bessie tour I'm sorry the Bessie uh retreat which is calendared for August.
Uh so if you do have uh comments relative to the Bessie retreat, something that you think uh you might offer as an agenda item for the retreat, then we we welcome your comments to that specific agenda item. Uh so if that's
the case, I've got uh Ben Kapac. Did I get that right? Ben Dubrock. Oh, Dubrock. Okay, please step forward. And and also Samantha Dub Brock, is that right? if you'd like to come forward. Okay. Please
have a seat and identify yourself and uh and share your comments with us. Thank you, uh, Dr. Morris. And not yet. I got one more year. Uh, thank you, Mr. Morris. My name is Ben Dubrock, and I really appreciate y'all taking the time to talk
to me. I'd hope at y'all's retreat, y'all would consider the state of French immersion in Louisiana. I'm a Dubrock from AOL's Parish, um, and Rapids as well. My daddy spoke French and I know Mr. Harris, you've got Monroe, but you also
got Marksville. So, you got a lot of outlaws to take care of. So, we we trying our best not to make it too bad for you. All right. Yeah, I'm sorry. Well, don't talk to me in French. I don't respond in French. Yeah, my daddy spoke French. He had a pharmacy in Marksville on Highway One.
It was easier for him to speak French because his parents spoke French. People would come in and they want to talk about the Maluvant, right? I had one guy come in once. He said, "Oh, hey, Mr. Mark, I just got back from the doctor and it was about my prospects. Thank God I sound malicious, so it was better for
him to talk in French cuz sometimes the English didn't quite translate. Uh, right now I live in New Orleans um because they have a French immersion program. Moved down there about 13 years ago because my wife and I, we wanted to raise our kids speaking French. My wife's grandfather spoke French and on
both sides of my family was French speaking. Uh, right now our school the new we've lost our immersion status. The uh board that runs the school didn't effectively renew it. In
fact, there's been a lot of things going on that we as parents there haven't appreciated. From the way teachers are are often disrespected, uh they fired an entire English department with a two-eek notice, for example, uh to the way that
um the mission of French isn't front and center. Uh, I think a lot of it is sometimes you get people who aren't attached to Louisiana. Every one of y'all has at least one South Louisiana parish in your district. So, we all know. Um, for me, it's not just a question of of my
heritage. I think it's everybody's heritage. Right now, uh, in the country we live in, there's a lot of culture wars. It's very easy to get torn apart. But at least in Louisiana, we can all fall back on Zidico and on crawfish bowls and on our French, right? If
you're a Catholic or Protestant, if you're black or you're white, if you're Anglo or Creole, doesn't even matter if you're Monroe or Bastrop, you're probably at least three generations removed from French. And when we have people coming from out of state take over our French
immersion schools, they're going to treat it like a brand and they're not going to treat it like the heritage that we are all entitled to and one of the few things that we can have in common and enjoy in common together in this increasingly polarized age. So, I really want y'all to consider how especially
certain charter schools are treating French immersion, especially L Franc. Thank you'all so much. Thank you. Thank you for your comments. I I think you raised a valid point. We we we routinely um are requested to approve waiverss uh because we got a shortage of foreign
language teachers in our state and uh and we we need to address that concern. So, thank you for bringing your concern forward. Thanks. All right. Thank you. Uh, I've also got a card for Daniela. We did it together. We did it together.
Yeah. My wife get to say uh Oh, I'm sorry. Did you have additional comments as well? You got three minutes if you want it. Oh, please. Oh, please, please, please. I'm sorry. You waved at me and I thought you were good. There you go. Hello. My
name is Samantha Seapok. Uh, but that was my husband who just spoke. I am apparent of Lay and I first want um to thank the tireless effort of the French-speaking population of Louisiana for working tirelessly to create what I
hope will become Louisiana's flagship immersion school um and flagship immer uh educational institutions. We chose Lay France because uh of its French immersion program
um to create a clear line of language and culture between my son's grandfather, his great-grandfather, both native Louisiana French speakers, his father, a semi-speaker, and
him. Um, language is culture and language in the home isn't enough. In order for Louisiana French to survive, the most powerful tool we have is for it to be spoken in our schools so
that it is not just the language of the home but the language of economics and the language of learning that we are developing learning not just in English but in French. A lot of our historical records, our historical documents, a lot
of what Louisiana is is in French. Investing in our students from an early age and language immersion is a step forward in creating students who can lead Louisiana's future. That is why I hope members of the board would take a
moment to speak with us uh and discuss a concerning trend in Lisa France to deemphasize French immersion in this school. So I hope that the members of the board uh will take a moment to discuss with us so that you can discuss in the retreat immersion in Lisa Fron.
Thank you so much for your time. Thank you. Thank you for bringing that forward. Uh Mr. Harris, thank you and uh thank y'all for coming down. It's extremely important we do do the French heritage especially uh I must say that avo Parish
was the funnest parish to campaign in several times that I've done it uh and my wife's grandmother great-g grandandmother could not speak a word of English unfortunately back then they wouldn't allow her to speak French in the home and we've gotten past that all
that great heritage was a few years put behind us and so Uh hopefully we will take this up our retreat and it will be at the forefront of our discussions as we go forward. But thank y'all for coming. I look forward to seeing all
those Dub Brocks down there. Marksville, Fifth Ward, and South Rap. Please come to our Busher. Good seeing y'all. Thank you. Thank you so much. Uh next I've got um Daniela. Help me with the last name.
Daniel Santoro. Sure, please do. While she's passing that out, if you would just have a seat and uh identify yourself for the record. Yes. My name is Daniela Santoro. I'm also a
parent of um rising first grader at PC. I also just want to add since there was a discussion of French heritage. I I I think they're having some trouble here. And if you could pull a little closer, make sure the green lights on. Okay. Um I wanted to add real quick to the discussion of French heritage. I'm originally from New York, but my
grandmother um is a survivor of the Holocaust and she was originally from Belgium and I grew up around French, but of course did not grow up speaking it. And so I've also brought my daughter to come to to Lisa Fron not directly from a Louisiana connection, but from another connection to French. and Louisiana has offered this unique opportunity to my
family um to attend a school that otherwise if I was in New York we would be unable to attend. So it's a very special opportunity and I know that Bessie is committed to school choice um for families throughout the state and many families like my own have chosen LE specifically for its unique stated
commitment to French language immersion and to enter this community dedicated to bilingualism, multiculturalism and excellence. Um, I've spent much of the last year working to organize and advocate with other parents who are concerned about Li's future. We have come here to appeal to the Bessie board
to intervene in response to a crisis as a result of the failures of the Lay administration. And those details are outlined in the literature that was passed out to you and um, which I was um, part of creating this um, data, researching, collecting information from
parents, etc. Um, this crisis is also amplified by an ineffective board of directors that refuses time and again to listen to parents' concerns. Um, many parents like myself feel that we have been duped. We started this
school year for instance being told one thing about I'd like to ask you to to please stick to the agenda item. Um, you know the the board can work the issue. So this is if you will just humor me for two 20 seconds about how we got to this point of the crisis and what I hope that
you will attend and pay attention to at the retreat and discuss the retreat. Please make it brief is that while we recognize that there um are many choices for families throughout the state, we chose LEAY and then we were given something else. Okay. And
this includes l instability of teachers and staff at the school and other activities that were taken away from our children like recess and other things for children to thrive. Um and and the administration is increasingly hostile to parents and teachers. The latest example, Dr. McLaren personally retaliated again. I I really don't want
to get into the we on all the details if you don't mind. That it's in the report, right? I am saddened to see the flood of people leaving LA. Dozens of families have already pulled their children after trying to communicate their concerns or and being ignored or lied to. And again, the board has I have appealed to the
board about personal things about other parents issues and they have not responded to us and have not listened to our concerns. That is why super superintendent Brumley is offering a dedicated member of his staff to meet with you uh right after this and and you can share with with that individual, you
know, who's much more competent on this topic than I am or any of our board members are. But uh the superintendent will will help you with the subject matter expert so so that he can better air us, you know, if the board chooses to put this on the August retreat agenda. Thank you very much. Okay. Thank
you, ma'am. We got we got one more public comment card. That's from Holly Marth. Is Holly with us? Holly, please identify yourself for the record and and I would also ask you, you know, please please keep it specific to the agenda item and if we want to
talk about details and Superintendent Brumley can can help us with a subject matter expert. Okay. I I believe it's on subject. I'll make it quick. Okay. My name is Holly Christine Martin. I have a third grader at LE and we found out after the one app
closed that they switched the immersion from full French immersion to mixed language. We've not been able to be heard by the board by the superintendent. I came all the way to Baton Rouge as
hopefully to get the opportunity to be heard and to get your help to tell us what we can do. We can't keep up with the mass moves that they make. Mr. So, so go ahead, Superintendent. Go ahead. Yeah, I was just going to suggest like we we have some ongoing conversations
around uh this particular institution right now. Um and uh what I would uh offer to you all is immediately following this meeting uh if you could meet with Matt Johnson our team. Matt, raise your hand. Uh Matt will be happy to right after this meeting uh hear what
you all have driven to Baton Rouge to share uh because it may be important for the ongoing conversation that that we are having around this particular institution. But uh your voices are certainly already being heard. uh but we're happy to hear more about uh this today and then I can certainly inform
the board beyond today. Thank thank you Mr. Superintendent and again we want to extend our sincere appreciation to you guys for your your passion for the topic, your passion for the children and and the culture and the future of Louisiana. Uh so appreciate the superintendent and and offering
support to respond and uh and the board will certainly consider it. Uh it seems like there's a lot of interest on the board to consider this item for August retreat uh to address it holistically across the state. So thank thank you again for coming to Baton Rouge today.
May I close with we've been work people have been working even before us and while we're going very slowly crossing all the tees and dotting all these things are continue to happen things are continuing to happen that and if we don't stop it
at this point I don't think that it will be able to be changed for example the curriculum being reinstated for the next school year one more year and nobody will be able Right. Right. But I I think by, you know, the effort you've made today to bring it to Bessie to this level, uh, and the attention that you
garnered from the board and the superintendent, uh, I think you can be assured there's going to be followup and, uh, it is, you know, as, uh, Mr. Harris mentioned, it is a high priority. So, I think you could expect some some action. Thank you so much. Thank
you. Next item, please. We have another public comment card. Okay. Uh I'm sorry. Uh board members comments on the retreat. Who'd like to go first? Any other
thoughts? Miss Champine. Yes, sir. I've made one request already about a future tour uh continuing that tour to make sure we can we can reach out to the entire state if we missed anyone as well as testing. Testing is a
big big thing coming up uh in our state and so I would like to put on the agenda that we talk about the testing. Uh we know LEAP is expiring in 2026. So uh if you don't mind I'd like to discuss testing. Thank you for that feedback. Dr. strong.
I want to piggyback on the tours. So, as we're looking at the tours, some general scheduling, how we can cluster them together um so when we're making the circuit across the state as well as our Bessie meetings that we hold them at
certain weeks of the month, days of the month, etc. So, I think some scheduling issues uh for the retreat. Great. Another good item. Another good item. Anything else from this side of the dis? Mr. Burkin, you're awful quiet. Mr. Harris has already shared
that his stock was the most fun and I didn't hear anything from you, so I just thought I'd give you an opportunity. So, u I brought it up just um we had such a an impactful I believe first year and our second year we're
doing good things too. Is what's next? What's our goal? What's um where do we go from here? Um how do we continue the testing and all of that is um important, but um how do we reach that next level?
Great. Great goals path forward. I'm sure Superintendent Brley has some thoughts there on this side of the dis. Anything miss, Mr. Hollis, Mr. Harris, Miss Millerin? Everybody's thumbs up. All right. And then obviously the the
meeting is not till mid August so there's still ample time. Uh if something comes up and you'd like to add then obviously contact Mr. Walker and and we can get that discussion going. Mr. Burkin one other thing just to uh permanently add um the June Bessie
meeting as Sears sucker suit day. June Bessie meeting will historically be remembered as Sears sucker suit day. Got that. Got that. And we need to take up a collection for Mr. Hollis to be able to buy one.
Okay. Got that on the public record. Thank you, Mr. Harris. All right. Hearing no other comments. Um I think we're adjourned. Thank you. Have to take a picture with the suits
down in front. Yeah, group picture. All are invited, including Mr. Hollis.