. If I can ask you, please, to stop your conversation so we can start our meeting. Thank you so much. Good afternoon and welcome to the June 4th, 2026 Board work session. Welcome to my colleagues to Montgomery County Public Schools staff and
members of our community who are joining us here today. And to those who are watching this meeting, including my mom, Graciela. Hola, mommy. Let us begin, please, by standing for the Pledge of Allegiance. And the flag is in the back. 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. Thank you very much. I will now ask my
colleagues to please introduce themselves to establish a quorum. I will start on my right. Good afternoon, Laura Stewart. I'm in district four, and I'm glad to see you all. And thank you for coming. Good afternoon. Buenas tardes. Carla
Silvestre school board member at large. Good afternoon, Julie Yang, district three. Thank you for being here. Good afternoon. Brenda Wolff, district five. Good afternoon. Rita Montoya, board member at large. Good afternoon, Natalie Zimmerman. I
represent district two. Good afternoon. A new student member. Thank you so much, colleagues. Is there a motion to approve the revised agenda motion? Second. There is a motion and a
second. All those in favor, please raise your hand then. That is unanimous. Thank you. Next, is there a motion to approve items 3.2 through 3.3
and block motion to approve. Second there is a motion in a second. All those in favor, please raise your hand. And that is unanimous. Moving right along. 4.1 this is a great part of the agenda today.
Recommended appointments. Doctor Taylor. Thank you, Madam President. We have several administrative appointments for your consideration today, as I call your name. If you could please stand while I say some nice things about you. And then the board considers your appointment first for
consideration today is Mr. Jeffrey T Brown for the position of Director of Leadership Development and the Department of Professional Development. Joining him today is his wife, Sarah. His daughters, Riley, Rowan and Ruby, and his parents, John and Kay Brown, both retired Montgomery County Public
Schools educators. Mr. Brown has been with MCPs for 22 years as a teacher, assistant principal, principal intern and most recently as the principal of Roberto W Clemente Middle School. He looks forward to supporting M.c.p.s leaders
through meaningful professional development, coaching and systems designed to strengthen schools across the district. Is there a motion motion to approve? Second, there's a motion and a second. All those in favor, please raise your hand. That is unanimous.
Congratulations, Jeff. Next for consideration is a familiar face in M.c.p.s. Mr. Robert Sinclair Jr. For the position of principal at Charles Woodward High School, which is a reopening high school.
Joining him today is his wife, Sandy. Bob has been with M.c.p.s. For 28 years as a teacher, resource teacher, student support specialist, assistant principal, principal and most recently as a consulting principal in the Department of Professional
Growth Systems. He is honored to partner with the future Woodward High School community to build a school rooted in excellence, equity, and community where every student feels seen, safe, valued, and inspired to achieve while receiving a world class
education that empowers them to unleash their full potential shout outs to his children. Ethan and Taylor, both M.C.P.S. grads and to his family who are watching online. Mr. Sinclair would like to thank Doctor Yolanda Stanislaus for her
support and guidance, as well as her colleague Kim Bolden, for her coaching support and mentorship. Is there a motion motion to approve? Second, there's a motion and a second. All those in favor, please raise your hand. That's
unanimous. Congratulations. Next for consideration is Miss Christy Mccauley's for the position of principal at Thomas W Pyle Middle School. Joining her today is her husband, David, her mother, Donna, and her
grandmother Sue. Miss McCauley has been with M.C.P.S. for 16 years as a substitute, a paraeducator, a teacher, a resource teacher, an assistant school administrator, an acting principal, an assistant
principal, and most recently as a principal intern at Earl B Wood Middle School. She looks forward to building upon Pyle's strong tradition of academic excellence, student well-being and community partnerships, and is committed to supporting a
rigorous and engaging learning experience while continuing to cultivate a school community where every student feels seen, valued, connected, and empowered to succeed academically and socially. Shout outs to her family who are watching online, and to her friends and colleagues who have
supported her throughout her educational journey. Is there a motion motion to approve? Second. There is a motion and a second. All those in favor, please raise your hand. And that is unanimous.
Congratulations. Next for consideration is Christina M Spurling for the position of principal at Cloverly Elementary School. Joining her today is her husband, Nicholas. Her children, Ellie Mae and
Jackson. Her mother, Marlene O'laughlin, and her friends and mentors Mr. Scott Steffen, principal at Highland Elementary School, and Mrs. Brandy Overton, principal at Doctor Martin Luther King Jr Middle School. Mrs. Sperling has been employed with M.C.P.S.
for 26 years as a teacher, content specialist, coordinator, assistant principal and most recently as a principal intern at Highland Elementary School. She is excited and proud to be leading and learning with the Cloverly School community.
Shout out to her late father for his unwavering belief in her. Is there a motion motion to approve? Second. There is a motion and a second. All those in favor, please raise your hand. And that is unanimous.
Congratulations. Next for consideration is Mrs. Tracy L Tibbs for the position of principal at Clarksburg Elementary School. Joining her today is her husband, Derek.
Daughters, McMillan, McKenna and McKenzie. Her mother, Christine, and her sister in law Kate and Miss Shante Spar, principal at Falls Mead Elementary School. Miss Tibbs has been employed with M.c.p.s.
For 20 years as a teacher, assistant principal, acting principal and most recently as the assistant principal at Falls Meade Elementary School. She looks forward to working alongside the dedicated staff and community to build upon a strong foundation that's already been established at
Clarksburg Elementary School and is committed to creating a student centered environment where strong relationships, effective communication, and aligned systems come together to support growth, achievement and well-being for every student. Shout outs to her
brother Joe and to her extended family who are watching online. Is there a motion motion to approve? Second. There's a motion and a second. All those in favor, please raise your hand. That is unanimous.
Congratulations. All right, Madam President, our next person for consideration is actually watching online. And it is Mr. Troy Todd for the position of principal at Arcola Elementary School. Mr. Todd,
who is watching online, is joining M.C.P.S. after 20 years of of classroom and administrative experience with Howard County Public Schools. So we're stealing one from Howard. He looks forward to serving Arcola Elementary School and partnering with our
students, staff and community to continue building a culture of excellence, belonging and achievement for all. Shout outs to his family and the Arcola community, which he looks forward to serving. Is there a motion motion to approve? Second. There is a motion and a
second. All those in favor, please raise your hand. And that is unanimous. Congratulations. And I believe that our last appointment for
consideration is Mrs. Venus C waters for the position of principal at Doctor Ronald E McNair Elementary School. Joining her today is her husband, Vernon. Her parents, Keith and Vonetta Joseph. Miss. Natasha Bolden, principal at
Sedwick Elementary School, doctor Loretta Woods at Burtonsville Elementary School, and doctor Kevina Griffith, principal at Harriet Tubman Elementary School, who are all here in her corner to support her. Mrs. waters has been with
M.c.p.s. For 14 years as a substitute teacher, teacher, assistant principal and most recently as a principal intern at elementary school. Mrs. waters is honored to join the McNair Elementary School community and looks forward to partnering with students,
families, staff and the community to support student success and foster a welcoming, inclusive and high achieving school community. Shout outs to her sons Timothy and Taylor, who are watching online. Is there a motion motion to
approve? Second. There is a motion and a second. All those in favor, please raise your hand. And that is unanimous. Congratulations. Madam president, this concludes
administrative appointments for consideration today. Thank you very much, Doctor Taylor. And congratulations to our new principals. As we see them exit. I'm going to start reading for
our next item which is item number five on the agenda. And that is association comments. At today's meeting. Each association will have four minutes to provide comments from their designated representatives, and we will begin with Matt McKenna, which
I don't think we have representatives. Correct. So then we will begin with. No, that's MC, I believe. Then we will begin with MC. I see. I
thought I saw. Mr. sign. You may begin. Today is a sad and sobering day. Today you're voting on a budget that reflects a fundamental
underfunding of public schools, and the cuts will reverberate throughout our school system and our county. At the last work session, I asked this board to review all new initiatives, programs, and positions and ask whether we need them and whether we need them. Right now, we are
encouraged that apparently the superintendent and board did listen and took steps to restore the positions of school psychologists, staff development teachers and career and college navigators. That is good news, but quite frankly, you have not gone far enough. You can and should do better. I
do not want to presuppose today's debate and vote. Still, the cuts that remain on the table, including PPW school social workers, instructional specialists, consulting teachers, among many others, will devastate our system. And the most painful part is that
many of these positions serve our most vulnerable communities, including black and brown students and families who will now do that work, who will support our students, who are in crisis, who will support families with critical housing and survival issues? These
crises don't go away just because the positions do. Problems fester when they're not addressed. We fear students will fall through the cracks. In fact, it is almost inevitable that they will. If the board votes to reduce PPW staffing by 50%, the remaining
PWS cannot do the work of a full staff and entirely eliminating well-being social workers. Well, obviously that work will not get done. We all understand that this problem is not entirely of your making. All of us need to understand the effects of chronic
underfunding of schools. This board, the county council, school employees, the public, all of us. Yes, M.c.p.s. Enrollment has recently become deep, has recently begun to decrease. But despite that decrease, our needs have not shrunk. Instead, we are seeing an increased need for
investment, for mental health and special education. We have seen a steady erosion in this county's investment in public schools. At one point, M.C.P.S. accounted for over 50% of the county's budget. Today, despite growing needs, it hovers at a mere 47%. The narrative that we
spend more on M.C.P.S. than we have in the past is false to our friends on the county council, who reduced our cuts from almost 100 million to 36 million. Thank you for that. But they need to realize the impact of these cuts. No one is crying wolf here. People will
lose their jobs. My colleagues, your constituents, our neighbors running against insane cuts at the federal level in imposing the same thing here in Montgomery County is equally insane. And getting up this week to attack the school system for these cuts. And believe me, I have a lot of
criticisms of the school system for these cuts. But but but doing that while at the same time voting for these very cuts is the definition of playing politics. And our students and schools deserve better than that. At the last session, I yielded my time to social
worker and PPW. So I want to allow Chris Simpkins to talk about the impact to consulting teachers. But let me just finish by saying MCA will continue fighting for our schools, our educators and our students, and for those who continue to level criticism at school spending, I encourage
you to take a walk in the shoes of educators. Maybe then you'll understand why we need to invest more in our schools and not less. We hope you'll join us as allies and future fights,
Mr. Simkins. Good afternoon. My name is Chris Simkins and I am a consulting teacher or CTE. I come before you today to urge you to reconsider the proposed cut of three CT positions. Teacher testimonials clearly
demonstrate that the CTE program is a vital, non-negotiable investment because of the direct positive impact on students and instruction, teachers report receiving individualized feedback that strengthens their instructional practices and classroom management. First year educators note that their CT provides essential guidance
to the challenges of the first year. While veterans credit CTS with refining and enhancing their professional expertise, CTS are critical for retention and morale. Teachers describe their CTE as a tremendous source of encouragement, a listening ear, and an equal through strong relationship
building. We boost teacher self-esteem and confidence cutting these three positions will cause CTE caseloads to balloon, thus reducing the accessibility and individualized attention that makes the current support so meaningful and impactful. Losing even one CTE will dilute our successful work and will
severely undermine professional growth. Please invest in the success of our teachers and students by preserving all consulting teacher positions. Thank you. Thank you. Can I
have representatives from SEIU? You may begin. I'm the executive vice president of SEIU local 500, and I urge you to reconsider the superintendent's proposed
staffing cuts, which is our which of our families and staff are you willing to sacrifice families receiving support from the family engagement specialist students supported by ML therapeutic counselors, or maybe the students receiving instruction from our. Our English compositions, programs
and structures created by the Recognition Specialist and the Career Pathways Program. Staff who are on the proposed cut list will be in place next year, but the staff remaining will be expected to implement them. Doing more with less while providing unreasonable hospitality has become an
expectation in M.C.P.S. With the recent retirement incentives, what support did you all provide to the staff? The ask staff to process all of that increased workload? These proposed cuts will place even more unreasonable burden on those who remain. Staff are individuals who deserve to be
valued and respected rather than used and discarded. Please cut things and not people. Our students and staff deserve
better. Go ahead. I'm sorry. I'm here. My name is Ibrahim with I go by ABBA. I know most all of you on the podium
because we've been coming to you on many levels. I'm here on behalf of the families that we support. As we know, M.c.p.s. Receives $24,438 per student for fiscal year 2027, which 67%
of that is funded by the Montgomery County. Overf of the county's budget comes to us. M.c.p.s. When I say us, I'm still consider myself part of the team. Our county council remains supportive of family engagement as such, not only verbally, but they have come
forward with what they can do, with what they have. Now that you have half of the county's money, Doctor Taylor, miss SC McGuire, the Board of Education and everyone involved in this decision, how will you substitute for the cut that
you're making? From what we understand, what we can make sense out of the budget that is transparent. Out of 50, 12 people would remain to do the work for 211 schools, plus two softwares and apps. Do not wipe
tears. Do not consult parents who lose their children to suicide, people who are homeless because they lost their homes. We are there. We're not the ones to be in the front page of anybody's paper, but we are in the hearts and minds of the school staff, the
students and their parents. What will be your legacy? We could be gone tomorrow because by tomorrow we have to make a decision. But you each have your name on this decision. The children that will not graduate because of the decisions you're making today will remember you.
Yes. It's okay. We're we are going to survive. Survive. We will. But you will not be remembered as the team that brought forward what was built and given to you. It took 20 to 25 years to build this office. If you dismantle it, it's like
a doctor going and unplugging the oxygen from a patient. So basically, it's your conscience. These are not just numbers. These are people we work with and we understand. I'm a business student, understand fiscal, I understand balance
sheets. But if you're balancing this whole budget on the backs of all the families that are counting on you, it's your conscience that you have to
live with. Thank you. Good.
I would like to hear from your other two colleagues that you're taking into the time of it. So can we hear from the next colleague? Yeah. Thank you. Good afternoon. I'm Chris Campbell and I have served Team M.c.p.s as an English
composition assistant for the past 12 years. I'm speaking on behalf of the 46 acres, who work with 5000 students daily, and cost the county only 2.3 million annually. Doctor Taylor has described an academics first approach that keeps reductions far from classrooms and prioritizes instruction. E, c A positions do exactly that.
We provide direct literacy support through one on one conferencing, small group instruction, target writing, targeted writing interventions and in-class assistance as educators impacting the Maryland Report card ECAS analyze student data, support school improvement plans, operate writing centers, assist
with SAT preparation, and help thousands of students complete college and scholarship essays. For many of these students, especially first generation college applicants and farms, we provide support they cannot access elsewhere. The M.C.P.S. budget is a statement of our collective values. If increasing literacy, effective
communication, college readiness and student achievement remain our values, then E c must remain a part of the solution. Thank you. Give
me one second. I don't think we can stop that, because. Can we? Yeah you can. Can we please stop it and cut a timer? So this is what we're going to do. I'm going to speak quickly. No you're going to speak your what? You're going to speak what you came here to speak. Because
these are unprecedented times where this has never been seen. The cuts that we're having. So I'm going to give you the grace. Because I know you're speaking for many others as well, I am, so please go right ahead.
Natalie Border, Career Pathways program manager. Career pathways is not a luxury. It's a direct workforce strategy for M.c.p.s. When we cut career pathways, we're cutting access for students, support staff and current and future employees who want to grow into hard to
fill roles in this district. This work helps people become teachers. It helps supporting services employees, build skills, earn credentials, and see a future for themselves in M.c.p.s. You all often talk about building strong schools. Strong schools require strong
people and strong people need clear career pathways. Career pathways is not a cost center. It is a pipeline. It is retention. It is succession planning, and it is one of the most practical investments M.c.p.s. Can make in its own workforce. I urge you to
protect this work and continuing investing in career pathways across M.c.p.s. Thank you. Thank you very much. We're
going to be moving to item number six, which is public comment. We have 20 folks signed up today. The next item on the agenda will the board encourages public input on policy, program and practices and will consider the comments received. It is not the board's
practice during public comment meetings to respond to questions, provide comments, or take actions on the issues raised. This is a public meeting, and the board expects the conduct of all speakers and members of the audience to be within the bounds of proper etiquette. Inappropriate personal remarks, rude efforts
or other such behavior is out of order and will not be tolerated. Those who demonstrate disruptive or disrespectful behavior during public comment may be asked to leave the room. In addition, public comment is not the proper avenue to address specific student or employee matters. Such matters should be
directed through the complaint or appeal process. Each speaker has two minutes to deliver their comments. When your name is called, please press the button and speak clearly into the microphone. A yellow light and single beep indicates you have 30s remaining. A red light
and repeating beep signals that the time has expired. Once you have finished speaking, press the same button to turn on to turn off the microphone. Following live testimony, audio and video testimony will be played. Copies of testimonies provided to the board prior to
today's meeting are posted with other materials for this meeting. On board docs. With that, I am going to call our speakers. Grant Nelson. Sami.
Benkert. Emily Nelson Sami Silva, Jeanette Reemsnyder, and Lee Klassen. If we can start
with Grant Nelson, please go right ahead. Push your button in front of you. There you go. All right. I would like to take the time and thank everyone who has already spoken. And I would like to iterate that. I am speaking from a student perspective. Good afternoon
everyone. My name is Greg Nelson and I am an 11th grade student at Bethesda Chevy Chase High School. As you all know, this proposed budget would let go of social workers, English composition assistance, media assistance, and many other staff members across the county. These vital positions in public
schools ensure that students mental health and well-being are in good shape. Support staff are often the first adults to notice when a student is struggling, whether at home, school or in any area of their lives. Now, what would happen if they're gone? Who would the
responsibilities fall to? The truth is, nobody. I know the answer is quite blunt, but their jobs will simply be eliminated or fall to someone who is unable to fulfill the duties required. Using Miss Weissman at BCC, who is currently present as an example, she is a part of a program with
over 42 staff members across the county. They meet with students individually and get them the help they need, according to the M.C.P.S. 2024 to 2025 Annual report, M.c.p.s. Has reduced chronic absenteeism, referred to as students who
miss 10% or more of school days from 26.02% to 21.86% over the past two years. This improvement did not happen by accident. Dedicated support staff tracked attendance, reached out to families, and
worked with students directly. If we eliminate the very people who helped achieve this progress, we are pulling the support out from underneath the students who rely on these workers daily. These improvements are a result of the relationship that is built on the fact that many teachers think of every kid as their own,
something that Miss Heald, BCS College and career counselor, said to us this week. This isn't just at BCC, this would affect every public school across the county. Let's think for a moment. Are we really going to lay off over 400 staff members that students rely on day in and day out? Why are
students paying the price? As student grant, we have your your testimony. Thank you.
Your next. Good afternoon. Superintendent. Members of the Board of Education. My name is Samriddhi Venkat and I'm a junior from Northwest High School. I'm here today to urge the board to reconsider proposed cuts to college and career navigators and other
student facing services that directly support students. As a student who has benefited from M.C.P.S. college and career programs, I've seen firstha how valuable these navigators are. They are the people helping students navigate one of the most important and often and often overwhelming periods
of their lives. They organized college visits, connect students with opportunities, assist with fee waivers, answer questions about applications and financial aid, and ensure that students have the information they need to plan for their futures. As a rising senior myself, I know how
critical this support is. Senior year is when students are applying to colleges, exploring career pathways and making decisions that will shape the rest of their lives. For many students, especially those who may not have access to outside resources, navigators serve as a vital connection to opportunities
they might otherwise miss. I understand that difficult budget decisions must be made. However, I urge the board to consider the impacts these cuts will have on students. When a navigator position is eliminated. It is not just a budget reduction, it's a loss of guidance, support and access
for the students who rely on these services every day. I'm here today because I have I have personally benefited from these programs, and I've seen the impact that they have on students across M.c.p.s. These positions are not extras. They are direct investment in students and their futures. As
you vote on this budget, I ask that you prioritize student equality and opportunity and reconsider cuts to college and career navigators and other services that directly support student success. Thank you, thank you. Nelson. Emily.
Nelson. Go ahead. Push a button. Hello, my name is Emily Nelson and I graduated last year from BCC High School. Throughout my time there, I learned that student success depends on much more than just what happens in the classroom. Students need support systems that help them navigate challenges both inside
and outside of school. Many students in Montgomery County Public Schools do not have access to mental health resources at home, making it exponentially harder to stay focused on important things like schoolwork and attendance. Today, students face huge pressures from social media, uncertainty in the world around them and the everyday
challenges of growing up. Luckily, schools have social workers, family engagement specialists, pupil personnel, workers and more to help them navigate these things that should never be dealt with alone. During my time at BCC, we experienced multiple serious lockdowns and bomb threats. I remember just how scared
students, including myself, were afterwards. The very first place that students were turned to was the support staff at school. The very positions that are threatened by today's budget cuts. Without these staff members, students would not and will not be able to process traumatic experiences like these and return to
learning smoothly, removing these staff members when students need it most would be a grave mistake. Media specialists are also essential to student success. The research and information literacy skills that I learned from them gave me a significant advantage during my first year at college. Instead of learning
from the ground up, I already knew how to evaluate sources, conduct effective research, and navigate technology. Because of the useful guidance I received in high school. These positions are not simply extras. They are part of what keeps students safe, supported, and successful. As you consider these budget
decisions, I ask you to think about the students who rely on these services every day and do not have access to them. Otherwise, I urge you to vote no on these cuts and protect the staff who make our schools and students stronger. Thank
you. Can we hear from Sami Silva? Hello, my name is Sami Silva. I'm a fourth grader at Sequoyah Elementary School. I'm here because my future high school needs to be renovated.
My guru hasn't had a major renovation since my mom went there in 1994, and she's very old. Oh, because it's so old. Some places in the schools are falling apart and don't feel safe to go in. Gouda doesn't have spaces where kids can learn with a clear mind. And
since you're in charge of education, shouldn't you help the kids who need these spaces? Leaders have to look out for the people they're leading. But if they're not working hard to help these people, are they really leading us? If there is no money, what are you doing to get it? And if you see that your strategies aren't working, why aren't you changing plans?
If something serious, if something serious happens to a parent, if something serious happens in. Our parents don't want us to go to my guru anymore, what will happen to us kids? Will we separate from our friends? What? We have to wake up a lot earlier to get on school, get to school on time, drastically changing our sleep
schedules when we know how much it affects our educations. Please help with these renovations instead of holding them back. Since you make all the decisions, you should know how much we need help. All the kids in Magruder Cluster need a health, a healthy, safe high school. You already know how desperately needs your help,
and we hope this time you'll listen and think about our request. Thank you, thank you. Janet. Janet. Reemsnyder. Thank
you for allowing me to speak today. I know many of your faces and I appreciate you giving me this opportunity. When we make decisions based solely on numbers, on a spreadsheet, we miss the humanity behind the work being done. I am here today as both a parent and the PTSA president
at Halliwells Middle School. I understand that M.C.P.S. is facing a budget crisis, but these are not just positions being cut, these are real people making meaningful contributions to students every single day. I understand difficult decisions need to be
made, but these cuts aren't it. I also want to express my disappointment that there have been so few opportunities for meaningful public comment on these proposed cuts. A 12 p.m. meeting in the middle of a Thursday is not sufficient, and significantly limits the ability of parents, staff and
community stakeholders to participate in this conversation and you need to hear from them. Removing support from our students during the largest boundary study in our country in our county's history, one that will impact the very fabric of many of our communities cannot
happen. This is a time when students and families will need more stability, more connection, and more support, not less. I want to introduce you to some of the line items that are on your spreadsheets, and highlight the irreplaceable impact they have had on our school communities. I wasn't
going to get emotional. Meet Mrs. Julie Oldak, our media assistant. She is far more than her title. She is a safe place, a trusted adult, and a constant source of encouragement for students. When my daughter was being bullied, Mrs. Oldak was someone she could turn to meet Miss Veronica Perez and Sandra
Woods, our family engagement specialist serving the Damascus and Clarksburg communities. Her work goes far beyond what any salary could compensate for. I have seen her provide winter coats, support families during the holidays and build relationships with students so they feel connected enough to come to school, participate and
succeed. These cuts will hurt our students. They will hurt our classrooms. They will hurt our communities. Today, you have the power to decide whether these positions remain in our schools. Do we have the rest of your testimony? Thank
you, thank you. Miss Clinton. Good afternoon. My name is Lee Clinton. I am a Montgomery County resident, Future M.c.p.s parent and resource counselor at Winston Churchill High School. I would like to thank
you for listening to staff and families throughout this process. I am grateful for the restoration of the college and career navigator and school psychologist positions, and the critical services they provide to students. Proposed cuts to student facing support positions have a ripple effect that falls squarely on school
counselors. To illustrate this point, I have provided copies of the annual and counseling services calendar at my school. The highlighted section showed the magnitude of the college and career navigators responsibilities, and how those duties allow school counselors to continue meeting our academic, mental health,
college and career and legally mandated responsibilities. School counselors help students achieve academically, identify post-secondary goals, and support mental health and wellness through skill development, crisis response, and brief, solution focused counseling. We are also responsible for high stakes and
legally required duties, including suicide prevention, self-harm and threat assessments, 504 case management, and more. The reality is that many school counselors are barely keeping our heads above water. As you prepare for budget discussions, I ask that you remember these
calendars and continue exploring a pathway to restore pupil personnel workers who connect vulnerable students and families to critical resources and assist schools in accessing additional supports for students. I also encourage you continued support for school
social workers who provide critical tier three mental health interventions. Most Importantly, I ask that budget decisions recognize a simple reality. School counselors cannot absorb the responsibilities of positions that are eliminated. There is no excess capacity left when
support positions are cut. The services do not transfer to counselors. They simply do not. Students lose support. Families lose access to resources, and opportunities disappear. Protecting school based support positions protects students and
preserves. The services of our community. Depends on. Thank you for your continued. Thank you. I'm going to call the next.
The next six speakers. Meg. Hanley. I Manzanares. On Iona. Conn. Jack. Smith. Greg Shaner
and Diana Conway. No. No no.
Can we start with Meg Hanley, please? Gymnastics is an equitable sport since 1963, serving populations from novice to expert. Did you know that three girls from Sherwood obtained a high school All-American status with more to come from various other schools? Congratulations. This
is a big deal and something the colleges look at. There are many gymnasts that continue to participate at the collegiate level D1, D2, D3 and club. We know there are other kids in schools that wanted the sport and were told no. Sherwood, Damascus, McGruder, BK, Blake are just a few of the schools
that have produced state, regional and national champions. Our county is known across the country for producing exceptional gymnasts. I'm not going to repeat my 416 testimony. I will ask you to do right by the girls and give them another year to really review the elimination of the program and trial of a stunt
year. I will say that nepotism has continued to resurface, and if you would like evidence, I'd be happy to provide it. The 218 letter sent by Doctor Sullivan has not appropriately addressed the elimination. To say there is lack of qualified coaches is a joke. Both my husband and I are more than qualified to coach. Especially my husband
who has coached wrestling and is a former gymnast. This sport serves more than 100 students across the seven schools. The priority to fully support the student athletes and families has not happened. Commitment to honoring the program's history, celebrating its achievements and ensuring that this final season is one marked by pride,
recognition and care for the students who have given so much to the sport has not occurred. In fact, it did just the opposite. The compliance coordinator and the girls remain devastated. The compliance coordinator and sports administrator for gymnastics was less than supportive and more of an embarrassment, who clearly has no idea about gymnastics, which
I gladly will provide evidence of as well. Gary has been the expert on the outside. You just see a show. What you don't see is what's going on internally. Every day people entrust me with their lives and we entrust you with our children's. As an ER nurse, I have not lost a life in over a decade. Don't allow poor decisions to cost
you the loss of life of a student. That, unfortunately, is a reality. McKinley. Thank you, Miss Manzanares. Ayanna
Manzanares, good afternoon. Buenas tardes. My name is Ayanna Manzanares. And I stand before you as a well-being social worker. But more importantly and most importantly, I am the mother of two children enrolled in Montgomery County Public Schools. Today's vote is not
simply about a budget. It is about lifelines. Every, students walk into our offices carrying suicidal thoughts, trauma, anxiety, grief, depression, and despair. Every day, well-being. School social workers provide the clinical mental health support that
helps keep students safe, connected, and in school. This year alone, Montgomery County's 42 well-being social workers are projected to conduct more than 750 suicide risk assessments and safety interventions, more than 850 crisis responses and more than
25,000 direct student service contacts. These are not statistics. These are children. These are our children. Children who needed help and were able to find it. Today, you are prepared to eliminate the only cohort of clinical therapists embedded in Montgomery County public Schools who serve all students.
The crisis does not disappear because the budget line does. Student mental health needs will not disappear because the positions disappear. The only thing that disappears is access to support. The only thing that disappears is intervention. The only thing that disappears is
prevention. To the community. Please understand what is happening today. Lifelines are being removed from schools at a time when students continue to struggle with unprecedented mental health needs. And the board and the board and the superintendent. Years from now, no one will remember the spreadsheet behind this
decision. But students, families and schools will live with its consequences. Today's vote is not about what M.c.p.s. Can afford. It is about what M.c.p.s. Is willing to risk for the sake of. For the sake of every student who May 1st day need someone to answer a cry
for help, I urge you please cast your vote to protect our lifelines, to protect our children. Protect them like they're your children. Thank
you. Jeff Smith. Jack Smith. I'm next. I'm so sorry. Don. Go
ahead. Don. I'm Don. I'm the mother of two high school boys and a mental health therapist. And I'm here to address how many of the proposed cuts will have a devastating impact on student mental health and well-being. According to the CDC, adolescent mental health and suicide risk are still major public health concerns.
Cutting social workers and EMS will make this worse by cutting essential clinical services to some of our most vulnerable students, including those that may have tendencies toward aggression, fighting and violent incidences. Weapons. School shootings are at an all time high. Here. To cut any mental health supports is not
only misguided, but it's also dangerous. Cutting positions essential to Edison, CTF and student built house, which is one of the only things we do well. But most importantly, this is important to the students. For many students, CTE programs are a school to job pipeline, and the only
reason they attend school or have hope for the future. It helps kids who may not be college bound to find their place in a world that seems to forget that not all kids have to go to college. M.C.P.S. already has a truancy and family involvement problem. Cutting essential positions like these will only intensify
these issues. Cutting anything related to special education is absurd. It will impact our most vulnerable students, preventing them from getting the education they deserve and the services they need, many of which are mental health related. Making cuts in sports like gymnastics when for many students, sports are the only reason they go to
school and try to do well is wrong. Sports and being part of a team are often a literal lifeline for kids. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Cuts to any student facing staff while patting the wallets in the desks of a bloated central office will have lasting, detrimental effects that could
leave empty classrooms in its path because of truancy, hopelessness, or even worse, because of violence and suicide. Stop rubber stamping and taking an ask and you shall receive approach when frivolous spending requests are made, and instead provide the real oversight to budgetary requests
that you were elected to do. The M.C.P.S. community deserves better. Yeah, that's me. Mr.
Smith. One more time. There you go. Are you ready? Good afternoon. My name is Jack Smith. And for the past six years, I've worked in Montgomery County Public Schools. During that time, I've worked with students who struggle academically, socially, and emotionally. I've seen
firsthand how much difference supportive adults can make in a student's life. Montgomery County is one of the wealthiest counties in America. With that wealth comes a responsibility to protect our most vulnerable young people. Before cutting positions that work directly with youth at risk students, I
urge the board to look first at expenditures with less immediate impact on children such as deferred facilities, projects, materials, budgets and administrative overhead. I'd like to point out that at no time during this budget crisis were the frontline people who work in these
schools asked for their input. A simple question we need to find savings. You know the system. What would you suggest? That conversation never happened, and that's a missed opportunity, not just for this budget, but for every difficult decision ahead. I'd like to
read a message from Agostina, a student from Richard Montgomery High School who is now attending the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and pursuing a degree in rehabilitation psychology. Quote. I'm a first generation college student from a single parent household staff members
like Mr. Smith and Miss ROM English composition assistants. Miss Friedman, a dual enrollment assistant, and Miss Harris, a pupil personnel worker, went far beyond their job description to help me reach college. When these positions are cut, students like me lose opportunities.
Future students deserve the same chance I had. I'd like to close by saying that the people closest to students should be the last place we look for savings, not the first. The most vulnerable students didn't create this budget crisis. They shouldn't have to solve it.
Thank you. Mr. Shaner. Hello. I understand that the Athletics Office has just announced the reinstatement of gymnastics for next year. Thank you. I'm here
to ask the board to step in to reinstate gymnastics for future years. I feel it's important to take a step back and examine the process that led to this initial decision. The Athletics Office is giving a presentation today that will say that a clear decision making process was used, and it was a
difficult decision to make. They will explain why the process complied with title nine, and that certain stakeholders were consulted. They may technically meet those requirements, but a decision that excludes the gymnastics community lacks integrity. Essential information is yet to be considered. The approval of
high school principals and sulk loses its weight in the context of the decision, having no impact on most of the principal schools and knowing that sulk had zero gymnasts sitting on their council. A fair and equitable decision cannot be made without evaluating input
from the actual stakeholders. As a title nine Sport M.c.p.s. Has made no attempt to expand this decades long program to other schools that have expressed interest. Gymnastics is a thriving sport in this area and the country. NCAA
gymnastics remains massively popular, and high school gymnastics remains crucial for high school gymnasts and their futures. The board has heard, and will continue to hear from the public about why gymnastics shouldn't be cut, including from the medical and mental health communities, individuals
involved and other M.C.P.S. sports, and even from M.c.p.s. Cheerleaders themselves. There is no objective reason to sacrifice the unique and inclusive support of sport of gymnastics for a third season of cheerleading. A sound decision should have no. No
issue withstanding public comment and scrutiny. Please insist on any future decision making. Be conducted openly and fairly. Thank you. Thank you,
Miss Conway. Good afternoon, President Rivera-Oven and members of the Board of Education Staff. And you, ferocious advocates. I'm here to helpe you some money. For the record, I'm Diana Conway, president of Safe Healthy Playing Fields, a 501 C
three, all volunteer national nonprofit focused on providing facts and science about plastic artificial turf fields versus natural grass fields, specifically on cost and disposal. The glaring data gaps on cost and usage of plastic fields versus grass fields
means M.c.p.s. Must suspend all new plastic field installations until you do an actual and thorough full life cycle cost for both plastic and sustainably managed real grass. Like the 2025 analysis in my written comments with the hyperlinks, M.c.p.s. Has not
done their due diligence in committing tens of millions of dollars to plastic fields is irresponsible, especially given that you have school employees and drinking water fixtures and roof replacements and H vac begging for money. M.C.P.S. data presents a very incomplete
estimate of plastic field usage and a dramatic underestimate of the ten year cost of plastic versus fields. And that's according to your own 2027 CIP budget. Our math is in my written testimony. So until M.c.p.s. Initiates a full and sustainable full RFP for
sustainably managed real grass sports field, you are flying blind. My testimony includes information on actual usage, on replacement and disposal, and the cost of disposal, which are typically astronomically. This type of side by side does not
appear to exist, and like any math problem, you need to show your work. Where is the math? We've pointed out before the absence of replacement cycle costs in your budgets. In the interim, Maryland has passed legislation requiring disposal cost disclosure. Do you have
that information? Where is the math? Not only are you prioritizing plastic over key staff and infrastructure, you're underestimating how much these fields will drain your budget now and going forward. Cut! Thank you. We have your we have we have your not. We have
your statement. Thank you. I'm going to call the next the next four speakers, Madison and Alondra Anderson, da Silva,
Rebecca Holtzman and John Ocampo. In the back before the
vote. So can we start with Madison and Alondra? Good
afternoon, president Rivera-Oven vice president, Wolff Board of Education members and superintendent Doctor Taylor. My name is Alondra Anderson and my name is Madison Buckholtz. We are the co-presidents of the Montgomery County School Psychologist Association. We would like to express our gratitude for the
restoration of the 18 school psychologist positions in the 2627 operating budget. This is a testament to the amazing work of the M.C.P.S. School psychologist and the collaborative support we've received from school and community groups. Retention of these positions will allow us to continue to provide
comprehensive psychological services for students, which have a direct impact on classroom instruction and student success. We would like to use the remainder of our time to emphasize the direct impact on students and families that will be felt by eliminating positions including the wellbeing social Workers
family engagement specialists, ETS and P s. As an example, there have been 37 district wide crisises this school year, requiring a high level of support, which is an average of four crises per month, such as student deaths, school violence and community tragedies. One
significant impact incident impacted one of the buildings I support, and it wasn't for the support of over 100 M.C.P.S. school well-being staff, including central services psychologists and wellbeing social workers, and people who work together to foster psychological safety for our entire school community. These
are our teammates and supporting students. We urge you to reconsider the impact this will have on our students, families and community. We remain grateful and hopeful for continued collaboration. Thank you. Thank you so much. Dan
Silva. Dan Silva, hello. You all know me. I'm Dan Silva, the Magruder cluster coordinator. I realize that the focus of today's meeting is not the capital budget. However, as my daughter mentioned, that Magruder is falling apart and
she doesn't mean that Hyperbolically, I want to make sure that you're all aware of an incident that happened on March 13th where in our gym, approximately a five by five metal ceiling grate, one of the vent diffusers came crashing 30ft from the ceiling to our gym floor. About an hour after the girls volleyball team had
left the floor. This is the second potentially fatal ceiling collapse issue we've had at Magruder in the course of a year. Also, when you're talking about title nine later, I want you to remember that the Magruder girls athletes are female athletes don't have access to a locker room after 3:00. As far as I know, we're the only ones in the county
that don't. It sucks that the county council cut the budget for facilities planning in half, and that money was supposed to go. Many people don't understand towards hiring a consultant. Seems at this point that the only lifeline Magruder has is through P3 funding. It's
all related. It's all with the budget. We all need to dig in deep and start exploring alternate funding options, and I'm here to offer again to work with any of you who are willing to work with me to start making this a part of the mainstream conversation. Even without the consultant, we can still work towards exploring this funding,
towards exploring its pitfalls and its benefits and educating the community. So this is not hit as a surprise. This isn't an issue that can be solved by listening to cluster testimony twice a year and then voting on winners and losers. We have to dig deeper. And just like you guys are asking all these teachers to do, we have to find
a way to do more with less. If you tell me that you can't do it without something from the county council, I still need to work with you because I need to know exactly what it is that you are asking, so that I can get my growing army of advocates to show up at county council meetings and beat down the doors of county council
members. Some of you may be those members soon. You know, like I said, I'm here to work with you. I'm asking you once again, please reach out. Let's set up some meetings and let's get to work on finding a future for Magruder. Thank you, Mr. Silva. Rebecca Holtzman,
Rebecca Holtzman, push your button in front of you. Thank you. Thank you, President Rivera-Oven and members of the board. I'm Rebecca Holtzman and a mother to twins in fourth
grade at Beverly Farms. I attended the very school that my twins now attend. I'm sorry. I'm nervous. M.C.P.S. overuse of technology is directly harming my son's neurodevelopmental growth and exacerbating his underlying conditions. I am here because I'm sure it is harming many
children beyond my own, and I want systemic change. My twins both receive special education services through their IEPs. They're both ADHD and they are night and day different from each other. My son's IEP currently requires zero technology support and he, like
many ADHD kids, is more likely to hyper focus on screens, struggle with transitions. Kids like him are at higher risk for cyberbullying, taking dangerous risks, and for being exploited by predators online something my family, unfortunately has experienced directly. This is
not just my family's experience. Kids are already on screens too much outside of school, and a lot of that is not is on the parents. But then they go to school and sit in front of a Chromebook. And on top of that, that's on schools. Research shows that kids who exceed screen time recommendations are
at higher risk for obesity, depression, lower cognitive scores on assessments. Not someday, not eventually. Right now, study after study shows that kids, when they write by hand and read from paper, they learn better. They retain more. They focus more. It's not the screens that are bad in every
context. My daughter has an IEP acquired use of technology. What I'm asking is simply this that make screens earn their spot in the day, use them when they add something pen and paper genuinely cannot. For
everything else that kids use their hands and their brains, the way that research says works best for them, especially for kids with IEPs. Ensure technology is being used because their individualized educational plan and neurodevelopmental plan require it, not because it's the path of least resistance. Other
districts have already done this. Our kids are being left behind. We can save millions by moving away from 1 to 1 device use and expensive digital licenses. Thank you, Miss Holtzman. Can we have your full
testimony? Testimony? Miss Holtzman, we heard you. We have your full testimony. We read it. Thank you. Next, we're going to go to Mr. John Ocampo. My name is John Ocampo. I'm the father of a student at Woodland
Elementary and his younger brother, both of whom will have completed three years of Montessori schooling prior to enrolling in public school for first grade, in part so as to delay the start of an education that is overly reliant on digital screens. Today, I'd like to question the underlying premise behind the adoption of 1 to 1 Chromebooks and the
wisdom of investing in computers over pencils, paper, books, and human beings. I'm asking you to please support the resolution that board member Julie Yang is introducing today about the effects of excessive screen use on students who ordained that every seven year old must have a Chromebook. Based on. What
scientific evidence was this decision made when the billionaire interest that have placed computers in every classroom in America began pushing their products on our children, they claim these devices would help equalize learning opportunities and equip our children with vital career skills. These tech corporations want us to believe
that what motivates them is our children's best interest, what actually motivates them according to their own internal documents released during lawsuits is money. According to a Wall Street Journal report last month. Quote to Google, the K to 12 market in Chromebooks were a critical entry point for building
lifelong brand loyalty. The New York Times recently reported that giants like Apple, Google, and Microsoft are fiercely competing to, quote, capture the classroom in the hopes of hooking students as lifelong customers. What have school districts gotten in exchange for transferring billions of dollars into the pockets of
tech profiteers habituating our children to the scientifically unproven products, while cutting funding of the people that matter most to our children's education. American math and reading scores are at their lowest point in decades. The evidence is staring us in the face. Tech corporations
imperative to maximize our children's time on their devices is at odds with the goal of ensuring real learning and academic achievement for all. To them, our children are playthings, guinea pigs, and future customers. We need to hold the line against these self-interested, predatory tech
corporations. We need a clear and cogent directive policy direction from the board. We need to truly put children first. We're going to go. Thank
you all for your testimony. We're going to go to our video. We're going to go to our video testimony. If we can, please play miss, miss. Mr. Aaron Katz, thank you to the Board of Education for taking the time to hear my testimony concerning
screens in the classroom. My name is Aaron Katz. I'm a Burning tree mother of three and a former professor in clinical social worker. M.C.P.S. has chosen to bring lots of tech into the classrooms. In turn, M.c.p.s has an obligation to be vigilant in their approach to screens in our schools. Through policy, M.c.p.s needs to draw a
distinct line between active educational use and passive use. Because not all tech is created equal, Chromebooks do not replace the importance of teacher student interaction, and they cannot provide the insight into how a child learns or extend learning further. This is provided through
teacher interaction, not tech interaction. I can always tell when my first grade son has been on his school Chromebook. He comes home sluggish, irritable, complaining about headaches and vision fatigue. Gamified tech curriculums are distracting, overstimulating, and not activating the parts of
the brain that necessitate deep learning. Our teachers are not in the classroom to police device use. They are there to teach, and we need to do everything we can to keep teachers and staff in our schools. I fear that by cutting teachers, we create larger class sizes, which leads to
greater reliance on tech in the classroom. The students with means will leave M.C.P.S. for private schools, and those that remain will fall further behind in their cognitive and social development. There are things we can do now that will limit screens and free up millions of dollars in our budget. We do
not need a 1 to 1 student to Chromebook ratio. We need to prioritize the allocation of those funds to retain our teachers and staff. Technology becomes obsolete so fast, and our children are not hitting educational benchmarks. By using expensive tech based
curriculums. We need to go back to what we know works. The tech policy needs clear and standard guidelines for age appropriate, appropriate screen use in schools. Adoption must be universally applied and include accountability measures. Other districts around the country are taking steps toward change. We cannot let our kids fall
behind. I'm just going to ask for clarification from our staff that we were supposed to have my video and Jocelyn's video, and we don't we do not
know. Okay, then I'm going to go to our walk in slots. Yes, we have three available by first come first. Correct. We have three spots available still. Thank you. So I'm going to call Jennifer Jones. Betsy
Melanson. Thank you. And Alejandra. Joaquin. Can we start with Miss Jones? Thank
you. Hello, Doctor Taylor and board members. Thank you for your work. For 15 years, I've testified about prioritizing student mental health and well-being to lower elementary school counselor ratios. In 2011, full time counselors at 14 elementary schools were cut
to half. It took years to recover. Today, I'm distraught about student wellbeing. Team staff cuts that harm student mental health by blocking access to instruction to fully realize their potential. Because these student services staff make academics first possible, cuts were already
made to middle and high school counselors. Now, I have deep concerns about cuts to social workers, ML, therapeutic counselors and family engagement specialists, as well as special education colleagues. As a counselor, I rely very heavily on these team members. Without them, it will be
impossible for student needs to be met because I'm overwhelmed already with so many other tasks, including tons of 504 paperwork. Who is going to fill these gaps? Thank you, board member Laura Stewart for joining our Lake Seneca Student Wellbeing Team meeting on Tuesday. You saw us collaborate
about numerous cases to meet student needs. Since the 90s, I've partnered with Pbh, whose help is imperative for Mckinney-vento attendance crisis and Cosa cases. On Tuesday, our PPW gave a great resource to track student support strategies we plan to
implement during summer and fall. She connects us with social workers who help our dire cases involving school avoidance and relocation counselors are crucial partners. Supporting families facing serious legal, mental health and language barriers. There are no other options because
therapy agencies with MCAs have long waiting lists. For seven years, our family engagement specialist shared key resources, empowering parents to advocate for academic success. She was cut last year. Our special education teacher allocations
will be cut from 4 to 3 without the resource teacher position we were supposed to have. It's a crippling loss. Our schools, Maryland report card rating and attendance data has significantly improved thanks to the staff. Let's follow 14 other states to phase out Chromebook technology and write
an amendment to put that money into the staff positions. Thank you. Miss Mendelson. You're next. Good afternoon. I'm Betsy
Mendelson. My child has been accommodated by M.c.p.s. With a 504 plan and also the gender pronoun form MCS form five, six, five, 60, 80 since eighth grade on Tuesday, my kid graduated from high school and is going on to good things. My remarks
today concern implementation of gender policy. M.C.P.S. in Einstein High School outed my student. So, Miss Malu, when you came to Einstein graduation and Doctor Taylor, you saw my kid in every trans kid get outed in the commencement
program. School staff ignored the chosen names on file. My child's chosen name has been on file for five years and instead published the legal names. The school's error in publishing my student's birth name for their classmates, families, school staff, and the public to see
violates the spirit of M.c.p.s policy as embodied in the pronoun form. Form five 6080. This publication hurt my child, and this is their last memory of M.c.p.s. M.c.p.s culture has therefore shifted part of the
burden of complying with form five 6080 onto my kid and any other kid who files it. The outing at graduation was not isolated before each standardized test. Teachers typically have called the legal name of each student in that room in order to individually
distribute exam tickets or tests. So before each PSATSATIBABAPM cap, whatever, they're outed. My kid has turned somersaults to try to prevent this from happening
during these high stakes situations where my kid has already 504 accommodations for testing. My hope today is that if M.c.p.s really wants to be a welcoming community, employees must act to honor the reason for a name change form and not
the fact that a name is that a that a form is filed. CPS promises a lot and has given us a lot, but needs to deliver more. Thank you, Miss Mendelson.
Go ahead. Alejandra. Hello. My name is Alejandra Hakin. I am an M.c.p.s parent, employee, graduate and the daughter of two proud M.c.p.s. CPS retirees. Miha esta en el condado es tan bueno were the words my dad said to me fresh out of high school so I could apply to
M.c.p.s. There was a time when M.c.p.s was district. Everyone wanted to join a place defined by excellence, respect and opportunity. Today, that reputation has deeply eroded. Employees no longer feel valued, respected or heard. Conversations once centered on innovation and student success now focus on frustration, burnout, and growing lack of
confidence in leadership. These challenges are a result of years of decisions made without meaningful input, lack of accountability, misuse of funds, and the covering up and keeping things behind closed doors. When leadership fails to listen, trust is lost and frustration grows when poor planning and
questionable questionable spending take priority over supporting students and staff, the entire system suffers. Doctor Taylor and board members, you have the opportunity and the responsibility to honestly assess how we arrived. At this point, it is not enough to acknowledge declining morale
and lack of money. The root cause must be addressed. Difficult questions must be asked. Investigation should be made. Doctor Taylor, you came into M.c.p.s with the mentality of less in central and more in schools, but somehow that plan turned into keeping more money in central and less in schools.
As a kindergarten student new to this country, I don't remember Chiefs, associates, or central office personnel helping my family navigate a new language and a new culture. I remember my PCC, my counselors, my administrators, and my teachers. These are the very same people families. Remember, we are those people
that you're choosing to cut you. We are the people you're choosing to take away. We are here. You are choosing to widen the gap that we helped bridge for so long. I hope you, Doctor Taylor, and board members in Central Office are ready to put your sneakers on and meet those families in their homes and continue to bridge those gaps
that we fought hard to close. I will end with this. It is disheartening that even though we served for so many years, M.c.p.s. Is just letting us go. We're not getting clear communication as to how this will affect us. And we're told that by June 15th we'll know something. A whole 15 days for
us to decide what we will do. Thank you. Sorry about your time is up, Alejandra. Thank you. This concludes public
comment. The board's next meeting to receive public comment is on Thursday, June 25th. Online sign ups will be open on Thursday, June 18th at 6 p.m. In addition to online sign ups, same day in-person sign ups are permitted when space allows, with unallocated
slots filled on a first come, first serve basis in person. Sign ups will close 15 minutes before the start of the open session, or when all slots are filled. Additional information regarding upcoming meetings can also be found on the board's website. With that, I'm going
to open to my colleagues to see if there are any. Any comments, miss Montoya? Thank you. I will reserve any comments about the budget to that portion of the meeting. I just wanted to ask M.c.p.s administration to please follow up with Miss
Mendelson. That is extremely alarming and concerning, and I apologize. Miss Mendelson, I apologize. I is she the one that had the. I had a question about. I think the same thing.
I just couldn't remember. Yeah. She was her last name. Yes. About the name change form. Correct. That was that is that a legal requirement or is there some way that we can use the preferred name for call? It's
like a name card at a dinner party. Yeah. We're just trying to figure out. Well, that was very disturbing. And thank you for bringing that to our attention. I think that was
disturbing to all of us. So if everybody is okay, I think we can say that that was can I speak on behalf of the board on this one? Yes. Well, Miss Mendelson, we're very upset about it. So we're looking into it because I shook the hands of 2000 students yesterday, which
much pride and joy. So when we can avoid any kind of. That's we need to do that for the good of our kids. So thank you for bringing that issue. So I appreciate you bringing that to us. Anyone else has any other
comments, Miss Stewart? Sure. It is disturbing, especially this is the beginning of Pride Month. And so we need to stand by our values. And I think that includes looking at our processes about that issue with
using preferred names. I also wanted to agree with Dan Silva that we should be looking at other opportunities, and I think this would be a good time to restart the. I'm not going
to get the name right, but the facilities committee that was meeting pre-COVID, that committee stopped meeting. And so maybe that is something that could be brought up in a committee. We have subject matter matter experts in the
community, and we could open up the slots for that, and we can get a good group of people together that can work that out. Hopefully, being that's not in our budget. Also, I just want to make sure that Miss Conway's testimony is on board docs
because it was not there. And hopefully we can be able to look at that data. Thank you. Miss Conway left a copy of that for us, if I'm correct, with staff. Yes. So you will get a copy. Anyone else? Miss? I just
have a quick data request for staff on determining how students are chosen and from what schools and the basis of that too. Thank you. Was that clear to staff? Yep. Okay.
Anyone else? Thank you so much to everybody who came. To give us comments, I appreciate it. This is probably one of the most difficult days, at least for me. With that, we're going
to move to item 7.1. This is a final adoption of the fiscal year 2027 operating budget. So as we prepare to vote on this budget, I want to be entirely
frank and transparent about the weight of this moment. Many of the folks that there were mentioned during public comment. I have the pleasure of working with. So to me and others,
thank you for your work. You guys really make the life of our children and feel in making them feel special and wanted. So nobody runs for the Board of Education to take things away.
So let me be very clear. Every person on this board. Mr. Ms. Silvestre. Miss Yang myself, miss Wolff, Miss Montoya, Miss Zimmerman, and our wonderful student board member who had a
hard year. Mr. Ran for this position because we care about our children and some of us, including myself and Doctor Taylor, are products of Montgomery County Public
Schools, and my children are products of M.C.P.S. as well, and Miss Silvestre, Miss Yang children as well. Miss Montoya currently has. And grandsons as well. That's right, Miss Wolff. You have a cutest, cutest
grandson. We all do this job. With the deepest love that we have. Trust me, we don't do it for the pay. We do not do it for the pay. We do it because
we want to ensure and keep hope alive, to expand and to lift up our students. And as a former ML. Immigrant, first one of my
family to graduate from MCPs schools, this is incredibly personal, excruciating, and painful. But with that being
said. True leadership means confronting reality. Exactly as it is. And we do have a fiduciary responsibility to demands very difficult and
painful decisions that we have to make. The impact of the many changes within our federal government, soaring inflation on daily essentials. And trust
me, as somebody who runs a nonprofit and fed over 9000 families last month, I know the true impact that all these challenges are having on our families. As well as they are
having on our school system. Forgive me, this is very emotional. I wish I could do it a little bit faster, but. Thank you for giving me grace. The president spikes in health care
cost. The horrible situation of environment against our immigrant populations. The hatefulness that exists out there all have a huge impact.
As stewards of the school system, we must navigate these challenges. We must manage our resources as they were given to us, and we simply just we
cannot spend money that we do not have. And let me be clear that we were very clear to our funders that we were not
unclear about today. We were very, very clear. And many of you, especially in the unions, know that this is probably one of the most transparent times
we have on the budget. And yet there were folks who thought that this was not that we were exaggerating. There is nothing exaggerating about this. There's nothing exaggerating
about the needs of our children. And as we are graduating incredible kids who are doing incredible things and going on with the support that they need, we told them exactly what the needs were. And yet this is the
hand that we will be giving. So where we are weathering a remarkable, tough fiscal chapter, we will guide this district through it. We will keep doing it. Trust me, next year it's not going to be any
easier. But this is a responsibility we were given. And this is the commitment that we made. And this is our responsibility to make this
choices. And know that. This is not a easy for none of my colleagues or myself. With that, I'm going to turn this. And
before we proceed, actually, I'm sorry, Doctor Taylor, before we proceed with the action on this item, I will ask administration to confirm, please, any revisions to the recommendation since the work session presentation on May 21st, and then read the results
in the resolution on the table for the board's consideration. Thank you, Madam President. We do have a couple of updates. And just to echo everything that you just said, this is a budget of no joy. And in a profession where there is a ton
of joy and getting able to see our children succeed and do their best. This is a room full of difference makers who have given their lives and careers to making that a reality. This is definitely not an easy move for us, because this is a
budget that creates more problems than it solves. Unfortunately, as Miss Rivera Oven just mentioned, we're looking at a road ahead that looks even more challenging than the one we're facing today.
And the advocacy today is strong, and that's great, but we're going to need a lot of advocacy in the months and years to come as we try to demonstrate for our community the impact that that the school
system has and the positive things that can come as a result of supporting the schools. With that, we do have a few updates to the recommendation that was made at your last business meeting. We'd like to detail those for you very briefly, and just go
through a couple of those updates. We took very seriously some of the feedback that both the board and some of our community has shared. I got to tell you, Madam President, members of the board absolutely agree with the the testimony
today. I think we all do. One of the most frustrating parts about the testimony today was one person who mentioned the timeline. That is not a timeline of our choosing, not by any stretch, and having to
prioritize something of this magnitude on this tight of a timeline really doesn't do justice to the, the folks that that that are, are here today. So and watching online. So without further ado, we'll get straight to that. And then
we'll read the results. Good afternoon. So the changes from the May 21st Board of Education meeting. I'm sorry, can you hold on a second? There is some music that I don't recognize being part of the presentation. Just hold on a second. I'm so
sorry. Oh. I'm sorry. Oh. Thank you. That's okay. It happens to all of us. I did it in church the other day. It's all good. I'm so sorry. Yvonne, please, if you can start again. Sure. So as of when we met with the board back on May 21st, there
was there were some adjustments that has taken place since that meeting, and the adjustments are as follows. There's a reduction of 12 secondary literacy specialists. Those would be new positions for FY 27. Those have been reduced. There's a reduction of the
security assistance that were new for FY 27 as well. 28 positions, part of our staffing standards moving forward, a dual enrollment, a reduction of 1.4 million. And this really aligns the budget with the
requirement for the blueprint contractual services. There's two programs that have been that are being eliminated, understanding D, C and B, well 360. And there's also a reduction in labs of 200
$203,000. To offset those reductions. The restaurant, there's the restoration of 15 high school staff development teachers. So restores the reduction of the high school development teachers in full, restores the school psychologist positions 18
school psychologist positions and restores the 26.7 college and career navigator positions. That is a total increase from the last recommendation of 19.7 positions that are being restored. And it is a budget
neutral realignment. Realignment. So then just to summarize, we presented this back on May 21st. This nothing really has changed. The county, the county has decreased the
boards of Ed request by 60,919,204 million, and Enterprise Fund is really our revenue. Our our TV television revenue that comes from the county. That has been reduced by 126,000 $748,000, for a
total reduction from the board's tentatively adopted budget of $61,045,952. That I
adopted from the state. I'm sorry, we're not we're not going to engage. We're not. You're going to have to leave. You're right. You're going to please I'm going to have to leave, I leave, tell me please, because I got three in middle school and two in elementary.
And you guys aren't protecting our kids. That's right. You guys have done. For our kids
lives. For real. Thank had a nice building here. Thank you
for your presentation. Is there a motion and a second to approve the resolution on the table so we have to resolve. I'm so sorry. I thought we did. Can we please read the resolution? Let it be resolved that based on an appropriation
of $3,724,289,307, that includes an allocation of $2,457,319,156 in local funding,
1,051,328,534 in state funding 98,699,188. In federal funding $22,593,040 in funding from other sources and 93,000
93,097,859 for enterprise funds, and 1,251,530 for special revenue funds. The Board of Education approved its fiscal year 2027, and be it further resolved that the Board of Education approved the 2027 Special Education Staffing Plan
as included in the fiscal year 2027 Recommended Operating Budget and be it resolved that the Special Education Staffing Plan be submitted to the Maryland State Department of Education, be it further that the County Council be requested to recommend approval of the category transfers recommended
by the Superintendent of Schools and adopted by the Board of Education. Now the resolution. Yes. Okay. Thank you. Now, is there a motion and
a second motion? Second, there's a motion and a second. Is there a discussion? Miss Wolff? I want to thank everyone for coming today because this has been very emotional, not
only for you but for me. So it's with a heavy heart that I vote today. The decisions we have to make have a cost that go way beyond money. And if anybody knows that, I know that because a lot of these
decisions leave equity concerns in my mind, and it's no other way to put it. But I do support the budget because I think what we're trying to do is to save positions and save positions
that are in close to the classroom. You know, the the school system has been the jewel of our county. It's no better time to see that than during graduation season. You know, nowhere do we see the
fruit of your labors more visible than at our graduation ceremonies. This season has been particularly poignant because we've looked at the number of cords the students have. We've looked at how many of you have touched them so
that they are able to graduate. And we also recognize that this is only the beginning. You know, we have to be honest about what we're facing, not only this year, but next year. The
council has made that clear to us, and we have received that message. You know, we we really are sorry to lose anybody, anybody, everybody here is a dedicated colleague. Everybody
here was in the budget because we recognized the importance that you bring to M.C.P.S. the important role that you play. Most of us, I have a lot of personal relationships. I'm looking at the faces out there of the people I know, faces
that I won't see soon. These are friends. These people have lives. These people are affected by our decisions, and we are deeply bothered by this. I know you think that we aren't. Jennifer, I see you shaking your head back there. Haven't
seen you in a while, but we are. But we have to make these painful decisions and we cannot shy from that responsibility. Thank you, Mr. Wolff. During the shooting of Wooton High School, who's going to support
next year's shooting? You know, we already know that this will not get better next year. But we have choices that we had to
make to maintain the long term sustainability of the school system. At this time, we're focusing every dollar that we can on teaching and learning. It's it's been difficult. It's
difficult. I know everybody in here has something to say, but we would appreciate a little respect and a little grace because this is not easy for us.
We do this job because you. You know, you would think we get paid to do this, but we don't. You would think we Get paid to take this abuse, but we don't. The thing is, we do this because we have a love for the
system, the students and the employees that work here. And we will continue to the best of our ability to try to protect the classroom environment. First, support our transitioning staff, and ensure our students continue to
receive a high quality basic education. Thank you. Thank you, Miss Wolff. Miss Yang. Oh, Adam Zimmerman. Thank you. I also want to thank all of you for being here today. I know many of you are coming from a school
and I know what schools are like in June. I I'm glad we were able to find some positions that we could restore in our budget. And it breaks me apart that we are unable to restore all of them because the work is worth more than the dollar value t shows up on our spreadsheets. I look, especially to our colleagues
down the street on the council, and I encourage them to look at who is here before us, because you are who shows up every day and manages to do more with less. Time after time. This budget allocation represents the chronic underfunding of
public education, and we here in Montgomery County need to demand better of our funding partners. All of us here, all of us here want safe, healthy, well staffed schools with appropriate resources for all children. And this budget allocation undermines that at
the greatest cost to our students. So my vote today for this budget is because we need an operating budget and not because I support cuts to our staff. Thank you. Miss Montoya.
You have Miss Montoya last week. Blair Ewing, student at graduation, reminded me that school teaches lessons that can't always be found in textbooks. And today, fourth grader Sammy Silva reminded me that leaders have to look after the people they are leading. While I am proud that some
proposed reduction items were reviewed and restored, I believe we should have gone further. There should have been more reviews, more conversations, more discussions. It might be true that the available options are not good ones, but it doesn't mean that we don't try. And it certainly
doesn't mean that we don't discuss and explore every potential option. It means that we have to have conversations in earnest towards solution building. I believe we should have done more to consider delaying implementation of previously approved items. Now that we have a clearer picture
of the fiscal landscape. We should have done more to preserve vital services our students need, if only temporarily. While a transition plan is crafted for both services and staff. While I recognize that some of the proposed reductions and services were established
during the Covid era with Covid related funding and perhaps were never meant to be housed permanently within M.c.p.s. I believe that it is imperative that any removal be done strategically with a clear transition plan. I want to thank our associations, our
staff, our families and our students for all of their advocacy. You fought for services, people and programs like the Career Pathways Program that SEIU fought so hard for. And that means something. I don't feel that sufficient exploration of
potential options occurred. And because I cannot look you, our community, in the eye and say that I feel that we done that I
cannot support this budget. Miss Stewart. This is not a
budget. I wanted to vote for. But I do take responsibility for these final decisions. I expect the county council also takes responsibility for the situation we are in today. We,
as a board spent many hours looking through these very tough cuts, and individual compromises were made throughout. We worked with partners. We read thousands of
emails and personally I needed all that input along with Doctor Taylor's input as well. This. I am not actually satisfied with how we got to this point and going forward.
We do need to do better because of our decisions. Staff will have to do more with less. We will do our best so that kids will not fall through the cracks. But I cannot promise that won't happen. I personally
will be working with staff. I'll be working with our parents. To avoid these cracks, and we will all need to pull
together as a community for all of our kids. That is so important because again, these decisions were not easy to make and we can do better. And I would like to fall back on
something. Mr. Smith asked. We may need to find savings. You know, the system. What would you suggest? And starting July 1st, I will be asking that question because guess what? Next year is going to be harder.
Next year we will continue to look at cuts. This is the reality we are in, but we need to make sure that it is not affecting our kids as much as possible. And we also need to make sure that our programs and our curriculum is building
capacity, and we also need to make sure that we are working with our partners over HHS, because they will be they they they have a part in this, too. So again, I will be voting for
this budget, and I take responsibility for getting to the situation, but I also take responsibility to make it better next week. I'm sure I won't, but thank you, Miss Yang.
Good afternoon colleagues. There are many things. We want to do for students, and there are many things we want to
preserve. And the truth is. There is no way to reduce the budget by this matter without impacting people. Behind every
position is a colleague who has dedicated their career to serve our students. And behind every program is a student or family who benefited from the service.
These reductions were not made lightly. Now, I know that even when we are talking about reduction today, here and
tomorrow, all of you will go back to your building and serve those students and families. And I think our mission remained the same. The
assignment this afternoon is to adopt a budget so that the school system can continue to operate next school year. But deep in my heart, I know
Montgomery County has fallen asleep, that we must generate revenue so that all these wonderful services that we valued can continue to provide
to our communities in abundance. So here's my pledge to all of you that every day of my life and every interaction I have with you, I will keep that as
my goal to make sure that as a county, we grow old and we serve. Thank you for being here.
I will vote to adopt this budget. Thank you, Miss Yang. Is there a motion? Oh, there is a motion. And a second. Thank
you. If there's no further discussion. All those in favor, please raise your hand. W Miss Stewart. Miss Silvestre, Miss Yang myself, miss Wolff, Miss
Zimmerman. And Miss UVA. The board carries. O those against Miss Montoya. The next item on
the agenda is a scheduled recess to return in about 30
minutes. Sacrifice.
Thank you. And we are back. We are now going to go to. Item nine. No. Eight. Item 8.1. And this is going to be discussion on
academics. Doctor Taylor thank you, Madam President. Today we're going to be sharing the latest academic performance updates which highlight progress in critical areas that align with the M.C.P.S. future ready strategic plan and tied
to the first goal of that plan. Academic excellence. Our focus is on ensuring equitable access to high quality instruction and narrowing performance gaps, and you will see evidence of that today. I've got a trio of experts to walk us through the data and to add some additional
information. Today is some good news that we get to share with the board and the public. First up is Doctor Keisha Addison, our director of Shared Accountability. Good afternoon everyone. Next slide please. Or
I can do it. All right, back it up. I got it. All right. Apologies. So to start our presentation as Doctor Taylor shared, we are here to share with you information about the performance of our students.
And our conversation today is really about how we turn our data into action to improve outcomes for students. And what you'll see is we've come to you before many times, and we talk about how we use data to leverage and improve and engage in continuous improvement for
teaching and learning. As we engage in instruction and teaching for students. And so part of what we do over time, centrally and in schools, is we look at the data, instructional teams look at the data to support moving the performance of students forward. And so
what you'll see today is a comparison of last school year for some of the data points. And we will look at elementary, middle and high school data points. And so as Doctor Taylor shared, we always come to you with our strategic plan as our foundation for our
conversations and grounding today's conversation and goal one academic excellence. And we are starting our conversation and our data view with looking at early literacy. And so Dibels and lecturer assessment
dibels is the dynamic indicators of basic early learning skills. And these are designed to be used with all students learning to read in English and or Spanish. And what you see on the slide. The green bar represents fall 2024 and the blue bar represents
fall 2025. Dibels is on the left and on the right. And these data we have shared with you before. So this is just a graphic visual representation of data we have sent previously that shows it. And so what you
notice for our data, we have a slight 0.6 percentage point increase looking at last fall to this year. And then for our data, a 2.3 percentage point increase, shifting to winter
views of Dibels. And again, see positive improvements. Looking at last year to this year. So last year winter for Dibels, we had a 3.6 percentage point increase for this winter. And then similar for lecturer, we see a 5.4 percentage point
increase compared to last winter. Sorry. Next slide. Shifting to the map assessment. First, I want to let you know that when you see percentage of students meeting identified score what we did, we did some analysis to look at the
relationship between the map assessment and the state assessment. We know changes are coming. But for the analysis that we look at that identified score as the score, that indicates the likelihood of a student to get a three or higher on the state assessment. And so that's our marker. And so you see from fall, when we
look at our fall data, a slight 1.1 percentage point decrease. But then for winter data, you see a slight 0.5 percentage point increase. And one of the questions you may wonder is why grades three and five, these are the grade levels that are required to take the assessment
during this time. Next, shifting to mathematics again that identifies scores the score that indicates the student's likelihood of earning that three or higher on the state assessment. Looking at the math score for fall to fall,
we see a slight 3.6 percentage point decrease. One thing we need to think about is, you know, summer slump and coming back and students starting their school year again. And then when you look at that winter data, we see a 1.1
percentage point increase. Shifting to mathematics, looking at grade six mathematics at the middle school level, again for fall, we see a 2.4 percentage point decrease compared to last school year. And then for
winter again, we see a pattern of a 0.8 percentage point increase. Looking at winter of last year and winter of this year. Another area that we focus on, and that's also included in our strategic plan, is the performance of students on the report card and content
areas and so on. This slide, we identify five overarching content areas and looking across both the 2025 school year and the 2026 school year. And what you see are three marking periods. And so tried to make it a little easier to see. So marking period, two
percentages are at the base of the bars, and marking periods one and three are at the top of the bars. And what you'll notice across almost all of the content areas is a slight decrease in the percentage of students earning a C or higher in the various content areas
looking. But what you'll notice is that pattern across marking period one, two, and three is similar. Regardless of the school year and a similar view at our high school level. Looking at performance of students earning a C or higher
in the content areas at the high school level, again, comparing 2025 to 2026 for the first three marking periods of the year. Here you see some closer patterns of performance, some increases for marking period three for some of the
content areas, which is not as similar to what you saw for middle school. District assessments are another area that we use to identify the performance of students. It is also one of our metrics on the strategic plan. And when we
look at our district assessment data, we see differences across marking periods one, two and three for 2025 compared to 2026. For our district assessments, we do identify score through a standard setting process that brings in content experts and
also school based experts to support identified identification of the score that would demonstrate a student's performance is successful. And finally, for data slides focusing on high
schools and again, looking at 2025 to 2026 in terms of literacy and mathematics courses and the performance across both years for all three marking periods. And with that, I will turn it to Chief Porter.
Thank you. So thank you. So this is a high level of a look at how we are doing in literacy and mathematics. I do want to just call out the data was reported on fall to fall and winter to winter. But when you
are actually able to look at students from fall to winter, there's actually a really nice gain for students, particularly at the primary level, and we're really excited about that. We know our students are in their second year of this sticky LA.
And so we're really pleased with the gains that we are seeing at the primary level. And I'm even more excited about the data because in there was a 10% gain. And we know that students in those one and two way immersion classes are
taking that Spanish assessment. And we know the research says that they can demonstrate strong skills with their native language than the English comes soon after. And so that's very promising data. At the upper
elementary level, we know it's a little flat and we are continuing to work with those students. They haven't had as much of the science of reading instruction. And we are also working with our vendor. They
have upgraded their product. And so we're going to be getting more novels and things of that nature, additional resources to support that group. So we're excited about that at the for mathematics. Similarly, we see if we look fall to
winter, we do see some some gains for our students. And we also know that as the students get into those upper levels, it's flat or, or concerning. And so we know that we are
entering into a period of new curriculum for mathematics with training for teachers this summer. And so we are very hopeful that our students are going to really enter getting a stronger foundation, stronger resources that are more
rigorous, and will be implementing that in the fall. Just so you know, and I'll hand it over to Doctor Moran. We are doing training. Our MSD is requiring training of our teachers for science of reading
in order to maintain licensure. That is going to be an expectation for all of our all teachers in Maryland. And so we are monitoring who is taking that training so that we can they can meet that requirement by 2728. We also have our professional development that will be occurring this summer,
that we are kind of titling Strong Start, and that will be for all of our teachers in these areas so that we can just strengthen their skill set and also supporting them through our cross-functional teams. And I'll hand it over to Doctor
Moran. Thank you very much, Miss Porter. So again, just want to point out the importance of following cohorts of students as you watch their data move. If you look at some of those graphs, you'll notice that in some instances there's a double digit gain, which I think we should be extremely
proud of and is representative of the of the work being done by our teachers, our principals and central services staff together. I did want to just hone in on one thing that I think is really important and has made a significant impact this year. I reported out to the board in April that we were
launching a district wide observational tool, which is something that is that is new for Montgomery County Public Schools that has been implemented as of now. We've had administrators visit and collect data from over 1500
classrooms to assess the level of teaching. So when we say tier one instruction, we talk to you guys a lot about tier one instruction. There are five components of that. We are seeing strengths in some places, but we are identifying areas for growth, the areas for growth that we've seen. We've we've assessed through that
have been culturally responsive teaching effortful thinking and feedback and assessment. I'm excited to share with you that we'll be moving forward to having a district wide professional learning plan, that all schools will follow that ensures that all of our
teachers, principals, instructional specialists receive the same professional learning on tier one instruction have a solid understanding of what those components are, but receive the support and coaching along the way. That is something that is new for M.c.p.s. You know, in
past practices with the school improvement plan, we've allowed schools to select their own professional learning plan. We believe that pulling these high leverage practices, pulling those levers across all 211 schools, is going to accelerate progress and student performance. So I'm really
excited to share that out with you. And I think our, you know, our principals and we've we've begun to launch that work, but it's good to have the option of observational data to be able to assess where we are, where we need to go, and what are the gaps in terms of learning. The
other thing I would just highlight is that we this year have, you know, of course, launched our cross-functional teams. And when we look at the data, you know, as an aggregate, we have seen tremendous growth in in particular, schools where
we've provided intensive interventions to. And I equate this to the similar to like fit time, right? So schools that would receive, you know, consistent, intensive fit time. I just want to highlight three schools, Georgian forest on their map. Em from fall to
winter decreased the number of students in level one by 9%, which was 68 students. I think it's good to put a number with the percentage. They move students from basic to proficiency by 8%, which is which is 58 students. And I'm excited to share at Twinbrook
Elementary School on Dibbles, our kindergarten through grade two increased the number of Hispanic students scoring above average by 12%. And so those are just two examples of two schools that have received intensive support from the cross functional team. And we've seen, you know,
significant outcomes to that. So the last thing I would just share is that is the work we're doing around. The the times of looking at aggregate data or looking at data by grade level
and shifting to actually individualized conversations about students and creating an individualized learning plan through the, the student reading intervention plans that were required now by state is something that we are seeing take off, and teachers are
doing a fantastic job of that in collaboration in grade levels. And we're seeing results from that. So just a couple of things I wanted to share out. And I think we turn it back over to Doctor Addison. Back to back to the board. We're ready for questions Madam
President. Okay. Thank you. I am going to open it to my colleagues. But before I do that, if I could just go first, it's all clear. I just want to make sure how parents are going to be interpreting this data.
So help me out. I have a kid in middle school and. If you're not going to reading these charts, I just want to I just want to know what are parents? Because you can get like a full
sense that my kid is doing well because they're getting a C, but they're not really doing that great. So I just wanted what should parents look for to see that there's continuous improvement? So when we speak
with parents, we definitely want to look at multiple measures, not just one. So the report card grades are are important. But we also want to look at how they're doing on their math assessment. We want to look at even their their district assessment district
assessment is more focused on what they're learning in that particular unit or the particular standards that they are focused on. So all of that together gives parents some idea of how they're an idea of how their children are doing. They don't always align
perfectly. So it doesn't just because you do well in one doesn't automatically mean that you're you're going to do well in the other. But you should see some level of consistency as we go across. So looking at this data may be a little more
challenging for a parent to interpret for their own particular child, but that all the data points that they experience at school are helpful. Okay. And I know Miss Wolff has a follow up to my question. I'm going to go to
Miss Wolff. It's kind of a follow up. I think it would be helpful, at least to me, if I could get this broken down by school, because aggregate numbers hide stuff. And so being able to look at, say, what's going on at Twinbrook, for example, Twinbrook as a
parent would help me. Okay. Yes, we can provide that that. Thank you, Miss Wolff. That is that that is a great that is a great tool for us to have. Because I think if I'm looking at this without Mr. telling me that
Twinbrook went from, it was significant 12%, 12% increase. That to me tells me that things are getting better at least. And then it's a, it's a good tool to have. And demographic groups when you break it down.
Yes. Okay. Great. Miss Montoya, thank you. I just want to say thank you for this data. It helps to see I know we have a different grading regulation in place. So this is going to sound weird, but I'm happy to see a little bit of a dip because that means that we're grading to standards now.
That's what I would have expected to see. But it's also not so significant that maybe we haven't overcorrected in that grading. So but I wanted to just ask about slide 11, which is district assessments for middle schools. And specifically, I'm looking at
the literacy portion from fall to 2025. So most of these we see from 20 to 25, they're similar ish. Right. And so I that but when we look at the middle schools for literacy
from fall of 2025 and then comparing to fall of 2026, it's about half. And as a parent of a middle schooler, I know that we had a new curriculum this year. And so I don't want to assume that that's part of it.
But I'm just wondering, how do we make sense of that difference? And if that if the new curriculum is a part of it, and maybe we have to think about this and come back with with a response and that's okay, like, what are we going to do
to try to prevent that from happening in other spaces where we have new curricula, right? Like math, for example, or maybe there's other subjects as well. Very quickly, can I just do a little tack? Tim, how are you going to help us do a reconciliation of that gap?
Like, what is that? What is that going to look like? So the so the literacy in 2006 at 45.7% is a baseline assessment, brand new curriculum baseline
from a curriculum given to students. And as you can see, the next two marking periods went up. So we're getting closer to where they were previously. But it was brand
new. We just cold gave students an assessment to just get an understanding of where they were with this new content that we were delivering. So is this a trend we see in other school districts that adopt this new curriculum? I mean, I guess I and I know we had talked about this before, when there's new
curricula, you always see kind of a, I think you called it like a slide or a slide or something is what it's called. Right? Yeah. But that just seems very drastic to go to half. We're actually a little surprised it's not less. Than, than half. And if anything that that probably speaks to the
middle school doing a little bit better with their implementation than, than we might have heard in some, some cases that that is not irregular. And it does. You can compare and take a look at this. There's a couple of things that are worth pointing out. First
is this is better aligned to the curriculum. And when you had in the previous year, the district assessment literacy was in the 90s, but yet the assessment performance was in the 50s. There was clear misalignment as to what was
happening. I mean, it that that is evidence that you have an assessment that isn't reflective of their actual performance. I think we're getting a lot closer. And and I think that that's a positive sign. And hopefully something that we would observe in future
math years with the adoption of a new math curriculum. But notice the similarities in performance. And this is not necessarily a good thing. By the way, this, we're only slightly up in mathematics from 25 to 26. That's definitely positive in terms of growth. But you can see the
similarities are are translating for sure. But we didn't see the same implementation dip for elementary Carla. Right. And I guess that's what I'm trying to make sense, but not I mean, this is 50%. Yeah. We didn't see as drastic of a change. But
candidly, the, the change in the content wasn't as drastic as the change in the content. Okay. And that's good to know between elementary and middle school. Thank you, Miss Stewart. Most of my questions were asked, but I would like to point out
the high school grade distribution. I know we were really worried about changing our grading policy, but actually a few of these, the kids are getting better grades. So that makes me feel a little
better about that decision because I wanted to see this data, although we do need to see it by school and by demographics, because again, this could hide another story.
But so far this is good news. Yeah. The the good news really is how close they really are from year to year to year. It's definitely worth a dive in both at the middle school where they had a little bit of a dip, as
Miss Montoya pointed out. And at the high school where across the board they had a little bit of a gain, with the exception of mathematics, by 8/10 of a point. But it is it is important that this is an ongoing process. It's iterative
so that as you tweak your regulations, that you're observing the things that we're observing, we can't wait to bring forward marking period for data as well, because that will help tell some of the story. And this is really at a very high level. As you said, it's not really school by
school, but it is a cause for like, well, gosh, why is that that way? And is this are the grades that are being assigned as aligned to their actual performance as we'd like it to be? Or did our students rise to
meet the expectations that we set? When we set the bar a little bit higher, I would imagine it's probably a little bit of all of those things. And we we certainly need to explain some of that variance as we continue to make tweaks to, to
grading and reporting over the next several years. Thank you, Miss Sylvester. Yeah, I wanted to circle back on some of the things that were that you mentioned in terms of how we are ensuring consistency across the system. Could you just
reiterate what you're doing with the classroom observations? And. Yeah, yeah. So in April, we rolled out a tool that is research based and has the components of, of high tier one instruction that is aligned
with the skillful teacher, which is what we utilize as our professional growth system. And also for our teacher professional development. The results of that we've had every, every school has already implemented that observational tool. So we've had over 1500
entries. We are seeing some strengths, but we are not surprised by the results of seeing work needs to be done in culturally responsive instruction, effortful thinking and feedback and assessment. As a result of the findings from that, we're planning district wide professional learning for our teachers. That has those
three components emphasized in it, but also touches on the other ones as well. I think one of the things that we really needed to do, and it goes back to many of your questions from the past around system of schools versus, you know, a school system, is everyone having a unified understanding of what we expect to happen
every day in the classroom? What are the components that are a not a recommendation, but a requirement. And so through this process, principals have a very clear understanding of what we expect in every single school. And it also creates the comfort of us having a common
language and vocabulary. So when we get together as principals from other schools, we're speaking the same language. They're looking for the same things. They're using the same tool to collect data. And so we can get results from school by cluster, by the entire system, and look at what that looks like and engage in
conversations that are consistent across all 211 schools. That's something that, frankly, we've been missing for, for quite some time in Montgomery County public schools. So it's an exciting transition. I believe we've built a lot of positive momentum, but there's much work to do around professional learning for principals, for
teachers, for teacher leaders, for instructional specialists in central services. Okay, great. Thank you. And just one quick question. What is the external measure for high school? I see, I see, I see grades and district assessments.
But what's the external measure. So we do have it's limited at the high school level to be honest. The state we have the state assessment, but it's certain grade levels. We also have AP, IB SATACT as some of our measures as well as the
PSAT. Okay. And we'll get those later. Yes. Thank you. Yes. Thank you. Can we go to slide number ten? All right. So I'm happily surprised a little bit because we did change the
grading standard. And I thought we got tougher, you know, and it's so good. And that I think deep in our heart, we all knew it when you said higher expectation and support with instructions. Our students rise
to the challenge. I want you to remind all of us, what were some grading? Higher standard that we put in place, that this
reflects? So we definitely address the 50% rule. I think we were just allowing most kids to get a 50% with very little effort. And so we definitely did redefine that. We made
changes to the amount of time students could turn in an assignment. And also, on the flip side, teachers providing feedback to students in terms of how much time to grade the assignment. Right. So you put
me on the spot here. I'm trying to think those were really the most significant ones. We we did add some clarity to the grading scale itself. And we've got a couple of, of other things that we'll touch on later today. We'll talk about some changes from those major
two things we're working on two things, right? We are sending that effort matters. The 50% rule really is you can do it or you cannot do it. Right. But we
say you tried. That matters. Number two, when you gave when we give timeline to assignment, what we are teaching and trying to reinforce it's working habit. It's an ethic, working ethic.
So I think we are doing. Students a good service by raising these standards. Young people know they have choices and when we raise our expectations, we help them make better choices. So thank you
for this. And we're going to highlight some tweaks for next school year based on lessons learned later today. I have one small thing to ask for sure. Thank you, because we just went
through a very difficult budget process. You mentioned cross-functional teams going into an example. Twinbrook, I believe you mentioned, do we keep track of hours spent from our special teams? And as we
work through gathering data for our next budget process, which actually starts almost immediately, it would be good as board members to see how those hours and then the improvements or not, or lack
thereof in those schools, just to give us a little extra to go on as we look to fund different programs. Thank you. So we do we collect that from all of our instructional specialists and supervisors that are in school,
the time they spend in the school, the purpose and most importantly, the impact of the service that they provided. So that data comes in, we track it for, you know, all, all of our schools and certainly put it next to the student achievement data to see the impact. And
that's a data that directors have conversations with their cross-functional teams on Friday, putting those two pieces of data next to each other. That would be amazing for us as board members to see at least a snapshot. Thank you.
And if we go to slide 12. There was no required district assessment for MP 3 in 2026. So
I just wanted to hear your rationale for that. And the decision of why we assessed it that way for this current school year. You want to say
that. So President Rivera-Oven, if I recall correctly, the the decision that was made is that we were trying to emphasize a focus at our schools on the Macapp assessment, the state assessment. There was an overlap of the district assessment with that window,
and therefore we decided to delay it. And we also had a week of Snow Creek. Okay. Thank you. Just want to I know that those. I just want folks to know the reason. The reason why. Okay, that's all the questions.
Thank you so very much for the update. I mean, this is let's keep it up. Next we're going to have. Is this the third quarter? No, the next one. Number ten.
Lennox in title nine we can have. Doctor Taylor I'm giving back to you. All right. Today we'll share some information about our athletics program including the benefits of participation, how our program operates and an overview of
funding. A significant aspect of athletics is equity and compliance with title nine. We you will hear key data points on how we measure up to title nine requirements. And finally, we will hear program updates of how the program is evolving,
innovating, and preparing for the future I. Before I pass things over to Doctor Sullivan, our Director of Athletics and Title nine, I do want to point out that there will be a greater emphasis on some of how we utilize our out of school
time and information that we share with the board and the public. We certainly get our kids for 6.5 hours of the school day for 180 out of 365 days. The question then, of course, comes into play. How are you utilizing the rest of
the calendar and the rest of the time to optimize learning? And a big part of that is involvement in extracurricular activities and the correlation between extracurricular activities and other out of school time activities and
academic performance. Doctor Sullivan, thank you, Doctor Taylor, president Rivera-Oven board members, thank you for this opportunity to showcase M.c.p.s Athletics. We are an extension of the classroom, and
we're excited to talk about how we support the academic mission of M.c.p.s and talk a little bit about title nine and how it ensures equitable access across our program and holds us accountable. My presentation today is going to talk a lot about our participation
opportunities. It's going to talk about our processes for decision making, talk about our looking forward and planning for the future as we plan our program. Title nine compliance and talk about how M.c.p.s
Athletics continues to evolve to stay relevant with current trends and meet the needs of our student population. We advanced to the next slide, please. Next slide. Any
conversation about M.c.p.s athletics has to start with our why and our why is grounded in our raised core values respect and sportsmanship, academic excellence, integrity and character spirited and safe competition. Equity and access.
Our core values defined everything we do. We expect that from our student athletes on the field, our coaches who are coaching, our student athletes, our leaders in our school buildings, leading our respective athletic programs, our communities as they come
into our spaces and enjoy athletic competition. And of course, our office as the Department of System Wide Athletics. Next slide please. Our sport offerings. An overview of our athletic
program. At the high school level, we have 24 sports, 32 varsity teams and 13 junior varsity teams. We have state sanctioned sports. Most of our sports operate under the
umbrella of a state association. Most are the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association. The MPSSAA. Our cheerleading program operates under the Maryland Public Schools State Cheerleading Association. We have our
corollary sports program that are full varsity sports that provide students with disabilities opportunities to participate in our program pickleball, bocce, and allied softball. We also have sports
that are offered by M.c.p.s at the county level. Examples of those sports are boys volleyball, gymnastics and poms. At the middle school program. At the middle school level, at our 40 middle schools. Our program consists of four sports
and seven teams. We have boys and girls, slow pitch softball, coed, cross country in the fall season. In the winter, we have basketball boys and girls, and in the spring we have soccer for boys and girls. Currently, the middle school program has
historically served our seventh and eighth grade students, and our sixth graders access sports through intramurals that are available at all schools and are catered to the interests of students at at their respective
schools. Next slide please. We're very pleased with our participation, especially in the years coming out of the pandemic. It continues to increase. We had at the high school level this year, over 24,000 total participants. I
did provide a snapshot on this slide of our high sports and low sports for boys and girls. So you can see those figures. One thing I do want to point out is some. Some of the sports have junior varsity and varsity teams. So outdoor track, for
instance, our girls high is one team. That's our girls indoor girls track and field program. But for soccer we have girls varsity and girls JV. So the number of teams can impact the numbers that you see. Similarly,
if you look at boys for tennis and volleyball, there is one team for each of those sports resulting in those numbers. At the middle school level, we have close to 5000 total participants across the sports
that I mentioned. Next slide please. The impact and benefits we believe and know, and it's been proven in research the benefit of athletics on our students. First, higher academic performance, better
GPAs, better in the classroom, increased graduation rates and persistence to graduation. The social emotional benefits and friends and teamwork and finding an identity in the school building refined life skills, dealing with successes
and challenges. Winning and losing. Managing defeat. Learning that even when you play your best game and run your best race, you may not win. How do you deal with that? A stronger sense of self and
community. We love and value our role in M.c.p.s. In doing just that, bringing our communities together across our program, in our program, across our all of our school communities and M.c.p.s
Athletics and athletics in general have enhanced outcomes for all students, especially historically marginalized populations. And I did as a proud Howard University alum, cite my dissertation here because I have done the research and I can speak
specifically to the impact of athletics on academic performance and persistence to graduation for African American and Latino males. As part of my study and as the research contributing to my study looked at the broader impact. This is something I'm extremely
passionate about, and I want our program to reflect. Culturally responsive athletics program full of culturally responsive coaches. So we have to look at that through our our sport offerings, the mindset of bringing our program to our
students, not just waiting for our students to come to our program. Next slide please. I want to transition to the decision making process in our program. And we have a regulation in M.C.P.S.
regulation that outlines the process for significant changes to the program. The regulation identifies a group which I would put up as possibly the longest acronym in M.c.p.s. The Montgomery County Public
Secondary Schools Athletic Association, the. MCPSSAA. This is the group of our high school principals who is the decision making body and governing body of our program. This group
recommends adjustments to the program. To me, as the Director of Systemwide Athletics, subject to the approval of an Associate Superintendent as designee of the chief. So we do run our significant programs. Our program changes through
this process. So I'm going to walk you through this process and what it looks like on the next slide. First, we identify the decision points and the questions. Some some examples of what would run through this would be the expansion or
contraction of sport offerings, significant handbook changes and overall program decisions. We do not run every single programmatic change through this. These are significant changes that we we run through. We collect data and do a
program review participation number, sport evaluation criteria, which I'll talk about briefly. Program operation of course costs. What are the competitive opportunities both in our county and across the state? Staffing, availability
and applicable program data. We collect stakeholder feedback and consultation. So our athletic directors and our high schools, the M.C.P.S. Essar leadership, our coaches, our Student Athlete Leadership Council, our booster club
presidents. In recent years, the Leadership Council has served as a group that we have run significant changes through and put board business items, if you will, for us on their agendas. So they are part of that decision making process. I
also want to acknowledge the leadership of our booster club presidents. This is a group. Eight years ago, we brought together in a formal meeting once a year, and we have expanded that in recent years to meeting twice a year. That has brought our school communities together and our leaders and our parents to
serve as a sounding board for programmatic changes and decisions. We then forward those recommendations to the m c, p, s a for review and discussion, as outlined in the M.C.P.S. regulation. We meet
formally three times a year. Once in October. We have a joint meeting in January with high school principals and high school athletic directors, and then we meet at the end of the year in May. Next slide please.
Following the action of the high school principals, I then review that and create a recommendation for approval and for review and approval, and forward that to an associate superintendent for review. It's
then reviewed and approved, and then it is forwarded to the superintendent for review and approval. And then depending on what the change may be, it may be appropriate to come to the board for review and approval. So that is from start to finish,
the decision making process that we have used for M.c.p.s athletics. Next slide please. Transitioning to sport evaluation criteria. So I'm not going to go through and talk
through each of these bullet points. But I did want to highlight some examples of some things that we look at. Transportation. Transportation is, is key, especially for our practices for our student athletes. And it's something that we look at when evaluating
our sports, the supervision, including the number of coaches, the facilities that are available, the locker room access cost and budget implications, of course, is important and not just the cost year in and year out, the cost
over time. Looking forward to those costs and how do they play out with constant budget challenges that we have safety, including qualified instruction, of course, student interest and
participation, delivering a program that matches the needs and the interests of our students. Also, the potential expansion to other districts. What are the trends, what are the trends that are out there, and not just with other districts across the state,
across the state, but the current trends in high school athletics and in collegiate settings. We want to establish pipelines for our students to participate. Next slide please.
As we're evaluating the program, of course, title nine is a key component of that. And the Office of Civil Rights identifies the three prongs. The three prongs are used when assessing is a school or a school district in compliance with title nine. The first
prong is substantial proportionality. Does the participation reflect the student population in the district? This is a quantitative method and it is the most used method because of that. The second prong is the
history and continuing practice of expansion. Has the district made recent additions to the underserved gender? The third prong is the full accommodation of interest of underrepresented gender. Does the district meet
the interests of all. And so the district would need to demonstrate that it is meeting every need, and there are no more programs that could be offered to meet those needs. We and M.C.P.S. the Office of Civil Rights, require us to
meet at least one prong. We exceed at least two prongs. Next slide please. The first prong is substantial proportionality and participation. And you can see in the slide the overall student population in M.C.P.S.
as well as the participation participation of our student athletes in this past year. And you can see that we are exceeding the title nine requirements based on our current participation numbers.
Next slide please. The second prong, expanding participation opportunities for females. These are the actions that we have taken in recent years to expand to expand participation opportunities for females in M.c.p.s athletics, we launc
varsity girls flag football in the fall of 2025. This has been an overwhelming success so much that the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association just sanctioned girls flag football as a championship sport that will
begin this fall. We have the continued expansion of girls wrestling in the winter season. We have added a full championship tournament, as well as scheduling and resources to provide additional opportunities for our girls wrestlers. We have our stunt
pilot, which you will hear more about in the spring, and we have JV girls flag football. With the transition to state sanctioning this fall, we have the ability, through support with the Washington Commanders,
to expand. Due to that interest, the junior varsity level for girls flag football in the upcoming fall season, we exceed the second prong in terms of title nine compliance. Next slide please. Budget
implications. I want to transition and give a broad overview of how M.c.p.s operates from a budget perspective. The first piece is our. My office. The Department of Athletics manages the central funding of the program.
The coach stipends are outlined in our Extracurricular Activities Handbook. That account and that budget line is not directly managed by my office, but the hours are calculated in the handbook, and
we did a comprehensive review of each and every one of those programs over the past two years with MCE as a partner. So that book outlines all of the stipend hours and the job descriptions for every coaching
position, as well as all extracurriculars, and are paid at the negotiated hourly rate, which was $18 an hour for this past year. In recent years, we've transitioned officials and referees to a central
account. And so you see, we have over $1 million in that line item. That account funds all of the officials and referees that are used for our contest. Each year. We have a field maintenance account that provides additional funding for
our stadium fields, as well as our practice fields. We have a transportation account that funds M.C.P.S. busses, so schools would be responsible for additional charters beyond this account. But almost all of
our busses are the M.C.P.S. busses. And I want to acknowledge our Department of Transportation for always delivering for us, just being a great partner to our program. We also have an account for security that provides additional funding to schools
for operating safe contests. Our gold standard sports medicine program. With our high school athletic trainers. We have an account for supplies and services, as well as swimming pool rentals and
awards. Those are the centrally managed accounts and an overview of the significant accounts that we have at the central level. Next slide please. At the school level, we also provide schools with an
allocation. So we had $1,152,353 in our high school allocation for this year. There is an equity formula that is used to determine how much of that allocation each school receives. That formula
incorporates two major factors. One, it's the school population, less farm students, as well as the three year average of gate receipts. That creates a sliding scale of allocated funds. The average school
allocation is just over $46,000. The expenditure and budget is created by the athletic director at the high school level, and approved by the school financial specialist and principal, and their supplemental funding for field maintenance and security based
on school needs. So that budget does get approved, and each income and expenditure is tracked at the high school level. At the middle school level, we have just over $350,000 in an allocation, and
that goes toward basic program needs as well as transportation. Transportation at the middle school level is a significant expense for our program. We are not able to use the M.C.P.S. M.C.P.S. busses during the time
of the middle school games. So we have to use charter busses, which is an extremely more expensive. But we budget that and use and allocate that for each school. An allocation just over $8,800 per school. Again,
we have our budget that the athletic coordinator at the middle school prepares that is approved by the financial specialist and the principal. We have also, in recent years utilized a lot of grant funding to supplement our program. So
our title for grant funding, Yola, and our pickleball program, as well as amazing support by the Baltimore Ravens and the Washington Commanders. So we're continuing to actively pursue opportunities to support
our program. Next slide please. Okay. I want to talk a little bit about some of the program changes that we have had in this past year. And the first I want to talk about gymnastics. The first thing I would like to say is I want to acknowledge
the impact of the decision that was announced earlier this year about discontinuing the gymnastics program. I appreciate the advocacy of our student athletes, and I'm extremely proud of them. I'm also proud of the coaches who have led through this last
season with the support of their parents. This has been a very challenging spring. It is not in our DNA to cancel or take away. We are always trying to expand and provide opportunities. And so I do want
to talk through some of the rationale for the decision for discontinuing gymnastics when it was made at the national level. There has been an approximately 20% decrease in the past ten years in girls
gymnastics participation. Boys gymnastics has only 135 participants nationwide, so there has been a significant decrease from a national perspective at the state level. M.C.P.S. is the last school
district in Maryland to offer gymnastics. All of the other districts have discontinued gymnastics, and no district that we've checked with has said they are considering any expansion of gymnastics. We are the last county offering some
historical perspective. In 1980, there were 22 schools in M.c.p.s with gymnastics. Our boys gymnastics program was discontinued in 1982, and we have had seven schools offering gymnastics since 2021. We have
one school that this season. We are a little concerned with their participation and just kind of reflecting some of the things that we have seen over time. At Springbrook High School. That participation declined this season, with three student athletes
participating as well as a coach vacancy. So with that participation, I mentioned on a previous slide a number of 119 for gymnastics. And that was the the participation at the beginning of the season. As
part of our rostering process. There is a decline during the season. I do want to note the number 79 is the number of students that participated the last week of the season. And the two meets that we have. We have a championship meet as well as a B meet, a varsity B
meet. There are limitations to the number of students participating in that championship meet. In terms of the entries in the B meet. We've had three schools last year and two schools last year, two two schools this year that have not had students
participating in that meet. Some of the challenges over time for us have been the difficulty in finding qualified coaches across our program. So in having seven schools and being able to find the coaches, you know, it's been very hard
to think any expansion when we've looked at the the current schools and being able to find the qualified coaches to service those schools, the cost of equipment over time, and what that would look like in terms of expansion would be a challenge as well. In addition
to the participation numbers, I do want to talk through the decision process. I'm not going to rehash and go through each of those of those things, but I did want to highlight that these decisions were not made by one office or one person. We did talk through several
stakeholders along the way. Our Student Athlete Leadership Council, that includes 2 or 3 representatives from each of our 25 high schools voted on this. 44 of the 5,088% of the of the council voted in favor of discontinuing gymnastics.
Our. Our athletic directors took action. 22 were in favor of discontinuing gymnastics. Three abstained. None were opposed. Our high school principals, the M.C.P.S. s a, as I mentioned, was 21 in favor of discontinuing gymnastics.
Four abstentions? No. None were opposed. Our process was followed. But I do want to acknowledge that our gymnastics gymnasts and our gymnastics community were not provided the opportunity to provide feedback on the data leading to this
decision. We acknowledge the impact of this omission and appreciate their continued advocacy on behalf of gymnastics. As a result, we will continue gymnastics for the 2020 627 school year and work collaboratively with our
gymnastics community and M.c.p.s. Leadership to establish clear and transparent metrics and processes that will guide the 2027 season to our student athletes. I appreciate your resilience during the past couple of months as you have
persevered through these challenging times, you have represented your sport and our program as champions of our core values, and I look forward to working with our gymnastics community in the coming year to look at those metrics to guide
the spring 2027 season. Next slide please. We did have a new sport that we piloted in M.c.p.s athletics this past spring as well. Stunt to begin, I want to say what is stunt?
Stunt is not gymnastics. Stunt is not cheerleading. Stunt has tumbling. Stunt has elements of cheerleading. It is sport that is played as a game. It is structured as four quarters. Student athletes perform
routines simultaneously side by side. They are scored. One of the appealing parts of this sport is the ability to differentiate the sport based on difficulty, and so we can group schools and teams based on their ability levels and
provide a competitive experience for them. The decision to pilot stunt was approved by the Student Athlete Leadership Council at 84%. 42 out of our 50 voters in favor of that, and it was a unanimous decision, 25 to 0 by our
athletic directors and a unanimous decision by our high school principals, initially at 25 to 0 as well, to pilot it. Stunt is also at the NCAA college level, just been sanctioned at the division one,
two and three levels as a championship sport starting this coming school year. Stunt has sped fast or sped past girls flag football and wrestling. They're coming in the coming years, but stunt is
there next year as a championship sport for students. There is also a potential pipeline here as we look at our middle schools as well. And although we don't have a cheerleading or a spirit activity as part of our athletic program, cheerleading
is one of the most popular intramural activities at the middle school level, and there is a potential there to, again, provide additional opportunities for students at the middle school level, creating a pipeline, a pipeline of student interests through
our program and into college. We also saw with our stunt pilot a demographic participation correlation of our participants, which we are very excited about. Our startup costs have been grant funded to
fund this program in the coming years. We had 13 schools with the initial pilot. We met with our high school principals in May, and there was overwhelming positive support and feedback from our principals, and they
unanimously support continuing and expanding our pilot program for stunt. There were success stories. We look at schools, Northwood and Watkins Mill, two schools that have been focus schools for us in terms of student participation. Both had
very positive experiences with stunt this past spring. So it is our recommendation to expand the stunt pilot to all schools for the spring 2027 season and continue to assess, on a larger
scale the success of this activity in our program. Next slide please. Finally, our middle school program, we continue to look at our middle school program and want to provide some enhancements. Obviously, the budget continues
to be a struggle in terms of putting forward more activities and will continue to push and look at ways to do that. One thing we would we are recommending for this year is to change our rule regarding sixth grade participation. So
on a pilot basis, we would recommend that we allow sixth graders to participate in our program. This will infuse participation and provide additional opportunities to our students. At the middle school level. We also, with the support of the Washington
commanders, want to pilot some flag football activity in the spring season. And so this is something with the grant funding, we will get creative and work with our with our schools, our school athletic coordinators, our middle school
principals and our coaches to see what this experience looks like. But we do want to look at, again, expanding the program, utilizing some grant funding, and continuing to identify other opportunities for growth for the program. Again, I want
to thank you for the opportunity to share. I know we hit a lot of different areas of the program in this presentation, but I did want to be able to provide an overall status of where we are in M.c.p.s athletics, and I appreciate the opportunity to
share with you. Thank you very much. Okay. I thought Peter was about to say something. Sorry to interrupt. Before I go to my colleagues, I did not hear some data on stunt that I heard for gymnastics. Could you just give us an idea of how many students
are currently taking advantage of the program? Yes. Our stunt participation was 172 total total students. Out of how many sites? 13. Okay, so 172
students, 13 sites. And that is seventh through 12th grade. No, that's ninth through 12th grade. The high schools. Yes. Okay. I'm sorry, 13 sites. And how many? 170. 172 students. And
this was the first year. Yes. So we we announced this stunt pilot in the middle of February and in short fashion, stood up a very short pilot experience
for students to try and just get an overall sense of, would this be an activity that could potentially work? And we currently have, sorry, 80 kids. I think you said I'm sorry I lost my place in gymnastics,
1979. We have 119 students, 119, and that's seven sites and seven seven sites. That was our that was our preseason rostering. Yep. Okay. Thank you.
I just wanted to get the numbers correctly. So I'll open to. And I'm going to go to our school board member. Student board member, miss Anwar. Thank you. I'll try to keep it. One question per round. You
mentioned for the numbers that the Student Athlete Leadership Council was consulted when determining different results for different sports, does this does Sal contain any gymnastic athletes and if so, what are the numbers? I don't know that I could we'd have to do a
correlation of which sports. And we have the list of. We could run a roster correlation of how many. I would just need to confirm that. All right. If we could see that, then. Thank you. Do you have one more question? If you want. Why don't you just if you have, you
can go ahead. Oh, okay. You got it. Okay. Miss Stewart. Sure. A question I have is which sports have big waiting lists. You know, kids that are interested, but they're not able to
participate. Do we have that kind of information? And both boys and girls and. Maybe demographic, I don't know, some kind of breakdown we could that's going to be a school by school type thing. You know, I
did show some of the more popular participation numbers across the county. It could vary by school. We could do an analysis of the number of registrations, total registrations of people signing up. We could provide that
information. It's just good to know where the demand exactly is, because going forward, we will have constrained budgets, right? So we're going to have to hit realities moving forward in our system. So it would be
good to have that data. I also wanted you probably said it, but there was so much in here. I just want to make sure I got this right. On the budget implications from slide 14. The
field maintenance line is that for all of our fields, what fields does that include? 1 million. That's going to include our all our stadium fields. So our our artificial turf stadium fields, as well as
an allocation for our grass fields. And then we do have some additional funding that we can provide for baseball and softball field maintenance. And so the way that we do that in terms of the additional fields,
as we also incorporate our adoptive fields into that conversation. So if there are adoptive field partnerships, those are taken care of and we're able to provide additional resources to the schools that do not have those. And that continues on page 15.
There's another allocation supplemental funding for field maintenance and security. So is that that money is coming from the other line item. Okay. So that's the centrally managed
account that is pushed out to the high schools. Okay. Yes. And where do the boosters come in on all the maintenance? So the boosters supplement that maintenance beyond that, depending on the school, by
school and through our allocation, we try to provide schools, all schools with support and schools that do not have the the higher level of booster club support with additional support. So there's a lot of pots of money for our
field maintenance at some point. And I think you've we've touched on this before, but I don't think I've ever seen like an actual analysis of all the different pots of money and the percentage breakdown, etc. So
it would be good to get get Ahold of that because there are some fields that do worse than others. Right. And where are the resources? Can we somehow get extra resources to those
particular fields? And how are the boosters doing in particular schools that might make it harder for them to actually have a field that performs as well as a school with more booster funding? So
I'm going to handle around that and also look at and help encourage those funds to go to have more equity in that space. Thank you, Miss Montoya. Thank
you. I wanted to just go back to something that Mr. Rivera-Oven asked about in terms of the number of students on slide five, you kind of did like a high low, like basically ke the ends of the range, right? What are some sports where we have the highest number of students
participating, and then sports where we have the lowest number of students participating, differentiated by boys and girls. Why isn't stunt included in the girls low since it has 172 students? I did not include the pilot program in there.
It's not enough at the time, an official activity as part of the program. Okay, I just that would have been important for us given the conversation that we're trying to have today. Right? That's come up several times. I have some questions about the I was pointing to
Miss Malu, but she stepped out for a moment on Salk as well. I'm wondering the gender composition of Student Leadership Council. So if we don't have that, if we can just add that to the request made by Miss Malu. I actually had asked
if there was any gymnasts as well, but Miss Malu covered that. And then I'm also wondering, in your slides, you mentioned that during the process that if we're going to eliminate a sport, we seek consultation or feedback. Was that sought from the coaches of
gymnastics? We met last spring, but we did not come with the coaches of gymnastics, but we did not come back to the coaches or the gymnasts and seek additional input in that decision. Okay, so there was that meeting. But so if that's
a part of the process. So I think as part of the process, we are going to create ♪a standalone process for eliminating or discontinuing a sport that will ensure that it has that stakeholder feedback in the process. Right. But don't we have that process? I
guess I'm confused because we went through a whole like, this is how we decide. And it would seem like this is one of the decision making process would apply to that. So I'm confused about establishing a process when we already have one. I think the process is whether or
not we went back and asked for additional feedback. It was very clear from the coaches that they wanted the gymnastics program to stay, and we knew that the gymnasts wanted the program to stay. We were doing a data analysis of the program,
and I will own the fact that we did not go back in that process to the gymnasts and to the gymnastics coaches again and ask through that process. And I just really want to sorry. No, I'm sorry. I mean, we ran through the checkpoints of that
process without going back and getting additional stakeholder feedback. And I just want to really, whether it's gymnastics or something else, right? It's not just about finding out whether or not they want the program to continue, like obviously they do, but there might be really important
points that we need to consider that we have not or the lived experience. Right. I'm not a gymnast, so I don't know. So yes, I need to hear from them. And with all due respect, Mr. Sullivan, I don't think you're a gymnast either. Right. And so we need to hear from them because you're basing it based
on data and these various points that you're getting, but they deserve an opportunity to provide that same type of information, data and information to be considered as well, not just, well, we know that you want it to stay here, right? So I just really want to emphasize that point because we don't need to establish a process. We have one. We just
didn't follow it. So, Jeff, Mr. Sullivan, I the reason why we wanted this, this briefing was and I and I heard you own it, I
think you did say I own it, that the process was not followed the way it was supposed to be. Did I hear that right? You did hear that, right? Okay. I appreciate that. I think part of being educators
is that, you know, there's a lot of humans involved in education. No one is perfect. And I appreciate that. And I think the folks who have been advocating for this have also, what makes me sad, though,
honestly, is that seeing how we are home to one of the greatest gymnasts, you know, here who grew up in our, you know, in our backyard, who went to my alma mater, who's a great gymnast, Dominique Dawes, who
she, I think just opened another another facility and so on. It saddens me that because I wanted to be a gymnast when I was little and my family could not afford it. That's the, the,
the reality, you know, I was an 80s baby and, and I was young and eager. And I remember my mom signed me up for classes and I went the first couple of months. And then unfortunately, as a single mom, we just could not afford it. But I love
gymnastics. I love to see it. It's my favorite sport in the Olympics. I will hope that. We could meet with our young folks who really love the sport, and I want to thank them for their
for their leadership, for being here, for advocating. And I hope you take this into your future, into your lives as adults, that it is so important to advocate for yourselves and for others who might not have a
voice. That is an important lesson. If anything, you have learned in this process, I want you to take that away, that I think we're very blessed in this county to have all these opportunities and to have young people like yourselves, but take that into adulthood and
advocate not just for this issue, but for others as well. So I just want to say to the dedication of you young athletes and the love of your sport, we saw you, we heard you. That's what we're here. But with that being said, I will hope to be away. I know we're
doing this for another year. I would hope that we could help because they're going to grow up. They're going to go on to college, they're going to graduate. Right. And there's a new generation. I would hope that we can find a way. And I don't know what that is yet, that we can transition some of
that passion and love that we have for gymnastics and that little community and see if we can work with those, you know, maybe outside the school system that might be willing to work with our young athletes who love the sport, you know, but I
personally want to thank you for saying, yes, we messed up. We did. You know, we should have gone back to to our folks. I see the vote. The vote was very clear what the majority, you know, voted and so on. But
as a school system, we need to hear our young people. It's just, you know, it's just part of it because we want them to become adults that are committed and involved in the future. So I appreciate your leadership. I appreciate you
owning it to it. I think that is important when we as adults say, yep, made a mistake and I am sorry, but I just that was that was very important for me to hear today. And I think it
was very important for our young, our young folks to hear that as well. Anyone else? Mr. Hello. Welcome back. Go ahead. I also want to second Miss Rivera Evans comments. And once we do get the data back on which athletes are
participating in the cell council, I also want to say that I think from an equity lens standpoint, if there were not any gymnastic representatives on that council or any other sports, for example, that are not represented on the council, that we need to move forward and look into at least ensuring
that there's one representative from each sport attending these meetings. Otherwise, I personally do not think that's fair. Thank you. And when you stepped out for a moment, I also asked about the gender composition of the SoC. I'd like to plus one on that. We
shouldn't make decisions without folks in the room. Okay. Thank you very much for your presentation. We look forward to the follow up questions. Okay. Thank you so much. And thank you. All the folks who came here today. Bless you. I
wish you all well. Next on the agenda. Thank you. Resolutions.
SC. As they're getting situated, as the board may remember, Madam president, this time last year we started a new tradition in M.C.P.S. to take a look at previous resolutions that the board had has passed. We took a
deep dive into many, many years of resolutions, and we now affectionately call this resolution roundup, where we get to get a status update on resolutions that the board has adopted and where we are with the with those status updates
and the work that lays ahead. And I'm going to pass things over to the chief staff, Essie McGuire, to talk through this year's resolution roundup. Okay. Thank you. I'm very excited to be presenting on Resolution Roundup to you today. As Doctor Taylor said, we. The last time
we brought this to you was last year, and we had not done any kind of review of outstanding board resolutions in quite some time at that time. So we did bring a more of a it was a very comprehensive. Looking at several years roundup last year.
This year we have fewer to cover, which is great because again, we have closed a number of them out. But in that process, we have developed a tracking system just so that we have one landing spot where we can ensure that the follow up
that's needed for resolutions for board resolutions is in one place. All the offices can have access to it, and we can ensure consistency in our follow up on the on these board actions. So the first one I'd like to cover
or speak to today is a resolution that actually came from our most recent student member of the board, Mr. Sivana. And he had put forward a resolution that the board submitted, I'm sorry, approved
regarding an annual mental health work group. Certainly, this is one that took some initial actions as outlined in the resolution. And certainly we can appreciate after some of the challenging budget discussions that we're having, that this is one that will have
some ongoing, very much an ongoing important role for us as we continue to look at the resources that we do have and our important collaboration with the Department of Health and Human Services. So what you see here, again, are just some of the actions that that
workgroup has taken in the last year. It was formed last spring following the approval of the resolution, has continued to meet and go through some of the work that is currently underway
with the Council's Office of Legislative Oversight continuing to meet again in collaboration with our county partners as well. So this is one that will be ongoing. But again, is is certainly well
underway. This next piece that we want to speak to relates to a request that the board put forward in a resolution for the superintendent and his his team to work with gathering
community engagement and discussion around the community engagement and school safety programs. And so certainly this is, again, one that will have ongoing work associated with it. What you see here outlined for
you are that we have taken a number of what I would frame to be sort of initial framing steps, but we know that we are going to be embarking on some more in-depth conversations with our community, with focus
groups and with, again, various portions of our school staff, student, family, communities to really talk more about those experiences and perspectives with school safety and security, and specifically the school resource, I'm sorry, the
community engagement program. And so, so, and we do know that our work with our law enforcement partners and reviewing our MOU with them will be part of that follow up from that outreach. One of the
another the next resolution was one related to local preference for procurement contracts. And this is one that we again, are continuing to work through, continuing to understand the law around this and really benchmark with our neighboring
districts, benchmark with other public entities as well, not just school systems, but other public entities. Montgomery County government, for example, is one entity that we are again looking to benchmark with, as they also have are working
through this issue. And and so one of the pieces that we have added is including location in our reports to the board. So you can see local and regional participants and participation rates in your regular procurement reports. And again,
we're going to continue to work with our legal services and our sister agencies to continue to make progress in this area. And so finally, I would speak to the resolution that was recently put forward by our
current student member of the board. And I just would say that there are some initial things that we have adopted that you see here that we know we can implement for next year. But in addition to that, we do know that this is another one that we will carry forward into future years, and that we know
that, particularly in middle school and also in our high schools, we know there are going to be some schedule changes and other changes that we need to look at, and this is one that will give us the opportunity to continue to carry this forward and continue to embed it even more deeply in
our schools, and that, I believe, should take us all the way through. Thank you so much. Appreciate it. Great information. Thank you for for the work. And I'm going to be
moving to the next. Unless. Oh, Miss Montoya, I have a quick question. I do have a quick item, and I did let Miss Malu know prior to today's session that I would mention this on the student support time resolution, which was miss Miller's passed not too long
ago. I specifically recall asking that in supporting the resolution, we weren't necessarily going to be changing the advisory schedules of schools who may be had, right? There are some schools who already have an advisory period, and they use it in a
particular way or whatnot. And I just recall asking that this didn't mean that every middle school now had to have a 30 minute increment, because some of them had various things, or that they wouldn't be forced to use a particular structure. It didn't have to be the same
across schools. But then when I saw this, I felt like that's exactly what happened. And that was, again, that's why I specifically asked, and I supported the idea of because I know there are some schools that don't have advisory, and I
want them to have that, but I would not have raised my hand for this resolution if this was how it was going to be implemented, which is exactly why I asked those questions. So nothing has been implemented. The resolution was actually to form a work group to investigate. That's why I was surprised. And that is what has
happened, is that we are forming a workgroup and have started some of that work to investigate how to implement any changes before we actually make any changes. So there's there's a long road ahead on this one because this is fairly
significant. I guess that's just doesn't seem like that's the message I'm getting from action taken. So what I think, and we may have been overeager in our writing, but it does say that it's being recommended. And so I do think that one of our responses and I could have been more clear, one of our
responses is to talk with principals about the substance of this. And, as you said, encourage principals to say, what is it that you can do? And here are some recommendations to include this kind of approach in your work this year. But as Doctor Taylor said, I think the second part is what
we are looking to, to, to formalize going in the in the future, as we as again, as this workgroup, does that work and as we would unfold that in the context of other schedule changes that are going to have to take place, that I think we've also talked about. But so
I again, it's in progress. And the piece that we are trying to have in progress for next year is a recommendation. And working with principals around the idea that has been put forward. Okay. I just want us to be mindful that each school has its own school culture. The
principals there know their school communities, they know what they need or not. And I just don't want us to get into some cookie cutter presentation section. I mean, I have kids that age, they're just going to tune out if that's not what they need. And so that is my a very serious concern that I
have here because again, this is not presented as like, yeah, if they want to do it, they can do it. And I'm already hearing rumblings about schedule changes at the middle school level where things are being removed that are beneficial for students. So I'm just a little concerned about that. We're already full steam ahead. So
thank you for the explanation though, Miss Stewart. This will be quick on slide three. On the annual Mental Health Workgroup. I believe this was also started by a student board member, and
I would love to have a report to us during a meeting because we just made a very difficult vote that will affect the way kids access mental health support. So this is so
important, and I want to hear directly from kids, how easy or hard is it for them to access supports and how we can use that information to do better? So thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you, miss McGuire.
Appreciate it. Moving on, because we still have quite a bit. Item 12 leveling up 2026 2027 Doctor Taylor. All right. So this is the big one. Last year we presented updates to
regulations and practices in anticipation for the following school year. One of the requests that the board made last year was to have that at the early set of June and not later into the summer. We agree.
So we are sharing with you information according to different areas of the organization where we anticipate making some changes and some adjustments, and to give you some forecast of the direction that we're heading going into the 2728 school year,
because a lot of decisions that the board made during this year actually take effect, not for this upcoming year, but actually for a year from now. So we wanted to give you some preview as to not just this upcoming year, but also what, what you can anticipate as some
general brushstrokes going into 2728. So I believe we're going to kick things off with Mrs. Porter, our chief academic officer, and our distinguished panel of experts, expert chief
officers. Go ahead, Mrs. Porter. Okay. Thank you very much and good evening. So we've made a lot of really great upgrades and changes this school year to many areas across all of our divisions. And so we are going
to be talking today about our reflections based on data, based on survey results and other changes that may be coming about based on state msde or just best practice. And so we are going to be talking
about those changes today and what we've learned. We'll talk about the data a little bit and what changes we'll be making for next school year. And then what we are thinking. Beyond that, some of the changes are actually related to. And if you
can go to the next slide, please. Some of the changes are actually related to regulations. And so before I get started with what's happening in the division of teaching and learning, I'm going to hand it over to Miss Seabrook, who will just talk about regulations.
Good afternoon, board members. I'm Robyn Seabrook, I am the chief legal officer for M.c.p.s. Just wanted to, before we get started on substantive, dig into the substance of the presentation. Just wanted to say that the board recently
passed policy BFA policy setting. And as part of that, passed some revisions to that policy. And as part of that, the board asked us to revise the piece regarding regulations and regulation development to make sure that the community
and the board had advance notification of those changes, and that it was posted to the public for notification. So I wanted to let you know. I wanted to just put that out there as we go through this presentation today, you'll see
some references to to regulation amendments that need to occur before next school year. And many of them, I think most of them that you'll see here have been posted in red line form already to the public.
And there is a mechanism there for public to give feedback. And so that is in alignment with your new BFA policy setting change regarding regulation development. So I wanted to put that out there today so that, you know, that that those red lines are up.
Okay. Thank you. So if you go to the next slide, we're each going to just go through our division work. You can stop there and just talk about some of the changes and things that
we're looking for in 2728 so I want to start with our homework. We know the importance of homework and the importance of having our students really focus on what they've been learning in the classroom.
Maryland State Department of Education did put out a homework review guidance document, and while it is not a mandate, they are highly recommending that we really take a look at it and and look at our own regulations around
homework. So we are not making any changes for this upcoming school year, but we are going to dig into their guidance document and then determine what changes we want to make the following school year, particularly as it relates to some recommended timing time
for each level elementary, middle and high school. The purpose of of any types of assignments that we may be giving. We don't want to just do busy work, but we really want it to be very meaningful. We want our families to be engaged. And so we will be
talking more about those expectations throughout the school year and collecting some data around how schools are implementing homework at this time, if at all. And so we just want to have a level of consistency. If you go to the next slide, please, that is
grading and reporting. We did collect some survey data from our students, staff and families. One thing that I think was pretty consistent is that everyone knew about the changes to grading and reporting. From there, we did
see some inconsistencies that we still want to work through. There are some schools that really held to the the regulation were very strict to the regulation. And then we still had some schools that, you know, may have interpreted things differently. And as a
result, we are cleaning up some of our definitions and, and really making sure that there's not confusion. So deadlines, we want to make sure we're very clear about defining what that is, defining that there's no
work after the deadline. We there was an error in the current regulation. So 0.5 or higher, like 89.5 is an a things of that nature. We just want to make sure we clean up
attendance absences, particularly related to skipping class. We have some we got a lot of feedback that there are students who may skip and then are able to make up work. So we are really making sure that we're tightening up
on on that issue. Integrity, zeros, academic dishonesty, and also including a statement around AI, and that there will be some progressive discipline for students as we go through AI use this year in training,
we will have the expectation that students will demonstrate honesty around that use. We are clarifying what it means to be able to retake a course. We've had some some challenges with confusion around the language
and also our reassessments. The taking a maximum of two per quarter as opposed to having multiple reassessment opportunities for students. So we're decreasing the amount of reassessment opportunities, I should say. And so that
language you will find, as Miss Brooke mentioned, posted. And you can see all the the specific language. And then as we look for 2027 and eight and beyond, we will be looking at credit recovery redesign and also just how we engage our
students in school once they are there and really encouraging them to come to school. Next slide please, is around regulation JEBRA placement, promotion, retention and acceleration of students.
This is specifically related to literacy policy at the elementary level, which does discuss the potential for retaining a student if they do not meet certain academic scores. And so that language
will be in there in addition to what is called a good cause exemption. And that is for students maybe who have an IEP or who are English learners and are making adequate progress, they would be exempt from from that rule. It also speaks to
the student improvement plans that are required for students who are not reading on level. So those are some of the changes that you will see posted online. Next slide please. Comprehensive health education. It's making some
changes at the state level to their standards. And so if you were to look at that one online, you would see the specific language to health, education and some language around privacy of students listed there. And we will be moving.
If you can look at 27, 28 and beyond moving some of our lessons to different grade levels. Next slide please. This one is not a regulation, but it is an area of focus that we are excited about is we're calling
it out of school time, but really just acknowledging that when students have extracurricular activities and other opportunities to participate outside of school, they are more likely to be engaged and graduate. And so we
want to make sure that we have opportunities for our students through expanding middle middle school. Summer school will be collecting data to just understand where our students are participating in after
school activities, looking at interventions like IXL, that's math and literacy interventions. We're excited about something Doctor Taylor is introducing called March Madness to for some healthy competition for
our students that we will introduce during the school year. And we also want to just make sure that as we look across regions, that we have opportunities for students to engage in after school activities throughout the county. So that will be a part
of what we are doing. And then through the blueprint, there's the requirement for the six year college and career ready plan. And part of that plan, we want to make sure that our students have some type of out of school time activity as a
part of their their plan. Next slide please. And this is my final slide, just an update on our emergent multilingual learners. We're really excited about the fact that our ESL students demonstrated an
increase in their exits of using the Weta exam. And so we have, I think I believe it's like 2.4 increase in students who exited the LED program. And
so some things that we can look forward to is a streamline of our registration process and screening process for our students. We are also working with our Ela, our social studies, and our resource teachers and L D are going to be collaborating throughout all
of next year to make sure that our teachers, who are the content teachers, have the language supports to be able to support students. And we are also looking at continuing to enhance our data dashboard and providing training for our
students. So those are some of the changes for next year. The following year, we will streamline our K registration process and continue to do more work around staffing standards for M, L s as we move forward. So I'm going to turn it over.
If you can go to the next slide to the next division. Good afternoon, Madam President. Members of the board. Superintendent Taylor, I am Doctor Margaret Cage. I am the chief student Support Officer. I'll be here today to share
with you some key learnings and strategic directions for the division of Specialized Support Services. This year, provided the division of Specialized Support services with an important opportunity to reflect on both our strengths
and areas for growth across our instructional practices, our student support, and our operational structures through a special education and also a wellbeing lens through data analysis, stakeholder feedback,
monitoring processes, Cross-department collaboration, several key themes consistently emerged that are now shaping our priorities moving into the next school year. Just to share with you a few data points that
we've learned over this year. Our students with IEPs, graduating with a regular diploma based off of our indicator reports from Msde. We are currently meeting our state target. With that, our drop out
rates for students with IEPs have also gotten better, and we are also meeting our state target with that. If you have not heard, we have three of the most healthiest schools in America, which speaks to our
broader commitment to student well-being. On the flip side, we still have a few areas from our data where growth is definitely needed. Approximately 61% of the indicators that I spoke about
earlier were identified as non-compliant, highlighting the need for stronger accountability structures and implementation monitoring. We have also seen an increase in our MSDE corrective action
cases, complaints and monitoring actions during our 2526 school year. These findings reinforce the need for clear operational guidance, stronger monitoring systems, and more aligned accountability
structures across our schools and also central services. So as you see outlined here, we have four buckets of focus system wide consistency and accountability was one of our clearest lessons learned this year, and it was the importance
of building stronger, system wide consistency and accountability across all schools and departments. While we do have many strong practices, along with many strong foundations, implementation continues to
vary from school to school. We have identified the need for clear expectations and greater consistency in how procedures, instructional practices, and
student supports are implemented in our instructional and staff capacity. Another major takeaway has been the continued
need to strengthen our instructional and staff capacity at all levels of the system. Staff consistently identified the need for expanded professional learning opportunities, particularly around evidence based instructional practices. Inclusion supports, behavioral intervention, crisis responses, and compliance expectations in
our inclusive and equitable student support. This year reinforced the importance of strengthening inclusive and equitable student support across our schools and programs. Because our students benefit most when when our supports are
proactive, coordinated, and aligned to the least restrictive environment, our data reinforces the importance of strengthening our inclusive practices, our behavioral supports and early intervention
systems, and our final bucket data monitoring and outcomes data continue to reinforce the importance of using evidence based instructional practices, practices, and data driven decisions. We highlighted the
need for stronger systems to monitor student outcomes, service effectiveness, compliance implementation, attendance, disproportionality trends, and overall program effectiveness. And those areas are also measured in our
indicator reports from Msde. Moving forward, the four priorities discussed in this slide are directly informing our strategic work for the 2026 2020 school 2027 school year and beyond. Rather than
focusing on isolated initiatives, we are committed to building a more coherent, equitable and sustainable special education system. Next slide please. Strengthening
special education system. One of the major priorities will be the development and launch of our special education playbook. This is a compliment to the MCPs strategic plan from a special education lens, this
resource will serve as a unified framework, providing clear operational guidance, aligned explicit expectations, and greater consistency in instructional practices. In addition, the division of
Specialized Support will also implement a comprehensive professional development plan designed to strengthen staff capacity at all levels. Teachers, administrators, paraeducators related service providers, and support staff.
This work will focus on evidence based practices, inclusive instruction, behavioral supports, compliance expectations, and student centered planning. For 2027 and
beyond. Our expansion, accountability, and long term systems as we incorporate our foundational systems and we establish those systems, the district's work will transition into implementation, monitoring
and long term sustainability. Next slide please. The work plan around compliance for 2026 2027 and beyond is focused on creating stronger, more
consistent systems during the 2026 2027 school year, we will focus on compliance structures aligned to our federal and state requirements. One of the key lessons learned this year is that our schools need more
consistent operational guidance and clear expectations to support implementation across programs. To address this need, we are developing consistent guidance documents that will
include operational guidance, accountability structures to support our schools in the implementing procedure and processes with greater consistency and clarity. In addition to creating guidance
documents, we will also launch our differentiated monitoring and support, which I will further call DMS monitoring with a beginning with training and simulated monitoring activities for knowledge
building sessions for school leaders, staff and central services staff for the 2026 2027 school year. If you're not familiar with D. M s monitoring, this is a structured monitoring and accountability system used to ensure compliance with
federal and state special education requirements, while also improving student outcomes, consistency and implementation across schools in 2027 and beyond, we will transition from the foundational training into
full implementation of our DMS monitoring activities. Just to let you know that work will include conducting formal monitoring processes throughout the 2027 2028 school year and
beyond. Next slide please. The special education strategic playbook. As I referenced earlier, this represents one of the district's most significant system alignment efforts moving forward. This work is designed
to create a unified framework that strengthens consistency and accountability, while also looking at instructional practices to inform student outcomes across our schools. We will be launching the Foundation for System wide
Alignment in 2026 and 2027, with our strategic playbook. An important part of this work will be increasing stakeholder engagement and strengthening feedback loops with staff, families, school leaders, and
community partners. We recognize that sustainable improvement requires continuous collaboration, shared problem solving, and ongoing stakeholder voice throughout implementation. In 2027 and
2028 and beyond. As the playbook becomes operationalized across the district, the work will shift into a broader strategic growth phase focused on refinement, accountability, and
sustainability. Next slide please. I also mentioned earlier the Special Education Professional Development Plan, which I am extremely excited about. This is one of the clearest themes that emerged
this year, and that was that we need to strengthen staff capacity and create more consistent instructional and operational practices. The Special Education Professional Development Plan is designed to
directly address those needs through a comprehensive, long term professional learning framework. During the 2026 2027 school year, we will establish this professional learning framework definitely aligned to
the M.C.P.S. strategic plan. Future ready priorities. I'd e a requirements and the blueprint for Maryland's future. We are definitely looking to strengthen educator educator capacity and to provide high
quality instruction, inclusive practices, and differentiated support. The framework was developed in response to system wide needs data analysis, compliance review, stakeholder feedback, implementation challenges, observed,
inconsistencies in instructional and operational practices across our schools 2027, 2028, and beyond. We will continue implementing sustained job embedded in evidence based professional learning opportunities. Next slide
please. As a Department of specialized Support services, we are continually strengthening alignment between district practices and federal and state special education requirements. As I've mentioned
before, continuity, accountability, instructional quality, and equitable student outcomes are at the core of everything that we do. Next slide please. All right. Before we jump into school leadership, I'm going to take the
temperature of the board. This is a very lengthy presentation. So I'm going to ask my team to just hit the highlights as as we progress forward. But Madam President, if anybody's got a quick question, it might be a good time to break it up because this was pretty meaty in terms of instructional
content department. We're trying to buy in one hour. But but we we do need to hit a bunch of these highlights for you. And I'll ask my, my team to be expeditious. I appreciate, I appreciate it. This has been
already a very, very long Day. So this is no reflection on you ladies. We appreciate your work. True. Gentlemen and gentlemen. I'm so sorry. See, I got you. Doctor Moran, either. And Peter.
So this is no reflection of how we feel about your work. This is this. In fact, this is something we had asked for last year. And I know this is a time when it usually when we can get all this information, I think
some of our brains are already kind of a little bit beyond exhausted. There's just so much you can take after a day like today. So please, this is no reflection on any of you. So with that being said, if we if we could ask, I know, miss, you have to go to do something with
your kiddos. Would you like to ask your. Yes. Thank you. And I do apologize. I do have to leave because it's the end of the school year and there's ceremonies going on for kids, and my kid gets to be in one today. So the I will follow up with you, Doctor Cage, just to learn more about DMS monitoring,
just for my own informational. So I'll just send you an email for that. I actually have a question for Miss Porter, and it is in regards to the cleaning up of the regulation, which I completely understand, because sometimes once we implement something, there's we
don't realize someone doesn't understand this or that. Like that makes sense to me. My concern is for the students, because if we had some schools that were interpreting something one way or applying it one way versus another, then
it seems like it's possible that students at different schools could have gotten different grades for different things. And I'm just thinking about like college applications, select programs, advanced coursework, where those are what's being looked at. And so, and I'm going to phrase it this
way, and I think, you know, where I'm going, like, how do we clean up the student's grades then based on that? Or what do we do with that piece? So there's, there's always been inconsistency. I think we're getting better every year. And
so I, and we have been in contact with some schools that have raised questions. We've clarified certain things to. We may get a question that. Then we go back to everybody and say, listen, this is this is what
we're doing as a district. And we've we've received some questions from families and students and things of that nature. So we have been working with schools. But our goal now that we have received information is really to clarify. So some of what is
being clarified in the document are based on things that have come to us that we've had to address. Okay. So throughout the school year, when people bring things, you're engaging with them, providing that clarity, then sending it out kind of system wide to make sure everyone's trying to get on the same page to try to
really minimize as much as possible. Correct. Right. Even with the clearest of regulations, we're going to have inconsistencies because there's just different schools and different people, right? Correct. Okay. So just trying to minimize what we can. Okay. Thank you, Miss Yang. I am asking this on behalf of all
students and parents who are anxiously, like looking at this for the grading and reporting. On page five, it says rounding grading scales rounded up to 0.5 or higher. What does that mean? So that is actually one
thing that has been in play for years. Okay. It just never got changed in the regulation. Okay. So 89.5 you were rounded to 90. It's yes, it's it will be an A in the regulation. It just says 90. But it's been changed. It's
it's been a practice that we've had for actually a number of years. It's just never changed in the regulation. Does that mean, okay, this is for assignment, right? That you gave me an example. That's for assignment, right. Or is that for final grade? Oh. The final,
the final. The final semester. Grade 89.5. We'll round it up to 90. Correct. Okay. That doesn't mean we round the two alphabets. Okay. So does that mean we round the alphabet? A,
B is four and three is 3.5. Does that mean that. No. No, it does not. I mean we're using numbers and in percentages now. Okay. Thank you. Okay. Mr.
Porter. Yes. For the emergent multilingual section. Yes. I wanted to ask for a long time, we've been talking about placing first and second year English language learners in
high school English classes so that they could get standards based English instruction. Ela, not English Ela instruction. That's been happening for years now. Correct. And could you talk about the professional
development that happens so that teachers are able to do that effectively? Yes. So we, our Doctor Morales, Miss Morales and her team are working with our Ela department and our social studies
department to make sure that when our ML students are in those content areas, those teachers know how to provide them the the language objectives and are able to pull out that academic language for
the students. So it's making the learning more accessible to them. So they are having professional development not only throughout the summer, but they're going to have it all, every marking period. And also talk about how they are going
to incorporate that with the planning. Some of our high school students that come as newcomers may get a double period. So they'll have ELD instruction with for language,
and then they will also have Ela instruction as well. So they're, they're kind of getting a double period of that Ela. But this is not new this year. That's not doing that's not new. It's just the collaboration with the with the content specialists that we are going to plan out for the year.
And we've been placing them in a high school Ela from the start. From the start, in addition to they'll have their ELD instruction as well that, okay, I have follow ups, but I'll reach out to you separately. Okay. Okay, miss
Stewart, on the out of school time, slide eight. Stuff. Yes. Data and partners can. Data and
partners. I was just how are those two related? Exactly. So we want to collect data. Okay. On what partners schools are using because we have our own central office partners that we use. But we know that schools
are have a lot of other partnerships. And so as we are collecting data and helping develop this six year college and career ready plan, we want to be able to make sure that we know what resources are out there and how many of our
students actually don't have any type of out of school plan. So we'll be collecting data to just get a sense of that as we move forward. I'd really be interested in seeing this data because there's a lot on here athletics, performing arts,
tutoring, and internships. Tutoring is a place I think we have or inconsistent. I haven't seen a full plan. I would love to see that. So this would help. And also under resources update
refrigerator curriculum. This is part of out of school time. Can you explain this? I it's it's not really a part of out of school time, but it just really is helping our families know what the resources are, what their child will be
learning for each marking period. And then we are looking at additional resources to provide parents as we move forward. A lot of our new curriculum will have some really great resources for families videos, answer keys, all kinds of things that we're really excited to share with
families. So in embedded in the refrigerator refrigerator curriculum will be resources parents can use at home, may not be in the refrigerator curriculum. It may just be an additional resource that we provide. And I just, I have heard that sometimes. There's
been straying away from the refrigerator curriculum, right? It's a big system. And how are we working on accountability to so that. Individual classes don't stray? And if they do, and a parent brings it up, they
go to the principal. Is that because I do, sometimes this comes up. Yes. They they should certainly go to their principal first and then we can work with the schools. But with our curriculum, our literacy at the
elementary and secondary level, there are specific, obviously, standards that we expect schools to teach at a specific time. And then there are resources that go along with that. Those. And so they should be sticking to those resources.
And if there's they're deviating greatly, then we certainly would want to know about that. Thank you. I would like to have two follow ups if I can. Or maybe one is not a follow up. But just very quickly when you talk about the
data for the partners that Mr. was talking about, I was trying to visualize what that looks like, and I can't because you have so many partners. So I'm trying to see the actual collection. Are you going to
share a one point data place where people are going to be able to send it to a centralized that we have to work out? So it's a good question. We just have centrally, we have partners that we work with through Central Office. And then give
me an example because, you know, I'm like, just give me an example, like identity. We work with identity, all right? And or we work with certain rec centers. Okay. But then there are schools who also have partnerships. And so we just want to have a better sense of
what partnerships are out there working with our schools and our students. And as we look also at regions and look at kind of heat maps, we just want to know where the resources are that we can tap into to support students. As we look at after
school time activities. So it's, it really is data collection. We don't have a good sense outside of what we do in central. Okay. So this is a question for Miss Kim to the actual of how that's going to happen. I guess I'm trying to
visualize the how I know how. You know, I know you have this vision. I'm just trying to see how is that going to be implemented. Maybe you don't have that. We don't have that yet. Okay, okay. Maybe I get the work for next school year. Okay. And now we'll talk about
yeah, yeah, I yeah, with the ML. Let's go. Let's jump to the ML. Thank you for saying there with the ML registration. So the screening happens now first
grade through 12th grade. Correct. So actually we have kind of two processes taking place currently for a lot of our older students who come from other countries, they might go through our admissions
office to be screened and then placed Margarita Bohórquez and her team. They do a lot with looking at transcripts and making determinations about where students should be in terms of grade level and things of that nature. And then we
also have students who just go straight to their home school and register, and the ELD teacher might assess them there, or we may look at their transcripts. So now we're trying to streamline the process so that it all happens
in one space. And so we're going to start with grades one through 12. To register. The students look to see if they need any type of assessment and have a more welcoming space before having them in the
school. Okay, that makes a lot of sense, but I'm trying to see where is that space? Is that going to be in the margarita shop? Yes. Okay. So everything is going to be centralized, kind of like what we've been saying for a few years, that the centralization of that should be in one place. So
there can actually be a good follow up for our students. Okay, I like that. Yeah. And then the following year we'll look at kindergarten. But right now we're just doing going to keep kindergarten at the local school. Okay. So you knew exactly what was going to ask next, Nicki, because I think
you have known me for, for all these years. That is my, my biggest concern right now, I think, is the placement of, of the vetting of kindergartens. It is very different across across the district. So that
centralization of doing that, because then I feel like we're doing catch up after our kiddos do not have the right evaluation in kindergarten, if that makes sense. It does. We're just trying to make it manageable in our first year.
So one through 12. And then we'll add the K this year. Yes, one clarification on slide number five integrity zero for academic dishonesty progressive discipline for AI
infrastructure infractions. So I guess the academic dishonesty is like cheating on test. Okay. Then progressive discipline for AI infractions. Is there a regulation on this? Is are the teachers using the same AI
tools? So what does it look like covered in the code of conduct. But how is the detection done? How is it the same tools across the school district? I'm a 10th grade math teacher. This is the tool all of us use or is at the teachers
discretion. Whatever tool they use to detect AI infractions. So it's more of a wide district question, right? Is it the same way that they do it at parent branch as they do at Watkins Mill or in Poolesville? It's
the same the formalization. We we don't have a district wide adopted tool at this time. So that's part of my concern. Some teacher might have a very one two other teacher might not have a tool. Some teachers have this tool. Other teacher have
that too. Some teachers apply it consistently. Other teachers do occasion check. I think there's some should be some kind of expectation from the district. Otherwise our grades are not. There are too many
variances for their grades. Correct. We we have a lot of work to do to provide professional learning to our teachers and then to our students, because they need to understand what's allowable, what's not what. When do you
begin to creep into, you know, integrity issues? And so there's a lot of work that we have to do, and we're building that now so that when we meet with students in the fall, we, we can have something for teachers to be able to say, these are the types of things
that you are able to do with AI. Teachers will be able to explain to students when it's, when they may use it, when they may not use it, how much they may use. So all of those things will be explained to students, and then we will get into the
discipline component as well. I want to refresh everyone's memory that when we're talking about education technology in the policy committee, one of the tasks for the system is to have regulations when it comes to the usage, including AI
usage, right? So still waiting on the timeline. And this seems to be played right into that. And I hope to see you soon. Thank you. One of the things I asked quickly, Doctor Taylor was, what what is the state saying? The state Board of
Education, what are, you know, supposedly the experts for for there to be some formal, you know, around the state? What are they saying and what are they saying? Not a whole lot. They they are guidance is not really fleshed out. I don't know if you wanted to add anything else to that, Miss
Seabrook. That's right. Just because they're. This is later on in the in the presentation, we we have a just a reference there to what MSD is charged to do for the 2720 going into the
2728 school year. So there will be state level work groups formed. We will need to name a coordinator for that statewide work group. They will come out with model guidance and policies from the state level, and it looks like they're targeting. 2728 so I guess it
will be smart to we get a chance to lead the state to lead again. Okay, let's keep going, Doctor Moran. Yes, sir.
If we could go back to slide 16. Going to talk really at a at a high level on this. So in the Division of School Leadership and Improvement, we have been focused on standardizing systems of excellence, clear accountability structures and
service deployment to schools. If we go to the next slide, please. So school improvement, accountability, what we really have tried to focus on and will continue focusing on is that less is more. We have had a culture of chasing multiple targets. We have schools now
that continue, will continue to have a streamlined, one page school improvement plan that is focused on the state accountability system, with our goal of all of our schools being four stars or more. The mechanism to do that, as I talked about earlier, is a system wide instructional
vision that is well defined and well executed. Next slide please. Cross-Functional teams. As you know, this is the first year that we have implemented cross-functional teams. A couple of things I'm extremely excited about for our school system next year is the movement to a regional model.
The regional model will allow us to provide higher intensity of support, a higher level of presence in schools. And how that will happen is, is when you have Montgomery, Blair and Northwood together, you are not traveling long distances to
support schools. You should be able to get to more schools, spend more time there, more focus time. So really excited about that transition. Next year as our organizational structure changes to a geographic model, one of the things that is a critical thing that we work on with our family
engagement specialists and our pupil personnel workers, is ensuring that we are aligning their work and not stepping all over each other with both of those positions being on on the cross-functional teams, just we need to ensure that we're not duplicating any services and
that they're working closely in tandem. We'll continue to have a tiered approach to supporting our schools using data throughout the year to change that level of support based off of student performance. If we go to the next slide, please
transition day. So we will continue with transition Day. It will be our second year. Really excited about it. I think one of the things as as low level as it sounds, one of the things we're really trying to do is ensure that schools are taking the opportunity to make this a fun and exciting
day for their students and families, engaging in activities that build community, build a sense of excitement for the school year, while also allowing time for students to become accustomed to the routines of a school. One of the focuses that we're really
got a lot of feedback on is ensuring that there are expectations that are equitable for all of our our staff members to support this day. And they're not isolated just to the kindergarten grade six, grade nine teachers. We also are going to have very defined roles for our cross-functional teams. Great opportunity for
them to develop relationships with students and families again as we move to a geographic model. Next slide please. So school schedule. So this year we examined scheduling practices across schools to ensure students have
equitable access to instruction and intervention. We are have put out guidance around the elementary schedule, which connects very closely to the presentation on supporting students that receive ELD services and special education
services, utilizing the fit time to front load language and instructional strategies so that those students can receive that prior to going into their Ela content, so that they are well prepared for the content of those lessons. We are going to be, of course, focused on
cluster grouping strategies around math. At the middle school level. We're going to standardize the wellness period implementation while monitoring the impact of the new state mathematics policy requirements. And we're also going to study the high school schedules to
identify opportunities for standardization and consistency across all 25 soon to be 26 high schools. And then, of course, looking ahead, standardized middle and high school schedules would provide stronger alignment and improve access to coursework and
interventions. Studying the use of virtual options where one course is offered in one place. If you align Bell schedules, other students might be able to access them. That's something we're going to look at for the for the not next year, but for the year ahead. If we could go to the next slide, please.
Planning time. So this year we implemented new guidelines in partnership with MCE around planning time. We did collect a lot of feedback via survey on the impact of that planning time. 50% of teachers agreed that the current language
provides sufficient flexibility for meaningful collaborative planning. However, only 24% agreed that the shift to teacher planning time improved staff performance and morale. Some interesting feedback that I think we need to unpack and look at the importance of
clarifying, clarifying roles, responsibilities and expectations as we update our FAQ for the upcoming school year. If we go to the next slide, please. So a lot under this one. Safety and security, of course, remains our
foundational priority within the future. Ready strategic plan is measured within a wide range of indicators, including our incident, data attendance, school climate, and feedback from students, staff and families via our state survey survey, as well as our climate
survey. While we're seeing trends moving in a positive direction, we need to see those trends accelerate. In the coming year, we're going to evaluate the student ID initiative. We're going to expand Digital hall pass implementation. Door sensors
will be installed prior to the start of the school year, and we're enhancing our incident tracking systems. The launching of digital mapping for all schools and facilities will strengthen emergency response and specifically reunification procedures. We also are
redefining roles and responsibilities in that office for for next year to make sure that everyone has a clear understanding of the roles and responsibilities, expectations, and are working in a coherent and cohesive manner. We also are going to look at strengthening lunch supervision,
continuing to elevate weapon detection technologies, reestablishing which we have already quarterly meetings with the with our law enforcement partners and reviewing our memorandum of understanding with law enforcement. If we go to the next slide, please. So
attendance, there are some updates to the regulation for attendance for next year. One of the most significant is that. Let's see here. We want to. We
are. Let's see. So we're looking closely at the attendance regulation to see where improvements can be made, to further incentivize attendance and to consider adding a logical and culturally appropriate consequences when attendance does not improve.
Despite intensive interventions at the high school level. We're going to investigate some of the attendance practices that were used. I just want to highlight the for anyone that was at the Albert Einstein graduation ceremony, they have flipped chronic absenteeism
into being chronically present and awarded students that were under 10% absent with a cord. It resulted in in over 13% decrease in chronic absenteeism at Albert Einstein High School. So examining those practices
that are happening have led to results, is something that we are going to focus on moving forward. If we could switch to the last one. Thank you very much. So cell phones, we are going to be implementing away
all day K through 12 next school year. Survey results indicate that approximately 65% of our high school families support a total ban on personal mobile devices during the school day. Additionally, nearly 77% of families reported
that the purpose and expectations of the cell phone regulation were clearly communicated. As Doctor Taylor remind us, we have critical mass as we move forward as well with our matriculating middle school students experiencing away all day already. So we have those students that are
have experienced that that is a part of their school culture. We need to capitalize on that opportunity to extend it to grade 12. We are going to work closely with our school administrators over the summer to ensure that expectations and resources are clear and
consistent. This consistency across schools K through 12 will reduce confusion for the students, staff and families while supporting engagement, attention and positive learning environments. At this time, I'm going to pass it over to, I believe. Doctor Hamlet. Thank
you. Keep on. All right. All right. So next slide please. In the Division of Equity and Organizational Development this year really reinforced a fundamental lesson that implementation matters just as
much as policy and where adults are aligned and well supported outcomes held steady. Our leaders have been clear. They need more. They don't need more data, but they actually need the right data delivered promptly and in a form that they can act on. We also have
heard from our families who have asked for clarity and predictability regarding expectations and how we respond to student behavior, and we've heard them. And then with professional learning, we've learned that it has certainly has its greatest impact. When educators can apply it
immediately in their practice, not when it lives in an isolated workshop. And then we are also really trying to model that equity is not a separate initiative. It's actually a lever that is most effective when embedded directly into our instruction and our daily
operations. Next slide please. So with the code of conduct, we revised the Code of Student Conduct this year. And community feedback has made clear that further revisions are warranted for the 2627 school year. I want to be really clear about our intent.
This is not about lowering expectations, nor is it about moving toward zero tolerance. It's really about consistency and equity, ensuring that similar behavior receives a similar response, regardless of the student, and that our responses are not shaped, even
unintentionally, by bias. And where our data also reveals disproportionate outcomes, we treat that as a system to fix, not a reality to explain away. And we're also incorporating, as was mentioned earlier, digital safety and AI
guardrails, recognizing that student behavior increasingly extends into online spaces. Next slide please. In terms of our gender identity guidelines, we amended the guidelines to remain aligned with evolving law while preserving our commitment to supporting
students and families with clarity and care. Staff have consistently asked for two things. They've asked for clear implementation guidance, and they've asked for the opportunity to work through real scenarios. So we're really providing both. And then we
have an FAQ resource that's forthcoming that will address common questions proactively in an attempt to reduce confusion before it arises. But our focus is really moving forward is really about consistency, ensuring that every staff member feels prepared to
navigate sensitive situations appropriately. Next slide please. With our hate bias protocol, we've built a more structured and responsive system for addressing hate bias incidents with consistent reporting and response
expectations across our schools. One change that stands out is that we've shifted our language from intent to motivation, and that really keeps the focus where it belongs on impact and on the person or people who have been harmed. We're also confronting underreporting
directly. So the centralized tracking system that we launched this fall gives us genuine visibility into trends. And beginning this year, yellow tier incidents that were previously handled but never tracked are now captured in our data. And so we're moving in this direction as we
acknowledge that we cannot interrupt what we cannot see. And our plan is to keep tightening reporting at every tier until no incident falls through the cracks. Next slide please. With professional learning, as you heard earlier, we're advancing a unified
instructional vision. Its equity significance is direct strengthening. Our tier one instruction really broadens access to high quality learning for every student. Professional learning is how we achieve that vision built around practical strategies for our teachers
that they can apply immediately. We're also prioritizing professional learning of our school and district leaders. The research is unambiguous. School leadership ranks second only to classroom instruction among all school related factors affecting what students
learn, and its impact is greatest in schools that need it most. So investing in investing in our leaders is among the highest return on investment we can make in student outcomes, and that's based on research from the Wallace Foundation. But this work really does not happen in
isolation. System wide professional learning system wide equity and leadership development will be better aligned and moving in concert so that the message our leaders, teachers and staff receive is coherent and not competing.
We're also extending professional learning to our operational and non-instructional staff as well, in recognition that every adult contributes to the student experience. Next slide please. And then last, strengthening data systems and accountability
will be an intentional focus. This upcoming year. Data will be an intentional focus next year centered not on collecting more, but on making it easier to interpret and use at the school level. School leaders need systems that support timely decision making, not a
retrospective look at what has already occurred. And we're also raising expectations data that is timely and accurate internally and to our external partners is not a courtesy. It's actually an accountability we share. And one this office
must model first. This is not the work of one division. We're collaborating across technology services, teaching and learning, the Division of school leadership and improvement, and specialized support services to align on what is needed and when, who owns what and how the
pieces fit together so that roles and responsibilities are clear and not assumed. We're also formalizing collaborative data review cycles to strengthen shared ownership of student outcomes. We believe that accurate, transparent data is foundational to trust,
accountability, and equitable decision making and handled well. Our data becomes a matter of reputational reliance, not reputational risk. And the long term is really about building staff fluency so that every school uses these tools well and consistently. Last slide
please. Oh, actually I'm transitioning to someone new. Who's next? I think Kim. All right. All right. Good evening. My name is Kimberly Fields, chief technology officer for the Division of Technology Services. So ensuring that our
technology environment is scalable, maintainable, sustainable and supportable remains a primary objective. The EdTech Ecosystem Modernization Initiative is enabling greater curriculum alignment across multiple divisions by establishing a structured process to evaluate
and vet digital tools. This effort emphasizes the interoperability, requiring solutions to integrate seamlessly with existing systems, while also conducting an audit to eliminate redundancy and retire underutilized applications. In addition, making sure we are
aligned with procurement standards, data privacy requirements, and legal and regulatory compliance with respect to data intelligence. Evidence based decision making is central to the organizational success. There is definitely a clear shift in viewing the data and being able
to leverage it as a strategic asset that can inform planning and performance outcome, which is reflected in the development and use of complex data dashboards that we have developed. Maintaining infrastructure is critical to ensuring that network capacity can meet the bandwidth and performance demands of current
teaching and learning environments, network stability and cybersecurity resilience are critical, as we have seen with incidents, the ability to support a user base exceeding 190,000 individuals is evident as reliance on digital systems such as our financials, payroll,
learning management system and student information systems continue to grow. Cybersecurity has evolved from a reactive tactical function to a strategic priority, safeguarding critical systems and ensuring operational continuity are essential
components of this effort. Next slide please. For 2627, strengthening IT asset management for inventory management will provide an accurate lifecycle tracking, optimal utilization and cost efficiency. Concurrently
developing and updated IT school refresh plan will further assist in understanding equitable home access to devices and internet connectivity, informed by our stakeholder engagement. The launch of both short term and prolonged virtual learning plans has also been in coordination with the Division
of Teaching and Learning. This collaboration will provide continuity of instruction under potential varying conditions, a sustained focus on cybersecurity and data privacy will safeguard sensitive information while maintaining compliance with evolving state
and federal regulations. In parallel, creation of emerging technologies will be guided by instructional value, system compatibility, and cost. Establishing an IT project portfolio dashboard can enhance prioritization and execution oversight on projects.
Formalizing IT and data governance will provide accountability. The standardization and effective data stewardship, and these efforts become unified in a comprehensive two year strategic plan, aligning technology, organizational goals and delivering solutions. So then looking at 2728, the
launch of updated policies and regulations will establish clear standards for technology use, governance and compliance across the organization. While parallel focused efforts to reduce technical debt, which is our legacy hardware and software and systematically evaluate existing digital
investments which will improve system performance, eliminate inefficiencies and ensure resources are aligned with strategic priorities. Continued execution of initiatives guided by stakeholder engagement will continue to support consistency, adoption, and impact for having solutions effectively meet
instructional and operational needs. Next slide please. For the 2627 year, establishing a screen time strategy to determine a thoughtful, intentional, and balanced digital environment through stakeholder feedback, the use
and evidence based planning and cross-departmental collaboration with the Division of Teaching and Learning, Division of School Leadership and other stakeholder groups will be able to assist in developing an action plan with measurable goals. Understanding the impact for curriculum appropriate use, such as any
impacts on students with special services. Who needs access to technology outside of the school day? A professional development plan would be needed and a communication plan to schools and families. We understand that it will be critical to set clear expectations and boundaries when it comes to technology use.
This can occur through a policy or regulation. We want to make sure we monitor and evaluate as we go through this process. Lastly, we also want to make sure that we are in alignment with the Maryland State Department of Education. Now we'll turn this over to next
division. Next slide please. For the Division of Human Resources and Talent Management, several key themes emerged across the division during a year marked by budget uncertainty. We know that prioritizing our internal
workforce is the most effective stabilization strategy during times of transition, with a focus on preserving institutional knowledge and sustaining employee morale. We also identified a critical need to improve our ability to
leverage real time data and reporting, and that learning directly informs the fiscal year 27 roadmap for the development and automated dashboards. In collaboration with the Division of Technology Services. These real time dashboards will allow us to
better monitor key metrics such as vacancies, retention rates, and other workforce indicators to make more timely, informed decisions grounded in data. On the compliance side, updates to screening requirements, as
evidenced in regulation G and the Employee Code of Conduct, remind us that Human resources plays a critical role in maintaining safe, professional, and well managed systems for employees, contractors, and volunteers in labor relations.
Proactive engagement with our union partners remains centered. This ongoing work demonstrates that these productive relationships are essential to supporting a strong environment for our staff and students to meet, to best meet the needs of
all learners. Finally, we saw some important performance and growth indicators, including a strong fill rate and steady incremental gains in teaching, diversity, hiring, and which is a priority for the district.
Next slide please. This year's learning informs some of our key priorities for the upcoming school year and beyond, as we focus on continuing to strengthen the systems and practices that support a stable, effective workforce, we see a
major opportunity to reshape our progressive, I'm sorry, our professional growth system, allowing us to think more broadly about the manner in which we support, develop and retain employees across the organization through a high growth, multi-dimensional
coaching system. We are looking to incorporate new standards for cultural proficiency and the adoption of the eighth edition of Skillful Teacher HR regulations and practices will continue to be reviewed to ensure they are current, clear
and aligned with the needs of the district, and we are deploying a more targeted and strategic approach to actively engage possible career changers and dual certified teachers, tapping into their distinct passion and potential as a way
to address our hard to fill positions. These priorities reflect the lessons learned in the next phase of work toward a stronger, more productive HR ecosystem. With that, I'll turn it over to Miss Seabrook. Good afternoon again. Next slide
please. I want to start by giving a shout out to the Division of Legal Services, because we have handled a large volume of highly complex work this year, and we are a small but mighty team, and we never get to talk about our work
publicly. So I appreciate the opportunity. So in the interest of time, I'll just kind of hit some highlights on this slide for you. Just want to flag that litigation for us means trial. Everything in the trial and appellate courts, but it also
means things like state and federal discrimination complaints. We mean state and local board appeals there. And so you see that that is 70 plus so far this year in that category. And I want to highlight that the litigation team was able to reduce their
reliance on outside counsel significantly this year. And we have seen a decrease in legal fees, which is nice for us. I also want to flag here that we are growing in the area of transactions 250 plus. We work
closely with procurement on those. We see an uptick in Public Information Act requests. The communications team handles the bulk of those. We advise. We give legal advice on those.
We review those for legal sufficiency. The responses before they go out of the door. We also handle mediation and we handle. So what you don't see here is mediation and complaints to the state level
Public Information Act board. Those have also increased. So our mediations have doubled this year. And so those are on the rise. And that's an area that we see on the rise for next year as well. Subpoena responses also probably will
increase for next year. But that's a high volume. And that's what we've handled so far. 539 of those for this year. On the right hand side, you see the trending legal issues that we expect that have been
trending this year, and we expect to be trending into next year. Several constitutional and civil rights issues like free speech and religious freedom and protected class discrimination. Is there a whole host of employee issues
are on the rise? Special education, I already said, will increase, and data and privacy and technology contracts and issues are also things that we think will be trending into next year. Next slide please.
Okay, so these are some areas of strategic focus for us because as I said, the civil rights and constitutional issues are trending upward. We want to make sure that we review going into the next year what our policies and regulations say to make sure
for one thing, that we are compliant. But for another thing, that those processes are clear and easy to use for people who engage with those regulations and those processes. So we'll do a wholesale review of those things as well as our
appeal processes. We want to try to increase some training so that we are not always on the defense's defensive, but that we are proactively training schools on recurring issues. And we want to make
sure that we continue this trend of decreasing our reliance on outside counsel so that we can see a downward trend in those legal fees. Next slide. So here, and I think we've already hit on a few of
these. Here is the work that needs to be done on our regulations based on bills that were passed this year by General Assembly. So on the right hand side, you'll see more changes to the Maryland Values Act for 2026. We already
have an immigration response protocol that we have been enhancing and adding frequently asked questions to all school year. We've also already developed a protocol for off
campus and outside of the building issues, and what folks should do at bus stops and those kinds of things. So we've already distributed that. So in a in many ways, we may already be in compliance with a lot of what this bill has expanded
itself to do. We won't know fully until the Attorney General's office comes out with guidance, and their guidance is due by October 2026. We will look at their guidance, and we'll compare that with what we already have and decide whether or not we need to make any
changes there. Excused absences for civic engagement. We have already made changes to our regulation GARA that is posted. I don't think I said in the very beginning where things are posted. So just for clarity's
sake, our policy on our policy page on the M.C.P.S. policy page, in the left hand column, there is a tab for regulations under development. And if people click there, you will
see regulations in red line form that are under consideration right now and under development. And the public can now see what changes we're planning to make. So JEJEARA is posted and it
includes the excused absence. Now for civic engagement. So that's up. There is an enrollment a change in enrollment procedures for military families based on this House bill that was just passed, I am told by staff. So if we needed to make regulatory
changes, it would have been JEARB. But I'm told by our staff that we do some of the things that they are already, and those are changes that really impact us in practice rather than in regulation, and
that the teams who need to know this already know, and they're already good to go with getting practices changed by July 1st. So I think we are good to go in terms of compliance there. On the right hand side, you'll see
regulations that we need to change going into the 2728 school year. We already talked about that Artificial Intelligence Schools Act, and I believe that Chief Fields is already good to go in terms of she she understands what is in
that bill and ready to do some work around artificial intelligence. Even before this. 27, 2020 728 school year guidance will come from the state. So I think we're in good shape there for sexual abuse
and sexual misconduct. The state will release a model response policy that will impact our title nine policy. The regulation there is a C f, r a, which might not be showing
in your physical copy, but the regulation is a CFRA that we will need to revise once that model policy is released from Msde in 2728. And then the last piece is COGRA is our personal
mobile device regulation. We are already updating that for cell phones away all day. As you heard from Doctor Moran. Sorry. And so that that is that is a piece of this bill. Cell
phones away all day. So we will be complying with that this school year, the following school year. And the second piece of that regulation is a prohibition fo students accessing social media. And so going into the following school year, we will update that
regulation again. And we will include the prohibition for social media access. And that is it for me. Thank you. Last one, Mr. Mahmood. Yes, I was going to say I have the last two slides. I'll try to run through those fairly quickly.
If you could go to the next slide, please. I'm here to provide a quick update on the some of the major initiatives that we have completed over 2526 fiscal year. And then talk briefly about some of the initiatives that are coming up
for Division of operations. Some of the things that we have implemented this year school cleanliness inspections. We are using a standard industry wide standard, a PPA, to identify
strengths and growth areas and establishing benchmarks across all of our schools when it comes to facility operations as well as maintenance, we have implemented a new facility
prioritization model to help us recommend a historic capital improvement budget in FY 2027, which includes record investments in Hvac projects and aging facilities, as well as our aging infrastructure. The board just and thank you to
the board for approving our updated meal pricing in the last board meeting that will allow us to balance our enterprise funds going forward while we continue to take care of our free and reduced price eligible students. And then we have also completed a historic
boundary studies, including 31 middle schools and 19 of our high schools, with the board adopted boundaries going into effect beginning 2728 school years. Next slide please. So
for our 2627 outlook, we are definitely going to be focusing on implementing some of the major decisions in the secondary boundary studies and secondary program expansions. So our focus is going to be on implementing the operational side as well as transportation changes, which will include
consolidating bus routes and stops to create efficiencies, as we will have to deal with a lot of grandfathered students, both from the boundary studies as well as our program sunsetting. And then we will start conducting the closure and consolidation study at the
elementary and middle school levels. That was the boundary study scope that was approved by the board recently and then anticipated for 27, 28 and beyond. You know, working on transportation resource management to implement boundary reassignments,
conducting and implementing countywide elementary boundary study, and then effective use of our holding schools, which again, includes the current wooden building that would, you know, move to its new location in 27 and how we utilize that
as swing space to reduce disruptions and improve construction quality. That's a very quick update on operations. And I think that's the last slide. So open for questions.
Okay. Miss Stewart. Yes. Going back. Going back. Sorry. Had a question about. No, not on cell
phones. How about page 22. Safety. So at the bottom of that says reevaluate current
MOU with law enforcement. Is that also connected to. Our CEO model. And looking at that, is this how inclusive is this? Is this that part depends on really where the the board wants to go in future
discussions. We still have, as you learn from resolution, round up a little bit more engagement to go before we're ready to present any of those findings. It's been a number of years since we have updated the MOU. You are now several superintendents ago and a few
police chiefs ago in a couple of the agencies that have signed off on your last version of your MOU. So there is really a time where just to stay healthy as an organization, to look at the clauses and to say, you know, what's working,
what's not working, and where could there be improvements with just really a continuous improvement mindset? Excellent. I just want to make sure there's plenty of community engagement, because there will
be a lot of input that will be given. I'm sure there's going to be a lot of interest. So I want to be very clear about this in some aspects of the MOU. That makes a lot of sense, in particular as it may pertain to the C, E o program or the SRO
program. And then in other aspects. Absolutely not. This has to do with how law enforcement and the school system interact with one another as agencies and, and not really subject to public engagement. I guess this is why I was asking if this included
the CEO, because I just want to make sure like we're okay. Thank you. Next is. Division of Equity and Organizational
Development. I was looking at the note about suspension. Suspension trends and then a page later on 26, a note about shift away from immediate
suspensions. So I'm just towards clear warnings, counseling and interventions. And will there be more detail about this presented to the board? Because yeah, it's just two different statements there.
And I'm curious how we are going to work through that. Sure. So the data that was referenced is what we've seen this school year. And then the next slide shares more about what we anticipate in the years moving forward and the things
that we know we need to focus on as a result of that data. I hope that makes sense. So we would expect to see those going down if there's more clear warnings counseling and interventions. Correct? That's right. Okay. So I think that's
a good thing. Those are the kind of things we want to happen moving forward for equity purposes. And just more of a intervention mindset instead of a after the fact.
That's right. Mindset. And then also. I went on to page 28. Provide dedicated workshop and learning opportunities for parent and community
organizations under hate bias protocol, and also more professional learning. I'm just curious about that second bullet point. Do we do any of that today? Do we have workshop and learning opportunities for
parents and community organizations? Some of the opportunities is really through some of our parent partner groups like the Bbsc, our parent council. But we are talking about doing really
dedicated professional learning for our staff, but also opportunities to share with parents about the hate bias protocol. More specifically, that is about our the statement I made about confronting the underreporting directly. We we
recognize that that is asue with some of our student groups and community groups. And so we want to be really targeted about making sure that we're sharing information about our hate bias protocol. The reason I ask about the dedicated workshop and learning opportunities is because we
talk about school culture, and the school culture is really a community effort, right? And so including workshops for parent community organizations, in my opinion, could build a
community culture. So thank you for including that and clarifying and. On to 30 is the I was thinking about what you
are planning for. 2627 and I was thinking about an older system we had called an equity model. So. As we are strengthening data systems and accountability, how can parents
know about their school? Will there be any kind of sharing about this data with parents and community? Even like if you went to your school's website would be information about that,
how they're doing? Yes. So that's what, when I was referring to the collaboration with multiple departments, I think we need to be more specific and clear about the data points that we are sharing. Those that are certainly required to share publicly, but
also utilizing some of the dashboards that we already have in place and being very specific about what dashboards we have, what their intended use is, and for what audience. And so there's some clarity we need to provide in those spaces
and make sure that we're all on the same page with the multiple departments that collaborate on data accountability and sharing. Thank you. I understand we want to keep some things in house, but also we want to know how our schools are doing as a parent, as you're looking. And
then kind of to help us help hold us accountable as well. And speaking of dashboards, my last comment is about some of our operations. I didn't see communications department in
here. This is something I've talked to our technology department about. But on our school website, I was here, I just checked my local elementary school website, Woodland Elementary, and I'm like, is there a link to
certain reports there? Is there even a link to the profile dashboard? And I did not see on the school website, not on our overall website. So again, parents sometimes go to their
website. And then if there would be, you know, on the side links, for instance, their water quality report, radon reports, and then also our profile dashboard, which maybe we would even want to add some
of these things onto a profile dashboard. I just think that one stop shop could be easier for people in general. I don't know if that's anything that we are working on. Watch a review of what should be on our
website. Individual for schools. So we definitely are going to be embarking on a couple of projects related to our website related to sort of overhauling and prioritizing aspects of our website. But I think the, the
key that you're highlighting of the interaction between the Central Hub website, if you will, and each of the schools is again, an area that, that we, that we do want to look at. I will say this is a big project, right? We. So on the one hand, we've got a lot of pieces to
our website that we can streamline, but we also want to be careful to archive and. And we want to be sure that when we set up this structure, we do it in a really thoughtful way that makes those connections the, the way that we want them to last. So hearing these comments and absolutely agreeing with them. Again, this is among our
among our communications projects for the next year, for sure, along with our technology partners. Let me just not forget to bring in my friend there. Thank you so much. Because, you know, I even get texts sometimes from even fellow legislators. Like, where
can I see the water report? I'm like, oh, we should this should be so easy. Thank you. So many questions. So little time. So I'll be quick. And if you can be quick as well, I would
appreciate that. Page 25. Suspension trends. Suspension trends, increases in school and out of school suspensions signal that we are a district that does not suspend frequently. Okay, I understand
that or in full alignment with the code of conduct. Now I'm confused. That's why I I'll explain. Very, very old habits die hard. And so when we've updated the code of conduct,
what might have been the practice in the school for some period of time may not have fully caught with the administrators in terms of updating their practice to align with changes to the code of conduct. And so as we're
auditing this past year and disciplinary infractions and how they were handled, there may be inconsistency between schools that we need to close. Okay. Thank you. Gender identity. So we heard some
really. Troubling testimony today. So I think that would be covered with our second bullet in terms of professional learning and guidance to support schools and families. Correct. Just wanted to can't
talk about gender identity guidelines and not address the testimony that we heard today, page 35 HR where is our work with reviewing staff evaluations, teacher principals
and so forth, kind of our system for evaluations? I don't see it here, so I'll be happy to take that one. I think that that has been a significant focus of the work this year around principal accountability and feedback with the director,
so I can speak to it from the principal lens first, in terms of reviewing that throughout the course of the year, and then having a review process over the summer. So looking at all the evaluations and ensure there's consistency in alignment as we're as we're doing them, similar with the,
with the evaluations of, of teachers ensuring one that we are at 100% completion. And then that's, that's the first part that we really need to make sure that we're at. And then looking at the quality of the feedback that is being
given to our teachers in alignment with the professional growth system and ensuring that those two things are happening. I think right now, we we want to make sure that we're at 100% completion on, on time and with our evaluations. But I think the next step that will take place over the summer into next
year, as we look at the professional growth system, is the quality of evaluations. Yeah. So I think that that speaks to the second part of what you said is what if I'm not mistaken, that's what you're really interested in is what are we doing to revise the
system, the professional growth system in our evaluation system, because it is about to go through a pretty significant overhaul. So I don't know if, Renee, if you want to add to what Doctor Moran just said, thanks, Peter, for adding that. I was just going to say that, you know, the PGS system is due
for a refresh. And given the fact that we are focusing on the latest edition of Skillful Teacher, we want to ensure that there is a direct connection between our expectations for teachers, administrators and support staff. And so we also want to be sure that that is
also reflected in the standards that we're going to update for the new PGS system. So this is an opportunity. We are just beginning the the formation of our work group. We've had one meeting and we continue. We expect to continue that work throughout the course of the coming school year. Okay. And
last but not least and Mr. you could get back to me if this is this is a little bit off topic, but we since you covered operations and we heard from McGruder about their lack of access to girls locker room, if we could talk afterwards about why that's happening and how it
could be remedied. Sure. We'll definitely take a look at that. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. My turn. Can I just piggyback on since we're talking about HR and we're talking about valuations. But one of the
things that we have brought up repeatedly, at least since I've been on this board, is exit interviews. And I don't see that. I'm sure you you have a plan for it. But one of the
things that we keep hearing and wondering is the worth of having exit interviews being done by a third party versus our own folks who they might, they might, they might, you know, they might be at the
mercy of them recommending them for a job. So they really are not going to be as honest as they can to give a candid, candid review as an exit interview. So you don't have to answer that right now. I hope that is in the works. Or if you
if you want to answer, that's great. Sure. I mean, I certainly think that is an important question and concern that you're bringing forward. We at this point, exit interviews are voluntary, of course, but we do encourage employees to share their experience with us so that as we are continuing to, again,
think about how we are retaining our highly qualified staff, we do want to hear that feedback. And so that is a work in progress, and we will certainly circle back with you with more information that that is that is that is great. You want to you want to tag. Yeah. Okay. Because this is something
that both of us have said since we got on the board recently. I heard from one school, there are a lot of teachers leaving this year. However, when asked,
school administrators have reasons why staff members are leaving when parents have other reasons why staff members are leaving. So this is to the
point of miss Vera made that we need exit interview, but we need it to be conducted by the third party. If someone's going to continue to work for M.c.p.s. They're not going to tell their
existing supervisor what their real reason for leaving, if it's other than what they stated in their Google form or, or casual conversation. So for
us, even we cannot do it system wide, which I understand it comes with a financial cost. But when we see trends like certain school trends, certain subject trends that we should
be able to do spot checked and have a better understanding of the true reason, that's how we can improve our work. Thank you. Thank you, Miss Yang. I am. Attendance back to Peter. So
there was a lot. There was a lot that transpired since you you you talked about attendance and enrollment, but there was something you said that caught my attention. I just want some clarity on you talked about, I think, a focus of logically and culturally. I just wanted to understand what that meant. So
we need to analyze the interventions that we're providing and if they're effective or not. And I think a key part, and it kind of goes back to the theme of the professional growth system around culturally responsive strategies, instructions. And our findings, even from the audit, is we don't have a standard in our professional
growth system for culturally responsive teaching. So in terms of the, the attendance component, doing an audit and looking at the effectiveness of the interventions that we're putting in place, having focus groups and conversations with students about what it is they
need and that we may not be providing. So we've seen things work in schools, and this kind of goes back to a theme that we often have with conversations. There are things that have worked really, really well at schools around culturally responsive interventions that have been effective, taking
those and making them a standardization across all of our specifically our high schools where we've seen, you know, ups and downs with with chronic absenteeism. I got you. Okay. And there is a peer review submit absence. What does that mean? I'm sorry, can you repeat that? This is the
what we anticipate for 2027 2028 and beyond. Parent view submit absence. So the so we have we need to upgrade the reporting from our our our parent community. We've run into some. Some, some people
relying on old technology and, and just ensure that all parents have an understanding of how they can submit, why their student is not in school. And I mean, frankly, we still have many places that are, are kind of old school relying, relying on notes that come in
and just ensuring that our parents. And that goes back to the culturally responsive piece that people have knowledge of, of, of, and that we're training back to Doctor Hamlet's point that we're training parents, that they understand what the tool is, how to access it, how to utilize it so that it's not
just accessible to those that may have the, the, the direct resources to, to the technology. Yes. I really appreciate that because that's an important component. And I hope we're still doing the old school of the phone call, are we? We are. And we're going to have to
train people to use landlines again here this fall with cell phones away all day. They are. Touché. But yes, we should. The last question I have is on hey,
bias protocols there was that we're changing from intent to motivation. Can I just have what is what is that mean? What does that look like? Like, what is it? What is what is the difference? Intent versus
motivation. So the legal definition that we should have been using all along was motivated by. And so that is an attempt to really align with the legal definition. Intent is a little bit harder to prove.
Yes. Right. And so motivate motivated by gives us some leeway based on the surrounding circumstances. Okay. Thank you so much for that. Is, I think, a very important clarification. Okay. Anyone else? This was a lot. I feel like we should get
a master's degree after this presentation. Just looking forward to some communication to schools and families about the the bite size version of this, what they need to know for the upcoming year. Excellent work. Thank you so much. We we appreciate you. But
I do also want to piggyback. I think it was Miss Stewart one of you. I'm so sorry, ladies. Who said we're kind of missing that communication piece? Report. Our communication department has done amazing
things all year, and, and I, I really think that it's that is one thing that without it, none of this really is, is possible or, or being able to engage the parents or the culture part and
so on. So not that I want to have another long report, but I would really appreciate if we could just have an idea, because they also deserve not just recognition for their work, but their work is very, very important, especially when we
went through, through the redistricting, that team was very, very vital in getting the information, the feedback and the cultural components, the languages and so on. So I would just, you know, I know you're not at the table communications,
but I want to just acknowledge that your work was also amazing this year, and we could not have done it without you. Okay. With that being said, where are we? We still have. Thank you all. Thank you, thank you. Safe
travels. Blessings. New business auditing student screen time K through eighth. Yes. Exciting. This is not 41
pages long. This is one page. All right. Okay. So and and I first before this is called auditing students screen time K
to eight. Before I begin, I want to say thank you. I want to thank the parents who came to do testimony today. And they
were Mr. Okubo and Miss Houseman, who gave a heartfelt testimony. And Miss Kass all highlighting. They're concerned
about their students screen time use. I also want to thank MCPs, PTA Technology Committee and many parents who wrote to us wondering how we can best
use technology or screen time expressed screen time concerns in schools, and I also want to thank my colleagues. Miss Stewart, Miss Zimmerman and Miss Montoya, and as well as
well as Superintendent Thomas Taylor for giving feedback and collaborate on this resolution. I. I think this is in tandem with the presentation we just had. This is wonderful. So some
may ask, why now? Why are we introducing a resolution now? We're in the middle of significant challenges, a difficult budget and many other pressing priorities. But you
know what? Our work on behalf of the students should never stop. Even as we tackle today's challenges, we must continue looking ahead to the issue that impacts students learning,
well-being and success. And this is one of them. Over the past few years, concerned about students, screen time has grown nationwide. Last year, the U.S. surgeon general called for
stronger warnings and greater awareness about the impact of excessive screen use on children and adolescents. Researchers and authors such as Jonathan Haidt in the anxious
Generation, have raised important questions about the relationship between technology, mental health, attention and childhood development. So technology is an important tool
in education. It can expand access, personalized learning and prepare students for the future. Technology is a tool, not the goal. As educators, we have a responsibility to ensure
that our use of technology is evidence based, age appropriate and balanced with the proven benefit of direct instruction, hands on learning movement, social interaction and play.
Now, this resolution does not begin with assumptions. It begins with questions. It asks us to gather data, understand how much screen time our students are experiencing,
evaluate the effectiveness of our safeguards, and determine whether they are opportunities to improve. I believe, as all of us here do, that our students deserve learning environments that maximize both
achievement and well-being. This review is about ensuring that we're using every tool, including technology, thoughtfully, responsibly, in the best interests of children we serve. So with that, I would
like to read the resolve portion of the resolution. Okay. Resolve that the board encourages the responsible use of digital devices, reserving screen time for activities
where technology offers clear, independent, evidence based instructional advantages, resolved that M.c.p.s will conduct a comprehensive review of student's screen time and
digital tool use, and prepare and deliver to the board no later than March 2027, a report that one quantifies average daily and weekly screen time for students in elementary and
middle school. During the school day, distinguishing between instructional and non-instructional use and including program specific caveats and assessments when appropriate. Two assesses
whether there are opportunities to reduce screen time exposure in age appropriate ways, and three assesses the effectiveness of content filters and blocks to protect students from using school
issued devices to assess harmful or inappropriate content. Four provides a recommendation regarding district wide guidance for age appropriate screen time, and
five outlines the anticipated cost, benefits, and operational impacts of any proposed changes. Conolly. This is an introduction of auditing
student screen time K to eight. Thank you. Back to you. Okay, so I believe this has to sit for public comment. So we just need a second. Is that my understanding. Correct. I'll second. Okay. So moved by Miss
Yang and second by Miss Stewart. And I don't even think we need to vote. I think you just know this Rivera-Oven I would I would as a follow up. Yes. While we wait for the next meeting, I'd like to understand how the superintendent would
operationalize this to better understand. Are we going to survey teachers? Are they going to do some back back technology tricks to figure that out? Just so that I can understand the, the, the amount of staff time that this will take to happen,
we will prepare that for the next meeting. Great. And I like to see that you already have it in your. Correct. I was I was going to say if great minds think alike, if if the folks who came in to testify and the others who came testified before, before this page 33 and
the presentation today talks a lot about the survey, the screen time, develop an action plan, review the tools, develop professional development, dedicate district web pages, and so on and so forth. I appreciate that. Yeah, that the
work pretty much has already started. So thank you very much, Miss Yang. Appreciate it. And now we're going to move on to the next item, which is I believe that is the. The, the
advisory committee that Miss Zimmerman brought to us, the Advisory Committee on Communications and Community Engagement Memberships. So that set. And now we have to vote on it today. So. I need somebody
to move it. And we do. We have five. We do? Yeah. What do I do to move for the motion to vote. Communications and community engagement. Membership motion.
Thank you. Is there a second? Second. Okay. Moved by Miss Second by Miss Stewart. All those in favor, please raise your hand. Mr. Miss Silvestre, miss Yang, myself and miss. Thank you so much. Is there any.
Do we have this? No, we're already done. We're done. We done? Okay. Thank you very much. And that motion carries. We will let Miss Zimmerman know. All right. Madam President, I volunteer to read the information summaries if you'd
like. I know, thank you. Yes. Please do. Okay. No. Thank you. All right. Okay. Motion to adjourn. There's a motion to adjourn. Is there a second? Second. There's a motion to
adjourn. Second by Miss Silvester. All those in favor to adjourn, please raise your hand. And that will be Mr. Miss Silvester, miss Yang, myself and Miss Maloof. Thank you so much. Have safe travels,
everyone. Meeting's adjourned.