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good evening the time is now 6 o' we're going to call the March 10 2025 Oak Park Board of Education meeting to order GRE please call the rooll Clark here present Elvin here Madison here
Scott here Harryman tanks here and Ty here okay uh we do have a quorum the agenda was um circulated prior to the meeting uh are there any questions on the agenda hearing none without objection we
pass a motion to uh affirm the agenda by unanimous consent is there an objection to doing so somebody got an objection I apologize all good I'm just messing with all right um hearing none the agenda is hereby
approved we will go to the approval of the consent agenda uh the consent agenda has two items on it meeting minutes from February 24th and action items from today's date any questions on the consent
agend okay without objection we pass a motion to approve the consent agenda by unanimous consent is there an objection to doing so hearing n consent agenda by approved we go to item number four which is presentations students of the month Mr
abdad thank you president Alvin welcome everyone uh to pack house and so what we're going to ask is we always start with the little ones and what we are asking is as the principales up there if
your child and you or anyone else that's coming if you could come up there with with your child and and then after the principal presents if I could have you guys direct your attention to me so I could with your permission take some
pictures and we'll post them on our social media and then after after leser we'll go leser another ele all the way up to high school and then our board president will then give us time to recess for those that don't want to stay
and then if you want more pictures outside or um out there you're welcome to do so with that being said welcome um director North and as a caveat they're going to
try to one up each other so let me prepare you guys for that hello Hi how are you guys okay excuse okay all right good evening everyone thank you for joining us tonight I'm so happy
to see everybody's face Bard so nice to see you our cabinet and our families that came to support our leser Rebels and our other o Park students we are going to kick it off with leser for our student of the month at leser we are leser Rebels resilient empowered
brilliant ethical loving and self assured and tonight I have two young um individuals that really exhibit those traits so I'm going to start off by letting Miss Mullen introduce our first uh student of the month Gabrielle K good
evening to our superintended Mr adul laad and our cabinet our Board of Education I just want to be proudly so finally of this girl she is truly one of my favorite people so I'm going to just share a
little bit about her and then we'll go into what the teacher the the reason the teacher chose Gabrielle so Gabrielle is just a light of sunshine she's a little boss where she she bosses everybody around but she
does it out of love she wants to make sure everything is in order and she has a lot of friends that just truly adore her so I want to just say Gabrielle great job girl and Miss
Ling mentioned that Gabrielle is being recognized as student of the month she is resilient confident and has great leadership qualities she shines brightly in the classroom she embodies empowerment Brilliance and kindness
always lifting others up with her positive spirit she watches you take initiative especially when leading the message board and it has truly been inspiring she has not only learned but have also taught and shared knowledge
with her classmates she's a true Mark of a leader and as her your teacher she is so proud of you Gabrielle and grateful to learn from you as well and she wants you to keep shining Gabrielle so good
job come on come on up gab we're going to pictures this is the Gabrielle kah okay ready at all times Gabrielle we have a certificate for you we also have piston tickets for you we also have a lesser
Rebel bear and you also get a ler t-shirt wait um so she gets all she gets all of that for being our student of the month come [Applause] on come
a picture come do we want to stand this over there okay I'm hold [Applause] yes like you I have our next student of the month
who I'm so excited he's one of our young fives who are they're killing it in all aspects they just a Wonderful class of students I'm so excited about this young man it's Camden Lake and I'm going to have his teacher Mr Maha come up and speak the cand
[Applause] nomination good evening everyone good evening today we are here to celebrate a very special student our student of the month Camden Lake Camden is amazing he
is the embodiment of a good kid a friend to genuinely everyone Camden is sweet patient smart and always ready to help others whether he's working hard in the classroom sharing with his friends or showing kindness to everyone around him
I can always count on Camden to be an example for his peers already at 5 years old Camden is more of a man than most he is definitely one of the boys with his energy level his rough housing
at recess and his love of the Vikings but that doesn't stop him from being a true gentleman he holds doors open for any girl whether she is a student or a teacher he helps anyone in need of assistance and he is always the
first to offer an upset friend a hug Camden always comes to school with a big smile and a positive attitude he loves to learn listens to his teachers and treats everyone with respect Camden is a true friend to his classmates and a wonderful part of our school family
Camden I am so proud of you keep shining keep learning and keep being the awesome kid that you are [Music] [Applause] congratulations here's your's
your and then you also have piston tickets your Rebel bear and your Rebel shirt here you go you're welcome come on step up here come grandma
[Music] hi hi thank you yes come on thank you okay so now I get the I have the opportunity and the pleasure to
introduce I want to make sure I introduce the next one is it oh okay she blew me a kiss I know it is all right next we get to uh introduce Sarah P Sarah Miss prola West who is the proud principal of Einstein I'm G say it for where they
shine come on up everybody's [Applause] jealous good evening evening she already introduced me Sarah Provena West I am the principal at Einstein Elementary School where we Rise by lifting others
so that everyone can shine um I have two students of the month one of them I called them right before again today because they had confirmed but mother informed me that she has her to um her she has a cough and doesn't want to spread germs to everybody so I still want to honor Miss
Stephanie Oda um she is a kindergartener at Einstein Elementary School she has a kind heart Stephanie she says good morning to her classmates and makes sure she says goodbye each day before she leaves if a classmate arrives late she greets them and tells them good morning
she lets them know she is happy they are there if a friend has an early dismissal and needs to leave she always takes time to say goodbye Stephanie hates to see anyone upset she will Comfort any student she's sees crying she will go up to them hug them and wipe away their tears if needed she will hug adults too
if she thinks they need one she tries her best every day to show kindness to everyone she meets and we are so lucky to have such a kind and loving student in our class and that is for M Stephanie [Applause]
OA and next we have Mr Joseph Martinez Gonzalez come on [Applause] so we are lucky to have Joseph and two of his siblings and they are here they're going to come up with us when it's time to take pictures but we have
Eddie and Ariana and they um Joseph and Eddie joined us last year speaking no English directly from Honduras right Honduras yep directly from Honduras speaking zero English and um are just the sweetest so I'm going to read what his teacher says about instead of my me
pontificating I'll do that afterwards Joseph consistently exempli look this way well you can look any Joseph consistently exemplifies kindness in the classroom and throughout the school he is typically quiet most times but has no problem sharing helping
or giving to his peers and his teachers I always notice how kindly he treats his siblings he also makes them feel welcome since starting at Einstein this year Joseph has such a sweet soul with a big heart and he is a pleasure to have in class this year thank you
Joseph he is a very very kind big brother his little sister Ariana started in kindergarten partway through the year and really needed help and Joseph was there to take care of her every single day and so get you a little game it's called
word of melon to practice words at home right with the family and then and for okay so we're going to go this way and go okay first was their teacher was Joseph's teacher
last year Eddie's teacher this year [Applause] who am I introducing next key so next I have the honor to introduce the esteemed principal of Key Elementary School Miss Tamila
[Applause] Prince thank you so much Sarah good evening everyone good evening my name is Tamil prin and I am the proud principal of Key Elementary and I am proud to acknowledge several of our students
today um first Marcus Harvey Marcus Harvey is our student of the month um for showing our key core value of positivity there are so many reasons that I chose Marcus Harvey to be the student of the month for showing
positivity he actively participates in discussions shows respect towards peers and teachers engages in learning activities celebrates others the success of others and maintains a positive attitude for this month our class has
been working on giving positive affirmations to each other and here are a few of the respon comments that students have made about Marcus he encourages helps and cheers other students on Marcus is a very kind kind
person and once when I was down he cheered me up he shows kindness when I feel down he helps me feel better and he makes everyone get a smile on their face and that's from his teacher Miss blades we are so proud of you Marcus and I
didn't see Marcus Marcus I didn't see him here tonight but we still want to acknowledge Marcus um and then I have one of my teachers Mr Jameson and he will present the next un of the month okay good evening everybody um my
student of the month couldn't make it here but her name is mamoy and um I would be remissed if I I'm sorry I Marcus just
[Applause] forus to fellow classmat said about him you don't mind I to read that again okay so Marcus Miss blades and your fellow classmat said that there's this blade said there are so many reasons that she
chose you as the student of the month for showing positivity she said he actively participates in discussions shows respect towards peers and teachers engages in learning activities celebrate successes of others and maintains a
positive attitude for this month our class has been working on giving positive affirmations to each other and here are a few of what comments that the students have to say about you Marcus so Gio said that you are you are you encourage him you help him you cheer
other students on Marcus is a very kind person and once when I was down he cheered me up that was from Leilani he shows kindness from Angela when I feel down he helps me to feel better Adon said that he makes everyone
get a smile on their face and that was from air and so your class and this blade says we are so proud of you Marcus congratulations for being the student of the [Applause]
over here you ready yes all [Applause] right thank you to meet you awesome job Marcus um and um actually one of the students that gave my affirmation shares the same first name
as me Adonna so we thank you that you're blessing all the Adonis out there um yeah so mamoy my student she couldn't be here tonight but I still wanted to read about her because she is very deserving of this award mamoy mamoy is a student who consistently brings positive energy
to the classroom she greets her classmates and and myself with a warm smile every day um as well as her other uh cohort teacher Miss Brown creating a welcoming atmosphere even when faced with challenging assignments MIM Moy
maintains a can do attitude encouraging others to keep going and stay motivated she often offers help to classmates who are struggling patiently explaining uh Concepts in a way that makes them easier to understand um I use a proficiency scale in my class and she's always at a
four so she's willing to help bring those twos up to a three um during group activities mimo always looks for strengths of her peers making sure to acknowledge their uh contributions and create a collaborative environment overall mimo positively not only helps
her succeed but also inspires others to approach school with a better perspective so I know she's not here but if we clap loud enough I'm sure she'll feel our affirmation [Applause]
thank you so much Mr Jameson and Marcus and my moer are key students of the month and so next I will like to bring up Mr Haley the proud principal of pepper [Applause] Elementary good evening everyone
evening it is with great honor I present our um first grade teacher Supreme at pepper elementary school and she will do the introductions of the pepper students of the MTH Miss Teisha
Smith good evening everyone um sadly neither one of my students are here um Christian which is one of my students of the month he's a former Rebel so I just wanted to say that and so the other one um Mariah Murphy unfortunately Christian
he tried to hang in there he's so dedicated to learning he was not feeling well today so I had to send him home and I was asking him all day I'm like are you okay he's like I'm okay I'm like Christian no you're not you're going home buddy so anyhow I just wanted to see still share some information about
both of them so Mariah has excelled in reading and writing Mariah engages in meaningful discussions with her classmates she approaches challenges with a listening ear and works hard to understand what she needs to do to excel she consistently shows P perseverance in
our subjects and what truly sets Mariah apart is her compassion and empathy to help others so we can just give a round of applause for Mariah thank you all so much and Christian Christian Bill G Christian Bill Johnson I'm sorry I don't want to
forget his last name Christian has consistently demonstrated a passion for Learning and an unwavering d ation to his work he is extremely focused on completing all of his assignments and is always ready for the next task with the positive attitude he truly has a love
for learning let's give a round of applause for Christian thank you all so [Applause] much so I do want to share that um Christian was in school today but he had had a fever of
103° so Miss Smith I don't know might be something floating around your classroom yes he did but I would now like to present um my colleague um principal Rita Williams of the Oak Park High School
[Applause] okay good afternoon everyone my name is reita Williams I'm the principal at o Park High School home of the nights we're located on the
Boulevard and I am going to present two senior Scholars for student of the month the first scholar that I am going to present is Sarah Dio let's give her a round of [Applause]
applause Sarah is a Sor give her a round of applause she's graduating okay so Sarah was nominated by her teacher Miss Fuller according to Miss Fuller Sarah is the epitome of what it means to be an Oak Park night
from the moment she arrived at Oak Park she faced significant challenges including language barriers and the disruption of the pandemic yet she never allowed these obstacles to hinder her success instead she demonstrated resilience dedication and Relentless a
Relentless drive to excel though naturally shy Sarah has continuously pushed herself Beyond her comfort zone conquering her fears and growing into a confident leader among her peers a shining example of this was her role as
our co-host of the black history month program in February despite her initial fear she Embrace The Challenge and her presence on stage helped make the event a resounding success her encourage determination and ability to bring joy
to others exemplify the spirit of Opark Sarah's journey is one of perseverance and transformation she is more than deserving of the student of the month recognition and Miss Fuller is confident that she will continue to inspire ire those around her it is with great
pleasure the Oak Park High School administration recognizes our senior Knight Sarah Dio as our recipient of the month for March [Applause] you're welcome okay our next recipient of the
month is also a 25 graduate let's give him a round of applause his name is philli Bernie come on up [Applause] Phillip so we love Phillip uh everybody
loves Phillip and um after I share with you what his teachers have stated you'll love him too so Philip was nominated by his teacher Miss Gretchen O'Neal according to miss O'Neal Philip has shown P persistence in achieving above and beyond his goals he has always
willing to help others across the board Philip's teacher states that he is a pleasure to have in class he has a great attitude and works extremely well with others Miss Fuller describes him as a highly intelligent and energetic scholar
his peers love him and he was homecoming [Applause] King Philip likes to try new things he's a natural leader and you might catch him on the track running with our Ops track team it is with great pleasure that the
Oak Park High School administration recognizes and presents our senior Knight Philip Bernie as our second recipient for scholar of the month for [Applause] March come on up Mom
[Applause] and next we will hear from uh Oak Park Preparatory Academy I believe assistant principal Mr janaka Sanders will be introducing the blue Knight scholar of the month
[Applause] good evening everyone good evening how's everyone doing okay hot little warm in here too all right um my name is janica Sanders I'm the proud assistant principal o par Preparatory
Academy and today I will be presenting two outstanding um Awards student the month Awards to two great students we have at OPA the first one is deay
[Applause] Thomas okay demaya has been chosen for student of the month because her teachers State she constantly strives for personal and academic growth she has a helpful and
polite personality that is a pleasure to have them CL due to her academic strengths in Pleasant demeanor she has been recommended for the National Junior Island Society keep up the good work tonight [Applause]
yes be [Applause] Pell to do it ready that's how they do it the next student of the month award goes to Corey Irvin
[Applause] okay Corey has been chosen for student other month because he is an overall excellent student he is very responsible and hardworking he takes pride in his work and give his best daily in addition
he has a good relationship with classmate and is a joy to have in the classroom he is a true pleasure to have as an open night keep up the good work for [Applause]
[Applause] oh next who will be who will be presenting their student of the month is Mr faul he is the proud principal of Nova [Applause]
Academy as always last with the cable toe is here and we would we really enjoy everyone and we want to really bring our staff up come on up Miss Clan and Miss Bron so they they can introduce our students of the
month we have two fantastic students and we're gonna start with Andrea Andrea Johnson fresh come on up good evening good evening I love to
come talk to this body about my students um Mr faul is always terrified I'm going to talk to you all night long and it's a legitimate fear so let's just understand how where he is um the reason I love coming here though is because we
do a lot at Nova and we get a lot done in a very little amount of time but we could not do what we do without the students stepping up for themselves showing up for for themselves and putting their shoulder into what they're
doing and tonight our freshman Honore Miss Andrea Johnson is somebody I have had the pleasure of teaching this is my second year teaching Andrea in a row and I cannot tell you how much she's grown as a young lady how much she has
blossomed as a student how much she has thrived in our campus and she is an integral part of everything that we do at Nova beyond that though I learned not too long ago watching a TED talk right we can learn so much from Ted Talks that
turns out whether you're a student in school or an adult in the workplace or on any Spectrum in life turns out that the biggest marker for Success isn't privilege or access or education or confidence or any of those things that
we've always thought it was I was the most surprised person to learn that grit is the difference between success and mediocrity this young lady embodies it from the top of her head to the bottom of her toes Andrea
[Music] Johnson for you all right SP that's what teenagers like to do is spend there yay [Applause] okay our next fantastic student uh is
not here yet but his daddy is so come on one of our fantastic parents have enough time to take a picture yeah and it is amazing because uh we I'm Mrs Branson at Nova and we have been trying to publicly recognize
this young man for a couple of months now it's been different things going on where their presentations had to be canceled or uh rescheduled and it's just amazing that yes this is the time that we want to make sure we celebrate him because he is a senior at Nova one of
our students who realized that challenges are ahead and he was not afraid to put in the work necessary to achieve the goals that he's trying to obtain and one of the things that he did uh I want to acknowledge Him for is that at Nova we wanted to start our own
little student council we have less than 150 students so you can only imagine you know the challenges it was the challenges that we had trying to encourage students to take on leadership roles and U communicate in front of
their own peers and I just want to say after some long cering and encouragement from the fellow other teachers Robert is one of our treasurers at our in inside of our Nova uh student council and I just want to commend him
because although he is a Treasurer he acts more like the president so bright things are in this young man's future and again this is for Robert Thompson our senior at Nova Academy and this is his father right here so we just want to acknowledge Him and thank you for coming out and although he is driving I was
trying to talk a long time to see if he pull up before we take a picture so again Robert Thompson our NOA Academy student on the month three [Applause] peat somebody take this picture somebody
take picture picture picture picture I'm going to take a picture no I'm sorry okay do you want to do [Music] [Applause]
[Music] that I is Mr Hale here he's not here but the teacher here oh come pepper Panther come on thank you so much so my student Mariah Murphy she just made it here so I do
want to acknowledge her if I can Mariah can you come on down with [Applause] me so I was saying that Mariah she's a former Rebel this is her first year with pepper so I did just want to tell
everyone how how well you're doing in class okay so this is what I had to say about you okay you've been doing so well in reading or writing I am extremely proud of you I know you've been over there chatting but I know why you over there chatting okay I know that you are helping others right that you're helping
Kyrie yes and so I do appreciate that you are showing compassion and empathy for others okay so today we want to celebrate you for working really hard in class okay and for doing your best all right and for I ready how your score
keeps going up up up so that's what we want to celebration today for okay all [Applause] right take a picture come I had Mariah's sister last
year so I just want to give Mom a round of applause [Applause] good H I got the picture [Applause] Rob make an entrance didn't
we I got him smile that smile right congratulations Robert now all right uh that concludes our student of the month
presentations we are at 6:42 we will give all who want to leave about three minutes to do so unless you just want to stay throughout the end which you're more than welcome to do uh we'll give everybody about three minutes to leave and we'll keep going with our
agenda so all right I'm going to break for three minutes [Music] [Music] that might not work get hot and later do
that she can at least book it yeah that's what I was going to ask is she can just book it and then we approve it I mean cuz if it doesn't get approv I still can pay for it myself no you got to do that figure it
out minute left uh okay it'll come to go like in the five minutes a day that I'm on Facebook if I see it like I do I acknowledge birthday
I might scroll I'll see about minutes after huh who I'll get it for you yellow I just had toak com on
whatever write okay all right uh all right we's at 6:45 we're going to keep going with our agenda we are right item number five reports and Mr abdulahad do you have a
report you have a report yes I do thank you president Alvin welcome to everyone who decided to stay um I did ask
um our band director akin to uh Aus to be here just to talk about New Orleans um but what I'll do is I'll talk about the other things and hopefully that he arrived I told him 6:40 so uh we
had a successful senior incentive trip where over 100 students qualified for an incentive based on attendance grades and behavior so that's more than 50% of the graduating class
qualified uh for an all um expense paid uh they went to field the house and jumped around the trampoline they had lunch provided for everything was paid for and it was tied to an incentive on
grades um academics behavior and um no referrals so really proud of our seniors and the work that they're doing um and I believe Don's going to talk about the alumni student basketball game but I will
just talk about this alumni one again right yes we yes one again not that I'm that I'm saying anything just saying they've won the last few years right all right uh we're we're oldies but goodies
right um and so we had a lot of people flying in and again I don't want to take from Don Spotlight but we had a lot of people come back home um to give back and and it really was a successful thing
we had a celebrity um there uh who was also the I'm going to let Don talk about that but that was it could have been better but it was a success nonetheless and sure Don will talk about that too um also we had
our um creative uh art teacher who's also working on web design and and things like that took students to an advertising conference where three of our students qualified right on the spot
for scholarships now what she's been doing is she's been teaching them how to use max for creating labels um advertising and and how to create their own companies and it is uh it's
generated a lot of excitement a lot of people want to be an entrepreneur they have a lot of creative ideas um now that appeals to um that the same demographics students their age maybe a little bit
older and for three of our seniors to uh I don't know if they're all seniors but three of them to get scholarships it it was a huge success so kudos to that that's flourishing and the last thing was um he's not here but our band went to New
Orleans um if he's coming we can try to S yeah okay so then with that being said that's I'll just leave it at that we don't get to it you can do it dur okay great yeah and so that is that includes my report all right any questions Mr he has
cover okay all right nothing all right we come to uh item number six item number six public participation public participation is one way Communication in which members of the public are asked to address the full board with the understanding that board members themselves will not be able to
respond uh trusty pman tth would you please read the public comic guidelines because the Oak Park Board of Education values public meetings not just meetings in public we welcome public comments on school issues speakers are asked to
express themselves in a civil manner with due process for the dignity and privacy of others who may be affected by public comments the public comment portion of the meeting cannot be used to make personal attacks against School
Board member or School District employee that disrupts the order of the meeting and are totally unrelatable unrelated to the manner in which the member or employee performs his or her duties speakers should be aware that if statements violate the rights of others
under the law of defamation or invasion of privacy such comments may result in legal Li liability most comments can be concisely stated in three minutes and the board respectfully ask that comments remain
focused on the topic or issue and not directed as specific Personnel or board members and we're going to start with Miss Candice Robinson is she here um Crystal Bailey good evening board members uh
superintendent and administration my name is Crystal Bailey I'm happy to be here as always um but to I have a few topics that I like to hit on I know I put on my comment card Community but um I am an alumni from Oak Park High School
as well um I graduated in 2001 not 2005 but um we're still uh together in this alumni love that we have and I also work with organizations such as SM smash foundation and we also have done the
tournament as well to raise money for uh tuition for teens books and housing and um for Saturday to take place the way it did with having someone who is an alumni who is a celebrity who is a in the
Limelight to be excort it is just unacceptable um this is Oak Park School District this is our home and we should be able to but like I but like superintendent said I'm not going to steal what Dawn will get up here and share with you all because I was not
there but I know my fellow alumni members called me about this incident also public comment public comment when I was the vice president on the Oak Park School Board we had two opportunities to speak to you all making
it one public comment is not fair to the community it is suppressing what we need to say sometimes in this audience it takes up nerve to get up here and speak before so they might miss the opportunity to speak the first time the
board should give another opportunity to have the community speak to you all black history event I went to the black history event Jacqueline Woodson in the planetarium lovely event but the attendance was very low uh the district
should have something to a uh what a parent coordinator for the district that gets with parents within the district and organized with the ptas and these parents know about these different events that's happening within the district the administration does a great
job Miss um Murphy was there she she did a great job and the rest of the staff other principles from the other schools were there to help facilitate this but their job can't be to facilitate and to get part um parents participation that should also be
addressed youth assistance I can go on and on about youth assistance I have a teenage daughter who is amazing and she got accepted to every college that she applied to but as you can see uh she
chose one so University of Detroit Mercy here she comes and oh but 13 to 16 she was excuse my French Hell on Wheels okay and I needed I needed youth assistance youth assistance was not there to help
me with what I needed as a parent in this community youth assistance is supposed to be there for preventative and intervention for our students in this District that was not provided for me and to have a liaison on this board that does not
know the next meeting when the meetings take place and how this organization is funded is is preposterous youth assistance is funded by three ways the city of Oak Park the
school board and Oakland County how much did the Oak Park School Board donate to youth assistance this past year how many students did we help with the money that was donated what is the success rate of the programs that are being provided to
these kids we don't know but um last Point what's the state of this District where are we we have a full Board of new school board members and one veteran good job trusty corpin who got elected
in 2018 the same year that I got elected and she's just serving her second term she'll be on for six years and she's the veteran of this board and she the things that she's bringing to the board committees is very important especially
HR I mean the incident with the young lady that came in here to get this Human Resources management position and was already hired before you voted on it ridiculous we need to know what the state of this district is the budget
school safety plan a student teacher evaluations how they're going what's the enrollment of this District as well as the constru the constructions and Renovations that we're having the community does not know and I'm not sure that all the board members know what's
going on in the district so I propose that the board host a state of the district and let the community know what's going on thank you for my time thank you [Applause] Don Summers so I was hoping to go after
elnita Trice but I will go beforehand um that's okay though um my name is Don Summers I'm excited to introduce myself in a few moments um as the new president of the Oak Park Education Association of March 15th it is both an honor and a
privilege to take on this role as I step into this position I bring with me a commitment to continued effective communication and collaboration I strongly believe that our Collective voices can bring about positive change and together we can navigate the
challenges and opportunities that lie ahead thank you well El t a little sorry that's okay my name is Alita TR and I met with you guys at the beginning of the year when I came and
say hey I'm going to be the Oak Park president opa oh it's been amazing and not so amazing but um I have stood this long um tonight I know that you got my letter of resignation it
it it's hard to say goodbye because I am Oak Park um decade plus five um I stayed when we went through ter wall up and down and I have been a true
true person who loves Oak Park I am moving in a different direction because I believe in my worth and I know that it is not being utilized appropriately here so um I am tendering my resonation my last day is Friday I'm not close cling
the door I said I will absolutely come back and Coast cheer y'all know I love my cheer but it's bittersweet and I say to you all that always recognize the diamond in the
rough and I am that diamond and when I say this to you I have done above and beyond my entire career in O Park and I've always kept it about the students when people came to me about stuff okay how is it helping the students most
people will tell you miss trica you got to live in your what truth and I try to make sure that I leave the background noise out I know as adults we get into these you know um challenging
conversations if you will but I always say well how is that helping the kid that's in front of you my main saying in O park at any PD that I went to you got to love the kids in front of you in order for them them to excel you have to
want them to be to the moon and trust and believe I've been a knucklehead in the district too however my attendance is phenomenal I've been here day one and I've held multiple positions I've backed
curriculum I've wrote curriculum I'm supporting special ed on my way out the door I'm going to also even though I'm moving on to another POS position I'm still going to support the kidss that I'm leaving behind by helping the person who's going to come in and support in
that role when I leave I'm not going to leave those babies hanging because I want to make sure that they're still excelling in the goals that they're making special ed is in a mess everywhere so therefore I I lean into to the fact that I will always support the
students in O park I got two little girls at Key I got a daughter who loves Nova and Derek faul you know call her his niece I have a nephew a great nephew at the high school and two of my own Sons walked across Oak Park stage that
tell you that I'm invested and I know you feeling in my voice that it's hard for me I'm counting down the days I'm counting down the days I was going to come in here and do the Walk for y'all you know but I was like no but in saying
that I want to say thank you thank you for and thank you to the parents because without them I'm not anything without these kids I'm not anything my job has always been about the students and no matter what anybody
say what I do I come back well how are we help kids I want you guys to lean into that notice things make sure you are crossing your tee dotting your eyes make sure that the students in Oak Park
have the same same access to anybody I worked in St CLA Shores where I had mostly everything came to Old Park and they were still using a roll um Caron copy to write with on the dry eras board and I had came from Promethean boards what did I do I told my friend I need my
stuff back so I can teach in Old Park and so so I had a a good friend of I said hey I didn't think I needed this because I thought I was going to have the same thing but I've seen the changes I was a big push for Promethean board shoot I trained the technology stuff on
the Promethean boards when they came in when we open up Opa made it a 68 and so we have done Leaps and Bounds for students now we got to get down and dirty and do the hard work for them I say that yes I'm walking out the door on
Friday probably with a few tears here and there however I'm still embedded I if something is needed if there's something something that I can support the students here at o Park that I'm always available in that aspect so I
say to you again thank you for my timeing o Park it's not one of those sessions where you come in and be like oh well she about to no this is about stepping above all of that and knowing that we are all here for the same reason and that is to
support every students that walk through the door in Oak Park scho School District so thank you again and I I wish you all well I probably won't be at hardly none of these board meetings because I got a long drive but I will try to step in and
watch online as always and keep in touch yes Paige I love you what am my key parents and yes Miss Clark my new parent at pepper also um I wish you well and I wish us greatness in
this school district thank you very much [Applause] um Miss Rhonda Cowart cart cart I'm sorry good evening even kind of nervous
Ronda kard um Morgan Newton is my daughter she been going to Y school since nth grade last Wednesday I was attacked by another parent to sit in this room just a minute ago and lose a lot of money because I have a
service that I do and I came here because I want to be heard I wanted to call 2 47 because we were attacked at the school because some young ladies wanted to fight her she's being
bullied I went to the school 85 times to talk to people ask for help I'm crying out for help now to sit in this room and watch all Y and I study each one of y'all y'all was nice no one had
attitude security didn't help us I couldn't get to my car and I'm trying to figure out if all y'all here and y'all sitting here nice listening to people y'all they felt me last Wednesday
I couldn't get to my car because my daughter was being tacked in the school I got out the car with my friend that's said out there right here I walked to the door I walked in the school building yeah I sat
down another parent walked in security guard Nova who bothering my niece cussing to the top of her lungs I plead with parents I asked to have a parent meeting I asked to meet with the principle or Mr Fox they still haven't car last
Wednesday I'm hurt no one's called no one has said anything she go to school Friday no one said she was suspended she didn't do anything her brother a celebrity he's a millionaire don't fight her because she's somebody I have been with these kids
they have been in my house I have talked to these parents took them to concerts everything nobody parents will talk to me I'm 52 they parents 33 the same age as my kids I have 10 kids nine with diplomas three graduated from Oak
Park I mean um they filed me they walked us around the building to they had Shelby that was the security one girl standing in this tall walk us around the building trying
to protect us from these parents and cousins and aunties and uncles whoever trying to get us she was told to walk us out the building after the principal asked me to leave man you I ain't saying nothing she asked me to leave I said I'm not leaving without my daughter she said
oh your daughter in here I said yeah she in security she in the security room I don't know where she at she looked at me she didn't say anything she said walk around uh door 10 we walked out door 10 after we walked around the building then she walked us out door 10 they were
standing outside waiting on us when we came around the building to get to my car that's which is at door we tried to walk that way the mother pulled up in a Durango jumped out the car on us who my daughter and blah so
I'm looking at security like okay so no one going to call 911 no one's going to say anything I protected my daughter and took her back in the building y'all I could have went old school I could have my mother 80 different I I'm from a I'm Cut From a Different Cloth um I took my
daughter back in the building to protect cuz I didn't know what they had security didn't help us y'all they didn't help us everybody was in cahoot cuz their parents worked at the school they fail me everybody Mama worked at the school I tried to be the I tried to be
the mother to say let's sit in the room and talk about this I tried to squash this in December no one did anything I'm still waiting on somebody to call me no one called me no one said anything to this right now no one's called me
they she went to school Friday I dropped her off she was there 7 minutes they jumped on her her nose was bleeding they wouldn't let me get to her guess who was there eight police officers guess who helped me the police they hugged us they hugged her
father they apologized the principal walked up to me and said I apologize I am so sorry cuz whoever talked to some said that lady didn't do anything she tried to protect her daughter I never said anything I don't talk to people kids I told the little girl go get her mother she called her mother explains
why she act like she act cuz her mother came right up there and did everything her daughter was doing I walked away I I get in my car and go home I live in Shelby 24 miles I don't bother nobody I'm just appearing trying to be hurt I
didn't appreciate that now she can't go back to school because they keep threatening her and when I finally let her loose they mad you know other parents let let their kids go to fight her cuz you imagine you in there and the parents let the kids go like go get her and they was chasing they was
running no one did nothing I'm hurt I think it was unfair they tried to cover it up they fired that poor girl who helped us Shelby all because she helped us I could have called my security we
have security my son is baby money I could have called my kids I don't have nobody to call I'm 52 why would I want to call somebody up to a school I never call now11 cuz I thought they would do their job they failed me I cried I ain't know I don't I'm not
trying to call 24 and7 to put o Park on front my daughter graduated for here my son my niece they know me they can't say that lady a ask for no help every security guard in there be like oh she com in there yeah take a village to raise some kids so I know how to talk to
a kid I ain't going to argue with no kid y'all I'm H and to just sit in this room and see how loving y'all are is crazy that lady said I'm sorry in front of the police I'm sorry what I did you sorry sorry too late they jumped on
her she getting tired of running y'all that's all I'm here to tell you she tired of running I'm not telling her like oh somebody hit you don't hit back but y'all mad at her kids go home and hurt they self she's just a kid she don't have a track record look at her she don't have
a a a behavior report all she wanted to do is be their friend somebody jealous cuz she this and she that she been she was their friend she can understand why nobody like her I came up to the school to talk to them and they still haven't called
me I'm standing here in front of y'all and asking y'all for y'all help it wasn't fair for a mother to jump out car I didn't know she had a gun I had to protect my daughter we watch kids that every day on TV I have I'm a mother of 10 I've been through so much but for me to come up
here to say do this what I'm doing right now I think it was unfair and when that person see me she said I'm sorry sorry didn't do it I didn't do anything but to protect my daughter she didn't ask nothing she just assumed I was appearent up here and I right I
didn't do anything I want to be heard I want something done about that it wasn't fair not one security guard but Shelby help me my friend stand right here and told the mother why would
we try to jump on your kid what did she say Let Them Fight then you know fight leading to more than just fights we watch this every day we watch girls go out on trips with they friends and one somebody might not come back she not going to be a statistic not on my
watch so I'm sorry I was trying to let nobody make nobody lose their job I'm not here to incriminate somebody or say this but I thought it was United We Stand united we fall I thought we was a village I thought we was going when the kid go to school they
supposed to be safe she wasn't safe she was scared I was scared of the parent I was scared for her what if I wasn't there I'm there every day at 3:00 until 3:35 watch the tape I'm in the white car
sitting there I'm the first parent at Oak Park every day why y'all didn't help me we got you we got everything you said we look into the issue okay we can't respond okay okay so but I appreciate it
got it thank you gotor can't respond I I I can respond in a matter when last one is dawn green the mic seems to be having some some difficulties I'm not exactly sure
why that's yeah can can we just y cut it I can project yeah can we just kill m not not as an alumnist is always an honor to come back and give back to the school that played such a vital role in shaping
who we are today this event wasn't just about basketball it was about mentorship community and creating a bridge between former and current students our goal was to make a fun and meaningful experience for the kids while raising for while
yeah while raising funds for future initiatives despite the success of the event there were challenges along the way that made the planning process more difficult than expected so today I want to highlight some of those obstacles not
to place blame but to find solutions that will make it easier for alumni to give back in the future so this my first time doing this so I got Solutions all right right all right challenges and last minute requirements background check notice so let me let y'all know
this was approved fall uh of 2024 for us to have this alumni game so on Monday March 3rd we were notified that alumni would need to complete background checks just days before the event approved in all 2024 while alumni were willing to
comply early notice would have been greatly appreciated then handwritten forms were required Tuesday March 4th no one owns a freaking printer so while our alumni raced across the city to find printers
and get access to print and fill out these forms and you know we we accomplished it a more accessible online submission process would make it easier for future alumni involvement and then my favorite
one was Wednesday March 5th unexpected Financial requirements midweek notice of financial obligations for the event created unnecessary stress greater transparency and cost upfront would allow better planning for us oh even
better out of State Alumni fingerprint requirement on Thursday Mar 6 notifying out ofate participants about fingerprinting so close to the event made it difficult to ensure their participation establishing clear
guidelines ahead of time would prevent last minute issues for future alumni event involvement oh my absolute highlight of all of this surprise celebrity guest requirement Friday March 7th at 3:55 p.m. a celebrity guest who
is also Al was told last minute that they needed to complete a background check for an individual and ENT and entertainment public profession privacy and security should be considered when handling personal information their management
team should have been direct contact for processing such requests securely if it was Denzel Washington if it was Will Smith no problem for a background check recommendation for clarity and
Future alumni Engagement online alumni engagement guidelines a clear online resource outlining the process for alumni to give back including requirements for participation in school events advanced notice at least 30 to 60
days for necessary clearance especially for background checks and financial requirements showing that I sent this request in October 2024 had approval November 2024 and then found out everything the week of March 3rd 202 five that these all work
requirements streamline background check process alternative methods for handling professional figures background screenings with respect to privacy a dedicated contact person alumni can reach out to for these matters
transparency in event costs a detailed background for any Financial Obligations associated with hosting events at the school and a standardized approval process that includes all Financial details upfront to avoid last minute
surprises more support of out ofate alumni a clear process for fingerprinting requirements for those who reside out of state with options for completing them in advance at the end of the day our alumni are eager to support the school whether through mentorship
fundraising or simply showing up for students the basketball game was an amazing experience and despite the last minute hurdles we made it work because we're committed to uplifting the Next Generation that said with a clearer process in place one that includes
transparent guidelines advanced notice for requirements and better coordination events like this can run much smooth much smoother our goal is to work together to create a system that encourage alumni involvement rather than making it a
challenge this school played a major role in shaping our futures and we want to continue to pour back into it I truly believe that by working together we can make alumni engagement a seamless and impactful experience for everyone involved thank you again for your time
and I look forward to continuing this conversation thank you no problem thank you and I do want to note that once we got in the building it was welcoming from the principal to the assistant principal to the head of security but the hurdles that we had to jump through
the ring of fire and especially the mishandling of the celebrity artist who was looking forward to playing in the game it was um disheartening the most because none of the kids were there because the school kept telling the kids
the game was cancelled the week of and that celebrity guest was there for the kids and it was it seemed as though the closer and closer he was getting there everything that was approved just started changing last minute he can't do this he can do this he can't do this he can do this and it
just it left a very bitter taste in some alumni mouth that they don't really want to partake and I'm positive Pat over here you know and I'm hoping that this is something that we can do again because everybody who did come out
enjoyed themselves but this overall goal we did reach to be able to give scholarship funds for the senior class um as well as a you know what was the sponsor a female and a male um student for prom but it still has us a little
bit shaky cuz we don't know what we can and cannot do but if these online processes are in play it will make it easier for us thank you Mr Aus why don't you just give us a verbal overview
if you need to come back we can do that uh well it's not working and the only reason the only reason why I said that is because we're getting ready to go into a Clos session so if we have more time to do other things um first I just like to say um thank y'all for everything y'all been
doing I know y'all been having a long day um as y'all see the March B we got back safely from New Orleans um a very successful Tri thanks to thanks to you um I can say they went down there
they got to see a lot of the college bands a lot of the seniors um we we're in some parades and I'm being stopped by college director they like hey I need that kid I give them full ride right now like in the middle of a parade like I'm just getting
all these messages and stuff from all these college directors and we'll get them a full ride right now like Clark at they like $50,000 a year so that's that I don't know what else to say on that stuff um they also got to
visit Jackson State University um that was a good eye opener for them they got to eat on campus um thank you for that for that budget um also the parade really put them in a good standing um we should be getting a
few checks back I want to say about 15,000 I'm just waiting for it to come in the mail so that I go in the um account so from doing them parades also my B it was a lot going on so but just know we did have a lot of support parents support they some a lot of
parents drove down there they self um yeah 20 hours so uh so a question I know you you plan to come and give us a report uh more comprehensive when you do that is there an opportunity for you to share kind of who's getting
scholarships you don't have to share names but what what our kids are doing in that realm you know we've got scholarships if kids are going to school for a ride what does that amount to on the financial side cost savings for the family right right and what schools are
are have been recruited are that's the kind of okay y all that on the laptop well so we let's get him on the agenda um and we'll we'll you know I know you
you have to rehear you got to practice but let's get you on the agenda and we we'll make it work uh especially when we don't have to go right into a close session yep I say for real that's about all the summary of that and just wanted to say thank y'all again cu the kids really enjoyed their s and really had a
very historic time that one of the biggest things they can do and it really changed some of their lives and some of the parents that went it got to open up to see what they can take them thank you for all you do with that is that
it y that the Robson never showed up never had wor all right all right um all right um we need to go into close session oh I gotor uh pursuing to
section AC the open meetings act for the purpose of strategy and negotiation connected with collective bargaining agreement is there a motion to take us into Clos session just just just say so all right thank you is there a second all right uh
we're g for lack for lack of better way we're going to take that so we're going to go with um trusty Tyler make a motion Clark who second it is there any question on the motion there N Miss gri called the RO clar yes yesin yes Madison
yes Scott yesman yes yes okay uh with that we're going to go to close session and got to ask that um our public members to step outside meeting
room e e