It is 7 o'clock. We will go ahead and get the meeting started. Welcome everyone to our first um August meeting, August 4th business meeting. And happy primary election day. So, thank you for all those that voted and uh took advantage of your civic duties. My name
is Anu Chukudu. I am the board president. And at this point, I would like to invite my board colleagues to introduce themselves. We'll start with Miss Lester. >> Uh Judy Wester, thank you for coming out tonight. >> Hi, I'm Patrick Kiho. Thanks for joining us this evening.
>> Hi, I'm Jennifer Voss. It's nice to see you. >> I'm an Ahmed. Welcome everyone. >> Good evening, Joe Tolson. Thanks for being here. >> And now to our student co-chairs. >> Good evening everyone. I'm Archin Swaminatan, Kent High School Junior and SA co-chair. Thank you all for being here.
>> Good evening. I'm Krisha Modi, Centon High School junior and SCA co-chair. >> Thank you. Thanks for being here before school officially starts. Dr. Merritt, could you introduce yourself and your staff? >> Yes. Good evening. Superintendent Monica Merritt. Glad to see everyone here this
evening. I'd like to begin by introducing my executive assistant, Miss Diane Robertson. We want to thank her for being here, capturing our minutes. Also, Mr. John Kger. See you back there assisting us with our technology needs. I would like the remaining members of the team to introduce themselves.
Starting on my right. >> Good evening. Jill Minnik. I serve as chief finance and operations officer. Welcome. >> Good evening. Abdul Medon, Chief Human Resource Officer. >> Okay, thank you. Let's stand for the pledge. I'm going to ask Arjun to lead us
to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands one nation indivisible and justice for all. Okay, we are moving on to letter A, adoption of the agenda, approval of the
consent agenda. I'm looking for a motion from my colleagues. >> Madam President, I move that we uh um adopt our agenda and approve our consent agenda. The action item is 270807. >> Okay, I'm looking for a second. Second. >> It was moved by Treasure Kho, seconded
by Secretary West. So now, Dr. Mer, would you please go through the agenda? Thank you, President Zoo. This evening, our human resources department and our administrative team, they have been working day over day over day over day to continue to bring
champions to you for your consideration. So, we have new hires, quite a few this evening to welcome to the PCCS family as well as resignations and retirements. We also have the approval of minutes from our special meeting that was on June the 22nd, 2026 and our regular
organizational meeting that took place on July 9th, 2026. >> Thank you. I'm going to call for a motion. All in favor say yes. >> Yes. >> Any oppose say no. Okay. Motion carries. 6. Mr. Mun, could you please go through the hires, new hires, retirees?
>> I should have brought a bottle of water to read these things. >> Get you one. Um, first I would like to start with our retirements. Um, I'd like to recognize them first for the years of service with the district. Um, we have, um, Karen Anthony, um, teacher at Canton, English teacher at Canton, has
been with the district since 1996. Gina Foresight, the English teacher at Plymouth, has been with the district since 2005. And Marsha Watkins, marketing teacher at Kenton, has been here since 2017. We would like to give them a round of applause um, for their service to the
district. And now um let's u I would like to read the names of our our new champions to the district. Um some are in the audience. So we have some new if you are if you are here um you can stand up at the end because you know I don't want you
standing for the next 10- 15 minutes. Um and um and then we'll do your we always recognize you at that time. So I want to start off first with um Denise Abe who was a um elementary teacher at Hoben um Angela Alonzi um GSRP teacher at
Allen. Kelly Alter occupational therapy teacher split between Phil and Holene. Barry Anderson elementary classroom teacher at Bentley. Norah Aad, social worker at Workman.
Ethan um Beer Beerlay, social studies teacher at East. Allison Brinkman, occupational therapy teacher at West and Liberty. Paige Brothers, elementary classroom teacher at Workman.
Abigail Brier, elementary classroom teacher at Workman. Mara Bridges, elementary classroom teacher at Dodson. Grace Chamberlain, German teacher at Canton. Cassidy Davis, elementary classroom
teacher at Holing. Casey G, a media specialist at Field. Eric Gger, math teacher at Salem. Benjamin Betson, chemistry teacher at Salem.
Rachel Gonzalez, Plymouth um French teacher at Plymouth. Oilia Gonzalez, GSR teacher, GSRP teacher at Dodson. Kyle Hamilton, math teacher at Discovery. Kayla Helgrren, history teach history
and psychology teacher at Canton. Amanda Hill, math teacher at Salem. Colleen Caraman, French teacher at Canton. Ryland Woman, a field elementary classroom teacher at Field.
Ma Ma Maki, elementary classroom teacher at Panda. Gabrielle Maynor, elementary classroom teacher at Workman. Allison Marello, elementary classroom teacher at Galamore.
this. Megan Marquort, math teacher at um Salem. Sophia Mara, resource room teacher at Holing. Alexandra Maisie Elheim, a KSR GSRP
teacher at Gallamore. Danielle Moran, elementary classroom teacher at Galammore. Lindsay Nia, CI teacher at Bentley. Stephen Burgar, the TC at Pioneer and
and Discovery. Donna Redell, GSRP teacher at Allen. Michaela Roberts, history teacher at Plymouth. Haley Masher,
um Jennet, co-teer, a research room teacher at Discovery. Corin Kapolski, biology teacher at Salem, and Angela Walddecker, ASD teacher at Liberty. Let's give those fine new champions a round of applause.
So, if you're new and I called your name, please stand so we can give you a personal round of applause. >> And as I talked to him earlier, most of them already got their have already received their chocolate. because what we've we've had we have big sections will come in and we've met with
them all. So, if you have not, please make sure you contact me and I'll make sure you get your very large chocolate bar to eat on for the next six months. I have a few new hires. Um
Christy Canelli um is is being recommended for the supervisor special education position. Kevin Num can almost got it. Who is being recommended for the assistant principal position at Plymouth High School.
Amy Oliver is the educational technology manager position. and Damen Prince who is being recommended for the student support coordinator at Workman Elementary. And we have one more, Devin Ryan Smith,
who is being recommended for the technical coordinator position. Let's give those people another round of applause. And is any in that last group here? And for today, that is the end of the new hires. >> Wow.
Congratulations to all the new hires, our champions. Thank you for choosing PCCS. And thank you to all the retirees that have dedicated so much of their time and uh commitment to educating our students and bettering their lives. So, thank you everyone. I also want to know at the end of the
year, how many of you saved that big candy bar or how many have you eaten? >> I can tell you mine I forgot cuz I tend to do that and I left it in my glove compartment and then >> do not put it in your glove compartment.
Don't do it. My advice is save the rapper, eat the candy. >> You You've got the right play. >> All right, moving on to president's report and board committee updates. Um, I want to start with the president
report by congratulating two of our students who competed in an international geography competition in Thailand. So, this student emailed us a couple of weeks ago. It's such impressive work. I just read his entire email twice thinking, "Wow,
did the the incredible work that actually took place there." You may have seen this news in our social media platforms, but I wanted to give a shout out at the board table to these students. First is Neil Natarajan. He's pictured right here who is starting his
junior year at Plymouth High School. He placed fifth overall in the world. >> Wow. >> In the world. And there were multiple competitions where he did play second and third and there were like five or six. So at the end of all of that he averaged fifth place in the world
received so much recognition um for this and he was the only Michigan high school student at this level. So that is impressive in itself. There were about 80 other high school students but again he was the only one from Michigan. So we're so proud of him. The other PCCS
students is Samanu Manoj from East Middle School who will be entering Canton High School in the fall. He was one of two middle school students from Michigan and he placed overall in the top 15. I want to just give them a big round of applause and just so impressed by their work and thank you for them
representing PCCS at the global level. Um, next I would like to remind my board colleagues to fill out the community engagement form which actually gets sent out to you in all board notes. Please fill that out when you are out and about in the community supporting our schools and students.
Next update is the scing fund update. Treasure Kio and I had a chance to meet briefly to formulate a plan for advocacy and outreach effort for this important millillage. Some of you may know that this is going to be on the November ballot. It is critical for our school
district. So, we're going to put out a plan where all board members will be involved. We will be doing multiple forums, but uh we'll have more of that plan outlined after tonight. We'll also have presentations that people can use within their own communities. I encourage everyone within your own
social networks and your own communities to use these slides and use the one pager that's on the website to encourage people to learn more about the syncing fund. But more to come on that. We also discussed having SBA be involved
in this. So we'll talk to SBA members as well as well as any other student groups that Dr. Mayor or someone else would uh recommend. We want to tap into students for this as well because students have a lot more um input in this and they know exactly what they want and what they need. So listening to student voices in
this matter is going to be critical. And um next up is looking at the agenda. You also got an email from Dr. Merritt about this. At the end of today's meeting, we're going to have a brief discussion about board goals and superintendent goals. I want to get
started on this early enough. So as you know, time flies. school starts and before you know it, it's October and we haven't defined our goals. So, I'd like to get the dates outlined for that before everyone leaves. And next up, I want to do a quick update on the committee reports. Everyone
received their uh reports about which committee that you're chairing. And I just want to have a little conversation about a slight change uh with treasurer Kho leaving in December, him being the chair of FNO forever
and all that knowledge that he retains. Um I would like to recommend that Trustee Toliffson becomes a co-chair with Treasure Kho and that way Trustee Toliffson has some time to learn from Treasure Kho. So as Tersel Kho departs
in December, Mr. Tolson can take over as the chair. So I want to make sure that you guys are okay with it and this board members if you have any questions or comments about this. >> So obviously that trustee Tison is also on the u the the ballot for November. So this assumes that he's going to make it
on. Um and I think that's a he's a strong candidate, but that's obviously that is function. Yes. >> So, we just need to make sure that we also have somebody else on the FNO committee that is for sure going to be on so that we can provide some continuity in the unlikely event that uh
that he does not make it. >> So, we thought about that. The only challenge I have with that is with member Christensen being on FNO, that's you already have three members. If you add another one, that's four. Yeah. >> So, we would have to ask member Christensen to step away and have one of
you step in for that. >> So, it is is an option. And then as she's not here this evening, maybe that's something we can discuss. >> We could also post all of those meetings as a committee as a whole. Okay. >> And then that makes it legal for us to have four members be part of that committee. >> I like that idea.
>> So, it's a way that we can do that same thing while still staying compliance with the open meetings act. >> Okay. So for the rema remaining members if you are interested in serving in FNO please let me know and if I hear nothing then we will make all of those as committee of the whole
and I do encourage some of my board colleagues to step in for FNO as if you can. All right. The next change is I also received a request from trustee Ahmed who would like to be added to SPA and right now SPA has chair secretary Wester
as a chair and VP boss as a member. So are you okay with having having another member? So we're fine there. >> Community member? >> No, as a committee member. >> Okay. >> So we can have three no more than three board members for each committee. >> Okay. So who was who was the person? I
didn't recognize the name. Oh, okay. >> I'm an AIT. >> Trusty Amond. >> Okay. Um, yes, absolutely. >> So, if you could please share the dates with her. And lastly, as we talk about committee work, if you are a chair of a
committee and you will plan to be absent from a board meeting, could you tap into one of your colleagues to fill in for you for the report out so they know what to say? Sometimes we get caught off guard when they're not here and we're looking at each other. So, I'd like to be um well prepared for those things.
Okay. Any other questions about committee work, committee assignments? No. Okay. And um SBA, we just want to make sure that the people that were part of SBA from the board level will continue in that form at least until
December. So no change there. All right. Now, let's move on to the committee reports. We will start with student performance and achievement with uh Secretary Wester. Madame President, the Student Performance and Achievement Committee has not met since our last
meeting. Our next meeting will be Wednesday, September 9th at 5:00 PM in this room. We encourage everybody in the community to join us and I won't say it's the best committee meeting because that's Patrick that's Nimo's tagline.
>> Well, second to SBA, let's be clear. >> All right. So, we look forward to seeing you all. Okay, next up is member Ahmed. >> So, policy committee will be meeting on Tuesday, August 25th at 5:30. We hope
that you'll join us. We meet in the collaboration room, which is down the hall. Um, and also because by law we are required to have a cell phone policy in place before school starts, which is in August this year, we will actually have
a discussion on the cell phone policy, proposed cell phone policy. so that we can get a first read by the whole board today which is a little bit different to how we usually do things but we need to in order to be in compliance.
>> Thank you. Next up is FNO with member Q. >> So remarkably we have not met since our last board meeting and we will not meet before our next board meeting. So I'm like super excited about that. Like we had like a whole August without an FNO meeting because usually we meet twice a
month. Um, our next meeting will be uh Thursday, September 3rd at 5:00 p.m. It'll be here in this room and the community is welcome to come uh and find out what the excitement is about with EPO. Uh, with respect to the syncing fund, I just want to provide some
context to that for everybody that's in the audience and watching at home. The school district can put put out factual information about the scing fund, but they can tell and they can tell people to vote, but they can't tell them to vote yes. So the work that we're doing right now is on a committee that will
help to advocate and to say vote yes for that syncing fund because I think it'll help as part of the process and we welcome input from community members and schoolboard members because as board members we can say yes. Um but the district itself can just provide factual
information. So this is a great opportunity if you want to get involved. Uh and we've got some cheerleaders that have been out here in the audience and we would love your collaboration and participation in that scing fund. uh uh uh uh program. So more to come. >> Just a quick question uh for
clarification. Students are allowed to say yes. >> Yes, students are allowed to say yes. Only the administration and the school district as an official body is not allowed to say yes. They can only provide factual information. Students just like parents and community members
are have their first amendment rights and they can exercise those and to be able to say yes as part of this process. >> Thank you. Okay. SBA Arjun and Ka >> SBA hasn't met since last school year
and our we're still deciding on when our meeting is but we're thinking around the start of school year and we hope to see all of you guys there. >> Thank you. All right. Next up is superintendent report. Thank you. Before getting into my report, I do want to say to our
newest champions, our newest members of the staff, you are so welcome to stay here for this meeting and at the same time, it is okay for you to leave as well. So after that, uh, welcome aboard PCCS. For anybody who is ready to leave, you're free to do that. >> So this evening, I never miss an
opportunity to showcase the work of our incredible students and our programs here at PCCS. I want to begin with some exciting news to share that the PCE culinary arts program at Salem High School has earned a prestigious
accreditation from the American Culinary uh Federation Education Foundation. Our program is just the second high school with the culinary program in Michigan to receive this recognition and the first comprehensive public high school in the
state to earn this status. So, please join me in a round of applause. We always want to thank Chef Diana Woodward and our talented students for all that they do to really continue to have PCCS and PC, our culinary program,
just shine. This national uh program, now our program is among fewer than 50 comprehensive high school culinary programs and fewer than 150 institutions overall to receive this accreditation. Um, I was also going to give a shout out to our international ge geography
students. So, I'm so glad that you were able to lift them. We want to tell them to keep shining. Finally, as we continue to prepare for the start of the school year, I want to remind our district families that the online back to school check-in process will open on August the
13th through myar parent connection website. The back- to-school check-in process is a requirement for returning kindergarten through 12th grade PCCS families to easily update your medical demographic and contact information.
Once you logged into Myar Parent Connect, families should look for the back to school check-in information. Families should be aware that their students emergency card will be created using this updated information. So, it's very important to check in. We're also
asking families of students who live more than 1.5 miles from their home school and elementary schools who live more than one mile from their home school to register their students for transportation. I know that there will be an email coming out from the transportation department I believe this week that will share the routes and then
as you go into your back to school check-in making sure that you um finalize that information. Finally, as we've been talking about that scing fund is an exciting time here for PCCS, I want to let our community know that we have launched a new web page providing
factual information about the district's building and site syncing fund proposal. Again, that will uh appear on the November 3rd, 2026 ballot. This website includes information about what a syncing fund is, how the funds can legally be used, and answers to
frequently asked questions. And as we continue to get questions, that can be a site that we continue to update so that everyone has that same factual information. You can access this information by visiting pccsk12.com, clicking on the popup notification on
the homepage, or by visiting the news section of the district website. We encourage our family, staff, and community members to review the information, stay informed about the proposal ahead of the November election. And as we've been hearing about some plans to get that information out, we've
been working um with our communications team and we'll update the board um as we have these taking this show on the road. We like to pair uh administration with board members as well. I love the idea of students and community members going out to get this uh information. So, we
really have some busy times ahead of us. Speaking of busy times, you've heard what's going on in human resources. I do again want to lift up our human resources department as well as our staff and thank them. Um we're grateful for all of the work that you've done throughout this summer. Hasn't been much of a summer, but we're preparing for the
arrival of our students, and that's important. I also want to uh uh just inform the board that our partners at both Durham and ABM are fully staffed. They have remained fully staffed throughout the summer. I know we take a pause on the information for you, but we track it every week. And so, um just uh
really is a a really good p place. were positioned to come back with full staff and hopefully get those classrooms filled as well. So, we're ready to go on August 31st, the first day of school. That concludes my report for this evening. Thank you, Dr. Merritt. Okay, moving on to the citizens comment
portion of this. Let me make sure we have two. We're going to go through the Oh, one more. >> Diane, could you grab that? We're going to go through the first portion of citizens comments. We have 30
minutes. Uh after this, we will not need the second portion based on the fact that we only have three. As a reminder, each person gets three minutes to share their comments or concerns. We ask people to respect to respectfully adhere to this time. Please do not mention
anyone's name when sharing concerns about a person's work with if unless you have their permission. If a comment requires a follow-up, Dr. Merritt or someone else from her team will follow up with you to address your concerns of the next few days. Thank you for your understanding as we engage in this
process. First up is Rachel Hayes. >> Good evening. My name is Rachel Hayes and I'm with Cape's MP Flag Plymouth Canton. First, I'd like to welcome Trustee Joe Toliffson to his first official board meeting. Thank you, Joe, and every member of this board for your
willingness to serve our community. Public service isn't always easy, and I appreciate the time, energy, and commitment each of you brings to serving our students. The first meeting of a new school year is an opportunity to set the tone for the months ahead. In just a few
weeks, thousands of students will return to our classrooms, and the decisions this board makes throughout the year will shape their experiences, opportunities, and success. As we begin this school year, I hope we recommmit ourselves to one guiding principle,
keeping students at the center of every decision we make. No matter what challenges come before this board, I hope we always come back to one simple question. What is best for students? If we can answer that honestly and consistently, we'll be moving in the
right direction. Putting students first means making their safety and sense of belonging a priority. Safety isn't just about secure buildings and emergency plans. It's about creating schools where every child feels respected, supported, and able to focus on learning. Students
thrive when they know they belong. It also means pursuing academic excellence. Every student deserves outstanding teachers, meaningful learning opportunities, and the support they need to reach their full potential. Putting students first also requires
transparent and accountable governance. The community deserves clear communication about the board's decisions and the reasoning behind them. Openness builds trust and reinforces confidence that decisions are being made with students best interests in mind. Finally, putting students first requires
strong community partnerships. Parents, educators, staff, students, community organizations, administration, and this board all have an important role to play. We won't always agree on every issue, and that's okay. But when we begin with what's best for students, we
create a strong foundation for working through those differences together. This school year will undoubtedly bring challenges as every year does. It will also bring opportunities to strengthen our schools, support our educators, celebrate our students, and continue
building a district where every child has the opportunity to succeed. Capes looks forward to partnering with the district throughout the coming year. We all share the same goal. Ensuring that Plymouth Canton remains a place where every student can learn, grow, and thrive. As you begin this school year, I
hope you continue asking that one simple question before every important decision. What is best for students? If we can all keep that question at the center of our work, we'll continue building the strong, welcoming, highquality public schools our students deserve. Thank you.
>> Thank you. Next up, Next up is Michelle Mustakus. >> Good evening. My name is Michelle Mustakis. I'm a resident of Canton and a member of Capes and Pwack. I hope you all had a wonderful summer and are ready
to start the new school year. And I'm going to borrow the tradition of many teachers in starting the new year with a class slogan. Mine is simple. Every student belongs. And it is wonderful to look around this board and know that
each one of you understands how fundamental that is to a student's education. There were several presentations last year about what the district is doing to help students feel comfortable and find their place. I can't tell you how many times my cousin
and I looked at each other during those presentations and told each other that we wished that we'd had this when we were in school. Back then, if you weren't one of the cool kids, there wasn't much room for you. I remember trying to figure out how to fit in,
thinking there was something that I needed to change about myself, hoping that no one would notice that I didn't quite fit in anywhere. That's a tough feeling to shake. But this district gets it. You help students find their own
strength while fostering a sense of belonging. This is a fundamental aspect to learning. Yes, budgets and buildings matter, but none of it makes a difference to a student unless it's accompanied by policies, procedures, and
attitudes that tell every student they are valued, respected, and supported for who they are. This is especially critical for marginalized students, those from immigrant families, LGBTQ plus students, students with disabilities,
lowincome students, and students of color. Many of these students are navigating real fear and uncertainty right now, shaped by what they see in the news and in their own communities. They need this district to be a safe
haven. Last year, you heard from some alumni and curtain students who told their stories of what it was like for them to be an LGBTQ plus student in this district. I remember one story in particular that credited the district's trans transgender and gender
non-conforming policy with saving her from bullying that might have caused her to consider suicide. Just think of that. saving a life by enacting and enforcing a policy that costs nothing and only
requires empathy and understanding. I know that each one of you understand this, but some of you will be moving on at the end of 2026, leaving our leaving four seats in contention this November. Whoever fills those seats, I hope
they'll carry the same commitment forward because belonging isn't something that's just nice to have. It's the foundation everything else is built on. Thank you for your time and for the work you do for this district and for our community.
Thank you. Next up is Letis Jones. Good evening, president, board members, uh, superintendent, and members of the community. My name is Letic Jones and I am a proud Canson resident, single
parent, disability advocate, resident, tenant organizer for the Lincolnshshire Village Tenant Association, a graduate of the Michigan Disability Rights Coalition LEAD program, a member of the board of directors for self- advocates of Michigan, and a disability advocate
through the Michigan Developmental Disabilities Institute. More importantly tonight, I am a grateful parent. My family moved into Lincolnshshire Village in 2010 after experiencing homelessness homelessness and staying in a homeless
shelter. As a single mother raising children while living with disabilities, stable housing and the support my children received from Plymouth Canton Community Schools gave me the opportunity to focus on raising them and helping them pursue their dreams. Today
I stand before you as a proud mother. My oldest son graduated in 2018 from Plymouth High School and has since earned a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Fris State University and a master's degree in cyber security from Michigan State University. All while
serving our country in the Michigan a Michigan Army National Guard. My daughter graduated from Plymouth High School in 2020. Co we'll something different miss prom, but it's okay. earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Tennessee State University,
and now serves as a NICU nurse in Houston, Texas, caring for our most vulnerable newborns. My youngest daughter graduated from Plymouth High School in 2022, and just this past May, she earned her bachelor's degree in biomed engineering from Wayne State
University. These accomplishments didn't happen by accident. They happened because the community invested in children, because educators believed in them, and because stable housing gave our family a foundation to build upon. That is why I am here tonight. I
encourage Plymouth Canton Community Schools to continue strengthening disability history and disability awareness throughout K through 12 education. Disability is an important part of diversity and every student benefits from learning about disability
history, rights, inclusion, and the contributions of people with disabilities. I also want to share that at Lincolnshshire Village Apartments and Town Homes right down the street, many households include at least one person with a disability and many children there attend Plymouth Canton Community
Schools. When families have stable housing, reasonable accommodations, and community support, students are better able to succeed academically. socially and emotionally. Finally, I would like to respectfully invite a member of the board of education, the superintendent, or another district representative to
attend the next Lincolnshshire Village Tenant Association meeting on Friday, August 21st, 2026 from 1:30 p.m. to 2:25 p.m. at the Lincolnshire. I'm almost done at the Lincoln Fire. Can I continue? >> How about we we will pick me up on that
>> and we will get those details and one or two or some of us will be there. Thank you. Thank you for sharing your story. Incredible story. All right, those are the only citizens comments we have. Next uh we are moving on to our
discussion and I'm sorry no we are moving on to the administrative reports and recommendations with human resources. Mr. Medun could you get started with our cell phone policy discussion? >> Yes I will. Um so um back on February
10th um our um our Governor Whitmer signed a um a new um cell phone um policy um cell phone um um law that banned um that we had to have certain things that that banned cell phones within schools. And so
when they wrote that policy um when they changed the law, we had to have a board policy that supports that before the beginning of the school year. And so we went to look at within our Neola policy, what policy did we have that was
compliant with the new policy. So, so um as as I said earlier, beginning with the 26 27 um 27 school year, the public school district must implement a policy prohibiting students from using wireless communication devices on school grounds during instruction times.
Uh and and the law has to require the policy to include enforcement mechanisms. has specified exemptions and publication of the policy on the district website. Um the policy that we have today for I think for discussion meets all those meets all of those um
qualities. Um, as we looked at the policy, the first step that I took when I got it was I reached out to my level leaders. So, um, from the high school, the middle school and elementary to see, hey, this is what the, um, policy has. And there was some options that were
possible to have that that we could check to make sure as that we created a policy or agreed to a policy that kind of mirrored what we were existing, what we were already doing. Um, and that that's kind of what we have in front of us you today. Um, I have Joe here to
talk about from the high school aspect what this policy will do for them. >> Um, and we also have legal legal counsel here to discuss any other thing um, remnants of the policy that we want to talk about. >> Yeah. Can we start with Joe? Um, G especially given that the high school is
the one that has >> the most gray areas. Um, looking at the policy and our traditional past practices, elementary and middle schools have been pretty consistent. So, I'd like to hear from the high school. >> Um, yeah, the as you look at the law, it
spells out that it's pretty locked down in elementary, pretty darn locked down in middle school, but then we do have more freedom at the high school level. We've seen this really as a a first step in improving student engagement. Um,
we also felt we couldn't just roll this out because part of the problem with the policy before and the practice to enforce it was that we had some teachers would enforce it, some teachers wouldn't. It wasn't uniform and so it wasn't really consistent and parents were afraid to take away phones from
their kids. They wanted us to take phones away. But we're at a nice point now uh with the anxious generation with some of the other research and now with the law coming together that most of the adults in the room are saying we need to help our kids learn how to manage these. So we started working with Starkweather
at the beginning of the year when I first arrived. Their staff and Kim Domen wanted to institute a practice to manage cell phones. So we built the system there with staff and students where uh they have caddies in the rooms or um
depending on the structure they might have cubbies and so the students walk into the room and they actually put their phone in the caddy. It's not taken away from them and they started to roll through that through the year. Uh they surveyed students and staff. We got good feedback that started to spread over to
Canton and a team of teachers at Canton came together and Mr. Reed Nordwall and I met with them and they started to talk about how we could implement this at the park and that group sat down and looked at some of the research and there's a video. It's 2 minutes if you're willing
to take a look at it. We started with this and it helped us arrive with what we're going to be doing. So, Mr. Kger, if you could In 2017, researchers looked at the effect of cell phone presence on students. Students were asked to complete math problems with their cell
phones placed on their desks, stashed in nearby bags or clothing, or left behind in separate rooms. They turned off ringtones, buzzing, pings, the works. In fact, students didn't interact with or hear their phones at all. But it didn't
matter. The phone continued to exert a powerful influence, occupying the students mental space, even as they ignored it. Students performed worse when the phone was nearby on the desk. And no, it didn't matter if they turned it face down. They didn't fare much
better when the phone was hidden in a bag or a pocket. Physical separation from the phone produced the best outcomes. So, what's the new insight here? It looks like the mere presence of our phones might be triggering a neural system called automatic attention.
That's a brain system that unconsciously monitors the environment for signs of critical importance. It screens out irrelevant information, but snaps us to attention when someone calls our name, for example, an infant cries or a police siren whales. In other words, our phones
with their constant pings and buzzes may be tripping some of our deepest missionritical wiring, creating a persistent sense of urgency even when the phone is completely off or stored away, and draining away precious cognitive resources that could be used
for tasks like studying. What can be done about all this? The researchers concluded that intuitive fixes like placing the phone face down or turning it off were futile. And that's a direct quote. actual physical separation from the phone was the only effective
solution. That's true when your students are taking tests, of course, but the research says that physical separation is even more crucial when they're initially trying to learn something. So, as our working group was looking at this and they were talking about ideas,
after a while I paused and I said, "Let me just see if I understand correctly what you want to achieve." said, "I hear two things. I hear one, first and foremost, you want to liberate students from the distraction of these devices. I mean, most of us struggle to set them aside sometimes, right?" And they said,
"Yes, 100%." Like, but but if we just take them away, it'll be a battle. And if we don't teach and reuse them, who's going to teach them how to use them? And I said, "Okay." So, the second thing I hear you saying is that you want to teach students to intelligently use these supercomputers that they have in
their pockets. So I said, "Build us something that achieves both of those things and takes them out of their hands during instructional time and we can support you." So they built a process where every room at the park is either going to have the caddies or the cubbies. They're going to be secured.
Students actually manage this process, not the adults. Students will walk in and the first thing they're going to do is put their phone in their assigned pocket or their assigned cubby. Then they go to work. The beautiful thing there is it physically separates them from the phone. Yep. It's still in the same room, but later research said just
that distance alone frees up the mind to focus on what's going on because we want more connected and engaged students. There's some leeway in there that if a kid needs to use a phone to listen to music when they're working, a teacher might have the ability to grant that if it's helpful for the student, but that's
at the teacher's discretion. So, there's some leeway there. And then the kids will pick up their phone on the way out the door. If you don't follow the policy and you have your phone out, a teacher will just simply ask the student to come up and set it on the teacher's desk and it remains there for the hour and the student comes and picks it up again.
Second time, if they're not following the policy, no battles, just bring the phone up. Teacher's going to have somebody pick it up. It'll be in the office. The student can come pick it up at the end of the day. Third time, we're now not talking about whether we can use a cell phone or not. third time a
student is doing this, it means they have some sort of unhealthy relationship with their phone. So, that phone is going to go to an administrator and we'll schedule a meeting with their parent and the student to really sit down and talk about some choices, decisions, and how we're doing this. Um, because the end goal is somebody has to
teach all of us how to use these devices in a healthy fashion. And our staff really want to do that and they're committed to it. And those that have, we surveyed students and staff. Teachers heard more voice and conversation in their classroom, saw more smiles. Students talked about lower anxiety and
stress in the rooms that were doing it. They didn't love it, but they actually recognized in the long run it was better and they found themselves talking to their peers more. Um, so we are getting everything in place to start with this this year and really trying to message
by sending this video out as part of our communication to get students and parents on board with all this is is really teaching some self-discipline about how we use the device. It's not punishment. It's not battles. Um, and we're going to try to help our students just be able to master these tools if
that makes sense. >> Okay. Um, I'll open it up for questions and actually I'll start with the students. Tell me your thoughts or if you have you were you part of the pilot? Um I just want to start and like you said uh that students didn't like it
but they appreciated uh the idea in the long run and like that I'm not going to sit here and say that of course I want don't want to have my phone on meeting our school day but at the same time I do acknowledge that it's important and obviously we do have the policy that we need to agree on something. Um I was
actually part of the um the the cubby program right in my first hour and my third hour and uh there was a thing where students put the phone in the cubby by themselves. It was a sense of student responsibility. Uh the teacher
um left it up to the students. She trusted us and like like you said when we had to go um listen to music, she let us take our phones, play something and put it back there. If I had to call my dad or do something, you just take it, go into the hallway and put it back when
you're done. So, I think um it is a good way to have students be responsible and it gives them a little bit of freedom that takes off the some of the concerns that students have being separated from their phones. Um, but I also do think it's really
important to have a lot of leeway for teacher discretion here. Um, and I didn't have a chance to take the full take a full look at that policy, but having leeway for teacher discretion is probably something that's really important because obviously scenarios vary a lot and I'm pretty sure it did
say that teachers do have the opportunity to allow students to use their phones if it's used in an academic manner. So things like that is definitely important. But I do think the cubby idea does work pretty well. Um >> we to kind of hit on that point, we've baked into the language that the
teachers are the professional in the classroom. They can use their judgment. If you need a phone to do a cahoot to engage, great. If you're going to look at a YouTube video and a QR code, you're not going to sit there and flip your Chromebook upside down trying to get the QR code. Grab a phone, watch the video. If a student honestly can work better, listen to some music, we want to give
them the room to do that because again it's about teaching you the self-discipline about using it effectively. And I think you brought up a good point of having to call a parent at a time, right? Like >> hopefully that's not all the time, but that may need to be. You're going to be ready for learning if you can get that off the plate and handle that, right?
>> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> So all in all, I do think that the cubby idea probably is a good idea. And I know this might not be possible since you have to get something passed before the start of the school year, but if you wanted to, you probably could reach out
to a couple of students um across the district, get maybe like a hundred student survey or something like that and ask them what they thought about it. I don't know if the um pilot program had feedback from students >> from both Stark Weather and Cam >> and I'm assuming it's probably pretty
positive. Yeah, actually uh surprisingly positive like just I'm grudging, right? But like everybody said we talk more, we smile more. I actually know my classmates a little better. Um so yeah, so that speaks for itself. Um I think the only thing would be giving
teachers a lot of leeway how they use it. >> Thank you. Before Krishna goes on, um John, can we get the policy pulled up please so everyone can see it on their screens? >> Uh it's right there. It's behind you. Keep roll. That's the fun fact.
>> That's just the background information. >> There we go. Keep going. There. Yeah. >> Right there. >> You want us to read it for the record? >> If if there's a way to increase the size of that, but um we'll move on to Krishna.
Like Arjun said, uh I was also a part of the test program for the cubby and many of my classes and uh I think the cubby system it was overall a good success. I feel like a lot of encourage critical
thinking because with the prevailance of AI and like many other tools on your phone uh there's like a much faster way to do every single problem especially in like math classes and stuff like that and like uh with prevailance of like
Google translate and languages I feel like if you're the separation from a phone um like kind of takes away that distraction and it also like stops the use of like AI and doing your work and
like it encourage you to think more critically even if you don't know the exact answer. So maybe like ask your teacher or like ask a classmate on how they did that which will all honestly I think will lead to a better result
overall in the PCS PCCS community. >> Thank you. We really appreciate those thoughtful responses and I'm glad both of you were part of a pilot. So we'll move on to the board members. We'll start with member Tiffson. >> Just on the the layout of it, John, if
we could scroll down to the um it's two of three of the policy piece, but it comes after all these options. I kind of a question on the utility of this section. Yep. Um end of option three, there's this Oh, if you can go back a little bit. There we go. Perfect.
uh this paragraph. Um I'm just interested in kind of the utility of it seems like we have a lot of things listed here that are already covered by other policies and this kind of covers you can't do this with a device that is now um not allowed during instructional
time. Does this just cover uh wireless communication devices during the non-instructional time? >> How does this kind of fit into the overall policy? >> Well, there's a couple of things here. um to be compliant with the law as
written. That part is necessary to be part of that. So that that wasn't an option. >> That was what we had to have that we didn't have option on that piece. But it is basically to um it it it basically is um to your point is that you can't use
the wireless device in other ways outside of instructional to basically to bully to do threaten to commit to humiliate. Just specifying that in the policy. to your point, do we have that covered in our um student code of conduct? Yeah, we do. But that had to be
in there to be compliant with the law and John can answer that if I that is we had to have that in the in the policy. Correct. >> Yeah. So, this is a a reference that's actually been in the policy for a period of time because the most recent law that you spoke about earlier does not
actually address this section. the the law that was passed back in 2019 regarding bullying and then cyber bullying a couple years later in 2021 and 2022 actually is what address so this is old language that's carried forward that in addition to all the information that we we have under the
current law and that Joe talked about is that we can't use the phone during instructional time but we will have teacher exceptions that's part of an exception within the law and then we also have even if we're not talking about instructional time >> anytime you're on our school grounds you can't use your phone to be engaging in
cyber bullying is essentially what this is saying. >> I think too that's congruent with the whole idea of teaching students to use these devices thoughtfully. It's not going to be the first thing we go after, but as we kind of embed this, it gives us another dialogue. Hey, you know how
you separate yourself from a phone in the room? Now you got to think about how you're using it and whether you're doing these things. And it kind of gives us more cohesive approach if that makes any sense. I think so. I'm happy it's included in that regard. >> Okay. Member Ahmed, questions, comments?
>> I just had a question about the implementation. So, I understand that teachers have discretion, but will it be implemented will this caddy system be implemented consistently across all four high schools? Is that the goal? >> Yes, the goal is that this the the base
set is when you walk in the room, you put your phone in the caddy across the entire high school level. >> Okay. >> And then teachers have some discretion from that point on and then we're going to build in some things about when we go in and observe classrooms to observe if it's getting followed and then give some
feedback and coach people and kind of because we know some people will potentially struggle with this and see it as something they have to navigate and we'll help them get there so we can make sure that it's a solid habit across all four. >> Okay, thank you boss.
>> Um thank you for this hard work. Um, I echo Amina with her comment about consistency. That's all I keep thinking of is it just has to be consistent and with middle school since they, you know,
are changing classes and could have phones with them. Will there be separate policy for the middle school level? You maybe won't know that, but is something >> different than the high school? I can't speak to it in specific, but it will be different based on the way the law is structured.
>> So, they won't be doing cubbies. >> Middle school is uh just currently implementing it's like the phone away for the day. So, that's still they put their phones in their backpacks in their lockers and so that won't change. >> Okay. All right. Thank you. >> You're welcome. Go ahead, >> Trish.
So, I have a few questions. >> Yes. Uh the first is really around the definition of a wireless communication device. Um we all talk about the word phone, but this is a wireless communication device by that definition. So is a Chromebook. Um,
I think that we've got a challenge in the way that we've written this policy that it's very broad and that it's going to be very hard for us to distinguish uh for the the students as to that this we're really talking about handheld communication devices or phones. But
then where does a tablet fit in? How does a smartwatch fit into that process? What happens with a laptop? All of the devices that are exist in many of our uh young learners hands would meet these definition of a wireless communication policy and are we going to include all
of them in this requirement to be away for the uh for the classroom? >> So the definition of wireless communication device in the in your policy is pulled exactly from the statute that you're required to now have in your policy.
>> I I understand but it what does that mean for a laptop? So it it excludes if you see the prohibition of >> WC does not apply to the following. So if you look at B district own devices including but not limited to school issued tablets, laptops. >> Understand? But we have a bring your own
device policy. >> So not not limited to. So those would be um inclusive. The power policy allows for for that piece to say >> does not apply to the following. >> Right. But I understand. So, is are we
going to specifically designate that a laptop that a student brings in is going to be a device that the district is designated for instructional purposes? Because, for example, my students didn't have a district issued Chromebook. After a while, they had their own purchase
Chromebook or their own laptop that they used. It was used for instructional purposes, but it would comply as not being a district-owned device, and it would unless it's unless we specifically are designating it as a device used for
instructional purposes, it would be a wireless communications device. I would say that would be covered under the E section lesson specific academic assignment that the limited and discretion of the classroom teacher would fall into if you're utilizing the wireless device for like your own bring
your own device as well as um like a cell phone if they even said that could be utilized as part of the discretion. I also want to share that as we said, we're in this Neiola template right now and as we Yeah, >> I I understand that we're in the middle of this Neiola template, but this is
this leaves a lot of ambiguity and a lot of um opportunity to violate both the the intent and the spirit of this process or cause lots of problems. I mean, smart watches are just as addictive as a smartphone is. and are we
asking students to not wear them and to put them into the cubby? >> So, I would think right now the procedure we're going to use is talking about the cell phones in and of themselves. Um, any misuse of a device to me would fall more under acceptable
use policy or whether they're engaged in the classroom. Um, interestingly enough, the smartwatches still require a phone >> um to activate. And so, if that becomes a distraction, then we'll handle that as it is. And some of this we'll have to live into. Um, but I think as long as we
have a bring your own device policy, if you're using it for educational purposes, teachers will see that. If you're not, then we can cross that bridge. And that's a different behavior than necessarily the distraction of a cell phone. >> Okay? Because I think that ultimately every action and act uh an act that you
can do to be distracted by that by a cell phone can also be distracted on a desktop device. >> I I would I would agree. And so I'm wondering how we're going to manage that. Is it is it that we're going to have the laptops closed most of the time until they're explicitly needed. Um are
because students today, they can have their Chromebooks open all the time. They're taking notes on them. They're using them for uh for lessons in the classroom. And they could also be using for for nefarious purposes or purposes that are counter to our instructional uh goals.
>> Correct. That could happen. uh this laptops and Chromebooks don't typically have all the notifications and access points that the phone does. So there's a difference there and our devices and our website system is blocking most of those. So that'll keep some of the
distractions at a minimum. We did see and I think you guys might have seen in your classrooms there was more discussion and divi and the Chromebooks were kind of set to the side. The Chromebooks were used to produce something at the end or to process something but they were not really a wall between people. The couple of classrooms that I went into, people were
actually engaged in rigorous debate. >> Okay, that's good. But I think you underestimate estimate their sneakiness. >> Oh, been doing this for a while. I get it. And we're going to have to change some habits. But the beginning of this again is about teaching kids to make decisions about how they're using those
devices. And if you really want to get down to the bottom of it, the the park is all about decision- making. All the freedoms and choices you have there, it all comes down to decision- making. So, yes, you're right. Are we going to be kind of finding little things we're dealing with here? You bet. But if we approach it as decision- making and
about having engagement with each other and deeply, we'll be able to bring students along. I mean, I think the evidence they shared is pretty compelling that we can move students to think like, yeah, I should probably do this a little differently. >> I think that's great. And I think that the the intention is great, but I think that you're may have things that leak
through this process. So, we shall both on the adult side and the student side. I agree. >> And we'll improve it with the next go around. >> Great. So my next question is around education and communication. We're considering this as a first read tonight. This comes as a second read um
at the next board meeting. We're, you know, a month away from school, less than a month away from school. How do we get this word out on this process? Should we make this a first and final? Um should you be bringing together an educational campaign that is supporting the process? I want to make sure that
the district has enough time to communicate this policy to our families before school starts. >> I love the offer and if there is a willingness a first and final will be amazing because what we talked about is being able to include the implementation the procedures within the student code
of conduct um the back to school information that form will be signed and that goes out August the 13th. So a first and final actually will allow us to put it it in its entirety. we were going to kind of abbreviate what the law said but wanted to wait for final approval before we put some specifics
but that would really allow us to do that. >> I would for me sending something after the fact um you're going to have to send something again. >> Yes. >> So if you put it in the first process and then send it again that's good because it's going to take a lot of repetition to get this through uh to
people that this is a pretty substantial change in the way that things are done. Um, but I would defer to the until we've had a chance to have everybody speak before we >> come back. And I I have one last question. I noticed that our prohibition
is also in the gymnasium and I can understand in the locker rooms and and all that, but in the gymnasium we oftentimes have um events and the posting or the the the the capturing of photos and actions that occur inside of
those sporting events and those games is something that both parents and students do on a regular basis. And I'm worried that we have explicitly prohibited that uh to be done in that in that section by option three. >> Yes. So if you look at option three right there, the check box, the green
check box, >> it's excluded from gymnasiums. >> I think that's cameras. >> I believe it was done because our gymnasium still are classrooms um during during the day. Um and and so I believe that's
why the choice was made by administration. Um, obviously it is an option as to whether or not it's checked. So that's one of the points of >> Yeah, I don't have a problem with it being during done in the day. I think the problem is is this applies 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in our facilities.
So I think that this would need to be modified uh to reflect that this is during instructional time. So I do think um where we talked about the um policy and the administrative guidelines and so the what you got that exception here if you're looking at kind of speaking to
the camera uses no expectation of privacy this is we do our own security cameras and then we can be very explicit in the administrative guidelines on how that is used and what those when you're in your classroom gymnasium is a different thing than if you're at a game.
>> Correct. So, I think as long as we can make sure that that's clear in our handbook and in our um in our administrative guidelines, I think that that's fine. >> Yeah, you raised a great great point. >> That was one of my questions. >> All right, Secretary Westerro, my questions were actually very much the
same as Patrick. So, um and I second I uh support the idea of a first and final reading as well. >> So, I have a few questions actually piggybacking off of Treasure Kho. I also had that question in terms of clarifying
the language so that it is um only during the school day only when instruction is happening but I also understand that that could be included in administrative guidelines. I just want to make sure that as we communicate with families and students that there is
a lot of clarity in what can and cannot happen what should and should not happen. And I I agree that's another reason to make this first and final so you have time to draft those messages to the families. Um but my two questions include cost for the cubbies.
What's the cost on that for all the classes? >> Um I would have to go back and look. I haven't looked at those numbers shortly. It was not exorbitant. It was I think if I were to guess a couple of thousand dollars to outfit the entire park. um
might even be less. I just need to go back and look at that. We were we priced those out back in May. So, >> and it's below the threshold that needs the school board's uh approval. >> Okay, that was one of my wonderings. >> That's my question. >> Yeah. And one side note, we're being
very very clear about how they should hang them and if they have a doubt of how they're hung to have them drill actually have the PE drill them into the wall so they're secure so that the devices are protected, they won't fall. So, we have some things baked in to make sure that we are being good stewards of this room.
>> And so, you'll have time for that before school starts. >> Yes, we'll for most of the we'll have every room outfitted and they'll be able to tell us where they want them done and then we'll have our pees move through and transition them from the hooks to being drilled in if they need them. >> Okay. My next question is in terms of
the pilot that you did. Um, did students or staff share any fears or concerns about the using the caddy or any of the items that you talked about? >> Um, in terms of being separated from the
device, yes, there was a lot of fears and there were some concerns. People are like, well, what if somebody grabs somebody else's phone or does this? Um, and so what we've done is we've cautioned teachers to position their hall pass in one different place and the caddies in another place. Um, and to
make sure the caddies aren't right by the door so they actually have to go someplace and it can kind of be observed as people picking it up. We didn't, as far as I know, we had no one steal anybody else's phone or take the wrong phone. What we actually had was students forgetting their phone, getting clear across the park into another building
and going, "Oh my god, I left my phone back there." and they had to actually figure out how to go back and teachers were gracious because the kids were sweating and they're like, "Yep, go get your phone and come back. We're just learning." Um, so there really wasn't a lot of misgivings. There were some, "Well, what ifs, what ifs, what ifs and
we really tried to control for those." >> Um, >> so in preparation for this policy, I had attended some uh meetings with other school districts during the last year just to learn what we should be uh aware of. And one of the things that the
student groups brought up in one of the districts, I won't mention because they piloted it last year. What they found was some students were bringing their old phone. >> Oh yeah. >> Putting that into the cubby and saying, "That's mine." And the real phone is in the pocket.
>> And that became so normalized that teachers were like, I can't manage all of this. There's two different phones now. I don't know what's real, what's not. How do you manage something like that? So often times having >> I would be that kid when I was young. I was >> I know some kids here
>> having done having done that as a having done this as a principal in my previous building. The interesting thing is the kids with the quote unquote burner phones often will forget them and then you'll have this busted up phone sitting in their number and then you'll just chat with them the next day and say like, "Hey, interesting. You left this
phone. You went 24 hours. You didn't contact me. You didn't freak out." And then it kind of engenders a different discussion. Um, and then if you see the phone out, then it's same thing. It's a conversation. Hey, set your phone on the desk. You can come get it at the end of the hour. We really need you to comply with the process. This is about you
making good choices, right? And then second time, it gets held for a day till the end. Um, and then we can always tag the the parents in too and say, "Hey, let's sit down and figure this out." >> Um, it's going to happen. We're prepared for it. It's actually even written into some of our guidance with the teachers,
like don't get in a battle over this, >> right? and and we'll figure it out and we'll coach kids through and like Patrick was saying, Mr. Kho was saying, we're going to chase some of these down. Um, but they were they were small in number to start, so I anticipate Yep, we'll have some, but we'll figure them
out. >> Okay, I have a few more questions, but I'm going to allow my board colleagues to go around one more time. Joe, >> no additional addition. >> No additional questions. >> Length the pilot at Canton? >> Pardon?
>> How long was the pilot at Canton? uh two or three months at the end of the year. >> Okay. So, it's a substantial period of time. It wasn't a week. No, you didn't have an author in effect. It's >> No, it was it was >> it was significant. >> And how many classrooms?
>> Uh approximately I didn't see it in the paperwork, so I apologize if I missed it. >> Probably a minimum of 16. >> Okay. >> And all of Stark weather. >> Yeah. Yeah. And they have not and they
have not deviated from it at all. In fact, they >> did Dark Brother only do pilot or did they >> They ran the whole thing from the beginning of the year. We started it the week I got on the job. We started working on it. They rolled it out and they did it all year and it made a huge difference in the building. They
actually saw anecdotally like students were saying they felt less anxious. >> They just felt calmer. They felt more connected. >> That's great. Thank you. I'm looking forward to seeing the results. I know there's going to be bumps in the road and I know it's going to be a learning
process and and training, but I appreciate all of the work that's been done on this and I'm looking forward to seeing the the impact. >> Thank you. I'm excited to see our belonging data. Like I'm really kind of getting geeked out a little bit for what might happen with that. So,
>> all right. Um, couple of last minute questions. One is probably more toward Dr. Merritt in terms of communication outreach. Uh what how many times or what are the efforts that will be made whether it's at the building level or
district level to send communication with families and students about this is the new policy. This is what it really means because let's take language out of policy and simplify it along with the exemptions in terms of what when students can and cannot use those. And
then when they sign off on their back to school, I know as a parent after second year, I'm not reading through all of that again. So, how do you ensure that when parents are signing off on those back to school records that they actually know what that policy is? Is
there like sometimes you can do a popup and say you have to read this before you sign off? We don't have the plan to do that. Um the expectation when you sign that is that you've read it. But for us, I think on the other end is the education, the multiple touch points.
So, district communication website on their newsletter. So, district communication that then is funneled to the building principles. So, that everybody puts that in their individual newsletter, the information about the student code of conduct, our social media outlets. So, multiple ways in writing to be able to communicate from
both district and building that this is the policy, this is the law, this is where you go to find out more information. But again, the expectation is always in that student handbook um that they've read it and we do know that everybody doesn't read it, right? Some people sign to your point. So, we just
have to continue to to find ways, multiple ways to educate families about >> Okay. And my last uh question comment is more around texting on your computer because I know students have found a workaround whether it's through Google Docs. I have a computer where I have all
my apps and I can do almost everything on here that I can on the phone. And so you could see a student that's engaged but really not engaged. And there is a part of me that worries about the staff having to find all these exceptions and
trying to figure out what student is doing what. So how do we um mitigate that stress for students and teachers in terms of hey even this is not allowed and when you try to do that we will have the same consequence.
um that's been going on since we started using devices. I mean, my gosh, if we could bottle the ingenuity and problem solving of students in high school, I think there's not a single problem in the world, if we could unify it, that we couldn't solve, right? I mean, my gosh. Um I do think the cell phone is the
biggest distractor. Getting that out of the way is just going to open things up and we've already seen it. Um, then teachers as they're having students interact more and are moving around the room and just observing can be like, "Joe, I see you're sending a message there. That's fine if you got one to send, but
I need you on task." If I come back around and see that again, we're going to have a conversation, right? And it's little things like that that actually can be a relationship builder and a connection. And if you put it back on them, remember, we're making choices about how we use these things. We need to be focused here. Is that a thing that needs to happen now? Um, and I think
it's some of that coaching piece because I think if we make it a battle, they will dig in, >> right? >> And then we're going to lose. And I really, we've talked amongst the teachers and the admin, we don't want this to be other imposed discipline. We want it to be a self-discipline that the
students learn and we coach and we have some grace and patience because they're they're going to be unhealthy if they don't, >> right? >> So, yep. It's going to be challenging. It's going to slide a little bit off the rails here and there as we're trying to figure out how to address certain
things, but we're ready to kind of once we get the habit down, then move on to address that next thing and that next thing and really not make it a battle that takes teachers energy and time away. Um >> my last question is uh phones at lunchtime, whether it's in elementary, middle, or high school. What's
allowable? What's not? >> Phones would be allowed uh at lunch or during passing >> all levels high school. Sorry, let me be clear. Yep. Middle school away for the day as I understand it. Uh elementary, nope. >> Um but at the high school level when
they're moving between buildings with 10 minutes and when they have lunch, that's part of learning how to use them intelligently. Um and making some choices >> because I feel like that's where some of the great conversation can happen because our I mean even adults get stuck with this. We go to a cafeteria or something and we're kind of on our phone
when there's a whole world in front of you and we miss out on those conversations. >> Yep. And again, you're right, but I think also that's then the place where students then have an arena to exercise their choices and to try it and to apply those skills without us being in control of it. Um, I think those are choices
they have to make. >> Um, and I think they'll learn. Did you guys actually notice any difference at lunch or in passing periods after this was going on? I don't know if you did or didn't. Um, so I actually had a couple points, too. So, thank you. But I think
the and I don't think there's that much of a difference. I also think on the cafeteria point that cafeterias are really chaotic and just there's a lot of students. I don't think it'd be really possible or be a lot of stress to manage that. >> Okay. >> Um and I think having time in the middle
of the day to uh to still have students have students an opportunity to use their phone is probably not a bad idea to make it feel less harsh of a change. Yeah, I appreciate that. >> If you wanted to finish with your >> No, no, go ahead. Go ahead.
>> Um, so another thing is in terms of I was trying to remember what I was going to say. Um, in terms of how you're going to communicate it to students. I think one of the biggest things is it could have been worse. I think the idea that we're
that that's one of the reasons I'm excited with this is because um I think focusing on making it a battle and not making it like a a method of giving out punishments is really important because not only does it make it easier for the students, but it also helps students
create bonds to their teachers and that's also really important. So, if we're, you know, making this as easy to adjust into for the students as possible, that's one of the things that we should definitely communicate with students and families
that, you know, we're trying to make this as easy as possible. the government, the mission government said that change needed to happen. So, it could have been worse, but that's one of the things I think you can try to make the communication around. Um, and then
finally, I was just curious on who would take responsibility on the very rare chance that a phone gets damaged. Is there a plan for that? >> Um, >> good question. >> Yeah, it is an excellent question. And as I understand it, that would fall to district insurance is my understanding
of that. um unless somebody can supersede that. But my understanding from previous council is that that would fall under that category. >> Good question. >> But that is an excellent question because I will tell you in my previous building all my teachers were freaking out because they're like, "Wait, I'm
going to have to be responsible for $32,000 of equipment if something happens to it." And we So we found that out and it's it does fall to insurance. And so that be covered that would be covered. And I think some of our communication is
staged both for students and adults to say, "Hey, this is about giving you the young adult choice >> because it could have been much worse, >> right? And we want to teach you to use it." >> Okay, thank you. Um I have Secretary Wester one. Um my family is is very into
technology. Um, and one of the things that occurred to me is this is very similar to a lot of the advice that um, professionals give to families about how to educate their children to use to be a
digital native safely. Um, so I appreciate that the di the dialogue is there and I think that the the critical mass of it being enforced across the board will aid a lot of that that
those rough areas of of smart of smart watches or using it at lunchtime. So >> I will say we had some teachers who were like I could I could never do that. I couldn't I could oh I couldn't. And then they watch their neighbors do it and they're like, "You you you survived." And they're like, "Yeah." And they're
like, "Okay, maybe I'll try." And then they're like, "Oh my gosh, this works." And it does start to spread. And there'll be an outlier here or there, but we'll we'll get people to to go with it. >> Yeah. The critical mass is everything. >> Yeah. >> Thank you. >> All right. >> Do we want to consider
>> That's what I was going to say. Colleagues, are you comfortable considering this as a first and final? If there's any hesitancy, please don't feel that you are being pressured into this. So, I'll quick go around if you're comfortable. Joe, comfortable with first
and final >> comments? >> Yes. >> Yes. Okay. Um Diane, can we get a action item number for this? >> Certainly, Madam President, the action item number to for the resolution to adopt the wireless communications device
will be 270808. Okay, I'm looking for a motion for action item number 27- 270808, first and final reading for a wireless communication device policy. Madame President, I move that we consider the
res the resolution for wireless communication devices policy action item 270808 as a first and final reading. >> Second. >> Okay. It was moved by Secretary Wester, seconded by Treasure Kho. I'm going to
call for a vote. >> All in favor say yes. >> Yes. >> Yes. Any oppose? Say no. >> Okay. Thank you so much for that work. I think this is going to be a positive move for our students and adults. >> Thank you for the gift of time, the suggestion.
>> It's we communication is key. So that's why we want I mean we really prefer to do these things as normal course first reading second reading but with the time constraint I think it's it's it this is important for >> and families if you're watching and people that are in the audience and
students please start to spread the word that they need to go on our website to look at this policy and learn about the details for every grade level from elementary, middle school, high school so they can get a heads up on this and ask questions early on. Okay,
thank you so much. All right, we are moving on to Oh, we don't have any uh second citizens. Thank you students. You're getting a a round of applause for your great feedback. Thank you. >> This is why we love having students at
the table. We hear from them directly. All right, we don't have any second um part of citizens comments with overflow. We'll move on to the discussion part of our agenda. We are looking at workshop dates to establish board and superintendent goals for the 2627 school
year. I wanted to get started on this early enough so that we have time to establish those goals, build in check-in times, and then work toward those goals and um utilize as much time as we can early on. So, if we could open up our
calendars Miss Minnik, I don't think we've received our calendar invites for FNO yet. Correct. >> We have or we have not. >> We have developed a draft meeting calendar. >> Yeah, but I don't think we've sent out the appointments to block our calendars yet. >> No, that's true.
>> Okay. So I just as we talk about the dates I may need you to >> uh be aware of that draft calendar so that we don't >> and I think policy hasn't been sent out either has it >> policy has there is a draft calendar that Mr. Majun sent out for policy and
um member Ahmed once you look at those dates would you mind sharing them with your committee members? So policy is generally the last business meeting of the month and right before that. >> And for reference, FNO is usually the
Thursday before the school board meeting. >> Okay. >> So that's the general uh process. >> Okay. And just for clarity, this is going to be um a dual a two for one. We're going to develop board goals and superintendent goals. So
we will probably need about an hour or two. You're going to need at least two. >> Okay. >> Come on. Let's be clear. >> Be clear. >> That's why I wanted >> plan three just to be safe. >> Yeah. And don't be surprised when it runs to three. >> Okay. All right. How about we plan for
two, but I do already have an assignment for the board members to um reduce the time a little bit. So, this would include Dr. Mayor in this conversation. So, let's start looking at our calendars in September. Um, how does
I know school starts late this year, September 8th, so I >> started early. >> That's right. Uh, that's right. Um, but Labor Day is on the 7th. So, we do have a meeting on September 8th. Do you think that's going to run long?
>> The meeting on the 8th. >> Yeah, I'm thinking if we could do it before or after. >> I would definitely not do after because I think you want to have your fresh mind around. >> Okay. >> It was probably even if you could do a separate day, it might even >> Okay, let's look at separate dates then. All right. How about September 23rd?
>> I will be out of town that week. >> That whole week. Okay. September 28th. That works for me. September 28th, Monday. Does that work for everybody? >> I'm pretty sure. So, let me double check. >> Dr. Barrett works for me.
>> Okay. Looks like September 28th, Monday works for everybody. Oh, >> double checking. >> 5:30 to 7:30. >> Yeah, work great for me. >> Okay. So, let's uh Diane, could you send everyone an appointment reminder for the
28th of September, 5:30 to 7:30 for board and superintendent goals? And so, for the board, um I'd like to get this started early. So, what your assignment is between now and then, and you have plenty of time to draft two goals, and I'll remind you at the next meeting as
well, but start thinking about two goals that you would like to submit. And what I'll do is I'll take everybody's two goals, put them on a sheet of paper, and then we will sort of narrow those down during our meeting so we won't have to develop goals from scratch. So, I want
to get your thinking ahead of time in terms of what you think we should be working toward as a board. I know some of you have individual goals as well that you want to work on for this year. That's great, but this is for us as a board. Okay, any questions about that assignment?
Great. board goals, not super. >> Correct. Dr. Merritt will work on her goals and she'll bring them uh on that date as well. So, I want us to come prepared and then I want Dr. Merritt to come prepared and that's why I'm hoping that we should be done in two hours. >> September 28th.
>> Yes. But again, I'll send another reminder about developing those board goals and sending them to me ahead of time. Okay. Next up is the 2627 master board calendar presentation discussion. So as a reminder in board notes every week we attach the master board
calendar. We go in as an administrative team and set the dates for the presentations that are annual that we must have such as staffing presentations that two data presentations each year. So our team has gone and done that and then we look to the board to provide
asks about different presentations in alignment with the dynamic plan that you would like to see this year. So, we just wanted to bring that to your awareness. Um, protocol typically we'd have at least two board members that would want to hear that presentation. Um, what we
have done in the past is at the bottom of the master calendar, if you have ideas, we'll kind of jot those down and then see if there's consensus to say this is a presentation that we'd like to bring forward and then we work that into the calendar. So, we wanted to just bring it up this evening, give you an
opportunity to look at the presentations that are already established and then come back prepared at the next meeting if there's different topics. I will say for example, I remember athletics and activities that committee that was something that came in the past. We've had transportation um things that might
be either things that we've looked to talk about in the past or something that you like to move forward workshops versus presentations. So if there's some time you'd like to spend digging into, hey, we really want to talk about attendance or what are we doing in this space. So just wanted to bring it up
tonight. You have access every Friday to board notes to the draft calendar. Take a look and in two weeks come prepared with some ideas that you would like to see presentations. We can go through a process to say that we have at least two board members and we can formalize when we see those presentations.
>> Thank you, Dr. Merritt. Uh the last thing that I'd like to quick bring up for discussion is board member professional learning. I encourage all of you to take advantage of the professional learning offered through Michigan Association of School Boards. I know there is a conference
this weekend there. That's their summer institute. They have a fall conference in Lancing uh along with the delegate assembly and they also have smaller workshops that you can take online. Some are actually in person if you want to just do one workshop. uh they have different uh locations for those. So if
you could visit masb.org, see if there's anything you want to take um please send that to Diane and CC me on that. But I really do want us to be the best board possible with the best information that we have to do collaborative work that advances our
district and at some point I would like Dr. Merritt to attend with us if it's a conference that uh like a their fall annual conference. So take a look. Um again I encourage all of you to get involved with professional learning. The Wayne County Association of School
Boards also offers professional development and that is at no cost. That is also funded by the county and Michigan Association of School Boards. Those dates have not come out yet, but watch for your emails. They will be sending out some networking opportunities. I think it's a great way to meet other board members from other
districts to learn. So keep an eye out for that. Okay, any questions on that? All right. Now we are moving up to follow-up board questions. I do we have any from the last meeting? >> Okay.
>> Wait, I'm not prepared. >> Sticky note. Okay. >> There were no questions from the board meeting last time, but I know member Toliffson sent an email um out asking about the clarification on the website. Did you get a response to that for the sinking fund?
>> Oh yes, we did incorporate. So, it was a suggestion of um the map that we have, the interactive map that shows where all of the districts that surround us visually shows that they have seeking funds and we don't. And so, that is something that will be added to the website. >> Okay, great suggestions.
>> We're actually working with our TMP. Um they're going to help us with some of the campaign materials. So, they're that that map that we showed was one that we had used from a different place and they're going to reproduce our own. Then, we can upload that to the site. So, >> thank you. Okay, we are at the end of our agenda.
We will adjourn at 8:31. Have a great night, everyone.