Good evening and welcome to the September 23rd, 2025, regular meeting of the District 60 Board of Education. I would now like to call the meeting to order. The time is five 30. Would you please call the role Ms. Patron? Mr. Cisneros? Here. Dr. Dero? Here. Judge Mays. Here. Mrs. Pen Nuncio. Here. Mr. Tebow here The Board of education has a matter to discuss an executive session as follows, to confer with the school district's attorney for the purpose of receiving legal advice pursuant to
Colorado revised statute section 24 dash six dash 4 0 2 4 B on the following specific legal questions? One. Legal counsel's interpretation of the requirements of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 19 72 20 USC Section 1681 and the following, and its current implementing regulations 34 CFR Part 1 0 6 adopted in 2020
as related to current district policies adopted under that title and the application of related provisions of state law, two council's. Interpretation of current federal court decisions concerning these requirements and policies as applied to school districts. And number three, theories of defense and options in responding to any potential threatened litigation or adverse governmental action or initiating potential litigation
concerning the district's compliance with Title ix, its regulations and state law. Do I have a motion to go into executive session? So moved. Is there a second? Second. Is there any discussion? See none. Please call the vote Ms. Patron. Mr. Cisneros Aye. Dr. De Niro? Aye. Judge Mays Aye. Mrs. Pen, nuncio. Aye. Mr. Tebo? Aye. At this time, superintendent Kimsey and the school board's attorneys, Mr. Uh Elliot Hood and Ms. Melissa Barber of Kaplan
and Earnest will be joining us in, uh, the Boardroom for Executive session. We will now adjourn and reconvene in the conference room. Thank you. I apologize for being a little bit late. Our executive session ran over a few minutes, so thank you very much for your patience. We really appreciate it. And at this time, if you would please stand and say the Pledge of Allegiance with me, Mr. Of the United States of America and to the Republic for which stands, one Nation under God, liberty and Justice for. All Right. Before we adopt the agenda, does Superintendent Kimsey
or a board member have any recommendations for modified corrections or modifications to the agenda at this time? Alright, seeing none, we'll move on to 3.0 adoption of the agenda. May I have a motion please? So Moved. Is there a second? I second. Is there any debate? Scene? None. Please call the vote. Ms. Patron. Mr. Cisneros? Aye. Dr. De Niro? Aye. Judge Mayes Aye. Mrs. Peno? Aye. Mr. Tepo? Aye. We'll now move on to public comments. Mr. Sprouse, are there any recorded comments this evening?
Thank you President Pen Nuncio. We did receive one recorded message for this evening's meeting. I'll go ahead and ask Grace to play that now. Hello. Good. Good evening everybody. This is Alvis Martinez and add light to our city on the south side and on the east side. And I'm thinking that the school board is wanting to rush this prior to the election, prior to a possible two new board members being on the school board come December. So I would advise you guys to postpone
this vote instead of in November. Have it after the, the new people are sworn in because Bradford is gonna be on the chopping block and that could be turned into a pre-K through second grade because that is in the lower East side, as we all know. And underserved kids are mainly going there. So put this above politics and everything. And also think about all of the employees at every single school that's on the possible closure list.
Will every single employee at those schools that wanna stay with the district to be guaranteed a job at their pay or above their pay come next school year with their steps on how long that they have been in the school district? How about the facilities crew, the nighttime custodians? This will affect their job because each school has one headman. Well, all three of those headmen have a headman job come next school year with those nighttime custodians.
Have a job come next year as full-time. Think about how this will affect that staff. Also, the, the staff that will be cleaning out these schools or the custodians and facilities right there. So if you guys choose to close any of these schools, will you, you guys volunteer your time to help clean out these schools? That is a question that everybody wants to know. So think before action on closing these schools.
Think about alternatives, what we could do for these schools. And I would suggest that Bessemer be turned into fourth grade through eighth grade. Like we have cor one like that. Just think before voting on this in November. Do not rush it. And how I have stated already, please postpone this vote until after the election, after the new school board members are put in. And I wanna thank you for all of you guys for allowing me
to speak and rest in peace. Charlie Kirk. Kurt. Thank you Mr. Martinez. We now have one, um, public comment that was someone signed up for public comment. So at this time, I would like to invite Mr. Mike Mays to the microphone. Good evening, Mr. Mays. And welcome. And I think you know the Paul, how it works with the light fix. So thank you so much. Sorry. Uh, good evening, president Peno, superintendent Kimsey and members of the board. I'm here tonight because I believe we are at a crossroads on the agenda. Tonight is the discussion regarding the repeal
of policy a CE three. While the repeal of this policy may seem like a small concession, where will it lead? We cannot allow ourselves to be cowed by the threats of an authoritarian government and be extorted into changing policies that result in the loss of rights for our students. If we give into intimidation today, we set a precedent that the abuse of power rather than principle, determines what is right for our schools and our students. The very idea of public education rests on the belief that every child deserves the freedom to learn to question
and to grow without fear. When outside forces pressure us to abandon these values, they're not simply asking for a policy change. They're demanding that we surrender Our children's future history teaches us that rights are rarely lost all at once. They're chipped away. One concession, one compromise, one act of silence at a time. Each time we yield, the next demand becomes easier to make. Today it may be the rights of students tomorrow. It could be which truths are allowed to be spoken in our classrooms,
which families are welcome in our schools, or which children are allowed to attend. We cannot appease those who threaten us. We must protect the students who depend on us to stand firm. Courage is not the absence of fear. It is the decision that something else is more important and what could be more important than the rights and dignity of our children. Yes, the potential loss of federal dollars is frightening and would have a detrimental impact on this district. But should there be any dollar amount we are willing to accept in exchange for surrendering our rights,
I urge this board to reject intimidation, to stand on principle and to affirm that our schools remain, will remain places of learning, not tools of coercion. If we do not draw the line here, we will look back and wonder when we lost the very freedoms so many fought to secure, protect our students, protect our educators, and protect the democratic values that make public education possible for if we do not speak out now one day, there may be no one left to speak out for us.
Thank you. Thank you Mr. Mays. All right, next up is 4.0 Gifts to Schools Superintendent Kimsey. Do we have any gifts to schools this evening? We most certainly do. President Pen Nuncio. Um, I would like to list each one and thank our donors, uh, and then provide the total. Uh, Pueblo Central Foundation donated $10,000 to Central High School's Principal Education Foundation Fund. Alyssa Perga donated various school supplies valued at $250 to District 60 McKinney-Vento program.
And of course, that supports our, our students who are displaced or unhoused. Steven and Naomi Carter donated $1,000 to Bacca Bessemer, Beah Heights, Bradford Columbian, Franklin Heritage, Irving Minnequa, Parkview, and South Park Elementaries split evenly among them. Pueblo Central High School Foundation donated $17,000 to Pueblo Central High School's Activity Fund. Pueblo County Sheriff's Office donated $500 to Centennial High School's football program.
The Burnt Group Incorporated. Collins Aerospace donated $600 to Centennial High School's football program Foundation for Impact of Literacy and Learning Incorporated donated $500 to East High School's F-C-C-L-A program. Brian Robinson donated A-F-L-S-U-N-S one Pro 3D printer valued at $1,000 to South High School and Solution Pro Heating
and Air LLC donated $500 to Centennial High School's softball program. These donations total 30 1005 $350. We are so thankful to our donors and the Board of Education is respectfully asked to accept these gifts to our district. Thank you Superintendent Kim Z. And thank you to these groups that have so generously donated. As always, we are so appreciative of your generosity. May I have a motion, please? Dr. De Niro. I move that the Board of Education approves
and graciously accepts the gifts to schools as presented in the September 23rd, 2025 board materials. Is there a second? Second. Is there any discussion? See none. Please call the vote. Ms. Patron. Mr. Cisneros Aye. Dr. De Niro? Aye. Judge Mays Aye. Mrs. Pen, nuncio. Aye. Mr. Tebo? Aye. All. We're on to 7.0 communications and board comments. Does Superintendent Kimsey or a board member have any communications or comments this evening? Director Tebow. Thank you. I just wanted to, um, sort
of update the board on some activities that, uh, I engaged in and, um, they've occurred over, um, a time period and, uh, in the last several weeks in particular, um, I had the privilege of attending the Colorado Association of School Board Fall Conference in Loveland a few weeks ago. And, um, we received an email from our, uh, board secretary about the final resolutions that were adopted. And I think, uh, there's a handout as well tonight that, um, you may have received sort of, um,
putting in hard copy that document. It's pretty extensive. But, um, I just wanted to point out one thing for you, uh, as you read through it at your leisure on page three, is the, um, legislative agenda of the CASB uh, board, uh, relative to finance. And, um, item number three talks about modifying aspects of Tabor that represent a barrier to full funding of K 12 education. And, uh, I offered a floor amendment, which was successful
during the debate process that is attached on page, um, oh, let's see what page that's on. It would probably be on page six at the bottom. And it was really an attempt to sort of clarify, put a little more meat into that resolution where CASB, um, resolved to support an amendment to the Colorado Constitution, or applicable law exempting state money appropriated for school finance from local table Tabor Reserve requirements. And what that that does, and I think we've had discussions about this in the past,
is it, um, it allows, uh, for the state to do when it appropriates the equalization money to reserve the 3%, but when the money comes to us as a transfer from the state, it does not require us to withhold 3%. Now, we could hold 3% if we want, and we can call it whatever we want, put it in our other reserves, or it would be freed up for our district, um, and other districts to use on any kind of one time expenditure or over a period of time.
Um, the things that were going through my mind, of course, were things like, um, some of the, um, preschool matters that we dealt with, some of the potential grant losses that we're facing. Um, it's just a, a way for us to keep, um, reserves within our purview and let the state keep the reserve that's required and free up, um, sort of the double reserves that, that the districts, um, uh, hold under current, uh, tabor and law. So it's, um, simply a resolution. It it's not a law.
It, the, the, the CASB, um, lobbyist will undertake whatever efforts to try to deal with that at the legislative level. Um, the other thing that I wanted to mention to you is that I was able to, um, attend last week, the Colorado School Finance Project meeting. And, um, the day that I was there, there was a lot of discussion about adequately funding, um, you know, the School Finance Act as well as adequately funding other categorical programs and so on. And from that particular discussion, um,
there was a group that approached me with a, with a campaign that's coming up probably in 2026. It's called Get It Done. And they're trying to fully and fairly fund our public schools. Um, they consider their tagline, public schools strong is I think how they say it. And they're going to be, um, asking us to, to talk with them, uh, to pass perhaps some resolutions that are, uh, indicative of, um, fully funding, uh, K through 12, pre-K through 12, uh, especially, uh,
as it relates to the adequacy studies that were done, um, over time. And so, I, I'm just letting the, the board know that I'm gonna take a particular interest in this and work with you all to be sure we're understanding what this group is after, and if we agree, we can deal with resolutions and efforts to try to increase our funding. And lastly, I haven't reported or commented on my, um, my role as the, um, Pueblo Area Council of Government representative for the board.
But I'll tell you, we meet once a month. And in particular what we always talk about is, um, transportation in the general sense. And I always try to keep the conversation at least, um, focused in, at some level on the safety of our students in District 60. Um, we've talked in the past, of course, about, um, having bus routes for our students, which we're aware of with the, uh, agreement with the city, um, the, the school crossings that, especially about highways
and, um, just overall being aware of our transportation system and how it, how it works with, um, with, uh, parents, cars, students, buses, and so on. And that discussion seems to keep going on and on and on. Um, and I'm happy that it is and the, the, the members of Peacock, uh, seem to be really invested in, in that safety aspect. So I just wanted to bring you up to date on those things that I was involved in over the last several weeks. Thank you. Thank you, director Tebow. Other comments from the board?
Director De Niro. Thank you very much. Um, I attended and had a wonderful time visiting with, uh, different schools and different community organizations at the Place Bar Block Party, um, that was held on the street side of Risley. Um, I know, uh, Mrs. Jeanette Garcia puts a lot of work into that, and I wanna thank all of the staff and schools that work diligently to make that a success for the East Side community. I also had an opportunity to attend the Cannon game,
the south and east game, and that was a pure exhibit of sportsmanship and what it means to have a cannon game or a bell game in this town. We had fans that stayed throughout the rain, um, throughout each quarter. And Miss Mrs. Ellie Nes, is that how you say your last name? Ne Ne Thank you. Um, thank you so much for your hospitality in the area,
uh, in the locker room and the, the facility looks fantastic. Uh, it was a great game and who would've thought the outcome? Uh, the kids were great. Um, congratulations to both sides. Uh, it was sad for East, but, um, we all know that there's a winner and someone who doesn't win, but it was a great game. Thank you. Thank you Director de Niro of the comments from the board. All right, we'll move on to 8.0 special resolutions. And tonight we have three special resolutions to present.
Director Cisneros will be reading the first resolution, Thank you. Excuse me. Resolution honoring the efforts of Pueblo School District Number 60 occupational therapists. Whereas the occupational therapist of Pueblo School District Number 60 provide many services and supports to the students to bring them toward their highest achievement possible. And whereas they serve a student population of over 13,000 children every school day, and whereas they do so with great skill, care and compassion, and therefore be it resolved
that the Pueblo School District Number 60 Board of Education acknowledges October 27th, 2025 as National Occupational Therapist Day. Further, the board expresses deep and heartfelt appreciation to the efforts made by the occupational therapy staff each and every school day. Thank you. Director Cisneros. May I have a motion please? I hereby move that the Board of Education adopts this, uh, policy tonight presented in the the board materials tonight. Is there a second? Second. Is there any discussion? Please call the vote. Ms. Petro.
Mr. Cisneros Aye. Dr. De Niro? Aye. Judge Mays Aye. Mrs. Ben Nuncio. Aye. Mr. Tebow Aye. The next resolution to be presented this evening will be by Director Mays. The Board of Education is asked to proclaim October as National Bullying Prevention Month. The 2025 National Bullying Prevention Month proclamation reads as follows, whereas bullying is physical, verbal, sexual, or emotional harm or intimidation, intentionally directed at a person or group of people. And whereas bullying occurs in neighborhoods, playgrounds,
schools, and online through technology, and whereas various researchers have concluded that bullying is the most common form of violence affecting millions of American children and adolescents annually. And whereas many of Pueblo School District Number 60, children and adolescents are affected by bullying annually. And whereas targets of bullying are at an increased risk for depression, anxiety, sleep difficulties, lower academic achievement, and dropping outta school. And students who are repeatedly bullied, often peer such activities as riding the bus, going
to school, interacting online and attending community activities. And whereas children who bully are at a greater risk of engaging in more serious violent behaviors. And whereas children who witnessed bullying off and feel less safe, helpless to stop it and intimidated now therefore be it resolved that the Board of Education proclaims October as National Bullying Prevention Month and be it further resolved that Pueblo School District Number 60 Board of Education encourages the schools students parents to engage in a variety of awareness
and prevention activities designed to make our communities safer for all children and adolescents. Therefore, I would at this time, uh, recommend that the District 60 School Board proclaim October as National Bullying Prevention Month as presented in its September 23rd, 2024 Board of Materials. Thank you. Director Mays. Is there a second? Second? Is there any discussion? See none. Please call the vote Ms. Patron. Mr. Cisneros Aye. Dr. De Niro? Aye. Judge Mays Aye.
Mrs. Pen, nuncio Aye. Mr. Tebo Aye. And our final resolution this evening will be read by Director De Niro. The Board of Education is asked to proclaim September, 2025 as National Suicide Prevention Month, whereas with September being recognized as Suicide Awareness Month to raise the visibility of mental health and proactive suicide prevention resources in our community. And whereas according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, A FSP suicide is the second leading cause of death
among individuals between the ages 10 and 34. And whereas according to Hope for the day, with an average of 132 suicides completed daily and each one directly impacting 100 additional people, including friends, service members, family, social media, connections, and neighbors, we can safely assume everyone has been impacted by suicide. And whereas Pueblo School District Number 60 places its support behind those who work in the field of mental health education and law enforcement. And whereas we encourage all residents to take time
to understand mental health through education and recognize that we need to take care of our mental health while we take care of each other. And now therefore be it resolved that the Pueblo School District Number 60 Board of Education hereby proclaims the month of September, 2025 as National Suicide Prevention Month. I move that the Board of Education proclaims the month of September, 2025 as National Suicide Prevention Month as presented in the September 23rd, 2025 board materials. Thank you. Director De Niro. Is there a second? Second.
Is there any discussion? See none. Please call the vote. Ms. Paton. Mr. Cisneros Aye. Dr. De Niro? Aye. Judge Mays Aye. Mrs. Pen, nuncio. Aye. Mr. Tebo? Aye. Next on the agenda is 9.0. Superintendent Kimsey, do we have any reports this evening? We do. Uh, president Pen Nuncio, it is my distinct honor and pleasure to invite forward principal Janelle Manis from Risley School of Exploration, along with Ms. Jen Bauer from the, uh, associate Dean of the Relay School
of, uh, graduate School of Education, and Dr. Sam Schneider, school and District Transformation Manager from the Colorado Department of Education. And they are going to present the board an overview of the current progress at Risley. Ms. Dr. Schneider. Thank Thank you, uh, president, uh, pen Nuncio, superintendent Kimsey. Um, it's an auditor to be here tonight and to, um, update you all on some of the progress, um, at, at Risley. Um, and I'm excited to be here alongside, uh, Janelle and Jen to provide those updates as part
of the ongoing state board directed action at Risley For tonight. Um, I'll start and I'll be brief because you don't want to hear from the guy from the state for too long. It's more important to hear from the folks who are on the ground doing the work. Um, and we'll just do a little brief reorientation to the state's accountability system and then we'll launch into some updates around the implementation that's been going on at Risley. Um, and then we'll close out with some q and a from you all. Um, if we can be helpful in that way. I wanna start with just our general end of clock process
for our state accountability system. Here. You can see the overall process start to finish beginning in year four, all the way up to year five and beyond for some of our schools across the state of Colorado. Some things I'll note here that are exciting for this year that you already know about is that central and Minnequa, after being under state board directed action, continue to be off the clock. Um, and in fact, my understanding is Central High School is really close to green status, um, and the district is pursuing a request to reconsider to ensure that happens.
So that's an ongoing celebration in Pueblo that it's, it's great to highlight here tonight. Then I'll also highlight, um, that Highland Park Elementary School was a year four school last year and was able to make a big jump in their performance, uh, this past year to now be on watch. So they will get one more year and then their clock status will go all the way back to zero. Um, and then Risley is there, um, continuing to receive some report, um, supports from myself as well as Jen and the district, um, with their state board directed action. And so just for ongoing context, this is year 12
for them on the accountability clock. But then underneath of this timeline of results, you can also see some of the changes and supports that they've received over the years. So you can see that in the initial stages they had support from ANet, MGT and UVA, um, and then the relay partnership beginning only in 2020. There are no new requirements as a year 12 school. Um, and the earliest that a rehearing would happen for Risley if they were to continue to remain on the clock would be in the spring of 2027, which is a wild year
to say I still am not comfortable saying a number like 2027. And so then also if it's helpful, just some ongoing context of where Risley has been in the last few years, I'll just name that the key headline here in what's shown is that Risley experienced some really high turnover in the spring of 2023 going into the fall of 2024, almost 90% of their EL and math teachers, which we all know is a really challenging way to make improvement happen. And that they have made a big shift there retaining almost a
hundred percent of their quality or qualified staff members, not just in math and language arts. Um, and that they've been able to take what were previously unfilled positions and challenging to fill positions like middle school math teacher and ensure that those folks remain in the building and those positions remain filled. So that's some important context to this turnaround work that I think is really valuable. And then to go a little bit deeper into performance here, again, nothing that you haven't necessarily heard before already from your district leadership, but just want to continue to name that the framework continues
to stay at a priority improvement level. And this past year in particular, um, that percent of points earned was driven by some improvements in academic growth for ELA. And that was particularly true for students with IEPs in this last year. And although academic achievement continues to remain low, there's some incremental progress being made in ELA as well. And with that, I'll hand things over to Jen and Janelle to talk a little bit more about implementation. Thanks. Thank you, Sam. Good evening, Madam President, members of the Board Superintendent Kimsey.
As Sam said, my name is Jen Bauer, I'm a senior partner at Relay Graduate School of Education. Um, as a quick reminder, relay is a nationally accredited not-for-profit institution of higher education. And we serve pre-K through 12th grade teachers as well as school and system leaders around the country. The mission and vision statement that you see here is our why and grounds the work that we do. So with that quick reminder, let's jump into the data. Over the past couple of years, Risley has seen consistent growth in ELA on the state assessment. Students in specific subgroups have shown the greatest growth.
In fact, students with IEPs have demonstrated the most growth in the past two years, which is due to Janelle's sustained focus on ensuring the ESS team has a consistent and clear structure for supporting their students both in and out of the tier one classroom. As you're aware from your previous review of the CMAs data, sixth graders at Risley had some of the highest growth district-wide in ELA. Janelle and her team are eager to build on that success through ongoing coaching of the humanities team around robust tier one instruction.
When we consider our math CMAs data, we have maintained overall stability with just a slight decline. Similar to ELA, we see the most and most consistent growth in data for students with IEPs who achieved a significant seven point gain over the two years. However, we do see performance gaps widening for some subgroups, including our multilingual learners and our minority students. So to ensure that Risley has more consistent growth in math and new PBL aligned math curriculum has been adopted by Risley that will allow all tier one classrooms
to provide daily math that is aligned with the PBL focus of student-centered problem solving opportunities. This alignment between resources and coaching around math language routines to support multilingual students will also help address some of the gaps that we've seen with this data in mind. I'm gonna turn it over to Janelle to share updates on her big rock priorities this year. Good evening. Um, Madam President, superintendent Kimsey, and the members of the board, I'd like to share our focus areas for this year. Um, our big rocks.
I'd first like to touch on our instructional big rock, um, ensuring all students receive rigorous grade level or real world engaging instruction and appropriate support. There's a couple of really important bullets underneath that. Um, we're doing that through project based learning, through our stream grant as well as the new mathematics resource and reading strategies across all content areas. Um, our second big rock is around refining and reinvesting students and staff in our agreed upon school-wide routines, procedures, and systems. And once again, um, some important bullet points. We're doing that through consistent application of systems,
um, with ongoing systems in ongoing progress monitoring, including ongoing coaching and feedback for staff on culture and instruction. Um, and then strengthening our tier one MTSS processes for attendance and behavior, while also providing targeted tier two and tier three supports for identified students. Um, on Big Rock number one, you'll see some important action steps from last year. And then our focus is for this year. So last year we really focused on continuing to improve our coaching and support for teachers, including improved use of rigorous text and questioning in ELA,
improving teachers' capacity for giving feedback to students through academic monitoring and ensuring the use of high quality instructional resources in mathematics. This year we're focused mostly on continuing to deepen teachers' practices in ELA focusing TRO focusing on stronger student to student discourse. And then also our implementation of our problem-based high quality instructional resource for open up in mathematics. Um, we did receive the Magnet school grant and so we've done a lot of work around our stream programming with that. Last year we built a magnet school leadership team
and met monthly to learn more about stream PBL and the goals of the grant. And then we used this information to create an action plan. We also surveyed students, staff, and the community, um, to create three new career pathways for this school year and rebrand the school as Risley School of Exploration. This year, through our grant, we're focused on training all teachers in project based learning or PBL and implementing PBL units at all subjects and all grade levels. We're also using the new innovation space and stream classroom to provide more hands-on learning
opportunities for students. And we're providing career-focused courses for our seventh and eighth graders and more career exploration at all three grade levels. Um, in this slide you'll see our behavior data For the past three years in our previous focus with Big Rock number two, we had success in decreasing our office referrals and we had success in building strong systems around student culture. We are building on that success with an increased enrollment at seventh and eighth grade, as well as 138 new sixth graders through consistent classroom walkthroughs and ongoing coaching.
Another area that we've really focused on is having students at school. If students aren't present, then they can't learn. One of the things that we've done to support this is to build out an in-school suspension program or students are getting individualized, academic, social, emotional and behavioral support. We want our students in school and to learn from their mistakes. You can see that along with the efforts to provide structure for our students. This approach has also decreased in or, uh, this has also, um, seen an overall decrease in suspensions and a decrease in in-school suspensions.
We do abide by the district code of conduct, which does require some out-of-school suspensions for specific behaviors. However, if we keep students at school, that is always our first approach. Moreover, we're celebrating the fact that we have built an effective ISS program that prioritizes class time for our students. And we're proud of the school-wide systems that we've been able to build to ensure that all staff contribute to a strong school culture. And this year we're excited to build on that success by welcoming new students staff and continuing to coach teachers in building accountability. I'd like to now shift back to Jen Bauer
to talk about the ongoing partial management support at Risley. Thank you, Janelle. I'd like to just share a quick overview of Relay's, support of Risley by noting that there really isn't a week that goes by when I'm not connecting with either Janelle or somebody on her team, either in person or virtually. Janelle and her leadership team and I are in constant communication. That can be either through a formal check-in on Zoom, we might call each other, um, just quickly if something has come up that we need to talk through and problem solve together. Um, and through these structured check-ins and coaching the in-person visits twice a month.
And the collaborative time that I spend with Janelle's supervisor and the CDE, Janelle and her team do have consistent ongoing support. And with that, I'm gonna turn it back over to Dr. Schneider. And so just as a couple of final key takeaways here, I think we just want to emphasize that though there has not been sizable shifts and performance levels, there's a really powerful foundation that the Risley team has built, particularly when it comes to staff retention that will, we hope will lead to some future improvement. There's steady progress in ELA that we really believe can be sustained.
There is an aligned math curriculum and what I would argue is a very rare thing these days, a highly invested and coachable group of math teachers at Risley that are hungry to do what's right for students. Um, and then lastly, um, you know, Risley has been able to sustain their performance in an era where there's been some middle school decline and that it's probably a good, um, strategy and approach to consider, um, what supports exist or could exist for the feeder pattern for Risley to ensure that more sixth graders are arriving at Risley ready
for grade level content. So with that, we'd love to turn it over to you all for any questions you might have for myself or Jen or Janelle. Questions from the board Director De Niro. Thank you for that, uh, report. That's very, very good news. I think the, the one thing that you hit on is that in assuring that as students come in, that they are on grade grade level with reading and math and writing, especially reading. 'cause that makes a real difference as they go through their middle school years and the content becomes more difficult to comprehend.
Um, thank you both for being here, uh, principal, uh, Rizzley, uh, great job. Thank you so much. Other comments from the board director Tebow. Thank you. Um, I, I too, you know, congratulate you all for the work that you do. Um, I'm interested in one of the comments that was made earlier that you said something about Green that I, I think you mentioned it with regard to Central and Minnequa Air Green or something. What does, what does that color mean?
Yeah, so on our Colorado School performance framework, schools can receive what's called a performance rating, which is green, an improvement rating, which is yellow, a priority improvement, which is orange, and a turnaround rating that is red. So a green rating would mean that the school in all likelihood, um, at least for a high school, has had some decent achievement results that they've been able to achieve. Probably some strong student growth. And then different from our middle schools and elementary schools, probably some strong post-secondary success indicators. Things like dropout rate, graduation rate.
We take the best one between a four year and a seven year. Um, and then matriculation rate the extent to which students are successfully matriculating to a two year, a four year, or, um, military or have some sort of CTE credential as they close out their high school career. So centrals and very, very close to that, that top rating for schools. Yeah. And thanks for refreshing my memory. I think we get those reports and they are colored, and I kind of wondered to myself why those colors were chosen, but, um, so where is Risley?
What color is Risley? Yeah, Risley right now is priority improvement, which is orange. Um, and they're very, very close to the, the yellow cutoff at the improvement level. And so they would need two years at consecutive at that level to fully exit the clock the way that Minnequa and Central have. Mm-hmm. Well, let me just say that in my mind as one board member, you all, all green. Okay. Um, I agree. You know, maybe you're Irish, maybe you're not, but you're still green. And, um, you know, I would be,
I I always kind of preface my remarks with respect to my past and my voting record in the legislature. Never supporting standards, never supporting assessments. I don't, um, you know, pretend to support what's gone on with Risley in the past. I was not on the board at the time. Um, but I can also see where whatever formula we're using as I visit Risley, the kids seem to be, the students seem to be learning, uh, and they seem to be eager to learn. Um, the, the teachers seem to be invested
and eager to teach, and the leadership seems to be, uh, on their walkie talkies all the time and, um, eager to lead. And so for that, I congratulate everyone. Um, I would personally have just gotten there a different route if I had my way, but I didn't. And so this is what we've got and I think you need to be commended for working within the system and getting to the point where you are and just continue to improve. I think you're on the right track. Um, I'm very pleased and, um, congratulate you for it.
Dr. Mays, Ms. Mayes, I'm sure it's probably too early yet, but, uh, do you have any initial observations with the implementation of Stream and, uh, uh, seeing any, any changes, significant things or what, what can you tell us? Uh, I know it's only been a what, a month. Sure. So we do a lot of observations. So I do have a lot of observ uh, um, observable data. We have been able to bring all of our classes into our new innovation spaces and get their hands dirty with some of the projects
and just design thinking. Um, and the kids are really excited about that. I actually was celebrating today that there were some positive comments from parents on Facebook, um, about the innovation, um, the innovative practices and things. So that's exciting that kids are taking that home and communicating that to their families. Um, something that we've noticed is just a lot more discussion with students. They're being more willing to communicate, um, to each other. And sometimes that has been hard to pull them out of their shells and get them talking and they're doing it.
They're working together and communicating. Um, we have kicked off one project based learning unit right now. Um, we wanted to get the year started, and so only our eighth grade science teacher is doing their project based learning this early on. Um, and the kids are loving it and they're talking about it and they're excited about it. Um, so it's been a really neat thing to see so far. Thank you. Any other comments from the board? Director Cisneros? Thank you. Thank you all for your presentation, first of all, um, appreciate all the work, you know,
that you're doing to, to make these improvements. Um, you know, it's, I think Rizzley is really on a good track here with, uh, getting off the clock, hopefully in the very near future. Um, I just have a couple comments, uh, and a couple questions actually too about the, the suspension numbers and the, the graph that was in the, the presentation. Um, it looks like the numbers have dropped overall suspensions, you know, from 2022 year to to last year from, we have that data, um, it looks like about still nearly, uh, 200 total suspensions from last year.
Um, I'm just wondering, like, how does that compare to other middle schools? It seems really high to me. I mean, it's, it's come down a lot since the 22, 23 year where, you know, there appears to be over 300. Um, so I'm just wondering how that compares. Um, I know obviously there are some, some reasons where an out of school suspension is required depending on what, you know, policy was violated by the student, and I agree it's always better to have an in-school suspension to continue that learning. Um, so I think, you know, improving that is a, a,
a great thing and I commend you for that. Um, but yeah, just, uh, if I wanted to know, maybe that might be a question for the superintendent, how that number compares to other schools and maybe what are some of like the, the most common things that are, are causing these students to be suspended and, and what's being done to improve that as well, to, to reduce those suspension numbers. So I, and I'll of course turn it over to Ms. Manus about what they're doing to help improve that climate and culture. And they've made significant progress with that, um, at Risley as far as how it compares with other middles,
we can certainly get that information to you. We're not prepared to share that tonight, but we can certainly provide that to you. Um, as far as the types of behaviors, um, we do suspend automatically for drugs or alcohol, marijuana is something that is more prevalent in our community now that it's been legalized. And so that seems to pop up more frequently than anything else, um, in those categories. We'll, also, um, we, if a student has been in, in-school suspension for a similar behavior multiple times, then it could escalate into an out-of-school suspension.
Um, and so that's more of like a habitual disruption type behavior. I think that's one of the most common behaviors we see at middle school. And that word can mean a lot of things, but, um, they're repeating some of those same behaviors over and over or they're disruptive to the learning environment in multiple situations. Um, and it's an ongoing concern. So, um, usually, and you can see by the behavior referral data, there was a spike more towards the end of the year, which tends to happen. Um, and so there were some more of those where they've already been given different consequences throughout the school year,
and then they were sent home for an out of school suspension. Usually we try to keep those short as well. So it's a one day, two day, sometimes a three day. Um, and trying to get them back into the school as quickly as possible. But if there's a fight, sometimes there's a safety plan that needs to be put into place or things like that. So we give our our staff time to problem solve with the student and the family and then bring them back in. Um, one more just quick question on, so say like, they are, if, if it is an out of school suspension, um, are they given their coursework to take care of at home? I'm sure they are. I mean, they're not just completely like,
just they come back after three days and they're not three days behind. I'm sure they, Yeah. So those are counted as excused absences where they are allowed to make up that work. Um, and we do have a couple extra days per days of suspension to make that work up. On occasion too, if a kid is starting to fall behind, we might do a joint suspension. So they might be suspended out of school and then back in school so they have that time in the building to complete their missing work and then go back to class on track instead of still going back and making up that work at home. Thank you. Thank you. Any other questions from the board?
Again, thank you for your hard work and all your efforts. We're so appreciative of your leadership and all that you're doing, and we wish you the, the very best this whole school year. And we're gonna get to get you off the clock and that, so I'm just gonna go ahead and make sure I can say your name. So thank you Mr. Schneider. Thank you Ms. Bauer. And thank you Principal Manez. Thank you for being here this evening. All right, we're gonna move on now to 10.0 policy. We have several policies to take action on this evening. The first ones are policies, GBEE and G-B-E-E-E staff use
of technology on second readings. May I have a motion please? So moved. Is there a second? Second. Is there any discussion? See none. Please call the vote. Ms. Patron. Mr. Ros? Aye. Dr. Danu? Aye. Judge Mays? Aye. Mrs. Pen? Nuncio. Aye. Mr. Kibo? Aye. The next policy that the board is being asked to take action on is the repeal of board policy AC dash e dash three guidelines regarding the support of students who are transgender engender non-conforming
Superintendent Kimsey. Is there any information you would like to share as it relates to this policy before the board takes action? Absolutely. Thank you. President Pen Nunzio, the board is asking, is being asked to take this action. Um, and I want to emphasize that our school district will continue to support all of our students, including our transgender and gender non-conforming students consistent with federal and state law. What we are doing, we are asking that policy a CE three is repealed
and replaced with, um, a new policy that does not exist at this time until the board, until and unless the board approves it. And that's JRD Student privacy and accommodation. And of note, it's important to note that the language in JRD actually is lifted from the existing a CE three policy. Um, and it would provide for us the ability to continue to support every student in our district, uh, no matter their need, uh, based on
whatever that request is. So, um, I do encourage the board to repeal a CE three and adopt on a temporary basis JRD with final approval at our August work session. Thank you. Superintendent Kimsey. May I have a motion please? So moved. Is there a second? I second. Is there any debate? Director Tebow. Thank you. Um, I have prepared, uh, some short comments. I want to read them. So I'm careful about the wording I use
and how the record is reflected. Um, the Office of Civil Rights in Washington City is alleging that District 60 is violating Title IX through certain aspects of policy A CE three, which provides guidelines related to transgender and gender non-conforming students. Uh, OCR is demanding that this board repeal policy a CE three and enact a new policy JRD student privacy and accommodation, as was stated by our superintendent
in exchange OCR offers that it will rescind its termination of our Magnet School's assistant program grant. But there is no guarantee of that on the table Tonight. I will not enter into an adhesion agreement. I demand reinstatement of our grant. Any action we take to repeal or modify our policies ought to be judged by whether or not we violate our state constitutional duty to adhere to local control free from external forces
in his commentary on a tax dispute with Colonial Pennsylvania, there is a famous quote attributed to Benjamin Franklin. He says, those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. Repealing a CE three and enacting JRD does not assure that OCR will not come after other policies. We have adopted that to some extent protect individuals based on gender identity or expression such as a a CR one and two,
and a CA among others. Remember elements of a CE three and these other policies were enacted in part to comply with Colorado laws such as the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act and its regulations. My view is that OCR R'S termination of our grant violates federal law policy A CE three complies with Title ix. We, in good faith, have relied upon the Trump administration's interpretation of Title ix. The current version of Title IX regulations prohibits discrimination based on gender identity and expression.
Kowtowing to the OCR and its demands exposes our district to legal liability from numerous fronts. Frankly, I would be surprised if the state and Chasa did not view our actions with a jaundice eye, not to mention a transgender student. In my judgment, the new policy is milk toast. It does not address important aspects of policy, a CE three, which protect individuals from discrimination. I frankly acknowledge my conviction that I will not give up the liberty interests of any human being or the solid rock of the inherent dignity
of human beings for temporary gain. Thank you Madam President. Thank you, director Tebow. Other comments from the board Director Mays. I appreciate what, uh, uh, my colleague, uh, Mr. Tebow has mentioned. Uh, it has been my, uh, governance policy, uh, since I've been on the board for going on six years now to deliberate on matters that are before the court as they exist at the time.
Uh, at this time we're asking for the repeal of one policy and replaced by another policy. I, in my examination, I understand what OCR is doing. I understand that they're making, uh, demands. I understand that this, this administration is as vindictive as any administration could be. And I understand that their view, uh, today, uh, could be vastly different tomorrow.
I understand those things, but I examined what we're being asked to do tonight and I am convinced in my own mind, uh, rightfully or wrongfully that all students are being protected and that no one is being compromised by this particular request from the administration. If, and I think our students, and I trust what our superintendent says, and I believe our students will be protected at all times. Now, if the administration at some time in the future
decides that they want to throw another roadblock, which would not at all be surprising to any of us here 'cause that's what they do. They have no interest in kids. They have interest in bullying and stuff like that. If they come forward with another resolution that places this situation in a different posture than it is tonight, then I will at that time be true to what I say my governance process is. I will take it up at that time. I will listen to the pros and cons and I will make a decision based on the issue that is before the board at that particular point in time.
That is not what I have here today. I'm not trying to predetermine what they might or might not do because I don't know that anybody knows what they might or might not do. So I, I, I appreciate and, uh, Mr. Mr. Tebow's concerns. Uh, I am going to make my decision based on what we have before us today and what I think we have before us today is not compromising to any of our students that we have in our school today. I thank you Director Mays. Any other comments?
Director De Niro? Yes. Thank you. President Pen Nuncio. Um, I was very moved by the public comment from Mr. Mike Mays and the information he provided. Uh, I acknowledged Mr. Tebow's and respect his opinion and I also support the superintendent's comments and her recommendation and assurance that all students will be supported. I also recollec re remember, I'll use that word, all the good things that came from the STEM grant
that we received some years ago and all the things that the students and the parents and the staff learned and continue to learn at those particular schools that were affected by the STEM grant. And I need to think about that as I look at the Stream Grant and look at and hear the things that we just heard from the principal from Resley and the excitement that the kids have with Project Lead the Way and the things that are happening at Parkview.
And listening to the Parkview principle at the Place Block, uh, party that they held and how excited she was to have Project Lead the Way I And I know how tough that can be to find something that ignites learning in kids. I see the struggles that Centennial has had this year with their, their enrollment and the previous years. And I know how the STEM grant helped Central move from
around 600 students to now almost 1100 or maybe close to 1200 and draw kids back. So with that, I am really, I'm going to support, um, this change on the recommendation of the superintendent. Thank you. Thank you. Director De Niro. Other comments from the board? And before we take the vote, I just wanna be sure that we know what we're voting for. This is the repeal of board policy. A yes vote is a repeal a board policy, a CE three.
Please call the vote. Ms. Patron. Mr. Cisneros? Aye. Dr. Dero Aye. Judge Mays? Aye. Mrs. Pen, nuncio. Aye. Mr. Kibo? No. All right. The final policy the board is being asked to take action on this evening is new board policy, JRD student privacy and accommodation and current policy AC dash E three guidelines regarding the support of students who are transgender non-conforming. Super kimsey, is there any additional information that you need to share with the board before we take action?
N not at this time. President cio. Thank you. May I have a motion please? So moved. Is there a second? Second. Is there any further discussion? Director Tebow. Thank you. Well, I indicated in my previous comments, I'm not gonna support this, but I do have an amendment that I'll offer at this time in my amendment would be after the first uh, sentence. The first sentence reads, all district students have a right to privacy period. After that, I would move to strike the language
from the word given through the word facilities, which is the first phrase. And start the next sentence with the word. Any A and y. So the deletion would be the words given that some students could feel their privacy is compromised by, by the presence of a biological male in female designated facilities per in bathrooms, locker rooms, and overnight accommodations, or biological females and male designated facilities. Director Tebow, I was gonna ask you to repeat that, um, real quick.
I'll have the court reporter read it back to you. The, the amendment starts, um, after the first sentence. So after the words right to privacy period, my motion is to strike the word given through the word facilities, which is the first phrase of that second sentence. I read the, the sentence. It, it starts with, given that some students could feel and it ends with designated facilities, and then if that's eliminated
or stricken the word any would have have to be capitalized, a capital A, any student. And then the rest of it would remain. Is there, is there a second to the amendment? May I, uh, I I think we need to do a second before we have discussion. I'm, I'm sorry. Director Mays. Is there a second? Well, I'll give it a second so we can discuss it. One Second. Is there any discussion, director may Yeah, I would. Uh, so Mr. Tebow, if you would help me please on this, uh, it's hard seeing this when I don't have something
that shows the corrected language in it. Mm-hmm. So, uh, please correct me if I'm wrong on this, but as I understand it, this, uh, policy would read all districts, uh, according to your amendment, alright? Right. All district students have a right to privacy period. Any student who has a need for increased privacy and then the remainder of that particular policy. Is that what you're suggesting? That's correct. Director Tebow. Thank you.
And the reason that I'm doing that is, I, my opinion is the language that I'm asking to be stricken as inflammatory language, the rest of the paragraph covers those situations. We don't need to specifically state that the rest of the paragraph says any student who has a need for increased privacy, that would include everything that was stated prior to, but just is another inflammatory in my view, um, way to focus on
this transgender issue that has become such a wedge political issue. For whatever reason, I don't know. Um, but it's there. And I just think if, if any student needs increased privacy, well, it can be for a number of reasons, including that we don't have to inflame our policy by specifically stating that. Any other comments from the board? Director De Niro? I'd like a recommendation from counsel who wrote this. Pardon me? I I wrote the amendment. Who wrote the Original? Oh, Hello. Okay. Uh, my recommendation, well,
without giving a recommendation, I'll just say that in substance, the policy communicates the same directive. Um, and the removal of this language, I don't think compromises what the policy intends to accomplish, um, for reasons that we've discussed otherwise. This language specifically, this amendment, has not been the subject of previous discussion. Um, and so I can't recommend whether you should approve this or not.
Um, but I do think that in substance, it's, it's virtually the same as before. It just removes certain language. Any further comments from the board? Um, superintendent Kimsey, I would like to remind the board that this exact language is in our a CE three currently Director Tebow, And there's a bunch of other language in a CE three that we just repealed. So again, I think if we're gonna look at a CE three language, we need to then look at all A three C language, a CE three language,
which we can't do because we've just repealed it. And so, you know, to me, the substance of this whole demand is that if students, or if they have need for privacy, they get it. I don't understand why we have to focus on this. And based on counsel's statement, it's, there's no legal issue. It's a policy issue. Any further comments from the board director? Mayes? Well, I guess I have a, a concern with the way, uh, Mr. Hood phrased his answer.
And I'm at that point now where I don't wanna read anything into what you said or what you didn't say, but I think it might be advisable for us to have a discussion, a legal discussion about what we've been talking about. And that would be, have to be an executive session just like we did earlier today. Uh, and the reason I'm saying that is I would like to hear, have a discussion about, uh,
the legalities one way or another, and have, I would suspect that if we had that sort of a discussion that I could directly ask Mr. Hood, well, what's your recommendation as my lawyer? And he may tell me any number of things, but at least I would have the opportunity as, I mean, why, why have lawyers if we don't, uh, consult with them when we are, uh, concerned about the legalities of,
in this particular case of policy. So I'm a little concerned that we're not having, and, and I understand why we're not having a, a a, a discussion about this this time because we usually have, whenever we have legal counsel and we ask for opinions, that's done in executive session for all the right reasons. And so I, I'm a little uncomfortable proceeding at this time. And I guess what I, is there any at this time, is there any rush to get this done? So yes. We need to accomplish whatever we're going
to accomplish by September 30th. Yeah. My recommendation would be that we have the executive session discussion. Can we have that at this time? You can. Well, Do I need a specific statement to go into executive session? Mm-hmm. It gives the same language as before. Okay. And it requires a two third vote. Okay. I'll Get that back out. The board of education has a matter to discuss an executive session as follows, to confer with school with the school district's attorneys for the purpose of receiving legal advice pursuant
to CRS section 24 dash six dash 4 0 2 4 B on the following specific legal questions? One. Legal counsel's interpretation of the requirements of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 19 72 20 USC Section 1681 in the following. And its current implementing regulations 34 CFR Part 1 0 6 adopted in 2020 as related
to current district policies adopted under that title in the application of related provisions of state law, two counsel's interpretation of current federal court decisions concerning these requirements and policies as applied to school districts. And number three, theories of defense and options in response to any potential threat and litigation or adverse governmental action or initiating potential litigation concerning the district's compliance with Title ix, its regulations and state law.
Do I have a motion to go into executive session? So moot. Is there a second? Second. Is there any discussion? Please call the vote. Ms. Patron. Mr. Cisneros? No. Dr. De Niro? Aye. Judge Mays Aye. Mrs. Penzu Aye. Mr. Kibo? No. At this time, superintendent Kimsey and the school board's attorneys, Mr. Elliot Hood and Ms. Melissa, Barbara of Kaplan and Earnest will be joining us, joining the board in executive session. Will now adjourn and reconvene in the conference room. Thank you. Director Tebow,
Is that a two thirds vote? It is. Isn't three out of five? Yeah, it's not two. Okay. Yes. If the motion failed Yep. To go into executive session. Thank you for that clarification, Mr. Or Director Tebow. So at this point we need to, um, yeah, right on the amended policy. Um, the amended motion for voting on that, which was, is to strike, I've lost my stuff here. Uh, to strike, um, the top two
or three, I think just the top paragraph top. I'm sorry to strike the second paragraph out of the, uh, policy. Oh, second sentence if I may. What, what? From, from given, from the word given to the word facilities, and it will end in a period. In the next sentence, we'll start with a capital a e student. Is anyone unclear about what we're voting on? Right. Ms. Patone, will you please call the vote? Mr. Cisneros? No. Dr. Dero? No. Judge Mays? No.
Mrs. Peno? No. Mr. Tebow? Aye. So the amended motion fails, which takes us back to the, um, original motion on the table. Is there any further discussion about adopting policy? J-R-D-I-I-I Would just like Director may, Excuse me. Excuse me, Ms. Penzu, I'd just like to have a, give a further explanation on my last vote. Uh, I am uncertain about
Taking a specific position on this thing without having the advice of counsel. And, uh, I requested that it was defeated and that's fine, but I still am uneasy about it and therefore I think I have really no choice, uh, but to go along with what's been presented to us and what we've had in our packets for the last couple of days, that's the reason for it. Not because I don't think that there may be some merit to what Mr.
Tebow's saying, but I, I need a further discussion, uh, on the legalities of this and I'm not getting it. And so that's the reason for my vote. Thank you Director Mays, any further comments from the board? So just to clarify again, that a yes vote is going to means you are accepting new board policy JRDA, no vote means you're voting it down. Please call the vote. Ms. Patron. Mr. Cisneros? No. Dr. DeNiro Aye. Judge Mays Aye. Mrs. Peno? Aye. Mr. Tebow? No.
All right. We're now on to 11.0 approval of the consent agenda. May I have a motion please? I move that the Board of Education approves consent agenda items two through nine as presented in the September 23rd, 2025 board materials. May I have a second? I second. Is there any discussion? C None. Please call a vote. Ms. Patron. Mr. Cisneros? Aye. Dr. DeNiro Aye. Judge Mays Aye. Mrs. Pen, nuncio. Aye. Mr. Tebow? Aye. We're now on to 12.0 Action items. We have two items to take action on this evening.
The first is the expulsion of a student. May I have a motion please? I move that the Board of Education expels student 1 6 6 6 9 3 for one calendar year pending review in 45 days as presented in the September 23rd, 2025 Board materials. Is there a second? Second. Is there any discussion? Please call the vote. Ms. Patron. Mr. Cisneros? Aye. Dr. De Niro? Aye. Judge Mays Aye. Mrs. Pen, nuncio. Aye. Mr. Tebow? Aye. The second, uh, action item on the agenda this evening is the 20 24 20 25
superintendent evaluation report. The Board of Education is being asked to accept the 20 24 20 25 superintendent's evaluation report. Before I ask for a motion, I would like to make a statement and then publicly read the summary evaluation. The Board of Education in cooperation with Superintendent Kimsey has been in the process of performing her evaluation under board policy. The evaluation process, among other things, is designed to clarify roles, provide leadership of excellence,
and develop positive communications and working relationships between the board and superintendent. While evaluation is an ongoing process throughout the year, it culminates annually with a summary evaluation report that is then made public. Tonight the board will consider the report for acceptance. I will read it now and then ask for a motion of acceptance. It's a little bit lengthy, but it's very important. Superintendent evaluation. August, 2025. On May 14th, 2024, the Board of Education appointed Dr.
Barbara Kimsey, a superintendent of Pueblo School District 60. The Board of Education serves as the evaluator for the superintendent. The Board of Education completed its annual evaluation of the superintendent and it is a responsibility of the board under state statute to share their evaluation with the public. The evaluation was completed in compliance with Colorado Law and includes both a written and oral evaluation. It is intended to provide a general overview of Dr. Kimley's performance as superintendent. This process allowed the board the opportunity
to assess the superintendent in all aspects of her job performance for the term of July 1st, 2024 through June 30th, 2025. The assessment has been, has been shared with the superintendent in this evaluation using as an instrument superintendent evaluation 2024. 2025. Evaluation instrument and Process Superintendent Kimsey was assessed in five evaluation standards, instructional leadership, resource
and organizational management, family and community engagement, leadership and district culture and policy and governance and policy and governance. The possible scores or ratings were as follows, unsatisfactory Needs improvement. Proficient and exemplary. Superintendent Kimsey received an overall score of proficient in all standards. Upon arriving to D 60, superintendent Kimsey took the necessary time needed to review the implementation and effectiveness of current systems within the district and determine what was working well
and areas in need of, of improvement. From there, she developed clear and precise expectations and goals for the district that directly aligned with the district's strategic plan. The board identified several areas of strength and successes achieved by the superintendent in her first year as they relate to the priority goals she set for the 20 24 20 25 school year and are covered in this evaluation. Superintendent Kimsey came to D 60 with a clear understanding that curriculum and consistent processes surrounding it are critical
for ensuring a high quality education for all students to ensure that teachers know exactly what to teach and have access to ideas on how to deliver content that is aligned with state standards. She tasked her team with developing a district-wide enhanced scope and sequence for all courses and grade levels and adopted a new platform Atlas to store and access this information. She put an emphasis on embedded professional development, supported by an observation feedback model, implementation of a district-wide assessment system that leads
to actionable data and the adoption of a data dashboard to make, to make, to, to make access to data easy for teachers. Superintendent Kimsey is also making sure that all staff have a consistent understanding of the MTSS framework, multi-tiered systems of support and how it is used to support, to support all students to ensure their success and how it leads to data informed decision making. Another priority goal Dr. Kimsey focused on during her first year was the district's
communication outreach outreach system. She has been working closely with the communications director to market the district with clear, consistent and compelling messaging that creates a positive and welcoming image and will showcase why it is a destination district. This is being accomplished in a variety of ways and includes telling specific stories about what is happening with teaching and learning, such as with innovative programs like Stream and Project Lead the Way, district communication is a vital component for achieving both internal and external district goals.
One of which is to draw back students who are choosing non D 60 options for their education. Dr. Kimsey has also prioritized developing positive working relationships with the board staff and community partners and leaders. She knows these relationships are critical and necessary to accomplish goals that will move the district in a forward direction. She has been extremely visible at district school and community events throughout the year and sees her role as the positive and proactive face and voice of D 60. Family and community engagement has been a strength for Dr.
Kimsey in her first year. Between the Community Priorities workshops to discuss right sizing, superintendent chance town halls, or serving on the Pueblo Community College's Advisory Board. Dr. Kimsey has been able to increase partnerships between the district and community organizations and businesses. This is important not only because the community feels valued and heard, but it also provides additional opportunities for students and the district. She also created the superintendent Advisory Council made up of students from all five high schools
to also inform the strategic work of the district. Another priority goal that was implemented this year was a district-wide comprehensive marketing campaign. Be present, be powerful as one strategy to increase students' regular on-time attendance, and reduce the district's overall chronic absenteeism rate. After a year of this aggressive campaign, the chronically absent rate dropped from 43% to 41.6%, a 1.4% improvement, which is still significantly higher than the state average
of 28.4%. Superintendent Kimsey is well aware that regular attendance by students is required for student achievement and growth to happen. Therefore, this campaign and the strengthening of foundational supports that promote positive conditions for students to learn and thrive in all school settings will continue into the upcoming school year. Dr. Kimsey took the superintendent position on and was immediately hit with the realities of the district's financial situation. She has done a great job of working with the district CFO
to deal with these realities without impacting the classroom or dipping below the required reserves level, they work together to develop and implement a balanced budget that aligns with the district's vision and mission. She and the CFO have also created a format of sharing budget updates with the board that are much easier to understand. Superintendent Kimsey made the decision early on to move forward with right sizing. She knew that for the long-term sustainability of the district, many issues needed to be addressed immediately.
This challenging yet necessary initiative is intended to address these urgent issues and make the district more efficient in meeting its objectives and serving students better. Dr. Kimey and her staff have skillfully led this effort to continue moving the district forward and have involved all district staff in the community as a whole. In this transparent process, She created a steering committee to lead this charge and they will be making important recommendations to the Board of Education soon. Superintendent Kimsey is an educational leader
who promotes the learning and growth of all students and the success of all staff by implementing and cultivating a shared vision. It makes powerful teaching and learning a central focus of schooling. This shared vision is future focused and challenging, all in an effort to continue moving the district forward by serving as an anchor to align curriculum, resources and actions to ensure all students achieve high learning outcomes. In closing, we as a board are grateful to Superintendent Kimsey for her leadership, passion,
and dedication to Pueblo School District 60. Its students, families, and staff. And re and respectfully submit this evaluation. May I have a motion please? I move to accept the superintendent evaluation August, 2025. Is there a second? Second. Is there any discussion? Please call the vote. Ms. Petron. Mr. Cisneros? Aye. Dr. De Niro? Aye. Judge Mays Aye. Mrs. Pen, nuncio. Aye. Mr. Kibo? Aye. Alright,
we're now onto 13.0 board discussion and recommendations for a future agenda. Does Superintendent Kimsey or a board member have anything they would like to discuss or make recommendations for to be included in the next board agenda? Director Tebow. Uh, thank you. I I don't have anything in, in particular. I just remember we have a retreat scheduled for October, sometime the 20th, October 20th. And I'm wondering if, um, I think I've seen a proposed agenda or an anticipated one,
but there might be a few things that we'd like to add or some a board member would like to present as an addition. Can we, do we have time to do that next meeting? Oh, Absolutely. Just send that either to me or to superintendent Kimsey would be great. Okay. I'll, I'll, I'll, I'll do that. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Other board members? Alright, we'll finish the evening then with 14.0 announcements and upcoming events on September 24th, 2025 from 1145 to 1:00 PM the rivalry Roast Bell Game will be taking place
at Central High School on September 25th, 2025 at 11:30 AM The 18th annual Latino Chamber lifetime Achievement Award ceremony honoring former superintendent Dr. Henry Roman will be happening at CSUP on October 4th, 2025 at 10:00 AM the Pueblo Education Foundation, we'll be hosting a cornhole tournament at Dutch Clark Stadium from 10 to one, I believe on October 9th, 2025 at 9:00 AM The
Centennial High School Veterans Wall Rededication will be taking place on October 14th, 2025 at 2:00 PM There will be a special school board meeting at the Administrative Services Center in the Arapaho Room. And finally on October 28th, 2025, there will be a school board meeting at the Administrative Services center in the Arapaho room. With that, if there's no further business, may I have a motion to adjourn? So Moved. Is there a second? Second. Is there any discussion? Seeing none, please call the vote.
Ms. Patron. Mr. Cisneros? Aye. Dr. De Niro? Aye. Judge Mayes Aye. Mrs. Pen? Aye. Mr. Tebo Aye. Thank you so much for joining us this evening.