WEBVTT METADATA Video-Count: 1 Video-1: youtube.com/watch?v=CxuJunwmqG4 NOTE MEETING SECTIONS: Part 1 (Video ID: CxuJunwmqG4): - 00:05:28: Meeting Call to Order and Roll Call - 00:06:35: Pledge, Agenda Approval, Student Board Representative Report - 00:07:26: Student TA's Report on Junior Book Awards - 00:09:38: Introduction to Teaching and Learning Science Report - 00:10:14: MCA4 Science Test Data and MDE Guidance - 00:12:58: Understanding Changes in MCA Science Terminology - 00:13:31: Science Proficiency Rates and Hypothesized Explanations - 00:16:14: Comparison with State and Similar School Districts - 00:17:19: Science ACT Performance and Meeting College Benchmarks - 00:18:11: Secondary Science Course Offerings and Opportunities - 00:23:35: Middle and High School STEM Course Opportunities - 00:24:26: Elementary Science Curriculum and Star Lab Update - 00:26:07: Bailey School Forest and Elementary STEM Learning - 00:27:24: K-5 STEM Learning with Various Robots and Tools - 00:28:12: Introduction to Elementary STEM Standard Robots - 00:29:49: Indie Robot Demonstration and Learning Activity - 00:32:43: Board Member Question on How Children Master Indie - 00:40:47: End of Science Presentation and Question Introduction - 00:41:17: Board Question on Performance Descriptor Scales - 00:43:30: Board Question on Examples of Student Proficiency Levels - 00:44:36: Board Questions on Standards Implementation and Student Cohorts - 00:45:53: Board Question on Middle School STEM Integration - 00:47:28: Board Question about Criteria to Move from Beginning - 00:49:53: End of Individual Questions and More Discussion - 00:50:00: Board Member Questions on Science Classes - 00:52:45: Board Member Question on ACT Science Score Strategies - 00:54:53: Board Member Appreciation and Science Options - 00:55:25: Board Member Appreciations and Questions - 00:59:15: Appreciation and Preparation for New Topic - 00:59:30: Community Education Budget Presentation Introduction - 01:00:28: Community Education Department Overview and Leaders - 01:02:38: Great Rivers Adult Education and Senior Center Details - 01:05:17: Facility Use and Operations Statistics - 01:07:12: Kid's Club Program Details and Statistics - 01:09:05: Community Engagement and SoWashCo Cares Partnership - 01:10:26: Interruption for a Quick Question from the Board - 01:11:29: Revenue Sources for Community Education Programs - 01:11:58: Expenditures Allocation in Community Education - 01:12:34: Revenue and Expenditure by Department Details - 01:13:06: Proposed Budget and Early Learning Deficit Discussion - 01:14:27: Budget Questions and Concerns from the Board - 01:14:42: Board Question: Early Learning Staff Licensing Impact - 01:15:13: Board Question: Early Learning Obligations and Legislations - 01:18:59: Meeting Update and New Meeting Dates - 01:19:15: Superintendent's Report and Meeting Adjournment Part: 1 1 00:05:28.880 --> 00:05:45.919 Oh, shoot. Okay. It is Thursday, May 7th, 2026 at 6 PM. We are at the District Service Center in Cottage Grove, Minnesota. We would like to acknowledge that the land in which we gather is the land of the Midawakatan Dakota people. Middleakatin means dwellers of the spirit lake. First item 2 00:05:45.919 --> 00:06:02.320 on our agenda is 1.0 roll call. Dana >> el Elizabeth Bachman Eber >> here. >> Luis Hines. >> Ryan Clark is absent. >> Melinda Dos is absent. Sydney Pnik. >> Sharon Vanlier >> here. >> TA Alvaringa >> here. >> Katie Schwarz >> here. 3 00:06:02.320 --> 00:06:35.039 >> 2.0 Pledge of Allegiance. Please stand. 3.0 is approval of our agenda. Can I get a motion to approve? >> So move. >> Second. >> Moved by Simmyi. Oh, no. Sharon, seconded by Elizabeth. All those in favor? I. 4 00:06:35.039 --> 00:06:54.960 >> Any oppose? Motion carries. Uh 4.0 is our student board representative report. >> I just touched the microphone. TA and I was just thinking about we can't touch the microphone. We need to touch the base. Sorry Louise, your training is not 5 00:06:54.960 --> 00:07:10.960 working with me. I I missed the training. I just like panicked. Um thank you. This evening, uh we have just one of our student board reps with us. Um, I'm thinking Andrew is off with band or orchestra music and Matilda was not able 6 00:07:10.960 --> 00:07:26.960 to be here and Matilda of course is our senior. Um, but TA uh wanted to share just about a recent award and just a little bit about what's happening at the high school. So go ahead TA. Um, hi everyone. I don't have much to share today. Um, this like my last report was 7 00:07:26.960 --> 00:07:44.400 about how it's test season. It is still test season. [laughter] Um, but I will be finishing up all my tests next week and then it'll be, you know, way off my shoulder, a little more lighthearted. But I would like to share that we recently had our junior book awards at Park High School um which was which is 8 00:07:44.400 --> 00:07:59.840 an award to honor juniors for their hard work academically and um in leadership and and character. Um so basically juniors were able to fill out an application um where they talked about themselves academically, their academic 9 00:07:59.840 --> 00:08:16.800 achievements, um what we're involved in um in school and clubs, our activities where we have where we show leadership and the counselors at Park High School selected I think 18 juniors. Um and on top of that they matched us with a 10 00:08:16.800 --> 00:08:34.800 college junior book award. Um, and I was awarded the Welssley Book Award this year. And on top of that, I was awarded by a Welssley alum, Miss Pit Nike. Um, and it was so exciting. We were so stoked. Um, I was when they 11 00:08:34.800 --> 00:08:50.640 were matching us to the college, it was all blindly, so they didn't know my name. So, it was just a coincidence that it was Miss Pitnik that awarded to me. And it was just a really fun morning. and my parents were able to come, my whole family, and meet um Miss Pitnike and just um it's always just really nice 12 00:08:50.640 --> 00:09:06.399 to be like honored and recognized for our hard work because really all the juniors that did get an award, we all worked so hard um especially in our junior and senior year. So, yeah. >> Yeah. And that actually um that actually brought tears to my eyes because what TA 13 00:09:06.399 --> 00:09:23.040 didn't know is when I talked to Simmyi, she expressed the same thing like, "You're never going to believe it. I gave the book award to Tea. Um, and so you know what, TA, we are so proud of you and we really appreciate all the hard work, not just academically, but all all that you do with your leadership at Park High School. We know and we can 14 00:09:23.040 --> 00:09:38.720 tell by the short time you've been with us just what an outstanding student you are. So, thank you. >> Thank you. 5.0 is our workshop items. We do have two this evening. And the first one is 5.1 teaching and learning report science. and that will be introduced by 15 00:09:38.720 --> 00:09:54.800 Miss Kelly Jansen, assistant superintendent. >> All right, thank you. Um, good evening everyone. As you know, as part of our comprehensive achievement and civic readiness or CACR, uh, we take three times a year where we dive deeper into each of the subjects that we talk about there. And so tonight is our teaching 16 00:09:54.800 --> 00:10:14.079 and learning science report. Um, and so I will turn it over to my amazing colleagues to get started. >> Thank you, Kelly. Good evening, everybody. Uh we are going to follow a very similar format to uh other reports that we've come to the board about uh with different subjects and different 17 00:10:14.079 --> 00:10:29.440 departments. Uh tonight we're going to start with our student performance data. We'll have some secondary updates that'll feel a little bit here. Uh we'll have elementary update and then you see we're trying to prime a little bit of an activity here in the middle. Uh we'll get some hands-on learning here uh 18 00:10:29.440 --> 00:10:44.640 shortly. We're going to start with the student performance data. And it's really important to sit in this space a little bit more this year. Um, and let me explain why. Uh, the the data that we're going to look at this year with just one data point is really based on 19 00:10:44.640 --> 00:11:01.360 the MCA4 science test from last spring. I want to highlight a couple different things. It's a brand new assessment. Um, so it's not it's not an update to the MCA3. Uh it's brand new and it's testing and measuring learning in a 20 00:11:01.360 --> 00:11:18.160 fundamentally different way. Um you probably know this but uh the NGSS the next generation science standards uh have really informed the Minnesota uh standards in 2019 which then shows up in terms of the um type of rigor on the 21 00:11:18.160 --> 00:11:33.360 MCA4. So I just wanted to point that out that you'll see one data point tonight versus a series um because uh really it's a fundamentally different assessment. Thought that it might be helpful to really talk about what MDE provides in 22 00:11:33.360 --> 00:11:50.399 terms of guidance as well. They say the series of new assessments in science the MCA4 are aligned to the 2019 standards and were first administered in spring 2025. These assessments just like the standards are substantially different than the previous iterations of 23 00:11:50.399 --> 00:12:07.440 standards assessments in MCA3 results cannot be compared between science MCA3 and the MCA4. And I I just stopped there because I wanted you to understand why that uh in terms of MCA. They they they go on to say fully implementing new 24 00:12:07.440 --> 00:12:24.399 standards and assessment take time and it may be a few years before we start to see the real benefits as educators and students become accustomed to the shifts in curriculum and instruction. It also is important to keep in mind that standards transition plan a district chose could potentially affect student 25 00:12:24.399 --> 00:12:40.720 results during the first few years of the administration of a new assessment. Really wanted to anchor our conversation tonight in some language from MDE rather than it just being language that you're hearing from uh TLS. So, we look forward to trend data in the future that we're 26 00:12:40.720 --> 00:12:58.399 able to report to you. Um, and as we start to further unpack what teaching and learning looks like in science classrooms to match those standards, um, we will we'll just look forward to looking at student achievement through that lens of multiple years. So, I wanted to sit in that space first. 27 00:12:58.399 --> 00:13:14.560 >> So, part of the new test is a little tweak in the words. So, uh, you'll see the MCA3 here on the left hand side. And we've been really used to looking at those words, which is meets and exceeds and then partially meets and does not 28 00:13:14.560 --> 00:13:31.760 meet. And they have switched it for the MCA4. So, you're going to see that in the data here in a minute that it's meets and advanced and then intermediate and beginning. So, that'll be a shift. Science is the first MCA4 that we're going to see. Next year we'll be looking 29 00:13:31.760 --> 00:13:48.000 at the reading MCA4 and then two years from now we'll see the MCA MCA4 for math. So let's start with grade five. So grade five is fifth grade is the first year that students take the MCAs for 30 00:13:48.000 --> 00:14:03.839 science and uh this is showing and again this is our baseline. fifth grade is 28% meets or advanced and then another 38% in that intermediate band. 31 00:14:03.839 --> 00:14:20.959 At grade 8, you'll notice that uh 17% meet or in the meats are advanced. Um you will notice the dip uh from fifth to 8th grade. Um we can attribute this to a lot of things. It's important not to have causation here, but in terms of hypothesizing, this is really the first 32 00:14:20.959 --> 00:14:38.399 cohort of students that or middle school cohort of students that have faced this level of rigor of assessment. Uh and and we look forward to, you know, uh seeing the 10th grade results that actually if you can go ahead to the 10th grade, Kelly, for a second, please. The 10th 33 00:14:38.399 --> 00:14:54.639 grade results, you'll notice, are more in that 46 range. And we attribute that to the fact that from a content perspective, it hasn't changed a lot because it's really focused on life science biology. And Ian um Bronson, our our supervisor here, could maybe add a 34 00:14:54.639 --> 00:15:10.480 little bit more to that. The the three-dimensional science and the rigor is still there, but the content is somewhat similar to the MCA3 is is is my understanding. Would you add anything to that? >> Yeah, sure. Um I just add one one of the things we did is we brought in the new 35 00:15:10.480 --> 00:15:26.959 standards. We shifted earth and space science from really 8th grade to sixth grade. And so we're hypothesizing that possibly that is teachers adjusting to the grade of student or the level student that they're they're teaching in that that particular course. So physical 36 00:15:26.959 --> 00:15:42.880 science went from sixth grade to eighth grade. And so that's a slight adjustment for our entire middle school cohort of students. Um we're not 100% sure but that's a hypothesis of like hey why why do we see this show up? Um, as well as the new the new MCA4 has just a higher 37 00:15:42.880 --> 00:15:59.600 level of complexity in articulating and defending and and being able to create a narrative based on evidence of why you believe something rather than the old MCAs was more based on can you just recall simple science facts. And so it's just a different cognitive load for our 38 00:15:59.600 --> 00:16:14.639 students. >> Thank you. On this slide, we're looking at when we put all three uh fifth fifth, eighth, and then the high school class together, it looks uh we performed at 29% meets 39 00:16:14.639 --> 00:16:30.240 and advanced and then an additional 29% at intermediate. This is how uh we compare with with the state uh where in South Washington we are at 29% proficient. Um, we'll see how 40 00:16:30.240 --> 00:16:47.360 many times I actually use uh the new words myself um as I explain this data because I'm very used to the other words. Um, and then state um for meets and advanced is at 26. This is we've looked at this slide for all of our 41 00:16:47.360 --> 00:17:03.519 different um areas. These are schools that we've compared to uh before and here's how it kind of fell for science. And so wash co was kind of more we we in both reading and math kind of were in the middle of that and for this it's 42 00:17:03.519 --> 00:17:20.160 looking like a little bit toward the top of of some of the other districts. >> In terms of pre-ACCT we know it's a predictor of ACT performance and this the achievement level has stayed uh relatively stable um over the years. And 43 00:17:20.160 --> 00:17:36.799 going on to ACT, uh ACT has also, you'll notice, stayed pretty consistent in terms of the level of achievement uh at that 23 benchmark. And just just a note that uh reaching a 23 really indicates that we're going to 44 00:17:36.799 --> 00:17:54.880 see success of students at that college level entry science um uh experience. And then our 12th grade students meeting or exceeding the science benchmark compared to the state is what you see here. Um just a note, the 12th grade 45 00:17:54.880 --> 00:18:11.520 students in this score. This represents their most recent score uh in the state of Minnesota. We don't uh superscore uh in districts in Minnesota. So this is their most recent score that you would see there. Um, not to be confused obviously with individual uh students 46 00:18:11.520 --> 00:18:29.520 that are applying to colleges that might have opportunities to use their highest score, but uh in Minnesota that's how we report it is the most recent score. >> All right. Well, we get to jump into secondary science. Uh, and so here we go. Just a little brief uh shift from 47 00:18:29.520 --> 00:18:45.760 last year when we uh talked about this. We looked at just the required science courses for students uh moving through to graduation. We're going to highlight those here. That's uh sixth grade as we just already mentioned tonight is earth and space science. Then life science in seventh grade. They move to physical 48 00:18:45.760 --> 00:19:01.280 science in eighth grade. That ends up being mirrored when you get to the high school. So in ninth grade we do earth and space science and then we move to biology typically as a sophomore. Uh and then as juniors or andor seniors they have the option of taking physical science. they could satisfy that 49 00:19:01.280 --> 00:19:17.760 graduation requirement, either chemistry or physics. But what we really want to highlight tonight is all of the other options that students have as they move past the required courses. Uh just a note, if you want to go back one, Kelly, um all the pictures in here are pictures of our actual science students doing 50 00:19:17.760 --> 00:19:34.640 great science. And as you look at some of these pictures, just note how often they're collaborating with uh each other. Uh there's a narrative approach. Uh note how many times students are writing things down. And so we really wanted to highlight that students are doing science collaboratively with each other. Uh they're building arguments 51 00:19:34.640 --> 00:19:49.679 based on evidence and recording that and then trying to figure out from the phenomenon how do they understand science. One note just for fun on this one. Uh the far uh right picture their task there is to try to figure out how many marbles they can put in an 52 00:19:49.679 --> 00:20:04.160 aluminum boat. And I reached out and asked like how many is that? the the record uh this year was 232, which I was shocked with. The all-time record is 414, which I can't imagine, but that was sort of fun. Just a fun 53 00:20:04.160 --> 00:20:21.600 tidbit for us. Um so, as we think about uh the three aspects of science, you have earth and space science, then you have life science, then physical science. These are all opportunities for students that extend beyond earth and space science. So, they can take honors earth and space science. that would 54 00:20:21.600 --> 00:20:36.960 replace that earth and space science course for those students who want slightly high higher rigor or more depth. Uh they also can take environmental science which uh expands on those things that they learned at earth and space science. We'll jump to the next slide. Uh students later in 55 00:20:36.960 --> 00:20:52.240 their high school experience can take AP environmental science that has the potential of earning a college credit. Uh so that's an opportunity for our students. They can also take renewable energy which is another uh course that expands on that earth and space science foundation that they get both in sixth 56 00:20:52.240 --> 00:21:06.960 grade and nth grade. Few more pictures of students doing earth and space science uh labs which is uh fun to see and we'll jump to the next slide. So then our students in the life science or biology these are all opportunities 57 00:21:06.960 --> 00:21:24.320 that they have that go beyond that life science in seventh grade and often as a sophomore. So, we have AP biology. Uh we also have the opportunity to take IB biology one and two. That's two full years. And that IB really focuses on 58 00:21:24.320 --> 00:21:41.120 developing the skills that students would might need to do pure applied sciences as they go through college. Um they can take an IB exam at the end of that which can also potentially earn college credit. A few more courses here. We have IB sports uh exercise and health. We also 59 00:21:41.120 --> 00:21:57.200 have anatomy and physiology. A lot of students who are really interested in going into the medical fields will take these courses. Um these are just a few pictures of our students out doing uh life science. Uh I just love seeing the engagement of our 60 00:21:57.200 --> 00:22:12.080 middle school boys over there on the far left. Um writing things down. You can just see the thinking going on. Uh on the far right we have some of our students that are actually out at Lake Elmo um doing science in real life as I call it, right? not just in the 61 00:22:12.080 --> 00:22:29.840 classroom, which is fun to see that. And then in our physical science, we have a lot of options for our students as they metriculate through uh high school. They can take honors chemistry, that would replace their chemistry course. AP chemistry, another opportunity for students to earn college credit. Um and we can also do IB 62 00:22:29.840 --> 00:22:47.440 chemistry 1 and two. That's again a full two years of study in which students uh do a lot of in-depth lab work and then also have that potential to earn a college credit. Uh we can take AP physics one and two. That's another option where students can take a full two years. Uh you start 63 00:22:47.440 --> 00:23:03.360 looking at some of the the vocabulary there. It's fun, right? Thermmochemistry and electricity, magnetism, light and waves. Um again, they can earn that college credit on both of those courses. IB physics also is an opportunity to gain uh college credit. And here we have just some pictures of students doing 64 00:23:03.360 --> 00:23:19.760 some of that uh studying sound and waves. the far uh top left picture, they're actually measuring the speed of sound, which they do by varying the amount of water in that large graduated cylinder. Then you can look at they're exploring waves with a slinky that goes all the way down the hallway, which is 65 00:23:19.760 --> 00:23:35.840 really fun uh to see. Um and then we also have STEM opportunities as we think of that that partnership with science and STEM. So these are in our middle schools. All middle school students are required to take these three STEM courses. They take 66 00:23:35.840 --> 00:23:52.880 that for onethird of the year of their middle school experience. So in sixth grade they do coding and then in seventh grade they have a class that is called STEM one which really introduces the design principles of iterative process and trying to solve problems in a variety of different ways. And then STEM 67 00:23:52.880 --> 00:24:09.280 2 is also there for the eighth graders which they really start to look at robotics and again looking at how do we collect data and how do we revise our our processes as we go experimental process. Then we shift to high school. We have a a lot of STEM opportunities that go 68 00:24:09.280 --> 00:24:26.400 beyond those courses that they took in middle school. And so I'm not going to read all of them, but I did bold those ones there that those students could potentially earn uh college credit for. I think now I pass it on to Jolene. Correct. Now we're going to jump into elementary science. 69 00:24:26.400 --> 00:24:42.240 >> Okay. I get the honor of talking about elementary science and whatever I don't know, Ali Flat is sitting next to me to help me. So that is fantastic. So we're going to start with just a review as far as the curriculum uh for elementary and 70 00:24:42.240 --> 00:24:58.640 it is discovery education. Uh we have uh the hands-on materials that were provided uh for teachers as well which you can see there. But we really want to talk about what else we have going on at the elementary. So one of the biggest 71 00:24:58.640 --> 00:25:16.240 things and who has seen this up in action. So, Star Lab is a huge part. Um, at this point, we do have it that it visits all 16 sites. So, when I started in South Washington, it was a little bit more of sign up if you want to kinds of 72 00:25:16.240 --> 00:25:32.559 things. Now, we have it in every single school. Um, people are trained in how to uh talk in the Star Lab. And the exciting part is there will be a new Star Lab next year. So, we are really excited. If anyone has been in the star 73 00:25:32.559 --> 00:25:50.000 lab, it has been limping along for years. So, we are very excited um to actually purchase. And the top picture there is going to be the new one. You don't have to crawl through now. It has a nice little door. Um so, there's some really nice things um in there. If you 74 00:25:50.000 --> 00:26:07.039 ever get a chance or or want to visit an elementary school, please contact us. We will tell you where the Star Lab is to go in there and see it. It really is a really cool thing. Uh the other highlight here from uh the elementary level is the Bailey School 75 00:26:07.039 --> 00:26:23.039 Forest. So the Bailey School Forest is a field trip that is free for any school. So this is a a big deal that it is free to be able to take students. There's very few things. Our transportation department does provide the 76 00:26:23.039 --> 00:26:37.840 transportation free of cost for the schools. Of course that does come to some cost at the district level but at least for the school um we can go to the Bailey school forest handson. We have the school forest kits that that are 77 00:26:37.840 --> 00:26:52.400 part of that. Um some really bringing science alive kind of like Ian was talking about as well. And then the exciting part that I know we have all been waiting for is the STEM learning that we're doing at the 78 00:26:52.400 --> 00:27:08.640 elementary. And uh for us it is uh mostly handled within our media specialists. It's part of their scope and sequence. So it is a required part of their curriculum. And Ally is here to talk to us a little bit about some 79 00:27:08.640 --> 00:27:24.000 different options at that that the media specialists have. >> Yeah. So we have media specialists in all 16 elementaryaries and like Jolene said, they do handle our STEM learning. Um, so students K5 are getting hands-on uh STEM learning with a variety of 80 00:27:24.000 --> 00:27:40.559 robots and different tools. Um, so here at the district, we have an extensive STEM library that travels um with our wonderful warehouse team. They deliver all of our STEM learning materials to all the different sites. And then we do have um a few core tools that are shared 81 00:27:40.559 --> 00:27:56.799 amongst only three schools, so they have them for longer periods of time. Um, and our media specialists also incorporate a lot of coding through programs like Scratch Jr. Um, and then most of our elementaryaries also have a maker space, uh, which means, um, some hands-on 82 00:27:56.799 --> 00:28:12.559 open-ended, uh, ways for kids to tinker and use their hands and collaborate with others. So things like, um, magnetic tiles and bristle blocks and Legos and things like that. So, um, for our coding 83 00:28:12.559 --> 00:28:27.919 robot progression, these are our four standard robots that we have in our elementary schools, um, the BBOT is the very first one that's introduced typically in kindergarten. It's completely screenfree. Um, and it uses directional logic. So, right on top of 84 00:28:27.919 --> 00:28:43.120 the robot, there's arrows. Um, they will code their path and then they press go and then they see if their robot actually follows the path that they intended. Um, and there's a lot of cross-curricular connections with that. We have our wonderful media specialists 85 00:28:43.120 --> 00:28:58.880 have kids code like how to take the mouse and get to the cookie after they read if you give a mouse a cookie, things like that. Um, and so that's our first experience. And then kids move into Indie Cars, which we will talk a little bit more about in a minute. Um, 86 00:28:58.880 --> 00:29:14.159 but those are an an additional screenfree uh robot that use uses colorbased programming. So, it has a color sensor on the bottom and each color is representative of a movement and that's typically a K2 robot. And 87 00:29:14.159 --> 00:29:32.159 then we move into Dash, which is an appbased robot. So, they use their iPads to use block coding um to tell their robot what to do. And Dash is able to talk to them. He's able to spin. He's able to blink um change colors. Lots of 88 00:29:32.159 --> 00:29:49.760 uh fun animations. Um, and then from there we move on to Bolt Plus, which is a Sphero product. And again, that's app-based and we're working on more advanced automation and data with Dash. So, for today, we're going to play with Indie a little bit. Um, and just to 89 00:29:49.760 --> 00:30:08.720 introduce him, I'll do a little demo. >> Perfect. We got it. Can you hear me? Okay. So, this is Indie here. And this little robot again has a color sensor on the bottom that is able to detect what 90 00:30:08.720 --> 00:30:23.840 it's supposed to do. And you'll see up on the screen, each color represents a movement. So green go, red means stop, just like I try and tell my three-year-old when we're driving, you know. Yellow is slow. It'll decrease the speed. Purple is a celebration. So the 91 00:30:23.840 --> 00:30:39.360 robot will turn around and spin. Um, and then all of the ones on the right hand side are degrees of turn. And so kids get really good at this, knowing what the colors represent, and then it's a lot of trial and error for the robot to do what they intended it to do. Um, and 92 00:30:39.360 --> 00:30:56.159 then there's challenge cards that come with these, too. So, a lot of, you know, what would you put there in order for it to get back to where you want it to go? Um, and so it looks just like this in the media center. The students get their kit with their colored tiles. They have an open workspace and they're just kind 93 00:30:56.159 --> 00:31:12.480 of throwing tiles down to see what Indie will do. Um, if Indie does not detect a color within three seconds, uh, they will stop and just and wait for their next direction. Um, and then if they keep driving for up to 5 seconds, it'll 94 00:31:12.480 --> 00:31:28.080 stop as well. So, um, button on the back. I'm going to show you how this one works. So, green is go. If I put him on the green tile, he will start start to move. Yellow is slow down. My blue is a right turn 90 degrees. My teal is a 95 00:31:28.080 --> 00:31:46.720 right turn 45° and then my pink is a 90° turn to the left and then purple should celebrate. So, I've already tested this one. I cheated a little bit. Um, but you're going to have a chance to try a couple challenge cards here in a minute. So, India is on. The eyeballs are are 96 00:31:46.720 --> 00:32:12.000 glowing. That's how I know he's on. I set him on my green. He's going to count down. Then he's gonna find purple. Yeah. So, what we're going to do today, we have indie kits if people want to get in groups of three. Um, and within your 97 00:32:12.000 --> 00:32:27.519 kit, I gave you a little cheat sheet on the directions because those are the hardest ones to figure out. Um, and then there's two challenge cards. So, you always want to start with green because that will tell the robot to go. And then your job is to try and figure out like this one you want to get back to purple 98 00:32:27.519 --> 00:32:43.440 and then on this one you're also trying to get to purple and that one just has like two question marks. What would I put there in order to get to my purple? Or you can just play and code your own little path for Indie. Yeah. 99 00:32:43.440 --> 00:32:59.679 >> Out of curiosity, how long So this is for first and second graders? >> Yeah. >> Okay. So, how long does it take like your average six or sevenyear-old to master this? And I think I'm just sort of trying to set expectations for myself. >> Oh, I would say they do an intro lesson, 100 00:32:59.679 --> 00:33:22.240 the teacher does a model lesson, and then they are off to the races. So, um, they pick it up pretty pretty darn quick. Yep. All right. So, we have some open space over here. Um, and we'll have people 101 00:33:22.240 --> 00:40:47.520 deliver a kit to try indie I'll just All right. So, as you can see, uh just endless possibilities. So, highly engaging, endless possibilities, great great options for any grandchildren out there or children. I 102 00:40:47.520 --> 00:41:03.040 wish I had it when I had my own little friends. I think my 14-year-old would still find that super engaging. So um so that is the end of our presentation. So any questions you have for us? [laughter] 103 00:41:03.040 --> 00:41:17.359 >> Okay, we'll start with Simmyi with a couple questions please. >> Um man, start with Simmy. I'm like high on my power. Okay. Um so couple questions. One is when you talked about the performance descriptors. 104 00:41:17.359 --> 00:41:34.160 Um are these like are these to scale or how does the scale work? Like what is the cut off between beginning in intermediate and intermediate and meats? Like what it what sort of um level of prof 105 00:41:34.160 --> 00:41:50.720 proficiency do students have to demonstrate at each of those gates? anticipating that we might get that question. Uh did did some homework on it. Um let's start with intermediate because those are our students that we we' feel like are on the cusp um that 106 00:41:50.720 --> 00:42:07.040 we're really hoping to well we're trying to support all students but how far they are away from uh meets or advanced. This means they have partial understanding and skills. So not far below the meats is what MD would say. They can um they 107 00:42:07.040 --> 00:42:23.040 can interpret data and models. They can uh show understanding in familiar situations. But remember when we talked about that shift to MCA4 in terms of phenomenon based and the application that's where that's where they struggle 108 00:42:23.040 --> 00:42:40.400 and we need to support them more. Um in terms of beginning stage um they would describe it as limited evidence of understanding. So that intermediate group can can and we we can't draw this line so um definitively yet. Uh Jolene and I 109 00:42:40.400 --> 00:42:56.240 were talking a little bit about this before the presentation to say that our intermediate group may have been proficient on the MCA3. We're not that uh confident yet because we need some trend data and understand it better. But we wanted to highlight the fact that it's really that application piece that 110 00:42:56.240 --> 00:43:12.880 they're missing in the intermediate. Does that help a bit? I think so. I think what I one of the things I sort of in full cander like it's been a long time since my own children took the MCAs and they I mean and so I don't I just don't remember 111 00:43:12.880 --> 00:43:30.319 what this was like for them as middle schoolers or elementary school and so I just don't know what um is there a good example of what can you provide an example of what an intermediate student might know versus not know compared to a meat student? 112 00:43:30.319 --> 00:43:47.359 Yeah. Um, so I I happened I just printed off some of the performance level descriptors because I thought it might help. Right. So if I read a a fifth grade student at an intermediate level, this is the performance level descriptor for that that stage. They can identify patterns showing that the sun's position 113 00:43:47.359 --> 00:44:04.160 in the sky changes throughout the day and describe changes in the earth's surface over time. So think of the complexity of being able to understand that and that's at the intermediate level. If we move to a a meats level, the student says, "I can collect and use several data sets to describe daily 114 00:44:04.160 --> 00:44:20.560 seasonal changes and patterns of daylight to explain how Earth's surface changes over time." So hopefully that example lets you see that it's complex thinking. It's it's being able to use a set of data to then draw a conclusion at the end. And so I 115 00:44:20.560 --> 00:44:36.319 don't know if that is a good example or not, but maybe that starts to get at what they're trying to do with the MCA4. Um, no, that is that is helpful. Um, so one question I had, so these are based on 2019 standards, right? And they're just they were just rolled out last 116 00:44:36.319 --> 00:44:53.040 year. So it takes five years for the standards to work their way through. Then the test the test runs for 10 years. So five years into the test, the state will come up with a new set of standards. 117 00:44:53.040 --> 00:45:08.319 >> Correct? >> Yes, that that's correct. So, so there's always a lag time and I think that the state recognizes in a large system such as ours, we're going to have to first understand what those standards are, then build a team of teachers to look at how will we implement these standards and we have to know those standards 118 00:45:08.319 --> 00:45:24.240 before we start implementing. And then there has to be an opportunity to have a cohort of students exposed to those standards before they take that test. So, was it three or four years ago, we started with our third graders, >> okay? saying now we're going to expose 119 00:45:24.240 --> 00:45:39.440 you to the new standards. Then that cohort moved to fourth grade and then that cohort of students moved to fifth grade all in preparation to take that MCA4 last year. >> Okay. And >> we did the same thing with sixth grade, seventh grade, eighth grade starting four years ago. So they were ready to 120 00:45:39.440 --> 00:45:53.920 take the test last spring. >> Okay. And so the first year the first students who took that earth space in in high school are current 11th graders. Correct. >> That is correct. Yes. >> Okay. Um, and then how for middle school 121 00:45:53.920 --> 00:46:08.640 STEM, so you mentioned that each student or each student takes a try of STEM in sixth grade, seventh grade, eighth grade. How does that work? Because I know middle schoolers have a pretty compressed schedule. How does that work if they take world language or if they 122 00:46:08.640 --> 00:46:25.440 take music, you know, how do how do they fit all of this in or what what gets dropped? >> Yeah, the fitting in is always a challenge in middle school, right? And so, so they I might have to get back on exactly which courses they substitute in and 123 00:46:25.440 --> 00:46:41.440 out, but that's part of why we do one trimester. And so that's coupled against the other courses that they take one trimester. Kelly, do you know off the top of your head the schedule? >> The STEM courses are part of the wheel. Have you if you've heard the wheel, that's a a sequence of three courses that they take in sixth, seventh, and 124 00:46:41.440 --> 00:46:56.880 eighth grade. So there are students that are um wheel students. There are students who are Spanish students in eighth grade. There are students who are AVID students. Um there are students who are pull out e and so generally principles will sit down with the families and decide which of the two are 125 00:46:56.880 --> 00:47:13.920 going to be and and fied and music I'm sorry is the other one. So it's going to vary of which one based on the kid based on the family of what their priorities are. So they do have to make some hard choices for sure. >> Okay. And so the STEM is the STEM class is in addition to the actual science 126 00:47:13.920 --> 00:47:28.640 class. >> Yes. >> Correct. Yeah. Okay. Their core science course they'll take a full year in sixth grade, a full year in seventh and a full year in eighth. >> And then they take the STEM separately. And then in elementary school, you had mentioned that they take STEM. The media center does media specialists do a lot 127 00:47:28.640 --> 00:47:52.640 with STEM. >> This is in addition to classroom work. >> Okay. >> Okay. Sharon, do you have any questions? Yeah. How do you get how do you get out of the beginning to the intermediate? I mean, what's the is there a criteria to move from one? I wonder if you don't 128 00:47:52.640 --> 00:48:08.560 move from one to the other. What happened? [laughter] >> Yeah. >> Well, I don't think you know there's any we use MCAs to look systemwide. So really to look individually to one 129 00:48:08.560 --> 00:48:24.240 individual student and making decisions based on that score like changing their instruction based on that one score for that one student. That's not really what the test was uh designed for. So what we want to look at is how do our kids 130 00:48:24.240 --> 00:48:39.599 across South Washington or one particular building and what we need to do. Um so really the the basic the beginning uh is going to be students that will have some core knowledge um 131 00:48:39.599 --> 00:48:56.640 but unable to really do any application of that. Um the intermediate is going to be yeah I can apply what I know um but I'm not able to do that with multiple different data sets. It's 132 00:48:56.640 --> 00:49:11.760 >> oh the test is individually individual on the computer it looks very different than the test I have been used to um even when I took the Iowa test of basic skills and and even seeing MCAs even 10 133 00:49:11.760 --> 00:49:28.160 years ago it it has changed a lot um it used to be more multiple choice now they're clicking and dragging they're uh taking different data sets um and pulling things together it's very it's much more interactive than it was when we were doing the bubble sheets with A, 134 00:49:28.160 --> 00:49:44.480 B, C, and D. Um, it just isn't that way anymore. And it's really requiring kids to take base knowledge because we still need to know information, right? That's still an important piece, but now how can I apply that and interweave it with all kinds of other things that I'm able 135 00:49:44.480 --> 00:50:00.240 to know. And so, it's it's a complex thing. So, we're really proud of kids and where they where they're going and what they're able to accomplish. in in all of our areas. So, >> yeah. Well, I had none. So, okay. 136 00:50:00.240 --> 00:50:19.440 Ryan. >> Yeah. I got two questions for you. So, it's my understanding that chemistry is 11th grade and that's the last core science class that's required per state standard. Is that right? >> Yes. With the caveat that it's it's a physical science course. So a student 137 00:50:19.440 --> 00:50:36.720 could take either chemistry or physics, >> but they're not required to take both. >> Correct. Three years are required at high school for graduation. >> Okay. So making the assumption that kids take chemistry, do you know how many kids opt in for physics? Like generally speaking, >> I I don't know the exact number. Um and 138 00:50:36.720 --> 00:50:53.040 students students take a variety. So a lot of students will take in other words, there's there's more options for them. And that's part of what we were looking at. So not all students will take physics. Some will take AP biology or AP chem or IB and that restricts their ability to take physics. 139 00:50:53.040 --> 00:51:08.640 >> Only the IB is right. So you could take AP chemistry as a junior and then choose to take AP physics as a senior. Right. >> That's correct. >> So kind of what I'm wondering is how many kids choose to take that harder science path because I think the other 140 00:51:08.640 --> 00:51:25.359 science courses are good so I'm not denigrating them but AP physics is a very hard course. So, how many of our seniors are opting to go to that hard science for the last level? Is it 5% 10%. Do we have an idea? Less. >> I I I'll have to look up that number. I 141 00:51:25.359 --> 00:51:40.800 don't know it off the top of my head. >> Ryan, I don't know that off the top of my head either. We can get that to you though. >> Yeah. Just I'm curious. >> It's an interesting question. >> Yeah. >> And I would Sorry. >> It doesn't have to be AP either. Just because physics is hard, so I know kids shy away from that, right? But 142 00:51:40.800 --> 00:51:57.040 >> I think we're looking for the four-year science kid, right? The one that's gonna take four years. And what we do in our career counseling or college counseling, if they're looking at selective universities in particular, >> um we are really encouraging them to take four years of science. >> And even and I don't I shouldn't have 143 00:51:57.040 --> 00:52:13.119 said even like state colleges, a lot of colleges are requiring four years and it's the it's the Minnesota that's the three years. So we definitely do counsel them that four years will benefit you very much in your future endeavors. Yes. Um but we will get exactly how many kids are taking that. 144 00:52:13.119 --> 00:52:29.040 >> Sure. I mean it's >> if you're going to go to a select college or a science-based program then physics in high school is a mandatory thing. I would make the argument for folks in general you should learn physics. So t you should have taken physics if you didn't right. It's a 145 00:52:29.040 --> 00:52:45.040 really good thing to know just in general life right? Um, and so that kind of leads me to my second question. So with the ACT, I understand now that science isn't necessarily a mandatory ACT test for many schools, but nonetheless, what are like what strategy 146 00:52:45.040 --> 00:53:02.079 do you guys have to try to increase our base ATC scores that we have more kids who can meet that 23? Right? So we have what 42 out of 100, right? Roughly right now. So that means that 58 can't. So what do we know? What kind of strategies or what hypotheses do 147 00:53:02.079 --> 00:53:18.319 you have to, you know, what experiments, design experiments will you run to see what we can do to get more kids to be at a 23 or higher? >> That's a hard question. I'm sorry, but it's a good question because >> No, it's it's a it's a good question because you can see our achievement has 148 00:53:18.319 --> 00:53:34.640 been relatively flat for several years. Um, it to be honest with you, Ryan, it's a growth area for us. So, it's a challenge that we need to dig into it and understand it more >> and and come up with a multi-year plan to address it. >> Just to be candid. >> No, I appreciate the candidness of and I 149 00:53:34.640 --> 00:53:51.119 I'm sure you guys know this, but I'm biased, right? So like I that's I think that that's very important for our young folks is regardless of what career path they go into you need to know science and as we progress in our technologydriven you know career fields 150 00:53:51.119 --> 00:54:07.280 this kind of information is be more and more important right so it's for young folks to have opportunities in the future they need to know these types of things and need to score well on science even if it's not a mandatory thing per the ACT so that's that's my viewpoint even if they don't go into a science field and they're not a science nerd 151 00:54:07.280 --> 00:54:23.200 like me who spends my day in the laboratory. So, I digress. Thank you for the the question. >> I think Ryan, you would be proud of the next generation science standards in that the the complexity is amaz like I'm thinking back, you know, memorizing the periodic table was part of science, 152 00:54:23.200 --> 00:54:38.720 right? And I think there's just so much more to science now. So, as far as a strategy, I think part of it is getting kids to do this type of stuff as part of science and realizing science is fun. Science is applicable. science is part of my life every day. So, I think the 153 00:54:38.720 --> 00:54:53.040 standards changing and the way that we're teaching science and the work we've done in elementary is going to start to pay off as we get into those um secondary uh as well. So, yeah, great question though. 154 00:54:53.040 --> 00:55:10.079 Okay, Louise. Uh yes. So, a question basically that Ryan asked. I was so appreciative at taking a look at the number of science options that students have in high school. So, in general, that seems to me that it's pretty popular for students to take more than the three required years in some way, 155 00:55:10.079 --> 00:55:25.760 shape, or form. So, that's exciting to me. Um, and then not a question, but just, you know, a shout out for Bailey School Forest as well. You know, that's one of the greatest places to have an interdisciplinary um learning day and and quite fantastic 156 00:55:25.760 --> 00:55:43.520 and I would invite people to see that as well. >> [laughter and clears throat] >> Elizabeth, >> thanks uh thanks for your presentation and for sharing your uh coding robots with us. That was really fun. I my first question was for the elementary folks. I was just wondering about how much time 157 00:55:43.520 --> 00:56:00.640 students spend in science uh as they start in K going through fifth grade and then does the media specialist time count as their science or it's an addition to Okay, >> sorry it I didn't let you finish. It is an addition. the the media is an addition and I'm trying off the top of 158 00:56:00.640 --> 00:56:17.200 my head to think about recommended minutes. Do you have them off the top of your head? >> Oh, Mark has it sitting here right now. Okay. Um, so 90 minutes per week for K2 and 150 minutes for 35. And we do that per week to leave some flexibility 159 00:56:17.200 --> 00:56:32.720 because once you get the science experiments set up and you have everything in your classroom, it's much better to use kind of a bigger chunk and maybe not do that every single day. >> Awesome. Thank you. And then I had one for the secondary folks and I realized this is kind of a qualitative question 160 00:56:32.720 --> 00:56:49.040 so if you don't have a great answer that's okay. um as someone who was teaching in this district not super long ago as the shift to NGSS standards happened what the difference was in in the way that the curriculum was presented it was just so much more integrated and kind of real life applications and so I was just curious 161 00:56:49.040 --> 00:57:04.559 if you're seeing any uptick in elective sciences or interest of students in science courses because of that integrated approach and what kind of support teachers might have needed to get there with their curriculum moving away from just kind of wrote memorization I'm just thinking I used to teach cellular respiration 162 00:57:04.559 --> 00:57:20.480 cellular respiration was maybe one of the most boring things for students to actually watch like through the the cycle and learn it, but then all of a sudden it was in the NGSS standards and we were teaching like the Tylenol murders and like their cells and how quickly was poison in their blood, right? Like it was so much more exciting 163 00:57:20.480 --> 00:57:37.119 and so I'm just kind of curious what you're seeing from students. >> Well, I think like yes, we see that enthusiasm, right? And does that translate into students taking more courses as they go on? And I think that we're waiting to see that. Um, but absolutely we see kids being excited 164 00:57:37.119 --> 00:57:54.400 about that phenomenon based and looking at a holistic process rather than just an isolated cellular respiration, right? Because it's fun to talk about carbon and oxygen and stuff, but really when when they have that opportunity to say, how does this work in real life? We see that. So, yes, we see that. Um, and now 165 00:57:54.400 --> 00:58:10.240 Ryan, I've been thinking also about your question because I think they couple together. The fact that we do have all those options available, I think is an indicator that students are still taking because those courses will crash if we don't have enough students taking them. And so the fact that we have those courses still there is an indicator that 166 00:58:10.240 --> 00:58:26.400 oh, we have enough to fill a whole section. >> Um, which you know, like if you get 30 students taking it, that to me is exciting. And so, um, but we can look at the numbers also and see what happens. Yeah, I was just going to ask and then the second part was kind of teachers, how are they getting extra support as 167 00:58:26.400 --> 00:58:42.319 they change their curriculum? >> Yeah, so we we uh walked through just in the last year each uh cohort of teachers building a scope and sequence on those new NGSS standards and how do we incorporate those phenomena into the practices that we put in front of 168 00:58:42.319 --> 00:58:58.640 students. And so they've been doing that. Um, I'm excited and know this isn't quite our science world right now, but we are doing more work with our MTSS program or basically it's looking at district-wide professional learning teams. And so now we're starting to collaborate across buildings and say, 169 00:58:58.640 --> 00:59:15.920 hey, how do we all build honor science as we go, you know, so it's independent of if I go to Park High School or Eastridge, but that I get that same experience across those schools. And so I am hoping that that also translates into good things rubbing off, right? Like we do this really well at Woodbury. 170 00:59:15.920 --> 00:59:30.000 How do we replicate that at Eastridge High School? And that I think is going to help us all. >> Thanks. Appreciate it. >> Okay. I don't really have a question, but I absolutely want to know when Star Lab, the new one, is in a school because 171 00:59:30.000 --> 00:59:50.400 I used to always go when they were. >> Thank you. >> [clears throat] >> Okay, we will move on to 5.2 and that is our community education budget and that will be presented by Mr. Jake Winchell, 172 00:59:50.400 --> 01:00:12.720 director of community education. >> All right. Well, thank you. >> It's a tough act to follow. I'll do my best. I don't have robots. >> [laughter] >> Chris might find the budget part exciting, but I'm not sure how many else will. So, [clears throat] >> and see me, too. So, >> yeah. [laughter] >> Yeah. Well, thank you. I'm excited to be 173 01:00:12.720 --> 01:00:28.079 here to share a little bit about the community education budget as we look forward to next year. Um, and also give you a few updates about community education, what we've been working on this year, and some of the the fun things and the successes that we've had in community ed. Before I get started, I want to just do a brief overview and 174 01:00:28.079 --> 01:00:43.599 talk about the different departments that we offer in community ed and also talk about the leaders of those departments as we do have a couple new faces uh leading these teams. Starting with early early learning, our newest leader is Dr. Nicole Jones. Um she's been with us just a couple months, three months about um she's done a wonderful 175 01:00:43.599 --> 01:01:00.319 job getting on boarded and diving into the system and and making some meaningful changes while continuing some of the great things that our previous manager uh Joyce Beer did for many many years in early learning. Joyce retired earlier this year. Kind of went out quietly, so I wanted to recognize her in the years that she provided. She served 176 01:01:00.319 --> 01:01:17.040 South Washington County Schools. Within early learning, we have uh ECF, early childhood screening and school readiness, which would be our three and four-year-old preschool programs. We have community engagement led by Dr. Cheryl Jogger. That's our schoolie program. If you see schooly out and about, Cheryl had a had a hand in that 177 01:01:17.040 --> 01:01:32.960 as well as she is our um conduit to sell Washco Cares Education Foundation as well. We also have our adult programs led by Susie Evans. Um Susie operates um our adults with disabilities program which is a consortium of um five metro school districts. Our Great Rivers Adult 178 01:01:32.960 --> 01:01:49.359 Basic Education which is made up of it's another consortium hosted here by South Washington County Schools. We also um Hastings public schools as a part of this consortium as well. We operate the senior center down at the district program center here in Cottage Grove. Uh we offer trips and tours um both day 179 01:01:49.359 --> 01:02:04.480 trips and overnight trips and our adult enrichment programs. Then in operations that's led by Darby Johnson. Certainly not new to community education in soko but new in her role this year and just like Dr. Nicole Jones she's done amazing job of continuing all the great things going on in that department while 180 01:02:04.480 --> 01:02:20.880 putting her own stamp on it and doing an amazing job leading that team. They oversee lots of different areas including facility rentals, facility use, middle school athletics, aquatics and gymnastics, youth enrichment, our camps and clinics, um, and much more. And then last, that smallest box on 181 01:02:20.880 --> 01:02:38.240 there, but the biggest part of our budget, biggest uh, revenue driver, biggest part of our expenses is Kids Club, which is our school age childcare program. I just wanted to hit on a couple highlights in some of our programs this year, starting with early learning. Um, in ECF, we've served over 2,000 um, 182 01:02:38.240 --> 01:02:53.440 families, children, and families in ECF through field trips, classes, and events. We've had over 220 prenatal to grade three home visits. We've done nine preschool pack nights, 11 childcare staff training events where we actually go into um, private um, daycare 183 01:02:53.440 --> 01:03:08.559 facilities or preschool facilities and and train some other staff where we had 322 participants served in that. preschool, we have 623 3 to 5 year olds served within our preschool programs. And in early childhood screening, we've had over a thousand screenings so far to 184 01:03:08.559 --> 01:03:25.039 date. And we continue our screen at three initiative, which we're looking to increase the number of three-year-olds screened um in total. And we've done a good job of that. As you can see the numbers there, 58% of our screenings are three-year-olds, 32% are four year olds, 10% are five year olds. And if somehow 185 01:03:25.039 --> 01:03:40.880 they make it to kindergarten without having gone through screening, we screen them within the first uh 30 days of kindergarten. Um that number that seven that number seven is is low compared to what I've seen in some other districts as well. On the other end of the age spectrum, we talk about our Great Rivers Adult 186 01:03:40.880 --> 01:03:57.280 Education Consortium. Again, um this is um between South Washington County Schools and Hastings Public Schools. Um we serve we run these classes out of Central Park in Woodbury and then District Program Center here in Cottage Grove. In addition to Tilden Family Center down in Hastings and at the 187 01:03:57.280 --> 01:04:12.160 Dakota County Jail, we offer classes as well. We've served over a thousand adults who spent more than 33,000 hours working on their education. And that number we've we reached our growth cap for next year despite all the unrest this winter with some people um being unwilling to come out and come to 188 01:04:12.160 --> 01:04:28.640 classes. Um we maintained our students throughout that and uh we did that by in person and we also offered an online option through that time. We had 26 adults earn their high school equivalency. We had a graduation earlier this winter. We'll have another one next week. Always one of my favorite events 189 01:04:28.640 --> 01:04:45.280 of the year. And we have our generations cafe, which is a work experience class down at the district program center where we train adults in workplace skills in the United States. Also within our adult programs, we have adult enrichment um which is also adults adults with disabilities or adults 50 190 01:04:45.280 --> 01:05:00.400 plus programs. and adult enrichment. We had over 383 classes with over 2,000 registrations. Our senior center, we have over four, we have 414 members this year. They operate Monday through Thursday at the district program center. More than 20 weekly games and 191 01:05:00.400 --> 01:05:17.440 activities. We, as I said earlier, we offer uh day and evening trips and overnight trips, social activities such as monthly birthday bash, some lunch and learns, um four support groups for grief, diabetes, other things. And obviously we have a driver discount class which is always popular too. 192 01:05:17.440 --> 01:05:34.400 Adults with disabilities we offer again part of a consortium. We offer classes and events for adults with developmental disabilities. We're part of that five district consortium week. It's called the community bridge. And this last year we offered 23 classes throughout the various communities in which this operates. 193 01:05:34.400 --> 01:05:50.559 Moving into operations. This is led again by Darby Johnson. Facility use. Um you all know how busy our facilities are. Um, we had over 122 different renters in our in our schools providing programming for over 30,000 participants and 23,000 hours of use. And you know, I 194 01:05:50.559 --> 01:06:07.119 got to say as as hard as Darby and her teams work too, I got to shout out our custodial staff too because um, you know, our buildings are really for sure open or operate seven days a week and it's hours a day at times. So, um, and in order to host these events, we we do have to hire custodians at an overtime 195 01:06:07.119 --> 01:06:22.799 rate. And overtime is great, but sometimes, um, you know, working every weekend isn't something everybody wants to sign up to do. So, we appreciate the partnership with our custodial teams. Our gyms are most popular. About over half of our um, rented hours come in our gyms for volleyball and basketball and 196 01:06:22.799 --> 01:06:38.559 other various activities. And we have um, our other community education activities count for another 50,000 hours of use annually. Youth enrichment, almost 500 courses, nearly 800 sections or private lessons. We've served nearly 6,000 participants. 197 01:06:38.559 --> 01:06:54.240 And we offer driver's education through Safeway Driving School. And um we offer inperson and online classes. We offer um classes in our high schools and in the summertime shift to the middle schools for the most part. 46 sections of driver's education. We served over a thousand participants this year in 198 01:06:54.240 --> 01:07:12.079 driver's education. Also in operations under Darby, we run gymnastics, middle school athletics, aquatics, and camps and clinics. Many of these programs um operate year round. Some of them are school year only. Some of them are in the summer. You can see the thousands of participants that have participated in these classes throughout 199 01:07:12.079 --> 01:07:29.200 the course of the year. Moving into kids club or school age child care. Um you probably know that it that we operate 6:30 a.m. to 6 pm Monday through Friday at all 16 elementary schools during the school year. um for children in in ages kind grades 200 01:07:29.200 --> 01:07:45.520 kindergarten through fifth grade. One of the really neat things about kids club and I think it's unique compared to some of the school age childc carees that I have been a part of is that they they is a really well planned out really thoughtout um program. It is not kids stay after school and play on the playground or play in the gym until mom 201 01:07:45.520 --> 01:08:00.880 and dad can get there and pick them up. They have their eight key learning areas where they focus on arts, STEM literacy, physical activity, life skills, social emotional learning, health and wellness and language and culture. It is a really really wellthoughtout program and they do a lot of planning to make that a um 202 01:08:00.880 --> 01:08:17.040 an engaging activity and something for kids that they maybe don't dread going to. Certainly they probably would rather go home. Um but they plan a lot of fun activities for those kids and um like I said it's anything but just play on the playground until mom and dad can get there to pick you up. Um throughout this 203 01:08:17.040 --> 01:08:33.120 year we've we'll have 166 days of school age [snorts] care. We have 22 days of non-school daycare and we'll have 53 days in the summer. And we do operate um uh on non-school days as mentioned there, but even on emergency closers, on cold closure days, we remain open. Um 204 01:08:33.120 --> 01:08:48.880 but if it was a snow day, an emergency closer snow day, we do close on those days as well. We have an 11 accredited sites and next year we'll all all of our sites will become accredited. All are DHS certified. Um and this summer we have almost 850 students enrolled for 205 01:08:48.880 --> 01:09:05.600 our summer program. This current school year, we have about 1,600 children enrolled in our before and after school care. And my favorite number there is last summer, we had over 362,000 contact hours last summer, and I'd imagine we do similar hours this coming summer. 206 01:09:05.600 --> 01:09:21.359 Moving into uh community engagement, which is our partnership with the Wash School Cares. This work is center of students, families, and staff and the community working together as partners in education. On the student side, uh we create meaningful opportunities like internships, scholarships, service 207 01:09:21.359 --> 01:09:37.279 projects, and other opportunities beyond the classroom. Families, we build stronger connections through events and programs like summer schoolie, helping families feel welcome and supported with staff. They do staff grants. They um do the employee giving campaign and they 208 01:09:37.279 --> 01:09:53.600 also um celebrate our district staff like our upcoming employee recognition event next week. And in the community, we leverage partnerships um using volunteers and other local organizations to expand resources and opportunities for our students and children. Something new this year, as I mentioned earlier, 209 01:09:53.600 --> 01:10:09.840 with Operation Metro Surge is the emergency fund. And this is something that was organized by SoCo Cares. Um they activated this fund to respond quickly to the enhanced and urgent needs of our families, including food and utilities and rental assistance. Um, as you can see here, we helped 75 families, 210 01:10:09.840 --> 01:10:26.880 packed uh 256 emergency meal boxes, nearly 12,000 pounds of food, had 125 volunteers, raised almost $31,000, and had donations from over 15 states. Before I get into the budget, I thought I'd maybe stop there if anybody had questions just on what community 211 01:10:26.880 --> 01:10:42.159 education is or anything I've talked about so far. Um, certainly you can ask at the end, too. But before I change gears, I thought I'd offer it. I I would like to give a shout out to the early childhood advisory committee. This is the middle of their screen free week. Yeah. So, they've planned just 212 01:10:42.159 --> 01:10:58.560 tons of activities throughout the week for our littles. >> Thank you for that. >> I just had a quick question. Um, with the construction that's happening around the district, is there a difference in the summer programming offered this year? And then would it change back as the construction wraps up? >> That that is a great question. We in the 213 01:10:58.560 --> 01:11:13.280 summertime, I didn't mention this, we do consolidate down to four sites typically and we did choose our sites based on what sites we've used in the past, whether the sites are being used by things like targeted services and extended school year. Um, and construction as well, building construction and road construction. And 214 01:11:13.280 --> 01:11:29.440 we'll be at Noeas frontce, Armstrong Elementary, Val Valley Crossing, and Woodbury Elementary this summer. Good question. Okay, I'll move into budget. Uh before we get to talking about next year's budget, I just want to give an update about revenues by source and where where 215 01:11:29.440 --> 01:11:45.920 our money comes from. You can see here that in that pie chart there, the biggest uh section of that is certainly is fees. Um so everything we do, we we can't operate without our customers. So we talk a lot about providing a good experience for our customers and providing good customer service. So the fees would be anything from facility 216 01:11:45.920 --> 01:12:01.440 rental to kids club revenue to enrichment, registrations, things like that. And basically the rest of our revenue is made up of levy and aid. Then expenditures you can see in this one here basically just like the general fund um our expenditures mostly go to 217 01:12:01.440 --> 01:12:19.199 salaries or goes to people. So about 56% goes to salaries and wages. Another 20% goes to benefits. And then 19% goes to purchase services which is a lot of contracted things. So again a lot of people whether it could be a vendor or somebody a contractor doing some work for us. And 3% goes to supplies and 218 01:12:19.199 --> 01:12:34.719 materials. So as you can see here almost all of what we do um goes back to our employees. Then based department I wanted to talk a little bit about where our revenues come from. Kids club is the biggest part of that pie there. About 44% of our revenue comes from kids club. Early learning 219 01:12:34.719 --> 01:12:50.719 generates about 23% operations about 21%. Adult programs about 5 and a half% and admin 7%. The expenditures match that pretty closely. Um kids club being our biggest expense. followed by early learning at 220 01:12:50.719 --> 01:13:06.960 about 26% operations at about 20, adult program 6% and community education admin about 5%. So we get into our proposed budget for next year. Um we're not looking for approval tonight. That'll come at a different meeting, but we've worked 221 01:13:06.960 --> 01:13:22.880 really hard in my two years here in Solashco to balance our budget. So hats off to those leaders that I mentioned earlier today um to make the changes necessary to get us back on track. As you can see here, um, early learning is a trouble spot for us, as it is with many other districts. Um, we're happy to 222 01:13:22.880 --> 01:13:40.159 see that both So, and, um, Minnesota Community Education Association both listed early learning funding as legislative priorities, um, because, as you can see here, this, um, annual deficit in early learning has become an issue for us and and many other school districts as well. So, in future years, 223 01:13:40.159 --> 01:13:55.520 I'll have a better year-over-year comparison as far as what this budget looks like compared to previous years. But, uh, being just my second year, we're still working on cleaning some things up. Um, and I'll make sure that it's a good apples to apples comparison going forward in the future. But, ultimately, you see here, we're about a 224 01:13:55.520 --> 01:14:12.080 16 million. We do about $16 million in revenues, nearly the exact same in expenses and in this um working copy of this because Chris and her team are still working on this and my team was working on it this morning. As of now, you see that uh small surplus going into 225 01:14:12.080 --> 01:14:27.760 next year, but by the time you see this for approval um at an upcoming meeting, this might look a little bit different, but this is about what we're trending at right now. >> With that, I will open up for questions. >> Okay, we'll start with Brian. Do you have any questions? 226 01:14:27.760 --> 01:14:42.400 >> Thank you, >> Louise, >> Elizabeth. >> Yep. Just one quick question. Um, for the early learning deficit, did that pick up when the requirement by the state was to make sure that the um the staff were licensed staff and they went 227 01:14:42.400 --> 01:14:58.880 in the teacher bargaining group? >> Yes, that certainly is a big part of that for sure. Um maybe our maybe our setup has a little bit to do with that too, but certainly when you're paying that that teacher salary, which they certainly deserve, um but the revenue we receive from the state does not match what we can charge for tuition to make 228 01:14:58.880 --> 01:15:13.679 up that >> sort of unfunded mandate. >> It it certainly is right. It almost feels like not that long ago a lot of early learning teachers were hourly and weren't licensed and now there's a lot um more requirements for that and we're we're paying them based on that, but the funding isn't there with it. So 229 01:15:13.679 --> 01:15:29.760 certainly a big part of it. Okay, Sharon, any questions? Smi. >> Um, so Jake, I don't know if this is a question for you or if this is a question for Chris, [clears throat] but you know, so we're we're running a half million dollar deficit in early 230 01:15:29.760 --> 01:15:46.080 learning, right? And what is our obligation in terms of the community budget um from the general fund? Do we have to um do we have to zero balance that in any 231 01:15:46.080 --> 01:16:01.760 given year or is this something that we can let ride for several years as we try to correct this? Um because this looks like I mean without the early learning deficit I mean this is honestly a very healthy right and I realized like that's sort of 232 01:16:01.760 --> 01:16:18.480 like well you know how is the play Mrs. Lincoln right? But it's it's just very like um I mean, do we know, and I guess the second question would be legislatively, has the state indicated any appetite for changing how they're going to fund early 233 01:16:18.480 --> 01:16:35.679 early learning? >> Always taking off to me. Um, so to that end, Simmy, there's not a unlike food service where there's some requirements as to um more on the like limitations on the cash, right? Community ed, there's not necessarily that whole like you 234 01:16:35.679 --> 01:16:52.000 can't deficit spend, right? That said, they certainly need the cash to do so as well. So, there would be um potentially the opportunity that the general fund, I think we've commented about that before, even during audit presentations, that the general fund would have to at some point step in to cover that deficit to bring them back to whole. I know this year, and Jake could probably speak to 235 01:16:52.000 --> 01:17:06.880 it, too, but there's been some legislation, not so much on the actually increasing aid to that end, which we know again, Elizabeth, and I think you alluded to, right, that really is that unfunded mandate for a very long time. South Washington County Schools um did pay our teachers in preschool on that 236 01:17:06.880 --> 01:17:22.800 program too and we were um it's been a source of pride for the community as well and so I think we've done a great job of that but it does come at that cost and so how do we address that going forward I think will be a continuing conversation with us and our legislators as well I think to that end also um I would say that this year what I saw was 237 01:17:22.800 --> 01:17:38.640 some um legislation and some bills to um kind of help some community ed as far as to move shift funding Right. And so normally we can't transfer out of community ed to anywhere else. Um and similarly other than general fund, we don't have the 238 01:17:38.640 --> 01:17:55.120 opportunity typically to transfer into g into community ed. There was some legislation I think this year and Jake could probably um I know the community ed association statewide was necessarily not wholly for it um because interesting enough it was moving some long-term facility maintenance dollars um between 239 01:17:55.120 --> 01:18:10.560 and so it was like kind of you know a little bit of a head scratcher as to why um and that had to do with Morehead um public schools. And so, you know, without knowing the background around it, but so it did give me pause in that, well, maybe, you know, as we look and continue to navigate that, is there 240 01:18:10.560 --> 01:18:27.120 opportunity? Is there anything we should look at at some point to perhaps ask legislators, you know, is there maybe some type of transfer that we would consider making ever um to be able to just kind of make that whole and then start fresh, right? And there's certainly in just continuing for us to 241 01:18:27.120 --> 01:18:43.600 look at operationally what we can do there, too. And so for for this is this the kind of thing then for community education do we need to um because right now the fund balance for community education is functionally zero right. So is this the kind of thing 242 01:18:43.600 --> 01:18:59.440 where we need to bring it up to the 16.6% that we have as a general fund balance or is this the kind of thing where it doesn't really matter so we can just let it sit at zero in perpetuity? >> Correct. You could let it sit at zero in perpetuity. Okay. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. 243 01:18:59.440 --> 01:19:15.920 Okay, we'll move on to 6.0 and that is our information items and we do not have any this evening. That puts us at 7.0 and reports and comments and we'll start with the superintendent report. >> Thank you. Um, as TA said, she was testing since the last time she was here. TA, we're dealing with road 244 01:19:15.920 --> 01:19:32.400 construction since the last time we were here and and we know board members, we know that's why you're kind of flying in here a little bit late because our buses are dealing with the same thing. Um, I know today the district, I believe, sent out communication about some of that road construction. Um, if it's any consolation, I get as equally as 245 01:19:32.400 --> 01:19:48.960 frustrated. I was headed up toward and it said local traffic only and I thought for sure I am local traffic. I need to get to our school. And I got to the top of the hill. Yeah, it was closed off and I had to turn around and the guys at the bottom of the hill, they kind of smiled and they're like, "Yeah, look at another 246 01:19:48.960 --> 01:20:05.120 lady thinking she's going to go through." Um, [snorts] so definitely just for our community, definitely slowing down our buses and just uh parents and families getting to and from, please make sure you give yourselves enough time. Um, our city and uh county government web pages have all the needed information. Um, shortly 247 01:20:05.120 --> 01:20:20.400 within the next week to two weeks, our quarterly mailing will be going out and as a reminder, that is like the hottest piece of paper going out to our mailboxes. Our families love our quarterly newsletter and it's packed with really great information. on the front actually is a picture of the Park 248 01:20:20.400 --> 01:20:36.719 High School cafeteria. And I do hope that that's the last time we're going to see a cafeteria that is that filled with kids. Uh Katie saw it tonight and she's like, "Oh, I remember eating lunch in a cafeteria that look like that." Um someone also mentioned tonight our employee recognition. I think Jake 249 01:20:36.719 --> 01:20:52.320 mentioned that. Um next week we will celebrate our employees, their years of service, um our allstars along with retirees. And then finally um in the next two weeks, so before we return back here to the next board meeting, we will have award senior award presentations at all 250 01:20:52.320 --> 01:21:07.600 of our high schools and then of course after that will be all of our uh graduation recognitions. So an exciting uh rest of May coming up for all of us. >> Okay, thank you. We'll move on to 8.0 and that is our future meeting dates. 251 01:21:07.600 --> 01:21:23.719 May 21st, 2026 is a schoolboard business meeting here at the district service center at 6 PM. Then June 11th, 2026 is our schoolboard workshop meeting also at the district service center at 6 pm. With that, we are at 9.0 and we are adjourned.