Microphone test. test. Test. One, two, three. Good evening. The time is now 7:00. The Wisetta Public Schools Board of Education regular meeting for May 12th, 2025 will please come to order. Will the
clerk please call the role? Heidi Kedar here. Sheila Prior here. Sarah Johansson here. Harris Bend is absent. Valentina Ays here. Dan Janestra here. Milan
Sahony present. Chase Anderson here. Thank you. We have a quorum. Please rise to recite the pledge of allegiance. To the for it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and
justice for all. Okay. If you want to speak during the audience opportunity to address the board, please fill out a form placed at the back of the room and hand it over to our district administrative assistant Amy sitting to my right. The first item on our agenda
tonight is the approval of the agenda and the consent agenda items. Consent agenda items are considered routine in nature and will be enacted by one motion. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a board member or a citizen so
requests in which event the item will be removed as a consent agenda item and addressed. The consent agenda items are listed in the materials. The recommended action is to approve the agenda and the consent agenda items. Is there a motion?
I move. Second. Moved and seconded. Will the clerk please take a roll call vote? Heidi Kedar. Yes. Valentina Ays. Yes. Dan Janestra. Yes. Sarah Johansson. Yes.
Paris Bend is absent. Sheila Prior. Yes. Milan Sahonyi. Yes. We have an agenda. Thank you. The next item on our agenda is reports from organizations. Organizations. And I would like to invite Payton Midle. Is
she here? Yes. uh student council vice president from Visetta High School to please come forward. Welcome Payton. Good evening everyone. Um I hope this last stretch of the school year is treating you well. I mean I know you guys have to work all summer long but
seniors are almost free. We have uh three more weeks until graduation and I speak on behalf of my senior class. we are really excited to be done and especially with our economic projects. Those those are not fun. So to continue that tangent um with
the graduating seniors, on May 1st, the high school had held our annual but quite informal decisions day. Um, while our seniors had our last ever counselor seminar, everyone wore uh merchandise to represent what their after high school
what after high school means to them. Um, similarly, um, May 5th was the senior awards night, a formal celebration for the hard commitment of worthy recipients of the senior class. Um, and likewise, uh, the volunteer club
held an award ceremony honoring hundreds of presidential award winners. On May 20 or May 29th, seniors will participate in the senior elementary graduation walk um, at their previously attended elementary schools.
The day the day starts well on May 29th um with a senior bridgewalk and ends with the senior uh sunset a sendoff to the 2025 class. So currently student council uh senate elections are wrapping
up um with the final voting vote voting count ending this um evening. We have a lot we've had a large participation from the sophomore class in this running um making the future of our organization quite unknown to us. Um, in the theater department, rehearsals for the spring
playgrounds, a student written and directed showcase, um, is in the in progress. On the weekend of May 3rd, so a couple of weeks ago, the department held their spring play, Space Girl, which was an engaging and very quirky
show. Um lastly, um as the school year is winding down, clubs have begun preparation for next year. Um enlisting a new set of seniors for their executive roles. Um I've seen a lot
of I'm trying to think the word, a lot of uh PR from BPA and um HOSA on their uh voting process and their new um presidents and vice presidents and so on. And then clubs and sports are
cultivating a new experience for the future. Um, and really reflecting on this past year and the experience of their students. Um, and I think tonight's my last ever um, what is this called? Speech. Um, so
it has been such a pleasure being able to attend these meetings um, and to report to you guys on behalf of the high school student body. Um there thank you very much and I will really miss these u monthly occurrences. So thank you. Thank
you Payeyton. Anyone have any comments questions for P? Thank you for coming each week or each month right. It takes a lot. And uh can you share? We wish you well next year. What will you be doing? Um I'm going to the University of Twin Cities and I am
majoring in neuroscience. Fantastic. Well, thank you so much for your contributions. Yeah, Payton, it's been wonderful to have you here every month as Sarah said and I I just want to say you've been so thorough and have really given us a picture of what's going on at the high school and that's really important for us to be
able to know how our students are doing. So, thank you. Thank you. Luck with everything you do. Well, thank you so much, Peyton. It's been a joy having you here these, you know, past several months hearing from you what all is going on at the high school. appreciate it and it informs the work we do in a lot of ways. So, thank
you very much. Awesome. I just wanted to wish you well also. We will miss you and we'll miss you on the mountain bike team and we'll miss seeing you every month. Yeah. Thanks. Okay. Thank you and best wishes. Yeah.
Appreciate all the effort uh you've put in to be here regularly and to give us all those updates. So, thank you and best wishes. Thanks. May you have not so many obstacles in your life. There are going to be some, but they shouldn't be that big. And I think that you can uh do very well. So I
wish you uh to succeed, to be bigger. Um and uh I liked your jokes actually. Thank you. Yay. Thank you. Okay. Thank you, Payton. wish you not just you but all your student
bodies on to their next the next phase of their lives. Good luck in whatever you do. So, thank you so much for coming and we'll see somebody else in that chair right next year. Yeah, I'm excited to pass on the torch.
I thank you so much. Okay. Thank you. All right. Next and the item on the agenda is the rec recognitions and director heirs will join Dr. Anderson at the podium this evening. Good evening everybody and welcome to our school board meeting tonight. My
name is Chase Anderson. the superintendent for the school district and it's always my honor to convene the recognitions portion of the school board meeting which we hold at the beginning of the meeting as you can see and it's always fun for us to recognize staff students and and all the important
contributions and and recognitions that have come their way. So, I'm excited tonight uh to introduce our first recognition and I'm glad to see that uh he's in the room just sprinting in from a athletic event. I'm sure I'd like to
invite Chris Tine to please come forward and we'll welcome him forward with a round of applause and then I'll tell you what he's being recognized for. Very impressive. Thanks for uh bringing that beautiful artifact in here. And I'd like to share the following about uh
Weisetta High School athletic trainer Chris Tine who is named to the Fred Zambberi award uh for this year. And that's a big deal. That's really a great award and a great honor. I would like to just share a little bit about that and then give Chris an opportunity to uh uh
come to the mic as well and offer a few words uh to the group here tonight. And I'd share the following. The Minnesota chapter of the National Football Foundation is excited to announce that Weisetta High School athletic trainer Chris Tyne has been named this year's recipient of the Fred Zamberi Award.
Tyne will be recognized during this summer's Minnesota football honors television show. Chris has helped countless athletes achieve their optimal performance, recover, and get back on the field safely. His attention to detail and passion for serving student athletes shines across the local
community, said Todd Folultz, president of the Minnesota chapter of the National Football Foundation. "We are very excited to honor Chris during the Minnesota Football Honors television show. Chris Tine is a licensed athletic trainer and nationally registered
emergency medical technician in Twin Cities Orthopedics. He has served as the athletic trainer for the Weisetta High School for the past 26 years. Tyne is also a certified American Red Cross and American Heart Association basic life supporter for M Health Fairview
emergency response training. The Fred Zamberlleti Award honors the late Fred Zamberetti, the Minnesota Vikings first head athletic trainer. While working for the organization, Zamberi became an athletic training pioneer. After his
long career as the Vikings head athletic trainer, he was named the team's coordinator for medical services and senior consultant team historian. Chris, I can comment from all of the different athletic events that I've been to. I don't know how you literally are in three or four places at the same time,
but I'm pretty convinced if I go to a home game and then a road game, I'll see you in both places. He's amazing. He's at everything and uh has provided wonderful service to all of our student athletes uh here at Weisetta High School. So, at this time, I'll welcome you to the podium to share a few
thoughts if you'd like or over there. Yeah. Thank you. Appreciate that. Thank you. Thank you very much. Um it was actually kind of a surprise. Um we just go about as athletic trainers we just kind of go about our own business and do what we need to do and take care of it. It's for
us it's all about the athlete. I mean we put a lot of hours in um travel for one thing going to various places including various u states. I remember going to Monam Michigan one year with football down to Iowa one year just lots of
traveling along with taking care of the athletes and that is the primary thing person the athletic trainer is we take care of these athletes. Okay we assess we treat and we send them on if they need to go to a physician of some sort
but that is our deal. These athletes are our number one focus at this point and it's been quite a ride. It's been tons of fun and Wisetta I have to say is it's the best district in the state. I would argue this it's the best district in the
upper Midwest and I I would even argue in the nation as far as this point and we have been the best athletic um program the last couple years. Uh, this year might be kind of tough, but n we're we're nationally known and
Weisetta is um I I just said this to one of the kids today. Wea we're big time and I'm and I'm and and that's what we are and that's what I try to do is do the best I can. Thank you. Thank you.
That's amazing. Thanks, Chris. Thanks again, Chris, and uh keep up the great work. Our next recognition is for our Weisetta High School Scholastic Arts Awards, and I think we have uh Dne Hodgeges here uh this evening to
introduce the student recipients. So, I would invite Dne to please come forward. And also, any students are here to be recognized for this this evening, come on down. Don't be shy. We'll bring you up here so you can't escape the podium. Someone needs to be ready to make some comments here
soon. Thanks for coming tonight on this beautiful night. I'd like to share the following and then I'll turn it over to uh Dne to share a little bit and introduce those who are here with him this uh evening and those who were unable to attend as well. The Scholastic Arts Awards is the nation's longestr
running, most prestigious recognition program for creative teens. The Scholastic Art Awards are open to all art students age 13 or older in grades 7 through 12 from public, private, and home schools and community programs serving eligible student populations. By
participating in the Scholastic Arts Award, students receive opportunities for recognition, digital exhibition, and scholarships. This year's W this year, Wisetta High School had several students enter their artwork and many received recognition for their efforts and talents. And at this time, I'll turn it
over to Dane to share a little bit more and introduce those who are here this evening. Thanks so much. Um, we have two people here today. Uh, Weisetta received 42 awards from this year's Scholastic Guard Awards. Uh, they take several
thousand submissions. bullet it down to several hundred and then they're rewarded a gold key, a silver key or honorable mention. Uh, six of our students received gold keys, which was great. Uh, Maggie Lumen here, had the pleasure of working with her for two
terms this year, entered three of our artworks. All three of them won awards, uh, including a cool picnic box, uh, that won the gold key. Olivia Schiller, um, she's been on my ride for the last two years. Uh la last year was my first
year here at Weisetta. So she was in my drawing two class. Uh so she won a gold key for a drawing that she did there. And then she won a gold key for a ceramic sculpture that she made in my ceramics one class this year. Uh not with us today, just not present here are
Rya Sentiel, uh Kingdom Bondi, Ruby Ralph, and Cara Bolanino who all won gold keys as well. On top of the six gold keys, there were 36 other awards, including 12 silver and 24 honorable mentions. So, great job, kiddos. Proud
of you. Our next uh recipients of recognitions this evening are for two employees of the month from Gleon Lake Elementary School. And I'd like to invite Corey Riley and Annie Stokes to please come forward.
First, congratulations. Thanks for being here. Looks like you have a nice cheering crowd here tonight. So glad that uh they joined you for this beautiful evening here tonight. And I'd like to share the following on behalf of the two Gleon Lake employee of the month recipients.
Corey has been with the district for the past seven years during which she has served as a special education teacher at both Weisetta West Middle School and Gleon Lake. Annie has been our behavior support paraprofessional for the past six and a half years following three years in other paraprofessional roles.
Both Corey and Annie bring exceptional dedication, compassion, expertise, and care to their work, enriching our school community in in numerous ways. Corey is a compassionate educator who creates an inclusive, supportive environment where all students can thrive. She adapts
lessons to meet diverse needs, ensuring that every student receives a highquality education in a safe and welcoming space. Her colleagues shared the following. Corey's collaboration with her special education teammates and pair professionals has been vital in
building strong, supportive learning environments. She provides ongoing guidance and training to pair professionals, helping them effectively implement instructional strategies. This teamwork fosters personalized support, allowing students to thrive both
academically and socially. Annie is known for her dependability, flexibility, and calm demeanor. She responds to students support student support calls throughout the day, always with patience and a problemsolving mindset. Annie
consistently goes above and beyond to meet the needs of our school. Here's what staff members had to say. Annie is someone we can all count on. Steady, reliable, and always ready to lend a listening ear. Her calm presence makes even the busiest days more manageable. And her quiet leadership brings out the
best in all of us. Annie exemplifies what it means to be a team player. Her kindness, thoughtfulness, and consistency make our school a better place. Corey and Annie have played key roles in supporting our students growth, development, and confidence. We deeply
appreciate their positive energy, influential leadership, and steadfast dedication to the success and well-being of our entire community. Congratulations to both of you for uh this very uh well-deserved award as the employee of the month. And at this time, I'll invite
you both to come forward and share a few thoughts if you would like to. Hi, I'm so honored to be recognized as employee of the month alongside Annie. It's truly an honor to share this moment with such a dedicated and inspiring colleague. At Gleason Lake, I'm constantly reminded how fortunate I am
to work with such supportive and passionate colleagues that could all be up here right now. Every day, I see the hard work, creativity, and heart that each of our teachers and staff bring to our students. It's that collective energy and commitment that makes Gleon Lake such an amazing place to teach and
watch our students grow. I'm incredibly grateful to be a part of this team and district and to receive this honor. Thank you. Um thank you. It also is an honor to be receiving this um award and be selected alongside Corey who's a
spectacular educator. Gleon Lake is a great school to work at. It's fun and it's full of supportive staff, any of whom could be up here being recognized for their work and dedication to their students every single day. It's meaningful to be part of a team that
makes a difference in the lives of our students in our schools daily. I'm proud to help support the Gleon Lake community. And as a parent of a graduating senior, class of 2025 right here at Weisetta, who started in the district in ECF at Peppermint Fence
Preschool, it has been a blessing to both live and work in the Weisetta School District. Thank you. And our final recognition uh this evening is uh it's been a tradition every month to read the names of the individuals have who have announced
their intent to retire since the last board meeting that we had. And we have three on our list tonight. Ron Tudall, custodian at the high school who served 26 years. Gwen Rasmmanson, teacher at Birview, who served 20 years. And Penny
Blankenship, community ed registration and finance specialist who served for 16 years. And I didn't spot any of these folks in our crowd tonight if I missed you. come on down or forever hold your peace. We'll give them a round of
applause anyway. I'm sure they're on YouTube, too. We thank them for their years of service and uh their legacy will live on through continued growth and development of our students and uh enhancement of all the programs that they were part of. So, thanks to all those individuals. Uh
that concludes our recognitions portion of the meeting and at this point I'll turn it back over to our board chair Milan Sahony. Thanks everybody. Congratulations to the honores and thank you Dr. Anderson and director. Okay, we are now at uh item
number six, the highlight of our regular meetings, the school spotlight presentation. At every board meeting, one of our 13 schools presents to the board the work they have been doing. Tonight, we are joined by Cleon Lake Elementary. And I'll turn it over to our executive director of teaching and
learning, Dana Miller. Good evening. Thank you, Chair, um Dr. Anderson, members of the board. It is always my pleasure to stand here on these evenings and introduce and share our schools that we're very proud of. And tonight, um, we're pleased to
welcome the team from Gleon Lake. Um, they're here to share their work that they've been doing towards their school growth plan and the efforts they've made to realize those goals that also align with our district um, goals and mission as well. Principal Mary Mackey is here
with her staff and I believe we have some students here as well and they're going to share with us tonight the way they've been building thinking classrooms and some of the work that they've been doing to maybe approach learning in that tier one instruction
for all in um a new approach to that. So with that I'm going to turn it over to Principal Massie and I'm excited to hear what they have for us tonight. Thank you. board members, Superintendent Anderson, and community members. It's a pleasure for Gleon Lake to be here this evening
and to share with you our school spotlight. Our strategic directions guide our work and our evening's presentation will focus on number one to ensure a highquality daily experience for each and every student and number two to deliver high quality instruction
that leads to high academic achievement for all of our students. And here with me this evening I am proud to have some of members of Gleon Lake to share our story with all of you. First, Lakshmi is a fourth grade teacher and she has spent
the year refining and reflecting her instructional practices related to student learning. We also have sever several students from her class who will introduce themselves as they share about their school experience within her classroom. Sarah Winens is a district
resource teacher in the area of science and mathematics and she has been instrumental in bringing forward the model called building thinking classrooms and we'll learn more about that this evening too. Emily Lewis is
our family partnership lead and one of her main goals is to co-e plan lessons and find ways in which all students can experience success. Part of our site goal plan is the different information that we are going
to share this evening. And we have two goals. One is around student achievement and the other one is around our student experience. And when we think about our student achievement, we are looking at how can we increase our students that
have typical and aggressive growth based on our FAST scores from fall to spring. And we're in the process of doing that right now. In addition to that, each of our grade level teams write a professional learning goal that is related to
literacy, which also aligns with our fast testing. Our student experience goal that we are working on this year is to have our students increase by saying we have discussions where everyone can share their thoughts and learn from one
another. We realize that one of the most important things is how do we develop that social emotional learning that comes with interacting, collaborating, and having students share their learning with one another. When we think about tonight's
purpose, it's to discover how our students make their learning visible and that they can learn from one another. understand the critical role of tier one instruction and how that how that improves student success and how we learn effectively and utilize our
resources to support all of our students learning. Thanks, Mary. One cognitive protocol that we often use in math is called I notice, I wonder. And so I would invite you to take a moment and notice and wonder what you see in these images on the screen. I challenge you to
see if you can think of 10. Hopefully, you notice that you did you do not see a teacher in any of the images. As Mary shared, one of our purposes today is to highlight the ways that students share their thinking, build on one another's thinking, and
learn from each other. One resource that has supported Gleon Lakes's efforts to support student voice in math is a book called Building Thinking Classrooms. The book includes micro moves that teachers can make during lessons to ensure that students are doing rigorous thinking about
complex math problems and working collaboratively to discuss and solve them. Lochi and I have partner partnered in this work and she has been such an excellent teacher leader in sharing this learning with her colleagues by opening practice in her classroom and then also
helping to co-f facilitate some professional learning for teachers. Um thank you Sarah. All right. Um last year in summer I took a training for building thinking classroom and there are several components to this thinking classroom
and we'll look at few components that we have used in the classroom and uh all year and although this training suggests this is only for math we have had happiness of trying this across u various subjects that um students have experienced and the primary component of
thinking classroom is to have engaging tasks for students that enable them to think and infer their own learning. Um like Peter quotes in his book uh if we are thinking we're engaged. If we are engaged, we are thinking. So how does a thinking
classroom uh work and how is it different from the traditional classroom setup? A traditional classroom setup um works like the teacher does and then the class does and the student does like kind of the I do, we do and you do. But the thinking classroom starts and leads
the student to first try and then they work in pairs and then the teacher does and then they try it out in pairs or groups and then the student kind of reflects on it. The thinking classroom approach is you do, we do, I do, we do and then you do with the goal that
learning should be student directed whenever and wherever possible. This framework encourages students to explore first. It welcomes teamwork. It creates an environment where failing is considered normal for learning. Students make meaning with each other and the
process also has self- evvaluation and reflection embedded with a lot of social learning that happens along with it. We're looking at two components um just to kind of get a sample of how a thinking classroom works. One of the components that we use in our classroom
is visibly random grouping. Um and in this process the students are put in visible random groups like having random groups every day benefits the students to work learn with different people hear their ideas and perspectives. It also
helps break the social barrier. Um there's a lot of embedded social emotional learning that comes with it. And how do we randomly form groups? Uh we use um cards where students select the cards and make their own team. Sometimes we use electronic sources like
picker wheel or classroom dojo to make their own teams. Another component kind of like the picture you might have seen that the students are standing and making their own learning is we call this a vertical non-permanent surfaces. And in this part
um students are standing and thinking and they are talking with each other. They are working as a team uh for several aspects of this learning. They share their thinking in a common wipe book surface because they're standing.
Um, you know, it it's make it's making it harder for them to be anonymous. It helps the students to move quickly to tasks. It also increases knowledge mobility. And this year in Gleon Lake, many teachers collaborated with our family partnership lead Emily Lewis to
work on including as many thinking components and uh nonver non-permanent surfaces in their classroom. Um, as the family partnership lead, I in addition to building a bridge from home and school for families, get the amazing
opportunity to partner with teachers on exploring protocols and strategies that allow um students to meet their learning needs and therefore engage more fully in their learning. Uh these learning needs stem from their
ways of being that students come to school with based on the lives they have lived outside of school or their culture. Um the definition commonly used by Wisetta public schools um for culture
is on the screen. Culture is the abstract learned shared rules and standards for generating behavior and understanding experience. Culture is each person's unique way of life. And we all have
culture based on our own lived experiences and social structures that we have engaged in. The iceberg image is something that Weisetta public schools use to understand the complexities of culture.
At the surface of the iceberg are components of culture we can visibly see like the food we enjoy, the clothing we wear, or the traditions we may choose to participate in. Um yet underneath the surface there are many aspects of
culture that we can't visibly see or assume about an individual such as the importance of space, the importance of time or learning needs and or um learning behaviors. So, culturally
responsive protocols or are strategies that allow teachers to honor cultural behaviors in order to best engage all students. These are just some examples of protocols. Um, and it kind of shows
how they honor these different cultural behaviors and learning styles. For example, some protocols will build in more studentto student talk and allow students to learn by processing verbally with
other students, which ve aligns very much with a lot of the work in building thinking classrooms that Lakshmi described. Um, other protocols will honor students who need more independent think time and prefer to learn more autonomously. And the hope is that we
can balance those needs within the classroom through the protocols. Um, independent versus social learning is just one cultural behavior among many that the culturally responsive protocols can support through tier one instruction
to increase student engagement. The protocols used in a thinking classroom with lot which Lakshmi spoke about also align very much to this work and over the course of this year we've been able to partner and learn a lot from each other on many different
protocols and strategies to best support student engagement. So we have some students here that would like to tell you about some of these protocols and how they have helped them engage in their learning. Hi, my name is Marissa. We use walk and
learn at the beginning of a class period to review or remember information that we previously learned. For example, we use this protocol and we make two laps around the room with partner and share what we know about prefixes, suffixes or other topics or
usually vocabulary words. The benefit is I get to learn from other students and moving helps my brain focus and function better. Hi, my name is Arf. We use stand up, hand up, pair up before we learn new
information. This gives us a chance to engage with a partner before we share what we know about a topic or question. For example, we shared what we knew about the Navajo code before reading. The benefits are I get to interact with
others and help me be more engaged in the lesson. And I may learn information or a classmate's opinion of a topic. Hi, my name is Rowan. We use walk and learn. We use gallery walk a lot in math. At the start
of math class, we do white books, which is where Miss Lockme gives us a qu a math problem to solve. And think about after solving the problem, we find a partner to walk around the room and look at people's white books. The benefits of this is we get to see what our
classmates are thinking and their progress of learning. Hi, my name is Arm. We use envelope questions when we're reviewing a subject. For example, in math, if we are having a test soon, we'll review our skills and we'll do it in groups. There
is usually a question related to a topic we have learned and the question is outside the envelope. We will write our answer on a piece of paper and put it in the envelope. The benefits of envelope answers are I am working with another person and I get to see what other
people are thinking and compare my answers with others. This helps me better understand the topic. Well, as our presentation comes to a close, we're going to do a quick protocol with the board so you can participate if you'd like. This is called wraparound. We oftentimes do this
at the end of a professional learning with adults. And we may ask something like this or with students. Think of one word that might summarize your learning this evening or just share a message that you may want to. And we'll just go around. You can take a turn. And when we think about this and we think about the
movement orientation, it's stationary because everyone is sitting. Um the conversational pattern is linear. And also it's spontaneous because you're just reacting to something that you heard. So if anybody would want to start, you can share a word or a phrase
that you're going to take away. I'll start. Collaborative. I en I like the concept of the visibly random groups and to me it talk it g give the perception of the belonging
that we all talk about all the time. I appreciate the emphasis on movement and along with that I would say the uh variety of ways of engagement and different strategies for learning.
I was also going to say engaging for each and every that builds on strengths. I actually appreciate that this allows also you uh to work on your own and take your pace if you are feeling comfortable. allows you um not to be
just only within a with group but at the same time um have your individual thoughts um time to put your individual thoughts together. I guess I'm last um part of learning is
um it that it's okay to make errors. That's how you learn. Well, thank you for having us here this evening. It was a great to be here and thank you to our fourth graders and the teachers at Gleon Lake.
Thank you, Principal Massie. Um board members, uh any questions or comments for any of them? Mr. Thank you so much for being here. Um it's wonderful to have students join us to really um inform us on the work you
guys do and tell us about their own experiences um and how they learn best. We know every student's different. We know every student learns differently. So if you can diversify that curriculum, it I think goes a long way to ensure student success. I'm excited for the future of this um work that integrates
uh groups um as well as a lot of movement. So thank you so much for being here. I'm going to look forward to you know hearing more from Gleon Lake. Thanks so much. I just want to say students, thank you for sharing a beautiful summer evening with us. It was great to see you. And
the thing that I loved hearing was when someone said, "I move around and that helps my body to learn better." And so much about learning is is body, mind, and spirit. And and you did a great job of teaching us how as students, you show up with your whole selves and and learn
a lot. So, um, thanks for for showing us how that's done. Um, and cool teachers, you took a math lesson and and then they were telling us stories about language arts and other, right, a math text. It's it really shows, I think, the integrated and braided part of our learning. Um,
that's just fantastic. So, thank you. Go ahead. Uh, to me a big sign is that you were very comfortable approaching microphone. Uh it's it takes quite a bit um courage to approach. You felt very comfortable.
So that is a very good sign. Yes, I do. Okay. So I have a couple questions. First of all, students, thanks for coming tonight. You guys are always like it's the way that you presented was really amazing. You were super articulate. You were so brave. So thank you for coming tonight. Okay. So
my questions I have two questions. One on the thinking classroom. um when when I'm looking at the you know it starts with the we do and you go through a process tell me what the benefits are. Do you feel like it's it's efficient learning? Do you feel like
it's deeper learning? Tell me more about that. Thank you. That's an excellent question. Uh with the I do process we usually start with students exploring one thinking question. It's usually a question that starts out like in a lower
floor and has a high ceiling like you can stretch the thinking as much as the students needed to and it's very approachable for any students at any level that they starting. It's very differentiating. They start with the thinking problem and then I give them a
little bit more tasks for them to explore with as a team and then I do the lesson. Um, and if the lesson requires me to teach a certain practice, then I would model the practice and then they get to experience that with the partner and then they kind of like wrap it up with the reflection of them writing like
a like a math notes or like practicing in a worksheet. The benefit that I see that is that they start out with a thinking problem is kind of like a warm-up for their brain. And sometimes these thinking problems are far more engaging for them. It's very interesting. Gets them excited about
math. makes them realize that math is not a complicated subject but it's exciting and interesting and everybody can approach math whatever level we are at and um and again this is not just was used in math and I see the benefit that is used across different subjects where
the students take the leadership of their learning makes them understand that it's their learning and I'm there to facilitate that part of the student leadership so thank you for giving me that picture I have one more question um You used a term somebody used a term
that was called knowledge mobility. What is that? Um I use the term called knowledge mobility. There again like the knowledge is not just like you holding on to it. It is shared across the classroom. They are teaching each other and so they are learning strategies from
each other. So I might approach a problem or Marissa might approach a problem in a certain way and Arwan might do it in a completely different way and they are sharing with each other and they're talking with each other. So like I always say in the classroom, if I don't know how to go to my home in
multiple ways and one way is blocked, how do I go or a different way? So if I block that strategy in math, can your brain enable it in a different way? Can you figure out a different way? So they're teaching each other and they are um connecting with each other that way to see that there's a variety of ways to
do a problem. And so knowledge shared there. Thank you so much. I I really love that um that the learning is collaborative like I said and I and I love that the conversations that you are having as students are about the learning. I think that's really really
impressive that you are able to have academic conversations. Very impressive. Thank you. Okay. Um just one comment. I I want to echo Valentina's comment about how confident these children are and I
believe that confidence comes from the classroom from the teachers making them confident and you know otherwise it's kind of difficult but I I appreciate the confidence that you have given to these children. I I have three questions actually. If you go
back to slide three, any if you can. Okay. So in that achievement goal I help me understand this. I I don't understand what the typical growth and aggressive growth is. Are do those two cover the entire class or is there a
third or a fourth category of goals? The fast bridge test has four different growth areas. It could be flat growth, modest growth, typical growth or aggressive growth. So based on the norming of how the test is, we're always trying to look for getting typical
growth or aggressive growth. And that is based on the um where they enter in the fall and then the growth they make throughout the year is how it's measured. So what happens to the other two areas, the children that are in those two other areas that are not
typical or aggressive growth. So it's just as if when we look at their scores, we may have some students that may have stayed somewhat the same based on that test, but that's what we're always trying to increase in and go on is getting students to at least make
typical to aggressive growth. Okay. All right. Thank you. And then uh slide you don't have to open this slide slide six but the the thinking classroom are all children involved in that or are there specific children you know groups of categories of children in that
classroom? I can take this is for the whole classroom. Whole classroom. Okay. Yes. Thank you. And the last question maybe I don't understand what vertical um non-permanent surfaces mean versus is
there a horizontal non-permanent surface. We can go back to the picture. So you can see that those uh white book surfaces that they are standing and working that's what we are calling them as vertical non-permanent. So it's just like we can remove it we
can erase it it's reusable. Uh there's a whole lot of research about how standing and learning um keeps the brain more engaged, right? When we are sitting down, we're more relaxed and the brain is not more active. So it's like standing and learning. So the vertical is like referring to how they are standing and the surface is the white
book surface that we are reusing and it's it's not permanently written. It can be reused more. So there's no such thing as horizontal non-permanent surface, right? Well, as long as they are moving the you can have it horizontal. So, it's like a standing desk or a treadmill that adults use when
they're working, right? Exactly. Yes. Yes. That's all the questions I have. So, anybody else uh have any questions? Thank you so much everybody. One more time. Round of applause. Okay. We have next is the audience opportunity to address the
board. Believe we have some Thank you. Okay, we have two of them tonight today. And this section of the agenda provides an opportunity for members of the community to address the school board. Speakers who wish to provide
input to the school board must complete the signup sheet and return it to our administrative assistant Amy. Uh please note that you will need to complete a request form to be included on the speaker request list. When you are invited to the podium, please identify
the subject and or agenda items to which your comments pertain. Priority will be given to students and families with students currently enrolled in our district. The school board practice is not to engage in a discussion or debate with the speaker, but rather allow the speaker
time to express their thoughts. Please present your comments in a respectful and professional manner. This evening, each speaker will be invited to the po uh podium to speak for three minutes. And we have two speakers that that have
requested to speak. Um Amy will help us keep track and I think it is Sheila actually. Sheila is going to keep track of uh your time and we'll hold up a red card at the 3minut mark. Please end your comments when you see the red card.
First, are there any students who would like to speak? Is there any student in this group? In this group? No. All right. So, I'm going to call on Chris. Sorry, I Bisange. I got it. Thank you. Welcome,
Chris. Good evening. My name is Chris Bazans and I've been a teacher. I've been teaching social studies at Weisetta West for the past 32 years. I know I look very youthful, but I'm one of the few middle school teachers in the district that actually taught when the building was a junior high. In my 32
years, I can tell you that I've had hundreds of hours of training, and the concept of best practice has always been the lifeblood of these sessions. In fact, we moved to the middle school structure in the late 90s because this design exemplified best practice and it
became clear to everyone right away that this was an amazing way to teach and learn. If you look at the standardized test scores, there can be no debate that Weisetta schools has prospered greatly from the middle school system. I love being a middle school teacher. It's an amazing time to catch
someone in their development. The problem I'm encountering is that for the first time in my career, I'm feeling like I'm not living up to the highetta standards. Dr. John Hattie, a well- reggarded educational researcher, identified teacher student relationships
and feedback as the two most powerful factors impacting student achievement. This year, I've gone from 120 to 180 students. I have substantially less prep time and the amount of minutes I spend with a given
student has been reduced by 25% each month. This infringes on my ability to build meaningful relationships with students at an often vulnerable time in their development and makes providing timely academic feedback challenging. I've also lost the support
of well functioning team who share the same students as me. Young adolesccents flourish within the team structure knowing that this is a common group of adults who care for them and are working to challenge their strengths and support their individual needs. Parents also benefit from streamlined communication
that true teams afford. In a junior high setting, teachers are more siloed, making it difficult to collaborate to provide meaningful enrichment and remediation. There's been attempts to try to keep middle school alive with words like
teams and professional learning communities, but these are systems that are not functioning at the same level as before. If you ask any middle- level teacher, they will tell you we don't have true teams. As for subject matter PLC's, they do exist, but our time is so
taxed that is extremely difficult to perform a high at high level. And if you teach multiple grade levels, which many teachers do, it's almost impossible to find common time to collaborate on best practice. In closing, I will leave you
with this analogy. We've been a five-star restaurant for over 25 years. However, this current year, we have been serving substandard meals to our customers. If things continue, how long do you think we'll hold on to that five-star rating? The high school found
creative ways to hold on to their block system. I believe that there are creative solutions to save middle school as well. I ask you to join me in finding those solutions. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Next we have Next we have Sally Ditenbach. Sally. Um, as you know, my name is Sally Deedsbach and I'm a teacher at East Middle School. Today, I'd like to express my concerns once again over the negative impact that this middle school
schedule has on all stakeholders, specifically how it negatively affects behavior management in our schools. The middle school model that we used to follow was excellent in allowing teachers and administrators to prevent negative behaviors and encourage positive behaviors, also known as PBIS,
positive behavior intervention supports. Teachers were able to work together in teams and PLC's to plan and implement highquality instruction, student expectations, and a consistent plan for responding to behaviors. And it worked. Over the past school year, the new
middle school schedule has completely taken away all of our systems for being able to respond appropriately and efficiently to student behaviors. You using this best practice PBIS model. When the new schedule was proposed, many of the issues that were easily foreseen by such a drastic change in the schedule
were overlooked and teacher feedback was often not taken into consideration. We were told by building and district admin to give the new schedule a chance and wait and see if it worked. Well, after a full school year of imple implementation, I can tell you with confidence that it has not. Student
learning is much less rigorous. Behaviors have become out of control. Student support systems have disappeared. And teachers are quite honestly miserable. We are being asked to do things that are not humanly possible in order to fix all of the problems that have been created by this new schedule. We are not able to provide
the same level of highquality instruction that we used to. We're not given the tools to manage student behaviors. And more often than not, we feel blamed for those breakdowns in the system that we have no control over. Who is holding the district accountable for this? Last month, I expressed concern
that the district wasn't valuing teacher feedback. After that meeting, Superintendent Anderson did reach out to me and met with me. It felt great to be listened to, but I am unaware of any changes that came about as a result of my concerns. It's not enough to simply
listen to our district stakeholders. we need to be responsive to them as well. In my classroom, if a student shares a concern about my curriculums, my methods, my expectations, I'm expected to respond either by explaining my rationale behind it and giving the data that supports my rationale. Um, on
occasion, there have been times where I've realized maybe the way I'm doing things isn't really best practice or isn't supported by data. And in those cases, I've communicated with those students in a timely manner what my plans were for improving my systems in
the future. If the district expects this type of constant self-evaluation and communication from its teachers, shouldn't we be able to expect the same from them? All of the data on best practice at the middle school level supports what our middle school teachers have been asking for, a return to our old schedule. The only reason we've been
given for not returning to middle school model is cost. I understand that budget is a constraint, but our stakeholders deserve to see the data that supports this. After a full school year of this new schedule, how much did the district save as opposed to last year? The district should be able to give us a
number. Let the district stakeholders decide if they think that the decrease in student and teacher experience was worth the cost savings. We all deserve that transparency. As teachers, we don't have the ability to hold administrators accountable. We are not provided an
opportunity to evaluate them in any way. The only things that we can do is speak up, reach out to those of you who do have the ability and vote for our elected leaders. I will never stop doing everything that I can to stand up for what's best for my students. I have emailed each of you prior to this
meeting offering to share my concerns with you more directly and I hope you will take me up on that offer. Thank you. Thank you, S. Okay, moving on to the next item on the agenda, administrative reports and recommendation. We'll start with policy
approvals which uh Dr. Anderson will present. Thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the board. Uh, as you know, you have a number of policies that are in your uh, board packet for review this evening. I would like to preface my comments as a
reminder to uh, viewers and listeners that we do have a a board policy committee that convenes monthly and uh, uh, covers a a wide range of our policies. We do have a review process. So, uh, a certain number of policies are
reviewed and and updated if necessary or just given a a new review date. Um on uh or in our board packet this evening and these have all been uh reviewed at uh a recent board policy committee meeting are uh policy 606 instructional
arrangements class size 608 literacy and the read act 626 non-public student participation 631 technology acceptable use and safety 914 relations with community organizations and relations uh
915 relations with religious organizations. The recommended action this evening is to approve the above policies as presented in the board packet attachments. I turn it back over to you. Thank you, Dr. Anderson. So, board colleagues, the recommended action
again is to approve the board policies as presented. Do I have a motion to approve? I so move and I um given that these are all updates and none of them are new, I move to um wave the second reading. Thank you. Is there a second?
Second. Moved and seconded. Is there a discussion? Hearing none. This is a voice vote. All in favor say I. I. Oppose. Nay. The motion passes. Thank you, Dr. Anderson. And thank you uh to the policy committee. The next item on
the agenda for admin reports is teaching and learning. And actually there are no teaching and learning reports this evening. Sorry. Uh moving on, we have financial reports and presented by it was supposed to have been presented by uh director of finance David Trasovich. He could not be here this evening. So
Dr. Anderson will first present the combined financial report ending on March 31st, 2025. Dr. Anderson. Thank you, Mr. Chair, members of the board. Uh there's a series of documents in your board packet that I'm sure look quite familiar to you at this point. uh it's a
summary financial report where there's narrative included there about statement of revenues and statement of expenditures and then there uh is a a running total or uh summary uh both for revenues and expenditures. The part of
this document that I've always most appreciated are the the three columns to the far right. And I think the comparisons between three fiscal years is uh always a good way to determine where are we at currently and and how are we doing with the current school year and if those numbers approximate
each other. Um that's generally a trend and a direction that you would look for. However, there are variances with that and from year to year there can be some uh differences and particularly in some of the funds uh for example capital funds and construction funds where
revenues come in at varied rates and also uh expenditures are paid out according to when work becomes completed. So there can be some variance, but if you look at the revenues at the bottom line, the total of all revenues of funds, you can see that we're within about a half a within
a point of those three fiscal years, which I think should bring the board some uh peace of mind, so to speak, that we're on track for the current uh uh set of revenues coming in. And then looking at the next document, I would point out
to these same three numbers at the bottom of those three fiscal year columns. And again, we're within three percentage points or so uh of the the range there as well. So I think uh the the statements of revenues and
expenditures are in in good order and uh uh again this is in that format that I think you're uh very familiar with. There is no action on that particular item. and those are provided to you as updates uh as to where we're at with
current revenue and expenditures for this fiscal year. Thank you, Dr. Anderson. Any questions, comments, colleagues? Dr. Anderson may I think may know all the answers, but knowing that he's he's so good with
everything, you may, but if you don't, then you'll you have indicated that you'll ask David to respond. Yep. I may have responses if you have do have any questions and I won't be shy to say I'm not sure. I'm going to have to get back to you on that one. Thank you. Any questions, comments? I have two Dr.
Anderson maybe David can answer this but they're both kind of related. One is for the revenue and one is for the expenses. for the re on the revenue side the federal aid uh are we on track to get them at at the budgeted level
because we are obviously not there yet but do you think that we are on track and also on the flip side on the expenses um are we on track to have the uh what is that what that other income other expense or something uh I believe there
was a big variance in the budgeted versus actual so I'm just wondering we will eventually get there to the budgeted levels. Yeah, I can see uh what you're pointing out here. I think with the federal aids and again, I'd probably have to reach out and get some more
clarity, but I'm thinking that that might be because of the tail end of the COVID uh dollars that were coming in from federal sources. So, that may uh present as a bit of an anomaly as to where we're at currently. Um the the
primary sources of revenue that we get from the federal government is primarily in the form of special services and in more recent times the the special uh uh COVID uh aid. I've sort of forgotten some of the acronyms that we knew
verbatim back in those days. But uh Esser dollars and and I think there was one other area where over a four-year period we received about 11 million dollars total and then it was dispersed over that fouryear period. So I would guess some of the variances related to
that because the uh uh revenues for uh those esser dollars um have sunset and are no longer coming in but um I can try to get some more clarity on that for you. Thank you. And then in regard to uh other expenditures, I would say you know my
best response here and again I'll seek more clar clarity on that but uh the term it other itself sort of suggests kind of things that don't fit night neatly in a a major category and I would guess that that could vary pretty widely
from year to year and in what's dispersed and and uh uh based on the allocations for those andor there could be some summer work that's going to be get uh that's uh going to be completed that some of those expenditures may be coming from that too since it's coupled
up with the uh near the capital expend there may be some peripheral expenditures that are related to that as well but I'll I'll seek some clarity on both get back to the board and then one one last question on slide three u the total expense I'm assuming includes the
LTFM um I'm not sure I know exactly million or something like that on the expense The next next slide in Oh, that this one here. Yeah. Yes. 270 million that
includes I would Does it include LFM? I'm still looking which line you're looking at the expenditures last last line. Oh, the 270 270 because that's more than about 6 million over the It looks I mean it it's a sum total of that
full column. So whatever would be listed there would be included in that summary at the bottom. My guess is LTFM is I believe LTFM would be inclusive in that as well. Okay. All right. Thank you so much. Anyone else? Any questions? No.
Okay. Thank you Dr. Anderson. Um we have again you continue with the recommendation of the approval of the L LTFM for the inter intermediate school district 287. I'd be happy to uh Mr. Chair and members of the board. Uh this is an annual um
board action item. uh we're a member of uh the intermediate school district 287 and they uh I believe this is a relatively newer legislative change that occurred I don't know within the last 5 to 10 years I believe where intermediate
districts are able to uh receive uh long-term facilities maintenance from member districts and we're a member district of district 287 and because they by uh in and of themselves are not able to levy for LTFM dollars. The
member school districts uh do that on their behalf. I believe it's uh prorated according to uh either district population or student enrollment population uh within the the K12 programming. And I'll share the narrative that's included here and then
uh include the recommended action. There is quite a lot of detail information in here. So, not only for the board, but for any of our listeners who may want to learn more about this. Uh there is uh I think some good background information. Again, this is reflective of what we've done in years past and and
u looks appears to be in good order to me, but I'll share the following. the 2015 legislative session, there's the answer right there that I was searching for before, established the long-term facilities maintenance revenue program for school districts, replacing the health and safety revenue, deferred uh
maintenance revenue and alternative facilities bonding and levy programs beginning with fiscal year 2017. Annually, Intermediate School District 287 must have a 10-year capital plan adopted by its board and each member district's school board. Intermediate
School District 287 approves the levy a year in advance to accommodate several of its member districts who levy a year uh in advance. The recommended action is to approve the intermediate school district 287's long-term facilities maintenance capital expenditure plan for
fiscal years 2027 through 2036 and adopt the resolution affirming Wisetta Public Schools portion of uh these expenditures for fiscal year 27 in the amount of $180,1471. And that's the uh recommended action. Um, I don't have anything
additional to add to that. I would suggest that either through uh we have a current board rep, Dan is on 287 board now. I know Sarah has been on that in the past and I don't know if others have been or not. Um, but they might I don't
know if they have anything else to share now or they do that call for discussion. Uh, discussion. Yes, your choice. Yep. Thank you, Dr. Anderson. I think I will just read the recommendation. Recommended action again is to approve intermediate school district 287's long-term facilities maintenance capital
expenditure plan for fiscal years 2027 through 2036 and adopt a resolution affirming Wisetta public schools portion of the fiscal year 2026 2027 expenditures in the amount of 180,147.11. Is there a motion to
approve? Some moved. Thank you. Second. Moved and seconded. Uh now we can uh have a discussion. I like Dr. Anderson said u director Janestra is a representative of ISD 284 on ISD 287. So thank you for
your service. Yeah, I appreciate that. Mr. Mr. Chair, I did want to just for a moment take a take a sec to thank our executive director of financial services, Brian Schultz, and his team for putting this together. It's a very thorough process of, you know, really making sure that we're dividing the
responsibility of funding 287's needs equitably across the um member district. So, this is about consistency and taxation for our taxpayers so that we can really provide for our long-term facilities maintenance needs that provide a whole host of services to our students. So, I'm grateful to their
work. I'm grateful to the work of our 287 uh school board um and all of our member districts. So, um with that, I um you know, express my gratitude and look forward to approval. Thank you. Thank you. So, I'm sorry. Anybody else have any
questions? No. Okay. So, Chase, I I don't know if you you will have the answer to this specific question, but I am actually this is just something that I need to need to know as a learning thing. So we we are we are in the process of approving that amount. So I
don't know how many me members there are 12 members how many how much each one contributes and what the total LDFM amount comes to. Just curious if you have that number or I think a ballpark number and I can't remember where I saw this but in something I read today I think it's around a million dollars.
Uh they use those funds for the same things our school district does for roofs, sidewalks, uh upgrades, improvements. Um they have facility needs um just like their member districts do. Um, I can't really speak to the relative uh amount we pay
compared to other districts, but it's formulized according to um and maybe one of our current or current or former board members might have the answer for that, but it's I think it's based on total number of students in the district if I recall correctly and uh uh their
revenues are generated off of that formula. Thank you for that. Uh any other question? Yes. Yeah, just to take that moment for a second. I do appreciate the question. Um, so just to read the second bullet point from the uh talking points document that was uploaded to board book
for those interested. Since intermediate districts do not have a dollar limit in statute, district 287 and BDAC have agreed to maintain a stable levy amount approximately 6.2 million between our combined LTFM levy and lease levy as a limit. So essentially there is a a
ceiling that's covered and districts and their membership you know levy to that maximum. So okay thank you. Thank you. Thank you for that Dan. I appreciate that. Uh there are no other questions. I'm going to read the action. Recommended action again is to approve Intermediate School District 287's
long-term facilities maintenance capital expenditure plan for fiscal years 2027 through 2036 and adopt the resolution of affirming Wisetta Public Schools portion of the fifth fiscal year 2026 27 expenditures in the amount of
$180,147.11. This will be a roll call vote. Sheila Prior, yes. Heidi Kedar, yes. Valentina Ays, yes. Dan Janestra, yes. Sarah Johansson, yes. Arispende is
absent. Milan Sahony, yes. Uh, the motion passes. Thank you, Sheila. And then finally, Dr. Anderson will recommend approval of the other postmployment benefits investment policy statement. Mr. Chair and members of the board. Uh included in your board packet
uh is as stated uh the approval or re reaff affirmation of our OPAB investment policy statement and the appointment of OPAB committee members. OPAB is an acronym for a name of a a program of other
postemployment benefits. And this has really been a a tremendous uh aspect of our school district which started I don't know about the time shortly after I came here I think 15 to 16 years ago and it has served the district's needs beautifully and just sort of in some
what it does is it uh funds our post-employment benefits uh to a point of minimizing any impact on our general fund and for districts that don't have uh an an OPED or you know, funded at the
level that we are. Um, those dollars come out of the the general fund. So, we're very fortunate that there was great foresight by a lot of uh financially uh minded uh residents in the community who work closely with um
uh financial adviserss which um I'll outline a little bit in the narrative that I'll read. So, without elaborating further, I will just share the following. Keep in mind this is not a new policy changes to it. It's an affirmation of the one that's in place. It served us well and in a recent
review, we didn't see a need to make any changes for the current time. So, I'll share the following. The other post-employment benefits or OPED committee utilizes an investment policy statement to guide their investment strategies. The OPED committee along with the assistance of an investment
adviser invests funds placed in the irrevocable trust for post-employment pension obligations. On an annual basis, the school board is requested to review the policy statement and reaffirm their guidance to this committee. The OPED committee is currently comprised of members of the finance subcommittee of
the school board, two members of the citizens finance advisory council, better known as CFAC, Weisetta Education Association President, and the district administration members. Also in attendance at committee meetings are representatives from the school board appointed investment advisor PFM Asset
Management a wholly owned subsidiary of the US Bank and the recommended action is uh before you this evening Mr. Chair I'll turn it over to you. Thank you Dr. Anderson. So colleagues the recommended action is to reaffirm the attached
investment policy statement to be used as guidance for OPE investment strategies. Is there a motion? I so move. Do I hear a second? I second. Thank you. Moved and seconded. Is there a discussion? Um I just want to say thank you to our
OPED committee. Um we have long-term members who I think were instrumental in even setting up this committee that that meet with us. The members of the SEFAC um as a whole have at times um also participated in sort of the the quarterly reviews of the investment. And
although this is a policy that's that's reviewed um on an annual basis for an affirmation um the especially the investment guidelines part that you see and are are of top of mind always and our decision to u move this policy forward was really um an informed
discussion that identified that this was serving us well and giving us flexibility to um be fiscally responsible and meet the needs of each of our employees which is of utmost importance. So thanks to our team All right. Thank you, Sarah. Okay. No other
questions. The recommended action again is to reaffirm the attached investment policy statement to be used as guidance for OPE investment strategies. This is a roll call vote again. Paris Bende is absent. Sheila Prior,
yes. Heidi Kedar, yes. Valentina Ays, yes. Dan Janestra, yes. Sarah Johansson, yes. Milan Sahonyi, yes. The motion passes. Thank you, Sheila. There are no human
resources reports tonight and then no other board action as well. Final item on the agenda is board reports. This section of the agenda provides an opportunity for board members to update school board members on school board related work or to make announcements of
interest to the public. We have three board reports tonight. Um then Jinestra will first talk about the get on the bus event. Director Jinestra. Well, thank you, Mr. Chair. Um recently um board members of 287 had the terrific opportunity of being able to get on the
bus and v visit um uh Oakview Elementary which is an o public schools and home to the deaf and heart of hearing program. So I'm going to read a little excerpt um since our visit did hit you know very close to home in terms of you know individual student experiences. I'll be reading from um you know pre-written
language that went out in our board report. Um this week some of our school board members visited the deaf and heart of hearing program at Oakview Elementary. During their visit they observed a teacher leading a social emotional learning lesson on kindness with third grade students and a speech
language pathologist working one-on-one with a first grade student on verbs ending in ing. The board members had the opportunity to extend a warm welcome to the students by greeting them, sharing their names and creating connections with the students in sign language. Our
gratitude to Dr. Lamb and her team for the opportunity to move into spaces with deaf and heart of hearing students. Our gratitude to district 287. Um it was a joyous visit getting to learn sign language and really communicate and engage with students who um have a different student experience than many
others. So, thank you for making this possible and um we look forward to future uh get on the bus opportunities with 287. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, Dan. Uh next we have director Ker talking about teacher appreciation week last from last week. Yes. So, board
colleagues and and school community as you may know um last week was teacher appreciation week. It's one of my favorite weeks of the year. Um PTO's and PTAs across the district spent lovely expressions of appreciation and care for educators. Weisetta Public Schools is a
really special place to be because of the caliber, commitment, and the intentionality of our teachers and staff. Teachers on behalf of this board, thank you for showing up every day. Our mission is excellence for each and every
student and you bring that to life each day in the way that you show up, in your desire to continuously be learning yourselves, and in how you elevate our kids. I hope you feel as appreciated as you truly deserve. Thank you,
Heidi. Okay. And then the final report I will give on three events that I attended in the last couple of weeks. Uh the first one was the fifth annual career and technical education also known as CTE showcase which was held on April 25th at the high school gym. High
school students were invited to explore career options. About 100 community partners, businesses and schools were there. Students learned about different career paths by revisiting their tables and talking to professionals. Major employers including included Mayo Clinic
and Mindot. Many colleges and trade schools were in attendance as well. Director Jinestra was with me and the showcase. The second event I attended was the Visetta Family Literacy Night which was held on April 28th at uh the Central Middle School. Visetta Family Literacy Night is an opportunity to
empower our community around literacy. It aims to rekindle the love for reading and provide more opportunities for all. In addition to a room full of free books donated by the Henipin County Library, activities and events included food,
music, games, storyteller, educational literacy sessions, community resources, and more. And I was again accompanied by director Janestra at this event as well. I just want to share a very quick uh heartwarming story. The as I said the
there was a room full of books um donated by Henipin County Library and I was looking for a Pokemon book because my grandson he thinks he's a reincarnation of Pokemon or something like that. I could not find one. But before the meeting, Rachel Falcowski
brought me this book on Pokemon from the organizer of the event, Jodi. Uh and I am so so indebted to to to to Jodi that I mean my we are we are seeing our our grandkids in about three weeks and he
will he will b you know he will love this thing. So thank you so much. This is this is how how we work together. So thank you so much again. The senior awards night was held in the high school auditorium on May 5th. Each year through the granting of of a scholarship dozens of Wisetta High School students are
assisted in their quest for higher knowledge and education. These scholarships are possible due to the continued generosity of community businesses, foundations, organizations and families. Board directors Janestra, director Johansson, and director Kedar
were present during the ceremony ceremony. Okay. So before I uh I announce the adjournment of the of the meeting, I want to make a little statement um related to our last meeting. So I really felt bad after that meeting
because of what I had done. So I want to take a moment to apologize for my disruptive tone and occasional loss of focus on our discussion at the last meeting. I remain committed to respectful dialogue and a collaborative environment and I regret that my
reaction may have detracted from that. Moving forward, I will look I will work to express concerns more constructively and I hope we can all continue to hold each other to standards of professionalism and mutual respect. We will also put in place corrective
actions for some procedural shortcomings that were realized at the meeting. All right. So that concludes our meeting and I believe our next meeting is the work session. It is not two weeks from today. Actually, it's next week because the two
weeks from today is Memorial Day. And so, our next board work session is a week from today on Monday, May 19th. This concludes the Visetta Public Schools regular board meeting for Monday, May 12th, 2025. Is there a motion to adjurnn? I so move. I second. Moved and seconded.
All in favor say I. I. I. Oppose. Nay. The time is now 8:25. The Visetta Public Schools Board of Education regular meeting for Monday, May 12th, 2025 is adjourned.