e e e e e the time is 639 I'd like to call this regular Board of Education meeting to order the first item on our agenda for
this evening is the roll call for those Board of Education members who are present trusty goodd would you perform the roll call please certainly Madame President trusty Fields trusty Fields trusty Townson present trusty
Goodridge I am here vice president Lee here president Hawkins here we currently have five Board of Education members who are present and two who are not here next that takes us to the Pledge of Allegiance and at this
time I would like to invite everyone in attendance to join us in reciting of the Pledge I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one
nation under God indivisible with li and jce for next that takes us to the acceptance of the agenda is there a motion at this time Madame president vice president Lee move that the Board of Education accept
the agenda as presented thank you a motion has been made by vice president Lee is there support for this motion thank you supported by truste felds all those in favor I those opposed that motion carries next that
takes us to achievements Awards and recognition and at this time I would like to turn it over to Dr Zachary Ross thank you madam president recently um we received notification by the Michigan school
business officials that Damien Butler our chief financial officer completed the msbo business manager Academy at Jesy Career Institute this program reflects a high degree of
participation mentoring with peers um or facilitator and hands on application of the school business skills the business manager Academy required an 11mon commitment without um outside engagement
with the cohort and so we are really proud of this accomplishment and so we are letting the board know and our community know about his accomplishment and this is a positive light on our school dist district and the commitment
to our ongoing professional development and ongoing engagement in our deep learning at the executive cabinet level so we congratulate Damen Butler congratulations on this accomplishment
next that takes us to a request for a Clos session this evening is there a motion at this time Madam president vice president Lee who at the Board of Education going to close session pursuing section 88 of the open meeting
act to consider material exempt from discussion or Disclosure by state or federal statute thank you a motion has been made by vice president Lee is there support for this motion support truste Townson thank you supported by trusty
Townsen the time is 6:43 the board will convene into to close session and we will return back to this room after Clos session and go back into Open Session oh we didn't I'm all ahead thank y'all president Lee
supported by truste Townsen all those in favor I those opposed that motion carries the same applies the board will leave and we will reconvene in Open Session once we are done
643 e e e e e e e e e
e e e e e e e e e e
e e e e e e e the time is uh 7:47 the board of education is back in Open Session at this
time 7:47 thank you thank you uh at this time that takes us to our first public comment section of the evening and we have uh a member of the
public wishing to address the board I will read the public comment protocol and invite that member of the public to come up to address the board pursuant to Board of Education policy 0167 7.3 the board recognizes the value of public comment on educational
issues and the importance of allowing members of the public to express their views please limit statements to to three minutes in duration participants shall direct all comments to the board and not to staff or other participants no person may
address or question board members individually and all remarks shall be made in a respectful and professional manner Donald Johnson ient first of all were the parents notified of the
in like maor that went out to all the parents man and the the administrative uh actions taken to deal with um was uh then I asked okay and I'm
looking at news articles on this articles are somewh conflicting as to whether he was immediately because video clearly
CH and then of course there a suit which I understand you can't talk about but but even though the defendants were aware of behavior take action to properly investigate separated from students the
termin okay and then also in suit she alleges alleges she has in place constitutional policies that allow staff to inflict pH punishment my
understanding from the news articles that having students push so these are question I'm asking because I have not seen any kind of follow on this I haven't
seen Su thank you for your comments Donald Johnson um it is not our practice to respond to questions at the board table um but we have your information and we can have someone follow up with you thank you next that takes us to our consent
agenda is there a motion at this time Madame President trusty Fields moved at the board of educa Board of Education approved the July 8th 2024 regular board meeting minutes personal matters as per the
personal matters as per the presented list date 85 and new hires and resignations view okay and then for July 2 regular meeting that's our running together I'm sorry I'm confused and then in the consistent reliable core District
processes and systems is that correct it's all running together so I'm sorry it was like the colors was messing me up on this oh no no no you're fine trusty bills um just the ones items one and two that you read are are fine oh
okay so a motion has been made by trusty Fields is there support for this motion support vice president Lee thank you supported by vice president Lee all those in favor I those opposed this motion
carries next that takes us to uh action item our first action item for the evening which is under student affairs um and that is number nine the approval for annual instructional instructional material contracts is there a motion at this
time Madam president trusty Townson move that board of education approved the hmh into reading student three-year uh grades K through K through 2 quote or purchase of $41,250
30 hmh into reading teacher one year grades K through two quote for purchasing an amount of $1,576 189 hm number three hmh into reading Professional Services quote for
a purchase amount of $ 26,500 and number four hmh Amira practice three-year quote for a purchase amount of $ this motion support vice president Lee thank you
supported by vice president Lee any discussion on this item yes please vice president Lee um I have two questions please will this be
um compatible with the what was it that we um last month we voted on M yeah thank you Dr Lopez [Music] each
okay now my second question is I was looking this over in hmh am miror did I say that right okay I saw in there that something about dyslexia do it train you
on um identifying the students that may have a type of dyslexia [Music] [Music] to [Music] right so the teachers are being in
trained on first okay all right oh thank you so much thank you that's wonderful okay I'm ready now all right any other board questions or
comments okay a motion was made by trusty Townsen supported by vice president Lee those in favor I those oppose that motion carries next that takes us to the approval for our annual instructional material for the magnet
program contracts is there a motion at this time Madam president this is Trusty gainsley I move that the Board of Education approve the stem lab the Sam Lab at steam kits quote for a purchase amount of $ 29,9 34 the bloom of
Minnesota quote for Holmes Elementary School a purchase amount of $33,860 and the bloom of Minnesota quote for Ford Early Learning Center for a purchase amount of $ 33,824 those opposed that motion carries next
that takes us to the acceptance of the field trip request for ipsan Community High School BAD Camp going to Echo Grove Camp August 5th through the 10th of 20124 is there a motion at this
time Madam president trusty Fields move that the Board of Education approved the weekl long field trip of the ipsan Community High School Marching Band program August 5th through the 10th 2024 to learn the 2024 marching band
show thank you a motion has been made by trusty Fields is there a support for this motion support trust vice president Lee thank you supported by Vi by by vice president Lee um any discussion on this
item yes please I have onea ask um I have no problem with the B going but this is a Salvation Army Camp and it's a Christian Camp and
I just want to know do the parents know that this is a Christian Camp and if so are they the camp do they um involve like Christian Learning or anything it's just
on that site premise it's just it's from our our um as you got the email also from Mr mice who asked because we you know you're getting it this date but they've asked ahead of time um is
they're just hosting it there on that site um our band director along with our band boosters are doing all the teaching and all they're just hosting it and using their um food facility their
bunker all those things is not hosted by the people on the site or learning Christian principles okay all right any other board comments or questions a motion was made by trusty Phil supported by vice president Lee all
those in favor those oppose that motion carries next that takes us to item number 10 which is um a discussion item and this is our second read of our Neola policy updates um board as you recall um
our last board meeting we went through for the first read of these Neola policy updates and this is uh coming to us as a second read and the floor is open for discussion yes I trusty gutr thank you Madame President um I have just two
things I wanted to note in this package so I saw that um the updates that we suggested in the first read to policy 1615 um were made so that those are now aligned with our other tobacco policies um and then the other one I wanted the
other s amendment I wanted to suggest for um policy 6325 um as we discussed in the last subcommittee meeting there's been a subsequent uh revision suggested by Neola um and this is like one small
member but if you go down to the contract price analysis um it is on the second to last page if you're going down and looking at the suggested um updates to this policy under contract
price analysis in the first line of the first paragraph um Neola has suggested that we update that number from $150,000 to $250,000 um and I'm sorry what policy
was that again I'm sorry 6325 so 6325 second to last page first paragraph under contract price analysis Nea has suggested that we update the uh $150,000 um threshold for performing a
Coster price analysis that we update that to $250,000 so I wanted to propose that um in this read that we make that amendment to policy 6325 thank you trusty gainley good go ahead I mean I'm sorry
trusty Goodridge I don't know why I said trusty gainsley thank you trusty Goodridge um Miss Hayes did you catch the update this update for that amount it is okay yeah I just wanted to be sure that we highlighted that because
that was something that that we discussed in our subcommittee meeting in between the first and second reads so be sure that we're all board thank you yeah I don't have 6325 in my package you said 6325 yeah have to go back on my
it's they're all on the same sheet I have it I'm on my phone though but I have it it's it yes it's it's on an attachment I can pass it it's on there
justly I don't have a okay I make a note of it okay these are also all online I I do have um a question as well go ahead trusty Thomson it's in regards to um policy
01441 regarding uh compensation um it references here and I believe he talked about it before um so like we would get reimbursed for board meetings um but then it has
reimbursement for mileage would not exceed the current rate established by the IRS and it says attendance at a board approved conferences should be at a location closest to the district um and then it also talks about it just
mentions conf but it does not mention um other meetings where we're representing the board specifically like if we're repres representing the board for the WB or those types of things so it does not
clarify that as a it's not listed as a meeting versus a conference it's not clarified between the two so is that the policy one of the these that were covering in 10c on the first read from that package I'm reading
through trusty towns in can you restate what what do you see that say again so it we we are the question I have is that we have it says expenses will be in Reverse only for activities authorized
by the board um then it says reimburses for mileage will not exceed the current rate established by the IRS attendance at board approved conferences and then it also in D it says when attending a board approved conference all reasonable fees parking mileage meals and housing
will be in reimburse but I don't see where it says it just says conferences it does not list meetings um it says a board approv activities but there is no clarification of what is a considered a board approv activity so do we need to note that in
the policy so that the language is consistent correct we can note that to make sure that conferences is throughout so there's no is it conferences or meetings where we're representing the board
so the conferences part is clear what you're questioning or wondering about would be the meetings right so I think the policy is relegated
to board meetings not any other meetings outside of board meetings right but when we had this policy looked at before uh we discussed specifically um we could not get reimbursed for WB meetings but we could
get reimbursed or mileage to the to and from those meetings because we're representing the district and and our board I don't want to derail this conversation I don't know if this is a point of order but those um this policy
we need to visit under our first read for 10c um I don't know if we've closed out our discussion for the second read of the policies in 10 at this point oh for the previous yeah sorry we've got a lot of policies
tonight I know it is a lot um I'm just making I'm I'm making notes um regarding this policy I thought we had already settled this policy but I'm I'm making notes trusty towns and uh regarding your questions to clean up the language so it's clear and explicit what
the reimbursements reimbursement amounts are but to your point trusty good Rich you're saying that we did not close out 10 I I guess I'm just asking if we've closed out the review for the second read from 10A and so now we're proceeding to um to what we covered in
the first what we're bringing for the first read for 10B so those are the September 2023 policies and then the um and then this last one is in the uh package for the February 2024 policies oh okay
no yes we need to close out the discussion is the bottom line yes I'm just looking back and forth between the two thank you for getting us back on track trusty good okay Bard are there any other um comments or um points of discussion
before we move on I do um for these evaluation of superintendent 1240 that's the policy uh that that one is in tene when we get to the Street on
those policies yep we're not there yet but we'll get there okay but anything else in this section nope okay and this will come back to the board again for
approval uh next that takes us to the first reading of our Neola policy updates volume 38 number one and this is also a discussion
item the floor is open for discussion from the board and this is the first reading of this section of policy updates what we just went through was the second reading of the policy updates that we talked about at our last
board meeting but this is our first reading of the policy updates for this section trusty yes trusty G I'm sorry I miss your hand no thank you madam president um I just wanted to note that um I'm I appreciate the the brief narratives that
are included in our packet to summarize the updates from Neola for each of these policies um I do think I don't know for policy 2370 if we may need to revisit this this one I know we had a lot of discussion at
the subcommittee about exactly which of our programs this may or may not cover um and I just notice before the reading before the meeting reading the latest version um I we might need to revisit that one
before we um and I guess we will before the second read but um I think that we may have removed too much and I'm not sure the policy serves the purposes intended for at this point um but I think it's more than we can maybe hash out with the full board right
now um the others uh 2712 were just um I think good uh reaffirms the the district's ability to restrict weapons on campus um and the the additional language in the free and reduced price
Neals um are very much aligned with practices of our district anyway so 2370 Clarity on the language omissions additions to this policy this is our first read but we need to review that one again is what I
hear you say trusty goodd I I think so yes okay thank you any other comments or questions about this section of our policies that's 2370 7217 and
8531 next we're on item C which is the first reading of Neola policy updates volume 38 number two that includes 1240 20 2 410 2414 2418
6320 6321 6350 8800 and 01 [Music] 44.1 Madam president um if it's okay I'd
like to just highlight a couple of things from the subcommittee meeting um and I think that the The Narrative summaries of the policy updates in the packet are really good um that would be great thank you certainly uh so for for policy 2410 I know we spent a fair
amount of time I'm trying to parse that and parse what was going on with the updates there I appreciate that the summary here makes it clear that the intent is to resend policy 2410 um so I I believe that's the um the action that
that we should be taking as a board as well um I know that during subcommittee we talked about different language and right now we see both the rescinded policy and our older um current policy um but just to be clear that
we're that we're moving to resend that or we're suggesting resending that policy and then for um the the change that was made during that suggested during this read
um this revision of policy one 0144 on compensation the the change that was made was to tie um prum rates to the US general Services Administration rates so that we would have up-to-date rates um for
locations both within Michigan and throughout the United States for the various places that folks may be traveling um on District business so that was the the only change that we may that we suggested from our current policy to this revised policy
anything else trusty got rich no I I appreciate vice vice president Lee if there's anything else you want to ask um the 1240 um basically brings the evaluation of the superintendent in line with the new legislation that we've been trained
on yes so all the board members are supposed to have this training before to be evaluation that is correct
okay so even when the election is coming in November and if we have new board members are they supposed to have that training too or they don't they don't do the evaluation right
they don't they will they don't start until January that's when they take their oath oh okay so it'll be still the old board members during the evaluation okay gotcha but as I remember we got trained
very quickly after um after the election results were in so they will I'm sure be duly trained um okay they will so they can still sit in or no the new board
members if there should be any new ones on the board they can't sit in for the evaluation no the hopefully the evaluation will be in before then it will it'll be with the old board members it will yes it it will
be well our current before they it be before our current our current board members M okay you don't want to say old board members our current current illustrious board members yes right okay and there will be many opportunities for
that the new new board members to be trained once they get on boarded right go wonderful okay but great question thank you TR vice president
Lee and iead yes and we will all be ready for this evaluation cycle um some of our board members were already trained some board members were trained tonight so we'll be all set for this years evaluation
yes anything else in this section and trusty Townsen I do have your comment that you raised earlier noted for Clarity on the language about the reimbursement as it relates to mileage for meetings seeing no other comments that
takes us to action item number 11 which is uh the adoption of the Neola policy updates uh from the second reading is there a motion at this time Madame President this is Trusty gri I
move that the Board of Education adopt the Neola policy updates as presented volume 37 number 2 February 2023 thank you a motion has been made by trusty goodr is their support for this [Music]
motion no okay no so a motion was made by trusty Goodrich is there a support for this motion trusty Fields I support thank you supported by trusty Fields all those in favor oppose that motion
carries next that takes us to action item number 12 under business and finance which is the approval for tables for our computer lab at the willon and Ace buildings is there a motion at this
time Madame president vice president Lee move that the Board of Education approved the iscg quote for a purchase amount of $ 28,141 55 for computer tables and two iscg
quote for a purchase amount of 35,45 And1 for mounts for monitors thank you a motion has been made by vice president Lee is there a support for this motion thank you supported by trusty Townsen any discussion on this
item see none all those in favor those oppose that motion carries uh next that takes us to item 13 which is our um second public comment portion of this evening Miss Haynes have
any public comment cards come in thank you Miss Haynes that takes us to item 14 which is Board of Education subcommittee reports are there any subcommittee reports at this time um mad president yes trust rich I
I'll put the lrn in here just really quick and Echo um Echo the information we got in our board update from Mesa about the call to action around the um school aid budget and the Myer's
um legislation um we should definitely keep the pressure on for that the one time Myer's money um is something but the the impact is um is not exactly Equitable and the that the
legislature decided to in addition to that give money to the charter schools that aren't impacted by MERS was perplexing um and it's still the lack of a um increase in the foundation allowance is is seems problematic um so
I just wanted to elevate and Echo that the need to um take advantage of those action opportunities and reach out to our legislators um about getting a bigger Myers's relief put into statute so that it's ongoing and not onetime
money that we can't use um that we can't use sustainably we can't um use to make ongoing commitments to our students and our staff um yeah that's all I've got talk to your
legislators thank you trusty goodr any other board of subcommittee uh reports okay seeing none that takes us to item 15 thank you board uh which is our midterm monitoring um evaluating um this board
of education um as we know we engage in a bi-yearly progress in progress monitoring of our superintendent and um this midterm monitoring session also provides us an opportunity to self assess so at this time I would like to
invite uh Dr Zachary Ross to introduce and welcome our facilitator uh for our midterm monitoring uh session this evening Dr Z Ross thank you madam president I love working side by side with our board president as we plan and
work together uh I've been working together with our facilitator from the Michigan Association of school boards that she uh provided me with information to prepare to give to our board for the superintendent midyear progress report
so I thank you Mary Kerwin for being here and for providing us this opportunity to reflect to look at where we are mid year to to Really pause and to think about where we are so that we can Pro progress forward so thank you
for coming tonight it's a pleasure and this time of year we actually have the results from a lot so at the beginning of the year um you and your team present um goals and then the strategies to
achieve those goals and at this time of year we go back and look at how do we do and it looks like you did very very well and part of this is to share the very good news and then also in each section that is covered under your final
evaluation having to do with finances achievement Community Support all of those pieces we embed here to see are we on target how might we improve and how can the board help so those are pieces
so um we start out with some of the student achievement pieces you include um uh overall uh for mde and WEA uh uh and math and reading all indicate
Effectiveness and then as part of the queries is uh what are we going to do next and how can we accomplish more I think in the reading area you've highlighted uh that some of the areas is there a
question no oh okay no we usually conduct the midterm monitoring again it can be um a question but there's a lot of good news we'd like to share with the community okay okay very good we're just we're doing the midterm monitoring right
now not the evaluation yes um so some of the pieces in Reading uh this District as we know uh nationally and globally there had been an approach to reading and what you when you came in
um discovered was uh this was a weaker area and one of the things that you highlight in the midterm monitoring is the introduction of of phonic and making through that that goes all the way through three would you like to speak anything about your anticip about the region program coming
up for the new year for your younger um El students yes you know I really appreciate the fact that um as you talked about when I came in we did not have that core instruction we we had a lot of different programs we did not
have a core program so I really appreciate the fact that the board allowed us to purchase um hmh uh and allowed us to not only purchas hmh but then do the ongoing professional development and put instructional
coaches in every building so with that came this year with that ongoing professional development they said all right what we now need is for us to look at what will we do next and they said because we're still not having doing
what we need to do and so they piloted uh one of the programs and they allowed us to purchase a new Pro an additional program that will go deeper that will meet the new needs of our students so we have multilanguage Learners so we'll be
able to do that along with as you heard vice president Lee ask what is this now that we're doing and so now what you heard us talk about Alex and Amira and what those programs do is they look at and match and that's the one part I
thought Carlos would talk about is a match n WEA for our teachers so that's the part I'm really excited about is that it takes the workload the the piece that he did not say is it takes the workload off the teacher teachers and it
um it matches up oneon-one with the students and that and and it so it's quicker it responds really fast and so the students gain make unbelievable reading gains quickly and it takes that workload off the teachers and so right
away it's like one a one-on-one tutor for the teachers it it engages the it really is known for engaging students and it's for every student so as students who are already ahead it can they can go fast but then also for
students who need that support it helps them and matches them where they are and helps them increase so we anticipate huge increases we already have been seeing increases but it's right there engaging with them one on-one and it's right where they are and
the best part that I want to talk to and you heard them talk about um the people support what they help create is that we heard it from the teachers and the instructional staff so they came in this room and they selected those materials
not us not Carlos not principles but the people who will be working with the materials that's what's the best part and it's research based and again th those are lower l or early early ones on the again to the goal of making sure by
by third grade absolutely and then when you see see the other gains is that what we saw at the middle school this year when we saw the data really increase with the read180 programs and so that we knew we had been hearing about it but
what we saw in the re10 and then that same program being implemented with Nina Harris and that middle school team that's who really came in and told us about it they we can we can see it happening at the the elementary but they
implemented implemented with Fidelity and we saw those scores they brought us they brought the data and it really happened at the middle school and we saw the numbers um really really Spike and we know we know we still have it we have
issues at that those transitional grades but in our Ela in the middle school that Ela team they implemented they came together they put in a plan and the scores shot up and then you've had increase also in in
math and science and social studies you also include um in answers to some of the questions on some of the initiatives and measures you've been doing on that as well absolutely so um in part I think that the board and this district is very lucky is that you actually are are in
the classrooms a lot there is no assumption that all this will just happen you are in there and if also set up that coaching and mentorship and you yourself coach and mentor and Mentor others as well yeah I believe also again the support um of eye
observation they're passing these things I mean sometimes I think that they're looking at them saying well what is this you know people laugh and say we don't necessarily want to come to the board because the board is asking lots of questions and it's a good thing because they're saying well what's high
observation what's this about and it's a part of the reason why this works is not like okay the the building administrators are are doing what is this learning Focus partner why is it but because people are in the classrooms people are partnering people are seeing
what's you know inspect what you expect and it's not an inspect because we're checking on you it's okay how can we help how can we assist what's happening and is every single person I know I have conversations with some board members like okay does this teacher really care
about these students are every single one of them and it's a good conversation CU that's the real conversation we have to have CU then I had to go back and say is it every single one of them cuz we know that is it is it every that's the hard word every and so the only way we
know is that every is that if you have a conversation with me I got to go back and check and that's the real conversations that we have and it that puts us back into check because is is not a conversation that every every time
you have and so it makes it it puts you back in a humble place where you say I better go and check that class there has been um a desire from the community and direction of this board regarding the rigor and the support and in in the
piece that you go through on your midterm monitoring you have you have paired each time that emphasis on rigor and the support I think that ipolani is unique in many many ways and has set the bar but you've had success after success
after success because you honor that piece I didn't know if you wanted to speak to anything yeah we we talk about that all the time high high expectations but high and high level support so what it does I think is allows vulnerability
and creativity and Innovation and allows people to ask those questions and we talked we had negoti negotiations to today and people were um we talked about today being curious and not Furious um in my very first meeting this morning
and so even you see the emotion you see tears you see that come because people are ready to put like we have up here those Norms to put ideas on the table because we're not afraid to say we got a high riger but we're GNA support you and
and that's when that you can have that and put it out there not for adult issues but for children issues and if everybody can come and put that at the table then you can press forward towards the the goal of high
expectations and high achievement and for children because if you put adult issues there then that's the barricade and so then we can all move forward and it's not out of perfection see that that's those adult issues and it's
almost that cultural norm that goes beyond you can't be about multilinguals and multicultures that we get beyond that here it's about what does PE what do our students need speaking of I know you're in
negotiations now um there are some HR needs I know that you want to have in place by the time schools I just this building was full of meetings today and I happen to see a young principal um who's you know in in looking for three
more hires to be made so you still have some needs and then the board will be kept AB breast of that when school starts I know you're are seeking and you uh go ahead if you'd like to speak to any of those seeking new hires oh yeah we're still looking looking just like
all the all the other districts and that's why we're working so hard to negotiate with our both both of our unions to make sure we have a wonderful contract and they're working with us um and so we're working and being as
creative as we can um and and that's why so talking about having that stronger together and why the culture is so important and people are coming here for the culture I've never been in a negoti I talked I was on the phone with Dr Hawkins where and I want to thank our um
ycea where you come into negotiations and people are bringing pizza and buy making cookies for you and smiling I said I'm never walked into and I don't care what kind of industry you are and the people are saying they making this
for us cuz they're saying thank you and like that's how the culture is when you walking in to negotiations and I'm on the phone telling her do you do you know they made cookies and they made this and they know cuz you're coming for good
faith you're coming in a room to do work on behalf of everybody even though you might not come you know you got different but you're coming knowing that that's the good faith and it's every meeting not like it came once they're coming every single meeting and they
want to work on behalf of every student of every on every unit on every for every thing and so when people are applying and even though we have openings they're like I got to come to a place like this and other people are
telling folks about it um and so you that's one of them things that's if you listening folks it's Priceless like you you can't pay for that and so it's not and even when I talk to other vend vendors which we call our partners they're like yeah we thought
your bit your District was so big because when other people talk about it it's a bigness it's a excitement of it it's a it's it's different and so that's we're we're going to match it with when as more students come as more budgets
come is we are going to be and as this contract closes we're going to be able to align it with matching dollars and matching pay and that's why we're going to attract we're attracting the very very best you kind of touched a little bit on
culture and climate which I and again I think it's it's a it's it's it's a wonderful quality here it's also a piece that that is covered in your in the midterm because we looked at again some of the data that came in on attendance we know we've had some off years because
Co was very very difficult to figure on attendance um but the results on attendance it seems as though attendance is increasing over time would you like to speak anything or it is it's an observation and I want to be an
appreciate the board for giving us the support because they're with concentric and they're supporting our amaz amazing um parently a signs they're going out knocking on doors again the relationship because they can't do it alone so
they've got you know our our climate and culture coaches our social workers who do do the followup because they got to do the cause to find out what's the barriers of why you're not coming a lot of it is still there's still Co there's still you know rationals and reasons and
so we've got to figure out what it is the reason why so that we can come in if you had a bad experience we got to fix those things yes and if there's those other things we've got to be the ones you know we've got to work in partnership with parents we've got to be
the ones to make it where if you had a um if you have a a a bus situation which people are telling us this summer was so much better and the routing is getting better like those are the things that in the past were situations yet our
transportation director was the new person new staff member of the year so she's even over the summer the um responses have been the most positive with our 10 new electric buses going out and that being positive so you know like
we're those are the things that were trending more positively because people weren't coming to school because Transportation just wasn't right so as we're getting systems in place to improve people can come to school as we're having parently aons working and
the training from concentric is helping which they have an app that is telling us right away to the schools hey this is the problem and then we can fix it before they even get back to the schools so it's about systems like before our
blueprint systems were telling us okay here's what's happening in the school now the system is happening happening outside so it it just takes what if any system it takes just a little longer and it's finally like it it's just all
trickling down it's all as we talk about fractl out it's just is it was taking a like you said with the pandemic a little longer I just see it uh working together within all of our what we call intense intense student support network that's
the nonacademic is all working together and so as we're adding as you talked about staff we know we have had a shortage of social workers and other mental health staff all of that comes together because after the pandemic that
was a big piece too of why people weren't coming and so we're going to continue to work we just got we found out we got a smaller Grant 19 000 as Dr Lopez has been working we've applied for a larger grant for mental health and we're looking forward to that team's
Grant as we believe that as we think about that whole Child part and you you and I you've talked about that here um as we continue to work on that we believe that um as we continue to be the community school we will attract more
and get students in school and be in school more because they'll want to be more engaged want to be here because we that's what we'll continue to focus on and you have been quite an advocate for that I don't know if Bridge magazine knows that there are other superintendents they could call but they
call you a lot and so you're you're featured in Bridge a lot as an advocate and also but um tonight we'd also like to show we know that attendant has been an ongoing issue issue nationally and
that in a in a uh in the New York Times which has a podcast every uh every day for 30 minutes um uh one of the situations that they looked at was uh attendance and uh it was a kind of a
depressing podcast until um they featured families from ipolani who were talking about how much it meant to them that Outreach had happened so that was just happen stance that I listened to to that but I want to
highlight again nationally on some of these initiatives that you've been making that idea of let's go to the homes we are a family you matter everyone all of those pieces together have a dramatic impact on one family on
every family so I just wanted to make sure that that we covered that uh piece on attendance the other thing that we've come up and you uh have diagrammed quite successfully in here is about suspend iions um uh uh expulsions and other
pieces having to do with that uh you you have uh charts which illustrate who what why what learning have you have you come I know that you do a number of initiatives perhaps you would highlight those in looking at some of those numbers yeah even today the our this is
our first meeting of the year with administrators we talked about disproportionality with special education students we talked about on what processes need in to be in place we've met with our attorney Michelle Edy which is our specific special ed
attorney I don't even think we talk about that enough with our board um we go over our data with her um we meet with uh our WID consultant and have we're having a training already set up
with our um administrators who then also meet with their staff to talk about what do we do prior to suspensions everything about our multi-tier systems of support it is even coming down to what we're doing proactively in our negotiations to
think about what do we put in place proactively in every single building to um with with our mtss Dr Lopez uh even in this previous year what we did we had some buildings um who were in The
Continuous systems of um Improvement levels and instead of just working with some buildings we said every building could benefit from this training of multi- systems of support so we brought the building network teams in to look at and review our processes and think about
how we can improve them and then that led to well every every building might need some support after we started hearing um about what the teams were saying during negotiations so that again we're trying to be proactive instead of just reactive all the time and thought
about okay what do our teams need because our the people who lead these teams are amazing when you think about the Deep work that they work what they do proactively to instead of putting people in special ed instead of um pushing people out of school they're
doing lots of things to be um to have people in school the other thing we're um working to do with some of the Mental Health Grants is think about who who we can have um our students talk to every single day um there's also a f a checklist to do um
that we've looked at and saying how do we find out how every students is filling every day so there are different opportunities to um have them to even talk into Bots and different things to just have every single student knowing are they okay and if not can how do we
do a checklist and check in and if they need support having them talk to a social worker so some of those proactive things that then um what we're seeing is that data will then um help us with less suspensions hopefully less fights um and
we're seeing in high school what they've been doing is having like some dances they do dances in the um lunchroom they have different weekly um like they have Western Fridays they have different themed weeks and that has really help
them they've been tracking the data it's interesting that you bring you bring that up the idea doing it dance or exercise because one of the pieces that comes out in your monitoring is you see after fifth grade there seems to be a drop um in some achievement like a
two-year drop and for those of us who remember how elementary schools work there was recess even in your professional development I know there are walk arounds now we're going to go outside the build now we're going to do some other things with adults so we know how
important those pieces are so when you when you remark about dances and other things some of that physical activity that all of a sudden we take kids and now now you're going to sit here and you're going to just walk you know between classes that that's really so it's just something to to think about if
we if we're doing that with ourselves as we learn through professional development or walk around or doing something like that and we embody it in the elementary if we see kind of that drop how might we do some physical pieces so something to think about that's okay I don't yeah yeah I'm sure
that you'll report in a year whether that okay um it's we know that Auditors come in the fall um we heard as you mentioned some of the finances which have already come out we saw in in the paper again uh the Forgiveness of the
loans iilani uh you advocated uh not only for yourselves but you advocated for a whole number of schools um that actually finally uh B fruition so that um the retirement of those loans means
that the knowledge is raised will go into the classroom You' spoken about that at a number of meetings I don't want you to have no I we're just again so thankful this board has worked tirelessly um even before I came and they worked side by side they they've
advocated and then we definitely they allowed me to go to Ling I know that um even our unions work side by side they were letter rating writing campaigns by our parents and community members so again thank you to everyone who worked
with us um to get this debt forgiven the debt that came out of consolidation and so now um the millage rates um the the um tax tax rates for our community members have gone down and I'm just so
proud of the work that everyone has done together so that our community um Can Feel This relief our school district alone the $2 million a year relief allows us to be able to go into bargaining looking at a whole looking at
it differently and then now we're at that next stage where we can talk to treasury about now those next steps about those additional funds that we can use to talk about what we can do for Recruitment and Retention of teachers
what we can do for marketing what we can do um for some of the other build pieces that were in legislation so I'm really hoping um to have that next conversation at the end of this month um so that we can hear about how we can um access
those funds and really demonstrate to them how we can use those funds responsibly you've spoken again um featured in Bridge uh but have spoken about the loss of some of the funding specifically which was important but I
see that you have quite a few uh in your clian you have so many different grants that you have applied to over 200 million yeah I mean it's it's substantial would you like to well just quickly um one of the things we really are proud that we have been looking at
grow your own uh funds and so we know um right now in the state of Michigan it's difficult as you talked about to find um staff members and we're competing so we have to grow our own so we're looking at um par to teacher program we're looking
at teachers we can't find teachers necessarily who are able to um look at some of our dual immersion program so some of our teachers have said I want to teach in those areas so we're getting them credentialed um through Wayne State
University um we're um using some funds to have our teachers nationally board certified and so looking at Grant funds to really support us the biggest Grant um recently that we're really proud of is our School Grant and so next year
we're implementing as you heard our board uh approve these Magnet School funds we have our steam schools so we'll have Ford uh starting next year Ford and homes will be steam buildings and then
our International bord will be at the ellan Community Middle School and at the high school and so we're really excited about these expansions and how it will again push the rigger in our schools and we believe it's going to draw in some
students who are interested in these programs and opportunities to grow in their own ways the summer programs indeed keep kids connected and also attract kids how do you feel about oh my goodness our staff knocked it out the
park this year and so thank you to our Grizzly um learning Camp um staff members who just led the way they had so many demonstr ations of what they did our parents were wonderful Partners but mostly our Scholars our Scholars are
outstanding and we had um over a hundred students outside of the district to apply but over uh almost 1400 students apply who came in and so we know Grizzly learning Camp is an important extension we know we hear a lot about summer
learning loss but when they're involved in Grizzly learning Camp they just learn in a different way they're engaged hands on learning project based learning and so we're just just so excited that that the fact that our own staff they're not
outside staff our own amazing staff uh come in during the summer sacrifice that time but they know that time is all about Hands-On engaged learning and so it's a wonderful opportunity but our Scholars just really outdo themselves
because they come in they're ready to learn and they just show what it is the Geniuses that they really are and so we want to just continue on with this opportunity we know again we use uh Grant funds to to fund the program and
our board supports us all the way around by supporting the scholars by offering Transportation by offering Food Services and so we just appreciate the fact that we can offer this I I I saw when I came up the meet meat so yeah that's an
included package so that you not only have your Scholars but they're fed and ready to learn Le which is really really important um so we've covered a number of areas um we haven't done all of the report that you have prepared um but all the compliance pieces are included a lot
of work went into this I wonder if there are any um board questions specifically on any of the information that has been presented or comments um I don't know if I have any questions um specifically um because
everything is pretty late out here in the the mid uh term monitoring report that we received but I just want to take a minute just to like pause to say like this is an important time of the year for us to kind of reflect on how far
we've come and then how far we still are planning to go and so I appreciate these sessions because it affords us an opportunity to think about all of the initiatives all of the the actions we've taken whether it be curriculum changes um
whether it be supports that go into our classrooms uh all the updates to kind of pause and look at this report and I say oh I remember that I remember that so I'm just so proud of all we've accomplished and then to think about
kind of what's next for ycs I think is is just powerful um and it's a good story to be able to tell at this point in time and really primes us for the upcoming evaluation you you commented to the board that you appreciate all their support is there is
anything else the board could do and perhaps you'll talk about that at your retreat but is there anything else that the board could do in support of initiatives that you've laid out I think they've done um a wonderful job attending really being present and
going to all the buildings um I think asking those questions is very helpful and even calling and and pulling me in and saying hey uh be aware of this and calling me right in time they don't wait I think um that's really important is
calling me when they're hearing things that are happening that are especially concerning um that's really important um one of those things that we're really working on this year especially is making sure we think about those special
education um canes that's something that's really important to us and making sure we we're hearing about those special populations um that's something that we're really really keeping our ear on and so that's something I want to
make sure we're focusing on this year we know uh you have someone who's very active legislatively and we appreciate that um however there is a bill uh that's been languishing in the State House regarding third grade you brought up will
the material that we're bringing in look at dyslexia and some of those other specifics that's part of a bill that's in the State House regarding third grade reading but it it hasn't moved so does it take an election we don't you know what specific it does I'm sure that you
all work on that however iilani doesn't wait if there's a benefit to children iilani will lead the way and they lead the way as you said with found funds or targeted funds or do whatever because we cannot wait for the state of Michigan to
release certain pieces so uh congratulations to you to make sure that the materials are there so that students can move forward other comments or questions from the board thank you madam president again
these pieces are found in the superintendent evalu I'll return again at the end of the year where we'll go through all of those pieces there has been new legislation regarding that all training has been provided you have the new instrument so
everyone should be prepared for that in December thank you so much yes thank you um Mary uh Kerwin um you always do such a nice job of helping to facilitate these sessions and you've been with us for a long time and um that that
institutional knowledge helps us uh to learn and to grow um and to kind of reflect on our progress and superintendent Zach Ross thank you for all that you continue to do for this district and your vision um and your Insight and that of your team uh that
will push us forward and and help us to kind of bring all the things that are still outstanding to uh fruition um and and just one quick note that I want to make before I move on to close us out as we we get the rest of the business conducted for the board is that this was
a checkin and a check-in doesn't um require that we go into a closed session it's just our quarterly monitoring and it's just an opportunity for the trustees the superintendent um to have a discussion to kind of reflect on where we are um to talk about some of those
responsibilities that are uh that the superintendent has and kind of visioning and thinking ahead about how we will continue to move the district forward so I appreciate um having the opportunity as I said earlier to reflect on where we are and kind of where we're going um but
I know that there might have been a little bit of confusion about what's this weit are we going is it the evaluation so I just wanted to say that yeah yes right it's a good question and I wanted to make sure that we clarified it
so it wasn't it didn't create any confusion so yeah all right um thank you Dr Zachary Ross and thank you Mary Kerwin all right we will move board to um board superintendent comments at this
time are there any comments from the board yes Madam president vice president Lee um Madame President did sent us an email
stating that the board was selected to present at masv Conference in October 24th through the 27th yes and also at CU Conference
October 28 I believe um we are slotted to present at the masb conference on that Friday um I don't know if everyone is
going to the masb and I don't know who's presenting you know that right so my question is if the board is presenting that [Music] Friday is the Delegate for Mas be
going and if I'm still obligated to vote if the delegate or if the alternate is going am I still obligated to
vote I was willing to go and vote but since we are presenting at the masb and we're gonna be there I was just
wondering yeah who's going and who's presenting and if the delegate is going to be there and if the alternate is going to be there that yeah but I'm saying now that
masb if we're presenting at the masb been included and we know about I've never heard any more else I know to do M but I haven't heard anything else about what that was going to look like for MSC I'm just putting it out there right
understand but I anything else besides that I think similar and a lot of time has pasted I think similar to what we did last year we were you know we presented at Cube last year we also presented at mesb so we're doing the same thing this year um and I know that
I'm going to be one of the presenters um you know it's it's oober so it's a little bit of a ways away um and and we still have yet to have discussions on what board members will be would be willing to and able to present at the
mesv conference but I know that I'm slated to be one of the presenters and I know Dr Zachary Ross will be there as well and then I'll have to figure out how to get to cube after that right yep and I know I'll be
presenting I'll be there I well well first we have to get our proposal accepted and since our proposal was it has been that's why I sent that notice out to the board to say our proposal was accepted and so we are slated to present at mesb and Cube this
year so now we have to decide since that just came hot off the press and I knew in my mind that I was going to be at both but you know it's open and I want board members to to make some decisions about um what they can and and what they cannot do but it's
open as many board members who want to attend are welcome to attend so you have some time to think about it I'm let you know because October be here no time will will I'm look at your calendars and let
us know as soon as possible how about I said look at your calendars and let us know yeah okay all right any other board comments Madam president yes trusty G I'm
sure I I definitely don't want to step on any toes here but um I I wanted to observe that the the filing deadline has has passed for running for school board and just wanted to um express my gratitude to everyone um including
president Hawkins who filed to run uh we hear a lot at masb um and nationally about how hard it can be to fill board seats and I'm so grateful to be in a community where we have this level of Engagement and commitment to our students because we know it's not um
it's not a sexy elected position um and everyone who does this isn't in it for for power or Prestige but we're all here for the kids um so I'm really grateful for everyone who filed to run I know that for me certainly running for Schoolboard was a a learning process and
I just want to um encourage as I know all of us do um anyone who's running to reach out and talk to to any and all of us I know talking with superintendent Zachary Ross when I was running was incredibly valuable we're all we're all always learning about the community and
the the kids first and foremost who we serve um and I know we still have a a few more months to serve together but I wanted to express my appreciation for trusty Schindler and trusty gainsley who um will now be rolling off at the end of December thank you so much trusty
gutr other board comments I guess I need to turn this on right so I was able to stop by the back to cool I got my t-shirt representing so everything was nice and um it look good the setup was set up a little different than than in
the past but it looked like it was a nice turnout the kids were happy with the backpacks everybody was doing good it was a nice turnout um they had the people they cutting hair and all that I think they line they had the face painters I just want to see another face painter next time so we don't have such
a big you know brush over there for the one but that that was nice um I received my yard sign it must have came from like a yard sign barrier or something because it just appeared I was like okay this is nice so I don't know who did and then whoever gave it to me even turned it
around when the next event came like okay who's doing that cuz I didn't do that that cuz they were two-sided but someone I don't know who did that but that was really nice but I don't even know they know I live there but they gave it and when it turned the new event came the the sign was turned around to the new event I'm like okay but I just
want to say I did get my I got my yard that was nice so so I just wanted to say so thank you whoever gave it whoever brought it to me thank you for the yards sign so it was nice they look good all right that's all they have tell me I'm just saying it disappeared one day and then they switched around
for me too okay this is beautiful so thank you just wanted to say that to somebody whoever that might be and my and I wanted to say Grizzly learning Camp my three of my all three of my grandkids went this year one didn't have to go but he wanted to go CU he said it was fun
and then the one who went to the high school the teachers um all three of his teachers called me and I was so I'm want just honestly say I was really appreciative of that to tell me how good he was doing um he did like a 360 from what he was like in the school year and
it's just so encouraging for him you know he was not thinking about doing college so now he's even thinking about it now he's a junior he like I don't want to do so he's even talking about that now and he had fun he didn't want to miss a day um I don't know what about those three teachers he had in Grizzly
learning camp that he didn't have in high school but he loved going and he did very well he got all A's he's excited about learning and they said that was impressive for me to be honest because he was like he never talked in the class he never did it they said he
was encouraging other kids to learn he was very partic he participated a lot and it was just when he didn't come he missed one day they said but they noticed it when he didn't come because he was so active and he was so you know and he was always trying to encourage the other kids to get involved and do so
I wanted to say I was really impressed to be honest with the high school because um you know we don't ever hear good things about that and and not just because it's m but just because it made it big difference in his in his life in his learning and he wanted to learn you know what I mean and he so was like a 360 so I just want to say whoever I
don't know but going up to high school but it was a a good turning point for him and he's excited about you know school and you know going back so I'm just saying so thank you trusty Fields I hope the um yard sign Angels visit me
too whoever are and turn it around and that yes yeah that's great say yes to ycs all right um any other board comment um Madam president I just wanted to also
say that I did attend the back to school bash it was very good uh kudos to Taran Willis and her team and regards to that we had a amazing turnout um there was a lot of activities in vendors there so I
am sure we're going to have a very successful school year um I also would like to thank uh ycs partnership um I have been running a summer camp for Parkridge Community Center and
ycs uh was very instrument instrumental in making sure to remove Financial barriers uh for students uh that want to attend Park Ridge and that is an in relationship with WCC and the district
um so that is very good A lot of people didn't know that but um I have had a great opportunity to engage with a lot of our students and we have some very bright intelligent young people um rambush rambus say
rambun um they keep me on my toes but um it has been very exciting and the last day or the celebration so you all will be getting invitation tomorrow morning uh for Friday is the last day um where we're doing a very good celebration and
they've had major Partnerships with other partners of the district such as Toyota um WCC University of Michigan and of the hon River Watershed wether for pool um again which are also partners
with the district and we have had a very successful camp and I'm very excited um to see those young students move on and do some great things in ycs so thank you great thank you trusty Townsen um other
board comments um the only comment that I will make I'll Echo what everyone else already said um and and thank you uh trusty goodr again for your uh your comments tonight um about board service
and you know what's coming up in November for for those of us who are are willing to serve again um the Jazz and the parking lot event held on July 20th I think this was our eighth year it was an outstanding event it always is um a
lot of people came out um it was a beautiful night um but it was just a beautiful event all the way around um a lot of tables with information and advocacy and um education and awareness around voting um that was also uh part
of the event so uh just a all around great event and I know there are some other kind of jazz events that are happening throughout the summer that uh many of us go out and support as well um so I just wanted to say kudos to Taran as well for you know always putting on
such a great event um I think JZ in the parking lot was her brainchild when she came to ycs and it continues to exceed expectations year after year so I just wanted to give a little shout out for that and I might be forgetting some comments about things that have happened since our last board meeting but um we
know that we all have been here late into the evening um so I appreciate the board's time and patience and Grace with allowing us to get through really important parts of our meeting including the the monitoring session which we know is a is a big part of our governance and our role as board members so thank you
for hanging um I know it's late um and that's all I got to say superintendent what would you like to share oh okay you reminded me of this week Touch a Truck Touch a Truck is at Tuesday August
6 from 6:00 to 8 and YC HS parking lot so you have a young person who wants to touch a truck touch a fire truck touch a police officers
car Sheriff's truck come touch the truck and get inside it is a wonderful event you reminding me I didn't have that on my list until you said I know there's an event I'm like there is an event come touch a truck with us um thank you all
for a a nice night tonight it's been wonderful so thank you for hanging out with us and yes thank you for all who came out to the back to school bash and the Jazz and the parking lot and all of the the blots and the pool ruford pool
and all those things throughout um the community this summer uh Miss Mrs Willis and all of the the team have been out this whole um summer um coming out and being out in the community and we really
appreciate it um we are here August 26 everyone will be here right around the corner so we're looking forward to welcome welcoming the um all the new staff already next week um we're we're
ready for you all the new staff we are ready to greet you and I'm looking forward to meeting all of you and then having our students come in August 26th and so we're looking forward to them
riding some of our 10 new electric buses and having you all be a part of the grizly nation and so we are so proud of them and some of the fun things we'll be doing with Toyota and the driving
possibilities and as we talked about the magnet schools and our most exciting thing is moving and opening up um Ipsy Community Middle School I believe that uh that opening is is it the is it the
the 2 first all right Ian Community Schools grand opening is August 21st at 6 PM we're going to do a little ribbon cutting and um opening up so
people can see what the Ipsy Community Middle School looks like over at the Willer run campus and so part of that Magnet School piece is going back over to where some of it again back over there and so we're looking forward
to seeing what has been happening over the summer getting it nice and renovated and having students be able to use a larger space with the gyms and the pool and you've got to come and see it I'm not going to tell you all about it
you've got to come see for yourself so thank you for a wonderful evening and join us August 26th um on the first day of school and welcoming our new our our scholars in I
know they do some red carpets at the ELC Early Learning Centers and some fun photo ops so look out for communications about what will be happening on those first days of school enjoy the last days
of summer oh it's not Tuesday oh thank you oh it's wrong some places oh like I saw it August it's the 6 to8 seven 6 to8 okay thank [Music]
you oh thank you thank you so much and one more thing please this Saturday peace Nick yes it's right here yes peace Nick from 3 to 6
be at the high school parking lot oh I'm sorry 3 to seven at the high school parking lot thank you vice president please you're welcome what you say trustee oh the the name okay peace
Nick 3 school this Saturday all right um no no I just said we well we don't meet again until September as a board but our Retreat is this month yeah no we didn't
change any dates I was just saying as a reminder yes stay tuned details will be forthcoming y all right anything else from the board or Dr Zachary Ross yes it is thank you again uh Mary
for the training uh on the superintendent evaluation and for facilitating the midterm monitoring session tonight um and thank you everyone who joined us this evening we hope you have a good night and