Sep 19, 2024 Regular Board Meetings

[00:00:07]

GOOD EVENING AND WELCOME TO THE SEPTEMBER MEETING OF THE RICHARDSON ISD BOARD OF TRUSTEES.

[I. CALL TO ORDER]

WE HAVE A QUORUM PRESENT, AND THE MEETING IS CALLED TO ORDER AT 6:03 P.M.

DR. HELLER, WOULD YOU PLEASE INTRODUCE OUR GUEST TO LEAD US IN THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE THIS EVENING? YES. THANK YOU, PRESIDENT POTEET.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES. SUPERINTENDENT BRANUM, I AM SO EXCITED TO WELCOME THIS EVENING.

WE HAVE REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE LAKE HIGHLANDS HIGH SCHOOL BELL BOYS.

THIS IS A SENIOR CLASS.

REPRESENTATIVES ARE ALL PART OF THE CLASS OF 2025.

I'M GOING TO INVITE FORWARD TO THE PODIUM TO LEAD US IN OUR PLEDGES.

WE HAVE AIDEN RELAY.

WE HAVE TRACE FLOURNOY AND THEN OWEN BARANOWSKI.

IF YOU COULD PLEASE STAND FOR THE PLEDGES.

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 LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.

I HONOR THE TEXAS FLAG.

I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE TEXAS ONE STATE UNDER GOD, ONE AND INDIVISIBLE.

THANK YOU SO MUCH TO THE LAKE HIGHLANDS HIGH SCHOOL BELL BOYS.

THANK YOU, GENTLEMEN.

THANK YOU, GENTLEMEN.

NOW, WITH THE AUDIENCE, BOARD AND STAFF, PLEASE JOIN US IN A MOMENT OF SILENCE.

THANK YOU.

COLLEAGUES. IT IS NOW TIME FOR OUR RECOGNITIONS, DR.

HELLER. AS THE BOARD IS COMING FORWARD AND SUPERINTENDENT BRANUM, SO WE CAN RECOGNIZE OUR PARTNERS AND STUDENTS AND STAFF THIS MONTH.

WE HAVE SEVERAL RECOGNITIONS TO BRING FORWARD HERE THIS EVENING.

WE APPRECIATE ALL OF OUR GUESTS BEING HERE THIS EVENING.

THE RISD BOARD OF TRUSTEES UNDERSTANDS THE IMPORTANCE OF RECOGNIZING THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF STUDENTS, STAFF, SCHOOLS AND DEPARTMENTS.

AND OUR TRUSTEES ALSO RECOGNIZE THE IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTIONS OUR LOCAL BUSINESSES, COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS MAKE TO THE DISTRICT.

AT EACH OF OUR REGULAR MONTHLY BOARD MEETINGS, WE TAKE TIME TO CELEBRATE THESE ACHIEVEMENTS.

WE WOULD ASK THAT ALL OF OUR GUESTS AND VISITORS HELP CELEBRATE THESE RECOGNITIONS BY STAYING TO ENJOY THE ENTIRE RECOGNITION PROCESS.

THIS ALLOWS EVERYONE TO SHOW THEIR APPRECIATION FOR EACH RECIPIENT.

THERE WILL BE A SHORT BREAK AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE RECOGNITIONS PORTION OF THE AGENDA.

ANY GUESTS WISHING TO LEAVE THE AUDITORIUM CAN DO SO AT THAT TIME.

AND NOW, FOR OUR FIRST RECOGNITION, I AM GOING TO JUST MAKE SURE THEY DID NOT SNEAK IN AFTER WE HIT THE GAVEL CORE. OUR PARTNERS AT CORE CONSTRUCTION.

COME ON UP. WE ARE SO EXCITED.

AWESOME. AND I SEE SHAMIKA WITH THE FOUNDATION IN THE BACK.

COME ON UP. SO JUST SO THAT OUR AUDIENCE AND THOSE WATCHING ONLINE CORE CONSTRUCTION IS A LONGTIME PARTNER OF RISD AND THE RISD FOUNDATION. WE CELEBRATED THEM LAST NIGHT.

THEY WERE OUR CONSTRUCTION PARTNER ON THE RENOVATIONS OF THE NEW FOREST MEADOW MIDDLE SCHOOL.

AND WE WERE SO EXCITED TO HAVE THAT RIBBON CUTTING LAST NIGHT.

RECENTLY THEY HELD A GOLF TOURNAMENT, AND THEY RAISED $20,000 TO HELP FURTHER THE FOUNDATION'S MISSION TO ADVANCE IMPACTFUL OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL WITHIN RISD.

THESE FUNDS WILL BE USED TO HELP PROVIDE RESOURCES FOR RICHARDSON ISD STUDENTS, TEACHERS, AND STAFF.

WE ARE SO GRATEFUL TO CORE AND ALL OF YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT.

THANK YOU.

AND AS WE DO WITH EACH OF OUR RECOGNITIONS, WE ARE GOING TO GET A GROUP PICTURE, A PICTURE AT THE END.

AND YES, AS WE'RE GETTING OUR PICTURE WITH OUR FRIENDS AND PARTNER AT CORE, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE OUR FIRST STUDENT GROUP COME FORWARD.

AWESOME. CONGRATULATIONS.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT AND ALSO TO THE RICHARDSON ISD FOUNDATION.

I KNOW KUMIKO HAS BEEN REAL BUSY WITH NORTH TEXAS GIVING DAY TODAY.

IT'S NOT TOO LATE IF YOU WANT TO GIVE.

YOU HAVE UNTIL 1159 TONIGHT, I BELIEVE.

OKAY. AND NEXT WE HAVE SOME AWESOME, AWESOME STUDENTS THAT ARE BEING RECOGNIZED THIS EVENING FOR THEIR ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS.

WE HAVE EIGHT RISD SENIORS WHO HAVE RECENTLY BEEN NAMED NATIONAL MERIT SEMIFINALISTS.

[00:05:05]

THESE ARE AMONG 16,000 NATIONAL SEMIFINALISTS, REPRESENTING FEWER THAN 1% OF ALL SENIORS ACROSS THE COUNTRY WHO WILL BE COMPETING NOW FOR SOME OVER 7100 NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARSHIPS, WORTH NEARLY $28 MILLION THAT WILL BE AWARDED LATER THIS SPRING. SO WE ARE GOING TO JOIN TOGETHER TO CELEBRATE THESE NATIONAL MERIT SEMIFINALISTS FROM THE CLASS OF 20 2025.

SO I'M GOING TO ASK YOU TO COME FORWARD.

AND OUR FIRST CELEBRATION IS FOR CONNOR REED LAKE HIGHLANDS HIGH SCHOOL.

CONNOR MALL FROM PEARCE HIGH SCHOOL.

YES. CONNOR'S.

AND WE HAVE JUSTIN KESSLER FROM PEARCE HIGH SCHOOL.

SAMUEL CRAIG, ALSO FROM PEARCE HIGH SCHOOL.

ANDREW BALLARD FROM BERKNER HIGH SCHOOL.

WE HAVE BENJAMIN LAY FROM RICHARDSON HIGH SCHOOL.

AND SADIQ OKTAR, ALSO FROM RICHARDSON HIGH SCHOOL.

WE ALSO HAD ADA BARTON FROM RICHARDSON HIGH SCHOOL WHO COULDN'T BE HERE THIS EVENING, BUT WE WILL MAKE SURE THAT THEY GET THEIR RECOGNITION.

WE ARE SO PROUD OF THESE STUDENTS AND WISH THEM THE BEST OF LUCK AS THEY CONTINUE IN THEIR PURSUIT OF THESE IMPORTANT SCHOLARSHIP MONIES.

SO YES, WE WANT TO GET A PICTURE.

YES.

CONGRATULATIONS.

WE ARE SO EXCITED TO CONTINUE TO SUPPORT YOU IN YOUR CONTINUED SCHOLARSHIP FOR, FOR THE SPRING AND HOPEFULLY WELCOMING YOU BACK FOR CONTINUED RECOGNITION. OKAY.

AND FINALLY, WE HAVE ONE ADDITIONAL STUDENT RECOGNITION THIS EVENING.

I'M REALLY EXCITED TO SHARE THAT ARIANA SANCHEZ.

ON AUGUST 20TH, WAS RECOGNIZED AT THE GARLAND CITY COUNCIL MEETING AS A PARTICIPANT ON THE GARLAND YOUTH COUNCIL.

SHE IS THE ONLY STUDENT REPRESENTING RICHARDSON ISD ON THE YOUTH COUNCIL.

SO WE ARE SO PROUD OF HER LEADERSHIP, AND I WANT TO ALSO GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO HER MOM, WHO I KNOW IS REALLY PROUD, ADRIANNA SANCHEZ. AND SHE WORKS IN STRATEGY AND ENGAGEMENT, SO WE'RE REALLY PROUD OF ADRIANNA.

CONGRATULATIONS. AND BEFORE WE CONCLUDE THE RECOGNITIONS PORTION THIS EVENING, I KNOW WE HAVE MANY PARENTS AND TEACHERS AND COMMUNITY HERE TO SUPPORT THESE STUDENTS. IF YOU COULD PLEASE STAND SO WE COULD RECOGNIZE YOU.

AND THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT.

YES. THANK YOU.

CONGRATULATIONS. YES.

AND THAT WILL CONCLUDE OUR RECOGNITIONS FOR THIS EVENING.

THANK YOU TO OUR AMAZING COMMUNITY, STUDENTS AND STAFF WHO ARE RECOGNIZED THIS EVENING.

WE APPRECIATE YOU AND ARE SO PROUD OF YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS.

YES, THIS IS FOR THE RECORD.

OKAY, WE WILL MOVE INTO PUBLIC COMMENTS.

THE NEXT ITEM ON OUR AGENDA IS FOR THE REGULAR PUBLIC COMMENT SECTION, MISS MCGOWAN.

[00:10:01]

WE HAVE NO COMMENTS FOR THE EVENING.

EXCELLENT. THANK YOU, MISS MCGOWAN.

[III. CONSENT / CONFIRMATION AGENDA ITEMS]

DOES ANYONE WISH TO PULL ANY CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS FOR SEPARATE CONSIDERATION? OKAY. SEEING NONE, IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA? SO MOVED. OKAY.

MISS HARRIS, THANK YOU.

IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND. THANK YOU, MISS TIMMY.

ARE THERE ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS FOR THE CONSENT AGENDA? OKAY. THANK YOU.

HEARING NONE. ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND.

ALL RIGHT. THAT IS SEVEN ZERO IN SUPPORT OF THE MOTION.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

OKAY, THE NEXT ITEM ON OUR AGENDA IS TO ADOPT THE TAX RATE FOR 2024-2025.

[IV.A. Consider Adoption of Tax Rate]

OUR PUBLISHED NOTICE OF THAT MEETING AS REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAW.

AND DURING THAT MEETING, WE EXPLAINED THE TAX RATE THE BOARD WOULD CONSIDER IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 44.004 OF THE TEXAS EDUCATION CODE.

MRS. BRANUM, I UNDERSTAND THAT DAVID PATE IS ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT FOR FINANCE, SUPERINTENDENT OF FINANCE AND SUPPORT SERVICES, HAS PREPARED A BRIEF PRESENTATION FOR PROPOSED TAX RATE.

THANK YOU, PRESIDENT POTEET.

I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO MR. PATE TO PROVIDE THIS ANNUAL UPDATE.

THANK YOU, MRS. BRANUM.

MR. POTEET. YES.

SO TONIGHT'S WHOOPS.

I'M HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THE CLICKER.

THERE IT GOES.

JUST START OUT WITH A FEW FACTS ABOUT PROPERTY TAXES FOR YOU FROM OUR CERTIFIED TAX ROLL.

WE HAVE 69,143 PARCELS, AND 81% OF THOSE ARE RESIDENTIAL PARCELS.

AND ANOTHER 18% ROUGHLY OUR COMMERCIAL PARCEL PARCELS.

HOWEVER, THE ACTUAL CERTIFIED TAXABLE VALUE IS SPLIT ALMOST 50/50 BETWEEN RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL PROPERTY.

I'D ALSO LIKE TO POINT OUT THAT 28% OF OUR RESIDENTIAL ACCOUNTS, HAVE AN OVER 65 LEVY FREEZE.

THIS IS THE SAME AS LAST YEAR, AND IT'S BEEN OUR TREND FOR ABOUT THE LAST FIVE YEARS.

AND THEN APPROXIMATELY 78% OF PROPERTY IN THE DISTRICT WAS REAPPRAISED THIS YEAR BY THE DALLAS CENTRAL APPRAISAL DISTRICT, AND THAT FLUCTUATES FROM YEAR TO YEAR.

THEY TEND TO LOOK AT PROPERTIES, OR THEIR ACTUAL PLAN FOR PROPERTIES IS TO REVIEW PROPERTIES THAT ARE ABOVE 105% AND BELOW 95% OF EXPECTED MARKET VALUE.

SO I WANTED TO GIVE YOU A QUICK TAX RATE COMPARISON.

SO FOR 23-24 STARTING WITH THE MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS PORTION OF THE TAX RATE, IT'S MADE UP OF TWO PARTS.

WE HAVE THE TIER ONE RATE OR THE MAXIMUM COMPRESSED RATE.

AND LAST YEAR THAT WAS 65.4 FOR $0.08.

AND THIS IS THE TAX RATE THAT T SETS FOR US EVERY YEAR.

WE IN AUGUST WE TURN IN INFORMATION FROM THE CERTIFIED TAX ROLL, AND THEN THE STATE SENDS US BACK WHAT OUR RATE IS.

AND THERE'S A RANGE THAT ALL DISTRICTS TIER ONE RATES HAVE TO FALL INTO.

SO YOU CAN SEE THAT FOR 2324 OUR TIER ONE RATE WAS 65.4 $0.08.

THIS YEAR IT IS 61.6 $0.09.

AND THAT IS THE FLOOR FOR 2425 TAX RATES.

THAT IS THE LOWEST RATE WE CAN SET FOR THE TIER ONE PORTION OF THE RATE.

THE MAXIMUM THAT ANY DISTRICT COULD SET WOULD BE 68.5 $0.05.

YOU THEN SEE THE TIER TWO PORTION OF THE TAX RATE, THAT 13.8 $0.03.

AND THAT IS PRIMARILY THE PORTION OF THE TAX RATE THAT THE VOTERS APPROVED BACK IN 2018 FOR THE TREE. AND THEN YOU ADD THOSE TWO TOGETHER AND YOU GET THE TAX RATE THAT IS BEFORE YOU TONIGHT OF 75.5 $0.02.

THAT IS A DECREASE FROM LAST YEAR OF 3.7 $0.09.

AND YOU'LL ALSO SEE THERE ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE THAT WHEN WE WERE IN THE PROCESS OF DRAFTING THE BUDGET AND WHEN YOU ADOPTED THE BUDGET BACK IN JUNE, THE ESTIMATE WAS THAT

[00:15:06]

BUT JUST REMEMBER THAT THE STATE NEEDS ALL OF THE DISTRICT'S TAX ROLL DATA IN AUGUST THAT WE HAVE TO SUBMIT.

AND THEY TELL US AND THEY THEN TELL US THE MCCOY OR MAXIMUM COMPRESSED RATE.

AND SO THOSE WERE JUST ESTIMATES WHEN WE ADOPTED THE BUDGET BACK IN JUNE, THE INTEREST AND SINKING FUND OR DEBT SERVICE RATE IS $0.35, THE SAME AS LAST YEAR, AND OUR TOTAL TAX RATE IS $1 1052.

BEFORE YOU TONIGHT.

JUST AS A LITTLE NOTE THERE AT THE BOTTOM, THIS IS NOT ANY KIND OF PROPOSAL, BUT THERE ARE 3.1 $0.07 THAT THE DISTRICT COULD GO BACK TO THE VOTERS FOR. BACK IN 2018 WHEN THE VOTERS APPROVED THE TRE AND WE WENT TO A DOLLAR.

17 A IN 2019 LEGISLATIVE SESSION, THE STATE COMPRESSED THAT.

NOT ONLY DID THEY COMPRESS THE TIER ONE PORTION OF THE RATE, BUT THEY COMPRESSED THE PORTION THAT OUR VOTERS HAD ALREADY APPROVED FOR US.

SO JUST A LITTLE PROPERTY TAX RATE HISTORY, YOU CAN SEE GOING BACK TO 0506, THAT'S THE LAST YEAR THAT DISTRICTS WERE AT A DOLLAR MAXIMUM RATE OF $1.50.

AND THEY STARTED COMPRESSING THEN FROM A TO $1.33 DOWN TO $1 FOUR.

WE STAYED AT $1.04 UNTIL 18-19.

AND THEN YOU CAN SEE THE DROPS THERE.

COMING OUT OF THE 2019 LEGISLATIVE SESSION WHEN THE COMPRESSION OF THE TAX RATE WAS HAPPENING.

AND THEN FINALLY, JUST A REMINDER THAT THE M&O OR EXCUSE ME, THE MOTION LANGUAGE FOR YOU TO APPROVE THE MAKE THE MOTION TO APPROVE THE TAX RATE TONIGHT HAS SOME CONFUSING LANGUAGE IN IT THAT'S KIND OF CONTRADICTS WHAT I JUST SAID.

AND THAT MOTION LANGUAGE INCLUDES A STATEMENT THAT I MOVE, THAT THE PROPERTY TAX BE INCREASED BY THE ADOPTION OF A TAX RATE OF $1 1052, WHICH IS EFFECTIVELY A 7.58 CENT INCREASE.

AND YOU SAY BUT, DAVID, DIDN'T YOU JUST SAY THAT THE TAX RATE IS GOING DOWN 3.7 $0.09.

AND I DID THIS CALCULATION IS SPECIFICALLY REQUIRED BY SECTION 2605 OF THE TAX CODE, AND THE CALCULATION IS MADE BY COMPARING THE DOLLAR 1052 TO THE NO NEW REVENUE TAX RATE, WHICH IS JUST A CALCULATED RATE THAT IS NOT USED ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE TAX RATE PROCESS OR THE BUDGET ADOPTION PROCESS.

SO JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY THAT FOR EVERYONE THAT WHILE THE TAX RATE IS LOWER, YOU HAVE TO SAY IT'S INCREASING.

AND WITH THAT I'LL BE GLAD TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.

THANK YOU, MR. PATE, FOR THAT ENLIGHTENING PRESENTATION ON THE CALCULATION OF OUR TAX RATE IN REQUIRED LANGUAGE THUS FAR.

AND WITH THAT, I DO RECOMMEND THAT THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES SET THE 2024 TAX RATE AS DESCRIBED IN THE RESOLUTION PROVIDED.

ALL RIGHT, BOARD MEMBERS, WE HAVE A RECOMMENDATION FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT TO ADOPT THE PROPOSED TAX RATE.

MAY I HAVE A MOTION? YES. I THINK THAT'S IT.

OKAY. THERE WE GO. USER ERROR.

MY BAD. I MOVE THAT THE PROPERTY TAX BE INCREASED BY THE ADOPTION OF A TAX RATE OF $1 AND 105 $0.02, WHICH IS EFFECTIVELY A SEVEN AND 58.

7.58% INCREASE IN THE TAX RATE.

AS PART OF THIS MOTION, I ALSO MOVE THAT THE DISTRICT ADOPT AN INTEREST IN SINKING FUND TAX RATE OF $0.35 PER $100 OF VALUATION AND A MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS TAX RATE OF 0.755 $0.02 PER $100 OF VALUATION FOR THE TAX, FOR A TOTAL TAX RATE OF $1 AND 105 $0.02 PER $100 OF VALUATION.

THANK YOU, MISS TIMMY, FOR THAT MOTION.

DO WE HAVE A SECOND? SECOND. THANK YOU, MR. EAGER. I HAVE RECEIVED A MOTION AND A SECOND.

DO BOARD MEMBERS HAVE QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS AT THIS TIME? OKAY. HEARING NONE AS REQUIRED BY TAX CODE, I WILL NOW POLL THE BOARD MEMBERS AND A ROLL CALL VOTE STARTING ON MY RIGHT.

WE MUST ADOPT OUR TAX RATE BY AT LEAST A 60% MAJORITY VOTE.

[00:20:04]

MISS HARRIS. YES.

MISS MCGOWAN.

YES. MISS MS. RENTERÍA. YES.

MR. EAGER. YES.

MISS TIMMY. YES.

AND MISS PACHECO.

YES. AND I, CHRIS POTEET, ALSO VOTE YES.

THE MOTION PASSES SEVEN ZERO.

THANK YOU. OUR NEXT ACTION ITEM IS TO CONSIDER GIFTS.

[IV.B. Consider Gifts]

THANK YOU. BOARD. YES.

WE ARE ALWAYS SO GRATEFUL TO OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS AND THOSE IN OUR COMMUNITY THAT JUST GIVE TO OUR CAMPUSES AND AGAIN, SOMETIMES PROVIDE THAT RESOURCE, THAT OPPORTUNITY, THAT EXPERIENCE, THAT MAYBE ESPECIALLY WITH OUR CURRENT BUDGET RESTRICTIONS THAT WE ARE NOT ABLE TO PROVIDE.

SO JUST SEND MAJOR GRATITUDE TO THEM.

AND WITH THAT, I'VE ASKED MR. PATE TO PROVIDE A REPORT OF GIFTS THAT WE'VE RECEIVED OF $5,000 OR MORE.

THANK YOU, MRS. BRANUM.

I'M HAPPY TO PRESENT GIFTS RECEIVED THIS MONTH.

WE HAVE TWO GIFTS OVER $5,000 SUBMITTED FOR BOARD APPROVAL.

THE CANYON CREEK ELEMENTARY PTA DONATED $15,000 TO CANYON CREEK ELEMENTARY, AND THE MERRIMAN PARK ELEMENTARY PTA DONATED $114,000 TO MERRIMAN PARK ELEMENTARY FOR A TOTAL OF $129,000, AND WE HAVE TEN GIFTS, LESS THAN $5,000 FROM A VARIETY OF SOURCES TO CAMPUSES ACROSS THE DISTRICT, TOTALING $11,125.34, WHICH ARE SUBMITTED FOR THE BOARD'S INFORMATION.

TOTAL GIFTS THIS MONTH ARE $140,125.34.

THANK YOU, MR. PATE.

BOARD. DO I HAVE A MOTION? SO MOVED. I'M SORRY. AND BEFORE WE MAKE THAT MOTION, IF I COULD.

SUPERINTENDENT, DO YOU HAVE A RECOMMENDATION? YEAH. I LOVE THAT YOU WANT TO.

I LOVE THAT YOU DO.

YEAH, I KNOW THAT WAS AMAZING.

OLD HAT. AND WITH THAT BOARD, I DO ASK THAT THE BOARD APPROVE GIFTS OF $5,000 OR GREATER AS PRESENTED.

THANK YOU FOR THAT RECOMMENDATION.

IS THERE A MOTION? BOARD. SO MOVED.

THANK YOU. MR. EAGER.

IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND. MS. RENTERÍA. RIGHT.

THANK YOU. OKAY.

BOARD. ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ON THIS MOTION? OKAY. ALL RIGHT.

NOT HEARING ANY. ALL IN FAVOR OF THIS MOTION, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND.

OKAY. I HAVE SEVEN NOTHING IN SUPPORT OF THAT MOTION.

THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT.

[IV.C. Consider Renewal of Staff Development Waiver]

MRS BRANUM. THANK YOU.

YES. THIS IS AN ANNUAL ITEM THAT WE BRING FORWARD TO THE BOARD.

AND AS YOU KNOW, THE BOARD, THE STATE SEVERAL YEARS AGO TRANSITIONED FROM REQUIRING A CERTAIN NUMBER OF INSTRUCTIONAL DAYS TO MOVING TO A REQUIRED NUMBER OF MINUTES.

HOWEVER, THEY STILL ALLOW DISTRICTS THE FLEXIBILITY OF USING SOME OF THEIR MINUTES TO ALLOW AN ACCOUNT FOR STAFF DEVELOPMENT DAYS.

THEY RECOGNIZE HOW IMPORTANT IT IS THAT WE HELP PREPARE OUR STAFF.

AND SO THEY DO ALLOW US TO COUNT UP TO 2100 MINUTES AS PART OF THAT 75,600 MINUTES.

AND SO THIS IS A WAIVER THAT WE BRING FORWARD TO YOU.

IF APPROVED BY THE BOARD, THEN MR. HASSO GETS THE HONOR OF SUBMITTING IT INTO TEAL.

THE STATE APPROVES IT. AND THEN BASICALLY WE START THE YEAR ALREADY WITH 2100 MINUTES BEFORE THE FIRST STUDENT OR FOR THE FIRST INSTRUCTIONAL DAY.

MR.. HASSO, IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADD? I KNOW THAT YOU'VE CAPTURED IT PRETTY WELL.

AWESOME. WITH THAT, I WOULD LIKE TO RECOMMEND THAT THE BOARD AUTHORIZE THE DISTRICT TO SEEK A WAIVER TO PROVIDE THE MAXIMUM OF 2100 MINUTES OF STUDENT INSTRUCTION THAT CAN BE USED FOR MEANINGFUL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE 2425 SCHOOL YEAR.

THANK YOU, MISS BRANUM BOARD.

CAN I GET A MOTION? SO MOVED.

OKAY. MISS PACHECO, IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND. MISS HARRIS.

THANK YOU.

BOARD. ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ON THIS ITEM? OKAY WITH THAT.

ALL IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND.

ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU.

SEVEN ZERO IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION.

OUR NEXT ITEM IS AN ACTION ITEM.

[IV.D. Consider Class - Size Waivers]

MISS BRANUM.

THANK YOU.

YES. WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO KIND OF PROVIDING THE COMMUNITY WITH AN UPDATE ON WHERE WE SIT WITH ENROLLMENT.

I'M HAPPY TO SAY THERE IS SOME POSITIVE NEWS IN THAT.

OUR ENROLLMENT CURRENTLY IS EXCEEDING WHAT THE DEMOGRAPHER PROJECTED.

[00:25:01]

SO IT'S KIND OF A NICE COMBINATION OF INFORMATION.

AND TONIGHT I'VE ASKED DR.

GIBBONS TO LEAD US IN A PRESENTATION TO PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION TO YOU.

DR. GIVENS. YES.

THANK YOU, SUPERINTENDENT BRANUM.

GOOD EVENING. BOARD. JUST A WE JUST HAVE A COUPLE OF SLIDES HERE FOR A QUICK PRESENTATION AROUND ENROLLMENT OVERFLOW AND THE WAIVER UPDATE.

AND AS MISS BRANUM SAID, IF YOU COULD GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE FOR ME, PLEASE HERE OUR HERE'S OUR CURRENT ENROLLMENT.

NOW THIS IS AS OF THE 16TH.

SO WE KNOW THAT IT FLUCTUATES.

IT CAN FLUCTUATE QUITE A BIT DEPENDING UPON THE DAY AND THE WEEK.

BUT THIS IS WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW.

YOU CAN GO BACK. THANK YOU.

AT 36,819.

AND YOU CAN SEE THE HISTORICAL COMPARISONS THERE FROM THE LAST THREE YEARS.

NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN IN RICHARDSON, BUT I HEAR FROM PEOPLE THAT ARE NOT ALWAYS FROM RICHARDSON THAT THIS IS SOMETHING UNIQUE THAT WE HAVE AS A DISTRICT.

AND SO IT'S A IT'S A SOLID SYSTEM, BUT IT IS SOMETHING THAT'S FAIRLY UNIQUE TO RICHARDSON.

IT'S OUR OVERFLOW.

AND THIS HAS THE DEFINITION.

AND IT'S BASICALLY WHEN WE HAVE WHEN WE HAVE CLASSROOMS THAT ARE OVER THE CAP OF 22 223 WITH WITH THE WAIVER DISCUSSION.

IF WE GO OVER THAT, THEN WE HAVE A PROCESS FOR OVERFLOWING FAMILIES, A ONE STUDENT, TWO STUDENTS, WHATEVER THE CASE MAY BE TO THE TO THE MOST APPROPRIATE SCHOOL CLOSEST TO WHERE THEIR HOME SCHOOL IS.

AND SO, AS YOU CAN SEE THERE ON THE CURRENT OVERFLOW RIGHT NOW, WE HAVE AS OF THE DATE OF THIS PRESENTATION, 178 OVERFLOW ENROLLED STUDENTS.

YOU CAN ALSO SEE THE HIGHEST CONCENTRATION.

SO WHO'S SENDING THEM OUT AND WHO'S RECEIVING THEM.

AND YOU CAN SEE THAT WHAT CAMPUSES THOSE ARE.

AND THEN YOU CAN SEE FROM A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE WHERE WE HAVE BEEN IN THE PAST.

SO YOU CAN SEE A LITTLE BIT WE'RE A LITTLE BIT HIGHER.

FROM 2023.

BUT WE'RE STILL AT A VERY MANAGEABLE PLACE.

AND I THINK WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO MAKE GOOD DECISIONS AROUND THAT AND NOT HAVE TO REALLY PUT FAMILIES OUT OF JUST OUT OF THEIR COMFORT ZONE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.

SO THAT'S KIND OF WHERE WE ARE WITH OVERFLOW.

IF I CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

THIS IS THE PART OF THE REQUIRED PIECE FOR THE BOARD.

IT'S OUR WAIVERS.

SO I WON'T READ ALL OF THIS TO YOU.

BUT REALLY, AT THE BEGINNING OF EACH YEAR, WE'RE REQUIRED TO SUBMIT A WAIVER TO TIA THAT DESCRIBES WHERE, WHERE AND WHAT CAMPUSES WE HAVE THAT ARE OVER THE 22 22 TO 1 AND WHAT WE'RE WHAT WE'RE DOING WITH THAT.

SO YOU SHOULD HAVE A PIECE OF PAPER OR A DOCUMENT INCLUDED IN THE, IN THE, IN YOUR PACKET THAT SHARES THE SPECIFIC CAMPUSES AND GRADE LEVELS OF WHERE WE ARE.

BUT RIGHT NOW WE WE'RE AT 43 WAIVERS THAT WE'RE REQUESTING.

AND AS MISS BRANUM SAID, WE'RE DOWN FROM I THINK IT WAS 56, 55, SOMETHING LIKE THAT LAST YEAR.

SO WE ARE DOWN ON OUR ON OUR CLASSROOM WAIVERS, WHICH IS A GOOD THING.

I WILL SAY THAT THAT SECOND PARAGRAPH THERE WITH THE AREA SUPERINTENDENTS AND THE COLLABORATION WHEN WE WHEN PROJECT RIGHT SIZE WAS GOING ON AND WE KNEW THAT THERE WAS GOING TO BE A LOT OF WORK THAT NEEDED TO BE DONE.

WE STARTED ENROLLMENT MEETINGS VERY EARLY ON IN THE SPRING SEMESTER WITH EVERYBODY THAT NEEDED TO BE INVOLVED.

THOSE OF YOU WHO'VE BEEN ON THE SECOND FLOOR CONFERENCE ROOM, YOU KNOW HOW MANY CHAIRS AND HOW BIG THAT TABLE IS, OR IT WAS FULL.

WE HAD EVERYONE THAT NEEDED TO BE THERE FROM ALL OUR SPECIAL PROGRAMING TO OUR AREA SUPERINTENDENTS, MRS, BRANUM, AND WE TRIED TO MAKE AS PROACTIVE AND CONCRETE DECISIONS AS WE COULD AROUND WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE, BECAUSE WE KNOW THIS AFFECTS FAMILIES.

SO RIGHT NOW, THAT'S WHERE WE ARE WITH OUR WAIVERS.

AND IF THE BOARD APPROVES, WE'LL SUBMIT THIS TO TO T AND MOVE FORWARD.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU, DR.

GIBBONS. AND WITH THAT, I DO RECOMMEND THAT THE BOARD AUTHORIZE OUR ADMINISTRATIVE TEAM TO SEEK A CLASS SIZE EXCEPTION FOR THE 43 SECTIONS THAT EXCEED THE CLASS SIZE LIMIT ESTABLISHED BY THE STATE.

THANK YOU FOR THAT RECOMMENDATION AND BOARD.

DO I HAVE A MOTION? SO MOVED. ALL RIGHT.

MISS TIMMY. THANK YOU.

DO I HAVE A SECOND? SECOND. OKAY.

MR. EAGER. THANK YOU.

BOARD. ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS IN RELATION TO THIS? YES, MISS TIMMY. I HAVE A COUPLE.

JUST I WANTED TO.

SO WE'RE SUBMITTING LESS WAIVERS, RIGHT? AND I DID WANT TO JUST ADDRESS A LITTLE BIT AND JUST COME BACK TO, LIKE, PROJECT RIGHT SIZE.

LIKE, ARE WE SEEING IMPACT FROM THAT? IT IS IT IS A TESTAMENT TO PROJECTIONS THAT WE HAVE FAR LESS WAIVERS.

YES, MA'AM. AFTER DOING SOME MAJOR RESHUFFLING, AND I JUST WANTED TO BRING THAT BACK TO PROJECT RIGHT SIZING TO SEE IF THERE'S ANY DISRUPTION BASED ON THAT.

YES. YES, MA'AM.

AND I THINK, AGAIN, WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE ALREADY KNEW THAT THIS WAS A DISRUPTIVE CHANGE.

AND SO WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT AS FAMILIES WERE MOVING TO A NEW SCHOOL, THAT WE COULD PROVIDE THAT STABILITY, THAT WE COMMITTED TO, THAT YOU ALL COMMITTED AND CHARGED US WITH

[00:30:03]

GIBBONS MENTIONED, WE REALLY STARTED ACTUALLY OUR ENROLLMENT MEETINGS LIKE IN MAY.

AND SO AS WE WOULD IDENTIFY THAT THERE WAS CLASSROOMS, THAT WE SAW A TREND WHERE POTENTIALLY WE WERE GOING TO HAVE MORE STUDENTS THAN WE HAD ALLOCATIONS.

WE WERE ABLE TO MOVE THOSE ALLOCATIONS MUCH EARLIER THAN WE NORMALLY DO TO ALLOW FOR THAT GROWTH IN THAT ENROLLMENT, AND MAKE SURE WE WERE NOT BRINGING TO YOU A LONGER LIST OF CLASS SIZE WAIVERS.

WE HEARD LOUD AND CLEAR IN THE TOWN HALL MEETINGS HOW IMPORTANT IT WAS TO THOSE COMMUNITIES IMPACTED BY PROJECT RIGHT SIZE, THAT THEY DID NOT SEE A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THOSE CLASS SIZES.

AND THROUGH OUR FAQS AND THROUGH INDIVIDUAL CORRESPONDENCE WE WE WE PROMISED THAT WE WOULD DO OUR BEST.

AND SO I'M VERY PROUD OF THE TEAM FOR ENSURING THAT WE DELIVERED ON THAT PROMISE.

ABSOLUTELY. IT IS NOTHING LIKE TRYING TO PREDICT ENROLLMENT IS IT'S SO HARD.

IT'S HARD AND ALLOCATIONS AND ALL OF THOSE THINGS.

AND SO YOU GUYS I KNOW DID A LOT OF DILIGENT WORK.

AND I THINK YOU GUYS DID A GREAT JOB.

JUST ANOTHER COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.

JUST BECAUSE WE ASKED FOR A CLASS A CLASS WAIVER.

RIGHT NOW, A CLASS MAY BE OVER ONE, OR IT MAY BE OVER TWO, OR HERE AND THERE.

AND THEN THERE'S USUALLY SOME ATTRITION AS TIME GOES ON.

SO THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT ALTHOUGH THEY MAY BE OVER BY 1 OR 2 AND WE'RE NOT TALKING OVER BY 6 OR 10 OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, BUT THAT MAY CORRECT ITSELF EVEN THOUGH THAT WAIVER WOULD STILL BE IN PLACE.

AND THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR SAYING THIS.

AND, DR. GIBBONS, PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG.

WE WORK VERY HARD THAT FOR ANY OF THESE CLASS SIZE WAIVERS, WE REALLY DO TRY TO LIMIT IT TO JUST ONE STUDENT.

AND AGAIN, WE WORK WITH THAT TEACHER AND THAT PRINCIPAL SO THAT THAT NUMBER DOES NOT INFLATE.

AND ABSOLUTELY OVER THE COURSE OF A YEAR, WE COULD SEE ATTRITION AT ANY TIME.

AND WE DON'T BACKFILL THAT IN ANY WAY.

WE THEN SAY NO, THAT CLASS IS THAT CLASS SECTION IS FULL.

AND THEN ALSO I JUST WANT TO GIVE A SHOUT OUT, I DO THIS EVERY YEAR, BUT I'M GOING TO KEEP DOING IT BECAUSE I HAD HAD THIS HAPPEN TO ME AND BEEN THE RECIPIENT OF.

BUT I KNOW THAT MICHAEL FREEMAN DOES A REALLY GOOD JOB OF THE PUZZLE PIECE THAT IT IS TO GET ALL OF THESE KIDS WHO ARE OVERFLOWED, BUT ALSO TO THE DISTRICT I THINK DOES A REALLY GOOD JOB OF WHEN THOSE SPOTS OPEN UP GIVING, LIKE REALLY PUTTING THE CHILD'S BEST INTEREST FIRST BY SAYING YOU CAN EITHER STAY HERE, YOU CAN GO BACK, YOUR SIBLINGS CAN STAY HERE. REALLY, CONSIDERING THE WHOLE CHILD, THE EFFECT ON THE FAMILY TO THE BEST WE CAN, EVEN THOUGH IT'S A DISRUPTION.

BUT TO YOUR STAFF, TO MR. FREEMAN AND THE WHOLE GROUP THAT DOES THAT.

THANK YOU GUYS FOR THAT.

YES, DEFINITELY.

I WANT TO THANK MR. FREEMAN, AND I ALSO WANT TO A LOT OF TIMES THAT OVERFLOW NUMBER IS ACTUALLY THE THE NUMBER.

IT IS BECAUSE WE ALSO ALLOW SIBLINGS.

WE DO NOT WANT TO ASK PARENTS.

WE KNOW ADDING MULTIPLE DROP OFFS CAN BE VERY CHALLENGING.

AND SO WE DO TRY TO WORK WITH THE FAMILY.

AND SO SOMETIMES WE'RE ACTUALLY OVERFLOWING.

THAT NUMBER MAY LOOK HIGHER THAN WHAT IT ACTUALLY WOULD BE IF YOU JUST LOOKED AT THE CLASS SIZES VERSUS WHEN WE'RE ALSO ALLOWING A WHOLE FAMILY TO MOVE, IF THAT MAKES ABSOLUTELY WITH WITH OVER 36,000 STUDENTS, TO BE ABLE TO REALLY LOOK AT STUDENTS INDIVIDUALLY, UNDERSTAND THE FAMILY DYNAMICS OF THAT OF THE SPLITTING UP OF THE TRANSPORTATION ISSUES AND ALL OF THAT.

AND TAKING THAT INTO CONSIDERATION.

FIRST, I THINK SAYS A LOT ABOUT HOW OUR DISTRICT APPROACHES OUR STUDENTS.

THANK YOU, MISS TIMMY.

YES, MR. MS. RENTERÍA. I JUST HAD A QUICK QUESTION ON THE OVERFLOW OR THE WAIVER FOR THE OVERFLOW.

IS THERE ANY SPECIFIC GROUPS? I MEAN, THAT IS A GENERAL EDITOR OR DOES IT DO YOU SEE IT PRIMARILY LIKE BILINGUAL OR SPECIAL ED, OR IS IT JUST GENERALLY ACROSS THE BOARD? YES, MA'AM. THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION.

OUR CURRENT OVERFLOW, LIKE THE CONCENTRATION OF SENDING AND RECEIVING, OVER 90% OF THEM ARE BILINGUAL STUDENTS.

AND SO WE'VE HAD AGAIN, ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WE STARTED MEETING IN MAY WAS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAD SOME, AS BEST WE COULD, HAVE SOME SOLID SYSTEMS IN PLACE TO KEEP KIDS WHERE THEY COULD BE FOR THE LONGEST AMOUNT OF TIME.

WE OUR BILINGUAL PROGRAMS ARE GROWING, OUR BILINGUAL POPULATION IS GROWING, AND SO THIS IS VERY EVIDENT OF THAT.

BUT AGAIN, AS MISS TIMMY SAID WHEN WE WERE TRYING TO MAKE THOSE DECISIONS, WE DEFINITELY WANTED TO INCLUDE THE ENTIRE FAMILY AND MAKE SURE THAT WE HAD SOME JUST SOME SPECIFICITY AROUND THAT. SO, YES, MA'AM, IT'S A HIGH RATE OF OUR BILINGUAL OR BILINGUAL STUDENTS, AND OUR GOAL IS ALWAYS WHEN THAT TEAM IS LOOKING AT THE ENROLLMENT, OUR OUR GOAL IS, IF POSSIBLE, IF WE CAN ADD ANOTHER SECTION SO WE DON'T HAVE TO OVERFLOW ANY FAMILIES.

THAT'S OUR GOAL.

AND SOMETIMES WE'RE LEFT WITH A SITUATION WHERE MAYBE WE COULD FIND A CLASSROOM, BUT IT'S THEN FINDING THE TEACHER.

AND ESPECIALLY A LOT OF TIMES OUR OVERFLOW DOESN'T HAPPEN UNTIL THAT SECOND OR THIRD WEEK OF SCHOOL.

AND SO AT THAT POINT, THEN REALLY, IT'S EVEN MORE DIFFICULT AND MORE CHALLENGING TO FIND THAT CERTIFIED TEACHER, WHETHER IT'S ON THE GEN ED OR THE BILINGUAL SIDE.

BUT REALLY, OUR BILINGUAL EDUCATORS, IT'S EVEN HARDER TO FIND.

SO THEN WHAT WE TRY TO DO IS THEN USE THIS ENROLLMENT TO DETERMINE FOR THE NEXT SCHOOL YEAR AHEAD OF TIME.

SO IN THE SPRING, WE'LL WORK WITH HR TO MAKE SURE WE ADJUST THOSE ALLOCATIONS ACCORDINGLY, SO THAT WE CAN GIVE THOSE FAMILIES AN OPPORTUNITY IF THEY WANT TO RETURN TO

[00:35:08]

BUT WE DO ADJUST THOSE ALLOCATIONS SO WE CAN TRY TO RETURN AS MANY HOME AS POSSIBLE IF THEY SO CHOOSE.

GREAT. THANK YOU.

MS. RENTERÍA. ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM THE BOARD? OKAY. ALL RIGHT.

WITH THAT, CAN I PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU SUPPORT THE MOTION AS PRESENTED? OKAY. THAT'S SEVEN ZERO IN SUPPORT.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

THE NEXT ITEM ON OUR AGENDA IS TO CONSIDER THE RESOLUTION ON THE VITAL ROLE OF PUBLIC SCHOOL EDUCATORS AND STAFF.

[IV.E. Consider Resolution on Vital Role of Public School Educators and Staff]

THANK YOU. REALLY, WE ARE BRINGING THIS FORWARD AS MISS MORRIS IS DOING A PHENOMENAL JOB AND BEGINNING TO SPEARHEAD OUR EFFORTS TOWARDS OUR LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES.

ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE ARE REALLY GAINING SOME SYNERGY ACROSS THE NORTH TEXAS REGION AROUND THIS NOTION OF ADEQUATELY FUNDING, FULLY FUNDING PUBLIC EDUCATION IS NOT JUST ABOUT THE SYSTEM OF EDUCATION, BUT IT'S ABOUT ENSURING THAT WE HAVE THE MOST HIGH QUALITY TEACHERS IN OUR CLASSROOMS IN FRONT OF OUR STUDENTS.

AND AGAIN, YOU ALL TOOK SOME, SOME BOLD MOVES IN THE SPRING TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT.

BUT WE WANT TO KEEP AFFIRMING THAT, AND WE WANT TO KEEP THAT CONVERSATION OUT IN FRONT OF OUR LEGISLATORS SO THAT AS THEY ARE, YOU KNOW, BEGINNING TO THINK ABOUT BILLS THAT THEY WANT TO MOVE FORWARD THINGS THAT THEY ARE GOING TO SUPPORT THAT FIRST AND FOREMOST, WE JUST KEEP SAYING TO THEM, OUR TEACHERS MATTER.

AND TO REMIND OUR LEGISLATORS, TO REMIND OUR COMMUNITY THAT WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ADEQUATELY FUNDING PUBLIC ED, WE ARE TALKING ABOUT ENSURING THAT WE HAVE THE BEST TEACHERS SO THAT WE CAN HAVE THE BEST OUTCOMES FOR STUDENTS.

AND SO THAT IS REALLY A PART OF THIS.

THIS AGAIN, TO REMIND EVERYONE, THIS IS EVEN A PART OF TEA AND THE GOVERNOR'S OWN TASK FORCE AROUND TEACHER RECRUITING, RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION.

SO THIS IS A PART OF AUSTIN'S PRIORITIES AS WELL.

AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE A PRIORITY AND TO SAY, HEY, WE AGREE ON THIS.

NOW LET'S MAKE THIS HAPPEN IS SOMETHING WE ARE HOPEFUL CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE AS WE MOVE INTO THE NEXT LEGISLATIVE SESSION.

SO WITH THAT, I DO ASK THAT THE BOARD SUPPORT OUR RESOLUTION REGARDING THE VITAL, VITAL ROLE OF PUBLIC SCHOOL EDUCATORS AND STAFF IN THE STATE OF TEXAS.

THANK YOU FOR THAT RECOMMENDATION.

BOARD. DO WE HAVE A MOTION? SO MOVE.

ALL RIGHT, MISS HARRIS.

THANK YOU. IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND. MR. EAGER. THANK YOU.

ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ON THIS RESOLUTION? YES. MR. EAGER.

YOU KNOW, AGAIN, I THINK IT'S JUST YOU KNOW, I WANT TO KEEP REMINDING EVERYONE.

LAST LEGISLATIVE SESSION, THEY HAD A I THINK IT WAS APPROXIMATELY $35 BILLION SURPLUS.

AND, YOU KNOW, HOW MANY DOLLARS WENT TO PUBLIC EDUCATION? MAIMONA, I GUESS ZERO $0 WENT TO PUBLIC EDUCATION.

THEY'RE PROJECTING, I THINK, IN THIS $22 BILLION.

OKAY. $22 BILLION.

AND IT IS A FUNDAMENTAL CONSTITUTIONAL, YOU KNOW, RESPONSIBILITY TO PUBLICLY, YOU KNOW, TO FUND PUBLIC EDUCATION.

SO JUST KEEP THAT IN MIND THAT WHEN YOU IT IS FOUNDATIONAL TO OUR ENTIRE STATE AND IT SHOULD BE SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD BE VERY PROUD OF IS OUR PUBLIC EDUCATION SYSTEMS. AND YOU KNOW, AND FIRST AND FOREMOST, THEN WE GOT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THE BEST AND BRIGHTEST TEACHERS AS WELL, BECAUSE IT HELPS ALL OUR KIDS.

SO DON'T FORGET THAT IN THE COMING MONTHS, BECAUSE YOU'RE GOING TO HEAR MORE AND MORE ABOUT IT.

THANK YOU, MR. YEAGER.

ARE THERE ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR.

YES, MISS HARRIS.

JUST REAL QUICK AND SIMPLE.

I JUST WANTED TO SAY, IF I DON'T DO ANYTHING ELSE AROUND THIS HORSESHOE TONIGHT, THIS IS ABSOLUTELY ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS WE DO TONIGHT IS SUPPORT THIS RESOLUTION.

IT IS IMPORTANT.

IT IS OUR VOICE.

IT IS THE WAY WE FEEL.

IT'S THE REASON WHY I'M SITTING BACK HERE.

SO I ABSOLUTELY AGREE WITH THIS RESOLUTION AND I'M READY TO VOTE.

EXCELLENT. THANK YOU, MISS HARRIS.

ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? OKAY. WITH THAT BOARD.

ALL IN FAVOR OF THIS MOTION SUPPORT.

RAISE YOUR HAND.

THANK YOU. THAT IS SEVEN ZERO IN SUPPORT OF THE MOTION.

[00:40:02]

WE'RE GOING TO MOVE ON INTO OUR NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS AN ACTION ITEM TO CONSIDER AMENDMENTS TO THE DISTRICT OF INNOVATION PLAN.

[IV.F. Consider Amendment to District of Innovation Plan]

YEAH. AND AGAIN, LIZ MORSE, THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK ON THE RESOLUTION.

WE APPRECIATE YOU.

YES, SIR. AND THE 84TH LEGISLATURE PASSED A BILL THAT ALLOWED DISTRICTS TO SEEK CERTAIN EXCEPTIONS TO REQUIREMENTS. FOR EXAMPLE, YOU ALL PREVIOUSLY GAVE US THE ABILITY IN 2017 TO HAVE SOME FLEXIBILITY IN THE START DATE OF OUR SCHOOL CALENDAR.

AND AS DISTRICTS HAVE CONTINUED TO UNDERSTAND THE DISTRICT OF INNOVATION AND WHAT EXCEPTIONS WE MAY COME FORWARD AND ASK WE CONTINUE TO LEARN MORE AND UNDERSTAND MORE. HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING IN RICHARDSON ISD MEETS THE NEEDS OF OUR STUDENTS? RICHARDSON ISD IS DIFFERENT THAN PLANO, IS DIFFERENT THAN DALLAS IS DIFFERENT THAN LITTLE ELM.

AND WE WANT TO ENSURE THAT WHEN WE HAVE THE FLEXIBILITIES TO MEET OUR UNIQUE NEEDS WE HAVE, WE CAN DO SO.

AND SO THE TEAM HAS WORKED HARD.

IT'S A VERY THERE ARE A LOT OF PROTOCOLS THAT YOU HAVE TO FOLLOW IN A VERY STRONG SYSTEM IN ORDER TO BRING THESE FORWARD.

THERE HAS TO BE LOTS OF DIFFERENT GROUPS THAT HAVE HEARD THE REQUEST FOR THE EXEMPTIONS, GIVEN FEEDBACK, AND OUR TEAM HAS DONE A GREAT JOB IN LEADING THAT PROCESS.

AND THEY'RE GOING TO BE BRINGING THAT FORWARD TONIGHT.

AND SO I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO MR. HAAS WHO HAS LED THIS EFFORT.

OKAY. THANK YOU, MRS. BRANUM BOARD.

GOOD EVENING. THANK YOU FOR GIVING US JUST A LITTLE BIT OF TIME TO BRING AN UPDATE ON OUR ANNUAL REVIEW OF THE DISTRICT OF INNOVATION PLAN.

THE DISTRICT'S DISTRICT OF INNOVATION PLAN.

AND ALONG WITH THAT, SOME AMENDMENTS THAT WE PROPOSE TO YOU TONIGHT.

IN THIS UPDATE.

JUST SOME COMPONENTS THAT WE'RE GOING TO UPDATE YOU ON OR PROVIDE YOU INFORMATION ON COMMITTEES AND COLLABORATION.

JUST LIKE MRS. BRANUM SAID, THIS IS NOT JUST A COUPLE OF PEOPLE SITTING AROUND A TABLE.

IT WAS SEVERAL GROUPS OF PEOPLE.

A VERY BRIEF DOI OVERVIEW.

WE'RE CERTAINLY GOING TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT THE PROPOSED DOI PLAN AMENDMENTS, THE TIMELINE OF OUR WORK TO GET HERE, SOME COMMITTEE FEEDBACK.

WE HAVE A DISTRICT OF INNOVATION COMMITTEE THAT WE CERTAINLY APPRIZED OF THIS WORK.

AND THEN WE WILL ASK YOU TO CONSIDER TAKING ACTION ON THOSE AMENDMENTS.

SO IN RELATION TO THE COMMITTEE, YOU CAN SEE THE ACTUAL ROSTER OF OUR COMMITTEE THERE.

I WON'T GO AND NAME EACH INDIVIDUAL, BUT I DID WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THAT OUR COMMITTEE ROSTER INCLUDES PARENTS, TEACHERS, COMMUNITY MEMBERS.

WE HAVE A BOARD REP, AS A MATTER OF FACT, AND WE CERTAINLY INCLUDE CENTRAL OFFICE DEPARTMENTS SO THAT WE HAVE A THOROUGH REVIEW OF OUR PLAN.

THE DISTRICT OF INNOVATION COMMITTEE IS ONE OF THE PRIMARY GROUPS THAT WE RUN OUR PROPOSED AMENDMENTS AND OUR ANNUAL REVIEW THROUGH.

ADDITIONALLY, THE DPC OR THE DISTRICT PLANNING COMMITTEE ALSO PLAYS A ROLE IN THE REVIEW AND FEEDBACK PROCESS.

AND SO WE JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU WERE AWARE THAT THAT COMMITTEE ALSO INCLUDES BUSINESS AND COMMUNITY REPS, PARENT REPS, BOARD OF TRUSTEES, REP STAFF, CAMPUS STAFF REPRESENTATION, AS WELL AS CENTRAL ADMINISTRATION, CENTRAL ADMINISTRATION.

SO A LITTLE BIT OF OUR TIMELINE.

WE BEGAN OUR OFFICIAL JOURNEY, IF YOU WILL, ON JULY 23RD, WHEN WE CONVENED THE DISTRICT OF INNOVATION COMMITTEE AND RAN THROUGH BASICALLY THE SAME INFORMATION THAT YOU'RE RECEIVING THIS THIS AFTERNOON OR THIS EVENING.

THEN ABOUT A WEEK LATER, ON JULY 30TH, WE CONVENED THE DISTRICT PLANNING COMMITTEE, RAN THE SAME TYPE OF INFORMATION THROUGH THEIR COMMITTEE AND RECEIVED FEEDBACK FROM BOTH. WE'LL BE SHARING SOME OF THAT FEEDBACK WITH YOU HERE SHORTLY.

AND THEN WE FAST FORWARD HERE TO THE VERY END OF THAT TIMELINE.

AND HERE WE ARE IN THE SEPTEMBER BOARD MEETING ASKING YOU TO CONSIDER TAKING ACTION ON OUR AMENDMENTS FOR THE DISTRICT OF INNOVATION PLAN.

SO WITH THE DISTRICT OF INNOVATION PLAN MRS. BRANUM DID A GREAT JOB OF JUST BRIEFLY GIVING YOU AN OVERVIEW.

I WILL TRY TO FAST FORWARD THIS A LITTLE BIT THROUGH THAT.

SO IF YOU LOOK HERE ON THE SCREEN AT THE VERY, I'M SORRY, HAD TOO MANY CLICKS THERE AT THE VERY TOP.

THERE YOU GO. THE PLACE WHERE THE STAR COMES UP.

I'LL CALL YOUR ATTENTION TO THAT LAST BULLET OR THAT LAST SENTENCE IN THAT FIRST PARAGRAPH.

A TRADITION UNDER A DOI PLAN, A TRADITIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT MAY ACCESS MANY FLEXIBILITIES AVAILABLE TO A TEXAS OPEN ENROLLMENT CHARTER SCHOOL.

MOVING FORWARD, MISS BRANUM ALSO TALKED ABOUT THE FACT THAT IN 2016, THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES DIRECTED THE DISTRICT TO EXPLORE AND PURSUE THE PURSUIT OF A DESIGNATION OF DISTRICT OF INNOVATION.

THEN, MOVING FORWARD, YOU SEE THAT THAT TOP PARAGRAPH.

THE BOARD APPROVED THE ORIGINAL DOI PLAN ON JANUARY 9TH OF 2017 FOR A FIVE YEAR TERM.

AND THEN REALLY ONE OF THE MORE CRITICAL AREAS HERE IN THE SECOND PARAGRAPH, THE DOI COMMITTEE IS CHARGED WITH REVIEWING THE PLAN ANNUALLY TO ENSURE THAT THE RECOMMENDATIONS

[00:45:10]

AND SO WE TAKE THAT CHARGE VERY SERIOUSLY.

AND THEN FINALLY ON THIS SLIDE THE BOARD LAST AMENDED THE PLAN ON SEPTEMBER 21ST, 2023.

JUST A LITTLE WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE THERE.

THE PLAN, THE PLAN HAS VARIOUS COMPONENTS.

SEVEN AT THIS POINT IN TIME, YOU CAN SEE ALL OF THOSE IN FRONT OF YOU.

WE CERTAINLY AREN'T GOING TO READ THOSE AND INSULT ANYONE'S INTELLIGENCE, BUT WE ARE GOING TO POINT OUT THE AREAS THAT WE'RE GOING TO FOCUS ON TODAY FOR OUR AMENDMENTS.

AND SO FIRST THERE IS AN AMENDMENT PROPOSED AMENDMENT FOR FIRST DAY OF INSTRUCTION.

I WILL BE BRIEFING YOU ON THAT.

AND THEN I'VE GOT A COUPLE OF FRIENDS HERE ON CABINET WHO ARE GOING TO HELP ME.

AND SO THE NEXT AREA WILL BE TEACHER CERTIFICATION.

AND SO DR. GOODSON WILL BE SPEAKING TO YOU ABOUT THAT PROPOSED AMENDMENT.

AND THEN AT THE END OF THE THIRD PROPOSED AMENDMENT ACTUALLY RELATES TO A NEW AREA RELATED TO DISCIPLINE.

AND DR. GIBBONS ACROSS THE WAY WILL BE PROVIDING YOU INFORMATION FOR THAT.

SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, THE PROPOSED AMENDMENTS.

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL.

YOU CAN SEE READING FROM THE TOP.

TEXAS EDUCATION CODE.

JUST TO READ THAT FIRST BULLET, THE SCHOOL DISTRICT MAY NOT BEGIN INSTRUCTION FOR STUDENTS, FOR STUDENTS FOR A SCHOOL YEAR BEFORE THE FOURTH MONDAY IN AUGUST.

YOU CAN SEE THAT OUR MOVING ON TO THE SECOND PARAGRAPH.

OUR CURRENT DOI PLAN READS UPON INFLAMMATION.

IMPLEMENTATION OF DOI PLAN.

THE DISTRICT WILL DETERMINE AN APPROPRIATE START DATE ANNUALLY THAT DOES NOT OCCUR BEFORE THE SECOND MONDAY IN AUGUST, SO WE'VE ALREADY EXERCISED SOME FLEXIBILITY.

THANK. THANKFULLY, BECAUSE OF OUR CURRENT DOI PLAN, OUR PROPOSED AMENDMENT IS THAT IT READ RSV MAY NOT BEGIN INSTRUCTION FOR STUDENTS PRIOR TO THE FIRST MONDAY IN AUGUST.

AND SO THE BENEFIT OF THAT IS YOU READ THERE AT THE BOTTOM IS IT PROVIDES THE CALENDAR COMMITTEE, WHICH BRINGS THE BOARD CALENDAR OPTIONS TO CONSIDER FOR ADOPTION.

IT PROVIDES THE CALENDAR COMMITTEE FLEXIBILITY TO CONSIDER A FULL WEEK FALL BREAK FOR STUDENTS AND STAFF.

THAT HAS BEEN A CHARGE THAT THE CALENDAR COMMITTEE HAS HAD IN THE PAST.

THERE HAS BEEN SOME AMOUNT OF FEEDBACK FROM STAFF AND SOME FAMILIES THAT THERE'S INTEREST IN THAT.

BUT I DO WANT TO CLARIFY AT THIS POINT THAT IF THE BOARD WERE TO GIVE THE GREEN LIGHT AND ADOPT THIS AMENDMENT, IT DOES NOT DEFAULT TO THE FACT THAT WE WOULD AUTOMATICALLY HAVE A FULL FALL BREAK ON THE NEXT CALENDAR YOU ADOPT, WHICH WOULD BE THE 26-27 CALENDAR.

BUT IF YOU DO ADOPT THIS AMENDMENT, IT GIVES THE CALENDAR COMMITTEE THE FLEXIBILITY TO AT LEAST CONSIDER HAVING THAT FULL WEEK FALL BREAK.

SO WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WAS CLARIFIED FOR EVERYONE.

AND I WOULD JUST ADD, MR. HAAS.

SO, WE HAVE A VERY ROBUST PROCESS THAT WHEN THE CALENDAR COMMITTEE MEETS, THEY BRING FORWARD MULTIPLE CALENDARS, NOT ONLY FOR THE BOARD TO REVIEW, BUT THEN WE ALSO MAKE THEM AVAILABLE ON LET'S TALK SO THAT THE COMMUNITY STAFF MEMBERS, EVEN STUDENTS, CAN VOTE AND GIVE THEIR INPUT ON THEIR PREFERENCE FOR A CALENDAR.

SO AGAIN, THIS JUST ALLOWS THE FLEXIBILITY FOR THE CALENDAR COMMITTEE TO EVEN CONSIDER THAT FLEXIBILITY.

YEAH, IT DOES NOT MEAN THAT WE WILL AUTOMATICALLY GET A FULL WEEK FALL BREAK IN 26-27.

IT JUST GIVES THE CALENDAR COMMITTEE THAT OPTION.

BY THE WAY, THE CALENDAR COMMITTEE HAS REPRESENTATION OF PARENTS, CENTRAL ADMINISTRATION, CAMPUS ADMINISTRATION, CAMPUS STAFF, THOSE TYPES OF THINGS.

WE WOULD GO THROUGH THE NORMAL COMMUNITY AND STAFF FEEDBACK PROCESS AND BRING CALENDAR OPTIONS TO THE BOARD FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION AND APPROVAL.

OKAY. MOVING ON.

TEACHER CERTIFICATION.

THANK YOU, MR. HASSELL. GOOD EVENING.

BOARD AND SUPERINTENDENT BRANUM FOR TEACHER CERTIFICATION.

YOU'LL RECALL WHEN WE STARTED OUR DOI PLAN JOURNEY, IT WAS REALLY TO GIVE THE DISTRICT FLEXIBILITY IN FINDING CANDIDATES WHO MAY NOT HAVE HAD AN ASPECT CERTIFICATION.

IT REALLY STARTED OUT IN CTE WITH SPECIFIED COURSES AND CONTENT WHERE A CERTIFICATION REALLY DIDN'T EVEN EXIST.

BUT THERE COULD HAVE BEEN A CANDIDATE WHO HAD RELEVANT WORK EXPERIENCE AND REALLY MADE THEM A PROFESSIONAL IN THAT FIELD.

AND THIS ALLOWED US TO HIRE THOSE TO HIRE THOSE INDIVIDUALS FOR TEACHING POSITIONS.

AS WE WENT THROUGH COVID AND STARTED TO REALLY RECOGNIZE THE INCREDIBLE TEACHER SHORTAGE THAT WAS HAPPENING AT THE TIME, WE WANTED TO INCORPORATE NEW FLEXIBILITIES.

THAT AND YOU APPROVED THAT AS A BOARD TO EXPAND THAT TO CORE CONTENT AREAS, INCLUDING ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY LEVEL TEACHERS AS WELL.

SO THIS THIS PARTICULAR YEAR, AS AN AMENDMENT, WE WOULD LIKE TO ADD COUNSELORS INTO THIS CONVERSATION.

WE STILL HAVE A SHORTAGE OF COUNSELORS ACROSS THE BOARD, NOT NOT NEARLY AS MANY VACANCIES, FOR EXAMPLE, AS WE'VE EXPERIENCED IN THE TEACHER RANKS.

BUT WE WE'VE WORKED WITH DR.

MARTIN AND HER TEAM, AND SHE HAS SHE SHE UNDERSTANDS THAT WE MAY HAVE CANDIDATES WHO ARE ALMOST DONE WITH THEIR COUNSELOR PROGRAMING, WHETHER THAT'S CERTIFICATION

[00:50:08]

AND WHAT WE ARE PROPOSING IS TO IMPLEMENT A NEW AREA FOR COUNSELORS WHO HAVE COMPLETED AT LEAST 24 OF THE 48 HOURS THAT THEY HAVE TO COMPLETE TO FINISH THEIR PROGRAMING. MANY OF THE REMAINING HOURS ARE FOR PRACTICUM AND KIND OF A PRACTICUM ON THE JOB TRAINING.

AND SHE FEELS VERY CONFIDENT THAT THE REMAINING HOURS CAN BE COMPLETED WITHIN A YEAR.

SO PART OF THOSE PARAMETERS FOR HIRING A CANDIDATE, A COUNSELOR UNDER DOI WOULD BE THAT YOU HAVE TO MEET THAT MINIMUM CRITERIA, AND THAT WITHIN A GIVEN RANGE OF TIME THAT WE SET, YOU WILL COMPLETE YOUR PROGRAMING SO THAT YOU CAN BE FULLY CERTIFIED AND DEGREED AS A COUNSELOR.

SO THAT'S PART OF THE RECOMMENDATION THAT WE'RE BRINGING FORWARD TO YOU TONIGHT, JUST TO GIVE US MORE FLEXIBILITY FOR COUNSELOR HIRING.

OKAY. AND THEN FOR THE FINAL AMENDMENT, DR.

GIBBONS IS GOING TO TALK TO US ABOUT STUDENT DISCIPLINE.

YES. THANK YOU, MR. RUSSO.

ABOUT A YEAR AGO, A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN A YEAR AGO, THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE MANDATED THAT STUDENTS THAT WERE CAUGHT WITH AN E-CIG OR FOUND WITH AN E-CIGARETTE ON CAMPUSES WERE GOING TO BE REQUIRED TO GO TO THE DEEP TO OUR CMLC.

THEY DIDN'T PUT A STATUTE AROUND THE AMOUNT OF DAYS, BUT IT WAS A REQUIREMENT FOR THEM TO DO THAT.

AND SO WHEN WE SAW THAT IT WAS DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT CONCERNED US BECAUSE PREVIOUS TO THAT LEGISLATION, WE HAD PRETTY ROBUST PLAN ALREADY IN PLACE FOR STUDENTS THAT WERE FOUND WITH A VAPE.

ON CAMPUSES. SO WE HAD A SYSTEM ALREADY IN PLACE.

BUT OF COURSE WE.

WE FOLLOWED ALONG WITH WHAT WE WERE SUPPOSED TO DO.

AND SO WHAT WE'RE ASKING NOW IS THROUGH THE DOI PROCESS TO HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE LOCAL CONTROL AT THE CAMPUS LEVEL AND HAVE SOME DECISION MAKING THERE.

IF WE HAVE A STUDENT WHO'S CAUGHT WITH AN E-CIG.

YES, AN ALTERNATIVE PLACEMENT MAY BE APPROPRIATE AS WE IF WE PROGRESS THROUGH THAT.

AND THERE'S MULTIPLE INFRACTIONS, BUT WE REALLY WANT THE OPPORTUNITY FOR THE STUDENT TO STAY ON CAMPUS, RECEIVE DISCIPLINE, RECEIVE SOME INTERVENTION, BUT NOT LEAVE THEIR HOME CAMPUS. THE WAY IT IS NOW, I BELIEVE WE HAD OVER 180, ALMOST 185 STUDENTS THAT WERE REFERRED TO OUR CMC LAST YEAR FOR, FOR THIS.

AND THAT'S A LOT OF DISRUPTION FOR, FOR A LOT OF KIDS.

SO THE, THE RECOMMENDATION THAT WE HAVE AND WHAT WE'VE PRESENTED ON A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT OF THE COMMITTEES IS WE'D LIKE TO HAVE OUR LOCAL CONTROL BACK AND BE ABLE TO KEEP OUR STUDENTS AT THEIR HOME CAMPUS AND WORK.

WORK ON INTERVENTIONS THERE WITH THE EVENTUAL, YOU KNOW, POSSIBILITY OF A CMC.

OR DP PLACEMENT, BUT NOT THE NOT THE FIRST TIME OR THE SECOND.

SO THAT WAS OUR.

THAT'S WHAT WE'RE ASKING FOR YOU GUYS TO CONSIDER.

AND IF I CAN JUST ADD ON TO.

THAT I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO MESSAGE TO OUR COMMUNITY AND TO ALSO.

OUR STUDENTS THAT WE STILL HAVE HIGH EXPECTATIONS AROUND VAPING AND THAT, FOR EXAMPLE, NO STUDENT SHOULD HAVE TO WORRY THAT IF THEY NEED TO USE THE RESTROOM IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY, THAT THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE TO EXPERIENCE A STUDENT WHO IS VAPING.

AND SO THERE ARE STILL EVEN WITH THE DOI PLAN, THERE WOULD BE SIGNIFICANT CONSEQUENCES SO THAT OUR STUDENTS WOULD STILL UNDERSTAND THE RAMIFICATIONS IF THEY CHOOSE TO DO SO.

AND IF YOU COULD JUST MAYBE FOR A MOMENT, SHARE WITH THE COMMUNITY AND THE BOARD WHAT PROACTIVE THINGS DO WE DO TO MAKE SURE OUR STUDENTS UNDERSTAND WHAT ARE THE POTENTIAL CONSEQUENCES IF THEY ARE CAUGHT VAPING? YES, MA'AM. WE HAVE QUITE A FEW THINGS THAT ARE ALREADY IN PLACE AS FAR AS INTERVENTIONS THAT START EVEN FROM THE ELEMENTARY AGE.

AND WE'VE BEEN EXPANDING THOSE DRUG PROGRAMS, ANTI-DRUG PROGRAMS THESE LAST SEVERAL YEARS.

WE HAVE INTERVENTIONS TOO GOOD FOR DRUGS, WHICH ARE COUNSELORS AT THE ELEMENTARY LEVEL, WILL IMPLEMENT.

WE HAVE SOME SIMILAR PROGRAMING THAT IS GIVEN TO OUR JUNIOR HIGHS DURING ADVISORY AND FOR FOR EXAMPLE, FOR STUDENT.

IF WE WERE TO ADOPT THIS FIRST OFFENSE STUDENT, THEY'RE GOING TO BE IT'S A SESSION CALLED MY HEALTHY FUTURES.

AND SO IT WOULD BE AN ES.

AND THEN THEY WOULD BE REQUIRED TO COMPLETE THAT INTERVENTION DOCUMENT PRIOR TO THEM GETTING OUT OF ES.

SO IT'S JUST A, IT'S A, YOU KNOW, IT'S SOMETHING THAT CAN BE DONE AND CAN BE COMPLETED, BUT IT NEEDS TO BE DONE IN ORDER FOR THEM TO GET A TRUE UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT'S GOING ON, NOT ONLY FROM JUST IT'S NOT, YOU KNOW, BRING THEM ON CAMPUS, BUT THE THE BIGGER, THE BIGGER ISSUES THAT COULD BE THERE OF WHY AM I DOING THIS? WHAT'S AFFECTING ME EMOTIONALLY OR SOCIALLY THAT I'M HAVING SOME ISSUES WITH THAT.

SO WE'RE TRYING TO BE AS PROACTIVE AS WE CAN WITH THAT ALREADY, AND THEN WE'LL KIND OF DOUBLE DOWN IF A STUDENT IS CAUGHT WITH AN E-CIG ON CAMPUS.

THANK YOU. OKAY.

SO MOVING FORWARD, WE TOLD YOU THAT WE BRIEFED BOTH COMMITTEES, THE DISTRICT OF INNOVATION COMMITTEE AND THE DISTRICT PLANNING COMMITTEE.

AND SO WE GOT THEIR FEEDBACK.

IN WHICH YOU HAVE IN FRONT OF YOU IS THE DISTRICT OF INNOVATION COMMITTEE FEEDBACK.

[00:55:03]

THERE WE GO. THE SUPPORT FOR THE TEACHER CERTIFICATION, SPECIFICALLY THE COUNSELORS, THAT WAS IN FULL AGREEMENT BY THE COMMITTEE.

AND THEN FINALLY, WE HAVE THE SUPPORT OF THE PROPOSED STUDENT DISCIPLINE NON THC VAPES AMENDMENT.

AND SO THEY WERE FULLY IN SUPPORT OF THAT.

THAT WAS THE DISTRICT OF INNOVATION COMMITTEE FEEDBACK.

OF COURSE, WE ALSO INCLUDED THE DPC, THE DISTRICT PLANNING COMMITTEE.

AND SO HERE'S THEIR FEEDBACK.

SUPPORT OF THE PROPOSED FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL AMENDMENT.

THEY WERE STILL IN SUPPORT, MAYBE NOT AS OVERWHELMINGLY AS THEIR DIY COUNTERPARTS, BUT WE WANTED TO BE TRANSPARENT WITH THE FEEDBACK.

MOVING ON TO THE SUPPORT FOR THE TEACHER CERTIFICATION FOR COUNSELORS SPECIFICALLY, THEY FULLY SUPPORT THAT.

AND THEN FINALLY THE SUPPORT FOR THE STUDENT DISCIPLINE AMENDMENT.

NON THC VAPES.

YOU CAN SEE THAT'S OVERWHELMINGLY SUPPORTIVE RIGHT THERE.

AND SO JUST TO SUMMARIZE THE AMENDMENT RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CLARITY'S SAKE, THE FIRST ONE IS FIRST DAY OF INSTRUCTION.

IT WOULD CHANGE TO OUR ISD MAY NOT BEGIN INSTRUCTION FOR STUDENTS PRIOR TO THE FIRST MONDAY IN AUGUST FOR TEACHER CERTIFICATION.

ADD COUNSELORS TO THE LIST OF POSITIONS WHICH CANDIDATES CAN BE HIRED WHILE COMPLETING CERTIFICATION AND TRAINING.

AND THEN FINALLY, DISCIPLINE ALLOW OUR ISD LOCAL CONTROL OVER DISCIPLINE OF STUDENTS CAUGHT WITH A NON THC VAPE.

AND SO WITH THAT WE'LL BE PLEASED TO ENTERTAIN ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS THAT YOU MAY HAVE.

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR WORK.

I THINK THE DOI COMMITTEE, I THINK THE DPC, WE HAD MEMBERS OF THE BOARD WHO SERVE ON BOTH OF THOSE COMMITTEES AS WELL, AND I THANK YOU FOR YOUR INPUT.

AND WITH THAT, I DO RECOMMEND THAT THE BOARD ACCEPT THE AMENDMENTS TO THE DISTRICT OF INNOVATION PLAN AS PRESENTED.

THANK YOU FOR THE RECOMMENDATION.

SUPERINTENDENT BRANUM, IS THERE A MOTION FROM THE BOARD? SO MOVED. THANK YOU.

MS. RENTERÍA, IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND. I'M SORRY.

WHO? YES.

THANK YOU, MISS TIMMY.

OKAY. WITH THE THE MOTION.

AND A SECOND. DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ON THIS ITEM? YES. MISS MCGOWAN.

THANK YOU FOR THAT PRESENTATION.

AND I MAY HAVE OTHER QUESTIONS, BUT THE ONE THAT COMES TO MIND FIRST IS OFFERING UP THE LOCAL CONTROL TO OUR SCHOOLS TO DISCIPLINE STUDENTS. HOWEVER, THEY NEED TO DO THAT.

WHAT I KNOW IN DISCUSSIONS WITH THE COMMITTEE WORK, WAS THERE ANY DISCUSSION ON WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE IF SOME KIDS ARE DISCIPLINED, DIFFERENT FROM OTHER SCHOOLS. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT, THAT CLARIFICATION.

SO WHEN WE SAY LOCAL CONTROL, WE MEAN MORE AT THE DISTRICT LEVEL THAT WE WANTED THE ABILITY, INSTEAD OF IT BEING AN AUTOMATIC CMC REFERRAL, THAT WE WOULD APPLY DISCIPLINE AT THE LOCAL LEVEL AT THE SCHOOL.

AND SO IF YOU WANT TO SPEAK TO THAT DR.

GIBBONS. THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION.

YES, MA'AM. SO WHAT WE WOULD DO ACTUALLY, IS IF YOU IF YOU GUYS APPROVE THIS, THEN WE'LL WE'VE ALREADY GOT IT KIND OF IN, IN THE WORKS OF ADJUSTING OUR CODE OF CONDUCT JUST A LITTLE BIT, THAT WILL SAY WE'RE NOT GOING TO DO THE MANDATORY TEN DAYS.

WE'RE GOING TO GO BACK TO THIS WHERE WE HAVE SOME LOCAL CONTROL, WHERE THERE'S AN ES PORTION OF IT AND AN ES, A COUPLE OF ES PORTIONS.

SO WE'RE CONSISTENT ACROSS ALL CAMPUSES WHERE THEY THEY FOLLOW THE CODE OF CONDUCT.

THAT'S THAT'S WHAT THEY DO.

AND SO THERE WOULDN'T BE LIKE YOU'RE SAYING THE ONE STUDENT OR ONE CAMPUS DOESN'T DO ANYTHING THE OTHER CAMPUS SENDS TO CMC.

WHEN I FIRST GOT INTO THE POSITION IN STUDENT SERVICES, HONESTLY, THAT'S KIND OF THE WAY IT WAS.

THERE WERE A LOT OF CAMPUSES THAT JUST DID DIFFERENT THINGS.

AND SO WHEN I MENTIONED EARLIER THAT WE HAD A SYSTEM IN PLACE, THAT'S WHAT I WAS REFERRING TO.

WE KIND OF LOCALIZED THAT AND MADE SURE EVERYBODY WAS DOING THE SAME THING.

WE WANT TO ENSURE THAT THERE'S CONSISTENCY WHEN CONSEQUENCES AND THE DISCIPLINE IS APPLIED, SO THAT IF YOU'RE AT ONE SCHOOL, IT'S YOU GET THIS AND YOU'RE AT ANOTHER SCHOOL, AND WE KNOW HOW QUICKLY PEOPLE FIND THAT OUT.

AND SO WE ABSOLUTELY WANT THERE TO BE CONSISTENCY ACROSS THE SYSTEM.

OKAY. THANK YOU FOR THAT.

AND THEN MY SECOND QUESTION WAS THE THE VAGUE LIKE WHAT'S ACTUALLY IN THESE VAPES.

ARE THEY TAKE CONFISCATING THESE AND INVESTIGATING WHAT'S IN THE VAPES.

ARE THEY ASKING THE STUDENTS AND JUST RELYING ON WHAT THE STUDENTS ARE TELLING THEM? WHAT'S IN THERE? NO, MA'AM. WE SO WE'RE ABLE TO TEST TO IDENTIFY WHETHER OR NOT THE THE VAPE HAD THC, FOR EXAMPLE, OR NOT.

[01:00:01]

AND THAT'S MANDATORY.

AND THERE'S REALLY NO DISCRETION THAT THE THE DISTRICT HAS IN THAT IF THE VAPE COMES BACK AND IT WAS TRULY JUST AN E-CIGARETTE, THEN THAT IS WHEN THIS WOULD APPLY. THANK YOU, MR. MCGOWAN. YES, MISS.

TIMMY. I HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.

JUST WANTED TO START WITH THE FIRST THE THE CALENDAR FOR THE FIRST MONDAY.

JUST BECAUSE IT SAYS THAT WE CAN BEGIN INSTRUCTION PRIOR TO THE FIRST MONDAY OR NOT BEGIN INSTRUCTION TO PRIOR TO THE FIRST MONDAY.

IT DOESN'T IT DOESN'T TIE US TO STARTING AT THAT DATE.

IT JUST SIMPLY PROVIDES THE FLEXIBILITY OF ALL OF THOSE.

YES, MA'AM. RIGHT.

ABSOLUTELY. IT REALLY JUST GIVES FLEXIBILITY FOR THE CALENDAR COMMITTEE TO SAY IF WE WANTED TO HAVE A FALL BREAK, LIKE SOME OF OUR SURROUNDING DISTRICTS ACTUALLY HAVE A TRUE FALL BREAK.

REALLY, IN ORDER TO DO THAT, YOU HAVE TO REALLY KIND OF MOVE THAT START DATE EARLIER.

IF THAT CALENDAR EVEN CAME FORWARD AGAIN, YOU ALL RECEIVED THOSE CALENDAR OPTIONS.

IT THEN GOES TO THE COMMUNITY FOR FEEDBACK.

WE POSTED ON OUR WEBSITE, WE SEND EMAILS AND THEN WE HAVE A LET'S TALK CHANNEL THAT'S POSTED TO GET THAT FEEDBACK.

AND THEN ULTIMATELY THAT CALENDAR COMES BACK TO THE BOARD AND YOU WOULD APPROVE IT.

AND AGAIN, WE'RE NOT EVEN LOOKING UNTIL 2627.

SO IT IS FLEXIBILITY ONLY.

IT BY NO MEANS MEAN IT.

BY NO MEANS INDICATES THAT WE WOULD NECESSARILY HAVE AN EARLIER START DATE.

ABSOLUTELY. OKAY. THANK YOU.

SECOND THING, JUST ON THE ADDING OF COUNSELORS.

I KNOW WE TALKED ABOUT THIS BEFORE WITH TEACHERS, BUT THE SAME THING WITH COUNSELORS.

THEY'RE GOING INTO A POSITION.

AND JUST BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT CERTIFIED DOESN'T MEAN THAT THEY WON'T BE FABULOUS IN THEIR JOB.

THAT BEING SAID, THOSE HOURS DO HAVE MEANING.

IF WE'RE GOING TO GO THAT ROUTE, ARE WE GOING TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL SUPPORTS IN PIECES SO THAT A THAT OUR STUDENTS ARE STILL GETTING THE BEST BENEFIT, BUT ALSO TOO, WE'RE NOT PUTTING SOMEBODY IN A POSITION THEY POTENTIALLY ARE NOT READY FOR.

YES, MA'AM. AND THANK YOU FOR THAT, DR.

GIVENS. I KNOW THIS IS SOMETHING THAT DR.

MARTIN HAS SPEARHEADED AND HAS BEEN VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT THIS.

DO YOU WANT TO DISCUSS SOME IDEAS THAT SHE HAS AROUND SUPPORTING COUNSELORS THAT WE MIGHT ACCEPT THROUGH THE DOI PROGRAM? YES, MA'AM. THANK YOU.

I KNOW DR. MARTIN AND HER.

I THINK THIS IS HER SIXTH, MAYBE SEVENTH YEAR.

SHE'S REALLY DONE A KIND OF A 180 WITH OUR COUNSELING PROGRAM.

SO SHE NOT ONLY HAS FREQUENT MEETINGS WITH THE COUNSELORS AS A WHOLE, BUT SHE HAS SPECIFIED MEETINGS FOR OUR INTERVENTION COUNSELORS AS WELL AS TRAINING FOR OUR NEW COUNSELORS. SO I FORESEE IF WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS DOI, IT WOULD BE THE SAME TYPE OF INTENSE COUNSELING TRAINING FOR THOSE THOSE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, I DON'T THINK. AND DR.

GIBSON, YOU'RE WELCOME TO CHIME IN.

I DON'T THINK WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A HUGE, HUGE NUMBER OF COUNSELORS THAT WOULD BE UNDER THIS.

SO THEY WOULD REALLY FALL UNDER THE FOLD OF WHAT WE'RE CURRENTLY DOING WITH OUR NEW COUNSELORS TO BEGIN WITH.

SO WE FEEL LIKE THE SUPPORT WOULD BE THERE WHERE WE WOULDN'T BE LACKING IN OUR PROGRAM.

WE'RE NOT SETTING FOLKS UP FOR FOR JOBS THAT THEY'RE NOT ABLE TO DO IN.

OUR STUDENTS WOULD STILL BE ABLE TO GET THE SAME QUALITY.

WE BELIEVE WE CAN SUPPORT THAT GOING FORWARD.

YES, MA'AM. AWESOME.

LASTLY, I JUST WANTED TO MENTION ON THE THE THE DISCIPLINE PIECE, I THIS IS NOT A QUESTION THAT CAN BE ANSWERED TONIGHT, BUT LIKE GOING FORWARD, I DO THINK THAT E-CIGARETTES ARE A PROBLEM.

I DO THINK THAT THERE IS AN ISSUE.

I DO THINK THAT THEY HAVE NO PLACE IN OUR SCHOOLS AND SHOULDN'T HAPPEN.

THAT BEING SAID, I ALSO BELIEVE THAT IT'S A LITTLE EXTREME THAT THEY HAVE TO GO THE VERY FIRST OFFENSE.

BUT THAT BEING SAID, I WOULD HOPE BY THE END OF THIS YEAR IF WE CAN LOOK AT AND SEE AND COMPARE, JUST LIKE HOW MANY PEOPLE REPEAT OFFEND OVER TIME, HOW MUCH TIME IT'S TAKING FOR US TO CONTINUE TO DISCIPLINE THEM IF WE'RE NOT, IF IT'S NOT CURTAILING THE WAY WE WANT TO, MAYBE THERE'S A DIFFERENT KIND OF MIDDLE GROUND THAT WE CAN LOOK AT BECAUSE THEY ARE SERIOUS AND THEY DO DAMAGE TO THEIR BODIES AND I BELIEVE THOSE AROUND.

AND I CERTAINLY DON'T WANT TO BE SO LAX ON IT.

NOT THAT I THINK WE ARE, BUT I DON'T WANT TO SWING THE PENDULUM SO FAR AND OVERCORRECT THAT WE ALLOW SOMETHING THAT PROBABLY SHOULDN'T BE THERE.

SO JUST WOULD LOVE TO LOOK AT THAT DATA DOWN THE ROAD SOMETIME.

YES, MA'AM. THANK YOU. MISS BRANUM HAS BEEN VERY CLEAR ABOUT THAT FROM THE BEGINNING OF THIS.

IF WE WERE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS DOI, THAT WE WOULD NOT SWING THE PENDULUM TOO FAR TO THE OTHER SIDE, TO WHERE WE WEREN'T HAVING A GOOD BALANCE BETWEEN INTERVENTIONS AND DISCIPLINES. SO THANK YOU FOR.

SO I HEARD A VERY LIKE I FELT LIKE IT WAS A CAPITAL VERY IN THAT ONE CLEAR.

IT WAS VERY I WAS VERY CLEAR.

WE NEED TO HOLD OUR STUDENTS ACCOUNTABLE.

THERE IS AN EXPECTATION.

AND AGAIN, WHEN I THINK ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT, I WANT OUR STUDENTS TO BE ABLE TO FOCUS ON LEARNING AND TO NOT HAVE TO WORRY THAT WHEN THEY GO INTO THE RESTROOM, THAT THEY ARE GOING TO EXPERIENCE STUDENTS THAT ARE ENGAGING IN BEHAVIOR THAT IS NOT HEALTHY LIKE THAT, THAT JUST SHOULD NOT BE A PART OF OUR REALITY.

SO ABSOLUTELY, WE WANT TO HOLD OUR STUDENTS ACCOUNTABLE.

AND I'M CONFIDENT THAT WE HAVE A PLAN THAT OUR STUDENTS AND OUR PARENTS WILL UNDERSTAND.

THERE ARE STILL CONSEQUENCES.

WE'RE GOING TO DO AN EDUCATION PIECE.

AND IN THE END, IF WE FIND THAT THIS WE SEE AN UPTICK BECAUSE STUDENTS DON'T HAVE THAT FEAR, FOR LACK OF A BETTER

[01:05:01]

WE THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE PAYING VERY CLOSE ATTENTION TO.

THAT'S GREAT. I REALIZE IT'S ALSO FOR OUR STUDENTS AND ALSO FOR OUR STAFF.

RIGHT. IT SUCKS VALUABLE RESOURCES TRYING TO TRACK THAT DOWN, TOO.

SO I JUST WANT TO BE SURE WE FIND THAT BALANCE.

THANK YOU GUYS. THANK YOU, MISS TIMMY.

MISS HARRIS, I'M GOING TO DATE MYSELF WITH THIS QUESTION, BUT IT'S IT'S IN REFERENCE TO THE NON THC.

SO IS THIS SIMILAR TO A CIGARETTE ISSUE? I MEAN DO KIDS EVEN SMOKE CIGARETTES.

IS THAT AN ISSUE. I MEAN, I DON'T EVEN KNOW LIKE WHEN I WAS IN SCHOOL WE WANTED TO.

WELL, NOT WE, BUT THE STUDENTS WANTED TO SMOKE CIGARETTES.

SO I'M LIKE, IS THIS LIKE A CIGARETTE ISSUE OR.

YES, MA'AM. IT IS A SIMILAR TO A CIGARETTE ISSUE.

BUT I WILL SAY THESE E-CIGS ARE MUCH MORE DANGEROUS IN A LOT OF WAYS BECAUSE OF THE THE WAY THAT THEY'RE REGULATED AND SOME OF THE THINGS THAT CAN BE INCLUDED IN THEM THAT OUR KIDS DON'T KNOW THAT THEY'RE INGESTING.

SO, YES, IT'S SIMILARITIES AROUND THAT.

YES, BUT MUCH MORE SEVERE IN MY OPINION, BASED ON SOME OF THE CASES THAT WE'VE SEEN.

OKAY. AND SO WOULD YOU SAY THAT THIS IS PROBABLY THE AREA THAT YOU SEE THE MOST GROWTH AT CMLC OR DEP OR. WELL, AS FAR AS GROWTH GOES, LET ME JUST SAY UP TO THIS POINT OF THIS YEAR, WE'VE HAD, I BELIEVE, 22 E-CIG REFERRALS.

OKAY. JUST FOR THE FIRST FEW WEEKS, THAT'S THAT'S ONLY 4% OF OUR REFERRALS JUST OVERALL LIKE ON CAMPUSES.

SO IT'S IT'S NOT HEAVY.

BUT I WILL SAY THAT OVERALL THC AND IN MY MY TIME IN THIS POSITION AND IN STUDENT SERVICES, THC AND E-CIGS HAVE JUST.

YES, MA'AM. THEY'VE THEY'VE EXPLODED AS FAR AS USAGE, BUT THEY'VE ALSO WE'VE ALSO REALLY UPPED THE ANTE AROUND TRYING TO GET INFORMATION OUT TO KIDS ABOUT HOW, YOU KNOW, HOW POWERFUL THEY ARE AND HOW DETRIMENTAL THEY ARE.

SO YES, IT'S SOMETHING THAT OUR STUDENT SERVICES TEAM HAS AND I'M SURE OUR CAMPUSES HAVE DAILY CONVERSATIONS AROUND HOW TO MITIGATE AND CONTROL SOME OF THE THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON ON OUR CAMPUSES.

OKAY. THANK YOU FOR THAT.

YES, MA'AM. SORRY FOR PUTTING MY AGE OUT THERE.

NO. NO, MA'AM. NO PROBLEM.

THANK YOU, MISS HARRIS.

YES, MISS MCGILL? OH, YOU DO, MISS MS. RENTERÍA. NO, I DIDN'T HAVE A QUESTION.

OKAY. SORRY. YES, MR. MCGOWAN. GO AHEAD. ONE MORE QUESTION ABOUT THE COUNSELORS PIECE.

DOES THIS KIND OF OPEN THE DOOR FOR THE THE NEW THE NEW TEXAS LAW ABOUT THE CHAPLAINS THAT WERE ALLOWED TO COME INTO SCHOOLS AND VOLUNTEER TO BE COUNSELORS? IS THIS KIND OF AN OPENING FOR THAT OR.

YEAH. OKAY. ABSOLUTELY NOT.

WE HAVE MADE VERY CLEAR THAT THAT IS NOT AN OPTION THAT YOU HAVE ALLOWED FOR US TO DO.

WE HAVE NOT ACCEPTED THE PROVISION.

AGAIN, THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN A RECOMMENDATION THAT I WOULD HAVE HAD TO BRING FORWARD, AND YOU ALL WOULD HAVE HAD TO VOTE ON THAT.

AND SO KNOW THAT THIS IS IN NO WAY IS ASSOCIATED WITH THAT.

ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? YES. MISS PACHECO, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.

MISS TIMMY TOOK SOME OF MY QUESTIONS, BUT I'M GOING TO DOUBLE BACK TO STUDENT DISCIPLINE.

THIS GOAL HERE TALKS A LOT ABOUT HOW WE'RE INCREASING THE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE DANGER TO.

OUR STUDENTS. IS THERE A PORTION AT ALL WHERE WE SHARE WITH THE PARENTS ABOUT KNOWLEDGE AND DANGERS OF VAPING? THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.

I THINK IF MR. MISTER MANISCALCO IS STILL AROUND, MAYBE HE COULD COME UP AND ANSWER SOME OF THE SPECIFICS.

I CAN SAY THROUGH THE FROM THE THC PERSPECTIVE.

YES, MA'AM. WE AND WE HAVE HAD A RUNNING SATURDAY PROGRAM FOR THC FOR SEVERAL YEARS NOW.

SO IF A STUDENT IS CAUGHT WITH THC, THEY ARE SENT TO THE DEP.

THEY'RE REQUIRED TO ATTEND A SATURDAY CLASS AROUND CESSATION AND JUST THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF THAT, AND THE PARENTS WERE REQUIRED TO BE THERE FOR AT LEAST I THINK, TWO HOURS OF THAT SESSION. AND SO I KNOW THAT THAT'S HAPPENING WITH THC, THE E-CIG, I'M NOT SURE.

ARE THERE PARENT INVOLVEMENT ASPECTS OF THE E-CIG? YEAH, ONE OF THE ONE OF THE REQUIREMENTS THAT WE WERE ASKING FOR AS A PART OF THE EDUCATIONAL PROCESS, THE ADMINISTRATORS AND THE COUNSELORS THAT ARE ADMINISTERING THE COURSE, THEY MUST MEET WITH THE PARENTS.

IT'S REALLY, YOU KNOW, WE WE TOOK A TOOK A PAGE FROM OUR CELL PHONES WHERE WE'RE MAKING SURE THAT PARENTS HAVE TO COME TO THE SCHOOL AND BE A PART OF THAT CONVERSATION, BECAUSE IT DOES HAVE AN IMPACT WHEN YOU HAVE A PARENT, THE STUDENT COUNSELOR AND ADMINISTRATOR IN THE ROOM, THAT'S GOING TO BE A PART OF THE PROCESS.

MAKE IT VERY PERSONAL.

THANK YOU FOR THAT CLARIFICATION.

I THINK THAT'S A GREAT IDEA AND I APPRECIATE YOU GUYS PUTTING FORTH THAT FOR THEM.

OKAY, OKAY.

THANK YOU, MISS PACHECO. MS. RENTERÍA I JUST WANTED TO ADD THAT I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH IT IS ACROSS THE BOARD, OR AS TO WHAT SPECIFICALLY WHAT PROGRAMS ARE FOR THE PARENTS, BUT

[01:10:10]

BUT I DO KNOW THAT WITH THE GROUP OF PADRES UNIDOS, WE HAVE A WONDERFUL CRISIS COUNSELOR THERE THAT DEFINITELY ADDRESSES THAT.

SO SHE DOES A WHOLE LESSON FOR OUR PARENTS.

SHE LETS OUR PARENTS KNOW, LIKE, WHAT ARE THE TRENDS, WHAT IS GOING ON? AND OF COURSE, EXPLAINS THIS TO OUR SPANISH SPEAKING PARENTS.

SO I'M VERY GRATEFUL FOR THAT.

SO AGAIN, I DON'T KNOW WHAT PART THAT IS THAT COMES FROM THE CAMPUS, OR IT COMES FROM THE COUNSELING DEPARTMENT.

BUT DEFINITELY OUR PARENTS GET INFORMATION THAT WAY.

AND ESPECIALLY WITH THE WHAT IS IT, THE RED RIBBON WEEK AS WELL TOO.

SHE DOES A BIGGER, YOU KNOW, LIKE A DEEPER DIVE IN THAT.

SO AGAIN, THAT'S JUST WITH WHAT I KNOW WITH RICHARDSON, BUT VERY GRATEFUL FOR THAT KIND OF INFORMATION THAT GOES TO OUR PARENTS.

THANK YOU, MS. RENTERÍA.

ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS ON THIS ITEM? OKAY. WE HAVE A MOTION.

WE HAVE A SECOND. WE'VE HAD DISCUSSION.

SO ALL IN FAVOR OF THIS MOTION, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND.

OKAY. AND THAT MOTION PASSES 7 TO 0.

GREAT DISCUSSION, GREAT PRESENTATION.

THANK YOU. JUST FOR A HEADS UP, WE'RE GOING TO GO THROUGH THE NEXT ITEM, AND THEN WE'LL TAKE A QUICK BREAK AFTER THIS NEXT ITEM BEFORE WE ROLL INTO THE PRE-K PROGRAM UPDATE.

SO OUR NEXT ITEM IS AN ACTION ITEM TO CONSIDER THE 2024 2025 DISTRICT IMPROVEMENT PLAN.

[IV.G. Consider District Improvement Plan ]

AGAIN, THIS IS THE THIRD TIME THAT WE HAVE BROUGHT FORWARD TO YOU THE WORK THAT WE HAVE DONE TO PREPARE OUR DISTRICT IMPROVEMENT PLAN.

THIS WORK STARTED REALLY LATE SPRING.

WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON IT OVER THE SUMMER IN AUGUST, WHEN WE BROUGHT FORWARD OUR STAR RESULTS AND OUR EOC RESULTS.

WE ALSO SHARED WITH YOU OUR DISTRICT PRIORITIES, HOW WE ARE RESPONDING TO WHAT OUR SCORES WERE AND HOW WE'RE GOING TO SUPPORT THE INCREASE OF STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND OUTCOMES. ALONG WITH THAT, WE SHOWED THE CONNECTION TO OUR DEEP PRIORITIES.

AND SO I'VE ASKED MR. RUSSELL JUST TO QUICKLY PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW TO REMIND OUR COMMUNITY AND THE BOARD OF HOW WE CONSTRUCT OUR DISTRICT IMPROVEMENT PLAN AND OUR YEAR TWO STRATEGIC PRIORITIES. AND THEN I WILL ASK FOR YOUR APPROVAL.

YES. THANK YOU, MR. BRANUM BOARD. HELLO AGAIN.

IT'S ME THIS TIME.

I'M BACK TO VISIT WITH YOU.

JUST A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT DISTRICT IMPROVEMENT PLAN, THE PROCESS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PLAN AND HOW THE YEAR TWO STRATEGIC PLAN PRIORITIES PLAY INTO THAT PROCESS. DR.

HELLER MAY OR MAY NOT ASSIST ME IF I DON'T IF I GO DOWN THE WRONG ROAD WITH SOME OF THE STRATEGIC PLANS.

SO I'LL COUNT ON YOU, MELISSA, TO CHIME IN.

MOVING FORWARD.

JUST A REMINDER THAT THE DISTRICT PLANNING COMMITTEE, THE DPC, AS WE REFER TO IT, IF YOU LOOK AT THE HIGHLIGHTED PORTIONS, THE COMMITTEE ACTS AS AN ADVISORY ROLE, AND THAT CENTER PORTION IS THE KEY.

THE COMMITTEE SHALL ADVISE THE BOARD OR IS DESIGNEE IN THE SETTING AND REVIEWING OF THE DISTRICT'S EDUCATIONAL GOALS, OBJECTIVES, AND MAJOR DISTRICT.

DISTRICT WIDE CLASSROOM INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAMS. AND SO, WE DO HOLD THAT CHARGE VERY SERIOUSLY.

AND OUR DISTRICT PLANNING COMMITTEE REALLY ENGAGES VERY WELL WITH US ON THAT, JUST LIKE WE DID ON THE PREVIOUS PRESENTATION.

WE WANTED TO PUT THE ROSTER OF THAT COMMITTEE IN FRONT OF YOU.

NOT SO MUCH FOR THE INDIVIDUAL NAMES SO THAT YOU'RE WE'RE REMINDED THAT WE DO HAVE REPRESENTATION ACROSS VARIOUS COMPONENTS OF OUR DISTRICT.

WE HAVE BUSINESS COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVES, PARENT REPRESENTATIVES.

WE HAVE A BOARD OF TRUSTEE REPRESENTATIVE.

WE'VE GOT CAMPUS STAFF REPRESENTATION AS WELL AS CENTRAL STAFF REPRESENTATION.

AND SO WE TRY TO BE AS COLLABORATIVE IN THIS PROCESS AS WE CAN.

AND I FORGOT THAT I HAD THE LITTLE ARROWS HERE.

SO ONCE AGAIN WE GET THE PARENT INFORMATION.

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND THEN ULTIMATELY CENTRAL ADMINISTRATION RIGHT THERE.

SO MOVING ON, BE THE ONE.

THIS IS REALLY A RALLYING CRY AND REALLY A CALL.

MRS. BRANUM HAS DONE A REALLY GREAT JOB THIS YEAR ACROSS THE VARIOUS COMPONENTS OF BACK TO SCHOOL OF REALLY EMPHASIZING BE THE ONE IN EVERY ONE OF US HAS A CHARGE IN THIS WORK SPECIFIC TO THE GROWTH OF EVERY INDIVIDUAL, EVERY CHILD, EVERY TEACHER, EVERY LEADER, EVERY DAY.

AND SO THIS IS JUST A MONIKER OR THE LOGO, SO TO SPEAK, THAT WE REALLY RELY ON TO DRIVE THAT HOME WITH STAFF.

MOVING ON.

DISTRICT IMPROVEMENT IS OUR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY.

SO NOT ONLY DO WE EACH HAVE A ROLE IN THAT ENSURING THE GROWTH FOR EVERYONE IN THE ORGANIZATION, BUT IT'S OUR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY TO MAKE SURE THAT'S HAPPENING AND THAT REALLY SPEAKS.

I REALLY HAVE TO GIVE KUDOS TO MY FRIENDS ON CABINET AND ALL OF THEIR DEPARTMENTS, BECAUSE THAT'S BEEN VERY A VERY COLLABORATIVE AND ONGOING PROCESS THAT WE'VE

[01:15:08]

ALONG THE WAY IN FRONT OF YOU, YOU SEE THE DISTRICTS CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT MODEL IMPROVEMENT, CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT MODEL, AND YOU CAN SEE AROUND THE EDGE.

THANK YOU, DR. HELLER, FOR THAT ASSIST.

YOU CAN SEE AROUND THE EDGE, ANALYZE AND REFLECT ON DATA, MAKE DATA DRIVEN ADJUSTMENTS, AND THEN GATHERING NEW DATA SO THAT WE REMAIN RESPONSIVE TO THE NEEDS OF OUR STAFF AND MORE SPECIFICALLY, OUR STUDENTS WITHIN THAT.

THAT PROCESS FEEDS AND IS A PART OF THE NORTH STAR GOAL.

AGAIN, EVERY STUDENT, TEACHER AND LEADER WILL MEET AND EXCEED THEIR ACADEMIC GROWTH GOALS.

THE GRADUATE PROFILE, WHICH WE'VE SPOKEN TO YOU SEVERAL TIMES ABOUT THE STRATEGIC PLAN, THE DIP, DISTRICT IMPROVEMENT PLAN, AND SO ON AND SO FORTH.

YOU CAN SEE ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE BOARD GOALS, STRATEGIC PLAN, THE GOALS FROM THE STRATEGIC PLAN.

WE'RE CERTAINLY NOT GOING TO READ THOSE TO YOU, BUT IN BOLD YOU CAN SEE THE MAIN TOPICS THAT WE DO WANT TO CALL BACK TO YOUR ATTENTION INDIVIDUAL GROWTH, RECRUIT AND RETAIN QUALITY STAFF, CURRICULUM AND LEARNING EXPERIENCES.

THAT'S A KEY TERM RIGHT THERE.

GROWTH, WHICH WILL SUPPORT THE INDIVIDUAL GROWTH OF ALL STUDENTS AND STAFF, ENGAGEMENT WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS.

AND THEN FINALLY, AT THE BOTTOM, EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS AND OPERATION AND PERSONNEL.

STRATEGIC YEAR ONE STRATEGIC PLAN HIGHLIGHTS.

AGAIN, WE WON'T READ ALL OF THESE TO YOU, BUT WE DO WANT TO CALL YOUR ATTENTION TO SOME OF THESE HIGHLIGHTED AREAS OR AREAS THAT I WISH TO HIGHLIGHT.

SO THE LEARNING FRAMEWORK AND UNDER GOAL ONE PRIORITIES IDENTIFIED AND ALIGNED TO TTESS, WHICH IS THE EVALUATION PROCESS FOR TEACHERS AND STAFF.

WE WANTED THOSE TO ALIGN SO THAT OUR PROCESSES AND OUR CULTURE FED INTO THE LEARNING FRAMEWORK.

ON GOAL NUMBER TWO, OF COURSE, WE OPENED WE LAUNCHED THE EMPLOYEE DAYCARES, WHICH WERE HUGELY SUCCESSFUL.

AND THE FEEDBACK WE'VE GOTTEN ON THOSE HAS BEEN GREAT.

AND THEN OF COURSE STRATIFIED COMPENSATION PACKAGE.

AND YOU SEE THE OTHER TEACHER INCENTIVE ALLOTMENT, THOSE TYPES OF THINGS.

GOAL NUMBER THREE EMBEDDED LEARNER GROWTH EXPERIENCE FRAMEWORK AND GRADUATE PROFILE AND CURRICULUM DOCUMENTS.

AGAIN, WE DON'T WANT THESE TO WORK IN ISOLATION.

WE WANT THOSE EMBEDDED IN EVERYTHING THAT WE DO AND THAT OUR CAMPUS STAFF DOES.

GOAL FOUR FOR TITLE ONE CAMPUSES.

LAST YEAR, WE IMPLEMENTED PARENT GROWTH GOAL CAMPS TO ENSURE THAT THOSE PARENTS WERE AWARE THAT THEIR STUDENTS HAD A GOAL, HOW TO ACCESS THAT GOAL, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, HOW TO SUPPORT THAT GOAL AND WORK COLLABORATIVELY WITH OR COOPERATIVELY WITH THEIR STUDENT AND THE CAMPUS.

AND THEN FINALLY, UNDER GOAL NUMBER FIVE, WE ARE VERY AWARE THAT THE COMMUNITY BUDGET STEERING COMMITTEE WAS IMPLEMENTED LAST YEAR, AND AS A MATTER OF FACT, WE JUST RECONVENED THAT COMMITTEE THIS YEAR TO CONTINUE THAT CHARGE.

YEAR TWO STRATEGIC PLAN PRIORITIES.

AGAIN, JUST IN BOLD, SOME ITEMS THAT WE WILL CALL TO YOUR ATTENTION TRAIN AND STAFF, STUDENTS AND FAMILIES RELATED TO THE GOAL SETTING.

THAT SECOND BULLET CULTURE BASED ON MUTUAL TRUST AND RESPECT.

AND THAT'S REALLY REFLECTIVE OF THE CODE OF CIVILITY THAT DR.

GIBBONS AND HIS STAFF HAS REALLY LED THE CHARGE ON PROMOTING.

GOING ON TO BULLET NUMBER FOUR, PROVIDE SPECIFIC AND INTENTIONAL ACTIVITIES WHERE RESIDENTS CAN ENGAGE AND ADVOCATE FOR RAISED.

AND THEN AT THE VERY BOTTOM, EVERYONE'S FAVORITE.

WE'VE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT THIS EVENING.

ADDITIONAL ADVOCATE FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDING WITHIN STATE LEGISLATURE.

AND SO NOW THOSE TIE INTO THE DIP PRIORITIES, FOR INSTANCE, THE USE OF SCHOOLOGY AND SEESAW FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS TO SET AND TRACK GOALS.

THE GOAL SETTING PROCESS MOVES ACROSS THE ENTIRE SYSTEM ALL CAMPUSES, ALL GRADE LEVELS, THOSE TYPES OF THINGS.

RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION IS STILL A PRIORITY.

WE HAVE SPENT AS MUCH TIME REVIEWING CLIMATE STAFF CLIMATE SURVEY RESULTS AS I'VE EVER SPENT IN THE SEVEN YEARS THAT I'VE BEEN HERE, AND REALLY TRY TO BE RESPONSIVE TO SOME OF THE FEEDBACK THAT OUR STAFF HAS GIVEN US AS PART OF THAT RETENTION PROCESS.

CONTINUED FOCUS ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE LEARNING FRAMEWORK.

I KNOW DR. LEEPER, AND HER STAFF HAVE WORKED VERY HARD TO CONTINUE THAT PROCESS.

DEVELOPMENT OF A DISTRICT PROFESSIONAL LEARNING FRAMEWORK FOCUSED ON GROWTH FOR ALL STAFF.

MISS BALLAST AND HER TEAM HAVE DONE AN INCREDIBLY GOOD JOB OF CREATING THAT SCOPE AND SEQUENCE, AND REALLY EXPANDING THE NUMBER OF OPTIONS THAT WE HAVE FOR STAFF AND THEN A DATA DRIVEN INSTRUCTION FOCUS THAT, AGAIN, DR.

LEEPER AND HER TEAM, EVEN AS LATE AS TODAY, WERE DRIVING HOME WITH SOME OF OUR INSTRUCTIONAL STAFF ENGAGEMENT OF RESIDENTS.

YOU CAN SEE SOME OF THE AREAS RIGHT THERE THAT WE FORESEE AS PART OF THAT ENGAGEMENT PROCESS, CONTINUED WORK WITH THE COMMUNITY

[01:20:07]

AGAIN, WE RECONVENED THAT COMMITTEE.

I BELIEVE IT WAS MONDAY NIGHT OF THIS WEEK AND THEN FUNDING ADVOCACY WITH THE STATE LEGISLATURE.

NOW, ONE OF THE WAYS WE'RE NOT BRINGING THE CAMPUS IMPROVEMENT PLANS FOR YOU TO CONSIDER AND APPROVE THIS EVENING.

WE'RE SOLELY FOCUSED ON THE DISTRICT IMPROVEMENT PLAN, BUT WE DO WANT TO POINT OUT THAT WE HAVE A PROCESS.

WE CALL IT A CHECKLIST, IF YOU WILL.

AND THAT'S JUST A SCREENSHOT OF IT WHERE THE MAJOR INITIATIVES, THE MAJOR ITEMS THAT ARE PART OF THE DISTRICT IMPROVEMENT PLAN, WE PROVIDE THIS TYPE OF THIS IS JUST A SNAPSHOT OR SCREENSHOT RATHER OF THE ELEMENTARY CHECKLIST, TO MAKE SURE THAT THE CAMPUS PLANS ALIGN TIGHTLY WITH THE DISTRICT IMPROVEMENT PLAN. THE THINGS INCLUDED IN THE CHECKLIST ARE STATUTORY.

THEY'RE REQUIRED BY LAW, SUCH AS BULLYING PREVENTION AND THOSE TYPES OF THINGS, AS WELL AS MAJOR INITIATIVES THAT WE'VE UNDERTAKEN THIS YEAR, SUCH AS DATA DRIVEN INSTRUCTION.

THE TIMELINE AS MRS. BRANUM POINTED OUT A LITTLE EARLIER, WE KICKED OFF THE PROCESS IN LATE APRIL, APRIL 22ND.

YOU CAN SEE THAT WE WENT INTO MASS BREAK WITH THE FIRST DRAFT OF THE DIP COMPLETED.

WE CAME BACK FOR CENTRAL CONNECTS, WHICH IS WHERE ALL OUR CENTRAL DEPARTMENTS CONVENE.

AFTER MASS BREAK, WE REVIEWED THE COMPONENTS OF THE DISTRICT IMPROVEMENT PLAN.

WE DID THE SAME THING AT CONNECTS CONFERENCE WITH OUR CAMPUS STAFF.

AND THEN IF YOU FAST FORWARD TO THE END, THERE WE ARE HERE BEFORE YOU TONIGHT TO ASK THAT YOU OFFICIALLY APPROVE THE DISTRICT IMPROVEMENT PLAN.

SO SOME KEY TAKEAWAYS.

DISTRICT HAS AN ANNUAL CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT PROCESS THAT IS ALIGNED TO THE NORTH STAR GOAL.

GRADUATE PROFILE AND STRATEGIC PLAN YEAR TWO PRIORITIES.

WE TALKED ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT, SO I WON'T NECESSARILY READ THOSE TO YOU.

DISTRICT AND CAMPUS PLANS INCLUDE SPECIFIC STRATEGIES AND SUPPORT TO SUPPORT THE PRIORITIES.

AND THEN LIKE I SAID, THE DIP IS FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION TODAY.

WE WILL BE BACK WITH YOU IN OCTOBER FOR THE CAMPUS IMPROVEMENT PLANS.

SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, I'LL ENTERTAIN ANY QUESTIONS.

THANK YOU, MR. HASSAN. AGAIN, THANK YOU TO THE ENTIRE TEAM FOR YOUR INCREDIBLE WORK.

WE HAVE MANY EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS AND DIRECTORS THAT ARE IN THE BACK THAT HAVE CONTRIBUTED GREATLY TO THE DISTRICT IMPROVEMENT PLAN, AND I THANK YOU.

AND WITH THAT, I DO RECOMMEND THAT THE BOARD APPROVE THE 2425 DISTRICT IMPROVEMENT PLAN AS PRESENTED.

THANK YOU FOR THAT RECOMMENDATION, SUPERINTENDENT BRANDON, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION, MR. GRASSO. BOARD MEMBERS, DO WE HAVE A MOTION? SO MOVED. OKAY.

MR. EAGER. THANK YOU.

DO WE HAVE A SECOND? SECOND. ALL RIGHT, MISS MCGOWAN.

THANK YOU. OKAY.

WITH THAT, DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ON THE PRESENTATION OR THE DIP IN GENERAL? OKAY, I'LL START TO MY LEFT, MR. YEAGER, AND THEN FOLLOW WITH MISS TIMMY.

GO AHEAD. I JUST WANT TO THANK, YOU KNOW, ALL THE WORK AND EFFORT OF THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS AND, YOU KNOW, CABINET AND EVERYTHING BECAUSE THIS IS, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, YOU KNOW, IT'S PLANNING, SETTING DIRECTION, SETTING GOALS AND EXECUTING ON A STRATEGIC PLAN SO THAT IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE DON'T HAVE A PLAN THAT JUST BECOMES ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE. IT SITS ON THE SHELF.

AND THIS IS JUST ANOTHER DEMONSTRATION OF OUR DISTRICT THAT IS TAKING THE PLAN AND PUTTING IT INTO AN EXECUTION YEAR BY YEAR.

AND THE DISTRICT IS SEEING THE BENEFITS OF THAT PLAN.

SO JUST WANT TO POINT OUT AND SAY THANK YOU FOR ALL THE EFFORT AND WORK THAT WENT INTO IT.

THANK YOU. MR. EAGER MISS TIMMY.

YEAH, I JUST WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT ONE THING AND MAKE SURE WHEN I'M LOOKING AT THE DIP AND I'M LOOKING AT THAT, IT REALLY STARTS WITH THE COMPREHENSIVE NEEDS ASSESSMENT.

AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE AMOUNT OF DATA THAT'S COLLECTED IN ORDER TO LOOK AT TO SEE WHERE WE MIGHT HAVE SOME DEFICITS WHILE YES, OUR DATA IS IN THERE, IT IS.

IT IS MERELY ONE OF LIKE REALLY 100 DIFFERENT THINGS THAT WE LOOK AT.

YOU LOOK AT, YOU'RE LOOKING AT ADVANCED PLACEMENT, YOU'RE LOOKING AT GT, YOU'RE LOOKING AT OUR SPECIAL NEEDS STUDENTS.

YOU'RE LOOKING AT ALL OF THE THINGS YOU'RE LOOKING AT STUDENTS BY GROUPS YOU KNOW, PSAT, ACT AND THEN YOU'RE DETERMINING THEN HOW THAT ALL TIES IN TO HERE ARE OUR NEEDS, HOW IT TIES INTO ALL OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, STARTING WITH THAT NORTH STAR GOAL.

SO I JUST I THINK STARTING WITH THAT NEEDS ASSESSMENT.

BUT THE VAST AMOUNT OF DATA THAT YOU GUYS ARE USING THAT'S NOT DEPENDENT JUST ON STAR, BUT IT IS VERY COMPREHENSIVE, REALLY LEADS WITH LOTS OF PEOPLE HAVING INPUT ON THAT LEADS TO SOME OF THESE GOALS.

AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THE FACT YOU GUYS GIVE THE CAMPUSES FLEXIBILITY TO TAKE THOSE NEEDS AND PUT IT IN THE CONTEXT WHICH MATTERS TO THE SITUATION THAT THEY'RE IN INDIVIDUALLY VERSUS WITH BLANKET PIECES OF THAT.

SO I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU GUYS FOR THAT.

THANK YOU, MISS TIMMY.

[01:25:01]

WELL, THANK YOU. WE'VE GOT A MOTION.

WE'VE GOT A SECOND. WE'VE HAD SOME CONVERSATION ON THIS.

SO WITH THAT, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU'RE IN FAVOR OF THIS MOTION.

OKAY. AND THIS MOTION PASSES 7 TO 0.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU.

AND WITH THAT, IT'S 728.

AND WE WILL TAKE A PRETTY QUICK LET'S DO A TEN MINUTE BREAK.

SO AT 7:38 WE'LL RECONVENE IN HERE TO CONTINUE THE MEETING.

THANK YOU. OKAY, WE'RE GOING TO RETURN TO OUR MEETING. THANK YOU FOR THE QUICK BREAK.

[IV.H. Pre-K Program Update]

MRS. BRANUM. THANK YOU.

AT THIS TIME, I'M GOING TO INVITE OUR AMAZING PRE-K TEAM TO COME FORWARD.

KATIE FINNEY, COME UP.

WE ARE SO GLAD THAT YOU ARE HERE TONIGHT.

THIS REAL. YES.

LOOK AT THAT. YOU GOT APPLAUSE.

YOU EVEN SAY ANYTHING.

THAT'S AMAZING. I NEED, I NEED TO LIKE I NEED TO KNOW YOUR MAGIC.

I'M SO PROUD OF THIS PRESENTATION.

I'M SO PROUD. I CAN REMEMBER A TIME WHERE KATIE FINNEY AND I WERE SITTING IN 107, RIGHT DOWN THERE, AND WE WERE LOOKING AT WHERE WE WERE WITH HALF DAY PROGRAMS AND THE NUMBER OF ROOMS WE HAD, AND WE SAID, COULD YOU IMAGINE A DAY WHEN AND EVERY YEAR SHE TAKES US A STEP CLOSER TO BEING THAT DISTRICT THAT HAS THAT WIN IS A REALITY.

AND SO I SO APPRECIATE HER LEADERSHIP.

I KNOW MISS BALLAST IS ALSO A FEARLESS SUPPORTER OF PRE-K.

AND SO WITH THAT, I'M JUST GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO YOU AND I.

WE CAN'T WAIT TO HEAR ABOUT ALL THINGS PRE-K.

ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU, MISS BRANUM.

GOOD EVENING. BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND SUPERINTENDENT BRANUM AND CABINET.

MY NAME IS KATIE FINNEY.

I'M THE COORDINATING DIRECTOR OF EARLY CHILDHOOD SERVICES.

MY ROLE IN RISD, AS MISS BRANUM SHARED, IS TO SUPPORT ALL THINGS WITH OUR LITTLEST LEARNERS, THEIR TEACHERS OR ADMINISTRATORS AND FAMILIES.

TONIGHT, I HAVE THE HONOR TO SHARE WITH YOU AN OVERVIEW OF OUR PROGRAM.

JUST AS MISS BRANUM SHARED, I OUR TEAM IS UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF MISS SHAUNA BALLAST, THE SENIOR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF LEADERSHIP AND INTERVENTION.

OUR PROGRAM SPECIALIST, MISS MICHELLE MARTIN AND CLAUDINE FIGUEROA ARE HERE WITH US TONIGHT ALONG WITH JOCELYN CASTILLO, OUR EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT.

WE TRAVEL TOGETHER ALWAYS.

TONIGHT, I'M GOING TO WALK YOU THROUGH A HISTORICAL JOURNEY.

DIVE INTO EXACTLY WHAT PRE-K LOOKS LIKE IN RISD, SHARE SOME PROGRESS MONITORING GROWTH AND DATA TRENDS, AND HIGHLIGHT THE AMAZING WORK OF THIS TEAM.

WE ARE COMMITTED TO OUR NORTH STAR GOAL THAT EVERY STUDENT, TEACHER, LEADER WILL MEET OR EXCEED OUR ACADEMIC GROWTH GOALS.

AND THAT ALL BEGINS WITH THE SMILING FACES, JUST LIKE OLIVIA'S, WHERE THEY ENTER OUR CLASSROOMS AT JUST 36 MONTHS OLD AND READY TO LEARN THE ONLY WAY THEY KNOW HOW THROUGH PLAY.

WHEN THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE ESTABLISHED PRE-KINDERGARTEN PROGRAM, THE INTENT WAS, AND STILL IS, TO PROVIDE EARLY LEARNING EXPERIENCES TO STUDENTS WHO ARE MOST AT RISK FOR SCHOOL FAILURE.

THE GOAL IS TO CLOSE THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP AND PREPARE CHILDREN FOR KINDERGARTEN.

IT IS IMPORTANT TO FOCUS ON OUR HIGH QUALITY PORTION OF THAT TOP STATEMENT RESEARCH.

RESEARCH SUPPORTS THAT HIGH QUALITY IS THE DETERMINING FACTOR ON WHETHER OR NOT A PRE-K PROGRAM CAN SUBSTANTIALLY HELP CLOSE THAT GAP.

TONIGHT, I HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE AN UPDATE WITH YOU, BUT I WOULD BE REMISS IF I DIDN'T BEGIN BY RECOGNIZING THE HARD WORK OF OUR TEACHERS, OUR PARAPROFESSIONALS, OUR CAMPUS STAFF.

ESPECIALLY AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SCHOOL YEAR WHEN STUDENTS TRANSITION TO SCHOOL, THERE CAN BE MANY TEARS CHALLENGING BEHAVIORS AS THEY EXPERIENCE SCHOOL FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME.

THE PRE-K TEAM WORKS COLLABORATIVELY WITH THE TEACHER, THE CAMPUS, THE FAMILY, STUDENT SERVICES, AND SPECIAL STUDENT SERVICES TO SUPPORT STUDENT SUCCESS AS THEY JOIN THE RISD FAMILY.

SO NOW LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT THAT HISTORICAL JOURNEY THAT MISS BRANUM JUST MENTIONED JUST SEVEN YEARS AGO.

YOU WERE RIGHT. WE WERE JUST STANDING IN THAT ROOM BEHIND US AND WE CONSISTED OF 31 PRE-K TEACHERS ACROSS 19 CAMPUSES.

WE WERE SERVING AROUND 100 4 YEAR OLDS, AND THEN IN 18-19, WE PILOTED OUR FIRST FULL DAY CLASSROOMS BASED ON THE NEEDS OF OUR FAMILIES.

AND THEN IN 1920, HOUSE BILL THREE GAVE THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS A TIMELINE TO TRANSITION TO FULL DAY, WHICH IS WHEN WE ACTUALLY OPENED OUR FIRST DOORS TO OUR THREE YEAR OLDS, WHICH WAS AT ADOBE PRE-K SCHOOL.

AND OUR NEIGHBORING DISTRICT TO THE SOUTH WAS ALREADY SERVING THOSE THREE YEAR OLDS, AND OUR COMMUNITY WAS KNOCKING DOWN THE DOOR.

THEY WANTED THREE YEAR OLDS IN OUR ASD AS WELL.

[01:30:03]

WE WOULD SEE THE RETURN MORE IN OUR IN OUR INVESTMENT.

IN 2020, WE TRANSITIONED ALL CLASSROOMS TO FULL DAY PROGRAMING.

AND THEN OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS, WE CONTINUED EXPANDING.

WHICH BRINGS US TO THE 2425 SCHOOL YEAR.

SO I'M PROUD TO SHARE THAT WE NOW OFFICIALLY HAVE 108 CLASSROOMS ACROSS 34 OF OUR CAMPUSES.

WE ARE FILLED WITH JUST SHY OF 1900 CHILDREN.

THE MAJORITY OF THOSE CLASSROOMS ARE PRE-K.

FOUR YEAR OLD CLASSROOMS BECAUSE T REQUIRES US TO SERVE THOSE QUALIFYING FOUR YEAR OLDS.

HOWEVER, WE ARE COMMITTED TO CONTINUING TO EXPAND THOSE THREE YEAR OLD OFFERINGS ANNUALLY BECAUSE THE DEMAND DOES REMAIN HIGH.

THIS YEAR, WE ADDED PRE-K FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME TO MST.

MERRIMAN PARK, MOSS HAVEN, PRAIRIE CREEK AND RAISED ACADEMY AND THEN IN ALIGNMENT WITH OUR DISTRICT IMPROVEMENT PLAN GOAL FOUR AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.

WE ARE WORKING WITH THE STRATEGY ENGAGEMENT TEAM TO CRAFT ADDITIONAL MARKETING SPECIFIC TO THOSE NEW CAMPUSES.

NOW, LET'S SHIFT OUR FOCUS TO WHAT THOSE PRE-K CLASSROOMS LOOK LIKE INSIDE OF OUR ASD AND THE PROGRAMS THAT WE OFFER.

SO WE OFFER A FULL DAY, THREE YEAR OLD MONOLINGUAL AND DUAL LANGUAGE PROGRAMS AND PRE-K.

FOUR YEAR OLD FULL DAY.

MONOLINGUAL AND DUAL LANGUAGE.

ONE WAY. AND THIS IS OUR SECOND YEAR TO OFFER DUAL LANGUAGE TWO WAY AT STOLTZ.

THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO GAIN ACCESS TO OUR PRE-K CLASSROOMS. SEVEN T DETERMINES SEVEN ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR FREE PRE-K.

THE MAJORITY OF OUR STUDENTS HIT TWO OF THOSE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA, WHICH IS THAT THEY EITHER QUALIFY AS STUDENTS WHO ARE UNABLE TO SPEAK OR COMPREHEND THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. THOSE ARE CONSIDERED OUR EMERGENT BILINGUAL STUDENTS, WHICH IS DETERMINED BY A LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT, OR THEY QUALIFY AS EDUCATIONALLY DISADVANTAGED, WHICH IS DETERMINED WHEN A FAMILY MEETS FREE OR REDUCED LUNCH.

THAT ELIGIBILITY INCOME GUIDELINE.

WE ALSO OFFER PRE-K AS AN EMPLOYEE BENEFIT, WHICH WITH AN AMAZING TUITION RATE OF JUST $150 A MONTH.

AND THEN WE HAVE OPENED TO COMMUNITY TUITION AS WELL FOR OUR THREES AND OUR FOUR YEAR OLDS.

THAT ONE HAS A TIERED TUITION APPROACH, AND THAT RANGES FROM 150 300 OR 575 BASED ON.

IT'S A 20% INCREASE ABOVE THE QUALIFYING FOR FREE ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME.

SO IT KIND OF IT THE INCREMENT BUMPS UP EACH TIME.

AND THEN LAST BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST, OUR CHILDREN CAN GAIN ACCESS TO A PRE-K CLASSROOM IF THEY HAVE AN IEP GOAL THAT NECESSITATES IT BEING SERVED INSIDE A PRE-K CLASSROOM. SO THOSE CHILDREN ARE THEN PLACED INTO OUR CLASSROOMS AS WELL.

SO NOW LET'S DIVE INTO WHAT WE WANT OUR STUDENTS TO LEARN BY THE END OF PRE-K.

AND IT'S A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT.

YOU CAN SEE OUR ESSENTIAL STANDARDS UP HERE ON THE BOARD.

WE HAVE HIGHLIGHTED THESE ESSENTIAL STANDARDS IN ALIGNMENT TO THE TEXAS PRE-K GUIDELINES FOR K 12.

YOU MAY BE FAMILIAR HEARING THIS AS PRIORITY TEKS OR LEARNING STANDARDS.

SO AT THE END SEE IF MY CLICKS WORK.

THERE WE GO. AT THE END OF PRE-K THREE A CHILD SHOULD BE SHOWING AWARENESS AND RECOGNIZING SOME LETTERS WHERE AT THE END OF PRE-K FOUR.

OUR GOAL IS FOR THEM TO RECOGNIZE 20 UPPER OR LOWERCASE LETTERS.

AND THEN IN THERE WE GO.

AT THE END OF PRE-K THREE, THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO PRODUCE THE SOUND AND LETTER AND THE SOUND FOR THEIR FIRST LETTER OF THEIR NAME AT PRE-K THREE.

BUT THEN IN PRE-K FOUR, WE WANT THEM TO PRODUCE 20 OF THOSE LETTER SOUND CORRESPONDENCES.

AND THEN IN PRE-K THREE, THEY ARE ATTEMPTING TO DRAW.

WE'RE EXPLORING MORE SO AT THE END OF PRE-K THREE, WITH THOSE DIFFERENT, THOSE DIFFERENT WRITING TOOLS.

BUT THEN IN PRE-K FOUR, WE EXPECT THEM TO BE INDEPENDENTLY DRAWING IN WRITING.

SO THE NEXT ONES ARE AROUND.

OUR NUMERACY IS THAT WE WANT OUR PRE-K THREE YEAR OLDS TO BE ABLE TO COUNT AND RECOGNIZE NUMERALS TO FIVE.

WE'RE IN PRE-K FOUR. WE WANT THEM TO GO UP TO THE NUMBER TEN.

NOW, WE KNOW THAT MANY OF OUR STUDENTS WALK IN ABLE TO DO SOME OF THESE THINGS, OR THEY SURPASS THESE GOALS QUICKLY, AND THEREFORE OUR TEACHERS THEN MOVE ON TO MORE INDIVIDUAL.

GOALS BASED ON THEIR STUDENTS.

BUT THESE ARE SET FORTH BY T AS END OF YEAR GOALS.

ALL RIGHT, SO BEFORE JUMPING INTO OUR 2320, 2324 PROGRESS MONITORING DATA, I WANT TO TAKE A MINUTE TO JUST REMIND EVERYONE OF OUR BOARD GOAL.

PROGRESS MEASURES THIS.

THE EARLY TARGETS INCREASE BY 2 OR 3% ACROSS IN THE AREAS OF LETTER RECOGNITION AND IN NUMERACY, WITH THE END GOAL OF 98% IN 2027.

SO WE'RE GOING TO FOCUS ON THOSE LETTER RECOGNITION AND NUMERACY WHEN WE REVIEW OUR PRE-K FOUR AND PRE-K.

[01:35:01]

SO LETTER RECOGNITION IS THE ONE ON THE FIRST.

ON THE LEFT SIDE, THE FIRST THREE BOXES BOE, MCCOY AND EOY.

THE LETTER RECOGNITION.

RECOGNITION IS ASSESSED FOR FLUENCY.

CHILDREN HAVE ONE MINUTE TO NAME RANDOMIZED UPPER AND LOWER CASE LETTERS.

AND THEN NUMERACY.

ON THE RIGHT SIDE IS A COMPOSITE SCORE BASED ON SEVEN SUBSETS.

THE ASSESSMENTS ARE THE SAME IN BOTH PRE-K THREE AND PRE-K FOUR CLASSROOMS. HOWEVER, THE CUT POINTS TO MAKE THEM ON TRACK ARE BASED ON THE AGE OF THE CHILD AND THE LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION ARE MONOLINGUAL AND ELL.

STUDENTS COMPLETE ALL THEIR PROGRESS MONITORING MEASURES IN ENGLISH, WHERE OUR DUAL LANGUAGE STUDENTS COMPLETE ALL THEIR MEASURES IN SPANISH, AND THEIR VOCABULARY AND NUMERACY MEASURES ARE ASSESSED IN ENGLISH SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TRACKING THEIR ENGLISH LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT.

SO I'M THRILLED TO CELEBRATE THE TREMENDOUS GROWTH ACROSS THE BOARD.

YOU CAN SEE THAT THEY'RE MAKING FROM BOE TO EOY.

HOWEVER, WE KNOW THAT WE'RE NOT QUITE MEETING THOSE PROGRESS MEASURES.

WE DO RECOGNIZE THAT.

AND THE REST OF THE PRESENTATION WE'RE GOING TO BE SHARING WITH YOU ALL THE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING TO TO RECTIFY THAT.

AND WE DID HEAR THE BOARD'S REQUEST TO BRING FORWARD DATA SURROUNDING HOW OUR PREVIOUS PRE-K STUDENTS PERFORMED ON STARR.

HOWEVER, WITH THOSE PRE-K STUDENTS HAVING EXPERIENCED SCHOOL INTERRUPTION WITH COVID, IT WAS DETERMINED THAT IT WOULD BE BEST FOR US TO BRING FORWARD A MORE ACCURATE DEPICTION OF OUR PRE-K IMPACT.

SO WE'RE GOING TO BE SHOWING YOU THE 2324 KINDERGARTEN MAP DATA.

FOR THOSE CHILDREN WHO WERE ATTENDED RACE DAY PRE-K COMPARED TO THOSE WHO DID NOT.

SO THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE RIGHT HERE.

AND ACCORDING TO THE AVERAGE RLA, RIT SCORES FOR STUDENTS, OUR STUDENTS WHO ATTENDED OUR PRE-K OUTPERFORMED THEIR PEERS WHO DID NOT ATTEND OUR PRE-K.

YOU CAN SEE THAT TREND.

AND THE SAME IS TRUE FOR OUR RIT, FOR OUR EMERGENT BILINGUAL STUDENTS.

ONCE AGAIN, THOSE THAT ATTENDED OUR PRE-K ON THE LEFT SIDE HAD A TRAJECTORY THAT IS HIGHER THAN THE EBS THAT DID NOT ATTEND OUR PRE-K MOVING INTO MATH.

THE MATH SCORES FOR ECODYST ONCE AGAIN ARE PRE-K STUDENTS WHO ATTENDED, RAISED PRE-K, HAD THE HIGHER TRAJECTORY THAN OUR ECODYST STUDENTS WHO DID NOT. CLOSING OUT WITH OUR MAP SCORES FOR OUR EBS.

ALSO THE SAME THING.

OUR PRE-K STUDENTS WERE OUTPERFORMED.

THEIR PEERS THAT DID NOT ATTEND RAISED PRE-K.

SO THROUGH THE NEXT FEW SLIDES, I WILL SHARE A HIGH QUALITY FRAMEWORK, WHICH WE WILL CONTINUE TO SUPPORT OUR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS AS THEY PROGRESS TOWARDS THEIR ACADEMIC GROWTH GOALS AND OUR BOARD GOAL PROGRESS MEASURES.

SO FOR HIGH QUALITY, IF YOU REMEMBER BACK AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PRESENTATION, I MENTIONED THAT HIGH QUALITY COMPONENT AND THAT THE HIGH QUALITY PIECE IS WHAT MATTERS.

IT'S NOT JUST ATTENDING PRE-K, IT IS ATTENDING A HIGH QUALITY PRE-K.

SO THIS IS WHAT WE POUR OUR WORK INTO DAY IN AND DAY OUT.

THERE ARE FIVE COMPONENTS THAT WE'LL TALK ABOUT TODAY.

IN OUR CLASSROOMS WE UTILIZE THE TEXAS PRE-K GUIDELINES AS OUR CURRICULUM, AND FROG STREET IS OUR RESOURCE.

IN PRE-K, WE HAVE A UNIQUE GUIDE, A LITTLE BIT UNIQUENESS TO OUR GUIDELINES THAT WE FOCUS ON THE WHOLE CHILD, INCLUDING SOCIAL EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION. FOR THE MAJORITY OF OUR STUDENTS, THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THEY'RE AWAY FROM HOME.

THEY'RE BEING SURROUNDED BY THEIR PEERS BEING SURROUNDED BY THEIR PEERS FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME.

WE CANNOT JUMP RIGHT INTO LEARNING LETTERS AND SOUNDS AT THE VERY BEGINNING.

THEY HAVE TO LEARN HOW TO BE AWAY FROM THEIR PARENTS FOR THE FIRST TIME, LEARN HOW TO SHARE ATTENTION WITH 20 OTHERS IN THEIR CLASSROOM.

THEY HAVE TO LEARN HOW TO WALK DOWN THE HALLWAY AND NOT GET LOST IN A SEA OF OLDER STUDENTS.

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, THEY MUST HAVE TO LEARN TO SELF-REGULATE VERY BIG EMOTIONS AS THEY EXPERIENCE SCHOOL FOR THE FIRST TIME.

WE ALSO IMPLEMENT THE PROGRESS MONITORING WHICH WE SHARED EARLIER.

IT IS A COMPONENT OF THE HIGH QUALITY FRAMEWORK AND WE MUST ASSESS IT THREE TIMES A YEAR AND WE UTILIZE CLIENT GAUGE.

THAT'S THE PLATFORM THAT WE USE TO CONDUCT THE ASSESSMENTS.

IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO NOTE THE RATIO OF 1 TO 11.

KEEPING THIS RATIO AT A MAX OF 1 TO 11 PLAYS A MAJOR ROLE.

SO THANK YOU, BOARD OF TRUSTEES, FOR CONTINUING TO FUND PRE-K TEACHERS AND THE PARAPROFESSIONAL IN THE CLASSROOM BECAUSE IT 100% MAKES A DIFFERENCE.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND COACHING AND PARENT ENGAGEMENT ALSO PLAY A CRUCIAL ROLE.

BUT BEFORE WE DIVE INTO THAT, I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE THE DOCUMENT YOU SEE ON THE RIGHT, WHICH WE WILL IN YOUR YOU HAVE A COLORING BOOK ON YOUR DESK THAT WE'LL GET TO IN A LITTLE BIT, BUT IT'S IN THERE AS WELL.

THESE ARE PRE-K NON-NEGOTIABLES, AND THIS IS A DOCUMENT THAT WE CREATED FOR TEACHERS, FOR THE ADMINISTRATORS, FOR CAMPUS COACHES TO HAVE, AT A

[01:40:03]

SO LET'S START AT THE VERY TOP OF IT.

IT'S THAT CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT PIECE THAT IS WHERE WE KNOW THAT WE'RE GUARANTEEING THAT OUR STUDENTS ARE GOING TO BE GREETED AT THE DOOR WITH A HANDSHAKE, A HIGH FIVE, A HUG, AND THEY'RE GOING TO BE IMMERSED INTO ROUTINES LIKE A BRAINSMART START WHERE THEY ARE BEING THEIR UNITING TOGETHER, SINGING TOGETHER.

THEY'RE LEARNING CALMING STRATEGIES TOGETHER, AND THEY'RE LEARNING TO CONNECT WITH ONE ANOTHER.

OUR STUDENTS CAN COUNT ON A MINIMUM OF THREE READ ALOUDS A DAY.

THAT'S AN EXPECTATION ACROSS THE DISTRICT.

A MINIMUM OF AN HOUR AND A HALF OF FREE CHOICE CENTER PLAY.

THAT IS NOT WHERE SOMEONE IS TELLING YOU, YOU MUST GO SIT HERE AND COMPLETE THIS TASK AT THIS TABLE IS THAT THE CHILDREN HAVE FULL ACCESS TO THEIR ENTIRE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT, AND THEY GET TO CHOOSE THE AREA THAT THEY'RE WORKING ON.

THEY ARE ALSO PULLED INTO SMALL GROUP INSTRUCTION THAT MAY BE COMING TO THE TABLE TO WORK WITH THE TEACHER ON A SPECIFIC A SPECIFIC NEED, OR IT IS THE TEACHER OR THE PARAPROFESSIONAL PUSHING INTO WHERE THEY'RE PLAYING AT AND BRINGING THE INDIVIDUAL INSTRUCTION TO THEM.

ALL OF OUR STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN RECESS.

THEY GO TO SPECIALS, AND THEY HAVE MULTIPLE OPPORTUNITIES FOR MUSIC AND MOVEMENT.

SO NOW LET'S DIRECT OUR ATTENTION TO WHAT I CONSIDER THE STAR OF THIS PRESENTATION.

AND THAT'S OUR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND COACHING AND OUR PARENT ENGAGEMENT.

THERE WE GO. PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO RECOGNIZE THE 23 NAMES PRESENTED TONIGHT ON THE SCREEN.

THESE 23 PRE-K TEACHERS ARE ALREADY RECOGNIZED BY TEA AS HIGH QUALITY TEACHERS.

T PROVIDES A COUPLE OF OPTIONS FOR DISTRICTS TO IDENTIFY TEACHERS AS HIGH QUALITY BASED ON THEIR EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND, BASED ON DIFFERENT CERTIFICATIONS.

BUT IN RISD, WE CHOSE MANY YEARS AGO TO POUR INTO OUR TEACHERS WITH PROFESSIONAL LEARNING AND COACHING, AND THIS IS THE MODEL THAT T RECOMMENDS FOR THAT.

AND IT IS 15 HOURS OF SPECIFIC PRE-K, AND 15 HOURS OF COACHING FOR A TOTAL OF 30 ADDITIONAL HOURS FOR FIVE YEARS, FOR A TOTAL OF 150 HOURS.

SO YES, YOU READ THAT CORRECTLY.

THAT'S A LOT OF ADDITIONAL WORK THAT GETS POURED INTO OUR PRE-K TEACHERS.

SO WHAT I WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU NEXT IS EXACTLY HOW DO WE ACCOMPLISH THAT WITH MY WONDERFUL TEAM.

THERE WE GO. SO WE DO THAT BY SOMETHING THAT WE DEEM THE CONNECTED COACHING MODEL.

AND THIS ALLOWS US TO BUILD CAPACITY AT THE CAMPUSES BECAUSE AS THERE'S ONLY TWO SPECIALISTS AND MYSELF TO RUN AROUND TO NOW 108 CLASSROOMS, WE'VE GOT TO BE BUILDING THAT CAPACITY AT THE CAMPUS LEVEL.

SO THAT COULD BE THE TEACHER, THAT COULD BE THE HIGH QUALITY TEACHER THAT'S ALREADY THERE.

IT COULD BE THE PRINCIPAL, THE ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL, AN INSTRUCTIONAL COACH TEAMED WITH ONE OF OUR PROGRAM SPECIALISTS, AND THAT CREATES THAT COACHING MODEL.

TOGETHER WE UTILIZE SCHOOLOGY.

AND THROUGH THAT SCHOOLOGY PLATFORM, THERE ARE OVER 50 UNIQUE COACHING OPPORTUNITIES, ALONG WITH PLC DOCUMENTATION THAT WE CAN COUNT AS WELL THAT TEACHERS CAN CHOOSE TO ENGAGE IN.

THAT CONNECTS BACK WITH OUR ONE OF OUR PROGRAM SPECIALISTS OR WITH THE CAMPUS COACH, AND THEY COMPLETE THOSE HOURS ANNUALLY FOR THE TOTAL OF 150 HOURS AFTER FIVE YEARS.

SO ANOTHER POP UP AT THE TOP RIGHT IS ANOTHER RESOURCE THAT OUR TEAM, MISS MARTIN AND MISS FIGUEROA HAVE CREATED, AND THAT IS A GOOGLE SITE.

AND ON THAT GOOGLE SITE, IT PROVIDES OUR PROFESSIONAL LEARNING CALENDAR SO THAT OUR TEACHERS KNOW AND OUR PARAPROFESSIONALS KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THEY CAN ATTEND DURING THE MONTH.

IT HOUSES OUR THEMATIC STORE, WHICH IS FULL OF RESOURCES, PRINTABLE RESOURCES.

IT'S REALLY A ONE STOP SHOP BECAUSE WE KNOW IT'S HARD ALREADY, WITH A LOT GOING ON IN A LOT OF RESOURCES.

SO WE HAVE WORKED HARD TO PUT ALL OF THAT INTO ONE LOCATION.

BUT MY FAVORITE HIGHLIGHT OF THE NIGHT IS THE ONE IN THE MIDDLE, WHICH IS WHAT YOU HAVE IN FRONT OF YOU, AND THAT IS OUR PRE-K.

I'LL SAY FAMOUS PRE-K COLORING BOOK BECAUSE IT HAS BEEN ASKED ABOUT AND ASKED FOR ACROSS TEXAS AT THIS POINT ONCE WE LAUNCHED IT.

SO I'LL CLICK A FEW JUST SO YOU ALL SEE WHAT'S INSIDE OF IT.

THERE WE GO. IT HAS OUR HIGH QUALITY.

WHOA, THERE WE GO.

OUR HIGH QUALITY PRE-K PD REQUIREMENTS BECAUSE IT IS A LOT TO REMEMBER.

IT HAS SOME IDEAS FOR OUR ROOM ARRANGEMENTS.

THERE'S A LOT OF WORK THAT GOES INTO MAKING A HIGH QUALITY PRE-K CLASSROOM.

THE WAY THE ROOM IS SET UP, YOU'LL NOTICE THERE'S NO DESKS AND NOT EVERYONE'S NICELY IN ROWS FACING THE FRONT.

WE BUILD LITTLE COMMUNITIES WITH THE TABLES AND CHAIRS AND THE DIVIDING STORAGE UNITS AROUND.

THEN THEY WILL ALWAYS HAVE A QUICK GLANCE AT ESSENTIAL STANDARDS SO THAT THEY HAVE IT READILY AVAILABLE.

THEY HAVE THEIR THEMATIC SCOPE AND SEQUENCE.

[01:45:02]

THIS MAKES ME HAPPY.

OUR PROFESSIONAL OR NOT, OUR PROFESSIONAL LEARNING, OUR PROGRESS MONITORING SO THEY KNOW EXACTLY WHAT MEASURES ARE ASSESSED AT WHAT TIME.

WE'VE GOT OUR PORTFOLIO IN THERE.

ACCESS TO SEESAW.

OF COURSE, OUR GRADUATE PROFILE, BECAUSE IT DOES BEGIN WITH US.

AND WE CAN TAKE THAT GRADUATE PROFILE ALL THE WAY DOWN TO OUR YOUNGEST LEARNERS.

AND THEN ALSO OUR LEARNER FRAMEWORK IS INSIDE AS WELL, ENDING WITH REMINDING THEM ALWAYS THROUGHOUT THAT OUR TEACHERS ARE THE ONES ON POINT, BUT THEY ALSO NEED A MOMENT TO COLOR TOO. SO MOVING FORWARD, WE ALSO HAVE TEAM GOALS.

I KNOW THAT IS PART OF OUR NORTH STAR GOAL, SO WE ALSO HAVE PRE-K.

OUR TEAM HAS GOALS, SPECIFICALLY THREE INSTRUCTIONAL PRIORITIES AND A GOAL TO INCREASE OUR PROFESSIONAL LEARNING ATTENDANCE.

WE ARE COMMITTED TO SUPPORTING OUR CLASSROOMS IN ACHIEVING OUR INSTRUCTIONAL PRIORITIES, WHICH FOCUS ON DATA DRIVEN SMALL GROUP INSTRUCTION, COGNITIVE TRANSITIONS, AND BUILDING ORAL LANGUAGE SKILLS.

YOU SHOULD NOT WALK INTO A PRE-K CLASSROOM AND IT'S QUIET.

IT IS NOT OFTEN ZONE ZERO IN OUR CLASSROOMS. WE WANT TO HEAR THEM TALKING AND PLAYING.

WE ARE ALSO DETERMINED TO INCREASE OUR PROFESSIONAL LEARNING ATTENDANCE BY PROVIDING PURPOSEFUL, INNOVATIVE, INNOVATIVE AND RELEVANT PROFESSIONAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES.

WE INCREASED PARTICIPATION THIS SUMMER AS WE CREATED THE EARLY CHILDHOOD PATHWAY AT THE TOGETHER WE GROW CONFERENCE THIS SUMMER, AND MANY OF OUR TEACHER LEADERS ACTUALLY GOT UP THERE AND PRESENTED THEMSELVES AND RECEIVED SOME GREAT FEEDBACK FROM THEIR PEERS.

SO IT WAS NICE TO WATCH AND SEE THAT HAPPEN.

WE'RE ALSO COMMITTED TO POURING IN TO OUR NEW TEACHERS WITH OUR ACHIEVE TEACHER COHORT.

THERE IS NO DOUBT.

I THINK THIS IS A GAME CHANGER.

BEING ABLE TO POUR INTO THOSE NEW TEACHERS THROUGHOUT THE SCHOOL YEAR AND THEN ALSO OUR THEMATIC PLAY AND PLAN TRAININGS OR THINGS THAT OUR OUR PROGRAM SPECIALISTS PUT TOGETHER EVERY MONTH FOR OUR FOR OUR TEACHERS AND PARAPROFESSIONALS TO ATTEND.

BUT LAST BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST, SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST.

THE FINAL COMPONENT OF THAT HIGH QUALITY PRE-K CLASSROOM IS THE PARENTS.

WE KNOW. IT BEGINS WITH THEM IN PRE-K.

WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SET THAT FOUNDATION FOR PARENT ENGAGEMENT FOR A CHILD'S EDUCATIONAL CAREER.

AND SO WE HAVE TO SET THAT BAR HIGH AND EXCEED OUR PARENTS EXPECTATIONS OF TEAMWORK.

WE KICKED OFF THE 2425 SCHOOL YEAR BY SENDING HOME THE TOP SIX WAYS TO HELP YOUR CHILD TRANSITION TO SCHOOL.

WE RECEIVED A GREAT DEAL OF FEEDBACK FROM THAT.

JUST KIND OF QUICK TIPS AND REMINDERS TO MAYBE START GETTING TO BED EARLY, MAYBE START PUTTING THAT DEVICE AWAY A LITTLE BIT SOONER, BECAUSE WE'RE EXPECTING YOU TO COME TO SCHOOL AND HANG OUT WITH US FOR A LONG DAY.

SO WE ALSO SHARED OUT OUR FIRST PRE-K POST.

IT'S OUR PARENT NEWSLETTER OR S'MORE.

WE'RE EXCITED THAT WE HAD OVER 5000 VIEWS ON THAT, AND KIND OF ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DID, WE KEEP IT SHORT AND SIMPLE, BUT WE ASKED FOR THEM, WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM US? WHAT DO YOU WANT TO LEARN ABOUT AND HIGHLIGHT? WELL, IT'S NOT HIGHLIGHTED, BUT THE THIRD BAR DOWN THERE IS THE SOCIAL SKILLS AND EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING SURPASSED ALL AREAS FOR WHAT THEY WANTED MORE OF, SO WE'RE PLANNING ON GIVING MORE OF THAT TO THEM MOVING FORWARD.

AND THEN ON THE RIGHT THIS GOES BACK TO THAT CIRCLE PROGRESS MONITORING.

WHEN I MENTIONED KELLI AND GAGE, THIS IS A REALLY IMPORTANT DOCUMENT.

THIS GOES HOME THREE TIMES A YEAR AFTER THEIR PROGRESS MONITORING.

AND IT GIVES PARENTS AN INDIVIDUALIZED REPORT OF ACTIVITIES THEY CAN DO AT HOME WITH THEIR CHILDREN BASED ON THEIR NEEDS.

SO IT'S NOT EVERYBODY GETS THE SAME LIST.

EACH CHILD AND EACH FAMILY GETS A LIST BASED ON WHAT THEIR CHILD NEEDS TO WORK ON.

SO KEY TAKEAWAYS.

PRE-K IS THE EARLY INTERVENTION, BOTH BOTH ACADEMICALLY AND BEHAVIORALLY.

OUR COMMITMENT.

WE ARE OBVIOUSLY COMMITTED TO CONTINUING TO EXPAND ACCESS TO PRE-K THREE AND PRE-K FOUR.

WE ARE CELEBRATING THE GROWTH, BUT WE ARE COMMITTED TO CONTINUING THE WORK WE WE ARE.

WE KNOW WHERE WE NEED TO GO.

HIGH QUALITY IS THE DIFFERENCE MAKER.

PARENT ENGAGEMENT BEGINS IN PRE-K.

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, EVEN THOUGH I DIDN'T TALK ABOUT THIS THE ENTIRE TIME ANYTIME I GET A CHANCE TO STAND IN FRONT OF A CROWD LIKE YOU, I ALWAYS HAVE TO PLEASE ADVOCATE THAT WE NEED FULL DAY FUNDING FOR FULL DAY PRE-K.

AND AT THAT TIME, I'LL TAKE SOME QUESTIONS IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.

THANK YOU, MISS FINNEY. THAT WAS OUTSTANDING.

AND I JUST WANT TO CHIME IN ON THAT LAST PART.

WITH HOUSE BILL THREE.

THERE WAS AN EARLY CHILDHOOD ALLOTMENT THAT WAS PROVIDED, BUT WITH THAT, PART OF THE USE WAS TO HELP FUND PRE-K AND THE MOVE TO FULL DAY PRE-K.

BUT ALSO THEY GAVE US INSTRUCTIONS TO USE THAT, FOR EXAMPLE, TO HELP PAY FOR TEACHERS THAT WENT THROUGH THE TEACHER READING ACADEMIES.

AND I COULD PROVIDE YOU A LIST OF OTHER MANDATES THAT WE WERE DIRECTED TO USE YOUR EARLY CHILDHOOD ALLOTMENT.

[01:50:06]

I'LL LEAVE IT AT THAT.

AGAIN, I THINK YOU CAN HEAR THE PASSION OF EVERYONE AROUND THIS TABLE FOR WHAT PRE-K DOES FOR OUR STUDENTS.

EVEN WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE NORTH STAR GOAL I SHARE WITH ANY ROOM THAT I'M IN, WHEN I WHEN I TALK ABOUT THE POWER OF STUDENTS, GOAL SETTING, OUR LITTLEST OF LEARNERS, OR GOAL SETTING OUR LITTLEST OF LEARNERS ARE TALKING ABOUT THIS IS HOW MANY LETTERS I WANT TO KNOW BY THIS CERTAIN DATE.

AND THEY OWN THAT GOAL AND THEY ARE WORKING TOWARDS THAT GOAL.

AND THEY CELEBRATE BIG WHEN THEY REACH THAT GOAL.

KATIE AND HER TEAM JUST DO AN OUTSTANDING JOB.

I THINK THE GREATEST COMPLIMENT I CAN GIVE TO ANY CENTRAL TEAM IS THAT WHEN A PRE-K TEACHER SEES ME, THE FIRST THING THEY SAY IS, HEY, I CALLED THE TEAM AND THEY WERE THERE.

I'M STRUGGLING. I WAS STRUGGLING WITH THE STUDENT AND DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO INTERVENE, OR I DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO SUPPORT THAT STUDENT AND THEY WERE THERE.

AND SO I JUST I CELEBRATE THEM.

AND WITH THAT, WE ARE HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS THAT THE BOARD MAY HAVE OR ANY COMMENTS OR FEEDBACK FOR THE TEAM.

ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU, SUPERINTENDENT BRANUM.

WITH THAT BOARD, THIS IS OUR TIME TO ASK QUESTIONS.

MS. RENTERÍA. I YEAH, AGAIN, I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU.

YOU GUYS DO AN OUTSTANDING JOB, KATIE.

I MEAN, I KNOW THAT EVERY TIME WE WALK ON ANY OF YOUR CAMPUSES, ALL OF YOU DO AN OUTSTANDING.

JUST WORK.

AND WHEN YOU SEE THE THE SMILES OF THE KIDS YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHERE MY HEART IS.

THAT'S WHERE I STARTED.

AND SO TO BE WITH THOSE, YOU KNOW, THREE AND FOUR YEAR OLDS, I MEAN, THEY'RE SO EXCITED ABOUT LEARNING.

THEY'RE LITTLE SPONGES.

AND, YOU KNOW, ALSO WITH THE PARENTS.

THEY'RE SO EXCITED TO GET THEIR KIDS IN THERE.

I MEAN, EVERY PARENT JUST WANTS THEIR CHILDREN TO BE HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL.

AND SO, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN SEE IT SO MUCH THERE IN THE, YOU KNOW, THE FOUNDATION WHERE IT ALL STARTS.

SO THANK YOU FOR ALL THE WORK THAT YOU DO.

I DID HAVE A QUESTION ON ONE OF THE SLIDES I SAW WHERE YOU TALKED ABOUT THE RATIO BEING 1 TO 11, AND I THINK THAT'S GREAT.

BUT WHEN YOU MENTIONED, I THINK WHERE THEY LISTED ALL THE DIFFERENT SCHOOLS, OH LIKE RIGHT HERE, THE, THE, THE HIGH QUALITY PRE-K TEACHERS.

YEAH. WE'RE SO THANKFUL TO ALL OF THEM.

I NOTICED THAT ON SOME OF THEM THEY HAVE, YOU KNOW, SEVERAL CLASSES.

SO FOR INSTANCE, IF IT'S AN 11 TO 1 RATIO AND SAY, FOR INSTANCE, MISS KENNEDY WHO'S AT FOREST LANE ACADEMY HERE, DOES THAT MEAN THAT THERE ARE ONLY 11 PRE-K AT THAT ONE CAMPUS, OR IS THERE MORE CLASSES? LET ME CLICK BACK FOR YOU.

SO THIS OF COURSE, THE COLORING BOOK PAGES.

SORRY. THIS IS AN IMPORTANT PART.

SO THIS IS A LIST OF THE TEACHERS THAT HAVE MET THAT THAT STANDARD.

OH, I SEE. YES.

SO IT'S JUST LIKE MISS DUNSWORTH AT JESS HARDIN.

SHE'S ONE OF THE TEACHERS AT JUST HARVARD THAT HAS HIT THAT WHERE MISS KENNEDY IS AT FOREST LANE NOW, AND SHE HAS ONE CLASSROOM OF 22 STUDENTS, BUT IT'S A TEACHER AND A PARA.

SO TOTAL 22 TO 1 IS THEIR RATIO OR 22 TO 2? DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? 22 TO 2 BECAUSE OF THE TEACHER AND THE PARENT.

BUT THAT'S THE ONLY ONE THAT THEY HAVE AS OPPOSED TO SOME OTHER SCHOOLS THAT HAVE AGAIN VARIOUS CLASSROOMS. THAT'S HOW MANY HAVE REACHED THE HIGH QUALITY STATUS.

BUT AT THAT, AT THAT CAMPUS WE ARE UP TO FOUR.

YEAH. THERE'S OKAY. SO THERE'S MORE.

OKAY. THAT'S WHAT I WAS TRYING TO.

OKAY. OUR GOAL ULTIMATELY OUR GOAL.

WE WOULD LOVE THAT.

SOMEDAY WE WILL BRING YOU A LIST IN EVERY ONE OF OUR PRE-K TEACHERS.

IS HAS GONE THROUGH THIS PROCESS TO BE IDENTIFIED.

THEY'RE ALL GREAT TEACHERS.

OH, YEAH. THIS IS KIND OF LIKE A TIER DESIGNATION WHERE THOSE TEACHERS, THEY HAVE NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFICATION, SO TO SPEAK.

THEY'VE GONE THAT EXTRA MILE TO INVEST IN THEIR OWN PROFESSIONAL LEARNING AND TO BE IDENTIFIED AS THIS HIGH GROWTH TEACHER OR THIS HIGH QUALITY TEACHER.

THE SAME EXISTS FOR THIS LIST.

BUT ON ALL OF THESE CAMPUSES, THERE ARE MORE THAN JUST THAT ONE SECTION OF PRE-K.

OKAY. PERFECT. YES, BECAUSE I KNOW WE'RE TRYING TO EXPAND AS, AS AS YOU MENTIONED.

SO I KNOW THERE'S A REAL NEED.

AND SO THAT'S THAT'S WONDERFUL TO SEE THAT.

ONE OF THE OTHER QUESTIONS I HAD WAS HOW MANY OF OUR SCHOOLS DO NOT YET HAVE PRE-K? THREE. OKAY.

SO THERE'S THREE OF THEM.

I WAS LIKE, YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT THEY ARE? THEY ARE ACM, NORTHWOOD HILLS AND MOHAWK.

OKAY. AND PLEASE NO, THEY IT IS SOLELY DUE TO SPACE.

IF WE HAD SPACE, WE WOULD HAVE PRE-K AT THOSE THREE CAMPUSES.

OH, ABSOLUTELY. IT'S JUST SPACE.

YEAH, I JUST WONDERED. BUT THAT'S GREAT THAT WHEN YOU SEE THE RATIO OF SCHOOLS THAT WE DO PROVIDE PRE-K FOR AND THAT I KNOW WE'RE GROWING, WE'RE GETTING THERE.

AND YOU KNOW, IT'S WONDERFUL.

BUT AGAIN, THE THE WORK THAT YOU DO, EVEN WHEN WE START WITH OUR DAYCARES.

RIGHT. YOU SEE HOW WE'RE SETTING THAT FOUNDATION, RIGHT.

THAT IT'S JUST CRUCIAL BECAUSE OUR KIDS, LIKE I SAID, THEY'RE LITTLE SPONGES.

[01:55:01]

SO JUST THANK YOU AGAIN FOR ALL THE WORK.

AND THANK YOU FOR THE FOR THE ANSWERS TO MY QUESTION.

THANK YOU, MISS OLIVIA, WHO WAS ON THE SECOND OR THIRD SLIDE.

SHE WAS AT OUR CLA LAST YEAR AS A TWO YEAR OLD.

THANK YOU, MISS MS. RENTERÍA.

YES, MISS TIMMY? YEAH. I JUST HAD A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS AND A COUPLE OF COMMENTS.

FIRST OFF, I WANT TO APPRECIATE YOU GUYS AND YOUR STAFF AND ALL OF THOSE OUT THERE WHO ARE INVESTING IN PRE-K.

THREE AND FOUR JUST AND I WANT TO ESPECIALLY I KNOW WE'VE HAD SOME PREVIOUS BOARDS WHO HAVE BEEN VERY, VERY INVESTED IN SUPER CHAMPIONING THIS TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN.

I THINK YOU GUYS ARE ON THOSE BOARDS.

I THINK IT WAS BEFORE I GOT HERE, ALTHOUGH I WOULD HAVE BEEN ON THAT TRAIN TOO.

I THINK IT'S SUPER IMPORTANT.

ONE OF THE THINGS YOU TALKED ABOUT IS, AND I'M GOING TO DIRECT THIS TO, TO MISS BRANUM.

AND THEN I'LL LET HER DIRECT IT TO YOU. IF SHE WANTS TO BE SURE WE ASK THE RIGHT PERSON.

YOU TALKED ABOUT LIKE THERE WERE SOME PAID SPOTS, LIKE WHERE COMMUNITY MEMBERS GET PAID ON THE SLIDING SCALE.

CAN YOU TELL ME THE NUMBERS? BUT IF YOU HAVE IT. IF NOT, I CAN GET THEM AT ANOTHER TIME.

BUT LIKE, HOW MANY PEOPLE DO WE HAVE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THAT? YES, WE ACTUALLY WE DID.

I DID ASK MISS FINNEY TO HAVE THAT BECAUSE I THOUGHT THAT MIGHT BE A BOARD QUESTION.

GO AHEAD, MISS FINNEY. SO RIGHT NOW I ONLY HAVE IT FOR THE PRE-K FOURS BECAUSE I TRY TO DO THE DEMOGRAPHIC BREAKDOWN ON FOURS.

WE HAVE 296, AND THAT'S A COMBINATION OF EMPLOYEE TUITION AND COMMUNITY TUITION.

BUT I COULD BREAK IT DOWN.

OKAY. SO DO WE ANTICIPATE THAT WE'LL BE CONTINUING AS SPACE ALLOWS FOR US TO TO INCREASE THOSE NUMBERS AS WELL? ABSOLUTELY, YES.

OKAY. GOOD ONE.

JUST A SHOUT OUT AGAIN AS ANOTHER POSITIVE OUTCOME OF THE MIDDLE SCHOOL TRANSITION.

IT FREED UP ADDITIONAL CLASSROOMS, FOR EXAMPLE, IN THE LAKE HIGHLANDS AREA.

SO A LOT OF WHERE WE'RE SEEING SOME OF OUR COMMUNITY TUITION IS IN THE LAKE HIGHLANDS BECAUSE WE WERE ABLE TO OPEN UP MORE CLASSROOMS, WHICH IS SHARED SPACE NOT ONLY FOR QUALIFYING BUT ALSO FOR TUITION.

GREAT. I THINK AS WE ARE LOOKING AT WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT STUDENT DECLINES AND THINGS LIKE THAT, I KNOW ONE OF THE THINGS THAT IS A PREMIUM IS FOR OUR FAMILIES WHO SEEK OUTSIDE PRE-K, RIGHT, AND CHILDCARE OPTIONS FOR OUR FAMILIES.

AND THERE IS IS YOU GET THEM IN.

THEY GET OBVIOUSLY, OUR KIDS ARE DOING GREAT.

THE SCORES SPEAK TO THAT.

THEY WANT TO STAY WHERE THINGS ARE GREAT.

SOMETIMES IF THEY GET IMMERSED IN ANOTHER COMMUNITY FOR DOING THAT, THEY WANT TO STAY THERE BECAUSE THEY'VE ALREADY MADE THOSE FAMILY CONNECTIONS AND HAVE THAT SUPPORT.

I WOULD HATE FOR US WHEN WE CLEARLY ARE HAVING GREAT OUTCOMES NOT TO HAVE THAT AVAILABLE FOR ALL OF OUR FAMILIES, TO THE EXTENT POSSIBLE THAT WE HAVE HERE, AND I HOPE THAT WE'LL CONSIDER THAT AS WE'RE LOOKING AT FUNDING OPTIONS DOWN THE ROAD TO INCREASE OUR NUMBERS.

SO I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT ALSO TO JUST THE IMPORTANCE OF PRE-K REGARDLESS IF IT'S BILINGUAL OR MONOLINGUAL, THERE'S A DIFFERENCE.

AND BELIEVE IT OR NOT, EVEN IN PRE-K, I KNOW PEOPLE HERE KNOW THIS, THE ACADEMIC LANGUAGE THAT YOU USED WITHIN THERE AND THE AMOUNT OF VOCABULARY THEY PICK UP, REGARDLESS OF IF THEY'RE LEARNING, YOU KNOW, A NEW LANGUAGE, IF THEY'RE ENGLISH ONLY SPEAKING, BUT HEARING THOSE WORDS AND DIFFERENT WAYS THEY CAN BE USED FROM DIFFERENT PEOPLE IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT TO HOW WE SEE WITH OUR THIRD GRADE GOALS OUR READING AND OUR MATH, JUST THAT ACADEMIC LANGUAGE.

I WAS TEACHING MYSELF, BUT I HADN'T ALWAYS TALKED TO MY KIDS IN ACADEMIC LANGUAGE.

WE WERE OVER HERE ARGUING ABOUT OTHER THINGS.

SO I JUST I THINK WHAT YOU GUYS DO SETS EVERYTHING ELSE UP, AND IT MAKES US.

IT STARTS EVERYBODY ON A DIFFERENT PLAYING FIELD THAN THEY WOULD BE IF THEY WERE NOT.

AND SO I'M VERY THANKFUL FOR WHAT YOU GUYS DO.

I HOPE WE CONTINUE TO LOOK AND INVEST IN THAT.

THANK YOU. YES.

MISS PACHECO, AND THEN I'LL COME BACK OVER HERE.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT GREAT PRESENTATION.

I'M SO EXCITED TO SEE THE GROWTH AND THE, YOU KNOW, OF JUST PARTICIPATION AND EXTRA CLASSROOM TEACHING, YOU KNOW, AND ALSO THE TEACHERS GETTING THAT 150 HOURS.

THAT'S KUDOS TO THEM.

CONGRATULATIONS. I DO HAVE A QUESTION.

SO WE ONLY OFFER FULL DAY PRE-K THREE AND FOUR NOW.

OR DO WE HAVE HALF DAYS AT ALL? WE ONLY OFFER FULL DAY.

THE ONLY PROGRAM LEFT IN THE DISTRICT THAT I AM AWARE OF THAT OFFERS A A HALF DAY IS WHAT WE WOULD CONSIDER.

OUR THREE IS THREE YEAR OLDS THROUGH THE EARLY CHILDHOOD SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAM.

OKAY. WHAT I WOULD CONSIDER A TWO YEAR OLD.

THEY STILL HAVE A HALF DAY PROGRAM, BUT OUR WE'RE COMPLETELY FULL DAY FOR THREES AND FOURS.

GREAT. THAT'S PRETTY AWESOME.

AND WE'RE TALKING HERE ABOUT ADVOCATING FOR FULL DAY FUNDING.

SO WE OFFER FULL DAY.

AND WHO IS PAYING FOR THE OTHER HALF? RICHARDSON ISD.

OKAY, PERFECT.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT INFORMATION.

YES. SO WE ARE PAYING FOR THAT OTHER HALF.

YES. CURRENTLY, ARE WE AT CAPACITY WITH KINDERGARTEN SPACES? PRE-K FOR PRE-K SPACES? NO. IT'S OKAY. PRE-K FOR.

NO. WE ARE ACTUALLY NOT ALLOWED TO BE AT CAPACITY.

WE ARE REQUIRED TO SOLVE ALL SERVE OUR ALL QUALIFYING CHILDREN.

[02:00:05]

WE HAVE HAD A YEAR OR SO THAT WE'VE HAD TO KIND OF PUT OUR TUITION ON HOLD BECAUSE WE WERE KIND OF RUNNING LOW ON SEATS, BUT THAT DID NOT HAPPEN LAST YEAR AND IT HAS NOT HAPPENED THIS YEAR. SO WE ARE FULLY OPEN AND OPENING OUR DOORS TO OUR FOUR YEAR OLDS NOW, OUR THREE YEAR OLDS, OUR SEATS ARE LIMITED THERE.

AND SO ALL OF THOSE SEATS ARE AWARDED BY A LOTTERY.

BUT WE ENCOURAGE ANYONE TO STILL ENROLL BECAUSE WE PULL LOTTERIES ANYTIME SOMEONE WITHDRAWS AND THEREFORE YOU CAN HAVE A CHANCE TO GET IN ANY DAY.

OH THAT'S EXCITING. SO PEOPLE WHO WATCH THIS AND THEY'RE LIKE 50 FAMILIES COME IN.

WE CAN GIVE THEM 50, 100 PRE-K SEATS.

AWESOME. YES. THIS IS A GREAT PROGRAM.

I LOVE PRE-K.

I THINK IT'S JUST AMAZING FOR OUR STUDENTS.

IT IS A PRECURSOR FOR THEIR SUCCESS.

SO THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR EFFORTS.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MISS PACHECO.

YES, MISS MCGOWAN, THANK YOU FOR THAT PRESENTATION.

I LOVE PRE-K AS WELL WITH THE FIRST GRADER THAT HAS COME THROUGH THIS.

JUST ANOTHER QUESTION ABOUT THE HIGH QUALITY PRE-K TEACHERS.

HOW DO YOU ALL DECIDE WHERE THOSE TEACHERS ARE GOING TO BE PUT IN THE DISTRICT? SO THIS THEY ARE STRICTLY HIRED BY THEIR ADMINISTRATORS AND THEY EARN THAT STATUS WHEREVER THEY'RE AT.

SO IF THEY CHANGE CAMPUSES FOR A REASON, THEY STILL KEEP WORKING TOWARDS.

SO, FOR EXAMPLE, MISS KENNEDY IS A GREAT EXAMPLE.

SHE WAS ACTUALLY AT THURGOOD MARSHALL HER ENTIRE CAREER UNTIL THIS PAST YEAR, AND SHE IS NOW AT FOREST LANE.

BUT WE DO NOT PLACE THEM.

THAT IS TRULY THEY ARE INTERVIEWED BY THEIR BY ADMINISTRATORS AND HIRED.

AND THEN WE WORK THEM THROUGH THE PROCESS OF THE FIVE YEARS TO BECOME HIGH QUALITY.

OKAY. THANK YOU FOR THAT. DOES THIS COST OUR TEACHERS TO GO THROUGH THIS PROGRAM? NO. OKAY.

THANK. BUILT IN. EVERYTHING'S I MEAN IT THEY DO HAVE TO COMPLETE THE TASKS WHEN IT COMES TO.

SO FOR EXAMPLE, YES, IT'S TIME A TIME COMMITMENT.

THEY DO HAVE TO. FOR EXAMPLE, ONE OF OUR A COACHING ACTIVITY MAY BE MAKING A CLASS BOOK THAT HIGHLIGHTS CLAPPING SYLLABLES FOR EACH CHILD'S NAME IN THE CLASSROOM. SO THEY DECIDE THAT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THEY WANT TO CONDUCT.

THEY CREATE, THAT, THEY MAKE IT, AND THEN THEY WORK WITH US OR SOMEONE FROM THEIR CAMPUS, AND THEY SHOW PROOF THAT THEY DID THAT.

AND THAT COUNTS AS A COACHING HOUR, OF COURSE.

THANK YOU, MISS MCGOWAN.

MISS HARRIS. SO, OF COURSE, I WOULD BE REMISS IF I DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THE BEST THING EVER, WHICH IS PRE-K.

SO I'M VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT THIS PROGRAM BECAUSE I KNOW AND YOU'VE SHOWN THE NUMBERS UP HERE TONIGHT, THAT IT IS ABSOLUTELY A GAME CHANGER, ESPECIALLY FOR OUR OLDEST CHILDREN.

AND SO I AM JUST EXTREMELY, EXTREMELY PROUD OF, YOU KNOW, HOW FAR THIS PROGRAM HAS COME.

AND, YOU KNOW, I JUST HAVE TO SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, MY SON IS A SENIOR AT A CERTAIN COLLEGE IN OKLAHOMA AND PART OF HIS PSYCHOLOGY, PART OF HIS PSYCHOLOGY INTERNSHIP.

HE'S HAD TO WORK AT THE COLLEGE PRE-K.

AND SO, YEAH, SO HE DOES PRE-K, K AND PRE-K.

AND TRUST ME, AS A AS A YOUNG MAN, HE WAS NOT TOO THRILLED ABOUT IT.

RIGHT. AND SO I CONVINCED HIM THAT, LISTEN, THIS IS THE IMPACT THAT YOU CAN HAVE ON THESE KIDS, NOT JUST BECAUSE IT'S PRE-K, K AND PRE-K, BUT YOU'RE AN AFRICAN AMERICAN MALE WHO CAN ACTUALLY REALLY IMPACT THESE KIDS.

SO HE WENT IN THREE YEARS AGO A LITTLE LIKE, OH MY GOD, TODAY WHEN HE COMES HOME FOR BREAK, HE'S READY TO GET BACK TO SCHOOL BECAUSE OF THE IMPACT THAT HE HAS ON THESE KIDS. BUT I ALSO BRAG ABOUT OUR OUR PROGRAM SO MUCH THAT I CAN TELL YOU THAT WE'RE DOING SOME PRETTY COOL THINGS THAT THEY'RE NOT DOING.

SO I'M CONSTANTLY BRAGGING.

AND BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, HE'S BEEN THERE LONG ENOUGH TO KIND OF SEE THIS PROGRAM GROW AND HE'S STILL KIND OF LOOKING AT THE PROGRAM WHERE HE IS AND HE'S LIKE, WOW, YOU GUYS GOT SOME COOL THINGS GOING.

SO I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT TO LET YOU KNOW THAT I BRAG ABOUT YOU ALL THE TIME.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE GREAT WORK THAT YOU DO.

AGAIN, I'M VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT THIS BECAUSE I KNOW THAT IT IS A GAME CHANGER.

AND WE SAW IT RIGHT HERE TONIGHT.

SO THANK YOU ALL SO VERY MUCH FOR ALL THAT YOU'VE DONE.

I ALSO AND I DID NOT INCLUDE THIS IN MY REMARKS, AND I WOULD BE REMISS IF I DIDN'T.

I ALSO WANT TO REALLY CELEBRATE OUR CAMPUS ADMINISTRATORS.

I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT WHEN WE ADD PRE-K AND ESPECIALLY PRE-K, THREES AND FOURS, THAT IS A LEARNING CURVE FOR THE ADMINISTRATORS.

LIKE IT'S A LEARNING CURVE TO THINK ABOUT, HOW AM I GOING TO GET THESE THREE YEAR OLDS TO THE RESTROOM, 20 OF THEM TO THE CAFETERIA TO EAT?

[02:05:03]

HE'S LIKE, THEY RAN SAFELY, BUT THEY JUST RAN EVERYWHERE.

AND LIKE SO THE IT WHEN WE ADD PRE-K AND IT'S WE'RE SO PROUD IT'S AN ENTIRE CAMPUS CULTURE THAT HAS TO BE CREATED PROFESSIONAL LEARNING FOR THE ENTIRE.

THE ART TEACHER. THE SPECIALIST TEACHER.

HOW WE DO. ARRIVAL AND DISMISSALS FOR OUR LITTLEST LEARNERS LIKE IT CHANGES THE ENTIRE CAMPUS AND OUR PRINCIPALS HAVE EMBRACED THIS.

YOU KNOW THEY HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT PUTTING A WASHER AND DRYER IN, BECAUSE WE HAVE TO WASH THE BLANKETS FOR THE COTS AND THINKING ABOUT WHO'S GOING TO BE THE ONE THAT'S GOING TO WASH THOSE BLANKETS AND MAKE SURE THAT IT'S, YOU KNOW, SAFE AND HYGIENIC FOR OUR KIDS.

I MEAN, IT'S IT'S AN ENTIRE MINDSET.

AND OUR PRINCIPALS EMBRACE IT, THEIR LEARNERS, AND THEY ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS.

OUR STAFF ASKS THE RIGHT QUESTIONS.

AND SO I JUST AGAIN, I JUST I REALLY APPRECIATE THEM AND THEIR WILLINGNESS TO SAY, I DON'T KNOW, TEACH ME.

AND THEN THEY MAKE MAGIC HAPPEN.

AND THAT'S WHY WE ALWAYS SHOW UP WHEN THEY CALL AND ASK.

THAT'S OUR NUMBER ONE. IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT IT IS.

WE'RE SHOWING UP. ONE OF US WILL BE THERE NO MATTER WHAT THE QUESTION IS.

BOARD. ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? OKAY, THIS IS WHERE I GET TO JUMP IN.

WHAT'S THAT? MR. MR. EAGER O MR. EAGER. SORRY.

I MEAN, OKAY, GO AHEAD.

IT WAS JUST. KUDOS TO EVERYBODY, YOU KNOW? AND AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR ALL THE WORK.

AND I CAN TELL YOU WHEN I GET A CHANCE TO, TO VIEW, YOU KNOW, VISIT CAMPUSES THAT THAT IS JUST RECHARGE THE BATTERIES WHEN YOU GO AND SEE THOSE LITTLE ONES COME UP WITH ALL THOSE FREE HUGS THEY GIVE AWAY.

IT REALLY MAKES IT REWARDING.

SO AGAIN, KEEP UP ALL THE GOOD WORK THE TEAM IS DOING.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MR. EAGER. SO JUST TO ECHO BUT THEN DOVETAIL OFF OF WHAT MY OTHER TRUSTEES I WORK WITH HAVE SAID.

VERY IMPRESSED THAT, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES WE'RE SO ENVELOPED IN THINKING ABOUT THE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS.

THE STAR TESTS, THE THAT WE DON'T THINK ABOUT THE PRE-K, AND WE HAVEN'T BECAUSE IT'S PRETTY NEW AS WELL TO THE DISTRICT AND THE AMOUNT OF EFFORT AND RESOURCES WE PUT INTO IT.

BUT TO HEAR YOU START REFERRING TO THE NORTH STAR GOAL.

I KNOW THAT ONE. THAT'S A CULTURE THAT IS NOW AT ALL LEVELS, WHICH IS IMPRESSIVE.

BUT I ALSO THINK TO MISS HARRIS'S POINT, YOU KNOW, WE TO GET TO HER POINT, WE'VE GOT LIMITED RESOURCES.

WE'VE GOT MORE AND MORE LIMITED RESOURCES.

SO WE'RE LOOKING FOR THE HIGH LEVERAGE PIECES THAT WE CAN APPLY RESOURCES TO THAT ARE GOING TO HAVE THE BIGGEST PAYOFF.

AND TO HER POINT ON LOOKING AT THE RESULTS, THE NUMBERS DON'T LIE.

IT SHOWS THE BENEFIT OF WHAT WE'RE SEEING.

ONE OF THE BENEFITS OF WHAT PRE-K HAS GIVEN US.

AND FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, AND I THINK ALL OF OURS, THIS IS A STRATEGIC INVESTMENT.

THIS ISN'T SOMETHING THAT WE'RE JUST TRYING TO COMPETE WITH THE DAYCARE DOWN THE STREET.

THIS IS SOMETHING THAT'S GOING TO PAY OFF FOR RISD AS WE PURSUE THAT NORTH STAR GOAL.

THAT'S ALWAYS LOOKING OVER MY LEFT SHOULDER HERE.

THIS IS THIS IS VERY STRATEGIC, A STRATEGIC INVESTMENT WHICH I WILL GIVE CREDIT TO AUSTIN FOR GIVING US SOME FUNDING AND WITNESS RECOGNIZING THAT BACK WHEN THEY DID. BUT I THINK WE'VE TAKEN IT AND RUN WITH IT AND JUST EXPONENTIALLY COMMITTED TO IT.

SO I LOVE THAT IT'S SUCH A, SUCH A BENEFIT.

AND I LOOKED AT YOUR NUMBERS ON THE, THE PERFORMANCE AND YEAH, WE MAY BE A LITTLE SHY OF SOME OF THE GOALS, BUT WHAT'S FUNNY IS WE'RE STILL KILLING IT WITH THE PERFORMANCE.

AND SO I LEANED OVER AND ASKED, MISS BRANUM, YOU KNOW, HOW MANY, HOW MANY STUDENTS DO WE HAVE IN? I THINK SHE SAID AROUND 1900.

IS THAT RIGHT? PRE-K. SO HOW MANY DO WE HAVE IN KINDERGARTEN, ROUGHLY? I DON'T KNOW, IT'S 2200.

SO THERE'S ANYWAY THERE'S A DELTA THERE.

SO WE'VE GOT THE ONES THAT WE HAVE.

WE PUT OUR ARMS AROUND AND WALK THEM THROUGH THIS PRE-K JOURNEY.

AND THEN THERE'S THOSE THAT DON'T.

AND SOME OF THOSE MAY GET IT SOMEWHERE ELSE.

BUT THERE'S STILL THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY, AS YOU'RE WELL AWARE OF THAT WE CAN TOUCH, TOUCH THE REST OF THOSE KIDS AND BRING THEM UP AND, AND, AND ENVELOP THEM INTO THIS WHOLE PROCESS AS WE TRY AND ACHIEVE OUR NORTH STAR GOAL.

SO ANYWAY, I JUST SAW THAT FROM SUCH A SUCH A STRATEGIC PERSPECTIVE.

AND ONE THING I DID, YOU HIGHLIGHTED IN ONE OF THESE TAKEAWAYS TO THE FAMILY ENGAGEMENT PIECE, AND WE TALK ABOUT HOW IMPORTANT THAT IS TO STUDENT PERFORMANCE.

AND I THINK IT'S SO DIFFICULT IF WE'RE STARTING TO ENGAGE FAMILIES AT HIGH SCHOOL OR JUNIOR HIGH.

I MEAN, WE'VE MISSED THE BOAT A LOT OF TIMES IN SOME OF THOSE, YOU KNOW, THAT BOAT SAILED.

SO HERE WE ARE AGAIN, STRATEGICALLY STARTING THAT WHEN THEY'RE THREE YEARS OLD, FOUR YEARS OLD.

AND I THINK THAT'S JUST ANOTHER HIGH LEVERAGE TAKEAWAY THAT THAT WE GET AS A BENEFIT.

SO VERY EXCITED.

AS WITH MY FELLOW TRUSTEES, VERY COMMITTED TO THIS.

WE'LL DO WHATEVER WE CAN TO KEEP SUPPORTING.

BUT YOU GUYS ARE DOING A GREAT, GREAT JOB AND REALLY EXCITED TO PASS THIS ON AND TELL THE STORY OUT THERE, TOO, THERE WILL BE A WAY THAT YOU CAN SUPPORT US

[02:10:09]

MISS PHINNEY MENTIONED HOW IMPORTANT RECESS AND PLAY IS AT OUR ELEMENTARY CAMPUSES.

WHILE WE HAVE PLAYGROUNDS ARE NOT ALWAYS APPROPRIATE FOR OUR THREE AND FOUR YEAR OLDS, AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE SAFE FROM FENCING TO THE EQUIPMENT.

AND SO WE DO HAVE FOUR CAMPUSES THAT WE NEED TO ADD PRE-K PLAYGROUNDS.

AND SO THERE WILL BE A FUNDING REQUEST THAT WILL BE COMING IN A FUTURE.

WE'VE IDENTIFIED THE FUNDING.

BUT JUST SO YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU ASKED, I'M JUST I'M WAITING FOR YOU NOW.

YES. WE'RE GOOD.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM THE BOARD? EXCELLENT. THANKS FOR THE PRESENTATION.

THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE TO SUPPORT HER.

YAY! SO GOOD.

OKAY. FOLLOWING THAT OUR LAST ITEM THIS EVENING IS A REPORT ON DISTRICT ACTIVITIES.

[IV.I. Discussion of Student / District Activities]

AND I THINK WE'RE GOING TO GO AROUND THE HORSESHOE HERE AND HAVE EVERYBODY HIGHLIGHT ONE ACTIVITY SINCE THE LAST BOARD MEETING THAT WE'VE ALL BEEN EXCITED ABOUT PARTICIPATING IN.

SO I'LL START WITH ON THE LEFT WITH MISS PACHECO, AND I'LL COME AROUND TO MISS HARRIS.

SO GO AHEAD, MISS PACHECO.

NO TIME TO THINK ABOUT IT.

OKAY. I WENT TO THE FAMILY EVENT AT BHS.

IT WAS GREAT.

SAW ALL THE DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE THERE, YOU KNOW, FROM STUDENTS TO SUPPORT EACH OTHER AND ALSO ORGANIZATIONS AND BUSINESSES THAT ARE THERE TO SUPPORT OUR STUDENTS, LIKE THE CREDIT UNION.

AND THERE WAS A GROUP THERE THAT SUPPORTS STUDENTS BY PROVIDING THEM FREE FOOD AND CLOTHES AND THINGS THAT THEY MAY NEED AS THEY SIGN UP.

I WAS ALSO REALLY EXCITED TO SEE THAT THERE WAS A NEW CLUB CALLED, I THINK IT'S CALLED FABRIC AND TEXTILE.

SOMETHING, SOMETHING I CAN'T REMEMBER EXACTLY, BUT I WAS SO EXCITED BECAUSE THEY'RE LEARNING HOW TO KNIT, HOW TO SEW, AND JUST HOW FABRIC IS CREATED AND WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH IT.

AND I JUST LOVE THAT BECAUSE THAT'S JUST ONE OF MY PASSIONS.

SO REALLY NICE TO SEE.

THANK YOU. AWESOME.

I WENT TO THE LAKE HIGHLANDS MIDDLE SCHOOL OPENING AND THAT WAS THAT WAS FANTASTIC.

IT WAS ANYBODY WHO DOES NOT BELIEVE THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT THAT YOU'RE IN MAKES A DIFFERENCE.

HAS NOT BEEN TO A NEW SCHOOL.

AND I ENCOURAGE YOU TO GO TO LOOK AT LAKE HIGHLANDS MIDDLE SCHOOL.

IT IS ABSOLUTELY STUNNING.

IT'S INCREDIBLY WELL DONE.

THERE IS A SENSE OF PRIDE AROUND THAT.

I SAW FOLKS WHO'VE BEEN IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF LAKE HIGHLANDS FOR A LONG TIME WHO WERE THERE JUST TO SUPPORT, WHO DON'T EVEN HAVE KIDS THERE.

PEOPLE ACTUALLY, I SAW SEVERAL FOLKS FROM THE PIERCE AREA THERE THAT WERE THERE TO JUST CHECK IT OUT AND WERE INCREDIBLY IMPRESSED AND WOULD ALSO AGREE THAT IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE. YOUR LEARNING ENVIRONMENT IS A LITTLE SPECIAL TO ME.

MY MOM'S FIRST TEACHING JOB WAS AT LAKE HIGHLANDS JUNIOR HIGH, SO THAT WAS PRETTY.

IT WAS PRETTY COOL FOR ME TO CALL MY MOM A LITTLE BIT ON THAT WHEN LOOKING AT HOW AWESOME THIS EXPERIENCE IS.

BUT I'M THE PRINCIPAL DID A GREAT JOB.

ALL THE FOLKS THERE THAT WERE SUPPORTING IT.

IT WAS REALLY WELL DONE.

IT IS A COMMUNITY POINT OF PRIDE.

I LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING THAT TREND AND UPDATING ACROSS THE DISTRICT, HOPEFULLY AS WE GO FORWARD IN OUR OTHER AREAS SO THAT THEY'RE ABLE TO HAVE EXPERIENCES SIMILAR TO THAT.

AS WELL AS PUTTING THE SIXTH GRADE UP AND ALLOWING THAT CURRICULUM TO BE IN A MORE APPROPRIATE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT FOR THEM WHERE THEY CAN MAXIMIZE THEIR, THEIR LEARNING. IN THAT SAME VEIN, I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO TO THE FOREST MEADOW MIDDLE SCHOOL, AND IT WAS IT IS JUST STUNNING.

JUST THE NEW ENVIRONMENT.

YOU JUST I MEAN, I WAS SHARING WITH MANY OF MY OTHER FELLOW TRUSTEES AND IT WAS JUST IT WAS LIKE, YOU KNOW, LIKE, HEY, YOU'RE ENROLLING, YOU KNOW, OLD GUYS LIKE ME IN HERE BECAUSE IT LOOKED EXCITING AND WANTING TO LEARN.

AND THE ENVIRONMENT IS EXCITING.

IT'S INVITING AND JUST THE NATURAL LIGHT, THE BRIGHT COLORS, THE NEW YOU KNOW, THE NEW FURNITURE WHICH WE WILL BRING UP LATER ON.

AND IT JUST, IT CREATED THAT NEXT LEVEL ENVIRONMENT FOR OUR KIDS.

AND THEN, YOU KNOW, AND WE'LL START TO SEE ALL THE BENEFITS OF THE TRANSFORMATION.

AND SO IT'S GOING TO BE A FEW YEARS FROM NOW, BUT I PROMISE YOU IT'S GOING TO HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT.

AND I'M EXCITED ABOUT AS WE START TO TRANSITION THAT TO OUR OTHER COMMUNITIES.

BUT THIS IS JUST THE FIRST STEP IN SEEING THE EXCITEMENT AROUND THAT IS, IT'S GOING TO BE REALLY, REALLY FUN.

[02:15:02]

SO IT WAS GREAT. IT WAS JUST LAST WEEK.

AND THERE I MEAN, THIS ORGANIZATION IS AMAZING.

I AM SO GRATEFUL FOR THEM.

I'VE LEARNED SO MUCH ESPECIALLY WHEN I FIRST CAME ON MY FIRST YEAR AS A TRUSTEE.

BUT IT WAS GREAT.

IT WAS JUST A WEEKEND FILLED OF HOW TO SUPPORT, EMPOWER, AND ADVOCATE FOR OUR LATINO STUDENTS.

IN THE 2022 2023 SCHOOL YEAR, LATINOS MADE UP 52.9% OF THE STUDENT BODY IN TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS, 52.9 AND THEN HERE IN RICHARDSON, WE ARE ALMOST 40%.

WE ARE THE LARGEST DEMOGRAPHIC GROUP IN THIS DISTRICT, ALONG WITH MANY JUST ACROSS THE STATE.

BUT IT'S WONDERFUL WHEN WE COME TOGETHER AND HAVE AMAZING SESSIONS, AMAZING SPEAKERS THAT ARE JUST AGAIN SHOWING US, TEACHING US, HELPING US HOW TO ADVOCATE AND EMPOWER OUR LATINO STUDENTS, BUT ALSO OUR PARENTS AND THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY, AND JUST HELPING OUR STUDENTS TO BE SUCCESSFUL ON ALL LEVELS. SO IT WAS GREAT.

I REALLY ENJOYED BEING THERE.

I HAD THE PRIVILEGE TO SUPPORT AND ATTEND OUR SAGE PTA MEMBERSHIP MEETING, AND IT'S ALWAYS GREAT TO WORK WITH A GROUP OF COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT ARE REALLY ADVOCATING FOR OUR KIDS WITH GIFTED NEEDS AND SPECIAL NEEDS, AND THEY'RE PUTTING THEY'RE PUTTING A LOT OF GREAT IDEAS OUT AND CREATING AND INFLUENCING LAWS IN THE STATE OF TEXAS, WHICH ARE STARTING RIGHT HERE IN RICHARDSON SCHOOL DISTRICT.

SO THAT WAS IT WAS A GREAT MEETING.

AND I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE OUR LITTLE BOARD UPDATE TO OUR COUNCIL OF PTAS, WHICH I'M ALWAYS EXCITED TO DO THAT BECAUSE THAT'S KIND OF WHERE I CAME FROM, WAS THE PTA.

SO I'M ALWAYS JUST REALLY EXCITED TO KIND OF HANG OUT WITH THOSE FOLKS AND JUST HAVE A GOOD TIME.

SO YEAH, SO IN ADDITION TO A FEW OTHER THINGS, THAT'S WHAT I DID.

EXCELLENT. AND I'LL FINISH UP WHEN MISS RENTERIA WAS AT THE MESA CONFERENCE, I HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO STAND IN FOR HER AT THE DISTRICT PLANNING COMMITTEE WITH MR. HASSO AND STAFF AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS AS WE REVIEWED THE DISTRICT IMPROVEMENT PLAN JUST LAST WEEK, A WEEK AGO.

SO. AND IT WAS GREAT BECAUSE WE BROKE UP INTO SMALL GROUPS AND TOOK THE PLAN APART AND WENT THROUGH AND IDENTIFIED SOME HIGHLIGHTS AND SOME THINGS THAT JUMPED OUT TO US. AND I WAS IN THE SUBGROUP WITH RETAINING AND RECRUITING TALENT, I GUESS RETAIN RECRUITING QUALIFIED STAFF WAS THE OFFICIAL TERM.

SO AND IT WAS GREAT BECAUSE WE GOT TO REALLY TALK ABOUT THE CULTURE WE'RE TRYING TO BUILD HERE.

AND, AND THAT IT'S NOT JUST DOLLARS THAT BRINGS AND KEEPS GREAT PEOPLE, BUT IT'S THE CULTURE THAT WE HAVE IN THE BUILDINGS AND THE DISTRICT.

AND SO WE HAD A GREAT CONVERSATION AROUND THAT AMONGST THE OTHER PARTS OF THE DISTRICT IMPROVEMENT PLAN.

SO IT WAS REALLY A, IT WAS A GREAT, GREAT MORNING.

SO WITH THAT, I'D LIKE TO THANK THE STAFF FOR BEING HERE TONIGHT, OUR VISITORS THAT WERE HERE EARLIER AND MY COLLEAGUES FOR BEING HERE THIS EVENING. THE BOARD WILL NOW CONVENE TO A CLOSED SESSION IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE TEXAS OPEN MEETING MEETINGS ACT.

[V. CLOSED MEETING]

SECTION 551.02 REAL PROPERTY AND SECTION 551.074 PERSONNEL MATTERS.

THANK YOU. AND WE WILL RECONVENE UPSTAIRS FOR THAT SESSION.

* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.