[00:02:58]
[Items A & B]
[00:05:41]
DISTRICT SIX DISTRICT EIGHT, MS. BERNARD PRESENT, PRESENT.[C. Minutes]
ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS ITEM THE SCHOOL BOARD MEETING MINUTES OF THE OCTOBER 15TH, 2020 REGULAR BOARD MEETING.AND THEN NOVEMBER 5TH, 2020 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING AS PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL RECORD.
DO I HAVE A MOTION MOTION BY MR. TADEMAN SEGMENTED BY BOARD MEMBER DYSON.
ARE THERE ANY COMMENTS SEEING NONE FROM THE BOARD? ANY COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE SAY NONE FROM THE AUDIENCE AND I'M CHECKING THE COMMENT SECTION.
UH, THERE ARE NONE IN NO COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE BACK TO THE BOARD.
I'M HAVING SOME TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES.
CAN WE JUST DO A ROLL CALL FOR THIS ONE, PLEASE? DATE MR. BALLOU.
[D. Recognitions]
NEXT IS ITEM D ONE FOUNDATION FOR EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL SYSTEM RECOGNIZES EXXON MOBILE.GOOD AFTERNOON, PRESIDENT GOATEE VICE-PRESIDENT HOWARD SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS.
THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME, AND IT'S GOOD TO SO MANY MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY HERE.
UM, TODAY I'D LIKE TO RECOGNIZE A REALLY VALUABLE COMMUNITY PARTNER TO THE FOUNDATION BEFORE I DO.
SO I WOULD JUST LIKE TO, UM, GIVE YOU A VERY QUICK OVERVIEW OF WHAT THE FOUNDATION HAS BEEN UP TO AND HOW VALUABLE THIS COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP HAS BEEN FOR US.
SO, FIRST SLIDE, MY NAME IS KATHLEEN STARSFIELD.
I'M THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR THE EAST BATON ROUGE SCHOOL SYSTEM FOUNDATION.
AND I BROUGHT WITH ME TODAY, STEVEN LLOYD, WHO IS THE HEAD OF THE TECH PARK AND WHO IS THE CURRENT BOARD CHAIR FOR THE FOUNDATION.
WE ARE ALSO GOING TO RECOGNIZE I'M A COMMUNITY PARTNER IN A MINUTE IN A MINUTE.
SO THE FOUNDATION IS HERE TO SUPPORT THE SCHOOL SYSTEM STUDENTS, UM, OF EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH.
AND, UM, I'D LIKE TO TELL YOU JUST FOR A SECOND, WHO WE ARE, WE'RE AN INDEPENDENT NONPROFIT WHOSE MISSION IS TO SUPPORT THE STUDENTS BY ACTING AS A BRIDGE BETWEEN THE DISTRICT AND THE COMMUNITY.
SO THE NEEDS OF THE DISTRICT AND MATCHING THEM UP WITH THE COMMUNITY PARTNERS WHO ARE WILLING TO STEP UP AND FILL THOSE NEEDS.
OKAY, SO THE FOUNDATION IS EIGHT YEARS OLD AND IN THE FIRST SEVEN YEARS OF ITS EXISTENCE, IT REALLY FOCUSED ON, UH, CREATING AWARENESS AROUND THE IMPORTANCE OF STEM EDUCATION AND BELIEVE IT, OR NOT SEVEN YEARS AGO, IT WASN'T VERY PROMINENTLY ACKNOWLEDGED.
SO WE CONSIDER THAT A CELEBRATION AND A VICTORY IN HAVING COMPLETED THAT FIRST PHASE OF OUR MISSION.
UM, AND SO NOW SINCE MOST PEOPLE ARE AWARE OF STEM,
[00:10:01]
UM, THE FOUNDATION BOARD, UM, UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF STEVEN LLOYD AND THE, UH, VOLUNTEER BOARD MEMBERS GOT TOGETHER AND CREATED A STRATEGIC PLAN THAT REALLY BROADENED THE SCOPE OF THE FOUNDATION.SO NOW WE ARE MUCH MORE FOCUSED ON, UM, MAKING SURE THAT WE BRIDGE THE GAP WITH THE COMMUNITY AND WE DEVELOP RESOURCES ON A BROADER SCALE THROUGHOUT BATON ROUGE AND THE SURROUNDING COMMUNITY.
SO WE'VE BEEN WORKING THIS PAST YEAR ON ENHANCING OUR ABILITY TO RECEIVE AND ALLOCATE DONATIONS FROM THE COMMUNITY, MAKING SURE THOSE MECHANISMS ARE IN PLACE, UM, AND MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE ABLE TO PUT IT WHERE IT'S NEEDED MOST AND HANDLED IN THE MOST EFFICIENT WAY POSSIBLE.
SO NOW WE'RE READY TO TAKE THAT TO THE NEXT LEVEL IN OUR PLANNING PHASE IN THE YEAR 2021.
SO WE PLAN TO ENGAGE REPRESENTATIVES BOTH FROM THE SCHOOL DISTRICT AND FROM THE COMMUNITY TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE AND HOW THAT SUPPORT WILL BEST BE SECURED.
UM, AND FROM THERE, WE'LL USE THAT INPUT TO GUIDE A WORK AND THAT WILL INCLUDE ADDING CAPACITY SO THAT WE CAN IDENTIFY AND EXECUTE THOSE PROTOCOLS THAT WE NEED TO PUT IN PLACE TO BE THE MOST EFFICIENT FUNDRAISER THAT WE CAN BE.
UM, WE'LL ALSO CONTINUE AT THAT TIME TO STRENGTHEN PARTNERSHIPS WITHIN THE DISTRICT AND WITH THE COMMUNITY.
SO AS WE INTERACT WITH PEOPLE AND BUSINESSES AND ORGANIZATIONS THAT CARE DEEPLY ABOUT PROVIDING THE BEST LEVEL OF EDUCATION, UM, FOR OUR CHILDREN AS POSSIBLE, THEY'VE OFTEN ASKED ME HOW THEY CAN HELP.
THEY SAY, KATHLEEN, WE'RE EXCITED.
WE'RE INTERESTED IN SUPPORTING THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM IN THIS PUBLIC SCHOOL KIDS.
HOW CAN WE DO IT? UM, AND THAT'S REALLY THE PURPOSE OF WHY WE'RE HERE AND THAT IS TO RECOGNIZE A MODEL PARTNERSHIP THAT WE'VE DEVELOPED WITH ONE OF OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS.
SO I'D LIKE TO ASK STEPHEN AND STEPHANIE TO COME UP FOR A MINUTE, PLEASE.
SO WE'VE HAD TO RECOGNIZE A CASE STUDY AND THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF A COMMUNITY PARTNER IN EXXON MOBILE, BATON ROUGE.
AND SO STEPHANIE CARGILL, UM, AS THE HEAD OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS FOR EXXON BATON ROUGE, UM, HAS REALLY SPEARHEADED THE RELATIONSHIP THAT WE'VE HAD, UM, WITH THIS COMMUNITY PARTNER AND THE WAY THAT THEY'VE STEPPED UP, I THINK, UM, CAN BE HELD UP TO SHOW OTHERS HOW THEY CAN WORK THROUGH THE FOUNDATION TO ENHANCE EDUCATION.
AND ONE OF THE REALLY IMPORTANT WAYS THAT I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT WAS THAT EXXON, DURING COVID ESPECIALLY APPROACH THE FOUNDATION AND CONTINUE TO ASK HOW THE STUDENTS NEEDED TO BE SUPPORTED.
AND I CAN'T EMPHASIZE THAT ENOUGH, NOT EVERY DONOR DOES THAT.
A LOT OF DONORS SAY I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE THIS HELP IN THIS FORM, UM, WHICH IS WONDERFUL, BUT EXXON WAS TRULY A CASE STUDY IN THE FACT THAT THEY LISTENED.
THEY LEARNED WHAT WE NEEDED SPECIFICALLY TO HELP FEED THE KIDS, TO CONNECT THE KIDS AND TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAD SAFE ENVIRONMENTS AND THEY STEPPED UP TO THE PLATE AND THEY DID SO ON A CONTINUOUS BASIS.
UM, ANOTHER WAY THAT THEY WERE ABLE TO ENHANCE THE PARTNERSHIP, UM, THAT ALLOWED THEM TO SUPPORT STUDENTS TO A GREATER DEGREE WAS THAT THEY WORKED DIRECTLY WITH OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM, THROUGH THE FOUNDATION, UM, TO CREATE STEM RESOURCE KIDS.
SO ONCE WE HAD THE KIDS FED, ONCE WE HAD THE KIDS CONNECTED, THEY WENT AHEAD AND CREATED, UM, A STEM SERIES OF VIDEOS THAT THEIR EMPLOYEES FILMED.
AND THEY HAVE FOLDED THAT INTO THE VIRTUAL LEARNING, UM, CADRE OF EDUCATIONAL TOOLS THAT WE HAVE, UM, AVAILABLE FOR THE VIRTUAL EDUCATION SERIES.
SO, UM, ASIDE FROM THOSE THINGS, EXXON CONTINUES TO BE A PARTNER AND, UM, AND ENHANCE THE, THE ROLE BETWEEN THE FOUNDATION AND THE SCHOOL DISTRICT FOR OUR KIDS.
AND SO, UM, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO RECOGNIZE THE WORK OF EXXON-MOBIL BATON ROUGE AS AN EXCELLENT COMMUNITY PARTNER WITH THE FOUNDATION AND THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OF VISA, BATON ROUGE PARISH.
AND THANK YOU TO YOU ALL FOR BEING, UM, THE PUBLIC SERVANTS THAT YOU ARE.
UM, AND KATHLEEN IS SO RIGHT, YOU KNOW, DURING COVID, IT WAS SUCH A TOUGH TIME.
I KNOW FOR EVERYBODY AND, AND OUR TEAM KEPT SAYING, YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO HELP THE STUDENTS, BUT WE DIDN'T REALLY KNOW HOW, WHAT, WHAT WAS MOST NEEDED.
AND WE HAD A PHONE CALL I'LL NEVER FORGET.
UM, MIKE GO TO, YOU WERE ON THE CALL, SUPERINTENDENT DRAKE AT THE TIME.
AND WE HAD SOME OF THE LEADERS OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM WHO REALLY KIND OF DID A DEEP DIVE INTO HOW WE COULD HELP.
AND SO WE HOPE OTHER CORPORATE PARTNERS DO THAT IN THE FUTURE.
WE HOPE THAT YOU GUYS CONTINUE TO FEED BACK, UM, HOW WE CAN BETTER SERVE OUR STUDENTS.
SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR ALL YOU DO.
[00:15:03]
SO AGAIN, WE JUST LIKE TO THANK THE SCHOOL BOARD FOR YOUR SUPPORT OF THE FOUNDATION SO THAT WE CAN WORK, UM, IN FUTURE YEARS TO COME TO ENGAGE MORE COMMUNITY PARTNERS LIKE EXXON MOBILE, SO THAT WE CAN KEEP INCREASING THE SUPPORT THAT WE GET, UM, AND BE THAT BRIDGE BETWEEN THE COMMUNITY AND THE SCHOOL DISTRICT.SO THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND WE APPRECIATE EVERYTHING YOU DO.
AND THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THE WORK THAT YOU DO FOR OUR STUDENTS AND OUR TEACHERS AND STAFF.
WE VERY MUCH APPRECIATE IT, MR. HOWARD, JENNA, MR. HOWARD, MR. HARRISON.
I KNOW, I JUST WANT TO SAY TO, UH, TO KATHLEEN AND TO THE, TO, UH, FOUNDATION AND TO THE MEMBERS OF THE EXXON COMMUNITY, UH, THANK YOU FOR THE PARTICULAR SERVICE.
AND I JUST ENCOURAGE OTHER PARTNERS WHO CONTINUE TO FIGURE OUT WAYS THAT THEY TOO CAN INVEST IN THE DISTRICT AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE SERVING ALL OF OUR KIDS.
MS. BERNARD, MS. UH, MS. BERNARD, I'M SORRY.
I JUST WANT TO THANK MS. MS. STARSFIELD MR. LAWYER, STEVEN LLOYD, WHO WHO'S THE PRESIDENT OF THE FOUNDATION AND EXXON MOBILE AND MS. CARGO FOR ALL OF THE WORK THAT YOU DO FOR OUR STUDENTS, WE COULD NOT DO IT WITHOUT YOU.
EXXONMOBIL HAS BEEN INVOLVED WITH EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOLS BEFORE THE INCEPTION OF THE FOUNDATION, BUT THEY'VE BEEN INVOLVED WITH THE FOUNDATION SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE FOUNDATION.
I ALSO WANTED TO TELL YOU ALL THAT THIS IS ITEM NUMBER ONE, ITEM NUMBER FIVE IS A PROCLAMATION ASKING, UH, INVITING ANYONE WHO IS INCLINED AND ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN AN ANNUAL CONTRIBUTION THIS YEAR, UM, AND OUR PARA DEDUCTION PLAN FOR ALL THE EMPLOYEES.
SO IF YOU WANT TO STAY, YOU'RE WELCOME TO STAY.
MAY I SAY SOMETHING AS WELL? WHAT PRECEDENT? YEAH.
I JUST ALSO WANT TO TASTE, PRESS MY GRATITUDE AS WELL.
UM, I KNOW THAT, UM, UH, DON'T AGREE ON EVERYTHING ALL THE TIME, BUT WE DO AGREE ON LOTS ON OUR FROM TIMES, AND THIS IS ONE OF THEM.
AND SO I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT I EXPRESS MY APPRECIATION BECAUSE I KNOW SOMETIMES WE DON'T AGREE.
AND ON BEHALF OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM, BOARD, PRESIDENT AND BOARD MEMBERS, I WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE FOUNDATION AND EXXON FOR THAT EARLY VOID THAT YOU GUYS FEEL WITH BROOKSTOWN AND EXXON, WHAT PROVIDING THOSE HOTSPOTS FOR THOSE STUDENTS.
NEXT ITEM IS NEXT ITEM IS TO BATON ROUGE, GENERAL PARTNERSHIP, LEAN SIX SIGMA GREEN BELT RECOGNITION OF THE BATON ROUGE, GENERAL PARTNERSHIP, LEAN SIX SIGMA GREEN BELT AWARD WINNERS.
ALL, UH, IT'S MY PLEASURE TONIGHT TO REALLY INTRODUCE YOU TO TWO PEOPLE THAT WE MET ABOUT A YEAR, A YEAR AND A HALF AGO.
UM, AND THE FIRST ONE WILL BE MR. PAUL DOUGLAS, WHO SERVES AS VICE PRESIDENT OF STRATEGY AND HUMAN RESOURCES AT BATON ROUGE GENERAL, AND ALSO MISS DARCY STAFFORD WHO SERVED AS OUR, UH, BLACK BELT OR LEAN SIX SIGMA BLACK BELT, UH, COACH.
UH, SEVERAL OF US, UH, ENTERED INTO ABOUT A ONE-YEAR PROGRAM.
AND MS. STAFFORD, WE'LL GO THROUGH THAT IN A LITTLE MORE DETAIL, BUT MYSELF, UH, MR. SMITH, UH, AND MS. DUPREE RECENTLY WRAPPED THAT UP AND, UH, FINISHED IT.
UM, AND IT TIES IN WITH THE EFFICIENCIES AND THE PLANNING THAT WE'RE DOING AROUND TRYING TO BECOME MORE EFFICIENT AND MORE EFFECTIVE.
SO AGAIN, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO HER.
TAMALE AS WELL, WHO WENT THROUGH THAT PROGRAM.
AND THEN OF COURSE, WHEN SHE MOVED TO THE STATE, UH, YOU KNOW, SHE, SHE LEFT, BUT SHE WAS NOT AS WELL.
UH, AND WE WILL HAVE FIVE PEOPLE GOING THROUGH THE SECOND COHORT.
UH, AND AGAIN, THEY'VE BEEN AMAZING PARTNERS.
WE'VE LEARNED SO MUCH AND WE'VE KIND OF LOOKED AT OUR ORGANIZATIONS TOGETHER.
WE'VE LEARNED KIND OF WHAT THEY GO THROUGH ON THE MEDICAL SIDE.
AND THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT MIRROR WHAT WE DO ON THE EDUCATIONAL SIDE.
SO AGAIN, I'LL, UH, GO AHEAD AND WELCOME MS. STAFFORD UP TO GIVE YOU MORE DETAILS.
WE WANT TO ALSO TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU'VE DONE AND WHAT YOU DO FOR THIS COMMUNITY.
UH, THE LEAN SIX SIGMA PROGRAM IS A VERY RIGOROUS PROGRAM.
AND, AND IN THE MOST, UH, CALM OF TIMES, PEOPLE SAY IT'S LIKE TAKING ON AN ADDITIONAL JOB.
SO I DO HAVE TO COMMEND, UH, THIS, UH, ADMINISTRATIVE TEAM THAT WENT THROUGH THE PROGRAM.
UH, NOT ONLY DID THEY, DID THEY GO THROUGH THE PROGRAM? THEY, THEY JUST SURPASSED WHAT WE WOULD EVER HAVE EXPECTED.
AND WE DID LEARN A LOT FROM THEM.
[00:20:01]
UH, I THINK IT SHOWS YOUR TEAM IS VERY COMMITTED TO QUALITY, VERY COMMITTED TO EFFICIENCY.UH, AND WE HOPE THIS IS A PAY IT FORWARD STRATEGY WHERE YOU'LL SEE MANY GOOD PROJECTS COME FROM THIS, BUT WE HAVE OUR MASTER BLACK BELT, DARCY STAFFORD, UH, WHO I WOULD LIKE HER TO MENTION TO YOU HOW THE PROGRAM ACTUALLY WORKS.
SO WHAT THEY ARE RECEIVING TONIGHT IS A LEAN SIX SIGMA GREEN BELT CERTIFICATION.
SO IF YOU GO ONLINE, YOU CAN FIND A CERTIFICATION THAT YOU CAN DO IN A WEEKEND.
AND YOU CAN TAKE A LOOK AT SOME OF THE VIDEOS AND DO IT ONLINE.
MAYBE TAKE A LITTLE, AND THEN YOU'RE CERTIFIED.
OUR PROGRAM LIKE BEN SAID, IS, IS 11 MONTHS.
SO WHAT THEY DID TO EARN THIS, THIS GREEN BELT CERTIFICATION IS THEY ATTENDED 15 DAYS OF CLASS.
AND IN BETWEEN EACH PHASE, THERE ARE FIVE PHASES OF THIS PROJECT, OF THIS PROGRAM.
THEY HAD DELIVERABLES AND THEY HAD TO GO OUT AND ACTUALLY UTILIZE THE TOOLS THEY LEARNED AND GUIDE THEIR TEAMS USING THOSE TOOLS.
AND WHAT IS SO NEAT ABOUT SIX SIGMA IS THAT YOU TAKE DATA AND YOU ANALYZE IT USING STATISTICS TO DETERMINE WHAT YOUR TRUE CAUSES OF DEFECT OR VARIATION IN YOUR PROCESS IS.
THAT'S REALLY THAT'S DRIVING THE VARIATION IN YOUR PROCESS.
SO YOU'RE NOT WASTING YOUR TIME WORKING ON THINGS THAT, THAT DON'T MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
SO THEY USE STATISTICAL ANALYSIS AND RANDOM DATA TO DETERMINE THAT, AND THEN THEY HAD TO PUT AN IMPROVEMENT IN PLACE.
AND THEN ONCE THEY MADE THE IMPROVEMENT, THEY HAD TO RUN ANOTHER STATISTICAL TEST TO SHOW THAT THEY MADE A STATISTICAL DIFFERENCE.
AND THIS GROUP NOT ONLY MADE A STATISTICAL DIFFERENCE, AND WE ALWAYS SET VERY LOFTY GOALS.
THEY MET THEIR GOAL AND THEY EXCEEDED THEIR GOAL.
SO THEY THEY'RE THE OVERACHIEVERS.
AND THEY ALWAYS FINISHED ON TIME.
AND BETWEEN THE HURRICANES AND THE COVID, WE HAD, WE HAD TO PUSH OFF TRAINING AND WE EVEN, WE JUST STOPPED ALL WORK FOR THREE WEEKS.
AT ONE POINT, THEY REALLY MADE A GREAT IMPACT ON THIS PROJECT.
AND THEN THE FINAL COMPONENT OF IT WAS TAKING AN EXAM, A FOUR HOUR EXAM, AND THEY ALL PASSED THAT.
IT WAS WONDERFUL, HAVING THEM ALL.
I LOVE WORKING WITH THEM AND I LOOK FORWARD TO ACTUALLY, UM, WORKING WITH THE NEXT GROUP, DEFINITELY JOINED US AT THE END WHEN, UH, DR.
AND SO SHE WILL BE RECEIVING AND BEING HER YELLOW BELT, WHICH IS A LITTLE BIT LOWER LEVEL, BUT IT'S MORE OF AWARENESS AND SIMULATION.
SO WITHOUT ANY FURTHER ADO, I'LL GO AHEAD AND WE'LL PRESENT THESE AWARDS.
SO BEN, DO YOU WANT TO COME GET YOUR YOURS? ADAM EDGARDO, ALWAYS EQUIVALENT EQUIVALENT TO A MASTER'S DEGREE GETTING A MASTER'S DEGREE BECAUSE IT WAS A LOT OF WORK.
IT WAS VERY MUCH A LOT OF WORK.
WE APPRECIATE Y'ALL AND JUST COME TODAY AND WE'LL SEE THE NEXT GROUP.
ONE THING THEY DID MENTION THAT I THINK IMPORTANT IS, UH, IT WAS FOCUSED ON HIRING PROCESS, HOW LONG IT TAKES TO DO THE HIRING PROCESS.
AND WE SAW A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN THAT TIMELINE AND REALLY THAT'S DUE TO MS. DONALDSON AND HER TEAM, BECAUSE WHILE WE WORKED WITH A PROGRAM AND WORKED WITH THE PROCESS, HER TEAM IMPLEMENTED IT.
SO AGAIN, WE COULDN'T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT HER.
THANK YOU FOR ALL THOSE STAFF MEMBERS WHO PARTICIPATED AND THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO THE BATON ROUGE GENERAL FOR THE, FOR THE HELP IN GETTING THIS PROGRAM STARTED.
WE APPRECIATE IT VERY, VERY MUCH.
NEXT IS ITEM D THREE RECOGNITION OF THE VIPS PARTNERS IN EDUCATION FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE, SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA UNIVERSITY, GREETINGS EVERYONE.
I'M THE VOLUNTEER AND COMMUNITY PARTNERS DIRECTOR FOR VIPS VOLUNTEERS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
UH, WE HAVE A SPECIAL PARTNERSHIP RECOGNITION TODAY, UH, DR.
KAELIN GILMORE, UH, GILBERT IS FROM SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY.
AND, UH, OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH HER IS, UM, UH, WAS THAT MARDEL ELEMENTARY.
AND SHE WOULD VISIT THE STUDENTS TO EDUCATE THEM
[00:25:01]
ABOUT THE RA CARNIVORE PROJECT AND TANZANIA TENS OF TENS OF MEDIA AFRICA.AND, UM, THERE'S, SHE ACTUALLY LIVED IN AFRICA FOR A MINUTE AND, UM, HAD SOME AMAZING EXPERIENCES, AS YOU ALL KNOW, WE DO DO THE TUTORING AND SUPPORT FOR LITERACY INTERVENTION FOR ELEMENTARY AGE STUDENTS, BUT WE ALSO DO SOME AMAZING CREATIVE PARTNERSHIPS.
AND THIS IS A PRIME EXAMPLE OF ONE OF THEM, UH, WITH THE INTENTION TO EXPOSE STUDENTS TO THINGS THAT THEY OTHERWISE WOULD NOT EXPERIENCE IN THEIR OWN COMMUNITIES, UM, AND TRADITIONAL ACADEMIC, UH, CURRICULUM.
UM, SO WE HAVE THESE PARTNERSHIPS THAT COME INTO THE SCHOOLS AND MEET WITH THE STUDENTS AND, UM, UH, GIVE THEM EXPERIENCE THAT WILL INSPIRE AND EDUCATE AND HOPEFULLY INSTILL SOME INSPIRATION IN THEM.
AND THIS IS A PRIME EXAMPLE OF ONE OF THOSE, AND WE ARE JUST SO PLEASED TO HAVE DR.
GILBERT TO HAVE COME ALL THE WAY FROM SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY LOUISIANA UNIVERSITY TO TELL US ABOUT HER PROJECT.
AND SHE IS ALSO COMMITTED TO CONTINUE VIRTUALLY IN THE SPRING SEMESTER TO CONTINUE TO SERVE MARY DALE AND PARTNER WITH VIPS.
AND WE ARE JUST SO ENTHRALLED TO HAVE HER TODAY.
AND I WILL LET HER TELL YOU MORE ABOUT THE PROJECT IN MORE DETAIL, UM, AND SHARE THAT WHOLE, UM, INITIATIVE WITH YOU ALL.
AND THANKS FOR HAVING US HERE.
UM, I JUST WANT TO, UH, RECOGNIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SEND THIS PROGRAM, BECAUSE THIS IS AN EXCELLENT WAY THAT COMMUNITY AND PEOPLE LIKE ME, I'M AN ACADEMIC, I'M A PROFESSOR THAT REALLY ALLOWED ME TO CONNECT AND MAKE THAT CONNECTION WITH THE SCHOOLS.
UM, SO THEY WERE REALLY GREAT IN TERMS OF, OF, UH, DEVELOPING THIS RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ME AND MY STUDENTS, AND THEN ALSO WITH THE PRINCIPAL AND THE TEACHERS, UM, AT, IN OUR CASE, MARY DALE.
SO IT'S A REALLY EXCELLENT PROGRAM AND ONE THAT REALLY FOSTERS THIS RELATIONSHIP BUILDING.
SO I'M REALLY HAPPY, UM, TO BE PART OF THIS.
SO I JUST WANT TO TAKE A FEW MINUTES TO TALK ABOUT MY PROJECT.
THIS IS GOING TO BE VERY, VERY DIFFERENT.
UM, I'VE SPENT MOST OF MY TIME IN THE FIELD.
UM, AND SO I, I BRING ARTIFACTS WITH ME HERE.
YOU'RE GONNA HAVE SOME SHOW AND TELL, UM, SOME OF MY STUDENTS, MY COLLEGE STUDENTS ARE TAKING AN UPPER LEVEL CLASS.
THAT'S A REAL WORLD READY CLASS.
SO IT'S AN EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING CLASS, IT'S ANTHROPOLOGY, BUT FOCUSING ON CULTURE AND THE ENVIRONMENT AND IN PARTICULAR HUMAN WILDLIFE CONFLICT.
SO WE THINK ABOUT THAT IN TERMS OF, YEAH, AFRICA, THE LION KING, YOU KNOW, IT'S VERY GLOBAL, BUT WE WANT TO ALSO BRING IT HOME AND ADDRESS THIS AS LOCAL ISSUES.
SO BASED ON MY EXPERIENCE, UM, WE, WITH MY STUDENTS PUT TOGETHER THIS CURRICULUM ABOUT CONSERVATION AND ABOUT, UM, IN PARTICULAR, LARGE CAT CONSERVATION AND LOOKING AT HOW PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN AREAS WHERE THERE ARE CATS, HOW THEY HAVE TO GET ALONG, SO THAT COEXISTENCE, AND IN DEVELOPING THIS CURRICULUM, THEN WE WERE ABLE TO PUT TOGETHER, UM, UH, LESSONS ABOUT GEOGRAPHY.
SO LOOKING AT AFRICA, YOU KNOW, WHERE IS AFRICA, HOW DO YOU, UM, FIND AFRICA, WHERE IS AFRICA RELATED TO, UM, BATON ROUGE, FOR EXAMPLE? SO THAT WAS REALLY AN INTERESTING LESSON.
AND ONE, I THINK OUR YOUNG SCHOLARS THAT MARY DALE, UH, REALLY LEARNED A LOT ABOUT JUST GLOBAL GEOGRAPHY, UM, THEN ALSO ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT, THE HABITAT, DIFFERENT TYPES OF ECOSYSTEMS, AND THEN ANIMAL BEHAVIOR, AND THEN ALSO CULTURE.
SO WHO ARE THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN EAST AFRICA AND ARE LIVING NEXT TO LIONS AND LEOPARDS AND, AND BIG ANIMALS LIKE THAT.
AND THEN THE IDEA IS TO BRING IT HOME.
SO WHAT TYPE OF ANIMALS, FOR EXAMPLE, DO YOU COME INTO CONTACT WITH IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOODS, IN YOUR YARDS? SO WE'RE TRYING TO DEVELOP THAT AWARENESS OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND THEN ALSO THE AWARENESS OF CONSERVATION.
SO I JUST WANTED TO, TO SHOW YOU A COUPLE OF THE PROJECTS THAT WE, WE DID, AND WE WERE, UM, CUT SHORT BY THE PANDEMIC, BUT, UM, SOME JUST SIMPLE ART PROJECTS, BUT THE CHILDREN REALLY ENJOYED THE, SO JUST LIKE LITTLE STYLIZED LIONS, BECAUSE OUR FOCUS REALLY WAS ON LYONS.
UM, AND THEN THE, UH, THE CULTURE THERE IS THE, THE MESSIAH CULTURE.
YOU MAY BE FAMILIAR WITH THEM.
SO, UH, THE, OUR YOUNG SCHOLARS, WE'RE GOING TO MAKE THESE, UM, TYPES OF MESSIAH NECKLACES OUT OF BEADS.
SO, UH, WE HAD ALL THESE PROJECTS LINED UP AND THEN OUR HOME AND EATING EXPERIENCE WAS TO, UM, SET UP A PEN PAL.
[00:30:01]
THE MARY DELL CHILDREN, UM, AND THIS WILL START AGAIN IN JANUARY.UH, WE'RE GOING TO PAIR THEM UP WITH AN A PRIMARY SCHOOL IN TANZANIA, AND THEY'RE GOING TO WRITE LETTERS BACK AND FORTH TO ONE ANOTHER AND JUST DESCRIBE THEIR COMMUNITIES, UM, AND JUST SHARE THEIR, THEIR EXPERIENCES.
SO IT'LL BE A REALLY GOOD LESSON IN WRITING SKILLS, UM, DESCRIPTIVE WRITING, AND THEN A REALLY COOL EXPERIENCE WHEN THEY CAN ACTUALLY RECEIVE THOSE LETTERS BACK FROM TANZANIA.
SO HOPEFULLY LOGISTICALLY PANDEMIC WISE, THAT'S GOING TO WORK OUT, BUT, UM, I'M REALLY EXCITED.
UM, AND MY STUDENTS COMING UP THIS SPRING SEMESTER ARE EXCITED.
SO WE'LL, UH, WE'LL HIT THE GROUND RUNNING HOPEFULLY IN JANUARY, IF NOT, IN-PERSON VIRTUALLY AT MARY DALE.
SO I THINK YOU AND I, AGAIN, I WENT TO REALLY, UM, THINK, UH, THE VITS PROGRAM FOR REALLY MAKING THIS HAPPEN.
GILBERT, UH, WE APPRECIATE YOU TREMENDOUSLY.
AND, UM, WE ALSO APPRECIATE THE SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS FOR HAVING US AND SUPPORTING OUR EFFORTS TO CONTINUE TO BRING THESE TYPES OF EXPERIENCES TO OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS, RIGHT.
AND THE SUPERINTENDENT WE'D LIKE TO PRESENT THIS TO YOU, TO HELP WITH ADVOCATING OUT YOUR, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MR.
UH, BAB REQUESTS TO SPEAK WAS FOR BATON ROUGE GENERAL, UNFORTUNATELY LEFT BEFORE I COULD THAT'S OKAY.
UM, NEXT IS RECOGNITION OF RECIPIENTS OF THE EXCHANGE CLUB OF BATON ROUGE ADOPT THE TEACHER GRANT AWARDS, DR.
I PUT THIS MASK ON NOT KNOWING THAT, UH, THE PREVIOUS SPEAKER WAS GOING TO TALK ABOUT SAVING BIG CATS.
THIS IS FROM THE, UH, ZOO RUN, RUN THIS PAST WEEKEND AT THE BATON ROUGE ZOO, AND THE PROFITS WENT TO SAVING THE CHEETAHS IN AFRICA.
SO THE LADIES OUT IN THE HALL TELLS ME THEY PREFER THIS OVER THE PLAIN GRAY MASK THAT I HAD ON WHEN I WALKED IN.
BUT, UM, I ALSO WANT TO FIND OUT HOW TO CONTACT, UH, HAD HARRIS WHO WAS UP HERE EARLIER LEADING THE, UH, LENS, UH, I WANT NEXT YEAR TO, UH, HAVE HER TAKE BY RACE MEN AND MY CHIP AND CROSS THE FINISH LINE A LOT FASTER THAN I DID ON SATURDAY WHEN IT WAS EATEN BY THE 79 YEAR OLD MAN.
UH, HOPEFULLY IT WAS RECORDED, BUT, UM, ONCE AGAIN, I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE HERE.
UM, THANK YOU, UH, SUPERINTENDENT, UM, WE AND THE PRESIDENT AND THE ENTIRE BOARD FOR ALLOWING ME TO COME BACK AND GIVE YOU MONEY, UH, FOR THE 24TH YEAR, NOT YOU PERSONALLY, BUT TO 21 OF OUR NEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHERS IN EBR.
UH, LET ME MAKE A FEW COMMENTS.
THIS IS THE 24TH YEAR, UH, THAT THE EXCHANGE CLUB OF BATON ROUGE HAS BEEN DOING THIS PROJECT.
UH, WE'RE A NATIONAL CIVIC ORGANIZATION, BUT THIS IS A LOCAL PROJECT THAT WE STARTED OFF FIRST YEAR IN BATON ROUGE.
UM, NOT KNOWING THAT NEW TEACHERS, ALL THE TEACHERS TAKE MONEY OUT OF THEIR OWN POCKETS TO PURCHASE MATERIALS THAT THEY USE IN THEIR CLASSROOMS. SO, UM, A COUPLE OF THINGS I WANT TO MENTION, AND THEN WE'LL GET INTO THE SLIDE PRESENTATION.
UM, ANYONE WHO'S FAMILIAR WITH THE JEWISH TRADITION, THE JEWISH HOLIDAY OF PASSOVER AND THE PASSOVER SAIDA KNOWS THAT THERE'S AN IMPORTANT QUESTION ASKED EVERY YEAR, WHY IS THIS NIGHT DIFFERENT FROM ALL OTHER NIGHTS? AND I GUESS IT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE AT THE SCHOOL BOARD MEETING TO ASK WHY IS THIS YEAR
[00:35:01]
DIFFERENT FROM ALL OF THE YEARS? THE PANDEMIC HAS CERTAINLY AFFECTED EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS AT EVERY LEVEL, FROM PRESCHOOL THROUGH, UH, PHDS IN MEDICAL SCHOOLS, EVERYBODY HAS HAD TO ADAPT TO THE TECHNOLOGY THAT WAS NEEDED TO THE HYBRID CLASSROOMS AND NEW TEACHERS HAVE ENOUGH STRESS THEIR FIRST YEAR.THEY'RE WORRIED, THEY'RE TRYING TO GET ORGANIZED.
THEY DON'T HAVE THE RESOURCES THEY NEED, BUT THEN ADD A PANDEMIC LIKE THIS PAST YEAR AND THE STRESS LEVEL JUST SKYROCKETS.
AND, UH, EVERYBODY HAS BEEN ADAPTING, BUT IN MEETING SOME OF THOSE TEACHERS THIS PAST WEEKEND, AND I'LL EXPLAIN IN A MOMENT, UH, SINCE WE COULDN'T INVITE THEM HERE TO THE SCHOOL BOARD, WE MET WITH, UH, MANY OF THEM AT SCHOOL AIDS OVER THE WEEKEND.
AND IN TALKING TO THEM, UH, I'M JUST HOPING THAT THIS PROJECT THIS YEAR HELPS SOME OF THEM, UH, PREVENTING EARLY BURNOUT, EARLY PROFESSIONAL BURNOUT.
MANY OF THEM JUST IN LISTENING TO HOW STRESSED THEY WERE, HOPEFULLY THE MONEY THAT WE HAVE GIVEN THEM WILL, UH, ALLEVIATE SOME OF THE FINANCIAL BURDEN THAT THEY HAVE, BUT ALSO GIVE THEM SOME EMOTIONAL SUPPORT TO KNOW THAT THE COMMUNITY CARES ABOUT THEM, THAT WE ARE TRYING TO HELP THEM AS BEST THAT WE CAN.
SO, UH, THE EXCHANGE CLUB, AS I SAID, THIS IS OUR 24TH, UH, YEAR THE EXCHANGE CLUB.
SO WE'VE HAD 24 YEARS AS A CLUB IN BATON ROUGE, BUT 109 YEARS NATIONALLY WHEN THE FIRST EXCHANGE CLUB FORMED IN 1911 IN DETROIT, MICHIGAN, A GROUP OF BUSINESSMEN EXCHANGING IDEAS TO BETTER THEIR COMMUNITY.
IF YOU'LL GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE IN 24 YEARS WITH THE 21 TEACHERS THAT WE ARE ADOPTING THIS YEAR, WE WILL HAVE GIVEN GRANTS IN THE HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS AND SEVERAL HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS TO 593 NEW TEACHERS.
AND IF THAT NUMBER SOUNDS LIKE A LOT TO YOU IMAGINE 23 YEARS AGO, OUR FIRST YEAR, THIS IS THE 24TH YEAR WHEN WE HAD FIVE TEACHERS IN THE BACK ROOM AT THE SCHOOL BOARD.
AND WE THOUGHT IT WAS A ONE-TIME PROJECT WHEN WE GAVE A LITTLE BIT OF MONEY TO FIVE NEW TEACHERS.
AND NOW WE HAVE ACTUALLY GIVEN GRANTS TO 593 TEACHERS THE MOST COMMON, UH, THANK YOU THAT THEY, UH, THEY GIVE US, INCLUDES THE WORD, WHAT A BLESSING TO HAVE THAT EXTRA MONEY WE'VE REACHED 68 DIFFERENT SCHOOLS.
AND WE ARE APPROACHING A QUARTER OF A MILLION DOLLARS, UH, IN, IN GRANTS TO THESE TEACHERS.
SO IF YOU'LL GO ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO, UH, USUALLY WE HAVE SEVERAL EXCHANGE CLUB MEMBERS COME TO THE SCHOOL BOARD MEETING EVERY YEAR, BUT, UM, WE WERE LIMITED.
SO SEVERAL OF THEM MET, UH, THIS PAST SATURDAY AT SCHOOL AIDS.
AND THERE ARE SOME OF THE PEOPLE IN THE EXCHANGE CLUB.
I MAY BE THE VOICE OF THE FACE AT THE ANNUAL SCHOOL BOARD MEETING.
BUT, UH, OUR SMALL CLUB, A VERY DIVERSE CLUB IS VERY COMMITTED TO THE PROJECT.
WE DID CONSIDER BACK IN MARCH OR APRIL CANCELING.
THIS YEAR'S ADOPTED TEACHER WORRIED THAT WE WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO RAISE MONEY, THAT WE WOULDN'T HAVE OUR DONORS COME THROUGH, BUT THEY DID.
AND I'M GLAD WE CONTINUED, ESPECIALLY WHEN I REALIZED, AND WE ALL REALIZED THE STRESS, THESE NEW TEACHERS HAVE BEEN UNDER IF YOU'LL GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO I ALWAYS LIKE TO THANK OUR SPONSORS BECAUSE THIS IS THE ONLY RECOGNITION THAT THEY THEY RECEIVE.
AND IF YOU'LL GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, WE HAVE THREE CATEGORIES OF SPONSORS.
WE HAVE BUSINESSES, WE HAVE NON-PROFITS AND WE HAVE INDIVIDUALS.
UH, THIS IS, UH, THIS PROJECT WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE WITHOUT THE SUPPORT OF SCHOOL AIDS ON INTERLINE AVENUE.
TEACHERS CALL IT THE, UH, DIGITALLY WORLD OF SHOPPING FOR THEM.
AND THEY TOLD US THAT FIRST YEAR DON'T GIVE US ANY GIFT CARDS TO, UH, TO WALMART, TO OFFICE DEPOT.
WE GAVE THEM GIFT CARDS TO DIFFERENT, UH, STORES.
THEY SAID, IF YOU EVER DO THIS AGAIN, SCHOOL AIDES, BECAUSE WE CAN'T BUY ANYWHERE ELSE.
SO SCHOOL AIDS, THIS IS THEIR 24TH YEAR NEIGHBORS.
FEDERAL CREDIT UNION IS ONE OF OUR MAJOR DONORS FROM BACK WHEN THEY
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WERE CALLED TEACHERS FEDERAL CREDIT UNION.THEY'VE BEEN SUPPORTING THIS PROJECT FOR 21 YEARS, CAPITAL ONE BANK, ANOTHER MAJOR SPONSOR.
THIS IS THEIR 20TH YEAR SUPPORTING THE PROJECT LOUISIANA LOTTERY CORPORATION, WHICH WAS PUT INTO EXISTENCE TO HELP EDUCATION.
THIS IS THEIR 18TH YEAR JOUVET INSURANCE GROUP.
UH, THIS IS THEIR EIGHTH YEAR DONATING TO THIS PROJECT, GIRAFFE PRINTS.
UM, THEY ARE A T-SHIRT PRINTING COMPANY, GREAT GRAPHIC DESIGNERS ON GOVERNMENT STREET.
UH, THIS IS THEIR EIGHTH YEAR, UH, DONATING.
THIS IS CITIZENS BANK, THEIR FIRST YEAR DONATING, UH, AND THEN SAFEGUARD PROMOTIONS AND PRINTING CHARLIE MARQUETTE.
HIS WIFE WAS THE FIRST CHAIR OF THIS PROJECT.
SHE CHAIRED IT FOR THE FIRST TWO YEARS.
I AGREED TO CHAIR IT THE THIRD YEAR.
AND NOW THIS IS THE 24TH YEAR.
SO, UH, SOMETIMES YOU AGREE TO DO SOMETHING, BUT, UH, SUZANNE MARQUETTE, UH, CHARLIE'S WIFE STARTED THE PROGRAM.
AND IF IT WEREN'T FOR HER, WE WOULDN'T BE DOING THE PROJECT.
THE NEXT SLIDE WE'LL HAVE SOME OF THE NONPROFITS, THE EXCHANGE CLUB, THE BATON ROUGE.
WE USE OUR FUNDS FOR THIS, AND THEN THE BATON ROUGE AREA, SOCIETY OF PSYCHOLOGISTS.
UH, I DON'T THINK I WAS PRESIDENT.
I THINK IT WAS, UH, BEFORE I WAS PRESIDENT, BUT I TOLD HIM ABOUT THIS PROJECT OUR SECOND YEAR DOING IT.
AND THEY WROTE OUT A CHECK, A SIZEABLE PORTION OF THEIR ANNUAL BUDGET, AND THEN SEVERAL PSYCHOLOGISTS.
AND YOU'LL SEE A FEW NAMES AT THE BOTTOM, BUT, UH, THEY ARE ADOPTING ONE OF THE TEACHERS BY THEMSELVES.
AND THEN, UH, THE EAST BATON ROUGE LION'S CLUB, UH, THIS IS THEIR 21ST YEAR.
AND LIKE MANY OF THE CIVIC CLUBS, THE EXCHANGE CLUB, THE LIONS CLUB, WE'VE ALL BEEN HURTING IN OUR FUNDRAISING EFFORTS SO OFTEN INVOLVE PERSON TO PERSON FUNDRAISING, BUT WE DID NOT HURT WITH ADOPTED TEACHER.
THE INDIVIDUAL SPONSORS INCLUDE A FEW PSYCHOLOGISTS, DR.
DARLENE NAME IT OF THE NEURO-PSYCHOLOGY CENTER OF LOUISIANA.
THE SIXTH YEAR THAT SHE HAS DONATED.
THIS IS MY 22ND YEAR DONATING.
I GUESS SUZANNE FORGOT TO ASK ME FOR MONEY THE FIRST TWO YEARS, BUT ONCE I AGREED TO CHAIR IT, I SAID, WELL, I BETTER PUT SOME OF MY OWN MONEY INTO THIS.
CURTIS VINCENT, HIS SECOND TIME DONATING ON ANOTHER PSYCHOLOGIST AND DR.
THIS IS THE EIGHTH TIME SHE HAS DONATED.
AND THEN WE HAVE INDIVIDUAL SPONSOR TED FROM BERG OF SCHOOL AIDS.
UH, HE SAW THE EMAIL WHEN I ORDERED THE GIFT CARDS TO SCHOOL AIDS, AND HE CALLED ME UP AND HE WANTED TO MAKE A PERSONAL DONATION.
AND I SAID, SCHOOL AIDS IS HELPING.
HE SAID, THIS IS OUT OF MY PERSONAL.
SO I REALLY THINK, UH, TED FROM BERG, HE HAS HELPED BEFORE LILLIAN GRASSLEY, A PAST PRESIDENT OF THE EXCHANGE CLUB THE 10TH YEAR.
AND SHE WAS GOING TO COME HERE TODAY, BUT SHE GOT A LITTLE NERVOUS WHEN SHE WENT ONLINE AND SAW THAT SHE MIGHT NOT BE ALLOWED IN IF THERE WASN'T ROOM.
HELLO, LILLIAN, SHE'S WATCHING IT ON YOUTUBE.
AND THEN NATE DEAN COOPER, UH, HER 13TH YEAR DONATING WITHOUT THE INDIVIDUALS, THE NONPROFITS, THE BUSINESSES, THERE WOULDN'T BE ANY MONEY TO GIVE TO THE TEACHERS.
OR THERE WOULD BE VERY LITTLE IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO THESE ARE THE NAMES OF THE 21 TEACHERS.
WE USUALLY INVITE, UH, 10 TO 12 TO THIS MEETING, UH, AND THEN VISIT THE OTHERS IN THEIR SCHOOLS.
I CALLED EVERY SCHOOL TO FIND OUT IF WE'D BE ALLOWED TO VISIT, THEY EACH HAD THEIR OWN POLICIES.
SOME SAID, YES, WE TAKE YOUR TEMPERATURE.
BUT MY FAVORITE, I WON'T IDENTIFY THE SCHOOL WAS, UH, WE'RE NOT ALLOWING ANY VISITORS, BUT YOU SAID YOU HAVE MONEY TO GIVE US, UH, WE'LL MAKE AN EXCEPTION.
SO, UH, WE'RE NOT VISITING ANY OF THE SCHOOLS WE ADAPTED, UH, WHAT WE'RE DOING, UH, THE POWERPOINT.
UH, THE OTHER DAY, UH, WE CHANGED, UH, THE PANDEMIC CAUSES YOU TO CHANGE A LOT OF THINGS.
IT WAS THE FIRST TIME WE ORDERED GIFT CARDS AND EMAILED ALL THE TEACHERS.
I EMAILED THEM, TEXTED THEM AND CALL THEM TO LET THEM KNOW THEY HAD $250 WAITING FOR THEM AT SCHOOL AIDS, JUST GO AND PICK IT UP OR CALL THERE AND, UH, IDENTIFY YOURSELF AND YOU'LL GET THE CARD YOU CAN ORDER ONLINE.
AND THEY WOULD TOLD THAT WAS THE FIRST INSTALLMENT.
WE'VE NEVER DONE INSTALLMENTS,
[00:45:01]
BUT WE WANTED TO GET MONEY IN THE HANDS OF THE TEACHERS AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.SO SATURDAY THEY GOT THEIR NEXT INSTALLMENT.
AND FOR SEVERAL OF THEM, IT WAS A LOT MORE THAN ANOTHER $250.
SO, UH, IF YOU'LL TURN TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO HERE'S ONE OF THE GROUP PICTURES.
I THINK THERE ARE SIX TEACHERS IN THAT SLIDE.
UH, THEY'RE HOLDING THEIR GOODY BAGS THAT WE GAVE THEM WITH PENCILS AND PENCIL SHARPENERS AND GLUE STICKS AND STAPLERS, STAPLES, ALL KINDS OF GOODIES.
IN ADDITION TO THE, UH, THE GIFT CARDS TO SCHOOL AIDS.
AND THEN I THINK THE NEXT SLIDE IS THE NEXT GROUP.
AND, UM, JAMIE FROM BERG OF SCHOOL AIDS WAS, UH, THERE.
AND SO HE, HE GOT IN THE PICTURE AND THEY GOT A CHANCE TO THANK SCHOOL AIDS.
THE NEXT SLIDE I BELIEVE IS THE FIRST OF THE TEACHERS.
UH, HER NAME IS KATIE SPINOSA AND SHE IS A THIRD GRADE TEACHER AT MAYFAIR ELEMENTARY.
SHE'S AN LSU GRAD, AND SHE'S THE ONE THAT THE, UH, BATON ROUGE AREA SOCIETY OF PSYCHIATRY IS ADOPTING A VERY, VERY SWEET A WOMAN AND JUST GOT MARRIED A FEW MONTHS AGO.
SO IMAGINE ALL THE STRESS OF THE PANDEMIC, BEING A NEW TEACHER AND BEING A NEWLYWED.
UH, THOMAS BERTHELOT, UH, A SECOND GRADE TEACHER AT JEFFERSON TERRORISTS, UH, SOUTHEAST AND A UNIVERSITY GRADUATE WHERE OUR PREVIOUS SPEAKER, UH, WAS TEACHING.
THE NEXT ONE SHOULD BE SHANAE.
SECOND GRADE TEACHER AT PARK FOREST, ALSO A SOUTHEAST.
NEXT ONE SHOULD BE MADELINE CORLEY, A THIRD GRADE TEACHER AT WOODLAWN, AN LSU GRADUATE.
THE NEXT TEACHER IS MEGAN DALEY, A FIRST GRADE TEACHER AT MAYFAIR ELEMENTARY.
AND WE HAVE VALERIE ELLER, A FIRST GRADE TEACHER AT HIGHLAND ELEMENTARY, ANOTHER LSU GRADUATE.
IN FACT, I THINK THAT'S OUR CAP AND GOWN.
I GOT HER PICTURE OFF THE INTERNET.
A FEW OF THE TEACHERS, I HAD TO FIND THEIR PICTURES.
OTHERS EMAILED THEM TO ME AND SOME I CROPPED FROM SATURDAY'S MEETING, BUT THAT WAS VALERIE.
NOW WE HAVE LENA, FOMENKO A KINDERGARTEN TO FIFTH GRADE MUSIC TEACHER AT JEFFERSON TERRACE ELEMENTARY, A TENNESSEE TECH GRADUATE, THEN AMA GERMAN, A SECOND GRADE TEACHER AT WEDGEWOOD ELEMENTARY, LSU GRADUATE COMEA GREEN.
UH, SHE IS A KINDERGARTEN TO FIFTH GRADE PE TEACHER AT BARNARD TERRORISTS AND ALSO AN LSU GRADUATE.
THEN WE HAVE IT'S MOVING FAST.
AARON, A BEAR FIRST GRADE TEACHER AT WOODLAWN ELEMENTARY.
ANOTHER LSU YOU GRADUATE NEXT.
WE HAVE JILL OBLONG AT RIVER OAKS, A KINDERGARTEN TEACHER, AND SOUTHEAST THEN GRADUATE THEN SYDNEY.
THE LYLE, UH, SYDNEY IS A THIRD GRADE TEACHER AT WOODLAWN ELEMENTARY, AN LSU GRADUATE.
AND NOW WE HAVE LUCY MCANDREW.
UH, LUCY IS A KINDERGARTEN TEACHER WHEN BORN ELEMENTARY, ANOTHER LSU GRADUATE MONTANA MORRISON, A THIRD GRADE TEACHER AT RYAN ELEMENTARY.
UM, UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA LAFAYETTE GRADUATE.
ERICA MUST GROVE OF, UH, WILDWOOD.
SHE IS AN ESS K THROUGH FIVE TEACHER AT WILDWOOD AND A LOOP LOUISIANA TECH GRADUATE, CAMERON ROBERTS, A KINDERGARTEN TEACHER FROM GREENBRIAR AND LSU GRADUATE.
JACKIE
SHE ALSO GRADUATED UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA LAFAYETTE.
UH, ARRIANN, TROTTA A FOURTH GRADE TEACHER AT GLEN OAKS PARK, A SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY GRADUATE.
AND THEN FINALLY READ WATERS, A K THROUGH FIVE MUSIC TEACHER AT BROADMOORE ELEMENTARY, AN ORBAN GRADUATE.
[00:50:01]
SAY A COUPLE OF OTHER THINGS, BUT I WANT TO BE SURE.I THANK BOTH BIANCA WILLIAMS AND ALISON BROWN LANDS AT THE CENTRAL OFFICE.
UH, THEY, THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME THE PANDEMIC CAUSES YOU TO MAKE CHANGES.
IT'S THE FIRST TIME THE GRANT APPLICATIONS WERE ONLINE, THE TEACHERS SUBMITTED IT ONLINE.
THE JUDGES WENT ONLINE AND READ THE GRANT APPLICATIONS AND THEY SET ALL OF THAT UP AND THEY VERIFY THE TEACHER'S EMPLOYMENT.
UH, WE ARE STILL ACCEPTING MONEY.
OH, AND I FORGOT ONE OTHER DONOR.
NOW THAT I SAID THAT, UH, THERE WAS ONE OTHER INDIVIDUAL AND SHE HAS BEEN GIVING, I THINK ABOUT SIX YEARS NOW.
UH, MS. CONNIE BERNARD, SHE HANDS ME A CHECK EVERY YEAR.
LAST YEAR, SHE MET ME ON A STREET CORNER IN HER NEIGHBORHOOD WHERE I PICKED UP THE MONEY.
UH, BUT THIS TIME SHE, UH, SHE BROUGHT THE CHECK AND WE THANK YOU CONNIE FEE FOR YOUR SUPPORT, BUT WE ARE STILL ACCEPTING DONATIONS.
IF PEOPLE WOULD LIKE TO GET IN TOUCH WITH ME, THE PANDEMIC CERTAINLY HAS BEEN CHALLENGING TO ALL THE NONPROFITS TO YOU AS A SCHOOL BOARD.
PLUS YOU HAD OTHER CHALLENGES, UH, THIS YEAR, UH, WITH YOUR SUPERINTENDENT SEARCH WITH EVERYTHING THAT'S HAPPENED HERE, BUT CHALLENGES DO, UH, OFTEN LEAD TO CHANGES.
UH, I THINK FROM NOW ON, WE WILL DO THOSE GRANT APPLICATIONS ONLINE RATHER THAN THE TEACHERS FAXING THEM TO THE SCHOOL BOARD WHO MAKES COPIES.
AND THEN I HAVE TO GET THEM TO THE JUDGES, PANDEMICS DO LEAD TO CERTAIN CHANGES.
UM, ALSO OLDER PEOPLE, UH, MAYBE MANY OF THE PARENTS OF THESE KIDS, MAYBE MANY OF YOU, YOU, I DON'T WANT TO LOOK AT ANYONE WHEN I SAY OLDER PEOPLE, BUT, UH, I'M NOT LOOKING AT YOU, JILL.
I KNOW YOU'RE THE YOUNGEST HERE, BUT, UM, IT'S FORCED ALL THE PEOPLE TO ADAPT TO TECHNOLOGY, TO LEARN TECHNOLOGY FOR SOME OF THEM JUST SO THAT THEY CAN SEE THEIR GRANDCHILDREN ON ZOOM IF FOR NO OTHER REASON.
SO TECHNOLOGY HAS TAKEN A GIANT LEAP FORWARD BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC, UH, ISOLATION, UH, THAT PEOPLE EXPERIENCE.
I DO MANAGEMENT CONSULTING, UH, BUT, UH, DEPRESSION IS A BIG PART OF, OF, UH, WHAT WE'RE EXPERIENCING NOW.
AND I THINK THE, UH, SOCIAL ISOLATION HAS LED PEOPLE.
THEY MAY NOT BE ABLE TO GET TOGETHER FOR HOLIDAYS AND WITH FAMILY ALL THE TIME, BUT THEY'VE REACHED OUT TO PEOPLE FROM THEIR PAST.
UH, I WAS CONTACTED BY A FRIEND I HADN'T HAD CONTACT WITH IN 57 YEARS.
AND WE NOW HAVE FOUR OF US FROM OUR NINTH GRADE SCHOOL, NINTH GRADE CLASS IN BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.
WE CAUGHT UP AND THEY SAID, WELL, LET'S DO THIS EVERY WEEK.
AND WE SETTLED ON ONCE A MONTH, BUT WE DID A LOT OF REMINISCING WITHOUT THE PANDEMIC.
I DON'T THINK WE WOULD HAVE REACHED OUT TO EACH OTHER.
UH IT'S UH, IT DOES HAVE A LOT OF BENEFITS.
AND THEN FOR ME, WHEN I WEAR MY MASK, UH, REGULARLY, IT TAKES ABOUT 90%, LESS TIME TO SHAVE.
I ONLY HAVE A LITTLE BIT TO SHAVE ON THE SIDE THAT GIVES ME MORE TIME TO, THEY RAISED MONEY FOR THESE NEW TEACHERS.
SO I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY.
I TRY TO GO THROUGH IT QUICKLY.
UH, DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS THAT I CAN ANSWER? NO, SIR.
JUST THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR ALL THAT YOU DO, AND I'M SURE THAT OUR TEACHERS VERY MUCH APPRECIATE IT, MS. DYSON.
UM, I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU AGAIN, AS I DO EVERY YEAR, WHEN YOU COME, THANK YOU FOR ALL THAT YOU DO FOR OUR NEW TEACHERS AND HELPING THEM ADJUST AND ACCLIMATE AND HAVE WHAT THEY NEED.
UM, INTERESTINGLY, I NOTICED ONE OF THE NAMES THAT WENT BIAS AS A PRODUCT OF OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM.
AND, UM, SHE WENT THROUGH OUR, UM, ALL KINDS OF PROGRAMS, OUR TRADITIONAL AD, OUR, UM, GIFTED AND TALENTED AND ARE MAGNET.
AND, UM, SO IT'S INTERESTING AND EXCITING WHEN WE HAVE SOME OF OUR OWN THAT ENDED UP BEING TEACHERS IN OUR SYSTEM AND AWARDED THESE NEW TEACHER GRANTS.
AND MANY OF THEM GO ON TO BE PRINCIPALS.
I SEE EVERY YEAR NAMES FROM A FEW YEARS AGO.
THEY ARE NOW THE LEADERS IN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM.
THEY ARE TAKING THE LEAD IN JUST COMPLETING THE APPLICATIONS AND DOING WHAT THEY NEED TO DO.
AND SO THEY'RE ON IT RIGHT FROM THE VERY START.
SO WE DO LOOK AT THESE AS OUR FUTURE LEADERS AND, AND WORKING TOWARDS THAT.
BEST WISHES TO THE SCHOOL BOARD AND WHATEVER CHALLENGES WE'RE STILL FACING.
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D FIVE CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST TO PROCLAIM SUPPORT FOR THE 2020 ANNUAL GIVING CAMPAIGN FOR THE FOUNDATION FOR EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL SYSTEMS. MS. SAR SEAL.OH, UH, MS. BERNARD, I'M SORRY.
MS. STARKVILLE AND I WERE TALKING THE OTHER DAY AND WE WERE TALKING ABOUT HOW EXCITED WE ARE, THAT IT IS ANNUAL GIVING TIME.
AND, UM, THAT, UM, WE HAVE THE OPTION NOW FOR THE THIRD YEAR IN A ROW FOR OUR EMPLOYEES TO PARTICIPATE IN PAYROLL DEDUCTION AND MUCH THE WAY THAT OTHER LARGE CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS.
AND YOU CAN MAKE A SMALL DONATION IF YOU ARE SO INCLINED AND ABLE THROUGH YOUR PAYROLL DEDUCTION PLAN EVERY MONTH, THAT BENEFITS THE STUDENTS AND THE FACULTY IN OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM, OUR 40,000 STUDENTS.
SO, UH, WE DEVELOPED TOGETHER THIS PROCLAMATION WITH THE HELP OF MR. SHAMBLIN, AND I'M GOING TO READ IT INTO THE RECORD.
WHEREAS THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL BOARD EMBRACES THE MISSION OF EFFECTIVELY EDUCATING ALL STUDENTS.
AND WHEREAS THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL BOARD HAS A VESTED INTEREST IN THE FUNDING OF PUBLIC EDUCATION IN EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH.
AND WHEREAS THE FOUNDATION FOR EASTBOUND ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL SYSTEM, AS AN INDEPENDENT NONPROFIT ENTITY EXISTS TO SUPPORT THE STUDENTS OF THE EAST BANNERS PARISH SCHOOL SYSTEM THROUGH CONNECTING THE DISTRICT WITH FINANCIAL SUPPORT AND COMMUNITY RESOURCES.
AND WHEREAS THE FOUNDATION FOR EAST VETERANS PER EAST BATON ROUGE SCHOOL SYSTEM REQUESTS SUPPORT FROM ALL MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY WHO ARE ABLE IN SOME INCLINED TO REMOTE HIGH QUALITY PUBLIC SCHOOL EDUCATION.
AND WHEREAS THE FOUNDATION FOR EAST BATON ROUGE SCHOOL SYSTEM OFFERS ITS APPRECIATION IN ADVANCE FOR ALL WHO CONTRIBUTE WITH THE INTENTION OF IMPROVING THE LIVES OF THE 40,000 STUDENTS FOR WHOM WE STRIVE TO SERVE.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT THESE RETINA REPAIR SCHOOL BOARD ITS ADMINISTRATION AND THE FACULTY, PARENTS AND STUDENTS SUPPORT THE 2020 ANNUAL GIVING CAMPAIGN OF THE FOUNDATION FOR EAST BATON ROUGE SCHOOL SYSTEM.
DO I HAVE A SECOND, MR. CATLIN, I ALSO WANTED TO ASK YOU TO SUPPORT THIS FOUNDATION.
IF YOU'RE ABLE, I HAVE BEEN DOING IT EVERY YEAR THAT I'VE BEEN ON THE BOARD FOR THE FOUNDATION IS NOT A LARGE CONTRIBUTION, BUT I THINK EVERY LITTLE BIT HELPS.
AND THAT'S HOW TOGETHER WE ALL BUILD A GREAT PLAN AND A GREAT PROGRAM WHEN WE GATHER ALL OUR LITTLE PENNIES TOGETHER.
SO, UM, I DO HOPE THAT YOU WILL PARTICIPATE WITH ME, AND I HOPE THAT EVERYONE WHO IS ABLE AND INCLINED WILL PARTICIPATE.
UM, I, UM, IT IS MY BIRTHDAY TOMORROW AND I DO WISH THAT YOU WOULD DO THIS FOR MY BIRTHDAY.
IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE A LARGE AMOUNT.
AND IT IS TAX DEDUCTIBLE, SORRY.
I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU, UM, FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT, BOTH FINANCIAL AND, UM, WITH EVERYTHING ELSE THAT YOU ALL DO AS A BOARD TO SUPPORT THE KIDS THROUGH THE FOUNDATION.
ARE THERE ANY COMMENTS FROM ANY BOARD MEMBERS SEEING NONE, ANY COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE SEEING NONE BACK TO THE BOARD? MADAM SECRETARY, PLEASE VOTE.
THANK YOU, MS. SARAH SHU NEXT, A TRIBUTE TO FORMER BOARD MEMBER.
UM, SO A FEW MONTHS AGO, A FORMER COLLEAGUE OF MINE HERE ON THE SCHOOL BOARD, UM, PASSED AWAY.
UM, WELL S GOT THE ORIGINAL DIAGNOSIS OF GLIOBLASTOMA STAGE FOUR, AND THIS IS NO HAMOT.
AND I SERVED WITH NO FOR QUITE A FEW YEARS AND KNOW HIS PASSION FOR EDUCATION AND HIS PASSION FOR, UM, OUR EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL CHILDREN.
AND, UM, IT WAS, I KNEW WITH THAT DIAGNOSIS THAT, UM, THAT IS A REAL CHALLENGE BECAUSE MY FATHER HAD PASSED AWAY WHEN I WAS 17 WITH THE SAME.
SO IT HAD BEEN THE SAME DIAGNOSIS
[01:00:01]
AND IT HAD BEEN 40 YEARS AND THERE'S BEEN VERY LITTLE RESEARCH THAT CAN, UH, CHANGE OUTCOMES, UM, WITH THIS AND NO DECIDED WITH HIS FAMILY TO, UM, ENJOY AND EMBRACE LIFE TO THE FULLEST DURING HIS LAST FEW MONTHS, RATHER THAN EXTENDING IT BY A FEW MONTHS AND THERAPIES AND TREATMENT.SO HE WENT AND JUST CARRIED ON WITH HIS LIFE TO THE FULLEST.
HE, UM, I KNOW WE ARE, I ASKED CONVERSATION, HE WAS IN FLORIDA AND HE HAD FAMILY COMING AND HIS SIBLINGS AND CHILDREN AND THEY ALL GATHERED.
AND, UM, THEN, YOU KNOW, I, I WATCHED THE PROCESS AS HE WAS CONTINUING TO, UH, DO THE WORK THAT HE WAS SO PASSIONATE ABOUT.
UM, CUTTING TREES AND, UM, SPENDING TIME AT THE BEACH, VISITING SWAMPS, SETTING UP CAMP ON HIS FRONT PORCH, UM, WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS AND TELLING STORIES.
AND I'M TAKING THIS FROM HIS OBITUARY THAT IS BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN, UM, TELLING STORIES TO ANYONE WHO WOULD LISTEN OR NOT.
HE WAS A DEFINITE, UM, VOCAL MAN AND, UM, WE LAUGHED AND OFTEN CALLED HIM THE PONTIFICATOR OF THE BOARD.
AND SO WE HAD INTERESTING TIMES AS I JOINED THE BOARD, I WAS AT THAT POINT, THE YOUNGEST SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER.
AND I TOOK THAT AWAY FROM KNOLL AT THE TIME.
AND WE WERE AS A DISTRICT IN A, IN THE LONGEST RUNNING DESEG SEAT IN THE NATION AT THAT POINT.
AND I JOINED THE CHAIN OF A SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS WHO WORKED TIRELESSLY, UM, TO BRING ABOUT SOME, UH, AND TO THAT FEDERAL OVERSIGHT AND CONTROL.
AND WE AS A BOARD, ALONG WITH THE COMMUNITY, KNEW THAT WE NEEDED TO GET THIS DONE AND NEEDED TO GET IT RIGHT.
AND WE WORKED THROUGH MEDIATION IN FEDERAL COURT DAY AFTER DAY, AND IT WAS QUITE THE COMMUNITY ENDEAVOR.
THE BOARD WAS JOINED BY TO MEET OTHER COMMUNITY AND BUSINESS LEADERS.
AND WE WORKED THROUGH ISSUES AND WE, WE MEDIATED AND WE TALKED AND IT WAS JUST A HEALTHY TIME.
AND WE AS A BOARD TRULY BONDED AS A FAMILY BECAUSE, UH, WE SPENT SO MUCH TIME TOGETHER AND IT WAS SO HEARTFELT AND IT WAS HARD, PASSIONATE WORK THAT WE WERE DOING.
AND, UM, IT WAS JUST A PIVOTAL TIME, I BELIEVE IN OUR COMMUNITY AND DEFINITELY IN OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM.
SO WE COULD STOP SPENDING AS MUCH ON LEGAL FEES AND THOSE KINDS OF THINGS, AND, AND BETTER SPEND THE DOLLARS TOWARDS EDUCATING THE STUDENTS.
UM, NO GREW UP ON MOUNT HOPE, UH, PLANTATION ON HIGHLAND ROAD.
AND THAT WAS AN INTERESTING BOY HOOD I'M SURE.
UM, HE BEGAN TEACHING SOCIAL STUDIES, UM, IN 1984 AT KENILWORTH MIDDLE SCHOOL.
AND, UH, HE WENT ON TO WORK TOWARDS HIS MASTER'S AND WORK TOWARDS HIS, UH, DOCTORATE IN CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION AT LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY.
SO HE, HE TAUGHT MULTIPLE COURSES AT LSU IN THE COLLEGE OF EDUCATION.
UM, HE, AGAIN, LIKE I SAID, TRIMMING TREES, CUTTING TREES, EVERYTHING WITH A PASSION, HE WAS ELECTED TO THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL BOARD IN 1994.
SO IN HIS TIME HE, UH, MADE DEFINITE IMPACTS ON THE EDUCATION OF OUR STUDENTS.
HE WAS, UH, AT ONE POINT THE PRESIDENT OF THE LOUISIANA SCHOOL BOARDS ASSOCIATION, UM, AS WELL.
AND HE JOINED IN 2010 WHEN HE LEFT OUR SCHOOL BOARD, HE JOINED THE CO-OP KIWANIS CLUB OF BATON ROUGE DOWNTOWN, WHERE HE THEN WENT ON TO BECOME A LEADER IN THAT ORGANIZATION AS WELL.
BUT, UH, ONE OF HIS BIGGEST PRIDE AND JOY WAS IN A BOOK PROJECT.
HE CREATED ENTITLED REINFORCING THE REWARDS OF READING TO BUILD A BETTER BATON ROUGE, THREE YARDS FOR, FOR THREE BR.
[01:05:01]
UM, HE SHARED THOSE EXPERIENCES WITH US.SO I KNOW THAT WE ALL, UM, APPRECIATE ALL THAT HE DID AND THE IMPACT THAT HE MADE IN HIS LIFE.
UM, AND, AND CAN, SO MANY OF HIS PROJECTS CONTINUE TO, UM, BENEFIT THE STUDENTS IN, IN THINGS THAT ARE GOING TO BE CARRIED ON THROUGH THE YEARS.
AND WITH THAT, I WOULD LIKE TO, UM, WE'LL PLAY A SHORT VIDEO HONORING
SO I KNOW HIS WIFE, TERRY HAMOT IS JOINING US TONIGHT THIS EVENING.
AND I WOULD LIKE TO, UH, FOR HER TO MEET ME AT THE MIC ON BEHALF OF OUR BOARD AND ADMINISTRATION, WE WOULD LIKE TO GIVE YOU THIS METAL AND, UH, NOSE MEMORY, AND FOR ALL THE TIME THAT HE SHARED WITH US AND THE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT YOU ALLOWED, UH, HIM FOR US TO HAVE HIS TIME AND, AND PASSION.
SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US THE SAFE NAME AND, UM, WE'RE ALL WITH YOU.
THE WHOLE COMMUNITY IS WITH YOU NOW.
UM, AND IF YOU HAVE A FEW WORDS TO SAY THAT WOULD BE GREAT AND YOU CAN HELP.
NO US ALL PROUD OF THE WORK THAT HE DID HERE.
UM, SO JUST THANK YOU FOR RECOGNIZING HIM.
UM, HE DID DEVOTE HIS LIFE TO EDUCATION, TO THE CHILDREN OF BATON ROUGE, TO THE POINT THAT HE WAS WORKING ON HIS PHD.
AND THERE WAS A CHOICE TO BE MADE, WHETHER TO GO AHEAD AND DO THAT DISSERTATION OR WHETHER, OR WHETHER OR NOT TO, UM, GO AHEAD AND CONTINUE TO, TO WORK ON, UM, THE CASE, THE COURT CASE, AND HE CHOSE TO WORK ON THE COURT CASE.
SO, UM, HE REALLY WANTED A, A FAIR AND EQUITABLE SOLUTION TO THAT.
EBR WAS VERY GOOD TO ALL OF US, UH, MYSELF INCLUDED BECAUSE I WAS A TEACHER HERE AND, UH, LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT.
UM, AND I, MY THING IS FRENCH.
SO I'LL SAY TO YOU BEEN CONTINUOUS YOU'LL, UM, HAVE, UH, HAVE A, UH, A GREAT CONTINUATION OF YOUR WORK HERE FOR THE CHILDREN AND THE FAMILIES HAVE USED SPANISH PARISH.
[01:10:03]
MS. CARLIN.I JUST ALSO WANTED TO, UM, UM, RECOGNIZE WHAT MY COLLEAGUE EXPRESSED FOR THE BOARD ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD.
BEFORE I GOT ON THE SCHOOL BOARD, UH, BECAUSE OF MY WORK IN EDUCATION ADVOCACY FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
AND SO WE WOULD, YOU KNOW, WE'LL SEE EACH OTHER AT COMMUNITY FORUMS. UH, WE WOULD SEE EACH OTHER SOMETIMES AT BASKETBALL AND MEETINGS.
UM, AND SO IT WAS A BLESSING TO, UH, COMMUNE WITH HIM SOMETIMES AND DISCUSS THE ISSUES.
UM, HE WAS GENUINELY PASSIONATE ABOUT, UM, FIGHTING TO PROTECT THE SCHOOL SYSTEM AND THE STUDENTS.
AND I WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT ABOUT IT.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS SEEING NONE?
[E1. Monthly Financial Report]
WE NOW MOVE INTOARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD ON THE MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT? THIS IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY.
THE ONLY THING I'D LIKE TO POINT OUT IS THAT THERE'S BEEN LOTS OF QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS ABOUT SALES TAX COLLECTIONS.
AND SO FOR, EVEN THOUGH WE'RE VERY ONLY EARLY IN THE MONTH OF THE YEAR, WE ONLY HAVE THREE MONTHS WORTH OF COLLECTIONS, BUT COMPARED TO LAST YEAR, WE ARE UP ABOUT 2%.
SO, UM, SO FOR, UH, WE'RE LOOKING OR LOOKING FINE, UH, ON THAT, BUT KEEP OUR FINGERS CROSSED.
CAUSE THAT'S NOT ONLY GOOD FOR US.
IT'S ALSO GOOD FOR THE ECONOMY OF BATON ROUGE AND THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE HERE.
SO, UH, WE PRAY THAT THAT CONTINUES,
[E2. Personnel Changes]
UH, NEXT PERSONNEL CHANGES THE PERSONNEL REPORT.ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ON THAT? MR. TATLIN, THANK YOU, PRESIDENT.
I JUST, UM, I WANTED TO JUST TAKE A MOMENT TO, UH, RECOGNIZE AND HONOR, UH, VINCE DEALIO.
UM, HE WAS A LONG TIME DEDICATED EMPLOYEE TO OUR DISTRICT.
I WORKED WITH HIM FOR MANY YEARS WHEN I FIRST CAME IN.
UM, I WENT TO THE VISITATION AND EXPRESS OUR APPRECIATION TO HIM FOR HIS FAMILY, TO HIS FAMILY.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, A GUY WHO GAVE THAT MUCH TO US.
I JUST WANTED TO TAKE A MOMENT AND RECOGNIZE HIM FOR ALL THE GREAT WORK THAT HE DID FOR US.
NEXT WE'LL MOVE ON TO ITEM F1 UPDATE FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT.
I JUST WANTED TO DITTO MY COLLEAGUE, UH, MR. TADEMAN, UM, VINCE STELIO WAS JUST A GREAT GUY.
HE WAS JUST, UH, I MEAN ALWAYS WILLING TO HELP IN ANY WAY THAT HE COULD AND REALLY TRYING TO, UM, KEEP US ALL SAFE AND SOUND AND MAKING SURE THAT EACH AND EVERY DAY, AND I TOO WANT TO EXPRESS MY CONDOLENCES TO HIS FAMILY.
AND, UM, AND NOW HE'S IN A BETTER PLACE.
[F1. Update from Superintendent]
WE MOVE ON TO ITEM F1 UPDATE FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT MR. SMITH AND OUR SUPERINTENDENT.I'M VERY EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER.
EBR CHILD NUTRITION PROGRAM WILL OFFER A HOME MEALS DURING THE WEEK OF THANKSGIVING WHILE OUR STUDENTS ARE AT HOME DURING THE HOLIDAYS, UH, FOCUS FOOD, WE'LL HANDLE THE COOKING, PACKING AND DISTRIBUTION OF FRILLS AND MEALS TO HOMES.
THE STUDENTS WHO SIGN UP FOR THIS SERVICE AND EASTBOUND MISH PARISH SCHOOL SYSTEM.
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN THESE SERVICES, PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE@WWWEBRSCHOOLS.ORG FOR MORE INFORMATION.
MANN AND THE CNP TEAM FOR THIS NEXT.
WE HAVE THREE MORE BATON ROUGE.
HI STUDENTS THAT SCORED A 36 ON THE ACT SENIOR JU WOOT, NO VARUN, DECA AND KIM JUSTIN SCORE 36 ON THE ACT LAST YEAR, ONLY ABOUT 5,000 STUDENTS OUT OF 1.6 MILLION STUDENTS NATURALLY SCORE A COMPOSITION OF 36 ON THE EIGHTH 28 BATON ROUGE MA YOU WENT HIGH SCHOOL.
STUDENTS HAVE SCORED 36 ON THE ACT SINCE 2016, NO, AND DECA AND KIM HAS ALSO BEEN RECOGNIZED AS NATIONAL MERIT SEMIFINALISTS.
[01:15:01]
ROUGE TEAM FOR THIS BATMAN CHILD TEAM FOR THIS AWESOME COSTUME.OKAY, NEXT, WE HAVE EOC THE WINDOW FOR LEAK 2025 HIGH SCHOOL END OF THE YEAR.
COURSES TESTING BEGINS DECEMBER 1ST AND RUNS THROUGH DECEMBER 18TH DISTRICT AND SCHOOL LEVEL STAFF HAVE BEEN BUSY PREPARING FOR THIS TEST ADMINISTRATION CYCLE IN SIX MANDATED HIGH SCHOOL COURSES.
I WON'T PASS TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THOSE COURSES ARE.
THAT'S ENGLISH ONE AND TWO, HOW JABRA ONE, GEOMETRY, US HISTORY AND BIOLOGY.
SO PARENTS, IF YOU HAVE KIDS IN THOSE COURSES, THEY NEED TO TEST WHAT WE'RE RETIRING FROM THE THANKSGIVING BREAK.
GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF OUR STUDENTS ON THIS VERY IMPORTANT EXAM.
I WOULD LIKE TO CONGRATULATE TAYLOR AGAIN AND ANDREW
THANK YOU TO THE BATON ROUGE BUSINESS REPORT BUSINESS FOR, FOR THEIR PARTNERSHIP FOR RECOGNIZING THE ROLES OF THESE DISTRICT LEADERS PLAY IN OUR ORGANIZATION AND COMMUNITY.
WE LOOK FORWARD TO ADDITIONAL WAYS TO PARTNER WITH OUR BUSINESS COMMUNITY TO PROVIDE MEANINGFUL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES ACROSS OUR ORGANIZATION.
THE THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY STARTING MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23RD, WE'LL BEGIN THE THANKSGIVING HOLIDAYS FOR STUDENTS NINE, 10 AND 11 MONTH EMPLOYEES.
THE HOLIDAY FOR 12 MONTH EMPLOYEES BEGINS ON WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25TH, STUDENT EMPLOYEE WE'LL RETURN TO SCHOOL AND WORK ON MONDAY, NOVEMBER 30.
HI, ALBERT BROOKSTOWN, MIDDLE BELLAIRE HIGH SCHOOL GLENOAKS PARK PARK WAS ELEMENTARY AND PARK FOR MIDDLE MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23RD WOULD BE A VIRTUAL INSTRUCTIONAL DAY TO RECAPTURE INSTRUCTIONAL MINUTES LOSS BECAUSE OF SCHOOL CLOSURE.
PARENTS AND STUDENTS HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED.
A LETTER WENT HOME SIGNED BY ME TO PARENTS, UH, FOR STUDENTS THAT THESE ARE AFFECTED THE SCHOOLS.
FINALLY, I'M GOING TO ASK MR TO COME JOIN ME.
UH, AND AMY, CAN YOU SHOW THE PHOTOS? ALL RIGHT, MR. MCCANN, AND KIND OF TALKED US THROUGH THE PROTOCOL FOR SANITIZING OUR SCHOOLS.
WHEN THE DISTRICT HAS BEEN NOTIFIED WHEN THEY FACILITY CLASSROOM SPACE HAS BEEN OCCUPIED BY A PERSON WHO HAS TESTED POSITIVE FOR COVID-19, THE SCHOOL THAT YOU HAVE REPRESENTED IN THE PHOTOS IS PARK ELEMENTARY.
AND AS YOU ALL KNOW, LAST FRIDAY PARK WAS CLOSED DUE TO, UM, NOT BEING ABLE TO HAVE ADEQUATE INSTRUCTIONAL STAFF BECAUSE OF AN EVENT THAT TEACHERS ARE PARTICIPATED IN.
AND WE HAD TO CLOSE SCHOOL AND TELL THEM WE RETIRED FOR THE THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY BREAK, GONE.
WHAT YOU JUST KIND OF SHARE THE PROCESS.
THANK YOU, MS. SMITH, MR. GAY MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.
UM, WE, ALONG WITH THE REST OF THE COUNTRY ARE LEARNING AS WE GO.
WE REALLY HAD TO RAMP UP BY EFFORTS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SCHOOL YEAR.
UM, SO FAR WE'VE EXPENDED ABOUT $1.9 MILLION ON SUPPLIES.
UH, WE HAVE A RUNNING SPREADSHEET.
IT GIVES US THAT AVERAGE COST PER WEEK.
UM, THE PROCESS OF MR
WE'VE DESIGNED A GOOGLE DOCUMENT THAT UPDATES EVERY DAY, WHEN WE GET A REPORT FROM A SCHOOL, IT TELLS US THE, WHETHER IT'S A STAFF MEMBER OR A STUDENT TELLS US SPECIFIC AREAS THAT ARE AFFECTED.
IF IT'S A SMALL AREA, SAY A CLASSROOM, WE LOCKED THAT ROOM DOWN FOR 24 HOURS.
AND THEN WE GO IN AND SANITIZE THAT AREA AND CLEAN IT, UH, BEFORE ANYONE CAN RE-ENTER MR. SMITH SHOWED YOU SOME PICTURES OF THE STAFF, UH, USING THE ELECTROSTATIC SPRAYERS THAT WE HAVE PURCHASED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR, THERE WERE SUGGESTIONS TO BUY SPRAYERS.
WE HAD TO WORK MR. SHAMBLIN AND, AND LEGAL TO, UH, MESH THE CONCERNS THAT OUR CORPORATE PARTNERS AT ARAMARK HAD IN, UH, SOME OF THEIR, UH, DEVELOPMENT.
IF THEY'RE AT THEIR OFFICES, MAIN OFFICES ABOUT THE USE OF THESE SPRAYERS, WE GOT THE SPECS, WORKED OUT THE SPRAYERS THAT WE'RE USING, THE, THE, UH, QUANTITIES OF LIQUID.
ALL OF THAT, UH, LIQUID IS BIODEGRADABLE.
THERE ARE NO HARSH CHEMICALS IN IT AT ALL.
SO WE HAD ALL THAT WORKED OUT.
WE HAVE RAMPED UP OUR PURCHASE OF THOSE SPRAYERS.
EVERY SCHOOL HAS ONE ASSIGNED TO IT.
PLUS OUR HIGH SCHOOLS HAVE TWO, ONE FOR THE SCHOOL IN GENERAL, ONE FOR THE ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT.
WE FIND WHEN WE GET INTO THESE LARGE AREAS LIKE GYMNASIUMS
[01:20:02]
CAFETERIAS AND AREAS THAT, UH, THAT LARGE, THE SPRAYERS ARE MUCH MORE EFFICIENT AND SAVE A LOT OF MAN HOURS IN HAND LABOR THAN IT WOULD REQUIRE TO WIPE SURFACES DOWN.SO WHEN WE GET TO THESE NOTICES, WE, THE PRINCIPALS NOTIFY US.
UH, MS.
WHEN WE HAVE AN OUTBREAK, WHO'S BEEN, UH, A CONTACT OR A CONTACT OF A CONTACT, DEPENDING ON THOSE CATEGORIES, THEN WE, UH, USE OUR ENHANCED CLEANING METHODS.
AND, UH, SO FAR, UM, WE BELIEVE THAT OUR STAFF, THE TEACHERS AND THE PRINCIPALS HAVE DONE A GREAT JOB, UH, AS WAS MENTIONED IN THE PRESENTATION ABOUT THE TEACHER GRANTS, THE STRESS THAT OUR STAFFS ARE UNDER AT THE SCHOOLS IS VERY, VERY HEAVY.
THEY, THEY, THEY ARE BEARING THE BRUNT OF THIS WORK EVERY DAY, TRYING TO INSTRUCT OUR STUDENTS.
THEY HAVE DONE A GREAT JOB IN IMPLEMENTING THESE PROCEDURES WITH HAND SANITIZER MASKS, TEMPERATURE CHECKS EVERY DAY, AND IS BECAUSE OF THEM AND THEIR DEDICATION THAT WE'RE STILL IN SCHOOL NOW.
AND WE HAVE A VERY LOW INCIDENT RATE IN OUR SCHOOLS.
MOST OF THE CASES WE'VE COME ACROSS IN OUR DISTRICT HAVE BEEN ADULTS BRINGING, UH, THE VIRUS BACK INTO THE SCHOOL SYSTEMS. AND AS A COMMUNITY, AS THE GOVERNOR HIGHLIGHTED TODAY ON HIS PRESS CONFERENCE, WE ALL HAVE TO REDEDICATE OURSELVES TO WEARING THESE MASKS, WHICH ARE SOMEWHAT OF A NUISANCE, BUT ARE FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD.
AND WE'VE GOT TO RE EMPHASIZE TO PEOPLE HOW IMPORTANT THIS IS, AND, UH, WITH EVERYONE'S COOPERATION AND WITH THE SUPPORT THAT THE BOARD HAS GIVEN US AND LEADERSHIP FROM MR. SMITH AND MS. NEW PREY AND MS. AND MR. NIKKEI'S, WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO FEND OFF THIS VIRUS AND KEEP INSTRUCTION GOING.
AND WE'RE CONTACTING PARENTS OF OUR STUDENTS, THAT THE PRINCIPALS ARE DOING A GREAT JOB CONTACTING PARENTS ABOUT STUDENTS WHO MAY NOT BE PERFORMING AS WELL, UH, VIRTUALLY AND TRYING TO GET THEM TO COME BACK TO THE SCHOOL SYSTEM, BUT WE HAD TO ESTABLISH A SAFE ENVIRONMENT FOR THEM TO DO THAT.
AND I BELIEVE WE'RE DOING THAT WITH, THANK YOU, JOHN.
AND I JUST APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING, BECAUSE THOSE NOTIFICATIONS COME OUT ALL DO ON KIND OF THE NIGHT AND DAY.
AND YOU WERE VERY RESPONSIBLE TO MAKING CERTAIN THAT WE HAVE THOSE CLASSROOMS, SIGNUP TIES IMMEDIATELY.
IT'S A TEAM EFFORT AND IT GOES ON ALL WEEKEND.
AND, UH, WE JUST, WE ANSWER THEM AS WE GET THEM BECAUSE TIME'S OF THE ESSENCE.
UM, I JUST HAVE A QUESTION, UH, MR. MAYBE MRS. SMITH CAN ANSWER IT RELATED TO THE, UM, THE SANITATION BUILDINGS.
UM, YOU MENTIONED IN YOUR REPORT THAT THERE IS LIKE A REPORT OUT OF LIKE PEOPLE WHERE PEOPLE LIKE ENTER OR SUBMIT THEIR COMPLAINTS.
IS IT POSSIBLE FOR US TO, UM, LIKE HAVE A RUNNING, I DON'T KNOW, GOOGLE SHARED SPREADSHEET, EXCEL DOCUMENT OF SOMETHING OF THE PROBLEMS THAT ARE REPORTED, AND THEN THE CLOSEOUT DATE FOR THESE PARTICULAR INSTANCES.
I ASKED THAT BECAUSE I APPRECIATE THE EFFORT AND THE PLOT, THE EFFORT FOR YOU GUYS OF, OF GETTING THESE THINGS TAKEN CARE OF, BUT I'VE ALSO ON THE COUNTER END OF THAT HAVE RECEIVED NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS ABOUT SCHOOLS NOT BEING SANITIZED PROPERLY, ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY'RE REPORTING CASES OF, UH, COVID-19 AT SPECIFIC SCHOOLS.
UM, JUST YESTERDAY A TEACHER CALLED ME VERY CONCERNED RELATED TO SANITATION AT A SPECIFIC BUILDING.
SO I JUST WANT TO BE ABLE TO HAVE SOMETHING THAT I CAN MATCH THAT SAYS IF A TEACHER FROM SAID, SCOTLANDVILLE CALLS ME AND SAYS, THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED.
WHEN WAS IT REPORTED? WHAT WAS THE CLOSEOUT SO THAT WE CAN FACILITATE AND ADVOCATE FOR AN EFFECTIVE CONVERSATION? CAUSE I STILL KNOW THAT PEOPLE, UM, HAVE A LOT OF CONCERNS RELATED TO COVID-19 AND I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE WHAT WE'RE PUTTING OUT HERE AT THIS MEETING IS WHAT'S ACTUALLY HAPPENING WITH THE PRACTICE.
SO SOMETHING THAT WE CAN DO TO, UM, TO COUNTER UNDERSTAND WHAT'S HAPPENING INSIDE OF OUR SCHOOLS WILL BE GREAT AND HELPFUL FOR ME AS A BOARD MEMBER, UH, TO THAT POINT, UM, MR. KNEE CASE, UH, PUTS OUT A GOOGLE DOCUMENT EVERY DAY.
WE HAVE A FORM THAT ANY EMPLOYEE CAN TEXT OR CALL THE ARAMARK SERVICE CENTER AND PUT IN A CONCERN THAT GOOGLE DOCUMENT GOES OUT EVERY DAY, TALK TO THE, UH, TO SCHOOL SITES AND TO OUR EMPLOYEES CENTRAL OFFICE.
UH, WE HAVE MET WITH MR. SMITH WITH OUR, UH, TEACHER REPRESENTATIVES OF OUR TEACHER ORGANIZATIONS.
UH, I'VE GIVEN HIM MY, UH, CELL PHONE NUMBER.
UH, WE INVITE PEOPLE TO CALL US IF THEY HAVE A CONCERN.
UH, AND WE TRY TO ANSWER THOSE CONCERNS ONE BY ONE, AS WE RECEIVED THEM, WE'RE TRYING
[01:25:01]
TO BE VERY TRANSPARENT ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING AND HOW WE, IT ADDRESSING THESE ISSUES.SO IF SOMEONE KNOWS, UH, ABOUT A CONCERN ABOUT A PARTICULAR SITE, WE'D LOVE TO HEAR ABOUT IT.
AND WE DO TAKE EVERY CONCERN SERIOUSLY AND TRY TO ADDRESS IT AS SOON AS WE CAN.
AND MR. HOWARD, FOR YOUR QUESTION, WE DO HAVE A RUNNING ACTIVITY OF ALL ACTIVITY AND EQUIPMENT AS IT RELATES TO COVID.
WE DO HAVE A SPREADSHEET WE CAN SHARE WITH YOU.
SO IF YOU'VE GOT SOME, JUST SHARE THAT WITH ME.
I JUST WANTED TO SHOUT OUT TO MR. NIKKEI, SAN MR. MCCANN, A BIG THANK YOU FOR SPEARHEADING THIS EFFORT.
AND, UM, WE'RE ALL HAVING TO DO THINGS, UH, SO DIFFERENTLY THESE DAYS.
AND THANK YOU FOR BOTH OF YOU FOR STEPPING UP TO THIS DIFFICULT TASK AT HAND.
AND FINALLY, PRESIDENT GOLDIE.
I'LL JUST LIKE TO CONCLUDE MY SUPERINTENDENT REPORT BY SAYING, I JUST WOULD LIKE FOR US TO KEEP OUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS OF ALL OF OUR FAMILY MEMBERS IN OUR COMMUNITY WHO HAVE LOST LOVED ONES, UH, PEOPLE WHO WILL NOT BE THAT GO ON THANKSGIVING BREAK AND CHRISTMAS BREAK.
JUST KEEP THEM IN YOUR THOUGHTS AND YOUR PRAYERS.
AND I WISH EVERYONE A SAFE AND HEALTHY THANKSGIVING BREAK.
UH, FIRST I'D LIKE TO SAY MY SENTIMENTS ARE THE SAME AS MY COLLEAGUE, UH, VICE PRESIDENT HOWARD.
I RECEIVED NOT ONLY SEVERAL COMPLAINTS, BUT PARENTS ARE CALLING ALMOST EVERY OTHER DAY, UH, WITH CONCERNS ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING INSIDE OF SCHOOLS IN TERMS OF THE CLEANNESS CLEANLINESS, AND, UH, ALSO, UH, ASKING ABOUT, UH, WHY ISN'T INFORMATION GOING OUT ABOUT STUDENTS THAT ARE CATCHING COVID-19 AND IT'S NOT BEING FREQUENTED THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE SYSTEM.
SO MY REQUEST IS THAT IT, COULD WE PLEASE, PLEASE, EVERY SINGLE MONTH, CAN WE DO, CAN WE GET AN UPDATE ON WHICH SCHOOLS HAVE INFECTED STUDENTS? WE DON'T NEED TO KNOW THE INFORMATION.
I UNDERSTAND THAT WE HAVE HIPAA LAWS THAT PREVENT THAT FROM HAPPENING, BUT COULD WE PLEASE GET AN UPDATE ON WHICH SCHOOLS ARE BEING AFFECTED AND HOW MANY STUDENTS ARE TEACHERS THAT THOSE SCHOOLS HAVE BEEN AFFECTED WITH COVID-19 SO THAT WE CAN BETTER COMMUNICATE WITH OUR COMMUNITY TO KEEP THEM ABREAST OF EVERYTHING THAT'S HAPPENING.
WE CURRENTLY TRACK ALL OF THAT INFORMATION AND WE CAN RELEASE THAT ONE THING AS WE GO THROUGH IT AND WE COULD SIT DOWN, IT MIGHT BE GOOD FOR A CALL TO KIND OF TALK THROUGH IT.
UM, THE WAY WE REPORT THE DATA IS IF THERE'S A SITE THAT'S AFFECTED NOW, AN AFFECTED SITE COULD BE SOMETHING AS SIMPLY AS SOMEONE CAME INTO THE SCHOOL, LIKE A TEACHER THERE, A CLOSE CONTACT FROM SOMEONE OUTSIDE.
SO THEY'RE ISOLATING BECAUSE OF THAT, BUT NO ONE'S POSITIVE.
SO WE HAVE A VERY LOW POSITIVITY RATE.
WE HAVE A LOT OF CLOSE CONTACTS WHO HAVE TO SELL FIVE FLIGHT JUST IN CASE, BUT WE CAN GET YOU THAT WE'RE TRACKING THAT IN DASHBOARDS, BACH ALL THOSE DIFFERENT TYPES AND YOU CAN KIND OF SEE WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE.
SO I CAN WORK WITH MR. SMITH AND WE'LL GET THAT OUT TO YOU TOMORROW.
AGAIN, I APPRECIATE IT BECAUSE I DID HEAR THAT PARENTS ARE, THE TEACHERS ARE THE ONES THAT ARE BRINGING IT BACK INSIDE OF THE SCHOOLS, BUT THERE'S SEVERAL SCHOOLS, AS WE ALREADY KNOW WHERE THERE'S FOOTBALL PLAYERS ALSO THAT HAVE CONTRACTED THIS DISEASE OR THIS VIRUS.
AND YOU'RE ALSO BRINGING IT BACK INSIDE OF THE SCHOOL.
SO WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT OTHER STUDENTS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN AROUND PEOPLE THAT HAVE TO GO HOME TO THEIR LOVED ONES, HAVE TO GO HOME TO THE ELDERLY OR GUARDIANS AND PARENTS.
THOSE ARE THINGS THAT ALSO CONCERNED ME WHEN I THINK ABOUT IT.
SO, AND THERE'S TWO PIECES, UH, THAT WE USE TO COMMUNICATE ONE AND FOLLOWING LDH GUIDANCE, WE'LL CONTACT EVERYBODY.
SO THEY'LL KNOW THAT PERSONALLY, BUT ONE THING WE'VE ADDED AS AN EXTRA LAYER.
WE TELL SCHOOLS, NOW THEY HAVE A COMMUNICATION LETTER, TEXT MESSAGING, EMAIL THAT THEY SEND OUT THAT BASICALLY SAYS, THERE'S BEEN A REPORT ON THE CAMPUS.
IF YOU ARE A CLOSE CONTACT, YOU WILL BE PERSONALLY NOTIFIED.
SO THAT WAY THEY KNOW, OKAY, THERE WAS SOMETHING ON THE CAMPUS, BUT IT COULD HAVE BEEN TWO BUILDINGS OVER.
IT DOESN'T REALLY AFFECT ME YET.
AND THAT WAY PEOPLE HAVE A LITTLE MORE UNDERSTANDING RATHER THAN JUST, OH, I HEAR A FEW STUDENTS ARE SICK.
I WONDER IF I COULD HAVE BEEN AROUND HIM.
MR. LYONS, THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE ARE ADEQUATE, I WOULD SAY, MS. BERNARD, I'M SORRY, MR. KNEE CASE, UM, THAT, THAT TEXT MESSAGE OR NOTIFICATION FROM THE SCHOOL, IS IT REAL SPECIFIC THAT, BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO CONCERN SOMEONE WHEN THERE IS NO POSITIVE CASE, RIGHT? BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF INTERPRETATION OF WHAT'S GOING ON RIGHT NOW.
RIGHT? ONE EXAMPLE IS THAT OUR TECHNOLOGY SURVEY, IF THERE IS A RUMOR THAT HAS SPREAD LIKE WILDFIRE, IT EVEN CAME BACK TO ME THROUGH PRIVATE SCHOOL, UH, FOLKS ASKING, IS IT TRUE THAT EBR IS CLOSING FOR THE REST OF THE SCHOOL YEAR OR CLOSING UNTIL JANUARY THE RUMOR HAS VARIOUS ITERATIONS.
IT DEPENDS ON WHO YOU TALK TO.
UM, SO THE PARENTS WERE, WERE JUST A HUNDRED PERCENT POSITIVE THAT WE WILL CLOSING AND THAT WE'RE NOT TELLING THEM THAT WE'RE CLOSING YET.
[01:30:01]
IS ONE THING.AND, UH, BUT, BUT ANOTHER THING, SO LET'S SAY THAT, UH, UM, A TEACHER, FOR EXAMPLE, AND MY NEIGHBOR HAS IT AND I SAW THEM AT THE MAILBOX AND I REPORT THAT TO THE SCHOOL.
WELL, THAT'S NOT, AND I GOT TESTED AND I'M NOT POSITIVE, BUT YOU KNOW, UM, W WATCHFUL OR SOMETHING, I DON'T KNOW.
I DON'T WANT TO CONCERN PEOPLE IF THEY'RE NOT AN ACTUAL CASE ON THE CAMPUS.
SO WHAT IS THE LANGUAGES? WELL, AND THAT'S SOMETHING WE WORKED OUT OVER THE LAST WEEK OR TWO, IS THAT WE WANTED TO, FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU KNOW, YOU SEE IN THE NEWSPAPER, LET'S SAY A FOOTBALL TEAM'S ISOLATED, RIGHT? WELL, MY CHILD GOES TO THE SCHOOL.
SO I'M THINKING WHERE'S MY CHILD FIT IN WITH THOSE PRIOR TO SOME OF THESE CASES, THEY WERE SO SMALL AND ISOLATED.
WE WOULD JUST SEND CONTACT LETTERS TO PEOPLE WHO WERE IDENTIFIED AS CLOSE CONTACTS.
NOW WE'RE SENDING OUT TWO COMMUNICATIONS, ONE THAT WILL BASICALLY SAY YES, THERE WAS A CASE REPORTED ON CAMPUS.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO TAKE ANY ACTION.
YOUR CHILD CAN STILL COME TO SCHOOL.
THEY WERE NOT IDENTIFIED AS A CLOSE CONTACT, OR IF THEY WERE, YOU'LL BE NOTIFIED SEPARATELY.
SO THAT WAY THEY'RE CLEAR THAT, OKAY, THIS IS JUST A HEADS UP, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING'S GOING ON, BUT IT'S NOT TO THE EXTENT WHERE I HAVE TO DO ANYTHING.
WE'RE PRETTY SURE THAT YOU'RE OKAY, BUT WE'RE LETTING YOU KNOW THAT SOMETHING HAPPENED OVER HERE, RIGHT.
THOSE WHO WERE, HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED.
SO THAT WAY THEY THERE'S POSITIVE.
UM, I'M HEARING A COUPLE OF OTHER THINGS.
SO I'M HEARING FROM EDUCATORS THAT THEIR STUDENTS ARE REFUSING TO WEAR THE MASKS IN CLASS AND, UM, THAT, THAT THE STUDENTS WANT TO BE OUT SICK.
AND, UM, AT THAT, AS A CONCERN FOR THESE FOLKS, AND I SUGGESTED THAT THEY WEAR A MASK AND A SHIELD, THE TEACHER, I'M ALSO HEARING FROM THE SAME EDUCATORS THAT THEIR ADMINISTRATORS WANT THEM WALKING AMONGST THE STUDENTS, THAT THEY DON'T WANT THEM TEACHING UP HERE.
NOW, I HEARD THE OPPOSITE FROM A CHARTER SCHOOL THAT THE TEACHER IS BACK HERE AND DOESN'T WALK AMONGST THE STUDENTS.
THE GUIDANCE WE'RE GIVING ADMINISTRATORS AND WE'LL REITERATE, THIS IS THAT AGAIN, TEACHING IS GOING TO LOOK DIFFERENT.
YOU CAN STILL DO COLLABORATIVE, ENGAGING LESSONS TOGETHER, BUT SEPARATE, YOU KNOW, A TEACHER DOESN'T NECESSARILY HAVE TO BE WALKING AROUND A CLASSROOM TO MONITOR GOOGLE CLASSROOM OR OTHER ACTIVITIES THAT THEY STILL NEED TO MAINTAIN SPACING THAT THAT STILL HAS TO TAKE PLACE.
UM, AND LOWER GRADE LEVELS WHERE YOU HAVE THOSE ISOLATED PODS.
TECHNICALLY THEY CAN'T KIND OF MOVE AROUND A LITTLE MORE CAUSE THEY'RE GOING TO BE AN ISOLATED POD.
UM, SO AGAIN, THERE'S THOSE THINGS.
NOW, AS FAR AS THE ISSUES WITH THE MASK SCHOOLS ARE HANDLING THAT LIKE A DRESS CODE ISSUE.
AND SO THERE'LL BE A CONSISTENT LEVEL UNTIL THERE'S A CONSEQUENCE, BUT IF THERE'S A SPECIFIC ISSUE, THEY, AND THEY DON'T FEEL LIKE IT'S BEING RESOLVED.
I HAVEN'T HEARD THAT YET, BUT WE CAN HELP THEM.
AND THEN ALSO I'M GETTING LOTS OF COMPLIMENTS ON THE SANITIZING PROTOCOL THAT WE ARE EMPLOYING AT THIS TIME.
SO THE, THE, THE PEOPLE ARE VERY HAPPY ABOUT THE PARENTS AND FACULTY MEMBERS ARE VERY HAPPY ABOUT THE CLEANING PROTOCOL.
IT'S A FULL TEAM EFFORT, LOTS OF SCHOOL TEAMS, TEACHERS, KIDS, EVERYBODY DOING THEIR PART.
AND I JUST LIKE TO ADD FOR THE SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS, UH, MR.
UH, THAT WAS A VERY INFORMATIVE VIDEO.
AND I ENCOURAGE YOU TO GO LOOK AT THAT VIDEO BECAUSE I THINK A LOT OF YOUR QUESTIONS AND THINGS WOULD BE ANSWERED, UH, LOOKING AT THAT VIDEO.
SO IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN IT YET, I WOULD STRONGLY ADVISE YOU TO GO LOOK AT THAT.
IT'S A VERY, VERY WELL DONE AND VERY INFORMATIVE.
[F2. Superintendent Search Update]
UH, WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE SUPERINTENDENT SEARCH UPDATE.UH, I UNDERSTAND WE'RE STILL HAVING A LITTLE TECHNICAL ISSUES WITH, UH, GETTING THAT TO WORK, BUT, UH, MS. JONES IS, ARE THEY READY TO SPEAK? HE'S ON MUTE.
ARE YOU ON MUTE? NO, THIS IS JAMES.
CAN YOU HEAR ME LOUD AND CLEAR, SIR? OKAY, TERRIFIC.
WELL, THERE'S STILL AN ECHO ON MY END, SO I'LL TRY TO KEEP MY UPDATE BRIEF SO THAT I DON'T HEAR MYSELF IN STEREO, BUT FIRST AND FOREMOST, THANK YOU, BOARD PRESIDENT GODADDY.
THANK YOU, UH, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD FOR HAVING US AGAIN THIS EVENING, JOINING ME TONIGHT, ALSO BE A PHONE AT MR. ALISON TRAILY.
UH, WE UNDERSTAND THAT, UM, IT'S A VERY, UM, TIME-SENSITIVE MATTER.
SO AGAIN, IN THE SPIRIT OF TIME, WE WILL BE BRIEF, BUT FIRST AND FOREMOST, CONGRATULATIONS ON ALL THOSE WONDERFUL ACCOMPLISHMENTS THAT YOU'RE CELEBRATING TONIGHT.
WE'VE BEEN PARTICIPATING IN THE BOARD MEETING VIRTUALLY AND WATCHING THE YOUTUBE, UM, BUT WANNA CONGRATULATE ALL OF THE STAFF MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY FOR YOUR HARD WORK DURING THIS DIFFICULT TIME THAT WE'RE FACING, UM, IN MIDST OF THE PANDEMIC.
AND COVID, SO I'M GOING TO GO THROUGH SOME OF THE GENERIC,
[01:35:01]
UM, HIGHLIGHTS AND MILESTONES THAT ARE BEFORE US, AS WE PROCEED WITH THE SUPERINTENDENT SEARCH.UM, SO AS WE ALL KNOW, THE APPLICATION IS SCHEDULED TO CLOSE, UM, TOMORROW THE 20TH, UM, JUST SHY OF MIDNIGHT.
SO JUST PRIOR TO, UM, THE STROKE, THE STROKE OF MIDNIGHT BY THE 21ST, THE APPLICATION WILL CLOSE THE ON-DEMAND INTERVIEWS.
THOSE VIDEOS THAT WERE USED IN THE PREVIOUS SEARCH ARE ALSO BEING USED AGAIN WITH A DIFFERENT SET OF QUESTIONS.
THOSE ON-DEMAND INTERVIEWS ARE DUE BY THE 27TH FOR EACH CANDIDATE THAT APPLIES OUR TEAM, THAT THE JG CONSULTING TEAM OF CONSULTANTS, MYSELF, MR. FRALEY, DR.
LEN NOVICE WE'LL MEET ON MONDAY THE 30TH TO REVIEW THE CANDIDATE MATERIALS, THE APPLICATION MATERIALS AND THE ON-DEMAND INTERVIEWS.
AND SO OUR OBJECTIVE DURING THAT MEETING AS A TEAM IS TO IDENTIFY WHO WE FEEL ARE THE TOP CANDIDATES FROM THE TOTAL TALENT POOL.
UH, IN THE PAST, IF YOU RECALL, WE SUBMITTED BINDERS, WHICH WE'LL DO AGAIN, UM, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT, UH, NUMBER, UH, NUMERICALLY CONSISTENT WITH THE LAST, THE LAST SET OF BINDERS, WHICH CONSISTED OF 10 CANDIDATES THAT COULD HOLD TRUE.
HOWEVER, IF WE FEEL THAT THERE ARE REALLY SIX OR EIGHT STRONG CANDIDATES, UH, RATHER THAN, UH, PROVIDING A FULL BINDER OF 10, WE'RE GOING TO GO WITH WHAT WE FEEL IS THE BEST SET OF CANDIDATES.
SO THAT NUMBER COULD BE LESS, OR IT COULD BE THE SAME.
SO JUST WANTED TO ADD THAT POINT OF CLARITY.
NOW, WHAT YOU WILL RECEIVE BY THE, UH, DECEMBER THE THIRD MEETING, WHERE YOU HAVE YOUR COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE GATHERING IN HAND, YOU WILL RECEIVE AT THE DISTRICT OFFICE ACCESS TO YOUR BINDERS, AGAIN, A NEW SET OF BINDERS AND ALSO ACCESS TO THE ON-DEMAND INTERVIEWS.
AND SO DURING YOUR COMMITTEE, AS A WHOLE MEETING, AS A BOARD, YOU WILL REVIEW THE MATERIALS.
YOU'LL HAVE TIME TO DISCUSS AND DELIBERATE WHO YOU WISH TO INVITE FOR IN-PERSON INTERVIEWS.
NOW WE DO HAVE A MEETING SCHEDULED TO PROVIDE YOU WITH AN UPDATE, UM, PRIOR TO ANY, ANY IN-PERSON INTERVIEWS, IF YOU WISH TO RECEIVE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE CANDIDATES.
BUT AS OF TODAY, WE HAVE TENTATIVELY SCHEDULED THE SEVENTH AND 8TH OF JANUARY FOR IN-PERSON INTERVIEWS WITH AN OPTION FOR OVERFLOW ON SATURDAY, JANUARY THE NINTH.
AND SO THOSE TWO DATES, IDEALLY THE SEVENTH AND EIGHTH WOULD BE IN PERSON INTERVIEWS, BARRING ANY INCIDENTALS WITH COVID THAT'S THE SCHEDULE AS OF THIS EVENING.
AND NAMING A LONE FINALISTS WILL TAKE PLACE THE FOLLOWING WEEK, JANUARY THE 14TH.
SO I'LL PAUSE THERE AND ENTERTAIN ANY QUESTIONS THE BOARD MAY HAVE.
I THINK YOU SKIP THE DECEMBER 17TH, REGULAR BOARD MEETING, UH, AT THAT MORE BOARD MEETING, WE WERE GOING TO SELECT THE PEOPLE WE WILL BE INTERVIEWING IN-PERSON.
SO THAT'S THE, THAT'S THE SCHEDULED.
AND WE HAVE THAT ON OUR CALENDAR.
SO THAT 17TH IS WHEN WE'LL BE AVAILABLE TO, UM, GO THROUGH OUR, OUR CUT SCORE AGAIN, AND IDENTIFY WHICH CANDIDATES YOU'VE SELECTED FROM THE TOTAL TALENT POOL.
AND AGAIN, BY NO MEANS, DO YOU NEED TO ACCEPT OUR RECOMMENDATIONS THAN THE BINDERS, BUT WE'RE SIMPLY PROVIDING THAT IN A SIMILAR FASHION THAT WE DID THE FIRST GO AROUND.
SO IF YOU RECALL GROUP A, AT THAT TIME WAS THE TOP 10.
AS I MENTIONED A MOMENT AGO, THAT NUMBER COULD BE LESS, OR IT COULD BE THE SAME DEPENDING ON WHAT WE FEEL BASED ON OUR ASSESSMENT OF EACH CANDIDATE.
AND SO WHEN WE RECONVENE ON THE 17TH AS A TEAM, YOU'LL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO ASK US MORE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE CANDIDATES.
YOU'LL BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY WHO YOU WISH TO BRING, UM, OR INVITE, EXCUSE ME, FOR THOSE IN-PERSON INTERVIEWS, BARRING THAT ALL GOES THIS PLAN.
SO OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, WE, WE HAVE TO STAY NIMBLE AND AGILE WITH COVID, BUT THE SEVENTH AND THE EIGHTH WILL, WILL BE THE IN-PERSON INTERVIEW DATES, JUST TO BE CLEAR FOR ALL OF THE BOARD MEMBERS AND THE PUBLIC, WE WILL BE GETTING THE NAMES AND THE, UH, BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON DECEMBER 3RD.
AND THAT'S ALSO WHEN THE ON DEMAND INTERVIEWS WILL BE AVAILABLE.
SO PEOPLE CAN GO BEGIN LOOKING AT THOSE INTERVIEWS.
ON DECEMBER 17TH, WE WILL BE PICKING THE FINALIST FOR IN-PERSON INTERVIEWS AND THE IN-PERSON INTERVIEWS WOULD HAPPEN ON THE SEVENTH, EIGHTH, AND POSSIBLY NINTH, DEPENDING ON HOW MANY WE SELECT.
AND THEN, UH, WE WOULD BE MAKING THE FINALIST SELECTION ON JANUARY 14TH.
SO I THINK THAT GIVES PEOPLE TIME TO BE ABLE TO LOOK AT THINGS IT'S, UM, IT'S AT A PACE, BUT IT'S AT A PACE THAT IS DOABLE AND GIVES TIME FOR REFLECTION AND DUE DILIGENCE AND WHATEVER WORK NEEDS TO BE DONE.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR, UH, BOARD MEMBER, ROGER JACKSON, WHEN WE RECEIVE A FULL LIST OF ALL OF THE APPLICANTS? THAT'S CORRECT.
YOU WILL SAME SIMILAR FORMATTING AS THE PREVIOUS
[01:40:01]
SUPERINTENDENT SEARCH.UM, SO I PROBABLY ALLUDED TO A MOMENT AGO, GROUP A IS JUST OUR LIST OF RECOMMENDED CANDIDATES TO CONSIDER, OR FOR TOP CONSIDERATION GROUP B WILL BE THE DELTA, THE REMAINING BALANCE CANDIDATES.
SO WE WILL NOT WITHHOLD ANY OF THE CANDIDATE INFORMATION WHEN IT'S PRESENTED TO YOU.
AND OBVIOUSLY UNDER THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA, ALL OF THE INFORMATION BECOMES PUBLIC FACING AND FOR PUBLIC CONSUMPTION AT THE DATES THAT A BOARD PRESIDENT GO TO JUST OUTLINE.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? LET ME GET BACK TO MY SCREEN HERE, SEEING NONE.
UM, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MR.
HOPE YOU HAVE A, A HAPPY AND TERRIFIC, UH, THANKSGIVING STAY SAFE.
AND IF WE CAN BE OF SERVICE IN THE MEANTIME, UH, THE BOARD PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT MYSELF MR. FRALEY OR DR.
LYNAS FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.
WE APPRECIATE YOUR, YOUR QUICK WORK ON THIS.
[G1. Board Appointees]
SO NOW WE MOVE ON TO ITEM G ONE BOARD APPOINTEES IS ANY, ANY BOARD MEMBERS HAVE ANY REPORTS FROM ANY COMMUNITY GROUPS WHERE THEY WORK, UH, AS REPRESENTATIVES OF THE BOARD, MR. JACKSON, UM, MR. BELL, I'M SORRY, WHAT PRESIDENT? I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE A REPORT ON THE, UM, THE, UH, INITIATIVE THAT WE DID EARLIER THIS FALL WITH A DIALOGUE ON RACE, WE'VE COMPLETED EVERYTHING.AND I HAVE A SHORT SYNOPSIS OF WHAT TOOK PLACE.
UM, WE, THE MAJORITY OF THE BOARD PARTICIPATED IN A SIX WEEK SERIES WHERE WE HAD, UH, THREE SESSIONS AND, UM, ON MONDAY, WEDNESDAY AND FRIDAY FOR SIX WEEKS, AND THEN WE MOVED INTO, UM, ANOTHER PHASE OF A FULL DAY OF DIALOGUE.
UM, AND AS FAR AS, UM, THAT WENT, IT WAS A VERY EXCITING MORNING AND AFTERNOON WHERE, UH, 250 K-12 AND COLLEGE STUDENTS AND TEACHERS, COMMUNITY MEMBERS ATTENDED THE DAY OF DIALOGUE ON RACE AND EDUCATION, WHICH WAS SPONSORED BY DIALOGUE ON RACE, HUMANITIES, AMPED AND SERVE LOUISIANA OF THE 250 ATTENDEES.
THERE WERE SEVEN EBR, MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS JOINED WITH THEIR STUDENTS THROUGHOUT THE DAY.
UM, THE THREE ORGANIZATIONS WILL PUBLISH SOME SELECTED VIDEOS FROM THE DAY ONCE THEY ARE EDITED, INCLUDING THE PANEL WITH, UM, DR.
LISA DELPIT AND, UM, JOSE VILLIS FROM LSU, THE SPONSOR ORGANIZATION SURVEY PARTICIPANTS IN THE LAST SESSION.
AND WE'LL ASK FOR FEEDBACK FROM ALL PARTICIPANTS, AND WE WILL FORWARD THOSE NOTES TO THE BOARD, BUT THERE WAS ONE RESPONSE THAT WAS ONE OF MY FAVORITES.
AND, UM, IT WAS FROM A YOUNG PERSON WHO SAID THAT, UM, THEY WERE INSPIRED TO BECOME A SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER WHEN THEY'RE OLD ENOUGH.
SO, UM, THAT CONCLUDES MY REPORT.
AND THANK YOU TO ALL THE BOARD MEMBERS AND, UH, ALL OF THE, UM, POLICY MAKERS FROM CHARTER SCHOOLS FROM LSU SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY AND BRCC WHO PARTICIPATED WITH US IN THAT SIX WEEK SERIES.
AND I ALSO WAS IN A GROUP WITH MS WHERE JACKSON, WHERE WE HAD A GROUP OF DOCTORS AND THINGS FROM THE BATON ROUGE CLINIC.
AND IT WAS ALSO VERY INTERESTING TO GET THEIR PERSPECTIVES FROM THE MEDICAL SIDE OF THE COMMUNITY AS WE WERE FACING MANY OF THE SAME ISSUES.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER REPORTS? UH, I'M SORRY, MR. HOWARD, THANK YOU.
I JUST WANTED TO TAKE A MOMENT TO THANK YOU GUYS FOR PUTTING TOGETHER THAT, UM, I LEARNED A LOT ABOUT, UH, JUST, JUST DIALOGUE FROM A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE.
UM, IT WAS A VERY DIVERSE AND INCLUSIVE, UH, CROWD THAT PARTICIPATED IN DIALOGUE ON RACE.
I LEARNED SO MUCH ABOUT LIKE THE WORK THAT WE DO IN THE INSTITUTION OF EDUCATION AND HOW, HOW OUR STORY AND HOW WE SHOW UP INTO THIS WORK IS, UM, IMPORTANT AND WHY WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO HAVE DIALOGUE SPECIFICALLY ON RACE, UM, AS IT'S, UH, UH, AN ONGOING ISSUE IN OUR COUNTRY.
UM, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO ENCOURAGE OUR STAFF AND OUR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT TO ADD THAT AS, AS A
[01:45:01]
POTENTIAL.UM, EVEN IF IT'S A MINI SERIES AS A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PIECE FOR OUR TEACHERS, FOR OUR PRINCIPALS, FOR OUR ADMINISTRATORS, UM, I THINK IT JUST, IT GOES IN A LOT INTO IMPLICIT BIAS AND HOW YOU DON'T REALIZE SOMETIME YOUR BIAS SHOW UP IN THE WORK THAT YOU DO.
SO I WOULD JUST ENCOURAGE THOSE PEOPLE WHO ARE IN CONTROL OF THAT SECTOR OF THE WORK TO, UM, THINK ABOUT ADDING THAT AS A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PIECE.
THANK YOU, MR. HOWARD, ANY OTHER COMMENTS FROM ANY BOARD MEMBERS SEEING
[H1. Policy Revision]
NONE WE'LL MOVE ON TO ITEM H ONE POLICY REVISION CONSIDERATION OF REQUEST FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE FOLLOWING POLICIES, POLICY D J D COMPENSATION AND EXPENSIVE SCHOOL BOARD, HEALTH INSURANCE, AND POLICY E G A STAFF INSURANCE COVERAGES.DO I HAVE A SECOND, MR. TAPPIN, JUST A QUICK BACKGROUND ON THIS.
UM, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I I'M PUTTING FORWARD.
IT TENS AT THE PURPOSE OF THIS IS TO, UH, HELP REIN IN SOME OF THE UNFUNDED LIABILITIES THAT WE HAVE AS A BOARD WITH OUR RETIREMENT POLICIES.
UH, FIRST AND FOREMOST, THIS IMPACTS NO CURRENT EMPLOYEES, BOTH OF THESE, UH, ITEMS, UH, COME INTO EFFECT JANUARY 1ST OF 2021.
SO NO ONE WHO IS AN EMPLOYEE IS IMPACTED BY THIS AT ALL.
AND IT REALLY THE, THE, THE RESULT OF THESE WE'LL BRING OUR RETIREE VESTING BENEFITS MORE IN LINE, UH, WITH SURROUNDING PARISHES AND THE OFFICE OF GROUP BENEFITS.
AND, UM, THERE WILL BE NO MONEY SAVINGS FROM THIS FOR AT LEAST FIVE YEARS, BECAUSE THAT'S THE PEOPLE WHO, UH, WHO ARE ALREADY IN THE SYSTEM, WHICH STILL BE UNDER THE OLD SYSTEM.
BUT THIS IS JUST A FIRST STEP OF TRYING TO, UH, REALLY BETTER ALIGN OURSELVES, UH, WITH THE COMPETITIVE MARKET AND BEING THAT IT'S A POLICY OF THE BOARD.
IF TWO, THREE YEARS DOWN THE ROAD, WE SEE THAT THIS IS NOT WORKING.
WE CAN ALWAYS DIAL IT BACK CAUSE NO ONE EVER COMPLAINS ABOUT HAVING BENEFITS INCREASED, BUT WE WILL NOT DECREASE ANY BENEFITS FOR, FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE IN THERE.
SO, UH, I HOPE YOU WILL CONSIDER MY FELLOW BOARD MEMBERS WHO WILL CONSIDER, UH, THESE POLICIES, UH, MORE AS A MEANS TO TRY TO HAVE MONEY AVAILABLE FOR SALARY INCREASES AND STUDENT POPULATION, UH, EXPENDITURES AS WE GO FORWARD.
SO WITH THAT, ANY OTHER COMMENTS FROM THE BOARD? UM, YEAH, SO I WOULD JUST, UH, JUST LIFT UP, UM, WE HAD THIS CONVERSATION LAST TIME AND I'VE BEEN DOING SOME INITIAL, UM, ADDITIONAL RESEARCH, UM, AROUND THE, THE BEST THING YEARS, WHICH IS WHAT'S, WHAT'S THE THING THAT BROUGHT ME THE MOST, UM, CONCERN.
AND I STILL THINK THAT WITH THE WAY THAT TEACHING IS GOING WITH THE MOST OF THE NOVICE TEACHER ENTERING THE PROFESSION THROUGH OUR ALTERNATIVE CERTIFICATION ROUTE, UM, IT, IT'S STILL SOMETHING THAT, UM, BRINGS OR GIVES ME PAUSE BECAUSE I KNOW THAT A VESTING YEAR OF 20 AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR IS JUST UNHEARD OF.
AND SO WHEN WE WERE THINKING ABOUT TAKING, UM, NEW TEACHERS FROM THE PRIVATE SECTOR, IT'S, TO ME, SOMETHING THAT COULD PUT US AT A DISADVANTAGE.
UM, SO I STILL HAVE THOSE SAME CONCERNS ABOUT INCREASING THE AMOUNT OF VESTING YEARS, UM, FOR TEACHERS, ESPECIALLY FOR YOUNGER TEACHERS.
UM, THERE WAS A REPORT RECENTLY RE REDUCED ON A RELEASE BY THE EDUCATION, ONE OF THE EDUCATION GROUPS.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THEY ACTUALLY ENCOURAGE THE DISTRICT TO DO WAS LOWER THE AMOUNT OF VESTING YEARS TO REALLY GET OUR ROUTINE RETAINING AND RECRUITING A HIGH, UH, HOW WE QUALIFY OUR LEVEL OF TEACHERS.
SO, UM, IT STILL GIVES ME PAUSE ON, I APPRECIATE THE, THE WORK MR. GODADDY ON, ON TRYING TO GET US TO A BETTER PLACE TO HAVE, UM, ADDITIONAL RESOURCES, BUT, UM, IT, IT STILL GIVES ME SOME CONCERN.
SO, UM, I JUST WANTED TO LIFT THAT UP, UH, AS A MATTER OF CONCERN.
THANK YOU, MR. HOWARD, ANY OTHER COMMENTS? I'M CHECKING MY SCREEN HERE, SEEING NONE, ANY COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE, SOMEONE COMING.
THANK YOU, MS. LOPEZ, YOU CAN BE OUT.
I WAS THE CONSULTANT FOR THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL SYSTEMS, EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PROGRAMS FROM NIGHT, 1999 THROUGH I THINK, 2007.
AND THE CURRENT VESTING SCHEDULE THAT GOES ALONG
[01:50:01]
WITH THE PROGRAM.UH, I ACTUALLY DEVELOPED OUR ROPE LANGUAGE FOR, UH, WITH THE HELP OF, UH, THE STAFF CHARLOTTE PLUS SEED AND, AND, UH, AND THE BOARD MEMBERS OF WHICH I WAS REALLY GLAD THAT I CAME TONIGHT BECAUSE NOEL HAMOT WAS ALSO VERY INSTRUMENTAL IN THAT.
AND, UH, I DIDN'T KNOW THAT HE DIED UNTIL TODAY, SO I'M SORRY THAT, THAT HE DIED, BUT, UH, JILL DYSON WILL REMEMBER ME.
UH, I KNEW HER WHEN SHE WAS A LITTLE GIRL AND, UH, YOU KNOW, SO FOR THAT, SO ANYWAY, UM, MR. GAUDIN, I CAN'T SAY THE NAME EXACTLY RIGHT.
I WAS BROUGHT UP BY A CHEMICAL ENGINEER, DOCTOR, PROFESSOR UNIVERSITY OF, OF, UH, ROSE HOME AND, AND, UH, ANYWAY, UM, I APPLAUD YOU ON WHAT YOU'RE DOING, WHAT YOU'RE DOING IS ABSOLUTELY CORRECT.
UM, IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE A LONG TIME AGO IF YOU KNOW, THE HISTORY BEHIND, WHEN WE IMPLEMENTED THAT AN EMPLOYEE COULD COME TO THE SCHOOL SYSTEM WORK THREE MONTHS AND RETIRE BEFORE WE INSTITUTED WHAT WE INSTITUTED IN, IN, UH, 2004.
SO, UM, AGAIN, YOU'RE ON THE RIGHT TRACK, YOU'RE DOING THE RIGHT THINGS.
UM, WHEN I LOOK BACK AT ALL OF YOUR EMPLOYEE BENEFITS, I DESIGNED THE CORE PLAN, THE BUY-UP PLAN BACK WHEN GULF SELF HEALTH PLANS COLLAPSED.
AND SO I'M REALLY PROUD OF THE FACT THAT THEY'RE STILL IN THE SYSTEM.
I'M REALLY PROUD OF THE FACT THAT, UH, THAT ALWAYS PLAN FROM, UH, UH, STARMOUNT AND, UH, YOU KNOW, UNUM IS STILL IN THE SYSTEM.
SO I DID PRETTY GOOD WORK FOR THE SYSTEM.
AND I JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW THAT YOU ALL ARE DOING GREAT WORK.
AND, UH, UM, I HAVE BEEN HERE, HADN'T BEEN TO A MEETING 15 YEARS.
IT'S REALLY ENLIGHTENING TO BE HERE AND SEE ALL THIS.
MS. LOPEZ, IS ANYONE ELSE COMING? THANK YOU.
ANY COMMENTS? WE'LL GO BACK TO THE BOARD.
ANY COMMENTS FROM THE BOARD, SEEING NONE, VERY BRYCE THERE.
ANOTHER THING THAT THE SCHOOL BOARDS ARE REALLY BE COMPLIMENTARY OF IS YOUR REPORTER FROM THE NEWSPAPER, MR. CHARLES LUSSIER.
HE PUTS THE INFORMATION OUT THERE, BOTH SIDES, AND HE'S BEEN WITH THE SCHOOL SYSTEM.
AND SO I JUST WANT TO COMPLIMENT THAT HE'S STILL HERE.
IT'S AMAZING TO ME TO SEE THEM.
AND MAKE SURE YOU GET YOUR FRESH PRESCRIPTION SUBSCRIPTION.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS FROM ANY BOARD MEMBERS SEEING THAT MADAM SECRETARY CALLING, OR WE CAN DO IT THIS WAY? ARE WE DONE AT THE MOTION CARRIES
[I. Consent Agenda]
NEXT? WE MOVE TO THE CONSENT AGENDA.MR. LANDIS, THANK YOU BROTHER.
ADAM'S ARE CONSIDERED TO BE ROUTINE AND WILL BE INACTIVE ON ONE MOTION.
THAT WILL BE NO SEPARATE DISCUSSION OF THE ITEMS. AND AS A BOARD MEMBERS, SO REQUESTS IN WHICH EVENT, THE ITEM WILL BE REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA CONSIDERED AS AN ITEM ON THE REGULAR AGENDA FOR A SEPARATE VOTE PROCEEDING.
THE LAST ITEM ON THE RECORD, GENDER PROFESSIONAL SERVICE CONTRACTS CONSIDERATION FOR REQUEST OF A PROFESSIONAL SERVICE CON SERVICES CONTRACT BETWEEN THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL BOARD AND THE FOLLOWING SAVEZ LEARNING COMPANY, LLC.
IN THE AMOUNT OF $19,950 TO PROVIDE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND SUPPORT FOR TIER ONE CURRICULUM FUNDING SOURCE TITLED TO RESILIENT LEADERSHIP, LLC.
IN THE AMOUNT OF 13, $13,200 TO PROVIDE COACHING TECHNIQUES TO SCHOOL LEADERS, FUNDING SOURCE, TITLE TWO, NON-PUBLIC A MOVE BEGINNING PERSONAL CARE LLC, NOT TO EXCEED $90,000 TO PROVIDE THE LPN NURSING SERVICE SERVICES FUNDING SOURCE AT THE EA MANNERS OF THE HEART IN THE AMOUNT OF $73,709 FOR ONE YEAR FUNDING SOURCE CARES ACT STRONG START T STONE INCORPORATED IN THE AMOUNT OF $38,300 TO PROVIDE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND SUPPORT
[01:55:01]
FUNDING SOURCE, STRIVING READERS, COMPREHENSIVE LITERACY REVENUE, ANTICIPATION NOTES, CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE ATTACHED RESOLUTION GIVING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL TO THE ISSUANCE OF NOT EXCEEDING $35 MILLION OF REVENUE, ANTICIPATION NOTES OF THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL BOARD, STATE OF LOUISIANA PROVIDING CERTAIN TOP TERMS OF SETTING NOTES.MAKING THE APPLICATION TO THE STATE BOOKS TAKES THEM, SORRY, STATE BOND COMMISSION FOR THE APPROVAL OF SET NOTES AND PROVIDING FOR MATTERS IN CONNECTION WITH THEIR, WITH REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL BENEFITS, CONSULTANT CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST FOR AUTHORIZATION FOR STAFF TO ISSUE A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL RFP, TO SEEK PROPOSALS, TO PROVIDE BENEFIT CONSULTANT SERVICES FOR THE DISTRICT REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL, IF RFP INTERNET SERVICES, CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST FOR AUTHORIZATION FOR STAFF TO ISSUE A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL RFP, TO SEEK PROPOSALS, TO PROVIDE INTERNET SERVICES FOR THE DISTRICT REQUEST FOR QUOTES AND QUALIFICATIONS ARE F Q Q STRATEGIC PLAN CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST FOR AUTHORIZATION FOR STAFF TO ISSUE A REQUEST FOR QUOTES AND QUALIFICATIONS TO SEEK PROPOSALS FOR THE STRATEGIC PLAN OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE FINANCE UPDATE CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST FOR APPROVAL OF THE PRELIMINARY ACTUAL SEMI-ANNUAL FINANCIAL 2019 2020 TAX PLAN UPDATE AND PROPOSED 2020, 2021 TAX PLAN BUDGETS FOR PROPOSITION ONE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE LAND PURCHASE APPROVAL CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE RECOMMENDATION FROM STAFF AND THE APPROVAL FROM THE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE TO MODIFY A PLAN TO IMPROVE FACILITIES SLASH TECHNOLOGY, DISCIPLINE, AND COMP AND COMPENSATION IN THE EAST BEVERAGE PARIS SCHOOL SYSTEM TAX PLAN TO DELAY THE YEAR ONE LAND PURCHASE OF YEAR TWO CRESTS WORTH MIDDLE SCHOOL FACILITY RENOVATION PROJECT CARPUS ITERATION OF A REQUEST FOR AUTHORIZATION FOR STAFF TO ADVERTISE EXCEPT THE LOW BIDS MEETING SPECS SPECIFICATIONS, AND MAKE THE AWARD OF A CONTRACT FOR, FOR CONSTRUCTION OF CREST WORTH MIDDLE SCHOOL FACILITY RENOVATION PROJECT.
OKAY, AS SPECIFIED IN THE PLAN TO IMPROVE FACILITIES, TECHNOLOGY, DISCIPLINE, AND COMPENSATION, THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL SYSTEM, THE PLAN AS REVISED THROUGH FEBRUARY 22ND, 2018, OR REJECTED ANY AND ALL BIDS FOR JUST CALLS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LOUISIANA PUBLIC BID LAW, LOUISIANA REVISED STATUTE, TITLE 38 CHAPTER 10 FUNDING SOURCE PHASE THREE TAX PLAN PROPOSITION ONE LITIGATION'S CONSIDERATION OF THE REQUEST FOR APPROVAL OF THE RECOMMENDATION FROM GLEN SHAMBLIN, GENERAL CONSULTANT OR COUNSEL FOR EAST BEVERAGE PASS SCHOOL BOARD IN THE MATTER OF MARLIN MARTELL, JR.
AND MORE QUICKLY
DO I HAVE A SECOND, MR. TATLIN SECONDS? IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION FROM THE BOARD MS. DYSON? I DON'T WANT TO ACTUALLY, I DON'T NEED TO ACTUALLY PULL A NUMBER EIGHT, BUT I JUST WANT TO CLARIFY FOR OUR VIEWING AUDIENCE, BECAUSE I'VE HAD QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS, UM, AND THAT WE ARE NOT, UM, PUTTING WEIGHT, UM, THINK IT'S EIGHT.
YEAH, IT'S A YES, THE, MY IN PURCHASE.
AND, UM, I'VE HAD A LOT OF, UM, QUESTIONS RAISED AND I'M JUST WANT TO REASSURE THE, THE VIEWING PUBLIC AND OUR, UM, FOLKS HERE TONIGHT THAT OUR BOARD HAD AND ADMINISTRATION HAS FULL, UM, INTENTIONS OF BRINGING THIS, UM, FORWARD IN DECEMBER AND NOT DELAYING THIS.
THIS IS JUST A FORMALITY THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE AND VOTED ON SINCE WE HAVEN'T YET PURCHASED THE LAND AND CHOSEN IT.
SO WE'LL BE ON THAT RIGHT AWAY NEXT MONTH.
[02:00:01]
ANY OTHER BOARD MEMBERS WISH TO SPEAK ON THE CONSENT AGENDA? SEEING NONE? IS THERE ANY COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON THE CONSENT AGENDA? SEEING NONE BACK TO THE BOARD, MADAM SECRETARY, PLEASE VOTE.[J1. Announcement of Meetings]
NEXT ORGANIZATIONAL ITEMS. MS. BERNARD ANNOUNCEMENT OF MEETINGS COMMITTEE.THE WHOLE MEETING SHOULD BE HELD ON DECEMBER 3RD, 2020 AT 5:00 PM AT THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CENTER, REGULAR BOARD MEETING TO BE HELD ON DECEMBER 17TH, 2020 AT 5:00 PM AT THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.
SO I MOVED TO GERMAN THERE BEING NO FURTHER BUSINESS.