[00:01:02]
I NOW CALL THIS MEETING TO ART OF THIS THURSDAY, JULY 20TH, 2023 FOR THE REGULAR, UH, MEETING AGENDA.
FIRST ITEM OF BUSINESS THAT WE HAVE IS
[A. Meeting Opening]
GONNA BE OUR OP, UH, MEETING OPENING, WHICH IS GONNA BE OUR CONVOCATION, I'M SORRY, INVOCATION, AND OUR PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.THE INVOCATION WILL BE LED BY SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER MICHAEL GODDE, AND THE PLEDGE WILL BE LED BY CADET CAPTAIN DAWSON WOODS OF LIBERTY MAGNET HIGH SCHOOL, ACCOMPANIED BY HIS SENIOR ARMY INSTRUCTOR, COLONEL, RETIRED JONAH M HUGHES SCUBA.
REMEMBER GODA, YOU HAVE THE FLOOR.
JUST TURN OFF YOUR CELL PHONES AND BOW YOUR HEAD.
HEAVENLY FATHER, YOU ARE THE CREATOR OF ALL THINGS.
PLEASE HELP US GIVE ALL PEOPLE THE LOVE, DIGNITY, AND RESPECT THAT THEY DESERVE AS OBJECTS OF YOUR CREATION.
LET US BE THANKFUL FOR THE EMPLOYEES OF THIS DISTRICT, OUR STUDENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES, AND ALL OF THE CITIZENS OF THE PARISH FOR THEIR HARD WORK AND SUPPORT.
MAY WE NEVER LET INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN OPINION BLIND US FROM OUR MAIN COLLECTIVE PURPOSE, WHICH IS TO PROVIDE EVERY STUDENT WITH THE OPPORTUNITY TO BECOME THEIR PERSONAL BEST.
GOOD EVENING, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, DR.
NURSES AND ESTEEM MEMBERS OF THE SCHOOL BOARD.
IT IS MY DISTINCT HONOR TO INTRODUCE TO YOU ONE OF THE MOST OUTSTANDING J C CADETS OF THE PATRIOT BATTALION CADET CAPTAIN DAWSON WOODS.
HE IS A RISING SENIOR SENIOR AND IS PREPARING TO ENTER HIS FOURTH YEAR IN JR RT C PROGRAM.
CURRENTLY, HE SERVES AS THE DEPUTY COMMANDER FOR FOR OUR RAIDERS TEAM, AND HE'S OUR BATTALION TEAM LIAISON.
HE'S ALSO A MEMBER OF OUR COLOR GUARD AND OUR DRILL TEAM.
CADET WOODS HAS TAKEN AND PASSED EIGHT OF HIS NINE OF HIS AP TESTS AND PLANS TO TAKE ANOTHER SIX THIS COMING YEAR.
HE HAS A G P A OF A 4.635 AND RANKS FIRST IN HIS CLASS.
UPON GRADUATING FROM HIGH SCHOOL, CADET WOODS', ULTIMATE GOAL IS TO BECOME AN ARMY PHYSICS CADET.
WOODS EPITOMIZE WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A J R R T CADET, AND WE ARE PROUD TO HAVE WATCHED HIM GROW AND MATURE.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, HERE TO LEAD US IN THE PLEASURE OF LEADERS.
I PRESENT TO YOU CADET CAPTAIN DAWSON, WOODS OF LIBERTY HIGH SCHOOL.
I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INVISIBLE WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL THAT WOODS.
ON BEHALF OF THE EAST BATON PARISH SCHOOL BOARD, OUR SUPERINTENDENT, I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR ALL THE HARD WORK AND DEDICATION THAT YOU'VE SHOWN TO YOUR PROGRAM.
AND WHAT YOU NEED IS ANOTHER MEDAL.
I CAN TELL
AND I WOULD ONLY SAY, PLEASE DON'T FALL OVERBOARD CAUSE YOU WON'T COME UP.
[00:05:08]
I GOT IT.BEFORE I MOVE ON, I'D JUST LIKE TO SAY, UH, IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING THAT THESE ARE THE TYPES OF STUDENTS THAT REPRESENT OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT EVERY SINGLE DAY.
THESE ARE THE TYPES OF STORIES YOU DON'T HEAR ABOUT THE GPAS, THE HARD WORK THAT GOES INTO STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT, THAT THEY, UH, TEND TO EVERY SINGLE DAY INSIDE OF OUR CLASSROOMS. AND THESE ARE THE TYPES OF STORIES THAT WE NEED TO START TELLING AROUND OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT.
ALRIGHT, MOVING RIGHT ALONG, MADAM SECRETARY, WE'RE GONNA MOVE TO ITEM A TWO.
CALL TO ART AND ROLL CALL DISTRICT
[B2. Call to Order and Roll Call]
TWO.DISTRICT THREE, VICE PRESIDENT POWELL LEWIS.
ONE MINUTES, UH, MEETING MINUTES, APPROVAL OF THE SCHOOL BOARD MINUTES OF THE JUNE 15TH, 2023 REGULAR
[B1. Meeting Minutes]
MEETING.SPECIAL MEETING AS PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL.
CAN I GET A MOTION MOVED BY SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER MICHAEL GODDE, SECONDED BY SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER PATRICK MARTIN.
THIS TIME NOW, I'LL SEE IF WE HAVE ANY NAMES IN THE QUEUE FOR DISCUSSION AMONGST THE BOARD.
SEEING NONE, I'LL NOW GO TO THE COMMUNITY OR PUBLIC COMMENT.
SEEING NONE, I'LL COME BACK TO THE BOARD.
MADAM SECRETARY, PLEASE CALL FOR THE VOTE, PLEASE VOTE PRESENT.
LANNI, CAN WE DO A ROLL CALL? YES, MA'AM.
DISTRICT THREE, VICE PRESIDENT POWELL LEWIS? YES.
MOVING RIGHT ALONG TO ITEM C ONE.
THESE ALL, ALL OF ITEM C ONE THROUGH C THREE WILL BE FOR INFORMATION ONLY, AND IT'S ONLY IF THEY HAVE A REPORT TO PRESENT.
FIRST UP, WE HAVE ITEM C ONE MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT.
[C1. Monthly Financial Report]
WE HAVE A REPORT? SORRY.SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER MICHAEL GOE.
JUST VERY BRIEFLY, IS MS. LOPEZ HERE TODAY THEN I WILL WAIT TILL NEXT MONTH.
WE'LL MOVE RIGHT ALONG TO ITEM C2 PERSONAL, UH, SORRY.
[C2. Personnel Changes]
REPORT FOR PERSONNEL CHANGES? IF THERE ISN'T ANY, WE WILL KEEP MOVING ALONG.SEEING NONE THIS TIME, WE WILL NOW MOVE TO ITEM C3, PUBLIC RE PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST MONTHLY REPORT.
[C3. Public Records Request Monthly Report]
SEEN AT THIS TIME? WE WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE RIGHT ALONG TO ITEM D ONE.UPDATE FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT.
[D1. Update from Superintendent]
UH, IT'S THE START OF THE NEW SCHOOL YEAR.I COULD JUST HEAR THE EXCITEMENT OF THE KIDS GETTING OFF SUMMER BREAK.
NO, I THINK THE KIDS ARE, I DON'T KNOW HOW EXCITED THEY ARE, BUT THEY, THEY LOOK LIKE THEY'RE REALLY ENJOYING THE SUMMER.
UM, UH, SO WE'VE GOT A, A BEVY OF LAUNCH EVENTS, AS YOU KNOW, UH, IT'S ALWAYS EXCITING ABOUT THE SCHOOL YEAR JUST BECAUSE WE HAVE SO MANY EVENTS COMING UP, SO MANY COMMUNITY EVENTS, AND WE ALSO ALREADY SEEN SO MANY BACK TO SCHOOL EVENTS THAT PEOPLE STARTED SINCE LAST WEEKEND.
AND SO WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THAT, UH, TO GET BACK INTO OUR GROOVE.
SO, UM, UM, AS MANY OF YOU KNOW, WE WILL BEGIN OUR ANNUAL STUFF.
THE BUS DRIVE TO COLLECT SCHOOL SUPPLIES DONATIONS ON WEDNESDAY, JULY 26TH IN THE WALMART PARKING LOT ON COLLEGE DRIVE FROM 5:00 AM TO 6:00 PM THIS IS A TREMENDOUS ANNUAL COMMUNITY EVENT.
WE'LL HAVE LOTS OF MEDIA COVERAGE AND VOLUNTEERS ROTATING ALL DAY TO ENGAGE WITH THE PUBLIC AND COLLECT A HOST OF CLASSROOM SUPPLIES TO AID OUR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS ALL YEAR LONG.
[00:10:01]
DOING THIS EVENT EVERY SINGLE YEAR.AND THIS SHOWS A LOT OF OUR COMMUNITY AND PARTNERS HELPING TO, UH, GET THE SCHOOL YEAR STARTED ON FRIDAY, AUGUST 4TH.
WE'LL HOST OUR WELCOME BACK EMPLOYEE APPRECIATION RECEPTION AT THE CAPITOL PARK MUSEUM FROM 2:00 PM TO 6:00 PM THIS EVENT IS SPECIFICALLY FOR OUR EDUCATORS AND STAFF MEMBERS TO SHOW OUR APPRECIATION WITH SOME FOOD AND DRINKS AND ENTERTAINMENT TO KICK OFF THE YEAR.
AND THEN ALSO, UH, WE HAVE OUR E B R ANNUAL E B R BACK TO SCHOOL BASH, WHICH SHALL BE HELD AT THE RIVER CENTER ON SATURDAY, AUGUST 5TH FROM 11:00 AM TO 2:00 PM BY ALL MEASURES, LAST YEAR'S BASH BROKE THE MOLD WITH THE HIGHEST ATTENDANCE ON RECORD AND TREMENDOUS PUBLIC FEEDBACK.
SO OUR STAFF HAS WORKED DILIGENTLY THIS SUMMER IN ATTEMPT TO OUTDO THEMSELVES.
UM, AND ALL SCHOOLS WILL HAVE INDIVIDUAL BOOTHS TO ANSWER QUESTIONS FOR FAMILIES AND WILL HAVE WONDERFUL FOOD GAMES, KIDS PLAY ZONE AND FREE HEALTH SCREENING AND HAIRCUTS, UH, WHICH HAS BECOME A HUGE HIT, UH, FOR BACK TO SCHOOL.
AND, UH, A VARIETY OF VENDORS WILL ALSO BE THERE.
AND SO WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT GETTING BACK TO SCHOOL.
UM, NEXT WEEK WE WILL HAVE ALSO OUR LEADERSHIP WEEK.
SO WE'LL HAVE, UH, MANY OF OUR SCHOOL LEADERS BACK, UH, UH, STARTING BACK WITH THEIR LEADERSHIP TEAM.
AND THEN THE WEEK AFTER THAT, WE WILL HAVE TEACHER DEVELOPMENT WEEK WHERE ALL OF OUR TEACHERS WILL BE BACK TO BE PREPARE FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR.
AND SO WE'LL BE BACK IN THE FULL SWING.
AND THEN THE WEEK AFTER THAT, WE'LL BE BACK IN THE SWING FOR SCHOOL.
AND SO WE'LL BE EXCITED TO GET SCHOOL, UH, UP AND RUNNING.
AND SO, UH, THAT IS OUR REPORT, UH, UH, PRESIDENT LANCE.
THANK YOU, MR. SUPERINTENDENT.
WE'LL GO TO ITEM E ONE REPORTS FROM BOARD APPOINTEES TO COMMITTEES AND AGENCIES.
AT THIS TIME, ARE THERE ANY REPORTS TO BE GIVEN SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER NATHAN RUSH, YOU HAVE THE FLOOR? SURE.
I'LL JUST BE BRIEF AS OUR, UM, APPOINTEE ON THE BRE COMMISSION.
WE ACTUALLY HAD A, UM, A STRATEGY SESSION
[E1. Board Appointees]
TODAY, OUR COMMISSION WITH, UH, THE EXECUTIVE TEAM IN THEIR BEGINNING TO KICK OFF, UM, THE FIRST PART OF THE PLAN OF THEIR, UM, UH, I KNOW THE TERM EVERY 10 YEAR PLAN CALLED REIMAGINE YOUR PARKS.UM, AND OF COURSE, WE, WE DID DISCUSS HOW OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM CAN INTERFACE AND, UM, CONTINUE TO WORK WITH BRECK, UH, AND SUMMER PROGRAMMING AND OTHER THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
UM, AND SO THAT WAS VERY PRODUCTIVE AND LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT PROCESS BEGINNING.
UH, ONE THING TO NOTE IS OVER THE NEXT 12 MONTHS, THE PUBLIC SHOULD EXPECT TO BE ENGAGED BY BRE AND THEIR TEAM, UM, FOR PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT AND FEEDBACK IN THAT PROCESS.
MOVING RIGHT ALONG, WE'LL GO TO THE NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA, WHICH IS F ONE FOR PRESENTATIONS.
AT THIS TIME, I WOULD LIKE TO MOVE UP ITEM F TWO TO BE THE FIRST PRESENTATION OF THE NIGHT.
[F2. Center for High School Success]
FORWARD, I WANNA MAKE SURE FOR MY FELLOW BOARD MEMBERS THAT THERE'S NO OBJECTIONS TO THIS MOVE.AT THIS TIME, SEEING NONE, THE FIRST ITEM WE HAVE UP IS GONNA BE FOR THE CENTER FOR HIGH SCHOOL SUCCESS PRESENTATION.
[F1. Achieve3000 Presentation]
PRESIDENT LANCE, RIGHT BEFORE, UH, DR.NELSON COMES UP, I JUST WANTED TO GIVE SOME CONTEXT.
AS MANY OF YOU KNOW, UH, TWO YEARS AGO, WE BEGAN, UH, WE'LL, WE USUALLY DO THIS, BUT WE START TRACKING NINTH GRADERS SUCCESS.
AS MANY OF YOU KNOW, NINTH GRADE SUCCESS IS A PREDICTOR OF KIDS EITHER MAKING IT OR DROPPING OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL.
AND WE'VE HAD TREMENDOUS SUCCESS WORKING WITH THE CENTER FOR HIGH SCHOOL SUCCESS.
NELSON AND THEIR TEAM, UM, WILL ENGAGE US IN THAT CONVERSATION.
BUT WE WANTED TO JUST, UH, MAKE SURE PEOPLE KNOW WHERE WE HAVE REALLY WANTED TO PUSH OUR INVESTMENT AT THE HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL.
I GOT TO STAND HERE ABOUT SIX MONTHS AGO AND GIVE YOU AN UPDATE WHERE WE WERE MID-YEAR, UH, WITH NINTH GRADERS.
AND I JUST WANTED TO TAKE A LITTLE BIT OF TIME TO REMIND YOU WHY.
AS YOU CAN SEE, THE SLIDE DECK SAYS NINTH GRADE MATTERS MOST.
UM, SO WHEN THINKING ABOUT THAT, CAN I FORWARD THIS OR DO I HAVE SOMEONE ELSE DO IT? WHERE THE F**K? THERE WE GO.
UH, JUST TO REMIND YOU, WE OFTEN THINK ABOUT HIGH SCHOOL IN, IN TERMS OF SENIORS, AND WE THINK ABOUT PUTTING EFFORT AND ENERGY INTO THOSE.
ACTUALLY, THE RESEARCH SAYS THE OPPOSITE, THAT THE NINTH GRADE YEAR MATTERS THE MOST.
AND AS THE, AS THE SLIDE SAYS, NINTH GRADERS ARE THREE TO FIVE MORE TIMES MORE LIKELY TO FAIL A CLASS THAN ANY OTHER GRADE.
AND FOR EVERY F A CHILD GETS IN NINTH GRADE, THEY HAVE A 30% CHANCE LESS OF GRADUATING.
SO THAT'S A HUGELY IMPORTANT, UH, GRADE FOR, FOR ALL OF THE E B R STUDENTS.
WE WE'RE SEEING THE SAME STUFF.
AND TO TALK ABOUT THAT, WE'LL MOVE FORWARD.
UM, I WANTED TO TELL AN ACTUAL STORY AND GONNA, I'M GONNA HAVE SOME HELP FROM MY FRIEND JAMES SMITH IN
[00:15:01]
THE GRADUATION EXCELLENCE DEPARTMENT.UH, WE'LL KEEP GOING FORWARD HERE.
WHO WAS A STRAIGHT A STUDENT AT, AT PERK FOREST MIDDLE SCHOOL BACK IN THE EARLY NINETIES.
UM, UH, HE HAD A VERY, VERY TOUGH FAMILY.
TRAGEDY HAPPEN WHEN HE WAS IN EIGHTH GRADE AND WENT, UH, DROPPED TO ALL FS.
AND YOU ALL PROBABLY KNOW STUDENTS LIKE THIS THAT ARE SIMILAR, THAT YOU SERVE IN YOUR, IN YOUR COMMUNITIES.
UH, THE INTERVENTION THAT TOOK PLACE FOR JOHN, UH, JAMES, WOULD YOU MIND COMING UP OR DO YOU WANT ME TO TELL THE STORY?
UH, JAMES HAS TOLD ME THE STORY THAT THEY WOULD BE ON COMPETING FOOTBALL TEAMS, AND YET THEY'D COME ACROSS THE FIELD AND GIVE EACH OTHER HIGH FIVES AND HUGS EVEN AFTER THE GAMES OF RIVAL SCHOOLS AND REALLY HELP THEM TRACK THEIR DATA.
NOW, THAT'S THE INTERVENTION HE HAD.
AND MOVING FORWARD, YOU CAN PROBABLY GUESS WHAT HAPPENED THAT THE MR. WEATHERS JR.
TURNED AROUND, GOT BACK TO STRAIGHT A'S, AND ENDED UP ON A FULL SCHOLARSHIP TO LSU AND MOVED, MOVED ON TO A 4.01 MEDICAL SCHOOL.
AND TODAY, IF WE CAN CLICK ONE MORE TIME, MR. WEATHERS JR.
IS AN OPTOMETRIST AND A HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL ONE AT THAT.
SO I WANTED TO GIVE, UH, JAMES SMITH A ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR HIS PERSONAL WORK WITH A STUDENT THAT COULD BE A STATISTIC AND IS NOT, AND IS HELPING OTHERS.
AND AT, IN THE BOWL DOWN AT THE BOTTOM THERE, YOU CAN SEE AGAIN THAT NINTH GRADE ON TRACK.
IF YOU FINISH THE YEAR IN NINTH GRADE WITH ONE EFFORT LESS, THAT'S A HIGHER PREDICTOR OF HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION THAN ALL OTHER FACTORS COMBINED.
YOUR ZIP CODE, YOUR RACE, YOUR, UH, INCOME LEVEL.
AND IF YOU END ON TRACK, YOU HAVE A FOUR TIMES HIGHER OF GRADUATING.
SO YOUR INVESTMENT IN THIS IS A PRETTY SMART ONE.
SO WHY DON'T WE MOVE FORWARD? SO HERE'S THE HEADLINE THAT I HOPE EVERYONE HERE REMEMBERS, IS THAT IN THE LAST TWO YEARS AT E B R, THERE'S BEEN A STEEP INCREASE IN NINTH GRADE ON TRACK, WHICH IS ONE F OR LESS.
AND A KEY TO THIS SUCCESS HAS BEEN A, A COLLABORATION WITH JAMES AND LARRY'S, UH, GRADUATION EXCELLENCE DEPARTMENT.
AND YOU CAN SEE THEIR NAMES LARRY JAMES, JAMES SMITH, AND JAMES SYLVIA AND THAT GROUP.
AND THEN THE PATHWAYS OF BRIGHT FUTURES GROUP, UH, MS. SMITH, MS. LEINO, AND MS. MAYWEATHER.
THE THREE OF OUR GROUPS WORK TOGETHER IN CONJUNCTION TO REALLY ENHANCE THE NINTH GRADE SUCCESS FOR EVERY STUDENT.
SO HERE'S, HERE'S THE BIG NEWS THAT I HOPE YOU CAN KEEP.
UH, REMEMBER THAT TWO YEARS AGO, ONLY 59% OF YOUR NINTH GRADERS WERE ON TRACK.
AT THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR, WE STARTED WORKING TOGETHER AT THOSE THREE DEPARTMENTS.
UH, THEN THAT JUMPED UP TO 71% LAST YEAR, AND THEN THAT JUMPED UP TO 82% THIS YEAR, WHICH IS A 39% INCREASE.
THAT'S KIND OF A NUMBER, YOU THINK? OKAY.
WHAT DOES IT REALLY MEAN? WELL, YEAH, I THINK WE ROUND OF APPLAUSE.
WELL, WHEN YOU LOOK AT IT FROM A NATIONAL CONTEXT, WE ALSO SERVE SCHOOLS 164 SCHOOLS ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
ABOUT ONE THIRD OF THOSE SCHOOLS ARE IN THAT.
AND COMPARATIVELY TO TWO FULL STATES WORTH OF SCHOOLS, COLORADO, YOU CAN SEE, JUMPED UP 38% IN THE TWO YEARS, BUT HAS A MUCH LOWER ONTRACK RATE WHEN YOU LOOK AT UP 30 PLUS SCHOOLS IN COLORADO AND ARIZONA, 56 TO 66%.
AGAIN, SOME NICE GROWTH, BUT NOWHERE NEAR WHAT YOU'RE DOING HERE IN E B R.
AND IN FACT, OF ALL THE STATES THAT ARE IN RIGHT NOW, YOU'RE NUMBER ONE ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
AND I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT THE THE NEXT SLIDE.
WE'LL, YOU HAVE THAT DATA IN FRONT OF YOU.
THIS IS A BREAKDOWN OF ALL THE SCHOOLS.
YOU'LL SEE A LOT OF GREEN, WHICH MEANS GROWTH OVER THE COURSE OF THOSE TWO YEARS AT EVERY HIGH SCHOOL, UH, MAJOR HIGH SCHOOL HERE IN E B R.
AND I WANTED TO, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT INDIVIDUAL SCHOOLS, I'M GLAD TO ANSWER THOSE.
BUT I REALLY WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT, UH, THE FOUR REASONS THAT WE HAVE FOR SUCCESS.
ONE, UH, ALREADY TALKED ABOUT STRONG LEADERSHIP.
WE'VE GOT A NINTH GRADE LEADER AT EVERY SCHOOL.
THE PRINCIPALS INVOLVED, THE TWO DEPARTMENTS I JUST MENTIONED.
THERE'S CLOSE TRACKING OF STUDENT DATA.
NINTH GRADERS NOW KNOW WHERE THEY ARE.
IN THE PAST WHEN WE CAME IN, THEY'D SAY, WHAT IS A GRADE POINT AVERAGE? AND NOW THEY'RE, THEY HAVE TIME TO UNDERSTAND THAT, UH, MAKE PROGRESS TOWARDS THAT.
THE PBF GROUP, UH, MS. LEVITT, MISS WAYNE, HAVE DONE AN AMAZING JOB THAT THE PBF COORDINATORS MAKE SURE THE NINTH GRADE STAFF HAVE THAT DATA.
AND WHEN HELP WITH STUDENTS INTERVENTIONS LIKE MR. SMITH PROVIDED MENTORING, TUTORING, MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT, HOMEWORK SUPPORT THAT'S BEING FLOODED INTO NINTH GRADERS NOW, THAT, AND TARGETED TOWARD THEM PERSONALLY.
AND THEN LASTLY, IT'S BECOME KIND OF A COOL THING TO BE A NINTH GRADER.
THEY HAVE DIFFERENT SHIRTS, THEY HAVE CELEBRATIONS.
IF THEY GET THEIR HOMEWORK DONE, THEY GO ON FIELD TRIPS.
IT HAS REALLY TURNED IT FROM A, IF YOU ALL REMEMBER NINTH GRADE, IT A TIME THAT YOU WERE KIND OF SCARED AND INTIMIDATED TO A PLACE THAT IT'S A CELEBRATORY AND PLACE THAT YOU WANT TO BE.
[00:20:02]
UM, NEXT SLIDE.SO HERE'S, UH, SOME ADDITIONAL REALLY GOOD NEWS OVER AT TERRA HIGH SCHOOL.
UH, IF YOU TOOK A LOOK AT THEIR DATA AND IT'S UP ON THERE ON THE SLIDES, AGAIN, THEY HAVE 173% GROWTH, WHICH IS KIND OF MIND BOGGLING.
SO TWO, TWO YEARS AGO, THEY ONLY HAD 33% OF THEIR NINTH GRADERS WERE ON TRACK TO GRADUATE THIS LAST YEAR.
THEY JUMPED TO 90%, 173% GROWTH.
I SCOURED ALL THE DATA FROM ALL OUR SCHOOLS AT C H S S THAT'S IN, AND THE, THEY WENT TO THE TOP.
YOU HAVE THE NUMBER ONE SCHOOL IN ALL OF THE NATION AND ON TRACK GROWTH FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS IN THE COUNTRY.
SO GIVE A ROUND OF APPLAUSE TO TARA.
COULD YOU COULD, THE, THEIR ADMINISTRATORS ARE HERE RIGHT NOW, MR. HAMAN, MR. RAWLES, COULD YOU JUST STAND UP AND LET'S GIVE THEM A ROUND OF APPLAUSE.
IT, IT'S LIKE ANYTHING IN LIFE, WHETHER YOU'RE TRYING TO BE A GREAT COOK OR ATHLETE OR SCHOLAR, IT'S CONSISTENCY AND HARD WORK.
AND THOSE TWO GENTLEMEN, ALONG WITH THEIR PBF COORDINATOR, MR. ROBINSON, CONSISTENTLY DO THE WORK, CONSISTENTLY TALK WITH NINTH GRADERS, CONSISTENTLY SUPPORT STAFF.
AND THAT'S WHY YOU SEE THESE INCREDIBLE RESULTS.
WE, WE HOPE TO SEE THAT KIND OF RESULTS FROM TARA AT ALL OUR SCHOOLS.
UH, I THINK WITH ONE OR TWO MORE YEARS OF THIS, THAT YOU CAN BE THE NUMBER ONE URBAN DISTRICT IN ALL OF THE US THAT PEOPLE ARE GONNA BE COMING HERE TO STUDY YOU FOR THIS WORK.
AND LIKE I SAID, CONSISTENCY, IMPLEMENTATION OF PERSONALIZATION.
AND I APOLOGIZE FOR ONE THING.
WHAT I SHOULD HAVE PUT ON THIS FINAL SLIDE IS A THANK YOU TO ALL THE NINTH GRADE LEADERS, TO ALL THE NINTH GRADE TEACHERS, ALL THE NINTH GRADE PARENTS, FOR REALLY FOCUSING AND, AND REALLY HAVING THESE KIND OF RESULTS.
AND I DON'T WANT YOU TO GO ANYWHERE.
ALL RIGHT? CAUSE I HAD A CONVERSATION WITH YOU AND I TOLD YOU IT'S ONE THING TO TALK ABOUT THE IMPACT.
IT'S ANOTHER THING TO DOUBLE DOWN ON THE INVESTMENT THAT GOES INTO THAT IMPACT.
SO TONIGHT THERE'S A PRESS, A SPECIAL PRESENTATION ON BEHALF OF THE 100 BLACK MEN OF METRO BATON ROUGE.
I WOULD ASK THAT THE PROGRAM DIRECTOR, MR. ANTHONY KENNY, PLEASE COME DOWN WHILE WE'RE WAITING FOR HIM TO COME DOWN.
I JUST WANT TO, I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THIS BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, PERCEPTION IS NOT ALWAYS REALITY.
WE ARE A SCHOOL DISTRICT OF 89% MINORITY.
OVER 70% OF OUR STUDENTS COME FROM POVERTY.
AND I CAN REMEMBER WHEN I BECAME SUPERINTENDENT, I HEARD DIFFERENT OPINIONS.
I ALWAYS SAY WE ARE SOMETIMES MUCH HARDER ON OURSELVES THAN THE REST OF THE COUNTRY IS.
UM, WE'RE MAKING A LOT OF PROGRESS.
WE ARE AN URBAN DISTRICT THAT'S IMPROVING.
BUT A LOT OF PROGRESS TO HAVE CHILDREN ON TRACK IS A HUGE BIG DEAL THAT MANY OTHER CITIES ARE NOT ACCOMPLISHING, RIGHT? I THINK AS WE GO OUT WITH BOARD MEMBERS, I'M TRYING TO EXPOSE THIS TO MUCH MORE THAN JUST ONLY OUR LOCALIZATION HERE.
I THINK IT'S A HUGE THING THAT WE HAVE STAFF THAT'S WORKING SO HARD AND PROVIDING THE RESOURCES TO DO THAT.
I MEAN, JOHN, WHO'S DONE A GREAT JOB AT TARA, YOU CAN REMEMBER TWO YEARS AGO WHEN WE STARTED THE TYPE OF CONVERSATION WE WERE HAVING ABOUT WHAT PEOPLE THOUGHT THAT TARA COULD NOT DO.
RIGHT? BUT THIS IS THE WORK THAT WE DO.
WE STILL HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO, BUT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE ALSO CELEBRATE WHEN WE ARE DOING GREAT WORK AND DOUBLE DOWN ON THAT FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
SO I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HIGHLIGHT THAT.
UM, THANK YOU HONORABLE PRESIDENT LANDEN, UM, GREETS AND SALUTATION TO THE REST OF THE, UH, HONORABLE E B R SCHOOL BOARD.
UH, MY NAME IS ANTHONY B KENNY.
I HAVE THE PROUD OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE THE PROGRAM'S DIRECTOR FOR THE 100 BLACK MEN METRO BATON ROUGE.
WE ARE THE LARGEST NATIONAL CHAPTER FOR 100 BLACK MEN OF AMERICA.
UH, WE'VE BEEN IN BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA FOR 30 YEARS.
THIS YEAR, WE CELEBRATE OUR 30TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF MENTORING, IMPACTING, UM, YOUNG KIDS IN BATON ROUGE.
UH, ONE OF OUR MISSION, ENSURING THAT EVERY YOUNG PERSON THAT COMES THROUGH OUR ORGANIZATION HAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO BECOME HOLISTIC LEADER IN SOCIETY.
AND SO, UH, WE'VE BEEN LEADING THE WAY WITH MENTORING PROGRAMS AND IMPACT PROGRAMS THAN BATON ROUGE, AND WE'RE SO EXCITED NICE FOR THIS PRESENTATION.
BUT BEFORE I GO ANY FURTHER, I'D LIKE TO BRING UP OUR LEADER OF OUR ORGANIZATION, UH, PRESIDENT ANDRE HARMON TO THE PODIUM.
MY NAME IS ANDRE HARMON, AND I AM THE NEW PRESIDENT OF THE 100 BLACK MEN OF METRO BATON ROUCHE, AS WE LIKE TO SAY, UH, TO, UH, PRESIDENT LANI AND SUPERINTENDENT NARCISSE.
UH, WE'RE JUST SO EXCITED ABOUT THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING TOGETHER.
TODAY IS JUST ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF HOW GREAT A GOOD PARTNERSHIP CAN ACTUALLY BE.
AS YOU KNOW, LANCE, OCTOBER, WE WORKED WITH APPLE COMPUTERS TO HELP PURCHASE 500 IPADS FOR STUDENTS IN NEED UNDER OUR BRIDGING THE GAP LITERACY INITIATIVE.
TODAY, WE ARE EXTREMELY EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE WE'RE INVESTING $150,000 TO COLLABORATE WITH THE LITERACY DEPARTMENT TO HELP GROW THE MY BROTHER CAN READ PROGRAM
[00:25:01]
UNDER THIS INITIATIVE TO HELP DRIVE HIGH IMPACT TUTORING AND MENTORING TO EIGHTH AND NINTH GRADE.WE ARE JUST ELATED TO BE HERE TO PRESENT THIS CHECK TO YOU.
AND WE HAVE SOME OTHER THINGS FOR YOU, BUT IT'S GONNA BE LATER ON.
UH, ONCE, ONCE WE BREAK THE, THE TENSION IN THE ROOM, WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT WE GIVE YOU SOME OTHER GOOD THINGS.
OKAY? SO ANYWAY, UH, LET'S SHOW 'EM THE CHECK.
SO, LOOK, WHILE, WHILE I'M UP HERE AND I DON'T KNOW THE PROTOCOL, YOU'LL TELL ME LATER, CAN I HAVE ALL THE MEMBERS OF THE 100 BLACK MEN OF METRO BATON ROUGE TO JUST STAND FOR A MINUTE, SO THAT YOU CAN SEE THAT WE ARE A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH IN THE COMMUNITY.
IF YOU CAN'T GET IT DONE THROUGH US, YOU CAN'T GET IT DONE.
AT THIS TIME, I'LL ASK THAT, UH, THE MEMBERS OF THE 100 COME DOWN TO DO A, UH, PICTURE WITH THE CHECK AS WELL AS WITH OUR SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS.
PLEASE, IN THE MIDDLE, BE REAL QUICK PICTURE.
I HOPE THEY GOT THE EXPANDED LENS.
GETTING BACK TO OUR AGENDA, BEFORE WE GO BACK, I WOULD LIKE TO CALL A POINT OF PERSONAL PRIVILEGE.
UH, THIS IS TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE STUDENTS' DAUGHTER INSIDE OF THIS ROOM.
OVER THE COURSE OF THE SUMMER, SEVERAL OF OUR EBR STUDENTS WERE INVITED TO COME OUT TO LAS VEGAS, WHERE THEY COMPETED IN SEVERAL COMPETITIONS AT THE NATIONAL 100 BLACK MEN CONFERENCE.
AND THESE STUDENTS DID AN ABSOLUTELY PHENOMENAL JOB.
UH, ONE OF THESE STUDENTS ALSO MADE NATIONAL MENTEE OF THE YEAR.
HIS NAME IS MR. HERMAN PRIDE, AS WELL AS OUR, UH, SENIOR DIVISION FOR OUR DOLLARS AND CENTS PROGRAM, WHO TOOK FIRST PLACE, UH, AND THEY TOOK HOME $3,000 IN SCHOLARSHIPS EACH, AS WELL AS SECOND PLACE FOR OUR JUNIOR DIVISION.
SO, AT THIS TIME, I'D LIKE TO CALL THOSE STUDENTS DOWN, UH, TO BE ACKNOWLEDGED.
ALL RIGHT, GUYS, AGAIN, STRAIGHT AHEAD.
[00:30:01]
ALL RIGHT, HERE WE GO.WE HAVE SOME PHENOMENAL THINGS HAPPENING ACROSS OUR DISTRICT AND ACROSS OUR PARISH.
AND IT ALWAYS STARTS AND ENDS WITH OUR STUDENTS AND THEIR ACHIEVEMENT AND WHAT THEY CAN ATTAIN TO.
MOVING RIGHT ALONG WITH THE NEXT PRESENTATION WILL BE THE CHIEF 3000 PRESENTATION.
BEFORE WE GET STARTED, CAN WE JUST GIVE THEM ANOTHER HAND? IT JUST MAKES MY, MY HEART BUBBLE WITH JOY.
I'M SO GRATEFUL TONIGHT TO BE STANDING HERE, TO HAVE A MOMENT TO SHARE WITH YOU A BIT OF MY PASSION, UH, MY PASSION FOR LITERACY, MY PASSION FOR THIS PARTICULAR COMMUNITY.
UM, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU SUPERINTENDENT, DR.
NARCISS AND PRESIDENT ELENA AND VICE PRESIDENT PAUL.
THANK YOU FOR AN OPPORTUNITY TO STAND HERE TONIGHT AND SHARE WITH YOU, UH, OUR INTENT TONIGHT IS TO INSPIRE YOU EVEN MORE THROUGH WHAT HAS BEEN GOING ON ACROSS THE DISTRICT THROUGH THE IDEA OF PARTNERSHIP AND PURPOSEFUL PARTNERSHIP RELEASES POWER.
AND HOW DO WE SEE THAT POWER, THAT POWER IS SEEN, UH, THROUGH PROGRESS.
IT IS THE SECRET SAUCE TO WHAT WE DO WHEN WE PARTNER WITH OTHERS.
CUZ THERE'S NOTHING THAT WE CAN DO ALONE.
WE HAVE TO PARTNER WITH OTHERS TO GET THAT DONE.
ALL RIGHT, WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
AND THESE ARE JUST HIGH LEVEL, UH, OVERVIEW STATISTICS OF WHAT WE HAVE DONE.
I WANT TO, UH, HELP YOU TO FEAST YOUR EYES.
FOCUS RIGHT THERE ON THE ACHIEVE 3000 DATA.
UM, WHEN WE FIRST STARTED, WE ONLY HAD A LEVEL SET OF THIR, 76% ACROSS THE DISTRICT.
THAT WAS OUR FIRST YEAR OF IMPLEMENTATION.
ONLY 76% OF STUDENTS ACROSS THE DISTRICT, UH, LOGGED IN AND TOOK THAT INITIAL TEST, WHICH GIVES US OUR LEXI.
AND AGAIN, JUST FOR OUR REFERENCE POINT, LEXILE IS GONNA BE THAT READING MEASURE.
UH, AND OF COURSE, IF WE CAN IMPROVE IN READING, THEN WE CAN IMPROVE ACROSS ALL CONTENT LEVELS.
WELL, THIS YEAR, UH, WE WERE ABLE TO ACHIEVE A 96% PARTICIPATION RATE IN OUR LEVEL SET, WHICH MEANS THAT THE DATA THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, IT'S ACCURATE.
IT'S 96, 90 6% OF STUDENTS ACROSS THE DISTRICT.
AND THEN WITH SMARTYANTS, EVEN THOUGH, UH, WE ROSTERED LESS STUDENTS THIS YEAR, IF YOU LOOK VERY CLOSELY AT LESSONS COMPLETED, WE HAD MORE COMPLETION OF ACTIVITIES WITH OUR STUDENTS ACROSS THE DISTRICT, WHICH IS DEFINITELY SOMETHING TO CELEBRATE BECAUSE WE PREPARED THOSE STUDENTS FOR READINESS GOING OUT OF SECOND GRADE INTO THIRD GRADE.
SO WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE ACROSS THE BOARD? UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
SO, OUR LITERACY PATHWAY HERE IN EAST BATON ROUGE, WHAT WE'VE BUILT OUT SPECIFICALLY FOR YOU, EACH ONE OF THESE RUNGS ON THE LADDER, IT ADDS ON TO THE NEXT.
SO THAT'S WHAT I WANT YOU TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT THAT.
WE'LL POINT OUT HERE THAT THROUGH PRE-K AND, UH, THROUGH SECOND GRADE, THAT'S WHERE WE USE OUR SMARTY ANTS.
OKAY? AND WITH OUR STUDENTS THERE, THEY'RE GONNA BE STUDYING PHONEMIC AWARENESS, PHONICS AND SPELLING AND VOCABULARY.
ALL OF THOSE THINGS ARE STILL IMPORTANT, OKAY? AND FROM THERE, WHEN OUR STUDENTS COME OUT OF SMARTY ANTS, WHICH IS PRETTY GAMIFIED, UH, FOR THEM TO ENJOY THE PROCESS OF MOVING FORWARD, THERE'S AN ANT AND COACH, UH, THAT DRIVES THEM THROUGH THE INSTRUCTIONAL PROCESS.
THERE WE GO INTO WHAT IS CALLED ACHIEVE 3000, WHICH IS THE ONE THAT WE HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT.
AND HERE LIES WHERE THE GROWTH ACTUALLY STARTS BEGINNING ELEMENTARY THROUGH, UH, THIRD THROUGH FIFTH HERE, WE'RE GONNA GET THEM DIFFERENTIATED SKILLS BASED INSTRUCTION.
AND SO THE BEAUTY OF THIS PROGRAM, WHAT IT DOES TO SUPPORT ACROSS THE BOARD IS WHEN STUDENTS TAKE THAT INITIAL TEST AND AS THEY MOVE THROUGH IT, IT DIFFERENTIATES THE INSTRUCTION FOR STUDENTS.
AND SO STUDENTS ARE RECEIVING VOCABULARY.
UH, THE READING PROMPTS EVERYTHING ON THEIR LEVEL.
OKAY? SO I COULD BE SITTING HERE, UM, MARTINA COULD BE SITTING HERE.
WE CAN BE READING ON THE SAME TOPIC, BUT WE'LL BE READING DIFFERENT LEVELS OF INFORMATION BECAUSE IT GIVES IT TO US ON OUR JUST RIGHT READING LEVEL.
AND SO THAT BUILDS UPON WHAT'S ALREADY HAPPENED IN SMARTY ANTS.
UH, ADDITIONALLY, I WANT YOU TO LOOK DOWN RIGHT AT THAT LAST BULLET THERE.
WITH ELEMENTARY, WE HAVE CUSTOMIZED CONTENT ALIGNMENT TO STATE STANDARDS.
SO I HEARD THEM MENTION THAT THINGS ARE HAPPENING ALL OVER
[00:35:01]
THE NATION, UH, THAT CAN BE CELEBRATED HERE.ONE OF THE GREAT THINGS THAT HAS HAPPENED HERE BECAUSE OF OUR WORK HERE IN EAST BATON ROUGE AND ACROSS THE STATE OF LOUISIANA, UH, ALIGNMENTS TO YOUR GUIDEBOOKS, TO YOUR TIER ONE CURRICULUM ARE NOW GOING TO APPEAR WITHIN THE PLATFORM.
UH, WE HAD ALREADY CREATED THEM.
WE HAD CREATED, UH, ALIGNMENTS FOR GUIDEBOOKS, ALSO FOR YOUR SOCIAL STUDIES SCOPE AND SEQUENCE.
WE ARE WORKING TO COMPLETE SCIENCE AS WELL, BUT THE ONES FOR GUIDEBOOK ARE ALREADY GONNA BE THERE.
SO THAT TAKES SOME OF THE WORK OFF OF TEACHERS HAVING TO LOOK FOR ARTICLES THAT MATCH WHAT'S GOING ON IN THEIR CLASSROOMS, BECAUSE THE INTENT IS TO EMBED IT IN THE LESSON PLANS.
THIS IS NOT A SIT, SIT AND GET TEACHERS, UH, WORK ALONG WITH STUDENTS TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS IS FACILITATED.
AND THEN FROM THERE, WE GO TO MIDDLE SCHOOL AND YOU HAVE THERE YOUR WRITING CENTER, UH, ADDITIONAL PIECES OF FOUNDATIONAL READING SUPPORT THROUGH WORDS STUDIO, UH, IN ACHIEVE LITERACY.
THIS IS SOMETHING YOU ALREADY HAVE.
AND THIS GIVES US ASSISTANCE IN FOUNDATIONAL SKILLS.
SO IF YOU HAVE A STUDENT THAT'S IN SIX THROUGH EIGHT, RIGHT? AND THEY'RE STILL STRUGGLING MAYBE WITH OUR CONTROL VOWELS OR, UH, SOUNDING OUT WORDS OR PHONEMIC AWARENESS, THIS PROGRAM IS FOR THEM.
WE HAVE ALSO BEEN USING IT WITH OUR ELEMENTARY AS WELL.
IT'S A LITTLE WORKAROUND TO IT, BUT YOU CAN GET TO THOSE PARTICULAR ACTIVITIES FOR THEM.
THERE'S A TEACHER DATA DASHBOARD AND SKILLS PROGRESSION THERE.
NOW WE'RE ALREADY TO HIGH SCHOOL, BUT WE ARE BUILDING AS WE GO.
SO WE STARTED WITH SMARTY ANTS.
WE WENT TO ACHIEVE AN ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE.
AND NOW FOR HIGH SCHOOL, WHAT WE'VE ADDED AS A PIECE THERE IS THE CAREER CENTER AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.
AND THAT IS A HUGE PIECE FOR US, HUGE PIECE FOR US.
UH, WE'VE HAD A CHANCE TO SHARE THAT ACROSS THE DISTRICT WITH HIGH SCHOOLS AND WITH, UH, OUR SCHOOLS THERE.
AND EVEN PARTICIPATED IN YOUR ASPIRE FAIR TO SHOW THOSE THINGS TO STUDENTS, TO GIVE THEM ACCESS TO DIFFERENT CAREERS, UH, COLLEGE AND CAREER, AND HELP THEM TO GET READY FOR THAT THROUGH THIS SYSTEM.
AND THEN THERE ARE CUSTOM ACTIVITIES THERE FOR THEM TO COMPLETE.
AND WE ALSO ADD A WHOLE LOT OF WORK THERE AROUND LEAP 2025 ASSESSMENT.
SO THERE ARE EMBEDDED TECHNOLOGY ENHANCED QUESTIONS WITHIN THE PLATFORM THAT ASSIST OUR STUDENTS, UH, IN PREPARING FOR TESTING.
SO HOW DO WE GET THIS DONE? HOW DO WE GET THIS DONE? WE ARE DOING THIS BY ADDING TO OUR STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT PROGRESS MONITORING.
THAT'S WHAT GIVES US THE IMPLEMENTATION FIDELITY THAT WE WANT ACROSS THE BOARD, US AS PARTNERS WORKING TOGETHER TO GET THIS DONE.
AND SO EVERY WEEK IN THE BACKGROUND OF THIS PROGRAM RUNNING, WE WERE MEETING WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF ACADEMICS AND GOING OVER DATA AND MAKING SURE, UH, THAT WE WERE PROVIDING SUPPORT BASED ON THE DATA THAT WE WERE RECEIVING.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE WERE WORKING SIDE BY SIDE WITH SCHOOL SITE CAMPUSES.
UH, MANY TIMES I WAS IN THE CLASSROOM MYSELF TEACHING WITH THE TEACHERS, SHOWING THEM HOW TO IMPLEMENT THIS INTO THEIR CLASSROOMS. AND THEN A HUGE DI DYNAMIC OF WHAT WE HAVE DONE HERE HAS BEEN OUR PARENT AND FAMILY COMMUNITY INTEGRATION AND ENGAGEMENT, WHICH WE LOVE SO, SO MUCH.
EVEN BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR, WE WORKED ALONG WITH OUR PARENTS AND PROVIDED SESSIONS FOR THEM SO THAT THEY WOULD KNOW HOW TO USE IT OVER THE SUMMER BECAUSE WE PROVIDED UNINTERRUPTED SUMMER ACCESS FOR STUDENTS IN ORDER TO PREVENT ALL OF THAT SUMMER LEARNING SLIDE THAT WE HAVE.
I'VE ALREADY MENTIONED TO YOU THAT WE MEET WEEKLY.
I WAS MEETING WITH DEPARTMENT OF ACADEMICS AND GOING OVER DATA WITH THEM.
UH, THEY'VE WORKED SIDE BY SIDE WITH ME THE ENTIRE TIME.
ALL OF YOUR CONTENT TRAINERS AND YOUR SUPERVISORS OF CONTENT HAVE BEEN AWARE OF EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE DOING ACROSS THE BOARD.
WE ANALYZE OUR DATA DURING THE FALL IN THE WINTER AND THEN THE SPRING LEVEL FOR THE POST-TEST.
AND THEN WE COMPLETED A DATA SHARE AGREEMENT SO THAT, UH, WE COULD HAVE CORRELATIONS TO LEAP DATA.
NOW OF COURSE, THE DATA HAS NOT POPULATED YET FOR THIS YEAR.
AND WE ARE ALSO IN THE PROCESS OF TRIANGULATING OUR DATA WITH ANET AS WELL, SO THAT YOU CAN SEE HOW IT WORKS ACROSS THE BOARD.
AND BECAUSE OF THAT, WE GET TO WHAT WE CALL IMPLEMENTATION FIDELITY.
SO OUR GOALS GOING FORWARD, AS THEY ALWAYS HAVE BEEN, IS FOR OUR GRADES THREE TO 12 TO MEET OR EXCEED THAT ACTUAL LEXILE GROWTH OKAY.
AND THAT OUR DEMOGRAPHIC SUBGROUPS WHERE WE REALLY GET DOWN TO THE BRASS TACK OF IT AND CHANGE THE NARRATIVE OF WHAT ABR IS VIEWED TO BE IN THE AREA OF LITERACY.
WE WANNA SEE GROWTH THERE ABOVE AND BEYOND THE EXPECTED LEXILE GROWTH.
AND ALSO THAT ALL OUR THIRD THROUGH 12TH STUDENTS USING ACHIEVE WITH FIDELITY ARE GONNA MEET OR EXCEED WHAT IS HAPPENING ACROSS THE STATE OF LOUISIANA.
AND JUST FOR YOUR, YOUR KNOWLEDGE, WHAT WE CONSIDER HIGH FIDELITY, THAT WOULD BE STUDENTS THAT ARE, UH, THEY'RE SCORING 75% OR HIGHER ON THEIR FIRST TRY SCORE.
AND THIS IS HOW WE DID THIS ON CAMPUS.
SO WE HAD SOME QUESTIONS IN THE PAST ABOUT, UH, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
SO THIS KIND OF GIVES YOU A BREAKDOWN OF WHAT WE HAVE DONE BECAUSE WE DO REALIZE THAT BUILDING CAPACITY AND TEACHERS IS GOING TO BUILD CAPACITY
[00:40:01]
IN STUDENTS.OKAY? AND SO WE'VE DONE THINGS ON CAMPUSES.
UH, I MENTIONED TO YOU EARLIER, IT'S NOT A SIT AND GET.
ALSO BUILDING STUDENT CAPACITY, MAKING SURE THAT WE BUILD PARENT CAPACITY.
WE'VE, UH, MET ON THE DISTRICT LEVEL, ALSO ON DISTRICT INITIATIVES, AND THEN IMPLEMENTATION PLANNING MEETINGS.
SO THAT HAPPENS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR.
AND THIS IS WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE DATA WISE.
ALL RIGHT? SO OVERALL DISTRICT, WHAT WE, WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT HERE ARE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS WHO WERE, UH, SCORING AT HIGH FIDELITY.
THEY GREW TWO TIMES THE EXPECTED GROWTH, OKAY? MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS, 2.5 TIMES THE EXPECTED GROWTH, AND THEN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS, 2.9 TIMES EXPECTED GROWTH.
SO YOU'LL SEE, UH, THE GREATER THE USAGE, THE GREATER THE FIDELITY, THE HIGHER THE SCORES.
CAN YOU JUST EXPLAIN 2.5 THE GROWTH OF, OF THEIR LEXILE, THE ORIGINAL LEXILE GROWTH WHEN THEY, UH, SCORED ORIGINALLY THEIR ACTUAL GROWTH.
ALL RIGHT? AND THIS IS US UP AGAINST THE STATE OF LOUISIANA.
OKAY? SO EAST BATON ROUGE, YOU'LL SEE IN EVERY AREA IN EVERY SCHOOL LEVEL, EXCEEDED THE GROWTH OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA AS A WHOLE.
ALL RIGHT? AND YOU'VE SEEN THIS, THIS SLIDE A MILLION TIMES.
YOU ALREADY KNOW, UH, WHAT THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF OUR, UH, BASIC COMMUNITY ARE.
BUT EVEN AT THAT, THIS IS WHAT WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO.
AND I DEFINITELY WANNA CALL THIS OUT.
ALL RIGHT? SO NOT JUST IN MAGNET SCHOOLS, NOT JUST IN HIGH PERFORMING SCHOOLS, NOT JUST, UH, ONE DEMOGRAPHIC OR REGIONAL AREA.
WE ARE SEEING SUBSTANTIAL GROWTH IN OUR SUBGROUPS, WHICH IS SUPER, SUPER IMPORTANT.
AND THAT SHIFTS THE NARRATIVE THAT WE HAVE HERE.
SO I WANNA CALL OUT FOR YOU, UH, JUST FROM THIS SIDE, THAT HISPANIC AND LATINX STUDENTS, THE AVERAGE LEXILE GROWTH EXCEEDED THAT OF THEIR WHITE COUNTERPARTS.
BLACK STUDENTS HAVE CLOSED THE GAP WITHIN SIX POINTS OR SO WITH THEIR WHITE COUNTERPARTS.
THOSE WHO ARE SCORING AT HIGH FIDELITY.
AND THEN OUR SPED STUDENTS INCREASED BY 10%.
AND THAT IS LARGELY DUE, UH, TO THE FACT THAT WE WERE VERY INTENTIONAL ABOUT TRAINING IN THE EXCEPTIONAL STUDENT SERVICE DEPARTMENT.
WE CAME, BECAME A PART OF THEIR, UH, R T I AND MTSS SYSTEMS AS WELL IN ORDER TO TRAIN COUNSELORS.
EVEN OUR HOMEBOUND STUDENTS WERE USING THIS PROGRAM.
THEN THIS IS HOW IT LOOKS BY REGION.
AND THIS IS ONLY HIGHLIGHTED SO THAT I CAN SHOW YOU, UH, EXACTLY WHAT WAS HAPPENING THERE.
THIS IS THE NORTH REGION THAT'S, UH, HIGHLIGHTED OR CALLED OUT THERE.
BUT YOU'LL SEE THAT IN EACH AREA WE DID IMPROVE IN OUR REGIONS, OKAY? AND THAT HIGH FIDELITY GROWTH, AGAIN, IMPROVING, SCORING 75% OR HIGHER ON THAT FIRST TRI SCORE, UH, AND DOING 40 ACTIVITIES IN PER SEMESTER.
THIS IS WHERE WE ARE GETTING THIS GROWTH FROM.
SO THE MORE THE USAGE, THE BETTER THE SCORING.
OKAY? AND ALSO, WHEN I HEARD THIS MENTIONED, TARA GOT, UH, MENTIONED EARLIER, UM, ON THAT SECOND PAGE, YOU HAVE IT IN YOUR SLIDE DECK, REGION NINE, I THINK THAT'S, UM, MR. MARTIN'S DISTRICT THERE, UH, TOWARDS THE END, THE HIGH SCHOOL THAT EXISTS IN HIS DISTRICT TERROR HIGH, UH, IMPROVED 314 LEXILE POINTS.
SO I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT I CALL THAT OUT AS WELL.
ALL RIGHT? YOU'VE SEEN THAT SLIDE BEFORE AS WE TALKED ABOUT SMARTY ANTS AND OUR HIGHER STUDENTS.
AND THIS IS JUST A BRIEF LOOK AT HOW THAT LOOKS IN COMPARISON TO THE STATE OF LOUISIANA.
SO OUR USE THIS SUMMARY HERE, WE HAVE GROWN MORE THAN THE, THE STATE OF LOUISIANA IN OUR USAGE, AND NOT JUST IN OUR USAGE, BUT ALSO IN THE COMPLETION OF OUR ACTIVITIES.
AND THAT'S WHERE IT REALLY COUNTS, BECAUSE AS THE STUDENTS COMPLETE THOSE ACTIVITIES, WE ARE LITERALLY HANDING THEM OVER RIGHT? TO THEIR THIRD GRADE TEACHERS READY, UH, FOR CLASS.
AND THEN FINALLY, JUST A COUPLE OF THINGS HERE.
UH, I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT EVERYTHING THAT WE HAVE DONE IN THIS DISTRICT, BASED ON COMMUNITY, BASED ON OUR PARTNERSHIP, IT'S NOT, THERE WE GO.
ALL RIGHT? BASED ON OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP WITH YOU HAS BEEN AMAZING.
WE LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING THIS WORK.
AND I WANT TO THANK YOU ALL OF YOU, EVEN THOSE, UH, EDUCATORS WHO ARE IN THE AUDIENCE THAT WE HAVE WORKED WITH FOR MAKING US A PART OF WHAT YOU'VE DONE BECAUSE WE DO PARTNER WITH YOU.
SO BEING A PART OF THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, THE POETRY SLAM, YOUR SPELLING BEE, YOUR ASPIRE CAREER FAIR, THE LEAP IN THAT YOU'LL SEE THERE.
IF YOU INVITE US, WE'RE THERE.
AND WE WANT TO CONTINUE THIS WORK AS WE GO FORWARD.
CUZ THE MORE WE DO IT, THE MORE WE'LL GROW.
WE APPRECIATE YOUR ACHIEVED 8,000, SEEING NO NAMES INSIDE OF THE QUEUE.
THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR AMAZING PRESENTATION.
NEXT UP WE HAVE, UH, ITEM F THREE, ANNETTE PRESENTATION
[F3. ANET]
ITEM.[00:45:01]
COACH, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY.WE HAVE, UH, SOME SLIGHT TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES.
WE HAVE A QUESTION ON THE FLOOR FROM SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER CLIFF LEWIS FOR ACHIEVE 3000.
UM, YOU TALKED A LOT ABOUT COMPLETIONS AND, AND, AND, AND THINGS OF THAT SORT AND HOW WE'RE PERFORMING AROUND THE STATE.
BUT I, I DIDN'T HEAR YOU SAY ANYTHING ABOUT HOW THIS HAS HELPED OUR KIDS WITH LEAP TESTING BECAUSE THE STATE, IN MY OPINION, THIS IS MY MM-HMM.
THEY WANNA KNOW HOW OUR KIDS ARE DOING ON THE LEAP.
OKAY? POST COVID, WE WERE AT 42% E L A, THEN YOU HAD THAT YEAR, THAT WAS A WASH, RIGHT? OKAY.
SO HOW DOES, HOW DOES THAT WORK? I MEAN, WHAT ABOUT THE LEAP TEST? HOW ARE OUR KIDS DOING ON THE LEAP TEST? UH, ACCORDING TO WHAT WE PROVIDED YOU WITH BEFORE, AND AGAIN, THIS IS ALL, THIS IS CORRELATION.
THERE'S NO CAUSATION IN, WE CAN'T SAY THAT ACHIEVE IS CAUSING THE STUDENTS TO DO THAT.
WE CAN ONLY SAY THAT IT'S IMPACTED.
SO I WANNA MAKE SURE I'M CLEAR ON THAT.
BUT AS THE CORRELATED DATA, UH, STATED IN THE, THE LAST PRESENTATION THAT YOU HAD WITH THE SLIDES, WITH THE GRAY AND THE BLUE, UH, OUR STUDENTS WHO SCORED AT LEAST AT UH, 91% AS A CUTOFF, OKAY, ON THEIR AVERAGE PERCENTILE SCORES, THEY SCORE SCORED BASIC OR ABOVE.
IF THEY HAD COMPLETED ABOUT ONE THROUGH 39, UH, ACTIVITIES, AND STUDENTS WHO DID 40 OR MORE ACTIVITIES WERE AT THE 99TH PERCENTILE LESS.
SO I'M REALLY NOT AS PREPARED AS I LIKE TO BE.
ALL OF THEM ARE SCORED IN THERE IN THE SYSTEM BASED ON THE, HOW THE STUDENTS ARE PERFORMING.
BUT THE HIGH FIDELITY USAGE, WHAT WE'RE SHOOTING FOR, UH, IT'S 75% ON THE FIRST TRY.
ANOTHER 40 IN THE SPRING THAT'LL GIVE YOU 80, UH, WHICH IS WHAT'S GONNA GIVE US THE BIG GROWTH.
NOW, OF COURSE, EVERYBODY'S NOT DOING THAT.
BUT THE ONES WHO ARE, THAT WE'VE DISCUSSED, THEY ARE GROWING TO THE DEGREE OF THAT SLIDE THAT WE SHOWED, 2.5% GROWTH AND THOSE KIND OF THINGS.
AND I PROBABLY MISSPOKE WHEN I SAID THE STATE COULD CARE LESS.
I'M SURE THEY CARE A GREAT DEAL.
UM, THE STATE'S CONCERNED ABOUT HOW OUR KIDS DO MM-HMM.
AND I GUESS WHAT I'M ASKING, I NEED TO KNOW WHAT THIS DOES, WHAT THIS PROGRAM DOES TO ACCELERATE HOW WE DO ON LEAP.
AND YOU'RE NOT TELLING ME THAT.
YOU'RE JUST, YOU'RE GIVING ME A LOT OF NUMBERS.
BUT I WANNA KNOW HOW THEY'RE DOING ON THE LEAP TEST.
HOW IS ALL THIS TRANSLATED INTO SUCCESS ON THE LEAP TEST? CAUSE THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT ARE GOING TO HELP THIS DISTRICT MOVE FORWARD, RIGHT? NOT SO MUCH HOW MANY LOGS OR TEST COMPLETIONS OR PRE-TEST OR POST-TEST.
AND IT'S MOST SIM SIMPLISTIC FORM, PLEASE DO IT.
SO YOU READ IN ELA, THEY'RE GONNA READ IN SOCIAL STUDIES, THEY READ IN SCIENCE, ALL OF THOSE LEVELS.
SO IF WE ARE IMPROVING LEXI LEVELS, IF WE'RE INCREASING THE LEVEL OF RIGOR AND NOT JUST FLUENCY, RIGHT? NOT JUST, I CAN CALL WORDS ON THE PAGE, BUT WHEN I READ IT, I CAN COMPREHEND THAT'S WHAT'S MEASURED IN THOSE QUESTIONS, THOSE ACTIVITIES THAT YOU'RE ASKING ABOUT.
I WAS LOOKING AT SOME STATE DATA A COUPLE WEEKS AGO, AND THERE'S ROUGHLY 1,089 CHILDREN YES.
CAN, CAN I JUST ADD TO THAT, UH, BOARD MEMBER, UH, LEWIS, UM, WE HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT, UH, THERE IS A SENSE OF WHEN KIDS WALK INTO SCHOOL, THEY HAVE TWO SETS
[00:50:01]
OF GAPS, RIGHT? THEY HAVE TO ONE, YOU HAVE, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU REMEMBER, THERE WAS A PHONEMIC AWARENESS AND WHOLE LANGUAGE DAYS WHERE THERE WAS A DEBATE AROUND HOW KIDS WOULD READ IN SCHOOLS.WELL, IN EVERY PROGRAM THAT YOU DO TO HELP A CHILD UNDERSTAND COMPREHENSION READING, THAT TAKES TIME.
RIGHT? SO THE WAY THAT THE PROGRAMS ARE SET UP IS IF YOU GET THEM TO LEARN AND READ AT A CERTAIN GRADE LEVEL, THEN WHEN THEY GO READ A PARAGRAPH OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, THEIR COMPREHENSION LEVEL GETS BETTER SO THEY CAN ANSWER THE QUESTION THAT NEEDS TO BE ANSWERED.
AND THAT TRANSLATES OVER TIME, RIGHT? SO WHEN WE BEGAN TO PUT PROGRAMS LIKE THIS AND BENCHMARK THEM ACROSS THE ENTIRE SYSTEM, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, THEY WERE VARI VARIANCE LEVELS, RIGHT? I ALWAYS THINK ABOUT THE FIRST YEAR I CAME TO EAST BATON ROUGE, DIFFERENT SCHOOLS WERE DOING DIFFERENT PROGRAMS AND WE DID NOT HAVE AN ALIGNMENT OF THAT FROM EVERY GRADE LEVEL.
AND YOU KNOW, WE HAVE STUDENTS THAT GO FROM ONE SCHOOL TO ANOTHER SCHOOL TO ANOTHER SCHOOL, RIGHT? WHAT YOU'RE SEEING IN TERMS OF PROGRESSION, IF YOU HAVE, I KNOW WE HAVE, UH, DR.
ABERNATHY WHO'S HERE, UH, SHE CAN TELL YOU FROM PRINCIPAL'S PERSPECTIVE CAUSE SHE, SHE DID THE SAME WORK AT VILDER RE IS THAT THE PROGRESSION ON CHILDREN'S COMPREHENSION OF NOT JUST READING A WORD, BUT TRYING TO MAKE SURE THEY MAKE AND MAKE MEANING OF IT IS WHERE THEIR ACTUAL GAPS ARE WHEN THEY GO TAKE THE LEAP TEST.
AND YOU SEE THAT BY SUBGROUPS, YOU SEE THAT BY POVERTY LEVELS.
YOU SEE THAT ALL THOSE CHALLENGES AND A COMBINATION OF ALL THAT IS WHAT HELPS THEM TO PERFORM BETTER ON THE STATE ASSESSMENT.
AND, AND SO WHAT I, WHAT THE REASON I'M BRINGING THIS UP IS BECAUSE WHAT I DON'T WANT US TO GET INTO IS THERE'S NOT JUST THIS ONE MAGIC BULLET.
YOU DO THIS PROGRAM AND THAT SOLVES THAT.
SO THERE'S A COMBINATION OF PRACTICES THAT HAPPEN IN DR.
ABNER WHO'S, UM, YOU GUYS KNOW DR.
ABNEY WAS PRINCIPAL OF THE YEAR IN THE COUNTRY FOR A MAGNET SCHOOL.
BUT SHE CAN GIVE YOU EVEN MORE CONTEXT CUZ SHE WORKS FOR OUR LITERACY.
NOW YOU WANNA PROVIDE ANY MORE CONTEXT TO THAT? YES.
SO WHAT WE DO IS WE LOOK AT, UM, AS DR.
BROWN MENTIONED THE USAGE OF ACHIEVE 3000, WHICH ACTUALLY ENCOMPASSES THE SCIENCE OF READING THAT WE KNOW IF KIDS ARE INTRODUCED TO THAT.
AND IF THEY ARE ENGAGED IN THAT TYPE OF UM, PROTOCOL, THEN THE MORE THEY READ, THE BETTER THEY BECOME.
AND THEN THE PROGRAM ACTUALLY LOOKS AT HOW THEY ARE PROGRESSING.
AND SO OF COURSE USAGE IS A BIG PIECE OF THAT BECAUSE THE MORE THEY READ, THE MORE THEY ENGAGE WITH THE PROGRAM, OF COURSE THE MORE THEIR READING LEVELS WILL GO UP.
SO I THINK THAT'S WHY SHE SPENT A, A BIG PORTION OF THE TIME TALKING ABOUT THE USAGE, THE NUMBER OF LOGINS, LOOKING AT, UM, THE SUBGROUPS AND LOOKING AT THE LEXILE LEVELS BECAUSE THAT'S A GOOD INDICATOR TO LET US KNOW HOW WELL THE STUDENTS ARE GRASPING THE CONCEPT OF READING HOW WELL THEY ARE PROGRESSING, UM, THROUGH THOSE PROTOCOLS THAT THEY HAVE BUILT IN THE PROGRAM.
WHAT ABOUT, I MEAN, AND THIS PROGRAM'S GONNA COST OVER A MILLION DOLLARS.
HOW ABOUT TAKING SOME OF THAT MILLION DOLLARS AND INVESTING IN TAKING OUT, MAKING OUR TEACHERS FROM GOOD TO GREAT? BECAUSE YOU CAN HAVE EVERY PROGRAM IN THE WORLD IF YOU DON'T HAVE A GREAT TEACHER STANDING IN FRONT OF THEM.
AND SO THE TEACHERS WHO ARE PART OF WHAT ACHIEVE HAS SET OUT, UM, TO DO, UM, IF THEY ARE TRAINED AND IF THEY'RE IMPLEMENTING THEIR PORTION, THEN THEY CAN ACTUALLY WORK AT A FASTER RATE TO HELP OUR KIDS BECOME BETTER READERS.
SO THERE IS A PART, THE OPTUM WORD IN YOUR SENTENCE IS IF CORRECT.
AND I'M NOT SURE IF THAT'S WHAT'S TAKING PLACE.
CAUSE I'VE TALKED TO TEACHERS ALL OVER THIS DISTRICT WHO, UM, BASICALLY DON'T BELIEVE IN ACHIEVE 3000 AND THEY HAVE TO USE IT IN THEIR CLASSROOMS, BUT THEY'RE NOT A HUNDRED PERCENT SOLD ON IT.
SO, I MEAN, AND THERE'S A LOT OF PROGRAMS OUT THERE THAT HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR A LONG TIME, READ 180 THINGS OF THAT SORT THAT I'M SURE COLLECTING DUST IN DIFFERENT SCHOOLS.
AND IT'S, CAUSE WE, AT ONE TIME WE DID USE IT AND I LOVE WHAT THE, UH, SUPERINTENDENT'S DOING AS FAR AS TRYING TO GET SOME UNIFORMITY AROUND WHAT WE ARE DOING.
AND WE ALL KNOW THAT UNIFORMITY WORKS AND IT, IT, IT ADDS TO IT.
BUT, UM, AGAIN, I'M, I'M STILL NOT A HUNDRED PERCENT SOLD ON IT.
UM, BECAUSE I THINK WE HAVE TO LOOK AT WHERE WE ARE WITH THE STATE.
AND CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR BEING NAMED, UH, COUNSEL.
[00:55:01]
OKAY.I HAVE, UH, ENTERED THE QUEUE AS WELL.
MY QUESTION IS IN REGARDS TO SLIDES 10, 10, 11 AND 10, 11 AND 12 MM-HMM.
UM, AND I WANTED TO FIND OUT, I SEE THAT THERE ARE REGIONS THAT ARE MENTIONED HERE, UM, REGION TWO, REGION SIX, AND THEN EVEN WITH SMARTY ANN'S FOR THE DATE FOR 20 22, 20 23.
THERE SHOW THERE'S SOME GROWTH THAT'S SHOWN.
I'M JUST CURIOUS TO KNOW LIKE WHAT SCHOOLS DOES THIS POSSIBLY APPLY TO? UH, AND I GUESS MY, MY QUESTIONS KIND OF STEM OR, OR KIND OF RELATE TO COACHES AS WELL, YOU KNOW, AND UNDERSTANDING, YOU KNOW, THAT THERE ARE SOME, UH, SCHOOLS AND SOME TEACHERS WHO HAVE SAID THAT THAT, UM, ACHIEVE 3000 HAS NOT BEEN AS EFFECTIVE FOR THEM.
SO I'M JUST CURIOUS TO KNOW MAYBE WHAT THE, WHAT SCHOOLS THIS DATA MAY APPLY TO.
SO ALL THE SCHOOLS IN EACH REGION WERE SEPARATED.
I WAS ABLE TO PUT THEM, YOU KNOW, IN UM, REGIONS THAT WAY.
UM, ARE YOU MORE CONCERNED ABOUT THE SCHOOLS WHO ARE NOT PARTICIPATING? I CAN TELL YOU A COUPLE OF SCHOOLS OFF THE TOP THAT JUST NEVER DID.
UH, BUT THEY'RE HIGH PERFORMING SCHOOLS.
SCHOOLS, SO BATON ROUGE, UH, MAGNET NEVER LOGGED IN.
UM, AND THEN AT LIBERTY, THE DATA THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT IN THE DISTRICT THAT, UH, THAT'S IN, IT'S ACTUALLY JUST THEIR NINTH GRADE ACADEMY THAT USES, SO THAT KIND OF SKEWS THE DATA A LITTLE BIT THERE.
SO I KNOW YOU MENTIONED THAT REGION TWO IS NORTH BATON ROUGE AREA? YES.
THAT'S OUR SCHOOL BOARD DISTRICT.
SO THOSE, THOSE ARE MY QUESTIONS.
IN REGARDS TO POSSIBLY DISTRICT THREE OR THE NORTH BATON ROUGE REGION, THAT WOULD BE IN THE, THE SCOTLANDVILLE.
SO, SO DO YOU HAVE A LIST OF THOSE SCHOOLS AS WELL AS TO WHETHER OR NOT THEY PARTICIPATED? OH, YES.
WE WERE ON THOSE CAMPUSES ALL THE TIME.
SO ONLY THE, THE ONLY TWO THAT I KNOW ABOUT SPECIFICALLY THAT, YOU KNOW, HAD DIFFERENT IMPLEMENTATION PLANS, CUZ WE DID ONE WITH EACH SCHOOL WOULD BE, UH, BATON ROUGE MAGNET.
AND THEN, UM, LIBERTY IS JUST USING FOR NINTH GRADE ACADEMY.
AND THAT'S, THAT'S SHOWN IN OUR PRETEST DATA.
UM, UM, COULD, COULD SOMEBODY PUT UP THE SLIDE, UH, ONE OF THE SLIDES THAT MS UH, PALO IS TALKING ABOUT WHAT IMPACT HAS ACHIEVED 3000 HAD ON STUDENTS BY REGION AND MM-HMM.
I'LL USE MY REGION NINE AS AS AN EXAMPLE.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND.
WHAT I'M SEEING, SO WE LOOK AT REGION NINE, WE LOOK AT ELEMENTARY, UM, SCHOOL GROUP, RIGHT? AND IT SAYS, EXPECTED GROWTH 111 LEXILES, ACTUAL GROWTH 1 29 LEXILES AND HIGH FIDELITY GROWTH 100 2198 LEXILES MM-HMM.
SO WHAT, WHAT, TELL ME FIRST EXPLAIN TO ME WHAT IS EXPECTED GROWTH? IS THAT, YOU KNOW, EXPLAIN THAT TO ME.
SO EXPECTED GROWTH IS BASED ON HOW THE STUDENTS SCORED INITIALLY.
SO WHEN THEY TAKE THAT LEVEL SAID, THE ALGORITHM DECIDES, OKAY, BASED ON HOW THIS PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS SCORED, THIS IS WHAT WE EXPECT THEM TO GROW.
AND SO THEN THE ACTUAL GROWTH IS WHAT REALLY HAPPENED TO, AND NOW IS THAT THE STUDENTS FOR, IS THAT THE AVERAGE OF THE LEXILE GROWTH FOR ALL THE STUDENTS IN, IN THAT REGION? YES.
SO, SO, UM, UM, YOU KNOW, WE SEE, LIKE LOOKING AT MIDDLE SCHOOL FOR NINTH GRADE MM-HMM.
BUT IN FACT, THEY ONLY GREW 60 LEXILES.
SO THEY DID NOT PERFORM VERY WELL.
THEY DID NOT, THEY DID NOT EXCEED THAT EXPECTED GROWTH.
THEY, THEY, THEY CAME IN SHORT.
AND THEN, THEN WE LOOK AT HIGH FIDELITY GROWTH.
NOW I'M PRESUMING THAT THAT MEANS THAT THE STUDENTS WHO ACTUALLY DID THE WORK, PUT IN THE WORK ON IT, THEN THEY DID.
WELL THEN THEY, THOSE STUDENTS WHO WERE ACTUALLY WORKING IN THE PLATFORM DOING THOSE ACTIVITIES PER WEEK AT THE 75% FOR THE HIGH FIDELITY STUDENTS.
SO I THINK ONE OF THE QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS THAT I, THAT I, THAT I HAVE IS TO, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE COMPLAINTS THAT WE'VE HEARD MM-HMM.
THEY GOTTA STRUGGLE THROUGH IT AND THEY JUST DON'T BOTHER, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
[01:00:01]
SO, SO THEN WE WOULD GENERALLY KIND OF TEND TO EXPECT BY HUMAN NATURE THAT THE KIDS THAT, THAT ARE, THAT ARE EASIER LEARNERS, LET'S SAY, RIGHT, ARE GOING TO BE THE ONES MORE LIKELY TO PRACTICE THIS PROGRAM WITH HIGH FIDELITY.
SO THERE'S SOME SELF-SELECTION ALMOST IN THAT, IN, IN THAT GROUP, RIGHT.
SO AS YOU POINT OUT, CORRELATION, NOT CAUSATION.
VERY HARD TO TEASE THOSE TWO APART.
SO, SO, UM, DO WE KNOW WHAT PERCENTAGE OF OF THE CHILDREN IN THESE AREAS ARE USED IN WITH HIGH FIDELITY? WE LOOKED AT THAT ACROSS THE SYSTEM TO SEE, YOU KNOW, UM, I KNOW, I KNOW YOU SAID THERE'S A COUPLE OF SCHOOLS THAT ARE JUST NOT DOING IT RIGHT.
BUT IN TERMS OF THE SCHOOLS THAT ARE TRYING TO IMPLEMENT IT, DO WE KNOW WHICH SCHOOLS ARE, ARE ACTUALLY GETTING A, A 25 OR 50 OR 75%, YOU KNOW, RATE OF GETTING HIGH FIDELITY USAGE? THE PERCENTAGE OVERALL, OVERALL OR SCHOOL BY SCHOOL? UH, I'M JUST KIND OF CURIOUS LIKE, LIKE WHAT PERCENTAGE OF KIDS ARE USING THE PROGRAM WITH HIGH FIDELITY WE WOULD BE USING ON SLIDE.
SO SLIDE SIX KIND OF GIVES YOU THE END.
IT MAY BE A LITTLE SMALL DOWN AT THE BOTTOM.
LOOK ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE.
ABERNATHY JUST REMINDED ME THAT WE DO HAVE AN EXPECTATION THAT'S BEEN ACROSS THE, THE DISTRICT THAT THEY HAVE TO COMPLETE THREE ACTIVITIES A WEEK AT THAT 75 PER, UH, CENT FIRST DRAFT SCORE AT LEAST THREE A WEEK.
AND THE INTENTION WAS TO DO AT LEAST ONE ARTICLE IN EVERY, UH, CONTENT AREA.
RIGHT? BUT WHAT, WHAT, WHAT, WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE KIDS ARE, ARE USING IT WITH HIGH FIDELITY? I MEAN, ARE USING IT OFTEN ENOUGH TO BE CONSIDERED HIGH FIDELITY USERS? I MEAN, IS THAT 2% OR 5% OR NOT 2%, 80% OF THE KIDS USING WITH HIGH FIDELITY? SOME, BECAUSE OUR LEVEL SET WAS AT 96.
I'M GONNA SAY SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 80 AND 90.
I HAVE TO, I WOULD HAVE TO DO SOME MATH HERE TO FIGURE THOSE NUMBERS OUT.
BUT THOSE NUMBERS, THOSE, UH, ARE ACTUAL NUMBERS, REAL TIME OF WHAT WAS ACTUALLY HAPPENING ON CAMPUSES.
IN EACH ONE OF THOSE CATEGORIES THAT YOU'RE ASKING, ASKING ABOUT.
UM, THE OTHER QUESTION I HAVE IS HOW THE, HOW DOES THE SOFTWARE WORK AND MM-HMM.
SO THEY'RE REALLY READING AT A SECOND OR THIRD GRADE LEVEL.
THEY TURN, THEY OPEN UP THE SOFTWARE AND, AND TRY TO DO IT.
WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN? ARE THEY, DOES THE SOFTWARE, YOU KNOW, AFTER THE FIRST TIME THEY TAKE A QUIZ AND DON'T DO WELL, THE SOFTWARE DOES SOME KIND OF ASSESSMENT AND THEN STARTS THEM OFF WITH MATERIAL THAT'S AT A SECOND GRADE LEVEL THAT'S APPROPRIATE FOR WHERE THEY ARE OR HOW DOES THAT WORK? ABSOLUTELY.
SO THE, THE FIRST THING THEY'RE GONNA SEE IS A SET OF QUESTIONS.
THEY'RE LEVEL SET, RIGHT? AND BASED ON HOW THE ANSWERS SEE ME ADAPTIVE, IT'S GONNA MOVE WITH THAT STUDENT.
AND ONCE THAT TEST IS DONE, WHATEVER THAT SCORE IS, UH, IT'S GONNA EQUATE TO LEXI LEVEL AND THEY'LL GET WORK BASED ON THAT LEVEL.
AND THEN WHAT HAPPENS, MR. MARTIN IS TOWARDS THE END OF THE MONTH, OKAY, AFTER A MONTH HAS GONE BY, THEY'VE DONE ACTIVITIES.
IF THEY HAVE FOUR AT THAT 75% FIRST TRI SCORE, THEN IT'S GONNA MOVE THEM UP.
AND SO THE NEXT TIME THEY HAVE AN ARTICLE, YOU KNOW, THE NEXT MONTH, THEN IT'S GONNA BE AT THAT LEVEL.
IT CONTINUES TO INCREASE THEM AS THEY GO ALONG.
AND THERE ARE SUPPORTS IN THERE AS WELL FOR STUDENTS.
SO I HIGHLIGHTING VOCABULARY CHANGES THERE, HOW MANY LANGUAGES? AND I DON'T EVEN REMEMBER, UH, AT THIS POINT THAT THEY CAN CHANGE IT TO, YOU KNOW, IT, IT WORKS FOR EVERY STUDENT.
AND SO THEN IS THE STUDENT THOUGH, LET'S SAY AGAIN THE STUDENT THAT'S FIFTH GRADER, THAT'S MM-HMM.
CUZ I THINK WHAT I HEARD YOU TALK ABOUT WAS THE, THE, THE SOFTWARE IS DESIGNED TO PULL, YOU KNOW, SO THAT THEY'RE ALL, THAT THEY'RE AT THE SAME TIME THEY'RE LEARNING TO READ, THEY'RE, THEY'RE GETTING IMMERSED IN THEIR SOCIAL STUDIES YES.
IS IT GIVING THEM, UH, THE SAME KIND OF, UM, SOCIAL STUDIES MATERIAL? ARE THEY LEARNING JUST A SIMPLER LANGUAGE? ARE THEY LEARNING SIMPLER LANGUAGE SA OR, OR RIE TUBMAN OR WHOMEVER? ABSOLUTELY.
AT A SECOND GRADE LANGUAGE LEVEL INSTEAD OF A KID AT THEIR LEVEL BECAUSE, UH, OUR TIER ONES, OKAY, SO YOU'RE GUIDE BOOKS, PIERCING, THOSE KIND OF THINGS, THOSE ARE DESIGNED FOR STUDENTS WHO ARE ON LEVEL.
THERE ARE SOME SUPPORTS IN THERE, OF COURSE.
UH, BUT THIS SUPPLEMENTS THAT, SO IF YOU'RE DOING AN ARTICLE, YOU'RE DOING SOMETHING ON THE CIVIL WAR, RIGHT? AND THE STUDENTS CAN'T REALLY GRASP IT IN ITS ORIGINAL TEXT, THEN YOU CAN LOOK INSIDE OF ACHIEVE AND MOST OF THOSE ARTICLES WILL BE ALREADY PULLED AND THE STUDENT CAN READ THAT INFORMATION AND BUILD BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE, WHICH IS SUPER IMPORTANT TO COMPREHENSION, SO THAT WHEN A DISCUSSION IS GOING ON IN THE CLASSROOM, THEY CAN PARTICIPATE BECAUSE THEY HAVE THE INFO AND THE VOCABULARY ON THEIR LEVEL AS WELL.
I, I DO WANT TO ADD THAT I'M VERY EXCITED THAT THE
[01:05:01]
DISTRICT IS MOVING, YOU KNOW, SO STRONGLY IN, IN SUPPORT OF THE SCIENCE OF LITERACY.I THINK THAT'S REALLY ESSENTIAL.
UM, A LOT OF KIDS HAVE BEEN HURT BY NOT DOING THAT OVER THE, THE PAST COUPLE DECADES.
SO I'M VERY EXCITED ABOUT THAT.
AND I DO RECOGNIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF, OF, OF PICKING SOMETHING AND STICKING WITH IT FOR A WHILE.
UM, YOU KNOW, EVEN IF IT'S NOT IDEAL, EVEN IF SOME PEOPLE HAVE ISSUES WITH IT.
SO I I, I CERTAINLY UNDERSTAND WHERE THE ADMINISTRATION IS COMING FROM ON THIS.
THIS IS ABSOLUTELY, THIS IS VERY MUCH OF THE DATA THAT I WANTED TO SEE.
UM, I JUST WANTED TO BACKTRACK JUST A LITTLE BIT ABOUT LEAP TEST.
AND SO THE DATA WE'RE LOOKING AT FOR THIS IS FOR THIS YEAR THAT JUST ENDED.
WE WILL NOT GET THOSE LEAP TESTS RESULTS UNTIL AUGUST, RIGHT? CORRECT.
AND SO, SO THE CORRELATION, OKAY, I KNOW WE CAN'T DO CAUSATION, BUT THE CORRELATION THAT WE CAN LOOK AT, WE DON'T HAVE THE DATA YET IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO SAY HOW WELL THIS WORKED FOR THIS, FOR THIS COMING TWO YEARS.
SO THESE GAINS ARE NOT REPRESENTED IN ANY DATA THAT WE HAVE YET FROM THE LEAP FOR THIS YEAR, FOR THIS SPRING.
SO JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE WERE CLEAR ON THAT.
UH, AND ALSO, YOU KNOW, THE LEAP TEST IS BASICALLY A ONE TIME OF YEAR KIND OF THING WHERE THE PURPOSE OF THESE TYPES OF PROGRAMS IS TO GIVE, UH, UH, WEEKLY, MONTHLY, MM-HMM.
CUZ THE YEAR, YOU KNOW, THE KID, THE YEAR IS ALREADY ENDED AND IT'S SIX MONTHS LATER AND YOU GET THE DATA AND THEN WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO WITH IT? RIGHT.
UH, ALSO IN THE EXPERIENCE, HOW LONG, BECAUSE READING AND COMPREHENSION ARE NOT THINGS THAT ARE BUILT OVERNIGHT.
IT TAKES MULTIPLE YEARS, UH, TO GET IN THERE.
HOW LONG DOES IT GENERALLY TAKE TO IMPLEMENT A PROGRAM SUCH AS THIS TO REALLY SEE THE FULL FRUITS OF IT FLOWING THROUGH? I, IN MY EXPERIENCE, AT LEAST THREE OR FOUR YEARS, UM, RESEARCH JUST ON CHANGING READING LEVELS, YOU KNOW, UM, IT WOULD TAKE IN A PERFECT WORLD WHERE EVERYTHING WAS RIGHT AND YOU HAD A GREAT TEACHER AND YOU HAD ALL THE RIGHT TOOLS AND STUDENTS WERE GETTING SMALL GROUPS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
IF THEY WERE BELOW LEVEL, IT WOULD STILL TAKE ABOUT TWO YEARS FOR THEM TO GET ON LEVEL.
THAT'S WHEN EVERYTHING IS PERFECT AND WE KNOW NOT EVERYTHING IS PERFECT.
SO, SO IF WE ARE GONNA BE, YOU KNOW, CALCULATING A RETURN ON INVESTMENT MM-HMM.
BEFORE WE HAVE ENOUGH DATA TO DO THAT.
MY OTHER QUESTION AND, AND I WANT TO ASK THIS WITH A REAL SENSE OF, UH, I DON'T KNOW, I'M JUST ASK IT, I'M TRYING TO, I WANT TO BE VERY TACTFUL IN HOW I ASK IT SO THAT I'M NOT TRYING TO THROW ROCKS AT ANYONE.
WE HEAR A LOT OF ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE MM-HMM.
AND I JUST WANT TO GO BACK TO THE, IN THE ISSUE OF LOW LITERACY RATES IS NOT SOMETHING NEW FOR THIS DISTRICT.
IT'S BEEN THERE FOR A LONG TIME.
AND SO WHILE I ADMIT WE MAY HAVE SOME VERY GOOD TEACHERS THAT HAVE BEEN DOING AN EXCELLENT JOB, THAT HAS NOT BEEN OUR ACROSS THE BOARD RESULT MM-HMM.
UH, BECAUSE I REALLY ADMIRE THE HARD WORK AND THINGS THAT OUR TEACHERS DO.
YOU, WE ALSO TALKED A LOT ABOUT THE HIGH FIDELITY USAGE MM-HMM.
WILL WE HAVE THE DATA TO BUILD? CUZ I ALSO LIKE MR. MARTIN, THIS IS A LITTLE BIT SELF-SELECTING.
I UNDERSTAND THAT, BUT IT'S ALSO, I THINK IT'D BE INTERESTING TO SEE IF THERE'S ANY DATA THAT WE HAVE ON A CLASSROOM LEVEL MM-HMM.
THIS CLASSROOM DIDN'T, THIS CLASS SHOWED THIS AMOUNT OF LEAP IMPROVEMENT.
WILL WE BE ABLE TO HAVE THAT DATA? ABSOLUTELY.
THAT GETS US BEYOND SOME OF THE ANECDOTAL TYPE OF EVIDENCE YEAH.
TO REAL DATA THAT WE CAN LOOK AT.
WE'VE CELEBRATED THAT ACROSS THE DISTRICT FOR TWO YEARS.
LIKE DONE AWARDS AND CLASSROOMS THAT HAVE, UH, EXCELLED AND BEEN KIND OF THE MODEL CLASSROOM IN THAT SCHOOL WHERE TEACHERS ARE JUST ROCK STARS AND DOING WHAT THEY DO.
UH, CERTAIN CAMPUSES, WE'VE DONE THAT ALL ACROSS THE DISTRICT FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS.
SO YES, THAT IS, UH, THAT IS AVAILABLE.
BECAUSE CUZ WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IS US TO GET REALLY DATA DRIVEN MM-HMM.
[01:10:01]
JUST, AND THERE'S NO ONE PROGRAM THAT'S GONNA MATCH EVERY TEACHER'S DESIRES AND CAPABILITIES AND TALENTS.YOU KNOW, SOME TEACHERS MIGHT DO BETTER WITHOUT IT, BUT MOST TEACHERS WON'T.
UH, AND SO I'M TRYING TO FOCUS ON THE STUDENTS.
I'M REALLY TRYING TO FOCUS ON THE STUDENTS.
SO AS WE COME INTO THIS, I'D BE VERY INTERESTED TO SEE THE CORRELATION BETWEEN FIDELITY OF USE AND IMPROVEMENT IN LEAP MM-HMM.
THANK YOU FOR ALL THE HARD WORK YOU'RE DOING.
AND I WANNA THANK ALL I KNOW THIS IS DIFFICULT FOR MANY, MANY, MANY OF OUR TEACHERS.
UH, IT'S A CHANGE, BUT WE'VE GONE YEARS AND YEARS AND YEARS WITH LOW SCORES AND IF WE DON'T CHANGE, WE AREN'T GONNA MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE, YOU KNOW, THE OLD DEFINITION OF INSANITY.
AND SO, UH, I REALLY APPRECIATE HOW DIFFICULT IT IS TO IMPLEMENT NEW WAYS OF TEACHING, HOW DIFFICULT IT IS TO IMPLEMENT NEW TOOLS IN YOUR TEACHING AND THOSE SORTS OF THINGS.
AND I JUST WANT TO APPLAUD ALL OF OUR FACULTY THAT HAVE TAKEN THE TIME AND EFFORT TO PUT, TO TRY TO PUSH THIS THROUGH, BECAUSE AT THE END, I REALLY THINK THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE NEED FOR OUR KIDS.
UM, I HAVE KIND OF FURTHER OR SIMILAR QUESTIONS ABOUT THE HIGH FIDELITY MM-HMM.
MOST OF THE, THE DATA IN THE PRESENTATION WAS IN THAT GROUP.
AND YOU'RE TELLING ME THAT THESE ARE THE STUDENT NUMBERS HERE? YES.
SO LOOKING AT IT QUICKLY, UH, I DON'T HAVE MY GLASSES ON, BUT IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S ABOUT 10 PERSON IN ALL THE GROUPS.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE WOULD, SO WOULD, WOULD I BE, WOULD I BE CORRECT AND BALLPARK? ABOUT 10% WOULD BE THE GROUP THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT SUPER HIGH FIDELITY.
SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE BLUE ONE AND THEN THE ORANGE ONE, THAT'S ANY USAGE, SO ACTUAL USAGE AND THEN USAGE OF AT LEAST ONE ARTICLE.
AND THEN YOU CAN ADD THAT TO HIGH FIDELITY, BUT JUST HIGH FIDELITY.
SO CAN I REQUEST THAT YOU COME BACK AND GIVE US ANOTHER PRESENTATION OUTSIDE OF THE HIGH FIDELITY USAGE? BECAUSE IF THAT, THOSE 10% OF KIDS ARE, FROM WHAT I GATHER, ARE KIDS THAT ALREADY KNOW HOW TO READ, NOT NECESSARILY WELL, IF, IF THEY GOT 75% ON THEIR FIRST TRY, THEY'RE DOING OKAY.
SO WE'RE MORE CONCERNED WITH THE KIDS WHO CAN'T READ MM-HMM.
SO THAT WOULD BE THE LOWER 90%.
WELL, THEY'RE NOT LEFT OUT MS. KINISON.
WELL, IT'S THE OTHER, UH, BARS HERE.
BUT MAYBE NOT SHOWCASED IN THE SAME WAY.
UM, CAN I ASK YOU TO, TO BRING ANOTHER PRESENTATION WITH THE LOWER, LIKE MAYBE THE LOWER THIRD OF, OF USAGE OR, OR SCORING.
AND THEN, UM, A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS AND JUST HOW MM-HMM.
IS IT UHHUH EVERY DAY? UM, HOW, HOW, HOW MUCH OF, UH, HOW, HOW MUCH INSTRUCTIONAL TIME IS BEING USED ON, ON A CHEAP, LIKE, EASIEST QUESTION ALL NIGHT? SO
SO EACH CAMPUS DID THEIR OWN IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.
SO SOME CAMPUSES, UH, OPTED TO USE IT AS A BELL RINGER.
SO THEY'LL START THE LESSON WITH THAT TO INTRODUCE IT.
SOME, SOME CAMPUSES HAVE IT BUILT IN AS AN INTERVENTION TIME.
SO WHERE THE TEACHER WOULD BE MEETING, YOU KNOW, WITH A SMALL GROUP OR DOING ROTATIONS, THEY USE IT THERE.
OTHERS, OTHER CAMPUSES ARE USING IT EMBEDDED WITHIN THE TIME THAT THEY'RE USING FOR, UH, ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS.
AND I THINK THAT'S THE WHAT, 90 MINUTE BLOCK STILL YET ON MOST CAMPUSES.
SO THEY USE RIGHT, THEY HOW MUCH? YEAH, ABOUT 90 MINUTES.
SO THEY'RE GONNA USE A PORTION OF THAT TIME TO, UH, EMBED THE ARTICLE THAT GOES ALONG WITH WHATEVER THEY'RE TEACHING ON CAMPUS.
UM, SOME OF THE, THE, THE, THE KIDS THAT I TALKED TO ABOUT IT SAID THEY WERE ABOUT 30 MINUTES A DAY MM-HMM.
IS THERE ANYTHING BEYOND, LIKE, WHAT HAPPENS BEYOND THAT? LIKE WRITING? THERE'S A, A WRITING CENTER EMBEDDED AND THERE'S A QUESTION, UH, IN EACH ARTICLE WITH THE FIVE STEP ARTICLES WITH THE TEXT, THEY CAN GO IN AND ACTUALLY DO THE WRITING.
THE TEACHER GOES BACK AND GRADES THAT.
UM, IT JUST ALL DEPENDS ON THE CAMPUS AS TO HOW THEY USE IT.
AND YOU SAID THAT IT'S ON AN INDIVIDUAL, UH, BASIS AS FAR AS KID TO KID.
SO THERE COULD BE MULTIPLE KIDS IN THE SAME CLASSROOM WHO ARE DOING DIFFERENT EXERCISES.
SO THERE CHANCES ARE THAT THE TEACHER IS NOT GIVING REALTIME FEEDBACK?
[01:15:02]
WELL, IT DEPENDS ON THE TEACHER.LIKE, AND ON CAMPUSES WHERE IT'S RUNNING WELL, EXPERT CAMPUSES, THOSE WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THERE, UH, THEY ARE INVOLVED.
THE TEACHER IS FACILITATING FROM THE FRONT OF THE CLASS BECAUSE THE TEACHER CAN CHANGE, YOU KNOW, THE LEXILE LEVEL TO MAKE IT WHERE IT PROJECTS TO EVERYONE.
I GUESS FROM, FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND IT IS, IT IS SUPPLEMENTAL AND, UH, FOR KIDS THAT ARE DOING 75% OR BETTER AT READING THE IT, THEY'RE ALSO SUCCEEDING AT THIS, BUT NOT NECESSARILY LIKE THE, THE CAUSATION CORRELATION THING IS SOMETHING TO, TO LOOK AT.
AND THE, THE DATA, THIS IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF HOW WE CAN MAKE SOMETHING LOOK GOOD DEPENDING ON WHAT DATA SETS WE USE.
AND DEPENDING ON WHAT, UM,
UM, IT MAY LOOK VERY DIFFERENT IF WE LOOK AT THE, THE NOT HIGH FIDELITY GROUPING.
BUT, UM, IF I CAN JUST MAY PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME FOR THE RECORD.
TIFFANY GLASSBERG, THE CHIEF 3000.
UM, IF I COULD JUST KIND OF GO BACK TO THAT, THIS DATA DOES ACTUALLY REPRESENT ALL OF YOUR STUDENTS.
AND SO THAT FIRST BLUE BAR TO THE LEFT OF EACH ONE IS JUST EXPECTED GROWTH OF ALL STUDENTS, RIGHT? EVERY BAR AFTER THAT KIND OF BREAKS DOWN BASED ON QUALITY AND USAGE.
WE KNOW THOSE TWO THINGS ACTUALLY HELP WITH THE, UM, FIDELITY OF THE IMPLEMENTATION.
SO IF YOU LOOK AT THOSE BARS WHEN YOU GET TO, UM, THE FIRST ONE IS JUST STUDENTS LOGGING ON, LOGGING ON, BUT NOT CONSISTENTLY LOGGING ON.
THE NEXT ONE IS STUDENTS WHO MAY, UM, WHEN THEY LOG ON, THEY HAVE GREAT QUALITY, BUT THEY DON'T CONSISTENTLY GO IN AND HAVE GREAT QUALITY.
AND THEN THE, THE LAST FOUR BARS PUT THAT TOGETHER, RIGHT? ONE ACTIVITY A WEEK AT 65% ARE HIGHER.
ONE ACTIVITY A WEEK AT 75% ARE HIGHER.
SO ACTUALLY THE LAST FOUR BARS, IN MOST CASES, STUDENTS ARE EXCEEDING EXPECTED GROWTH.
THESE ARE NOT ONLY STUDENTS WHO ARE LOW PERFORMING STUDENTS, THE PROGRAM ACTUALLY IS AT THEIR LEXILE LEVEL.
SO IF A STUDENT IS THREE GRADE LEVELS BEHIND, THEY'RE GETTING THE RIGOR WHERE THEY NEED IT.
THE BEAUTY OF ACHIEVE IS THAT AS A TEACHER, I CAN HAVE STUDENTS, AND WE KNOW THIS IS REAL ON 20 DIFFERENT LEXILE LEVELS, I HAVE 20 DIFFERENT STUDENTS IN MY CLASS.
THE BEAUTY OF ACHIEVE IS I CAN PUSH OUT THE SAME LESSON AT ALL OF THESE LEXILE LEVELS.
THERE ARE GUIDED SCAFFOLDS FOR TEACHERS TO KNOW HOW TO STILL MONITOR THESE STUDENTS.
SO WE'RE ALSO BUILDING TEACHER CAPACITY.
HOW DO I REACH ALL OF MY STUDENTS? HOW DO I NOT JUST ADDRESS MY HIGH PERFORMING STUDENTS? HOW DO I NOT ONLY FOCUS ON MY VERY LOW STUDENTS? HOW DO I REACH ALL OF MY STUDENTS AT THE SAME TIME? HOW DO I PULL MY SMALL GROUP FOR INSTRUCTION AS WELL? SO ALL OF THE STUDENTS ARE ACTUALLY REPRESENTED IN THIS DATA.
UM, THANK YOU FOR YOUR, FOR YOUR ANSWERS.
I'M GONNA JUST, I'D LIKE TO JUST ECHO WHAT, UH, COACH LEWIS SAID AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS CONVERSATION ABOUT A, A GOOD TEACHER IS GOING TO DO THE BEST AT, AT HELPING A KID LEARN HOW TO READ.
SO THAT'S, WE OF ANY PROGRAM, IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT IT IS, IS, IS NOT GONNA DO JUSTICE.
WHAT A ACTUAL GOOD TEACHER CAN DO FOR A KID.
AND, UM, JUST ON BEHALF OF SEVERAL TINY CONSTITUENTS I SPOKE TO ON THIS MATTER AS A REPRESENTATIVE FOR THEM, THIS IS A WASTE OF TIME.
WE WILL NOW MOVE TO THE NEXT PRESENTATION.
I THANK YOU MS. KOSKI AND ANNETTE.
AND THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE WITH YOU TONIGHT TO TALK ABOUT ANNETTE ASSESSMENT.
I APPRECIATED THE CONVERSATION BEFORE.
SO IF I COULD, I'M GONNA START WITH SOMETHING THAT I WASN'T PLANNING ON, STARTING WITH, AND YOU KNOW, HOW EDUCATE AS EDUCATORS, WE LIKE OUR BUZZWORDS, WE LIKE OUR ACRONYMS, RIGHT? UH, SO ANET IS AN ASSESSMENT COMPANY.
WELL, AS MY COLLEAGUE WILL EXPLAIN, THEY DO MORE THAN ASSESSMENTS.
BUT ONE OF THE ITEMS THAT WE PURCHASED FROM ANET ARE ASSESSMENTS.
AND IN ASSESSMENT WORLD, THERE ARE MULTIPLE FORMS OF ASSESSMENTS.
THE LEAP 2025, AS WE ALL JUST SPOKE ABOUT, IS A SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT.
FORGIVE THE ANALOGY, BUT AS EDUCATORS, WE OFTEN REFER TO IT AS AUTOPSY DATA BECAUSE AS YOU GUYS HAVE SAID, WE WON'T HAVE THAT DATA TO WRITE BEFORE SCHOOL STARTS.
RIGHT? AND THE KIDS TOOK IT EIGHT, SOME OF THEM TOOK IT IN APRIL.
SO WHAT WHAT WE AS EDUCATORS DO IS WE EMPLOY WHAT ARE CALLED FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS.
THOSE ARE ASSESSMENTS TO INFORM OUR INSTRUCTION, TO TAKE A TEMPERATURE CHECK ALONG THE WAY TO SEE HOW WE'RE DOING SO WE CAN INTERVENE AND MAKE MID-COURSE CORRECTIONS BEFORE THAT SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT AT THE END OF THE TERM.
[01:20:01]
THE MAJOR REASON WHY WE DO CONTRACT WITH ANET PERFORMATIVE ASSESS ASSESSMENTS.AND SO IN OUR ASSESSMENT PORTFOLIO, WE GIVE A DIAGNOSTIC IN THE FIRST 30 DAYS OF SCHOOL.
WE'LL GIVE AN INTERIM IN THE FALL IN OCTOBER, THEN WE'LL GIVE A WINTER ASSESSMENT WHEN WE COME BACK FROM CHRISTMAS BREAK IN JANUARY.
AND THEN WE'LL GIVE A FINAL ASSESSMENT IN EARLY MARCH.
SO WE STILL HAVE ABOUT 30 DAYS BEFORE THAT TESTING WINDOW.
WE LIKE TO THINK OF THOSE INTERIMS AS PIECES OF A PIE OR A PUZZLE.
THEY'RE ALIGNED TO OUR NINE WEEKS.
SO THEY COVER THE STANDARDS THAT WERE JUST TAUGHT DURING THOSE NINE WEEKS.
AND AS YOU CAN SEE TONIGHT, I BROUGHT A FRIEND AND I DO SAY FRIEND AND COLLEAGUE BECAUSE DR.
HOLLY FEARS IS OUR PARTNERSHIP MANAGER FOR ANET.
AND AS I HOPE SHE WILL EXPLAIN TO YOU AND GO INTO A LITTLE MORE DETAIL ABOUT HERSELF.
PRIOR TO HER ROLE WITH ANET, SHE WAS A SENIOR STAFF MEMBER AT ONE OF THE 10TH LARGEST SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN THE COUNTRY.
AND SO, AS SENIOR STAFF FOR AN URBAN SCHOOL DISTRICT, SHE IS ABLE TO SERVE NOT ONLY AS A CONSULTANT FOR OUR SCHOOLS AND OUR PRINCIPALS AND OUR TEACHERS, BUT ALSO TO COACH US AS DISTRICT STAFF, AS SOMEONE WHO HAS WALKED THROUGH THE, THE SHOES OF A CHIEF ACADEMIC OFFICER, OF A PRINCIPAL SUPERVISOR OF A LITERACY DIRECTOR, AND SO FORTH.
SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, I'M GONNA ASK YOU TO, UH, WELCOME DR.
HOLLY FEARS AND THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE TONIGHT.
TORN MENISCUS AND ALL SHE'S DEDICATED TO OUR TEAM.
AND ANDREA AND I ARE GONNA GO BACK AND FORTH WITH SOME OF THE SLIDES.
UM, BUT YES, I'M GOING TO HOLD ON TO THE NICE LITTLE PODIUM HERE ONLY FOR E B R.
WOULD I HAVE TRUCK COME THROUGH THE AIRPORT WITH CRUTCHES? UM, SO MY NAME IS HOLLY FEARS AND I HAVE BEEN WITH, UM, ANNETTE FOR ALMOST TWO YEARS.
PRIOR TO THAT, I WORKED FOR A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT, UM, NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS, TRAINING THROUGHOUT THE STATE OF LOUISIANA.
I'VE TRAINED FOR THE LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION.
UM, I ACTUALLY DID MOST OF THE CONTENT LEADER TRAINING FOR THE TEACHERS THAT ARE IN EBR R.
SO I HAVE BEEN WORKING IN E B R FOR ABOUT FOUR YEARS.
UM, AND WE ARE HAVING TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES.
SO, ANET OR ACHIEVEMENT NETWORK IS AN ORGANIZATION THAT STARTED ABOUT 15 YEARS AGO.
IT STARTED WITH THE MISSION OF IMPROVING INSTRUCTION THROUGH COACHING TEACHERS.
AND THEN THROUGH THAT PROCESS, THEY FOUND THAT TEACHERS WERE CREATING THEIR OWN ASSESSMENTS AS THEY WERE CREATING THEIR OWN ASSESSMENTS.
THEY WEREN'T ALWAYS ALIGNED TO THE STANDARDS.
AND WE KNOW THAT THE STANDARDS HAVE CHANGED OVER 15 YEARS, BUT EVEN BACK THEN, THEY WEREN'T ALIGNED TO THE STANDARDS BECAUSE AS A TEACHER, I'M NOT AN ASSESSMENT WRITER.
SO WHAT THEY DID WAS THEY HIRED ASSESSMENT WRITERS AND CREATED SELLING A INTERIM ASSESSMENTS.
THOSE ASSESSMENTS ARE NOT DESIGNED TO SAY, THIS STUDENT IS GOING TO SCORE THIS ON A STATE ASSESSMENT.
THEY'RE DESIGNED TO SAY, WHAT DOES THIS CHILD KNOW RIGHT NOW? AND WHAT DO THEY NEED TO KNOW IN RELATION TO THE STANDARDS? SO IT'S NOT A PREDICTOR.
THERE IS SOME CORRELATION THAT PROBABLY CAN BE MADE THAT WE COULD DO WHEN WE GET LEAP SCORES BACK.
BUT FOR OUR PURPOSES, WE'RE FOCUSED ON HOW ARE, HOW ARE THESE STUDENTS BEING MEASURED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE STANDARDS, WHICH IS WHAT WE'RE ACTUALLY MEASURING, WHICH IS WHAT LEAP IS ALSO MEASURING.
SO WE FOCUS ON EQUITY FOR ALL.
WE FOCUS ON COACHING TEACHERS, COACHING DISTRICT LEADERS, WORKING AS A THOUGHT PARTNER.
UM, I CAN'T TELL YOU HOW MANY TIMES I GET A PHONE CALL FROM DR.
NARCISS ARE FROM MS. KOSKI, AND THEY HAVE SOMETHING THAT THEY NEED AND WE FIGURE OUT HOW TO CREATE THAT SERVICE OR HOW TO CREATE THAT SUPPORT.
SO WE ARE WORKING ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
WE HAVE 31 SCHOOLS, UH, SCHOOL DISTRICTS OR INDEPENDENT CHARTERS JUST IN THE STATE OF LOUISIANA.
WE'VE ACTUALLY HAD A PARTNERSHIP FOR SEVERAL YEARS MAYBE.
UM, SO THIS SLIDE JUST KIND OF SHOWS THE TIMELINE OF THE PARTNERSHIP WITH EAST BATON ROUGE.
SO IN 2018 THAT, UM, E B R SAW THE OPPORTUNITY TO SUPPORT THE MOST, UH, STRUGGLING SCHOOLS AT THE TIME WITH COACHING.
AND SO THEY PARTNERED WITH ANNETTE THROUGH THE BREAKTHROUGH RESULTS GRANT TO PROVIDE COACHING TO A SELECT NUMBER OF SCHOOLS.
THAT COACHING WAS PROVIDED FOR FOUR YEARS.
RESEARCH WAS COLLECTED, AND WE SAW GREAT IMPROVEMENTS AND ACTUALLY WERE ABLE TO SHOWCASE, UH, PROGRESS ELEMENTARY AND I WANNA SAY PARK ELEMENTARY WERE THE TWO THAT WERE, THAT SHOWED THE MOST GROWTH, UM, OUT OF THAT GROUP.
THEN IN TWO, UH, 2021, THAT IS WHEN DR.
NARCISS REACHED OUT INTERESTED IN A UNIFORM OR A CONSISTENT ASSESSMENT ACROSS THE DISTRICT, SO WE COULD MEASURE FROM
[01:25:01]
SCHOOL TO SCHOOL HOW STUDENTS WERE PERFORMING IN RELATION TO THOSE STANDARDS ON A CONSISTENT, IN A CONSISTENT WAY.AND SO THAT'S WHEN WE STARTED WITH IMPLEMENT, UH, ASSESSMENT IMPLEMENTATION ACROSS THE DISTRICT.
AND WE SUPPORTED THE DISTRICT LEADERS IN WHAT THAT ASSESSMENT LOOKED LIKE AND HOW TO ANALYZE THAT DATA.
WE SUPPORTED, UH, THE SCHOOL BA THE SCHOOLS AND THEIR TEAMS THROUGH A DATA AND ASSESSMENT COORDINATOR AT EACH SITE, AS WELL AS PROVIDING INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP TEAMS WITH PROFESSIONAL LEARNING AND HOW TO ANALYZE THE DATA.
AND SO, OVER THE COURSE OF THE YEARS, WE HAVE, I MEAN, WE HAVE A HUNDRED PERCENT OF OUR SCHOOLS IN E B R THAT ARE PARTICIPATING.
WE ALSO HAVE CHARTERS THAT ARE, THAT CAN OPT IN TO USE OUR ASSESSMENTS AS WELL.
UM, WE CONTINUE TO SUPPORT DISTRICT LEADERS WITH LOOKING AT THE DATA, PULLING OUT THE HIGHEST LEVEL, UM, THEMES, LOOKING FOR PATTERNS.
SOME OF THOSE PATTERNS ALSO SHOW UP IN LEAP DATA WHENEVER THEY CAME OUT LAST YEAR.
UM, AND SO LOOKING AT WHERE, WHERE DO WE NEED TO DIG A LITTLE BIT FURTHER? WHERE DO WE NEED TO ASK MORE QUESTIONS? WHAT ARE THE QUESTIONS THAT WE NEED TO ASK AND HOW CAN WE DO THAT? SO THAT KIND OF WALKS US THROUGH THE, UM, PROCESS THAT WE HAVE GONE THROUGH OR THE TIMELINE THAT WE'VE GONE THROUGH JUST WITH OUR PARTNERSHIP AS A WHOLE GOING INTO NEXT YEAR, LOOKING AT IMPLEMENTING THE ASSESSMENTS ACROSS THE BOARD AND THEN CONTINUING TO SUPPORT THE DISTRICT LEADERSHIP TEAM WITH THAT DATA ANALYSIS.
THIS ONE, AGAIN, IS JUST YOUR DISTRICT DEMOGRAPHIC DATA.
LOOKING AT, UM, THE PERCENTAGES WITHIN EACH OF THOSE CATEGORIES, BECAUSE WE'LL BE LOOKING AT THOSE IN JUST A LITTLE WHILE.
FEARS NOTED, WE WANTED TO JUST DO A REMINDER OF THE DEMOGRAPHIC, UH, DATA FOR THE SCHOOL SYSTEM, BECAUSE WHEN WE START LOOKING AT SUBGROUP DATA, IT'S IMPORTANT TO, UH, FOCUS ON AND REMEMBER WHO EXACTLY WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
NOW, IN ALL FRANKNESS, IT'S A CHALLENGE TO GIVE ANDREA AND HOLLY AN ASSIGNMENT WITH 10 SLIDES IN 10 MINUTES.
SO WE'RE GONNA DO OUR, OUR BEST HERE.
MY, MY BOSS IS, IS GIVING ME THE EYE.
UH, WE'RE GONNA DO OUR BEST HERE TO, TO BE CONCISE.
BUT WHAT WE WANTED TO DO IS GIVE YOU A SNAPSHOT OF THE DIFFERENT WAYS THAT WE LOOK AT DATA AND THE DIFFERENT WAYS THAT DATA CAN TELL US A STORY TO INFORM OUR INSTRUCTION.
SO THE FIRST PIECE THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT IS ELA ASSESSMENT DATA RESULTS.
YOU ALWAYS KNOW IT COMES FROM THE ANET PLATFORM DIRECTLY WHEN YOU SEE THAT LOVELY COLOR SCHEME OF, UH, I, I LIVED AT BEL AIR FOR 10 AND A HALF YEARS, SO I LOVE THE ORANGE.
ORANGE AND GRAY IS TYPICALLY HOW YOU SEE THE ANNETTE DATA REPORTS.
THE GRAY BAR IS GOING TO REPRESENT YEAR ONE OF IMPLEMENTATION.
THE ORANGE BAR IS GOING TO REPRESENT YEAR TWO OF IMPLEMENTATION.
OFTENTIMES WE LOOK AT THIRD GRADE ONE YEAR TO THIRD GRADE ANOTHER YEAR, RIGHT? BUT WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT HERE IS, I WAS IN THIRD GRADE LAST YEAR, AND NOW THIS YEAR I'M IN FOURTH GRADE.
I'D LIKE TO CALL YOUR ATTENTION TO SEVENTH, THE TRANSITION BETWEEN SEVENTH GRADE AND EIGHTH GRADE LAST YEAR IN THIS VERY ROOM, IN ABOUT JANUARY OR FEBRUARY, THIS LADY TO THE LEFT OF ME TOLD OUR CABINET, I THINK YOU GUYS HAVE AN ISSUE WITH SEVENTH GRADE ELA.
AND SHE SAID, ONE OF THE BENEFITS THAT WE GET WITH THE ANETTE PARTNERSHIP IS SHE HAS ACCESS TO THEIR NETWORK DATA.
AND SO THAT SHE CAN SEE WHAT OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICTS WHO ARE TAKING THE SAME ASSESSMENT THAT WE'RE TAKING, HOW THEIR KIDS ARE DOING.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE SHOULD HAVE SAID IN THE BEGINNING IS WE SELECT AN ASSESSMENT FROM THEIR PORTFOLIO OF ASSESSMENTS BASED ON OUR CURRICULUM VENDOR FOR USING EUREKA MATH.
WE GIVE THE EUREKA MATH ASSESSMENT.
IF A SCHOOL FOR OUR, SOME OF OUR MAGNET HIGH SCHOOLS ARE USING A, A MORE ADVANCED CURRICULUM, WE'RE PULLING THAT ASSESSMENT AND THAT'S THE ASSESSMENT THAT WE'RE MATCHING THEM WITH.
SO WHEN WE LOOKED AT THE SEVENTH GRADE LAST YEAR, THEN THE NEXT INTERIM CAME IN AND WE STILL SAW THAT IT WAS SOMETHING WAS OFF.
WHEN I PRESENTED THE LEAP DATA LAST YEAR IN THIS ROOM.
NOW TWO OR THREE WEEKS, WE'RE GONNA SEE WHAT HAPPENS.
BUT IF YOU LOOK AT THIS RIGHT NOW, THOSE STUDENTS WHO ARE NOW IN EIGHTH GRADE HAVE RECAP, HAVE REGAINED SOME OF THAT GAP.
NOW, THIS IS FULL TRANSPARENCY.
NOT EVERY GRADE LEVEL HAS DONE THAT AS YOU CAN SEE.
BUT THIS IS ONE OF THE WAYS THAT WE LOOK AT OUR ANET DATA SO THAT WE CAN INTERVENE EARLY ON.
WE LOOK AT IT THIS WAY AFTER EACH ASSESSMENT CYCLE, WHAT YOU'RE SEEING RIGHT NOW IS PERCENT CORRECT FOR THE SUM TOTAL OF THE WHOLE SCHOOL YEAR.
SO WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT THE SAME VIEW AND MATH.
AND AGAIN, IF YOU FOCUS ON THAT SEVENTH TO EIGHTH GRADE, THERE WAS SOMETHING GOING ON WITH SEVENTH GRADE LAST YEAR,
[01:30:01]
YOU CAN SEE A DIFFERENCE.ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE TOOK THE SUMMER TO DO THIS YEAR WAS THE HELP OF THE ACADEMICS TEAM AND THE CURRICULUM TEAM IS TO LOOK AT THE STANDARDS OF CERTAIN GRADE LEVELS IN MATH WITH THE ANET TEAM AND A COUPLE OF TEAMS CALLS WITH MASSIVE EXCEL SPREADSHEETS IN FRONT OF US.
AND SOME FOLKS WAY SMARTER THAN I AM, WHO, WHO KNOW HOW TO BREAK DOWN MATH STANDARDS WHO ARE EMPLOYED BY THIS DISTRICT.
WE WERE ABLE TO LOOK AT THE ITEMS ON THE ASSESSMENT TO FIGURE OUT WHERE GAPS WERE BECAUSE OF THEIR REPORTING, WE'RE ABLE TO DO SOME STANDARDS AND ITEM ANALYSIS ON OUR DATA FROM LAST YEAR.
SO AS WE GO TO SELECT THE, UM, THE ASSESSMENT FOR THIS YEAR AND TO LOOK AT THE CONSTRUCTIVE RESPONSE AND TO LOOK AT HOW IT'S PRESENTED TO STUDENTS, WE'RE IN A BETTER PLACE TO SUPPORT OUR TEACHERS AND OUR STAFF.
SO WE'RE GONNA SWITCH FOCUS HERE FOR A MINUTE AND WE'RE GONNA GO BACK TO ELA.
AND THIS IS BY MAJOR SUBGROUP.
AND I WANNA THANK THE ANET TEAM FOR THIS BECAUSE THE WAY THAT IT, THIS ONE, THIS SLIDE IS STRUCTURED IS THE LIGHTER SHADES OF THE COLOR ARE THE PREVIOUS YEAR.
THE BOULDER SHADES ARE THE CURRENT YEAR.
AND SO IN THE BLUE FAMILY YOU'LL SEE ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS.
AND THEN IN THE GREEN FAMILY YOU'LL SEE ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED ARE STUDENTS WHO ARE ON FREE AND REDUCED LUNCH.
AND YOU'LL NOTICE THAT THIS PERCENTAGE IS AGAIN, THE PERCENT CORRECT ROLLED UP FOR THE SUM TOTAL OF ASSESSMENTS FOR THIS, UH, MOST RECENT SCHOOL YEAR.
I WILL SAY THAT WHEN WE LOOKED AT OUR LEAP DATA LAST YEAR, UH, WE EMPLOY A PHD STATISTICIAN WHO IS OUR DATA ANALYST ON STAFF.
I THINK HE MIGHT HAVE TAUGHT SOME PEOPLE IN HERE IN UH, UH, HIGH SCHOOL MATH.
EARL TELLS US THAT AS, UH, DR.
FEARS ALLUDED TO ONE YEAR DOESN'T MAKE A TREND, BUT IT SHOWS A PATTERN.
AND SO BOTH ACHIEVE AND A NET HAVE ENTERED INTO A DATA SHARING AGREEMENT WITH US AS WE CONTINUE ON THIS JOURNEY WITH THEM IN YEARS TWO AND THEN YEAR THREE SO THAT WE CAN START TO SEE THOSE TRENDS AND THOSE PATTERNS.
SO WE ARE STARTING TO SEE, WE MET TODAY WITH EDS TO FORECAST FOR NEXT YEAR, AND WE ARE STARTING TO SEE SOME PATTERNS.
SO WE LOOK FORWARD TO LEAP SCORES IN THE NEXT COUPLE WEEKS.
SO YOU'LL HAVE THIS CHART WHEN I COME BACK BEFORE YOU AND SHOW GRADE LEVELS OF LEAP, AND WE CAN SEE IF WE SEE THOSE PATTERNS TOGETHER ON THE NEXT ONE IS A SIMILAR SLIDE FOR MATH ASSESSMENT.
AGAIN, YOUR, UH, BLUE FAMILY OF SHADE IS THE, UH, ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS.
THE GREEN IS ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED.
THE LIGHTER TONE IS THE PREVIOUS YEAR.
THE GREEN IS THE MOST CURRENT YEAR.
ANOTHER LENS THAT WE LOOK AT ARE OUR DEMOGRAPHICS.
I KNOW THAT THIS IS A, UH, A COLORFUL AND BUSY SLIDE, BUT WE JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU A SNAPSHOT.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT ANNETTE DOES IS WHEN DR.
FEARS VISITS WITH US QUARTERLY, SHE BRINGS A ROBUST DECK LIKE THIS PER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR REGION.
SO EACH EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR GETS A SET OF SLIDES DRILLED DOWN OF THEIR COHORT AT NOT ONLY GRADE LEVEL TO GRADE LEVEL OR LAST YEAR TO CURRENT YEAR, BUT ALSO DOWN TO STUDENT DEMOGRAPHIC GROUPS AND OTHER MAJOR SUBGROUPS.
UH, WILL POINT OUT THAT IN LAST YEAR'S DATA, WHAT WE SAW WAS THAT OUR AFRICAN AMERICAN SUBGROUPS DID OUTPERFORM THEIR PEERS STATEWIDE.
SO, YOU KNOW, THERE'S NOT OFTENTIMES WHERE AN E B R SUBGROUP HAS A HIGHER AVERAGE THAN THE STATEWIDE AVERAGE.
THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE SAW.
WE ALSO SAW OUR ASIAN SUBGROUP OUTPERFORMING THEIR STATEWIDE PEERS.
UH, IN THE FIRST YEAR OF IMPLEMENTATION OF ANET, WE SAW PLUS TWO GAINS ACROSS ALL GRADE LEVELS AND SUBJECTS AND ELA.
WE SAW PLUS TWO AT THE HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL IN MATH.
AND THEN FOR THREE EIGHT, WE SAW PLUS THREE PERCENTAGE GAINS OVERALL IN MATH IN YEAR ONE OF IMPLEMENTATION.
HERE'S YOUR MATH DATA BROKEN DOWN BY SUBGROUPS.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UH, I APPRECIATE ABOUT ANET IS WE'RE WE DON'T JUST GET THE OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT QUANTITATIVE DATA.
WE ALSO HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO DISCUSS AND DIG INTO QUALITATIVE DATA.
IF YOU ARE A TEACHER OR AN ADMINISTRATOR ON THEIR PLATFORM, IT'S NOT UNUSUAL FOR OUR POP-UP TO COME TO SAY, HEY, WILL YOU TAKE SOME TIME AND ANSWER SOME QUESTIONS AFTER EVERY PRESENTATION THEY GIVE.
AND THIS YEAR THEY DID FOUR QUARTERLY ONES FOR EVERY SCHOOL'S INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP TEAM, AS WELL AS THREE OR FOUR FOR OUR DISTRICT SUPPORT LEADERSHIP TEAM THAT MEETS ON, UM, CABINET AND THEN AGAIN ON FRIDAYS.
AND SO THEY GIVE US SURVEYS, THEY GIVE US EVALUATIONS.
FEARS AND I WERE ABLE TO PULL A FEW ITEMS HERE THAT SHOWS YOU HOW THE RESPONDENTS FELT ABOUT THEIR SESSION.
I BELIEVE THE DATA THAT YOU GAVE ME FOR THIS IS ALL FROM THIS SEMESTER.
[01:35:01]
AGREED, OR STRONGLY AGREED THAT THEY COULD IMMEDIATELY APPLY THE SESSIONS LEARNINGS AFTER EACH ASSESSMENT CYCLE.THE PRINCIPAL CAME IN WITH PLUS TWO OR PLUS THREE GUESTS ON THEIR INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP TEAM.
THE ANET CONSULTANTS MODELED THROUGH DISTRICT DATA FOR THEM HOW TO PULL AND ANALYZE THEIR DATA, GAVE THEM A TURNKEY ELECTRONIC FOLDER OF PROTOCOLS.
THEY COULD THEN TAKE BACK TO THE SCHOOL LEVEL PLCS AND, AND REDELIVER AND, AND PERFORM IT OUT AT THE SCHOOL LEVEL.
97% OF SCHOOL LEADERS AGREED OR STRONGLY AGREE THAT THE SESSION IMPROVED THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF ANET.
AND 98% AGREED OR STRONGLY AGREE THAT THE FACILITATOR SUPPORTED THEIR LEARNING OF THE INTERSECTION OF CONTENT AND EQUITABLE INSTRUCTION.
CONTENT IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVEN'T SPOKEN ABOUT, BUT WE'D BE HAPPY TO.
ANET IS NOT JUST AN ASSESSMENT PLATFORM.
WE SEE OVER 90% USAGE AND ENGAGEMENT ON THE ASSESSMENT AND DATA REPORTING SIDE, BUT THERE'S ANOTHER ARM OF IT.
THE OTHER ARM IS THE INSTRUCTIONAL ARM.
IF I AM A TEACHER AND MY STUDENTS HAVE STRUGGLED WITH A STANDARD, I CAN GO INTO THAT INSTRUCTIONAL TOOLBOX.
I CAN USE THEIR QUIZ TOOL TO DEVELOP MY OWN LITTLE MINI TEST OR MINI QUIZ TO DO AN EXIT TICKET OR TO GO BACK AND RETEACH AND REASSESS THAT PARTICULAR STANDARD.
I HAVE A, UM, A WEALTH OF TOOLS THERE THAT I CAN DRAW FROM TO SUPPORT INSTRUCTION MOVING FORWARD.
SO I'M GONNA PAUSE THERE TO SEE IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS BECAUSE AS I SAID, 10 SLIDES AND 10 MINUTES, I'M SURE I'M OVER 10 MINUTES NOW.
UM, BUT WE'LL BE HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.
FIRST IN THE QUEUE, WE HAVE SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER CLIFF LEWIS.
THE, UH, THE ASSESSMENTS WERE GREAT, BUT I'M LOOKING AT SLIDE NINE.
AND THIRD, FOURTH, FIFTH GRADE.
AFRICAN AMERICAN, I'M SORRY, THIRD, FOURTH, AND FIFTH GRADE.
AFRICAN AMERICAN CHILDREN SEEM TO FAREWELL.
SIXTH, SEVENTH, EIGHTH, NINTH.
I MEAN, I KNOW IT WOULD ALL BE THEORY.
CAN YOU TELL ME MAYBE WHY OR HAS ANY, HAS ANYTHING SHOWN UP IN YOUR ASSESSMENTS AND YOUR DATAS? SO WHEN WE LOOK AT THE DISCREPANCY AND THE GAP BETWEEN HISPANIC AND, UH, BLACK CHILDREN AND THE ASIAN AND THE WHITE CHILDREN, IT MIMICS WHAT WE SEE ON OTHER ASSESSMENTS.
HOWEVER, WE HAVE RESOURCES THAT ARE BUILT IN THAT TEACHERS CAN USE TO ANALYZE THE STANDARD, TO ANALYZE AT THE STUDENT LEVEL, TO ANALYZE A SPECIFIC GROUP OF STUDENTS.
SO A TEACHER CAN GO IN AND THEY CAN PULL A REPORT BY SUBGROUP OR BY DEMOGRAPHIC DATA AND LOOK AT HOW THEIR STUDENTS PERFORMED ON THAT.
CAN THEY LOOK AT THOSE SUBGROUPS BY SCHOOLS? YES, SIR.
WHENEVER I'M SAYING THEY CAN LOOK AT IT.
IF I'M A TEACHER, I'M SEEING MY, MY CLASS ONLY IF I'M A PRINCIPAL, I'M SEEING MY SCHOOL.
IF I AM A REGIONAL, UM, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, I'M SEEING THE SCHOOLS WITHIN MY REGION.
SO THEY CAN GO IN AND THEY HAVE FILTERS AND WE HAVE RESOURCE DOCUMENTS THAT WE PROVIDE TO THEM.
AND WE SHOW THEM HOW TO USE THOSE FILTERS TO BE ABLE TO GO IN AND SELECT EITHER LITERALLY BY STUDENT NAME OR BY GROUP OF STUDENTS.
AND THEN ONCE THEY GET THAT DATA, THEY CAN DIG FURTHER INTO TO SEE HOW THAT GROUP OF STUDENTS PERFORMED ON INDIVIDUAL STANDARDS ON, UH, PASSAGE.
IF IT'S AN ELA TASK, BECAUSE WE'RE LOOKING AT HOW THEY PERFORMED ON A TYPE OF TEXT MORE THAN AN INDIVIDUAL STANDARD.
UM, WHAT DID THE KID, WHAT DID THOSE KIDS, UM, WHAT WAS THEIR ANSWER? WHAT DID THEY, UM, NOT CHOOSE? AND IT GIVES THE TEACHERS A RATIONALE WITHIN THE ANALYSIS GUIDES THAT HELPED THEM UNDERSTAND, OKAY, IF A CHILD CHOSE THIS ANSWER INSTEAD OF THIS ONE, THIS MAY BE WHY.
AND SO THEN THEY CAN GO IN AND THEY CAN ACTUALLY PULL LESSONS THAT WE HAVE THAT ARE PROVIDED WITHIN THE PLATFORM TO PULL THAT GROUP OF STUDENTS AND PROVIDE ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTION INTERVENTIONS.
UM, THESE MIDDLE SCHOOLS, WHERE ARE THEY LOCATED? I KNOW, SO BECAUSE OF OUR HANDY DANY SCORECARD ON OUR WEBSITE, YOU CAN GO TO KPI 1.3 AND 1.4.
YOU CAN PULL THE DROPDOWN AND YOU CAN SEE THE AVERAGE PERCENT CORRECT FOR EVERY SCHOOL WITHIN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM.
SO WE ARE REPORTING AFTER EACH ANET ASSESSMENT CYCLE.
WE ARE REPORTING THAT SCHOOL'S RESULTS PUBLICLY AS PART OF OUR STRATEGIC PLAN.
NOW TO YOUR QUESTION, ARE YOU PROBABLY WANNA KNOW WHO ARE THESE INDIVIDUAL KIDS IN THE, IN THE SUBGROUPS? THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE DO IN OUR FRIDAY WORK SESSIONS, UH, AS THE DISTRICT LEVEL.
THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THE ANNETTE CONSULTANTS MODELED FOR THE INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP TEAMS. WHEN THEY CAME IN EACH QUARTER, THEY MODELED USING DISTRICT DATA, THEN THEY SHOWED THEM HOW TO PULL IT
[01:40:01]
TO GET TO THE INDIVIDUAL NAME OF EACH INDIVIDUAL STUDENT, AND THEN HOW TO WORK THROUGH THAT DATA TRIANGULATION AND THEN TO PAIR IT WITH THE INSTRUCTIONAL ARM WITHIN THE PLATFORM.UM, ENGLISH ONE, IT SEEMS LIKE THEY, NINTH GRADE, THEY SEEM TO GET TO MAKE GAINS.
AND THEN 10TH, 11TH GRADE, THEY'VE KIND OF DROPPED OFF AGAIN.
UM, IT ACTUALLY PAIRS, THIS CONVERSATION PAIRS NICELY WITH THE NINTH GRADE CONVERSATION THAT WE HAD EARLIER.
AS A FORMER NINTH GRADE TEACHER, UM, YOU KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW THAT ENGLISH ONE AND ALGEBRA ONE ARE ESSENTIAL.
BUT I'M GONNA TAKE YOU BACK, COACH TO YOUR QUESTION BEFORE.
TO ME, EIGHTH GRADE MATH IS THE GREATER PREDICTOR OF SUCCESS IN HIGH SCHOOL.
THAT'S AN AREA WHERE THAT'S AN AREA WHERE OUR STUDENTS HAVE STRUGGLED IN EIGHTH AND NINTH GRADE MATH WITH ALGEBRA ONE.
THAT'S PART OF THE NINTH GRADE PROMOTION RIGHT.
PIECE THAT THE GROUP EARLIER WAS TALKING ABOUT.
AND SO THEY'RE, THEY'RE PRETTY LEVEL EIGHTH AND NINTH GRADE, THEN THE DROP OFF COMES, RIGHT? RIGHT.
I WILL SAY, THIS WILL SAY THIS, IN ORDER TO GET INTO THE GEOMETRY AND THE ALGEBRA TWO, YOU HAVE TO SE SEQUENTIALLY, NOT ALWAYS, YOU KNOW, THIS WORKING A HIGH SCHOOL, BUT SEQUENTIALLY YOU HAVE TO PASS THE ALGEBRA ONE.
SO YOU HAVE A LOT OF STUDENTS THERE.
THOSE ARE LOWER SAMPLE SIZES, NUMBER ONE.
NUMBER TWO, WE MADE THE DECISION AS A DISTRICT TO KEEP THE ANET ASSESSMENTS FOR 11TH GRADERS, EVEN THOUGH ENGLISH THREE IS BEING PHASED OUT AT THE STATE LEVEL.
AND ALGEBRA TWO IS NOT ASSESSED ON E O C BECAUSE OF A C T, WE KNOW THAT OUR STUDENTS ARE STRUGGLING WITH THE CONTENT AND THE RIGOR OR OUR A C T DATA SHOWS IT ON THE, ON THE GEOMETRY AND ON ALGEBRA TWO WITH MATH.
AND SO THAT IS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY YOU, YOU'RE RIGHT, THE DATA ISN'T ALWAYS SHOWING GLOWING RESULTS, BUT IT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WE'RE KEEP, WE'RE USING THIS INSTRUMENT OR THIS RESOURCE IN PLACE TO HELP TO ADDRESS THOSE GAPS.
AND THE KIDS WHO ARE ENROLLED IN OUR AP CLASSES.
IS THAT DATA INCLUDED IN HERE? YES.
MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT WE HAVE FEWER AND FEWER AFRICAN AMERICAN CHILDREN IN AP CLASSES.
UH, I'D HAVE TO RUN THAT REPORT FOR YOU.
I DIDN'T BRING THAT, THAT DATA FOR YOU.
IF, YEAH, WE CAN, WE CAN SEND YOU THAT.
UH, I WILL SAY THIS FOR OUR, UH, LIBERTY IN PARTICULAR BATON ROUGE MAGNET, AND THERE ARE TWO OTHER SCHOOLS OUT THERE WHO ARE USING ALTERNATIVE CURRICULUM, WE ARE PAIRING THAT, UM, THANK YOU TO ANET FOR THE PARTNERSHIP BECAUSE THEY'RE RUNNING SEPARATE REPORTS OUTSIDE OF EVERYONE ELSE FOR THOSE SCHOOLS.
UH, BECAUSE THEY ARE ON A SEPARATE ASSESSMENT CYCLE THAT IS MORE ALIGNED TO THE HIGHER LEVEL CURRICULUM THAT THEY ARE USING.
AND THEIR DATA IS REPORTED PUBLICLY AS WELL.
UH, WE ALSO HAVE, UM, THREE OR FOUR CHARTER PARTNERS WHO HAVE OPTED IN WITH US.
UM, AND IF PART OF OUR STRATEGIC PLAN, THEIR DATA IS SHARED PUBLICLY ON THE WEB AS WELL.
UH, BOARD MEMBER, JUST WANT TO, JUST YOUR COMMENT, WE DON'T HAVE THE NUMBERS, BUT WE'LL GET YOUR NUMBERS.
WE ACTUALLY HAVE MORE KIDS TAKING ADVANCED PLACEMENT CLASSES, UM, IN THE SYSTEM.
UH, AND I WOULD EVEN SAY WE'VE DOUBLED MORE, UM, BLACK STUDENTS THAN WE'VE EVER HAD, UH, SINCE WE MADE THE REQUIREMENT WITH THE PATHWAYS.
I MEAN, YOU KNOW, KIDS STILL HAVE TO CHOOSE BETWEEN AP AND DUAL ENROLLMENT, BUT THAT HAS TRIPLED THE AMOUNT.
MAJORITY OF THE KIDS THAT WERE TAKING THOSE ADVANCED CLASSES WERE WHITE STUDENTS.
AND AS YOU KNOW, ONLY 10% OF OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT IS WHITE.
AND 89% OF MINORITY, 69% ARE BLACK.
SO, BUT WE DO HAVE THOSE HARD NUMBERS TO SHARE AND THE KIDS ARE ACTUALLY PERFORMING.
SO THANK YOU, UM, AGAIN, AND WONDERFUL DATA.
THIRD, FOURTH, FIFTH, AND SIXTH GRADE.
SEVENTH GRADE JUST TROUBLES ME A LITTLE BIT BECAUSE IF YOU DON'T DO WELL THERE, CHANCES ARE YOU MAY NOT GRADUATE FROM HIGH SCHOOL.
THANK YOU COACH NIXON TO QWI SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER PATRICK MARTIN.
I I APPRECIATE ALL OF THIS DATA.
IT'S REALLY WONDERFUL AND SHOWS THE VALUE OF OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH ANETTE.
I THINK THIS IS REALLY, REALLY HELPFUL TO US AS WE EVALUATE EVERYTHING THAT WE HAVE TO DO AND WHETHER WE'RE ACTUALLY MAKING A DIFFERENCE.
I DO WANNA JUST MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND THE NUMBERS, YOU KNOW, AND WHAT THIS GRAPHS ARE TELLING ME.
SO LOOKING AT SLIDE NINE THAT COACH LEWIS WAS JUST TALKING ABOUT, FOR EXAMPLE, LET'S LOOK AT, AT LIKE FOURTH GRADE.
AND SO AS I READ THAT, WHAT THAT'S SAYING IS THAT KIDS WHO WERE ENROLLED, LET'S SAY, LET'S SAY BLACK KIDS WHO WERE ENROLLED IN FOURTH GRADE IN THE 2122 SCHOOL YEAR SCORED 48% ON, ON AVERAGE IN THE ELA ASSESSMENT.
AND THEN BLACK KIDS WHO WERE IN FOURTH GRADE IN THE 22, 23 YEAR OLD, UM, UH, SCHOOL YEAR SCORED 44% PERCENT.
SO THAT'S NOT TRACKING THE COHORT, THAT'S JUST
[01:45:01]
TRACKING, THAT'S JUST TRACKING MY YEAR, NOT WHO'S WHO'S, WHO'S IN FOURTH GRADE AT THAT YEAR.I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE SEEING THAT, YOU KNOW, AS COACH NOTED IN SOME YEARS YOU, YOU WERE SEEING A, A DROP IN PERFORMANCE AND IN OTHER YEARS WE'RE SEEING AN INCREASE IN PERFORMANCE.
UM, I THINK THAT'S THE ONLY, UM, QUESTION I HAD.
THEN THE, THEN THE ORANGE AND GRAY DATA, WE WERE FOLLOW, WE WERE TRACKING THE COHORTS COHORT.
AND SO YEAH, BOTH ARE, BOTH ARE VERY HELPFUL.
WE WANTED TO SHOW YOU A SNAPSHOT OF THE DIFFERENT WAYS THAT WE LOOK AT IT.
NO, THAT'S, THAT'S, THAT'S VERY HELPFUL.
WE HAVE SCHOOL MEMBER MICHAEL GODDE.
OH, YOU CAUGHT ME BY SURPRISE.
I THOUGHT YOU WERE COMING NEXT.
AND THANK YOU AGAIN FOR, FOR ALL OF THE DATA.
UH, I, I THINK THIS SORT OF PRESENTATION AND THIS TYPE OF DATA, UM, YOU KNOW, I I, I'VE BEEN ON THE BOARD FOR SEVEN YEARS NOW AND WE'VE NEVER HAD THIS KIND OF DATA, UH, COMING TO US.
AND I THINK THE BEAUTY OF THIS DATA IS NOT ONLY WHERE, WHERE WE ARE MAKING GOOD PROGRESS, BUT ALSO TO HIGHLIGHT THE PLACES THAT WE AREN'T, RIGHT.
THAT WE CAN THEN TAKE AND PUT RESOURCES AND DO CHANGES, UH, AND DO THAT BECAUSE WE'VE NEVER HAD THIS KIND OF DATA BEFORE.
AND AGAIN, I'M GONNA COME BACK TO ALL OF THE ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE THAT PEOPLE LIKE TO USE.
UH, I, I JUST HAVE GOTTEN TO THE POINT NOW WHERE I NEED TO SEE DATA BECAUSE THE ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE IS STRICTLY DEPENDENT UPON WHO YOU GET IT FROM.
AND, UH, IT'S NOT REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ENTIRE DISTRICT.
SO I JUST WANTED TO THANK, THANK YOU FOR THAT.
AND AS WE START DRIVING TO THIS, I HOPE WE CAN STAY WITH THINGS LONG ENOUGH SO THAT WE CAN GET TRACKS OF HISTORY.
SO NOT ONLY CAN YOU SEE WHERE THINGS WORK, BUT WHERE DO YOU HAVE TO CHANGE THINGS CUZ THEY AREN'T WORKING.
AND I ALSO LIKE TO GIVE YOU A SHOUT OUT, MS. KOSKI.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR STARTING AND ENDING YOUR SLIDES WITH NAMES, CONTACTS, AND DATES, PAGE NUMBERS AND PAGE NUMBERS.
I WAS GETTING THAT EVEN THOUGH YOU MESSED THEM UP ON ONE OR TWO PAGES, I CAUGHT THAT.
BUT I JUST WANTED YOU TO KNOW, SOMEBODY HAD US CHANGING SOME SLIDES TODAY.
I DON'T KNOW WHO THAT MIGHT BE BE ADDING, BUT, UM, I, I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THAT.
AND I WANT TO REITERATE THAT EVERYONE WHO MAKES PRESENTATIONS, IT IS GREATLY APPRECIATED WHEN YOU DO THIS BECAUSE IT'S SO MUCH EASIER TO REFER TO PAGE NINE THAN TO REFER TO THE ONE WITH THE SQUIGGLY MARKS ON THE THANK YOU.
AND I'M GONNA LEARN MY PAGE NUMBER SCORES COME OUT.
BUT THANK YOU AGAIN FOR VERY GOOD PRESENTATION.
SEEING NO OTHER NAMES INSIDE OF THE QUEUE, THANK YOU AGAIN, MS. KOSKI, UH, AND TO OUR ANET TEAM FOR PRESENT TODAY.
AS A FORMER TEACHER, I HAVE PERSONALLY USED ANET IN THE PAST AND WHAT I CAN PERSONALLY ATTEST TO IS THAT IT IS A VERY GOOD TOOL TO USE IN TERMS OF AGGREGATING DATA AND, UH, DIFFERENTIATING, UH, INFORMATION THAT'S EASY TO, UH, USE AS YOU TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHAT STUDENTS NEED TO MAKE SOME, UH, IMPROVEMENTS.
THAT WAS MY MATH SCOOTER, SO I APPRECIATE HIM.
UH, NEXT IN THE QIC WE HAVE SUPERINTENDENT DR.
I JUST WANTED TO THANK THE BOARD FOR HAVING A ROBUST CONVERSATION ABOUT KIDS SPECIFIC AROUND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AS YOU'RE THINKING THROUGH AROUND BUDGETS AND THOSE THINGS.
UM, THE GOAL IS TO GIVE YOU AS MUCH INFORMATION, SO AS YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT RETURN ON INVESTMENT, HOW THAT'S CONNECTED TO PERFORMANCE OF OUR CHILDREN, UM, THAT WORKS.
AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I'M EXCITED THAT WE'VE HAD THIS TYPE OF CONVERSATION AND YES, I WOULD SAY, UH, IT'S A CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT.
UH, IT WILL NEVER, ALWAYS BE PERFECT, BUT AT LEAST IT HELPS, UH, AS YOU LEAD US IN POLICY IN THOSE THINGS AROUND THE DIRECTION AS WE KEEP MAKING IMPACT FOR CHILDREN.
UH, ALSO SECOND THAT NOTION WHILE WE ALSO, WHILE WE ALWAYS COME IN THE BOARDROOM, THE MAJORITY OF THE CONVERSATIONS ARE ALWAYS CONVOLUTED WITH CONTRACTS, CONTRACTS, CONTRACTS.
WE NEVER REALLY GET A CHANCE TO SEE HOW WELL OUR STUDENTS ARE DOING OR BE ABLE TO, UH, SEE FULL DISPLAYS OF ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT.
THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE WANT TO DEFINITELY WORK FOR, WORK TOWARDS IN THE FUTURE SO THAT WE CAN MAKE A, DO A BETTER JOB OF ASSESSING THIS AND SEE WHAT WE NEED TO MAKE SOME CH CHANGES, MODIFICATIONS OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
BUT THANK YOU ALL AGAIN, WE APPRECIATE YOU.
OKAY, NEXT IN THE QUEUE, WE'LL MOVE RIGHT ALONG ON OUR AGENDA.
NOW WE ARE ON ITEM G ONE, UNFINISHED BUSINESS PROFESSIONAL SERVICE CONTRACT.
[G1. Professional Services Contract: Achieve 3000]
CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICE CONTRACTS BETWEEN THE EASTBOUND RIDGE PARISH SCHOOL BOARD AND ACHIEVED 3000 IN THE AMOUNT OF $1,391,090 TO PROVIDE, UH, LITERACY WEB-BASED SUPPLEMENTAL PROGRAM AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT, STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT FUNDING SOURCE F THREE ACTION TWO.CAN I GET A MOTION MOVED BY SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER MICHAEL GODDE, SECONDED BY SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER MARK BALLOU.
[01:50:01]
IN THE QUEUE WE HAVE MADAM VICE PRESIDENT PAUL LEWIS.IF, IF YOU GUYS COULD COME BACK UP AND I MAY, THIS MAY BE A DISTRICT, UH, LEVEL QUESTION, BUT, UM, I WANTED TO ASK HOW MANY YEARS I HEARD, UH, YOU ALL MENTIONED THAT WE'VE USED ACHIEVE 3000 FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS, BUT IS THAT THE LIMITATION OF TIME THAT WE'VE USED ACHIEVE 3000 WITHIN OUR DISTRICT? OR HAS IT BEEN LONGER? TWO YEARS.
UM, THE NEXT, AND, AND I GUESS THIS IS A QUESTION THAT I WANT TO ASK TO OUR BOARD JUST AS WE THINK ABOUT THE LEVEL OF CONVERSATION THAT WE'VE HAD SO FAR.
YOU KNOW, I THINK THE QUESTION MAY BE WHETHER OR NOT WE WANT TO SPEND THIS AMOUNT OF MONEY ON USING ACHIEVE 3000 FOR OUR FULL DISTRICT, OR DO WE WANT TO ALLOW, AND I FEEL LIKE I MAY HAVE ASKED THIS IN A, IN A PREVIOUS CONVERSATION AS WELL, OF WHETHER OR NOT WE WANT TO CONSIDER WHAT SCHOOLS ACTUALLY USE ACHIEVE 3000 WITH FIDELITY.
YOU KNOW, AND MAYBE THE QUESTION NEEDS TO BE OF WHETHER OR NOT THE TITLE ONE FUNDS FOR THAT PARTICULAR SCHOOL COULD BE USED TO SUPPORT OUR ACHIEVE 3000.
I I PERSONALLY, UH, I'VE HEARD MIXED THOUGHTS FROM, UH, THROUGHOUT THE DISTRICT AND THIS ESPECIALLY EVEN WITH WITHIN THE DIFFERENT SCHOOLS AND EVEN WITH SOME PRINCIPALS AS WELL.
I'VE HEARD SOME PRINCIPALS SAY THAT THEY LOVE ACHIEVE 3000.
THAT IS, IT HAS BEEN USED WITH FIDELITY.
I'VE HAD OTHER TEACHERS TO EVEN MENTION, WELL, YOU KNOW, WE, THE KIDS JUST KIND OF CLICK THROUGH AND, AND, AND IT'S HARD TO MANAGE WHETHER OR NOT THEY'RE ACTUALLY, UH, COMPLETING THE TASK.
UM, AND SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE REALLY WANNA TAKE SOME TIME AND THINK ABOUT.
AND, AND I GUESS MY RHETORICAL QUESTIONS WOULD ALSO INCLUDE HOW DO WE CONSIDER THE FEEDBACK OF THE STUDENTS? UM, AND, AND MAYBE YOU ALL CAN ASK, ANSWER THIS QUESTION AS WELL.
I KNOW OF SOME STUDENTS WHO I'VE JUST GENERALLY POLLED TO ASK THEM ABOUT ACHIEVE 3000 SINCE WE'VE BEEN HAVING THIS CONVERSATION.
UM, AND WITHIN THAT, SOME OF THEM HAVE MENTIONED LIKE, THEY DON'T GET THE FEEDBACK, YOU KNOW, OR THEY DON'T, THEY REALIZE THAT IT, IT, THE, THE PLATFORM WILL SHOW THEM WHICH QUESTIONS THEY GOT WRONG, BUT IT WON'T GIVE THEM THE FEEDBACK OF WHY THEY GOT THAT QUESTION WRONG OR HOW, YOU KNOW, HOW IS THE, HOW DO THEY DETERMINE WHAT THE CORRECT ANSWER IS.
SO I GUESS THAT'S MY QUESTION AS WELL.
IS THAT SOMETHING THAT MAYBE OUR TEACHERS NEED MORE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ON OR, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER THE CASE IS BEFORE WE SPEND THIS AMOUNT OF MONEY? I, I WANT TO ASK THIS.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS, UM, IS THE STUDENTS WHO HAVE THEIR OWN DATA DASHBOARDS MM-HMM.
AND SO WE DO HAVE STUDENT DATA CHATS IN PLACE.
AND SO WHAT I WOULD DEFINITELY RECOMMEND IS HAVING MORE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES FOR TEACHERS AND THE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE DO HAVE ARE NOT JUST TIED TO THE PROGRAM, WHICH MEANS THAT YOU CAN USE THEM IN THE REST OF YOUR INSTRUCTIONAL DAY.
SO WITH THOSE DATA CHATS FOR STUDENTS TO UNDERSTAND, LOOKING AT YOUR SCORES, LOOKING AT YOUR GROWTH, LOOKING AT YOUR QUALITY, LET'S TALK ABOUT WHAT DID YOU STRUGGLE WITH, WHAT DOES THE DATA SAY YOU'RE STRUGGLING WITH, LET'S COME UP WITH A PLAN OF ACTION.
LET'S ALLOW YOU TO TAKE SOME OWNERSHIP IN YOUR PLAN OF ACTION AS WELL.
WE ALSO DO LITERACY WALKS ON CAMPUSES AND WHERE WE HAVE STUDENT PANELS, WHERE WE, UM, YOU KNOW, ASK STUDENTS, HOW DO YOU, WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT THE PROGRAM? WHERE ARE YOU STRUGGLING? YOU KNOW, WHAT CAN WE DO DIFFERENTLY? SO WE GET THAT FEEDBACK FROM STUDENTS ALL THE TIME AS WELL.
AND SO I GUESS WHAT I'M HEARING YOU SAY AS WELL IS, IS IT'S PRETTY MUCH UP TO THE TEACHER TO BE ABLE TO GUIDE THOSE FEEDBACK CONVERSATIONS AS, AS A RESULT OF USING THE PLATFORM.
IT HELPS WHEN TEACHERS ARE INVOLVED IN THE INSTRUCTIONAL DAY AND MONITORING, UM, BUT STUDENTS HAVE ACCESS TO THEIR OWN INDIVIDUAL DATA DASHBOARDS 24 7.
UM, I THINK THOSE ARE MY ONLY QUESTIONS FOR NOW.
NEXT IN THE QUEUE WE HAVE SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER PATRICK MARTIN.
I'M, I'M, I'M STRUGGLING WITH THIS ONE.
UM, BECAUSE I THINK THAT IT FOR, YOU KNOW, IF THE STUDENT'S NOT BOTHERING TO USE THE PROGRAM, IF THEY'RE FRUSTRATED BY IT, THEY JUST THINK IT'S A WASTE OF TIME, THEN THEY'RE NOT GETTING VALUE OF IT OUT OF IT.
AND WHY ARE WE SPENDING MONEY ON IT FOR THAT KID? ON THE OTHER HAND, IT DOES TAKE TIME TO BUILD A CULTURE TO USE TOOLS THAT ARE AVAILABLE, RIGHT.
AND SO I THINK THERE'S A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF SENSE TO JUST STICKING WITH IT FOR A WHILE IN ORDER TO, TO TO, TO, TO
[01:55:01]
EVALUATE IT.THERE ARE, WE'VE HEARD MULTIPLE TIMES WE, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS AT HOW MANY MEETINGS NOW HAVE WE TALKED ABOUT AT THREE OR FOUR MEETINGS? WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS PROGRAM.
IT FEELS LIKE, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE'VE, WE'VE ALL HEARD THAT THERE ARE FREE SOFTWARE AVAILABLE OUT THERE THAT DOES, UM, SIMILAR UM, UH, STUFF.
THERE ARE, UM, COMPETITORS TO THIS SOFTWARE IN THE MARKET.
UM, THIS IS THE ONE WE'VE CHOSEN TO GO WITH, YOU KNOW, FROM BEFORE I JOINED THE BOARD.
UH, AND SO I DON'T PARTICULARLY WANT TO, TO, TO VOTE TO, TO CHANGE IN MIDSTREAM.
UM, SO WHAT I WOULD ENCOURAGE, HOWEVER, I THINK GIVEN THE, THE QUESTIONS, PARTICULARLY THE QUESTIONS REGARDING STATISTICS ON, ON ACTUAL USAGE, RIGHT? IT, IT, IT'S, IT'S VERY CLEAR FROM THE DATA PROVIDED TONIGHT THAT THE STUDENTS WHO GET INTO THIS AND USE IT WITH FIDELITY, WHETHER BECAUSE OF THE STUDENT'S OWN INITIATIVE OR BECAUSE THE TEACHERS CREATED A CULTURE OF THAT, UH, AND EXPECTS IT, UM, UH, THAT THE STUDENTS WHO USE IT ARE DOING FAIRLY WELL.
I'D LIKE TO SEE SOME CORRELATION, YOU KNOW, KIND OF SCHOOL BY SCHOOL IN HOW THE ANET ASSESSMENTS ARE SHOWING PROGRESS.
NOT JUST HOW THE SOFT THE, THE SOFTWARE ITSELF IS RECORDING PROGRESS.
SO LIKE, WHAT I'D LIKE TO, TO ASK THE SUPERINTENDENT TO DO IS, IS COME BACK TO US IN MAYBE SIX MONTHS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, UM, FOUR MONTHS WHENEVER'S THE RIGHT TIME, UH, TO, TO GIVE US AN UPDATE ON THIS TO, TO COMPARE, UH, YOU KNOW, COACH LEWIS'S QUESTION ABOUT LEAP SCORES.
WE'LL HAVE LEAP SCORES IN A FEW WEEKS.
UM, AND WE CAN REALLY ASSESS THIS AS PART OF A, OF A, OF AN OVERALL REVIEW OF OUR LITERACY EFFORTS, RIGHT? TO SEE IF, IF, IF, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE WE'RE, WE'RE, YOU KNOW, THIS IS NOT THE ONLY STEP WE'RE TAKING TOWARD IMPROVING LITERACY, RIGHT? AND THE PROOF IS ULTIMATELY INTO PUDDING.
AND, AND SO WE, WE KIND OF, MAYBE WE NEED A, A LITERACY FOCUSED WORKSHOP, UH, IN A FEW MONTHS WHERE WE LOOK AT THIS AND OTHER COMPONENTS OF LITERACY AND C YOU KNOW, KIND OF SCHOOL BY SCHOOL, GRADE BY GRADE.
ARE WE GETTING THE, ARE WE GETTING THE IMPROVEMENT THAT WE NEED IN THE A NET AND, AND ULTIMATELY THE LEAP TEST? CAN WE DO THAT? UH, YEAH, WE, WE CAN DEFINITELY DO THAT.
UM, AND I AGREE, I'D LIKE TO ACTUALLY BRING ALL THESE BACK IN SIX MONTHS TO GIVE YOU SCHOOL BY SCHOOL AND ALSO CLASSROOM BY CLASSROOM, WHICH WAS ANOTHER QUESTION.
UM, AND JUST, UH, JUST SO THE BOARD KNOW, I KNOW THAT THE, THIS, THIS BOARD WASN'T HERE.
WE CREATED THIS, BUT WE HAVE FOLLOWED, UM, THE LITERACY BLUEPRINT THAT WAS CREATED IN COLLABORATION WITH LSU SOUTHERN AND CULTURAL COMMITTEE PARTNERS AROUND OUR LITERACY PLAN.
AND I'LL HAVE OUR CHIEF OF LITERACY COME BACK AND GET TO A WORKSHOP TO HAVE MORE DETAILED CONVERSATION CUZ THEY WERE ACTUALLY JUST FOLLOWING THAT, THAT PLAN.
AND THEN FOR ANY RECOMMENDATIONS, ADJUSTMENTS OR ANY POLICY APPLICATIONS THAT THE BOARD MAY WANNA, UH, CHIME INTO THAT.
AT THIS TIME, LET'S SEE IF WE HAVE ANY CUE CARDS? PUBLIC? YES.
I FIRST WANNA SAY THAT COURTNEY DID A PHENOMENAL JOB WITH HER PRESENTATION.
UM, I WILL SAY THAT THE MANDATE COMPLETELY STIFLES TEACHING, ESPECIALLY WITH EIGHT DAY B DAY SCHEDULING.
UM, WHEN YOU ONLY SEE THE KIDS TWICE IN A WEEK, HAVING TO DO THREE OF THEM, UM, YOU CAN'T REALLY TEACH ANYTHING ELSE.
UM, NEW Z A DOES THE EXACT SAME THING FOR FREE.
UM, I COMPLETELY LOVE THE CONCEPT OF IT, BUT LIKE I SAID, NEW Z A DOES IT AND IT'S FOR FREE.
UM, I AM VERY PLEASED THAT WE ARE RECEIVING THE PILOT OF IREADY, WHICH IS A WONDERFUL INTERVENTION, BUT WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE CUTTING, UH, HOW MUCH WE'RE SPENDING SO THAT WE CAN ACHIEVE THAT RAISE IN A COUPLE OF YEARS.
SO THIS IS 1.3 MILLION THAT WE CAN SAVE BY NOT APPROVING THIS CONTRACT.
UH, SEEING O OTHER PUBLIC COMMENTS AT THIS TIME, I COME BACK TO THE BOARD, TAKE A SECOND TO SEE IF ANYBODY WANTS TO ENTER THE QUEUE.
UH, VICE PRESIDENT PAUL LEWIS.
I JUST HAVE ONE MORE QUESTION.
MY QUESTIONING IS, IS IN REGARDS TO ACCOUNTABILITY MEASURES.
HAVE ANY, UM, ACCOUNTABILITY MEASURES THAT ARE ATTACHED FOR, TO, TO REQUIRE EITHER TEACHERS AND OR SCHOOL SITE LEADERS TO, TO MONITOR THE USE OF A CHIEF 3000? UH, IF YOU COULD EXPLAIN IT FOR US.
SO SCHOOL LEADERS START OVER THE SUMMERTIME, WHICH IS A GREAT QUESTION CUZ NEXT WEEK IS, UH, LEADERSHIP WEEK.
UH, ALL SCHOOLS HAVE AN ACTION PLAN AND WITHIN
[02:00:01]
THAT ACTION PLAN, THEY WRITE DOWN, UM, IN THEIR PLAN WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO UTILIZE IN THEIR STRATEGY AND WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO PROGRESS MONITOR.THEY HAVE A PROGRESS MONITORING, UM, OBSERVATION AND SCALE AND ALL THAT, WHICH THEY ACTUALLY HAVE, WHICH I CAN SHARE WITH THE BOARD TOO.
SO, UM, UM, THAT'S HOW WE WORK THROUGH WITH THOSE LEADERS AND THEIR TEAMS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE FOLLOWING THROUGH.
UM, SO WHEN YOU HEAR, FOR EXAMPLE, SOMEONE'S NOT ON TRACK, A PRINCIPAL SUPERVISOR OR THE LITERACY COACH OR WHATEVER THE AREA IS, IS ABLE TO GO IN AND MONITOR THAT.
SO THEN TECHNICALLY THEY'RE STILL KIND OF GIVEN THE OPTION OF INCLUDING A ACHIEVE 3000 WITHIN THEIR, THEIR PLAN.
UH, ONE THING I DO JUST WANNA HIGHLIGHT, VICE PRESIDENT POWELL ABOUT ANY PROGRAM, UH, WHAT YOU WILL NOTICE, THE PATTERN IS ANY PROGRAM THAT IS USED TO FULL IMPLEMENTATION AND FIDELITY, YOU GET PERFORMANCE.
AND SO THE CAUTION I ALWAYS SAY IS WHEN WE PROVIDE, UM, TOO MUCH AUTONOMY WITHOUT SAYING WE WANT THIS UTILIZATION, UH, THAT CAN CAUSE A LITTLE BIT OF A, A CHALLENGE.
AND SO, UH, WE TRY TO KEEP CERTAIN THINGS TIGHT, CERTAIN THINGS LOOSE.
SO, THANK YOU MADAM VICE PRESIDENT NIXON NICU.
WE HAVE SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER MICHAEL GOONE.
JUST A FEW QUICK COMMENTS, UH, ON THE SUBJECT.
UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK EVERYONE PROBABLY AGREES THAT IT TAKES THREE TO FOUR YEARS TO SHOW THE VALUE AND BENEFIT OF A PROGRAM.
UH, I KNOW ALSO ONE OF THE ISSUES THAT WE HAD COMING IN FROM TALKING TO OUR TEACHERS, UH, AND OTHERS WERE DON'T CHANGE PROGRAMS ON ME EVERY TWO YEARS.
UH, BECAUSE RIGHT WHEN WE START GETTING USED TO ONE PROGRAM, THEN WE GOTTA STOP DOING THAT PROGRAM AND LOOK AT SOMETHING ELSE.
SO I THINK CONSISTENCY PLAYS A LARGE PART, NOT ONLY FOR THE TEACHERS, BUT ALSO FOR THE STUDENTS.
UH, I ALSO THINK THAT WE DON'T HAVE ANY DATA YET COMING BACK FROM THIS UNTIL WE GET THE LEAP RESULTS, UH, COMING THROUGH THIS.
SO, UH, YOU KNOW, ONCE WE GET THOSE LEAP RESULTS, WE'LL HAVE MUCH BETTER ABILITY TO CORRELATE THOSE WHO ARE IMPLEMENTING IT AND THOSE WHO ARE NOT IMPLEMENTING IT.
AND WHAT ARE THE LEAP RESULTS IN THEIR DIFFERENT CLASSROOMS? CUZ RIGHT NOW THE ONLY THING I'VE HEARD IS ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE ABOUT A FEW PRINCIPALS OR A FEW TEACHERS, OR THIS OR THAT, OR WE HAVE 70 SOMETHING PRINCIPALS AND A FEW IS A FEW.
I, I JUST DON'T HAVE ANY DATA TO SAY HOW WE GO ABOUT DO THIS.
AND THEN THERE'S A LOT OF TALK ABOUT ACCOUNTABILITY AND, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE OUR MATRIX THAT WE'RE WE'RE PUT UP THERE, UH, THAT WE'RE DRIVING THROUGH AND TRYING TO HOLD OUR STAFF AND OUR SUPERINTENDENT ACCOUNTABLE FOR RESULTS.
AND, YOU KNOW, IF THIS IS THE PROGRAM AND THE DIRECTION THEY WANT TO GO, UH, AND WORK WITH THIS, WHICH, AND IT HAS A LOGICAL BASIS FOR IT, UH, I THINK IT'S INCUMBENT UPON US TO FOLLOW THEIR LEAD.
THEY ARE THE PROFESSIONAL EDUCATORS THAT ARE LEADING THIS, AND THEY ARE THE ONES THAT ARE GONNA BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR THE RESULTS.
AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S KIND OF LIKE HAVING A FOOTBALL TEAM AND YOU GO TELL YOUR COACH, UH, YOU'RE GONNA BE HELD TO THE FACT THAT WHETHER OR NOT YOU WIN OR LOSE, BUT WE'RE GONNA TELL YOU WHAT PLACE TO CALL.
AND SO I I THINK WE NEED TO, WE NEED TO ALLOW OUR SUPERINTENDENT AND HIS STAFF TO FULLY IMPLEMENT A PROGRAM THAT IS NATIONALLY KNOWN, NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED, CERTIFIED BY OUR STATE, UH, AND SHOWING SIGNS OF PROGRESS UNTIL WE HAVE DEFINITIVE RESULTS, UH, ON IT.
IF NOT, THEN WE ARE INJECTING OURSELVES INTO TRYING TO RUN THE DISTRICT.
AND WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE AN OVERSIGHT BOARD, NOT AN OPERATIONAL BOARD.
AND, AND AFTER FOUR YEARS, IF THIS THING ISN'T WORKING, I'LL BE THE FIRST ONE TO VOTE AGAINST THE CONTRACT.
BUT LET'S NOT BE, LET'S BE CAUTIOUS ABOUT REACTING TOO SOON OR REACTING TO ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE OR COMMENTS BY FRIENDS AND FAMILY, UH, ON THIS THING.
BECAUSE WE HAVE A MUCH BIGGER PICTURE TO PLAY.
WE HAVE TO PLAY FOR ALL OF THE KIDS IN OUR DISTRICT.
AND ALL OF OUR KIDS IN OUR DISTRICT ARE NOT THE ONES TALKING TO US.
THEY'RE THE ONES SHOWN IN THAT DATA.
I'M GONNA VOTE TO CONTINUE THIS, AND I WILL BE THE FIRST ONE LOOKING AT THE DATA.
IF THE DATA SHOWS IT'S NOT WORKING, I'LL BE THE FIRST ONE TO VOTE AGAINST IT.
BUT LET'S USE THAT AS OUR CRITERIA, WHETHER OR NOT WE VOTE FOR OR AGAINST THIS, OR DO WE HAVE THE DATA TO SAY IT'S WORKING OR IT'S NOT.
IT'S NICE TO KNOW YOU'RE COMING BACK AFTER FOUR YEARS.
SEEING NO OTHER NAMES INSIDE OF THE QUEUE AT THIS TIME.
MADAM SECRETARY, PLEASE CALL FOR THE VOTE, PLEASE VOTE.
[02:05:13]
OKAY, THE MOTION CARRIES.NEXT ITEM IS ITEM G2 PROFESSIONAL SERVICE CONTRACT
[G2. Professional Services Contract: Dreambox]
DREAMBOX, CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST FOR THE APPROVAL OF A PROFESSIONAL SERVICE CONTRACT IN THE AMOUNT OF $491,530 TO PROVIDE DIGITAL MATHEMATICS PROGRAM, STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT, STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT FUNDING SOURCE SER THREE.CAN I GET A MOTION MOVED BY SCHOOL MEMBER MCC CLIFF LEWIS, SECONDED BY SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER NATHAN RUSS.
RIGHT THIS TIME I WILL GO TO THE QUEUE SCENE, SEEING NO NAMES INSIDE OF THE QUEUE.
I WILL NOW GO TO THE PUBLIC FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.
YEAH, AGAIN, UM, THIS ONE'S HALF A MILLION DOLLARS FOR SOMETHING THAT THE TEACHERS AND STUDENTS HATE.
MEANWHILE, THE STATE MET ON TUESDAY AND IS PAYING FOR ZEARN.
UM, THE, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT IS ALIGNED WITH EUREKA THAT IS ALIGNED WITH THE CURRENT STANDARDS THAT THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO BE TEACHING.
UM, IT IS BETTER FOR THE KIDS.
OVER THE LAST MONTH, WE HAVE HEARD A LOT FROM THIS BOARD ABOUT CUTTING COSTS.
UM, NOW THERE IS A GRANT, OBVIOUSLY THAT AT NEEDS DREAMBOX, SO I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR SOMEBODY LOOK AT THE COST IMPACT TO SEE HOW MUCH WOULD IT BE TO JUST GET DREAMBOX FOR THE SCHOOLS THAT THE GRANT APPLIES TO, TO SEE IF THAT WOULD BE MORE COST EFFECTIVE.
SEEING NO OTHER PUBLIC COMMENT CARDS ON ITEM G2.
I'LL GO BACK TO THE BOARD FOR COMMENT.
MADAM VICE PRESIDENT PAUL LEWIS.
IS THERE ANYONE AVAILABLE TO SPEAK TO THE COMMENTS FROM MS. MATTHEWS? MS. MS. SCIO? MR. AU? SO SHE SPOKE IN REGARDS TO THE USE OF ZN AND THEN AS WELL AS THE IDEA OF ONLY USING DREAMBOX IN THE SCHOOLS THAT THE GRANTS APPLIES TO.
UM, SO I'LL TAKE THE FIRST ONE.
UM, AND THANK Y'ALL FOR HAVING ME.
UM, ZEARN IS, UM, BEING PAID THROUGH THE MATH REFRESH GRANT THIS UPCOMING SCHOOL YEAR THROUGH THE STATE OF LOUISIANA.
UM, BUT IT HAS TWO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT INTERFACES.
ZEARN IS, I'VE JUST TAUGHT A WHOLE GROUP LESSON NOW.
MY STUDENTS GO TO A SMALL GROUP COMPUTER AND THEY WORK ON THE SKILLS THAT WE JUST TAUGHT IN THE CLASSROOM.
DREAMBOX IS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT.
DREAMBOX DESIGN IS TO FIND GAPS IN STUDENTS' MATH LEARNING.
SO IF STUDENT SITS DOWN, INTERACTS WITH DREAMBOX, DREAMBOX IDENTIFIES WHERE THE STUDENTS' GAPS ARE AND THEN EDUCATES THEM AT THAT LEVEL.
SO IT HAS A REALLY HANDS-OFF APPROACH.
NOW, THE GREAT THING THE DREAMBOX DOES HAVE, THOUGH, IT ALSO HAS THE ABILITY TO ASSIGN A LESSON.
SO IF A STUDENT IS STRUGGLING IN A CERTAIN AREA ON AN ASSESSMENT ON A NET OR WHATEVER HAVE YOU, THEN THE TEACHER CAN ASSIGN A SPECIFIC STANDARD TO THAT STUDENT.
IN ADDITION TO DREAMBOX DOING ITS MAGIC, WHICH IS TO IDENTIFY EXACTLY WHERE THE STUDENT IS LEARNING.
SO THERE APPLES AND ORANGES, THEY CAN'T REALLY BE COMPARED.
I WILL SAY THE DISTRICT HAS UTILIZED BOTH PROGRAMS OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS.
AND OVERWHELMINGLY THE DATA SHOWS THAT DREAMBOX IS WHERE WE'RE ABLE TO GET MORE BANG FOR OUR BUCK ALSO, BECAUSE IT'S ALSO A 15 MINUTE COMMITMENT, WHEREAS ZEARN IS REALLY A 30 MINUTE COMMITMENT PER EVERY TIME A STUDENT SITS DOWN.
AND IN ORDER TO HAVE SUCCESS, YOU HAVE TO DO THAT THREE TIMES A WEEK.
SO IT, IF YOU AVERAGE THAT OUT, IT'S A 90 MINUTE COMMITMENT PER WEEK.
AND THEN THE, THE QUESTION ABOUT THE, THE, UH, DREAMBOX ONLY APPLYING TO THE SCHOOLS THAT, UH, HAVE THE GRANT.
SO THE GRANT CURRENTLY IS DESIGNED TO LOOK AT OUR K EIGHT STUDENT MODEL, OR THREE EIGHT REALLY TO SEE HOW WELL THAT DIGITAL PLATFORM WORKS OVER TIME WITH STUDENTS IN POVERTY, BLACK STUDENTS AND LATINO STUDENTS.
SO A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE SPOKEN TO OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF OF MINUTES IN THIS BOARD WAS LOOKING AT LONGEVITY OF, UM, OF A, A VENDOR.
AND I'VE BEEN IN THE DISTRICT FOR 15 YEARS, AND I CAN TELL YOU WE'VE PROBABLY USED 10 DIFFERENT MATH RESOURCES AT OUR SCHOOLS.
UM, THIS WILL BE THE FIRST ONE THAT WE WOULD HAVE A LONG TERM AGREEMENT WITH THAT WOULD ALLOW US TO REALLY SEE THE IMPACT.
AND TO SPEAK TO MANY BOARD MEMBERS COMMITMENTS, WE HAVE TO SEE IF IT'S WORKING.
[02:10:01]
DO HAVE DATA FROM LAST SCHOOL YEAR THAT, UM, AS A MATH DEPARTMENT, WE KEPT INTERNALLY THAT SHOWED THAT SCHOOLS THAT DO USE DREAMBOX FOR 60 MINUTES OR MORE GREW MORE THAN SCHOOLS THAT DID NOT USE DREAMBOX FOR 60 MINUTES OR MORE.NOW IT'S A ONE-YEAR SAMPLE SIZE.
AS WE'VE SAID, ONCE DATA COMES OUT THIS SCHOOL YEAR, THEN WE WILL HAVE A BETTER SENSE OF IF IT'S A TWO YEAR TREND OR A ONE-YEAR BLIMP.
UM, BUT I WILL SAY FOR THE GRANT PURPOSES, IT'S REALLY A FANTASTIC OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO LOOK DISTRICT-WIDE AT ITS IMPACT ON OUR STUDENTS AND HOW WE CAN GROW IN THOSE AREAS.
THE CUBE, WE HAVE SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER CLIFF LEWIS.
YOU SAID THAT DREAMBOX AND I, I I KNOW YOU DIDN'T MEAN IT LITERALLY THE WAY YOU SAID IT.
YOU SAID THEN DREAMBOX WILL TEACH.
I THOUGHT TEACHERS TAUGHT, I MISSPOKE.
DREAMBOX EDUCATION STUDENT AT THE LEVEL THAT THEY'RE AT.
SO THE TEACHER DOESN'T HAVE TO GO IN AND SAY, I'VE NOTICED THAT THIS STUDENT IS STRUGGLING.
DREAMBOX INTERACTS WITH THE STUDENT TO IDENTIFY EXACTLY WHERE THEY ALL ARE IN EVERY STANDARD.
AND WE'VE BEEN USING DREAMBOX, UMM, SORRY, THIS IS THE COMPLETION OF OUR SECOND YEAR.
UM, 2021, THERE WAS A 14% DROP IN E L A, I'M SORRY, IN MATH ON LEAP THIS YEAR.
THERE WAS ONLY A 4% INCREASE ACCORDING TO THE STATE OF LOUISIANA.
SO OF OUR 64 SCHOOLS THAT TAKE ASSESSMENTS, 48 OF THEM INCREASE THEIR MATH ASSESSMENT INDEX.
SO THAT'S 75% OF OUR SCHOOLS INCREASE MATH DURING OUR FIRST YEAR OF DREAMBOX IMPLEMENTATION.
AND I'M NOT GONNA SAY IT'S BECAUSE OF DREAMBOX, LIKE AS A FORMER PRINCIPAL AND A FORMER TEACHER, I'D BE LYING TO YOU IF I SAID THAT.
BUT I WILL SAY THAT'S PART OF OUR SUCCESS.
THAT'S ONE LAYER TO WHAT WE'RE DOING BECAUSE WE'RE, WE'RE EVERY, I MEAN, WE'RE LAGGING IN MATH.
WE'RE LAGGING IN THE LITERACY.
BUT I THINK LAST YEAR BEING THE FIRST YEAR THAT WE HAVE DATA, CAUSE AGAIN, AS MS. KOSKI SAID, DATA SHOULD BE COMING OUT SOON AND WE'LL BE ABLE TO SEE HOW WE DID THIS MOST RECENT SCHOOL YEAR.
BUT LAST YEAR IN DREAM BOX'S, FIRST YEAR OF IMPLEMENTATION, WE HAD 74% OF OUR SCHOOLS INCREASE THEIR MATH LEAP SCORES FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR.
UH, AGAIN, WHAT SCHOOLS? 74% OF ALL SCHOOLS.
WHAT SCHOOLS? NOT THE NO, NO, I'M NOT.
WELL, 74% OF ALL SCHOOLS IN OUR DISTRICT, ALL SCHOOLS, EVERY SCHOOL.
SO EVEN SOME OF OUR LOWEST PERFORMANCE SCHOOLS, EVERY SCHOOL CAPITAL MIDDLE.
SO THEY ARE PART OF, THEY ARE PART OF THAT TOTAL SCHOOL LOOK AT.
SO IT'S LOOKING AT ALL OF OUR SCHOOLS.
SO IF YOU MINUS THE 85 SCHOOLS, WHICH INCLUDE CHARTERS BY MINUS 14 CHARTERS, THE TRADITIONAL SCHOOLS IN THE SEVENTIES, ALL THE SCHOOLS.
BUT MY DATA DOESN'T INCLUDE CHARTERS, THE DATA THAT I'M LOOKING AT.
NO, I KNOW THAT'S, BUT I, BUT THE POINT I WANTED TO MAKE WAS, HIS NUMBERS INCLUDE ALL SCHOOLS.
NEXT, IN THE QUEUE, WE HAVE SCUBA MEMBER PATRICK MARTIN.
I THINK MY COMMENTS ON ACHIEVE APPLY HERE AS WELL.
UM, UH, SO I JUST WANNA GET THE SAME COMMITMENT FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT THAT WILL COME BACK AND, AND, AND GIVE US, YOU KNOW, DETAILS.
NOT JUST ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HOW THOSE WHO PARTICIPATE IN THE PROGRAM ARE DOING WELL, BUT HOW MANY KIDS ARE PARTICIPATING IN THE PROGRAM? UH, I MEAN, TEACHERS ARE, ARE REALLY GETTING ON BOARD AND, AND, AND REALLY LOOKING AT THE METRICS THAT WE'VE ESTABLISHED FOR THIS, RIGHT? YOU, THE MEMO HAS METRICS THAT WE'RE SUPPOSED TO FOLLOW, JUST REALLY FINDING OUT HOW WE DO THAT, HOW WE'RE DOING WITH IT.
AND IF I COULD JUST ADD ONE THING TOO, UM, UH, AND I'M, I'M GLAD THAT THE BOARD IS CONSIDERING THE LONGEVITY.
REMEMBER, IT TAKES A WHILE FOR ADJUSTMENT, UNDERSTANDING HOW THE PROCESS WORK, AND ALSO TAKES A WHILE FOR TEACHERS TO, UM, AS THEY THINK ABOUT PROGRAMS THAT THEY USE, HOW THE TOOL CAN HELP ENHANCE WHATEVER THEY'RE TRYING TO GET DONE.
THE TECHNOLOGY NOW IS ACTUALLY GETTING BETTER, HELPING TEACHERS TO GET MORE INTO THE ANALYSIS SPACE VERSUS WHERE THEY HAD TO DO THIS LIFT HEAVY LIFTING WITHOUT TECHNOLOGY.
RIGHT? AND SO, UM, I THINK THAT IT WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE, UH, OVER TIME.
I THINK, I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'M, I'M INTERESTED IN SEEING WHEN WE HAVE THIS FUTURE WORK GROUP IS ALSO LEARNING MORE ABOUT KIND OF HOW YOU AND YOUR STAFF ARE OUR EVALUATING THE PERFORMANCES OF OUR SCHOOLS AND OUR INDIVIDUAL CLASSROOMS. UM, USING THIS DATA THAT WE'RE SPENDING A LOT OF MONEY TO GET THE DATA AND THE TECHNOLOGICAL ASSISTANCE, UH, TO THE KIDS.
UM, UM, AND, AND HOW YOU'RE USING THAT WHOLE PRINCIPALS AND TEACHERS ACCOUNTABLE, PROVIDE ADDITIONAL SUPPORT WHERE IT'S NECESSARY AND, AND, AND ALL OF THAT SORT OF THING.
NEXT WE HAVE SCHOR, KATIE KENNON IN THE QUEUE.
UM, I HAVE THE SAME SENTIMENTS ABOUT
[02:15:01]
DREAMBOX AS I DO ACHIEVE 3000.BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE KEEP MAKING TEACHERS, UM, INSTIGATE ALL THESE PROGRAMS. THEY, LIKE MS. MATTHEWS WAS SAYING, DON'T HAVE TIME TO ACTUALLY TEACH.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, IT WAS MENTIONED, IF WE GIVE TEACHERS TOO MUCH AUTONOMY, IT, IT BECOMES DANGEROUS.
BUT, UM, ON A LIGHTER NOTE, I'LL END WITH A, A JOKE AS I WAS PULLING KIDS ABOUT HOW THEY FELT ABOUT DREAMBOX, UM, WHEN A, A FEW MONTHS AGO, WHEN I WAS ASKING WHAT, WHAT DREAMBOX IS LIKE GETTING KIDS PERSPECTIVES WHEN ONE, UH, YOUNG PERSON
SCHOOL MEMBER MCKINNON, SEEING NO OTHER NAMES INSIDE OF THE QUEUE AT THIS TIME.
MADAM SECRETARY, PLEASE CALL FOR THE VOTE, PLEASE VOTE.
NEXT ITEM IS ITEM G THREE, UH, ALTERNATIVE
[G3. Alternative Schools]
SCHOOLS CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST TO APPROVE THE FOLLOWING MODIFICATIONS TO THE ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION PROGRAM.A CLOSE E B R READINESS MIDDLE SCHOOL AT THE BEACHWOOD CAMPUS.
B, EXPAND THE E, THE E B R READINESS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL GRADE CONFIGURATION FROM K FIVE TO K SEVEN C.
EXPAND THE E B R READINESS HIGH SCHOOL GRADE CONFIGURATION FROM NINE 12 TO EIGHT 12.
STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT, STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT.
CAN I GET A MOTION MOVED BY VICE PRESIDENT PAUL LEWIS, SECONDED BY SCUBA.
REMEMBER MICHAEL GODDE, RIGHT? LET'S GO TO THE QUEUE RIGHT AT THIS TIME.
PATRICK, YOU GONNA FLIP IT? COACH? YEAH.
ALL RIGHT, SO WHAT I'M GONNA DO IS LOOK, WAIT, I'M SORRY.
FIRST UP, WE HAVE SCUBA MEMBER PATRICK MARTIN.
A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS FOR THE SUPERINTENDENT.
UM, FIRST, WHAT, WHAT ACTIONS HAVE ALREADY BEEN TAKEN TOWARDS IMPLEMENTING THIS? YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, GENERALLY YEAH.
I'M GONNA ASK, UH, BOARD MEMBER MARTIN FOR CHIEF BRICKHOUSE AND MR. JAMES TO COME UP AS THEY WORK WITH THE ALTERNATIVE SCHOOLS.
GIVE YOU WHAT THE PROCESS HAS BEEN.
WELL, I GUESS I JUST LEANED DOWN
UH, WE HAVE OF COURSE DEVELOPED A PROPOSAL IN TERMS OF HOW WE WOULD SEE THE CHANGES IN ALTERNATIVE, UH, PROGRAMMING.
UM, IN ADDITION, WE HAVE, UH, WORKED WITH TRYING TO, UH, GO OUT AND SEE, UM, IF, UM, ABOUT THE ADDING THE ADDITIONAL, UM, UM, UH, RELATED SERVICES TO THE PROGRAMMING.
UM, AS I STATED TO YOU LAST TIME, UM, THAT THOSE, UH, MOUS WILL BE BROUGHT FORTH NEXT MONTH, UM, IF APPROVED, UM, AS PART OF, UH, WHAT THE, UH, PRO AS A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE DIFFERENT, UM, ENTITIES THAT WE WERE TRYING TO WORK WITH TO HELP SUPPORT THE, UM, ALTERNATIVE ED PROGRAMMING.
SO, HAVE, HAVE WE TRANSFERRED PERSONNEL IN RELATION TO THIS CLOSURE OF ONE SCHOOL AND REALIGNMENT CONSOLIDATION OR WHAT, WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL IT, TO THE OTHER SCHOOLS? I BELIEVE THAT THE, UM, PERSONNEL HAS BEEN, UH, IDENTIFIED AND NOTIFIED, UH, THAT THERE POSSIBLY MAY BE CHANGES.
I'M NOT SURE IF IT'S ACTUALLY BEEN, UH, TRANSFERRED BECAUSE IT HASN'T BEEN APPROVED AS OF YET.
UM, HOWEVER, UH, AS YOU KNOW, THIS IS, UM, WE ARE IN A KIND OF A SHORT TIME SPAN.
SO ANY EVENT THAT, UM, THE, UH, UH, THIS, UM, UH, REQUEST IS APPROVED, UM, THEN THAT WOULD GIVE US, UH, A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF TIME TO ENSURE THAT THE STUDENTS ARE READY AS, UH, THE TEACHERS AND STUDENTS ARE READY TO START ON THE OPENING DAY OF SCHOOL.
WHAT, WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES IF, IF, IF
[02:20:01]
THE BOARD CHOSE NOT TO VOTE FOR THIS TONIGHT, WHAT, WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES? I MEAN, SCHOOL STARTS IN A WEEK, RIGHT? WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES? UH, ONE, UH, WE WON'T HAVE ENOUGH STAFFING TO, UH, TO HAVE, UH, TO REALLY SUPPORT THE PROGRAMMING FOR NEXT YEAR.UM, PART OF THE REASON, ONE OF THE REASONS WE TRY TO LOOK AT THIS, UH, UH, KIND OF, UM, COLLAPSING SOME OF THE SCHOOLS IS BECAUSE OF THE STAFFING.
UH, WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH STAFFING FOR, UH, ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE, AND A HIGH SCHOOL, UH, PROGRAMMING, AS WELL AS TO OPEN ANOTHER ALTERNATIVE SITE.
SO IF WE WERE ABLE TO, OR IF WE WERE ABLE TO, IF WE'RE NOT ABLE TO HAVE THE PROPOSAL APPROVED, THEN THEREFORE WE'RE GONNA BE IN SIGNIFICANT, UM, HAVE SIGNIFICANT STAFFING GAPS, UM, AT THE OPENING OF SCHOOL.
BECAUSE AT THIS CURRENT TIME, IF WE WERE TO LOOK AT THE PROGRAMMING IN THE WAY THAT IT IS, UH, WE WOULD ONLY HAVE, UH, VERY FEW VACANCIES AT THIS POINT.
SO SUPERINTENDENT, THIS IS, THIS IS MY CHALLENGE.
THIS, THIS IS ESSENTIALLY ALREADY BEEN DONE.
IF WE, IF WE SAY NO TO THIS, THEN, THEN, THEN IT PUTS EVERYBODY IN A SEVERE BOX.
UM, UM, PARTICULARLY GIVEN THAT SCHOOL'S OPEN IN IN TWO WEEKS, UM, OR SO.
SO, SO MY QUESTION FOR YOU, SUPERINTENDENT, IS HOW, HOW, HOW IS THIS BOARD TO FULFILL ITS ROLE AS A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE PUBLIC? RIGHT.
AND HAVE A VOICE, AN ACTUAL VOICE IN THESE DECISIONS? UM, UM, IF, IF THEY'RE PRESENTED TO US AT A TIME AND IN A MANNER WHERE WE REALLY HAVE VERY FEW REALISTIC OPTIONS TO, TO, TO, TO AFFECT THE DECISION CAUSE OF THE SIGNIFICANT NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT, UH, UH, VOTING FOR AN ACTION, WHICH IS LARGELY ALREADY BEEN PLANNED OUT AND, AND, AND THE GROUNDWORK LAID FOR, AND, AND NO ALTERNATIVE PLANS MADE FOR, FOR WHAT HAPPENS IF THE BOARD VOTES? NO.
HOW, HOW, HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO THAT? THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
UH, BOARD MEMBER MARK, THE REALITY IS, WE WERE REACTIONARY TO EVENTS THAT HAPPENED LAST YEAR.
UH, AND, UH, WE BEGAN TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS BASED ON, UH, THINGS SUCH AS TRYING TO QUICKLY FIGURE OUT SOLUTIONS AROUND, YOU KNOW, SEPARATING KIDS IN NEIGHBORHOODS, GRADE LEVELS, THOSE THINGS.
AND SO, UM, IF WE HAD A BETTER LEAD TIME, UH, WE WOULD PROBABLY, THIS WOULD BE A PLANNING FOR SOMETHING FOR US TO DO A YEAR OUT AND THEN PLAN TO DO THAT.
BUT UNFORTUNATELY, WITH THE, UM, UH, UNFORTUNATE SPACE THAT WE WERE IN SINCE LAST YEAR, WE MADE THE ADJUSTMENTS.
SO I, UM, I, I WOULD SAY TO YOU, YOU KNOW, THE, THE REALITY IS IT DOES PUT THE BOARD UNDER, UH, NOT ENOUGH TIME TO MAKE A DECISION, ESPECIALLY WITH SCHOOL ABOUT TO COME UP.
UM, UH, SO ON OUR END, OUR, OUR GOAL IS TO DO A BETTER JOB AND TRYING TO FORESHADOW THAT.
BUT THIS WAS A MUCH MORE, UM, REACTIONARY WAY FOR US TO TRY TO PROBLEM SOLVE A BIGGER ISSUE THAT WE'VE HAD THAT HAS ALSO BUBBLED UP, UM, YOU KNOW, FROM, UM, UH, THE MAJOR EVENT THAT WE HAD LAST YEAR.
I, I, I APPRECIATE THAT, THAT ANSWER.
I UNDERSTAND WHERE YOU'RE, WHERE YOU'RE COMING FROM IN TERMS OF, OF, UM, KIND OF INTERNAL PLANNING THAT, THAT ON AMONG YOU AND YOUR STAFF AND THE PRINCIPALS AND THE TEACHERS AND WHATNOT.
WHAT KIND OF, UM, UH, STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT AND PLANNING WAS DONE IN ORDER TO PREPARE FOR, FOR THIS? I, I UNDERSTAND BOARD MEETS ONCE A MONTH AND, AND ALL OF THAT.
YOU'VE GOTTA HAVE PLANS FIGURED OUT AND RESPOND TO THINGS, BUT, BUT, BUT WHAT KIND OF INTERNAL PLANNING AND VETTING WAS DONE? SO I'M GONNA ASK MR. JAMES, UH,
CAUSE UH, LARRY JAMES IS THE ONE THAT ACTUALLY WORKS DIRECTLY WITH ALTERNATIVE SCHOOLS.
HE CAN TELL YOU WHAT THE PROCESS HAS BEEN, UH, WITH LEADERS AND TEACHERS AND THOSE SORT.
TO THE BOARD MEMBERS, I'M LARRY JAMES, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION.
WE HAVE WORKED, UH, COLLABORATIVELY WITH, UH, COMMUNITY PARTNERS, UH, TO BEGIN TO PLUG AWAY AT THIS PROBLEM OF PRACTICE AND PREPARATION, UM, TO MEET THE CHALLENGES THAT WE'RE HAVING IN ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION.
UM, I HAVE COLLABORATED WITH THE OFFICE OF HUMAN RESOURCES.
UH, I CLOSELY MONITOR THE RESIGNATION DATA AND OUR DATA, UM, FROM OUR STAFF THAT GOES OUT ON LEAVE, GET FEEDBACK FROM OUR HUMAN RESOURCES STAFFING SUPERVISORS.
SO THAT WAS A DEPARTMENT IN WHICH WE SAW THAT THERE IS AN IMMEDIATE NEED IN ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION.
WE HAVE A SIGNIFICANT TEACHER RETENTION PROBLEM.
SO I HAVE WORKED, UM, TO THIS END WITH COMMUNITY PARTNERS IN DEVELOPING A RESPONSE TO, UM, DEVELOP PARTNERSHIPS TO REMOVE SOME OF THESE BARRIERS TO THE CHALLENGES THAT THEY'RE HAVING DURING THE SCHOOL DAY.
[02:25:01]
AND THE HUMAN RESOURCE WAS MR. JANE, CAN YOU NAME WHO THE COMMUNITY PARTNERS WERE? ABSOLUTELY.I MEAN, WITHOUT SAYING THE NAME, JUST MM-HMM.
SO WE ARE WORKING WITH, UM, WHEN WE HAVE PUT OUT A REQUEST TO 100, UH, BLACK MEN OF BATON ROUGE FAMILY ROADS OF BATON ROUGE, UH, PELICAN CREDIT UNION, PEAK MENTAL HEALTH, UH, SERVICES, UH, SEVERAL OTHERS.
WE DID WORK, UH, WE DID HAVE A SMALL FOCUS GROUP OF TEACHERS THAT WE GOT FEEDBACK AROUND THEIR CHALLENGES.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, TOWARD THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR, AND TO THE SUPERINTENDENT'S POINTS, I WORKED, I MET, UH, CONSECUTIVELY WITH THE TEACHERS AND DEPARTMENT LEADERS THROUGHOUT ALL OF THE ALTERNATIVE ED SCHOOLS, AND GOT THIS FEEDBACK FROM THEM IN TERMS OF THAT THERE WAS A NEED TO DEVELOP A RESPONSE, UM, TO THE CHALLENGES THAT WE ARE HAVING IN ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION.
THE, THE, THE PRINCIPALS AND TEACHERS AT THESE SCHOOLS.
HOW, WHAT KIND OF CONSULTATION HAPPENED WITH THEM? ABSOLUTELY.
SO, YES, UH, PRINCIPALS WERE INVOLVED TO THE EXTENT THAT, UH, WE DISCUSSED, UH, THE PROBLEM OF PRACTICE.
UH, WE MADE, UH, WE PUT ON THE TABLE SOME THINGS THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO, SOME OPPORTUNITY CALLS, SOME TRADE OFFS AND SOME THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND SO I DID, UH, WORK WITH OUR EXECUTIVE TEAM HERE, UH, TO DEVELOP A RESPONSE TO THAT.
SO, YES, PRINCIPALS WERE INCLUDED, UH, IN TERMS OF TALKING ABOUT THE PROBLEM OF PRACTICE.
BUT, YOU KNOW, AS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, IT'S MY RESPONSIBILITY TO WORK COLLABORATIVE WITH THE SUPERINTENDENT AND THE EXECUTIVE TEAM TO DEVELOP THAT RESPONSE.
SO, TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION IN TERMS OF, WAS THERE A PRINCIPAL WHO AGREED TO DO THIS? WAS THERE A TEACHER WHO AGREED TO DO THIS? RIGHT? SO THEY WERE ALL BROUGHT INTO THE CONVERSATION.
AND SO, UM, IT'S NEVER A THING, UH, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO MAKE A DECISION.
IT'S, UH, SOMETHING THAT'S NOT, NOT GONNA ALWAYS BE FAVORABLE, UH, WITH EVERYONE.
AND SO IT WASN'T NECESSARILY, UH, GETTING FEEDBACK FROM THE PRINCIPAL AND TEACHERS WAS NOT SOMETHING THAT THEY WOULD YIELD THE DECISION AND SAY, OKAY, THESE ARE THE EXECUTIVE DECISIONS THAT WE NEED TO MAKE TO CLOSE THESE GAPS IN ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION.
SO ABSOLUTELY, THEY WERE ENGAGED AROUND THEIR CONCERNS AROUND THE WORK ENVIRONMENT.
UH, WORKING IN ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION IS A VERY CHALLENGING ENVIRONMENT.
AND SO FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION VERY CLOSELY WITHIN THE LAST YEAR, YOU HAVE SEEN THAT WE HAVE HAD SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGES WITH STAFFING, RIGHT? AND SO I HAVE MET WITH THOSE STAFF MEMBERS, UM, WHO HAVE EXPRESSED, UM, THEIR, UH, DISCONTENT IN THEIR CONCERN ABOUT THE SAFETY AND WORKING IN ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION.
SO ALL OF THE CONCERNS WERE HEARD FROM TEACHERS AND FROM ADMINISTRATORS.
I THINK ONE OF MY MOST SIGNIFICANT, I'M SORRY, UH, SCHOOL MEMBER MARTIN, WE ARE FOUR MINUTES AND 45 SECONDS OVER, SO WE CAN COME BACK, UH, AFTER WE DO PUBLIC COMMENT.
NEXT, IN THE QUEUE, WE HAVE COACH CLIFF LEWIS.
MR. JAMES, WHAT WERE SOME OF THE CONCERNS BESIDES SAFETY THAT THEY EXPRESSED? ABSOLUTELY.
UH, WELL, THE NUMBER ONE, UH, CONCERN WAS SAFETY.
THE TEACHERS WERE CONCERNED ABOUT SOME TYPE OF STIPEND, UM, AN INCENTIVE.
IT IS ONE OF MY, IT WAS ONE OF MY, UH, FEEDBACK THAT I RECEIVED FROM STAFF THAT PREVIOUSLY, AND ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION STAFF DID RECEIVE SOME TYPE OF, UH, STIPEND OR INCENTIVE, UH, FOR WORKING THERE.
ANOTHER CONCERN WAS TEACHER COVERAGE.
IN ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION, WE HAVE SIGNIFICANT STAFFING GAPS, RIGHT? FROM TEACHER ATTENDANCE, UM, TO TEACHERS GOING OUT ON LEAVE.
SO WHAT HAPPENS IS THOSE TEACHERS THAT DO SHOW UP TO WORK EVERY DAY ON THE TIME THAT CONTRACTUALLY, CONTRACTUALLY, THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BE PLANNING, THEY'RE COVERING CLASSES, UM, THEY'RE HAVING TO DO DUE.
AND SO THAT WAS ANOTHER CONCERN, UM, FOR THEM.
SO THEY'RE NOT ACTUALLY ABLE TO, UM, LIVE OUT THE DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITY THAT THEY HAVE CONTRACTED TO WITH THE DISTRICT BECAUSE THEY'RE HAVING TO COVER FOR, UH, THEIR PEERS.
ANOTHER CONCERN THAT WE HAVE IS STUDENT ATTENDANCE.
UM, AS WE'RE SPEAKING SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE BEACHWOOD CAMPUS, WHICH IS LOCATED IN THE NORTHERN QUARTER OF OUR DISTRICT, UM, THOSE STUDENTS HAVE ABOUT A HOUR AND 45 MINUTE, UM, POSSIBLY HOUR AND 30 MINUTE COMMUTE TO THE SCHOOL.
SO WE HAD A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF STUDENTS THAT WERE ARRIVING TO SCHOOL LATE, UM, DUE TO, UH, THE LOCATION OF THE SCHOOL.
SO THAT DEEPLY, UM, THAT WAS A CONCERN OF TEACHERS AS WELL.
UM, WHO'S GOING TO BE THE PRINCIPAL AT THE HIGH SCHOOL, UH, THAT HAS, UM, NOT, UH, AT, AT LIBERTY AT THIS MOMENT TO DISCUSS, UH, PERSONNEL MATTERS, UH, PUBLICLY.
AND SO WE, THAT HAS NOT A DECISION, HAS NOT BEEN, GO AHEAD.
WE, WE WILL HAVE THE, THAT DECISION WILL HAPPEN NEXT DAY OR TWO.
AGAIN, UH, THE MIDDLE SCHOOL, I JUST, YOU'RE GOING TO, YOU'RE GOING TO PUT, UM, LEMME SEE, WHERE IS IT? YOU'RE GONNA PUT MIDDLE SCHOOL KIDS ON THE CAMPUS WITH THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL KIDS, CORRECT? YES, SIR.
AND NOW, YOU KNOW, WE TALKED ABOUT THE BARRIERS AND THE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT WE'RE GOING TO DO.
I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S GOING TO HELP, BECAUSE, YOU
[02:30:01]
KNOW, KIDS WILL FIND A WAY TO DO THINGS THEY WANT TO DO.WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PUTTING THESE KIDS AT THE GREENVILLE SITE.
A LOT OF THOSE KIDS ARE FROM THAT COMMUNITY.
IN THE PAST, YOU'VE HAD, UH, DUST UPS BETWEEN THE KIDS AT THE ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL AND THE KIDS AT CAPITOL MIDDLE.
TO ME, THAT'S NOT GOING TO WORK.
YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE OLDER KIDS ON CAMPUSES WITH YOUNGER KIDS.
UH, AND I'VE SAID THIS, THIS IS THE THIRD TIME I'VE SAID THIS.
YOU'RE GONNA GET SOME YOUNG MEN THAT ARE GONNA GET THEMSELVES IN TROUBLE.
YOU'RE GONNA GET THEMSELVES IN TROUBLE, AND THEY'RE GOING TO, AND IT'S GONNA FOLLOW 'EM FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES.
YOU HAD 132 FIGHTS AT THE MIDDLE SCHOOL LAST YEAR, 132.
SO ARE YOU GONNA TAKE THOSE SAME KIDS AND PUT 'EM IN AN AREA? I MEAN, THEY'RE AT HOME.
A LOT OF THOSE KIDS ARE GOING TO BE FROM THAT AREA.
HOW YOU GONNA KEEP 'EM ON CAMPUS? IN THE PAST THEY'VE LEFT CAMPUS.
YOU HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO CONTROL 'EM.
I JUST SEE, YOU KNOW, I, I JUST, I, I, I DISAGREE WITH THAT FACT.
UM, AND YOU'RE GOING TO PUT YOUNGER KIDS ON A HIGH SCHOOL CAMPUS.
KIDS WHO ARE NORMALLY IN A MIDDLE SCHOOL ARE GONNA BE ON THE SCHOOL WITH A HIGH SCHOOL, K UH, HIGH SCHOOL KIDS.
I DON'T THINK THIS WAS VERY WELL THOUGHT OUT.
I THINK IT WAS A VERY KNEE-JERK REACTION TO SOME THINGS.
AND, UM, I JUST DON'T THINK IT'S VERY WELL THOUGHT OUT.
UM, AND IT'S GOING TO LEAD TO SOME ISSUES.
THE DAY WE HAD THE BIG MIELE, I WAS IN A CONVERSATION WITH SOMEONE ON THE BOARD ABOUT ALTERNATIVE SCHOOLS WHEN HIS PHONE RANG TO TELL HIM THAT THEY WERE TEARING IT UP OVER AT BROOKSTOWN.
THESE ARE SOME OF THE MOST VULNERABLE KIDS IN OUR SYSTEM, AND I THINK THAT WE ARE GIVING THEM, I DON'T THINK THAT WE ARE TREATING THEM, I'M GONNA USE THE WORD RESPECT, THAT WE'RE TREATING EVERYBODY ELSE, ALL THE OTHER KIDS.
I THINK WE'RE JUST TRYING TO FIND A KNEE JERK REACTION TO SOLVE A PROBLEM THAT WE'VE NEVER ADDRESSED.
I CANNOT SUPPORT THIS THE WAY IT'S SET UP RIGHT NOW.
SO, SO IF I MAY, UM, SO JUST SPEAK TO, YOU GOT 42, I GOT 42 SECONDS.
SO IF I COULD JUST SPEAK TO THE PIECE ABOUT THE, THE, THE OVERAGE.
SO IF YOU KNOW THAT WE HAVE SEVERAL GRADE CONFIGURATIONS, UM, IN OUR DISTRICT, UH, THAT DO INCLUDE, UM, K TO EIGHT, AND WE HAVE THE SAME ISSUES AT, IN THOSE SCHOOLS THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE AT THIS SCHOOL.
AND SO AT, AT NORTHDALE ACADEMY, THERE'S ALSO A SIX TO 12, UH, CAMPUS AS WELL, WHICH HAS BEEN IN EXISTENCE FOR OVER, UH, 15 YEARS.
SO I JUST, AND NORTHDALE SHOULD BE THE, THE BLUEPRINT, BECAUSE THAT SCHOOL WAS MOVED FROM F TO A C IN TWO YEARS.
WE ALSO HAVE, UH, WE HAVE SEVERAL, YOU KNOW, SIX THROUGH 12 CAMPUSES.
YOU ALSO HAVE AMA, YOU ALSO HAVE GLEN, GLEN OAKS HIGH SCHOOL, HIGH SCHOOL.
YOU ALSO HAVE, UH, NORTHEAST HIGH SCHOOL.
ALL OF THOSE SCHOOLS ARE SIX TO 12, SEVEN TO 12, WHICH IS THE SAME BASICALLY AGE CONFIGURATION.
SO IT'S NOT NECESSARILY THE AGE OF THE STUDENTS, IT'S JUST HOW WE ARE ABLE TO SUPPORT THE STUDENTS AND THE TEACHERS IN THE BUILDING.
AND THOSE STUDENTS THAT WILL BE COMING TO, UM, THE ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL ARE NOT, STUDENTS ARE COMING FROM OUT OF STATE OR FROM ANOTHER DISTRICT.
THEY'RE COMING FROM SCHOOLS THAT ARE ACTUALLY IN OUR DISTRICT AT THIS CURRENT TIME, OR WILL BE.
AND I'D ALSO, UH, LIKE TO ADD THAT, UH, OVER AGE.
THESE ARE MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS.
THESE ARE NOT OVER AGE STUDENTS.
THESE ARE MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS WHO HAVE BEEN SUBJECTED TO DUE PROCESS IN OUR DISTRICT.
AND SO THEY'RE GOING OVER TO, UH, TO BE EXPELLED.
SO THEY'RE NOT NECESSARILY OVER AGE.
THEY'RE GOING OVER TO BE WHAT? TO BE EX THEY'RE EXPELLED.
SO THAT ON THE SAME CAMPUS WITH THE, THE K TO FIVE, UM, STUDENTS WHO HAVE ALSO BEEN SUBJECTED TO THE DUE PROCESS.
SO WE'RE EXPELLING KIDS, RIGHT? WE'RE PUTTING, WE'RE PUTTING THEM INTO PLACE.
SO ARE WE, ARE WE GONNA DO ANYTHING TO FIND OUT, NOT NECESSARILY WE KNOW WHAT THEY DID TO GET THERE, BUT ARE WE GONNA DO ANYTHING TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM FOR THEM TO END UP THERE? WERE THOSE THE COMMUNITY PARTNERS YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT? YES.
SO, I'M SORRY, COACH, IT'S GONNA BE THE LONG LAST QUESTION.
SO, UH, IN RESPONSE, UM, TO YOUR CONCERN ABOUT, OKAY, THEY ARE SUBJECTED TO THE DUE PROCESS, WHAT DO WE DO WHEN WE GET THERE? UM, OUR SCHOOLS ARE EQUIPPED, UM, WITH ONE SCHOOL COUNSELOR, OFTEN A SOCIAL WORKER.
AND SO WHAT HAPPENS IS SCHOOLS ARE NOT EQUIPPED TO RESPOND TO THE NEEDS OF STUDENTS IN REAL TIME, ASIDE FROM THE COUNSELOR.
SO I HAVE WORKED TO DEVELOP AN INITIATIVE, UH, THAT IS BASED OFF OF THE RESEARCH FROM THE KC FOUNDATION IN WHICH WE IMPLEMENT SCHOOL YOUTH-BASED SERVICES, WHICH ON SITE YOU HAVE, UH, SEVERAL UMBRELLAS OF WRAPAROUND SUPPORTS FOR STU STUDENTS, WHICH WE CURRENTLY DO NOT HAVE, UM, IN ANY OF OUR ALTERNATIVE ED SITES.
[02:35:01]
I DO HEAR YOU IN THAT I DO OWN, UH, THE CHALLENGE THAT THE SCHOOL IS LOCATED, UM, IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, BUT THERE ARE ALSO OPPORTUNITY COSTS, UM, WHEN YOU TRADE IT OFF.SO, YES, THEY MAY BE CLOSER TO THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD, BUT WE ALSO HAVE STUDENTS THAT WERE TRAVELING AN HOUR AND 45 MINUTES.
IF YOU LIVE IN THE SOUTHERN CORRIDOR OR THE DISTRICT AND YOU WERE EXPELLED, YOU HAVE AN HOUR AND 45 MINUTE RIDE TO BEACHWOOD.
UM, ALSO NOTE THAT THE SAME AREA IN WHICH WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE CAPITOL MIDDLE SCHOOL AREA, SPECIFICALLY, WHEN THOSE STUDENTS WERE EXPELLED, THEY WERE EXPELLED AND PUT ON THE SAME BUS WITH EACH OTHER TO RIDE AN HOUR AND 15 MINUTES UP TO BEACHWOOD.
AND SO IF YOU, UM, CHECK THE DATE AND ALSO, UH, WITH THE BATON ROUGE POLICE DEPARTMENT, YOU WILL SEE THAT THERE ARE SEVERAL RECORDED INCIDENTS OF, UM, VIOLENCE THAT TAKE PLACE ON A WEEKLY BASIS ON THAT ROUTE.
UM, AND SO WE JUST HAVE TO MAKE A DECISION, UM, AS A BOARD AND, AND AS SU SUPERINTENDENT.
WHAT ARE THOSE OPPORTUNITY? UH, WHAT, WHAT ARE, WHAT ARE THOSE TRADEOFFS? WELL, THAT AIN'T THEIR FAULT.
NEXT IN THE QUEUE, WE HAVE VICE PRESIDENT, PA UH, PAUL LEWIS.
MR. JAMES, IF YOU'LL COME BACK TO THE MIC, UM, I JUST WANTED TO ASK WITH EVERYTHING THAT'S BEEN STATED.
UM, AND I KNOW WE'VE MENTIONED THIS AT A PREVIOUS MEETING AS WELL, OF TALKING ABOUT THERE BEING PARTITIONS TO SEPARATE THE DIFFERENT AGE GROUPS.
TELL ME WHAT, IF YOU CAN, CAN YOU GIVE US A SYNOPSIS OF WHAT THE SAFETY PLAN WILL BE? ABSOLUTELY.
CONSIDERING THAT THIS IS CONSIDERED AS OUR MOST AT RISK POPULATION OF STUDENTS.
SO I'LL FIRST START WITH THE BROOKSTOWN, UH, CAMPUS.
THE BROOKSTOWN CAMPUS, PREVIOUSLY A MIDDLE SCHOOL SPRAWLING CAMPUS.
UM, IT IS SIGNIFICANTLY UNDERUTILIZED.
UM, THERE WERE SEVERAL BUILDINGS ON THE BROOKSTOWN CAMPUS THAT WERE, THAT HAVE NOT BEEN IN USE, RIGHT? AND SO, FOR EXAMPLE, THE EIGHTH GRADE STUDENTS WILL BE IN A BUILDING TO THEMSELVES, OKAY? THE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS, THE NINE THROUGH 12 STUDENTS.
AND PLEASE NOTE THAT EVEN THOUGH IT IS A FIVE GRADE, UH, LEVEL CONFIGURATION, 12TH GRADE STUDENTS ARE SIGNIFICANTLY, UH, THE EXPULSION RATE IS SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER.
SO ESSENTIALLY BROOKSTOWN IS JUST ESSENTIALLY EIGHTH, NINTH, 10TH, AND 11TH GRADE, RIGHT? SO EIGHTH GRADE WILL BE ALONE WHEN IT COMES TO THE MORNING ADMISSION.
EIGHTH GRADE WILL ENTER THROUGH A DIFFERENT DOOR FROM HIGH SCHOOLERS IN AN EXPULSION SITE.
OUR STUDENTS ARE SUBJECTED TO, UM, A SEARCH, RIGHT? SO MIDDLE SCHOOL, THEY WILL BE SEARCHED AND THEY WILL GO DIRECTLY TO CLASS, SAME WITH THE HIGH SCHOOL, AND THEY WILL NOT EAT, UH, BREAKFAST IN THE CAFETERIA.
BREAKFAST WILL BE SERVED, UH, ON THE GO.
THAT IS ONE CHANGE FROM LAST YEAR.
UM, IF YOU REWIND THE EVENTS FROM LAST YEAR, ONE OF THE PART OF THE DAILY ROUTINE IS THAT THOSE STUDENTS TRANSITIONED ONCE THEY WERE CHECKED TO THE GYM OR THE CAFETERIA AND THEY WERE THERE, RIGHT? AND IMAGINE THOSE DAYS THAT HALF THE STAFF CALLED OUT, RIGHT? AND SO YOU HAVE THE ADMINISTRATION AND MYSELF, WE HAVE TO GO AND BE RESPONSIVE TO THAT.
SO ONE OF THE WAYS TO MITIGATE THAT IS WE WANT TO ENSURE THAT AT ONCE THE STUDENTS ARE SEARCHED, THAT THEY GO DIRECTLY TO CLASS, AND THAT WE WILL WORK WITH DR.
MANN'S TEAM TO ENSURE THAT THEY GET BREAKFAST ON THE GO.
AS IT RELATES TO, UH, THE TRANSPORTATION, UH, WELL, AS IT RELATES TO THE STUDENTS ON THE K2 SEVEN CAMPUS THAT I'M RECOMMENDING THOSE SIXTH AND SEVENTH GRADE STUDENTS, THEY WILL COME AT A DIFFERENT TIME.
THEY WILL BE A PART OF THE WAVE OF MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS, SIXTH AND SEVENTH GRADE STUDENTS.
UM, YOU KNOW, UM, CONTRA, UM, COUNTER TO, UH, THE NARRATIVE THAT HAS BEEN PUT OUT, UM, UH, THERE, THEY WILL NOT BE RIDING ON THE SAME BUS.
I WORK CLOSELY WITH CHIEF SPALDING'S TEAM AND, UH, DIRECTOR MOORE TO ENSURE THAT K TO FIVE STUDENTS WILL BE ON A BUS, SIXTH AND SEVENTH GRADE STUDENTS WILL BE ON A BUS.
SO AT THE ELEMENTARY LEVEL, THEY WILL NOT BE ON THE BUS.
AS A PART OF THE SECURITY PLAN, THE SUPERINTENDENT WAS ALREADY LEADING OUT AN INITIATIVE TO ENSURE THAT OUR CAMPUSES BEGIN TO BE FENCED, RIGHT? AND SO TO THAT END, UH, CHIEF SPALDING'S TEAM HAS ALREADY BEGAN TO OPERATIONALIZE IT AND HAS PRIORITIZED ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION.
UH, SO WITHIN THAT AREA, AT THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, THE ENTIRE CAMPUS HAS BEEN FENCED IN.
AND SO THEY HAVE APPLIED WHAT WE CALL THE CHOKE CODE PRACTICE, RIGHT? WHICH MEANS THERE'S ONLY ONE WAY IN AND ONE WAY OUT OF THAT CAMPUS BASED OFF OF HOW THE FENCING, UM, HAS BEEN SET UP.
RIGHT? AND SO THERE ARE NOT MULTIPLE ENTRY POINTS INTO THE CAMPUS, RIGHT? SO THAT FIT IS NOW NEW AND IT HAS BEEN ERECTED.
I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE WE CORRECT YOU MEAN, UH, AS AN ACTUAL, UM, ENTRY, AN ACTUAL POINT OF ACTION.
CHOKE POINT, CHOKE, CHOKE, COLD.
BOARD MEMBER GOD DAY, AND THANK YOU SO MUCH.
SO ALL OF THAT, THAT WAS STATED, INCLUDING THE LAST PART ABOUT CHOKE POINTS, POINTS,
SO THANK YOU SO MUCH, MR. JAMES.
[02:40:01]
ALSO, UM, OTHER, UM, INTERVENTIONS AND, AND THINGS.SO, YOU KNOW, IF YOU ASK FOR ME TO, UH, DIGRESS ON THAT, I WILL.
THANK YOU MADAM VICE PRESIDENT.
OKAY, NEXT, I'LL PUT MYSELF INSIDE OF THE QUEUE.
I'LL TRY TO BE AS QUICK AND CONCISE AS POSSIBLE TO ADD SOME CONTEXT TO THE CONVERSATION AS IT REGARDS, UH, MULTI-LEVEL CONFIGURATIONS.
SO CURRENTLY AS IT STANDS, WE HAVE MULTIPLE SCHOOLS TO HAVE MULTI-LEVEL CONFIGURATIONS.
BAYFAIR, MAYFAIR, FOREST HEIGHTS, NORTHEAST, UH, GLEN OAKS, RUMER HIGH MCKINLEY'S NEW MODEL, THE ONE WE JUST APPROVED FOR JK HAYNES.
SO THAT'S LESS OF A CONCERN TO ME.
UH, WHEN I THINK ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED, UH, AT, UH, UH, BROOKSTOWN, UH, IT HAD LESS TO DO WITH THE GRADE CONFIGURATION AND MORE TO DO WITH THE, UH, BEHAVIORAL MONITORING OF WHAT'S HAPPENED WITH KIDS.
YOU HAD KIDS THAT HAD LITERALLY JUST HAD A FIGHT THAT HAS SLEWED FROM THE COMMUNITY, THAT SLEWED OVER INTO THE SCHOOLS, AND THEN THOSE SAME KIDS WERE PUT IN PLACE AT THE SAME SITES.
THAT SHOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED.
AND I CAN APPRECIATE THE FACT THAT WE CAN OWN THAT SPACE RIGHT NOW AND SAY THAT WE SHOULD HAVE DONE A BETTER JOB WITH THAT.
UM, ANOTHER CONCERN OF MINE IS, I THINK THAT VICE PRESIDENT POWELL BROUGHT THIS UP LAST TIME IS THAT WHAT DO YOU DO WITH THE BUILDINGS, UH, LIKE, UM, BAY, I'M SORRY, UH, BEACHWOOD, AFTER YOU MOVE THOSE KIDS FROM THAT SITE.
THE LAST THING I WANNA SEE HAPPEN IS THAT WE HAVE DILAPIDATED ABANDONED BUILDINGS IN THOSE AREAS THAT NOTHING'S HAPPENING AT THOSE SCHOOLS.
BECAUSE WHAT WE TEND TO SEE HAPPEN IS THAT PEOPLE THAT ARE INSIDE OF THOSE COMMUNITIES ARE PEOPLE WHO MAY NOT BE FROM THOSE COMMUNITIES.
THEY BREAK INTO THOSE SCHOOLS, THEY TERRORIZE AND TEAR THOSE BUILDINGS UP.
AND THOSE SCHOOLS ARE STILL A PART OF OUR RESPONSIBILITY.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO LIKE TO KNOW WHAT ARE OUR PLANS FOR ENSURING ONE THAT THE NOBODY CAN HAVE ACCESS TO THOSE BUILDINGS IF WE'RE NOT GONNA USE THEM.
AND THEN TWO, UH, MAKE SURE THAT WE GET, UH, SOME LEVEL OF METRICS TO LET OUR BOARD KNOW HOW WE'RE GOING TO BEHAVIOR MONITOR THESE STUDENTS AT THESE SCHOOLS TO JUSTIFY THESE MOVES THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT MAKING.
SO WITH THE, UM, DIFFERENT WITH THE BEACHWOOD SITE, UM, I KNOW THAT JUST BASED ON THE FACT THAT WE ARE, UH, CLOSING THE SITE, THAT WE'LL BE SAVING SOME, UM, UM, SOME FUNDING.
UM, PART OF THE, UH, OF COURSE ONE OF THE THINGS IS THAT NONE OF THE TEACHERS WILL, ALL OF THE TEACHERS WILL BE REALLOCATED IN THROUGHOUT THE, UH, TRANSITION REGION.
SO NO, NO TEACHER WILL, UH, BE TRANSFERRED IN TERMS OF THE, UM, BEACHWOOD SITE.
IN TERMS OF THE FUNDING, I BELIEVE AFTER SPEAKING WITH MRS. UM, SPALDING AND MR. MORALES, UM, WE WILL SAVE ABOUT $38,000 ON CUSTODIAL SERVICES.
UM, WE STILL, OF COURSE, WILL HAVE TO DEAL WITH THE UPKEEP, BUT WE STILL BE ABLE TO SAVE, UH, THERE WILL BE SOME SIGNIFICANT SAVINGS BASED ON THAT.
MS, BEFORE YOU GO, MS. BALDWIN, I, I JUST WANT TO COMMENT ON SOMETHING.
I DON'T WANT THE IDEA WHY WE'RE DOING THIS TO BE CONNECTED TO A DOLLAR.
I DON'T WANT TO ASSOCIATE SCHOOL SAFETY TO SAVING MONEY BECAUSE THAT SHOULDN'T BE THE REASON WHY WE DO THIS.
AND I'M NOT, I'M NOT TRYING TO, UH, ATTEMPT TO SAY THAT THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.
NO, I'M JUST SAYING IN THE, IN THE INSTANCE OF THIS CONVERSATION, I JUST, IT'S AN EASIER CONVERSATION TO SAY THAT WE'RE DOING THIS TO HELP BENEFIT STUDENTS IN THIS WAY LIKE A, B, C, AND D.
BUT I DON'T WANT US TO START ANY CONVERSATION WITH, WE'RE DOING THIS IN ORDER TO SAVE MONEY OR WE'RE SAVING DOLLARS BY DOING THIS.
WELL, IT CERTAINLY WASN'T ANY INTENT TO SAY THAT WE'RE DOING THIS TO, FOR ANY FINANCIAL REASONS.
WE'RE DOING THIS BECAUSE WE SAW THE NEED BASED ON ONE, SOME OF THE INCIDENTS AND THINGS THAT WE WERE HAVING THAT WERE TAKING PLACE IN ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION.
UM, THE OTHER PIECE IS THAT, UM, WE ALSO, AS YOU KNOW, BASED ON THE INCIDENT THAT TOOK PLACE LAST YEAR, PART OF THE REASON THAT THAT INCIDENT TOOK PLACE IS THAT WE ONLY HAD ONE ALTERNATIVE PROGRAM, ONE ALTERNATIVE HIGH SCHOOL, ONE ALTERNATIVE MIDDLE SCHOOL, ONE ALTERNATIVE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
SO NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENED, IF YOU HAD A GROUP FIGHT OR UM, UH, THEN YOU WERE EXPELLED, YOU ALL WENT TO THE SAME, YOU WENT BACK TO THE SAME SCHOOL.
SO NOW WHAT WE HAVE TRIED TO DO IN TERMS OF TRYING TO JUST MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE ADDRESSING SOME OF THE CONCERNS IS THAT WE ARE TRYING TO SEPARATE OUR STUDENTS.
SO THAT'S WHY THE ROSENWALD SITE WAS DEVELOPED SO THAT IN THE EVENT THAT WE HAVE SOME SAME SIMILAR ISSUES THIS YEAR, OTHER STUDENTS DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE TO GO TO THE SAME SITE.
THEY COULD BE SPLIT UP, UM, IN TERMS AND STILL CONTINUE WITH THEIR EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING.
AND SO YOU ASKED IF THERE WERE PLANS FOR THE SITE.
UM, CURRENTLY WE'VE HAD A LOT OF ISSUES WITH GUNSHOTS IN THE AREA.
UM, SOME OF THE STAFF WOULD HAVE TO GO OUT AND CLEAN UP THE BASKETBALL COURTS AND WHAT HAVE YOU, WHICH AREA? BEACHWOOD SITE.
SO CURRENTLY WE'RE PLANNING TO BOARD UP THE SITE AND SECURE IT.
UM, AND AS THE MASTER PLAN UNFOLDS, WE'LL BE ABLE TO DETERMINE HOW TO BEST UTILIZE THAT SITE, WHETHER IT'S TO REPURPOSE IT IN THE COMMUNITY, WHETHER IT'S TO PROVIDE ALTERNATIVE PROGRAMMING THERE OR WHAT HAVE YOU.
NOT ALTERNATIVE SCHOOLS, BUT MAYBE AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAMMING COMMUNITY
[02:45:01]
SITE OR WHAT HAVE YOU.AND I HAVE ABOUT 20 SECONDS LEFT, SO I JUST ALSO WANNA REMIND THE BOARD THAT AS WE, UH, PUT SOME FINAL MODIFICATIONS TO THE LAST BUDGET, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DID TALK ABOUT AND THIS UH, WAS ONE OF THE OPINIONS THAT CAME UP FROM COACH ACTUALLY, WAS THAT WE NEED TO PRIORITIZE PUTTING SOME APS ON THOSE TWO CAMPUSES.
SO THOSE WERE TWO THINGS THAT WE DID, UH, PUSH BACK INSIDE OR ADDED TO THE BUDGET TO ENSURE THAT WE HAVE SOME ADDITIONAL BODIES THERE.
CUZ AGAIN, GOING BACK TO WHAT HAPPENED AT BROOKSTOWN, THE DAY THAT TOOK PLACE, THE PRINCIPAL WAS OFF CAMPUS AT A PD AND SHE HAD NO AP SO THERE WAS NOBODY THERE TO GIVE DIRECTION.
SO A LOT OF THOSE, WHEN YOU HAVE NO ONE IN THOSE SPACES, WHEN THOSE THINGS HAPPEN, UH, THAT'S, IT GIVES ROOM FOR THOSE TYPES OF ERRORS TO OCCUR.
UH, AND PRESIDENT LAND IS PENDING ON BOARD APPROVAL.
WE'VE ALREADY STARTED TO IDENTIFY, UM, WHO, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF APS TO MOVE THERE.
UH, SEND OTHER NAMES INSIDE OF THE QUEUE AT THIS TIME.
WE'LL NOW GO TO PUBLIC COMMENT.
FIRST UP, WE HAVEN'T STORM MATTHEWS.
BEFORE I GET TO WHAT I ALREADY HAD WRITTEN, I JUST WANNA CORRECT A COUPLE OF THINGS.
THEY WERE TOLD WHAT WAS GOING TO BE HAPPENING.
THE ELEMENTARY AND THE MIDDLE SCHOOL WERE FULLY STAFFED.
THE CUSTODIAN ACTUALLY COVERED A FEW CLASSES AT THAT HIGH SCHOOL LAST YEAR.
UM, THE TEACHERS FROM THE MIDDLE SCHOOL DO NOT KNOW WHERE THEY'RE GOING TO BE TEACHING NEXT YEAR.
THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO BE TEACHING TEACHERS PLAN DURING THE SUMMER.
THE NEW HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL IS MR. CLARK.
SO SINCE THEY WOULDN'T TELL YOU, I'LL TELL YOU.
UM, IF YOU DO NOT KNOW YOUR HISTORY, YOU ARE DOOMED TO REPEAT IT.
UNDER BERNARD TAYLOR GREENVILLE WAS THE EXPULSION SITE AND IT WAS RUN BY SHAANA JOHNSON.
MS. JOHNSON HAD DONE A PHENOMENAL JOB GETTING VALLEY PARK BACK UNDER CONTROL AT THE GREENVILLE LOCATION.
THERE WAS NOT A GOOD LOCATION FOR THIS POPULATION OF CHILDREN AT THE SITE.
SHE BEGGED THEM TO MOVE THESE KIDS OFF OF THIS LOCATION.
IT WAS ALL UP AND DOWN GREENVILLE SPRINGS.
THEY WERE BREAKING ONTO CAPITOL MIDDLE SITE, UH, UH, CAPITOL MIDDLES INTO THE SCHOOL.
CUZ ONCE YOU ARE EXPELLED OR UM, SUSPENDED, YOU CANNOT GO BACK ONTO THE CAMPUS.
THE LARGEST POPULATION OF KIDS EXPELLED OR SUSPENDED OUTTA THIS DISTRICT COME FROM CAPITOL MIDDLE.
SHE BEGGED THEM TO GET HER OFF OF THAT SITE.
SO WHERE ARE WE TRYING TO SEND 'EM BACK TO? CUZ WE DON'T DO OUR HISTORY LESSON, WE DON'T LEARN WHERE WE'VE ALREADY BEEN.
WE ISOLATED THOSE KIDS OUT TO THE OTHER SITE OUT IN BAKER BECAUSE IT WAS A BETTER SITE FOR THEM.
WE ALSO HAVE A LOT OF RUNNERS, SPECIAL NEEDS RUNNERS ON THAT CAMPUS WHERE THEY RUN NOW THEY RUN TO THE SAFETY OF A FIELD WHERE THEY CAN BE CAUGHT SAFELY AND RETURN BACK TO THE SCHOOL, TO THE TEACHERS.
WHERE ARE THEY GONNA RUN WHEN THEY'RE RUNNING INTO GREENVILLE SPRINGS? I HAVE A RUNNER.
ALSO UNDER THE WHO'S AUTHORITY DID LARRY JAMES SPEAK TO ALL ALTERNATIVE EMPLOYEES ON MAY 18TH AND TELL THEM WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN? HAD I NOT CAUGHT WIND OF THIS, WOULD IT EVEN BE COMING TO THE BOARD? I DON'T FUSS A WHOLE LOT ABOUT ROSENWALD BECAUSE IT IS SEPARATING THE TWO KIDS, BUT THAT STILL HASN'T COME BEFORE THE BOARD BECAUSE IT'S NOT INCLUDED IN WHICH Y'ALL ARE LOOKING AT TODAY.
LASTLY, ACCORDING TO BULLETIN 1 31 REVISED MARCH, 2021, APPROVAL TO OPERATE ANY ALTERNATIVE PROGRAM MUST BE ATTAINED FROM BESSIE.
ONE, A SCHOOL SYSTEM CHOOSING TO IMPLEMENT AN ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL OR PROGRAM SHALL NOTIFY THE L D E ORF ON OR BEFORE MARCH 15TH.
ANNUALLY, THE L D E WILL SUBMIT TO BESSIE THE ANNUAL LIST OF SITES TO APPROVE OR DISAPPROVED BY APRIL ONE.
SO, UM, DID Y'ALL DO THAT? DID YOU CROSS THE T'S AND DOT YOUR I'S BECAUSE THIS MEETING WAS ON MAY 18TH THAT HE HAD WITH, WITH THE, THE TEACHERS? LETTING EVERYBODY KNOW THIS IS JULY 20TH.
I THINK WE'VE MISSED THAT DEADLINE.
NEXT WE HAVE MS. COURTNEY SPE.
I'M SORRY, HAVE I DID I, IS THAT A P R D SPE? OKAY, I GOT IT.
UH, AND I'LL JUST CALL DOWN THE NEXT PERSON RIGHT BEHIND HER MS. SHARON LAW.
SO I'VE TAUGHT AT E B R READINESS FOR TWO YEARS NOW.
UM, STARTED OUT IN MY MASTER'S DEGREE PROGRAM IN 2021 AND AUGUST, 2022, I WAS TEACHING ALL FOUR GRADE LEVELS.
RIGHT NOW, THERE ARE SEVEN, UH, POSITIONS OPENED ACCORDING TO THE CAREERS PORTAL ON E B R SCHOOLS.
THIS SAME INCIDENT THAT HAPPENED IN MARCH IS GONNA HAPPEN AGAIN.
AND I SAID THAT IN A TAG MEETING BEFORE, I KNOW YOU'VE PROBABLY HEARD ME SAY EVERYTHING ABOUT THE STAFFING MODEL THAT KIND OF GUTTED THE SCHOOL IN THE FIRST PLACE.
BUT WE DO NOT HAVE THE STAFF TO KEEP OUR KIDS SAFE.
[02:50:01]
THE STAFF WASN'T THERE.WE DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH PEOPLE TO BREAK UP A FIGHT.
WE DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH PEOPLE TO TAKE THESE KIDS FROM THE CAFETERIA TO THE CLASSROOM.
WE STARTED OUT WITH 13 ACTUAL TEACHERS.
13 CERTIFIED TEACHERS ENDED WITH SIX.
THERE WAS NO CONVERSATIONS THAT I CAN THINK OF WHERE WE WOULD'VE SAID THAT, OH YEAH, LET'S ADD SOME MORE KIDS.
WE HIT 200 STUDENTS ON AVERAGE KIND OF IN FEBRUARY.
WE DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH STAFF AT THAT TIME TO TAKE CARE OF THOSE KIDS.
THERE ARE 17 CLASSROOMS THAT I CAN THINK OF IN THE HALLWAY THAT I WORKED IN.
UNTIL WE GET THE STAFF, WE CAN'T PROMISE THE SAFETY.
AND THOSE KIDS, ONCE AGAIN, THEY ARE OUR MOST VULNERABLE STUDENTS.
THEY NEED THAT ELEMENT OF SAFETY.
WE KNOW THAT THE METAL DETECTORS DON'T KEEP EVERYTHING OUT.
I CAUGHT A KID WITH A VAPE ON ALMOST THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL.
HE WENT THROUGH THE METAL DETECTOR.
I CHECKED HIM IN IN THE MORNING.
SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT ADDING MORE WARM BODIES TO THAT CAMPUS, THEY SHOULD BE TEACHERS, NOT MORE STUDENTS.
I UNDERSTAND WE NEED A PLACE TO PUT THOSE MIDDLE SCHOOL KIDS, BUT IT IS NOT SAFE.
I WARNED US BEFORE THAT MARCH 17TH, SEVENTH WAS GOING TO HAPPEN.
200 PLUS PEOPLE FIGHTING ON CAMPUS.
TEACHERS GOT HURT, TEACHER GOT MACED.
AND WE DID HAVE ADMINISTRATORS ON THAT CAMPUS.
UH, MS. JOHNSON WAS AT A PD, BUT WE DID HAVE TWO ADMINISTRATORS WHO WERE SUPPOSED TO BE THERE.
SO I WOULD LOOK AT STAFFING, I WOULD LOOK AT ANY OTHER ALTERNATIVE, BUT YOU'RE GONNA PUT KIDS IN TR IN DEEP TROUBLE HERE AND I'M WORRIED ABOUT IT.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS, MS. LAW.
I'M SHARON LAW AND I'VE WORKED AT E B R READINESS HIGH SINCE 2015.
ON MARCH 12 OF THIS YEAR, E B R READINESS HAD THE DISTINCTION OF BEING FEATURED IN THE NATIONAL PRESS.
WE GAINED NOTORIETY NOT BECAUSE OF EXCELLENCE, BUT RATHER BECAUSE OF THE DISMAL FAILURE OF OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM TO PROVIDE APPROPRIATE STAFFING TO MAINTAIN ORDER ON OUR CAMPUS.
THE WEAK UNDERBELLY OF OUR SYSTEM WAS EXPOSED AS THE NATION WATCHED PARENTS AND CHILDREN FIGHT WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT.
IN A WILD ENCOUNTER THAT LEFT MANY INJURED THROUGHOUT THE 2223 SCHOOL YEAR, OUR STAFFING LEVELS DROPPED DRAMATICALLY AT THE END OF THE YEAR.
THERE WERE ONLY SIX CERTIFIED TEACHERS ON CAMPUS WORKING WITH BETWEEN 150 AND 200 STUDENTS.
BECAUSE OF THIS SUPPORT STAFF, INCLUDING THE CUSTODIAN, WERE BROUGHT IN TO COVER CLASSES.
ONE CAN IMAGINE THE LEVEL OF INSTRUCTION DELIVERED TO OUR STUDENTS.
MANY POLICYMAKERS DO NOT UNDERSTAND OUR POPULATION.
THE STUDENTS AT E B R READINESS ARE THERE BECAUSE THEY ARE BROKEN SOMEHOW.
THE BROKENNESS IS NOT VISIBLE TO THE EYE, BUT IT IS AN INTERNAL INJURY WHICH MAKES THEM UNABLE TO FUNCTION IN A TRADITIONAL CLASSROOM.
THESE BROKEN CHILDREN OFTEN NEED ASSISTANCE AS INTENSIVE AS OUR SEVERE, PROFOUND AND MILD, MODERATE SPED STUDENTS.
AND WE MUST STRIVE TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL TO MEET THEIR NEEDS ON ALL LEVELS.
THE IDEAL MINIMUM STAFFING WOULD BE ONE TEACHER AND ONE PAIR PER CLASSROOM.
WITH CLASS SIZE CAPPED AT 20 STUDENTS, PERIOD, THE ALTERNATIVE PROGRAMS ARE NOT MEETING THE NEEDS OF OUR STUDENTS AND NEED TO BE REBUILT FROM THE GROUND UP.
THIS WOULD TAKE A MINIMUM OF ONE YEAR OF RESEARCH AND PLANNING, IN MY ESTIMATION.
IN THE MEANTIME, STRESSING OUR ALTERNATIVE ELEMENTARY AND HIGH SCHOOLS WITH ADDITIONAL MIDDLE GRADE STUDENTS WOULD BE A RECIPE FOR DISASTER AS WAS PREDICTED.
WHAT HAPPENED LAST YEAR AT EBR R READINESS REQUESTS FOR HELP FROM THE SCHOOL BOARD AND THE SUPERINTENDENT WERE IGNORED AND THE CONSEQUENCES BECAME OUR 15 MINUTES OF FAME.
IMAGINE YOU HAVE A 13 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER WHO IS WALKING DOWN THE HALL WHEN SHE IS SPIED BY A SENIOR WHO MAY BE ANYWHERE FROM 17 TO 22 YEARS OLD.
DO YOU WANT YOUR 13 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER TO HAVE TO DEAL WITH THIS 17 TO 22 YEAR OLD MALE OR DO YOU WANT HER TO FEEL SAFE ENOUGH TO LEARN? 13 AND 14 YEAR OLDS DO NOT NEED TO BE IN A HYPERSEXUALIZED.
HIT IT AND QUIT IT ENVIRONMENT.
BUT THIS WILL HAPPEN IF EIGHTH GRADERS ARE PLACED IN OUR HIGH SCHOOL.
[02:55:01]
ABOUT RETURNING TO THE SAME ENVIRONMENT WITH DOUBLE THE AMOUNT OF STUDENTS MAKES ME APOPLECTIC.PLEASE RETHINK YOUR PLAN TO ADJUST THE MIDDLE GRADES AND GIVE THOSE OF US WHO KNOW THESE STUDENTS A CHANCE TO REDESIGN THE ALTERNATIVE PROGRAMS. THANK YOU.
NEXT WE HAVE MR. JAMIE ROBINSON.
RECENTLY THIS DISTRICT HAS BEGAN TO GO DOWN A HORRIBLE ROAD WITH THIS TREND AND ADDING SO MANY GRADE LEVELS, EVEN IN THE TRADITIONAL SCHOOLS.
I, I'M SURE MANY OF YOU HAVE BEEN ONTO THE, THESE CAMPUSES.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU TALKED TO THE TEACHERS OR TALKED TO THE PRINCIPALS, BUT THEY'RE HAVING SERIOUS PROBLEMS WITH THIS.
THERE'S SAFETY METRICS PUT IN PLACE.
THERE'S PLANNING THAT TOOK PLACE TO WHERE WE'RE GONNA DEAL WITH THE, THE ISSUES THAT MAY ARISE.
BUT GUESS WHAT? IT'S NOT WORKING.
IF THE PROBLEMS THAT ARE EXISTING AT THESE SCHOOLS ARE THERE NOW, AND THEY ARE AT THE HORRENDOUS RATE THAT THEY ARE.
THIS IS, THIS ISN'T A GOOD IDEA.
LARRY SEEMS TO BE A VERY INFORMED YOUNG MAN.
I'M MORE THAN SURE THAT IF YOU VOTE NO TO THIS AND PRAYERFULLY WHEN YOU VOTE NO TO THIS, THEY'LL COME UP WITH A BETTER SOLUTION.
I'M CONFIDENT THAT THERE'S A BETTER SOLUTION, BUT THIS IS NOT THE ANSWER.
IMAGINE SENDING YOUR CHILD TO, TO THIS POPULATION, EVEN WITH WHAT YOUR CHILD HAS DONE WRONG.
WOULD YOU WANT YOUR CHILD TO BE SUBDUED TO THE, THESE CIRCUMSTANCES? I WOULDN'T SEND MY DOG THERE, LET ALONE A CHILD.
AND WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT CHILDREN HAVING TO DRIVE A HOUR AND A HALF OR RIDE THE BUS FOR AN HOUR AND 45 MINUTES, MY SYMPATHY GOES OUT THE WINDOW.
WHEN WE'RE GIVING YOU AN ALTERNATIVE OPTION TO BETTER YOURSELF.
THERE SHOULD BE A LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY WHEN YOU'RE TRYING TO GET TO THIS, TO THIS SCHOOL, BECAUSE HOPEFULLY YOU'LL SAY, YOU KNOW WHAT? I'M GONNA STICK IT OUT HERE BECAUSE I LIKE THE BUS RIDE TO MY NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOL, SO THAT THAT SHOULDN'T EVEN BE A FACTOR.
AND THEN WHEN YOU CONSIDER THE FACT THAT WE DON'T HAVE THE ADEQUATE STAFF, AND THAT'S WHY WE'RE MERGING THESE SCHOOLS TOGETHER, GUESS WHAT? THERE'S A LOT OF OTHER SCHOOLS IN THIS DISTRICT THAT DO NOT HAVE ADEQUATE STAFF, OR WE'RE GONNA USE THIS IDEA AND MERGE THOSE SCHOOLS TOGETHER AS WELL.
AND I PRAY THAT YOU WILL VOTE YOUR CONSCIENCE ON THIS.
NEXT WE HAVE MS, UH, TANDEM MC MCMILLAN.
UM, AS A PARENT OF A CHILD HERE IN EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOLS, I JUST WANT TO, UM, EMPHASIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO SEND KIDS TO ALTERNATIVE SCHOOLS, BEING PROPERLY TRAINED AND KNOWING WHAT THEY'RE DOING.
MY SON WAS EIGHT YEARS OLD, TICKLED A CHILD ON THE PLAYGROUND.
ONE OF HIS FRIENDS, THE LITTLE BOY HIT HIS KNEE, HIT HIS MOUTH ON MY SON'S KNEE.
MY SON WAS WRITTEN UP AND SUSPENDED EVEN THOUGH IT WAS HORSEPLAY, THEY WERE PLAYING.
BOTH OF THE KIDS ADMITTED THAT HE WAS SUSPENDED AND RECOMMENDED THAT HE GO TO AN ALTERNATIVE SITE FOR HIS SUSPENSION.
IT WAS NOTED THAT HE CALL SOMEONE SEVERE OR SERIOUS BODILY INJURY.
LET ME READ THAT DEFINITION TO YOU.
THE SCHOOL BOARD'S DEFINITION OF SERIOUS BODILY INJURY IS SERIOUS BODILY INJURY.
UM, IT INVOLVES SUBSTANTIAL RISK OF DEATH, EXTREME PHYSICAL PAIN, PROTRACTED, AN OBVIOUS DISFIGUREMENT OR PROTRACTED LOSS OR IMPAIRMENT OF THE FUNCTION OF A BODILY MEMBER ORGAN OR MENTAL FACULTY.
HE TICKLED SOMEONE AND THEY HIT HIS MOUTH ON HIS KNEE.
EVEN AFTER I SENT EMAIL, I SENT AN EMAIL TO, UM, THE DISTRICT.
I SENT AN EMAIL TO MY PRINCIPAL.
I SENT AN EMAIL TO SEVERAL PEOPLE.
THE ADMINISTRATOR WHO MADE THIS MISTAKE, IF YOU WANNA CALL IT A MISTAKE, MADE NO ATTEMPTS TO CORRECT HER MISTAKE AT ALL.
INSTEAD, SHE ADVISED ME THAT THE CHILD WAS DISCIPLINED ACCORDING TO THE SCHOOL'S CODE OF CONDUCT AND TO CONTACT OUR PRINCIPAL IF I HAD A PROBLEM WITH IT.
[03:00:01]
THAT TOOK ABOUT THREE VISITS TO THE SCHOOL TO GET THAT CHANGED.THIS WAS EVEN AFTER THE PARENTS OF THE OTHER CHILD EMAILED THE PRINCIPAL, THE VICE PRINCIPAL, AND TOLD HER THAT HER CHILD WAS NOT INJURED, THAT THEY WERE JUST PLAYING, THAT MY SON HAD ALREADY APOLOGIZED.
SO WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO SEND EIGHT YEAR OLDS TO ALTERNATIVE SCHOOLS ARE EITHER PROPERLY TRAINED AND KNOW THAT SERIOUS BODILY INJURY IS NOT HITTING YOUR MOUTH ON SOMEONE'S KNEE WHEN YOU'RE BEING TICKLED OR ARE NOT MALICIOUSLY DOING IT.
NEXT UP WE HAVE MS. LADONNA WASHINGTON.
THIS IS MY FIRST SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER, UH, MEETING EVER.
SO NICE TO MEET ALL OF YOU ALL.
AS I WAS SITTING LISTENING TO THE PEOPLE THAT WERE FOR AND AGAINST MERGING THESE SCHOOLS, I HAVE TO PICK IT BACK ON WHAT THE PARENT JUST SAID.
AS A TEACHER IN THIS DISTRICT, I'VE WORKED AT CAPITAL MIDDLE SCHOOL.
I DID GOOD AT CAPITAL, BUT I WORKED AT CAPITAL MIDDLE SCHOOL.
I KNOW WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN IF YOU PUT THOSE KIDS OVER BY CAPITAL MIDDLE.
I DON'T CARE WHAT ANYBODY SAY.
BUT AS SHE SAID, I'M GONNA TELL YOU WHERE THE PROBLEM LIES IF YOU ALLOW ME TO WITHOUT BEING DISRESPECTFUL.
THE PROBLEM LIES WITH THE BOARD THAT SAYS, OKAY, THIS CHILD NEEDS TO BE EXPELLED.
LET'S TAKE THIS CHILD OUT OF THE SCHOOL THAT THEY'RE IN, PUT 'EM IN THE SCHOOL WITH THE SAME STUDENTS THAT THEY HAD A PROBLEM WITH, AND WE GONNA LEAVE THEM THERE TOGETHER.
SOME OF THE THINGS THAT THE KIDS ARE BEING EXPELLED FOR.
SO I ALWAYS WONDERED WHO SITS ON THOSE BOARD.
I'M GOING BACK TO A INCIDENT THAT HAPPENED AT A SCHOOL.
THE GIRLS WENT, THEY HAD A FIGHT FROM A STROLLER.
ONE GIRL BAG UP HANDS LIKE THIS, DID NOT EVEN DEFEND HERSELF ON CAMERA, BUT HER SISTER CAME AROUND AND HIT THE GIRL THAT WAS JUMPING ON HER.
SHE DIDN'T EVEN HIT THE GIRL BACK.
SO I'M LIKE, WHY WAS SHE EXPELLED? BUT GUESS WHERE SHE WENT TO THE SAME DISCIPLINE CENTER WITH THE GIRL THAT JUMPED ON HER AND HER SISTER AND EVERYTHING ELSE.
WHEN WE GET TO THE POINT WHERE WE SAY TEACHERS ARE NOT TRAINED, MOST OF 'EM NOT TRAINED TO HANDLE THINGS, WHAT YOU MIGHT THINK IS WRONG, SOMETHING I'M NOT GONNA THINK IS WRONG, BECAUSE WE ARE DIFFERENT PEOPLE.
I LIKE TO LITERALLY SHOW HOW I'M SAYING SOMETHING.
SO IF I WAS HERE RIGHT NOW AND I GOT UPSET, AND I JUST START SAYING, WHAT'S GOING ON WITH YOU? HA HA HA.
WHERE YOU GOING TO THINK I'M AT? AM I AT A ONE OR AM I AT A FOUR? YOUR ONE IS NOT MY FOUR.
THE PROBLEM IS, EVERYBODY THINK THAT THAT'S A FOUR.
AND ALL I WANNA DO IS IF I'M ANGRY, I JUST WANT ANSWERS.
EVERYBODY DESERVES A CHANCE TO CALM DOWN IN THEIR ANGRY STATE AND GIVE YOU THE ANSWERS.
I'M A TEACHER AND I'M JUST GONNA SAY, SOMETIMES I'M NOT FOR THE TEACHER.
SOMETIMES I'M FOR THE KID MOST OF THE TIME, EVERY TIME I'M FOR THE KID.
BECAUSE KIDS, WHEN THEY ACT OUT, THEY'RE ACTING OUT FOR A REASON.
EVERYTHING DOES NOT WARRANT ME TELLING YOU THAT YOU GONNA BE EXPELLED JUST BECAUSE YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT I'M GOING THROUGH.
AND THAT'S WHAT'S GOING ON HERE IN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT.
TEACHERS ARE NOT UNDERSTANDING.
YOU HAVE DEANS OR IN POSITIONS TO BE A DEAN BECAUSE OF WHO THEY KNOW BECAUSE THE PRINCIPAL LIKED THEM, BUT THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY'RE DOING.
BECAUSE IF YOU COME TO ME, WHY I'M ANGRY, YOU GONNA PRECIPITATE THE SITUATION AND MAKE IT MUCH WORSE.
AND THAT'S THE POSITION I'M ON THE AGE GROUP AND THAT AREA IS NOT GONNA BE A GOOD SITE.
KNOW SOME VERY GOOD VALID POINTS, UH, SEEING ALL THE PUBLIC COMMENT CARDS AT THIS TIME.
WILL NOW COME BACK TO OUR BOARD SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER, PATRICK MARTIN, YOU'RE IN THE QUEUE.
UH, MR. BRICKHOUSE OR MR. JAMES OR WHOEVER, TELL ME ABOUT THE ROSENWALD SITE BECAUSE I'M, I'M A LITTLE LOST.
THERE'S NO REFERENCE TO THAT IN THIS MEMO.
UM, AND I HEAR THAT THAT'S ALL.
MR. MR. UH, BERKOW, YOU MENTIONED ROSENWALD, UM, SOME OF THE PUBLIC COMMENTS MINUTES.
SO TELL ME WHAT ROSENWALD IS AND IS THAT PART OF WHAT WE'RE APPROVING TODAY? UH, NO, SIR.
SO, UH, LAST YEAR, UH, THE EVENTS THAT EVERYONE IS REFERRING TO, WE HAD AN INCIDENT AT THE, UH, EXPULSION SITE AT THE BROOKSTOWN SITE.
AND SO, UH, IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THAT, THAT NEXT
[03:05:01]
WEEK, UH, WE MADE IT A POINT TO ENSURE THAT ANY, UH, PARTIES THAT HAD BEEN EXPELLED AND THEY CAME OVER TO THE EXPULSION SITE AS A GROUP FIGHT, WE THEN WENT BACK AND WERE INTENTIONAL ABOUT SEPARATING THOSE PARTIES.SO WHAT WE DID IS WE OPERATIONALIZED ROSENWALD, WHICH IS A, A SITE THAT WAS UNDER THE, THAT IS WITHIN THE DISTRICT'S, UM, PROPERTY PORTFOLIO LOCATED OFF OF DAYTON STREET.
AND BECAUSE IT IS AN EXTENSION OF E B R RATING AS HIGH SCHOOL, IT WAS DID, DID NOT NECESSARILY, UH, REQUIRE, UH, BOARD APPROVAL, SO TO SPEAK.
WE DID WORK CLOSELY, UH, WITH GENERAL COUNSEL TO ENSURE THAT IT IS JUST A SATELLITE SITE, SAME SCHOOL CODE, UM, ALL OF THAT.
AND SO WE OPERATIONALIZE THAT TO ENSURE THE SAFETY AND SECURITY OF THOSE STUDENTS IN GRADE SIX TO 12.
PLEASE NOTE THAT IS THE GRADE SIX TO 12, TO ENSURE THEIR SAFETY, UM, IF YOU DID GET IN A GROUP FIGHT, THAT YOU COULD ATTEND, UH, SCHOOL IN A SAFE AND SECURE ENVIRONMENT WITHOUT NECESSARILY, UH, BEING, HAVING TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT THOSE STUDENTS WHO YOU ARE ENGAGED WITH PRIOR, UH, TO THE EXPULSION.
SO, AND MR. SHALIN, MAYBE THIS QUESTION IS FOR YOU.
I NOTICED IN THE PERSONNEL ACTIONS FROM LAST MONTH THAT WE APPROVED AS AN ITEM APPROVING A A A A, A TRANSFER OF A PRINCIPAL FROM NORTHDALE ACADEMY TO BE PRINCIPAL AT ROSENWALD, WHICH WAS STYLED AS A NEW POSITION IN THE PERSONNEL ACTIONS.
COULD, COULD YOU SPEAK TO, TO ITS STATUS CANVAS SATELLITE SITE AND UH, THE COMMENTS THAT WERE MADE ABOUT NEEDING BESSIE APPROVAL TO OPEN AN ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL? YEAH, SO WE DISCUSSED, UM, THE ISSUE OF ALTERNATIVE PROGRAMS AND NEW SCHOOLS BEING OPENED AND, AND, AND SECURING AUTHORITY OR PERMISSION FROM BESSIE.
UM, IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING AFTER SOME RESEARCH THAT AS LONG AS WITH ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL SETTING, WE MAINTAIN THE SITE AND THE SITE CODE, BUT CREATE, UM, BRANCHES OF THE SCHOOL, UM, WITH THE SAME SITE CODE, DOESN'T ONLY NEED TO GO BACK TO BEST OF REAUTHORIZATION.
AND SO THAT'S BEEN THE STRATEGY OF THE STAFF IS TO, IS TO UTILIZE THE SAME SITE CODE, UM, BUT OPEN PARALLEL SITES OF THE SAME SCHOOL.
UM, AND SO THAT'S KIND OF CORRESPONDING WITH MR. JAMES HAS SAID, BUT, BUT IF WE'VE GOT, IF WE'VE GOT A PRINCIPAL, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
I CAN ONLY SAY THAT, THAT BASED UPON MY RESEARCH AND MY ADVICE TO STAFF IS THAT WHEN THIS IS DONE, THAT BASICALLY BE PROPERLY NOTIFIED OF THE CHANGES SO THAT THEY, YOU KNOW, SO THAT THEY CAN LOG THAT.
IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THAT IS OKAY, AS LONG AS YOUR SITE CODE IS MAINTAINED, IT'S THE SAME GROUP OF KIDS.
UM, AS FAR AS THE ADMINISTRATOR, HOW THE SUPERINTENDENT DECIDES TO SET UP THE ADMINISTRATION.
UM, HE COULD HAVE A SITUATION WHERE YOU MAY HAVE A PRINCIPAL AND A NUMBER OF ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS WORKING UNDER THAT PERSON, OR A PRINCIPAL THAT MANAGES MORE THAN ONE SITE.
SO I CAN'T SPEAK TO THE STAFFING AND HOW THAT WAS SET UP ONLY TO HOW THE SITE WAS ORGANIZED AND HOW THE SITE CODE IS HANDLED.
I MEAN, IT SEEMS TO ME IF IT'S GOT, IF IT'S PHYSICALLY SEPARATE AND IT'S GOT ITS OWN PRINCIPLE THAT THAT BECOMES A NEW, A NEW SCHOOL.
UM, BUT I'LL DEFER TO COUNSEL ON THAT AT THE END OF THE DAY.
UH, UH, YOU KNOW, HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT STAFFING LEVELS.
YOU KNOW, WE MAY, YOU KNOW, I ASKED YOU MR. BRICKHOUSE LAST TIME ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HOW MANY KINDERGARTNERS WE HAVE OR HOW MANY, YOU KNOW, LITTLE ONES OR WHATEVER.
AND AND YOU, YOU TALKED ABOUT HOW STAFFING LEVEL, I MEAN THE, THE THE, THE ENROLLMENT CHANGES THROUGHOUT THE YEAR AND I'VE SEEN SOME OF THE PUBLIC RECORD DATA THAT THE DISTRICT PROVIDED RECENTLY, AND IT CHANGES SIGNIFICANTLY.
I MEAN, YOU KNOW, IT STARTS OFF ALMOST NOBODY IN THE ALTERNATIVE SCHOOLS AS IS APPROPRIATE, RIGHT? YES.
AND THEN IT GROWS BY 10 OR 20 OR 50 PEOPLE IN, IN ALMO, YOU KNOW, IN, IN MULTIPLE GRADES.
AND SO HOW DO YOU PLAN FOR THE STAFFING FOR THAT GENERALLY? YES.
UM, SO THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
SO EVERY YEAR, THE, UH, ONE THING THAT EVERYONE NEEDS TO, UH, REMEMBER THAT STUDENTS IN GRADES K TO FIVE ARE EXPELLED IN SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER RATES.
UH, SO FOR EXAMPLE, WE ENDED THE YEAR LAST YEAR WITH 77 STUDENTS, RIGHT? UH, ON A CAMPUS THAT CAN HOLD A ABOUT, UH, 500, 400 SOMETHING, UM, ODD STUDENTS, RIGHT? UM, SO HAVING THE STAFFING LEVELS, UH, IT WOULD DEFINITELY ASSIST US AS A DISTRICT, UM, WITH THE RECOMMENDATION THAT I'M BRINGING FORTH TO ENSURE THAT THE ELEMENTARY AND THE HIGH SCHOOL OPEN AT APPROPRIATE STAFFING LEVELS, UH, TO ENSURE THAT EVERY CLASSROOM IS COVERED, UH, WITH, WITH THE TEACHER.
SO DO YOU GENERALLY, I MEAN, DO YOU, DO YOU, YOU HAVE SOME IDEA BASED ON PAST EXPERIENCES YES, SIR.
WHAT THE ENROLLMENT'S GONNA BE AT THE END OF THE YEAR.
ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE, HIGH SCHOOL.
I MEAN, I THINK THE DATE I'M LOOKING AT HERE IS IN 22, 23.
IT STARTED IN AT, AT THE SUPERINTENDENT'S ACADEMY AT 74 AND,
[03:10:01]
AND GREW TO, YOU KNOW, 192 BY THE END OF THE YEAR.RIGHT? SO YOU'RE, ARE YOU STAFFING THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR FOR 74 OR FOR 192? WE'RE STAFFED FOR THE MAXIMUM CAPACITY.
THAT IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UH, THAT WE DO GRAPPLE WITH IN TERMS OF STAFFING.
ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE SCHOOL'S PORTFOLIO AND YOU SEE THAT THERE ARE OTHER STAFFING NEEDS.
AND YOU HAVE, UH, SOME OF MY CAMPUSES THAT LITERALLY OPEN WITH 20 STUDENTS OR 30 STUDENTS.
SO WE ARE ENSURING THAT WE OPEN UP, UM, FULLY WITH THAT.
I'M GONNA WORK CLOSELY WITH THOSE SCHOOL LEADERS, UH, SO THAT WE KNOW CAN DOUBLE UP STAFF AS NEED BE TO HELP IN THE CLASSROOM.
AND THEN AS THOSE, UH, NUMBERS BEGIN TO, UH, RISE, WE CAN ENSURE THAT THOSE STAFF, UH, MEMBERS GO BACK IN PLACE.
BUT TO, UH, THE POINT OF THE PREVIOUS QUESTION, WE OPEN AT MAXIMUM, UH, CAPACITY STAFFING LEVELS, AND WE DO NOT, UH, STAFF BACKWARDS.
RIGHT? SO WHEN WE START WITH LOWER STAFF AND ADD ADMIN, WE START, UM, WITH THE, WITH THE FULL STAFF.
I, I, I HAVE, I HAVE REAL CONCERNS.
I REMEMBER MARTIN, WE ARE OVER TIME BY ONE MINUTE AND 20 SECONDS.
CAN I HAVE 15 SECONDS TO WRAP UP? YES, SIR.
I, I JUST HAVE, I HAVE REAL CONCERNS OVER THIS, BUT BETWEEN THE GROUPING THE EIGHTH GRADERS WITH OVERAGE, YOU KNOW, HIGH SCHOOL JUNIORS AND SENIORS, UM, I, I, I JUST HAVE REAL CONCERNS THAT THIS HASN'T REALLY BEEN PROPERLY PLANNED THROUGH, UM, OR, OR VETTED.
AND, AND I JUST, I HAVE REAL CONCERNS ABOUT THIS.
UM, NEXT IN THE QUEUE, WE HAVE SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER CLIFF LEWIS.
UM, THROUGHOUT OUR STRATEGIC PLAN, THERE ARE K KPIS FOR EVERYTHING.
THERE'S NO KPIS FOR OUR ALTERNATIVE SCHOOLS.
AND I THINK I SPOKE TO YOU LAST TIME, MR. BRICKHOUSE, ABOUT THAT.
AND WE, YOU KNOW, WE, WE, WE'VE TOSSED AROUND THE WORD EXPULSION, EXPULSION, EXPULSION.
WELL, MAYBE IF WE HAD SOME KPIS IN CONJUNCTION WITH YOUR WRAPAROUND SERVICES THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, MAYBE WE WON'T HAVE ALL THESE EXPULSIONS.
MAYBE IF WE CAN GET TO THE ROOT PROBLEM OF WHY THESE CHILDREN ENDED UP THERE.
AND THE YOUNG LADY WHO CAME TO THE PODIUM, SHE SPOKE TO THAT, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE VULNERABLE KIDS.
WE'RE NOT DOING OUR JOB IF WE JUST HOUSE THEM, EXPEL 'EM AND MOVE ON.
SO I WOULD SUGGEST THAT WE COME UP WITH SOME KPIS.
WE, WE GOT 'EM FOR EVERYTHING ELSE.
SO LET'S FIND SOME FOR THESE KIDS WHO HAVE BEEN PLACED IN THESE SITUATIONS.
AND I THINK MR. BRICKHOUSE, YOU, WE TALKED SOMETHING, YOU SAID SOMETHING ABOUT THE SCHOOL CODES AND HOW THEY WERE CONNECTED TO THE YEAH, WELL, WE HAVE, EXCUSE ME.
SECOND, WE HAVE, UH, GENERAL KPIS, RIGHT? AND SOME OF THE GENERAL KPIS ARE, YOU KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT, UH, SECOND GRADERS WERE INCREASE, UH, GET ON GRADE LEVEL, THAT WE WILL INCREASE THE NUMBER STUDENTS TAKING, UH, IBCS UH, DUAL ENROLLMENT.
SO THOSE GENERAL KPIS ARE OF COURSE, ARE GONNA APPLY TO THE ALTERNATIVE PROGRAMS SIMPLY BECAUSE THE STUDENTS ARE STILL, UM, IN OUR DISTRICT AND THEY'RE STILL, UH, REQUIRED TO, UM, SEE NOW WE DO NOT HAVE, THERE'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DON'T HAVE IS WE DON'T HAVE SPECIFIC, UH, KPIS THAT ARE JUST, UM, IDENTIFIED FOR ALTERNATIVE ED.
WHY NOT? WELL, I, I GUESS AT THE TIME THAT THE STRATEGIC PLAN THAT WAS DEVELOPED, UM, THAT WAS, WE WERE NOT IN A PLACE WHERE THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS THOUGHT ABOUT.
UM, SO, BUT THE GENERAL, THE KPIS THAT WE DO HAVE ARE ONES THAT ARE ON STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT, WHICH IS STILL PART OF WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
THE OTHER PIECE IS THAT, OF COURSE, ALTERNATIVE STUDENTS, ALTERNATIVE PROGRAMMING HAS DIF A DIFFERENT MATRIX IN TERMS OF HOW THEY ARE LOOKED AT FROM THE STATE.
SO THEIR MATRIX IS GONNA BE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT.
BUT THE REALITY IS THAT THE GENERAL KPIS THAT WE DO HAVE, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1 7, 1 8, 1 9, 1 10 ARE ALL RELEVANT TO THE ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION PROGRAMMING.
BUT TO ME, IT'S, IT'S HARD TO EXPECT THOSE KIDS TO MEET THOSE KPIS WHEN THEY'RE AT AN ALTERNATIVE SITE.
UM, BUT THESE STUDENTS, MR, WITH ALL DUE RESPECT, MR. LEWIS, THESE STUDENTS ARE COMING FROM OUR SCHOOLS.
THEY'RE NOT COMING FROM OTHER PLACES.
THEY'RE COMING DIRECTLY FROM OUR SCHOOLS WITH THE SAME WITH INVOLVED IN THIS SAME PROGRAMMING.
SO WHAT WE'RE DOING AT THE ALTERNATIVE PROGRAM IS JUST CONTINUING THE PROGRAM AND UNTIL THEY'RE ABLE TO GO BACK TO THEIR LOCAL SCHOOL, OKAY, THEN WE SHOULD SAY THAT INSTEAD OF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PUTTING THEM THERE TO THEIR EXPULSION COMES THROUGH.
CAUSE ALL I'VE HEARD IS THIS EXPULSION, EXPULSION, EXPULSION.
THE EXPULSION, THE EXPULSION TYPICALLY VARIES BASED ON WHAT THE INFRACTION IS AND BASED ON WHAT THE RESULT OF THE HEARING OFFICER, WE DON'T MAKE THAT,
[03:15:01]
UM, THAT DETERMINATION.THEY GO THROUGH A, A DUE PROCESS AND THE HEARING OFFER MAKES THE DETERMINATION IN TERMS OF HOW LONG THAT THEY'RE GOING TO BE EXPELLED, BUT UPON THEIR ENROLLMENT.
AND ONCE THEY COMPLETE THEIR EXPULSION, THEN THEY GO BACK TO THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOL, THEIR, THEIR LOCAL SCHOOL.
SO I WOULD SUGGEST THAT WHEN THEY'RE SENT THERE, THEY'RE SENT THERE WITH THE PROPER PAPERWORK FROM THE SCHOOL THAT SENT THEM THERE, THEY'RE SENT THERE WITH THE PROPER WORK THAT THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DOING.
CAUSE TO MY UNDERSTANDING, A LOT OF THESE KIDS ARE SHOWING UP AT THE ALTERNATIVE SITE.
NO PAPERWORK IS FOLLOWING THEM.
UM, THEY'RE JUST KIND OF COMING THERE AS A HOLDING CELL.
WELL, IF THEY'RE COMING TO THE EXPULSION SITE, IF THEY'RE COMING TO THE EXPULSION SITE, UH, FROM AN EXPULSION, THERE IS PAPERWORK BECAUSE THIS IS SUSPENSION JUST, BUT YOU, YOU'RE CONFUSING.
THERE'RE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS.
SO, UM, IF I HEAR WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, BOARD MEMBER LEWIS, IS THAT, UH, YOU WANT US TO ENSURE THAT WHEN CHILDREN ARE TRANSPORT ARE SENT TO THESE, UM, SITES, THAT THERE IS THE APPROPRIATE PAPERWORK, HOMEWORK, THOSE PIECES MM-HMM.
ALTHOUGH IT DOESN'T ALWAYS MEAN THAT EVERY SCHOOL OR SCHOOL FOLLOWS THAT PROCESS.
AND SO WHAT HAS BEEN THE MECHANISM, UM, THAT HAS BEEN PUT IN PLACE TO MAKE THAT CHANGE? I KNOW THAT WAS YOU ABOUT THAT THEN THAT THAT SCHOOL LEADER NEEDS TO, THAT SCHOOL LEADER NEEDS TO, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE, OKAY.
THERE ARE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS THERE.
YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE EXPULSION PROCESS FROM WHEN STUDENTS ARE EXPELLED AND SENT TO THE EXPULSION SITE.
WE ALSO HAVE A SHORT TERM SUSPENSION SITE.
AND IN THE SHORT TERM SUSPENSION SITE, IF A STUDENT IS SUSPENDED, THEN THEY ARE ABLE TO GO TO THE SHORT TERM SUSPENSION SITE.
AND THEN THE WORK FOLLOWS THEM THERE FOR THE DURATION OF THE TIME THAT THEY'RE THE SHORT TERM SUSPENSION SITE.
AND THEN THEY RETURN BACK TO THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOL.
THAT'S, UH, WE WE'RE OVER, RIGHT? PATRICK GOT 15 SECONDS.
HIS, MY, HIS MIC WAS HOT TOO WHEN HE GOT THAT
SO ALL I'M, ALL I'M SAYING MR. BRICKHOUSE, IS THAT LET'S PLEASE DO EVERYTHING HUMANLY POSSIBLE TO MAKE SURE THAT THE, THAT THE WORK AND THE THINGS THAT THEY SHOULD BE DOING AT THE SCHOOL THAT THEY'VE BEEN SUSPENDED FOLLOWS THEM THERE AND IS IMPLEMENTED WITH FIDELITY.
AND TO DO THAT, YOU GOTTA HAVE TEACHERS IN THE CLASSROOMS. YOU GOTTA HAVE PARISH, YOU GOTTA HAVE TEACHERS TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT IS DONE.
AGAIN, THE WORD TONIGHT WAS EXPULSION.
AND I KNOW THERE'S SHORT TERM SITES, SO YOU KNOW, KIDS THERE FOR SHORT TIMES, BUT YOU KNOW, AGAIN, ALMOST VULNERABLE POPULATION.
AND WE'VE GOT TO TREAT THEM JUST LIKE THEY'RE AT THEIR HOMESCHOOL.
EVEN THOUGH THEY MAY BE AT A SITE FOR A WEEK OR TWO WEEKS OR 10 DAYS, HOWEVER LONG THOSE KIDS HAVE TO BE TREATED LIKE THEY'RE AT THEIR SCHOOL.
IF THEY'RE, IF THE KPIS AND ALL THAT ARE GOING TO PERTAIN TO THEM, WE'VE GOT TO TREAT THEM.
NOT LIKE THEY'RE THROWAWAY KIDS, BUT LIKE, THEY'RE STILL PART OF OUR SYSTEM AND THEY'RE STILL VALUABLE TO OUR SYSTEM.
SO, WE'LL, WE'LL REVIEW THOSE PROTOCOLS NEXT WEEK.
WE HAVE LEADERSHIP WEEK, AND I KNOW IT'S A CONTINUED PROCESS AND THE PROTOCOLS ARE, REVIEW THAT FOR ME.
NEXT IN THE QUEUE WE HAVE VP UH, PAUL LEWIS.
I HAVE ONE MORE QUESTION ABOUT, UM, THE SAFETY PLAN IN REGARDS TO, UH, OUR ALT ALTERNATIVE SITES.
I KNOW MR. JAMES, THAT YOU MENTIONED ABOUT IT TAKING ABOUT AN HOUR AND A HALF FOR THE COMMUTE TO THE BEACHWOOD SITE AND THE SAFETY ISSUES THAT WERE ATTACHED TO THAT.
SO I UNDERSTAND THOUGH THAT EVEN A SHORTER COMMUTE COULD STILL LAND TO SOME SAFETY ISSUES.
IS THERE, IS THERE A PLAN IN PLACE? AND IF SO, COULD YOU SHARE WHAT THAT PLAN IS? JUST, UH, SO WE'RE CLEAR? UM, IN TERMS OF ADDITIONAL SAFETY PRECAUTIONS, OF COURSE, AS YOU STATED, WE'RE GONNA BE GETTING THE TWO ADDITIONAL, UH, VPS.
BUT IN ADDITION, UM, BECAUSE OF THE, UM, LOOKING AS, EXCUSE ME, BECAUSE THE, UH, ALTERNATIVE SCHOOLS ARE PART OF OUR PRIORITIES ARE GONNA BE PART OF OUR PRIORITY SCHOOLS, THEN WE'RE ALSO GONNA MAKE SURE THAT WE ALSO HAVE OUR SROS THERE AS WELL AS ANOTHER PART OF, AS ANOTHER LEVEL OF SAFETY.
SO, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS I'M WORKING CLOSELY, UH, WITH, UM, DIRECTOR CHAUNCEY MOORE IS TO, FOR ONE, ENSURE THE SEPARATION OF THE GRADES STUDENTS K TO FIVE, TO SIX TO SEVEN.
ANOTHER, UH, WORKING CLOSELY, UH, WITH MR. NOEL, UH, TO SEE THE POSSIBILITY OF LOOKING
[03:20:01]
INTO BUS ATTENDANCE.UM, ONE OF THE CHALLENGES WITH THAT BEHAVIOR, LONG RIDE OR SHORT RIDE, IS THE BEHAVIOR ON THE BUS.
UM, PLEASE NOTE THAT THE BUS DRIVERS IN BATON ROUGE ARE THE LOWEST PAID BUS DRIVERS IN THE STATE OF LOUISIANA.
UM, THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT DOES TRY TO PROVIDE AN ADDITIONAL DOLLAR, UH, FOR THOSE BUS DRIVERS WHO DO OPT INTO DRIVING ROUTES FOR ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION.
SO PLEASE NOTE THAT WE ARE ALSO SHORT OF BUS DRIVERS WHO ARE WILLING, UM, BUS DRIVERS IN ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION ARE SUBJECTED TO, UH, VERY CHALLENGING WORK CONDITIONS.
UM, THEY'RE OFTEN VERBALLY ASSAULTED, PHYSICALLY ASSAULTED, ALL OF THESE THINGS WHILE IN TRANSIT.
SO, UM, I WANT US TO, UM, PLEASE NOTE THAT WHILE, UM, WE'RE ALSO THINKING ABOUT OUR STUDENTS, UH, WE HAVE TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE ABLE TO RETAIN STAFF THAT ARE GOING TO BE ABLE TO TRANSPORT OUR STUDENTS TO SCHOOL EVERY DAY.
AND SO RIGHT NOW, THAT IS A LIMITED NUMBER OF, UH, PROFESSIONALS THAT ARE IN THAT POOL, UM, TO DO THAT.
SO TO THE ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, WE ARE LOOKING INTO BUS ATTENDANCE, BUT OF COURSE THAT COMES WITH A DOLLAR SIGN, RIGHT? UM, AND SO I KNOW, UM, SOME OF THE BOARD MEMBERS HAVE EXPRESSED CONCERN ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT WE INVEST INTO THAT.
SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT I'M OPEN TO DOING, IS LOOKING INTO THE BUS ATTENDANCE.
I WOULD HAVE TO WORK CLOSELY WITH OUR CHIEF HALL AND, UM, AND CHIEF LOPEZ AND THE SUPERINTENDENT TO SEE IF THAT IS SOMETHING THAT THEY WOULD WANT TO EXPLORE.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST STANDARD THAT STUDENTS, THEY DO RIDE THE BUS ALONE.
UH, WE DO, UH, IMPLEMENT PROGRESSIVE DISCIPLINE FOR THE STUDENTS.
SO ONCE THE STUDENTS GET TO THEIR SECOND INFRACTION, THE FIRST INFRACTION IS THE SCHOOL LEADER HAS A CONFERENCE WITH THE STUDENT AND THEIR PARENT.
THE SECOND INFRACTION THERE IS ANOTHER CONFERENCE CUZ WE UNDERSTAND THIRD, THEN THE STUDENTS WILL BECOME SUSPENDED OFF THE BUS.
BUT THEN YOU RUN INTO THE CHALLENGE OF ONE OF SOME OF OUR MOST VULNERABLE STUDENTS BEING SUSPENDED OFF THE BUS AND NOT HAVING THE MEANS TO GET TO SCHOOL.
SO, UM, THE CHALLENGES IN WHICH EVERYONE IS CONCERNED ABOUT THIS IS MULTIFACETED.
UM, AND IT IS COMPOUNDED, UM, IT IS COMPOUNDED BY, UM, AND, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A SHIFT IN, UM, YOUTH PERSPECTIVES AND ATTITUDES.
AND SO, UM, I KNOW WE HAD SEVERAL SPEAKERS TODAY, UM, THAT HAVE COME UP.
WE'VE HAD SEVERAL STUDENTS, TEACHERS WHO HAVE LEFT ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION AND WHO HAVE BEEN NO LONGER COMMITTED TO THE CAUSE FOR WHICH THEY CAME TO STAND UP BEFORE THE BOARD TODAY.
UM, AND SO I REMAIN AND I COME TO WORK EVERY DAY.
AND SO IT IS MY HOPE TO CONTINUE TO GALVANIZE THIS PARISH AROUND THIS VULNERABLE POPULATION.
YOU HAVE TO BUY INTO THIS WORK.
UM, AND SO, UH, WITH THAT BEING SAID, UH, WE ARE LOOKING INTO BUS ATTENDANCE AND TRYING TO SHORTEN THE ROUTE.
WE ALSO WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH THE LOCAL, UM, LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY.
UM, OFTENTIMES THE BUS HAS TO PULL OVER IN FRONT OF THE POLICE STATION TO HELP US GET THAT BACK ON TRACK.
AND SO, UM, I'M ASKING FOR THE SUPPORT OF THE BOARD.
IT IS NOT IDEAL, BUT THERE ARE OPPORTUNITY COSTS.
THERE, THERE, THERE ARE TRADE OFFS.
SO WE CAN COME CLOSER TO THE AREA OR WE CAN CONTINUE TO HAVE THE, THE SAME CHALLENGES.
SO, UM, I AM OPEN, I'M GOING TO BE HERE TO SERVE, UH, REGARDLESS, UM, I'M COMMITTED TO THIS WORK, BUT UNFORTUNATELY IT'S JUST A CHALLENGING SITUATION.
WE DO NOT HAVE THE STAFF AND THE PEOPLE THAT ARE COMMITTED THAT WANT TO TRANSPORT THESE STUDENTS OR THAT WANT TO TEACH THESE STUDENTS IN SPITE OF WHO THEY ARE AND THE CHALLENGES, UM, THAT THEY BRING AS THAT HAS BEEN DISPLAYED TONIGHT.
UM, UH, BOARD PRESIDENT LANES, I JUST HAVE ONE MORE QUESTION IF I CAN ASK.
MY, MY QUESTION IS THIS, UM, IF, AND, AND WE, I'M SURE WE CAN FEEL THE, THE, UM, CONTROVERSY IN THE ROOM BEHIND THIS MM-HMM.
SO IF WE WERE TO VOTE AGAINST THIS OR NOT VOTE FOR THIS ITEM TONIGHT MM-HMM.
SO I MEAN, YOU KNOW, WE, WE SERVE AT THE PLEASURE OF THE BOARD.
SO IF YOU DECIDED TONIGHT THAT YOU DID NOT WANT TO GO, WE'D HAVE TO GO BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD AND COME UP WITH ANOTHER SOLUTION, BRING ANOTHER PLAN.
JUST REMEMBER THAT SCHOOLS GOING TO START.
SO, UH, THAT WOULD CONSIST US OF DOING THE DIFFERENT PLANS OF MOVES THAT WE'RE GONNA DO.
UM, THE, THE, SO, UM, I WOULD JUST SUGGEST TO THINK ABOUT AS THE BOARD THINKS IT IS NOT THE MOST IDEAL, AND I KNOW THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF DECISIONS ON DOING THAT.
ONE OF THE BIGGEST ISSUES THAT WE HAVE TO SOLVE, I DON'T THINK JUST ONLY THE STAFFING IN ONE BUILDING SOLVES THE PROBLEM BECAUSE REMEMBER THAT THAT WAS A CAUSE EVEN THOUGH THE GOAL IS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE KIND OF
[03:25:01]
MAKE SURE THAT THE STAFFING NEEDS TO BE APPROPRIATE IN THE SCHOOL.I THINK THE QUESTION IS HOW DO WE SEPARATE THE KIDS? AND SO THAT IS A BIGGER ISSUE.
SO IF THE BOARD WOULD LIKE, WE CAN, UM, THERE'S WAYS THAT WE CAN GO ABOUT THIS.
FOR AN EXAMPLE, IF YOU SAID, HEY, YOU KNOW, LET'S GO WITH THIS PLAN TEMPORARILY AND YOU GUYS BRING US BACK SOMETHING ADDITIONAL TO AMEND A BETTER PLAN TO VET THROUGH, WE CAN DO THAT.
UM, BUT ONE OF THE BIGGEST CONCERNS THAT I HAVE THE MOST, UM, EVEN THOUGH I DON'T THINK THAT THIS IS THE MOST IDEAL PLAN AS OF RIGHT NOW, AND I'M ALSO HEARING THE CONCERNS, IS THAT I AM CONCERNED ABOUT ALL THOSE CHILDREN BEING IN ONE PLACE.
AND SO THAT IS THE BIGGER CONCERN I HAVE, UM, THAT WE HAVE TO SOLVE.
UM, AND ALSO THE STAFFING
UM, AS, UM, UH, MR. JAMES SAID IT IS A CHALLENGE, UH, BECAUSE YOU NEED PEOPLE WHO WANT TO BE THERE.
UM, THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF CONVERSATION ON INCENTIVIZING ALL THOSE PIECES THAT COMES WITH A DOLLAR AMOUNT.
UM, I DON'T KNOW, QUITE FRANKLY IF THAT ONLY SOLVES THE PROBLEM CUZ YOU STILL NEED TO HAVE PEOPLE THAT WANT TO GO THERE.
UM, BECAUSE I DO THINK PEOPLE SAY, WELL, IF YOU JUST PAY THEM WHERE THEY'LL COME, I DON'T THINK THAT'S ALWAYS NECESSARILY TRUE AS WELL.
UH, BUT I WILL SAY THIS, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE SEEN THAT HAS WORKED TO OUR FAVOR IS WORKING WITH COMMUNITY PARTNERS TO HELP US TO WORK THERE.
BUT I DO THINK THAT THAT'S A LONG TERM STRATEGY.
WE HAVE NOT DIVED INTO THE ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL SPACE TO FULLY VET A SOLID PLAN ON THAT.
AND I THINK JUST AS, WE JUST HAVEN'T DONE THAT AS OF YET.
AND SO THAT'S A LOT OF WORK THAT WE HAVE TO DO.
BUT FOR THE IMMEDIATE STOP GAP, I WOULD SAY, YOU KNOW, MINIMALLY, UH, YOU CAN, YOU KNOW, I WOULD JUST SUGGEST THE BOARD TO THINK ABOUT, LET'S JUST GET THIS UP AND RUNNING.
MAYBE WE COME BACK IN A MONTH FROM NOW AND SAY, HEY, WE WANTED TO DO X, Y, AND Z, BUT WHATEVER WE DO SCHOOLS AROUND THE CORNER.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE'LL JUST HAVE TO MAKE SOME ADJUSTMENTS ACCORDINGLY.
UM, BUT ALL THE POINTS THAT YOU HEARD MR. JAMES SAID AROUND DISTANCE FOR THE SCHOOL, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE WORKING ON THE STAFFING PIECE.
UH, UM, UH, IF YOU, IF YOU OVERSTAFFED, YOU'RE MOVING A FOLKS FROM OTHER SCHOOLS OR YOU'RE HIRING ADDITIONAL TO ALL THOSE HAVE A COST AND THERE IS OPPORTUNITY, UM, EVEN THOUGH WE KNOW THE DIFFERENT SET OF NEIGHBORHOOD ISSUES, BUT WE HAVE TO HAVE SOME SET OF STRATEGY TO START ADDRESSING THE CURRENT PROBLEM WE HAVE.
BUT I DON'T THINK THIS IS THE LONG TERM PROBLEM, IF THAT MAKES SENSE.
SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER, VICE PRESIDENT PAUL LEWIS.
NEXT WE HAVE SCHOOL MEMBER MICHAEL GODDE.
UH, MR. JAMES, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE HEARD A LOT ABOUT STAFFING.
ISSUES, UH, LAST YEAR, HOW MANY, WHEN YOU ENDED THE YEAR, HOW MANY VACANCIES DID YOU HAVE IN YOUR TEACHING PROFESSION? YES, SIR.
SO AT EBR R READINESS HIGH SCHOOL, ESSENTIALLY THE ENTIRE STAFF REQUESTED A TRANSFER.
SO I AM ESSENTIALLY RESTAFFING THE SCHOOL FROM THE GROUND UP.
UM, I NOTICED THAT THERE WERE SOME THINGS THAT WERE, UM, CIRCULATING AROUND, UH, THE SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY LAW CENTER AND THE EFFORTS THAT I HAD MADE, UH, TO RECRUIT TEACHERS.
UM, FOR SOME TIME NOW, CHANCELLOR JOHN PIERRE HAS WORKED CLOSELY WITH THE DISTRICT TO SEND TEACHERS THIS WAY.
I AM PERSONALLY WORKING TO ENSURE THAT WE GET TEACHERS IN THESE SCHOOLS.
SO AS OF RIGHT NOW, THERE ARE ONLY TWO VACANCIES AT E B R READINESS HIGH SCHOOL AT E B R READINESS ELEMENTARY, ONLY TWO.
IN THE EVENT THAT THIS DOES NOT PASS, THE WARD WILL BE IN A SITUATION IN WHICH WE NEED TO STAFF THE ELEMENTARY, THE MIDDLE, AND THE HIGH AND ROLES WALL.
UM, BECAUSE IF WE DON'T, THEN I WON'T BE ABLE TO OPEN ROSE AND WALL, THEN I WON'T BE ABLE TO KEEP PARTIES SEPARATED.
SO, UM, WE CAN KEEP 'EM UP, BEACHWOOD, BUT NOW I AM FACED WITH THE SITUATION, NOW I HAVE TO KEEP PARTIES SEPARATE.
UM, AND THEN I ALSO SUPERVISE THE JUVENILE DETENTION CENTER AS WELL.
SO WE HAVE AN MOU WITH THE, UH, OFFICE OF JUVENILE JUSTICE, WHICH I HAVE TO OPERATIONALIZE THAT, THAT ALSO FALLS UNDER MY PURVIEW.
AND I HAD TO STAFF THAT FROM THE GROUND UP AS WELL.
SO, SO THAT WAS YOU, YOU'VE COVERED MY POINT.
IT'S ONE THING TO SAY UNDER, UH, YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH RESOURCES, BUT CREATING MORE SLOTS DOESN'T MEAN YOU'VE CREATED THE PERSON THAT FILLED THAT SLOT.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, SO WE CAN DO ALL WE WANT.
WE COULD SAY, OKAY, YOU HAVE 15 NEW SLOTS, YOU DON'T HAVE 15 BODIES TO PUT IN THOSE STEPS.
THAT'S THE ONLY POINT I WANT TO MAKE.
BUT I ALSO WANT TO COME BACK AND SAY, YOU KNOW, I THINK THIS HAS BEEN A VERY, VERY HEALTHY DISCUSSION.
UM, I WOULD HAVE TO BE THE FIRST ONE TO SAY I AM TOTALLY OUT OF MY DEPTH, UH, WHEN IT COMES INTO THIS DISCUSSION BECAUSE IT'S NOT SOMETHING I'VE SPENT A LOT OF TIME IN YES, SIR.
AND, UM, AND I CAN ALSO UNDERSTAND HOW THIS IS A VERY VULNERABLE POPULATION.
AND I THINK WE AS A DISTRICT HAVE NOT SPENT THE TIME AND EFFORT IN THE PAST TO, TO TAKING CARE OF THESE
[03:30:01]
STUDENTS, UH, WHO OBVIOUSLY NEED THE CARE.BECAUSE AS I THINK COACH AND OTHERS SAID, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF TIMES, UH, THESE KIDS ARE AS MUCH VICTIM AS PER PERPETRATORS, UH, IN ANY OF THE THINGS THAT HAPPENED TO HIM, IF NOT MORE SO VICTIMS. UH, SO I REALLY AM GLAD THE SPOTLIGHT THIS IS GETTING AND THE THE WORK IT'S BEEN GETTING ON.
UH, AND SO THANK YOU AND THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR STAFF AND ALL THE PEOPLE WHO WORK ON THAT.
I, I REALLY DON'T KNOW WHAT'S, I DON'T HAVE A CLUE OF WHAT'S THE RIGHT ANSWER, UH, IN ANY OF THIS.
I'LL BE THE FIRST ONE TO ADMIT IT.
UH, BUT I'M JUST HOPING YOU GUYS ARE PULLING YOUR HEADS TOGETHER AND DOING THE BEST YOU CAN WITH WHAT YOU HAVE.
I DO HAVE ONE MORE QUESTION YES, SIR.
THAT MR. SHALIN IS GONNA SHOOT ME.
BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT CAMERAS ON BUSES FOR A LONG TIME, BOTH INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL CAMERAS.
AND YOU KNOW, I RIDE, I TOOK AN UBER THE OTHER DAY AND, UH, IN FACT YESTERDAY AND THE, THE UBER DRIVER HAD A FRONT FACING CAMERA AND A REAR FACING CAMERA.
SO NOT ONLY DID HE TRACK WHAT'S GOING ON IN TRAFFIC, BUT HE ALSO TRACKED WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE BACK SEAT.
WE GOT TO GET OFF THE DIME AND GET CAMERAS IN OUR BUSES, BOTH FROM A LEGAL LIABILITY POINT FOR CAR ACCIDENTS, BUT ALSO FROM A STUDENT SAFETY POINT OF VIEW, UH, FOR DOING THAT.
SO WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS FOR TWO YEARS.
I'LL SAY THE SUPERINTENDENT AND I ACTUALLY TALKED ABOUT, ABOUT THAT AND ACTUALLY DID SOME RESEARCH ON IT.
I THINK BUDGETING MIGHT HAVE BEEN A CONCERN GOING FORWARD, BUT WE CAN REVISIT IT.
NOIS, WE CAN REVISIT AND BRING, BRING BACK.
I, I WILL BE BLUNT, I'M MAKING THE REQUESTS.
I CAN'T INSTRUCT YOU TO DO THINGS, BUT I'M MAKING THE REQUEST THAT WE DO THIS BECAUSE WHEN WE TALK ABOUT SAFETY, AND PARTICULARLY IF IT'S ON THESE, YOU KNOW, WE CAN START OFF WITH THESE BUSES, BUT WE HAVE TO START PROVIDING BETTER SECURITY FOR NOT ONLY FOR OUR STUDENTS, BUT FOR OUR BUS DRIVERS.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE SPEND HUNDREDS OF THOUSAND DOLLARS A YEAR ON AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENTS WITH OUR SCHOOL BUSES.
AND IF WE HAD CAMERAS RECORDING THOSE ACCIDENTS, I THINK OUR COSTS WOULD GO DOWN.
AND EVERYTHING DOESN'T COME DOWN TO DOLLARS.
I KNOW, UH, PEOPLE HAVE TALKED A LOT AND I'M GONNA BE FINISH IN REAL SECOND MR. LATIS, BUT, UH, PEOPLE HAVE TALKED, PEOPLE HAVE TALKED A LOT ABOUT OPPORTUNITY COSTS.
I WANNA MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND.
OPPORTUNITY COST ISN'T JUST MONEY, IT'S IT'S RESOURCES AND EVERYTHING ELSE.
AND I, I THINK THAT WE'RE ARE OVERESTIMATING THE COST OF DOING SOME OF THESE THINGS WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING THE SAFETY AND SAVINGS WE MIGHT GET FROM HAVING THEM IN.
SO I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE AS WE GO THROUGH THIS, THAT CAMERAS BE PART OF WHAT WE LOOK AT IN OUR TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM.
SO I'M GONNA MAKE THE REQUEST URGENTLY THAT GETS DONE
AND YOU CAN INSTRUCT ME TO DO THAT.
AND I THINK I HAVE A PROPOSAL.
I'LL MAKE SURE THE BOARD HAS SOMETHING IF IT'S AVAILABLE NO LATER THAN MONDAY.
I'LL TRY TO BE AS QUICK AS POSSIBLE SO WE CAN KEEP IT MOVING RIGHT ALONG.
UM, THIS IS A PERPLEXING ISSUE.
UH, IT'S PERPLEXING FOR, UH, SEVERAL REASONS.
UH, BUT WHAT I WILL SAY IS THAT, UM, MY PHILOSOPHY MOVING FORWARD IS THE PROCESS HAS TO BE JUST AS IMPORTANT AS THE PRODUCT.
I'M NOT GONNA QUESTION THE AMOUNT OF WORK THAT YOU ALL HAVE PUT INTO TRYING TO CHANGE ALTERNATIVE SCHOOLS, BUT I WILL NOT WALK AWAY AND SAY THAT HEARING A PRINCIPAL COME TO THE MIC AND GIVING THEIR PERSPECTIVE OF WHAT THEY'RE DEALING WITH, THAT WE CAN'T TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION.
HEARING A TEACHER WHO DEALS WITH THIS AND HAS GIVEN US, UH, IN-DEPTH CONVERSATIONS, UH, OR IN-DEPTH, UH, INSIGHT ON WHAT THEY SEE HAPPENING AT THESE SCHOOLS, THAT WE JUST WALK AWAY AND WE DON'T TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION.
I WAS THERE AT BROOKSTOWN THE DAY THAT THE MELEE TOOK PLACE AND IT WAS ONE OF THE MOST HORRIFYING THINGS I HAVE EVER SEEN BEFORE.
I WON'T GO INTO ALL OF THEM, BUT THE THING THAT I THINK ONE WORD THAT JUST, THAT'S LITERALLY JUST CAME OUT AS SCHOOL BOARD.
UH, MEMBER GOAD JUST BROUGHT UP HIS LIABILITY.
YOU KNOW, WE CAN TAKE THIS PLAN AND SAY, LET'S USE THIS TEMPORARILY, BUT WHAT HAPPENS ON THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL IF THIS HAPPENS AGAIN? AND THEN WE WALK AWAY KNOWING AND NOTING THAT THESE CONCERNS ARE BROUGHT TO OUR ATTENTION.
YET WE DID NOT TAKE THE NECESSARY STEPS IN THE PROCESS TO ENSURE THAT EVERYBODY HAD A COLLABORATIVE VOICE AND THAT, AND WHAT FEELS GOOD AND COMFORTABLE FOR THEM, AND ENSURING THAT OUR SCHOOL BOARD CAN PROTECT THIS INTEGRITY.
AND KNOWING THAT WE HEARD THOSE CONCERNS AND WE FOLLOWED UP, UH, WITH FIDELITY, AS YOU WOULD SAY, COACH.
SO FOR ME, I'M GONNA VOTE NO, NOT BECAUSE I DON'T BELIEVE THAT YOU ALL DIDN'T PUT IN THE WORK, BUT I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THIS PROCESS BE WORKED OUT IN A WAY THAT MAKES SENSE.
NOT JUST FOR OUR BOARD, BUT FOR OUR ENTIRE DISTRICT.
[03:35:01]
SO AGAIN, I WANTED TO EXPLAIN THAT TO YOU GUYS.CAUSE I DIDN'T WANT YOU TO THINK THAT I'M VOTING NO BECAUSE I'M TAKING AWAY FROM YOUR WORK.
I KNOW THE AMOUNT OF WORK YOU PUT INTO THIS, BUT I DO THINK THAT IT NEEDS TO BE A PLAN THAT IS WELL THOUGHT OUT THAT, UH, EMPHASIZES SCHOOL SAFETY, THAT EMPHASIZES, UH, BEHAVIORAL TRACKING FOR THOSE STUDENTS, ENSURING THAT WHEN THEY ARE ON CAMPUSES, THAT WE HAVE A FULLY STAFFED, UH, UH, UH, BUILDING.
UH, AND I KNOW YOU SAID ALREADY MR. JAMES, THAT UH, YOU ALL HAVE ONLY TWO VACANCIES AT BOTH CAMPUSES.
I APPLAUD THAT BECAUSE BEFORE IT WAS HARD AND I KNOW IT'S STILL HARD TO FIND PEOPLE THAT WANT TO STAFF THERE.
AND SOME OF THE CONVERSATIONS THAT MYSELF AND THE SUPERINTENDENT JUST SAID IS, THERE ARE SOME RAMIFICATIONS THAT WE CAN BRING FORTH TO TRY TO CORRECT A LOT OF THOSE THINGS.
BUT THE PROCESS HAS TO BE AS GOOD AS THE PRODUCT.
IF THE PRODUCT IS, WE TRYING TO GET OUR STUDENTS BACK ON THE RIGHT TRACK, GET THEM BACK INSIDE OF THEIR HOME SCHOOLS WHERE THEY ARE, WHERE WE CAN ACTUALLY SEE THEIR ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AND GROWTH, WE HAVE TO ENSURE THAT THOSE PROCESSES ARE, ARE JUST, UH, FULLY THOUGHT OUT AND CONSI AND AND CONSISTENT.
SO FOR ME, I JUST WANT US TO GO BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD AND GET THIS RIGHT CUZ I DON'T WANT TO PUT US IN A PLACE WHERE WE ALLOW ANOTHER, UH, OPPORTUNITY OR ANOTHER SITUATION TO OCCUR THAT WE SAW IT HAPPEN AT BROOKSTOWN.
SO I'LL JUST STOP THERE SEEING NO OTHER NAMES INSIDE OF THE QUEUE AT THIS TIME.
MADAM SECRETARY, PLEASE CALL FOR THE VOTE, PLEASE VOTE.
WE'LL NOW GO TO THE CONSENT AGENDA, WHICH WILL BE READ INTO ORDER BY SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER PATRICK MARTIN
THE FOLLOWING ITEMS ARE TO BE APPROVED AS PART OF THE CONSENT AGENDA AND ARE CONSIDERED TO BE ROUTINE AND WILL BE ENACTED WITH ONE MOTION.
THERE'LL BE NO SEPARATE DISCUSSION OF ITEMS UNLESS A BOARD MEMBER SO REQUESTS IN WHICH EVENT THE ITEM WILL BE REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA AND CONSIDERED AS AN ITEM ON THE REGULAR AGENDA FOR A SEPARATE VOTE PRECEDING THE LAST ITEM ON THE REGULAR AGENDA.
POLICY KF USE OF SCHOOL FACILITIES CONSIDERATION FOR A REQUEST FOR THE APPROVAL OF POLICY KF USE OF SCHOOL FACILITIES MR. RUST.
NUMBER THREE, SUPERINTENDENT CONTRACT NEGOTIATION CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST TO AUTHORIZE THE BOARD PRESIDENT TO BEGIN DISCUSSIONS WITH DR.
NARCISS AND NEGOTIATE AN ATTORNEY REGARDING THE TERMS OF A CONTRACT TO REPLACE THE CURRENT CONTRACT THAT EXISTS BETWEEN DR.
NARCISS AND THE E B R SCHOOL BOARD UPON ITS EXPIRATION.
FURTHER, THIS MOTION ALSO AUTHORIZES THE BOARD PRESIDENT TO APPOINT A GROUP OF UP TO FOUR BOARD MEMBERS TO REVIEW ALL DETAILS OF THE CONTRACTUAL NEGOTIATIONS PRIOR TO THE FINAL VOTE FOR APPROVAL.
SUCH CONTRACTUAL REVIEW BY THE GROUP MAY ONLY BEGIN AFTER THE HOLDING OF A BOARD WORKSHOP.
THE PURPOSE OF WHICH IS TO COME TO A SET OF PRIORITIES INCLUDING ANNUAL AND LONG-TERM PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES FOR THE SUPERINTENDENT TO BE CONTAINED IN SUCH A CONTRACT PROPOSAL.
THE BOARD WORKSHOP SHALL BE HELD AT ANY TIME AT THE PLEASURE OF THE BOARD PRESIDENT, BUT NO LATER THAN AUGUST 5TH, 2023.
ALTHOUGH THE COMMITTEE MAY BEGIN ITS REVIEW OF ALL CONTRACTUAL DETAILS WITH DR.
NARCISS, NO RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING A PROPOSED CONTRACT SHALL BE MADE TO THE BOARD UNTIL FINAL APPROVAL OF THE 23 20 24 GENERAL FUND BUDGET.
AND 20 23 20 24 SPECIAL FUND BUDGET BY THE BOARD MR. LANNIS.
NUMBER FOUR, GRANTS EARLY CHILDHOOD CONSIDERATION FOR REQUEST FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE FOLLOWING.
A STUDENT ENHANCEMENT BLOCK EIGHT G IN THE AMOUNT OF $388,235 B COMMUNITY NETWORK LEAD AGENCY IN THE AMOUNT OF $408,181 AND 43 CENTS C BELIEVE IN THE AMOUNT OF $732,154 D READY START NETWORKS IN THE AMOUNT OF $522,412 E EARLY CHILDHOOD GUIDES IN THE AMOUNT OF $200,000.
STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT DR.
MS. WARREN FIVE MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING EARLY CHILDHOOD B3.
CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST FOR THE APPROVAL OF A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL BOARD LEAD AGENCY AND THE FOLLOWING, A KIDS CAROUSEL AT CREST WORTH ELEMENTARY IN THE AMOUNT OF $195,000 B LONDON AND BRIDGE AT WESTMINSTER ELEMENTARY IN THE AMOUNT OF $63,000 C.
LITTLE DREAMERS AT NORTHEAST ELEMENTARY IN THE AMOUNT OF $63,000 TO EXPAND EARLY CHILDHOOD SEATS.
STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT, STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT FUNDING SOURCE, PRESCHOOL DEVELOPMENT GRANT, BIRTH TO THREE SEEDS BRIDGE FUNDING DR.
SIX MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING EARLY CHILDHOOD LA FOUR
[03:40:01]
CONSIDERATION REQUEST FOR THE APPROVAL OF A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL BOARD LEAD AGENCY AND THE FOLLOWING, A SOUTH BATON ROUGE, UH, CHARTER ACADEMY IN THE AMOUNT OF $223,200 B IMPACT CHARTER SCHOOL IN THE AMOUNT OF $111,600 C JUST US CHILDCARE BATON ROUGE IN THE AMOUNT OF $111,600 D GREATER BRIDGE ACADEMY CHILDCARE IN THE AMOUNT OF $111,600 E GOD'S LITTLE ANGELS CHILDCARE IN THE AMOUNT OF $55,800 F LITTLE DREAMERS ACADEMY CHILDCARE IN THE AMOUNT OF $50,220 TO EXPAND EARLY CHILDHOOD SEATS.STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT, UH, FUNDING SOURCE, PRESCHOOL DEVELOPMENT GRANT BIRTH TO THREE SEEDS BRIDGE FUNDING DR.
HEALTHCARE AND ANCILLARY BENEFITS PLANS.
CONSIDERATION OF REQUEST FOR THE APPROVAL AUTHORIZATION OF THE FOLLOWING, A PROPOSED 2024 HEALTHCARE RATES FOR ACTIVE EMPLOYEES NON-MEDICARE AND MEDICARE-ELIGIBLE RETIREES PARTICIPATING IN THE BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD OF LOUISIANA ADMINISTERED MEDICAL PLANS FOR CORE BUY UP AND COMMUNITY BLUE B PROPOSED A $0 PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN COPAY INCENTIVE ADDED FOR ACTIVE NON-MEDICARE AND MEDICARE ELIGIBLE RETIREES PARTICIPATING IN THE BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD OF LOUISIANA ADMINISTERED MEDICAL PLANS FOR CORE BUY UP AND COMMUNITY BLUE.
ESTIMATED 90 DAY IMPLEMENTATION AFTER BOARD APPROVAL BY BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD OF LOUISIANA C AUTHORIZED THE SUPERINTENDENT TO NEGOTIATE AN EXECUTE THE 2023 CONTRACT FOR STOP-LOSS INSURANCE COVERAGE.
CAN I GET A SECOND? SECONDED BY SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER MARK BALLOU.
AT THIS TIME, UH, I WILL ASK ARE THERE ANY, UH, ITEMS THAT NEED OR SHOULD BE PULLED? I WOULD ACTUALLY PLEASE ENTER THE QUEUE AND NAME THOSE ITEMS. OKAY.
I'M GONNA PULL ITEM SEVEN, HEALTHCARE AND AUXILIARY BENEFITS PLANS.
NEXT WE HAVE SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER MARTIN.
UH, I'D LIKE TO PULL NUMBER THREE, SUPERINTENDENT CONTRACT NEGOTIATION.
AND WE HAVE NUMBER THREE, SUPERINTENDENT CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS.
SEEING NO OTHER NAMES IN THE QUEUE AT THIS TIME.
WE WILL NOW GO TO THE PUBLIC AND WE ARE TALKING ABOUT ITEM, ITEM H ONE CONSENT AGENDA.
WE ARE NOT THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
AT THIS TIME NOW I CALL TO THE MIC MR. JAMIE ROBINSON.
UM, SEEING NO OTHER CUE CARDS FOR ITEM H ONE.
[H1. Consent Vote]
OKAY.OKAY, ONE MORE CUE CARD FOR ITEM H FOUR MS. TANJA MCMILLAN.
AND THIS IS ON ITEM AGE FOUR GRANTS
[H4. Grants: Early Childhood]
IN EARLY CHILDHOOD.AGAIN, I'M TONYA MCMILLAN, PARENT OF A CHILD HERE IN EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL SYSTEM.
UM, I WAS HOPING THAT ONE OF MY LOVELY SCHOOL BOARD REPRESENTATIVES WOULD'VE SPOKE ABOUT THESE GRANTS CUZ I SENT YOU GUYS ALL AN EMAIL ABOUT ONE IN PARTICULAR.
UM, I THINK THAT IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT WHEN WE APPLY FOR THESE GRANTS AND WE'RE AWARDED THIS MONEY THAT IS SO BENEFICIAL TO OUR STUDENTS AND OUR COMMUNITY THAT WHAT WE REPRESENT IN THE GRANT IS ACTUALLY TRUE.
SO IF WE SAY WE HAVE A RESET ROOM, WE NEED TO HAVE A RESET ROOM.
IF WE SAY WE USE P B I S, WE NEED TO USE P B I S.
IF WE SAY WE HAVE STUDENT OF THE MONTH, WE NEED TO HAVE STUDENT OF THE MONTH.
IF NOT, WE'RE MISREPRESENTING THE SCHOOLS THAT WE'RE APPLYING FOR GRANT TOUR.
MY MY SON'S SCHOOL COULD USE THOSE THINGS.
AND IT WAS REPRESENTED THAT WE HAD THOSE THINGS AND WE DON'T, IT'S NOT BEING UTILIZED LIKE THAT.
SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE YOU GUYS ALL AWARE OF THAT AND THE IMPORTANCE, AGAIN, OF BEING TRUTHFUL IN GRANT APPLICATIONS.
[03:45:01]
YOU.SEEING ALL THE CUE CARDS AT THIS TIME, I'LL COME BACK TO THE BOARD.
SEE WHO, IF ANYONE WANTS TO ENTER THE QUEUE BEFORE WE GO TO THE VOTE.
SEEING NO NAMES IN THE QUEUE AT THIS TIME, MAD SECRETARY, PLEASE CALL FOR THE VOTE, PLEASE VOTE.
NOW WE WILL ADDRESS ITEM H THREE
[H3. Superintendent Contract Negotiation]
SUPERINTENDENT CONTRACT CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST TO AUTHORIZE THE BOARD PRESIDENT TO BEGIN DISCUSSIONS WITH DR.NACI AND NOT, AND NEGOTIATING ATTORNEY REGARDING THE TERMS OF THE CONTRACT TO REPLACE THE CURRENT CONTRACT THAT EXISTS BETWEEN DR.
NACI AND EASTBOUND RIDGE PARISH SCHOOL BOARD UPON ITS EXP UH, EXPIRATION.
FURTHER, THIS MOTION ALSO AUTHORIZES THE BOARD PRESIDENT TO APPOINT A GROUP OF UP TO FOUR BOARD MEMBERS TO REVIEW ALL DETAILS OF THE CONTRACTUAL NEGOTIATIONS PRIOR TO THE FINAL VOTE FOR APPROVAL.
SUCH CONTRACTUAL REVIEW BY THE, BY THE GROUP MAY ONLY BEGIN AFTER THE HOLDING OF A BOARD WORKSHOP.
THE PURPOSE OF WHICH IS TO COME WITH, WITH A SET OF PRIORITIES, INCLUDING ANNUAL AND LONG-TERM PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES FOR THE SUPERINTENDENT TO BE CONTAINED IN SUCH A CONTRACTUAL PROPOSAL.
THE BOARD'S WORKSHOP SHALL BE HELD AT THE SAME TIME AT THE PLEASURE OF THE HELD AT ANY TIME AT THE PLEASURE OF THE BOARD PRESIDENT, BUT NO LATER THAN AUGUST 5TH, 2023.
ALTHOUGH THE COMMITTEE MAY BEGIN HIS REVIEW OF THE CONTRACTUAL DETAILS WITH DR.
NARCISS, NO RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING THE PROPOSED CONTRACT SHALL BE MADE BY THE BOARD UNTIL FINAL APPROVAL OF THE 20 23 20 24 GENERAL FUND BUDGET AND 20 23, 20 24 SPECIAL FUND BUDGET BY THE BOARD.
CAN I GET A MOTION? I'M SORRY, PRESIDENT.
LAST, I WANTED TO MAKE A, A MOTION WITH SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT LANGUAGE, UM, TO ACCOMPLISH THE SAME END.
UM, SO I THINK I UNDERSTAND FROM MR. SAM I CAN JUST OFFER THAT AS THE ORIGINAL MOTION, WHICH I CAN READ INTO THE RECORD'S CORRECT AT POINT.
SO I'D LIKE TO MOVE TO APPROVE THE REQUEST TO AUTHORIZE THE BOARD PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT TO BEGIN DISCUSSIONS WITH DR.
NARCISS IN NEGOTIATING AN ATTORNEY REGARDING THE TERMS OF A CONTRACT TO REPLACE THE CURRENT CONTRACT THAT EXISTS BETWEEN DR.
NARCISS AND THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL BOARD.
AND IN LIEU OF THE AUTHORIZATION TO APPOINT A GROUP OF UP TO FOUR BOARD MEMBERS TO REVIEW ALL DETAILS OF THE CONTRACTUAL NEGOTIATIONS TO FURTHER AUTHORIZE THE BOARD PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT TO CONSULT WITH INDIVIDUAL BOARD MEMBERS REGARDING THE NEGOTIATION OF TERMS RELATED TO THE CONTRACT.
SUCH NEGOTIATIONS MAY ONLY BEGIN AFTER THE HOLDING OF A BOARD WORKSHOP, THE PURCHASE PURPOSE OF WHICH IS TO COME TO A SET OF PRIORITIES, INCLUDING ANNUAL AND LONG-TERM PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES FOR THE SUPERINTENDENT TO BE CONTAINED IN SUCH A CONTRACT PROPOSAL.
THE BOARD WORKSHOP SHALL BE HELD AT ANY TIME AT THE PLEASURE OF THE BOARD PRESIDENT, BUT NO LATER THAN AUGUST 5TH, 2023.
NO RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING A PROPOSED CONTRACT SHALL BE MADE TO THE BOARD UNTIL FINAL APPROVAL OF THE 20 23 20 24 GENERAL FUND BUDGET.
AND 20 23, 20 24 SPECIAL FUND BUDGET BY THE BOARD.
OKAY, NEXT, UH, WE'LL GO TO THE BOARD.
I JUST, SO I ENTERED THE QUEUE REALLY FAST.
UM, AND I WON'T BELABOR THIS, UH, ISSUE.
I JUST WANT TO, UH, SAY FOR THE RECORD THE REASON WHY THIS PARTICULAR ITEM WAS WRITTEN AWAY THAT IT WAS, WAS TO ENSURE THAT WE HAVE FULL TRANSPARENCY IN TERMS OF, UH, THE CONTRACTUAL TALKS.
UH, AND THE REASON FOR SUCH IS, UM, ONE, IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE METRICS OF THE SUPERINTENDENT, I THINK THAT THOSE ARE CONVERSATIONS THAT SHOULD BE HELD WITH THE PUBLIC BECAUSE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT, WHICH MEANS THAT THE GENERAL PUBLIC AS WELL AS PARENTS, TEACHERS, OR ANY OTHER UH, UH, PERSON INVOLVED INSIDE OF THE EDUCATIONAL SPACES OF EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SHOULD HAVE THAT RIGHT TO HEAR THOSE THINGS.
UH, I THINK A LOT OF WHAT WE SAW HAPPEN THROUGHOUT THE BUDGETARY PROCESS, UH, WE COULD HAVE DONE A BETTER JOB IN ENSURING THAT WE HAD MORE TRANSPARENCY.
SO I SAY AGAIN, THE REASON WHY WE GOT TO THAT PLACE WAS TO ENSURE THAT WE HAD FULL TRANSPARENCY AND COMMUNICATIONS AND CONVERSATIONS, UH, AS WE DIALOGUE ABOUT THE SUPERINTENDENT'S CONTRACT.
BUT AGAIN, AS I SAID BEFORE, I WILL NOT BELABOR THIS.
IF THIS IS, UH, SO CHOSEN BY THE BOARD THAT WE MOVE FORWARD IN THIS PROCESS, UM, I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH THAT.
SO I'LL STOP THERE, CNO, THAN THE OF THE NAMES INSIDE
[03:50:01]
OF THE QUEUE AT THIS TIME.I WILL NOW GO TO OUR CUE CARDS FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.
FIRST UP, WE HAVE MR. JAMIE ROBINSON.
I WON'T MAKE THIS ABOUT THE SUPERINTENDENT'S PERFORMANCE, WHETHER I THINK HE'S DONE A GOOD JOB OR A BAD JOB.
I WANT TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT WHAT DOES THIS, ON THIS AGENDA TONIGHT, WHAT DOES THIS SAY? WHAT WE JUST GOT OUT OF, UH, AND YOU'RE REALLY STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF IT UNTIL THE 31ST A BUDGET THAT YOU SAID YOU DID NOT HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO CONSIDER.
HOW IS HAVING THE SUPERINTENDENT'S CONTRACT UP FOR CONSIDERATION RIGHT NOW MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE BUDGET? SO MAYBE NEXT YEAR YOU'RE CONSIDERED THE BUDGET, POSSIBLY IN MARCH, YOU'LL DO IT EARLY JUST LIKE YOU'RE DOING FOR OUR SUPERINTENDENT.
NOW THEN WHEN YOU SAY ONLY FOUR BOARD MEMBERS ARE GONNA HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE IN THE NEGOTIATION PRICES BEFORE YOU BRING IT BACK TO THE BEST OF THE BO TO THE REST OF THE BOARD, AND YOU SAY THAT, AND WE'RE DOING THIS LIKE THIS IN THE AIM OF TRANSPARENCY, THAT'S NOT TRANSPARENT BECAUSE THERE'S FOUR, THERE'S MORE THAN FOUR BOARD MEMBERS I DON'T TRUST AND I, AND I, AND I DON'T THINK THE ONE I TRUST THE MOST WILL BE ON THAT COMMITTEE.
AND THAT'S THAT, THAT I I I, I BELIEVE THAT THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS THING THAT YOU'RE DOING.
AND IT DEFINITELY SAYS, AND I DON'T, I THINK THE SUPERINTENDENT, SOMEONE WHO LEADS OUR ADMINISTRATORS, WHO LEADS OUR STUDENTS, WHO LEADS OUR FACULTY AND STAFF, YOU SHOULDN'T WANT YOUR CONTRACT TO BE CONSIDERED RIGHT NOW, ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING THE FACT THAT WE JUST HAD TO SEND OVER A HUNDRED LETTERS OUT TO PEOPLE SAYING YOU MAY NOT HAVE A JOB NEXT YEAR.
CONSIDERING THE FACT THAT WE HAVE PROBLEMS WHERE MOST OF OUR SCHOOLS ARE NOT FULLY STAFFED, CONSIDERING THE FACT THAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING THAT PROMISES WERE MADE AND PROMISES WERE KEPT, AND THEY WERE NOT BECAUSE THEY WERE PROMISED A RAISE AND TEACHERS WERE NOT GIVEN A RAISE, THEY WERE GIVEN A STIPEND.
AND IT'S NO SUSTAINABILITY THERE BECAUSE IT'S NOT FOR ANY TEACHERS.
IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE THAT MR. CONVERSATION IS NOT ABOUT ANY TEACHER.
IT'S ABOUT SO THAT ONLY ASK YOU, PLEASE KEEP MR. LANES AS A REGISTERED VOTER IN THIS, IN THIS PARISH AS A PERSON WHO PAYS TAXES TO THE SCHOOL BOARD.
I DO BELIEVE THAT THAT IS GERMANE TO IT BECAUSE IF WE CAN'T TALK ABOUT THE THINGS THAT LED UP TO THIS, NOW I DO RECOGNIZE THAT YOU'RE ONE OF THE SAME PEOPLE THAT LIED TO US AND TOLD US THAT WE WERE GOING TO GET THE RACE.
SO MAYBE YOU'RE TAKING OFFENSE TO THAT.
BUT MR. ROBINSON, STOP THE CLOCK.
PLEASE KEEP YOUR COMMENTS GERMANE TO THE TOPIC.
WHAT'S THE TOPIC RIGHT NOW IS THE SUPERINTENDENT'S CONTRACT.
IF YOU GO OUTSIDE OF THAT NORM AGAIN, I'M GONNA ASK THAT YOU PLEASE STEP AWAY FROM THE MIC.
WELL, LET ME DO THIS SINCE YOU WANT TO LISTEN.
WANT ME TO MAKE IT ABOUT SUPERINTENDENT? LET ME MAKE IT ABOUT SUPERINTENDENT.
I DO NOT TRUST THIS SUPERINTENDENT.
I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT THIS SUPERINTENDENT HAS BEEN HONEST AND FORTHCOMING BASED UPON THE INFORMATION THAT YOU GUYS GAVE US LAST WEEK, SAYING THAT YOU GUYS CONSTANTLY ASKED FOR INFORMATION ON THE BUDGET, DID NOT GET THAT INFORMATION.
IF HE'S NOT DOING THE SATISFACTORY JOB NOW, WHY WOULD WE CONSIDER IT TO COME BACK EARLY? AND SINCE I'M WALKING AWAY, I CAN SAY IT AGAIN.
MOVING RIGHT ALONG, MR. PRESIDENT.
UM, I'M JUST CURIOUS AS TO WHY WE CONTINUE TO ALLOW A GROUP TO BE OUTSIDE OF THE OFFICE AND COME IN FOR COMMENT WHEN WE HAVE MANY EMPTY CHAIRS HERE.
UM, I DON'T KNOW IF WE NEED TO CHANGE SOMETHING IN POLICY MM-HMM.
BUT, UM, IT, IT JUST DOESN'T FEEL RIGHT.
I'M GONNA JUST LEAVE IT AT THAT AND WE CAN THINK ABOUT IT FOR THE FUTURE.
BUT, YOU KNOW, IF PEOPLE WANT TO COME IN AND MAKE A PUBLIC COMMENT AND THINGS, THEY SHOULD BE IN HERE LISTENING TO ALL OF THE DISCUSSION AND ALL OF THE IDEAS AND THINGS THAT ARE BEING TOSSED ABOUT, AND NOT JUST BE ABLE TO WALK IN FROM THE OUTSIDE AND, AND HAVE THEIR OWN ON TV GROUP GOING.
I KNOW IT'S ON TV OUT THERE, BUT IT'S NOT THE SAME AS BEING HERE IN THE ROOM.
AND, AND I JUST THINK THAT FOR DECORUM AND LOTS OF OTHER REASONS, WE OUGHT TO THINK ABOUT OUR POLICY ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR, I UNDERSTAND THAT'S SUPPOSED TO BE AN OVERFLOW ROOM.
SO, JUST, JUST A POINT THAT I THINK WE OUGHT TO THINK ABOUT.
AND THAT IS NOTED, UH, AT THIS TIME NOW, HOWEVER, THOUGH, THE TIME IS NOW 8 54,
[H7. Meeting Extension]
WHICH AT EIGHT 50, UH, WE HAVE TO MAKE THE CONSIDERATION TO EXTEND THE MEETING TO EIGHT,[03:55:01]
I'M SORRY, TO NINE 30.SO IF THERE IS NOT ANY, UH, DISSENT ON THAT DECISION, I WILL ASK THE BOARD TO PLEASE ALLOW US TO, OH, DO WE HAVE TO VOTE ON THAT, UH, MR. ATTORNEY.
SO WE HAVE TO ENTER TO A VOTE AT THIS TIME THAT WE EXTEND THE MEETING TO NINE 30.
WE MAY NOT HAVE TO USE THAT ENTIRE TIME, BUT IT'S GONNA GIVE US ENOUGH TIME TO GET THROUGH TONIGHT'S AGENDA.
MOVED BY SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER, UH, PATRICK MARTIN, SECONDED BY SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER MICHAEL GODDE.
THIS TIME, UH, WE'RE GONNA GO TO THE BOARD FOR A COMMENT, SEEING AT THIS TIME, GO TO THE PUBLIC, SEEING NO PUBLIC COMMENT CARDS AT THIS TIME ON THIS ITEM, COME BACK TO THE BOARD.
WE ARE NOW VOTING TO EXTEND THE MEETING TO NINE 30.
MADAM SECRETARY, PLEASE CALL FOR THE VOTE.
NO, THIS IS TO EXTEND THE MEETING.
SO, AGAIN, WE COME, MAKE HER THE SECOND AGAIN.
MR. MARTIN MADE THE MOTION AND MR. GODDE MADE THE SECOND.
SO AGAIN, WE ARE VOTING TO EXTEND THE MEETING.
UH, MADAM SECRETARY, PLEASE CALL FOR THE VOTE.
OH, I THOUGHT SHE, I'M, EXCUSE ME.
COMING BACK TO PUBLIC COMMENT CARDS.
MS. VALENCIA JOHNSON, YOU'RE NOW, UH, AT THE PODIUM, UP AT THE PODIUM.
AS YOU MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE PODIUM, AND ANYONE THAT IS LISTENING, I ASK THAT YOU PLEASE REMAIN GERMANE TO THE TOPIC OR THE ISSUE AT HAND.
VALENCIA JOHNSON, SPEAKING FOR EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH ASSOCIATION OF, UH, EDUCATORS.
UM, ON THIS TOPIC OF THE CONTRACT, UH, I FEEL LIKE WE SHOULD, UH, WE SHOULD GO ALONG WITH PAT, UH, MR. MARTIN'S.
UH, BECAUSE IT GIVES MORE, UH, OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL BOARD MEMBERS TO BE INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS.
AND I WOULD ASK THAT IF YOU DON'T GO ALONG WITH IT, THAT YOU WOULD, UH, PERHAPS CONSIDER WORKSHOPPING SO EVERYBODY CAN ATTEND, AND IT'D BE PUBLIC, AND THAT WOULD BE IN FULL TRANSPARENCY AS TO WHAT IS HAPPENING, UM, WITH THE CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS.
ALSO, WHEN YOU DO GO INTO NEGOTIATIONS, YOU NEED TO CONSIDER HAVING, UH, STRICTER GUIDELINES AND, UH, MORE, UH, SUSTAINABLE AND, UH, MORE, UH, MORE GOALS THAT IN LINE LIKE TEACHERS AND PRINCIPALS HAVE, UH, AS FAR AS THEIR OBSERVATIONS.
SO WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE HOLDING THE SUPERINTENDENT, WHOEVER THAT MAY BE, UH, TO THE HIGHEST STANDARD LIKE WE HOLD OUR EDUCATORS.
NEXT WE HAVE MS. LADONNA WASHINGTON.
THIS WAS MY REASON FOR COMING.
WHEN I FOUND OUT THIS WAS ON THE AGENDA, I'M GONNA SAY I AM LADONNA WASHINGTON.
YOU MUST DON'T REMEMBER ME, BUT I'M PRETTY SURE YOU RE WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, YOU'RE GONNA KNOW WHO I AM.
UM, I'M FROM NATCHEZ, MISSISSIPPI.
WHEN I FIRST STARTED WORKING IN A DISTRICT IN 2016, I TAUGHT AT SCOTLANDVILLE FOR THREE YEARS.
DROVE BACK AND FORTH FOR THREE YEARS.
UM, COACHING, I CAN RECALL ONE DAY I WAS GOING BACK HOME FROM A GAME IN LAFAYETTE, AND I WOKE UP THE NEXT MORNING AT A REST STOP IN WOODVILLE AND DIDN'T REMEMBER PULLING OVER, GOING TO SLEEP THERE.
SO I DECIDED TO GET A PLACE HERE IN BATON ROUGE, NOT STAY IN NATCHEZ AND GET A JOB IN NATCHEZ AND TEACH BECAUSE I HAD GREW TO LOVE THE STUDENTS IN THE COMMUNITY IN BATON ROUGE.
SO, AFTER ME STAYING OFF A YEAR FROM SCOTLANDVILLE, I CAME BACK AND WENT TO CAPITAL MIDDLE, COACHING EVERYTHING ELSE, BECAUSE I LOVE THE STUDENTS HERE AND I LOVE THE COMMUNITY.
EVEN THOUGH I'M NOT A RESIDENT OF EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH.
ON LAST YEAR, TWO YEARS AGO, I HAD A SERIES OF BACK TO BACK TO BACK TO BACK DEATHS, BACK TO BACK.
DAUGHTER, NIECE DIED TWO DAYS LATER.
THEN MY DAUGHTER'S BEST FRIEND WAS KILLED IN HER HOUSE.
[04:00:01]
TWO DAYS AT WORK.DIDN'T TELL NOBODY WHAT WAS GOING ON AT WORK, BUT IT WEIGHED ON ME AND I COULDN'T TAKE IT.
SO ONE DAY AT WORK, I JUST, I'M QUITTING, OKAY? DIDN'T WANT TO QUIT, BUT I NEEDED TO TAKE MY RETIREMENT OUT BECAUSE I NEEDED TO PAY FOR SOME THINGS, COULDN'T GET MY RETIREMENT CUZ I HADN'T BEEN OFF FOR 90 DAYS.
SO WHAT I DID WAS I DID A LOAN, BUT I HAD TO PAY THAT BACK.
SO I HAD TO STOP WORKING IN THE DISTRICT SO I COULD GET MY RETIREMENT SO I CAN GET THAT BACK.
THEY TOLD ME IF SOON AS I'M FINISHED WORKING OR THE 90 DAYS UP, I COULD COME BACK TO THE DISTRICT.
WHAT HAPPENED FOR ME WAS I WAS TOLD THAT I WOULD HAVE TO WAIT A YEAR.
I SAID, IS THAT THE POLICY OR IS THAT WHAT YOU ALL PREFER? SO I CAME HERE ONE DAY AND I SAID THERE, AND I'M NOT GONNA LIE AND CRIED, I WAS CRYING, CRYING, CRYING, BECAUSE I, I WAS STILL A CHEER COACH.
SO I'M STILL COACHING, I'M STILL DOING EVERYTHING I'M SUPPOSED TO DO, AND I'M JUST NOT GETTING PAID FOR IT.
BUT I WAS GONNA HOLD UP TO WHAT I SAID I WAS GONNA DO.
I WENT TO THAT MAN OFFICE, DON'T KNOW WHAT HE WAS DOING, BUT HE STOPPED WHAT HE WAS DOING AND TALKED TO ME THE LONGEST I EVER WORKED IN A SCHOOL DISTRICT.
THAT HAS NEVER HAPPENED TO ME.
I'VE NEVER MET A SUPERINTENDENT BEFORE.
THAT MADE ME FEEL SOME TYPE OF WAY, LET ME KNOW THAT HE WAS HUMAN, NOT JUST ABOUT ALL THE TIME, WHAT YOU DO FOR THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, BUT HOW YOU TREAT YOUR TEACHERS.
NOW, I WAS ALLOWED TO COME BACK THAT YEAR, BUT I CAME BACK AS A SUB.
THAT MEAN I WASN'T GETTING PAID PAYING BILLS IN NATCHEZ AND IN BATON ROUGE.
BUT HE LISTENED TO ME AND HE TRIED HIS BEST TO HELP ME.
THE ONLY THING I'M SAYING IS HE'S A SUPERINTENDENT FOR HIS TEACHERS, FOR THE STUDENTS, AND FOR THIS COMMUNITY THAT WE DO NOT BELONG TO.
THIS IS NOT OUR COMMUNITY, BUT WE ARE HERE MAKING A DIFFERENCE.
BRING THAT MAN BACK AND GIVE HIM HIS MONEY.
NEXT WE HAVE MS. STORM MATTHEWS.
I'M NOT OPPOSED TO NEGOTIATING THE CONTRACT.
UM, I DO PREFER A MOTION THAT MAKES IT MORE OPEN AND ALLOWS MORE, UM, INPUT.
UM, ONE THING THAT I, I KNOW FROM THE, THE TEACHER, SINCE WE DID NOT GET A RAISE, THAT AT NO TIME SHOULD THERE BE ANY NEGOTIATION OF A RAISE, UH, THERE WILL BE AN OUTPOURING IF, IF THAT HAPPENS.
UM, I, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE, SINCE WE HAVE TO BE, UH, JUDGED BASED ON OUR PERFORMANCE EVERY SINGLE YEAR, I DO THINK THAT THERE SHOULD BE SOME PERFORMANCE METRICS DONE BEFORE A CONTRACT IS RENEWED.
THAT, I MEAN, WE GET OURS DONE.
IT'S BASED ON OUR PERFORMANCE.
SO IT SHOULD BE THE SAME THING.
NEXT WE HAVE MR. G***O TERRERO.
UH, I'M SPEAKING IN SUPPORT OF, UH, OF THE, UH, UH, CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE SUPERINTENDENT.
I'M THE CEO AND PRESIDENT OF BUTNER GENERAL, AND I'VE BEEN PERSONALLY INVOLVED IN THREE PARTNERSHIPS, UH, SINCE DR.
NACI BECAME SUPERINTENDENT, UH, CHAIR OF THE TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE OF THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.
UH, WE DEVELOPED THE, UM, UH, MEDICAL FOCUS CHOICE AT PARK ELEMENTARY, AND I'M THE CHAIR OF THE, UH, UH, HIGH SCHOOL, UH, CAPITAL HIGH SCHOOL ADVISORY BOARD.
AND ITS, UH, MEDICAL FOCUS, UH, CHOICE PROGRAM.
THE GENESIS OF THESE INNOVATIVE IDEAS, UH, WAS A DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE SUPERINTENDENT AND, UH, MYSELF.
AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THESE IDEAS WAS A RESULT OF THE ACTIONS OF THE SUPERINTENDENT.
HIS TEAM, AND THE ACTIONS OF THE GENERAL'S TEAM, UH, TOOK IN A SPIRIT OF, UH, MUTUAL, UH, TRUST.
NOBODY'S PERFECT AND NEITHER IS, UH, DR.
BUT WHAT I HAVE EXPERIENCED IN PARTNERING, UM, WITH, UM, DR.
NACI AND HIS TEAM IS THEIR WILLINGNESS TO HEAR ME OUT AND, UH, TO CHANGE FOR THE BETTER.
IN RESPONSE TO THAT, UH, TO THAT DIALOGUE, UH, IN PERSONALLY WORKING WITH THE SCHOOL SYSTEM, UH, I HAVE ALSO LEARNED THAT ITS SYSTEMS AND STRUCTURES ARE NOT PERFECT, UH, EITHER, AND THAT THEY REQUIRE A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF IMPROVEMENT, UH, FROM GOVERNANCE, UH, TO FINANCE, TO ACCOUNTABILITY.
[04:05:01]
I, I CANNOT THINK OF A BETTER COMBINATION OF THIS BOARD WITH ITS MEMBERS, UH, THIS SUPERINTENDENT AND KEY STAKEHOLDERS IN THE COMMUNITY, UH, TO MAKE, UH, THOSE IMPROVEMENTS A REALITY.SEEING ALL THE COMMENTS ON THIS PARTICULAR ITEM AT THIS TIME, WE'LL COME BACK TO THE BOARD.
I WILL GIVE OUR BOARD A SECOND TO SEE IF ANYBODY WANTS TO ENTER THE QUEUE.
UH, COACH LEWIS, JUST POINT OF CLARITY.
SO THE FIRST TIME WE VOTE, WE'RE VOTING ON YOUR WORDING OR WE'RE VOTING ON PATRICK'S WORD.
THAT WILL BE, UH, SCUBA MEMBER MARTIN'S UH, OKAY.
UH, I SAY MODIFICATIONS TO THE ITEM.
AND JUST FOR THE RECORD, THAT IS TO GIVE BOTH BOARD PRESIDENT AND BOARD VICE PRESIDENT AUTHORITY TO, UH, START CONTRACTUAL CONVERSATIONS.
AND, UH, IT GIVES US THE AUTHORITY TO HAVE THOSE DISCUSSIONS AS WE WORK THROUGH THAT PROCESS WITH THE REST OF OUR BOARD MEMBERS AS WE SEE FIT, AND THEN BRING THAT BACK TO THE BOARD ONCE WE COME UP WITH THOSE, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS.
I KIND OF SYNTHESIZED THAT
I, I THINK THAT'S AN ACCURATE PARA PARAPHRASING.
AND JUST TO EMPHASIZE, WE STILL HAVE THE, UM, THE PUBLIC WORKSHOP TO TALK ABOUT, UM, UH, PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
ALL OF THAT'S STILL ALL THE SAME.
IT'S SIMPLY REMOVING THE, THE FOUR MEMBER GROUP THAT WAS DISCUSSED ORIGINALLY.
AND IT'S NOT A SUBSTITUTE MOTION OR ANYTHING? THAT'S JUST THE MOTION, THE ORIGINAL MOTION ON THE, THAT'S CORRECT.
HE JUST MADE MODIFICATIONS TO THE LANGUAGE.
SO SEEING NO OTHER NAMES IN THE QUEUE AT THIS TIME.
MAD SECRETARY, PLEASE CALL FOR THE VOTE.
YOU WERE ONE OF THE MAKERS, RIGHT? NATHAN? MM-HMM.
UH, WE CALL FOR A POINT OF INFORMATION.
WHAT I'M SEEING ON THE VOTE, THE LANGUAGE IS NOT ACCURATE TO THE MOTION THAT PATRICK MODIFIED.
CAUSE I WAS SPEED READING AND I, AND I THAT'S NO PROBLEM.
YEAH, THAT'S WHY I WAS GONNA SAY, MOVING RIGHT ALONG.
WE'RE GOING TO ITEM H SEVEN, UH, HEALTHCARE AND AUXILIARY BENEFITS, UH, PLANS.
CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST FOR THE APPROVAL, AUTHORIZATION OF THE FOLLOWING, A PROPOSED 20 24 20 20 24 HEALTHCARE RATES, UH, FOR ACTIVE EMPLOYEES NON-MEDICARE AND, AND MEDICAID, I'M SORRY, NON-MEDICARE AND MEDICARE ELIGIBLE RETIRE RETIREES PARTICIPATING IN THE BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD LOUISIANA ADMINISTERED MEDICARE MEDICAL PLANS FOR, FOR CORE BUY UP AND COMMUNITY BLUE B PROPOSED ZERO, UH, PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN COPAY INCENTIVE ADDED FOR ACTIVE NON MEDICARE AND MEDICARE ELIGIBLE RETIREE RETIREES PARTICIPATING IN THE BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD LOUISIANA ADMINISTERED MEDICAL PLANS FOR THE FOUR CORE BUY UP AND COMMUNITY VIEW, EFFECTIVE OCTOBER 1ST THOUSAND 23, ESTIMATING 90 DAYS IMPLEMENTATION AFTER BOARD APPROVAL FOR ARE BY, UH, BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD, LOUISIANA, AND SEE AUTHORIZED SUPERINTENDENT TO NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE 2023 CONTRACT FOR NO STOP LOSS INSURANCE COVERAGE.
CAN I GET A MOTION MOVED BY SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER PATRICK MARTIN, SECONDED BY SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER NATHAN RUST.
[04:10:03]
UM, THERE WERE SOME, UH, THERE WAS SOME MODIFICATION TO LANGUAGE, UH, THAT CAME UP TO US AND I, UH, EXPRESSED THAT AND I SENT THAT OUT TO THE BOARD AT THIS TIME.NOW I WOULD LIKE TO CALL UP MR. EDUARDO.
EDGARDO, HOW'D I SAY THAT LAST NAME? RERO.
SO, UM, UH, I APPRECIATE, UH, YES, AND I KNOW IT'S VERY LATE, AND THIS IS A VERY COMPLEX, UH, TOPIC.
UH, UH, THE LAST, UH, UH, TWO WEEKS AGO WE WERE GIVEN CREDIT APPROPRIATELY SO FOR COMING UP WITH THIS IDEA OF, UH, ZERO, UH, DEDUCTIBLES AND COPAYS.
AND, UH, AND, AND THE IDEA HERE IS THAT I HAD WAS LESS, UH, ABOUT, UH, GIVING SOMETHING TO, TO, UH, THE MUCH NEEDED, UH, TEACHERS AND, AND, UH, AND EMPLOYEES.
BUT IT WAS PRIMARILY FOCUSED ON HOW CAN THE SYSTEM, THE, THE, UH, UH, UH, THE SCHOOL SYSTEM SAVE, UH, SAVE MONEY.
AND THAT'S BY GIVING A PRICE SIGNAL TO YOUR MEMBERS AND YOUR HEALTH PLAN TO CHOOSE, UH, UH, LOW COST, HIGH QUALITY, UH, PROVIDERS.
YOU HAVE A NETWORK CALLED, UH, COMMUNITY BLUE THAT IS EXACTLY COMPOSED OF LOW COST, HIGH, UH, QUALITY, UH, PROVIDERS THAT COST A LOT LESS TO YOU AS A SYSTEM THAN THE BROAD NETWORK, UH, GIVEN THAT, UH, THAT, UH, YOU ALREADY ANNOUNCED IN PUBLIC.
AND I'M NOT SUGGESTING THAT YOU TAKE THAT AWAY, UH, THAT, THAT YOU WERE GOING TO DO DEDUCT ZERO COPAYS AND ZERO DEDUCTIBLES FOR ALL OF YOUR PRODUCTS.
YOU HAVE TAKEN AWAY THAT LEVER, UH, TO, UH, UH, FOR YOUR MEMBERS TO CHOOSE, UH, LOW COST, HIGH QUALITY, UH, NETWORK.
AND SO I WORRY THAT, THAT IN DOING THAT, UH, YOU'RE, YOU'RE, YOU'RE, UM, UH, GIVING UP THE POTENTIAL TO SAVE, UH, TO SAVE A LOT OF MONEY.
UH, YOU SPEND ABOUT 50 MILLION A YEAR ON HEALTH, UH, BENEFITS.
UM, IF ALL YOUR MEMBERS THEORETICALLY WOULD PICK COMMUNITY BLUE AS THEIR NETWORK, YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO SAVE $5 MILLION A YEAR EVERY YEAR.
AND, AND SO I WORRY ABOUT THAT.
SO, SO MY, MY REQUEST, UH, FOR YOU IS TO WORK WITH YOUR BROKER, UH, WORK WITH BLUE CROSS TO DEVELOP PRODUCTS THAT GIVE A PRICE SIGNAL TO YOUR MEMBERS, UH, TO CHOOSE THOSE TYPES OF, OF NETWORKS.
AND, UH, AND WHILE IT'S TOO LATE, UH, I THINK FOR THIS YEAR, AND AGAIN, I'M NOT ASKING YOU TO RETRACT THAT, THAT, UH, THAT, UH, THAT, UH, OFFER THAT YOU MADE, BUT REALLY TO WORK VERY CLOSELY, YOUR STAFF AND YOUR BROKER AND BLUE CROSS TO DEVELOP THESE KIND OF PRODUCTS BECAUSE I THINK YOU HAVE A TREMENDOUS OPPORTUNITY TO SAVE A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF DOLLARS, UM, UH, IN THE FUTURE.
I, I I APPRECIATE THE, UM, THE EFFORTS OF BLUE CROSS TO LOOK OUT FOR THIS.
I THINK, UH, MR. RORA SAYS IS ABSOLUTELY CORRECT.
A, A I I THINK IT IS, UM, HAVING MADE A, HAVING MADE A, A COMMITMENT AT THE COMMITTEE ON THE WHOLE AND PUBLICLY TOLD EVERYBODY THAT, THAT, THAT, THAT WE ARE OFFERING THIS MORE BROADLY.
I I DON'T THINK YOU WOULD BE, UH, PRUDENT OF US TO UNDO THAT, BUT I THINK HE'S ABSOLUTELY CORRECT.
I, I'VE WORKED WITH, UM, THE LSU FIRST HEALTH PLAN, UH, SELF-INSURED HEALTH PLAN, VERY SIMILAR TO, TO WHAT WE HAVE TO DO HERE EXTENSIVELY, AND, AND BATON ROUGE GENERAL BATON ROUGE CLINIC.
UH, WE'RE ALWAYS TREMENDOUS PARTNERS WITH US.
UM, AND HE'S ABSOLUTELY CORRECT.
IT IS IMPORTANT TO PROVIDE FINANCIAL, UM, VISIBILITY TO OUR MEMBERS, TO, TO CHOOSE, UM, SERVICES THAT ARE HIGH QUALITY, BUT ALSO LOW COST TO US.
SO I THINK IT DOES, WE'RE BEAR, YOU KNOW, STRONG CONSIDERATION AS WE MOVE FORWARD TOWARD NEXT YEAR.
THIS, UH, LET'S GO AHEAD, ELIMINATE THE ARREST.
JUST AS A POINT OF INFORMATION OR, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS A DISCUSSION OF MODIFYING WHAT IS DISCUSSED HERE.
WE, AT THIS POINT, IS THAT A, IS THAT OUT OF THE, THE CONVERSATION, ARE WE CONTINUING THE ITEM AS IT AS IT'S WRITTEN? YEAH, SO WE JUST, UH, I BROUGHT THAT UP IN, IN TERMS OF CONTEXT.
I BROUGHT THAT UP SO, UH, IT COULD BE EXPLAINED WHAT THAT INFORMATION WAS BASED ON WHAT THOSE MODIFICATIONS COULD BE.
AND I THINK, UH, MR. EDUARDO, UH, LAID OUT WHAT THE POTENTIAL OF US, UH, VOTING ON THIS TONIGHT WITHOUT MAKING THOSE MODIFICATIONS, UH, WHAT THOSE RAMIFICATIONS WOULD BE.
AND I THINK HE SAID IT ALREADY.
WE HAD THE POTENTIAL TO LOSE POSSIBLY.
YOU SAID MILLIONS, MR. EDUARDO? YES.
SO, UH, IN SAYING THAT, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE THAT CLEAR BEFORE WE, IF
[04:15:01]
WE WANTED TO MAKE ANY MODIFICATIONS TO ANYTHING THAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT, UH, THE FLOOR WOULD STILL BE OPEN IF ANYBODY WANTED TO MAKE A SUBSTITUTE MOTION OR IF THEY WANTED TO MAKE A FRIENDLY AMENDMENT BASED OFF THAT INFORMATION, THEY ABSOLUTELY COULD.WHAT WE'RE VOTING ON IS THE ORIGINAL.
YEAH, THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND.
AND, AND, UM, YES, SO THIS IS STILL THE ORIGINAL MOTION AS IT IS.
THERE WAS DISCUSSION OF MODIFYING IT AND, AND I HAVEN'T SEEN RECOMMENDATION OR THE FULL CONVERSATION BEHIND WHAT THAT WOULD BE EVEN POTENTIALLY, AND IF THAT'S EVEN LOGISTICALLY POSSIBLE.
UM, CUZ I'VE HEARD JUST SECONDHAND INFORMATION ABOUT MODIFYING THIS ITEM.
AND SO THAT'S, I GUESS KIND OF MY REQUEST.
IF IF NOBODY HAS SOMETHING TO ADD TO IT, I'M NOT GONNA TOUCH IT.
I THINK AS IT STANDS, IT'S A WIN, UM, FOR OUR SYSTEM INFORM EMPLOYEES.
UM, CERTAINLY, UH, AS MR. CHIRO HAS ILLUSTRATED, WE, WE HAVE MORE ON THE TABLE THAT WE CAN DO, BUT I'M LEAVING THAT TO THE PROFESSIONALS HERE, SO THANK YOU.
AT THIS TIME NOW, SEEING NO OTHER NAMES IN THE QUEUE, WE WILL GO TO THE PUBLIC.
I THINK MR. EDUARDO HAS ALREADY SPOKEN ON THIS ITEM.
AND NEXT WE HAVE MS. STORM MATTHEWS BLAME IT ON THE SLEEP DEPRIVATION.
UM, I WAS TRYING TO FOLLOW, SO ARE Y'ALL SAYING THAT THERE'S A POSSIBILITY YOU WILL TAKE AWAY THE FREE PCP THAT YOU INTRODUCED AT THE CAL? IF THAT'S THE WAY THAT I JUST FOLLOWED THAT, UH, NO, THAT'S NOT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.
COMING BACK TO OUR BOARD C O OF THE, UH, CUE CARDS AT THIS TIME.
SEEING NO NAMES IN THE QUEUE, MADAM SECRETARY, CALL FOR THE VOTE, PLEASE CALL FOR THE VOTE, PLEASE VOTE.
ITEM I ONE ANNOUNCEMENT OF MEETINGS, UH, BOARD WORKSHOP TO BE HELD ON JULY 22ND, 2023 FROM 10:00 AM TO 4:00 PM AT THE EXECUTIVE CENTER.
SOME OF ALL BOARD MEMBERS MAY ATTEND PUBLIC HEARING BOARD WORKSHOP TO BE HELD ON JULY 31ST, 2023 AT 5:00 PM IN THE, IN THE CENTRAL OFFICE BOARDROOM, UH, SPECIAL MEETING TO BE HELD ON JULY 31ST, 2023, IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE PUBLIC PUBLIC HEARING BOARD WORKSHOP IN THE CENTRAL OFFICE BOARDROOM COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE TO BE HELD AUGUST 3RD, 2023 AT 5:00 PM IN THE CENTRAL OFFICE.
BOARDROOM, MR. GODDE, PLEASE DO US THE HONORS.