[A. Meeting Opening ]
[00:00:41]
WE ARE NOW ABOUT TO HOLD OUR SUPERINTENDENT AND BOARD RECOGNITIONS FOR FEBRUARY 20, 20, 25.
AND WITH THAT WE BEGIN WITH ELEMENTARY FALL SPORT CHAMPIONSHIPS.
AND I NOW BRING TO YOU, MR. JIAN.
GOOD AFTERNOON, PRESIDENT STEWART, SUPERINTENDENT COLE, BOARD MEMBERS, WE ARE HAPPY, ELATED, AND EXCITED TO INTRODUCE TO YOU THE CHAMPIONS OF THIS YEAR'S FALL AND WINTER SPORTS.
SO AT THIS TIME, I'M GOING TO BRING MR. SAM, WHO IS THE SUPERVISOR OF ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL SPORTS TO HAVE THESE RECOGNITIONS DONE.
UH, I'M GONNA START WITH HOW Y'ALL, I'M GONNA START.
GLEN OAKS PARK ELEMENTARY, PARIS CHAMPIONS FOR FLAG FOOTBALL.
UH, THE PRINCIPAL, PRINCIPAL, MR. BERNARD WILLIAMS, COACH DANIEL FISHER, GOT LINE UP HERE.
SO EVERYBODY CAN SEE YOU LINE UP IN HERE SO EVERYBODY CAN SEE.
EVERYBODY NEED TO SEE THE CHAMPIONS.
LET'S GIVE IT UP FOR EVERYBODY NEEDS TO SEE THE CHAMPION.
AND A SPECIAL CONGRATULATIONS TO THIS TEAM.
THEY'RE TWO TIME PARISH CHAMPIONS.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, PLEASE DON'T BE AFRAID TO CLAP FOR THESE YOUNG PEOPLE WITH SO MUCH NEGATIVITY IN OUR WORLD AND SO MUCH, SO MANY REPORTS ABOUT THE BAD OUR YOUNG PEOPLE DO.
WE OUGHT TO BE ABLE TO CELEBRATE THEM WHEN THEY DO WELL.
SO PLEASE FEEL FREE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THEM, UH, AS WE RECOGNIZE OUR YOUNG SCHOLARS FOR THEIR ATHLETIC ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS WELL AS THEIR ACADEMIC ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
SO PLEASE SHOUT, SCREAM, DO WHATEVER YOU WANT.
WE WANNA CELEBRATE OUR YOUNG PEOPLE.
OUR NEXT TEAM IS MAYFAIR LAB VOLLEYBALL.
THEIR VOLLEYBALL COACH IS MS. KIM HIGGINS, PRINCIPAL KYLE ETT.
AND A VERY, VERY SPECIAL CONGRATULATION ON FOUR TIME PARIS CHAMPIONS.
AND, AND IF YOUR CHILD IS UP HERE, COME UP TO THE FRONT AND TAKE A PICTURE.
DON'T BE SCARED TO COME ON UP TO THE FRONT AND TAKE A PHOTO.
YOU CAN'T LET THESE MOMENTS PASS BY.
YOU GOTTA GET THE EVIDENCE OF THIS RIGHT HERE.
[00:05:16]
YEAH, GET ON IT.WE'RE GONNA MAKE A LITTLE TIME TO CELEBRATE.
THAT IS WHAT THE SCHOOL BOARD MEANS SUPPOSED TO BE ABOUT.
NEXT UP WE'RE GONNA CELEBRATE OUR MIDDLE SCHOOL FALL AND WINTER SPORTS CHAMPIONS.
FIRST UP, WE HAVE OUR MIDDLE SCHOOL FOOTBALL CHAMPIONS AND BEFORE THEY COME IN, I WANNA SAY THEY MENTIONED IT EARLIER, BUT KUDOS TO THE PARENTS, THE COACHES AND THE TEACHERS AND FACULTY TO COME OUT AND SUPPORT THESE STUDENT ATHLETES ON THE WEEKENDS AND DURING THE, ON THE WEEKDAYS TO COME AND SEE THEM.
SO THANKS TO ALL OF YOU GUYS FOR SUPPORTING THEM IN THEIR EFFORTS.
SO MIDDLE SCHOOL FOOTBALL CHAMPIONS, FOUR TIME PARISH CHAMPIONS.
PRINCIPAL LANDRY WILLIAMS, HEAD COACH.
KEVIN JACKSON, ASSISTANT COACH.
PRINCIPAL WILLIAMS, RIGHT? YEAH.
YOU ALRIGHT? HOW YOU DOING SIR? HEY, I GOTTA GET IN ONE, TWO, SAY WHAT SHE SAYING?
DID HE GET HERE?
ALRIGHT EVERYONE, I GOT YOU IN FRAME.
1, 2, 3, ELEMENTARY, EXCUSE ME.
ON BEHALF OF THE CSA FOOTBALL TEAM, I WOULD LIKE TO PRESENT THIS RING TO MR. COLE 'CAUSE HE WAS A PART OF WHAT WE DID AT CS A DON'T FORGET BASKETBALL GUYS.
NEXT, OUR OTHER FALL, MIDDLE SCHOOL SPORT, MIDDLE SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL.
WE'RE GONNA HAVE A BIG CONGRATULATIONS FOR THE WESTDALE MIDDLE SCHOOL TEAM WHO ARE FIVE TIME CHAMPIONS.
ALRIGHT, COACH RJ AND COACH RJ
LINE UP SO EVERYBODY CAN SEE THE CHAMPIONS.
GET A CHANCE, LOOK AT THE SCHEDULE.
ANY WANNA GET HIS PICTURES? CONGRATULATIONS.
HOW MANY IS THAT COACH HERE? OH, ALTOGETHER.
NEXT, OUR WINTER SPORTS, MIDDLE SCHOOL BOYS, BASKETBALL CHAMPIONS FOUR.
[00:10:01]
PARISH CHAMPIONS.C SAL, MIDDLE SCHOOL PRINCIPAL.
LANDRY WILLIAMS. DINA STUDENTS.
KIRK PLICATE, ASSISTANT COACH.
I SAY THAT AND ONE WITH THE FOURS.
NEXT UP MIDDLE SCHOOL GIRLS BASKETBALL CHAMPIONS, SOUTHEAST MIDDLE SCHOOL PRINCIPAL REGINA BENNETT, HEAD COACH MILTON ROSS, ASSISTANT COACH DANA HILL.
THIS IS SOUTHEAST FIRST PARISH CHAMPIONSHIP.
THEY ARE THREE TIME DISTRICT CHAMPIONS.
SOUTHEASTERN AND WON BY EIGHT OR NINE GIRLS CHAMPIONSHIPS.
ISN'T THAT RIGHT? WELL, ALL TOGETHER WE WERE DOING IN A ROW.
ALRIGHT, DO YOU NEED TWO ROWS OR IS THAT GOOD? PARENTS? COME ON, GET IN THE PHOTO.
WE GONNA PUT IT ON THE WEBSITE.
HUG YOUR CHILD FOR SUCH A JOYOUS OCCASION.
NEXT UP IN A VERY SPECIAL RECOGNITION, THIS IS THE DISTRICT'S FIRST OFFICIAL SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP.
THIS YEAR WE HAD A FULL SEASON, SO WE WERE ABLE TO HAVE A CHAMPIONSHIP RUN.
AND BOTH BOYS AND GIRLS CHAMPIONS ARE REPRESENTED BY WESTDALE MIDDLE SCHOOL PRINCIPAL RAMONA RAMBLE, HEAD COACHES.
ANDREW MILLER, KURT GREEN, ASSISTANT COACH, ELIZABETH ROME.
MR. GREEN AND I HAVE, AND WE HAVE A GREAT GROUP STANDING IN.
THEY ARE SO ACCOMPLISHED AS, UM, SUPERINTENDENT COLE MENTIONED THAT MANY OF THEIR PLAYERS ARE AT BETA CONVENTION.
SO THAT'S WHY WE'RE NOT ALL HERE, BUT WE'RE RECOGNIZING THEM THIS EVENING.
GOD ALWAYS HAS A PLAN IN A WAY TO SURVIVE AND TO HELP HIS PEOPLE.
AND I START SINGING PARENTS, YOU GOOD? AND PARENTS GET IN THE PICTURE AND THE PARENTS GET IN A PICTURE.
I ALWAYS LOVE PEOPLE AND I WOULD AND SEE, IS THAT IT, MR. JO? ALL.
AND NEXT WE HAVE OUR STUDENT OF THE YEAR, WHICH WE PRESENTED ALSO BY MR. AFF TO MY HOUSE.
I COOK STRING BEANS AND HAWKS AND CORNBREAD.
AT THIS TIME WE WOULD LIKE TO RECOGNIZE THOSE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH STUDENTS OF THE YEAR.
I'M EXCITED ABOUT THIS YEAR'S WINNERS BECAUSE IT WAS A HARD JOB TO DO.
WE HAD REPRESENTATIVES FROM EACH SCHOOL IN THE DISTRICT AND ALL OF THEM DESERVE TO BE THE DISTRICT'S STUDENT OF THE YEAR.
BUT WE ONLY COULD PICK ONE PER LEVEL.
SO NOW WE WILL REP, WE WILL SHOW YOU,
[00:15:01]
UH, THE FRUIT OF OUR LABOR WHEN IT COMES TO THESE WINNERS FROM OUR CHARTER SCHOOLS, AS WELL AS OUR DISTRICT ITSELF.SO FOR THE DISTRICT, OUR ELEMENTARY STUDENT OF THE YEAR IS ZOE JENKINS FROM PARKVIEW ELEMENTARY.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THIS IS OUR THEME SONG WHEN IT'S SLEEPY.
MOM, DID Y'ALL BRING ANY OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS? YEAH.
OUR MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENT OF THE YEAR IS ZACHARY JACQUE FROM SHERWOOD MIDDLE.
NOW DO ZACHARY, RIGHT NOW THAT FOLKS SUB YOU NEED MS. NO, GET IN THE PHOTO BECAUSE I KNOW.
TAKE A PHOTO WITH YOUR, WHICH YOUR STUDENT IS WHEN DIVE DOWN SOUTH.
AND OUR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT OF THE YEAR FOR THE DISTRICT IS KAITLYN SMITH FROM BATON ROUGE MAGNET HIGH.
AND KAITLYN IS NOT WITH US TONIGHT BECAUSE SHE IS REPRESENTING HERSELF AS WELL AS HER SCHOOL IN WASHINGTON, DC RIGHT.
SO WE WANNA SHOW HER SOME CONGRATULATIONS AS WELL.
NOW OUR CHARTER SCHOOL DISTRICT OF THE YEAR WINNERS, OUR ELEMENTARY CHARTER SCHOOL STUDENT OF THE YEAR IS JACE JOHNSON FROM CSEC.
ALL THERE ARE FAR THINGS WE COULD BE CUTTING UP ABOUT.
YOU GIVING DIRECTIONS TOO? THAT'S RIGHT.
FIX YOUR METAL RIGHT QUICK FOR ME.
[00:20:22]
OUR MIDDLE SCHOOL CHARTER STUDENT OF THE YEAR IS CARISSA CARTER FROM INSPIRE.WHERE'S CARISSA? SHE MAY, SHE MAY BE AT BETA CONVENTION TOO AS WELL.
AND OUR HIGH SCHOOL CHARTER STUDENT OF THE YEAR IS ADDISON ALTO FROM HELIX MENTORSHIP.
NOW WE WILL MOVE TO OUR LAST RECOGNITION, AT LEAST UNDER MY DEPARTMENT,
THAT IS, UH, THE YOUNG ARTS PROGRAM OF THE NATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF ARTIST WINNERS.
AND MR. SHERMAN, WHO IS OUR MUSIC SPECIALIST, WE'LL DO THE HONOR.
HELLO, PRESIDENT STEWARD MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.
UH, MY NAME IS GLENN SHERMAN, STRUCTURAL SPECIALIST FOR MUSIC FOR THE SCHOOL SYSTEM.
I BRING TO YOU THIS AFTERNOON TWO STUDENTS WHO HAVE BEEN SELECTED AS NATIONAL WINNERS FOR THE YOUNG ARTS COMPETITION.
THEY WERE SELECTED WITH 800 OTHER STUDENTS FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
AND THOSE 800 WERE SELECTED FROM 11,000 STUDENTS.
SO WE NOT HAVE ONLY ONE, BUT WE HAVE TWO STUDENTS WHO WERE SELECTED FOR THIS HONOR.
AND I'M GONNA ASK ONE OF THEIR TEACHERS, DR.
KIMBERLY COSTANZA, OF THE TALENTED PROGRAM TO COME SPEAK ABOUT THE STUDENTS AND THE PROGRAM, PLEASE.
UM, THE YOUNG ARTS PROGRAM WAS FOUNDED IN 1981.
AND WHAT THE PROGRAM DOES IS IT IDENTIFIES EXCEPTIONAL YOUNG ARTISTS AMPLIFIES THEIR POTENTIAL AND INVEST IN THEIR LIFELONG CREATION.
AND SO WHAT THEY DO IS THEY ALLOW THE STUDENTS TO AUDITION FOR, UH, DIFFERENT AREAS IN THE PROGRAM.
AND EVERY YEAR, THOUSANDS, UH, AUDITION BETWEEN THE AGES OF 15 TO 18 EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH, AND BATON ROUGE MAGNET HIGH SCHOOL IS PROUD TO HAVE TWO WINNERS THIS YEAR.
HE'S A SENIOR AND HE WAS A WINNER IN THE SENIOR SONGWRITER CATEGORY.
AND MS. SIDNEY WHEELER, SHE'S A SENIOR AND A WINNER WITH DISTINCTION IN THE POPULAR VOICE CATEGORY.
MS. NAN MCCANN IS THE PRINCIPAL AT BATON ROUGE HIGH.
I TEACH BOTH, BOTH OF THESE STUDENTS TALENTED MUSIC.
AND THEN MS. EMILY DEFOE IS THEIR REGULAR CHOIR TEACHER.
I'M HONORED TO HELP RECOGNIZE THESE STUDENTS.
MR. ANTHONY BURTON WAS SELECTED AS A WINNER IN THE SINGER SONGWRITER CATEGORY.
HE'S UNABLE TO ATTEND TONIGHT BECAUSE HE IS IN TECH REHEARSALS FOR THE MUSICAL LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS AT BATON ROUGE HIGH, WHICH OPENS NEXT WEDNESDAY.
HE TOLD ME, PLEASE INVITE EVERYBODY.
UM, AND, UH, ANTHONY'S MOTHER, MS. JACQUELINE BURTON IS HERE IN HIS PLACE.
ANTHONY RECEIVED A SCHOLARSHIP AND IS, AND NOW HAS BEEN GIVEN CONNECTIONS THROUGH THIS PROGRAM WITH PEOPLE FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY.
AND THIS IS HIS MOTHER, MS. JACKSON BURTON.
HE WAS REQUIRED TO WRITE, HE WROTE HIMSELF THREE SONGS.
ANTHONY PLAYS THE PIANO AND SINGS, AND HE HAD TO RECORD HIMSELF PERFORMING THESE.
AND HE WAS CHOSEN AS A WINNER FOR THE SINGER SONGWRITER CATEGORY.
MS. SIDNEY WHEELER WAS SELECTED AS A WINNER WITH DISTINCTION.
SO THIS IS A, A, A HIGHER LEVEL, UH, IN POPULAR VOICE.
SHE WAS SELECTED AS ONE OF 175 OUT OF THE 11,000.
[00:25:02]
SHE WAS REQUIRED TO SING THREE SONGS AND SUBMIT THEM FOR THE COMPETITION.HER DOOR TO THE WORLD OF ARTS HAS BEEN OPENED TREMENDOUSLY.
SHE NOT ONLY WON A SCHOLARSHIP, SHE WAS ALSO TREATED TO AN EXPENSE PAID WEEK IN MIAMI TO WORK WITH VERY WELL-KNOWN, UH, PEOPLE THAT ARE IN THE ART OF MUSIC AND SINGING.
SHE WAS ABLE TO SING IN A SOLO CONCERT.
SHE PARTICIPATED IN MASTERCLASSES ABOUT VOCAL HEALTH, VOCAL TECHNIQUE, MUSICAL THEATER.
AND SHE ALSO MET STUDENTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD WHO SHE NOW CALLS HER FRIENDS, I'M SORRY, AROUND THE COUNTRY.
WHILE AT THE WORKSHOP, SHE WAS ALSO SELECTED AS ONE OF ONLY 60 PEOPLE TO BE NOMINATED FOR THE US PRESIDENTIAL SCHOLARS FOR THE ARTS AWARDS.
SO THAT WILL BE COMING LATER IN APRIL.
THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE WINNER OF THAT MS. SIDNEY WHEELER.
AND JUST A SHAMELESS PLUG FOR THOSE IN TV, LAND AND BOARD MEMBERS BE LOOKING IN THE MAIL FOR NEXT MONTH.
AS YOU KNOW, IT'S ARTS AND SCHOOLS MONTH.
SO WE HAVE EVERY SCHOOL IN THE DISTRICT WHO HAS SPECIALIZED PROGRAMMING GOING ON ALL MONTH.
SO THERE'S, WE'RE ON TOUR, IF YOU WILL, IN THE ARTS IN OUR SCHOOLS IN BAT, IN BATON ROUGE DURING THE MONTH OF MARCH.
SO BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THAT.
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST WE HAVE, UH, VS.
THAT, UH, MS. MILLER WILL BE MAKING A PRESENTATION.
AND TONIGHT I'M SO EXCITED TO RECOGNIZE AN EXCEPTIONAL COMMUNITY PARTNER AT CAPITAL ELEMENTARY.
THIS MONTH WE PRIDE, PROUDLY SHINE THE SPOTLIGHT ON ELM GROVE BAPTIST CHURCH.
SO GIVE US A WAVE IF YOU'RE FROM ELM GROVE.
I KNOW WE HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE HERE AND WE'LL GET A PICTURE.
I KNOW, BUT I'M SO GLAD THEY WERE ABLE TO COME OUT.
ELM GROVE HAS BEEN A STEADFAST PRESENCE AT CAPITAL ALL YEAR WITH ITS VOLUNTEERS SERVING AS READING AND MATH FRIENDS FOR STUDENTS IN FIRST THROUGH FIFTH GRADE.
THEIR DEDICATION IS EVIDENT AS THEY'RE ON CAMPUS EVERY SINGLE DAY, WORKING CLOSELY WITH MULTIPLE STUDENTS AND INVESTING COUNTLESS HOURS TO SUPPORT THEIR ACADEMIC GROWTH BEYOND THEIR DAILY VOLUNTEER EFFORTS.
ELM GROVE BAPTIST HAS CONSISTENTLY GONE ABOVE AND BEYOND TO ENRICH THE LIVES OF CAPITAL STUDENTS IN MEANINGFUL WAYS THERE.
ADOPT A SCHOOL APPROACH HAS BEEN A DRIVING FORCE BEHIND A LASTING AND STRONG PARTNERSHIP.
THEY HOSTED A CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION WHERE THEY INVITED THE PARENTS AND THE KIDS AND GAVE THEM A MEAL AND GIFTS.
THEY SPONSORED GIRL SCOUT MEMBERSHIP FEES TO ENSURE THAT MORE STUDENTS HAVE ACCESS TO THESE LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES.
AND THE LIST COULD GO ON AND ON WITH THE WAYS THAT ELM GROVE HAS STEPPED UP FOR CAPITAL STUDENTS.
MS. BROADWAY, THE ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL AT CAPITAL HAS THESE KIND WORDS TO SHARE.
THE ELM GROVE BAPTIST CHURCH COMMUNITY OUTREACH TEAM IS A DEDICATED AND ENTHUSIASTIC GROUP DRIVEN BY A DEEP PASSION FOR TEACHING, LEARNING, AND MAKING A POSITIVE IMPACT.
IT IS EVIDENT THAT THIS GROUP OF VOLUNTEERS INSPIRES AND IMPACTS STUDENTS AND TEACHERS THEY COME IN CONTACT WITH.
THEY HAVE BEEN OBSERVED REACHING, STRUGGLING STUDENTS WITH SIMPLE, YET PROFOUND MOTHERLY AND FATHERLY INSTINCTS AND EMPATHY MATCHED WITH COMPLETE PROFESSIONALISM FROM MS. BROADWAY AND THE PRINCIPAL, MS. JOHNSON.
THANK YOU ELM GROVE BAPTIST CHURCH FOR PARTNERING WITH CAPITAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TO ENSURE OUR STUDENTS STRIVE FOR SUCCESS AND DEVELOP A LOVE FOR READING.
SO ON BEHALF OF VIPS, VOLUNTEERS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND THE ADMINISTRATION AT CAPITAL AND THE BOARD, WE THANK YOU AND RECOGNIZE ELM GROVE BAPTIST CHURCH AS OUR OUTSTANDING PARTNER FOR JANUARY.
AND MISS DAISY FROM THE CHURCH IS GONNA COME SAY A FEW WORDS AND THEN WE'LL GET A PICTURE OF ALL THE VOLUNTEERS TOGETHER AS, AS MISS DAISY COMES FORWARD, I DON'T MIND SHARING.
NUMBER ONE, ELM GROVE IS A PART OF MY DISTRICT AND SO IS CAPITAL ELEMENTARY.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SERVICE AND WE HOPE TO, TO BLESS YOU GUYS EVEN MORE.
SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THAT YOU DO IN OUR SCHOOLS SUPERINTENDENT.
MR. COLE, I HEARD THAT YOU'RE DOING GREAT THINGS WITH EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOLS.
EACH BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS, WE THE MEMBERS OF THE ELAM GROVE BAPTIST CHURCH GREET YOU ALL IN THE NAME OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST.
WE ARE ELATED AND OVER HONORED AND JOY TO RECEIVE THIS RECOGNITION.
[00:30:01]
PATH WAS PLACED ON REVEREND HOWARD'S HEART THROUGH GOD.HE MADE THE CALL AND WE ANSWERED.
WE THANK THE CAPITAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, MRS. JOHNSON, MRS. BROADWAY, AND THE SCHOOL FOR OPENING ARMS TO RECEIVE US.
WE INSTILLED TO ALLOW US TO TEACH THEIR CHILDREN, TO RECEIVE THEIR CHILDREN.
WE APPRECIATE EVERYTHING THAT THEY ALLOWED US TO DO.
WE INSTILLED IN THE CHILDREN, THEY PERMITTED US TO COME ON THEIR CAMPUS TO INSTRUCT AND LEARN TOGETHER, INSTILLING IN THAT THEY'RE CHERISHED LOVE AND WONDERFULLY CREATED BY GOD.
AND WE APPRECIATE EACH AND EVERY DESIRE AND LET THEM KNOW THAT WHATEVER THEIR HEARTS DESIRE, THEY CAN ACCOMPLISH IT.
I WOULD LIKE EACH AND EVERY MEMBER TO PLEASE STAND, STATE YOUR NAME AND WHAT, UH, POSITION YOU HELD IN INSTRUCTING THE CHURCH.
DON'T, DON'T LET THE KIDS GET ALL THE JOHN DAVIS.
MY NAME IS AND I WORK WITH NORS TRULY DAISY JOHNSON.
I WORK WITH KINDERGARTEN AND FIRST GRADE, ALSO A SISTER.
NANCY ELLE WORKS WITH FOURTH AND FIFTH GRADERS.
WE HUMBLE AND GRACIOUS HEARTS, WE THANK YOU ALL FOR ALLOWING US AND GOD BLESS EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU.
AND MAY YOU HAVE GRACE, GOD'S GRACE WITH YOU ALWAYS.
WE THANK ELM GROVE AND WE CHALLENGE EVERY OTHER CHURCH, NONPROFIT, ORGANIZATION FOR PROFIT ORGANIZATION.
ANYONE WHO WANTS TO HELP AND SUPPORT OUR STUDENTS.
ELM GROVE IS CHALLENGING YOU TO DO SO.
AND THAT CONCLUDES OUR BOARD RECOGNITIONS.
WE WANT TO THANK EVERYONE, ALL THE GUESTS THAT CAME HERE TO GIVE THE CONGRATULATORY AND RECOGNITION.
UH, NEXT WE'LL GO INTO OUR MEETING, BUT WE'LL HAVE A FIVE MINUTE BREAK IN BETWEEN.
SO WE'LL BE BACK IN FIVE MINUTES.
[00:38:27]
TC PIERCE AND SHE WON THE LET BOARD OVERALL AS A CADET IN LET YEAR TWO, WHICH IS THIS CURRENT YEAR, INCLUDING LAST YEAR AS LAP ONE.CURRENTLY SHE SERVES ON THE LIBERTY JRTC, RAIDERS AND COLOR GUARD TEAM.
ALSO, SHE'S AN HONOR STUDENT WITH A GPA OF 3.5 AND A DUAL ENROLLMENT IN CLASSES AS LIBERTY MAGNET HIGH SCHOOL.
UPON GRADUATING FROM HIGH SCHOOL, SHE WILL ENLIST THE AIR FORCE AND PURSUE HER BACHELOR'S OF SCIENCE DEGREE IN NURSING STAFF.
SERGEANT MARK'S DESIRES TO BE A TRAVELING NURSE WHILE SERVING HER COUNTRY.
TO THAT, MARK IS A MODEL LEADER AND SHE EN AMPLIFIES WHAT IS A MEANS TO BE A-J-R-T-C CADET.
SHE DEMONSTRATES GREAT CHARACTER AND INSTRUCTORS CAN ALWAYS TRUST HER TO COMPLETE HER JOB.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, TO LEAD US IN THE PLEASURE OF ALLEGIANCE, STAFF SERGEANT MARK OF LIBERTY MAGNET HIGH SCHOOL.
I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG UNDER UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.
ON BEHALF OF THE SCHOOL BOARD AND THE SUPERINTENDENT WOULD LIKE TO PRESENT YOU WITH THIS MEMO AND I'M GONNA LET YOU PUT THAT ON YOURSELF,
[00:40:01]
YOU.THANK YOU, MADAM SECRETARY, CAN I GET A ROLL CALL? DISTRICT FOUR, PRESIDENT STEWART.
PRESENT DISTRICT SEVEN, VICE PRESIDENT.
[B. Minutes]
MINUTES.APPROVAL OF THE FOLLOWING, EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL BOARD MEETING MINUTES FOR JANUARY 9TH, 2025.
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING.
SPECIAL BOARD MEETING AS PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL.
CAN I GET A MOTION? PUBLIC COMMENT? I'M SORRY.
PUBLIC COMMENT? NO PUBLIC COMMENTS.
UH, I HAVE A MOTION BY, UH, BOARD MEMBER, UH, MARTIN.
AND DO I HAVE A SECOND? AND SECOND BY BOARD MEMBER LEWIS.
CAN I GET A VOTE? MADAM SECRETARY, PLEASE VOTE.
[C. Information Only]
ALONG TO ITEM C, INFORMATION ONLY.NUMBER ONE, THE MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT.
UH, NUMBER TWO, PERSONNEL CHANGES.
AND THEN NUMBER THREE POINT OF INFORMATION.
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS WHO HAVE SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED ANNUAL TRAINING FOR THE 2024 MANDATED BY LOUISIANA REVISED STATUTES.
AND THE TOTAL CREDIT HOURS RECEIVED.
I'M SORRY, I HAD TO COMMENT ON THAT ON THE, UH, I'M SORRY.
THERE'S A COMMENT ON THE FINANCIAL REPORT.
UH, ACTUALLY IT'S ON THE HR REPORT.
UH, I JUST WANTED TO CONGRATULATE THE HR DEPARTMENT FOR PUTTING OUT THE VISUALS.
UH, IT IS VERY GOOD ON THEIR REPORT AND, AND MAKES IT EASY TO UNDERSTAND.
AND YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU START LOOKING AT THESE NUMBERS AND RECOGNIZE THAT WE'VE HAD, SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE SCHOOL YEAR, WE'VE HAD 335, UH, INSTRUCTIONAL PERSONNEL LEAVE OR, OR RESIGN PLUS SIX RETIREMENTS.
AND THAT'S A BIG NUMBER TO BE REPLACING.
SO I JUST WANT TO CONGRATULATE OUR HR DEPARTMENT FOR REPLACING THOSE.
IS, UH, BIANCA HERE, CAN I ASK YOU A QUESTION REAL QUICK? UH, ON THE SCHOOL SITE VACANCY CHART, I'LL JUST LOOK AT THE FIRST ONE.
UH, OR, UH, IF I LOOK AT LIKE THE BROADMOOR REGION, IT'S GOT TOTAL, THEN TOTAL CORE TEACHERS.
SO IS THE TOTAL ON THAT? I, I DON'T UNDERSTAND THE CHART.
YOU'LL HAVE TOTAL VACANCIES AND THEN YOU'LL HAVE TOTAL TEACHER VACANCIES, AND THEN TOTAL CORE.
IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT? BECAUSE IN TOTAL VACANCIES, YOU MAY HAVE, MAYBE I NEED TISSUE.
UH, IT'S, YOU MAY HAVE PARAPROFESSIONALS AND DI IN DIFFERENT, UH, POSITIONS THAT ARE INCLUDED IN THE TOTAL.
BUT I NEED SOME UNDERSTANDING OF THAT 'CAUSE I DON'T FOLLOW IT.
BUT YOU DO LIKE IT? I DO LIKE IT.
[D.1. Update from Superintendent ]
D UH, RECEIVE INFORMATION, UH, UPDATE FROM SUPERINTENDENT.MADAM PRESIDENT, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, AUDIENCE AND BOYS AND GIRLS AT HOME, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TUNING IN FOR ANOTHER WEEK OF WHAT'S HAPPENING IN EAST BARR RIDGE PARISH SCHOOL SYSTEM WITH THE EAST BARR RIDGE PARISH SCHOOL BOARD.
UH, TONIGHT'S UPDATES ARE GONNA BE FOCUSED ON THE THREE CORE COMMITMENTS OF OUR NEWLY UPDATED STRATEGIC PLAN.
[00:45:01]
LAUNCHED A SYSTEMIC, UH, COMMON FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT PROGRAM, UH, WHICH ARE BRIEF ASSESSMENTS.WE ADMINISTER EVERY 10 DAYS, UH, IN OUR CDNF SCHOOLS TO DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT OUR STUDENTS ARE MASTERING SKILLS STANDARDS, UH, THAT ARE GOING TO BE MEASURED ON LEAP 2025.
AND SO WHAT ENDS UP HAPPENING EVERY 10 DAYS, UH, WE ASSESS STANDARDS THAT HAVE BEEN TAUGHT.
WE USE THE ASSESSMENTS TO DETERMINE WHERE KIDS ARE AND THEN OUR TEACHERS IN OUR SCHOOLS, UH, INTERVENE WHERE THEIR WEAKNESSES AND THEN ENHANCE WHERE THEIR STRENGTHS.
AND SO WE ARE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THOSE NUMBERS.
UH, NEXT MONTH OUR CHIEF ACADEMIC OFFICER IS GONNA COME FORWARD AND GIVE US A REPORT ABOUT THE CFA PROGRAM AND HOW IT'S WORKING.
UH, WE'VE IDENTIFIED SPECIAL EDUCATION ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS THAT ARE CURRENTLY TAKING THE STATEWIDE MANDATED ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENTS ACROSS THE DISTRICT.
UH, THE SAFE STATEWIDE ASSESSMENT, UH, RUNS THROUGH THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY.
UH, EARLIER THIS MONTH, MYSELF AND MEMBERS OF OUR TEAM HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO MEET WITH STATE SUPERINTENDENT K BRUMLEY AND MEMBERS OF HIS LEADERSHIP TEAM TO DISCUSS ONGOING INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT AND THE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, UH, THAT THEY ARE PROVIDING FOR OUR SCHOOLS.
WE ARE REALLY EXCITED TO BE COLLABORATING WITH THE STATE AS MUCH AS WE DO IN TERMS OF BEING IN OUR SCHOOLS, WORKING WITH OUR STAFF, PROVIDING THE SUPPORT TO MAKE SURE WE MEET THE NEEDS OF OUR STUDENTS.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, OUR STAFF HAS BEEN WORKING, UH, WITH OTTOMAN AS WELL AS THIRD FUTURES IN THIS TRANSITION OF THE STUDENTS AT IDEA SCHOOLS.
UH, WE'VE BEEN ON THOSE CAMPUSES, UH, TWICE, UH, IN THE LAST WEEK TO MEET WITH FAMILIES SO WE CAN ENSURE A SMOOTH TRANSITION.
OUR DISTRICT SPELLING BEE WILL BE HELD ON FEBRUARY 24TH AND 25TH AT THE CAPITAL PARK MUSEUM.
WE LOOK FORWARD TO TWO EXCITING DAYS, CELEBRATING OUR THIRD AND EIGHTH GRADE STUDENTS IN THE AREA OF OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE.
OUR STAFF MEMBERS CONTINUE TO ENGAGE IN AN EXTERNAL, WITH AN EXTERNAL CONSULTANT, UH, ON THE BUDGET PROTOCOLS AND THE COMMUNICATION.
TO THIS END, THE DISTRICT HOSTED COMMUNITY CONVERSATION ON THE BUDGET PROCESS.
WE'VE HAD A SERIES OF CONVERSATIONS WITH THE CONSULTANT, UH, AT THE REQUEST OF OUR BOARD TO THINK ABOUT, UH, OUR BUDGET PROCESS AND HOW WE DO THINGS.
AND PERHAPS AT THE END, THERE WILL BE RECOMMENDATIONS ON HOW WE CAN BE MORE EFFICIENT IN TERMS OF HOW WE USE OUR FUNDS, UH, FOUND IN OUR BUDGET BUDGET TO BEST, UH, MEET THE NEEDS OF OUR STUDENTS AND PUT THE MONEY WHERE IT NEEDS TO BE MOST IN THE CLASSROOM WITH THE KIDS SO THEY CAN BENEFIT THE MOST.
STAFF CONTINUES TO WORK WITH THE CONSULTANT ON THE DATA DISAGGREGATION RELATED TO OUR OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES BY PARENT ACADEMIC FACILITY, FINANCIAL, AND PROGRAMMATIC DATA TO GUIDE OUR DECISION MAKING.
UH, LAST MONTH WE APPROVED THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES.
AND, UH, ON TOMORROW WE'RE GONNA BE LAUNCHING OUR WEBSITE AROUND OUR SCHOOL, UH, ALIGNMENT PROCESS.
UH, AND I'LL TALK MORE ABOUT THAT TOMORROW MORNING WHEN I GIVE A REPORT ABOUT MY FIRST 100 DAYS AS SUPERINTENDENT, WHICH CAN BE WATCHED ON OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL.
AND IN EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT, OUR ACADEMIC TEAM CONTINUES TO REBUKE CURRICULAR RESOURCES AND ENSURE THAT HIGH QUALITY INSTRUCTION MATERIALS ARE IN PLACE AND BEING USED.
SO, ONE THING TO HAVE HIGH QUALITY INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS IN OUR SCHOOLS, BUT IT'S SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT TO BE USING THEM AND TO USE THEM WITH FIDELITY.
ONE OF THE THINGS WE RECOGNIZE AND KNOW, NO MATTER WHERE OUR STUDENTS ARE IN TERMS OF THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE, THEY MUST BE EXPOSED TO HIGH QUALITY MATERIALS.
THEY MUST SEE THE WORK, THEY MUST SEE THE INFORMATION ON GRADE LEVEL IF WE'RE EVER TO ENSURE THAT ALL OF OUR STUDENTS ARE WORKING TOWARDS GRADE LEVEL.
THE DISTRICT CONTINUES TO COLLABORATE, UH, WITHIN IET FOR JOB EMBEDDED SUPPORT FOR INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP TEAMS AT THE SCHOOL LEVEL AND DISTRICT LEADERSHIP TEAM AT THE SYSTEM LEVEL, NIET IS ALSO SUPPORTING SHORT TERM AND LONG RANGE PLANNING TO IMPACT SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT INITIATIVES AND IDENTIFIED SITES JUST IN TIME TRAININGS HAVE BEEN SCHEDULED THROUGHOUT THIS MONTH.
THE JOB EMBEDDED PROFESSIONAL LEARNING SESSIONS ARE DESIGNED TO PROVIDE TARGETED, TIMELY SUPPORT FOR TEACHERS, COACHES, AND LEADERS ACROSS ALL GRADE BANDS.
EVEN THOUGH WE SURPASSED OUR FIRST 100 DAYS, WE ARE STILL EVALUATING EVERY ASPECT OF OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM AND ALL OF OUR SYSTEMS SYSTEMS TO DETERMINE WHERE WE NEED TO STREAMLINE, WHERE WE NEED TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS, AND WHERE WE NEED TO DEPLOY OUR RESOURCES BETTER.
TO THAT END, WE DID A SEARCH, A VERY LENGTHY SEARCH, AND WE CONDUCTED A SERIES OF INTERVIEWS.
AND I'M HAPPY AND DELIGHTED TO INTRODUCE TO YOU OUR NEW HEAD OF HR THIS EVENING, DR.
LISA SMOTHERS, UH, WHO IS HERE.
I'M VERY EXCITED, UH, TO HAVE DR.
SMOTHERS THREE TIMES,
AND WE HAD A HOST OF, UH, INTERNAL CANDIDATES WHO APPLIED AS WELL AS EXTERNAL CANDIDATES WHO APPLIED.
UH, BUT IN MY CONVERSATIONS WITH DR.
SMOTHERS, UH, I SHARED WITH HER NOT ONLY MY CONCERNS ABOUT OUR HR DEPARTMENT, BUT I SHARED WITH HER THE CONCERNS OF YOU ALL AS BOARD MEMBERS WITH OUR HR DEPARTMENT.
AND I FEEL CONFIDENT SHE HAS ASSURED ME, UH, WE ARE GOING TO HAVE THE BEST HR DEPARTMENT IN THE STATE, A MODEL HR DEPARTMENT THAT PEOPLE CAN COME AND SEE.
AND THE CHANGES WE NEED TO MAKE, UH, DR.
[00:50:01]
SMOTHERS KNOW SHE HAS MY FULL SUPPORT, UH, TO MAKE THOSE CHANGES AND ADJUSTMENTS, EVEN IF THAT IS, UH, REDIRECTING CAREER PATHS FOR FOLKS WHO JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND THE DIRECTION WE'RE TRYING TO GO IN.SMOTHERS, IF YOU DON'T MIND, PLEASE SHARE A FEW WORDS WITH THE PEOPLE.
UM, AND GOOD EVENING TO EACH OF YOU.
UM, I'M VERY EXCITED TO SERVE AS YOUR CHIEF OF HUMAN RESOURCES, AND I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO BUILDING THE HR TEAM ALONGSIDE A DYNAMIC TEAM OF HR PROFESSIONALS.
I'M EXCITED ABOUT THE MOVEMENT THAT WE ARE GOING TO THE, THE FORWARD THINKING, THE BUILDING, THE DYNAMICS OF OUR HR DEPARTMENT, SPECIFICALLY ALONG THE LINES OF CUSTOMER SERVICE.
I BELIEVE THAT THE TEAM HAS DONE A PHENOMENAL JOB THUS FAR IN, YOU KNOW, CULTIVATING CUSTOMER SERVICE WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT.
BUT OF COURSE, WE WANNA WORK HARD TO ELEVATE THAT SERVICE.
UM, I AM DEFINITELY LOOKING FORWARD TO WORKING WITH EACH OF YOU, UM, AT DEFINITELY FOR, YOU KNOW, EVEN WITH OUR SUPERINTENDENT TO SUPPORT THE VISION AND MISSION OF EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL SYSTEM.
AND I MUST SAY, I AM A, THE PRO A PRODUCT OF EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOLS, ALONG WITH MY HUSBAND.
WE ARE PROUD GRADUATES OF BROADMOOR HIGH SCHOOL CLASS OF 94, WHERE WE SERVED AS MR. AND MRS. BROADMOOR.
SO I TELL YOU, WE ARE EXCITED TO SERVE IN THIS CAPACITY, AND I'M DEFINITELY LOOKING FORWARD TO ADVANCING.
AGAIN, AS I SAID, THE VISION AND THE MISSION, MISSION OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM.
IF YOU ALL NEED ANYTHING, DEFINITELY PLEASE FEEL FREE TO REACH OUT.
UM, DON'T HESITATE TO CONTACT ME FOR ANYTHING THAT YOU MAY NEED OR ANY CONCERNS THAT YOU HAVE.
BUT AGAIN, I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH THAT, UM, THE DEPARTMENT, AS IT IS, IS WONDERFUL.
I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO ADVANCING IT AND MAKING ANY NECESSARY CHANGES TO PROMOTE, UM, AGAIN, THE WORK THAT WE'RE GOING TO DO, UM, WITHIN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM TO SERVE THE PEOPLE OF THIS GREAT SCHOOL SYSTEM.
AT THIS TIME, UH, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE COA WHO IS HERE.
UH, COA IS OUR ACCREDITING AGENCY.
THE DISTRICT RECENTLY COMPLETED ITS ACCREDITATION RENEWAL, EARNING ACCREDITATION SCORES AT THE HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT LEVEL AND ABOVE THE ORGANIZATION'S NETWORK AVERAGE.
AS THE WORLD'S LARGEST ACCREDITATION AND IMPROVEMENT NETWORK, COVE SERVES OVER 40,000 SCHOOLS AND DISTRICTS AND 90 COUNTRIES WORLDWIDE.
JOINING US TONIGHT IS MS. CHRISTIE MCCLARY, A REGIONAL DIRECTOR WITH COVE FOR A SPECIAL PRESENTATION.
GOOD EVENING, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN OF THE BOARD.
IT IS MY HONOR TO BE HERE TONIGHT WITH THE COA EXCELLENCE AND EDUCATION AWARD.
THE COA EXCELLENCE AND EDUCATION AWARD IS AN AWARD THAT IS PRESENTED ANNUALLY IN EACH STATE TO WON INDIVIDUAL WHO IS DEMONSTRATED SIGNIFICANT, UM, LEADERSHIP IN PROMOTING AND ADVANCING EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION.
AND THIS AWARD SEEKS TO IDENTIFY PEOPLE WHO REALLY GENERATE A COMMON VISION AND MISSION FOR HIGHER EXPECTATIONS AMONG STUDENTS, FACULTY, AND THE EDUCATION COMMUNITY, PEOPLE WHO DEMONSTRATE A RECORD OF SIGNIFICANT AND DISTINGUISHED CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE EDUCATION PROFESSION, WHO PROVIDE A LASTING POSITIVE IMPACT ON STUDENT LEARNING, AND WHO SERVE AS A ROLE MODEL AND MENTOR FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS OF EDUCATORS.
AND IT IS, MY HONOR, THIS EVENING TO BE ABLE TO PRESENT THE CO EXCELLENCE OF EDUCATION AWARD TO ANDREA KOSKI PROMISE THE SUPERINTENDENT.
UH, SOME OF YOU KNOW, IT'S HARD TO RENDER ME SPEECHLESS, BUT WHEN CHRISTIE FIRST CONTACTED ME ABOUT THIS, SHE DID.
UH, SO TWO WORDS CAME TO MIND, HUMBLED AND GRATEFUL.
UH, I'M TRULY HUMBLED BY THIS.
WHEN I LOOK AT SOME OF THE FOLKS WHO'VE RECEIVED THIS IN THE PAST, IT IS TRULY AN HONOR.
AND I'M GRATEFUL TO BE ABLE TO TELL THE STORY OF THIS SCHOOL SYSTEM, UH, WHILE I TELL THE SUPERINTENDENT, IT'S MY NAME ON HERE, BUT IT'S ALL OF OUR NAMES ON HERE.
THEY'RE FINE FOLKS SITTING BACK HERE WHO WALK EVERY MILE EVERY DAY, BOTH EMPLOYEES AND NON-EMPLOYEES WHO FIGHT AND TELL THE STORY OF THE SYSTEM.
THERE ARE FINE FOLKS AT HOME WATCHING.
UH, SUZANNE
AND SO WE DON'T DO THIS WORK ALONE.
AND COA REPRESENTS IN THEIR CORE VALUES, GROWTH MINDSET, CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT.
SO THAT MAKES US EVEN MORE SPECIAL.
AND THANKS TO COA AND THANKS TO ALL OF YOU, ANDREA.
PLEASE SHARE WITH THE BOARD THE LAST PERSON IN LOUISIANA TO WIN THAT AWARD.
[00:55:01]
UH, THERE ARE TWO MOUNT CARMELS IN LOUISIANA.
I HAPPENED TO GRADUATE FROM THE OTHER ONE.
AND THE SPECIAL STORY HERE, AND SOME OF YOU'LL KNOW, AND THIS IS THE EXTRA SPECIAL 'CAUSE IT'S BEEN A CHALLENGING YEAR.
UH, MY MOTHER WAS EMPLOYED BY THE CARMEL HEIGHTS FOR 30 YEARS.
SO HER, THE PERSON WHO EMPLOYED HER AND HER IMMEDIATE SUPERVISOR WAS, I BELIEVE, THE LAST LOUISIANA RECIPIENT OF THIS AWARD.
WE APPRECIATE AND VALUE YOUR EFFORTS EVERY SINGLE DAY, AND I APPRECIATE YOU FOR BEING BRIEF IN YOUR REMARKS TONIGHT.
I JUST WANTED TO EXTEND MY OWN.
UM, CONGRATULATIONS TO MS. KOSKI AS THE BOARD VICE PRESIDENT.
UM, AND, AND PRESIDENT POWELL LEWIS AND I, UM, HAD TO BE INTERVIEWED BY THE COGNI PROCESS, AND WE HAD TO LEARN A LOT ABOUT IT.
AND IT WAS NOT AN EASY PROCESS.
YOU KNOW, WE WERE, UH, WE HAD AN INTERIM SUPERINTENDENT.
WE HAD HAD A LITTLE BIT OF WELL-PUBLICIZED, UH, CHALLENGES AT THE BOARD LEVEL.
UM, THE, THE SYSTEM COULD APPEAR TO OUTSIDERS IN DISARRAY.
UH, BUT MISS OSKY, UM, COACHED US ON WHAT TO SAY, EDUCATED US ON THE FACTS THAT WE NEEDED TO KNOW AND WHAT THE CONCERNS OF THE COA, UM, REVIEWERS WERE.
AND THIS IS NOT AN EASY REVIEW.
THEY TAKE THEIR JOBS VERY SERIOUSLY.
UM, AND SO IT, IT, IT, IT TRULY IS A TREMENDOUS ACCOMPLISHMENT THAT, THAT WE ACHIEVED, UM, UM, OUR ACCREDITATION IN, IN SUCH A CHALLENGING ENVIRONMENT.
AND WE WOULD NOT HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT MS. KOSKI.
AND IN ADDITION TO BOARD MEMBERS, AS YOU KNOW, WE, UH, WORK EXTREMELY HARD EVERY MONTH TO HIGHLIGHT AND IDENTIFY SCHOOLS THAT ARE DOING GREAT WORK IN OUR DISTRICT AND ALLOW THEM TO COME AND HAVE A FEW MINUTES TO TALK ABOUT THE WORK THEY'RE DOING AT THEIR SCHOOLS.
HOWEVER, THIS MONTH WE WANT TO PIVOT FOR A MOMENT.
IT IS NATIONAL EARLY EDUCATION MONTH.
AND SO WE'RE GONNA ACTION ON WARREN.
AND FOR THIS REASON, WE ARE PUSHING OUR SCHOOL SPOTLIGHTS AND RECOGNIZE THE WORK DONE IN OUR EARLY CHILDHOOD TEAM FOR FAMILIES WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY, THE DISTRICT'S EARLY CHILDHOOD NETWORK, MOST EXEMPLARY RATINGS, EXEMPLARY RATINGS, AND SERVES AS THE STATE'S LARGEST NETWORK IN TERMS OF PHYSICAL SITES.
AND THE THIRD, THIRD LARGEST NETWORK NETWORK.
I'D LIKE TO CALL MR. NORM WARREN, WHO LEADS OUR DISTRICT WORK IN EARLY CHILDHOOD TO SHARE IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT OUR PROGRAMS. THANK YOU, MS. WARREN.
BOARD PRESIDENT STEWART AND SUPERINTENDENT COLE AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.
THIS IS EARLY ED MONTH AND WE ARE READY TO CELEBRATE.
I WANNA SAY THAT, UM, EVERY YEAR THE LOUISIANA POLICY INSTITUTE FOR, UM, CHILDREN, THEY KICK IT OFF IN FEBRUARY.
SO, UM, THIS IS THEIR CHANCE TO RAISE AWARENESS OF THE IMPORTANCE OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE, AS WELL AS TO, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE CONTINUING TO INVEST IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE.
SO, SOME KEY MESSAGES THAT THEY PROMOTED DURING THIS MONTH IS THAT CHILDCARE IS A CRITICAL PIECE OF OUR ECONOMIC IN INFRASTRUCTURE.
EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION IS THE INDUSTRY THAT ALLOWS ALL OTHER INDUSTRIES TO THRIVE.
OUR CHILDREN ARE IN OUR CHILDCARE CENTERS WHILE WE'RE AT WORK, SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE INVESTED SO THEY CAN HAVE A HIGH QUALITY EDUCATION, BECAUSE WE KNOW ONCE WE INVEST, IT HELPS THEM TO BECOME LONG-TERM CITIZENS IN OUR SOCIETY.
SO WE HAD SOME FUN LAST WEEK ON FEBRUARY THE 12TH, WE HOSTED THE EARLY ED DAY AT THE CREST WORTH MICRO CENTER.
WE HAD A CHANCE FOR OUR STATE, UM, AND LOCAL OFFICIALS TO VISIT.
WE HAD BOARD, UM, BESSIE, BOARD MEMBER, UM, RONNIE MORRISON.
WE HAD, UM, UM, SENATOR REGINA BARROW.
AND, UM, WE HAD THEM TO COME ON OUT AND THEY READ TO OUR STUDENTS.
THEY ALSO HAD A CHANCE TO ENGAGE.
MS. BARROW SAID, I'M COMING BACK TO BRING THEM SOME PIZZA.
UH, SHE SAID, AND I HAVE A PLAN TO GET MORE MONEY INTO THIS PROGRAM.
AND, UM, DENISE MARCEL SAID, OH, YES, I HAVE SOMEONE THAT CAN FUND IT.
AND I HOPE THAT YOU ALL HAVE A CHANCE TO COME OUT AND VISIT US AT THE CREST WORK EARLY LEARNING CENTER.
TAKE A TOUR, AND WE'LL GIVE YOU ALL OF THE INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT IS HIGH QUALITY, WHAT TYPE OF INVESTMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN MADE, AND HOW ARE WE BRAIDING THE FUNDING TO SUPPORT BIRTH TO PRE-K FOUR PROGRAMS. I CHALLENGE YOU TO COME OUT AND ALSO WE WANT YOU TO COME READ TO THE CHILDREN.
THEY WILL ENJOY YOU AND YOU'LL ENJOY THEM.
SO WHAT I REALLY WANNA CELEBRATE IS OUR 22 23 24 RATINGS THIS YEAR.
[01:00:01]
A 5.60 HIGH PROFICIENT RATING THAT'S ON A SEVEN POINT SCALE.WE ARE, UM, LIKE SUPERINTENDENT COLE SAID, WE'RE ONE OF THE LARGEST DISTRICTS IN THE NETWORK IN OUR STATE.
WE'RE PROUD OF WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING.
THIS HAS BEEN A LONG TERM COMING.
AND SO I WANNA, UM, DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN.
IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, YOU WILL SEE LAST YEAR WE HAD 171 SITES, ALMOST 5,000 KIDS.
AND IN THERE, ALL OF OUR SITES THAT INCLUDE OUR PARTNER SITES OF CHILDCARE CENTERS, PRIVATE AND PAROCHIAL SCHOOLS, AND OUR EBR SCHOOLS.
31 EXCELLENT SCHOOLS THAT WERE RATED 101 HIGH PROFICIENT, 36 PROFICIENT.
THESE ARE ALL OVER THE SITES IN OUR NETWORK.
AND NOW LET'S SHIFT TO THE EBR SCHOOL SYSTEM.
ONLY OUT OF OUR 42 ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS WITH PRE-K PROGRAMS, WE, AND I WANNA STATE THIS, WE WERE ABOVE THE STATE AVERAGE.
SO THAT SAYS SOMETHING IN ITSELF.
EBR WAS ABOVE THE STATE AVERAGE.
AND OUR EBR SCHOOL SYSTEM, WE HAD 13 EXCELLENT SCHOOL RATINGS.
WHAM HAS BEEN AN EXCELLENT RATED SCHOOL AND THEIR PROGRAM SINCE THE INCEPTION OF THE EARLY CHILDHOOD NETWORK, WE HAVE 21 HIGH PROFICIENT SCHOOLS, EIGHT, UM, PROFICIENT AND ZERO APPROACHING, AND ZERO ON SAT.
NOW YOU SEE THIS AUDIENCE THAT'S FILLED, I'M ABOUT TO TURN AROUND.
I WANT FOR ALL OF OUR EARLY CHILDHOOD SITES THAT ARE HERE TO STAND UP, TO BE RECOGNIZED FOR YOUR WORK.
I WOULD LIKE THE EBR EARLY CHILDHOOD TEAM TO ALSO STAND UP OUR EXTERNAL PARTNERS.
IF YOU'RE HERE, PLEASE STAND UP.
ALRIGHT, SO THESE, WE COULD NOT DO IT WITHOUT THE TEAM HERE.
WE PARTNER, WE MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE SUPPORTING, WE HAVE A SMALL TEAM, BUT WE HAVE A, I CALL 'EM THE MIGHTY SPARTAN 300.
THEY'RE SMALL, BUT THEY'RE GETTING THE WORK DONE.
WE HAVE TO BUILD THE RELATIONSHIPS AND WE JUST THANK THEM FOR RAISING A HIGH QUALITY AND WE ARE GONNA CONTINUE TO DO THE WORK.
SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE TREND DATA, THIS HAS BEEN 10 YEARS, ALMOST 10 YEARS THERE.
YOU SEE, WE'VE HAD INCREMENTAL GROWTH STARTING FROM 2016 ALL THE WAY UP TO 2024.
SO THAT'S OUR TREND DATA WORKING EVERY YEAR.
AND WE REALIZE WE STILL HAVE CHALLENGES.
IT'S A PUZZLE PIECE WITH FUNDING.
IT'S A PUZZLE PIECE WITH INFRASTRUCTURE.
YOU, YOU KNOW, WHEN IT'S HARD TO GET INTO OUR PROGRAM BECAUSE WE HAVE SO MANY OPTIONS, WE HAVE TO WORK ON HOW WE CAN MAKE SURE WE STREAMLINE IT AND MAKE IT EASIER FOR PARENTS.
SO WE WILL LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU AND LOOKING FORWARD TO SOLVING THOSE ISSUES.
BUT WE'VE HAD SOME REALLY GREAT GAINS.
SO I WANNA END WITH THIS QUOTE.
IT SAYS, ASK ANY CHILD DEVELOPMENT EX EXPERT.
AND THEY WILL TELL YOU THAT CHILDREN DO NOT DEVELOP IN A STRAIGHT LINE.
THERE ARE NO AVERAGE CHILDREN, THERE ARE NO STANDARD CHILDREN.
SO THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING US.
THANK YOU FOR WORKING WITH US TO SOLVE THIS, THIS PUZZLE PIECE.
'CAUSE IT IS A PUZZLE AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE GET IT RIGHT FOR OUR CHILDREN.
LOOK, WE'RE GONNA END UP GETTING CONFUSED UP HERE.
MS. WARREN, THANK YOU SO MUCH, UH, FOR THE WORK THAT YOU AND YOUR TEAM HAVE, HAVE DONE AND THAT YOU'RE IN THE MIDST OF.
UH, YOU KNOW THAT I AM A PERSONAL FAN AND I, I DON'T MIND CHAMPIONING EARLY, UH, LEARNING FOR STUDENTS ALL ACROSS THIS COUNTRY.
AS A MATTER OF FACT, I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE ON A CALL TODAY WITH THE HUNT INSTITUTE OF, UH, EARLY LEARNING, UH, AND THEIR EARLY LEARNING NETWORK AND COHORT.
AND ONE OF THE CON ONE PART OF THE CONVERSATION THAT CAME UP WITH THE DIFFERENT EARLY LEARNING, UH, PROVIDERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY WAS WHAT IS THE MAJOR BARRIER? AND I SHARED WITH THEM, AS I'VE HEARD MANY OTHERS SHARE AS WELL, THAT THE MAJOR BARRIER IS FUNDING.
SO, UM, I KNOW THAT YOU ALL DO EXCELLENT WORK, BUT MY QUESTION ON THE MIC TO THE PUBLIC IS HOW MUCH DOES IT COST PER STUDENT TO FUND EARLY, UH, CHILDHOOD SERVICES? IT'S ABOUT, UM, 568, UM, DOLLARS PER STUDENT.
SO, AND RIGHT NOW, IF I'M CORRECT, WE ARE, WE, WE'VE ALREADY STATED THAT WE
[01:05:01]
DON'T RECEIVE, UH, FUNDING ON A, WHAT, A STATE OR A NATIONAL LEVEL.SO WE RECEIVE FEDERAL FUNDING FOR OUR CHILD ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, AND MOST OF THOSE FUNDS GO STRAIGHT THROUGH SOME OF OUR CHILDCARE CENTERS LIKE SYDNEY, LIKE COURTNEY'S CHRISTIAN ACADEMY.
AND SO WE, IT'S THE FLOW THROUGH FUNDING, YOU'LL ALL APPROVE IT AND IT GOES TO THEM.
BUT THEN FOR OUR PRE-K FOUR AND THOSE 42 ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS, WE ONLY RECEIVE CECIL P CARD FUNDING.
AND WE ALSO BLEND FUNDING WITH OUR THANKS TO FEDERAL DIRECTOR, UM, DR.
BETLEY WITH TITLE ONE TO HELP COORDINATE WITH THAT FUNDING.
SO, AND, AND, AND THAT'S IT FOR OUR PRE-K FOUR, BUT FOR BIRTH TO PRE-K, IT'S VERY LITTLE FUNDING.
SO IF THERE'S ANY WAY THAT THE COMMUNITY CAN HELP, WE NEED TO PROCESS THE, THE IDEA THAT IT COSTS ABOUT FIVE TO $600 PER MONTH TO FUND THE, THE EARLY LEARNING SEATS THAT WE REALLY, REALLY NEED IN OUR COMMUNITY.
BECAUSE RIGHT NOW THERE'S A WAIT LIST.
AND SO EVEN THOUGH WE ARE STILL TAKING APPLICATIONS AND APPROVING FOR CHILDREN, THEY'RE GOING ON A WAIT LIST.
SO THAT'S BECAUSE THE FEDERAL FUNDING IS NOT THERE.
WE WANNA TARGET THOSE CHILDREN AS SOON AS THEY GET OUT OF THE HOSPITAL, BUT THERE'S A WAIT LIST.
AND SO WE HAVE TO DO BETTER TO KIND OF FIND OUT HOW CAN WE FUND THOSE SEATS.
SO YOU ALL REACH OUT, REACH OUT TO THOSE WHO HAVE DEEP POCKETS ON BEHALF OF OUR KIDS.
THANK YOU COLLEAGUE PAUL LEWIS.
UH, I WANT TO ECHO MUCH OF WHAT, UH, BOARD MEMBER PAUL LEWIS SAID, BECAUSE I AGREE WITH EVERYTHING THAT, YOU KNOW, WE TALK A LOT ABOUT THE GAP THAT WE HAVE IN THIRD AND FOURTH GRADE LITERACY.
AND THAT GAP BEGINS VERY EARLY BECAUSE IF A CHILD COMES TO US NOT KINDERGARTEN, READY, UH, WE'RE PLAYING CATCH UP BEFORE THE GAME EVEN STARTS.
AND, YOU KNOW, IT WAS JUST VERY RECENTLY THAT KINDERGARTEN BECAME MANDATORY.
AND, YOU KNOW, I I THINK THAT FOR SOME REASON, MANY, UH, IN OUR STATE JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS.
UH, I WAS TALKING WITH SOME OF OUR LEGISLATIVE REPRESENTATIVES AND THEY TALK ABOUT GETTING STATE MONEY.
ALL THEY GET BACK, IT'S, OH, WELL THAT'S JUST PAYING FOR DAYCARE.
IT IS PAYING FOR APPROPRIATE LEARNING FOR THE CHILDREN THAT ARE THERE WHO MAY OR MAY NOT GET IT AT HOME, UH, AND DO THESE THINGS.
AND IF WE EVER WANT TO DIG OURSELVES, AND NOT ONLY FOR OURSELVES, IF WE EVER WANNA DIG OUR KIDS OUT OF THE HOLE, THAT WE HAVE THAT COMING INTO SCHOOL NOT READY FOR SCHOOL AND NOT BEING ABLE TO THRIVE AND PROSPER IN THE SCHOOL SETTING, THIS IS THE ONLY WAY WE DO IT.
SO I WILL ECHO MS. BOWER LEWIS'S, UH, APPEAL, TALK TO YOUR LEGISLATORS, TALK TO THE OTHER FOLKS BECAUSE IT, IT IS BASICALLY UNFUNDED CALIFORNIA.
I KNOW CALIFORNIA DOES A LOT OF THINGS CRAZY, BUT THEY ALSO DO SOME GOOD THINGS.
AND, AND THEY HAVE A WHOLE PROGRAM THAT'S BASED UPON BIRTH TO FOUR.
AND IT'S STARTING TO SHOW SOME RESULTS.
AND IF WE EVER GOING TO CURE THE PROBLEM THAT WE HAVE AT THIRD AND FOURTH GRADE, IT'S GOTTA START WHEN THEY LEAVE WOMEN'S HOSPITAL OR WHEN THEY LEAVE WHEREVER THEY HAVE THEIR BIRTH.
UH, AND, AND GET THAT STARTED.
SO PLEASE, AS THE PUBLIC, I APPEAL TO YOU TO TRY TO REMEMBER THAT AND PUSH THAT AS YOU TALK TO OTHER FOLKS WITHIN YOUR CIRCLES AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, AS YOU VOTE.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MS. WARREN.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN OF THE BOARD, THAT COMPLETES MY REPORT.
THANK YOU SUPERINTENDENT COLE.
[E. Reports from Board Appointees to Committees/Agencies]
E REPORTS FROM BOARD APPOINTEES TO COMMITTEES AND AGENCIES.ANY OF OUR BOARD MEMBERS HAVE ANY REPORTS? MS. CARLA, PAUL LEWIS.
WELL I DIDN'T MEAN TO SKIP YOU MR. RUS.
I DO NOT HAVE A REPORT FROM, UH, COMMITTEES OR AGENCIES, BUT I DID WANT TO TAKE A MOMENT OF PERSONAL PRIVILEGE.
UH, WE ARE EXCITED TONIGHT TO HAVE THE SISTERS OF THE NATIONAL COALITION OF 100 BLACK WOMEN, UH, OF METRO BATON ROUGE.
AND THEY ARE MY, MY SISTERS IN THIS WORK.
SO LADIES, IF YOU WILL PLEASE STAND.
THEY ARE SIT, UH, SITTING IN ON TONIGHT'S MEETING.
AND SO LADIES, YOU ARE INVITED TO FULLY PARTICIPATE IN TONIGHT'S MEETING IF YOU DECIDE TO COMMENT OR WHAT HAVE YOU.
YOU CAN GET A COMMENT CARD IF YOU NEED A COPY OF THE AGENDA.
THE AGENDAS ARE IN THE LOBBY AS WELL.
BUT WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE AND, UH, WE HOPE THAT YOU GET A CHANCE TO BE ENLIGHTENED TONIGHT.
[01:10:01]
YOU.MS. RUST, YOU HAD SOMETHING? YEAH.
AS YOUR APPOINTEE TO THE BRE COMMISSION.
UM, AFTER DISCUSSING THIS RECENTLY WITH, UH, PRESIDENT, UH, STEWART, I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT I'M DOING A GREAT JOB AT REPORTING TO THE BOARD, UH, THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING ON OUR BRE UH, COMMISSION.
AND SO I JUST WANNA APPRISE THE BOARD OF A COUPLE THINGS, A COUPLE NOTABLE ITEMS ON THE AGENDA THIS MONTH AS A CEA WITH FRIENDS OF THE ZOO, WHICH IS A FUNDRAISING ORGANIZATION FOR OUR ZOO, WHICH IS A GREAT FACILITY.
IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN, I ENCOURAGE YOU TO GO, UH, AS WELL AS A REVISION TO A CEA WITH CITY PARISH ON A COMMUNITY CENTER IN, I BELIEVE DISTRICT SIX, THE METRO COUNCIL, UH, THAT'S BEING WORKED ON.
UM, THE PRE-PLANNING PROCESS IS IN PROCESS FOR BRECK SIDE OF OUR, UH, SCHOOL IN THE PARK.
AND I'M GONNA BE WORKING TO TRY TO SET UP SOME DISCUSSIONS WITH, UH, SUPERINTENDENT COLE AND MR. WILSON TO GET AN UPDATE ON THAT TO THE BOARD BECAUSE I KNOW A FEW MEMBERS HAVE EXPRESSED INTEREST IN WHERE WE ARE ON THAT PROJECT.
UH, SO THAT'S ALL AT THIS TIME.
[F.1. 2025-2026 School Year Calendar ]
HAVE ITEM F UNFINISHED BUSINESS.WE HAVE THE 20 25, 20 26, UH, SCHOOL YEAR CALENDAR CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE 20 25, 20 26 SCHOOL YEAR CALENDAR.
AND WE DO HAVE PUBLIC COMMENT.
WE HAVE, UH, MS. MATTHEWS THAT WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK.
I'VE SPOKEN TO SEVERAL OF YOU GUYS THIS WEEK ABOUT THE NEW INFORMATION THAT I LEARNED ABOUT OCTOBER WITH OPTION ONE ABOUT OCTOBER BREAK, UH, POSSIBLY BEING, THE REASON WHY THE TEACHERS MAY HAVE GONE TO MR. COLE ABOUT THAT WEEK WAS DUE TO ONE OF THE FOOTBALL TEAM'S, HOMECOMINGS BEING THAT WEEKEND AND, UM, SUBSTITUTE COVERAGE.
SO A LOT OF TEACHERS TAKING OFF, UH, THAT FRIDAY AND, UM, NOT HAVING A LOT OF SUBS FOR THE COVERAGE.
SO TEACHERS WOULD STILL HAVE TO TAKE OFF FOR THE PD THAT IS FRIDAY, OCTOBER 18TH, 17TH, EXCUSE ME.
BUT, UM, THAT WOULD NOT IMPACT INSTRUCTION IN ANY WAY.
WE WOULDN'T HAVE TO HAVE SUBSTITUTE COVERAGE FOR THAT.
SO THAT MAKES IT UNDERSTANDABLE FOR WHY THE OCTOBER BREAK WOULD BE PUSHED BACK THAT WEEK AS FAR AS CLASS COVERAGE.
UM, HOWEVER, WITH OPTION TWO, UM, OPTION TWO, UM, I DID SEE THAT THEY TOOK AWAY ASH WEDNESDAY, WHICH WAS HEAVILY DISCUSSED, UM, ON THE BOARD DURING THE COW, BUT THEY'RE NOT REALLY GIVING THAT INSTRUCTIONAL TIME, WHICH IS WHAT YOU GUYS WERE REALLY ASKING FOR BECAUSE THEY TOOK A FULL DAY OF INSTRUCTION FOR PD ON MARCH 16TH.
SO THAT'S NOT REALLY GIVING WHAT, WHAT YOU GUYS WERE ASKING FOR.
ALSO, WITH NO HALF DAYS AT THE END OF THE SEMESTERS, THAT IS TRULY DOING A DISSERVICE TO THE MIDDLE AND THE HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS WHERE WE ARE NEEDING TO GRADE AND WE ARE NEEDING TO PACK UP THE CLASSROOMS. NOW, I HAD A, A VERY IN-DEPTH CONVERSATION, YOU KNOW, WELL, WHY, WHY, WHAT, WHAT ARE THE KIDS DOING? I'M LIKE, OKAY, SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT BORED TEENAGERS.
WHAT DO BORED TEENAGERS DO? THOSE OF YOU THAT HAVE KIDS OR HAVE HAD KIDS, WHAT, WHAT DO BORED TEENAGERS DO? THEY GET INTO MISCHIEF.
I'M LIKE, WELL, OKAY, SO WHAT WOULD THEY BE DOING IF THEY WERE AT HOME WITHOUT GETTING INTO MISCHIEF? PROBABLY.
BUT GUESS WHAT? WE'RE CONSTANTLY TOLD AS TEACHERS TO STAY IN OUR LANE, RIGHT? THAT WE'RE THERE TO TEACH THEM ENGLISH, WE'RE THERE TO TEACH THEM SOCIAL STUDIES, WE'RE THERE TO TEACH THEM SCIENCE.
WE'RE THERE TO TEACH THEM, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER SUBJECT, FRENCH, SPANISH, WHATEVER SUBJECT WE TEACH THEM.
AND IT'S THE PARENT'S JOB TO RAISE THEM, RIGHT? WE'RE NOT THERE TO RAISE THEM.
ISN'T THAT, ISN'T THAT THE DIALOGUE THAT IS HAPPENING EVERY SINGLE DAY, THAT IT IS NOT OUR JOB TO RAISE PEOPLE'S CHILDREN? CORRECT.
THAT'S, THAT'S THE DIALOGUE, RIGHT? THAT IT'S NOT OUR JOB TO RAISE THEM.
WELL, IT'S NOT OUR JOB TO, TO RAISE THEM.
AND IN THREE DAYS, GUESS WHAT? THEY'RE GONNA BE HOME FOR WINTER BREAK FOR TWO WEEKS.
THEY'RE GONNA BE HOME FOR SUMMER BREAK FOR TWO MONTHS.
WHAT ARE PARENTS GOING TO DO? THEN? THEY'RE GONNA TAKE THEM TO CAMPS, WHICH ARE AVAILABLE ON THOSE THREE DAYS.
THEY HAVE THE DAYCARES THAT ARE OPEN.
SO PARENTS ARE ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THOSE OPPORTUNITIES.
[01:15:02]
GOOD EVENING EVERYONE.MY NAME IS VALENCIA JOHNSON AND I'M THE PRESIDENT OF THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH ASSOCIATION OF EDUCATORS.
UM, MYSELF, UM, ALONG WITH, UM, THE OTHER UNION, UM, WE STILL SUPPORT OPTION ONE.
UM, IT'S THE MOST, UH, FEASIBLE, UM, FOR ALL SIDES.
UM, I THINK, UM, THAT IF WE ARE GOING TO EXTEND THE YEAR THAT WE NEED TO HAVE A MORE, UM, A BETTER RHYME OR REASON OR MORE DETAILED INFORMATION AS TO WHY WE'RE DOING IT AND HOW WE'RE GONNA DO IT AND HOW IT'S GOING TO IMPACT WHATEVER GOAL THAT WE ARE TRYING TO MAKE.
ARE WE TRYING TO, UM, IS IT REALLY THAT WE'RE ADDING DAYS JUST TO SATISFY PARENTS FOR DAYCARE REASONS? ARE WE DOING, ARE WE DOING THIS FOR ENRICHMENT REASON? REASONS ARE WE ARE TRYING TO DO REMEDIATION.
UM, ARE WE, WHAT ARE WE, WHAT IS OUR REAL GOAL IN ADDING THESE DAYS? ARE WE DOING THIS AS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT? BECAUSE THE CALENDAR OPTIONS THAT I SAW, UM, TWO AND THREE, YOU ADD PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DAYS, BUT THEY, THEY'RE SPORADIC THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
YOU START ALL, ALL THE CALENDARS PRETTY MUCH START THE SAME.
SO WHAT IS THE REAL GOAL? YOU ELIMINATE THE HALF DAYS IN WHICH, UM, WE SURVEYED OUR MEMBERS AND MOST TEACHERS, UH, AGREE WITH THE ELIMINATION OF HALF DAYS, BUT THE ELIMINATION OF ASH WEDNESDAY, NO, BECAUSE REGARDLESS OF YOUR RELIGION IS A HIGH, UH, MISSED DAY.
AND THAT'S WHY IT WAS PLACED ON THE CALENDAR AS A HOLIDAY BECAUSE MOST TEACHERS ARE ABSENT.
WHAT DOES THAT DO? THAT ENSUES CHAOS IN THE SCHOOL BECAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE THE COVERAGE YOU NEED.
SO IF WE LOOK AT THOSE DAYS THAT WE ARE THAT HIGH ABSENTEE DAYS, THEN WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE NOT JUST SAYING THAT IT'S A RELIGIOUS REASON.
'CAUSE IT'S NOT, IT'S BECAUSE IT'S A HIGH MISSED DAY AND YOU NEED TO LOOK INTO THAT INVESTIGATIVE FURTHER.
YOU CAN LOOK AT THE NUMBERS, BUT THAT'S WHY THAT DAY WAS PLACED ON THE CALENDAR AS A DAY OFF.
NOT FOR RELIGIOUS REASONS, IT'S BECAUSE IT'S A HIGH ABSENTEE DAY.
AND MR. GODDE, UH, IS GONNA READ.
WE HAVE ONE ONLINE COMMENT FROM, UH, KIRSTEN CAMPO.
TAKING THOSE HALF DAYS AWAY MEANS THAT I AS A TEACHER HAVE LESS TIME FOR GRADING AND PLANNING.
STUDENTS DO NOT ENGAGE ON THOSE DAYS ANYWAYS.
THEY'VE ALREADY CHECKED OUT MENTALLY.
SECONDLY, THE SECOND CALENDAR SEEMS TO HAVE MORE INSTRUCTIONAL DAYS.
MARDI GRAS BREAK ON TOP OF THE REMOVED FULL DAYS.
I, OVERALL, I THINK OPTION ONE IS THE BEST OPTION AND I'LL REFRESH, BUT I THINK THAT CONCLUDES THE COMMENTS.
YES, THAT CONCLUDES THE COMMENTS.
NOW WE HAVE BOARD COMMENTS, UM, COLLEAGUE PAUL LEWIS.
WE'RE GONNA HAVE A PRESENTATION AS WELL.
SO WHY DON'T, IF IF IT PLEASE THE BOARD.
UH, UH, SUPERINTENDENT COLE, YOU GO AHEAD WITH THE PRESENTATION.
SO FROM TWO WEEKS AGO, UH, WE HAD A VERY BRIEF DISCUSSION OF THE CALENDAR.
UH, WE HEARD SOME OF THE CONCERNS MENTIONED BY SOME OF YOU.
I ASKED THE TEAM TO GO BACK AND, UH, AND BRING TWO ADDITIONAL OPTIONS BASED ON, UH, THE COMMENTS YOU ALL MADE.
AND SO, UH, MS. LINO IS GONNA RUN THROUGH, UH, SOME OF THE CHANGES THAT WERE MADE BY MS. LINO.
AND AS ALWAYS, AS I SAY TO ALL OF OUR STAFF, TWO WORDS BE BRIEF,
UH, BOARD PRESIDENT STEWART, VICE PRESIDENT GODDE, SUPERINTENDENT COLE, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.
SO AS MR. COLE POINTED OUT, UM, I'M JUST GONNA KIND OF GO THROUGH THE THREE OPTIONS THAT WERE PUT FORTH.
THIS SLIDE IS JUST GOING BACK UP AS A REMINDER THAT WE HAVE, UH, POLICIES TO MEET WITH THE BOARD OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION.
AND WITH THE ADDITION OF THOSE OTHER TWO OPTIONS, BECAUSE THEY ARE IN EXCESS OF WHAT WAS THERE FROM OPTION ONE, THEY TOO ARE WITHIN THE REQUIREMENTS.
ALL RIGHT, SO MR. COLE ALSO OVERVIEW THIS PIECE FOR YOU.
AS YOU KNOW, ON JANUARY 25TH, WE HAD THE ANNUAL CALENDAR COMMITTEE MEETING.
THEY GAVE FEEDBACK ON THE ORIGINAL OPTION.
[01:20:01]
CAL, UH, AT THE REQUEST OF THE BOARD, THERE WERE SOME PARAMETERS THEY ASKED US TO EXPLORE AND TO COME BACK WITH, UH, ADDITIONAL OPTIONS.AND SO THOSE THREE THINGS WERE TO EITHER REDUCE OR ELIMINATE THE HALF DAYS, UM, FOR INSTRUCTIONAL TO MAXIMIZE INSTRUCTIONAL TIME OR OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES TO CONVERT THE FEBRUARY 18TH HOLIDAY INTO AN INSTRUCTIONAL DAY.
AND THEN THAT LAST ONE WAS ABOUT EXPLORATION OF A 190 DAY CALENDAR OPTION FOR INSTRUCTIONAL STAFF.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, THERE WAS A REQUEST, UH, ON THE FLOOR.
JUST HAD TO LOOK INTO SOME RESEARCH AROUND WHAT OTHER DISTRICTS AROUND THE STATE AND AROUND THE NATION DO AS IT COMES OR AS IT PERTAINS TO EARLY RELEASE DAYS.
AND SO WE HAVE THAT INFORMATION FOR YOU AS WELL.
SO THE FIRST ONE, THIS IS LITERALLY JUST THE ORIGINAL OPTION THAT WAS PUT FORTH ON THE FEBRUARY 6TH CAL.
I SEE THAT IT DOES HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF A FACELIFT, BUT JUST WE ASSURE YOU THAT IT IS THE SAME.
THERE ARE NO STRUCTURAL CHANGES TO THIS.
THERE ARE STILL 171.5 INSTRUCTIONAL DAYS.
SEVEN TEACHER IN-SERVICE DAYS, WHICH IS NOT INCLUSIVE OF HALF DAY IN-SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES THAT DO APPEAR ON THOSE HALF DAY OPTIONS.
THERE ARE SEVEN EARLY DISMISSAL DAYS, AND THEN FEBRUARY 18TH IS A HOLIDAY.
AGAIN, THERE ARE NO STRUCTURAL CHANGES TO THIS ONE AS IT PERTAINS TO THE CALENDAR LISTED ON FEBRUARY 6TH.
OPTION TWO IS A VARIANT OF, UH, OPTION ONE IN THAT IT TWO HAS, UH, SOME OF THE SAME FEATURES EXCEPT IT MEETS THE PARAMETERS SET FORTH IN, UH, IN NUMBER ONE, WHICH WAS ELIMINATING OR REDUCING THOSE EARLY DISMISSAL DAYS OR EARLY RELEASE DAYS.
AND THEN NUMBER TWO, UM, EXPLORING FEBRUARY 18TH AS AN INSTRUCTIONAL DAY OPPOSED TO HOLIDAY.
SO IT HAS 173 FULL INSTRUCTIONAL DAYS, WHICH IS UP ONE AND A HALF DAYS FROM OPTION ONE.
THERE ARE NINE TEACHER IN-SERVICE DAYS, WHICH ARE UP TWO DAYS FROM OPTION ONE.
THERE ARE NO EARLY RELEASE DAYS, AND FEBRUARY 18TH APPEARS AS AN INSTRUCTIONAL DAY.
JUST AS A NOTE, UM, DESPITE THE AMENDMENTS IN THIS CALENDAR, THERE ARE NO ADDITIONAL COSTS TO THE DISTRICT BECAUSE THE STAFF WILL STILL BE WORKING THE SAME, UH, SALARY SCHEDULE AS LISTED IN OPTION ONE.
AND THEN WE HAVE OPTION THREE, WHICH IS LESS OF A DERIVATIVE BECAUSE IT WAS AN EXPLORATION IN TERMS OF TRYING TO LOOK HOW TO INCORPORATE EIGHT ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONAL DAYS FOR STAFF, OR EIGHT ADDITIONAL DAYS FOR INSTRUCTIONAL STAFF, I SHOULD SAY.
UM, IT ADDRESSES ALL THREE PARAMETERS IN THE FACT THAT THERE ARE 182 INSTRUCTIONAL DAYS, AND THAT'S 190 TEACHER DAYS.
THERE ARE EIGHT TEACHER IN-SERVICE DAYS.
THERE ARE NO EARLY RELEASE DAYS AND FEBRUARY 18TH, AND THIS CALENDAR ALSO REMAINS AS AN INSTRUCTIONAL DAY, BUT THERE IS A NOTE THAT THE FIRST DAY FOR TEACHERS WOULD BE JULY 30TH, 2025, AND THE LAST DAY FOR TEACHERS WOULD BE MAY 27TH, 2026, FIRST DAY FOR STUDENTS.
THERE IS A NOTE THERE, A FISCAL NOTE THAT THIS CALENDAR OPTION DOES HAVE AN ADDITIONAL PROJECTED COST OF ABOUT $6.4 MILLION TO COVER THE ADDITIONAL SALARIES OF THE CONTRACTED DAYS.
THE LAST PIECE FOR US WAS ABOUT THE RESEARCH REQUESTS.
HOW, IF AT ALL, ARE OTHER DISTRICTS UTILIZING EARLY RELEASE DAYS OR TEACHER IN SERVICE DAYS? SO WE PULLED A SAMPLE GROUP TOGETHER.
THERE ARE 18 SCHOOL DISTRICTS LISTED HERE, FIVE OF WHICH ARE IN STATE.
UM, WE TRIED TO AVOID THOSE SCHOOL DISTRICTS THAT ARE COMMONLY REFERENCED AND ALSO ARE, FOR LACK OF A BETTER TERM, VARIANCE OF THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL SYSTEM BECAUSE THEIR CALENDARS WILL BE SIMILAR.
AND THEN THERE ARE 13 THAT ARE OUT OF DISTRICT OF THE 18.
EIGHT ARE URBAN DISTRICTS, SIX ARE SUBURBAN, AND FOUR ARE RURAL DISTRICTS.
UH, THEY ARE LISTED FOR YOU THERE IN TERMS OF WHAT WE LOOKED AT.
AND THEN THE FINAL RESULTS ARE LISTED IN THIS CHART.
UM, WHAT WE DID DETERMINE IS THAT MAJORITY OF OTHER DISTRICTS AROUND THE STATE AND IN THE STATE DO UTILIZE EARLY DISMISSAL DAYS OR TEACHER IN-SERVICE DAYS, OR SOME COMBINATION OF THE TWO IN ORDER TO SATISFY A NUMBER OF MEANS, WHETHER IT IS ADMINISTRATIVE TEACHER GRADING, PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES, OR ANY OTHER PRACTICES.
AND THAT IS ALL THAT I HAVE FOR YOU IF THERE ARE NO QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH MS. LINO, FOR PULLING THAT INFORMATION AS WELL AS THE RESEARCH TOGETHER SO QUICKLY.
THANK YOU, SUPERINTENDENT COLE.
NOW WE MOVE TO BOARD COMMENTS, UH, BOARD MEMBER CALLER PAULS.
UM, AND THANK YOU SO MUCH MS. LEVI TINO FOR SHARING.
UM, I HAD TWO QUESTIONS AND, UH, SUPERINTENDENT COLE, I'M NOT SURE IF YOU WOULD DIRECT THIS TO MS. LEVITT OR IF YOU WOULD WANT TO ANSWER, WHICH, UM, OUT OF THE OPTIONS WOULD TECHNICALLY HAVE, UM, WEATHER CONTINGENCIES SOMEWHAT BUILT IN.
WOULD THAT BE OPTION TWO? BOTH ONE AND TWO HAVE WEATHER CONTINGENCIES BUILT IN? AM I CORRECT? YES.
AND THEN THE OTHER, THE OTHER QUESTION I HAD WAS, I KNOW I WAS WATCHING FROM HOME, UH, DUE TO ILLNESS FOR THE, THE COW, BUT, UM, MY QUESTION, AND I BELIEVE MR. RUSS HAD
[01:25:01]
BEGUN TO ASK ABOUT THIS, WAS WHAT TYPES OF SERVICES WOULD BE AVAILABLE TO STUDENTS IN THE CASE THAT WE HAD NO EARLY RELEASE DAYS? LIKE, WOULD WE PARTNER WITH COMMUNITY AGENCIES TO BE ABLE TO SUPPORT OUR STUDENTS, UM, FOR TEACHER GRADING PURPOSES? OR HOW WOULD, HOW WOULD THAT WORK OUT? IN ALL HONESTY, MY EXPECTATION AND REQUEST WOULD BE THAT OUR CURRICULUM DEPARTMENT WOULD WORK WITH OUR TEACHERS TO ENSURE HIGH QUALITY INSTRUCTION WAS TAKING PLACE ON THOSE ADDITIONAL DAYS.UH, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE PROVIDE AS MUCH INSTRUCTION AS POSSIBLE, UH, TO OUR STUDENTS WITH THE ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONAL MINUTES, THE ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONAL DAYS.
I WOULDN'T WANT TO SEEK ANY OUTSIDE AGENCIES TO COME IN AND DO ANYTHING, UH, WITH OUR STUDENTS.
AS MOST OF OUR SCHOOLS HAVE OPPORTUNITIES FOR EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES, I WOULD WANT TO SEE THE EXTRA TIME SPENT INTERVENING, PROVIDING SUPPORT, ENHANCING, ACCELERATING ALL OF OUR STUDENTS BASED ON THEIR ACADEMIC NEEDS.
SO THAT WOULD BE THE EXPECTATION.
I WOULDN'T EXPECT FOR OUR TEAM TO GO OUT AND SEEK OTHER AGENCIES TO COME IN AND WORK WITH THOSE STUDENTS ON THOSE EIGHT DAYS.
AS MUCH AS I WOULD EXPECT FOR TEACHERS TO PLAN, UH, TO WORK WITH THOSE STUDENTS RIGHT UP UNTIL ASSESSMENT TIME, AS WE RECOGNIZE MANY OF THOSE DAYS ARE AT THE END OF THE SEMESTER, UH, WE WOULD JUST WANT OUR TEACHERS TO MAKE THE ADJUSTMENT, UH, TO PROVIDE THE SUPPORT FOR OUR STUDENTS RIGHT UP UNTIL ASSESSMENT TIME.
UH, IN ADDITION TO THAT, I DO RECOGNIZE, UH, TEACHERS HAVE TYPICALLY USED THE EARLY RELEASE DAYS FOR GRADING AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE, WHICH IS WHY WE PUT THE EXTRA DAY OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AT THE END OF THE SEMESTER.
NOW, ME BEING A REALIST, I KNOW AT THE END OF THE SEMESTER WITH THE EXTRA DAY, UH, GREAT SCHOOL LEADERS ARE GONNA PROVIDE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR TEACHERS TO GET ALL OF THEIR WORK DONE ON THAT EXTRA DAY, UH, THAT THEY HAVE AT THE END OF THE SEMESTER.
UM, ONE OF MY, MY, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S A QUESTION OR A COMMENT, BUT, UM, WE WANNA MAKE SURE, IN THE CASE THAT WE WERE TO CHOOSE OPTION TWO OR WHAT HAVE YOU, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THERE IS SOME TYPE OF COMPLIANCE OR ACCOUNTABILITY MEASURE PUT IN PLACE, BECAUSE OF COURSE, JUST AS, AS MS. MATTHEWS HAS MENTIONED BEFORE, AND I KNOW YOU ALL KNOW WHAT MY, MY CREDENTIALS ARE, UM, AT THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR OR AT THE END OF THE SEMESTER, WE HAVE A LOT OF LENIENCY THAT GOES ON IN OUR SCHOOLS.
SO WHAT WOULD HAPPEN OR WHAT WOULD BE PUT IN PLACE TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE IS STILL INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES GOING ON WITH FIDELITY? WELL, I THINK ULTIMATELY ONCE WE, YOU ALL DECIDE ON WHICH CALENDAR ARE WE GOING TO USE, WE THEN WILL GO BACK AND DEVELOP, UH, THE MEASUREMENT TOOLS WE'RE GOING TO USE AND THE, THE MONITORING TOOLS WE'RE GOING TO USE TO ENSURE THAT QUALITY INSTRUCTION TAKES PLACE AT ALL TIME.
UM, MS. LEWIS, CALL POWELL LEWIS, UM, NEXT AND I PASS.
UM, MR. RUSS? YEAH, THANK YOU.
UM, I WANNA THANK THE SUPERINTENDENT FOR, UH, PRODUCING A COUPLE OF OPTIONS IN THE ACADEMIC CALENDAR FOR US TO, UH, TO CONSIDER, UH, NOT ONLY FOR ADOPTION, BUT ALSO AS AN EXERCISE TO SEE, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK IN THE CASE OF OPTION THREE, JUST TO BE ABLE TO SEE WHAT A CALENDAR LIKE THAT COULD LOOK LIKE.
UM, MY, MY OPINION BEING, AND HAVING DISCUSSED THIS WITH A FEW OTHERS, THAT, UM, THAT OPTION THREE, I DON'T THINK WE'RE PREPARED TO MAKE THAT DRASTIC OF A CHANGE WITHOUT ALL OF THE INFORMATION ABOUT A LOT OF THE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT WE WANT TO DO, UM, WITH HOW OUR SYSTEM OPERATES, UM, AT EVERY LEVEL.
AND SO, UM, BUT, BUT IT WAS REALLY HELPFUL FOR US TO SEE WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE, UM, TO BEGIN TO THINK ABOUT THOSE THINGS AND TO, UH, TO PUT THAT FORTH TO THE PUBLIC AND TO OUR TEACHERS AND HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS.
UM, I'M PERSONALLY IN SUPPORTIVE OPTION TWO.
UH, IT ACCOMPLISHES THE, THE THINGS THAT, THAT I SAW THAT I HAVE SEEN AS IMPORTANT IN SERVING OUR KIDS, UM, AND IN REDUCING THE EXPOSURE THAT WE HAVE TO KIDS, YOU KNOW, SHOWING UP AT SCHOOL AND THEN GOING HOME TO A LOT OF DIFFERENT SITUATIONS THAT WE AS A SCHOOL SYSTEM ARE NOT IN, IN CONTROL OF, AND, AND MAXIMIZING THE TIME THAT WE HAVE HIGH QUALITY INSTRUCTION HAPPENING FOR KIDS.
UM, SPEND SOME TIME TRYING TO TALK TO EDUCATORS, UM, AND ADMINISTRATORS ABOUT HOW THAT WOULD AFFECT THEM, UH, AND HEARD SOME, SOME POSITIVE FEEDBACK.
UH, BUT I DON'T THINK IT'S PERFECT, BUT I DON'T THINK EITHER OF THESE CALENDARS ARE GONNA BE PERFECT.
UM, I THINK THERE'S A, THERE'S A DOWNSIDE TO EACH.
UM, AND SO, UH, SO I WOULD LIKE TO MOVE THAT WE ADOPT, UM, CALENDAR TWO.
DO I HAVE A SECOND? SO I HAVE, UM, MR. RUSS WITH, UM, THE MOTION TO ADOPT TWO AND MS. UM, SOLE FOR THE SECOND.
[01:30:02]
OH, I'M SORRY.UM, ARE YOU, WERE YOU FINISHED MR. RU? MM-HMM
UM, SUPERINTENDENT COLE FOR LIKE, UH, NATHAN SAID THE EXERCISE.
NOW HALF DAYS HAVE KIND OF, YOU KNOW, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'VE COME TO LIVE WITH.
IF YOU WORKED IN A SCHOOL, YOU KNOW WHAT, HALF DAYS ARE JUST A PART OF WHAT WE'VE ADJUSTED AND COME TO, YOU KNOW, COME TO LIVE WITH.
BUT LEMME SAY THIS ABOUT THE HALF DAYS NOW, I'VE HEARD PEOPLE TALK ABOUT WHAT THE KIDS ARE DOING AND WHAT THEY AREN'T DOING ON HALF DAYS WITH THE DATA THAT WE HAVE COLLECTED NOW, AND THE DATA THAT WE WILL HAVE CONNECT, UM, COLLECTED NEXT YEAR.
LET'S TAKE THOSE HALF DAYS BASED ON THAT DATA, AND LET'S LOOK AT WHERE WE ARE AS A SCHOOL, AND LET'S HAVE THE SCHOOL LEADERSHIP HAVE DAYS WHERE THAT HALF DAY MAY BE ALL ELA.
IF IT'S A FOUR BLOCK SCHOOL AND YOU HAVE, UH, ELA ON MONDAYS AND WEDNESDAY, THEN YOU HAVE TWO EL TWO ELA CLASSES THAT HALF DAY, IF IT'S MATH, YOU HAVE TWO MATH CLASSES THAT DAY.
SO YOU'RE GETTING HIGH QUALITY INSTRUCTION.
IT'S IN A CONDENSED FASHION, UH, YOU KNOW, IN A, IN A CONDENSED FASHION, BUT IT'S STILL HIGH QUALITY INSTRUCTION GOING ON FOR A HALF DAY.
WE HAVE THE INFORMATION AND WE ARE CAPABLE OF DOING THAT.
WE CAN CAPTURE ALL INFORMATION WE NEED, THE PRINCIPALS, THE SCHOOL LEADERS CAN PUT THAT INFORMATION TO, TO, UH, TO USE.
AND THOSE HALF DAYS CAN BE SPENT WITH HIGH QUALITY INSTRUCTION.
ALSO, TEACHERS WILL BE ABLE TO GRADE PAPERS.
THEY, YOU KNOW, THEY CAN DO A LOT OF THOSE THINGS THAT TEACHERS DO WITH THOSE HALF DAYS.
BUT FOR US TO JUST THROW UP OUR HANDS AND SAY, HALF DAYS AREN'T PRODUCTIVE DAYS, I THINK WE'RE SELLING OURSELVES SHORT.
TAKE THOSE HALF DAYS, USE THE DATA.
WE SAY EDUCATION IS DATA DRIVEN.
TAKE THE DATA THAT WE ARE COMPILING AND WE SAY, OKAY, KIDS, WEDNESDAYS A HALF DAY, YOU'RE GONNA DO ELA FIRST PERIOD, ELA SECOND PERIOD.
IF IT'S A SCHOOL THAT'S A, UM, NOW SOMEBODY HELPED ME CALL, IF IT'S NOT A FOUR BLOCK SCHOOL, YOU GET SIX CLASSES A DAY, CORRECT? SIX OR SEVEN.
OKAY? SO YOU'RE GONNA GET THREE ELA CLASSES THAT DAY, OR THREE MATH CLASSES THAT DAY.
SO IT'S HIGH QUALITY INSTRUCTION TAKING PLACE.
WE ALL KNOW THAT EBR IS A DIFFERENT DIFFERENT ANIMAL.
YOU CAN PUT ALL THE DISTRICTS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY ON THAT SCREEN THAT YOU WANT.
WE NEED TO DO THINGS THAT WE HAVEN'T DONE BEFORE TO GET WHERE WE WANT TO GO.
I DON'T KNOW IF 190 DAYS IS THE WAY TO GO, BUT WE'VE GOT TO THINK DIFFERENTLY.
IF WE WANT TO MOVE THE DISTRICT, WE'VE GOTTA THINK DIFFERENTLY.
WE'VE GOTTA SAY, OKAY, YOU KNOW, LET'S DO THIS.
LET'S TRY THIS AND SEE WHERE IT GETS US.
AND THEN YOU GOT YOUR SEVEN FULL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DAYS.
SO YOU STILL GET YOUR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ALL DAY.
YOU GET YOUR HALF DAYS WHERE THERE'S STILL HIGH QUALITY INSTRUCTION TAKING PLACE.
WITH THAT BEING SAID, I'M IN FAVOR OF CALENDAR ONE NOW.
WE DO THIS NEXT YEAR, AND IF IT WORKS, IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN BUILD IN FROM, YOU KNOW, FROM THAT DAY FORWARD.
I JUST THINK THAT WE SHOULDN'T SELL OURSELVES SHORT BY SAYING, OH, IT'S A HALF DAY.
AND I REALIZE, AND TO, TO MR. RUSS'S POINT ABOUT THINGS GOING ON THAT WE CAN'T CONTROL.
THERE'S A LARGE SEGMENT OF OUR SCHOOL POPULATION THAT WHETHER IT'S A HALF DAY OR A WHOLE DAY, THEY DON'T SEE THEIR PARENTS TILL DARK ANYWAY, BECAUSE THAT PARENT MAY BE WORKING TWO JOBS OR THREE JOBS, AND THIS CALENDAR IS GOING TO GO OUT AT THE FIRST OF THE YEAR.
WE CAN MAKE SURE PARENTS KNOW WHEN THE HALF DAYS ARE, KNOW WHEN THE, THE WHOLE DAYS ARE, AND THEY CAN PLAN ACCORDINGLY.
IT'S NOT OUR JOB TO RAISE THEM, BUT IT'S OUR JOB TO INFORM THE PARENTS THE BEST TO THE BEST OF OUR ABILITY WITH WHAT'S HAPPENING INSIDE THE SCHOOLS.
I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH THE HALF DAYS.
[01:35:01]
AGAIN, I'M GOING TO, UH, SUPPORT CALENDAR ONE BECAUSE I THINK THE OPTION ONE, I'M SORRY, I THINK IT'S THE BEST THING TO DO.WE CAN GATHER THE INFORMATION WE HAVE A WHOLE YEAR TO GATHER THE INFORMATION, CRUNCH THE DATA, AND SEE WHERE WE FALL.
UH, MS. LEINO, THE, THE, THE THREE HALF DAYS IN DECEMBER AND THREE HALF DAYS IN MAY, CORRECT? IN THE, IN, IN OPTION ONE, THERE ARE TWO HALF DAYS IN DECEMBER AND THREE IN MAY.
AND THOSE IS, AM I CORRECT IN UNDERSTANDING THAT THAT IS GENERALLY WHEN EXAMS ARE GOING ON? EXAMS DO OCCUR AT THE END OF THE SEMESTER? OKAY.
SO THERE'S NO, I MEAN, WE WOULDN'T EXPECT INSTRUCTION, INSTRUCTION TO BE GOING ON BECAUSE THAT'S THE BIG FINAL EXAMS FOR THE SEMESTERS, RIGHT? SO I CAN'T SPEAK TO HOW EACH AND EVERY SCHOOL WOULD HANDLE IT.
BECAUSE THEY ALL DO THEIR OWN EXAM SCHEDULES, BUT TYPICALLY EXAMS ARE HAPPENING ON MAJORITY OF THE CAMPUSES.
SO, YOU KNOW, I I, I PERSONALLY, I I I, I LIKE OPTION TWO BECAUSE I THINK THAT THERE'S SO MUCH TRANSPORTATION AND SO MANY ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH GETTING CHILDREN TO SCHOOL AND BACK FROM SCHOOL.
AND WE ALREADY HAVE ENOUGH SIGNIFICANT ISSUES WITH NOT HAVING ADEQUATE AFTERSCHOOL ACTIVITIES FOR OUR YOUNG PEOPLE.
THAT IT SEEMS TO ME TO BE COMPOUNDING THAT PROBLEM TO HAVE THIS MANY DAYS WHERE WE TAKE AN HOUR OR AN HOUR AND A HALF TO GET THE CHILDREN TO SCHOOL, TO BE THERE FOR THREE, FOUR HOURS OF THE EXAMS, AND THEN TAKE ANOTHER HOUR, HOUR AND A HALF TO GET THEM HOME, WHERE WE ALREADY KNOW THAT WE DON'T HAVE ADEQUATE, UM, PLANS TO DO IT.
YES, SOME DAY CAMPS ARE OPEN AND THINGS LIKE THAT, AND THE PARENTS COULD LEAVE WORK OR FIND, HOWEVER WE'RE GONNA GET THEM.
I DON'T THINK WE HAVE ANY, UH, ORGANIZED BUS PROGRAMS TO SEND THE KIDS TO CAMP OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
SO TO ME, OPTION TWO, REMOVING THOSE HALF DAYS MAKES A LOT OF SENSE.
NOW EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENS WITH THE CHILDREN.
THE KIDS ARE NOT GONNA BE PAYING ATTENTION TO, TO WHATEVER YOU TRY TO TEACH THEM AFTER THEY'VE TAKEN THAT EXAM IN THE MORNING, REALISTICALLY, IN TERMS OF ACADEMIC LESSONS.
BUT THERE ARE A LOT OF LIFE LESSONS THEY CAN LEARN THROUGH OTHER ACTIVITIES, FIELD DAYS, YOU KNOW, ORGANIZED, UM, UM, ACTIVITIES THAT DON'T NECESSARILY DEPEND ON THEM BEING IN THEIR CLASSROOM WITH A REGULAR TEACHER.
SO I WOULD ENCOURAGE THIS, UH, THE SUPERINTENDENT, IF WE DO ADOPT OPTION TWO, UM, THAT WE LOOK TO SEE WHETHER WE CAN, CAN SUPPORT THE TEACHERS AND ALLOW THEM TO HAVE THAT HALF DAY ALONE IN THEIR CLASSROOM WITHOUT THE KIDS IN THEIR TRADITIONAL CLASSROOM, WHILE, WHILE ADMINISTRATORS, MAYBE CENTRAL OFFICE STAFF GO OUT AND HELP AND, AND, AND HELP THOSE HELP OUT IN THOSE SCHOOLS ON, ON THOSE DAYS.
UM, WITH THAT SAID, SUPERINTENDENT, I'M GONNA PUT YOU ON THE HOT SEAT.
YOU KNOW, WE'VE HIRED YOU TO DO THIS JOB.
WHAT CALENDAR WOULD YOU RECOMMEND TO US
MY, MY PERSONAL OPINION AS A TEACHER, I NEVER LIKED HALF DAYS.
UM, AS A PRINCIPAL, I HATED THEM BECAUSE BY THE TIME WE GOT KIDS OFF THE CAMPUS AND WE HAD TO DEPLOY SOME OF OUR TEACHERS TO SUPERVISE THE KIDS WHO WERE LEFT ON CAMPUS, BY THE TIME WE GOT TEACHERS FED, UH, AND GOT EVERYONE SITUATED, UH, WE DIDN'T HAVE A LOT OF TIME FOR QUALITY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.
SO I'VE ALWAYS SAW HALF DAYS, UH, FROM AN ADMINISTRATIVE PERSPECTIVE AS A WASTE OF TIME, UH, AS A SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOL, UH, OVERSEEING A DISTRICT WITH, UH, DNF SCHOOLS.
I BELIEVE OUR STUDENTS NEED AS MUCH TIME ON TASK AS POSSIBLE.
UH, I'M NOT EVEN A FAN SINCE YOU PUT ME ON THE SPOT.
I'M NOT EVEN A FAN OF AT THE END OF THE SEMESTER, HAVING OTHER AGENCIES COME IN AND TEACH LIFE LESSONS.
I'M A FAN OF, UH, TEACHERS AFTER THE ASSESSMENT HAS BEEN GIVEN, UH, WORKING WITH STUDENTS ON SKILLS, THEY KNOW THEY'RE STILL DEFICIENT.
WE HAVE STUDENTS ON OUR CAMPUS, NO MATTER WHAT TIME OF THE SCHOOL YEAR IT IS THAT ARE GOING TO BE DEFICIENT BASED ON WHAT THE DATA IS TELLING US.
AND WE HAVE TEACHERS WHO CAN BE SPENDING THAT TIME PROVIDING, UH, THE ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FOR, FOR STUDENTS.
WHILE I DO RECOGNIZE SYSTEMICALLY, UH, IN, IN, IN OUR CITY, WE'VE COME ACCUSTOMED TO USING THOSE HALF DAYS FOR DOWNTIME, UH, FOR FUN TIME FOR PARTIES AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
I JUST THINK IF WE ARE GONNA DO WHAT IS BEST FOR CHILDREN, WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT HOW DO WE BEST UTILIZE THE TIME WISELY.
UM, I AS SUPERINTENDENT ARE GONNA DO WHATEVER YOU ALL VOTE AND GONNA ASK EVERYBODY TO DO, UH, THEIR BEST TO MEET THE NEEDS OF OUR KIDS.
BUT IF GIVEN THE SOLE DECISION TO MAKE, UH, IN ALL HONESTY, UH, I VISITED,
[01:40:01]
UH, BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA WITH, UH, PRESIDENT STEWART, UH, MS. EDWARDS AND MS. DUGGAN WHERE THEY LEFT THE LIGHT ON FOR US.AND WE LEARNED A GREAT DEAL OF INFORMATION AROUND HOW TO USE A TIME A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY.
AND SO WHAT I'M GOING TO SUGGEST TO THE BOARD IS THAT ONCE A MONTH, UH, BEGINNING IN JULY, WE START TO THINK ABOUT HOW DO WE UTILIZE OUR TIME DIFFERENTLY IN AN EFFORT TO MEET THE NEEDS OF OUR KIDS? AND THAT'S GONNA BE BY CHOICE.
IT'S NOT GONNA BE A MANDATORY MEETING, BUT I'VE ALREADY SPOKEN TO DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT SMITH TO START HAVING THOSE SESSIONS PRIOR TO THE CALENDAR COMMITTEE CONVENING SO WE CAN BEGIN TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT HOW DO WE UTILIZE THE TIME DIFFERENTLY.
I HAD A CONVERSATION THIS MORNING WITH, UH, A FEW OF OUR BOARD MEMBERS ABOUT WHAT WE LEARNED IN BIRMINGHAM ON SOME OF THE THINGS THEY'RE DOING, UH, CREATIVELY TO UTILIZE TIME DIFFERENTLY IN TERMS OF AT THE END OF EACH SEMESTER, PROVIDING ADDITIONAL TIME FOR STRUGGLING LEARNERS AT THE END OF THE SEMESTER, PROVIDING, UH, ENRICHMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR, UH, LEARNERS WHO MAY NOT HAVE THOSE SAME OPPORTUNITIES AT THEIR SCHOOLS.
AND I THINK WE HAVE TO START TRAVELING, LEARNING, AND THEN DOING SOME THINGS DIFFERENTLY TO MEET THE NEEDS OF OUR STUDENTS.
SO IF I HAD TO PICK TONIGHT, I WOULD PICK OPTION TWO.
AND I DON'T WANT ANY OF THE TEACHERS TO BE UPSET WITH ME BECAUSE THEY LIKE HALF DAYS.
BUT AGAIN, I HAVE TO THINK ABOUT WHAT'S BEST FOR KIDS.
AND WHILE I DO AGREE, TEACHERS NEED THE TIME, ONE OF THE THINGS I SAID TO, UH, MS. LEVI WAS MAKE SURE WE GAVE THEM A FULL DAY AT THE END OF THE SEMESTER.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS I SAID TO, UH, CHIEF WILLIAMS AND CHIEF ACADEMIC OFFICER EDWARDS, MAKE SURE WE ARE WORKING WITH OUR SCHOOL LEADERS TO PROVIDE THAT TIME AT THE END OF THE SEMESTER FOR OUR TEACHERS TO GRADE PAPERS, MAKE PHONE CALLS, WRAP UP THEIR CLASSROOMS, AND DO EVERYTHING THEY NEED TO DO.
AND IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE HAVE TO BE STRATEGIC.
THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL MAY BE THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL, BUT IT SHOULDN'T BE THE LAST DAY THAT TEACHERS ARE ALLOWED ON CAMPUS.
SO JUST BECAUSE THE CLASSROOM IS NOT WRAPPED UP ON THE LAST DAY DOESN'T MEAN TEACHERS CAN'T COME BACK AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SUMMER AND STILL CONTINUE TO DO THEIR WORK, WORKING WITH OUR FACILITIES TEAM TO MAKE SURE, UH, THAT TEACHERS STILL HAVE ACCESS TO THOSE FACILITIES AT THE END OF THE, AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SUMMER.
YOU ASKED, AND I HOPE I DID A GOOD JOB OF, OF NOT BEING BRIEF AND ANSWERING THE QUESTION.
UM, I'LL WRAP UP AS, AS, UH, MY COLLEAGUE, VICE PRESIDENT, GDAY, WANT TO REMIND US, MOST OF US WITH A FEW EXCEPTIONS, UH, ARE NOT ACADEMIC EXPERTS.
WE'RE NOT PROFESSIONAL EDUCATORS.
UM, AND SO I'M CERTAINLY GOING TO JOIN IN YOUR OPINION.
UH,
REMEMBER THAT MORE THAN HALF OF OUR KIDS ARE ELEMENTARY KIDS, UH, EXAMS AND THINGS LIKE THAT ARE HIGH SCHOOL SUBJECT.
AND THAT IS NOT WHAT MOST OF OUR KIDS ARE DOING.
ALSO, I HAVE, EVERY COMMENT I GOT FROM PARENTS, PARTICULARLY OF PARENTS FROM YOUNG KIDS, WAS HOW HORRIBLE AND DISRUPTIVE ON THEIR LIVES WERE HALF DAYS FOR ELEMENTARY KIDS.
SO AS WE TALK ABOUT ALL THESE THINGS, LET'S THINK ABOUT NOT ONLY, UH, 10TH, 11TH AND 12TH, NINTH, 10TH, 11TH AND 12TH GRADER.
LET'S THINK ABOUT A FOURTH GRADER AND A THIRD GRADER AND WHAT THAT MEANS TO THEM, BECAUSE THEY ARE IN AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT WORLD THAN SOMEONE OR SENIORS WON'T EVEN BE THERE ANYWAY.
BUT THEY'RE AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT WORLD THAN NINTH, 10TH, AND 11TH GRADERS TAKING FINAL EXAMS. AND I RECOGNIZE SOME EIGHTH GRADERS MIGHT BE ALSO TAKING FINAL EXAMS, BUT MOST OF OUR KIDS AREN'T, AND MOST OF OUR TEACHERS AREN'T.
AND SO, UM, THAT CONCLUDES ALL OF OUR COMMENTS.
AND SO, BOARD, UH, SECRETARY, WOULD YOU LIKE TO REPEAT THE MOTION YOU WANT? YEAH, YOU WANT TO REPEAT WHAT THAT IS? THE MOTION TO APPROVE OPTION TWO FOR THE 25 26 SCHOOL YEAR CALENDAR.
CAN WE CALL FOR A VOTE, PLEASE VOTE.
[01:45:01]
ITEM G, THE CONSENT AGENDA, MS. CARLA POWELL LEWIS.UM, I HAVE A POINT OF ORDER BEFORE, BEFORE SHE READS IT, IF I MAY.
UM, I'M GONNA RECUSE MYSELF FROM FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA BECAUSE THERE'S AN LSU ITEM ON IT.
[G. Consent Agenda ]
G.CONSENT AGENDA? NO, UH, G ONE CONSENT VOTE.
THE FOLLOWING ITEMS ARE TO BE APPROVED AS PART OF THE CONSENT AGENDA AND OR CONSIDERED TO BE ROUTINE AND WILL BE ENACTED WITH ONE MOTION.
I'M SORRY, I COULD BE READING OFF OF THIS ONE.
THERE WILL BE NO SEPARATE DISCUSSION OF ITEMS UNLESS A BOARD MEMBER.
SO REQUEST 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 PROCEEDING.
THE LAST ITEM ON THE REGULAR AGENDA, ALPHABET G TWO EXTERNAL AGREEMENT.
LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST FOR APPROVAL OF AN AMENDMENT TO THE EXTERNAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL BOARD AND THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY IN AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL COLLEGE NOT TO EXCEED $115,000 $115,919 TO EXTEND THE AGREEMENT FOR ONE YEAR TO PROVIDE UP TO NINE EXTERNS FUNDING SOURCE GENERAL FUND ITEM G THREE GRANT REALTIME EARLY ACCESS TO LITERACY.
REAL CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST FOR THE ACCEPTANCE OF THE REALTIME EARLY ACCESS TO LITERACY REAL GRANT AND APPROVAL OF THE RELATED BUDGET IN THE AMOUNT OF $192,750 TO PROVIDE EFFECTIVE LITERACY, TUTORING, TRAINING, AND SUPPORT AND RELATED MATTERS.
ITEM G FOUR GRANT ACADEMIC DISTINCTION FUND A DF CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST FOR THE ACCEPTANCE OF THE ACADEMIC DISTINCTION.
FUND A DF GRANT IN THE AMOUNT OF $15,000 TO BUILD A PLAYHOUSE AT SOUTH DOWN'S PRE-K CENTER ALPHABET G FIVE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES CONTRACT K 12 INSIGHT, CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST FOR THE APPROVAL OF A PROFESSIONAL SERVICES CONTRACT BETWEEN THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL BOARD AND K 12 INSIGHT IN THE AMOUNT OF $190,000 TO PROVIDE A CLOUD-BASED PLATFORM TO ENHANCE CUSTOMER SERVICE.
ALPHABET G SIX PROFESSIONAL SERVICES CONTRACT BAILEY EDUCATION GROUP LLC, CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST FOR THE APPROVAL OF A PROFESSIONAL SERVICES CONTRACT BETWEEN THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL BOARD AND BAILEY EDUCATION GROUP LLC IN THE AMOUNT OF $107,800 TO PROVIDE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND COACHING SESSIONS FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS.
FUNDING SOURCE REDESIGN G SEVEN PROFESSIONAL SERVICES CONTRACT AMPLIFY EDUCATION INCORPORATED.
CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST FOR THE APPROVAL OF A PROFESSIONAL SERVICES CONTRACT BETWEEN THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL BOARD AND AMPLIFY EDUCATION INCORPORATED IN THE AMOUNT OF $288,400 TO PROVIDE COACHING FOR TEACHERS ON SCIENCE RESOURCES IN CIR AND UIR SCHOOLS.
FUNDING SOURCE REDESIGN G EIGHT RFP E-RATE SELECTION.
CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST TO ACCEPT THE RFP COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION AND TO AUTHORIZE THE SUPERINTENDENT AND STAFF TO NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE A CONTRACT BETWEEN EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL BOARD AND LOCKSTEP GROUP DBA TRANSFORM X TO PROVIDE E-RATE QUALIFIED SERVICES AND EQUIPMENT AS SPECIFIED IN THE RELATED REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS.
G NINE DEMOLITION OF BANKS ELEMENTARY.
CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST FOR AUTHORIZATION FOR STAFF TO ADVERTISE, ACCEPT THE LOW BID MEETING SPECIFICATIONS AND MAKE THE AWARD OF CONTRACT FOR DEMOLITION OF BANKS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AS SPECIFIED IN THE AID PLAN TO IMPROVE, UH, A PLAN TO IMPROVE FACILITIES, TECHNOLOGY, DISCIPLINE, AND COMPENSATION IN THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL SYSTEM.
THE PLAN AS REVISED THROUGH FEBRUARY 22ND, 2018, OR REJECT ANY AND ALL BIDS FOR JUST CAUSE IN ACCORDANCE
[01:50:01]
WITH THE LOUISIANA PUBLIC BID LAW.ITEM G 10 LITIGATION CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE RECOMMENDATION FROM GWEN SHAMBLIN, GENERAL COUNSEL FOR EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL BOARD IN THE MATTER OF NINA DILLON VERSUS EBR PARISH SCHOOL BOARD AND VINCENT WOODARD.
DOCKET NUMBER 7 3 5 1 3 1 DIVISION, OH, 19TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT OF EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH AND TO PROVIDE FOR RELATED MATTERS.
THIS IS THE END OF THE CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS. THANK YOU MS. POWELL.
UH, DO WE HAVE ANY COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON THE CONSENT AGENDA? SEEING NONE, MS. POWELL LEWIS, I MOVE THAT WE ACCEPT THE, UH, CONSENT AGENDA.
IT'S BEEN MOVED BY MS. POWELL LEWIS.
DO WE HAVE A SECOND? A SECOND BY A BOARD MEMBER.
MR. GOAD, WE NORMALLY REQUEST IF ANY BOARD MEMBER WANTS TO PULL AN ITEM.
DOES, ARE THERE ANY ITEMS THAT ANY BOARD MEMBER WOULD LIKE TO SEE PULLED FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA? MY APOLOGIES SAYING NONE.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER BOARD COMMENTS RELATED TO THE CONSENT AGENDAS? NONE.
MADAM SECRETARY, WOULD YOU PLEASE CONDUCT A VOTE? RUST? YEAH, PLEASE VOTE.
[H.1. Student Expulsion]
ITEM H, NEW BUSINESS ITEM ONE, RFP SELECTION, OCCUPATIONAL AND PHYSICAL THERAPY SERVICES.CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST TO ACCEPT THE RFP COMMITTEE RE RECOMMENDATION, AND TO AUTHORIZE THE SUPERINTENDENT AND STAFF TO NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE A CONTRACT BETWEEN EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL BOARD AND FIRST CHOICE THERAPY TO PROVIDE OCCUPATIONAL AND PHYSICAL THERAPY SERVICES RELATED MATTERS.
DR. HARRIS? IS THAT TALK ABOUT PRESENT? IS THAT PRESENT? YEAH.
LOOK LIKE SHE GETTING ANOTHER, YEAH.
PRESIDENT STEWART, SUPERINTENDENT COLE, AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD TONIGHT.
WE BRING FORWARD TO YOU THE RESULTS OF THE RFP PROCESS WHERE WE LOOKED AT TWO VENDORS WHO WOULD PROVIDE OCCUPATIONAL AND PHYSICAL THERAPY SERVICES TO OUR STUDENTS HERE IN THE DISTRICT.
AS A RESULT OF THAT RFP PROCESS, WE BRING FORWARD A RECOMMENDATION THAT YOU ALL WOULD ACCEPT OUR RECOMMENDATION FOR FIRST CHOICE THERAPIES, WHO WOULD PROVIDE THOSE SERVICES TO OUR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES IN THE DISTRICT.
AND WE DO HAVE MS. EMILY GREEN HERE, THE OWNER OF FIRST CHOICE THERAPIES AND HER STAFF.
I WOULD ASK THEM TO COME UP AT THIS TIME SO THAT THEY CAN GIVE YOU A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE SERVICES THAT THEY DO PROVIDE.
SUPERINTENDENT COLE, UH, SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS, DR. HARRIS.
UH, WE AT FIRST CHOICE THERAPY WANNA THANK YOU FOR GIVING US THE OPPORTUNITY TO CONTINUE SERVING THE EXCEPTIONAL STUDENTS IN EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH, UM, BY PROVIDING OCCUPATIONAL AND PHYSICAL THERAPY FOR THOSE STUDENTS.
WE CURRENTLY PROVIDE, UM, OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY FOR 1,079 OF YOUR STUDENTS AND PHYSICAL THERAPY FOR 237, UH, OF THE STUDENTS.
SO WE HAVE OVER 1300 STUDENTS THAT RECEIVE OCCUPATIONAL AND PHYSICAL THERAPY.
WE GO TO OVER A HUNDRED SITES THAT, UM, YOUR STUDENTS ARE LOCATED IN, AND WE PROVIDE INDIVIDUALIZED THERAPY AS BASED ON THEIR, UM, EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING.
AND, UM, I AM TOO, I'M GONNA TRY TO BE BRIEF, BUT I WILL ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU ALL HAVE FOR ME AT THIS TIME.
MR. MARTIN? UH, I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
I WAS JUST GETTING IN THE QUEUE SO I COULD MAKE A MOTION AT THE APPROPRIATE TIME.
[01:55:01]
PUBLIC COMMENT.ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS? WE HAVE A ONLINE, WE HAVE ONE ONLINE PUBLIC COMMENT, UH, FOR MR. MRS. TRITA WILLIAMS. I'M A PARENT OF A CHILD WHO RECEIVED PHYSICAL AND OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY WEEKLY IN SCHOOL.
THE THERAPIST AT FIRST CHOICE THERAPY THAT HAVE WORKED WITH MY SON ARE EXCEPTIONAL.
ON THE FIRST DAY AT A NEW SCHOOL, MY SON WAS NERVOUS AND DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE US.
HE RECOGNIZED THE VOICE OF HIS THERAPIST, DR.
DAMER, AND SHE COMFORTED HIM? YES.
THE ONLY PERSON A CHILD MAY KNOW WHEN ATTENDING A NEW SCHOOL.
THERAPISTS ARE, ARE ALWAYS OPEN TO NEW IDEAS TO ACHIEVE GOALS WHEN IT'S EIP OR IEP.
AND THAT CONCLUDES THE ONLINE COMMENTS.
OKAY, MR. MARTIN, YOU CAN GO AHEAD.
UH, I, UH, I APPRECIATE, UH, VERY MUCH THE GREAT SERVICES THAT YOUR FIRM PROVIDES OUR STUDENTS.
UH, AND SO I'M VERY HAPPY TO MOVE THAT WE ACCEPT THE RECOMMENDATION AND AUTHORIZE THE SUPERINTENDENT AND STAFF TO NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE THE CONTRACT.
UM, MR. MARTIN AND PAUL LEWIS.
UM, JUST A QUICK QUESTION IS, UM, WOULD THE FINAL CONTRACT COME BACK TO THE BOARD FOR APPROVAL, OR DOES THIS, IS THIS BASICALLY KIND OF A, A VOTE TO AUTHORIZE SUPERINTENDENT TO, TO HANDLE ALL THAT PER THE LANGUAGE OF THE, THE MOTION OR OF THE ITEM? MM-HMM
UH, YOU GIVE US THE AUTHORITY TO EXECUTE IT WOULD NOT COME BACK TO THE BOARD.
SO THEN I JUST HAVE ONE QUESTION.
WHAT IS THE METRIC THAT WE WILL DETERMINE SUCCESS IN THIS CONTRACT? I KNOW THAT THIS IS A SERVICE THAT THE SCHOOL SYSTEM MUST PROVIDE, AND, UH, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, ESPECIALLY HAVING LOOKED AT OUR PREVIOUS CONTRACT THREE YEARS FROM NOW, THAT WE HAVE A WAY, A GREAT BAROMETER TO DETERMINE THE SUCCESS OF THESE SERVICES.
UH, THE, THE WAY WE ARE GOING TO MEASURE THE SUCCESS IS A NUMBER OF STUDENTS AND THE, THE, THE MINUTE REQUIREMENTS OF THE IEP FOR THE SERVICES THAT THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO RECEIVE.
SO LOOKING OVER A THREE YEAR PERIOD OF TIME, UH, WORKING WITH DIVIN TO DETERMINE HOW MANY STUDENTS WERE SEEN, UH, WHAT WERE THE IEPS, AND THEN WHAT SERVICES WERE PROVIDED WITHIN THE IEPS TO MEET THOSE REQUIREMENTS.
AND BASED ON THE GOALS AND THE IEP SET FORTH OF THE SERVICES THAT ARE GONNA BE PROVIDED BY THE VENDOR.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? DR. HARRIS ABSOLUTELY TOOK THE WORDS RIGHT OUTTA MY MOUTH.
UM, PLEASE ENSURE THAT THERE IS A, AN ACCOUNTABILITY MEASURE IN THE CONTRACT LIKE WE'RE ASKING FOR IN EVERY CONTRACT, SO THAT WE WILL SET UP OUR FUTURE BOARD FOR FUTURE SUCCESS IN THESE DECISIONS.
UH, AND THANK YOU MS. GREEN, FOR ALL THE GREAT WORK YOU'RE DOING IN OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM.
AND THANK YOU MS. GREEN FOR ALL THE WORK THAT YOU AND YOUR TEAM DO FOR THE KIDS THAT NEED IT THE MOST.
UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S IMPORTANT ABOUT THIS CONTRACT, AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I THINK FIRST CHOICE IS BROUGHT TO US IS, UH, GREAT MORE SCRUTINY AND INCREASE IN OUR REIMBURSEMENT FROM THE MEDICARE, UH, MEDICARE.
I THINK MEDICARE, UH, BUT, UH, UH, THAT THE REIMBURSEMENT RATE THAT WE GET FROM THESE, SO I WOULD ASK IN THE CONTRACT, BECAUSE THAT IS A KEY ITEM THAT WE PUT SOMETHING IN THAT CONTRACT THAT IF THE REIMBURSEMENT RATE FALLS BELOW, I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S THE APPROPRIATE NUMBER, 80% OR SOME KIND OF NUMBER, UH, THAT, NOT THAT THE CONTRACT'S OVER, BUT THAT A MEETING OCCURS AND WE DISCUSS ABOUT HOW TO GET THAT BACK ON TRACK.
BECAUSE EVEN THOUGH THIS IS A $4 MILLION CONTRACT, UH, WE GET 80 SOMETHING PERCENT OF IT, OR I GUESS SOMETIMES UP CLOSER TO 90% OF IT BACK FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
AND MS. KELLY LOPEZ, I RECOGNIZE WE GET IT A YEAR DELAYED, BUT WE STILL GET IT.
UH, BUT I, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO HAVE SOMETHING IN THE CONTRACT THAT SHOULD SOMETHING HAPPEN.
'CAUSE FALLING BELOW THE RATE MIGHT BE OUR ISSUE, UH, MOST LIKELY IS OUR ISSUE AS WE GET TO THIS.
SO IT'S NOT ANYTHING ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE, BUT IT IS A MEASURE OF THE FINANCIAL IMPACT ON THE DEPART ON THE, UH, DISTRICT.
I, I WOULD JUST COMMENT THAT, UM, WE WORK CLOSELY AND WATCH VERY CLOSELY LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND THE CHANGES THAT THEY HAVE TO MAKE BASED ON CMS GUIDELINES.
AND OFTENTIMES THE CHANGES THAT ARE MADE ARE OUT OF OUR HANDS, BUT WE WILL WORK, OF COURSE, WITH THEM TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL APPROPRIATE
[02:00:01]
REIMBURSEMENT THAT EBR IS DUE, THAT WE'RE GOING TO GET THAT FOR THEM.LAST YEAR, THE REIMBURSEMENT, UH, PERCENTAGE WAS 82.95%.
AND I KNOW YOU'RE VERY DILIGENT IN THAT AND KEEP UP WITH ALL OF THE, UH, REQUIREMENTS AND THINGS.
I, I JUST WOULD LIKE TO HAVE SOME KIND OF A FLAG GO UP MM-HMM
THAT IF SOMETHING'S GOING OFF TRACK THAT A FLAG GOES UP AND WE KNOW, WE KNOW WE'RE OFF TRACK AND WE CAN TRY TO GET BACK ON TRACK.
LIKE I SAID, ODDS ARE IT WOULDN'T BE YOUR PROBLEM
ANY OTHER BOARD COMMENTS? OKAY, MADAM SECRETARY, PLEASE VOTE.
[H.2. Student Expulsion]
UM, WE HAVE A STUDENT EXPOSURE BOARD MEMBERS.HAVE YOU HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW THE CASE? OH, THAT'S YOU.
UM, SUPERINTENDENT HAS ANOTHER PRESENTATION.
OH, WE HAVE ANOTHER PRESENTATION.
YEAH, I KNOW, BUT IT'S NOT ME.
EXPULSION MATTER BOARD MEMBERS, HAVE YOU HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW THE CASES? THE CASE? I'M SORRY.
UM, DO I HAVE A MOTION TO HEAR THE, ANY OF HEAR THE MATTER? OKAY, NUMBER THREE, HEARING NO MOTION.
THE SUPERINTENDENT'S RECOMMENDATION STANDS.
THE SUPERINTENDENT RECOMMENDATION STANDS.
[H.3. Student Expulsion]
UH, NUMBER THREE.DO I HAVE A MOTION? I'M GONNA HAVE YOUR BOARD MEMBERS LOOKED AT IT.
DO I HAVE A MOTION? SO HEARING NO MOTION, THE SUPERINTENDENT'S RECOMMENDATION STANDS.
[H.4. Student Expulsion]
NUMBER FOUR, BOARD MEMBERS.HAVE YOU HAD THAT? HAVE YOU HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT IT OR REVIEW IT? DO I HAVE A MOTION? AND SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, HEARING NO MOTION, THE SUPERINTENDENT'S RECOMMENDATION STANDS NOW
[I.1. Junior Achievement ]
WE HAVE ITEM I PRESENTATIONS, THE FIRST PRESENTATION WE HAVE WITH, UH, JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT.GOOD EVENING, MADAM PRESIDENT AND SUPERINTENDENT COLE AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS REALLY APPRECIATE YOU HAVING US HERE.
UM, I'M GONNA MAKE THIS VERY QUICK AS WELL, BUT JUST WANTED TO PROVIDE YOU AN UPDATE OF HOW THE YEAR IS GOING WITH JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT.
ALRIGHT, SO YOU ALL KNOW THAT WE WORK ON THREE CORE PILLARS, FINANCIAL LITERACY, WORK READINESS, AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP.
UM, SO JUST WANTED TO KIND OF GIVE YOU A HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW OF WHAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH.
UM, WE HAVE OUR JA IN A DAYS, WHICH MANY OF YOU HAVE, HAVE BEEN AT, UH, SERVING OUR K THROUGH FIVE STUDENTS IN WHICH IT'S, UH, SEQUENTIAL LEARNING ON THE FINANCIAL LITERACY AND WORK READINESS ALL ACROSS EBR.
WE HAVE, UM, OUR DISCOVERY CENTER MOBILE, WHICH WE HAD OUR OPENING THIS PAST FALL.
THE FIFTH GRADE STUDENTS AND THE SEVENTH GRADE STUDENTS ARE THE ONES THAT ARE GOING THROUGH THIS.
UM, MANY OF YOU ACTUALLY JOINED US FOR THE GRAND OPENING, SO I APPRECIATE YOU TAKING YOUR TIME TO, TO COME AND SEE IT LIVE.
UH, SUPERINTENDENT COLE, WE MET, UM, AND REALLY KIND OF WORKED ON THIS PLAN TOGETHER TO ENSURE THAT THESE ENGAGING IMMERSIVE PROGRAMS ARE AVAILABLE.
BUT THE DISCOVERY CENTER MOBILE HAS THESE TWO PROGRAMS, THE FIFTH BEING THE BIZTOWN, WHERE THE STUDENTS ARE ACTUALLY RUNNING A CITY FOR THE DAY.
AND WE BRING IN THIS MOBILE CITY THAT'S POPPED UP.
THEY'RE TAKING THE 12 LESSONS PRIOR TO COMING.
THEY'RE ACTING AS THE CONSUMERS AND THE PRODUCERS.
THEY'RE SELLING GOODS IN AN IMMERSIVE FOUR HOUR EXPERIENCE WITH JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT.
AND THEN WITH OUR FINANCE PARK, THAT'S FOR THE SEVENTH GRADERS, WHERE IT'S THE 12 LESSONS THAT ARE IN THE CLASSROOM WHERE THEY'RE LEARNING ALL ABOUT THE BILLS THAT THEY'RE GONNA PAY AS AN ADULT.
AND WHEN THEY COME TO THE ACTUAL FINANCE PARK, THEY'RE GIVEN THAT IPAD.
THEY TURN IT ON, FIND OUT WHO THEY ARE FOR THE DAY, IF THEY'RE MARRIED, SINGLE, WHAT THEIR CREDIT SCORE IS, HOW MANY CHILDREN THEY HAVE, AND THEY HAVE TO CREATE A POSITIVE BUDGET.
SO, UM, LATER ON, I'LL SHARE ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY FOR EACH ONE OF YOU TO ACTUALLY COME SEE THE DISCOVERY CENTER
[02:05:01]
LIVE.IT'S NOT AN EBR, UM, FOR THIS VIEWING, BUT WE WILL BE BACK AGAIN IN EBR IN THE FALL AND HOPEFULLY FOR A LONGER RUN.
UM, IT WAS AMAZING, AND THE TEACHERS ARE ABSOLUTELY LOVING IT.
WE HAVE OUR MENTORING MEN AND LEADING LADIES.
MANY OF YOU HAVE PARTICIPATED IN THIS, WHICH IS A HALF DAY WHERE WE'RE SPENDING WITH THE HIGH SCHOOL MALES AND FEMALES, REALLY TEACHING THEM SOFT SKILLS, TEACHING THE GUYS HOW TO TIE A TIE, UM, WORKING ON, UH, CAREER EXPLORATION, REALLY DIVING INTO THAT AND BRINGING THOSE MENTORS FROM THE COMMUNITY TO ENSURE THAT THEY'RE GETTING THOSE, YOU KNOW, GETTING SOME, SOME GOOD ADVICE AND SOME GOOD GUIDANCE FROM SOME SOLID BUSINESS MENTORS FROM THE COMMUNITY.
SO THOSE ARE ALL GOING EXTREMELY WELL.
ALSO, UM, THEN WE HAVE OUR FINANCIAL LITERACY MANDATE.
WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON THAT, AND MANY OF YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH THAT.
WE'VE CREATED THE ENTIRE YEAR LONGS CURRICULUM, UM, THAT MEETS EVERY OBJECTIVE SET FORTH IN THE MANDATE SO THAT CURRICULUM IS READY AND AVAILABLE FOR ALL EBR HIGH SCHOOLS TO ENSURE THAT THEY HAVE THE ASSESSMENTS, THEY HAVE EVERYTHING THAT THEY NEED TO, TO TEACH THAT CURRICULUM AND ARE PREPARED.
AND WE HAVE QUITE A FEW SCHOOLS THAT ARE USING THAT AS WELL.
UM, THIS YEAR, UH, THIS PAST YEAR, WE'VE HAD, UH, 13,156 STUDENTS THAT WE'VE IMPACTED.
AND OF COURSE WE'VE GOT QUITE A FEW OTHER PROGRAMS THAT WE'RE WORKING ON.
WE CAN GO ON AND ON FOR DAYS WITH THE PROGRAMS THAT JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT IS OFFERING.
BUT WE DO ALSO HAVE, UM, FULL YEAR LONG CURRICULUM MARKETING ONE, MARKETING TWO, ECONOMICS FOR SUCCESS, A LOT OF OTHER COURSES THAT YOUR SCHOOLS ARE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF AS WELL.
UM, JUST TO KIND OF GIVE YOU A LITTLE OVERVIEW, I KNOW IT'S IMPORTANT, UH, TO KNOW WHERE JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT IS PULLING THIS FUNDING.
HOW ARE WE OPERATING? HOW ARE WE SERVING OVER, UH, 13,000 STUDENTS IN EBR EACH YEAR? AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT IT COSTS JA 500, UH, $515,000 A YEAR TO SERVICE EBR STUDENTS ALONE.
UH, WE HAVE WELL OVER A MILLION DOLLAR BUDGET THAT WE SERVE GREATER BATON ROUGE, BUT OVER HALF, YOU KNOW, HALF OF THAT IS DEDICATED TO EBR.
UM, I THINK IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT IF YOU LOOK AT THIS PIE CHART, 424,000 IS RAISED THROUGH OTHER METRICS THROUGH OUR CORPORATE, UH, PARTNERSHIPS THAT WE BUILD.
IT'S ALSO RAISED THROUGH THE EVENTS THAT WE'RE FUNDING.
SO WE'RE MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE VERY GOOD STEWARDS OF OUR DONOR DOLLARS, BUT THAT ALSO THAT WE'RE NOT PUTTING THE BURDEN, BURDEN ON EBR SCHOOL SYSTEM AND THAT WE'RE RAISING THOSE FUNDS TO ENSURE THAT THE SCHOOL, THE SCHOOLS ARE SERVICED.
UM, WITH THAT SAID, I HAVE A VISITORS DAY, AND I HAVE A CORRECTION ON THIS SLIDE.
THE SCHOOL ACTUALLY HAD TO MAKE A CHANGE WITH THE BUSES, BUT WE REALLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO COME SEE THE DISCOVERY CENTER MOBILE.
UM, THAT IS GONNA BE ON MARCH THE 12TH.
UH, THE CORRECTION IS THE TIME.
UM, THE TIME IS GONNA BE FROM 10 TO 11 BECAUSE THE BUS HAS TO LEAVE EARLY THAT DAY.
SO PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDAR, ST.
GABRIEL COMMUNITY CENTER, 10 TO 11 ON MARCH THE 12TH.
UM, AND THEN LASTLY, WHAT I'LL LEAVE YOU WITH, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE LOOK AT THE SERVICE THAT WE'VE ALL DONE TOGETHER AND THE SUPPORT THAT WE'VE GOT FOR JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT, LARRY, MY PARTNER OVER HERE, AND I, WE, HE'S SURPRISED
AND THERE'S A REASON WHY WE HAVE DESTINY MAIDEN, ONE OF YOUR EBR STUDENTS WHO WE ACTUALLY RAN INTO PROBABLY ABOUT A MONTH AGO.
AND WHEN YOU WANNA SEE FULL CIRCLE WHAT YOU'RE BRINGING, UM, TO THESE STUDENTS, IT'S ABSOLUTELY AMAZING.
SO MISS DESTINY STARTED HER JA CAREER WITH EBR AT FOREST HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY WHEN SHE WAS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
SHE THEN, UH, PARTICIPATED IN FINANCE PARK.
DO YOU REMEMBER THE OLD COR MALL DAYS? SO SHE PARTICIPATED THERE.
UM, AND THAT WAS IN MIDDLE SCHOOL.
THAT WAS THROUGH MCKINLEY MIDDLE.
AND THEN IN HIGH SCHOOL, SHE ACTUALLY WENT BACK AND TAUGHT THROUGH HER DECA CLUB, A JA IN A DAY CLASS.
SO SHE WAS PUTTING THOSE LEADERSHIP SKILLS INTO ACTION.
AND THEN FINALLY SHE PARTICIPATED IN OUR TRUST, YOUR CRAZY IDEA CHALLENGE LOCALLY, WHERE SHE CREATED, UM, AN ORGANIC BABY FOOD AND WON THAT ACT, WON THAT CHALLENGE HERE, ONE SCHOLARSHIP MONEY THROUGH JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT.
SHE THEN WENT TO THE STATE LEVEL AND SHE WON THE STATE COMPETITION.
AND THEN LARRY AND I FINALLY RAN BACK INTO HER WHERE WE WERE VOLUNTEERING TOGETHER AT SCOTLANDVILLE.
SO, YOU KNOW, IT IS JUST REALLY EXCITING TO SEE THOSE STORIES, YOU KNOW, COME TOGETHER.
WE LOOK FORWARD TO DOING MORE WITH YOU AND HERE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
I'VE BEEN, UH, ENTERING THE QUEUE QUITE A BIT TONIGHT.
[02:10:01]
I'M VERY SURPRISED TO SEE, UH, DESTINY WAS ONE OF MY STUDENTS IN HIGH SCHOOL.UH, ALSO HAVING THE OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE STUDENTS TO THE FINANCE PARK AT THE OLD CAR MALL, UH, WAS ALWAYS A HIGHLIGHT.
I TAUGHT, UH, FREE ENTERPRISE AND CIVICS.
AND SO OF COURSE THAT WAS A MAJOR PART OF OUR CULMINATING PROJECTS FOR ECON.
AND SO I WANT TO TELL YOU THANK YOU, THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK.
AND THEN I ALSO WANT TO SAY TO THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE SERVING ON THE BOARD WITH ME, WHEN YOU WANT US TO COME OUT AND VISIT, WE WANNA GO THROUGH THE SIMULATION, PLEASE.
WE WOULD LOVE, LOVE, LOVE THAT.
SIGN US, SIGN US UP FOR TO, TO REPRESENT DIFFERENT FAMILY STRUCTURES.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? THANK YOU, MS. PAUL LEWIS? YES, WE HAVE MR. GODDE.
I JUST WANTED TO, UH, THANK JA FOR ALL THE HARD WORK THEY DO, AND, UH, MS. DAWSON, YOU AND YOUR TEAM, UH, THAT'S HERE.
BUT I ALSO WANNA SEND OUT A SALUTE TO, YOU KNOW, I ATTEND SOME OF THE, UH, SOME OF THE BOARD MEETINGS.
AND WHEN YOU SIT IN THESE BOARD MEETINGS FOR JA, AND YOU SEE ALL OF THE COMPANIES AROUND THE AREA THAT ARE REPRESENTED IN THOSE MEETINGS AND ALL OF THE PEOPLE THAT ARE DEVOTING THEIR TIME AND ENERGY TO RUNNING THE BOARD.
SO NOT ONLY DO I WANT TO THANK YOU, BUT I'D LIKE TO BRING, I'D LIKE FOR YOU TO BRING OUR THANKS BACK TO YOUR BOARD, UH, AND THANK ALL OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE GIVING OF THEIR TIME AND TALENTS TO OUR STUDENTS.
AND I WANT TO PERSONALLY THANK YOU TO MS. DAWSON AND YOUR TEAM.
WE SINCERELY APPRECIATE YOU AND LOOK FORWARD TO THE COLLABORATION FOR, TO CONTINUE HELPING OUR CHILDREN IN FINANCIAL LITERACY.
[I.2. Fair Share ]
HAVE ANOTHER PRESENTATION BY MR. JOHN SMITH WITH THE FAIR SHARE PROGRAM.SO, GOOD EVENING BOARD PRESIDENT, UH, STEWARD AND BOARD MEMBERS.
I COORDINATE THE FAIR SHELL PROGRAM FOR THE EAST BAPTIST PARISH, UH, PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM.
AND I WANTED TO GIVE YOU A HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW OF THE FAIR SHELL PROGRAM.
UH, I THINK EACH ONE OF YOU HAD RECEIVED SOME BACKGROUND INFORMATION.
SO WHAT I WANT TO DO, UH, THIS EVENING IN MY MINUTE AND A HALF, IS JUST KIND OF, UH, FILL IN THE BLANKS A LITTLE BIT.
UM, AS YOU CAN SEE, THE, THE FAIR SHELL PROGRAM IS A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH DESIGNED TO FACILITATE THE INCLUSION OF MINORITY AND WOMEN OWNED BUSINESSES IN THE PROCUREMENT AND OR CONTRACTING OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED UNDER THE OVERSIGHT OF THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM.
BUT THE PROGRAM STRIVES TO ACCOMPLISH THIS MISSION THROUGH GATHERING OF DATA.
UH, WE CHOOSE TO DO IT THAT WAY BECAUSE IT'S THE DATA THAT MAKES THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THIS PROGRAM AND SOME OTHER PROGRAMS THAT ARE OUT THERE.
THE DATA ACTUALLY TELLS US WHAT IS THE COMPANY'S STRENGTHS, UH, AND WHAT ARE THE ACTUAL PENDING OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARE COMING UP? WHAT ARE SOME OF THE BARRIERS THAT MAY, UM, PROHIBIT A COMPANY FROM BEING ABLE TO PARTICIPATE? BUT I ALSO LIKE TO SAY THAT THE COMPANIES IN THE FAIR SHARE PROGRAM REPRESENT A UNIQUE GROUP OF COMPANIES.
THESE ARE COMPANIES THAT HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO DO THE OP, TO DO THE, UM, OPPORTUNITIES THAT BECOME AVAILABLE TO THEM.
UM, THE THREE MAJOR PROVIDERS OF THE PROJECTS ARE HESS FACILITIES MANAGEMENT, UH, THE EBR DEPARTMENTS AND THE CSRS TILLAGE.
THOSE ARE THE THREE AREAS THAT, THAT, THAT ENCOMPASS MOST OF THE PROJECTS THAT COME ABOUT TO US.
ONE OF THE THINGS I, ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS I SAID IS THESE ARE COMPANIES THAT HAVE THE ABILITY TO PARTICIPATE.
AND THIS IS THE FIRST THING WE ASK A COMPANY TO DO IS PROVIDE A COMPANY PROFILE.
BUT THIS COMPANY PROFILE GIVES US CERTAIN INFORMATION.
ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS IT SAYS IS, TELL US WHAT YOU DO.
WELL GIVE US SOME EXAMPLES THAT ARE SUPPORTING DATA.
ONE OF THE LAST THINGS WE WANT TO DO IS HAVE A COMPANY IN THE PROGRAM, BUT THEN BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE THE CAPACITY, THEY DON'T, THEY HAVE NOT DONE SOME OF THE THINGS IN THE PAST, WOULD NOT BE A GOOD FIT.
SO THIS COMPANY PROFILE IS THE FIRST THING WE ASK THEM FOR THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
BASED UPON THAT, WE ASKED THEM TO PROVIDE US WITH THIS INFORMATION.
A FRIEND OF MINE ONCE SAID, WELL, WHEN GET MAD DAY COMES, UH, YOU WANT TO BE PREPARED.
THIS IS OUR KIND OF PROTECTION AGAINST THAT.
HOW DO YOU KNOW A COMPANY IS A WOMAN, A MINORITY OWNED COMPANY? THIS TELLS US THAT THIS TELLS US, UH, ABOUT THEIR INFORMATION AND AS ALSO, UH, ANOTHER DOCUMENT THAT GOES WITH THIS, WHERE THEY HAVE TO HAVE IT CERTIFIED.
SO THIS LETS US KNOW THAT THE COMPANIES ARE IN THE RANGE OF THE SIZE AND ALL THE OTHER THINGS THAT WE SAY YOU SHOULD BE IN ORDER TO BE IN THE FAIR SHARE PROGRAM.
THIS IS KIND OF THE FLOW OF HOW THINGS ACTUALLY WORK.
UH, THE FIRST STEP IS THE IDENTIFICATION OF OPPORTUNITIES BY EXTERNAL OR INTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS.
THE SECOND STEP IS THE TIMELY COMMUNICATION.
ONE OF THE THINGS WE FIND OUT IS THAT OFTENTIMES PEOPLE DON'T FIND OUT ABOUT OPPORTUNITIES IN A TIMELY MANNER.
SO ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS WE WANT TO DO IS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY HEAR ABOUT IT IN
[02:15:01]
A TIMELY MANNER.THEN WE'VE IMPLE IMPLEMENTED SOME OTHER THINGS.
IT'S THE ENGAGEMENT AND ATTENDANCE.
AND WHETHER IT'S A PRE-BID MEETING OR SOME MEETING WHERE THE OPPORTUNITIES ARE ACTUALLY TALKED ABOUT, OFTENTIMES WE FIND OUR COMPANIES DO NOT KNOW ALL OF THE SPECIFICS BEHIND IT.
THEN WE ENCOURAGE THEM TO, UH, SUBMIT A BID.
IF THEY DO, WE GO DOWN TO THE NEXT STEP, WHICH IS, UH, REVIEW OF THE SUBMITTAL OF THE BID TO HELP THEM ENSURE, UH, THAT THEIR PARTICIPATION, THIS MOVES OVER, UH, COMPLETION OF A FAIR SHARE COMPANY EVALUATION FORM.
IF THEY'VE GOTTEN THE OPPORTUNITY, WE WANT TO GET SOME FEEDBACK ON THE BACK END, WHAT WENT WELL, WHAT DIDN'T GO WELL, AND THEN WE WANT TO DO SOME THINGS, RECOMMENDATION OF CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT.
IF THEY DID NOT SUBMIT A BID, WE'D LIKE TO FIND OUT WHY.
WHY IS IT THAT THEY CHOSE NOT TO PARTICIPATE IN THE OPPORTUNITY THAT WAS PUT BEFORE THEM? WERE THERE BARRIERS OR JUST WHAT? NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
NOW HERE'S SOME EXAMPLES OF HOW THIS ACTUALLY LIVES OUT, AND THESE ARE HISTORICAL PIECES.
THE NEXT TIME I COME BEFORE YOU, I'LL GIVE YOU MORE UPTODATE INFORMATION.
ONE OF THE THINGS WE, WE TALKED ABOUT DOING WAS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT CONCRETE REPAIR OPPORTUNITIES.
AND THERE WERE 12 WORK ORDERS THAT WERE SUBMITTED.
LET'S INVITE COMPANIES TO THE TABLE.
LET'S LET THEM ALL SUBMIT A BID ON THESE PARTICULAR PROJECTS.
AND HERE'S SOME EXAMPLES OF HOW THAT PLAYS OUT.
THERE WERE SIX COMPANIES THAT WERE INVITED TOTAL, FOUR OF WHICH WERE FAIR SHARE.
OF THOSE THREE FAIR, UH, PARTICIPATED IN THE PRE-BID WAS THREE.
OF THE FOUR, UH, SUBMITTED BIDS WERE THREE OUTTA THE SIX.
AND IN THAT BUNDLE THERE WAS ACTUALLY A, A 62% PARTICIPATION.
THE SAME THING IS, IS A CASE IN ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF A THANKSGIVING AND CHRISTMAS, UH, BREAK PAINTING PROJECTS ON THESE CAN COMPETE IF GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY.
THERE'S JUST A THIRD EXAMPLE, SAME SCENARIO, AND WE CHOSE THREE DIFFERENT ONES.
SO YOU CAN SEE THAT THE COMPANIES CAN DO DIFFERENT THINGS IN DIFFERENT AREAS.
NOW HERE'S SOME INFORMATION RELATED TO SOME OF THE LARGER PROJECTS.
THESE ARE THE PROJECTS WITH CSRS TILLAGE, AS YOU CAN SEE HERE.
UH, IT GOES FROM THE NAME OF THE PROJECT, UH, TO THE PROJECT START DATE.
AGAIN, THIS IS HISTORICAL INFORMATION THAT WE HAVE HERE.
UH, YOU HAVE FROM THE ARCHITECTURAL SIDE, WHAT WAS THAT PERCENTAGE FROM THE CONTRACTOR SIDE? WHAT WAS THAT PERCENTAGE? AND AS YOU CAN SEE, IT'S 29, 32, 21 12%.
AND WE DO HAVE ONE THAT WAS A 8.7, UH, 8.5%.
BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IS ACCESS TO OPPORTUNITIES AND COMPANIES ACTUALLY PARTICIPATING AND FOLLOWING THROUGH.
AND GOING BACK TO TRYING TO MAKE SURE WE TRY TO REACH THE 20% GOAL THAT THE BOARD SET BACK, UM, WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT 2011? NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
SO, EXPANDING OPPORTUNITIES, RELATIONSHIPS, AND REDUCING BARRIERS.
UM, HOW DO WE GO ABOUT DOING THIS? SOME OF THE THINGS WE'VE DONE IS CONDUCTED SEVERAL MEETING AND EVENTS DESIGNED TO BETTER CONNECT PARTICIPANTS IN THE PROGRAM TO THE OPPORTUNITIES, BOTH CURRENT AS WELL AS PENDING OPPORTUNITIES.
WE CONTINUE TO CONDUCT MEETINGS WITH OUR MAJOR PROVIDERS OF THE OPPORTUNITIES.
WHAT'S AT THE HEART OF THIS IS HAVING A WORKING RELATIONSHIP WHERE WE ARE AWARE OF OPPORTUNITIES, THE COMMUNITY'S AWARE OF THE OPPORTUNITIES, AND HERE ARE THE FOUR, UH, MAJOR AREAS WHERE THESE OCCUR.
WE HAVE OUR INTERNAL EBR DEPARTMENTS.
WE HAVE HESS, WE HAVE CSR UTILITIES, AND THERE'S SOME OTHER EX OTHER EXTERNAL PROVIDERS OF OPPORTUNITIES.
IT COULD BE THE ARCHITECTS, IT COULD BE THE CONTRACTORS.
THOSE ARE THE ONES THAT CONSTITUTE THAT OTHER EXTERNAL PROVIDERS OF THE SERVICE.
AND THE PURPOSE OF THIS IS, IS WHAT I CALL GOD, GATHERING OF DATA WITH THE DESIRED OUTCOME OF BUILDING A STRONGER WORKING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE FAIR SHARE, UH, MYSELF, BETWEEN THE COMMUNITY AND BETWEEN THE, THE, UH, BUSINESS, THE COMPANIES WITHIN THE FAIR SHARE PROGRAM.
I TALKED ABOUT A PROJECT EVALUATION.
SO WHAT WE WOULD DO IS WHAT WE, I WOULD DO IS SEND THIS OUT AND ASK THESE QUESTIONS.
UH, TIME THE COMPLETION OF THE PROJECT AND OR THE REQUESTED TASK, ADEQUATE STAFFING TO COMPLETE THE PROJECT.
UH, PROFESSIONALISM OF THE PRIMARY CONTACT PERSON, RESPONSIVENESS TO PROBLEMS, AND THEN THE SATISFACTION, UH, WITH AGREED UPON PROJECT OR TASK.
WE USE THIS TO GO BACK AND SAY, IF THERE'S SOME CONVERSATION THAT WE NEED TO HAVE, WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO GO BACK AND HAVE THESE CONVERSATIONS.
BUT THESE ARE NOT PUNITIVE CONVERSATIONS.
THESE ARE CONVERSATIONS DESIGNED FOR CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT.
SO HERE ARE THE CLOSING COMMENTS.
UH, THE FAIR SHARE PROGRAM DOES NOT FOCUS ON TELLING COMPANIES ABOUT OPPORTUNITIES, BUT DIRECTLY CONNECTING THEM TO THE OPPORTUNITIES.
AND THIS IS ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT OF, OF THE, AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROCESS THAT YOU SAW EARLIER.
UH, WHICH INCLUDES INSPIRING, UH, COMPANIES TO COMMUNICATE WITH US, COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER, A COMMITMENT AND COLLABORATION BETWEEN PROVIDERS OF OPPORTUNITIES IN THE FAIR SHARE OFFICE.
[02:20:01]
IN CLOSE CONTACT WITH OUR PROCUREMENT OFFICE.WE WORK CLOSELY WITH, UH, WE TRY TO WORK CLOSELY WITH CSRS TILLAGE.
UH, WE TRY TO WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH OUR FACILITIES MAINTENANCE DEPARTMENT.
AND MORE RECENTLY WE'VE BEEN REACHING OUT TO ALL OF THE DEPARTMENTS TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH THEM.
WHERE ARE THE OPPORTUNITIES? WHAT I ALWAYS SAY IS, UH, IF YOU'VE BEEN BUYING CHAIRS FROM THIS SAME COMPANY FOR FIVE YEARS AND THE PRICE IS GOOD AND THEY DELIVER ON TIME, THERE'S NO OPPORTUNITY THERE.
BY THE SAME TOKEN THOUGH, IF THE NAME PLATES, YOU'RE NOT QUITE HAPPY WITH THAT PARTICULAR PROVIDER, THAT'S AN OPPORTUNITY.
SO WE WANT TO FIGURE, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE THOSE OPPORTUNITIES AND HOW CAN WE WORK COLLABORATIVELY TOGETHER TO REACH THAT 20% GOAL? AND ALSO THE LAST THING WE WANT TO DO IS HAVE THE COMMUNITY SAY THAT, UH, YOU TOLD US YOU WERE GONNA DO THIS AND YOU HAVE NOT BEEN DOING IT.
WHICH IS WHY WE DOCUMENT WHO WAS INFORMED ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY, WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE OPPORTUNITY AND THE OUTCOME.
BUT ONE THING I, I DID WANT TO ADD, LET ME ANSWER SOME OTHER QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE.
SO HOW MANY, UH, COMPANIES ARE THERE IN THE FAIR SHELF PROGRAM? THERE ARE APPROXIMATELY 154.
BUT WHAT ARE THOSE AREAS THAT IT ENCOMPASSES? COMMERCIAL FACILITY RELATED FOCUS, CUSTODIAL, UH, SERVICES, CONSULTING SERVICES, UH, ADVERTISING, UM, DESIGN, PUBLIC RELATIONS, HEALTH AND WELLNESS, WASTE DISPOSAL UNIFORMS AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.
UH, SO IT'S NOT JUST CONSTRUCTION RELATED.
THERE ARE ALL THESE OTHER AREAS THAT ARE OUT THERE.
AND FINALLY, TO TALK ABOUT, UM, SOMETHING THAT WE CALL THE GROWTH PROGRAM.
WE TRY TO UTILIZE HESS AND OTHER ENTITIES SUCH AS THAT TO HELP COMPANIES BUILD THEIR CAPACITY.
THESE ARE WHERE THE SMALLER PROJECTS ARE.
THESE ARE THE COMP THESE ARE THE PROJECTS THAT THEY CAN USE AND WE ASK THEM TO DO THE SAME THING.
THEY HAVE TO COME FROM, UH, SUBMIT A BID, GO THROUGH ALL THE PROCESS SO THEY CAN BECOME ACCUSTOMED TO DOING THESE THINGS AS THEY GROW THEIR CAPACITY TO MOVE ON TO OVER AND LARGER, UH, BIGGER AND BETTER THINGS.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD MEMBERS? OKAY.
AND I JUST WANTED TO SAY, I THOUGHT IT WAS A GOOD OPPORTUNITY FOR MR. SMITH TO BRING THIS INFORMATION TO THE BOARD, UM, TO GIVE US SOME INFORMATION AND FEEDBACK ON HOW THE PROCESS WORKED, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE THERE ARE ABOUT TO BE OPPORTUNITIES FOR WORK TO BE DONE WITHIN THE DISTRICT, UPCOMING PROJECTS AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
AND SO I THOUGHT IT WAS GOOD FOR HIM TO COME AND, YOU KNOW, INFORM US AND SO THAT WE CAN BE AWARE OF HOW WE ARE COLLABORATING WITH VENDORS AND DIFFERENT BUSINESSES TO HELP US WITH THE MISSION OF OUR DISTRICT.
[J.1. Announcement of Meetings ]
HAVE ITEM J ORGANIZATION ITEMS. MR. RUSS, A, A COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, UH, FACILITY ALIGNMENT MEETING TO BE HELD MARCH 12TH AT 6:00 PM AT MAGNOLIA WOODS ELEMENTARY.SOME OR ALL BOARD MEMBERS MAY ATTEND BOARD WORKSHOP TO BE HELD AT FOUR O'CLOCK, FOUR O'CLOCK, MARCH 13TH, 2025 IN THE CENTRAL OFFICE BOARDROOM COMMITTEE.
THE WHOLE MEETING TO BE HELD ON MARCH 13TH, 2025 AT 5:00 PM IN THE CENTRAL OFFICE.
BOARDROOM, REGULAR MEETING TO BE HELD MARCH 20TH, 2025 AT 5:00 PM IN THE CENTRAL OFFICE BOARDROOM.
THANK YOU, MR. RUSS AND SUPERINTENDENT COLE HAS SOMETHING TO SAY.
ALRIGHT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, POINT OF PERSONAL PRIVILEGE.
I JUST TAKE TO TAKE, UH, THIS OPPORTUNITY TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE PASSING OF ONE OF OUR FORMER EMPLOYEES, UH, MR. ROOSEVELT TEDDY BROWN, UH, WHO SPENT A GREAT DEAL OF HIS TIME AS A TEACHER AND COACH AT MCKINLEY HIGH SCHOOL.
UH, HE WAS THE DEAN OF STUDENTS AT SHERWOOD MIDDLE SCHOOL.
UH, A FAMILY MEMBER SAID THAT BROWN DID NOT HAVE ANY ONGOING HEALTH ISSUES AT THE TIME OF HIS DEATH.
HIS LAST DAY WAS A NORMAL ONE.
THE FAMILY MEMBER SAID HE HAD COME HOME FROM RUNNING ERRANDS AND PASSED AWAY QUIETLY.
BROWN WAS INDUCTED INTO LOUISIANA SPORTS HALL OF FAME IN 2004 AND SPENT HIS TIME OFF THE HIGH SCHOOL COURT ATTENDING MOST OF THE SUNDAY UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL GAMES.
UH, SERVICES FOR, UH, ROOSEVELT, TEDDY BROWN ARE GOING TO BE HELD AT HALL DAVIDSON SUN CELEBRATION CENTER, STARTING AT 11:00 AM ON MONDAY, UH, FEBRUARY.
WHAT IS FEBRUARY, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 21ST, 24TH.
SO, UH, IF YOU WOULD INDULGE ME WITH A MOMENT OF SILENCE FOR ROOSEVELT, TEDDY BROWN, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
AND COACH, I'LL LET YOU HAVE IT.