[00:00:03]
JANE[B. Meeting Opening]
FIRST WHO HAVE THE INVOCATION BY ORDER MEMBER DIES.AND THEN THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE BY BOARD MEMBER BELIEF.
BE WITH US AS WE MOVE, CONTINUE TO MOVE THROUGH THIS PROCESS FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
LET US ALL KEEP IN MIND THAT THE CHILDREN AND OUR COMMUNITY IS WHAT'S GOING TO MAKE THIS PROCESS WORK AND, UM, PRAY THAT WE WILL END UP WITH A SUPERIOR SUPERINTENDENT THAT WILL PROVIDE EXTENDED LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL CHILDREN ACROSS OUR COMMUNITY AND HELP US TO, TO WORK TOGETHER THROUGH THIS PROCESS WITH, UM, EACH OTHER AS BOARD MEMBERS AND WITH OUR COMMUNITY.
WE WILL PROCEED TO THE ROLL CALL.
MADAM SECRETARY DISTRICT SEVEN, PRESIDENT GUTTER HERE, DISTRICT THREE, VICE PRESIDENT HOWARD PRESENT DISTRICT ONE.
MR. BLUE HERE, DISTRICT TWO, MR. LANDIS DISTRICT FOUR, MS. COLLINS RISE IN DISTRICT FIVE.
THANKS MS. DIASON PRESENT DISTRICT EIGHT, MS. BARNARD DISTRICT NINE, MR. CHAPMAN.
[Items C & D]
OF BUSINESS WILL BE THE INTERVIEWS OF THE SUPERINTENDENT FINALS.WE WE'LL START OFF WITH MRS. BROWN AND THE PROCESS WE'LL BE USING AS A CANDIDATE WHERE WE GIVEN 15 MINUTES MAXIMUM TO MAKE AN OPENING PRESENTATION.
AND THEN WE WILL ROTATE THROUGH THE BOARD, WHICH EACH BOARD MEMBER HAVING THE OPPORTUNITY TO ASK QUESTIONS OF THE CANDIDATE, WHICH WE WILL ROTATE AS WE GO THROUGH.
AND WE WILL TRY TO KEEP TO ABOUT A THREE MINUTE TIME LIMIT ON THE ANSWERS, UH, IN ORDER TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERY BOARD MEMBER HAS A CHANCE TO ASK THEIR TWO QUESTIONS.
SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE MRS. LESLIE BROWN, WHO IS A CANDIDATE FOR THE SUPERINTENDENT POSITION IN EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH AND MS. BROWN, THE FLOOR IS YOURS.
IT REALLY IS A PLEASURE TO BE HERE WITH ALL OF THE BOARD MEMBERS.
I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR TIME AND YOUR DUE DILIGENCE IN THIS PROCESS THAT IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT TO YOUR COMMUNITY, AS WELL AS YOUR CONTINUED WORK IN THE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN IN EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH.
SO I'D LIKE TO, JUST FOR A QUICK MINUTE, TAKE YOU THROUGH A SLIDE PRESENTATION THAT ACTUALLY PREPARES US FOR THE FIRST A HUNDRED DAYS OF A SUPERINTENDENCY UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF LESLIE BROWN AND YOUR PACKET.
YOU DO HAVE THE FULL PRESENTATION, BUT WHAT I'VE DONE IS I AM GOING TO SHARE AN ABBREVIATED PRESENTATION TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT WHAT IT WOULD LOOK LIKE AS ME AS YOUR SUPERINTENDENT IN EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH.
SO I CERTAINLY APPRECIATE, APPRECIATE THIS OPPORTUNITY MORE THAN YOU WILL KNOW.
MY PARENTS LIVE IN BATON ROUGE.
THEY HAVE LIVED HERE FOR THE PAST 40 YEARS.
MY SISTER ALSO LIVES HERE IN THE CITY, AND WE HAVE BEEN A PART OF THIS COMMUNITY FOR AN EXTREMELY LONG TIME.
AND I LOVE THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME HOME.
AND IN MY CURRENT POSITION, JUST AS A REFRESHER, I KNOW THAT I HAVE MET YOU ALL, BUT THERE MAY BE SOME PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY THAT DO NOT KNOW WHO I AM.
SO JUST TO SHARE, I AM THE CHIEF PORTFOLIO SERVICES OFFICER AT BROWARD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
IT IS A COUNTY IN FLORIDA AND I SERVE 270,000 CHILDREN.
AND I MANAGE A PORTFOLIO OF SUPPORT SERVICES AS WELL AS SCHOOL OPPORTUNITIES FOR CHILDREN.
WE HAVE 234, UH, DISTRICT INNOVATIVE SCHOOLS.
WE HAVE A 67 MAGNET PROGRAMS, 47 INNOVATIVE PROGRAMS, AS WELL AS SUPPORTING 89 CHARTER SCHOOLS.
SO OUR PARENTS HAVE A RICH PORTFOLIO OF CHOICE TO BE ABLE TO MAKE THE RIGHT DECISIONS, BUT THEIR FAMILIES AND THEIR CHILDREN.
[00:05:01]
MY GOAL IN WORKING IN EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH IS TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE A HIGH QUALITY SEAT FOR EVERY SINGLE CHILD, WHETHER THEY CHOOSE ANOTHER OPTION, OR IF THEY CHOOSE TO GO TO THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOL, THAT SHOULD BE THE CHOICE THAT A PARENT SHOULD BE ABLE TO MAKE BECAUSE THEY KNOW THAT THAT SEAT IS THE HIGHEST QUALITY SEAT FOR THEIR CHILD.NO MATTER WHAT CHOICE THEY MAKE, THAT IS MY PASSION.
THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I DO IN BROWARD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS WITH 67 MAGNET PROGRAMS, THE 47 INNOVATIVE PROGRAMS, WE HAVE CREATED, CREATED AN OPPORTUNITY WITHIN OUR OWN PORTFOLIO OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
I ACTUALLY HAVE A HISTORY AS AN EDUCATOR.
I STARTED IN THE CLASSROOM, I MOVED TO PRINCIPAL.
I MOVED TO CURRICULUM SPECIALIST.
SO I UNDERSTAND THE CURRICULUM SIDE OF WHAT THIS WORK REALLY INVOLVES MAGNET AS FAR AS CHOICE, MANAGING OVER 40 TO 60,000 APPLICATIONS EVERY SINGLE YEAR, AND ALSO MOVING INTO A CHIEF LEVEL, MANAGING THE BUSINESS OPERATION SIDES OF EDUCATION.
SO YOU HAVE IN THIS CANDIDATE SITTING RIGHT HERE, THE OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE CHILDREN EDUCATIONALLY AS WELL AS TO SERVE THE ORGANIZATION IN BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES THAT PERMEATE OUR COMMUNITY AND NEED TO BE PULLED IN TO HOW WE ORGANIZE AND RUN OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM.
AGAIN, THIS IS A REALLY, REALLY EXCITING TIME FOR ME.
THERE'S NO OTHER TIME IN THE HISTORY OF EDUCATION, NONE THAT IS ANYTHING LIKE WHAT THE COVID ENVIRONMENT IS DOING FOR US.
I'M GOING TO SHARE WITH YOU THAT I AM A LEADER THAT KNOWS HOW TO MANAGE IN A CRISIS.
I AM ALSO GOING TO SHARE WITH YOU THAT THIS TIME CAN BE THE MOST INNOVATIVE TIME IN EDUCATION HISTORY.
IF WE GET IT RIGHT, YOU'RE GOING TO SEE THAT I HAVE DESIGNED SCHOOLS.
I ACTUALLY HAVE BEEN A LEADER THAT HAS USED EQUITY AS MY LENS IN WORKING WITH EACH OF THE INDIVIDUAL SCHOOLS THAT WE HAVE REDESIGNED.
AND YOU ARE GOING TO SEE THAT LOOKING THROUGH THAT EQUITY LENS, WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO INCREASE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND SUBSEQUENTLY STUDENT ENROLLMENT.
THESE ARE CRITICAL PIECES IN KEEPING OF EAST BATON ROUGE, PARISH WORKING SUCCESSFULLY WITH ALL CHILDREN.
ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT IS A REALLY HIGH SKILL OF MINE IS COLLABORATION.
I THINK MANY OF YOU MAY HAVE SEEN IT IN OUR MEETINGS AS WE'VE GONE THROUGH THIS WEEK, THAT I HAVE NO PROBLEM WORKING WITH ANYBODY THAT HAS A GREAT IDEA, MY IDEAS AND THE WAY THAT I WORK.
DON'T COME OUT OF THIS HEAD ALONE.
I HAVE A COLLABORATION AND I HAVE A UNIQUE SKILL TO BE PULLING IDEAS TOGETHER, TO DEVELOP AND ACTUALLY IMPLEMENT.
THERE'S A LOT OF DESIGN, A LOT OF IDEAS, BUT THEN COALESCING THOSE IDEAS AROUND SOMETHING THAT WE CAN IMPLEMENT IN A PROJECT MANAGEMENT PROCESS, WHERE WE HAVE BENCHMARKS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR PEOPLE TO SUCCEED, I THINK WILL BE CRITICAL FOR EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH.
I THINK IT'S ALSO TO UNDERSTAND THAT I CAN RECREATE THESE OPPORTUNITIES IN A FINANCIALLY SUSTAINABLE MANNER.
AND IT'S IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THAT THE SCALE THAT I HAVE DONE IT AT IN 270,000 STUDENTS WITH A $4 BILLION BUDGET IS TRANSFERRABLE.
IF I AM SELECTED AS YOUR SUPERINTENDENT, I'M VERY, VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT EAST BATON ROUGE.
THIS WOULD BE A HOMECOMING FOR ME.
SO I REALLY, REALLY ENJOY THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE HERE WITH YOU THIS EVENING.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I THINK IS VERY, VERY IMPORTANT ABOUT OUR TIME IS COVID-19 HAS ACTUALLY CREATED A SPOTLIGHT ON THINGS THAT WE HAVE KNOWN IN EDUCATION FOR A VERY LONG TIME, WE ARE SEEING INEQUITIES.
WE ARE SEEING OPPORTUNITIES LOST BECAUSE CERTAIN COMMUNITIES DON'T HAVE THE SAME RESOURCES AS OTHER COMMUNITIES.
SO IN THAT WE CAN TAKE THIS MOMENT TO REALLY REBUILD AND REALLY TAKE A LOOK AT HOW WE CAN REDESIGN EDUCATION TO MEET ALL STUDENT NEEDS.
SO IT'S VERY, VERY IMPORTANT THAT I COME IN REALLY SPEND SOME TIME WITH THE COMMUNITY AND TAKE A LOOK AT THE UNDERLYING TRAUMA AND SITUATIONS THAT MAY HAVE GONE ON IN FAMILIES OF STUDENTS, AS WELL AS OUR STAFF MEMBERS.
THOSE OF YOU MAY KNOW THAT I DO COME FROM THE SCHOOL DISTRICT WHERE MARJORIE STILLMAN DOUGLAS HAPPENED.
THAT MOMENT IN HISTORY TAUGHT US ALL A LOT.
WE LOST 17 FAMILY MEMBERS IN A SECOND IN A NANOSECOND.
AND WITHIN 24 HOURS, WE HAD SUPPORT TEAMS IMMEDIATELY OUT TO THOSE SCHOOLS, THE SENSE OF URGENCY TO HELP THOSE FAMILIES, TO HELP THE SCHOOL DISTRICT STRUGGLING WITH PERSONAL TRAGEDY, THEN ACADEMIC LOSS, AND THEN ABSOLUTELY TRYING TO FIGURE OUT
[00:10:01]
WAYS TO SUPPORT THE MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLNESS OF NOT ONLY THE IMPACTED FAMILIES, BUT THE SCHOOLS AND THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY, BECAUSE THEY LOST, THEY LOST THEIR FEELING OF SAFETY.THEY LOST THEIR FEELING OF EMOTIONAL WELLNESS.
THAT'S WHAT I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO AS A LEADER WHERE THEY TEAM OF 10 PEOPLE SPREADING OUT ACROSS AND LEARNING SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES FROM NATIONAL EXPERTS THAT WE PUT IN PLACE IMMEDIATELY.
SO THIS PANDEMIC HERE IS SOMETHING THAT WE TRULY TRULY CAN LEARN FROM.
WE CAN UNDERSTAND THE CONDITIONS WITHIN THE COMMUNITY THAT WE ARE SEEING DUE TO THE PANDEMIC, AND GUESS WHAT WE'RE GOING TO SEE THAT THOSE CONDITIONS ALREADY EXISTED.
AND NOW WE HAVE A CHANCE TO FIX THEM.
WE'RE GOING TO, WE'RE GOING TO COLLABORATE AND WORK WITH THE LARGER COMMUNITY.
AND WE'RE GOING TO MAINTAIN OUR FOCUS ON STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT.
THIS IS MY SYMBOL OF HOW I WORK IS I REALLY SPENT A LOT OF TIME WORKING WITH SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS BECAUSE SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS ABSOLUTELY REPRESENT THEIR COMMUNITY.
THEY SHOULD BE HONORED AS SUCH.
AND THEIR KNOWLEDGE IS SOMETHING THAT THE DISTRICT NEEDS AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN FROM THE COMMUNITY.
I ALSO GO OUT INTO THE ACTUAL COMMUNITIES.
I DON'T THINK THINGS IS FACE VALUE.
SO YOU'RE GOING TO SEE A LOT OF WORK WITH PARENTS, A LOT OF WORK WITH STUDENTS, AND YOU'RE GOING TO SEE A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF WORK WITH TEACHERS AND STAFF.
ALL OF THAT WORK COMES TOGETHER AND WE THEN ALIGN THE BUDGET AROUND IT.
WHEN THE BUDGET STARTS TO BE ALIGNED, THEN WE TAKE A LOOK AT HOW WE REDESIGNED THE STRATEGIC PLAN TO MEET THE NEEDS.
NOT ONLY BASED ON COVID, BUT COVID IS GOING TO TELL US WHAT SOME OF OUR CHALLENGES ARE.
AND WE ARE GOING TO BE ABLE TO MEET THEM HEAD ON.
SO YOU'RE GOING TO SEE ON THIS SLIDE, BUILDING ENGAGEMENT AND REOPENING SCHOOLS.
THIS IS, THIS IS THE FIRST PART OF MY A HUNDRED DAY PLAN.
AND I'M CIRCLING THAT WORD REOPENING BECAUSE I THINK THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR EAST BATON ROUGE POWER SCHOOLS, TO REOPEN ALL THEIR SCHOOLS, TO REOPEN THE GREATNESS AND THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARE CURRENTLY EXIST IN THESE SCHOOLS, AS WELL AS NEW OPPORTUNITIES.
YOU'RE GOING TO SEE THAT WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO KNOW WHO WE SERVE.
I THINK THERE'S SOME VERY IMPORTANT WORK TO BE DONE IN TEACHING OUR COMMUNITIES ABOUT WHO OUR CHILDREN ARE AND THE SERVICES AND SUPPORT STRUCTURES THAT THOSE CHILDREN NEED.
AND WE WILL DO THAT WITHIN THE FIRST MONTH.
AND ALSO IN THAT PROCESS, WE WILL BE ABLE TO SEE WHAT THE EDUCATIONAL GAPS ARE BECAUSE THE GATE DATA IS GOING TO BE TELLING US THAT, AND WE ARE GOING TO BE COMPELLED BECAUSE I'M VERY TRANSPARENT ABOUT DATA.
TRANSPARENCY IS KEY BECAUSE WE CANNOT CHANGE AND MOVE ANYTHING UNLESS WE SEE THE DATA UPFRONT AND IT COMPELS US TO REALLY HAVE SOME GREAT ACTIONS.
SO THE NEXT PIECE IS ACTUALLY WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH THIS, WITH THE CENTRAL OFFICE.
THIS IS AGAIN IN THAT JUNE, JULY TIMEFRAME, THAT FIRST BLUSH OF WORK THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE.
THERE'S SOME SIGNIFICANT WORK THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE AT THE CENTRAL OFFICE, TAKING A LOOK AT HOW IT IS ORGANIZED, UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF EACH PERSON AND REALLY REDESIGNING OR NOT, DEPENDING UPON WHAT IT IS DESIGNED AROUND COVID AND THE PLAN AND THE OPPORTUNITY FOR EVERY SINGLE CHILD IN THE DISTRICT.
I AM VERY, VERY APPROACHABLE, VERY APPROACHABLE.
YOU WILL FIND ME IN THE COMMUNITY.
YOU WILL FIND ME DOING TEAMS, MEETING FACE TO FACE, EVEN WITH THE STUDENTS, NOT EVEN WITH, BUT BASICALLY FIRST WITH THE STUDENTS BECAUSE THEY KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON.
SO I WILL BE MEETING WITH THOSE STUDENTS MEETING WITH THE PARENTS, MEETING WITH STAFF, PRINCIPALS AND TEACHERS DURING THAT FIRST MONTH.
AND THEN AN IMPORTANT PIECE AGAIN, IS ALIGNING THE BUDGET.
SO THE WORK WITH THE CFO IS CRITICAL AND UNDERSTANDING HOW THE BUDGET IS CURRENTLY WORKING AND WHERE THAT MUCH BUDGET NEEDS TO MOVE.
SO THIS SLIDE IS AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT I DO, I BELIEVE IN BASICALLY REPORT CARDS.
SO YOU'RE GOING TO SEE, YOU'RE GOING TO SEE MY PROGRESS.
YOU'RE GOING TO SEE WHAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO AND WHAT WE HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO DO AND ENGAGING WITH THE BOARD MEMBERS AND THE COMMUNITY THAT IS IN PROGRESS.
AND I CERTAINLY APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY THAT OUR BOARD HAS PROVIDED ME TO ACTUALLY GET TO KNOW A LOT OF THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS WITHIN THE PAST FEW MINUTES, UH, PAST FEW DAYS, UH, BUILDING COMPETENCE, IT IS CRITICAL THAT WE START TO BUILD CONFIDENCE IN OUR COMMUNITY AROUND OUR SCHOOL.
THIS IS THE AUGUST, SEPTEMBER TIMEFRAME.
WE NEED TO FIND THE STRENGTHS.
WE NEED TO CELEBRATE THE STRENGTHS.
WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND TESTIMONIALS AND HOW THEY HELP SUPPORT OUR FAMILIES AND OUR CHILDREN AND CONFIDENCE WITHIN THEIR SCHOOLS.
AND WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE GET A POSITIVE RELATIONSHIP WORKING WITH OUR CONSTITUENTS.
SOME OF OUR NEXT STEPS WILL BE, UM, REALLY, REALLY TAKING A LOOK AT, UM, THE, UM, WORKING WITH GENERAL COUNSEL FINDING ISSUES THAT WE NEED TO WORK ON WITH GENERAL COUNSEL,
[00:15:01]
AS WELL AS CONTINUING THE WORK WITH OUR CFO AND THE COMMUNITY.AGAIN, ANOTHER REPORT CARD, NOTHING IS GOING TO GET BY OUR COMMUNITY, OUR BOARD, AND OUR CONSTITUENTS WITHOUT REPORTING OUT ON IT.
IT IS CRITICAL TO START BUILDING THAT, TRUST THAT WHEN WE SAY WE'RE GOING TO DO SOMETHING, WE ARE GOING TO DO IT.
THE LAST PIECE OF MY HUNDRED DAY PLAN IS TRANSPARENCY.
TRANSPARENCY IS CRITICAL TO BUILDING A STRONG FUTURE.
I KNOW A LOT OF PEOPLE HIDE BEHIND THINGS THAT IS NOT MY STYLE.
WHEN WE SOMETHING, WE SEE SOMETHING WE'RE GOING TO SHARE THE DATA, WE ARE GOING TO REALLY EFFECTIVELY PLAN AROUND THE DATA.
WE ARE GOING TO FOCUS ON THAT ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT WITH EQUITY FOR ALL STUDENTS, AND WE'RE GOING TO ALIGN OUR BUDGET AROUND THOSE NEEDS.
SO THIS PARTICULAR WORK OF TRANSPARENCY AND INSIGHT GOES TOGETHER WITH THAT GREAT WORK THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE DOING AND WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITY.
AGAIN, WE'RE GOING TO SHIFT OUR WORK IN ANALYZING AND REPORTING ON THE CHALLENGES OF THOSE LOW PERFORMING SCHOOLS.
THAT IS A NUMBER ONE FOR US TO FIGURE OUT WHAT IS GOING ON, WHAT SUPPORT STRUCTURES DO WE NEED AND DEVELOP A PROJECT MANAGEMENT, TIMELINE AND TOOL FOR MEETING THE EXPECTATIONS THAT WE NEED WITHIN THOSE SCHOOLS, YOU WILL SEE A PUBLISHED REPORT OF MY FIRST HUNDRED DAYS.
UM, IT WILL BE, UM, KNOWLEDGEABLE, BUT IT ALSO WILL BE IN A MANNER THAT THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY CAN SEE WHAT'S GOING ON BEHIND THE CURTAIN.
BECAUSE I THINK THE COMMUNITY IS OUR CUSTOMER, THE WARD'S MY CUSTOMER, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, THE PARENTS, THE FAMILIES AND THE SCHOOLS ARE MY CUSTOMER, AND THAT'S WHERE MY VISION WILL TAKE US.
SO I WANT YOU ALL TO REALLY HAVE A DEEP UNDERSTANDING OF THIS PANDEMIC IS ACTUALLY HEADING US TOWARDS SOME UNBELIEVABLY EXCITING INNOVATION.
WE NEED TO HAVE HEALTH AND SAFETY AS NUMBER ONE, BUT I INTEND TO USE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO BUILD AND DESIGN GREAT OPPORTUNITIES TO SCHOOLS WHERE WE CAN EXTEND THE LEARNING, CREATING DIFFERENT MODELS OF EDUCATION THAT WE WANTED TO DO FOR A VERY, VERY LONG TIME AND HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO DO.
AND NOW WE'RE IN A MOMENT WHERE WE CAN DO IT.
THE REALITIES OF WHAT WE'RE SEEING IN THE DATA ARE GOING TO BE SHARED.
AND WE ARE GOING TO BE ABLE TO REDESIGN HOW WE'RE WORKING AROUND THAT TOGETHER THROUGH THE COMMUNITY.
WE WILL BE SEEING THAT EQUITY MAT, WE WILL BE SEEING CHOICE MAT AND WE WILL SEE, WE WILL BE SEEING IT THROUGH INNOVATION AND OPPORTUNITIES TO REGAIN OUR MARKET SHARE IN EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH THROUGH CREATING EXCELLENT, EXCELLENT AB AND A B SCHOOLS THROUGH A FINANCIALLY SUSTAINABLE METHODOLOGY THAT SUPPORTS THE CHILD FIRST.
SO I APPRECIATE YOUR ATTENTION AND I LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR QUESTIONS.
HE HAD FOUR SECONDS LEFT, SO NOW YOU CAN BREATHE FOR A SECOND.
UM, SO THE WAY WE'RE GOING TO DO THIS IS WE WILL, UH, ROTATE THROUGH THE BOARD BY DISTRICT.
AND SO WE'LL GO FROM DISTRICT ONE TO DISTRICT NINE, ASKING A QUESTION AND THEN REVERSE THAT AND GO FROM DISTRICT NINE TO DISTRICT ONE, ASKING THE QUESTIONS.
AND AGAIN, WE'LL HOLD THE ANSWERS TO APPROXIMATELY, UH, THREE MINUTES EACH.
UH, SO SOME MAY BE A LITTLE SHORTER.
SOME MAY BE A LITTLE LONGER, BUT APPROXIMATELY THREE MINUTES EACH AND THEN END WITH ABOUT FIVE MINUTES FOR YOU TO MAKE A CLOSING PRESENTATION.
SO WITH THAT, UH, DISTRICT ONE, MR. BLUE, WOULD YOU LIKE TO START THE QUESTIONS PLEASE, SIR? YES.
THANK YOU, MS. BROWN, YOU'VE TALKED ABOUT INCENTIVIZING OUR BEST TEACHERS TO, UH, UH, GO TO SCHOOLS THAT ARE STRUGGLING, UH, WHERE THEY'RE NEEDED THE MOST.
UH, CAN YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR PHILOSOPHY ON, UH, GIVING PRINCIPALS AUTONOMY ON, ON HIRING THEIR STAFF? AND, UH, I GUESS YOU CAN ALSO, IF YOU HAVE TIME INCLUDE AUTONOMY WITH BUDGET DECISIONS AT THEIR SCHOOL.
THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION, MR. BALLOU.
UM, THIS IS THE MOST CRITICAL ISSUE IN WORKING WITH OUR STRUGGLING SCHOOLS IS THAT TEACHER ON THE FRONTLINE IN FRONT OF THAT CHILD IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON.
PS, NOT ONLY AT THAT SCHOOL, BUT IN OUR ENTIRE OPERATION.
THE TEACHER IS NOT RECOGNIZED FOR THE STRENGTHS THAT THEY HAVE IN SOME OF OUR SCHOOLS.
AND SO THE OPPORTUNITY TO INCENTIVIZE SOME OF OUR BEST TEACHERS TO TAKE ON THE CHALLENGE OF WORKING DAY AND NIGHT TO HELP US WITH SOME OF OUR SCHOOLS IS CRITICAL.
[00:20:01]
HAS WORKED AT, UM, SEVERAL, UM, SCHOOLS THAT HAVE BEEN VERY CHALLENGING.AND HE'S, I DON'T KNOW IF THE GENERAL PUBLIC UNDERSTANDS THIS, BUT TEACHERS THAT ARE WORKING DAY AND NIGHT.
WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THAT A TEACHER MAY NEED TO LEARN NEW CURRICULUM AND NEW SKILLS, BUT THEY HAVE NO TIME THAT THEY ARE PAID TO ACTUALLY LEARN THOSE SKILLS SKILLS.
THOSE OF US SITTING AROUND THE TABLE, WHEN WE GET NEW TECHNOLOGY THAT WE NEED TO LEARN, WE GET TO DO IT DURING THE SCHOOL, NOT LISTEN TO ME THE SCHOOL DAY DURING YOUR WORK DAY.
SO IF SOMETHING COMES OUT FROM YOUR UPPER MANAGEMENT, YOU CAN LEARN IT WHILE YOU'RE DOING YOUR JOB.
TEACHERS HAVE TO LEARN THESE NEW STRATEGIES WHILE THEY HAVE 20 TO 30 CHILDREN IN FRONT OF THEM.
THAT IS A VERY, VERY DIFFERENT PICTURE.
SO WHEN THE COMMUNITY STARTS COMPLAINING ABOUT WHAT TEACHERS CAN DO AND CAN'T DO, I SUGGEST THAT THERE IS A DIFFERENT WAY TO BRING SUPPORT STRUCTURES INTO TEACHERS DURING THEIR WORK HOURS.
AND IF IT DOES FEEL OVER INTO ADDITIONAL HOURS, WHICH OFTEN IT DOES AT OUR STRUGGLING SCHOOLS, WE NEED TO INCENTIVIZE TEACHERS THAT HAVE THE SKILLSETS THAT REALLY WANT TO WORK HARD TO HELP US WITH THESE CHILDREN.
I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT A $500 BONUS.
AND BROWARD COUNTY, OUR INCENTIVE PROGRAM RUNS ANYWHERE FROM $6,000 TO $10,000.
AND I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT TEACHERS THAT ARE OF THIS QUALITY, BECAUSE I HAPPEN TO LIVE WITH ONE, OKAY, THE MAN NEVER STOPS EVERY SINGLE SATURDAY.
AND HE TEACHES GEOMETRY AND ALGEBRA TO HIGH SCHOOL, STRUGGLING STUDENTS.
HE IS CREATING AND HE SHARES THEM WITH EVERYBODY ACROSS THE DISTRICT, EVERY SINGLE WEEKEND.
NOW, SOME OTHER INDUSTRIES YOU WORK A SATURDAY AND SUNDAY, I PROMISE YOU'RE GETTING PAID.
AND I PROMISE THAT YOUR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT THAT YOU'RE DOING IS DURING YOUR WORK HOURS, IT IS NOT ON YOUR WEEKEND.
AND IT'S NOT AFTER TWO O'CLOCK BECAUSE HE STARTS HIS CLASSES AT SEVEN.
SO THERE'S A HUGE AMOUNT OF WORK AND INCENTIVIZING TEACHERS TO BE RECOGNIZED AND CELEBRATED IN THAT CLASSROOM.
SO I THINK THAT'S A NUMBER ONE IN WORKING WITH SOME OF OUR STRUGGLING SCHOOLS.
I ALSO THINK THE AUTONOMY OF PRINCIPALS AND STRUGGLING SCHOOLS THAT AUTONOMY IS EARNED.
SO I GUESS I NEED TO LOOK THIS WAY.
UM, SO THAT AUTONOMY THAT'S EARNED NOT ONLY BY THE TEACHER, BUT BY THE PRINCIPAL IS EARNED, UM, THROUGH DEMONSTRATION AND PERFORMANCE.
SO AS THAT PRINCIPAL STARTS TO SEE WHERE THOSE STRENGTHS ARE AND CAN START BUILDING THOSE TEACHERS, THAT PRINCIPALS SHOULD BE ABLE TO BRING IN MORE HIGH PERFORMING TEACHERS AND CREATE A NETWORK OF TEACHERS, BUT THE, OUR CHILDREN THAT ARE STRUGGLING THE MOST.
SO THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION.
WE'LL GET BETTER AT THIS AS WE GO ALONG.
AND WE DEFINITELY APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE TONIGHT AS WELL.
UH, SO MY QUESTION IS TWO PART AND, UH, I'LL GO AHEAD AND BEGIN IN THE PROFESSION OF EDUCATION.
SEVERAL TERMS ARE COMMONLY USED WITH VAGUE MEANINGS AND LITTLE UNDERSTANDING TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
ONE OF WHICH IS EQUITY TONIGHT.
UH, COULD YOU EXPLAIN TO US, WHAT IS YOUR DEFINITION OF EQUITY AND WHAT SPECIFIC POLICIES AND PROCEDURES WOULD YOU PUT IN PLACE TO ENSURE EQUITY FOR STUDENTS IN EBRS HAPPENING AND TAKING PLACE? THE SECOND PART OF THAT QUESTION IS WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO CREATE A CABINET POSITION THAT SOLELY FOCUSES ON EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OF SCHOOL-RELATED RESOURCES AND WOULD BE A CHIEF EQUITY OFFICER? SO I REALLY, REALLY APPRECIATE THOSE QUESTIONS, MR. LANDIS.
I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF TERMS THAT ARE TOSSED AROUND IN EDUCATION.
THAT SOUND GOOD, AND THAT SORT OF SHOW AN INTEREST IN SOMETHING, BUT THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD.
AND WHEN IT DOESN'T PEOPLE KNOW THAT YOU'RE THROWING TERMS AROUND THAT REALLY HAVE NO MEAT TO THEM AT ALL.
SO LET ME TELL YOU WHAT MY INTERPRETATION OF EQUITY IS.
EVERY SINGLE CHILD THAT COMES ACROSS THE THRESHOLD OF A SCHOOL CLASSROOM OR A SCHOOL BUILDING COMES WITH EVERYTHING THEY HAVE, THEY ARE NOT LEAVING SOMETHING AT HOME AT THE KITCHEN TABLE.
THEY ARE NOT DECIDING THAT, OH, I'M JUST NOT GOING TO BRING MY BEST GAME TODAY.
THEY'RE BRINGING EVERY SINGLE THING THEY HAVE, BUT WHAT HAPPENS IS IN OUR SOCIETY, THERE ARE FAMILIES THAT DON'T HAVE AS MUCH TO BRING ACROSS THAT THRESHOLD.
AND SO WHAT EQUITY MEANS TO ME IS AS THAT CHILD CROSSES THAT THRESHOLD AND I, I'M VERY VISUAL.
I'M SINGING THE MOM OR THE DAD HOLDING THAT CHILD'S HAND COMING RIGHT INTO MY SCHOOL.
AND THAT FAMILY HAS TO KNOW THAT THEY'RE NOT
[00:25:01]
GOING TO BE TREATED ANY DIFFERENTLY THAN A CHILD THAT WALKS OVER THAT THRESHOLD THAT MIGHT BE COMING FROM A HIGHER SOCIOECONOMIC COMMUNITY.AND THAT PARENT EXPECTS US TO MAKE SURE THAT WE SCAFFOLD WHAT WE'RE DOING TO HELP THAT CHILD REACH PROFICIENCY AND BEYOND.
SO WHAT WE'RE GOING TO SEE AS WE ARE GOING TO SEE EQUITY AS A WAY TO CREATE THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR EVERY SINGLE CHILD THAT CROSSES THAT LITTLE THRESHOLD TO HAVE THE EXACT SAME OPPORTUNITIES AS SOMEBODY ELSE TO PROGRESS, TO HAVE ACCESS TO RIGOROUS STANDARDS BASED CURRICULUM AT GRADE LEVEL, WHEN A CHILD COMES INTO OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM, TWO, MAYBE THREE YEARS BEHIND AND I'M TELLING THE TRUTH, OKAY, THIS IS THE TRUTH THAT OUR COMMUNITY NEEDS TO KNOW.
IT'S NOT BECAUSE THE PARENTS ARE NOT INTERESTED IN HELPING THEIR CHILDREN.
IT'S NOT BECAUSE THE FAMILY'S NOT DOING WHAT THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO DO.
THE FAMILY IS DOING EVERYTHING THAT THEY CAN.
AND SO WHEN THAT CHILD COMES OVER, THAT CHILD BECOMES MINE.
MY JOB DURING THE SCHOOL DAY IS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE BUILD UP THE SYSTEMS AND SUPPORT STRUCTURES THAT THAT CHILD CAN SEE OVER AND CAN SEE BEYOND.
THERE MIGHT BE ANOTHER CHILD THAT COMES IN THE EXACT SAME DAY.
THAT'S ABLE TO SEE OVER RIGHT NOW THAT CHILD IS GOING TO GET DIFFERENT STRATEGIES THAN THE CHILD.
THEN HOW, HOW THAT, THAT WORKS IN, UH, FOR EQUITY.
IT IS MY, IT IS MY VALUE STRUCTURE.
IT IS MY NORTH STAR EQUAL DOES NOT MEAN EQUITY.
IT DOES NOT MEAN THAT EVERY PERSON GETS THE SAME THING.
IT MEANS THAT WE EQUITABLY SERVE CHILDREN.
AS FAR AS AN EQUITY CHIEF OFFICER, WE ACTUALLY HAVE A CHIEF OFFICER THAT'S, IT'S A PART OF OUR HUMAN RESOURCE PROGRAM.
WE HAVE A HUMAN RELATIONS COMMITTEE.
WE ALSO HAVE A DIVERSITY COMMITTEE AND WE HAVE OPPORTUNITIES TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERY SINGLE ISSUE OF EQUITY IS BROUGHT TO THE SUPERINTENDENT, AS WELL AS TO THE BOARD THROUGH A, UM, A VERY METHODICAL PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT TYPE OF SYSTEM.
UM, IT'S REPORTED ON QUARTERLY AND THERE'S AN ANNUAL REPORT EVERY SINGLE YEAR DIRECTLY RELATED TO EQUITY.
AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I ABSOLUTELY WOULD INSTITUTE HERE IN EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH.
UH, NEXT WE MOVED TO DISTRICT THREE, MR. HOWARD.
THANK YOU, MR.
SO I WILL MOVE ON TO MY NEXT QUESTION.
UM, THANK YOU AGAIN FOR BEING HERE, MS. BROWN.
MY QUESTION IS WHAT INITIATIVES HAVE YOU PARTICIPATED IN LED IN, AS IT RELATES TO EQUITY ON DISMANTLING RACISM AND POLICIES AND PROCEDURES IN YOUR WORK AS A SCHOOL LEADER, OUTSIDE OF CONVERSATIONS AND ENGAGEMENTS.
SO THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION.
THAT IS, UM, KIND OF LIKE THE FOLLOWUP TO MR. LANA'S.
TELL ME, TELL ME WHAT YOU HAVE ACTUALLY DONE.
SO I APPRECIATE IT, UH, SOME OF THE WORK, UM, THAT, THAT WE HAVE ACTUALLY DONE IN BROWARD COUNTY, THERE'S, THERE'S LOTS AND LOTS OF GREAT WORK IN THIS AREA.
SO ONE OF THE ONES THAT IS VERY DEAR AND NEAR TO MY HEART IS, UM, OUR SUPERINTENDENT, AS WELL AS SEVERAL COMMUNITY MEMBERS PUT TOGETHER A VERY, VERY IMPORTANT GROUP AND STARTED LOOKING AT STUDENTS THAT WERE FALLING THROUGH THE CRACK AT NINTH GRADE.
SO WHAT WE DID IS USING THAT DATA.
WE FOUND THAT THERE WAS A PREDOMINANCE OF AFRICAN AMERICAN MALES THAT WERE GETTING LOST BETWEEN EIGHTH AND NINTH GRADE.
THEN THE DATA STARTED TO SHOW US THAT THERE WERE ALMOST JUST AS MANY BLACK FEMALE STUDENTS THAT DURING THAT EIGHTH AND NINTH GRADE TRANSITIONING THAT STARTED TO GET LOST.
SO WE ACTUALLY TOOK A LOOK AT MODELS THAT ARE USED AT IVY LEAGUE SCHOOLS.
THOSE MODELS WHERE THEY JUST LIKE IN HARRY POTTER, WHERE THEY PULL THE HOUSE OUT OF THE HAT, AND THEN THEY'RE ASSIGNED TO APPEAR THAT ACTUALLY HELPS MENTOR THEM.
WE HAVE SENIORS THAT ARE ASSIGNED TO THOSE NINTH GRADERS, AND THOSE SENIORS ARE RESPONSIBLE TO MAKING SURE THAT THAT STUDENT GETS THROUGH THE TRANSITION OF THE NINTH GRADE YEAR.
IT IS SUCH A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE AND IT HAS BEEN SO WELL RECEIVED.
THEY GET THEIR JACKETS, THEY HAVE THEIR MTL JACKETS, THEY HAVE THEIR LOGOS, THEY HAVE THEIR OPPORTUNITIES TO BECOME LEADERS AT THE SCHOOL, AND THEY TAKE CARE OF THEIR BROTHERS AND SISTERS THAT HAVE SOME STRUGGLES IN MAKING THAT TRANSITION.
THE STATE WAS SO IMPRESSED WITH THAT MODEL.
WE SUBMITTED A REQUEST AND IT IS A SEPARATE LINE ITEM OUT OF THE STATE BUDGET FOR MENTORING TOMORROW'S LEADERS FOR $800,000.
BECAUSE GUESS WHAT, WE SHOWED THE DATA WE SHOWED THAT IT WORKS.
AND WE SHOWED THAT THAT TRANSITION PERIOD BECAME A POSITIVE EXPERIENCE FOR A LOT OF STUDENTS IN GETTING OVER THAT HUMP AND UNDERSTANDING HOW HIGH SCHOOL WORKS.
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ABOUT THAT.ANOTHER ONE IS ON THE OPERATION SIDE BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, I HAVE A, I HAVE A FOOT IN BOTH SIDES.
ON THE OPERATION SIDE, WE DID A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF WORK AND TAKING A LOOK AT, UM, WE HAD A HUGE, WE HAVE, WE STILL HAVE A HUGE BOND PROJECT FOR $800 MILLION.
AND BEFORE WE ACTUALLY STARTED THE WORK OF GIVING OUT THE PROJECTS, AND I SAY, GIVING THEM OUT, EARNING THEM THROUGH AN RFP, WE FOUND THROUGH AN ANALYSIS THROUGH DATA THAT SHOWED THAT OTHER PROJECTS ACROSS THE LINE THAT WE HAVE WORKED ON AS A SCHOOL DISTRICT, WENT TO SPECIFIC OPERATORS, VENDORS, WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL THEM, CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES AND SO ON.
AND WHAT WE FOUND THAT THANK YOU, THAT WORK WAS NOT EQUITABLY DISTRIBUTED ACROSS THE SYSTEM.
SO WE REBUILT ALL OF OUR POLICIES.
SO THAT VENDORS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND BUSINESSES WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS ACTUALLY GOT ADDITIONAL POINTS IN THEIR SCORE.
AND IF THEY WERE MWB E AND HAD M WBE SUPPORT FOR THEIR WORK, THEY ACTUALLY GOT AN ADDITIONAL POINT TOWARDS THEIR SCORE IN THE RFP PROCESS.
SO NOT ONLY ARE WE DOING IT FOR THE STUDENTS, AND THOSE ARE JUST TWO EXAMPLES, BUT WE'RE LIFTING AS MUCH AS WE CAN THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY TO CREATE THAT EQUITY.
SO EVERYBODY HAS A CHANCE TO SUCCEED.
NEXT WE'D BE DISTRICT FOUR BOARD MEMBER COLLINS.
SO I'M NOTICING IN YOUR RESUME, YOUR EXPERIENCE AS A MAGNET DIRECTOR.
UM, ONE, UH, AS EVERYONE KNOWS, EDR HAS MAGNET PROGRAMS AS WELL, BUT THEY IS SOME DISTRUST IN THE COMMUNITY, UH, AROUND A D WITH THE DISTRICT AND THE MAGNET DEPARTMENT AROUND MAGNET PROGRAMMING, UM, AND AROUND ACCESS TO STUDENTS OF COLOR.
AND SO MY QUESTION IS HOW DO YOU RESPOND TO THOSE CONCERNS? AND DO YOU HAVE ANY PAST EXPERIENCES THAT, UH, ILLUSTRATE THAT? YES.
SO, UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT QUESTION BECAUSE, UH, I HAVE LEARNED SO MUCH ABOUT ACCESS BY WORKING THROUGH ALL OF THE MAGNET PROGRAMS AND REALLY DETERMINING THE BEST WAY TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERY SINGLE CHILD HAS THE OPPORTUNITY AND EVERY SINGLE CHILD HAS ACCESS AT THE SAME LEVEL AS EVERYONE ELSE.
SO WHEN I WAS A MAGNET DIRECTOR, YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.
THERE WERE SIGNIFICANT CONCERNS, NOT ONLY ACROSS THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, BUT WITHIN, EVEN WITHIN AN INDIVIDUAL SCHOOL WHERE THERE WERE THE HAVES AND THE HAVE NOTS.
I, YOU'RE GONNA, YOU'RE GONNA UNDERSTAND THAT I'M A STRAIGHT TALKER.
AND WHEN WE TALK ABOUT HAVES AND HAVE NOTS, IT CREATES DISTRUST.
IT CREATES DIS DISGRUNTLED EMPLOYEES, DISGRUNTLED PARENTS, DISGRUNTLED CHILDREN.
AND SO THAT WAS THE EARLY DAYS OF MAGNET.
I'M JUST GOING TO SUGGEST THAT WAS THE EARLY DAYS OF MAGNET WHEN I GREW UP.
AND I UNDERSTOOD BECAUSE THE DATA WAS TELLING ME THIS, THAT THERE WERE CHILDREN THAT DID NOT HAVE AS GREAT ACCESS TO THIS PROGRAM.
I WORKED WITH THE OFFICE OF CIVIL RIGHTS.
I SENT OUR POLICY TO THE OFFICE OF CIVIL RIGHTS.
I ABSOLUTELY REWROTE IT WITH THEM BECAUSE I SAW, AND AGAIN, IT WAS A LEGACY POLICY.
I'M NOT GOING TO TRY AND BLAME SOMEBODY ELSE BECAUSE IT WAS UNDER MY WATCH THAT, UH, THAT I WAS OPERATING, BUT THE OFFICE OF CIVIL RIGHTS AND HOGAN AND HARTSON, WHICH IS, UM, UH, AN EQUITY AND ACCESS LAW FIRM THAT I WORKED WITH AS A CONSULTANT, I BROUGHT IN THE EXPERTS AND THEY HELPED ME REWRITE THAT POLICY, THAT CREATED WINDOWS, THAT CREATED APPROPRIATE CRITERIA, THAT CREATED INTERVIEWS, THAT CREATED OPPORTUNITIES FOR PORTFOLIOS, SO THAT STUDENTS WERE NOT BEING DENIED THE ACCESS TO PROGRAMS BECAUSE OF NOT GETTING AN APPLICATION IN, IN A CERTAIN TIME.
SO ALL OF THAT WORK REALLY CREATED A MUCH MORE LEVEL PLAYING FIELD IN THE POLICY THAT OUR BOARD HAD.
SO THAT, THAT WAS VERY, VERY IMPORTANT TO ME.
THE OTHER THING IS, AS FAR AS ACCESS, WHAT WE DID IS WE SHIFTED ALL OF OUR MAGNET PROGRAMS TO FULL SCHOOL MAGNET PROGRAMS. I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE.
I WAS THE DIRECTOR OF THE PERFORMING AND PERFORMING AND VISUAL ARTS MAGNET PROGRAM.
IT STARTED AS, UM, AS A STANDALONE, YOU KNOW, IT STARTED AS A PROGRAM WITHIN A SCHOOL.
AND WHAT WE SAW WAS THERE WAS P S THERE WAS A LOT OF TALENT IN THE SCHOOL THAT COULDN'T GET INTO THE PROGRAM BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T HAVE THE TEST SCORES THAT THE DISTRICT REQUIRED TO GET INTO THE PROGRAM.
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SO I ACTUALLY DESIGNED THE MASTER SCHEDULE AROUND AND APPLIED PERFORMING ARTS PROGRAM AND AN INTEGRATED PERFORMING ARTS PROGRAM.AND, UM, SO, SO THE, IT WAS APA AND IPA, AND ALL STUDENTS PARTICIPATED IN THE MAGNET PROGRAM.
AND WHAT I WAS ABLE TO DO IS REDESIGN THE ENTIRE MASTER SCHEDULE THAT STUDENTS THAT DID NOT NEED SOME ADDITIONAL SUPPORT ACADEMICALLY, THEY GOT TWO HOURS OF THEIR PERFORMING ARTS CLASS, EVERY SINGLE DAY.
THERE WERE SOME STUDENTS THAT CAN ONLY GET ONE HOUR BECAUSE WE HAD TO GET SOME ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FOR THEM.
BUT AS SOON AS THEIR SCORES CAME UP, THEY MOVED INTO THE TWO HOUR BLOCK.
AND WE ACTUALLY DESIGNED A MODIFIED BLOCK SCHEDULE SO THAT EVERY SINGLE CHILD HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE IN THAT PROGRAM IN SOME FASHION, EVEN IF THEY APPLIED THROUGH A MAGNET APPLICATION, OR IF THEY WERE A PART OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOL.
AND I CAN'T TELL YOU HOW THAT TRANSFORMED CHILDREN'S LIVES, THEY ALL FELT APART.
THE CHILDREN STARTED UNDERSTANDING THAT THEY WERE PART OF A LARGER COMMUNITY AND THE SCHOOL JUST WENT ALL THE WAY UP.
SO THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION.
NEXT WILL BE DISTRICT FIVE BOARD MEMBER WHERE JACKSON GOOD.
UM, MS. BROWN, HOW WILL YOU PRIORITIZE RESOURCES IN WHAT WILL BE MULTIPLE YEARS OF DECLINING SCHOOL REVENUES AND INCREASED PRESSURE FROM LOSS OF STUDENTS, A DEPLETED RESERVE FUND AND UNDERUTILIZED BUILDINGS? YEAH, THAT IS, UM, THAT'S A HUGE QUESTION.
UM, I'M GOING TO SHARE WITH YOU THAT, UM, WE HAVE ALREADY BEGUN A LOT OF THAT WORK IN BROWARD COUNTY AND I'M, AND I'M VERY MUCH LOOKING FORWARD TO BRING BRINGING IT HERE.
SO THE BUDGET CYCLE IS AN ANNUAL CYCLE, AND I'M KIND OF SPEAKING TO THE COMMUNITY RIGHT NOW FOR JUST A QUICK SECOND.
SO IN THAT ANNUAL CYCLE DOES A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF PLANNING THAT HAS TO HAPPEN.
AND I JUST HAVE TO SHARE WITH YOU, I AM NOT SURE HOW MUCH OF THAT PLANNING PROCESS IS DESIGNED AROUND STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT NEEDS.
SO THAT WILL BE SOME SIGNIFICANT RESEARCH THAT I WILL BE DOING INTO THE CURRENT BUDGET TO SEE IF HOW RESOURCES ARE BEING ALLOCATED ARE ACTUALLY BEING ALLOCATED BASED ON STUDENT NEED, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT WE DO FOR A LIVING.
IT'S KIND OF, KIND OF AN INTERESTING CONCEPT, EXCUSE ME, BUT I WANT EVERYBODY TO UNDERSTAND, YOU'RE NOT GOING TO HEAR THIS.
YOU'RE NOT GOING TO HEAR THIS FROM ANY BUDGET EXPERT OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
BUT IN BROWARD COUNTY, WE HAVE STARTED PLANNING AND THIS IS NOT TO MAKE ANYBODY SCARED.
IT'S TO MAKE PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THAT AFTER THE NOVEMBER ELECTIONS, WE FULLY EXPECT A REDESIGN OF THE BUDGET AT THE STATE OFFICE, IN EVERY SINGLE STATE IN THE UNITED STATES, THIS REDUCTION IS GOING TO COME AND IT'S GOING TO HIT US IN JANUARY.
AND I WILL BE WORKING WITH OUR BUDGET TEAM TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE PLANNING FOR THAT.
YOU WILL NOT HEAR IT BECAUSE PEOPLE WANT TO GET REELECTED.
SO THERE ARE DOLLARS THAT HAVE BEEN SENT OUT TO SCHOOLS ALREADY.
YOU ALREADY PROBABLY KNOW YOUR MFPS FOR THIS YEAR.
YOU PROBABLY KNOW ALL OF YOUR TITLE FUNDS AND EVERYTHING LIKE THAT ALREADY, BUT WE WILL SEE AFTER THE ELECTIONS IN NOVEMBER, WE ARE GOING TO SEE A DROP IN RESOURCES BECAUSE OUR TAX BASE HAS SIGNIFICANTLY BEEN REDUCED BECAUSE OF COVID.
SO IT'S SORT OF LIKE, WELL, YOU KNOW, MAYBE WE CAN JUST KIND OF WAIT A LITTLE WHILE WE SHOULD NOT BE WAITING.
WE SHOULD BE SCRUBBING THAT BUDGET.
NOW WE SHOULD BE CREATING THAT FUND WHERE WE'RE READY TO BE ABLE TO KEEP SCHOOLS AT THAT HIGH LEVEL IN JANUARY.
KEEP THOSE SCHOOLS RUNNING FROM JANUARY TO JUNE, WITH THE CLASSROOM, AS OUR FOCUS, AND THEN START REDESIGNING OUR BUDGET EARLIER THIS YEAR FOR THE, UM, 2122 SCHOOL YEAR.
I, I HAVE TO HELP US TO UNDERSTAND THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, I'VE LOOKED AT SOME OF THE BUDGET INFORMATION AND, UM, IT IS ALL ABOUT THE MONEY.
I, I TRULY UNDERSTAND THAT, BUT WE ALSO HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THAT IT'S ALL ABOUT THE ENROLLMENT.
SO WHEN SCHOOLS START TO SEE THEIR DOLLARS DWINDLING, HEMANGIOMA 30 SECONDS, OKAY.
WE HAVE TO LET THEM KNOW THAT ISN'T DIRECT RELATION TO ENROLLMENT.
AND I'M GOING TO SHARE WITH YOU THAT THE DAYS OF FAMILIES GOING TO THEIR LITTLE NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOLS, BECAUSE THAT'S THE LINE AROUND IT, THOSE DAYS WOULD COME ON AND PRINCIPALS KEEP THINKING THAT THAT MONEY IS GOING TO COME BACK.
SO IT IS DEPENDENT UPON US AND THE DISTRICT OFFICE TO TEACH SCHOOLS WHAT IT MEANS TO KEEP AND GAIN
[00:40:01]
ENROLLMENT.WE NEED TO CREATE A SIGNIFICANT MARKETING PLAN, RESOURCE PLAN AROUND ATTRACTING FAMILIES BACK TO OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT.
IT NEEDS TO START NOW, IT SHOULD HAVE STARTED A LONG TIME AGO.
AND SO THAT WE CAN TAKE THOSE RESOURCES AND ALIGN THEM AND KEEP MOVING IN THE POSITIVE DIRECTION.
NEXT WE GO TO DISTRICT SIX, MS. DYSON, MS. BROWN, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE IN OUR COMMUNITY FOR THE PAST FEW DAYS WITH US.
UM, AS I'M SURE OVER THE PAST FEW DAYS, AND, AND, AND BEFORE WITH YOUR EXPERIENCES IN BATON ROUGE, YOU REALIZE THAT WE HAVE, UM, VARYING VIEWPOINTS ACROSS OUR COMMUNITY, WHICH I'M SURE MOST COMMUNITIES HAVE.
UM, ARE YOU COMMITTED TO PRIORITIZING BOTH RAISING STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT WITH ALL STUDENTS AND ALL SCHOOLS MOVING TO THEIR NEXT LEVEL WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY PRIORITIZING THE RE-ENGAGEMENT OF MIDDLE CLASS AND EVEN UPPER MIDDLE CLASS FAMILIES INTO OUR SCHOOLS? HMM.
SO THAT IS A PERFECT QUESTION FOR THE POSITION THAT WE'RE IN RIGHT NOW.
UH, AND, AND LIKE YOU SAID, THIS IS NOT UNCOMMON, YOU KNOW, ACROSS UNITED STATES.
SO AS FAR AS RAISING STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT, I'M GOING TO TELL YOU THAT, UM, I HAVE SOME CHALLENGES WITH THE ACCOUNTABILITY AND ASSESSMENT PROCESS.
UM, I THINK, UM, IT DOES NOT SHOW THE TRUE PICTURE OF THE WORK THAT IS GOING ON IN OUR SCHOOLS.
HOWEVER, SCHOOL GRADES MATTER SCHOOL GRADES MATTER SCHOOL GRADES MATTER OF SCHOOL, GRADES MATTER, PEOPLE MAKE DECISIONS ABOUT WHERE THEIR CHILDREN ARE GOING TO GO TO SCHOOL BASED ON THAT SCHOOL GRADE, SIMPLE TRUTH.
PEOPLE DON'T WANT TO GO TO D AND F SCHOOLS.
THAT'S THAT'S, THAT'S, THAT'S THE LESLIE STRAIGHT TALK THING.
NUMBER ONE IS REALLY DISSECTING WHAT'S GOING ON IN THESE SCHOOLS, TAKING A LOOK AT THE SUPPORT STRUCTURES AND CREATING A PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.
SO THOSE PRINCIPALS CAN WORK WITH US TO SEE WHAT IS NEEDED AT THOSE SCHOOLS, MAKING SURE THAT THEY GET THE RESOURCES THAT THEY NEED.
AND IF THERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR PARENTS TO BE ABLE TO REENGAGE IN THOSE SCHOOLS, IT IS DONE BY RAISING THE SCHOOL GRADE AND CREATING A SENSE OF COMMUNITY AROUND THAT SCHOOL.
FAMILIES DO NOT KNOW THE GOOD THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON IN OUR SCHOOLS.
THEY ARE LOOKING AT A SCHOOL GRADE AND THEY ARE NOT CROSSING OVER THAT FRONT DOOR NO MATTER WHAT.
SO IT IS UP TO THE DISTRICT TO HELP THE SCHOOLS IDENTIFIED THEIR STRENGTHS, REDESIGN HOW THEIR SCHOOL IS BASED ON THOSE STRENGTHS AND CREATE PROGRAMS WITHIN THOSE SCHOOLS WITH SUPPORT.
I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT WITHOUT SUPPORT, BUT IT STARTS TO EQUALIZE THE PLAYING FIELD.
SO WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT THE HOUSE AND HAVE NOTS, NOW WE'RE TALKING ABOUT RAISING SOME OF OUR DNF SCHOOLS WITH SUPPORT STRUCTURES AND ALLOWING THOSE SCHOOLS TO REGAIN THE CONFIDENCE OF THE COMMUNITY.
THERE'S SOME GREAT OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE'RE WORKING ON RIGHT NOW IN BROWARD COUNTY, WHERE WE ARE ACTUALLY ENGAGING, UM, THE MUNICIPALITY TO HELP US WORK WITH COMMUNITIES THAT ACTUALLY HAVE LEFT OUR SCHOOLS.
THEY HAVE ACCESS TO ALL OF THAT DATA.
WE'RE DOING TOWN HALL MEETINGS.
WE'RE ASKING FOR THEIR INPUT, WHAT THEY WANT TO SEE IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOLS, TRYING TO REENGAGE THEM.
BECAUSE GUESS WHAT? AS A SCHOOL DISTRICT, I ONLY HAVE THE DATA OF THE FAMILIES THAT ARE ATTENDING.
I DON'T HAVE THE DATA OF THE FAMILIES THAT ARE NOT ATTENDING.
SO THAT WORKED WITH THE MUNICIPALITY AND FINDING OUR TRUE CUSTOMERS AND REACHING OUT AND HELPING THEM SEE THE GOOD THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON IN OUR SCHOOL IS THE FIRST STEP NEXT TO THE REALLY BIG FIRST STEP OF SCHOOL GRADES AND INCREASING THAT STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT FOR ALL.
NEXT IS MYSELF REPRESENTING DISTRICT SEVEN.
SO IN YOUR, UH, STRAIGHT TALK, I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU A STRAIGHT DOC QUESTION.
UH, OUR STUDENT POPULATION IS APPROXIMATELY 73% AFRICAN AMERICAN.
SOME IN OUR COMMUNITY HAVE SAID THAT OUR SUPERINTENDENT NEEDS TO QUOTE, LOOK LIKE OUR STUDENTS.
UNQUOTE, HOW DO YOU RESPOND TO THAT? AND HOW WOULD YOU GO ABOUT PROVING THEM WRONG? SO THIS IS, YOU KNOW, THIS IS ONE OF THOSE QUESTIONS THAT I'M REALLY GLAD PEOPLE ASK BECAUSE EVERYBODY'S ASKING IT OUTSIDE OF THE OPEN FORUM.
SO, UM, AS, AS, AS WE START TO FINISH UP THIS PROCESS, I WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU THAT
[00:45:02]
YUP.IT IS IMPORTANT FOR STUDENTS OF COLOR TO SEE PEOPLE THAT LOOK LIKE THEM IN HIGH POSITIONS.
AND I'M ALSO GOING TO SUGGEST THAT THOSE STUDENTS ABSOLUTELY DESERVE THE VERY BEST SUPERINTENDENT THAT KNOWS HOW CHILDREN LEARN, HOW TEACHERS TEACH, HOW SCHOOLS OPERATE, HOW BOARD MEMBERS HAVE TO WORK IN THEIR WORLD, AS WELL AS HOW THE SUPPORT STRUCTURES NEED TO BE ALIGNED UP UNDER THAT CHILD.
ALSO HAVING AN OPPORTUNITY TO WORK IN THE BUSINESS WORLD AND ALL OF THE PARTNERSHIPS THAT I'VE BEEN ABLE TO DEVELOP IN BROWARD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS, THAT ALSO TAKES ALL OF THE RESOURCES FROM THE COMMUNITY AND STARTS TO FEED THEM TO THAT CHILD.
SO I'M SHARING THAT WITH YOU BECAUSE I WANT THE VERY BEST SUPERINTENDENT FOR EAST BATON ROUGE SCHOOLS.
THAT IS WHAT MATTERS BECAUSE WHETHER IT'S MYSELF OR DR.
TOWNS, AND I WANT TO SHARE THIS WITH YOU, BECAUSE I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT.
WE BOTH COME FROM A VERY SIMILAR BACKGROUND WITH THE ASSOCIATION AND THE EDUCATION THAT WE'VE HAD.
SO YOU HAVE TWO REALLY AWESOME CANDIDATES.
AND I, AND I APPRECIATE THE BOARD, UH, FOR THAT.
THE OTHER PIECE IS THERE IT'S TWO WOMEN.
SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT? OKAY.
SO IN CASE YOU DON'T KNOW, THERE ARE VERY FEW FEMALE SUPERINTENDENTS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES.
SO IF YOU DIDN'T KNOW IT, YOU HAVE A VERY PROGRESSIVE BOARD IN HOW THEY'RE THINKING AND NARROWING DOWN TO THE CANDIDATES, BECAUSE THAT IS ONE STEREOTYPE THAT THEY GOT OVER.
SO WHETHER OR NOT A COMMUNITY NEEDS AN AFRICAN AMERICAN OR A WHITE SUPERINTENDENT, THERE WILL BE A DECISION TO BE MADE.
AND WHAT I'M HOPING IS THAT WHATEVER CANDIDATE, THIS BOARD CHOOSES AND THE COMMUNITY SUPPORTS, BECAUSE THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT, IT WILL BE ABSOLUTELY THE BEST SUPERINTENDENT FOR THEIR CHILDREN, NOT FOR THE ADULTS, BUT FOR THE CHILDREN IN EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH.
SO I APPRECIATE THE QUESTION BECAUSE I'VE KIND OF HEARD IT A LITTLE BIT AND I GOT TO TELL YOU, WE GOT TO TALK ABOUT THESE AND WE HAVE TO BE HONEST, BUT I WANT THE BEST, SO GOOD LUCK TO DR.
I'VE GOT SOME GREAT SKILLS TOO, AND, AND, UM, GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL.
UH, NEXT WE WILL GO TO DISTRICT EIGHT, MS. BOARD MEMBER BERNARD.
HOW MANY EMPLOYEES DO YOU OVERSEE AND HOW MANY DIRECTLY REPORT TO YOU? THAT'S PART A PART B HOW WOULD YOU CHARACTERIZE YOUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH EMPLOYEE GROUPS ADVOCATING ON BEHALF OF EMPLOYEES IN YOUR PRESENT POSITION? AND WHAT, IF ANYTHING, WOULD YOU CHANGE IN RELATIONSHIPS? BOTH ONE-ON-ONE AND WITH GROUPS AND JUST SO YOU KNOW, STARTING THE CLOCK.
DO YOU START? I NEED, I JUST HAVE A MOMENT, CAUSE I'M, THE LIGHTS ARE A LITTLE, LITTLE HEATED, SO, UM, BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT QUESTION.
UM, I THINK, UM, AND ANYONE THAT HAS HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SIT IN DR.
TOWNS IN MY, UM, YOU KNOW, EVENTS OVER THE PAST TWO DAYS, UM, YOU'RE, YOU'RE PROBABLY LEARNING A LOT ABOUT ME THAT I AM, UM, A DISTRIBUTED LEADER.
UM, I THINK THERE ARE ROLES FOR EVERYBODY THAT I WORK WITH.
AND, UM, AND I BELIEVE THAT, UM, EMPLOYEES REALLY HAVE A GREAT RESPECT FOR THE WAY THAT I MANAGE AND LEAD.
UM, AS FAR AS MY TEAM, UH, THAT I WORK WITH IN THE DIVISION OF PORTFOLIO SERVICES, UM, YOU'RE GOING TO SEE IN THE, IN THE, UH, PACKET THAT I GAVE YOU, YOU'RE GOING TO SEE A BROCHURE OF ALL OF THE WORK THAT MY TEAM DOES.
SO, UM, I HAVE, UH, EIGHT, NINE DIRECT REPORTS, BUT I ACTUALLY HAVE 11 PEOPLE THAT I WORK WITH BECAUSE I DON'T BELIEVE IN ONLY WORKING WITH DIRECT REPORTS, I BELIEVE IN BUILDING A BENCH.
SO I HAVE MY DIRECT REPORTS AS WELL AS A TEAM THAT I AM, UM, MOLDING AND GROWING ALONGSIDE OF MY DIRECT REPORTS, WHICH I THINK IS ESSENTIAL BECAUSE A BENCH IN EDUCATION IS NOT A COMMON THING.
UM, SO, UM, I MANAGED DIRECTLY ABOUT 90 EMPLOYEES, BUT, UM, THE ACTUAL WORK, UH, EXPANDS OUT OVER THE SCHOOLS AND ALL THE MAGNET PROGRAMS, WHICH INCLUDES ABOUT 350 EMPLOYEES THAT ARE, THAT WORK WITH ME DIRECTLY.
UM, SO, UH, IN, IN MY LEADERSHIP STYLE, HOW WOULD MY EMPLOYEE GROUPS, UM, KIND OF DESCRIBE ME, RIGHT? WHAT, WHAT WOULD THEY SAY ABOUT ME? UM, THEY WOULD SAY,
[00:50:01]
UH, THAT, UH, THIS IS SO STRANGE BECAUSE IT SOUNDS A LITTLE CORNY, BUT, UM, THEY WOULD SAY THAT I'M A TEACHER FIRST.AND THEY WILL SAY THAT, UM, I DO NOT EXPECT THEM TO DO ANYTHING WITHOUT HAVING SUPPORT BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND KNOWLEDGE ABOUT HOW TO GO FORWARD.
SO, AND I, AND I'M GOING TO SAY THIS AGAIN, I'M A WHITE BORDER.
AND, UM, IT'S, PEOPLE WILL GIVE ME MARKERS, YOU KNOW, LIKE AS A JOKE, YOU KNOW, BUT IT'S TRUE.
I WILL GET UP AND I WILL START DRAWING IT.
I'M HAVING A HARD TIME NOT GETTING UP AND DRAWING RIGHT NOW.
UM, AND IT'S REALLY NOT TO DRAW IT'S TO GET IDEAS OUT SO THAT EVERYBODY AROUND THE TABLE STARTS TO SEE HOW DARN SMART THEY ARE.
AND SO WHEN I'M WHITE BOARDING, EVERY ONE OF MY PEERS AND MY DIRECT REPORTS, IT'S THEIR IDEAS THAT ARE GOING UP ON THE BOARD.
AND SO AS THEY START TO SEE THIS, THEIR CONFIDENCE GROWS, IT BECOMES VERY, VERY STRONG.
AND THEN WHEN I ASSIGN THE PROJECT OFF TO THEM, THEY DON'T RUN AWAY BECAUSE THEY KNOW THEY HAVE A SUPPORT STRUCTURE AROUND THEM.
THEY UNDERSTAND THAT THEY HAVE A LEADER THAT UNDERSTANDS THAT THEY'VE GOT TO DEVELOP IT.
I GIVE THEM TIMELINES, THERE'S DEADLINES, THERE'S BENCHMARKS.
IT'S JUST HOW WE HAVE TO GET WORK DONE.
BUT THAT FIRST MOMENT, WHEN WE ARE TRYING TO LAUNCH, WE HAVE GOT TO CREATE A SAFETY NET OR UNDERNEATH OUR LEADERS, BUT WE ALSO HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE ACCOUNTABLE FOR GETTING THE WORK DONE.
SO DISTRIBUTIVE LEADERSHIP, AS WELL AS SUPPORTIVE LEADERSHIP AND BEING THE TEACHER FIRST AND THE ACCOUNTANT'S SPECIALIST.
WE WILL GO TO DISTRICT NINE BOARD MEMBER CABINET.
EVERYBODY STOLE MY QUESTIONS, BUT THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST IN OUR DISTRICT.
UM, I, I'M GOING TO SHIFT A LITTLE BIT AND JUST ASK YOU TO ELABORATE ON WHAT YOU BELIEVE THE RELATIONSHIP IS BETWEEN THE SUPERINTENDENT AND THE BOARD MEMBERS, IF YOU WOULD.
SO I HAVE NEVER SEEN A SCHOOL DISTRICT OPERATE EFFECTIVELY WHEN THE SUPERINTENDENT AND THE BOARD AND THE CABINET DON'T WORK TOGETHER.
THERE IS AN IMPORTANT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE SUPERINTENDENT, THE CABINET AND THE BOARD, AND THAT RELATIONSHIP HAS TO BE DEVELOPED AS A RELATIONSHIP OF TRUST.
AND I'M GOING TO SHARE WITH YOU THAT I WORK FOR A VERY, VERY TOUGH SCHOOL BOARD.
I MEAN, I AM GOING TO TELL YOU, THEY ARE AWESOME.
BUT I'M ALSO GOING TO SHARE WITH YOU THAT THE WORK THAT IS DONE IS DONE, AND I'M GOING TO USE THAT WORD KIND OF ITERATIVELY, WHERE WE WORK DIRECTLY WITH BOARD MEMBERS ON PROJECTS THAT ARE IN THEIR DISTRICTS.
WE THINK TOGETHER, I SET MY CALENDAR AROUND WHEN SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS ARE AVAILABLE AND I INVITE THEM TO COME OUT TO MEETINGS WITH ME SO THAT THERE IS A UNIFIED REALLY, REALLY AWESOME COLLECTIVE OF PEOPLE WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITY.
THEN AS IDEAS START TO DEVELOP AND START TO BECOME THE PROJECTS.
I GO BACK TO THE BOARD MEMBERS AND I START TO ASK, ARE WE HEADED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION? AND THEN WE HAVE ADDITIONAL COMMUNITY MEETINGS SO THAT THE BOARD MEMBER IS SEEN AGAIN.
AND SO THAT THE WORK AND THE PROGRESS IS SEEING, AND IT STARTS TO DISSOLVE AS MUCH AS WE CAN THAT DISTRUST BETWEEN THE COMMUNITY, THE BOARD AND THE SUPERINTENDENT.
I ALSO BELIEVE VERY STRONGLY IN THE CABINET.
I PROMISE YOU THAT ANY CABINET THAT WORKS FOR ME IS GOING TO BE OUT IN THAT COMMUNITY JUST AS MUCH AS I AM, BECAUSE THAT CABINET IS RESPONSIBLE FOR GETTING THE WORK DONE.
AND THOSE FACES HAVE TO BE SEEN AND TRUSTED IN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, JUST AS MUCH AS THE SUPERINTENDENT AND THE BOARD.
SO IT IS A COLLECTIVE THAT REPRESENTS THE BOARD AS WELL AS THE WORK.
THE OTHER PIECE THAT I FEEL VERY, VERY STRONGLY ABOUT IS WHEN WE START TO BRING ITEMS TO THE BOARD AND I MAYBE I'M NAIVE.
BUT THIS IS WHAT I TRULY BELIEVE.
I BELIEVE THAT BOARD MEMBERS REALLY WANT TO BE ABLE TO PASS THE PROJECTS AND IDEAS THAT WE'RE BRINGING FORWARD TO HELP STUDENTS WITH STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT.
I BELIEVE THAT, OKAY, I'M NOT GONNA, I'M NOT GOING TO SUGGEST THAT THERE MIGHT NOT BE OTHER THINGS THAT MIGHT BE HAPPENING, YOU KNOW, TO BOARD MEMBERS, BUT I HONOR THAT THAT IS WHAT A BOARD MEMBER STRUGGLES WITH.
AND SO WHEN WORKING WITH A BOARD, IT IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT
[00:55:01]
TO UNDERSTAND THAT WE HAVE GOT TO BRING PROJECTS TO THE BOARD THAT ARE CLEAN, THAT THERE ARE NO HOLES IN THEM AND THAT THE BOARD CAN SUPPORT AND THAT THE BOARD CAN REPEAT AND UNDERSTAND WHY WE ARE BRINGING IT TO THEM.SO I THINK AS THE SUPERINTENDENT AND THE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE BOARD IS FIGURING OUT HOW WE GET THINGS DONE FOR CHILDREN IN A WAY THAT SUPPORTS THE CHILD FIRST, BUT WE SET UP SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES WHERE THE BOARD CAN COME ALONG WITH US WITH THOSE GREAT IDEAS AND GET THEM APPROVED.
UM, MR. TATLIN, WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO AGAIN? WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GOING TO REVERSE THE ORDER.
HOW ABOUT, HOW ABOUT THAT? UM, MY NEXT QUESTION IS ALSO A LITTLE OFF, UH, THE EDUCATION TOPIC, BUT, YOU KNOW, UM, SO THIS WILL BE THE FOURTH SUPERINTENDENT THAT I WORK WITH.
UM, I THINK THE AVERAGE IN AMERICA IS ABOUT TWO YEARS, SO WE'RE DOING BETTER THAN MOST.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, TO THAT QUESTION, W WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF? UH, THREE, FIVE, SEVEN YEARS DOWN THE ROAD.
SO, UM, IF YOU, IF YOU SEE IF YOU SEEN MY RESUME, OKAY.
I DON'T, I DON'T RUN OFF EASILY.
UM, I HAVE BEEN WITH BROWARD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS, UM, FOR A LONG TIME.
UM, I HAVE, UH, SEEN FIVE SUPERINTENDENTS COME AND GO.
AND, UM, I'M GOING TO SHARE WITH YOU THAT EVEN BEING A PART OF FUTURE CHIEFS AND CHIEFS FOR CHANGE, UM, I'VE BEEN TAPPED SEVERAL TIMES, YOU KNOW, TO, UH, TAKE A LOOK AT SUPERINTENDENT POSITIONS.
UM, AND I DIDN'T APPLY FOR THEM.
I KNOW WHERE MY HISTORY IS, AND I KNOW THAT THERE IS SOME SIGNIFICANT WORK THAT I WOULD LIKE TO BRING THAT ENERGY AND REDESIGNING SCHOOL SYSTEMS HERE TO EAST BATON ROUGE.
UM, AND IT'S INTERESTING BECAUSE WHEN I WORK WITH COMMUNITIES, THERE ARE SOME COMMUNITIES THAT MIGHT GET A LITTLE UPSET WITH ME EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE.
CAUSE WE'VE GOT MORE WORK TO DO.
I'M GOING TO COME BACK BECAUSE IT TAKES THAT IT TAKES BUILDING TRUST AND IT, TRACY TAKES REALLY UNDERSTANDING THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY.
NOT THAT I'M NOT DONE, I'M GOING TO WAIT TOO LONG.
BECAUSE WE GOT SOME THINGS TO DO.
UM, BUT I REALLY, REALLY APPRECIATE THAT QUESTION BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT GOING TO SEE MY RESUME OUT THERE ACROSS THE UNITED STATES.
YOU'RE NOT GOING TO SEE ME JUMPING FROM ONE JOB TO THE NEXT JOB, TO THE NEXT JOB.
LOOKING FOR THE NEXT LEVEL UP.
AND I BELIEVE THAT THIS IS THE RIGHT TIME, THE RIGHT PLACE.
AND I NOW HAVE THE RIGHT SKILLS TO BE ABLE TO COME HOME AND HELP THIS COMMUNITY MAKE SOME SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES FOR CHILDREN IN THIS COMMUNITY.
UH, AGAIN, GOING IN REVERSE ORDER BOARD MEMBER BERNARD.
THANK YOU, MRS. BROWN, COULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR EXPERIENCE WORKING WITH OTHER GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES, SUCH AS THE LEGISLATURE, STATE, AND LOCAL MUNICIPALITIES AND THE STATE DEPARTMENT AND BOARD OF EDUCATION, AND WHAT STRATEGIES DO YOU USE TO ESTABLISH RELATIONSHIPS WITH THOSE IN POSITIONS OF POWER INFLUENCE? OKAY.
SO, UM, I HAVE SOME REALLY, REALLY GREAT EXPERIENCE IN THIS AREA.
UM, I, I HAVE HAD THE LUXURY OF WORKING IN BROWARD COUNTY, WHICH IN CASE SOME OF OUR COMMUNITIES DON'T KNOW, UM, BROWARD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS, UM, IS, UH, 31 MUNICIPALITIES.
SO, UM, SO I HAVE HAD THE LUXURY AND I, AND I DO BELIEVE THAT I'VE HAD THE LUXURY OF WORKING WITH 31 DIFFERENT MAYORS GANG, 31 DIFFERENT COMMISSIONERS, UH, 31 DIFFERENT EDUCATION BOARDS, UM, AND REALLY UNDERSTANDING, UM, HOW, UH, AND I, AND I USED THE WORD POLITICS IN THIS PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCE IN A VERY, VERY POSITIVE WAY, UM, THAT THOSE POLITICS AND HOW WE HAVE TO GET THINGS DONE WITHIN SYSTEMS. UM, I AM VERY ADEPT AT THAT AND I ABSOLUTELY LOVE WORKING WITH MUNICIPALITIES AND TRYING TO FIND SOLUTIONS.
SO I HAD, I HAD A GUEST IN ONE OF OUR SESSIONS THIS AFTERNOON, WHO WAS THE PARKS AND RECREATION DIRECTOR FOR BRECK.
AND, UM, AND I CALLED THEM OUT PROBABLY THREE OR FOUR TIMES BECAUSE THERE'S SOME WORK I NEED TO DO IF I GET THIS POSITION, UM, WITH THAT GENTLEMEN, UM, THERE'S, THERE'S JUST SOME GREAT PARTNERSHIPS.
THERE'S SOME GREAT ENERGY OF CONNECTING TAXPAYER'S RESOURCES TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY, INCLUDING PROPERTY THAT THE SCHOOL BOARD OWNS THAT COULD BE USED ON WEEKENDS
[01:00:01]
AND AFTER SCHOOL FOR PARKS AND RECREATION OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR CHILDREN.I WANT THEM TO BE OUT THERE PLAYING.
UM, AS FAR AS THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, UM, I HAVE WORKED QUITE CLOSELY WITH THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION ON A PARTICULAR ISSUES THAT I HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN.
UM, I AM, UH, TAPPED A NUMBER OF TIMES FOR INFORMATION ON LEGISLATIVE CHANGES THAT WE NEED TO LOOK AT FOR CHARTER SCHOOLS.
I ALSO MANAGE OUR CLASS SIZE REDUCTION MANDATE WITH A MILLION ROWS OF DATA TO MAKE SURE EVERY SINGLE CLASS IN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT IS MAKING THE CLASS SIZE REDUCTION MANDATE.
AND I ACTUALLY HAVE BEEN CALLED TO LEGISLATIVE SESSIONS TO SPEAK BEFORE THE SENATE, UM, TO ACTUALLY EXPLAIN HOW THESE PROCESSES WORK IN THE CLASSROOM AND AT THE SCHOOL LEVEL.
SO IT'S KIND OF THAT IT'S KIND OF THAT LANGUAGE SHIFT OF BEING ABLE TO TAKE WHAT'S ACTUALLY HAPPENING AND THEN TRANSLATE IT INTO LEGISLATIVE LANGUAGE SO THAT THE LEGISLATORS ACTUALLY CAN MAKE DECISIONS WITH, UM, CORRECT INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE CLASSROOMS. SO, UM, SO I APPRECIATE THAT QUESTION AND IT'S SOME WORK THAT, THAT I WOULD ENJOY DOING.
UH, THE CYCLE ROTATES BACK TO ME.
SO I'LL ASK YOU ANOTHER INTERESTING QUESTION.
UM, YOU'VE HAD A GREAT DEAL OF EXPERIENCE IN EDUCATION, BUT THERE ARE CONCERNS THAT BECAUSE OF YOUR CURRENT POINT IN YOUR CAREER, THAT YOU'RE COMING HERE TO RETIRE, THAT YOU WOULD LACK THE QUOTE UNQUOTE SPUNK NEEDED TO DO THE JOB.
HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO RESPOND TO THAT? WELL, UM, I I'M HOPING ONE DAY WE'LL ALL BE ABLE TO RETIRE.
UM, I'M, I'M SURE ALL OF US HAVE SOME THINGS WE'D LIKE TO DO WHEN WE DO RETIRE.
UM, BUT I, I, I DON'T SEE RETIREMENT ANYWHERE NEAR, UH, IN MY FUTURE.
UM, THIS, THIS OPPORTUNITY IS, UM, THE WAY TO BE ABLE TO TAKE THE SKILLS THAT I HAVE LEARNED AND HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON A COMMUNITY THAT I LOVE.
I AM, I AM NOT GOING TO CASH IN MY CHIPS.
UM, I BELIEVE THIS IS THE OPPORTUNITY FOR, UH, THE NEXT STEP IN MY CAREER TO MAKE A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE FOR THE CHILDREN HERE IN THIS COMMUNITY.
THANK NEXT BOARD MEMBER DYSON, A Y A WISE WOMAN ONCE SAID THAT WE MUST PRIORITIZE EARLY LEARNING AND PRE-K IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOLS.
THIS HAS THE POTENTIAL TO REBUILD OUR ENTIRE COMMUNITY IN MULTIPLE WAYS, INCLUDING STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT, STUDENT AND STAFF FAMILIARITY WITH EACH OTHER SCHOOL SITE EXPERIENCE, BOTH FOR THE STUDENT AND FOR THE PARENTS RAISING PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT EARLY AND PRE-K, AND ALSO IN REENGAGING AS THEY REALIZE THAT THEIR CHILD WOULD GET TO STAY IN THAT SAME SITE FOR KINDERGARTEN, AND THEN HAVE A DEFINITE FEEDER PATTERN THAT THEY CAN COUNT ON FOR THE REST OF THAT.
PRE-K 12 EDUCATION EXPERIENCE THAT THE FAMILY, THE STUDENT AND THE FAMILY ALL EXPERIENCE.
SO ARE YOU COMMITTED TO PRIORITIZING CREATING EQUAL NUMBERS OF PRE-K SEATS AS OUR KINDERGARTEN SEATS IN ALL OF OUR NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOLS? AND I DON'T MEAN OVERNIGHT, BUT AS A, AS A REAL IMPERATIVE, THAT COULD MAKE A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE.
UM, THERE IS, UM, OBVIOUSLY A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF DATA ON HOW IMPORTANT PRE-K IS, UH, FOR OUR CHILDREN.
UM, I, I, AND I'M GOING TO, I'M GOING TO ASK AT LEAST EVERY ONE OF YOU TO START WIPING YOUR EYEBROWS IF I GO SIDEWAYS, BECAUSE I'M VERY, VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT THIS.
SO MR. GAUDETTE, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO KEEP AN EYE ON THE, ON THE CLOCK FOR ME ON THIS ONE.
UM, THIS WORK THAT I AM DONE IN EARLY LEARNING AND PRE-K, UM, ABSOLUTELY HAS SIGNIFICANTLY CHANGED THE DYNAMICS OF COMMUNITIES THAT WE HAVE BROUGHT THESE PROGRAMS INTO.
SO, SO THERE IS SOME GREAT WORK TO BE DONE THERE AS FAR AS INCREASING STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT.
UM, THE SCHOOL SITE EXPERIENCE FAMILIES BEING FELT HAVE, HAVE THAT COMFORT LEVEL OF COMING BACK INTO A SCHOOL IN A POSITIVE ENVIRONMENT, INSTEAD OF SOMETHING THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE BEEN THROUGH AS, AS A PARENT OR EVEN AS A STUDENT WHEN THEY WERE IN SCHOOL, ALL THAT STARTS BY
[01:05:01]
RE-ENGAGING PARENTS AT THE YOUNGEST LEVEL OF THEIR CHILDREN.SO, UM, I THINK THERE IS SOME, UH, GREAT OPPORTUNITIES IN USING OUR SPACE DIFFERENTLY.
I THINK THERE IS A CAVEAT HERE WHEN IT COMES TO PRE K IS WE ARE NOT FUNDED FOR PRE-K.
I MEAN, THAT'S THE TRUTH OF IT.
I'M JUST GONNA, LIKE I SAID, I'M GOING TO TELL THE TRUTH.
WE HAVE EARLY HEADSTART AND HEADSTART, AND THOSE SEATS ARE LIMITED.
SO THAT IS WHAT WE HAVE FUNDING FOR.
IT DOES NOT PROVIDE A SEAT FOR EVERY SINGLE KINDERGARTEN ARE AT THAT SAME LEVEL.
AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THAT PRE-K ALSO TAKES UP SPACE.
SO WE NEED TO REALLY TAKE A LOOK AT THE PORTFOLIO OF WHERE WE HAVE SPACE AND THE OPPORTUNITIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS AT A YOUNGER AGE BASED ON THOSE TWO CONDITIONS.
SO LET ME TAKE THE FIRST CONDITION, THE MONEY WE ACTUALLY WORKED WITH THE COMMUNITY, THEY TOLD US POINT BLANK THAT THEY WANTED THEIR CHILDREN FOR TWO YEARS MORE IN AN EARLY LEARNING CENTER.
WE ACTUALLY TOOK ONE OF OUR SCHOOLS.
WE TRANSFORMED IT INTO AN EARLY LEARNING CENTER AND THE BOARD GAVE US ONE CUSTODIAN, NOT A PENNY, MORE.
THEY SAID, MRS. BROWN, YOU CAN DO WHATEVER YOU WANT WITH THAT BUILDING, BUT WE'RE NOT GIVING YOU A DIME.
WE WORKED AND DEVELOPED PARTNERSHIP WITH FIVE ORGANIZATIONS.
AND WHAT THOSE FIVE ORGANIZATIONS DID IS THEY PROVIDED STAFF TO RUN THAT SITE.
AND THEY ACTUALLY PAID FOR THE OPERATIONAL FEES OF THE BUILDING.
SO ORGANIZATIONS THAT WANT TO WORK WITH OUR FAMILIES, THEY HAVE TO PAY RENT AND EVERYTHING SOMEPLACE ELSE.
WHY NOT COME IN AND ACTUALLY WORK WITHIN THE SCHOOLS RIGHT THERE WHERE THE BABIES ARE HISPANIC UNITY.
THEY, THEY BOUGHT US, UM, A, A TEACHER AS WELL AS A CUSTODIAN.
AND THEN THEY PAID THEIR FAIR SHARE OF THE OPERATIONAL COSTS.
WE WORKED WITH THE LIBRARY SYSTEM, THE COUNTY LIBRARY SYSTEM.
THEY BOUGHT A MEDIA SPECIALIST AND A MEDIA CLERK.
AND THOSE PEOPLE ARE FULL TIME AT THAT SITE BOARD.
DIDN'T HAVE TO PAY A PENNY FOR IT, BECAUSE GUESS WHAT? YOU DON'T GET MONEY FOR.
THEN WE ALSO HAD AN AGREEMENT WITH THE COMMUNITY SCHOOL CELLS, WHERE WHILE THE BABIES ARE IN SCHOOL, THE ADULTS ARE IN SCHOOL.
NOW THERE'S A THOUGHT, RIGHT? SO AS THEY COME AND DROP OFF THEIR BABIES IN THEIR PRE K PROGRAM, THE PARENTS CAN TAKE AB, UM, ADULT BASIC EDUCATION.
THEY CAN TAKE GED CLASSES, THEY CAN TAKE ESAU CLASSES RIGHT THERE WHERE THEIR BABIES ARE.
SO THE OPPORTUNITY TO REENGAGE FAMILIES, JUST LIKE YOU SAID, UH, WE ACTUALLY, IT'S JUST SUCH AN AWESOME CONCEPT.
UM, WE ACTUALLY SET UP A LAUNDRY ROOM BECAUSE WE KNEW THAT FAMILIES DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO COME AND TAKE CLASSES WHILE THEY COULD NOT GET THEIR LAUNDRY DONE FOR THEIR FAMILY.
SO WE HAD DONATIONS FROM HOME DEPOT FOR A BANK OF WASHING MACHINES AND DRYERS.
WE PAID TO GET THEM ALL SET UP AND FAMILIES ACTUALLY COME TO DO THEIR TRAINING.
AND THEY'RE LEARNING WHILE THEY'RE GETTING THEIR LAUNDRY DONE.
THAT'S I AM TELLING YOU IT WORKS.
AND IT WORKED BY THE COMMUNITY COMING TOGETHER AND PROVIDING THOSE OPPORTUNITIES.
SO I THINK THERE'S SOME WORK TO BE DONE WITH DEVELOPING THE SEEDS FOR PRE-K, BUT I CAN TELL YOU THAT MONEY IS NOT GOING TO BE THE PROBLEM WHEN WE GET PEOPLE AROUND TO UNDERSTAND THE NEED FOR THOSE THREE AND FOUR YEAR OLDS.
AND THAT PARTICULAR SITE, WE GO DOWN TO BIRTH.
SO WE GOT CHILDCARE LICENSING ALL THE WAY DOWN TO BIRTH.
SO, AND WE HAVE SEVEN CLASSROOMS FULL OF CHILDREN THAT, UH, IT IT'S, IT'S YUMMY.
I NOT QUITE SURE HOW TO EXPLAIN IT, SO, BUT I, BUT I WOULD LOVE TO BE ABLE TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT HERE.
UH, NEXT BOARD MEMBER WHERE JACKSON.
OKAY, THANK YOU, PRESIDENT GO.
I KNOW THAT YOU'VE HAD SOME EXPERIENCE IN SOME CRISIS SITUATIONS IN BROWARD COUNTY, AND, UM, I'M WONDERING, UH, HOW YOUR EXPERIENCE WILL IMPACT HOW YOU GUIDE US THROUGH THE REENTRY PROCESS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF A STRONG AND RESPONSIVE MENTAL HEALTH UNIT HERE IN EBR.
SPECIFICALLY, COULD YOU DESCRIBE HOW WE MIGHT POSSIBLY RESTRUCTURE OUR EXISTING RESOURCES LIKE THE SCHOOL COUNSELORS, SOCIAL WORKERS, PSYCHOLOGISTS, BEHAVIOR STRATEGISTS, AND THE COMMUNITY PARTNERS THAT WE HAVE IN PLACE TO BE EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE IN ADDRESSING OUR STUDENT NEEDS SO THAT WE CAN INCREASE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE? YES, YES.
UM, THE SOCIAL EMOTIONAL WELLNESS OF CHILDREN IS ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL.
WE KNOW THE DATA SHOWS US THAT A CHILD, UM, THAT HAS GONE THROUGH, UM, A TRAUMATIC SITUATION IN THEIR HOME OR IN THE COMMUNITY ABSOLUTELY COMES TO SCHOOL, UNABLE TO LEARN.
AND SO THAT WORK IS ESSENTIAL TO MAKING SURE THAT WE GET THOSE SUPPORT SERVICES TO CHILDREN, BECAUSE IT
[01:10:01]
DOES ABSOLUTELY IMPACT STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT.SO I'M GOING TO TAKE JUST A QUICK SECOND AFTER, AFTER WE NOW CALL IT TWO 14 HAPPENED IN A CRISIS.
YOU NEED A TEAM THAT CAN ACTUALLY DO THINGS RIGHT AWAY, TAKE ACTION, MAKE DECISIONS, GET THINGS DONE.
AND SO IN ANY OF THE CRISIS THAT WE'RE SEEING HERE, THE TRAUMATIC SITUATIONS THAT CHILDREN GO THROUGH, IT SHOULD NOT HAVE TAKEN US MSD TO GET THEIR CHILDREN LIVE IN TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCES, ALMOST EVERY SINGLE DAY ACROSS ANY COMMUNITY.
AND THAT TRAUMA REALLY, REALLY IMPACTS HOW THEY'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO PERFORM IN SCHOOL.
SO WHAT WE DID IS WE STARTED A PROGRAM FOR TRAUMA INFORMED INSTRUCTION AND TRAUMA INFORMED SOCIAL SERVICES AND PSYCHOLOGY.
WE BROUGHT IN A TEAM OF CONSULTANTS BECAUSE THIS IS AN AREA THAT A LOT OF EDUCATORS REALLY DON'T HAVE THE BACKGROUND IN, INCLUDING GUIDANCE, COUNSELORS, SOCIAL WORKERS, THEY ARE NOT TRAINED IN TRAUMA INFORMED PRACTICES.
SO WE STARTED WITH THAT TEAM FIRST, THEY ALL DID GET THE TRAINING AND THEN THEY BECAME TRAINERS OF THE TEACHERS.
SO THE TEACHERS ACTUALLY GOT A SMALLER DOSE BECAUSE THEY NEED TO BE ABLE TO RECOGNIZE WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE CHILD TO BE ABLE TO REFER THEM, TO GET THE ADDITIONAL SERVICES.
AND THAT WORK ACTUALLY STARTED TO IMPACT THE ENTIRE DISTRICT WHERE IT INITIALLY STARTED IN THE AREA WHERE WE HAD SOME SIGNIFICANT TRAUMA GOING ON.
SO THE MENTAL HEALTH OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR STUDENTS ARE MULTIFACETED.
IT IS NOT JUST THE TRAUMA INFORMED.
IT HAS OPPORTUNITIES FOR MINDFULNESS DOES OPPORTUNITIES FOR, UM, COURSEWORK IN SELF-DIRECTION, AS WELL AS PERSISTENCE, NOT ONLY FOR TEACHERS, BUT ALSO FOR STUDENTS.
A LOT OF THOSE MODULES WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO PUSH THEM UP ONLINE AND CHILDREN ACTUALLY LEARN CREDITS FOR THEM.
AND SO THERE'S THIS WHOLE, AND I DON'T MEAN WRAPAROUND CAUSE THAT'S AN OVERUSED TERM.
THERE'S A WHOLE SYSTEM OF SUPPORT THAT TEACHERS CAN ACCESS.
COUNSELORS CAN ACCESS AS WELL AS FAMILY MEMBERS CAN ACCESS.
WHEN THEY, WHEN WE SEE THOSE, UM, UM, UH, BEHAVIORS PRESENTING THEMSELVES, WE HAVE STRATEGIES OUTLINED FOR THE NEXT STEPS AND SUPPORT STRUCTURES FOR THEM.
UH, NEXT WOULD BE BOARD MEMBER COLLINS, WHAT SPECIFIC INITIATIVES THAT YOU HAVE LED OR PLAYED A MAJOR ROLE IN CREATING AND STRUCTURAL PROGRAMS AND STRATEGIES TO MOVE ACADEMICALLY CHALLENGED STUDENTS WHO ARE CHALLENGED DUE TO PAST SYSTEMIC PRACTICES AND EXCLUSIONS.
SO, UM, I ALREADY SHARED ONE WITH YOU AND THAT WAS OUR WORK WITH THE OFFICE OF CIVIL RIGHTS, UH, WHERE STUDENTS WERE ABSOLUTELY BEING DENIED ACCESS TO OUR MAGNET PROGRAMS. AND WE WERE ABLE TO WORK ON THAT AND THAT WAS LED BY ME AND OUR WORK WITH THE OFFICE OF CIVIL RIGHTS.
SO I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S, THAT'S A HUGE PIECE OF THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE IS, AND IT, AND IT WAS FOUR INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAMS. UM, ANOTHER ONE THAT WE HAVE BEEN WORKING ON, UM, AND I'M JUST, JUST, I AM GOING TO SHARE THAT I AM A PARTNER IN THIS WORK.
THIS IS NOT MY PARTICULAR INITIATIVE BECAUSE I, I WILL TELL THE TRUTH.
AND THIS IS THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING WITH, UM, PRE-K TO THIRD GRADE.
AND THIS IS THE WORK THAT OUR DISTRICT HAS TAKEN ON.
UM, IN RESPONSE TO KNOWING THAT THE NUMBERS OF CHILDREN THAT CANNOT READ AT THIRD GRADE IS ALMOST ALWAYS USED AS THE PREDICTOR FOR HOW MANY PRISON BEDS WE WOULD NEED IN A COMMUNITY.
SO KNOWING THAT DATA CAN NOT IGNORE IT.
AND THAT WORK ACTUALLY WAS SET UP BY OUR LITERACY DEPARTMENT.
AND WE KNOW THAT WE DO NOT HAVE DATA FROM PRE-K TO THIRD GRADE THAT ACTUALLY MEASURES THE LITERACY PIECE OF WHERE CHILDREN ARE.
WE HAVE, UH, SOME, UM, FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS, DIAGNOSTICS, BUT WE'RE REALLY NOT LOOKING AT THE PROFICIENCY LEVEL OF THE READER.
WHICH STARTS WHEN WE BEGIN THE THIRD GRADE READING ASSESSMENTS, WE START TO SEE THAT.
SO IN BROWARD COUNTY, THROUGH OUR ACADEMIC PROGRAM, WE ACTUALLY DESIGNED PROTOCOLS.
WE DON'T CALL THEM ASSESSMENTS CAUSE THEY'RE NOT, THEY'RE A PART OF THE READING PROGRAM.
AND THOSE PROTOCOLS ACTUALLY LEAD THE TEACHERS TO SEE EXACTLY WHAT THE CHILD IS MISSING IN FLUENCY AND COMPREHENSION IN PHONEMIC AWARENESS AND PHONICS, AS WELL AS VOCABULARY
[01:15:01]
AND HAVING A ROADMAP BY USING THOSE DIAGNOSTICS AND PROTOCOLS, WE ARE ABLE TO LOAD IN EXACTLY WHAT THOSE LOW PERFORMING READERS NEED AT A VERY, VERY EARLY AGE.THERE ARE BENCHMARK AGAINST, UM, WE USE FOUNTAS AND PINELL, WHICH IS A, A LEVEL SYSTEM FOR WHAT, UM, LEVEL A CHILD IS READING AT.
AND WE ARE HEADED TOWARDS P AND WHAT WE SAW BY INITIATING THAT IS THE TEACHER STARTED TO KNOW WHAT TO DO WHEN THEY WERE SEEING THESE GAPS, THEY WERE ABLE TO FILL THEM IMMEDIATELY.
THE CHILDREN THEN GOT TO THE NEXT LEVEL, AND WE DID ANOTHER PROTOCOL TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY GOT, THAT NOBODY WAS ALLOWED TO MOVE ON WITHOUT MAKING SURE THAT THOSE EXPECTATIONS WERE MET AND WHAT IT WENT TO IS THE READING SCORES HEADED TOWARDS THIRD GRADE, JUST WENT SO FAR UP AND I'M GOING TO SHARE WITH YOU THAT IT WASN'T EASY BECAUSE WE HAD A LOT OF RESISTANCE.
WE HAD A LOT OF RESISTANCE FROM TEACHERS BECAUSE THEY DON'T WANT TO CHANGE THEIR EDUCATIONAL PRACTICES.
SO WHAT WE SET UP WAS CALIBRATION MEETINGS, WHERE WE SENT IN TEAMS THAT ACTUALLY WATCHED THEM, HELP THEM, DID THE PROTOCOLS WITH THEM, WENT OVER THE DATA WITH THEM TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PROTOCOLS WERE SHOWING THE APPROPRIATE DATA.
SO WE DID NOT LEAVE THOSE TEACHERS ALONE TO GO FIGURE IT OUT THEMSELVES LIKE A LOT OF EDUCATIONAL PROCESSES DO.
AND WHAT HAPPENED WAS THE TEACHERS BECAME THE CHAMPIONS BECAUSE THEY SAW THEIR CHILDREN'S READING SCORES GOING UP AND UP AND UP.
SO THAT WORK OF SENDING OUT AND AGAIN, THIS IS ANOTHER MODEL, RIGHT? OF HOW PULLING TEACHERS OUT PUTTING SUBSTITUTES IN CLASSES TO GET TRAINING.
WE GO OUT AND WE PUSH IN TO THOSE CLASSROOMS AND THIS WAS AN ABSOLUTELY OBVIOUS TYPE OF A PROCESS TO BE ABLE TO GET THOSE READING SCORES UP.
WE WENT FROM, UM, JUST BELOW, UH, ABOUT 30, 35% IN READING SCORES TO 51% IN READING SCORES AT THE THIRD GRADE LEVEL FOR OUR LOWER, LOWER PERFORMING STUDENTS.
THAT WASN'T OUR OVERALL GRADE, BUT WE ACTUALLY BENCHMARK THOSE STUDENTS SPECIFICALLY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE MEETING THEIR NEEDS.
NEXT WE GO TO DISTRICT THREE, MR. HOWARD DUAL ENROLLMENT IS OFTEN LIMITED TO STUDENTS FROM A LOAD OF FOOD IN HOMES AND IN HIGH PERFORMANCE SCHOOLS.
HOW DO YOU ENSURE THAT MORE MINORITIES AND STUDENTS FROM LOW INCOME FAMILIES HAVE MORE ACCESS TO DUAL ENROLLMENT? SO DUAL ENROLLMENT IS AT EVERY SINGLE HIGH SCHOOL IN BROWARD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
IT IS ONE OF THE INDICATORS THAT WE ACTUALLY MEASURE EVERY SINGLE YEAR IN OUR, UH, IN OUR DIVERSITY PLAN.
WE ACTUALLY TAKE A LOOK AT THE SCORES AND WE BREAK DOWN BY SUBGROUP, WHICH STUDENTS ARE MAKING IT IN, WHICH STUDENTS ARE NOT MAKING IT.
AND WE ACTUALLY SET UP SYSTEMS BASED ON THAT DATA TO ALLOW THOSE CHILDREN TO HAVE MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR SUCCESS.
AND I'M GOING TO TELL YOU HOW WE DO THAT.
DUAL ENROLLMENT IN BROWARD COUNTY IS SO LARGE THAT WE DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE TO HAVE A PROFESSOR FROM A COLLEGE, COME IN AND DO IT.
OUR TEACHERS ARE ACTUALLY EXPERTS IN THEIR AREA.
THEY ARE APPROVED BY THE UNIVERSITY AND THE COLLEGE TO ACTUALLY TEACH THAT DUAL ENROLLMENT CLASS RIGHT IN THEIR OWN CLASSROOM, IN THE HIGH SCHOOL.
AND I'M NOT SURE IF IT'S THE SAME HERE, BUT THAT PARTICULAR WORK ALSO RAISES THE LEVEL OF THE TEACHER'S CONFIDENCE AND THEY GET THEIR SCORES BACK AND THEY SEE THE AREAS THAT THEY ARE STRUGGLING WITH BECAUSE THEY SEE THE AREAS THAT THEIR STUDENTS ARE STRUGGLING WITH.
WE SET UP PLCS, PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES, AND THOSE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES ARE DONE BY THE CONTENT AREA.
SO HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS HAVE A TENDENCY.
THEY WANT TO, THERE ARE A LITTLE BIT OF LONERS.
THEY DON'T REALLY LIKE TO CONVENE, BUT WHAT HAPPENED WAS WE ACTUALLY SET UP OPPORTUNITIES FOR ADVANCED PLACEMENT, DUAL ENROLLMENT.
AND WE ALSO HAVE CAMBRIDGE WHERE WE HAVE THESE LEARNING COMMUNITIES WHERE THEY'RE SHARING THEIR IDEAS.
THEY'RE FIGURING OUT WHAT'S WORKING IN THEIR DATA AND WHAT'S NOT WORKING IN THEIR DATA.
AND WE ABSOLUTELY PROVIDE DUAL ENROLLMENT CLASSES AT EVERY SINGLE HIGH SCHOOL.
THERE IS A BANK OF AP CLASSES THAT ARE REQUIRED TO BE AT EVERY SINGLE HIGH SCHOOL BECAUSE WE MEASURE IT AT THE END OF EVERY SINGLE SCHOOL YEAR.
AND WE HAVE TO RE THIS WAS, THIS WAS A PART OF OUR DSEK LAWSUIT.
SO WE'RE NOT, I MEAN, OUR DSEK LAWSUIT INCLUDED WRITE DOWN BECAUSE WE WROTE IT BECAUSE WE WROTE THE PLAN AND THAT PLAN INCLUDED TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE WAS EQUITY AND ACCESS FOR EVERY SINGLE CHILD IN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, IN ADVANCED COURSEWORK.
SO WHEN YOU HAVE THAT AS A BENCHMARK, LISTEN, WE WERE GOING TO DO IT ANYWAYS.
BUT WHEN IT'S A BENCHMARK, A PRINCIPAL, CAN'T SAY, NO, A PRINCIPAL, CAN'T SAY NO.
[01:20:01]
MAYBE THE EXPECTATIONS OF THEIR STUDENTS MIGHT BE A LITTLE TOO LOW.SO I'M JUST NOT GOING TO OFFER IT.
BECAUSE IT IS AN EXPECTATION OF OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT THAT EVERY CHILD HAS ACCESS TO THAT.
SOMETIMES THE STAFF IS, MIGHT NOT BE READY.
SO WE'RE ABLE TO DO WHAT'S WITH DISTANCE LEARNING AS WELL AS ONLINE LEARNING SO THAT THOSE STUDENTS ALSO HAVE THE VERY BEST TEACHER, NOT THE BEST OF CIRCUMSTANCES, BUT THE ACCESS WILL CONTINUE TO BE THERE.
UM, THE, THE OPPORTUNITY FOR CHILDREN TO PARTICIPATE IN THESE TYPES OF CLASSES AND SETTING UP OPPORTUNITIES FOR THOSE STUDENTS TO WORK AND SEE THEIR PEERS THAT LOOK LIKE THEM TAKING THESE HIGHLY ADVANCED CLASSES, DOING LUNCH BUNCHES AROUND AP, DOING LUNCH BUNCHES AROUND DUAL ENROLLMENT AND LEARNING HOW THEY WORK TOGETHER TO TEACH EACH OTHER.
THOSE REALLY, REALLY GREAT STUDY SKILLS, UM, IS, IS VERY, VERY IMPORTANT PART OF IT.
NEXT DISTRICT KID, MR. LANA'S.
UH, MS. BROWN, EARLIER YOU SPOKE OF TRAUMA AND AS I GO THROUGH YOUR COVID-19 REENTRY PLAN, I SEE THAT YOU HIGHLIGHTED EMOTIONAL WELLNESS.
SO THIS NEXT QUESTION WOULD BE CENTERED AROUND COMMUNITY SUPPORT AND FAMILIES.
AT THIS TIME, WE'RE AT A VERY PIVOTAL MOMENT IN OUR COUNTRY, AS IT RELATES TO COMMUNITY AND POLICE RELATIONS MORE SPECIFICALLY IN LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES WHERE MAJORITY OF OUR MOST VULNERABLE STUDENTS LIVE IN 2016 TRAGEDY STUCK, STRUCK OUR COMMUNITY DUE TO A SIMILAR INCIDENT, WHICH CLAIMED THE LIFE OF AN AFRICAN AMERICAN MAN WITH SEVERAL STUDENT LED PROTESTS, CURRENTLY TAKING PLACE AROUND OUR CITY AND TALKS OF SCHOOL STARTING BACK SOON.
HOW WILL YOU, RE-ENGAGED EMOTIONALLY AFFECTED FAMILIES WHILE REESTABLISHING THE SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL MORALE OF OUR MOST EMOTIONALLY VULNERABLE STUDENTS.
THIS IS IMPORTANT WORK AND, AND IT IS CRITICAL WORK.
THERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO SHIFT THE CONVERSATIONS AROUND RACE AND AROUND OPPORTUNITY IN THIS TIME.
AND IN THIS PLACE, IT IS CRITICAL FOR US TO HAVE STUDENTS HAVE A SENSE OF SAFETY AND SECURITY IN THEIR SCHOOLS, AS WELL AS IN THEIR COMMUNITIES.
THE EMOTIONAL WELLNESS THAT I TALKED ABOUT IN MY COVID PLAN, THIS HAS BEEN BREWING FOR A VERY, VERY LONG TIME.
AND WE HAVE GOT TO TAKE THIS MOMENT TO HAVE COURAGEOUS CONVERSATIONS ABOUT IT, AND ACTUALLY BE ABLE TO HAVE OUR STUDENTS HELP US LEAD IT.
AFTER THE MARJORIE STONEMAN DOUGLAS TRAGEDY, WE ACTUALLY SAW OUR CHILDREN AND I'M SURE MANY OF YOU SAW THEM ON TV.
THEY WERE THE ABSOLUTE LEADERS IN THE EMOTIONAL AND SAFETY AND WELLNESS OF THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY.
AND I WOULD EXPECT, EXPECT NO LESS FROM US AS A SCHOOL DISTRICT TO SET UP PROCESSES AND SYSTEMS FOR CHILDREN AND STUDENTS, TO BE ABLE TO BE HARD TO LEAD OPPORTUNITIES FOR CONVERSATIONS AS WELL AS OPPORTUNITIES TO HAVE, UM, GEORGE FLOYD HONORED, BECAUSE THAT IS HOW WE NEED TO MOVE FORWARD AND HEAL THROUGH THIS.
AND I'M SAYING THE STUDENTS, BECAUSE IT'S NOT BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO DO IT BECAUSE I WILL, BUT IT'S BECAUSE THE CHILDREN ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO HAVE A VOICE AND IT HAS TO BE RESPECTED.
AND IT HAS TO BE A PART OF THEIR EMOTIONAL HEALING.
THOSE OPPORTUNITIES LEAD OUR STUDENTS TO POSITIONS OF LEADERSHIP, HAVE OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH AND HAVE OPPORTUNITIES FOR CHANGE ACROSS THE UNITED STATES.
SO IN THIS MOMENT, AND IN THIS TIME THERE HAVE BEEN HISTORICAL INJUSTICES THAT WE HAVE GOT TO CORRECT.
AND I'M GOING TO SUGGEST THAT THAT WORK IS NOT GOING TO BE EASY.
I THINK IT CAN BE LED BY THE SCHOOL DISTRICT AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO HEAR, LISTEN, AND SPEAK APPROPRIATELY ABOUT WHAT WE NEED TO CHANGE.
I AM WILLING TO DO THAT HARD WORK.
I THINK IT'S IN THE MOMENT OF TRAUMA AND IN THE MOMENT OF DEATH, WE HAVE GOT TO USE THAT ENERGY TO HELP OUR CHILDREN HEAL AND TO BECOME LEADERS THAT EVERYONE CAN RESPECT AROUND THE INJUSTICE OF RACIAL CHALLENGES IN OUR COMMUNITY.
I LOOK FORWARD TO IT AND I HOPE
[01:25:01]
THAT OUR ENTIRE COMMUNITY CAN GATHER AROUND IT AND SUPPORT OUR CHILDREN TO THIS VERY DIFFICULT TIME.AND I KNOW HE'S BEEN WAITING FOR A VERY LONG TIME, BUT NOW WE GO TO DISTRICT ONE BOARD MEMBER, BILLY.
THANK YOU, MS. BROWN, YOU'VE TALKED ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF INNOVATION AND IMPROVING STUDENT OUTCOMES.
WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR PROCESS FOR EVALUATING RETURN ON INVESTMENT FOR NEW IDEAS AND PROGRAMS? YEAH.
UM, SO, SO THIS, UM, THIS IS ALSO A PART OF BUILDING TRUST.
UM, SO WHEN WE START WORKING ON INNOVATIVE PROJECTS IN SCHOOLS, UM, WE ACTUALLY START WITH THE QUESTIONS FIRST.
WHAT ARE WE GOING TO MEASURE? AND WHAT ARE THE EXPECTATIONS OF WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN AT A SCHOOL? THE PROBLEM IS, IS WHEN PEOPLE START PROJECTS AS SPECIAL IDEAS, THEY DON'T START OUT WITH THE QUESTIONS FIRST.
THEY DON'T START OUT WITH THE WHY AND FOR GOODNESS SAKE, HOW THE HECK ARE WE GOING TO MEASURE IF THIS IS WORKING OR NOT? OKAY.
SO I THINK WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT INNOVATION, IT'S ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE WORDS, YOU KNOW, THAT PEOPLE KIND OF RUN AROUND WITH AND THINK THAT THEY CAN DO IT.
ANYBODY THAT BRINGS ME AN INNOVATIVE IDEA, THE FIRST QUESTION OUT OF MY MOUTH IS HOW ARE WE GOING TO MEASURE IT? OKAY.
AND LET ME SEE THE PLAN AND THE DATES WHEN EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE THINGS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN, BECAUSE I'M NOT PROMISING ANYTHING TO ANY COMMUNITY, UNLESS THERE'S A PLAN.
AND WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO SHOW THAT COMMUNITY THAT THERE IS A RETURN ON INVESTMENT.
BECAUSE THE COMMUNITY DEPENDS ON US WHERE THEY'RE LEADERS.
SO IN A COUPLE OF OUR PROJECTS, OH GOSH, I WISH I, I WISH I BROUGHT IT.
UM, WE DID SOME WORK WITH SOME OF OUR LOWER PERFORMANCE SCHOOLS AND WE ACTUALLY HIRED AN EXTERNAL EVALUATOR, NOT AN INTERNAL EVALUATOR BECAUSE I WANTED THE COMMUNITY TO UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS TRUTH IN LENDING.
IF WE'RE GOING OUT THERE AND WE ARE WORKING ON SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN THE SCHOOL, I WANT TO BE ABLE TO SHOW THE COMMUNITY THAT IT'S WORKING OR IF IT'S NOT WORKING.
AND AS WE'RE WORKING WITH TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS, THEY ALSO HAVE TO HAVE THOSE BENCHMARKS TO BE ABLE TO SEE IF THE PROJECT IS WORKING OR NOT.
AND SO THROUGH USING AN EXTERNAL EVALUATOR, UM, WE ACTUALLY LEARNED A LOT OURSELVES ABOUT HOW THINGS SHOULD BE MEASURED, HOW WE WORK WITH COHORTS OF STUDENTS, UM, STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT, OVER TIME, STUDENT DISCIPLINE, BECAUSE ALL OF THESE ARE MEASUREMENTS THAT NEED TO BE INCLUDED IN AN INNOVATIVE MODEL.
SO BY THE END OF THIS PARTICULAR PROJECT, IT'S STILL GOING ON BECAUSE IT'S STILL WORKING.
WE ACTUALLY PROVIDED FOR THE BOARD A FULL EVALUATION OF EVERY SINGLE THING WE DID.
AND WE DID IT TWICE BECAUSE I'M NOT GOING TO LET A PROJECT GET ALL THE WAY TO THE END.
SO WE DID A MID YEAR EVALUATION OF THE SCHOOLS THAT WE WERE WORKING WITH.
WE SAW THAT WE WERE HEADED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION ON STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT, AS WELL AS DISCIPLINE AND ATTENDANCE.
BECAUSE THOSE ARE ALL REALLY IMPORTANT MARKERS.
AND SO WE PROCEEDED, WE HAD A FEW THINGS WE NEEDED TO SHIFT BECAUSE THE DATA WAS TELLING US THAT.
AND AT THE END OF THE YEAR, THAT FINAL REPORT CAME BACK FROM OUR EVALUATORS ARE OUT OF NEW YORK THAT SAID, PLEASE REPEAT THIS PROCESS.
AND SO IT NOT ONLY SHOWED A PROGRESSION, BUT IT ALSO TAUGHT THE SCHOOL HOW TO MEASURE AND UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE DOING IS EITHER WORKING OR NOT WORKING.
AND THOSE SKILLS, THOSE SKILLS OF USING THAT EXTERNAL EVALUATOR ARE STILL USED IN THOSE SCHOOLS.
IT'S PEOPLE, PEOPLE IN EDUCATION ARE NOT TAUGHT PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT.
THEY ARE TAUGHT PEDAGOGY AND HOW TO TEACH AND WORK IN FRONT OF CHILDREN.
SO I BELIEVE IT'S MY JOB AS A LEADER TO HELP THAT INNOVATION AND PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM TO BE SO PS PEOPLE CAN CELEBRATE SUCCESSES.
WE CAN ABSOLUTELY SHOW THAT THE RESOURCES THAT WE PUT INTO THIS PROJECT ARE ACTUALLY PRODUCING THESE RESULTS.
AND SO THAT REALLY STARTS TO REBUILD THAT TRUST.
WE SAY, WE DO WE SHELL, AND IF IT'S NOT WORKING, WE GOT SOME OTHER WORK TO DO.
UH, THAT BRINGS US TO THE END OF THE, UH, Q AND A PORTION OF THIS, UH, BEFORE WE GO TO YOUR CONCLUSIONS, MS. BROWN, UH, I, AND ALL THE REST OF THE BOARD WOULD LIKE TO GREATLY, UH, THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND EFFORT FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DON'T KNOW THESE CANDIDATES HAVE BEEN THROUGH TWO DAYS OF COMMUNITY MEETINGS, NOT THE COMMUNITY WAS GROWING A LITTLE, BUT JUST THE PROCESS WAS GRUELING, UH, UH, WORKING THROUGH THIS AND HAVE SPENT LONG HOURS WITH THE TOWN HALL LAST NIGHT.
[01:30:01]
UH, YOU CAN TELL THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF HOMEWORK DONE.SO I JUST REALLY ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD, WANT TO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME AND YOUR EFFORT, AND OBVIOUSLY YOUR PASSION AND FOR YOUR LOVE OF EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO COME HERE.
SO IT'S VERY, VERY APPRECIATED.
SO WITH THAT, I'D LIKE TO GIVE YOU A FEW MINUTES TO DO A WRAP UP.
SO FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY.
UM, I KNOW THAT IT HAS BEEN SO MUCH WORK FOR STAFF, SO, SO THANK YOU ALL YOU WORKER BEES OUT THERE THAT HAVE BEEN GETTING THIS DONE.
UM, THANK YOU TO THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS, BECAUSE I KNOW IT TOOK A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF YOUR TIME AND, UH, COMING OUT AND SUPPORTING US THROUGH THIS PROCESS.
UM, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, THANK YOU TO THE BOARD.
I THINK IT'S REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT THAT THE COMMUNITY UNDERSTAND THAT THE BOARD WAS LISTENING, THAT THEY WANTED COMMUNITY INPUT IN THIS PROCESS.
AND I HAVE TO TELL YOU IF ONE MORE PERSON TELLS ME THAT THEY SAW MY FACE ON YOUTUBE.
I'M JUST, I'M JUST GOING TO HAVE TO WONDER THAT THEY MUST HAVE SOMETHING BETTER TO DO WITH THEIR LIVES AND SEE MY FACE ON YOUTUBE.
UM, BUT ALL THAT SAID, UM, IN AN ENVIRONMENT LIKE THIS, UM, I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THE CHALLENGES, UM, THAT WE FACE AND THAT TOGETHER, THESE CHALLENGES CAN BE MET.
I THINK BY NOW, UH, THROUGH THE COMMUNITY MEETINGS, AS WELL AS SOME OF MY CONVERSATIONS WITH BOARD MEMBERS, AS WELL AS THE INTERVIEW PROCESS.
UM, I THINK YOU ALL KNOW THAT I AM A BOOTS ON THE GROUND LEADER.
UM, I AM NOT SOMEBODY THAT IS GOING TO BE A DETACHED INTELLECTUAL WORKING ON POLICY OR, UH, DROPPING DOWN MANDATES, UH, FOR PEOPLE TO DO.
UM, I THINK THIS WORK IS REALLY, REALLY, REALLY HARD.
UM, AND, BUT I AM VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT IT AND I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN DO TOGETHER.
AND, UM, I DON'T CREATE BY MYSELF.
I, UM, THERE'S SOME AWESOME BRAIN CELLS IN THIS ROOM THAT I'M GOING TO BE TAPPING ALL OF YOU.
SO WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA FIGURE IT OUT TOGETHER.
I THINK YOU WILL SEE IN MY WORK, UM, THAT I AM PROJECT MANAGEMENT FOCUSED, UH, TIMELINE, DRIVEN, RESULTS DRIVEN, EXCUSE ME, I'M ALSO A CHEERLEADER.
UM, I BELIEVE THAT A LEADER MUST PROJECT THE ABSOLUTELY BEST OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL CHILDREN IN A VERY, VERY POSITIVE AND ENGAGING WAY.
I DIDN'T LIKE THE CHEERLEADERS, YOU KNOW, AT HIGH SCHOOL.
BECAUSE I WAS A BIT OF A BOOKWORM.
BUT I AM A CHEERLEADER NOW BECAUSE THERE'S ONLY A FEW OF US IN THIS WORLD THAT ARE CHEERING ON EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THOSE CHILDREN THAT CROSS OVER THAT THRESHOLD EVERY SINGLE DAY, I'M AN ACCOUNTANT.
I WILL TELL YOU WHAT THE DATA'S SHOWING US.
I WILL, I AM VERY TRANSPARENT.
PEOPLE MIGHT GET SICK OF THAT, BUT THAT IS WHAT I DO.
I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT PEOPLE UNDERSTAND, THEY SEE THE INFORMATION SO THAT THEY ALSO CAN MAKE COLLECTIVE DECISIONS ALONGSIDE OF US, NOT WITH US MAKING DECISIONS ON OUR OWN.
I ALSO BELIEVE THAT THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY IN EAST BATON ROUGE TO CONTINUE THE HARD WORK OF CREATING A QUALITY SEAT FOR EVERY SINGLE CHILD IN THIS SCHOOL DISTRICT.
I TOTALLY BELIEVE THAT THAT IS POSSIBLE.
I BELIEVE THAT YOU HAVE SOME GREAT EDUCATORS IN THIS DISTRICT THAT HAVE GONE UNDER-RECOGNIZED AND WE NEED TO LIFT THEM UP.
AND WE HAVE MORE WORK TO DO WITH THEM HELPING US LEAD THIS OPPORTUNITY.
I WILL SERVE THIS COMMUNITY WITH A LENS OF EQUITY, AND I'M HOPING THAT YOU ALL HAVE HEARD THAT VERY, VERY CLEARLY THE DATA SHOWS US EXACTLY WHAT WE NEED TO DO.
AND THE DATA SHOWS US TO SUPPORT DISPROPORTIONATELY THAT ALL OF OUR PROCESSES AND SYSTEMS HAVE NEGATIVELY IMPACT OUR MINORITY COMMUNITY MORE THAN ANY OTHER COMMUNITY IN THIS AREA.
SO THAT EQUITY LENS WILL BE USED VERY, VERY CLEARLY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WORK ON THE GAPS, CLOSING THE GAPS AND CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL CHILDREN.
IT'S KIND KINDA MISSING THESE DAYS, RIGHT? IT'S KINDA MISSING NOT ONLY IN EDUCATION, BUT SOMETIMES EVEN IN OUR WHOLE WORLD.
AND I BUILD TRUST THROUGH COLLABORATION.
YOU ALL WILL SEE THAT I WILL DRIVE YOU CRAZY.
BECAUSE I THINK EVERY SINGLE IDEA IS A GOOD ONE.
AND I ALSO WILL HONOR THE STRENGTHS THAT I SEE IN EACH PERSON.
AND I WILL BRING THOSE STRENGTHS TO THE TABLE AND WE WILL WORK ON IT ALL TOGETHER.
I BELIEVE THAT I AM IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME WITH THE RIGHT PEOPLE.
AND I LOOK FORWARD TO THE NEXT OPPORTUNITY TO BE ABLE TO
[01:35:01]
SPEND TIME WITH YOU AND JUST THANKS SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME.WE'LL TAKE ABOUT A 10 MINUTE RECESS WHILE THE NEXT CANDIDATE, UH, ARISE AND YES.
UH, THIS IS OUR SECOND CANDIDATE FOR, UH, WAIT FOR THE TV TO COME ON HIS ON, UH, THIS IS OUR SECOND CANDIDATE, DR.
NIKIA TOWNS, WHO AGAIN, HAS BEEN WITH US FOR THE LAST SEVERAL DAYS, UH, WALKING THROUGH SOME INTERESTING TIMES WITH US HERE IN BATON ROUGE AND GETTING, ALLOWING US TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HER AND GIVING HER THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN MORE, UH, ABOUT EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH.
SO THE PROCESS WE'RE GOING TO USE IS VERY SIMILAR.
WE'RE GOING TO MISS TOWNS, DR.
TOWNS WILL HAVE ABOUT 15 MINUTES FOR AN INTRODUCTION, AND THEN WE'LL MOVE TO BOARD QUESTIONS.
AND THEN ABOUT A FIVE MINUTE, UH, CLOSE, UH, AT THE END OF THE PROCESS.
SO WITH THAT, AND WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, WE WILL MOVE INTO THE QUESTION AND ANSWER PORTION OF THIS MEETING.
AND SO WE WILL START OFF WITH DISTRICT NINE, MR. TATLIN.
DISTINGUISHED MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.
AND I WANT TO THANK YOU ALL AGAIN FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY THAT YOU'VE GIVEN ME TO BE HERE.
UH, AS ONE OF THE FINALISTS TO BECOME THE NEXT SUPERINTENDENT OF EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL SYSTEM, IT WOULD BE A GREAT HONOR AND PRIVILEGE IF I WAS SELECTED TO SERVE THIS COMMUNITY IN THAT ROLE, WHEN WE STARTED THIS PROCESS BACK IN MARCH, I THOUGHT THAT WE WERE ON A FAST MOVING TRAIN.
AND THEN OF COURSE THE WORLD CHANGED WITH THE GLOBAL PANDEMIC.
UH, BUT THE GOOD NEWS OF THAT IS THAT IT GAVE ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY FOLLOW, UH, THE BATON ROUGE COMMUNITY, AS WE ALL WORK THROUGH, UH, THE CHANGES THAT WE WERE HAVING TO ENDURE, UH, WITH THE RESPONSE TO THE PANDEMIC.
AND AS I FOLLOWED AND LEARNED MORE ABOUT YOUR COMMUNITY, I REALLY BECAME EVEN MORE CONVINCED THAT SO MUCH OF WHAT THE COMMUNITY HAS BEEN CALLING FOR, COMMUNICATING WHAT FOLKS WANT TO SEE IN TERMS OF THE NEXT LEVEL OF WORK IN EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL SYSTEM IS WORK THAT I BELIEVE THAT MY SKILLSET HAS MADE ME UNIQUELY QUALIFIED FOR.
AND SO I AM SO EXCITED TO HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE ON THE GROUND THIS WEEK AND TALK TO SO MANY STAKEHOLDERS, UH, THAT YOU ALL HAVE A RANGE FOR US TO BE ABLE TO ENGAGE WITH.
AND I HAVE TO SAY THAT THIS IS A RIGOROUS PROCESS.
I LOVE RIGOR BECAUSE WHAT WE'RE DOING NOW IS MODELING FOR OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM AND FOR OUR COMMUNITY, WHAT OUR EXPECTATIONS ARE IN TERMS OF SELECTING LEADERSHIP.
AND IF I AM SELECTED AS THE NEXT SUPERINTENDENT, THIS MODELING OF SUCH A RIGOROUS PROCESS IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE GOING TO CARRY FORWARD.
AS WE THINK ABOUT OUR DISTRICT CENTRAL OFFICE POSITIONS, WE'RE GOING TO CARRY FORWARD.
AS WE THINK ABOUT OUR PRINCIPAL POSITIONS, ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL POSITIONS, TEACHER LEADERSHIP ROLES, WE SHOULD HAVE RIGOR IN OUR SELECTION PROCESS TO ABSOLUTELY VET THE BEST CANDIDATE.
AND SO, AS I PREPARED FOR THIS OPENING STATEMENT, I APPROACH IT IN THIS WAY.
I GET TO MAKE MY CLOSING ARGUMENT TONIGHT.
AND FOR YOU ALL, AND I DON'T ENVY YOUR POSITION BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, I THINK HIGHLY OF MS. BROWN, IT'S CHOOSING TIME, IT'S CHOOSING TIME.
AND THIS COMMUNITY IS AT A PIVOTAL POINT.
AND THE NEXT 10 YEARS IN EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH ARE GOING TO BE TRANSFORMATIVE IN TERMS OF PUBLIC EDUCATION AND SELECTING THE NEXT LEADER IS THE FIRST STEP TOWARDS IMPROVING UPON AND GETTING TO THE NEXT LEVEL FROM ALL THE PROGRESS THAT HAS BEEN MADE.
AND HOW DO WE BUILD UPON AND ACCELERATE THAT PROGRESS.
AND THE UNIQUENESS OF THIS MOMENT IS SUCH THAT IT'S ALIGNED WITH A CHANGE IN THE STATE SUPERINTENDENCY, DR.
WE HAVE A CONNECTION THROUGH A PROFESSIONAL NETWORK, AND WE SPOKE ON MEMORIAL DAY AS I PREPARE TO COME HERE.
AND I KNOW THAT WITH THE BACKGROUND THAT I'VE HAD ON THE STATE POLICY LEVEL AND CADE'S VISION FOR MOVING THE WORK FORWARD IN LOUISIANA, IT WOULD BE A DYNAMIC TEAM THAT
[01:40:01]
WE WOULD MAKE AS HE WOULD BE VERY INTERESTED IN EAST BATON ROUGE, PARISH WEIGHING IN AND HELPING TO SET THE DIRECTION IN TERMS OF THE STATE POLICY CONTEXT, MOVING FORWARD, DOING HIS ADMINISTRATION.SO AS YOU ALL CONSIDER THIS SELECTION PROCESS, I PUT TOGETHER A PORTFOLIO BECAUSE WHAT I HEARD FROM THE COMMUNITY WHEN YOU ALL VOTED IS THAT PEOPLE WANT EVIDENCE.
THEY WANT TO KNOW THAT IS JUST NOT A LOT OF TALK COMING FROM THE CANDIDATES AND THAT EVERYBODY WHO SOUNDS LIKE THEY CAN DO THE JOB AREN'T NECESSARILY ABLE TO DO THE JOB.
SO WHAT IS THE EVIDENCE? WHAT IS THE EVIDENCE? AND SO I'VE GIVEN EVERY BOARD MEMBER A PACKET, AND I WANT TO TALK ABOUT SOME KEY THINGS THAT I'VE HEARD FROM YOU ALL.
AND WE'LL FIRST WALK THROUGH THE PACKET AND WE'RE GOING TO ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE, IN THE SITUATION THAT WE'RE IN, WE HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THE NEED TO HAVE A LEADER WHO CAN LEAD THROUGH CRISIS, WHO CAN LEAD THROUGH CHANGE, WHO CAN RESPOND QUICKLY.
AND SO THE FIRST THING THAT YOU HAVE IN YOUR PACKET IS THE EVIDENCE THAT I WAS LEADING THE WORK OF THE COVID-19 RESPONSE IN HAMILTON COUNTY SCHOOLS.
THIS IS THE PRESS CONFERENCE ON THE DAY MARCH 12TH, THAT WE DECIDED AS DISTRICT LEADERSHIP, THAT WE WERE GOING TO PROACTIVELY CLOSE OUR SCHOOLS, BECAUSE WE KNEW THAT WE NEEDED TO HELP FLATTEN THE CURVE.
AND AT THE TIME THAT WE MADE THE DECISION, WE HAD NOT YET HAD THE FIRST CASE OF CORONA VIRUS CONFIRMED IN HAMILTON COUNTY, BUT WE KNEW IT WAS COMING AND IT DID THE NEXT DAY.
AND SO AT THIS PRESS CONFERENCE, YOU SEE THAT THE GENTLEMAN STANDING BEHIND ME, THAT'S THE COUNTY MAYOR OF HAMILTON COUNTY MAYOR, JUNE JIM COPPINGER.
HE WROTE A LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION FOR ME AND THE OTHER GENTLEMEN WAS THE MEDICAL DIRECTOR FOR OUR PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEM.
AND SO WE LED AS EDUCATORS, THE COMMUNITY RESPONSE TO THE CORONAVIRUS WHEN WE MADE THAT DECISION, WHEN WE MADE THAT DECISION, AND WE'VE BEEN TOLD BY MANY OF THE MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS THAT OUR DECISION TO CLOSE SCHOOLS PROBABLY HELPED TO BLUNT THE SPREAD OF CORONAVIRUS IN OUR COMMUNITY.
SO EVIDENCE OF CRISIS MANAGEMENT, EVIDENCE OF EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP, THEN WE TALK A LOT ABOUT DATA DRIVEN DECISION MAKING AND MAKING SURE THAT THERE IS A CLEAR STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS.
SO IN YOUR PACKET, YOU HAVE A SUMMARY OF THE HAMILTON COUNTY STRATEGIC PLAN, FUTURE READY, 20, 23.
THIS IS A COMMUNICATIONS TOOL THAT WE PUT TOGETHER, A SHORT VERSION FOR THE COMMUNITY TO KNOW EXACTLY IN A QUICK MATTER WHAT IT IS THAT WE'RE FOCUSING ON.
AND WE ALIGNED TO ALL OF THESE ELEMENTS ARE FOCUSED FIVE PERFORMANCE TARGETS AND OUR ACTION AREAS.
AND NOTICE THAT WE CALL IT AN ACTION PLAN BECAUSE IT'S NOT JUST GOING TO SIT ON A SHELF.
IT'S THE WAY THAT WE'RE GOING TO TAKE ACTION.
AND SO WHEN WE THINK ABOUT MEASURING OUR PROGRESS THE YEAR ONE OF OUR STRATEGIC PLAN, I LED THE PRODUCTION OF THIS YEAR ONE UPDATE BECAUSE WE DO REGULARLY UPDATE OUR COMMUNITY IN HAMILTON COUNTY EVERY MONTH AT THE BOARD MEETING ABOUT PROGRESS IN OUR STRATEGIC PLAN AREAS.
BUT WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE SUMMARIZE WHAT WAS THE FIRST YEAR OF RESULTS THAT WE HAD, AND YOU CAN SEE EACH AREA IS COVERED.
BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, ON THE BACK OF THIS, OUR KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS, WE SET TARGETS ANNUALLY.
FOR FIVE YEARS, WE PUT A STAKE IN THE GROUND IN TERMS OF HOW WE WERE GOING TO MOVE FORWARD AND HOW WE WANTED THE COMMUNITY TO HOLD US ACCOUNTABLE FOR WHAT WE SAID WE WERE GOING TO DO.
AND SO IN EVERY DOMAIN OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN, YOU SEE THOSE KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS.
YOU SEE WHAT THE BENCHMARK TARGETS WERE AND YOU SEE FOR YOUR ONE, DID WE MEET OR MISS THOSE TARGETS? YOU SEE A LOT OF NICE GREEN HERE.
THE GREEN MEANS WE MET THE TARGET AND WE'RE BEING TRANSPARENT ABOUT THE PLACES WHERE WE DIDN'T MEET THE TARGET, THE PINK, THE MAGENTA, AND THESE ARE ALL A PART OF THE BRANDED COLOR SCHEME THAT WE HAVE SO THAT PEOPLE KNOW I'VE TALKED A LOT ABOUT THIS WHEN YOU BRAND STRATEGICALLY MARKET AND COMMUNICATE, PEOPLE KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT FROM US.
AND THEY KNOW WHAT OUR LOOK IS AND IT'S PROFESSIONALISM.
THEY KNOW WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH AS A SCHOOL SYSTEM.
AND SO THERE'S ALSO BEEN A LOT OF CONVERSATION ABOUT CHOICE.
THE LAST ELEMENT OF YOUR PACKET IS HOW WE POSITION CHOICE IN HAMILTON COUNTY SCHOOLS.
SO NOT ONLY DO WE HAVE MAGNET PROGRAMMING, SIMILAR TO WHAT YOU ALL HAVE HERE.
WE ALSO HAVE NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOLS WHO HAVE OPEN ENROLLMENT BECAUSE
[01:45:01]
THEY HAVE CAPACITY.AND SO PARENTS CAN CHOOSE TO SEND THEIR KIDS TO THOSE SCHOOLS.
AND SO WHEN WE HAVE THE HAMILTON COUNTY, THE CHOOSE HAMILTON COUNTY FAIR, WE CREATE THEN MARKETING MATERIALS FOR ALL OF OUR SCHOOLS.
SO INSIDE OF THE PAMPHLET, YOU SEE WHAT OUR MARKETING MATERIALS LOOK LIKE FOR OUR TRADITIONAL MAGNET PROGRAMS. THEN YOU SEE WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE FOR A NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOL, SAUDI DAISY MIDDLE THAT HAS OPENED ENROLLMENT.
AND THEN YOU SEE WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE FOR OUR CAREER ACADEMIES, OUR FUTURE READY INSTITUTES AT OUR HIGH SCHOOLS.
SO THIS IS THE WAY THAT WE PUT TOGETHER A PORTFOLIO, UM, TO BE ABLE TO SAY TO PARENTS, WHAT IS, IS THAT WE HAVE TO OFFER HOW WE PRESENT TO PARENTS, THAT THERE ARE MANY CHOICE OPTIONS IN OUR DISTRICT THAT WE WANT THEM TO BE A PART OF, AND THAT THEY CAN FIND A MATCH FOR THEIR CHILD IN OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT.
WE ARE STRATEGIC, WE ARE ALIGNED AND WE ARE FOCUSED.
AND THAT IS THE WAY THAT I LEAD THE WORK IN HAMILTON COUNTY SCHOOLS.
AND I SAY THIS BECAUSE I AM THE CHIEF OF STAFF.
AND THAT MEANS I'M THE SECOND HIGHEST RANKING DISTRICT OFFICIAL IN HAMILTON COUNTY SCHOOLS.
I AM THE SUPERINTENDENT'S DESIGNEE.
I SERVE AS THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE IN HIS ABSENCE.
I'M NOT ONE OF MANY, I DON'T RUN A DIVISION.
AND SO ALL OF THESE MATERIALS THAT YOU SEE MY HANDS AND MY FINGERS WERE IN IT BECAUSE I SUPPORT ALL OF THE CHIEFS IN OUR DISTRICT TO BE ABLE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE A HIGH LEVEL, HIGH QUALITY LEVEL OF WORK THAT WE ALWAYS PRESENT WITH ELEC EXCELLENCE.
AND WE ALIGNED TO OUR STRATEGIC PLAN GOALS.
SO ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PACKET, AND NOW I'M GOING TO TRY TO MOVE US INTO A LITTLE BIT OF CONVERSATION ABOUT MY ENTRY PLAN.
I HAVE PROVIDED FOR YOU ALL A FULL VERSION OF BOOKLET OF THE 20 PAGE ENTRY PLAN THAT IS DETAILED AND POSTED ON OUR WEBSITE.
AND SO WHAT I'M DOING AS EDUCATORS WOULD SAY, I'M MODELING FOR YOU, WHAT IT WOULD LOOK LIKE, AND THEN THE KIA TOWNS ADMINISTRATION, AND HOW YOU CAN EXPECT TO RECEIVE INFORMATION FROM ME.
SO WHENEVER WE THINK ABOUT COMMUNICATIONS, WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT TARGETING OUR COMMUNICATIONS TO THE DIFFERENT AUDIENCES WHO WANT TO RECEIVE THAT.
AND SO THE FULL VERSION IS FOR YOU ALL, AS THE BOSSES, YOU WANT THE DETAILS, RIGHT? YOU WANT ALL THE DETAILS FOR MANY OF OUR FAMILIES, FOR MANY OF OUR EDUCATORS, PEOPLE DON'T HAVE TIME TO READ THIS LEVEL OF DETAIL, BUT THEY WANT TO KNOW INFORMATION ON THE DIRECTION.
THAT'S WHERE AN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY COMES IN.
AND THAT'S WHAT I'M GOING TO WALK THROUGH TODAY.
THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THIS PLAN, ISN'T A POWERPOINT PRESENTATION FOR THOSE WHO HAVE ENOUGH TIME AND INTEREST THAT THEY WANT TO GET THE HIGHLIGHTS.
THEY WANT TO GET SOME OF THE DETAILS.
BUT OF COURSE WE HAVE LOTS OF BUSY FOLKS WHO NEED TO HAVE US COMMUNICATE A MESSAGE AND COMMUNICATE THAT MESSAGE QUICKLY AND DIRECTLY.
SO THEY KNOW WHERE WE'RE GOING.
THOSE ARE THE ONE PAGE HANDOUTS THAT I'VE BEEN USING ALL WEEK TO TRY TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE GET THE ELEMENTS OF HOW I AM THINKING ABOUT THE ENTRY PLAN.
AND WHAT'S IMPORTANT ABOUT THE WAY THAT I'VE ORGANIZED THE ENTRY PLAN IS THAT I'M MODELING WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE WHEN WE HAVE ALIGNMENT, UH, AS, UH, IF SELECTED AS THE NEXT SUPERINTENDENT, YOU ALL WOULD BE MY NINE BOSSES.
AND SO I'M CERTAINLY GOING TO DEFER TO THE SCHOOL BOARD WHEN IT COMES TO THE GOALS AND STRATEGIC DIRECTION THAT WE SET.
AND SO I KNOW THAT, UH, WE HAVEN'T HAD A FULL STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS HERE IN EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL SYSTEM SINCE 2013.
SO I LOOKED FOR DIRECTION FROM THIS BOARD, THE CURRENT BOARD MEMBERS, AND I FOUND THAT THERE WAS THE STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES THAT YOU ALL ADOPTED IN SEPTEMBER.
AND SO I TOOK THAT AS MY NORTH STAR TO MODEL FOR YOU WHAT IT MEANS TO HAVE AN EMPLOYEE WHO FOLLOWS YOUR DIRECTION AND EXPOUNDS UPON THE GOALS THAT YOU SET.
AND BECAUSE YOU'RE TAKING INFORMATION FROM THE COMMUNITY AND YOUR CONSTITUENTS, BECAUSE I HAVE SAID TODAY THAT YOUR BOSSES ARE THE PEOPLE WHO VOTE FOR YOU.
AND SO THIS IS HOW WE MAKE SURE WE'RE ALIGNED.
SO LET'S WALK THROUGH A LITTLE BIT OF MY ENTRY PLAN, EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.
SO FIRST I WANT TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE AN OVERVIEW OF HOW I'M THINKING ABOUT NOT ONLY THE FIRST 100 DAYS, BUT THE FIRST YEAR OF A SUPERINTENDENCY HERE, EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL SYSTEM.
AND THE HEADLINE HERE IS THAT I INTEND TO LISTEN, LEARN, AND THEN LEAD.
I REALIZED THAT WE'RE IN A SITUATION WHERE WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO MUTE MAKING SOME DECISIONS,
[01:50:01]
PARTICULARLY AS WE WOULD MOVE FORWARD AND THINK ABOUT THE RETURN TO SCHOOL.SO IN SOME OF THAT LISTENING AND LEARNING, WE'RE ALSO GOING TO MOVE QUICKLY TO LEADING BECAUSE I WILL MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE READY FOR A SUCCESSFUL OPENING OF SCHOOL.
I'VE ALSO CONSIDERED SOME KEY ASSUMPTIONS.
I DON'T KNOW IF CONDITIONS MAY CHANGE BETWEEN NOW AND THE TIME THAT I MIGHT BE APPOINTED AND THAT I MIGHT BE ABLE TO BEGIN THE ACTUAL ROLE OF SUPERINTENDENT.
SO I'VE LAID OUT WHAT THOSE KEY ASSUMPTIONS ARE.
AND THEN OF COURSE, ANY ENTRY PLAN THAT I'M PUTTING TOGETHER, I AM GOING TO ABSOLUTELY WORK WITH THE BOARD TO REFINE AND REVISE AN ENTRY PLAN IF ULTIMATELY SELECTED FOR THE ROLE, BECAUSE I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT I ADDRESS ALL OF THE ELEMENTS THAT YOU WANT ME TO COVER IN THE FIRST 100 DAYS.
AND SO I'M THINKING ABOUT THE TRANSITION PERIOD FROM JUNE TO JULY THAT IS SELECTED.
I'M GOING TO MAKE SURE THAT I'M HAVING CONVERSATIONS WITH YOU ALL IMMEDIATELY, EVEN PRIOR TO START DATE.
AND THAT, OF COURSE, I HAVE DISCUSSIONS WITH MR. DRAKE, THE OUTGOING SUPERINTENDENT, AND TRY TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE IS AN INSTITUTIONAL KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER BEFORE HIS RETIREMENT DATE.
AND THEN IN THE FIRST 100 DAYS, THERE ARE SOME KEY MILESTONES, FIVE KEY MILESTONES THAT I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HIT.
AND THEN IN THE FIRST YEAR, THE GOAL IS ONGOING COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, OF COURSE, MAKING SURE THAT WE BEGIN STRATEGIC PLANNING AND COMPLETE THAT STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS, BECAUSE SO MUCH THAT, OF THE WORK THAT WE HAVE TO DO HAS TO BE ALIGNED TO A STRATEGIC PLAN.
AND WE HAVE TO HAVE AGREED ON WHAT IT IS THAT WE WANT TO ACCOMPLISH.
SO WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT.
AND THEN OF COURSE, BEGINNING TO OPTIMIZE SYSTEMS, STRUCTURES AND PROCESSES, THAT'S HOW YOU BUILD A GREAT SCHOOL DISTRICT.
THAT'S HOW YOU BUILD A GREAT SCHOOL DISTRICT AND THAT WE ARE GOING TO ALIGN EVERYTHING TO THE STRATEGIC PLAN, OUR GOALS AND ACTION STEPS, AND WE'RE GOING TO REPORT ON IT AND IT'S GOING TO BE THE WAY THAT WE LIVE THE WORK FROM DAY TO DAY.
SO, UM, LET ME GET THEN QUICKLY MOVE INTO THE CLOSE.
SO YOU ALL HAVE SEEN THIS, MY PERSONAL VALUES, EXCELLENCE, COURAGE, ACCOUNTABILITY, AND CARING.
UH, AND THIS IS HOW I INTEND TO GOVERN MYSELF IN THE WORK.
AND THEN THE STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES, AS WE TALKED ABOUT THOSE KEY MILESTONES AND THE ACTION AREAS, QUALITY ASSURANCE, CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT, HIGH EXPECTATIONS, AND COMMUNITY TRUST.
AND AS WE MOVE THROUGH EACH OF THOSE AREAS, WHAT I REALLY WANT TO MAKE SURE WE ALSO TALK ABOUT IS THE COVID-19 CONTINGENCY AND CONTINUITY RESPONSE AND WHAT THAT MEANS AROUND, UH, THE WAY THAT I THINK ABOUT THIS WORK, THE PREPARATION THAT I'VE HAD TO LEAD THIS WORK, INCLUDING THE POSITION THAT I'VE HAD IN HAMILTON COUNTY SCHOOLS, LEADING OUR COVID-19 RESPONSE, UH, THE APPROACH AND PRIORITIES, WHICH ARE ABOUT THE PHYSICAL HEALTH AND SAFETY, OF COURSE, OF OUR STUDENTS AND STAFF, UH, MAKING SURE THAT WE ADDRESS STUDENT WELLBEING, BOTH SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL, AND ACADEMIC NEEDS, AND THEN THE OPERATIONAL READINESS, THE PLANNING APPROACH THAT I WOULD TAKE AND ALL OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO CONSIDER.
AND THEN THE IMMEDIATE NEXT STEPS THAT WE HAVE TO, UH, THAT WE HAVE TO TAKE.
I DID NOT WANT TO BRING TO YOU HAMILTON COUNTY'S PLAN, BECAUSE WHAT WE NEED TO DO IS DEVELOP EAST BATON ROUGE, PARISH SCHOOL SYSTEMS PLAN.
AND SO WE HAVE AN OVERVIEW OF A FOUR-PHASE APPROACH, UH, AND HOW WE NEED TO PLAN FOR ALL OF THOSE PHASES, ALL OF THE ELEMENTS, BECAUSE WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO FLUIDLY MOVE IN AND OUT OF THOSE PHASES.
AND LET ME CONCLUDE HERE, WHICH IS SOMEWHAT OF WHERE I BEGAN THE NEXT 10 YEARS ARE GOING TO BE CRITICAL FOR THE FUTURE OF PUBLIC EDUCATION IN EAST BATON ROUGE SCHOOL SYSTEM.
AND YOU ALL HAVE COMMUNICATED THAT THERE ARE LEADERSHIP TRAITS THAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR, UH, FOR THE DISTRICT TO BE ABLE TO MOVE FORWARD IN THE DIRECTION THAT THE COMMUNITY EXPECTS.
AND MY BACKGROUND FROM LEADING AND BEING A PROVEN AND TESTED LEADER, CREATING INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS TO COMPLEX BUSINESS PROBLEMS, HAVING DEEP FINANCE EXPERIENCE, HAVING SERVED AS CHIEF ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICER IN KNOX COUNTY SCHOOLS WITH 60,000 STUDENTS AND 90 SCHOOLS, ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER OF DATA AND RESEARCH AT THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, WHERE WE SERVED A MILLION STUDENTS AND 1700 SCHOOLS AND 146 SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN TENNESSEE.
AND NOW AS CHIEF OF STAFF IN KNOX COUNTY SCHOOL, EXCUSE ME, IN HAMILTON COUNTY SCHOOLS WHERE WE HAVE 45,000 STUDENTS AND 80 BUILDINGS, I'VE HAD THE BREADTH AND THE DEPTH OF EXPERIENCE TO BE READY TO BE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL SYSTEM ON DAY ONE.
I LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR QUESTIONS.
TOWNS, UH, FOR THIS ROUND, WE WILL BEGIN THE QUESTIONING WITH BOARD MEMBER TADEMAN REPRESENTING DISTRICT
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NINE.THOMAS, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE AND SPENDING THE WEEK WITH US AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST IN OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, I, UH, I WANTED TO GET A SENSE FROM YOU AND MAYBE YOU CAN SHARE WITH THE REST OF THE BOARD, WHAT YOU BELIEVE, UH, THE WORKING RELATIONSHIP AND THE ROLE OF, UH, THE SUPERINTENDENT IS IN WORKING WITH THE BOARD.
WHAT IS YOUR STYLE AND, AND HOW DO YOU SEE THAT RELATIONSHIP? UM, IF YOU ARE ELECTED TO BE THE SUPERINTENDENT OF EAST BATON ROUGE SCHOOLS.
SO THE RELATIONSHIP THAT I THINK THAT WE NEED TO HAVE IS A VERY CLOSE, UH, UH, COMMUNICATION, UM, AND, UH, GUIDANCE, UH, AND DEFINITE DIRECTION FROM YOU ALL AS THE BOARD, AS I NOTED I AM YOUR EMPLOYEE.
AND SO I SEE IT CLEARLY THAT I HAVE NINE BOSSES.
AND THE ROLE THAT I HAVE IN THE RELATIONSHIP THAT I WANT TO HAVE IS THAT I'M PROACTIVELY COMMUNICATING WITH YOU ON A REGULAR BASIS.
THE WAY THAT WE DO THIS IN MY SCHOOL DISTRICT NOW IS THAT WE SEND TWO WEEKLY UPDATES TO THE BOARD.
WE SEND A MIDWEEK UPDATE THAT REALLY INFORMS YOU ON ANY TYPES OF OPEN RECORD REQUESTS OR MEDIA REQUESTS OR ANY, UH, HAPPENINGS THAT HAVE BEEN IN SCHOOLS THAT WEREN'T IN EMERGENCY, BUT WE WANT YOU TO JUST BE AWARE OF SOME THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON.
AND THEN EVERY FRIDAY WE PROVIDE A WEEKLY UPDATE ALIGNED TO THE STRATEGIC PLAN WORK.
SO YOU WOULD GET THOSE COMMUNICATIONS FROM ME, AND THEN ONE-ON-ONE WEEKLY CONVERSATIONS IN THE WAY THAT YOU WANT TO HAVE THEM BY PHONE IN PERSON A WEEK WOULD SET THAT COMMUNICATIONS CADENCE.
AND THEN OF COURSE, MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE WORKING TOGETHER TO SET THE AGENDAS FOR YOUR BOARD MEETINGS, BOTH THE COMMITTEE MEETINGS AND YOUR REGULAR MEETINGS.
I SAY THIS, I THINK THAT THE KEY TO HIGH PERFORMING SCHOOL DISTRICTS IS A SEAMLESS GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE THAT HAS GREAT RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE BOARD AND THE SUPERINTENDENT.
AND SO FOR ME, I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT I'M ALWAYS CHECKING IN WITH YOU AROUND MY PERFORMANCE.
I SAID THIS IN MY ENTRY PLAN, THAT EVERY EMPLOYEE IN THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL SYSTEM NEEDS TO HAVE DEFINED EXPECTATIONS FOR THEIR ROLE AND PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT.
AND THAT CERTAINLY STARTS WITH ME.
SO DURING A TRANSITION PROCESS, I'M GOING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE EMBEDDED IN MY CONTRACT.
UH, WHAT WE THINK WILL BE THE EVALUATION TOOLS AND TO DESIGN AN EVALUATION MODEL THAT ALIGNS WITH THE STRATEGIC PLAN WORK.
SO YOU ALL CAN HOLD ME ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE WORK THAT WE SAY WE'RE GOING TO DO.
I'VE SAID THIS BEFORE CLEAR IS KIND.
AND I THINK THE CLARITY OF EXPECTATIONS THAT YOU ALL WILL SET FOR ME IS THE ULTIMATE KINDNESS, BECAUSE THAT MEANS I CAN MEET YOUR EXPECTATIONS AND WE KNOW WHERE WE ARE.
SO AS A SUPERINTENDENT, I'M DEFERENTIAL TO THE BOARD, I WANT TO BE ABLE TO BRING YOU RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE ADMINISTRATION.
AND THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS NEED TO TRY TO BUILD CONSENSUS FROM THE VARIOUS COMMUNITIES THAT YOU REPRESENT AND GIVE YOU OPTIONS, PROS AND CONS, RIGHT? AND WHEN YOU ASK FOR MY OPINION ON WHAT I THINK WOULD BE THE BEST PATHWAY, I CERTAINLY WILL GIVE YOU THE BENEFIT OF ANY EXPERTISE THAT I HAVE.
BUT I ULTIMATELY KNOW THAT MANY OF THOSE GOVERNANCE DECISIONS OBVIOUSLY ARE YOURS TO MAKE.
AND SO WHAT I'M DOING IS TRYING TO BRING YOU THE BEST INFORMATION TO MAKE THE BEST DECISION IN SERVICE OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT.
NEXT, WE GO TO BOARD MEMBER BERNARD REPRESENTING DISTRICT EIGHT, DR.
THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE TONIGHT.
WE'VE ENJOYED GETTING TO KNOW YOU THIS WEEK.
MY QUESTION IS HOW DO WE BALANCE THE CHOICES PEOPLE NEED TO MAKE TO EDUCATE THEIR CHILDREN? I'M REFERENCING THE PROLIFERATION OF CHARTER SCHOOLS IN BATON ROUGE.
WE HAVE DISTRICT CHARTER SCHOOLS, STATE AUTHORIZED CHARTER SCHOOLS AND STATE TAKEOVERS CHARTER SCHOOLS, MANY, BUT THE DISTRICT TO THE AUTHORIZED, HIS AUTHORIZED DO NOT MEET THE, DO NOT HAVE NOT REACHED THEIR ENROLLMENT GOALS.
MANY OF THESE SCHOOLS ALSO DO NOT MEET THE PERFORMANCE GOALS SET BY THE STATE MANY OR MOST HAVE LETTER GRADES OF D AND F MANY NEW CHARTER SCHOOLS ARE APPLYING TO BE DISTRICT CHARTER SCHOOLS.
EVEN NOW THOSE IN THE EDUCATION SECTOR EXPECT THAT THESE SCHOOLS WILL HAVE TO POACH STUDENTS FROM EACH OTHER IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN SOME MEMBERS NEEDED TO OPERATE SUCCESSFULLY.
DISTRICT FUNDS ARE DIVERTED TODAY'S CHARTER SCHOOLS, WHICH MEANS OUR ENROLLMENT NUMBERS DWINDLE WITH EVERY NEW CHARTER WE AUTHORIZE, AS WELL AS THE FUNDS BACK TO THE QUESTION.
MY QUESTION IS IN THIS CONTEXT, HOW DO WE BALANCE THE CHOICES PEOPLE MAKE TO EDUCATE THEIR CHILDREN AND MAINTAIN OUR OWN ENROLLMENT, OUR ECONOMIES OF SCALE AND THE BEST USE OF OUR FACILITIES AND STRUCTURE.
SO I THINK THAT, UM, AS YOU NOTED, UH, THAT THE SCHOOL BOARD, UH, HAS, UH, CERTAINLY BEEN RESPONDING, I THINK, TO, UH, THE APPLICATIONS THAT YOU HAVE RECEIVED AND THE COMMUNITY DESIRE TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERY CHILD HAS
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A HIGH QUALITY SEAT TO ACCESS.AND SO THAT HAS RESULTED IN THE IMPROVED APPROVAL, UM, OF CHARTERS AND CHARTER EXPANSION, UH, HERE IN EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH.
AND YOU ALL DO HAVE A VERY COMPLEX LANDSCAPE AROUND CHARTERS.
IT'S DIFFERENT THAN WHAT THE LAWS HAVE BEEN, UM, IN TENNESSEE.
BUT I WILL SAY THIS IN MY EXPERIENCE, I HAVE SERVED IN THE CHARTER AUTHORIZATION PROCESS, UH, IN KNOX COUNTY AND IN HAMILTON COUNTY SCHOOLS.
UH, AND SO I HAVE BEEN A PART OF REVIEW TEAMS WHERE I HAVE MADE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE SCHOOL BOARD ABOUT, UH, WHETHER OR NOT THESE CHARTER APPLICATIONS SHOULD BE IMPROVED, APPROVED.
AND IN KNOX COUNTY, WE REVIEWED ABOUT A HALF DOZEN CHARTER APPLICATIONS AND WE ACCEPTED ONE, UH, AND I WAS A PART OF TURNING DOWN ALL THOSE APPLICATIONS THAT DID NOT MEET OUR HIGH STANDARDS.
AND THE ONE THAT WE APPROVED WAS AN OPERATOR WHO, UH, HAD ALREADY ESTABLISHED A RELATIONSHIP WITH US AS AN AFTERSCHOOL PROVIDER.
AND SO WE DID OPEN THE CHARTER SECTOR IN KNOX COUNTY.
AND I SAY THAT TO SAY THAT MY APPROACH IS THAT, YES, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT FAMILIES HAVE OPTIONS AND THAT FAMILIES HAVE CHOICE, BUT WE ALSO MAY HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE IS HIGH QUALITY THERE.
AND SIMILARLY IN HAMILTON COUNTY SCHOOLS, I HAVE BEEN ENGAGED IN THE CHARTER AUTHORIZATION AND OVERSIGHT PROCESS.
THE KEY HERE, WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT BALANCE IS THAT WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT AS AN AUTHORIZER FOR THE SCHOOLS THAT WE'VE AUTHORIZED, WE HAVE TO BE ABLE TO HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE TO THE PERFORMANCE CONTRACT THAT THEY HAVE WITH US.
UH, AND WHEN WE HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE, THAT MEANS THAT THEY KNOW THAT THEIR RENEWAL AND EXPANSION, UH, FATE IS BASED ON WHETHER OR NOT THEY'VE MET THE EXPECTATIONS.
YOU ALL HAVE DEFINED NOW A VERY CLEAR CHARTER SCHOOL POLICY.
MY JOB AS THE NEXT SUPERINTENDENT WOULD BE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE FULLY IMPLEMENT THAT POLICY.
WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT, UM, THE RESOURCES AROUND ECONOMIES OF SCALES AND FACILITIES, LOOK, WE HAVE TO BE PROACTIVELY PLANNING.
WE KNOW WHAT THE LANDSCAPE IS.
WE KNOW WHAT CHARTER SEATS HAVE BEEN APPROVED.
WE KNOW WHAT THE ENROLLMENT TRENDS HAVE BEEN.
WE NEED TO FOCUS ON A THREE YEAR FINANCIAL PROJECTION SO WE CAN ANTICIPATE WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN IN OUR BUDGET.
AND THAT MEANS THAT WE CAN BE PROACTIVELY HAVING AN OUTLOOK THAT ALLOWS US TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE MAKING PROACTIVE STEPS AROUND THE FACILITIES IMPACT AND WHAT THE ECONOMIES OF SKILL WILL BE.
AND I SAID THIS IN MY FIRST INTERVIEW, AND I MEAN, IT, WE WANT EAST BATON ROUGE, PARISH SCHOOLS, OUR LEA RUN SCHOOLS TO BE THE FIRST CHOICE PROVIDER OF PUBLIC EDUCATION IN THE PARISH PERIOD.
SO WE'RE GOING TO ELEVATE THE LEVEL OF WORK SO THAT PARENTS CHOOSE US.
AND SO THAT'S WHAT WE NEED TO FOCUS ON IN THE WAY THAT WE'RE GOING TO MAINTAIN ENROLLMENT IS THAT YOU ARE RIGHT.
THERE ARE PLENTY OF
AND WE CERTAINLY HAVE THAT SAME CHALLENGE, UH, IN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT.
AND SO WE'RE GOING TO IMPROVE OUR SCHOOLS, BUT WE'RE NOT GOING TO LET PEOPLE TALK ABOUT DNF SCHOOLS THAT ARE IN THE LEA WITHOUT TALKING ABOUT THE DNF SCHOOLS THAT ARE ON THE CHARTER SIDE, RIGHT? YOU SHOULD NOT THROW STONES IF YOU LIVE IN A GLASS HOUSE.
AND SO WE'RE GOING TO ELEVATE THE LEVEL OF QUALITY IN PUBLIC EDUCATION IN EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH.
UH, NEXT WILL BE MY TERM, UM, DR.
TOWNS AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.
UM, A FEW, AND I WOULD LIKE TO EMPHASIZE A FEW IN THE COMMUNITY, HAVE THE FEAR THAT YOU ARE NOT QUALIFIED TO BE SUPERINTENDENT BECAUSE YOU DO NOT HAVE CLASSROOM EXPERIENCE.
HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO RESPOND TO THAT AND PROVE THEIR CONCERNS TO BE UNFOUNDED? YES.
AND I THINK I'VE TALKED ABOUT IT WITH SEVERAL GROUPS.
FIRST OF ALL, I WANT TO SAY THAT PEOPLE HAVE HEARD MY PERSONAL STORY IN TERMS OF WHY I WORK IN PUBLIC EDUCATION.
AND THAT IS BECAUSE OF THE PROFOUND IMPACT OF TWO TEACHERS THAT THEY HAD ON MY LIFE, MS. GARNER AND MR. NELL SMITH.
AND THOSE TWO EXCELLENT EDUCATORS CHANGED THE TRAJECTORY OF MY EDUCATION AND FRANKLY OF MY LIFE.
SO I COME TO THIS WITH A REVERENCE FOR THE WORK THAT TEACHERS DO WHEN I DECIDED TO STOP MOONLIGHTING AND VOLUNTEERING AND TUTORING AND RUNNING A SATURDAY SCHOOL MOONLIGHTING AND EDUCATION, AND ACTUALLY PURSUE EDUCATION AS MY PROFESSIONAL CAREER.
UH, I IMMEDIATELY STARTED THE WORK IN TALENT MANAGEMENT, HUMAN CAPITAL STRATEGY, AND THAT WORK THREW ME INTO, UH, THE ROLLOUT OF A NEW ANNUAL TEACHER EVALUATION PROCESS, WHERE WE WERE REALLY FOCUSED ON WHAT DOES GOOD TEACHING LOOK LIKE AND DEFINING A GOOD TEACHING BASED ON AN INSTRUCTIONAL RUBRIC THAT YOU ALL MIGHT BE FAMILIAR FAMILIAR WITH, THE NIET TAP RUBRIC.
AND SO IMMEDIATELY I WAS LEARNING ABOUT WHAT DOES GOOD INSTRUCTION LOOK LIKE WORKING WITH TEACHERS AROUND NOT JUST HAVING A RANK AND SORTING AND A JUDGMENT
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OF AN EVALUATION PROCESS, BUT MAKING SURE WE HAD A DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH, UH, PROCESS.AND SO I WAS ABLE TO WORK SIDE BY SIDE WITH TEACHERS AND EARN A CERTIFICATION TO BE AN OBSERVER ON THAT RUBRIC.
AND SO THAT LED TO ME REALLY GETTING INTO WHAT IS THE CORE TECHNOLOGY OF THE WORK THAT WE DO IS TEACHING AND LEARNING.
AND I DIDN'T TAKE FOR GRANTED THAT MY BUSINESS BACKGROUND WOULD BE ENOUGH TO GIVE ME CREDIBILITY, TO REALLY LEAN INTO THE CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION IN A PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT.
THAT'S WHY I DECIDED TO PURSUE A DOCTORATE IN EDUCATION.
AND I SAY THIS NOT TO BRAG, BUT TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT HOW SERIOUS I AM ABOUT THE PURSUIT AND INTELLECTUAL CURIOSITY THAT I HAVE ABOUT THE WORK THAT WE DO.
I DIDN'T JUST GO TO ANY GRADUATE SCHOOL.
I WENT TO THE NUMBER ONE DOCTORATE OF EDUCATION PROGRAM AT VANDERBILT, AND I GOT A RIGOROUS EDUCATION AROUND THE RESEARCH BASED PRACTICES, UH, THAT OUR TEACHERS NEED TO BE ABLE TO GROW AND DEVELOP IN SO THAT WE MAKE SURE THAT STUDENTS ARE LEARNING AT HIGH LEVELS.
AND ULTIMATELY, I HAVE TO SAY THIS, NO, I HAVE NOT BEEN A CLASSROOM TEACHER, BUT I UNDERSTAND THE COMPLEXITY OF THE WORK.
AND I REPRESENT TO PEOPLE ALL THE TIME THAT WHAT TEACHERS DO IS INCREDIBLY COGNITIVELY DEMANDING.
PEOPLE NEED TO RESPECT THE WORK OF EDUCATORS AND IN ALL OF THE PLACES THAT I'VE BEEN, I'VE HAD GREAT RELATIONSHIPS WITH OUR TEACHERS ASSOCIATIONS AND INDIVIDUAL TEACHERS, BECAUSE I KNOW THAT IT IS MY JOB TO ADVOCATE TO MAKE SURE THAT THE TEACHER'S JOB IS REASONABLE, MANAGEABLE, AND SUSTAINABLE.
AND THAT MEANS THAT I BROUGHT RESOURCES TO BEAR SO THAT TEACHERS DON'T HAVE TO WEAR SO MANY HATS SO THAT WE MAKE SURE THAT THEY HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO PLAN.
SO THEY HAVE HIGH QUALITY INSTRUCTIONAL RESOURCES SO THAT THEY'RE ABLE TO HAVE SOMEONE WHO'S VOICING AND ADVOCATING FOR TEACHERS.
AND SO THAT'S WHAT I THINK IS MOST IMPORTANT.
AND AT THE END OF THE DAY, I HAVE NOT BEEN A CLASSROOM TEACHER, BUT I WILL SAY THAT, UM, FOR THE TWO CANDIDATES THAT YOU HAVE TO CHOOSE FROM THE OTHER OF US HAS NOT BEEN IN THE CLASSROOM FOR 30 YEARS.
AND I THINK ANY TEACHER WOULD TELL YOU THIS, IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE CLASSROOM TODAY, YOU NEED TO TALK TO SOMEBODY WHO'S IN THE CLASSROOM TODAY.
AND SO I WOULD DEFER TO EXPERTISE AND TEACHERS ARE THE EXPERT, AND NOT ONLY AM I GOING TO BE DEFERRING TO THEIR EXPERTISE AND TALKING TO THEM AND ELEVATING THEIR VOICE, ESTABLISHING A TEACHER CABINET, WE'RE GOING TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT VOICE COMES INTO PLAY IN THE POLICY AND DECISION MAKING IN ANY ADMINISTRATION THAT I WOULD LEAD.
SO I THINK THAT I'M CLEARLY QUALIFIED FOR THIS ROLE.
I HAVE A RESPECT FOR THE WORK.
I UNDERSTAND TEACHING AND LEARNING.
I HAVE DONE, UH, THE WORK OF MAKING SURE THAT I HAVE A THEORETICAL RESEARCH BASE, UH, EDUCATION AROUND WHAT WE DO.
AND SO NOT ONLY DO I HAVE THAT COMPONENT OF THE WORK, BUT I ALSO HAVE THE FINANCE OPERATIONS, UH, FACILITIES, ALL OF THOSE OTHER ELEMENTS.
AND IT TAKES BOTH TO BE A CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF A SCHOOL DISTRICT.
AND I THINK I BRING THOSE TWO TOGETHER AND TEACHERS CAN BE CONFIDENT, CONFIDENT THAT THEY ARE GOING TO HAVE A VOICE AND BE RESPECTED FOR THE EXPERTISE THAT THEY BROWN.
MA'AM NEXT? WE'LL GO TO BOARD MEMBER DYSON, DISTRICT SIX.
SO, UM, AGAIN, WELCOME AND THANK YOU FOR COMING THIS WEEK, SPENDING ALL THIS TIME WITH US.
I KNOW IT'S BEEN VERY FULL, UM, AS I'M SURE THROUGH YOUR CONVERSATIONS ACROSS OUR COMMUNITY, YOU'VE COME TO REALIZE THAT WE HAVE VARYING VIEWPOINTS ACROSS OUR COMMUNITY AND LIKE MOST COMMUNITIES HAVE, ARE YOU COMMITTED TO PRIORITIZING BOTH RAISING STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT WITH ALL STUDENTS AND ALL SCHOOLS MOVING TO THEIR NEXT LEVEL WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY PRIORITIZING THE RE-ENGAGEMENT OF MIDDLE CLASS AND EVEN UPPER MIDDLE CLASS FAMILIES INTO OUR SCHOOL? SO THE QUESTION WAS, AM I COMMITTED? I'LL START SIMPLY SAYING, YES, I AM COMMITTED TO BOTH OF THOSE THINGS.
AND WHEN I TALKED ABOUT MY PERSONAL VALUES, IT STARTS WITH EXCELLENCE AND EXCELLENCE MEANS THAT ALL SCHOOLS, ALL CHILDREN ARE MOVING FORWARD AND ESPECIALLY OUR HIGH ACHIEVING STUDENTS.
WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE NOT RESTING ON THE FACT THAT THEY'VE MET PROFICIENCY.
THAT'S NOT WHAT PARENTS WANT FROM US.
THEY WANT THEIR CHILD TO REACH THEIR HIGHEST POTENTIAL POTENTIAL.
AND IT IS OUR OBLIGATION TO CONTINUE TO CHALLENGE AND ENRICH GIFTED AND TALENTED MAGNET, OTHER OPPORTUNITIES FOR THOSE STUDENTS WHO ARE AT THE TOP, IF YOU WILL, OF THE ACHIEVEMENT SCALE, BECAUSE THERE'S ALWAYS MORE THAT WE CAN DO TO SUPPORT THAT STUDENT'S LEARNING GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT.
UM, WHEN I THINK ABOUT THAT NOTION OF
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EXCELLENCE AND WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR ALL OF OUR COMMUNITIES? I KNOW THAT ESPECIALLY OUR PARENTS WHO HAVE MANY OPTIONS WANT TO SEE AND BE ABLE TO TRUST THAT WE ARE THE FIRST CHOICE OPTION.AND SO WE HAVE TO BE ABLE TO GIVE THEM, UH, THE INFORMATION AROUND WHAT IS THE QUALITY OF OUR OFFERINGS AND HOW DO WE COMPARE TO THE OTHER OPTIONS THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE.
AND THAT THEY KNOW THAT WE TOO ARE RAISING THE BAR, UH, AND THAT WE, UH, HAVE THE TYPES OF PROGRAMS THAT GET THEIR STUDENTS TO THE NEXT LEVEL, THE SAME TYPES OF ELITE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES THAT ALL OF THE PRIVATE AND PAROCHIAL SCHOOLS MAY BE DOING.
SO WE HAVE TO TELL OUR STORY AND WE HAVE TO LET OUR PARENTS KNOW THAT CERTAINLY WE'RE GOING TO SUPPORT THEIR CHILD TO BE SUCCESSFUL WHEN THEY LEAVE US, UH, AFTER GRADUATION.
AND SO WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT ENGAGING, UH, AND RE-ENGAGING MIDDLE CLASS AND UPPER MIDDLE CLASS PARENTS, I THINK THAT WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT THEY ARE WELCOME, WELCOME, AND WANTED IN EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL SYSTEM.
AND I KNOW THIS, THAT PRIVATE SCHOOLS, THEY RECRUIT IN COURT PARENTS.
THEY GO, EVEN WHEN THEY'VE GOT FOUR YEAR OLDS, THREE YEAR OLDS AND START TALKING TO THEM ABOUT, CAN YOU SEE YOUR CHILD IN THIS SCHOOL? AND MANY TIMES IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS, WE JUST THINK, WELL, GO TO THE WEBSITE AND GO TO THE ZONE FINDER AND SEE IF YOU CAN FIGURE OUT WHICH SCHOOL THERE IS.
WE HAVE TO BE OUT PROACTIVELY SAYING TO PEOPLE, WE WANT YOUR CHILD HERE WITH US.
AND THIS IS WHAT THAT IS GOING TO LOOK LIKE IF YOUR CHILD COMES TO SCHOOL IN EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL SYSTEM.
SO WE HAVE TO CREATE THE OPPORTUNITIES AND ROLL OUT THE WELCOME MAT AND THE RED CARPET IN THE SAME WAY THAT OUR PRIVATE SCHOOL COUNTERPARTS DO.
SO THAT'S HOW I'M GONNA MAKE SURE THAT PARENTS FROM ALL COMMUNITIES AND THOSE MIDDLE CLASS AND UPPER MIDDLE CLASS PARENTS KNOW THAT WE WANT THEM TO BE A PART OF EAST BATON ROUGE, PARIS, BUT MOST, MOST IMPORTANTLY, THAT THEY'RE GOING TO THEIR CHILD IS GOING TO RECEIVE AN EXCELLENT EDUCATION.
AND THAT'S THE BAR THAT WE HAVE.
WE WILL GO TO BOARD MEMBER WHERE JACKSON REPRESENTING DISTRICT FIVE.
THANK YOU, PRESIDENT, GO DAY DR.
UH, WE'VE ENJOYED YOU THESE LAST FEW DAYS.
AND, UM, IN SPEAKING WITH YOU, UH, I KNOW THAT YOU HAVE, UM, PARTICULAR, UH, BACKGROUND IN FINANCE AND IN BUDGETING.
AND SO I'M WONDERING ABOUT PRIORITIZING RESOURCES, AND I'M WONDERING WHAT IN WE'RE EXPECTING MULTIPLE YEARS OF DECLINING SCHOOL REVENUES AND INCREASED PRESSURE FROM LOSS OF STUDENTS, UH, DEPLETED RESERVE FUND AND UNDERUTILIZED BUILDINGS, AND THE LIST CAN GO ON.
UM, I'M WONDERING, UM, HOW WILL YOU PRIORITIZE THE USE OF RESOURCES CONSIDERING ALL OF THESE THINGS? SO THIS IS A GREAT QUESTION.
AND I TALK IN MY ENTRY PLAN ABOUT PRIORITY BASED BUDGETING.
AND FIRST OF ALL, WE'RE GOING TO PRIORITIZE RIGHT US TOGETHER, YOU ALL, AS A SCHOOL BOARD AND US GOING OUT TO THE COMMUNITY AND GETTING FEEDBACK AND INPUT AROUND WHAT SHOULD BE OUR PRIORITIES AND MAKING THAT THE FOUNDATION OF OUR STRATEGIC PLAN.
ONCE YOU DEFINE THOSE PRIORITIES, THE KEY TENANTS OF PRIORITY BASED BUDGETING IS WE DON'T JUST DO A ROLL FORWARD BUDGET OR ACROSS THE BOARD CUTS.
WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT ALLOCATING OUR THROUGH THE LENS OF WHAT ARE WE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH.
AND IN ALL OF THE SCENARIOS THAT YOU MENTIONED, THE DECLINING REVENUES AND, UM, THE DEPLETION OF THE RESERVE FUND, UH, AND THINKING ABOUT UNDER UTILIZATION OF BUILDINGS, WE HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE THING ABOUT SCHOOL BUDGETS IS THAT OUR BUDGETS ARE 80% PEOPLE SALARY AND BENEFITS, AND 90% TO 95% OF THOSE PEOPLE ARE IN SCHOOLS.
AND SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? WHAT IS THE REALITY OF WHEN WE ARE FACING A BUDGET CRUNCH, WHERE'S THE MONEY GONNA COME FROM? AND SO WE HAVE TO BE SENSITIVE AND REALLY, UH, USE THAT PRIORITIZATION THAT WE'VE ESTABLISHED THROUGH THE STRATEGIC PLAN GOALS, UH, TO MAKE HARD DECISIONS, AT LEAST CLEAR IN TERMS OF WHY WE'RE MAKING THE DECISION AND THAT WE CAN HAVE A CASE THAT WE BUILD WITH THE COMMUNITY THAT WE CHOSE TO CUT HERE AND NOT THERE, BECAUSE THIS WAS OUR STRATEGIC PRIORITY.
THE OTHER THING I'LL SAY IS THAT WE HAVE TO EVALUATE WHAT THE RESOURCES ARE THAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW.
AND WHAT'S THE IMPACT OF HOW WE'VE BEEN ALLOCATING RESOURCES.
MY WORK IN KNOX COUNTY SCHOOLS, I LED PROGRAM EVALUATION AND ANNUAL RETURN ON INVESTMENT REPORT.
THERE ARE CERTAINLY DOLLARS THAT WE'RE SPENDING RIGHT NOW THAT NOT THAT ARE NOT GETTING THE OUTCOMES AND RESULTS FOR KIDS THAT WE EXPECTED, WHICH MEANS WE HAVE TWO CHOICES.
CAN WE REFINE THOSE PROGRAMS AND MAKE THEM SUCCESSFUL AND CONTINUE THE INVESTMENT, OR DO WE DIVEST? AND IF WE DIVEST THAT MEANS THAT BECOMES AN OPPORTUNITY
[02:15:01]
TO FREE UP RESOURCES FOR SOMETHING ELSE THAT WE THINK IS MORE URGENT, OR THAT HAS MORE EVIDENCE OF PROMISE.SO I WOULD HAVE A RIGOROUS, A RETURN ON INVESTMENT PROGRAM EVALUATION, LOOKING AT CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT.
WHAT DO WE NEED TO KEEP DOING? WHAT SHOULD WE STOP DOING? HOW DO WE CREATE OPPORTUNITIES WITHIN THE DOLLARS THAT WE HAVE TO ACTUALLY FUND THE PRIORITIES THAT WE HAVE? SO THAT'S HOW I'M GOING TO APPROACH THE BUDGETING PROCESS AND ALL THE DIFFICULT CONDITIONS THAT YOU DESCRIBED.
UH, LET'S SAY NOW REMOVED MOVE TO BOARD MEMBER OF COLLINS REPRESENTING DISTRICT FOUR.
UH, WHAT ARE SOME SPECIFIC INITIATIVES THAT YOU HAVE LED OR PLAYED A MAJOR ROLE IN CREATING INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAMS AND STRATEGIES TO MOVE ACADEMICALLY CHALLENGED STUDENTS WHO ARE FOUNDERS DUE TO PASS SYSTEMIC PRACTICES AND EXCLUSIONS.
SO SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAMS, UM, WHERE, AND IN THE WORK THAT I'VE DONE IS THAT WE'RE CONSTANTLY CHALLENGING OURSELVES AROUND TEACHING AND LEARNING AND THE OUTCOMES THAT WE'RE GETTING.
AND SO WE THINK ABOUT IT IN THREE BUCKETS, THE WHAT, WHICH IS OUR STANDARDS AND EXPECTATIONS, THE HOW, WHICH IS OUR INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES AND THE, HOW WELL, WHICH IS OUR ASSESSMENT.
AND SO WHEN WE THINK ABOUT IT THROUGH THAT LENS, WE HAVE TO CONSIDER WHAT CHALLENGE ARE WE TRYING TO SOLVE? UM, A LOT OF THE WORK THAT I'VE BEEN INVOLVED IN IS MAKING SURE THAT WE REALLY ALIGN ASSESSMENT WITH, UH, THE STANDARDS AND EXPECTATIONS THAT WE HAVE FOR STUDENTS.
SO WHAT WE NOTICED, UH, WHEN I LANDED IN HAMILTON COUNTY SCHOOLS, WAS THAT THERE WAS NO WAY FOR THE DISTRICT TO KNOW ACROSS ALL 80 SCHOOLS.
HOW WERE CHILDREN PROGRESSING TOWARDS STANDARDS MASTERY? HOW WOULD WE KNOW WHETHER WE WERE ON TRACK TO MEET THOSE GRADE LEVEL EXPECTATIONS AT THE END OF THE YEAR? AND WHAT WE RECOGNIZE IS WHEN WE WENT AND PULLED CURRICULUM GUIDES AND ACTUALLY LOOKED AT THE WORK SAMPLES OF STUDENTS, THAT MANY OF THE TASKS THAT STUDENTS WERE PERFORMING WERE ACTUALLY NOT ALIGNED WITH GRADE LEVEL WORK.
I'VE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY, MYTH AND DIFFERENT MEETINGS.
AND WHAT THEY DISCOVERED IS THAT ON AVERAGE, ONLY ABOUT 30% OF THE TIME, OUR STUDENTS GETTING EXPOSED TO GRADE LEVEL WORK IN HIGH POVERTY SCHOOLS, IT'S 10% OF THE TIME.
AND YOU CAN IMAGINE THAT FOR STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS, IT'S EVEN LESS THAN THAT, OR FOR STUDENTS WHO ARE ENGLISH LEARNERS, LESS THAN THAT.
AND SO IF YOU ONLY GET 10% OF THE WORK THAT YOU'RE GIVEN AND THE TASKS THAT YOU HAVE TO COMPLETE ONLY 10% IS GRADE LEVEL EXPECTATIONS.
HOW CAN YOU BE SUCCESSFUL ON AN ASSESSMENT AT THE END OF THE YEAR? THAT'S 100% GREAT EXPECTATIONS, GRADE LEVEL EXPECTATIONS.
SO A BENCHMARKING ASSESSMENT WHERE WE GAVE TEACHERS THE TOOLS TO HAVE A BENCHMARK THAT WE USE DISTRICT-WIDE WE ALSO HAD A FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT PROGRAM, OR THERE WAS AN ITEM BANK SO THAT TEACHERS WOULD UNDERSTAND HOW THAT STANDARD IS ASSESSED, AND ARE THEY GETTING AT THE DEPTH OF KNOWLEDGE THAT STUDENTS NEED TO BE ABLE TO DEMONSTRATE MASTERY OF THAT STANDARD AND THAT ALIGNMENT OF THE STANDARDS, THE WHAT TO THE, HOW WELL THE ASSESSMENT YOU'LL GET GREAT RESULTS FOR US IN HAMILTON COUNTY SCHOOLS, I'VE TALKED ABOUT, WE ARE THE FASTEST IMPROVING DISTRICT IN TENNESSEE.
WE MOVED OUR DISTRICT FROM OUR GROWTH RANKING OF A HUNDRED AND 30TH, OUT OF 146 DISTRICTS TO NUMBER TWO IN THE TWO YEARS THAT I WAS, UH, THAT I'VE BEEN THERE.
WE HAD 45 SCHOOLS THAT EARNED AN, A PROGRESS GRADE.
WHAT YOU ALL WOULD CALL AN A PROGRESS GRADE OUT OF 74 SCHOOLS.
WE HAD 32 SCHOOLS THAT WERE REWARD SCHOOLS, WHAT YOU ALL WOULD CALL AN EIGHT OVERALL GRADE.
AND THAT WAS BECAUSE WE ACTUALLY HAD ALIGNMENT AROUND THE STANDARDS AND TEACHERS KNEW WHAT THE EXPECTATION WAS BECAUSE WE GAVE THEM HIGH QUALITY ASSESSMENT ITEMS THAT THEY COULD USE IN A FORMATIVE MANNER AND IN THEIR SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENTS.
AND THEN WE DID THAT BENCHMARK CHECK, WHICH ALLOWED US TO KNOW WHERE WE NEEDED TO DEPLOY ADDITIONAL RESOURCES TO HELP SCHOOLS WHERE STUDENTS WERE STRUGGLING TO PROGRESS TOWARDS MASTERY.
SO THAT'S AN EXAMPLE OF A SPECIFIC INITIATIVE THAT IMPACTED INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAMS IN OUR DISTRICT.
UH, NOW WE'RE MOVED TO DISTRICT THREE BOARD MEMBER HOWARD.
THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE WITH US.
UH, WE APPRECIATE YOUR TIME HERE IN OUR CITY.
UM, OFTENTIME, OUR DISTRICT TALKS ABOUT IN, UH, CELEBRATES THE IDEA THAT WE HAVE A, UH, OVER 80% GRADUATION RATE, BUT WHEN YOU BREAK THAT DOWN FOR SUBGROUP DATA SPECIFICALLY FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN MALES, THE NUMBER HARPER'S AROUND 50%, HOW DO YOU ENSURE THAT WE
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INCREASE GRADUATION RATES SPECIFICALLY FOR SUBGROUPS WITHIN OUR SYSTEM? SO GRADUATION RATES AND MAKING SURE THAT STUDENTS EARN THE FIRST, UH, LAUNCH CREDENTIAL, RIGHT? IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE TO ENSURE A HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA IS CERTAINLY THE ONLY ENTRY WAY INTO EARNING A LIVING WAGE, UH, IN THIS COUNTRY.IT'S URGENT THAT WE MAKE SURE THAT STUDENTS ARE SUCCESSFUL IN EARNING A HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA.
WHEN I THINK SPECIFICALLY ABOUT OUR AFRICAN AMERICAN MALE STUDENTS AND OTHER, UH, MINORITIES, UH, GROUPS THAT ARE IN OUR DISTRICT, WE HAVE TO BE VERY TARGETED, UH, IN THE TYPES OF WORK THAT WE'RE DOING WITH STUDENTS AND MONITORING THEIR PROGRESS.
WE TALK A LOT ABOUT EARLY WARNING SYSTEMS. NOW, FIRST OF ALL, WHEN KIDS ARE COMING OUT OF MIDDLE SCHOOL, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE, UH, ADDRESSING ANY SKILL DEFICITS THAT WE KNOW THAT ARE GOING TO BE A CHALLENGE.
WE DO A LOT OF SUMMER BRIDGE PROGRAMS BETWEEN EIGHTH AND NINTH GRADE, FOR THOSE STUDENTS WHO WERE STRUGGLING WITH EIGHTH, EIGHTH GRADE EXPECTATIONS, TO GIVE THEM A FAST START FOR HIGH SCHOOL.
AND THEN THOSE EARLY WARNING SYSTEMS SAY, YOU DON'T WAIT UNTIL THE 11TH GRADE YEAR OR EVEN WORSE 12TH GRADE YEAR TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT STUDENTS ARE OFF TRACK AND THEN TRY TO INTERVENE FOR CREDIT RECOVERY.
YOU HAVE TO BE LOOKING AT THAT IMMEDIATELY.
AND SO WE'RE MONITORING STUDENTS WITH THEIR GRADES AND THEIR PROGRESS IN NINTH GRADE.
AND THERE'S AN EARLY WARNING US SWITCH THAT FLIPS WHEN STUDENTS DON'T EARN A CERTAIN NUMBER OF CREDITS, UH, WHETHER IT BE SIX, UM, OR AT FOUR OR SIX CREDITS, DEPENDING ON WHETHER THEY'RE ON A TRADITIONAL OR BLOCK SCHEDULE, UH, CONTINUUM.
AND SO THAT MEANS THAT WE IMMEDIATELY ARE ABLE TO DEPLOY, UH, TOOLS FOR SUMMER REMEDIATION FOR THAT STUDENT.
AND FOR SOME STUDENTS, WE RECOGNIZE PARTICULARLY FOR OUR AFRICAN AMERICAN MALES, THERE ARE A LOT OF OUT OF SCHOOL CHALLENGES AND WE HAVE TO BE ABLE TO MATCH STUDENTS WITH THOSE NEEDS.
AND THOSE WRAPAROUND SUPPORTS TO REMOVE THE NONACADEMIC BARRIERS TO SUCCESS.
AND LET ME SAY THIS, WE CAN'T UNDERESTIMATE PARTICULARLY IN THE TIME THAT WE'RE IN, UM, THE STRESS AND THE EMOTION OF BEING A BLACK MAN IN THIS COUNTRY RIGHT NOW.
AND JUST THE TYPES OF MENTORSHIP THAT WE NEED TO HAVE FOR OUR AFRICAN AMERICAN BOYS, WHO MANY TIMES, I'M SURE THAT THEY FEEL LIKE THE DECK IS ALREADY STACKED AGAINST THEM AND MINDSET MATTERS.
AND WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT CHILDREN HAVE A GROWTH MINDSET AND SEE THEMSELVES SUCCESSFUL, SEE ROLE MODELS, SEE WHAT THEIR FUTURE IS THAT WE PAINT THE PATHWAYS AND THAT WE GIVE THEM THE ACCESS TO THOSE PATHWAYS BECAUSE WE'VE DONE CLIMATE SURVEYS AND PEOPLE SAY, WELL, COLLEGE ISN'T THERE FOR EVERYBODY.
MOST KIDS DON'T WANT TO GO TO COLLEGE.
THEY HAVE ASPIRATIONS OVER 80% OF OUR KIDS TELL US I WANT TO GO TO POSTSECONDARY, BUT THEIR ASPIRATION DOESN'T MATCH OUR PREPARATION.
AND SO WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE UNIVERSALLY HIGH EXPECTATIONS AND WE'RE HAVING TARGETED INTERVENTIONS AND SUPPORTS, AND THAT THERE ARE EARLY WARNING SYSTEMS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE KEEP KIDS ON TRACK TO EARN THAT HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA.
AND THAT WE MAKE SURE THAT OUR HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA IS WORTH SOMETHING THAT THERE ARE SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES THAT THEY HAVE GAINED TO GO OUT AND BE SUCCESSFUL IN POSTSECONDARY OR THE WORKFORCE.
UH, NEXT WE GO TO DISTRICT TWO BOARD MEMBER LANTIS AT THE TOWN'S.
THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE WITH US TONIGHT AND HOPE THAT YOU HAVE ENJOYED OUR CITY.
UH, I THINK IT'S THE PERFECT SEGUE INTO THIS QUESTION IN REFERENCE TO THE QUESTION THAT VICE-PRESIDENT HOWARD WAS POSED AT THIS TIME, WE ARE AT A VERY PIVOTAL MOMENT IN OUR COUNTRY, AS IT RELATES TO COMMUNITY AND POLICE RELATIONS MORE SPECIFICALLY IN LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES WHERE MAJORITY OF OUR MOST VULNERABLE STUDENTS LIVE IN 2016 TRAGEDY TRAGEDY STRUCK OUR COMMUNITY DUE TO A SIMILAR INCIDENT, WHICH CLAIMED THE LIFE OF AN AFRICAN AMERICAN MAN WITH SEVERAL STUDENT LED PROTESTS, CURRENTLY TAKING PLACE AROUND OUR CITY AND TALKS TO SCHOOL STARTING BACK SOON.
HOW WILL YOU REENGAGE EMOTIONAL EFFECTIVE FAMILIES WHILE REESTABLISHING THE SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL MORALE OF OUR MOST EMOTIONALLY VULNERABLE STUDENTS? SO EVEN BEFORE THE EVENTS OF THE PAST COUPLE OF WEEKS, UH, AND THE SOCIAL UNREST THAT WE WERE EXPERIENCING AND RIGHTFULLY SO AS WE ALL, UM, WITNESSED, UH, WHAT HAPPENED, UH, IN MINNEAPOLIS AND THE DEATH OF ANOTHER, UM, UNARMED BLACK MAN AT THE HANDS OF THE POLICE, UH, WE WERE ALREADY IN WHAT WAS A CRISIS AND STRESSFUL SITUATION WITH THE PANDEMIC.
AND NOW WE'VE LAYERED ON TOP OF THAT, WHAT STUDENTS ARE EXPERIENCING AND THE TRAUMA OF HAVING TO WITNESS, UH, THAT ON VIDEO OVER AND OVER AGAIN, AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR, UH, THEMSELVES AND THEIR FAMILIES.
AND SO WHEN I CONSIDER, AND I SAID THIS ABOUT THE RETURN TO SCHOOL, WE DON'T NEED TO ASSUME THAT IT'S BUSINESS AS USUAL, BECAUSE IT'S NOT, THERE HAS BEEN TRAUMA THAT HAS
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BEEN EXPERIENCED ON MANY LEVELS.AND THE FIRST THING THAT I WOULD WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DO IS THAT WE WOULD HAVE A UNIVERSAL SCREENING PROCESS AROUND SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL NEEDS.
WE NEED TO PROACTIVELY IDENTIFY THOSE STUDENTS WHO ARE IN CRISIS.
THOSE STUDENTS WHO ARE EXPERIENCING MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL HEALTH PROBLEMS. AND THAT MEANS THAT WE NEED TO PROACTIVELY PLAN FOR HOW ARE WE GOING TO SUPPORT THOSE STUDENTS WITH RESOURCES LIKE SOCIAL WORKERS, COUNSELORS, PSYCHOLOGISTS, AND THEN THIRD PARTIES, BECAUSE SOME OF THIS IS GOING TO BE CLINICAL, AND WE WON'T BE ABLE TO SUPPORT THAT STUDENT IN SCHOOL.
WE'VE ACTUALLY GOT TO REFER THEM TO A THERAPIST, A THIRD PARTY PARTNER.
AND WE NEED TO DO THAT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SCHOOL YEAR, BECAUSE WHAT I DON'T WANT IS THAT SOMETIMES SIX WEEKS OR EIGHT WEEKS IN AND INCIDENTS ARE HAPPENING AND WE'RE LIKE, WHAT'S GOING ON? WHY ARE KIDS, WHY ARE THE SCHOOLS, UM, SO DISORDERLY AND THERE'S SO MUCH DISRUPTION.
I HAVE READ THAT EVERY BEHAVIOR AS AN UNMET NEED, AND I BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE TO IDENTIFY THE NEED AND ADDRESS IT SO THAT WE DON'T LET THE BEHAVIORS GET OUT OF CONTROL.
WHEN I THINK ABOUT RE-ENGAGING THE MUTE COMMUNITY, I TALK A LOT ABOUT LISTENING TOURS AND WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO SPECIFICALLY GO INTO SOME OF OUR COMMUNITIES AND LET'S HAVE THIS HONEST DIALOGUE.
I SAID LAST NIGHT, IN MY RESPONSE TO A QUESTION ABOUT RACIAL HEALING IS THAT WE HAVE TO TELL THE TRUTH.
AND IN EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL SYSTEM, I'M SURE THAT THERE IS A LONG HISTORY THAT MANY COMMUNITIES KNOW ABOUT THE TRUTH OF WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN THE SCHOOL SYSTEMS, SUCH AS SOME COMMUNITIES FEEL DISENFRANCHISED AND DISCONNECTED AND PEOPLE CANNOT HEAL AND THEY CANNOT ENGAGE UNTIL THEIR LIVED EXPERIENCE IS ACKNOWLEDGED.
AND THEN WE HAVE TO START ADDRESSING IT.
SO THAT'S THE WAY THAT I WOULD TRY TO ENGAGE COMMUNITIES AND MAKE SURE, UM, THAT IN THIS PIVOTAL MOMENT WE DON'T OVERLOOK, UH, WHAT OUR STUDENTS AND FAMILIES HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING, THAT WE ACKNOWLEDGE IT, THAT WE TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT IT, AND THAT WE PROACTIVELY LOOK FOR, UH, THAT TRAUMA THAT STUDENTS HAVE EXPERIENCED AND THEN SUPPORT THEM THROUGH IT.
NOW WE WILL GO TO BOARD MEMBER BALLOU DISTRICT ONE, DR.
UM, YOU ALREADY TOUCHED ON YOUR, UH, UH, ON YOUR RETURN ON INVESTMENT EVALUATION TOOL.
SO I HAD PLANNED ON ASKING YOU ABOUT THAT, BUT, UH, I'VE GOT A BACKUP QUESTION FOR YOU.
UH, HOW, WHAT PROGRAMS, OR WHAT HAVE YOU FOUND IS, HAS BEEN MOST EFFECTIVE AND RAPIDLY GETTING, UH, ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNER STUDENTS, UH, UP TO THE LEVEL TO WHERE THEY CAN, UH, COMPETE WITH THEIR, THEIR CLASSMATES? GREAT QUESTION.
UM, IN HAMILTON COUNTY SCHOOLS, WE'VE BEEN EXPERIENCING RAPID GROWTH IN OUR ENGLISH LEARNER COMMUNITY.
AND SO, UH, WE HAVE, UH, BEEN TRYING TO PROACTIVELY ADDRESS THE NEEDS OF THOSE STUDENTS.
AND THERE IS LOTS OF EVIDENCE THAT ONCE STUDENTS REACH THAT LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY, WHEN THEY MASTER THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, THAT MANY OF OUR, UH, ESL CHILDREN HAVE THE SAME OR HIGHER ACHIEVEMENT AS NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS.
SO IT URGENT THAT WE MAKE SURE THAT WE SUPPORT THOSE STUDENTS TO BE ABLE TO ACQUIRE, UM, ENGLISH LANGUAGE SKILLS.
SO WE HAVE, WITH OUR ESL SERVICES, WE HAVE DEDICATED, UM, ESL TEACHERS THAT ARE IN OUR SCHOOLS THAT WORK SIDE BY SIDE, WITH THE GENERAL EDUCATION CLASSROOM TEACHERS.
WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S NOT JUST THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE ESL TEACHER TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT STUDENT GAINS, UH, THAT ENGLISH LANGUAGE.
AND SO WE'VE DONE A LOT OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WITH OUR TEACHERS WHO WERE IN THE REGULAR EDUCATION CLASSROOMS TO ADOPT THINGS LIKE CYOP, IT'S CALLED THE SHELTERED INSTRUCTION, OBSERVATION PROTOCOL, AND REALLY IT'S A UNIVERSAL DESIGN METHOD THAT REALLY HELPS TO DIFFERENTIATE FOR ALL KIDS WHEN IT'S PARTICULARLY SUCCESSFUL.
AND WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT ENGLISH LEARNERS AND HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT TEACHERS ARE INTENTIONAL IN THEIR REGULAR CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT, THAT THEY'RE SCAFFOLDING AND DIFFERENTIATING FOR THOSE STUDENTS WHO ARE TRYING TO ACQUIRE THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.
WE RECOGNIZE THAT WE'VE ALSO HAD, UM, SOME STUDENTS IN TERMS OF OUR OLDER RECENTLY ARRIVED ELL.
SO WHEN YOU GET STUDENTS WHO ARE IN MIDDLE SCHOOL OR HIGH SCHOOL, AND THEY'RE TRYING TO LEARN A NEW LANGUAGE, UH, WE HAVE SEEN THAT IT TAKES LONGER THAN THOSE STUDENTS WHO COME TO US WHO ARE KINDERGARTNERS OR FIRST GRADERS.
UM, WE'RE ABLE TO RAPIDLY GET THEIR ENGLISH ADOPTION, BUT IT TAKES LONGER.
AND THERE'S LOTS OF RESEARCH THAT SAYS, IF IT TAKES MORE THAN FIVE TO SEVEN YEARS, IT'S CALLED A LONGTERM YIELD.
YOU MAY NEVER GET THAT STUDENT TO ENGLISH PROFICIENCY.
AND SO THAT MEANS FOR OUR OLDER KIDS, WE'VE HAD TO COME UP WITH A NEW STRATEGY.
AND PART OF THAT IS CALLED OUR NEWCOMER CENTER.
AND WHAT THE NEWCOMER CENTER DOES IS, UH, KEEP THOSE CHILDREN IN A COHORT, UH, FOR THEIR CORE ACADEMIC CLASSES.
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LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION AS THEY LEARN THEIR CORE ACADEMIC MATERIALS.AND THEN OF COURSE, THEY'RE ABLE TO GO AND INTERACT WITH STUDENTS IN THE SCHOOL DURING THEIR ELECTIVES, THAT NEWCOMER CENTER PROGRAM LASTS THROUGH THE FIRST TWO SEMESTERS AND THE SUMMER AFTERWARDS.
SO THAT SUMMER IS AGAIN ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE FOCUSED LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION.
SO THAT, THAT SECOND YEAR IN THEIR SCHOOL, AS A NEWLY ARRIVED ELL, THAT WE WOULD THEN BE PUTTING THEM INTO THE REGULAR CLASSROOM SCHEDULE, DOING THE SUPPORT WITH AN ESL TEACHER IN A PULL OUT OR PUSH IN CONFIGURATION.
BUT WE'VE HAD, UM, 15 MONTHS TO INTENSIVELY FOCUS ON LANGUAGE ACQUISITION WITH THAT STUDENT, WHICH IS KEY FOR OUR OLDER STUDENTS.
SO THOSE ARE THE STRATEGIES THAT I WOULD USE FOR ENGLISH LEARNERS.
UH, MY NEXT QUESTION, UH, YOU YOU'VE TALKED ABOUT THE NEED TO ATTRACT THE TOP TEACHERS TO, TO SOME OF OUR LOW PERFORMING SCHOOLS.
AND, UH, WHAT IS YOUR PHILOSOPHY IN TERMS OF, OF AUTONOMY FOR PRINCIPALS TO RECRUIT THEIR STAFF? AND I GUESS EVEN GO EVEN FURTHER AND TALKED ABOUT AUTONOMY WHERE THEY'RE BUDGETING FOR THAT SCHOOL? ABSOLUTELY.
UM, SO WE DO HAVE AN URGENT IN MAKING SURE THAT WE GET THE VERY BEST TEACHERS AND OUR LOWEST PERFORMING SCHOOLS, BECAUSE THOSE STUDENTS ARE GOING TO NEED THE VERY BEST THAT WE CAN PROVIDE IN TERMS OF THAT INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT.
AND SO IN THINKING ABOUT, UM, RECRUITING THAT TAP TOP TALENT AND PRINCIPAL'S ABILITY TO DO THAT, LOOK, OUR PRINCIPALS HAVE TO WEAR A LOT OF HATS.
AND WHAT I WANT TO DO IS MAKE SURE THAT WE BUILD, UM, UH, THE DISTRICT SUPPORTS TO BE ABLE TO DRIVE RECRUITMENT TO THEIR SCHOOL.
THE WAY THAT WE THINK ABOUT THIS IN HAMILTON COUNTY SCHOOLS IS THAT WE HAVE A DEDICATED RECRUITER FOR WHAT WE CALL OUR OPPORTUNITIES ZONE, AND THEY ARE 13 OF OUR LOWEST PERFORMING SCHOOLS AND THAT DEDICATED RECRUITERS.
SO PURPOSE ALL YEAR LONG IS TO GO OUT AND SOURCE TALENT FOR THOSE PRINCIPALS.
AND SO INSTEAD OF THEM HAVING TO BEAT THE PAVEMENT, WE BEAT THE PAVEMENT AND WE SEND THEM A ROSTER OF CANDIDATES THAT WE HAVE SCREENED THAT WE KNOW HAVE A PASSION FOR WORKING, UH, IN THEIR ENVIRONMENT.
AND SO THOSE PRINCIPALS DON'T HAVE TO DO THAT LEGWORK.
UH, HOW ARE WE MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE RECRUITING THAT TOP TALENT? THE JOB IS HARDER WHEN YOU'RE IN A LOW PERFORMING HIGH POVERTY SCHOOL, AND WE HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE WAYS IN WHICH THE JOB IS HARDER.
SO WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT COMPENSATION, THAT TEACHERS HAVE ADDITIONAL SUPPORTS TO HELP THEM MEET THOSE SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL NEEDS OF STUDENTS.
THEY CAN NOT BEGIN TO EVEN FOCUS AND ENGAGE ON TEACHING AND LEARNING.
IF YOU'RE HAVING A STUDENT WHO'S EXPERIENCING FOOD INSECURITY, A STUDENT WHO'S HAVING BEHAVIORAL ISSUES, UM, A STUDENT WHO MAY HAVE LOST A PARENT, UM, ALL OF THESE THINGS ARE MORE PREVALENT IN OUR HIGH POVERTY SCHOOLS, WHICH ENDED UP BEING THE LOWEST PERFORMING SCHOOLS.
SO MANY OF THE WAYS THAT WE'VE IMPROVED THE WORKING CONDITIONS TO ATTRACT TEACHERS INTO THOSE SCHOOLS IS THAT WE TELL THEM THAT WE HAVE A ROBUST TEAM OF SUPPORT SERVICES.
SO THEY KNOW THAT THEY DON'T HAVE TO BE AT ALL FOR THEIR STUDENTS.
AND THEN IT IS ABOUT STRATEGIC COMPENSATION.
WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WHEN THE ASSIGNMENT IS HARDER AND TEACHERS ARE HAVING TO WORK LONGER HOURS, PUT MORE INTO THE PLANNING, ASKING THEM TO DO AFTER SCHOOL HOURS WITH STUDENTS OR SATURDAY SCHOOL, THAT THERE'S COMPENSATION THAT GOES WITH THAT.
BUT IN ADDITION, I THINK WHEN WE THINK ABOUT THAT TOP TALENT AND THE AUTONOMY AROUND, UH, BUDGETS, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DO IN HAMILTON COUNTY SCHOOLS IS THAT WE'VE MADE SURE THAT WE HAVE, UM, UH, AN ALLOCATION OF TITLE, ONE BUDGETS, UH, SUCH THAT, UH, WE CREATE A SPIRAL SYSTEM WHERE IT'S ADJUSTED, OF COURSE, FOR POVERTY, A LOT OF, UM, PLACES.
THEY EITHER JUST GIVE ONE LUMP PER PUPIL AMOUNT, RIGHT? TO ALL TITLE ONE SCHOOLS.
WELL, NOT ALL TITLE ONE SCHOOLS ARE THE SAME.
SO WE MAKE SURE THAT IF YOUR SCHOOL IS 99% POVERTY, AND THE NEXT SCHOOL IS ONLY 75% POVERTY, YOU'RE GOING TO GET MORE POOR PEOPLE BECAUSE YOU NEED MORE INTENSIVE RESOURCES.
AND THEN OF COURSE, THE PRINCIPAL HAS COMPLETE AUTONOMY AS TO HOW TO USE THOSE FUNDS.
NOW I SAY COMPLETE AUTONOMY ALIGNED TO OUR STRATEGIC PLAN AND THE GOALS THAT WE SET.
SO I THINK THAT THAT'S IMPERATIVE.
I THINK THAT IT'S UP TO THE DISTRICT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE INVEST IN MAKING, UH, PUTTING RESOURCES ON THE TABLE TO RECRUIT THE BEST TALENT INTO OUR LOW PERFORMING SCHOOLS AND SEND THAT TALENT TO PRINCIPALS TO BE ABLE TO FILL THEIR VACANCIES.
NOW BACK TO DISTRICT TWO BOARD MEMBER ATLANTIS, OKAY.
IN THE PROFESSION OF EDUCATION, SEVERAL TERMS, A COMMONLY USED WITH VAGUE MEANINGS AND LITTLE UNDERSTANDING TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC, SUCH AS ACCOUNTABILITY, INNOVATION, AND A REFERENCE TO THIS QUESTION EQUITY.
THIS IS A TWO PART QUESTION FIRST, HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE EQUITY AND WHAT SPECIFIC POLICIES AND PROCEDURES WOULD
[02:35:01]
YOU PUT IN PLACE TO ENSURE EQUITY FOR STUDENTS IN EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH? SECOND PART OF THE QUESTION, WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO CREATE A CABINET POSITION OF CHIEF EQUITY OFFICER THAT WOULD SOLELY FOCUS ON EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OF SCHOOL-RELATED RESOURCES? SO THANK YOU.I TALKED EARLIER ABOUT EXCELLENCE.
WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE BALANCE EQUITY, EXCELLENCE AND EQUITY IN OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT.
AND FOR ME, AND I TALKED ABOUT THIS IN MY FIRST ROUND INTERVIEW, HOW DO I DEFINE EQUITY? EQUITY MEANS THAT EVERY CHILD GETS WHAT HE OR SHE NEEDS TO REACH HIS OR HER HIGHEST POTENTIAL THAT'S EQUITY.
AND THAT MEANS THAT WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO ALLOCATE RESOURCES IN SOME CIRCUMSTANCES, STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS, UH, ENGLISH LEARNERS, AS WE WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT STUDENTS, LIVING IN POVERTY, WE HAVE TO ALLOCATE ADDITIONAL RESOURCES TO ADDRESS SOME OF THOSE, UH, NONACADEMIC BARRIERS THAT THEY HAVE AND TO PROVIDE THOSE WRAPAROUND SUPPORTS AND SERVICES.
SO THAT'S WHERE THE EQUITABLE ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES COMES IN.
UH, ONE OF THE PARTICULAR PROCESSES THAT I HAVE IMPLEMENTED BOTH IN KNOX COUNTY SCHOOLS AND NOW IN HAMILTON COUNTY HAMILTON COUNTY SCHOOLS, IS THAT WE HAVE AN EQUITABLE BASE STAFFING MODEL.
AND WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT OUR STAFFING MODEL ISN'T JUST DRIVEN BY ENROLLMENT COUNTS.
OUR BASE STAFF STAFFING MODEL IS POVERTY ADJUSTED.
AND SO FOR THE HIGHEST POVERTY SCHOOLS, WE TARGET STAFFING TO REDUCE CLASS SIZE TEACHER TO STUDENT RATIO, BECAUSE WE HAVE HEARD FROM TEACHERS.
AND WE KNOW THAT WHEN YOU WORK IN A HIGHER POVERTY SCHOOL, YOU NEED TO HAVE LESS STUDENTS BECAUSE OF ALL THE NEEDS.
AND SO THAT YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ALLOCATING ADDITIONAL TEACHERS TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THOSE SMALLER CLASS SIZES.
SO THAT POVERTY ADJUSTED STAFFING MODEL IS JUST GENERAL FUND DOLLARS.
WE DON'T TALK ABOUT FEDERAL PROGRAMS, TITLE DOLLARS OR IDA DOLLARS OR ESL DOLLARS BECAUSE THOSE FOLLOW THE STUDENT NEEDS.
AND WE ARE NOT GOING TO SUPPLANT THOSE ADDITIONAL FUNDS THAT ARE MEANT TO BE SUPPLEMENTAL.
SO HAVING A POVERTY ADJUSTED BASE STAFFING MODEL MEANS THAT WE MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE EQUITABLY RESOURCING, UM, OUR SCHOOLS.
AND SO WE MONITOR THAT AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE LOOK AT EQUITY IN OTHER AREAS LIKE OUR DISCIPLINE PRACTICES AND POLICIES, AND WE'RE MONITORING WHAT'S HAPPENING IN TERMS OF DISPROPORTIONALITY IN ANY OF OUR STUDENT DISCIPLINE OUTCOMES.
AND THEN WE'RE MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE PROACTIVELY TRYING TO ADDRESS THAT WITH TRAINING, UH, IN OUR SCHOOLS, UH, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR TEACHERS AROUND BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT, UH, AND THAT WE'RE CLARIFYING BEHAVIOR EXPECTATIONS AND THAT PEOPLE KNOW WE NEED CONSISTENCY.
UH, AND THE WAY DISCIPLINE IS HANDLED, UH, AS WELL AS MONITORING OTHER THINGS LIKE CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM, TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S EQUITY THERE AND THE DISTRIBUTION OF OUR PROGRAMMING, SO THAT WE MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF OUR SCHOOLS HAVE ACCESS TO ADVANCED PROGRAMMING, LIKE AP COURSES, DUAL ENROLLMENT, UH, UH, INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE, CTE, ET CETERA.
SO WE DO AN INVENTORY TO CHECK, UH, FOR EQUITY, YOUR SECOND QUESTION AROUND THE CABINET LEVEL OFFICIAL.
I WANT TO BE ABLE TO REVIEW THE ENTIRE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AND FIGURE OUT, UH, IN THAT FIRST 100 DAYS, WHAT IS THE CURRENT STATE AND HOW HAVE WE BEEN ADDRESSING EQUITY? CERTAINLY IN HAMILTON COUNTY SCHOOLS WHERE I WORK, WE HAVE A CHIEF EQUITY OFFICER AND THE CHIEF EQUITY OFFICER ACTUALLY OVERSEES OUR EXCEPTIONAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT.
SHE OVERSEES OUR SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL LEARNING DEPARTMENT, OUR SOCIAL WORKERS AND TRUANCY OFFICERS.
AND SO WE SEE HER AND OUR ESL DEPARTMENT.
WE SEE HER AS BEING THE ADVOCATE FOR THOSE STUDENTS WHO NEED TO HAVE ADDITIONAL RESOURCES TO ACHIEVE EQUITABLE OUTCOMES.
THERE ARE A LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS YOU CAN THINK ABOUT THE CHIEF EQUITY OFFICER ROLE.
SO I WOULD WANT TO FIRST COMMIT TO UNDERSTAND WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE NOW, BEFORE I COULD SAY DEFINITIVELY THAT WHAT IT REQUIRES IS A CABINET ROLE, OR MAYBE WE NEED TO DO IT DIFFERENTLY HERE BASED ON WHAT'S BEEN DONE HISTORICALLY.
BUT I ABSOLUTELY SAY IT WOULD BE TOP OF MY LIST TO MAKE SURE THAT SOMEONE IN OUR DISTRICT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR KEEPING AN EYE ON EQUITY.
UH, NOW WE WILL GO TO DISTRICT THREE.
THANK YOU, PRESIDENT GOATEE, UM, DR.
TOWNS EARLIER THIS WEEK, THERE WAS A, UM, AN ARTICLE POSTED IN THE BATON ROUGE BUSINESS REPORT THAT TALKED ABOUT BATON ROUGE, OPPORTUNITY LOSS BY NOT SELECTING A PARTICULAR CANDIDATE TO OUR ROLE.
I WOULD LIKE FOR YOU TO CLEARLY DEFINE TO OUR COMMUNITY, OUR STAKEHOLDERS, MORE IMPORTANTLY, OUR STUDENTS, HOW WOULD WE GAIN WITH A DOCTOR TOWN, SUPERINTENDENCY AND ADMINISTRATION? THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION.
UM, I THINK IT'S, I'VE BEEN COMMUNICATING TO ALL THE VARIOUS STAKEHOLDER GROUPS, UM, THAT I HAVE TALKED TO, UH, THAT WE CERTAINLY HAVE A COMPLEX EDUCATIONAL LANDSCAPE HERE IN EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL SYSTEM.
AND I KNOW THAT I'VE HEARD FROM MANY COMMUNITY
[02:40:01]
MEMBERS THAT MANY FOLKS HAVE COME IN, UH, BEFORE, UH, THIS SUPERINTENDENCY SEARCH AND HAD LOTS OF TALK THAT DIDN'T TURN INTO A LOT OF ACTION IN TERMS ON THE GROUND RESULTS FOR STUDENTS.AND IF I AM SELECTED AS THE NEXT SUPERINTENDENT, FIRST OF ALL, STUDENTS SHOULD KNOW THAT THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE A VOICE, AND WE'RE GOING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE A STUDENT ADVISORY COUNCIL THAT I MEET WITH ON A MONTHLY BASIS WHERE THERE'S A REPRESENTATIVE FROM EVERY HIGH SCHOOL.
AND THAT I HEAR DIRECTLY FROM STUDENTS, WHAT THEY'RE EXPERIENCING, AS I SAID, IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON IN SCHOOL, TALK TO THE KIDS, CAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE A FILTER ABOUT IT AND THEY'RE THERE EVERY DAY.
AND SO IF WE REALLY WANT TO IMPROVE THE DELIVERY OF THE TEACHING AND LEARNING THAT WE'RE HAVING, I'M REALLY WANT TO KNOW WHAT SOME OF THE ROOT CAUSES OF THE ISSUES ARE.
SO I'M GOING TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY UNDERSTAND THAT THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE A VOICE, UH, WITH, UH, DR.
BUT FURTHERMORE, UH, THEY SHOULD KNOW THAT MY BACKGROUND MEANS THAT I CAN GET IT DONE, THAT THEM TALKING TO ME, WON'T JUST BE EMPTY WORDS AND EMPTY PROMISES.
I HAVE THE BACKGROUND, UH, THAT ARTICLE THAT YOU MENTIONED IN TERMS OF THE RECORD OF INNOVATION, UH, AND THE BUSINESS CREDENTIALS, AS WELL AS THE CREDENTIALS AROUND PUBLIC EDUCATION.
I EARNED AN MBA FROM DUKE UNIVERSITY.
I HAVE AN ENGINEERING DEGREE FROM DUKE UNIVERSITY.
I HAVE A DOCTORATE OF EDUCATION FROM VANDERBILT.
I'VE WORKED FOR FORTUNE 500 COMPANIES.
I CLOSED MILLION BILLION DOLLAR TRANSACTIONS.
IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR EVIDENCE OF IMPACT AND EVIDENCE OF RESULTS, IT'S THERE.
AND SO STUDENTS NEED TO BE CONFIDENT THAT I AM WHO I SAY I AM, AND I CAN DO WHAT I SAY I'M GOING TO DO.
AND I'M GOING TO LISTEN TO THEM AND WHAT THEY THINK THE PRIORITIES ARE TO IMPROVE EDUCATION ON THEIR BEHALF.
WE WILL GO TO BOARD MEMBER COLLINS, BUT I HAVE TO MET, WE'RE RUNNING JUST SLIGHTLY BEHIND.
SO WE'RE GOING TO CUT IT, PICK UP THE PACE JUST A LITTLE BIT, A BOARD MEMBER COLLINS.
HOW WELL, SO EVERETT, I PREFACE THIS WITH A DISCLAIMER THAT EVERY PERSON HAS WEAKNESSES.
SO I'M NOT ASKING YOU TO DISCLOSE THAT YOU HAVE WEAKNESSES AS IF NOBODY ELSE ON THE PLANET OR YOU'RE OR YOU OR THE OTHER CANDIDATE, THE OTHER PERSON WE'RE CONSIDERING DOESN'T HAVE WEAKNESS.
SO MOVING FORWARD WITH THAT FULL UNDERSTANDING, HOW WILL YOU ADDRESS YOUR WEAKNESSES AND HOW WILL THAT INFORM YOUR CRITERIA FOR DEVELOPING A EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP TEAM? SO, YOU KNOW, I USE THIS ADAGE TODAY, UM, THAT A'S HIRE A'S AND B'S HIRE C'S AND D'S, AND I'M GOING TO SURROUND MYSELF WITH A'S.
AND SO THE FIRST THING THAT I KNOW IS THAT EVERY LEADER NEEDS TO HAVE PEOPLE AROUND THEM WHO CHALLENGED THEM, WHO CHALLENGED THEM.
AND SO I'M LOOKING FOR THINKERS TO BUILD OUT MY LEADERSHIP TEAM.
I'M LOOKING FOR FOLKS WHO ARE GOING TO BE ALWAYS PUSHING OUR ASSUMPTIONS, WHO ARE GOING TO BE BRINGING INFORMATION.
A STRENGTH OF MY STYLE IS THAT I THRIVE OFF OF INPUT.
AND THAT MEANS BRING ME DATA, BRING ME EVIDENCE.
AND SO I WANT PEOPLE IN MY CABINET WHO ARE LOOKING FOR THAT EVIDENCE AND WHO ARE ABLE TO CORRAL AND BRING THE DATA.
AND WE DON'T WANT TO BE DATA RICH AND INFORMATION POOR THAT'S DRIP, RIGHT? WE HAVE TO HAVE DATA TO INFORM ACTION.
SO THOSE ARE THE TYPES OF PEOPLE I'LL PUT ON MY CABINET.
AND I OPENLY TALK ABOUT, I AM TASK ORIENTED, I'M ACTION ORIENTED.
I NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT I BOUNCE OUT A LEADERSHIP TEAM WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE FIRST RELATIONAL AND THAT THEIR FIRST THOUGHT IS ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIPS THAT THEY HAVE, BECAUSE I NEED THAT PERSON TO CHECK ME AND SAY, OH, DR.
TOWNS, YOU'RE JUST TALKING ABOUT THE TASKS.
HAVE WE MADE SURE THAT WE'VE DONE WHAT WE NEED TO DO TO CULTIVATE THE RELATIONSHIPS AND ESTABLISH THOSE SO THAT WE CAN MOVE THE WORK FORWARD IN A COLLABORATIVE MANNER, I'M COLLABORATIVE, BUT I WANT TO MOVE FORWARD.
AND SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO PAUSE AND MAKE SURE THAT WE DONE THE CULTIVATION OF THE SEABED.
SO I'D BE LOOKING FOR PEOPLE IN MY ADMINISTRATION LIKE THAT.
I AM CERTAINLY A VISIONARY THINKER.
I'M A PERSON WHO EXECUTES A, SO I CERTAINLY WANT PEOPLE ON THE TEAM WHO CAN HELP DRIVE A PROJECT PLAN TO CLOSE BECAUSE AS THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE, I DO A LOT OF THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND PLANNING RIGHT NOW IN MY DISTRICT.
BUT AS THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE, I WANT PEOPLE AROUND ME WHO ARE GOING TO BE THE PROJECT MANAGERS, AND THEY HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE MOVING THE WORK FORWARD, THAT WE ARE HITTING THE MILESTONES AND THE TIMELINES AND THE ACTION STEPS.
SO I'M GOING TO LOOK FOR MY AUNT FOR FOLKS ON MY TEAM WHO HAVE
[02:45:01]
STRONG PROJECT MANAGEMENT SKILLS.SO I THINK ALL OF THOSE SPEAK TO NOT SIMPLY WEAKNESSES, BUT WHAT I THINK BUILDS A GREAT STRONG LEADERSHIP TEAM.
UH, NEXT WEEK, GO TO DISTRICT FIVE BOARD MEMBER WHERE JACKSON, THANK YOU, PRESIDENT GOATEE, UM, DR.
TOWNS, UM, IN MY EXPERIENCE WITH DIFFERENT SCHOOLS AND DIFFERENT GROUPS OF PARENTS, YOU KNOW, I HEAR THAT IN SOME SCHOOLS, WE HAVE WAYS OF DOING THINGS IN ANOTHER SCHOOLS, YOU KNOW, IT'S COMPLETELY DIFFERENT.
UH, AND I HEAR A LOT IN PARTICULAR FROM PARENTS OF CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS, UM, IN YOUR EXPERIENCE, UM, HOW HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE TO MAKE SURE THAT A SPECIAL NEEDS STUDENT POPULATION, UH, THAT PARENT GROUP WILL BE ABLE TO GET ALL OF THE, ALL OF THE, THE NEEDS THAT THEY HAVE MET? IT'S ESPECIALLY WITH THE FIVE OH FOUR TYPE, UM, STUDENTS AND ALL OF THE, UM, ALL OF THE HOOPS THAT THEY HAVE TO JUMP THROUGH.
YOU KNOW, CERTAIN SCHOOLS CAN SEEM TO BE ABLE TO SERVE THOSE STUDENTS WELL AND, AND SOME DON'T.
AND WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS AROUND, UH, GETTING A COHESIVE SORT OF PLAN THAT EVERY, EVERY PARENT WILL KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT, CAN GET THE SAME THING FOR THEIR STUDENT, IF THEY HAVE TO MOVE TO A DIFFERENT SCHOOL.
SO THE FIRST THING THAT I WANT TO SAY, I'VE TALKED ABOUT MY MOTHER BEING A SOCIAL WORKER AND MY MOTHER, UH, HER WORK, UH, WAS WITH, UH, CHILDREN AND ADULTS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES.
AND THIS WAS BACK IN THE SEVENTIES WHEN WE WERE INSTITUTIONALIZING AND NOT MAINSTREAMING, UH, PEOPLE WHO HAD DISABILITIES WITH SPECIAL NEEDS.
AND I REMEMBER THAT TIME, AND I REMEMBER HOW MY MOTHER WAS SUCH AN ADVOCATE FOR MAKING SURE THAT WE DIDN'T, UH, FORGET ABOUT, UH, STUDENTS AND BASICALLY, YOU KNOW, PUT THEM IN A PLACE WHERE WE DIDN'T HAVE TO SEE THEM OR HEAR FROM THEM.
AND SO I COME TO THIS FROM A PERSONAL VALUE OF, WE HAVE TO SERVE ALL CHILDREN WELL, AND, UH, IN MY LIFE EXPERIENCE, UH, SPECIAL NEEDS STUDENTS, STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES ARE AT THE TOP OF THAT LIST.
NOW YOU TALKED ABOUT THE VARIABILITY BETWEEN SCHOOLS IN TERMS OF HOW WE SERVE STUDENTS.
WE HAVE TO BE CLEAR ON WHAT OUR VALUES ARE AROUND SPECIAL EDUCATION AND HOW DO WE HAVE THE SYSTEM STRUCTURES AND PROCESSES IN PLACE TO MEET OUR OBLIGATION? NOT JUST BECAUSE IT'S THE LAW IT'S BECAUSE IT'S THE RIGHT THING TO DO.
AND IN MY DISTRICT RIGHT NOW IN HAMILTON COUNTY, I'M LEADING THE INCLUSIVE SETTINGS WORK GROUP.
WE MADE A COMMITMENT A YEAR AGO THAT WE WERE GOING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAD A EVIDENCE-BASED INCLUSION IN EVERY SCHOOL SITE.
UH, BEFORE TWO YEARS AGO IN HAMILTON COUNTY, WE WERE DOING WHAT'S CALLED CLUSTER SITES.
AND SO SOME OF OUR SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS WERE ONLY AVAILABLE IN CERTAIN SCHOOLS.
AND SO ALL KIDS COULDN'T GO TO THEIR BASE ZONE SCHOOL THAT WASN'T RIGHT.
WE NEEDED TO OFFER THE PROGRAMMING AT EVERY SCHOOL.
AND WHEN WE MADE THE COMMITMENT TO DO THAT, THAT MEANT THAT WE HAD TO MAKE SURE THAT SCHOOLS WERE READY, UH, FOR THE FACT THAT WE WERE GOING TO BE MOVING THESE SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS INTO EVERY SCHOOL IN THE DISTRICT, AND THAT WE NEEDED EVERY SCHOOL TO MAKE A COMMITMENT AROUND WHAT WAS GOING TO BE THEIR CO-TEACHING MODEL, THE CO-TEACHING CONTINUUM.
HOW ARE WE GOING TO MAKE SURE THAT STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES GOT THE MOST EXPOSURE TO GRADE LEVEL WORK? AND HOW ARE WE GOING TO MAKE SURE THAT THE SPECIAL EDUCATOR WAS PARTNERING WITH THE GENERAL EDUCATOR SO THAT WE ARE ALL RESPONSIBLE FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES.
IT'S NOT JUST BEDS KIDS, THEY ARE OUR KIDS, AND WE HAVE JOINT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEM.
SO I BELIEVE THAT THAT'S THE WAY THAT FIRST AND FOREMOST I'M GOING TO PURSUE MAKING SURE THAT ALL OF OUR PARENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS, WHETHER THEY HAVE A STUDENT WITH AN IEP OR A FIVE OH FOUR, THEY ARE ABLE TO DEPEND ON THAT ANY SCHOOL THAT THEY ENROLL THEIR CHILD IN IS GOING TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THAT.
UH, NEXT WEEK GO TO DISTRICT SIX BOARD MEMBER DYSON.
THIS HAS THE POTENTIAL TO REBUILD OUR ENTIRE COMMUNITY IN MULTIPLE WAYS.
STUDENT AND STAFF FAMILIARITY AND SCHOOL SITE EXPERIENCE, RAISING STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT EARLY RE-ENGAGING, AS WITHIN REALIZE, UH, WE DO ACTUALLY OFFER QUALITY EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOLS, AND THEY WOULD
[02:50:01]
POTENTIALLY STAY WITH US THEN FOR KINDERGARTEN AND ON FORWARD.SO WITH ALL OF THAT IN MIND, ARE YOU COMMITTED TO PRIORITIZING CREATING EQUAL NUMBERS OF PRE-K SEATS AS THERE ARE CASEY SEATS IN ALL CHILDREN'S NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOLS? I ABSOLUTELY AGREE WITH EVERYTHING THAT YOU SAID ABOUT THE BENEFITS OF PRE-K, UM, UH, PROGRAMS, UH, AND, UH, ON THE SAME SITES WITH OUR K FIVE SCHOOLS AND THAT WE NEED TO HAVE MAXIMUM ACCESS FOR PARENTS.
AND SO OF COURSE, ALL THESE THINGS COME WITH A FINANCIAL, UH, PRICE TAG TO THEM.
AND SO WE WOULD HAVE TO THINK ABOUT WHAT ARE OUR STRATEGIES TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
UM, AND, UH, IF WE DO PURSUE PRE-K, WE COULD ALSO THINK ABOUT EARLY LEARNING.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DO, UM, PRIVATE, EARLY LEARNING CENTERS, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DO IN HAMILTON COUNTY SCHOOLS IS THAT WE'VE PARTNERED WITH SOME OF THOSE CERTIFIED, UH, EARLY LEARNING CENTERS AND THAT WE CO LOCATE THEM ONSITE WITH OUR SCHOOLS.
AND SO EVEN FOR PARENTS WHO WERE GOING TO BE PAYING TUITION, INSTEAD OF THEM DOING THAT AT A SITE THAT'S OFF CAMPUS, THEY'RE ABLE TO COME TO OUR SCHOOL AND EXACTLY TO YOUR POINT, THEY GET EXPOSED TO OUR STUDENTS AND OUR STAFF, AND THEY BECOME COMFORTABLE WITH THE NOTION OF THEIR CHILD TRANSITIONING INTO KINDERGARTEN THERE.
SO THE FIRST STEP THAT I WOULD SAY LET'S PURSUE WHAT I WOULD CONSIDER LOW HANGING FRUIT ARE THERE EARLY, UH, EARLY LEARNING PRIVATE PROVIDERS, WHO WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO OFFER CO-LOCATION SPACE NOW IN THINKING ABOUT OUR PRE-K PROGRAMMING, UH, WHERE THAT BECOMES PART OF THE DISTRICT, OR, YOU KNOW, UH, AND, AND A TUITION FREE OPTION, BUT WE'VE GOT TO FIGURE OUT THE FINANCES OF THAT.
AND TENNESSEE, WE HAVE THE GOVERNOR'S PRE PRE PRE K PROGRAM.
THEY ALLOCATE DOLLARS TO US, AND THERE ARE SOME RESTRICTIONS, UM, AROUND THAT IN TERMS OF WHO WE'RE ABLE TO SERVE.
SO I'D HAVE TO GET UP TO SPEED ON WHAT THAT MEANS IN LOUISIANA, IN TERMS OF HOW DO THEY FUND PRE-K AND HOW WOULD WE BE ABLE TO DO IT? I THINK THAT THERE'S A HUGE OPPORTUNITY HERE, AND I'VE A LOT OF INTEREST FROM THE COMMUNITY GROUPS OF THAT I'VE BEEN IN, THAT EVERYBODY GETS THAT, THAT BIRTH TO THREE BIRTH TO FIVE CONTINUUM IS THE KEY TO MAKING SURE A STUDENT'S LAUNCHED WITH A STRONG STAR AND THAT THEY'RE READY FOR KINDERGARTEN.
SO I BELIEVE THAT AS WE CREATE THAT NEEDS ASSESSMENT AND LINE UP OUR NEEDS ASSESSMENT AND PRIORITIES BASED ON THE STRATEGIC PLAN, AND THEN FIGURE OUT WHAT OUR FUNDING GAPS ARE.
IF WE FIND THAT PRE-K IS A FUNDING GAP, WE NEED TO GO ASK THOSE COMMUNITY PARTNERS, THOSE PHILANTHROPIC PARTNERS, IS THERE A WAY FOR THEM TO HELP US FUND PRE-K AND MORE OF OUR SCHOOLS.
SO I THINK THERE'S A HUGE OPPORTUNITY THERE FOR US, AND THAT'S THE WAY THAT I WOULD PURSUE THAT WORK.
UM, COVID-19 IS FORCED EVERYTHING TO CHANGE.
CHANGE IS HARD, PARTICULARLY FOR LARGE ORGANIZATIONS.
SOME HAVE WANTED US TO PAUSE THIS ENTIRE PROCESS DURING THIS PERIOD.
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE NEED FOR LEADERSHIP DURING THIS TIME AND WHAT CHANGES MIGHT BE POSSIBLE NOW THAT WOULD ADDRESS SYSTEMIC ISSUES THAT YOU'VE HAD FOUND? SO I CERTAINLY HAVE UNDERSTOOD THE COMMUNITY'S HESITANCE TO SAY IS NOW THE TIME TO INTRODUCE A COMPLETELY NEW A LEADER WITH EVERYTHING THAT'S GOING ON.
UM, WHEN WE ARE FACING A CRISIS ON MULTIPLE FRONTS, PEOPLE DO WANT STABILITY, RIGHT? THEY WANT STABILITY AND LEADERSHIP, BUT I WOULD SAY TO YOU ALL THAT AT THE SAME TIME, UH, BEING ABLE TO BRING IN A LEADER, UH, WHO IS GOING TO QUICKLY RAMP UP AND GET TO KNOW THE COMMUNITY AND SET THE DIRECTION FOR THE LONGTERM MEANS THAT YOU AREN'T GOING TO LOSE TIME ON SOME OF THOSE STRATEGIC GOALS WHILE YOU'RE WAITING FOR STABILITY.
BECAUSE LOOK COVID-19 IS PROBABLY GOING TO BE WITH US FOR THE NEXT 18 MONTHS, 24 MONTHS UNTIL THERE'S A VACCINE.
SO WOULD WE HAVE WANTED TO LOSE ONE TO TWO YEARS ON THE GOALS AND ASPIRATIONS THAT THE COMMUNITY HAS FOR THE SCHOOL DISTRICT? AND SO I DO BELIEVE THAT IT'S URGENT AND IMPERATIVE AND THE TIME IS NOW, AND FOR THE, UH, THE CONVERSATION THAT I HAD EARLIER ABOUT THE TIMING WITH THE TRANSITION AT THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, THERE'S A SYNERGY THAT CAN BE HAD THERE.
WHEN WE THINK ABOUT THE SYSTEMIC CHANGES THAT WE COULD BE LOOKING AT NOW, AS WE COME OUT OF THIS, COVID-19, YOU KNOW, I HAVE TOLD YOU ALL ABOUT THE WORK THAT I LED IN HAMILTON COUNTY AND HOW QUICKLY WE SHIFTED AND HOW NIMBLE OUR ORGANIZATION WAS IN THAT TIME.
I WOULD WANT TO MAKE SURE WE BUILD THE SAME KIND OF FLEXIBILITY AND NIMBLENESS TO BE ABLE TO RESPOND TO ANY CRISIS SITUATION HERE IN EAST BATON ROUGE, PARISH SCHOOL SYSTEM.
ONE OF THE THINGS I THINK THAT THIS HAS, UH, REALLY IMPRESSED UPON ME IS THAT WE NEED TO HAVE FULLY BLENDED INSTRUCTION PRACTICES IN OUR SCHOOLS ON A DAY TO DAY BASIS.
OUR KIDS NEED TO BE ENGAGING WITH TECHNOLOGY AND TEACHERS NEED TO BE ENGAGING
[02:55:01]
IN TECHNOLOGY, WHETHER THERE'S A OR NOT.SO IF THERE IS ANOTHER SCHOOL DISRUPTION, FOR ANY REASON THAT STUDENTS ARE USED TO, AND TEACHERS ARE USED TO USING THAT TECHNOLOGY, YOU ALL HAVE A ONE TO ONE PROGRAM, 35,000 COMPUTERS.
WE NEED TO SEND THOSE COMPUTERS HOME.
WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE GIVING KIDS ACCESS TO CLOSE THE DIGITAL DIVIDE AND DEVELOP DIGITAL LITERACY.
SO THOSE CHROMEBOOKS AREN'T JUST FOR THE SCHOOLHOUSE, THEY'RE FOR THE HOME AND THE WEEKEND FOR KIDS TO BE ABLE TO DEVELOP THAT DIGITAL LITERACY.
AND SO I THINK THE GREATEST OPPORTUNITY THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE, PARTICULARLY FOR STUDENTS WHO ARE BEHIND AND HAVE LEARNING GAPS THAT WE NEED TO CLOSE IS THAT WE CAN POTENTIALLY CREATE MORE TIME ON TASK, EXTENDED LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES, UH, THAT WE ARE ABLE TO UTILIZE ON WEEKENDS DURING INNER SESSIONS DURING THE SUMMER THAT WE CAN CONNECT WITH KIDS AND CONTINUE TO DEVELOP THEIR SKILLS SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE ANY MORE SUMMARY SLIDE THAT WE CAN ADDRESS THE COVID-19 ACADEMIC SLIDE.
SO THAT'S WHAT I SEE AS THE BIG OPPORTUNITY FOR SYSTEMIC CHANGES.
NEXT WE GO TO DISTRICT EIGHT BOARD MEMBER BERNARD.
TOWNS, HOW MANY EMPLOYEES DO YOU EVER SEE AND HOW MANY DIRECTLY REPORT TO YOU AND HOW WOULD YOU CHARACTERIZE YOUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH EMPLOYEE GROUPS ADVOCATING ON BEHALF OF EMPLOYEES IN YOUR PRESENT POSITION? AND WHAT, IF ANYTHING, WOULD YOU CHANGE IN RELATIONSHIPS? UM, HOW MANY EMPLOYEES DO I OVERSEE? SO HAVE DIRECT REPORTS IN, UH, THAT REPORT TO ME IN DEPARTMENTS, AS CHIEF OF STAFF, I HAVE 30 PEOPLE WHO I'M RESPONSIBLE FOR MAKING SURE THEY HAVE AN ANNUAL EVALUATION PROCESS, UH, THAT I MANAGE THEIR, UH, MANAGERS.
WHEN YOU ASKED ME, UH, HOW MANY, UH, EMPLOYEES AS THE PERSON WHO IS CHIEF OF STAFF.
I OVERSEE ALL 4,000 EMPLOYEES IN OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT, UM, BECAUSE I AM THE SECOND IN COMMAND TO THE SUPERINTENDENT.
UH, AND SO I OPERATE AS THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE IN HIS ABSENCE.
SO EVERYONE KNOWS THAT WHEN THE SUPERINTENDENT IS UNAVAILABLE, THEY COME TO ME AS THE CHIEF OF STAFF TO BE ABLE TO MAKE THE DECISION IN HIS STEAD.
SO I'M RESPONSIBLE FOR ORGANIZATIONAL WIDE.
THE RELATIONSHIP THAT I HAVE WITH OUR EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION, OUR HAMILTON COUNTY EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION IS A TIGHT RELATIONSHIP.
UH, THE PRESIDENT OF THE HAMILTON COUNTY EDUCATION ASSOCIATION, UH, WAS ACTUALLY EMAILING AND TEXTING ME.
AND SHE SAYS, I'VE HEARD FROM SOME PEOPLE IN EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH.
AND SHE'S LIKE, AND I TOLD THEM THAT YOU WERE WONDERFUL AND I WISH YOU LUCK, BUT NOT THAT MUCH LUCK BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO IF YOU LEAVE.
AND THAT'S BECAUSE WE HAVE A CLOSE RELATIONSHIP.
I'M PART OF THE MANAGEMENT TEAM FOR OUR COLLABORATIVE CONFERENCING PROCESS, WHICH IS WHAT WE REPLACED, UH, IN TERMS OF NEGOTIATIONS, NEGOTIATING, AND IN TERMS OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING, WHEN THE LAWS CHANGED IN TENNESSEE.
SO IN EVERY ROLE THAT I'VE BEEN IN, I'VE WORKED VERY CLOSELY WITH THE ASSOCIATIONS THAT REPRESENT EMPLOYEES.
AND AGAIN, IT'S BECAUSE I'M AN ADVOCATE FOR EMPLOYEES CONCERNS.
AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, IT WAS WITH OUR TEACHERS ASSOCIATION THAT WE AGREED THAT WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT THE WORK OF TEACHERS IS REASONABLE, MANAGEABLE, AND SUSTAINABLE.
UM, THE GRASS, UH, PART OF YOUR QUESTION IN TERMS OF WHAT I'M MAKING ANY CHANGES.
I THINK THAT WE HAVE HAD A GREAT WORKING RELATIONSHIP, UH, WITH OUR EMPLOYEE ASSOCIATIONS.
AND SO I THINK THAT THE MODEL THAT WE HAVE, WHERE WE HAVE FORMAL COMMUNICATIONS WITH THEM ON A MONTHLY BASIS, WE MAKE SURE THAT WE REACH OUT AND GET THEIR FEEDBACK.
WHENEVER THERE'S ANY MAJOR POLICY DECISION.
UH, WE INCLUDE THEM IN CONVERSATIONS BEFORE, UH, WE WOULD, UH, PRESENT THEM AT A BOARD MEETING SO THAT THEY'RE NEVER SURPRISED ABOUT WHAT POLICY DIRECTIONS ARE GOING TO BE.
THAT'S THE MODEL THAT I WOULD USE HERE IN EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL SYSTEM.
I THINK WE HAVE A REALLY GOOD WORKING RELATIONSHIP WITH OUR EMPLOYEE ASSOCIATIONS.
TOWNS, UH, FOR THE FINAL QUESTION OF THE NIGHT, WE SAVED THE BEST FOR LAST, UH, DISTRICT NINE BOARD MEMBER TAT MAN.
UM, I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU AN OPEN QUESTION SO YOU CAN SPEAK ON IT.
WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE THE TOP, UH, CHALLENGES THAT WE HAVE IN OUR DISTRICT RIGHT NOW AND HOW MIGHT YOU, UM, HIT THE GROUND RUNNING AND ADDRESSING THOSE? AND I REALIZE YOU HAVE A SMALL YES, WELL, I'M GOING TO START REALLY MACRO, WHICH THIS IS NOT, UH, SPECIFIC TO THE ACTUAL, YOU KNOW, TEACHING AND LEARNING OR THE OPERATIONAL WORK OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT.
UH, WHAT I HAVE REALIZED AND WHAT YOU ALL HAVE, UM, REALLY, UM, UH, INDICATED IN SOME OF YOUR COMMENTS AND WHAT WE ALL KNOW, UH, IS THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF DIFFERENT OPINIONS ABOUT HOW WE NEED TO MOVE FORWARD.
AND WITH THERE BEING A LOT OF DIFFERENT OPINIONS, I'VE ALSO REALIZED THAT THERE WAS A LOT OF DISTRUST AND THAT PEOPLE DON'T BELIEVE THEIR OPINION AND THEIR PERSPECTIVE IS GOING TO BE HEARD AND VALUED AND INTEGRATED IN ANY ULTIMATE
[03:00:01]
SOLUTION OR PROPOSAL.SO ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES THAT I THINK THAT WE'VE GOT TO BRING THE COMMUNITY TOGETHER, IF EVERYBODY IS IN AGREEMENT THAT WE WANT TO HAVE EXCELLENT PUBLIC EDUCATION IN EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL SYSTEM, THEN WE OUGHT TO BE ABLE TO WORK TOGETHER TO GET THERE.
AND SO MY FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS IS TO MAKE SURE THAT I'M MEETING WITH ALL STAKEHOLDER GROUPS AND STRENGTHENING MY POSITION OF WHAT I'VE COINED AS HONEST BROKER.
I REALLY WANT TO COME IN AND HEAR FROM EVERYBODY AND LISTEN WITH AN OPEN HEART AND AN OPEN MIND TO EVERYONE'S POSITION AND SEE IF I CAN HELP BRIDGE ALL OF THIS DISTRUST AND LEAD US TO CONSENSUS TO GET TO WHAT OUR SHARED GOALS ARE.
AND I TRULY BELIEVE THAT EVERYBODY I'VE HEARD FROM REGARDLESS OF THEIR PERSPECTIVE, THEY WANT A GREAT PUBLIC EDUCATION SYSTEM IN EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH.
SO THAT'S THE FIRST CHALLENGE THAT I'M GOING TO TACKLE.
AND THEN I, WE HAVE TO REALLY MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE UNIVERSALLY HIGH EXPECTATIONS AND EXCELLENT TEACHING AND LEARNING IN EVERY BUILDING AND EVERY CLASSROOM EVERY DAY.
AND THERE WAS A LOT OF LEVERS THAT WE HAVE TO PULL TO ENSURE THAT, BUT WE NEED TO GET TO THE BUSINESS OF BEING ABLE TO CONVEY TO PARENTS AND HAVE EVIDENCE THAT WE ARE EDUCATING ALL CHILDREN AT HIGH LEVELS.
AND RIGHT NOW I THINK PARENTS ARE VERY CLEAR.
THEY SEE THE VARIABILITY IN PERFORMANCE, THEY SEE THE INCONSISTENCY AND THAT ERODES CONFIDENCE.
THAT IS WHY WE DON'T HAVE MORE PEOPLE OPTING INTO THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM BECAUSE THEY THINK RIGHT NOW IT'S HIT AND MISS RUSSIAN ROULETTE, MAYBE I'LL GET SOMETHING GOOD.
MAYBE I WON'T PEOPLE AREN'T GOING TO PLAY RUSSIAN ROULETTE WITH THEIR CHILD.
THEY'RE GOING TO CHOOSE A SURE THING.
AND WE HAVE TO MAKE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL SYSTEM A SURE THING.
SO THOSE ARE THE TOP TWO CHALLENGES THAT I SEE THAT I WILL JUMP INTO ADDRESSING IF I'M SELECTED AS THE NEXT SUPERINTENDENT.
AND WE'VE DONE ALMOST PERFECTLY ON TIME.
THE NEXT WILL BE A MOMENT FOR YOU TO DO A CLOSING STATEMENT, BUT BEFORE WE GET INTO THAT, UH, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO THANK THE STAFF OF THE SYSTEM FOR ALL THE HARD WORK THEY'VE DONE.
I'M PUTTING ALL TOGETHER, ALL OF THESE MEETINGS AND MAKING ALL THIS HAPPEN.
AND I WOULD VERY MUCH LIKE TO THANK THE COMMUNITY.
WE HAVE HAD TREMENDOUS COMMUNITY SUPPORT, UH, COMMUNITY INPUT, COMMUNITY INTEREST, UH, WITH PEOPLE ATTENDING MEETINGS, MEETING CANDIDATES, SENDING AS QUESTIONS.
AND I THINK IT'S DEMONSTRATED HOW MUCH INTEREST, UH, AND QUITE HONESTLY HOW MUCH CONCERN PEOPLE HAVE, UH, ON THE SCHOOL SYSTEM HERE AND THE DESIRE, VERY DEEP DESIRE FOR EXCELLENT EDUCATION FOR ALL OF OUR STUDENTS WITHIN THIS PARISH.
SO I COMMEND THE COMMUNITY FOR THEIR WORK.
I COMMEND THE BOARD FOR ALL THE WORK THAT THEY'VE PUT INTO THIS, AND I ESPECIALLY COMMEND OUR TWO CANDIDATES.
UH, LIKE I SAID EARLIER, IT HAS BEEN A VERY GRUELING COUPLE OF DAYS WITH LOTS OF MEETINGS, LOTS OF INTERACTIONS, BUT IT'S BEEN WONDERFUL FOR US TO GET TO KNOW YOU BETTER AND FOR YOU TO GET TO KNOW US BETTER.
UH, CAUSE I THINK THAT IT'LL HELP US MAKE A VERY GOOD DECISION AND ALSO HELP YOU, UH, MORE UNDERSTAND THAT DECISION AND HOW THAT GOES FORWARD.
SO ARE, UH, MUCH THANKS TO YOU FOR ALL THE TIME AND EFFORT AND THE HOMEWORK AND ALL THE WORK THAT, THAT YOU HAVE DONE PUTTING THIS TOGETHER.
SO WITH THAT, I WOULD LIKE TO TURN THE FLOOR OVER TO YOU FOR SOME CLOSING COMMENTS.
WELL, LET ME JUST SAY THAT THIS HAS BEEN A REALLY WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE AND I HAVE SO ENJOYED MY TIME HERE IN EAST BATON ROUGE.
UH, AS MR GODIN MENTIONED, I'VE BEEN DOING A LOT OF HOMEWORK AND YOU LOOK AT ALL THE SPREADSHEETS AND THE DATA AND YOU SEE THE SCHOOL NAMES ON PAPER AND YOU SEE PEOPLE'S PICTURES ON THE WEBSITE AND THEN YOU GET HERE AND SEE THEM IN PERSON.
AND IT FEELS LIKE WE'VE ALREADY KNOWN EACH OTHER, EVEN THOUGH WE HAD TO DO IT ALL VIRTUALLY, RIGHT.
AND NOW WE'RE REALLY ABLE TO GET TO KNOW ONE ANOTHER AND TO BE ABLE TO GO ON A TOUR ON A YESTERDAY AND BE ABLE TO SEE, UH, OR RATHER ON TUESDAY, THE DAYS ARE RUNNING TOGETHER, UH, AND TO BE ABLE TO SEE THE SCHOOLS AND, AND PUT CONTEXT TO THE COMMUNITIES, UH, LOVELY COMMUNITIES THAT WE HAVE ACROSS EAST BATON ROUGE, PARIS, SOME BEAUTIFUL SCHOOLS THAT ARE BEING BUILT, PARK ELEMENTARY, JEFFERSON TERRACE, UH, TERRORISTS.
I LOVE THOSE BRIGHT COLORS, UH, ON THE OUTSIDE.
AND I THINK TO MYSELF, I WANT TO GO TO SCHOOL THERE AND THAT'S WHAT WE WANT FOR OUR COMMUNITY AND FOR OUR KIDS TO WALK UP TO BUILDINGS AND SAY, I WANT TO BE A PART OF THAT.
ULTIMATELY I THINK THAT OUR GOAL, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT GREAT EDUCATION, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S JOY IN OUR SCHOOLS, THAT KIDS HAVE JOY, AND THAT WE DON'T MISS THAT WHEN WE'RE THINKING ABOUT
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MAKING SURE THAT WE MAINTAIN THOSE UNIVERSALLY HIGH EXPECTATIONS.PEOPLE WANT TO SEE REAL WELL ROUNDED EDUCATION FOR THEIR CHILDREN.
AND I THINK WE HAVE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE IS A WELL-ROUNDED HIGH QUALITY EDUCATION PROVIDED FOR EVERY CHILD.
I TOLD YOU ALL MY PERSONAL STORY AND MY JOURNEY OF WHAT EDUCATION HAS DONE FOR ME PERSONALLY, AND MY FAMILY AND OUR TRAJECTORY.
AND SO I ABSOLUTELY BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF PUBLIC EDUCATION AND I ABSOLUTELY BELIEVE IT IS WHAT MAKES OUR COUNTRY EXCEPTIONAL.
AND I'M CALLED TO SERVICE IN THIS WORK BECAUSE OF THAT COMMITMENT AND BELIEF THAT I HAVE.
AND AS I HAVE TALKED TO YOU ALL OVER THE LAST THREE DAYS, AND YOU ALL HAVE BEEN ABLE TO LOOK AT MY BACKGROUND, MY RESUME, YOU SEEN ME IN THAT FIRST INTERVIEW, I THINK, AND I HOPE THAT YOU AGREE THAT MY SKILLSET AND MY EXPERIENCES ARE A MATCH FOR THE OPPORTUNITY THAT YOU HAVE HERE FOR THE CHALLENGES THAT YOU HAVE, BUT ALSO FOR THE PROGRESS THAT HAS BEEN MADE.
I WANT TO BE A PART OF DEFINING THE NEXT STEP, THE NEXT ERA FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION IN EAST BATON ROUGE SCHOOL SYSTEM.
I WANT TO BECOME A PART OF THIS COMMUNITY.
I KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE, BULLDOGS, TIGERS, GET IT.
AND SO, ALTHOUGH I DON'T KNOW THE PEOPLE HERE, I CERTAINLY FEEL LIKE I KNOW THE PEOPLE HERE, AND THIS IS A PLACE THAT I COULD MAKE MY LONGTERM HOME, AND I WOULD LOVE TO BECOME A PART OF YOUR COMMUNITY.
SO I HOPE THAT I'VE PROVIDED YOU THE EVIDENCE, THE EVIDENCE OF IMPACT THAT YOU NEED TO BE ABLE TO MAKE A DECISION ABOUT WHO WILL LEAD THE SCHOOL DISTRICT INTO THE NEXT PERIOD DURING THIS TIME OF GREAT TUMULT, YOU NEED STRONG LEADERSHIP, PREPARED LEADERSHIP.
I WANT TO BRING THAT PERSONAL BRAND AND MY PERSONAL VALUES TO EAST BATON ROUGE TO SERVE THE COMMUNITY HERE.
SO I LOOK FORWARD TO THE DECISION THAT YOU ALL WILL MAKE ON JUNE 18TH.
I'M GLAD I'M NOT IN YOUR SEATS.
UH, BUT THAT IS WHY THEY SAY HEAVY IS THE HEAD THAT WEARS THE CROWN.
YOU ALL ARE LEFT TO MAKE THE CALL, BUT I HOPE THAT I'VE DONE MY LEVEL BEST TO DEMONSTRATE MY SINCERE INTEREST, PREPARATION AND COMMITMENT TO BECOME THE NEXT SUPERINTENDENT OF EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL SYSTEM.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH WITH THAT.