##VIDEO ID:mCgocMMox7E## Ms and then my team focusing on the micro assessments that are given periodically after each standard is taught we have a heavy focus on data in making sure that teachers are remediating based upon that data and if they are not understanding on how to remediate my teachers model and provide support in teaching the teachers in the classroom how to do that really it's a collaborative effort uh between the school the district um office of academics is an instrumental part of working with the Regional Offices so what I'll do is meet with the principal look at the areas of deficiency for our students as well as any gaps that we may have and and so we will Target and say okay we may need support in early literacy for example so we will contact uh you know academics Department to come out provide professional learning to our teachers as well as an ongoing follow-up plan uh we don't want to just provide that professional develop and and leave our schools right so the district really is great about meeting with the principal meeting with myself to look at data and determine what steps are needed after we provide that initial PD to our teachers it's about the comprehension right so if they can read can they be able to comprehend that science right so that means that we have to implement what type of last school year our school was at 12% in science this year um based on the 2024 um Statewide Science assessment data we improved to 38% I'm going to say we're definitely trending in the right direction and so I'm excited as to you know what the impact for this year will be now that we are under the leadership of the school of academics with the sto office um and just being able to get a lot more um resources that's going to help impact and push us to that level so this particular professional learning it's called intervene to accelerate growth and Mathematics and what happens at these School sites is the schools open it to other schools so for example at Hollywood Hills they invited teachers from Sheridan Park uh their schools so they will open it up to the zone so we're able to meet the needs of many schools at different locations our main goal and our primary priority is to make sure that we give the highest quality instruction that we can to our students to make sure that there are good student outcomes already this school year they've had Ela support they've had math support they have had science support so I believe that with all of that support not only with my um director uh that we are going to make huge gains this school year our relationships with the district is really important um teachers have to be supported by both instructional school-based leadership as well as District based leadership so all of us working together to really set up the teachers for success is what's going to have the most impact on student achievement [Music] as the quote mentioned the only impossible journey is the one you never begin today we have the privilege of hearing from four principles who not only embraced their Journey but used it to guide their schools to impressive gains in student achievement and school grades these leaders from blanch elely high school oakd elementary school Endeavor Primary Learning Center and Nova Middle School took on the challenges before them and set their sights on a clear destination Student Success today they'll be sharing their success stories and discussing their problem of practice you'll hear how they focused on engaging staff students and the community leveraging professional learning opportunities maximizing instructional resources and benefiting from District support and collaboration most importantly you'll see the strong role leadership has played in driving their school Success these are the processes schools follow to implement the district's academic plan ensuring curriculum is delivered consistently and effectively the collaboration between schools Regional Offices and the office of academics plays an instrumental role in enhancing teaching and ultimately impacting student outcomes across the district let's welcome them as they share their insights and Journeys greetings school board members superintendent heurn our viewing public uh my name is Germaine Fleming I'm the North Region superintendent and I'm pleased and it's a pleasure for me to serve the families of the North Region uh my team and I provide supervision and support for all of our schools in the in the area um today I get the distinct pleasure to introduce one of our amazing principles uh principal tabaris Williams have been leading blanch the historic blanchi High School for the past three years uh today he will share the many accomplishments um all of the academic areas of Blan high schools last school year has improved tremendously you're here with the details on how that happened and without f further Ado i' would like to introduce principal tabaris Williams good morning superintendent hurn distinguished board members of the school board of bar County Senior staff members of bar County Public Schools and the bar County community at large my name is Mr tares Williams and I have the esteemed honor and privilege to serve as the very proud principal at the historic blanch High School opening formerly in 1952 blanch High School is a school that is rich in Tradition and exuded in Pride the emerald of the North Region one of the crown jewels of the district Blan High School is a b at traditional and Comprehensive High School offering some of the most enriching programs in the entire District we are a Cambridge International School and home to two esteemed and award-winning magnet programs in engineering and medical Sciences where our students recently placed third place in a national bridge building competition and where our students can earn licensed practical nursing certification before graduating high school respectfully the only program of its kind in the state we are also home to a state-ofthe-art and newly erected fire academy in six distinguished nap cies the mission of blanch high school is to meet the needs of all students in a safe learning environment and our shared vision for Student Success is that all students feel safe physically socially mentally and emotionally while becoming productive citizens who understand that education is indeed the great equalizer I started my journey at blanch Le high school as the principal in the summer of 2022 and as you heard Dr Fleming State the school has been on a journey to ensure we produce positive outcomes for all of our students while we are proud of our re and accomplishments we are ever committed to forging forward to ensure that every child is successful and has an opportunity to achieve through collaborative efforts with our school-based leadership team which includes assistant principles Department chairs teacher leaders and our regional office support including Dr Fleming and Mr laes our regional teaching and learning director and superintendent who support me with leadership coaching and Miss fipe who worked side by side with our staff to synthesize high quality instruction together we developed a comprehensive plan based on Research from Richard elmore's instructional rounds and education citing a problem of practice centered around defining clear expectations for Clear tier one instruction which all students receive daily our mascot at blanch is the mighty Tigers so we show our tiger stripes student engagement resources tied to standard informed by data in a print-rich environment with explicit instruction that is standards based is our expectation for all lesson planning through this intentional work we saw phenomenal growth for our Scholars evident in and a 9 percentage Point increase in our graduation rate a 15 percentage Point increase in English language arts number one in growth for traditional high schools a 25 percentage Point increase in mathematics number one in growth for traditional high schools a 41 percentage Point increase in US history proficiency number one in growth for traditional high schools and a 41 percentage Point increase in biology number one in growth for traditional high schools which brought Blan High School from A D to a b-rated school for 23 24 science is the subject area that I will speak to you today to talk about the instructional leadership levers that were pulled to have this success this year our current problem of practice focuses on increasing learning gains for all of our Scholars and we chose to focus on this because now that we have a strong instructional infrastructure in place due to a combination of support from teaching and learning and academics as well as building local expertise we also understand that some of our students need incremental growth towards their opportunities after analyzing data connected to our state accountability system and Federal Essa indexes while we saw a tremendous amount of growth for students with disabilities in all areas there was some underperformance for our students who are English language Learners fortunately for us in Brer County we have support through a variety of Divisions that support our school weekly towards our goals in this case ESC led by Miss Egan and bilingual Esau led by Miss sadala who's deployed Mr rosenhauer weekly to our location to provide professional learning on resources to help our ell students Tak in biology and who collaborated with our school team during our quarterly data reviews to analyze data with Miss Tammy Barnes our instructional facilitator for Science and our science department chair Mr Edwards to formulate plans for intervention such as small group instruction student intervention immediacy adjustment of curriculum based on relevant sources of informatics and data the implementation of these instructional strategies has ultimately led to improve student engagement on our campus evident in many students having increased motivation and improved academic outcomes which allows them to take more rigorous and accelerated coursework towards College and Career Readiness such as AP Chemistry Ace Marine Science and has improved their assessment performance which allowed them which they love to participate in our school-based pass bash incentive and Extreme Action Park incentive trip for students passing the biology exam in addition many scholars improved their overall GPA and I'll participate in athletics and Student Activities where we are supported by Miss Patty Brown and her team to keep students engaged in our schools what is great about all of this is that we get the opportunity to partner with our community in this work which is primarily done through our school advisory Council where we are supported by Miss Blackburn and Miss Ponder from the district which is a monthly meeting that is made up of a diverse body of stakeholders of our school that have a vested interest in our school Improvement planning and ensuring that our support is provided to continue to improve our science performance and in all areas I'm very fortunate to have a vested School Community who believes in our students and who believes in our school evident in the advocacy for lab exposure to provide provide our students with experiences that helped with our success in science achievement collaboration with our teachers was one of the biggest levers in our success through a shared thought process we created three teacher teams in biology and developed a space in our master schedule for our science support person to collaborate with our teachers weekly for at least four hours Miss Tammy Barnes who is from the office of academics under the leadership of Mr boha works with our teachers weekly during the day to analyze student data facilitate sharing of instructional strategies and best practices and development of innovative lesson plans aligned to the district's biology canvas course which has been proven to be highly successful when using with Fidelity this model was replicated in our building for math Ela which is English language arts and social studies as well beyond the common planning space we created and department meetings that we instituted to operationalize academics there's a variety of ongoing professional learning that was facilitated by our district to improve our outcomes of note this included the science of reading which was was essential because the biology exam is rich in informational text which this training that was provided to all teachers truly helped our science teachers at blanch bridge the gap in teaching literacy through science we are thankful to the division of teacher professional learning growth who was under Dr Co for facilitating we were also fortunate to improve teachers technology proficiency by becoming a Microsoft incubator school and we are supported in that work by the Innovative learning division under Dr Wilson and her team to help our teachers access and expose our students to tools that enhance their learning I just want to reiterate that this success is a collaborative effort and the central office has been extremely instrumental in supporting our school's vision and goals and it has truly been helpful in keeping us aligned with the district's goals some of these support and collaboration opportunities include but are not limited to coaching walkthroughs instructional feedback reviews and regional meeting professional learning where principles are able to share best practices for achieving Student Success many times with similar schools evident and the collaboration with my peers such as Dr Nicole ner of Coconut Creek High School and Mr John Marlo of Deerfield Beach High School what is also great about this is that a lot of the support Personnel who walk side by side with my team and I also have insight into other schools which thus connects Educators and builds a network of professional learning which also enhanced our science science scores in 23 24 a great example of this with our regional office instructional facilitator Miss fipe who spends all day at our school on Mondays and acts as a thought partner with us for improving and instruction for our Scholars is that she is recently working with us as we Implement our new virtual reality algebra classroom which I'm very excited about I don't imagine that we could have been a b school without the support so I'm very much looking forward to continuing it as I know it has been good for our students not only that the support provided led to a tremendous amount of increased capacity in the science department and across the entire School building which is evident in teacher leaders developing and simulating the support provided on Mondays Tuesday through Friday in our school after participating in learning provided by the teaching and learning division and the office of academics this is evident in our distribution of leadership and emergence of teacher leaders who are now in the district's leadership Pipeline and our lead and Propel programs under Miss sish and the leadership development team two of whom were directly connected to our work in science who were promoted last year to assistant principls at another location in The District in closing our school has had tremendous success in science and all areas and I just want to remind everyone that we have some of the most amazing young people that you will ever meet here at Blan high school and in BCPS on this road map there are many barriers and I know for many of us across the district we come to work to serve but let us be reminded that the livelihood and what happens to real people our young people absolutely matters and that is the lens that we implore all of our staff at Blan High School to consider every single day hence wise it is hence why it is essential that our problem of practice our professional learning our engagement with our staff our students and our community and ultimately our commitment and support systems are all aligned because there is in fact young people out there who are depending on us as we move forward we look forward to the continued support from our District staff and achieving our long-term longitudinal goals because we do know that together we can ensure that all students every child can receive a high quality instruction that they deserve thank you [Applause] thank you Mr Williams uh Dr urn school board members Alan Strauss south regional superintendent serving over 75 of the schools in the South Region and I'm here to introduce the next school that will be speaking with you and that is oakd elementary and just to set it up a little bit oakd Elementary prior to the last year's school grade was consecutive two years being a d school was on the state list and receiving support from the district as well as the state in addition the principal that was leading the school prior retired early in September out of the blue so with that we had to have a change of leadership and in came Miss tanka Pender Miss Pender hit the ground running at oakd elementary officially became the principal in November so as of right now she hasn't even been a year on the job okay but in that time through there with distri support through the director Dr paoc Castro our regional instructional facilitators Donald Nicholas at the time who sub subsequently has become an assistant principal in the district and Nicole McCord officially known as Mama mcord provided professional development to their staff oh and by the way not only did we transition a principal the entire faculty staff-wise we had a turn over about 35 40% of the teaching staff as well well from the year prior so all that came into be and Miss Pender worked with our instructional facilitators the district instructional facilitators and academics team to provide high quality professional learning for her staff and one of the key things that she was able to accomplish last year for the lowest quartile of her students in English language arts they were able to have 90% gains I want to say that again 90% of her lowest cortile had learning gains last year so I want to turn the mic over to tianaa Pender to talk about all the great things that led up to that as well as everything else that's going great at oakd elementary good morning good morning superintendent hirm board members and District leadership I am tianaa Pender the lead learner and principal of Oakridge Elementary School located in Hollywood Florida I was assigned to oakd elementary school as Mr stra stated in September and then permanently appointed as principal there no November 8th 2023 I proudly and passionately sered 438 bright and talented pre kindergarden through fifth grade students including five self-contained ASD classes which makes up a large portion of my students who were a part of that 90% learning gain increase additionally I support 70 dedicated staff members who come every day to committed to serve and support the community of Oakridge and the families who are all engaged in our school Success one of the greatest strengths of my school as a community is our diversity oakd serves 51% of the students body is his are Hispanic 38% are black 66% are white and 3% are multiracial additionally 100% of our students qualify for free and reduced lunch 34% are English language Learners 27% are students identifi with disabilities and 8% experiencing homelessness however despite the challenges some of my families face we are bounds and committed to the success of our students as a result of our commitment I'm proud to share that based on the Florida Department of Education accountability system we have increased from a letter grade of D a letter grade of D in 2003 to a b in 2024 within one school year with an overall 23% percentage Point increase boasting 133% increase in ela which is English language arts this was the first time since 2005 that the school has been designated a b school as Mr stra stated we're very proud of the 90% the 90% learning gains that we achieved as this group of students make up our most fragile Learners who need the most support and that could not have been done without the support of our district initiatives our district support from the teaching and learning Department also when we look at our federal index and our subgroups there in a upon arriving at oakd elementary school all but one of our subgroups were below the 41% threshold we are proud to boast that Following last school year and in our state results all five of our subgroups are above the 41% in federal index that's something that we're extremely proud of again supporting all students understanding that they all can exceed can succeed and Achieve these achievements are a testament to our shared vision and Mission to ensure that all students receive a high quality educational social and emotional experience tailored to meet their needs and rooted in Student Success at Oakridge we are fortunate to have the Community Partners who are both generous with their time and treasure to ensure that our students and staff are incentivized towards school and District initiatives we're grateful for the support of the Hollywood Women's Club 5,000 Role Models leadership the orc foundation and the Hollywood Police Department for their unwavering support of all of our initiatives schoolwide one of the many important TR components that transform a school and actualize School vision it was imperative we knew that we focused on professional learning as Mr Strauss stated we had about 35% of our staff members who were new to the field New to teaching new to the area and we knew that we had to hit the ground running with providing them with the tools and the resources that they needed to be successful targeted professional development Cycles equipped our teachers with the necessary pedagogy skills and strategy IES to provide datadriven high quality instruction to all of our students based on previous data Trends and observation namely our 2023 fast pm3 Ela data the year prior only 29% of our fifth grade of our third through fifth grade students score proficiency are higher this did not sit well to us as it was not representative of the work that can be done by our students and our staff therefore our tier one instructional practices and strategies were the primary barrier for our students achieving proficiency we sprang into action with the support of the teaching and learning Department by providing high quality professional learning for our staff members where we prioritize reading proficiency as we know proficient readers possess the skills and the the potential to comprehend complex information analyze ideas think critically and Thrive academically for we know that reading is not just a skill it opens the doors to lifelong learning so to fully reach efficiency I had to employ the strategies to to address our problem of practice which included datadriven decision making professional development Cycles where we implemented the professional development monitored the implementation made revisions as needed monitored the student learning and continued that cycle we didn't just provide the professional learning and say okay we taught it they got it we were deeply rooted in investing our time and our resource into ensuring the success of our students we also implemented weekly common planning sessions facilitated by our regional support facilitators instructional facilitators and school-based Leadership small group instruction was a priority to ensure that all student needs were met and of course high quality resources provided through our regional office our professional learning was at the helm of our success and in order Pardon Me In order to ensure that our students receive high quality instruction instructional decisions and professional development Pathways were driven by both student achievement data as well as teacher performance data as we know professional development only matters if it translates into practice from just principle driving real improvements in student learning as the lead learner of oakd elementary school I leverage the leadership of our teaching and learning Department to support me as I engag my staff in strategic professional learning Cycles to chart our course to success my then Regional superintendent Mr Strauss and Regional director Dr poly asro provided Oakridge with unwavering support in securing both resources human and financial at times when it was available to ensure the success of our initiatives in supporting our Learners we also received weekly support from the district literacy Department via Christina Kelly and the math department via Dr Green both instructional facilitators supported our professional learning Cycles by coaching our teachers and providing small group instruction when needed as shared previously 34% of our e of our school is composed of Els and 27% of our students are students with disabilities that stated our goal and our mission was to ensure that all Learners receed the strategies wraparound services and supports needed to meet their needs as such our district leadership continued to forge forward and break barriers and clear the path for our success as oakd Elementary School continues to forge forward on this journey to proficiency we continue to focus on the implementation of high quality professional learning this school year again as the lead learner of oakd Elementary School I've capitalized on the resources and supports provided by our school transformation office through our teaching and learning division my current Regional superintendent vetta hudge and my current director general for escandell have unwaveringly unwaveringly provided support this school year as we continue to chart our course to Student Success at oakd elementary school thank you [Applause] we have another video coming for you [Music] when you think back on when you first started school how was learning different than it is today I'd say school has gotten a lot more complex I wouldn't say harder just more complex I know you guys have really terrific fantastic teachers what kinds of new things do you think your teachers might like to learn about so subtraction minus um it's basically multiplication When We Were Young it was like we were learning the basics the fundamentals but when we became older we understood what we wanted to be for the future and we can understand what path we needed to go on what do you think might be something new your teacher might like to learn ooh like like science social studies history dividing do you think they already know how to do that yeah yeah they just learn us that's why they're a teacher and we go to the library like every Monday nowadays there's so much more technology which helps um bring more opportunities since now I don't have to like carry around folders and the folders everything I can just like open up my laptop and there's the stuff that I need for school all right so you know where you're going now you've got to determine the best way to get yourself and everyone else to the destination do you travel the same road as last time or is there a better route a more direct one technology can be a great help but it doesn't always give us all the information we'd like to have quite often it's best to seek the help and guidance of a trusted friend with relation to our schools this is where support from academics continues today as you could see um it's is the unveiling uh reimagining of our media center with virtual reality mix reality uh experience for our kids but academic support us with a array of support from the academic instructional support curriculum side of of the house where they come out and support dopd and provide us sweet Support also they also support us with the grant writings making sure to today wouldn't be possible without them with the grant writing with making sure that not only we get devices but we are able to use a curriculum behind it and embed it into our science classes embeded into our our stem initiative so uh academics department has really done an amazing job at supporting us here at Millennium 6 to2 it's very interactive so some of the students that have problems like focusing in class and like doing step by step taking notes sitting in one spot this will help them to like retain and absorb the information better with science there's so many different components there's the the lab component there's the literacy component and for students to be successful we have to address all of that so when working with our teachers we really try to look at their students and develop lessons and that address their students needs Um this can be anything from setting up labs and allowing the teachers to rotate through those different labs and then debriefing afterwards to see what changes we may need to make based on what those student needs are Kim Anis uh comes out to all of the schools that have music programs um and provides supplies so uh at the beginning of the school year they brought me reads for my band students they brought me um strings for my string students um she comes and works with all of the events that uh are run by foa um so we have MPA that's usually held in the springtime she'll come for that um we have solo and Ensemble that's held in the fall December 7th um and she always helps in some kind of way as far as like registration or um providing support by you know going out and picking up food for the directors or any of the students that are helping out with the uh program go ahead and lock [Music] we have all sorts of really unique Career Technical education tracks so just to give you a few examples culinary arts cyber security entrepreneurship marketing Health Science firefighting all of the trades so the list goes on and on our programs are high school programs there's Career Technical education programs in every High School some high schools have as many as 15 16 different tracks and and what we've done over the past few years is we've really aligned our Middle School course offerings to align with our high school course offerings we started the first AI uh Academy in South Florida here at Nova High School no other public school has one had great demand so we're very proud and we're already uh doing some community service with that uh uh in terms of tutoring math students using AI so they can achieve more the district has uh support services for profession development uh we have support in terms of the curriculum that we follow from the Florida Department of Education for Applied cyber security and AI foundations and uh caste helps us with all of that caste is uh phenomenal uh they they support with a guidance uh they actually help me personally by connecting me with engineering teachers that are maybe a little bit more um experienced in certain areas so acceleration is it gives the students the opportunity to excel in advance courses um but not only in AP classes and earn those college credits um Ace as well Cambridge courses um it gives them the opportunity to have scholarships once they complete a diploma our Target is for making sure that every student in our district has met acceleration at some point um whether it's through an ace course Cambridge AP dual enrollment um earning a college credit or earning an industry certification that's going to prepare them for their career pathway grassing conservation and management today's event is offered through is coordinated through C and secondary learning we have our contact from IC who is um instructing the teachers on the Ducks Unlimited curriculum and also showing the teachers how to access the curriculum on Clever you're going to look through the lesson and you're going to get an idea of the activities that are there for you Ducks Unlimited will allow our students to earn industry certification in ecology um conservation management where they can earn a chord by the end of their graduation the teachers today are learning about how to access the curriculum and also a little bit about the field experience that we're hoping the classes will take on here at semal middle school we have just over a thousand students and we have a lot of amazing programs going on um one of the programs that we're most proud of um is that we are the middle school that houses the dhh program which is the death and heart of hearing program um one of the other things that we have um from the district um was given to us and three other dhh schools is the brand new audio enhancement um project and that actually puts TV screens throughout the hallways in all of our common areas and in every single classroom that shows visual alerts whenever we go um if we have a lockdown if there's a drill it provides all of our students and staff members that are dhh the opportunity to see what's going on for our babies we have that are dhh we have several interpreters working with us to translate and they can also communicate back with me so that keeps them also engaged with lessons we also have our teacher assistant that also helps with identifying the students that may need a little bit more extra help or or oneon-one more than what I can give while I'm working with the other students as well on a bright spring morning Piper scoots to school slapping her foot against the pavement and bopping her head to the beat we are here today at Walker Elementary School to jump kickoff our annual read for the record event when we practiced I felt like butterflies were having a dance party so events like today while this is a one-day event it Sparks and ignites a passion in our organizations and in our volunteers it lets the principal of a school be able to meet a CEO of an organization that then that organization can say how else can I help and how else can I support if I was lacking support it would be a very heavy lift on my school leadership team because we would be the ones having to fill in the Gap but fortunately we didn't have to do that because we did have the support from academics academics is uh it's indispensable to the work that the principles um are doing I mean I I will tell you that the principles would not be able to do their work effectively um or an optimal level without the support of academics our academics division Works hand inand with us by having instructional Personnel going to the schools to support our teachers they also provide us feedback around our data sets and provide uh guidance around the instructional materials that we use a curriculum specialist specifically worked with my Ela team and they worked hand inand on developing the curriculum making sure that our teachers were on Tren she even went as far as doing pull outs for our kids and really focusing in on what they needed um coming to different type of workshops you're able to step out your comfort zone and then take that knowledge back so we can help teachers and then so we can impact our students whenever we go on different trainings and PC's um we always use the Train the trainer model um and so right now I am getting my training and hoping um to implement that at at my school with teacher leaders as well um but I do work with math coach we have people from the district for Mr Lawson comes to help me with the science to go through that data and determine if there's maybe better things than what I'm doing that could help me get those kids higher up I go to training as well so I do get a lot of support um both here from Administration and and from the people that come in to help all right good morning Dr heurn board members stakeholders I'm Veta hudge I am the assistant superintendent for the school transformation office where we provide support structure resources and remove barriers to our most struggling schools in order to guide Improvement efforts towards proficiency and address student academic and Wellness needs I want to thank Miss Pender for sharing her strategies and your journey towards moving your school from a d to a be as shared during the video presentation that we just saw professional learning is important for schools because it helps Educators improve their teaching and learning which leads to better student outcomes Miss Pender thank you for your leadership now it is with great pleasure that I introduce our next School in de Primary Learning Center and the phenomenal princip principal Miss Coachman Beaver who led efforts in moving the school letter grade to an a 61% Proficiency in Reading 82% Proficiency in math in a prek to3 school that is awesome Miss Coachman fevers will walk you through a journey focused on her instructional review walkthroughs and collaborative support with the district we look forward to your leadership now with Walker Elementary as she's moved to another school and at this time I would like to defer to miss Coachman beavers good morning Brower County Public Schools as the former principal of endeavor Primary Learning Center which last year we were able to take a road trip with the district by developing a theme to Foster our shared Vision vision of bringing our aame goals plus actions Plus motivation equals Success Through The partnership with our region office and the math academics Department we were equipped to travel this journey to Destination Success at Endeavor Primary Learning Center we house prek to third grade where we serve a vibrant and diverse student body of approximately 406 students with a wide range of cultural and social social economic backgrounds our demographics reflect a rich diversity of community with 96% African africanamerican 2% Creole 1% Hispanic and 1% white additionally we con committed to our support students students with diverse needs that were El students with disabilities and economically disadvantaged this diversity brought us both opportunities and challenges we were committed to ensuring equity and exclusion for all students by promoting a welcoming cultural responsive learning environment where every student had access to a high quality instruction our instructional framework reflects this commitment to our Excellence with a dedicated team of teachers staff and non-instructional support we strive to meet the needs of every learner through Innovative teaching strategies targeting interventions and enrichment opportunities before and after school our current problem of practice was teachers were lacking the capacity and skills to plan lessons for Effective math standard-based instruction that focused on deliberate and meaningful groups of using data to drive their instruction lesson plans focused on tier one instruction with which will positively impact our student achievement and increase our student proficiency and math our root CS that we addressed was making sure we had a quality tier one instruction in math we used data to plan instruction effectively and we wanted to make sure we facilitated student discour discourse which we also wanted to make sure we provided student engagement with allowing our students to always have math manipulatives at hand addressing our problem of practice it was crucial but it became an influence for our student learning outcomes and our ability to provide an equitable education based on the data from 2021 to 2022 Endeavor was currently scoring a 21% Proficiency in math we had implemented tarate interven itions we we decided to do the double down small group instruction approach we provided differentiated math tutoring and added a math special to the master schedule for second and third grade students to address our challenges this helped to close the achievement Gap by increasing math Prof proficiency from to 65% in the year of 22 to 23 which resulted in our school grade improving from an F to a b in one year additionally in 2020 2 2 23 to 24 school year our Endeavor math scores continue to increase reaching an 82 math Prof proficiency rate leading our school to being an a-rated school after two years of implementing these effective strategies our thank you our teachers and support staff have been widely involved in the de development and implementation of solutions to address our problem of practice we created teacher L community ities that fostered a collaborative environment where all staff members had a voice in the decision making this resulted in a higher morale and an increased ownership of our Student Success our community engagement was sign helped us significantly in engaging our parents through quarterly parent conferences math curriculum nights quarterly class meetings due to being a BSI State School in addition the city of Lauder Hill and the kowas club partnership with us to Foster strong support system for our students and parents both inside and outside the classroom that provided incentives for our students accomplishments our Rockets were engaged with the game on approach by believing in our school vision of guidelines for Success based on these guidelines the students promoted and fostered our goals to improve our math scores they were able to be productive scholars in the school using our Mantra believe in yourself try your best and respect yourselves and others this cont contribution to a moved us to a vibrant and engaging School culture which led our Rockets blasting off toward success our professional development was the Cornerstone of our Improvement efforts teachers participated in ongoing professional development such as workshops coaching sessions and peer observations for example we had all of our teachers report to work one week prior to the pre-planning work day these teachers were able to focus on best math standards how to effectively teach small group and instruction and utilizing manipulatives effectively in the math instructional block this training was provided by the math academics Department that Dr Lor and Dr Green facilitated for us as a result of these of this focus of professional learning we have been enhancing our instructional practices in the classroom which we are directly benefiting students learning outcomes to support our instructional goals we have invested in a high quality instructional resource alignment with State Standards our recent adoption of Envision success maker and I ready has been provided for our teachers with the tools they need to deliver rigorous and learning instruction we also made significant progress in integrating technology into our math instruction tools like inter interactive prometheum boards in every classroom in addition to every student having their own laptop that allowed us to monitor the students already and success maker weekly learning paths and provide incentives for students who met their weekly goals for both this integration of Technology helped us drive towards the path of becoming the highest school for two consecutive years with the highest pass rate for usage for success maker in our district the district has been instrumental in supporting our school goals we have benefited from ongoing instructional instructional coaching in addition to weekly math professional class classroom walkthroughs in addition to having professional development that aligns to our data instruction finally the district has provided additional funding for ELO camps and teachers who attend the math P PD after school receed the stien rate leadership is a key component as the principle I am focused on being visible and a transformational leader fostering a positive positive culture ensuring that we are data that we are data driven in our decision ision and making decision- making process my roles include high expectations and providing teachers with additional weekly planning to support their teacher development in their math professional growth finally we have bi-weekly data chats that that are provided and we provide immediate classroom feedback to ensure our look fors are evident during our math classroom instruction in conclusion we won the Super Bowl by bringing our aame and being the first a-rated dist School in the city of Luder hill we were able to exceed every ESS every ESS of federal index go outlined by the state and with the 82% proficiency for our math our a-rated school grade was calculated all by proficiency due to Endeavor not having any learning gains are part of the school grade calculation Endeavor has made significant progress in addressing our problem of practice through focused math professional development staff and student engagement and strategically using our resources and providing a strong collaboration with our math academics Department we are on a clear path towards continued success as we move forward we are committed to deepening our efforts and effective math instruction and I will continue to work with the current principal as her mentor to ensure Endeavor continues to keep their aame approach finally as I switch my path to Walker as the principal I have continued the road trip with the math academics Department to support me as I am racing towards proficiency and Beyond at Walker Elementary thank [Applause] you thank you Miss Coachman beavers very very impressive story good morning Madam chair Dr heurn and board members I'm Ted tumer the central region superintendent as we continue our journey it is my pleasure to present to you Mr rainard granin Mr granen is an amazing leader who's been at Nova midle for 11 years two of which was as the assistant principal his belief that all students must have access to the best educational experience has made him a leader who clearly understands that leaders set the conditions for achieving Excellence last year the school's problem of practice was science Mr Granton will share some of the leadership action that were taken to increase the science scores from 41% to 49% and which helped Nova Middle earn an a school rating we are so proud of him and the school's accomplishments so without further Ado Mr Granton thank you Dr tumor good morning Dr hebburn steam board members ladies and gentlemen thank you for having us here um as Dr tumor said my name is Rainer garan and also known as Mr G that's how everybody calls me in school almost just G um I am a proud principal of Nova Middle School and as you probably know Nova Middle is a lottery School located in David we are a title one school but we serve the entire district from heland all the way to Pompano so that reflects the demographics are really the true demographics of the district our mission is to expose our students with the best educational experience possible offering a wide variety of electives that will help them prepare for high school and college give them the tools to be productive citizens and Future Leaders of our country as you can imagine jumping from C to an a we had to increase all the student all the achievement levels across the board for example our acceleration went from 67% to 92% okay uh yeah give me give me some you know our passing rate in Geometry was 97% algebra 93% and let just to give you some examples so did you ever see the movie Remember the Titans Okay so the Titans are our mascots and our modotto everything is a Titan Nova Titan and when we started the year after the jump I used Remember the Titans as the the motto for all of us so in the school right now we're all remembering the Titans and we're going to continue with the Titans our uh problem of practice was science we felt that science needed to be moved up because it was the lowest of the disciplines at the time and we started the year last year and as Dr tumer said we went from 49 41 to 49% which was not the biggest jump but a very good jump for all of us and it was something that made us proud and this coming year this year we're supposed to go to about 52 or 53% which I think that we're going to get it I'm very positive about that in order to achieve our goals we needed to have a collaborative effort with teachers and staff students parents and uh District support at the school level we implemented several strategies that catapulted our success we introduced a Nova word of the day uh using root words that apply to Across the curriculum um we utilize the the coaches in house coaches we have two great coaches Juliet Rend and Anna Morales the mic okay I'm so sorry there you go I'm just moving around and um so as I was saying we utilized the in-house coaches Anna Morales and Julia rended who are fantastic help us with stations and small group instruction and went to the plcs with our teachers um we provided uh plc's and professional developments for the teachers to learn and put in practice all the strategies suggested by the district instructional facilitators we we conducted data chats frequently to ascertain the level of our students teacher admin um teacher student conducted frequent classroom walkthroughs with the leadership team my admin team is a dream team it's Cassandra War Melissa jonkins and Andre Jones they're great I couldn't have anybody better than that uh we introduced the gears program um which is a program designed to acel at students in two years through the middle uh grade science this year is uh year two gears two uh we provided after school reviews during the week and sometimes uh on the weekend for to prepare the kids for the test uh we introduce science of reading across the board and definitely we use ELO focusing on science and other disciplines but the problem practice of science so if you ask me right now how did you achieve how did you make it I can tell you that it was a huge collaborative effort involving my faculty and staff students parents and the district support um the entire faculty staff share our vision of continued School Improvement at the initial faculty meeting in August when we talk about Remember the Titans um we did not like the fact that we became a c school and we knew that we had to push hard to move the needle up so my teachers and staff embraced it and we did it we knew that we were going to improve but we didn't know we were going to go from C to a b or a c to an a we were just optimistic and we eager to do it our custodial staff worked diligently to keep the school clean and conducive to learning our clerical staff made every effort to establish positive relationships with the students and the parents our safety team kept the school safe so the students felt secure in campus and ready to learn we did it with a lot of effort and dedication now we are very proud of the fruit of our labor one of the most fundamental jobs of our teachers was to motivate our students to do better the teachers through engaging and pertinent lessons were able to do it the students felt that they needed to get better grades and applied themselves more arduously now they feel proud of their achievement and of being members of an a school the parents were engaged through sack and saf and parent nights and PTSA meetings our btsa parents are very active and always provide us with a lot of help our community lison did a fantastic job engaging families as well our guidance counselors especially Dr Wilson brought us several business partners to create a strong support system this that I'm going to talk about was very valuable to all of us instructional reviews when we learned first that we were going to have instructional reviews we were like oh Lord we're going to have all these people here oh my goodness in the end it was fantastic after having instructional reviews we determined our strength and weaknesses we were able to design a professional development program with the help of the Department of academics that would give our teachers more strategies to deliver more efficient lessons and increase student achievement for me guy baroa JP Henner Miss Robinson Celia Jimenez Lis Brisco Nicole Marcela and David Shelley were my go-to people who supported us all the way through the year why I mention them it's because when you work together with somebody you remember them and they're always present because they were always present in school all I needed to do was a call and they would come to school to ready to assist us without their help it would have been very difficult to achieve our goals my former director Regional director DR Boss Stewart and now my current director Miss arbar are always a phone call away or a text phone away a text away to organize a school visit and give us feedback we did checking for understanding with the objectives increasing rigor standard-based student tasks stations all those strategies were actually a product of those in instructional reviews I actually joked around with JP ker and Miss Robinson and I told him that probably needed to give him a an office in the business uh in the science building because they were there many many times we emulated the instructional reviews classroom walkthroughs protocol and did our own with our own leadership team that was very effective it is important to point out that with all the pressure on the teachers they embrac the changes and implemented them with no complaints it was just beautiful we follow the district curriculum and utilize all the district approved materials textbooks consumables and digital platforms we integrated as much technology as we could promethium boards recordex boards tablets laptops just to make it more efficient and delivering the engaging standard-based lessons my role as a principal was simple I need it never but simple to motivate our teachers and students to change the mindset to always improve to guide them through the process and to provide them with task time and task to accomplish our goals always keeping in mind educate our kids and increase their student achievements now the challenge is to maintain that a and continue improving I know it in my heart that we will succeed because I have the best staff that a principal could have in a school allow me to use the proverb if you want to go fast go alone if you want to go far go together go with a team for me a Nova MD the only way to achieve our goals is to work together faculty and staff students parents District support that is the winning team that is the Titan team thank you [Applause] [Music] you spent a lot of years in school what kinds of things have you learned that will help you after graduation As you move through life I'd say experience our overall experience so for example me in engineering I do AutoCat and solid works so I'm head of most college students already I'm like like do do now like with the like the core the classes like for like the future and all lot like the technology class and everything I think it like you could probably add do a couple more of those like that have like more with the future like with your with your career so like I feel like the these career classes are helping you a lot the thing I think would be the most like the most that helped was for robotics class we did project management it was like a certification so we understand like the fundamentals on how to build and maintain a project and make it go all the way through so that would help like cuz I want to be an engineer in the future so if I want PL project plans to go all the way through um project management was very helpful um economic class where you can like learn to do basic skills like like how to manage a household or like fix a tire one major thing is connections uh play a vital role in getting where you want to go and places in high school half of the opportunities that I got was from my teachers um and me connecting and them having opportunities to give me last year in my law club we came up with a bill that almost got passed to imp Implement a life skills class into schools [Music] [Music] after a smooth and enjoyable ride you reached your destination you did it but you didn't do it alone even if you thought you were the only one driving there were always others with you your instructor who taught you how to drive that trusted friend you called when you took a wrong turn and don't forget all the people who laid the pavement installed street signs even the ones made sure your vehicle was safe to drive they all helped along the way helping schools and students reach their destination potential is what Brower County Public Schools Department of academics is all [Music] about so in this class cyber 3 the main goal is to gain more knowledge about the field of cyber security learn more about how it applies to our world different attack how to prevent them and make money obviously uh and so what I'm doing here is an industry certification so we have the coma which allows us to take these exams and I can get certified Network plus which looks very appealing to employers so the main goal here is to get certified improve my resume and learn more about cybercity in the process I was able to travel with youth orchestras and even my school um to different types of festivals and I want them to have that opportunity to travel to different places um out of that you know I was able to come here and teach I kind of want to share that with all of the students and give them that opportunity because a lot of times with their families they're not able to travel but with a program with a music program um they're able to do those types of things and see different places and see and hear different types of music it aligns with multiple content areas right but you're using basically state-of-the-art stem equipment to help bring learning that they could go experience anywhere else it often helps increase enrollment because we have parents also wanting this it helps prepare them for jobs of the future right I think virtual reality will become a huge part of our future just by what I've seen this past few days I think that it could really become something that can contribute to our Learning System and our environment one of the things we're really excited about is that we actually increased almost 5,000 industry certifications last year alone so we uh provided our students with 22,00 thousand different industry certifications so these are credentials that they're able to put on their resumés for when they apply to college or when they go directly into the workforce the majority of teachers that are coming to this profession are coming from another industry and they don't have a foundational support if you will in education so for for a large portion of our teachers learning how to teach happens when they get hired in the class room the way we feel that we have the most impact is if we can change one teacher's practice right that's not just impacted the 20 kids that she's in front of that's impacted the 150 kids she's in front of this year and another 150 kids that teach in front of next year I see the teachers taking what they've learned in the training taking it back into the classroom putting it into practice maybe making some modifications to things that they've done just making their practices a little bit better the district is one of the best with providing ongoing support I um they offer so many trainings that I can't even keep up with all of them but I reached out to the math department and within a week we got those trainings when I think about the relationships that we have strengthened as a result of our support our teachers feel confident they feel knowledgeable and they feel like they have the skills and the tools to do the job being able to read fluently um being able to comprehend and have conversations using um the appropriate vocabulary words I want them to make more than year worth of growth um if they were in a third grade I really would like end a fifth grade by the time they leave kids leaving here with a higher ability to read a greater ability to interact critical thinking skills these are what we want to give to our kids and this is what we hope they leave us with and that's what we hope to teach I love when the teachers um have that openness and willingness to try something different try something new and then they notice the increase in achievement with their students I can happily say that we have steadily shown growth in our fast scores and for the first time we are number one in the big six so it is working our goal is working and we're going to continue moving forward with this really looking at our children as individual Learners and taking them from where they are to where they need to go and then take them next level and to show them that they can do anything um in their future [Music] so thank you for allowing us to take you on a journey our destination is a district where every school is a place of connection Discovery and learning for all of our students we are well on our way to creating a district that others look to as a model of Excellence Excellence is our stand standard and everything that we do because our students deserve nothing less so as I close we have to thank our dedicated teachers across this District who day in and day out do everything for our students to ensure their success our amazing smart students as you saw on all of the video clips today our supportive district and Regional staff and most importantly for for making this happen from Beacon Michael mus t for coming along with us for many many days and making sure these videos represented what we do in our classrooms every day so I would like to thank those members at this time but last and certainly not least our four amazing principles who are here today to really tell about their story and what they do in leading their school communities from Bland High School Mr Tavaris Williams from [Applause] Oak from Oak Bridge Elementary tianaa Pender currently at Walker formerly Endeavor Primary Learning Center shenita Coachman beavers and that Nova Middle I'm not going to say Mr G I'm going to say his entire name Mr Rainer granin so this journey definitely is not without challenges but we're certainly confident that with the supportive structures that you heard here today the reflective practices that that takes place each and every day and maintaining a laser-like focus we will arrive at our destination United and our commitment to success for all of our students and we'll reach that destination because we are united as one District We Are One District because we're one Broward thank you so much everyone thank you so much for the phenomenal presentation I'm going to now turn it over to board members and if you can try to keep your comments to to five minutes Mrs Hixon thank you I didn't know where I was going to start but um thank you so much that was um I'm so glad to be talking about students and not bad adult behavior um so thank you for that um that presentation and for bringing these amazing leaders to us I I also just wanted to point out one thing that Miss Pinder did not share but um when they were having small groups she actually had one of her own and you know how exciting it is for students to have the principal as as your teacher for I think it was once a week right that you met with him four times a week okay so that's a pretty big commitment by the leader and it's important for her staff to see her be engaged in that that's why they bought in to the system right because she showed them by example and it's truly evident that that's what happened in all of these four cases that these amazing Le leader showed by example um and as a very longtime teacher teacher can feel isolating right you're in your you're in your your own little island and no one ever comes in except to tell you when you're doing something wrong um and it's been it's been really refreshing to hear that you've gotten through um some of the struggles in found success in things like instructional reviews which a long time ago would have been like you were in trouble um but you know that you did it at aition District level and realize the value of that and brought it to a local level at Nova and and do your own instructional reviews so the reflectiveness um the as the student said the connectiveness the opportunities that were available to teachers to your staff in general to understand that it's teamwork that it's not just the teachers it's the custodian it's your security it's the cafeteria workers we all work together um to be one brow so thank you so very much for the presentation and sharing the great successes with us I would say to our academic staff though I hope this continues I it's something we've said many times if when a school becomes an A or a b sometimes we back away and I know that you know we're working on not doing that because we don't have any DFS thank goodness and we hope it stays that way but I've heard over and over again going to different schools that they felt abandoned when they reached that a they didn't feel the connectiveness and the opportunities so although here we you know we've heard it I hope we'll just be cognizant of the fact that we need to continue to do that across the district so that we can remain the a so thank you everybody for all of your efforts Dr holness thank you thank you madam chair so um this is so refreshing uh to here um and to have everyone here share such wonderful um stories of success uh indeed broad County Schools uh it's a great place to be and uh certainly what you've shared today uh definitely indicates that so I'd like to once again thank uh Mr tver Williams from uh elely thank you very much and miss uh Pinder from Oakridge as well as uh Miss Coachman beavers one my awesome awesome District 5 thank you so much um for the great accomplishment at Endeavor and now you're at Walker another District 5 school we're so happy to have you there thank you so much and uh NOA uh Mr Rainer I I I don't know if I can pronounce your last name but I'll Mr g i i I'll go with that um I I'll defer to uh Dr fton Mr G all right so thank you so much and miss beavers if I if I could clone you I would you are you are just awesome uh and and you've made such a difference in District 5 and in that community of endeavor and I'm sure the community of Walker is so happy to have you you are a star in bro County and I can see you going great places Beyond Walker but thank you thank you thank you um so I I want to thank the district leadership for your support uh Dr fton your team thank you very much for the leadership youve show uh the school-based leadership uh thank you so much for what you've done at the individual schools and also to our school teachers you are awesome our school staff everyone from the clerical to custodian you make this happen we are a a concerted we we are a group uh of um professionals from uh our custodians right up uh exhibiting concerted effort to make sure our kids are successful and thanks to our parents right we can't do it without our parents and thank you for what you do uh to ensure students are ready for school and thank you as well to our students this is a collective effort toward uh success and um Miss hudge uh thank you at the school transformation office I am so happy that we have this office and 14 of my schools are in that under that office I I am uh Dr hurn thank you sir I I I must go through hebburn to get to everyone else but Dr hebburn You' made a strong move on that and the the school transation office in is indeed wonderful I am so happy we have it to focus on our schools that are in need and like I said 14 of my schools Dr B thank you a great friend of mine as well I I am so happy that you're in this office as well and thank you and I hope I don't mess up her name Miss es candle I said it correct thank you very much and last I'd like to say we are in this together okay we are one community and we are a United effort towards success so thank you so much thank you Mrs leonardy yes so I just want to to reiterate the positive comments uh that have been made today despite all of the noise sometimes the the district is performing and that is because of of our amazing School leaders many of whom we heard from today our teachers our academics Department that's really worked very hard thank you um and all of the people who work with our children and I think principal ganin uh emphasized this really well talking about the security Personnel our custodial set staff our Educators the people who feed our children um and and it is our job as a board and as a district to support those those people um because they have the biggest impact on our Student Success both academic and personal and emotional um and and that is what our mission should be um and I just I have to shout out Rickards principal ganero um he's an amazing amazing School leader his teachers truly love him and he's been dealt a tough situation at Rickards um you know with with the building but I am very confident and thankful that he is leading that school um and serving our students um extremely well um so I'll Echo Miss hixon's comments about I hope that we continue this work um I think we're finally heading in a really positive direction and that's because of all of the the hard work that you've put in um and I you know I hope that when it comes time um whatever you need from this board in support of that work uh that you come to us and and are very Frank and clear with us about that thank you thank you Mrs rert thank you yes okay sorry um thank you all for being here it it was exciting um I anticipated having a great meeting but you guys really knocked it out of the park and it's not an easy thing to move um a gigantic vessel around that that is our school board um and oury employees and families um but we have stopped the turn we are now able to go into approach other areas of where I started when I first became a Schoolboard member there was one aspect of um the district I didn't worry about I did not worry about learning and teaching because we were rock rock rock stars and um we lost that a little bit along the way and I got to tell you it's back thank goodness thank goodness and that means every single one of you the people behind me over here but most importantly from a policy perspective the people around this table as well we're very very supportive of teaching learning and having that whole staff wrap our arms around our community our families and our our young students and um I really just do appreciate it two two things I wanted to say um and I've mentioned this for district 7 has had the best principles and although some of them get taken away frine um you're still part of district 7 my heart right there um but i' always mentioned to previous superintendents and current where is when we take our successful principles away from those struggling schools that have raised up it's really very important to keep those parameters in place place so you can keep learning and there's not that kind of slide that's off there and that is what we're doing so I I'm very happy that you all understood that that you know and it's very deflating as a as someone that works at a school when you've got this pulled out and then you're now required to do twice as much uh work new policies and starting over again um I love the idea of the continuity so we'll be able to um continue our wonderful move for forward um also I want to say sign me up uh I hear that are outstanding leaders they Inspire us I say that all of it in so much ways that I actually want to go back to the classroom so that's a big thing and um it's nice to see the excitement in the room again so thank you all thank you thank you Miss rer Miss Fam thank you I don't think yeah it is working thank you madam chair um I just want to say that first of all I'm in awe I'm completely in a thoroughly impressed um I think this started the momentum um I've been here coming up on two years um back when Dr Smiley started and um the train has now left the station and we're in Full Steam Drive pushing forward ahead and I C I just want to give accolade to those superintendents that have been along that road because I think it this push just didn't happen this was earned this was worked for and um it just seems so wonderful and what one of the things I wanted to say is and I I want to thank everyone here everyone's gone through everyone's names and everything but I really want you to know that your really standouts and if anyway we could vote make a motion we can't do it today because we're not allowed to vote but if we could do something for outstanding leadership so you guys get recognized you have flipped your schools you have taken something unsuccessful and made it into a success and that's huge that is and I'm sure and if no one else will I will go down and and talk to those cruise lines and get cruises donated for the people but you need recognition you need to know that you're appreciated and that we realize the and the parents realize the value on what you've done now the other thing I I would like to say is that um these videos were absolutely impressive they were warm they were inviting they were um entertaining at the same time I love the little children they were making me laugh but if we could somehow incorporate these videos with the speeches today made by the principls and even some of the board member speeches to do a promo it would be phenomenal this is what the people need to see they need to see you as you are your commitment your loyalty and the children what they're talking about and what they're learning this is so touching and exhilarating and I think this is the path that we need to go in order to embrace the public on all levels the community the public so if there's any way I I would like to make that suggestion that Beacon if you can hear me if you were out there Jose I think he's hiding I think this is a treasure moment this is a treasure Trove of things you could put together and with your talent we could really really get this out this and this could make a statement for the whole County and win some um students back I really do think that and lastly I I don't want to go on but my principal Mr G I just want to thank you I know your commitment I know how the students the staff everyone loves you I love you um and I just want to thank you for for just being part of this group to select because I you're an elite category here you really are and please give yourselves a hand of Applause you deserve it thank thank you Dr Zan thanks chair uh it's always interesting to uh hear these things and particularly have such a brilliant production uh so thank you uh Dr Folton and your team for the thousands of hours it took to put this together there's always u a lot of effort to make something look effortless and you guys did a a great job it's also important to point I think that we are talking about this year's reward based on last year's effort this is a culmination presentation of some amazing things that happened last year and I think we need to recognize the leadership decision to work from the bottom up last year uh the elimination of dnf schools was not a mistake it was an intentional practice uh that was led last year by some Deputy superintendent guy I forget his name oh that's right Dr heern um sitting in the same chair with your team many of whom are still here I don't want to uh uh make this about any individual but but the the the leadership decision to work from the bottom up to eliminate f& is huge to the community uh when they look at an a-rated District they love that uh but when they hear that there's nothing left that's on the state list there's nothing left for additional mandated resources there's no threat of State involvement in Broward County Schools uh they are thrilled and I'm I'm tickled at that bottomup approach uh continues this year thank you to the current leadership team Dr heurn for uh abiding by our request to keep this about students and academics this is why we're here it is why the taxpayers give us the money they give us is that we can focus on K through2 education and all of the uh extensions from that and do a great job we don't do equity-based budgeting in Broward County we give schools a budget based on the number of students that they have other than Title One and the district and Regional staffs that were highlighted today we have not made the change to put resources where the greatest needs are and so two questions still remain after this brilliant and positive and wonderful uh presentation that the Board needs to think about because this is part of our job with Title One district and Regional Resources with the attention that is provided to the schools that have the greatest need which is wonderful to flow resources in that direction again Dr heurn thank you again for working from the bottom up have we gone far enough and my answer is not even close it's an absolute no CU until we get equal outcomes we haven't got the resourcing right and every child should go to an a-rated school and until we get to that level we haven't got it right the second question that is just going to persist until we get it perfect is are we organized in a way so that every management level is worth the cost I've been very public I've been very consistent we have to answer that question at some point but one of the things we can think about in the near term is whether or not our career path is actually right imagine Broward County if the two 206 principles were the most qualified human beings that work now in Broward County Schools what if becoming a district leader was a five-year gig and then you rotated back to schools as a principal that would change things dramatically we'd have people with fewer years of experience becoming senior administrators they'd know they have X years I would say five to make a difference and then they would go back to being in the school leader position which is absolutely fundamental success in the county the reason I bring up kind of out of the box thinking like that is I think it's important to go beyond being an a district the community would like to have all a schools or schools who are becoming an a school and when we're all A and B uh they we will have uh no problem with closing schools because we'll be figuring out uh how to move boundaries around so we can fit all the school kids that want to go to our schools but if we keep thinking the way we've always thought we're just going to be able to make marginal adjustments uh to where we are that's one idea uh I think there's others uh Miss fam I don't often second your opinions but your thought about taking what we just saw today packaging it together and making that our marketing campaign wow I mean that was just tremendous excitement uh where we put our students and our school leaders and our incredible administrators talking about learning uh we are really uh marketing and what I love about that is it isn't marketing something that we're trying to look better than it really is we're putting kids and teachers and administrators and principls out there who are doing the job and had remarkable progress uh last year and will continue to have remarkable progress going forward so uh to everybody involved in this to uh excellent uh to Mr Sullivan this is I think a brilliant idea in terms of what content might help you in the marketing campaign moving forward but truly this is a result of 2,280 people working together to make almost 200,000 students lives better off uh and that's clearly happening and it's clearly getting better every year and the challenge is a great challenge because it's about how do we do even better rather than to Mrs Rupert's Point how do we prove to people that we can do teaching and learning well we got that now how do we make sure that we're doing it everywhere uh and continue to work from the bottom up thank you chair alen hi um so thank thank you Dr fton and your team this presentation really showed um a perspective that a lot of students don't see um as a student sometimes we fail to realize how hard and complex it is to change these schools um and as students all we can do is really learn but we've clearly seen from the data today that we are learning from some of the best and I really really really um want to thank you um for putting your time and effort for these students um in one of the videos I saw my old elementary school PR principal and I mean it took me back not too bad cuz I'm so little young but it it took me back to when I was thinking about my future did I want to be a teacher did I want to be a firefighter um and especially seeing um the changes from elementary to middle middle to high school um but we still have the same purpose is to teach and to educate the students but one sole purpose is to get them to where they want to be not to where the standard needs to be but where they want to be as a person um and especially the leaders in front of me I feel women power over here and it feels great um and it feels great to know that um we are leading the pathway for um young women out there so I just want to say thank you and I really hope you guys have a great rest of your year thank you so much thank you so much thank you thank you Elena so best presentation yet this year good job no doubt I would like to also give a huge shout out to our to our teachers that are making this all possible and all their hard work in the classroom with our students thank you to our teachers it I was happy to hear about blanchy high school having a fire academy and um so I have a couple couple questions one are we teaching cursive and if so at what grade level Dr heurn no we do not teach cursive anymore um I took it upon myself to teach my own kids cursive cuz I don't think any school in the state actually teaches cursive anymore so it's not in the standards but it's a former elementary teacher I remember um taught second grade and that's where we used to teach cursive but it's a lost art right now okay so it's no longer in the state standard no okay and um are we teaching phonics yes definitely that's just part of the science readence of reading curriculum yeah and it and it is how you teach children how to read eventually it starts with phonic so perfect one of the the students uh it really hit home to me when she spoke about having her laptop computer and so my my question is are we having onetoone computers laptops for our students and do they have the ability to take it home with them so that that is a very complex um answer um because of uh previous board actions that not this specific board so I'm going to ask uh Mr our new CIO Mr Trey Davis to provide some insight on where we are and where we're trying to go with oneto one good morning Trey Davis Chief Information officer I I genuinely appreciate the question because the real yet is the technology is the great enabler unless there's a gap in equitable distribution so I can tell you that through a recent needs assessment districtwide we have 246,000 systems deployed at our schools our our average is 08 to to one computer so we're actually over the one: one allocation uh we have just over 196,000 students again 246,000 uh devices if you break that down per School you will see that again the average is 08 to1 so there are plenty of devices to go one to one along with taking home in cases where that is permitted sometimes it is a site based uh decision uh now I want to talk about the current state of that it's a it's a PC or device acquisition program future state of that is is a PC a formal PC refresh program with a published uh deployment schedule decommissioning schedule um which is far more efficient uh and all the schools are keenly aware of when the refresh would occur for them um not just let's say ad hoc request um or other measures so I really appreciate the question is so critical because I have seen where there are gaps in other districts and that is not acceptable here in Broward County thank you so my goal would be to see that every student had their own laptop computer that they would be able to bring that home with them because they might not have that access to that computer at their home and I think it will also will be less paper driven and they'll be able to have that access access to their courses to do their homework and have the same access as a student that has a computer at their home um my next uh point is on the Career Technical adult and Community Education website page I think it needs some work so I think there's a disconnect from parents being able to figure out what the courses are offered at the school so if you go on the website and you go over to the left you have to go to the CTE programs by Zone and school and then and then there's like this little box that pops up that you really can't see it and then you got to click on the bigger box and it opens up and then by school it will explain what is happening at that school and you know sometimes it's it's too many clicks we can't get parents parents aren't getting there and there's this um really as a as a parent you want to be able to see what is offered at the school or maybe I have an idea maybe I want my child to be in the fire academy so I would be able to quickly go over to blanchy high school to know that they have the fire academy there but I don't think it's very user friendly and and there's this there's not a clear understanding with school choice and these opportunities that we have these amazing opport unities we have in Broward County Public Schools we are not communicating effectively what those opportunities are um and then two more things um well I thought that was really great about the AI cyber security at Nova High School um that was incredible I don't know if we're doing that at other high schools but that's an amazing opportunities there and then at Millennium K through 12 with uh I don't know what you call it the the VR viral I hope that we're mirroring that at other schools so that more students have the opportunity to to be able to do that and and then I did Coral glazes high school they uh the band soon they will have an auditorium to perform in so that's exciting and then and then lastly I would just like to thank you Dr heern for your strong leadership and making Broward schools an a school district and helping us sustain that thank you yeah just for the virtual um reality the headsets that you saw in the video for millennium they are at 12 schools this year three of the high schools uh seven middle schools and two of our 612 uh configurations so it's spreading and it's a big hit for our students because while they're learning they're learning in their language you know using technology ology and it's been amazing thus far so our goal is to expand it but right now we do have it at 12 of our schools perfect Dr Zan yeah just quick followup chair one is how awesome would it be to have a follow-on workshop item with those devices and the students and the teachers possibly coming here just as a another idea I want to go back to the computer issue though because it's huge uh we're hearing uh as we're looking at the cell phone policy we're hearing from hundreds of students nine weeks into the semester not having the laptops that are required in the classrooms where we need them part of that is because we tried to get classrooms uh try to get numbers of computers per classroom right rather than doing one to one our CIO I just think told us we have 1.25 devices for every student is that correct Trey excuse me for bypassing that that that is correct okay I hope that there that creates some urgency and shifting to one: one ASAP or at least figuring out where there are academic deficiencies 9 weeks into the year um as exciting as it is to be an a district and to keep working and and see everything getting better and seeing the presentation today uh there are still ways in which we can get better uh and one is to make sure uh early in the year that if you need a laptop to learn you have a laptop uh we had this problem last year with um AP courses people were halfway through the year they didn't have their books I mean that should set off off alarms that that that uh causes the systems to do uh maybe urgent things like this board has given the superintendent authority to acquire things outside of solicitations when there's an academic emergency I would say just one member that nine weeks in the year not having laptops is an academic emergency and these things cost 250 bucks a piece this is not where we want to fail we want to fail for other reasons possibly uh but we don't want to fail from a self-inflicted wound like this um and I just want to raise that I it's not the time to do anything about it as a board but I just want to point out the soup can go out and buy devices if we're short and the soup has the authority to go to one: one that is not something that that uh the Board needs to take action on to my knowledge so chair just just want to make that clear to everybody to brow County we have already enough laptops to go one to one it's a matter of when do we want to throw the switch to do that but right now we have an urgent need for hundreds or maybe even a low number of thousands of devices so that kids can learn um and we only have three semesters left so I hope we do that with speak Dr Zan thank you for bringing that up so I take two things one Dr heurn if you can come back to the board with a followup in a week to see where we're at with that and then two is I believe what the board is is saying that we we want every student to have a laptop and are we making that actually happen is that actually happening in our schools y I can ask that question right now um so that is not happening in all of our schools we actually did a proof of concept um late spring with about a dozen or so elementary schools I think Miss Beaver um was one of those schools and she talk briefly talked about that just to proof the concept so all the whole entire system uh can have a clear understanding that yes we can Implement one to one with specific protocols to support parents support students to uh uh have a a certain set set aside to address the the broken or stolen laptops and it work uh great so we're moving towards that initiative to get to one to one districtwide so we'll we will get there okay great so if you could just follow up with the board and possibly give us a timeline of when that can be executed next week yep within a week please all right seeing no one else thank you so much yes and if I may before we close this out just want to give a huge kudos to the teaching and learning team um from day one on in my journey in brow County in August 1st 2023 I've recognized the immense talent that we have in our system this is only a small sample of the great principles in the room and um kudos to the whole academic team I tell Dr fton often do it better than I did and she is certainly doing it better than I did and I hope all of our leaders um send that same message to everybody that's under their purview so we can keep upscaling ourselves every day every minute um and every second thank you we're going to take a f minute recess I get you up front so we take a photo e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e welcome back the next item is postsecondary Workforce education public comment no public comment no public Miss loril thank you mayam good morning everyone Madame chair superintendent uh school board members School leadership I can tell you I have been involved as uh the CEO of Ja for 10 10 years now and I could not feel more proud uh of what's Happening Here at the district uh and we are just so so thrilled and excited to be a partner along the way and we have been for 65 years and so that's why I came here this morning we had our community breakfast on Thursday thank you madam chair for being there with us uh and celebrating 65 years of partnership but in the last 15 with ja world that partnership has deepened tremendously and so I just wanted to share a few of those successes that I talked about the other day just to add on to everything that you're doing here already um our goal is to walk alongside you to help students explore a wide range of career Pathways discover their passions and prepare for the workplace we strive to ignite their entrepreneurial spirit and provide that Foundation they need outside of the classroom you know caste is doing an amazing job listen to the numbers that we heard today right with our partnership we have the opportunity to get students outside of the classroom right Beyond and connect those academics and those experiences to the real world and so we're proud to do that so this year just a few of the successes we mentioned introducing 15,000 fifth graders to over 100 Pathways in JA BizTown giving them the opportunity to also learn and practice work skills like communication problem solving we reimagine Finance Park you all were talking about the technology every single eighth grader is using those VR ocular lenses uh and doing that work with VR Ai and AR experiences over 15,000 eth graders all coming out of the classroom to experience work Pathways as well as work skills we expanded our pre-apprenticeship uh chair alhad you got to hear from Jacob one of your students from Plantation High who participated in the Marine technology pre-apprenticeship which is open to all of our students um and him his uh career experience now working in the field and moving up the ladder he is set for the next few years so uh to really have an amazing career we placed 286 high school students from brow County working closely with cese in the coming year we we hope to be over 300 students we have 14 uh real companies at students began about 600 students developing the strongest work skills you can imagine through building real companies and we completed year two of our 3de high school model and we're starting to see the trends now to change the trajectory of these students I can't thank you enough for the opportunity to work alongside you to partner with you and and thank you for embracing Partnerships uh there's just so much on the horizon so thank you again thank you so much any other public speakers no Madam chair Dr heurn thank you chair School Board um we have a presentation by Dr Tuma and his team talking about the post-secondary opportunities um that we present to our communities and also our students um we understand that we our primary work is definitely K through 12 but we actually drive a lot of economic impact in the local community and also the BR County at large as a school system businesses depend on us adults depend on us students depend on us to to to Really solidify the skill set um and their knowledge to take them on a different path to change the trajectory for themselves and for their famili so this is another body of work that I'm so proud of and I know that BR County at large is proud of because a lot of people depend on um our our uh post-second day opportunities that be present to constituent with every day take it away Dr tumer thank you so much Dr heurn uh good morning Madam chair um Dr hebburn school board members my name is Ted tumer I'm the central region superintendent we are pleased to present our overview of post-secondary Workforce education highlighting the diverse educational Pathways and opportunities available through Broward County Public Schools today we will share insights into our community schools alter of high schools adult education centers and Broward technical colleges As We Know education is a lifelong journey and our mission is to provide varied Pathways to cater to the unique needs of all our Learners in our community in this presentation we will begin with an overview of Broward County uh Broward Community Schools which offer flexible learning options for both Youth and adults seeking to further their educational skills next we'll explore our alternative high schools and adult centers which provide essential programs for adults to enhance their skills skills earn their GED or pursue vocational training these centers also support secondary students who may benefit from a non-traditional educational environment offering opportunities for personalized learning towards earning a high school diploma our alternative high schools and adult centers play a crucial role in empowering individuals to gain employment and improve their overall quality of life lastly we'll highlight Broward technical colleges which offer specialized training programs in various Fields equipping students with practical skills and Industry certifications needed to thrive in today's job market throughout this presentation we aim to demonstrate our commitment to creating accessible and exclus inclusive educational opportunities for all members of our community with that let's explore how we can work together to support our students in their educational and career Pursuits I'll now turn it over to Dr Leo n Smith thank you Dr tumer good morning Madam chair superintendent and board members I am Leo n Smith central region director of teaching and learning it is my pleasure to introduce the eight phenomenal principles who lead our post-secondary Workforce education schools I currently supervise most of these principles and had the privilege of supervising all of them last school year joining us this morning are Mr Jonathan Williams principal of Community School North Mr Bryan Faso principal of Community School South who's behind me Mr Wy Howard principal of Wham Rogers education center at the table Miss Christen bz our principal of Henry de Perry education center bahami Miss anthia Crawford principal of dve Thomas education center behind me Miss Nita ran cour director and principal of Atlantic Technical College and High School Miss Carol Daniel director and principal of of sharing technical college and high school and last but certain not least Miss Celeste Johnson director and principal of McFatter Technical College and high school these eight schools two Community Schools three alternative high schools adult centers and three technical colleges serve BR County across more than 30 districtwide locations BR count Public Schools stands as the second largest provider of postsecondary Workforce education in Florida it is important to note that Workforce education funding appropriated by the state and supplement with tuition and fees support these programs These funds cover instructional positions support roles and all operated and capital expenses for Workforce programs at the eight Workforce schools and the locations throughout Brown County key components of our uh District Workforce education include post-secondary Career and Technical education CTE which offers various technical programs in fields such as health science Information Technology business construction and automotive technology for adults and high school juniors and seniors students earn industry certifications credentials and experiences that prepare them for employment Andor further education we also offer apprenticeships our districts uh our district partners with local businesses and industries to provide Hands-On training such as apprenticeships and internships giving students Real World experience while completing their education our adult general education programs provide adults with opportunities to complete High School learn English and gain job skills or Career Training helping them improve employment prospects or transition into postsecondary education as shown in the chart on the screen while K through 12 enrollment in the district declined by roughly 5% Over The Last 5 Years From 2020 to 2024 in contrast our postsecondary Workforce education School saw a 38% increase in enrollment serving approximately 31,000 students in the 2023 2024 Academic Year this surge reflects the growing demand for adult education programs in today's job market given these Trends we believe that BR County Public Schools is well positioned to continue providing robust educational opportunities that prepare our Workforce population for employment within BCPS and Beyond Mr Jonathan Williams will now provide an overview of our community schools thank you Dr n Smith greetings Madam chair superintendent hebburn board members and esteemed community members thank you for this opportunity to speak with you today I'm honored to share the history and impact of brow schools with you to start let's watch A Brief video highlighting our diverse and expanding programs working hard for that promotion but feeling stuck without your high school diploma step out and choose you Broward Community Schools has affordable flexible GED classes countywide go for the career you really want and choose you with GED classes at Broward Community Schools Community Schools schols before 2005 Community Schools spread across a variety of locations malls libraries and other District facilities reaching over 40 sites countywide however in July 2005 the district Consolidated these programs into Community Schools North and Community Schools South transitioning to District owned properties to reduce costs while maintaining services to the community today Community School South operates across 13 locations south of Sunrise Boulevard while Community Schools North serves eight locations extending up to the Palm Beach County Line since the pandemic although the district experienced that 5% enrollment decreased and Workforce education as a whole experienced a 38% increase Community School enrollment has surged to by 130% despite facing space contraint constraints we've achieved remarkable growth in fact most of our schools most of our locations now have waiting lists recently we expanded our offerings with Saturday classes at Piper High School Fort Lauderdale Annex and park lakes it is both humbling and inspiring to see our Esau students dedications some take Ubers to attend classes on Saturdays While others navigate through flood waters to continue their learning our program caters to programs cater to every member of the household providing services from family literacy and Esau to GED corn rollment and even recreational activities like pickleball we truly offer Cradle to grave support for the entire Community now it is my pleasure to introduce Wy Howard principal of Whitten Rogers Educational Center thank you Mr Williams good morning board members board chair Dr he ear my name is Wy Howard Jr and I'm the principal of Whit Rogers education center I'm here to represent the alternative high schools and adult centers first we would like to share a video with you that captures the essence of our programs and the impact they have on our students Henry D Perry education center get better program offerings for a better future our Middle School Academy allows students the chance to continue their eighth grade education in a positive environment dedicated to accelerate their learning students complete eighth grade coursework and earn high school credits all in the same year team parents can work towards a high school diploma all while gaining important parenting skills with our team parent program students of our program are offered free child care and free Transportation high school students looking to earn their diploma can take advantage of our Alternative High School our fully accredited program is built to fit our students needs with day or night classes online courses individualized attention and career planning students have the option to earn their high school diploma for free and jumpstart their career by attending a Broward Technical College our high school students work at their own pace and are provided Supportive Services based on individual needs students are also offered free Transportation an oncampus breakfast and lunch adults students can better their future and income with our adult education programs equipped with GED prep esol and basic education courses you'll see why it's better at the Henry D Perry education center so what are you waiting for sign up today and start the first step towards a better future [Music] [Applause] [Music] he [Music] [Applause] [Music] I surely hope you enjoyed the video our district includes four alternative high schools Dave Thomas Education Center in the north wh Rogers and seagull School in the Central and Henry D Perry Education Center in the South it's important to note that only Dave Thomas Henry D Perry and wh Rogers currently house Workforce programs all locations provide adult basic education GED preparation and adult Esau program servicing thousands of adult Learners with flexible schedules to accommodate working adults day and evening classes are available additionally all Alternative High Adult Center locations offer K to 12 Co enrollment programs for credit recovery aimed at high school juniors and seniors who need to make up credits these programs allow students to earn their High School diplomas while remaining enrolled in their home High School lastly wh Rogers education center is the designated Agency for providing Educational Services in the four Broward Sheriff Office Correctional Facilities through these Services we provide meaningful educational opportunities that can help inmates transform their lives and contribute positively to the community upon release our commitment to providing accessible education extends Beyond these centers and now Miss neita Ryan cord will share how our technical colleges further support Workforce Development thank you Mr Howard thank you Mr Howard for your insightful overview of our Vital role alternative high schools and adult centers play our community good morning everyone I appreciate the opportunity to be here and present on behalf of Broward technical colleges I am Nita Rancor the proud director of Atlantic Technical College and Technical High School and before we dive into the presentation today I'm delighted to introduce a video that truly captures the essence of Broward technical colleges and the work we do we believe in opening doors to opportunity and equipping students with the skills they need for today's most in demand careers let's take a moment to watch this short overview and see what for years many people believe that graduating from an accredited four-year college or university was the only path to a successful career students are now realizing that there are other options trained workers with technical skills have a whole new place in our Tech driven and skill-driven job market the number of jobs that do not require a 4-year degree are expected to rise to 7.6 Million by 2025 in fact after losing so many positions during the pandemic many Industries are struggling to hire back entry level and skilled workers with the most impacted Industries being Transportation Healthcare and in the food sector it's because of these major factors that career in technical education or CTE is now in the National Spotlight with CTE prospective students are able to become certified and trained professionals ready to fulfill essential job roles for the services we all rely on Atlantic Technical College McFatter Technical College and Sheridan Technical College make up the Broward technical colleges and are part of the Broward County Public Schools providing quality CTE at an affordable price for over 50 years at each campus they train students to get their credentials to join the workforce quickly to help fill one of the millions of available jobs Broward technical colleges are fully accredited with State licensed and certified instructors industry professionals and state-of-the-art classrooms students get real Hands-On training and experience for a rewarding career doing something they love Broward technical colleges are supported by tax dollars which means that tuition is just a small fraction of the cost of a two or foure public or private college so students graduate with little or no student loans giving them a better start for their Futures training is available at five locations around Broward County Atlantic Technical College in Coconut Creek in Fort Lauderdale McFatter Technical College in Davy and Sheridan Technical College in Hollywood and PM Pines students can choose from a range of career options through 70 programs most of which can be completed within a 12-month period so graduates are able to have a career in a year get started right away with a career in fields that include Construction transportation in fields such as Automotive marine and Aviation Healthcare it business communication arts and Hospitality getting the education is only half the job though Broward technical colleges graduates benefit from a full-time staff to help transition from training to Career with millions of jobs needing to be filled Broward technical colleges provides a career focused education by training today's students for a successful tomorrow training for your future career starts now at Atlantic McFatter and Sheridan technical colleges first a closer look at the campuses of Broward technical colleges each offering diverse and specialized programs to meet the needs of our community starting with Atlantic Technical College we have three campuses the main campus in Coconut Creek not only with a large current technical education program and adult general education program but also home to the largest apprenti ship program in the State of Florida additionally we have the Atlantic Technical College Arthur Ash Jr campus in Fort Lauderdale and an adult esol campus conveniently located at the prop on the property of Coconut Creek High School moving on to McFatter Technical College there are two campuses the main campus in Davy offering a wide variety of programs along with the Broward fire academy which is also based in Davy and lastly Sheridan Technical College with three campuses the main campus in Hollywood with the largest postsecondary current technical education programming the west campus in Pembrook Pines specializing in commercial vehicle driving as well as the technical Magnet High School located in Fort Lauderdale all three of the technical colleges have consistently a-rated technical magnet high schools and a proven track record of success our students graduate with a college high school diploma they are career duel enrolled right on our campuses as 11th and 12th graders receiving a career certificate or an applied technology diploma and earn an industry recognized credential or lure which affords them with the opportunity to gain employment in their chosen career upon graduation these achievements are complemented by AR articulated postsecondary college credit leading to to continued enrollment in a state college to further their education should they choose we are proud to be the state's leader in post-secondary Industry certification attainment holding the number one ranking for an impressive eight consecutive years and we eagerly await the results for the 2324 school year confident that we will continue this tradition of Excellence this distinction places us ahead of major districts like Miami Dade pelis Hillsboro and orange demonstrating our unwavering commitment to Preparing students for the workforce these industry certifications are more than just Milestones they are a crucial part of both post-secondary and career dual enrollment success each certification opens the door to employment and career advancement providing students with the skills and knowledge that employers value this is not this not only gives our graduates a Competitive Edge in the job market but also access to higher paying positions and greater opportunities for growth Broward technical colleges consistently earn recognition at both the state and National levels for exceptional program quality and student outcomes with high rankings on platforms such as Niche and more our practical nursing pharmacy technician and Automotive program are among the top rated demonstrating our commitment to Preparing students for in- demand careers we lead in an integrating cuttingedge technology and Industry standards tools offering flexible learning options and robust Partnerships with industry leaders combined with Comprehensive student Support Services we remain focused on driving Student Success and ensuring Readiness for the evolving job market looking ahead we are excited about the recent legislative authorization allowing technical colleges to offer associate of science and Associate of applied science degree as detailed in the flowchart we aim to submit our application by January 1st of 2025 to the state with the first of our degree offerings to launch in the fall of 2025 focusing initially on Healthcare and advanced automotive technology degree programs this achievement marks a significant milestone for our technical colleges and our school district expanding educational opportunities in high demand Fields where state colleges may be unable to meet the growing need Broward technical colleges are widely recognized as leading providers of Career and Technical education in Florida serving both the Broward County community and Beyond we offer affordable and accessible Pathways to do high skill high- wage careers our programs are carefully designed to align with the needs of local Industries ensuring that students graduate well well prepared competitive and job ready affordability is key is a key advantage that sets us apart students can achieve their career goals without the heavy burden often associated with higher education making Broward schools a smart investment for anyone looking to build a Broward a brighter future future by choosing broward's Workforce education students gain access to highquality training that is both competitive and cost effective the technical colleges are accredited by the Council on occupational education which sets rigorous performance benchmarks a minimum of 60% for program completion 70% for placement and 70% for lure we consistently surpass these benchmarks highlighting the high quality of our programs in ensuring access to crucial state and federal funding including title for pel Grants allowing students to graduate debt-free I'm also proud to share that all three technical colleges recent recently completed their Coe for their Council on occupational education reaffirmation site visits and have been recommended for continuing accreditation a testament to the Excellence of our programs and the success of our staff and our students as we shape the future of broward's Workforce education aligning with the rapidly growing and evolving jar Market it is crucial for for equipping students for Success programs like LPN to RN not only Elevate nursing careers but also address Health Care shortages improving both individual earning potential and patient care expanding career dual enrollment opport unities across the district so that high school students can gain hands-on experience accelerated opportunities and articulated college credit enabling them to Fast Track in high demand careers while strengthening our local Workforce looking ahead cyber security and AI programs are essential for preparing students to lead in protecting data and driving technological innovation as these fields expand those trains in these areas will be at the Forefront of digital economy Additionally the recent surge in adult esol enrollment underscores the critical role of language Prof Proficiency in unlocking career opportunities Esau programs Empower individuals to fully integrate into their communities thrive in the job market and contribute to economic growth finally family literacy programs are vital in Breaking the cycle of poverty fostering a culture of Education within households and promoting lifelong access for all generations this is just the beginning of exciting opportunities that lie ahead for broward's postsecondary Workforce education and the community our success though is driven by strong Partnerships within a diverse range of Industries which serves as a critical pipeline to employment these collaborations are essential for fostering growth and innovation broward's technical colleges take pride in unique corporate relationships for example mcf's Marine Technology Program sponsored by Yamaha is awaiting visit from members of their corporate headquarters from Japan this partnership provides students with Hands-On training using industry-leading equipment ensuring that they are Workforce ready Atlantic Technical College stands as the largest training provider for Toyota and Lexus in the south Eastern us while shared and boasts the nation's largest Automotive corporate training program with part Partners such as Audi Ford and infinity these Partnerships along with healthc care collaborations with organizations like Broward Health and Memorial Healthcare System exemplify the symbiotic relationship between industry and education businesses assist in designing curriculum offering internships and clinical experiences and providing cuttingedge equipment and ensuring students acquire the skills necessary to meet Market demands organizations like Career Source Broward also play a vital role in connecting students with employment opportunities creating a mutually beneficial Dynamic Industries gain access to steady pipeline of well-prepared professionals who can contribute immediately to the workforce needs furthermore Broward technical colleges are strategically positioned to address the employment needs of Broward County public schools by offering targeted training in critical Fields such as it maintenance and education this ensures that graduates are job ready and capable of filling essential gaps through internships apprenticeships and Partnerships our programs sustain and grow the district's Workforce making them a vital resource for the local industry and the community and I want to thank you once again for allowing us to be here today and I'll turn back over to Dr tumer so we think we have an amazing story uh to tell uh the school board along with the district and school leaders play a crucial role in advocating for the future of Workforce education in brow County together the collective influence can help position adult Technical and career education programs as the first choice for students seeking high demand on Career Pathways in fields like healthcare technology te ology and skill trades rather than waiting for these programs to be discovered as the best kept secret There's an opportunity now to promote them as the premier options for Student Success Through advocacy we can work hand inand to ensure that these programs receive the visibility and recognition they deserve within the district and the broader Community being the voice provides a platform to engage with local businesses industry partners and Community organizations fostering collaborations that provide students with Hands-On Real World experience by Leading these conversations we can ensure Workforce education aligns with the needs of the local economy and that students are well prepared to transition directly into meaningful careers the commitment to being vocal Advocates will Elevate Workforce education encouraging students and families to see these programs as not just Alternatives but as the first and best best choice for a successful future the goal is clear to ensure Broward County's Workforce programs are not just an option but the go-to pathway for students seeking a bright successful career on trajectory thank you again for the opportunity of for allowing us to present today and we hope this presentation has provided a comprehensive understanding of the diverse Pathways available through postsecondary Workforce education within the Broward County public school system thank you thank you so much Miss leonardy I'm so glad we have whiten Rogers in the building um the work that goes on at whiten is really incredible if you talk to the teachers the students um they'll all tell you that the special attention and indiv individualized instruction that they get at whiten Rogers is really really meaningful um so I'm very thankful that we've been able to highlight the incredible work Howard's doing um and and I look forward to seeing all of this be be out there um as we improve and increase our marketing uh campaigns um I just had one comment and then one question um I saw that we had an ad in Spanish I was wondering if there is a plan to do ads in Haitian Creole as well Dr tumer absolutely we want to make sure that we um reach all of our available um uh stakeholders and those that might be in need of um these these great Services excellent thank you um and my question is what do you need from this board to expand on the the success that you've experienced so far um because it's very clear that that you all are doing very good work um you're serving a need that our community desperately needs um or has uh so you know again what what can this board do to help you and put you in the best position to continue that success so I'll begin and I'll potentially kick it to one of my colleagues here but the main two that kind of jump right off the page is advocacy first and foremost I think uh as I said before I think we're one of the best kept secrets with um some of the programs that we provide and the and the service that we Pro um provide to to the community the second is um space because we are just kind of bursting at the seams uh Mr Williams U spoke earlier about um the increase of over 130% uh that the programs have have grown so we've been working very closely with Dr wanza and her team as we have our discussions around redesigning and repurposing to make sure that we optimize um any available space so that is um you know important to consider as we continue with the conversations around redefining uh so thank you for for vocalizing that um and I just I want to take a point of personal privilege um doing the graduations for your schools is really one of my favorite things um and I continue to see former students of mine crossing the stage earning you know credit uh certifications and and degrees and it's really um just really it's it's awesome um you know as we go out into the community we hear from businesses oh we need to do more work for Force education and um you really are doing the work that our community desperately needs so um thank you for vocalizing what you need from us I would like us to uh carry that out um and make that happen for you thank you Dr Zeman thanks chair um I want to go right behind Miss Leonardi on this if if what our goal is to end the process C of Broward County Education either continuing education enlisting in the military or getting experience if it's all the three e we got to make sure that we balance at least the first and the third one to the extent that we can influence and listing I think is much more of a personal choice uh but I will remind people only 16% of high school graduates are qualified for military service and so we play a big role in the en list part too but that's more gen Ed as opposed to education where we focus 90 plus% of our time and and 10ish percent in my estimation on experience and I think that that balance is probably Gess to tilt more uh toward what the market is telling us which is a lot of families and a lot of students want to go to work and we have the opportunity uh in a in a nationally acclaimed system to do that even better so let me talk about the second thing that you asked for which is space I heard there's a school district around here that's looking at repurposing space if that's true and it's all over the paper so I think it must be uh I hope you have a seat at the table uh and I'll remind you the old management precept if you don't have a seat at the table you're on the menu so I hope that you're like actively involved in thinking through uh those opportunities uh for that two other quick points um and this is two things for my colleagues one is we used to get reimbursed for college tuition the state uh of Education used to reimburse USS when we would send a kid to dual enrollment we would send someone off to get a college degree and the like uh what I worry about with it's wonderful to offer associates degree and Associates of Arts uh and Science degrees those are critical degrees they fit very very well with our capabilities uh I think uh to Mr Sullivan's and the superintendent's uh attention we need to think about going back to the legislature and asking for money to pay for college it's a it's a critical important thing but when they ask us to take K through 12 money and pay pay for college education which we love to do um it is creating a hole on the K through 12 side and in my view the legislature has enough money to pay for Education um or else we have to come up with another model where uh where where it's not taken out of our uh our dramatically underfunded K through2 education system and again Florida does 9,000 to Broward County uh the national average is 13 we start every year uh in the whole second point to my colleagues share I don't know about you but I just wrote down five companies that I think could sponsor or contribute uh to these existing programs and I have not done a very good job of moving those uh CEOs and presidents and leaders to come talk to you and so I will commit to doing a better job of that I have five right here that I'm going to do this week um but we run into people who neighbors friends kanin rotarians whatever who own businesses and they desperately need people that have the right skills for them to hire um I think their direct involvement uh could be a win-win uh for them uh and a win-win for us last Point big one for you Mr superintendent how about a teacher Academy Dr that sounds like a good idea we need teachers I I heard there's a an organization Brer County that wants more applicants right for for our teaching positions uh it seems like we can help ourself if we if that turns out to be a good idea to take you know high school kids many of them are getting the Early Education certificates by working in our on-site uh Early Education syst and that's great but I would love for a teacher Academy to be considered so that we grow K through 12 teachers uh they'll have to leave obviously or go to a local College to finish up their bachelor's degree to be qualified but just taking that energy we just saw kids today talk about what they want to do next some wanted to be mechanical engineers other Engineers data scientists all those cool things but teaching is cool too and um I know a lot of them would like to it and if there's a way to give them kind of an introduction to it and maybe even some time as teacher assistant or something while they're doing it for a year or two uh that might really um solidify the desires and make sure that they uh they've chosen something that they fit well with and and really are excited about like a lot of people are thanks chair M rer thank you and thank you to my colleagues who has this great ideas um I definitely support Miss uh Leonardi when she was talking about and um it's important to recapture our enrollment and make sure that um we reach our students that have already left our system and are dropped out of school which not only for me this and I'm going to mention the first one the most important my heart hurts because they've given up on themselves so we do a great job in our community schools um a terrific job however we're still missing that key piece of a FTE because if we can recapture them get them uh you know a good start in the world um there we will also recapture some of that FTE for ourself and um while I love all the um the programs that we have while the kids are still with us and thank goodness for them and for the teachers the administrators and the community who know how important it is um and in the envir environment that we live in now really it's that's that's like the square box of go for Monopoly you have to get your GED you have to get your regular diploma because many things are um cycled through that I do know that we were looking into that Mr superintendent is that still a conversation because I heard a contract was coming in August then September and then for which specific acceleration oh yes we that already passed that passed uh September right September 10 September board meeting September 10th regular school board meeting the acceleration Academy contract passed well I'm just going to jump up and down no not really workers comp don't want to do that um but but thank you and will they be starting soon I'm hoping yes I actually talked to uh Mr Graves last week um so they've already secured a site um so it'll be a good supplement to what we're already doing that's to help supplement that's the plan exactly to supplement to recap capture the kids that didn't have a um uh good outcome with us um over the past few years so it' be a good supplement to um to accompany some of the services that we're providing as a school district also that's awesome um you know I've been worried about that for many years and um other districts have have taken on that and and had a wonderful return on their um you know effort with with getting our students back to our schools um I'll also say on page eight I wrote some notes the early childhood education center um is is this possibly an opportunity to expand our birth to three yearold employe uh employees children um because I know we've all discussed that and brought that issue to the table um I'd like a little update if that's if we're still looking at that is repurposing or yes absolutely so with the birth to age three or four um one of the things is that we have to partner with organizations to help us out with that work because we get no State funding for that um Dian Egan and the ESC team has been um um very innovating around how they've been supporting some of those programs at other schools um through the ESC Ram where they get funding for specific teachers and other students can take advantage of those opportunities that may not be ESC um but we're working with Partners to identify their commitment and a long-term sustainability um implementing more um Early Learning programs at certain schools and also at certain sites uh as we continue to talk about redefining and repurposing good um just because we know we did that survey we saw that there was a need and um I certainly don't want to drop the ball on that because I know um we want to secure security for our um our employees and their children we want to keep our teachers and our staff members so this is a way to show them we actually care um also I don't think there's enough conversation going on about the urban teacher Academy um would be nice to actually you know per per Dr Z over there uh I've never visited where that is and uh I want to say possibly Deerfield yeah it's Deerfield I think it would be I think it would be nice to have a little a little blurb about that or a teeny tiny video um because we can grow our own you know and and to Dr Zan's point over there um I saw a need with Pompa Beach High School and Pompa Beach Elementary granted there's not many cases where you can um you know really partner a high school with an elementary school that's a little bit struggling um but it got them excited I mean my daughter's case number one for me um I wanted her to pursue her dream of of being a veterinarian and um gosh I don't know what I was thinking but she she she became one of those students that went in and just fell in love with being a teacher assistant and then going on the college and graduating and now a second grade teacher in our in our district so those those they work you know they really they they truly work um let me double see three see I oh actually yeah um because I wanted to mention redefining underutilized schools we're already on that um and support the marketing efforts we really I love today there were some really big wins for me for you guys with um showing the the kids excited teachers exciting the community exciting um that that's really an important part of this because we have like used to tell students we have the C you're the only one that's got the cookie and don't let anybody take that from you and um we need to do more of that with the marketing efforts because we got it all going on here and we should be turning people away not really don't ever turn people away but we should be and um I'm here to help as the rest of my colleagues um in any way possibly can but one last thing we miss you a little bit Mr Crawford um we do but Nita is doing a great job um and I still have to come grab students to come up and tour with you um one of you sharidan uh one of our great workers here at this building was interested in looking at AC and um Heating and possibly having his own business I said H have we got a plan for you so um thank you for all that but half a second more here our staff you guys you're up up in Tallahassee lobbying for more money more opportunities for our students and I want to thank you because we are truly a Powerhouse during those conversations up in in Tallahassee and I I I want to say I'm going to count on you to guys knock their socks off again so thank you so mucht okay we have three more speakers and five minutes we have a hard stop at noon Dr holness thank you madam chair so um Dr tumor thank you so much uh you and your wonderful team and it's it's such an honor also to to have you oversee some of these programs Dr tumor and welcome to the central regional office and little known fact Dr tumor was my principal when I was a teacher at Lions Creek and he's always been an amazing guy so thank you for all that you do so now um there seems to be a great need for Workforce um education and there are great opportunities for growth um it should not be a Hidden Gem it should remain a gem and not hidden and so we need to look at how we can bring awareness how we can effectively market and uh board member Rupert mentioned marketing as well and I would say it's not just um for me marketing but marketing the right way having the right message right because there are so many great things for example what you've mentioned $2.80 per clock hour in state right how many people people know that and and how many are aware that it's affordable as compared to other programs right and when we look at the placement rate when we look at the completion rate these are wonderful things and now we're going to offer as and AA degrees um which is wonderful as well and we are ranked number one in industri certification eight years in a row I mean these are such wonderful achievements but how many of the members of the community know this so I think that we really have to ensure that we Market but we Market the right message uh so it can resonate with people and then we can we can um expand the program so I have a couple of questions um uh have there been any uh collaboration Dr heurn uh with um group such as the Broward Workshop any partnership uh involvement with the brow Workshop have they met with the Broward Workshop as uh a business group that has interest in our schools doing well um so I I'll start the answer and then I'll defer the rest um to the group the answer is yes everywhere I go uh when I'm speaking to different chambers uh different business groups um the technical college directors and their personnel are always there and um in many instances they get to share some of these videos that that you saw today um in some of those meetings all right and um well you going to have any St anybody want to add anything that uh good afternoon so we've coordinated with many other municipalities and their Chamber of Commerce with the county uh we've actually in the beginning of this school year uh all attended some of the luncheons to coordinate with some of the business partners across the county just to expand our scope and to to to market the programs that we offer and just to let them know that we are available and we we're looking to expand the Partnerships okay but there there' have been um you know the broad Workshop is is its own unique group so you've you've actually met with them as well or is the BR Workshop is something we can extend to um I'm sure some of those members serve on the various Municipal uh Chamber of Commerce but we will further look into that piece okay great so Dr heurn is is that something they can yes AB absolutely okay great and um I just want to also mention Dr heurn we uh there there's um part of the ask is um as we redefine repurpose schools that some of that space um would be used for Workforce um can you just briefly speak to what your um goals are for that and how that will happen yes absolutely um so one um such as Atlantic Tech moving some folks out of there such as the ESC department so they can actually expand on that present campus um and also utilizing um some of the spaces based on our conversation from our last workshop for redefining where we're talking about more of partial closings or um uh not utilizing certain buildings for student use anymore on those campuses and and looking at the viability of using some of that space to wonderful and I know that Arthur Ash has a significant ESC so that's been considered as well Arthur as what did I say Atlantic Tech but I you said Atlantic Tech Arthur same yeah same thing so they're under the same wonderful all right well thank you so much but thank you for the wonderful job you're doing Dr tumor it's always an honor working with you sir thank you Mr zon thank you I will try to be brief um thank you for the presentation it was um I've been to all the schools I know how amazing they are I love going to Henry D Perry and seagull with Rogers especially when you're having a bad day to see the babies that's the the best part of of the day going there but the students are always very engaged and and I know it's difficult because your population has a large turnover they come in and they come out and you you all do a great job of doing that um worked a long time with the technical schools through magnet so I appreciate that would say um I also was part of the community school I've been here a long time it's my 36th year so um I would love to see Community Schools go back to being more of what they were I used I did a number of things I did the testing for Esau and GED and then I was the swim um instructor and the communities need that we provided a service that was cheaper than the Y for swimming but we're only able to do it in the summer we don't do it year round and and people often like their children to do that we did flower arrangements right we used to do classes and remember those were c um people paid to do that so the the programs run themselves so I would love to look at being able to be a bigger Community School I'm not really sure why it shrunk down I think we did yoga we did all of these different classes um and it's a great way to get people in the school start talking to um staff because often staff that works at the school run you know does those Community classes to really give the community an idea of what's happening during the school day in the school and I think the big part that you didn't mention in the um technical colleges is your self-sufficient you're raising your own money right you're not really coming to us and um that's why we passed for you to be able to advertise one of the things that you're asking so I love that we did this present ation so all of the board members could see why it's so important for you to have that advertising budget um in its whole to be able to put out there so that we continue to grow and be self-sufficient um in those areas so thank you also much for what you do and for the great presentation thank you I just have one comment one of the students in the video spoke about taking an Uber to get to class and so what I would um like to suggest is that we work with one of our outside P Partners to give free Uber or lift credits to the students so that they wouldn't have to pay the students wouldn't have to pay out of their pocket to get Uber lift all right we're good Dr Hub yes we are awesome thank you team thank you for the immense education about Pro secondary Workforce education um got a stellar team here in our postsecondary world and they do an amazing job and and really um third at economic engine for the county so thanks a lot Miss Batista thank you madam thank you madam chair I would like to request the school board convene an attorney client session in order to discuss litigation pending before the 17th judicial circuit in and for Brower County Florida in the following matter Florida International Consulting Engineers Design Inc versus the school board of Broward County Florida aeom technical Services Inc and Kathleen Langan case number CA 23-20 213 the following persons will attend this attorney client session school board members Lori alhad chair Deborah Hixon Vice chair Tori Alston Brenda fam Daniel fogan holy Dr Jeff holes Sarah Leonardi Nora rer Dr Alan Zan Dr Howard Heburn superintendent of schools Edward lur Esquire and Marilyn Batista Esquire in anticipation of this request the attorney client session was properly advertised for today October 22nd 2024 at 12 p.m. in accordance with Section 28601 parent 8 of the Florida Statutes the purpose of the attorney client session is to discuss settlement negotiations and or strategy Rel relative to the pending litigation a certified court reporter will record the session and only those persons noted in the advertisement will be permitted to attend at this time the workshop will be recessed and we'll be back in about half an hour e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e two one welcome back we are now on our next item the propo 2025 2026 School school calendar options public speakers yes Madam chair we have five public speakers first one is Rob Raj Verma Madame chair members of the school board and staff Namaste and good afternoon Namaste my name is Raj Vara I'm a 30-year resident of Broward County representing the large Hindu Jane sik and Buddhist communities I'm here today to request that you consider approving option two of the calendar survey it is a day off to coincide to the secular Festival of Dali in reviewing the council's memo on the agenda item I noticed a few things first there is nothing in the state law according to the memo that prohibits the district to give a day off provided they meet the requirements of the teaching days second there is reference to The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the US Constitution however the basis of using The Establishment Clause in its present sense relies on what is known as the lemon test the lemon test was a three-part standard that was established in 1971 to determine if a law of government action violated The Establishment Clause pursuant to the 2022 ruling of the Supreme Court this lemon test is no longer valid in its historical sense as and has been largely abandoned instead the U Supreme Court ruled that Establishment Clause now must be interpreted by reference to historical practices and understanding and again I'm going to repeat those words must be interpreted by reference to historical practices and understandings this statement is reported in many legal articles legal journals and other government sanctioned resources like Constitution unoted and this board has not one but two such historical practices where the days of off have been granted thus failure to give a day off on a day to coincide with Dali day would be violating the very same Establishment Clause that you have mentioned here by giving preferential treatment to the other religions we can call them what we want but deep inside we know what they are for most importantly during the board's September meeting Dr alen Zan eloquently recounted his personal experience and stated how the Al is celebrated not only by the Hindus but many other faiths thus giving it a universal or secular character in these troubling War ravaged times Diwali brings the message of Peace Hope victory of good of victory of good or bad mutual respect and tearing down barriers of intolerance these are our guiding principles we have lived by and are mentioned in many proclamations we have been receiving from several cities and counties not only thank you so much thank you next speaker next up we have Denise babula followed by Vic s Namaste andam to the entire board for those of you who don't really know what Namaste means it is the Divinity Within Me greets the Divinity within you I represent GI Arts the only indoc Caribbean arts and culture organization in the US we represent the Indians in the Caribbean which is Trinidad Guyana Jamaica Surinam and other islands where our ancestors arrive from India as indentured workers with that we brought our heritage our culture our religion with us and even though we're far away from our motherland we still celebrate our c culture and one of the number one holiday that we have or practices we do is for Dali The valali the festival of light and with that it's a in different from India in the Caribbean we do a 21 days devotional cleansing because it represents good over bad positivity over negativity Darkness over ignorance over intelligence so in order to rid our personal selves as individuals we have to go through this entire um method and with that we have to then celebrate Dali the actual day which will be Monday October 20th 2025 October 20th so with that usually parents keep their children at home we do 6:00 a.m. rituals puas blessings and and then at 6:00 p.m. and then as the sun sets we light up the entire home for that light that actual Divine Light to bless and protect our home protect our hearts and carry the message to the world that the Divine Light is what cleanse and help us and that is what we instill in our children so whether it's uh in the calendar or not our children still have to participate still be a part of as well as the parents with it so with that we humbly ask for option to um sitama Namaste again everyone enjoy their day any other public speakers namaskar my name is VI swarup I've been here more than 30 years and uh we have celebrated our Diwali festival and we want to celebrate it more deeply you know rather than after the school we go home and we have only few hours for us to really immerse ourselves in the devotional and the cultural aspects of our religion we want to experience it more wholesomely and that is why I request and appeal to you to give us this opportunity for us to live that uh time with our children one of the most important thing that we have experienced is that our children because of not having so much immersion they are becoming a little alienated and that's very disturbing to us emotionally and spiritually and we don't know how to answer that question and the only way we think that can be done is that we have some wholesome time with them explaining and living that experience so with that I thank you very much and please consider this option to and give our people that opportunity thank you very much next up we have Rah toari and followed by Jackie lusam good afternoon Namaste and I am representing Hindu Americans I live in pemr Pines I have been a resident of pemr Pines since 1988 and I'm very happy that board is looking at the options and our feeling is as it has been told by Denise babulal VI and Raj varai G that we are looking for option two which is October 20th Monday 2025 so chair Vice chair board members superintendent and supporting staff we are here as Hindu Americans and my our children have gone to brard school system and we know how it is so as it has been eloquently advocated by Wai G my sister Denise VI I support that option two October 20th 25 should be a day off so we can celebrate with our children and the family I a member of human Relations Committee of a school board I'm ex-member of diversity Committee of the school board I know this school board and that you are looking for diversity inclusive and fairness so my submission humble submission to you is that please give us what you have given to others and fair fairness should be the prime and diversity should be the criteria and as has been said it's not only Hindus we elaborate Hindus SS Jan Buddhist and others they all celebrate Diwali that which is ignorance victory over ignorance victory over Darkness so my humble request is that please consider option to and thank you very much and this year we have November 1st Diwali so happy Diwali to all of you thank you hello good morning Namaste um I'm Jackie Lum I'm a parent I'm actually a member of the calendar committee um I'm not here to speak on anybody's behalf but I hope I can just provide some of the perspective um that's been discussed there to uh first of all Eric Chism is a rockar with this um committee it's very happy collaborative committee and I think it's really important that it brings together so many different um areas of the district and the impacts on them that various uh tweaks to the calendar might make um that are impacts that one might not um initially consider and know about out um there are federal legal requirements um um and just as when the board um wanted to Grant the Muslim Festival of Eid as a day off it is important that the board publicly acknowledges and obliges those legal parameters too and addresses them if the effort to accommodate October 20th as a day office for devali which we know it is though it's not appeared uh on the paperwork here um let's be loud and proud about about it and let's be transparent with the community but the survey didn't mention it either and federal requirements are that there has to be an operational case for granting a day off on a Federal holiday uh I'm sorry on a religious Festival day so let's make that case let's put Data before this meeting let's crunch it down and let's assess what the op operational impacts are if you don't have this day off um uh and um I bring that up because there would be unfavorable impacts on the calendar I'm not speaking against duali I'm all in favor of embracing the diversity of our community um and showcasing and honoring it I'm wanting to bring attention to the impacts um and I think some of your survey data um might uh account for that too if you grant October the 20th off for deali then that means uh students returning for winter break on Monday January the 5th for half a day then on the Tuesday they take off it's a day off for teacher planning and then they come back for a full day onwards from the Wednesday we all know as parents what happens on half days and early release days if kids show up at all and firstly a lot don't so look at the attendance data those that do show up um like my kid did last week on a peat day as a senior got zero instruction apart from one I think 30 minute math lesson and the rest was eating some ice cream and not having lessons because so few students have turned up that the ones who do show up are told well there's no point as teaching you anything because it'll leave all these others behind it needs to be emphasized by the district at top level that when there is a school instructional day it is honored as that that school that students are expected to be there and provision made for the instruction and education of our kids I think that would help you with this thank you thank you that concludes the registered speakers Dr H Mr Chism Mr Aero all right thank you the we'll go kind of quick Mr chis and I here are to are here to continue all the positive conversations that we've had all day this morning so we want to keep this as positive as possible so um going to kind of Breeze through us the wrong one D we have we have a printed copy of this while we're waiting uh Eric Chisum you actually have the survey results uh that were also handed out they're not a part of the presentation but we have handed them out to you okay there we go so we're just going to go right to the two options so these were shared in a survey that Mr chis is going to talk about in a little bit but option one is was kind of presented before that mirrors what we're doing this year uh and I've sent this to the board so we won't read through it the second option is the one that includes October 20th as a day off which coincides with dwali so to keep the 85 days of instructional time that we need the extra day that was just talked about was come have the students coming back on January 5th early release days are still in the uh CBA with BTU theou is only for one year so those return to the calendar so the the day they would return January 5th would be an early release day followed by the teacher work day and then January 7th would be the beginning of the third quarter so this mirrors that that option one just with the extra day in there and then it kind of shifts everything in the second semester a day so the last day of school would be Wednesday June 3rd instead of Tuesday June 2nd is for option one so those are the two options that were out there that were surveyed and at the time we presented this our survey data was forthcoming but we now have it Mr chism's going to talk about that good morning again uh as you can see we've nearly received 25,000 uh respondents already uh we launched a survey last Tuesday we did get feedback uh from stakeholders that they wanted us to keep the survey out a little bit longer so it is open until October 30th so that's an opportunity for us to continue to receive feedback from all our stakeholders uh it is uh really laid out in front of you as of the results yesterday around 120 you can see we receiv received 24,000 results the majority of those results are coming from our parent Community I do know that our students will be more engaged I think lendon is doing something so some more survey results will come at a later date again because that's through October 30th you can see the majority of the results that have come back overall 65% are favoring option one and 35% are favoring option two uh once again we will continue the survey uh historically by the time we come to the board the survey data most times is not fully uh vetted but we continue to survey process and it's historically leans towards what you start to see in there as we're getting calls around information the other thing we received a lot of feedback from the survey to make sure it was more user friendly we continue to make that user friendly so when you go online of course it's always in the four languages but in addition to that we make sure that you have access to the full calendar so when you go in there and you're doing the survey and you have questions you have the accessibility to press a button and the calendar pops up and you have an opportunity to see the breakdown of the calendar so that's what we have for you and we're here to hear your feedback thank you board member comment Dr Hess thank you madam chair so um through the superintendent um Mr Chisum when you in the survey when it mentioned community members and you have a count of 194 can you expound on what the community members would include who are those individuals so uh through the chair uh so what happens is you are making that determination as a parent uh my son is 26 he's out of school so I most likely when I go in there I would be a District staff member I would go in and I would select that that is totally up to you on what box you select and how you identify so uh if my son was in school I probably would have selected parent because that would have been the impact that I would have been bringing forth there okay so um so that would obviously we would not have concrete information on who a Community member is because if one consider oneself to be a Community member because of service that you provided to the community and you could check that box but you could also be a parent as well and right 100 100% And I think it's also Al very important we also work with all stakeholder groups our legislative uh Affairs area actually send it out to all those stakeholders our Mayors our community our commissioners and all of it so they actually have an opportunity to select and a lot of times that's probably where they will end up unless they select another category okay so can one select more than one category if you belong to more than one category for example you're a Community member and you're apparent this is just one just one okay so a few more questions Mr Chisum um now I believe um well this is just a uh an opinion that the the um the concern with option two uh having the parents significantly vote for option one as well as teachers is that it appears that option two will roll the um the second quarter over to one day into after the Christmas holiday of the um right uh and that would end on January 5th that would be the second quarter would end January 5th and that day would be a half a day so that appears to be where the concern is right and then um there would be a teachers planning on the Tuesday and then the third quarter would start on the Wednesday correct that is correct in option two so um with that half a day on Monday for students coming back to end the second quarter um there's no possible option that could have been created to have that half a day fulfillment before the um December holiday through the chair we had very fruitful conversation around that when we actually when the calendar option came back and as you know the the attempt is to get as many instructional days if you will in the first semester and we are basically at 85 days the only alternative here is to identify days that we have as off days and that first and you would just be trading out a day and by example we Illustrated that before there days in September uh that is a day off on the 23rd and also there's a day on October 2nd that is a day off as well as November 24th and 25th so what you would end up doing is just switching out in order to accomplish that okay so um is it possible when this comes back in December for a vote and I'm just asking um because I believe the the uh the concern with parents as well as with staff teachers is having to roll this the uh second quarter over into a half a day into January and then start the third quarter in the middle of the week that seems to be the reluctance to support option two so is there any way an option could be created that would have that half a day uh being consumed into the second quarter prior to the December holidays uh so uh because I believe that would more likely be supported as opposed to going into January so is it possible to have an option presented that would end that second quarter before the December holidays with that half a day because obviously we're just coming back the kids for half a day to fulfill the requirements as far as a number of days so can you and your team work out an option to put that half a day uh somewhere into that second and I know it's challenging but when we put it into the third into the January period then it's almost a no for majority of people so how can we see if we can gain traction having it into the second quarter so through this year the the body of the the I should say the way the calendar is laid out it is really surrounding the collective bargaining agreement specifically for our teachers uh when you think about early release days the early release days as it's laid out in the contract must align with the end of the nine weeks so that language is spelled out in the collective bargaining agreement um I I can't speak for I mean David could reference to it but anything like that would require some type of collective bargaining and in order to ACC Lish that I don't see us necessarily doing that in a short period of time the calendar that will be coming back let's say the board will make a recommendation to say to bring back a calendar for board approval so today's discussion is not necessarily to create additional options is really to talk about what is the recommendation from the board right and I understand uh and I'm going to be finish after this but as a board member I was looking for an option that I could recommend that would resonate with the majority of our stakeholders and that would also fulfill what we're trying to do which is having October 20th as a day off when we push this option when we present an option that we push into January it almost seals the fate of having to accomplish what we're trying to do and I believe this board is trying to accomplish October 20th as a day off and the second part of what we're trying to do as a board in my opinion is to have this done uh with an option that's before the December holidays presented to us we don't have an option in front of us with October 20th off that would end before the December holiday um I believe that's what we're trying to have in front of us if I may to the chair so with the 85 days of instruction time that we currently need for our middle schoolers that are taking high school credits it's the 85 days we need to to accomplish that we If October 20th was voted as a day off something else in that first semester would need to become a school day so that we're still finishing 85 days before the winter break right with with the instructional time that we have now right and Mr azerita I think you just gave us the answer right because we need to have an option presented to us that would fulfill that 85 days and look at what needs to give to do that but that wasn't presented to us here because what was present what we brought in was staying away from Thanksgiving week which that was Prior direction from the board right trying to fin so trying to fit 85 days with that extra day off between October 11th and December TW and December 19th there's 95 school days take off five for Thanksgiving we're at 90 you take off all the other things that have already been board approved we're right at 85 add the extra day we're at 84 so that's we can't accomplish it so it's trying to figure out how can we I don't want to say please everybody but try to accomplish everything that we're trying to accomplish with the instructional minutes because that's what has to lead the conversation and I get it and I'm going to be finished Madam chair but the we had voted as a board in the past I believe that the the second quarter should end before the December holiday is that correct correct so presenting an option with the second quarter ending after December holiday would also go against what we've voted on before so this option that's presented create a lot of challenges it um it leads us into um concerns with how we voted into concerns with the community and what they would prefer um so even if you had to like you mentioned Thanksgiving or whatever other days we have in in the second quarter we needed an option like that where we give up something to accomplish this with a going against what the board voted in ending the December holiday uh um the second quarter before the December holidays and also having stakeholder input now that shows unfavorable outcome of this option because it's pushing one day into the next after December uh I just think that I needed to see maybe another option that was there that would have ended the second quarter before December holiday and have October 20th off because I think that would be more palatable for people to to consume and and to appreciate as opposed to what we have so I just feel like I feel like we we presented something that creates a lot of challenge to to get through to the to the community as well as to the board and I believe there's could be something else that could be presented because now that I have the data which just came to us cuz I didn't know the data um I I think it's it's going to create um some concerns and I would like to see an option before the December holiday I would like to see um whatever we need to give or take to make that happen and have an October 20th off so the community can um can be more accepting of what we're doing thanks Miss leonardy um you know I I Echo the same desires I'm going to go in a little bit of a different direction um to what extent do we have instructional time built in to account for Hurricane days Mr CH M ASO So currently what we utilize is the uh are the early release days uh historically that's what we've utilized they are days that we can easily uh if a storm occurs we can easily bring the calendar back to the board and add those back to the calendar because that adds an additional two hours for each of the early release days got it and we weren't able to do that this year because well once we I'm sorry once we sign theou to remove the early release days the lack of over we did not scheduling severe weather days that's why we're going to come back to you in the next meeting to discuss I just wanted that that to be to be clear for everyone um and just really quickly to because this has been happening lately how are the decisions about whether or not to have school off for Hurricane how are those hurricane days decisions made does the board make them Mr Mr chis the question is how do we determine when we're going to take a day off yeah yes that is with the uh cabinet and we determine that and bring it to the board bring it to the board yeah but board members do not make those decisions correct not it's operational decision thank you just wanted that to be clear too um all right I think I have other questions about the the calendar we're going to vote on later um but I I do have the same concerns around um the different options thank you Miss Fam thank you madam chair um I think in looking at this the big picture that the public is not voting against having October 20th off or Dali celebrating Dali I think what they're voting that they don't want is a half day in Jan January I think this whole uh process needs to be Revisited and we have to rework our numbers I like the idea of shifting a day from the first semester out into the um second semester and that way we can accommodate everyone because remember back in I think it was 2022 when we added um Ed alider if I'm saying it correctly um I made this state the statement that there's more than 4,000 religions and we cannot cherry-pick and accommodate one and not accommodate the other and I said once we open this door it's a slippery slope but we open it for everyone so we don't want to put the district in the position of discriminating because we provideed Ed alier um which is the end of Ramadan a New Year's Eve we have the uh rashishana for Jewish New Year's Eve off we have the Juda Christian New Year's Eve off and and this is equivalent to the Hindu New Year's Eve so it's on the same level but we have moved days around including different months to celebrate the end of Ramadan in the last three years ever since that went through that data has been accommodated so we must look at the big picture and whether we're going to put ourselves in a position of liability because we are not bending over backwards to accommodate other religions like we are like the um Muslim religion or the Islamic in addition what I wanted to say is this whole process has been very very confusing to all the people casting their votes um in this survey one I got contacted because people were not receiving the surveys and um people were flipping them to them um even today State we had two different calendar settings we have a 12:30 to 1:30 for um the proposed 2025 26 Calendar options and then we have today a 230 voting on the options it says here approve the proposed changes to the 20242 school calendar so people aren't even here because they don't realize that this other Vote or this other discussion is going to supersede this no two different years two different well two different calendars were presented and they're not dated with the time of when they're presented or the date they came out so it's very confusing to the public just to clarify there's two different school years so we're discussing 25 26 and then the other one is for 2425 which is this current school year so yeah to make up Hurricane so I I don't know what a confusion is from the public but we wouldn't adjust the uh 2425 school year for the remainder of the school year for what we're trying to do our accomplish right now with this calendar well the survey itself has anyone seen the survey the written survey here and someone has forward it to me and what it says here the deadline to provide your feedback is midnight Wednesday October 30th so this survey is still out so if we're here discussing what's going to happen they're thinking this well this is a done deal it's already going up to be discussed this survey or the end of the survey has to be completed before we come in to allow those people to come in and talk this is premature correct so uh Mr Chisum um touched on this earlier that the survey went window was supposed to close prior to this meeting but the constituents um that we that we service and and provide support to every day said they wanted the survey window to be extended so uh based on community feedback we've extended that survey window to collect more information then I would make a motion for the board that we table this it's just a discussion today guys yeah if I if I may add um just to help the team out here as they collect feedback as to um the questions are great but probably providing some options that you want them to take back to to consider um to see because the first the unfortunate thing about the first semester it is a very narrow window because we have a lot of holidays that take up a week or up to two weeks with the winter break um and also one of the things for this year based on law we cannot start the school year before August 10th unfortunately August 10th is a SAT Saturday this year or Sunday this year so um that would have been a good strategy if August 10th was actually a a Monday so this would have solved all of our problems to start school on August 10th um but we have a lot of constraints um for this particular year that's you know in order to do some things we we have to give up something to get something um just but providing some feedback so they can consider we can take that information and we can certainly between the time of now and the next meeting we can provide a lot of lot of answers via um email to the board or even uh oneone as we work through this whole entire process in the future I think it is very confusing to put 24 25 and then 25 2 it's just we need to separate them so people realize what we're voting on and their different topics we really do because you're we're board members okay we we're accustomed to this but a lot of people aren't they aren't and they look for one thing they don't go past that point and and that's theend end of it so um in the future I I would ask that these items be made brought on separate dates when they're concerning same issue but the different years Dr Zan thank you so much chair um I'm curious about the 85 days is that the limit for a full semester or is it counted by minutes or hours of instructional time go ahead Mr to the chair it is through 60 hours that they need so 3600 minutes Dynamite so I'm going to propose two other options for us to consider um one uh would be some number of minutes added to the days between the start of uh the school year which is in 2526 August 11th to the last day of the first semester which I think is December 19th um to see how many minutes we would need to add to a day if it's five or 10 which is just back of the envelope calculation I would prefer that and having October 20th off um to Dr hess's point um there are three holidays in the semester uh one coincides with rashishana one coincides with yamur and then one is for um Veterans Day um I would propose another alternative where we go to school on Veterans Day and this is an issue that um other districts have used this solution in fact I think Mr superintendent Palm Beach goes to school on Veterans Day uh not anymore um they were not going to school for a very long time on Veterans Day I want say recently as this year or even last year the students were off for for Veterans Day so they had it as a school day for a long time and now they found a way to get out I'll be interested to see whether they can squeeze uh 85 days in because they have the same problem right everybody's trying to figure out how to balance these things out I like kids in school on Veterans Day to me as someone who spent a lot of time hanging around with veterans and serving the nation um I would prefer children to be in school to celebrate those things and to do things with their families after schools on the weekends if that makes sense for them um so to me those are two other like very reasonable options that get us beyond the option which I really don't like which is a half day on January 5th day off on the 6th and the 7th now I also have to add a little reality to this discussion last year when we asked Brower teachers union about canceling four early release days and making them full instructional days uh even after the financial side of the negotiations were over they relented and said if you give us a couple hours of uh planning uh and not being under instruction we'll give you the early release days I don't want to negotiate at a workshop or any Schoolboard meeting of any kind but I just want to point out that this year those early release days are full instructional days if we if if past is pro if prologue is going to be future as well uh if fast is prologue excuse me then we're going to want that that there's at least the potential for that uh happening again in which case the fifth would be a full day the sixth a day off and then the seventh the full day to Dr hess's point and to some others I I agree that a lot of people looked at option two and said wait a minute this was kind of set up to fail rather than to have an honest discussion about October 20th being a day off me personally though I would love to see an option three on how many minutes would we have to add to the day in order to have October 20th off in addition to Veterans Day and then I'd love an option four that says all right but if we had to make a trade-off between Veterans Day and still having yam Kapur rashasana and October 20th off or excuse me the dates uh for this year September 23rd October 2nd and October 20th I prefer that as well I really think that October 20th should be a day off um I like the balance that it adds uh to miss fam's Point um but I I would prefer that there be more than just two options to the extent that my board members agree with me I even wonder if we can get those options up up for surveying between now and and uh another week from now to see what kind of attention we get uh during that window but again I I I'm just expressing a couple other options they may have others or may reject one or the other for the survey but I would just ask for consensus on whether not we want to see those at the next meeting and if we do want to see him a second consensus on do we want those to be posted up for the survey starting today okay okay clarification real quick to the chair so with with um added minutes you said August 11th to December 19th just the first semester or should we add time throughout the entire year add 10 minutes I'll um I'll uh assume that other people are smarter than me about that my suspicion is that once you set a time window for a semester you're going to go for the year I I I absolutely with 100% of my body believe we don't give enough instruction particularly in Elementary School uh for what the need is and so uh this is just one way to get more instruction which is I think overall needed in Brower County Schools so if we get a twofer by adding five or 10 minutes to the school day and we get enough minutes uh to still squeeze this into 84 days in the first semester I view that as as a win-win and I would continue it through the year but I will leave that to your your discretion I think thank you if I can add to um Dr Z to Dr Z's question pum County Schools does have school this year on Veterans Day yes Mrs zon I got you thank you um you know I I'll just make one point I I think Dr holess made it earlier we did ask for options to have the 20th off yeah so it's kind of disappointing that both calendar options didn't have the 20th off and then rearrange it around that way was actually going to suggest the same thing that Dr Zan just did and that was veteran day off although I know that it's negotiated on there so I would say I don't I don't know the legalities of this so we could still the 20th could still be a paid day off I I don't know how that works and the 11th they would come in and I agree to have our students and do things like we do for um Memorial Day and 911 and all of those where they're celebrating it together in school and this is from someone who lives with many veterans so I'm not trying to disregard the day or say it's not a valuable day but I think students would get more out of it if they were in school doing something with the amazing jrc programs that we have do something districtwide um and then allow the 20th to still be a paid day off I don't I don't know what that would look like in a negotiation with BTU um I think the added days I'm going to ask a question to the superintendent if we add time do we then have to add money to what we're paying teachers would that be a cost Factor if we added the I see two heads one shaking yes one shaking no go ahead David So through the chair so right now our high school teachers the high school day is 7 hour day for the kids 7:40 to 240 at my kids school the teachers are still on a 7 and 1 half hour day but their kids are there seven the middle school kids are there 6 hours and 30 minutes but the teachers are still there for 7 and 1 half hours so just adding 10 or 15 minutes to the middle school day the 4x4 block is the issue we not have we don't have to compensate the teachers for being there they're already there for the seven and a half hour days but are they there in promised planning because that I don't want to but the high school teachers are promised a half hour of planning Middle School gets an hour right now and Elementary I believe we get an hour and a half so if we added 10 minutes we'd be taking away from their planning time from the Middle School correct I proba did have a discussion with BTU already and they're they're okay with this it's not we're not adding something to them because if we did that we would honestly be giving them back the early release days we don't have to negotiate those we can but they're they in the contract already so it allows them to have those days back so it gives us a lot of wiggering with what we can do if if I might just a piggy bag uh just appreciate uh turn to page nine the calendar itself the development process is 25 calendars and so we are not just working on one employee group we are looking at every employee group therefore Veterans Day for example if you look at page nine that is a paid holiday for our maintenance workers where they won't be able to open up the school because they have to be off on that day so when we develop the calendar it's never in isolation it is developed based on every employee group the conversation around early release days those days are specific to our teachers the other component when you add minutes you're also adding Transportation time which changes the bell schedule so there's a financial impact when you change the bell schedule because we will need to arrive earlier and all those things so those are things that we do when we go through these six months of developing the calendar and present it today it's important to have all those elements right well which was why I was saying we could still pay for the 20th off I don't know that they would be concerned which day it was as long as they were still getting paid but it would obviously have to be a discussion we had with them um I I think the minutes might be a concern if they those work out better e either way I think both options are good we were very um clear that we wanted to see just how we did when we did the other other calendar change from the day is on the day we were voting it was clear we wanted to work it out I think it's clear today we want to work it out but we also don't want to say to the people who took the survey we didn't care about your opinion because they already feel that way um from changing the calendar this year so it would be it's very clear as it's been stated number times they don't like coming back for early release day being off and then coming back that that set this up for failure 100% um so if there's a way to either ad minutes or have them come on Veterans Day and still pay them for the Veterans Day on October 20th and again I don't know the legalities of that I would like to see an option that looks like that thank you Miss rert thank you a lot of action going on that side of the the day is here um but I wanted to offer a choice one and a half which is basically Al what my two colleagues over there three colleagues were were talking about um I don't think it's it's that we're adverse to doing this but there are ramifications if you take one step one way for me um I want the professionals to do it I know that 25 calendars or however many calendars that you have to work um I'm not really a fan of having veterans days uh not off for kids because I live in the best community inth Florida which is the beautiful City of Coconut Creek and uh we do a wonderful event for that where kids from the elementary schools are at the at the day they're off from school and they give out the cards and hear the stories but for me I just get still talking about it because just having that connection with a kid handing to a veteran and saying thank you um and some of them are really really funny but you know it's the appreciation and they get it they they actually can get the event because they're they're participating in it that that's my one point there I would not be adverse to adding the minutes um that would be something that I could support while still supporting the um option two in some way and to be fair we did ask for a Bonafide choice three that had April I'm sorry October 20th in there who to chair could you repeat what you just said oh I the last part the the modification oh I said that would have um I the the 20th off right that's what we're talking about okay yeah got it um so it would be difficult so to just do it on that day so I would do the 15 minutes if you have to do it over a semester if you have to do it over the full year um just getting it done so thank you thank you Mr rert I also I want to keep Veterans Day as a day off I I don't agree with having school on Veterans Day I do have a question to the superintendent though in regards to the board's previous request to have October 20th off I don't understand how we got to this point when we have two options before us today that not only went through the calendar committee is going through um the surveys with our communities and and it wasn't the will the board even reflect it in either option one or option two Mr Chism sure uh through the chair so option two is the absolute will of the board uh you voted on a calendar option the initial recommendation that was brought to the board was to add a second option that reflected October 20th as a day off so that's the second option that we're presenting today the uniqueness was also shared that we were not exchanging out any additional days so the feedback you're giving today is additional information around minutes and things of that nature that could be incorporated but the will of the board as voted on was to add a second option and we did that and that second option is reflected here today given October 20th as the which is option two okay that was the will of the board thank you for clarifying that um so explain what are our next steps how do we move forward now uh through the chair and Mr superintendent I I just want to Echo the superintendent we really need direction from the board some type of uh uh majority if you will and I say this specifically let's work backwards we need to bring the calendar a board approved calendar option to you in December that timeline in order to develop the additional 25 work calendars so we have a small window but I'm not saying we can't manage the bo recommendation from the board so we do need something like a consensus from you all uh that will help us navigate through it what I heard uh several people say something about minutes there probably will need not just the minutes there needs to be some type of cost analysis that's associated with the minutes because as we add minutes that also impacts transportation uh bail schedules that will have to come back at a later date so this board this calendar will inform next year's bail schedule so once we develop this it will also inform next year's bell schedule so we would need to work with operations to also let you know the financial ca for that because routing will be impacted when you change a schedule we route students and that's how Bell schedules are determined so my takeway is is we really do need from the board what you would want us to do so we can move forward we will take take the lead on those recommendations but it would be very helpful if you all could give us Clarity on what you would like very similar to what we did at the last meeting and that's why we have these two options today do we have time to Workshop this again before go to a board vote we it depend it depends upon what uh you need us to work on and then I think before we leave here today I think that's a fair statement to Workshop it like we did last year uh we had fruitful dialogue we brought it back in December so there's time for us to get some direction from you and go back I don't know about surveying that might make it a little complicated but you all can give us that direction okay M lardy um I want to thank you for the work that you do I think it sometimes probably feels like we're asking you to give us a unicorn so um thank you for for that and what the work that they calendar committee does I know that um all of our volunteers and staff very work very hard on this um when will we I know you just said this but I I think it's important for this to be very clear when will we vote on the 2025 2026 calendar what's the second meeting in December Mrs Elan uh the board meeting will be December 17th thank December 17th and we'll updated uh survey data be shared with us before we vote historic LLY what we would do the final data will be included in the uh recommendation uh recommended option because only one calendar the proposed calendar comes to you not these two options again got it and why are we voting on The 2024 2025 calendar today sure uh well uh as you know we had some up and also uh reserving days for potent for additional uh potential additional storms um for this hurricane season and also so um the phenomenon that we had the past two years here the spring rainstorms that have caused us to shut school down because of severe flood thank you so do we typically vote on the 2024 or on on this year's school calendar and next year's school calendar on the same day no we do not uh brought forth the 2425 calendar because of the emergencies we experienced um recently thank you for clarifying that um I I would and and I don't I think you know we can add a whole wish list of things to our legislative platform but the piece about October August 10th um school not starting before August 10th and at landing on a weekend I don't know if there's something that we could do um legislatively to uh ask it to be like the first Monday or the you know a Monday or weekday um of August as opposed to a specific date in August that's just my opinion since that came up today um I I imagine that we don't know the exact numbers but can we is there an estimation of what impact um adding minutes to the school day would have financially do we even have like a ballpark or is that something that we would need more time to yeah we would need more time um to see how that impacts transportation in any other operational Department got it um I think that you know I am amendable to the idea of Veterans Day having school that day I think that all of the wonderful things that go on at all of our cities would even be a wonderful um would be a great field trip opportunity for our students um I think we could do a lot of Education around that um I am not opposed also not opposed to adding instructional time um if we do do that I would expect it to be the entire year I think it would be very confusing to have additional minutes the first semester and then not uh additional minutes the second semester um but I I am concerned about the financial impact of that as well as how that would impact um child care for our employees and things like that um I think that was all I had thank you Dr Zan thank you so much chair um I just want to be clear about my expectations because this is a great discussion but we're we're putting up ideas because that's what we do in workshops right uh we get together we talk about things we come up with ideas um sometimes the ideas need to be staffed and that makes sense because we don't know the total implications of minutes we don't know um the top 10 districts on whether they have Veterans Day or not I would love to survey that because this is a issue that is important not to nine members of the school board but to the whole Community if 90% of brard County survey uh constituents said no we really want our kids home on Veterans Day it' be hard to over overcome that kind of response if we got a a big enough and a representative sample but I don't want to be pressed to making decisions today when we just came up with two more options and those options could be both staffed and uh surveyed in a way that would make sense to us the calendar effort is a is a lot of work to get things done uh but we have time and I think we need to uh be very clear about you know today what the will of the board is and then get some feedback about that as soon as possible it doesn't even have to be a workshop in my mind you could bring it back as an item as long as there four courses of action and four sets of pros and cons and the survey has been out for a while uh we can debate this at a point where we can actually vote in the end I'd prefer a workshop because this is a better format for that kind of discussion uh but given that we have time uh I would like the board's desires to be respected which is we've come up with some ideas we'd love to hear what the impact of all of those things are what the consequences of of those options would be and then we can make uh a decision going forward I just don't want to be rushed um um because uh because you know there's work to be done in the end I respect that but um I don't value uh good ideas just being ignored because it's going to take us some time to figure out what those consequences are that's normal Staffing and that's what we expect and I look forward to hearing the pros and cons of the other two options dras thank you madam chair so um for me as a board member um what I would like to see is um and I believe many of the board members share the same is that two two options are brought back and all options include October 20th off and that the two options have one having um adding instructional time and the other option having Veterans Day off and that we get community feedback on both options through survey and that we Workshop the item so that's what I would like to see as a board member those two options um being surveyed and coming back to a workshop and both options have been October 20th off okay so how does this you know I I feel like we're kind of Frogger jumping the counter committee and I don't want to disrespect them is there opportunity to go back back to the calendar committee based on this conversation today and then have their thoughts to weigh in and then and we Workshop this again before a board vote yeah so through the chair so we have a November committee meeting and so we can bring back these options to them first get their feedback put all that together um depending on how much time there is after that survey um the community with the new options and bring that back to the December 10th workshop for December 17th board meeting vote okay that works for me my colleagues thank you okay this vion Hess you good with that all right you have your direction thank you so much the last item is rural development School Board policy 8020 go ahead hold on um Mr Chism Mr AO just a second would like to comment yes thank you I know we came up with the two options I would like the two of you and the calendar committee to also be really creative and if you would come back with the third option that you come up with that for October 20th that may work with the calendar so something else that might fit in if you can come up with anything that would be wonderful so we can actually look at what you consider is the best route you've had two other options presented by the board thank you okay thank you the last time is rural development School Board policy 8020 yes we have the team M Paul coming up she'll give her a quick 2 minute and 45 second summary and can go to board discussion good afternoon afterno I hope you can hear me okay I have we can't hear you is the mic on it is on there we go good afternoon board chair board members and Dr heurn we are bringing back policy 8020 to incorporate the the feedback we received from the board and uh I'll introduce Mr Chris aabo uh who spent a lot of time working through some of these uh changes that we have made on the policy so Mr aabo and we're waiting for the presentation to come to the board okay okay good afternoon board members uh Chris arabu director facility plan real estate um at the direction of the board like um Mrs Paul said the policy has been brought back to I think um address some some of the um concerns has been expressed by some parties and hopefully um we've made an attempt to properly address them um pretty much just going to run through some of the slides here um just the quick rationale for the policy which is uh pretty much we added some definitions and um added some new rules um we we will make some minor adjustment because uh you know we spoke to office of General Council so right now the policy the fee schedule attached to the policy exhibit one and two we moved from the policy we're going to reverse and you know have it remain in the in the policy so that's one change that has to happen as we move forward um slide number three just to be consistent I mean I'm sorry slide number five if I'm looking at uh yeah this particular Slide the um just to insist that the committee uh we have a committee who's are consistently been involved and making the recommendations regarding this policy so as you see we provided the uh positions it includes School principles uh to making sure all the stakeholders are participating um so all the changes that you see today the committee timely met and specifically again just to reiterate for the fee schedule the last time we brought it to you we looked at Miami dat County Page County Orange County dvala and then hbor so what is adapted today in the fee schedule was based on Andra Public Schools our fee schedule is in park with those school districts specifically for the changes we made um clearly again the policy um was to address I guess youth organizations and then setting 501c3 organizations um and again just to uh pretty much address some of the concerns that we expressed so on slide number six on page two as you notice we made some minor clear definitions to uh school highlight group just to provide Clarity um came up with a new definition for youth organizations and other organizations including nonprofit and and um organizations and then in kind contribution um again to ensure Clarity and then rule number two added some additional guidelines again to provide uh additional Clarity on page on page number six um and this is just minor on on page number six rule number 582 we just added the word applicable most specifically and I think based on the board's feedback today we are going to potentially because the bulletin a429 was mentioned quite a bit as you know that's the operational document um for the policy so we may have to at the uh we're going to consult with our general counsel again when this is brought back for adoption to maybe delete any reference to the bulletin in the policy just to ensure CU right now the bulletin is an operational document and I think because we had moved the policy I mean I'm sorry the fee schedule to the bulletin so the legal council said you have to show where you're moving the fee schedule too so it was moved into the bulletin but then we're going to move it back to remaining the policy so that so the fee schedule is in the policy um the fee schedule when it's potentially changed comes back to the board so at this point in time feedback from General says it needs to remain in the policy so we're going to move it back so that's what I was saying so any reference to the bulletin we're going to have an additional consultation we may have to strike that word anytime you refer to the bulletin to make sure the bulletin is independent and specifically pertains to operational um of the policy again that's going to be clarification so specifically on on page number s and 8 uh we talk about the again the bulletin was mentioned and this this is to give the superintendent the ability and the flexibility to um have positions to enable any kind of cost due to youth organizations to be able to address those so that's what we did um on page number seven rule number 5B page number eight we also um added language to also say fees due to section 5 uh 501c3 organizations who pretty much are using School facilities on regular school days and after school hours and on school days um it get a discount regarding the rental fees and then again that that um ability is delegated to the superintendent and um we have some of this organization providing proper services and benefits to the school district right so what we're trying to do to say specifically providing a service we're going to look at the value of that service you may not have to pay rent and and operational cost as long as data shows that the cost is equivalent to what you're providing so it's a win-win um to again 100% benefit our students so that's what we did and then in that situation we're going to have to then bring a board item so that the school board goes into a formal agreement with that entity and that's what that rule is saying on page number eight rule number 5D 1- 4 on page number um eight and nine I think this is slide number eight again we added the same thing to 501c3 organizations um um to pretty much say the same thing um on page number 10 rule number six added language which prohibits entities and this is specifically we got this language from um the offices of General Council specifically add languages to prohibits entities that provide before an after school child care or be after school tutorial or summer camps from renting uh Bren public school facilities via the BCPS facility online user database because those entities specifically are supposed to be going through the RFP process so we wanted to delineate the process that's very clean and clear and ensure that those entities follow the timeline okay so again we work with General Council to ensure that it's happening and that's our rule number six on page number 10 on rule number nine um page number 11 we added language I'm sorry I we just pause a second I would like to take public comment oh okay Angel oh yes an Zulu Zulu I believe yes you can speak in the microphone speak in the mic say your name say your name Jason Ortman okay six minutes good afternoon my name is Angel onalo uh representing the city of myar 33029 is a zip code uh the program that we have that uh we're representing today it's uh it's new age Ballers it's a youth basketball program that we started seven years ago uh two fathers got together after many years of being local coaches in the community and we felt uh there was a need to bring a more inclusive program to the community uh one of the biggest epid mics we have nowadays is is our kids just being on electronics you know and we found a need to say you know what none of the kids are growing up the way we we grew up so we you know we brought the program seven years ago started with eight children and uh we are very blessed to say uh to this day after 7even years we've had over 2500 children come to the program uh we host the program at Silver Lakes Elementary uh we are a non-for-profit organization and uh I guess we're here today really just concerning obviously the topics that we're talking about today the fee structure that we were it was it was very shocking to see the fee structure that we were proposed with this last season uh on average our non-for-profits were being charged $25 a day uh the new fee structure uh went up to in our particular circumstance went up to $333 a day over a 1300% increase so it was uh it was quite shocking uh we actually did not have the money to actually pay for the whole season so we can only pay for a partial part part of the season so um we're here today to really just speak to you about you know what possible solutions we have it does have an immediate impact on on our parents if we uh we have a choice we either go to a local uh charter school or we go to a you know local basketball court in the community and try to have the program there this has been our home for seven years you know we I think we're providing a very good service to the kids in the community and Brower County and you know we're we're at the point right now where we we got to make a decision um one of the things we're very concerned with is and I'm sure it's been brought up multiple times is in our particular circumstance that's why maybe it's it could be an option depending on the principal's uh you know uh recognition on that is uh the custodial fee uh we we actually rent the courts it's an outdoor court and we have the program on an outdoor Court there is no lighting uh we provide our own lighting we've made significant investment in in lighting for the courts we have lighting we have our own batteries so we have all that all that stuff that we have to bring out there to actually make the program work um so we don't have that uh the custodians at the school really do not provide any cleanup service um they open the gate we take care of all the cleanup and we we actually close the gates I'm sure they check after they leave but the the custodians are there till 9:00 anyways working inside the school we actually have not seen them outside clean up or do anything as long as we're there uh it's like I said it's been a great facility uh you know the teachers everybody's been very supportive of the program but uh but we're at the point right now where we have to make it a decision and uh you know on the guidance of some of the people we know uh in Brer County Schools they wanted us to come here and speak today but uh it truly has had a you know an enormous impact on fees our other choices to raise the fees on the parents at that point if we do that we calculated the fees we would be competing with local YMCAs that have indoor air conditioning facilities uh that would probably put us you know out you know out of business basically um so you know again we're here just to ask have some consideration uh in reference to the situation that we're in right now uh it's been s years like I said over5 200 kids have come through the program uh and uh when we talk about all-inclusive uh we have children with some disabilities uh they come to us we treat everybody the same we don't this is not a typical competitive league it's really just getting kids to exercise uh you know just be together uh create some friendships and uh and it's and it's really it's really come a long way in a very short time um wanted to ask a question to the board this Partners in kind we're not really too sure how that works and wanted to see if you guys can elaborate a little bit more on that U if you guys can can do that for us um I I we presented four we have four uh presentations here I don't know if I can give you guys you guys can pass them around if you don't mind this is for y all to keep just a little bit of our history our story on the last page on the last page of our presentation shows what we've been paying uh this is just shows you two samples of the two invoices we have and then the one we just paid uh recently for the season so you'll see that like I said it's a pretty drastic increase and uh and will affect the parents if we decide to stay in the facility so um have a little bit of time remaining but uh that's that's pretty much the story and uh appreciate your time today thank you so much thank you next public speaker is Michelle ter followed by Jessica Palo good afternoon thank you so much for allowing me to speak today um my name is Michelle turl and I am the theater director at Cooper City high school and I am a 26-year veteran teacher here in the Broward County Public Schools um and my focus has always been what's best for our students I am here to ask you to please remember to include our Arts students in this policy I wholeheartedly agree that our educational Athletics should be considered School Allied I totally recognize their value for our students but I would argue that educational Performing Arts are equally important to the well-rounded whole education of our students and provide the additional benefit of enhancing our students growth in math and literacy I would ask the board to consider adding educational Pro uh educational Performing Arts to your school Allied group definition to provide a way for our state and National nonprofit profit Arts organizations the ones that assess our students using State and National standards to lease the school facilities the same way the Athletics do currently our schools pay higher fees to participate in events such as District festivals due to the higher rent that the school board of Broward County charges now that we are no longer considered School Allied these District festivals are the only qualifying events for our tiered competitive State and International festivals just as an example our nonprofit Florida State thespian organization has two high school districts and a middle school district in Broward County for just one of those districts to rent a Schoolboard facility to host the district assessment for a single day to qualify those students for the state Festival is $5,000 to provide a 5-hour literacy training for our nonprofit South Florida Cappies critics the rental fee is $1,200 those costs are then necessarily passed on to the schools and the participating students this affects thousands of students across middle schools and high schools all over Broward County ultimately the most important concept I'd like you to take away from my few minutes with you today is that our art students should have the same access to facility rental for their necessary events that our athletes have for their activ activities because these programs are essential to our students educational experience and instrumental in the evaluation and furthering of their literacy education as we prepare them for College and Career Readiness and on a personal note if you know anything about theater this is Tech week for me my show opens the day after tomorrow I have more than 80 students preparing a show for 500 middle schoolers showing up Thursday morning and I left school to be here because this is is really important thank you so much for your time thank you next speaker what good afternoon board superintendent and staff my name is Jessica Palamino as many of you know I wanted to speak on this topic because it is something that um all of the assistants have been um hearing great feedback from and the impact that these changes have had on the schools um for the contracts to rent our spaces recently um South Broward High School had an opportunity to partner with the NFL and Special Olympics to host flag football events at their location on Sunday mornings and because of the rates being increased so um drastically they took their um opportunity to another location um along with these stories that these other individuals have shared we have received countless stories of churches um other organizations trying to rent the facilities that they just feel like they're up in arms because they genuinely want to partner and they want to use the facilities and they want to keep the students where it's convenient to have those activities but because these rates have increased so drastically um it really is pushing them away from being able to do those things so I really want you guys to consider the impact that raising these rates is having on these different organizations and ultimately what's happening for the students that they're not having those same opportunities being presented um because of the challenges that these organizations are facing and at the end of the day that's really what matters is what's what's here and available for our students and making those things happen by moving the boundaries that um that we can so I strongly encourage you to do that thank you Madam chair that concludes our speakers Mrs zon y thank you um thank you for the presentation and for bringing it back because as you know we've spent many hours together for very much the things that were being discussed here um and one of the biggest things was scouting which um just like the basketball just like other things we don't want our students students going to charter schools for these events we want them to stay in our school so that they um have their friends so that they see what the school looks like and they become part of that community and I appreciate all the work that's gone into to changing this I have a couple of questions and um want well let me start with that so first let me ask about theater the theater programs and not NE I know that we built something into here so I think it's important to share it with the public so that they can hear it because theater was also one of the reasons I asked for this to come back um so we've added in here the Youth Organization so can you explain to us where youth organizations would fall in line with if they were renting a facility because they were doing assessments for um for the theater for the Cappies where would they fall in here and what fee assessment would they have to follow so the youths are to the chair through the superintendent the youth organizations and as you know the bulletin at this point in time was attached um again the goal is to detach it and then working with General Council maybe move some of the language so if you look at the bulletin on page 7 of 22 the policy has two categories of Partners and education so Pi one for an acronym is going to be the Youth Organization so in the bulletin again this language if we talk to General councel we need to move the language the youth organizations will only pay $300 per year to utilize our facility flat um then the pi must provide an in kind value that equates or exceeds 50% of the cost to our students to participate in that program at least 50% and then um the petty policy the superintendent I mean I'm sorry the cost I mean the principal determines the need for custodial the um SIU determine the need for security there's consumables which is you know paper towel you know soap um then what the bulletin is saying again we may move this is saying if the superintendent has the you know ability so remember they only paying $300 flat for everything then if custodial is needed security is needed as determined by SIU maybe in consultation the super has the ability to then maybe potentially wear those fees so that's what the bulletin says and again we may have to move that language so it's going to be Pi one Partners in education and who who would be eligible for the pi one level youth organizations such as the theater the Bas the basketball program that came up scouting um explorers I'm trying to be inclusive here so you're correct yes okay because I I read this I worked with you on it but it's not obviously very clear and reading it so how are we going to get this information out to our the people who they have left because it was too expensive how are we going to be able to reach out to people to understand what the change ches in this policy now help them to provide the services at our schools we'll look at the list of people that we've done business with or that have been in our schools in the past and we'll send them some communication to let them know maybe attached a bulletin to them with a just a one pager on this is how you work with us on renting our facilities or something to that nature to make sure that it's in plain speak perfect because it's not and you know I will just say as a board I know that we passed this recently but when you look at the fee schedule it doesn't look that bad until you get a piece of paper like this and you realize that there's all these other things and there's pieces to it which I was just saying to you and there's it's actually in the policy here so if you'll go to page so I I think initially um and I've been working in facility rental or with facility rental for a long time initially it's viewed as a one-time kind of use thing but people that have relationships with the district that have programs within the district that use it over a series of years and that sort of thing uh you know we have to work with them and accommodate them and probably uh in changing the policy since it hadn't been changed in so many years the most important part is communicating with our our partners over time time and to give time to let that policy uh develop uh when we presented and I think this started uh obviously before I got here when we started the policy we looked at other school districts and we went from zero to 100 uh and so uh I appreciate the comments that the board members have made and the community has made to us uh so that we can have a lasting relationship with these different organizations thank you and and it's important for the community to know we want to partner with you we want to do these things we're a community We're In It Together as our our theme is right we're one Broward so we're not trying I don't know any of us understood what the unint I'll call them unintended consequences were so I really appreciate it coming back that we can have that discussion so on page eight of the policy uh under d nonprofit corporation number two here's where I think some things are happening for example we were just having the discussion before this it says during after school hours or on non-school days a nonprofit corporate Corporation shall also pay rental fees custodial costs and it says if applicable but because it says shall I think the problem is is that people at the school and I I'm going to tell you this because I worked with South Brower to figure out how to get that Special Olympics program there they in theatron it doesn't give them an option of not being able to charge security or custodia or any of those things if there is a way they don't understand it and so not only do we need to work with the community I think someone did try to I think Eric tried to work with South Broward on that but there are pieces that are embedded that make it difficult to say well it's it's after school it's outside we don't need a custodian like the principal doesn't understand that I know you told me it's up to them well it's in the you know an example I gave you uh uh definitely not to throw anybody under the bus but the principal wanted uh Security in there and there's a lot of back and forth uh within the notes of facilitron where the principal stated that they needed security and so so we have also the option of communicating with the organization as well as the school principal to try to uh negotiate some of these things you know and so this policy what we're bringing before you gives us a lot to me in my opinion more flexibility uh to to work with the schools as well as the organizations and then also uh in there it gives the superintendent discretion uh as opposed to having to bring the whole policy back to the board to make a change superintendent has some discretion uh to alleviate some of that uh confusion from the past perfect and on page nine I know I already said this to you but I'm just going to ask again on where it says however at the top of the page however the organization must enter into a formal agreement with the school board to memorialize that provision could we please add in there that they the organization must work with excuse me work with the facility planning and real estate department to and then you can finish the sentence um so the organization must work with the facilities planning and real estate department to enter into a formal agreement because it's not clear in there where they have to go to get to that agreement um okay and I think it's important to spell out what department because we do that in other policies so again I will say thank you so much for bringing it back I know it was just here but it's important that we um realize their un intended consequences make this flexible make the community understand we want to work with you um we want to do what's right for our students so if you're a Youth Organization just to end it you have to become a a partner in education right and then you can be a level one partner in education and it would be $300 a year to rent the facility and then whatever incidentals happen to come along with that so I just want to say publicly you'll have to ask somebody for more details but um let me just clarify something staff has really uh uh uh doing in and working clearly with the director strategic partner um Mr Eric so we have like I said we have a flowchart we have a certificate which we are the only School District in Florida second School District in Florida that has a certificate so we issue a certificate really nice design we worked with his office so that certificate is um issued it goes through the flowchart the principle is in communication with the entity to determine the value then once that certificate is issued Mr chism's office does the certificate then it's uploaded as part of the rental so there's there's additional processes in the back and that was in discussion about how to become Partners in education so yes Mr Chism is is thank you for all of your work we've been spending the last couple months doing this so I appreciate all of it I think it's important we communicated to the people who need the information in a way that they can understand it because um it wasn't as easy and that the bulletin has a lot of information in it so um thank you again very much Dr Z thank you so much chair I won't go at length about this but it is very important that the public be able to read our policies uh this one again is not one the public can read and understand um it's wonderful at the beginning we give examples of some kind of classifications then we go to another classification we give no examples um examples really help uh the community understand it I get a lot of feedback from people that when they think about doing something with a school district and someone throws a policy at them they roll up and call a church or a Civic building in order to get it done because things are easier I also want to check with our general counsel about something I like a huge advocate of short policies that are appropriate for the statutory authorities of the board and long series of procedures and processes that are defined by our CEO who we hired to run a $6 billion organization and I'd like to give him authorities to make changes about whether it's uh $16 or $14.73 cents or any other kinds of you know CEO level decision and as a representative of the community I like to say we'd like to have nonprofit versus for-profit we'd like to have um our facilities which are paid for by the public to be generally available to the public those are good policies in my mind and I think this policy should be about two pages and then there should be 50 pages of practices and forms and things to fill out am am I uh misguided in that uh from a legal perspective or or could you explain to me why these this administrative document needs to be baked into the policy the shair thank you so the any policy is uh is a statement of General applicability so any statement or any rule that applies to the public at large a group large large group of people would have to be in policy um the procedures that are attending to that policy do not have to be part of the policy they can definitely be just uh you know procedural um procedural manuals or some other type of document um and those do not have to come to the board this policy has a very interesting history which I think I've shared with one more member before but this was a very short um policy at one point back in 1998 um at that time we the district we were sued by the uh the Boy Scouts and it was at a time when the district said you know we don't want the Boy Scouts in our facilities and because of that uh there was a lawsuit they prevailed and so the the scheme that you see or that you saw in the previous policy to this one was created as a result of that lawsuit and and the board at that point said well you know we would like to open the facilities to to everyone however there has to be some you know groupings um and that's where that idea came from terrific but the detail that's in this um appendix document could it be remain as a separate document under the superintendent perview rather than be part of the policy yes which part the the a 429 business practice bulletin ISP which it is separate it will be separate and it will remain separate it will remain separate the only thing that's been included uh back into the policy is the fee schedule uh I'm sorry does the fee schedule have to be picked in the policy yes well can you tell me why because those are those are the fees that would be applicable to to the community and I believe the that fee schedu was the result of some Comm committee meetings or there was a process in other words the that there was a process to establish the fee schedule but based on the the uh feedback we received from uh Mr uh Viola um it was according to statute that it had to be in the policy the bulletin on the other hand does not so we we are separating the bullet the or the bulletin will be separate from the policy I look forward to more conversations about this because um it it allows us to write things that are in plain English so the community can understand in short documents that represents what a school board might think is important about something about General applicability without getting into whether it's $17 or $16 and I think the superintendent is hired to make decisions like that not us um and he could rearrange it every year have escalations or or whatever you'd like to do I also want to point out and I think Mr kabuso you the person who negotiates our uh graduation ceremonies is that correct work in tandem with the with the director of Athletics and that's true activities I'm sorry that's an interesting point but I just want to get to the question because I think you know the answer when we negotiate with hard rock or Nova for using graduation do they give us a discount no thank you so it's okay to charge fees it's okay to collect uh from organizations uh that make sense I uh love the fact that the superintendent can wave fees for appropriate organizations again he's the CEO of very large corporation um and and I think that's great but I I also think it's great that we charge you know fair and reasonable things and have categories it's just difficult when uh the Ballers come in here and talk about a 13-fold increase in fees and so I hope that we can learn more about that between now I will Advocate very strongly for educational performance organizations to be included like athletic ones um under this school allies group definition I think that that also makes great sense and I would hope that you could avoid coming back to the school board uh and this is maybe a good question for our general again could we create a general agreement rather than have all these be specific and come back to the school board for example if we said look we need 14 things from anybody that comes and use our facilities if you sign this document that have these 14 things in there uh you're good to go with us and we approve it one time rather than every instance across 239 campuses that we need another item that we will not look at trust me and we'll just say great you know move on it'll be consent of consent I mean uh I would much rather if it's possible to create a single document that that outlines what we need from anybody using a facility and approve it once and let it last for three or four years rather than you know have a hundred of these things come before the school board Miss fista so many of the items that come to the school board um are coming here because the board has not delegated its authority to have for example the superintendent approve certain items there we go and and um there may be in in the agreements uh Provisions like for indemnification or waiver of jury trial which no one has the ability to do except for the school board body corporate and that's why they continue to come to the school board but I wonder if we couldn't uh identify those uh binding things that we got to have and then delegate the rest to the superintendent yes or you could just delegate those to the superintendent as well anything to shorten school board meetings is a uh a good thing but um I know that this is challenging to put together I do really believe though that the public needs to be able to read this and understand it um it still isn't quite polished enough uh to meet that standard uh I hope if there's some time that could be pressed into it to kind of improve the readability um that would be wonderful thank you very much thank you Miss Fam thank you madam shair um I concur that I am supporting adding the arts program as an educational Performing Arts to the school Allied group and I think any other school functions we have whether it be athletic or for the Arts or uh for something else that we they should also automatically be included in that group that should be all inclusive um in addition I was just wondering if staff could provide me with some data as to what we're looking at with some of these groups leaving these schools are these Title One schools where are these schools located um how many are we looking looking at uh relocating is it 50% 100% what are we looking at here so we can properly assess the situation to know um where should we should be going with this we might have to move in One Direction or the other but we need the data to to fully understand what programs are at we risk of losing we have some people in here today they pointed out two programs so have you done any kind of graph or study or or any kind of data from what we're looking at we understand what programs if I may we understand what programs are currently in our school district the reason we're bringing this policy back the way it is so that we will not lose those groups such as the basketball group and so forth uh to continue to stay in our schools so we do have information on who rents our buildings uh the intent again is to once the board approves this policy to communicate with all of the groups that have been in our school district District uh and especially those that have left to see if we can get them back here and then also to make sure that the ones that are currently here understand what the current or what the new policy really means so we need to be able to break that down for them through the chair I I'd like to have that data now before they do leave I don't want to vote for something pass it and then we lose 50% of our after school programs I think that would be a travesty so I'd like to have that data know now to understand you said some have already left we have no idea what that percentage is we know that there's others on the table that are are already looking to leave so I'd like to see the big picture thank you Miss fam um we don't have that data at our fingertips right now but we can Pro certainly provide it to the board as an as an update uh but whatever you can contribute as far as feedback um to the group to continue to update a policy and we can we can get a lot of that information from through our vendor facilitron so so uh we can provide that uh to you that would be very enlightening thank you okay thank you so much for bringing this policy forward I would like to give a a shout out to miss Jack Adams When Miss Batista wasn't here over the summer I know she was working diligently to get these contracts through for our summer programs for you know it's our it's our students that are benefiting from these programs and and so I great appreciate all our energies and hard work that went to making uh the contracts happen um I would just say that uh we do need to make it economical for these nonprofit organizations to be able to provide these services for our students in our schools and then I would ask that if we can do this in a more timely manner before the summer so that all the contracts are are signed and in place and that we work diligently with our nonprofit organizations or groups that are using our schools so that it's they're executed and finished way before they're going to need to be in our schools Dr yes absolutely um we'll provide uh as Miss Paul has talked about really getting out and communicating so folks understand how to utilize our facilities and the fee schedule and I'm trying to do that early as possible to get commitments before way before summer starts okay are you do you have your direction absolutely all right thank you so at this time do any of my colleagues have anything to bring to the board or student successors to share Mrs Hixon thank you uh two things one a big shout out to everyone who participated in the magnet Expo last night it was um I'd say standing room only but it was standing anyway but it was wall toall people um the students did a great job in explaining their programs the teachers that were there the principals the aps the staff District staff from here so um great way to get exposure about the magnet programs and all the amazing things that happen in our district so thank you for a great event last night and second I just want to remind everyone since we're in the second day of early voting that there is an Amendment on the ballot and you can go to browardschools.com superintendent did a great little video on explaining it so we hope that you will go there because we get a lot of questions on that so I would hope that people would go check it out to see what the mem and is about thank you Miss leonardy yes thank you um I wanted to thank um our staff our superintendent and uh the Florida Panthers specifically Stanley the pan uh for a wonderful time at Northside Elementary yesterday Dr heurn read Piper Chen sings to um some students and he did an excellent job the kids were very excited they were very excited to see Stanley the panther north side is just such a wonderful Community um so I was very grateful to be able to participate in that and um looking forward to read for the record on Thursday um and he had one thing that I wanted to um bring up as I've been visiting schools um you know a common theme for some of the schools in District 3 are uh parent participation in focus and um maybe lack of access to technology lack of trust with technology and so the schools are doing a lot to try to bridge those those technology gaps and some of that is you know printing report cards and um documents that they would normally find in focus and I'm wondering ing um what the district can do to help provide more resources to those schools that do have very low participation uh in terms of parent participation and focus um because of things that we really don't have control over Dr H thank you absolutely we'll work with those schools um just to find out what their unique needs are um I've seen it done several ways in past two school districts where um I'm thinking this is probably more of Elementary issue then a secondary issue um where you have specific parent nights and have them literally pull out their phones or just to get the app on their phone U cuz no matter the level of poverty everybody has a a cell phone so it's just simply bringing them in and having them download the app and somebody's on a um projector or prometheum board showing them how to go through and how to stay up to date with all the information and then you also have that hybrid model where you're still providing that paper based report card or progress report while we helping them work through that so we work with the schools to find out what their unique needs are cuz I know it's going to be different per school so we'll work with them thank you and I will just say you know one school comes to mind where they have you know a large population of undocumented students um where the the families don't necessarily feel comfortable engaging in that way um so just making sure that that school you know those kinds of schools have the resources they need to be able to properly communicate with their parents we'll follow up to find out what specific school and we I've been in those situ situations before where we found an organization in the community that those families do work with um and we can work with that organization to provide the information and the pass through so I'll find out from school is Dr Zan thanks so much chair just um 30 seconds for now and I'll come back uh with a handful of minutes um but I attended the Council of great City Schools conference in Dallas this past week um I'm going to Advocate next year for all of us going it was an unbelievable uh 7:30 in the morning till 10:00 at night experience packed with real education that's designed for Schoolboard members so there were issues uh covered everything from budgets to equity to uh closing schools to reopening schools to all the challenges that the districts um are facing um and I I just went to bed every night one exhausted but two full of new information new ideas uh things like uh big city schools that don't have to pay for high school kids to take buses because they cooperate with cities and they pay the cities to open up new bus lines and that creates a much better Network so there's a lot of great stuff that happened uh there next year's the conference is in Philadelphia mid October again uh but I'll come back and give just a handful of some of the specific things that uh pertained to Broward it was very powerful to be there with the superintendent with the deputy superintendent with a whole host of other people from Broward and I'll tell you including Mr Sullivan thank you um although I didn't see you present in a conference and I'll tell you one of the things that really blew me away was beta hudge Angela Fulton Simone other people there engaging with people many people talking in sessions about things that we do in Broward and hundreds of people flocking there were 1300 people at this conference hundreds of people flocking in because they were from Broward and the reputation of Broward is still very strong they wanted to hear from our experts Jody Washington uh did three sessions while she was there and just blew the room away uh with the information she brought from Broward so great conference uh no bad news at all from it uh except you know it's only three three and a half days uh you could have stayed there a whole week and even learned more stuff but uh Council of great City Schools uh next October up in Philadelphia I hope we can go as a group thank you for sharing Dr Zan M Hixon thank you I forgot to add something um I'd just like to ask the superintendent if it's possible for the cell phone um policy surve that's going out I know that Landon's doing a good job of getting it out through sgaa but is it possible to put it on can canvas so that more students would have access to it and apparently there's an issue with the link so if we might just check and make sure the link the link is okay goe go ahead the chair and the superintendent lanet spelberg student adviser to the school board uh that survey will be going out tomorrow via canvas and we'll be open until sorry I'm not going to give the specifics there will be a deadline on there um and all students six through 12 will have access to it via canvas Tomorrow there's no current link issue that I'm aware of because there's no survey currently okay thank you very much all right thank you the scheduled order of business for this special Miss rert I wanted to Circle back from last meeting when we were discussing uh safety um for our community I know that we were going to schedule a um a workshop for that I'm not a workshop a closed door for that and I'm not sure today or not but um some of the questions um are allowed to be asked and answered in public and some are not so um I feel as a taxpayer and an employee and a Schoolboard member that we should discuss the things that we have to John Hancock before that that go button gets sent to um to the state so I don't know how my colleagues want to deal with that um but I personally um have some things to ask and I believe people we need to um you know ready some things up and we're doing a good job but yet we have a lot to to work on so I I throw it back to the chair as to her preference but I think part of the questions that I asked publicly last week could be discussed in answers today before going into that room so that's my I don't know if it's attorney if it's the thank you Miss rert so I would say this um we do have a closed door on Safety and Security today I don't know what the comments you have um but I would would want them to be vetted out by the superintendent Miss Batista that they are allowable things to be spoken about in public and then I would suggest for you to bring a BB item to go through the superintendent to discuss whatever it is that you have okay at the next school board meeting okay any other comments just just one other I mean it's a slightly different idea for Miss rer too but if some of those questions could be handled directly with the the chief of security and then um distill that conversation into what's public and what's has to be done in closed door it might be a much more effective way to kind of get those critical issues some of which are just resolved because you know you ask questions and they say oh yeah we're we got that and here it is and you go okay good and then the remaining ones come back to the board either public or private would be a way of uh of of focusing us on the things that matter the most okay and and Madam um through the chair uh Madame general counsel if we're in the closed door and it's apparent that there are things that could be publicly then do that b item doubleb item whatever you want to say Miss Batista that that's correct so the only things that will be discussed at the closed door would be issues that um would be a safety concern if they were to be discussed um in the public okay well guess I guess we'll try it this way it's new for me uh I certainly um push it right to the Limit because I'm that kind of board member and uh I certainly know that the state is watching us and um that this has sat for a little bit um just doesn't lay very well with me but I look forward to hearing from staff and my colleagues in closed door to see what what I can actually to share with the team it being that I couldn't have everything printed out and brought with me for you guys because that would not be following such Dr yes I so I just want to I guess get consensus on um how we move forward today we have a schedule closed door are we saying that we want to reschedule that closed door have staff talk with the board members individually and then and with Miss batia to find out what's closed door and what's not and no I don't think that's what we're saying we're to clar we have a closed door whatever information is appropriate to be in that closed door will be brought forward in the closed door and then if Miss uh Rupert has an additional safety information that can be publicly brought forward in a meeting she will do so in a BB item okay all right and any other comments questions concerns the scheduled order of business for the school board workshop with the the school board of Brier County Florida has been completed seeing no obligation I now during the meeting e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e this special school board meeting of the school board of brow County Florida is now called to order please identify the exit doors they cly marked for emergency exiting while in the boardroom refrain from obstructing the exit doors all attendees must occupy seat with the exception of media once the boardroom has reached its seating capacities attendees will be directed to a designated overflow area upon activation of the fire alarm system please exit from the room in an orderly fashion and continue to exit the building and remain outside until the authority that has jurisdiction has deemed this building safe to return our primary focus is to create a safe and productive environment for all of our participants all please rise for the pledge allegiance of the flag of the United States of America alance to the flag of the United States of America and to the for it stands one nation under God indivisible as we prepared to begin our special school board meeting we reminded that our vision is 100% proficiency for all of our students as an a-rated School District we will continue educating all students to reach their Highest Potential believe Empower achieve one Broward is our theme this year today's special school board meeting will operate in accordance with school board policy 1020 and the board will review the items as advertised and presented by the superintendent the superintendent released a revised agenda with certain changes for this meeting and published it on the school district's website the chair finds pursuant to section 120.5 25 Florida Statutes that good cause exists for such changes and accepts the revised agenda we have a motion and second to close the agenda move move by Zan second by Hixon all in favor of closing the agenda let it be known by saying I I those opposed say no the agenda is now closed the first item business on the agenda is item one a motion to approve the proposed changes to the 2024 2025 school calendar May I have a motion and second on item number one so move move by Zan second by Hixon is moved in the second to approve item number one is there any public comment no public comment board member comment Miss lardy um since we we the superintendent mentioned this earlier um what happens if we have more 1,000 year floods in the second semester as we have for the last two years I believe so do we have additional instructional time thank you so I'll let Mr um as AO kind of explain the details uh but the some of the shifts in the start of the quarter um helps us maintain a couple additional days that we can utilize for storms got it thank you chair good afternoon David Azo Chief people officer the by Shifting the beginning of the fourth quarter from March 14th up to I'm sorry to from April 1st up to March 14th me open up my object here we're adding four days to the fourth quarter so it would go for 44 days to 48 days so if there are days missed in April or May due to floods we can account for those days thank you um my Dr Sean thanks so much chair just a couple questions um first why are we shooting for the state minimum number of hours instead of a full 180 days of instructional time thank churn this traditional uh calendar development um fol adheres to the instructional hours and also the number of days for the state terrific um I just want to point out that um there's another standard which is we have 180 days of instruction in the hours that are in there um and that could be something that we think a little bit about um I I've never really enjoyed shooting for minimum standards I think um we want educate everybody in Broward County to the extent that we can and to the extent that we have the facilities and the instructional staff my preference would be to go for the planned number of hours of instruction rather than shoot just for State minimums second question um and this is parallels what we talked about for the 25 26 uh year when we're talking about an extra day off in the first semester um if we had to increase elementary schools middle schools and high schools separately um certain number of minutes per day to get to the state standard either minimum or planned how much time would we have to act to those three groups of schools Dr just to clarify for this calendar year to address our our need to make a b I'm sorry I apologize for for this particular item for this year Mr AO so we calculated middle school because those are the ones that are deficient in the number of instructional minutes so if we wanted to or clarification so trying to still end the second n weeks before the winter break okay so if we needed to add that so Mr tro can help me out with this who back here as our counselor yeah so what I did is I asked him so if we wanted to add 10 minutes to each Middle School day right now what would we need to do we would we would need 96 days to re to get back the 120 Minutes needed per class all four classes of core if we wanted to um and then I asked him for the 15 days in between Thanksgiving and the winter break how many minutes would we need to add to each Middle School day and it was 64 minutes to the actual day so over an hour to each that was just Middle School that we worked on and and just to continue on this we're only deficient in Middle Schools right so that's a relevant uh uh category to look at correct we're only deficient in uh AB block middle schools so we meet FTE um regulation time which is um in all in all levels Elementary middle and high but for credit hours in order to issue high school credit hours half credits um at the middle school or High School level because middle school students are taking High School classes you need a minimum of 60 hours per semester so with the 3 days that we lost due to uh weather and hurricanes uh we're at 58 hours so for first semester so that means we need two hours per class in order to meet the 60h hour requirement minimum so even if you added let's say 10 minutes a day to um to each Middle School in order for them to meet the requirements that's really only um 1.25 minutes per class per day so you need to times 1.25 times the two hours we need um and then you how you get to 94 days and I get it so that seems insane but during M Dr Daman Mr tro if you can um introduce yourself and your title um for the record please thank you sure I'm Dan tro and I'm School counseling specialist in the school counseling department terrific it sounds like you're the king of school minutes right now yeah I know minutes defined title maybe just the prince since uh we have the king already right next to you um I'm curious about the 15-day option you said as an alternative answer if we did it for 15 days it would be roughly an hour if we did it for uh oh between Thanksgiving and winter break if we added minutes or I'm not I'm just pring David ASO he said if we increased roughly an hour for the break between Thanksgiving and winter holidays that would make up enough minutes to meet the Middle School AB block requirements for those that want high school credits yeah you would need to add 64 minutes each day in order to meet that time requirement because again it's uh 64 minutes a day divided by four classes um actually it's divided by eight and then that's how many minutes you would have per class and you need to get up to two hours and that would satisfy the deficiency that we have which is middle schools and it would do it between Thanksgiving and winter holidays but it would cost us a whole other hour of time uh in school for the middle schools those could be before school or after school hours right we could start an hour yeah it doesn't matter when it doesn't matter it is how many days of school would that be from Thanksgiving to the winter holay is that 3 weeks or four weeks oh that's only 15 days so one option is we take it in The Shins for three weeks we adjust stay an hour late or come an hour early and we can make up that one uh deficiency right um I appreciate that part of my point in asking these questions on the earlier item in the workshop and in this and this is that in general I think it's better for this board to consume more options than less options um and and some of these might not be what we normally do uh but they are things that other districts do and um to the extent that we can learn from other districts and see some of the agility that they have it at least opens up a little bit more of a of a calend excuse me a a menu of things that we might look at and and decide where to go but I appreciate that I think the only viable one is not the 10 minutes for 94 days uh but rather U and actually that doesn't meet the standard right because the standards are by semester uh the standards are by uh so the credit standards are by semester so it would be a 60 credit we're fine with second half of the year because the second half of the year is a lot longer than the first half of the Year sure um and but of course depending upon that we assuming we don't have any other inclement whether it is um so but so we just need which is why the the option was to move first semester into second semester a little bit because we have so many extra days there so if you just change the number of days there's not you wouldn't have to make up extra hours in order to meet that 60h hour minimum first semester it's certainly least disruptive it also doesn't solve our problem though 94 days isn't left in the first semester so that's really not a feasible solution to do 10 minutes a day for 94 days we we run out of first semester days so the only feasible one is the hour roughly for the 15 days between uh Thanksgiving winter break which would be disruptive but only disruptive for 3 weeks yeah would be that or move for a semester thank you very much any other board member comments um my only comment is I just like to know how this is now going to be communicated to the schools Dr E yes um once the board gives approval we'll be doing a full court press and getting that information out to families uh School staff students um and the like so we're just waiting on approval to move forward LA and the labor groups we've already U Been In preliminary discussions to move forward with this from them so okay and then Dr Z to your points I appreciate you trying to think creatively and outside the box I just don't know what the financial consequences and does this also have to be negotiated what are the other you know things that that come with that yeah I I chose not to make a motion because that um didn't seem to be preferable to the staff's first recommendation all in favor of item number one say I I those opposed say no um Mr Al no Al Mr fogan hly no sh okay item passes with two desending votes alustin fog and holy voting no 62 passes please make it sure it's correct in the record may have a motion second on item number two so moved by Leonardi second by Zan public comment board member comment Dr holness um thank you Madame chair so um basically I do appreciate the what's presented here as the benefit for in chess um and there seems to be a significant benefit as pertaining to student uh learning outcome and benefits to student um the concern that I have though is with the data um and I did notice that at least the top 50 schools showing uh clicks on this particular um software seems to be um schools that are not necessarily having significant um challenges with um performance I noticed that the schools that are at the bottom in terms of students accessing this software um are generally the schools that are that have challenges with performance have challenges with resources and so on and so forth and I'll give you an example example um if you look at the if you look at the the chart and I'm going to just try to see where where it is but if you look at the performance as far as students accessing this information or this software it shows for example um I'm just trying to see where the chart is that shows oh here we go okay so for for example Falen Cove it shows login um 1,547 um Indian rage 1,195 but if you scroll all the way to the bottom the schools that popped up at the bottom interestingly or majority of these schools that are under the uh transformation office the schools that have real challenges and so on such as Endeavor um which uh have done extremely well now but Endeavor had 49 logins Sunland Park 70 third Good Marshall 104 North Fork 160 and it goes on and on MLK and these happen to be majority of my schools so um and then when you look at the schools where the students are actually accessing this uh these are schools like Falcon Cove Indian Ridge the quester trace with over a thousand logins so um this is quite an expensive software that we're using and I I want to support it but Dr heurn uh what I want to know is since the data shows that this many schools that could benefit from this the students are not logging in uh what action plan is in place for greater student usage or awareness of this to the schools that are that appear to need it and could benefit from this as well but the students are not utilized in this so how can we is there an action plan and if there isn't can we put one in place to increase the usage of this if we're going to agree to purchase this so um the schools that could really benefit that they're using this as well yes thank you Dr holess U great question actually um I think this was probably a September meeting pulled this item um for the same concern that you're um detailing today just to make sure um that since it's available to all students in all schools that there is a clear plan of action of how we're going to um amplify the results that we see at some of the schools at all of our schools and also the usage at all of our schools so I'll uh turn this over to miss Krick um and um Dr Wilson and their teams to go over that plan is the button just make sure it's screen yep it is thank you thank you Dr heurn uh so this is an elective uh it is an elective at four Middle School right now it is implemented in second grade classrooms um and because it's an elective it is school choice to choose the to choose the program um uh as an elective or special but in addition to that it is being used in as a club or as individual use across the entire District so 42% of our students are using chess right now so the the the um spikes you're seeing are at those schools that use it as an elective so that's why they have higher numbers however at the um Midway point of last year we did start working with Elementary learning to uh utilize their the math content that we're creating with chess for life and the elementary learning staff so chess will be embedded in all of the ma in math in the K through five grades and then this year upon um approval of this item uh we will do the same in the middle schools through the math courses so we're working very closely with Elementary and we'll start with secondary learning this year to be able to embed chess in math coursework uh and instruction throughout the year so that will uh ideally increase the number of of hits in the platform and the use of Chess and increase our students at our tournaments last year we had two tournaments uh this year we've will be moving moving up to three tournaments because of the interest from the student population um but primarily through that math embedding uh we expect to see a significant increase in use across all schools okay uh Dr heurn um while I appreciate that answer uh I don't think that answer answers the question of how do we increase usage to the particular schools that have challenges with resources and so on and so forth um the answer to the question seems to be more generalized in terms of having more exposure to middle school and so on but the concern I have is looking at the data the data shows Middle School elementary school it shows all of them and what the data shows is that some Middle Schools elementary schools the students are logging in significantly more than the school schools that are in for example under the transformation office those schools are traditionally having challenges of many different degrees how do we get those students to start to use this software and what kind of action plan Dr heurn can we put in place so for me a generalized answer on expanding to more middle schools or providing an opportunities in specific it doesn't answer the question of what's seemingly a disparity that exist in the students accessing the software and I think if we're going to have this then we need to have some sort of a research done as to why these other schools that are uh in specific communities are not accessing this and how can we increase those numbers it's a very basic you know initiative yep so um Miss Krick if you can go over the details of some of the Outreach um that was in your your plan certainly thank you Dr heer and through the chair uh so we will be utilizing virtual trainings upon so at the beginning of the school year we will be reaching out to all uh School administrators and staff to provide opportunity for chess training um we will be doing that uh by anually in addition to that we provide 24-hour access around support we will be providing uh zoom and team trainings available School visits in person with modeling uh so we will reach out to the schools that do have the lower um end of uh utilization of chess for life and uh as we do with debate it's reaching out to each individual school and asking them about how we can best implement the program based on their scheduling uh conditions and challenges so we do the same thing with our debate program because different schools have different uh scheduling challenges and working with them to best uh uh provide chess for Life as a um resource uh in their school day based on are they a are they a 4x4 are they Rotator so utilizing that information and supporting them um providing uh modeling in their classrooms um incentives to encourage consistent participation we will be having weekly online live online sessions from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. um we're also working with student assessment and research on the data and being able to determine the um Roi on the embedding through math as well because we want to make sure that we are realizing the benefit of the implementation Through Math coursework um I'm not sure if that answers all of your question or part part of your question okay um well thank you for your respon Dr he what I would like to see is um based upon this data that we have in front of us um can and this can be a staff followup can we have information on based on school letter grade uh which schools are utiliz in chess for Life currently and can there can you have an action plan in place Place uh and present to us at a later date how to bring further utilization of the schools because my suspicion is the schools that are low performing are not utilizing this software and that's a problem and if we're saying it's accessible to all and it's very beneficial and it result in significant learning outcome but the schools um that most would need it or not using it then I think there should be an action plan in place and i' would also like to have have data uh based upon School letter grades which schools are using the chess for Life uh with let great being a factor in in in comparing right thank you Dr Zan thanks very much um as an avid chess player I'll tell you that um a lot of introduction to chess is is is based on what you've seen at home and in your in your in your surroundings and for people people that are not their parents aren't chess players or their Community aren't chess players they need that extra investment to get that first introduction in the school and then once they see it for for a lot of kids you know U uh it's something that they pick up on and they play it's obviously has big impact um I love this contract I love this program I love the way that it's a mixture of of software and human beings that go into the schools and make it because it's too easy to buy software and just me register logins that's not that's not really how we do things effectively so I appreciate uh all the work that's been done on it I will point out however though that we missed uh like a really amazing opportunity to demonstrate Roi here which it would have been really cool to look at uh people who don't use chess for life and people that do and see if in fact they were exceeding their Baseline expectations on Fast tests so now that we have a single student information system we can start to use student ID number and say okay give me the student ID num is everyone that did it compare it to everybody else to the average or to those that didn't use it and come up and say wow on math scores you know kids that use this were 27% higher on fourth grade you know math fast test that that's now all available and I think the public knows it's available because they ask me questions like that now all the time and I'm like no we didn't do that you know we made a table of kind of how many logins and you know where we used it and things like that um uh so I hope that when we run this for another year uh we think about doing actual very connected to mental health very connected to um academic particularly on the math side you know playing chess allows you to think critically better allows you to strategize allows you to think way ahead allows you to do pattern recognition um and all kinds of wonderful things and socially it allows you uh to move forward and find other people on the same level uh so that you can uh uh play the games in the in the future so for $160,000 a year I think this is tremendous I have one question though is this available 24 7365 Dr T M C yes so unlike Accelerated Reader which is still only available during school hours uh we we have this um that's really important to me every time we restrict use to the software we pay for we're missing out on 14 or 15 hours a day of potential use and we're telling parents we don't trust them to do the right thing and those are two messages I don't like to do if we pay for something i' like to have it open 24/7 for anyone that wants to use it and for parents we trust them to do homework we trust them to do a million things for their kids I want to move into a world where we trust them not to cheat for their students as well because 98 or 99% of the time that's the fact I don't know very many parents are going to read a whole book just to take an AR test for their kid to get three points and a and a supersized lollipop at the end of the year um we need to get full value out of what we pay for and that's 247365 in my book so thank you for doing this thanks for bring bring this back one other shout out for our suit by the way I heard through your staff sir not through you that you really wire brushed this contract to make sure we got great value thank you uh for doing that I appreciate it I know you guys might not have enjoyed all that uh but it's important for us to spend our money wisely uh we only get a little bit and we got to spend it well thank you thank you so this is uh the chess is on the computer and they're playing on the computer are they also having a tangible board with PC is Dr he go ahead Miss ker thank you yes they all have uh we have class sets in in most if not all classrooms um we need to refurbish those once the contract um pushes through uh so they're playing with actual sets in addition we have purchased Braille boards because we have some blind students who are playing as well um so they're playing in person with Hands-On chess as well as on the platform that's that's amazing so kind of want to connect this into our cell phone policy I think we have an opportunity at lunchtime to have chess boards at tables available for our students to have different friendly you know competitive chess competitions at lunchtime where they're connecting with their peers Dr he yes absolutely um had a robust conversation with the student Advisory Group yesterday and that was definitely one of the topics and my my uh challenge to them is to stop depending on us adults to come up with those unique and innovating um type of uh strategies that they can utilize during that downtime and lunch and let the kids take charge of that they come up with great ideas they come up with great interactive and engaging activities so Landon and the crew I know your peers are listening hopefully uh this is one more um um engaging activity that they can leverage during lunch also all right all in favor of item number two say I I I those opposed say no Mr ala Mr [Music] panoli that means I'm a yes yes item number two passes unanimously may have a motion and second on item number three move mooved by Zan second by Hixon public comment no public comment board member comment board member comment Dr Zan I I just am I want to understand something very clearly here I think this item summary says that this year we have roughly 1.3 million books and we're going to spend $1.3 million to manage those books we're going to pay a dollar a book to gather data about the books we have is that correct Dr heer go ahead Dr Wilson that is correct terrific did we compete this contract Dr Dr won yes sir this is a um a re um we are reestablishing our um contractual relationship with fallet so this is a contract we've had for the past uh 20 years so uh there was a no compete I'm sorry I think you said there was no competition for this award no okay um just as a general rule usually you get better prices if you compete things uh certainly make the public feel better if you compete uh these things in 2024 I suspect there's 10 other companies that do this um and so uh it's just a lesson for all of us that having something for 20 years might also indicate that we're paying more than we need to uh and we have to look at every everything we have and make sure that it's a good business deal for barer County Schools as well thanks chair why was there no compete trer go ahead Dr Wilson and uh Miss Andre you just walked in the room too um yes we uh did uh observe other uh platforms that utilize these tools to manage the textbooks and library media services for the state statute compliance so that all parents can actually review books and uh media centers but all of the other services that we reviewed did not have everything so that we we would be in compliance with State Statute hence why we went with fid okay so the the you said fallet is the only company that met every level of the state statute requirement yes okay any other comments all in favor of item number three say I I those opposed say no no item number three passes one dissenting vote Dr Zan um Dr he we exhausted the agenda yes we have exhausted the agenda okay do you have anything to say we're right on time report or anything no report um this time it's uh Dr Zan stoed my thunder with the Council of great City Schools a wonderful event can you share a little bit about what yes it was it was great I do concur with him as far as uh board members taking advantage of uh going to the next one in Philadelphia um you have uh lots of large school district the medium siiz School District superintendents and their staff um there providing a a lot of different s sessions uh that are applicable to a variety of uh strategies and practices that we Implement in our school districts every day um our team did a great job we had several teams that presented as well to to Leverage The Learning um from other school districts as well um lot of network working amongst other school board members and amongst other superintendents and and School District staff so it was a a great event um I so I I encourage um Echo and Dr Zan I encourage board members to actually take advantage of that I think it would be wor worth your um uh spending the money to learn about some great strategies that we can Implement here okay thank you Dr hurn the scheduled order of business for this special school board meeting of the school board of Brower County Florida has been completed seeing no obligation I now adjin the meeting close door e e e e e e e e e e e e e for