a link to the photos from today today's events will be emailed to families and posted on our social media platforms again congratulations graduates foreign
moving forward 23-24 you'll see here some assumptions we are still utilizing the three-year Ada average that the state legislatures gave us through um through next year unfortunately our multi-year we are predicting a slight decrease in our Ada for year two the three-year average does mitigate a little bit of that but we're still predicting a slight decline mainly due to our lower attendance rate not our enrollment because our enrollment is up but the kids aren't coming to school as much a leftover of us sending them home during coven the statutory Cola is at 8.22 percent the governor has pledged funding that for next year uh the impact on the lcff of course we're budgeting our lcf Revenue at about 179 million moving forward that's our unrestricted that's our biggest piece of revenue from the state it flows to us unrestricted a portion of that of course is the supplemental and concentration grant funding which is very Works in harmony with our lcap where you'll also see that public hearing later on the agenda and our federal revenues we're budgeting that down to about 27.5 million because the federal government is not giving us any more additional one-time or short-term stimulus monies since the pandemic is over on the revenue side again the TK and K3 we are Staffing that at 24 to 1 so we're assuming full receipt of that we do staff art we do a fund our routine restricted maintenance at three percent of our expenditures and the lcff add-ons that Transportation add-on is when something they brought as a piece of the lcff when they started it and it had never been increased we received about 1.4 million dollars since the onset of the lcff but finally they're giving that a cost of living adjustment recognizing that transportation is an expensive program to run now keep in mind that 1.5 million who goes towards funding about a a program that costs about 6 million to run and we have an add-on for our transitional Kinder based on the number of ADA about seven hundred thousand dollars so there's a quick snapshot of 2023-24 our budget production projection you'll see our revenue is down to 231 million and that's really a reduction of that one-time Revenue we're not receiving any additional one-time revenues our expenditures are slightly lower but still 247 million so you see a significant deficit almost 18 million dollars next year that's reflected both on the unrestricted and the restricted side of the budget the restricted side of the budget is mainly spending down revenues we've already received so the revenues were booked in a prior year we have them but now we're spending them on the unrestricted side it's a little bit different story that's ongoing unrestricted expenditures unfortunately with with a reduction or not as big of an increase in Revenue because of our lack of ADA or our loss of ADA moving into 2526 this is commonly known as our out year one remember we have to do a three-year budget the budget year and two more years foreign actually I skipped some slides yeah yeah well why didn't you guys tell me are you just letting me talk so I'm gonna back up a year 24 25 which is year two actually there's our budget year I talked about that one right yes great skipped this one this is year two of our myp our three year average is 12 227 slightly lower than budget year statutory Cola has been revised to just under four percent and of course we are assuming the great span adjustment revenue on our TK through three and and I'm going to call it a back to normal for federal and state revenue because there's none of that one-time money flowing in um all that Federal stimulus money the state stimulus money that was attached to the pandemic they gave us lots of years to spend that but all of that money expires in September of 24.
so we're recognizing that all being expensed in the budget year 23.24 the one I didn't skip expenditures in 2425 of course we have steppen column for all of our units we have negotiated some compensation increases we have some shifting of some staffing costs out of that one-time money into our ongoing resources we include all of our lcap expenditures as ongoing expenditures and in that second year in our multi-year projection we have built in eight million dollars in reductions as yet to be identified a couple meetings ago Ms okpara asked if we were going to start a budget committee we will be starting that budget Committee in the fall and one of the tasks of that budget committee will be going through the budget and identifying possible reductions that we can build in during next year to um to accomplish cost savings moving forward 24 25 you'll notice over on the right are expenditures 219 223 about a five million dollar deficit in year two of our multi-year projection with an ending fund balance um just over 12 and a half million dollars in 24.25 come on so this is moving and that's there we go 25 26 are budget assumptions our Ada slightly up over the second year of our multi-year projection um and we're actually off of the three-year average at that point because now the single year Ada with our increased enrollment has now caught up and surpassed what our average calculation would be um no adjustments to the federal and state revenue very minimal there the expenditures again we do compensate for all step and column for all units as we move forward that says employees move up it's years of experience on our salary schedules we have no compensation increases as currently negotiated for the 25-26 year and again El capsule there and I guess I already I didn't talk about this but I went through some of that but this is 25 26.
this we would consider a balanced year because we do not have a deficit in fact we have an excess of about 1.3 million dollars on 227 million dollars of expenditures um if this comes true that'll be wonderful um predicting what's going to happen in 25 26 is very difficult and I've often said as I'm up in front of the board of giving budget presentations this is wrong as soon as I print it and give it to you because things are always changing in our multi-year projection but as a snapshot in time as we have the budget for 23.24 this is what we're projecting for 25 26. so concerns for the future continued enrollment increases but unfortunately the the attendance rate we've been normally historically about 94 94 and a half percent attendance and what that means is out of a hundred students across the District 94 and a half of them show up every day we're around up to 95.
they show up that's a 95 attendance ratio right now we're a little over 89 so fewer kids are at school every day and that does directly impact the revenue the state provides to Apple Valley Unified on the lcff funding the governor is doing something that they've always told school districts not to do never use one-time money for ongoing expenditures the governor is proposing that as part of his budget package because the state is facing I don't know what their deficit is now something like 30 billion dollars so he's taking one-time money or proposing to take one-time money that many school districts have already received and spent and put it towards the lcff to bridge that year Bridge next year so with the May revision the legislature has their own plan so the Senate and assembly have proposed modifications so there's a lot of negotiations going up on going up going on in Sacramento right now of course there's some deadlines June 15th and June 30th for the governor at the biggest what if and the biggest question is economic recession the legislative analyst office which is the advisory body to the senate in the assembly has come out with some of their projections and even if a moderate recession hits the United States particularly California the state could be looking at an additional 30 to 50 billion dollar operating deficit over the next two years and that will directly impact Apple Valley Unified School District so I imagine you will see me in August talking about the adjustments that we've had to make to our budget based on what the state adopts here over the next four weeks any questions yes I always have questions because I listen to details you must have provided yes my first question is since we service I'm looking at fund 11.
since we provide service to outlying areas do does the other districts that have those people contribute to this fund 11 to in their own budget or is it just us I'm going to defer to Mr Schlosser on that one we are part of a Consortium of districts that work within uh the region served by Victor Valley Community College several other districts are in our Consortium and so as a result that money flows through the Consortium then flows to us we do accept students who live really in any boundary but we do prioritize Apple Valley residents however for this particular um excess this contribution that's being made we are not asking other districts to to foot the contribution however this will be a one-time contribution it is the the um adult education program uh did not because they mostly work by providing their education system using current our staff after school the change in the negotiated salary rate for hourly employees was quite a bit more than she had budgeted for and so she just went over she will adjust her program to have lived within the budget she gets from the Consortium for next year thank you Pat my next question is on the federal revenue as we all know special education um is a huge uh puts a huge dent in in our budget and the federal government did promise when they had the idea that their wolf they will contribute 40 percent how much of it are they contributing at this point in time I don't have that exact figure Miss Oak part but that's some research I'll be happy to do and bring that information back to the board as to the exact percentage of the program funding that we receive from the federal government yeah because when we went to Washington DC that was one of the things we presented to the lawmakers in Washington DC to inform them and they did make a promise to um fund fund special education at least to their 40 and at the point in time when we had that conversation they were contributing nine percent and on top of that nine percent they're giving us all kinds of guidelines that we need to follow to be able to service the students who are receiving special education and we are qualifying more students in special education that takes it you know goes into a budget where we didn't plan for but we can't deny the service absolutely of those children so it is very important if we have parents who have access to lawmakers in in Washington DC to begin to have a conversation with them about paying what they promised thank you any other questions thank you appreciate that try Kylie do we have any public comments we do we have seven okay Wagner Mr Wagner hello board members and community members my name is Nehemiah Wagner starting next school year I'll be a junior in high school today I stand before you to advocate for the urgent need to incorporate ethnic studies classes into our educational system the richness and diversity of our nation the United States of America lies in the tapestry of cultures traditions and histories that shape our society by embracing ethnic studies we can we can bring forth a deeper understanding and appreciation for the contributions of different communities fostering unity and empathy among our community among our community students ethnic studies empowers our youth to develop a stronger sense of self-identity by exploring their own cultural heritage and those of others students can gain a profound appreciation for their roots and the experiences that shape them through such courses they can Embrace their unique backgrounds while fostering respect and understanding for the experiences of their peers regardless of ethnicity furthermore ethnic studies equip students with the critical thinking skills necessary to navigate and increasingly interconnected and diverse world by examining societal structures biases and inequalities students learn to question prevailing norms and engage in meaningful dialogue about social justice issues they become active participants in shaping a more inclusive and Equitable student body ready to challenge Injustice and promote positive change if you take one thing away from what I've said today let it be that incorporating ethnic studies classes into our schools is a crucial step towards building a more inclusive and enlightened student body by providing students with a comprehensive understanding of our nation's history promoting self-identity and cultivating empathy for those different than ourselves we Empower our Future Leaders to dismantle Prejudice and Champion social justice these courses will work to create a brighter future where all students can see themselves reflected in their education enabling them to reach their full potential and contribute positively to our diverse and vibrant Nation thank you thank you okay good afternoon board cabinet Community my name is Hardy Brown I am I actually served on many of those committees that you all were talking about with ethnic studies I served on two two terms for the San Bernardino County Board of Education now you're probably asking yourself well why would somebody from down the hill want to know what's going on in Apple Valley because you're 13 000 diverse students also a part of our 400 000 diverse students in San Bernardino County and all these voices the things that you all talked about are things that we support but I wanted to talk about really what it was like for me to become a lifelong learner I attended the nation's first historically black college owned and operated by African Americans that's Wilberforce University in in Ohio but that is there's more to that story because when I grew up I knew about Wilberforce but I didn't know the full story William Wilberforce was an abolitionist from Great Britain and in 1807 they abolished the transatlantic slave trade but as I got through and I started to do more research I realized that I brought a couple pieces from my collection I realized that Thomas Clarkson Thomas Clarkson who's a student at the University of Cambridge in 1785 goes to school and they ask him a simple question should it be legal to own one human against their will Thomas Clarkson did his research these are real slave shackles of a mother and a child that were on people where a child was sold for five hundred dollars Thomas Clarkson did these interviews talked to people like oliday equiano he talked to people like John you talk to people like you can grab Bill Sharp and they took this to William Wilberforce and they changed the world a small group no larger than this room and so when I looked at that story I realized there was people who did not look like me who fought to tell a story and when I look at this room today I realize that we can also do that same exact thing we can come together and learn each other's story as another part of that a couple of years later you start to realize that in our policy here in the United States that we had things like the Virginia code of law this is 1860.
in 1860 in this book it says that it's illegal for me to read and write with the punishment of lashes on my back and for any of your teachers out there if they decided they were going to teach us to read and write they would go to jail for six months and be fined a hundred dollars for every time they teach kids just like this for every time that young man stands up here for every time those parents advocate for their kids being reclassified six months in jail I look at this and I realize that because of all of this that resilience of Who We Are we've been able to come through that and we have great organizations like Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority that was founded in Howard University in 1908 that was founded for the for the for the embodiment and the growth of African-American women but also they're leading the educational change to Howard University these organizations are part of our bigger story so when I look at Wilberforce University a nation a college named after a white British abolitionist I realized that together all of our stories can come together but we need to be able to tell it and that's what ethnic studies can do so thank you so much for having me today thank you [Applause] do you know I wrote it down my son made me promise not to Rabbit walk so good afternoon everyone for those of you who don't know me my name is Deanna clima and I've been a teacher for avusd since 2001.
I'm here today to talk about the extreme behaviors we are expected to deal with daily and the effect these behaviors have on the other students that are expected to deal with it in silence I've had a few conversations in the last month with different groups of teachers completely different places um and we came to the same conclusion that there's no the sorry that led to discussing how not having consequences for the students who throw chairs they throw shoes they shout out obscenities at teachers and their peers is teaching the students who are watching all that that verbal abuse and or violence is acceptable the somehow it is the fault of the ones who are being yelled at or having these things thrown at them is okay and that we should have not done what we did to cause it some examples from many different teachers is a teacher asks a student to pick up trash the student left on the ground and was called a stupid FNB by the student the consequence from the admin was for the teacher not to talk to the student because it was aggravating the student teacher asked the student where they needed to be because they were in an area they shouldn't be in and that was my class and I was told to shut up and mind my own business in front of my entire class nothing was done um I don't know what the consequence was let's just put it that way um my students were totally traumatized by that by the way um a teacher was shoved by another student and when the teacher was trying to de-escalate a fight and no consequence to the student that was known student was throwing chairs at others and was sent to the office and was sent back because the students were making him mad and so that's why he was throwing the chairs and that's just a few and it's not just our school you look on social media it's everywhere you know there's there's pictures it's the same story and it's the same story it's a system-wide issue not just here not just my school um I'm here because these examples remind me of my first marriage I am a survivor of domestic violence and I don't want to go into details because I have survived it I have gone past it however and I'm thankful that I was able to get out um I'm reliving that constantly when I'm told I need to do things differently so I don't set off a student my ex used to tell me it was my fault that he hit me because you know I made him mad I did something stupid it was my fault I'm the one that needs to change what's happening out there so I either need to be quiet or I need to change it would any of you expect your sister your brother your cousin your child anyone you know to stay in a relationship with someone who is physically or verbally abusing them and I'm pretty sure the answer is no you would be encouraging them to get out but yet here we are teachers not only being expected to stay in that relationship but we're also teaching our students that it's up to them to keep the peace so that violence doesn't happen we're told that many things that are not are not suspendable offenses and I understand that that's Ed code I get that um a lot of times I've heard from lots of people that administrators are changing wording from um you know it was a fight they were hit to horseplay they were just playing um we're told that we are the problem that we need to teach our students how to be kind and caring but yet when they aren't we're told that we need to offer rewards to give them incentive to do the right thing um all of this just to show that they can disrupt the learning all over again and it's amazing that I was here on a day that we're talking about learning and accelerating learning and how when learning isn't happening when you have a child that's being violent and destroying the classroom the entire class is learned is losing that learning time and then you have the child removed and I do want those children helped I'm not saying that those kids don't they they need that but what about the kids that are still in the classroom and the time it takes to come back three minutes can you wrap it up yeah um anyways my thing is we're not teaching the children that are silent the right thing we're teaching them that it's up to them to make sure that they do the right thing so that we don't set off the children that are disrupting the learning but yet their education doesn't matter thank you Anita Tucker [Music] can you help her with the mic [Music] good afternoon the steam board member superintendent executive cabinet teachers students and Community my name is Anita Tucker I'm here to speak regarding ethnic studies this room brings back memories to me I spent many days here in this band room when I attended Apple Valley Junior High School with Mr Tran I went to Mariana Elementary School and I graduated from Apple Valley High School the faces in our district have changed dramatically from when I attended there was a glaring absence of diversity when I graduated and went to school here I'm pleased that Apple Valley Union Unified School District is working towards developing an ethnic studies program in accordance with the guidelines set forth by the state I hope that the board will continue to ensure that they follow the protocol set in place and involve all stakeholders as a retired history teacher I know how crucial it is to provide a quality education for our students based on using the social studies framework primary sources and allowing our students to be able to think critically and write critically as Apple Valley Union Unified School District begins the process I am happy that our diversity and all our voices will be reflected in this process and I hope that you continue to do that and as a retired teacher I have lots of time now so I'll be watching you thank you very much for your time [Applause] all right next Karima hope I pronounced that right now Karima okay [Music] yeah thank you yes uh thank you um good afternoon board my name is Kareem abdulkabear um attendee of Mesquite back when it was still Mesquite before it was Vanguard Apple middle Vista Campagna before it was Phoenix Apple Valley High School still the same some things never change I guess um yes so I'm here today to speak about ethnic studies I'm really glad that we're getting a ahead um and figuring this out and getting the community together um but also I have some concerns and some issues as well because I know this has been ethnic studies to get past has been um in committee with teachers organizers activists legislatures have worked on this for years to get it to this point and to get it passed and I would like to thank the state legislature and Governor Gavin Newsom so that we're even able to be here and have this conversation today so so I was looking at the task force plan this one sent around by Miss Buchanan and I had a few questions about the committee and the task force which I know there's still going to be additional meetings about and things I'm just going to go ahead and put those questions out there so we can go ahead and get started thinking about that um okay so for the curriculum I see that there's um looking at having lesson plans um looking at it at that level end up level and my concern is we're going to have standards from the state of California we're going to have textbooks very soon they are all in the works so my concern is um what is going to be the position of the local committee versus the the approved textbooks and the approved um materials so that's what I'm kind of concerned about is placing a teacher in kind of a dichotomy where they're trying to figure out you know what they can teach and how they can approach the subject and them having different voices and not just being able to um use their professional expertise use their local knowledge to um Implement ethnic studies so that was one of the questions I had and also um I'm glad we're talking about the budget and it seems like hopefully the budget will be better by the time we Implement ethnic studies so so hopefully there will be room for enrichment um guest speakers field trips uh the primary sources the um the artifacts that the other speaker brought up hopefully all of that will be um funded for and fully um fully implemented so that we can have a really good strong program um yes and what is the my last question is what is oh I'm at my time um what is the standard process for curriculum to be approved and um I'm just wondering why it's deviating so much because I know we have new classes new courses every once in a while they go through a process and I'm just wondering why that seems to be deviating so much from what this course subject is and that's all I have to say thank you sir foreign Mr Campbell a Christmas candle okay well you have to bring it up here you're more than welcome this is democracy at his best [Laughter] okay director yeah I'm okay good afternoon my name is Sandra garenken I serve as an instructional coach right next door in Hesperia couple of questions so I was excited to hear about your um uh look let me back up I'm from Georgia so a lot of the things of California I'm learning I've been here six years some things don't quite make sense to me just yet but work with me so um your District elac representative shared today coming to California I had to take courses to be able to support our emerging bilingual students to be able to support them in a way that was very different from my expectations in Georgia I thought it was amazing but as I've been here again for six years I've noticed that they we lack that same type of intentionality as it relates to our black students um coming from the south and again in districts very similar and structure as far as demographics um I'm wondering where are we or what is the direction of the districts with supporting our black students specifically with literacy when I look at your California dashboard I see that our graduation right rates of our African-American students is about 89.2 percent um that African-American students represent about 8.3 percent of your students overall but of that 89.2 percent that are graduating from high school only 37.5 percent are College and Career ready so when we think about our students and what they can contribute to society our students ready to be active citizens in Apple Valley in the high desert period and what are we doing to retain them if they are making that that 30 excuse me 37.5 that our College and Career ready are they going to college and returning to contribute to this community from my understanding and when I talked to students of color many of them are not wanting to return um superintendent I don't want to mess up your last name but but I I when you were speaking about um SEL in the schools I noticed that you didn't mention cultural competency many of our students are searching for a sense of belonging part of that is seeing themselves and understanding themselves but others seeing them too many of our students are seeking to be seen heard valued when they have that sense of belonging where they are seen heard value it increases their attendance rates so you also mentioned attendance as an issue and that attendance also affects funding so we you know create an environment where our students want to be in our schools they will come and so will the funding and then again if we create that sense of belonging in our schools hopefully it'll impact our communities where they actually want to return when they do go off to College and Career you know different careers and lastly and I know I ran out of time but I do want to emphasize a high emphasis on hbcus my student my oldest son was a recent graduate class of 20 um 22 and he just completed his first year of um College a lot of our colleges excuse me high schools in the Southern California don't emphasize hbcus as an option there's a high emphasis on a through G requirements a lot of the a through G classes are black students are not registered for our counselors tell them that they probably won't be successful in those classes their acts to register for something different to open that slot for a student who might be more successful well a lot of our hbcus will still provide an opportunity for our students regardless if they meet that a through G requirement and again if you're telling that student that they should not register for that a through G required course but you're wanting to have that sense of belonging and wanting them to return to this community and contribute as a valued citizen that's why they're not returning at least from My Lens thank you for hearing me [Applause] superintendent comment yeah I think um you saw some of the best of the best today with our it's okay no worries um the best of the best with our d-lot committee members getting up and presenting um they are often worried to get up in front of others to speak they have been committed to our district for many years um they speak very well in English but they come to everything they are at every meeting and they contribute to Our Success with our English Learners which was a starting place we had to start someplace those kids have um increased graduation rates uh FFA just this past week so I'm going to go from academic to something a little bit funny for those of you that don't know Apple Valley Unified School District snow Lane Joint Unified School District and Lucerne Valley Unified School District have an FFA program um three years ago prior to the pandemic and then this would be our third kind of annual because we had to take a short break we were asked by the FFA programs superintendents to come and show animals at the fair in front of the kids to understand what those kids go through and what that process looks like the first year we showed a lamb I would have said it was a sheep it was quite large and we did fine as a district I think we swept that year and first second and third place the following year when we were able to come back that would have been last year we showed a pig not my favorite animal to show because there is no you have a little stick and you have to guide it with the stick and I wasn't really good at it and I didn't have a very complaint complacent yeah so um we took first thank you to Mr Schlosser for his skill with the pig last year and I took third but Mr Dr Holman with snow Lane joint put a wager down at the beginning we don't bet in education but he did say that he would wear if whoever was the loser must wear the other District's colors at a board meeting so last week while we were at a graduation Dr Holman domed a district um shirt during the entire board meeting with our logo Apple Valley Unified School District then he explained the BET and he then stood up and put the color orange on with Apple Valley Unified Apple Valley High School's logo all over it and finished the the um the board meeting um next year around that same time Apple Valley Unified School District and I'm not just going to do it by myself I have a team those three men at the other end of the table will also be wearing snowline Joint Unified School District colors because although we had second and third um we did not win this year so it was not a sweep and we will be doing that it shows the kids that we do a little bit understand what they're doing this year we had a calf um my calf was named Tiny and Tiny did not want to walk um Miss apara showed up it was ugly uh my feedback was that I should not pet the calf it was not a pet but so I got eliminated um but the reality is is it's all in fun to support the kids and anybody that's out there that is interested in um helping to support the program they will have an auction this weekend you can participate with online and then um I did believe that Mr Schulenburg had a copier issue I did not believe that he intentionally skipped slides I thought maybe they were in the wrong order in our pocket so next time Mr Schlosser or Mr schulenberg we've got it we will tell you you're on the wrong slide yeah and I and I do believe there's some other issues with the budget including the tax extension that will cause us to wait a little bit into October to know what the actual deficit is for the state um and then finally in I know that there were questions asked we will address those questions at a later date having to do with ethnic studies and I appreciate the questions because that gives us some guidance um and the comment regarding um lcap or well regarding what we're doing for our students we do have an lcap goal six this year Miss Williams is in the audience she participated in that process and helped us to formulate that goal and it is directly impacting our African-American students in this District so I appreciate the comment um we are thrilled that we have a goal in as goal six in our lcap so thank you and you're wearing green so I thought you were actually from Victory Union High School District you sure and young man I don't know what school district you go to but um amazing amazing speaker good job board comments Rick yeah I don't have comments but I thought I'd take my time here I wanted to agenda is something future uh meetings and it was um about the safety on on the campuses and uh it was brought to my attention that we did have it one time I remember it was a Safety Committee and I'd like to bring that back and then have reports uh to the board uh from the committee on what's being done to update and it's not just uh the disrespect but it could be uh you know you know violence towards other students uh you know what's our protocols for active Shooters the whole gamut on safety in the schools so I think it's very important and we kind of don't hear about it as much as we should on what's occurring in our district other than the negative stuff so I would like to see uh the committee bring bring be brought back and then a report from one of the from the superintendent's office every meeting on some progress and what some um what's being done to improve okay we'll do that yeah so I I have direction from the board I'm going to keep asking those questions just so that I know that well I'm just as a board member I'm asking that uh I got it and it will fall under um Mr Conrad in um Human Resources because he is in charge of um safety protocols at the police department and risk management it's perfect yeah and I did I do know Karen slept she had mentioned that Safety Committee it is in our article with uh Buddha that we actually have that and it's scripted on who they will have as representative so it is absolutely something that is going to be moving forward from sex school and then we'll have to work on what the actual report looks like yeah what kind of thing just to get an update so that's all I have Dennis thank you okay very good Amanda um I'll try to keep it short because I talked a lot already but um was it Mr Wagner was that your last name amazing like I I thought you were a grown-up when you came up and started talking I was like you said you were a junior and I'm like oh I wonder which college but yes that was excellent um and then just thank you to Mrs I wrote it down I know it started with an a what was the Aragon and then Mr Hernandez um yeah they were just so eloquent and even in another language like they did not sound shaky at all um I love hearing from the parents of what's going on and so it's it's always a treat when when they do come and speak with us um and then as far as the other questions that were asked I definitely think that whenever there is a task force that they are given those as well to look forward to um I swear there was one other thing but I don't remember so thank you everybody for coming and sitting through a really long meeting in the summer especially when you're on summer break so thank you very good Gary I just like to Echo those same comments thank you for the the comments that were made on Netflix studies I know as we utilize all stakeholders in the district parents teachers community members administrators I know that we're going to come up with that with an outstanding program that will meet the needs of all of our students and uh just just look forward to going forward from there I know we're putting all of our heads together I know we're going to come up with something outstanding for our students they're going to meet the needs of all students so thank you for your participation and we look forward to your continued participation in the future that's all right um I'm going to start with the 37 percent of College and Career ready students um and we need to do better how they say when you know better you do better so we are hoping that uh this is driven real hard into our psyche to let us know that although we are showing up we are not showing up in the right direction and we need to pay better attention um and we have capable staff members who can make sure that that happens that we begin to encourage those students from the day they registered to let them know that the future is so bright for them and they need to go forward in terms of Safety Committee I am the I'm of the proponent of if a student misbehaves it should be a consequence those misbehaviors are not allowed in their churches so why was why should we allow it in school and we are supposed to be the people that paved the way for them to become good citizens out there and if we cannot do it and we are wearing down our teachers we are not doing what we need to do then we go to ethnic studies it is very dear to me obviously I did my son I have five children when I came to this country I I never knew I was different until I came to Apple Valley I went to school in this country but not in Apple Valley and in this school in the school campus we were all foreigners and we were all treated with dignity we were all given our respect and people were willing to know who we were I came to Apple Valley and that all changed so when I have my five children here I did my son degree that's Injustice because nobody could translate my language for him so I made him stay in that class for English to learn to speak English as if he was not an it was a natural English speaker and that was unfair and when my son graduated from this school from this District I knew he was not prepared because he was told he would move on from great to great regardless of what happened my daughters did much better because I found ways to educate them but my son did not so when ethnic studies was brushed during pandemic wasn't even pandemic it was during George Floyd I said this is my opportunity to do the right thing my son is not in his 40s but it's now my opportunity to do the right thing for children coming behind I will not be sitting here if it wasn't for God thought that whole idea that children must hear about who they are where they came from the challenges of their ancestors I don't have those challenges I was born overseas I knew my ancestors I know the history of my ancestors I can trace my ancestry down to 20 Generations I can trace it but there's so many people who do not have those benefits they don't have it they don't know it and it's not just for the black American it is also for the white American there are so many people who just know the bare minimum of information that is passed on to them verbal information they need to see the research that says this is who you are it was harder for anybody to break me living in this country because I know who I am and I have no apologies for who I am but I will not sit here as a board member to allow anybody to make any child feel less important that's my job and the day you decide that I am no longer speaking on behalf of all children please get me out but until then my job is to make sure that every human being that comes in my path I will know their history I am not interested in single stories that's the problem we have in the society we live in we live in a society of single stories people think of Africa as a country it is not and I want people to understand that we are human beings and we are entitled for our stories to be told in the language of that story we don't want the story to be told in a different language I sit here and I speak seven languages and how many people have I've actually bothered to want to know me as a person and we need to get to that point when we sit and when we have the cover of authority I sit here because there are people that I have had to be on their their shoulders to be able to rise to this point when we sit here and we are doing the people's work let us always remember that we are doing the people's work not our work and we must make those people feel important from the moment we see them till the moment we don't see them and when we don't see them we pray for them we lift them in our prayers and I am so torn I have never been more torn about this whole subject of ethnic studies because America should not be a country that worries about what people talk about in their history I learned about American history living in Nigeria the Americans weren't worried that I was learning about them before I came to this country I had no idea about steel industry but I knew that it was in Pittsburgh before I came to America I had never seen snow but I've learned about it it's okay the only way we are going to grow outside of ourselves to grow out of outside of the pain that we Harbor is to be able to allow people to see it in the total nakedness let people see it and let people say you know what I understand you much better I see you you have a name you mean something to me there's nobody in this room that I am sitting now that will need a kidney and mine is functional and it will work for you that I will not donate Mindful and I won't ask you if you're white or black I will give it freely that's what family is about this is what Apple Valley has been for me and that's why I sit here every board meeting and I look in the audience and I say I thank God for the opportunity to sit here to represent Apple Valley I don't want a Melting Pot I want a salad bowl of Apple Valley I want Apple Valley where it says you are a carrot you are lettuce you are celery you are radish you are whatever it is but you all have your individuality and if you just throw a few a little salad dressing that's the harmony we can all live together that's all I want sitting here as a board member and I'll continue to do the same thing every single day as we discuss this ethnic studies because it is very important that everybody's voice is valid thank you thank you Maria I had one of her daughters I could just do it she was brilliant I just like to comment on the graduations the students were well behaved a couple of gymnastics they pulled off were actually pretty good and uh but in one word it was cold but anyway so the expert I think we're gonna we're gonna move on here we need to conduct a public hearing regarding the 2023-24 local accountability control plan we'll open the meeting at we must stay open for at least one minute if so many people that came to speak you want to leave now we're just going to go through a bunch of regulatory stuff and it's yeah we need to don't hurry out yeah yeah because one minute for the hearing we're almost done but don't leave so that people can say goodbye give us a sec 24.
New York Minute [Music] and go ahead and say we're closing at 5 20. time close and you're going to take a break yeah we're going to take it right now [Music] thank you foreign thank you foreign thank you foreign thank you back rolling ready okay we'll bring the meeting back to order um conduct a public hearing on the budget if there's anyone present who wishes to provide comments regarding the proposed budget conduct a public hearing 2324 budget I think I think you need to go back to um the approval appointment of Brian Goodrow we didn't we didn't or no oh we're up there I'm sorry go ahead okay all right we're opening the meeting at what time 531 we haven't been here that long is there anyone president who wishes to provide comments regarding the proposed budget for the 2023-24 school year if no comments are given after one minute of being open will close that's a that means we're out of time okay at 5 32 we're going to bring this meeting to an end discussions session I need to approve the appointment of Brian Goodrow principal and Christina Celia assistant principal for Apple Valley high school and Adam Powell principal and Daniel Rincon assistant principal for Granite Hills High School as a designated CIF representatives for the 2023-24 school year I moved the item all in favor aye approve an increase in the compensation of board members beyond the limit deleted in the head code 35120 in the amount of five percent based on the present monthly rate of compensation effective July 1 20 2023.
second I'll second any discussion I'll point out that's the first raise in 20 years and it's not right first raise in 20 years but you're not in it for the money all right all in favor aye aye approve the recommendation of the administrative hearing share person effective immediately on expulsion case number 18. as amended yes amended on favorite aye aye do you need a mission all right excuse me I'll move it all right second second all in favor aye expulsion case 19 2022-23 as amended as amended do you have a motion second all in favor aye approve the certificated and classified Personnel action that's listed second oh second all in favor hi approve the recommendations for requested leave as noted to have a motion all in favor aye authorized Award of the Professional Services for architectural and Engineering Services for the district Granite Hills High School Athletic Facility project to SGH Architects wait a minute thus authorizing the assistant superintendent of administrative services to commence contract negotiations with a selected consultant motion I'll move it second one second all in favor aye aye um yeah I'd like to point out this is a great moment for the kids that were at Granite are at granted and are going to be at granted this baby is a long time coming consent agenda we can do this all at once all right I would like to withdraw items item number seven for discussion okay one through six eight through sixteen all in favor I need a motion second I was taking it all in favor aye all right we pulled seven any comments there uh numbers uh item number seven regarding the reading lists there was a one book there on that list The Immortal Life of Henrietta and while the the storyline the subject matter is very positive and students in me again kind of in line with our ethnic studies discussion story that that deserves to be told this particular book I just although it's I think there was a pre-approval and it has already been used um and I think Mrs Nelson come speak further about that just as a point of transparency hasn't come up for another round of approval just uh for means of transparency just want to note that and this is has been used in a 10th grade classroom and um just again just for public transparency I have a concern whether this is age-appropriate to to a student in 10th Grade there are 17 derogatory names the f word is used 11 times there is a description of a sexual abuse and then an improper meeting of a naked man with an underage woman so although this this book has previously been used in our district Has Come Around again and so I just have a concern and concerned enough that the public should know if this book is being used yeah and so we have audited our process by which um books had public review and made sure that there is a match to those public review processes um as noted in previous lists that have been going back to the board for approval they go under public preview they're posted this particular text was asked for by a teacher at High Desert Premier Academy there is a class set that is utilized there and she did so after seeing it as part of the ERWC program the expository reading and writing program that was developed by Cal State San Bernardino and utilized for seniors um in in an effort to not have them have a um remediation when they attend um Cal State system this book so in our process to be completely transparent it has been discovered that this book was previewed and reviewed when we adopted ERWC however when another teacher is trying to utilize it and somebody goes and tries to pull the document for public review they don't find it as a single text because it was approved as a curriculum to support ERWC so it was approved at that point that is something that was caught today after a question regarding this text and we will go back to our process and verify did it get approved and previewed as a curriculum or was it approved and previewed as a correlate separate and on its own so I just want to point that out it did go through its preview many years ago when we adopted ERWC it was acceptable at the time and you're just seeing it because another teacher has utilized it as a class set so it's a program sorry I also thought it was interesting that in going through the lid the approvals I found it interesting that only um three out of ten reviewers could give an enthusiastic approval seven out of ten of the approvers on on the committee were not enthusiastic either questions at the grade level or outright disapprovements yeah and so for the purposes of our district and in our policy parents have a right to opt out they um nobody came and previewed the text that was sitting out there here in the room and will continue to show up every time we have any text so it's totally at the direction of the board as to what to do with this it's an optional tax date is not the required is it possibility to approve the rest of the books and hold on to this until further information is gathered you as a board can do whatever so you're saying trene that as a board we can we can uh or I I can agree with uh Gary's assessment on this and and pull this book from approved list if you do that you want to be cautious of the fact that it is part of the ERWC program what I would recommend is is if you are uncomfortable with it being used any place else that that is what your um what your recommendation would be to be to be allowable under ERWC because that's how it was course approved and then say in any other courses this is not um a text that's being approved does that make sense because it was previously and it's it's one of the options that works yeah I agree with that that is probably not appropriate just put the language alone and some of the descriptions for that page group so will you continue to research and find whether or not that it was just the text or whether it was the curriculum for which the original approval the original approval was ERWC with the list of books this book was part of eowc right the original so moving forward we will not be bringing back any text for ERWC if it's already approved by the district in this case it came back so you would have to have somebody come forward and say this was a book we didn't want which is one of the things I sent out regarding um what the series the day before yeah totally unrelated to this but it is a topic Across the Nation so not this particular text do we need to get legal opinion on it um because we don't want to go against the Department of Education either that's for sure well this is one single book you know when I'm I'm hearing what you're saying it's one single book but it has the same kinds of things that we don't want our students to say or do so if it has the f word 11 times I you know I had to learn the alphabet soup when I came to this country because they're all everything has a different meaning so if he if it already has the f word and has sexual abuse which we don't want our students to learn and it already has the naked and underage whatever you describe I have not read the book could we hold off on this particular book and approve the rest of the books and gather additional information before we add this as a new book it's not being added as a new book that's the part I'm trying to explain it is part of ERWC expository reading and writing that is a adopted course in our district and that is part of the optional curriculum that Cal State has provided as that and has for years so it is this when we're approving the the recommended literature is it an all or nothing no it is not an All or Nothing what I was recommending was I don't believe you would be um contrary to what the um email from the state that I I forwarded yesterday about censorship and different things I do not believe it's contrary to that to say that you are not approving it for use outside of ER WC the ERWC course has multiple options which can be used outside of that place you just have to have to younger yeah we're not taking it down to the third grade yeah okay so I need somebody to make a recommendation to Amendment okay all in favor all right all right thank you a little more closed session signing of documents so all I need is um anyone want to do that all in favor aye we'll come back in here at nine o'clock thank you foreign
[Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] foreign [Music] [Applause] My Name is Oliver Tincher and I will be your Master of Ceremonies this morning first of all can we get a nice round of applause for the band [Applause] thank you I believe maturity is knowing you can fail knowing you don't know what you don't know and living life to the fullest anyway I can't believe I'm asking kids I pretended to be a talking donkey with to be mature that I am because the truth is you are not prepared for everything if the pandemic has taught us anything it is that no one no school no matter how great can prepare you for everything that life is going to throw at you so I ask you to be brave to be mature [Music] because we have grown and we have learned between you and me I kind of think that was maybe what this whole thing was about like the educational institution they teach us I don't know anyway life is scary but as I look at you now I'm not afraid I'm not afraid of what life's going to throw at you in fact I'm more afraid of what you're going to throw at life but I'm excited for that too caterpillars no longer we emerge from our chrysalises as the weird wingless oddly colored butterflies that we all truly are Jokes Aside I can't wait to see what you become your story isn't over this this was just the prequel and now please allow me to introduce our honored guests president Amy Oliver [Applause] vice president Carol Bowden [Applause] secretary Vicki Hardin board member Stephanie kreitzer board member Doug Payne our superintendent miss Emily Tracy director of student Support Services Mrs Debbie Harmon director of career connected learning Mrs Christy reitzman [Applause] assistant principal Charles Hutchins and of course principal Trent Austin [Applause] at this time I would like to invite the esteemed Elizabeth Roush to the stage to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance and share her poetry through the Eagle's eye and the Brown County sky [Applause] first if you will all rise for the Pledge of Allegiance foreign I pledge allegiance to the flag the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all thank you may all be seated a tetrate of Scholars converge upon a single Nexus trading in the colors of insular Allegiance for blanketing blue and unifying yellow a forever family not born of one blood a community built of brick and mortar memories an academic area of accomplishments tucked under the Eternal eagle's wing for homesick hearts and Melancholy Minds the souls astray return your eyes to the ribbon Skies Brown County blue with that glorious golden hue recall the county backing you rakounta County proud in a curiously passing cloud white wisp of whims written with a mode of maxims remember when life grows loud gaze upon your successes through the Eagle's eye and the ever abundant Brown County sky [Applause] thank you Elizabeth our first Speaker for the class of 2023 is Zacharias alexandrius Reedus Zach Reed with his speech titled A Unique opportunity [Applause] thank you good evening folks I've come to give a speech November 11th 2013 that was the first day I went to Brown County schools now if you've ever moved to a new school system you know that feeling you're like oh man this is I'm the new kid this is just like High School Musical I'm going to get challenged to a dance-off or something now if it's not readily apparent I've never watched High School Musical and never will but you know the feeling so here I was on the first day of school the rest of my life next nine years I was like in utter buffoon what am I gonna do however on the very first day I immediately made friends Joey Dennison asked me to play some games at recess and I having very low standards accepted that is that is honestly the biggest decision that I have made in my entire life it set me on a path to gain an amazing set of friends that I still have today friends that I plan on keeping contact with in and throughout Beyond College a set of friends that whether they know it or not or not they make me strive to become the best me I can be and to them I am truly grateful not too long ago I visited Whiteland High School my former school system for a jazz competition now if you know Whiteland high school they're just just a little a little bigger than Brown County High School just a measly 2021 students and I looked around that the massive Maze of hallways I saw their 11 bands seven choirs and a partridge in a pantry and I thought to myself almost allowed you know this this isn't for me I simply cannot see myself graduating from Whiteland I don't think that I would be the person that I am standing here before you today if I you know if I didn't have influence from the teachers that are just from this high school let alone the other three schools that I went to I look at the path ahead of me as high school falls into the rear view mirror and I feel adequately prepared for my journey thanks to the many programs at Brown County schools and now I would like to thank the teachers in these programs Mr Townsend there is no other teacher I would rather go bowling with me between your engineering an eagle Manufacturing one to do in college and for the rest of my career being an eagle manufacturing has taught me many interesting skills that I will no doubt use in the future namely writing emails Thank You For Preparing Me for the many Pathways ahead Mrs Burton you've resuscitated my love for math even after I got a metaphorical curb stomp from learning Algebra 2 and pre-calculus during coven I remember the first month of a b calculus and junior year and I enjoyed learning new topics and it clicked in the back of my head this is why I do this is why I suffered through covet this is why I do math and thank you for making me once again love math despite the shadow problems foreign Miss Pontius I've only had you for the last two years of high school but your classes have been some of the most engaging English classes that I've ever taken I first heard about your satire satire unit in the SNL skit project in my junior year and I immediately realized that your class was not the run-of-the-mill English 12 class the work you put into your courses is astounding and you truly are a one-of-a-kind teacher Mr Finley I don't even know where to start you've I've had band with you since eighth grade that's you know it's more than it's more than high school and there's no other teacher that I'd really rather have for five straight years and I don't think I could go through a year of high school without being in one of your classes marching concert in jazz band has made me what I am today and I have you to thank for that I cannot put into a five-minute speech how much you have done to help me through my journey thank you Finn dog for everything you do all of you have made me and many others Excel and believe in themselves and with the teachers and opportunities at Brown County Schools I've honestly won the high school Lottery thank you [Applause] thank you sir Zak and Now ladies and gentle people please welcome to the stage our very own Prom Queen Her Majesty Miss Abby Williams with her speech today is your day oh congratulations today is your day you're off to great places you're off and away these are the opening lines to oh the Places You'll Go by Dr Seuss my name is Abby Williams and I'm officially a 2023 graduate of Brown County High School thank you to the speakers before me and to the people who helped to make today possible my time at Brown County school is just the start of my life story I moved to Brown County at the start of my fourth grade year there was only one person I knew here because we grew up together when I walked through the doors of helmsburg Elementary I was surrounded by new people in a new town at the end of that year I was given a t-shirt like the rest of my classmates it was gray and had some strange numbers on the front and my classmates names in a line on the back I remember asking what the year 2023 meant I later learned that is the year I will graduate I thought that date was too far away to even think about but here I am with what feels like nine really short years later in my cap and gown Dr Seuss once said you have the brains in your head you have the feet in your shoes you consider yourself in any direction you choose our class has been through a lot together we experience proms fun fridays musicals and tons of sports events we also survived a global pandemic and shutdowns and over a year of wearing a mask and spraying down every surface we touched from celebrating that we got the rest of the year off to crying to go back this place waited to see us again with open arms even though we couldn't touch or hug after the pandemic the school worked hard to bring us back together Brown County School tried to give us a place to belong this open an opportunity I never would have expected because I had stage fright my place of belonging became the stage in the drama Department a teacher showed patience and determination tell me overcome my fear this teacher saw something in me that I wasn't aware of myself and hey look at me now I'm a little shaken up but I'm okay my time on the stage opened me up to a community of goofing loving accepting people I learned to be patient with myself and to push myself into new opportunities something Mr Austin would teach us was to soar High this meant doing things that challenged us this meant doing the best you could do and feeling proud of the work you put in I carried that with me and made sure I was always doing the next right thing just like conquering stage fright doing this isn't always comfortable but challenge yourself will help you advance and learn more importantly challenging yourself will help you connect we all added our stories to this building and were able to share them with each other this makes us like a family with that being said I want to thank our families that who made this all happen they spoke up for our needs and ensured we had a safe place to come and learn they helped us with all the hard algebra homework and got us the last minute project supplies at midnight because it was due the next morning you fought us tooth and nail to make sure we got all our homework done and turned in on time so today shows that all their love and effort you put in to help us become the people we are today I also want to thank all our siblings our built-in best friends I was lucky enough to share this building with my own little sister for one short year now that I'm leaving the school is in her hands the seniors that have walked these Halls before I did made the way for us and I hope we're doing the same for all of you for the people who didn't have a family the teachers and staff made us feel like we were their own by mentoring us and helping us move along our journey all of us here have that one teacher that made a difference in our lives the one that made the most difference in my life helped me be able to stand in front of you all today all the teachers make it a point to help any kid who walks through those four glass doors I was so inspired by my teachers that I plan to become one of my own and I hope to show them the love and acceptance you have shown me as kids we ask questions that grew with us such as why the sky was blue how far away is the Sun what college should I apply to how do taxes even work our parents and teachers always had the answer or guided us to find it ourselves I just wanted to say thank you to all for making this place so hard to leave so be your name buxbanner bixie or Bray or Mordecai Allen than Allen O'Shea you're off to great places today is your day your mountain is waiting so get on your way congratulations to the class of 2023.
thank you [Applause] thank you your majesty you weren't supposed to make me cry our next speaker from the graduating class is the man the myth the legend Joey Dennison with his speech thank you [Applause] thank you glad somebody got that I look back on my years as a student here and I remember the person that I once was I was a very book smart kid I got good grades I did my homework but I lacked the ability to really motivate myself all my motivation came from maintaining the status quo and not really from a goal worth working towards somewhere along the way I started to run into people who saw something in me that I didn't see in myself teachers who inspire me to get more than an a out of their class mentors who took their time out of their day to teach me skills that'll take with me my entire life people who invested in me who helped me find my why and I didn't realize it right away but I remember the exact moment that I knew when it all clicked it was a dress rehearsal for the junior year musical Mamma Mia and if any of you've ever been through a tech week you know what I'm talking about and this was one of the worst days one of the most stressful days of tech week everyone in the crew was disheartened and I wasn't far behind them we only had a couple of days until we opened and we didn't feel ready many wanted to quit and to be honest I wasn't far behind them but somehow I knew I knew that we couldn't quit I started to think back to the months to the years of work that we had put in and I couldn't let any one of them walk away from that it was the week that made all the other weeks worth it and I like to say those are my words but really it felt like they just came to me like the mentors that I had it was almost like them speaking through me and that's what I told the crew I didn't believe it as the words came out of my mouth but that's what I said and as I did I found my why I saw the months of learning from my mentors the months of mistakes the months of growing alongside my friends alongside my family alongside the people that I love then I refused to give that up all at once those months those years gave me a reason to keep going they gave me a why and so I stand here as a summa laude graduate a lily scholar a rose home in commit and I see all the people who help me get here help me find my wife who'll encourage me to keep pushing myself further every day and I say thank you thank you for believing in me thank you [Applause] good morning my name is Trent Austin and I am the proud principal of Brown County High School today we are honoring the class of 2023 I would like to first of all recognize all individuals who are serving have served or will serve in our military Armed Forces along with any widows of any veterans will you please stand and allow us to honor you at this time thank you [Applause] I would like to thank all our Educators and support staff at Brown County schools for the service they provide to our students and our community our teachers our staff members will you please stand and be honored [Applause] I would like to also thank the parents relatives friends and anyone in the audience who has helped make today happen for our graduates seniors today is about you but it's not all about you today is your opportunity to thank those people who have helped you get here if you look at your to your left and you look to your right and you look behind you these people have supported and guided you all along the way they've loved you these people are cheering for you as you make this next step in your life graduates take a moment today or sometime this week to let these people know how much you appreciate them seniors give all these people a round of applause if you would at this time [Applause] and now for my message to the graduating class of 2023 first of all I want to start off with celebrations because there are so many first of all I want to share that we have 26 students this morning who have earned their academic honors diploma 26.
all right in addition we have six students who have earned Technical Honors and on top of that we have eight more students who have earned both Technical Honors and academic honors that's a total of 40 students that's more than one-third of their graduating class congratulations in addition we have 16 summa laude students these are students who have earned a GPA of 4.0 or higher we have six magna laude students who have earned a GPA of 3.75 to 3.99 and we have five laude students earning a GPA of 367 all the way up to 374. all of these students who have earned these honors will you please stand and be recognized thank you in this class there are Conference champions there are sectional champions there are State qualifiers and tracking cross-country their academic All-State Award winners there are State Award winners and band students who have performed at a high level on the theatrical stage there are key leaders in students in the expansion of Eagle manufacturing and the opening of our preschool and Early Childhood Program graduates you survived a worldwide pandemic that started your freshman year you could have easily have walked away but you chose to fight for your education and for your future I celebrate you for making this choice when I met you eight years ago when you walked in the doors at Brown County Intermediate School in fifth grade I knew you that you would do great things you have not disappointed you have achieved great things now as you move forward continue to go forth and be a positive light in this world never stop learning how to learn hopefully over the last 18 years of your life you have learned just that learning how to learn life is Ever Changing to be quite honest with you 30 years ago I sat exactly where you're sitting right now I am a proud graduate of Brown County High School class of 1993.
I remember not knowing exactly what my next steps would be the unknown was somewhat overwhelming not knowing what the future might hold for me but my advice is walk forward take that next step create doors of opportunity through work ethic drive and determination never in my wildest dreams would I have ever expected to be standing where I'm standing right now as your principal at Brown County High School you never know where life will lead and what opportunities will present themselves through work ethic drive and determination never stop learning how to learn this mindset will open doors of opportunity for you that you would have never thought possible I am living proof so class of 2023 I am absolutely so proud of you you will continue to do great things as you enter the world Beyond a Brown County High School go with confidence that you are ready that you are prepared we love you and wish you the best congratulations seniors class of 2023.
[Applause] and now to the Brown County School Board of Trustees superintendent Emily Tracy and the Brown County Community it is my pleasure to present the class of 2023 Mr Hutchins will you please come forward and announce the names of our graduating class [Applause] thank you before we begin today we would like to take a moment to honor the memory of classmate Aiden Lentz as we do so please join me in a moment of silence thank you and now for the presentation of the class of 2023 graduating summa laude Oliver Grace Tincher [Applause] graduating summa laude Elizabeth Marie Rausch [Applause] Zachary Alexander Reed [Applause] Abby Lee Williams [Applause] graduating summa laude Joseph Daniel Dennison [Applause] graduating summa laude Chase Michael Austin [Applause] Egan Zane Robert Gaskins [Applause] Rebecca Faye Jones wow [Applause] graduating magna laude Bradley Gerard aren't [Applause] Evan Ray Asher [Applause] Savannah Marie ball [Applause] Wyatt Benjamin Barnett [Applause] Corbin Blake beaver [Applause] graduating summa laude naij azadine Vega [Applause] Bailey Renee Bennett Carolina McKenzie Bennett graduating summa laude Cole Thomas Bowman [Applause] [Music] graduating magna laude Garrett Speer Braden [Applause] oh and Dakota Brazil [Applause] Corbin Lee Brown [Applause] graduating summa laude Jamie Ellen bube [Applause] Kendall Jade Moody [Applause] Sarah K Callahan [Applause] Ava Marie Clark [Applause] graduating laude Joshua Stephen Clement Clegg [Applause] all right Emma Marie Cochran Whitney Lynn Coffey [Applause] Jonathan Robert Kramer [Applause] graduating laude Nathan Allen Crenshaw [Applause] dalen Robert James Dees [Applause] graduating summa laude Hannah Nicole dewart [Applause] thank you Caitlyn Paige Doss oh thank you [Applause] Jesse Nicholas flights Remy Alexis Fletcher [Applause] Clayton Mark Marshall Fouts Jackson Donald Goldsmith [Applause] graduating summa laude Hadley rain great off [Applause] Blake Dwayne Grider [Applause] graduating summa laude basil Grimes [Applause] Caleb Walden Hammond [Applause] Audrey Lynn harder [Applause] Savannah rain Harris [Applause] Braden Levi hedger [Applause] graduating magna laude Henry Alexander heimbaugh [Applause] Jade Nicole Hofmeister thank you [Applause] Mario Renee Lee jenke [Applause] Nicholas Lee Jewell [Applause] graduating magna laude Shelley Gabriella Adele Johnson [Applause] Molly Ava King [Applause] Kaylee Nevaeh Kenny [Applause] graduating laude Victoria Elizabeth clayker [Applause] Michael Robert Knaus [Applause] foreign London J Custer [Applause] graduating magna laude Katarina June Laguna [Applause] [Music] Franklin James Lane [Applause] Peyton Andrew Lee [Applause] Leela K Leslie [Applause] Emma Elizabeth Opel Lucas [Applause] Serenity Mackenzie lucky [Applause] Alexandria Madison Monroe majors [Applause] graduating laude Savannah Michelle Martin [Applause] Payton James Melton [Applause] Tyler Asher Miller [Applause] Paul Edward Mason Myers [Applause] Liliana Florence nickel [Applause] norcut [Applause] foreign y O'Neal [Applause] Jackson William O'Shea [Applause] graduating magna laude Savannah hope Odin [Applause] Alexander Lee Oliver [Applause] Brady Ray Parish [Applause] graduating summa laude Millie Shea Eileen Patrick [Applause] Allison Bell Pennington foreign [Applause] summa laude Madeleine Rose pearly [Applause] Gage anik and reginer [Applause] Mackenzie Lynn Reynolds [Applause] Gage Dorman Richardson [Applause] Katie Marie Roberts graduating summa laude Aiden Nicholas Schilling Charles Thomas Schultz thank you [Applause] Ethan Dale Scott [Applause] promise Gail Sears [Applause] Jada June Garrity Shepherd [Applause] graduating magna laude Rafe Walker Silba [Applause] Haley Noel Sizemore [Applause] [Music] Toby Andrew Smith [Applause] Ronald Emery Smith thank you Ryan Noah Southworth [Applause] graduating summa laude Ethan David spies [Applause] Byron Cole Spivey [Applause] Kalin Connor Stanley [Applause] Aaliyah Nicole Taylor [Applause] Dylan James Taylor [Applause] all right Kylie and Marie Thaxton [Applause] ziley Dominique Andreina Thompson [Applause] Duncan Scott thummel [Applause] graduating summa laude Catherine Isis Tipton [Applause] Riley Matthew Todd [Applause] all right Blake Henry wagler [Applause] graduating magna laude Abigail Kalin Watson [Applause] thank you Henry Randall Webb [Applause] [Music] Andrew David Weddle [Applause] Gabriel Adam Weddle [Applause] Kristen Marie West [Applause] graduating magna laude Isabel Noel Williamson [Applause] Samuel Curtis York [Applause] awesome [Applause] Preston James Zimmer [Applause] Brooklyn Nevaeh Watkins [Applause] [Music] and now please welcome superintendent Emily Tracy to the stage to share a message to the class of 2023.
[Applause] good morning I am honored on behalf of Brown County School Board of school trustees Miss Carol Bowden Mrs Amy Oliver Mrs Vicki Hardin Mrs Stephanie kreitzer and Mr Doug Payne our Administration Mr Austin Mr Hutchins and the entire faculty and staff at Brown County Schools I would like to welcome all of you to the 62nd graduation for Brown County High School parents I would like to thank you for entrusting our faculty and staff of Brown County schools with the educational the emotional and Social Development of These Fine Young students it has truly been a pleasure to work with them during my first two years at Brown County Schools our leadership team our staff even our student leadership have engaged in a conversation around how do we ensure that every child receives a world-class education as we have undertaken as we have pushed and pulled on this idea of course we Elevate academic fundamentals the Mastery of Essential Knowledge and Skills the literacy math science Civics and the Arts academics are Central to this experience and yet when talking with our students staff and the community academics alone does not ensure the outcomes we want for our children at Brown County Schools no knowledge alone will not do what we hear is we want students who are happy students who are healthy and students who are motivated to undertake big things and this relevation should not be a surprise because some of our greatest academics would say the same the Greek philosopher Aristotle stated that the most sought after things was not money not knowledge not power but what all humans seek Above All Else is happiness now I get it throughout our lives we've been tasked to do work hard work didn't always bring us happiness and at times we do have to do the work that doesn't bring us joy and while sometimes we conflate happiness with idle fun with goofing off with taking time off true happiness comes from a place much different from lying around the house instead researchers and our top thought leaders assert that true happiness occurs when we are stretched physically mentally to accomplish something meaningful and we choose to do it I think the best example of this is is exemplified this morning raising a child is undoubtedly one of the most difficult things that we can do in our life and here we are celebrating the graduation of 115 Brown County seniors as the culminating event of one of the most difficult things you have ever accomplished and no one can argue that today we are happy [Music] [Applause] and you chose to do it students today is the culmination of 13 years of education and development and while some of it wasn't chosen it was challenging I would also argue some of it actually was chosen some of you chose the challenging coursework to advance yourself academically you chose difficult some of you chose to march in the band In the Heat of the gym every Friday every Saturday night you chose difficult some of you chose to rehearse on that stage in that Auditorium relentlessly to ensure an audience felt as though they were part of the show you chose difficult some of the athletes chose to work a little harder a little longer you chose to run the extra mile take the extra batting practice or shoot the extra free throws you chose difficult and some of you you chose to work after school on the weekends during holidays to earn a paycheck all while keeping your grades up playing a sport or enjoying the Arts you chose difficult whether it's the academics it's Athletics or the Arts you leave Brown County choosing difficult things and leaving happy Brown County class of 2023 I have good news whether I described your journey of the last 13 years or not you get to choose your next challenge your next Journey Monday morning and at this time climbing that next mountain and accepting that next challenge whether it's enrollment in college whether it's entering the workforce or whether it's enlisting to serve our state and our country regardless of how difficult it may be if you choose it if you put in the work you'll find happiness I want to take this opportunity to express my gratitude for the people who've played a pivotal role in your journey thank you for choosing the challenge to our teachers the entire staff of Brown County Schools my goodness thank you for your dedication your commitment your unwavering love and support for these students over the years to the Brown County Board of school trustees thank you for your charge to ensure the vision for Brown County Schools is simply the best of the best for our students thank you for allowing our staff to be able to create world-class opportunities and to strengthen those small school relationships with and for our students as it is those very experiences that will carry the impact for future Generations and to our families thank you for entrusting Brown County Schools to walk alongside your child throughout their Journey thank you [Applause] it's time to make this official at this time I would like to welcome Chase Austin Hadley great off at London custered to the stage to help lead the Turning of the tassels graduates it is my honor to confer your graduation upon you at this time please turn your tassel thank you congratulations [Applause] foreign [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign
Joel's an idiot Joel's an idiot Joe's an idiot foreign [Music] foreign [Music] all right [Music] [Applause] [Music] shoes [Music] foreign [Music] thank you [Music] thank you [Music] thank you [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] thank you [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] laughs [Applause] foreign which one do I use please stand for the National Anthem sung by very own Caroline McKenzie I have a little bit of a sore throat but oh say can you see by the dawns [Music] what's so proudly helped at the twilight's last gleaming who's brought stripes and bright stars or the ramparts we watch were so gallantly streaming and the rockets right the bomb's thirsting in now gave proof through the night that our flag was still there oh say does that star spangled banned ways [Music] or the land of [Music] end of the heart of the brain [Applause] Thank You Caroline that was a wonderful job well everybody please be seated good afternoon everyone welcome to the graduation ceremony of the Tejano class of 2023.
Thanks so much, Kevin. Hi everyone. Um, my name is Maria Suenza and I am a BCBA with Kyo and um, thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to talk about getting ready for summer. Um, uh, one of my favorite topics because I think everyone loves summer vacation. Um and so hopefully um this presentation can give you all a little bit of tips on how to prepare for summer with um your fellow kids. So see here. All right. So kind of just to give you a little background of like Kyio um what we are and what we do. Uh we are a team of 800 professionals uh in behavioral health. So we provide ABA therapy um either inh home center or teleaalth. Um here in the Bay Area it's mostly inh home or uh working one-on-one with school districts. Um we focus on parent training, behavior consultation, uh school and community shadow support, whatever it may be.
before we begin I'd like to recognize some of the people that have supported us throughout our time in high school to the community as a whole thank you for supporting our class and our efforts and for all the help that you've given us throughout the years to our teachers thank you for doing your best to provide us with an amazing education despite all the challenges that you all have faced in these past few years finally to our parents and families thank you for being by our side for this time for being here now to support us as we turn the page to the next chapter in our lives congratulations everyone we did it it's been a long four years but we've come out the other side in one piece things are certainly very different than they were when we first started but we've been able to overcome all the challenges that we face I hope that we can continue to do so as we go through our lives After High School and I wish each of you all the best on your next Journey at this time I would now like to introduce the superintendent of the Berlin Boylston Regional School District Miss Carol Costello [Applause] [Music] thank you okay greetings Welcome to our families friends staff school committee members and of course our graduates of the class of 2023.
Um in regards to supports uh mainly in school districts. So, just to give you a little spiel, um we are all over the place. Currently, we're serving like over 10 states here in the United States. Um and then if you're ever interested or want more information, more than happy to give that to you after. Um and then you can also just um visit kyokare.coms to see where um you know, if you're curious about other places that we serve. Okay. So, uh, things we're going to go Oh, sorry. Okay. So, um, things we're going to go over are supporting your child during the summer. What are some things we could do to be proactive about getting ourselves ready for um, breaks? I know that some of us don't have summer school or are not planning on doing summer school. So what are some things that we can do to help maintain the flow of you know learning opportunities and keeping our kids active and um entertained uh maintaining learning opportunities like I said previously you know during your um vacation time um how to plan for summer activities and then we'll go ahead with do with some questions and answers.