Tebow and Gen Thomas our instructional tool having presented at the mass Q Leadership Conference last week and both of them did a fabulous job and both of their sessions were well attended gen presented on various applications for teachers use in the classroom and really has a great way of presenting folks really really appreciated that and mr. Tebow presented on the schedule how they implemented developed a schedule here at the high school with the pace period visor II and the various opportunities that it offers students and once again we had a few folks come up that were very interested in that being on committees I guess at their own schools that are looking to do something similar and then last but not least obviously we are staying on top of the coronavirus issue as I mentioned last week we we've met with local board of health a couple of times and keeping each other abreast of what's happening we're putting out resources as we find them on our Facebook page and website and keeping in close contact with various school districts and how they're addressing what they have an issue with a particular person student whatever it might be we did postpone the two international trips that were set for April due to the guidance from various health organizations and we are in the process now we chatted about that today of we're going to be increasing cleaning process throughout the schools enhancing what we're already doing to try to do what we can do at this point mm-hmm so we'll continue to keep the public abreast of any changes through our email blasts etc so thank you can I say related to just one comment and one question one please don't come to school you're sick please stay home if you're sick but also our campus is sort of deep into planning for potential school closures I wonder what sort of guidance dusty is giving and what sort of we're doing I hope it doesn't come to that but I'm sure you are sort of thinking about what happens if that's the case and could you maybe talk a little bit about what's being done on that front because it will affect a lot of families if you know kiddos have to stay home one thing right now the only thing we have again deci hasn't been much help at all in that respect I don't think anyone knows what to do we in consultation with Kristy she with the Board of Health the one thing if we see something happening here where we get some positive results of whatever I think will really take off on deciding from there he would want to be in the know they will consult with state health officials as well on those kinds of big big decisions but deci isn't you know we were actually my last week at the executive board from asked the mass executive board and we've put forth questions that certain folks will be taking to the Commissioner about make up days or even M casts those kinds of things so we did put together a number of questions that people are just unsure but they will be meeting with the commissioner at least from the deci point of view how does how do we handle those pieces but it's ongoing okay I'm going consults and staying on top of it at this point thank you it's a tough one thank you so I actually don't have anything else other than what's been mentioned here anybody have anything to share yes yeah just two quick things to the I know spring sports deciding next week and good luck to all of those teams and winter sport teams that had an unbelievable season that was great girls and the boys and the track team and everything so that's fantastic but and I know Brendan mentioned it a little bit but this Thursday night as I ran Yule Pops concert that the Music Association puts on in the music department doors will open at six o'clock it's five dollars for adults three dollars for seniors and students the concert starts at 7:00 and every year there's an honoree and this year's honoree is going to be mr.
Kingsland who's retiring so he's our honoree so which is well-deserved and you know looking forward to it so that's what's going on okay I guess I just gonna say just on that know do we have any updates with interviews and how how that process is moving so the committee met and reviewed the applicants and selected five to interview and we developed the questions and we'll be interviewing on Wednesday from 2:30 to 5:30 and the hopes of putting three forward to the superintendent okay all right so our next meeting is scheduled for March 23rd 6:30 it is our public hearing it will be posted in advance that will be our public hearing for a budget the budget will that be here in this room yes okay so right here where you sit and so we'll see you there with that I will entertain a motion to adjourn into executive session to provide an update with respect to collective bargaining with union personnel not to return into open session so Kathleen emerald yeah yes Chris Oliver yes Shana Jenkins yes Jon news yes [Laughter]
what good morning day hello today is March 12 2020 it is a 128th day school this is WV 18 is I'm Jenna and I am Michelle today for lunch there will be sausage pizza mixed vegetables zucchini mixed berries and milk tomorrow for breakfast they'll be a practice bagel yogurt fresh grapes variables and we have some friends celebrating birthdays Peter asked please please go to the office pick on your birthday book yes sirs from JA question was who invented the telephone the answer is unbanned agonda unfortunately there is no winner better luck next time today's fun facts fun fact question is how many red stripes are on the American flag remember to write our answer neatly and include your name class we have a special announcement so the books of the monarch and please stand that winners over all the winner of the blue stem book is wet cement a mix of concrete poems overall overall a winner of marnark is baby monkey Private Eye third grade Beauty and the Beast fourth wet cement and a mix of concrete columns Bluestar their great beauty and the beat or wet cement a mix of concrete columns and now we observe brief period of silence to reflect on their faded activities of the day we stand for 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 please join me in the big Hollow pledge I pledge to be a pH star whether at school or travel far I pledge to be safe in every way take responsibility during work and play I will be respectful and all I do and be a star the whole day through have a trust thing for the Thursday remember if you think someone could use a friend be one thanks for watching rock that test bye
okay everybody if we could please we're getting ready to start so everybody please take your seats and we'll get started okay everybody plea it's now 7:00 p.m. or 7:05 I'm sorry we're a little late and we're gonna open our open session part and please 4.0 join me for the flag salute put your right hand over your heart and I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all okay and now we're moving on to roll call board member of course gonzales board member Ariana's present board member here and board member you already I'm here as well and 4.0 see approval of the agenda 4.1 do I have a motion okay I was motioned by board member for his opinion seconded by member Greer and let's hope and student board member do you want a vote all right thank you oh I need to get okay passes 5-0 and now we're moving on to 5.0 recognition and awards we start out with a 5.1 spotlight on Slauson school middle school good evening I am Yvette Walker the the principal and fossum middle school I am proud to present this evening miss Jade Clovis Thea and her advanced Girls Choir [Applause] [Music] [Applause] it is okay and no no come back we have something for you all right who's got their we had an awesome presentation right there all right you bet are you presenting something [Music] I know your homeworks calling to you but glad you guys came back into the room so on behalf of the board that we just want to express our appreciation for that beautiful song to introduce our our meeting today can we give her another round of applause you guys are amazing singers and with a wonderful teacher so I just we want to put we want to present this certificate and pursue an appreciation of Slauson middle school for promoting student achievement through rigorous instruction and community engagement on March 10th today a sign bar star superintended dr.
Linda Kaminski and our board president Joey Bibles local [Applause] [Music] [Applause] it's over this high okay now we're going to move on to five point two recognition of Eric F Boyd executive director of the Santa Anita Family YMCA good evening members of the school board Azusa residents and friends I'm Eric Boyd executive director of the Santa Anita Family YMCA had I looked up the agenda before I would have called you folks and said you made a mistake because it's not I who deserves the recognition I really wanted to spotlight these students behind me and our to volunteer advisers specifically mr.
Raphael Medina [Music] [Applause] and behind me are some students some Azusa residents and some who are who attended the YMCA using government conference and let me just really quickly say a youth and government is a program in which high school students go up to the State Capitol and actually get to run the government for a weekend actually for five days and they they spend several months prepping for that and up until to be quite frank up until very recently the program has about four thousand students from YMCAs all over the state and it quite frankly it was Lily whitening not not not anything I'm mad about but but it does need to reflect more the population of our state and so we took it upon ourselves as as our YMCA and the Kenyan City Foundation if there are any representatives from the foundation here tonight they deserve significant recognition because this program cost about twenty one hundred dollars a year for a kid to attend and they made it possible so that any kids particularly from Azusa who wanted to attend we asked their families what they can afford and that's what they pay and so we could have done that without the foundation and because of that let's just say we've added a little caramel to the butterman and I'm kind of I'm pretty glad about the girls come up in and say hello and know about their experience hi my name is iris and I'm the Oni a USC student in the YMCA ymg program I go to gladsome high school and this program has really like helps me become more of a leader in my school and help reinforce the students to understand that we're not just here to sit here and look pretty but we're here to do ask to do something and take action and I'm really thankful for the the scholarship that Azusa gave me to be part of this amazing program during Sacramento we saw a lot of new experiences that as a student I would normally not see so it was like a good experience to go through and I'm really grateful for Eric Elisa's Rafael for giving me the chance to also be in this program and I want to say thank you again for that chances that you guys have given us to help exceed and help be someone else help be someone in this immediate and thank you good evening I'm serene Gary and I'm just a resident and this program was very enlightening I went into it not really interested in politics more looking into medical field and just kind of looking into this non political things and I went to one meeting and I was sold it's in an environment where students are encouraged to step up speak their voice tell me exactly what you want to know and exactly what you want and that's just you're building the leaders of tomorrow and with this scholarship I was able to go in headfirst without worrying about any other barriers and be able to kind of grow as a person as a leader and be able to take on challenges like going after presidents for clubs and being able to try out for things that I didn't think that I would be able to beforehand it's really kind of shown me how to be much more bold or person to be able to kind of go after what you want don't let other things hold you back thank you good evening my name is Sarah weary I now attend dirty high school as a sophomore but I am a resident of Azusa initially going into youth in government I had a little bit of a passion for politics but I feel as if it was undiscovered so when going into youth in government through the YMCA it kind of like have that niche into it so now I'm like stir crazy for politics I am up-to-date with the Democratic debates with all the politics and all of the like all these new things that I never knew I was interested in and now I'm talking about it at the dinner table which my mom is like that's not supposed to happen but I still talk about it and I just feel as if you think government as my sister just said um we don't initially when I came in I didn't know I had the opportunity to be a leader we're now going through the program seeing what I can and I am able to do I feel as if I am a leader my place and I know that I can make a difference in this world so hopefully this will be my youth and government experience will then pass on to my adult life and I'm able to be a leader there as well thank you good evening board members an audience my name is Tyler Spicer and I'm the proud president of our fantastic delegation I have the I had the honor and privilege of serving on the 72nd youth governor's cabinet on that cabinet I had the opportunity to pass major legislation that went to governor Gavin Newsom desk so I'm gonna keep this as short as I possibly can but it was a true honor serving on his cabinet and I've learned so much in this program I do this is my second year in this program and when I started off I was very shy and timid and now I'm sure as my advisors could explain I'm very outgoing and just ready to hit the ground you know just go right for it so this program is fantastic it's also helped me get into college I put down on my college applications and even on resumes that you know I participate in this program and I've described what I've done in this program and I've had you know that college counselors have reached out to me and they say tell us more you know how can we tell people who want to apply to our college that this program is right for them because this program isn't only in the state of California but it's across the nation so it's a really fantastic program and I am extremely thankful for my advisers and mr.
Eric Boyd for helping me and helping our entire delegation become the great leaders that we are today thank you so hi my name is Hannah Hamilton I'm a sophomore and it's just a high school and I personally am NOT in the YMCA program but thanks to Adrian Greer I was able to go to Sacramento and tour their program a couple weeks ago and to be honest I had no clue when I was getting into or where I was going but when I went I was like uplifted I was I went and we went into their first session and I was like okay Wow just saying but I don't know it was just this kind of aura of I want to be here and I want to do this and I wanna make a change the world and that is someone that is kind of a small fish in a bigger pond I I do realize that I want to make a difference and thanks to the YMCA family and Eric for an Eric point I realized that I can make a difference and I'm really excited to even try to make it into this program good evening board members superintendent Kaminsky I am speaking his mr. boy just kind of put me on the spot right now I had the opportunity as faculty to travel with mr.
Greer and I'd like to thank him for that opportunity to be able to do so it was an amazing experience not only for the students but also for I think mr. Boyd mr. Greer and myself to actually see thousands of students from all of you know California getting together and actually doing what our government does our state assembly our state congressional leaders and therefore it was a wonderful opportunity especially for a social science teacher to actually see that happening and how our government works and you know be able to tour the Capitol building it was an amazing experience not only for them but for us too I do want to say that the program is very rewarding and if there's an opportunity for us to be able to have more of our students be exposed to government not only do they find themselves and what they're capable of doing but they're our future leaders these kids are our leaders they are our future they are going to come back here and maybe sit in your seats one day so I would like to say thank you to mr.
Boyd and the Senate of Family YMCA for all of you know their hospitality that day it was wonderful but just to maybe implore you to think of this as an option for our kids so thank you let's keep it I'll keep this real short he was a VIP with us grab a day with us we're based in the city of Monrovia with us and EDA Family YMCA but Azusa is a city that we serve so we just want to continue to build a relationship good evening my name is Julius I happen to have the honour of being a leader advisor and actually so many great friends right in front of me so I honor you tonight and your leadership but I lost fathers their lifespan awareness not just constan muy bien hemos estado platica no en estos minutos and cerca de un programa que se llaman Hoeven is ego beer no muchos de los jovenes en esta noche an habla de como por medio' del programa am po dedo de cerrar sus habilidades especial ment alre Adela Durazo lo que mucho de esos Hoeven se her own escape or medow del programa encontrar ensue BOS entonces si quieren participar en el programa si tienes oven que stay in a high school he quieres mas informacion ma Mystere an aria Beatriz so he said good I'm gonna put mr.
tree around the spot mr. Greer and savvy acerca del programa le pueden preguntar al porque es un programa que está de Senado para apoyar al joven para desarrollar r SE estamos en la ciudad de Monrovia pero la area de Azusa definitivamente es una de las ciudades a las cuales queremos servire nuestro mensaje neste noches ramos la oportunidad de poder 70 our message tonight is simple we're here to be of service we want to join with your vision we are certain that you have one it's been phenomenal to be able to go on your campuses through the right paths of permission and to be able to meet so many of the students that you have chosen to serve there are wonderful kids so I pray and hope that you'll keep us in your toolbox to continue to make a difference have a great evening so as you see that's why I said it wasn't about me it's really about them let me just say a couple quick things though the youth in government program is actually the second leg of our government awareness programs for for youth and there is a program called Model United Nations I grew up in it some of you might have as well and it now is down in the middle school level dr.
Kaminsky and I have had talks about that and she knows that we have plans with the Foundation's money to bring it to the middle schools here as well so the girls that just sang and some of you out there we have something for you as well and we're looking forward to it and when we came here to do this and it really I think iris said it best you know the question is did you come here to do something or did you come here to have something to do we came here to Azusa our why I came here to do something not just to have something to do our kids we want our kids and we in their ours to have to be able to do something not just have something to do so we're gonna take Model UN to the middle schools and introduce that it's been unfortunately moved back because of recent concerns about health and so forth it was normally in April it's got it's been moved back to the end of May that's actually maybe a good thing we have more time to talk to more kids about it as we make our way to the various middle schools here and I would just say again when we came we'll came to dr.
Kaminsky we came to Adrienne and said look if not us who if not now when why why shouldn't our kids be in Sacramento with all these other kids from reading in Redlands and Irvine and so why not and the Kenyan city foundation agreed and made it possible and we just want to continue to build and build on this I will say we took we took I think seven kids to six kids - VIP day with it when they could to see it for one day that means that in actuality the Santa Anita delegation is now a majority as oosa delegation they're more azusa kids between iris and the six we took than any other district and we serve five so that's something to be proud and we want to keep building on that and we just thank you for being receptive to us allowing us in your schools to talk to the kids about it and you know and we don't thank those parents who trusted us to take their kids to Sacramento and you know all the other things that go with it so we're just gonna keep keep on building this thing and keep keep educating our kids about government this is an example for everybody here this school board if they may have a regular building building that they meet in but the government is where the people are so today they brought it to the school that's the lesson that's the lesson we're teaching the new thing government that's the lesson when I'm teaching model um to your middle school students and we thank you again for partnering with us to teach and hold up both leads because we have in the Lord and while you guys are getting together I'd like to acknowledge mr.
Burke Hamilton former school board member and and I'll just say just just a couple real quick things first of all thank you you're right this here says air void and while I thank you tremendously I also was there and saw your team at work and I agree we got we got a we got to reproduce this and make sure we put why I'm stay on there because that's that's the whole crew and the whole team and and I also just want to say you know thank you too it was a team effort really because when when you know I had worked with Eric with some of this in the past and we talked about how can we bring this to the district we reached out to mr. Fernandez and mr. dr. Gomez and we had some of these conversations and went into the classrooms and and met with parents and students I saw Santos over here around here I mean so like there's there's different from Alaska mr.
block also was it was in on that as well yeah and so all that to say all that to say it was an incredible experience and those who were there can recognize that going in and seeing the you know how powerful it is to hear those young people up there speak and be the leaders that they that they are and I had that same question why not why not ours why couldn't it be our students and then to go and see that you know iris for example that we do have our students that you know who are there and then to see Hannah you know who was there who said I this is something that I'm interested in and want to grow in and so it's a partnership that we can continue to grow from and grateful for that partnership and amazing to see you know what this could mean for our community so thank you for for your friendship and partnership and bringing it to our families and students and so it says here as we see Unified School District certificate of recognition is proudly presented to Eric Boyd but YMCA for their part for their partnership and dedication to the students of Azusa Unified School District dated for today [Applause] thank you okay now we're moving on to five point three recognition of student board representative Bridget Nunez as a high school it's your last time why not okay so four is is a high school on March 11th English classes for parents in the room one parent center from 9:00 a.m.
to 10:30 a.m. on March 12th Cafe Azteca in room one parent center from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on march 13th aztec mocha field trip la symphonies from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. a lockdown drill Sadie's dance in the gym from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. and on March 14th colorguard tournament in Riverside on March 15th through 18th the wasp visit on March 16th English classes for parents room 1 parent Center 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on March 18th El Cap Student Advisory Committee that's for all three schools bapak field trip Citrus College from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. English classes for parents room 1 parent Center from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. baseball Azusa vs Gladstone at Gladstone High School from 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. I lost my fleas Oh on march 19th CTE Job Shadow day from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
on march 19th cafe s deca and rumen Center 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on March 20th baseball Azusa vs. Boston a disease a high school from 3:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on March 21st Aztec Saturday Academy from 8 a.m. to 12:15 JROTC competition at Gladstone High School from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. jo t oh wait I said that classes having plenty to eat waste recycling in the parking lot from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on March 23rd English classes for parents room 1 parent Center from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on the 24th a band festival at Santiago High School from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. school site council meeting room 1 parent Center from 3:30 from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. CTE internship parent meeting in the Career Center from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and know your rights in the library from 6 p.m.
to 7 p.m. Gladstone on March 11th an H IP field trip at Northrop Grumman from 8 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. on March 11 Jo TC junior achievement at Ellington middle school on March 14 jazz band at Esperanza high school and a field trip to the Natural History Museum from 9:15 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on the 18th spring record o record spring report card event from 5 5 to 6:30 p.m. on March 18th art department field trip to Citrus College from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the 20th the teen summit in the outdoor stage from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. and the Sadie's dance in the center quad from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. and then on the 21st a jazz band at new Newbury Park High School JROTC cadets competition Gladstone vs. Azusa at 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and on the 24 jo t Richard Nixon museum from 8 a.m.
to 2:30 p.m. Ciara high school on March 17th coffee with the principal from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on March 18th softball versus Chapel Cheryl thank you mom Cheryl High School Marching parks & Demons 8:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on march 19th Job Shadow day various locations from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and I'm March 20 and census parent meeting cafeteria 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. that was my last report [Applause] honestly this has shown me like how much our schools our territory like I you obviously know it like with the teachers and everything but really coming here and seeing everyone come up and talk and it's like so sweet heartwarming and seeing all the performances like choir and stuff you know okay I like to I like to give this certificate of Susie Unified School District certificate of recognition is probably to present Ridgid loonies for her service as a 2019 2020 board representative under this Unified School District Board of Education marched in 2020 signed right superintendent dr.
Linda Kaminsky and School Board President Jerry Bibles logo and I want to say that she's did a fantastic job and I think she'd be great for the YMCA another leader but she's she may be another board member her her input was very valuable to us and I appreciate you always speaking up did a good job when I noticed she was a little girl so this is an honor for me to give this to her right now [Applause] mom okay item five point four introduction of student board represented Jenna Valdez from Gladstone High School and would you like to say something [Applause] I just want to say that I'm excited and grateful for this opportunity okay in five point five is recognition of chelonian crucem solace for service as president of these is a Unified School District Board of Education if you'd like to come up front oh okay I can do it back here if you want so basically what we do is we give them a special gavel with their name on it and I'm gonna hand that alright I'm gonna grab my stuff I'm gonna take your cute little gavel out so everybody can see it thank you okay and a certificate Azusa Unified School District certificate of recognition is proudly presented to chelonian Cruz Gonzales for her dedicated service to the students staff and community of the Azusa Unified School District dated March 10th 2020 signed dr.
Linda Kaminski superintendent and Jerry Bibles over board president there you go okay we're moving on to six item 6.0 report action closed session matters item 6.1 resolution nineteen twenty thirty six non re-election and release of temporary certificated employees do I have a motion to approve I move to approve a second okay motion by Adrienne I'm sorry and seconded by board member Gabriella oh yeah and we can vote okay it passes 5-0 moving on to six item 6.2 student matter final settlement for office administrative hearing OAH case to 0 to 0 0 to 0 to 6 to student number 19 21 - 22 and do I have a motion I make a motion to approve 6.2 mm-hmm motion by board member opinion and we have a second second by board member Ariana's and we point of order president yes it just came to my attention that the agenda does not have any public comment on it is that is that is that correct yep oh it has some public items from the floor public all right thank you all right and next room it passes 5-0 and so now we'll move on to 7.0 items from the floor public comment on agenda or non-agenda items 7.1 this is an opportunity for the public to address the board on agenda or non agenda items no action can be taken on non-agenda items individual speakers may be allowed up to three minutes to address the board on any agenda or not agenda item prior to addressing the board please fill out the request to speak public comment blue card and submit it to the board secretary and we have a whole big stack here so let's get started on this first up is Logan the-- [Applause] my name is Logan see when I came to Austin no one really knew but when I was in my classes I was family all had a common goal to go to college a family who supported me and everyone did it's family stuff for me three years now my facing all avid it will destroy my family my support how my class is all ready to go into a different high school some of them are gone but in order to get into Aven high school in my sent applications and be interviewed and accepted into habited this shows how many people care about the selected events to them it's more than just the class if I were to be taken many more people's families would also thank you thank you next up is and easy am i pronouncing it correctly I'm just reading it the Unified School District whips every student with knowledge and skills for college career readiness to fulfill their purpose and positively impact Society that's the Azusa School District mission statement the ABA's mission statement and its mission is to close the gap fight preparing all students for college readiness and success in the global system so I'm merging these things together looking at awfully much it's a mission statement I think the it's a good fit this program for your mission statement that you have stated also looking at it to just looking at the statistics proven I like the statistics where it's proven results that the first-generation low-income avid alumni Costa College of four times more likely graduate to graduate than the national peers and if that's actually a good fit for the demographics of the user that's just the the statistics just match the district so I just want to support let you know that the program did make a difference you have the power to shape the future and lay down the foundation for the future I understand that's a big responsibility I also understand that you need to balance your mission statement but do share responsible I appreciate that and sometimes you have to make on popular decisions but looking at the avid program I feel strongly about it I also come from I'm the youngest of seven I'm also from an immigrant family education has provided me the ability to have the job travel the world support my family this is the mission statement it's the past for the next generation avid provides that you have the power to change not just students lives but the whole generation Cystic thank you thank you okay and next up is hunger seat hi my 7 months of being an avid it has helped me that has helped me a lot I used to be very unorganized but many people whatever is like a second family and for me to about avid I don't think I'll be able to be successful in college and when I grow up I want to be a paleontologist and I think avid would help me with that achieve my dream job and in your hands or copies of what might have a family how to say thank you for letting me speak thank you for coming okay next up is Elvis Diaz [Applause] we're both in that program and students as possible we are very fond about average curriculum and its benefits to students I respectfully disagree with reducing that program it's many students here that's awesome and all school district well based on my statistics there's more than a 67% increase of students attending and getting accepted into college along with the universities rather than students not enrolled in this program as many of you know our school and city community is known for being very Latino dominated but along with this information the avid program has helped more Hispanics and Latino students go to college by 62% as opposed to Latinos not in the program as well as other minorities this program helps students establish how to survive college what this means is in avid we learn building skills and developing behavior that leads to success that is quoted from an article by a little exam drew and Josh Moody and their opinion on the abbath program from the same article you can see first-generation students can learn skills to prepare for college unlike someone who has no one to look for answers [Applause] also what did the school board of Azusa want to have the highest number of college bound students and we can do this by keeping the avid program which teaches students about what to expect and be ready for college but by closing this avid program you're cutting off many kids from getting the proper education and preparation for college [Applause] program because it just mean a lot if it weren't for avid I wouldn't even know my options avid has made me comfortable in my school and mean everything simple for me to see I really don't want this program to not be available for more students because I know how much it helped me as this program means as much to me as taught me a lot about what I know now but moreover thank you for your time and hopefully this persuades you to keeping the oven program for all future decisions and um Ivana that would that would be you that's I just wanted you double check and make sure thank you great job all right next Audrina Rodriguez or I'm sorry Ramirez and Valeria Ruis Maurice [Applause] my name is melody and Ruiz is Audrina [Music] all the people in the student council I want to mention is a great program that helps students with team working skills and leadership abilities it gives great opportunities to they talk about your future career and give you time to discover different universities our our teachers provide TRS to help us gain more knowledge of what we're having trouble with not only that but I would help students develop skills that they need for college not only the ones that disagree with the suggestion one student states I wasn't shocked when I heard this either there's a great opportunity to get closer to the city as in helping a child with children and other community service activities and out of all the avid students 92% of them graduate so I haven't we're taken out the numbers of kids graduating and is in the whip decrease we are very shocked about this hope you understand hey next up is Jacqueline Santana and Alexis Maryse [Applause] good evening as his support members and others attending this meeting my name is Alexis Rodriguez and my name is Jon Secada we are sweet avid students and we have been in the avid program for three years we've realized that avid as well as other electives are slowly being taken away we noticed this due to the fact that there have been up to five avid classes in the past and now there are only three we have also been informed on the no-fee only one class at salsa next year for example at Gladstone their molding YouTube classes for nine to 12 grade all current eighth grade students are competing for one and 15 spots for high school we care deeply about future avid students because it has assisted it has assisted in developing and a very determined college mindset college mindset doesn't just begin in high school it begins at elementary and develops in middle school evan has helped us pursue a number of diverse colleges and universities this program especially supports students who are less fortunate when it comes to college resources which is why we do multiple team college research activities we believe teamwork is essential in life an avid gives us the support to not only develop teamwork skills but also grows individuals we each have had increase personal experience doing this program my experience with Abbott has been that it tremendously helped me with my grades what when I began to struggle up this year my teacher mistltein was there to keep me on track she put me on an avid contract which encouraged me to fix my grades and not give up an avid contract is basically a form which makes you talk to a teacher about any way to improve your grade Abbott has not only been a good academic experience but also a social experience in our minds Evan is not just a class but also found in my case Savage showed me how I could become organized its school and at home organization takes a big part in our weekly binder check on the other hand tutorials assist me whenever I am struggling in a subject or topic tutors give me tutors guide us not only through our tutorials but wave more avid teaches me to prepare for college while helping me grow friendships and be more to conclude of it is a wonderful program which other students should be privileged enough to have all throughout middle and high school avid has taught us and many other students necessary life skills we have been very lucky to have avid in our school and we hope the district continue of continues avid for many generations to come thank you for your time and consideration thank you hey next up is crystal old Tessa good evening the reason why I'm here today isn't just because we're like we like the teachers who have recognized noticeably the problem is with the system of choosing them which is based on seniority over the quality of these teachers many of our students have any connection with these teachers and from my own personal experience as a welcome for these teachers some of us wouldn't be here today for example a student had a teacher they they would go to when they felt they couldn't keep moving forward and when they found out that teacher that cares for them is being laid off they felt upset because the teacher hot baths turned into a lock that student is grateful for the teacher along with the other students that the teacher has helped the teacher the teachers that we have slipped work day and night not to pick up a check at the end of the week but to make a future first like you guys say the students are what matters the most but do you really take what we have in store we sink into consideration I believe that our voices our students and member of these and this community should be heard because at the end of the day we are the ones that Ganpat did the most me along with the rest of them of the student that lasted on high school thank you for your time and I hope you will analyze who I have come to say on behalf of the students that care about our environment teacher I love them because what they do on a day to day basis make us great and try their hardest to make sure we have a successful future thank you thank you next up is poppy sahajiya before I speak of what I have prepared tonight I just want to say that I'm so proud of all these students who came out and spoke on behalf of what they felt passionate about that's what makes our country great and these are areas my good evening everyone my name is Kathy Sian I'm a teacher at Ellington School and I've been in the district for over 30 years I'm speaking tonight because I fill our district is not putting our students first when I when I am finished I will give you a copy of my notes to be reflected for beta in the record last month our staff was informed our principal was leaving our school to take a position at the district office we were given two weeks notice and then our principal was gone in the past when the principal had to take a leave of absence for whatever reason another retired principal would be placed at our school so that all students parents and staff would have the support they need unfortunately this situation was not handled in that manner I am speaking tonight because I felt students parents and staffs needs are not being met Ellington school is the only tk8 model in the whole district we have ten great others many special education students who require IEP meetings and countless extracurricular activities as well as social activities in the middle school center has approximately 400 students and they have a principal assistant principal and a full-time counselor Foothill has approximately 500 students and they have a principal assistant principal and a full-time counselor Slauson has approximately 700 students they have a principal assistant principal and one and a half counselors we have approximately 500 students and we have one principal and a half-time counselor the district should have an equitable practice across the board if you don't have an ethical equitable practice across the board it will be a detriment to all students I've been at ellington my entire career when we first became a tk8 school we realized that more support was needed in order to put students needs first once principal was not enough we have had many administrators try to do this huge job by themselves and I am here to say I am here to tell you that it is too big a job for just one person what happens when our principal is at a district meeting or elsewhere our resource teacher must step in even if she is working with students we have a part-time consular who is at our school three times a week currently she is supposed to work with students but she will have to leave her students if a crisis occurs is this the best our school district can to you I implore you to do the right thing and let us have one principal and one assistant principal if you do not believe what I'm saying at this moment shadow one week at our school and see what happens thank you okay for the sake of time this is our business meeting so although applauses appreciated the the whooping and hollering please try to keep that to a minimum and we really appreciate that because this is our business thank you all right next up from not only tutors but also from our team because one of the main things ever it is helped us do is collaborate so we're able to use teamwork to work out a problem and help each other out we are also able to get help from average with organizational skills and we have our dentists where they keep track of if we feel our attenders or not where we know they're you want to keep up with their homework and the class work and we're also we also have to have our materials and stuff they make sure we have our materials and we minor checks every single week so avid not only has helped us after death academically and with organization skills but it has also helped us out helped us with our social skills we've made a lot of friends through avid with students as well as teachers avid projects and presentations Alfa have helped us overcome stage fright as well as shyness especially during middle school we can guarantee that we would not have the same college and career knowledge if we hadn't taken avid for the past couple of years we know more about scholarships grants and the field trips have definitely given us a bit of a look into what college life looks like I'm sure we have a lot more to learn in these next two years and of it and I would be upset to know that many students when I have the same opportunity as we have had and I know that you all know what avid is about what we wanted to say it is so you know a bit more of what we students have to say on the program thank you guys for your time thank you next up is Ron trestle before my time starts and I just want to say how proud I am that these students over here for coming up here taste like I've heard come up here and keep your mind great job they're doing and they are definitely a lot of the future good evening board members assistant superintendent and superintendent my name is Ron trestle and I am a teacher at glass stone high school I have come here tonight to represent myself as a teacher my purpose of speaking to you tonight is to talk about the recent reduction in force and budget crisis that is currently happening and happening in our district I know that we are in a budget crisis and I know that it is tough to be the position that you are in when you have to make decisions that you don't want to have to make last week by my colleagues receive a RIF notice it is tough to deal with just because not only are they my colleagues but there are my friends and there are coaches now I'm speaking in terms of coaches we have a couple of our coaches here tonight there were three coaches on that list of a rift to over football coaches now our football program hangs in the balance our go girls soccer program which was the first soccer team to go to CIF and years is now hanging he's talking for the next 1000 - my question is how did we get here I think the answer to this is that we spent and then spent some more district administration continued to value programs over students and teachers if we knew that we were going to be in a budget crisis and we should have known why don't we continue to spend on programs when you knew that we would need that money later on how do we become a district that is unable to say no to their superintendent how important cast members not that would greatly cut into our budget how did our CEO not stand up and say we can't do this because it's going to put us in a tough financial position getting back to the rest this could have been avoided if district administration had made better financial decisions how is it that while teachers are reduced in force school administration school administrators are not sure what sites they will be in or be employed by the district at all and students who have lost out when electives that inspired them that our superintendent and Steve EO are still employed by this district this whole mess could but it could have been avoided if we could have just stood up and said no to our superintendent I know that there are politics of all I know that if you implement programs that you can say that you can implement this in our district that those programs that that those programs make you look better while you move up the chain of command at the state level while you did that you lost sight of our students and your teachers and this is a practice that needs to stop I hope that in the future that we can work as a team to solve this budget crisis it cannot be one person we have to work together to truly make a difference for our students and the district thank you [Applause] okay next up next is Tommy Sanchez so I gotta hand it to him son is working something just working within our schools but we can't to tear that obviously we have leaders here that went to Washington spoke on our behalf and it's because of programs like avid we can't take away from these programs we need to build upon them to deteriorate arian our students our future leaders from Azusa to move ahead how can we do that and we put any money in front of our students we can't do that we need to stand up folks right Avex a wonderful program it enhances it educates it motivates these students as folk articulated they're motivated they're leaders they're going to look like a head and we know that they proved it tonight by stepping up to the podium so school board do the right thing thank you hey next up is Eddie flexing I'm here to say you do not take it out of school I meant to be the second family if you take out avid you're breaking up a family Abbott has helped me along for the years when I came here in sixth grade my grades were not the best I didn't know what to do for my future career or any college in general once I joined Aven and helped me a lot through the years now I know what my future is gonna be I have a bright plan for it and I just want to thank some of my classmates for him yeah and my teacher personal team thank you okay next up is Jonathan and Vicki we are proud Slauson avid Panthers in my opinion I strongly think Azusa unified school district should keep a bit because it has honestly helped me improve my grades not only me but also my classmates the avid teachers are also amazing they keep us on track and aside from school they personally care about each an individual one reason why I love avid is because we have all turned into an amazing family the teachers are also very great role models thank you avid avid is a program designed to designed to help students develop the skills they need to be successful in college event places special emphasis on drawing writing critical thinking to my organization and reading skills this is a evidence of program that focuses heavily on college readiness Ivan also pushes and supports students to keep up the grades well no other class does that during the avid program progress students and teachers become a big family and push each other to the limits to reach our goals for which of it was created thank you hey next up is our main desk or good evening my name is Armand Escobar and I have taught in Azusa for 13 years and 2015 I decided to transition from teaching English at Gladstone High School to teaching eighth grade in language and language arts and social studies at Ellington at the induction of our middle school the first two years we have two different principals who were left to manage ten grade levels which are comprised of essentially two different campuses much was expected of each principal however neither was successful due to the lack of support and resources in 2017 we had dr.