You may have noticed that they're dressed quite similarly today, but with a few notable adornments. Many are proudly wearing Academia Regalia, signifying their high school academic achievements. In the class of 2025, 201 seniors are graduating with academic honor or distinction. With those students wearing a multicolored blue, green, white academic cord, please stand. This group of 46 students has earned a 3.75 to 3.99 cumulative grade point average and are designated as honor graduates. You may be seated. With those students wearing an academic medal with a blue, green, or white ribbon, please [Applause] stand. In this group, we have 52 kum laud members of the class of 2025 who earned between a 4.0 and 4.19 GPA. We have 41 Magnaum Laad members who have earned between a 4.2 and a 4.39 GPA. And we have 62 Suma Kum Laad members who have earned a GPA of 4.35 to 4.839.
I think it's 11 years. 11 years. Um she's got a quiet strength and patience and just deep care for her kids. Um she's supported our students. She supported our staff. She's um always willing to chip in. She's always willing to help. And the great thing about being at Simon 10 for 11 years is she got to see a lot of our kids grow up and then she got to see their siblings come through and so she's been a part of that. And the kids genuinely love her. She's one of those people on our campus that if you ask them who's who's your trusted adult, who who's somebody that you can talk to, they say Kathy. They say Miss Kathy. Can we go with her? And our teachers just absolutely adore you. And I've just got to say that our campus is not going to be the same without you on it.
Um, I try to make a commitment to attend at least one event um, for each school just to show our support and the achievements of our staff and our students. Uh, there's been some years where I have not been able to complete it and I'm really hopeful that I'll be able to hit everything this year. So, I'm off to a good start. Um, and I did attend the trashin show at Desert Wind Middle School, and that was again another first that I think they're going to keep uh doing annually, but what fun that was. The creativity of those kids is just amazing, and the research that they did for each country that they represented. I attended a city council meeting and I wanted to share this. Maricopa has what they call the citizen leadership academy. It's through the city, but recently, in fact, they just announced at the last council meeting that that class has been approved so that students can earn the seal of civics literacy to be applied to our high school seniors.
Um and then also in partnership with Needm Bank, we have a 0% financing option too, so that um businesses can take out loans and we've talked to so many new businesses that have come to Ashland and really the business incentive program was really one of the reasons they came to Ashland like Zeta Fencing. we were talking about NATIC um purposely moved to Ashlin partly because of the space because they were able to get space in the tele building um but mostly because our business incentive program gave them a reason and a mechanism to be able to fund that move and fund the buildout. So we're really super fortunate to to have that as sort of a a tool um in our toolkit. And then when we were talking about historic preservation, um you know the the once the public safety building was built, the um the town who owned the fire station and we had put out an RFP to the public.
And we've even been able to see when we go to the park on our last day, we've seen Wish families and they recognize us and we say hi and we like can go on the rides with them or hang out with them. So, it's a super special moment. Thank you. questions, questions. I know we, you know, we've been hearing about it for so long, so everyone's probably feeling like they're pretty familiar with it at this point, but um please ask questions if you have any. You guys, it's a pretty welloiled machine at this point. Um and I think it's such a wonderful opportunity for everybody who goes on the trip, but also for the families that you're serving and helping. And so I'm I I love that it's it's keeping going. So, and I'll say again if there are any parents tuning in for the first time that may not be that familiar with it.
Um so I look forward to seeing um that program grow. It was supported through a desi grant. Um and I'm hopeful that that grant continues to be offered because uh we've we've had a lot of really positive feedback both from staff and students and families who participated. We also received notice in the past few weeks that the summer food service program expansion grant um was awarded. Um they received a grant for $17,130 to support the ongoing efforts to expand access to meals during the summer months. Um, if you think back to August or September, I think um, the superintendent announced last summer our food service department served over 60,000 meals. Um, and this is money that will go towards continuing that and growing that um, opportunity for the community. Um, we're also starting to wrap up another grant, the Mass Cultural Council Creative Project for Schools.
Um so I look forward to seeing um that program grow. It was supported through a DESIE grant. Um and I'm hopeful that that grant continues to be offered because uh we've we've had a lot of really positive feedback both from staff and students and families who participated. We also received notice in the past few weeks that the summer food service program expansion grant um was awarded. Um they received a grant for $17,130 to support the ongoing efforts to expand access to meals during the summer months. Um, if you think back to August or September, I think, um, the superintendent announced last summer our food service department served over 60,000 meals. Um, and this is money that will go towards continuing that and growing that um, opportunity for the community. Um, we're also starting to wrap up another grant, the Mass Cultural Council Creative Project for Schools.
Donna will likely be making another adjustment to sub costs before the end of the year. As the year is nearing the end, please remember that some invoicing such as uh items for our utilities and services do tend to trickle in throughout the month of June and early July. So, the year will probably not get closed until midsummer. Uh we are still waiting to receive our second excess cost payment, which should come in uh this month. Those funds are already allocated for our contracted nurse and therefore wouldn't affect our budget. However, there is a small chance small that we may receive an additional excess cost payment this year and that could come in sometime in June. If we do receive that, it is not going to be a large amount, but we would use it to offset remaining costs in the operational budget for the contracted nurse or other special education costs.
Excuse me, our non- high need students are growing more than our high needs. And so that is something that we focus on to try to help our high need students to grow. That's the way that we can close the achievement gap. If we all grow at the same rate, the gap continues. So when we look at things, so poverty we can't address. We try to help with our meal train, but we do have two groups that we can work day in and day out to help, which are special needs students and our multilingual learners. And so this is how they have been u meeting their growth targets over the past couple years. So when we look and talk about our U MLL students specifically, this is in our accountability index, the um percent growth in loss lengths. And so the yellow two years ago, that was when we first implemented our EL achieve new curriculum.
Um has some ideas. So that's there's already some good stuff that uh I just didn't have time to get to um going on. So um you will be in good hands and uh and so this will be my my last meeting. Um, can't say that I've haven't had great times here like all of us over the the months and years, but uh but yeah, this will be the last one. One more last before the the end. So, thank you. It's been a great run. Chapter one is over and we got to figure out what chapter 2 is. So, thank you. Thank you, Robert. Our next one is Mr. John Carroll. That's up for seven. Okay. Oh, okay. So, you want to comment on a specific item? All righty. Number seven, action items. Aim is to approve the renewal petition for Yusede Wona Charter School. Is there a motion to approve?
Um and my son who is um just attending Land View School this year. He is just currently just starting party training with Miss Shanti. I am seeing the process the process that he is making right now. And I see that he need help from Miss Shanti and the two other para educator within the classroom. So and the fact that he is a male, imagine he is um have to go outside to a separate bedroom and he is requiring the hair from his female teacher. That would be very very inappropriate. Um and I am worrying about his safety and the other student who also attending um not elementary school next year. So in the as a consequence of this in the absence of the attached bedroom this will um disrupt a sus party training among specialized student and place an additional burden to the teacher and the staff as well.
She will take any student in that um you know has any kind of issue and she brings them in and loves on them and gets them to grade level. She is uh the the kindest person I've ever met and she's the kindest person that I think anybody on staff has ever met because that's who she is. She cares more about everybody else than she does about herself. I love that about her. Um I I can't imagine um a world without somebody as positive and kind as Heather Kindop. Heather Kendop, thank you very much for everything that you do for all of us here at Shasta, running our Shasta sunshine and just being everything to everybody all the time. So, let's give a round of applause to Heather Kind, please. And I know she hates this because she doesn't like to have um the uh the spotlight shown on her, but she is our mentor.
Senior year has been the relaxing that we've earned after a difficult high school time. We found our friends. We found our path. And we've successfully navigated through this road trip of high school. Looking back on the memories from this year, too many come to mind to even name. From our last homecoming dance to the last football game all the way to the last prom that we'll ever experience. Throughout this journey that was this last year, I'm sure all of us had fun making the most of the time you had left. And hopefully this was the continuation of this chapter of our lives that we all wanted. A quote that has always stuck with me is in the words of Master Uguay. Today is a gift. That is why it's called the present. Remember my friends, the next journey will be the best one. Live your life to the fullest and cherish every moment and every memory that you make up until the last one.
Please join me in recognizing this group of amazing young people. You may be seated. If you are wearing a red cord, please stand. We have 106 seniors who earned straight A's in both semesters of their senior year. Please join me in congratulating these young people. You may be seated with those students wearing a purple cord. That might still be some of you guys. Please stand. We have 39 students who earned straight A's for all eight semesters of their high school careers. Please join me in congratulating [Applause] them. That's amazing. You may be seated. At our soaring eagle celebration, curricular department selected 90 students in the class of 2025 to be honored for excellence in specific academic areas. Each of these students is wearing a very special blue collar and a pin. Will all department award winners please stand and be recognized. You may be seated.
We're going to miss you greatly and um we're gonna have we're gonna have a Kathy sized hole on our campus, but we hope that you enjoy your retirement and enjoy that time off and that break. Thank you. And then we also have a couple others uh people that retiring that couldn't be here. So we will just quickly recognize them. A couple bus drivers, they're probably out driving their buses. Um but Ronald Davis has been with us for six years and Larry Smith uh has been with us for 13 years. Uh if you haven't driven a bus, I haven't driven a bus, but I work for UPS. Uh it takes a special person to get out on the road every single day and if in the bus with a bunch of kids and so we appreciate what Ronald and Larry have done for us. Want to thank them and our fruit service lead uh Laura Shaw retired earlier this spring.
They take the citizen leadership class and a couple of other um classes needed, but then they can earn an additional seal when they graduate. And I thought that was really cool and I wanted to share that. So, if anybody's thinking about that next year for parents and juniors out there, um, start thinking about it. It's really cool. Thank you. Thank you. Um, I actually sat in on an ASU teaching and learning webinar on durable skills for students. I attended the Maroba High School spring dance. Um, it was excellent. The production, the sound, the dances, choreography, just absolutely amazing. I would just recommend put it on your calendar for next year. It was a good probably hour and a half of constant entertainment. Really good. Um I was able to judge two of the uh Desert Sunrise speech and debate sessions. Impressive, excellent from the um eight contestants that I was able to review.
Actually, we put out a survey to the public before there was an RFP um to find out what the public wanted in that space. And you know, the the response from the public was really to bring uh either a restaurant or a brew pub into downtown Ashland and um and to keep the historical nature of that firehouse, which was super important. Um and so when we put out the RFP, that's what we were looking for. We were looking for those types of businesses to come. and Clover Road, who had been in Hudson and had um was looking to pop up at the corner spot actually, um talked to Beth Reynolds, our economic development director, and um saw the fire station and thought of this concept around Clover Road tap room that was um that was born. And so what they've done to that space is really not only revitalized the fire station and kept it in its complete historic nature and also paid homage to the to the firefighters that were there, but also it's it's literally changed the dynamic in our downtown because the the supporting businesses um are all benefiting from the fact that Clover Road doesn't do food.
I've I've gone several times as a chaperone, Dr. Kyra has as well. Um, and I can honestly say I'm I'm going into my 15th year now on school committee and it's probably the most meaningful thing that I've been a part of. um to mostly because to see the way our students um exercise, you know, their compassion, their hard work ethic, and the way you guys all work together and the way that you come back changed and and you're able to share that. Um I know, you know, because I'm so old at this point that that doing this kind of work is going to change your life. It's going to be with you forever. and and that's why I think it's one of the most important things that we support as a district. We do a lot of amazing things here, but um this one is really special.
local artist Sarah Hearn Belair has been working in all three of our elementary schools. Um I did make an announcement about this before, but just wanted to bring it bring it back to the forefront as we start to close this out. Um in all three elementaryaries, there's still some work to be done, but I know um Sarah has talked about finding space at the library over the summer and things like that. So the students artwork can be on display for the community. And this is also a grant, my number two, but I I felt compelled to separate it from the other grant update. The innovation career pathways is something that I've probably reported to you five or six times at this point. We found out last week that Greenfield did receive a designation from um Secretary Secretary Tutweiler, the Secretary of Education for the Commonwealth.
local artist Sarah Hearn Belair has been working in all three of our elementary schools. Um I did make an announcement about this before, but just wanted to bring it bring it back to the forefront as we start to close this out. Um in all three elementaryaries, there's still some work to be done, but I know um Sarah has talked about finding space at the library over the summer and things like that, so the students artwork can be on display for the community. And this is also a grant, my number two, but I I felt compelled to separate it from the other grant update. The innovation career pathways is something that I've probably reported to you five or six times at this point. We found out last week that Greenfield did receive a designation from um Secretary Secretary Tutweiler, the Secretary of Education for the Commonwealth.