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good evening fellow patriots it is i can't even describe how beautiful a sight it is to see this sea of green this evening i'm so excited to have spent the last month getting the opportunity to see you and celebrate with you at our spring morning sunrise at prom at our senior sunset last night it's been fantastic over the last few weeks to really get that opportunity to come together there is no better way to celebrate this class than to hear your uh colleagues voice so for now it's my pleasure to introduce the first of our student speakers who will be giving the scripture address which looks back at our four years together our first speaker lucas growing up i was always a very nostalgic kid i remember sitting in the corner of my room with tears streaming down my face i'd complain mom i don't want to grow up just seems too hard i want to stay this age forever being the loving mother that she is she'd look me in the eye and say lucas get off the floor you're graduating high school in two days as the scripture student commencement speaker it's my job to look back on the past four years in doing so it became clear that nothing about it was normal it wasn't normal to have the fire alarms go off every day for the first two weeks of freshman year it wasn't normal to protest school shootings during our sophomore year it wasn't normal to have our junior and senior year limited to social isolation normal is absolutely not the class of 2021.
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an outdoor celebration that if not the first for this school corporation ever is the first in a very very long time family members friends and staff members thank you for the unwavering support you have provided to our graduating seniors as they navigated the unpredictable path of this school year graduates congratulations to you for your patience flexibility and resilience as you managed the many obstacles in your way stayed on course and completed this race a race that became a little more complicated when on friday march 13th 2020 over 14 months ago our school corporation made the announcement that due to covet 19 we would not immediately return to school following spring break as we all now know that tap on the pause button became a full stop as governor holcomb eventually closed schools for the remainder of your junior year during that time in verbal and written statements to our staff members i ask that they do whatever it takes yes i was drawing from the imagine dragon song whatever it takes to get us successfully through the school year as we work through the summer to prepare for what we hoped would be a somewhat normal start to this school year your final one your senior year i announced to our staff members perhaps to some chagrin that this was the year of yes yes we can yes we are yes we will we would again do whatever it takes to make this the best year possible given the unusual circumstances to ensure that each of our students each of you could have a productive school year as i look out at you i am filled with pride with what our staff members and you have been able to accomplish you have endured quite the tumultuous time you have persevered you have arrived at this time this place prepare to start this next race of your life a race that takes you into the real world you have done whatever it takes my wife and i have two grandkids easton and ivy when ivy who is nearly two years old does something whether good or bad she quickly thrusts her arm in the air and proudly proclaims i did it smears pink toothpaste all over a door i did it throws toys all across the floor i did it brushes her teeth do cleans toys and put them away i did it brushes her teeth to end the day i did it i smile when i think about ivy i did it i also smile thinking about you you did it you have gotten to this day this moment you've had some help along the way but as comedian carol burnett once said only i can change my life no one can do it for me putting yourself today in the chair on which you currently sit is about you so like ivy it is very appropriate for you to thrust your arm in the air and proudly proclaim i did it because you did and the door to your dreams has been opened because of it members of the columbus north high school class of 2021 by the power vested in me by the state of indiana and our bartholomew consolidated school corporation board of trustees i hereby certify you as graduates of our school system congratulations i need a driver's license curtis owen abendroth jace alexander abraham haley joe acton sarah jane adams aditya agrawal henry enrique aguilar vasquez george luke akaila dustin delangelo almo hernandez anahita amir poor eleanor elise anderson iron adores arau ortiz arie arbuckle naomi argetta ventura james brian armstrong nathaniel ray osterman desean patrick austin arisandi avalar carlos avila jorge emilio avila bailon darren adir ayala alyssa nicole ayers jacob d bailey page joanne morgan baker parker james ballard blake christopher barker mckenzie autumn barnett abigail marie barr gage alexander bain lucy elizabeth beck cowie petraglia benedetti keegan james benjamin eric billingsley luke timothy bless austin shea bodhi jaden elizabeth boston mason montgomery brandsteader cadence raeanne branham edgar mauricio brito nevaeh rochelle broughton kiara gene brown nathan lawrence brown hannah m bryant jennifer buenrostro figueroa tierney nicole burton samuel robert kane haley and kaluya aaliyah renee campbell emma gail campbell quincy de pre-caps ilse janneth carbajal gomez kyle mark carlson kaden cole carpenter jocelyn electra carroll cesario anthony j chasteen andrew brian clark ashton david clarke emily lauren clark nevaeh star kaufman curtis allen compton andrea contreras alana rose cook matthew alexander cooper erica don corbiles luis a cordova mendez rebecca corpus adria b cox ethan scott crawford nya christine croft samantha grace crossman olivia may crowder peyton elaine dargel perby dass jackson richard davis adriana cecilia deaton cameron elaine denney emma grace derringer t earth nicoons desai anthony stephen de spain samuel john devore mahul s dillon ding dio ding jordan daniel dominguez caleb nathan dooley zoe lynn doherty isaiah michael drake [Music] reid henry duncan laura ladayra duro cody m dyer gabriel michael ferguson riley madison ferguson samuel colson ferguson cindy jared ferreira ocampo martin lee figueroa emma ruby fillingworth gabriel scott foley je bryson matthew ford connor alan franklin hannah joy franklin miyu fujiwara michael anthony gambiani alan garcia andres garcia edgardo jose garcia carina garduno serrano reedy garg avdud makoon godki jacob andrew gibson jacob thomas gilliam luke joseph golding ramses gonzalez on ginzi gonzalez santiago kevin h graham kyle l greathouse lauren elizabeth grider samuel wesley gross ashley guerrero sydney rose guthrie karina guzman ogden savannah nicole hacker noah isaac william hadley sarah elizabeth grace hadley trey elias haley emma elizabeth harden leah marie harden rhys michael harmon celeste emilyn jordan harris anna elizabeth hatton morgan riley healey nathaniel a heathman amy camille henriksen angie jaciel hernandez jesus e hernandez diana hernandez ortiz ruby lee harrington keegan lee hill elena ho sidney noel hollers alexander reese holloway carl averyn holt lily des marie ruben noah james hubbard blake michael huffman colvin mill iorio david jaimes acampo luke montana jesse michaela marie jesse kion israel zane giles isaac d jimenez lawrence james johnson mackenzie lynn johnson sean joseph valeria juarez trujillo seamus c.p kelly caleb wayne kendrick jasmine ketchum jamal carlos king cassidy hope clave cole reed claffman carson james kleinhelter emily ann kleinhelter megan denise kleinhelter joseph klepper christina jane knock katherine kohlhaus andrew mark krueger benjamin david kushner okay we're ready samuel patrick larkin hannah larson benjamin edward lavelle josie elizabeth lawson samuel j lawson allison ann lay carly marie lay angelique dawn lee christopher j lee grace rose lemley maxine lynn eda johanna lind holly marie lynn royce a lofton katie sue long brian lopez michael john loveland bryce noble lynn robert ezekiel paul lyons luis a madrid a martinez elise and meschino trevor james mayton matsunu annalee jean matsar ruthann mayer aiden scott mcallister thomas murphy mccarrick jordan lee mccreery hayden b mcdaniel riley mcgovern kendra christine mchenry kyler reese mcintosh alexa grace mckinley ava margaret mckinney ella hobson meek jolene sudell meek jenny velasco mendez faith elizabeth meyer caleb eric middendorf bailey nicole miley austin james miller katie ellen miller jacob tyler miller nolan matthew miller seamus matthew milligan ashley milne marquis pierre mixon tyler marks moses juarez jason edward montgomery laney augusta moore aydith morales donald logan morris margaret jane howard soy swan natalie monica marcus allen murray ricardo navarro joseph earl neal yestica niskal kurt nuster luis diego ocampo hernandez gui gomez onegirl carmen milagro ojeda melendez angel eduardo olgan trujillo joseph herme mondelia orio raphael ortega stephanie ortiz somna aisha pollywall elish nicole pardue patrick ava e patterson [Music] matthew pearson genesis penaloza melendez gretel penaloza melendez andrea perez denise perez salazar drew jalen alyssa perry sandra chalice perry gabriel petrucelli deluca peyton lane philia amaya liberty pearson owen tyler poindexter aviana nicole poliak israel porcio jimenez brianna mia portelupi caleb james potter daniel william precht logan alexander preston zoe grace preston miley and prince colin smith pruitt austin john polkowski santiago quintero aguirre ariana ramirez luis a ramirez aaron elizabeth rollins catherine marie rayburn catherine grace redding paige elizabeth reinbold neela marie riddle adeline grace risley chloe golda jane roberts mia milin rogers brian rodriguez mary jane rojas madison and lorenz michael rosas hunter santiago eduardo rueda adeline sabra rush michelle sanchez david carl sandusky hunter stone savage madeleine m schoonover adam john schwartz shaylyn danay scruggs elijah m sebastian hayley rochelle shelton paige christine sherlock caleb andrew schinkel jacob daniel shingle aiden carl smith kylie renee smith lamonica o'shea smith jagger lake spangler kelsey michelle spray eliza marie steele blake almond stevens tyler j stevens andrew patrick store megan gray store abigail elizabeth stumpf ashley d sturgeon xander s swan now mark takeda braden sean taylor brooklyn alexis thomas trinity and thompson abigail p titus lydia pope toliver enrique p tom delia maria torres elizabeth travis lucy jean travis john delmar trigoning jacob tristina douglas edward gauja turner staley davidson turner naomi carmen van der kroot aiden rosalyn voss megan renee wagner madison walsh emma grace waltz carter robert ward patricia marie warner matthew christopher watson ross michael wensler emma brianne wetzerack caleb virgil wheeler madison lee white lauren and whitley anna maria wilcoxon charles michael winick alexander david wisman alexander m walter isaac jeremiah woodruff sorry no that was my walter alexander m walter isaac jeremiah woodruff oluwa toby loba elizabeth wright [Music] trevor keith wright trinity gabriella may wright hector david chica adler wells jens ray ewan morgan courtney ziegler [Music] bennett thomas carson luke james anna king lauren k hartwell emily nicole herndon arturo lopez collier maxwell scott wilson trisha reddy yaragudi [Applause] [Music] [Applause] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] well would you all please rise i'll please rise in honor of the class of 2021 [Music] so [Music] you
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due to the impact of coven 19 we held the first virtual graduation ceremony in school corporation history today we hold another historic graduation ceremony one that can also be attributed to the impact of coven 19. an outdoor celebration that if not the first for this school corporation ever is the first in a very very long time family members friends and staff members thank you for the unwavering support you have provided to our graduating seniors as they navigated the unpredictable path of this school year graduates congratulations to you for your patience flexibility and resilience as you manage the many obstacles in your way stayed on course and completed this race a race that became a little more complicated when on friday march 13th 2020 over 14 months ago our school corporation made the announcement that due to covet we would not immediately return to school following spring break as we all now know that tap on the pause button became a full stop as governor holcomb eventually closed schools for the remainder of your junior year during that time in verbal and written statements to our staff members i ask that they do whatever it takes yes i was referring to the imagine dragon song whatever it takes to get us successfully through the school year as we work through the summer to prepare for what we hoped would be a somewhat normal start to this school year your final one your senior year i announced to our staff numbers perhaps to some chagrin that this was the year of yes yes we can yes we are yes we will we would again do whatever it takes to make this the best year possible given the unusual circumstances to ensure that each of our students each of you could have a productive school year [Music] as i look out at you i am filled with pride with what our staff members and you have been able to accomplish you have endured quite the tumultuous time you have persevered you have arrived at this time this place prepare to start this next race of your life the race that takes you into the real world you have done whatever it takes you know my wife and i have two grandkids easton and ivy and when ivy who is nearly two years old does something whether good or bad she quickly thrusts her arm in the air and proudly proclaims i did it smears pink toothpaste all over a door i did it throws toys all across the floor i did it cleans toys up and puts them away i did it brushes her teeth to end the day i did it i smile when i think about ivy i did it i also smile thinking about you you did it you have gotten to this day this moment you have had some help along the way but as comedian carol burnett once said only i can change my life no one can do it for me putting yourself today in the chair on which you currently sit is about you so like ivy it is very appropriate for you to thrust your arm in the air and proudly proclaim i did it because you did and the door to your dreams has been opened because of it members of the columbus east high school class of 2021 by the power vested in me by the state of indiana and our bartholomew consolidated school corporation board of trustees i hereby certify you as graduates of our school system [Applause] congratulations jalen may nelson pranav kumar marin may winikey elise madeline lacelle allison lynn pietkowski mckenna ann pietkowski katherine elizabeth wolfe lindsay r akers asa carlton allman caroline r andrus christian ray arbuckle alexander ariano ferrer kalyn rose atkins nathan e baird olivia p balzer thomas j barkheimer alexandra nicole barnett casey a bartholomew hunter don isabel bateman kate olivia baugh sierra ann bennett grace graham bergman avery lee james bird eve jane blair tyrell d bowers tyler boyer jacob dale box tyler boyer vanessa evelyn brooks kylie evelyn brooks xander rhys brotsman jason brown caitlin g brummett zachary brunimer margaret g brunner josie ann burbrink dylan lee burgess chelsea renee burton monica burton malachi demetrius cahill lane brian callaway lexia lauren capes madai carmen matilda ann carr [Applause] davey carvalho karen sema jacob mel clap olivia grace clark charles melvin clay camp logan william klein emily danielle coburn skyler k collins anna grace combs gretchen may comer charlotte r conrad grant evan cooper brody lane copas allison haley cordis devin isaiah michael cox emily rachelle clark craig alexander kreider mason b curry shaylee g derringer chamar tyree latrell davis connor andrew davis isabelle shalini davis alexa day chloe a delgado matisse denu christopher gage dixon scott m dornquist larry dowden isaac tyrell downing levi doyle hope arlene durnell elena louise dwenger haven edelman kieran m erickson tamaya elizabeth escalante jordan lynn felician carlos nabil fernandez espinosa micah colin farrell lillian jordan fields trista r fields zachary forest jairus a foster brennan j frazee mckay michaela j frenzel nathan anthony fulford gilberto garcia leslie garcia zachary l gladden ethan m glade chloe louise good savannah gordon garrett edward graham alexis nicole grider katie may hagin scotty w hall bailey l harden jasmine elise harris james m james thomas harrison parker m harrison riley and nicole hartwell carpenter matthew havard hannah grace hemmerline linna muriel hendershot apprentice joel henderson iii gloria gene henriksen trenton henry david david christopher hensley gabriella lynn heredia cameron hess emily elise haney hunter hoffman taylor robert holland hope lynn horniak braden hughes charles hughes blaine a humphrey corey j hunt matthew f hutchison dylan emily mckenna renee jackson christopher jean gillis athena jenkins reagan sabrina jesse keon m jesse nolan jewell thessalonica micia johnson amelia elizabeth jones chase c jones ray kedrowitz chad michael kelly ethan kissinger elliott david koopman taylon christine lane caitlin marie lashley cassie cassie colleen savannah lawson katarina zee lee savannah nicole lewis sophie alexandra liz army elijah troy love caitlyn r lucas pace lucas sierra d lund reagan tracy lykins [Music] benjamin j major [Music] emily e malagon jose e martinez abigail rosalinda martinez bautista taylor j mathers samuel a matthews catalina rose mccarty chloe jane mcdonald mark mcdonald jamie cape mcgahey braden c mcintosh aaron taylor mcintyre mason james mckim abby colleen miller chloe addison miller jesse keith miller madison elizabeth miller emma claire mills sarah sophia montenez hidalgo abriana montgomery ira r montgomery iv samuel a moral corbin mitchell morris morgan hope morrow shelby morrow daniel o'connis murphy john david myers ernie l neal iii alexia renee niece hunter e nicholson emma grace nalting ayano namura treyton j nungester margaret c o'connor eric dane olsen malachi d o'rourke brittany and pagles malachi andrew parks erica may patterson maxwell e pedraja rona penrise nathan phillips jacob dale pierce reese lynn pruitt [Music] jared l reckers connor allen reed preston scott sheffel racquetball alton christopher rep colson reynolds cody thomas reynolds alexis rice georgia f richards shailen nicole richards jacob elliott richardson isaiah michael riley elia ritter luis rivera cruz genesis y rivera sanchez john w roberts chloe joe roberts [Music] heather isabel rodriguez kia michelle rodriguez madeleine rose romanski benjamin allen romig eric medina roses shawn michael ryan alejandro rubin saldivar raymond k sanchez jessica santana naman set sanji sierra christine saylor cole brian schaefer cassidy christine schner mckenna j scott jacob christopher schaefer ariana elizabeth lynn schrum andrew gage seifert peyton seeker dylan m seiler grace elaine simpson haley sinks hayley jade smith hayley elizabeth snyder kate diane spurgeon cameron stattenfield benjamin richard stenner brooke kalyn stevens gavin a stevenson kai james stidham caroline stott mckenzie luann streevil john p strong eli sweet clayton d taylor caleb a thomas alex j thomas kyle matthew thomas tyler andrew thompson cj ballard lorenz tillett ethan tucker sydney capri alls madison m up house daniel vaca abrego andres valencia elias e van kieran alex james van nest chasity lynn van hoosier megan hannah vetter bridger cole wagner emily walker [Music] hannah grace warner donovan p warren adam and where hayden michael wayne miller allison in wykeman nathaniel scott wells emily marie wessel emma nicole westerfeld emily nicole whipker erima e white courtney sue williams morgan sue williams samuel levi williams tyler j williams kaden wise mackenzie e wood abigail n woodruff carson rudolph ziegler selena zoo [Music] um [Music] each year the graduating class leaves a gift for the benefit of columbus east high school the class of 2021 student assembly has chosen to work alongside art national honor society to design a mural that will memorialize our teacher mr tony potty despite his passing in december of last year mr podorf's strong impact continues to shine through the halls of east we hope that this gift will not only commemorate our teacher's life but also encourage a legacy of kindness understanding and bravery in his arm let us take a moment of silence to reflect on his influence on columbus east [Applause] today we ring the senior bell to symbolize four fundamental virtues loyalty honesty respect and unselfishness these honorable qualities should be guiding principles as we encounter obstacles in our future the first of these is loyalty loyalty is devotion whether to yourself your friends or your country president wilson reminds us that loyalty means nothing unless it has at its heart the absolute principle of self-sacrifice out of loyalty flows honesty respect and unselfishness [Music] it has been said that honesty is the cornerstone of all success without which confidence and ability to perform shall cease to exist today signifies a cornerstone in our lives without honesty we cannot move from this cornerstone to the next with confidence and the ability to perform honesty is also a necessary component to gaining respect respect is a virtue we hope to gain in our lifetime but as albert einstein points out it is not until we respect ourselves that we gain the esteem of others or rather only then will it come in its own accord we must learn to respect ourselves for who we are so that we inspire others to do the same to put another's life in front of your own is to excel in the only game that matters the game of life it has been said that the true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good unselfishness is the virtue that ties human character together today we have reached the stage in our lives that allows us to enter the real world with a good conscious we signify the completion of the stage in our lives by the turning of our tassels which represents a movement from childhood to adulthood from high school to a world beyond will you join me in the turning of the tassel congratulations east graduates [Applause] [Music] you
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[Applause] we would like to recognize all of our honored guests our school board president carol bowden vice president vicki hardin secretary amy huffman oliver board member steve miller and board member stephanie kreitzer next is our superintendent dr hammack our director of student learning services debbie harmon our assistant principal charles hutchins and our principal matthew stark at this time i would like you to voluntarily rise and join us for the pledge of allegiance 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 thank you our first speaker from the class natalie suting in her title in her speech titled new experiences we are here today to not only celebrate a graduation but for all the first experiences we have had together if you think about it we are the first group to be together the longest for eight years in total in my opinion this is quite an accomplishment and has brought us here today we are the first fifth graders to enter the intermediate school and i remember how nervous i was to meet all these new people outside of my elementary school we witnessed a new gym being built new schedule changes new classes and new memories that we all made together through this small step of coming together and fifth grade we all learned from this experience and came closer together then we went all to the junior high a new school and new opportunities to find oneself we all witnessed individual first experiences such as getting a locker going to different classes trying out a new sport this could be where you had your first relationship first school dance and first time participating in a school event and while there were good and bad memories at the junior high together we survived middle school finally we reached high school and i clearly remember the first day of school i was fearful i could not find my classes and saw all these new people i had never talked to before we all experienced that first day our first day of our high school career this is a place where we went to our first homecoming first time doing an online class and first time having an ap class we had new teachers new friends new opportunities to learn and new ways to find what we are passionate about for our future we may have had our first car our first job or even our first time going to prom however interestingly enough we are we are one of the first to go and deal with coven 19.
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our lives have been impacted many of us receiving vaccinations a historical event we did the unimaginable we implemented our own structure utilized time management learned to be responsible and learned to multitask some of us had to navigate our educational school day along with duties and chores of home life it was difficult no one could say it was easy yet we are here completing the expectation graduating and receiving our diploma be proud we have work athletes that exceed any other class and we are truly a graduating class of excellence i'd like to take that moment to thank my support system my parents my grandmothers and my aunts having um as a support system has been crucial to my success they have always expressed their well wishes praises and most importantly pushed me to be my best my number one supporter my mom she instilled practice makes perfect and navajo men are smart and can excel academically to the teachers that made lasting impressions miss burnell begaye for her advice to keep reading with shawnee silversmith for your classroom structure and guidance that propelled me to another level of excellence mr and mrs shalio for making science fun delight mr nathan yan for suggesting the use of lemon juice for my award-winning science project mr and mrs berkey for being the best math teachers i've had ms cool for her guidance and mr tom tonicini for the encouraging conversations to my sponsors mr and mrs ron williams for the encouragement and continued faith i am proud of the education i have received thank you tomorrow we begin another chapter of our life and i want to claim we are ready we are ready to tackle tomorrow the future with new aspirations hopes and dreams the number one thing in the world is not education it is your dream if you want to pursue your dream and your plan requires a higher education take that next step if you are ready to dive into the workforce take that next step you are the boss of your own destination you will make decisions about your dream you will make plans on how to pursue your dream if you want it bad enough you will take risk when you hear that inner voice of doubt you will need to nourish yourself with positive affirmations and say i can do this sometimes taking a risk may lead to failure and if you don't fail you are not trying our class motto by michael jordan is about this obstacles don't have to stop you if you run into a wall don't turn around and give up figure out how to climb it go through it or work around it you will need to be relentless and keep trying a wise person once said to be successful you must exceed your own expectations and must look beyond where you want to be and make it happen it begins with you in this moment here and now to my fellow graduates the class of 2021 congratulations we proved that nothing could stop us good luck and i wish you well on your journey in life and to my gaming buddies what time are we playing smash bros thank you andrew joseph tell behind what she's cheating keaney dishes chanel afternoon ladies and gentlemen before i begin my speech i would like to congratulate the entirety of the graduating class of 2021 of all the navajo nation high schools and beyond especially to our fellow classmates rydell dodge and mike began who i hope are hearing spirit to celebrate to stay with us as they earn their place they made their mark among our class then i would like to thank the teachers who had to put with just looking at our names for online classes the administrative board members who had to make the toughest decisions or to school even if even if it was around the pond the custodians getting up early and staying late to keep the school clean and create a healthy environment for us students and the bus drivers who always got us safely to our destination thank you today today is a special day not only for you and i but for our parents grandparents siblings and relatives because we have represented our bloodline to its extent of taking our first step into the real world so now it is our time to grow up like this before us be a quote unquote adult because to the real world we are still children we have to take down the challenges responsibilities and possibilities our future holds for us be accountable for ourselves and to those who believe in us then of course the terror going to the doctors i know i speak to you not only as your but as the kind and selfish humble generous open-minded brown kid that you've grown to known or seen roaming around the halls of the school or dribbling the basketball from up and down that court and i say to you that our journey is only has just begun from the time we were little freshmen lost and not certain of the location of our classes being booed at assemblies into that wtf moment of looking upon that crowd squeezing its way through that poor cafeteria door as sophomores getting more progressive high school and adjusting as juniors anxiously waiting for our junior year to end then as seniors oh boy there is nowhere to start this senior year but an abundance of stress memories would have could have shoot us as we all know the show must go on and then the wise words of the late code would rant everything negative pressure challenges is on opportunity for you and life to rise so class of 2021 take pride and be grateful and i wish you all the best thank you you got history government today it is my honor to introduce the valedictorian of 2021 tywina tracy congratulations family friends faculty and fellow graduates i'm tywina tracy valedictorian of this year's graduating class well we did it we all accomplished one of the major early milestones of our lives high school graduation this is a major step in the journey of our lives one that should be recognized for its immense significance it is an act not only a personal commitment but also one of pride we all deserve to celebrate and be proud of ourselves losing our senior year to a virus was not what we have planned but it's definitely an experience that will affect their lives forever and a memory we will never ever forget studying and mastering new material was difficult enough with the help of our amazing teachers with the added responsibilities of helping more at the house working an essential job and other challenges that came with being at home it seemed impossible to keep up with school work we all had to face a multitude of barriers we all worked hard to get to this day and our work did not go to waste it's upsetting we won't have a traditional graduation ceremony and sadly we can't control the circumstances we face today what we can do is choose how we respond to it as we take these next steps in life it can be hard to imagine what life could look like as time progresses on the only certainty we have is that time does go on and the future will arrive we can use the pandemic as either an excuse for why we can't move on life or we can use that as a motivator to find our purpose graduation is not angle in itself it is instead a part of the larger journey of life wherever our future takes us lettuce takes us somewhere life is a journey and all the compliments achieved during this course should be taken as starting points for further achievements our graduation should be used as a launching point projecting us to wherever our futures are meant to take us whether we land ourselves a career take up a trade or continue our education at college or vocational slash technical school we already shown our commitment to personal growth through making it to the ceremony today but soon all of us will experience another ceremony when we graduate from our programs as i said before life is a journey we do not stop growing once we get our diplomas life is about growing and being in our programs will give each of us new opportunities to continue growing and to learn new skills that we will carry with us for the rest of our lives and we don't have to stop there this graduation has already shown us how capable we all are of accomplishing our goals when we commit ourselves to them hope all of us will take this personal accomplishment as an example of how anything is surely possible when we put our minds to it as we continue on in our lives let us take on each new problem with confidence knowing that we have a tree great heights and aren't equipped with the necessary tools to tackle our futures the road that lies ahead of us won't be easy there will be obstacles and missed exits potholes and roadblocks there will be times each of us will feel like we can't possibly go on there will be times each of us will think that he or she is alone but we are not alone we're all on this journey together we made it this far nothing worthwhile is easy and that includes making the most out of your futures but that does not mean we give up on ourselves we will keep pushing because we know we can achieve our dreams and because we are worth it we're already taking the first step by making it to the ceremony today now it's time to take the next steps in the journey that is our lives and begin to build our futures thank you and congratulations to the class of 2021 now we come to the time in our program to honor all of the members of the class of 2021.
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today marks a day of great accomplishment but it didn't come easy some of us struggled with academics some struggled with sports and some struggled with making friends in my own experience there were two subjects that were difficult for me geometry and something we call the friend zone now i know what you might be thinking but lucas how does such a handsome smart and humble young man like yourself struggle with geometry friends i've been asking myself that same question for four long years the past few months have were incredible to watch many of my classmates get accepted into the top universities and prestigious institutions all across the world if you're anything like me however there was that first college rejection and then the second rejection and then the third and then i thought maybe i should have applied to more safety schools dad it's like all of these colleges friend-zoned me in all seriousness many of us have faced tremendous hardship and disappointment take this year for example sure there were days when we didn't want to get up for class however i know that some of us didn't feel like it was worth it to wake up at all at times we felt alone unseen and unheard and through it all one of the greatest things we've learned is that it's okay not to be okay but it's not okay to let others remain in that state for a long time class if there's one lesson i can take away from this year it's to prioritize people above all else look our school is undoubtedly a school of achievers this school's competitiveness drives us to study for excellence to train to be the best and to practice until we reach perfection trust me i know what it feels like to work so hard and feel like you're doing everything right it still falls short but being the best student the best athlete or the best performer is meaningless if we can't help each other in times of need while we reflect on the past and look to the future my hope is that we can remain grounded in the present if high school was a regretful four years for you let's start fresh if high school was the best four years of your life and you're gonna be that uncle at the barbecue who's still living in his glory days i'm sorry but it's time to move on stevenson high school i leave you here today with a quote from master ugwe of kung fu panda yesterday is history tomorrow is a mystery but today is a gift that is why it's called the present so to the most attractive class in stevenson history thank you thank you for being a family knit together through both hardship and accomplishment i am honored to have shared such fond memories with you all class be smooth thank you lucas for that wonderful message one last round of applause please i truly appreciate uh lucas's message asking us to think back about our time uh at stevenson and i think at this moment it's important for us to just take a pause and remember those that we have lost during our high school experience so at this point if you could please join me in a moment of silence thank you next we are going to have our senior the senior members of our choir perform our alma mater and this is a hallowed tradition here and to help us out i'm going to need a favor from those of you in the audience if you are an alumni of stevenson high school please stand up big round of applause for all of our alumni look at that crowd they might argue about the best-looking class said stevenson history but great stay standing you're going to stay up for the alma mater please if you're standing please stay the folks in front of me on the floor the class of 2021 you will be alumni in about 35 minutes please stand up and now we have a recording of our senior choir members led by alice newton singing our alma mater [Music] we [Music] oh [Music] thank you very much thank you for standing alumni it's great to see you back everybody please have a seat and now it's time for us to look forward in our second student speech through our gubernator address today's speaker is aditi singh good afternoon everybody my name is aditi singh and i just like to start out by saying that it is an absolute honor to be graduating and speaking in front of the most phenomenal group of students i have ever met in my entire life so honestly let's just have a round of applause for that four years ago we cautiously walked through the doors of the sports center we tried to see a five to a four only table in the ilc we sometimes stomped on instead of avoiding the patriot or were often accused of causing traffic jams outside the qlc after 4 30.
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we've been the first class to go on online school first to do a hybrid schedule first class to wear masks in school and for some first time being quarantined i know this was hard we all dealt with the suffering and annoyance of this pandemic yet here we are today as again we survived and persevered to the pain of senior year in a pandemic we all experience first in our senior year especially primarily being one of the first to experience trimesters but with determining what we are going to do in our near future this could be the first time considering what we want to become first time applying to a college first time getting accepted into a school first time realizing wow i'm going into the real world soon and the most important thing of all we are here at our first high school graduation i'm honored to be here with all of you today and i would like to name the class of 2021 the guinea pig class it sounds weird but we have been the experimental class no matter what the brown county schools has thrown at us or what the universe has been trying to tell us we have faced these challenges and triumphs together this has prepared all of us for what is to come in our future as i know we can handle anything that comes in our way we are the change in this world and we are the future leaders i'm going to end this from a quote from my personal hero abraham lincoln the best way to predict the future is to create it using your ability to face any new challenges and experience we have all done together i push you to create an incredible future for yourself and others i would like to thank my family for always being there for me throughout my life i would like to thank the teachers the staff the administration for giving me the opportunity to be educated and lastly i would like to thank all of you for all the great memories and experiences we have done together and i cannot wait to see what all of you do in our near future thank you our next speaker is from the graduating class her name is elise slabal with her speech reflections of a 2021 graduate hi my name is elise label and this is reflections of a 2021 graduate thank you superintendent laura hammock and the brown county school corporation brown county school board and our high school principal matthew stark for working so hard to give our class a 2021 this graduating moment thank you to our guests families and friends who have joined the celebration whether in person or on live feed when we entered brown county high school as freshmen we either came with a blueprint to reach our goals or became uncertain of what we wanted to do there are probably a few who didn't want to come at all we quickly discovered that high school was not about learning complicated math equations or how to dissect a cow's eye it was about making friendships that for many of us will last a lifetime we're discovering that a class we chose to fill a schedule opened the door to an unexpected passion like for me theater we learned about working together as a team but also learning how to fly solo to reach our own personal goals high school was about preparing for competitions and performances whether in high school whether on football field or an auditorium we required absolute dedication and high tolerance for lack of regular sleep we learned the positive impact of respect service to others and good citizenship my papa often said good grades were certainly important but without good citizenship as well those grades were meaningless we also learned about disappointments in high school we worked hard but didn't make the team tried out for the play didn't get the lead ran for student council and lost study for a big test and failed hopefully we learned a big lesson it is not the disappointments that define us it is what we do with them most of us try to do our best but schools cannot pass you for trying to do your best only for scoring above a 62 percent unless you show initiative good attitude and willingness to work hard towards different solutions i am so thankful that throughout my school years and especially during my schooling at helmsburg elementary every single teacher i've had from kindergarten to 12th grade has worked with me to achieve my goals to stand here today as a proud graduate of class of 2021.
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superintendent dr betsy daviosh it is with honor and privilege that i present to you the gonado high school class of 2021 i certify that these graduates have met all of the graduation requirements set forth by the canada unified school district governing board and the state of arizona greetings i am dr betsy dobias interim superintendent gennado unified school district upon the recommendation of the principal of gonado high school and the authority vested in me by gennado unified school district governing board in the state of arizona i hereby award you this diploma this diploma is awarded to you with all the rights honors and privileges pertaining thereto congratulations lazy king jared pete trent deadman michael thomas billy andre joseph ruth wilden chantal dale raquel c dalla guy chantelle wilson molly stash sean mangilito jr nakisha helona austin wilson kirby kisly treat me quintera a roundhorse audrey peshlikai kyle james isaiah chaka [Music] national honor society member kayla lynn beck shania james jayden james tamika kailyn leo colin log cody sosi and alicia shepard kia ora ray keaney jacob benally remington begay tasma agnes woody sicily silversmith national honor society member natasha ashley sheridan ethan benally tunisia begay tywina tracy noah notre joel c maloney deandrea hildreth brandon ashley lindsay ray sandoval kobe key malcolm luke lucas edgewater tony shirley kelly smith taylor harry kyler nez kelly jesus penelope joe bro curly chelsea jones ariana faith churchillo jc for dhoni megan lee shelby curly monique salazar tia begay tyler pigotti um marcelyn davis ethan mason kishi jc vernon key michaela begaye national honor society member jacob vs quiz randy begue elita jane teller kaylee sosie tabitha key maria baldwin tyra deadman marissa lee lacy pinward marcellus bin mia harvey cheyenne yazzie quincy chase jacob valley kyla preston damien ness i am honored to offer the farewell and congratulate each one of the graduates the world is waiting for your talents knowledge and creativity college and universities that will welcome you this fall are expecting you to be leaders and innovators just as you have been at ganado high school you have come to kanada high school with the purpose to learn and embrace knowledge never stop endeavoring to learn never stop challenging yourself take risks always keep your spark of genius alive we have been prepared well at canada high school and by our families to become whatever we want to be in the world wherever we may go we will always have a home at ganado high school we look forward to in returning to canada high school as an alumni until then good luck with diplomas in our hands the time has come to turn our tassels this signifies that we are crossing from high school to the next stage in our lives graduates please move your tassels from right to left ladies and gentlemen family and friends i present to you 2021 graduating class of gonado high school [Music] graduating class of 2021.
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but now four years later i see a group of students who fight to seat five at a lunch table so no student feels left out stomp out of classrooms to raise their voices for safer school environments and roam corridors and green shirts to guide underclassmen to their third period classes and despite all of that we still sometimes think that success comes from knowing the 13th president or the derivative of 5x cubed but we forget that it's not millard fillmore or 15x squared that we're going to be taking away from these last four years it'll be frantically typing our catcher in the rye essay in the lower i'll see catching our breath on the seven thousands before climbing up the eighths or waiting for eddie on the morning announcements for me it'll be the times my friends gave me a jasmine's cookie after a bad english essay my mom gave me dinner before eating herself my dad went to open house after hours of meetings always with a smile on his face my sister barged into my room to take my mind off a long day of school or how my physics teacher stayed after school to get me ready for my test the next day but the problem is is that we forget those details because all that comes to mind is how these four years we had to do everything to be the best version of ourselves to have that near perfect gpa to take the hardest classes heck to get to nhs meetings on time and in the midst of all of that we forgot that growing up isn't hitting a certain set of marks living isn't being right about who you want to be friends with what major you want to choose how many pumps of espresso your macchiato needs instead growing up is about making mistakes maybe that mistake is you taking the wrong train maybe it's you choosing the wrong friend heck maybe it's you pursuing acting over quantum mechanics but it's never worrying about being right all the time because if there's one thing that you need to remember tonight for the rest of your life it's that your last bad decision doesn't have to define you even leaves fall so a tree can begin again let these four years be like those leaves remember it's okay to let go of what you need to so you can embrace what's coming and most importantly don't forget that those that love us never really leave us so take a moment to look at your best friends your parents your siblings aunts uncles teachers i know i sure am and move ahead knowing that these people will be standing right next to you when you're going to need them the most after today we're going to begin a new journey this new path is going to be unorthodox it's going to be abstract but it's going to be a path where we learn to bridge the gap being between being methodical and hasty with our choices choices that will never be ideal nor perfect but always genuine yours in imperfection for one last time aditi singh thank you so much and congratulations everybody so i may have the toughest job of this evening and that is following lucas in aditi could you give them one more round of applause please thank you so much good evening i would like to echo mr frost's comments and congratulate and welcome our students and families to the high school graduating the adelaide stevenson high school graduating class of 2021.
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whether you're teacher parent or guardian i'd like to offer this encouragement my great-grandfather shared with my nana when she entered high school he told her that a c grade was the best she could do he would never expect more from her but if he said that the c as anyone else's a plus would not be the same but he felt she wasn't doing and giving her best he would deal with her immediately pretty fair wisdom don't you think you took required courses to earn your diploma but receiving one is not dependent on something equally important for your future the content of your character did you strive to make good choices and decisions were you equally kind and helpful to fellow students and staff did you respect authority even when you felt you were right and they were wrong when different views were expressed did you listen even when you didn't embrace them if those grades were based on merits of character what would yours be some classmates will leave today with a well-deserved scholarship and awards headed for a mapped out future a few will leave with past undecided and the rest are thinking just get me out of here we look around and try to guess who among us will most likely succeed and who among us will most likely fail the thing is at some point each and every one of us will succeed at something in life as each and every one of us will fail at something and as well it is okay to be ordinary just be extraordinary at it let's face it high school was pretty much three groups the sports the smarts and the popular you may have been in one or all the groups or not any of them but we're all together now unite as one group the best graduating class of brown county high school the class of 2021.
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congratulations here conado high school hornet class of 2021 i'm honored to have been a small part of your memories remember the good old days freshman year how about your sophomore year ladies and gentlemen don't let kovac muddy the memories you have of these earlier years your class quote is perfect for the obstacles that you have had to face these past two years michael jordan knew what he was talking about when he said obstacles don't have to stop you if you run into a wall don't turn around and give up figure out a way to climb it go through it or work around it covered and remote learning have been obstacles you have never encountered before yet you have overcome those obstacles and emerged victorious to stand proud and worthy to be gonato high school's 2021 graduating class class of 2021 you have been given many tools your foundational learning to go out and build your future how you use these tools will determine what kind of future you build for yourself how will you use the tools you have received from your education to communicate to the world around you of a better future you can scratch with chickens you can walk with turkeys or you can soar with eagles it's your decision every person you meet knows something you don't are you willing to listen and learn from them your education doesn't stop when you graduate this is just another journey this is a new chapter and a new adventure in your life take the tools you have learned in high school and approach each obstacle that's a challenge you never give in never give out and never give up michael josephson said take pride in how far you have come have faith and how far you can go but don't forget to enjoy the journey your faith is a muscle that gets stronger when you exercise it seniors shine like the maroon blue and white colors and rise on the wings of the hornet it's time to go beyond the mesas and the juniper-covered hills sharpen your tools of knowledge because the beacon of hope lies before you rise and shine congratulations hornet class of 2021 and may god go with you i wish somebody would have told me [Music] i was thinking about the fans we were underground loading merch in that 12 passenger van in a small club of minnesota and the snow outside the first half i just wanted my name in the start now look at where we are still growing still growing wishing i was still young [Music] gonna wish i didn't think i had the answers wish i didn't drink all of that blast first wish i made it to homecoming got up the courage to ask her wish i would have gotten out of my shell wish i put the bottle back on that shelf which i wouldn't worry about what other people thought i felt comfortable with myself rooftop open and the stars above moment frozen sneaking out and falling in love [Music] oh [Music] days [Music] think it was better than it was maybe these are the moments maybe i've been missing what it's about been scared of the future thinking about the past while missing out on now we've come so far i guess i'm proud at night worried about the wrinkles around my smile i got some scars [Music] you don't know what you got [Music] till it's gone [Music] gonna change you
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let me begin with what you might describe as a penetrating glimpse into the obvious this has not been the school year or the graduation ceremony that any of us were hoping for or expecting when we imagined our senior year four years ago with that said mr frost did a wonderful job of summarizing the extraordinary accomplishments of the class of 2021. without a doubt what you have managed to accomplish during your four years at stevenson will leave an impressive legacy for future classes to strive for and live up to there's no doubt in my mind in the next few weeks months and even years the nation's graduating seniors of 2021 will be lauded for resilience and fortitude and grit during this pandemic that has swept the country and upended the school year and to be sure there is no doubt that you our senior class have shown these traits as well however for your teachers for us we are far more impressed and grateful that during these challenging times this senior class our senior class has also demonstrated and practiced the far more important life lessons of patience flexibility compassion and grace you learned and navigated the ins and outs of remote learning you became zoom masters you stayed focused with your teachers and your fellow students you lived out at least my student did a a lifelong dream of being able to wear sweats to school every day most impressively as a senior class you've shown us what compassion and grace looks like in the face of challenges and adversity we especially appreciate the compassion that you've shown one another that you've shown other stevenson families during this time it would have been very easy to focus only on yourself on your own immediate needs concerns and frustrations but that's not what you did what we've seen is how you've used your gifts and your talents to stay connected to stay engaged in daily acts of kindness to support one another and to reach out to family friends and loved ones while it may appear while it may not appear obvious to you now as your teachers what we can see so very clearly is that what makes this senior class so special is that during a time of great challenge and uncertainty you have found a way to tap into that deep reservoir of patience flexibility compassion and grace that will no doubt serve you well as you step out into the world as graduates of stevenson high school you have truly embodied our portrait of a graduate and we are all so very proud of you students while we're excited to congratulate you this afternoon on your individual and collective achievements before we do so it is important that we recognize that you haven't been on this journey alone you've had tremendous support and guidance along the way first and foremost you've had the unconditional love and support of your most influential teachers your parents and your grandparents and so with the parents and grandparents and family members of our graduates who are here tonight please stand students will you join us in applauding and congratulating your parents and your family members on everything they've done to help you on this journey thank you parents [Applause] as students of stevenson high school you have also benefited from a faculty and staff that represents the very best that american education has to offer given the circumstances many of our faculty and staff are viewing the ceremony from home however we do have many of our faculty and staff here this evening and with those folks please stand and allow us to recognize you for all of your efforts on behalf of our students faculty and staff please stand thank you [Applause] and to our family and friends joining us this afternoon we ask a favor in help in honoring each of our graduates please remember that each of our graduates have earned the privilege of walking across the stage this evening and receiving their diploma as they do so we respectfully ask to save your loudest applause until the end of the ceremony and by doing so we'll have and the opportunity for each graduate and family members to hear their names uh recognized and finally to the members of the board of education by the authority granted to me by you the district 125 board the state of illinois and the illinois state board of education i hereby attest that each of the students presented to you this evening has completed all of the graduation requirements of adelaide stevenson high school district 125 and the illinois state board of education and are therefore entitled to the diplomas presented this evening it is my true pleasure and privilege to present to you the adlai stevenson high school graduating class of 2021 christina alexikos trish arun amber atkinson dorian basisti hannah brand anastasia bruslovsky litzy cruz ruby demichael daniel dean saad durrani nina egland edmund elias eric flores vanessa flores emily friedman julia friedman max friedman dimitry godlevsky thomas gong justin gordon mitchell hazen sajun hong lucas huang taylor irvin michael kim davina koshal perry krueger george cucciazzi vladimir landa megan leisner sophie lichtenstein alex lee miranda lopez ethan myers samantha myers ryan miller michelle millman irvine diocca manoon monk buyer alexandra niemenrenko gabriella nick nikel nicole angos krishna patel parth patel peckler catherine pepke sarah pollard madison reagan regina rangers thomas sanders samantha scarborough raj shaw rebecca she alexandra sokolowski matthew spelatro ivan zwa tarana varshnay ruschill rochelle vora faith wang ellie warren lana zeller sir ought to say pokey ashley anderson sam bezeretzky kevin big larry hannah bowie simone calliste david tony castro john kaylee chattan leo chavez grayson cope molly diegelman brianna pidman gabrielle clarendo jack fulton alexandra gebe ortiz maxwell goldstein isaiah gonzalez august gudelia skate aaron hammon kathleen hanna basser harris [Music] emily hernandez sydney hintz karina jensen fina kadarovich brett kessel jana kauffin carly king alexandra coral alona cosmani orianna lago mackenzie laughlin sunin [Music] benjamin luo jared mock tinger kabuta makuma tommy pappas jared matinger makumba andrea mazer nicole mazur jacob morris kyle oh thomas pappas suhiti puranji anish prakar malkai park alexa reuben abby raksaki rachel sabransky roz raj shashar jared shore sarah sedleck madison shulman jack silic adonti singh alexandra torres andrew velos noah thompson jason tupulski brandon torres alexandra yulinovsky ricky wayne adam west kayla wilson stephanie wu yamato [Music] josephine arnold daniel borichin max rockfeld william bratton chris chong riot chowdhury kayla constabilio betsy daniel alejandro dominguez you see soren alem duratovic daniela lichtman rachel eng natalia engman damaris ennis lauren ernstein gregory engine liliana figueroa nicholas forster benson emily golffield gabriel golden jessica golvecht nishali gonzalez eric wang lily zhang grace kim david lee dakota leonard grant lee isa malik rachel max vanya morales ruiz mario musa melissa newson now hannah oshiro wesley park salee pentancar julia schneer eduardo segovia catherine schechter alexander spivak leon sabaki varsha vinod holly aiello joseph almi john ballon lindsey balon andrew carson jonathan chan brianna chung ainsley cutler tia farber ellie freeman emmy ginsberg julia goldstein max goldstein allen gutterson prashothan gowajangi dylan hoffner jeanette han nina hook claire who emily who colin jate sahil kamat casey kadzerski gabriela valabov young zachary cutnick monica ludovicius jason lee soo hyun lee blake lewis anthony lynn brianna liu hannah lou martinez lydia leake vincent marin meredith mcgirgan rachel mann samuel mesham isabella michael sneha mohan sakrutha mohan mason moody leia rozek rebecca muse june pake aditya perida benjamin present jason ramer kushi rao isidro rodriguez chloe schwab david smalensky joseph splansky jacob stoga nicholas udoni ella van gerven brandon wasserman daniel wu leah you lauren alcazar kate ahn rebecca arvold juni bay mark bingham bingaian caroline bashold kate bashold brianna buan heather campos daniel chambers taylor clayson elizabeth de leon torres jared elkins aiden ernstein hannah ernstein kevin fay william fishbein emily fujioka samuel goldberg krathik graham galrig sankar [Music] ryan grabiner victor grijanik xiaoro gupta lindsey gopman arthur hancock owen hancock jared heikman carson hilt errata hirobi thomas yeager jason jagailo michael jerkowitz olga klebanova ryan klein jacob kobler arleigh landau alina majeed navia mekha na rohan pamasani rohi pamasani carla phelps morgan schwartz adena shaikh amira shaikh laila sharma hannah stewart brandon stewart bryce stokes mikola siglia anak mega verma richard wade jr leila wong nicole ware ella whitney simon you serena jew sean joe brent felt said annay agawal william bosco simeroon utra [Music] natish buputi raju alexandra bigbulatova caitlyn brewkirk matthew rukirk jaclyn burr sasha shannonkowski darius clemens ava corso nora dieter carlos fernandez esteban galagos lol gibson trinity graham isabel hahem aidan hart caleb hemphill dylan heidenberg vucine judish warren tyler jensen willem joe matthew keselowski george camaresti prithee jack calebski daniel corzine hannah lee ryan lerman julian lopez angel lozono laquish medena stacy maymer robert martin iii caroline mazur schirracco stellana makova ashley mustika stanislav nowicki marie o'brien alexander oye jessica coolidge tori richardson jonathan rubin jacob saffron tristan scott alexa slavic winnie song audrey spiwak sophie spinner anthony spinner jr casey sullivan foster swanson daniel thomas thor thomas daniel turchen william of topku sebastian waldron jc walsh connor wang phyllis wang brittany webbington juwan wu charlene you alex joe peyton adkinson john arne kendrick boardman iii adeline brady sophia damolas joseph dronowski carson easel zachary george parker guercio phoebe guercio maxim holstein abigail kalu amy kaplan amanda kelly soham keskar stephen karuna alexander lapoint st george jeremiah lee andrew maher serena meda madeline mitchell and soul moon [Music] radin morati rebecca morris smrithi mukund philip nelson jessica nyborg catherine o'donnell zachary o daniel orgler michelle orapeza violet park aaron peck roof bruno pilvar david palikov connor powers priyanka persona sophia presser angelia poulos elon rain anna roginsky leah roginsky sharav rodiwar avigdor reutman cassandra salus abhinanda saravana kumar grace schubert daniel schwartz talia sagal daniel shafran [Music] ananya shahid daniel shapiro nihal sharma rakshit singh audrey smart isabel smart akriti srivastava benjamin stark aiden trong cameron ii ukash vardan anthony veena jacy walls deepti sai agapa nene michelle badalov micah barker eric bedoya villalobos caitlyn chan daniel tchatkowski chloe chick jack delott jaden fisher monique furman georgie gagwa hayden gantt sarah garrido perez ethan gah joseph harvey matthew harvey trent henderson cameron hirschout frida ibarra gonzalez katrin ishan color nicole kiefer joseph kim kira king dugiel lee catherine lindsau emily lou eric lou jessica maher joav malka [Music] christopher we conan pan luke panchezin katie park angel partoism jocelyn silk emily simon jordan strussener miles sulkin max sun govind swamy nathan akash tanjour jason terwilliger nithelen the rumor rugen natalia thorndyke daniel tolchinsky brianna wisniewski gordon shu heather acuna noah briere daniel brynn bhai nagari jade kardashian jaclyn chen justin chen cheyenne collier michael crawford luis gonzalez you mean kim amelia landau melissa liu andrew miller grant miller ellison oh nicoth rau emily rodriguez gabrielle ruiz sorry gabriel ruiz abby schunamen daniel sao lazarus smithell lexiona smithell jaden paisle schuyler paisle daniel trager stephen weiner rachel weisberg grace weezer farage shaw [Music] [Applause] all right before we get to uh we have a couple more things to take care of tonight i do have an announcement that i need to make uh due to the weather outside normally we would have you meet your families outside but tonight due to the weather graduates will be released from the arena concourse and we are going to go out those back two doors once you can of course hang around and say hello you can go out those back two doors once you get out there we'll help you find your way upon you're going to go to the concourse families stay in the concourse your students will come up there you will meet in the concourse and then you can exit the arena okay so now comes the best part of the night you're all wearing a tassel on your hat many of you have spent most of today trying to decide which side it should be on well right now it should be on the right and i want you to grab a hold of that tassel and move it to the left and with that motion you are officially [Applause] graduates congratulations class of 2021 [Music] so [Music] so [Music] so [Music] so [Music] so [Music] okay where you can didn't go you
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in 2017 no one would have predicted how the world would be when we all came together this last time for this evening to celebrate commencement from our first steps into high school to our less steps across the stage this was our dream this was our goal as our junior year ended and our senior year began the steps were often harder full of uncertainty and a little bit sadder but with strength and resolve we kept going we kept achieving and we are now moments away from moving that tassel whatever got you to this moment tonight your faith your personal ambition your family's support your teachers or your friends always be humble be thankful and be grateful for everything and everyone involved in the education you received regardless of what we pursue or what we achieve or where we go never forget that brown county high school will always be the foundation where we built our dreams we the brown county high school class of 2021 are probably more prepared to face challenges and obstacles over any other graduating class to my fellow classmates family friends and staff at brown county high school we are brown county and we are ready may god bless this journey ahead of us the family and friends around us and the dreams we have within us be kind be good and be careful thank you thank you please enjoy our look back with our slideshow for you right now uh class of 2021 mr stark had a family emergency uh earlier today he offers both his apologies for not being here and his congratulations on this friday before memorial day if we have any active or past members of the military with us would you please stand [Applause] would you now join me in a moment of silence as we remember those members of the military who make celebrations like this when possible thank you class of 2021 i have only one piece of advice for you as you come across the stage tonight and get that diploma i want you to think of it as a fuse and you the lighted match as you leave here tonight go to set the world on fire school board of trustees and dr hammack i present to you the class of 2021 graduating summa laude megan rose bickley elise eileen mckenna slaybaugh graduating summa laude natalie marie sitting leah noelani abel brianna marie ackerman [Music] jesse alexander addington graduating summa laude lauren k akels dylan nicholas allen graduating summa laude abigail renee angie brandt aiden ace arrington carlene renee bartley ava may bear whitney beatrice fern basham spencer thomas blee ellen ann bond graduating summa laude wyla branham brimmy lane brock thomas sterling brooks gage dylan thomas brown aiden michael bert camden joseph carlisle sean richard carney cameron isaiah cassida orion william clark noah shane cochran kendall cochran kailyn olivia combust jada nicole cooney graduating summa laude morgan elizabeth cowan david scott cridlin jr jade robin krauss clayton andrew daniels laurel pearl doherty samuel reed davis emma jeanette dawson emma grace debord graduating summa laude cheyenne ray dinsmore landon michael dugan emily ann earnshaw kaylee jasmine elkins graduating summa laude travis jacob bond ely wyatt scott ewan cheyenne marie figg anna victoria fleetwood isa noel sue fogg brittany gene fowler cameron kelly fox hunter lee funkhouser jonathan getz trisha in getz graduating summa laude lillian grace giles benjamin jason gold isabel delilah gonzalez owen goodwin matthew wayne gordon graduating summa laude kaya young gore maddox emil grade off unable to join us tonight because of her commitment to the united states army stacia nicole grimes emma grace hardin nicholas james harden dalton wyatt hedrick ryken joseph henderson kylie grace harold thomas edward herbert courtney brielle hill jamison eugene hudson jake allen huddleston logan ray huddleston jackson alexander hurley graduating summa laude cala lorraine emming greta isabel johnson daniel aidan johnstone amelia morgan cockavicos rhone seal keane jackson james lewis kelp nathaniel scott kilby savannah rose king angel may kirby garrett blake knotts graduating summa laude emilia may custer dawson robert lambert dylan arthur landfair jacob nathaniel lewis haley renee lindsey haley danielle lunsford graduating summa laude jason ray martin [Music] [Applause] john michael martin graduating summa laude francesca riana bonrostro mata shelby gene mayo gunner j.d mcgee matthew elijah minna olivia jolene miller robert aaron montgomery samara nash newman abigail elizabeth olden graduating summa laude john stuart oliver sarah grace osborne nolan riley patterson graceland marie patton cameron stephen payne isaac thomas peterson graduating summa laude dalton emmett platt nicholas daniel ponzo vincent isaac ponzo jackson riley pop graduating summa laude katyana ilona richardson kyle vernon roberson dalton dale roberts maya renee sawyers riley leanne seacat derrick ivan sears trent alan sisson caleb tommy sizemore molly ann speaks zachary grant spires leanna nicole spurlock graduating summa laude richard edward stanley iii taylor ray staton max stayton sabrina marie steerwalt hunter mason stringer joshua lewis taylor faith renee thomas unable to join us tonight because of his commitment to the united states marine corps ivan edward thomas lance clifton tom aidan michael vaught shelby celine vasquez [Music] lana marie bastille karina lynn voles jennifer navy award anthony james weiss allen wesley [Music] brady lee whitis john anton wetlessbach julia francis williams graduating summa laude morgan dale wilson graduating summa laude parker elliott hunsberger wilson kyle jordan wood jessica ann bell woodrum class of 2021 and guests it has been an absolute joy and honor to watch you experience the very special moments that have made up your collective years at brown county high school because you're the class of 2021 you are special because you didn't just experience the onset of the pandemic your class has endured the ongoing frustrations disappointments and generalized anxiety that has permeated the last 15 months of your high school experience but you are also special because you didn't let this pandemic define you you have proven to be resilient through adversity joyful in disappointment courageous in fear and resolved when uncertainty was all around us and while i am sorry that these conditions were experienced during a time when you should have been experiencing nothing but joy i promise that the dispositions that you have developed during these most challenging of times will serve you very well throughout your next chapter and subsequent chapters of your life please know that the board of school trustees and i are so proud of how you have shined your light in this period of darkness and you have risen to this moment a graduation moment where darkness of the last 15 months falls away and nothing but love and hope await as you transition towards your future we wish each of you great success and sincere happiness in your days ahead i'd like to take a moment and seniors i'm going to need your help with this to thank your parents your grandparents and any other caregivers for the opportunity to work with your children over the duration of their experience in our school district if you're a parent grandparent caregiver would you please stand for a moment parents caregivers grandparents you bet seniors show them some love [Applause] parents and caregivers you have done an extraordinary job and your support has resulted in the incredible accomplishments that have been realized in every member of the class of 2021.
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i'd also like to take a moment to recognize all of our educators and staff who have contributed to at your education be it in a classroom lunchroom office school bus athletic field if you are a member if you are an educator or a staff member of brown county schools would you please stand so we can honor and offer our thanks to you thank you for your role in advancing these young people to this significant moment in their lives seniors you are ready you are ready for college you're ready for a career you're ready for a career in the military your next step is starting now and we all hold the most confidence that for all of you the best is yet to come seniors if you hear anything from me tonight just hear this our prayer for all of you is that wherever you go and whatever you do you will know that you are loved that you are called for a great purpose and that brown county will always be your home we are so proud of you and it is our sincere wish that you will always be proud to say that you graduated from brown county high school and with that it's time to make this official i'd like to bring up our program leaders today megan elise and natalie graduates it is time to make this official would you please stand [Music] [Applause] graduates as your superintendent of schools it is my honor to confer your graduation upon you at this time please turn your tassel it's time to [Applause] celebrate [Music] see we won't forget where we came from you
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productive debate and consensus and then action we never get to action we don't if we don't get to the consensus nicely put kelly i think i i'm always struck by when she's given the example about the researcher who came in and it was in his um how did she phrase it in his inability to prove her wrong that was the way she felt most that she knew she was that her in her data was right because she had all the confirmations and he someone was seeking disc confirmations and did not successfully disconfirm it so she actually got stronger truer uh validation of the information from that interaction and i guess that's what we're trying to think about and kelly you sort of express it in a different way is that i like the wheat from the chaff analogy because we we can as as as heffernan refers to it as thinking people we can listen with the point of further understanding rather than just saying i'm gonna hear what you have to say and then i'm gonna tell you again why my my point is correct and why yours is not but if you're if you're listening and she said remember she said this is how you you learn these are learned skills practiced habits talents that you develop that there is a way that we actually are getting the truer more foundational information from which to make the decisions from which to act like you say actions when we realize that the the what might seem uh veering off the pathway points of view is really serving the purpose of helping us clear so that's really why i like to do it because in school boards we we we are all about the info and we want our our constituents who put us in the chair we want our colleagues we want the staff the teachers and everyone and we certainly want the community to be impressed by our command of the data but uh that in and of itself is a goal is taking your focus off that north star goal is how's that serving kids how do we better serve kids if i just get to prove my point so so that's that's really what it's about i guess it's a little about clarifying uh uh and and giving ourselves permission like i think she even she titles it dare to disagree but for me it was a real eye-opener about um that it does sometimes take courage to realize that info gathering uh is uh it comes in many forms and in when it results in clarifying and strengthening and truing up uh the foundation of our decision making it's very very much worth it and the the reason we segue into the working styles kind of report on our homework is because this is where we find out uh where we can use our working styles not as a whoa as me oh no i working style this won't you know interact successfully with working style that it's not the case we always do and as scott as we were saying earlier in the break i think if if you take this little mini questionnaire of the five questions and you ask yourself those questions again two weeks from now or a month from now or whatever it might not track exactly because we are people who change depending on what's the situation but in terms of where we are on this day on this date in may in the year of 2021 or a couple days before whenever you did it uh i want to take a little uh tally i'll get old school with paper and pencil and ask you to share with me what the working style questionnaire yielded for you so you knew how to do it your lowest number when you added them all up tells you which of these categories and as i say realize some people find themselves oftentimes tied with more than one category but the lowest number uh ostensibly just for the purposes of today's discussion is going to identify a working style that you find yourself in steve would you be able to share what what did the working style scoring grid say that you fell into which category um it said that i was mostly analytical and then no i would tend to agree with that what was the second number what was the second lowest number for you um the second lowest was amiable but um that was the significantly higher score than yeah significant big difference between analytica and amiable very interesting delray would you share what what did the grid tell you analytical then driver analytical and driver okay lee how about you what did the grid yield for you so it was a tie between analytical and driver lots of ties come up in this i've noticed okay and was there a third one that was sort of a second place second second lowest number lee amiable amiable okay and nancy what did the grid show for you yeah yeah it takes takes no time just to answer the questions real quick okay uh kelly what did the grid uh seem to think about you today so uh in atypical i'm almost even all across the board interesting or so but but it was a clear 11 for driver 12 for amiable so we were talking about it earlier i thought it was the opposite and i thought analytical was my talk but it's not it's my lowest so it's uh which was just that whole leap and then look kind of an attitude that i have you know just let's just get started we can yeah tweak it as we go kind of an attitude yeah interesting okay how about you scott how about you scott so the clear winner was driver for me yeah and then analytical was my next but it was funny they were all grouped analytical expressive and amiable were all within one one number really close really not it's available you that thoroughness you guys uh that for that were analytical came up thoroughness was something that i was a constituent of your sort of working style putting on the brakes instead when the driver wants to jump and put on the gas uh it's helpful because that that's if you put on the brakes and you're about to run into a tree that's a good thing you know kept you from running in the tree you're referring to say and you like data a lot of us like the data because it can help you be thorough interesting but then there's uh drivers scott you said you were driver that you're a man of action and i think that's probably pretty big in your job description a lot of action there but but you see the the components of that style about being focused getting the job done being organized timelines and discipline all of that is sounds to me like the categories when you do your superintendent if you're at no matter what instrument for evaluation you're using there are several out there some are scoring grid some are narrative or whatever but if you fight come away from your superintendent evaluation and as scott identified himself as a driver and you say wow our superintendent is really focused on getting the job done and he's very strict about obeying timelines when we want something by x date he delivers it he's very disciplined that's a pretty good working style for an effective superintendent so that's not too much of a surprise there okay what about you nancy have you uh come up with any are you still scribbling away there almost almost all right okay while we're doing that we'll go ahead and we'll talk about the amiables because several of you this oftentimes happens we we're never we are not monoliths as individuals nor are we monolithic as a group so we're going to have the components of other working styles in our dominant working style and several of you mentioned about amiables and you know if that style means that you're sensitive you want to really pay attention maybe like kelly you're saying you look you know sifting that wheat from the chaff you you want to be inclusive not just for the warm fuzzy sake but because it helps you truly truly understand and build consensus as you said that's a that's a terrific constituent part of being an amiable and the inquiry skills like the joke i mentioned earlier about the old movie mogul who would say for your benefit let me ask you a question you know sometimes questioning when we teach our communications models in the masters in governance program uh one of the things we we build right in is is when you're responding to people oftentimes you need to ask a question in the course of it they come and they i'm the parent and i'm upset about this issue you may need to ask immediately have you talked to the principal uh what have you learned so far you know so oftentimes inquiry in uh and notices his inquiry skills inquiring for the purpose of getting relevant information is a big part of being an amiable and then lastly the expressives i haven't heard anybody mention the expressives yet but these are our vision people you know they are the creator what did you say that in the in the other study uh kelly calls it uh ideation or ideation idea strength finders ideators yes straight fighters very simple but these express is very high in creativity love humor which is another way of saying uh they want to connect there's a there's a connectedness when we share a smile or a laugh so humor becomes a big thing and they give themselves to go big picture to go think out of the box they're going to say i see that you've given me a hammer and nails and you want me to build this uh box with four sides but i see it as a triangle so let's try the triangle this so our expressives serve a real purpose and of course none of the working styles work no pun intended in isolation because the reason we're doing this little tally is to just kind of take a little bit of a look at how different working styles interface interact work together because they do they must we can't just all be analyticals and we'll see why in a minute so nancy anything you want to share did the grid yield anything about you this is very interesting i'm an analytical driver that's expressive there you go it's 14 30 no actually it's the other way around number one is amiable yeah it's your lowest score okay no we all did yeah i know it's it's if the instructions about going for the lowest score sometimes that's a little point that's overlooked so yours were amiable driver and analytical sort of in the going from lowest to higher all 14.
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she had an eight and three fourteens wow okay very amiable across the board yeah that's the variable all right we'll flip over then and let's look at the chart about how we make the most of those working styles so you are uh based on today's and as i said this could change you could take this little give yourself this test tomorrow and it could be completely different but as we look at it now look at how it says if you've got a couple of analyticals talking together they they're saying oh no look for your nearest driver that's a that's a tricky combination priority of task you see how uh where two analyticals might have a bit of of a of a butt heads type dynamic bring in the driver aspect of it and suddenly you get some time frames you get some discipline and you can actually get things done so it's not not too scary as you move across the that's analytical and driver you go to the across on the page under column c amiable you got to be careful that you don't spend it says cut short your social hour and get down to specifics analyticals that's where you can help your amiables you know after you check on oh how's the weather oh i did you know glad that the the team won the game last friday night oh boy but then get down to business and then lastly when you analyticals are talking to an expressive it's saying suggesting that you take that vision after you laud it and compliment it then craft some goals in it bring your analytical skills to help the amiable put in a plan of action so that's it let's go down to the next one to be if we go driver drivers and analyticals we talked about before they can organize they can get things done but if you go to drivers and drivers it says get a car with a good set of brakes again there's that budding heads they've got a little bit of tongue-in-cheek humor about driving off the cliff they tell us that drivers and amiables uh need to put on that thick skin which we mostly do when we are school board members anyway thick skin is is a prerequisite but the drivers are going to say we're trying to get there we want to get things done whereas the amiable may be saying well you remember the kind the amy both said well i want to be i want to be inclusive have we have we facilitated a channel of communication from every single voice have we got many voices here so be uh you you drivers be aware that your amiables may be wanting you to be more inclusive for the purpose of strengthening your decision making that's the reason and then the last one drivers and expressives uh you know help take that vision really look at it how does a vision which is way up to the 30 000 foot level really translate down to where we can get things done with real objectives real measurements real data measurements all right amiables let's go across real quickly on amriables amiables and analyticals uh can start with a amiable conversation but move to the uh the specifics of a project amiables and drivers i'll give you a chance obviously you take this home and read it in in more detail as you wait but it's it it challenges us as to drivers be sure to be specific about deadlines because the amiables may be so accommodating they may say oh whenever you you know whenever you can get that information that's okay when really a timeline and a deadline would be helpful so don't be shy about that amiables together oh warm and fuzzy uh might be a good for a coffee a coffee clatch at uh at starbucks but uh do need to really work together if you've got an amiable and an amiable to set those uh concrete directions amiables and expressives they can also go off on wouldn't it be nice if tangent but if they remind themselves to bring structure bring timelines bring plans and objectives bring data to the table then you can still have an effective working relationship finally expressives expressives and analyticals expressives can oftentimes bring layers of compelling attention-grabbing motivating information to an analytical an analytical say well i've got the data it's right here blah blah blah but then here comes your expressive is going to say now how do we couch this good data in a way that it will have be compelling and will elicit the response that we need it's like school districts very often when you're going for say a bond measure you have to go with the fact and the feeling you've got to give them the fact that you need that money to modernize uh campuses that are 50 years old but if you have some feeling and the ex and you're expressive says well let's tell them about mrs jones room where when she goes to you know hammer a a a poster into the wall the nail goes right through bring some fact bring some feeling let the expressives have their moment along with the analytical and with the driver drivers are akin to analyticals in that way then amiables and expressives uh they can dance well pretty good because they are both praising and reveling in the ability to be creative to express things in a creative way but my f my favorite uh tongue-in-cheek humor is the bottom right square of the whole grid because it says this is what you do when you have two expressives working together it assumes that you've already talked about it you solve world hunger or fill in the world crisis of your you you've already found you know the the the the you've eradicated coven now how are you going to do it so but think think about that as we said this working style uh questionnaire you know every now and then trot it back out give yourself a test again see where you came out see if you came out the same way you did on may 29th but i also want to just make very clear to you that what you just saw as we talked our way through the grid combination this one and this one this one and that one etc etc there's no combination that cannot be effective especially when you have what we spend our morning talking about is that shared unity of purpose those goals about serving each and every kid about that so uh fret not if you think oh my my working style oh i'll never be able to work as effectively as i wish it is not a roadblock when you go back to that shared vision and immunity of purpose about working for kids kelly is that a hand up or you just it is i could we just repeat our number ones actually i think i have myself scott or drivers nancy amiable and then what were the other ones i'm sorry uh lee you were split between analytical and driver yeah okay and then steve what was yours uh analytical and nancy were aiming okay oh god right that's why so remember back in dr heffernan's um video in her ted talk that she said that for the researcher that she talked about it was the other guy's inability to prove her wrong that made her most secure and confident that she had found right information so that's why we needn't fear uh when we're we're working with other working styles because it's it can be just as valuable and just as validating i'm sorry i always have something to say that reminded me when we were listening to the video that this is now standard practice with all uh studies is that they have peer review and i don't believe it was standard practice prior to dr stewart that she was referring to in the video the peer review process yeah all all studies undergo peer review well they should yeah oh it's just pro forma we would we we can hardly we can hardly imagine that there was a time when it wasn't you know like she said about it seemed shocking when she said they were still uh for 25 years they were still uh doing x-rays on on pregnant women you know when you watch an old movie now and you see a pregnant woman smoking or you know going into a bar or something like what's going on there okay working styles analyzed we have we have spent just about as much time as i want to spend on that because now for the rest of our time this is i believe and i very much trust will be foundational to a continuing step that this board this governance team this district will embark upon of saying we've got all kinds of policies capital p bp board policy we've got all kinds of lowercase p policies plans and documents that dictate how we run our district we've got bargaining agreements with our teachers union our classified union we've got parent handbooks we've got school site survey reports we've got site plans we've got this and that you have all kinds of info but how can you take what we've talked about today about the unity of purpose role of the board versus the role of the board member role of the board versus the role of the staff in the administration how do you take that and make that into yet another document which uh is has become quite quite useful across uh the disciplines is the governance handbook so a lot of governance handbooks flow from protocols which is how we'll end up our discussion and but first we're going to talk about a little bit about the norms about how we actually treat each other and the norms that we agree on and then develop into protocols and and carol the magnificent is taking notes and i have no doubt that there will be a synthesized beginning of of a possible future governance handbook that will come out of this good discussion that we're going to have but let's go back to the workbook and let's look at and by the way as you can tell the workbook is a treasure trove of information but it's also many many pages and it is not you know you're the as i said you're the advanced class i'm not going to read read you the page by page because you can do that but i am uh feeling the obligation and the privilege of calling some things to your uh to your attention and the one i want to look at is page 41 about every organization oh bless you god bless you every organization has a culture in my in my work my professional work in the public relations business for many many years when we would be pitching a prospective new client uh we'd be giving them you know you know our ideas about how to sell their soap or their widgets or whatever but we would always try to kind of close the deal by saying you know you have public relations whether you want it or not the key is do you want a mad do you want to manage it and they go oh okay i get it but but so what i'm saying is you have a culture you have a culture but the question is are you doing everything you can to make it a positive culture and that's where norms come into play so let's just start again kelly maybe if you wouldn't just since we're after lunch we need to stay active as you said so we don't get a little can you read that first paragraph for us about culture is the positive or negative atmosphere et cetera sorry i never heard her say no page 41 sorry yeah i'm sorry first paragraph under norms yes yeah yes please at the bottom right under what are norms uh no under uh the top of the page says okay i'm sorry every organization has a country there you go okay okay uh culture is the positive or negative atmosphere created by the way people in an organization treat each other this means how a board governs is every bit as important as the decisions the board makes in fact the way on board governance affects its ability to come to consensus about the direction for the district its effectiveness in establishing a positive climate that achieves the best from its staff and its credibility as an advocate for the district and for children comments how a board governs is every bit as important as a decision the board makes and that's why when uh leave i'm glad you when we first started talking this morning that we had an opportunity to clarify that our work today is the how do we govern we're getting to this the nitty-gritty of the norms of how we we work together so that we can govern this is not about the decisions that you make in the act of governing it's about practicing how to uh to make to how to govern in fact so that's that's what we're doing the second paragraph there steve would you read that second one about the governance team needs to create a framework etc the government's team needs to create a framework within which they can work respectfully and competently with each other and with district staff parents students and the community team does this by developing agreeing on and committing to norms and that's you that's the team so when you establish your norms and many uh districts have them and put them in their board packets uh every time you have a meeting that uh it it can be something as uh as simple as uh listen with the intent of understanding things like that an agreed on set of norms does this i love this quote that says um this may be from the one of the covey books i'll look and see uh trust is the result of respect and understanding not agreement trust is the result of respect and understanding not agreement agreement in and of itself just like we said striving we don't want boards to break their arms trying to pass themselves on the back side we're always 5-0 we're 5-0 we must be a high-functioning board the trust comes not from the agreement but from the respect and the understanding that you gain during the consensus building process and that's why having the team which is you has this obligation to develop mutually agreed on norms and then living to living them out living them through that it's it's very self-explanatory on the next page if you can turn or scroll where it talks about why norms are important um the the part here that i'll just we won't read these at all but um the that's the second system sentence on the first paragraph that begins the integrity of the district's educational program is dependent upon the responsible and professional matter in which in which each board member and the board collectively fulfill their governance roles and responsibilities well we spend a heck of a long time talking about your governance roles and responsibilities but as you back it up it says ladies and gentlemen the district's educational program is dependent upon your work there remember that this oh i'm sorry nancy it's page 42 at the top the the district's educational program is dependent on how you are collectively fulfilling those responsible responsibilities it's not a test it's not a test where i i wake you up in the middle of the night or you know text you say tell me tell me the four areas responsibility okay i set the direction we establish the structure we you know it's because you have children you have students whose needs deserve to be met and that's where your responsibility of the framework of agreed upon norms comes into play with that north star question again how does this serve kids it's because the actual work that you do is going to in your back to the district's educational program which is the reason as i say that you gave up your saturday to be sitting here today talking about this so and then the last paragraph there look at or the second one about it says when board members and superintendents work well together climate of trust confidence excellence is created which enables staff members to feel supported and positive etc i won't read the rest of it i mentioned that first part of the sentence because it boldly it doesn't just say when you're working well together you have trust and confidence it says it aspirationally says trust confidence and excellence we are not looking for mediocre educational programs we are looking for the best we can actually do for each and every kid so norms play a role there that's another reason norms are important because it literally allows you to legitimately strive for excellence not just okay all right so moving on down the last thing i want to call your attention to on this page is the paragraph that starts with group expectations uh and i do feel like we should do this one altogether scott would you read this paragraph that begins group expectations uh sure group expectations help a group work together to not only address difficult issues in an objective and consistent way but also to confirm what each member will do in the normal course of business to help the team succeed the team gains in two ways one way is that the ex one way is that the exercise serves to confirm desired behaviors the second way is that clear group norms provide guidance for orientating future new members to the team and that is the context why your district and a whole bunch of sister districts across the state of california are having discussions just like this because the team the pair relationships in a six-member governance team five-member board is i i've forgotten the number i think it's in the 70s if you just do how many pair relations if you've got a to b a to c a to d a to e et cetera you get it so every time a new com composition of the board comes into being how do you say well you know how are we going to you know figure out how to do if you have agreed upon norms when you onboard a new board member it is good for the new board member and good for the process so i encourage those of you scott i know you and i talked about the onboarding process was very key to you when you had your new both your appointees when you brought your new board members on so give yourselves a proverbial pat on the back about that one so i'm going to ask you at your leisure to feel free to read through the subsequent package pages i'll look if you look at pages 44 and 40 i guess it's 45 44 and 45 it's a cookbook it's the recipe for developing norms and as so many uh good guiding documents which this workbook is meant to be it helps you out by posing some of the key questions there you see on page 44 about what do you think are the qualities and and these are discussions that uh you can you can ponder on individually as you move forward as you move from developing your norms into developing the protocols that will be foundational to your governance handbook so i have talked about protocols protocols protocols now i want us really to and if you can we're going to do a little exercise now if everybody will scroll or flip to page oh let's see page 51 let's see where it is protocols keep us on track yeah does it say top 30 protocols or let's see yes top 30 protocols to consider that is a fairly comprehensive list many school districts will have protocols grouped into categories because you can see some of these go together but we're going to take just a little time to work individually with these protocols and i'm going to ask you just from your point of view your own analytical or driver point of view whatever read through it'll take some time use you have have good old paper and pen handy but i'd like you to identify six protocols you see on this list that you find to be of top priority it'll take some time i'll go quiet so you can work for a good uh six or seven minutes what may i clarify you about the instructions read all 30 identify about six that you feel are top priority and as i said i'll go quiet now for the next six minutes so only six yeah that's a very good point if you feel compelled go over six let's call it at least six you yeah now [Music] five minutes you know what i'm gonna go see if i look better in the car this is my new plate yes don't don't be afraid to uh go go over six if you feel like it party priorities i can't say it but i are one we're going to come back together in about a minute and then we're going to be taking some real time to share out so much so we'll wait just a second until uh delray comes back kelly you're confusing me you put on a wrap you took off a wrap what's going on with the temperature there 58.
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say no more [Music] say no more well you know if they say 60 is the new so that make 60 is the new 40 that makes you about 25. that's right i like that i'll go with that i feel better than i did at 25 of course i think i weighed about 80 pounds when i was 25. it was not a pretty picture so did you see that that will smith has decided that he's decided now he wants to get in the best shape of his life which i think he probably was when he was doing that mercy yeah he's in the best shape of anybody in the world how much better shape can he get in and then by the same token there's you know the unbelievably inspirational tiger woods where we're just saying my gosh you guys like you to be alive and he's working almost able to walk on his own so you know motivation motivation is there okay ladies and gentlemen we are back so i said many of you uh got got the gist right away that just identifying six is really hard because this is a good list and there is some overlap in some of them but we are going to share now with the always excellent carol taking notes uh we're gonna share what you identified was there anybody who identified only six okay kelly we'll start with you and um remember how uh in the heffernan uh ted talk she said that for uh where was it was it oxford or the phd students or something were being asked to write five statements they could defend so i'd like you to identify the number from the list of the protocol that you've said hey this is a priority this is good for us and then if you have anything you'd like to say to illuminate or expand on why you picked it that would be great what i'm not asking you to do folks is to prioritize your six like this if if if one you know if you feel passionately that a particular one is the number one one one one one then say so but at this point we're just gathering the multitude of of protocol uh items that that emerged from your review of them so kelly you're going to now you have the the ability to uh model the behavior for the rest of the group to identify it identify it and then speak to it speak to why you identified it okay i have to be honest though i combined 21 and 22 and that's there's going to be a lot of that okay so i have six and a half all right so uh and i only picked six because that's what we were told to do and i'm gonna follow her i followed that you're grew forward okay no no i am not at all but anyway okay number three communication among the governance team members obviously if we're not communicating we're not doing our job we're in a incapable of doing anything else that we're responsible for doing if we cannot communicate um and then number 17 addressing conflict among board members kind of the same thing but just having uh having some protocols or rules around how we're going to manage that so that conflict is good and allowed but not it doesn't break down into insult throwing or you know i'm not that i it hasn't been that way but you know what i mean i'm thinking of classes i've taken in the past but you know the conflict is healthy and productive rather than destructive yeah heffernan actually said conflict was a type of thinking yes and then 21 and 22 handling concerns and complaints from the community and from the staff i think the staff is part of the community they are an integral part of the educational community so i think handling complaints uh there needs to be a set protocol of how we address those and um i think at this point we've been kind of winging it and i don't know if that's right because what i might respond to a complaint um is different than what steve might respond to a complaint and then we're sending mixed messages or or we're just not sending the right message or we're sending a message when we shouldn't be sending any message other than that we've heard you so i think just making sure we clear clarify that and then i'm speaking with a common voice one of the things that they said amig was uh unity not uniform um so we're not uniform in our or our decisions or our opinions or perspectives but we come together with a unity of voice it's like that whole you know once you make the decision everybody stands behind it even if a year down the road you're going to advocate to change it or two months down the road whatever the case we made this decision today we are one voice in supporting that decision because that's the decision that was made um very difficult if you're on the negative side of something that gets approved or the positive side of something that gets disapproved but it's definitely something that will give a certain culture or a certain uh what's the word persona it'll it'll reflect positively upon us if we can speak with a common voice and then 27 managing difficult topics and issues in an atmosphere of mutual respect i think there's kind of a theme here whoops i kind of picked the same one over and over basically but just understanding you know what the respect is like i tend to talk too much no surprise to anybody so learning how to step back or step up if you're not a speaker not someone that speaks out and and that um that is something i tell i'm challenged with often because i you know i my if it if it pops into my head it usually falls out my mouth so uh yeah that's true it pops in my head out okay and then number 30 self monitoring because if i find it very difficult to have a perspective on myself without somebody else help to sound things off of or to help and i get i don't think that's unusual or unique to me i think that a lot of people don't really have a good sense of how they are perceived necessarily or whether they're being effective in what they're trying to do and so we have to do we have to do the work to analyze did we were we effective with this decision what did it achieve what we wanted it wanted to achieve and without you know researching it and studying it there's no way to know right you have to purposely look for what was the result of that didn't work yeah intentionally individually uh you i like that you you're uh coming back to the refrain that the trust and respect building comes from uh not from uniformity or from agreement it comes from the process of consensus building so very nice for that so all right well kelly kelly i uh drew the short straw and went first uh in this round rob and sharon but to be randomly fair we'll do it now by birth date does anybody have a january birth date any of the remaining five years anybody have a february birth date steve steve what did you find just jumping off the page of these protocols all right going in the numerical order that they're listed here uh number 11 board member reports at board meetings um right now it's pretty much just you know free expression whatever's on your mind and i think that you know we could build some some structure some some general guidelines for that and i think there's some room for improvement there um number 13 deliberation and decision making at board meetings sometimes especially if it's a hot topic things can get rather chaotic and they've occasionally gotten a little bit heated um and i think we could stand to improve that process number 17 addressing conflict among board members um similar to what kelly was saying you know conflict can be good as long as it doesn't get in the way of what we're there for and sometimes it does so finding a way to to handle the conflict um productively i think would be a good thing number 18 allow a majority vote to set the direction um you know similar to what kelly was saying about speaking with one voice uh you know we're working together as a we you know we vote as an i but then the decision is a we and um i think that's a a good area for us number 19 meeting guidelines for board and other district meetings um as we've said we sometimes kind of take things a little casually get a little sidetracked and i think getting back to the structure would be good number 20 uh public comments section of board meetings uh this was actually my number one because ultimately we are there to serve the public whether it's staff members students parents just community members um making sure that we listen to their input i think is absolutely critical and as we discussed earlier we need to do a better job of receiving and not reacting uh my next one number 25 speaking with a common voice um again you know once the voting of the eye is done we need to be a we and move forward uh on common ground and then uh number 27 managing difficult topics issues in an atmosphere of mutual respect we're not all going to agree on things but there's no reason we can't all treat each other with dignity and respect and you know ultimately we're all here because we want to do what's best for our students so we need to remember that and you know remember to be role models for the students as well thanks steve you know we've maybe you've heard some horror stories i have about um when when some board members behavior is is uh not anything you would want your students to emulate when you have possibly students in the room in the gallery and if that doesn't open your eyes and make you think wow what what is that fourth grader or that 11th grader what look what they're watching this is what the behavior they're they're observing there's a great james baldwin quote about st kids may not always listen to their par their elders but they will never fail to imitate them so that's that's that's really quite something as i mentioned as i mentioned earlier i was actually at a board meeting with my son and there were a whole bunch of other seniors in the room when i saw a board member make a very derogatory comment about another board member um so i remember made the comments no longer on this board but it was very disappointing to see that you know uh the uh we've talked about the the strange pluses and minuses of our meeting virtually so much over the past year uh and there there have been some on both sides but indeed in in my geographic area uh in an approximate sort of central valley school district they now have uh a new uh board because prior to a meeting when they had already gone live yeah you heard this story disparaged disparaged parents and community members and yeah they are no longer sitting on that board yeah embarrassing that's right be careful what you say okay steve thank you and thank you for as i said when when we finish our round robin we're going to talk about how you develop a protocol the steps for development protocol so this is why it's good for us to get an idea of uh some for instances of like i said hey so many of you mentioned this one here's steps for developing a protocol how that might look all right so that steve was a february birthday anybody have a march birthday or april or may or is that nancy are you april baby what you got miss anderson well at first i broke them down with the idea that we were looking at a new board member coming on and what the most important seven things would be for that interesting perspective very interesting perspective i like it okay so you want me to go over those sure sure okay number one was the orientation of school board candidates and then number two welcoming the new members of the board and then 19 meeting guidelines for board and other district meetings 21 handling concerns complaints from the community that's you know obviously they need to know that right away um 22 handling concerns complaints from staff 23 spokesperson for the government's team they need to know who can speak to the team because i don't i i don't know if everybody even on this board knows who speaks for the team and you know if we were to have an emergency pop-up or a big action of some sort a shooting or something who on the board would be able to address the media i don't know if everybody knows that or not okay 23.
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okay um 29 roll board members in public those are the things i think they need to know right off the bat before they ever step foot in the district publicly uh well it's true there is not um the the public is not required to give us a learning curve when you go as i said you go to bed go to bed of canada you wake up you're a board member that board member that hat is on that board member hat is on and doesn't come off it's like one day i stood in front of the school district desk for two hours and nobody said anything to me the next day it was oh my god i'll get him out of a meeting you know it was i was shocked at the difference well you know everybody talks about how they get approached by in the community at the grocery store or the time okay i've been on the board for almost nine years and never once has anybody ever impressed me so if anybody out there is live streaming this listening i am approachable if you see me i'm 411 you can't miss me i couldn't i'm usually through the baseball cap but i'm still here i'm still listening please i would love to i i think it would be the best day as a board member if somebody actually approached me in public and said hey i know who you are during their campaigns at the grocery store before i ever knew you well yeah but then i stupidly called you libby [Music] yeah she almost didn't live but i mean you're the only one ever who has ever talked to me in any sort of public forum now that's granted i'm a pretty reclusive person but well kelly i'll tell you but but you see you you by by issuing that great invitation to whatever you know might be coming from this youtube but it's like lee has done what so many folks have done technologically savvy what else can we do by having um virtual office hours that's we're seeing that happen a lot and that's really helps in two ways not only does it send a message just like you were sending a message just now but it also uh lets people have some structure like steve says sometimes structure helps communications it brings structure they know oh i want to be mindful of dr lee's time so i'm going to really think through and have my question ready to go or have my concern ready to voice so yeah there's there there's not just one way to uh to be approachable in line at bel air is one way but there are certainly lots of other ways and i have to say i wanted to set up some sort of uh like uh twitter conversations and it kind of got shut down so i'm really glad that dr lee opened the door on this so that i can revisit that approach and look at her she's shaking her head the attorneys have told us not to do it they said straight up the zoom thing is it's an office hour that's different than it is that's what i mean some way of getting community input other than public comment at the board meetings i would love to have you know topics of conversation and and do that and because as an individual but not as speaking as a lord sure but we cannot gather information i'm not talking about giving information i'm talking about it and appearing information it's all about yes in fact that's that's really the kind of uh csba is uh obviously questions about social media uh interactions are big but the what it really boils down to is uh and again this is that's that's when you're talking about a twitter account a facebook account an ig account that they are should be viewed as a listen and learn tool not not a well let me report on the district tool a listen and learn tool but and and that's what you know online office hours the same thing and we see the heavens to betsy maybe we'll back some of the in person i remember i've had board members in my small rural district because we're a big geographic area that will maybe just say okay i'm going to be i uh i'll be at starbucks on wednesdays after i drop my kid off at the high school i'll be there for from you know eight to nine or something like that so listening and learning it's not not the same as saying well let me bring you up to date on what's going on in the district but again that's uh that's that's our responsibility that's that's that's our our responsibility as members of the collective body so all right so what is your name excuse me what is your opinion on answering facebook posts uh uh pretty much like public comment thanks for your input i can see your passion about this that's i'll i'll i'll leave it at that nancy that was a a lovely uh display of you having been on uh on the school board side of the equation for over 20 years having fresh in your mind some very specific ways that newly elected newly joining board members can be helped to be onboarded to the process that's quite quite impressive coming from you who it's been a while since you were on board and yet you remembered very specifically wow this is stuff i needed to know right away so very nice very nice okay so that was april anybody with a may birthday yeah that would be good okay go dilray well they're pretty much the same as everybody else um number three communication among governance team members that's quite important um if we don't communicate with one another we're ineffective um and that's very important as as a team deliberation and decision making at a board a meeting what number is that i'm sorry 13 13 um if we can do it in a positive manner at a board meeting that shows effectiveness as well and team working together when mom and dad fight at a board meeting trust me it um disrupts the whole community of center of our center community um it does not look kindly up on the board individual board members request information material and action um i actually don't remember why oh i know because yes because i tend to ask for a lot of information from the superintendent and maybe i'm asking for it steve's asking for something slightly different and dr lee is asking for something else and the poor staff is like running around in circles so you're right we've got to be cognizant of our staff and their time we cannot keep on asking to count how many spaces are at each school site parking spaces at each school site example didn't happen but things like that but we had a policy that three of us had to agree before the superintendent put big hours into putting something together and what happened to that i didn't know that policy ever existed and i've been you know where that would be is in your bylaws so separate from this meeting you might want to research your bylaws because your policies you know that start like with the 9 000 digits and all that but the bylaws might be something to visit to answer that question nancy at later later time go ahead del ray um the main point on fifth is our staff is busy our superintendent is busy we just need to be cognizant of their time um addressing conflicts among board members uh steve and kelly addressed that i don't have any more to say on that i'm not gonna what they said is just perfect um let me see 21 and 22 i also combined for the same reason as kelly indicated i believe that's very important on how to handle concerns and complaints uh board member board opinion versus individual opinion now again why i chose this as important is because more of the communication aspect of answering emails is the most important um we originally from my recall nancy is that the board president would answer the email and speak for the board based on decisions and discussions that were had now recently and i we have never had this topic a conversation since we have a new board but you know people were answering emails individually which is not bad but then it gets to the point of um oh i can't find it right now but um having a consensus and making sure whoever answers that email has the same view or remembers how the vote was or how the discussion was and answers that question accordingly just not having their opinion but have the opinion of the board as it was discussed does that make sense and same with email our messages from facebook facebook posts that if you answer make sure you know if you're going to answer it has to be correct as opposed to what you think as an individual if you're going to speak you've got to make sure it's the consensus of the board well and i would say that we don't even respond in a sense that it shows what our perspective is necessarily but just maybe just list the facts this is how the vote went and thank you for your input i think what they were talking about though was like if you get a letter from a parent the president says we received your letter all board members have a copy of it we are taking it under consideration thank you and we did that yeah yes and and the reason for that is not just clarity it's not just so you don't have four different sort of versions or interpretations of it but you are getting into the slightly murky water of a serial board meeting a deliberation exactly right that is exactly it well and we know we no longer copy the rest of the board on those responses specifically for that reason the dreaded reply all right it's a hundred percent trust on the part of the rest of the board members that what i'm responding is appropriate so i mean i always copy the superintendent but you know because you and you alone need to copy us that you responded in what you said okay yeah just let you guys know that i've responded because if somebody if somebody answers the question from whomever emailed her whatever the communication was uh we need to know what was said so we don't say something totally different right and that just looks like we don't know what the heck we're doing yeah right yeah sometimes it's things that we have not yet voted on so there is no well it could be like as of yet right and that's also where the input thank you we've received we've received it all the board members have received this we appreciate your input right yes but if it's something that's been voted on that's a little bit factual this is what happened period and then at least copy the superintendent so he knows that what you said is accurate and it was how it was being yeah it's a it's a question as as as board members we just we can't imagine getting a communication like an over the transom email or something and not acknowledging it we just can't imagine that can't so you must acknowledge i i um i i'm i think our group my district is really blessed that they have we we like you have fought very hard to keep our academics strong but also to keep all kinds of programs that keep kids engaged including arts arts is always one of them and so back in the day back in 2000 2005 when i was first elected they kept saying oh monica yeah she's the music one she's the arts candidate she's the music one and so then for a while i would get if there was ever any kind of a ripple that we were going to have to you know have fewer band or choir classes or something like that i would hear about it because you know i was the arts the arts board member you know and but but uh it was not appropriate for me to say when they'd say i can't believe it you know they're cutting out they're not going to as many band competitions this year because they say you know we can't the boosters don't have money for a bus or something then i could say you know i share your passion for arts education in public schools thanks so much for bringing uh your your observations to my attention and i'll make sure that the superintendent and the staff are aware as well because we want to acknowledge and they deserve to remember we said lots of times what people need is to know they were heard yeah so did i did i explain i think you did you went through 24 was the last one we had um disagreeing a little bit here i've been known um like on facebook we had a recent decision about setting start times for schools and one of the facebook groups i'm in um people were questioning we did that they were upset about some of the start times so clearly they hadn't watched the board meeting and what my response to them was is speaking only for myself you did say that here's what um here's what i took into consideration um before making the vote uh you know we looked at bus schedules we looked at you know trying to beat the law we we were concerned about um you know this detail that detail just to let them know that the things that you're concerned about we did discuss and consider and then i said the ultimately i voted for what i felt was the best thing at that moment well and see now none of us would have gotten that communication so i think it's perfectly appropriate for you to respond no i got i've read it i am on the same group sorry because yes okay so then between the two of you you would have to make a determination yeah i i always check to make sure she hasn't i did it before i died i just stopped i just stopped answering even though two of you if there's any like appearance of impropriety as far as brown act and that can be bad but since you guys are working together on it and not you know we're both being very careful because even if it's just the two of us if we like something that the other posted or we respond to it that could be a brown egg violation so we're both checking carefully yeah yeah and that same with next door because i know you're on next door i'm my next door and i see what you write i i have not been on harley at all since christmas i avoid facebook like the player and anyway but see remember we talk go back go back to that little short list of the characteristics of an effective trustee mindfulness steve's being very mindful you're being mindful mindfulness confidentiality uh deep learning and preparation commitment and focus so if you're being mine sounds like you're making mindfulness the rule of the day when you're doing that because and then you know steve you if you're referring to action you can you can refer back specifically uh i think the minutes for the x-date board meeting are posted on the website you could take a look that's a good that's a good point and you could watch the recording yeah if you'd like could he or we copy and paste from the minutes sure i think so sure it's probably not that way that's a good idea yeah and the link to the meeting thank you monica and it also and and it gets them in the habit of trusting and going to the website yeah they're starting there starting there for starting there i like that yeah that's okay all right cool so what's talking about 24 and then with 24 was 25 speaking with a common voice and that's what i was trying to get at we need to be a common voice when we answer these questions or comments or whatever we got to speak as a common voice and then 27 same as kelly and steve matching different topics issues the same response i have is what they said so those are my 11.
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good night sometimes when we we're asking for something we're not conscious of the way we're asking for it you can ask for it in a positive way or a negative way and sometimes it looks really negative on the district or sometimes it can be positive and i think we need to pay close attention to how we ask for something and what the verbiage is that we use because sometimes it really comes out negative sounding and putting district down when it's not what we're trying to accomplish at all i i know from personal experience my family has communicated to me many times that my tone of voice or the way i phrase something conveys an entirely different message than what i'm trying to right to the point where um you know i've gotten in the habit of if i'm calling a kid in my room to talk about something i start off with don't worry it's nothing bad because they were walking like anxious they were in trouble or something and it's like so i just wanted to make sure that you were aware that you know um i'm not going to be able to be there for this thing you know but they thought they were in trouble for some reason so i i know that i sometimes do that where it comes across differently than i intend see steve you're you're absolutely proving the point is of the the three components of communication words voice tonality and body language including facial expression uh words is the least the least impactful uh tone second in body language the most as i know my my husband bless his heart he has the same face whether he is enjoying that first bite of of a dish or whether he hates it i can't tell i can't because he has the same face but but it's just it's um it there was a i was told i only met her once but one of the long time i guess she was president of csba they seem to have had a lot of strong women uh presidents of csba over the over the decades uh but her name was maureen demarco and she was attributed with uh openly saying that she would go to her bathroom mirror and practice what she called the benign board face no not not b-o-r-e-d b-o-a-r-d so that when you're in public comment or in deliberation on the thing that your face is not saying something you don't want it to say you have someone comes up a public comment says we don't have enough buses we should double the fleet we should buy them all new we should do it and they should all have you know you know fortnight at every seat or something like that and if you the board member are trying to look hmm nodding your way through it what is the public scene oh a board member x wants us to go out and buy a bunch of new buses you know so so don't be shy about like like steve you said you're you're you're prefacing your comments with that's okay you're not in trouble you know you says everything's good but that benign face that shows that you are being alert and attentive and engaged without communicating uh you know yes i think i i'm i'm all for that let me get the superintendent get the checkbook let's go buy the buses you know so practice that benign board face hopefully as i say it won't be the b-o-r-e-d face but anyway okay you're good go ahead nas tell right you had said something at the very beginning um you're looking at our body language and we have to remember when we live stream the audience is looking at our body language and they're looking at anybody that's on zoom so that would be lee as well they're looking at all of us as a whole so we have to be mindful of that and this has this has definitely been something that has uh been exponentially changed with coveted virtual meetings that used to be you know i remember the board table you know with the wooden skirt in front of the table i wouldn't mind that you know maybe my purse is open or my briefcase is spilled over like that because they can't see it but everything else what can be seen you're right it's words words matter but so does body language and voice tonality so very cool oh we're making progress here okay well somebody either scott or lee is next who's got a june birthday june july august september october going once november december here's it got two times november no no no no okay lee talk to us about this protocol list okay so i prioritize the six um and i did do some combining um and i'll explain you know my rationale you've already heard some of it kind of in some parts of the meeting but number one i put as number 19 meeting guidelines for board and other district meetings um second i put number 20 public comics section of the board meetings and already some of my colleagues have already mentioned about that number 27 managing difficult topics issues in an atmosphere of mutual respect number 13 was my fourth one deliberation and decision making at board meetings and these are all connected so that's why i'm just saying them all up front a number uh five for me was um two combined uh number three communication among governing team members and number 17 addressing conflict among among board members and then my last one was number 25 which was speaking with a common voice developing and using key messages and so all of these were as i was looking at this i said wow this you know this is my protocol wish list um as we're here today um in this workshop about effective governance good beginnings really doing transformative work a lot of the things have stood out to me um this idea of the responsibility to be a true speaker of your own truth community truth whatever the truth uh we're focusing on um mindfulness around communication being really critical um i think that's something that as someone who's an analytical and driver oriented person protocol uh is is key to me and i because i think it it impacts perception um and something that was in the book that we were looking at was that the public perception of our board and confidence in our work um is built on what they see in the conduct of our meetings um and so you know that's why i'm really sensitive around that topic um today at the start of this meeting um you know some things took place and i'll use this as an example of why i think protocol is so important um because it was brought to my attention by others observing um that is that at the beginning we have an agenda so my analytic driver side uh really looks at that agenda and expects an order to happen in the functioning of it um and that's just part of who i am and what i'm used to as being a governing board member in many different board settings um and so we skipped over our item number one which was called order we actually didn't skip it we didn't actually skip it um actually the president did say it but the roll call we skipped um and so we went directly into the flag salute which is item two um and then salmonica our csva representative recommended to us the call to order book and she stated that she thought i spoke out of order because the president hadn't called the meeting to order but that's not what took place in my perception and in the actual events um it was we launched into the pledge of allegiance and so i made my community statement which i always make during that item to uh free speech item and so that calling out you know it did make me feel a little uncomfortable um and it all happens you know from maybe a misreception about the order of the agenda and how it should flow um and i think that it's important you know so there's not a perception that a board member speaking out of order in the future that's important um it's important that we just maintain that order that protocol and so that's where my my thinking was coming from and i i really do think we do set an example we set a tone the actions we take um you know reflect inclusiveness diversity and equity or they don't um and so for me it's something that i'm super passionate about and just because i love um what the doctor i'm sorry i've been taking all these notes what the doctor mentioned she said um there and dare to disagree you won't commit energy and time to something if you don't care right i mean so that's why yes i think it's important that when we develop our protocols we just keep that in mind you know there's a reason we're all here there's a reason we all keep coming back and i love that we looked at our unity of purpose because i think we'll start to see there's a lot more we have in common than different you know especially when we're just keeping it keeping the focus on the students in the community absolutely lee i so value you you shining the light on that because there's i i i receive that because of of exactly what sometimes happens on these uh workshops especially when they're on the weekend especially when uh we're you know we're not you know in the great halls wearing our business suits and such and all that sometimes informality uh takes uh too much of a role in the driver's seat and i've i let i let that happen today and i i appreciate you shining a light on that because that's exactly right because whether it's a one item agenda or a 50 item agenda the agenda is not there just as a laundry list of things to talk about it has a structure and a purpose and like just like steve when you were saying that you know sometimes that's where protocols can help us because the structures keep make us more effective so lee i i value that and i receive that exactly in the spirit in which you i know that it was offered i appreciate that but isn't it just saying monica can i just say um that this is something i'm really glad came up because we have never as a board taken roll call in the 10 years that i've been on the board we have never done a roll call it says it right on the agenda carol does it she she takes roll call but she doesn't ver it's not an auditory thing um but yes i think that since it's on the agenda we should be doing it so i set that as far as one of my as as the president one of my things i need to focus on so yeah i'm really glad you pointed that out but i did call it to order at 903.
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so quick question here um something like discussing changing it so that we do the roll hall verbally is that something that we should be adding to a future meeting agenda to discuss changes in how we do things if we want to remove it we would certainly want to have a discussion and talk about it because well there's some changes that i have in mind that i think we could do things a little bit better sure and i wasn't sure if it'd be better to put that as an agenda item in the future or we should address that well i mean since we're talking about it i think that we need to have a workshop and develop a governance handbook if we don't already have one or update the governance handbook as one of them develop our own norms i think that's where all of this conversation is leading and um i think that's where that conversation would discuss the whole agenda um the agenda structure i mean all of those things would be right and i think monica you're going to get to that point and i think that's the next phase or evolution this would be to develop that handbook that would have your norms starting with some of these prioritized protocols the calendar board calendar and then i i agree this outline or the structure that that has been in place for quite some time and then that all can be part of that governance handbook so then we're on that same page i mean i've seen this thing a hundred times and i i see roll call but you know i really appreciate you calling that outlet you can see how new people which i'll wait for my turn because i didn't have something on top sorry that's one of my protocols i want to talk about yeah you said you've been on many boards and so i respect the fact that you you've got that perspective and i i just i've been to lots of meetings but i just this particular meeting we've never done vocal calls so i'll tell you what's interesting about that is that there's this is where it comes in the other p word which is practices a lot of districts they may have their protocols but it becomes their practice to omit something there's a lot of those my district makes more difference now that we're online too yes and well i'm gonna make a specific point about it but for practice for example in my district uh we had uh an expectation expected protocol on public comment and it was the three-minute uh uh limit of time and we never enforced it so it was there a verbal call and response call a roll call that's a practice but it may not be your actual bylaw protocol however scott would be the one who could research this but you know last year when the governor gave us all a waiver to so that public bodies could meet virtually i'm not sure but there might have been some specific direction about uh calling the role rather because like if we were in a group and ever we could do a voice vote but many districts i know stopped have stopped doing voice votes at virtual meetings all together and did roll call votes but we always do a world cup yeah so we do when they're when someone's phoning in or zooming in we do do we so you don't work you don't do the voice okay no general consent i try i still try every once in a while like to a turn it's like okay general consensus no gotta have a roll call get consistent yes yes yes practices and protocols hopefully join hands uh more often than not but well last but not least i think december birthday and i was if you were late i'm december 29th so i was way at the end i knew i was going to be last night so only one that somewhere unique was the welcoming new board members to the board i always felt like that's a protocol that i but i think i need to bring on like the board president to that meeting would be great too and that's just the practice that i carried on because i knew so when steve kelly came back lee came on i did it on my own gave me the materials we kind of talked but i think someone else because what if i forget something in that or you know the materials or it's maybe a board question so that to me was one i mean i honestly didn't know we had an onboarding process so it's meeting with me and yeah i think that that's something we just one of those conversations that we need to have just getting them in with another board member i think it's a great idea yeah terrific terrific chapter two while we're on that just i i know i'm saying that that governance core book has a terrific chapter on onboarding it's a nice nice chapter okay sorry scott the uniqueness too of having three new members come on in the middle of a pandemic was also challenging because it provided harder times to meet and so um and then 13 the liberation decision making at board meetings i just think the protocol for that and i think you guys most all of you have stated but just working as a team together with that ultimately common voice uh meeting guidelines for board and other district meetings what number is that i'm sorry number 19 um i think that's good and then when i see this as a rippling effect as our district meetings being conducted when those district employees see the way the board is following a structure it helps ripple down the fact that they'll do the same or similar public comments at board meetings i think we have been all over the board and i think the the the three-minute rule was one we have that on our agenda but i i can't think of a time we've ever followed it and to me if you you can't switch practice once you do it so there's no way we really enforce three minutes when we've let people talk forever anyway so i think some of these you got to kind of start fresh and then that's our consistent policy because you can't waver and go i'll give lee 17 minutes but steve you get two i mean you have to be consistent otherwise we're going to get called on that right i think the only time we did board members got recalled and the fact that and the fact that it's on the agenda means that lee knowing she only has three minutes has prepared a three-minute statement and steve knowing that we never enforce it has prepared a 15 minute or didn't prepare at all and just rants for 15 minutes that's not fair to lee and so if it's going to be on the agenda then it needs to be enforced and we have never done it along those lines we recently had a parent um who was expressing some concerns and he was the only public comment we had and we we did a lot of back and forth and it was very friendly and you know we got some good ideas and i think it was actually productive however we shouldn't have done that right because we denied others the opportunity to join in the conversation correct so we need to listen and then say thank you yes and then okay i won't be late 21 22 i marked for the same reasons you all did um and then the 24 i marked as and i'm i put it in the we in the eye just clarifying what those roles are and i think we talked about that one uh difficult topics and then atmosphere and mutual respect and i wrote next at norms i think arnold wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait so wait a minute what was your last one 24 and then the next is 27.
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