So, that's something to watch. And you know, again, if if you're signed up for the request to speak, I think there's still time tomorrow to give your thumbs down on this one. Um and like echoing what Katie and Sophia said, there's a lot going on. Um that that affects education. So if you if you need to kill some time, you can look those up. >> Also, the the education committee is still going right now where that striker was sent to. So like they're still in committee. They started at 2 p.m. >> Um they have a lot of stuff on the agenda, but and I just pulled it up and interesting person is talking right now. But um yeah, so that's how long these committee meetings are also taking. It really discourages the public from participating if the committee meeting starts at 2 and it's still going at 8:10 p.m.
>> You man, you muddled through it well. So, >> thanks. >> Yeah. My other point, and that's I don't have any more questions for you, but I do think there's a lot of value to it because I'll give an explicit example where uh when I was on the steering committee during the development of the strategic plan, uh Zar and Darit, student ambassadors that preceded you, uh were in those meetings and they had a very valuable voice. Now, I'm always cautious um to be like just because you're a student, you obviously don't speak for every student's experience, but you are giving a student's experience and you're living it in a different way than any of us would be capable of. So that is uh very valuable and I just want to be careful that um like if that we define the role more clearly with a little more ambition on the task that we don't get too ambitious uh because this will be a pretty big step up I think and even to Kristen's point I mean sometimes our meetings uh in open session don't end till you know 11 o'clock and they are students so uh that would be part of the process of figuring out how we can maybe manage that a little bit.
Like who's going to be able to stay for 6 hours or more to comment on something? It's wild. >> Yeah, it's it's really unfortunate, but you know, Jesse Jackson said it best. Hold your head high. Stick your chest out. It gets dark sometimes, but morning comes. Keep hope alive. So, make sure that we're keeping that hope alive because I believe that when Jesse Jackson was saying this, it was his form of an act of resistance, right? Is hope and knowing that there is something out there and eventually things will get better, but it's going to take all of us um collectively to do that. Um, hearing no other comments or anything on legislative political reports, I'll move over to 12, which is future agenda items. Board members, do we have any future agenda items? The only two that I'm going to add on there so we can kind of figure out is the equity audit and the sped review audit as well, just so we can keep track of when the last one is and if something needs to happen, we can put a date on it so we know when to expect it.
um you know because they are kids and they do have school and that kind of thing but uh I do think there would be a lot of value to it. I agree with you on that. >> Um at the eye conference I I attended a session with Asiggo. Um so I got to meet their student board members, their superintendent and the teachers that are involved in that whole program. And the thing that really stuck with me is the superintendent said, um, our our students are are our primary stakeholders and without their voices at the table, we're just a bunch of grown-ups trying to make changes for kids and that's not going to happen. Um, and that just that really stuck with me and it it they are the primary stakeholders of of anybody that's there who we're here for. So, I I'm very very supportive of us getting as much student voice to the table as possible.
>> Sounds good. And we can also push them back out via the board update as well. >> Perfect. All right. And with that, we move over to 13A, which is I move the governing board adjourn. May I have a second? >> Second. >> All those in favor? >> I any naysay? All right.
Um, and I think the nice thing about there being all these districts nearby that do it is that we won't have to reinvent the wheel. We I'm sure they had those same concerns when they started the programs. I'm sure they have I know at as we go they talked about like some of sometimes the students have to leave early because they have other commitments or it's just sort of meeting to meeting and they figure it out and if it's going too late they say you know what you get out of here we'll talk to you next time like go to bed. Um [laughter] but it's I I think there's definitely ways around any of the any of the concerns we might have. Um and I think there's a lot of folks we could talk to to get a better sense of of how it works.
If I might add, um Kai and I here are here for a couple more months. I can't speak for Kaia because the choir their schedule is crazy. Usually I just work on Tuesdays. So if I have a board meeting, I like plan out the next couple hours after it with meetings. But if you guys are trying to pilot anything and have sort of drafted ideas, I'd be completely willing willing personally to sit in and try some things out because I go to bed pretty late anyways and I can just do my homework beforehand. So I don't mind trying things out. if you have any expectations or definitions that you want to test before we're gone. >> That picks up on one of my thoughts. I mean, I'm I I think the idea is great. I think there's an opportunity here to kind of expand the student ambassador role into something else.
And when you change it, I think it's better to rebrand it or make it so that they feel and they are recognized as a part of the process. Right? ambassador implies that you're relating and liaisoning between people as opposed to the the member is a part of the the process. Right. So I I I get that. Um I the the thing I my a couple of things is one I want to before we get out of here on this particular topic kind of talk what we all think the next steps are with it so this doesn't fall apart and not get moved forward if it we're all interested which sounds like most of us are. Um is that one I think I we may take you up on your offer of um involving maybe our current student ambassadors in the process of figuring that out.
Right? So I'm just putting that out there as an idea, but to be able to whatever format and whatever information we do, we bring students in because I can I know how busy my kids were, but they were generally in music. So that's one type of busy, you know, they're not in music and sports and this and that, you know. So that that's some things to figure out those problems so we can try to minimize the number of them. So this is a sustainable process, you know, same things that the the the girls flag football were talking about like resources, availability, sustainable. It's the same premises and the same challenges that we need to work through. Um I I also think we need to work through, you know, I'm just going to echo a couple of things. One, you know, attendance of the meetings. have very very long meetings probably 60% of it right now are things that I wouldn't imagine that they need to particularly sit through you know so yes I think the meeting could be stacked in a way to be able to expand on you know even if there was a section or whatever we might come up with that's a student voice section you know that's in it to give them an opportunity to speak more than a BPS partner you know um and then that commitment and their availability you know I know some some students look at this as this is a stepping stone for a career or things that I want to do and that's very important and want to give them that potential opportunity but I don't I also want to make sure they don't you know sacrifice other things that they're really focused on and they have to make that choice too right you know as a part of that and then I guess the last thing is I've been a little bit about the nomination process and if there's a way in that of getting some student voice in that process whether that's an an election to a set of nominations that comes through to us to pick from, you know, so that we because you could put it out there as an open call and we get 300 students that want to be a part of it and how do we narrow that down or is it chosen through the student groups that they may all nominate people from those student groups so that they could be brought into the process or you know I don't know I'm just saying I think there's a lot to talk about here and this is not a quick decision makingaking process in my head right now.
So I guess one is working backwards on it. Does anybody have a specific kind of when are student ambassadors done? I mean you're going away soon. >> They're they're both uh graduating. So >> So there's an opportunity here >> because I don't think we don't have anything has I'm not on the committee. Is there not We don't have two other student ambassadors. >> Not right yet. So there's an opportunity. >> That's usually October, isn't it? >> Yeah. We get some for next year. Yeah. Yeah. So there's an opportunity here to look at this if there's a commitment on the board to be able to maybe spend some time at you know upcoming meetings or do we establish a small committee to be able to work through it and present it back to the board on allow the policy committee like what are the thoughts? >> Yeah, I think we need to put something together and I'm I'll I'll volunteer to be one of the representatives to help with that.
>> Um hello. >> Yeah. Well, if you do it, >> please, [laughter] please don't excuse me from that. I would love to help with that. And I do want to say I looked at IASB and just for timeline sake, I believe it is your August through June is where they have student board members um typically serve. So, um they come on in August and then they exit in June. So, if this is something that we are looking at, you would want to have them in place by June. I don't know that they do anything over the summer necessarily, but that way in August they're ready to go and then >> training process. >> Yeah. And then you would bring on two new ones or however many in the next June. It's a one-year terms. >> I've read some of the ones I looked at that some of them are two-year terms.
So there's one junior and one senior >> so that you are alternating every year. So you never end up with two training two people at the same time. >> That makes sense. Also, like the two-year term gives them a chance to get their feet out from under them. And then when like the senior is focusing on I got to get ready to go to school and how do I find my dorm and all this other stuff, someone's there to support them in that process. >> Yeah, that makes sense. >> Does that make sense? >> Some of them have alternate board members to student board members too like has primaries but then they also have their >> back in case someone has to work. >> Yeah. >> Right. >> Swing singers or whatever it might be. >> Right. That makes sense. I think Wester had three that when I was listening They might have had four, but there were three that I was listening to at the same time.
And the other thing that they had really specified, and we kind of looked at this in the ambassador, I know Erin and when you and I had talked about that last year was just really trying to pick people who would had um different backgrounds um so that you do have voices that come from different groups um and so you know, maybe someone's really heavily invested in um certain sports and maybe someone's more key club and stuff like that. So like where you don't have just two band kids or two choir kids or two this or that. Like it that was a really big point. Um which I think then helps alleviate the problem of them being gone at the same time >> for everything >> does help me. >> Yeah. >> Right. So I heard Rob, I heard Danielle. >> So what are so like what are we asking Rob and Danielle to do I guess is the question.
I think uh well you guys can chime in but I think me and Danielle should probably get together and >> okay >> kind of put a game. >> Is everybody okay with those two start paper and stuff like that? >> Okay. >> I mean because if there were three of you we got to hold a full on board meeting. So no >> you know at least notice and everything else. So >> just call us ask them for everything they have. [laughter] What you got? >> Yeah. >> Are these conversations you would want and I on or >> they may plan that. So I think as a part of them figuring out their framework, they may reach out to you. >> Yeah. >> Especially knowing you're interested. I think that's Yeah. >> Okay. >> Thank you. >> All right. >> So one last funny comment I think though.
So you talk about the meeting. So when I was watching that as ago meeting, I'm trying to scroll through. I was like, when is this student ambass [laughter] board member going to talk? you know, and they went through financials, all kinds of like curriculum stuff, and it's a two-hour me, it was a two-hour meeting, and then at hour and 40 minutes, I finally I'm like, where is this thing? And then finally, the student board members started talking. [laughter] >> Yeah, >> they're in the back doing their homework on. [laughter] >> Okay. So, next steps when I you two will get together, figure it out. If you feel like you want to present something at the next board meeting, I'll let you two make the determination to let Tom and I know what board meeting will be ready for to be able to put that in another board discussion item.
>> Sure. >> Does that make sense to everybody? What would be nice to know is if we think this is going to be a not this next year thing, then let's look at since we have we're losing two student ambassadors, we may need to get a student ambassador in for next year if we think that this isn't going to be that, you know, because we might take more time or we need to work past because clock is running. We got to be able to get them figured out before June for next year. Or we could get two student ambassadors and try to kind of slowly some of the things >> if we're not ready to like jump in >> right in >> that's up to the process that you guys want to present. >> Just I'm putting it out there that I I I personally would hate to have a void for an entire year as we >> we probably know do need to uh get with Dr.
Smith and uh get some get the process going for student ambassadors. We have kids ready to go. >> Well, unless you end up what I think what Craig is saying is unless we end up putting this in place to go for next year and then you end up having student board members. >> Yeah. >> Instead of ambassadors, >> if these two get together and say, "Here's a plan to be able to get this done before next August and we all agree, yes, we can do that, then great." >> You know, >> or if there's a plan to say, "We're going to do student ambassadors and a student board member for one year." No, hybrid. One's a one's an ambassador and the other's a board member for the year. That way you can feather in the two-year term thing. I there's >> two good people working on it.
>> Excited to hear what you guys think. >> Make sense? >> Okay. Anything else on the student ambassador member discussion? Thank you for bringing that up. All right. Uh administration comments. Tom. >> Yes. Um, thank you. Byebye. >> Have a good night. >> You too. >> Um, I wanted to thank everyone across the entire organization for all the experiences and opportunities that you continue to provide our students every day here at BPS 101. As we continue to recognize Black History Month and the meaningful learning that continues to take place across our district, uh we were recently reminded of a a sad loss, a very unfortunate loss uh of Reverend Jackson, who for me growing up in Chicago, um you know, it was more of a a news cycle all the time growing up in the decades and hearing that and [snorts] acknowledging that we've lost a steadfast advocate for equity and public education.