Um but we can certainly share that with you. Thank you. And then um what happens financially if let's say that the program does not produce measurable results or measurable gains. Hypothetically speaking. Approving this recommendation, we are purchasing the materials for 5-year contract. But again, looking at other districts that have implemented this, they they actually saw Usually with a new adoption, you're going to see what's called an implementation dip. So so you would see that the the scores of students actually go down in the first year. The Scottsdale recently adopted CKLA. They did not see any noticeable implementation dip in their first year of using CKLA. That's the only other district in the East Valley that I'm aware of that's using this program. But but again, just knowing their demographics and ours are very similar. When we look at our scores versus their scores, we we are pretty close at the elementary level.
Um, and I I'm not sure if anyone else, William or Sarah Best, do you have anything update us about the region? >> I do not. >> Okay. Okay. Anything else? >> Just Mickey have their hands up. >> Mickey. >> Hi. I just want to tell you what we're doing. You were talking about the Shoots Fairy School. Um, and it's getting a little bit messy. So, um, you know, I'll just say that it's we're trying to organize ourselves and it's not always, >> but the we're going to have the students make a big heart in the middle of the snow and take a drone picture. Um, and also, um, we sent out a a call, like a email asking for videos. Um, so we're going to make a little video compilation of students saying what they love about Pelum and school and families were asked if they wanted to do it as well.
>> That's right. Right? We don't that that money we understand that money doesn't exist at the moment, right? We're just saying like in a dream in a in a in ideal situation, these are the things that we would put on the table. By the way, biology teacher ELA, those are two FTEs. Those are two FTEs that you we we we eliminated last year at Tantasqua. Right? So they're they have a different we're now looking at a biology teacher, which Cameron his team said we want an ELA coach, you've heard him explain that, but those are the two FTEs that we eliminated last year. All right, reduced.
I think I I'll send an article uh to you, manager Kelly, which has uh I think it's from Strong Towns Grand Rapids. There's a review of all the bills and links to them so that you don't have to compile that. You could use that if you wanted for source material or if there's something else you want to use. I think what was interesting to me was I didn't know when we uh get engaged in this process um if at all. And by that I mean um do we wait until the legislation passes and then it's a response to the passage of the legislation or if there is work that is teed up in um anticipation that it may pass especially something like this which has so much um legislative support. uh because one of the key things in it that was surprising to me in my review was the change in the minimum setbacks.
Uh, for the data, we just had a presentation with you all in the data. So, I'm going to go hit a couple of the highlights, but again, first grade is a marker that we put a lot of emphasis on through the science of reading. Um there's data across the state right now that says 88% of struggling readers at the end of first grade still struggle at the end of fourth grade. Um so that is a key metric. The CBMR is how many words can you accur accurately read in one minute. Um again some students aren't fast readers but it's a way for us to measure the cognitive load that students are expending while sounding out the word in front of them because if they're still taking a lot of mental energy sounding out the word, they're not focused on comprehending what they're reading. So, we've got to make that shift somewhere, you know, first, second, third grade to where they're comprehending the text.
So I anticipate based on their based on the what we've seen in terms of the research, I don't anticipate that that would be an issue. But obviously at the end of our 5-year term, we would be going out for an RFP and if it's not showing results, then we would be looking at a new resource. And is it possible for the board to be able to see like quarterly outcomes updates as far as um you know, just the literacy outcomes when it comes to you know, how it's going. We right now benchmark our students at the end of first, second, and third quarter. It's aligned to AASA. We can certainly share with you the results of those benchmark assessments. They are broad scale assessments so they they they look like what the students take the ASA. And we we track that longitudinally as well. So certainly that is something that we can share with the board at the end at following our benchmark testing at the end of each quarter.
So, I just thought I'd tell you what we're doing. Thank you. Mickey said what I was going to say. I just wanted to connect this dot for everyone. The March 13th date that Tracy Novc is likely coming is also envisioned to be part of the rural schools act week of action. Um and PTO families are talking very actively about making some space for um letter writing or or some form of advocacy at that event. >> Okay, great. Oh, and one more thing um I will share with you. You know, we were hoping to be able to have a joint meeting with maybe the finance committee and the select board. And the finance committee is going to join us on Monday. So, that will be a joint meeting between us and the finance committee. Um, and we will get the the budget presentation and I will hope to post that meeting tomorrow.
All right, [clears throat] so who wants to go first with any questions? Megan. Um so my takeaway from Boylston last night was that they didn't have a final number, but it was between four and five hundred thousand dollars an increase. Correct. And we're at like 1.1, so Yeah. like point, I don't know really hard for us to go through and say let's cut this, let's cut that, let's cut this, but Right. I I I thought Berlin had a ballpark, too, but I missed what that was, so I it would be helpful if Mhm. >> [clears throat] >> come up with 700,000. All right, so Yeah. So So this is still at planting trees. Yeah. Yeah. I mean it's just really hard for us to go through. We're all going to have different opinions. Yeah. Um and I know like obviously you're bound by the contract Yeah.
They are changing the rules in such a way that [snorts] one can interpret it as no municipality can create a setback greater than 15 ft um from the property line or five it says or or 5 ft from the rear or side setback. And I know some of our minimum setback rules exceed that and that um if enacted, I'm sure there'd be enough time from the state for local municipalities to uh address that. So I don't think I'm trying to get ahead of that process. I'm just trying to understand um how we should think about that. So if there's any guidance uh that you have, I'm I'm open to it at this time. Otherwise, uh what you've already communicated is sufficient. >> Um I would say that uh if it is something that your body wishes to discuss, we can certainly put time and agenda.
Uh, that has grown 4% over middle of the year from the last two years. So, that's super exciting. We are making some progress there. Fifth grade is one that we watch because it's the end of the grade band. So, our standards are group third, fourth, and fifth grade. So, they kind of build on each other sequentially. They get more rigorous as the years go on. And fifth grade's the end of that grade band. And then we switched sixth, seventh, and eighth. Uh I'm super proud of this one. So it has gone up um 13% when we look at MOI the last 2 years. This one I want to point out the difference between and I know it doesn't have numbers on the colored bar graph underneath, but we were able to we've got 16% minimally proficient, 14% partially proficient, 32% proficient, and 38% highly proficient.
Yeah, and and just specifically to this curriculum is and I don't know if you do specifically for reading It's an It's an ELA test. So so it's third, fourth, fifth and we we do it third through eighth grade. But we can again at the skills that and standards that are assessed on the state test. So that we would be able to share. We also do our screener beginning of the year, middle of the year, end of the year in both reading and math and that's K 6. So we can certainly share the screening results as well. That's really identifying our kids at risk not being able to to to learn at grade level. And and that the phonics piece really addresses that. So so certainly we can share some of those results as we we get them. A metric specific to the resource, we would be using the publisher created test and in my opinion the the independent benchmark test and the independent screener would be a better reflection of how students are actually performing.
Um, and I'll be in communicate. Actually, I'm hoping to post both that in the community forum links meetings in the next day or two and I will work with Megan who will send out the meeting invitations and um get the link set up for those and we'll be using Zoom again um for those as well. So, um I have nothing else. If anybody else does, raise your hand. >> Mickey's hand is still up. I don't know if that's a still hand or Oh, never mind. >> Okay. Um, well, I will make a motion to adjourn the meeting then. >> Margaret, I just wanted >> We have a consent agenda. >> I also just wanted to confirm >> I'm sorry, I'm not looking at the agenda. I'm looking at all of you. >> I also before we adjourn, I wanted to confirm future dates because I know they were in the letter, but we don't have calendar holds yet.
increases for salaries and insurance costs, so I don't know. Yeah. It's hard to It is. for us to take out 700,000. And Megan, I agree with you. I agree with you on the 400,000, but they they we asked them for that specific number and they and Boylston they wouldn't give us that. They said roughly between there. They gave a range, they said. And they the other people they didn't talk, which is complicated and different is that the debt goes into the capital. I'm sorry, the debt goes into the operating and capital funds. Correct. And so I I couldn't figure out on the slide if the debt went up or down. I think you said it went down slightly. I think it went slightly down for Boylston. I think it shifted a little bit. So I can't It's a couple thousand dollars. It's not significant. All right.
If you um uh if you would like to send a communication as a body to the city council, city council would be the most appropriate body to weigh in as a in a supportive stance or in a you know no support letter uh on individual bills and they would uh send those through the the city clerk and they can be there there's a certain time that they're read on the house floor and so forth. Um and then the also it would be through the wishes of the city council and city administration to advise the city's lobbyists to uh support or not ex or express dissatisfaction with particular bills because for example the preeemption that you mentioned for 15 ft that would put uh some of our efforts to rightsize the TC1 setbacks for example uh into a difficult spot because there's nuance there. But um yeah, I'm I'm open to your I actually am not sure of how fast moving these are, what the timeline is.
And I've got to give credit to our teachers and what we've moved on in this district impact the district improvement plan. This I would say is uh has to do with our walk to reading. All of our schools K6 we expect there's at least 30 minutes in our day where our students go up um and they might go see a different teacher for different learning. So say you've got the concept of main idea detail um you may go to a teacher that enriches along with main idea detail. If you're struggling with main idea detail, okay, you instead of teaching at ABC, we may attack at CBA with a different teacher and when it clicks, you get to move to the enrichment group. So, it's not like what we did as kids where once you were a bluebird, you were always a bluebird. Um, this is very it it's very fluid in our groupings and 38% highly proficient goes to we're really capturing um and pushing the kids that need that extra push.
Got it. And then are there annual renewal costs that are tied just to the digital access or it's all included? No, that is all included in the one-time adoption cost. We did it for 5 years. Perfect. Few more questions, sorry. And then what's the training timeline for teachers? We haven't been able to discuss that without having an approval to be able to talk with the vendor about it. But we do have professional learning built in from the vendor. It is gratis that's the word I want right? It's 24 half days that we can use within the first year. And then will there will the vendor provide any type of support for like the first year of implementation? That's the 24 half days. >> Oh got it. Okay. And then how will you measure like teacher feedback and any type of implementation challenges? I'm a big fan of providing surveys to our teachers so that we can collect feedback on a regular basis.
if you could review for everyone. >> Um, okay. So, we have the 9th Monday, we have the 12th next week. Those are those are the the budget the joint meeting with presentation of the budget draft and then the community forum on the specifically on the what gets presented at the Monday night meeting. Then we will have the budget hearing which I >> the 26th. Is that right? >> Yeah, that's what I was going to say. The 26th and then um at our regular April meeting we will have the vote and I think that might be the 7th. >> Yeah, that's the >> first that first Tuesday and then we'll have we'll also have a meeting in May. Um, so and town of course the town meeting I think is the 9th. Um, so is that is that what you were looking for, Rachel? >> Yeah, I just wanted it said out loud because I I knew those dates.
So that was Very close to the same. And both towns haven't had their final meetings. I think there was a meeting that was supposed to take place with Boylston last night and one of the committees didn't show up. Uh they were scheduled or something like that. So they I asked when I was walking out, "Do you have an exact number?" And they sort of said, "Ballpark." Right? But I can't operate in ballpark, right? Because the difference of 80,000 brings me maybe to my biology teacher as opposed to not, right? So I'm looking for a specific number from either one of them. I'm hoping we're going to get a better number when we talk to Jeff in Berlin on Thursday morning, right? But I I don't know if he's there ready as well. We don't And that you said the debt changing for Boylston is because of the formula from the regional agreement.
So I'm not sure how that plays into any interest of the body to discuss it further. Commissioner Adams, >> the only thing I was going to say is if you discuss it at your staff meeting, I would think about um the way that I understand the preeemption to work here is it would it wouldn't it wouldn't take wherever our number is and reduce it to their number. It would zap the number. So, it would zero out on the effective date everything that's in conflict. So, the way that normally you'd address that is some type of springing or savings clause that would say in the event of some sort of nullification, we go to this number. I'm not sure if that's something you want to have in the can um in case these pass so that the number doesn't become zero overnight, whenever the effective date is.
Ninth grade is a average percent correct on our district final exam. So 11% over the last two years is a phenomenal increase. The key actions that we're tracking through this ELA was the first content to write and administer our common unit assessments. Uh these are a common data point for our PLC's. We get off early release on Wednesdays, K12, and this is a great opportunity to discuss what they're seeing in relation to the data. 7 through 12 courses uh have really taken it and run with it. They take a pre-EST and a post- test and it's easy to mark their instructional impact and still see where they need to improve or where they need to extend certain lessons. It's been so successful that now 7 through 12 social studies is in their first year of implementing common unit assessments. And that's going to tie right into our third one, the middle years initiative that I'll talk about shortly with being using our district adopted curriculum with fidelity.