And so, they were walking, I'm like, what are they doing here? And then [music] I saw the red congratulations sign. It was an amazing honor. Um, it was such a sweet surprise the way that it was done, cuz I you know, I had no no idea that it was coming. Mr. Finley put me in a cash grab [music] machine with all of our Husky Grams. And while I was in there, it's obviously loud because there's air blowing in it, so I can't hear what's [music] going on outside. So, while I'm in there looking ridiculous, [music] he's out there telling everyone that I got Teacher of the Year. So, eventually I come out, [music] and they're all clapping, and I'm like, what in the world is going on? It was [music] very surprising, very exciting though. >> [music] >> I had came back into the room, and um Mrs.
And then if if we were to consider the referendum, you know, highlight our own success stories a little better. >> Yeah. Nothing nothing that They haven't already said class sizes. If if we do this, who's going to help move? Sooner the better. Lots of if if how and when kind of questions like do we need to do this? If we don't do this, what happens? Um what's the time frame if we have to make these decisions as far as the referendum goes? Lots of good information just like educating the community about our funding systems, how they work, where the money comes from, why we spend what we spend, and why we have to make some of the moves we made. There's still some confusion as to how all those things work and I want to make sure that people understand what that is, but overwhelmingly it sounds like like the referendum is going to be a struggle in the community as a common theme in my table at least this this soon especially with this much change that could possibly happen.
Uh they're jurisdictional for flood plane and they're jurisdictional for contamination. And so I would um I would suggest one more time that we do have a second sitewalk and that we are allowed to go in the building. You the the response that that there are people working in there. We're not going to be going in dentist's office and and and like will probably be in the bowels of the building, but uh it's someplace that we need to get in order to uh continue this deliberation. So you can uh speak to the applicant about that and get back to us at a later time if you win. >> Yeah, I can do that. Uh two two points on that. One, if you could share the information you received from the DCR with >> We will. Yep. >> You can share that tomorrow. That' be great. >> It just came in this afternoon.
I forget how it goes. Get a green card. Maybe you can elaborate, but Yeah. A little little bit trying to take some of the potential for injury out of the game. So the lacrosse leaders are very cognizant of making rule changes to protect the the players every single year. Yeah. You have it? Okay. Uh folks at home might notice that the players tonight are are wearing purple ribbons. That is in honor of Morgan Banowitz, a former teammate of the seniors and juniors on this team. She is battling Hodgkin's lymphoma. She is doing spectacularly well. She has made She's gone through 10 of her 12 chemo chemotherapy sessions. And with the great support of her family and Marie Paul, Mason, and Andrew, a whole support system that she has, extended family, and and really friends from around town who are uh just thinking about her all the time.
>> So my bottom line >> my bottom line question is why did you have to let it get to that? Shouldn't you have done your homework before you bring it up before the board? >> We had talked to them and they had that language. >> I understand. But why did they come to the board and they were upset about it? It doesn't make any sense that you say you talked to them and then at the end then they were still upset about it. It just doesn't make any sense. >> So there were certain things in there that um I guess that they didn't um when we had talked about it, it was an agreement. So we had put it in and they didn't like the way that it was written. So that's why we went back and we said okay you come up with the language and provide it to us.
Same thing with our teachers. Why? Because the last laptops we purchased were pre-COVID. They don't exist anymore. They just don't. We can't even upgrade parts of it or it's not fast enough or whatever it is. All right, so again, we found a way through creative budgeting to make sure there's zero impact and that's what's in this budget. Um system optimization, all these programs, PowerSchool. We had some issues moving into PowerSchool, big transition with SIS. Okay, we're there now. Renaissance, you've been trying to get Renaissance and EduCLIME working for several years. Our team this year finally laid it out and we're ready to use these things. I can't wait to get something called PowerBuddy in here where again your phone, this PowerBuddy little little app talks to a parent and says, "Hey, your son didn't do his homework yet. We didn't get it." It's pretty incredible.
They get that extra support that they need and students who are ready to be challenged get what they need during our tier two time. To support all of our students, we look at our assessment data and plan lessons and activities together, always cohesively. Now, you might be asking yourself, where do these lovely ladies keep all the data that they've been collecting? Well, the answer is in our data binders. This is where we keep track of student growth and are prepared for our PLT meetings. At our meetings, we discuss and determine what the next steps are for our students, always looking at the data. We also share the data that we keep in these binders with their students so that they know what their goals are, too. They get super excited to see that they are growing and they beat their score from the last time.
Mahoney walked in, which is not something truly uncommon. The next thing I know, Dr. Volz came in and was kind of like, okay, [music] she comes in from time to time. And then they sat down and started to read a story with my students. And it took me about three pages [music] into the story, and and I was like, wait a minute, are you serious? What's happening [music] here? So, it was truly a pleasant surprise [music] and um something that was unexpected, but I was very glad to receive. So, there are many things that I love about teaching, but my favorite part [music] would probably be um seeing the kids grow. They get to kind of see new things [music] and become curious um about the world around them. I love teaching for so many reasons. Obviously, [music] the biggest reason is because the kids are so fun to be around and they make me smile and laugh every day.
Yeah. >> So, so at my table I would say a lot of the same conversations. One thing that I made a note of and I wrote in really big uh load notes was better and clear communication that that is that is more um transparent not not I I didn't get the sense that anybody was accusatory but just that there were things that happened quicker than what they wanted um and and without feeling much much input and I would tell you I got there were several questions came up and I thought yeah we should be able to answer them for um and so I think those are I think those are good questions Um I think uh remember tomorrow there'll be information out. We'll get those out to you. Um you can always reach out to any of the board members. You can send them emails.
>> Um I did speak to the team. There actually is no basement. This building was built on slab at grade. So there there's no basement to view. Um, we can I'll let the applicant know you still want to pursue a second sitewalk, but it would be at grade level first floor and you would be interfering with businesses. So, if we're going to do that, we would have to make arrangement with the businesses and we can't guarantee they're going to let you in. I don't know what their lease arrangements are, but I will let the applicant know you're still interested. >> Okay. Well, we're going to have to get in. So, >> just be aware that there's um >> there's there's no basement level. >> Yeah. >> And I I'll talk to the applicant. And I don't know >> relative to the street relative to the farm, >> right?
They've got stickers on their sticks this these girls do. And a a heart for Morgan and her initials. And purple being her favorite color and also the the color representing Hodgkin's lymphoma. It's uh it's a really special thing that the girls are thinking about her. And we certainly are, too. Yeah. Morgan was a great player. Scored a lot of goals her senior year. Great kid. Over Vanderbilt University, I believe. Right? >> Yeah. Super smart. Her senior year, I think she was the third leading goal scorer on this team, the team that went to the Elite Eight. And uh Frank, I I I I'd never seen a a player step up so much over the course of her career. Her her improvement was remarkable. >> Yeah. And I guess we should expect nothing less from her. And expect nothing less from her now in in this battle that she's going through like a trooper.
>> Okay. And and I guess that that's my whole concern is if you talk about collaboration you as I said why didn't you get that sign off before bringing it to the board. It just sounds like to me there's a pattern of you know no collaboration between all the stakeholders and because they came out in force in January that is why you probably had to go back right I'm look I read the testimony at that January meeting and I was deeply concerned about the things that they were saying and if you don't recognize that you didn't do the collaboration that you needed I am deeply concerned about that. I'm a little confused because again we've we've given them again we've had multiple meetings to go about it. So at the point where you know when we have and we have the discussions and then we put down um what we feel you know again what we felt was what what they were stating and if it wasn't exactly how they had wanted it.
I can't wait to do that. That'll be next year's budget. Um [snorts] Office 365, we use it, but why are we only using it for email? There's plenty of things we can do with these, right? With these different drives and stuff. And then Teams, same thing. And that's where we integrate to our phone systems as well um because again what COVID did for us is realize that we can have quick meetings, right? And quick like follow-up say, "How's this student doing with teachers and staff?" Right on, you know, right online. Right, back in the day everybody had to come to an office, every right? Now it's like, "Hey, 2-minute check-in or whatever it is." You know, I'm I'm on calls like that every day um moving in and out and just easier because it's it's difficult to get around in a place like this. It just really is.
Keeping these binders holds everyone accountable for meeting our goals. The process outlined above is repeated all year and helps our students grow. Thank you again for the opportunity to share how we work together as a kindergarten team. And now here is Mr. Kerr. Questions for us. Did you say there was 19 students? Is that in the kindergarten or In in our kinder grade level, yes, we have 19 EL students. 19 or 16% of our population is EL overall. Uh but in specifically in kinder, there's 19 students and 14 of them are monolingual, which means they know Spanish. Okay. Thank you for your report. Thank you so much for sharing about the binders. Um that's really just helpful for us to understand how you know, how you're monitoring your progress, but see seeing or hearing how the students are involved in that and seeing that is really exciting, too.
So, I think my overall favorite part about teaching is the fact that um [music] especially in kindergarten, I get to see the growth of students. So, they come in so young [music] and and kind of fresh and eager to see what school is all about. So, just being able to see that love and curiosity in learning. They're like little sponges. They're soaking everything in. We [music] get to do the crafts. We get to do the projects. Um but also, like they come in not reading and they're leaving kindergarten [music] reading, writing, spelling. So, it was either be a nurse or be a teacher. [music] And when I was in high school over at North, I um took cadet teaching my senior year with Mr. Nesvold Johnny over at North. And it was [music] an amazing experience. I've been here at Schmidt 20 years um and I've been teaching since 2001.
You can you can reach out to us. You can reach out to me and I'll try to get the information you request. Um we'll go from there. Um there the next board meeting is scheduled for April 20th. Um I think the board uh it's up to you folks if you want to meet sooner than that. there's really nothing to do at, you know, this is clearly a work session, so really the only decision you have is if we want to have additional meetings. Um, but I don't know that that's that's obviously your decision, not a me decision. So, I'll leave that up to you.
I I'll talk to him and we'll see what arrangements we can make with businesses. Um, you know, I I have a business and I have a lease and I and no part of that contract would I have to let you in my building, my office, if I chose not to under my lease agreement. So, I'll talk I'll let them know. I'll talk to the applicant and I'll see what arrangements can be made for, you know, whatever access we can get you. I'll talk to them and see what they can do. Okay. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Any anyone else on the commission online? >> All right.
Yeah. All right. So we'll take a quick break here and we'll come back start of the second quarter. Checking off real quick. Today's game is brought to you in part by Marathon Deli. Marathon Deli offers a full range of lunch and dinner items for dining or [music] catering. Find cold cuts, cheeses, and meats also available in addition to specialty wraps such as the Mayflower wrap as well as the Honey Bee wrap >> [music] >> that will be sure to get your mouth watering. Serving Metro West for over 24 years, give them a call at 508-231-1859 or find them on the web at marathondeli.com. You think you can keep it up? Great defense, good ride, good good good draw control like Kevin mentioned. I think we're hopefully for a good win here today, but I don't want to jinx us, but we got Payton Trip on the draw again.
So we said okay we'll we'll correct this. Um >> so has it been corrected? That's why we had sent the work back. >> Has it been correct? >> They gave us the language. >> Yes. >> And you folks voted on it. >> Uh it's going to come up on the April. >> Senator. >> Okay. I I hate to belabor this topic, but it's very important to my community that I keep the Kauni discussion um alive. Uh and so the board has made significant policy changes uh impacting Kauni teachers. uh and without meaningful discussion and without taking the the information from the stakeholders and applying it because right now Hawaiian immersion is is very much growing at least in my community it is and so what we're finding is that the board is creating barriers instead of building work forces so you had said in your opening remarks that you're about to bring the discussion well I guess it was for March but it got deferred until April But instead of halting any decisions, you guys are already making policy changes on it.
There's too many things going, too many moving parts. Even the stuff we do after school, there's too many things going on to get to all of them. You guys know that, right? You're parents, your community members, there's something going on every day. All right, here's our facilities gold goals and these are the things that have become important what we've been talking about. Continue to coordinate vendor services for HVAC, electric, fire alarm, all these other safety systems systems that you might not think of. Okay, our team here, some of some of our team members have slight expertise in these areas, but not the expertise to maintain these areas. I'm sorry. Okay, it's nothing against these men and women, it's just they don't have it. So, we have to put these maintenance plans in the place you're going to see that in this budget. Integrated pest management, you you know, at your house if there's a mouse or whatever you come in here you take you start spraying everything.