Um but but more importantly, you know, when we look at the comprehensive plan that was created, we know there's limited field space. We know there's competition between outside agents trying to rent our fields and our youth programs. We know that. So, how can we do a better job? That's sort of been the task that Mike, Chris, and I and John Murray have have um sort of worked under as our charge and including our youth programs. Like, what are you spending? Like, we don't have a good sense, I don't yet. And Chris and I talk about this all the time of fully what it costs to fund or to to maintain our fields because for instance Mendes and uh Warren like I said before Ashton youth baseball and softball. Well, they cover the cost. They hire a landscaper to come in and mow the fields, line the fields, you know, get the the playing surfaces uh squared away.
They have supported our professional development for our teachers. We have hired a restorative practices coordinator as well as a res a restorative practices staff person um through Americanore. Our teachers participate in weekly professional development that happens during their collaboration time and we have started a professional development series for our instructional assistants. That's a six-part series at this time and they just participated in their first um their first training on Monday. So, we're excited to add them into um the work that we're doing as they're such a valuable part of our community. Um we also have a lot of community collaborations with Federal Street. Um we collaborate with Playworks um as all of the elementary schools do that. Um they've done some wonderful work providing some structure support and training for our recess staff and making recess a productive and playful time. Uh we collaborate with dig in who brings monthly brings in samples of farm fresh uh fruits allows the children to sample them and they rate the the items and then if the it has a positive uh reaction then it might be found on their lunch menu in the next month.
We have a restorative practices team within the building. We have partnered with uh the collaborative for educational services specifically um their joy and justice in schools. They have supported our professional development for our teachers. We have hired a restorative practices coordinator as well as res a restorative practices staff person um through Americanore. Our teachers participate in weekly professional development that happens during their collaboration time and we have started a professional development series for our instructional assistants. That's a six-part series at this time and they just participated in their first um their first training on Monday. So, we're excited to add them into um the work that we're doing as they're such a valuable part of our community. Um we also have a lot of community collaborations with Federal Street. Um we collaborate with Playworks um as all of the elementary schools do that. Um they've done some wonderful work providing some structure support and training for our recess staff and making recess a productive and playful time.
Good evening, everyone. Um I'm here to raise a concern that we recently experienced. Uh we were trying to enroll our child for the magnet school. And um after 6 years of trying, we were lucky enough to get selected. Uh only to learn in the middle of the process that uh the board uh the Brookfield public school will not conduct the uh evaluation process. And uh instead, they are having a different program. So, I'm I'm calling here so that uh our plea can be heard heard and then we can work towards the process together. Uh and we can find a resolution on that. That's it. Thank you. Nalini? Good evening, everyone. Good evening. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to speak in today's evening. Um just I want to save your time. So, just I want to echo what uh Dhaval has raised before me.
Yes. It all has to tie in together so he had broken that out separately on the quote but that would be added to the total. Um because the strobes have to work with the fire alarm system as well as the horns which are the speakers. Okay. And then the other one, we keep the horns and that we already have. Is that correct? >> No, I think he was replacing it as well but [clears throat] he included it in the breakdown there and in the total. Okay. So, he didn't break it out as a separate amount. >> Yeah. Yeah, I think that's part of the struggle with these is a little Well, I mean, I guess there's there's check marks, but it's not as detailed as the the side. Yeah, and they're pretty close. They're just pretty close. They The basic difference is the different kind of equipment.
They might be able to do a school-initiated project. >> the whole purpose of this? Yeah. But that's why it's like it's not the bigger projects. Yeah. Right. So, so I think we need to differentiate for us. Yeah, the system has been ignored on all of their R&M stuff, completely ignored, and they're asking us how to do it. Yeah, cuz they're not being they're not being trained or they're not being informed. So, there's a something happening that is not getting through, and maybe there's a confusion between JOCs and what is traditionally a DOE or you know, project. Oh, we can meet. I'd like to learn more about that issue. >> Love to do it. >> Well, I I think the bottom line is if if if there's no clarity to us of what what you're trying to accomplish, then I think I'm not sure how there's clarity within the system.
Uh, good evening members of the school board and madame president. Uh, my name is James and I'm a fifth grade student at Anderson Elementary and I'm very interested in engineering. In fact, I chose to do um my exhibition project on it. I did a lot of research on my own, but I also had an amazing opportunity to learn by interviewing experts in the aerospace field. My teachers helped set up a video conference with engineers from Moog, Blue Origin, and Honeywell, including people from both Phoenix and Mexico. We also invited other interested fourth and fifth graders to join us. Before the meeting, I was in charge of creating the agenda. I had to think about who the timing, who would be attending, and the goal of the meeting. I also collected and organized questions from my classmates. Um during the meeting, I was who led it.
Um, and it was really neat to be able to not only interview them, but then have the feedback of, well, what did you think? And they are so insightful and very mature. I I was blown away. But, um, you know, our kids are just like that. So, it was it was awesome. So, thank you, John, for letting me do that. It was awesome. Okay. I had a student that participated in the mock interviews and I think it's really neat to hear um the administration and the district and that different point of view, the compliments that they've given to these students and how amazing they are. Um, but from the opposite end of it, seeing how much self-confidence that it builds in them. Um, because the interviewers were also amazing. And so to have a student that can go in there and leave feeling like I'm pretty awesome and the things that Comb's district has instilled in me and prepared me for in my future, I feel really good about myself.
As we move forward, we are continuing to keep the focus on foundational reading skills, but extending our processes into first and second grades. We plan to share our learning vertically with each grade level so the teachers can learn from one another. We have learned a tremendous amount about how to teach rigorously, evaluate student learning, and use assessments to deepen student understanding. This process has been and will be repeated throughout the grade levels at Santa Cruz. In the upper grades, students shift from learning to read to reading to learn. The process of teaching rigorously, evaluating student learning and using assessment to deepen student understanding is the same. The instrument to measure learning shifts from using FastBridge to Navi, from basic reading skills to more complex comprehension skills. We are planning professional development on the instructional cycle to include strengthening whole group instruction and targeting skills in small groupoup instruction.
All right. Hidden hidden Pac-Man all all sorts of ways. >> So, when they hang on the ledge there, Jordan, why not just smash his fingers? >> Why not smash his fingers? Because >> make him fall off. Yeah, cuz when someone first grabs the ledge, they have a bit of invincibility, a bit of intangibility, if you will. They can't be hit for like a few frames. >> So that so that is Deacon or Pac-Man's opportunity to get off of the ledge. But if they regrab the ledge without touching the stage, then their invincibility goes away. So they're trying to make sure not to do that. Not to mention, Pac-Man doesn't really have any good moves that go below the ledge of the stage, unfortunately. >> Oh, he went right into his green one. >> Oh. Oh, the green one. Oh, >> we're back. >> Oh, we get back on the stage.
So, we've tried to bring some positivity this year with some um recognition programs first of all. So, we have brought back the um student Whoops. Now I need to go backward. I don't know how to go back with the arrow. >> Okay. All right. Well, I'll go ahead and share with you. Um, so we've brought back some individual student rewards to recognize students who are doing the right thing every day and are come and are coming to school um maybe probably when they don't feel great too because um they had 100% attendance. And so we've quarterly recognized those students for perfect attendance. We have gotten Dairy Queen on board. So it's kind of growing each term a little bit at a time. And so this quarter we added an incentive and a reward from Dairy Queen. So our local Dairy Queen supported our students. Um then we have class awards.
Well, to me, I need to know what what if they go away. What if Ashlin Youth baseball softball says we don't have the funds anymore? Then we've got to figure out what's the true cost of running uh our our field. So, so we're in the midst of gathering data still. Um there's discussion of the enterprise fund. I think this is critically important that the conversations that I've been having at the the district level and the town level was the enterprise fund was set up specifically for the receiving of revenue for rentals of the fields and then there are expenses that come out of this. We, Michael currently pays uh an individual a salary out of the enterprise fund, you know, in association with maintenance of the fields, right? Um because there's a purpose. And so when we're looking at taking over control, my conversation has been, hey, then that means whatever is left over, whatever's in that enterprise fund, it's not like a school choice fund.
We have uh a girls on the run team that is coached by some wonderful teachers and parents. Uh and they will be uh having a 5K uh celebration uh in the first week in June, I believe. Uh as I mentioned, we work with the collaborative for educational services in support of our restorative practices work. We also have a wonderful collaboration with Big Brothers and Big Sisters. We have a lunch buddy group uh where bigs in the community and that are connected to big brothers and big sisters come in and they have lunch with their littles uh once once a week. It has really um been a a wonderful um connection. um some of the stories of the relationships that have developed that h extend far beyond Federal Street has really um really been touching um in so many ways and uh it was so successful that this year we were able to expand a bit um and we added what we call our buddies with badges.
Uh we collaborate with dig in who brings monthly brings in samples of farm fresh uh fruits, allows the children to sample them and they rate the the items and then if the it has a positive uh reaction then it might be found on their lunch menu in the next month. We have uh a girls on the run team that is coached by some wonderful teachers and parents. Uh and they will be uh having a 5K uh celebration uh in the first week in June, I believe. Uh as I mentioned, we work with the collaborative for educational services in support of our restorative practices work. We also have a wonderful collaboration with Big Brothers and Big Sisters. We have a lunch buddy group uh where bigs in the community and that are connected to big brothers and big sisters come in and they have lunch with their littles uh once once a week.
Um so, I think uh it's a great opportunity for the the kids got admitted into magnet school. It's a win-win situation for us and also for them. Um so, I think it would be we would really appreciate it if you can uh process the evaluation process and pass it to the magnet school so that they can get admitted into the magnet school. Um thank you again for your support and all the responses responding to our emails, requests, and so on. We really looking forward to your actions on this item. Thank you. Thank you. I'm going to follow Mark's lead a little bit, break the rules a little, just so we don't normally respond to public comment, but I will say that we will have an update. The superintendent will have an update on the uh what you had addressed uh during his update a little bit later on.
So, they use a different model of equipment, and then also we'll have to have a annual subscription to the notification system software, but that's around 500 for the whole year. Um they We currently use a couple different companies for the other two sites. So, James is researching trying to get it all on board with one company, and then they would monitor the systems at all three sites. Okay. So, they don't have that in the quote either. But, yes, they're both pretty close. It's just different different equipment. Okay. Do we know anything about the equipment? >> [laughter] >> Do you know anything about it? Can anybody speak to the what the struggle is? The architect actually reviewed both quotes, and he said that both systems are are sound, uh good systems. He's heard of both um the Digitech, and then I forget what the other one is on there.
Um and so I hope we can figure out how this all connects and and who's in charge of what and when what what needs to go out to RFP and when it needs to go out to RFP by. Um it does concern me a little bit that there is a disconnect of how we're using this program a little bit. Thank you, Chair. Senator Dela Cruz Dela Cruz. Senator Dela Cruz. Go ahead. Oh, good. So so I think the disconnect is also among the principals and those who are using your system. So how does your portal work? I mean, if if I have a request, I put it in. When do I get a response that I'm going to get some work done? And is it is it something that's very responsive or I just wait in line? I don't know until you finish your RFP and that process.
The adults stood on the sidelines while I practice communicating in a in a professional setting. It was exciting because I got to interview people who have the job I want when I grow up. Listening to them helped me learn more about engineering and it and inspired my thinking. It also helped me understand the real world skill I skills I need like um planning, communication and leadership.
I feel really good about my future and I feel really good about being part of the Combmes Unified School District. And so that was really special to me to see it all come full circle. Um so thank you for for putting that on. Well, and just talk talk about full circle. So, I was talking with John and we were talking about some of the kids that had graduated like the first year that Combmes had a graduation and some of them came back and helped our kids and so that blows me away too. I'm so proud of those guys by the way. Um, there are so many students that have graduated from Combmes that are just shining stars right now. So, good. Um, so I was at the movies at Harkkins and so sitting there talking to my friend and all of a sudden, oh, J Combmes comes across the, oh, look, that's us.
We want teachers to be able to diagnose the specific skills that students need so that our interventions are effective and students are learning. We will continue to refine our PLT meetings so we become better at collecting and using data to impact our instruction. We are sure we will continue to see great growth in how teachers are collaborating, sharing data, and learning from each other's experience. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to share our work.