He came to Northampton at CES. So, all the Hampshire and Franklin County superintendents. It was Dr. Wright who used to be the receiver. You may have heard that name in Holyoke. Yeah. And now he was the superintendent in Salem. And I asked him he's just been appointed Secretary of Ed which encompasses everything different than our commissioner, right? Our commissioner is Daisy Martinez or DESE and secondary Ed. The Secretary of Education does everything from early childhood to college. In charge of that whole gamut there. And one of the things that was talked about was I'll use a word my word, maybe not his, loosening the regulations for certification for people to come into teaching, loosening slightly just for this one was just for the communication literacy test. If people had different career pathways that might transition, not not nothing to do with the subject matter test.
Um, I did the PPTLI program a few years ago, the PPT Leadership Institute, and so this seemed a natural progression of that. Um, one of the things I really enjoy about the Aspiring Leaders program is that they uh, bring in a lot of former directors and administrators um, have us learn from them um, and have us learn from them about um, the work that they did in their districts and leadership and leverage practices. Um, so um, it really has inspired me um, to continue to want to grow and to learn. Yeah, but it's um, what I thought you had said a few minutes ago was that the special ed population either in your current school was the same Mhm. um, or statewide the population is growing. Mhm. Is that So, I thought what Robin Adams said a few years ago in one of the budget one of the budget meetings was and I could be getting this drastically wrong, but I thought she said 15% of the population was special ed.
All right. Uh we looked into um or we asked students about um assessment and their um and their thoughts. >> Keen. I'm a senior at CHS and I'm currently enrolled in accounting one. For the midterm project, we had to create a business on wheels while staying within a certain budget. So we had to research, cost, analyze, journalize, and post transactions. And then on the exam day, we had to interpret these in a Shark Tank-like presentation to our classmates and ask them for a loan and show how that loan would improve our business. This project makes us think critically, and show all the knowledge we learned in the first semester, in addition to gaining experience with this type of presentation, which is useful for college. All right. I'm not sure. Just Hi, my name is Paige Chrzanowski, a sophomore at Cheshire High School. Since my freshman year, I've been taking courses in the business department, where we learn real-world skills like budgeting, banking, investing, credit, and financial decision-making.
She was top 5% in both science and pre-algebra. Jim is most proud of the progress that she has made in sports throughout middle school. Will the second row please stand to be recognized and receive your award? Bradley Combs. Bradley is most proud of his grades throughout middle school. Brayden Davis. >> [applause] >> Brayden is most proud of his improvements in basketball. Lindsey Donaway is not with us tonight, but Lindsey had all A's, will receive an academic letter. She was top 5% in social studies, algebra, and career and life planning. She was also above the 90th percentile in both math and reading. Lindsey is most proud of her commitment to sport the sports she played in middle school. Brett Dyke. >> [applause] >> Brett was the 90th percentile and above in both math and reading. Brett is most proud of all the friends he has made over the years.
These are veteran teachers that have have done well, and and that's the need right now. Um there's nothing else to really uh you know, kind of discuss about that except that. And the reality is this. Looking at this since 2020 is not a bad thing at this time when we're when we're looking to restructure something when you're looking at scores, when you're looking at the needs of students, when you're looking at all these different things that are available out there with title money etc. There is definitely a way to to do that. So, moving forward after this the May 15th deadline and then tonight with what the board has in front of them, we're still going to going to sit down and and and talk about this continued restructuring. Nothing is is set in stone until September 1st, right? Again, we really didn't get much I'll say I I didn't get much input from our administrative team because then we start talking about who's here, who knows this, who knows that.
On each and every lap we've taken thus far, some things are yet to change. Most of our work will be done last minute. Somehow, the closest bathroom deal on campus has always been closed. and I still have a peanut butter and jelly every day at school for lunch. But the unchanging nature of those parts of the race aren't what keep us going. We're motivated by overcoming the unexpected. We're eager to see what our next turn will be. And as we head into this next lap of our lives, the track will have changed into something we're unfamiliar with. Another journey will unfold and our pit crews will be filled with friends new and friends old. So, when you feel like you're running out of gas and you can't seem to overtake the car in front of you, remember to paraphrase the great Lightning McQueen, it's not only about thinking you can, but also about thinking never thinking you can't.
So, those are all done. Um, these are the only two that kind of like carry over. Um, but is there something else that you guys would like to recommend? >> Can we do that last part again? Sorry, I'm getting a lot of feedback. >> So, it's like breaking up on that and I couldn't hear quite hear that last part. >> Can everybody make sure everybody's muted? I think it usually is when we have multiple unmutes. Um, all I was saying was that the ones that I've just deleted, they have been covered and so these were the only ones that like still pertain to like possible recommendations, but is there something else that we wanted to go over like I can think of two things. One of my teachers has been and I don't Mr. Man, you might have to help me out with this too.
I shall strive to ensure continuous assessment of student achievement and all conditions of affecting the education of our children in compliance with state law. I shall serve as education's key advocate on behalf of students in our community schools to advance the vision for Community Consolidated School District 62 and I shall strive as education's key advocate on behalf of students in our community schools to advance the vision for Community Consolidated School District 62 and I shall strive to work together with the district superintendent to lead the school district toward fulfilling the vision the board has created, fostering excellence for every student in the areas of academic skills, knowledge, and citizenship, and personal development. I shall strive to work together with the district superintendent to lead the school district toward fulfilling the vision the board has created, fostering excellence for every student in the areas of academic skills, knowledge, citizenship, and personal development.
And so, one thing I'm really proud of is that we got there right away in District 99. From the moment we started this activity, the first question for staff was, "Why aren't we asking the students?" And so, last year we did staff only, this year we were able to ask both. So, um, as far as I know, we are one of the few districts right now that is actively doing both in our commitment to belonging thing is evidenced by that. Um I'll go through the slides quickly as well, but the data is actually very similar. So, what students report essentially about if they feel they have relationships with staff is very similar to how our staff felt the relationships were identified. So, that right there is a success point. Um so, you can see here ninth graders, their average was about four and a half trusted relationships, and then that number nearly doubles from what our seniors report.
So, in our K2, it was just standards and then once it got to 3-5, it was standards and letter grades. So, the teachers had to do both. Um so, I told them that I was not, you know, they they we were going to live with this for a year and we were going to do some very big discussions. And so, we did do that. I pulled out the dates that we've talked about this. We've actually talked about it all year starting in um August 29th was our institute day. I asked them to start talking in team discussions and keeping track of the new report card and the questions that they had moving on to um throughout the year and then I did a pullout day on the April 21st. And in that review day, we all got together that the teachers um I didn't say elected, but just chose individuals from each grade level.
Um but I can't tell you for all of my kids the joy that they see when they see all of you in public in your real lives. Um and when they see the smiles and when they see uh that genuine connection um it's it truly makes a difference at every single level. Um we we tend to focus a lot on the the teachers of the building. We tend to focus a lot on the um academic achievements. Um we try to spend a lot of time talking about the the whole child and all of the other things that we do. And sometimes we maybe don't uh say it well enough or often enough, but in order to get to that whole child, we need the whole picture and that includes all of the staff at every level. Um so, for so many of you um I hope this is the beginning of the recognition you deserve and um I we'll do the best to send you off as as well as we can.
Um We also had a great uh interview committee, and I want to thank the folks that are who are tonight that helped serve on the interview committee um for tonight's selection. Could not be more happy to recommend to you this evening for as our next assistant superintendent of HR, Dr. Ashley Collins. Ashley comes to the profession from a somewhat non-traditional pathway. She started her career as a probation officer and then a supervisor with the Indiana Department of Child Services before earning a transition to teaching degree and then serving as a special education teacher, behavior intervention interventionist, and a life skills teacher at the elementary level, and then has been at a district level uh student services uh position since 2019. She earned her uh EdD, her Doctor of Education, from Taft University in 2022, and then her superintendent's license from Indiana Wesleyan in 2023. And um excited to welcome her and her husband, Scott, in part at least to the BCSC family.
It's me. They're going to tell you about what they built this year. For those of you who've have around long enough, this is what we used to run the annual line project through the big national innovation contest. That it it I don't know. I think it's pretty well defunct at this point. So, um they have gone another route. So, they're going to show you what they built and what they came up with in the process to get there. >> Good evening, everybody. So, we are the dropout group, if you can call it. And so, yeah, like Wyatt said, we're the engineering design and development capstone class for all of his courses. And this is our 2025-2026 project. >> I'm I'm Wyatt Deno. I was one of the designers, or not designers, but builder and tester of it all. >> Uh I'm Von Scheppler. I was in charge of 3D modeling and a few of the surveys and some of the other data collection.
Yeah. So And we should also mention Van Buren construct uh contractors had meetings had a meeting last Friday I believe it was with the teachers at Van Buren to just walk through kind of what they need from them as far as getting their rooms ready for summer. That will be you know, ceilings got to be the entire building. So, they shared with them, they will take over that first day that nobody's in the building and the projected return date for that is the Friday before teachers come back on that Monday. So, they it'll be it's a it's a big lift like to get everything done in that building over summer. So, it's going to be tight. Just throwing that out there. Good news is is we've done some work over winter break and spring break and kind of put some pipes up in the ceilings to try to gain some time, but hold on.
It's probably one of the better systems we have cuz every kid counts. Um we used to not get credit for uh any students who were who grew more than a year and now even if they were low proficient, they would get credit for that kind of stuff. The one that I think uh we didn't talk about tonight, uh Laura talked about the graduation rate. I do want to just remind everybody the graduation rate is always 1 year in arrears. So, this year's score for this year's seniors and points on that 10% will be based on the graduates of 2025. Um and I think that's the case with the SATs too, correct? I'm not sure about that. >> Graduation rate for sure. Graduation rate for sure. So, just remember that when you see the advertise advertise graduation rate in October, that'll be the one that's used um for the following year.
Um, we'll make debt service payments this summer and then we'll get our December settlement and we'll make debt payments again. So, um, everything else looks pretty good where we're at right now. So, and you guys have cash forecasts and things like that in your packet. So, >> approve the budget report second. Been moved by Katie, seconded by Gina to approve the budget report.
And as a teacher, I can grant that because they're getting real world experience. And so I gave the girls their first project this year and it was coming up with a medical device um that you might see in an ER and from there I said well guys there's this thing that is going on in Northwest Indiana and all over Indiana which is um started ed competition and so it's for entrepreneurs and so we kind of put it in there. Simra has a big uh background with BPA and it kind of just fits. So they came together, came up with their own business, um did a lot of market research, and then we went for the big cell at Purdue Northwest. And out of that, there was only 10 finalists that made it to that. And out of those 10, three high schools made it. Griffith High School, Monster High School, and then Crown Point.
And the revenue ledger summary outlines revenue received as of April 30th across all major funds. Happy to answer any questions about those items you may have. >> Any questions for Dr. Underwood this time? Thank you for that information. We appreciate it. Uh next we move to 7.02. >> As an information item this evening, uh presenting with recommendation for food nutrition commercial kitchen equipment maintenance and repair services agreement for 2026-2027 school year. On April 1st, the district uh issued a request for proposals to six vendors providing commercial kitchen equipment maintenance and repair services. Three vendors submitted proposals prior to the public opening held on April 29th. Following a review of pricing, uh proposal completeness, certifications, references, and service capabilities, the office of food and nutrition is recommending award of the contract to Perfection Heating and Air Conditioning. Perfection was identified as the lowest cost provider while also meeting all proposal specifications and service requirements.
Any questions or points of clarification? I need a motion. Second. >> Any discussions? Hearing none. All those in favor? >> I opposed. >> All right. Next one up. Overnight GHS spring break trip for 2028 to Paris Riviera and Rome. I'm catching up here through my scroll. >> 321. >> Thank you. I'm not usually So, um, yep, Mrs. Frank, uh, is leading and helping to organize, uh, this trip for Tiger Cub Travel, and, uh, we think this is another great opportunity for students, families who choose to, uh, to send their students on an organized trip full of, uh, the national packed itinerary. It's been a positive uh positive experience for our kids. Um and this wouldn't take place until spring break 2028. So that allows families time to prepare basically save money >> um to kind of help budget for that cost. All necessary paperwork uh is accounted for.
And then next Wednesday, we have their senior breakfast. We have their senior photos, a senior walk through through through the elementary school, and then their final senior sunset. So, it's it's been a great end to a great school year. Um I just want to thank you guys for the opportunity. Um when I came for the interview and sat in the office for about 10 minutes just waiting to go, I'm watching the interactions between the the students and staff and the staff themselves that I'm really excited to be able to be a part of the great things happening. So, Thank you. Congratulations. Welcome. Consider moving to Knox. It'd be nice to have some more administrators living in the community. 40 days for three years work. Got it. I believe the first time. And as always, Mr. Wells, keep up the good work. Thank you all. And welcome.