Um, excellent growth. Attendance, um, is one of the the growth factors on this. And the way the state's recording attendance is either you're present or you're not present. They don't they don't care about if you were sick, if this, that, the other, if a parent, they don't they're not worried. They want to know are you in school or not. Um, as we look at this, um, and Miss Turn is going to talk about I read here. That's the golden ticket at third grade. You have to pass I read to get any type of points uh for your school for your school. Uh they talk about skills about experiences for students and work-based learning. Um board I'm going to share this on the screen but you have this document uh in front of you. Um that is the new accountability model. Uh let me share my screen here.
At this time, I invite our student council president, Maria Koell, to the podium to lead us to the pledge OF ALLEGIANCE. MARIA. MAY EVERYBODY PLEASE RISE. To the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Maria did such a wonderful job. I think Maria, I'd like to see you do that at graduation on June 20th. You want to do it again? >> All right, she's in. All right, you hear Maria again. 220 graduation 1150. Well done, Maria. Every year, academic departments at Brookfield High School select a senior who has distinguished themselves through exceptional achievement, dedication, and passion within their field of study. These students represent the very best of their respective disciplines and will proudly wear their department scholar pins during graduation later this month. Please join me in recognizing our department scholars from the class of 2026.
So I think uh you know we're we're in good shape there. the all the all the uh folks with young children in the daycare centers, they all know about this change in the law, too. Um so this early waiver piece, um let me shift this.
So we tried to make it as user friendly to remove obstacles for individuals so that they could do what we were asking uh them to do. So when we look at this is an example of um data that we looked at every week. So, in uh Hank's happenings every every Tuesday, um he shared the district data where we were at with our attendance. Um and then Arwin and Courtney in each of their weekly communications, they communicated with their buildings where we were at with attendance. So, you can see it uh several different things here. Um this was the the last week of school. Uh you can see it it breaks it down into scheduled minutes, absent minutes. We looked at unexcused minutes and the a big shift this year was that we went from assuming students were present to assuming students were absent and we made a a shift to minutes.
So, um like so the parents have access to us if need be. You don't have to go through the office or anything. It just makes it really easy for everyone. So, um our first two options for the like secure storage policy would be lockers and office. And the growth of lockers is that it's easy access right before the first and easy access right after the last bell. And then it relieves just appearance. It's out of sight, out of mind still. And it chaos in the office. And then cons would be it could be tempting during the day, but we think that if like it was enforced enough, kids would be too scared to get in them anyways. And then studies, there's notification um to be monitored all day and accessible if there's an emergency, but a commonly there's be a lot of chaos in the office before and after.
Okay. So here, sorry ways to go. Um, so this is the accountability model right here. Um, and I want to start with, and this is all online. Anybody can find us. So, I'm going to start with this line right here that I highlighted. Uh, this approach encourages schools to focus on improvement of all students at all levels of proficiency and ensures that students unique skills, knowledge, skills, and experiences are transparently reflective in a school's accountability grade. So, that's really what the state is looking for. All students, all levels factoring into your school grade. Okay, Miss Tarno, I ask each principal to kind of talk about their level. Uh because each level is different because again, it's not a cookie cutter. You can't grade a third grader like you're going to grade a senior, right? So, Mr. Turner, you want to come up here and I have your slide up here.
The English department scholar is a student whose appreciation for language, literature, critical thinking, and communication has distinguished her throughout her high school career. Congratulations to Susanna Bat. THE SOCIAL studies department scholar has demonstrated a deep understanding of history, culture, government, and the world around her while consistently challenging herself to think critically about the past and present. Congratulations to Charlotte as a member of the softball team as they prepare to head into states. You'll see several students dressed in their softball gear today. So, we'll give them an excuse because they're ready to make a run for the state championship. on the visual arts. Creativity allows us to see the world differently and to share ideas in ways that inspire others. Congratulations to our visual arts department scholar, Talia Jonas. This student has demonstrated extraordinary dedication, creativity, and artistic achievement while making a lasting impact on our fine arts program.
This is the next item on the agenda, but the next the early waiver piece. Um it it talked about the transitional waiver stuff for 26 27 and they talked about having a policy for it. We've already been doing this um for the two years and now it's talking about the sun setting of that. Um, so Carol, in our existing policy, um, I don't think we have a a transitional waiver policy. This 51, >> this is this is new. This is a new policy. >> Yeah. So, it it's designed to address the transition to a school year that's already starting. Um, I don't know that we necessarily need to adopt this. uh they did share it out. Um but yeah, again, we've already done all the transitional waiverss evaluations that actually we're done with that now. Um and I I only think this will be a policy that if adopted will be defunct as of, you know, the the next school year.
So we scheduled we have down again you can see the scheduled minutes. So all freshmen during that week had 1.2 2 million minutes that were scheduled, right? And the absent minutes of those,81 freshmen were just um over 68,000. So, we looked at this data every week uh and we discussed it uh in our our cabinet meetings. Then what we also did was we broke the data down into chunks. So, you can see we didn't get going with this right away in the beginning of the school year. We did it after the first eight weeks after we had some cadence and and were looking at the data. We said it would be good to look at these in chunks and then compare how are we how are we doing? Are we progressing? Are we seeing a change in this? So I want to point out that through week eight that's in essence double what the other four-week chunks are.
>> So our other two options were like stuck in the car or like left at home, which um for if there is an emergency or anything. And then also not everybody has cars on like on site or anything like that. Um and then uh we also were talking about like people stealing items that are left in your car. And then the concept at home is like you have no contact with guardian whatsoever whether you need your phone after school or anything. Um and then like if you don't have a car do you have to leave your phone at home? So, our top pick overall is lockers. Um, they would keep the phone non accessible, stored away, out of sight, but it also keep the chaos from returning or treating phones.
This is this one. Believe you wanted me. Sorry. >> This guy right here. >> Yes. >> Okay. So, here's the key parts. So, K through three is one band. It's kind of the first band. Fourth through eight is the next. So, I'm going to let Mr. Condan explain fourth through eight because fourth is just like fifth and so forth. But in my building, uh K3 is the first band. At this point in time, when we look at scores, it will be third grade. That's really where everything's going to come from on this first round. But moving forward, we already see the state is requiring next year K through2 start uh math screeners three times a year. And you can see where it's going that eventually there's going to be those accountability pieces even in the in the very primary grades which is very different for us.
Congratulations to Sophia Canton. Innovation, problem solving, and real world application of knowledge are at the heart of a career technical education. We are proud to congratulate tonight Ava Labour. That first thing you see that comes off her finger is the new state championship rings for the girls cheerleading team. Up next, the math ma math department scholar demonstrates exceptional analytical thinking, perseverance, and academic excellence. Congratulations go to Andre Anaki. Curiosity is the foundation of discovery and this student has consistently embraced the scientific process through exploration, inquiry, and achievement. Congratulations to the science department scholar, Emily Erson. Emily, don't go far. Stay right there. Here's why. Physical education is about more than athletic ability. It reflects dedication, discipline, wellness, and personal growth. Let's give another set of congratulations once again to Emily. Moving on to world language. Learning another language opens doors to new cultures, new perspectives, and new opportunities.
So by the time we adopt it and go through three readings, um I don't know that it necessarily makes sense. Um, you know, >> is it are we required to have it? >> No. >> Okay. Do do you think we need it? >> No. >> Okay. >> But I'm sharing it with you because they they floated it. We have it. Like we already are doing this. Um, but you know, we're not going to adopt a w any sort of waiver for subsequent years. It sunsets anyway. So, I'm not sure why we would adopt it for the next three months. >> I concur. Any uh discussion? >> Oh, this goes right into my arguments about uh the last the last >> I was trying to get ahead on that. [laughter] >> Well, you did. You did. So did Dr. Solen. uh if if not mandated uh if we're doing it already uh and does not add any significant value.
Right? So, if you were to look at that uh four-week average uh in that first week uh uh eight weeks, those two would break out to be 4,365 roughly. So you can see we started out and then it went up slightly to 4845 and then it gradually that the trend is that it went down when you look at the the the light uh or the aqua color is district 99 and you can see the the building colors are are shown by blue with uh south and purple with north. So you can see that is by those chunks of time where we were at with the number of of tardies. Then we went through and we also looked at single period uh absences. So again using that same thing in that first uh eight weeks >> that's number >> breaking that down into two chunks. We're at about 3,395 per each of those first four weeks.
Any questions? I know you guys said phones. Would that be all devices? That would be >> that was how far Apple watches. >> Yeah, you cannot have any wireless devices. So, no like watches or anything, but you can still like text or get notifications. >> The biggest problem in my classroom um wasn't really phones. because I was in the middle school at that time and we didn't have access but it was still got airpods um because kids were always listening to something and I didn't really know what the source of it was you know maybe it was their Chromebook or maybe it was in their pocket or whatever it was um have you thought about how to handle that because I also there's the idea and I think that the legislature talked about this is you know kids are smart and they're figuring out if I keep playing it in in the locker then I can still listen to it in that >> normally they like they turn off too far away >> after you get to a certain point they do like turn off but I think it goes under that you can't have any wireless devices so if you're I think if the students are listening to music they have to have like >> I don't think the earpods I don't think we're allowed to connect >> and they can't connect to Okay.
So we're moving into math screeners K2 next year three times a year but that's not going to be calculated in for this first kind of trial run. Um what's different for sure for the elementary is when uh Mr. Mick just mentioned everyone is included. It is everyone even our students who are on I am which is the alternate assessment um for iLearn that's a lot of those students who participate in Mrs. Fletcher's class. So they will even have a contribution into that accountability uh model when we look at what the state's done. And you look in it has always been traditionally kind of a high performance, a high stakes assessment that determines what your accountability grade is. And that's true. They have added in attendance. They've added in um your growth factor. Have you made more than average growth? Um different other different criteria that go in.
This year, we congratulate our world language department scholar, McKenzie Elon. We now turn our attention to an impressive academic distinction, one that recognizes a student's diversity in so many ways. The Connecticut Seal of Biiteracy recognizes students who have demonstrated a high level of proficiency in English and at least one other language. In today's interconnected world, multilingu linguism is far from an academic is far more than an academic accomplishment. It reflects adaptability, cultural awareness, perseverance, and the ability to build bridges between people and communities. These students have invested years developing a skill that will serve them throughout college, their careers, and their lives. Please join me in recognizing our recipients of the Connecticut Seal of Biiteracy. What I'll do is introduce uh the categories of the different languages that these students earned their seals of biiteracy. First up in French, Portuguese and English, Alexander Lopes, who is not here.
Uh I I also concur with Dr. Solen's assessment that >> probably don't need this. There's no value. >> Yeah, to your point, Matt, I think it only creates confusion. So, I don't know that we we need to do that. The next one is reporting of child abuse and neglect. Um this is uh let me share it. This is 514. Um so this is a a mandated policy. So this is something that we do have to adopt. And um I we made edits here with like the alternate language and stuff. I I've I've dropped out of there, but basically um it's reinforcing that we have to provide um information to our employees about identifying sexual abuse stuff. They've made the change here is contractors employed by the board in regular contact with children other relevant contractors. So because we've been doing the uh electronic training of people for I mean I think actually before 2022 even um where every 3 years you have to watch a video but in addition we share the information anyway but now it includes contracted um folks as well and that's that's the change here.
It jumped up a little bit to 3665. And again, you can see the general trend um was down weeks 27 to 30, we talked about that. That was in the month of March. Um and so we are also, you're going to see near the end of this presentation, we're tracking the weeks that we saw uh differences in in attendance. Why is that so? Right? And and what do we need to pay attention to uh next year as we go through that? >> So that was that's another thing. So every four weeks we did a deep data dive in our in cabinet and we looked at the data and we had a a data protocol. Courtney did a great job of leading us through that every time where we went through and talked about okay what do we see in the data then we talked about what are maybe some of the reasons why that's happening and then we talked about solutions.
>> So, would those be included as listed on policy? >> I believe there everybody was very dependent. >> I have a question. I don't know if it's necessarily tied to what you guys just presented, but like communications from many like messaging between in Google. Is that a thing? Yes. >> Is that turned off when the students are in the building? Like how is is that possible? Like so you can have your laptop and you know be messaging back and forth. Is there anything shut down from doing that? >> There is. Okay. >> We can also monitor and restrict them based on what they are typing in. We can also see which keywords are said. So, especially if like two couples are talking, we can know what is said and when. >> Okay. I just wondered if that would have the unusual situation. I wear hearing my volume control and settings are on my phone.