School Board Meeting - May 15, 2024

001Vamonos. I'd like to welcome everyone and to our regularly scheduled board meeting. I also want to say thank you for the conversations. We had in audit entrance conference before the meeting, and thank you to the directors for the conversation during that. So with that, I will ask for everyone to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance, please. I pledge allegiance 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. Thank you, everyone. And with that, I'll ask for a roll call, please. Director Tidholm. Present. Director Van. Here. Director Petrini. Here. President Alvarez. Here, and-- And Director Hagos. And she is just arriving. So, just going to say she's on her way. Traffic was bad. Director Hagos, for the

002record, would you-- Here. Thank you. So, thank you, everyone, for that. So at this time, I'll call for any changes or additions to our board agenda. I make a motion to move 8.2 and 8.3 to the consent agenda. Anybody would like to second that? I'll second it. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? No. So, 8.2, 8.3 have been moved to our consent. Thank you, Director Van. And with that, we move into recognitions. We're going to be recognizing the winners of 2024 Highline Schools Foundation gold star awards, and I'll ask for Fred Swanson to come on up. Thank you. He's our executive director of our Highline Schools Foundation. Hi. So I wanted to just tell you a little bit about the nominations this year. We had 156 nominations. It was the largest in five years for

003118 individuals representing 36 schools across Highline. So a really fantastic group of nominees. And of course, our winners are also exceptional. And so I brought some of them with me tonight. And so if you want to join me, we've got Kevin Takasaki, principal at Innovation Heights Academy. He is our 2024 gold star outstanding administrator. Lisa Ley, office manager at Hilltop Elementary, is our outstanding classified staff. I don't think she's here tonight. Our outstanding professional staff is Jill Wilson Zahn, social worker for secondary schools, EBC social worker. We've got Nembhard Al-Jabouri, White Center Heights Elementary Family Resource Center. She's our outstanding volunteer. I don't think she's with us tonight. Sean Goode, our outstanding alumni, is also not with us tonight from Mount Rainier High School, class of 1999. Yes. We had a special recognition award this

004year for the one and only Scott Logan, our outgoing chief operations officer. And our outstanding rookie teacher this year was Kristen O'Connor, special education teacher at Gregory Heights. Woo hoo! And she walks in the door. Yes, perfect timing. And then our outstanding teacher of the year, Aaron Engquist, fourth grade, dual language teacher at Mountview. Yes! So really, we're just so proud of the work that happens in Highline, and we're really grateful to be able to get these nominations and then present these Gold Star awards to these exceptional educators. So thank you so much. So thank you. So, opportunity for a picture, please. So come on up, guys. This darn podium. [APPLAUSE] So our next recognition is our community partner called America Scores. And with that, I'll have Lolita O'Donnell come on up. She's our director

005of family and community partnerships. Thank you. Board directors and Superintendent Duran, today, we honor an outstanding partner in our Highline Community, America Scores Seattle. This after school program takes a holistic approach to youth development, integrating poetry, soccer and service learning. Through these avenues, students gain leadership skills, build teamwork, and develop self-confidence. Before I invite Alex Foster, the executive director of America Scores, to the podium, I want us to hear a little bit from Assistant Principal Marco Martinez from Midway, and he'll be able to share firsthand the impact of the program at his school. Marco? Woo! Good evening. It takes a community. Families, teachers and community organizations all play crucial roles in creating a culture of belonging. Programs like America Scores are more than just an opportunity for kids to play. There are a vital part

006of student well-being and sense of belonging. America Scores promotes physical health and literacy development. It also creates a sense of belonging and inclusion among students. At Midway, American Scores offered a space where students felt valued and connected regardless of their abilities. America Scores taught students essential life skills such as teamwork, leadership, and communication. Students learned to cooperate with others, handle victories with grace, and cope with defeats constructively. The following are three quotes from Midway Students. It made me feel great because I experienced playing soccer with people I like. It also teaches you to make friends and not judge people. Pretty fun group where we talked about community and learned about teamwork. We learned to win but also learned how to act when losing. And those are testimonies from students at Midway, and it shows the

007value that America Scores brings to our schools and to that sense of belonging in our schools that we aim to provide for our students. And thank you for your time. Yeah. Thank you. Hi. I'm Alex Foster, the ED, or executive director, of America Scores Seattle. And I want to share with you a little bit about our program. If you don't know, we're an affiliate of a larger organization titled America Scores. Cool thing about us, we're a true legacy of the World Cup. So the last time the World Cup was in the US, they gave legacy dollars to form America Scores so that it could travel from DC all the way to Seattle and up into Canada as well. And in the future we'll be opening Miami chapters and Philadelphia just in time for the World

008Cup. So, a push for us. But just like I said, soccer is kind of the draw in for a lot of our students, and a lot of our students just see a soccer program. But when they're there, they learn so much more. So we do poetry and service learning, and those are both things that we have our students write about. So think-- we're focusing on literacy with the poetry. It's more creative writing. And for service, we focus on persuasive writing. So, especially for service, the kids are learning that right now this spring. We give them the confidence and encourage them to be able to do something like this, speak in front of a school board for changes that they want to see in their community. So, some of our projects right now are about bullying

009with inside schools. It's about something as similar as they want to change the school lunch menu. But who do they talk to about that? And it's someone like you. So not only are we helping them craft certain statements-- we're helping them with their self confidence to get up somewhere like here. For poetry, they went to a high school around here that had an auditorium, and some of them went up and performed their own original works as well. I had students, especially at Mountain View or Midway, who, some of them cried the first day of scores when they learned that we weren't just doing soccer and we were doing poetry. But then at the end, those were some of the kids who were the first people to volunteer, to speak or introduce their schools at poetry

010slam, which is super nice. Another positive about our program is attendance. Some kids have a hard time showing up for school or getting that motivation, but a lot of our kids are like, I have Scores today. So I need to show up because we expect them-- if we're going to show up, we expect the same thing out of them too. We also tell our kids you need a certain number of days that you attend in order to play games on Saturdays. So that also pushes them to attend school so that they can go to Scores right after as well. But we also deal with social emotional learning in those skills. So teamwork was a big thing that we taught our students but also how to connect with the kids right next to them. I think

011a lot of them started school during COVID and weren't able to really know how to make friends a way that when you're in kindergarten with other kids, you kind of just pick up like that. So our tight knit community takes what they learn, and they become friends with each other but also become friends with other kids in the schools as well. Last thing I'll say is right now, we serve 30 kids per school at four different elementary schools in Highline, and we're piloting a program so that we can serve more kids at one school and deepen impact. So schools like Midway, they have 30 kids, but they've also had a wait list that has an additional 30 to 40 kids. So we're piloting programs so that we can serve all kids that are interested in

012our program and not just limit it to 30 students so we have a better impact for schools, not just Midway, Mountainview, Madrona or Hilltop, but we can affect more schools as well. And also we have middle school curriculum too. So, what happens with schools after fifth grade? We have a program that we're able to produce in the future so that the kids can do Scores from third grade all the way up to eighth. So, thank you for having me. And if you have any more questions about Scores, please feel free to reach out. Thank you. So we would welcome you up so we can have an opportunity for a photo op. So, thank you to our partners for really supporting our students outside of school time and during school time. Encourages them to attend. With

013that, we're going to move on to our scheduled communications. On behalf of the board, we'd like to thank you for coming and speaking this evening. Our norms and rules are posted on the screen. Please be mindful that you're here to speak to the board, that you may-- that there may be students here or watching that are paying attention to your words. In addition, the board will not be able to respond directly to you about your testimony during the meeting. Thank you again for coming and speaking. Our first scheduled speaker is Shawna Pearson. There she is. Thank you. I'm Shawna Pearson, and I'm school counselor at Innovation Heights Academy. I'm speaking in support of policy 24 for the performance-based pathway. Student learning is authentic, and they tie it to their career, their chosen career pathway. I've

014heard for years, why do I need this class? Now students are able to see the benefit of the subject that they are studying and how it does tie to their career pathway. Our class curriculum are aligned to state standards and competencies. In one year, we've doubled our enrollment with students and the rate of passing classes and credits. The level of student engagement has increased as shown in their final projects and presentations that they give. Students are now accountable for their learning and how it benefits their career pathway. Please come visit and see how our curriculum is a benefit for our vulnerable students. Please vote to adopt policy 24 for the performance-based pathway. Thank you, Shawna. With that, our next scheduled communicator person was Lucas Weisbecker. He has called to remove his name, no longer available

015to come. We'll move on to Lori [? McGowan. ?] Good evening, directors and Superintendent Duran. I spoke to you earlier this year about the credit waiver for Innovation Heights Academy. I'm back because I believe in the duty that our public schools have to meet the needs of our incredibly diverse student populations. I'm speaking in support of policy 2415 for the performance-based pathway. Highline's strategic plan includes a culture of belonging, innovative learning, future ready, and bilingual biliterate. This performance-based pathway is the only option that allows for students to incorporate and use their native language to demonstrate their learning, something that matches both Highline's goals for culture of belonging as well as graduating students who are bilingual and biliterate. This pathway also allows students to be able to take ownership and demonstrate their learning in ways that

016are directly aligned to their future-ready goals. Historically, tests have been the measure of student progress, and yet we all know that our students are so much more than a test. A test cannot measure a student's unique talents, gifts, and dreams. The approval of the performance-based pathway gives students the option to connect their learning to real and authentic projects that demonstrate their future readiness. I have loved Highline because of the Highline promise. The approval of the performance-based pathway does not take away from any of the other options. But what it does allow is for students to be seen for their unique strengths, talents, gifts and dreams. Allowing students to demonstrate their learning in real and authentic ways connected to their future goals is something that is a true demonstration of Highline's promise and strategic plan. Innovation

017Heights is led by our principal, Kevin Takasaki, and we have plenty of community members here in support of this item. I know that both Director Hagos and Director Petrini previously voted down this pathway due to concerns about rigor and community input. Innovation Heights Academy was created and founded on student and family voice, and we are asking for your help to continue to do so. I've previously invited you to come and visit and see what our program looks like in action, and my offer still stands. Please come and visit. We would love to show you the work that we are doing directly toward the Highland promise and in alignment with Highline's strategic plan. Please approve new policy 2415. Thank you, Lori. With that, our next scheduled speaker is Kelly Luther. Hello. Thank you for having me

018today. I am Kelly Luther. I am a career and technical education teacher at Innovation Heights Academy. I'm here today in support of policy 2415, the performance based pathway that is all about creating a future where education isn't just about checking boxes but about pursuing passions and preparing students to step into careers that truly fulfill them. I teach CTE career choices, where we dive deep into who students are and who they want to become. By focusing on authentic learning experiences that align with their career interests, policy 2415 could prepare students for the real world in a way that traditional education often misses. It's about empowering them to take charge of their education and their future, and that's something worth getting behind. By connecting learning to real world experience and career interests, students aren't just going through

019the motions. They're truly understanding how our education applies to future goals, and that's powerful because it's setting them up for success no matter their future goals. So let's embrace policy 2415. Make education more than just a stepping stone. Let's make it a journey that's exciting, meaningful, and tailored to our unique career interests. Innovation Heights is doing the work to connect learning to life. Let's show students that an alternative, personal, and creative way to showcase knowledge is just as incredible as passing a standardized test. Come visit IHA. Come meet the humans that thrive outside the box. Thank you, Kelly. Our next scheduled speaker, Madeleine Bouchard. Hi. Thanks for having me. My name is Madelyn Bouchard. I'm a math teacher at Innovation Heights, and I would like to speak today in support of policy 2415 for the

020performance-based pathway. I think this is a really great opportunity for our students, and like some of the other speakers have already said, it really relates to their future goals. In my math class, we have been doing project-based learning, and we have been having each student create a business plan and incorporating the math standards into that. And I think it's a really great way for them to explore some things that they might do in their future or even just explore possible career paths. And the students are still learning about quadratic equations while they're also making this business plan. And I think that projects like these could very easily be used for the performance-based pathway. I think this is a great opportunity to increase equity in our district. I've really loved working at Innovation Heights so far.

021We really get to know all the students, and we can create a learning environment that's best for each of them. And we've really seen students thrive there that might struggle elsewhere. And if you would like to check out what we do, you're always welcome to come visit. Thank you, Madeleine. With that, our next scheduled speaker is Anne-Marie Littleton. Hi, everyone. I'm Annie-Marie Littleton. I'm the school social worker at Innovation Heights Academy, and I just want to speak in favor of adopting the performance-based pathway to support our students at Innovation Heights and other students throughout the district. When I started here in Highline back in 2017 with our alternative programs, I went to a conference to learn about best practices for students who had become disengaged from school. And the huge takeaway was help them connect

022with a future goal. Anyone who can connect with a future goal and a passion finds the motivation and the intrinsic desire to move forward and apply themselves. They find energy and resources that they didn't know that they had. As a social worker at Innovation Heights, we're working with students with a lot of barriers in their lives and a lot of things that have gotten them off track and have strained their relationship with school. Having project-based learning, having projects that relate with a future dream, is really transformative for our students. It's been incredible seeing students find motivation for school where they didn't have it before because they're finding a passion. They're finding an interest. They're thinking about their future, and they're imagining their own future success. And this is just a really powerful way to transform

023lives. So I'm all for it. In addition, I'd like to speak a little bit about how this could impact students on IEPs. Previously, there had been some different modifications that had been available for students to pass the SBA. Those modifications in recent years have gone away. So this would also create an appropriate pathway for students that have learning disabilities and learning barriers in their lives to be able to move forward in a meaningful way but more than just trying to take a test over and over and over again, but really have a project that relates to their future and moves them forward in life. So, please support. So, thank-- With that, our next scheduled speaker, Deborah Lipp. I'll ask one more time, Deborah Lipp. Not seeing or hearing. We will move to our next scheduled

024speaker, Sandy Hunt. All right. I received permission from the principal of Innovation Heights to share this report, excerpts. This is from their excel impact grant that they received to fund the Alternatives to Violence Project. What was accomplished in this grant, thanks to the $3,000 grant, which came out to $18 a student, we were able to partially compensate the staff from the AVP project for their work facilitating community building workshops with our entire staff before school started, our entire school body at the start of the year, and 100% of all five incoming cohorts of new students-- those coming in October, November, January, March and April. AVP workshops are a series of team building activities, direct instruction, and non-violent and conflict resolution communication skills and relationship building experiences that have assisted us in creating a cohesive community.

025Thanks to implementing AVP as a key feature of our student onboarding process-- I'm going to connect this to the next part-- that not including expulsions, this year, there has been a 84% reduction in the number of days that students have been suspended from IHA. That's with a huge increase in the number of kids. We attribute this to the culture of belonging that AVP has helped us create, not only among the staff and previous student body but the concerted effort to onboard new students who join the community so that they feel welcome and connected and at ease. We also believe that our positive school culture that AVP has helped us build has contributed to our enrollment increase from 67 students in the fall to our current total of 166. Passage rate in their classes and credit

026retrieval has also gone up. And how did students benefit from this project? Starting a new school year can be a highly stressful experience. In many cases, they are leaving a community that they've been part of for many years, and AVP helps them connect to the new community. Thank you so much. Thank you, Sandy. Our next scheduled speaker, James Payne. Last Friday, I had the opportunity to attend the regional Executive Leaders Without Color Meeting sponsored by the Puget Sound Educational Disservice whose mission is to support white people striving against the educational system. I just have to say that I deeply value being in a room of white leaders so we can just be together and have conversations and to do some of the healing that we all need. Now, that was satire. There was no regional

027meeting of executive white leaders, and I would never attend such a thing if there was. But it all sounded very racist, didn't it? If you recall, my parody was near identical to what your superintendent said last meeting, except I just switched the words white and POC. It sounded racist because it is racist. Again, the Pharisees are silent, as your near half million dollar a year victim went to luxuriate in the power of victimhood at PSSED, pick racial scabs with his co-conspirators, and somehow heal. Please. His declaration implies that people of color who have achieved the pinnacle of their careers as regional executive leaders, some paid obscene salaries while advantaging their own races beneath the umbra of critical race theory, are somehow victims of the same society that put them there. Completely absurd. Listen. Your superintendent's

028self-serving comments were divisive, offensive, intimidating and insulting, not to mention utterly irrelevant to the education of our kids. This conduct violated your own policy 5000 on workplace culture, contributing to the stigmatizing injury that Highline propagates against white people who you vengefully regard as oppressors. Some of you people are so blind to your own racism, it is scary. Fix yourself. Thank you, Mr James. With that, our next scheduled speaker is Alex Merrick. Good evening, directors. I have had the privilege of visiting over a dozen foreign countries and living in four of them. I have studied five foreign languages. This has taught me that different people groups have different interests, values, taboos and priorities. That's why I was distressed at the last board meeting to hear a strenuous efforts toward reducing disproportionality and discipline. While it may

029sound desirable to people steeped in equity, please consider the underlying basic assumption. The assumption is that any racial disproportionality in education or any other entity is, by definition, the result of racial discrimination. This flies in the face of common sense and is contradicted by social science research. I am aware that when I encounter a person of color on the street or anywhere else, that person may be smarter, kinder, and better behaved than myself. However, when we look at ethnic groups of several thousand, as much as we hate to be reminded, there are obvious disparities between groups. If we continue to deny disparities in skills and behaviors, the Highline district will continue on its path toward failure and violence. You are playing with fire. Nicholas Cruz had committed numerous arrestable offenses and made multiple threats of

030deadly violence. However, Obama's Secretary of Education had written to all the school districts, warning them that if their discipline showed racial disproportionality, they could be found guilty of civil rights violations and lose federal funding. Consequently, Cruz was not referred to law enforcement, enabling him to pass a background check and legally buy an assault rifle. As the district had altered its policies, eliminating suspensions and expulsions in favor of self esteem enhancing programs, he was allowed to return to school where he murdered 14 fellow students and three staff members. Thank you, Mr Alex. Hoo! There we go. Yeah, I see that. That's the former student utilizing her power. I want to thank my vice president, Shawna Moore for taking over my remarks last week. I was in Washington DC at Super Week, and we were lobbying Congress

031on several topics. One of them was the fully funding of IDEA, right, that almost 50-year-old piece of legislation that the federal government said, we are going to take care of our individuals with disabilities, and we're going to fund it at 40%, but we haven't gone above 13% yet. So we were talking to them about, you know, let's talk about federal mandates and what are you doing. And it was a powerful conversation. And all of them said, well, with the dysfunction of congress, nothing's going to get done. But thank you very much for your time. The second thing we talked about was the Social Security Fairness Act. There are many educators across the country who don't actually pay into Social Security. And so when they retire, they're not able to collect Social Security benefits. And many

032folks who work in private industry don't want to go into education after developing marketable private industry skills because they don't receive Social Security later. So all of their contributions earlier in their career are actually watered down by education. And so we're trying to get the Social Security Fairness Act passed through Congress to help people out. And then finally, our discussion was around the commission of a study to study what happened with Native American boarding schools and the impact that it had, the grave impact it had, across our country. We start many of our meetings with land acknowledgments, well-intentioned words, but sometimes not with an action. It was very heartening to be able to go to Congress with an action to ask members of Congress to support and to sign on and to co-sponsor this legislation.

033And after I had a 45 minute sit down meeting with Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, and at the end of that meeting, I just got an email from her legislative assistant two days ago saying that she is now a co-sponsor on that piece of legislation, which is just fabulous. And so looking at just recording the events that happened, right? What we would call true history. And another thing that's amazing and we all need to be thinking about this one is that the NEA has is providing a half a million dollars to assist Washington education and really all of us in the fight against this toxic voucher legislation that is pending and is looking to go at the legislature in January. And so that's a very important piece that we're excited and supportive. I want to end it

034with a few things. And unfortunately, I say end, but I've got like seven pages of notes. So, some shout outs, some moments, some things that have occurred in the last few weeks-- the Highline Education Association had 50 members and family attend the Educators Appreciation Night baseball game. Fun, fabulous, wonderful event. Great to see everybody out there. Our next event, we've got 50 more folks headed to the pride game against the Chicago White Sox coming up in June. So we're looking forward to that. The interviews that happened at PSSC, thank you to all of you who attended. I saw pictures of some of you there. So thank you very much. Alan Moore and his work with the HR team, who is working so hard for our members to help our displaced members find new homes and

035schools, he is just a wonderful gentleman, and I appreciate his work in HR. I want to thank Deshawn Christie for working to bring folks together to craft AI policy, who's looking for us to find educators who are interested in working on that to figure out how we can incorporate AI technology that won't go away. Mikayla Raikes and all of her work with Panorama and all the folks that work to get heightened participation in that survey. Sarah Fox of PT, who is the co-chair of the joint inclusive services team, along with Gianna Parker, who has spent countless hours working on our letter of agreement for our inclusion schools-- Bernard Koontz, I was just impressed with how tightly he runs IMC meetings for our materials. So that instructional materials committee, it just rocks. [? Kerry ?] Highlander,

036who creates these amazing elementary dual language meetings. So, just really impressed with folks who are working so hard that are out there. And I would be remiss to not mention Ashley McClurg, school psych, who not only does all the things in all the places but one of our founding members of the school board squad, here every school board meeting, and I appreciate her very much. Our bargaining teams for both HSD and HR, who are working hard and showing the region how we can do the work and do it right. And last, and this is last, I want to thank my VP Shauna Moore again for welcoming her new official title that I used to have called duties as assigned. I'm also really excited that Shauna and I are going to be meeting with NEA staff

037tomorrow to start exploring community schools at Puget Sound Skill Center and potentially to be the first skill center in the country to be a community school. So they're looking at that model, and NEA is going to spend some time with us for that. So I just wanted to share all of the amazing things that are happening and continue to happen in the district and thank you all for your work. Have a good night. Thank you, Jeff. That concludes my remarks. Thank you, Dr. Duran. With that, we'll move on to school board reports. So we'll start on this side. So, Director Petrini-- or actually, legislative reports. So any-- We don't have any legislative reports at this time. OK. We'll move on to Director reports, Director Petrini, anything to report today. If I can work this button.

038A lot of great things happening around our district. Last week, I was able to-- well, I guess it was two weeks ago. I was able to attend with some of central staff to big picture and to learn more about the different internships that the students are partaking in, how it's student-led, and they create their own opportunities. They go out and seek out those internships. And we were able to actually go on site down to Redondo Beach. There's an aquarium there. I forget the exact name that I think is-- Highland College helps facilitate. And we got to meet with one of the students at Big Picture, and he was showing us around the aquarium and kind of talking to us about the different species in the aquarium. And so that was really fun to see him

039hands on learning something that he's really interested and engaging him. So I appreciated that perspective. Would love to come to Innovation Heights and come see what you guys are doing. I think that's always important to have those perspectives. Let's see. I had a list. Yesterday, I was able to go to a school board directors, tribal leaders, convenings training up in Anacortes. And it was actually just the most fascinating day. Just so much that I learned, and just really appreciated the presentations from the tribal members of this Swinomish Indian tribal community, the Office of Native Education put on by [? WAS ?] and OSPI. And it was just really well-done, very thoughtful. Helped me continue to look back at Highline to see what, what are we doing, how are we supporting our Native Indian students, and

040helping them thrive and succeed and just better understanding their perspective also of what those families, what's important to them, what they're looking for in their children's education. So, looking at our since time immemorial curriculum, and I think Highline is actually kind of rocking it compared to some of the other districts as we were talking about it and kind of sharing what other people are doing and having that conversation. So I know that we meet up with our Muckleshoot Tribe, and I wish I had been at that meeting last week. I apologize. I couldn't get sitting, babysitter. But I think supporting those communities is really important. And I'll be 100% humble and just admit, you know, when I first came to Seattle, never having really been exposed to all these different histories and reading our Since

041Time Immemorial statement that we do have, I used to kind of not know exactly how I felt about it. But after our whole conversation yesterday and then rereading, it felt very respectful, felt very intentional. I was at the table with actually a young adult Indian who told me in our table his story, how he came from a very abusive alcoholic family household and chose homelessness at the age of 15 and literally, though, pulled himself up and out of it, went on to college, moved here. He's now a school board director up in Everett and a tribal member representative. And so just hearing his perspective on top of everything that we were learning, really, I just had a deep appreciation for that. So, I'm just glad that I was able to do that. And one more

042thing. What did I have? And I just happened to see that on Tuesday, May 21, Highline College is having their eighth annual Native Student Success Summit. So I thought I would take a look and go head over there. And then lastly, I see that we have a family survey that's opening up May 24. It's voluntary. It's confidential, and it's a way for families to provide feedback about your experiences. And so just highly recommend that families take that opportunity to provide that feedback, and it's really important. So I appreciate all the comments and just know that there's a lot of work that goes on behind what you see here, and I've grown to really appreciate a lot of the hard work of a lot of the people sitting behind you as well. So, just wanted to

043put that out there. So, thank you. Thank you, Director Petrini. And with that, Director Stephanie Tidholm. Yes as Jeb mentioned, I had the pleasure of going to PSC yesterday and spending the day interviewing, I don't know, a lot. It was a lot of students. I didn't count, but it was amazing just to hear about their experience and the certifications that they already have just as juniors and seniors, and a lot of them are spending, you know, a couple of days on campus and then a couple of days working in the community as dental assistants and in automotive facilities because it's, you know, a combination of the mastery based and the credit based. But just hearing, like, they have more experience than a lot of adults that I know, It was just really amazing. And to

044be able to give them feedback and to speak some life into them-- because a lot of them, like, the number one thing they would say, I'd say 95% of them, when they sit down and you ask them, well, tell me about your work experience and your training, well, they say, well, I don't have any experience but go on to tell me all of these things that they're doing. And I'm like, well, that sounds like experience to me. So to watch them just be able to reframe it and recognize, like, their value and their worth at this young age, you haven't even graduated high school. Like you're going to do great things. That filled my cup. Also had the pleasure of attending the Native Student Success Forum and sitting in on that. That was really beautiful,

045just seeing the space that they have to engage with fellow Indigenous families and to share their culture. There was storytelling from the community, and we got to hear a song. And it was beautiful. And just to be able to collaborate, to tactically map out, you know, a path for them to move forward in their communities and to really heal and grow when the communities, a lot of them are still recovering from the deep impact of the historical traumas like Jeb mentioned, even the boarding schools that they had for Native American students. And then, of course, my bi-monthly friendly reminder, White Center Heights Family Resource Center is open on Thursdays from 9:00 AM to 10:30 AM and Fridays 2:15 to 3:45 open to the entire district. You don't have to be at White Center Heights. They

046have a food bank which has fresh fruits and vegetables every week courtesy of the White Center Food Bank. They have a clothing bank, diapers, household items. They will help you with your resume. They have some language classes. Please check it out. It is ran by the PTSA, and it's just an amazing resource. And that is all that I have. Thank you, Director Tidholm. Director Hagos. OK, yes. So, just this week, I got to go to the Highline Schools Foundation Scholarship for our kiddos, for our students, our high school seniors. And I think the number was around, what, $347,000 and some change this year. I may be off just a little bit. Oh, I see, Fred and he's smiling at me. Is that a thumbs up, Fred? Did I get that number right? OK, more than

047that. Thank you. And it was exciting to see all the students that were celebrated and honored and given some hope and just some motivation. You know, with funding comes motivation to move on into higher learning and pursuing their future dreams. And so it was a blessing to be able to be with our kids. That is one of the biggest rewards is celebrating with our students and our educators when things like this happen. And this was one of those moments. So it was a great moment to be there. I think we were there from the beginning all the way until the end. And I saw several of our-- actually, almost all of our comprehensive high school administrators were there as well. So that was a beautiful thing to see. And thank you, Fred, for the work

048that you are doing with providing more and more of those scholarship fundings for our students. I think it was more this year than last year. So, way to go, and just we appreciate you. Thank you. Yeah. And we do have-- I know last week, Director Petrini had started off by sharing some-- well, not last week, two weeks ago, had started off by sharing something around our community engagement meetings that we'll be having as a board director team. It comes by way of, you know, we had our lovely retreats, and we decided, what will we do with our school board goals? And this is one of those united fronts in terms of what we should do as a board team is having opportunities to engage with our community. And so we're taking on this opportunity. And

049I know that Director Tidholm, you probably already shared some pieces around yours. If you have not, I'm sure you'll get to it. For my meeting, it's going to be hosted on June 4, and Director Petrini and I will be hosting that together. It is a community conversation. It's going to be held at Mount Rainier High School in the library from 6:30 PM to about 8:00 PM. Families and students are invited to attend and learn more about academics and social emotional learning and college and career readiness. Please bring your questions and ideas about student learning. And then just a quick circle back-- a couple of weeks ago, I spoke about many of the community events that I had attended that were around either Earth Day or things like that. But really, the more important thing was

050families and youth and communities gathering in an event. And so one of the things that I got to circle back was one of the events was held at a glass sculpture studio that is in Des Moines, and it is a both locally and internationally renowned glass sculpture artist who opened up his studios to kids to go ahead and practice and test out what it would be like to put together glass sculptures. And so we circled back and picked up my little kids' artistic work. And when I did that, I was blown away by the conversation that the artist and I had. I did not know he would be the one presenting my kids' work to me. But as he presented it, he was just talking about students and his love for kids and youth. And

051you know, he's an older gentleman, and he has this lovely studio, and he thought, why not open it up to students in terms of mentoring and support? And I was surprised to have learned he just recently mentored a Big Picture student who graduated last year. And I was sharing the story with Dr. Reinig, and I was telling her that he had talked about the pieces in terms of just the skills around artistic pieces but more importantly was to provide some sort of partnership and mentorship to a student who was in need. And he did that. And not only did he do it for that student-- he's done it for many years to several of our students. In fact, I saw in his studio, it was a packet of learning standards, Big Picture learning standards, around

052this mentorship activity that he is doing. So he took it very seriously. And when I say he is both locally and internationally renowned, the student that I got to also meet, he had worked with the artist on creating a sculpture for chandeliers in Paris, and he got to do some work around Jewish synagogues. He had some glass pieces that was put together. I think it was a seven panel glass piece that our student got to put together with this artist. And this student had graduated and still was unsure of what he would like to do next. And he was working at KFC, and this artist thought, you know what? Let me check in on the student. So as he talked with the student and found out some of his other future aspirations and goals, he

053decided to hire the student on as an apprentice. I could not believe the story I heard. I had no idea who this artist was and the things that he was doing. And just being engaged and participating in community events, you just never know who is supporting our schools. And I'm so proud of people like George, the international glass sculpture artist, who do things out of the interest of their hearts to support our kids as they grow throughout high school and beyond. So, just some wonderful things, some really good feel good moments that's happened. I wanted to share that with you guys. Thank you, Director Hagos. With that, Director Van? Thank you so much. I just want to do another shout out for the foundation. They had their gold star breakfast about a week and a

054half ago, and like Dr. Duran said, when the mountain's out, you guys are out there just shining. But when the mountain's not out, the work is still being done behind the scenes. So thank you to the foundation and the trustees for doing what they do and supporting our staff, students, and our community. So, thank you for that. Quick update-- yeah, you can give them a hand. That's awesome. On May 21, there's going to be the Highline Public Schools scholar athlete banquet that's going to be hosted. So, once you show up at-- what is it? That tribal thing. You come on over. Or vice versa, that'd be great to have you there. And then today was a very special day. I just want to do a quick shout out to Dr. Reinig, Dr. [? Parker-Gay ?]

055for supporting our education leaders from about 14 states when they visited McMicken Heights. We hosted leaders from the state education departments. It was organized by the Council of the Chief State School Officers. This is a nonpartisan organization of the public schools who lead K-12 education across the nation. The visitors came to observe and learn about inclusive classrooms. As you probably saw during a couple PR communications this year, one was around one of our students that had special needs. He was in the same classroom with their peers, and he was not separated by classrooms or programs. So that was great. McMicken is a state model for inclusive education, but this is happening in classrooms across Highline. So I just want to do a quick shout out to everybody for supporting, but also to Principal Alex Haas

056and Jodi Robertson for that, for hosting that. Thank you very much. Thank you, Director Van. That was quick. So with that, I also want to say that thank you again. I know, Fred, you're getting a lot of recognition tonight, but I just think back about even when my kids were in high school and how that foundation has always been there to support from prom dresses to whatever our families needed during pandemic. It's just an amazing partnership that we have, and thank you for all of that. Also just thrilled to share that Raisbeck Aviation High School continues to soar in academic excellence. They are now ranked 274th nationally and number five in the state of Washington, in Washington high schools. These rankings highlight our schools as a leader in STEM education, preparing students for future success

057in aviation and beyond and, more importantly, for a future they choose. And with that, that concludes our reports. Angelica, I'm sorry. I had one more thing. I just wanted to note that the WCCDA is also going to have their groundbreaking of their new hub on Saturday at 11:00 AM? I'm sorry, I don't have the flyer. But yeah, super excited about that. Thank you, and also wanted to mention that Director Hagos mentioned about their meeting that they're having. So, board directors are having different meetings. So not all board directors are out doing the same thing. We're all trying to be innovative and creative in how we connect with our community. So, some are having some out in the community, and some of us are having it differently. So just keep an eye out to see. You'll

058be hearing from some of us also where our meetings will be held. And with that, now, that concludes our school board reports. And so we'll now ask for a motion to approve our consent agenda. I'll make a motion to approve our consent agenda. I'll need a second. I'll second. All in favor. Aye. Any opposed? Hearing none opposed, our consent agenda has been approved. So now we have our only action item for tonight is our motion to approve biology instructional materials adoption. Any questions, concerns, comments? No. Hearing and seeing none, I move that the Highline School Board approve the adoption of open sci ed as the adopted instructional materials for biology in the amount of $347,200 plus shipping and Washington State sales tax with any minor modifications as approved by the superintendent in a span of

059three years. This amount is based on the current pricing as of April 2024. So I'll need a second. I'll second. Roll call, please. Director Hagos. Yey. Director Petrini. Yey. Director Tidholm. Yey. Director Van. Yey. Director Alvares. Yey. This motion passes 5 to 0. Awesome. So tonight, we don't have any introduction in action items, and we'll be moving to Introduction items only. Again, just a reminder, these are intro items. I know that at the beginning when I stayed as motion to approve, these are just the headings to our board action report. So, introduction items. The first one is motion to approve inter-local agreement for partnerships in cooperation between Highline Public Schools and port of Seattle. Any questions, concerns, comments at this point? All right, so our next intro item is motion to approve the 2024-2025 regular

060board meeting calendar, and I just wanted-- just a reminder per our board policy number 1400, meeting conduct, order of business, and quorum-- the school board annually approves the following year's schedule of regularly, and I think that's the key word, regularly, board meetings not later than the second regular board meeting each June. This item includes the proposed regular board meeting schedule in attachment one to the board action report. While this agenda item is to approve only the regular board meetings per policy 1400, additional information about anticipated special meetings like work sessions, board retreats, executive sessions, was included for reference. As mentioned in the background section of the board action report, board directors will have an opportunity to discuss potential 24-25 discussion work sessions topics at the June board retreat. In addition, this discussion will include identifying

061potential partners to recognize that future board meetings. And then other elements of the year at a glance document will likely be part of the September board retreat discussion. So again, any questions, comments about the approval of the 24-25 regular board meeting calendar? No. All right, with that, motion to approve the new policy 2415 performance-based pathway? This is, again, an intro item. Any questions, comments? We will do a presentation for this one. So we have a presentation. Holly Ferguson, our chief of policy and strategy, come forward and share some information around this important policy. Thank you, Holly. Thank you. Good afternoon. I'm pleased to be here tonight to reintroduce policy 2415 to you. This policy would allow the district to offer a performance-based graduation pathway in addition to the other eight graduation pathways authorized by the

062state. You've already received extensive background information on this item, so I will not reiterate all of that. I do want to provide some brief background information as well as respond to some of the questions we have received. After that, principal Takasaki is here to explain a little bit about how this pathway would be piloted at IHA if approved. And I believe we have both Angie and Dallas here to talk about their experience at IHA. I just want to say I had a chance to meet Dallas last year as the school was working on re-envisioning their model, and it's going to be great to hear from him today about the differences that he sees from this year, from last year to this year. So, as a little bit of background, the graduation pathway requirement has been

063in place since 2020. Requirement was first established by House Bill 1599, which authorized eight different pathways to meet as one of the requirements for high school graduation. The other requirements for high school graduation are students have to receive 24 credits within a specific credit distribution and they must also complete a high school and Beyond Plan and complete Washington State history. I want to say that the graduation pathway is a non-credit bearing pathway. It does not lessen or change the number of credits that a student needs to receive to graduate. So a student needs to meet the ELA pathway and also needs four credits of ELA or needs to meet the math pathway and also needs to meet three credits of math. The other eight pathways are all, of course, are exam based. And this performance

064based pathway, as I mentioned, is a new non-course, non-exam pathway. Obviously, we all had a chance to hear from five IHA staff members today talking about the value of a non-course based or non-exam based pathway, and I think we probably all know of or were a student who would have benefited from a hands-on, real world learning pathway. This pathway is directly aligned to our future ready and innovative learning strategic plan goals and also aligned with the direction that education is going. I know that you all had a chance to read the AASA article that I included around the demise of the Carnegie unit, and you can see that this policy and the performance-based pathway would help support the next generation of education and students by focusing on real world, hands-on learning. I did want to

065answer a few of the specific questions that were raised to us over the last few weeks and days. Director Hagos, you asked about teacher and student support and specifically said, I'm not seeing any state support offered like the mastery-based pathway. There is no other mastery-based pathway. This is the mastery-based pathway. If the board is to approve it, it will be in use here. The other eight pathways are not mastery-based. Again, they are course or credit-based. I don't know if you may be thinking of the mastery-based learning collaborative, which did receive state funding and is an opportunity for staff to receive professional development and create professional learning communities for schools and districts that are thinking of engaging in or are engaging in mastery-based learning. We are a part of the mastery based learning collaborative, and a

066number of our schools are a part of that as well. As mentioned in the fiscal note for this policy, the state has allocated no funding for implementing the performance based pathway. So any funding needed for schools to implement this would come from existing district funds. You also asked how we would increase community awareness of these pathways. As indicated in the memo, schools would be talking with their communities about the pathway and how it would be implemented with individual students within the individual school and within that school's particular community. Notice that I also want to add in addition to just the performance-based pathway, the policy that's in front of you includes all the other eight pathways, so all nine pathways. We thought it was important to include all nine pathways in the policy to heighten community

067awareness rather than just having a policy on one and having other pathways reflected in a procedure, which is where they currently sit. I also want to point out here that Director Petrini caught an error that I made. So thank you for that. We'll fix that prior to action when this moves forward. The state model policy is specific to the performance-based pathway, which is the policy that we used as the model for this. It is therefore called performance-based pathway. But again, because we wanted to heighten awareness of all pathways for our community, our schools, and our students, we renamed it high school graduation pathways just in general. So I want to name that that's an error on mine on the bar, and we will fix that prior to introduction-- or, excuse me, prior to action. Director

068Hagos, you also asked how do we codify the requirement for clear and annual parental information about the pathways. That's already codified in our high school and beyond policy or procedure, which is procedure 2400-P3 under our meaningful high school diploma overarching policy. It is in discussions about the student's high school and beyond plan where the pathway would be discussed and determined. So it makes a lot of sense to include it there, although we also specifically referenced the inclusion of this information in the student's high school and beyond plan in paragraph two of the policy in front of you. And last, you asked about annual pathway data tracking and how to codify that. That language is already codified in policy 2415 I did include the '24-- excuse me, we haven't had '24, '23 yet. The 2023 graduation

069pathway information in your packet today, that's something that district looks at annually as required by the legislation. And then Director Petrini, you had some additional questions today. You asked if this is the same project-based pathway from before. Yes, we are introducing this policy. It is called the performance-based pathway in the law, which is why we're referring to it like that. And as I mentioned, thank you for catching my error. I don't like to catch errors in public, but I want to thank you for at least I'll be able to fix it before action. You also asked about-- so one of the unique natures of this, and I believe one of the speakers earlier referenced this, is that the math pathway, if you use the performance-based pathway, can be used in a language other than english,

070which is not true in any of the other eight pathways. The ELA pathway can incorporate other languages but is based on the English language standards that students are required to look through. You asked if we have sufficient teachers of other languages to support students in this. I want to make it-- I want to make sure everybody is clear that the support group around a student who's engaging in the performance-based pathway would include teachers, absolutely, but could also include non-educators, non-certificated staff, could include community members. So I think within our community, we absolutely have the language support necessary to support a student who wished to engage in the math pathway in a language other than English. And you also asked how often students are doing project proposals. Obviously, Principal Takasaki can talk about what this looks

071like at IHA. For other schools, we don't have an answer yet because they are not even really thinking about this as a possibility. IHA is, as I will say, ahead of the curve on this one based on their mastery-based model. This is a pathway that lends directly to them. So I think if this gets approved, as we start talking with schools, they'll start thinking about the best way to implement this again within their school community. You also asked about a timeline for reviewing data. Again, we review this every year after all the graduations are done. Included 2023 for you. We have not looked at what it will look like to analyze performance-based pathway data because obviously, that's a little bit different. It's going to be a little bit more robust than just did you or

072did you not pass a course or pass a test. But if this policy gets approved, we will be able to take that into account in our planning for future years. And then you asked about other schools accessing the pathway. As the other documents, the supporting documents say, yes, other schools and other students other than IHA or, frankly, other schools that are doing mastery-based learning, like big picture or maritime, will be able to access this. Because the pathway is determined in conversation with student, family, counselor, school around the student's high school and beyond plan, that's really where it would be identified that this particular pathway would be appropriate for students. And I also just want to mention-- and it's in the supporting documents. But just to be clear, this does not have to be done in

073a course. A school could offer a course as a way to pull people together with the right supports all in a room at one time. But a school could very much do-- a student could very much propose and be approved to do an individual project or individual proposal that's based on what they're doing, either in school or, frankly, out of school. The beauty of the performance-based pathway is it does allow students to engage in activities that they are engaging in their community that bring value to them and that support the learning of ELA and math-specific learning standards. I'm going to turn it over to Principal Takasaki and Dallas and Angie, and I know they'll be happy to answer any questions you have about this work at IHA, and I will be happy to answer any

074additional questions that you have after they're done. Thank you all very much. Thank you, Holly. So, are they going to present? Dr. Duran, members of the board, thank you so much for having me here. My name is Kevin Takasaki, and I'm the proud, proud principal of Innovation Heights Academy. I'm here to talk to you today a little about our redesign process, what we're offering as far as our instructional model, and then, of course, tying that to the performance pathway. As many of you already know, over the past two years, we've been going through our redesign process. And through that process, we've been prioritizing the voices of our community as far as what they need in order to reengage in public education. As we embarked on this journey, we heard from our educators. We heard from

075our district associates, we heard from parents. And most importantly, we heard from the students for whom we serve. And across the board, when redesigning public education, they said in order to engage, students needed real world, relevant, and hands-on learning that was tied to their communities, to their lives, and to their goals. So we took it upon ourselves to ensure that their instructional approach examined the obstacles and opportunities in students' communities, in their own lives, on their pathway towards graduation and beyond. So what does this look like at Innovation Heights? As you've already heard from many of the people that came from Innovation Heights, we encourage you to come visit our classrooms. And when you do, you'll see some robust education tied to students' communities, tied to their lives, and tied to the real world. In

076any given classroom, you might see students redesigning sustainable packaging for local businesses through use of geometric nets and prototypes of biodegradable materials. You'd find students helping teach clients within the community about the cost-benefit analysis as related to amortization of car loans when purchasing a vehicle. Across the board, you'll see students self-examining strengths, interests, personality types and values to determine their career paths beyond high school. And with those career paths, you'll find them exploring within their math class about how they can create small business proposals with a focus on how linear equations represent the supply and demand related to their financial plan, or that same student might take that information to their ELA class and analyze literary texts to develop commentary as a means of self-examination within their chosen pathway beyond high school. All of this

077to say the learning that's happening at Innovation Heights is robust. It's real world, it's relevant, and it's meaningful for our students. And of course, this is aligned directly with the performance pathway. As you already heard and you already know, the performance pathway is a means to demonstrate real world skills related to individual goals. It's a natural fit for what we're already doing, considering our instructional approach. And beyond that, not only will we assess the skills that are being demonstrated in other public high schools throughout Highline school district, which is fantastic. We're also teaching students how to innovate, how to investigate, how to communicate, how to plan, advocate, evaluate and justify their thinking and action. These are skills that any grown adult would be proud to master, let alone a student on their way towards graduation.

078And while this is all well and good and fun to talk about of the breadth of the work that educators are doing in the room, it's also just as important to talk about the technical side of instruction. There is direct oversight and accountability when it comes to our instructional approach. We have a main focus on ensuring that the essential standards put into these projects are on grade level as compared with any other high school throughout the district. We're ensuring continued growth in our practice through collaboration with the experts that exist within our own community, both within the district, at the state level and at the national level. In any given day, you might see one of our teachers collaborating with a district content specialist in order to ensure that standards are on grade level and

079tied to the essential standards in any other course. You might see our leadership team collaborating with the mastery-based learning collaborative through state board of education in order to assure that our approach to competency based-learning and culturally-responsive sustaining education is a pathway towards success. You might even find leadership going visiting other schools across the country in New York to see what other innovative schools are doing amazing work, and they might be 10 years down the road and be a beacon of hope for where we could end up. And all of this to say that what's most important is the impact on students. I can stand up here and say, all the fancy words that I want related to education, but what it comes down to is does the student find the learning that they're doing meaningful.

080Is it preparing them for their future ready goals? While I'd love to speak to that, I think more impactful would be inviting our students up, and we have two students here. They're some of my favorite human beings. We have Angie Sedano-Reyes and Dallas [? Valdez. ?] Angie is going to speak first. She's a senior at Innovation Heights. She was at a comprehensive high school prior to this. And then we also have Dallas, who's been with us for a number of years. He was with us last year with our previous program, and he actually helped us redesign the current program. So please give them the love and respect that they deserve. I'm nervous. Hi, my name is Angie Soldano. I am a senior student at Innovation Heights Academy has taught me many things, and I appreciate

081the opportunity for being here. Yes, and also for the audience listening, I'm sorry for my voice. I'm really nervous. [INAUDIBLE] Innovation Heights Academy is a school where I believe we can succeed. Students as I myself have succeed a lot in this school and how the projects that we have done has relation to our future. And it's meaningful because we're not just learning things like math, history, science, the late 100s, or anything, but we're also learning a lot of stuff like for the future career path, business planning, budgeting, finance, so many things that I could probably bring and show you guys-- assignments, projects that I've done, history. Career choices has taught me also and brought me to the opportunity to graduate. I am going to graduate, and I'm going to be the first generation of Innovation

082Heights. And I am so proud and thankful for the opportunities that Innovation has brought to me. To conclude, I would like to say that I am grateful for the staff, not just the educators such as teachers but also the front office and other staff that has helped me in school and in life and has brought me to be more confident and brought me here. Thank you. I'm happy to answer any of your questions. As I said, I am a student at Innovation Heights, and you guys can find me there. [INAUDIBLE] will give you guys my name. Thank you, thank you. Good evening, members of the school board and faculty and esteemed guests. My name is Dallas, and I am honored and thankful to have this opportunity to speak with you today about my experience at

083Innovation Heights Academy over the past year. As someone who has been profoundly impacted by the unique approach to education at IHA, I am excited to share my journey and the reasons why this school and its programs are so meaningful to me. This past year at IHA has been nothing short of transformative. Unlike previous years, where I often felt disengaged and uncertain about my future, my experience at IHA has been filled with many opportunities that have shaped my academic and personal growth in ways that I could have never imagined. One of the first projects that stood out to me was in our science class in which we had to interview real life clients who owned a product for their business. My client owned a kitchen cookbook. The assignment was to learn how to make better packaging

084for the environment while still meeting our client's needs. This wasn't just a lesson in design. It was a hands-on experience that taught me about marketability and presentation skills that are crucial in any field. In my math class, we dove into the practical applications of mathematics by calculating and determining markups. This not only improved my math skills, but also gave me a deeper understanding of economics and business, which I found so valuable as one day, I hope to have a business of my own. In my college and career choices class, I learned about budgeting and finance, which has been super valuable as I plan my future. This class helped me decide on the college I want to attend and the career path I wish to pursue. It was in this setting that I realized how each

085project and lesson was purposefully designed to align with real world applications and my personal aspirations. Reflecting on my journey, every single class has been beneficial to me because of its project-based learning approach. This method has allowed me to engage in academic work that directly ties into my future goals. For the first time, I felt that education was not just about passing exams and completing assignments but about preparing me for life. IHA has shown me that they truly care about my future and is committed to setting me up for success. When I compare this to my previous school year, the difference is astounding. Last year, I rarely thought about my future career or goals. I often skiped lunch to hang out at the park, sometimes not even returning to school for the rest of the day.

086I was disengaged and unmotivated. The new environment and inspiring structure at IHA has completely turned that around for me. Now I look forward to going to school every day. I am more motivated and excited about my future than ever before. The projects at IHA are not just assignments. They encourage us to think critically about our goals and aspirations. They help us connect our academic work to the real world, making learning more meaningful and exciting. IHA has made a significant difference in my life, and I'm grateful for the opportunities it has provided. I encourage you to listen to my story and consider the impact that such a program can have on students like me. Our future is bright thanks to the dedication and forward thinking approach of this incredible school. Before I end, I would like

087to share a short haiku poem that I had wrote summarizing my experience at Innovation Heights from last year to this present year. 2022 to 2023, skipping classes free. Freedom reigns but dreams unseen. Dreams lost in the breeze. 2023 to 2024 dreams nurtured. this year. Teachers care about our past. Freedom fades, purpose blooms. Thank you for your time and attention. I'm happy to answer any questions and share more about my experience at Innovation Academy. Thank you, Angie. Thank you, Dallas. Thank you, Principal Takasaki. Are there any other questions for any of us? I think Director Hagos, you had some questions. Thank you. I do have to say what a pleasure and a delight it is to see this type of discussion unfold in the board room. To see the passion and the engagement and the conversations

088around this work really brings out the heart of what we're trying to get through when we're looking at new policies and new policy s So I appreciate it, and I'm so incredibly grateful to the students and the staff and the educators that took their time to come here tonight to share their stories. I do-- I've met several of the Innovation Heights staff over the last few months and got opportunities to visit and meet with students as well. And so I do know how strong their program is and how much they are working to support our kids so that they make it to graduation and beyond. So just a piece to say thank you for that. Thank you. So, in terms of just-- I guess this is a comment, and the question may come out of

089the comment. In terms of my work around this or my research around this pathway, I mentioned that I had little concern about the pathway itself. I wasn't very concerned about it at all. I am an educator myself. I have a master's in education, and I've been working with that for over a decade. I also use it as a school counselor, and I've been doing that for quite some time. I know the value of a performance-based pathway, and I'm thrilled to see this as an opportunity for us here at Highline. My concern came by what I saw as bypassing policy practices meant to ensure that the vision that we are leading as a school board team, when we gather together and look at these new non-mandated, non-required policies, are we looking at it with the community

090engaged? Are we provided some informed feedback and conversation pieces? There is a policy, 1310, that mentions the board directors will provide an opportunity for public, written, and oral comment on such policies before adoption or amending policies when considering a policy that's not authorized or required by federal law. And this is one that's not authorized. So when I saw that box unchecked-- you know, it said, do we require community engagement? And it says yes or no. I'm so very much used to seeing that checked. And that not being checked made me wonder, well, why not? You know, this is a policy that's not mandated, and how do we engage and provide some feedback? So for us as a board team, when you think of our policy 1005 and it asks us to use responsible governance in

091collaboration with our community, if that piece wasn't checked off, it was challenging to move forward. And that one I brought up from the very beginning. So that was a concern from mine from the start. I do see it-- --speak to that. I do see it checked off now. But just in terms of when I noticed that from the very beginning, my concern is as an educator myself, I thought, wow, how wonderful to see something like this come through for our district. But when I am sitting on this dais, I'm a school board director, and I must follow responsible school governance. And that was the piece that gave me pause along with a couple of the pieces. So I know you want to answer that question. I will give you that opportunity. I just have two

092more things to say, and then I'll circle back to that. The other part was, you know, I've lived in this community 16, 17 years, and I have been out and about for 16, 17 years. And in my time, whether I was a board director or just a parent or an auntie or a cousin and all the different communities we have across our five cities, one of the things that comes up constantly with tears from mothers and frustrations from fathers is the challenge of knowing how to help support their children when they reach graduation and they're planning beyond. Those things have happened across my 16 to 17 years living in this community. And for me to see that house bill 1308 indicated a new requirement ensuring that these pathways-- we've got so many of them, and

093it can get so incredibly complicated-- that these pathways are clear for our students along with their guardians, I wanted to see that notation somewhere. And that notation has now been made. I see that as well in the packet that we had. So that was the piece of what-- you know, not only the 16, 17 years behind me. I'm going to be here for the next 15 to 20 years raising my own children and my own nieces and nephews and family members. I'm going to be here for a long time. When we adopt a new policy, it's important that it is in collaboration with the vision of our community. That is central to me. So these are the reasons why I struggled with passing not the pathway itself. It provides wonderful opportunities. We've heard from so

094many experts in this house today that shared the benefits of this policy. My struggle was, did we bypass some of our policy practices that ensures the community knows what we're doing when we're adopting things that are not mandated and not required even when it is in the best interest of our students? So I know that you wanted to speak a little bit back to the first thing that I had mentioned. You're welcome to speak to that now, and I may have a question that comes out of this in just a moment. Absolutely. I do want to make it clear that the community engagement box still is checked no on the bar, and I do want to make clear what policy 1310 specifically states. When the board of directors is considering a district policy or amendment

095to policy that is not expressly or by implication authorized by state or federal law, first of all, this policy is required by state law, if we are to engage in the performance-based pathway, the board-- ellipses, ellipses, ellipses-- the board will provide an opportunity for public written and oral comment on such policies before adoption or amendment. How that plays out in reality in school board meetings, this is why we have policies introduced at one meeting and adopted at a subsequent meeting. That allows the community to see on two different agendas that the board is considering a policy and then the board will be voting on it at a subsequent date and allows people to provide written or oral public testimony during school board meetings. It does not mean a separate community engagement process. It is the

096public testimony process at school board meetings. I just want to clarify that that is how policy 1310 works. Any other questions? Yes, thank you for that. Yes, and so we do have the opportunity to have some of those pieces provided. And to me, the robust discussions and comments and questions that have come forth since the beginning of this entire process, I think it's about two months now worth of opportunity to engage. So I am thrilled to see some of that extension being offered to our community and seeing folks come and show up tonight. And so I guess the only other piece is that when we talk about this-- hold on. Let me grab the language because I want to make sure I read out. OK, so one of the new requirements is school districts must

097examine their local pathways data annually to see if there are any differences between groups of students in terms of those who are participating and completing the pathways offered. How will that come by way to the board? Is it just going to be our district assessing these things, or will we receive some sort of annual report out of this? I'm curious about that piece. So what has historically happened is in the fall, after all the graduations have happened and we know what pathways have been used for which students, we get together, and we analyze them. Again, those are attached as part of your packet today. And we have historically presented those to the board. This originally went to the board on March 1, and then I submitted a further disaggregated pathway based on race, ethnicity, gender,

098IEP 504 [? ELL ?] homelessness and foster care, to the board. So that's something that would come to you annually, usually in the fall. And is that codified in this policy and procedure? The policy does mention that the district will analyze data annually. Thank you. And then just a last comment-- since we've started all of these conversations, there are new training offerings for educators around this piece as well. So I'm excited to go and take a look to see what that's all about. Any workload relief or any type of preparations to implement something like this is always appreciated. So I'm glad to see that happen as well. They provide a lot of information on their website-- Yes. --available for free. Yes. OK, and I think that was about it. In case anything-- is it all

099right if, as we continue our conversations, if there's another question that pops up that I can ask? Absolutely. I just-- if there are others, I'd rather just move on. But absolutely. I mean-- Thank you. --we'll go around. Director Tidholm, any questions, comments? No questions at this time. Director Petrini? I do have a couple. Thank you for answering a lot of those questions that I sent to you. I'm sorry. It's always the day of sometimes I think, you know, to reiterate some of the things that Director Hagos brought up and also just to thank those from Innovation Heights that came and spoke, our amazing students, just very impressive. So I just-- I love to hear that side and just to hear your experiences. That's really important to me. As a school board director, one of our

100jobs is to make sure that we're holding all our stakeholders accountable, that we're upholding our state laws, which does say that we're to make sure that our students are graduating proficient in the four areas of social studies, science, math and language arts. And so one of my hang-ups in reading through this was that this pathway doesn't-- it just says language arts and math as making sure that those are covered. So how do we make sure A, that-- how do we measure that these kids are proficient in those two things, but also, what about those other two subjects that by law, we're supposed to be covering so that they are coming out with that shared experience and knowledge that, you know, to continue on in the future they choose? So how are we assessing their proficiency,

101per se? So that comes back to the-- and if I may, I may need to call a friend in Dr. Reinig, but I won't do that yet. Phone a friend. That's the purpose. So again, high school graduation requirements in multiple areas, the pathway requirement is only English language learning or English language, arts, and math. That's how the state has set it up. The other things that you assess we do based on the courses that students are taking. So, four credits of language arts, three credits of math, three credits of science, two credits of social studies. I'm not going to get that all exactly right. But as a student goes through their high school career and they're assessed in those courses and they receive satisfactory grades in those courses, we would look at that as a

102measure of proficiency. So are we giving them opportunities to have social studies, to have these other courses? One of the things that-- elective courses, sometimes having that balance of things for the kids to experience is really important too. Are you talking about schools in general or IHA in particular? Well, IHA because I wanted to know what does that school day look like. You know, I vaguely remember from the March meeting we talked about how the kids are only in school three to four hours, and some of that time is off-site. So, just trying to understand, like, how are we fitting that all in there, making sure that we're, A, are we meeting our state standards, or does this have a waiver from those four standards that kids are supposed to meet? Because it's totally separate.

103Does it waive that? So our two schools currently and three in the fall that have the credit waiver requirement, they don't have the credit requirements, but they still have to be teaching to the standards in all of the subject matter areas. I happen to be able to visit an extremely complicated math class on Monday as well as a social studies class that was engaging in a level of learning on current events that was pretty spectacular to see. So obviously, Principal Takasaki can talk about his program model, and that might be a better conversation offline just to be able to really in-depth answer your questions. Sure. But just generally, how school is set up, students have opportunities for electives, for social studies, for history, world language arts, language, arts, math, science. That's all part of the

104student's high school career, whether they're in a credit waiver school or in a traditional model school with more traditional courses and grading. OK. You know, when I was at this conference yesterday, this young gentleman that was a Native Indian, we were also talking about performance-based learning. Funnily enough, that came up there as well. And some of the conversation led to, you know, how Native tribes and families really sometimes value that time outside of classroom for different kinds of learning, through ceremonial procedures, events, things like that, and so how that can be really important to different communities. Absolutely. And so I recognized that, and we had a great conversation about that. And I didn't even mention. I have a nephew who is an adopted Indian from the tribe of the-- I think it's the Goshute and

105a little bit of Paiute. So I realized that there's a lot I didn't even about my own nephew. And also listening to this gentleman talk about just how the system failed him, he couldn't even get adopted because of tribal governance that didn't allow for that. But anyway, so my other concern about this, too, I guess it's kind of a separate point, is that I'm just concerned that this was a measure that needed to be approved by the board. And yet we went ahead, kind of put the cart before the horse and putting some students on this pathway without it being approved by the board and us kind of working out all those kinks ahead of time. So I know that there's the pressure that we have students who are graduating that were already on this

106pathway. And so I just have concerns about how that went about, why this didn't come before the board, you know, two years ago when this was beginning to formulate at Innovation Heights, and we're now talking about implementing this at possible other schools. So, two separate things. The Innovation Heights program model and the work that they're doing at Innovation Heights that occurred last year with the school, the community, the students, that is the school's model and well within their purview and the superintendent's purview in terms of approving that. This didn't come to you earlier because it couldn't have come to you earlier. It was approved by the legislature in the 2023 session. So we didn't know until the end of April whether or not it would even be a possibility. Then the State Board had to

107create, collect comment, and approve rules to implement this. That happened-- let's see. We introduced this in April. That happened in about January or February of this year. The creation of that pathway is separate and distinct from what's happened at IHA. They were engaging in their work before we even knew that a performance-based pathway was even possible because they were engaged in this work all of last year, and we didn't even know it was a real possibility until April of last year. So you've got to separate those two things in your mind. This is coming to you now basically at the earliest possible time that it could given the timeline that the state board had to go through for their rulemaking and then that we had to go through to bring it forward. It just happens

108to coincide nicely with what's happening at IHA from a programmatic and education standpoint, learning standpoint. And so frankly, from our perspective, we thought, well, let's go ahead and try to push this through-- not push this through-- bring this forward in the spring to allow IHA to be able to use this if that's appropriate. But I think it's fair to say that IHA would have engaged in the exact same learning and teaching that they have done over this last year even if this performance-based pathway had not occurred. It was not part of their design process because it was not in existence when their design process started. OK. I think just the last comment, just-- we talked about having reviews of data, making sure that we're actually meeting those expectations that have been set forth. So I

109think, you know, every year, having that conversation about how is it working, is it working, is it not working-- Absolutely. --you know, and continually to review that. So thank you. Absolutely, 100. And I just want to add. I just want to make a clear distinction that this pathway does not-- there's no waiver for them not to do the state standards that they have. They still have to do social studies. They still have to do-- they still have to do all the subjects. So I just wanted to make that a clear distinction that this does not lower any standards. This provides an opportunity for many of our students who otherwise, they were still already-- I know this school very well, and I know that they've been working on making sure that they're re-engaging our students to

110really their interests are to maintain them engaged. And this just happens to be another pathway they were already on, I would say, for more than two years already. they've been working on this for a long time to continue to reengage our students who have been disengaged in the past. And that's a really good point, Director Alvarez. The credit waiver is simply a waiver of the distribution of credits that are needed to be-- Correct. --attained to graduate. It is not a waiver of the standards. Standards are still having to underpin all of the learning that happens in all of our schools. Thank you. Any other questions or comments? Yeah? Then yeah. All right, so moving on to another introduction, thank you, Holly. Thank you, everyone. Thank you, Kevin and the students, Angie and Dallas. Thank you.

111With that, we move to our another introduction item. It's a motion to approve South Seattle College Career Link Open Doors program. And on this one, we're actually going to do a presentation and combine 10-4, 10-5, 10-6, and 10-7. So, looks like Riley is going to come forward to share some comments on this to really make sure the board understands how this program supports our students. Welcome, Riley. And I also want to say that I've had the privilege and honor to be at Highland College last year at the graduation of Open Doors. Got to see also many of our students who previously had been disengaged. And it's just an honor to be able to partner with different colleges in order for us to really provide a pathway, another pathway, for our students to really get there,

112not just re-engage, but choose the path that they choose. So, thank you, Riley. Yeah, thank you for having me. Good evening, school board directors and Dr. Duran. Again, my name is Riley Todd. I'm the assistant director of alternative education programs. Trying to bend over here. Yeah, I'm here to present the annual renewal of four contracted partnership programs known as open doors. These contracted programs offer academic pathways for students who are 16 to 21 years of age, highly deficient in credit, unable to graduate with their cohort, possibly not able to graduate before they age out at 21 years old, who have dropped out or are very likely to drop out. In these programs combined last school year, we had about an average enrollment of 200 to 220 students every month, and we had 78 students earn

113their diploma through these programs combined last year. The unique thing about these Open Door programs is how they're funded. They're funded through the pass through model. So students maintain their enrollments in Highline Public Schools. We receive the funding. When those students make indicators of academic progress, we pass that funding on to the agency operating the program, and we retain a 7% indirect fee. So it's important to know is that these agencies do not receive any allocation from our annual operating budget. They receive no money up front for this work, and this funding is only available to these agencies in partnership with the school district. And so if we do not approve these partnerships, chances are these programs will close, and they're over 10 years old now, and roughly 200 students will likely drop out or

114seek programming elsewhere outside the district. I did bring one story-- There's many, but I had to pick one. It was really hard-- just to give you an example of the impact these programs can have in students' lives. So in the fall of 2022, at 18 years old, Josue began his journey at ELL Excel. This is an Open Doors program at Highline Community College that offers special supports to newcomer students. Although he arrived to the program severely deficient in high school credit, early on, it became clear that he possessed an aptitude for math and science. Josue begins taking STEM classes during the 2023 and 2024 school year. He was on the president's honor roll recipient for winter of 2024 and currently has a 3.9 GPA. He's currently working towards his AA degree with a focus on

115engineering and architecture and is expected to complete his degree by spring of 2025. I also received some questions this morning. So I wanted to respond to those. I broke it down into four questions. So the first question was around knowing that these students must make indicators of academic progress to be claimable. How is that data collected and reported to ensure the success of students, and is this reviewed annually, and can the school board have access to that report? So the Open Doors WAC establishes 15 different indicators of academic progress that a student can become claimable for. And I did look at a little bit of that data from the previous years and most-- we call them IAPs in Open Doors. So the most common IAPs that we see these agencies claiming for funding is making

116credit gains in either college credit or high school credit, passing state assessments, advancing a grade level in a core subject area, work-based learning, or passing a GED exam. To monitor this, we have to generate and report an end of year data report that's required by the state. So that generally gets produced generally in the late fall of the following year. So we can certainly make that available to the school board when that's complete. The second question is how is Innovation Heights different from open doors. So you've heard all of the amazing work and all the awesome things that Innovation Heights is doing. The big difference is Innovation Heights is a district operated program, and these are different agencies-- 501(c)(3)s, nonprofits, community colleges, to leverage their supports and their opportunities on their campuses just to have

117something different for these older students. Some of the important things about these programs is, like, Southwest Youth and Family Services is a social service agency. So they really specialize in supports for students who have substantial criminal records, have been gang-involved, have been impacted by community violence. And so those supports are in-house in their agency. Obviously, by going to a high school program at a community college, you have access to a college experience but with high school support. The third question I had here was as far as comparing pathways and open doors and how are they compared to the GED, they don't compare. The GED is a series of exams administered by a state agency. And so most of the students in open doors programs are pursuing their high school diploma having to meet the same

118exact standards and requirements that all public schools students have to meet. But if they aren't going to make it by they're 21, they do have the opportunity to get support in these programs to prepare for their GED or possibly pursue their AA while they're still in the program. And so I think the big piece about-- the college and career preparedness was the second part of that question. Like, how is this preparing them for their college and career? Obviously, if you're on a college campus, it's a warm handoff to college classes, and it essentially functions as a Running Start program for students that didn't have access to Running Start because they were so disengaged from school at a younger age. The last question was, why do we have so many Open Door students, why do we

119have so many Open Door programs, and why do students need these programs? I think for context, enrollment in Open Doors programs today is half of what it was before COVID. I think and a big part of that is what district programs are doing to continually get better at serving these students. Examples like that are what you heard today about Innovation Heights. Enrollment's booming, and Open Doors programs are needed less and less. So one thing that these agencies agree upon is that ideally, these programs wouldn't be needed. But they are here today, and they're willing to partner with us through the work as long as it's needed. The main theme we see for students in these programs is that they need a fresh new setting. They reach an older age. The average age of an open

120door student is 18 years old. They may not feel comfortable on a traditional school campus, around 14-year-olds, 15-year-olds. And they also-- I think the reason why we have so many comes down to accessibility, support, and opportunity. So first, for accessibility, we have a district that's very narrow east and west and very long north and south. So we need programs accessible on the north end, on the South end, and the central end. We also have-- different programs, offer different delivery models. We have in-person programs. We have online programs. We have drop-in enrollment. We have quarterly enrollment. So no matter where you are at and what you need, it should be accessible to you. And I think again, highlighting when you go to school at a social service agency or you go to school on a college

121campus, there's just a culture of support that can be embedded in those agencies. It's just different. And so I think a big part of this work is to understand is that this is really reducing the dropout rate for the district. So those are the questions I had for today. I'm happy to answer any more questions you have or prepare more information for you later. Before I open it up, I just also want to say that we know since time of existence that districts cannot do it alone. That's why we have all these amazing partnerships because we're in support of one another. Because the ultimate goal for all of these programs is for our students to succeed. And thank you for because that was something I was going to mention is that these are at different

122locations of our district. So to make sure for accessibility that everyone has an opportunity doesn't matter where they live. So thank you for bringing that up. I'll open it now for questions or comments. Any other questions or comments? Thank you for your presentation, and I know you tried to answer a lot of my questions, too. So I noticed that as each of these different open door programs do serve different communities, different needs such as, you know, you've got your virtual from Graduation Alliance, and you have the Southwest Youth that does a better job of maybe assessing where that student is and starting right there instead of trying to get them-- you know, it's not always about the graduation, but let's get you going where you need to go. And Highland College-- I guess why-- because

123a lot of these funds are pass-through. Can we not recapture some of those students and put them through Innovation Heights so that we can also put them through the programs that we have? Because some of these-- at 16, they can be eligible for Open Doors. Why not put those, at least, in Innovation Heights, 16 to 18, if they're in that range? Yeah, I thin-- yeah, let me know if I miss anything here. Yeah, so exactly. Let's talk about the Connections Center. So I think that, yes, students, there is overlap in eligibility for programs-- for all [INAUDIBLE], like Innovation Heights. And the Connections Center has very meaningful intentional conversations with students so they can talk about all the options they have in the district. And ultimately, they can select which program they feel is going to

124best fit their need. So honestly, most of the time, the open doors is an option maybe after a program like Innovation Heights. If, for some reason, they're not going to earn their diploma by the time they're 21 years old, they can maybe start continuing their education and jump straight into college, work on a GED, work on their AA degree, things like that. So I think that the intent of the portfolio of programs is that we do really recommend, encourage, and refer students to Innovation Heights regularly. This is another tier below that to provide an ultimate, ultimate safety net for the older students who just still don't have a good option for what they want to do. Are the graduation rates for Open Doors included in our graduation rates for the district? No, because you're not

125even eligible to attend Open Doors and to enroll in Open Doors until you're beyond your fourth year graduation rate or you're predicted to miss that graduation date because most of that graduation rate is determined by four years. So these students are pursuing their graduation date on their fifth year or their sixth year or their seventh year. So we can capture graduation rates based on how many students graduate from these programs. But traditionally, if you Google online, like, what's the graduation rate for a certain school, it shows up really low because they're measuring the four year graduation rate. OK, thank you. Yeah. Any other questions or comments? Thank you. I'll just make one quick comment, Riley. If you would get us the graduation dates for these programs, it would be really helpful because I went to

126the one at Southwest Youth last year, and it was incredibly inspiring to be with the students and their families and to see the success that they've achieved. But it'd be great if you can send those invitations. Send them to me so we get them to the board. You will get invitations to graduation ceremonies this year and you'll likely get invitations to just walk or explore. Generally in the fall, we try to do an open invite and invite anyone who wants to come to the programs and see classrooms. Just really quickly, I wanted to say whoever coordinated the new graduation ceremonies house-- I think it's at PSSC this year-- is-- I think it's at PSC this year. Did I get that right. I'm working off of memory, but it's somewhere else besides-- so I should say

127I also attended the Southwest Youth and Family Services graduation last year, and it was in a basement. And that was completely unacceptable. And so to see the change, to respect, and to appreciate and value our kids and have a change of location for their graduation, it's a special thing, and I appreciate that. So I want to say it's at PSSC, but I'm sure you'll probably-- if it's not, you'll probably correct me. I'm hearing offering, like, our facilities if that's what they want. Is that what I'm hearing potentially? Yeah. Yeah, thank you so much. OK, OK. Thank you. Riley. Thank you so much for that presentation. And with that, we continue on with, again-- President Alvarez-- Yes? --if we may, right here. Oh. I was like, who's talking? It's me, Adriana. Just for the record, do

128you mind reading items 10.5, 10.6, and 10.7? Thank you. --please? So, 10.5, motion to approve Highline College Open Doors 1418 program, motion to approve Southwest Youth and Family Services Open Doors 1418 program, motion to approve Graduation Alliance Open Doors 1418 program. So with that, we move another intro item, motion to approve acceptance of Asset Preservation Program, APP, annual review scores. Questions, comments? Hearing, seeing none, intro to-- I couldn't get through that one. It was like 200 pages. Just saying. Yep. Lots of really good reading at night. Yes, motion to approve. Again, these are all intro items. Motion to approve 2023-2024 Running Start expenditures increase. Comments, questions? I got a couple. OK. Who's going to be coming up for the-- oh, Jackie, come on up. Come on down. You're the winner for tonight. The Price Is

129Right. Hi, Jackie. So, just a couple of questions. Maybe you saw my email about what is the main reason for the increased funds. Is it due to increased enrollment and-- yeah. So, there's actually two. You'll have two bars tonight. One is for 24-25. So that's the initial expenditures for next year. And then there's an expenditure increase for the current year, 23-24. And the main reason for that increase is the legislature actually increased Running Start rates retroactively. So when they came up with the new rates in January, they actually retroactively increased those rates to the beginning of the school year, which means our expenditures are increasing, but we're also receiving additional funds for those expenditures. So that was one of the changes. The other change is that they increased the FTE we're allowed to claim for

130Running Start students. So it was 1.2, and it increased to 1.4. So that also increases the cost, but it also increases what we're receiving. OK, so we have 535 students enrolled currently. And I saw that it was broken down by BEA and VOC budgets. And I was just curious. What do those stand for, and why were they different for different students? So, BEA is our basic education allocation, and VOC is our vocational. So running start is broken into two different categories. It's the basic education running start and then the CTE or vocational running start. The basic education is the higher of the two. We have more students that go through that pathway than through the vocational or the CTE pathway. OK. So, most students, the district receives about $17,000 a student for our education. With

131Running Start, if a student then is going on to another campus, are we passing through those funds? I know we keep a 7% fee, but is where that money is coming from, that $10,000 out of that initial 17? Or is it-- you said, like-- are we charging more for that student because it's a 1.4 FTE for them? So the $17,000 number is actually all funds combined. So it's basic education. It's title. It's LAP. It's all of our funds. When we talk about the $10,000 number, that's the basic education number. And so it's a pass-through with Running Start. So we-- really similar to Open Doors, we save the 7% for administration costs at the district level, and then we pass through the remaining to the colleges. The other piece that complicates Running Start is not every

132Running Start student is a full time Running Start student. So many of our students are part time at a comprehensive high school and then part time running start students. So that's where the FTE comes into play. OK, thank you. OK. Any other questions or comments? Seeing, hearing none, so again, motion to approve 2024-25 Running Start expenditures. I know Jackie covered that just right now as well. Any questions or comments? So with that, our last one is motion to approve resolution 10-24, the delegation of authority to WIAA for the 24-25 school year. Any questions or comments on that? So, Phil, come on up. I know everyone wants to get out of here. I'll try to make it quick. So I know that just some of my questions were around that the WIAA-- oops, [INAUDIBLE] bingo-- states

133that it was formed to create equitable playing conditions. But we have over 89 students in Highland that are designated as gender x or non-binary. And so I'm curious why-- I kind of brought this up last time. Why don't we move just to a co-ed fashion that doesn't segregate based on binary boys versus girls to make it more inclusive and not make it confusing? And so I know that that means we wouldn't be able to play with other people, but seeing that with Title IX being updated by the Biden Administration, that blurred and pretty much erased protections for women who identify as women to have equitable and equal opportunities of sports based on their physical abilities and biological limitations. It kind of just feels like at this point, we really are co-ed, and why don't we

134just be transparent and just say that? Thank you. I read your questions earlier today. I apologize for not being able to get back to them-- I'm sorry. --in time. I think in both of these, the reminder, I, think for me is that my role as a district athletic director in Highline is to ensure that our programs comply with the rules of the WIAA that are supported by the Washington State Department of Education. And so within those rules is a handbook, and it's my role to ensure that our programs district-wide align with that handbook. OK, well, I know that's not something that we can really-- I mean, we don't have the WIAA here to answer these questions either, but just for being transparent, just trying to eliminate maybe invasive documentation of students that identify as neither

135or both or none, just trying to find a way that we can be more inclusive when we are still working in binary systems of teams. That just creates, I think, a lot more tension for a lot of people. And so just trying to create a level playing field, I guess, for all of us. Yeah, I would welcome a conversation with the director who is the contact with the WIAA and also you as well, Director Petrini, to talk through that and see who we can identify within the legal team, perhaps, at the WIAA who will be able to respond to this a little bit more fluently, as my employment is director of athletics in Highline and not with the WIAA itself. I might share as well, if I might, for a minute that one of the

136highlights of being a part of the WIAA is the experience that our kids get. And this evening, our Evergreen boys soccer team was participating in a state playoff game over in Pullman. And not only did they have the experience to have an overnight, with many students never having been out of Seattle in a hotel room-- they were able to also have an experience at Washington State University today before the game and just shows a bit of the powerful experience that being a part of athletics can share with our kids. Mount Rainier Team lost to Camas last night, down in Camas. And as I stated, Evergreen couldn't quite come out with a win, but so proud of our students for getting there and participating. Yeah, and also, thank you, Phil. Director Tidholm and myself are also

137representatives for WIAA. So any questions or anything, we're more than happy. I know that we thought about scheduling once a month where Director Tidholm and myself will be meeting with you, and we'll be bringing questions. We'll be asking the board also if there's any questions or anything so we can try and stay ahead of anything that comes. So thank you. Any other questions-- I also just want to say thank you, Phil, for your work on this and, again, appreciate your comments. But I also just want to say that, you know, from the guidance from the Biden administration, I just want to just clarify and really ensure that key aspects of the Title IX rules include further protection for LGBTQ+ students, ensuring they are not discriminated against based on their gender identity and sexual orientation. And

138those are rules that we have to follow as educational system. And so thank you for the work that you do because I do believe that everything we're doing with WIAA actually does create a more inclusive environment. So thank you. Thank you. Just as a follow up, do we open this up to further conversations with our community to get their feedback from families who are in the sports who are experiencing concerns and issues? Do we have open conversations with our families about that? But wouldn't this be part of WIAA? Because this is not the rule that we're making. So even if we have an open conversation with our community, this is not something that we can change because this is WIAA. So I also don't want to create a false narrative as we go out there

139and say, you know, let's have a community meeting and let's bring forth what's something that we can do anything about. Maybe that is something that they can connect with WIAA. I don't know. I'm just jumping the gun. Well, I think there's also, as we think about some of the board in the complaint processes that we have in place, there's opportunities for community members, students to share their concerns with athletics and sports programs. And those are the regular channels that we have in place. And I believe up to this point, we haven't had any feedback from athletes or students or families. And so we're obviously open to hear any comments and thoughts that community members have. So we'll be open for that. OK, thank you. Any further-- Phil, thank you so much. Any further questions comments?

140With that, our next item or our next thing on our agenda is to-- any items that you all would like to add to our consent agenda for our next meeting. None. Seeing none, then we won't. And with that, I'll ask for a motion to adjourn. By motion that we adjourn. I'll need a second. I'll second. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? All right, we're adjourned. Thank you, everyone. Thank you.