Wenatchee School District Board Meeting 10/14/25

001Check. Check. We do have the front row if anyone wants to. No. Okay. Just No. Just All right. Tim's lonely though. rather than just talking really slowly. I will hope that one of the other board members shows up soon. They both contacted me saying that they are on their wall. Perfect. Hooray. We have quorum. >> Tucker, I'm also here for a quorum. Oh, thank you, Julie. >> Yep. >> Um, I'm yelling as though she can like she's just in the sky. Um, all right. Welcome everyone to the October 14th regard board meeting for the Washi School District. Today we're going to switch it up a little bit. We have the Washi High School ROC here to present the colors before the pledge of allegiance. Why don't you guys take it away? All right, we're do

002the pledge of allegiance. 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. Order, arms, right, for arm. Oh, that's all right. That happens. I am not going to give anyone a hard time about being late. Um, so welcome back to our regular meeting. NDK student set. All right, we're going to work through the agenda now. Board, do we have any changes or modifications to the agenda? Hearing none, we'll move on to the consent agenda. All right, the items on the consent agenda were sent to the board and posted online last week. The board has had the opportunity to review the materials and ask the superintendent any questions they have about any of the

003items on the consent agenda. The consent agenda for this meeting includes the minutes for the 91525 board workshop and the 92325 regular meeting, vouchers and payroll, personnel report, surplus report, contracts, and policy updates. Do I have a motion to approve the consent agenda? >> I move that we approve the consent agenda as presented in uh in the document of the agenda. >> Second. >> All right. It has been moved by Martin and seconded by Mark. Any discussion? All right. All in favor of adopting the consent as presented, say I. >> I. >> Any opposed? All right. Motion carries. Um, now I'll turn over to Dr. Superintendent Kellahar for the bright spots. >> Excellent. Thank you very much. Well, we all got to experience the bright spot of having our uh ROC color guard here presenting

004the colors. Um but and we want to highlight the ROC program uh tonight as one of the amazing opportunities uh afforded to our students. The ROC program is part of our career and technical education program and it includes many different uh aspects of student training uh from the color guard as we saw um marksmanship uh drone training and so much more. Uh we're honored to have this opportunity for our students in the Wanchi school district and to hear from our some of our students tonight. Uh, our students are here with uh, United States Air Force Master Sergeant, retired uh, Larry Naile. Did I say it right? Close enough. Gosh, so close. Um, so we appreciate you being here tonight with the students and uh, students, we'd love to hear from you about how ROC has

005become part of your student experience. So, you're welcome to join us uh, at the microphone here uh, standing together in solidarity. That sounds great. I love it. Thank you for taking the time out of your evening to be with us. We'll start with some introductions. So, my name is cadet major uh Sierra Cook and I'm a senior at Wanachi High School and I am currently the squadron commander of the unit here at the high school. And uh I just want to say the main thing, the main reason why I joined Junior RTC was because of the opportunities. I mean, uh, superintendent, as you said, drones, raider, marksmanship. I never would have done anything close to that with just a normal class. You know, I went to New Mexico, California, Utah, when all these competitions and

006it's just been an amazing high school career that I've had and the some of the relationships that I've built with my staff members. I mean, it was just it's awesome to see how normal high school students can change and grow and become like and become um leaders, you know, leading staff meetings, leading events, leading all these kind of different uh events. It's just it's just amazing to see. Yeah. >> Good afternoon. I am cadet um Captain Mendoza. I am a senior and this program has been really great. Um, how's it called? Something that I never thought I would do. For example, one of our newest um, how's it called? Events that we added, not events, my bad. A new program to it is a baton death march. Something where I thought I would never do

007something where I was like so shocked that I even signed myself up for it because I had to walk 26.2 two miles, you know, and I was like, as soon as I signed up, I was like, what did I sign myself up to? You know, I got to the lining start and I was like, what is this? Like, am I actually going to finish it? And I did. Why? Because this program developed me and made me such a better person that I was before in freshman year. Freshman year, I was very scared, very timid. I probably wouldn't even do this, you know? I'd probably be scared and I'd be like, "No, no thank you. I won't." But right now, this program built that courage, built that encouragement to actually come up and talk in front

008of everybody. And I've seen it in so many new cadets this year as well where like they're so quiet at first and then all of a sudden right now they're like like speaking everywhere. Very talkative, very communicative with like everybody in staff and I'm so proud of this program, you know. Thank you guys. Hi, I'm Cadet Senior Master Sergeant Brener and I'm a senior at Wachi High School as well. I'm a fourth year cadet and um I really enjoy the program and I've been at with four years as with all of these guys here behind me and uh we've been with the program the whole time and I'm really thankful for that that we've been here since the program started. We got lucky enough to be um be able to be freshman when the program

009started and help build it to be the program that it is now and help all the cadetses that are in it. I think my favorite part about the program is the confidence building. Definitely. I think all of our cadets I see improvement in confidence. We see so many cadets come in and they barely talk in class and by the time it's the next year and they're leading and they're leaders for all of our other students and all of our classes have leaders. They're called element leaders and all of them are second year cadetses who were really nervous their first time and now they're they're doing great and I really enjoy the program. >> Good evening everyone. I'm cadet major Alex Angiano and I'm a senior at Wanachi High School, a fourth year cadet and I

010currently serve as the special projects officer. Um, we've got a lot of great programs here at the at the Wanachi School District, but there's something truly special about the junior ROC program and what you're seeing before you tonight is a true example of what we what our mission is in the junior ROC program. So everything from leadership opportunities to public speaking. Um our cadets truly have had and you know the all of the tools that they need to be successful throughout their high school career but also throughout the rest of their lives. There's something really special about the culture that we've built here. um uh senior NALA and and the cadet staff that I've worked with is you know we it's been really really rewarding to see how the program has grown in only four

011years. We've been able to accomplish things that other units have have taken twice as long to do. And I think it comes down to what the what the program is based on and also the skills that we've that we've um practiced and and refined uh throughout uh this program. So yeah, board members, any questions or comments for our students? I think you answered the one question that I was going to ask. I believe all four of you are founder members of the RO2C at Matchi High School, but congratulations. Um, it must have been exciting to start and over there too. Um, and it was a bold a bold effort for you to go into something that was totally new and uh the continuity that you demonstrate in doing this. So, I'm going to throw in

012a different question. You talk about um experience in uh aviation and going outside the state and summer programs. Do you is part of your program one where you connect with other ROC's regionally and do you do you have any contact with similar units in other high schools in Washington state? >> Yeah. So most of the competitions that we do and we organize uh whether it be drone competitions, raider competitions, um and then marksmanship, we travel to other junior ROTC high schools and we meet four to five teams from junior RTC and we meet there all to compete. So it's really awesome to see how like to talk to other cadets and see how they run it, what are some issues and how did they overcome it. uh it's really interesting to talk with them and

013see what is different than our unit from their unit. So yeah, we do we do try to stay in contact with um a lot of junior ROTC just to have that sort of um something to push off of or if we have questions then um because a lot of junior RTC units, they're uh older than us. So if a problem arises then and we can't solve it ourselves, then we go to them. So that's really nice. Mhm. >> Thank you. That was a great answer. >> All right. I have one too. Since you guys are when you were a freshman, there was no this is what the program looks like. So, has it been nice to be able to kind of as a senior be a mentor for not just the program, but also like

014the kids coming in that that are don't know what to expect? has, you know, what's that kind of um transition been from you guys now have had an arts program, your whole high school experiences instead of showing up and being like, I don't know, and and everyone else is kind of in the same boat. >> Yeah. So, I just I wanted to share kind of what the perspective was when I signed up for the program. So, my eighth grade year, we were super excited because there was this new program out out there, but our our class sign up date was actually before um Colonel or senior came to our middle schools to talk about uh what the program looked like. So, it was kind of a um a leap of faith a little bit, but

015now it's really neat because we've been able to work super closely with our middle school counselors to kind of give the middle schoolers a taste of what the program looks like. And one of our goals is to reach as many cadet or as many students as possible because not everyone who's joined the program necessarily envisioned themselves here in their high school career. And so it's something that once we lay out all of the options and we break down what junior ROC truly is, um we get a lot of interest. And so it's neat that we have so many areas um of interest that we can offer to our students. So, um, to kind of sum it up, we try to work with outreach to our younger grades to kind of to kind of get this

016in their heads and thinking about, um, if they'd like to do this in high school. >> I can get in there, too. I want to talk. We're always preaching about cadet le, cadet run. That's something that seniors always talking about and I think it's it's a great point. And so, when our program started off, it was kind of tough because everyone's kind of new. Nobody knows what's going on. So, senior kind of really had to step in there. But it's been really cool over the years to just get more and more cadetled, cadetr run. Each year our cadetses are doing more work, putting in more hours, shaping the program to how it can be better. And I feel like that's a really cool aspect of it, being able to shape that program for the future

017or future cadets, you know, and actually we're not going to be here and teach the leaders and not just be the teachers, be the teachers of the teachers. And it's really awesome. Yeah. >> All right. Those were exceptional answers to a a vague wandering question. So well done. Thank you. I um this is wonderful to have you guys. I when the initi program was initially started, we got a presentation and I was I was a little skeptical uh just because well I didn't know much about the program. To me it was like oh my gosh they're going into the middle school's recruiting at such a young age, right? Um and just through the last four years I've gotten the the pleasure of meeting um Cadet Aano and whatnot. Um and just seeing you guys up

018here it just it's dynamic. Um my question to you guys is what are your plans for next year because I believe all you guys mentioned you're seniors. >> Yes ma'am. >> Um so for me my plan for next year after graduation is to go into the air force. It's something that I've um as it called always thought since I was in middle school. is the reason why I took the program as well cuz I was like if I take the program and it's an Air Force program, it's going to shape me into what I'm going see up ahead in my is it called future now because obviously I'm going to graduate and but yeah, I'm planning on going to the Air Force and that's my step for next year. >> Well, to be completely honest,

019the the reason I joined the program was not for the military aspect at all. I really like planes. you know, I've always wanted to fly and just super interested in planes. Ever since I was in elementary school, I've always been talking about that. So, I I heard an Air Force program like Air Force planes, there's a connection there, so I'm going to join ROC. And um it's it's really great. And it's not a recruiting program, and I'm sure you've been told that, but it really isn't. It's it's a character building program. And I think that's the the cool part about it. Like, we do some aerospace stuff, and I get to learn about planes, which is great, but the uh the part that really kept me is the leadership aspect and the character development part.

020And so my plan is um I'm going to ROC program at a college and enlisting or joining the Air Force as an officer through that ROC program. >> Did I hear that you have your pilot's license? Is that correct as well? >> Yep. Last summer I got my pilot's license. So yeah, that's been that's been really great. >> Congratulations. >> Thank you. Yeah. So, my plans for next year, I'm applying to the Air Force Academy in Colorado. And uh the junior RTC here has really helped me um you know, gain those responsibility, the teamwork, the attention to detail. Um it's really helped me kind of shape where I want to go. And I was uh I was in a military family, so I was always moving around, always being part of a new school, new

021friends. And so it really opened me up to that military aspect of um hard work and character building and leadership. I just I really wanted to be a part of that and serve this nation. So that's what I'm doing. >> Similarly to Cadet Brener, I also joined out of interest for aviation. And I think it also is a legitimate concern or um a thought that crosses people mind people's minds that it is a recruiting program and for that reason I was a little worried to join it my first my first year. Um but this program has given me a solid foundation in aeronautical knowledge and things that um and skills that I'd like to apply as a commercial airline pilot. So after this um I'm looking at airlinemmies across the US and so I think

022that this program has given me wonderful skills in terms of public speaking leadership opportunities and also aeronautical knowledge as well. Yes. Uh Mark anything or well thank you for being here tonight. We are hugely impressed with the progress you made. It's been personally a joy uh for me to watch all four of you grow through the last four years um and uh and become the uh the impressive students that you are today and we wish you the best of luck. So, thank you so much. >> All right, we will now move on to citizen comment. Uh if any member of the public would like to make a citizen comment, please sign up online 15 minutes before the meeting or complete a citizen comment form. Forms are available at the room's entrance and should be turned

023into the board secretary, Kim White. English and Spanish speakers will be allowed 3 minutes of comment time with additional time allowed for translation. Miss White will keep a timer that will notify you when your time expires. Please be aware that the board's role is to receive comments. They will not respond to questions or challenges and the board silence does not signal agreement or endorsement of the speaker's remarks. Um, we have citizen comments. That's >> We do. Um, first up we have uh Michelle Castanza. >> Good evening members of the board and Superintendent Callahar. My name is Michelle Costanza and I am proud to serve as vice president of the PSSE Wanachi Association and as a PAR educator in this district. Since the end of last school year, we've been in negotiations with the district and

024we still haven't reached an agreement. I encourage you to speak with HR for the details so you can understand why we're here tonight. I am speaking for the PAR educators, secretaries, professional and technical staff who support students one- on-one, manage classrooms, keep offices running, and sustain the daily heartbeat of our schools. These are the people who make this district run every single day. What's at stake is more than numbers on a spreadsheet. It's about respect, fairness, and recognition for the people who keep our schools running. Let's be clear, our members are not asking for anything unreasonable. Just a fair contract that reflects the hard work we already do. We have seen three contracts this district has settled this year, and the comparisons speak for themselves. You can see why our members voted no. The current

025offer simply does not show the same level of respect or value. This isn't about extra money. It's not about more paid time off. It's about being fairly compensated for the essential work that allows teachers to teach, students to learn, and schools to operate. We do this because we care deeply for our students, our teachers, and this community. We don't see this as an expense. We see it as an investment in the heart of the district, in the people who keep this district moving, in the relationships that make our schools strong. An investment that says, "You matter. We hear you. You make the difference." Our proposal is fair. It's what it will take to rebuild trust and ensure a yes vote from our members. We want to continue being proud to work for the Wachi School

026District, but that pride must be matched by fair recognition and compensation. Tonight, I urge you to see this not as a financial burden, but as an opportunity, an opportunity to show people who keep this district running that you value them as partners, not as costs. Please invest in your classified staff. Show them they matter. And let's move forward together with fairness, dignity, and unity. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Uh, next is Liz Lewis. Good evening. My name is Liz Lewis and I serve as the president of PSC Wache Association. I've been with the school district for 26 years and I work in the IT department. I'm here tonight to share why 84% of the classified employees voted no on the last tentative agreement and what that vote really means. Our members are sending a

027clear message. They are frustrated. They are overwhelmed, overworked, and feel undervalued. Every day, classified employees are the backbone of this district. We show up. We give our all. But we need to know that the district values that work, not just in words, but in our contract. We've looked closely at how resources are being allocated. We've compared what's on the table for our group to what other bargaining units have received. The disparities are hard to ignore. This isn't about being unreasonable. It's about fairness. It's about being treated with the same dignity and respect as every other employee group. We are not responsible for the district's financial challenges, but we feel we are the ones that carry the burdens of them. We are asking for a fair, sustainable contract that begins to restore trust and shows that

028Wanche values all of its employees. We're not asking for special treatment. This is your largest group of classified support staff. An investment that says you matter. We hear you and you make a difference. Please invest in the people who keep this district running every single day. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Uh not sure how to pronounce this one. Caitlyn Vineberg. >> Hi. I'm here also to talk about uh um Paris situation. A lot of the teachers in the school district as you know are overwhelmed. um expectations on them are heavy and as para support professionals, we want to be a support to them. And no one gets into this job in any level of education unless you're addicted to helping kids. And we've all been bitten by that bug, no matter uh what that

029is. Um it's but as paras I have I've been working in education for over 20 years. Um been in this district this is my um fifth year here in in this particular district. Um there have been seasons where I've been hit every day to dealing with special education kids but wanting to see them grow and develop. There's been times where um yeah, you you're just doing so many unexpected things in the role and wanting to support any way that you can. But with the experience that I've had and I'm on the higher end of the sal the salary scale for paras at the end of the month I receive $1,650. How are we supposed to live off of that? How does that show that we value people? How does that show that most people who

030are in a PAR position have to have another job and I am one of them who who has another job. But you get tired of working two jobs. Even if you have that bug of addiction, you get very tired of it. And so a lot of people leave. A lot of good people leave. A lot of people who really care about kids leave. And is it easier? Can people be replaceable? Once you have experienced people on a team, is that over? >> Oh, okay. I'm Yeah. When you have experienced people, don't you want to keep them? And there's a lot of people who leave because of the salary. And it's not because they don't love kids or love education or aren't committed. It's just hard. And I feel like compared to other districts, why are

031we faced with this level of poverty? Thank you. >> That sounds like that wraps it up. Um Corey, I want to turn it over to you for special presentations. Yes. Thank you everyone for coming out tonight and uh standing together again in solidarity. We appreciate you being here. Um and you're welcome to stay and listen about phone uh cell phones as well too. So um I asked our high school leaders uh to be here this evening to discuss the phone free policy for the 18 school district and the implementation of the yonder pouches. Um, we placed this presentation kind of far enough into the school year where we thought the honeymoon period might be over and uh we could hear the realities of dealing with uh this situation. Um, but in order to maintain the

032integrity of the phone free districts in our school, we appreciate all of your efforts and all of your work. So, thank you for being here. I know that we have uh we have one presentation and three leaders. So, you guys are welcome to join us. So, thank you. Appreciate you being here. Thanks everyone. Yeah. >> Yeah. Make sure your cell phones are put away. Yeah. see that we can really get behind this would not have worked. So I want to please applaud you for standing strong. We've had nothing but positive feedback from our stakeholders of parents. They are right behind you and understand the impact that we're making. So thank you. Uh, cell phone free at Wachi High School is surprisingly going better than expected. I expected it to go well, but we are really

033thrilled with how our students have responded and how our teachers feel in those learning environments. So, I'll just quickly go over a little bit of what we have. So for us as administrators and support staff, we wanted to make sure you knew just some some bullet points. We have had no we have zero cyber bullying happening within the building. So typically our student services team is busy with pictures being taken with harassing comments being made around classmates and as of now um we are experiencing some real highlights with how students are treating each other without the phones. Another real high point is we thought maybe students would stay home if they couldn't bring their phone to school. That was a fear. Oh, I'm going to stay home. Um but they're feeling left out at home.

034There's no one with phones at school. So, they got to get to school. Uh, it's up 2% which doesn't sound like a lot, but that's missing less than 3 days so far this school year. Uh, so that's trending in the correct way. The building is loud, uh, much louder than it used to be. As we watch the conversations in the past, it was looking for aggression, um, fighting, anything that we would scan to look for. Now when you look out and about you're seeing lots of students just loud talking having a great time which has been great. It's the passing periods are and lunch is really seeing what you had hoped for is that students wouldn't only learn at high levels but they would also start to respond with real connections to their peers which

035we are excited about. I don't want to read all of these but I think I really wanted to point out that our parents are behind this 100%. we are getting nothing but support. Um they're thanking us profusely even when we're catching their student with a burner phone in the pouch plus having one in their pocket. They understand that this is um this is what's best for their child and we really appreciate that. >> Is is it true that I've heard that parents have called the school to say that their kids called them during school? >> True. >> Yeah. >> True. Or please search but don't tell them that I called. Yeah. Don't tell them that though. Don't put that on the record. And the last thing that I've really noticed, this is my uh oh

036gosh, my 30th year uh 29th year in WACI school district. So I was able to teach without phones. I was able to be an administrator without Snapchat. And then I lived the nightmare of phones and Snapchat as an administrator and coming in just really seeing students with um a desire to connect not only with their peers but with the adults in the building. And that you'll see um happening with our support staff as well as teachers and administrators and that's been um just such a highlight. Next up our teachers. I think the best thing this is the best thing Wachi High School has done for students in years be best decision biggest impact on learning they do feel students are more engaged accomplishing things quicker which which starts to address you know all those years

037of we don't have enough time we don't have enough time I don't want to do my homework students are recognizing that too that they're able to get much more done uh and then they are this is a real bright spot. They're noticing students that typically have struggled socially, just maybe not having a a strong peer group outside of school are more pulled in in classroom settings without those phones because they can't hide behind it, but also other students. It's, you know, you're you're going to reach out and you're going to start to connect and and it's pulling in some of those more quiet students in that learning environment. uh what students have to say. Uh we have intentionally not asked all students yet. I mean, when you change a habit, we want to give time

038for you to see the measurement. We're we're going to measure in a couple different ways discipline as well as our ninth grade screener that's coming up around their mental health. And we'll also measure just with their academic success at semester. We're going to compare that to last year and and then send out a feedback form to students about how they're feeling about the phone. But at our supervisory council lunchon, these were high schoolers from WACI that um I have shared with our staff and one of the best ones is they feel teachers care more. And what teachers feel is students care more. And really what we know is they're just more present in what's going on which is now increasing ability to be motivated to work with each other. So that's great. Um let's see.

039And then as you want to dig through, we just wanted to make sure you you knew about the you know the same approach to attendance. Uh we still have some chronic absences we need to deal with, but we really feel that uh the cell phone free environment is is helping actually with our attendance goal. And if you want to pro we asked staff, we tried to give them a comparison compare from last year. Your time before phones and let me just slide up one more. So we asked how would you rate students moods in the classroom compared to last year? Five means better, four a little better, and three the same. So you're, you know, what we might have predicted is students were going to struggle and maybe we are going to be concerned a

040bit more about their social emotional health, their addiction. Uh what we're seeing is um they're pretty resilient, which is what we know as parents and as educators. They are stepping up and doing a lot of hard work. Uh and we're really proud of them. Same thing with how do you feel you rate your level of connection? We can see an increase. They are connecting with their teachers more and teachers feel it which is not just uh what we think but these are 58 responses from teachers in the classroom. So and then teachers care more, the learning is more fun. Students are more engaged. uh you can see that we've got 40% uh feel like it's better than last year. Students are uh coming to class prepared to be engaged to do the work and and

041uh again we're just super proud of what's happening. This just goes into the same thing. What we did wonder is what about off task? You know, used to be off task was you're looking at your phone. What does it look like without the phone? Teachers are not recognizing a big difference in offtask behavior. As administrators, our pushins, we're recognizing some old behaviors. Remember when you used to make paper football? Haven't seen those for a long time. They're back. Uh so just don't worry, they're going to find ways. I mean, but um really just minor honestly minor behaviors typical of some of our younger kids who are needing to try to figure out ways to stay engaged. So, and then we wanted to just address because e, you know, this principal this year I was a

042little concerned, it was getting more concerned as it got closer to embarking on a cell phone free school about just what level of mental health rise we were going to see. And this is really good news that we have not seen a significant increase in students needing to use our regulation room. Um but we have one good news is we are seeing an increase in students sharing a lot more of their outside stress with our social workers. We maybe have made more CPS phone calls, but that we believe is because the students are are feeling a bit more safe in the building to share what's going on outside of the building. So, that's been unfortunately good news, but also um disheartening to think that that might not have been going on when they were hiding

043behind their phone, but now they're really having to unpack what's going on outside of the building. Uh, and just my point being, yes, we have people trying to sneak phones in. Yes, we are searching students if they say they do not have a yonder pouch and they did not bring a phone. So, we're making sure uh that that phone, if you are sneaking it in, it is uh it's hard to do. It's got to be out of sight where we won't be able to find it. But I think that the good news is the work we're doing on the back end is paying off in that classroom setting. So, >> Donna, can I ask you a quick question? >> Yeah. >> Do you think we could do it without the yonder pouches? the teachers I've

044talked to who who've said I don't think so because it's such a clear line like it goes into the pouch it's in the pouch if you see a phone >> why isn't in the pouch but I'm interested to hear what you >> Yeah and we did try you know before uh the pandemic we had a we tried to tighten it down and it was to be in your backpack and and it didn't work as well but we also didn't have as much buy in from families as we do now but I think the yonder pouch coach what it does beyond lock a phone. It requires a student to make a decision before they walk in the building to be honest or not. So when they're not being honest, it's really clear to staff that we

045need, you know, there's no reminders, there's no, oh, please try. It's just it's real black and white. And that's been the success of the Yonder Pouch. Um, so when you ask could we do it without, I don't think we could have, honestly. I think we needed something that would would have students rise in character to put it away and and not give us the runaround as a high schooler might want to do sometimes. Okay. Yeah. All right. Who who wants to go next? got the short end of the stick of the high school administrator heights uh line there. That's for sure. Um uh I am Jennifer Devo, principal at uh Westside High School and so many uh echo so many things that Donna said. It's really um had a huge positive impact on our school.

046I did do a little survey of students. We have right now about uh our enrollment is about 285 students total in all of our six programs. Uh our day school program mimics much of what a traditional um schedule would look like. We have about 165 students in that program. Um and the survey that we did went out to mainly um our day school students. So about 84% of them say that they always or mostly lock their phones in their pouches. Um, and if they have not, uh, a few of them say, you know, I forgot, um, I needed it for something else or it I just kept it in my backpack. It really wasn't a big deal. And I think that's what we see a lot of is we at Westside are not checking every

047single um, pouch when they come in the door. We don't quite have the capacity to do that with our many programs um, and various times that students are entering the building um, for alternative hours and things like that. Um but overall teachers are saying they're not seeing them in the classrooms. Um and so we have about four students who their phone has come to the office for the remainder of the day because it was seen out. Um and that's it. We have two students that are on a plan to turn their phone in every day and u into the office and then earn their way back to uh the pouch. So, we're just kind of taking those really um case byase basis. Um, but teachers are very happy with what they are seeing um in

048the classroom. We are an open campus for all students. So, when students choose to leave during um lunchtime uh leave the building, they do have access to unlock their phone and then relock it uh when they come back in. We've also provided a lot of as many activities as we can. And some of our teachers are volunteering some time during lunches to show movies or to have card games in their room. We also purchased a lot of board games and card games to just have out in the cafeteria in the learning center during um during lunchtimes. We've got um foosball and ping pong and an outdoor basketball court. So just kind of trying to utilize and and make as many opportunities available for kids as we can. Um, for sure the kids that kind of

049that hid behind their phone, um, we have just really seen them grow and blossom. Um, the Chromebook is the second, uh, is their second, you know, go-to for, um, replacing that phone. Um, but we are, uh, thankful that we have the class-wise program that that teachers can continually monitor what is going on um, on Chromebooks for students. um as well. We um are overall families are very very supportive um in terms of the program and not having phones in schools. There definitely were a few that were a little bit concerned um and students as well especially in conversations about lockdown or safety issues um and we've been able to talk those out with families so that they really understand um the what the why behind it, what it would look like in a lockdown. um

050and their their most important job as a student is to really be listening to um the adult in the room so that they can find out what uh safety instructions would be next um and the danger of having so many people on their phone in that situation. So, we've been able to talk through those and they've we've come out of those conversations um with really good understanding. Um in the beginning of the school year, we have a kind of a slow start to school. We bring in the first day of school all of our new students who are brand new to Westside. The second day we bring in all of our returning students and then the third day on Friday is all students together. Um during orientation for both new students and returning students. I

051had a presentation where we talked through the policy um and I showed talked about uh Jonathan height uh author of the anxious uh generation the four foundational harms about what this is doing to us to really kind of bring that why to students um and help them understand that. And um we as soon as that presentation was over, we talked about what will happen if the phone is out. And we did one, two, three, let's put it in the pouch. So kids were given the pouch right before they came to that assembly. And then we all put the pouches, put the phones in the pouch at the same time, locked them up. So we kind of had that solidarity together. We can do this. We brought the magnets around to show them how to unlock

052it. And we tried to make it just a as fun of a process as it could possibly be. Um during that time, uh we've had several kids say, "I don't miss it. I only miss it when I reach for it." Like just it's just a physical habit. I'm reaching for my back pocket. Um lots of kids carrying the f the pouch around because it just feels good to have the it in their hand or right there on the desk where they can see it. Um and many kids who were frequent flyers with phones say, "I'm so glad that we did this. I I I'm getting so much more work done, the focus in the classroom. Um so it's been it's been really great. Um and on that final day of orientation, we um were blessed.

053Sage Hills was there to provide um a fun party for our students. We call it the back to school bash. Um and they come in for about an hour and a half and it usually goes until right before school's out. It got done early this year, about a half an hour early. And there was a little bit of panic like what are we going to do now for this last half hour? Everybody's done. We're not leaving from school yet. It's not time to go home. Um and it was amazing. All the kids came inside. We just kind of walked around and everybody was sitting in a table. Every table had a teacher at it. Some of them brought chess um chess game from their room. They brought cards. It was just really just such a

054beautiful thing to see all of these kids talking. Um we one of our photographers took some great pictures. They're on our Facebook page of just kind of that day. Um and Eric uh Anderson showed up just, you know, 3:00 that day and I had just kind of done a walk around and just to soak it all in, just to know where we came from, know how worried we were about this, um and to see what we saw. And I literally had tears in my eyes and Eric came up to the door and and I I walked right to the door and I'm like, "You've got to come with me." And he's, "Oh my gosh, what's going on? Just panic. What's happening?" I said, "No, you've got to see this." And so we walked around together

055and um just it was so loud. It was just a really really beautiful experience. Um we may say the honeymoon is a little bit over. Uh which is okay. We're working through this and we're always finding new things every day that are that are um challenging us. But uh that camaraderie between our students who have just met each other so many times we heard kids say, "I'm so glad to meet you. Like it's so great to to meet you and sit with you and talk with you." So it was it's it's a huge game changer for our school. Um and we're very thankful um that the board uh stepped this direction. Um it's doing great things for our kids, for their mental health. It's doing great things for teachers um in the classroom and um

056just look forward to being able to continue this process and help change kids' minds um to where they where we hope that they uh will go in that positive direction, believing in themselves um and finding that hope for their future and not being lost in a screen. So, thank you all very much. >> Good evening. Pete Jeling again, Wachi Valley Tech Center. Um, interesting enough, um, then did something that my my building and staff we've always talked about like and we've attempted on the side. So, we talk about not can we do it without yonder pouches, we attempted for many years and it was always a struggle. So, when Corey came to me, Superintendent Kalahar, sorry, um, came and said, "Hey, uh, do you want to be a part of this?" this. And I'm like,

057"Whoa, okay. Yeah, we do." I already knew that our staff, he goes, "Well, check with your staff." I did. I checked with our staff really quick, but I got back to him and said, "Yes, hands down, this is what they want." Um, again, in our building, there's a bunch of different things and it's there's safety issues. You know, the distractions to being on a phone, when you are using heavy equipment, you're not paying attention. So these are definitely things that uh and even industry. These are important things uh that we hear from our community members um and advisories. Uh so when I went to them, we had a just a quick meeting on it and they were like, "Oh, Josh, yeah, here's just another crazy idea." And I said, "No, we're going to have yonder

058pouches." And I was looking it up and I showed it to them and they're first like, "Well, we're on board, but that looks pretty crazy and not going to work." and I was like, "Hey, we're going to give it a shot." Um, the point to that I think is when we have discussed it, it is and I keep using that the yonder pouch is a tool and I do think that it is an important tool um a part of of to making the the success that we've been having. The other piece that I just want to give kudos um specifically here and here was the amount of time and effort as we prepped our students, our families and community. It I just do not believe it would have happened unless we were sitting down and

059talking. Um and and we talked on and off for months trying to get this right. And so I do think the preparation um was very very important when it came to that. Um I would say as far as staff, they've all had a lot of um really positive things. Students, what I've noticed the most is we have two and a half hours, you know, in our sessions. We don't really have travel or passing time. So for us, it's locked in, you know, for about two and a half hours. What we've definitely seen is uh instructors having to step up um because we're not having the phone distractions and other things. Um but that's been a super important thing and a conversation that we've had during our staff meetings like, oh, we now have I think

060a lot more time that we don't have to address a lot of the things that Donna and Jen have talked about. Um, the other thing that was kind of nerve-wracking for me was sending out this message for the first time that says we are going to go uh cell phone free. And it's not just Wachi students, you know, my total fear was that no other kids would come to me from other districts. I mean, I knew the high school like I was like, "Oh, no. Corey, we're Sean, no money." So, Oh, I can't say that. But anyways, um that was definitely a concern. And I will tell you, um we're now in over a month. Not one. We had no We haven't had anyone leave, uh related to We haven't had issues related to, um

061putting our cell phones away. Ours is. We're doing a little bit different. Um, we do have the yonder pouches. Uh, but the way we have it set up is when Aeie and uh, Westside students come in, they have their own. They're taking it at home. They're bringing it to us, you know, for the second half of their day. For all of our other students outside, we just purchased um classroom sets. So, when they come in into their classrooms, boom, they're locking those things up. But end of the day, we don't spend a whole lot of time either checking each yonder pouch. I've got some um instructors put it here on top of your desk. I have some we put them next to our um classroom sets of Chromebooks where they're charging, so it's next to

062their Chromebook. Seems to work pretty well. But our ultimate thing is no cell phones visible. Um, and again, it's really been pretty successful. Um, I had uh staff go and send me a bunch of comments and you know, I've had a couple wise guys that are like, "Who would have thought that the yonder uh would get us there?" And all these different and I'm like, "Yeah, but uh we're doing it." So, Donna and I had another very interesting just conversation right here that it didn't hit me um until she hit me and said, "I think it's true." So, uh, we all know throughout the district, we all have, uh, our sensor vape sensors and and this different stuff. And I kind of looked at her said, "Hey, how's that been going year two?" And she's

063like, "We just we're not having them." And I was like, "Yeah, I think ours are broken. I do not know what's going on. It's not it's not beeping. It's not doing." So, I had someone test it for me and they still work, but they're not in there. And one of the things that Donna was was talking about and I was like, whoa. A lot of times in these situations, kids are going to the bathrooms. They're on their phones and they're plotting, hey, meet me in the bathroom. And so I just find that amazing and just an awesome uh stat that we will be all be watching. Um, as far as go, they might be doing somewhere else, but they're not going to the bathroom. They're not getting on their phones talking about where they're going

064to meet up. And I think that that is a huge huge thing. Um so I super appreciate the support uh cabinet and uh the board for putting it all together and spending the money. Uh it is by far one of the most uh uh well done things that we've done in a very long time. So thank you very much. Questions I guess. Yes. >> I do have um a a detailed question really. I was interested in Donna's comment that you had more people referring to social worker. I was interested in Westside you actually went out and did some investment in alternative recreation activities and so those are kind of supporting details um that you would need to take care of. Uh so in general how important was that? But specifically um uh social worker I

065know we've got an intern this year. I don't know whether we always have an intern. So my question you know too much detail is would did you fortunately have some extra people or what would it have been burdensome having the extra demand? >> I think what's happening is there's just a more authentic connection being made when a student's processing emotions now. So I don't know if it's been a true uptick in how many students they're seeing. Uh, we have had an uptick in our student concerns where teachers let us know someone's struggling, which has been great, but I think our social workers are just getting into more authentic conversations. And since they're not able to, I don't know, numb the stress that they're feeling outside of school or inside of school, I think it's just

066breeding a space to share what's really going on. That's what they're telling me for the most part. So, the good news is they were feeling that in the past that stress was happening, but um they weren't taking the time to process it. They were hiding it or put disassociating with the use of their phone. And now I think they're just really having to unpack it. And um they're always busy. Like we have two social workers plus our counselors doing a lot of work. And we do have an intern and we try to get one. I was just talking to him today. He was checking in yonder pouches. I'm like, really? You got to work for us for a whole year for free? Like, I'm sorry, but thank you for being here. Like, so yeah. >>

067Well, I guess I would add a comment. Thank you for working the corners of the little other changes that go to support it. >> Yeah. Same at the high school. students are learning how to play cards and just things they didn't know even existed. So, it's been fun. Um, but mostly they're talking. They're sitting around just as we do in groups and talking about nothing. >> How are um staff and teachers taking on uh because you know we it's not just a kid problem. Well, I don't want to keep uh I asked I at our opening day for staff, I gave a example of when I parented young youngans and my husband and I at that time used to enjoy ice cream at night and I talked about how we'd often wait till our kids

068went to bed and then we would quietly scoop up our ice cream so that they wouldn't know that we were indulging in ice cream. So, I talked. So, the big joke is if you've got to eat your ice cream, do it do it privately. Uh, be respectful. Tell tell your students why you have your phone, why why you need it for work, and if you do have to step out on a family situation that you're doing that in private. So, I think our staff has really stepped up. Even as administrators, we would often, you know, do some work as we're walking around the hall to go grab a pushin or at lunch, I might look at my email notification. And we are keeping them in our pockets as well. And some of our staff are

069getting lots of jokes from students. Where's your yonder pouch? You know, if you have your phone out. So, that's positive pressure that way, too. I know that when Eric and Diana and I are at the high school, we're the only ones in the hall with our phone out and we feel so we've we've learned to duck into some corners and do what we need to do as well. So, we're positive role models. But um I want to echo your sentiment. And I want to thank the board for um uh the support for uh this process, allowing the district, Eric and I and Mike Lane and all of you to take a year and a full academic school year to explore the options, have conversations with community members, have conversations with students, have a community open

070house that was very poorly attended, but um was there nonetheless for our community to have a voice. Um and so uh yeah, so thank you to the board for that. Thank you for taking on the challenges of the real time work um and setting that climate and culture where students feel safe and comfortable with the phones. And thank you for your presentation tonight. We appreciate you being here. >> Thank you. >> I like it. Yeah, I like that. >> Okay, we rolling into discussion time. Let's roll in. Okay. So, uh we state and federal programs director Tim Shepard is here with us this evening to discuss the local control accountability plan lovingly known as the LCAP. Um and also to talk to us about school improvement plans for our other schools um that have state

071directed improvement plans. So the LCAP just to give you a little a little bit of insight is uh very much like the district's annual improvement plan and this year has taken on a role of guiding the work of the other buildings through their individual school uh improvement plans. That's why we're taking time out of uh out of our board meeting to actually showcase this. The district it itself through Tim's uh guidance and leadership has played a more guiding role and taken a more holistic leadership approach to the LCAP this year as well as we've added family engagement attendance elements to all of our school improvement plans districtwide. Uh yesterday Tucker and I were discussing the presentation in our monthly meeting. Um, and we're both excited about the intersection of the LCAP and the equity program

072review, which we discussed uh during a board workshop in September. Tucker will share a little bit more on that later, but the plans that you'll hear tonight and saw in the board packet will be back on the agenda on October 28th for an action. We have to approve uh these plans. So, Tim, thank you for leading the work and in the district and for joining us this evening. And Liz, this is the one that you can this is just the document that you might be able to pull up for our people at home uh to take a look at as well. >> You did a great introduction, Dr. Kalahar. Thank you very much for doing that. So I just really want to provide just a basic foundation on the LCAP and its significance and how

073it really supports um school improvement along the way and therefore student outcomes. So really the purpose I highlighted some key words there um is increasing transparency around improvement supports making sure that it's out and about aligning district goals and resources identifying opportunities and resource inequities that's an important part of it really that the LCAP is a guidance a guiding document um for the district but also then for schools so that school district connection is super strong and then it's a place where you're documenting areas of opportunity. So those are really the the five main purposes behind the LCAP. There's six steps really that you go through as you're working on your LCAP. And this is very similar to what it would be for a school that does a consolidated plan for their buildings. many of

074the same steps in it. Um, so you'll see a lot of what you hear about tonight in the school plans for those that are on using the consolidated plan. So the first thing you start with is your Washington state improvement framework, the Wif, and that came with this when it came out in 2015 with the Every Student Succeeds Act, which took care of Nickelby, took over for Nickelby. So that's where the ESSER came in. So you look at your state improvement, that's where you identify schools that are that need extra support. So you could and that was data is on is on the report card. The next part thing that you would do is using what you gain from the WIFF is you would do a comprehensive needs assessment. That's where you're organizing information from

075OSPI or the data portal that's provided for you. You would collect data on resource on resource inequities in your district which could be budgeting staff exi access access to specialized programs. Um you can determine and collect data that's in district and other relevant data. And what you're trying to do is to capture a good picture of where you're at, where your students are, what resources you have, how you're using them, and how are we making sure that we're aligning our resources with those schools that need extra support, which then gets to the students that need that extra support. Then schools um and then there's the school improvement plans. So, they start working on their plan. um and based on their own comprehensive needs assessment that they're doing at the building level. So we want and

076and our part as a district to the LCAP is to ensure that we're supporting them along the way and that's where we're taking a more comprehensive look at this now to make sure that that's what we're doing. It's not just to have this other plan that that's not connected to anything, not connected to your strategic plan, not connected to the needs of the buildings. So, it's to bring that connection together and that we're supporting that. Um, so we're aligning our SIPs with our district-wide strategic priorities and improvement efforts. So, our strategic plan and then the SIP must include how the interventions will support SIP goals and improve student outcomes and what measures will be used. So, that's just like what we have in our LCAP. SIP plans need to have that same information in there.

077So once the schools have theirs put together or as put together as they can in that time frame, it's difficult because you're working looking at last year's results trying to predict for the future what's going to be needed and sometimes the data is langing lagging. You don't always get your data till like the middle of the year. So, it's almost a year behind except from your newest data that you might have got from the ESPA or something like that or your current um data from your classrooms. So, once you have that, then you um use your um you use the state LCAP draft. So, they actually give you a template to use. That's what you're seeing. And then they have a a same like I said before, a template that's the same for schools as

078well. You want to ensure that the alignment with the district-wide improvement strategies and school sips. You want to make sure they're aligned. And then an important part of the for districts and with the LCAP is to make sure that the details about uh include school leader collaboration, community feedback and resource equity. I know in the past where there hasn't been a lot of connection between our ALCAP and our school buildings. we haven't built in any strategies or monitoring progress. So this year we have that built in where we're leading how you would look at your school improvement plan at your building and we're doing that as a district as well along the way and then progress monitoring is an important part of it part an important part of the LCAP but also then a part

079of the SIP as well to implementing that. So just again making sure we're ensuring collaboration with key stakeholders and key leaders along the way and a thing something that we haven't really done at the district level is okay this is our LCAP how are we doing do we need to make any other adjustments it basically has been something that we put together with pretty close alignment much better alignment now but then are there things that we need to adjust as for our district plan just like a building would make adjustments during um the school year for them. And then um another sort of that last key step um would be to submit the plan submit the completed plan to the state. Um it has to show that it's been uh approved by the school board.

080So that's why we're here doing that first part tonight and then next uh next meeting you'll approve that. Um there there could be I uh two years ago I think Corey was it two or three years ago that you did a federal program review. >> Yes it was uh 2223 we did the comprehensive review. Yeah. >> So you do that every five or six years. And so this is not a year that we had to do that part. And so it it's very it's even more intense than a comprehensive needs assessment. Um but that would be part of it if that was your if you were in the rotation for that year. that would be part of this process as well. So then you submit your plan, then you engage in that continuous improvement monitoring.

081Um, and with the whole goal of it being to improve student outcomes. Um, and again, something I want to emphasize is it's not something we do and then look at at the end of the year in order to do the next one. It's that continuous reflecting re and changing and making change. They they want you to be resubmitting your LCAP. We want the schools to be making changes and showing leaders as they're out and about that they're making changes because that's showing that we're truly looking at the data, looking at results, and making adjustments along the way, not just one time a year. So really, the steps support a structured approach to school improvement. And we really feel like it can uh effectively identify weaknesses. we can implement strategic interventions that track student progress over

082time. Um, and really uh I watched a video and I shared it with Dr. Kalahar. It it talked about a wellexecuted LCAP has the power to transform student achievement. So by following those six six steps by tracking and engaging in community schools and you can create sustainable improvements and really the key to success lies an ongoing collaboration among educators and other key uh key stakeholders. So our desired outcome is with these last two points in mind is district leadership is working to better align our district SIP our LCAP and school SIPs through strategic collaboration and district level support. Um, while this is not a new requirement, our goal is to grow beyond compliance really in order to strengthen student achievement across the district through this school improvement process. It has shown to work and so

083we're really going to go for it and support that process. We're not going to just hope it is. We're doing strategic things along the year across the year to do that. One other important connection that I want you to know um is that accessing the state or OSPI school improvement financial support is closely connected to the LCAP and SIPs for those schools I identified for school improvement. In fact, in the past, the the all the different um we call them Aussie grants, office of school student success. Um each of the schools would do their own grant paperwork and they would send it in. This year it's all coming straight from the district. So I am working with them to create make sure our LCAP aligns with what their needs are and then I'll help them

084form their grant. um and and submit it there again by the end of this month. So the schools that um are in tier three and so then are considering in school improvement are Lincoln Elementary, Orchard Middle School, Castle Rock Early Learning Center, Westside High School, and Open Doors Re-engagement Program. Um, typically all of those schools would get be eligible for some school improvement money, but because with all all the federal cuts and those types of things going on, um, it really is only designed for, uh, schools that are in tier three plus. And so that would be Westside High School and Open Doors Re-engagement Program. So, we have the same requirements to support make sure we're aligning resources for all the schools that are in school improvement, but the money for the the state money

085will go to those two schools. And that's what I'll be supporting here in the next couple weeks. Um, we'll have that ready to go and turn in and then get your approval on the school improvement plans. Um, and then submit that all at one time. So, do you have any questions? >> Thanks, Tim. I just want to add a couple things. Not only are uh the grants due at the end of the month um as well as the LCAP and um the OSPI or AIE um schools uh school improvements, that's why we're having you look at them now, have some discussion around that and then approve them. You will see all schools are required to have a school improvement plan. However, we have a different timeline for the other schools. And so you'll see the

086rest of the SIP plans kind of staggered in November. We'll put them on two different uh board packets so that they're you don't feel overwhelmed with school improvement plans. They'll come in a staggered fashion. But um Tim, I just appre appreciate your leadership on this. And um I would I would honestly say that before this year and this LCAP, I don't think I've ever seen these. Um they have not been something that have been a collaborative practice in our district. I didn't know they I knew they existed in some way, shape, or form, but I really have to appreciate Tim who came to came to me and said, "We we need a different approach on this." And it's been a great collaborative effort, and I think that it's going to really um not only model

087what we'd like to see in our buildings and schools, but help support everyone on the same trajectory. So, thanks, Tim. And I would open it up to conversation, question from the board. Is there it seems like there's been more collaboration with the at the building level between the what the districts is doing what they're doing. Has that it seems like that would be more support. Have the building administrator felt that same like oh I didn't realize how much work this was until you started helping me do it. >> Yeah, absolutely. I've been doing school improvement uh plans this way for a long time. I was at Lincoln for a long time and we had a lot of work to do and so that's where my sort of love for this came because I saw the

088power of how it helped me work with my staff. So it really was more within the building. Um but this year I've heard more than you know and we did a um we shared the LCAP with the building leaders and then asked them you know what do you think and they're saying now we understand you know the connection between what the district is doing and what we're doing and then what we need and so it's a combination of the two but the things that we're focusing on were really strategic in supporting building leaders ers in order to do the things that um that need to be done and it's not something separate. It just is a collaboration providing different ways of collecting information, different strategies for them to use. So, it's been it's been powerful

089this year alone just to see their um their thanks for um it being super supportive for them. >> Yeah. I had I Do you want M? You want to go before I go again? >> Okay. Um >> go anyway. >> You're gonna go I would expect nothing less. Um I I I we talked like a course I did the workshop in September about how are we using equity review to actually make change in the district. And so I went through the SIP and I went or the through the LCAP and I went through the whole equity review with the help of AI. Um, but yeah, but it was but you know, how are we are we taking those recommendations from the equity review and actually incorporating them into what we're doing as a district? And

090so I'm going to I wanted to highlight a couple of them um uh because I think there's some there's some very concrete examples of how this LCAP districtwide LCAP is taking those specific recommendations from the equity review and incorporating them in like a meaningful way. like there was there's plenty of places where it says >> we would like to use the equity lens while we're allocating resources and I appreciate that but like when it so um there's a couple places where you're actually using the disagregated data and you're tracking that now so it's not just that we would like to have a datadriven decision it's no disagregated is important that we want to make sure that we're serving people and this isn't a question this is just I'm going to tell some things to everyone

091But um I think I really appreciate that that you are working that into this is something that we're monitoring and this is something that's going to continue to be um like you know kind of holding ourselves accountable to not just who we're serving, how we're serving them, but that we want to actually track that. So that's something that added in. Um one of the other things was about um community engagement and you've actually added like a title one parent group into the discussion. So you're you're creating a new way to see how we're serving our students and how we're serving our parents which are such a it's such an big part of I mean as we've all heard like that communication piece is so important and by you know putting something in saying that we

092are adding an additional um way to to receive that feedback I think is incredibly important. Um, and then the other thing is is is formalizing some of the ways that you provide professional development because I think again it's really easy to say that we have professional development time, but when you when you are saying specifically and this is the equity lens we're using for that professional development time. I really I really appreciate that not only you've done that across the the to the district LCAP, but you're pushing that out to the buildings and supporting them in that and putting some kind of concrete changes into the LCAP so that you know we're really we're kind of doing the work that we we know we we need to do, but but I actually see it happening.

093So, thank you for that. >> You're welcome. Yeah, I really feel like it's a repository to show what we're doing. it really um and I think it has been for a while but we really haven't had it reflect the true work that we're doing like we are now and so then it does allow us to move forward at a different level more strategically and to make it more schoolwide you know districtwide to truly get the resources and the progress monitoring the the and I think we've had a real last year and this year a real tight connection between special programs between learning and teaching um between you know all those different departments and really this is what we need to be doing for our professional development plan. It's getting to the things that we need

094for our bilingual students. It's getting to the things that all students need that we're not seeing happen. So with that, you know, that collaboration has been another part of why it's been able easier to put this together in a strategic way. And then and then like I said this year it's really evident to building administrators to see those connections. So again it's not something separate. It's all going in the same direction. Um um continuous improvement has been part of my life from when I first started work as an engineer and we called it optimization and it's a two-way process. uh grassroots up and outside down and I see that characteristic in what's happening here when you talk about the district and the schools working together. So given that it's something that that I spent a

095whole work life involved in in different arenas I sort of scanned and read this looking for um on a comparative basis and there were several things that I thought were really interesting. One that was very promising was to see uh in inadequacies identified in the document along with corrective action and you don't always see that very often. People are just filling in data. So I think that was a very strong thing to do and just as a spoton to see attendance highlighted as a topical thing but really impacted by all sorts of other things. And by the way, equity and parental involvement is uh that's great in terms of getting other people's feedback. It's so difficult to do with surveys and not ideal. I was interested to see the superintendent's advisory council was supposed to

096be student feedback. But if and then I just want to throw out a a kind of a renegade thing. I've gone through situations where students gave feedback on how to improve classes and it's always got totally bogged down. You talked about too much work, too much in informed, but I just say it deliberately because it is important to think about how we get the students to say in the students of uh uh uh superintendent advisory council, the students will say we are the experts on what it's like being a student. For heaven's sake, listen to us. Um but all of this is part of the cultural characteristic of a healthy improve self-improvement plan for the for the group and I think it was really I was really pleased to see that. Um then I did

097have one question that actually asked um by memo is the curriculum adoption and that some of the programs were 20 years. Now, I got an answer that you've got a projected plan of uh renewing the curriculum. And I guess I have a budgeting question. How big a deal is it to uh renew, change, develop a new uh primary curriculum vehicle? Um is it something that is already well contemplated in the base budget or is this something that we're going to have to be aware of? I can answer that and Sean can back me up if he needs to. I think that it is definitely something that we have to plan for and uh and and know what our cycle is. Um and so um during that process when uh Martin asked the question um between

098getting the question and then providing a response um Amber shared uh with us the the curriculum uh longitudinal schedule. So we do have that uh mapped out but it is something that Sean has to work uh individually with the learning and teaching department to plan for. It is a robust undertaking to redo uh English language arts for an entire district. Um and this year we'll know because we're doing social studies for an entire district as well. So it's a quite it's quite an undertaking and something that we do have to plan for extensively. So we don't take those curricular changes lightly, but to your point they need to be more often than every 20 years. So, I forgot what was supposed to be my opening point, which is I'm very glad we're doing this as

099a discussion. I think over the years we've sat through a lot of presentations of improvement plans and nodded them through on the consent agenda or something like that. Um, and I'm just going to say it is it's part of the powerful message that we're serious and everybody's should be working together. hopefully is that the board will be well informed and demonstrate buyin. >> Thank you. >> Tim, thanks for your time. We appreciate it. >> Okay. Yes. Next uh next we have executive director of business and finance Sean Fitzgerald uh who presented a minimum fund balance slide deck to us on June 3rd and we engaged in a discussion during that board meeting today. uh we know a lot more about the uh 25 uh 2425 school year also the budget for the 2526 school year

100and Sean has an update and some time for discussion as well and I just want to add that we often talk about we often talk about the budget especially in June and August right um and we also talk about budget reductions when we get to spring well tonight's conversation is equally about our current year and the years the future but also about long-term financial planning as well as long-term financial stability for the district. So, Sean, thanks for being here tonight and engaging us in minimum fund balance conversation, the MFB as we love to call it. >> Thank you, Dr. Kalahar. Um, uh, President Jackson, uh, members of the board, Dr. Kalahar, it's great to be here again tonight to present an update on the minimum fund balance and our continued discussion on this topic. Um

101so some familiar slides you'll see uh our goals provides uh for the minimum fund balance and the minimum fund balance is kind of the reserves within the reserves. So we have our entire fund balance but we also have an additional segment that we set aside uh in case of um you know these kind of these four areas we're looking at. So providing sufficient cash flow for daily financial operations, s securing and maintaining an investment grade bond rating as we saw and heard during our discussion with our bond refinancing last year when we did our presentation with Moody's. Uh one of the things they looked at was our our fund balance reserves and our minimum fund balance specifically. also to offset significant economic downturns or revenue shortfalls and then provide funds for unforeseen uh expenditures related

102to emergencies. But ultimately we're at of all these four goals we're looking at what is the minimum amount of reserves a district needs to set aside in order to operate and accomplish these goals. So, some history, uh, the district's current policy of 5% budgeted expenditures was adopted in two in August of 2011. And so, over the past 15 years, a lot of things have changed. Um, so we know enrollment was increasing at that time. So enrollment peaked as we know from uh the enrollment presentations from the last few years we know our enrollment peaked in 201516 at 7655 and we're currently sitting at 6450. Uh we also look at assessed value which affects both our levy rates and local effort assistance funding from the state. So back in 2011, our uh assessed value uh in

103the district area was 3.7 billion and from and over the next three years were to actually decline by $400 million. Uh so kind of some context there. Uh our preliminary uh 2026 projection is 8.5 billion. Uh so in terms of local effort assistance funding increased assessed value decreasing enrollment means less local effort assistance revenue from the state. Uh it was also primary uh so in a uh that case would not be decided uh the uh Washington supreme court would not issue its opinion until January of 2012 and we would not see an implementation with the school districts until the 2018-19 school year. So as we know from MLAR that drastically overhauled how we look at approach levies and levy collections and salary schedules affecting school funding from top to bottom. Uh it was also before

104the pandemic as well. Uh some things more or less that stayed the same was we had the same infrastructure but it was only 14 years younger. So where are we at now? Enrollment decline both actual and projected for the current and foreseeable future is projected to decline. Uh as I mentioned earlier uh local effort assistance this fluctuates annually based on enrollment and assessed value. But we know current trends and historical trends in the last few years have shown again sustained enrollment decline and sustained incre increasing sustained assessed value which again translates to less funding from the state for us. We also have increasing inflationary costs. Again these continue to outpace state funding such as insurance or salaries and benefits. We also have federal funding uncertainty. So since July, we've been concerned about funding for about

105four to five of our federal programs. Um and one of the things uh we were looking at was the completion of the 2025 2027 bianium federal budget which um should have been completed uh by this time. However, as we know uh DC is in a bit of a shutdown right now. Uh so we are still waiting uh to see where we're going to where we're going to end up on the federal funding question. It's something that is on our mind and we're continuing just to wait on uh further news on that area. State funding. Uh so back in June uh the district had to utilize almost $640,000 of our minimum fund balance reserves uh due to a state funding issue. Um, as you know from budget pre presentations, I've spoken about budget capacity and having

106sufficient resources to implement and uh uh sufficient budget authority uh to um approve expenditures. Uh and the state in their prior uh budget did not do that. So we did receive our full funding in July. uh but we had to dip down in our reserves for that shortfall in June. Uh which um going back I cannot recall a similar circumstances in prior years of something of that happening. Uh some more recent news um the state is now projecting $900 million less in revenue collection over the next four years and the legislaturators are already discussing for the next legislative session additional taxes and more cuts. And as we know, last year they projected a giant budget shortfall and implemented a lot of cuts and additional uh taxes. And um at the time it seemed like the

107issue was uh resolved. But here we are again a new year and a new budget shortfall uh from the state. So again, something we're going to have to be paying close attention to as we head into January as the start of the legislative session. again maintenance and operations. Uh we have aging infrastructure, preventative emergency projects. Um again, as the board knows, we have allocated $500,000 and committed fund reserves to be allocated to the capital projects to address these pro uh projects. And then other things again just being aware of compliance with unfunded mandates. Uh so again, one of these is the Clean Energy Act among other things. And so these are the things and the risk we're kind of looking at when we consider what amount of funds we need to set aside and what

108we want to use our minimum fund balance reserves for. Uh again uh familiar slide um with just some additional detail. Um again there is no required minimum fund balance threshold. Uh it is set by the school board which is again um reflected in district policy. However, you know, so it's up to each school and each district to decide based on their circumstances what is the appropriate amount to set aside to accomplish the goals uh we went over in the first slide. So again, the district's current policies at 5% and how that compares with recommendations or other areas. So if we go up 8% uh kind of matches our average monthly expenditures and also Eastmon schools district's policy uh Moody's uh which we've discussed when they look at our bond finance rating uh recommend 10.5%. And

109then finally, we have the state auditor's office and the government finance officers association or GFOA recommending 60 days of cash reserves, which translates to roughly about 16% of our minimum fund balance, which is actually more than our entire fund balance unassigned and restricted as well. Uh so some things to take into consideration. Um again, nothing is set in stone, but again, it's left up to the district's you know, judgment. um and circumstances to decide what is the appropriate amount. Um one more thing. So some of the things as I go into the next couple of slides. So sufficient reserves are needed to cover district expenditures and mitigate risk between October and April. I'll go into more detail on the next slide about that. Uh and then districts cannot rely on the restricted fund balance uh

110to address revenue shortfalls or unanticipated expenditures. Again, those funds are set aside for specific purposes and again may be used in circum circumstances but only for those areas. Um the unassigned fund balances essentially the districts are legally um these funds um have no legal restraints and they're free to be used in um any capacity that the district deems necessary. So again, another familiar slide from the monthly financial reports. Um, I've added though the kind of the dash red line there at the bottom which kind of establishes our a minimum fund balance for the 2425 school year. So that's roughly about $6.7 million. Um, so you can see uh just going back the last four school years um that we've stayed above that line, which is great. Um and so just again following our revenue trends

111throughout the school year for you can see a pretty similar uh trend um over over the four school years. Again October and April are our highest months. That's when we receive our lend levy funding uh collection of property taxes. Um, and then July and August are also high revenue months because that's when we receive our largest amount of aortionment, state aortionment money. Um, but then you'll notice between October and April, uh, we dip quite a bit. And between then, we're solely really relying on state aortionment. Uh, but again, they're kind of lower aortionment amounts. Um, the state pays out based on a set schedule in the RCWs set by the RCWs. Um so between October and April, we're really uh paying attention as we're essentially drawing down on our fund balance reserves uh during that

112time as we wait for them to replenish in April. Uh so we have to assure we have sufficient of funds set aside to accomplish that goal. And then you can see it kind of dipped down again in May and June before rebounding in July and August. Again, we receive our bulk of our state monies at the end of the school year. So this slide is illustrating where going back to the district cannot rely on the restricted fund balance uh to accomplish you know minimum fund balance goals. So what this is doing is taking out just focusing on okay what if we didn't have a restricted fund balance reserve what are we actually utilizing throughout the school year. So the top line, the purple line, uh that reflects our actual activity uh during the 2425 school

113year without so it's really focusing on our minimum fund balance, our remaining unassigned and then our committed fund balance reserves used to mitigate budget reductions. And so you can see we stayed above um our 5% minimum fund balance policy uh up until June when we got the revenue shortfall from the state. So, we slightly dip below before we got all our monies back in July as well. Um, but then we have the two lower lines and we have to ask ourselves, okay, we have this policy and we're saying that the district can operate on 5% of budgeted expenditures. And so, if we're taking a look at the blue line, the the bottom line, which is actually said, so it's like, well, let's say we started off the actual school year at 6.8 8 million, could

114we progress through the entire school year with that amount of funding? And so, more or less, yes. However, once we get to June and that revenue shortfall, again, which none of us anticipated and we were given no heads up until June from the state, we would essentially be left with about $15,000 just in our unassigned general fund balance. And so we have to ask ourselves okay is this a policy uh that can sustain and meet the goals that we've discussed in the first slide. And then if we adopt a 6% hypothetical uh in that same situation we would have an additional $1.3 million in our reserves at that time. Any questions on that slide? I think I get it. But but the so the purple line is based on the unassigned money that we have.

115It's and so we're fine. Everything's fine. >> Yep. >> But when we start looking at like as we look at our budget increasing and like more uncertainty from our state and federal funding sources, if we're to say no, really this is all the money we have >> is this 5%. >> Mhm. we would be in not great not a great situation especially since this would probably look worse for 26 27 >> perhaps I mean this this circumstance in June is unusual >> sure >> but it's like that's that's the point of the minimum fund balance is that we are setting aside >> uh funding for unusual or unanticipated events as well >> right but $15,000 is not a big number that's definitely kind of like a Almost there. Yeah. Okay. >> Well, and and the

116fact that March happens every year. >> Yep. >> To, you know, I just want to clarify uh in my own mind, um the minimum fund balance would be permitted for transitory use within a budget year provided you corrected it and made up by the end of the budget year. Yeah, correct. So the purpose and again following district policy is we're essentially we want to maintain our reserves at the minimum fund balance level by year end. Correct. Um and then the second goal is ensuring that that amount that we've set aside can cover all maintain operations throughout the school year. Yeah, that's an important distinction from Martin is that we are able to fluctuate throughout the year and use that minimum fund balance where necessary as long as we end that year uh where above that

117it's good clarification >> but don't we have board policy that if if it we it needs board approval if we fall below that 5%. So the board has given through the budget process and improving the expenditures, the appropriations in the budget, the board is essentially giving permission to um it's like hey we're going to spend this amount of money and essentially in um giving permission to go above below the minimum fund balance level during the school year. Um one of the things right now is just like again then it's the second part is like okay how do we ensure that it's like okay yes the board has given permission for these appropriations uh to go below the minimum fund balance level but at the same time the board has also through district policy stated that

118our goal is to maintain our reserves at least 5% um by the end of the school year. So what this again the bottom two lines are hypotheticals. We are not in that situation. We are in the purple line just to clarify that's where we're at. Um but in basis we are saying with our policy that 5% is sufficient to accomplish our goals. And just using that hypothetical based on the actual data during the 2425 school years uh we would be in a tough spot in June of 2025 because of that. and actual, you know, puts us still below Moody's and, you know, two slides ago, right, with Moody's is recommending 10.5%. And so we're we we're below that in terms of what we have and you know, above our average monthly expenses and Eastmon at

1198%. But >> you know, that's something to be aware of that Correct. we playing with the 9.6% not the reality of we only setting aside the 5%. Correct. Um so again just going back to August with our 2526 budget and forecast 5% minimum fund balance uh set for 25 26 and then the next three years after that. Uh these forecasts are going to be updated here shortly in the next couple of weeks. Um so already this data is you know really outdated but it's kind of giving us perspective like where we're at in August. And so we can see again with the 5% reserves just highlighting decrease. We've budgeted again $2.4 million deficit. Again, that's what's been approved. Not necessarily where we're going to be ending up. Uh but for budgeted purposes, that's what we've

120planned for. But on the bottom table, we again we have the minimum fund balance and then the unassigned fund balance. And so you can say okay 5% of 135.3 that gives us roughly about 6.8 million and then $1.8 million here in unassigned and then even with we've already taken some budget reductions are already kind of behind the scenes incorporated into this forecast. We're still projecting uh decreasing fund balance over the next four years and we're continuing to draw down on that unassigned fund balance as well. And also our minimum fund balance the the our budget is going up. So the minimum fund balance is also going up. So we have to find money to put to meet that minimum need in addition to you know making sure we have all the money we need for

121the budget. >> Correct. And part of that is also inflationary as well. U but yes to your point yes uh here again same again but playing with the 6% so 25 26 that budget's already been set. So we are still set at 5% minimum fund balance but taking into account an increase uh okay let's increase our minimum fund balance by 1%. That essentially moves about 1.3 to$ 1.4 $4 million from the unassigned column or the unassigned row to then the minimum fund balance. And so you can see with the same amount of reductions um we start getting the negative number in 2728 and 2829. So what does that mean? It means we would have to take uh as part of our budget reduction rationale we would say hey we are looking at now um we

122are not meeting our minimum fund balance reserve. So we would have to take some sort of additional reduction amount uh in those next two years. If these trends, if this forecast stayed the same, we would be looking at some more additional reductions to maintain fund balance reserves than we would have been at 5%. The overall fund balance is not changing. It's just how we're allocating our resources between the two slides. Again, minimum fund balance increases roughly about 1.3 million, sometimes up to 1.4 million depending on the year. Uh because it fluctuates annually based on budgeted expenditures. Uh one of the things again as part of our continuing discussion is to in to increase the minimum fund balance gradually to avoid unnecessary budget reductions. Um but again as part of the policy the goal is to

123maintain uh the minimum fund balance at or above policy levels. So in conclusion as we're looking at going back to my first slide what is the minimum amount of reserves the district needs to set aside to operate during the school year and have sufficient res reserves to address risks. And again, it's like this is not something that's happening overnight. This is a long-term financial planning goal uh that the district should be looking at. And the question we should be asking is 5% an adequate amount and running one of those hyp just that hypothetical for the 24-25 school year. Um it raises concerns. Um and every year we know the district is drawing down on our fund reserves to mitigate budget reductions as part of our plan. And we also know we have actual and projected

124enrollment decline uh to continue for the near and foreseeable future. All right. Any other questions? This is a discussion topic. So I made some notes to have my add my discussion to it. Um I'm rightly not a member of the budget committee anymore. So this is discussion in general board level. Um and um my personal opinion is that we should be at six 6% for a minimum uh reserve as of now for this year. Uh I had suggested this previously informally technically in general discussions. I did not move to try and make any kind of formal rec recommendation uh so that we could see what the results were at the end of 2425. We've been running several years basically uh ahead of our obligations and it would have been a very nice easy situation to

125say hey effectively we operate as if we have a six or 7% minimum fund balance and I think that was influential in our credit rating for the uh refinancing of the bonds. Uh I don't think that is the case anymore. As you see over time, we're projecting a gra and there is a re reality a gradually declining amount and we're now pretty close to the 5%. Uh and the bigger but the bigger change that's happened is that the volatility of funding uh that we've experienced in the district in the last 6 months has changed and I think that's an environmental structural change that we should expect to live with. Um, one of the purposes of the reserve is to fund lumpy timing within a budget year um, and in revenues and you can adapt within

126a budget year, but you've still got to get it all back by the end of the year. >> Mhm. >> The other critical thing that a reserve does and enables operations to continue in an orderly way without disruption and gives the district time to adapt and adjust. So it's really important that you can do that. Um uh the other thing that we all are very much aware of as you look at budget cutting is there's a trade-off between your rainy day fund and your operations. You can't fund a rainy day fund on prayers. It's got you've got to over time commit to putting money into that. Um but I think looking at the volatility where I reach and this is a generalized comment not unique as as an individual looking at the world in general

127is if I were advising a private entity or a family household I would suggest taking action for safety reasons. I'd call it accidentrevention reasons. Uh because the harm that's likely to result from not acting will be almost certainly sometime in in the near term, medium-term, maybe future, be more greater than the cost of timely self-defense in creating a stronger uh bottom line to be handle handling the volatility that you experience. And I think this is a discussion that we've been having um uh informally over the last year. Um and I think we're now looking at it in a harsh light and at that point I think uh all members of the board all members of the district with financial responsibility should be thinking about you know what as exactly as you say what should we

128be doing >> Sean so what happens in that June we go down below zero like is that someone doesn't get a paycheck someone I just like that's my understanding that we won't have any money to do something that we need to do with the money. >> In that case, we're petitioning OSPI uh for an advanced payment. Uh so then they would give us money that we are owed or expected from the remainder of our aortionment schedule. So what we would get in July and August, they would give us advance. Uh and then in return uh they would charge us interest. Uh and so once we'd get our funding back uh then we then it's like okay we've paid off our debts, we're in good shape. Uh and then we'll be um making some sort of

129payment on interest to them. Yeah. >> So we don't bounce a check but we then get less money from the state moving forward because of the interest on what we were essentially loaned >> essentially. Yes. >> Yeah. Okay. Thank you. One question. There is a different landscape of making within the year abrupt budget changes. >> There are all sorts of restrictions apart from disruption in that nature. Uh so in theory that could be one of the consequences of not going to OSBI but unilaterally do something that actually could be if it was permitted >> uh extremely disruptive in the short term. Is that correct? >> Correct. All right. Thank you. >> Yeah, Sean, thank you. I appreciate the discussion uh tonight and we were um asked to bring that uh back to the conversation um

130as a discussion point and we will do that again as time goes on. Right now, there is not currently a plan for action. Um, but more updates on the minimum fund balance as we navigate and negotiate the 2526 uh school year, close out the 2425 budget. Um, and then talk budget reductions um as we round into the new year. So, excellent. Oh, and we're we're moving on to policies. Okay. So, we had a host of um non-s substantive policies that were in the uh on the consent agenda and we have three to talk about tonight. The first one is policy uh 1111 and this is oath of office and uh changes were made to the model policy to reflect accurate legal references and a clearer process. along with the laws of the state of Washington,

131there were some uh grammatical changes as well. And as a policy committee, we did not have a whole lot of discussion here and moved that forward. Um, Maria, anything to add? Okay. Any thoughts or discussion from the board? >> I had one question. Um in our previous um ethical conduct policy, it included uh uh conversations to resolve ethical questions in an a constructive way. Uh looking at WASDA's model policies, that appears now to be part of model policy 1825, but we don't have 1825 published. Is that correct? But it's actually, I think almost verbatim what we have in our old policy. Is that right, Kim? Yes. Yeah. And we'll and we will we have a we have a discussion point on that this evening. So that'll be great. Um because that was important for to

132just to go there now. It was important for our our policy committee that we maintain those even if we didn't have an 1825. And so we'll talk about that in just a sec. Yeah, thanks for bringing that Martin. Um and I I started off with the wrong one. I apologize. I went straight to the second one. My bad. Um, so let's go back to the first one. Uh, um, or I mean I guess we go either way here. Um, maybe we'll just go into 1815 since we've talked about it. Um we had we had a little snafu and what uh what we had is we had a great discussion and dialogue as a policy committee and then we made the updates which was really keeping the integrity of what this board had created for 1815

133in the current policy which really did not require us to have an 1825. Kim made those updates sent it to Maria and Julie after I approved it. Everybody was happy. Um, but that version did not make it onto what you all read. And so with our apologies, we're going to recommend that we table this policy for tonight so that you can actually see the updates to that the policy committee made and how they were reflected in the 1815 version and allow us to feel comfortable not having an 1825. And so if we're all good with that, we'll table that conversation. We'll allow um Kim and I will get that other version to you in the weekly on Friday so you can see that and have some time to marinate in it, reflect on it, and

134then um with any questions and concerns, we we would bring that back maybe for second read um on October 28th after everyone has had a chance to see it, vet it, and u have some dialogue around it. Is that okay? Okay. Appreciate that. Sorry for the the confusion there. Bouncing back to the first one, uh, uh, 5260. This one, uh, this policy is personnel records, uh, updated based on House Bill 138 1308 to improve employee access to personal records, personnel records. The policy outlines how staff members access their personnel files, how they share concerns about the contents, if any, and potentially remove concerning documents or write a statement to share their thoughts on those concerning documents. Um, again, we didn't have a whole lot of dialogue on this one, but uh we uh decided to

135move that forward. Any other thoughts? Okay. Excellent. What's next? President Jackson, >> I believe you're back up for the superintendent report. >> Let's do it. Let's do it. Well, we have uh the last two weeks, today and yesterday were a breath of fresh air. >> Literally, >> like quite literally. Uh and the two weeks before that, uh has been a series of outdoor air quality monitoring as we all know. uh which means indoor recess, which means moving sports, moving uh meaning that we had our first home football game last Friday, which was great that we were able to have that. Um but we also battled some indoor air quality. So, as the AQI reached levels above 200, above 220, um we had some areas where we saw the indoor air quality was being impacted um

136at a higher rate. Um, and so, uh, most most, uh, pronounced is the high school. Uh, and so we had, uh, we worked, I'm trying to think of the date, uh, a week ago, Friday, uh, Kelly and Eric and I were scrambling, um, really to to make an impact at the high school because the air indoor air quality was reaching um, unhealthy areas. And so, we reached out to the health district to uh, collaborate with them. We reached out to Turner Restoration so that we could get some air scrubbers uh that were up north and bring those in. Um and then on Tuesday of last week, uh we brought in um we brought in those air scrubbers from Turner Restoration, but we also the health district brought in two additional air scrubbers in the morning

137and then we got seven more units in the afternoon. And then we also received 14 of of what are called box fans, uh filtered box fans. It's really an elaborate situation. You've seen these. They're box fans that have a filter slapped on it um on the back and they work and you can see them actually do the work. Eric and I were impressed. We we set them up in the morning and then by 4 or 5:00 in the afternoon they have like this ring of of dirt and smoke particles and things that they're collecting from the air. Um, all of that to say that those efforts helped us bring uh the indoor air quality down to an acceptable place where uh there were teachers and students that were wearing masks. Um, and that was uh

138for their own personal safety. The next day we actually saw those teachers faces, those students faces. It was really great and we were able to kind of mitigate that. And now we are equipped with 14 additional box fans. The health district said they're yours. We don't want them back. So we have them for the future and we know how to how to do that. Uh well, so that was just a um a sharing of that information. It was a great experience and uh we also have some indoor air quality monitors that we have for the district now that we can utilize um as well. So that was a good experience. Uh sixth grade wildfired field experience. If it wasn't uh fitting enough, last week and this week, our sixth graders are visiting the Columbia River

139Breaks Fire Interpretive Center uh in INAD as part of their science classes to learn about forest ecology and wildfires. Um and in addition to learning about wildfires and wildfire prevention, students have the opportunity to engage with professionals uh who work in the field and learn more about their jobs. Uh and on last Friday uh all of our our parents and students and staff know that we had a non-school day so that our educators could engage in professional development opportunities uh throughout the district. So we had teachers working in their professional learning communities during that time. They were also involved in large group learning activities. Um some folks were at Lincoln uh at Newberry Elementary. Uh some were here in the district office in the main boardroom. And then we had folks at Wache High School's

140new commons uh as well. structured reading and writing, explicit sentence instruction, essential learning strategies, lesson design, and engagement techniques to name a few areas that were studied. And I I know our teachers value these uh these days uh of training to impact and inform their instruction and also reduce the uh achievement gap and increase student outcomes. So, just as a notice to what what we're doing on those days when our students are at home, they're uh very valued. Also, just a reminder, MI uh Thursday is our migrant family night at the Commons at WH High School. Um please join us uh for a great evening of learning. We're going to be talking about attendance. Uh and I think uh uh Jacqueline from Pioneer will be talking about attendance. We'll be talking about grading and then

141strategies to support reading at home. All right. Thank you. That is the superintendent report for this week. >> Wonderful. Thank you. And that puts us to uh board communication. Maria, you want to go first? All right, the quick one right up right up top. Nice work, Mark. I think you can follow that. >> We shouldn't have three weeks between board meetings. Um I I Well, it happens every um I had an amazing really only not even quite an hour at Sunnyside at Sunny Slope, sorry, uh for their school families event and it was super impressive. What they do is all from K through five, they form families of in this case about seven students. The fourth and fifth graders are like mentors and coaches. The others are learning to relate to them and they work

142together uh with cues but student led to create a flag with their family where each of them puts their own little emblem and their own little story and that was kind of an interesting to see the behavior. But the mechanics of this are similar to having high school. We listened to JOTC talking about getting into the middle school. This is like fifth graders getting back to first and K's and I believe there is good there uh there may be good behavior on recess and on the buses because the students relate to each other in a very constructive way and um I hope I'm not stealing things from Lance, but he's saying that actually some of the the teachers enjoyed it because when they were sitting in with a group, they got to meet students who

143weren't in their classes. But this this is a you'd have to do it in a small school. I think I think Sunny Slope got the idea from smaller schools, but it was a very interesting social socially constructive action within one of our elementary schools. So that was fun. Um, other great visit I asked to go to the Columbia uh campus to see Valley in their new home and briefly transitions in their new home and see how the building is being used, how much work went into getting everything ready in the summer and there's still places to be cleaned up after that. So, thank you everybody who were burnt the midnight oil making that change. But it was very interesting to see how it was used. also to see a little bit of the differences between

144the valley culture and patterns of flow in the students and the other schools and also see how valley had expanded to have older um students and a fairly open door for siblings and parents and gives you a different social management. So, it was it was good to see it working. Um, and people were actually just getting over exhaustion and about to start hitting the the running course and it was great to be able to do that and I wanted to appreciate that. Uh, I was able to go to cafe gayla last Friday and see uh partner um and the good work they're doing in education and then um I asked to sit in on professional development day and I didn't know what I was getting into. um only for a short time at each time.

145No way. Get not rolling. But it was interesting to me to be aware of the structural similarities between mathematics and language arts. You don't really think that way. They both have the building blocks. They've got different names and their different building blocks and you have to learn to get them into a process where they communicate and relate with each other. And then you have to learn to understand the process and apply it and use it. And it it was it was kind of it was educational to see um the principles of how you work through knowledge in a structured way once in language arts and once in mathematics and they were not dissimilar in in some ways. So I thought that was pretty interesting. Um and then something I loved one of the exercises actually

146was in reading and it was a work from AVID. Um, and I wrote on their hand, we've got language, math, and financial literacy all in one thing about shrink shrinkflation. What the heck is that word mean? When companies size down their products, so they don't necessarily increase the price. So the customer is paying more, but doesn't necessarily see it. So you see, you have to understand mathematics, you have to understand financial literacy, and you have to be able to read because they're all of these words. And when I think about we talk about multilingual lingual learners and how you learn where you don't necessarily have the cultural reference points or the language reference points, when I looked at that, I just said, "Wow, in this one article, we've got technical jargon. We've got idiomatic speech.

147We've got cultural references like brand names and all sorts of contextual thing." And that's before you get to academic vocabulary in the basic writing of grammatical English. It really was an eyeopener to me of how important reading is. And one of the emphasis was you got to read to be able to and understand to be able to do your math problems. How do you write? And this was a math problem, a logic problem and to see the inter relationships. I'm going on a little bit because that because I'm in a clue. I'm I'm not a teacher, not an educator. But you see the relationships and the power and the need and also some of the challenges that we have in a world where there are a lot of barriers to reading. One of them is

148called social media. Um and uh but to see that you have to take on these problems and work on it. So it was it was a great educational experience for me which is why I wanted to share it a little with the rest of you. >> Thank you Martin Mark. Well, I had all these things to talk about, but you just took the moment >> there. I just Yeah, that was that was it. Ditto. >> Ditto. >> All right. Um, hard to follow. Ditto. Um, I was going to say to my fellow board members, we are gonna on November 12th, we're talking about the bond and we need to pick a date. So, if there's any information you would like from the district, please let them know >> for when when we're going to run

149the bond. >> Yeah. So, it's not like we need to have all the details about the bond. We just have to is it February 26? Is it November 26th or is it February 27th? So, just broad strokes, but just, you know, I don't want anyone to be like, whoa. Because I think November 12th is the date where we want to set a date. Okay? And I can't tell you guys all that without telling everyone all about that. >> All right, you get to go last. >> Oh, okay. >> Um, I wanted to give a shout out. I talked to a lot of people. I talked to a lot of kids who said students at the high school, they're not kids, um, who were complaining to a random adult, me, about smoke in the hallways at

150the high school. And um then the consensus being like oh yeah it's way better and so you know you guys talk about all the things you doing but I think it's being noticed not just so you know rather than it being something that you saying we did the things people notice and I think teachers and and students have have been appreciative and I appreciate you guys reaching out to the health district like you know we have community partnerships and you guys are using those and by using those we strengthen that connection to the school district and also you know it's sometimes we need to lean on other people and we are modeling that. So thank you for doing that. Uh now Maria back to you. Feel free to use a ditto. No I actually have

151something totally spaced. Um so the priorities thank you for those that have gotten me your priorities. Um apparently um there's other schools that didn't submit their priorities so they extended the deadline. So if you haven't I'm I'm not going to make eye contact. If you haven't submitted your priorities to me, please do. Um because we have until the uh Thursday to submit them. So, I will resubmit um with everyone that I get. So, thank you for that reminder. Um all right, I guess we're good. So, meeting adjourned. Thanks for everyone.