001I would like to welcome everyone here in the chamber and those watching via live stream at home and call the May 6, 2025 special meeting of the board of education to order with all board members save Baldis and Bazo present. Okay, we are going to move on to adoption agenda which is item B. Do I have a motion on tonight's agenda? Uh Trusty Hazen and Trusty Whitehurst Payne. We have a motion and a second. We will move to a vote. Trustee, please vote. All other board members, please vote. That motion passes unanimously with all Oh, bro. I'm sorry. That was That was me. Adults again. Quote adults again. Uh, all other board members, please vote. Okay, that's great. Okay, I will shift shift over slightly. got muscle memory on where these buttons are on this
002leads you straight. Okay, we have we have an agenda. All right, Miss Doultz, can you please provide information for public speakers about tonight's meeting protocols? Yes. Today's meeting of the board of education is a business meeting that is conducted in public and board members will not engage in dialogue with members of the audience. Board bylaw 1025 sets the time limit for public comment on agenda items at 10 minutes per side pro and con or 20 minutes total. Please listen for your name to be called. Speakers are listed and called in the order received. When your name is called, please come to the podium to speak. When you begin speaking, the green light below my name on the dis indicates that the timer has started. When the light turns yellow, you will have one minute remaining.
003A buzzer will indicate that your time has expired. If you have not yet done so and would like to sign up for in-person public comment on agenda items only, iPads are available in the back of the auditorium and in the lobby. Thank you, Marty. We will now consider items C1 and C2. Resolutions recognizing teacher appreciation week and National School Nurse Day. Is there a motion to approve items C1 and C2? Trusty Wers Payne and uh Vice President Barrera. I have a motion and a second. Are there any speakers on this item? All right. Would any of the trustees wish to ask any questions or speak to this item? I will just say very briefly, we're excited. There'll be a lot of um tears and a lot of laughter tonight. Uh so we won't overdo it
004right now, but we're very appreciative both of our teachers and our nurses. So with that, you'll have to look forward to the to the u the heavy emotional. It's not a burden. It's it's exciting. It's going to be really good, but it's always it always Yeah, Joy, it's always very moving. Um, so with that, we will move to a vote. Student trustee, please vote. I hear some voices. Someone's coming. Uh, all other board, all other trustees, please vote. Uh, will Okay, hold on. Let's Yeah. No, that's what I'm saying. We Let's just rewind the whole um No, that's okay. That's okay. Oh, AP gov test. So, okay, that's some real stuff. Okay, we will once again um just to bring our uh trustees up to date here. We are voting on items C1 and C2
005which are resolutions recognizing teacher appreciation week and National School Nurse Day. We have a motion and a second. We have had our discussion about it and we are moving to the vote unless either you have any additional comments on it. Sorry to put you on the spot. Okay. Uh we will then move to a vote. Student trustees, please vote. All other trustees, please vote. I got it. All right. That motion passes unanimously with student uh trustees concurring. All right. We are now at item D1, teach. We will now hear uh presentation on teach San Diego. Uh Dr. Bula, can you please introduce this item? Yes. Thank you, President Person. Today we have an important informational presentation from Kimberly Moore, our executive director of diversity, inclusion, and development on our Teach Lead San Diego program. In
006San Diego, our students come from richly diverse backgrounds, representing more than 15 ethnic groups and speaking over 60 languages and dialects. That diversity is a strength, and our students deserve to see it reflected in the educators who teach them and the leaders who guide them. Representation is not just symbolic, but it's transformational. When students see themselves in their teachers and school leaders, it affirms their sense of belonging. They feel seen, valued, and understood. Our students have told us firsthand in May 2022. They stood before us and spoke powerfully about how much it matters to be taught and supported by a diverse staff. Research confirms what our students already know. A diverse educator workforce leads to better outcomes, stronger student engagement, improved attendance, fewer disciplinary actions, and greater access to rigorous coursework. And these benefits extend
007to all students who grow in empathy, collaboration, and readiness to thrive in a diverse world. We also know that cultivating diverse educator pipelines strengthens our school cultures, builds deeper community trust, and fosters more culturally responsive instruction. And I know I shared this with some of you, but I went on a school visit and at the end of my visit about six little girls came up to me about second and third grade and they said espanol. And I said, see, and then they said no. And then they hugged me all at once. I wish I could have captured that, but just how important that little bit of representation matters. I'm proud of the progress that we've made, but we must be more ambitious. the cap the gap between who our students are and who teaches them
008is still too wide. Bridging that gap is not a side initiative. It's a systemwide commitment that calls on all of us. So, thank you Kimberly for your leadership in this vital work and I'll turn it over to you. So, good evening um Dr. Pagula, uh, President Person, Vice President Barrera, board of trustees, community, and family watching at home tonight. We're excited to give you this update on Teach Lead San Diego and our progress. So, for those of you that don't know, Teachle Lead San Diego is our district's grow your own educator and leadership development pipeline focused on increasing the diversity of teachers and leaders in our schools. As Dr. Beula shared with us in her remarks and in her experience at school, representation matters. It's more than symbolic. It's actually transformational. And our students know
009what the research has continued to show year after year that diversity in educators and leaders improves outcomes for all students. So as we talk today about our present and as we envision our future, we reflect on the current demographics of our community. We are blessed to have 77% of our students represented as diverse ethnic, cultural, and linguistic groups in San Diego, mirroring mirroring the diversity um not just of San Diego, but our state and our nation. And we also have 38% of our educators that identify as diverse. So this is actually a 7 percentage point increase since 2012. But as Dr. Beula has shared, there's more work to be done. The diversity of our student groups continue to outpace the diversity of the educators and leaders in our system. So, a little bit more about
010what Teachle Lead San Diego does is that we focus on eliminating barriers that diverse candidates face on their journey to the classroom. And we're going to review some of those barriers in just a moment and the action steps and progress that we've made towards eliminating such barriers. We envision a diverse and inclusive workforce that reflects our communities. Our students have shared that importance and now what we'll do here is take a look at what do our diversity trends look like over time. So this is just snapshot data. What's important to know that the data set used is our seabeds data set. So this is a data set that is generated in October of every school year. And the diversity met metrics for staff is based off of how staff identify themselves when they become employees
011in San Diego Unified. So just to give you an idea of where that comes from. And so just to orient yourself to the chart, um the data is showing a range of time from 2021 to 2025 with the 2021 2022 school year represented in red and the most recent school year 2024 2025 represented in green. So there have been some notable trends in the um diversification of our workforce in San Diego Unified as we look at the demographic data. One trend that's probably standing out to you now is the number of educators that are choosing not to list how they identify um on their employment um application. So you can see the 89 to 123 in the 2024 2025 school year. You'll also see an increase in the number of educators that are identifying themselves
012as multi-racial, which we know uh we live in a very multi-racial society and so we're seeing an increase in educators identifying that way. As you go on to the next chart, this chart um continues to show the same data set, the same years represented, but you can start to see um the much smaller number of diverse educators compared to uh dominant groups of educators. So if you take for instance the African-American um data trend starting with 237 in 2021 um down to 229 in 2024 2025 um you'll see a similar decline in the number of um uh educators identifying as Asian. understand that that is a very large group of educators and the label Asian doesn't really capture the complexity um and the diversity of cultures and ethnicities represented within that group. But there also
013is a bit of a decline where we are starting to see an emerging trend is a little bit of increase in the number of Hispanic or Latinx educators from the 2021 2022 school year up to the 2024 2025 school year. And um also you'll see that our dominant uh population of educators continues to be educators that identify as white and also knowing that that is a very large demographic category as well. So when we look at the data we can see that there is still uh there's still something that is impacting aspiring diverse educators in terms of becoming teachers and leaders in San Diego Unified. And again, as I led in the beginning, that's what Teachle Lead was designed for, was to uncover those barriers and to address those barriers to increase the representation in
014our teacher in leadership pools. So, as I mentioned, um, uh, the barriers that candidates face um, in working with our PAR educator leadership team, we we listened. That's how we started. We didn't come with we have a plan for you. We listened and asked them what are some of the barriers that that you're experiencing in terms of moving into the next step of your career or for your members that have indicated that they want to become educators and three big patterns emerged in our conversations with our PAR educator leadership team and it is consistent with the research on barriers facing diverse candidates. One such barrier is information. Um, many times diverse candidates do not have the same access to information about what the process is to become an educator or what are the steps that
015you actually take to get into a credential program or beyond. And as a result of learning that that was the main barrier, we embarked on a journey with teach.org or to create a web portal specifically for San Diego Unified staff customizing page by page with information that our PAR educator leadership team told us that was crucial for folks to make decisions around becoming educators. So, we'll talk about um Teach Navigator in just a moment. And what's important to note is that we started with our PAR educator leadership team and expanded to classified employees community and ultimately knowing we have a vision of bringing our students back into San Diego Unified. So, truly growing our own. Another u big barrier that's often talked about in the research and from our PAR educator leadership team is the
016financial costs associated with becoming a teacher. So we immediately started working on scholarship pathways to try to eliminate that cost or significantly reduce the cost associated with getting a teaching credential. So through that we sourced grants, tuition assistance through reimbursements and we'll talk about some of the um financial resources that we've brought into San Diego Unified to support this work. And a third barrier which was a big one was the student teaching barrier. What we learned is that so many of our PAR educators actually already have bachelor's degrees and master's degrees. And what has prevented them from taking that next next step to becoming a teacher is the need to take a leave from work while you're doing um what we've called in the past field experience. I like to say school-based experience where you
017are actually uh working in a classroom with a teacher whether they are a mentor um as a when you are student teaching or otherwise. So, we really asked ourselves, how can we support aspiring educators with meeting the classroombased experience requirement knowing that people need to be able to work and they need their benefits? So, I'm going to talk to you a little bit more about the financial resources that we've bought brought into San Diego Unified since Teachle Lead San Diego began. And one of our biggest um sources of funding has been from the California residency grant. It included a capacity building grant and then an implementation and expansion grant. We also brought in um the classified employee grant which um provides $3,500 for classified employees to finish their bachelor's degree and their and obtain their
018first teaching credential. Along with that, connected to our vision of creating a pipeline for San Diego Unified Students to come back and teach in San Diego, we obtained the California Apprenticeship Innovation Funding Grant to get us started on exploring what it um what it takes um to become a registered apprenticeship program. As I mentioned, um, our deep commitment to eliminating financial barriers and working with programs that are like-minded and willing to, uh, for lack of a better word, put, uh, money down on the table towards that commitment. We want to highlight Western Governor's University for truly being the first university that created scholarship pathways specifically for San Diego unified employees starting with our PAR educators expanding to all classified employees and they have also um partnered with us for the high road training grant where
019they are again trying to address that specific barrier of student teaching. And last but not least, um a recent grant that we've brought in is from the James Irvine Foundation to support our work with our labor partners in becoming a registered teacher apprenticeship program. Apprenticeship is emerging as a way to expand and sustain teacher residencies, but we'll talk about more on that later. We also mentioned that um a big barrier is access to information. And so, not only with Teach Navigator were we able to customize um the information, the web portal, all of our partner programs, scholarships, um resources, we were also able to identify who are we connecting with. So, the data on this slide shows the different groups of aspiring educators that we've connected with through San Diego Unified. And we just want
020to thank teach.org for working with us to truly customize this platform for San Diego Unified and our goals. So if you turn um in the the next slide. So what are they reaching out about? What are aspiring educators saying that they need individually? We talked about the global trends with those three big buckets. What are we finding out from the individuals? And so this uh bar graph represents um uh sort of the themes if you will of of information and support that aspiring educators are requesting. The number one um thing that folks are looking for is help me find a teaching program that works for me. One that maybe is hybrid, one where I can take some classes in the evening, um one that also includes an internship option or what have you. So um
021you can see that's sort of the bulk of um some of the work we do with Teach Navigator followed very closely with you know what's the certification process? The certification process in California is quite a long one um with many different steps. And in supporting folks that have been teachers in other countries or in other states, understanding the certification process is a key barrier that we want to eliminate for them. You can see that's closely followed by financial assistance um as and rivaled with our coaching and advising. I want to give a shout out to Tanja Knight, our human resource specialist that is our teach coach and advisor who meets with each person that signs up for a one-on-one appointment to customize their specific pathway as a teacher residency program. And this is different than
022the traditional student teaching which we know was a barrier for many of our candidates through a residency. Um uh credential candidates not only receive a high quality experience with their mentor co-eing throughout the entire year, they also receive a yearly stipen of $37,500 with the option to sub one day a week bringing them closer to 50,000. So, this was our first iteration, an attempt to eliminate that student teaching barrier, but still provide a robust classroom based experience that prepares um residents to then teach and lead in their own classrooms. And so, we have three amazing residents here today that are going to share with you briefly um their experience in the residency program. So, I'm going to ask them to come on up um to the mic over here. We'll start with Sydney and then
023we'll have Giovanni and then Karolina will follow. And as Sydney's coming to the mic, you can see the three universities that we've partnered with and the credential areas that are represented in our residency. Um those were intentional as they are our high needs areas. So now Sydney, uh the mic's already on. I'm going to ask you to talk just a little bit about your experience um as a teach resident. Hello, I'm a resident teacher at Freeze Elementary. Um, and I'm in the process of obtaining not only my master's but um, an education specialist credential and multisubjects credential. Um, and I'm placed with an amazing mentor teacher in special education. And the residency program has given me the opportunity to have what I like to call a year on training wheels and to learn about a
024field as technical as special education. and not only learn how to do some of those technical items, but also um observe and see what's best practice. And the most rewarding part has been able to see a lot of our students not only meet but exceed their IEP goals. And that's something that I know that everyone who works with the student from the educ education specialist to their teachers, parents, and their student can be proud of themselves. Thank you. Thank you, Sydney. Giovanni. Hello, my name is Jovanni Roas. I am a student at the University of at San Diego, California. Um, I am getting my teacher credential in mathematics. I'm also getting my bilingual biiteracy and I'm getting my masters in education. Currently, I am placed at Crawford High School with an also amazing coach, uh,
025Coach Venio. I am placed in a newcomers class which is a very interesting experience that I have never experienced before. Um something that I admire a lot about this program is they are training us to become better teachers and it just feels like we are not doing this program by ourselves. We have a lot of mentor teachers and a lot of mentor residents. Uh we have a lot of residence teachers here as well that support each other and also provide us with a lot of different strategies that we could use in our classroom. And I've been taking a lot of the different strategies that mentor teachers and resident teachers have taught me in the programs when we have professional development days and I've used it in my own classroom for my newcomers class. And something
026that is very rewarding in my class is just seeing how motivated my students are to be in San Diego to get their education. And also it is showing me that even there even though my students have language barriers they are still learning and they are still exceeding the expectations that people have on these students. So that is something that is very rewarding for me as their teacher to see. Thank you Giovanni. And last but definitely not least Carolina. Hi my name is Karolina. I'm at Man Middle School. Um I teach well I co-e sixth, seventh and eighth grade classes um alongside Miss Conway who's an amazing mentor teacher and we actually teach within um the dual immersion program at the school. So we have uh three classes in Spanish, three periods in Spanish and then
027two periods in English. Um and I also teach just like Javanni a lot of newcomer students which has been an amazing experience. They love the dual immersion program. It's amazing for them and also through the English classes a lot of them I can see you know them getting more confident in their English and learning more and that has honestly been the most rewarding part of this process and of this residency is spending the most amount of time possible with them. I feel like because I'm there throughout the whole entire day most days a week because I'll stop sometimes on Friday for Miss Conway. Um I think they get to know me, I get to know them. I get to know their learning styles, their needs, just every specific child is different as we all know.
028And so I think the residency program really gives teachers that kind of extra boost or aspiring teachers, I guess, that extra boost um to dive right in. Right from the start, Miss Conway gave me a lot of trust in the classroom. I was able to plan my lessons with her help, of course, and her support. and we were able to discuss because I was spending so much time with her. Um, also I get to attend the professional development session with the rest of the staff which is incredible to just make those connections with them. And so it really feels like well we are co-teers, we know we're there with each other and so it feels like a very um significant team effort and I know that the students have gotten a lot of it al
029a lot out of it as well. So, I just really want to thank you all for this opportunity and it it has been incredible and I'm really looking forward to starting my teaching career in San Diego Unified. Thank you. Thank you, Cararolina. So, as you can see, these are truly exceptional um individuals and a huge shout out to their mentors, especially on today and recognizing that the residency program is what it is because of our partnership with educators. And so, now you might ask, so what's next? What are what are we headed to next? Well, um at the end of this month, we are celebrating our outgoing cohort of 26 residents as well as welcoming our new cohort um for the 2526 school year. It is our intention to expand um the residency program and
030focus on how we might sustain this type of of um program where aspiring educators are working with mentor educators and receiving um a stipen um funding um to support. We're going to continue to focus on reducing barriers as we we've shown in the data. We're not there yet. there still are barriers and we're still very much committed to this work and um and a very important next step is really looking at how are we aligning around our hiring practices um and looking at what is the experience of a candidate going through our hiring practices. How are our timelines aligning to when universities are done and when candidates are eligible to um um to apply and to obtain um positions and how do we ensure that we are retaining these amazing educators that we are preparing
031to teach and lead in San Diego Unified. So with that um I'd be remiss if we did not add our contact information here. Should you, any of you know an aspiring educator, whether they are in high school, whether they have graduated, um whether they're a career changer, a veteran, you name it, we are here to support any and all aspiring educators through Teachle Lead San Diego QR code, email, Instagram, um let's see, email address, and feel free. uh we take one-on-one direct referrals and we um love this work and are very grateful for the opportunity to do this on behalf of San Diego Unified. So, thank you. Thank you so much, Kimberly. Do we have any public comments on this? Do we have any brief comments from the board? We're already five minutes over and
032there's people waiting out in the field. Yes. Yeah. Go ahead. I was just wondering, I think there's been some work, but with the program to Toby Pace is doing in the summer with the um high school students. Yeah, I know that that's just a few years old, but uh in the summer programs they are taught how to be leaders with, you know, go to they're going from high schools to the elementary schools and I know we're try been trying I think to encourage some of those individuals and I don't know if there's like kind of a through line there. Yes. So, thank you for bringing that up. Um we have worked closely um with Toby Pace and the sort of teach internship summer opportunity um and are working to expand um our partnership. We do
033typically participate in their uh midpoint and year-end summits where we uh present to the students, talk to them about their experiences and connect with them um through Teachle Lead using Teach Navigator. Trusty Hazen and then Trusty Websp. Thank you. Uh I think really exciting to hear about the work you're leading. Um something that comes to mind and maybe it's just because we had very recently been talking about wellness and wellness index and and framework. Um, but I think as you describe um what the research tells us and and what our students tell us about teacher representation um I'm wondering and maybe it's already in there um but if we can build in um an item around teacher representation into the wellness index um right understanding um right do students have a teacher um who represents
034them who they can see themselves in. I don't know. I mean, whatever the language is, but I think understanding that and understanding how um that contributes to wellness, I think would be really insightful um and helpful potentially in finding additional funding around this work, right? To be able to quantify the difference it makes for kids because we know it's so important. Um I'm also wondering um in terms of the residency program, just a clarifying question, are we guaranteeing jobs to all of our residents? Is that part of the program? And might that be a barrier if we're not? So our in our intention with the residency program is truly to grow our own educators and to hire the residents upon successful completion of their program into vacancies. So uh that is the process that we
035are working through right now. It is the first time um that we've done this specific type of process and as I mentioned earlier kind of matching our timelines and our pathways is something that's emerged that we really need to look at. Um again these candidates um are eligible to start applying as early as January because they can get a letter from the university saying they'll have their they should have their credential by May assuming they meet these requirements. Right? So you have that sort of timeline and then you also have our own um uh sort of hiring processes that we've traditionally um implemented. So we have an opportunity here to refine those so that we're aligning those timelines better. Good. And then just quickly um around expanding the residency program and and funding are is
036there funding built in to to expand it or are we looking for dollars to do that? So, I'm going to say yes to both. And um relative to that, I know on the slide I um referenced $3.2 million, but that's with this year's current residency funding. What's happened as of late um and you probably recall from a couple of board meetings ago, is that we've received the total um grant award of $9.6 million. So, and the timeline for utilizing those funds has been extended to 2031. Previously, it was 2028. We're excited with 2031. And that also gives us the opportunity to explore registered teacher apprenticeship because that's what um many of the districts that have robust residency programs are moving towards because that's another source of funding. The challenge is it does not fund the
037apprenticeship money in my understanding does not potent or does not specifically fund salaries. So we would still have to figure out how are we funding that beyond 2031. Thank you. Can I just thank you very much. We we'll have to bring this back for discussion because we're looking I just have to say this one thing. 20 minutes. This one thing. They're all mine. Yes. Thank you all for that. And uh I'll just leave it there. They're all my students. Okay. Man, Crawford and Freeze. I love it. Keep it up. Okay. And their teachers are outside the lawn. So, we're going to move this thing forward. Um thank you so much, Kimberly. We appreciate it. Uh we are now going to move um to our to D2, a report from our exemplary teacher advisory group, which
038is very appropriate for this evening. is composed of former teachers of the year and the topic is a restorative approach to social emotional learning to improve wellness and learning outcomes. Welcome. Good afternoon. On behalf of the exemplary teacher advisory committee, EAC, thank you for the opportunity to speak today. My name is Jennifer Nanini and I am the chair of this amazing group of educators. EAC is a voluntary group composed of San Diego and county and state teachers of the year. Dedicated educators who bring both classroom experience and a deep passion for student centered change. Our mission is simple yet powerful. To make what happens in the classroom better, safer, happier, and more inspiring for students so they in turn can thrive and uplift their communities. This year, we are so proud to share several accomplishments
039that reflect our commitment to that mission. We've conducted and analyzed field research and survey data directly from classrooms all across the district. We have met with three California assembly members to stress the importance of fully funding restorative justice practices. Our council authored op-eds, participated in D district budget meetings, and have a podcast launch on the horizon to keep these conversations growing and going. We began focused work on teacher mentorship with wonderful district leaders, a strategy we believe is key to retaining, supporting, and developing the next generation of ethical student- centered educators. We collaborated with district leaders also to identify, analyze, and recommend strategic funding priorities to strengthen restorative practices and teacher mentorships in our schools. None of this would be possible without the unwavering support of this board and our interim superintendent, Dr. Beua. Our
040partnership, your partnership, reinforces the value of teacher voice and leadership in shaping policy and practice that daily impact our students daytoday lives. Thank you for continuing to believe in and elevate the voices of teachers who are doing this work from the inside out. We're excited for what's ahead and grateful to be in this work together. Hello everyone. I'm Renee Thomas and I want to give you a little more background. Liam Samic and myself in addition to being ETAC members, we're also restorative community leads for our school site and we've had the opportunity to collaborate with SDEA and also um we attend the monthly PDS and had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Michelle Ferrer and collaborating with her as well and that those monthly trainings have made it possible for us to do this work. So
041in our presentation we're going to talk about um how restorative practices benefits all students. Um, you will see student feedback commentary throughout the slides and also how addressing SEAL needs through restorative practices can also translate to better learning outcomes. So studies have shown that black students, other students of color, students with disabilities, foster youth, and students who are part of the LGBTQ community are suspended and expelled at higher rates than their affluent non-disabled white counterparts for similar behaviors. We know that the law SB274 has uh was implemented to address these inequities and it prohibits suspensions and expulsions for willful defiance and minor disruptions. Um we also found that our white students benefit just as much for from these practices as the other student cohorts mentioned. They often request restorative interventions when they need emotional support
042and assistance with conflict resolution as well as other things. Here's a survey of 97 middle school students who were asked to provide written feedback on their experience being in a restorative classroom versus a non-restorative one. And all students but four had an overwhelmingly positive response to um that experience. The remaining four had good things to say about restorative practices, but there was a butt. The some incident occurred that they held on to that they perceived to have damaged the relationship in some way. Community circles are a part of R.J. as well. And some of the benefits are that teachers can build relationships with their students, students with students, and create a family culture in the classroom as well as a sense of belonging and safety. And restorative community leads have several duties, some of those
043being conducting community circles. But restorative community leads can also provide teachers and support staff with restorative strategies to help students with social and academic development. I myself have have currently taken on the duty of training my colleagues to conduct academic circles and that has only been possible because of those monthly PDs and getting the support and guidance from Dr. Ferrer. In the upper left corner, this a calming center in a classroom um to provide for emotional support and the other two pictures are um student training at their middle school with the national conflict resolution center. Academic circles can translate to better learning outcomes. Deeper learning comes from taking risks and we know students will take more risks when they feel safe. Maslo helps students bloom. So we know we need to provide for students basic
044needs first which include um belonging and safety in order to help students bloom with Bloom's taxonomy. Um as you can see there are two student quotes as well with their experience and in the upper left upper right corner is an academic circle for math. Other um benefits are increase in participation and engagement and also the ability to increase metacognition through authentic dialogue. This aligns with Po Fer's dialogue method um where he states that the banking model is not productive. It's it stifles critical thinking because students are just sitting passively while the teacher deposits information. Academic circles do the opposite. They enhance critical thinking and problem solving. and Pablo Fra's principle of love and R.J. share a commitment to the humanization and the well-being of others. In this upper right corner, this is a u an
045academic circle for US history and below are the questions they used in their circle which demonstrate how restorative practices can be um intertwined into the curriculum. One is asking how students connect the content to their personal experience and the other is asking how they connect that to their outside world. Again, here are other pictures of students engaged in academic circles. Yeah. And due to the SER, we're going to see an influx of brand new teachers the district hasn't seen in a long time. So, why not start the vision for 2030 in our education edi educator profile, training emotionally intelligent educators. It's going to build our strong classroom communities where new teachers are learning classroom management skills that are teaching social skills like in the real world and repairing relationships. Um, we know forced compliance doesn't
046work and it's going to help our new teachers get in the direction and the foundation of our district's restorative discipline policy um that replaced our uniform discipline plan. Yeah. And then these are just some quotes that um the kids have felt doing R.J. in the classes. And it's just really created a positive school culture and environment where the these amazing R.J. leads have really implemented it throughout the sites. So five years of funding RCL's will provide schools with sustainable plans to implement restorative practices with fidelity. It will allow the restorative practice work to show indicators that align to learning outcomes. Continuing funding will allow the foundation of work to continue and grow, transforming and strengthening relationships, student performance, and social emotional well-being. Next slide, please. Restorative practices aligns with the 2025 2026 LCAP goal number
047one, fostering student wellness. Restorative practices can be found under the topic of reducing suspensions and expulsions for schools. R.J. is also in this year's 2024 2025 LCAP goal strengthening social emotional development. Community leaders are tasked to help nurture these goals and make them possible through the SPS at site levels. Uh in my capacity as a uh EdSource advisory committee member, I've known for some time that San Diego Unified leads the way when it comes to many initiatives that I care deeply about from ethnic studies to middle school sports. But uh now I know through the work of our council here that the commitment is there to understand and implement restorative practices in a way that works for our district. It really gives me great pleasure and I think I speak on behalf of all of
048us with uh EET Tech here um to work alongside you and to know the commitment that you as leaders here in our our district have for students and the way that uh we want them to empower themselves and not just to obey. And so we really thank you. We really appreciate working alongside you all year. It's meant a lot to us. Uh we'd love to answer any questions that you may have at this time. We'd love to ask them. Yes, I am a question commasar but um we we really would like to circle back on this. I we unfortunately have a time certain uh program here but um so if I can just say on behalf of all my board members I I happen to be in one of your meetings and it was very
049cool to be in it and I would encourage us all to to to pick a pick a date and and share it with you. So thank you so much for all you're doing. We did have one speaker on this item. Oh, we have a one speaker. Okay. Monnique Barrett. Can I just request that those get put on our calendar, their meetings, because Yeah. Thank you. You have three minutes, Marty. I I know I got to be out there, too. Um, I'm standing here to support these folks as SDA's vice president and R.J. supporter. In SDS, in SDUSD's landscape, restorative cluster leads hold the transformative power to create a socially and racially just environment impacting students from elementary through high school by integrating restorative practices, family engagement, and community resources. RCL's can dismantle the school to
050prison pipeline and foster an inclusive, supportive atmosphere for all students. They do this by restorative practices focus on building relationships and addressing conflicts through dialogue rather than punishment. By implementing these practices, RCL's can create safe spaces where students learn to express their feelings, understand the consequences of their actions, and take responsibility for their behavior. This shift from punitive measures to restorative approaches not only reduces suspensions and expulsions, but also fosters empathy and accountability among students. Family engagement is a crucial is crucial in this process. RCL's can invite families into the classroom, encouraging them to participate in activities and discussions. By maintaining open lines of communication, educators empower families to support their children's learning and promote restorative values at home. This partnership strengthens community ties, ensuring that all voices are heard and valued. Community schools serves
051as essential hubs for holistic support, providing access to academic, social, and health resources. RCL's can collaborate with community organizations to connect families with services they need. This approach addresses the barriers that marginalized students often face, ensuring they have the resources necessary to thrive. As educators, their role is not limited to delivering content. There are also advocates for social justice. In elementary schools, teachers can lay the foundation for empathy and understanding. In middle schools, they can facilitate open discussions about identity and culture. High school educators can encourage critical thinking and advocacy, empowering students to confront social issues head-on. Ultimately, the power of RCL's lies in their ability to lead with empathy and understanding, moving beyond in the box programs to create dynamic, responsive learning environments by embracing its restorative practices, engaging families, and utilizing community resources.
052RCL's can foster a culturally responsive and equitable educational experience for all students. In doing so, they not only support individual success, student success, but also strengthen the entire community, paving the way for a brighter future. Through dedication and collaborative efforts, RCL's can ensure that every student has the opportunity to thrive academically, socially, and emotionally. Our district must really invest in restorative practices through our RCL's because it works instead of just checking boxes. You guys are packing the audience now. But we we a I'm kidding. But we agree with everything Monique just said. I'm sure she speaks for all of us. Thank you so much all of you. I see you. Do you have anything you want to say? No. Okay. With that, we are about to uh move to our moving ceremony out on the
053lawn. I'm going to join this thing and we invite you to join us on the lawn for a special program recognizing teachers of the year. The next regular meeting will be held on May 13, 2025. Thank you so much.