001So I am uh going to call the committee of the whole meeting um of the board of education graten board of education to order. Um it is 6:01 um and it's June 20th. Welcome everyone. Welcome everyone. Um the first uh agenda item is the um approval of the committee of the meeting minutes um uh for May 16, 2022. Um I will entertain a motion. >> I'll I'll move that. >> Okay. Can I have a second, please? >> Second. >> Okay. Um any discussion? All right. Hearing no discussion, all those in favor of the passing of the uh the committee of the whole uh meeting minutes on May 16th at um please say I >> I >> oppose abstain. That motion has carried. >> All right. So the next agenda item. Hi Bev. So the next
002um agenda item is the discussion of the board members replacement process. Um, so this is actually really our first meeting that we have had um since um we've had an opening um uh where we could have put it on the agenda where um where we had an opening for the the board placement and I'm coit of the fact that we have three people who have um uh put in their um application and their desire to um uh be considered for that uh for that vacancy. Um I know that in hearing from other people um and in also hearing from myself or talking to myself which I do quite frequently is the concept of is there people that we know that we know of or are there ways that we can kind of identify emerging leaders?
003um whether it's parents within the school system, whether it's people who are um interested in doing some things around town but are a little bit um intimidated by the election process. Um but that it would give them two years um to kind of get to get the knowledge of what's happening on the board. Um uh excuse me. um to get to get working knowledge of the board and the the potential of continuously servicing the town. And so um that's sort of what where I am coming from. And I'm just interested to hear about what the process or excuse me, I'm just really interested to hear about um what um other members are thinking or feeling on this. Um so I'll I'll open it there. DNA. Yeah. >> Yeah. Sorry. I I'm looking for the button
004to do this, but I'm going to do it for real. Um my first question is has the DTC made a recommendation? >> No, actually. Um I've had no communication with um the Democratic town um committee. Um I I also haven't pursued it because once again it even though it seems like it's been such a long time and there's been so many things that have happened. Um we are really only one meeting cycle out of um since um we had the resignation on the board. Um, but that's not the I mean it just according to the policy um that we have and then also when I was looking at the Connecticut General Regs, it really just has to be someone from the party of the vacancy. Um but that is really the guidelines that we have.
005>> It's just traditionally it's been courtesy just didn't know whether we had anybody that they thrown up. >> They don't have to join. >> Kim, can I jump in real quick because I'm on the u the Democrat Town Committee. >> Absolutely, Beverly. Okay. Um they will not they are not going to make a formal recommendation. They have just advised people to send their applications directly to the board of education >> in which in which three people have done that. So, we do have three people, but once again, um I am just wondering if there are other other ways or other other um other people that we can also kind of consider because once again, I feel like this is such a great way of getting people um to kind of test their wa the waters
006of being involved in the community. Um and so I'm I'll recognize Andrea and then I'm going to recognize Beverly. >> Maybe I'm just um you know, unclear. I'm unclear actually on what you're asking for. Are you asking for actual names? Right now, >> I'm asking for the board to identify the process. Um, if they if they have names and they prefer not to throw it um on on there, they can they they can kind of they can they can contact me and I'd be more than happy to have them put together their resume um and we can then interview. I am just really looking for the process um uh that the board would like to pursue. I'm going to recognize Beverly and then Rita. >> Thank you, Kim. Um have we put out on our
007website or in the news on the grant times or any place else that we're looking for a candidate to fill that vacancy? I really we haven't because once again I really wanted to we didn't have a process in place and the policy is kind of vague around that. So I wanted to kind of just get us all together and if that's how we want to pursue it then let's let's do that. Um once again I'm just looking for some ideas around process. >> Well those would be um a couple of my ideas >> and they're very good ideas. Thank you, Rita. >> So, Rita, I just want to let you know my right now what we're experiencing is that we see that your hand is up, but if you're talking, we are not able to
008hear you. What are what are people's sense of um Beverly's uh recommendation, which is to kind of put it on the our our district um Facebook page, web page um and just make like a formal announcement like in a newspaper, Graten Times or something. Well, usually the process is passive. Names come to the board, >> right? >> And the board considers the names. So, what you're proposing, I think, is an active process. And what Beth has suggested would be part of the active process, which is to reach out instead of waiting. So, I don't know if we're going to be active, then let's be active through channel. >> Okay. Dean, thank you for um sort of maybe um stating the obvious, but it's but it really is it's the difference between whether we are letting
009people just come to us or are we actually sort of being actively involved. And and once again, I just feel like and this has nothing to do against or for the candidates that have put their names forward. It's just about looking at the golden opportunity um to seeing if there are people that we could begin to get interested um in community involvement. And um this feels like a a nice safe way to do that. Matthew, thank you. Kim uh it was a couple of months ago and I think the topic was um DEI and board functioning and I'd suggested that if we are interested if we are interested I hope we are in having a representative board a more representative board in terms of the community makeup that we might consider some way to have
010what I call the farm club and try to interest people in possibly uh getting their feet wet and becoming familiar with the board. So, I personally endorse making this an active process. There may well be some very fine candidates out there who are not linked to the Democratic Party uh in any official context uh who may not have heard of the vacancy and I think it would be great to uh to advertise it. Secondly, I hope that when we have the interview process and we're a small enough group, we're under 10 people that the interview process be a committee of the whole that all all of us participate in the interview process. And thirdly, for you know, if we have three candidates or more candidates, they're not all going to fill the one seat. And
011that we encourage anybody who applied and goes through the process to figure out we figure out our own process first as we have student observers maybe people who are perhaps be interested in future board service be they Democrats or Republicans or independents we begin to think about how we can structure that. Thank you. I'm also wondering is there any value to seeing if the principles have identified some um parents that are really active within the school community that um that may be interested um in this in in this process. Well, I guess if the process was more active, we could certainly get the word out there through the PTO's and that kind of thing. >> Yep. >> Oh, Beverly, I'm sorry. >> That's okay, Kim. I just want to ditto what you said before about
012not being unhappy with any of the candidates. I'm very happy with all the three candidates. Um, but I think that, um, we could reach out and see who else is out there, like you said, that might not know that we're looking for a, uh, additional member. So, I just wanted to say that. >> Absolutely. Absolutely. Um, so, and then I I'm also thinking too, and this is part of the process, um, is we should probably have a beginning, middle, and end like when do we sort of like when do we stop our active phase? when do we feel like we are going to be interviewing candidates um and then voting them in? Because the other part to this vacancy is is that we also are going to need to also vote on a vice chair
013um that the person's not automatically going to go into a vice chair um position. We're going to we also need to kind of be thinking about that. So, um I I'm I'm going to ask the board, do you have a sense about when um if if if we started tomorrow um where we asked the um we asked the school district to um place both on Facebook and on um um on the web page um as one as as the first step of that. Um, and um, and I think Beverly, you talked about the Grten Times. Um, and if we asked if the principles had any um, thought process about a a parent specifically that um, is once again an emergent leader. I'm I'm I just feel that it's just it could be a great time
014for us to um Matthew to to use your words not as eloquently but to really fulfill our DEI mission um to um and and to really cultivate um new blood um within the within the party system but with also um more importantly with the board of ed. So, what are we thinking about terms of time frame? >> Well, believe it or not, July is around the corner. >> Yeah, Beverly. Um it's it's unfortunate that this is at the end of the school year and we cannot use any of the school resources to um find a to help us advertise for a candidate like putting it on the school web page or I don't know if the schools still have newsletters. They probably don't do that anymore but um I don't know. I I would probably
015think about September. Um, so Beverly, you're talking about that we would have a a new city board member by in September >> or start or start um interviewing in September. >> We have a lot of our systems in place throughout the summer. So I, you know, we have resources and communications going on all summer long. So that can happen. But I agree, Beverly, that our goal would be to have someone I think by September, but I think certainly in July can be a very productive month to get the word out. Matthew. >> So, following on Susan, if we were to say that we would uh be open to receive applications and letters of motivation until July X, 31st, whatever date we picked, that we would do our u interviews in the month of August uh
016and have somebody appointed to take office by the 1 of September. Is that what I'm hearing you say? >> I I think that's very possible. What are you thinking, Kim? My concern is is if the board um has time it's a it's a slower time period um for the board um but it's also a very active time period for the board because we have the board self that we're going to need to do sooner than later. We have the evaluation for the superintendent um that needs to happen. it it the summer is also a really good time for us to do some minor retreat. I think that bless you. I think that we could um um combine some of these things. So, it's not like every night of the week or it's not every week,
017but I I I do know that we have lots of other things besides just what kind of hits on the agenda. Not saying it it's bam bam bam, but I just am I'm I'm I want to make sure that we are thoughtful about the process. Beverly, you've been help this helps me a lot to hear about September. And so maybe it's the month maybe it's the month of September, we finish up any interviewing that we haven't done in August, guys. Um and then and then by a uh a board a board meeting, which would be the end of the month, is when we have our regular board meetings, we could vote for that person. It gives them three months to get really kind of um inundated with um board beginning of school year stuff, but
018then they'll have three months before they have to go into the budget season. Is that palatable? >> Sounds good to me, Kim. >> Okay. It is unfortunately a downtime. Um, I like to think that the really active parents are active 12 months out of the year, but even for them, this is a downtime and they may not be looking um an opportunity may not occur to them. Is other than PTO's? I mean, do we do we have a does the school district have a set of emails? So notwithstanding that they may parents may not be checking the website, the district could the board could reach out using uh email address. >> We have school messenger. We have school messenger that you know we'll be sending out over the summer even with summer camps and things
019that are involving families. Um, sometimes parents are real responsive to that and get those and sometimes, you know, depending on how they have it set up, they might not be as much in the summer. Matthew, >> there's going to be of course be because of the rules as I've understood you say them Kim that this needs to be somebody who is a Democrat whether or not because the the replacement successor not as not a replacement for Katrina the successor to Katrina uh needs to come from the Democratic party that needs to be explained in our communications so that we don't have angry people people will waste their time. >> Yes, it is in our policy um 9221 um and and and absolutely um I can try to word smmith something um together. Is there a
020timeline that we want to give people that that that after a certain time period um because I also want to be sensitive to the fact that we do have three people who have um put in their application. Um I um but is there a is there a a a date where we say um up until blank um the board of education would receive um inquiries? >> Are we able to do interviews in the end of July and August? Will we have enough people here as board members to do these interviews? I think uh Matthew we would have better luck towards the end of August, September would be my guess. >> Okay. So maybe the end of July and give people a full month. >> Uh there's also something called the uh Grten. I'm not sure
021it's full month. It's called the Mom's Club. It covers Graten, Stonington, and Ledger, but there are a lot of Graten moms in that. And they tend to be pretty active people. that could also be a a uh place to communicate with. There's also that [Music] I don't like hearing my voice once. I can't imagine like how awful that was for you guys to hear my voice twice and echoey. I I think someone I think actually Rita is trying very desperately to try to get on because I recognized her number. Um and I think that that's what happened. Can I um I I I this is let me let me just make sure that I hear what um what people are saying is that yes, we would like to be able to sort of cast net
022that's a little bit wider than what we have that we have done to see if we can um find emerging leaders. Um I let me think about all the different places not to exclude the website Facebook um paper. Um uh Matthew, you you've mentioned um the mom's club and then there's also the community graten community forum. How about if I kind of put this all together and I send out an um an email to all of you to to state what I think is the process with um and uh Matthew, I hear the end of July. I just think once again summer is at such a downtime. I don't I I um I'm nervous about that, but maybe that's just me and someone else can kind of >> Whatever you want. Whatever you want. >>
023No, that's No, that's fine. I just I I I I don't want anything. I want I want a discussion. Um um so um if if that seems like that makes sense um maybe mid August and once again I'll come up with a couple of dates um and then people can kind of say yay or nay. Does that sound like that's fair? >> Sounds fine. That that sounds fair. >> Okay. So um I will I will put some thought to that and send that off to you. Thank you very much for your um thoughts about that. Um, and uh, yeah, I I'm I'm uh I'm proud I'm actually proud of this board thinking about how to how to how to find emerging leaders. And I think it's a I think it's a good thing. Um, so
024the next the next one, Susan, um, is expanding access to the IB and I believe there's attachment two. >> Yeah. And I can Do you want me to pull it up so I can speak to it? I've got um Principal Keller her here and I just need to know if I can share the document. Looks like I can. Can you see it? >> Yes. >> So, this was when I first looked at the PowerPoint, I was like, "Why does Susan have Christmas lights?" >> Well, those are light bulbs. We're turning on lights. >> I know. I know. Sorry. >> That's all right. That's all right. I just want to say to you that we get um from this Connecticut State Department of Education uh newsletter on performance matters with a lot. It's chalk full of
025information and there's a whole page that they're recognizing the four districts which I wrote about in board notes who talked about expanding their higher level courses. And while our focus was IB, we also certainly talked about the others ECE um AP, we have a a whole group of teachers who are getting through the NIMs, National Math Science Institute, specialized training in AP courses in every area in STEM and ELA and in humanities. So, I'm so proud of them and they actually get a stipen for it through this Department of Defense group that has done that. And we've really done an enormous job providing professional learning for all of our teachers, but our AP teachers really haven't had as much as they could use. And I think this is a good time to provide for them.
026And so but our focus here for this one the state department request was that we talked about international balaria. So Ted are you here with me? >> I am. >> So we started out with just a little bit about who we are. you know, that community nestled between those two beautiful rivers and being, you know, really mindful that we serve our, you know, the most military children in the state. And we talked about our graten 2020, which was excellence, equity, and efficiency. We gave them some data to look at. We're this beautifully diverse community almost perfect 5050 present and um you know at all of my um wonderful awards assemblies and our promotion ceremonies and graduation you just have to look out into those that beautiful audience of our students and see how lucky we
027are. So this basically shows you that we have about 50% of the students white and then a variety of students um from all different um races um that make up the students of color. So um you know there were there's always been some misconceptions about international balarat being elitist and since Mike Grineer and I came on board we really wanted all students to know that this could be a program for them and it's a certainly a great foundation that many students who've been either taking IB courses or combination of AP, IB or ECE when they go off to college or career, they feel like they're kind of readied because they've had this more rigorous and relevant education and they can write and they can speak and they can stand up for what they want to
028say and you know argue you debate, all those great things that you know are kind of required in real life. So, um we just really want to ready our students for the future and we want all kids to have access to all of these things. Um so, Ted, you might want to start here with what you and I have heard from the students and Cara has heard. You know, Dr. G and I heard through more than words and I think you were with us that last time and you heard the same thing and Carmina's heard from the kids. Why don't more kids who look like me take these courses that I'm taking? So, do you want to chime in here? >> Yeah, absolutely. I I think that, you know, we we've we've spoken with kids
029and and uh you know, one of the things that you're going to find in in this whole presentation and and in the conversations I've had with Kelly going forward is that we've got to get our kids to start uh number one wanting to be in the program, but we also want our kids to to talk about the benefits of the program. And I think you're going to see that as a common theme going through is that really the plan moving forward and you know obviously I talked to the board earlier this year about increasing the numbers in all of these courses. really start to get the kids talking about the benefits because, you know, the adults talk about it and, you know, the kids say, "Okay, yeah, sure." But when kids talk about it and
030say that this is such a great program for them, um that the uh uh you know, we want to make sure that um they they hear from their peers and and I think that um again, it's it's it's one of those things where perception becomes reality, just as Susan is saying here, is that, you know, the kids feel like, well, this is an elitist program. this is only for these particular kids and that um the kids that are going to be in classes and if you know if I'm uh you know a student of color then then I'm not going to see students like me in those courses and and you know we want to get away from that and say you know no we want to open this up for you know students that
031really can benefit from these courses and and should challenge themselves in these in these particular courses. So, you know, I think that u you know, as again as Susan moves forward with the presentation, you'll see that we we want the kids starting to talk about this. We want to start having those those conversations and um you know, the the students feeling like, well, I'm not prepared to take those courses. Um well, yes, you are. you know, they you we you when we're targeting the students and saying that you can do these things and and that yeah, okay, maybe maybe this is going to be a step up for you, but we're going to give you the support to help you with that. And I think that's the that the big thing is that students feel
032like, well, you're just an IB and that's, you know, you're you can do it by yourself now. Well, no, they they need that. They need some support and they need to have some uh to work with them because it can be a very challenging program. and um and uh even when students are just deciding to do the full diploma or they're deciding to maybe take some IB courses, you know, they want to make sure that they have that support. So um yeah, we want to you know uh kind of fight these misconceptions that this is an elite this is only for certain kids that this is something where not every kid can be successful in this that you know we especially now that we're we're working through the my students should be more prepared for
033these courses and be well versed and be able to do these courses. So, I think that that's something that uh that and I have had some conversations with and again, you'll see that as Susan goes through the presentation here. You'll see more of that uh that theme going through. >> And we're really pleased that we have so many different options for kids. They can take some IB courses with AP courses. they can take ECE and we're even looking to find those Yukon, you know, to find out where Yukon matches up with both AP and IB so that they might be able to get Yukon credit on top of getting a certificate or an or an AP exam at a 3 to five, so it counts. So, and I think that you're you know what was
034key for me was that when kids express themselves to Dr. G and to me and to Cara, we asked them what do they think would work? How do we get the word out? And they wanted to be part of the solution. They wanted to go into CTLs and they actually mapped out a plan to let their friends know that this is really available to them and the benefits of it and they wanted to see a more diverse group of students taking advantage of these offerings. So, I couldn't be more proud of our students and that activism and that sharing their voice is so important. So, one of the things they were saying to us at the end of the IB at the little ceremony was this is more than filling in dots on an on
035a multiplechoice test. This is taking my voice, using it, calling to action, you know, being able to write and read and research and do something with my knowledge. So, that to me was really what it's all about. I would like every student who comes through our doors in our school to feel that way at the end um when they're ready to launch, lift off, as I said. So, um, as you know, um, Ted worked with, you know, central office. He worked with the team, his team, and they came up with a plan, and he said, "It's going to be a starting board, but we're going to get better at this as we go along." And we actually did a very fine job when we looked at the enrollment numbers. In some cases, they doubled in
036different classes. And so we we really increased our numbers and we increased our diversity in, you know, all areas including IB. But we do believe that the my for all kids 6 through 10 is a huge component of this that they're used to. This is the level of work they all are expected to do. And you know the plan is a lot of communication and we have bigger plans for next year communicating with families and kids starting when they come to school you know in August for orientations in September to really identifying and letting them know the career pathways the opportunities are amazing and we do have a career counselor with Chelsea Courtrite who's really on top of this and really she's already worked with some of our kids in fifth grade. she's worked with
037some of the children who are in the Apex program and helped them. So, she's already been um really excited to work with kids. And of course, the grants that support this work are important. Um and then, you know, we our teachers building relationships with kids and every student having someone who's a go-to person and a counselor that they can really talk to about this is most important. the access for algebra. We don't want algebra algebra to be a gatekeeper. I want all kids to have that experience and be algebra ready. Um and so we're we're doing all kinds of programs around that. Um even our dream box has an algebra readiness component to it that we want all kids to experience and we don't want anything to hold them back. And I guess this is
038just a statement about IB and the IB programs and how they enable teachers to develop resilient, self-motivated young people. I don't know if it's only the teachers, it's teachers, parents, and the kids themselves um who who find this in them. And you know the major components for IBM my CP um is really that inquirybased approach that real world application the research and development a lot of writing a lot of reading so it's important that kids have those basic skills early on and I've said it starts in prek and we need to have the strongest programs we can for all of our children as they come to school and then there's the CP P program. And I'm going to talk about this a little bit more, but the careers program is is really all ready to
039lift off as well. And Ted and I can give you more information about that in just a minute. Um but at this point if anybody has any questions related to IB and these were a couple of the questions that the audience asked and we were able to answer about really how ready kids are for coursework in college career. There are I've said this before that um a lot of the industry around us including electric boat. They're taking kids right out of high school who've had some experiences and they're giving them amazing training and they can come out with an associates degree paid for by the company or more. So, a lot of our students are finding other creative ways to get that education without going into a lot of debt. So, um there's I just
040want all kids to have access to whatever they want to do. So, >> could I also add that, you know, I think that um you know, I spoke to the board earlier this this school year about some of the things we did uh started with to to increase IB, but I think that, you know, Kelly's really working on um increasing uh the communication with parents and as I said before, you know, hosting things like student panels or that students can actually I'm sorry, the phone's ringing here, but the uh um the uh that we can have a student panel where parents can come in and listen to students about their experiences with IB and why it's benefited them to be part of this particular program. Um because again, you know, if again we anytime you
041talk to these kids >> uh about their experiences, they're the the best sellers of this program that they're going to do better than any anyone that we can. And and uh so I think that um that's a really a benefit to us to be able to do uh things like that. Um we're going to be starting right from um you know and uh and havingformational sessions for our students during the open house as well. Um and then um you know trying to have uh excuse me uh information for our parents for during open house during conferences. Uh same thing um and then when students are looking at this you know being able to talk to students that we have in the programs right now and alumni we're looking to bring in to talk about their
042benefits in this particular program. So, I think that um you know, it's really about uh just educating people about this program. Uh I keep saying it that you know, almost everyone that went to high school had AP in their high school. So, most most people understand AP pretty well. Very few people went through a high school that had IB. And so, it's it's oftentimes, I think, what we're battling against is the fact not knowing and and not really understanding. And so, we got to build that uh with our families. And I think the best way to do that is through the the students that are actually in that program, you know, knee deep in the program. So, um I think that that's uh that's going to be a big part of it. I think uh
043you know, again, the plan that Kelly has put together and we've really mapped out uh month by month what we want to do, I think is really going to benefit us going forward. I think we taken a nice first step in increasing uh those those numbers. But as I said to the board, uh this is a really I I look at this as a a a solid three-year program progress that we need to make to really get these where they need to be. And uh good good start, but uh that was really a crash program to get it started. And I think that um as we build some of these these regular events in, I think it's really going to start benefiting us going forward. >> Okay. Thank you, Ted. Anyone with questions? I see
044Beverly has her hand up. Thank you. Um, again, I hope that since we are encouraging all students to go into this IB program that we are definitely getting giving them the support that they might need or going to need because I would hate to I I I don't I don't want to feel like we're just trying to get these kids into this IB program uh to get our numbers up because our numbers are low in that program and because of that we might do away with some of the classes or and that we need to get more diversity in those programs. I I'm hoping that our heart is really in in this for the right reason and that we really want the students to do well and saying that that we are going to give
045all the students the support that they need. I couldn't agree with you more, Beverly. And I think because we've had this opportunity to really implement my middle years program in the middle school and in grades nine and 10, we've seen how successful all of our students have been with it. And a lot of it is dependent on very good collaborative planning from our teachers and really some interdisciplinary connections so it makes sense to kids. um and finding things that they're really passionate about, you know, uh that they want to work on. So, there's some choice in there and there's some independent study and projects that they can work on that they really care about, you know, community projects and that kind of thing. So, um knowing that you're right, we need to support them. They
046may take a a few different kinds of courses, IBAP, ECE, they might take um, you know, an IB diploma, but whatever. And the careers pathway, whatever they choose, we hope that they'll be able to really h it'll help them into their future work, finding out what they love to do, what they're passionate about, and what they're good at. >> The more opportunities for that, the better in school. And my other thought Susan is u when I read on the page so why IB >> and it says balance and inquirybased approach to learning I think all students should have that not just IB program >> right >> reflects real world application and skills all students should be having that not just IB students and and student to succeed in college and beyond all students should have
047that so this page here should be for all students not just IB students >> well I think that's what IB the actual international balorate program um advertises but we certainly have all of our students doing that with my courses in ECE and IB and AP and even our honors courses and college courses that also do all of those things. So you're right, it's not just limited to IB for sure. And I'd just like to mention Beverly in terms of your first uh comment in regard to the support um you know it's you're absolutely right um 100% agree u the uh the fact of the matter is is that we can if we don't give the proper support to the students that are going into this program they won't last in the program. So it will
048be ultimately unsuccessful for us to increase the numbers without offering that support because uh the students simply uh you know would not be able to complete the program. It's a very very difficult program. It's it's it should be it's it's a challenging program. Um but we want to give those students support so they'll stay in the program and go through the entire program and ultimately succeed and it's going to benefit them going forward. And um you know it starts with the IB coordinator and and the TOP classes that they're working in and then we want to make sure that we're in supports through through other uh aspects as well. So I think it's it's something you're absolutely right. If we don't have that support then if they don't have that kind of one-on-one support that
049it's it's not going to be successful going forward. So you're absolutely correct. >> I would have to say too, one of the big benefits I see for kids is that peer collaboration that they do team up and sometimes students can learn from one another better than anybody. I remember even going off to college and feeling like, you know, that was kind of a life preserver. Of course, we would have to go to the professor every now and again for some a little extra help. I was a math major on the side, but I think my think tanks and my peers was a great way to learn. And you see a lot of that at the middle school and high school, that collaborative work between the peers with really structured conferencing and teaching from the teacher.
050>> Well, thank you for working so hard on making this work. Thank you. >> I'm I'm I'm determined. >> I am determined. I'm going to recognize um Andrea and Rita, please. >> In that order. Okay. Thank you. I have two questions about what I'm looking at on the page that says what students say. And the first thing is uh what are the numbers? How did the numbers have they gone up or or have they gone down in membership in IB? So, I would say over um the pandemic we saw the numbers starting to go down and I don't know if that was just because maybe there wasn't as much support, you know, people we were out remotely, we were doing hybrid, but we did see that um in the next full diploma program that has
051jumped back up to the numbers prior to COVID. So, it really did double the number. >> Thank you. My second question is as I look at the what the the students say, it it says that they're influenced by their teachers and counselors. And that really is of concern to me. You know, I would never want uh anybody to say, well, you know, I don't know if you really do this. You know, what do they mean when they said they were influenced by teachers and counselors? I I think the I think the real message was they're influenced by the adults in their life. Okay. So, I know they said that parents definitely could encourage kids. Teachers that they cared about that look they look to as mentors and counselors that they go to are really instrumental
052in encouraging kids. People that they have a relationship with. Not just any anybody, but people that they have built relationships with can encourage them and you know and let them know that they can do it and they believe them. >> We all of us should be saying that. >> We should all we all have to believe that. >> I know. >> You're right. You're right. >> Okay, that's that's all I have to say, Rita. So, Rita, if you're talking, we not hearing you. >> Can she put it in the chat box? Maybe >> she is I I believe she's not at home and she knew that cell phone um service was not going to be good. So, I'm just really appreciative that she is here. We I also am wondering if you muted your screen
053but then you went on to your cell phone whether we would then not get the echoing. I am no tech person by any stretch of the imagination. Susan, while we're while we're contemplating this, um would you be willing to offer us the numbers or or you or Ted about about the increase? You mentioned at the beginning, um is that they've expanded or they you know there's some that have I think that that that's a nice context for people um to have. >> I think Rita is um Hi, Rita. Yeah, >> I'm sorry. Kim, could you repeat your question? I I you were breaking up on me there a little bit. Um so the question that I had was um when Susan was giving the original part of her of of her present of the presentation
054she did mention that there was an in expansion or increase in participation in the IB programs and and I just would be kind of cool to kind of hear what the numbers were. I understand >> Kim can you hear me yet? Kim, can you >> I can >> Can I just say something? I keep hearing all these beeps. Um, yes. I I really would like to not see this expanding access to IB courses. It should be IB, AP, ECSE. I It just was very upsetting to see the focus only on ID. >> Can I just tell you, Rita, this was a presentation that we gave to the state department of ed. They know the idea >> the others have done the others but we have expanded numbers >> but I haven't ever seen anything focused
055on AP or the Yukon courses that you've have the energy. [Music] So the topic for tonight was access to IB. We certainly have done the same in the plan for AP and ECE but our topic for the state department was really showcasing the IB and that's what we put down as the topic for the board. So you can hear about that. But I have included and I don't know if you've heard me completely but I have been including the other advanced courses as well. >> And I I do want to mention that um you know as as earlier when I presented to the board this uh this year you know we talked about all the courses that we're looking for increases in all the courses. And I think that that's one of the things that,
056you know, we really are working on at the high school that this isn't a battle between a kid that, you know, they're either going to do AP or they're going to do IB. We want to do what's best for that particular kid. And and there's we want to make sure that we pick the best possible program and some students that AP is going to be the best possible program for them or the ECE and some students the IB and and but we want to make sure that students understand everything so they can make the best possible choice. And uh I think that you know again I don't have the numbers in front of me right now so I can certainly get those for the board. Um but I think that you'll see that we've seen
057good increases in everything and that's what we want. Um and I think that uh you know so it's not just like oh we're just going to increase a we're just going to increase these and that's going to lead to a decrease in this. That that's not what we want. We want to everything go up and uh and that's really the focus that that we're going on and really the the mission that that Susan's given me uh to to really push all of these courses. and that's where our focus is going to be. It's not a battle between them. We want to make sure that we're we're we're working together on this. >> Thank you, Ted. That's that's so accurate. >> Yeah. >> And so maybe that maybe instead of just giving the numbers for the
058um IB, maybe if you can just throw in >> That's what we would do. >> We've actually looked at all of the numbers. You know, we didn't just look at one or the other. We looked at them all. >> Super. >> Any other questions about this piece? And once again, how neat that our our district was being highlighted like that. >> One of four. I was really proud it and the team did a really nice job. We got um a lot of praise and the shout out in this um performance matters newsletter. So I was very pleased with how it turned out. >> If I'm not hearing any other comments, can we move to um the world language? to the next agenda. >> Can I have one question? >> Absolutely. Sorry, >> Susan. How many
059other districts have IB programs? >> Well, as far as having the amount of IB that we have, we have the IB diploma for over 20 years. We have the IBCP and IBMP which was authorized in the past three years and last year. And uh there are very few districts that have all of that. There are districts and they're growing districts. We learned from DEA department of defense education activity group that we had um the conference that many more DoD schools and schools that support military children are very interested in international balarat as it was something set up by um diplomats and military folks so that kids would have a more common rigorous relevant experience and um I've had a lot of um colleagues colleagues reach out to me right here in um you know southeastern
060Connecticut and throughout Connecticut very interested in international bakalorates. So I feel like it's something that's growing and it's they're looking at it differently than an elite program and looking at it for something that would be really good for all kids. >> Susan, do you know if other districts have the same problem we have as far as getting students interested in IB program? It's actually a state initiative, Bev. That's why the state really wanted to do this. They are looking at our data and they're looking at data across the state and across the nation. And this is a problem that we we want we want really to have the same um outlook that we have in all of our schools down to the classroom so that it's representative of all of our community. So, and it
061hasn't always been. So it needs to be and yes it's being looked at very seriously. >> Okay. Thank you S. >> Yeah. Any other questions? So, so we're leaving this agenda item um with just you throwing maybe in the board notes sort of what the increase in membership of those higher level courses um would be great. Thank you so much. If I don't get it for this board notes, I'll try to get it soon. My student data manager is um at Yale with his wife having a third baby. So, I will try to get you as much as I can. Well, and I >> I'm not gonna bother him. >> And I we also know Susan or at least I know that next week you are also going to be taking a um a welldeserved
062and um a break. And so I don't think it's this is an urgent thing, but just so that we can get it um I think would be helpful, but >> would be happy to. Yeah, >> I think that Tom has the right to um >> Yes. >> be a dad and you have the right to have a vacation. So >> I'm excited. All right. Um, so then let's move on to the world language and global citizenship. >> Okay. So, I had written in my board notes on June 10th, and I probably said it to a few of you who I got to see and talk to that the Department of Defense Education Activity um grant that we applied for this April and it was called um the um nurturing global mindedness through world language instruction
063was um got very positive reviews. Fortunately, we had colleagues from around um the country from Washington DC up to Maine and out to Syracuse, New York. And two of the people who are responsible for um assisting us with the grant process and honoring the grants um you know they really are the directors of the DODIA grant process were with us and I wrote to you about how they felt it was very promising and one of the things that I needed to verify was that not only did we apply for the JR NOTC grant um which is like a junior naval rati but also the um naval national naval defense cadet corps which is another program sometimes you don't get right into JOTC you go into this other program first um and we did indeed um
064apply for it last year we knew that that was necessary in applying for the grant we know it takes time I have um and I'll be sending this in my board notes but I have looked through all the board notes and COWs and you know I had Joyce really reviewing you know since Mike and I got here in 2014 but really started amping up around 2018 looking into applying for this and what was needed and it is um quite a competitive thing and they don't always have the funding to support it but um we did apply it's sitting at the secretary of the Navy 's office. So, they did confirm that, which was good news and good news for the grant. That's all they really needed to know. The board does not need to vote
065until, you know, we've been authorized. And, you know, that has to come in first in order to have the board vote on it and we'll be giving you more information. It can start small. it, you know, you can start with one class um that can go through and the good news is it can be part of our CP, our international balorate careers pathways um in military administrative and administrative services. So that's something that Matthew had spoken about, you know, could it be broad enough so that it could encompass things like the EMT and the police and the fire department? And certainly the career pathways show that showcase that that could happen. So, but we would start small with this >> and as soon as I get information, I will pass it on to the board.
066And I do have my notes. I collected notes and dated a timeline of information for you that showcases all the times that we've talked about this and and had discussion around it. Jay. >> So, um, Susan, um, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe this really started years ago as a student, uh, leled request and maybe even a poll or a survey. >> Yes. >> And I'm wondering if when you do share everything uh, with us um, if that could be included. >> Yes. We actually send the results of the survey out to you in boardnotes >> with it to show you that 35% of the students that were surveyed over 400 students were surveyed in the middle school and over 35% boys and girls were very very interested in having a program such
067as this. >> Okay. I just don't want it to be forgotten that these clubs, you know, are something that sort of come up organically >> from the students and are not something that we're sort of putting out there. Uh but you know that that it starts with their interest, >> right? >> Um and I just didn't want us to lose track of that because I know that started a long time ago, >> right? and and we have some um teachers who are still teaching but may be retiring who might you know who've served our country and might really enjoy doing something like this part-time so in the future. So we we really need to gather the information. We had met with the subbase um staff um just last summer. Shannon Wel had set that up.
068Ted and I went. I think Aaron went and Tom Margolino who um also serves our country and he serves our community as a counselor. So um we got a lot of good information because in New London, they've had the program for a long time and um and that certainly the captain at the subbase said he could do everything in his power to help support us whether it's uniforms and getting uniforms from a thrift shop. the faximile and the flags and the equipment that they use also he can help us with. So it was a really rewarding um visit and all I think the community with the Navy base could come together to help support this getting started. >> Matthew, >> thank you. I would like one bit of reassurance if it's possible. Susan, I know
069that um Katrina visited with you and I visited with you and uh I don't think I'm speaking out of school to share one concern that the two of us had and that was the possible presence of weapons whether they're firearms or air guns on our campus. >> No, they are faximiles. They they don't have any firearms that would ever be on our on our >> Thank you. Thank you very much. it. You know what they use when they do the, you know, the flags, um, are they use the flags, they use a faximile, and to my knowledge, there's no firearms that would ever be brought to school. >> Okay. And no air guns either? >> No, not to my knowledge. I mean, I think there's a I think there's a place for them to learn
070those things, but it would be done on the base. >> That's perfect. Thank you. Safeties. Yep. It's actually if you saw in the slideshow which I'm going to go into next on future career pathways the government and public administration careers is an actual component to Connecticut career pathways and that falls right in line with um having what you had spoken about Matthew which is expansion. It could be military, it could be um EMT, health care, it could be fire, but it's all those community partners that assist us every day. >> so, so Susan, um I just want to make sure that I that I understand. So the board will be taking two votes relatively soon. One is for the the um is it will it be a club which is the whether it's the Navy
071or the I'm sorry I'm not going to do the acronyms any good so I'm not even going to try. Um and we're also going to need to vote on the acceptance of the grant. >> Right. So, we're expecting to hear good news soon and you know, I was hoping before I left town, but um when we hear we will bring that to the board's attention and I can give them a a more um you know, a more in-depth presentation so you know all the components to this. And then um as part of getting the grant and ex having the grant accepted, we had to apply for the JOTC and the government had to have it in their hands. They can't promise that we're going to get the um ROC or the Naval um Defense Cadet
072Corps. That's something that goes through the you know, Secretary of the Navy. So that doesn't won't hold us back in any way, but it might hold us back timewise. in getting um the course started. I would like to start with a club no matter what next year >> and that's what's you that's what's sitting on the desk of the secretary. >> That's exactly right. So they're kind of two different things. they were kind of in sync for the getting of the grant but knowing that we've done our due diligence getting it to the right people and having applied and I think as much for the grant and as the students because the students who um had taken the um initiative to create the survey and get it out to kids and to meet with others
073they are going to be juniors and seniors sophomores juniors and seniors so I love to have it happen for them. >> Any other questions about about this agenda topic? Hearing none, let's move on um to number six, which is the IBCP career pathways, government and public administration careers. Oh, that's a mouthful. So, Ann Keith Forbotnik had actually brought this to your attention and presented to you sometime during the COVID um you know in the past year or so. And you know this is a a program that really um it really encourages our students um to become active um learners but to also pursue a career pathway or several career pathways during their schooling that they might be interested in. So, it just helps them to think before they go off to college or before they
074go to get a job, what are those things they really love to do and what are they interested in. So, um I'm really excited about the pathway program. Um I'm going to let Ted talk to you a little bit about where we are at Fitch High School. I know that we're pretty well set with our nursing program. We're looking at project lead the way um and certainly the culinary at some point. So I would say any of the career pathways could be linked on with courses in IB to become an IBCP program. But Ted, do you want to talk a little bit? >> Absolutely. I think that, you know, it's it's right now it's something where um we we certainly have the the bones ready to go uh for these particular programs. It's going to
075be a matter of us now building in the uh the name of the course is right on the tip of my tongue and I apologize. uh but the the course that that that helps them with these particular programs uh and builds in that the job shadowing piece um and building up those those community partnerships. So we have those um you know we have a lot of opportunities for students that are in Project Lead the Way to have really awesome job shadowing uh experiences out in our programs. We already have that built into our nursing program. So it's already there. uh we already have those partnerships and our students obviously have been doing less of that over the last two years because of COVID uh but we have those community partnerships with nursing homes with L&M
076where students have been going out in the nursing program so it's already there with the nursing program so like every component is already there um but we so the next piece is really building in um and then I'm sorry then there's the language in the workplace piece which Kate Serio has done an absolutely fantastic job with um and starting to build that into the curriculum so that that students um it will have more uh ability to use those language skills in the workplace as well. So um the last piece is really building that uh uh that support just like we're talking about with the IB uh building that support in the in the school where students will have um uh uh uh uh mentors within the school to help them through the process as they're
077going through the CP program. So, um because again they they're doing the the job shadowing. They're doing the the reflective piece uh with the uh with with the entire program as they go through to finish up. It's just like the DP. There's a whole process that they go through uh with it and they really need support to go through that process. So, um I think that right now if you if you ask me like okay which CP program is like ready to go out of the box um nursing is probably the the most ready to go just because we have those uh relationships already. But it's really going to be about with the the project lead the way building those uh opportunities for our students next year. Um and then doing the same thing obviously
078culinary a lot of opportunities here in the to do uh and we already have the safe surf uh uh uh work that uh chef post is doing uh that we'll we'll be able to build that into it as well. So, um, we have a lot of the the bones ready to roll and, uh, I think that, um, it's just going to be this this next year really making sure that we have all the whole process in place, um, to get to get it moving. So, >> and of course manufacturing and so critical, >> right? Absolutely. And you know, one of the things I'm excited about is the internship for kids for sure, where they actually get to the workplace and they experience it. But the externships for teachers, where teachers go out into the workforce,
079and this can happen in the summertime, it can happen after school. And teachers then bring back the knowledge that they've learned from these different corporations and companies and workplaces. So, um, you know, I I really the goal is to take every career pathway that we have, um, and a kid could get a certificate leaving and that's another way that goes along with the resume for them to get in the door to start work and um, or to go to college or a trade school after that and and find the work. Beverly >> Susan, do you know I I I saw in the newspaper about Elgassaso Tech and how many of their students were were um was going to be working at um EB. Do we have any students that are going to be um working
080at EB right after graduation since they're hiring 3,000 people or plus? I don't know the number for sure. >> I'd have to check on that, Beverly. Um I'm not so sure exactly but even the students who enlist in the na in the um armed forces if they for instance got the certificate um with the ROC or the national cadet they can join at an E5 versus an E1. So I think building these career pathways is the way we need to go for a large portion of our kids. And I don't know that we've had that many who attended the manufacturing pathways. Um but I know that's an area that we want to grow. And so the um Braso has had a huge department for manufacturing like that. So they have had a lot of success.
081So I will look into that data for you. >> Thank you. Well, keep up the good work on these career pathways. It sounds very exciting. >> Thank you, Kim. Matthew, >> uh, if my volume matched my enthusiasm for what Susan has been discussing about expanding the career pathways to include government and public service, I'd be blasting you out of your seats. I am >> I thought you'd get excited about that when I found it. >> When I saw that today, um, I had shared with you some particulars about how that might occur. And when I saw that today, I prepared something to send to everybody today. But a very trusted angel told me, "Matthew, be careful. If you send something to all the board members, we might have an illegal meeting." So, I didn't send
082anything to you because I didn't want to risk violating the rules. If you'll allow me 90 seconds, I'd like to just give you a some broad strokes of a couple of things. There are scores more that we haven't looked at. Can Can you spare the time, Kim? Thank you. So, I'm so excited about the idea of government and public administration careers. I call it public service. Um, and I think we all agree that giving students access to public service is useful at all levels. Even if a given student doesn't wish to pursue the CP protocol, uh, we have the thing we showed today on this list. I guess you can't see it. Strengths and challenges. I'd love to be able to add to that college credits on a personalized basis. >> Such a broad approach
083fits neatly into our commitment to provide challenges and advanced courses across academic disciplines and across academic capacity. You know, if we can get students who are interested in animal care, some advanced classes in animal care, I just pulled that out of the sky, or veterary care, and get them something where they get a certificate or college credits for it. What a wonderful way to help them with a career. Two such accredited agencies that offer these things are FEMA's Emergency Management Institute, which has affiliation with Frederick Community College in Maryland, and the National Fire Academy. Though their offerings are obviously germaine to those in emergency management, police, fire, public works, EMS, many of their classes like incident management, chain of command have direct relevancy to anyone interested in military service. Beyond these, some of the classes
084they offer offer specialized courses in hazardous materials, radiological management processes that might appeal to IB students with interests in chemistry, engineering, and even physics. Courses are free. Online downloadable materials are free. And though we will incur no additional staffing cost, guidance guidance counselors would need to gain some familiarity with the offerings to best help our youngsters. Learning is self-paced. Courses are divided into unit chapters. Each says, "In this chapter, we will do X does X. In this chapter, we did X." And then there's a self-administered quiz. At the end of the class, at your own pace, you take a a test. Some of them are proctored, some of them are not. There's no cost for this. If you pass the test, getting 80%, you get a certificate from FEMA or the National Fire Academy. for
085FEMA people with certificates for a ridiculously low sum. The figure was about $20 a credit hour, but that's 15 years ago. I'm sure it's not 15, but a ridiculously low sum. They can get a credit from Frederick Community College to bring to their school. Clearly, not all the courses are open or suitable for our students. I have got the course catalog and I made a first pass. Now that we've done this an open meeting, I will send some of these uh documents. I don't know if I sent them to you, Susan. I know I sent it to Kim. Uh I'll send them to you guys and hope that all the everybody can look at them. Whatever diploma one receives after graduating Fitch, my belief, I think it's shared and experience suggests that when two otherwise
086equally qualified candidates apply for a job or a promotion, such highly regarded credential certificates will open doors to useful, financially secure positions in the public service sector. Thank you for your tolerance. >> Thank you. And I would be remiss if I didn't mention my own career pathway of teaching and I know Lori Le Pine is on here and part of our DEI initiative is to really have more of our own students come and teach with us in Graten. We've had great success with that. Um we've had some great success with our interns who have worked closely with their mentors this year. But Lori, would you like to speak about the career pathway in teaching and how we're going to really try to make that grow? Maybe starting with a club next year and then enhancing
087that and moving on with that. >> Sure. Hi everybody. It's nice to see everybody. Um we've been working on the teaching pathway. It's still in its infancy stages, but at this point, um, we've been actually meeting with high school students on their career evening to actually spend time with them so that we, um, and also, uh, bring in other, uh, master teachers, experienced, well-experienced teachers like Carita Hajj and Jenna Anthony and Reita Casey who actually join us and talk to the students about opportunities with teaching careers. So we've had um about um you know I would say a small number take advantage of those opportunities at this point but certainly we are seeing some interest um who um seniors are going on to uh ed preparation programs and starting their path. So we're staying in
088touch with them. Um we've talked about an afterchool club as a way to um integrate a teaching pathway to kind of start at a very small scale. And then the other thing we're going to take a look at is teach um teach.org is a Connecticut teaching website sponsored and supported by the state department of education. Sorry my husband's mowing the lawn right beside the door. I'm sorry. Um of course it turns up now. Um so um we're they actually offer a free survey that we can provide to our students so that we can assess their interest in teaching. So, um, that's something we're going to be looking to partner with the high school with, uh, for the upcoming school year to see where we can take an opportunity to survey our high school students as
089a starting point, find out how many interested, and then that will drive our, um, efforts around setting up an afterchool club and some of those activities. Um, allowing them, they currently do get an opportunity to be what's called a teaching assistant in the classroom. So that's a program that the high school currently has in place and has had for some time where they can be assigned to a specific teacher to be um somewhat of a teaching assistant in the classroom and get exposure to the opportunity. Um so there's lots of good stuff happening as far as just um starting to move the process forward to generate some interest and excitement around teaching as a career and a pathway for our high school students. And you know, certainly knowing that we have a diverse population, this
090is an actual great opportunity for us to encourage those individuals onto a path of teaching if that's something that they're interested in. and the state of Connecticut has provided a curriculum and an incentive with Ed Rising, I think it's called, um so that we can take advantage of um some of the work the state of Connecticut has already done in, you know, starting to develop our ideas for the the club and and possibly future courses. Um Amy McKenna has always um had a course that's full with um children's literature and she brings her class into the elementary schools and they learn to do read alouds and work with students in small groups or individually with reading. So um you know it's a very popular course and I think this is something that would be just
091a wonderful pathway for many of our students to take advantage of. I I have a quick question. How different is that from when u Mr. Dan came in and talked about the um the teaching club? Is that what you're referring to, Lori? >> That is that that's something that um Adam has been working on for the high school. Exactly. CO slowed us down with some of our initiatives. So, we're ready to go and get back in the saddle for the kids to take advantage of this. Ted, did you want to say anything else about that about the teaching pathway? >> Yeah. Well, I mean, it's something where um again, it's it comes down to we we just have students that really are interested in these areas. It's like the ROC piece. um you know, we
092have students that we've spoken to that that really have some interest here and uh you know, we want to make sure that that we're offering these these opportunities. So, this is something where uh again um you know, we have a program here that I think would fit very well within the high school curriculum and uh but we want to really make sure we vet it and and and uh and have a a good understanding how it's going to fit in. Um the the the fact of the matter is is that as we expand the CP program, uh it it's going to fit really well within what we're already doing uh within our career pathways. And I think that um it really is just going to offer it's going to enhance it more than anything else.
093So um it's the the best part. You know, oftentimes when you look at a high school program, you worry that like, okay, I'm going to put this in and it's going to take away from something else. This enhances what we already have. And so I think it's really it's it's whatever we can build in these opportunities, we're not really worried about taking away because it's something that we already have in place and we can we can continue to build on it. So um anything we can do to to really work on these these areas and and uh and really build up those elective courses too, I think is just going to be a real benefit to the high school. So um I'm I'm very excited. You know, Adam's really been taking the lead on the
094teaching portion with Lori. Um, and I think that, uh, as you know, as as Susan said, as we move out of CO, this is something that that we can really see how we can build this into our our regular uh, program. >> And it it really, um, enhances a student's portfolio, as Matthew said, to be able to have a certificate, to have had an internship, to have had some course credit. All of those experiences show that a student is interested and it really prepares them even to go into an interview with some knowledge. I think I see Dean. >> Dean. Oh, your hand kind of >> Yeah. No, it it just just went up. So with respect to Ed Rising and I want to make this an Ed Rising topic I recall that it came
095up on the agenda twice. Once the first time as an introduction I had some questions then it appeared on the agenda the second time but nobody appeared for it. Is this going to come back to the board or is this going to be running on its own rails? >> No, we we definitely will give you more information um about it. Yeah. I mean, was the was the agenda item to provide us with information or to or to look for approval? >> I I I remember when we first introduced it and I think people objected to the name. Um, but I I'm not sure what the questions were around it. I can't imagine that um there would be an object objective objection to having a career pathway in teaching. No, that in and of itself, of
096course, that's not objectionable. Right. >> Right. So, maybe it's I don't know if it was the name or we'd have to get the materials for you to take a look at it. Have to go through curriculum. >> It It wasn't the name. It was the materials behind it. >> Oh, okay. >> That I had questions about. >> Okay. Okay. >> And also, there was a stipen issue, too, because it was a new club, so there was no monies attached to it. Um, and so I think that was but but Dean, I think because it's a new club, the board should have some type of um understanding about what it is. At least that's my thinking um in terms of that were the policy. Um, but Andrea, I know that you raised your hand and Lori,
097I know that you you came you came on screen, so I but I'm going to do Andrea first, please. As I recall, it had more to do with the fact that it showed up uh as something in place without board approval. That's what the problem is. >> I don't think it was ever in place. >> It was just an idea. >> I don't think that's >> it was not in place. No, I I thought it was the title or something was concerning about the title. >> I could be wrong, but I don't think so. Well, >> I think one of the things, uh, first of all, Ed Ed Rising or any, uh, teacher education program is not in place at the high school right now. Um, and I think that we certainly would want to
098make sure the board is is well aware of this because this would be coursework uh, that would be going into the high school. Uh, and we want to make sure that we're going through the proper procedure with the board on that before anything got put in. So, this is going to be a long-term project to really to to do this uh you know and and get this in place, but uh we certainly would want to make sure that um you know and as uh as Susan said, we we want to make sure we get the proper approvals for it going forward. Lori. >> Yeah. I just wanted to share for the group. Um I know the the Ed Rising curriculum that we've spoken about it has not been implemented, but the state um Department of
099Education has come out and they've been endorsing that curriculum as a um an appropriate curriculum for the purpose of teaching students about the teaching pathway. So, I just wanted to share that that was a fairly new development um that they've come out and endorsed that actual, you know, curriculum product. Um I know we haven't approved it in our district yet, but I just wanted to share that >> sounds like we have an agenda item being developed. Mhm. >> Um and maybe Susan and I can talk about um the applicability of when that makes sense like when we the district understands understands it so that they can begin to to really kind of talk about what that would look like. What does that mean? Um that would be my guess. Andrea, >> I'm I misspoke. Not
100that it was in place, but that it was um offered that it was proposed to students as an offering without border. >> Oh, okay. Yeah, that sounds right. >> That that's that's Yeah, absolutely. >> And it slowed it down. >> It it did slow it down. >> Yeah. >> Any other conversations about that? If not, we are moving on to suggested future topics. Andrea, >> the only uh comment I have is that I'm totally in in favor of it and enthusiastic about it. >> I'd love to see a Martin Luther scholarship around a teacher. >> Oh, >> if we could get one of those, that'd be awesome. >> Yes, it would. And you would be make you would make Dr. Mitchell one happy individual. And me and me. some point about how we're doing on
101reviving the mentoring program. >> So, an update. Absolutely. >> Thank you. >> I actually have that down, Matthew. >> Thank you. >> I have to think about that. That's okay. You guys can always send me your thoughts. >> One of the things I might suggest is to look at enroll enrollment data. We had given you a presentation starting from the October one numbers, but I asked Tom if he could disagregate our data um for the end year so you could look at enrollment beginning and end. And um I thought that might be interesting for you too at some point this summer when we can be reflective. >> Oh, >> can I say something? Uh this just came to my thought. I received a email a while ago and I meant to take it out about
102the trays that we use up at the high school in the cafeteria and are they are they environmentally friendly and are we getting away um from using I don't know if we use styrofoam trays or what but are we coming to more green for our environment than what we're doing now? Maybe that could be on the agenda at some point. >> So, you're talking about what we're doing. Um, help me word it, Beverly. Um, >> versus styrofoam and that would be a good topic for um, bring Ernie in because he has some ideas on that. >> But my guess is that it could go further than just trace like what other environmentally friendly >> plastics and straws and all that jazz. Yeah, I guess that's >> I like the more green. How can we keep
103it more green? >> I just want to warn the board that Ernie could talk all night about that. >> It is a good It is one of his favorite topics. >> Yeah, he loves that topic. So, >> Matthew, >> uh, I sent, uh, a note to you and to Susan about a email I'd gotten or several of us had gotten from the League of Women Voters about a free training course for faculty uh, this summer. Their deadline for our making a re for the boards or the schools making a recommendation for teachers is July 15th. I don't know if that appealed to you or not, but I just want to be sure that you'd at least had a chance to look at it. >> I did. That sounds great, but that that needs to sort
104of go to um the district to see if um there are people within the district that that are interested in doing that. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Absolutely. But that sounds exciting. All right. Is it time? >> Motion to adjurnn. >> Can I have a second? >> Second. >> All those in favor, please say I. >> I. >> Oppose. Abstain. Motion is carried. Good night, guys. >> Good night, Lucy. I'll see you in the morning, Kim. >> Got it. >> Okay. Bye. >> Good night.