001e e e good evening [Applause] everybody Welcome to our special Board of Education [Applause] meeting adila can you please take the roll call um yes the time is 6:01 p.m. Salem here Wilkins here Lindsay Ryan here Sue here K here Kern here Hernandez here [Applause] man we're just going to wait till we get our translation equipment shared out folks and then we'll start with board comments and superintended comments okay I think we are ready uh I'll open it up for any uh colleague comments from from from the board members or are superintendent I would like to thank all of the students parents caregivers staff and community members who have joined us this evening we know you are all here because you care deeply about Dr Betsy Road School of Global Studies you care about the
002education and well-being of the children of this community and you have a strong desire to Advocate on behalf of a Beloved School for months leading up to these public hearings we have heard these sentiments in community meetings through emails and in public comments I shared this at the last public hearing but the fact that a d65 school Community one that we care deeply about is hurting it breaks my heart nothing about this is easy or feels good our goal tonight is to devote this time to listen to you to hear your concerns our team has made several presentations around our tentative transition plans for Betsy Road students at the last meeting I shared additional context about how we got here I encourage those of those who are interested to refer back to the meeting held
003on April 22nd and our previous Communications I want to assure you that we do care and we take our responsibility seriously to have a strong student censored transition plan in place should the decision be made to close Dr Betsy roads after the 2526 six school year and to fully support the school community in the interim we will also work thoughtfully in collaboration with our union leaders to support impacted staff at the school again I thank you all for being here this evening and for your continued support of our students and this community thank you thank you Dr Turner um at this time 6:04 p.m. The District 65 Board of Education pursuant to Illinois school code will convene a public hearing on the decision to close Dr Bessie rh's School of Global Studies and receive input
004from the community board policy 2 20 230 will govern public comments for today's public hearing thus each speaker will have three minutes to make their comment please remember to state your name and make sure your comment pertains to the closing of the school speakers are discouraged from using the public comment period to air specific concerns about staff members also note that it is not customary for the board to respond to public comments if there are any questions that arise as part of the comments the board and administration will attempt to answer them in a future communication or later meeting we will call up five people at a time to give individuals an opportunity to make their way to the podium anyone that signed up to speak today that does not get an opportunity at this
005meeting will have another opportunity to speak at the next schedule public hearing hearing on May 22nd First speaker is Gabriel annaya Ryan Lano Peter schnek Enid schnek Michelle nun [Music] andorf okay I'll take this good afternoon uh my name is Gabriel Anaya I have a kid in Bessie Road second grade so I have spoken several times right so there's things what can I say I haven't say before one of the reason that there talking about closing the school is because of Maintenance cause enrollment that has been proven not real right those those are not good arguments they have been disproven already now we're talking about the reason they want to close it is because they want to have a walkable School across the district which is a great idea don't get me wrong in paper
006is great however Bessie Rose is a magnet school and the reason of a magnet school was to sa satisfy a need in the community right if you close Bessie roads right now if a parent who only speak Spanish that parent feels comfortable going to Bessy roads talking to the principal in Spanish talking to the nurse in Spanish when they go to other school well there might be a classroom that the teacher might speak Spanish a classroom or two but I mean how is he going to have that communication back and forth with a principal that communication with a nurse right you got to think about that the school doesn't have the resources the district doesn't have the resources to do that it would be a great idea that you're telling me everybody the district has
007like a bilingual teacher a bilingual nurse that's a great idea but we don't right I mean to the point that you're trying to close the schools because of lack of budget right budgets overrun okay so that that's what I'm saying it that just doesn't make sense what we're talking about best should be protected should be nurtured they should be talking about like what resources do you need in order to make a growth not shut it down it's just find myself in in troubles or baffles me right when I think about looking at the profiles and Vios of board members who are like Dei consultants and stuff which I didn't know what Dei is diversity equity and inclusion personel I mean and and I want to think this person is going to is against closing Bessy
008roads right because if if this person wants to close B roads it just doesn't make sense right why they want to close bie roads when it's the most most diverse School in the district so at least I can say that that person probably our the bo is on our side right I want to think that otherwise the ideas and what people are proposing to what they're saying is completely different so that's it I mean there's nothing else uh that I can say but as I mentioned before go back to the drawing board do what is right versus what is easy thank you [Applause] good afternoon U my name is Ryan lascano um I don't have many prepared statements today I just I I basically have a simple ask um I know it's not customary for
009you guys to to answer discuss after the meeting but I would implore for you guys to take the time and try and and and answer some of our questions like we have come up we have spent many many hours going through the data um and there's definitely some discrepancies in the data in terms of the decisions that you guys made according to a data with what with with what the reality is and so I feel like we are own that answer of like either we're wrong or or your decision has changed and so we deserve that have that conversation have that debate um among yourself this was the data when we voted uh enrollment was down the most expensive school to keep open well that's not true so can we go back to the drawing
010board and be like well maybe we have to take a step back and and get more data and all all all we're asking is really the due diligence that's all like if you guys do your job and go through the data and present the data and the data is the data and we have to close B RS and it is what it is um but we feel like we come up here every every board meeting and we come up we give all this data and and we we never we never get an answer back clearly and and and I just hope that we before the decision is made you we can hear you guys and and understand where your decision is coming from and not just because we voted back when and that was a
011data we had um you guys have hurt us very very well but we don't feel like there's any answers coming back so the data that's presented to you guys is the same that we see and we're and we're we're basing it off of the same data and we're on the same page so thank you very much Peter Shank [Music] in [Music] exam e I'm going to read a little bit from District 65s educational racial and educational Equity statement District 65 recognizes that Excellence requires a commitment to equity and to identifying and addressing practices policies and institutional barriers including institutional racism that perpetuate opportunity and achievement gaps the district must work proactively to acknowledge racial and cultural biases and eliminate institutional structures and practices that affect student learning and achievement District 65 commits to raising the
012achievement of all students while eliminating the racial predictability of achievement raising the achievement of all students while eliminating the predictability of academic achievement based on family income disabilities gender identity and status as English language learner ensuring that all board members and staff examine and change educational policies practices and processes that contribute and perpet uate racial disparities and the disparities of those who have been marginalized in society by their identity cultural or economic status I asked myself what part of this policy is closing the poorest School in the district and the most diverse School in the district sticking to a bad decision is not a Triumph of commitment it's a failure of Courage the quicker you are to admit you were wrong the sooner you can start making it right thank you good afternoon ladies and
013gentlemen um it's kind of uh uh strange many years ago when I arrived in the United States this is 60 years ago um I was 20 years old so you can figure out how old I am uh I am in the shank I'm the mother of Peter with two little granddaughters in uh the B Roose school that's uh uh uh my uh the idea why I am here to support the efforts of all the um parents children and Personnel of the Bessie Road School uh being Hispanic born in the country of Guatemala arrived in 1964 I know the importance of English in order to survive in this nation I am very grateful to be here very thankful and but I also know that it has it's important important especially nowadays uh to know another language
014the United States is is a global country there are people from all nationalities in here and they need assistance they need help I um I am here to um exort um whoever makes these decisions to please not to think just as a saving as a saving um effort for the benefit of the uh of the schools I suppose but uh to think that you are preparing skilled successful people who will be able to work in your community eventually they will be working here because they love uh the the school and the community and they will be working in research in business in banks in the medical field and most important importantly in the educational field therefore I I just want to thank you for your efforts and um I think I should say something in
015Spanish but it just brings to my mind the fact that when I first arrived here somebody said I couldn't speak I couldn't speak much English but I thought in Spanish and they say why don't you think in English and I'm think how can I think in English all I think is in Spanish but eventually eventually thank God uh with the passing of years the practice um I have been able to accomplish um my uh my dreams and goals we all have dreams and goals in life without them life is not important and I came like most of uh people from other countries with dreams and goals I have to tell you uh several of them by the grace of God have been accomplished one of them is I always wanted to work for an airline
016I was so blessed to work for United Airlines for 20 years thank God and why because I was able to speak English and Spanish that put me with the foot in the door so I'm very thankful for that um Motorola one of the greatest companies I also work for several years with them so Hindu Russian German Etc so please think about the future think about the future of these children that their lives are in your hands in your hands each one of you please think what can I do for these children to be successful tomorrow thank you very much thank you [Music] hello uh I'm Michelle NE andorf I have kids at uh Bessie roads at the January 16th 2024 board meeting the mini saap report discussed an alternative which would move Bessie rhods to
017King art a reason for not pursuing this alternative was quote closing King Arts is dissolving a magnet program whereas closing the Bessie roads building is moving the program I don't know who wrote this but it's wildly insulting to Bessie roads and shows an absolute misunderstanding about our school it disregards the value of a k through eight twe Global Studies school that statement is the equivalent of saying that since we have art and music and drama at every school we don't need King Arts because we have the programming elsewhere just like King Arts centers the Arts Bessie roads centers Global Studies and specifically Spanish-speaking families I encourage the board members to come to our school to walk around to speak to our students and our teachers quite frankly one of these public comment hearings should have
018been happening at our school you should be talking to our parents and explaining why you voted to proceed with considering the closing of our school you should look at us and explain your reasoning tonight I wanted to make some personal comments a lot of Bessie rh's families I know are multi-racial I myself am biracial my mother's Panamanian and my dad was white my mother was of the generation where she worried that by speaking Spanish at home I would be confused at school so I didn't learn it there she thought that my future success was tied to assimilation this has created issues of identity for me that last to this day that's why it made me joyous to know that my kids were going to a school where their grandmother's language and culture were Central to
019their entire school day and it makes my heart so happy to see that other multi-racial and M multi-ethnic kids at Bessie roads don't have to choose what circles they run it they travel in they go to a school where they aren't othered all of them is seen board president Hernandez said at the last meeting that quote black and brown kids have been ones who bear the brunt of having to diversify schools so in that sense as well we are making progress by making walkable schools cross Evans and skoki I say by closing Bessie roads that's actually what you're doing you're putting the burden on Hispanic students to diversify General Studies schools Bessie rhods is 50% Hispanic families come here not to diversify a white school they come here to feel belonging to find other Mexican
020and Guatemalan and Venezuelan and Puerto Rican families they come here to find community that is what you're doing by opening the fifth W School providing Community do the same for Hispanic families instead of prioritizing walkability over all else Listen to What Hispanic families are telling you they want which is a place that goes beyond the bare minimum required by law and actually centers and celebrates Spanish language and Heritage thank you the next speakers are Ida Costa Mike Kendrick Brandy Melissa Rosen [Applause] [Music] wig good evening proud bety Road's parent in honor of Asian American native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander heritage month I want to honor two of our staff at bie roads D Shang and Linda matsum Miss Shang teaches Mandarin at Betsy Rose and also provides an opportunity for our students to be aware
021and appreciate culture diversity we must inspect why learning Asian languages is not a priority in District 65 District 65 is calling back scaling back on the importance of linguistic diversity and for our children to truly be Global Citizens not just for inclusivity but grounded in an idea that they can try uh Thrive and succeed in this world Bessie roads is the future this week I also honor the teachers at Betsy roads who continue to provide an excellent education to our children even during times of such uncertainty congratulations to the fifth grade Tue teacher Miss Gonzalez for winning the monthly recognition award there are 12 dual language classrooms from K through five 11 of those classrooms are led by latinx teachers one by a black teacher the district and each of you that are supporting the
022closure of bety roads are unfairly targeting all the teachers and staff of color at bety roads it is telling how incredible our teachers are because when the district has failed us and there's a long list but for example starting an academic year without a principal and shortly afterwards having two leaders placed on leave it was our teachers who maintained the school running without the loss of learning nobody sitting here it was our teachers to our Betsy roads teachers thank you and I am sorry that your employer treats you as if you are disposable and that your representatives are not advocate advocating for the ways that you Des Reserve I am clear that dual immersion is not a priority for District 65 and I am clear that the district has literally turned its back on Latino
023communities we are here asking you to consider this moment as an opportunity to build community as has been eloquently stated already some of you are making a living out of Dei as Dei practitioners but Equity calls on us to be intersectional to build from from the margins you are PR prioritizing walkability schools and that is important but it also falsely assumes equal resources for all schools there is not one size fits all in education Betsy roads provides families an opportunity to address the needs and priorities of families by offering a a comprehensive approach to multilanguage Learners and offers an inclusive and Equitable space for families lastly I kind ask that you take down the video that Miss Turner and Mr Hernandez are promoting it is disrespectful and offensive that you would use Betsy Road my
024child's classroom to destroy our school and promote your own agenda it is disrespectful as Bessie RS were here to build community to promote intersectionality in the words of the e one of the most marginal communities in the Americas we Aspire for a world where our world also [Applause] fits good evening my name is Mike Kendrick I have a second grader and a kindergartener at Bessie rhods and tonight I'm going to keep it brief we've heard the stats we've heard the reasonings the things that we have not heard back is anything in response we hear about the plans we hear about things moving forward and we brought up points that we have questions about we do not understand the decisions that are being made and we keep asking the same questions and we don't get a
025response we want a response we want something that goes directly to the stats and the numbers and the things that all these people are bringing up because ultimately our goal as parents our goal as Educators our goal as a district should be to do what is best for the children being served not for the adults but for the children we have not heard a response to many of the things that we brought up we haven't thought about hey what's the uh the effect that's going to happen on all these other schools in the district but we're going to predestin Bessie roads to be closed so I am asking for a response I'm asking for a conversation I'm asking for a two-way dialogue lot of one way not a lot of two-way let's put the children
026at the center of what we do in every single decision that we make and we will come to the right decision thank [Applause] you hello my name is Melissa Rosen swag and I seed my time to Beatrice hi I was here um a few days well the last meeting and I spoke to you about how important the promise that you all made to us is to us and I want to tell you a little bit of why I was so happy when my daughter was accepted through to a k through a class school for TW one of the big reasons was um Bessie RADS is not just a school it's a Beacon of Hope for many families like mine when my daughter Sonia was accepted at Bessie rhods I felt a sense of relief knowing
027she would receive an education in an environment that Fosters inclusivity understanding and support Haven unfortunately does not offer the same promise of success for black and brown children we've seen the statistics um heard the stories and witnessed the struggles firsthand placing our children in a system that has consistently failed them is not just unjust it's irresponsible we cannot ignore the systematic barriers that hinder the academic and personal growth of our black and brown students at Haven it's time to acknowledge that the path of success cannot be P paved with inequality and neglect by investing in Bessie roads we are investing in the future of our children we are sending a clear message that every child deserves an equal opportunity to thrive regardless of their race or background I urge each of you to stand on
028the right side of History to prioritize the well-being and success of our children and to choose besty roads we don't want our kids at Haven and you can all understand why and I'm sorry to say that I've heard way too many stories about what happens at Haven that I do not want my daughter there and I live in the area where my daughter will have to go to Haven so help us out here I need my child to succeed thank [Applause] you with the time remaining I just want to say obviously this is a very special and unique Community it's not one that you can replicate or replace and if you dismantle it it's gone forever please before you make a decision do your homework come and see us in action I'm inviting all of
029you to International night on Friday May 17th it is our biggest event of the year you've already gotten a small taste of what in tremendous Community we bring together this is an opportunity to see us even greater even more joyful and doing our thing I know that there is a rule against uh board members meeting in a group but I'm sure that you're capable of figuring out a rotating schedule so we look forward to seeing all of you there [Applause] it's looking forward to seeing you there next we have Chris dinardo so mucha emilyn Miner Nancy Salvador and another call for Brandy all right we good Brandon okay all right uh hey hello board I'm Chris Bessie Road's dad uh it's been a few weeks since I spoke at one of these meetings in that
030time and tonight we've heard from members of the Bessie roads Community we've heard about promises made we've heard about statistics about building maintenance we've heard all sorts of arguments about how closing Bessie roads will harm the Bessie roads Community all of these arguments could be true all of them that we've heard tonight but that doesn't change the fact that at this point Bessie Road School appears to be an obstacle to the district's long-term plans that the services offered by Bessie roads right now uh will be redundant once districtwide dual language is implemented and that the closure of Bessie roads while tragic is necessary uh at first glance closing Bessie roads does seem to solve a lot of problems for the district but let's look ahead to after dual language rolls out Out imagine that you're
031a new teacher in a neighborhood School responsible for possibly the only strand of dual language instruction in that school you've got a lot on your plate new job new curriculum new students uh and if you are the only staff member who speaks Spanish you're going to have a lot of extra responsibilities you'll be the deao Principal school counselor coach front desk worker uh it'll be the only point of contact for the Spanish-speaking families at that school all of this of course is in addition to your normal responsibilities as a classroom teacher now multiply that across every dual language teacher across the district I think it's a recipe for ad hoc peac meal services for a Spanish speaking community that is only projected to grow in the coming years now imagine a building with experienced faculty
032and staff who have been implementing bilingual instruction for years imagine a centralized resource for not only one school but teachers across the district family members across the district a first point of contact for Spanish speaking families that might be new to the area new to the district who moved to this District because of these Services you don't have to imagine it it already exists it's Bessie roads I'm afraid that if we close Bessie roads now we'll only have to open it again in a few short years Bessie roads is not an obstacle it is an asset to the district District a magnet for families uh and I worry that if the district doesn't start treating the Bessie roads building staff and faculty like an asset another district will and they will snatch up all of
033those experien faculty and then finally when districtwide dual language does roll out we will have to start all over again we don't have to do that it's not too late thank you [Applause] hello everyone good evening my name is Brandy Grace and I have a third grader a third grad son bradex gra Virgil and um I have a story to tell um I Echo all the words of everyone who came up here prior to me um and I will have to say that I have some notes um that our school has Community our school has Pride our school has diversity true diversity so not just a diversity that we hear about in our everyday jobs or on the website um being a token we have a true Community um years ago when looking for a
034school for my son our neighborhood school um I was very fearful because of all of the racial tension that I heard that there was I won't name the school and um so I did a lot of researching looking around and I came across Bessie roads and I heard a lot of great things about Bessie roads as and also about the Tweet program and it has been amazing um I couldn't have asked for a better school A Better Community um it really does feel like family um so I know a lot of the uh Brown um our Brown counter not counterparts a lot of the brown people have spoken I'm speaking as a black mom of a black child and I will say that you know there is there is Total Community within Bessie roads and
035it would be tragic for it to close there's so many resources there's so much love within our school our teachers are awesome and I just want to plea as well um as a black woman that this program is not it's very necessary um it's not a nice to have it's necessary and um bilingual children are of the future and um as the grandmother who spoke spoke earlier it's it's needed so please hear us um and I know we're all we all have things to say um please think about us when you uh leave here today so I want to be concise I think I did well um have a good rest of your [Applause] evening good evening my name is Nancy Salvador I am a mom of a kindergartner at Bessie roads um I have
036some notes that I will be reading um as I was looking for a school for my daughter Bessie wrote seem like the perfect place for her she is someone that has to navigate two cultures just like I did as a young child and being able to pick Bessie roads where we can celebrate both is a treasure where we don't have to pick one culture over the other these past few months have been a blessing to our family and even to my to her extended family being able to have her grandparents come and speak to the staff when they were unable to do that when I was in elementary school they are able to communicate without worrying about who's going to translate for them in 2017 after the hearing about twe at Bessie roads there were
037many parents at other schools that were making racist comments about having TW strands in their buildings closing Bessie roads is the board saying that our children should abandon safe and welcoming spaces to schools where we are not welcomed or possibly wanted Bessie rhods is home to my daughter and to all of us [Applause] um is it aelyn Miner emn Miner no oh okay you just okay got it okay well that concludes um there's any I know there's folks who showed up a little bit late if you want to step up and and and share a public comment want to make sure we get folks in good evening everybody Rebecca mendosa um I don't have have a prepared statement because there's a lot of stuff going on in our city uh but I am here again
038to just uh State my concern and um ask you again like several questions I'm not clear why we're making this decision and I'm not clear why now um the responses that we've been given as a community members don't add up um the math is not mathing and there's the concern about so many changes um including the fact that most of the architects of this plan are no longer here with us so how are going to how are we going to ensure that we're really being responsive to the needs like what was the impact assessment you know like all of these things that we tell the public that we do like where is that you know like we you know who this is going to impact the most um you know I want to take some
039time too like as a as a new homeowner um in the Fifth Ward um I've expressed my concern about the affordability of families that you intended this school to support um that's going to be very different that when the school opens and ultimately is that school going to serve the adequate population that it it'll have once it opens and so I'm also really conflicted about like twe uh what's going to happen to twe you know it's not meeting the efficacy model yet again and that's what we signed up for we signed up for that in 2017 because you told us and the science was behind it the research was behind it of why that successful and so it's not a celebratory time for us when we see the expansion into middle school because did you
040talk to the parents are you going to get people to sign up you're going to have a really big Challenge and it feels like you are our friends you're our colleagues or our neighbors and you know that that's going to be really challenging and so here we are again going to be faced with another difficult conversation that's only bringing harm to the most marginalized populations in our community uh we're doing it all over again and you know I'm also just very concerned as um as a land owner here you know can we really afford this are we inheriting debt to our community to our children um I'm sad to hear of Kathy leaving and that's concerning to me me because we don't have reassurance that we are capable of doing this in the economy that
041we're working with with the population with we're working with with the stresses that our community currently has and finding affordability here in this community the way that we that the way that we want you know we want home ownership we want ability to be able to say that our tax dollars are working for us and as our biggest investment as tax owners I'm concerned I'm concerned and you know there's a lot of questions a lot of questions and please provide us a better response a way that feels like we've been heard and that you're really you really um measured the impact of this decision and you have these three three um hearings for a reason right I didn't find out about them until later and so there's got to be a purpose behind all this
042process and behind you listening to families and I just ask you to please listen and um Kathy thank you for an incredible two decades and um I wish you all the best and we're sad to see you go and I'm again concerned hi my name is Stephanie Mendoza um I have two kids that went through the Tweet program at Washington School um one of the first things that I learned when my kids started at Washington Washington is that they were not you know my kids right their names my kids were the Spanish kids that's what my kids became when they went to Washington my kids went from being normal preschoolers part of a wonderful diverse preschool to becoming the Spanish kids at Washington school and until they graduated from Washington they remained the Spanish kids
043so take a moment to think about what you're doing you're taking a community from children who are just normal kids and a diverse environment learning language together you're taking that away from kids and you're telling them that they have to go to schools where they're going to become the Spanish kids how is that okay you created this school for a reason to create Community to bring families together to create diversity you made a promise to our families you made a promise to people that look like me you made a promise to families that went through the same hurdles that my kids had to go through and you made a promise to take that away and now you're making a promise by voting to take the school away to put these kids back into that situation
044and perpetuating that harm over and over again I also want you to take a minute to think about your own children and when your children talk to their grandparents parents I bet they have wonderful conversations and their grandparents open the world to them in ways that you are not able to do that that's what my parents are to my kids and they do that by speaking Spanish to them understanding Spanish and without my kids' ability to learn Spanish they would not be able to get that life perspective and my parents I was hopeful and have I have an incoming kindergarten I was hopeful that my kid would become part of a school where she was just simply going to be a student she was just going to be a kid she would go from her
045wonderful diverse preschool shout out to Reba Early Learning Center if anybody wants a preschool wonderful diapers school if you walk in there it looks like Evanston and I was hopeful that my daughter would go into a school where she would just be my daughter she would just be a kid learning Spanish communicating with her parents communicating with her teachers she would not be a Spanish kid and that's what you're setting her up for another again right I went through this with my boys coming home every day ma s the Spanish kid Ma so the Spanish kid ma the kids don't want to play with me because I'm the Spanish kid so think about what you're doing my my kids don't go to Bessie Road but I I can tell you I really would not want
046any other kids to go through that thank [Applause] you all right I just want to thank the community again for engaging us uh in this process um again as a response again we have as a district engaged with Bessie Road's parents we've had several Community meetings I've been I went to the Fall Festival that you invited me to and I've talked to parents there many of you who are here you and I had a chat on the side thank you it was a wonderful event I also talked to some of the parents who again didn't engage who can't be here with us um for whatever reason uh some who did support the expansion and then again having a school closer to their home in the fifth W so we have tried to engage we have
047tried to provide answers again I think for me as a board member um and as a bilingual educator you know bilingual education is the most important thing in my life and it saved my life uh when I was a sham when I was a little boy I was in third grade I wanted to change my name to a white name CU everything I read every book that I read had a white kid in it TV white folks right and I told my mom one day look I I want to change my name to Keith cuz it sounds like a like a white name and it's a name of a baseball player uh in the Chicago CBS back in the 80s he he had the same name as I had she say I'm like okay so
048what what changed my life cuz we didn't have bilingual education then what we did is they you know they would put you a grade lower or they put you in special education and um if it wasn't for the trip I took to Mexico and I saw my Theo aruro and he took me to Las pamas the pyramids um he took me to the m naal we climbed up on top of the Temple of the Sun and to wak he said this is yours your mother and father told me that you're ashamed to be Latino you should never be ashamed to be a Latino all of this culture belongs to you and if it wasn't for that trip I wouldn't be here in front of you today I don't know where I'd be fast forward 30
049years later I become a teacher because I want kids to feel proud of themselves and one of our rules as we set rules together cuz I like to set rules with with the community in my classroom is a community uh I said look we're going to speak Spanish this part of the day and we're going to speak English this part of the day and I would have come kids come up to me and say I don't want to speak Spanish my so again kids still still deal with that today I've been committed and some of you sat here with me and before I was on the board we engaged this the previous iterations of the board to be more accountable to our Latino students and families we ask for better Services better curriculum a staff
050that reflected our community and we're in the process of accomplishing that we have created or invested in authentic Spanish curriculum because we know there's a bunch of curriculum in multilingual education that is not authentic it's just weak translations we are piloting in that we've invested in our Educators across the system not just in one school because my goal and the board's goal is to make sure that every single Latino student feels proud whatever school they go to in Evon that they feel proud of who they are and they never have to feel ashamed like I did or what your son went through Stephanie we don't want that for anybody we want them to all belong we are investing in black brown and workingclass white students to have the same access that they have not had
051before so I just want to be very clear this hurts I wish I could have it all I wish we could keep the K8 Model A self-contained I really do you can but what we're looking for is moving just from Beyond one building to ensuring that every student every specifically every Latino and black student and workingclass student whatever race they are has the same access to the resources they need because that hasn't been the case because we know there's families here in this community who have all the resources they can take their kiddos to uh get have tutoring and take them to trips you know one week trips to Europe and the rest of us are here hustling and trying to work and make sure that our kids are doing their homework we want to
052level the playing field at a systems level that's what we're striving for and I'm sorry this is happening it hurts my heart too cuz it is hurting my community and I don't feel good about it at all I wake up in the middle of the night but this is the change that we want to do if we want a systemic systemwide change that is accountable to all students and all families in our community and we can't do this alone we have to work with Northwestern the city of Evon in order for us to ensure that the services that we deserve are given to us and that's what we're working for here so again I'm breaking protocol here but I I felt I had to respond that is the purpose a systemwide change a transformation of
053a system that has not been accountable to every student and it's hard work it's not easy and unfortunately this is one of those hard decisions that we have to make so I just wanted to share that so without any at this time I move to concluding today's can I ask a question 6:54 p.m. when are we going to have disc I just curious when are we going to have discussion so we've been through two public comment period you guys I just want to know when will they get to hear what we all are thinking we can discuss in May 20 May 20th at regular board is an agenda item okay is that also the public the hearing the public hearing that night right yes okay I would just then encourage my other board col like
054I went to the Sergey and I both went to the um Community chat a few weeks ago I know there's another one coming up I would strongly encourage the rest of you to go walk through the building talk to the parents um and I really hope we have a meaningful discussion at our last uh public hearing yeah I I we will uh and I do encourage I I Echo and if colleagues if you can show up to the international act again it's it's an incredible Community I went to the Fall Festival I've been to a couple of the the community meetings where we engage folks and and it's just again very passionate very very wonderful Community which which is why this hurts so much well at this time I I move to conclude today's public
055hearing at 6:56 p.m. adila can you take the role second second got it Hil um lindsy Ryan here so yes sorry I was like what are we asking I am still here yes Kim oh that's me yes Salem yes Wilkins yes Sue yes Hernandez yes uh with no further business this meeting is adjourned at 656 p.m. e e e