001like to welcome everybody to the regular board of education meeting tonight, May 15, 2025. Uh we've already uh called to order at 6 p.m. and went immediately into uh and approved the meeting agenda and uh adjourned to close session, which we just came out of about five minutes ago. Um so next on our agenda is the superintendent report. One more time. You do that thing there for me, RJ. Yeah. Uh, one of our, uh, core values in the district is in district 109, we commit to inclusive practices that ensure equitable outcomes across educational environments for all students. And one of the most important words there is all. And does all mean all? And in district 109, what that winds up looking like is students with an IEP, one of the metrics that the state uses,
002there are three primary metrics. 80% 60% or 40% or more time spent with general education peers in a general education setting. And in district 109, that number is over 90% of our students spend 80% or more of their time in gened. And what that looks like is a different level of achievement. Also looks like a different level of connection with their uh peers, with their neighbors that they walk to school with and on and on. So it is a virtuous uh cycle there that our children enjoy. And this is one of the things that separates us quite uh substantially from other districts in the state. The state average is uh down in the lower 50s instead of over 90% and uh some of our local peers are right around that state average. So we're uh
003we're marketkedly different in that way and we uh strongly believe in that core value. So the road ahead uh speaking of some of our students who spend time uh not in gen general education with their gened peers have a small number of students who are placed at True North. Uh our uh the path for True North at this point is one that is uh the the uh co-op is going through what I would call a transitional period. Uh district 34 has just had their exit approved. We voted on that exit a couple months of a couple months ago. And again, another district, district 225, that is the Glen Brooks, Glen Brook North and South High School. Uh their uh exit uh request is on this meeting's agenda. Uh what this looks like is that uh
004with each member district that leaves, there's a an additional level of fiscal responsibility that the remaining districts then will need to shoulder. That's one of the primary reasons that my recommendation is to not approve uh these exits. So for our membership costs, it's uh $346,000 per year and that membership cost will then rise uh with 34's exit. That membership cost was expected to be $45,000. There are various parts to that. And uh the more districts that leave obviously the more likely it is that the the co-op is going to be able to sustain its current structure. But then also what that implies is that the remaining districts will show should shoulder more and more financial responsibility. Ah so another significant item is the referendum task force. We have had two meetings. We have 31 uh
005members on that task force representing teachers, staff, administrators, families, community members, community partners. Uh those three meetings, the first was April 17th that included a tour of Walden, overview of our facilities and also our financing. So of sort of how we got to now. Our May 7th meeting was last week. We toured Wilmont. We had a a whirlwind tour of the district as well. We also reviewed a variety of different possible solutions and funding. And our final meeting is in uh June is on June 4th. The task force will formulate a recommendation. They make a recommendation to the superintendent, that would be me, on options to share with the community. And then also what that looks like is this is their recommendation on what sort of options should be pulled within the community. So all
006of our community members in the fall will see some questions. They will arise from the recommendation from this task force. Ultimately, this winds up going uh to the the school board in the form of a recommendation from the administration or from the superintendent on whether or not uh a question should be placed on a ballot. That's the ultimate possible end of this. So, we'll have uh we're going to share uh facility and financing options with the community. We'll have information sessions uh following uh this polling and including the time of the polling. We'll have a website area designated for this will be lots of newsletters and mailers and obviously there is that the poll of the community I mentioned before and the task force will reconvene in November or early December to review the community
007feedback and make recommendations then again to the superintendent. uh any referendum plan that we might have will then be shaped and molded by the feedback from the community. So this is going to be designed as a highly uh engaging and communicative process and the only reason to do this is because we genuinely want feedback from our community. And that concludes the superintendent report. Any questions for Mike? All right. Next on our agenda is the first uh period of community participation relative to matters on the meeting agenda. District 109 has two opportunities for public comment. Many organizations offer one opportunity. Our policy stems from the community's long-standing commitment uh to public discourse and representation. We take all public comment very seriously. While while public comment isn't a back and forth, but instead an opportunity for the
008board to listen, please know that we listen carefully. Our first period of community participation is solely for items related to the meeting's agenda and the second period of community particip participation near the end of the meeting is open for all matters. If you wish to comment, please fill out a community participation form located on the podium here and hand it to Rebecca Rudd who's sitting over here. We will call you up one of one at a time to the podium to speak. Please limit the length of all comments to no more than three minutes. We have any for the We do. We have Tom Dennis first. Is it on is it on the topic of the agenda? No. Okay. So, it'll be in the second. Um, we also have Alan Rosenfeld. Alan. Mark. Yes. Same.
009No. Okay. No problem. And then Brian Lance. Okay. All right. Next on the agenda, we haveformational items. FOYAS for a freedom of information requests. Yeah, there are 17 in your packet. Happy to answer any questions. Any questions on the FOYAS? Seeing none, moving on. 7.2, 2 teaching and learning presentation STEM and CMA curriculum review updates. All right, good evening. It's uh that time of year where we get to stand before you and share with you a little bit of our curriculum review process updates. We're here this evening. I'm here with the team this evening and I'll let them introduce themselves in just a second to speak to our science, technology, engineering, and math. So, STEM and communication, media, arts curriculum review, which started approximately 16 months ago. So, we have been meeting and talking and
010discussing and preparing for this um presentation for quite some time. Uh, as a reminder, our curriculum review cycles, we started a process in 2019 that essentially is a six-year cycle of curriculum reviews. So, every curriculum in our district is evaluated with the team of educators that help support students in that particular area every six years. This year, we're doing STEM and CMA and math here tonight again for STEM and CMA. and I will be presenting to the board next month with a different team of educators about um with some math updates. All right, I will let the team introduce themselves. Hi everyone, I'm Maria Galanis, the district innovation specialist. Hi, I'm Nicole Soderland. I teach uh steam at Kipling Elementary. Hello, Priscilla Sims. I teach steam at Wilmont. And I'm Julie Witzk. I have CMA
011at Caruso Middle School. All right. So, there are eight educators in our district that support STEM and CMA across all six of our schools and well, plus Maria who supports all all innovation within our district. So, of our team who's been convening, you have a third of us here this evening or more. I want to talk a little bit about um the guiding principles. you heard a little bit earlier um one of the portions of our strategic work, but we always start our curriculum review process keeping our mission and vision in mind, but then we take the district's mission and vision and really articulate what that means to the department that we're talking about in terms of support to kids. I will um read that portion of this to you all just that bottom portion
012because I think the wording that this team landed on speaks to all of the decisions that are going to come thereafter. So in district 109 we cultivate a community of learners who are innovative, collaborative and equipped for a world of emerging technologies. In our classroom, students will drive their own learning, create solutions to real world problems, practice responsible digital citizenship, analyze their own work for iteration, and use critical feedback to make improvements. Couple of key things there. One of the conversations we had a lot during this curriculum review was about emerging technologies. If we stood before you today and said, "This is what we're going to do every single day for the next six years," we would quickly fall behind. So we have to create a plan that sort of speaks to the same vision
013that we wrote for students. It has to be iterative. Like we have to be able to evaluate and make changes so that we're staying up to date with the technology as it develops and becomes available in our classrooms. The other part is that critical component of students driving their learning. Um a little bit later I'm going to show you some of the feedback that we collected from students before we even start the process. One of the one of the key components of this program is that students have a lot of choice. They get to experiment and do a lot of things that expand their creativity and the environment. And we wanted to make sure that we weren't taking that away from the space. All right. We cannot do a curriculum review without acting like teachers,
014though. So, you have in front of you uh the duck challenge, which is a Lego challenge. There are six blocks in that package. And in just a second, I'm going to give you 45 seconds. Don't start. Don't start. You have 45 seconds to make a duck. Kathy, if you can start the [Music] timer. Oh, go. [Music] [Applause] Heat. Heat. [Music] Three, two. All right. Now, just raise raise your duck up proudly and show your colleagues around the room. All right. [Applause] [Laughter] I think we're all wrong. No. So this this is one of the examples we've been doing actually relative relative to the talk topic of productive struggle too but it's central to this review and what we want to keep in these spaces is this power of creativity. So we did meet with Lego
015education as part of this curriculum review and they put us through it. I will um have to confess that I was struggling through the process mightily and wanted to hand over my duck. Um, but the purpose of this is to show that there's diversity of thought and a lots of different ways to solve the same problem. So, what Lego Education told us is with those six pieces, there are over 1 million possible combinations. Over one million. Now, not all of them may look like a duck, but there are 1 million ways to put those six pieces together. And so that's just a little bit of an example of what we wanted to make sure you knew was going into our classrooms. Here is the feedback we got from students at the very beginning of the
016review. So before we even start meeting, we do a needs assessment with educators, but we also ask our kids on a scale of 1 to five, how much do you enjoy steam, STEM, and CMA classes? And this is what they told us before we even got started. Right? So a five being really like we absolutely love everything about this. Please don't touch it. and a four being close to that. So, I mean, when you see data like this from your students, you also know that you're not going into a process that you need to completely overhaul. You want to make improvements. You want to work on alignments across the district, but we're not looking to revise everything we've been doing because something about what we're doing is working. And so then the journey began, the
017six ton 16-month journey where we did the needs assessment, we created a vision, we've met with vendors, we've been curriculum mapping, we've done school visits, our teachers have been piloting in their classrooms and here we stand before you today and I will start turning it over to them. So throughout this we looked at several different standards and we've this is like an umbrella. Um we use different standards from all these NGSS engineering Illinois computer science standards, the media arts standards, ISTY standards which are the international society of tech educators and then the ISBY computer literacy knowledge and skills continuum. All of these are utilized and these really help students develop critical thinking, creativity and digital skills through rigorous future focused learning. So in our all our classes uh we have instructional domains. So we'll start
018on the left. This is going to be for our steam and that's prek through five. So our steam classes their three domains are media arts, engineering and design and computer science and robotics. In the middle you'll see STEM and that's for our grades six through 8. Those domains are architecture, computer science and engineering and design. And then on the right we have also for middle school 68 communication media arts. Um we have content creation, digital communication and graphic design. So all of our lessons and all of our learning fall under those in some way, shape or form. All right. For elementary instructional design, uh grades K through two works on sharing materials and working successfully in a group. We introduce the four C's which are communication, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking. Um, in grades three
019through five, we follow a station rotation format where they cycle through different activities to cover the nine projects, each lasting three weeks. And in the middle school, it's based on the design thinking process model. Our goals are for the kids to become independent thinkers and problem solvers. Also learn new technologies and then how to use them independently. And finally um our what a day would look like is the kids come in, they have about 10 days to work on a project with a partner and then they would choose another topic. So they get through all three of those topics in the middle school. The cool thing about STEM and CMA is that we give the kids agency to try new ideas, use platforms and then reflect based on feedback and change things to make it
020better. some of our updates. Um, Lego education. So, we piloted uh Lego Spike at the elementary schools and the kids were so excited. Um, it fits our domains of engineering and design and computer science and robotics. Through the LEGO education curriculum, there are opportunities for differentiation within each project. So they have they start with project instructions right in the app as a starting point and then the students can modify their build or their code to enhance the complexity of the project. Um and then there's a progression of how the Lego curriculum moves from coding express which is uh grades K and one and then to Lego spike uh which are grades 1 through five and then to spike prime sets which is in the middle school. All right, I'll step in and take the technology
021slide because we are doing some technology updates. These aren't massive changes, but it is important that we keep up-to-date technology in our classrooms. And you see there, it's really because it creates a smoother experience. As you see um updates in applications that we're using with students, we they be they become more demanding and we have to make sure we have up-to-date machines. So, uh, iPads are being purchased and updated for the K5 steam labs. Um, we just have a few of those in our middle school STEM and CMA labs. In the middle schools, we're buying technology that will include, um, some PCs, classroom displays. So, we'll be doing a split display in the classroom so that there could be two separate workstations, which will be new to our middle schools. And then we've also updated
022our 3D printers. Um, the tools on the slide here support the elementary steam team by introducing coding through hands-on and age appropriate experiences that grow with students abilities. So, Marty the robot begins with unplugged coding using co uh color cards progressing to block coding uh through Marty Blocks Jr. and Marty Blocks uh which reinforces scratchbased skills which is also blockbased coding. Uh, Make Wonder allows students to code dot and dash robots and engaging challenge-based activities while enabling teachers to track their progress and allowing students to save their work. And then finally, Codable provides a structured K through2 curriculum focused on core coding concepts uh with increasing complexity that builds on students prior learning. Across all of these platforms, students get really excited to see their coding and programming uh come to life through the robots.
023uh which makes the learning both meaningful and fun for them. Um so Wixie, Pixton and Quebec support innovation in the elementary steam uh labs by providing digital spaces that foster creativity, innovation and collaboration. We have these amazing tools to help us support our instructional domains that the kids really, really truly love to use. And at the middle school, some of the new innovation. Um, like for example, up there we have Funkable, which is an app design that the kids are really loving right now. And then the Oculus, um, which is our VR, and then we also have a flight, uh, simulator that the kids really are falling in love with. All right, I'll let you speak, but it's really more important that we like instead of just talking about all these things, let you see
024it in action, too. So, [Music] Hey, are you [Music] [Applause] [Music] Heat up here. [Music] This is the ferris wheel. Um, these are the people. And if you're in a wheelchair, you can still go on it. And we made a swing of terror. This is how it works. There's four different speeds. This is the slowest and this is the fastest. We made it by using cones. This is the motor. This is how it, as you can see, there's a spinning wheel. I Yeah. Watch. [Music] We made this fun coaster. You can see how much fun they're having. Yep. Let's talk about this guy. Yep. He's really cool. And this is a really cool thing. and use Legos for it. Yep. [Music] See, when you see glue, it stops. And that's that [Music] code. Now, stop
025while we look on it. Can you make the seat turn? Wait, can I try? Okay, maybe I have a motor. Don't have a motor. [Music] All right. So, as you can see, we're giving the kids so much exposure to all of these different platforms. Um, and the cool part is they come from elementary school to us at middle school and then they go to the high school where all these platform or all these different exposures have um their own class for a semester. So, um, because because we know that we're feeding them into potential careers and certainly the experience that they'll have at the high school, we wanted to get high school students piece of feedback. Jonathan Wolf, who's not here tonight, reached out to a former student and this student recorded the video for
026us to share this evening with the board of education. It prepared me for high school because they use critical thinking and persevering in every class inside and outside of school. I also learned video production, CMA, which I continued to pursue in high school with film and TV. And it really gave me a chance to learn that if it wasn't for CMA and STEM. I wouldn't have that ability and I wouldn't have chosen to do that hobby more in high school. I also wouldn't be able to critical think as much because CMA and STEM taught me how to do that, how to move past problems and blocks in my projects and move on to create an even better project. move past problems. Move past problems to create a even better product. So, I just bring that
027it meant so much to me. We did not prompt this child, but as we're talking about productive struggle and the need for our kids to just grow in their feelings of grit and growth mindset through activities that engage them in really critical thinking. The fact that he said that that it taught me to work past problems and create an even better pro project or product is exactly the words we want to hear from our kids when they leave these programs. And that's what we have for you this evening. Any questions? Just one, but I have a comment first. Um, my sixth grader now wants to grow up to design roller coasters. So, thank you for that very specific career pathway. Um, I do have one question obviously and I read some of the stuff. You
028know, technology turns over so quickly uh five years from now we could be looking at a whole different um set of materials that you might need. Are you finding year-over-year that you have some materials and some things that have really stood the test of time? And is that sort of what we're reinvesting in? Yeah, I mean some of them so we so Legos for Legos as an example, we've always had some Lego kits. We've just expanded opportunity to that within our classrooms. Codable is another coding program that the elementary schools have used for some time and we've just we we've seen good results in that um high levels of interest from kids and so we continue to pursue that. There are, you noted on the memo that I included, there are a lot of subscriptions,
029like annual subscriptions that are part of this, which we budget for in the teaching and learning department. But that's the part that really can be iterative, right? Like if they if there are things that we, you know, love, we'll continue to invest in them year-over-year, but if new things come to fruition that we need to be exploring, those might be replaced with something else that allows for the emerging technologies as well. And each of the buildings have a little bit of uh uh some budget for the hands-on experience because some of this I mean isn't it Lego down? You know if if a Lego falls on the floor the kids have to say Lego down. Um because things go missing and part of part of the creativity of these spaces is actually engaging with your
030hands in the building process. I don't know if I covered it. When you engage in a process like this, you always go into it with a certain set of expectations and think, oh, I think, you know, this is what I'm going to be getting out of this or learning from it. What I'm always curious about is what surprised you in the course of all of your exploration? You spent 18 months working on this. So, what uh was that thing? Yeah, I didn't see that coming. I can't answer this one. really I think throughout the process we were looking to kind of make some this was the opportunity to make some really grand changes and I think what we found what I found was surprising was that we really did have a very solid curriculum. we
031just had this opportunity to really streamline that and take what worked really well that we were trying out, you know, at each school and just really um strengthen that. And I think we were pleasantly surprised with how high our engagement was with the kids in the survey and just how strong of a curriculum we had that we really didn't have all too much work to do um other than just refining things and streamlining. We are really fortunate. We are really fortunate in the district. I think that's one of the things that um I discovered in the process with them is because oftentimes we were reaching out to vendors and other schools were finding that STEM is something that is sometimes considered as a supplemental project in the core curriculum and the gened teacher might pick
032it up for a project every now and then or if they have a STEM teacher a dedicated STEM teacher they're not doing they're not doing work in their STEM classrooms across domains they're just focusing on one thing like they're a coding all of the time program and we are we are fortunate in that our kids have a have this experience from prek if they're in our pre-k program but certainly from kindergarten through 8th grade and that they're getting to experience things across nine domains throughout that time. So, I just I was impressed in working with these these guys to see the development, the way we're able to build and scaffold the skills over time. And that's a that's an expectation we have of ourselves is that we're sending kids to the high school that are
033interested in careers um that are in the STEM field. And to that point, to build on those skills, even after a couple of years, and then when you leaprog to high school, I like to take informal polls with kids on what their favorite classes are. And I will tell you, I consistently hear steam, steam, steam. It's the best. And thank you for teaching our kids and introducing them to these really important topics. um between the science and the technology side, the future is looking really bright for our kids in Deerfield because of their passion around that and I see personally my kids excel and prioritize this class every week. So, thank you. Um one followup for you. I mean as you mentioned the question as you mentioned the peripholation of choices now and maybe this
034is more for the middle school uh curriculum but what are the added demands now on yourselves as teachers when you have a classroom with kids doing multiple different projects at the same time whereas before maybe you were dedicated to just coding. Um, you know, what did you learn through this experience of what either, you know, what might be, you know, a struggle as you have divergence within your classroom? Well, I think the I think the middle school's always had choice the entire time, but different like kids are working on different things. Um, so I guess it's just kind of you're all over the room just kind of helping. But I think my teaching has changed the most with this because I'm not there's no answer. there's no right answer ever. And they're finding the right
035answer, but it's helping them get to the right answer by not telling them how to get there. So, I find myself asking them a lot of like they'll say, "Well, how do I find this?" I'm like, "Well, what would you do if you were looking for that?" And they don't always like those answers, but it helps them figure it out. I think for us in the elementary school, we really um we have a lot going on with four different projects. Some kids are building, some kids are coding. there's a lot of different questions, but we really put an emphasis on student mentorship. Um, so once we've done our first project, there's another group that's already completed it. So, we try and have them we do have um a time for them to mentor, share, and
036reflect after they've finished their first project where they they can be an expert, teach the next group, and then they um they're they have a chance to be a teacher, and they have a chance to learn what's coming up. So, we really encourage that sense of community because otherwise it can be really kind of a lot, you know, for us to have so many things going on at once and just really frontloading in the the primary grades of this is how you communicate with a partner. This is how you take materials. This is where you how you put them away. This is what it looks like and modeling that so they have that independence as they get older. And then a lot of that goes with the four Cs that I mentioned. So they're communicating,
037they're collaborating, critically thinking, um showing their create creative sides. Um also I want to add um often we do have spiraling content. So like we have two rotations that they'll have some background with and they know how to somewhat do but they're also adding to their skills. But then we'll also sometimes teach two new projects um al with the class so they all have that expectation and know what they're doing. Um, but that's one way we manage four stations um at one time. Sorry, I came in a little late. Uh, thank you for all your hard work on this. I think this is super cool of the stuff that I was able to see and read with math and with reading when we've talked about those curriculums. It's easy to see what success is. How
038how do you guys know and when would you guys be aware that this is this is really working and this has been a successful implementation? Uh I think for me in middle school is when I see things that could be potential things in the future. For example, sixth graders right now are um building a nonprofit and they had to use three different platforms for that. So they had to design the logo and not just make one, make several and then choose which one was best, the name of the nonprofit, what it does. And then they built um if it's like an orphans of the storm type place or if it's a a business or a camp whatever it is they had to build that with a architecture project or app and then after that they
039had to make a podcast about it explaining what this nonprofit is. So when these become like life skills that they can actually take with them that's when I see success. I have uh one question. So I know there's some concern in the community related to screen time and responsible use of technology. How is that incorporated within within this curriculum or is it is it in a different area? How much are they? We have um a pretty good balance of the architectural design. So we do actually in the primary grades we focus the entire first half of the year before even really touching iPads because we want that creativity to come from their imagination and building and honestly once once they use them they love codable and things like that. It's kind of hard to go
040back but they do have as we go through our stations we do have um balance in some that are online where they are just mostly coding and there are a lot that are strictly hands-on too. So as they rotate through those projects, they touch on a little bit of both. It's not exclusively on their device. What about responsible use? Digital citizenship we do cover um multiple times throughout the year. It's just kind of woven into our curriculum, but it is carved out in the beginning of the year as they get their device. And it's especially important, you know, in kindergarten when they're first getting their devices, they get their little iPad license, and then in second grade, we really, really focus on um they're getting a Chromebook for the first time. And so with that,
041you know, comes a lot of new skills, but a lot of responsibility. So that's a big part. I think just with the responsible uses, we also work with the librarians and librarians co-e digital citizenship lessons throughout the year. Um, and those are those skills are kind of embedded within there too. But the steam and STEM classes really um like Priscilla said, they really frontload that a lot. I I just have three comments. Um, one, uh, I really appreciated the the graph in the beginning that showed, you know, the interest, um, in your in the pro in in steam. Um, I think that was very helpful for me. Um, I love the video. Um, I loved hearing the one student mention that if you're in a wheelchair, you can still So, and then speak kind of
042going back to, you know, my superintendent report, you know, seeing that inclusive and see hearing that and seeing them implement that is just it's really great. Um, and then I actually see the Seesaw videos uploaded. I've seen little robot. Um, but then the quality of the videos aren't that good. So, you know, and then going back to the technology update, I you know, you see how it all ties in. You know, they're making these great videos and it's really slow and you know, my 8-year-old come home, they're like, "Oh, it was very laggy today, mom." Okay. And so, um, and so it all really kind of, you know, adds up. Um, so I really appreciate that. And when we look at the technology budget and we look at the upgrades, you I see firsthand, you
043know, and they'll come home and they'll tell you it was laggy and they had a great time, but it was laggy. So, um, thank you for all of that. It's it's really great. So, appreciate it. All right. Thank you all. All right. Thank you. Thanks, guys. Great presentation. Thank you. Okay. Next on the agenda is the ISBE consolidated district plan. Yeah. Yeah. So, the consolidated district plan or CDP is an annual item that we typically bring to um for both info and action at the same meeting just based on the timing. So, for a number of years now, we're required to first complete this consolidated district plan before we are able to complete any of the individual grant applications in my department and Danielle's department. This CDP is really just kind of a roadmap and
044comprehensive overview of how we intend to align and use our grant funds. No major changes from last year. that's really focused on our strategic plan and those goals. All right, any questions? No questions, but thank you. That's a lot. Huge credit to Christy Hoffman in my department takes the the brunt of it. Um, and we are always impressed with your feedback because it's hard to read. So, we know that you you made it through. So, thank you. All right. Next on the agenda, fleet vehicle purchase. Yeah. Before the board is a recommendation to purchase a new van to support our department of buildings and grounds. Uh we operate a fleet of four vehicles to support the operational needs of the district. Um we have a 2021 uh Ford uh transit van uh that we evaluated
045for replacement. Um and believe it or not, we believe that we may be able to get more money uh than we paid for uh back in 2021 for that vehicle. I think we must have purchased it just before our prices started to skyrocket. Um so we are recommending uh purchasing a new fleet vehicle. Um replacing it with an etransit van. We already have one ransit van and our department of buildings and grounds facility is uh been designed to support a number of electric vehicles. Um and then we would turn around and sell our current transit van. Any questions on the fleet? All right, thank you, John. All right, next on the agenda, instructional technology purchase. Uh, just a quick correction on this item. The report should have reference the class of 2033 and class of
0462036. Wow. And not 2032 and 2035. So, an amended report will be added to the board book. R.J., Uh yes, the uh administration is recommending that we move forward with purchasing um replacement devices for the second graders and the fifth graders for next year. Uh this keeps in line with our refresh schedule that we've been operating under for the last couple years. Um we are also going to focus on um replacing the middle school teacher iPads uh for next year as well. Uh so the the uh total we're looking at is the second grade um devices and the fifth grade devices as well as the middle school um iPads for the for the teachers. Is there any Is there anything in this recommendation that um is outside of the normal plan that you've created for
047the past 5 years? This is all part and parcel of the plan. Exactly. Great. Thank you. John, remind me on this. I mean the So in this the total cost of coming is pretty obviously significant, but it's it's it's not every year that it's at this level, right? What we've tried to do is change it from kind of every four or five years coming in with a really big number to refresh all of the devices to being more consistent over time and replacing, you know, a few grade levels at a time. Are we in that process of transitioning to that refresh? Is that what's going on right now? That's exactly. Yeah. The uh fifth graders every year, we can expect to replace those devices moving forward. The second graders we did last year, this year,
048I think we have next year. And then we don't buy another second grade device for another two or three years after that. Okay. Thank you. Any other questions? I think last year you shared like a a sort of a road map that was I think I went back to last year's because we definitely spent less this year than last year. So any more questions? Okay. All right. Um, next on the agenda, consideration and recommendation regarding a resolution and petition for withdrawal from True North Educational Cooperative 804 filed by Glen Glen Brook District 225. Yes, as mentioned earlier in the superintendent's report, Glen Brook 225 is requested to withdraw from the True North Cooperative. There are currently 18 districts within the cooperative. uh soon uh in a year and a half that will be down to
04917 because district 34 has been approved to withdraw. The rationale for the 34 withdrawal and the 225 withdrawal, in my opinion, are the same. And that is that would cause 109 to bear additional costs yet to be determined and that it would further destabilize uh the the cooperative leading to u un unknown at this time financial obligations on our part. So one detail on this is that uh the recommendation is to say no to reject the request from 225 and so a yes vote means saying no to Glenbrook. Okay. So little we we went through a little bit of a crazy dance last time and trying to avoid that this time. So, we're it's it's the same as last time. It is It is worded. Yes. So, to So, we're we're voting to approve your
050recommendation. Okay. Yep. So, it's a yes vote to Good. Exactly. It's a yes vote to reject their exit. Yes. If that makes it a little bit easier. Any questions? There you go. All right. Moving on to the action item agenda. 8.1 consent agenda. 8.1.1 Approval of meeting minutes. Organizational meeting minutes from May 6th, 2025. 8.1.2 Personnel 8.1.2.1 Resignations Retirements 8.1.2.2. Leave of absence 8.1.2.3 employment of certified staff 8.1.2.4. Employment of educational support staff 8.1.2.5 employment of at will staff 8.1.3 bills for payment and 8 8.1 uh 8.1.4 destruction of closed session audio. May I have a motion to approve the consent agenda? So move second. I know I'm not there yet. We're have to figure that out. Roll call, please. Miss Bonner. Hi. Dr. Dornfeld. Hi. Miss Jakamu. Hi. Miss Joyce. Hi. Mr. Mir. I
051Mr. Abraham I. And President Quo I. Motion carries. Thank you. 8.2. Treasures report. May I have a motion to approve? So moved. That's so loud. Roll call, please. Dr. Dornfeld. I. Miss Jacamu. I. Miss Joyce. I. Mr. Murv. Hi. Mr. Abraham. I. Miss. Bonner. Hi. And President Cole. I. Motion carries. All right. 8.3. Resolution to honor staff appreciation week. Last week, we celebrated staff appreciation week. On behalf of the entire board, I wish to formally acknowledge and commend all of our staff members for their exceptional dedication commitment to the well-being success of our students. In recognition of their outstanding contributions, I will now read the resolution aloud in their honor. Whereas educators touch the lives of all America's children and play a crucial role in their cognitive and social development. And whereas educators motivate students
052to become active learners. And whereas educators meet daily challenges reaching out to every student regardless of ability, attitude, social or economic background, race, religion, and ethnic origin. And whereas educators often offer counseling and support students in their classrooms and throughout their years in school. And whereas America depends on the successful school instruction programs that meet the needs of every child. And whereas educators are carrying out a major responsibility in preparing our young people to assume their roles as effective citizens. And whereas district 109 educators strive to deliver to each student the highest quality of education possible for developing the mind, body, and character within a caring environment. Now therefore be it resolved that the week of May 5th, 2025 was hereby compl proclaimed Deerfield District 109 staff appreciation week as a time for public recognition
053of educators contributions to the development of students and community of district 109. May I have a motion to approve? So move. Second. Roll call, please. Miss Jakamu. I. Miss Joyce. Hi. Mr. Merev. Hi. Mr. Abraham. Hi. Miss Bonner. Hi. Dr. Dornfeld. Hi. And President Qu. I motion carries 8.4 amendment to net56 master service agreement and extension of UA USC firewall agreement. May I have a motion to approve? So move second. Roll call please. Miss Joyce I. Mr. Murv. Hi. Mr. Abraham. I. Miss Bonner. I. Dr. Dornfeld. Hi. Miss Jakamu. Hi. And President Quo. I. Motion carries. 8.5 resolution regarding the purchase of property owned by Deerfield Park District and approving a related real estate agreement. May I have a motion to approve? So move. Second. Roll call, please. Mr. Mir, I. Mr. Abraham, I. Miss
054Bonner, I. Dr. Dornfeld, I. Miss Jakamu, I. Miss Joyce, I. And President Cole, I. Motion carries. 8.6. Life safety work at multiple sites. Bid results. May I have a motion to approve? Move. Second. Roll call, please. Mr. Ibraham. I Miss Bonner. Hi, Dr. Dornfeld. Hi, Miss Jakamu. Hi, Miss Joyce. Hi, Mr. Murev. Hi. And President Cole, I. Motion carries. 8.7 2026 2027 school calendar. May I have a motion to approve? So moved. Second. Roll call, please. Miss Bonner, I. Dr. Dornfeld. Hi. Miss Jakamu. Hi. Miss Joyce. Hi. Mr. Murev. Hi. Mr. Abraham. I. And President Qu. I. Motion carries. 8.8 interim administrator agreement. May I have a motion to approve? So moved. Second. Roll call, please. Dr. Dornfeld. Hi. Miss Jakamu. Hi. Miss Joyce. Hi. Mr. Mirav. Hi. Mr. Abraham. I. Miss Bonner. Hi. And
055President Cole. Hi. Motion carries. 8.9 is consolidated district plan. May I have a motion to approve? So moved. Second. Roll call, please. Miss Jakamu. I. Miss Joyce. I. Mr. Merev. Hi. Mr. Abraham. Hi. Miss Bonner. Hi. Dr. Dornfeld. Hi. And President Quo. I. Motion carries. 8.10 Consideration and action upon resolution regarding the petition for withdrawal from True North Educational Cooperative 804 filed by Glen Brook District 225. As a reminder, I is the is to reject or I or yes is to reject. May I have a motion to approve the superintendent's recommendation to oppose the resolution regarding the proposed withdrawal of Glen Brook Glen Brooks School District 225 from the True North Educational Coop Cooperative 804. It's a mouthful. Second or can I get a motion? So moved. Second. Roll call, please. Miss Joyce, can you
056go through the rules again? Can we can we talk about what I means and what no means? Yep. If you vote yes, you are voting to oppose their request uh regarding their withdrawal. So you're approving the superintendent's recommendation to reject their request. Thank you. Yes. is a no voted. Gotcha. Okay. I Okay. Thank you, Mr. Murev. Hi, Mr. Abraham. I, Miss Bonner. I, Dr. Dornfeld. I, Miss Jakamo, I. And President Quo, I. Motion carries. 8.11 administrative contract approval. May I have a motion to approve? So moved. Second. Roll call, please. Mr. Mir, I. Mr. Abraham. Hi, Miss Bonner. Hi. Dr. Dornfeld. Hi. Miss Jakamu. Hi. Miss Joyce. Hi. And President Quo. I. Motion carries. Like to welcome Jen Lucas into this new role. All right. 8.12 or 8.12 administrative contract approval. May I have a
057motion to approve? So moved. Second. Roll call, please. Mr. Abraham. I. Miss Bonner. I. Dr. Dornfeld. I. Miss Jakamu. I. Miss. Joyce. I. Mr. Murev. Hi. And President Qu. I. Motion carries. We'd like to welcome Jamie Met. Is it Met? Sorry. Met. Can I would like to welcome Jamie Met to the district. All right. Uh, item number nine, committee reports. So, we actually have not had a committee yet. I will, um, I'll say this. I'm going to, um, communicate the committee assignments over the next few days here. So, I know I've talked to most of you guys already, so, but I know I haven't done that yet. Um, you board got to reorganize. I can go. Oh, you do? Yes, you do. I I always meet. Um, True North had a board meeting last week.
058Um, Mr. Simick in his superintendent report updated you on both 34 and district 225 statuses. So I won't uh wax poetic on that. Um highlight a couple of positive things. We have the optimist club here in Deerfield and they have been a long-standing partner with uh NSSED now True North in supporting students who do an essay contest. Um and then they read all of the essays and give awards. So this year 24 students took part in the essay contest. All of them were recognized and in addition, the Optimus Club recognized three winners at the leadership council meeting. And it's great to have a Deerfield-based organization be so supportive of the learning that's going on at Northshore Academy and Northshore Academy Elementary. Um, and then, uh, True North Family University will launch on June 2nd, 2025,
059and it is going to basically be free offerings to all families. and uh our families and our district will be able to hear more about that, I'm assuming, come June, likely through Joanna and her department on ways they can engage in the professional learning um that's free to them. And that's it for True North. Any questions for Kelly? No questions, but thank you, Kelly, for all you're doing there. All right. So, item number 10 on our agenda, open communic community participation. District 109 has two opportunities for public comment. Many organizations offer one opportunity. Our policy stems from the community's long-standing commitment to public discourse and representation. We take all public comment very seriously. And while public comment isn't a back and forth, but instead an opportunity for the board to listen, please know that we
060listen carefully. The second period of community participation near the end of the meeting is open for all matters. If you wish to comment, please fill out a community participation form and hand it to Rebecca Rudd. We will call you up one at a time to the podium to speak. Please limit the length of all comments to no more than 3 minutes. We will also be asking local residents and taxpayers to speak first and then they will be followed by non-residents. Okay, first up is Tom Dennis, please. So now I can, right? All right. Uh, as mentioned, uh, my name is Tom Dennis and I am a longtime resident of District 109. And just to get this out of the way, my remarks here tonight are covered by the First Amendment uh, in the US Constitution,
061which includes the right to voice opinions, criticize others, and comment on matters of public interest. Since the last board meeting, my fellow parents and I have better understood Moms for Liberty and their partner organizations collaborating against District 109 and many others around us. We have joined their social media communities, participated in their webcasts, listened to their panel discussions, heard from their so-called experts, and read their promotional emails. What we have seen online in their own words is both eyeopening and disturbing and include the following. Rampant online harassment of individuals calling them by name and potentially putting their lives at risk. Hostile threats, some with veiled suggestions of physical harm. salacious false claims of child harm at just about every school district across the country under the deceitful and righteous claim of parental rights. Demands for
062curriculum changes aligned with viewpoints from the 1950s that are clearly uh out of touch with today's world. Solicitations to turn in schools as part of a coordinated witch hunt. sex abuse cases against Moms for Liberties members with arrests and charges of sexual abuse, pedophilia, and child pornography. How ironic. Uh lastly, floods of lawsuits that result in high legal fees and costs to our schools and our community. We have submitted foyer requests to the school district about the legal cost to defend ourselves, and it's $44,000. $44,000 that Moms for Liberty and their partner organizations should be required to pay us. They caused it. We know it. We also spoke with parents in neighboring communities such as Skoi, Evston, Niles, Downer's Grove, and others to gain further perspective. They've experienced the very same tactics, and they all
063shared strikingly similar stories. the sensational headlines, the outrageous claims, and the focus of last month's meeting where a child a child and our teachers were unfairly and cruy targeted. It's not what you think. We must stand united to reject and resist these outsiders who seek to infiltrate our schools, sew division in our communities, and seize control through provocation and manipulation. They do not live here. They do not pay taxes. They do not have a vote. They should not have a voice. Thanks, Tom. Thank you. Thank you. Next up is Mark Presley. Good evening. I'm Mark Presley. I'm a longtime Deerfield resident. One of our residents has recently gone on a very public media blitz. Excuse me, I have one concession to age about the school district. We have to ask why. Why antagonize one's neighbors
064and community? Why target a child? Why instigate personal attacks on teachers and school officials? And finally, why go on national TV and start new social media profiles to further this campaign? These words and actions defy the values of any collaborative and great American community, and they certainly defy the values of Deerfield. All of this is happening in the service of a known political group who has targeted school districts across the country and our region as part of a coordinated and well doumented five-step campaign. One, make a claim using a gateway issue such as locker rooms or bathrooms to manufacture outrage and garner media coverage. Two, follow up with legal actions. Three, in investigate library content to initiate book bans. Four, take over school boards by winning seats to politicize education. Five, influence and change the
065curriculum to align with their religious beliefs, violating the separation of church and state. The objective of Moms for Liberty and other conspiring organizations is to subvert public education under the guise of parental rights, which includes dismantling the US Department of Education, eliminating teacher unions, and controlling school boards. I believe the residents of Deerfield are too smart and too informed to be duped by the dark money behind these organizations. We owe it to all our students to keep this kind of politics out of school district 109. And thank you for allowing me this time to speak. Thank you. Next is Alen Rosenfeld. Hi, my name is Alan Rosenfeld. My family and I have lived in Deerfield since 1989, uh, when it was a lot smaller. Uh, my wife and I have raised two children here. They
066both graduated from this school district and from the high school. And I know what a great school district and community can do when we work together. Um, I had the honor of teaching in the Chicago public schools for 12 years. I taught at Gleno Middle School for 22 years and I so I know a little bit about education. Um, and I had fun doing it. It was a good time. But I have watched outsiders come in here and try to influence what's going on in our school district. And like most of us, I'm appalled that one local resident, one resident brought outside hate groups to our doorstep and insulted our intelligence, causing chaos and direct financial harm. And we spent a lot of time, you spent a lot of time talking about the cost of
067education. Education is not cheap. And if we have to spend money on on stopping people from coming in here and with lawsuits, that's money that's not not not well spent. Uh from what I understand, these outside groups want to try to control the school board, the curriculum, and eliminate the teachers union. To me, that's unacceptable. As the past president of the Gleno Teachers Association, I saw what could happen without stops on outside policies that potentially could harm the school's most important asset, our students. We've all received our mid-year property tax bills. And if you look, I look real closely at it and almost 40% the largest item on the tax bill goes to district 109, which is great, which is fine. I have no problem with that. I do have a problem if the school
068district decides to spend money on lawsuits that are brought frivolously by people from outside our community. I don't understand how you can spend that kind of money and keep the technology going that you've all talked about tonight. uh we are footing the bill and and these outsiders do not represent the views of the people of Gleno. In fact, many of us in our great community believe these outside groups should repay our legal fees and compensate us for the hate they are inciting. The hate is hurting our students, attacking our teachers, spreading falsehoods in both media and social. Let's run them out of town. Thank you very much. Thanks. Sorry, Leelu Weissberger is next. Good evening. My name is Lelu Weissberger. My pronouns are he, him, and I'm a current eighth grader at Shepard Middle School.
069I want to begin by thanking the school board. We appreciate you and please continue to stand up for what is right. I'd like to point out a few things that we know. We know that the majority of the community stands with the school board on this matter. We know that the majority of people who have come to speak against this do not live in our community. And we know that this attack is not isolated because why else would we still be having this discussion when the people involved could be addressing it respectfully and directly with the school. Neil, this week we started reading a book called Warriors Don't Cry about segregation and the Little Rock Nine. I realized that almost any argument you make against the queer community is nearly identical to arguments made by
070segregationists with a few words changed around. There's a biological difference. I'm sure that argument was made. It's dangerous to have them near us. Sounds familiar. We have to separate them. It's the way it's always been. Huh. Interesting. Isn't it ironic that Moms for Liberty, the group who claims it's nothing more than wanting to protect their children, disregards the well-being of other people's children, namely the trans girl in question here, has proposed the idea of separate classes for queer kids and even proposed the idea of removing books from our school library because they have queer characters. That one is more recent. So, I'd like to end with a few simple things. We will continue to fight for as long as it takes. Students are not your political pawns, and Deerfield will not be made into your
071political battleground. Our existence is not optional. Thank you. Thank you. Next, we have Brian Lance. Dearfield resident, uh, happy to be here tonight and thank you for the opportunity to speak. Um, my intent tonight is to build awareness about the true goal of Moms for Liberty, Awake, Illinois, and their collaborators, if you will. We have been led to believe that locker rooms were the target. But that's not what you think. It's not what you think. These entities have a consistent pattern of conspiring to infiltrate and control communities and schools. Together, they have lodged similar claims and lawsuits against this school district and others all around us. Ski, Niles, Lake Forest, Bington, Evston, Neighborville, Downers Grove, Wheaton, Lions, and many others. So, here's what you should know. Their true goal is to dismantle and rebuild the
072US educational system one district at a time to align with their ideological views. How they do it is through a very standard playbook to burden and control school systems into compliance with their agenda. They identify a local resident and position them as a local hero. They write their statements, provide media training so that they deliver a polish message in the media. They use a gateway issue such as forced use of locker rooms with exaggerated and unfounded claims. They draw media attention and create headlines with salacious claims of wrongdoing. They file frivolous law legal actions to financially burden schools and frighten them into compliance. They submit Freedom of Information Act requests to libraries with the intention of banning anything that doesn't align with their ideologies and they harass teachers, administrators, and librarians on social media. So,
073regardless of anybody's political affiliation or cultural beliefs, I think there's one common point that every resident can get behind. Outsiders who neither live in our community nor share our values are actively working to incite and ca chaos and cause real harm harm to people and the financial stability of our schools and our neighborhoods. These invasive tactics must be confronted at every turn and we cannot allow this to take root in Deerfield. Thank you very much. Thank you. Next is David Weissberger. Thank you. Good evening, board members and neighbors. My name is David Weissberger, Deerfield resident and father. I've spoken before and I'll keep showing up not out of habit but because our schools, our kids, and our values are under attack. I could speak another 25 times. As Arlo Guthrie said, "I'm not proud or
074tired because in Deerfield and across the country, groups like Bombs for Liberty are trying to turn communities against themselves. They've brought fear and falsehoods into our schools." And we're here to say, "Not in this town." What we're seeing isn't confusion, it's calculation. Moms for Liberty and their ally and their allies have a playbook. target the most vulnerable, manufacture fear, use outrage to erode trust in public schools, to weaken civil rights protections, and to push authoritarian ideas into the mainstream. Trans kids just want to be who they are. Moms for liberty are the ones pretending to be something they're not. That's why this isn't just about one student, one incident, or even just about trans rights. It's about whether we let extremism define our community. The people trying to divide us are loud and organized. We
075must be louder and more united. Not with anger, but with clarity and purpose, not just in front of the microphone, but in our daily lives. In every moment when we can choose inclusion over fear. Challenge misinformation when you hear it. Support our teachers and administrators. Show students they are not alone. This isn't a culture war. It's a power grab. And silence only helps one side. We speak up because we believe in something bigger. That every student deserves to feel safe and respected. That public education is worth defending. And that no one should be turned into a target to score political points. So here's the deal. We're not here to debate our neighbors humanity. We're here to defend our schools, our values, and our future. If you bring hate to this town, you will be challenged.
076This is our community, and we will continue to fight for it. Thank you. Thank you, David. Next we have Maggie Nodland. Hello. Good evening. I'm a longtime resident of Deerfield and I've raised three beautiful kids who had gone through uh District 109 um and through the uh Deerfield High School. And I'm here to say thank you very much to the staff of Deerfield 109 who had supported my child when in seventh grade. um he had started to discover who he really was and he became he began using his pronouns and his preferred name which was a brave act which was meant unfortunately with um his friends abandoning him and uh some of the kids even telling him to end his life. And it was through the compassion and the kindness of the teachers, the counselors,
077and the social workers of DPS 109 that he was able to thrive in mil in elementary school and had gone on to high school and is continuing to strive. And I hope that you continue to keep our children in our community in mind when having to fight outside sources that are undermining our um our own values. Thank you. Thank you. Next we have Lane. [Music] Good afternoon. My name is Lane. I am a proud member of Gays Against Groomers, a coalition of gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and trans people united in one mission to stop the indoctrination, sexualization, and medicalization of children. Last month, the district denied any allegations that students were coerced to change in front of others. However, since the foyer request, emails between school staff show the constant hounding of the locker rooms. It's
078peculiar how zero ent zero trans activists are here to here today. They were so passionate and abundant last month and today nothing. It's almost like they know they're wrong, but it's not too late to do the right thing. I want you board members to reflect on the spirit behind the girls locker room issue. There was a theme in the words of the trans activist, a message cloaked in compassion and wrapped in beautiful language. But we are called to test the spirit behind it and the fruit that it bears. The phrase is let children live their authentic lives. And it sounds noble, but we must ask what spirit is behind this message. When we uncover the ramifications of trans ideology, we find it's not authentic. It tells children they are born in error. That to be
079their true selves, they must first deny themselves. Isn't that ironic? This ideology is driven by a spirit of rejection and self-rejection. It's a counterfeit gospel. Salvation through rejection of the self identity through what you will never be. It preaches wholeness through denial and pronouns. If it were rooted in truth, it would bear that fruit of life, health, and peace. And instead, it bears confusion, regret, broken bodies, and stolen futures. It speaks in gentle tones, but it leads children into bondage, not freedom. If the fruit is rotten, the root is corrupt. Now contrast that with the design of the human body. We are fearfully and wonderfully made. When we wear padded bras because we're male or demand the opposite gender's locker room, the body goes into rejection mode. It cannot thrive in that state. It will
080fail to reveal their true potential because it's been taught to suppress it. So tonight, I urge the school board in this community to test the spirit of this ideology, to look past its slogans and look at its fruit. It's comical how every single speech today sounded exactly the same, almost like they're all coordinated to repeat the same thing over and over until the truth becomes eroded and accusing us of all these tactics of aggression when that side has also done the exact same thing, if not even worse. So again, look at its fruit. Thank you. Thank you. Next we have Meredith. Hi, my name is Meredith. Um, I'm a mom in Illinois. Um, I'm also a friend of a lot of parents here who have trans students. Um, I'm the volunteer state director of an
081organization called Defense of Democracy. And our organization is dedicated to keeping extremism out of our schools. Um, as you're very well aware by now, your school district is under attack. Um, we were made aware of it. And I wanted to let you know that when I was in high school, my high school was under attack, too. We were one of the first high schools to ever perform the Laramie Project um back in the early 2000s, which is a play that follows Matthew Shepard um whose young man who was murdered because he was gay. We were targeted by the Westboro Baptist Church at that time. Um and even at the time, as a woman who had no idea what I thought about gay rights, it outraged me that these strangers would come to my school and
082threaten my fellow students and my friends. Um the threat you face now is the same threat that we faced then. These organizations are a little bit more sophisticated. They have new language. Um, but make no mistake that their goal is to come in, censor your curriculum, ban books, and spread partisan policies in your schools. Um, it was so important to me then, as it's important now, to have teachers and administrators who were willing to stand up and say that the show would go on, that they were going to stand up and do what was right for our students and give everyone a voice and give everyone a part on the stage. We are willing to do whatever we can as an organization to aid you in continuing to provide highquality public education that is accessible
083for all students and welcoming for all students. We wanted to thank you for your time and for your service for all students. Thank you. Thank you. And we have Joseph Copsick next. I can delay after res. Thank you. Everybody has gone. Thank you. Um, first thing I want to ask is if there's any people from Moms for Liberty who've been accused of child abuse credibly, I would love it if the people who spoke about that would give give me their name. I would love to help expose those people. That said, as I was saying in last month's meeting, in order to address the increased demand for single occupant changing stalls, the school should construct new locker rooms for non-binary, interex, and transgender individuals, as well as more private stalls and existing boys and girls rooms.
084I left off by saying the school seems adamant that nobody was forced to undress. If that's true, it's only because the girls resisted. They tried to make them undress. That's the force. To continue my statement, if you're charged with attempted murder, you don't get to go free just because your attempt didn't succeed. The attempt was still illegal. Attempted murder is still a crime. So why shouldn't attempted forced indecent exposure be a crime, too? You still attempted to force a child to undress. That's the force. The girl complained and called her mom. That's the evidence of force. Beatings and assault are overt force. But pressure, intimidation, manipulation, and threats are covert force. Likewise, taking away alternatives for no good reason is also covert force. And by that I mean the school's failure to account for the
085large number of girls who would have needed single occupant changing stalls in order to achieve the privacy they desired when the transidentifying male demanded access to their locker room. This unwarranted deprivation of viable alternatives constituted covert force. You might say while the other girls complied certainly that compliance was voluntary. It wasn't. Why is that? Children can consent. So when they were told what to do the special attention should be taken to ensure they're not abused or traumatized in the process. The girls were given no choice but to undress. The only choices were undress now or undress eventually. That's the illusion of real free choice, not a real choice. They undress because they were afraid not to. They were intimidated. That's the force. If it's true that teachers really did block the exit, and please correct
086me if I'm getting any facts wrong, then that's also evidence the force was used. It's unlawful restraint is false imprisonment. And given that the girl's parents didn't know what was happening to them at the time, it's possibly kidnapping. The way I describe it, it's entrapping a minor to commit an act of public indecency. And the people that did this need to be investigated for any and all offenses they might possibly have committed. To the parents of the transidentifying child, nobody hates your kid. We are concerned about your kid. Nobody thinks your kid doesn't exist. And no one wants anyone to have to show genitals in order to enter a bathroom or locker room. The trans child is just a shield whom the staff is using to deflect criticism away from themselves to defend exercising more
087and more control over your kids every day. Most of the people saying trans kids belongs in girls locker rooms are doing everything they can to make it look like the people saying they don't hate trans kids rather than the truth, which is simply that they are upset with the teachers, coaches, administrators. Teachers probably don't want you to find out or maybe they don't even know that a 2017 2018 study said that 78.3 kids are molested or raped by a teacher or fellow student. That works out to every five and a half minutes during school hours that one kid is abused by a teacher or or student. And I have to pay for it. I am I've opted out of having kids, but I'm not allowed to opt out of paying for this abuse factory that
088abuses 14,000 kids a year. Thank you. Okay, we have uh Matthew Flanigan, please. Hello. As was just said, my name is Matthew Flanigan. I am a Deerfield High School graduate. Uh before I go into my main point, as someone studying engineering, seeing the investment in the STEM curriculum is very encouraging and it is exactly what I am doing regularly in my major. These children are constantly being told that everything has to be perfect. They have to excel to the highest heights in any and everything they do. Their grades now impact what classes they take in high school, and their classes in high school determine what college they get into. It's an educational arms race of sorts. I've seen and experienced firsthand the damage this academic pressure puts on students. That alone can be a wedge
089between students, not to mention all the other social challenges. As an adult with an established friend group, it's easy to forget the time when all of my friendships were volatile. These students are learning how to exist as human beings in a society. Every day could be the end of a meaningful friendship or worse, the end of their lives as violence creeps further and further into every corner of the country. These ordinary difficulties have only been compounded for this generation of students that had to grow up in quarantine, saw their neighboring town ravaged by a shooter a mere three years ago, and have the neverending expectations of social media thrown upon them day in and day out. So, imagine my dismay when I come to find out the parents of students at Shephard Middle School brought
090these kids into the national spotlight. These kids that are just trying to figure themselves out. These parents have turned these students into a tool of political messaging at a time in their lives when they already don't want anything to do with their parents. And they have turned these students against one another at one of the most socially challenging times in their lives. There are many things I would change about Deerfield, but our character is not one of them. We are a community that so readily accepts those in marginalized communities. until this year. Apparently, we extended that same grace and support to the LGBTQ community. Deerfield is the place that taught me what it meant to care for people different from me. Deerfield is the place that taught me what it really meant to radically love
091people in the way that I was taught growing up in the church. I'm disgusted by the fact that there are people in this town and from outside that want to change that core part of our community character that want marginalized students to hide. My heart goes out to the student that was the origin of these claims. I'm happy this community is a place where girls feel safe coming forward when uncomfortable. That is something we need to foster and encourage. And I'm immensely proud of both the students courage and the community that we have emboldened the student to come forward when uncomfortable. that student is just as much a victim of this political frenzy as the trans student that is currently under fired under fire. That should be acknowledged and grace should be extended towards that
092student. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you forever for all the comments. Uh next on our agenda number 11, board superintendent other. Does anybody have anything? All right, first meeting as board president. So, I'll take a couple seconds. So, um want to w back welcome back Kathy to the district. First board meeting back in a while. So, welcome back. Um I want to thank Becky for the smooth transition. Been super helpful. So, thank you. Um uh Danielle and the STEM team's great presentation. I always love the curriculum reviews. um and joining the team for the consolidated plan which is I know is an insane thing to put together. It's like gotta work on the next year's one right got to get started already. Um and then just to start a new tradition best question of the
093night goes to Mitch right on what success looks like. So um so thank you. Will there ever be an award for most questions of the night that you will always win? So thank you. No. Thank you very much. And you just proved it. All right. Can I get a motion to adjourn the meeting? So moved. Second. All in favor? Right. Thank you everybody.