001All right, welcome everyone to our February 9th, 2026 board meeting. If you could all please rise for the pledge. The flag is behind you. I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Just as a reminder, if anyone would like to address the board this evening, we do have a form you need to fill out um on the table where you walked in there and then you would hand it to uh Mrs. Der here on the end. Let the record show all members are present with the exception of Scott George. Is everyone okay with the agenda? Do we have any communications? Moving right on to our board committee updates. A building and
002facility committee. Mrs. Rocky. >> Thank you, Madam President. Uh this evening at six o'clock, our buildings and facility committee met. Uh present were myself, uh Miss Picassio, Mr. Moy, Mr. Fiser, Mr. Mr. Vznooki and Mr. Emans. Um, we discussed our scing fund projects. Uh, we got some updates. The new transformer for our middle school athletic field is installed. Um, all the boxes were already out there, so they just need to be plugged in. Um, power back uh was out. They did some investigative work for us for our sanitary water lines um so that we can put in our concession stand and bathrooms at the middle school um athletic facility. Um so we have the plans for that. Um the concession building um the RFP request for um the bid opening is going to be on
003the 16th of March. Um this work will be completed over the summer and um will be done by the start of fall sports and we also discussed possible further projects um for syncing fund use. Um transportation updates. Um there is a salt shortage in the state of Michigan. um seen it on the news, communities are having it too, but it's hitting school districts as well. So hopefully um it's mild the rest of the year because we are going to struggle to get another delivery. We have a little bit our buildings and grounds have been working really hard to keep our building safe. Um so hopefully we won't need much more salt and that was it. >> Thank you. Item D, curriculum committee. Mrs. Big. >> Thank you, Madam President. Um tonight at the uh curriculum
004committee it was myself, Miss Williamson, Mr. English, and Miss Childress. Uh we went over a handful of items. Um one the ones we spent a lot of time with some preliminary results from the winter results from the NWA. Um these are preliminary, so we're not ready to quite share them out yet, but there was some really good strong growth across the the district. Um so in the next couple weeks they will become a uh the window will close they will become the official results and we'll be able to share more information at that time. Um and then we went over three different um proposed courses from the high school from the SCBC committee and so one of them was an AP pre-calc uh course that is they'd like to let us consider um offering for
005the fall. So that was referred to the finance committee. So, that will be coming up soon. Um, also going to finance will be the peer-to-peer class. We talked about that. The high school would like to continue the peer-to-peer class that is currently at the middle school. Um, a lot of interest from the students that would like to continue having that class there. And, um, we also talked about the sociology 2 course. It's a continuation of sociology one. Um, right now we're going to request a little bit more information for that one before we refer any further. And that is it. >> Okay. Thank you. Item eight, our shining star and above and beyond certificate. Mr. Fischer. >> Madam President, thank you very much. I'm happy to see such a nice turnout as we uh recognize
006our shining star students and our above and beyond staff members. I want to thank all of you who are here tonight to uh participate in receiving award or support those who are. Uh leading us off tonight, Madam President, is you and you're going to present the Burgger program awards. Okay, our first shining star this evening is from Burgger Baylor, uh Reese Frasier. I'm told that he is not with us this evening, but we're going to still tell you all about him. Uh Ree was nominated by Kim Sparks, Frankie Marquette, Jessica Sparks, and Tiffany Rogers, the pair professionals. Reese has shown outstanding growth in selfaw self-awareness, communication, and positive decision-making this school year. He consistently uses languages in a thoughtful manner. He independently requests breaks when needed and demonstrates effort making positive choices throughout the day
007such as following the daily schedule and coming to his desk ready to work. When challenges arise, he shows effort by working through elevated moments and responding to staff guidance, including taking breaks as needed. His progress since the beginning of the school year reflects dedication, perseverance, and a growing sense of responsibility, making him highly deserving of district-wide recognition. Least, you have done an amazing job using your words to share how you feel and what you need. You ask for breaks when you need them, follow your schedule, and come to your desk ready to learn. Even when things feel hard, you work to make good choices. You have grown so much this school year, and we're so very proud of you. And our above and beyond staff member for Burgger Baylor is Danielle McDaniel. She was nominated
008by Liz Mullins, administrative assistant, and she says Danielle is always willing to help whenever needed. She is out busing without being asked every morning. If she knows we are short-handed due to absences, she volunteers to take on someone else's class. If a classroom needs help with busing, she always says yes. If we need coverage during her plan, she always says yes. If there is an IEP or report cards that need to be done for a teacher that is out, she will do it. She is always positive and always looking out for students. Danielle is a true team player. So our shining star student from is from Burgger Transition Center, Gavin Fortune. >> There you go. Gav Gavin was nominated by Emily Connley, the behavior para profofessional, and she says, "I'd like to nominate Gavin Fortune
009as the shining star student." Gavin is in Audrey's Barack's room. He's made major strides in identifying when a break would be beneficial for self-regulation and has started requesting them independently. His pleasant disposition and smiles brighten the hallways. And Gavin is a joy and an inspiration. We are best blessed to have Gavin in our program. And our above and beyond staff member for Burgger Transition Center is Emily Connelly, not here this evening. She was nominated by Katie Yiken. Uh she says, "I would like to nominate Emily Connley for Above and Beyond staff member. Emily has done a phenomenal job in her new role role as behavior para this year. She goes above and beyond to get to know the students and their likes and interests which she then utilizes to relate to them and calm them
010down when they are experiencing stress. She is attentive to support calls and follows up with classroom staff after events to decompress and improve for next time. Emily is a crucial part of the behavior team at BTC and makes a positive difference in the lives of our students daily. Thanks Emily for all you do. And I have the pleasure of giving the shining star student award to uh Zoe Mayhew from Lathers. Is Zoe here? Good job. >> Stay right there. Okay. Let's get a quick picture and I'll tell everyone about you. Okay. >> All right. So, Zoe was nominated by the school social worker, Katherine Lawrence. She said, "Zoe has been working hard to meet her goals. Zoe's made great progress at Lathers and is meeting and exceeding her goals on a daily basis. Zoe is
011a natural leader and has begun channeling those traits to set a positive example in her classroom. She has also been such a great friend to a new student in her classroom, showing her around the room, holding her hand in the hallway so she feels included and helping her navigate in the new setting. And I'm so proud of you, Zoe. For this reason, I'm nominating you for the Lather Shining Student Award. Good job. Landers has two shining stars. Um, our next one is Raina Osman. >> Congratulations. Would you like to hold your >> Let me tell you about Raina. Raina was nominated by Mrs. Cup and Mrs. Stephanie, her GSRP teachers. All right. All right. Great job. They said, "I am excited to nominate Raina for the Shining Star Award. She always has done an amazing
012job as a preschool student at Latherers in our GSRP room. She is kind and gentle in all she does, helps around the classroom when there's a need, and is always ready to learn something new." Raina is so intelligent. We know she will be successful wherever she goes. For this reason, we're nominating Raina for the Lather Shining Star. And our staff member going above and beyond is Ayam Musama, a teacher here. Okay. And Ya was nominated by Katherine Lawrence, our school social worker, and Mrs. Ford, the principal. I said, "Ya is a first year teacher at Lathers who has gone above and beyond to meet the needs of all the unique learners in her classroom while asking questions herself to learn and grow. She has the most positive attitude, always prepared, and not afraid to seek
013out help or answers. Her willingness to connect with staff in such a positive way and to be so open to learning so much this year is more than you could ask for in a co-orker and teammate. Ya's classroom is welcoming, warm, and kid-friendly. She has created an atmosphere of kindness, friendliness, and solid expectations. Her students know they are loved, and they are thriving in this awesome classroom. The students know that Mrs. um wants the best for them and they know that they can go to her with any questions and problems and she will help them with the solutions. They are learning independence in the small group activities and they also love to participate in the whole group learning. Miss M goes above and beyond for the students daily. For these reasons, we're nominating this awesome
014teacher and colleague for lathers above and beyond. And we will um move on to Lathers. And the shining star student from Lathers is Aubrey Quowski. >> Oh, I love those boots. >> Okay. Aubrey was nominated by her teacher, Miss Pel. I am excited to nominate Aubrey Quietowski. Aubrey has truly shined this year, and her growth in first grade has been outstanding to watch. She has found her voice in the classroom and is becoming more confident each day. I love seeing her raise her hand to speak in front of the class and proudly ask um to help with classroom jobs. When she finishes her work, she takes initiative to move around the room and help others, showing kindness, responsibility, and leadership. Aubrey is a shining star star and a posit positive presence in our classroom. I'm
015proud of the amazing work she has doing. And our above and beyond staff member award for memorial is Miss Megan Lynch, teacher. All right. I don't see Megan here, but I'll tell you about her. All right. She was nominated by Dr. Dr. Joe Lkins, the principal of Memorial, says Miss Mrs. Lynch has been an active member of the Memorial team for many years. You can see her in the halls picking up students, helping to calm students down, or on her way to help in the office. When we are in need of extra help, Mrs. Lynch is always there to assist in any way she possibly can. Megan is a member of our MERT team, the family engagement committee, the school improvement committee, and assists in the daily medical needs of any of our students. Mrs.
016Lynch also has a great rapport with her students. They all know that she loves and cares about them as a student and as a person. She works hard to build lasting relationships with her students and families. Thank you, Megan, for all you do. Tonight I have the shining star student for Douglas Lucas Wheeler and Lucas was nominated by his teacher Lindseay Carl. One of the shining shining star students in my class is Lucas who consistently demonstrates a strong commitment. Lucas actively participates in lessons, ask thoughtful questions, and shows genuine curiosity across all subjects. His positive attitude, creativity, and helpful nature make him a role model for others. Through hard work and determination, Lucas continues to achieve excellent results and is very respectful to his peers and teachers. And our going above and beyond staff member
017for Douglas is Kathy Spencer. Kathy was nominated by Mrs. Moser and Mr. B. We are so glad to have Miss Spencer back in Garden City Schools this year. She consistently goes above and beyond in her work with students who have a wide range of needs, demonstrating exceptional patience, dedication, and professionalism. The growth her students have shown this year reflects her commitment to consistency, structure, and a positive support. Miss Spencer also works collaboratively with the adults who support her classroom. Even when staffing assignment ch assignments change, she feels welcoming, inclusive, and supportive, ensuring that everyone feels valued and prepared to contribute. She approaches challenges with empathy and problem solving, taking the time to communicate and support others rather than focusing on difficulties. Above all, Miss Spencer genuinely cares about the success and well-being of every student
018in her class. She has created a safe, nurturing environment where students can learn, grow, and build trust. Douglas Elementary and the students she serves are truly fortunate to have her. >> Good evening. I have the honor of doing uh Farmington's awards. I'm going to switch it up a little bit and I'm going to start with the Going Above and Beyond award uh nominated by Mr. Robinson, the principal for Christy Joll. >> You have that look like maybe you didn't know about this. I know you are. >> Wow. >> Let me tell you about Christy Jalice. We are proud to recognize Chris Jalice as an outstanding sixth grade veteran teacher who consistently goes above and beyond for our school community. With years of experience and a deep commitment to excellence, Chris builds strong, meaningful relationships with
019students while holding them to high expectations and supporting their growth both academically and socially. As the National Elementary Honor Society sponsor, Chris dedicates countless hours to mentoring student leaders and modeling the values of service, responsibility, and character. Her leadership ensues that NEHS is a meaningful and impactful experience for students and a positive reflection of our school culture. Chris is also a trusted colleague who works seamlessly with staff, always willing to share her expertise, collaborate, and offer support. Her passion for education, dedication to students, and commitment to teamwork make her an invaluable asset to our school. And the shining star from Farmington who was nominated by our super awesome Christy Joll is Aliana Jackson. Congratulations. Al I'm so sorry. Aliana Jackson is the epitome of a shining star. She is an outstanding student who consistently demonstrates
020integrity and enthusiasm for learning. She is always on task, participates in class discussions, and works well with partners in groups. She works with them in a way that is helpful and kind. Additionally, she shows perseverance and improving herself as a student. She is working on a research project of her own on a subject of her choice whenever she has some free class time. She is a role model to other students at Farmington. She goes out of her way to help others or to be a friend to someone in the classroom. What is most impressive about her is her patient and gentle humility. She is always available for her classmates with a beautiful smile and kind words of encouragement. She is a safety in the morning, greeting everyone with a smile. In addition, she has recently
021she was recently inducted into Farmington's National Elementary Honor Society. She is very approachable and well respected by her peers. She goes far above and beyond what is expected and is trustworthy and responsible. She is respectful, conscientious, and demonstrates a great love of her school community. I am proud of her hard work and the contribution she has made to our classroom and school communities. Thank you for being a shining star of Uh, good evening. Uh, I have the honor of giving the awards for Garden City Middle School and Garden City High School. Uh, the middle school shining star student goes to Kenna Edgar. Congratulations. >> Kenna was nominated by uh a teacher Jill Wakowski. Um during the February PBIS reward, Kenna earned the bronze medal which qualified her to compete in the PBIS Olympic Assembly. She
022noticed that a classmate was extremely disappointed and after after not earning a spot to participate. After class, Kenna approached me and selflessly offered to give up her own place in the game so that the student in the fifth hour class who truly wanted the opportunity could participate instead. This thoughtful and compassionate decision was made without prompting and reflects Kenna's genuine kindness, empathy, and strong character. Kenna consistently demonstrates what it means to be a positive role model by putting others before herself. And her actions truly embody the spirit of PBIS. The uh going above and beyond award for the middle school uh goes to Shelley Lesto, a teacher. Uh she was nominated by the administrators over there. Um they said, "It is our honor to nominate Shelley Leco for the Above and Beyond award. Sometimes it
023would be easier to tell what Shelley doesn't do at Garden City Middle School because she truly goes above and beyond for our building every single day and really every single year. Shelley gives her time to teach all six periods of the day so that we can provide a science elective, science and action for students to have greater access to labs and scientific applications. Shelley also serves as the lead for our science focused afterchool tutoring program targeting students needs at both seventh and eighth grade levels. She spearheads our science for tomorrow partnership with the University of Michigan which is a program that allows students to study with U of M professors and their student staff in many different areas of science focus. Lastly, Miss Leco also has has also developed a close partnership with our state
024metro park system to allow our Garden City Middle School students to go on site to discover and study the ecosystems found in those protected areas. The best part of working with Shelley is the true excitement that she generates when working with her students and the community partners to give our scholars opportunities to see science in the world in which they live. Her passion and commitment to our students and their learning are certainly infectious and we are great to have her working in our building. Thank you for all that you do. Uh the shining star student at Garden City High School is Marissa Kaine. Congratulations. Uh Marissa was nominated by Linda Bamaro, a teacher. Marissa Kane is a junior at the high school and a member of DECA. This year, Marissa created the chapter awards program
025for DECA. This consists of 50 plus narrative pages for our DECA activities accomplished by a page, I'm sorry, 50 narrative pages of our DECA activities accompanied by a page scrapbook style of pictures. She also completed all of the application requirements to qualify for an interview for the state DECA executive council. Although Garden City will not have a student on the state council, the amount of effort and work Marissa has put has to put in to be chosen for the interview was staggering. And she does all of this with a positive attitude and intentional purpose to be the best that she can be. Congratulations. The going above and beyond award goes to Nicole Higian. She was nominated by uh Jennifer Mitchell, the in administration. Um we cannot express enough gratitude for all of the work that
026Nicole puts into her positive her position as the special ed coordinator at Garden City High School. She always finds a way to be help to be a helping hand whether it be with staffing needs in the department, helping students write statements for administration, working with working on accommodations for testing or grabbing a walkie-talkie because one of the administrators is out that day. Her demeanor is kind and compassionate with even with a challenging situation which is highly appreciated by everyone. Her conversation with parents are kind, thoughtful, and always in the best interest of the student. Somehow, she finds time for everything everyone asks of her and is a team player and continues to help create a better environment for our students at Garden City High School. A colleague, Jennifer Mitchell, wrote, "Thank you, Miss Higginian, for
027your support of the special education team. Your expertise and willingness to assist with IEPs, scheduling, student matters, progress reports, and all related paperwork has been amazing, spelled with multiple A's. Congratulations on being our pick for the high school Above and Beyond staff member in February. Gotta go a little low. All right. So, last but certainly not least tonight, I have the honor of presenting the awards for Cambridge High School. Tonight, the shining star student who was nominated by Mark K. Principal is Christina Dixon. I'll tell you about Christina. Christina began at Cambridge in the fall and has become a role model for students. She has shown incredible initiative since she started. Academically, she carried a 4.0 GPA during her first trimester and is currently following the same pattern for the second trime trimester. As for
028attendance, her absences have been on the minimal side. and anytime she must miss school, she speaks with her teachers and gets her missing work completed and turned in within a timely manner. In addition to having an overall polite, inviting, and pleasant manner, she is open to trying new ideas and problem solving. Furthermore, she motivates her fellow classmates to work more diligently on their own assignments and is willing to help them understand the work that is given. She's encouraging as well as respectful of her peers own difficulties and shows them respect when cheering them on to academic success. She is an advocate for herself and for others in a positive manner. Cambridge is extremely lucky that Christina chose to come here and finish out her high school career. Congratulations. And then our Cambridge staff member that
029is going above and beyond who is also nominated by Marqu principal is Audene Wovich. Odine has been a fixture at Cambridge for decades. Originally, she started as a classroom teacher and then made her way into becoming one of the building's teacher consultants to our special education population. Audine is amazing at writing thorough IEPs and is well respected by the students and families on her case load. She is willing to work with all students while remaining focused on her personal case load is evident that Audene cares about education and has a deep regard for alternative styles of education. Because of Audine, hundreds of Cambridge students have walked across the stage at graduation after earning their diplomas. Audine is also willing to collaborate with staff to gain a better understanding of her case loads, accommodations, and how
030to better work with students who may have some type of disability. Cambridge High School is extremely lucky to have Audine as a dedicated staff member to her peers and her students. Can we get one more round of applause for all of our winners this evening? >> Okay, moving on. Item nine, presentation. A lathers, Mrs. Ford. Good evening everybody. Thank you for being here tonight at Lathers. We have a short presentation to share with you about some great things going on at Lathers. We have some uh Lather's activities and school life slides to share, some data, some interventions, and also a little bit of our G about our GSRP program and the expansion. I'd like to introduce four of my amazing staff members. Down here, we have Jacqueline Smith. She's one of our GSRP teachers. Alexis
031Cup, another GSRP teacher. Lissa Gibson is one of our Title One intervention teachers. and Lena Swan, one of our very brave kindergarten teachers. So, we're just going to get started with a few um easy slides. Just our lather statistics here. Uh 41 teachers and ancillary, 26 support staff. Kindergarten 218 right now. GSRP 167 almost to 169. We have two waiting on paperwork. Um our ECD, our early childhood preschool uh special ed kids and our ASD room. It's a total of 29 with a couple more adding up adding in in the next few weeks. Um we have obviously GSRP which is gened preschool, special ed preschool, kindergarten and AF. Um I'm going to pass this over to you. Okay, you gota talk. All right. So, uh, this is our, um, NWA fall, but our students came
032in knowing on our sounds and letter ID. Um, in the fall, we had a struggle with sound, which is common every year. They came in knowing a lot of their, um, letters, but then now in the winter, uh, we saw a lot of growth just in the few months that we've had them. So, we're happy about that. >> This is our NWVA data. We just um wrapped this up on Friday um finally after lots of snow days and other things. Um on the left hand side of each column you'll see um the lather score. On the right hand side you'll see the national norm. So you can see in the fall for each area we pretty much came in right where the national norm is. Um and then we've been able to stay really tight
033within that for the winter um sessions both for reading and for math. Um this is a picture of some of the literacy block stations. Um you can see Miss Claus there working through the benchmark advance program. Um while she's doing that then other kids are working through stations with independent work. Um this is a chart that pretty much demonstrates what interventions look like. Every student in our school has access to all of the tier one support that would be the genet curriculum. Um about 20% of our um students receive not the curriculum curriculum and PBIS um supports um tier 2 inter will be about 20% of the students that see either myself um or Miss Friend for reading intervention. They may also have check in checkout systems, things like that for tier 2 PBIS. And
034then tier three with these special ed students. Um one thing about this chart is that it shows that you know a tier three student also has access to the tier two and the tier ones of course they all pretty much stack together. Um that's me. and my counterpart, Miss Friend. Um, we are the two reading intervention teachers. There's a picture of her at the bottom. Um, we between the two of us are able to get through about 50 to 60 students for each cycle. Um, we're constantly checking in with them um every other week on letters, sounds, site words as they um are able to meet re meet the grade level benchmark. Then we let them go. We pick up students who are lower than them. And then just quickly, these are two um things
035that we started last year at Lather. So I I I started the critter camp, which is our summer program. Um last year was the full first year. We had about 65 incoming kindergarten students joining our camp. Um we just went over school routines, um the kindergarten readiness, we had some field trips, um a lot of hands-on math and reading. And then I also started the tutoring program at Lathers last year. We do one in the fall and then one in the spring. We had a winter one as well. Also math and reading supports um twice a week in the morning. >> Oh, these are just some pictures of uh teachers working with our students. We have special ed classrooms. We have our resource rooms. We have a new program down here in the middle, a
036little girl in a fancy dress. We um added a learning program which is our very longest on early childhood preschool students. And all right, just some student activities. We had a Christmas concert. Um lather's fun and Halloween. Just normal pictures there to share with you. Um we're continuing to successfully implement PBIS. It is an early childhood PBIS that we use a little bit different framework for DSRP and we use our regular PBS model for kindergarten which is well established here. We do schoolwide events once a month for the entire group and then we do separate um PBIS clubs for preschool on Thursdays and kindergarten on Fridays. Let's just show some of our bubble party um friendship piece. There's something every month. Few more. We had a little diversity circus assembly recently and some more fun.
037Um these are some of the pictures of our clubs on the bottom. We had a light parade. You can see them. Even our kids in the little stroller participated. And um right over here, we're just going to talk for a few more slides about our GSRP program that starts stands for great start readiness program. It is state funded and um we host a large program here. We thought it was really large all these years until we found a way to expand it even more. We for many years, probably at least 10 or 12 years, had 144 children in our program and we were able to bump that up to 69. Now, since I put this slide in, we've actually added two more. So, we're 167 now. Two more have paperwork in the pipeline ready to
038start. Um RHSA, the county that oversees our program, the um ISD program over there. They um provided us with $161,000 approximately just under 18,000 for or 17,000 for every classroom that um was expanding. and we did expand all nine. So, we had a nice solid amount of money to really um add some nice things. We of course needed more infrastructure things like more chairs and more tables and things like that because we have been set up for so many years for 16 students and packing in three more meant more cops and and more play playground things like that. Um so, we're just going to u flip through a few more slides here and I'm going to let my teachers introduce showing you pictures of each of the If you ever want to take a little
039walk through any of those rooms, you're welcome to do so. You guys can >> Hi. Um, so we have nine classrooms, so you'll just see um nine slides, just one from each classroom. And there's more than we are showing here. Um, we try to pick select items that are unique to the classrooms. Um although some will look kind of uh similar such as tables or um sensory bins. So here for this classroom we have a couple different um sensory opportunities. Um the brand new tables and chairs are in this one here as well. An art shelf. Um new rugs we got as well. And then some art racks as well here in this classroom. Another nice new rug. Another set of tables. We got the option to pick what tables worked for our own classrooms.
040We also got options of different kinds of colors for chairs, but all the chairs are the same. Um, we also got many different items for our house area or book nooks is what we call them. Rugs. Um, little couches that fit their size that look nice and cozy. Um, more rugs. Um, some people chose to get some new kitchen updates as well. Um, small tables. We have new cotss and then storage as well. Some teachers decided to go with for this classroom a different kind of sensory bin. Here's another way. Um, some teachers decide to organize their tables. In this classroom, they have chosen to use it two different ways. So, it's really flexible and depending on what tables you chose. Um, you can do that for your rooms to try to figure out the
041space and activities. And then for this classroom, they also got different kind of tables. Um, a lot of new colorful rugs, some more furniture that's kids size. Um, this little kitchen area here is play kitchen area is updated as well. >> Um, okay. This one they got new art shelves, uh, toy shelves. Again, different tables. Some of them have round tables. And you can see this room also has, uh, gray chairs. Again, all the chairs are the same. They're just different colors. Um, this room, they got a fireplace. And you can see they really decorated that. There's a pretend fire in there. This is in their book area. This is the class. Um and they got a new kitchen area table and chairs. They're having a meal there. Um this room. Um again, this this
042room has the beige chairs and they have kidney tables. Um a new kitchen. This kitchen is all one. Some kitchens are four separate um appliances, but this one is all one. And they have a coffee bar. Uh this room here, this is were four individual um pieces to the kitchen. You can see how they used um they put their tables together to make a put them three again the blue chairs there. Um, this room also has a fireplace, but they chose to use it more as storage in different way. And they got a new comfy couch. And, uh, that cabinet in the corner is for their dressup clothes. Um, this is our new motorroom. So, we expanded our motor room. We moved it to a larger room that was formerly the art room many years
043ago. So, we got some new um, pieces to play on. This is actually a jeep that they can uh climb up this the side and go down the slide. We have some tents in there. And then down there on the end is another uh castle that's all made of foam that they can uh climb on. Um more pictures of our motor room. We have very large magnetiles that they can use. These are all magnetic. Um we have a big caterpillar they can crawl in and then another climbing structure. And then some new outside uh playground equipment. We got some new bikes, some new cars. Um this bike may mergoround they love. This was just installed like late fall or even very early winter. Um but they love it. Um that rock climbing wall is new.
044They like to climb all the way to the top because it's open on the top too. And then a new train down there. They love to um sit in that inside the little tunnels there and sit in and pretend they're driving the train. Um and then we have three parent engagement days. They're called family partnership discovery days where we invite the parents to come in and we travel to each classroom and each classroom plans a different activity. So in November we did fall harvest party we called it and we had lots of fall activities in each room. touched on like literacy, one was science, one was math, we had um a snack room, um art. Uh February, we're changing it up a little bit. We're doing something new called Kids in the Kitchen. Again, it's
045there's a um math component, literacy, um science, sensory, but it's all um planned around activities and things you can do with your child in the kitchen. We're having the Garden City uh public librarian come, Kim P. She's going to bring some books um to show the parents what kind of cookbooks and other books that touch on food. And there she has some multicultural books that kind of talk about different foods in different cultures and then has a recipe in the back she's going to bring to share with the parents to let the parents know what's available at the public library to go coincide with what we're talking about. And then we have one more in May that um is not quite planned yet. Uh and these are some pictures from our um family day in
046uh November. We had um these are some sensory bins, right? >> Sensory bins, >> pine cone painting. and then >> okay so these are three different rooms I believe like activities in different rooms um so our curriculum is called C for all which stands for connect for learning it has four domains that we hit for all of our lessons So, literacy, math, science, and social emotional development. Um, that is something that we teach through a researchbased curriculum. Um, we also use something that's also researchbased um for our assessment called child observation record or as we like to call it, core. Um, these things are really long to say, so luckily we have acronyms. Um, so core is something that we do um all year long in our classroom. These are observations that we do um
047of the children within the classroom as they're going about their day. Um and this gives us just a snapshot of their holistic development. Where are they at at the time when we do it? Um so we use two of these things together. Um and we align them for goal setting because we set goals with our families for our two conferences and two home visits. Um we use it for instructional planning and we use it to differentiate our lessons for the kids in the classroom. So we have eight developmental areas for core specifically which again is our assessment. This is about 646 observational anecdotal notes that we have to take three times a year for every single student. Um which is about 18 to 19 kids per classroom. And so these eight areas are approaches to
048learning. This first one right here I'm just going to go this way. Um approaches to learning is planning, problem solving, recall of information. Um social emotional development. We also look at identifying emotions, building relationships with students and um adults, physical development and health. That's the fine motor and gross motor piece of it. Um it also includes just um general health things. Um taking care of yourself, language literacy and communication. Um that includes funological awareness, reading skills, writing skills, um language communication, mathematics that includes patterns, counting, um identifying numbers, measurement, creative arts, which includes art itself along with pretend play because that's a big piece of our learning and how students learn is through play. Um science and technology that includes um things about tools and technology. um how to make predictions and discover new things.
049What do we do to get there? How how can we do that with different tools? Um social studies that involves talking about families, what makes somebody the same or different? How does time work? What is tomorrow? And then um there's an option for English language learning um that you would take those additional notes. That's on top of the uh notes that we take um for any students that might be uh EL. so that um we can kind of get a snapshot of where they're at with that. >> We just uh we just wanted to take a moment to just share core is our assessment that pairs with our curriculum in GSRP. Very different even though we're one big elementary school here, early elementary school, uh what we do in preschool for assessment is so different
050than doing NWA on a computer. Just wanted to share that because we don't always mention that part of GSRP. And this is just our uh our promotion and enrollment uh page just to let you know that our jump start dates, all of our registration for GSRP will be opening really soon. So, we're starting to have families call about that. And then our kindergarten blastoff will begin um in March on the 19th, on the 21st, and also May 15th. So, once a month, we have that early enrollment that will open in less than a month for those people want to just get started, get them involved, get everything uploaded, and they don't feel the need to come to one of the blastoff events. But, um, we're going to be putting this on the website and making
051sure that our families know so we can get those numbers coming in for fall. Thank you so much, everyone. I do want to share, I shared earlier with the buildings and facilities committee, but I want to share with our other board members in attendance tonight. Mrs. Ford has graciously offered the opportunity after the regular board meeting if there any board members or cabinet team members who would like to see um how the GSRP expansion grant has been put into action and the great things in the classrooms in the gross motor skill room. Uh Mrs. Ford's going to be available for a tour. I've had the opportunity to see that as has Mr. Wiznooki. There's some great things in there. So, if a couple of you are available after the board meeting, that'd be great because
052I know that I'm going to poke my head in and I'd like you to see some other things, too. And we know that Mrs. Ford is very good and very adept. Dare I say highly qualified at spending grant funds. So, it's the money's been put to great use. So, >> yes, >> it's awesome. It's good stuff. The rooms, I'm going to tell you, the rooms have turned out great. And, uh, couple of them in particular, I mean, I really identify with, they're very therapeutic in nature. So, if you have a minute after the board meeting, please join us. Susan, thank you. >> Quick question. Is the motor room going to be on that tour? >> Cuz I just putting it out there that Mr. Rock let me go in the ball pit. >> So, just
053throwing it out there, Mrs. Ford. >> All right. Thank you, Miss Uh, item 10, comments from the audience focused on today's agenda, and we have none. Item 11, approval of the general consent agenda items. A, regular meeting minutes of January 26, 2026. B, finance committee minutes of January 26, 2026. C, policy focus committee minutes of January 26, 2026. And D, bills payable. Motion is in order. >> Any discussion? All in favor? I. >> Any opposed? Motion passes. Item 12, new business, a human resource report. Stacy Williamson. >> Thank you, Madam President. As you can see, the human resources report this evening reflects the resignation of two pair of professionals. The leave of absence request for another pair professional and the rehiring of a recently retired teacher who would like to come back and sub for
054us as needed. So if there are no questions, my recommendation is to accept the report as presented. >> Motion is in order. >> Any discussion? All in favor? >> Any opposed? Motion passes. Item 13, comments from the audience. And again, we have none this evening. Item 14, reviewing recommendations. Superintendent, other central office admins. >> Madam President, thank you. I again want to thank the Lather's team for the detailed, thoughtful presentation. It's great to see all the good things happening here at Lathers and see how the GSRP expansion grant has been put to great use. Uh I also want to thank our community members, our staff members uh who took time to honor and recognize either a Shining Star student or above and beyond staff member. Much appreciated. We do have a couple field trips tonight.
055They are both from Garden City High School and they're both to the same destination, out of state destination to Cedar Point. Uh first one is on May 18th and this will be for AP physics, AP calc and honors pre-calculus. It is the Cedar Point uh real life application of math and physics in action. Uh paperwork is in order and that's a traditional trip that's been undertaken by uh AP physics, AP calc and honors pre-calc in the past. And then secondary to that, uh, high school's taking, uh, a lead in embracing the PBIS component of our strategic plan. And they have a PBIS trip, you know, specifically a PBIS trip plan for students in grades 9 through 12, uh, in honor of good attendance. And that is on June 5th. Also destination to that is Cedar
056Point. And that's sponsored by Miss Kohler, Mr. Kenel, and Miss Vuic. So baring any questions? I think both of these trips look good. been a previous destination uh for us before. Uh I do want to just let the public know that we have uh uh board approved strategic plan. Last week uh Mr. English led the DT team and we had great discussion on implementation of the strategic plan and the five components to that. Later on this week, we'll be pushing out some information to the community uh on the specifics of that strategic plan and our goals related to that. Likewise, board members, um I'll be having conversation with you on my mutually developed goals uh moving forward and Mills will be tied directly to the strategic plan as part of my evaluation. Uh happy to
057report work with the facility dogs continues to go well. Uh we have we had another round of training last week and on February 22nd we look to have another four to five of our handlers uh certified through therapy dog international to handle either Onyx or Zade in the buildings. I've gotten great feedback from both staff, students, and central office team members alike on our facility dogs. So another exciting component. Again, uh thank you to Mr. English for his good work in uh developing and supporting the grants for those dogs. Uh, we do have, as you know, I can't believe it's tomorrow already. Thank goodness, but it's coming up quick. We've got our PTA founders day and our district hometown spirit awards tomorrow. >> I'm sorry, Wednesday. >> Not quite as quick, but still quick. 48
058hours away. Less than 48 hours away. Yeah, we're still knocking a few things out of that presentation. So, that'll be Wednesday, February 11th. We look forward to that at uh the Helenic Center. Um, any comments on anything from the cabinet team? We're good. All right. Uh will share that our next regular board meeting is Monday, February 23rd and that'll be at central office for the venue. Uh and we will have on board for that board meeting. I do believe we have Onyx and we'll have a presentation from Mr. English and myself and Miss Bellis will be there with Onyx and you'll get to meet her. So we look forward to that, Madam President. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Fischer. Item 15, review and recommendations. Members of the board, does anyone have anything this evening?
059>> Meta. >> Uh, Miss Ford, thank you for the presentation and please make sure to thank your staff really do this. There's it just seems every year we we just great things are happening at Lathers and I love love love the idea of critter camp. So, if you could let them know, I think that's what a great idea to get them in a little bit early, get them acclimated to schedules and building and comfortable and to put the time in to do that. Please thank them. That's a great idea. >> Item 15, adjournment. >> Madam President, Mrs. >> I move that we adjourn. >> Any discussion? >> All in favor? >> Any opposed? Motion approved. Thank you all for coming this evening.