001Yeah, that's I know there's uh >> discussion. >> I'd like to you know I Yeah, we'll call our meeting to order. >> Use that hammer there, Dave. Thank you so much for being here tonight. We're going to turn around [laughter] and get started. >> Wow, that was impressive. >> Okay. Um, we'll call our meeting to order. It's a delight to be at Indian Lake and I look forward to Dr. Viselo's presentation and then when Mrs. Heinselman shows up with bunch of kids in these uh in rows here, I'm really excited about that too. Um, before I turn it over to the superintendent, I hope that some of you were able to go to the district football game, the district final football game last Friday. Uh, that was very exciting. It was a really well-played game.
002Came down to the last play, which was really sweet. And the band got to show off their new program that they're working on because they're going to go, is it the Alamo Bowl? Yes, >> correct. >> The Alamo Bowl they're going to this January. So they're working on new material and we're able to play that publicly I think for the first time as well. So that was a really really great occasion. So with that we turn it over to the superintendent report. >> Yeah. Just to piggyback off Dave uh if you have nothing to do Friday afternoon 3:00 in Portland, Michigan. >> That's when the game will be played. So hopefully you can make it up. Let's pack the stands. I heard it's going to be standing room only on our side. Uh so >>
003go Bulldogs. Um, thank you again, Dave. It's great to see all of you here tonight. We love coming out to Indian Lake. I'd like to uh welcome uh everyone here tonight and also everyone watching our live stream this evening as well. I'd like to begin uh by talking about tomorrow, November 11th. We come together to honor and remember the brave men and women who have served in our nation's armed forces. Veterans Day is a time to reflect on their sacrifices, their courage, and the unwavering commitment they've shown in defending the freedoms we hold dear. Our veterans have fought in countless battles both abroad and on the home front, protecting the values that make our country strong. Their service transcends transcends the military. It's woven into the fabric of our communities, our schools, and our lives.
004Many of our veterans have returned home to contribute in countless ways to our society through teaching, mentoring, leading, and inspiring others through their example of resilience and selflessness. As a school community, we are fortunate to have veterans among us. Whether as parents, grandparents, teachers, or neighbors, their experiences enrich the lives of our students, providing a living testament to the importance of service, sacrifice, and citizenship. Let us remember that the freedoms we enjoy are not free. They are the result of the dedication and bravery of those who have served. It is our responsibility to ensure that their contributions are never forgotten and that their legacy is passed on to future generations. We also recognize the importance of supporting our veterans not only today but every day. As an educational community, we are committed to fostering respect,
005gratitude, and understanding for the sacrifices made by these individuals and their families. Thank you, veterans. [applause] Again, we are super excited to be at Indian Lake Elementary this evening. And with that being said, I'm going to turn it over to Dr. Principal Dr. Balia to get started. Mrs. Hanselman here. So, come on up. Get us started with the choir. Uh, thank you. Our fourth and fifth grade choirs, the members that could be here have been practicing um for for about a month. and they to follow up with your veteran salute. We would like to start with a song called Thank you. [music] Make a bed. If you [music] cherish freedom, [singing] think of it to the price they sacrifice [music] they made. If you love [singing] your country, think [music] of it. >> [music] >>
006They gave [music and singing] us the best of their youth to protect the red and their blue. [music] land for error on the [music] sea. They defend our labor. [music] If you love [singing] your [music] country, think of it. If you cherish freedom, [music] think [singing] of it. for the price they force [music and singing] they love your [music and singing] country. >> I love my country. >> If you cherish freedom, >> I cherish freedom. >> If you love our [music] freedom, Oh, take [music and singing] the land. [applause] And we have one more song to sing for you. It is our Indian Lake School song. So, we want to also invite our student council to come and join us or you can sing from over there. >> All right, let's go ahead and stand
007up. >> [music] [singing] >> in L. Who's [music and singing] a school where the school is part of family? I [music] I am Indian Lake Elementary. [singing] We have pride, we respected, we [music] have empathy. I [singing] am Indian. [music] We have any life. We have joy and [music] love. We are [singing] honest and we have integity. Yes, we do. We are [music and singing] leaders. We were given our time to kind. [music and singing] [applause] >> Okay. And um we're gonna have our student council present a few things too. Is that okay? Okay. >> Um so I'm gonna I'm gonna do the slides for you guys, but Jack, I'm going to turn it right on over to you. So you have to kind of move to the microphone. Okay. So we're not passing. Go
008ahead. >> Hello. My name is Jack Campbell and I am the president for our Indian Lake student council. We are excited to be here tonight to share all that we have been working on Indian at Indie Lake. But before we do, we want to thank all our veterans for their service. We cannot thank you enough for serving our country. >> Hi, my name is Lena Burmeister and I'm treasurer for our student council. Before we get started, could everyone please stand and respectfully face the flag with your hand over your heart. This is how we start every day at school. I pledge allegiance 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. Please remain standing for our
009Indian Lake pledge. >> Hello, my name is Autumn Bean. I am classroom representative for fourth grade. We will now recite the Indian Lake pledge. If you don't know it, no need to stress. The words will be on the screen. We at Indiana Lake are a caring community of learners where each individual gives an honest effort, respects all others, and takes responsibility for herself. You may be seated now. >> Hi, my name is Eliza Waki and I'm class representative from fourth grade at Indian Lake. We practice pause expectations and every morning we remind ourselves and students what that looks like at at school and in our community with the following statement. Practice kindness. Act responsibly. Work hard. Stay safe and focused. Hi, my name is Dylan Clawson and I'm our vice president. Every student who is
010a part of our student council was required to submit an application campaign with posters and present a speech to the student body. After campaigning was over, our peers had a chance to vote for who they wanted to represent their class. This was a great learning opportunity as it required thought and effort into what is required to become a leader and make a difference in our school community. >> Hello, my name is Braxton Herd and I'm a fifth grade class representative. Last year to raise funds to for our school student council started to sell candygrams. So each month students who purchased a candygram gram receive a surprise themed treat. Sometimes they are food items or tangible items. So far students have received popcorn, airheads, mini pumpkins, caramel apple pops, and Thanksgiving bracelets. It has turned out
011to be rather profitable due to about half of our student body purchasing. We also receive sponsorships to support students who may not otherwise have been able to purchase my Hi, my name is Becket Roa and I am CR class representative from third grade. Every year the Indian Lake Student Council puts on a holiday clothing sale where we offer a v variety of Vixsburg and Indian Lake gear. Our student council members get a say in which items will be offered to all within our community and vote on which designs would be featured. If you are interested in purchasing any gear, please scan the QR code or browse the selection. >> Hello, my name is Weston Hall and I am third grade representative. With the funds we are able to raise from the candygram and holiday clothing,
012so we were offered the opport the opportunity to buy new flexible seating and other materials for students to enjoy. in the reading room. We look forward to purchasing more items for our school to enjoy. Hello, my name is William Wisting and I am a class representative from third grade. Every year in the month of October, students all over the United States collect pairs sacks to donate to people in need. Sacks are the most needed item during the cold winter months. In many areas this year, we will be able to collect more than 1,200 pairs of socks, which we proudly donate to K Missou's Gospel Mission South Country in Chapnaz. But Sattober is not where it ends. In the spring, student council does a food drive called the soup herb bowl to support generous hands. Hello,
013my name is Willis Scott and I am our student council secretary. We appreciate this opportunity to serve in our school. We can't wait to find new ways to support our students and the surrounding community. Thank you for your time and we hope you have a great rest of your evening. [applause] Last bit from our student council. Um we just asked kids if they would like [clears throat] to share why they wanted to be a part of the student council. So, we just picked one student to come on up and you can share why why do you want to be a part of student council? >> Why I want to join student council is because in student council I can share my ideas with all of the school leaders and I can become one too. Also,
014I thought it would be a great position for me and clearly my whole class thought so too. Yes. And I mean my whole class. And I know that it was that that it was to now because being in student council is like having a second family. [applause] >> Okay. With your permission, I think if we take a minute and we can um enjoy some snacks for a second. If families would like to head out to have a reasonable bedtime on a school night with all of these kids, you are welcome to do so, but there's way more fun coming. So, feel free to stick around if you'd like to. So, a few minutes. Is that okay? >> Take a few minutes. Yes. Okay. resume here. Um there are a few snacks left over after that
015uh little raid. Um but we'll go back to the superintendent's report. >> Well, thank you Dave. Uh just wanted to uh continue my report and start out by saying November is definitely the time to give thanks and reflect on what you are thankful for. Uh I just want to let everybody know I am so thankful for our amazing committed VCS employees with many in the audience tonight. Our dedicated students, many of them in the audience tonight, our supportive parents here tonight, and of course our greater Vixsburg community for always supporting our schools. I can't thank you enough. I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving season surrounded by friends and family. And again, I'd like to thank Indian Lake for hosting tonight. Uh PTSO, everyone involved with the treats. We really appreciate that. And of course,
016we love visiting our schools at our monthly meetings. So, thank you. Uh board, I've included a legislative update in your packet. Uh most of these updates are fairly small um as there's not a lot of action going on in Lancing, but if you recall, I did email you some information regarding concerns with the new language uh with accepting 31A funding. Uh and this is concerns that are being shared across the state with all school districts. These dollars, of course, are earmarked for school safety and student well-being, including mental health resources. I look forward to discussing these concerns in more detail at our scheduled meeting next Monday. And again, we will have an attorney client privilege communication to review and we can review that in close session if the board so chooses. And again, I want
017to uh take a moment Dave brought up the football team, but just to congratulate and thank our dedicated fall sports team sports teams on great seasons this fall. Um, it was fun going out and seeing our Bulldogs in action. And we gear up for winter sports, which, uh, believe it or not, practices start, I believe, next Monday. >> Yeah. So, we'll be in the gym soon. Um, and just a quick bargaining update. As you know, the this the budget passed well after the deadline and so we were able to digest that and we've been um setting up dates to bargain with all our employee groups. So over the next several weeks we will be bargaining with VA, VESPA and VPA and I'll certainly keep you posted on the progress of those uh meetings. And I'd
018like to uh end my report by turning your attention to the important dates. Um coming up tomorrow, there will be a Veterans Day ceremony at Sunset Lake Park. Sunset students and VHS Chamber choir band members and some scouts will be there uh during that ceremony. And this, as a reminder to parents, um this Wednesday is a half day for students. We'll have PD in the afternoon this Wednesday. And uh coming up in a couple weeks uh our theater department presents Little Women. Uh that will be on the 22nd and 23rd in the PAC. Hopefully you can come out and see our talented students in action. And just a reminder, Thanksgiving break will start Wednesday the 26th. Uh so we'll be off the 26th through the 28th. And then I also included a couple dates in
019December um before our next scheduled meeting. The Toby second and third grade program holiday program will be December 2nd and December 3rd will be the Indian Lake second and third grade program. >> Do you know what time that Veterans Day ceremony is? >> Oh, I don't >> The Veterans Day ceremony >> 11 o'clock tomorrow. Thank you, Dusty. A >> 111. Put that on there. Yeah. 111 11. And with that, that's my report. >> All right. Thank you very much. Uh reports in public inquiry. We have our Indian Lake annual report. Dr. B, there you are. >> Well, um >> Yeah, bring your own chair. Okay. Okay. I hope everyone can hear. Okay. Is that you? Can you hear me in the back? Okay. Um I do want to just recognize the PTSO tonight for the
020snacks and um treats that they brought, but they do way more than that. And we are so thankful for them and how they just know the vision and come alongside and help and pitch in um and create some fun fundraisers and some family events for everybody and just so generous. So we I definitely want to recognize them tonight. Um, I also need to recognize my staff. I happen I just threw in some of my favorite pictures and they're all in costumes. So, so sorry about that, guys. But, um, you know, we do have a lot of fun around here. And, um, not a lot of new faces at Indian Lake this year, but a few and, um, thankful for them. And also a couple of interns. Not pictured is I get to have an intern
021this year who's here tonight. Her name is Carara. So, thank you, Cara, for being here tonight, too. Um, this is that's a fun new thing for me. So, thank you to all of our staff and um yeah, I mean, you guys all make this place so special. So, thank you. Uh, I'm going to kick us off. [clears throat] The vision for um Vixsburg Community Schools is that all students will graduate college and career ready. And our mission is to maximize the success and potential of each student. We do this through our multi-tered systems of support. You've probably seen this graphic before. Um, we want to make sure that we're supporting the whole child. And to do that, we're looking at not just academics, but also health and wellness and social emotional capacity. I'm going to
022start with academics tonight, if you don't mind. [clears throat] Um, because I go early in the year, I like to sort of wrap up where we were last year, too. Uh and last year our um our benchmark assessment was the star um reading and star math. So you can see in the fall in terms of proficiency uh 72% proficiency rate for both math and reading. And then in the spring you can see 77% for reading and 75 for math. Now this year I think many of you know that we have a new assessment tool. So our reports look a little bit different. Um, and [clears throat] you can see ELA is the kind of triangle on the left and then math is a triangle on the right. Uh, this is not so much proficiency as
023as it is on track. They are on track for where we would expect them to be at the beginning of the year. And you can see that our tiers look pretty healthy. Um, [clears throat] we're, you know, we're not topheavy. We h we definitely have kids who are going to need a little more support and then some who are going to need more more past that. Um, [clears throat] excuse me. Our MSTEP scores. Again, this has been out for a little bit, so it's maybe not new news, but just wanted to highlight um, every, you know, third, fourth, and fifth grade in both ELA and math comp when we look at the our numbers compared to the state, we are outperforming uh, the state average. I also think it's neat to look at the percent
024not proficient to see how few how many fewer students are not proficient at Indian Lake compared to the state. And I mean we need to shout out and recognize our fifth grade. Fifth grade's a lot. They do a lot of assessment in the spring too. So it really took a lot of stamina for that that group and um really impressed with those outcomes. So academic goals for the year. Um we definitely want 100% of our students to reach their typical growth measure. Um in our new platform I Ready uh for reading and math. They also um provide a stretch goal. So thinking about some of students who maybe have more more of a gap to get to grade level. for focusing in on that stretch goal too and um using some some tools to uh
025shore up that that gap as soon as possible. Uh at Indian Lake, our building goal, instructional goal really focuses around four things. So, I'm going to dig into these a little bit for you. [snorts] So, formative assessment [clears throat] is kind of assessment in real time. It's how you're know how you're figuring out are kids picking up what they're supposed to. Um so it's ongoing. Teachers and students are working together to check for understanding uh and they're making adjustments in real time. So um formative assessment for Michigan educators is a program that we've been a part of for a couple of years. Uh cohort one did that for two years and then they wrapped up last year and then we launched cohort two. Um it's been really fun to see this implemented in throughout our
026school. You know, not everybody's learning at the same time. So that implementation is kind of rolled out differently. But what's been cool is that the FAME team has been sharing their learning with our staff. And then um we actually have a half day coming up on on Wednesday and they're going to be really brave and share out at our district professional learning day too. just, you know, lessons learned and and what's working and barriers that they experience, too. Um, yeah, cohort 2 is really focused on learning targets right now, which are just clear studentfriendly language um to so that kids know what they need to know and what what they're expected to do even in that daily lesson. Uh, whole group and small group instruction. Um, again, this is not a new focus necessarily, just
027um continuing to to build capacity around essential instructional practices. The last couple of years, we've spent a lot of time um not just us, but as a district on our science of reading days, our grade level teachers are coming together to um reflect on and and think about how we can be implementing best practices when it comes to um instruction. uh professional learning communities. This is where we're making datadriven decisions for kids. We're looking at, you know, what do we want kids to learn? How will we know when they've learned it? What will we do if they already know? And then what are we going to do if they haven't learned it yet? And the last piece of our focus is around student engagement. Um, this looks like a bunch of different things. Um, I
028mean, sometimes it's kids graphing their own work. Um, you know, uh, anytime that kids know where they're supposed to be going and can monitor and keep track and be motivated by getting a little bit better and a little bit better, we want to do that. Um, and also in our Ready assessment, this is new to us, but learning some of the reports that can be run too that are also really sharable with kids so that they have that autonomy in their learning as well. Instructional rounds is a practice that we are using across the district. Um it's basically you you kind of get a team of people observe all over the school to get a pulse on the building. And so this year Indian Lake um we were able to build a Indian Lake instructional
029rounds team over the summer. And so then we had district members and Indian Lake members um observe in eight different classrooms. So, it was really nice that eight different people opened up their classrooms for us and um just kind of observed and found evidence to support that instructional goal that we've been working on. And then we come back and we analyze it and we say, okay, like are we seeing the things that we would want to see? Why not? You know, maybe there's some barriers that we can address and then also what might be the next steps. So, it was really powerful this to kick the year off with that. We did that in October um to kind of help us uh determine those next steps. We can do all kinds of things, but if
030kids aren't here, it's a problem. So, we um are still really, you know, encouraging good attendance. I think when we think about being college and career ready, attendance is right up there. It's such a priority. So, um, this is, you know, last year 93% attendance rate over the school year, 95% so far. This year we're about 50 days in. Um, and then when we think about chronically absent, really that's if they've missed 10% of school or more. So, I shared some percentages with you. Um, and then what that means. So, for, you know, for those students who have, um, 2% have attended less than 80% that means they've missed 10 days or more of school. Okay. um 20% have attended 80% to 90% which means they've missed six to nine days of school. Okay. Um
031and you know it that's not a judgment. I mean people have to miss school sometimes and that's okay. Here the fair is a big one for us. There's a lot of kids that miss for the fair and that's a really good learning opportunity too. So um you know this is just kind of information about our attendance but we're still continuing to focus on that. Um, I threw this in here because the attendance conversation really starts day one at our openhouse. We try to um kind of send a consistent message to all families about priorities and one of them really is that attendance piece. So, they're they're hearing it right from the beginning. They can ask questions. They can problem solve right off right off the bat if there are barriers in place. Um, teachers are
032aware of that right from the beginning. and we are going to be kicking off our attendance challenge here after Thanksgiving. We like to do this a couple times a year. Uh we looked at our data and decided, okay, November, like Thanksgiving to Christmas, it's tough. You know, you got a lot going on. Um so, let's do a little attendance challenge. So, basically, we set a goal for the whole school. Usually, it started at 94%. And then, um you can see each of the classes every day. We we post how, you know, what percentage of kids are here. If they hit their goal, then there's a schoolwide prize for every class that hits their goal. Maybe it's um an extra recess or root beer floats or, you know, it's games or something like that. And then
033um whoever is the top earner, top attendance rate for the whole school gets bragging rights and also the attendance trophy for the week. So, we do this usually, like I said, in in the holiday between the holidays and then um in the spring, too, which is also uh when we have our MSTEP and stamina is hard and it's really easy to just sleep in a little bit and not show up. And so, we just put this extra little challenge and competition out there for kids. And we've had some pretty good results with that. If you think back to our MTSS ven diagram, uh we have some social emotional things and health and wellness that I wanted to share tonight too. Um I always say the backbone of our schools are positive behaviors, interventions, and supports.
034So what that looks like is is a lot of buildingwide uh initiatives. So having uh common expectations, you'll see them posted all over the school so that adults know how kids are supposed to behave, kids know how they're supposed to behave. It just helps helps the flow of the day and helps keep kids safe and and focused. Um we're teaching those, modeling, reinforcing, acknowledging them. So you know, it could just be like, "Hey, I saw you doing this thing or way to go on this." But we also have some pause tickets that we um like to give kids too. And it's not the ticket really that matters. It's at the end of the day. It is that connection piece. Um but it doesn't hurt to get a little ticket, put it in a bucket, and
035then every week we um draw two winners out of each bucket. They get to go with Mrs. Ner, who is a riot. Everybody loves spending time with Mrs. Ner. go to the office, shop the pause cart, and um and take, you know, something something home as a as a winner. And then we also do our monthly character trait assemblies where we're focusing on a different character trait each month and teachers are also um recognizing two students or so in their class who have shown um exemplary behavior uh character trait for that month. And then of course we're always monitoring that that behavior and those um those supports too. um new last year. Uh thanks to the innovation funds, um so big thank you to Vixsburg Community Schools Foundation and Vixsburg Foundation, uh we were able
036to um bring in a group called Playworks and they specialize in best practices um on the playground and it was it's been a really cool journey because sometimes you feel like something's off but you're just not quite sure what. And so it's nice to have a rubric and the lens from someone who doesn't who's not, you know, living it every day to give you some feedback. So that that was really powerful for us and our supervisors and that great recess framework really focuses on these things. I think there's like 20ome indicators, but these were kind of the top takeaways for us. Um, so last year we really focused on just training up our supervisors, getting a team going, getting some common um, expectations and language and practices and plans to support students on the playground,
037quick transitions, a variety of games, those kinds of things. And then this year, um, we've been so fortunate to partner with them again to bring in the junior coach program. And, um, Mr. Cordosa is a big part of this. He's our PE teacher, which is awesome because um they can practice some games in PE and then take them right out to the playground and everybody knows the rules and they know how to set up quick teams and it just minimizes that confusion and that kind of um who's in charge anyway kind of thing that will happen at recess sometimes. So we have three third to fifth graders who applied um and they go through a a training every month. Um and then they go out one to three times a a week on the playground
038and they are working with lower l kids. It's a blast. It's so fun. And the younger kids just look forward to seeing those kids in purple t-shirts out there who are going to play games with them. And the the playworks the coaches are just learning. so much about um conflict resolution and um leadership and you know taking initiative. So it's been really fun to see. We're really new into this still. So um I'm excited to see how this goes throughout the year. In the other box that's some information from um Playworks on what we might expect coming out of using junior coaches, but it's a little early for us to say. of course uh so many opportunities that students have to support their um you know social emotional well-being and their health and wellness. So
039just wanted to give a shout out to some of these um you know folks and programs a lot of people invest in in our kids in different ways. um summer services what you know we're looking at that right now and just like how did that go and um get gaining some feedback and anecdotally I've had many many teachers come to me and say I'm so glad so and so participated in summer school I could tell they were ready to hit the ground running so um thankful for that too and uh in the the one picture I don't know if I can or this one um upper older students who participated in summer services this year were able to do um some problembased learning. So really hands-on uh which was a really fun engagement piece for
040them too. Relationships and service. I think you saw plenty from our student council tonight. So I don't think I have to talk a whole lot about this. Um but certainly the fifth grade buddies and safeties are also a a big part of the community around here too. And then health and fitness. We want kids moving and active and healthy and in all kinds of ways. We're going to hear from food service tonight. We are so thankful for our food service team making sure that kids have full bellies every day and um can get all those fruits and vegetables if they need a little bit more. So um and just the mindset that comes with caring for one another too that they exhibit so well at Indian Lake. And of course incredible family and community support
041um you know through some of these uh things. I do want to just also highlight I'm g going to do a little shout out for Mrs. Richardson here. Um this year uh so this was the uh first day shoe fund and they did not deliver shoes to the schools. So Mrs. Richardson uh rented borrowed I don't know how we say that a vehicle from BH from uh BCS and went around and hauled shoes to all of the elementaryaries and um you can't really see her companion here but um she did it all by her lonesome except a little Pete the cat was along for the journey so we were very thankful for um for her going above and beyond in that way. >> Did she sing the I like my red [laughter] You know, who
042knows? Only Pete knows. Only Pete knows. Okay. Uh I'm getting a little long-winded here, but um throughout the year, I like to I think lots of people do this in their professional lives. Keep a little folder of just kind words that have kind of come their way or, you know, sweet notes or or whatever. So, I'm sharing all this stuff. Obviously, very proud of Indian Lake and our our kids and our staff and our uh community, but you don't have to take my word for it. So, I'm going to read a few notes, so just settle in here. Um, this is from a fifth grader at our fifth grade graduation last year. [clears throat] Ready? I have been in this school for the last seven years of my life. I started in Bulldog Beginnings when
043I was four. Now, I am 11 and in fifth grade. I just want to thank all my teachers, Mrs. McClichi, Mrs. Budri, Mrs. Peps, Mrs. Jamerson, Mrs. Schmid, and finally, Mrs. Baker. Thank you for all the support. I will miss all of you so much. Also, some of my favorite memories are going to kids club. I am really going to miss all the plays and family dances. There are a lot a lot more things I will miss. In life, there are beginnings and endings. And this is the end of elementary school and the start of a new adventure. So, that's a student at the middle school. No. And then a kindergartener on the second day of school was just so enthusiastic about how much they loved school. Yesterday was a great day and today was
044awesome. So wonderful. Um this is a student who um came for work-based learning. So they were here for just a little bit to get some work, you know, career readiness skills and um worked during lunch and recess. And on his last day, I said, "Okay, give me some pros and cons, like what worked well and what didn't." So, you can see what he had to say there. Um, which I just loved. He's not wrong, right? Um, and I loved that he could learn about himself, too. You know, he liked that the day looked different every day. I think that's a good thing to know when you're looking at what do you want to be when you grow up, right? So, anyway, fun. He was fun. He has moved on. He's out he's out in the
045community now. Um this is a note from an Indian Lake parent. Um you know she had struggled the year before. She expresses how she was kind of overwhelmed with some things and and was sincerely apologizing for that and then just said, you know, I want to thank you for all of your efforts, for all the ways that you and the staff have been there for my son. Him being part of Indian Lake is his second family to him. He loves it there. So thank you again for all that you do. I just I thought that was a nice I don't know followup. You don't always know that people are really going through things. Um and I had a parapro um share out the other day thinking about the lessons that were learned the last couple
046years working in kindergarten and first grade specifically. Uh again and again I've seen students treat classmates who struggle academically and behaviorally with such tender grace and empathy. I wish the world could learn from these amazing kids. This one's really hard to read. Um, can I read it? Let's see here. Okay. Um, this is from a recess supervisor. So, when I first started, it's not great at the beginning. I just let you know. When I first started three years ago, the playground felt inconsistent. Different people daily. Rules changed depending on who was there. The kids were upset and unhappy too often. Now, the same supervisors every day and the same expect and the same expectations is a win. Josh, that's our PE teacher. Josh's leadership every day has been a lifesaver. Ashley has been the biggest
047positive ever. She knows the kids, she subs, and she knows what she's doing. Bo is a delight. He's another supervisor. Uh, since he is becoming a PE teacher, the playground duty is a perfect transition and training ground. The kids adore him. He and Josh help oversee the football and basketball type games and it's really working. Uh we all have good relationships with each other. The same daily staff expectations, routines, and consistency have made all the difference. Uh when we do the opening, which I didn't really tell you much about, but there's always an opening at recess so that kids kind of know. [snorts] Well, I'll just read it because then you'll know. Um when we do the opening, we give the kids the games, expectations, who are the supervisors, and what to be aware of
048safety-wise that day. And when we do the closing, it gives them a moment to take a couple of breaths and reset before they head back into school. Junior coaches are new, but it is definitely working. The younger kids love when the coaches play games with them. Uh in in taking the junior coach leadership role, I've seen better choices by them during their own recess. Overall, I see less drama and less behavior incidents that require assistance from teachers and office staff. We have had fewer referrals because of these techniques such as rock paper scissors is the way that we solve conflict sometimes. Uh rock paper scissors for resolving disagreements. I've seen the kids go right into that for resolving conflict before any of the supervisors even say anything. I thought that was a really nice message
049that she took the time to share. Um I'm going to not read this whole one but um just you know wanted to highlight um our new curriculum ELA resource um came through and were just kind of helping me know what some look fors might be in the classroom and then followed up with this really nice message about all of the things that were observed in just in fifth grade. They were in lots of other spaces too. Um, but I just wanted to um share some things that they noted um as guests in the building. And this I think is last last one. Okay. So, um this is a gal who's been a long-term sub for our speech and language path therap pathologist speech and language pathologist three times now. And um this she wrote me
050this note after her third stint gig here she called it. So um she said I had the greatest first day again. I wish I wasn't retired. I had a nice meeting with the ESI supervisor today. Love her. The best was the school site saying you have no idea how happy we are to see you. And we hugged. Staff have been so welcoming. that helps with my mountain to climb because every time she comes in, right, she's got to rebuild her own system and way and kind of get wrap her mind around all the things that have changed. Uh, I began my career in 1990. Were you born? Yes. Thank you. Um, but thank you. Um, this is my best gig times three ever. It's you and the office staff. Unbelievable. Becky is so helpful and
051Lisa makes me just plain chuckle. It's really unbelievable to me to tell you the truth. Everyone has personally greeted me with open arms. I went into third grade teachers to ask dumb questions to make sure I understood the schedule. It's hard for me to read that big old document, but they assured me and then talked about just how happy they were to see me. Relationships. It just means a lot when the load seems heavy. And that's my report. Do you have any questions? [laughter] >> Do you see? Mhm. [clears throat] >> Yes. Um I would say there's a correlation. Um not I mean there are kids who who can definitely miss a lot of school and still hang. Um but they miss out on the social experiences too. And I think that's that's what I
052feel the most because I'm not in the classroom with all, you know, with all of the assessments that are happening day in and day out. But I see when kids don't get what's happening because they weren't they weren't around. So um yeah, I'm sure that there are some some situations where that's really impacting, you know, more than I'd like it to. Yeah. >> Yeah. Oh, go miss. So the coaching >> that is just the sweetest thing. >> Junior coaches. Yeah, it's awesome. >> And I wonder um my kids were titled when they were in middle school to like >> Yes. like safeties over I think it's going to be really interesting when these kids do >> and see those your coaches that are now. >> Yeah. And one of one of those things on the
053rubric was uh in um and we've learned about it in other learnings too that inter age, you know, mixing in and the power of that. And I would say it's hard to do. It's hard to do because the fifth graders just want to be with the fifth graders and like leave me alone little kid, you know, and the little kids just want to be, you know, hanging on the big kids all the time. So it can be hard to facilitate. But when kids have a role and and a responsibility and are able to build some relationships in that way, it really helps. So, yeah. Did you have a question, too? >> Well, I did. Um, so with the the kids that are, I guess you're high risk, not proficient. So, you guys reading program? >>
054It's not really a program. Um, it's just like evidence-based practices that we want to implement in instruction. >> I saw the guy who created it was talking about like a third or fourth grader that's noticing by the time they graduate. >> Okay. >> It's so important. So, are those students that are not there fourth graders that are notic >> they are they mandated so to speak to go to summer school or how they >> That's a great question. Um we so summer school is a district program. So yes, we have some criteria that kids need to meet to uh be eligible for summer school and yes so it is around um academic performance. It's some years we focus more on reading just reading. So we might primarily be looking at um you know reading scores
055but we are also talking with teachers about their recommendations. So yes >> do you think the change Wednesday will help? >> Yes I do. >> Yeah I I really do so far. Um yeah. Yeah. And um we cuz we just had one, right? And we also like we're not going to do this every time this year, but we were trying to have those half days be when we did like all the like fun stuff, right? And um and then they were just like real wacky days. So, but we did have our bulldog bash on on the first Wednesday, which definitely helped with attendance. So, yeah. Yeah, I do think it'll be better. >> Yeah. Well, it took third and fourth grade to get there. >> Yeah. Thank you. >> Anybody else? Yes. >> Question about
056works. >> Okay. >> Is that something your PTO funds or is that something that you grant? >> That is a great question. Um, we have used innovation grant to fund that. um you know if PTSO is not a bad idea [laughter] in in terms of funding that if we need if we needed to do more past you know uh our innovation grant opportunity but yeah we've used the innovation grant >> money yeah anybody else okay all right come on back up then everybody >> [applause] >> Yeah, right. They're recording and they're going to put it up. I can't. >> Yeah, I don't know why. Um I I think it's interesting. [clears throat] I started my medical practice in town 36 years ago. And when I started, I had six different women who had been one
057room schoolhouse teachers who were patients of mine and had some really interesting conversations. And it's interesting how we rediscover things that existed before. And so having older kids teach younger kids or have older kids supervise younger kids >> is a really old idea. And it's it's kind of fun, interesting how we're rediscovering because they couldn't function as a one room schoolhouse unless you had older kids teaching younger kids or supervising younger kids. And that there's value in that and it's it's interesting to see how we come full circle on these things. Um, next on our agenda is the school nutrition annual report. Uh, Sarah, >> she has a power. >> Ah, and you also have a PowerPoint. We have it on the computer here though, I think. So, we can either go out there or
058we can look at our screens here. That's a good point. >> Here we go. >> For the board, there was a revised report that was sent out that that you should be able to access on your screen. There's an email All right. Our mission is to share the vision of healthy children so that every student is able to reach their full potential with the ability to make healthy choices at an economical cost. And even though we're still doing um Michigan school meals for the second year in a row, it's still important that we're able to offer snacks and a variety of foods that students are able to purchase um allocart outside of their regular school day at an economical price. So, our focus remains that we provide delicious and nutritious food for all of our
059students. And one of those things is a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables offered at every school each day. So, [snorts] here's a variety of things that we offer. Um, as I said, we are um in the second year of the Michigan School Meals Program, which provides one free breakfast and one free lunch for every student every school day. So we went from serving 24% of our students breakfast on in 2223 which was the last year that students had to pay for breakfast and lunch to serving 50% of our students breakfast last year. And with lunch we went from 55% in 2223 to 78% of our students last year for lunch. Last year we were able to implement a new pizza program at the high school. So this past school year, we were able to
060bring Smartmouth pizza into the middle school. So just in September, we were able to serve 3,81 personal pizzas to middle school students. And we're going to um we will probably serve around 32,000 pizzas this school year just at the middle school alone. So they're always coming up with different ideas. They run through the same pizza oven, but there's some middle school students enjoying their pizza. Another component of the Smartmouth pizza program is that they give back. So for every 10 pizzas sold, SmartMouth donates a meal to kids in need across the country. So just from Vixsburg alone, we have donated 7,290 meals to families in need. So, I'm going to take a minute to talk about some of the things that people think are um not healthy that we as food service staff and schools
061have turned into a healthier option. So, our students love doughnut day and it gets a little bit of a bad rap. So, um [gasps] we have made donuts whole grain and we have reduced the sugar that is in these products. So all of the doughnuts that we serve are whole grain. They have um very low added sugar and they meet the strict nutritional guidelines that we have to follow for USDA. So for example, the mini cake doughnuts with cinnamon sugar that we serve, three doughnuts, has seven grams of sugar and three grams of protein. If you go to Tim Hortons and get three Timbits, you're going to get 12 grams of sugar and three grams of protein. We also serve a long grain or a whole grain long John which is three grams of sugar
062and six grams of protein. But if you get a Duncan Long John, 17 grams of sugar and five grams of protein. So it might look the same, but it's definitely not going to taste the same either, but [laughter] it's going to be a whole lot healthier. The kids don't know. It's [laughter] >> another one that gets a bad rap is cereal. and we just went to a conference. Um, a bunch of my staff and I went this um last weekend, so Thursday, Friday, Saturday. And um, Kelloggs was the uh, headlining sponsor for the weekend. So, we learned a lot about cereal. But um, the cereal that you get at school is not the same cereal you can buy at the grocery store. You can't even buy it on the shelves. So, what one of our
063um, students favorite is Lucky Charms. So, the one that we serve is 25% less sugar. So, an average egg has six grams of protein in it. The 2 oz cereal that we serve has five grams of protein in it. And the fun thing about milk or is about about cereal is it usually brings milk along with it, which also has protein in it. The milk that we serve in school has eight grams of protein in it. So, if they have their cereal and milk, they're going to consume 13 grams of protein, which is more protein than they would get if they had two eggs. So, it's a win-win. Less sugar, more protein. So cereal is not the bad guy. >> School cereal is not the bad guy. How about that? >> Um, one of the
064things that we, our high school staff brought home from the conference, and I quick stuck this slide in, actually had Jessica slick to stick the slide in for me, but um, is encouraging students. We don't even have to really encourage the students to take fruits and vegetables anymore. We've been doing it for so long that these two trays are trays that passed through the high school cafeteria today and that is what students chose. So each of those students took at least four fruits and vegetables on their own that they are going to eat. So if you had a tray full of food like that, you would not be hungry at the end of the day. There's whole grains in there. So the one on the right is a um Alfredo and the one on the
065left is a smartmouth um pizza calzone. So, lots of fresh. And then we also had the broccoli. And both the kids love broccoli. Um, the next thing we were able to do this last year was we were able to install new serving lines in all five of our uh buildings. And the serving lines that we had were eons old. I can't even tell you. Probably 50 years old, maybe when the buildings were built. I don't know. But um here is some these are the serving lines from Toby, just to give you a reference. But they all are similar. They have the Bulldog logo on them. And um they've just been updated with a little bit of a new look. And this is our team at each of the buildings. And then on the left is
066um our department secretary, Deb. So that is all I have. Does anybody have any questions? >> Well, I wonder I mean I think it's great that you're kind of fooling students into eating more healthy than they Then they realize, but we should probably educate them as well that >> you're not going to get the same thing when you go to Dunkin Donuts or something. >> Very true. >> And I guess it's kind of a commentary on the food industry that they have the ability to make healthier cereals >> and healthier donuts and things, >> but you have to get them special that they're not for general consumption. Correct. Which I find curious. No, you're buying them that way. >> Yeah, we are buying them that way. >> Any other questions for Sarah? Comments? >> Sarah's
067a lot of your staff in the audience tonight. >> Yes, lots of them. Would you like to stand up? [applause] >> Oh, could could you tell us a little bit? I've gone in for uh strive mentoring at 7:30 in the morning. It's like the walk of the zombies in the high school, >> but you have people distributing food to >> So, at middle school and at high school, we have what we call second chance breakfast. So, students can come before school and come to the cafeteria and get breakfast. Um, we also have those carts in the hallway before school. So, if they're running late, they can grab it before, but they can also come between first and second period and grab lunch on those carts in the hallway. And I think or sorry, breakfast in
068the hallway. And we are thinking about doing that is like more of like a between every passing. So, they would be able to come to the cafeteria. So, like more of like a third chance, a fourth chance because it is super important that kids eat breakfast. So, we want to make sure that those kids and middle school and high school seem to be the age that they are just not they're not ready to eat when they come to school, but then they're hungry an hour later. >> Okay, >> real quick. I just wanted to say a huge thank you to Jamie Musast. So, thank you all for that. That's awesome. We appreciate it. >> You're welcome. >> That's great. Any other comments, questions from folks? Interesting. We have second breakfast. It sounds like >> we
069do. [laughter] >> Anything for the kids? >> All right. Uh we'll move on to uh budget and finance report, Steve. >> All right. Two uh items to report on quickly this evening. The first one being the monthly budget progress report. And this would include activity for the general fund through the end of October or the first four months of our fiscal year. And uh just make a few quick comments. Revenue on a year-to- date basis came in at 5,54896 or about 14.4% of our projected uh total for the year. Um we typically don't see any federal revenue until a little bit later in the year. So that's why you see that being at zero. And then I would just point out that uh in October is when we receive our first installment of state aid
070for the month. And you'll see that on uh the state revenue line at uh just over 2.5 million. On the expenditure side uh expenditures total 8 million 614230 and uh that's about 22% of the projected uh budget that was adopted back in June. And um I'll make a few comments on that as we uh flip to the next page showing object codes. And you can see that um salaries and benefits are a little bit ahead of where we were at this time last year. And I'd like to just point out that um we pay the school district pays on a bi-weekly basis. So typically there are two paydays a month. There are two months during the year where there's a third payroll. And this report is prepared based on a cash basis. So October was
071uh that month with the third payroll which fell on October 31st. When you compare to last year, the month of November had three payrolls. So that's why there's that little bit of mismatch there. And then you'll see that that will normalize itself uh in the month of OC or in the month of November. Um total expenditures again 8,614230 or about 22% of the total. Are there any questions on that? >> Right. >> Actually, Steve, if I could backtrack. Yes. >> Could you just sort of review for food service kind of how the financing has changed in the last three years? >> Yeah. And I'm going to conceptually I >> ran out of the door without my computer tonight, so I don't have that in front of me. However, I can just uh say that after
072COVID, we you know, there's been kind of a some changing patterns with regard to how food service is funded. It used to be that um you qualified for free or reduced lunch based on income guidelines and size of your family, that type of thing. Uh there's some other criteria uh that um but I won't go into the weeds on that. Um, and so, and you saw that in the participation numbers that Sarah showed. So, you know, we would have been more like in the 50% range of participation. People would uh if you didn't qualify, you could still purchase school lunch and then you'd pay a published price for that. Um, during COVID, the federal government stepped in and that funding went way up and so we saw our federal revenues uh go up. We saw
073the local piece dwindle to a very small number because um lunches and breakfast were paid for. Um in 2324 and 2425, the state of Michigan um enacted what they refer to as universal free breakfast and lunch. And so we still rely on the federal revenue uh but the state uh basically treats every student as being eligible for free or reduced. And so you saw that our breakfast participation went up went way up. Our lunch participation went way up. And um so we still see a significant amount of federal revenue. the state revenue increased significantly and just going by, you know, rough figures last year that would have been about 900,000 of additional state revenue to provide universal free breakfast and lunch. Okay? And so we still have local revenue. We still have alle regularly go
074through and get a second lunch or snacks and that type of thing. So you still see that federal revenue or I'm sorry, local revenue, but it's at a much lower rate. So it's uh it's just been interesting how it's evolved over the last four to five years. Um, and you know, as we saw this year, it if the state uh isn't really clear on what they're doing with the budget, it creates a lot of confusion, a lot of and um Sarah and her crew did a lot of work behind the scenes trying to prepare for every different contingency. Uh, but thankfully where we're at today is that we're back to the universal free breakfast and lunch. So, does that kind of is that the overview you're looking for? >> Thank you. >> Yep. >> And
075then Sarah, if I butchered any of that, >> let me know. Um, okay. Next report item is just uh the schedule of investments. Again, this is investment activity or holdings as of the end of October. I won't go through this in a tremendous amount of detail, but uh you can see that uh the district's two building and site funds have investments. those investments are restricted for capital projects. Um the debt retirement fund has um right around 900,000 of investments. Those investments are restricted for payment of principal interest on debts on on bond issues. And then finally, the general fund has um it's down a little bit because of just cash flow timing for the general fund, but general fund sits at 4.2 2 million of investments. All of these investments are in uh pulled investment
076funds. They're like money markets, but uh they're um designed and managed specifically for governments in the state of Michigan, primarily schools, but other governmental units as well. And in that way um we know that everything that um that entire pool of investments meets state law and board policy in terms of what it can invest in. So these are very safe. They don't um these investments don't really have any um variability in terms of their um nominal value or the um just the par value of what we have invested. they're treated almost like a money market bond. And so you can see that we continue to receive a decent amount of interest although those rates have been declining. You can see that our uh there are two tiers. There's a um cash management class which has
077a little bit greater liquidity. Um, and then there's a max class which is almost as much liquidity, but it just requires that money deposited there stays in for about two weeks before you withdraw it. So, there's just a small difference between those two rates. We've seen um over the last year those rates start to decline um as the Federal Reserve has reduced short-term rates. Uh but we're still doing pretty well. For October, both of those funds uh earned over 4%. I think, you know, we're going to continue to see rates decrease uh in coming future and that will affect those uh earnings as well. But on a year-to- date basis, this year being our fiscal year, which started on July 1st, you can see that for those four funds, uh we've generated um almost $190,000
078of revenue. So, just wanted to point that out. Are there any questions on that? >> If not, then that will conclude my report. >> All right. No other questions for Steve. Very good. >> One more. Steve, what is that money used for or what can we use that? >> The investments. >> Yeah, from the investments. >> I mean, so these So, all right. >> Sorry, Dave. No, the build um >> building and site funds, those are remaining proceeds from the district's bond issues. So, the bonds that were uh approved by voters back in 2020, we issued those in three series in 20, 22, and 24. And so, we continue to have a little bit of money from those that continue to be invested. Those dollars and the earnings on those dollars have to be used
079on capital projects. So, as we you know, the things that we've done, the flooring, the HBAC upgrades, all that type of thing. >> Gotcha. >> Debt retirement, those are property taxes specifically for debt service that are collected by the district. They have to be accounted for separately. So, that money is earmarked for principal and and interest payments on the district's bond issues. And those payments are made twice a year, May 1st and November 1st. And so that money is just that's money remaining after our last principal principal and interest payment which was at the end of October. Um and so we just try to invest it to earn as much income as we can. But where those funds are um they're segregated because each of those funding sources is restricted with the exception being the
080general fund. That's just basically cash reserves that the district has on hand. Um and that balance goes up and down throughout the year depending on when the state pays when we receive federal funding, funding through kesa property taxes. Um but our you know but we pay payroll throughout the year and all that type of thing. So those dollars general fund dollars are really restricted only for what's allowed for in the budget state law and that type of thing but unrestricted relative to the other sources that I talked about. Does that make sense or >> No, but if you I mean I can [laughter] >> Thank you. Yep, we can talk more about it too at your convenience. >> Well, the beauty of investing from the bond funds is the cost of construction supplies has gone
081up. You pass these issues years ahead and then you project what you can do with the money and this helps mitigate some of those inflationary costs and lumber or flooring or whatever. >> Y for sure. >> All right. Anything else? Very good. Um next portion [clears throat] is our audience uh portion our for public comment. Uh meetings of the board are open to the public. It is time the board conducts the business of governing the school system in the public arena. This is not intended as a meeting with the public with ongoing dialogue. Staff may follow up with you regarding issues raised during comment time. Please exercise the quorum and respect laws regarding privacy and defamation. Please do not refer to students by name. Speakers are limited to three minutes. We have four speakers. And
082I hand the gavvel to Tamara because she'll do the timing so that I can pay attention. And she'll give you a tap when you have 10 seconds to go and then double gabble you when you you're a allotted time is up. And we have four speakers. Uh the first is uh Melanie Ren. And where do we do we want her to come here? Is that that's okay. Hey everyone. Uh, my name is Melanie. I have two kids that up until recently attended Toby. I'm coming before you and the board today to shed light on an incident that occurred Monday, October 6th at Toby. >> Excuse me. >> Could you slow down a little bit, please? I can't understand you. >> Sure. >> A public letter was sent out painting a picture of a young student
083bringing ammunition to school for show and tell. And this is only a partial truth to what actually happened. An upper elementary student that had been bullying my daughter for two to three years brought multiple rounds of live ammunition to school. He told her, and I quote, "If I get my hands on a gun, you would be at the top of my kill list." The school talks about see something, say something, and she did. My daughter and a witness to the threat told two teachers and the principal that day. The Toby way is fundamental. The B and Toby stands for be responsible. When the administration had the chance to be responsible, they failed not once but three times. One, they didn't report the police or threat to the police when they came to retrieve the bullets
084that day. Why isn't that protocol? Two, they never notified us, the parents, of a death threat concerning our child. Why isn't that policy? Haven't we earned that basic respect? No one reassured her of her safety, and she spent the rest of the day thinking that she was going to be killed. I was reassured by the administration that my daughter was safe and cared about. But then immediately they put out a public letter misleading the parents and falsely stating that the school followed policy and protocol. When I questioned why omit the threat, I was told it was a communications team decision. All the warning signs are there of a parents worst nightmare. Unfortunately, due to the lack of honesty from the administration, we chose to leave Vixsburg this year for the safety of our children. We
085love living here. I loved being part of the PTO and I we absolutely love the community. We are fortunate enough to be able to find alternative educational means for our kids, but know some families won't have that same option. What do they do when they're put in this kind of situation? Their hands would be tied. We haven't heard from anyone in the min in administration in over a month regarding whether it's safe for our kids to return to the district in the future. We were told we were not entitled to that information when asked if the child was returning to school. We were left in the dark then and we're left in the dark now. We're not thirsty for information. We're concerned parents. It seems that the reputation of the district is placed at a
086higher value than our children's safety or parental communication. I want to teach my kids to uphold honesty, morality, and integrity. See something, say something applies to everyone, including the adults. So, I'm here to let the parents know what actually happened. Today, we're asking the administration to do the right thing. To take accountability for the mistakes made, protect our kids, be completely honest, and provide new answers to concerned parents. And to please stop losing leaving the parents eventually in the dark. Thank you. >> Our second speaker is Keith Ren. Keith Ren, father of the of um sorry, not used to this. Um as you already heard from my wife, my daughter received a death threat at Toby and the administration failed. As a parent, we have a basic expectation that when we send our children to
087school, they will be in a safe learning environment. And if for whatever reason that safety is broken, we as parents will be notified. This is a basic communication. A two-minute phone call would have sufficed. Something like, "Hey, there is an incident at school. Here's what I can tell you, and we are investigating it." Instead, this is what I heard from my daughter at 4:00 picking her up. Classmate brought bullets to school. and said that she would be at the top of his kill list. Our family is left with that. The school is closed for the day and we can and we can't talk to anyone in the administration face to face. My wife emails the principal and gets scolded as if it's not a big deal and is told to be a team player, not
088an adversary. That's an absolutely ridiculous response. A meeting with the principal and the superintendent did nothing but make them feel better as they paid lip service. Both of those meetings left us with more questions than answers, apologies, and understanding that they are investigating the incident. All that did was waste our time and leaves my families with a lot with a false sense of security. I want to make it abundantly clear. I'm not against anybody here, but when it comes to my children's safety, other children's safety, that's priority for every parent. Mr. O'Neal and Mr. Goss. You both met with me and my daughter that Friday morning and assured me that you two were at the forefront of getting this situation handled and that you deeply cared. You also assured my daughter that she did the
089right thing. That was from Mr. O'Neal. Principal Digert, thank you for being the only one to acknowledge that an actual threat was made. However, since then, we haven't heard anything since that last meeting regarding any type of resolution. My daughter feels like she's forgotten about. When did we start punishing or forgetting about the victim or only p or only person implementing see something say something? One last statement. If your actions don't live up to your words then you have nothing to say. Our third person who signed to speak, Kate Huntington. My name is Kate Huntington and I'm here tonight as a parent and community member who cares deeply about the safety and well-being of every student in Vixsburg schools. I want to speak specifically about Toby Elementary and how bullying incidents are being handled. My
090child has experienced bullying that began in kindergarten. While most of the incidents happened then, this year things escalated. Out of four physical aggressive incidents, two involved choking. That's not minor, that's serious. One of those incidents occurred on the playground. We weren't called. We were notified by email. That alone was upsetting. But when we met with the principal, we learned he wasn't even aware that our child had been choked. until we brought it to his attention. In that same meeting, he told us he didn't consider choking to be assault. Later, when we met with the district leadership, we were told that they weren't blaming our child, but that our child may had triggered the other student. That kind of language, even if unintentional, felt like a subtle shift of responsibility away from the student who caused
091harm. To be fair, communication with both the building and district levels have been generally responsive, but has has also felt consistently reactive, not proactive. We have had to initiate most of the conversations, ask the hard questions, and push for clarity. That's exhausting as a parent, especially when your child's safety is on the line. We meet with leadership later this week, and a safety plan has been created, but still has not been finalized. And in the meantime, we're left trying to reassure our child that school is a safe place while not feeling entirely confident in that ourselves. I'm asking the board, how many bullying or aggressive behavior incidents have been reported at Toby this year? How does that compared to previous years? Are investigations being complete completed according to policy? And our parents being properly informed?
092District policy 5517.01 01 outlines clear steps, but based on our experience, I'm not sure those steps are being followed consistently. I'm not here to place BA blame. I'm here to ask for accountability, transparency, and a renewed commitment to student safety. Every child deserves to feel safe at school. That's the standard we should expect and the one we must uphold. >> Okay. Thank you. Okay. Um, our final speaker is Mr. Dusty Morris. Hi everyone. I'm Dusty Morris. I'm the choir teacher and I'm the VEA president as well. And I'd like to share this month's examples of our members uh performing Vixsburg Excellence and Achievement. So this is from Kelly Christensen who is a teacher in our outdoor education center. Our fifth graders finished the season by learning about our watershed. They created a land model and
093made it rain to see how water travels through it. The students favorite part of the day is a walk through the woods down to the channel where they observed in real life how the water moves in a watershed. Tiffany Saddowski would like to share about Emily Duncan. This is at Toby Elementary. Um, each Monday after school, Emily hosts a crochet club. This involves 27 fifth grade students who signed up to learn how to crochet. She provides them snacks, yarn, hooks, and fun patterns for the kids to try. They're making all sorts of things, including their own stuffed animals. A few of them struggle academically, but have found their niche in the crochet club, and it's wonderful to see how they've learned that they can do hard things. how good that's been for their self-esteem. At
094Sunset Elementary, Amanda Swan, counselor, has been working hard to get students fitted for snow gear in partnership with Warm Kids. And students across the district are partnering with South County Services to run an enormous food drive. Ellie Lamers and National Honor Society at VHS is spearheading that and all of the buildings this year are participating. Thank you, Keven, for mentioning the chamber singers and the band members participating at the uh local VFW's Veterans Day service tomorrow. And also, as David Keven mentioned, um coach Tom Marcase is very proud of his Vixsburg Bulldogs and finally beating uh Three Rivers rival uh and uh just wanted to point out it is our first year >> twi twice. Well, yes. Yes. but finally beating them for >> true >> their first ever district championship win. So, thank you
095for listening. >> Thank you. Um, I just want to say that certainly we all take safety issues very seriously. We can't really in a public meeting talk about specific situations because of the privacy laws involved. We hear you and I and I know our administration uh is working with with uh these families in these situations. Um next item on our agenda is approval of the board minutes. We have several uh board minutes to approve and we can have a if you would like to take all three of them uh meetings uh minutes from October 13, October 14, and October 20. >> Move approval. >> Second. >> Moved by Stephanie, second by Tina. Any additions, corrections, comments? Uh if not, all in favor? >> I opposed. No. Uh item 4B is a first reading, approval of
096the following policies. Um I think you got emails today. Uh originally the agenda had six policies. It's now five. One of those was uh removed. And so we have uh policies for B1 through B5. Um, and if the board so chooses, we can handle that in aggregate if you would like. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Moved by Tina, supported by Rick. Uh, any comment, questions. Uh, okay. So, with a roll call vote, Stephanie, >> yes. >> Lisa, >> yes. >> Tina, >> yes. >> Rick, >> yes. >> And yes. And so motion carries. And with that we will be ajourned.