November 12th, 2024 Meeting of the Hopkins School Board

001I'd like to welcome all my board colleagues back to the table so that we can get started with our meeting. We've got some special guests here with us tonight for our kicking off our board meeting with recognizing amazing things that are happening here in the Hopkins School District. So we'll welcome everyone to come down to the edge of the board table and get ready to welcome the achievements of our adapted soccer team, the Robins. So hello, everyone, and welcome again. First and foremost, on behalf of the school board, I'd like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to all student athletes being honored tonight. Your hard work, determination, and commitment to your soccer season have brought you here, and we are incredibly proud of each and every one of you. I would also like to acknowledge the

002invaluable support of our teachers, staff, and parents. Your guidance and encouragement are instrumental in the success of these young people. Thank you for your dedication in fostering an environment where our students can thrive. Adaptive sports offer a range of physical, emotional, and social benefits for children with all abilities. These sports are specifically designed to accommodate individual needs and abilities, ensuring that all children can participate and experience the joy of physical activity. Through adaptive sports, our players have improved their strength, coordination, and cardiovascular health. They have also developed better motor skills and bone health. Beyond the physical benefits, adaptive sports have significantly contributed to our players' psychological well-being. Participating in sports boosts self-confidence, self-esteem, and provides stress relief. The sense of achievement from mastering new skills positively impacts students' emotional state. Thank you chair Andreessen and

003I really love Paige's question to me. Who are you? That's a good question. So I'm Dr. Reed, superintendent, and we're really happy that you're all here this evening. And we also want to share that socially adaptive sports fosters teamwork, friendships, and improved communication skills. The Robins have built a supportive community, creating a sense of belonging and acceptance. These experiences have not only enriched their lives, but also educated others about the capabilities and potential of children with disabilities. Here are a few words from your coach, Scott Childers. Is Coach Scott here? I didn't think so. Okay. So this is from your coach. We have had a tough season in the win-loss column, but that is not an indicator of the type of team we are. Our team is very united and always pulling for one another

004and cheering each other on. We are a very tight-knit group who have developed, nurtured, and strengthened a lot of good friendships. We play with a lot of heart and passion and always give it our best. The players know that it's not about winning and losing. It's about hard work, having a great attitude, and having fun. This is my first experience coaching adapted athletics after 30 years of coaching high school hockey and softball, and it has been one of my most memorable and rewarding experiences to date. To our students, that's all of you. I want to say this, continue to dream big and strive for excellence. The journey ahead will have its ups and downs, but remember that you have already proven your ability to rise to the occasion. Embrace every opportunity to learn and grow,

005and never underestimate the power of your potential. And now, let's recognize each of our talented student-athletes. So athletes when you hear your name you can walk to the end of the royal blue runner right and if you want to walk with a parent or trusted adult teacher that's fine too or you can do it on your own and then you can come approach your school board members and we'd like to give you a certificate. Here we go are we ready? Bauer Bush. Yay Bauer! Congratulations Bauer. Paige Debner. Congratulations Paige. Henry Digman. Here we go Henry. Congratulations Henry. Paul Harris. Is Paul here? Let's clap anyway. Jadon Hayes. Tucker Callis. Isaac Living...oops. Isaac Livinggood. Ryan Rasmussen. Sydney Robin. Any relation between Sydney Robin and the Robins? No. Okay. Sheer coincidence. Yes, let's have everyone come up

006for a photo. Parents, if you want to come, you can. No, Paige. Hold it down. Oh, we don't want to see the face. Oh. I don't want my face. Great to have you here. Thank you so much. Well, thank you so much, everyone, for coming, students, parents, families. It's really nice to have you here. And congratulations to our scholar athletes. You're welcome to stay for the board meeting, but if you want to leave, then that's cool, too. Enjoy your evening. Glad to see you. Thank you all for joining us for that special recognition. So that now takes us to our open agenda portion of the meeting. This is where we... invite a forum for public comment. We do have some cards that were filled out this evening, and we also have a couple of voicemails

007to play, two voicemails. So in order to get that done, there... are a lot of rules that I need to go through so that we all are on the same page on addressing the board. So let me get that up. So we as a school board believe that hearing from our community members is crucial for implementing Vision 2031. If you wish to contact the board via email instead of publicly commenting at a meeting, please go to the school board page on the district website, and there are various ways to contact us directly, individually, or as a full board. At board meetings, public comment will be received both in person and through voicemail. Instructions for how to leave a voicemail to be played at the board meeting can be found in the board packet on the

008district website. We have two public comment sessions per meeting. The first is at the beginning of the meeting and prioritizes items on the agenda. The second is at the end of the meeting and will be used only when necessary. Each public comment section lasts for 30 minutes, and we allow comments up to three minutes for each person. As outlined in the board meeting protocols on the board website, if we have more community members than 10 per comment section, priority will be given to those comments pertaining to the agenda. And in this manner, we will... Allow them to be played the first five voicemails Received will be played and the first five people who submit public comment cards will be invited to the table again prioritizing items on the agenda So we have a long list

009of guidelines for public comment. Please keep your comments to three minutes or less. Public comment is for input only. Members of the school board will not respond directly to public comments that are made at this meeting. No specific action will be taken at this meeting in response to comments that are made or issues that are raised during the public comment period related to items not on the agenda. If the Board determines that action is appropriate, the action will occur at a future Board meeting. If you have left your contact information on the comment card, a district representative may follow up with you after the meeting. I will recognize one speaker at a time. Only those speakers who are recognized will be permitted to speak. Individuals who interfere with or interrupt speakers, the Board, or the

010proceedings may be asked to leave. Personal attacks on any individual, including any other speaker during the public comment session, are unacceptable, as are obscenities or profanity. Persistence in making such remarks will end the individual's opportunity to address the board and may result in the individual being directed to leave. I will rule out of order any statement that would violate state or federal law, school board policy, or the privacy rights of an individual. Minnesota's open meeting law prohibits the discussion of private educational data during an open meeting. Accordingly, during the public comment session, no person may discuss private educational data on an identifiable student. The open meeting law also requires the board to close a meeting for preliminary consideration of allegations against an employee. Accordingly, community members who have concerns about an employee or want to

011file a complaint or allegations against an employee are encouraged to contact the superintendent. We ask you not to name an employee by name during your comments. Repeated violations of these time, place, and manner restrictions may also lead to the meeting being briefly recessed. Community members will have an opportunity to be heard within the limits of the law and subject to the time, place, and manner restrictions above. Thank you for participating in public comment this evening and for sitting through that very long discussion. So my the first person who has oh first we will play a voicemail and then we will go to our first in-person public comment that has not happened before do we want to Do in-person comment first while you problem-solve that Natalia? Okay, great. Well, we would like to invite Samantha Heaton

012to the board table. Thank you for being here this evening. My name is Samantha Heaton. I'm the mother of a Shenzhen second grader and kindergartner and a two-year-old. I'm speaking today on behalf of myself, my family, and other parents who have asked me to speak with you. We are concerned about the viability and support for the Shenzhen program. Our concerns are primarily twofold, enrollment and the continued presence of the unique elements of Shenzhen that make it a successful and attractive program. These inevitably are intertwined. An attractive program leads to increased enrollment, and increased enrollment leads to more resources to support the program as well as the overall district. We understand that enrollment in Xinjiang is down this year and that this is part of a nationwide trend in Chinese programs in elementary schools and colleges.

013I'm encouraged by the discussion at the October school board meeting that the district will strategically connect with those interested in Chinese immersion, particularly by working with the immersion teachers. We're concerned, however, that these efforts are moving slowly and not capitalizing fully on parent and teacher interest. One of the key ways to push against enrollment declines is to keep our program attractive to parents. Parents of current students have said that they enrolled because of exceptional teachers, the presence of paraprofessionals in early grades, opportunities for cultural experiences like the Lunar New Year Festival and trips to China, as well as an exceptionally strong math program that uses the Singapore math curricula. all in addition to the basic premise of the program, that they're learning another language. Some of these things seem currently at risk. I'll provide additional

014written comments, but our ask here is that parents be involved in the process, that we be kept informed, and that we be given transparency, not avoidance, and that our teachers be supported and not undermined. As changes are contemplated to Shenzhen programming and curriculum, they should be done with at least an eye toward enrollment and while keeping parents informed on the front end. I understand Eisenhower's putting together an enrollment task force for Xinjiang, and I applaud this. The administration needs to ensure this moves forward quickly. Kindergarten enrollment work is already underway, and parents will be making decisions soon. The task force also needs to include someone from the communications and marketing team to ensure it is moving forward strategically and with appropriate resources. We also ask that the administration set aside time for a parent meeting

015regarding the Shenzhen math curriculum, potential changes to it that we've heard rumblings about, as well as how the Shenzhen curriculum leads into and interacts with the middle school curriculum. Thank you very much. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Sure. I'm the parent of a third grader and a kindergartner in the Juntos program at Eisenhower. And I'd like this message played at the next school board meeting, and it's regarding the topic of class sizes and paraprofessional support. My family has treasured our time at Ike, and I have spent the last several years telling everyone who will listen about what an amazing experience my eldest child was having. My repeated raves have led several friends to look into enrolling in the school for their own children. The popularity and success of the Juntos program

016is amazing, but with that success comes a challenge. The number of students in the program is growing, but we are seeing a worsening student-teacher ratio, and in the face of these increasing class sizes, paraprofessional support is actually being cut. This is particularly concerning at the kindergarten level, where my son's class is up to 26 students. I understand that hiring extra teachers may be unrealistic from a budgetary perspective, but at the very least, we need to have paraprofessional support in those classrooms. One teacher, no matter how talented and motivated, cannot control a group of 26, 5, and 6-year-olds who are only just learning what school even is. These are kids who have never been in a classroom, kids who quite literally haven't learned how to behave when a teacher is talking. students who, frankly, are still

017wetting their pants at times. I can't begin to imagine how one single teacher could manage those behaviors and teach all 26 of them, and teach them in a language none of the students even speak. That is an insane thing to ask of one teacher. A 1 to 26 ratio is simply unworkable. If we can't afford more teachers, it has to be a priority to get paraprofessional help into these classrooms every hour of the day. It's an investment that will pay off every single year after this, as our students will have been supported and have a greater understanding of what they are expected to do and learn in the classroom. Additional support at the kindergarten level makes everything easier for all of the teachers and students that these kindergartners will encounter in future years. I remain

018excited about the growth of the Juntos program, but I encourage the school board to do everything in its power to fix this problem regarding student to educator ratio before it undoes all of the good that has already been accomplished. Thank you for your time. Sarah Memmon, Kindergartener at Eisenhower Elementary, and I would like to submit a comment for the public comment portion of the agenda. Given the lack of para support at Eisenhower, I would like to formally ask the board to pass a resolution in support of reinstating full-time para support in all kindergartens district-wide, as well as supporting the reinstatement of part-time para support in all first grades district-wide. Thank you. I would now like to invite Kendra Theory to the board table. Sorry, what was it? Oh, great. Thank you. For being here this

019evening. Yes. Thank you for having me again My name is Kendra here theory. I'm here today as a parent of two first graders at Eisenhower Speaking on behalf of a group of concerned parents who want to ensure our youngest students receive the support they need to thrive First I'd like to express our appreciation for everyone here working tirelessly for our children I didn't plan on speaking again tonight, but every time I've questioned pushing this issue others have encouraged me to keep advocating for my kids and for all kids in k-3 I'm here because we're deeply concerned about the high class sizes in early grades and limited paraeducator support. We understand that funding is a challenge, but there is so much research that smaller class sizes, especially in early education, are crucial for academic, social, and

020emotional development. Studies constantly show that class sizes around 18 or fewer create an environment where children can receive the individualized attention they need. Currently, class sizes at Eisenhower are much higher, and we've received a range of explanations as to why it's not capped. We've heard that class size is part of union negotiations with teachers, but reviewing the contract, we found that this only currently applies to high school and middle school. We've been told our school has no class size cap, but logically, there has to be a point in which an additional teacher becomes necessary. Other districts, like one we spoke to, have passed class size policies without union conflicts, and I wonder why we can't pursue something similar here. I'd like to draw attention to this brochure that's in this building and I grabbed tonight.

021It says our kindergarten class size is 25 students with each kindergarten class supported by a full-time teaching assistant. Future kindergarten parents have also received this in the mail. So this is what's being marketed to the district, district-wide. And it has come as a shock to a lot of our parents that this was not the case. And this needs to be corrected if it's not true. This implies that there's a class size cap that doesn't exist. There's also the issue of paraeducators. Para support isn't just a bonus, it's essential. Paras help manage classrooms effectively, provide support, and reduce behavioral issues. Without enough paras, our teachers are stretched too thin, and that impacts the quality of education our children receive. It's troubling when school leaders tell us that they're forced to choose between helping kindergartners build early

022foundations and supporting third and fourth graders who are struggling with reading. This kind of choice should not be necessary. We should not be forced into an either-or situation. Our teachers and staff need the resources to support students across all grade levels, especially in these foundational years. Otherwise, we're creating a compounding problem that will follow these students as they progress through school. We are actively meeting with state representatives, district leaders, educators, community members to understand this issue in greater depth. Our petition has raised 280 signatures in people wanting this change to be made. I'm sorry. Time is up. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. And our final in-person public comment is from Emily Ward. Can you please join us at the table? Thank you for being here tonight. Good evening and thank you. This

023evening I would like to share with you a quick snippet and summary of an article from the January 2017 issue of the Journal of Youth Adolescents. This article is called Gender Identity Disparities in Bathroom Safety and Well-Being Among High School Students. The study covered in the article sampled 9th through 12th graders at several Midwest public schools, which makes it relevant to our Hopkins District as well. The research investigated the relationship between trans identity, bathroom safety, and well-being among high school students. And a quick spoiler here, when students do not feel safe at school, it negatively impacts their educational outcomes. So from the article, according to the Every Student Succeeds Act, educational institutions have a responsibility to ensure that all students have... equal access to educational opportunities. Schools must therefore implement policies and practices to create

024and sustain learning environments that address educational disparities by fostering the success of students who experience barriers to achieving educational outcomes. A growing body of research has linked these disparities to trans students' experiences of violence, harassment, and exclusion in educational settings. Trans students face physical violence and harassment disregard for their gender identity and expression, as well as curriculum and pedagogical practices that are harmful to their development. To summarize the longer article, given the amount of time I have, the study found that transgender students who felt unsafe using school bathrooms reported lower self-esteem and poor academic performance. They also felt less safe at school, which negatively affected their overall sense of belonging and mental health. Our Hopkins parents and caregivers group really appreciated the opportunity to meet with the superintendent, a member of the school board, and

025the principal of the high school on October 9th, and to spend some time brainstorming ideas to increase the safety of bathrooms in Hopkins schools following the assault of a transgender student at the high school in May. That conversation, however, was largely where things ended. And speaking for myself, I get the sense that any tangible movement on this topic is inhibited by the district waiting for schools to take action and, conversely, schools waiting for the district to provide leadership direction. So I am asking the school board and district to take a top-down approach and provide some... directive leadership here because it's been six months since the assault at the high school and years since we've been asking for improvements in this area and everything so far boils down to words words words and not actions please

026take action to make our kids safer in hopkins schools thank you for your time thank you that takes us to our report section and we get to start off with our student board representative Have you decided who gets to go first? I will be going first. Great, thank you. Hello, my name is Mia Osman, and I'm a senior board representative. So last Friday, student council hosted the Fall Fun Day. It brought students together for an event of activities and relaxation. Students enjoyed a variety of options, including food trucks, lively bingo games, henna, which I also got mine done. It's kind of fading. Face painting, pumpkin painting, a bouncy house, snacks, drinks, and more. And it was a really fun day to bring students together. And then excitement is building up for our school's production of

027Newsies, the story of a New York newspaper boys striking for fair pay. The musical opening night is this Friday, November 15th, and there will be additional performances on the 16th, 21st, 22nd. and 23rd also at 7 30 and then for early birds there will be a 2 p.m matini i think that's how you pronounce it on november 16th so make sure you come support our cast and the hopkins high school's band as they're performing too This year, election results have sparked discussion and debrief across the school with several clubs holding meetings to process and reflect. Clubs like Youth in Government, Hopkins High School for Choice, and other organizations discussed the implications of the outcome, providing spaces for students to engage and share perspective. This created a comfortable space for students to express their emotions on

028this topic. And then the HEF is once again hosting its annual teacher appreciation, offering banana bread gifts for $25. Each package includes a freshly loafed bread, personalized note, and a $25 gift card to a teacher of your choice. This is just a meaningful way that we can show gratitude for educators who make a difference every day. And then finally, winter stores are starting up, and it's not too late to join. Although some began their season already, Dance, gymnastics, hockey, girls basketball, and Nordic skiing haven't started yet. So registration is still open for anyone who wants to participate in any winter sports. Thank you. Thank you. I'm Praise. I'm a senior representative, and this is my second year on the board. Alright, the first thing I'll talk about is that today and also last week our

029school moved into a new term and we have been hosting class meetings. The juniors and seniors had their class meetings today in the auditorium and last week was underclassmen. A specific feature of the class meetings is the student and staff recognition and so students get to submit a Google form that shows what staff member they're hoping to recognize at the class meeting. And then we also have the Hopkins High School also has a cultural student group speaker series starting this year. November will be focused on Native Americans. All right. And then we also have Principal T and our State of the School address coming up later this month and next month. And then we also have lacrosse tryouts. And our HOSA chapter, HOSA Future Health Professionals, is hosting a blood drive this week, Friday. And

030they have been promoting their blood drive in the hallway with lots of sign-up tables and have already reached capacity. And so we are moving on to a wait list for students. Wow. Hello, I'm Sufjan Osman, and I'm a freshman board member. We recently elected six new student council members, including freshman Kai Sheaf, Mohamed Diano, Marshawn McCoy, August Wingler, and Ernesto Dominguez, and freshman Fitz Litchley. Last week, a group of us toured North High School to explore their Career Building Paths program. as Hopkins considered adding similar career-focused opportunities. Additionally, some student board members visited Shakopee High School to meet with other Minnesota school boards, promoting collaboration and shared ideas. Finally, the Winter Carnival is on December 3rd, hosted by Student Council, with more details coming soon. Thank you so much. Does anyone have any comments or

031questions for our student board reps? The names you mentioned in the beginning, what were they elected for? So they're just like representative, like, yeah, for student council. Student council. Okay, I missed that. Thank you. You said the Winter Carnival is going to be December 3rd? Yes. At the high school? Yeah, it's, I think, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thank you. Chair Andreessen? Yes. I do have a question. Does the student council want to meet with us? They're free to. I'm not sure because like they don't really, they're like planning the fun stuff like the fall fun day and like the ho-ho coming. I think you're supposed to say yes. I'm just saying they don't have to go to Shakopee. You can't speak on their behalf. Okay. Maybe extend our invitation that we... I think

032what was mentioned was a student board representative training that was hosted by MSBA. So student board representatives from across the state came to Shakopee. We met in Shakopee. And three of our amazing student board reps went, and we got to talk about different things that that we can do to center student voice and to grow student board representation on the board. And I don't know, Mia, do you want to? both maybe comment a little bit more about that experience? I mean, yeah. So what was it? It was like two weeks ago we went. It was me, my brother, and Iris. We were there with Chair Andreessen. And they split like the adults into one area and they split the kids into one area. And then we would discuss and then we would all come back

033and tell them like what we discussed. And I think we did that like twice, was it? And we were as like... chair andreason said it was basically just a way so that they can input more student voices into the board um table and we noticed like from different schools they weren't like copies like we have like board reps since ninth grade and most of them they came and joined until like their junior year and it was just like we just like got different perspectives and like saw like how different schools like had their student boards and stuff so yeah yeah and we we also talked about We got to meet as Hopkins and talk about things that we'd like to see. So I'll include that as part of my board report. And there's definitely some

034work for us to do as adult student board, as adult board members. So I'm excited. And we are getting you nameplates. Yes. That was one quick and easy suggestion. Any other comments or questions? Great. Well, thank you so much. Then that takes us to our superintendent report. Dr. Mary Perry-Rate. Thank you, Chair Andreessen. Well, I'd like to welcome everyone to quarter two, and this is a time when things really start ramping up for the holiday season. Overall, we've had an incredible quarter one, and everyone in the system plays a vital role in that. I would like to thank our teachers and school staff and district staff for everything that they do. I visited... classrooms at Eisenhower Elementary for two hours on Friday and then Glen Lake for two hours this morning. And honestly, when you

035are in a school visiting classroom to classroom for that dosage of time, you really are in awe of everything that takes place. I observed effective instruction, caring staff, and a myriad of opportunities. for students to engage in personalized learning, to receive individualized instruction and small group learning. And we know that student learning and students gaining academic mastery is a critical function of our system. So I just want to recognize and thank every educator and every district employee for the role that they play in that. Earlier during our... workshop our director of communications and marketing referenced nationwide loss of trust in public institutions including in public schools and the slide mentioned political polarization as one of four key ingredients and this has been well researched and So as your superintendent I have contemplated how we support

036our students and our staff and our families during this time and moving forward and especially how we move forward together because that's really what our students need. And I came across a helpful article in Education Week. This is a publication that many of our educators, especially our school leaders, receive. And the title was A Reminder to America. We still agree on more than we don't. So the author explained that a collective effort with our students at the center can give us the will to do something different. And these are a few things that need to be different. So first, embracing a different narrative about who we can be together, especially as a public school district, and how we as adults model for our students how we can discuss. disagree, listen, and compromise, and find new

037ways to make progress on seemingly intractable problems. Two, ensuring strong civics teaching is embedded in classroom learning experiences. For example, students need practice having moderated conversations with each other on challenging issues, and this teaches students how to disagree in productive ways. Three, Really rejecting cancel culture in schools and elsewhere. We have to counter the idea That if you accidentally say the wrong thing or ask a question, you're shunned or called out for making an honest mistake. Because fear does not cultivate curiosity, learning, understanding, or forgiveness. So how do we create opportunities for students to build empathy? That's one of our graduate traits. And also curiosity, which is another bullet here, is how do we build curiosity in our students? and also have that reflected in our staff and modeled by our staff, including school leaders,

038including school board members, and truly all adults in the system, so that we can show our students that there are nuances involved and nuanced thinking involved in solving problems. So I just wanted to provide that message to our community as we think about how we move forward in a collective way, keeping our students at the center. And I wanted to introduce to you the second mascot. So we introduced the first new mascot at a previous board report a few weeks ago, and recently Transition Plus graduate Mia Carter designed the second new mascot. So these mascots were funded by Hopkins Education Foundation. Thank you, HEF, for your support. And FYI, schools, schools leaders, families, communications and marketing, all of our departments, our new mascots are happy to show up at school events and engage with students

039and families. On Friday evening, the Gatewood community celebrated fall with warm apple cider, hot cocoa donuts, and even some friendly goats at their inaugural Hay Day event. There was an opportunity to have a tractor hayride with Mr. Ike. and participate in a luminary-lit stroll and roast marshmallows by the campfire. So thanks to everyone at Gatewood and the parent community who helped plan that and everyone who joined in making memories, mostly in the dark. Next time we'll have to have the fire trucks come and maybe put up their bright lights so we can see. But it was a really fun event for all involved. One of the many great things happening at Virtual EDU is a morning restorative practice. Students hold a community circle, which works very well in the virtual space. And this morning, elementary

040virtual EDU scholars and teachers gathered to discuss AI. Is AI good for society? What are your thoughts? And they had a community circle centered around that question. And so this is an opportunity for each voice to be heard and fostering a supportive space where students can connect, share, and grow together around a topic that... definitely has some pros and cons and touches everyone throughout society, including our young students. Students at West studied African-American artist Alma Woodsy Thomas and Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky, focusing on her works of bright, intense color and his use of line. Students created bright mosaic-like backgrounds of color and added patterns, including various densities of line. These abstract artworks are on display at West Middle School and are the second collaboration created by our student artists. So go to West and check

041out that art. At our other middle school, North Middle, kudos to Principal Aromaselli and North staff for engaging in a staff wellness exercise last Tuesday. Staff loved the brief no-shop-talk walk for mental wellness that they took throughout the school and ended up outside. Principal Aromaselli said that they wanted to take a short, calming walk to remember our former colleague, Gina Snell, who passed a year ago around this time. When they returned, they did a reflective circle on how we are all doing at this point in the year. And it was a wonderful way to ground ourselves before the professional learning day. And this was last Tuesday. That was election day, but of course our adults were reported to work and had professional development all day. Gratitude to our entire high school team led by Principal

042Ballard and also Dr. Kuhl, our college and career specialists, for all of the work that goes into the college application season for our seniors. And really wanted our community, hopefully parents are listening in, but there are a lot of deadlines involved in this process. And did you know that counselors and teachers write a lot? of recommendation letters, some write up to 30 to 40 college application recommendation letters. So it's a heavy lift for many of our educators at our high school, and we so appreciate the time and detailed attention that is required in writing those letters. One discovery we've had is that our scholars are highly competitive as well as qualified to get into most of the schools that participate in the direct admissions program. And now the Common App is integrated with the direct

043admissions program. If you're wondering, well, what is direct admissions? It's a new program from the Office of Higher Education in Minnesota. And this pilot program notifies seniors from select Minnesota high schools that there are multiple partner colleges and universities eager to admit them based on their academic record and projected graduation date. So it's really a seamless way for many of our students to apply to multiple colleges at the same time. For families of seniors listening, remember that fees should never be a barrier to applying for college. Please connect with a counselor or Dr. Kuhl to get a waiver if one is needed. On this next slide, we wanted to recognize our Transition Plus student, Ellie Swanson, who, although she's not a coffee drinker, she has a new job at Dunn Brothers Coffee in Minnetonka. And

044Ellie's favorite part is making eggs and managing the cash register. Michael Collar, who is a Minnetonka resident, purchased the Minnetonka Dunn Brothers in... 2023 and he was interested in hiring employees with disabilities to expand upon the long-standing partnership between his Hopkins location and our Transition Plus program. Except to do so, he needed equipment that would automate the coffee making process. So we really appreciate our employers out there who are providing opportunities for all of our students. And congratulations, Ellie, for getting that job. And she shares, it doesn't matter what kind of person you are. It takes time to learn things, but you will get it. And now I would love to invite our Assistant Director of Adult Options, Chelsea Ritland, to the board table. Thanks so much, Chelsea, for being here this evening. And we

045wanted to provide a program spotlight this evening on adult options. Not sure if you knew, but Hopkins is one of the districts that has growing enrollment of our adult learners, and Chelsea does a really wonderful job. running those programs and providing support to the teachers involved. I had lunch with one of your teachers and she speaks so highly of the support that you provide and for the work that she and her colleagues do for our adult students. So thanks for being here, Chelsea, and we look forward to hearing your remarks. Thank you so much, Dr. Mary Peary. That's so wonderful to hear. And thank you so much to the board for this opportunity to share about the work that our adult learners are doing alongside our amazing staff in adult options and education. which is

046a consortium of Hopkins, St. Louis Park, Minnetonka, and Wayzata School Districts. So we have four physical locations, and then a fifth location that we consider to be our online location. And as we can see, the Hopkins site is located here in the community center, and adult learners are here Monday through Thursday in the morning and Tuesday, Thursday evenings. And yes, as Dr. Mary Puri-Reed mentioned, we are experiencing multi-year growth. In our 2023 program year, we had 71% growth from the year prior, and that's the year that we added the Wayzata program to our consortium. But we've continued to grow since then, and that has been the trend statewide in adult education as well. So last year we had 14% growth. which is wonderful to be able to expand our capacity and meet the demand that

047we are seeing in our community for adult English language classes, GED classes, digital literacy classes, and community, or career classes, rather. So we've invested this year in adding four new classes to our consortium. two of which are here at our Hopkins location. We have currently 821 learners enrolled in our consortium, 276 of which are at our Hopkins site. Traditionally, our Hopkins site has been the largest, but it has now been surpassed by the online site. We have about 40% of our students enrolled in an online-only class. So more students this year enrolled than last year, more contact hours this year than last year at this time. In August, our amazing registration team registered 180 students compared to about 150 students from the summer prior. And we have a picture of our awesome team here, which

048is largely teachers, a registrar. college and career counselor and to support staff. So something that's new for our staff this year, adult educators are now part of continuing contract. and so we're participating in the Hopkins compensation model this year. We're working with a peer coach from the high school, Chris Adams, who it's been wonderful to be able to expand our professional development in this way and become even more aligned with the model that exists in Hopkins for our adult educators as well. participating in collaborative team time in the same structured way that our E through 12 educators are. And part of that work, we've decided to study bell hooks, teaching to transgress over the course of this year. Education as a practice of freedom and really disrupting patterns and norms in systems that have not

049traditionally served the learners that we're serving in adult education. So thinking about education as a practice of freedom and a form of social justice. And some of our learners are pictured here as well, and some teachers in action in beginning level English classes. The growth that we've seen has also been in the adult academics program, which was formerly known as the GED program So this these are some pictures from our GED Graduation ceremony this past summer and which chair Andreessen was present as a representative of the Hopkins School Board So thank you chair Andreessen for being there in the center picture we can see three GED graduates receiving the Minnetonka Rotary Scholarship to continue on to their community college, at which they're currently enrolled this fall. Mayor of St. Louis Park Nadia Mohammed spoke as

050our keynote speaker, and it was really fun to hear more about her journey and how her mother was once a learner with us at our St. Louis Park site. So by the numbers, a little bit more information about who is currently enrolled with us. These are the top 10 countries of origin, and the display is a little small, so I will read out at least a few of those for you. So the number one place of origin of our learners currently is Somalia, followed by Ukraine. which we've seen a significant shift in that trend, now being the second highest place of origin of learners in our consortium. Then Ecuador, Mexico, Venezuela, Afghanistan has increased significantly over the past couple of years. And so our top languages represented are Spanish, Somali, Russian and Ukrainian, and then

051English. So hearkening back to the earlier conversation about family engagement and specific groups of parents, adult options can be a strong partner in that, as many of our learners are also parents in the Hopkins School District and have kids in the E-12. So a few initiatives that we're focusing on this year. The good news that we have grown is that we are receiving the maximum funding possible as an adult education consortium. State statute dictates that you cannot grow beyond 11% in your contact hour revenue. And our contact hour revenue grew by closer to 50%. So there's a lot of lost funding in that growth that a lot of programs right now are trying to figure out how to make this how to serve our community members continue to offer programming but do so in a

052sustainable way when there is this contact our revenue cap. So we have been capped for the past two years and we're continuing to do our best to serve people who are requesting to receive these free services from our programming. This picture is representing Representative Cheryl Joachim with an award for outstanding advocacy to adult basic education funding in the state. And as a member of the Literacy Action Network Legislative Committee, I'm... continuing to work with her and other ABE professionals around this year, increasing or removing that contact hour revenue cap. And so that's a discussion that's taking place with the MDE ABE team and with the legislative committee and our advocates such as Representative Joachim. Another initiatives that we have this year are our integrated English language civics education. It's a mouthful. IELCE grant. That's $150,000

053annually for three years. We currently receive that federal funding. And it provides integrated education training career classes. And it provides our citizenship classes and civics components embedded in our English language classes. So that's a really important grant and initiative that we're pursuing. Every five years, an ABE program submits a narrative to the state, which is essentially like a dissertation on the ABE program. and submitting all of the program policies and practices to ensure compliance and to have a discussion statewide around best practices. That can be a really, actually a good practice, although it's a required thing to develop new innovative tools and strategies and to discuss with other programs as well. So we're in that cycle this year in our five-year narrative. We're moving all of our testing that we do continuously throughout the year

054as we have open enrollment and students are continuously enrolling and exiting as nothing is mandatory for adult learners. We do a lot of testing and we're transitioning from paper-pencil to computer-based testing, which is really nice to modernize in that sense and will make things run differently and more effectively. And so with the IELCE grant, these are some of the initiatives that we're, some of them we already have in place and others that we are hoping to put in place over the next three years. We are exploring a regional online career class model where we would not offer this alone, but because so many classes in adult education are now offered online, we can collaborate regionally with other ABE programs. And I'm writing this. grant in partnership with our ABE colleagues at Bloomington Schools so that

055we can coordinate these pathways for career classes. and students can enroll in a class offered by Hopkins or by Bloomington, all part of the pathway, to really leverage those grant dollars in a more effective way, fill classes, and be able to offer more pathways, healthcare, community interpreter, driver's license, computer skills, accounting to adult learners regionally. And so this is just a model of how this has been accomplished in two other ABE programs, alternating who's offering which classes in a very coordinated way regionally to increase access. And so there's two ways that ABE programs are measured by the state, and it's by measurable skill gains for English language learners and for our adult basic education learners, which would be like our GED or more advanced learners. And so difficult to see on the screen in front

056of you, but we are consistently in the top of the state and significantly higher than the statewide average in these outcomes. And so we really attribute that to... are amazing learners. We actually have the highest percentage of learners in the state with post-secondary education. So folks are in our program that have rich experiences professionally before they are coming and learning English with us. And so a lot of learners have done school before, have been in school, and still a wide range of formal academic. backgrounds, some with elementary level, all the way up through master's or professional degrees. And we also contribute these really strong outcomes in learners making skill gains to our teaching staff, to our strongly aligned standards curricula. And then the last slide is about retention and persistence. And this is a really

057nice note to end on. We're proud to have really high retention and persistence of our learners because this is a completely optional program. It's an indicator to us that we are providing a service that is indeed meeting their needs and helping them to progress along their goals, whether that's feeling more connected with community members. meeting people in the community, increasing their English language skills, better understanding their child's school system, or receiving career training or computer skills training. So a variety of goals and reasons why learners are with us. And it's really important that once they're here, we can create a space for them to stay as long as they feel like they want to keep working with us. So thank you. That's all I have this evening. Chelsea, the post-secondary education that some of our

058adult learners have had, are you counting the education, whether it occurs here in this country or in their heritage? That's from their home country. Okay. Thank you. Yeah. Thank you so much. I just... Well, I'm really interested in learning about how our LIC can advocate around doing something about that contact hours cap. So if there's, I'll send you an email maybe and we can kind of start working on that. That would be fantastic. Yeah. Thank you. Yes. Any questions? No, thank you for that great presentation. I love learning about the adult learning throughout the district, and I think you're doing amazing work over there, so keep it up. Thank you so much. Thank you so much, Chelsea. Thank you, everyone. Thanks for all the great work that you do. Thank you. Do you have any

059other slides? Okay, the end. Well, I wanted to take this opportunity before we approve the agenda to share a statement that comes from the school board and our Legislative Action Coalition in response to some community partner questions and feedback. Wanted to let everybody know that this is based on a communication that went out to our families from district leadership. So our country is navigating significant division and recent events have stirred a range of emotions. Our school board and legislative action coalition are nonpartisan. We hold the collective value community values of public education and the well-being of youth and when social tensions fracture those collective values it is our duty to respond. Recently, we learned that black students at one of our middle schools received racist text messages. After consulting with the Minnetonka police, the district

060confirmed that similar incidents were reported in K-12 and college settings across at least seven other states, including Minnesota. An article by the New York Times stated the number could be even higher than that. We do not believe these messages originated from within our community. Additionally, we are aware of reports in other districts involving misogynistic, transphobic, and homophobic memes and text messages received by students, although we have not yet received specific reports of this happening in our schools. Given this, we, along with community partners who serve the Hopkins Public Schools community, join our district leadership in this statement of unequivocal support. We are resolute in our commitment to ensuring our schools offer safe inclusive environments for all students staff and families Guided by our core values of love vigilant equity and authentic inclusivity We respond firmly

061there is absolutely no room for hate at Hopkins we believe in respecting and valuing differences Our commitment to equity and inclusivity is unwavering as we prepare students for a future that celebrates diverse perspectives and fosters belonging for everyone. We rely on you, our Hopkins community, to keep our youth safe, connected, and engaged wherever they show up. Please be vigilant and report any offensive messages as described above to the Minnetonka, Hopkins, and Golden Valley Police, who are valued partners in this collective work. Thank you for your partnership in supporting a safe and inclusive community for all students, staff, and families. And it's signed by the Hopkins School Board, the Hopkins Schools Legislative Action Coalition, Representative Cheryl Yoakim, Representative Lori Pryor, Representative Patty Acom, Representative Mike Freiberg, Representative Larry Kraft, and Representative-elect Alex Falconer. And just for

062context, these are representatives who serve our community. Thank you. And we will now move to approving our agenda. Is there a motion? So moved. I have a motion. Is there a second? Second. I have a motion and a second. Any discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any nays? Seeing none, the motion, the agenda is approved. That takes us to the consent calendar. These are items provided to the board with information considered to be more routine in nature. If the board deems an item to be necessary for additional discussion, a motion will be made to move the item to new business. Do I have a motion to approve the consent calendar? So moved. I have a motion. Is there a second? Second. I have a motion and a second. Any discussion?

063Seeing none, all those in favor, please say aye. Aye. All those opposed, the consent calendar has been approved. And that brings us to the treasurer's report. Treasurer Hartland. Wonderful. Thank you very much. Good evening, everyone. Thank you for tuning in tonight. I would like to invite all of our community members to take a moment or more truthfully, an hour and watch the first half of this evening's workshop with education finance expert Krista Caput. It lays a strong foundation for some of the discussions we will be having here at the board table and out in the community as we enter the full swing of budgeting season. And in her earlier remarks, Krista Caput mentioned how the governor's office will release Minnesota's economic outlook in the beginning of December. And that gives us some indications of what

064the state's financial situation is and how much of a surplus, if any, the state has. This information is highly relevant to us here at the district as our primary source of funding. Something like 67% of our total funds come from the state of Minnesota. In our district, some expenses of note this period are payments to the state's Teacher Retirement Association in the total amount of $811,000. Another employee benefit was $33,501 to Lincoln National Life Insurance. Another was $24,033 to our Vision Insurance Service Provider. Internet and fiber optic upgrades at multiple sites cost $71,610. We paid for several major annual software subscriptions such as Versatrans, our bus routing software, for $30,000 and Microsoft 365 for $156,000. During my last report a couple of weeks ago, we talked about some expenses required for fire detection and sprinkler

065inspections. In this period, we had more of those. $31,770 was paid to Viking Automatic Sprinkler for inspections at various sites. We also paid $13,881 for security camera repair and upgrades. $132,976 went to nutrition services. And something to note about our nutrition service expenses is that we get approximately 85 to 90% of those dollars reimbursed from the state due to our universal school meals program. Some of that additional 10 to 15% that is unreimbursed might pertain either to certain equipment or possibly our a la carte program. Which is where students can purchase additional food and that's outside of the universal school meals program Eleven thousand nine hundred and eleven dollars went to curriculum in transportation for students at non public schools in our district And a lot of attention gets paid to these really big expenses,

066but I want to try to paint a broader picture of what it really takes to run a district of 7,000 plus students, 1,300 employees, and at least 11 different sites. I could not begin to tell you how many individual programs exist within our ecosystem here. So there's a quick rundown of $1,220 for volleyball officials. A roof leak at West Middle School cost $760. $7,359 for math books or workbooks. $3,319 for bike racks so our kids can bike to school. $523 for a set of six indoor scooters. Chinese testing at Jinjing cost $2,450. Tree trimming cost $3,010. $773 for kitchen equipment at Tanglin. $500 for our membership at the Minnesota IB Schools Association. $389 to repair a lawnmower. $951 for interpreter services at two schools. $825 to fill a large sandbox at Tanglin. $950 to repair

067bleachers, $2,800 for rigging at Hopkins High School Theater. There are 11 pages of expenses like this listed out in the Treasurer's Report for these last two weeks for your perusal. And that's just an inkling of what it takes to serve as many students in as many ways as we do here in Hopkins. And with that, I move we approve total disbursements in the amount of $3 million. $882.82 for the period of October 16th to October 31st, 2024. I have a motion. Is there a second? Second. I have a motion and a second. Any discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? The treasurer's report has been passed and that takes us to our first order of new business, which is policies and first read. Vice Chair Ross. Thank you, Chair

068Andreessen. I'm going to welcome Assistant Superintendent Nick Lightfoot. Excuse me, Nick Lightfoot to the podium or to their desk up front and we're gonna be reviewing five policies for this presentation and any discussion that any of the board colleagues have Thank you. Do we want to review them as a slate? Yeah, there's no difference in what we typically do. Okay, great. Good evening We are now in the set of 400 policies, thanks to the Monitoring Committee for its continued work. First up this evening is the Equal Opportunity Policy 401. There are some minor edits there with some language change to reflect language contained within the Minnesota Human Rights Act and 401. Those were the edits that were proposed to 401 in front of you this evening. open for any additional questions regarding policy 401. chair

069andreason yes clerk thompson um can i i feel like i ask this all the time but one just one more time when it says change is noted does that mean a change to our policy or there was a change to our policy as compared to the msba model policy Excellent question. Just to clarify, what we are looking at is we are looking at the changes that are presented on the Hopkins document. We take into consideration what the model policy is offering and then make those changes to the Hopkins document based on the language that's contained in the Minnesota School Board Association document. So what we would be looking at in the documents in front of you this evening are the Hopkins 401 documents so that when you would be looking at those proposed changes, what

070is identified there in the language that is highlighted in red would be what we would be proposing for the change if that helps be specific with the change that would be adopted by the board this evening. Did that help clarify? Yeah, it does. And I apologize. I feel like I've asked that before, but I appreciate it. It's helpful to know specifically. And then I can just make sure that when I identify those elements, I identify those in the Hopkins policy as well. Thank you. Any other questions? I just had a quick comment. I just wanted to note that underneath the policy are regulations. And are those, just for context, are those pretty much statute driven? That's all. Thank you. 403, in 403, within the Hopkins policies, you'll note the changes there. Minor edit, nothing really

071in particular of any substantial change based on any review of the Minnesota School Board Association policy. So we are looking with just a few minor edits to 403, which is the discipline suspension and dismissal of school district employees. Open for questions on that? Chair Andreessen? Yes. Dr. Lightfoot, just a clarifying question. If there are changes to that, is there like kind of union implications potentially? Just wondering what, like do they have to approve all changes to it? Just like, you know, typos or this and that? Or does it have to be material before they look at it? Usually material. Most of this is also general. and its application to the specific nature of any language that's contained within a collective bargaining agreement. So particular here, when we look at the specifics that the board looks

072at regarding this specific action, what this does is just generally outline what actions we can take, how those actions can be taken. And then if there is more specific action in further detail, some of that may be contained within an individual collective bargaining agreement. Does that help? Does that clarify? Yeah, well, I guess I does it does this supersede the Bargaining agreement then or is it in conjunction? I'm just kind of wondering you know Do they have to now look at what we changed and you know does it cause anything like that? Yeah in conjunction as far as any kind of document that would Be one overarching yes 403 is overarching The agreement at a collective bargaining level could have more specificity but wouldn't necessarily be in direct conflict. If it were in direct conflict

073with any change, then we would need to meet and negotiate, which are kind of outlined in the statute called meet and confer, where unions have the ability to look at and propose. Changes if you will to school board policy or suggest those along the way as well Okay, thank you Any other questions on 403 all right then? 404 employment background checks unemployment background checks Some minor edits here just in kind of cleaning up the language, but beyond that no substantial material change Just back to some titles on any of the legal references as well Any questions on 404? I don't see any. Okay. 406. 406, there were some changes that were related to labor organizations and private and public personnel data. That specific information to Director Thompson's question was taken from the model policy in

074the Minnesota School Board Association. document and moved into the Hopkins document and it is reflected there on the Hopkins policy. So you should see that reflected on 406. So 406 captures that information as the major change that was done to this document in our review since the last review for 406. Any other additional questions that may be related to 406? I don't see any. All right. Then the last one we have is 722. 722 is the data request policy. 722 is a mandatory policy that we are looking at. It is in specific nature designed to provide context and information and contact. Points for individuals looking to have a specific data request filed with the school district and outlines the set of conditions, reflects the statutory information, and then identifies points of contact for the community.

075So with 722, we would be looking to add this to the lineup of policies that we have here in Hopkins that would be displayed on the web and then provide that specific set of information. for individuals looking to make this request. So that is policy 722, open for additional questions on that. Chair Andreessen. Yes, Clerk Thompson. Thanks, Dr. Lightfoot. So just so I understand this, so this would be a new policy that we're posting to kind of define what happens when these requests come in? Is that? Correct mm-hmm Minnesota statute outlines that the district needs to have a particular Public facing policy to provide this set of information for individuals who would like to make a specific data request so this policy meets the term of that and Allows the community the set of information

076that informs them of how they can go about making that request and is it a new requirement that We have that or or or not? Yep, it's a mandatory policy and part of our work a community member did identify that this our policy 515 and 406 which also deal with data don't have the specific sets of information that 722 has and so 722 captures that statutory information in a specific way that meets the requirement of statute to have a publicly facing policy that informs individuals of how to make this specific request thank you very much i appreciate that explanation yeah you're welcome thank you for the questions i just had a quick question um and i i don't know if if you have the answer um but i see like I got caught up in

077G, which is not public data, and then H, which is non-public data. I'm finding it hard. And I know there's a description, but is there any clarification around what is the difference between that? Much of this is contained within statutes. I just want to make sure you're looking at. Which section? Section 3, definitions. Bottom of page two, top of page. Yep. Yeah, I'm just getting so confused by it. And it probably doesn't matter if I'm confused. So it's nuanced in G and in H. There can be different classifications of data. In H, you will see that it is accessible to the subject of the data under H. Under G, some information that can be considered confidential may not be accessible by the subject. There can be different sets of conditions. So it outlines all of

078these sets of possible conditions that are contained. But it is down to that level of detail of one may be accessible to the subject. The other, depending on how it's classified, may be confidential information that is not subject, not accessible by the subject, if that helps. It does. Thank you. Chair Andreessen? Yes. I do have a question. So I know that some information requests, like the FOIA, the Freedom of Information Act, there's like a nominal fee associated with it to maybe discourage, let's say, you know, because there might be a cost associated with doing all this data pull and research, right? Was that considered? And is that something you anticipate that would be a problem, you know, some years down the line? Excellent question. First, the Freedom of Information Act is a federal information act

079and is a governmental agency in Minnesota. We're actually subject to the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act. So FOIA requests to federal agencies, the Government Data Practices Act, Chapter 13, is what in statute defines the terms around data requests for us. One of those does relate, and the specific information is in the policy, to what we are able to charge depending on the type of request. So that's one of the benefits of this policy to Director Thompson's question earlier. It really helps outline for the public when there is a charge. It also allows them to say there may not be a charge depending on the request. If there is a request for the specific copies, there's outlined within the policy. the amount that can be charged for copying. There is always the opportunity to come in

080and view information without there being a copying charge. Some of the charges that do come into play is depending on sets of information that may need to be collected in specific ways based on the request. So there again, that's the benefit of this policy. It does help outline those specific sets of information that are great reference points if someone's interested in looking at a specific data set. or in specific capacities. This will help them understand that request that they're making and give them a detailed explanation that can kind of help inform their request when they make it. Because I don't quite, when I read it, I didn't see, I mean, you know, it's not like a dollar menu, right? But there wasn't really like a schedule. Nope. Like, it's kind of case by case, and

081so people can expect, like, okay, you know, we have to rearrange databases, this, that, and the other thing. It'll be whatever, right? It's case by case. Yes, but there's also some precedent to and some guideline for the lowest amount of trying to remember the exact language and I'm not going to come up with it right now, but it is identified within this and within statute the lowest rate that would be charged for someone to pull together the information that would have a capability to collect that information. Often it's done at a clerical rate, but there are some specific parameters that are here. That we would go through and we would look at depending on the type of nature of request. Okay. Thank you any other comments or questions? Doesn't look like it Then I would

082look for motion to approve the above policies in first read further the board directs the administration to prepare the policies with suggested revisions for approval in second reading at the next meeting as part of consent I have a motion. Is there a second? Second. I have a motion and a second. Any discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? The policies in first read have been passed. Thank you, Assistant Superintendent Lightfoot. Thank you, Nick. And that takes us to our equity audit update, part one. We'd like to invite Dr. Stanley Brown up to the board table. Thank you for being here. And I'll turn it over to Dr. Mira Piri-Reed. Thank you, Chair Andreessen. So for this agenda item, what we're doing is we're just having an informal conversation. It's

083not a formal update because we want to, we do have some board members who have joined us since the equity audit was conducted. And well. Because of COVID, it did sort of take a while and there was a few interruptions, but we received the final report in September of 2021. And so we are preparing, we are wanting to hold ourselves accountable for assessing, okay, where are we according to some of the findings that were articulated in the report? But before we get there, we thought we would just provide a brief overview to you about what that actually was. And then Dr. Brown, I think, will leave you with some copies of that report so you can look at it. And then later on, we'll do a more formal update, if that makes sense. So thank

084you, Dr. Brown, for just briefing the board on what took place a few years ago. Yes. Have a good night, student board reps. Good night. Have a good night. Thank you. Some organizations call it a needs assessment, as I pointed out in the brief note that I sent earlier. If we are an organization that says that we are paramount in equity, in vigilant equity at that, then we need to take an assessment of where are the areas in our organization that equity is strengthened and where in the organization are there gaps. And sometimes organizations have gaps of equity knowingly and some don't. And so the equity audit gave us a chance to have a organization come in and do an in-depth knowledge of the organization. The unfortunate thing about it is it happened right when

085COVID happened. And Chair Andreessen, I think you were around. when they first came to introduce it. Most equity audits have the privilege of going into buildings to see what does the building look like. Are there signage that would question that this is an equitable place? They couldn't do that. And so they interviewed staff from each site. The other challenge was how would they interview parents during this time of isolation? And they very creatively, as you know, at that time we offered food for families. And when families came for the food, the members of the equity audit team interviewed them, which was very creative, actually. And so they had to really think of creative ways of getting information for the equity audit. And so they presented it to us, and I will present it to you.

086And I just want to just briefly say that I invite you to peruse it. And if you have questions, you could certainly email Dr. Mary Perry-Reed or me. And I am composing a committee to look at the recommendations from the equity audit and to look at where we are according to the recommendations. And so we will come back to you in a timely fashion to report back. to you on what the recommendations were. And as a board, there is a section in the equity audit about the policies, which ones were already equitable. and which one should be reviewed again. So I invite you to especially look at that part. And so this weekend when you have nothing to do and you're looking for something exciting to read, I invite you to look at that. Are

087there any questions? I just had a question. If you sent out a message, I haven't been able to look at it. But I'm just wondering, do all the new board members have a copy of the report? I have it here. Wonderful. Thank you. Thank you so much. Yeah, we can. Maybe Natalia can have mine. I don't have any particular questions because I meet with you regularly to talk, you know, just about what we're doing in the district to support equity. Yes. I'd like to say thank you for this. I think this is really important. And do parents have, like, will they have access to this report if they wanted to read on it? I think that you brought that up. Thank you. Thank you so very much. I think as you bring that up, I

088think it would be one of those when we meet with the parent groups, it would be nice to highlight it. I don't know if anyone just wants to read it, but to give highlights of it. I think it's in our it's posted in our board docs, but we may want yes it is figure out how we can Just like an executive condense it a It is digest parents are not gonna. Yeah, it's it's it's it's very dense reading it is And I think to what it's not super accessible people either. There's a lot of educational. It's a lot of education jargon in it Yes, it is. It is. I'm not I'm sorry chairing Driesen. No, that's okay. I was just thinking that that's why I'm kind of excited for these updates. I feel like that

089those could fill that role of this is what was highlighted, this is what was called out in the report, and this is the progress we're making. And I think that might be more digestible for parents than the... Absolutely. And I personally think the superintendent and the board at that time and the board presently to give the green light on it. Yeah, absolutely. I think it's important work. And I know that the monitoring committee has been digging into that work. And I think we have some nice things to highlight. Absolutely. Absolutely. I only wish it wasn't at the time of isolation that they could have gone into schools and could have held. They held parent information groups online, but it would have been nice to have them in person. Oh, sorry, you can go. Oh, Chair

090Andreessen? Yes. So I have a question around just like the methodology or, you know, so we received this report, you know, so I love all the numbers here and graphs, but... Is there like a do they like have like a findings and recommendations section where they're like yes? Yes at the each section. Oh, yeah Yes at the each section there are findings and recommendations and and does the district did you kind of track those right like so you you assign this owner and Milestone assess now in process. Okay. Thank you so much. You're welcome So just real quick, so as we talk about, like, parent voice and, like, resources, I know that there was a, what was it, a qualitative summary? Report that went out about this like the sleep study around like hours for

091like the high school or like the hours I was just wondering do they touch a little bit on Because I read the report in you know, like the diversity of like the participants in the report and so just wondering do they touch on how Again, maybe like recommendations on how we can get more diverse parents involved in studies like that within the school They did not per se, but it is one of the topics that they did touch on, actually. Chair Andreessen. Yes. So just a quick question. I'm assuming with the policies that were highlighted, this was reviewed back in 2020 and 2021. So they would like to see kind of where we are. Right. Yes. Some of these policies. Yes. Okay. Yes, absolutely. And Director Ross, some of those recommendations and those policies have

092been addressed. And we can go over that too offline, which ones have been. Yeah, I think it would be helpful considering that assistant superintendent, like, for the RA1 over 1 that was highlighted, 401, equal employment opportunity. So thank you. You're quite welcome. Thank you. I'm actually going to read this whole thing, like, so thank you for this nice time. Read it to your kids. Yeah, put them right to bed. Go book club? Yeah. Want to? Yeah. I'll call you. Thank you. Thank you. Any other questions? Appreciate it. And if the board can help you in any way with the committee, if you want one of us on there, please let us know. I appreciate that very much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. You won't see me again tonight. Okay. And that takes us to

093our board member reports. I would like everyone to take this opportunity to introduce themselves. and then give an update about your activities in the district. And we can start with Clerk Thompson since you are joining us virtually. Oh goody, thank you. Hello, I'm Kai Thompson, I'm the clerk on the board. I have been serving on the board since January of this year. I have three kids in the district from third grade to ninth grade. Only board report I have this year Two-week session is I went to the girls swimming and diving varsity team section championship at Richfield Middle School last weekend. Head coach Megan Schill, they did a great job. They've been seeded fifth. They got third place. So that was just a really exciting event to watch. So thank you for the opportunity here.

094Thank you. Director Zhao, would you like to go next? Hi, I'm Jiming Zhao. I am on my first year at the school board. I've got two children in the district in fourth grade and kindergarten. And since the last meeting, I had a chance to tour West Middle School with Principal Matai. And it went really well. Got a chance to see how they're using the building. Talked about some of their initiatives and you know even some of their challenges and some of the things that are going well So it was a really great experience Get to getting to know one of our schools. So that's number four. Good evening. My name is Jason Ross I have three kids in the district two at North one at Anglin During this time off. I had opportunity attend am

095SD meeting where we had Edina Public Schools, St. Anthony, New Brighton, and then White Bear Lake. They did their presentations about their strategic plan and mission and how they're trying to move their plans forward with their school district. And obviously, from a competitive lens, attract more scholars over to their system. And that is all I have for this week. Thank you. My name is Shannon Andreessen. I am in my fifth year on the school board. I have a junior at the high school and a relatively recent grad from the high school. And I also work as a paraprofessional in the special education program at Gatewood Elementary. Oh, wait. I do have a report. Sorry, I forgot. We started talking about the student board rep training that... three of the student board reps and I went

096to and one of the there were a lot of takeaways my main one is that we have some amazing student board reps on this board we are incredibly lucky they had great ideas about things we can do to increase not only their role in the school board, but their ability to represent the entire student body. They talked about having a question of the day as opposed to sending out surveys so that people at the high school can give them feedback and they can bring it to us. Yeah. They also talked about that they worry that they are, that we only have board reps from the high school. And so they wanted to take their... digital learning days to go down and visit elementary schools and the middle schools. And we talked about having each student

097board rep assigned a school, much like we are as school board members assigned to school. And they thought that would be great and would love to use their time to go down, maybe just meet with student council reps or somebody. there at the at each site that would be able to give them feedback so they again could have a better understanding of the entire district but also represent all students not just their year at the high school and we talked about getting them name plates which is really exciting and then the other piece that i feel like that Hopkins does an amazing job. They were talking at the training about listening to students, and I was like, well, we center student voice at Hopkins. And then I started thinking, how do we even define that?

098And what does that mean to us? And so I thought it would be really good to have our student board reps come to a workshop where that is our topic of discussion. What does that mean? How do we enact it? How do we center their voice in every board decision? So that will be coming later. And that's my board report. I'm Rhoda Marie Peary-Reed, superintendent and ex-officio member of the school board, and I've already provided my board report for the evening. Also, I have two children in our system. One is a seventh grader at West, and one is a junior at our high school. Hello, everybody. I am currently treasurer Rachel Hartland. I have been on this board for three years now, and I have children in three different schools. seventh and ninth grade in

099our district. I use she, her pronouns. And in the last couple of weeks since our previous board meeting, I have attended conferences at North Middle School, and they have a pretty good system there for running a lot of parents by a lot of teachers. As you can imagine, if each of your students has six or seven people that they need to talk to, those conferences have to be pretty short, but the teachers were really used to it and gave a lot of really good information. I also participated in... North Middle School has kind of a burgeoning PTO there, and they had their first meeting on October 28th, and they had a pretty good discussion about how to support both the staff and students in their learning at North Middle School. I am on our Legislative

100Action Coalition, and we're doing a pretty heavy lift at the moment to formulate... the topics that we will prioritize with legislators in this coming session, which begins in January. Additionally, there's a breakfast that happens typically every January before the session opens, and this year it will be on January 17th. So we'll talk about that more at this table, but it is a lot of work to sift through. variety of input so some community conversation conversations with administration here collaboration with some of the professional organizations like the Association of Metropolitan School Districts We take their input as well and put together a platform, a legislative platform or agenda that centers the things that Hopkins needs from our legislators in order to grow and in order to serve all of our students and staff. And so that

101is an ongoing project that I'm working on with several board members and other members of the LAC. And I think that's all. Hello, my name is Brooke Roper. I am serving my first year on the board. I have two students in the district. I just have two quick reports. I had an amazing meeting with Praise at the high school a few weeks ago. She interviewed me for her Propel. program. They were meeting with community leaders who inspired them to do work. And she and I had a really great conversation about all the amazing things that she's doing. And so really, really super proud of Praise. I do plan to meet with the BSU pretty soon. They invited me to their next meeting. So I'm looking forward to connecting with them. Next Friday, or next week

102rather, I will say my clean transportation team, we are presenting at the Hennepin Health Summit. And we will be talking about our fight for electric school buses. I haven't forgot. I haven't mentioned in a while, but it's coming back to the conversation. And we're going to be talking about the power of failure, which is a really good segue to help folks understand the struggles in the work and how we have learned from it. And so that's the Hennepin Health Care Summit. As most of you know, I'm a member of the Community Advisory Board for that. for that healthcare system. And so I'm looking forward to talking to hospital leadership about why they should support electric school buses and going to continue to fight to get them implemented in Hopkins. So that is my board report

103for tonight. Thank you, everybody. And since we have no remaining public comment, that concludes our board meeting for today. I would look for a motion to adjourn. So moved. I have a motion. Is there a second? Second. I have a motion and a second. Any discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? We are adjourned at 8.56 p.m. Thank you all for being here with us this evening and for tuning in if that's how you were joining us.