001Good evening. Welcome to the April School Board meeting. Uh we will begin with flag pledges. >> 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. >> All right. Approval of the agenda. Have you had a chance to look at the agenda? Need a motion to approve. >> So moved. >> Second. >> It's been properly moved and seconded. All in favor signify by saying aye. >> Aye. >> All opposed, same sign. Motion passes unanimously. Invitations. The National Honor Society. Would you like to go first? >> Hello everyone. Oh, it doesn't work. That's fine. Hello everyone. My name is Sephora Gamboa. >> And my name is Bonnie Barbosa. >> And we are here representing the
002National Honor Society. >> The National Honor Society is built upon a four fundamental pillars that represent the core values expected of its members. These pillars guide students in their academic and personal development, shaping them into well-rounded individuals committed to excellence and service. The first pillar is scholarship. >> Scholarship represents a commitment to academic excellence. NHS members are expected to consistently pursue knowledge and maintain a strong GPA, demonstrating intellectual curiosity and a drive to succeed in the classroom. The second pillar is leadership. Leadership involves taking initiative and inspiring others to achieve a common goal. NHS values students who lead by example, whether by holding formal leadership positions or influencing their peers to positive actions and responsible behaviors. >> The third pillar is service. Service reflects the students' willingness to give back to their school and community
003without expecting anything in return. NHS members are encouraged to encouraged to participate in volunteer work and contribute to causes that benefit others, demonstrating compassion and civic responsibility. >> The fourth one is character. Character is the foundation of ethical behavior and integrity. NHS members are expected to uphold high standards of honesty, respect, and responsibility in all areas of their lives. Good character means doing the right thing even when no one is watching. >> We are here to invite you to the induction ceremony for the our new members, which is Sunday, May 3rd at 2:00 p.m. in the auditorium. >> Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> Do you have any questions for us? >> Thank you, ladies. Do you know how many new ones you're
004going to get this Sunday? Put you on the spot. Do you guys know? >> Uh 21 new members will be and we are currently 22. >> Okay, fabulous. >> Thank you. >> All right, next we'll have a presentation from the crew that went to the Northern Cass staff development. >> Well, as they're making their way to the podium, I just want to say thanks again to the staff members who Thank you that attended Northern Cass. Um it was a a site visit that we were able to do in large part because of the grant funding that we had and support that we had from the competitive grant that we wrote, taking us back about 2 years ago now that we received that grant notification and we're very fortunate. It was a competitive grant process and
005through it, it's been an opportunity to build some awareness and some capacity and understanding and what better way to see it in action than to actually immerse yourself in a school day up in a place that's doing some more student-centered processes with their teaching and and learning processes. So, um the staff members that you're seeing are but a small group of those that were able to attend and we're looking forward to hearing what they have to share. So, welcome everybody. >> Okay, we're here to talk about our key takeaways and what we learned about personalized learning up in Fargo. Or the Fargo area, sorry. Is that >> Yeah, cuz the school isn't really in Fargo. >> Yeah, it is. Um so, the purpose of our visit, we went there to take a look at how
006they do personalized and competency-based learning. We went and we met with different classrooms K through 12. Were any of you in the same group? We split up into three groups. So, each of us had like a different experience when we were there. We had to sign up and we got to observe different classrooms. So, like what Danielle saw there was different than what I saw. What you guys saw was also different than what I saw. So, we went and visited different classrooms. We met with teachers and district leaders. We had student focus groups where we talked with kids that were actually students there. And then, can you go to the next one? This is our elementary staff that went. And one more. Those are our demographics comparing them to us. And ours is just pre-K
007through five. We have 619 students. They have 724 pre-K through 12. Um, go ahead. >> All right. Um, some of the big things that we observed, um, the district in action were the student goals and the teacher goals were posted everywhere. And we thought that was just a really important part that students were held accountable and they their goals were visible. Teachers have the same goal their their own goals, too. And so just the consistency, um, they were posted everywhere. They were visible everywhere. They were revisited often and then the progress was tracked, too. And I have some photos or we have some photos that we can um, look at after we talk about this. Um, goals were both behavior and academic. So for example, I was talking with a second grade student and we
008were looking at her goals and she's like, "I really need to keep my eyes on the teacher." And so that was her goal. And it was just cute because she had progress and after they meet goals, they get it posted on the yay board and then they move on. And I just felt like those goals were really important. Um, they also have the big five, which is um, they pick five priority standards that learners must master in each subject per level. That's what they call their grades. They call them levels. Um, and those are decided it's a I guess it's a process, but they pick the um, most essential learning targets and students have to show proficiency in those big five to move on to the next um, the next one, I guess, or to
009the next level. Um, I feel like this just allows for the students to master those skills. Um, learner agency. It's when learners show and take ownership of their learning. Um, they're not choosing between two activities, options of understanding what they need to learn, able to make the decision about how they learn it, and reflecting on their progress, and adjusting when something isn't going, um, working for them. Which is the learner profile. So at the be I'm assuming at the beginning of the year they create these learner profiles. And we actually made one, too, just so you guys can reference it if you want to take a look at it. So, they celebrate each child. This is Will. He's our AND THIS IS HAYDEN OF OUR CLASSROOM. HE'S VERY VISIBLE. UM IT JUST CELEBRATES each learner.
010It talks about their strengths, what they um how they like to learn, what they want to learn. They might want to learn how to milk a cow, um what their passions are. Um and each kid is just celebrated that way. So, it's easy when you walk into the room to make connections with each learner. Um and I just think of as a substitute to to walk in and be like, "Oh, you're into farming." Like just being able to connect with the kids and being able again to see their goals and know what they're striving to achieve. It was really really cool. >> And I feel like um they it's also a visual tool that they can circle back to and be like, "Let's reference this. Okay, you like XYZ." or Just I think just having
011it visible >> Well, they were all over. I think every classroom had them. Every Like if you look in the picture on the far right, that was one classroom. All the kids in that classroom. They all They made their own learner profile. Um so, they were just really fun. >> Um and the last thing I have on this slide is um an example that they were data driven and they also have data binders that were often circulated to I think there's a couple slides on that, too. Students were very aware of what they were working on, what they were working towards, how they were progressing, working towards those goals. That second photo there was a second grade. >> Oh, I'm sorry. Back up. >> Back up. Okay. >> Yeah, I wasn't sure. >> Yeah, where
012the kind of has like green the proficiency is um colored in in green. She Maybe it wasn't this one, but there was one student who I was like, "Wow, you had So, you have to have a two to master the or to move on from that skill, but a lot of students were striving for fours." And she had a three on one of them and she goes, "I wasn't very good at graphing." And I'm like, it was just like they were very aware and very they knew how they were doing on every skill that they were working on. So, >> And they knew what skills they had mastered, what skills they needed to improve on, what skills they hadn't gone to yet. >> And the students were speaking like the vocabulary like they're like my
013standard, this standard and I'm like wow, they were just very aware of what they needed to learn and their progress towards learning that. So, um yeah. >> You can keep going on while they did the yellow one. >> Yeah. Um so, these are the slides that Emily Van Hook and I actually made um when we talked to the elementary school about our experience. They had such a positive school climate. Everywhere you go you could just feel the positivity radiating. Um this picture here is just outside of a teacher's classroom. Again, like a little learner profile is hanging out there telling you about that teacher. Um they had more pictures out there of like where each teacher went to school, where they went to college at and it was just such a fun way to see
014them connecting and um celebrating everybody in the school. Um We visited a preschool classroom and their preschool goes all day every day. They attend specials. Um And the teacher that we were observing was pulling kids in small groups. I don't know if you can read the one on the way right hand side, but that little boy was reading these words like the word solid. He was sounding it out so solid. Solid. That's very advanced for a preschool student. Um so, that teacher was personalizing his learning and and getting him where he needed to be and meeting him where he was at, which was very advanced compared to his peers. Um the kid in the middle is working on a thousand piece puzzle. As a as a class, they were continuing to to do that, which
015was awesome. And um a lot of like the personalized learning was in the elementary school they had a must do what the kids had to do and then they had a may do choice board. So the may dos is where the choice came in and the kids got to choose what they wanted to do on those um given days. And the little girl on the left she just had a writing prompt that she was typing and responding to and then she would bring it up and show it to the teacher. All of the kids were very engaged um which I think directly relates to them having the choice in what they're doing. I'm going to flip to the next one. And this was a kindergarten classroom that we went into. You can see the bins
016on the side. They were leveled and at the very top there's a purple uh blue and a green and it had their names on it. Those were personalized to what the kids needed to. So if kids needed to work on letter sounds they might be in the purple group when it was their may do. Um they would go to the purple box and get what they wanted to work on but it was all skills in there that they needed if that makes sense. And again like Danielle talked about, very goal-driven. The kids were very much aware of where they were at in their learning. This was another classroom on the right hand side. All the kids had goals written down of what they were trying to achieve and and they were working hard to make
017that happen. So our key takeaways as a kindergarten team up there is that the kids were very goal-driven. Um they had wonderful time management skills. The kids knew that they needed to do their work and if they didn't that there were consequences and those consequences would be followed through with. Um their social skills were very advanced. They could communicate with us, they could communicate with their peers. Um limited worksheets, limited technology which was interesting to see because when you think about personalized learning you think every kid's on a on a tablet and they're all doing their own things. It's not like that at all. Um they had multiple opportunities to show what they know and there was a balance of control. Sometimes the teachers were in control, sometimes the learners were in control and just
018navigating I mean that changes moment by moment in your classroom. >> I have to describe it like a DJ board where you have I'm not a DJ but THEY HAVE I GET ALL THESE LIKE >> [laughter] >> SWITCHES I GUESS AND we like it doesn't it doesn't sound good if they're all on one end or on the other. So I mean every day those things change and I think I've depend on the learner you're faced with too how you have to navigate control and giving the student control too and I thought that was a just a really good way to under understand it, yeah. >> There were minimal behaviors. All students were very engaged um because of their choices. Their learners experienced a lot of real-life opportunities. Um they would take what the kids were
019interested in. They said middle school I believe. They read The Hatchet. Is that right? And then they like high school? They took an overnight camping trip after they like did that unit and learned survival skills and things like that. Like there's kids that that would interest and kids that that wouldn't. Um so they were just The kids were very engaged in what they were learning because they had the choice. Um walking those hallways it it was very apparent. These are experiences I would want my kids to have as a mother um and these are experiences that I would want all kids to have as an educator. >> All right. So in fifth grade at Tek Waves um I had another team member with me, Megan VanDyke. She was kind of my sidekick going through this
020but um just what we noticed kind of a lot of this will piggyback off of what Samantha said but we noticed increased student engagement which then leads to decreased student behavior. Um they had a very common language throughout their system and if they referred to it a lot as our system versus like my my it was our. It was our everything. K-12 we heard every educator say our system. Every Those people we walked around with they were had different roles. The leaders, yeah. The leaders, yeah. It was our system, our system. It was the common language throughout K-12 was I think a huge piece of making this work. So, I thought that was interesting. Um, the students reference I learn which is like their remote days, the direct instruction days. I practice which is obviously
021the days they get to practice and then I show which is their final assessment piece and that doesn't necessarily mean a test. It was, how are you going to show me what you have learned? You get to choose. Maybe you want to make me a slideshow. Maybe you want to write me a paper. Maybe you want to actually take the test. Maybe you want to create me a video. Maybe you want to create a anchor chart. May- I mean, whatever. The kids got that choice and how they wanted to show their educator that they were learning. So, I thought that was kind of cool. Um, the students took ownership and pride in their learning. Those mattered and so does the reflection piece of that. I kind of touched on this DJ slide it already with
022the control of the classroom. I asked teachers to I was like, what if the students can't handle control? And she said, then we take that control away. The teachers take a little bit more control and they give the student two choices cuz they can't handle they have to earn that choice of the freedom. The freedom of the choice. So, not eliminating all their choices but not eliminating all their choices but maybe going back to their learner profile. They're like, oh, it looks like you like to do this or this. Let's let's stick to these two rather than So, I just really liked that reference. Um, positive culture and environment. I'll be honest with you when I went I was a little skeptical. I'm like, hmm, what if this doesn't work? And within a half hour
023I was like, I mean, the second you walk in the door it was like I don't I don't know it was just it was really moving. Um, everyone wanted to be there. The students, staff, um, Um office staff, everyone. Janitors. They had kids that were hired to actually like seniors that were hired to actually clean with them if they had >> like a prep period >> Yeah, like a prep period or study hall I guess. They had students being paras, they had students being janitors, they had students I think they said helping out with the lunch Yeah. So that was really cool. Yeah. >> One of that's part of their requirements for their graduation is their students have to do two internships or >> a number of job shadows. And that's a way that they
024could do those things is by being a para or being helping clean so they could fulfill some of those things doing that. >> Um it was a lot of skills over content. There was a lot of cross grade grade collaboration. One of my favorites was there was my first classroom I went into was a ceramics classroom and they were juniors I think and they were making monsters and I'm like, "Oh, that's interesting." And she goes, "Well, the third graders were doing a writing piece on monsters or a little student was writing about a monster and so the this junior in the ceramics class got to bring her character to life. It was just It was really cool cuz they were working on their skills, you know, she was talking about textures and again, I'm not
025an art teacher so textures and different shades of colors and whatever that works for art and then but that student was also, you know, working on those writing standards. So it was just cool that they were like all I feel like there was a lot of examples of that like cross grade collaboration and then the third grader got to go meet the 11th grader and see her monster for her story. It was just really cool. Um I kind of talked about student reference I learn I practice I show. A big piece of this was a lot of social emotional learning was supported and integrated and integrated throughout the whole school. I feel like that was very evident and a big piece a big moving piece of everything. It was in the bathrooms. It was they
026had a lot of class about it. Um >> Yeah, can I pop in? Yes, please. >> far as like classes, that was when I moved around, I switched groups from the morning to the evening, but I ended up seeing three different classrooms where there was SEL stuff being implemented. And they were almost like mini snippets, like the counselor would come in to I don't remember first, second grade was the first one we witnessed it in. And they were kind of She was just going over a basic lesson of like choices and how they're hard and how to navigate difficult choices and which ones to get help for and which ones to do yourself. But these kids were like very much engaged and you think like, oh, simple, like learning about choices, but some of these
027kids don't access these skills elsewhere. And so it's pretty important that you start teaching that at a young age, so when they get into high school, middle school, some of that stuff can be not as severe. But then we saw I think Dr. Willard and all the other admin were in this class where we went It was an actual class of high school students that had to be like nominated. It was a social emotional learning class. Um the counselor led it and there was one other staff member that was invited to be in for that class. And they rotated that staff member on every quarter or every semester. Um I think partly so that that staff could kind of get in on some of that learning, too, and then apply that in their own classrooms.
028But also that way if the counselor got called away on a crisis, they could continue that class. But um some of the kids were in there It was a very mixed bag. Like some of the kids were in there because they got nominated because they were very in touch with their emotions. And they could articulate them well. And then some students were in there because they got nominated because they weren't so great at that or were getting in trouble for it. Um So you kind of had these you know, kids that It was all about vulnerability, I guess. And you had kids that were willing to be vulnerable and teach these others that were harder, like it's okay to be soft and talk about your emotions. And they kind of did a They scheduled what
029was going on in there Um, each day there was a specific topic they were covering and a student was assigned. Um, you're going to figure out the lesson for that day or the activity. So, this gal led us and it was a sharing one and they had a passing piece. So, they're going around and answering this question about I don't Do you remember what it was? >> Yeah, emotions. Are you aware of your emotions? >> Like, yeah, how are you able to express your emotions? Do you know how other people express theirs? And so, they answered it. And they started and we're kind of in this group and as this stick is getting or this piece is getting passed, I'm like, these kids are articulating this so well. Like, I am going to bumble through
030this. Like, it it was it was mind-blowing for me to see these kids communicate. They were so mature and they just had a handle on stuff and they would look at you and they would like really engage with you in conversation [clears throat] about how they were feeling about stuff. To me, I was like, I I can't tell you where I'd seen that before, but um, I don't know. I'm a big proponent of social emotional learning. I think it's is a big piece in um, you know, your curriculum and because if [clears throat] a kid's dysregulated, they are not going to learn and they're not going to be able to get out of that cycle. So, I think that's a big piece that I saw up there. >> Mhm. >> I feel that was a
031big proponent and they kind of hinted on that with their push for like their school culture because we asked about like, "What about incidents or discipline?" And they kind of hesitated and they were like, "Well, we, you know, don't have a lot of that because of the work we've done building our school culture." And so, I felt like that was a big piece in there. >> Here. >> Just a couple of things that I had on here is, um, if it's best practice for one, why not for all? And they used the term scrape before perfect. And I'll be honest with you, I've been dabbling into this a little bit in my classroom and I definitely am feeling brave and not perfect, but it's fine. I I love Yeah, my kids are engaged. Um, they're
032all working. They're I have I will say I have increased engagement and decreased junk behavior. >> Yeah, I like that. >> That's what I was hoping you'd say. >> I I think it's great, definitely. So for example, I was teaching conversions in my classroom the other day on measurement and I did a quick little mini lesson. I touched on all the conversions that the kids needed to know. We did a few examples together and then I said, "Okay, here are your options. This is how I want you to show me what you've learned today." And I had kids that created a Kahoot for those of you that know Kahoot and I was like, "Wow, that's really cool." I had kids creating me worksheets and I said, "Okay, that's great, but you have to have an
033answer key." "I'll do it, but you have to have the answer key." And then some kids were creating videos. I had kids sending me slideshows. I had kids creating me anchor charts. I had students making me like a book. I had those like it was a wheel, so >> I wish I brought one. >> There was a piece of paper on the bottom, piece of paper on top and then the top piece had like a little cut out so that it spun the wheel and each piece had different examples. And then I had students come up to me too like, "Do you mind if I do this?" And I was like, "Yeah, that's great." One student even asked me, "Can I do the workbook pages?" "SURE, GO AHEAD." WHATEVER. One student's like, "Can I just
034do this on IXL?" And I'm like, "Yep." And I had that skill prepared and ready. I've probably done this in my classroom four times ish. And the students are catching on and they have are coming up with great ideas too like I'm like, "Yeah, I like that. Yeah, I like that." So I just kind of give my students the the choice. How do you want to show me what I've taught you? And then I have those ones too and I like this because I have some students in my classroom that have one example and they got it. They're quick. They're they're on their own. They can do it. And then I have the ones that take a little bit longer. And so my ones that are my high flyers, this gives them the opportunity to
035go. Show me what you know. Be creative. Work whatever you got to do. But then it also gives me the moment to re-teach those that are not understanding and more one-on-one, more direct instruction for those students too. So I I I I think I called more of it into my room one day and I was in tears because I was like this is this is this is it. Here we go. So, um >> Which he sends me a picture. It's It's incredible. Yeah. You guys talk to >> And um in my kindergarten wing um well, if we like back it up to June before we went up there the first time, I was like absolutely not. I don't want to do this. No way. We're not doing it. And then I don't know, we got
036back Was it last week? The very next day, Emily and I are like, "Okay, guys, we got to sit down. We're going to do this like today." So, we started um revamping our rooms and how we wanted things to look and we switched out some stuff so we could offer choices. So, your kids that get done really fast like it's all prepared. It's right there. It's the same centers or like games, hands-on manipulatives I was going to give them anyway, but because they have the choice, they're like way more engaged in what they're doing. Um so, we have big ideas moving forward, but we're starting small. >> Yeah. Like I said, grading before proficiency. The part I'm struggling the most with is how to grade all of these different things and so I think that's
037where the proficiency scale comes in, which I have not mastered. Um I haven't even been brave on that part yet, but I I we're figuring it out, baby steps. Um I just like to see my kids engaged and working hard. So. Um some of these student quotes just we're kind of touching. A 12th grade male student um he open enrolled from Fargo where his GPA was 2.6, didn't care about school, negative attitude, no one cared. Um his words, classes suck. Um now he's at Northern Cass and he has a 3.8 GPA and he wants to be a doctor. Um there was 11th grade female student. We have the same education as kids in other schools, we just have way more flexibility in doing it. So, I just thought those were really huge comments from students
038at our school. >> Well, I would say that looking at this from a high school perspective, I I'm looking at those two like, "Holy crap." So, if the high school that we like when I went to the different classrooms, unfortunately, they were testing, so we didn't get to see a lot of action in high school. I saw a lot of elementary stuff that they are explaining. It was a a lot of the high school classrooms kind of looked a lot like what we're currently doing now. Um there isn't I mean, there is choices, and they have all the same like what we do we do types of things. Um there's a science classroom that >> Dave did not like out of control. >> Very calm. >> So, that's what I'm talking about there. >> DAVE
039SAID >> NO, THAT'S GREAT. THAT'S ALL RIGHT. SO, THERE'S >> THEY THEY DO, MR. D. YES, THEY DO. >> SOME balance there. But there's a math class that, you know, it's at some point you got to teach the math, you know? So, that didn't look a lot different than what we're currently doing. But again, the choices that the kids have at the end, and that's what I'm trying to figure out. I've been racking my brain for like the last couple days on I have a stoichiometry coming up. Everybody loves stoichiometry. And um how can I get that kids to do some different things? I was just even right before this meeting, I had one kid that's like even today was like, "Why are we doing this?" I'm like, "Okay, if I can reach that kid
040a different way, you know?" That's you know, maybe and that's one of the things I was going to show this. They have a a learning guide that they kind of use, and it's got goals on that the kids set like, "What am I interested in?" And then using what that student is interested in to we kind of wrap around the standard. You know, and so that was something like, "Okay, maybe I can do that for this kid with this unit and not teach him the other way, you know?" And maybe that's a way that we can catch some kids that are are leaning towards going to our school. Maybe we can catch them before that and say, "Hey, why don't we sit down and figure out a different way for you to learn the same
041material?" You know, what if you know, and that's a little bit more individualized that way. There are standards that we have to do. I like the big five that they chose. That was very evident in the high school as well. That and then they wrapped around all the other standards with that. So, um just a lot of that stuff. I think one other thing, I don't know if you caught these two ladies, there's two words that they never used. They never said student, did they? Not once did they say the word student. What did they use? >> Learners. You know, so looking at our students differently, I think that's a big part of this, you know? And the other thing, and then I'm going to sound negative here, distractions. They had zero distractions. Why? Their
042cell phones were turned in at the beginning of the day and they never got them the rest of the day. And I think that's a big part of a lot of the anxiety that our kids have and a lot of like my kids at the end of class, they don't even get their cell phones, okay? Cuz they haven't had it for an hour. These kids, the kids that we talked to, they could care less about their cell phones. >> Did you watch them eat lunch? >> Yeah. >> They were talking TO EACH >> TO EACH OTHER. >> YEAH, THEY WERE. >> And there was kids in the hallway talking to each other and reading a book instead of it was like I was like this I feel like we're going back in time. >> FROM
043THE 90S. >> I WAS LIKE THE 90S, YEAH. SAME THING WITH like um using Chromebooks not for learning. Um there was one kid that was in the science class that was a little bit more free. Kids were, you know, they were just working on their own project. And there were a couple There was like three kids that had their Chromebooks out and they were doing a different type of presentation than the rest. But we said to some that were kind of waiting to present, we said, "Well, like what do you do in your free time?" You know, and they're like, "Well, we work on other work or you know, something we're behind on." And one of the teachers asked, she said, "Well, do you ever get like time to play games or what happens if
044you're playing games?" And he was like, "Oh, no." He was like, "If I get caught once," he was like, "my Chromebook's taken away for an entire week and everything's on paper and like it, you know, just it was a hassle." So, and I will say like when we went into classrooms, one two you just didn't see the Chromebooks out as much. I don't know if that's like kids were just interacting differently, but I didn't see one game open, which is difficult to control, I think, when when when you have 25 kids in a classroom and you're walking around trying to help ones, the ones that are not being helped, if they think they're done or they just don't really want to do that thing right now, they'll say that's tomorrow's problem. And so, they, you
045know, slip between because their game >> timer is going on. So, >> And now for the individualized learning comes into play as well because they don't have a choice but to go onto the next thing. >> Yeah. >> You know, so if they're done with something, they can either work on something for another class or they continue with what you know, the teacher asked for that class. I think that was the biggest surprise to me is like I thought we were going to go up there and see kids on computers and they're not. Okay, there's the use of AI was for supporting maybe what they're doing. The social studies class that we went into, they were um writing a paper for on Constitution or something. >> Yeah. >> Um but that's the only computer use
046that we actually saw or I actually saw, so. >> How many middle school teachers were How many high school? I think was there eight elementary? That one? >> We had seven of middle school high school teachers there. >> So, Northern Cass started this. Actually, did they say when they started it? How many years ago? >> 15 years. >> It was like 15 years. >> Okay. >> 10 15 years. >> So, it's probably >> And every year they're perfecting it. They're still They're still working on it. >> Was that all grades right away or did they build from bottom to top? >> I think it was all grades. They're all in the same building. Don't quote me. >> I don't have an answer. >> It really is a systems approach. They have a systems approach. >>
047Yeah. >> We're moving as a system and because of that we're not seeing a bunch of teachers way out here and some way here that that we're moving as a system and they they did that through some of their staff development work that they did. Um and just how they onboard new teachers. New teachers that come in with with a coach for about a week and they when they start new in July of just understanding how the system works. >> They made it They made it pretty evident They made it pretty evident that it multiple staff that we talked to was very reiterated that like it is a collective. Like it has to be everybody on board from preschool to seniors to office staff to nurses and it's like I mean because they were like
048everybody has to be on board and everybody is you know, kind of implemented and like they said some of the students get jobs with janitorial staff or in the kitchens and it's like they're all, you know, kind of know what the common goal is I guess with these kids. >> Yes. >> And they were Go ahead and do it. >> They were very clear if you were a teacher that wasn't on board, they would help you find something in another place where you could be more beneficial. But not in their district. >> And and to Larissa's point, what they had done is through their job training classes, um some CNAs, but they had students that were that had taken the para protest, being highly qualified paras, and they were paid during that hour that they
049worked with children at the para rate of pay because they they were fulfilling a need in the district, and equally they were fulfilling an opportunity for that job shadowing training internship experience that they needed as part of their graduation requirements for the district. The very One word that struck me the most was intentionality. Everything I mean even looking at their at their mission statement, it says, "We believe that every child can change the world. Therefore, we will provide a world-class education." Man, it's just super intentional. Super intentional. >> Now, you some of you were hesitant about this, and I'm sure the 70 other teachers in the district are probably feeling that way. And once you went there, and you saw the change, I mean, I know our grant money is uh but anyway, we can
050get everybody to go before the grant money's gone? >> I don't I don't know that. >> So that they can see it, and and experience where where, you know, we potentially want to go as a district, because I feel like that's how you're going to get everybody on board is to see it in play, not not watch a video, not I mean, again, I mean, you guys were willing to go, sort of have a you know, half open mind about it, and you know, it totally changed your outlook on it. And I feel like if we want our district and all the teachers to be on board, I sort of feel like they need to experience it. Yes, I know it is time away from your family and whatever, but I I feel like maybe
051that might be the only way that we can get majority on board that or if they would be more willing to to go to witness to witness it. I don't know. That That's just my my two cents because I just feel like others feel like you guys did initially and that maybe to to change their minds, they may need to see it in action to see how it is. >> And I would agree with that, but I do think too like just I can feel how excited you guys are about it. Excitement is contagious. If you start doing some of these things in your classrooms and other people in your cohort start seeing that, that is going to catch I mean, people are going to be like, "Hey, what are you doing in here that's
052that these kids like?" I mean, there it is it's great that, you know, yes, I I think it's great for everybody to be able to like do it firsthand, but it's also great just to have you guys, the group that went, just really just this is this is cool. This is awesome. You know, I mean, it >> The day after we came back, Jennifer had all of us in the elementary side that went we all gave a presentation, a few slides on what we saw and you could tell that the excitement was there. There were teachers coming up afterwards saying, "Tell me more. I want to go there. What can we do to start it?" >> It's the It's the excitement of it. It's the >> Mr. Boss and I are going to co-teach on
053Thursday, Friday this week because he's curious about my class. >> That's awesome. >> The energy level of the staff team was through the roof. It was absolutely incredible. So, when you say contagious, it it was very contagious at the elementary and some of the teachers, Miss Chaplin, she already revamped some things right in her classroom, junior kindergarten teacher. I know that Danielle's been doing things, the kindergarten team, Russell and Mark there. Um and just what I'm hearing just bits and pieces as they're sharing that out and we've kind of got a plan for where we're going for next year as well and I'm super excited at the elementary. I was one of those that really struggled along the way. I know that Dr. Miller and I had many conversations about this and just what does
054that look like? What does this mean and how are we going to implement this at the elementary? And just being able to go up there and experience it and understand learner agency, that voice, that choice, that student ownership and what that looks like. The direct instruction does not go away. That's still there. We got to see that in some of the classrooms up there, but then offering those choices along the way, and then that's been so awesome. And the learner profile is something that we'll be doing next year with our teachers and the students. Um and just student ownership, voice and choice, what does that look like? Um and just sharing out what they're doing, too. I kind of put that in weekly emails, too, like, "Hey, this is what, you know, a couple of
055these teachers are doing. Visit with them. Talk to them. Use AI. How can I bring more student choice into this?" They have Flint AI that our teachers are using. They can use that to help them generate some ideas with the >> And and to your point, Tammy, yes. So, we certainly not with the grant, but this is where we do have a set aside of staff development funds, and we can utilize those for these types of activities. And I think it's very purposeful. The the summer institute as some of some went to that, and again, it it's just kind of building awareness, first of all, because I think there there are so many misconceptions or even conceptions. I wouldn't say misconceptions. Um And then one of the biggest ones is, yeah, we're plopping kids in
056front of an iPad or a Chromebook or some sort of device, and then that's that's the farthest thing from the truth. I I I think one of the things that was a real tell for me through this experience is how much confidence the kids exuded in in and pride in their learning. When you walked in rooms and kids said, "Hey, when it comes to your standards, come over here." And and that's from the kids. That's from a seventh grader that did that to me in the music class, saying, "Yep, come here. I'll show you our standards." Um and then Danielle and I had the experience in the second grade classroom with our little guy, and then and he pulled the he pulled out his data binder, and he was showing us how how he had
057progressed and let me tell you how smart I am. I I got to skip preschool. >> As you can see I'm really smart. >> It's just that confidence and ownership of learning and if we have every student that has that, every student's going to be successful. And and we do that with some of our most at risk students through the special education process with the goal setting and the the focus on goals. And if we could do that for every student which they did. I mean every student, every classroom you walked in there was there was an area where goals were identified and here's what I'm working on and here's what I'm working on and our little guy that we asked him what his goal is. Well, I kind of waste time at the end
058of the day so my goal is to be on time at the end of the day. Second grade. That that personal awareness and I'm working on getting better at it. That that just speaks volumes I think in terms of what we're trying to do in our classrooms and what our teachers are working on in in relationship to that. So >> So so as I listen to this I I wrote down three questions. Kind of the so what? Um so as a district where where are we at with this? You know, is there a timeline um for implementation? Um and then what more is needed kind of you know, where you're going to do more teachers need to go up there? Do we need to do we need to tour another district um to see if
059this is actually I mean is this a one-off or is there another district close that we could go to that it can be replicated? >> I was part of that teacher group panel over there with the strategic thinking. >> Yeah. >> People get places. And they we were we had some concerns about like our demographics and just some other concerns and she said that these two goal they've been across the nation and they set up different school districts this way, and she said I do not want your demographics to get in the way. She was, "We've transformed schools that had 17 different languages in one classroom, 30 kids to one teacher." And she goes, "It can happen." So, and she goes, "It doesn't look the same at every district though." So, it what works for
060you guys with what you have. And so, that was just kind of it was kind of promising that she said that. She's like, "Don't let your demographics" because we do, I mean, our demographics are significantly different than that district, I would say. Um in just different ways. And so, we were I would feel like we were kind of we're like, "Uh, how does this work?" But then, she said that. She's like, "We have transformed many districts that are very different in a lot of different ways." So. >> We can't control the demographics, but we can control what we provide kids with. >> [clears throat] >> What I think too is like if we need things like where we have to start being tougher on cell phones and things like that for it to be a
061better I mean, when we went through that cell phone policy process, it was kind of easing it into easing us into it, you know? And we had a lot of some parents that were very strongly opposed to it, some that weren't, you know? And so, I think it's one of those things if if that is something we need to revisit, we should revisit it. >> Yeah, and I've I've heard the same thing from other districts that have taken cell phones out. It's amazing how the kids change. >> And it gets it's hard. It's it's a hard I mean, I think you know, sometimes it's you think, "Oh, if we ease into it, maybe it'll be better. Maybe it's better to just don't I don't know." But I think it's important to hear from you guys
062too that that's important. I mean, >> Their social skills were amazing. >> And like they said too, the distractions there were they were just focused. >> And one other element just with the community relationships they have in their in their middle school studio experiences where the >> Go for it. GO FOR IT, MARISSA. >> CUZ I FEEL LIKE I LIKE HEARING ABOUT THIS, I WAS LIKE, I would have loved these. Well, probably cuz I mean, most kids the exploratory classes they take when they're in middle school or high school, the electives, those are the fun ones, right? Like you get to try different things and new stuff. So, they kind of take these and I think they do middle school and for these studios, so they're like electives, um but they change all the time.
063They rotate. They find teachers, "Hey, what do you want to teach about?" Or like an off-the-wall thing. Like they'll take a teacher that I think the Hatchet was the one where this teacher enjoys camping and literature. So, they're going to do a studio or a short class. It's 6 weeks. Um grades 6 through 8, they're all intermixed. It's not either, you know, one grade. And they read the Hatchet and while they're reading about the Hatchet, at the same time they're talking about maybe like um pieces of like biology, plants and things growing and maybe they're learning about carbon monoxide and like why that can kill you cuz it's in the book. So, anyways, you you you wrap all of this in and so you're covering you cover like um an English standard, like a biology
064standard and maybe a science standard. And they're like smaller standards that these kids can take or get from this one class, but it covers a lot of different things and it's maybe a different teacher teaching. Maybe it's like an art teacher teaching this or someone that you wouldn't think of. And then at the end of that, like this example was they got to go camping at the end of that. But they've talked about doing one with like crocheting. Like these kids come in and they crochet and so yes, they're crocheting, but they're also going to learn about fiber arts and where fiber comes from and like comes from sheep and goats and where those originate. So, you get into history and you can kind of take any of these simple tasks that are different and
065maybe reach a kid that doesn't care about other learning, but oh, maybe they're really interested in crocheting cuz it's an art or maybe they're interested in the hatchet because they like to go camping. Um and another way they use these studios was for high schoolers that maybe were behind in some credits. Okay, they're falling behind. We need them to make up certain um standards or certain credits and things. They would wrap those into certain studios. Okay, well, this one is going to cover your English one and your science credit that you're short on. You know, so again, it's just a different kind of way for some of these kids that don't that struggle in like a general classroom setting. But my excitement with the studios with the middle schoolers was like I feel like that's
066where you find kids' passions and you kind of ignite that excitement about certain things. You know, you just hit one piece that they really love and then they'll carry that through into high school or into their other classes or they figure out, wow, I'm really good at putting together presentations or I'm really good at doing hands-on crafts. It's like I feel like the studios were the place where kids really learn how to hone in on their skills of how to present their learning. So. >> And that's where they would engage community members to come in and work with them and the studios range from farm-based experiences to the to the hatchet experience. I observed one of the the students were in a in a language studio and you could choose whatever foreign language you wanted
067to explore. So, there were some students doing American Sign Language and some doing with with French. they would present in their own way their learning, how they learned about that. It could be a a public presentation, it could be a menu, it could be foods, any any combination thereof. So, it was really again, engagement with students and and the students were so articulate in so many ways. And I trust I mean I I look at that experience that you mentioned Larissa where we sat in a circle and and we asked that question. This is pretty trusting. You're being kind of vulnerable to you. Aren't you worried about somebody posting something on Snapchat or Instagram? No, because we don't have phones number one and number two it's just not the way we do things around here.
068I mean it was it was a culture of expectation. And and that goes back to the Chromebook that somebody was mentioning to it. I I wouldn't dare get caught because my Chromebook's gone. And it's just culture of expectation. It's really good. >> We just had some final closing thoughts. We're not speaking for everybody in the school, um just ourselves. Uh we need teacher and community buy-in to make this shift successful if this is the direction we want to go. We still have a lot of questions and we want to go back. You can come with us if you want to. Well, let us. YEAH, LET US. YEAH. Um we want to start moving in this direction to benefit all of our learners. Um and instead of thinking what if, let's just say yes and move
069forward. We'll need to put the work in, but it'll be worth it. >> And then a coworker of mine said God created the world in six days and Noah didn't build the ark in one. We need to um make one small change at a time. >> Thank you. >> Awesome. >> Thank you. >> Thanks, guys. All right, thank you. Good evening. Public forum. >> I'm sorry. Bye, Morgan. >> Done. >> All right, I'll open it for them. We'll move on to consent agenda. We have Senate bill 80 Everyone had a chance to read through minutes from March 23rd board meeting. Questions, changes, comments? >> Make a motion to approve the consent agenda. >> Second. >> It's been moved and seconded to approve the consent agenda. All in favor signify by saying aye. >> Aye. >>
070All opposed will say the same sign. >> Can I ask a question just quick? >> Sure. >> You didn't ask me if I if there were any I I just I don't have a I just wanted to know on the on the teachers. I just What do we have left to to hire? For the openings. And then we've got I mean it's great we've got a couple. You have all your staff all hired? >> And then the high school >> Just art. We're working through those logistics with the state. >> Yeah. >> Is this MML teacher are Do you have to be certified in that? Are you certified? Are you just Okay, I I don't know. Are they Okay. I was just curious and like that's rare to probably find somebody that that [snorts] is.
071So I was just curious on that. Sorry. >> Those classes you know and stuff. >> I guess I have no more questions. >> Sorry. Finances. Review of budget year to date. >> Okay, well you guys can't see that. >> [clears throat] >> Yeah, that's really smart. >> Oh, I mean yeah, still working on something. >> The current level is 72%. Last year at this time we're at 71%. >> This thing seems to be fine. >> Good. >> [snorts] >> It's what we like to hear, Jim. Treasurer's report? >> Cash balance is currently at $7.8 million. Last year it was at 9.1. >> Any questions on the treasurer's report? >> I move to approve the treasurer's report. >> Second. >> It's been moved and seconded. All in favor to approve the treasurer's report signify signify by
072saying aye. >> Aye. >> All opposed same sign. Motion passes unanimously. 7.3 Approve 2023 A bond treasurer's report. >> Current balance in this account is $734,378.15. So, we had interest income this last month of $2,234.65. Any questions on the bonds? Hearing none, we'll have a motion to approve the bonds. >> So moved. >> Second. >> It's been moved and seconded to approve the 2023 A bond treasurer's report. All All in favor signify by saying aye. >> Aye. >> All opposed same sign. Motion passes unanimously. 7.4 Approve regular bills. Any questions on the bills? >> I have a question. Turf tank? >> That's That's what we pay $11,000 a year for. It's a little more than that but the water weight. So we pay a fee every year for that? Yes. I thought we owned the
073machine. After three years we do. So it's like a lease or rental and that kind of thing. So this would be the second year then? Yeah, this would be the second year. Do you have any questions? Hearing none, do we have a motion to approve the regular bills? So moved. Second. It has been moved and seconded to approve the regular bills. All in favor signify by saying I. I. All opposed same sign. Motion passes unanimously. We're now to the high school activity bills. Any questions on high school activity bills? All good? All right. Do we have a motion to approve high school activity bills? So moved. Second. Motion carried out. Okay, made and seconded. We have the All in favor signify by saying I. I. All opposed same sign. Motion passes unanimously. Board forum. Any
074board reports or updates since the last month? We served Well, some of us served at the National Honor Society dinner so I can't say that teacher Teacher Educator banquet and that was really good. Good attendance and there was some really good to see hear how different teachers impact different students and It's good food. >> You did a nice job. I don't think >> Anything about the last month? >> When's the spring picnic or cookout? >> Oh goodness. I can get that to you but I don't have that thought in my head but yes. >> Cuz we we have You want to touch on that now? >> No, go ahead. Go ahead. >> Uh we butchered a pig and a beef to for the spring cookout. The And they're going to they ground it all into
075hamburger and pork sausage and they're going to make fresh it was Crystal Spring Farms and Spronk Brothers is where we got the animals from B&M butchered them and and Boss system and Todd Harris involved with them to line that all up. So it's it's going to be a kind of a fun event. Yeah. >> Yeah, awesome. >> Hopefully it's a decent time when we can all attend. >> Good idea. Sure, absolutely. >> You don't have May 15th. >> That's what's I I I don't want to quote that but I think that's what stands out cuz we're going to >> Just be >> So do we have people to help grill for that? >> I believe Todd Harris is getting that all taken care of with their crew and yeah. Okay. So >> Yeah, it'd be
076a nice event. >> Yeah, moving on to administrator's report. Start with the superintendent's board. >> We talked all right. You can see some social media impacts there. Again, we're really pleased to see how that is going. A couple of things in my report and there's a few things that I want to share just in light of some news that we've heard today. So first of all, roof construction. We met with Tremco and we're ready to move forward. Materials are going to be delivered in a little over a month and they'll start in earnest on the work. So we're all really excited going that. Blackhawk will be here. One of the things that we've spent quite a bit of time talking to them about though was the areas where they're going to be working are really
077intensive with technology and electrical runs. And one of the things that with this building that at the time wasn't a code issue, but it is today, was the chases are relatively close to the decking of the roof that they're screwing through and they're hearing the new and insulation too. And so we had a couple of instances last year where screws penetrated the decking and then actually hit some of that infrastructure. And we had to have Jears come in and correct that and fix that. Obviously at the expense of the of the contractor. But where they're going to be working were really intensive with all those inputs coming in electrical as well as well as the internet services. So we spent a lot of time with them and they're going to do some mapping of those
078areas just to make certain that they can do all that they can to avoid impacting that infrastructure. But that could be something you hear about in the summer just because again it's such an intensive area where they're going to be working. At the time that I drafted this, we had not received notice from the ESP, the so the educational professionals groups, that they would be ready to negotiate, but I did put at your place this evening we have received notice from them that they are prepared and ready to negotiate. So the negotiations committee will be wanting to begin will want to get a schedule time to start moving that forward. I think they're leadership indicated the hope that we can start this before the school year ended. And obviously I think that's in our best
079interest if we can. So watch for some opportunities to get that scheduled as well. We've heard some of the grant activities so I don't want to belabor that too much more. Um legislative updates, um a little bit about that. We received an update this morning from MREA, and there was some hope that there would be a supplemental bill coming out, and from the Senate side there was, from the House side there was not. So, that's a little concerning um cuz we just don't know what's going to happen. Something else that is of concern there was a hold harmless originally for compensatory funding. There's been a proposal put forward from the Senate to reduce compensatory across the state from 35 million to 25 million, which is a huge hit, and we don't know if and what
080that would look like for us. The The 35 million hold harmless actually was was okay for Pipestone. We were going to receive more compensatory funding um while some of our neighboring districts were going to see cuts in their compensatory funding. So, um we'll see if there's any financial ones and how that might look for us. And then looking down the road, probably one of the more troubling things is um there's still a $250 million cut to special education that's on the table legislatively. And those services aren't going away. So, the question is going to come, where do you Where does the shift occur? Because those those services are still going to have to be paid for. So, um so we'll be watching that real close. One of the positives that's emerging out of the legislative
081session is the reality of a potential constitutional amendment coming on the ballot this year. Um and that would be not new money and new taxes in any way. I think that's really important that people understand that. What it is is is changing the release of the permanent school trust fund and how those dollars are released. It's a fund that that goes back to when each township had their section of land and it when is that land got sold, it ended up in this permanent school trust fund. So, there's a pile of money in this trust fund and there's a way that that's released to school districts. And there's a constitutional amendment to change the rate at which that's released to local school districts to the tune of about $28 per pupil. Um so, there's there's
082going to if that does get approval from the legislature to move forward as a constitutional amendment, obviously that there's a lot of people that have to vote yes to to change the constitution. So, the MREA leadership was suggesting that there would need to be some local advocacy around that idea. So, again, not a new tax, it's already money that's there to just change in how it's released um from that permanent school trust fund. So, um I'll bring more information as that becomes available and and highlight that with the board. You already mentioned or or not mentioned, but Katie mentioned it, the favorite educator banquet. That was a great event. Um number of end-of-year activities, we'll send an update to all the board members. You obviously have the invite to the National Honor Society. We'll have
083other end-of-year events with the seniors and Mrs. Artman will maybe highlight some of those things. Um teacher appreciation week, we have a number of events already scheduled for that opportunity. Um May 4th through the 8th, we'll be doing a grill out for the staff at that time as well. So, uh looking forward to that and uh just an opportunity to give a big shout-out to all our teachers for all that they do. And not just our teachers in the classroom, but our custodial staff, support staff, everybody, our parents, everybody that contributes to what happens with our kids because um they're all learners and and we're all teachers by what we do and what we say. So, it's again, great opportunity to recognize those. And then, the vacancies, we've already mentioned some of those things. Um
084and you did see a couple of items on the personnel report that tend to be hard to fill positions. So, we're very thankful of the choir position, for example, the ML position, for example, can be very hard. So, we're very thankful that we were able to fill those. So, those are the things that I have to report. Um Any questions I'd be happy to answer. >> Move on to the principal's report. >> Okay. We have a lot going on in the middle school high school. It's very busy right now. Um kids are in countdown mode, especially my seniors. Have a little bit of senioritis, but we're going to get through it. A few things that have happened as of late. Um we hosted uh a spring musical, Sister Act Junior. And um I know some
085of you attended and it was I thought it was great. I thought it was very well very well done. Six of my sixth and seventh grade students um traveled to the capital. We had our senior kinder buddy event at the football field last Wednesday. Um and that was awesome. Our seniors gave um their kinder buddy a t-shirt and um and they've had a really great year. I think this year is a lot stronger than last year just because we upped our we increased the number of times that we interacted with our kinder our kinder buddy friends. Um we had a we had a corporate chef come in and cook us some San Diego style burritos. We had the banquet, which was incredible. We had prom already just this last weekend, which was delightful. We have
086a big event coming up this Friday, which is our pace event, our Pike-Stone area uh career expo. We are partnering with the chamber. And um lots of business leaders who are going to come in and conduct mock interviews with our students and everyone every student grades 9 through 12 is going to learn how to write an appropriate thank you note and they're going to write an appropriate thank you note to someone. So I'm really excited about all of the different breakout sessions that we have for Friday and just partnering with the Chamber of Commerce and the community is something that I'm very proud of. Do you have any questions or comments for me? >> Do we just look like we have a good turnout of uh people coming into the career >> Yes. So we
087have I I met with that committee today and he told me that he needs 60 tables. So there are 60 business and technology going to be there. Yes. So you're more than welcome to come in if you're not doing anything on Friday between the hours of 8:30 and noon to see what is happening here at Heights Murray High School. >> I have a rough schedule that's that Mrs. Harmon put together. We'll just pass it up and down the line so you can kind of get a glance at it but no it's it's going to be a great event. Super excited and and really again the chamber as well as the economic development authority has been involved. >> And I don't know about like other businesses but like at the like even where I work at
088the bank we're very we're very excited to just share with students like what different jobs >> there are at our business. And so we're kind of showcasing we've had people do their kind of like their responsibilities, their things that they're good at, you know. So I mean it's been good for our staff too. Just to kind of share their, you know, and that hey, you need to write down what your responsibilities are, what makes you good at your job, what, you know, How did you get here? You know. >> So what kind of school did you have to go to school and what kind of training? >> Yeah. It's been good I think just for us too. >> So it's going to be great and then if students want to um get uh um their
089name put in a drawing for a prize, they're don- they're donating gift cards, they have to have they have to talk to four businesses and ask them questions and then have those businesses sign off or initial on a paper, then they can turn that paper in for a prize a prize drawing. So, um well, they get to talk to one school and then four businesses. So. Yeah, we're very excited about it. >> Are you going to make this an annual event? >> Yes. >> And that's going to be held in the library? >> No, it's the >> gym the gym. The gym is going to house the majority of all of the businesses and the colleges that are there and then the library is going to be utilized for the mock interviews. >> Sure. >>
090And then the separate classrooms are going to be the breakout sessions. >> Well, I like that it's ninth grader grades already cuz I think that really helps, you know, like what you want to do with classes and maybe what what direction you want to go that way. So, that's good. >> I think sometimes we just look at seniors and then because they're graduating, they are the only ones that need to be be exposed to this sort of thing and it really is honestly, it could be middle school as well. >> Mhm. Yeah, the sooner the sooner that we can expose them to different things like that. >> Yeah, you're almost too late as a senior. >> Right. Yeah. Yeah. >> Yeah, definitely. Yeah. Very cool. >> And this is just for students, right? >> Yes.
091>> Not the public. >> They were going to do the public on Saturday, but they decided to postpone that or not do that this year. But yeah, so this year's just and that's why we had held it on a Friday with the intent that everything would stay in place and then the chamber would hold their event on Saturday beginning and decided not to do their Saturday event. >> All right. Very good. Thank you. >> All right. So, um April 1st was National Paraprofessionals Day. We celebrated our paras. We are so thankful to have them and all of the work that they do. We started our spring early childhood family education on April 8th. The Northern Cass visit site, I am so incredibly proud of the elementary team that went as well as the middle and
092high school team. That they like I have shared, I was unsure of how this was all going to fold and unfold and um I I feel like some of my team was as well, but just walking away and just seeing it, I think we all needed to see what it was going to be versus, you know, I have watched videos, I have had conversations, but I need to see it in action. I need to know what this means and what this is going to look like at the elementary. So, that was just refreshing for me and our team, it's the momentum and the excitement going forward is really exciting. And we have a plan of what the next year, what we're going to be doing starting off the school year next year. My teachers that
093shared here, they were very nervous, but they did an incredible job. We did celebrate our secretaries at the elementary. We have our two main secretaries, Heidi and Shauna, but when you look at district-wide, we have incredible secretaries that keep everything going and moving. So, we are very, very proud of our secretaries and the hard work that they do in our building. We had second and third grade concert last week. That was awesome. The kids did an incredible job. It's fun to see and how proud they are. You know, as they're coming off stage, I get to see every one of them and they were just excited for what they're doing. Our character trait for the month of April is perseverance. That's a great time. This time of the year is a hard time of the
094year and just persevering through that and not giving up along the way. One thing that's not in here cuz I didn't know exactly what we were going to do, we did Earth Day activity. Um and all of the elementary students had a section. Each went to their own section. So, outside of our elementary, you're going to see a ton of boxes filled with all of the garbage that they collected from last week. So, all of last week, they all had designated area, and it's a ton of garbage that they picked up. So, I'm going to put a Facebook post out there of just that community contributor for our portrait of a graduate, which is awesome. Update on our attendance, we're at 94.1%. A little bit of a dip from what it has been. We had
095a lot of illness at the elementary anyway in the last month, but that's all. Questions for me? >> Yes. >> You're up, Lisa. >> All right, I'm up. Um my uh board report is a little bit shorter this month because I have spent the last month preparing for MCA testing, which uh went great. We had um some school assessment coordinators, which helped the process go much more smoothly, and we could do make-up tests and all those things much quicker. Instead of taking the whole month of April, we just have a few students left to make up um reading and math, and then we start science tomorrow. So, that all went well. We also had the ACT on April 7th. We went back to the paper pencil, and that seemed to go really smoothly going back
096to the paper pencil. I just feel like it's um alleviates students clicking through things as well. Um and then with EduClimber, we've had some training, so staff are getting very familiar with that. We navigated attendance, academic, and instant data. The next one that we have is acting on the data. So, now we have all this data with all of the read act requirements with the dibbles and the cap D. It's okay, now now what are we going to do with all of this data that we have in one location? And then the last thing that I have is just our Northern Cass trip that was incredible. I was also a little bit hesitant. I'm one that needs to be able to see something in action and just to be able to um take 15 staff
097members along and you saw the excitement that they all all had when, you know, it just and excitement is contagious. And so it's it's been fun to see and listen to them and have other staff members ask questions of, "Okay, what what can I do? What can I try?" So that was a great experience for our staff. >> Awesome. >> I'm curious if from a curriculum and board meeting's standpoint going through the MCAs trying to prepare ACTs, how does a system such as what Northern Cass is doing how does that then shift gears to more of a rigid testing system? >> They still have to um teach the required standards that every state has and that's what the MCAs are the standards that are for our reading and math and science. So that part wouldn't
098be any different, but I think that the more helpful part is that students well, they knew what standard they were working on. They were able to communicate what they were doing, why they were doing it, and what they needed to do to get a score of a three or what more they needed to do it to get a score of a four just to to gain more knowledge in each one of those areas. So I see it as maybe it would be a benefit. I can't say that for sure, obviously, but um just to have the students take more ownership in their learning I think is huge. >> So you heard a lot from the elementary side as far as how they're learning. Does that does that flow more into a you need to take
099this test type style in the high school end of things? >> Not necessarily. >> in how you approach it? >> also was not in Dave's group but went to was in that same science class and he and I were both LIKE, "WOO, THAT WAS a little bit too chaotic for me." But the the part about it is they were working on the standards, but they had choice in the things that they were doing. And so yes, they were all doing different things, but they were also working on the same standard and the same end goal. >> Is there is there a disconnect from going from I get to choose how to show you I learn to ABCD? >> Yeah, here's your test. >> Right. Fill it out. >> No, because the the goal is mastery
100of the standard. You you need to demonstrate a level of mastery. Mr. Dulos and I have had a couple of exchanges about that and that's that's what's beautiful about this too. We're having some really great professional conversations about about what education is and what it stands for. But at the end of the day, you have to master the standard and how you demonstrate mastery of the standard ultimately will translate to the assessment because you you mastered that content. You know it. >> You have the knowledge of that standard and of the content. >> Okay. And that's where they come back to the big you've heard the big five mentioned multiple times. Every classroom you go in and they're up on the wall. These are the five big standards that we need to master at least
101with a score three. They they don't have grades. They score one, two, three, or four. And in each of one of those with a score three, if you achieve the score of three and you want to extend beyond that, you can go for a score four. When asked the kids, how does that how are you motivated to go for a score four? They have a translation in their scores that articulate to a GPA. So I said that's what motivates us to want to go for a score four because I pushes the GPA. But the score four is all about extending what they've what they've already learned and getting depth of knowledge, which is one of the key factors that you have in there. But it allows students then, as you heard already shared, well I've
102I've mastered content in in my algebra class, but now I have some things to do in my science. So I can work on my science because they have a learning management system that's embedded in their district that students can go in and track their progress and understand, okay, here's here's where I'm on track and on pace. Here's where I'm maybe a little behind. And that's the elementary we saw that in their data binders. Here's where I'm on pace. Here's where I'm behind. So it really it comes back to what have you have you mastered the content? Can you demonstrate that you know, that you haven't just been taught, that you know the content. >> So Lisa, wouldn't some of this Northern Cass stuff wouldn't that help the students in test taking if they come in
103focused? I mean they're they're they're looking at it as well right now some of the kids come in and they're just scared of a test. You mentioned over test and they freak out. I mean, but when they're focused like they say they were up there that it would just make it easier, more relaxed, which then you're going to get better results from that. >> Well, I think their focus on how they like how they show they learn probably helps too. >> Yeah. >> You know, they want they want to >> Yeah. Yeah, well and the competition for the GPA and stuff like that, I mean that all >> I'm sure that helps. >> But, you know, some people just clam up when you mention the word test and then >> That's so true. >> And
104I don't know that that part would change for students because if you have test anxiety, you have test anxiety. But, I think that um right now, I think we all could agree that we need to do something different for our MCA scores to improve. And so, maybe this is the way to get those scores to improve. Um and I know I've spoke of this after MCA testing last year, but we did make up MCA testing today. And we had a junior take the math MCA test in less than 5 minutes. >> And [snorts] it's scheduled to be how long, Lisa? >> Uh 2 and 1/2 hours is the amount of time that they get. And so clearly didn't read any question, was just clicking through. And And maybe giving them a little bit more ownership
105of their learning, maybe the MCA would be more meaningful to them. >> Is there a way you can go like you said, you know, it seemed better when you did it on paper on the ACT? Is there a way to do it on paper and MCA? No. >> Uh there are for um students that are on IEPs, that that is an option, but it's it's not >> Very very very >> Yeah. >> Very very small percentage. >> Because if you have seen that, then you're flagged by the state that you're going to see the the alternative the common alternative assessments. >> Which to me is crazy cuz what's the difference, right? Exactly. >> That's what they wanted. >> I'm wondering if like that maybe there's something I mean and you know, if you really find
106what your niche is and what you enjoy and you learn to love learning, then those MTA scores you know, when you start taking those tests, it's more meaningful because you know what you want to go for. >> Correct. That is what that's what they were talking about at Northern Cass, the teachers that I met with. They said since we've been implementing this with fidelity and facilitating it in such a way where students don't have any free time. They're all constantly working, they're constantly sharing about their learning, their scores have improved. >> Mhm. >> And I think what you just outlined is hit the nail on the head with that. >> One thing that Beth, who is the >> [clears throat] >> the head of the personalized learning, said to Dr. Willard at the end of
107the day, she said the the best thing you can do right now is just not make any huge decisions today. Just take baby steps and think about all of the things and you know, um just think things through um because they have like you said, have done this for 10 or 15 years and every year they're still trying to refine things to figure out what works best for the students that they have um right now in their school. >> And students are always changing. I mean, everything's always changing, so you have to be able to change. You know what I mean? >> Right. And and the cycle of okay, we're going to try this. Ooh, now let's revisit it. Let's Ooh, this worked well, let's keep that. This didn't go so well, let's let's fine-tune
108that a little bit. So, it it's not something where this is what we're doing and that's it. It's like we're we're going to have to constantly um rethink things and and figure out how to proceed. >> So, the cycle continues. >> Change is hard. >> Change is a process. >> You have to change all the time. >> One thing that that I think was lost in part of this, I think it's worth worth stating, our tour guides for this entire process were not No, they're just kids. And I asked our student that was guiding us, I said, "How How did you get selected?" I didn't. I said, "What do you mean?" Mrs. Head, Beth, Mrs. Head, who's the director of this, sends out a Google form and students just fill it in if and and
109we select if we want to do it or not. Which I thought was fascinating. >> What type of age was it? >> We had seventh graders all the way up to seniors in high school. Probably the most entertaining one was a seventh grader. Talking about spelling tests. >> She was a little opinionated. How many other districts that you know of that are like looking at this? >> So, the state of Minnesota actually came out January 2026 with a guide for student-centered learning. So, I would say the entire state is starting to see some movement. And I've been involved with a group a little bit with a group called Engage Minnesota where there's some efforts to create some discussion across the state because like um Farmington School District is one that's that's been a leader in
110this effort. Um Spring Lake Park had been, they've kind of stepped back a little bit. They had some changes in leadership. Um There's some charter schools that are doing some work around this. So, you're seeing all different sizes, but it really comes back to student engagement and ownership of learning. I'll be happy to share that document with all the board cuz it's it's pretty fascinating document. >> Just learned about that on Friday last week. >> And just if I could share one more thing about Samantha. Samantha despises getting up in front of people. So, for her to be willing to come and present tonight was incredible. It truly was. I mean, that just is how passionate she is right now and excited to share everything that she learned. So, that's >> Samantha verbalized >> Yes,
111Danielle, too. But, Samantha verbalized it a little bit more than than than Danielle did. So, just for them to step out of their comfort zone to present, I think is a testament, as well. >> Well, I think for other people that know them that are coworkers, that's a that that in itself is a big deal. You know, for them to see people like that that aren't usually those people that speak out. So, yeah, that's cool. >> Very good. All right, moving on to 10.1, resolution accepting donations. Donations we have are $50 from AMS Drug to the robotics team. Also, $3,000 from Regina Haas Foundation to robotics team. Another set here. Christ the King Lutheran donated $100 to the wellness room. Pipestone Publishing, $1,425 to the athletic health fund. And Jasper Lions Club, $200 to the
112wellness room. Uh big thank you to all these organizations and representatives uh for their generous donations. Do we have a motion accepting those donations? >> So moved. >> Second. >> It's properly moved and seconded. All in favor, signify by saying aye. >> Aye. >> All opposed, same sign. Motion passes unanimously. Well, where am I here? Moving on to 10.2. Resolution amending and restating resolution relating to general obligation facilities maintenance bond series 2016A. >> This takes us back to the presentation that we had from the PMA and addressing what that Dr. talked about and shared with you. So, this had some pictures cuz I know that there were some questions about what it looked like so you had a chance to review those as well in the packet. So, um not to replay everything that that
113Steve and Michael shared, but that's really what this is about. >> Yes. >> So, this is this is the amendment just for for the bonds. >> What's for the difference that we're >> For the difference >> the difference of it. >> Yes. >> Any questions? >> We have a motion to accept SBE resolution 2026-14. >> So moved. >> Second. >> It's been moved and seconded. Uh all in favor signify by saying aye. >> Aye. >> All opposed same sign. It's been motion passes unanimously. Under 11, do we have a motion to adjourn the meeting? >> So moved. >> Second. >> It's been moved and seconded. Uh all in favor signify signify by saying aye. >> Aye. >> All opposed same sign. Motion passes unanimously. We adjourn.