001All right, I'm going to call this meeting to order. Uh Sarah Thornberg and George Seabourg are both sick and participating remotely. So I'll be chairing tonight's meeting. Um and as a reminder, although they can participate remotely, neither Sarah nor George can vote tonight. So we have quorum. There are five board members here and we will be the voting members for this evening's meeting. Um Jesse, would you introduce us with our equity statement? >> Yes. In Anfield City School, we are committed to equity and anti-racist policies for all students and staff to learn and thrive. We recognize that our positions come with power, responsibility, and a public service for the entire ACS community. We will model our commitment to equity through our practice and decision. During this meeting, we invite a pause if harm has taken
002place, a moment to name the harm, and space to practice repair. We also like to remember about our courageous conversations that we have and let's always keep in mind the compass uh believing, thinking, feeling, acting. Let's also remember the four agreements. We stay engaged, experience discomfort, we speak your truth, expect and accept none of closure. Uh if I'm not mistaken, starting next week during our work session, uh Miss Dr. Maggie will introduce the six conditions and we will have one each time during the work sessions if I'm not mistaken. >> All right. >> Thank you, Jesse. >> Thank you. >> I appreciate that. Um next on the agenda is quorum determination. We are five which represents quorum with two members not voting tonight. Um and now we will stand for the pledge of allegiance. >>
003I pledge of 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. Um, Liza just gave me a nice reminder. Before we begin, I'd like to just acknowledge that today is Indigenous People's Day. Um, a day that our students were in school together, hopefully learning um about this, and it's a a holiday I appreciate taking the time to remember together. Um, next on the agenda is we will approve the agenda. Um, I am going to ask for one amendment. Uh, item 6.2, action item 6.2 um is our superintendent contract extension. Since we have two board members missing, would like to move that to next month. That's the amendment I'm asking for. So, with
004that amendment, is there a motion to approve the agenda? So moved. >> Second. >> The agenda is approved. >> We need a vote. >> That's right. We should do that. And I was looking at KJ. Motion from Pepe, second from Liza. And now all in favor of approving the agenda say I. >> I. I. >> Any opposed? Okay. Now the agenda is approved. Okay. First on our agenda is good news with Dr. Deckant. Good evening board and Dr. Ferman. Um, we start off with today as Liza mentioned, Asheville City Schools recognizes Indigenous People's Day. This is a time to honor the history, culture, and resilience and profound contributions of indigenous peoples both locally and globally. October is National Principal Month and we appreciate all that our principles do to support their school communities. We are
005grateful for all of the countless hours they give to support their schools, especially as we reflect back on their efforts during the aftermath of the hurricane. Thank you to our principles and building leaders. If our principles will stand who are here with us this evening and our building leaders and be recognized at this time. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] We are excited to na to announce that Lindsay Devito, the fifth grade fifth grade teacher at Isaac Dixon Elementary, has been named the Asheville City Schools 2025 beginning teacher of the year. This recognition is a testament to Lindsay's dedication, passion, and unwavering commitment to her students and her school community. Dr. Ferman said, "I have visited Mrs. Dvito's classroom many times, and I can attest to the high quality of her instruction and her amazing ability to build
006strong relationships with students. I'm so thankful that Mrs. Dvito is part of our Cougar crew." Lindsay will submit her portfolio application to INCAT where there will where she will go into a pool of beginning teachers from across the state. Approximately 25 beginning teachers will be selected from the state to attend INAT in the spring and then they'll do interviews and at that time they'll select the state beginning teacher of the year. Congratulations to Lindsay and we would love it if you and your family would come up and we could get a picture of you at the board. [Applause] Yay! This is a Two weeks ago, Lynn Mayor was recognized as the Asheville City Schools Exceptional Children's Teacher of the Year. Lynn serves EC students at Asheville Middle School. Asheville City School's exceptional children's leadership team
007nominated Miss Mayor because of her commitment to ensuring all students have the tools they need to succeed. Mrs. Mayor will be recognized at the NCDPI 2025 exceptional children educator of excellence awards ceremony in Greensboro, North Carolina. Congratulations to Mrs. Mayor and she could not be with us this evening. So if you see her, please congratulate her. Last month, the Asheville High and Silsa counselors bust 115 juniors and seniors to UNCCA for a college fair, which connected our students with over 70 potential colleges and community colleges. They learned about instate and out ofate universities and community colleges. Counselors prepped the students before taking them with possible questions to ask and gave them sentence starters to make a good first impression. Several college representatives shared afterwards that our students were some of the most respectful and prepared
008young adults that they had encountered so far. We are incredibly grateful to our counselors for their commitment to providing opportunities that increase college access. And so this coming Wednesday, make note, they are hosting a FASA work session for seniors so that they can provide one-on-one support for college financial aid advisors from 4:30 until 6:30 in the Asheville High Silsa cafeteria. If you see any of our counselors, please make sure you thank them for everything they're doing to ensure our kids are accessing post-secary opportunities. So, a huge shout out to our counselors. We are incredibly proud to announce that Silsa Juniors Graham Neland and Jackson Shaw have been named semi finalist in the National Merit Scholarship Program. This recognition places them among the top academically talented students in the nation. To enter the competition, students must
009take the preliminary SAT National Merit Scholarship qualifying test in October of their junior year and meet specific entry requirements. Graham and Jackson now have the opportunity to advance to the final stage of the competition. Finalists are considered for this prestigious National Merit Scholarship, which will be awarded in the spring. Jackson, they cannot be with us this evening because they're rehearsing for the High School Musical. So, they have a lot going on. So, if you see those two students, please um give them a huge shout out. We had a community partnership summit um that was at Asheville Middle School. Um I think it was at William Randolph, sorry. Um last month, ACS hosted a community partners fall social. It was inspiring to connect with all of our amazing organizations and individuals who are dedicated to supporting
010our schools and students. From mentoring and tutoring to fun and engaging after school and summer programming, these collaborations are vital to ensuring that every student thrives in Asheville City Schools. We are deeply grateful for our community partnerships and look forward to continuing to strengthen those relationships. And Miss Het has a schedule built out for the whole year where these community partners will come together for these summits. 10th graders in Miss Williams and Miss Barrett's civics class at Asheville High learned about our local history taking a walking tour of Hwood the Haywood Street Fresco and Stevens Lee Community Center. As part of the curriculum, they investigated the ways that young people can tap into local history to inform positive change in their community. This field trip experience is called raising the voices of the unseen and
011unheard of Asheville and was developed by UNCA Asheville and a team of teachers from Asheville High, Sila, and North Bunkham High School and is funded through the Asheville City Schools Foundation. Here's what one student had to say about their experience. Often times people who are homeless or in bad situations get overlooked. So it's beautiful that they're able to feel seen and be put into a work of art. It tells them that their stories matter and that we see them. Experiences like these are what define being a crew member in Asheville City Schools. Working together, demonstrating compassion for others, and having the courage to stand up for what's right. Thank you to Miss Barrett and Miss Williams for making this field trip possible. It was a huge success. Several of um individuals from central office went
012and joined them for this and um it was the kids were extremely engaged. Isaac Dixon open house. They hosted their beginning of the year open house celebrating the learning achievements across every grade level. Families walked the halls and classrooms. They had the opportunity to witness firsthand the creative, innovative work that has defined the start of the school year. Students presented their projectbased learning. They showcased everything from early literacy milestones to complex crosscurricular experiments. Thank you to all the families and staff who made this celebration of learning such a huge success. And the Claxton ice cream social. Uh the Claxton Elementary Beehive came together for their annual ice cream social which has been a tradition for over 20 years. It was wonderful to see so many students, staff, and families come together to connect, to have
013fun. They had staff musical performances, ice cream um from our longstanding local public school champion, the HOP, which we are very thankful for. And a special thanks to Claxton's PTO and the families of Asheville City Schools, the Fax Group, and the HOP for making this an event to remember. And as always, it's important that we're a champion for public schools. Our children deserve um great schools. We have great schools in Asheville City Schools. You can learn more about all the amazing things and great news that are happening every single day by following us on Instagram and on Facebook to stay informed about what's happening. So, thank you. And that concludes Good News. Thank you, Dr. Deant. Uh, next on our agenda is a presentation from Carrie Buchanan about programming at the William Randolph campus. now.
014Okay, I'm gonna start all over. Okay, good evening to the board and Dr. Ferman. Thank you for allowing us to come today and share all the good things that are happening at ECA and in Cougar Academy. And I do want the mic on for this. We want a big shout out to Kim Robinson and to her team for all the work that they put into the program last year and a good solid foundation for us to to continue to build on um and make adjustments to and keep things the way they are wherever whatever we need to do that foundation was good and solid. And so I just really want to shout out to her. So this is also Cybil Jefferson. If those of you who don't know her, she is the assistant principal at
015art program. So what we believe in is at William Randolph, we believe that every path matters. That there's not just one path for each student, there's several. So we are committed to supporting every student's unique pathway to postsecary education. the workforce and adulthood, ensuring that they are prepared, empowered, and valued on their next journey. Okay, so who are we? We are actually two programs at William Randolph. We have ECA, which is our high school program, and the Cougar Academy, which is our middle school program. Within ECA, we have four core teachers. We have one CTE teacher. We have a credit recovery staff member who works with students who are working on credit recoveries. And then we have a student support within that program. We have currently we are at 49 students which is more than
016double like of the main group last year. Please remember with alternative programming students are in and out. So, um, but this semester we have 49 students. Um, and we're growing daily. So, that's exciting. Um, then within Cougar Academy, we have two core teachers. With one of those core teachers, she teaches ELA and social studies, but she is also part-time media and tech. So, for half of her day, she is in the media center working with middle schoolers and high schoolers. and we have a student support person. And then within the Cougar Academy program, we have six students currently. We have, let me go back. So the ECA program for high school, when students come to us, they can stay with us and they can graduate from our program still as an actual high or a
017Silsa student. We have both Asheville High and Silsa students within our program. For Cougar Academy, it is different. It is a middle school program that students who may need a little bit more support come to us. They have goals to reach. When they reach those goals, they can go back to Asheville Middle. So, right now, currently, we have six students. We have more who plan on coming next quarter. Um, and then we have one student who has met his goals and at the end of this quarter gets to go back to Asheville Middle and he's very excited and I'm very proud of him. It's also his birthday month, so we're going to celebrate all the things before he goes back. Um, so that's really exciting. And we also within of of course within outside of
018just the middle school and high school, the people who support both programs are of course me, Miss Jefferson, our counselor. We have one EC teacher and EC assistant, and then we have a shared social worker with other schools. Okay. So, ECA, >> do you want to do demographics? >> Oh, yeah. Go ahead. >> So, within that school, we have, like she said, we have um we have 37 high schoolers. Um we have six students from AMS and five students from SILSA. Uh the demographics on the demographics of our school are um currently 58% African-American, 8% white, um 12% multi-racial, 10% latinext, and 10% Pacific Islander and Micronesian. Um and we also uh in that mix, like she was saying, we have one going back to the middle school. We also have a possible 13 grads
019this year at midyear. So, we're really proud of those kids because they have met their goals as well. And they're um they're going to be a part of our midyear grads. Some of them are staying. And we're going to talk about the program that we're going to help support them into transitioning over into a tech in just a minute. The high school alternative program provides students with flexible and personalized education experience designed to prepare them for life after graduation. So we have several as you see we have um various scheduling options um internships through the CTE program where students are allowed to go to uh places that they want to shadow and work. Field trips to business and technical schools. Uh we have guest speakers. This past Friday, we had two EMTs come in. Uh
020they brought the truck. The students were able to tour the truck, lit talk to the uh EMT workers, but also figure out what classes they took at AB Techch to be able to get this degree. Um we have a strong partnership with community organizations um and intentionally design academic classes to meet needs. So we are we find out what exactly each student needs. It's not a cookie cutter thing. It's okay. My child may need two maths and two Englishes. So, they're going to come in and they're going to take two maths, two Englishes. So, it's it's very tailored to each student. Field trips that allow them to experience workforce in our community. And not just in our community, just different things that go on. This past Friday, they went to a dance uh presentation up
021at the Irene Irene Woreram Center, and they enjoyed that because it was, you know, just seeing the dancers. It was something different that they hadn't seen in a while. and just getting out, being able to do those things downtown. So, again, Cougar Academy is our middle school alternative program. We have they do a lot of engaging hands-on activities. Um, the great thing about it is is it's small. They're working specifically toward their goals. They're developing skills and responsibility, self-management, collaboration, and it is a program designed specifically um the academic piece is important, but it's also designed specifically to work towards goals so that when they go back to Asheville Middle School that those social emotional skills and the academic skills are there to help them be successful. Um, so the students at the bottom where
022they're given a thumbs up, they had been able to fill their star jar and they were super excited about I think the prizes or whatever that they were able to get. So we wanted to definitely highlight that. Okay, so highlights of the program. There are lots um we've had growth in both of our programs since last year. So this semester we have already started um larger than we were last year. Um, one thing that I didn't put on here, the attendance has been higher than what we were seeing toward the end of the year last year. About 85 to 90% of our students, maybe a little bit higher on some days, are showing up every single day, which is great. Um, still working on the ones who are not, but they um trying to keep
023them engaged and in school. Um, the academic programming, so we have three options for our different programs. We have our 8:30 to 1:30 program which is our main program where most of our students are that um offers you know more of a full day like their four core classes. Um then we have our 2 to four program that was started last year that we are continuing to grow. It's more of a hybrid model. um our 2 to four students, they come from 2 to 4, do two classes and then they do two classes online and those can look very different depending on what they need. Um and then for students who are just who have various needs and may not be able to come to campus, we are doing some online work with students who
024need that. Um, so and then we are currently I've been working with AB Tech on a new process. Um, as you know they have adult high school and if you have questions about that I can answer but we're working on a new process to keep some students with us so we can track where they are and we're able to offer them options that they may not have had before. Um, also some of the highlights we've had is around in um, CTE internships, workbased learning. Some of our students um have recently went on interviews with different realtors in the in our community. Um we have students who go to our very own preschool. Thank you, Susanna. And work with our students either at um Jones or Dixon last year and we're going to do more of
025that this year. Also we have a new partnership with maintenance department with our own school system where students can do internships um with various people. Um right now the student that we have working with them is going to actually shadow different groups that he's interested in. So that's pretty awesome. So I really appreciate that April has given us the chance to do that. Um and the guys who have come in to meet with our students and interview with them have absolutely been amazing. So we really appreciate that. Um also a great thing that is happening is our flex Fridays. So flex Fridays with our program are based around field trips. But then most of the days if we're not on field trips then most of our days our students go to advisory in the morning
026because they go to advisory each day. They look up what is your work missing? Where do I need to spend my time today? Because remember our goal is to improve our graduation rate. And so we want to make sure that work is being done. So we take the time to do that. And then the rest of the day is for clubs that we are starting and also for the guest speakers that we have. So each Friday is tailored to something specific and then the club time each week is based around student interest. Um we as a staff have been trained with and this is also through student services. So thank you Kim and with RCD which is responsibility center discipline and our staff have been fully trained on that. Well actually let me take that
027back. There are a few of us who still have to go the second day and um we are trained in that and what that is is coaching students through behaviors and you know talking to them about their behavior and then also okay what comes next >> recognizing their feelings >> recognizing their emotions how they're feeling and then coaching them through what would have been a more appropriate response in a classroom or in a hallway or wherever it may take place. Um, and we're doing that alongside with restorative practices. So, we're really looking at, you know, walking students through their behaviors. It's all about coaching. Um, and then I've already talked about our Cougar afternoon program, which was 2 to 4. Okay. So, we've talked a little bit about the great things that are happening. So,
028we're going to let you now hear from some students. Most of these with the exception of maybe one have been in our program last year and this year. >> Okay. Okay. >> Okay. You might not be able to hear from students right at this moment. That's a bummer because they're really great. Okay, that's okay. All right. So right now we are looking into the pros and cons of having a school num number versus staying a program and just a few benefits of having a school number would be data management. Right now we are students of Silsa, Asheville High and Asheville Middle and it is really it's complicated of trying to manage our data but then we can't it's hard to pull our numbers like what is really our attendance and what does it look like.
029So we're having to keep a separate form for that. Um, anytime we need something changed, we go through the data managers at Asheville High and Silsa and Asheville Middle. So, data management is just a big piece around that. And then it's also accountability, which is like testing and attendance and things like that. So, we want to just kind of look at and see what are the benefits of having a school number versus staying a program cuz there's definitely benefits. There's pros and cons to both and what would be more serving and better for our students. Um and then also just looking at resource allocations and service provision like what would be different if we stayed a program versus if we had our own school number. There's also um you know some policy and um well
030there's an actual state policy around what it would look like if we had either is I think it's and or if you have a 100 students and or you have seven I think hold on let me get the right seven or more full-time equivalent state allocated or paid teachers is that's where you're looking at for the principal pay. So, I know we've talked about that some in sessions and it so each school with 100 or more pupils in final ADM and or seven or more full-time equivalent state allotted slashpaid teachers and instructional support personnel unrounded based on the prior year six pay period is entitled to that principal. So, we're just looking at some those are some of the pieces that we're really looking at to see if it would be more beneficial for our
031not just for our students, but also for our school district to either have a school number or to stay a program. Okay, any questions? >> I think we're good. >> All right. >> I certainly have some. Okay. >> Okay. >> And first of all, thank you so much. Um you know, I'm really excited about this program and have been um anyway forever. But um couple questions. First of all, um last year we had a fair number of teachers leave um Randolph, right? It was pro I think it was our highest in terms of percentage, which isn't hard to do because there aren't very many teachers there. So if you lose a certain number, you're losing a higher percentage likely than any other school. But my question is, what are we doing for teacher retention? That
032is a challenging population. It's a challenging job. How are you, um, working to support your teachers? Yeah, that's great. Um, so that's my thing. That's my jam. Um, we did have three teachers leave last year. We had two of the middle school teachers leave and pursue other opportunities in Asheville and then we had one who decided to do online teaching for North Carolina and um possibility of moving out of the city. So, um, the teachers actually that we brought in this year are, um, out of the three new teachers that, well, I should say, yeah, out of the three new teachers that we have on, two of those are beginning teachers. >> Um, they are excited. They purposely applied at our school. That's where they wanted to work. So, that right there is already a
033plus for us. But, we, um, we do an onboarding. So, I meet with them once to or twice a month um just as new staff to our program. Um I also think a big part of what we do is crew. We do it every Friday afternoon. Um not crew every Friday, but we are together every Friday, whether it be professional development, a check-in around our RCD with our coach for that, um our kids, >> check-in around our students, and then we do crew. So, this past Friday, we did a crew event and it was just really about, you know, we're we're still in the, you know, early phases of school this year, right? We're not even at the first quarter yet. Um, and so we did one just around getting to know each other, but
034then also the importance of knowing each other and knowing um, and then the importance of checking in with each other and growing our relationships because our staff are actually really good at growing relationships with students, but not always with each other because honestly, at the end of the day, sometimes you're just too tired to talk to other people. So, we just talked about the importance of, you know, staying accountable to each other, but then having our go-to person. Um, as an elementary principal, I would always tell our fifth grade students, find your adult at the middle school. That's my what I need you to do. And so, I told staff on Friday, find find your person. Every person here should have a person at William on real William Randolph campus whether it's within our program
035or within student services or the community partnership whether you know it could be Kim it could be time it could be Melissa whoever it is find that person for your go-to because it is hard work and we love our students but we you know just like every other teacher we're tired at the end of the day too. >> Yeah. Thank you. Um I have a couple more. Um, one question I have is what is your um how how what about the effort with families? Like I appreciated your um your your statistic about attendance and of course that requires family support. So I'm just curious about what kind of programming you have for your families as well. So, at the beginning of the year, we did what everyone else did and invited families in for meet
036the teacher um parent teacher conference day. It was required for um every single middle school parent to meet with our teachers whether it be virtual or in person. Um and then high school, we you know, we're following policy of if we're veiling classes by November 1st, we should have already met with parents. Um and so we did that also. parents came in all throughout the day on the parent teacher conference day. Um and then we are looking to have a parent night um actually sponsored by the community um department um with families to really talk about well one to make sure everyone's on parent square make sure everyone knows how to manage infinite campus and check in for their child and then we um are just going to have a kind of like a crew
037session of getting to know each other and just really becoming what I call a school family. But our parents have been our parents have been really good about since the summer once we reached out to them and told them what the plan was. We gave them a clear plan. So they understood what their student was coming there to do. And so because they understand what the plan is, then they're able to support their kid. A lot of them said, "I just don't know what they're missing. I don't know, you know, all these things." But once we sat down with them, drew out the plan, showed it to them, they were they're more apt to call us now. They're like, "How's everything going?" And then when we do call them, we're like we we tell them,
038"So and so's kind of behind in this class. Don't worry about it. I'll talk to them." So it was I think it was that it's just the the part of knowing what's going on. And I think we're I think that's one of the things that has helped not only the parents but the students as well is understanding where the light at the end of the tunnel is and actually being able to see it. >> Um so I understand and I know I'm asking a lot of questions but I'm just really you you're doing my hard work. um the um e um so as we have the e program and crew it sounds like kind of naturally incorporates a lot of experiential or expeditionary learning into its program is that fair to say we are yes
039we are working on that and then we have advis advisory time um I think it's known at the high school as cougar seminar um where we are doing crew with our students at least three times a week and And then the other two are things that you know it could be what so ours are divided by the year they will graduate. Um and so it could be things that seniors need to know things that juniors need to know on the other days. And then um on Fridays I've already explained that we're working on you know we're really looking at infinite campus and seeing where where we need to put our hardest work in that day. And can you describe the referral process and how you get your students both at Cougar Academy and ECA? >>
040Yep. So, um, right now we look at the semester. Sorry, I'm trying to share with y'all because I really want y'all to see the video. Um, right now with the high school, it is at the semester break unless a student needs to be administratively placed, but we're doing a semester break because it makes the most sense. Um, and then we just have a we've kind of condensed the way we're doing it because of so many referrals, we want it to be manageable. Um and so civil created a it's like a what am a spreadsheet couldn't think of the word a spreadsheet and um the the counselors or the admin fill it out fill it you know fill it in and then we meet with the counselor and admin to talk about that student and then
041we set up the meeting with the family. Is this the appropriate placement? Does your child want to come here? And then we also have students who are asking to come to our program. And so then we still do the same thing. We meet with the school and then we meet with the family and make sure we can meet all the needs that the student has. Um as far as Cougar Academy goes, that is more of a school recommendation for students because it's very specific to the goals. >> Sorry, is that just seventh and eighth or sixth through 8th this 6th through 8th grade. >> Okay. And the last question I have I I hope maybe is um how can we support your work? Like what is there anything that you need from the board level
042or just advocacy or cheerleading? You know, how can we support you? And if you have everything you need, you don't have to have an answer. >> We do not have everything we need. Yeah. Um, I would say that as really I mean it's I don't know if it's from the board what we're trying to do at our program is create more CTE classes and so honestly that's where a big part of our work is. I mean we're going we're going to look at partnering with AB Techch a little bit more but really we we need support behind getting at least one more CTE class on our campus. We um we want our students to have at least two possible tracks that they could have a certificate or that at least they're working towards um when
043they leave us. And um actually we both have talked about it. It's actually a real disservice that we don't have it. Um and it's not that we're not trying curriculum instruction and Dr. Cheeks is definitely working on it, but it is a sometimes a money thing, right? And so that is our biggest ask is that um that that be supported. I'd also like to um add in there um a nurse cuz we've got a couple of students right now who um um we have two that are pregnant and we have one who uh has some health concerns. My name is >> Um, another issue that we uh deal with is we asked for a EpiPen and we were told because we weren't a school, we couldn't have the EpiPen. So, and we were like, well,
044can you give it to Asheville High and let us have it? No. So, it that's that's something else that um is we've dealt with. Um um yeah and so that's just you know that part and and then having to have an a slight emergency with a student and not having a nurse on campus was a concern for us. So >> thank you. >> Um please know that any of our needs are ser like our student services our CNI are absolutely working with us through all of that. It's just sometimes when you are a program, there are steps to all of those pieces. Thank you. We're gonna continue with questions. >> Rebecca, >> yes, >> George. >> I was just going to say we're going to continue with questions and I will make space for George
045and Sarah as well for questions. Um, and George is live and we can see him. So, we'll go to George's question. >> Hi everyone. Um, hi Carrie and Civil. Uh, thanks so much for that presentation. Thanks for your work, um, over the ECA. I just just a quick question. Um, thinking about their promises promise of making every second count. You mentioned um, better attendance and I think if I write wrote it down right, it was around 86 87%. Do you know how that compares with the um, district at large? I actually do not have that number, George, but I can we can figure that out. >> Yeah, I think that' just be it's a it's a nice way like if to see what happening at AC ECA to to increase attendance um and if those
046strategies can also if it's if they're needed um can be helpful across the district. So >> yeah, >> I think part of it is Thank you. And I think part of it is because we are small program that we are able to um >> to make that happen. Yeah, we're we're we're calling a lot. >> Thank you, George. Um other questions, >> Pepe. >> Um I last week we had a presentation from uh Dr. Gibbs over at Silsa and some of the abilities of like second semester 9th graders and above to take advantage of course offerings over at AB Tech. And I think somebody threw out there an idea of ECA partnering more closely with Sulsa, but just, you know, making that connection. Um, and I'm just delighted that you folks are growing and doing
047what you need to do to um, have a fabulous program. So, thank you for that efforts. >> Thank you. >> Can I show videos really quick? They're like 15 seconds. Do you have any questions? >> And just while she's queuing that up, the average attendance rate um, across the district is somewhere between 94 and 97%. Yeah. Thank you. So we have some improvement. Okay. So we invited some of our students to come but a lot of our students work. They take care of um siblings in the afternoon. Um and so they wanted to make sure that they at least were able to say why William Randolph. >> My name is Lisia and I graduate in fall of 2025. William by helping me get my grades up. Um, the staff is really good here. They'll help
048you by like support in certain. >> Hold on. I'm going back. >> My name is Lisia and I graduate in fall of 2025. William Ren campus helped me by helping me get my grades up. Um, the staff is really good here. They'll help you if you need like support in certain things. They'll support you. Um, and they would help you graduate and stuff >> and stuff. >> Hey, I'm Art. Welcome to Mford. When one thing you should come to Mford is to catch up on your credit, all that you be struggling in school, this Mford is the right place for you to come. Thank you. [Laughter] Hi, my name is Dasia Franks and I'll be graduating at the end of this first semester. >> My name is Kim McQuinn. I graduate next year. >> My
049name is Shania Hugh and I graduate at the end of the semester. >> Why William Randolph, guys? So I could graduate on time and graduate early and start my career off right. Well, go ahead. I don't know. >> Well, I came for better opportunities and to graduate early. >> Uh same as her great opportunities and to graduate with full credits. >> Yeah. >> The thing the thing about really random campus is that um I didn't start out as a like really good student. I mean, I had good grades and all, but I didn't I didn't go to class. And William Randolph helped me realize that messing around in school and not getting your your high school diploma isn't good. And William Randolph actually helps you get your diploma and helps you after you get out
050of high school for like jobs, job core, a bunch of other good things. and it really helped me turn my my ways around and actually start going to class and start paying attention in school. >> Just so you know, they were not prompted on what to say. But it does matter that they have a program that they are able to feel successful in, that they are able to be successful in, and that they are able to graduate, and they know that they are on the right path. And um it was really sweet. A lot of them said a lot of stuff about staff, but then they started comparing and we just didn't want to share all that. But it is important to know that they they feel supported and that they are absolutely going to
051graduate and we were able to make that happen. So again, I want to say thank you to Kim and student services. And then also a big shout out to Cibil because I was out on medical leave um for most of the summer in the beginning of the school year and she did it. She opened up the school. She had staff ready and everything was ready for students day one. So, thank you, Miss Jefferson. You're >> welcome. >> And Rebecca, can I >> We've got We've got more questions. So, >> Oh, nice. was beautiful. >> And we'll come we'll revisit it. We'll all remember it, but I think Jesse has a question. >> Okay. >> I got one question. Hey, don't you guys have community partnership stakeholders that comes in monthly to help support your program?
052So our community partners come in on Fridays. Um so Fridays are the day that we have different community partners come in and um some support with clubs and then some support with helping students stay in class and some help support students get work finished. So, we do have um lots of community partners who want to come in, but we ask that they come in on Fridays because we really want to hold true to our academic schedule Monday through Thursday and then Fridays are our flex Fridays and that's when they come in and then we do have other people who like to pop in. >> All right. Thank you. Thank you for that presentation. We've been so eager and excited to learn more about what's happening at William Randolph. So, thank you. >> Come and visit.
053>> Thanks. >> Thank you. >> Okay. Next on the agenda is public comment and I'm going to read this exactly as it's written on this piece of paper. The board of education greatly appreciates your interest in the Asheville City Schools and we welcome your comments to the board. Please be mindful of the following guidelines. Per policy 2310, personnel and student matters are confidential and therefore not appropriate for public comment. If you have a concern about an employee or a student matter, please contact or see the superintendent after the meeting. We have three folks signed up for in-person public comment. First on the list is Saurin Peterson. As Saurin comes up to the podium, you'll have three minutes. There will be lights to tell you what's going on. Um, and I think you'll figure it out.
054Thank you. Hello board members. For the past several years, I have been speaking to our elected officials across the school boards, the commissions, the city, and the county about the importance of increasing the local pay supplement for our teachers in the Asheville City and Bunkham County schools. Even though we are seven months away from the board's next budget recommendation to the county commission, I want to speak today not to suggest specific numbers, but to contextualize why a meaningful increase in the local supplement is so long overdue. Teaching being a subliv wage profession in Asheville is a fairly new phenomenon. Just a decade ago, a starting teacher in Asheville was making 40% over a living wage, roughly $11,000 a year. money that could go towards savings or other expenditures like having a family. But in 2021
0552022 fiscal year, the cost of living measured using the universal living wage formula and data published by the Department of Housing and Urban Development exceeded the starting salary of a teacher in the city of Asheville. At the time, the local supplement stood at 9% and the Asheville City Board of Education requested a 7 and a half% increase to the local supplement as part of its budget recommendation to the county commission. Unfortunately, the county commission rejected that proposal in part over a concern for lost revenue from CO 19. But by the end of the year, a faster thanex expected recovery had actually resulted in a 20% budget surplus with articles written at the time speculating what that surplus might be used for the following year. However, despite rapid growth and development in the city and the
056county surplus and annual rising budgets, the past 5 years have not seen our budgets reflect the cost of living rises that in teacher pay. As cost of living factors have steadily increased, the local teaching supplement has only increased 2%. But during that same 5-year time, cost of living, which again already exceeded teacher wages 5 years ago, increased by 34%. I mentioned before that teachers in the city of Asheville were making 11,000 above a living wage 10 years ago. They are m now making $8,000 below. Over that time, we have also seen Asheville City lead the state in both LEA and state uh turnover rates. 2023 was the height of this when fully one in three teachers left their their LEA and one in six left public education in the city entirely. I don't mean to
057say that wages are the only reason why a teacher would leave the school, but cost of living factors coupled with a lack in increases is certainly something that we should be considering. I ask you to do two things. First, make the adjustments that we've needed over the past 5 years with the local taxfree appraisal. And second, change to a dollar amount rather than a percentage rate. Thank you so much. >> Thank you. Next is Chris. Chris Gordon and Mr. Gordon, you'll have three minutes as well. >> Thank you, members of the board. Dr. Ferman, good evening. My name is Chris Gordon. Several years ago, Dr. Lavender and I have presented to you a number of recommendations from the Community Reparations Commission. Now that those recommendations have been formally presented to the city and county, I'd
058like to re revisit them in the context of Asheville City Schools and propose that we dedicate ourselves to the process of discussion and implementation. Please consider the following recommendations. Number one, improving school climate and curriculum by reviewing the current curriculum to determine its commitment to diversity and inclusivity by providing culturally relevant instruction through understanding the context of each learner. By establishing a process for review, repair, and correction when classroom assignments, content, and management are causing harm. By expanding vocational educational opportunities that are linked diver to diverse student interests. By conducting ongoing equity audits where schools examine, report, publish the racial distribution of students within specialty programs. by conducting ongoing mandatory staff professional development in implicit bias recognition and remediation, stereotype threat recognition and remediation, and trauma-informed management strategies. Number two, reducing school suspensions by creating
059a culture of empathy, acceptance, tolerance, equity, and affirmation. Teaching replacement behaviors instead of punishment. establishing a suspension review board. Establishing a day treatment program, establishing a tracking system for teacher referrals, creating strict guidelines for SRO interventions into school discipline issues, and increasing school access to mental health professionals and social workers. Number three, increase the number of black teachers by seeking out and recruiting a racially diverse and qualified educational workforce, knowing that all children benefit from being taught by such educators. Creating a black teacher recruitment and retention package, including provisions for housing. Building a black teacher pipeline for growing our own future staff. Number four, providing free early childhood and preschool education for all by working with the city and county officials to create and enable highquality child care and education. Number five, form a community-based
060educational accountability task force enabling school and community stakeholders to regularly review policies, procedures, and data to hold school systems and educational organizations accountable. These recommendations, although central to the needs of black and brown students, are really just best practices and would benefit all students. But they are issues that Asheville Bunkham black community feel have been historically neglected. If we are to boost achievement and improve educational outcomes for children in our district, we must be attentive to those voices who have not been heard and whose concerns have been marginalized. We have to be committed to the notion that all means all. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Gordon. Last on the in-person list is Carson Bridges. Good evening. My name is Carson Bridges. I am a first grade teacher at Claxton and currently serving as the president
061of the Asheville City Association of Educators. I wanted to come speak to you this evening about our wonderful first meet, confer, and collaborate session. On October 1st, our elected team of ACA reps sat down with the district administration team and held the first ever meet and confer meeting for public school workers in North Carolina history. After two years of working with you all and Dr. Ferman to create a process for worker voice in ACS, it was great to see all of our hard work to create a collaborative space succeed. During this first meeting, the ACA team brought forward proposals surrounding three current ACS policies. These proposals center on things that ACS staff identified as top concerns and issues during our platform development in the spring and were supported by 70% of ACS staff signing on
062to endorse our platform. Our first proposals were around the changes were around changes to the inclement weather policy, the teleawwork policy to address issues with a focus on non-instructional classified staff. We also proposed in addition to the visitor policy. These proposals come from hundreds of conversations with staff and the changes in our proposal are asking for a 5:00 a.m. deadline for the district to announce inclement weather schedule changes. A double pay rate for non-instructional classified staff who report in person during inclement weather. An option for all staff to teleawwork during inclement weather. And no penalty to pay if staff are unable to work during inclement weather. a district-wide option for ACS staff to work from home on optional teacher work days and the opportunity for staff to have access to union resources at their work
063site when it works best for them. Our team looks forward to continuing our discussions around these items at our next meeting on November 12th and I encourage you all to join us and see the great work that's happening at the MCC table. ACE is also hosting community listen listening sessions in order to ensure we are representing not only our staff but also the families and caretakers that our students uh for our students and what we bring to the table. Our first two community listening sessions are on October 28th and 29th. I personally personally am looking forward to having the opportunity to continue this work and collaboration in order to make positive changes for our staff and for our staff members and students lives. Thank you. Thank you. Do we have any virtual public comment? >>
064No virtual public comment. >> Thank you. Okay. Next on the agenda is our consent agenda. Um the consent agenda has topics from our work session. Just to draw everybody's attention, we have minutes from recent meetings on the consent agenda. We have a budget expenditure report that we received at work session. We have a proposal brought to us from Heidi for a $1,000 one-time pay retention bonus to staff, all staff. Um, we discussed that our current financial position is stronger in part due to the state not having approved raises. Um, so our discussion was that our teachers will no longer receive a state supplement that they had been accustomed to receiving and will also be experiencing higher health insurance premiums. So we're hoping that this will be a way to offset that uh a tool that
065we have and we want to use it. Um, so that will be on our consent agenda. Just as a reminder what that is. Um, there are policies on second read that you can see on the agenda. Also on the consent agenda is our plan for voting delegates at the conference upcoming in November. So you can see who's listed as delegates there. Uh the mental health report that Kim Robinson presented to us, personnel report, and the contract from uh Carolina Thomas LLC, which is for a vehicle purchase that we discussed as well. Any questions about the consent agenda? >> I move that we um approve the consent agenda. >> Second. >> A second. >> Second. All in favor of approving the consent agenda? >> I Any opposed? All right. The consent agenda is hereby approved. Now
066we will turn to our one action item for tonight's agenda. Uh on the action item is the ESS Southeast contract. We discussed this last week. This is uh regards regarding substitute teachers. Um, any questions about this contract, Pepe? So, one of the things that came up when I was talking with a substitute uh teacher who reached out is um that the substitute teachers and I think we had this in public comment that the substitute teachers at the high school level um are brought in to cover a single staff person who usually teaches three uh classes plus uh may have a fifth period or other responsibilities and that our teachers get an extra pay if they're covering on their free period. Um, our Asheville City Schools employed teachers get extra pay if they cover another class
067on a free period, but the substitute teachers are sometimes asked to cover an additional period. We understand from Southeastern from uh ESS that um that they make it clear to substitutes that they may be asked to cover that fourth period. I am curious about how that works when we are um asking teachers who don't have sick leave or other leave and they have to pay out of pocket for a substitute teacher. If they are paying for a substitute teacher to cover their classes and then uh that substitute teacher also covers another class, do they pay 3/4 of the substitute teacher amount or are they paying for the full substitute teacher and then Asheville City Schools is getting an extra benefit from that. I want to be fair to our uh Asheville City School staff so
068that they're not asked to subsid uh substitute or excuse me, subsidize one and a third teachers when they're out. >> Am I making sense in the math? >> Yeah. Okay. >> I just I just want to be clear. Teachers do not have to pay out of their own pocket when there's a substitute. If they have used up all their sick leaves, the school district still covers the cost of the substitute. Now, the teacher may not get paid the day that they're work. They're not working if they don't have sick days, but they don't have to pay out of their own pocket for a substitute to come in and cover their class. >> No, it it doesn't come there's not a fee that comes out of their wages when for the substitutes. Okay. I appreciate that.
069Thank you. >> All right. Is there a motion to approve the contract? So moved. >> Second. We have a motion and a second. All in favor? >> I. >> Any opposed? All right. The motion passes. >> Next on the agenda is the superintendent report. Pull that up for me there. I just have a few things to share with the board this evening. Um, thank you. Now will it go? >> Oh, there we go. Dr. Dean, can you take it back one slide? >> I push. For some reason, it went twice. I know why. It was my own fault. I hit the button twice. Um, but I just wanted to share with the board. Um, we have met several times with the student advisory council. Thanks, Kim. Um, and it is going very well. Oops. And
070that's just a quick shot. Not all of the students were able to be at our in-person meeting when we met at the beginning of the month. Um, but the students made really great progress. They shared what they want this group to accomplish is this is our inaugural group of student um advisor council. Um they shared what they want to accomplish, how they want to accomplish and made their own vision and mission statement. Um and then they also shared what goals they want to set to help support the school system. So they set their vision statement as creating a place where every student in Asheville City Schools is seen, heard, and valued. And then their mission revolves around collaborate, advocate and growth. And they want to work together in collaboration to gather and represent multiple perspectives
071and the diversity um of the our student body. They were very clear about their advocacy and being able to advocate for policy that's centered on what's best for students and that they want to serve as role models to lead the way for positive change um so that they can help cultivate and grow the next generation of leaders. Um and it was really great um as they worked together to kind of review their survey inputs and summarize those and come up with these great ideas um for what they can do as student leaders. So, that was really exciting. And then they set some short-term goals for this year. Um, and the first one that they want to address, well, they didn't we didn't really set an order, but one these two were the two biggest areas
072that they wanted to work as a student advisory council. Um, and one is to support the successful implementation of student crew so that all students have a place where they can feel like they belong and student voice can be elevated. They really saw crew as an opportunity for students to facil become student leaders, for students to help engage in those student conversations within and among themselves. And that those student crew conversations can then be brought to the student advisory council as an opportunity for really how do you create a system where student voice is heard, lifted, and um then shared. And then their next one was um helping support how to make sure those five grading principles that were in the approved in the new board policy are are upheld across the district. So we're
073going to work through some action plans for these and give them the tasks um for how they can help support this work um within their schools and across the district. So I was so excited for this group to come together. They're doing a great job. Wanted to share with the board an update. We did complete our first month um PMR report. So every school year, every month we complete student counts. It also looks at attendance rate and student demographics. And this um is comparing our first PMR report, our first month PMR report from this year to last year's PMR report. Um so overall, I know I shared enrollment numbers and these are the students that you know we have students that enroll but never show up. So, as we look at who are the students
074that actually enrolled and actually show up, that's what the PMR report looks at. So, as we looked at the comparison from this year to last year's first month PMR, um it was 20 students less than our first PMR last year. And the graph shows you the difference um in the first month PMR report comparison and that is by grade level. So the kindergarten students, last year we had 253 kindergarteners. This year we have 256 kindergarteners. So this is not cohort. I'm going to get into what that looks like in the next two slides just so you can see the comparison. And I think what's important to look at is in 12th grade last year, we had 356 seniors. Well, those 356 seniors graduated and left Asheville City Schools. But our incoming class of kindergarteners is
075a hundred students less. So that's we can see as those numbers kind of go through the school system, we're going to see different sizes of cohorts as those kindergarten numbers are smaller. So that's just something to keep in mind. Also wanted to look at cohort data um so that you can see the changes in the cohort. So um this the kindergarten number is based on the number of kindergarten. We don't do cohort data for kindergarten because they're a new incoming class, but just that overall class size is 17 students smaller than the kindergarten class from last year. But you can see we lose um students in that fifth to sixth grade range. Um and that's pretty typical, but we are seeing that that's a a smaller decrease than it has been in the past. And
076we always see a huge jump in enrollment in 9th grade. So we enrolled an extra 147 9th graders than we had sixth grade eighth graders last year. So that is typical that we're seeing this big jump in enrollment in 9th grade and to the tune of an an additional 147 students. And the last slide on the PMR report is just that percentage of change from the cohort um as they moved up. So you can see some smaller changes, single digits um all the way up through 9th grade when that percent increase, that percent change was 68% above. And then I was um trying to touch base, I haven't had a chance to loop back with Derek and um Jeremy to see we did lose more kids from 11th to 12th grade than we normally do.
077So I want to touch base with them on, you know, do they know why? Where did those students go? Did they move um during Helen and never came back? So, I'm do going to dig a little bit more into that first month into those um those numbers. Wanted to update the board. We've gotten feedback from lots of people on our district work plan, the principles, lots of staff feedback. Um and couple areas that they were really wanting us to look at and we were responsive to this is simplifying the plan. The plan was like 8 to 10 pages I think and we were able to really look at high level what is the plan really asking to do and simplify it to two pages um which makes it much clearer much more easy to understand
078um so feel good about that being a page that someone can look at very quickly and say oh this is what we're doing um and then giving the principles that autonomy to pace what they're doing at their schools so whether we have these goals and these are long-term goals But we really wanting and sharing with the principles that they've got autonomy to adjust the pace if they feel that their staff are overwhelmed and need to switch the the frequency of meetings. They are very welcome to do that. Um and in my meeting last week with principles touched base on that as well that they are they're the drivers of their plan. They are can be responsive to their staff. Um and we are there to assist as they do that. And that's kind of the
079last part is clarifying what we do in this in the central office to help support the implementation of the plan is to really listen to the principal what they need what next steps. So then how can we help find resources? How can we help support developing the training for the staff? So did some um responsive um updates to that district improvement plan or district work plan based on the feedback that we've been getting. And then our last celebration here is Asheville Elementary Schools and Asheville High were named best in Asheville. So excited for that honor um for our for our elementary schools and for our high school. Um we think that's a really great success and we know that our families are out there championing for our schools. We know our staff are out there
080being champions for our school. Um, so next year we want to see all of our schools on that list and u we want to start shooting for the gold level award as well. Um, and that wraps up my conversation uh my comments for this evening. Are there any questions from the board? >> The PRM reports are the numbers in terms of ADM or in terms of enrollment? It's ADM. Yes. >> Okay. Um and this um uh responsiveness to feedback. Um that's wonderful. Thank you for doing that. >> I want to actually give a shout out to Shannon and her team. She really led up that. >> Thank you Shannon and her team. >> Other questions? I'll just also notice ADM stands for average daily membership. >> Yes. >> PRM stands for I don't really know
081>> principal monthly report. >> Thank you. >> That's fine. It's a we speak a foreign language. >> We do. >> At times we're all fluent in it and I just realized I'm not actually fluent in it. So, thank you for those clarifications. Um, I think we're always excited to see that particular data like as we get into a school year and we can really get a handle on what are the students that we have. So, I really appreciate the the the way you looked at that both with sort of what I think you call survival kids who go from one grade to the next um but also kind of how we're doing and forecasting. So, thank you. >> Yeah, of course. >> Okay. I just wanted to say thank you uh for the work, the
082presentation, but also your work that's immense on behalf of the district all the time. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Happy to do >> Sarah. Rebecca, can I jump in? >> Of course. George. >> Um Dr. Ferman, thank you so much especially for um the reporting and what you're doing with the student advisory council. Um, those of you who've been around for a while know that we've we have attempted some ways to make sure that we're hearing student voice um and the work that we're doing. And I really appreciate how um how you're going about this and I love that they're such a part of um the vision for what this district can become. So, thank you. >> Thank you, >> Amy. Sorry, I have one other comment. I was at the middle school last
083week for um the student led conferences and it was phenomenal and Asheville Middle School should absolutely be among that list. It was amazing how many um because I interacted with a fair number of parents there, some of whom had considered sending their kids to other schools and even though they were newly at um cuz I've interacted mostly with sixth grade teachers cuz that's my the grade that my daughter is in. And it was just universally they were excited, their kids were engaged and I heard not one negative comment and I didn't tell folks that I was on the school board. I was just sort of asking questions and most of them did not know that but um it was really a celebration of um student and teacher collaboration. I appreciate that we got that model
084from Montford I think and um the the intersection of that work but I just want to shout out Asheville Middle because it should be on that list. Um and if if the world were just it would be on that list. Get them there. Thank you. Uh, next on the agenda is the board chair's report. I connected with Sarah in advance. A couple things that she and I remember that have happened since last week that we wanted to make sure board and everyone's aware of. Um, she and I had the opportunity to meet with Tracy Barrett and Carson Bridges from ACE and get a little information about the MCC process. I'm appreciate you coming for to share more with us. Um and also to talk about budgeting strategies um to keep those lines of dialogue open.
085Um also last week several board members were able to attend the NCSBA fall law conference. Um I was auditing in and out um as much as possible, but some folks really gave a lot of time to it. Um learning about topics that are um compliance in nature, but also interesting and and helpful to us as a board as we do our work. Um the last thing on our agenda, I'm just going to draw everybody's attention to um announcements. Um you'll find them there. I won't read them to you. And at this point, if there are no other comments, questions, I will ask for a motion to adjurnn. >> I move that we adjourn. >> Second. >> Move and seconded. Uh, all in favor? >> I. Any opposed? >> Thank you. We are adjourned. >> Thanks,
086Rebecca, for handling tonight. >> Hey, great job, Rebecca. Bye everyone.