001Good evening everyone. This is Monday, September 29th, 2025. This is a special meeting and workshop of the board of education. Um, may I have a motion to call the meeting to order? Scott Pete. All in favor? Um, we are going to convene to executive session. Can I have a motion to convene executive session? All in favor. We will see everybody back here at about 7:30. Welcome back. Um our first start. Okay. First we're going to do the pledge of allegiance. United States. Thank you for joining us. Um we are going to start with um our board comments. Does anybody have any comments for anybody? Okay. Superintendent comments. Let me start again. So I apologize for that. So wanted to express my thanks and appreciation to all of the parent staff administration. We had several back
002to school nights last week, middle school, high school, and two at codle. And the turnout was tremendous. We had singing room only and codle wolf nights and then also great turnouts at the middle school and high school. So, it's a wonderful thing to see all of our parents engaging in the educational program uh and to have the tremendous community support for our teachers and our administration as we begin the school year. So, I just wanted to share my appreciation for that. Also, it was before our last meeting with the guidance department did a nice presentation for the parents of our seniors kind of touching based about the final steps for the application process very soon. So, they have already submitted their final choice applications. uh the guidance department was on hand. We had uh about
00330 to 40 parents were there that evening to kind of do the final steps of the application process. That was a great uh piece starting the year and I know that they've done that throughout the year the junior year and this is kind of the final step of that process. So kudos to them and a lot of exciting events coming up here this homecoming week. But I look forward to the uh craziness that is tuck home homecoming. I hear it's a tremendous event with great community support. The kids really enjoyed it and I look forward to that this week. >> Thank you very much, Mr. Roberts. Um, comments from business manager. >> Okay. All right. Then we will get started with our presentation. Um, Tahoe High School student achievement and assessment. Thank you um, Mr.
004Fiori, Mr. Dellis, and M. attending tonight. Okay, we're gonna we're gonna flip so that we can watch the presentation. So, good evening everyone. Thank you to the board of education for allowing us to present this evening on the student assessment data and some of the highlights of our high school program. Uh, it's been great to dive into this work with Mr. F, Mr. Bellis, Mr. Kano looking at the strengths of our program, some of our assessment results, uh, regencams, advanced placement courses. It is an exciting time. As you know, the board's going to be getting uh one of our major goals, I should say, this year is to develop our strategic plan. So, we'll be getting that very shortly with the assistance of our district steering team committee. We're going to be convening early October.
005Uh that that work will begin and we'll be providing a much more detailed timeline to the board about those next steps for community involvement, all of our stakeholders that will be a part of that journey. And this plan will be developed with guidance from the board, the administration, teachers, and families, and all the stakeholder input as we continue to set the priorities for the district now and into the future. So, in future presentations, we'll be learning much more about the current uh changes that are happening with the board of regents and the impact of future graduation requirements in New York State. There's a lot going on at the state level that's going to impact the port graduate. Uh so that'll be potentially a great workshop topic here for the board to learn more about that
006we can present with some of our our staff guidance counselors and administration about what does that look like for the next few years and it's also going to guide the work of the strategic team that is steering. So while the collaborative strategic plan development process will take some time, uh we are focusing on this year's students, their achievements, how we can make sure that this current year is their best year ever for our seniors, our juniors, sophomores, and freshman at the high school level. Uh tonight's presentation is going to provide a glimpse into where we are as a district relating to some of our current programs here at Tahoe that are already in place and the direction we see them heading into the future. With the goal of continued growth of student assessment scores and
007achievement levels increasing, under the board's direction, the district has made great strides in the past few years and expanding the course offerings and providing additional educational opportunities for all students. We're committed to continuing on that journey and expanding additional rich and robust school learning experiences that engage and challenge all of our Taho students to reach their full potential. We have a responsibility to challenge students. We have a responsibility to make sure that we provide the support needed so that every student can reach their full potential. Tonight's presentation will highlight some of our student achievement levels, the student data from various regions, advanced placement courses, as well as many of the programs offered at Tuck High School, which make it a rich and robust experiential and learning experience for all students. Our high school leadership team
008is going to be walking through a little more of the data, looking at some of the historical results of our students dating back the last several years and then also presenting a number of thinkings and wonderings as our team develops. Mr. Fiori being new this year, myself as well. We're learning and seeing things firsthand for the first time. U it's amazing that we're actually only 16 days into the school year with our new team formulating and that students are just turning the page and getting the routines in place. So, this is a great time to really dive into the data because the upcoming opportunities that we'll have to work with our teachers to collaborate are on the horizon as we go into October and then throughout the rest of the remaining part of the school
009year working with teachers and families and students to maximize their learning potential. Before I turn it over to the high school team, I want to recognize the tremendous educational opportunities that are already in place here at Tahoe and really celebrate many of the things that we have in place for our students, the experiences they have. uh that make Tahoe a special place doesn't mean that we can't continue to grow and get better. I think we do have to pay tribute and respect to the great work that is put in place and the experience and the traditions to know where do we build forward in the future. So where are we going and how do we get there is the quintessential question. Um little graphic that I thought would just eloquent of today's presentation is that
010we're going to go full steam ahead and we're going to do so together involving all of our teachers, our staff, uh and our students along that journey. And one of my biggest priorities as superintendent is really empowering students in their own advocacy and agency of their learning. U students know their goals and they have their their aspirations. They know what pathway they're going to K through 12 they're going to achieve at higher levels. So really embedding that into what we do and how we do it so that our students are part of that journey uh is going to be quintessential to our future our current success and future success. So a little bit about just our journey in terms of our courses. Um proud to say we currently have eight advanced placement courses that our
011students can take. again trying to create additional learning opportunities and more rigorous courses, different learning experiences outside of the region's traditional courses. We also have 16 total AP courses that will come up as part of our programmatic studies as we're learning about which courses were really successful for our students, which ones were the appropriate level of rigor, the amount of prerequisite skills they need to be successful in these. That's all going to come back to the data. Uh Mr. Pure, Mr. going to talk a little bit about how do we schedule these things more effectively and efficiently in the future. These are all questions that we have as we look at what currently takes place so that way students have a clear pathway to success whether it's alternating schedules when when opportun courses are offered
012so that we can get good levels of enrollment for each class and then also how does that tie into policies that we may have that's encouraging students to take different courses. We promote students prerequisites that stop student achievement sometimes. So these are all things that we'll be discussing and kind of diving into a little bit more as we look at the data. So very pleased to say that currently we have over 30 extracurricular clubs um all different levels of interest for students touching different genres where they're excited to learn, have different experiences. You can see the wide array that we do have. take place during the school day, some after school. But again, increasing different levels of student interest, increasing these opportunities where students can excel and and demonstrate their skill and interest levels. So,
013this is uh just again including some pictures of our students, different areas. You look at the presentation a little more closely, you see our students doing excellent things during the school day, being leaders, uh being participating as student officers, getting involved in fundraising, uh being leaders in and out of the school day their various endeavors. This happens throughout the school year. Had a chance to see it taking place myself. First place in September and heard it happens throughout the school year partnering with our PTA, different civic organizations. Our students are doing amazing things and really excelling on a leadership level. We've got students that are engaging in the arts uh from our actors and actresses performing uh finding their passions. These are all opportunities that are being offered here at Sacramento High School in addition
014to the arts. Uh we have the marching band, talented students that are our jazz band are playing. We have talented students that are in orchestra, a lot of different performing venues, letting kids find their passion. So again, these are great ways that the district provided a wide array. Uh every student has different interests and many of ours are doing multiple aspects of these enrichment activities. We've got students that are being recognized for their debate skills, traveling to different schools, engaging in uh rich dialogue with other teams, practicing their leadership skills on the stage in in a formal way through debate competition. Of course, our athletics over the last few years, 45 athletic teams across 24 different sports. So, this is a tremendous feat. And if you take a look at the part that I find
015it most interesting was the little caveat of over 94% of our students in grades 7 through 12 participate in an interactive sport in addition to all of the other activities they're also engaging in. Our students are very busy. They're very engaged. Uh they're taking advantage of the opportunities that the board and the district have put in front of them with great success and at a high level. Tremendous accomplishments for our athletic programs uh and our academics. Those 61 champions, three New York State regional championship, two New York State championship runner up and additionally the outstanding awards by section one the 20 25 Tom Whan all sports award recipient and the Nisa school of excellence. In addition to these accolades on the field and section championships and students demonstrating great sportsmanship and uh camaraderie together they
016continue to make our school proud. The other day I was at a volleyball game and the power went out. We had a slight interruption and our volleyball girls showed their leadership. They stood up with the other team. They sat down together. They worked and and collaborated. They played a game together and then they went out and competed. So, great sportsmanship, great characters being shown day in and day out with our students, which is phenomenal. And it speaks to the culture and the community spirit of Tuck. Quick view of some of our championship last year. Again, students engaging with all of our community partnerships, uh different programming, working with organizations. The list goes on and on. We have a lot of opportunities for students based upon their interests and to get involved where they can demonstrate
017leadership. Uh last last but not least, we have the student leaders within our school and community. Uh some mentioned about homecoming. These are some of last year's pictures, but again, our students taking pride in their school, taking pride in their school community, uh joining together with families, really representing our school, and that shows the pride and the character of Tahoe. I think many of our students day in day out and they make us proud in their effort each and every day. Some of the students that we have, these are the colleges and universities that many of our students that were that are attending this year from last year's class. Uh you can see it's a wide list of great universities all along the east coast and throughout the country. Uh these were the ones that
018our current students are attending. We also in the last two years in addition to these wonderful universities and colleges many times colleges are associated with a certain major associated with finances, right? Sometimes it's a financial decision when you when you select your college you're making for. Sometimes it's proximity to home. All those things kind of come into a student decision. But in addition to all of these colleges, we our students are having access and getting accepted in some of the premier colleges uh and universities in the United States. So to name a few we've had in the last few years uh Princeton University, University of Florida, University of Michigan, University of Notre Dame acceptance, Vanderbilt University, Villanova, William and Mary, Boston College, Boston University, Bucknell, Georgetown, Lehi, Miami, and North Eastern to name some of
019the prominent or universities and colleges that our students have been accepted to, which is fantastic. So, with that said, we will continue to grow and to look to improve as a school and district. Our leadership team is excited to dive into last year's results and to work with our teachers, our students, and our families to take our program to the next level and to make sure that every student is challenged, engaged, and successful in learning while at the same time meeting all of our students social and emotional needs as they take this journey through high school. With that, it gives me great pleasure to introduce our high school team, Mr. Fury, Mr. Develis, and Mr. Bosan to highlight some of our current levels of student achievement, success, go through some of our data. We'll open
020up to questions at the end, and I'd like to welcome Good evening. Thank you for having me. Um, we have a a number of slides with a lot of data. Um, we're not going to say and and analyze every single slide. We're looking into the data. Um, we're trying to get all of the data. A lot of different spots that you have to go to because you can't just look at a few things. I'll just give you an example. Uh, like we have percentages, we have numbers. There's a lot of things on this particular slide. Some of the slides we don't have all of the data in one spot. So, when you're looking at a percentage, a percentage can be misleading, especially when you're looking at a school, right? 50%, you know, when you're talking
021about two students is very different than 50% when you're talking about a 100 students, right? 50 out of 100 could be a problem. One out of two maybe not as big a problem. Correct? So, some of the information we have here, we're going to still delve into a little bit more deeply just so we can get to some of the root causes. Um but just looking at the post high school um outcome summary over the last five years, it gives you the year, it gives you the number of seniors that graduated in that particular year and then the percentages and numbers of where they ended up. So you could see the the the number of students continues to rise that attend four-year colleges. Um, we still have a number of students who are attending two-year
022schools. And then we have a lot fewer students who are going into the military, who are going directly into the workforce. And then there's the other category, which could be they never got back to us. They are going to backpack across Europe. They are undecided. They're going to a trade school. They might be going to a school outside the United States. So, there are number of different options that that other could really imply. Um, but you can see the numbers there for you. Um, graduation rates over the years. So, what we looked at here again, we have percentages. Um, the red shaded boxes are that's any box that is lower than the total number. Okay, the total percentage. So, that would be for me something that we would need to look at a little bit
023more closely. So for example, you see students with disabilities are graduating at a lower rate. Again, we need to look into that number because there are a lot of different pathways for our students with disabilities. So some of them are on different pathways and they're on programs that are not going to culminate in a traditional four-year period. um some of our marginalized groups in society as well um have lower percentages and again we need to look at those a little bit more closely to see how many numbers those really are and then going back really to see what did those students do they have a plan and were they leaving for some other reason um and then are economically disadvantaged as well um you know something that we're really looking to do is trying to
024make that personalizing the educational experience for everyone. That's a huge concept of my philosophy and where we need to go because when you personalize the philosophy, you're looking at every single student for who they are, for where they are. Okay? There are a number of students who need enrichment. There are a number of students who need support, reinforcement, and supplemental materials. And there's no reason for someone to continue to do what they already know. They should be moving forward, right? And we should be moving people who need to help to get to where they need to be. So, trying to make sure that we're attracting all of those um specialties is something that's a it's a lot easier said than done, but we have to have a consistent plan for that. Um this is our
025college admissions testing uh over the last five years. You can see the the English scores, the math scores for the SAT, and then the ACT scores on the bottom. and the number in parenthesis is the New York mean up against our local mean. So you can see where we stack up against the state of New York um in those categories. We're going to have this up on the website tomorrow so people can look at it a little bit more closely if they want to. Um we're going to go through a quick region summary. You know we have our passing rates, we have our mastery rates and I think that you're going to see not consistently across the board, but in a number of our of our exams and discipline, you will see that the the
026mastery numbers have dropped a little bit. And again, we really haven't even gotten that much of a chance to work with our staff. So, you know, there there are a lot of questions that we have um and I'm sure there's a lot of information that we have yet to gather so that we can work on putting together a plan for success and why those numbers might be dipping a little bit. But you'll also see that the numbers when you compare them to Westchester or Putnham and Rock County um the numbers again for where we are don't seem like they're dipping terribly. There seems to be a dip across the board. We want to make sure we're not dipping more than other people, right? We want to make sure that we're doing the best we can.
027Um our math scores for algebra one, again, you can see the passing rate and the mastery rate. the 2019 22 and 23 were a different exam than 24 and 25. So sometimes there's a slightly different exam that you'll see. Sometimes that changes the numbers in terms of when students take a test for the first time and then they have to after that first year the state will recenter you know the scoring chart and how that's um scored. So the numbers might change once we get into the second and third year. Again when you look at the the mastery rate up against It's it's the lyric number, but that's toted just to give you a little bit of perspective in terms of what that percentage might be. The geometry numbers again, we have common core exam
028for four years. Last year was the first time that the student challenged that particular exam. And again, a little bit lower than than the area that we want environment numbers and then living environment up against Rocklin. Earth and space sciences was given for the first time last year with those 20 students. Prior to that it was just earth. So those are the earth science regions numbers and then last year that earth and space science that was a obvious challenge for all students last year that first administration chemistry. You can also notice in the numbers next to the year um you know sometimes the increase and the decrease and students start using their courses because it's again this is a good example of the percentages look at the number of students right so you know everyone
029in any any direction is going to change the percentage considerably a number of our of our students seniors end up not taking the physics regions as well. So that the numbers as well. So all of these little factors are a piece of history. lower again where we want to be. US history. So those are the things that we want to look at. Um we want to try to um have some meetings with our teachers to discuss various things that I'm going to talk about at the end in terms of some actionable items and and where we want to go. But let's get through the AP scores and then we can kind of talk about all at one time if you don't mind. >> First of all, good evening everyone. We're going to go through what
030we've done that we were able to in a second you'll see what I mean. Um like Mr. Fiori said we will put all of the up on the website tomorrow so that you can them. But through the dedication and I think support of our board of education, one of the things you'll notice on this slide is that our course offerings have increased drastically. So we currently offer 16 AP courses for a school of our size that's pretty significant. And you can see in 2025 the number of AP students almost double. Um you look at the number of exams that we gave last year 301 but if you look at that last row the percentage of students that are taking AP classes more than half of our students are taking AP so I think that's something
031to really celebrate again without the support without the resources that wouldn't be possible couple things I'd like to mention about our program um we have open enrollment for all schools not all schools for a number of reasons But we want students to challenge themselves. Don't forget AP courses are college level. So they're doing college level work early on. And again, some students do it for different reasons. Some would like to put it on their transcript. Some are again if you're earning three credits towards college and you do that, you might be able to accumulate 15 credits which financially is significant. So students have different reasons and I think you'll see having such a growth 24 or even the last couple years in 2025, we're going to have a little bit of growing things. So, we're
032going to go through some of the data. We're going to show some of the scores, but again, I want everyone to keep in mind, we're very fortunate to have a number of teachers that are dedicated, that are very passionate about what they do, and regardless of the student where they are, they try to get them to where they need to be. I think that's something that is really special, and we're very fortunate to have that with So this is a list of again these are some awards that our students have earned. If you look at AP scholars AP scholars with honor scholars with distinction that's also increased dramatically. So if you look at the number 43 comparative to the past four years I think that's pretty significant. Just to kind of quickly give you a
033review an AP scholar is a student who received a three of higher on three or more exams. An AP scholar with honor is a student who receives an average score of at least a 3.25 on all of their AP exams and a score of three or higher on at least four AP exams. And an AP scholar with distinction is a student who receives an average score of at least 3.5 on all of their exams and they have a score average score of three or higher on five awards. So if you look at that there are 13 students that fall into that 43. Again I think it is um I think it's a testament to the students that want to challenge themselves and not only challenge themselves but also are able to do it and separate
034themselves. So I think that's pretty significant and again that's through the support of our teachers through the support of our board of ed our families. I'm also the testing coordinator. So I typically in here with the students when they're testing some students are in here for eight hours, nine hours straight and that's that's a lot. So they're they're challenging as well. So let's go through some of the data. If you look at AP biology overall 2.43 is the average score for 2025. But again looking at the historical that number is down a little bit comparative to the past several years. Um so one of the tools that we have is what's called an instructional planning report and that report is given to us by the college. That is something that Mr. Fiori was referring to.
035We're going to be able to sit down with all these teachers and individually start to scrutinize the topics, the areas, where did the kids do very well, where do they need some growth, and are we able to make some adjustments in terms of curriculum and instruction and help the students get to back to where we believe that they're going to be in a short amount of time. AP art and design, again, we don't have a large number of students that do this, but again, it could be anywhere from two to four students. We've had in the past unfortunately some students have not been able to do but you know our teacher does a phenomenal job and he really brings them to where they need to be so we try to offer something for everyone. The
036percentages you see by the way those are the percentages of students who have scored three four or five out of out of the entire group challenging that administration taking calculus AB um this is probably one of the most difficult courses mathematics is very difficult and I think we're proud that some students have not only gone to AB but students have also accelerated themselves taking calculus DC of the addition The way that we support our students is that if a student is not able to fit a course into their schedule or they just have a passion and they do start studying, we will still take. So we still want them to have that opportunity to earn three, four or five and potentially earn that college credit. This seems to be a course where we do have
037a small number of students each year that will not only reach AB but also go on to that BC level chemistry. Again, I'm not going to highlight I mean we'll have all this up there for you. Um but we just want to make sure that again we're looking at the ones that have a fiveyear historical data point that we can compare to computer science principles. Again, computer science a the next course that goes in sequence and we've had several students throughout the years that have done that on an exam only basis. Our teacher typically will support them and we'll assist them as they're working through that course and serve as a resource for them. But this is the prerequisite that you must English students did very well on this exam. AP physics So we found
038it interesting that for the regions we saw there was a dip in that data but if you look at the AP physics and the students that are taking that AP they're doing very well at that level you know so that's a wondering I think that we have they electing to go to AP physics rather than taking the regions this is all pieces that we need to look at that we will work with the teachers as we start to dive into that analysis Italian language culture, psychology, language and culture, government, US history. One of the additional resour that I think is important to mention. Um, we have two current teachers that are also national graders for the college. Um, and through the support of the district, we've been able to supplement and spend them across the
039country so that they are grading exams in their content area from all over the United States. Not only is it a phenomenal professional experience, it also helps them gauge in understanding what are the skills, what are the specifics that those students need in order to be successful and they can see the students all over the country. They take that information back, they're able to use it in their instruction and we're hoping that we can grow those number of teachers that are able to have that opportunity. But again, it is, you know, does require resources. It requires time away from school. which is difficult, but we feel very strongly that a great experience. So, that's something that I'm hoping we can over and it's it's all tied to the growth mindset that we need to maintain
040and push forward. The the research suggests that if you take an AP class that you have greater success at the college level just by being in an AP class. So, it's not necessarily how you do in the AP class, it's making sure that you're in AP class and those students have fared better at college level academically. So that says a lot that you know we're trying to get students prepared to succeed at the next level then we just want them in the class. It doesn't necessarily mean that everyone's going to get a five but you know maybe someone who wouldn't normally have taken that 18 you know for them you know to get a three that that's great for them you know and those are the types of things we need to consider that it's
041not about a number because quite honestly if it were we can make sure those numbers are all fours and fives like that we can because we could just put more restrictions on who's in the class. That's not the point. That's not what we're here for. We're here for every single student in the district. Now with that said, the level of rigor, the level of expectation has to remain consistent in those classes so that we can get all students where they need to be. As I mentioned before, that's part of the personalized authentic learning experience that we're trying to create. Now, where does that begin? Um, we definitely have some curriculum issues that we need to kind of focus on to to gain a foothold. Okay, we need a foundation. Every teacher knows exactly what they're
042doing, but we don't all necessarily know what each other is doing. Okay, and that's what we need to do. We need to have clear curriculum maps. There should be maps for every single course that we offer and they should all be on the internet on their website rather you know so that parents and the community can see exactly what's expected at each level. Um and those maps have to be aligned vertically within the department and then also coming from the sixth grade, seventh grade and eighth grade. You like we have to end up you know a certain spot so that our our students can succeed. um in a postsecondary environment. Um in terms of reviewing the instructional practices, that's part of the analysis of what we want to do with our staff. Um we've only
043had those couple of days before school to try and meet with the staff as a whole. And there's so many other things that we're doing on those days that you don't have a chunk of time where you can really focus a lot of attention. We did a little bit. Okay, we spent a couple hours, but there's a lot more time that we need and we're starting we have um we have afternoon meetings and we have faculty meetings, right? The extended day in addition to faculty meetings between PD and some curriculum mapping, some reviewing of those instructional practices, what works best, a sharing of ideas, you know, making sure that, you know, we're providing a variety of activities for our students to learn. They have to have um have to have specific student engagement. You know,
044we have to make sure that we're creating a student voice. You know, that students have choice. There are so many different aspects. You know, we have to have some writing assignments and there have to be some things that might be a little bit more computer-based. We have to give them a wealth of opportunities in which to shine and grow. Students learn differently, you know, and we need to address those needs that they have. We need to make sure that we're differentiating our assignments. making sure that we're um you know uh scaffolding our assignments because it's not just students who need reinforcement who benefit from that. There are a lot of students who benefit from those type of things. A lot of students who could benefit from a graphic organizer or learning a certain note-taking technique.
045So things of that nature all come through collaboration through PD that we could do with each other um and some of the conversations that we have departmentally. Um, again, through all this, we're hoping to develop a collaborative philosophy so that everybody's on the same page. Um, I don't know if everybody's on the same page right now because I don't really know what everybody thinks. Again, we haven't had that time together. So, we need to have that collaborative philosophy. What are we doing with the honors classes? What are we doing with the AP classes? Um, you know, are we going to have certain requirements? Like right now, we have requirements for the honors classes, but AP classes are open enrollment. seems like a little conflict of interest, right? Like we need to kind of figure out
046what we're doing, what's the philosophy going to be and how are we going to move people forward to where they can be successful. How are we going to fit people into the right space? Um, again, I mentioned a personalized learning environment already and making sure that we keep students learning. Um, looking at all of the levels, right? We need AP honors, dual credit, CTE pathway assessment to understand how are we going to make sure that it is personalized learning environment for every single student. How are we going to get people where they need to go? Do we need to have an honor program anymore? I don't know. I'm not saying we do or we don't. I'm just saying that's a question. If you have a school that has low enrollment, do we just have an
047AP and and a college prep track? Do we need the honors track? And if we do, how are we going to utilize that? You know, at what point are we going to say, well, seven students here, five students here, and 10 students here is no longer feasible, right? Are we doing the best for the students in those environments? So, again, I don't have any answers right now, unfortunately. I wish I did. Um, but it's all going to come out through the work that we do collaboratively as a staff. Um, and then hopefully there's a lot of um opportunity for discussion, you know, parent discussions and and getting them involved in the board of education as well. Um, you know, we have to look at our course offerings and how that factors into the scheduling process.
048Um, you know, and we take some of the courses we have now where you might have a couple classes that have eight kids or 10 kids and maybe instead you take those and you join them together and you have a class of 18 and now you have an extra spot to run a different class. Can that be elective? Could that be people might be interested in. Are we running the classes that are preparing students for jobs that we don't know exist anymore? We don't know what's out there. We don't know what's coming up. There's all types of computer courses. There's gaming courses. You know, gaming has become one of the major um college majors right now. Like, they're going into different things that didn't exist when I was in college, right? We didn't have it.
049So, like we have to make sure that we're preparing students for what they want to do. Um, and we might not have all those things, but number one is we have to have a level of rigor that accepts critical thinking at a high level. They have to be able to solve creatively. They have to be able to be resourceful to create answers when they don't know the answer. Where can they go? What information can they draw from? What content knowledge can they rear back and come up with something where they could be creative and say, "I can get there. I'm not going to look at I don't know what the answer is." And just move on. like we have to make sure that they have options. Um certain level of that is is a grit
050and determination as well. Like we need to instill that in our students. There are plenty of courses that we could come up with that we can challenge our students and make sure that they're learning the STEM field. Um you know, anything that's creative, anything that might be computer, robotics, um or a lot of those other STEM classes. There's um project leadway classes that we could bring in if we want to. Um they start as early as the sixth and seventh and eighth grade and you could bring those courses in. They're high interest. They're hands-on activities. The kids love them. Um again, it just trains the mind to think in a certain way where they can be successful. Um in terms of scheduling, again, so many questions, right? And I know you don't want to go
051there right now, but is an 8 period day exactly what we need? You know, do we need to change that? Um, do we need to have an advisory period in there somewhere and maybe shorten a couple minutes off a couple periods and have something where we could do an advisory maybe on a Monday and a Friday and then that could be time for extra help during the day where students and teachers can meet to go over things. There's many creative things that we could do to put things in place to make sure that our students are in a better spot. Um, you know, to learn and to grow, but we can't expect the learning to stop. We can't expect the growing to stop and we can't put limits on. It has to be limitless. We
052have to say that we're going to go as far as we can go and we're going to keep on thinking of ideas, fresh ideas, new ideas, um, engaging ideas to keep people interested and moving in the right direction. Got on a run. Thank you so much. Thank you for media night. I totally understand why you were not here for the beginning. Um the kids love me today. Thank you. Um it was really great and I know that you know it's hard to pull all that data together. Um hard Um, it was something, you know, we decided to do this presentation because it was a presentation that we haven't done in quite a while. We've done a lot of stuff regarding the high school, just not a look at the hard data like this. Um, so
053I really appreciate the time and effort that you all put into it. Um, it's meaningful to us to look at it. Um, so just a couple of comments from my part and then we'll kind of go around the the table and ask. Um, so I just want to point out a few things. Um, one, this pool is an amazing and it doesn't really matter what the data says because um, we have graduates here that have gone on to do incredible things and not only our high level learners but struggled. My own family who've gone on to do amazing things have um and that is all because of our teachers. They do they do a great job and they are always there doing the best they can for our kids. Um second when we talk about
054the AP classes um stress and we talk about you know how many we offer today at work. happen to become something at home with our AP courses. So our count is a member of college double the size we are in every way in their budget and their announcements. We offer the same amount of courses. I mean that's really spectacular for what we can offer our students here at. Um so you know I really I encourage you and I applaud the previous administration for bringing in all these new programs. Um it's really they're great opportunities for our kids. Um, another thing that you mentioned that um is the flexible scheduling um and the option to do test. Um, again, not not to talk about just myself, but I'm just talking about an experience that I've had.
055I'm sure other families have too, but I can just say it firsthand is um we did have scenarios where we needed an extra science class because children were looking into the science field in college and the school was able to offer us online plus AP um and you know a time when my daughter wanted to she felt that she could pass an exam that we don't even offer the class for an AP class and I just had a call she got that AP um exam for us and took it and he did phenomenal so again kudos to the teacher for teaching at a level of where where you're not teaching an AP course, a student can can get a great grade on that. Um, and to and the administration for being able to offer that
056to students and just having that experience. Um, you know, all when you say that, you know, just taking these makes kids better um students, it's really true. And um this last week we my daughter was taking her chemistry um class in college in a very large university. She's got 500 kids in her her class and it's a weed out course and I said to her you know how you going to do on it and she said it's okay because so far it's everything I learned in my chemistry course and I remember it and she took that in 11th grade. So you know we are preparing kids for where they need to be going forward. Um So, you know, when you look at numbers and you look at the data and and you get a little
057um there really it's not the whole story. There's so much more here and there's so much more that we offer the kids again with the sports. We offer just as much as Tom does, you know, it's and that's just one district and it's only because I haven't knowledge of it, right? But we offer so much to these kids. Um, and I just I just want to point that out. But when we're looking at data and and sometimes it can seem a little um, it is not the full story. Um, and and our teachers do a great job. Our admin does a great job and I'm really excited to see. So that's my comments on it. I do have questions that we'll come back to, but I want to give anybody else very proud and I
058clearly said I appreciate that people who watch should have double down percentages when it comes to very wild you would think that data would be easier with a small but it's actually harder the data set thread very small to highlight and you know I don't want to get into a different topic but you talked about scheduling flexibility which segue into something we haven't gotten there yet we'reing potential opportunity for more but u the only thing I'll say to you I'm not going to get into it too much because you you said that you have a lot of work to do looking into where there are patterns there are troubling the work The only thing I will say just just do while you're doing that but didn't stuck out so much that the numbers have gone
059down the test but the one that speaks out a little bit but again I'm not overly reacting to that story but I'm just calling that out is it apples to apples to speak. So just when you're looking into why just but the last thing I'll say last comment I'll make is um on the very first slide after the demographics um you know at the end of the day I don't think we all know this and I think it appreciates the breakdown but when you look at the marginalized with the minority groups being a little bit lower And then you have the economics disadvantage. That's really the reason, right? It's the ethics that has nothing to do with this and I would imagine a lot of those students are the same ones that are economic always
060some correlation there. So really just comes down to we all research pretty it's just it's the economics that all matters. I would just say that a small difference and we've said it before but I would just say again administration like as a board member I'm sure my co-s there's ways for us to help bridge that economic gap in terms of additional support that cost money that normally cost money to help those economic disabilities students how you know there's no solutions to that but I just wanted to always comes down to just resources and some kids have better resources at home than other kids. So if there's ways that we can fill that gap, you know, get ideas, we're all just offer tremendous amount. just to go but um I know you mentioned it in the
061past. Sure. So um I can you know phrase but um I've had the opportunity to experience both an day and a non period day. Um I think you have to look at it in terms of what are the overall number of instructional minutes that students are getting during the course of the day contractually we have because sometimes districts have more minutes or fewer minutes which does change some of the considerations because it'll give you an extra period gives you an extra opportunity for class. Um the class periods are now shorter. So now you have fewer minutes each individual teacher to get things accomplished and a lot of students a lot of teachers are are you know currently working until the last day you know to get things accomplished opportunities bring up a point or a
062question and you kind of you know don't leave that class. So you might not get to then you have to kind of come back tomorrow. So you do want to do that because we want to give students an opportunity to be leaders education. But um if there are enough minutes where we can confident students then it's definitely something that's a possibility. Um again I would personally I would put two things up against each other if that were the direction that the board would want to go. The the opportunity of a nine period day versus the opportunity of an 8 period day with and and sort of task teachers and academics support. Um so Monday to Friday and Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays would be opportunities for teachers to sign up to come and see them. So
063I know English on Thursday. Um, so all of that is for either I'm going to continue to learn or I'm going to get myself running. So that's a built-in opportunity and doesn't have to be period. It could be a 28 minute period or something of that nature where you can kind of make something work for you, but it's gonna it's going to increase the growth, but it's not going to be as you have to what do we need and where do we want to go? I will say that sometimes that allows students to because they never have to support during the day because again you saw the statistic of the number of athletes 74% of our students are athletes well you go up 85% of our students are doing something we're all fighting for the
064same students at the same time right so after school I want to help you saying so and then you know a different club if you're things of that nature. So, um I think we just balance the need and then we make I don't think one way is wrong. I think different ways to reach similar but it just needs to be sure some school districts also period allows for performing arts group for to start a school day and run into some kind of transportation issues access. So not every student can get transportation but many school districts do offer that as an option as well as students want to think don't want to miss instruction because they're chorus another option What's the greatest? It is something that we we've already kind of started with. We're waiting for
065the policy committee to finalized which I think is tomorrow drastic develop district. There are good number of start. We have to look at our numbers of our students here in Taco. But >> the hard part, right? Um I do have a couple I do have a couple of questions. Um so last year um Scott and I had a meeting with um existing teachers and one of the things that came up as a an issue um for them where they felt made it a little bit difficult for um teaching their class um was that some of our academic policies um so my question is based on teacher feedback there are concerns that academic policiescl attendance, assignments, honors AP placement requirements and homework expectations were not being enforced consistently making it difficult to effectively teach and for
066students to retain information. So do you think that we should um consider changing these policies and if not how can we better strengthen the enforcement so that students are held accountable, expectations are clear and teachers feel supported. Um and I'm just going to start that off with The best outcome for students in all situations is where the parents, the students, and the school are all focused on making sure that that student succeeds. And when one part of that kind of lays back and doesn't really do their part, it becomes a challenge. It really has to be that all three are firmly invested in making sure that the student is going to succeed. It can't just be the schools the school should handle it or the handle it or the parents could handle it. It's got
067to be all three. So, understand that that's where I'm coming from. Um and and when you know in the absence of that, it doesn't matter what we do. Um but that was a a comment from from teachers um like they really feel that there's a a problem with policy and policy following policies and is it do we need to change it? You know what? I think we have to determine this philosophy that collaborative philosophy. I know we have to put enough practice to make that successful. So I can policy any way people want. I personally have moved away from gatekeeping and you know making sure that there are people over in order to get to certain classes but practice that I put in place was to make sure that the counselor, the teacher, the previous
068teacher, and an administrator are having a conversation with the student and the parent and everybody's coming together to have a common understanding of what the expectations of that class will be. And the problem really lies in that the teachers that you mentioned are so good and are still caring that it's against their nature. slow down and so that are the class and I don't mean that to be harsh We can't stop realize that person. I've never had any problem. I know the teachers when I first started everybody was consistent. That's right. You need to decide is it better for your child or do you want to do it for your child, but what's the goal? Where is your child? They might not want to see this. they might go through the 90. So that's all
069part of the conversation and the plan and again maybe you're not doing the one favorite part of the plan I think goes into It's not just instruction. [Music] station. child, you know, and they just feel that they should be taking that, but they really don't. And you know, there's that, you know, the disconnect between the child and the want the best for their child but they don't look at the child student you know they they get pushed and I think there are times that you know they speak parents really push a little too much I really do so many students over the years that's one of the dies I have and but they do it they really really work at it and And that's why you know really offers so much should be unless a
070very competitive college and and what to me that really is a big guy should play a big role as long as we keep it very individualized. Um, you know, there's times I've heard I've heard teachers say, you know, children shouldn't be taking five APs. Some kids should and some kids can and and really succeed at that. At the same point, you know, you do have some children who struggle, but if they want to take that AP and and the parents are willing to accept the fact that they that it's going to be a difficult course and their child is knows this is going to be difficult for them, then you know what we're doing and allowing them to take it is the right thing. But there are scenarios where we do have to say this
071is not an appropriate test for my child and you know even if even if my child wants to take it if he doesn't do well it is not on it is not on the school it is because you know it just isn't their interest sometimes this isn't really interest you know um >> interest right right the child really has to want to do it um and and they are really difficult conversations and listen society is a large part of schools these days will tell you you have to take the most rigorous courses in order to get into our schools. We want to see the most rigorous courses, but yet we want to see your GPA high. And you know, parents are parents are torn in all these different scenarios, but it's in the end it's
072what is going to make your child happy and not stressed and yet be able to succeed and go on to schools. They don't all have to be in schools. college standality that didn't have a great you know what I'm saying and that set them apart from somebody that's the difference between getting in somebody not getting in you know what I'm saying so there's so many different options um but just to get to your original point um some of the teachers you know brought that up to me as a concern um that you know we have we have standards you know for our honors classes but it must always follow and and that is the frustrating part. So if you're not going to follow them then let's just not have them. I don't think they're arguing
073either way. It's just let's just have the rules and know what are you >> this particular conversation did also um kind of go with the homework policy and that we were a little too lenient with the homework policy also and that that doesn't students successful college. I totally agree with um my own child that was the hardest lesson when he got to college was that due date is actually due date um and he didn't learn that here um policy and then we we make it even more than because we don't necessarily um and the other thing was you know they felt like excessive backism was an issue um and that you know the children just were not attending the class enough learn the material that they needed to learn. Um, you know, for various different
074reasons, but um that that the attendance policy was also kind of an issue that needed to be more and that's from the right that was monthly tomorrow. So, we're going to run the tomorrow and you know by month and that number that we're looking for at least increased because you know that they're right now they've only been in school for a month you know so I mean if you look at the state you're absent twice a month you're chronically optional >> you know it's only twice a month so some people have been asking four times already they're on Facebook if they know what I'm saying I've always used a pretty strict denial of credit policy even though that's not the ultimate goal to deny credit but to manipulate that to use that to leverage your
075tenant, you know, and and the tenant usually is always tied to energy. It's not just somebody wants to sleep. A lot of times there's something there's some other factor that needs to be addressed. You just need to figure out what it is. You know, sometimes you can choose a schedule based on a family situation. Um you can do different things. Um, but I've always done makeup time and just time requirements, whether that's after school or a Saturday school situation from 8 to 11 and they come in and they make up classes by doing work that they have to do uh for the course of it. It's never really been a tremendous issue um at least in my history. I'm not gonna say it's never happened, but I think if you hold to some of those
076guidelines, I think also for our district for the one hour of extra help from our instructional staff 7 to 12 or mandate to attend those strongly suggest that they struggling when they need to that they're taking advantage of the teachers who are after school for those time. That's important as well >> and that does also lead to success go to office go to you know that building that habit of you know go to your teacher before it's um a go a similar thought no I don't even know the answer to it you had thought about it when I was before earlier and I just hadn't thought about how great it's been that we increase the so much but I wonder because they're unintentional for a negative byproduct that fast you mentioned growing with how much
077you've added and I don't even know how that I'm just curious what you meant by that because I had a similar thought like is there is there something So I think like we mentioned, you know, because we're so small, every student matters so much when it comes to historical data to start looking at that is it anomaly or is it a time and until we start to see I think all year at least three year four years that's when we can start really looking and analyzing drilling down you know was it just you know a certain group of students that were as strong as another group or is it something bigger and I think that we have to get that data but I think it's any time you know a business increases their production right
078you go through certain points where you have to learn to function so I think that since we grew so much in a short time we have to let those processes start to work out. Um, you know, some of the things that we were speaking about, you know, possibly we now have a drop period. So that we want students if they are going to challenge and they want to try something after kind of like college, right? There's a certain point that you have to pull out otherwise it's no longer a shows on the transcript. So, you know, looking at that and I think doing an analysis of that overall in the next couple of years is going to be important. But I I think when students are starting to again some of those AP classes are
079now being put in in the ninth grade, right? And that's a big transition going just from middle school to high school in and of itself. And now you have, you know, the conraints of an AP course. And if you think about it, you you really only have September through April and then test. So you're really too much short, right? So now all of these different pieces and some students are are fully capable of other students challenge and realize you know what maybe I should have done. So I think that's going to be part of our process to see exactly how and this is where I think something that Mr. Roberts had um you know mentioned as well maybe we do offer something on a rotating basis. You know, these are all pieces that I think
080we have to look at. We have to be honest as we start to analyze that and then also figure out what is the best And I think the council has really tried to do a great job. the council meet with every student 9 through 12. A lot of schools, they don't see those kids until they're a junior, you know, and it's already two years on the transcript that, you know, you don't have an effect anymore. We have that benefit of being small. That's one of our our pros, right? Is that they can meet with the students early on, say, listen, what is, you know, what are your goals? What is it that you really want to achieve? and then start to >> is there is there we can make the um the ad drop period
081a little bit longer because um I do feel like two weeks is not that long. Um, and it's funny because um, some of my kids were like, "The class wasn't hard until the I dropped it was over and then it was hard, >> you know, not intentionally by the teachers, just oh well, now we're two weeks in and we're kind of like getting into gear." So, is there a way to make it maybe three weeks or four weeks where it's like, you know what, this really isn't for me and I need to step away. >> So, I think we can absolutely look at that. One of the considerations when we look at it is If they can't stay in that course, what is the alternative and are too far behind in that course, right? So
082that's why we don't want to create another problem by solving one problem. So all of that, you know, I think you know potentially looking at a couple extra days or an extra week I don't think would be but we can't go and that was something we learned over the years and that's why we is that we used to have a fiveweek period but by the time you know that didn't work out and go into the other class. We're already past the progress report. We're about to get into the market. >> Yeah. $200 and they got four college credits. How does that differ from class? >> So you have a dual credit course which means they're getting high school credit and they're getting college credit. Um so the teacher has to be certified by the university
083to teach the course. The teacher has to teach the curriculum that the college is using at that level. Um and so the certification sort of both ways and they're basically teaching the college course on a high school campus. Um and then the students take a $200 for the test and then if they get the requisite grade they have four credit on their you know they have a transcript you know that they took a four credit course that they could then take anywhere which again we I didn't go into it a lot but one of the things for consideration you know do we want to have dual credit program here do we want to stick with the 18 push the exam like their benefits to both right colleges like thinking right they know the rigor of
084those classes. Um they like to be able to compare students right in California to New York right they took the same exam so they can do that comparison um and but you know when you look at the cost of college right and you look at people's financial situation um they could take a lot of college credits if we had dual credit programs you know in junior junior year and they could significantly decrease what they would have to you know, when they do go to college and it would help them out um considerably. You factor that into college board changes, right? Used to be able to get three, right? That no problem. Now, a lot of them don't want threes. They want fours and five. Some schools if it's your major, they don't want that because
085now you got to take their, you know, 101 course, foundational course, you know, they don't want to give away free money, you know. So, everybody wants their piece of the pie, you know, so to speak. So, It's only getting worse and more competitive. But I do think, you know, we need to know what direction we want to go in so that we can look at the different pathways and make sure that students know what those are coming in. So, as you said, they need to be able to plan out this is what I'm taking here and here. This is what I intend to do. So, they can literally map it out, you know, see what the looks like. um Carnegie Melon Austin institution have four credits just sitting there not a lot of college we're
086not >> I think this situation was not foreseen and we're just fortunate that the teacher who we hired has these credentials and you know I really want to give her credit because she was the one that from day one was monitoring this and said, you know, proposed it, you know, to us, you know, really a great situation that >> Yeah, it was a great example where you know four times she got to know the students and said what are their strengths are they capable and you know she was able to assess them and she said yes they are great I'm glad to hear that students because one of the hard parts of that that is a college grade that will be on your college transcript going forward very hard to reverse Um, so when we
087talk about, you know, what do we want to do? Do we want to do dual credit or AP? I think the answer is really do both and offer both because AP I mean you're as long as I'm not going into the top tier or super private um you are going to public institutions they take anything which is fantastic um so and not just in New York state public um so you know you offer the APS you go in with credits and you can graduate um you offer the dual credit and you do well you can graduate both offer significant um advantages to to so I I don't think it's necessarily one or the other I think it's but again that same conversation be careful what you're enrolling this will have a serious impact So the
088council is focused on the seniors of the deadline. So seniors go to juniors typically there's a parent sign up and then they participate in there so they from that point. What are the We're glad to hear that you're looking at me because another great leadership. Now I can also do what I think reinforcement. I think that approach I can teach you communication. Um it it would probably increase the efficiency of some of the meetings that we have. Um because as of right now like we're trying to get to department and leave them you know in small groups but you know we all want to talk to everybody you know talk to everybody. So we have to kind of you know pick our battles and plan things out so that there's guidance in each department so
089that they're moving forward but they're not moving forward in silos. moving forward in the department, you know, where now there's some vertical alignment within the mapping that they're doing because if they just do poor map, they might say, "Hey, we're done." Well, if the maps aren't aligned and this one doesn't pick up this one off, you know what I'm saying? It doesn't get to where we need to go, then we have an issue and the maps don't really mean anything. So, it's not just the mapping, you know, the mapping with everything else that goes along with creating, you know, um, you know, a pretty effective and in a pretty rigorous program. You know, everything leads obviously to where we want them to be, but you have to start backward. It's like this is what we
090want our graduates to have what they need to talk about. This is how they're going to be successful in life. How do we get there? You know, we start all the way back and for us it would be great. So if there were someone you know to kind of you know in addition to know that we do wise or you know grade level things of that nature I think um one last thing is you know we talk so much about and everything but our region sports Um, personally I would like to see I feel like 85 and 100 is more headed to. I really don't like when you know we settle for the the 70s and the 65s. Um, it's not just about caring about getting the majority of the kids to level. Um, and
091so I would like to see that. And I'm just, you know, cur it's interesting that our 2019 scores are one and really fluctuated enough that's a sign of what did um to all students um and effects I think and and just teaching in general became a much better place to be for teachers for students for administrators for parents and that's across the um but you know what is their plan to fix and try to get us into that I think it's a combination to be quite honest with you. combination of, you know, making sure that the curriculum is tight, that instructional practices are diar, you know, and inclusive. And, you know, to me, another huge piece of this is the the lack of like grit and and resourcefulness that the students have, you know, because
092again, they were allowed to sit, you know, they were forced away, right? Just sit at home and we couldn't even get them to turn on the screen. You know what I'm saying? if somebody's there or somebody's not there, a blind screen. Um, so there's a lot of learning complex I think that that happens and there's a lot of habits that have to be broken. Um, and there's a lot of collaboration that has to happen, but we're all pulling in the same direction and that goes from, you know, the school community, us teachers, students, you know, and all the support groups that we have. So, um, I don't know that I can honestly give you a direct answer right now until I kind of see like, okay, the curriculum is great. That's tight. We're good there.
093Okay, we move on to the next piece. And and again, some of it is also going to be very individual, right? Because his problems might not be my problem. So, a lot of it is personal. And I will tell you that there are places just like Taco and people think, oh, not a community like this. And I guarantee you the worst of the worst is still happening. You know, there's still people that are being held out because they have to go to work for the family because they're worth more to the family making money than they are coming to school. And that's a travesty. But that's something very real that we have to fight. How are we fighting that? You know what I'm saying? Little things like that that come up in so many different
094ways um that make this job, you know, because you truly need a plan for every single and how you're going to approach them and what works for one may not work for not one other. So um you know they need to find a trusted adult they need all of those things that they can get so that we could build a team that's going to support and I think it's a large such personalized um you know and it's as I said before all that we have to offer our kids is really just absolutely amazing and it's one of the reasons again so sorry not to put this to an individual thing but we actually took my older son we did send him to a private school and then we brought him back to the events to
095come back we brought him back and he had a much better experience being here with sports with academics with clubs um and in the end you know he I'm going to tell you right now, the work was harder at Taco Bell and the teachers care more. And you know, and and it's like we've got so much to offer and we do a great job of it. And when you just look at the scores, I don't want people to think that we're not doing what we need to do. So, it would just be nice to be able to pull more people over onto that when you look at it like this. And you know, I think it goes back to your initial question. We need parents to truly partner with us to get back to school.
096That's something, you know, I speak to parents a lot. You know, when they're sick, it was a family emergency. But I think there's too many kids. I don't feel like we have to push. They have to I think taught us more than anything, if you're not here, you're really losing. Every day matters so much. So one day builds upon it. That's so I would just also really love to make a push with parents just trust us that we need that on time because these are skills that they're going to need for the rest of their lives. We can encourage and we can really promote that cooperation partnership. Great presentation. We have a little bit of you guys. You guys are excused. Sorry. and our business is going to be super quick. So, um, a motion
097to approve the consent agenda. Second, Scott. All in favor? Business of the board. Approve budget transfers. Resolve that the board of education of Unre School District approve the attached budget transfers for Medicare reimbursements. Do I have a motion? Second. Any comments? All in favor? Resolve that. The board of education of Tahoe University School District approve a contract with Hudson Valley Charter Services, Inc. for transportation to Sacred Heart University and amount not to exceed $1,500 for this onetime service. Uh motion second. Any comment? Looks like this came to us. Thank you. All in favorel recommendations result of the board of education approve personnel recommendations items A through E first second Scott. Um any discussion? All in favor? Okay, now we are off to board comments. Anybody have any comments? Come out. Come out for the home
098country. really is homecoming is such a huge community event. That's great. Superintendent comments together and really looking at the high school things they want to improve on more exciting groups teachers during That's how we're going to make games. That's how we're going to make sure that every student is taken care of. So, really excited as a team and next steps that we're going to do with it out there to the community on our website that'll be forthcoming in a little bit. So, a lot of the exciting things that are for motion to the meeting. Thank you very much. Good night.