001ations. We are now out of executive session and back in open session and I will turn the meeting over to Superintendent Kirby for awards and recognitions. >> Before I begin, I just want to see we have a very weird schedule because of uh election day. Do we have any AP scholars here? I don't think so. So, I am going to actually save my awards and recognition to our next board meeting because I want to be able to um recognize the many students who earned the AP scholar um distinction from last year. And I know as a as a a day where students are in school, they typically do not come to board meetings. So, we do have some students here. So, we do have a cadre member. >> Okay. So, if we move that to
002another date? >> Yes. So, >> do we have students here to report? >> Oh, before we do that, I do have some other things to celebrate. Sorry. >> So, um I would like to now recognize the front office and administrative staff at Roxboro Elementary School for achieving an outstanding [snorts] 100% completion on the parent annual update. >> Oh, WOW. [applause] The parent annual update is a process where families review and update essential student information each year. As of today, about 80% of our families across the district have completed the parent annual update, which makes Roxboro's 100% completion rate impressive. Reaching 100% completion demonstrates the dedication and teamwork of the Roxboro front office and administrative staff who made it possible by connecting with families one on one reflecting a genuine commitment to communication and student success.
003So we have the following members of the team with us tonight. Principal Shelley Pulling, administrative assistant Rick Vik >> Vica >> Vertica. Thank you. And I don't have my glasses on. Krishnan and attendant secretary Sheena Douglas. Please come to the front. [applause] That's pretty good, isn't it? >> Very much. Thank you. Oh, this isn't my >> Yes, it is. >> Sorry, I'm messing you up this meeting. >> Things are different this time around, aren't they? >> Nancy, should I wait for Metro Health, too? >> I I'm going to move Metro Health. We have another group of students. We're going to move Metro Health to the next month, too. Um, so finally, we're going to recognize our Tiger team members of the month for October. Your colleagues who nominated you for this recognition have shared these
004heartfelt words about you from Gar from Bombgardner Middle School, Phyisa Sanchez. Mrs. Sanchez is a phenomenal teacher. She is very patient, caring, and organized. The students enjoy being in her classroom and accept the fact that she is challenging but fair. Megan McMahon, board of education. Megan not only takes care of her day-to-day job within the district, but she also volunteers an enormous amount of time serving as treasurer of the high schools foundation. From Boulevard, Nathan Mulbach. Come on up. [applause] Is a pass he is a passionate, outgoing, serious, but patient teacher. His love for his students is evident by him constantly sacrificing his lunch and planning time to help his students regulate their emotions. Canterbury Elementary School. Hayden Kayen Conan Couns Hayden is extremely flexible and always willing to help anywhere he is needed. Hayden
005has created a good relationship with one of my kiddos and does a great job helping him and keeping him on task. from Fairfax Elementary School. The special education pair of professionals Marjan Ayatah Ayatali, Gia Glander Bishop, Cynthia Foster, Michael Green, Claire Hall, Natalie Harris, Elliot Hill, Deborah House, Lissa McKenna, Olivia Ray, and Akima Robersonson are some of the most amazing people at Fairfax. From Gity, Britney Salone. Miss Salone is in her fourth year OF TEACHING KINDERGARTEN. [applause] OKAY. SORRY. OH, you you guys are Fairfax, right? Okay. I I said your names too fast. Sorry. Uh, Miss Britney Salone. Miss Salone is in her fourth year of teaching kindergarten and has taken a new colleague under her wing to support his planning of instruction and understanding the developmental needs of his students. From Heights High School,
006Melinda Kales. Melinda is an amazing advocate for staff, students, and families. She is always willing to step up with when a need arises and truly has the best interest of her students at heart. From Noble Elementary School, Dana Bogus. Dana has been such an incredible support to me and so many others at Noble. As both the title one literacy lead and a resident educator mentor, she somehow manages to balance her leadership role with being approachable, patient, and downto-earth. from Oxford Elementary School, Michelle Manolio. Her flexibility and can do attitude is the stuff teammate dreams teammates dream of dreams are made of. She does her groups all day long and still manages to administer interim testing, plan for writing, and be a great resource to anyone who needs her from Rox Elementary School. Jordan Windham. Mr.
007Jordan Windham is a great addition to Roxell. He works in our MH classroom and he takes great care of the students. He is always positive and has a wonderful smile. And from Broxboro Middle School, Shenisha Austin. Miss Austin is a dedicated member of the sixth grade team at Roxboro Middle School and is always there when I need her. She goes above and beyond in all that she does, including designing certificates for our sixth grade awards assembly. So, we're going to ask our winners to come to the center. We're going to take a picture together. You guys will represent our winners. [laughter] Thank you. [applause] Okay. And now I am going to ask Kite High sophomore Jesse Bolan from the student cadre to give our student report. and thank you for being here on a day
008off. >> It means a lot. >> My pleasure. >> Uh good evening, Board of Education members, Superintendent Kirby, and Mr. Gainor, who >> Oh, no. Not here with us. Leam Oh, Mrs. Laam [laughter] >> is our new treasurer. >> Well, I will retired. >> We'll scratch this part out. [laughter] Uh my name is Jesse Bowling and I'm a sophomore at uh Heights High School as uh Miss Kirby so gratefully already mentioned. Um as a member of the superintendent's cadre, uh I'm here to give a brief report about what's happening at Heights High. Uh I am honored to be here this evening. Thank you for the opportunity. Uh first uh I would like to tell you about our athletic teams and provide an update uh about several upcoming events at High Thai. Um, first from our
009uh our athletics portion, uh we would like to give a congratulations to Cassidy Thompson and Jada Davis for qualifying for the state XC meeting. Uh this was the first uh in 18 years we haven't had one since 2007. Uh Heights had runners at the state XC meet. So quick round of applause. >> [applause] >> Uh at the state meet, Cassie Thompson finished uh 20th place, earning the first team all Ohio uh all Ohio honors. Uh Cassidy, who is a sophomore, uh her 20th place uh finished ties for the best ever at state XC meet. Her time of 18 minutes 34 seconds and 33 milliseconds is now the school's record. Both Cassie and Jada earned academic all Ohio awards. Another quick round of applause. >> [applause] >> Uh we would like to give a congratulations to
010the boys soccer team who finished uh district runner-ups. Uh this was the boys soccer team's first appearance at the district champion game in 12 years. >> Um our football team qualified for the state playoffs for the sixth straight year. Uh after a rocky start uh which I had witnessed um being in the marching band. Uh the team won five of their last six games to make the playoffs. Um, a special shout out to sophomore Harry Togo, who finished eighth at sectional golf tournament, which qualified him for the district tournament. Uh, here are a few important events that are happening at Heights High. Uh in the month of October, uh High Thai Senior's uh Eleanor Lover Lobers, excuse me, uh Gabriel Mahal Mal Malamemed and Lev McFarland were uh named National Merit Scholarship finalist based on
011their performance on the PSAT and have the opportunity to advance to the finalist level and qualify for the National Merit Scholarship of February uh 2026. Um, Heights High held a financial aid for college uh FAFSA in uh info night on October 7th in the uh high school's auditorium for seniors and their families and uh equivalent information night specifically for English learner families uh later in the month. The information uh that was presented can be found on the school's counseling page under the height uh the high schools section of district of the district website, excuse me. Uh the Heights Career Tech hel held their third annual fall in love with CTE fair on October 18th. The event showcased the opportunities and bene benefits of the career and technical education CTE programs through hands-on CTE demonstrations and
012information booths. Uh Heights High's National Honor Society uh lunch tutoring returned during October and will take place during all three lunch periods every Monday uh Monday through Thursday in the high school's library. Each day we will have a highlighted focus like how to create effective planners and organizationers, excuse me, organizers hosting a writing lab and how to access and use resources develop and develop your study skills. Uh but students can come in any day for help with any subject. This past weekend, uh, Heights High presented the opening performance for the fall musical, Leame Mezal, uh, uh, for four performances. Over 200 students, actors, and singers from elementary, middle, and high schools, instrumentalists, and stage crew have come together to prepare to prepare for and perform in Heights High's production of the award-winning and inspiring story.
013Tickets are available for the November 8th and 9th performances and can be purchased at uh Cleveland Heightsquoires.com. A little side note about that, uh Cassidy, who I mentioned earlier, and myself are both in the pit orchestra for the musical. So can say it is a definite fun experience. [laughter] Um uh during the month of November, tomorrow, November 5th, uh will be Heights High's parent teacher conferences from 2 to 8:00 p.m. Conferences are in person and will be held in the cafeteria and media center. School will be over at 1:26 for students. Uh the instrumental music department uh invites the Heights community uh to their fall concerts on November 19th and 20th at 700 p.m. in the Heights uh Heights High School's main auditorium. Uh the Wednesday concert will feature performances uh by the Heights High
014Symphony, Philarmonic Strings, and Concert Orchestra. And the Thursday concert will uh feature performances from Symphonic Band uh Symphonic Wind, Symphonic Bands, and Concert Band. uh and the jazz ensemble. Doors open at 6:30 and there is no cost for admission. Thank you so much for your time and have a wonderful night. >> Thank you so much, Jesse. [applause] >> Thank you, Jesse. >> Jesse, I just have to say I've seen a lot of of uh student conre speakers give us an address and an update, and that was by far one of the most impressive. Uh you're a natural public speaker, and if you're not, you sure practice and make it look natural. Well, let me tell you that Jesse was one of the four students who came down to testify in Columbus before the Senate Education
015Committee. He has experience with this. >> Yeah. >> Great job. >> Thank you so much. Now, I want to say it's a pleasure to see you again, Miss Lewis. >> Likewise. >> That's just the best. >> Okay, so next >> is our requested audience. Yes. So, Tiff Phenise Scrugs, the microphone is yours. >> Okay. >> Thank you. >> So, Jesse, I am just in awe by you. Did you leave already? >> All right. Well, heck with that. >> So, he know it's his day off. >> All right. It's his day off, so he's allowed to to scurry out. >> And he dressed up for this, too. >> But yes, he did. But folks, ju just a reminder, that's our future. That's our Tiger Nation youth. All right. Uh my daughter, I'm the mom of Jayla
016Scrugs, also a member of Superintendent Kadres's group. So, I just want to pay homage to all of you. Um I've been a resident for 20 years, but I was asked by my close friend >> uh Fred. Uh no, no timer on this one. This isn't normal public comment. >> Yeah. Yeah. That's Sorry. >> Oh, I was about to say, does that mean I'm cut off already? >> No, no, no, no. It's okay. Let >> All right. Okay. Uh but Phil, Phil and I have had an opportunity to work together when Phil was a colleague at the Greater Cleveland Food Bank. And so he asked me to come and just share a few updates. There are many, but I will be brief and try to be concise because this is very complex in terms of the
017current state um of our community. So I'm Tiffany Scrugs. Uh for those of you who have not met, there are many partners in the room as well. I represent the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, serve as the proud executive director for our new community resource center that we opened two years ago as an effort to address food insecurity through collaboration. There are 17 total nonprofits colllocated there. And so we're doing a lot of great work and seeing increased need every day. Uh and also serve as our vice president of community access. Have been on staff for about nine years. So thank you to the partners in the room. I don't know if Metro made it or not, but thank you to the district for partnering with us as you all help us distribute food in our
018communities. So, I just want to begin uh on the overall current shutdown in terms of the number of neighbors in our community that we are worried about. Uh prior to the shutdown, we were worried about 30,000 neighbors in our community that would lose immediate access to SNAP as of November 1. and that was dedicated um or related to changes amongst policy as it relates to uh requirements around work. So actually reporting that you're working. We know that 77% of families are working in Ohio. Uh and so there's some myths around who's working and who's not. And so but now the increased administrative burden will cause families to be kicked off of the benefits particularly focused on SNAP for 2026. I won't even go down the Medicaid rabbit hole right now. We we really want to
019be intentional about the changes that are taking place now and the impact upon our communities that we're seeing now. So now that the the government is shut down and while there are conversations in terms of benefits that will be released, we know that communities like Cleveland Heights and University Heights, there are some pockets of the community that have at least 40% SNAP households represented in our backyards. So, we're also being a free uh breakfast and reduced lunch community eligible community. We know that that means in many areas 60% of youth are living in poverty. So, what's happening now? They're without their SNAP and they're coming to school hungry. And so, our job has been to educate and provide facts in terms of changes. We know that there will be changes for our seniors. For example,
020ages 55 to 64 will have to now report their work requirements. some of our caregivers, our grandparents, taking care of our children will have some some additional support that's needed. So, going to the Heights Resource Center and the libraries as another community partner is my suggestion so that folks can get hands-on assistance. Uh we are also worried and and are concerned about our refugees and immigrant immigrant families, excuse me, as we know 4,200 households across Kaoga County has lost benefits already. And so, um, there's a lot of conversation in terms of available resources that might exist, uh, because there's just a lot of threats to those populations currently. So, just wanted to highlight in addition to the 190,000 Kyhoga County residents that we're concerned about, we know that there's a trickle down impact. So talking
021to our board members on Dave's and other retail partners, we know that that's $35 million in SNAP revenue, which when we think about in certain communities, that could have a catastrophic impact, right? That could lead to job loss in those in the retailers, some of our parents work in those stores. And so just to be mindful to talk to your staff, all personnel about the increased need amongst all levels, but I'm here focused on food insecurity. So, I did bring a list of available zip code resource sheets. Nancy, you're welcome to take all of them. Leave a small amount here, whatever the foot traffic is like that provides 44118 and 44121 specific community zip codes where families can go and and access food resources. But I also bought information. We have just a three QR
022code document. You know, we love a QR code, folks. So, if you need to take time and help our seniors or someone that's not understanding how to access that QR code, please take 45 seconds and do so. But we have um our community resource center and information. We have not marketed that we have expanded hours. But we are serving twice as many people every day. To give you a sense, our traditional foot traffic was about 250 households a day. Today, we serve close to 500 and we were uh operational an additional three hours. So this is just trying to serve the amount of people that are coming to us in need. Cleveland Heights historically has been about the 10th top community that has visited that location and I'm happy to check currently if they're still
023in the top 10. So just to talk about the food insecurity rates that we're seeing at the local level. Uh so we have our our our food locator map. So, that's another option for our QR code that you can go right in on our website, put in your zip code, and it will populate all of the available resources. That can be a staff person, that can be a family in need. If you know someone in need, you can help provide that connection as well. And so, I do have documents or takeaways to make sure that in that information is flowing and available. And lastly, we've operated a call center for about 13 years. and I have information about our QR the QR code that leads to our health center. We're available Monday through Fridays 7
024am to 6 pm and we also have Spanish speaking staff. I realize we're a very diverse community. Um so once again assistance might be needed there but we do have translators in terms of over the phone support. So that's a lot of information in a small amount of time. I'm happy to send a followup in terms of more in-depth details and data in terms of the federal worker breakdown and what we know folks are have already missed two and some in some cases three paychecks. And so we know that families are in need. We are seeing more firsttime families come to our doors, come to our partner network than during the pandemic. >> So hate to be the bearer of bad news, that is just the experience of what we're faced with right now. but
025wanted to also highlight how we can make sure that our neighbors are able to uh make it through these times. For any of you who know individuals who are accessing benefits such as SNAP, that's food stamps. Please encourage to uh have individuals update their information. We're finding so much churn because people are moving. As we know, we can sometimes have a transient population and they're missing important correspondence because they're so mobile. And so if you know a family is moving or has moved newcomers and they're applying, please just be mindful of updating that communication. You can visit the um Ohio benefits banks, not bank, Ohio benefits website. They have a self-service portal, but there is one additional step actually too. So now you have to create what's called the multifactor authentification in Ohio ID. So
026there's like three steps to access the statewide portal to access benefits. That is the way of the world. Uh there's also a call center number that sometimes has high call volume, how high call high call weight times. >> So that's what I have. Yes, start. I know that's a lot. Malia, please. >> So more people are in need and they need more help to access the benefits they have the right to. >> Yes. If they're not >> the system is more complicated. if they're not readily [clears throat] available to access technology or have the skill set to navigate it. It is challenged for even our our our team as well. >> Right. Okay. >> So, helpers helpers helpers. >> I appreciate you um mentioning the economic and workforce impact that this has because I think
027a lot of us may not realize that, you know, that some retailers that SNAP is a large point portion of their revenue, right? Um and if they don't have that revenue then they will have to start to lay off workers um and it will impact the workforce. Um definitely thank you for making that connection. >> Absolutely. Just last year according to you know the grocerers association when SNAP supported 389,000 jobs that generated 20 million 20 billion excuse me in wages and so just to put that at scale. >> Yeah. Um, Tiff, thanks for thanks for coming tonight. Uh, like Tiff mentioned, her and I were were co-workers for a number of years and and I considered her to be a dear friend. You also omitted the fact that your daughter is Jayla Scrugs, the famous
028Heights High senior. Uh but >> sorry with all the pomp and circumstance out of the way for a family uh a Heights family who has been participating in the SNAP program who now has lost access to that benefit for who knows how long. Um if they were to come down to the food bank uh into the the Waterl location, the community resource center, um can you just give like a quick like what does the process look like for someone who's never been there before and might be apprehensive? >> Thank you, Phil. So we our community resource center is located on East 152nd in South Water. So 15500 South Waterlue. We have jobs Kyhoga County jobs and family services workers on site there 3 days a week. Tuesdays through Thursdays uh 8:30 to 4:30 p.m. They
029can literally be a walk-in. There's no appointment needed. Now they generally have two to three case workers available and once again they're able to access their translation services as well. Um, we encourage folks that have documentation or if you don't, don't let that be a distraction. Um, so we will guide you through the process. Our staff is there to serve as statewide application assisters and we have those folks there doing approvals even during the shutdown because it is policy that folks have the right to file. So if someone wants to apply for benefits right now, we are not we are still encouraging folks to apply for benefits. So the change that we know is that folks will have to demonstrate that they're working or in volunteer or training program at least 20 hours a week.
030That is the huge change that is creating that additional administrative burden for our our friends at our jobs and family services across all 88 counties, but particular in our metro counties. And so we know just that amount of additional paperwork and requirements folks now having to reverify once the shutdown is is all figured out. um it will be additional additional strain and to report those work requirements that increases the likelihood that that people will be kicked off of the benefit >> and to pick up food. What's the process? >> Yes. And so 200% or below the federal poverty guidelines. So a for a family of three that's about $53,000. That is the eligibility. We go by self addestation. So, we will verbally ask if your household is below this income threshold based on the number
031of people in your home. Uh, and then that is the process. You don't have to show proof of income. Um, we also ask that you have your identification, but if you don't, that is not a barrier either. >> Thank you. >> That also at the location includes a me a Metro Health federally qualified healthcare clinic. We know food is medicine. health is we need to be mindful of social determinance of health and so their clinic is now operational 5 days a week there as well at the location hence the one-stop shop concept. >> Awesome. Oh, >> thank you. >> Question from the audience. >> And could you repeat the question for the >> Sure. So the in order to Thank you. to donate food. Um, we ask that all food donations are dropped off at
032our partner distribution hub located at 13815 quite road. That is where we focus all of our packaging for our different hunger relief programs. And thank you for asking that. Actually, I meant to recognize that. So, a number of you um have asked how you can help distribute more food. Cleveland Heights is a great example. If you're able to increase your days of distribution, um that's an opportunity to think about just ways to increase depending on your capacity. We understand that. Okay. Anyone else? >> Thank you, T. >> Thank you. >> Okay. Thanks so much. >> So, I'll leave the Okay. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. N and if if Nancy could come up and talk about uh our uh resource center. >> Yeah. I'll just leave that whole folder and I'll get out your
033way >> and I'll go sit in the back. Good to see you. I'm not gonna sneak out yet. >> Okay. [laughter] >> Okay. Hi everyone. I'm Nancy Pepper. I'm the district supervisor of community and school partnerships and I along with my teammates Lisa Hunt, Sabrina Ali, and uh Tanil run the Heights Family Resource Center which is at the Dial Building. It's been open for a little over a year. And we have non-p perishable food available, clothing, um household supplies, the more expensive things like laundry detergent and household cleaners. Um and then personal supplies like sanitary products, body wash, those types of things for families to tide them over for a few days. We can't meet all the need, but um we have those items available. And um I think I said clothing, but clothing. Um
034and we partner with the food bank. The food bank does make donations to us occasionally. And um most importantly, we partner with other providers in the community and refer people out who need help with things that the district can't help with like um utility assistance, rent assistance um to Metro Health for health care, all of those kinds of things. And our funds are all handled by the Heights Schools Foundation. So there's a special fund within the Heights Schools Foundation for the Heights Family Resource Center. Um and we also accept donations of food and clothing and those household items. I'm really excited to to share, you know, with all of this sadness that we're all feeling about our neighbors and our friends and and others who are experiencing food insecurity and other economic hardship. Um, I
035shared just on my personal Facebook page a few weeks ago about the HFRC and the need for donations and it's been shared by so many different people. Not because I wrote any amazing thing, but I think this is the community we live in. people really want to help and want to support. And in the last 3 weeks, we've we've received over $3,000 in donations to the Heights Family Resource Center Fund within the um schools foundation and probably over $5,000 worth of items have been shipped directly to us or brought to us um uh shipped to us from our Amazon wish list, which is available on the website if anyone wants to go to that. And then we're partnering with the PTA. They are collecting food at all of our buildings and at the Heights Libraries.
036And just today, um, I met, uh, PTA, the president of the PTA council, Shandre Ford, at the HFRC, who had to pick up large amounts of food from the library. And she only dropped the main library on Lee Road. She only dropped the box off on Friday. So, people really want to help, but um I'm so glad you asked me to say something. Not just because we're asking for support from the community, but I want our families to know to call us and to email us and to come in. We also share the Heights Libraries puts together a monthly food calendar in addition to the one that you have, Tiffany. I'm assuming it's a lot of overlapping information, but with all of the different distribution sites in the community. So, we share that with our
037families. Um, but I want our families to call. So, call or email us at hfrcchu.org. >> Thank you. And question from the audience. >> Hi, my name is Right. >> She told me that and I'll just repeat that for you because the audience can't hear that on TV. No, no, no. on video um that the the Noble um student council is going to be collecting food and Shandre Ford did share that with me and I'm so glad you you connected with um Tanal because you know the more we can get our students involved in this the better too but >> that's what's also being sensitive to those families who aren't able to donate but we want to make it >> Yeah. So, thank you for that. It's great. And our our staff and our um
038community has been amazing. So, it makes me feel so much better when I hear this sadness. >> Yeah. >> Thank you. >> I saw I read online uh someone uh wrote, "The only reason that we should be looking at other people's plates is to make sure they have enough." And that's, you know, in this this time, that's what we got to do. So, thank you. >> Yep. I agree. I loved that. Some of the items we received today were um cake mixes and sprinkles and frosting. >> Yeah, >> people still are having birthdays. >> Yep. >> Yeah. >> So, thanks. >> Yeah. >> Thank you. >> So, now I [clears throat] think we're ready to look at the consent agenda. May I have a motion to consider the consent agenda? I motion that we consider
039the consent agenda. >> Second. >> M. Leel. >> Mr. Turbo. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Grenaw. >> Yes. Miss Lewis. >> Yes. >> And we have meeting minutes, new appointments, congratulations to somebody who got married and changed her last name. Um, anything [snorts] unusual? Any comments? >> Pretty quiet one. >> It is a quiet one. >> None from me. >> Yeah, none here. >> Okay. So, Miss Leam, >> do we approve the consent agenda? >> I make a motion to approve the consent [laughter] agenda. That means it's your turn, Phil, to second it. >> Uh, I second and but also I did did have one comment. I'm really excited that uh we have a bowling head coach. I saw some scuttlebutt on social media that we needed more people to sign up for bowling so they'd
040have enough people to field a team and I sounds like they did. So, congratulations to our bowling team. >> Excellent. >> And I second. >> Mrs. Krenshaw. >> Yes. >> Mr. Treble. >> Yes. >> Miss Lewis. >> Yes. Thank you. Okay. Now, >> Superintendent Kirby, back to you. >> I am going to ask our summer program to come up and present first so that you all can share the summary and welcome to stay at the board meeting if you'd like, but if not, uh you can continue into your evenings. [snorts] And I think Kaya has Oh, you have that up. >> Oh, no. They have control of the computer. >> Good evening. >> Good morning, members. Thank you so much for having our awesome summer school team here to present some of our summer school
041highlights. I am Lisa Hussein and on behalf of the summer school team we have Mr. Ahmad Allen. He was our dean of students and he'll be speaking on behalf of the middle school programming and also our wonderful assistant uh Teronda Ward. She was our um summer school administrative assistant and she will be speaking on behalf of the high school. Dr. Watson and uh Miss Bitner were not able to be here today. So they are going to speak on their behalf. Okay. Okay. Thank you. All right. So our summer school uh theme was the heights united in learning. Over the summer, students in grades 2 3 5 8 and all high school uh 9 through 12 participated in summer school programs at the high school. So those were our leadership team for summer school. We just
042did the introductions. So, the summer school programs consisted of Tiger Camp, which was second and third grade. We had a six-week program starting June 9th and went through July 18th. The academic focus was on reading, phonics, and mathematics. And it was by invitation only based on um OST scores and uh map data. Uh the middle school bridge program was grades five and eight. That fifth grade was actually elementary school, but we considered them middle schoolers because they were transitioning to sixth grade. >> Um they also had the six week opportunity to focus on ELA, mathematics, science, and social studies um based on whether they had a failing grade in any of those areas or not. Um for those students who only had one failing grade, we created a bridge course for them so that they
043can stay the entire morning um that focused on character strong seal um lessons, social emotional learning, and just some team building. The high school summer program uh was the egeneuity credit recovery for those students who may have failed a course or more. and um they also were able to come in and fulfill a lot of their uh graduation requirements over the summer. There were uh several additional summer programs housed at the high school over the summer. Um they are listed here. We had summer gear up and educational talent search. We had a music camp the first week um well second week in June. Camp Invention was held uh for two, no, one week in July. The extended school year program support for any students that were on IEPs or in the special education department. We
044had the K2 IEP small groupoup student support. There were about six or seven um kindergarten, first and second grade students who needed additional support to fulfill their IEP goals that we um housed at the high school. And also Camp Jumpstart, which was at the buildings, not at the high school, but that was like the two weeks before school started to kind of get those students a head start on the school year. So, in terms of Tiger Camp for second and third grade, we had a total of 124 students um who registered and enrolled in the six-week program. We had teacherto student ratios on average of about 12 to 1. Within those classrooms, there were um pair professionals. Each grade level had an instructional specialist and a parah to push in and also do small groupoup
045pullouts. And I want to say that we also worked with Bob Swagger with his youth opportunities unlimited uh high school workers. So, we had about was it about four or five um Cleveland Heights High School high schoolers come in and they worked with our classroom um teachers to provide extra support. And what was nice is that they um expressed an interest in continuing their uh education as a as uh teaching. They wanted to go into teaching. So, it was nice to kind of light that spark. In terms of attendance, um, overall out of our 124 students, about 67% attended at least 14 or half the days or more. The 33% that attended less than 13 days include students who either never showed up or maybe their parent withdrew them within the first week. It just
046wasn't a good fit. So overall, 67% of the students um attended at least half the days or more, which is an improvement from last year. It's about 7% improvement. In terms of our data, our pre and post data for phonics, overall second and third grade students did show an improvement in their um phonics abilities. What is a slight discrepancy is you'll see that the number of students pre-ested is always higher than the number of students receiving the post test. So that kind of skews the data a little bit, but overall there was growth shown. The same can be said for the writing component. Overall, we see increases of 24.6% and 13.6% in their growth for second and third graders in their writing. And the trend continues with math. Uh 33.4% 4% increase and 10.7% increase
047in math growth for second and third grade. We had the opportunity to conduct summer OST testing for third grade students who did not meet the third grade reading guarantee. So that means they didn't have a proficiency score of 700 or higher. So what we did is took a look at those um reading subc scores and those students who had a subcore of 46 to 49 50 would have given them that proficiency score. We targeted those students um both in Tiger Camp and not in Tiger Camp. So, our wonderful school counselors Conrad Stewart and Heather Haim made phone calls to about 55 families to invite them to come and participate in a two-day um OST testing event. You'll see that our numbers, you can go to the next slide. We had uh 48 students test over
048those four or over those two days and we are proud to say that 12 made proficiency. This is um a 12 uh numbered jump from last year. No one made proficiency last year. So 12 made proficiency and overall 28 students showed growth. So, we're pleased to say that what is that? 58% of those students tested either showed growth or met that proficiency score. These are just some snapshots from during the six weeks of our time together. We have our paras at the bottom. Some student groups engaged in learning. Have another slide of that. some of our staff and just our overall Tiger Camp successes and opportunities. Our highquality instructional materials proved to be um very valuable in showing and um allowing students to grow. Staff and family communications. We had a lot of staff and
049family positive feedback which is linked in the um two bottom bullet points. Very minimal behavior concerns. Most um behavior issues were handled by the teacher in the classroom. Very rarely did they need to come down to see me at all. Um phone calls home seemed to be very helpful to kind of get kids back on track and they wanted to be here. So just the threat of them needing to leave was enough to kind of correct behaviors. Um our community partners, we had communities and stu schools come in as well as Heights Libraries. We had the youth opportunity unlimited workers. We had a lot of hands and a lot of support this summer. So it was overall very positive experience for not only the students but the staff and families. All right. >> Who knew
050that children would want to come to school in the summer, right? Isn't that [laughter] Isn't that wonderful? >> So, for the middle school, um we had a total of 100 students who attended our program. Again, it was for grade levels for fifth grade again going to sixth grade and then our eighth graders. Uh each classroom had a designated teacher, a pair of professional, a eighth um and eighth grade had a must um MUS and must student CSU program teacher there as well. Um I'm a former MU student so that was cool to see that uh that program participated. So thank you to Dr. Towns for that. Um intervention specialist was also supported um for students in two grade levels. So our attendance um we had strong attendance for our middle school program. As you see
051um 83% of our students um was there for most of the program. uh we had a total of um 100 kids who attended and we only had that's uh 17% of 13 went 13 or less. For our discipline data um we had a total of 10 incidents throughout the uh summer program. Uh for fifth grade we had no student removals and we had four student removals for eighth grade. Again that was kind of like my role in the summer session. I really focused on a three- strike policy because the goal was to keep students there and also to provide opportunities for them to correct behavior if needed. Um most kids didn't make it to that second strike. So, you know, it was uh pretty good in that way. But just making sure being hands-on, building
052relationships with the students, was there for all meals to make sure that uh you know, they had that connection with us during that time. The expectations were clearly communicated to students and families during this time. Looking at our phonics data, as you see, we had a 5% increase in uh the number of students. Different from the elementary school data, our data wasn't really that skewed as you see, like it's pretty close together with the students who started out with the number for pre and post. So, we had a pretty solid uh performance there. For our math uh data, we had 11% and 20% increases. Uh slight schooling skewing there uh because we had less students participate in fifth grade but we had more participated in the post in the eighth grade for our middle school
053grades. Uh you see here all but four classes uh passed. Um you know I wanted to kind of explain more kind of why we utilize the pass and fail for science. Um the decision to use a pass and fail was for a summer school was kind of based off of the fact that the the way the class was structured. Students were assessed on their participation, engagement in group projects, and completion of posters and hands-on activity rather than traditional test and quizzes. Um you know, the purpose of this one is to kind of get the kids used to the biology course they were going to go into in the ninth grade year. So it was more hands-on, more focused on participation, group work, and uh kind of joining in with the teacher in the instruction process.
054Uh so the past uh failed grading felt most appropriate for accurately reflecting student effort and participation. the next slide. As she stated with our youth opportunities unlimited students, like I had the pleasure of kind of being their supervisor and uh this group of four students, we got really close throughout the time in the summer. And um the best part about it was like having, like she said, two of those students come and express a desire, not just like, oh, I want to do this, like a strong desire to want to come back next year and work with these students. And it's like I think it could become a great pipeline for our students to work in this program in the summer and not just one summer but throughout the process as they're in high school
055to continue to build those relationships and um work with this population and just see their skills grow. Like I saw kids just really connect with the younger kids. Next slide. Here go some of the snapshots. One of the things I want to point out here, if you look at that picture in the uh in the auditorium, that bridge program was very beneficial for our eighth grade students. Like for our eighth grade students to get a chance to come in contact with high school like administrators and teachers and guidance counselors. It really gave them kind of like a a preview of what they were going to expect in that freshman year. And it's like we look forward to doing that more in the future because I found that very beneficial for students. So it wasn't like
056a shock when they came to the freshman as freshmen into the program. and plus that staff already got opportunity to build relationships and rapport with those students as well. Now, uh the highlight, one of the highlights was our next slide was our eighth grade promotion. I think this was a huge motivator for a lot of our students to stay committed to the summer program because uh that was a great event um to be able to celebrate them, celebrate their accomplishments, have their families come out. Um it was a joyous occasion. We had a blast doing that and putting that on for our students. Oh, sorry. Our opportunities. Um, so we had the 95% completion rate, which we were very proud of. Um, you know, the bridge impact program. I think that's just something that we
057can continue to develop out, continue to add different things to like kind of make it more of a um hands-on experience, but like also build more opportunities probably for them to be able to venture out into the school to see the different areas and locations to kind of make it more intimate in that way. um the MU students. Again, thank you to Dr. Toms for involving them and assisting our eighth grade students and giving them that um experience, those MU students in the classroom, working with students, our student attendance, and obviously our uh promotion ceremony. I think it was really was a great way to cap out the summer. >> Thank you. Thank you. [cough] Okay. Hello. So, I'm not a public speaker. I'm more of a performer. Um, so [laughter] so but I'm going
058to give you these details as best as I can. So when we take a look at the summer high school attendance, you will see that 68% attended uh for 14 or more days. Um, we were down 32% but um, one I'll tell you one thing about the high schoolers is they came in ready. If they needed a Chromebook, they were ready to do their work. So they showed that dedication to wanting to be there and get that work done. Um this number includes students who were who never attended or withdrew within the first two weeks which was 30 students. Um when you take a look at the grades for uh 9th through 12th graders um you'll see that 82 81.2% of the classes were attempted by 111 students. Um, and you will notice, take a
059look at the grades, where 87, well, I'm sorry, I said that already. Um, 111 students received a passing grade. Um, going down to our grade distribution, 173 individual classes were passed. Um, out of a total of 213, I see here where there were um no grades um or grades of an F due to non-attendance. Um, moving on to summer school graduation. This one felt personal. Um, this young man came in after sometimes working to 12:00 at night at Wendy's in Parma. >> Wow. >> In Parma. >> He took an Uber >> from the high school to work and from work to home and would go home. We could see it. he would go home and do his work. Um you see the picture, there were four um students there. He took seven courses this summer
060in order to pass 12th grade to to move on. And we got word that he's doing really well. He's enrolled in another program. So it does show that these students are dedicated to um and committed to doing better. Um some of the summer successes in high school opportunities we show 86% of students enrolled in summer school earned at least one semester credit. 173 semester credits were earned. Um I mentioned tally one student took and past seven semester um classes to graduate. Each class was about 30 to 35 hours. um for students participated in summer graduation and there was only one behavior concern which is awesome. Um so opportunities for growth um would be to identify students deficient in credits a little bit earlier. Um 14% enrolled in summer school did not earn any credits and
061technology and platform use were issues like an edgy pro highlight or a need for stronger digital safeguards. moving into summer programming partners. Um some of the partners were Heights Libraries, um the summer reading program and Kids Food Bank. Um the youth services department at Leo Library as mentioned earlier provided brain breaks for the final week. Um grades two and three read aloud and discussion. Um it was social emotional learning focused. Uh grade five there was some guided journaling activities with goal settings. Um, it promoted so summer reading programs and encouraged library card signups, which is an amazing thing since anytime a student wants to take out books or utilize the library, it shows that they're going beyond what's expected. Um, Cleveland uh kids food bank, excuse me, book bank provided free books to all summer
062school participants. And one of the things we want to mention is partnering with local with the local library for summer programs is a highly beneficial strategy for students offering a wide range of positive impacts on their academic, personal and social development. These collaborations are designed to combat the summer slide. Sometimes students were exposed to what was offered at the libraries at summer u reading programs and after speaking to the library staff numerous numerous uh kids went to the library to sign up. So that's awesome. um for Camp Invention which was at the um Cleveland Heights High School this summer. Um the dates ran from July 21st through 25th through the 25th. There were 46 students enrolled for Cleveland Heights University Heights staff and teachers and one of them served as a director. Five student interns.
063Um, three of them were from Cleveland Heights University Heights, two from Bumgardner, one from Rocks Middle School, and two from other school districts. And this program was managed by Takara Ray. And oh, Lisa, that's your part. I'm sorry. >> That's okay. >> You just kept going. >> I did. So, part of those uh camp invention STEM activities are listed here. So they during that week that they were together, they had an opportunity to complete an illusion workshop, a claw arcade, a penguin drop, and an in control um control panel that explored GP GPS and AI. Wow. So the next slide shows just some pictures of the projects that the students were working on. And that is the end of our presentation. We'll take any questions. >> I just have one question. Do you all continue
064to track the students um who participated in the summer program as to how they're doing with in the first quarter or informally? I do. I just kind of kind of take my list and look through Infinite Campus at their student profile to just see where their grades are, what their attendance is looking like and what their behavior is. So, informally that's being done, but it would be nice to kind of formally have something set up so that we can follow the student, >> especially for the ninth graders who did the um summer >> bridge. Yeah. Program too. Well, then I think it also you can use it as part of your marketing to families and you can, you know, say these students, you know, are now proficient here and, you know, this is evidence that
065this program works. >> Absolutely. >> Yeah. >> Well, we're going to we'll capture that. I want to capture that, too. So, I'll just add that as a next step for my team. >> Um, thank you all for the incredible work that you do. Uh, especially the work that leads to the summer promotion and summer graduation. I mean, the the the I don't want to say regular graduation, but the standard graduation, you know, that that happens in the spring is really cool and it's big and everything, but there's something a little extra special about celebrating the kids that put in the extra sweat equity over the summer to to get it done. >> Absolutely. >> Uh and and uh you could tell how proud they were and how proud their families were. >> Yes. >> And
066it's just it's a it's a great moment uh to be part of this district. It was the first of um the eighth grade ceremony and we hope to continue that and it was >> the eighth grade ceremony was quite wonderful because we were able to welcome these kids. You are now high school students. You did what you needed to do, you know, and >> there's a lot to be proud of. >> But similarly, the high school summer graduation is always extremely moving because those are the students who persevered when they could have just given up. Absolutely. >> And it it always makes me so proud to see those kids. >> This is the first year ever that I've missed the summer graduation. [laughter] >> That means that next year you still owe us one. >>
067I owe you one next year. Okay. Just [clears throat] give me the date so I can put it in my calendar. >> I definitely will. >> So, thank you all. Um, the more we bring our younger students into the high school, the better. the more time they spend in that environment, learning with high schoolers as helpers and getting to know the people who work at the high school. All of this is part of building community so that they then have a better experience once they reach that ninth grade. Um, and the bridge programs for the transition years are incredibly important for the fifth graders and the eighth graders because that change of building comes with a change of expectation and developmentally they have to like rise up to higher expectations and the bridge program helps
068that happen more smoothly. So, thank you very much. >> Thank you. >> And Mr. Alan, you mentioned the YOU students um and how many of them express interest in teaching. This might be also a good opportunity to start to plant the seed of the grow your own program um so that you know we can just you know keep growing um and eventually bring those students back to the district. >> Thank you all. Thank you so much. >> That was like a mini work session. >> I love it. [laughter] >> Yeah. Yeah. >> So, I uh will share my superintendent report for uh the month of October and um I sorry Kath I should ask you. Yeah. Um as Kathan loads it um and I'll talk to the points that'll be um put on the screen.
069Um I have been doing um meetings with all of our buildings just to kind of share our academic performance from last year. Um I have two more schools to go, but it's been good to kind of get out and talk to teachers, answer questions, and uh share some areas of focus and things you want to continue to grow on. Um we did get our AP performance and have um I think it's 69 AP scholars as we did last year. We will be celebrating um those students at our December board meeting. Our academic services department also began their learning walks. They will continue those learning walks through December. They visit classrooms so that they can understand how our HQIM are being implemented. The instructional strategy uh strategies that teachers are using uh for effective instruction. It
070helps inform um feedback that they give to the building leadership teams and it also informs their professional development. Connected to that uh we have had clarity for learning professional development again happen with um over uh 160 teachers um who have not participated in this process. So it continues in year two and I know we've had some board members visiting classrooms and we've seen some of that clarity work in >> and there was clarity sessions today during professional development as well. >> Correct. >> So yes >> that's great. Um we had uh during the day that the sophomores and juniors took the PSAT, we did have some post-secary sessions for our seniors to support them um in that process. And uh for our juniors in the college and career readiness class, they visited the Northeast Ohio
071ESC and participated in the E forme event where they're able to get information about education, employment, entrepreneurship, and enlistment. The four >> the four E. Our fall in love CTE fair as Jesse mentioned also happened in October. And of course we had a wonderful celebration for the renaming of Bombgardner Middle School. We're able to meet the Bombgardner family and hear from Jane Bombgardner Seavoi. Um it was a wonderful event um and just um so inspiring. Want to celebrate Canterbury's PTA. They were named a national PTA school of excellence for their outstanding commitment to strengthening family school partnerships. They are one of eight schools in the state of Ohio to re to receive this distinction and it goes from 2024 through 2026. Um as it relates to work here in central office um every department is
072engaged in the goal setting and um action steps tracking process that's a part of our strategic work. So all those meetings were held with all of our central office departments uh this past October. In addition towards the end of October, I did do a central office staff meeting to go over our report car performance updates on our strategic plan and also to share information about the f the funding landscape in Ohio and the impact that has had on our budget. So we are in challenging fiscal times. Um, and so I wanted to make sure that our central office staff was aware of that as well. In terms of valued professionals, in the month of October, we celebrated our principles, our school custodian and cleaners, our coaches, and our occupational therapists uh for their months of
073um celebration. So, thank you to all those professionals who support our students and our staff and families each and every day. wanted to share some upcoming events connected to our opening speakers. So, there is a food drive happening that our PTA council is sponsoring from November 3rd to the 14th. And um the specific information is posted. We'll also put this in our weekly newsletters. And again, if there is a family that is in need, we ask families to call 216320 NED or email the Heights Family Resource Center so that we can connect with those families and help them in the areas where they need support. Connected to the conversation on funding that I referenced with central office, we are going to have an emergency meeting on school funding. Um, it will be held at Fairfax
074Elementary School in partnership with Parents United uh for public education to talk about the current state of our budget challenges due to the challenging state and federal landscape. I also encourage folks to go and see lay miz hopefully I'm saying it correctly. Um, when I say excellent singing Broadway level talent, I am not kidding. Uh so if you haven't seen it, make sure you catch one of those shows coming up. Um I will say that our singers who uh were featured in convocation are are stars, big stars in it. So and just just incredible voices. Um and then we have again the PTA council. They have the uh Goodwill mobile donation fundraiser and also a junk in a trunk junk in the trunk event coming up. um both in November the the last November 22nd
075um and that will be held uh here at WY. Finally, I'm not going to list all of the things that are happening, but we are in the busyiness in November. There's lots of things happening um all the way up through um Thanksgiving. Um we will have Jesse mentioned the upcoming concerts and um we also have um the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday that is happening as well. So uh we are not having a work session on November 12th. Correct. So I think that's an old date >> that is old. We are not having so I'll correct that. >> November 12th will be the library board interviews. >> Yeah. So there'll be a meeting but not a work session. Yes. >> Special. >> Yes. >> It's a special meeting. And that concludes my report. >> Thank you. The
076last thing that we have um is the second reading of board policy 5336. So I'll invite our chief patent to come up with that information. >> All right. Good evening. Um this is the second reading of our policy for our diabetic um care. Uh this will allow our um potential uh employees in the district to administer um and changing the process that we currently have. And so this would be the second reading of this policy. And um I know Phil, you had a question about why we include bus drivers on there in our last session. This we included that in the policy so that made sure that all employees regardless of where they are are ensuring that they're getting this training taking place once this is passed. And this will enlarge the pool of adults
077who are able to help children with diabetes. >> Correct. >> Which is the goal here. >> Yes. >> Do we have to do one more reading of this? >> We do. >> Yes. >> And then once that is in then we will send it to Neil for processing and then we can enact this process going forward. Do >> you have a general sense how long that process will take to stand it up once has it? >> Yeah. But they've um they've they've been able to turn around very quickly on some of this. So, we're just able to send it to the processing um and then it'll be right up uh on board docs for everybody to see. >> Cool. But I mean just in terms of like us operationalizing the new like the trainings that'll
078have to happen and all of that. >> Yeah, we would have to work with Miss Robinson as well as the nurse practitioners and we will get that training up and running so that we're able to support those staff members that need that and so they can administer this care for students. >> It's likely to be January just given the training that needs to happen. Um >> and we also have to get it back from the you know >> correct sooner than I would have thought. Yeah, that's great news. >> That's good. >> Yeah. >> Okay. Thank you. I don't think we have any other questions about the policy itself. >> No. >> Okay. >> I agree. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Um, next I'll turn it over to Miss Leam for your treasurer's update.
079Okay. So, um, my three things this month is on our federal grants. Just a second. Move that out of the way. Okay. Bouncing. Okay. Um as always we are um grounded in our strategic plan work and so this meets um goal five objective three to inform and educate all stakeholders regarding um district finances and school funding in Ohio. So we have um many federal grants here at the district. um they make up just under uh 5% of the district's total um revenue. Um and then our and then federal grants are awarded for um specific supplemental purposes. Um they provide um services for our most vulnerable populations in most cases. These are some of the um grants that we uh receive um from the federal government. Um our grants support many uses and many of the
080programs that you are are familiar with. Um in in so doing they support salaries of um just under 50 um staff members. Um almost nine of them are administrators or administrative supports and then 41 are um building level instructionals. um and support staff. Um some of the programs that are supported by our federal grants include professional development for teachers and principles. Um our college and career readiness, so um the Gear Up grant um from the Department of Justice um supports our FASA uh supports um some college visits, career exploration. Um we have 21st century which supports our afterchool enrichment programs like tassel um and noble explorers. Um title 4 does a lot of um provides a lot of support for our social emotional and mental health programming. So, our violence prevention, anti-bullying campaigns, um our
081instructional supports like tutoring um and one-on-one supports um with IDA, those are supported by federal grants um along with the career and technical education. So when we have programs that are dedicated um to trades and and career um that is we are part of a consortium um with Warrenville Maple and Shaker um where we receive funding from federal government to administer those programs. And then we have McKenna Vento which helps us support our displaced families. Um, I wanted to really hone in on our funding levels because there has been a shift in what we have, um, been receiving. Um, as you've heard already this evening, um, there have been decreases in funding. So, we are again being asked to do more with less. Um some of the decreases that we just experienced just from last
082year to this year is in title one um where we lost um just under 50,000. Title 2 um we lost almost 18,000. um idea was um around 4,000 and then 21st century um one of those grants ended and so we lost um two sites um approximately $200,000. Um I bring this up to um make sure that we are aware of of what's going on. Um also the current budget um climate. So, you all know that the government is shut down and has been since October 1st. The president's budget um proposed a decrease in funding for Title One of approximately 27% and the elimination of Title 2, Title 3, and Title 4. So, a lot of those programs that I mentioned um are supported by these grants. Not only are um their SNAP B benefits being
083lost and Medicaid being threatened, but so too are our federal funds um that are provided to the district as supplemental um and help us support the programs and and education to our students um that we are so accustomed to. Um, so I say that so that you have that awareness um that it's it's more at stake than you know what everybody is talking about. >> Well, thank you for that depressing update. Um [laughter] I guess what surprises me is how much we [clears throat] have been doing providing with only about 5% of our total budget coming from these funds. I mean this is small amounts of money that are working very very hard >> and then >> when they go away how do we replace those services? I mean >> yeah for some reason I
084thought McKini Vento was state not federal but that's probably my mistake. So thank you for >> for correcting me on that. um because it came up in conversation with some board members in other districts recently and >> it's federal. >> Yeah, it is federal but many of our funds are passed through through the state. So um >> Okay, that could be the cause of my confusion. >> Thank you. >> Sure. >> Um and I I I think I'm re reiterating reiterating it's late uh things that have been said before I think maybe by Dan. Um, but as we, you know, with respect to where we are in our current funding cycle as a district, um, I think it's good to keep, and I'm glad that you brought it up, keep, um, grant funded positions, particularly
085administrative positions, front of mind, uh, because that is a a criticism that we've received in the past that, uh, compared to some other districts in the state or state averages or what have you, um, that we have a higher number of administrative positions. Uh but when you're doing the type of work that we do, particularly uh related to, you know, looking out for vulnerable populations of students within our district, uh that's it's vital work, but it's also grant-f funded work in many cases. So making sure that we're continuing to beat that drum, I think, is important, and I'm glad you're doing it. >> Yep. >> Thank you. Okay. Um, board president's report, a lot of the things I was going to mention have already been brought up. Um, first of all, happy election day. Uh,
086which in my mind ought to be a federal holiday, but you know, nobody listens to me. Uh, the PTAs, uh, have already gathered a huge amount of food at the polling locations today. I have an N of one at Fairfax where I was earlier and there's a mountain of shelf stable food being donated by community members coming to vote or community members coming specifically to drop off food and I want to thank everybody for their participation. Uh we know that there's a need and people are eager to help fill that need. So, thank you. Um we had a wonderful time at Halloween Fest. Do you remember that? It seems like so long ago, but the city shut down the street and the kids had a blast and I am very happy about that and I
087hope that in the future the city will continue to shut down the street for special events because it just creates such a lovely atmosphere where children can have fun and adults don't have to worry about their kids being in danger um because the cars aren't there. Um many of us on the board have been participating in school visits the past couple of weeks and we've had a chance to see our students and our teachers in action and that's a very valuable exercise um because it keeps us connected to what's actually happening in the building. So thank you for organizing that. Um, we had a day, a whole day of alumni hall of fame and balgarder renaming and more alumni hall of fame and it was just that Thursday was extraordinary. Um, so many good things
088and Dr. Seavoi just was all inspiring and the fact that she came with all of her family members and her dear friend is just so heartwarming. Um, we had a dayong event at Rocks Middle School around AVID where um, student ambassadors in 8th grade showed around visitors to different classrooms where Avid um, methods, techniques, I'm not sure what the right noun is, were um, being used. And then everybody got to go and talk about it in the library afterwards. And those eighth graders were very impressive. The what they had to say about how AVID helped them become more self-confident as learners was very inspiring as well. It's like because as sixth graders, they didn't know that this would be useful because they were sixth graders. They knew everything already. And as eighth graders, they were
089able to look back on their sixth grade selves and see how much they had grown intellectually, emotionally, academically, and that was it was wonderful. Um, I got to see cast B of Lay Miz on Sunday. Uh, no fire alarms on Sunday's performance and I'm going back to see cast A this coming weekend. The voices, oh, the voices, they were just amazing. Um, and everything about the production was wonderful. So much work, so much love, and it's just great to come and see all of our kids come together on a on a huge project like that. So, that was quite wonderful. Um, coming up, we've got concerts, we've got end of school year things. It's all going to get very, very busy. not end of school year, I mean end of um semester, end of >>
090calendar year things. It's going to get busy very fast. Um and I hope that everybody remembers to take a breath every so often and get some rest and enjoy time with friends and family because we all need that. Um and now I will go on to new business and Gabe, you have something for us. >> Yes. Um I do want to give one committee report um prior to that um the equity equity committee has reconvened um and so we have just started to um establish um and discuss those non-negotiables that support the mission vision and core values of our district. So we are continuing um that work. Um but yes um so as Miss Scrugs um mentioned, many of our neighbors are facing uh food insecurity. Um and so I would like to present a
091resolution um declaring a state of food emergency and calling for action to protect student nutrition in response to the federal SNAP funding suspension. Uh so whereas the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP, is a vital federal program that helps millions of families across Ohio meet basic food needs, including a significant number of families who children attend public schools in this district. And whereas the announced suspension of federal SNAP funding effective November 1st, 2025 due to the absence of federal appropriations measure will cause an immediate food access crisis for students and families who depend on these benefits. And whereas hunger and poor nutrition directly affects student attendance, concentration, academic performance, and behavioral health. And whereas the district recognizes that a significant portion of its students rely on free and reducedpric meal programs and that families facing sudden
092food insecurity will require additional community support. And whereas local food banks, school pantries, and community partners are already operating at or near capacity, and a surge in demand could overwhelm existing resources. And whereas, school districts play a critical role in safeguarding the well-being of students and families during times of crisis by coordinating nutrition, outreach, and educational stability. Now therefore, be it resolved by the board of education of the Cleveland Heights University Heights City School District that declaration of food emergency, the board of education of Cleveland Heights University Heights School District hereby declares a state of food emergency effective November 1st, 2025 in recognition of the immediate threat to student and family nutrition resulting from the suspension of federal SNAP benefits. Section two, coordination and response. The superintendent or their designate is author authorized to coordinate
093with local food banks, religious institutions, and community organizations to ensure students, families, students, and families in need have access to emergency food resources. Work with cafeteria staff and school administrators to expand access to school meal programs during the outside of regular school hours. Identify district or partner funding sources including federal or philanthropic support to sustain food distribution during the emergency and communicate regularly with families to share available food access resources. Section three, intergovernmental advocacy. The board of education hereby urges the president of the United States, the US Department of Agriculture, and the Ohio congressional delegation to act immediately to fully restore and maintain SNAP funding. And further calls on the governor of Ohio and the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce to assist districts in addressing the resulting hunger crisis. Community partnership. The board encourages
094collaboration among school districts, parent teacher associations, student groups, and community partners to host family meal days, afterchool snack programs, and emergency food distribution events. Reporting and duration. This declaration shall remain in effect until federal SNAP funding is reinstated or the board determines that food stability for district families has been restored. The superintendent shall provide updates to the board at least once every 30 days during the declared emergency emergency clause. This resolution is declared to be an emergency measure necessary for the immediate preservation of health, safety, and welfare of students and families within the Cleveland Heights University Heights City School District and shall take effect immediately upon its adoption. Wow. Well, there's a lot of there's a lot to to chew on literally here. Um, our community, I think, is reflective of the nation as a
095whole. We are in a state of food emergency. Things are toppling rapidly. Um, and as Tiffany Scrugs taught us this evening, they are seeing more need than during the pandemic, which is >> shocking to me. That is absolutely shocking and I think it's a conflation of of factors, right? The fact that the government is shut down means that everybody who's been furled or who's working for free is now at risk. And then all of the things around SNAP are affecting people very very rapidly. Uh people whose lives were already a little bit fragile. Um, [cough] so thank you for bringing this to us because yeah, we are in a very difficult state right now >> and and I know we are doing a lot of this already. Um, but I think this just reinforces the
096prior reinforces our efforts and that it is a priority for our community. Yeah, a agreed. I mean, the I'd say that the fact that like you said, some of this is already much of this is already underway speaks to district leadership and the the leadership of families who have capacity to help other families uh and and our communities capacity to uh to help when possible as well. Um, it it's it's hard to um it's hard to to get your head around how big the SNAP program is and what it means >> to so many families. It is the most efficient way to solve food insecurity across this country. >> Uh and and the effects of this are we're we're seeing the tip of the iceberg right now. I mean, we're talking about a couple of
097days so far without SNAP benefits being released. Uh, and um, we currently have a president who's uh, going against court orders that are telling him that he needs to release uh, available funds uh, which is not being done. So, there's, you know, no help coming from the top. uh it forces us to to do whatever we can do to help to you know fill these gaps which are I I there's no other way to say it these gaps are unfillable like the food banks cannot I used to work for the Greater Cleveland Food Bank um with TIF and food banks cannot replace the SNAP program um and and there and so when we talk about the beginning of the COVID pandemic um I worked to the food bank during the beginning of the COVID pandemic,
098first year or so of it, and the need to keep an eye on every dollar coming in the door and every pound of food coming in and out the door was so vital because there is a fear of running out of emergency food and not having food in the right places and all of that. I actually on the ride over here uh was having a phone call with a former colleague, a different former colleague um around some of the tracking work uh and you know data analysis that I was doing at the food bank at the beginning of COVID because that's all starting up again that it this is being treated >> like co like the co pandemic um and and has the potential to become a far greater uh uh risk to food security
099in our school district state and country. Um so yeah, we all got to pull together. >> It's also at a time when um you know there are so many celebrations that happen around food at this time of the year. >> Um and so that is just equally harmful, you know. >> Yeah. >> And what's the number? One in eight people in the United States is dependent on SNAP. >> Over half of which are children and seniors. >> Right? So again, you talk about vulnerable populations >> and we all know that hungry children can't learn math. So we need to make sure they are fed. Um, so we need I need a motion to accept this resolution declaring a state of food emergency. >> I motion that we accept the resolution as read. >> And >>
100can I second? >> I don't know. I was going to say maybe I should second it because it's your resolution, [laughter] >> Mr. Turbo. >> Yes. Yes, >> there's a screenshot. >> Yes. >> Thank you. And what this means is we continue do doing what we have always done. We continue doing the new things which we are doing and we keep looking for other ways to help, right? Um and I say we collectively for us as a district but also for our community as a whole. And I know that our community is very cognizant of how important this is. I mean, just the conversations I've been having the past couple of weeks. Oh my god, this is about to happen. Oh my god, this is about to happen. What do we do? People are very
101aware and they are trying to come up with ways to help. And I think it's important that we encourage everybody to come up with whatever you can do yourself is worth doing. and collectively we can put it all together and and help keep our community fed. So, thank you again, Gabe. >> Thank you. >> Uh, do we have any unfinished business? >> Not unfinished, but um I just want to thank Kathan for her work on the bombgardner renaming ceremony. uh not just the process but also coordinating with the family and all that work that made it an extra special >> uh event to have so many of them there and uh yeah it was just great. >> Yeah. >> And I think I guess my only other un this isn't nearly unfinished. Um I just
102want to thank all of the people who are running for office in our community. Uh a lot of great people. Uh unfortunately too many great people for the amount of spots that we [laughter] have for them to serve. uh which is uh a really uh great problem to have I guess. So >> yeah, civic engagement is difficult as we know, but it's important, right? So >> any correspondence, announcements? >> Have we hit all the marks? >> Yeah. >> Then I will entertain a motion to adjourn this meeting. >> So moved. >> Second. Miss Leam. >> Miss Kshaw. >> Yes. >> Mr. Chambo. >> Yes. Am I? >> Yes. Thank you and good night.