Mt Vernon ISD Board Meeting 4/14/25

001I call this meeting of the Mount Vernon and Independent School District to order. Let the record show that a quorum of board members is present, that this meeting has been duly called, and that the notice of this meeting has been posted in accordance with the Texas Open Meetings Acts, Texas Government Code, chapter 551. Can I get a motion to certify the agenda? Motion made. Motion made by Linda. Can I have a second? Second. Seconded by Kathy. All four. All right, that's 6 O. Let the record show Mr. Sanders is absent tonight. Um, and I'll lead us in a word of prayer. Dear gracious heavenly father, thank you for allowing us uh to gather here tonight, Lord. And I just ask your hand over our district and that we make decisions um out of wisdom and

002obedience to your will, Father. Um please give us the discernment and knowledge and understanding to do that. please be with our teachers and our students um this crazy time of year, Father, especially as they're all traveling and um I ask that you just be with them not only physically but mentally too as we push to the end of the year. Thank you for your goodness. In your name I pray. Amen. Amen. Pledges to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Honor the Texas flag. I aliance to the Texas one state one indivisible. We don't have them here yet, do we? Okay, we'll give we'll move to the Yeah, let's move the next one. First National

003Bank of East Texas. You should be here, but not here yet. So, we'll move to the teacher support staff. Okay. Okay. All right. Time we'll honor our teachers and support staff members of the month. always enjoy doing that. And so, first I'm going to ask Miss Devin Strowman to come forward, please. She is our elementary teacher for March. All right. This is what it says about Miss Strowman. Says, "We'd like to recognize Miss Strowman as our spotlight teacher for March. She officially serves as reading interventionist on our campus, but she takes on many additional roles because that is the type of person that she is. She she sees a need and jumps in to fill that need without being asked. She works to support students, staff, and administration with her whole heart. Miss Stman provides

004structure, support, and an abundance of love for her students needing extra support in reading. She plays a crucial role in helping struggling readers develop the skills and confidence they need to succeed. She helps students to recognize areas of growth, set goals with them, and supports them along the way as these goals are met or exceeded. She has a talent of building rapport and lasting relationships with their students. She is an advocate for all students, not just the ones she serves through intervention. We're in the process of planning a family math and reading night. After the first meeting, she took the ideas and ran with them to help create a memorable night for elementary students. Miss Strowman is a valuable member of our Mount Vernon Elementary family, and we're incredibly blessed by her and her dedication

005to the profession. Mount Vernon Elementary teacher of the month, Miss Deon Strowman. Congratulations. Y Very good. You want to say anything? No. Okay. All right. Just thank you for the opportunity for being here. Glad you're here. Congratulations. All right. Next, if I could have the one and only Coach Mickey Harrove come forward, please. Congratulations. Thank you. All right. says, "Coach Harrove embodies a spirit of dedication and unwavering support for our students. She's not just a coach. She's a mentor, a guide, and a champion for their success both on and off the field. Coach Hargrove consistently goes above and beyond to foster academic excellence in her student athletes. She understands that athletic achievements are enhanced by a strong educational foundation and works tirelessly to ensure students excel in the classroom just as they do in their

006chosen sport. But her influence extends far beyond academics. Coach Argo challenges her students athletically, pushing them to discover their potential to strive for improvement and to achieve more than they ever thought possible. She instills in them the values of discipline, teamwork, and perseverance, qualities that will serve them well throughout their lives. Coach Harrow's commitment doesn't stop with her students. She is a phenomenal team player, always ready to lend a hand and support her fellow colleagues on campus and throughout the district. Her flexibility and willingness to collaborate are invaluable to our community. In short, Coach Hargrove is a shining example of what it means to be a dedicated educator and a true asset to our school. Let's all take a moment to appreciate her hard work, her dedication, her unwavering commitment to our students and our

007community. Mount Vernon Middle School teacher of the month, Miss Mickey Hard. Thank you. Congratulations. [Applause] Congratulations. You want to say anything? No, thank you. No. Okay. Next we will do the high school teacher of the month. If I could have Mayson, Coach Mson to come up, please. All right. Congratulations. Says, "Coach Monson is a dedicated member of our high school community serving as both a US history teacher and assistant football coach. With several years of experience, he brings a strong commitment to his students learning and strives to create meaningful educational experiences in the classroom. Coach Mson is known for being steady and reliable in his approach to his duties. He is always prepared and handles all professional obligations in a timely and efficient manner. His positive attitude contributes to a collaborative environment among colleagues, making

008him a wellrespected team member who is always ready to step in and help wherever and whenever needed. Coach Mson is also committed to building strong relationships with his students. You can often find him in the halls between classes engaging with students and providing encouragement to everyone he interacts with. In addition to his teachers dut teaching duties, coach Mson willingly contributes to the school in various ways where through coaching, mentoring or participating in after school activities or extra tutorials. His willingness to support the school community makes him a valuable asset to our campus. Coach Mson is welld deserving of recognition as our teacher of the month. High school teacher of the month, Coach Mson. Congratulations. There you go. Congratulations. You want to say anything? Oh, sir, I'm good. Thank you. You want to introduce You want

009to introduce your guest? Uh, this is my wonderful wife. This is my 2 and a halfyear-old son, Luke. And then my threemonth-old, almost four month old. Congratulations. Very good. Thank you'all for being here tonight. Okay. And Mr. Diaz is not here, is he? Okay. Well, we will get this to him or try to honor him in May, but our uh staff member of the month is Juan Diaz. And I I will go ahead and read what it says about him. Says, "Mr. Diaz doesn't just teach. He fosters a caring and supportive atmosphere that allows his students to thrive. What truly sets Mr. Diaz apart is his unwavering dedication to his students. He is always providing additional support and guidance whenever needed. He understands that each student learns differently and requires individual attention, and he consistently

010rises to meet that challenge. It's a testament to his ability to create a positive and engaging learning environment where students feel comfortable, supported, and encouraged to reach their full potential. Mr. Diaz truly has a caring and servant heart. He embodies the spirit of education, putting his students needs before his own. He is a valuable asset to Mount Vernon Middle School, and we are incredibly fortunate to have him as part of our team. Again, I apologize he's not here, but our uh staff member of the month is Mr. Juan Diaz. All right, we're going to do one more recognition um because I think this is well worthy of of recognition. And I'm gonna ask if um our trainer, Miss Terry EPS, and I know I saw coach come in as well, Coach Mlan, if you'll come

011down. Come down, Miss Terry. So, um a couple weeks ago, we had um we had a um incident at a baseball game. We had a uh a spectator uh grandparents of one of our players uh have a um um cardiac arrest. That's a good way to put that. Had a cardiac arrest and uh Miss Terry was called and uh she came and with the AED machine, her along with some a couple other fans uh performed CPR and used the AD machine and uh uh performed some lifesaving activities for for that lady. uh they were able to stabilize her. Uh unfortunately, she did not um she did not make it pat through the night, but because of Terry's action, uh they were able to get her in the ambulance and gave her another chance. And so

012anyway, we want to recognize her and I also want to share an email that I received. Um, but not let me back up and say not only does Miss Terry not only does she do that that night, but Miss Terry um spends many many hours here in our district with her kids, with our coaches. Um, and if there's a injury, we even have teachers that go to her. I mean, so she's kind of like uh she's kind of like our team doctor, I guess, district doctor, but she serves so many of our students and does it faithfully. Uh, gets here early, stays late. Uh, there's not a support that she doesn't support. And like I said, there are times that we have staff members who twist an ankle or pull a muscle or what else

013have you had to done? Had to do fall off broke bones just any she serves she has that heart and she serves our students so tremendously well and I wanted to say that as well. But here's what the email said. It says, "I just want to pass along a big compliment to a group of coaches and the athletic trainer at Mount Vernon ISD. I witnessed the Terry Eups for the quick well didn't get all the emails. I witnessed that night Miss Terry Eups for the quick thinking and calm actions taken to try and save a woman's life. Although the outcome was not what we wanted. I witnessed Terry working with my daughter through a torn ankle ligament extensive injury her treatment and therapy. So I didn't print off everything. Basically just she wanted to recognize

014Terry for what she did as well. Talked about how well she had worked with her daughter. I've asked Coach Mlan to come speak just a little bit as well on behalf of Terry. He was there that night also. Uh but again, we just want to recognize Miss Terry for her for her actions and not just that night, but also what she does for our students all the time. Coach, so um the first thing I want to say, the shortest version of this I can since the day I got here, which was not that long ago, Missing and she's doing anything and everything she can to make sure that they taken care of. She's a kid magnet. Kids love being around her and she does a phenomenal job of pouring into them. Um getting them excited

015about whatever it is they're doing, whether it's helping with athletic training or rehabbing and and getting our competitors back on the field. But that night specifically, um things unfolded almost quietly in the beginning. And um when they finally hit that tipping point when it it had been deemed by multiple people an emergency um I believe it was Mr. came and said, "Somebody call Miss Terry." And she was just a few feet away over at the softball game that was going on. And within less than a minute, she was over there um and immediately sprung into action. Pulled the was able to assess the situation based off of what little information, you know, bystanders were giving her who are not trained medically. Um pulled the AED machine out and and immediately went to work and um

016took control of the situation as I was trying to communicate with ambulance and 911 as they got there. Um, and as Dr. McCulla said, was able to to stabilize. Um, Ryder's grandmother. To me, the thing that is so reassuring about everything that went on that night is that with a bunch of different eyes and a bunch of different voices, all focused on their perception of one event, she was able to take in what information she needed, assess it quickly and apply the the best version of practice uh and spring into action, which uh gave her gave that woman a few more hours of life and and the ambulance uh the opportunity to hopefully alleviate the situation. Obviously, we know that that's not how it ended up playing out, but that moment doesn't exist at all

017if if Miss Terry isn't um quick into action and and as calm in the situation as she was. So, it was it it was a scary and intense moment um that I think a lot of us we see something like that and we wonder how we would respond or how what you know how we would answer those questions or or move in those situations. And one thing that I I saw that uh gave me a lot of confidence in her being part of the Mount Vernon family is that she never blinked. She never hesitated. Um she made quick and decisive decisions um and and put us in the best possible situation to save a life that night. So So Miss Cherry, we greatly appreciate you. We want to honor you tonight and just say how

018much we are grateful for you for all that you do, not just that night, but every day with our students. And we just want to applaud you and thank you for who you are and what you do. [Applause] Sir, you know, we appreciate you. We love you. Thank you. We appreciate you. Coach, come here and let's get a picture with her. We'll get you in the middle. Excellent. Thank you. Anything you want to say? Um, just thank the community, the parents, teachers for always being behind me. I know a lot of times me pulling your kids out aren't the best option, but just know I do it for them and to make sure they're healthy and safe. And that's it. Very good. Thank you so much. [Applause] All our teachers come in here, coach. Come

019in here. We got room. Excellent. Y'all, thank y'all so much. Appreciate y'all. Thank you for what you do for our district. Stephen, y'all hold down the board out there. Hold it down. Hey, I'll be over here. So exciting at call me. Let you do yours as well. Yes, sir. Sorry for the delay. Oh, no. You're good. You're good. So nice. No, I walked every door. You know what? I was good. Kyle's co. All right. So, uh, each year, uh, we have the privilege to be able to help students of Mount Vernon and a couple of other rural schools. Uh, we present five computers to each one of the schools to be able to get the kids that could get the best use out of it. Um, so there's certain criteria that we give to the

020school. They follow that criteria and, uh, try to get it to the children or the kids, not children anymore, but the young people that are uh going to be using it to help further their education. So, uh I hope I've got all the right names. Okay. So, um those of you that are here for sure, there are Trevor Hudson. Okay. Ashley Hall, Cherylyn Castillo, Krill Grant, and Fernando Herrera. All of y'all here come down. All [Music] right. So, behalf of First National Bank of East Texas, we're going to give each one of you your own Chromebook. Everything should be in there that you need. I hope you pray. Okay. Have them do all of that because I'm not the computer techie. So, uh they they try to have everything prepared for me. Okay. And so

021there's a card on the side of that. That's my card, okay? For the bank. All right? So the other side of this is to help you today. Okay? But that card in there is to help you for tomorrow. Okay? So I don't know how much experience any of you guys have ever had going into a bank, talking to a bank or whatever. All right? We're people, too, just like you. Okay? There's no big scary thing about it. All right? So, and I'm old school. I'm actually from this part of the world. Grandparents live at Hagensport back in the day. I'm from Mount Pleasant and live in Sul Springs now. So I go back and forth. I have family here. So this town, this community, you kids are part are part of me. Okay? So I'm

022part of this area. So what I want to tell you is that card there is for if you have questions about anything, okay? Whether it's financially related, whether it's school related, sometimes even if it's personally related. Some people, some some young people don't have places to go to talk to. Okay? So, if you come to talk to the bank, y'all know where I'm at. I'm the big rock building with the Cedar Deal across from Sonic. Okay? Real easy to find. All right? My door is always open. Always. Doesn't matter who you are, what you are, what you come from, it doesn't matter. All right? So, I'm here to help you today. And if you need things as you get ready to further your ed further your education in the future and you need help with

023that, you need guidance with that, I'll be glad to talk to you. I mean, I can fix everything, but I can sure help point you in the right direction. Okay? So, uh there's a few of these people in here that know me that are on the board and I'm exactly today like you see me today. That's how I am in that office. Okay? It ain't no big scary place. It's sit down. We'll have a cold drink. We'll talk about life. Okay, that's what it's about. Okay, so congratulations to all of you. Okay, please put it to good work. Okay, you that you that to further your education to move forward. Okay, so high school is a wonderful thing. High school education is a wonderful thing. So if you want to move on further in life,

024you're going to have to go to the next level. Okay? And be prepared for that. Don't be afraid of it. Okay? I was terrified when I went. I was the first person in my family to ever go to college. Kind of scary. Get there. Small town, 50,000 people at College Station. It was a little spooky, but you get there, you learn to grow, not just educational wise, but as a person, you learn to mature, you learn responsibility. And so that moves forward to helping you into the next level. Okay. So, I'm going to shut up because I know they got a meeting to do. Kyle knows I like to talk. So, Y'all get right back here. We're going to get a picture. All right. And then I'll get out of y'all's way where y'all can

025carry on with your meat. So y'all get up there and let this lady get back here. Some of y'all want to get up where they can see. Y'all are we going to hold these up or hold? You can hold them down beside. You ain't got to hold them up. However you want to do Thank you so much. Appreciate your [Applause] Are you Mount Pleasant? Got people in Mount Pleasant. No, no. Thank y'all for today. Congratulations students. Good job. Congratulations. Teach me how to turn it on. Okay, that does it for our recognition. Is Lou online? Yes. Okay, great. Okay. Didn't know that. So, good. Thank you. Okay. Okay. Are we going to We're good. Enrollment totals. Yes, ma'am. So, as of April 2nd, we were at 1575. Uh I think even now we're still what

026I'm seeing is about the same. Uh that is up uh still 30 from the previous year at 1545. So, so that's good that we're still still trending upwards and not backwards. So, that's always good news. Okay. And then our campus department updates. Miss George and Mr. Glover are here. Miss Bates asked if she could not be here tonight. Uh she's trying to situate some things for testing tomorrow. Testing is upon us. I don't have a whole lot. Um so we're trying really hard to finish this year strong while already preparing for next year. And so it's we're we're juggling a lot of things, but trying to give a great experience for all of our kiddos to finish out the year. So, we're having some field trips, student awards. We've had some principles of the day.

027That's always fun. They save their dojo points up and they buy them. We're going to have to raise the price at that point. It's fun though. They have a really good time. They It's all about carrying around the walkie-talkie. We've completed round one of STAR and I'll just have to say how incredibly thankful I am to Miss Williams. because she has really stepped up in Sarah Long's absence and really done a great job of getting us ready for testing in a role that she was not thinking she was going to have. So, she's really done a great job getting us ready and carrying out the first round of STAR and we'll have some fun again next week. Um, we are getting ready for our prek and kindergarten roundup. Our uh first night is tomorrow night

0284:30 to 6:30 and again on May 1st. We've put flyers out everywhere. It's been in my newsletter. We just hope that we can get as many as we can. and we want to know solid numbers. And then I think I said last month and as to try to incentivize them to get all their paperwork ready. We're going to have they're going to get an invitation if they've done everything to come to a sneak peek on May 9th so they can come the kiddos can kind of see what the classrooms are like and then administration can have a meeting with parents just to kind of let them know what to expect for the next year, what what prek or kindergarten could be like and some expectations that we have of them. And so we're looking forward

029to that. Uh, April 28th, we're going to have a reading and math family night because let's add a few more things to our April schedules. But it will be fun. We're just going to provide some games and just some time for parents just to sit down, the ones that aren't at baseball or or whatever activity they have going on, just to sit and read with their kids, play some math games and reading games. So, we're looking forward to that night. And then May 5th, Cinco de Mayo will be our bilingual night. We did that last year. Parents had a great time. So, we're going to repeat that. to just kind of be a showcase for all of our bilingual students. It's it's I love to see those parents coming in and celebrating their kids' accomplishments.

030We're gearing up for field day, our end of the year celebrations and award. We've got our uh semester tiger fiesta coming up on May 15th. And then, like I said, we're trying to get ready for next year. We're um hiring. We've found some really good candidates that candidates that we feel are going to come on and meet our employee uh campus profile of who wants to come and be a team player and you know help provide that strong education for our kiddos. And we still have a few more. We got some interviews this week. So we hope to have all that hiring done before school's out or at least before Tonnie and Beth leave for summer vacation. So it's great. It's busy but it's good. It's really busy. Yeah. So y'all keep us in your

031prayers. We've got some kiddos with a lot going on and it's it's a mission field. So if y'all could pray for our kiddos and our staff and just that we would I guess have the the knowledge and the guidance to to do make the best decisions for all our kids and never lose sight of why we're here is for our babies. So thank you. Thank you Mr. George. She's so good. All right. You are busy at the elementary. We also have plenty going on. Plenty going on. I'm going to give you just a just a few things. I just have a question. Have you beat our attendance? No. This is this is not the right setting to say that I've given up on that. But I'm just saying. Hey, that is one thing Miss Page

032did ask me to say. She did ask me to bring up that her attendance is still about 96%. I bet she did. Yeah, that's pretty good. That's pretty good. That's pretty good. I don't know what to say. Every time it's awkward when y'all bring up attendance when I get up here. I'm just saying. No. Um. All right. Change of subjects. Change of subject. Totally. All right. So, as Miss George said, we're starting, we started EOCC testing, so we did our English one and English two last week. We've got tomorrow biology and US history this week, and then we'll wrap it up with algebra next week. So, I'm excited to get that finished, but also really proud of the work that the teachers have done this year. I know that they've worked extremely hard um in

033some challenging circumstances for some of them and uh I know that they're they're happy to be to this point, but uh also excited to see how it all turns out. So, we've got the ELC testing happening in the next week or so. completed our tail pass testing last week with our ELLL kids. And uh so we're just we're getting on getting on to the next thing which is in this case is TSI which are college college readiness test for juniors and sophomores. We do um juniors do ELA and sophomores do math. That'll be coming up here in a couple of weeks. On the testing side, um we did do a school day ACT a few weeks ago and I wanted to kind of give a public recognition here to two students on that. We had

034two kids make over a 30 on the ACT, which is quite impressive. This Monica Self and Kaden Decker both made a 30 plus on the ACT. So, kudos go to them. And we had a number of students. We had at least 20 that have made a 20 or higher on that, which is above the national average. So, proud of those kids that worked on that. Um, I did want to recognize that we had the CCMR expo a few few weeks ago, a couple weeks ago. I know some of you probably saw that and we had 72 presenters from different colleges and trade schools in different professions here to talk to students 8th through 12th grade about post-secary options and I thought that was fantastic event even better than last year. So and kudos mostly kudos

035goes to Miss Stevens and her team on putting that together. Uh but they did a great job and I think kids are getting a lot of benefit out of that. So we we would like to see that continue here in the next few years. um high school academic UIL. We did have some teams that that advanced to regionals from the district competition. Calculator team was first place. Uh that's Kaden Decker. He was first place overall. Cali Clark, she was second place overall. Addison Pointer and Robert Clark. Our math team was first first place overall again. Kaden Decker, Dylan Clinton, Canon Vaughn, Kyle Moore. So they're all advancing to regionals as well as our science team who was second overall at district. So, we did have some successes there in academic UIL. Let's see. Um, A

036had their big plant sale Saturday. Was it Saturday? Yes, Saturday. And, uh, there was got some really good feedback. I know Kyle showed up with a with a truckload of plants I saw on Saturday. Um, so I I didn't hear the exact amount that they made, uh, but I know it was very successful and, uh, she's still trying to get rid of what the leftovers here the last couple days. So kudos to Miss Stanford, Miss Dixon for handling that this year on the A side. Couple of events we have coming up, just a few of the many. We have a dual credit parent meeting next Monday night. That's for all the kids that are going to be entering dual credit for the first time at the high school. Just to kind of go over the

037expectations and the contract and what dual credit looks like here at Mount Vernon for them. Seniors got a lot of senior events coming up right now. All of our seniors have been doing CPR training, which is a graduation requirement. been doing that on we did it today and we'll do it again next Monday to try to catch the rest of them that need to get that requirement taken care of. We have our senior lunchon coming up that's sponsored every year by First United Methodist Church. That's when we give away a lot of our senior awards and recognitions for academic things that they've done over their last four years. We have our NHS senior stole ceremony coming up May the 3rd. That's a big thing for some of them. Um, as well as we head towards

038graduation and maybe the most important thing here is prom May the 3, less than just a few weeks away. I need chaperones. So, Brad Floyd, you volunteer for chaperon this year? No. No. All the years he worked here has got the same answer. No. So, for real, it's May the 3rd. We're going to be from 7:30 to 10:30 at the glove factory uh downtown Mount Vernon. Uh, Miss Wilkins wanted to give a little uh, update on the CTE side. We're into the industry base certification testing season as well. We've had six students over in Cosmo pass their written exam last week. Good. So, they will be going to prepare for their practical exam. I think they'll be doing that in mid to late May. And then once they pass that, they'll be certified instructors. So

039hopefully this year we'll have all six of them get to that point at or around just briefly after graduation. Had 15 to 20 kids pass the welding certification exam and then many others in engineering entrepreneurship Microsoft products and then we've got many more scheduled for the next few weeks. So there's a lot of things happening there in CT world. Also shout out to one act play made it to regionals for the eighth year in a row. eighth year in a row, which is quite impressive. Quite impressive. So, hopefully things will go right and we'll be going to state for the third year in a row there. And of course, I didn't mention athletic stuff, but just briefly, baseball, softball in first place. Um going hopefully win district championships there. We've got regional qualifiers in track

040on the girls side and um so lots of good things happening. Uh busy time of year as Miss George said, but we're excited to finish out the year strong all the way up to graduation. All right. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Glover. All right. And that moves us on for our construction update. Lou, yes. Can you guys hear me? We sure can. Thanks for being with us tonight, Lou. Not a problem. Good evening, school board. Good evening, Dr. Hope everybody had a good weekend. Um, construction update. Uh we'll start with unit A, which is a middle school edition. Y'all been around there. It looks pretty good over there. We have started uh beginning the first coat of the paint on the inside. Um I know there's some sidewalk paving going on over there. Um there's

041also they're installing the storefront systems or the glass front systems over there as well. Uh just got an update from our brick or mason subcontractor. We should be seeing some brick towards the end of the month, first of May. Um so hopefully we can start getting that installed uh for a turnover in mid June, 1 of June, mid June of this summer. Uh, unit B, which is our auditorium for uh shouldn't we should be pretty much done wrapped up with uh some punch list items up. We may need less than 10 at the moment. So, we're we should be pretty much wrapped up in that. We do have the auditorium phase where we've got to install the fire sprinkler, but more than likely next month, late next month or into the summer, we'll start installing

042that. Um over at units D& the cafeteria fine arts as you can see we're continuing to form the concrete draping. Uh I believe there's another concrete board scheduled for tomorrow or Wednesday, but toward the end of the month, uh first week of May, we should start seeing the slab foundation for unit uh installed over on unit F, the high school edition area. We're going to start drilling peers tomorrow. Uh so as soon as they're drilling peers, they'll move over to uh unit which is the uh the uh egg facility where they're continuing to cut and back fill in that area. Got a little late start just because of the the full conditions over there. But once we're done drilling peers in F, they'll switch over to G and start drilling PE. So hopefully hopefully within

043the next month and a half, less than two months, we should be out of the concrete business. So that's an update from you. That'd be good. Wonderful. Thank you. Yeah. Any questions for Lou? Lou, thanks for being with us tonight. Thanks for the update. Yes, sir. Y'all have a good evening. Thanks, sir. Uh quick update on Ellis is not here, but so they have come back. They had to uh do some corrections on paint color of tennis court. Uh that's been done. Uh they were moving when they did the lights for the tennis court, they actually put the control switch in the softball press box with those light switches. So they've come back and they are putting one um there by the tennis court. It is going to be one we're going to keep blocked

044up um so that it's not the lights will not be um usable by the park uh after dark. Uh part of that is is because of neighbors. uh once is every time we have lights on after 10:30 I get a text uh from our mayor. So we're going to try to be good neighbors to them as well and uh and that way again if it's if it's not being school use then it doesn't need to be doesn't need to have the lights on anyway. So of course they will be open to public um outside of school hours but just not at dark. Uh so got that part done. Um still a couple little punch list items they're still trying to work through. We've still not signed off on baseball softball yet, even though we're getting

045to use it. We've not done a final walkthrough and sign off on that yet. Uh they did power wash uh the the football stands uh in regard from how you know that was dirty from being set up after they took it started putting it up and had to take it back down. That was done. Um I think that's finished last week or maybe the week before. Um they're finishing up uh on the visitor locker room and then they'll have fencing to finish uh and maybe a couple more minor things. um um a little bit of concrete work, but other than that, they're getting close on that part as well. So, okay, any questions? All right. Now, um, information item D is our 2024 2025 schoolboard continuing education credit hours report per state board of education,

046Texas Education Code 11.159B, 19 Texas Administrative Code 61.1. The following Mount Vernon ISTD school board members have exceeded their required continuing education credit hours for 2024 2025 in the following areas. Cyber security, post- legislative update to the Texas Education Code, child abuse prevention, team building, additional continuing education, evaluating and improving student outcomes. Kathy Lawrence Robinson exceeded. Brad Floyd exceeded. Aaron Sanders deficient. Josh Jordan deficient. Kyle Clayton exceeded. Linda Baird exceeded. Lean Ramsey exceeded. Okay. All right. And now we'll move on to information item E, the state questionnaire summary. Okay. So, I put on just so we could go over this. We wanted to do it publicly so we' have it out as well. Um, back a couple months ago, well, let's even go back to October when we did our team of eight training, one

047of the things we talked about and actually became one of our goals was to do a state questionnaire. So, we sent that out uh sent it out first to just teachers and then we sent it out again to the rest of the staff. Uh, out of approximately 250 total employees, we received 124 responses. Um, I know there were several admin didn't do it just because we're admin and so we were trying to get the feedback from from other employees. So, I'll go through I'll tell you what the question was and and kind of what the responses were and then if we want to discuss that we can discuss that as well. So, the first question was how long have you worked in Mount Vernon ISD? The highest percentage of that was two to five years

048of respondents was 27.4%. Uh, six to 10 years was next at 25%. Um next was over 25 or over 20 years at 14.5% and then first year was 12.9 and then uh 11 to 15 was 12.1. Um so that was the percentage of respondents who we had uh respond to this at the time. Uh question two is what do you look forward to when you come to work each day? And I'll tell you how how I summarized this uh to do this. I tried to hopefully work smarter and that is I took each one uh all the answers uh that was listed in the spreadsheet copied those put it into the chat GTP and asked chat GTP to asked AI to summarize it for us and so that's that's where our summary came from uh

049so the top five of what do you look forward to when you come to work each day one which is a great answer is the students two was positive relationship with co-workers and team third was supportive and positive work environment Four is a passion for teaching and subject matter and the fifth was making a difference seeing growth. Um the third question was if you could change something about your job what would that be? First one listed uh our first most common one was less paperwork and more time for planning. Two was increased compensation and financial support. Third was more support for special education and challenging students. Four was improved discipline and student accountability. Five was better work life balance and manageable hours. Fourth question was how happy are you working from Mount Vernon on a

050scale of 1 to 10 with 10 represent the happiness the happiest. So out of 1 to 10 rating the average rating was 8.24. Uh there were highest number was eight at 36 responses there. Next was a 10 at 32 responses. Uh so all the way through the average was 8.24. Number five, if the previous answer was not a 10, what would have to happen for that number to become a 10? Number one was improved student discipline and accountability. The second was increased compensation and stipens. Third was time, less paperwork, more planning. Fourth was administrative consistency and communication. Fifth was feeling valued and appreciated. The sixth question was, have you ever thought about leaving the district? If so, what caused you to consider leaving? Why did you decide to stay? First answer was student behavior and

051emotional burnout. Two was pay and workload inequity. Three was toxic or unsupportive administration. It says past or present. Four was deep ties to the community and five was love for the students and purpose in their work. Next question is do you feel you are currently doing the best work of your life and can you list the factors that could contribute to you doing the best work of your life? So the first part of that question is are you currently doing it? 38.6 6 said yes, 38.6% said yes, 32.9 said no, and 28.5 were either mixed maybe or unsure if they felt they were doing the best work of their life. Uh the reasons or the factors that contribute to that was number one passion for impact and student growth. Two was burnout, overload and lack

052of time. Three was importance of administrative and team support. Four was the was the desire to better resources and working conditions. and five was personal and professional growth. The next question was, can you highlight any recent recognition and acknowledgement that you have received that increased your commitment and loyalty? Are there actions that that we can take to further recognize you? First answer or the most given answer was personal genuine appreciation matters most. Two was small acts of kindness go a long way. Three is awards and bonuses are appreciated but not essential. Four, many feel overlooked especially in certain roles. And five, trust and autonomy are viewed as recognition. The ninth question was, what is your feeling on how student discipline is handled on your campus? How do you feel it could be improved? One was

053discipline is handled as well as it can be. Two was lack of consistency and followth through. Third was discipline is too lenient or ineffective. Four, need for proactive male or additional administrative presence. And five was home and cultural factors affect discipline. Number 10, what one thing could administration do that would make you feel supported or more supported? One was recognition and appreciation. And I'll go a little more detail on that. Uh they they uh put in such things as personal notes, treats, verbal or written thanks, acknowledging all staff, not just the most visible or vocal. Uh recognizing efforts from non-classroom staff like aids and bus drivers. Um and it had a quote that went with it. It doesn't take much honestly, but small things like notes and treats can go a long way recognizing that

054we are professionals. The second thing about what administrators can do was respect for time and workload. Third was discipline and accountability. Four was communication and visibility. Part of that was like being kept in the loop, admin being present, approachable, uh listening to staff concerns and feedback. And the fifth answer was tangible support and resources. The 11th question is when you think about employers, how does Mount Vernity rate overall on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 represent the best possible employer? Uh that average rating was 8.57. 10 was the highest number given at 44 responses. The next highest was a eight with 29 responses. Number 12 was if the previous answer was not a 10, what would it take for Mount Vernon to earn a 10 in your mind? One was improved compensation. Two

055was teacher support and appreciation. Three was workload and stress reduction. Four was discipline in school environment. Five was equity and fairness. Next question was, how happy are you working on your current campus on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 representing the happiest? Average rating on that was 8.86. Had 64 respondents give a 10 on that answer there. They were happy uh or they rated their campus a 10. Number 14. If the previous answer was not a 10, what would it take for your campus to earn a 10 in your mind? One was improved student discipline accountability. Two was better communication and staff alignment. Three was manageable workload and staffing issues. Four, facilities, resources, and scheduling improvements. And five was campus culture and colleague relationships. And the 15th question was, is there anything else

056you'd like to share to make Mount Vernon the best place to work? First answer given was compensation and financial support. Example of that was uh many staff members emphasized the need for better pay, retention bonuses, stipens for specialized roles such as start tested subjects, bilingual sped, GT and fair compensation for pair professionals and administrators. Uh two was staffing and workload uh concerns about large class sizes, insufficient support staff, especially in early grades and sped and overburdened teachers. Three was respect, recognition and positive culture. Uh talked about staff asked for more celebration of academic achievement, individual recognition and teacher appreciation. The fourth answer was student discipline accountability. Uh many expressed frustration with student behavior, lack of consequences and the burden on teachers to enforce rules. And five was hiring and staffing quality. Uh frustration over hiring

057uncertified staff, lowquality hires and retention of underperforming employees. So, that was kind of a summary of the of the survey as a whole. Um, I've shared that with you as a board. I've shared it with our administrative staff and I shared it with our whole staff Friday as well. Send all that summary out to them as well. Um, as a leadership team, we'll continue to go through this uh as we're finishing out this year and as we're planning through the summer and uh see where we will incorporate a lot of this feedback into to help making those averages move up closer to a 10. So, can I have a copy of that? Sure. Sure. You can have this copy right here. Thank you. Sure can. You know, I have to study. Yes, ma'am. Any any

058other questions? Any thoughts? I mean, any Again, I just wanted us to, you know, we sent it out and so I want to be sure that we we shared the results with it since again, we had staff that took the time to to go through it. So, again, I think we've received some good fa good feedback and we'll look and I said, look at look at our areas where we can incorporate that feedback and and help us uh help us be better. So, and y'all will just kind of continue to fill us in. We will. We sure will. Yeah, we'll Yeah, we'll go through that and we'll we'll bring we'll bring things to you. Yes, ma'am. Okay. Yep. Any questions? All right. Thanks, teachers. They did it. We are moving to the public notice to

059move George June board meeting from Monday, June 9th to Thursday, June 12th. I sent you an email a couple weeks ago uh asking about that or requesting that. Um, I will be out of town uh at the summer superintendent conference if the 12th is is doable. Uh, we said the 12th. If not, the sixth Monday the 16th available if that is if that would be a better time. Can we do is 12th good or is 16th better? I can do the 12th. Yeah, I can do the 12th. Okay. 12th. Okay. 12th is Okay. Okay. So, so this so this is public notice really that we're we're moving the June board meeting to Thursday, June the 12th. Okay. So, okay. Yeah, he knows. I think he actually he said he could be here at first. He

060said he could, but he said he could. Yeah. Um All right. Anyone here for open forum? I don't believe so. Okay. All right. Do I um have a motion to approve the consent agenda? I'll make a motion. Kyle makes the motion. Is there a second? Second. Second by Linda. All four. 60. Thank you. And let's move to our action items. Action item A, consider an approved miss school day's waiver for elementary. Okay, Craig, you want to say something about that? You just made it what it is. Craig's put an explanation in your board book. Um, Texas Education Code 2581, uh, still allows for miss school days waivers. We can request that. Um, because we had two designated makeup days for additional minutes built to the originally adopted calendar. Uh we have used one of those

061uh as well as we utilized an additional 960 minutes of additional built-in time plus a bad weather day. So we've met those. Uh we'll be uh 360 minutes short. So that's really what the waiver is requesting and it's still pending commissioner approval pending your approval tonight to apply for the waiver. Want to add anything to that? Sorry. Just we're only applying for the elementary because they're the only ones short because of their time. So this is standard protocol, but we have to have your approval before we can actually submit it to TA. Okay. So pending your approval, you approve it tonight, we'll submit it TA. If the commissioner if the commissioner were to for whatever reason not approve the waiver, uh then we will what the plan would be would be that last day of

062school instead of being a half day, we would have to make that a full day to get the minutes. So again, that's why we're again y'all's approval of the waiver, the commissioner's approval of the waiver, the last day stays the same. And if if something changes, then we will we'll notify everybody of the change. All right, I'm going to make the motion to approve the miss school days waiver for elementary. Is do I have a second? Second. Second by Linda. All four 6o. Thank you. All right. and action item B, consider and approve recommended instructional material selections. Okay, so this is the standard procedure for anytime we're adopting new instructional materials um that in if you look at our policy um that has to come before the board for approval. Um, you've got a one

063pager right there in front of you listed this year K through five phonics and reading language arts or K through 3 phonics and K through five reading language arts and Spanish language arts was up for adoption and then K through algebra 2 was also up for adoption. So the process what we did is is I invited principles to invite teachers from their campus to go to region 8 to a vendor showcase where we got to see all the vendors who had approved materials under the new IMRA process. And we hadn't really talked about this much, but the number of approved vendors because of the criteria now under the new IMRA was way down because you got to have 100% TI coverage and there's a lot of things that go into it. So the number of

064options were constricted and way more limited than normal. But in saying that, they were happy with the what they got to see. So we we went to region 8, took team leads, principles, and sat through all the rotations watching everybody's presentation on math and RLA, excuse me. And then after that day, we kind of talked it through and and got feedback from the team leads and principles and they said, "Hey, we want to see and hear more from these vendors, getting more time with them to get ask questions." So I coordinated a day where where those vendors on March 7th um Blue Bonnet, uh Savas, Savas Learning, Accelerate Learning, and Agile Mind all came and gave on-site presentations for all grade levels. All of our teachers were able to go through that. Not just a

065limited number, they were able to see presentations. They had an hour and a half with them and were able to ask questions of the reps. Uh after that point in time we took teacher and administrator feedback and that was collected and a majority of those pled selected that material in black above right there. So that's accelerate learning stem scopes for kinder through algebra 1 algebra agile mind geometry and algebra 2. If you if you're wondering why that's two different products right there, Stem Scopes was the favorite, but they they like a lot of others only had a product up through algebra 1. Agile Agile Mind was liked our our our high school uh department liked Agile Mind uh and the product, the way it was put together. uh but probably would have chosen accelerate learning

066had they had an analggebra 2 and geometry pro geometry product. So we're only going to do a one-year um contract with al agile mind to see next year if accelerate learning puts out a product. Okay. And then uh the TEA blue bonnet learning K through five, that's for reading language arts. Their phonics program K through three. And uh I put this on here, the the Spanish language arts. We're actually getting access to that as a part of a pilot program, which I'll apply for once y'all approve that because it's it's let me just say it's a pilot program. It's not fully developed yet, but it goes along with it's their their Spanish translated materials and that goes along with the RLA. And I've talked to u the bilingual coordinator at region 8 has helped support

067schools and other districts who've been using the OEER product in the past and she's going to come out and work with our bilingual staff to help them on how to coordinate that at the different grade levels with our Gomez and go Gomez model that we're currently using. Any questions on that? I'm going to ask a question. Um, and Miss George, you might want to jump into because it pertains to because most of the reading is for elementary. Can you just you've talked about it before in here kind of what some of the updates what y'all are seeing. Can you talk about how this addresses some concerns y'all are seeing with um I don't know if the benchmark dies the correct way, but our younger grades, right? Because y'all scores right now are phenomenal. So my

068question was just changing that what the need was and what you were feeling to continue with that success. Does that make sense what I'm asking? It does. So our our scores are good and our third and fourth grade teachers are having to do a whole lot of work once those kiddos get to them. If they're not on level, they're having to fill in the gaps along with their intervention as they're working to fill in those gaps to get them on grade level so then they can also pass star. So we need to lighten the load and that burden and really address it in early intervention at K2 and so we know there's a need there and that's what spurred a lot of conversation on our campus and I' I've been fully transparent you know about

069that from the beginning that's when we had region 8 come talk to us what do we what can we do because we know there's room for improvement in K2 and so we went to the RB's training which is the researchbased instructional strate strategies training one of the best trainings I've been to and it was really toning in on you there's a saying that you can't can't out intervene for tier one instruction. So, doesn't matter how many interventions we have, we've got to tone up and secure or not secure just beef up our tier one instruction. So, if our kids are not performing where they need to be, we can't lower the expectation. And so, that's really with through their RB training, it's all about that you have to have that tier one, that solid tier

070one instruction on grade level. And after we So, there's no different instructional strategies. After the first grade, we took a team of eight or 10 of us there and the teachers looked at me and said, "This is what we need. This is what's going to fill in the gap because there's two pieces of it. There's the foundational piece, which is our phonics, the grammar, that 60 minutes a day, but then it also brings in the knowledge and foundation. So, it's built in units and it's really working on that comprehension and exposing them to all sorts of things that even if you're a struggling reader, you can still have that listening comprehension. You can learn and being given the opportunity to learn. So that's the knowledge and found uh knowledge and comprehension. So there's two different

071components. So all we've read, all we've researched, all we've heard from we interview applicants that are using it and you know I asked them and said would this be a deterrent for you coming to our district after using it? Absolutely not. They've seen the growth. We do know that with any new implementation, you you could have a backslide because when you're asking kiddos to everyone doing good tier one instruction, it's going to be hard for them and that's going to be a change. And part of the training was as educators, we love our kids and we don't want to see them struggle sometimes, but that productive struggle is where the learning is. And so, we're going to have to reframe what that looks like for some of our classrooms and even for some of our

072teachers that it's okay for them to struggle. And then that intervention is going to have to come outside of that language arts block so that we can fill in continue to fill in those gaps where they are. But um we're excited about it. We know that it's change is hard and but we have a plan to implement it with fidelity. It's it's not I don't want to do this. It's yes, everyone is going to implement it and we're going to do it with fidelity. So there's going to be some growing pains. We may have some backslide but all the districts I know Mr. Watson had gone to a training that where a lot of um curriculum coordinators were there. They've used the amplify version of this for three years and they're all transitioning into blue

073bonnet. So I think that speaks if they weren't getting the results they had the opportunity to change and do something else but they're continuing on with the blue bonnet product. So I mean we have to be realistic. There could be a struggle. There's going to be some struggle and it's it's new, but we're going to be there to support and we'll have support from region 8 to help us too. Anytime you change, not not necessarily change, but anytime you start day one with on grade level instruction and that's the expectation that there's going to be time to it's going to take some adjust adjustment time. And we've been told that that is a reality and and that the first four months are going to the some of the struggles we're going to see, but then

074what it's going to look like in December and January is where you're going to see it grow. Yes. And so we want to be upfront with our teachers about that as well. And parents. Yeah. Did I answer your question? No, you did. You did. No, that No, that makes sense. Thank you so much. Um, and with that though too because just uh bouncing off of what he did with the state questionnaire, we know as y'all said there are are going to be challenges on the front end, but correct me if I'm wrong. In my understanding, this is also though to help teachers in the long run with some of the paperwork load and lesson planning that should help that. So the the entire EMRA process moving forward you we we get through EMAT we get

075a we get a dollar amount which I can't tell you exactly what our ours is but it's a hundred and something dollars per student to use for instructional materials. Then we have an additional bucket of $40 per student which goes to any EMRA approved product. So all of these on here, accelerate learning, agile mind, all these are EMR approved. They've met all the criteria. I know that's been shared with you guys, but they've been through the rigorous criteria of what is approved under under EMR. And that's not just Blue Bonnet, that's any of these. And so that with those products, it's no longer teachers gathering resources, having having to go out and write lesson plans from scratch. Now the time planning is okay. Here's what I have in front of me. Where are my kids?

076Let me preview this res lesson. It's called internalization. And and they're going to get a training on this. So they're going to be trained on now what I do in my planning time. I'm going to do this internalization process with this lesson. I'm going to look at it. I'm going to start with the back and I may even take the test as a teacher and start working back so I can see and anticipate some of the struggles the kids are going to face with this lesson. and it won't catch me off guard. And so we haven't all been through the training of that process yet, but we'll by by the time the summer's over with, we will have all gone through that. Teachers, principles is alleviate teachers spending hours and hours of their top looking.

077Let me see what I need for this team. Let me see what how I can supplement this. And then their money that they're spending on teachers pay teachers that always quality product. So everything will be there for them and then it's up to them and us to lead them through. How do they internalize that and in turn implement it with fidelity but use their good pedagogical studies and how they they're good teachers. How are they going to make that lesson their own then? But for a brand new teacher walking in, all the information is there for them. It's not who am I going to lean on or who am I? Yes, they're pulling all these sources. So our time can be used more I guess in a more productive way is great and and there

078there there is autonomy within each of these products even within a unit lesson for the the teacher to guide it in certain directions. So it's it's not it's not just here's your script and you say this and say this and and move forward. Good. So, uh, anyway, so that that's that. So, when evaluating a teacher, if she's on the subject but not using what is scripted for her to use, she will not be marked down for that in a walk through. What do you mean scripted? Well, like if it sits Well, so I can address that in our next piece. That's the that is our uh instructional materials transition plan details that Is that in our board book? That's the next That's the next action item. Sorry. We have We have to move past this.

079Okay. Yeah. Um before we move on from that, are there any other questions? Okay. All right. Um I'm Let's see. Where's the exact I'm going to make the motion to approve the instructional materials transition plan. Do I have a second? No, not the plan yet. We're instructional material selection. Selection. Sorry. Thank you. Action item B. I'll make the motion to approve recommended instructional material selections. Yeah. Do I have a second? Seconded by Kyle. All four 60. All right. And then we'll move on to the um instructional materials transition plan. Yes. So, as I was talking about those buckets of money earlier, uh the blue bonnet is a is an OEER open education resource u that's owned by the state of Texas now and we get an additional $20 that had no bearing on our decision,

080but we do get an additional $20 on top of the 40 in the other bucket because of because it is an OEER product and that's that's to support the printing which comes from region four of the workbooks and whatnot. But also tied to that in in a statute prior to moving to an OEER product, the school has to develop and have board approved an instructional materials transition plan. Now, this plan before you is 21 pages long and I'll tell you the background on this. I went to a Dave's training at region 8 to talk about the plan, the plan requirements, your goals that have to be outlined in there and then basically got to hear anecdotal information from schools that have been using this in the past as to why do you need a plan?

081Anytime you have change, you need a plan on on on how you're going to implement the change, how you're going to how you're going to message the change, and what are your expectations going to be with any type of new curriculum. So, without going into the weeds of of all of the of every everything in here, we're going to look at where we start with our goals. Excuse me. My water. No, I I've got a drink here. Y'all just look at those goals real quick. There's four of them. If you if you start on page four area, now this plan is our own. It is kind of like a campus improvement plan. It can be tweaked and amended as as deemed necessary, but it is the these goals are supposed to be smart. Okay. That's

082why you see them in the in the manner they're in. But what we're looking at in in goal area number one is 100% of our teachers are implementing the materials consistently by middle of the year. Um these measures will be classroom walkthroughs um minimum monthly walkthroughs of each classroom quarterly data review and reflection. Okay. Okay. Number one, goal area number. If you have questions, let me get to the end because most of them are going to be answered for you. Okay. Stakeholder investment. 85% of teachers and leaders report confidence in the OEER by the end of the year. This is will be gathered through stakeholder surveys at the end of the year. Um goal area. The next one is teacher practice. 90% of the teachers are you use unit lesson internalization protocols at each weekly

083PLC uh how's this measured this will be dur during PLC observations and review of annotations uh frequency u administrator will observe one PLC per grade level band per quarter and then finally student outcomes we'd like to see 90% of our students engaging with grade level content and that's key there from the OAR and build familiarity with the embedded routines and strategies. Now, these are goals, right? Okay? And so everything following that is are actions that we're going to put in place to try to try to attain those goals. Now, I'm going to save you the boredom. The action two, creating conditions for success. The first part of that is what are we technically technically going to do in order to order materials, get them distributed, whatnot. It's just it's just uh basic stuff right there.

084How how are we going to order them? How are we going to get them distributed? Inventoried all that. So then you if you go down to top of page seven, schedules and calendars. So we then have to look at each of our schedules and ensure that we are building in the number of allowed minutes for instruction to effectively use the blue bron product. And that's those minutes are there. I can tell you we I sat in a room with Dr. McCulla and campus principles and we went through this plan uh together. So you can see there the time expectations. 2C is your aligning expectations. And the the first alignment item is blue learning instructional materials are used for daily tier one instruction for all students without substituting or supplementing with other materials. The plan for

085m for communication of this is that the expectations for materials will materials use will be integrated into blue bonnet learning onboarding training for all stakeholders. All teachers and school leaders will have the opportunity to review Blue Bonnet learning instructional materials during back to the schooling service and they're actually going to get access to it sooner than that because they're going to have three days training in the summer. I have to. Yeah. So they right now there's a three-day session in June and three-day session in July that they have the option to sign up for either one of those. So that's where they're going to start digging into it. So the next thing is the internalization protocol and process. When you see internalization, this is what you used to do when you were creating your lesson

086plans. Now you're reviewing your resources you already have before you and and and looking at what that lesson's going to look like with your kids. Uh and so this is the process that they'll be trained on. Administrators will be trained on it. Teachers will be trained on. Then we're going to use time to analyze their student work using the blue bonnet learning protocol. Okay. This will be done done during common planning time or during our uh Friday blue days. So you're going to have the internalization pro process for each lesson unit. Then you're going to look into the pro you're going to look at the uh student work protocol which you that is now your data dives and your views of where where are students performing as we go along the way curriculum embedded assessment

087expectations. So this is going to be diff not different uh but it's going to be another thing off of their plate. So within the blue bonnet, uh all of all of the unit assessments and common unit assessments are going to be already built and developed and will be housed in edge for you. And so it'll be the same for all fifth grade teachers, all fourth grade teachers, just like before, but they don't have to develop that common unit assessment as a unit. We go out, find the questions, whatever else. and and and all of those unit assessments are aligned to everything that's happening with the resources and then and 100% of their teaches and grade level star qu star type questions along the way. So it's really basically all combined right there at your fingertips.

088Yes. Uh and so that is the key because the the assessments are embedded both uh any assessments you do along way your unit assessments and your common based unit assessments. That's why it's crucial that we 100% use blue bonnet because if you stray off of that, you're not going to you're not going to make sure you ensure you do everything to hit those unit assessments at the level that they're going to be assessing. Um, and I from having conversations with people the day I went to this training that already using this and from the refs and region eight people, there are more than enough resources in each unit that you can't just start at the top and use them all every unit. So, you have that autonomy to pick and choose within this is what

089I'm going to use to meet this part of the lesson. This is what I'm going to and again I'm saying a lot of that without we haven't had the detailed training how that works out but we've had enough of information with product review and having conversations that we get the gist of it of what it's going to look like. And again anything in this plan as we come along and we and we find okay we're a little too embarrassed on this or on this on this we'll come back and try to tweak it. We'll bring it back to you and say hey we want to make a tweak to the plant just to keep everybody informed. But you can do that with your different classes too because you're on different levels. Yes. Core. Yeah. Just

090core class. This is just math and English. This actually this plan is really just for the blue. Yeah. This is just blue English K right now up to fifth grade. Yeah. L K5 because that's where they stop the through fifth grade. Yes. Um and so the next thing is your professional learning plan. The Arby's training. Like I said, we had a group of teachers already go at the elementary uh earlier in the year and then we brought them back out last Friday. We did Arby's again for anybody who hadn't seen it and that's the researchbased instructional strategies training that Miss George was referencing. So, so we did that. The rest of this just outlines our our PD plan dates when everybody's going to get what they're going to get in regards to PD, what that's

091going to look like. Um adaptive change and communication. These are the key messages that we believe that we have to that we have to message out to the community to teachers to stakeholders. Number one, um what is our purpose for implementing blue bonnet learning? Access to grade level material materials matters. When students are given great appropriate assignments aligned to the TEICSS and combined with strong instruction, engagement and high expectations, they achieve higher outcomes. Yeah. Our expectations for student learning are reflected in the materials, assignments, texts, and assessments that we give them. Students will rise to the occasion, do what's asked of them. When expectations are high, student performance and outcomes are also high. Implementing rigorous instructional materials does not preclude teachers from supporting and accommodating individual learners because within any of these EMR products whether

092it be Blue Bonnet or whatever else each one of them has to have a measure design to differentiate instruction whether it to be to remediate or to accelerate. So your GT kids can be accelerated with with any any of these products and then you're you can provide the intervention at the same time not with just blue mind but with agile mind with stem scopes all these products have that built in. Key message number two Mount Vernus ISD is committed to ensuring alignment across stakeholders communicating clarity focusing on positive aspects of implementation and gathering and responding to stakeholder feedback. Um the next key piece is really I invite you to look over this but it's just it is it is the practices on how we're going to support teachers uh on the campus in regards to

093they're going to have PLC time your administrators are coming going to come in they're going to work with them and support them we're going to join that regionate co-op where we're going to have x amount of days where region 8 comes out and supports our teachers on site and our administrators on site and then there will be a certain number of days that they'll be able to go to region 8, but we don't plan on getting our teachers out of the classroom. We want to keep them in the classroom and have them here as much as possible. I don't know the number yet because the co-op hadn't hasn't come out yet, but the number of days we get is about everybody who's been using OAR prior to this year has been under a grant and

094they've had the same kind of support, but it's been too much. they couldn't go to all the required days. It was too many days out of the classroom. They said that number is going to be about half under the co-op. So, it's more doable for for school districts to be able to uh take advantage of that sport time. Um those are just our structures inside for internalization and PLC's. There's going to be there's going to be walkthroughs happening that are not gotchas that are not that are not part of uh hey this is a formal walkthrough as a part of your t test your t test. This is a walk through to help you in your implementation and to give you feedback and and I'm going to come walk through your classrooms and we're going

095to have PLC's and we're all going to sit down and talk about it and the struggles we're facing because it's new for everybody. So we're going to provide that level of support and if we have these expectations that it's going to be implemented, we've got to inspect it and support it from an administrative stand. Supports. Thank you. Yeah. Sorry. Okay. So going through the the the last section uh I was trying to get down to uh observation and feedback practices or excuse me not last section four action four these are is discussing the the learning walk tools that will be uh used the professional development opportunities the the cycle at which and we talked about this because it's going to be a lot for our administrators, but we talked about a reasonable expectation of cycle

096to be able to get in and see everybody. Uh, and elementary's got a bulk of the load to do right there. But we want to uh we want to be be there to support the teachers because if you hand them something say do this and they never see you, then then they're going to first wonder were they really serious? Do they even really care? So, we've got to be there. Uh, and I plan on doing some myself, get getting my feet wet back in there just just to show that we're supporting and be able to help them a little bit at the elementary. Um, finally is our assessment strategy. And this just talks about what I discussed earlier, administering the common unit assessments, um, and then what that's going to look like. Uh I can

097tell you that just overall and it's not a part of this but as you those of you who are familiar with it where we did everything in edifia blue bonnet still units are in edgeoria but these other online products have their own as more EMR more IMRA subjects are adopted you're going to see less stuff happening in edge of war for example stem scopes is completely online their common unit assessments everything will be housed within it. Agile mind's the same. Blue Bonnet is not digital platform in itself. So it still utilizes u edge euphoria because it doesn't have its own digital piece. Any questions on that that plan? I know I went through a lot and but we we just need your approval. Without that we cannot order. I got a build a check box

098that said y'all reviewed the plan. Uh let me ask you. So, what have y'all heard the feedbackwise uh as kind of what is a fair amount of time to see how well this works because what we're doing is working. So, we're going to do something new and different. What if it doesn't? I had a conversation with uh Superintendent Paris. they've used they've been part of the uh grant process and as Craig said first semester that she said was a struggle and you start seeing the turn as Craig said about December into January and you really start seeing some some momentum through the spring semester. So the so the thing our our star scores have been good but what's working right now in K1 and two is not working right and it's not working it's not

099advantageous it's it's it's a struggle for our teachers and our teach so what we're trying to do is get a this this has how many how many different products were we relying on to try to teach phonics and using some that weren't even approved prior to this is the most robust phonics program to teach our kids to read starting in K1. That's that there is. Oh, I was just curious just kind of a just to have something I mean for for example when we moved I didn't I didn't ask that question because I because the everybody who I talked to and got feedback from region 8 they've stayed with it. So, no one is like that that to my knowledge has there. There was one she didn't give a name. She said there's one district

100that had a new administrator come in and they paused it, but they're fixing to go back. But everybody else who had been using it as as OEER product the past three years is continuing and there's more coming up. So, but here's the deal. Nobody knows if anything. We can't guarantee anything that's going to happen. All we can do is take analyze the data, look at what's presented before us, and make a decision that this is what's best based on all all the information we have. But it sounds like it's going to be for all all levels, you know, all the different levels in the class in the grade. Yeah, it might be a struggle at first, but and that's what they said. If when you when you are teaching at grade level and that is

101your expectation, y'all know this, you got kids that make may make have good grades throughout the year and don't pass the STAR test. Okay? So why this ensures that that instruction is at grade level? It's geared and and it's and it's geared toward so you'll have kids that might have been straight A kids that might all of a sudden not make an A in this situation but it's because the rigor is going to be upped. We've got to test riggers are up. Yeah. And and when I in saying this this is not that statement is not just about blue money. that is about the EMRA products that are have to be on grade level and 100% T line. So it's just it's for a math as well. It's that's not a blue bonnet issue. That's

102that's all new EMRA materials moving forward. And if I can interject when we say what we're doing in K2 is not working, that is not a reflection on what our teachers are doing. It's the needs of our students that are coming to school and the different products that we're having to they can choose from. We need something that's streamlined and something that's given them the depth and complexity that they number one that they deserve. And that's our hope at or our shot at getting them where they need to be. So again, when they get to third grade, our third grade teachers aren't teaching them first, second grade skills to get them where they need to be in take instead of learning to read in third grade, we're reading to learn. And so making that all

103happen. So hopefully if it's working in K through two, then when they get to third grade, it's just smooth sailing and they're continuing on. Well, if they if they're grade level by fifth grade, they're going to be great in junior high. It's going to carry over. Does anyone else have any questions? Anyone else? Okay. All right. So, let's uh Is there a motion to approve the instructional materials transition plan this time? That's right. I'll make the motion. Is there a second? No. Second. I will. Second by Kathy. All four. Six. So, thank you. All right. What do you um let's move to action item D. consider, sign, and ratify the certification of the provision of extra instructional materials for the 2526 school year. Okay. So, so y'all approve the our adopted materials, you approve the

104instruction plan, and then this is just the the certification we have to do every year that tells what products we're using to provide uh the TEICS for each of our subject areas. So it includes the new adopted materials and then the currently adopted for those that are that are that are not new, what we're using in those grade levels. Nothing controversial here. It's just this is what we've been this is what we're adopting new for for these grade levels. Uh it includes our science stuff from last year and then each grade level's outlined. I just need a a motion to approve that and then I'll need a signature at the end. Okay. All right. Do I have a motion to uh ratify uh sign and ratify the certification of the provision of instructional materials for

105the 2526 school year? I'll make a motion. Kyle makes motion. Do I have a second? Second. Josh second all four. 60. Thank you. Thank you, sir. All right. Um, action item E, consider and approve MVISD police department vehicle procurement purchases. I ask JP if he will do you mind speaking on this just a minute? You want to share with them? They have so. So, so yeah, if you will. So, JP put his um um JP gave you an explanation in your board book, but I asked JP to be here. Well, he was here anyway, but asking to be available to answer any questions. Uh, as you see what he has done, he's had the opportunity to um um to follow a program that um the sheriff's department is following as well in regard to instead

106of going all out and do a full purchase on the in one budget cycle of two new vehicles, he's requesting um to do a lease purchase with these. um it would be two two new ones. The first payment would not be until next year and it would be built into the budget. So it wouldn't have to come out of fund balance or anything like that. Uh it would be built into next year's budget. Uh at the end of that uh lease cycle uh they will be ours and uh which should have several years of very usable life after that. And um so again instead of doing one hit on one budget cycle, this spreads it out over five years. five year lease and um and so anyway JP's here I can talk a little bit

107about the program um and this is this is something that other law enforcement agencies are doing to to stop that big hit coming into your budget. Um this this program this company American National Leasing also does our upfitting which is probably around $20,000 for the vehicles. Uh it gives us our lights and our sirens. Everything that that the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement requires us to have in a an emergency vehicle. Uh it it's part of that price that we pay that annual one-time um onetime payment over five years. At the end of that five years, we buy the vehicle for a dollar and the dollar is ours. I mean the the vehicle is ours. Um, one of the things that I've done recently is I've really started watching our mileage to see what we're

108doing. Uh, how many miles we're putting on the vehicles. And right now, we're looking at somewhere in the neighborhood of seven or 8,000 miles a year that are on the vehicles. Uh, with that, these vehicles are anticipated to have a 10-year shelf life. Something around, you know, 80 to 100,000 miles is where we're looking to go. A lot of the other vehicles that law enforcement agencies use sometimes they don't make it that far uh because of the aggressive nature in which cops on the street drive. Uh so we're looking for longevity for these vehicles as well. What this does is it replaces our Taurus which has a lot of miles on it. Um, it it works a lot of the times and and sometimes we have to we have to work on it and and

109fix it. We we got a uh a used Tahoe last year that still has a lot of life left in it and we think that we're going to be able to push this one out, this Tahoe um that we got last year. I think we may have 50,000 miles on this vehicle. So, we got a lot of life left in that one. Uh but Tall is also the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement. As of September 1st of last year, every police department, school, ISD, police department, we had the same requirements as the big agencies as Dallas PD, Houston PD, Franklin County. Uh Tik put a requirement on us. Um and with Dr. Mcola's support, we've been able to to bring our officers up. We only have three. We've been able to bring our officers up

110with the equipment uh that they need to to kind of meet that mandate. We just had a um a Texas Commission on Law Enforcement audit last week and we we passed with flying colors. So, everything that we're doing is is working. The Tiko is happy with this and these vehicles um will give us a little longevity, give us the emergency presence uh that we need in certain times. There any questions? Good job. Oh, thank you. Any questions? Okay. Okay. Thank you so much. All right. Do I have a motion to approve the NBISD Police Department vehicle procurement purchases? I'll make a motion. Josh makes a motion. Seconded by Kyle. All four. 6. So, thank you. Um, Madam President, if you will, JP, would you just give them I'm sorry I'm go off script for just

111a second, but it kind of ties into a little bit necessarily in regard to the vehicles. Would you give them a quick update in regard to the flock cameras, please? Oh, yes. So, we um we have installed and in the process of installing um license plate readers. They're law enforcement. They're not part of the educational records of the students and things like that. So, when you come on campus, we'll have one at every major point that um that you ingress into the campus with and it will read your license plate. No harm, no foul, no no big whoop. only law enforcement can see it. Um, where this comes into um comes into play is when we have uh registered sex offender that comes on campus, when we have a stolen vehicle that comes on campus,

112when we have someone a registered owner that has a warrant out for their arrest. So, those are the action items that we would have with this. where it really helps us is I get this all the time um mostly from the elementary school. By the time it reaches Angie, someone sees something suspicious and 30 minutes later or an hour later, they get it to Angie and Angie's going through trying to find where the car was and they'll say it's a red truck. Well, now I can search our database for a red truck. Um, and it will pull up every red truck that's come on the campus within the time frame uh that that I set. The really good news is is that Franklin County uh sheriff's office, they've gone to flock. So now we not

113only have our campus that we're going to share with the the sheriff's department, but we have access to their cameras. So now I can go out and pull everything that goes up and up and down 37 to kind of find out where it's going. From there I can run the license plate, find out who the registered owner is, and then we can look for all the red trucks that we want that we're playing around the the playground or that we're hovering or or doing something. So it it's a it's a big benefit to us. And it works 24 hours a day. So, at 2 am, if somebody comes on to the campus with nefarious intentions, um they do some damage, they steal something, we're we're going to know um what's set up. We can also

114create custom um custom hit lists or alert list, not a hit list, alert list. That's old life. We're going to leave that in the past. Um um an alert list. So, if we have a vehicle that we've given a criminal trespass to or if we have a if we have a a repeat offender that that does things that um are getting to the attention of the administration, we can go ahead and enter that license plate in there and I'll receive a text on it. U and then one other thing while I'm here, uh Chris Mother Francis has granted us three additional AEDs. They they've given us three additional AEDs that we'll put into effect around the school. Um once we they want to do a press release. I'm sure Dr. McCulla wants to do a

115press release. So once we get all the press release people put together, we'll have three additional AEDs that we can we can put on campus. That's awesome. Which really is a good deal. And I was going to bring this up early and forgot, but along with Miss Terry with what happened at the baseball game, uh her and Miss Decker and others have been talking about this. Not only will we get those three, and we already have some on each campus, but we're going to we're as a school, we're purchasing some extras. Terry has hers with her all the time, but we're going to place them in all three press boxes, so they'll be there. We'll everybody will know where those will be. Uh press boxes are kind of the central location uh for both fields.

116Still close enough to tennis court as well to have one. Uh but then we'll have an additional one at the football field as well. So those are those are additional plans of AED machines that we're putting in place. That's great. So just want I just sorry want to take the time just give you a little update regard after I was talking about the cars as well. So that's awesome JP. Thank you. Thank you. All right. And action item F uh consider approval of tips vendor proposal for new bus with Okay. So we actually we actually need to change we the buses that we have uh the quotes that we have are actually a bus with seat belts. Uh all buses are being made now with seat belts unless you specifically which we've done in the

117past special order them without them. Uh all these buses are on the lot and available uh at the present. Uh so they would have seat belts. Um so that is a change there. We received three bids for this. Something I can say as well, this bus would have to be paid for out of out of a budget amendment from uh from fund balance. Um we have three bids. This is 72 passenger bus, brand new bus, 2026 uh bluebird um one from long or from Rush Truck Centers for 144,51279. We have a quote from Longhorn Bus um for 157032 and we have one from Thomas Bus for 145,000 even. Sorry, it's a 78 passenger bus, not 72. And these are all the same. All the same. Okay. Should be the same bus. Yes, ma'am. So, um

118I'd like to make the recommendation uh to go ahead and move forward with this. This is a bus we should be able to receive over the next couple weeks. Um I actually thought we were going to be bringing recommendation for a an additional special ed bus. Uh Bobby feels that he has found one uh a used bus that he and Nick went and looked at uh low mileage uh for only $20,000. Um couple things that they're going to that needs to be corrected, but he he and Nick drove it, looked it over, inspected it. uh feel very good about it. So, we're going to be able to replace that one uh out of current budget funds. Uh but this one here again would be would come out of fund balance. Okay. So, would the sp

119special a bus would come out of special ed funds? It's going to come out of question is Craig special ed bus will that 20,000 come out of special ed funds? Yes, it will. We've been kind of watching our special ed funds because we want to right we want to make sure we're in a certain range in order to be able to for some compliance reasons. So if it doesn't come out of the special ed funds, we've already spent all we need to. We'll just use it out of Okay. Some other unrestricted funds. Yeah. Thank you. Okay. So it was 20,000 20,000 for the used one. Yes, ma'am. Yeah. Yeah. He he he he saw it or got the email on it and we talked about it and I told him, you know, I said, "Go

120look at it," which he wanted to do anyway. So, he and Nick went last week, went down, Lufkin, looked at it, drove it, and um he was pleased. I told him, "Let's move forward with that one then." So, are we acting on that as well? No, we're just acting on this. No, the the the special ed was under the threshold 20,000. I went ahead and made the made the decision to move forward with that one. Yes, ma'am. So, no, ma'am. Tonight's tonight's decision is just recommendation for the U 78 passenger bus from Rush Truck Centers for 14451279 cents. Okay. So, I'm going to make the motion to approve the proposal from Rush Truck. Do I have a second? Second. Seconded by Kathy. All four 60. Thank you. All right. Action item G. Consider and approve

121purchase of audio and visual upgrade for auditorium. Okay. So, this we only have we we really are trying we we have to get one more um quote. We've only got two quotes so far. So, we're working on the third one. Uh but what I want to and I'll go through I'll talk to you about that in just a second. What we're trying to do is as you know we're through the construction process. We've um added bathrooms to the auditorium. Uh updated the foyer and they're once one act play is finished with state then they're going to come in and and do some more work in the auditorium. have to run a fire fire sprinkler per code. Uh they're going to fix the hole in the ceiling. They're gonna paint everything. We've got a little sound

122booth we've built. And so what we need now to finish out the work of the auditorium to really make it to where it's what we need it to do and to be as functional as we'd like it to be is going to be add new lights and new sound. Uh so we've received two quotes so far. First one, the first two you see in your board board packet really are it's one for sound and one for lighting. Um, wow. That lighting update is or that lighting first bid from sound of sound and lighting of out of Arlington. It was one for one for 19760 85 and then their um sound quote was for 69221. Um, so what is that? That's close to 300 266 266. Thank you. The other quote we had from audio video

123security CNC uh their total bid for light and sound together was 36429960. So what this where this money will come from Craig's got some numbers for you uh to share with you as well. This would come out of would come out of the earned interest money off the bond money that we have uh which is doable because it is uh because the auditorium was part of the bond proposal. Uh so Craig you want to you want to share where we are currently on earned interest and what this would do on the earned interest right now. We are currently at we are currently at 3 million118,000 earned. Okay. So far that's to the end of March I had estimated a little conservatively at 3.5 million. We're really close to to hitting that um on the construction

124with going towards the construction and everything that we got and what we have left over in balances to finish plus any additional stuff that we've already paid for and everything. We're looking at about 2.7 million. We do need to allocate 1.1 million for furniture. We've already discussed that with Tonear and they assured us that's about where we're going to be. So currently right now we're about 1.6 million left over unallocated. That does not include um any additional interest money that we're going to earn. And it looks like we're on track to get between another seven and 800,000 on top of that. Oh, well the two the 2.7 million I have it if you take that out it's actually 2.5. We have we're on day 236 contract. Yeah, I got a question there too. I got

125a question. I've got to say I have a good convers $1,000 a day we get. You're not have a good conversation. Does that have to go back? Does that go that goes back into the construction fund, right? It goes into the PD's budget. Yeah. What was that? What was that question? A day has to be spent on pay us at the end balance that take it off that balance. But yes, it will still be but yes it still be in the construction. Okay, but it'll be but that money is from bond from Proposition B. So it would still be on the on the it would have to be on the proposition B part of what that Proposition B spoke of. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Okay. Okay. So So the recommendation would be Hang on. Let

126me get my What was What was the total Craig? 266 for the BNL. Yeah. Yes. 266. 266 8 and some change. Sorry, I should have already had that. 197, but doesn't it have to just be not to exceed? Yes. Yes. 606 185 plus 221. So, the recommendation would be if the board would approve for us to uh update um the sound and um lighting for the auditorium for a cost not to exceed 266,82785. Is that what you came out with, Craig? Does that sound right? Same. That's what the third meeting could technically could technically could do that. Yeah. All right. Any more questions on that? Is there a motion to approve the purchase of audio and visual upgrade for the audit auditorium not to exceed the number from BN BNL lighting? Motion. Motion made by

127Linda. Do I have a second? I'll second. Seconded by Kyle. All four 60. Thank you all very much. Thank you for doing that. It is now 7 o'clock and we will convene to close session for personnel matters pursuant to Texas Government Code section 551.074 and to address legal concerns, implications, and questions regarding the posted agenda items pursuant to Texas Government Code section 551.071. Reconvene into open session. Dr. McCulla, do we have any personnel? Personnel. Let me get to it real quick. Okay. Like to uh recommend the following professional contracts. Haley Padilia, Jenny Thompson, Katie Cummings, Kayla Menddees, Kelsey Adams, Laura Rally, Regina Sauier, Stacy Peterson, Kaylee Kelso, and Kelly Mlan. All right. Do I have a motion to approve the uh recommendations from the superintendent as presented? I'll make a motion. Motion made by Kyle.

128Is there a second? Second. Seconded by Linda. All four. 60. All right. And then do we have any resignations to acknowledge? Yes, ma'am. Up here. back. There we go. Stephanie Macintosh, Tamar Breeden, Lar Kaufman, Katherine Drew, Nikita Friday, Greg Gamblin, Megan Law, Angela McQuary, Brett Mitchell Lutz, Christine Renfro, Liz Cright, Jason Shelley, Sandra Stinson, Joe Thomas, Billy Wilson, and Jason House. Anything else? No, ma'am. All right, it is 9:00 p.m. and this meeting is done. Thank you all very much.