12/13/16 MNPS Board Meeting

001Everybody for being here tonight. We have a packed house. We have a quorum established and I would like to ask Laura Moore from the mayor's office to lead us in the pledge tonight. 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. Thank you. Thank you. We'll move on to awards and recognitions. Dr. Joseph. Thank you. Well tonight we get to recognize several outstanding students starting with DJ Thorpe a football player at Cain Ridge High School Who is this year's recipient of the William Hume award? This award was established 73 years ago to recognize students in Nashville Public Schools Who excel both in the classroom and on the football field? The award ceremony rotates annually among participating

002community service clubs. This year, the ceremony was hosted by the Kiwanis Club of Nashville. Each school in our school system submits a candidate chosen by the principal and a football coach on the basis of scholarship, sportsmanship, individual performance, and value to the team. A community-based committee selects the winner. I know Cane Ridge principal Michelle Sanchez is thrilled that her student won this year. I'd like to invite Principal Sanchez to the podium along with Cane Ridge football coach Mr. Eddie Woods to tell you about DJ and why he was chosen and nominated. Hi, good evening. We are excited to be here. We want to thank you for the opportunity to congratulate our senior quarterback, DJ Thorpe. I'm going to have Coach Woods talk a little bit more about DJ, but we are excited. DJ has been

003at Cane Ridge for four years. He is very respectful, polite. DJ has been accepted into Cornell University. We are excited. He has over a little bit of a 4.0 GPA, and we are just so proud that he graduated. But he's definitely a leader off and on the field, and we're just so proud that he was recognized for all this hard work that started four years ago. And I'd like to introduce Coach Eddie Woods, our wonderful football coach. Good evening. I want to thank you guys for the opportunity for being here as well. I think she said everything about DJ, so I really don't have anything else to say. But one thing about it I will say about our wonderful principal is I know how demanding her job is and her work is as an educator,

004as a principal, executive principal, but she always finds time for the kids. That's one thing that I absolutely love about her. DJ is a great student. I know how hard it is to be a great student, but it's extremely hard being a great student and also a great athlete as well. I mean, he has an extreme work ethic. He has an unbelievable attitude, and I'm so sad that he's moving on, but I know he'll... But I know he'll be a productive citizen. He's a fine young man. I'm very proud of him. And he has a lot of honors coming. We had a lot of firsts at Cambridge this year as far as the first undefeated season, first playoff wins, and now our first Hymn Award winner. And I just received a call today that he'll

005also be our first all-state football player in Cambridge history. So that's great as well. Once again, thank you guys for the opportunity for us to be here this evening. Thank you. We'll come up and take a picture. Come on down. Okay, and in addition we are excited to celebrate three students tonight who've been recognized as semi-finalists in the National Siemens Competition in Mathematics, Science, Technology for high school students. All three were recognized for their work on research projects completed through the Vanderbilt School of Science and Mathematics, which is an incredible partnership we have built with Vanderbilt that allows our students with exceptional talent in science and mathematics to get college-level research experience while still in high school. I've heard wonderful things about this partnership and look forward to visiting to see all the work in

006person soon. Dr. Angela Edds, Director of the School for Science and Mathematics at Vanderbilt, is here tonight to introduce the students and tell you more about this great partnership. Good afternoon, Dr. Joseph and members of the board. My name is Angela Eads and I am the director of the School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt. We are one program of the Vanderbilt Center for Science Outreach led by Dr. Virginia Shepherd, who's here with us tonight. I'm here tonight to introduce three outstanding MNPS students to you. But first, I'd like to tell you more about the SSMV. It's an exemplary partnership between Metro Public Schools and Vanderbilt University. It's now in its 10th year. This is a four-year high school program, and students commit to attending classes on Vanderbilt's campus one day a week for all

007four years. They also come in the summer as well. The curriculum is interdisciplinary, research-based, and taught by a team of PhD scientists and engineers. As a part of the curriculum, each student begins working with a Vanderbilt professor and his or her laboratory team in 11th grade. Here they complete an independent research project. Students work through the summer on these projects where they are then written for submission to the National Science Competitions. In the past seven years, the SSMV has had 18 semifinalists and three finalists in the Siemens competition and 18 semifinalists in the Intel Science Talent Search, resulting in $18,000 awarded back to the students in MNPS High School. This past September, 1600 students submitted projects to the prestigious Siemens competition. Tennessee had five semi-finalists, and three of them were SSMV and MNPS students. So

008come on up. So these three ladies are here today to tell you themselves a little bit more about their research projects, and then I have a certificate of recognition for them. Hi, I'm Anna reside I go to MLK and this summer I worked with dr Larissa DeSantis on a project called the stable isotope ecology of the redneck kangaroo Which looked at the diets of kangaroos and how they were tracking climate change in Australia Hi, I'm Alice Irizarry, and I go to Hillsborough High School, and I work with Dr. Victoria Morgan over the summer on the accuracy of resting functional fMRI for language lateralization and temporal lobe epilepsy patients, where essentially I tested the resting fMRI technology for patients who were undergoing surgery soon. Hi, I'm Micah Foster. I go to Hume-Fogg. Over the summer, I

009worked with David Miller to research the snare clamp protein complexin-1 regulates synaptic remodeling. So basically, I looked at how a certain protein mediates this process that determines how your nervous system develops. So I was going to present them a certificate and ask you to join me in congratulating them. And we'll come up and take a picture, too. And moving along to the good news is we will recognize the Glencliff High School Academy students and Miss Beverly Flatt. Is she going to introduce them? Okay, okay, thank you. Good evening, Dr. Joseph, members of the board. My name is Pam Walker. I serve as the academy coach at Glencliff High School, where we have four academies, including our freshman academy and three career academies that have all achieved model status. This evening, I brought with me three

010of our academy ambassadors to share with you the good news of what's happening at Glencliff. Okay, well, good evening. My name is Serena Easley, and I'm a part of the Ford Academy of Business and Innovation. I'm a junior in my path as entrepreneurship. One interesting thing about my school would have to be the 42 nationalities in the 30 languages, and with my pathway and my academy, they are now working on taking our innovative room into a maker space to have our students work collaboratively together without any distractions. Thank you. Hi, my name is Luis Cardona. I am a senior at Glencliff High School. Something I really like about my high school is the diversity. We like to represent that every year. We do a show that we call International Day where the students, we got

011the opportunity to represent our country or our background. We got to dress up with the typical or traditional clothing. We make food. Everyone has the opportunity to go. This year is going to be held. and the gym in the Glencliff High School, March the 14th and the 15th, so all of you are invited if you wanna go. It's amazing if you wanna, yes, you see it. And my pathway or my academy is medical science and research, and something I really like about it is that we get to see if we really wanna do this in life. We experiment and like we have a lab there is amazing. It's kind of creepy, but it's amazing and or or kitchen for the For pathway that is culinary art. It's like it's like really good has a really

012good equipment where students can Make meals and all this stuff for the teachers and whoever wants to go over there. Thank you Hi, everyone. I'm James Harris. I'm also a senior at Glencliff High School. I'm a part of the Hands-On Nashville Environmental Urban Planning Academy. A few things about my academy. We were just branded last year for Hands-On Nashville, so that's why our name is so long. We actually got sponsored by them and they're doing, they're building us a new greenhouse. We have one greenhouse, but we're getting a really big one. I believe it'll be done early March, I believe. And we're having a ribbon cutting. Y'all are also invited to that. I think some of the unique stuff about my academy specific, we have one of the four agriculture programs known as FFA, also

013means Future Farmers of America. I'm a part of that. It's basically just urban agriculture where you learn about. The world around you, basically. And then something I like about my school would probably be the play we have every year. We've had it for six years, I believe. It's known as Our Greatest Need Is To Be Needed. It's basically an inclusion play for our special needs students, and the play is put on, written, everything by our students that work in Best Buddies. If you don't know what Best Buddies is, it's basically a program where... Normal ed students go into the classroom with special needs students and they basically are like their buddy. So you get paired with a buddy basically. So it's like you keep them the whole year and you build a relationship with them.

014So the play is basically like showing that yeah, you're not different but like you can do everything else everybody else can. So I like that. Thank you. We're going to move on to public participation. The board will hear from, oh, I'm sorry, my bad. I'm getting ahead of myself. We are going, that's it right there. We're going to hear from Pearl High School on their TIABAS scores. Mo, do you want to introduce them? Okay. Good evening, Ms. Shepherd, Dr. Joseph, members of the board. Thank you very much for the opportunity. I promised Dr. Joseph that every month I will bring a principal from the L5 Innovation Schools. to show the great work that is going on and really exceeding great expectations. So tonight we are very pleased to bring before you one of our great

015leaders in the All 5 Innovation cohort. She is going to show some of the progress she's been making in that school and the journey that we are engaged in and moving this school even to higher levels. So please welcome Dr. Sonja Stewart. Good evening, Dr. Joseph and school board members. I'm so excited to be here tonight and to really be a part of sharing the good news. It's an incredible opportunity to get to talk about what our school has done, not just with achievement, but with growth, which is what brings us here tonight. So I'm excited to share that good news. Turnaround work is really, really hard work. And some people want it to be like a speedboat. We want to be able to turn it around really quickly. But the analogy we use in

016our building. It's more like an ocean liner and it takes a long time to turn it around. But when you turn it around well, you can do it right and it can sustain. And so I'm here to tell you after being at Pearl now, this is my fifth year, that I feel like we've done some really strong work in moving our ocean liner. So the first slide I have for you up here is the academic performance framework from Pearl Cone for the last, from 2013 to 2015. And, you know, the Chamber of Commerce said that Pearl Cone was a school to watch because we've shown rapid growth. one of very few schools to change from target to review to satisfactory in just three years. Not just that, but the State Board of Education really respects

017the APF as an excellent comprehensive tool to what's going on in schools because it includes not just achievement, but growth. It includes culture data. It includes college readiness data. And so you see how we have accelerated in a comprehensive piece there. When we look at our achievement, I'm showing you achievement over a four-year span. And so we start right here with our ELA composite achievement. This has been the hardest indicator for us to move with so many of our kids coming in far below grade level in reading. But this is also when we get to our TBAS slide where you'll see that we have done tremendous growth around literacy in English. Seeing the upward incline there with numeracy with really strong outcomes there with numeracy having moved that needle more than 20% in in those

018four years and our biology data as well So just looking at the trajectory there that while we're here just to look at achievement I want to also say that we are growing in every way I think this is one of those slides that's really important and I like to point it out because sometimes we don't always see this and this is the achievement data from 15-16. On the blue you see what we were predicted to do based on TVAS predictions. We were predicted to perform at those levels and then you see in the gray how we actually performed and that really is a testimony. So as we go to this, this is what brings us here tonight. So a composite TVAS level five. I'm just... I'm incredibly proud of this work. So, so TVAS we

019know is a measure of growth. It tells us that a TVAS level three says that a student comes into a school and that school grows that student one year. TVAS four says they grow them a year and a half and TVAS five says they grow them two or more. And in a school like Pearl Cone, it's essential that we're doing the work necessary to grow our kids more than a year. We're behind. And so we need to catch up. So when you see stuff like this with this composite, it really speaks to a lot of things which I'll get on the next slide, but it speaks to our commitment to excellence and our commitment to accelerate the learning of students. I want to point out on this slide, not only are we a composite TVAS

020level five, one of only four high schools in the city, but our literacy level there is a composite level five. And we know that literacy is the lever of change. We are a wall to wall literacy school. We've done so much work around this and I'm so proud of our teachers and all that we've accomplished with TVAS level five. So how do we get here? How do we get here? One of the things that we've done I think really well is around shared leadership. As I stand up here in front of you, I am not the one who made this happen. It is really a team. I want to stop for a second and acknowledge that I have several of my staff members in here and I'd love for them to stand. Shared leadership for

021me is about my ability to identify people who can do the work and give them and equip them with what they need to be excellent. When you look at that second bullet point, effective human capital strategies, we at Pearl Cone have been able to attract... develop and retain high-quality staff. Our tail indicator talks about how we are more than 90% of the staff in my building say that Pearl Cone is a good place to work and learn. Predictability cycles, we're committed to data-driven analysis and instruction. And so we look at where our kids are, we identify those gaps, we're able to predict about how they're going to perform and create instructional practices around it to be excellent. And then lastly, consistency and leadership. You know, this is my fifth year at Pearl Cone. And when

022I say it's like birthing a baby, like it is. It's been a long five years, but I'm so proud of the school that I get to serve. So moving forward, we are committed to continuing this climb. And while we feel really excited about all that we've done, we know that there's so much more to do. So one of the things that we are committed to do is just an ongoing commitment to rigorous instruction and quality learning tasks, right? We know that rigor means that we need teachers that are able to set high expectations for student learning, develop learning tasks that... pair with those high expectations and then engage students in that quality learning task. And we're looking for that every single day and have done a lot of development on that. Another thing there is

023to reframe the academic pathways and expanded course offerings. So in front of you tonight, you have a one pager of some of the things that we're wanting to do where we're looking to extend into this last thing, the management academy that includes a sport and event management pathway that we're going to be able to extend course offerings there. One of the things that I get asked often is about rigor, those honors and AP classes in our building. So in the fall of 2012 when I started at Pearl, we had two. We had an AP language and an AP literature. Today we have 16 different course offerings with 30 different sections and more than 250 students that are engaged in that rigorous instruction. That's tremendous. I say that last piece just to say our students are

024choosing rigor. We've been able to move and transform our school into a place where there's dynamic learning happening, where the barriers set in front of us aren't things that hold us back, where we have teachers and kids that don't make excuses, but that we're consistently committed to doing whatever it takes to help our kids learn and grow. And our students are buying in. They're choosing the rigorous task. So we're so proud of our growth. We're proud of the things that we've done in achievement, and I'm thankful to be here tonight. Dr. Stewart, if I may, and I know we shouldn't comment, but if I may, I want to thank you for your leadership. It's funny, this weekend, actually, I have two mentees that go to your school, and I actually took them out this weekend,

025and they were talking about how... exciting and engaged they have been this year. They just took the ACT, I believe, on Saturday. And they were already saying, well, we know another one is in February because our teachers told us. And if we don't do good, we're going to do it again. And that just speaks to how your staff is pushing students and changing lives. So I just want to thank you and your staff who's here for all the great work that you're doing. Pearl Cone is on the move, and we're proud of you. Yes. I particularly appreciate Dr. Stewart and all that she's doing. She even gave us these Christmas CDs. They are magnificent. Today I was at my church. Yeah, I dance at my church sometimes because that's what they make me do. And

026I decided to dance to their rendition of Mary, Did You Know? Because it was fabulous, and it was produced by the students, sung by the students. I think there was an original song on here. I think that they are selling these. No, she meant you were selling them We'll revisit that in the future because this is really good so I just So I appreciate what you all are doing staff students and leadership, please keep it up great job Now we're moving on to public participation. And so for those persons who have requested to appear at this board meeting, we will hear from them. Your names will appear on the screens around the room. Please line up in the order in which your name is listed. Each person will have three minutes to speak. And after

027three minutes, you will hear a bell. And that means you get to stop. Thank you. Tina Cohen is first. Members of the school board, Dr. Joseph, administrators and guests, I am Tina Cohen, librarian, retired from 15 wonderful years with MNPS. Members of the board, thank you for your work. in creating a new culture for our system. Dr. Joseph, thank you for your 100-day report including need for academic rigor and school choice that is equitable and accessible and supports needs of all students and families. I have numerous concerns related to the future of Hillwood High School. Two sites are under consideration, the present site of Hillwood and Hope Park property far out in Bellevue on Highway 70. Allow me to pose some questions to clarify data. related to access and equity that should drive this conversation

028and can be verified by MNPS officials or the diversity report. Are you aware of these enrollment numbers from last year for Hillwood? 51% from Charlotte Park and Pearl Cone area, 44% from Bellevue, 5% from outside the cluster as extended. How about access for all students at Hope Park site? According to the traffic study commissioned by MNPS in July 2016, Quote, the nearest stop for the number five route is on Highway 70S at Collie Davis Road, approximately one mile east of the project site, end of quote. How would access be possible for students leaving following after school activities with a half mile walk? down a long inclined driveway at Hope Park and a mile further along a narrow, curvy, shoulderless road to reach the closest MTA stop. The end motion report shows that there will be

029no extension of service further west on Highway 70. How can there be equity of opportunity for all students without actual access? The decision to build atop a massive hill will make the reality of access not practical for students, especially zoned off. and open enrollment students. What about land cost? Figures of between 8 and 13 million have been mentioned and as I would say, be good stewards of our tax dollars please. We don't have money to waste. A question for you to consider. When construction is happening every place in Nashville on every open parcel of land, it's my understanding that no one has expressed interest other than MNPS on this particular site at Hope Park. Has a geological study been done by an independent source to determine soil stability, water runoff, sediment downstream sedimentation, etc.? With

030one entrance exit for students buses and a blind curve just beyond the driveway, this is not a safe setting for a high school. Issues that must be considered related to the Bellevue site include isolation, blind curves, steep hill creating hazardous conditions, turning in and pulling out and I've done it. Lack of access to public transportation. All reasons why someone would not want to send their child to a high school at this location. Thank you. Thank you. Trish Bolian? Hi, I'm Trish Bolian. First, let me say I want to commend you all for the efforts at team building that you've been going through as a board. Hopefully, this creates a strong issues-oriented board that looks at the needs of the entire district as key decisions are made. Please do not request or place any monies in

031the capital improvement budget for design or purchase of land to relocate Hillwood High School. Key issues. Hillwood has been misrepresented to this board by a number of people. We do care what happens to our school, which has been on this site on donated land since 1959. We have worked with police liaisons when truancy was noted, supported school activities, donated many items to say nothing of the million-dollar renovation of the library by Hillwood family. Complaints have been restricted to two topics, school buses driving too fast and speakers adjusted so that noise from games, et cetera, blast into the neighborhood. The Charlotte corridor is one of nine growth corridors identified in Nashville Next. Demographic changes in our neighborhood and many others are already occurring. This data needs to be analyzed with other population data, such as that

032of Bellevue, and a solid 20-year forecast before this decision is made. The diversity study that you commissioned is the most comprehensive data collection and analysis on this subject to date. It strongly states Hillwood High School should remain at its current location. The Bellevue Community Plan, which I extracted excerpts of all of you, and you all should have a copy, has key information in it that must be considered. The Bellevue community had 6.9% of the Davidson County's total population in 2010. Bellevue students do not represent the majority of students attending Hillwood High School in any data that I can locate. During the May 2010 flood, Bellevue was one of the hardest hit areas in the county. The primarily environmental sensitive features are steep slopes, unstable soils, floodway, and floodplains. Steep slopes that have been deserved. by

033development are more prone to landslides. The land at the proposed site has such steep slopes and that needs careful scrutiny. Study and review of this document, the Bellevue Community Plan, is vital. Thank you, Ms. Williams. It still says I have minutes. Do I have? Oh, okay. Thank you. Thank you. Nicole Greer. Hello, I'm Nicole Greer I am a gay straight Alliance or GSA advisor here in the district and I'm here to discuss problems and potential solutions in regard to issues that affect lesbian gay bisexual transgender queer and questioning students and staff in MNPS I'm very pleased that an anti-bullying policy exists in the district that includes sexual orientation gender identity and gender expression. However, there are continued reports of bullying, cyberbullying, discrimination, intimidation, harassment, and or hazing. Not only at my school, but I'm inclined

034to believe that in other schools at MNPS, we have 10 GSAs in the district and they exist for a reason. and that's often in response to these incidents. So I'm convinced that to eliminate these incidents, guidance from the district level is necessary rather than simply allowing what may be varying interpretations of our district's policies at the building level. I was very pleased to see the resolution condemning violence and hate speech against Muslims and Muslim students. And I'm requesting something similar in a resolution for LGBTQ students and staff. However, I would like to go beyond that. In an effort to exceed great expectations, I'm calling for the creation of an LGBTQ steering committee for MNPS. Several school districts across the United States have done this already. including many that have very inclusive partnerships with community organizations

035like we do here or could have such as GLSEN Tennessee and the Oasis Center. What this might look like, first capacity building for school administrators and staff. which would be included but not limited to principal engagement, leadership development of key staff such as LGBTQ school liaisons, and school-based professional development. Secondly, school-wide promotion of positive behavior such as safe space campaigns, Gay-Straight Alliance support, and improving access to resources for LGBTQ students. Finally, I would love if we could create an inclusive work environment for all staff who identify as LGBTQ. I welcome an opportunity to discuss this further and thank you for your time. Thank you. Council Member Manny Johnson. Good evening. I'm a council member, Mina Johnson. I represent where Hillwood High School is. Last year, actually January of this year, I came in front of

036you and talked about capital improvement spending and also reconstruction, rebuilding of Hillwood High School. And I think, again, this year or next year, you will be talking about capital improvement. What to do with the Hillwood High School? Last time when I was here in front of you, I asked, what makes school good? I think that conversation is still ongoing. You know, when school, the fact is, Hillwood School building is old. One portion is 50 years old and a large part of the building was made 10 separate times stable. So that is the fact. So when a building gets old, I think it's good to rebuild a new one to give a student more motivation and want to come to school and learn. That's one way to motivate a student. And also it's a good idea

037to think about what's the best location to move to. However, when you do that, I would like you to ask valid question, is the new location is the best location for the zoned option? It may be good for the 44% community, but may inconvenient 56% of the student and family. So there's not easy answer. So when you see the data, I would like you to ask, What's behind the data? What's the best joint option for the Hillwood High School? And so my people will behind me will talk about the Hillwood High School options. So I will leave that to you know other speakers. So since I'm here I would like to ask one question because the speaker in front of me touched with bullying. This afternoon actually past two days I was at the Nashville

038National Immigration Integration Conference. One of those we talked about bullying at the school. bullying at the school is happening all over the country, not only Nashville. And so I do know you do have policy, anti-bullying policy, but I would like to ask you to make action plan. When student witness bullying, what should they do? I would like you to be proactive and have some option to report prevent to make no bullying policy enact. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Brad Rason. Good evening. I'm Brad Race and I'm the president of SEIU Local 205. We represent the school's support employees and I'm joined by a number of them this evening. First, I'd like to say how much we appreciate your dedication and hard work. We're here to ask your backing on a matter that we think fits

039within your plans. We're asking for a comprehensive pay study for support employees. Our request is backed by a petition that's been signed by over 1,200 of our employees in the schools. I think you have a copy of the wording of the petition. As we went around gathering these petitions, we heard a lot about pay and benefits, but we also heard about the employees' hopes and dreams, their concerns about what's going on in the schools. They don't work in the limelight, but they have a critical role. big impact on our kids' educations. And I want to just talk to you about two examples. And I could talk, if I didn't have three minutes, I could go on forever. One's Lolita Kennard. She's the secretary at Percy Priest Elementary School. And she's been greeting kids there with

040a smile and a kind word for 31 years. And she's also known as the tooth fairy. And kids have been coming up to her for years if they have a loose tooth. And she has a special song she sings that she wiggles that tooth loose, and she puts it in a little treasure box and then gives it to the kids. You know, that's a memory they're going to keep forever. Lolita's one of those special people. Another is Viola Johnson. She started as a cafeteria worker at W.A. Bass, and she also volunteered after school, after work, helping with special needs kids. And in that volunteer work, she found her passion. She found her calling. She went back to school while she was working, became a paraprofessional, and now she works with kids one-on-one. And she was

041telling me about one of her students. He was a young man. He was really mentally sharp, but he had some pretty severe physical disabilities. And Viola, she didn't just help him get around school and do his work. She helped him get the most out of school. Like a lot of teenagers he was stubborn. He was shy But she pushed him to interact with his classmates and he did and he was much happier for it. Sadly he passed away He was just 15 but viola made such a big impact on his life that his family asked her to speak at his funeral We're lucky to have these two women in our schools. They're special, but they're not unique Experiences like this happen across the district every day Despite doing this rewarding work, many struggle financially. They

042have a hard time making ends meet. Many have second jobs. Others have to consider leaving the jobs they love for ones that simply pay the bills. If you'd indulge me for just a couple more seconds. That's why we're asking you to look at their compensation and to start by authorizing a pay study that compares our school to their peer. Peer institutions it's been 20 years since the last pay study was done and so it's it's overdue You know a lot has changed in those 20 years The cost of living has gone up the demands of the job has has gone up and the needs of our students have gone up, too But one thing hasn't changed and that's the dedication and commitment of the support employees to do the best job possible So we thank

043you for the opportunity to speak with you tonight. I'll leave these petitions with you. And if you'll excuse us, we're going to leave at this point. We've got folks who've got to get up early tomorrow and go back to work and go home to their kids. Thank you, Mr. Wayson. Next up is Teresa Wagner. Can I give them a chance to? Yeah. Madam chair while we're waiting on them. I just want to give a shout out to Lolita Kennard who was at Percy priest when my son was there, so Thank You Lolita for taking good care Good evening members of the board and Dr. Joseph. My name is Teresa Wagner and I'm in my 19th year with MNPS currently working at Apollo Middle Prep while also serving as MNEA vice president. In the spring of

0442015, this board moved to adopt the Annenberg standards in response to charter school growth in Nashville. Tennessee enacted its charter school laws to encourage innovation, increase opportunities for students to choose the right academic setting, and encourage educators to be more deeply involved in instructional practice. These standards and recommendations bring public accountability to charter schools in meeting these goals. These common sense reforms are intended to strengthen public education, level the playing field between public and charter schools, and protect the public's investment in all our schools. The first of these standards reads, traditional districts and charter schools should work together to ensure a coordinated approach that serves all children. The explanation of this standard from the Annenberg Institute is quite simple and I quote, the establishment of independently operated schools increases the risk that competition between schools

045will create a culture of winners and losers rather than advance the commitment of serving all students well. If this board wants to serve all students well, shouldn't we focus on the implementation of the Annenberg standards before more schools are added into the mix? Here we are a year and a half later and I find myself before you to ask one simple question Where do we stand on the implementation of the Annenberg standards as an MNPS teacher in a traditional zone school? I'm still waiting to see how that coordinated approach is supposed to look and how we can protect public education for all Thank you for your time. Thank you. Next up. I'm Andy Kale Good evening and forgive me. I have a cold My name is Amanda Kale and I'm here tonight to talk about

046a vision that I have for supporting zoned schools. It's about building stability. I started teaching in Metro four years ago. Do you know how many classroom teachers are still at my school from when I started? Three. Our school is not unique. There are many schools, particularly high poverty schools, where teachers and administrators are a revolving door. Every time teachers leave, students stop learning. This churn also leads to increased problems with behavior as new teachers typically struggle with classroom management. There's no amount of professional development, no program we can buy, no progress monitoring or technology that can change the situation. We need to do everything we can to stabilize schools. How do we do this? I think the answer to fixing the problem is a big investment in people. Quite simply, schools need the staff to

047do the work they're charged with. And we need those people to want to stay. Principals need their support and office staff, and that staff needs to have the wages that will keep them coming to work. Teachers need to have workloads that don't require them to be superhuman. Schools need to have enough teachers to meet the needs of their student body without having to sacrifice or overload classrooms. EE teachers need to have caseloads that are realistic, and our budget needs to make all of this a priority. My vision is not a cheap one, but unlike many expensive investments, I think this one will actually produce returns for our most vulnerable and lowest achieving students. Imagine a first-year teacher at a priority school and a classroom of 40 students, 16 of whom have IEPs, 12 who are

048EL1, and few who are on grade level. Right now, most of what this teacher receives is constant abuse from students and low evaluations. This is the experience of far too many teachers that I speak to, and it's why they leave. Now imagine that same new teacher co-teaching with an experienced teacher in the same classroom with no more than 25 kids. Imagine the reduction of stress in the skills that new teacher would gain in terms of their craft. Give them the same population of students from the first scenario, just in smaller numbers and with a lot of help. Imagine the ripple effect on students as they come to know and trust their teachers who are there, and they can eventually get the help they need because their classes are small enough to give individual attention. Imagine

049teachers becoming addicted to their work because they feel not only that their job is creating change, but it's actually possible. What if those schools also had the additional staff to teach English or reading to parents, distribute food on weekends, do job counseling, provide counseling to whole families? That is the district that I want to see and I think would actually make the difference. Thank you. Thank you. Council Lady, Kathleen Murphy. Thank you all so much for giving us this opportunity to speak to you because I know that we are often on the other side of public hearings and I know that they can be lengthy. So I'll be brief. I appreciate the role that y'all play in our children's education countywide. It is not one that I necessarily envy at all and I'm sure y'all

050feel the same way about our zoning issues. And so tonight I come to you to just voice some concerns that I have about the Hillwood High School discussion that has been ongoing. We've had a few meetings, but a lot of them have not been consistently calendared or noticed or notified. And recently, I was just alerted that... that this would be coming back up before you in January and it concerned me because the last meeting was this summer and was not a complete conversation. I know that some of you all have considered this for a long time and it is not a topic that has been lightly discussed and some of you may have already made up your minds but as a council member who represents children that go to this district, as a council member

051whose district is growing, the Charlotte corridor that I represent is exploding and a lot of young Pamplings are moving back into the Westmead and Hillwood neighborhoods. I think it's important that I speak to y'all that I think that there has not been enough community input in the conversation. I grew up in Hillwood, just around the corner from Hillwood High School, and so I am one of those statistics that my parents chose Catholic school when my brother and I were young, but I went to Hillsborough High School and graduated from there, and it was an invaluable experience, and I'm very fortunate that I was able to do that. And so, you know, I know that there are those statistics out there of the children who may go elsewhere, but I'm letting you know that we are

052seeing trends of families coming back, and I think it's important that we keep a school that is not on one extreme or the other of the district. So I'm happy to answer any questions in the future or meet with you all in the future and try to give some perspective of my constituents in District 24, and thank you all so much for letting me speak tonight. Thank you. Mary Holden Good evening. My name is Mary Holden and I'm a parent of a student at Granbury Elementary School and a former teacher I'm here tonight to speak in support of our neighborhood zone schools Dr. Joseph, when you came to Metro, I welcomed you at your first meeting and asked you to be a champion for our children, for our schools. Magic happens in our public schools

053every day, despite a lack of support and resources or the crushing emphasis on data and test scores. Excellence happens in spite of these things, thanks to our awesome teachers, staff members, and supportive parents. Our public schools serve all our children, and they need our utmost support. The existing charters in Nashville have plenty of outside financial support on their own. They don't need our help. And no one is asking them to close up shop. They're here. We just don't need any more charters. Instead, we need to focus our precious resources on the close to 90% of students who attend our zoned public schools. We have the facts, the data, the research that tell us more charters and even the ones that have already been approved but aren't yet open will drain our budget and pull money

054away from our neediest students. Please follow the lead of the NAACP. They have recently called for a national moratorium on charter schools. They see the harm caused to communities caused by charter expansion. The answer to increase equity in our schools is not more charters. It is to fully support and fund our public schools. Dr. Joseph, while there are many things that concern me about some of your decisions and the people you brought here who you insist are the most qualified, even though they are very clearly not the most qualified, I do want to support you. But it's hard when there are many red flags. What concerns me most is your perception of our district. You have spoken about how this district is broken, diseased, and how painful changes are coming in January, whether or not

055we are ready for them. But this implies that you think we don't know anything about how to educate our children, and that is simply not true. There are some very real needs in our district. The need to provide and retain qualified teachers and support personnel, the need for resources and proper facilities, for example. But we are not failing. We are not diseased. and it's not about test scores. So testing our students repeatedly and adding more tests and this increased emphasis on data collection is not the way to go. Our schools are not failing and our students are not failures. They need our support. Their neighborhood schools need our support and our teachers who are awesome need our support. We have enough charters. I hope you will make the right decision because our children depend on

056it Lastly, I hope this charter discussion is not a distraction from the rather exorbitant spending for administrative costs that are in the budget amendment that is up for a vote tonight a Vote and I hope that you will have some serious discussion about that. Thank you. Thank you Allison Eddington going once going twice Jay Sanders Good evening, Dr. Joseph and school board. Four years ago, my wife and I enrolled our encore student into our zone school, Englewood. Two years ago, my community asked for time and appropriate resources instead of a conversion to charter to improve our school's capabilities to educate. Why? Because we believe that zone schools are the cornerstone of a strong community. They are an institution that helps create continuity in a perpetually changing landscape because when supported they transcend all that divides

057us. When parents can look at Inglewood and see a school where pre-k is learning what lives in trees and fourth grade is learning how trees are beneficial in reducing erosion When they see Inglewood's benchmarks have risen above the cluster average When they see that our suspensions have dropped 97% We That when they see that kindergarteners can draw Kandinsky third graders can draw callow They will see that there's not a need for choice. It's right there Sorry, my technology's not I Agree with my friend TC Webber who says that parents don't want choice. They want quality When zone schools are supported They also offer security and a sense of place that choice schools can't. When fourth graders and eighth graders move to their zoned middle and high school, the teachers and the students recognize them as

058younger siblings. They increase their sense of place and security. I've seen it with my youngest daughter who is a pre-k student at Englewood and every week when people recognize her as somebody distinct from her sister, she gains ownership in Englewood. The values of place, continuity, security, and quality are developed most deeply in fully supported zoned schools and ultimately reinforce what I believe to be the purpose of public education, to create community-minded critical thinkers. As long as this board, the district, the district administration, and the community commit to fully supporting our zone schools, choice is far less necessary and we will move forward in the world that values all of us for the place that we live and the manner in which we live it. Thank you. Thank you. Carmen Cantanega. Hola, mi nombre es Carmen

059y estoy aprendiendo inglés por eso mi compañera va a traducir por mi. My name is Carmen and I'm learning English so that's why my friend is going to translate for me. Como dije, me llamo Carmen, soy salvadoreña, estudié hasta quinto grado pero no pude continuar porque mi madre necesitaba ayuda. Empecé a trabajar a los 10 años. Yo quise volver a estudiar pero no pude. Like I said, my name is Carmen, and I'm from El Salvador. I studied, I went to school until the fifth grade, but I couldn't continue because my mother needed my help. I started to work at 10 years old, and I wanted to return to study, but I couldn't. Now I have three daughters. One of my daughters goes to school at Cameron, and the other in Whitsett. and the other is

060two years old, and she's still at home with me. I want for my daughters to have the opportunities that I never had. I want for them to become professionals, and I ask God for this every day. As a part of National Rise, I hope to learn new information and use it to make sure that my daughters receive the best education. También quiero compartir esta información con mis conocidos e invitarles que vengan a las reuniones para compartir nuevas ideas. Also, I want to share this information with the people that I know and to invite them to come to the meetings to share ideas. Lo que quiero que hagamos es que todos trabajemos juntos para asegurarnos que todos los niños de la ciudad tengan lo que necesitan para recibir una mejor educación. And what I want is

061that we all work together to make sure that all the children of this city have what they need to receive a better education. Thank you for listening, and I ask for all the parents to work together so the children can have a better education and a better future. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Good evening. It's an honor to speak before all of you. My name is Saad Abdullah I am a public school teacher and a mother of three children and also I reside in District 7 My family became refugees in 1988 due to conflict between Kurdish community and Iraqi regime I spent four years in a refugee camp and my family decided to Migrate to United States for safe refuge for their children As a result of this displacement and low socioeconomic background of

062my parents, I attended numerous schools. And because of this, I was deprived of having an option of attending a school that would meet my needs. As a result, three of my brothers were not able to finish high school, and I had to rely on myself to really push myself to meet my academic goals. One of my... The child attends MLK and it does a great job of meeting her academic and social needs. However, my two youngest ones, they attend Valor Collegiate Academy, which is a charter school. I've seen tremendous academic and social growth in both of my children who attend Valor. Previously, I had tried the public schools, the zone schools, the private schools, magnet schools, but none of them had made such an impact in my children as Valor has in these few years.

063because of their exceptional leaders that they select purposefully and also their excellent model. Their model is based on rigorous academics and also social-emotional learning of children, which I think a lot of schools don't think that's so important. The school focuses on that a lot. And also diversity among the student body and as well as their staff. So for them, diversity is not just a word. but also they implemented by having different community members represent themselves within the school. And also decisions are made with parent involvement, so the school does not just pick and choose for our children, but they involve us as well. I'm here hoping that our board will consider parent voice when making lifelong decisions for our children. I support the Valor Collegiate Academy and schools that strive to give excellent education in

064an inclusive environment for our children. Schools like Valor are in high demand. We have 160 families on waiting lists this year. Nashville population is booming as we know and we need more construction of more schools that have the same models as Valor where children are given the same opportunity as the children of those that can financially afford to put their children in good schools. And we need the options of diverse schools where everyone is included and valued. Thank you. Thank you for your time. Ali Saleh Noadin. Good evening, Dr. Board Member. Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity. My name is Ali. I'm the Executive Director of Islamic Center of Tennessee. I was born in East Africa. I am only the one for 12 children born to the parents who never had the

065opportunity to go to school. I am only the one from my family who had the chance to graduate from the university. My life is much better than my siblings because I had opportunity to get the knowledge and make the best of my life. I'm also a father for seven children. I have left six of my children in Finland because of how great their education system is. One of my sons is who was living with me in Nashville. He used it to attend my zoned public schools. In that school he struggled academically and behaviorally. He never, his needs were not being met. I was always confused about how to engage with the school and I did not feel welcome to be part of my son's education. Because of that, I started to search for another choices.

066I could not afford private schools and my son did not have the academics for magnet school. However, and I found Valor. Valor took my son regardless of his academics or struggles. I have seen my son get more intentional education and support at Valor in one year. than I have seen in four years at a zoned school. Also, my son, right now, he help me sometimes when I have problem with spelling or pronouncing. Also, Valor does a great job of communication with me as a parent and showing me ways I can support my son. I hope tonight... We have schools like Valor so every child like my son can get the necessary attention academically or socially. Our children deserve better and we should not be restricted to the zip code. The greatest gift I can give

067them is to find the best school for them. Because of what I leave with my family, I hope everybody please understand what I'm talking about because it's very hard. And thank you so much for giving me this opportunity. We never had back home to come and talk to you guys. Thank you very much. Thank you. Ms. Kathy Baker. Hello. My name is Kathy Baker. Thank you for... Allowing me to speak to you today. I'm here to speak with you about the upcoming capital improvements budget From what information I've been able to gather the purchase of land for a hill wood cluster high school at the Hope Park Church Location will be included in this budget request. It's my understanding. We're waiting on a third appraisal of that property, but the first two appraisals placed the

068value between $8 million and $14 million. If we look back to the 10-year capital improvements budget prepared at this time last year, the year one budget for this current year included several projects in the Hillwood cluster, including the renovation of Brookmead Early Learning Center and the addition of 12 classrooms at Westmead Elementary. each at just over $6 million. The total request for the 2016-17 budget was for $250 million, but the approved budget was only $150 million, $100 million less than was requested. As a result, the Early Learning Center and Westmead addition projects in the Hillwood Cluster were dropped from the final budget. Looking at that 10-year budget, we see included in years two, three, and four renovations or classroom additions at HG Hill Middle, Westmead Elementary, Bellevue Middle, and Charlotte Park Elementary. All of these

069schools are at or above capacity, and Westmead has been in the waiting line for expansion for years. My point is we have to make choices. given the limit on our funding. Simply put, spending money on land for high school when we already have land means we can't spend that money on much needed improvements to other schools. For the cost of the land at Hope Park, we could fully fund any one or in some cases more than one of the projects in the Hillwood Cluster. We've been told that nothing will happen in the Hillwood Cluster until the high school issue is settled. Yet two years have been spent trying to find a place to build the high school in Bellevue. In the meantime, construction costs continue to rise and no other projects are getting done in

070the Hillwood cluster. They're being rolled to future budgets. We need a comp- we're now hearing Westmead Elementary may be relocated to Bellevue at a cost of 25 million. We need a comprehensive capacity and usage study in our cluster and the other clusters that looks at the total needs of the school system and make wise choices based on realistic projections of what our school system will get for capital improvements. Thank you. Thank you. Lisa Mingrow? Laquita Shute? Good evening. I'm the key to shoot and currently ten of my grandchildren are enrolled in districts one three five and seven Since 1969 I have been heavily engrossed with the educational systems I've done a lot of tutoring math and English on all of the levels going to school functions PTA and What we're asking what I'm asking for

071is high quality education for all of these children. It's always been my focus I have five adult children and some of all of them graduated from the Metro Public Schools. Three of them have gone on to college, but none of them have completed. I now know three of the children who have taken care, taken advantage of the two year Next Step program, but none of them were prepared enough and had to drop out. As a volunteer with Nashville Roz, I have learned that there are many in the community advocating for high quality education for the little people. Now, this is very impressive that school choice is available, but it remains a great concern to me that every school, particularly grades K through four, are not laying a strong foundation and far too many children are

072moved on to the next level ill-prepared. And I know this to be true because some of these kids are related to me. So I think, I believe, I can be, that we really can be the example, the school board, parents, and all of the teachers collaborating for a better outcome. Children who are poorly prepared are more likely to become illiterate adults and lesser productive citizens. Additionally, I have had the opportunity to visit many of these schools that are on target and have an overall good working structure. However, there is an urgency for the children who are falling behind. These things are already paid for is something that's happening every day. And when you, uh, Dr Joseph were on the radio on Sunday, you did put emphasis on starting with middle school as priority. But K

073through four is where reading happens. 35% of our high school graduates right now are graduating on a third grade level. Help me please. Thank you. Laura Hasler. My name is Laura Hassler. I'm a Nashville Rise parent and mom to my six-year-old second grader Imogen. I did have the pleasure of addressing the board at the last meeting, and you did get to hear my story of my 23 school tour search for my gifted child. I've seen a few of you out at meetings and even in my daughter's school since that time, and for that I would like to recognize and thank you. What I would like to address today is something that I've taken a little bit of a deeper dive into since our last meeting. The academic performance framework. I will not pretend to be

074an expert or dive into deep statistics. Some things shone bright to me while I looked at it though. Target schools seem to have a very common theme of being located in areas of high poverty. I also looked at our excelling group very closely. Most of these are located in the more affluent areas of town or they are our charter or choice schools. What does that tell me as a parent? In a way, it is encouraging because it means that some of our choice schools are doing very well at reaching children who would otherwise be underserved. In other ways, I was appalled because I grew up in a very poor household. I was that child that contributed to the mobility rate. I was raised by a single mother. We couldn't always make ends meet and were

075frequently evicted moving from one home to another more than 20 times by the time I turned 18. As one of these children who's all grown up, I want to be a very loud voice that holds a beacon of accountability on these issues. I'm not considered a minority, but these target schools are made up of very large minority populations. The system now that we have in place allows zip code race and household income to determine the quality of education and opportunities afforded to our students in Nashville, and that has to stop. I want to be a part of that. I want to help with that. My daughter's school, in particular, serves a 92% minority. and an 83% population of students who would be eligible for free and reduced lunch. I'm sure as testing scores become available,

076it will be put in the excelling category. Meanwhile, many of the kids zoned to the school down the street are in a review status and that is not okay with me. We need more choices and options for our kids now, not less. I know that the charter moratorium is being brought up tonight. Mr. Pinkston, who is not here to hear this, and all the board members and Dr. Joseph, while I appreciate the hard work on this, I would ask that you please consider the information and stories of parents here tonight. And if you still intend on bringing this issue to a vote, I'd ask that you please hold yourself to the same transparency. transparency standards that you call out for and make these moratorium documents readily available for the public and give us a chance

077for citizens to respond before the formal vote. Thank you so much. Thank you. Rory Wellington. Madam Chairman, my name is Roy Wellington and the School Choice Committee report needs to say the wait lists for the academic magnets are too long. Its absence fails our commitment to provide a high quality education to every student. Many issues cited in the committee report are artifacts of the invidious wait list. It's the wait list that make the zoned schools seemingly inferior and less desirable. Students have to qualify and don't they rank their preferences with the zone school as least preferred? The lottery process for the academic magnets tells 1,000 students to take a down-ranked school. No wait list means the zone schools are not stigmatized as lesser. I have suggested adding another academic magnet middle and high school using

078capacity north of the river. I have also tightened the requirements and gained back the scholarship lost when we dumbed down the magnets. Now the public sees them as nothing more than glorified unzoned high schools for the very lucky. MLK and Hume-Fogg each produce more past AP exams with fewer tests taken than the total of the 12 zoned high schools. So treat the magnets as the AP Scholars Program that they are evolving into. calibrate the zoned high schools to be a rigorous college prep curriculum and direct our scholars to an appropriate setting. Don't have lottery losers. The school choice report says the district loses a lot of students at middle school, another artifact of the insidious wait list. Some inferior options aren't so bad. There are private schools and the vast majority of Williamson County students

079would be eligible for our academic magnets. I wonder where they all came from. Who have I left out? Our farm kids, free and reduced meals are over 30% of the academic magnet population including the lottery losers. What option do you have for them? Mine would have been a seat at an academic magnet. I graduated four from MLK and experience tells me the project would be hopeless today. Do you worry about TN Ready like the school choice committee? Does changing exams affect what a student knows or what he is ready to learn? Dr. King's dream was that our nation would judge by the content of one's character, but MNPS is still afraid to make the first judgment on content. You have a lack of diversity in academic achievement. Fix it without holding anyone back. Selection Day

080is coming. Nashville used to care. Now nothing. No public spectacle, no community awareness, no press reports, and no summary data until March when nothing matters. The School Choice Committee didn't have anything to say about what happens to a thousand losers. Have we created value or won a great victory by turning our back on these talented students? What you continue to do is not cool in my book, does not fulfill our commitment to every student, and it's not good for Nashville. Thank you. Thank you. Catherine Bennett. Hello, I'm Kathy Bennett, librarian, retired from MNPS after 26 years of working in Metro schools, and I loved it. Board members, Dr. Joseph, administrators, and guests, thank you all for the opportunity to speak this evening. I've learned a couple of things about MNPS planning since I last spoke

081here. Choosing a school site is a team effort, and the team is big. There are reliable playbooks available, including the EPA School Sighting Guide and resources listed with the Nashville Area School Sighting Symposium held at the Martin Center six years ago. MNPS was represented by three, including Joe Edgins, who also presented at this meeting. I also located the MNPS school siting process FM 2.130 last reviewed in August of 2014. So resources and methods for school siting are available not only from the EPA but from local and regional experts as well. Yet the process followed over the past two years regarding Hillwood has been haphazard, inconsistent, and poorly communicated and lacking full participation by all affected high school community members, both present and future students. The process is now heavily weighted in favor of a move

082to an isolated property on the edge of the county and inaccessible by public transportation. Open enrollment students who use MTA will not be able to reach this site. Open enrollment for some, not for all. Rather than go through the process of listing and evaluating needs and priorities, and then selecting a site as recommended in the EPA guidelines. The site has been selected and the arguments in favor of the site created to fit the selection. It's kind of like reverse engineering. The current Hillwood campus is a complete school site with infrastructure, proximity to emergency services, closer to the city center as is recommended by EPA guidelines and accessible by MTA. There is a promise of sidewalks in the near future. As we watch Nashville give up green space all over the county, Hillwood rests on a

083large level and cleared track of land, perfect to continue as a site for a high school. Rebuilding at the current site fulfills goals of access and equity and answers to the diversity plan adopted by this board, with overall cost savings of at least $10 million. Dr. Leonard Stevens' diversity report recommends that Hillwood remain where it is. Councilman Rosenberg social media skills deserve a compliment his Facebook page offers a link to build it in Bellevue Which encourages what I would call online voting and provides a pre-written letter However, mobilizing the Bellevue boosters is not appropriate for basing a decision for a good school site one that meets the needs of all the students and is consistent with all Metro policies and guiding values In a strange way, it highlights the fact that in this case, some

084have a voice and some do not. Please delay funding for this project until all balanced information is available. It is prudent to make a careful and informed decision, one that will have consequences for now and for decades to come. Thank you. Ada Dovsky. Good evening. My name is Aira Doskey. I'm originally from Kurdistan, Iraq. I've been in Nashville for 20 years. As I came to the USA, I began to study English as my third language. And I know and I appreciate how much a great education can impact a life. And after a while, I got my other degree of accounting, and I have one son working and following his structure, and I was really eager, you know, to know about the metro public school when he went to school for first grade. I was always

085looking for a good school for him where we live. The options weren't excellent. And me and my husband, we worked very hard to put him in an elementary school for a private school for his fourth grade. But the tuition was too much for us. We desperately started searching again until we found Valor, Valor Collegiate Academy. We were very excited and applied right away. But we were saddened to hear that he was on the waiting list. Then eventually his wait list number was called. It's been three years my son is attending Valor Collegiate Academy. Our experiences have been wonderful. The teachers are great. The leadership is excellent. My son always wakes up with excitement and joy to attend school. We as parents want the best for our children and our community depends on that. We would

086like to ask you, the school board, to support choices, to support the best schools. Our children deserve it. Every child deserves a chance, an opportunity to be in a safe, academically thriving environment. We should not be defined by our zip codes. An opportunity for the best schools should not be taken from us. We do not need a lost generation because a choice was taken away from them. Thank you so much for hearing our story and thanks for supporting. Thank you. Rashida Bay. Good evening ladies and gentlemen and members of the board. I'd like to first thank you for allowing us parents to voice our concerns with you tonight with hopes to make positive progressive changes for our children's educational experience in Davidson County. My name is Rashida Bay. I live in Antioch area District 6.

087I'm a married mother of seven and a grandmother of four. Our family originally is from Atlanta, Georgia, but we moved here in Nashville in 2012. Prior to moving here, I had researched the schools, finding it difficult to locate high-quality public schools in my area. Had been a homeschooler for the better part of my first half of children's lives But wanted to provide my latter half With the opportunity to receive more social diverse environment education and experience that I could not provide them at home The main reason I found it challenging to find the right schools at first for my children was based on the results of my research. I found that the schools in my area were either target or in review due to low academic performances being under sufficiently staffed and the class sizes

088being over the capacity. Currently, two of my children are attending Knowledge Academy, one attends Valor Collegiate, and two of my grandchildren are attending Mountview Elementary, all of which are thriving socially, emotionally, and academically. I learned about and became an active parent of Natural Rise since its inception in 2015. I was immediately intrigued with what the organization offers us parents and families of Davidson County by informing, empowering, and engaging us to demand equality of quality education for all our families throughout Davidson County. These parents here tonight only are only a few of many voices that demand to be heard that deserves attention and that is calling to action I'm not only advocating for the decision to allow the continued growth of and development of charter schools I'm advocating and demanding for changes and improvement for the

089education and ever the academic standards of all public schools as well I'm challenging you to raise the bar increase the standards of equality, improve and update the training of the educators, no matter what the zip code is. How could you expect the future of Nashville to thrive if you're stifling the potential growth of our generations today? In this age of innovative thinking, the world is increasingly becoming more complex and comprehensive, especially as we are well aware that Nashville is a multi... On a multicultural expansion right now and in over the next decade We must therefore be decisive and proactive to meet the challenges and needs of our now and our new Families of Davidson County. Thank you very much. Thank you. Mr. Cruz Good evening, Mrs. Shepard, members of the board, Dr. Joseph. My name

090is Eric Huth. I believe you all know this. My name is Eric Huth. I'm president of the Metropolitan Nashville Education Association. And I want to talk to you this evening about two things, neither of which is charter schools. The first is... Culture and and or climate I know that one of the things that dr Joseph wants to do is to improve the climate in the district and have a positive culture for all employees I would I'd like to encourage you to find ways to assess the culture and the climate of our schools independent of the TELS survey because we've continually had problems with the TELS survey itself. The implementation has been... problematic because we have too many individuals not all principals, but we have too many principals who will try to find ways to manipulate

091the responses that teachers give either by calling them into a meeting or by Mis-informing them about what the process is like several principals have in the past told teachers that That if you if you put something negative on there, we'll know about it. I'll find out about it And yeah, they will find out about it, but they'll only find out about it in the aggregate and teachers tend to believe the principles So I would encourage you to find a better way to deal with that and the other issue is one that Brad from the SEI you talked to you about and that is a comprehensive pay study I unlike Most of you I see Jill and Joanne up there was an employee of the district when the last study was made That study was designed

092to be one that paid people based upon the market. It was a little bit controversial because there were several individuals, mostly from the central office, who got pretty good raises, and there was some concern about whether it was really about the market or it might have been about them. But I will tell you that there were some things at the school level that concerned me at the time, and that was specifically the pay of... clerical staff and the pay of paraprofessionals. We have a critical problem in this district that this district does not professionalize those two job categories and substitute teachers. And our pay in those categories negatively impacts our ability to attract and retain. quality people. In the best world, we would hire really good paraprofessionals who would then go on to become teachers

093in our district and make an even greater difference in our students' lives. So I encourage you to look at those three categories very closely. Thank you. We will now move on to our governance issues with the consent agenda. Ms. Bearing? The consent agenda reads as follows. 1A, Recommended Award of Contract for Glencliff High School Stadium Improvements Dowdle Construction. B, Recommended Award of Contract for Construction Management Services McMurray Middle Schools Renovation Orion Building Corporation. C. Recommended approval of change order number one for Martin Luther King Jr. Magnet High School, Additions and Renovations, American Constructors Incorporated. D. Recommended approval of change order number eight for Stratford STEM Magnet High School Renovations, Messer Construction Company. E. Recommended approval of gymnasium improvements by Julia Green Elementary School PTO. F. awarding of purchases and contracts, one, Nashville State Community College,

094two, SCARA Behavioral Health Services, three, Teaching Strategies, G, approval of fiscal year 2016-17 operating budget amendment number one, which was originally approved in the Budget and Finance Committee. Madam Chair, I move to approve the consent agenda as read. Can I get a second? Second all in favor show of hands aye opposed. Thank you So even though we've been here over one and a half hours We're moving into the meat of our meeting right now. We have quite a bit on our agenda tonight quite a bit of in quite a bit of information on our agenda. So I just want to take this opportunity to remind my colleagues that we, just to remember the work that we did over the fall and over the summer, and make sure that we stay on topic and speak to

095the topic that we will be discussing tonight. So I appreciate your cooperation with this. So moving to item number two, Dr. Brannon. Yes, board members as you may know East Nashville magnet middle prep has relocated in the Bailey building Following an inquiry of a Bailey family member who was concerned if the building would continue to maintain the Bailey name, the naming committee convened on November the 29th to address the question. The recommendation of the committee is to handle it as it was done in the past with Martin Luther King at Pearl. and called the school East Nashville Magnet Middle Prep at Bailey. Madam Chairman, I move that we approve the recommendation of the naming committee. Can I get a second? Second. Okay. Any discussion? Okay. All in favor? Aye. Show of hands. Okay, thank you.

096Thank you. Dr. Brannon and before we move on to item number three, which will also be brought by dr Brandon I just like to make a few comments around this. I really want to thank dr. Brannon for our leadership on this resolution and thank you to our partners with the Tennessee immigration refugee Rights Coalition for working closely with our immigrant and refugee families to address their concerns. They had a huge Convention over here this weekend as well I'm proud that our board is stood by our families over the years and especially the last few weeks The school district has always demonstrated leadership in making sure that our city and in our schools are welcoming We commend the actions of the school director and his administration and addressing the unprecedented level of fear and panic Following

097the elections this year and making counseling available for post-election And as you know just a few weeks ago my colleague, mr. P Kingston had the foresight to strengthen our bullying and harassment policy, and he brought a resolution around our Muslim families. I'm incredibly proud of our school board and our district. We're one of the most diverse districts in the county with over 140 languages spoken, and we value the contribution of these students and these families. It brings strength to our diversity, brings strength to our schools. This resolution is another tool for protecting our most vulnerable students and their families. And I want to thank Dr. Brannon for bringing this resolution to the board. And I look forward to working with our board, my colleagues, and the director of schools to making sure that we put

098this resolution in practice. Thank you. Go ahead. This resolution declares the Board of Education's intent to designate metropolitan Nashville public schools as safe zones and to create resources for students and families threatened by immigration enforcement and targeted by bullying. Whereas the Metropolitan Nashville-Davidson County Board of Public Education is committed to providing every student a high-quality education that promotes social and emotional learning and strives for increasing academic achievement. And whereas the board believes that ensuring that our schools are safe and welcoming for all students and their families will facilitate the physical safety and emotional well-being of all children in the district and is paramount to students' ability to achieve. And... Whereas students, families, teachers, and principals have reported an uptick in bullying and harassment of students, especially incidents based on their real or perceived immigration status

099of students. And whereas MNPS has committed to providing all students with a learning environment free from any form of discrimination, harassment, or bullying in school policy 6.110, bullying, cyberbullying, discrimination, intimidation, harassment, and hazing. And, whereas the Board has received reports that families with undocumented students or family members have expressed hesitation in enrolling or attending public schools due to a fear that schools and other government agencies may be involved in immigration enforcement actions, And whereas there are an estimated 33,000 undocumented people living in Davidson County, which include district students, their parents, and close family members, an estimated 8,000 undocumented Nashville residents live with at least one U.S. citizen child under the age of 18. These students and their families are an integral part of our schools and communities. And whereas the United States Supreme Court held

100in Plyer v. Doe in 1982 that no public school district has the basis to deny children access to education based on their immigration status, citing the harm that it would inflict on a child and society itself and the equal protection rights of the 14th Amendment. And whereas immigration arrests, detentions, and deportations and the threats thereof have affected many families in the district and indications that deportations will increase dramatically. has created a climate of heightened fear and anxiety for many students and their families across our district. And whereas Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE, activities in and around schools, early education centers, and adult school facilities would lead to emotional and psychological trauma for students and staff, and would result in severe disruption to the learning and educational setting for all students and a fear

101and hesitation of enrollment and participation in schools. And whereas a growing body of empirical research demonstrates the short-term and long-term consequences on students whose families have been removed during ICE raids or arrest. Studies show that these students experience psychological trauma, material hardship, residential instability, and family dissolution, hindering their ability to achieve. And whereas the Immigration and Customs Enforcement's ICE longstanding policy states that it will not conduct immigration enforcement activities at any sensitive location, which includes schools, without permission by specific federal law enforcement officials unless exigent circumstances exist. Therefore, be it resolved, the Metropolitan National Board of Public Education commits to ensuring its schools remain safe and welcoming places for all students and their families, regardless of their immigration status. and ask the director of schools to strengthen, publicize, and evaluate the effectiveness of school policy

1026.110, bullying, cyberbullying, discrimination, intimidation, harassment, and hazing. and asks the director of schools to increase and enhance partnerships with community-based organizations and legal service organizations who can provide resources and support for families impacted by immigration enforcement actions and deportations. And declares its intent to work with the director of schools to develop robust policies, protocols, and systems that designate all K-12 schools early education centers, adult schools, and parent centers as safe zones for students and their families to ensure equal access to education regardless of their immigration status, including but not limited to prohibiting inquiries into the status of students and their families, the sharing of information protected by FERPA. Family Education Rights and Privacy Act with other government agencies ensuring that school grounds remain free from immigration enforcement activities and that schools become a resource center

103for district students and their families impacted by immigration enforcement. Madam Chair, I move that we accept and approve this resolution. Can I get a second? Second. Any discussion? One thing? Yes, sir. Thank you for bringing it. I think it's an important conversation to have, and I want to recognize my friend and constituent, Stephanie Tetreault, who's the co-executive director of TURC, and thank you for all the work you guys do to help and uplift, in particular, our youngest New Americans, but all New Americans. So thank you, Dr. Branham. Any other discussion? All in favor? Opposed Okay, the resolution passes. Thank you. Dr. Brannon. I appreciate that. Mr. Pink's and I believe the next one is next two years. Okay, I'd like to Defer on item number four, which was the approved proposed revisions to e17 To

104defer indefinitely to a future date. I'll explain why my comments on the next one. Okay, all right Okay, so Thank you, Madam Chair. I had every intention tonight of trying to have this conversation in a very controlled and intellectually honest environment, and unfortunately that's just not possible. As recently as 4 o'clock today, I was still receiving communication about the data in this resolution, and to be clear, I don't blame anyone in this building for that. As we know, the new team inherited a very convoluted system and process, and it's just taking time to untangle all the information. More troubling, however, over the past few days and the last 24 hours in particular is the misinformation and I would say the fake news campaign that has been circulated by a network of special interest including the

105Nashville Chamber of Commerce, Stanford Children, the Tennessee Charter School Center, Project Renaissance, and the list of other groups that promote everything from unabated charter growth to vouchers to strategies intended to destabilize a school system. The chamber in particular has been inappropriately twisting the arms of board members leading up to this meeting. We have heard that the resolution like transparency which is not true It was properly publicly noticed 49 days ago on October 25th. The Metro legal has affirmed this We heard that this resolution would somehow surrender power to the State Board of Education, which is also not true for those Outside of the board who don't understand how laws and policies are made. This is what's known as a memorializing resolution Simply expressing the mood of the body the actual Moratorium will play out over

106a series of votes next year when we'll reject hopefully charter applications one by one Over the past 24 hours. We have heard from chamber members as far away as Brentwood Mount Juliet and even Claremont California urging us to vote against a resolution They've never read Looking at the chambers mass email platform it appears they are coordinating this fake news campaign with the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce and also the Hendersonville Chamber of Commerce we have not seen this kind of heavy-handed behavior from the Chamber since 2012 when they chastised the Board for opposing Great Hearts and endorsed the state of Tennessee's $3.4 million penalty against MNPS. Now all that said I am willing to give Ralph Schultz and the Chamber of Commerce the benefit of the doubt they may be uninformed So in the holiday

107spirit, I have a Christmas gift. This is a calculator to help them with basic math In this situation the basic math is this even if the school board approves no new charter school applications the size of the charter sector in the city could increase by 74% growing from 10,500 seats currently to potentially 18,000 plus and 2120 2021-22 school year. Meanwhile, the waiting lists for charter schools are anemic when compared to the nearly 8,000 families on waiting lists for MNPS programs in schools, including pre-Ks, magnets, and other options. So anyone with a calculator knows that what's been happening is not sustainable. And I believe that no area of government can grow at an unabated rate without having a destabilizing effect on others. So, Madam Chair. This is not the conversation I had hoped to have tonight.

108Too much fake news has been circulated, so I would like to indefinitely defer consideration of this memorializing resolution. Thank you. Mr. Pinkston. All right, moving on to Director's Report. Dr. Joseph, number one. Good evening, everyone. Good evening. To follow up, when we had our board retreats, we talked about our mission, our vision, and our core values, and we put that out for feedback. We have that feedback, and we're going to have Dr. Carlisle share the feedback that we received from the community tonight. And also, when we were at the retreats, we discussed... developing draft characteristics of a successful MNPS student and draft characteristics of What we want in our school. So what we have tonight, Dr. Felder and Dr. Narcisse will be discussing with you just a draft of those characteristics and we hope just

109like with the mission, vision, and core values to just, we just want to give you a highlight of the draft that we've developed for the characteristics of an MNPS student in schools for it to go to a teaching and learning committee to be further vetted. discussed and then give the public an opportunity to give feedback on it as well because again, we want we feel that we're much stronger when we have the full community's input before we put them out. But we just wanted to give you a highlight because we did say in our meetings that we were going to bring it to you in December. So as to meet that obligation, we are here tonight. So I'm going to turn it over to Dr. Carlisle and she will walk through some of the feedback

110that we received on the mission, vision, and values. Thank you, good evening everyone We as you recall on the 15th of November we shared the original draft of these three statements or And then today I'm coming to you with updated information based on public feedback We we I will quickly go through just the slides of what? we had considered on November 15th and shared publicly in regard to the mission, the vision, a tagline, and then core values with the belief statements associated with each of them. Equity, excellence, relevance, talent, literacy, whole child, diversity. I'm having to click here. Individualized learning, innovation, and collaboration were the areas on which we wanted to focus and highlight as values. We went out to the public. We had quite a cascading campaign to try to seek feedback. We did

111have just 424 respondents across the city. It was overall positive feedback. And then in addition, as when you ask, you do get numerous suggestions regarding wording and areas of emphasis. So briefly, one of the questions we asked was about, again, if you recall, the 100-day plan and these statements were all generated based on a great deal of public expert. stakeholder and other input already. So we were not looking to open up the dialogue completely again, but yet to test for understanding and whether or not these statements were representative. So basically, do the statements reflect a rapidly improving organization, which you recall is part of one of the statements? And for the most part, we had very or extremely, so 70.45%. If you take in moderately, it's fairly positive feedback. On the second question, would you

112want to be affiliated with such an organization and such sentiments? We get up to 79.91% of respondents responded very or extremely that they felt they would be interested in being affiliated with such sentiments. And then the 15.8% Excuse me moderately third question. Do you believe the sentiments included in these statements provide a starting point for improving education for all students? We're at seventy six point eighteen percent and then about eighteen percent Felt moderately that they felt the statements captured that fourth question. Do you understand these statements? Almost ninety percent felt that they did with ten percent more moderately Quickly then we also asked two different questions one was are there aspects of the statements that you believe should not be included There were a lot of I think this one had 16 pages of responses

113a lot of good feedback, which we will also not only use here possibly but also consider as we go through and establish objectives and strategies and key performance indicators. So the feedback will be invaluable regardless of how and when we choose to apply it or use it. One of them was too many core values. This is not one time. These are the themes that emerged. The mission statement is too long. By having the long phrasing with the by and the series of ways in which we would carry out the mission, those are really strategies. And so they questioned whether or not it belonged in a mission statement or detracted from it. The wording of the vision statement people felt was awkward. They didn't like the end line that says, and all schools are great schools.

114There was also an interest in taking out jargon, scrubbing for more straightforward language. The word world class or the compound word world class basically conveyed. More corporate sentiment and didn't seem to be affiliated with education in a way that people felt warm and fuzzies Concern that there was the emphasis on data implied over testing Guaranteeing was used in one statement and that that was felt to be unattainable. Rigorous instruction sounded cold, stale and uninspired. And then maximizing individual limitless potential seemed to overcommit to what we might be able to do or the use of resources. Then... also the outcome of college career and life. It was felt that we should also be thinking about citizenship, lifelong learning kinds of sentiments. And several people did not like the term fastest improving. One of the things I

115would note for you there is, remember when we discussed developing the vision, that you could use future tense or you could use current tense. And we chose to put it in current tense even though we weren't there yet. That I think was a confusing choice to the public because it's like, well, if we're already the fastest improving, why is it our vision? Because it was in the current state. That's one piece. The second major question we asked, and there were, I think, 12 or 13 pages of comments on this, and it's like nine-point font, so there's a lot in there. Are there any additional or missing ideas that you'd like to see included in these statements? There was a concern that parents and teachers were not highlighted sufficiently, that the collaboration value was not strong

116enough as written, that the talent value was too impersonal. The word pipeline was off-putting the literacy value too narrowly defined and and we can discuss that more Accountability teacher training and assessment was felt not to be sufficiently covered fiscal responsibility and stewardship We're missing and this one really hits me in the gut but caring kindness and respect in the system was noted to not be presence enough providing definitions to the terms and some of the terminology used, cultural competency and relevant pedagogy. Sorry about the typo there, appears to be unaddressed. The language on discipline and proper behavior appears to be omitted. And then the idea of partnerships and how do we define them. That in a nutshell is a summary of the feedback. Oh, excuse me. Then there are also, I mentioned the current state

117language and the vision, the equity value. There was a strong feeling and we heard about some of it tonight regarding segregated schools and the extent to which equity also means desegregating schools. The idea of artistic expression, creativity, and most... The focus on multiple disciplines was not captured. The vision needs more oomph or heart. There was also an interest in if we're going to identify different types of backgrounds, that we should add sexual orientation or gender difference to diversity. And then innovation was felt to not be innovative enough. In other words stem science technology engineering and math in and of itself is not innovation. It's the idea of research exploration experimentation and testing Let me pause there for a second. Based on that feedback and some very specific examples, I made an attempt. I don't expect

118there to be action on this tonight or we don't expect there to be action, but we kept the fastest improving urban school language, feeling that urgency is important, that there's something to which we need to aspire. but we added in ensuring that every student becomes a lifelong learner prepared for success in college career and life. This idea that somebody is going to be prepared for other kinds of pivots in life is important and did take off that tagline and that every school is a great school as great as that is. Then in the mission, Tell me to pause if you'd like more time on these. We had provide a world-class public education to every student every day and then we do this by. The word provide wasn't really accessible and so we said we deliver

119a great public education to every student every day and shortened the we do this by list, we could also eliminate it completely. The reason a couple of the phrases were extracted is because they show up in the values. So we didn't necessarily have to mention them here because they're also in the values. But one of the pieces that came up in the feedback was the last part of the phrase and listening to, respecting and responding to the concerns of students, families, staff and educators. So again, getting back to that responsiveness and who is the customer, who are we here to serve? So that would be a choice. In terms of the values, in response to the fact that there may be too many values, we considered that the whole learner value could encompass individualized learning

120as well as whole child. Or that maybe should have been whole child still? I might have. Okay, so we believe in meeting each child at the point of need to maximize individual unlimited potential and success by focusing on social and emotional learning providing opportunities for mental and physical nourishment Developing interest creativity and abilities across many disciplines So you see there some of the language that people thought was missing was added in the idea of creativity and well multiple disciplines and then Cultivating a safe and caring environment for all students. So it keeps what we had in both statements and then is reflective of some of the feedback. The excellence value There was some idea that we don't want to have we want to make sure that it's every day. It's every year It's every classroom

121and so that emphasis was added should we want to keep it there? in terms of relevance the idea that Were generated again had to do with creativity hands-on learning project-based learning Problem-solving and so that language shows up in the revision under relevance under literacy we Had a long discussion about it was the notion of third grade being this indicator and that that was too limiting was what some of the feedback Mentioned and at least at this point the recommendation that we have is that we keep it because it is in fact a very clear marker for how students build on For the rest of their education, but that that was a that was a piece that did come up pretty consistently, but nonetheless, we felt that going with what we had made sense. Talent. I

122mentioned the impersonal nature of referring to pipeline and that it didn't talk about the quality of what work life is like and the way in which we value people. So this one now says, we believe in supporting, developing, respecting, and compensating our staff and educators, and aggressively recruiting, selecting, and preparing committed, creative, and talented educators. So it's designed to get at where we're trying to go and how we want to value our people. as opposed to the need for having a pipeline. Innovation, and we're close. The original, I mentioned, focused primarily on STEM. The discussion, the revision right now has teaching and learning as enhanced through creative thinking and experimentation in science, technology, engineering, and math, as well as the liberal and creative arts, or we could say, or in all disciplines. collaboration This was

123felt to be initially kind of unidirectional. We're going to go to parents and others and ask them to be our partners as opposed to really Being participative and an engaging way so this and and the way in which people would be engaged was in the educational process As opposed to you know, you have you need to partner in a specific way. We believe in engaging We believe engaging parents, community members, students, and other stakeholders in the educational process leads to better outcomes for all of our students and benefits the broader Nashville community. That, in a nutshell, is the feedback. Equity, the suggestion there was changing equal to equitable. and diversity, we looked at adding in the gender identity as well as abilities. That's the revision number one. We believe students, staff, and educators from Dithrit.

124ethnic, religious, language, cultural, gender identity, ability, and socioeconomic backgrounds learn from and inspire each other. And notice there that we added staff and educators because it's not just students who are benefiting from that, it's everyone in the system. Or if we wanted to avoid coming up with a list of different backgrounds and fearing having omitted one, which we may do, we believe students, staff, and educators from different backgrounds learn from and inspire each other. That's the feedback and we will Talk about do we bring this to a work session a committee to just make sure that we're comfortable with some of those suggestions So anything either one of you want to add about that feedback? Okay, so next we want to share with you draft characteristics of successful MNPS students. Again, this is just a

125draft and we realize that, you know, by the end of the review of all of this, we may decide to keep some of it, none of it, or all of it, but at least it gives us a starting place and that's the intent. So first want to share the process and so in developing these characteristics We first reviewed the board's draft mission vision core values and that overarching goal to exceed great expectations realizing that The entrances around world class, providing a world class education around every child being prepared for college and career readiness. And again, that overarching goal of exceeding great expectations. We then reviewed the current MNPS characteristics for successful students as the district has characteristics identified for students in fourth grade. eighth grade and 12th grade. And we'll look at those in just

126a moment. We also looked at research on the needs of future workforce, as we know that there's a lot of interest in the future workforce. So industries such as Hewlett Packard and. Apple and Adobe and Intel partnered with educators such as the National Education Association, Scholastic, et cetera, and identified 21st century learning skills that would help ensure that students are Prepared for the workforce. So we looked at those as well and last but not least we got some initial input and feedback from some central office leadership So if we take a look at what we currently have again, these are characteristics of successful students at fourth grade eighth grade and twelfth grade we find per our review of these characteristics that there are some threads that run through each of these we found that There's

127a thread of ensuring that students are ready for the next level in this case tier We found that there's some assessment achievement attached to these characteristics. For example, scoring at least a 21 on the ACT. We found that there was some proficiency around technology, that that was a desire. And last but not least, that... there was some kind of service learning, engagement around service learning in terms of a project or an activity. So those were the threads that run through the current characteristics of successful students. So in your packet, you should have a copy of the draft. And one of the things you will notice is that... This draft provides a characteristics in in smaller grade bands and so your document should look like this And it has definitions on the back and it is

128in small font It's more but at any rate and so what are the common threads? throughout this draft document So common threads include math and literacy achievement at every level. It includes... the need to focus on mastery in multiple literacies. So we know that our students now navigate through a wide variety of literacy in various forms such as film and CDs and newspapers and such. And we want to ensure that our students are have capacity in multiple literacies. Again, going back to those 21st century learning skills, you'll see that cutting across. So that's the critical thinking, creative thinking, collaboration, and I think creativity is the fourth one. But there are four 21st century learning skills that you'll see throughout each of the grade bands. Another common thread... That's being recommended is that wanting students to

129have a growth mindset to believe that intelligence is malleable that with effort and Motivation and grit and perseverance along with good first instruction students can get smarter Another common thread is that again the preparedness for the next level and we see that in the current the current characteristics. So again, wanting students to be prepared for the next level. Another common thread that you will find throughout these characteristics is developing the ability to be well-informed, responsible, service-oriented, and engage citizens in a more globalized world or society. And last but not least, a common thread. starting in the grade five to eight band through graduation is around those research and study skills, being able to form logical arguments, examine multiple viewpoints, and to think abstractly. Again, on the back of the document are definitions. So again, these

130are just draft characteristics that I know we will discuss in more detail in committee. And if I just may add, why this is so important again for the viewing audience is asking why are we doing this is it's two prong. One, the transition report identified the fact that we need to raise the levels of rigor. And to do that, we will have to go into a major phase of curriculum redesign. And so... We have to know what type of students we want to think about the type of curriculum we need to get them there. And then also, as we think about developing the KPIs, and we're in the process of establishing KPIs, we have to be mindful about what are we monitoring to make sure that this actually happens. So that's why this endeavor is

131very important, and we need the time to think about it and talk about it, because from this, we will build over time, over the... over the years. Thank you, Dr. Joseph. All right, so now Cito is going to share draft characteristics of a great school. Good evening. So I'm going to give you a little context first before we go into just talking about each of the levels, just to tell you what has been our process of how we got here. The board you charge us to give you a draft, and so what we started to do... based on our last retreat was to begin to look at various models across the country to see what has been major domains that have been used in terms of characteristics. One of the places we looked at was

132at the Council of Great City Schools. They have actually specific KPIs and different characteristics that they have looked at. And as you know, the Council is an organization that has engaged with a lot of... urban districts around the nation. Another place we looked at also was some organizations where there have been really good work around components of major domains have been the coalition of essential schools. They have very specific ways that they look at about how do you build capacity and create work within schools and so we looked at them as well. And what we ended up finding out with all of our research has been that the categories that you will see up that I'm going to talk a little about have been the major domains that have been used in a lot of

133different set of examples. And so we took those domains and then begin to lay some of the work out. As Dr. Joseph said, in order for us to move the work, as he talked about, we'll have to really determine the type of student, but also the type of school that we want in order to move the work as we begin to align our strategic work around that. So what you'll see here, I'll just highlight a few things around each of these domains and give you a little bit of context around how we talk about the schools. And we've also engaged also internally internal folks within the organization to give us a little bit of context, too, around what are the type of schools that they think around in terms of characteristics of grade schools. So

134first and foremost, you'll see up there is family and community engagement. One of the major things we talk about are how schools can create opportunities for families and communities as well as business partners to help to engage to move the work throughout schools. This is a kind of a very high-level component that many major high-performing schools are able to do, so we believe that that's a characteristic that has to be teased out. The other component we talk a lot about is school climate and culture. There's three major areas that we looked at. Specifically, we're... to help focus that one is fostering a high expectation where teachers and coaches and all students are learners in a personalized environment. So as you talk to teachers in different groups, how do teachers think about personalizing that work and

135how do leaders create that space for collaboration to happen is an important component for a characteristic of a great school. Other things we talked about was model the principles of democracy, civility, and equity through culturally responsive environments. As we become more and more of a diverse city, our context is diverse, and we work with different groups of... organizations, people, and different faith-based, all those components we have to think about democracy as a whole for our school system. So how do we engage folks around those things are a major characteristic we should have in terms of a great school. Another piece we talked about, a third bullet, is you can see vision for strong instructional leadership. Leaders create the context whether things happen or not, and how do they create that culture. So one thing we

136talked about is the vision for strong instructional is how a leader can share a clear focus connected to the district's vision and unique school community. We have many schools in our system that have many different unique places and also very unique communities that value a lot of different things. So great schools are characteristics of schools or how do they build around that component. Another part we also talked about is implementing well-rounded rigorous curriculum alignment and state standards which invokes a curiosity and love for learning. That's another component where characteristics are built that learning is actually something where it's wanting to be explored, to think about, curiosity and those components. So great schools are able to create that type of environment. Another piece we talk about is predict and monitor student progress through the use of

137formative and summative assessments. How do you think about ways... to create a constant feedback loop that engages the entire community in order to make sure that as you're making progress, you're not only making progress within the school, but also engaging outside of the schools with families and parents. Another component at UC Ebola is what we call professional learning. That's the new word we use for professional development now. And so professional learning is leveraging educators' strengths by coaching for high performance and providing meaningful and relevant learning opportunities. And when we think about leveraging educators, educators is in the sense of everyone is an educator. So whether you're a principal, a teacher, a parent, how do you engage all those components? Community partners. And so those are the pieces that we talk a lot about. around how

138we think about leveraging educators and how do we get our communities to understand educators as much more of a whole. And this is a characteristic that's very huge around grade schools. Another component we talk a lot about, as you see it, Bullet, is collaboration and collective accountability. This is where we've... characters of great schools understand how they think about accountability in a much more collective approach, not just from one individual, one part of the organization. Developing high-functioning teams can do that. Sharing and evaluating and monitoring teaching and learning together. How do people hold each other accountable around the work? How do we engage with families collaborating with us, holding accountability around the work? And then how do we build that? context within the schools create high levels of collaboration where there's two-way communication and two-way

139communication meaning communication from the school to the community communication between teachers to leaders communication between any organization that collab any component that collaborates within the schools or other capacities around characteristics of grade schools another component we talk about with collaboration and collective account abilities developing highly effective teachers and leadership who work together to ensure that students have mastery. And this is a component where the environment has to be created for that. have to have a shared concept of what mastery is, and how do you build that regardless of wherever a student is on thinking about how you build growth and knowledge around that work. And these are components that we really talk about. The other last part that you'll see on there is what we call resource and management. Characteristics of great schools understand that

140they have to deploy resources strategically to support teaching and learning. And by doing that, there's variations of way from spending financial resources to building more collaborative. planning time to building capacity on helping the organization to learn and when we talk about organization learning we're talking about everybody in the organization whether that's a leader a teacher leader assistant principal a coach and even building capacity helping the opportunity for families to learn with the community on how to build a great great context and community within our schools The other part we talk about is implementing a clear and consistent structure and process to maximize efficiency and productivity. And how do we think about building that work and capacity? And the more that you have a collective approach around that, the faster you are able to kind of

141move an organization within that work. And last but not least, we want to make sure that we ensure appropriate facilities and management. People usually see kids go into schools, but as you know, this takes more to that. You have to turn on lights every day. You have to be able to make sure the place is clean. It's a sense of pride in the community. And so the characteristic of a great school is making sure that you're able to build those components all together. So this is a draft that we went out to do some research to look at. And these are the major domains that have been clear across all of the places that we've seen around some of those components. And so we're hopeful to engage you in that language and figure out how

142we can kind of build from that. as we build off the strategic plan. Do we have any questions? No, that would be all. Thank you. I think the point is that we would discuss this at a Teaching and Learning Committee meeting, and so that you have time to reflect on it, think about it, and ask questions then. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Now I'll call Dennis Queen up to discuss our charter RFP. Madam Chair, members of the board, Director Joseph, thank you for the opportunity to stand up for you. The purpose of an RFP is to provide guidance and perspective to potential charter organizations and applicants wishing to consider applying for a charter school contract with an MNPS for the 2017 application cycle. Much of the guidance is logistical in nature. providing direction and

143completing a successful and impactful application. We believe it is paramount that the Charter Office take this opportunity to provide realistic specifications around district needs in regards to seating capacity and overcrowding, and potentially a need for quality theme-based instructional programs within various clusters within the district. The charter office uses a nationally recognized evaluation process to identify those applicants with the highest probability of success as reflected in our academic performance framework, which is noted on page six of your packet. Our recently instituted systems of accountability provide monthly classroom visits and formative data discussions in an effort to do a number of things. Number one is to better understand the work of each charter school. Number two is to learn of successful practices being implemented in those programs. Number three is to provide support for their work. Number

144four is to provide monthly accountability reviews in each school. And number five is to monitor state law and contract compliance. The submission of an RFP provides the district with greater influence over application submissions and most likely results in applications that meet the specific needs outlined by the district. Such as those that address seating capacity and theme based opportunities for kids The draft before you outlines the five-year enrollment projections which are on page eight and nine At the elementary middle and high school levels by cluster based on projection data provided by the office of student assignment The draft does not currently address the potential need for theme based student learning opportunities within the district though Having said that I certainly prepared answer any questions you might have Anybody have any questions or comments? Personally, I would

145like to see a little bit more detail around thematic design schools. As several people have pointed out just tonight, we have wait lists for academic magnets for Montessori schools, theme-based schools. And, you know, that would be a great way to add some more teeth to this. Yes, ma'am. As far as, as well as the capacity issues. I mean, because, and we, and that's. That's usually a parental question of myself or my colleagues around any any you know applications that come before us Where are you going to locate? You know, we have needs in particular parts and as you pointed out in this RFP We have you know several clusters that are over a hundred percent capacity. Yes, ma'am. That's what we'd like to see them go Yes, ma'am. Personally. Absolutely. Yes, sir as you saw

146in the resolution that We did that did not end up discussing, you know now that there's a lot of the pipeline, growth in existing schools, charter schools, and then growth from new schools that have been approved but not yet open. Why not take this opportunity to talk to the operators who have been approved for a school but not yet opened those schools and ask them to rethink their plan to fit something that's more in line? Now, they won't like to do that. They like to do what they want to do when they want to do it, and they don't take no for an answer. I think it's a good idea to reach out to those who are in the pipeline and see if they're willing to actually do something to help the district. I have

147started. Within the past month. I have a weekly coffee morning coffee with it with a different charter operator The purpose of which is certainly to get to know each other but also also to have conversation around Number one, how can we provide better service to you? And number two, how can you better provide service to the district and one particular charter operator in? Particular was very open to looking at where we do have a need for additional seats and having some conversation around that. So I think some probably are open to that and we can continue those conversations and hopefully drive the conversation there. Yeah, I mean, not just to help manage growth, but to fit these thematic opportunities that you're talking about. The other thing is, you know, we're at the dawn of a

148hopefully new and better and different conversation. There's still... speed bumps to get over as we saw over the last 24 hours, but I'd like for you all to give some real serious thought as to how how many charter schools and how many charter seats is enough. Okay. You know, it's not a question to answer tonight, but even if we do nothing else, the size of that sector potentially grows to nearly 20% of the school system, but I don't think it actually will grow because as we know that's not where the demand is. So... Think it's time to start having a robust conversation about how much is enough communicate that aggressively to the state Dr. Joseph once the decisions made as part of a strategic plan and Let's get a handle on this because what's been

149happening for the last five years has been nothing but chaos Will we see another draft with any additions in it? We can work, yes, to do that. It's a conversation we will need to be to look at around what themes are offered in what parts of the county and where do we want to replicate a similar theme so that there's less travel and transportation to get to those schools and where there are waiting lists for some of the theme-based schools. We can absolutely begin to do a study and look at that. That would be great. Yes. Thank You Dennis that my question is mainly for dr. Joseph though, but would it be possible and as this is further developed To continue to really pull back and do a real holistic approach an evaluation of our

150choice system in general because the charters Absolutely are playing a role. Six of our 14 reward schools or charters are doing a lot to help this district. We heard from real parents tonight about their experiences. And in some of the schools that most of those charter schools are at capacity. even if they don't have a wait list, which is more than we can say about some of our district schools. So I do think we can try to have these conversations in isolation or we can try to have them holistically. And I would personally prefer the holistic. How do we incorporate all of this? The demand for different themes, the wait list at our district schools and those programs, and as well as the overcrowding. Yeah, so... The last time we were together we had the

151hundred day report and in that report one of the findings was that We have incoherent programming They talked about the fact that we have a lot of things happening in a lot of places and we've not really taken the reign to coordinate that so from there They've last our last cabinet meeting the father to two weeks ago. We discussed the need to pull a committee and and mr. Henson dr Felder and dr. Narcisse were pulling together a team to just look at our overall planning. So as we move into the strategic planning process, you know, we've got to look at the big picture of What we're doing what we need and what we don't need because right now I think in the We were adding programs in different places and schools in different places without

152thinking about the k-12 trajectory and that is to the district's detriment So that is one of the things that we will be looking at as we work through this semester and think about the strategic plan Because what we don't want are again, you know schools or programs emerging with no end destination. I think that has to be a consideration as we're looking at the overall piece, looking at it holistically. Because I think in previous years we've not looked K-12 when we add a program at the elementary with no option for a middle school or high school program. It leaves many families feeling a certain way about not thinking long-term about where we're going. So that is the plan. Madam Chair, I have a question. I'm not sure if I should direct it to Dr. Joseph

153or to you, Mr. Queen, but when we look at a choice process, I don't know if that could be... part of the redraft for the RFP, but we talk about these schools that are high performing that are charters, but many of them don't have applications that are accessible online. Through MNPS, they are not as accessible as some of our other choice options. So they are performing very well, but there are still so many families in our district that have no access to this choice. They are not maybe savvy about the system. They have no real resources to have access to that system. So they're performing well, but then what about the families that have no access to that performance or to that option? We cannot forget about those families. So is there a way to

154look at the choice process to look at how... Families apply to those choice schools and then what resources can be provided to make sure that those diversity plans are robust transportation is offered Because we have existing schools that like I said families have no choice in they have no option So other families that have that, you know, we don't want to say privilege but privilege to be a part of They're one part of the conversation, but we have many other families that are not so, you know, what can we do to kind of combat that? The transition team the choice committee did tackle that issue and that they will have clear recommendations for us for that But that that was an issue that they clearly saw they said that they they recognized that the process

155was convoluted People don't understand it and people don't understand our neighborhood choices Because we've not we've not done a good job promoting those as well So I think we have to look at it collectively and just be clear about how we're doing that work But there are recommendations coming in that transition report and the choice between the choice and the communication section I think it gets to what you were talking about for us to take action Any other comments or questions? Thank you. Mr. Queen. Thank you. Dr. Joseph. We'll move on to committee reports and we'll start with capital needs So we have a capital needs committee meeting today at 345 to review the first draft of the and there are some more handouts I think came in for those of you who were not

156able to attend. Do you have those? Dr. Joseph, I may ask Mr. Henson to assist if there are any questions I am unable to answer. Yes, ma'am. The first draft of the capital improvement budget with the year. We're required to do a six-year plan, but we have a 10-year capital needs plan here, and it shows the ask for year one. It does include on here the ongoing. Killwood High School, which you heard a lot about tonight as well as a sighting are in options for Westmead Elementary School. I do understand via miss frog that she is planning to do some community meetings throughout January We are required to have something approved for presentation to council by January 24th by the end of January to Metro planning. Thank you and so we have Mr. Henson I

157have determine a few other additional meeting dates which are basically the next the first three Tuesdays the third the second third and fourth Tuesday of January so we'll meet at 345 on the 10th I wrote it down I can't find it we'll meet at 1130 on the 17th and then we'll meet at 4 o'clock on the 24th Hopefully by the 24th it won't be that big of a deal, so 45 minutes or 30 minutes should be enough. So those are the next three meetings to lay out. Hopefully we'll have had more feedback so that we can narrow down what the options are we are presenting. Right now the total amount of that ask is a little over $300 million. We know we're not going to get $300 million, so hopefully the community meetings and discussions

158will help us, again, to hone in more succinctly what our ask is going to be. And just as a note of information, the capital needs budget is a specific item by item request. And so where the council approves a dollar amount for us on the operational side, they can actually be specific about what line items to approve or not approve with regards to our capital ask. So those are the next three meetings. And hopefully we will have a consensus by the 24th so that the process can move forward. Thank you, dr. Gentry budget and finance miss Perry. Yes, we met on Tuesday December the 6th to discuss our eight hundred and forty three million dollar operating budget and Chris Henson presented Amendment Number 1 for the 2016-17 calendar year. It passed unanimously by the seven

159members that were present, and again, it was on the consent agenda tonight and passed unanimously. This was not an addition to the operating budget, but a budget amendment or adjustment. I'm sorry. This reconciled budget takes into consideration the restructuring of our organizational chart, student-based budgeting. and reconciled adjustments with utilities and that kind of thing. There will be a second amendment to the 2016-17 operating budget at the end of the school year to further reconcile adjustments needed at that time. That concludes my report. Thank you. And I believe you're next as well. Yes, and we are going to have a video for the Ron Clark. that video is being prepared. I just want to say that 14 staff members and I traveled to see Ron Clark on November the 2nd. Staff included district personnel, principals, and

160classroom teachers. And here we go. That's a great video. A picture is worth a thousand words, isn't it? We learned so much, and it was innovation at its best. So that's all we'll say about it at this point. Thank you for whispering, Dr. Brannon. Reinvigorating, reimagining, and reinventing was the theme for the 60th Annual Conference of the Council of Great City Schools. I attended along with our COO, Chris Henson, and fellow board member, Jill Spearing, on October 19th through the 23rd. As usual, the sessions address many of the shared issues of most urban districts, improving student achievement, equity initiatives, males of color, girl power, early childhood financial challenges, EL instruction, effective leadership, and so on. Guest speakers included Sal Khan, who is CEO of the Khan Academy, Eric Holder, former Attorney General. and Donna Brazile,

161former political commentator. Dan Rather served as the moderator of a lively town hall session. Many of the executive members, the board members, and superintendents are always requested to help facilitate sessions. I participated in that role and Chris, Mr. Henson was able to help us. Christopher. I also participated in the executive committee decision-making process along with the board meeting with... other board members and superintendents. We're privileged to be affiliated with the council and to have strong collaboration with the CEO, Michael Casserly, who served as a chair of the student achievement transition team. That completes my report. Thank you, Dr. Brannan. May I just add one thing to that? Yes, ma'am. One of the things that happened while we were in Miami was that Saul Kahn announced that there is a new partnership between his academy and

162the College Board. with the PSAT and the SAT, and our kids mostly take the ACT, but I would love to have this with the ACT, or I know that the SAT costs more money. But you know that ACT has such a narrow range, so it's hard to see movement, whereas the SAT has a much larger range, so it's easier to see movement, I would suspect. But once the child takes the PSAT, When their scores come back, they also receive a list of places to go on Khan Academy. Website so that they get specific instruction about where to go to get support for areas of deficiency with practice items. It's just It's just such a great idea. So that that was a big highlight during the during the Sal Khan's presentation Miss Buggs wants to speak

163a moment on the teaching and learning. Sorry, so we met with teaching and learning committee and The literacy department was so gracious as to kind of tell us what the literacy focus looks like in the district how we're gonna make sure that we implement it throughout Throughout each school and each cluster each pathway and I just really appreciate it now that I'm moving into the teaching and learning committee I have a lot of questions and I appreciate everything that you all do. Just wanted to shout them out We'll move on to a board chair report and tonight I just want to take a moment to thank my colleagues for all their hard work this school year. We won't be having a second December meeting so when we come back it will be. 2017 that doesn't

164even sound possible I've stated from the board for many times that we've had experiences this year that we've never had before It has been a very taxing six months with several board retreats training conferences lots of meetings and conference calls You've all been troopers and I know that at the end of October when we attended our last conference We're all very road weary, but we all hung in there and we have really accomplished so much just in six months time I want to thank you for taking the time out of your days for the last couple weeks and meeting with stakeholders in Nashville. I think we've taken the city by surprise with our collaboration and solidarity. I want to publicly thank Mr. Keelhunt for his thoughtful comments in his op-ed piece on Sunday, December the

1654th, reporting on that collaboration and solidarity that we have been supporting. So what I hope for the next six months is that we keep on keeping on with all the work that we've been doing for 89,000 students in our school. in our school system. So Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy New Year, bring on 2017. All right, on to announcements, Ms. Buggs. Oh, okay. I was able to visit the Johnson AL Alternative Learning Center as well as the MNPS Middle School, and I was floored by the way that the staff and this faculty embraced the students that may have been wayward in their... path, their academic path so far, and just the project-based learning that they engage in, the way that they focus on whole child learning. I really, really appreciate that,

166and I think that they are a hidden gem. I also want to reiterate what Dr. Stewart said about Pearl Cone. I don't know if it was as poignant as it could have been that they are one out of four schools in Nashville that were level five on the T-VAS. One out of four. They were paired with Antioch, MLK, and Hume-Fogg. This is... my neighborhood school. This is Pearl Cone, which is right down the street from me. We are traditionally low SES, but they are turning—they have turned the school around, and they are making sure that students have quality seats. If you know me, you know that I cannot stand that phrase, quality seats, because it is often used to be comparative. There's often a negative connotation associated with the schools that are not deemed quality

167seats, but this is a school that has quality seats. This is a neighborhood school that is thriving, and I appreciate what they do. I also want to take a minute to shout out all the faculty, staff, and administrators. I will say over and over again that I was a teacher that decided to run for the school board because I wanted to make sure that every decision or every discussion was based on students. And I am in MNPS schools four days every single week, and I see the hard work that they're doing. This is a thankless job. If you've ever been a teacher, if you've ever had to create a lesson plan and then add students to it, you know what that feels like. So if you're watching, teachers, I love you. I appreciate you. I

168don't envy you. This week, I think all of the school board members can agree that we received lots of communication about what was proposed on the agenda regarding charter schools. I think if I were to total it all, I probably received 200 pieces of communication, whether text, email, or phone calls. So I appreciate people, you know, your professionalism in reaching out to us, you know, through this medium versus, you know, attacking us on social media. But what I would like to ask is that in the future, if you could please call us about volunteering. If you could call us about making sure that every school is a quality school. If you could reach out to us about making sure that you are in schools like we would love to have adults in schools and partner

169with us the way that we would prefer. That would be ideal. Fall Hamilton has a holiday yard sale on Thursday. I hope I get... at least five more calls about volunteers for that. That would be ideal. Things like that I would love to see as a trend, because you've already started it, so keep calling, keep emailing me, and I'll keep directing you to ways that you can volunteer and collaborate with us. Here's hey, I have a Positive announcement happy announcement than I do. I have something harder to say Weston middle prep has their holiday band concert Wednesday Thursday night this Thursday at 7 o'clock in their auditorium now They've been working really hard and so I hope that anyone who's still in town will go get the holiday spirit with them and then on my

170other my other statement Through all the training and all the work that we have done this year, personal accountability and realizing the impact that we as elected officials have on each other and on the community and most importantly on our students is huge. And it's something that I hold very highly. And I'm often asked why I don't post a lot on social media. And there are times when I want to make sure I get it right. I'm really afraid that if I put something out and I haven't looked at the right data correctly and I didn't have the exact facts to back it up, then I might mislead somebody. So I do want to ask, there was an op-ed that Mr. Pinkston had in the Tennessean this morning or yesterday that made some statements that

171charter schools cherry pick and counsel out and that principals have said that there's a deluge of students who come before testing. And I would like to request, Madam Chair, that Mr. Pinkston provide the data that supports that claim. Because we have had an independent study done by Vanderbilt that disputes those claims. And I know I have asked for specific reports done in my district when I have heard similar claims. And the data is not there. So if we really want to have these intellectually honest conversations, we have to hold ourselves accountable to the statements that we make to the public. So I respectfully request that, Mr. Pinkston. Thank you and Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, everything else. Yes, last week on Wednesday, I had an opportunity to attend Cambridge High School and Antioch High School

172with the Dean of Admissions from Alabama State University with... Accompanied by Janet and Foy Dubose and we offered or they offered scholarships to several of our high school seniors and I just wanted to Say we appreciate Alabama State University and we also appreciate Foy and Janet Dubose bringing those bringing them in and we plan on Speaking to several other colleges and universities before this school year is out and Merry Christmas. Oh, yeah, and I will be 48 when we return, the very last day of the year. So you guys want to sing happy birthday, I'd be honored. I want to thank the Englewood Neighborhood Association for the grants that they recently distributed in District 3. $1,720 went to Dan Mills for a classroom iPad, activity bags, and learning games. Isaac Linton Middle received a check

173for $500 for incentives for student progress, and their music program received $1,500. And they also had a scholarship endowment of $1,500. Three months ago a nonprofit organization called Lace Up With Love started in Inglewood in East Nashville, and they have already distributed 200 backpacks filled with supplies, hats, scarves, and other items that the homeless and others in need will benefit from. So thank you so much to Lace Up With Love for helping our students. I want to extend my condolences to the family of Christopher Mejia Hernandez. He was a kindergarten student at Neely's Bend Elementary, who lost his life in a fire in Madison. The fire also took the life of his younger brother, two years old, and his father. There's been an outpouring of love and support from our community. There's a GoFundMe account

174for the family for burial and for support. We are the last day of school is going to be Friday. Yes, the 16th. Is that this Friday? Goodness. So Happy New Year to everyone and to our families and students. And I just want to say to my colleagues, you guys are the best. I have loved being with you. And this is just the semester has been. Just a great opportunity to get to know you as individuals and thank you for your leadership in that regard, Dr. Joseph. So I'm looking forward to working with you in 2017. Yeah. Two announcements. It's the holidays, so I will not be getting into a protracted back and forth with Ms. Pierce. So I wish you Merry Christmas, ma'am, and we'll talk about charters again in the future. Happier note on

175Monday, November 21st. I had the privilege of visiting six schools in and near district 7 with dr. Joseph It's always energizing to see the great work that's happening in Croft middle school Glenview elementary school Norman Binkley Elementary School, Waverly Belmont Elementary School, Whitsitt Elementary School, and Wright Middle School. And Dr. Joseph, I just want to say I appreciate your commitment to walk in the halls and soliciting unvarnished input and feedback from our school administrators, teachers, and staff, and especially the kids. They were as excited as anybody to see him, and not so much me. They were like, who's that guy? But I look forward to future school visits with you, and I've already... gotten a couple of complaints from other schools in District 7. So I need to reserve the right to ask you to

176visit with me at some point, Glencliff Elementary School, Glencliff High School, Glengarry Elementary School, Smith Springs Elementary School, and Yuna Elementary School. So we'll see you soon in District 7. Thank you. Merry Christmas. Happy New Year. Yes, this is the graduation season mid-year and our non-traditional high schools are having their graduations. One was today and we have some on Wednesday. Tomorrow? Okay, tomorrow. Tomorrow is Wednesday. It is. It comes after Tuesday. All right, that's fine. Dr. Gentry. Warm me out. Happy holidays. Thank you all. You guys have something to say? I do. Come on, get down. I do. I do. I want to have one announcement. Last Wednesday was a fabulous day. We had a backstage tour. Music Makes Us organized a backstage tour. We started out at Overton High School. We went to Oliver

177Middle and then Shane Elementary. The best part was at Oliver Middle School when Mary Berry and a young lady called Kelsey Ballerini, who I didn't know, I'm embarrassed to say, and CMA presented Music Makes Us, Metro National Schools, a check for $1 million. for our students' music ed program. So they're so generous to us each and every year. And it's the children that we saw tonight that benefit from those monies that we get from CMA. So it was a great day. Thank you to CMA. Huge thank you to CMA and to Music Makes Us. Now I'm done. Be there no further business. This meeting is adjourned. Thank you, guys.