001The October 15th board meeting and I'll ask for a motion to approve the agenda. I move the Board of Education approve the agenda for the October 15th 2024 meeting. Second. Okay, we're going to move on to the report. Thank you. Franklin. Yes. Jones. Yes. Kimball. Yes. Byers. Yes. Cadu Blackwood. Yes. Costello. Yes, the motion passes 6-0. Okay. Now we'll move on to the report of the superintendent of schools. Dr. Swift. My apologies. I'm going to need just one second. Thank you for your patience. Well, good evening. It's October 15th, mid-October, and as we are moving through this week, we are wrapping up. quarter one of the school year. It seems like that has flown by and we are thankful for the hard work of our teachers, our school and district teams, our parents and community
002partners, everybody working together to serve our students. We are especially delighted to be welcoming parents for Parent Teacher Conference Week this week. It is a long week for our teachers and staff as they prepare to have those important conversations. We know the benefit and the power behind that home-to-school partnership. We hope that's occurring every day of the school year, but it's especially important around the time of parent-teacher conferences. Just a couple of reminders for everyone. The schedule is a little different as a result of conferences this week. Remember that there is no school early childhood through grade 8. on Thursday, but remember on Thursday high schools are in session and then on Friday there are no classes. All students will be out of school and all of our district buildings will be closed on that
003day. We know that quality public schools are signified in one significant way by engaged and caring communities that value our children in their education. So thank you. Thanks to everyone for your partnership in making school really a great place of learning for our students. Last Friday, we had the great opportunity to be in professional development together face to face with our secondary teachers at professional learning. I was just really delighted that we were up. at secondary attendance in professional development by 30%. So kudos to everyone on the team for that great showing. And then back on our elementary PD, we were, I believe it was 89% or 87%, excuse me, attendance on the elementary PD. Board members, this is a big increase and we're really celebrating that time together. On Friday, you can see here
004we were with Kim Campbell. She is a middle school educator and a dean from Minnesota. I think she is part stand-up comedian. Really gave just a wonderful presentation that focused on three things. One, building relationships with our students and with each other on the team. on remembering to laugh and having fun in the classroom. And we sure had a lot of fun working with her over Friday. So hats off to everyone who was responsible for coordinating that day. Just a great day together with our professional development. A few celebrations this evening, not a few. We actually have. quite a lot. First of all, Free State High School has been named to the 2024 AP Honor Roll. This honor is particularly significant because it's about delivering results for students in their academic achievement while also opening
005the door wider for access. So we're really delighted with Free State receiving that prestigious honor and I included more of the details about it, members, in your written report. We also have heard from the Kansas Association of School Boards who chose our Team STEAM Robotics Club among the student groups to showcase their programs at its convention in November. My thanks to Lawrence High Educator Jeannie Merritt for organizing this trip for students. So that gives us an opportunity to show off our programming statewide at that conference. And then also congratulations to Hannah Hurst, Deerfield art teacher, for earning a California Casualty Arts and Music and Education grant. Our longtime Lawrence Education Achievement Department. The LEAD Center of Kansas recently hosted all of our third through fifth graders for a school-only performance by Jazzy Ash and the
006Leaping Lizards out of New Orleans. They shared the history of jazz with our students in what turned out to be quite the dance party. I'm always inspired that a significant number of our students and families would never have the opportunity for live arts performance but for these programs. Coming up on October 24th and 25th, Amira Sackett and Mr. Mike, the duo of Muslim Heritage, will share hip hop culture and demonstrate using art for social change for our high school students. So we're looking forward to that. You, if you haven't noticed it, take a moment to enjoy the art display here. on the wall in our boardroom. This is presented to us by the students of Lawrence High School under the direction of their extraordinary arts. teachers Todd Poteet, Angela Perkins, Emily Markulatos, and Jean Dixon
007Perkins. Just an extraordinary array of art and I need to capture some photos of that and add it so everyone at home can see as well. If you haven't had the chance yet, stop by the Lawrence Public Library where throughout this month there is elementary art work. I don't know about you but nothing makes me happier than elementary artwork. And so that'll be a great pick-me-up during October when you're down near the Lawrence Public Library. We just started the week yesterday with a bang by being out at Quail Run. I think I have passed it, but I will find it. Out at Quail Run for the... ACE award and it was given yesterday afternoon to Dion Chavez, Quail Run Instructional Support Assistant. I loved being in the classroom and Thank you, Member Costello and the
008members of the Foundation Board for this tremendous award for our staff member. Dion is an instructional support assistant. She is the epitome of a lifelong learner. She's gone above and beyond what is expected or asked of her to increase her knowledge in order to be able to give reading tutoring to students, and they've seen remarkable growth as a result. of her work relating to strengths is another relating to students is another strength of Dionne's even students who are reluctant to thank you, to working class are excited to go to intervention with Ms. Chavez. She has high expectations for all of our students, and it's obvious that they feel safe and loved in her care. Just today, and I was sharing with the foundation board a little earlier, as I was driving into the office this
009morning, I was concerned about a couple of young students that I saw on the sidewalk on the side of one of our busy inner... roads in the city and just as the sun was doing the thing it does, shining bright in your eyes as a driver, got to the office and saw this beautiful grant from the governor in Safe Routes to School and I just felt the real juxtaposition of our need in the Lawrence community with increased traffic and road construction and orange cones. everywhere you go and trying to get our students safely to and from school. So this is hot off the press from Kansas Governor Laura Kelly. Nearly $31.5 million awarded for 31 projects in communities across Kansas to create safer, more walkable, bike-friendly routes through the Transportation Alternatives TA program. And the
010city of Lawrence is expected to receive just over a million dollars for our Safe Routes to School program, also called the Be Active, Be Safe Routes. The program, a city partnership with Lawrence Public Schools, Lawrence Douglas County Public Health, and Lawrence Douglas County Metropolitan Planning Organization, is a comprehensive approach to making neighborhoods safe. and accessible and ensuring that students have the safest route to be able to be physically active and also make it safely to school. I have a long background in this programming and I can't tell you how delighted I am to see Lawrence have the opportunity to expand our reach by more than a million dollars. It's a very big deal. I wanted to share this quarterly celebration of indigenous people. Day. We celebrated that beautiful day yesterday. We celebrated every day in
011Lawrence Public Schools and here is a school photo from Cordley. Cordley celebrated in many ways in addition to a special morning message with a reading of the Native American tribes and nations of all of our staff and students. They focused our attention on responsibility to challenge incorrect stories and celebrate opportunities to get those stories right. Some students and staff wore their regalia as you can see in their photo. Pictured here is Jonah Wesley from Ms. Spurlock's class. A special thank you to first grade parents, Marian Wesley and Jennifer Bonilla, who shared their own stories to support. learning and that was shared by Becky Reaver Cordley principal. I wanted to just remind folks of the board's boundary advisory committee. That group is hard at work on its charge to study and recommend a proposal for better
012balance in our high school enrollments. I wanted to especially call it out this evening to draw the attention to the public input sessions. coming up. Your voice matters, so come and share your public input with our Boundary Advisory Committee on November 13th and 14th, one night at each of the high schools. The 13th is LHS and the 14th is Free State. I wanted to also mention, members of the board, that we have heard during our engagement conversations, and I think each of you have also heard, the request for a twice monthly pay cycle and I wanted to update the board in the community that we are currently undertaking a study of the viability of such a change. So we this will include a review of the level of interest among our staff. We want to
013always base our decisions on data. It will also review the adjustments that would be required in order to meet such a change. and be able to consider such a change. It will include the associated costs and potential benefits. Members, I will report back at a future date on what steps would be required, viability and perceived sustainability of that kind of change, and look forward to a discussion of risk and benefits once we have more confirmed information around our organizational viability. I want to give a special shout out to Cindy Frick and to Kristen Ryan for their help and the help of their teams in doing that work. We have several donations to celebrate this evening. Lawrence Public Schools Foundation announced last week $21,122 in innovative teacher staff development, school assistance, and music works grants. These
014grants will fund programs. that enable our teachers to participate in professional development and enrich their students' educational experiences. Next, all three Lawrence Rotary Clubs. sponsored a snack drive. This was really inspiring. Just really meeting that need of students who don't have a snack in the afternoon or in the morning at school. They will provide snacks to all of our elementary schools this semester. The clubs also donated more than $8,000 to the Lauren Schools Foundation to purchase additional student snacks as part of a spring snack drive. The LHA's LHS class of 1971 made a $3,000 donation to support negative student lunch account balances at Lawrence High School. Our thanks to these generous donors. Your gifts are inspiring and enable and enhance our work. Just wanted to give an update on the fall community engagement. I promised
015that I would do this as we move through the fall. What an honor it was to be out last Tuesday, a week ago tonight. We had about 30 students, staff, parents, board members, and community members who came out at Billy Mills Middle School. Several families have been encouraged to attend by our LSEAC partners, our Special Ed Advisory Committee. So a special shout out to Carrie Poe and Christy Heinzelman for that outreach to help us. with hosting that community conversation. We met new people and had great conversations about how to plan for the future in the district. We have upcoming conversations and the schedule is right there posted on our website. We are adding conversations. as folks reach out to us. So be sure and let us know if you would like to host a conversation
016in the community. I wanted to give a shout out to Dr. Kelly Welch's Childhood Education Pathway students. I got to meet them a little while back when I was over there walking through their building. They have agreed and offered to provide childcare for all of our community conversation. So we do need for parents to let us know when you're planning on attending so that we're sure that we have enough childcare arranged for the evening. I did want to share a little bit of the data. We don't just send messages, but we send messages with, I'm sorry, I'll go to the community engagement. Next ones coming up are a brown bag lunch on November 8th. at the public library and then also we're asking folks to complete the community survey by November 22nd and that will
017help us to be sure that we've heard every voice. Wanted to give also just a note on the data around how much engagement we're having with the two superintendent messages that we've sent recently. You can see the September 27th newsletter, more than 16,769 total views of that message. 420 views opened and watched or clicked on the video message that was Chief Lockhart and I working on school safety and 287 views of content that was linked into the message. The majority of views, 66%, were from a cell phone. and seven minutes was the average time spent reading the newsletter. Since the video was only about three minutes long, I take great delight that there were four other minutes that perhaps folks were reading the message. The October 11th newsletter grew in views with 18,684 views. So
018we don't just send out messages, we monitor if folks are engaged. and at what level they're engaging, and we're hoping to continue to hear feedback and adjust our work as we go. We are really excited about the community survey and just to note that we have some great partners at the University of Kansas who will be analyzing that data for us. So we're very grateful for that help. Board members, I've included a lengthy list of places and folks we've already seen and engaged with. And I didn't get it in this report, but I wanted to share Friday evening. a shout out to Lawrence High School orchestras in the pumpkin patch and music at sundown. It was truly a beautiful event, well attended with lots of hay and pumpkins in addition to a great orchestra event.
019Thank you, board members, for the opportunity to share this report and for the honor of serving Lawrence Public Schools. Thank you. Oh, I have to PS. Yesterday, we were out at the Foundation Award, and I got to say hello to a Quail Run Kinder class that I substituted in two weeks ago. I thought they wouldn't remember me, and I got a great big group hug and completely disrupted their read aloud, for which I am sorry. But Ms. Shulman's class, and I'm fans of theirs, and they are fans of mine largely because of the association of Taylor Swift. to Superintendent Swift, but I'll take them any way I can get them. Thank you. Take care. All right. Thank you, Dr. Swift. I did know that your last name was going to be a big hit when
020you got here. So we'll move on to report of the Board of Education President. I want to say, extend gratitude to Julie Boyle and Dr. Swift and others, Kelly Welsh, who are coordinating child care for the community conversations. It's really a way to create access for our families and I appreciate that you thought of that and considered it. Thank you. October 19th is in-person voting and those of us on this board would encourage you to vote early, not often. The art on the wall is very distracting. It's really exceptional and there are a couple of pieces there that I would gladly pay for and might be reaching out to those artists in that. because it's really exceptional. So congratulations to our art instructors who help our students realize that level of creativity. GR Gordon Ross,
021our vice president, is not here this evening because he's traveling, so I extend his apologies on his behalf. We expect... board colleagues to get a boundary committee update in an upcoming meeting that Carol and Ann, we will leave to your and Dr. Engelbrecht's decision about when the best meeting is. But just to check in either in October or November would be welcome to just hear a bit more about your work. your objectives and what you might need from the board, any additional resources, et cetera. So thanks for doing that work. I know it's hard. I appreciate it. I also want to acknowledge Indigenous Peoples Day yesterday and look forward to hearing the NAS report this evening. And then I want to extend a special welcome to a student from my department who's here doing work
022in NAS. So it is nice to see you, Shay, and thank you for serving Lawrence Public Schools this year. And then finally, I want to encourage... Oh, I have actually two things. I will be calling a special meeting related to the search in upcoming weeks around interviewing or considering whether or not we're going to use a search firm for sure. So we'll start with the are we going to, and then also I'll have developed some questions with the committee for us to consider for those firms. So look for that outreach from myself or from Bob or GR. to help us get that on your calendars. And then finally, I... As many people in the community are, I am recovering from COVID. I have negative tests, so everybody in the room can feel comfortable. I was
023real careful to make sure of that. But I had scheduled my vaccinations for October 15th. I was off by a couple weeks. And while I've recovered and life is good, It really knocked me out and I could not work or function or really do much of anything. So I am encouraging the community to get out and particularly those of you working in public schools. I know I am at an elevated risk in a university classroom and you are at an exceptionally elevated risk in a public school K through 12 setting and our early childhood setting. So I Encourage everyone to get their flu and COVID vaccines to help protect our educators and our students and our staff and administrators who are working really hard to keep the school moving. So that's my last plea there.
024Okay, so we're going to move on now to public comment. We have a couple folks that are here to provide that. Ah, special recognition. Thank you, Bob. So I understand that we have a special, yes. So Kristen Ryan, executive director of HR, is here to take GR's spot because Bob must have bowed out. So Kristen, thank you for acknowledging our retirement, of which there are several people that I recognize here and have quite a bit of affection for. So thank you for reading their names and honoring them. Yes, thank you. The following are acknowledged with sincere appreciation for their service and devotion to this community and its schools. Ron May, 24 years. Carol Castile, 17 years. Robin Cooper Cornejo, 11 years. Sandra DeVallos Wainwright, 27 years. Brad Greenwood, 20 years. Catherine Hilliard. 24 years, Deb
025Carey, 13 years, Chris Marshall, 32 years, Barbara Nitz, 18 years, Sharon Ray, seven years, and Jean Stone King, 28 years. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Now I can move forward. We'll move on to public comment. Is there anyone willing to read the public comment statement before we call folks up to the podium? I'll volunteer tonight, Kelly. Thank you. The USD 497 Board of Education welcomes public comments and thanks you for taking time to talk to us about our policies and procedures. We set aside this time during our regular meetings to hear from the public. Patrons who wish to participate in public comment must fill out the public comment registration form so that district staff or the board can follow up with you as necessary. This is your time to share your opinions. However, public comment
026is not the appropriate forum for making complaints about specific staff or students. If your comments relate to complaints concerning students or staff, such complaints must be addressed to district staff as provided under board policies K-N and G-A-E, which are general complaints and personnel complaints. The board president or presiding officer of the meeting may direct that a public comment request be redirected to staff to comply with board policy or to protect the privacy of individual staff or students. If you need assistance in sharing a complaint or concern with district staff, please let the board clerk or other district staff know. Topics discussed in public comment shall be germane to the business of the board. Comments or acts that are threatening to staff, the board, or others in attendance, including the use of language or behavior that
027is disruptive of the board meeting, will not be permitted during public comment. In addition, because students may be in attendance or watching online, members of the public will refrain from using foul or obscene language. The district assumes no responsibility or liability for the information shared during public comment. The views expressed are solely those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Lawrence Public Schools. The board president or presiding officer will invite comment on topics not included on the meeting agenda at the beginning of each meeting. Comments relating to agenda items are welcomed after the board has had the opportunity to discuss the topic. Please limit your comments to three minutes. Thank you. Thank you, Shannon. I'd like to welcome to the podium Chris Anderson, if you're here. Welcome, Mr. Anderson. Yeah, and
028if you speak right into the mic, then the folks at home can hear you too. Good evening. My name is Chris Anderson. My wife and I are parents to sons who graduated from Free State High School in 2017 and 2019, as well as a daughter who's currently a sophomore. I want to speak to... Mr. Anderson, can you pause for one moment? I apologize. I'm sorry about that. I'm going to ask that we start your minutes over and just say we have a cell phone policy coming up that precludes phones from interrupting you and speakers. And I want to hear everything that you've said. I read your email and apologize if you'll start over. My daughter was on emergency bypass. Everything okay? Yep. Thank you so much. I want to speak tonight about the college and
029career planning night held at the LEAD Center last Thursday evening. For background, I emailed each of you my correspondence with then-Superintendent Tony Lewis about last year's event. I think this year's event was even more of a fiasco. Last Thursday, I stopped by the College and Career Planning Night at about 7.15. I inquired to district staff about participation and was told there were fewer than 50 students in attendance. That's fewer than 50 students from Free State, Lawrence High, Bishop Seabury, Veritas, Eudora, Baldwin, etc. Last year, only about 70 students showed up. I saw college recruiting staff sitting idly at their tables, looking at their cell phones, occasionally flashing finger signs to each other indicating that they had only spoken to three, two, one, zero families that night. Lawrence students have ample opportunities to explore options at
030KU, Kansas State. Johnson County Community College, but they deserve exposure to other colleges eager to recruit them. And many of these institutions have started to skip the Lawrence event for obvious reasons. If Lawrence can only push 50 students to a college fair, there's little reason for these institutions to show up. In contrast, many more institutions are represented at college fairs at Shawnee Mission, Topeka, and Wichita. And I advise Lawrence families if they really want to go to a well executed college fair to go to Shawnee Mission, Topeka, or Wichita. Now when this event was scheduled it was impossible to know that the Royals would be playing the Yankees that night but both Free State and Lawrence High School scheduled away football games. There were also high school volleyball games and band concerts and who knows
031what else scheduled that prevented student participation at the college fair. Who's planning this? What are the district's priorities? Directed by the state, the district is expanding its investment in college and career readiness initiatives. The cost of these initiatives are substantial, but their value is speculative and yet unproven. In contrast, a robust college fair with lots of students and families interacting with lots of colleges would be signature proof that the district prioritizes postgraduate opportunities and outcomes. Do better. Please do better. Thank you for coming and bringing that issue to our attention. We have taken note and will do better. Thank you. Mr. Cadu. Thank you. We would like to hear from you around land acknowledgments. Good evening, everyone. Can you hear me? We can. I ask that because I wear hearing aid and I'm wondering if
032I can. I'm being hurt. My name is Steve Cadu. I'm an enrolled member of the federally recognized Kickapoo Indian. nation of Kansas. We have a reservation here, a federally recognized reservation in Kansas. And I'm joined in the presentation, my presentation on land acknowledgement by my brother, Pastor Larry Fry of the Methodist congregation. And Larry served with me with other members including the staff members of UFSD 497 on the USD 497 Indigenous Knowledge and Curriculum Committee. And we've been organized and working on curriculum committee for the district for now going three years. But like everyone else, we were stymied. right at the beginning because of the COVID pandemic and that delayed us and a lot of our progress. I'd like for you educators to know that I've been doing my homework, just about 80 years of
033homework, if you will. That's my joke. Land acknowledgement with Indian people. is respect and love of not the land, not just the land, but of Mother Earth. And this building right here, right now, these grounds, for example, were Indian-owned lands of one tribe or another, just like every acre. of land in the United States of America was at one time. And so land acknowledgement is being done, accomplished over the United States by different entities. And I was pleased to learn that Dr. Swift had experience with a land acknowledgement proclamation, if you will, in the schools that she was with in the state of Michigan. Also, I have visited with the NASS coordinator, David Favre. He's had actual experience with the proclamation of land acknowledgement in the city and the school district of Anchorage, Alaska. So
034I've been visiting with David Favre, the coordinator, about land acknowledgement. And when I say I've been doing my homework, this is what I meant. The former NASS coordinator and I with our committee members, we met with the then former mayor of the city of Lawrence. We also met with the staff and the administration of the Douglas County Commission about land acknowledgement and what we were hopeful of getting accomplished spearheaded by the USDA 497 school district. I envision sort of a three-part project that everyone's working together. The leadership from you, the school board, the research done by the NASS program and our USD 497 committee acting as advisors. I should have mentioned that I'm a traditional advisor, Native American traditionalist advisor to the USD 497 knowledge in the curriculum committee. I'm considered an elder and I'm
035proud of that and hope that my knowledge and experience will be helpful to the education of the of the district in USD 497. The land acknowledgement, when you speak with informed Native American people, it's a matter of respect, land acknowledgement. You should not do land acknowledgement just because or sort of an appreciation. True land acknowledgement should be true respect. And while it's history and of the past, that may not be the most important thing. The most important thing is with land acknowledgement to Indian people is tomorrow. What can we look for tomorrow for society and Native American people? Now we have a great opportunity. We have a unique opportunity in USD 497 in Lawrence, Kansas. Hopefully we can get the city of Lawrence on board, the Douglas County Commission, and of course you, the USD
036497 school board. The unique situation, we can develop the model, if you will, of Langley. land acknowledgement, maybe what I would call the preeminent land acknowledgement in the United States of America. That has a lot of connection to Haskell Indian Nation University using their mission and their purpose and their recognition throughout America, including Alaska. So there is a real, real reason to develop land acknowledgement here and that you, the school board, can spearhead. I think that I'm asking and requesting, and there is a process, but that the school board... We're requesting from the Indigenous Committee a resolution that you would support and provide resources to the Land Acknowledgement Proclamation and its purpose. This is the kind of project that we want to do with land acknowledgement. It's going to take some time. It might take...
037It might take as much as a year because we really truly want a true and authentic Indian land acknowledgement proclamation. All speakers here can go on and on and on. I know I've only got three minutes, but I would really like for the board, to work with the NAS coordinator and we need a resolution from the school board that you support and that you will work with us on the development of a land acknowledgement program here from the school district. You would be working with the NASS coordinator David Favre on that and of course we would be acting as advisors. So that's That is that is why and that is the purpose of my presentation this evening Thank you, Mr. Cadoux. Appreciate you Okay, we'll move on to board commentary, and I'm going to start
038with my colleague, Yolanda. Yolanda, would you like to make board commentary? If not, totally fine. No, I will pass at this time. Thank you, President Kelly. Okay. Yes. Sure, Mr. Cadu. Go ahead. I appreciate it. I think this is so important. Land acknowledgement should be woven in. to the program that you've already budgeted and you embrace and we appreciate that. Land acknowledgement should and can be woven into the diversity, equity, and inclusion program that you are already doing. Land acknowledgement could be woven into that. Thank you. That's my last point. I appreciate that. Yes. You allow me to do that. Yes. Thank you. Okay. And. First of all Yolanda and Kelly I hope you feel better soon. I know you both been battling things I also wanted to thank dr Swift and other admin that
039subbed in classes the other day Making good on some promises that have been made in the past and I do appreciate you guys getting into the trenches When we did have a need As far as updates from policy committee we have some second reads This week, board policy BCBK executive session, a more succinct policy that outlines the procedure for the board to recess to executive session, includes language outlining a sample motion that was removed as it's provided in a related form. Board policy ID, instructional program. This is new to our district, but not a new KASB policy. allows for licensed staff to work cooperatively to develop instructional program and details specifications related to that. And then policy JGFGA administration of emergency opioid antagonists. This has added language around training requirements for staff with access to
040opioid antagonists and these changes are directed by state statute. I want to give an update on some of the different committees I'm on as well. So the Lawrence Schools Foundation on 9-24, I attended the breakfast wrap-up committee meeting where we discussed what went well and what improvements could be made for next year. Then on the 25th, I attended... the program committee grant review where we awarded more than $21,000 in grants. A couple examples of those grants, which I think are really exciting. At West Middle School, seventh grade teachers received a grant to support their Harvard County project, which will provide an engaging mechanism for students to learn and practice real life skills related to math, ELA, social studies, and science. Students will engage in city planning, earning a living wage, and budgeting. Also at West
041Middle School, an eighth grade teacher, Katie Henry, received a grant for a project-based learning picture book project, which will allow students to create and publish books to engage elementary students at Sunset Hill. Southwest Middle School teachers Samuel Vasquez and Lindsay Proctor received a grant to support their history unboxed projects for sixth graders. The goal is to make learning hands-on with stories, crafts, and activities from around the world. Our elementary school art teachers received a grant to help them purchase clay for their projects. More information about the grants awarded can be found on the Lawrence Schools Foundation Facebook page and the next round of grant applications are due February 1st of 2025. So teachers be sure to get your applications in there is money to be had. On October 15th, which I guess is today, earlier
042today, I attended the 40th anniversary planning meeting, which is exciting. This upcoming year will be the 40th anniversary of the foundation, so we are planning a celebration for that. And then prior to this meeting, I attended the monthly board meeting where we... We're updated on various events that are happening. And I did want to give a reminder for our counselors and social workers to reach out to Dena and the foundation when we do have students that are experiencing a need. For example, recently the foundation has helped pay for a pair of eyeglasses for a student at one of our elementary schools. We've supplied mattresses and beds to families without. We generally always have hygiene supplies and school supplies around, so if you have students in need with those, please reach out. And there will be
043a hygiene drive at the October 25th football game. I believe it's being put on by both schools, football, cheer, spirit squads as well. So if you are attending that game, please bring your hygiene supplies as they are needed and will be donated to the foundation to be distributed. I'm also on the boundary committee. We had meetings on the 25th of September as well as October 9th. We have reviewed multiple options and have narrowed it down to two different options. One, which would add all houses east of Mass and north of 23rd to the LHS boundary, and the other option would create feeder schools. There are two public feedback sessions in November. Highly encourage everyone to attend November 13th at 6 p.m. at LHS, and then on the 14th, 6 p.m. at Free State. You can
044attend either or both. Our next meeting for the boundary committee is October 23rd at the facilities and operations office near the Haskell campus. Meetings are open to the public. So please, if you are interested, come and observe the meeting. We definitely invite you to be there. On the 30th of September, I attended the Southwest Middle School Site Council meeting where we discussed building goals. which included 80% of students will score as low risk or on track on the Spring Fast Bridge Reading Assessment by the end of 2025-26. Also by that same time period, the number of students scoring level three and four on the CAP Math assessments will increase by 10% each year. And so in order to meet those goals, they walk through some of the different interventions that they are doing there, which
045is exciting to see. Also, in last year's survey, it showed that their students were not feeling a sense of belonging, and so they've created some new things to address that. They have Club Wednesdays where students have time to, they were able to pick a club such as PE or cooking or something like that, and so they have that that they can. participate in and those will switch at semester. They have not seen an increase in behaviors during these more unstructured time which I think is great. On October 8th, I was able to read to a fourth grade teacher, Ashley Smith's class at Quail Run. I read The Year We Learned to Fly by Jacqueline Woodson and illustrated by Rafael Lopez. It celebrates the ability to lift ourselves up and imagine a better world. It was
046a great book and a great experience. So I thank her for inviting me. On the 14th, I attended the ACE Award presentation that Dr. Swift spoke of. Congratulations to Dion Chavez. And then I have a little spiel here. So Kelly mentioned that advanced voting begins tomorrow on the 16th. Just for your reference, the ballot is 17 inches long front and back. Please allow yourself enough time. Elections for Kansas State Board of Education, half of the positions of the 10-member board are up for re-election, including the two districts that cover the majority of Lawrence, Districts 4 and 6. In addition to elections, there are measures to be voted on, one asking if the city should change from a commission manager form of government to a modified mayor council form, and another asking if the city should
047repeal a five one-hundredths of a percent sales tax and replace it with a one-tenth of one percent for the purpose of providing affordable housing and temporary emergency shelter for those experiencing homelessness. Sample ballots are available on the Douglas County website, dgcoks.org. You can look at the map. On that website to see what precinct you're in and then use that to find your ballot You can also use the map to see what other districts you are in such as your County Commission district, Kansas House, Kansas Senate, etc Advance voting at the County Election Office weekdays October 16th through the 25th are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. From October 28th through November 11th, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturdays 10, 26, and 11, 2 will be 9 to 3 p.m. And the last day to vote in
048advance there is November 4th, 8 a.m. to noon. There's also advanced voting at the LEAD Center, Tuesday, October 29th from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Wednesday, October 30th, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday, October 31st, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Friday, November 1st, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. And lastly, there is also advanced voting at the Douglas County Fairgrounds on October 28th through November 1st, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. I highly encourage everyone to get out there and vote regardless of your politics. It's important that we participate. Thank you. Okay, Carol. Thank you, Ann, for covering most of my board report. Thank you. Just to reiterate again, tomorrow is the first day for advanced voting, so I encourage everybody to advance vote if you will. So you never know what life is going to
049throw at you. So if you can, get out and vote tomorrow. Let's see. Yesterday on Indigenous Peoples Day, I had the extreme and rare opportunity to read the new Billy Mills book, Wings of an Eagle. It came out this summer. It's a book about Billy Mills' story about facing extreme poverty. racism and he overcame many obstacles to become the only second he became the second native american in history to ever win an olympic gold medal and um i read that book to miss ashley smith for ashley smith's fourth grade class at quill run and it just happened to fall on the 60th day of when he won the 10 000 meter gold race which may add he is the only american to ever have won that race and let's see And in the tradition of
050giving back, I was able to procure an autographed copy and gift it to Dr. Swift from Billy Mills. Let's see. And I would like to thank my father, Steve Cadu, our former chairman. I'm an enrolled member of the Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas, and my dad was our chairman for over 30 years, and he knows where he's an expert. He actually bought our school, Kickapoo Nation School, for a dollar back in the day. follow his lead, but I've served on the Native American Student Services Committee for several years now, and it seems that we keep coming into a stumbling block for the land acknowledgement. We want it to be actionable, but yet we need the active and current parent participation to get involved with the land acknowledgement. So that's why it's come at a standstill, because
051it's a roadblock or an impasse with the parents to approve a final land acknowledgement. So that's what the... the holdup is on that. And with that, and again, it should be actionable as all land acknowledgements should be. I was able to work on a land acknowledgement with Kansas City Public Schools where it was actionable and we were able to implement the Cherokee language initiative in Kansas City Public Schools of Missouri. And I, thank you. Shannon Kimball. Thank you. Just have not too many things today want to thank our public commenters this evening and I would express to a board leadership my support for follow-up in the future on both the issues that arose. I know I had communicated particularly in relation to the issue about the college fair. I've communicated with staff concerns that I
052had as a parent about that. So I look forward to working. Mrs. Smith has been busy. I also read to Mrs. Smith's class this month and want to say thank you to her. I always appreciate when... The invitation to come and visit with students, so thank you, Mrs. Smith, and it was a lot of fun. I read a book called Where Are You From? to her class, and they were delightful. We had a lovely morning. In addition... Last week was our monthly facilities planning committee meeting and because GR is not here this evening, I just wanted to give a couple of updates to the board on items we discussed. We continue to have very high usage of our facilities in our district. In just the month of September, we had over 1,200 requests for events
053and over 1,100 of those events were held. And so our facilities are used extensively both by for events in our district. These are all events that happen after hours. So that doesn't include anything that happens during the school day. They're all after hours events and it includes some school things, but also community things. So I appreciate the hard work that our facility make, our facilities available to our community. We have things that we've talked about in the past and that you've heard about. about from us, continuing to work on exploring energy efficiency incentives to allow us to do some of our projects and get rebates for some of the work that we're doing to make our buildings more energy efficient. We talked about donations, updates on our asphalt and concrete, roofing, HVAC, and other projects.
054So really nothing... big or new just updates on lots of things that we've been working on and being updated on. throughout the last several months. So that was the facilities committee update. Policy committee meets next week and did a great job of summarizing the work we did last month that's in front of the board this evening. And then finally, I wanted to make the board aware that there's been a group who's been trying to plan this for some time now and it has delightfully come to fruition. The Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day. is Ruby Bridges will be in Kansas, in Topeka for Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day on November 14th this year. And that coincides with a culminating celebration related to the 70th anniversary of Brown versus Board of Education. She will be
055giving a keynote address to students from schools across the... I believe schools across the state have been invited to apply to have groups of students go. It's my understanding that we will have some students from Lawrence who will be attending, so that is very exciting. That event is looking for sponsors, so if that is something you are interested in, contact me and I can direct you to the website and more information about that. It's just a really exciting opportunity for our kids, but I wanted to make the board aware that that was... in the works. So it's really cool. Some of us had the really wonderful opportunity to see Ruby Bridges speak at the NSBA conference in New Orleans last year. She is, you know, just it was so inspiring and so... I learned a
056lot from listening to her describe her life experiences and her story, and I'm just really pleased that she will be coming to Kansas to share that with our students. So thank you to those who have been involved in planning that event. And that is all I have this evening. Thank you. Mr. Byers. Okay. just briefly. Things that I've been involved in since our last board meeting would be the district side council we met and should in, I think, next board meeting or the following board meeting, we will have our equity report for the board. Let's see, I attended Hillcrest Site Council and their PTO. During the site council, we discussed their numbers and the PTO as they were preparing for events. I attended the Lawrence High Site Council. One of our discussion points was around
057the The boundary issue, what I informed him is it's a work in progress, no decision is made, and that just get involved where you can. I also attended the EPIC's work group negotiations and did attend the first district community conversation at Billy Mills. I found it very... Very well done. Very well organized and actually a good community discussion. Also, as everyone else has said, remember it's that time of year to get out and vote. I always say to relatives, it's your opportunity. Because if you don't vote, I don't really want to hear it. Okay. Thank you, Bob. I did hear two, I think I started to hear consensus around two things, so I just want to come back to them. It sounds like the board is very interested in follow-up related to the two public
058comments around land acknowledgement and then also the coordination to increase participation in the college career fair. Am I reading that correctly? Okay, so lots of head nods for the land acknowledgement and lots of head nods to make sure that we're doing a better job with the college and career Fair so thank you all both of you for coming and bringing those issues to our attention Okay, we'll now move on to The consent agenda is there a approval? Motion to approve. I move the Board of Education approve the items listed on the consent agenda. I second. Jones. Yes. Kimball. Yes. Byers. Yes. Cadu Blackwood. Yes. Costello. Yes. Franklin. Yes. The motion passes 6-0. Okay. We're going to move on to item 3.1, which is the board policy GACCA. I'm going to step out for conflict. Yeah.
059So do you want to repeat that? I'm stepping out so there's no conflict of interest in regards to this. Thank you. Okay. So go ahead. So this was on first read during the in our last board agenda on the consent for first read and then we had to make a few tweaks to it because that we were concerned that there might be a misinterpretation of the policy. So rather than put it on consent with the red line we wanted to explain what changes we made specifically. So you'll notice or not actually I'll Request that you pull up the draft of the policy on your agenda. Is it possible to cast it? So we're just waiting for it to get pulled up here Okay, so while we're waiting for that to get pulled up, the primary
060issue that we needed to resolve was a concern that the policy might be read to infer that after a board member was elected and if they had a close relative, so father, mother, brother, sister, spouse, son, daughter, stepson, stepdaughter, step... or excuse me, son-in-law or daughter-in-law or an individual who resides in their household. There you can see that. That it could be construed to read that we are suggesting that that person's family member was no longer eligible for employment with the district. They would not, per this policy, be... eligible or as eligible for advancement or for applying to a new position, but their current position would be protected in that we essentially rehire folks every year when they sign a contract with us. So we just didn't want there to be any confusion. So we
061added the line. This policy will not be construed as requiring the resignation of any employee should a member of the employee's immediate family or household be elected to the board. That is the change. And then one other minor change, and I'll hand it over to Shannon. There was underneath supervision limitations. No employee shall directly supervise or be responsible for any portion of the supervision or evaluation of an employee's... Let's see here. Yeah, we added in the phrase any portion of supervision that phrase is added in and it didn't get highlighted So I wanted to mention that there so shall not directly supervise or be responsible for any portion of supervision because there was confusion around what does directly supervise mean And so we wanted to make that clear. So those are the two changes we
062made and then Shannon Do you want to add anything? I just wanted to add that that not that sentence, but the prior sentence that Kelly was sharing about board members, people elected to the board when there's someone in their immediate family or household employed in the district. That's actually that. provision is part of the model language that we were we had under consideration and when we brought the draft to the board for first read there was another piece of that model that we took out that was really more applicable to very very small communities you know the model policies are have to be written to kind of apply to a range of sizes of districts in our state. And so we had taken out that piece because it didn't really apply to us, but then
063we realized upon kind of talking about this issue about continuing contracts and renewing contracts that we needed to add this part of it back in to make sure that we were clear about the intent of the policy and the impacts of that policy on everyone that it affects. So that's... what I wanted to add and thank you thank you are there any questions this is Carol supervision does that include safely vote on I mean does that include when we evaluate contracts or raises at large or? No, no, no. That would just be the direct supervision of an employee. So not the evaluation. That's a good question. Not the evaluation of the job duties or the contract that we might be developing with the union. Does that answer that question? Thank you. Any other? Okay. So
064that one's pretty straightforward. If I'm not hearing any questions, is there a motion? I move the Board of Education adopt board policy GACCA nepotism following second reading. This is Carol. I second. Jones. Yes. Kimball. Yes. Byers. Yes. Cadu Blackwood. Yes. Franklin. Yes. The motion passes 5-0. Thank you. Okay. We'll move on to four. Go grab Ann. Oh, yeah. Sorry. Okay, we're going to move on to 4.1, the appointment of delegate to the 2024 KASB annual convention. This is also a short item. We attached the recommendations that are part of KASB's annual business meeting that's coming up in November. I'm going to highlight a few things that are in the attachments for good measure. because they align with the legislative priorities that we just passed on the consent agenda. But you'll notice that the recommendation for
065the motion includes GR Gordon-Ross as a designated for the board's voting delegate and then as a alternative and is listed. That is because they are both going to be there for the entirety of the... convention. I have a work conflict. More traditionally, we've had the president do it, so I won't be able to attend. And I think there are others of us going, but have various conflicts and might not be there for the full conference. So that's one piece I wanted to say. And then I just wanted to highlight KSB's state resolutions and some of their key priorities. In particular, they are aligned with our priorities around taxpayer dollars for education to go to public schools. In particular, this is related to vouchers among other things, but just wanted to highlight that that is a
066position of KASB and is a position of this board. Teacher recruitment and retention is an imperative of KASB in particular that we fix capers, and that is an initiative that we also undertook as a board. Fully funding special education services also been a priority of this board. And then restoring flexibility and local control and serving at-risk students, which is an important initiative that we've seen be challenged in Topeka during the legislative sessions. So those were the things I wanted to highlight because they are... aligned so nicely with our priorities. Are there other things that we should highlight? I'm looking to Shannon to see if there's anything she would suggest. I would highlight that our federal resolution, the draft that our legislative committee for the association has put together this year, also includes language encouraging Congress
067to fully fund universal... meals for students and that is something that we have included in our local priorities as well. We talked about that when we did our first read that came up at the table. So I appreciate that there's some alignment in those policies as well or in those platforms as well. Okay, is there a motion? I move that G.R. Gordon-Ross be designated as the board's voting delegate to the 2024 KSB delegate assembly with Ann Casello as the alternative. Is there a second? I second. Kimball? Yes. Byers? Yes. Cadoux-Blackwood? Yes. Costello? Yes. Franklin? Yes. Jones? Yes. The motion passes 6-0. Kelly, can I just add why I voted yes? Yes, of course. First of all, I would like to, this is Carol, I would like to thank you and this board for making this.
068motion to approve GR Ross as a designated board voting delegate for the KSB delegation with Anne Costello as the alternate. And I didn't apply for it because I plan on going on a family vacation the following week, so I'll be extremely busy. But in full transparency, I really appreciate this because I've seen where larger districts such as Phoenix and Denver are struggling with board members and exorbitant what's deemed exorbitant travel expenses so I know that this is um I like I just want to thank you for making this so public yeah and transparent and while we're keeping costs down I appreciate it thank you thank you Okay, we're going to move on to Native American Student Services Update. And what we're going to do is take a five-minute break so that David and crew, perhaps,
069I don't know if it's just David, can take a minute to collect themselves. And we will be back to reconvene at 722. And Dr. Swift is going to introduce our next speaker. Thank you, Madam President and members of the board and all of you who are watching both in person and remotely. We all know that representation matters. I'm very proud tonight and I appreciated Elder Caduce's words about land acknowledgement and honoring the land. We are also honored by the presence of Native Americans in our district as students and as staff members and as community members. Folks may not recognize it who don't know Lawrence well, but you'll see in our data tonight that 5.6% of our students are verified. And I'll point out that 8% identify as Native American. We are honored by that representation.
070We are all richer for it. But I would also share that I believe it presents not only an opportunity, but also a responsibility. to support and be sure that all who come to our district and our Native American students are supported and served well by Lawrence Public Schools. So I just, it was one, your program, and I'm proud to introduce David Favre in the program here, was one of the things that attracted me to... come as the interim superintendent. It's a very special connection for Lawrence and for our country to be right here and share this space with Haskell and with so many beautiful members of our community. So it's a great honor and pride that we introduce David Favre and our Native American Student Support Services annual update and what a beautiful time for
071that to happen and David you will do us the honor of introducing your team right? Thank you. Thank you. Good evening. Thank you for having us here. I will let my staff and our team kind of introduce themselves so they can do it properly their own way so the shays can now take over. Alita, I am Shayla Chickaway. I am the admin assistant. I am an enrolled member with the Mississippi Band of Chocolate Indians. I also have relations with the Creek, Chickasaw, Seminole, and Cherokee Nations of Oklahoma. I'm really happy to be here with you all today. My name is Shea White. I am this year's social work intern. I am currently in my second year of grad school for the social welfare program. And yeah, good evening. And I very much appreciate her being
072here this year because it has really helped us out a lot. So just we're going to do a quick overview about everything that's going on right now So we are still acting as a primary resource for families when they need advocating in the school district I didn't put a lot of attendance data or anything in because I don't have a large enough sample size to See where our chronic absenteeism was towards last year towards this year, but I will say I have not had to be involved as in nearly as many disciplinary or other incidents so far this year. So I'm going to get to the good stuff. And so. We're very fortunate to be here in Kansas, in Lawrence, Kansas specifically, on the ancestral lands of the Ka and the Kanza people. Haskell's been
073here for 100 years, and there's typically 130-plus tribes represented at the school every year. We're very fortunate that we have 73 tribal nations represented in this school district. I was going to do red lines across the map. It looked really bad by the time I added them all. But I will say that we cover from Alaska to Florida, from New York to California, and everything in between. So we are very diverse in our own communities, our own styles of relationships and kinships. And so the beauty part of Haskell, of having all of these great nations and great people together, applies to our own school district. I'm a product of it. We all plan to come to school here or work at the school, and the next thing you know, we're lifelong residents of Lawrence. And
074if you look at that picture right there with the princesses, that's Haskell's brave and princess, along with our current junior princess and former princess, Shay. So really we're about two programs. They're both federal programs. Title VI is our funding revenue for doing tutoring. So currently we're doing tutoring at West and at our location at Broken Arrow. I am currently looking at adding a evening tutoring for our high school students as the quarter comes to an end. They start getting notifications that, hey, you need more science or help in these areas. So we're looking at that. And I've also had a request as of today. for remedial reading at an elementary level. So I will be looking for tutors for that and trying to figure out how that would work, whether it would be in a
075in-school type setting during the day, because it can't be a Title I school. You can't have double federal funds going to it. Or it would be at our location in the evening. But that'll be a determination between the parents and what we can find. And then our other program is the Johnson O'Malley Act of 1934. This is the programming that gives us funding per student, and it is prorated, unfortunately, so we don't get the full amount. We do have to follow free and reduced lunch fee schedules and all of that good stuff. But this is where we can pay for fees for schools, whether it's sports, academic fees, rental for band instruments, sports equipment, all of those kind of activities, and a few cultural activities. When it comes to the Johnson O'Malley Act, it's our
076bigger piece of the pie. And there were very big changes in the last month at JOM, as it's called. So for the first time, Johnson O'Malley has lowered its requirements to be recognized. So typically, we're all federal recognized. students or people. So you have to be a quarter or more blood quantum or be a member of a federally recognized tribe. It has always left lots of people out in the cold as far as funding for services because they don't follow traditional descendancy in most cases. So what JOM did and ratified and voted on last month was that If you can tie yourself to, a student can tie themselves to a parent or grandparent, living or dead, that was a federally recognized tribal member, not have a CIB, that's in a sense a totally different thing.
077But to that case, you automatically... will be eligible. This may even affect Haskell in the very near future. It was brought up at the conference itself, but that's up to the Bureau of Indian Education. So thankfully, Shay's great paperwork trail let us move way ahead of most tribes or most JOM programs. So we went from 242 at the end of last year for verified students to 376 in a weekend. She had everything there. I was able to get in there. And these numbers have been accepted by the federal government and the BIE, so they are set. We don't have to worry about it. Title VI numbers did go up, but we still have 831 students out there that identify as Native. I'm guessing we'll probably end up with another 100, 150 by the end of
078the year that are verified, which is great. It stresses a lot because we have requirements that we need to provide certain services, supplies, and things. That 376 number is accepted and verified. but that's next year's funding. So I'm currently working with Johnson O'Malley and Title VI to see what I can redirect in the federal funding to help accomplish those goals of getting school supplies and pay the additional fees. This is the fun part of the job, the student engagement. These are just estimates of weekly and sometimes twice weekly. So we currently have... Intertribal clubs at Free State and Lawrence High, Lawrence High being the largest, and Billy Mills. West is working on getting one started up. Cordley, which is the picture in the bottom there, had the first ever intertribal club meeting two weeks ago.
079Two weeks ago. And Hillcrest now has a sponsor and will be starting one in the very near future and Schweigler most likely as well. So not something I had as a kid. Now they're going to have it on a more regular basis. So that connectivity is very important. With Shay's help, currently we're doing a lot of one-on-one follow-ups with individuals, whether it's behavioral, emotional issues. Could be classroom issues even. So I'm thankful that she's here because it's really helped me out because I can't be at every school. I know when I came here and stood before all of you in February or March, I had a goal of I'm going to hit every school in X amount of time. I've gotten about half of them. So it's taking more time, but we're getting there. We
080actually will start our first sessions with... Lawrence High in-person sessions on Thursday. So it's growing. And then tutoring has been averaging, at least at our location, 10 a week or 10 per session, and we do two a week, which is up from last year. I went through it fast. So any questions? We have questions. I'm sure we have questions. I have a couple, but I'll wait and defer. Yolanda, we know you're there, so if you want to interject at any time, please do. And then does anyone else have a burning question? Do you mind if I go? All right. So I am interested to see that you've increased... or will have the opportunity to increase the number of folks that you're serving and students and families that you're serving. And I heard you mention, I
081can appreciate why that's a budget consideration for this fiscal year. And it does seem like the introduction of Shay, as a social work student, has had an impact on who you can serve, but also administrative work that you're doing that you're able to maybe push things a little bit further because you are one individual. And I believe the slide said 831 people potentially to serve. Is that correct? Potentially. I would conservatively say we know that there are students that have not submitted that would have qualified under the previous qualifications, but with the new qualification, it will open it up for more. It was so important that half the conference left early as the numbers were due. within four days of when it was ratified. Yeah, I was wondering that as you were talking. So I
082drove back that night. Unfortunately, Shay had all the files laid out. Okay. So I could just go through really quickly. Okay. So I wanted to talk about your budget and as it relates to staffing. I've been on the board for seven years now. I think I understand that staffing is ‑‑ this might be Kristen Ryan, I might need assistance with this, but half of your position is paid through grants and the other half is paid through general funds, is that correct, Cindy, or something in that realm? Okay, I'm requesting to understand how that is budgeted. And the reason I'm requesting it is because I believe we need additional staffing at NASS. And I'm wondering if you agree with that. I mean, the more people, the better. I mean, I'm not going to lie, but it
083needs to be strategic. I need, like, having Shay there has really helped me out because I can't be in the office and at Cordley and Woodlawn and everywhere else at the same time. And so, you know, I'm watching her skill set grow, engaging with these kids to the point where I can feel comfortable. You can do this now and there's lots of counselors available at most of the schools if she gets in a position where she needs some assistance or she can always reach out to me and then I'm available to help. deal with the grant side of it and some of the other issues. But it is, I mean, like I said, we've only hit half the schools since March. I still got 10 schools to get to. Okay. So I guess that I
084would like for the board to consider increasing staffing at NASS and it might require general funds allocated in that direction so that in January and February when we're making budgetary decisions, I would like the district to consider that given our goals around increasing opportunities for indigenous students in our district. And I think we have a real opportunity to do that. And I guess I would ask. you and Shay to think about capturing the kind of impact that you're making. So we want to do something not because it feels good, but because it's actually making an impact for you. So I hear you say you would like it to be strategic and thoughtful how we would do that. So I would certainly lean on. your expertise and understanding of your programming needs, but I just don't
085see how you can make the kind of impact the board would like you to make without additional support. So that is, I guess, more of a comment too. And then I'll open it up. So mine is just a technical question. So when I looked at the verified student slide, Can you just help me make sure I understand how to read the numbers correctly? So you've got 831 students who are self-identified, and then do you add on to that the additional 376 that are Johnson O'Malley? qualified or is that 376 a part of the 831? So that 376 is a part of the 831. Okay. And so to my knowledge, this is the largest verified student count number for Johnson O'Malley. At least that's what I was told by Johnson O'Malley. They understand nationwide that they
086do not have an accurate count of Native children in the country. And that was part of the convention was the issue of you're giving us four days to have numbers that we don't have yet because historically people have been left out of the system because as native people, we're the only race in the country that have to prove who we are ethnically. And so if you fell below a certain blood quantum, Are you Indian? Yes. But you're not by the federal government's eyes to be qualified enough Indian to get services. So that's why I'm saying this is happening now for the high schools, but it's already being questioned for Haskell because it will most likely, I still think 150 is a conservative number more of the 831. So that's going to put us. probably closer
087to 500. And we're already, I mean, with 73 nations, we already have more nations represented here than Oklahoma City does in their Johnson O'Malley NASS program. So it's a lot, but it's great. I think just to Kelly's point, for me to understand what your budget needs might be, just understanding how those... how to read that is helpful. So thank you for that explanation. And I really appreciate the education. Thank you. Oh, this is Carol. I would like to thank you for your expedient work, Shay. Shay, shake away. That must be confusing with the two Shays. But Shay, I've witnessed, I've watched you, because you and I both grew up in this community. I've watched you just grow tremendously. And I know that you work beyond the hours that we ask. So thank you so much.
088And thank you for your work for future generations. My father was sharing that we are, as indigenous people, we are seventh generational thinkers. We always think about the generations behind us, the ones here, and the ones who are ahead of us. So thank you. And I want to thank you, Mr. Favre, and your father for instilling the importance of the doctrine of discovery where the American system was not set up for us as Native Americans, indigenous peoples. We were locked out of the land opportunity to chase that American dream. And so I think it's the least that we can do to support you and our indigenous community. I grew up... my father, I'm just gonna, because it's, you know, we just had Indigenous Peoples Day. And in my house, we have this artist rendering of
089the Treaty of Greenville from 1795. And that was the creation of, that was the birthplace of Ohio, where we seeded 28 million acres. I'll repeat that again, 28 million acres. And so we have that in my house as a reminder, a constant reminder that we have a lot of work to do. And so I thank you for your work. And there are some comments I've read online where people are questioning that what is being used with the NAST building. So I would like to remind this community and this board that the 20 acres that was taken from Haskell is just a very small percentage of what was taken away from our indigenous peoples. And the building itself is being used to its fullest extent for this community. It's just not an ass. It's the LEA
090and other meeting spaces that take place in that meeting. And the cafeteria is in use by Billy Mills Middle School for our students. So that's all I have on that. Thank you. All right. I'm more of a numbers guy at times. My question is, how large is the Native American population in the district as far as children? And then, and what percentage of that number is the 831? So the 831 is that, was it 8.6%? It was 8%, and we actually double-checked that before tonight. Janet did for us, so it's 8% of our overall population. It's 8%. Okay, so what type of outreach are you doing? doing Yeah, I guess that's my question is you have we have a larger number of students in the district and in looking at Most programs is growing a
091program And so I go to the point of, okay, I don't want us to stay static at an amount. So what is our outreach process to invite other families into the program or draw more people in? So we typically have events throughout the year, but our primary goal has been, at least since I've been here, has been... the need for in-school representation. And so that's where myself and Shay come in. We're the ones that when there's an issue going on at the school or maybe a teacher is identifying there are some things going on with the child that's in the NAS program, they can reach out to us and then we can go into the school. The parents can ask us to go in and advocate for their kids. Principals have reached out far more
092than I thought would be the case. I'm very thankful that we have some very good administrators at these schools that see and recognize when kids are struggling. And it's not an overnight process to make everybody happy. Typically, at least for younger kids, it takes three weeks of going once a week for them to really talk to you. But then the next time you see them somewhere out in Lawrence, they're going to come running up to you. You know, it just takes time, especially when you're dealing with a disenfranchised population that's scared, doesn't always feel safe or wanted in the community. And so our job ultimately is to do what we can for the students, protect them at all costs, and to make them feel safe. That's the biggest goal. Most of our funding is federal
093funding so that's really those dollars are granted to the school district for this program. Just to go back to what Bob was talking about on slide 8 the student engagement numbers Is that point in year, so that's from August till now, correct? That is from August till now. It's the roughly average because not all the students will be at intertribal. Sometimes you have all of them there. I mean, if Lawrence High had all of their students that are verified at intertribal, it's 104 kids right now currently. And that's just Lawrence High. That's not including, I think, Billy Mills is around 40. So it fluctuates just like everything else in the school district. And are some of those students served duplicated? Are those individual new point tips? Those are individual. Okay. Thank you. Are there additional
094questions? No additional questions. I just wanted to make the comment. I'm excited to hear about the intertribal clubs that you've started at the elementary school. I think in all the years I've been on the board, that's a new expansion of the outreach that your program is doing, and that's really great. So thank you. And also... I'll be excited to hear whether you think that taking the tutoring out of just the one location and kind of going into the buildings, if that is a model that is working better for you over time or not. And so reflection on that when we hear from you again next time. So thank you. I didn't have a question, but Shannon kind of stole my comment. I just want to say I think it's really exciting that you are starting
095those clubs at the elementary level, and I just wanted to thank you for the work that you do because I know it means a lot to our students, so I really do appreciate it. And so in some way, it sounds like the board will get follow-up on the budget issues related to staffing, and there will be consideration for FY. I know, excuse me, 25, 26 for additional staffing potential due to the increased number of students potentially that could be served and just in general, because you need it. Yeah, okay. Thank you. All right, thanks for coming. We appreciate you. Thank you. All right, are there announcements? I believe I'm upshared mine. Thank you. Is there a motion to adjourn? So moved. Seconded. All those in favor? Aye. Anyone opposed? Have a good evening.