001okay uh president O'Brien we are now live streaming thank you Dr zerbach I will um call the regular meeting of the governing board to order at 7M please let the roll call show that all members are present and if if you could all please stand up and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance and then a moment of silence I would appreciate that I pledge allegiance 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 all all right I would make a motion that the governing board adopt the agenda with the exception of moving action item 6E directly following the adoption of the agenda I second we have a motion in a second um all
002those in favor please say I I Miss O'Brien oh I'm sorry yes Mrs Fischer the item um six hold on I gota grab my notes 6C has on um the the documentation under that item has the agenda item 6D on it sorry I so if we if we vote to approve consent agenda as it is it automatically um is approving item agenda 60 um Mrs Taylor could you remove the vote for adoption of the agenda because I can't move my uh board docs agenda around when a vote comes up please she is working on that now uh Miss O'Brien thank you I actually was able to x out of it I didn't think I had that option but thank you I did just remove it um and sorry Mrs Fischer you're saying that the if
003you look at this on supporting documentation yes for the the HR changes in 5c correct okay just one second please I just uh I just sent Miss um Taylor a screenshot of it if that helps thank you Mrs Moffett go ahead president O'Brien Miss Fischer that attachment is current L being adjusted and reloaded right now thank you Mrs Moffett so we will if you could let us know when that um attachment has been corrected or we will do that thank you Mrs Fischer for bringing that to our attention and will board members need to exit out of board docs and re sign in to have that refresh president O'Brien the the agenda can be adopted as is the attachments can be um shifted so you can make a motion to adopt the agenda as it
004sits and we will make sure that that is adjusted prior to your this item coming up in the agenda and we'll make sure that you're notified when that does occur okay so all right then we can vote on the agenda um and that change will be made prior to us getting to that item all right all those in favor of approving the agenda and moving item 6E to right after adop option of the agenda please say I I I I are there any Nays any extensions uh Mrs O'Brien Miss Taylor said that two board members have not yet voted okay Miss Reed and Miss Ordway I'm having a connectivity issue um Miss Taylor would you mind putting my vat in it logged me out I'm trying to get back on Mrs Reed voted I if
005we could log voted I so I'm waiting for it to populate real quick okay Mrs orway also voted I so it passes five to zero thank you everybody um so next on the agenda we would need an a motion for item 6E Mrs Ordway make a motion that the governing board approve the district's choice of Joan wick for principal of Constitution Elementary School and do I have a second I a second thank you Mrs Reed is there um any discussion before we take vote hearing none and seeing none all in favor please say I I I any um nose or any extensions Miss Taylor Miss O'Brien said it has been logged at 0 the um motion passes unanimously congratulations to Mrs Joan Wick the new principal of constitution for the 2122 school year thank you
006so much for being with us this evening Mrs Wick would you like to say anything or Mrs Moffet would you like to introduce her sure president O'Brien we'd like to welcome Joan Wick over to Constitution Elementary School Joan Wick has been a principal in the Deer Valley Unified School District at the cas6 camp of Park Meadows so I know that she's going to do a great job at her new location Joan also um was a principal in the state of Wisconsin prior to coming to Arizona so Joan thank you for taking on um this new Journey with us I am very excited to be moving over to Constitution and working with the staff and getting to know them and build a family um to be able to continue to move kids and grow academically and
007through the PLC process and everything so I'm very excited to be the the person selected for the position well thank you again Mrs wick for your service at Park Meadows um Elementary we look forward to seeing all that you will accomplish with your students and staff at constitution in the future years so congratulations on behalf of the board wonderful okay we will go to our district reports and our first report is the um our finance reports and uh for that we will go to Mrs mock good evening pres thank you good evening president O'Brien members of the board and guests watching online uh this evening we bring to you our first report from finance and that will be our enrollment report uh for the end of March um I'm pleased to say that we did
008see a little bit of a student increase through the end of March um with a total of 32,1 185 students unfortunately it is still a decrease from this time last year but we're inching forward ever so slightly every week and every month going down from negative 5.2% to negative 5.1% from this time last year here and we're also continuing to see on a very positive note students returning uh to the classroom brick and mortar as well and with that I will be happy to answer any questions about the March enrollment report thank you board members are there any questions okay hearing no questions I would ask um Mrs mock that you continue on with the next Finance report president O'Brien members of the board for the budget the ml budget report for the period uh
009ending uh March 31st we also have a little bit of good news even though it's still overall not the best news we are seeing a an increase in our projected carry forward going from negative 2.5 million approximately is what we were projecting at the end of February to about negative 1.3 million at the end of March we attribute a majority of that to the projected budget decrease um based on our uh enrollment and mostly attributed to our aoi students and those folks getting their minutes in so that ad is registering all of those students so that we can get all of our average daily membership and funding for those students as well we do see a little bit of recoup on salaries um and I think those two things together are that slight increase to
010our carry forward even though it is still a negative number as a reminder next month we will bring forward the uh fy21 budget revision it is due by May 15 so we will have that at the first board meeting in May and um the caution that goes with that is that uh when we bring forward that we will um not necessarily know what our final ADM will be until July 15th so we will talk uh a lot more about fy21 budget uh from now and until um May 11th for short and I will take any questions on the M budget report are there any questions from board members on the um budget report okay hearing none and seeing nobody raise the hand we are going to say thank you so much Mrs mock for your
011reports this evening and we will move on to our remain in school report which is brought To Us by Dr Gary zerbach okay uh thank you very much uh president O'Brien members of the board Dr Finch it is our pleasure to provide to you uh this evening our newly titled remain in school report and we will Begin by reviewing an update from Mr miglino of the community level of transition Matrix good evening president O'Brien members of the board uh Dr Finch uh so as we have shared with you previously uh the mopa county um releases these metrics on Thursday morning um and you can see the case count as well as the rate of positivity uh have been relatively flat uh for several weeks now um so there really hasn't been um a big change
012we did see maybe a slight uptick uh that we attributed to uh Spring Break um but even that uptick has been uh less than we anticipated that it was going to be um just as we speculated not that we had any data that predicted that otherwise um and the uh next slide actually has the um 7day epic curve uh it is also um uh fairly flat uh with the having uh very little in the form of increases um over the uh last uh several uh uh weeks of of reporting for that just second here as we're trying to progress the slide through wanted to provide a little more time for people to study these two uh graphs I'll tell you if you move it there you go okay here is the Epic curve and again
013as you can see U through uh uh much of the uh reporting you can see steep decline uh that began um towards the uh end of January and then has flashed out um towards the end of February and has remained that way um uh since so appreciate your patients as we work through some of the technology issues so I'll turn it back over to Dr zerach thank you Mr miglino okay our next slide is a slide that we have shown before and it is at the request of the board uh to make sure that any of our community members who are joining us know that we do have a dvusd covid-19 district dashboard on this particular dashboard if a member goes to it you can see our buildings listed uh each by line item and
014it has a current active case count of covid-19 and so it is for students or staff members and folks can check that out and that is usually updated somewhere between 3 and 400 PM each Monday so again it is a very userfriendly URL for our district covid-19 district dashboard okay our next slide has a bit of information about our endof Year events and activities as it is hard to believe but we are coming up uh towards end of the year I believe we have four or five Fridays left um in our school year one of the items that we do sometimes receive questions for is regarding the face Mas piece and so in Governor duy's executive order 20216 although he did resend some of his previous executive orders the executive orders around school mitigation were
015not rescinded so 20251 uh is still in place which requires the use of face coverings in schools as well as adhs emergency measure 20204 which mandates that face masks are present at all times on our schools and so we continue to implement our mitigation plan and our prevention plan at our schools uh from now until the end of the school year as far as Athletics we are in our spring season we have many teams that are competing at a very high level and that those teams are across all five of our high schools as we have ranked teams in the top 10 uh in multiple Sports in some of the individual competitions as well in track and field uh we will continue to abide by the AIA guidelines for our spring Athletics and we look
016forward to a uh safe and competitive season uh for them we also have our Middle School spring Sports season if you will recall this is the one season that did not have uh a chance chance to play if it was an eighth grader who attended our schools last year as a seventh grader because covid came at the start of the spring season so we are uh continuing with that we had some schools that began their competitions this week and so we look forward uh same for them to have a safe and competitive season and then with our Fine Arts at the high school level we have some of our Fine Arts doing virtual performances and some in person again this is not new news to you as I have covered this uh several times in
017uh previous board meetings and in board updates in general for our high schools we have always prioritize them for some of our in-person events that we've had and at our middle school and uh below for folks that have asked about that again those activities are limited where we do not have visitors the guidance from CDC adhs and Mara county is still that only essential activities um would be allowed for inperson uh pieces to that and we have interpreted that all year that for our high school students since for some of them this is their last chance at either Athletics or fin arts and that's why we have had visitors in a very limited Capac capacity excuse me along with other mitigation measures okay uh speaking about the high schoolers our uh most important event is
018our high school graduation and so we look very much forward to having our ceremonies this year dates are listed there for you for each of the five high schools and we have a very friendly URL as well for any community members that need a reminder about when and where our ceremonies will take place as I have ined the board um already uh but nonetheless the State Farm mitigation plan will be in place it is similar to the mitigation plan that was in place and scheduled to be used last year uh however on the positive end they have increased the ticket capacity so that we can have more than two tickets per graduate so depending on the size of the graduating class uh the number of tickets that each graduate will have will range between four
019to six tickets and so that is a positive piece uh for this year face masks still are required State Farm has been very clear about that and then there is extra time that has been built in so you may notice that there is another half hour that's in between each of the ceremonies and that extra half hour has been uh mandated by State Farm for the cleaning sanitation and disinfection procedures that they will utilize between um the audiences that come to observe each of the ceremonies also parents receive site specific information about um their seniors graduates uh graduation ceremony and that information came from the high schools beginning on April the 5th and then the the other piece that we sometimes receive questions um about is regarding next year and so our return to school
020safely team that has been meeting since the start of the school year um really even before the school year began uh so back in June of 20 20 when we had our three work teams and the return to school safely being one of them along with our parent stakeholder committee that has met throughout the year that this campus team which is composed of principles along with our districtwide return to school safely team which has many of our directors from fiscal services and uh a few other members from the district office that we have been meeting recently and we will continue to meet to make some of the uh plans and the guidance for next year and so those meetings will continue to take place and we will be incorporating our stakeholder committee into that uh
021in the coming weeks to make sure that they're where of the intended plans and then we can get some feedback uh from them we will continue to incorporate our Mar Copa County Guidance although at this time May kobby County has not been clear as far as what guidance they will continue to recommend and so we wait to hear more from them as far as our timeline uh again as I stated we have begun some of these meetings in the uh last couple of weeks and we will continue these throughout the end of the school year and so I will keep you apprised of the uh events that will occur with this team and this uh uh group in our Friday board updates okay our communication Council Fireside Chats uh this is our structure that we
022have used and you are aware throughout the pandemic to make sure that all employees have an opportunity to hear from the deputy superintendent about any of the ongoings of our mitigation plan of our curriculum or our work plan uh for the school year we will have our next one this Thursday at 4 4M staff have been able to send in their questions ahead of time which is new for this particular fireside chat and then our chats are recorded in their place on the portal for staff members to view at a time that is convenient to them if they are unable to view it during the live time and then the last slide that I uh have for myself is just a reminder about our vaccination opportunities uh as you know our school pod DV USD
023event concluded in in uh March when we had a couple thousand folks come through we were able to give them the second dose of the vaccine that even though that has concluded our staff still can receive the covid-19 vaccination if they so choose and we have provided that information to our staff members via a memo from Jenna and myself to make sure that they have the locations and the links that they would need uh to make that as easy as possible and with that I will pass the Baton to Dr gallagan president O'Brien members of the board Dr Finch and online guests I just have a few updates for you today um we are going to be sharing our new um recommended school name mascot and colors for the K12 online school I wanted to
024let you know that our enrollment for the online school started on April 1st and we are doing a priority enrollment through May 30th however enrollment and registration continues um through the summer registration for our parents is through our on online open enrollment form and and that's how um going into this next year parents are indicating we will have a survey out to our K8 and 92 parents uh within the next week or so that will have them PR them to indicate um if they will be returning to their brick and mortar campus or if they intend to enroll in the online school for next school year so more information will be coming out about that I also wanted to give you an update about our student achievement Student Success intervention teams uh right now uh
025we are in the midst of the prek 6 team uh they have their we have our last meeting next week they have been working really closely on how to address lost learning kindergarten through sixth grade retention requests by parents as well as um Educators and and how we are addressing that incoming first grade students who did not have either a kindergarten experience or um came from um an online program and then the last one that they've been focusing on is incoming DVA students students and and how to um help them feel part of the community again and integrating into a brick and mortar school so that's that's the work that they are doing and once we have um that plan put together in a solid fashion it will go out to our campus administrators and
026we will bring uh that information to the board as well if you remember I did mention in a previous board meeting that the 712 um student achievement Student Success intervention team had completed their work in early U March and we shared that um with you Dr zerbach Dr chunis and Miss Miner are when they meet with their um middle and high school um principls are working with them using the the the form the menu of options um that this this team uh worked on and that will be the same case for our prease 6 counselors and principls and APS as well so that's just want to let you know that we are still heavily involved in um working through plans on how we can currently through the summer and um into next school year support
027our kids with lost learning which brings me to Summer programming um our summer programming is is really um coming together we had a a last meeting this afternoon actually with uh principals and Department um leaders about the plan which is centering around these three areas enrichment intervention credit grade recovery and and really our our normal get ahead which is DBP we will have a formal report for you at the April 27th board meeting about uh our summer programming and at that time we'll be able to share I I believe it was Miss Ordway who asked for the courses that are going to be offered through dbol and through Pathways and we'll have that that information for you at that time and then I I wanted to let you know that we had reconvened our return
028to learning team um for the hopefully the last time this year and we are working through multiple topics in preparation for the 2122 school year uh some of those entail um absences and uh how we're going to work with canvas and some of the others are transfers from brick and mortar to the online school online school to Brick andm there just a a number of um topics that that just seem to be necessary to talk through that team is made up of a large group of teachers and administrators and Department um leaders as well and so um more information to come there in in one of the upcoming board meetings so we are staying very busy and our focus is heavily on how we can support our students and our teachers as we complete the
029year go into the summer and start next year that's it for me Gary president O'Brien governing board members couple of updates regarding Staffing I shared with you in last week's update that 96% of our administrative contracts have been accepted 95% of certified and 96% of professional staff do want to make sure that um all understand that see this data that this is of those that were issued contracts because some of our employees did choose to resign in advance um letting us know that they don't intend to return at the end of the school year so per misreads request we will begin um this week to provide to you the information that we have related to resignation data and then I also know that she requested some information regarding reasons why people um are choosing chosing
030to leave and not return next year related to certified Staffing so we'll Begin Again to provide that to you but are happy to see um these results here and then a reminder to anyone listening looking for employment we do have a job fair coming up this week from 4: to 6: PM online information can be found by contacting human resources or going to our website and as a reminder to everyone this was a very successful event last year and is really easy to participate in this way if you're looking for employment and then always a reminder to our employees that we do expect anyone to report who has come in close contact with someone that's tested positive for covid-19 or is experiencing symptoms of covid-19 and uh president O'Brien that will conclude our report we
031are able to field questions at this time board members are there any questions I do have a question of of like more clarification of the essential activity so uh only the high schools are able to have live performance uh so for example with uh with the drama club will be are they able to have live performance or uh like I don't know what the district has in place if this is for all or just for the high [Music] school uh president O'Brien Miss paperman yes that is correct the high school is the level that we have prioritized where they uh do have the option of providing some inperson events uh provided that the appropriate mitigation prevention strategies are in place thank you are there other questions Mrs O'Brien I have a a a question or
032two yes ma'am go ahead Mrs zway I'm Dr gallagan I'm not quite sure if this would be the um best spot but um if not um maybe for the next report um with our seniors um having um a much better opportunity uh starting next year with four classes um if there what whatever the new additions to um the class selections might be um would uh be interesting because uh you've heard I I've heard everything from it'll be great get some dual enrollment classes and you know a couple more D dual enrollment classes to perhaps there will be um life skill classes so whatever it is that we're offering that's different would be um uh appreciated to to know president O'Brien miss lway it is interesting that that you mention that we actually had a a
033small team of High School uh administrators last year through June actually of 2020 um working on that very thing so that we would be prepared so I I'll be happy to give some information in in either uh Friday update or um in one of the remaining school reports upcoming you're on mute Mrs zway personally I would appreciate thank you the um the Friday update but I'd also like it to be included in the um our new we're back in school for good hopefully report um um and and that's for you and Dr zerck I have for you and however you can answer it I know that we are having prom like events at our five high schools and um there has been so much um excitement about the opportunity for children or for the students
034to be able to participate along with some I don't get why there's no dancing kind of thing going on so if you could elaborate as much as you know right now that would be appreciated uh president O'Brien Miss Ordway yes uh that is correct we do have prom like activities that are scheduled to occur at all five of our um high schools those five high schools have mitigation and prevention plans that are in place uh to make sure that event is as safe as possible one of the components as you mentioned is about dancing uh due to some of the uh restrictions on physical distancing we needed to make sure that appropriate parameters were put in place um for the dancing and so some of those are what we have called more controll dancing so
035things um like there will be some separation if there's line dancing or some danc by tables to keep um from having a very large group setting um and that's again is due to the physical distancing well thank you I I'm most of what I'm hearing or first what you hear is the the joy that it's happening and then it's kind of like well I said well I said there's reasons for that and if we can't follow those reasons then we're not going to be able to follow through on the activities so um I appreciate that um the steps were taken to make sure that um these seniors could could enjoy one of the most unique prom likee events ever yes we uh we too are pleased Miss Ordway that were able to provide this have
036you have you excuse me as you have seen some of the other districts in the county um are not moving forward with uh prom um but we believe with our mitigation measures that we can do so wonderful thank you for those questions Mrs Ordway um are there any other questions awkward Zoom pause is that I have a few okay fer when we're talking about these Fine Arts events um and I know Miss paperman already asked you said that it's only High School being allowed but it but it isn't and and I mean I know we all received an email about um a performance that that some of our younger students have really worked hard on preparing and are not being allowed to and the question being you know High School can and summer programs can
037um but they can't is there anything being done to assist these families in in either if we're not going to allow them to have um the final for everything they've worked for um a way for them to possibly do it off campus or on their own time are we giving any suggestions or anything um it's I understand mitigations but when your mitigations are actually harmful to children I just have an issue with that and and um it's not just a disappointment this days with these kids um we're breaking Spirits so so that's my concern is is there anything being given to these other age groups um as an option for what they can do um to have their final performance as well that they've worked so hard for so that's question one if you want
038to do that one first you ask go ahead Dr uh president O'Brien Miss Fischer so for the uh Fine Arts events for for our students that are not at the high school level there are a couple of things that we have uh talked about with the administrators uh first they do have the ability to live stream those or we we do have the ability to live stream or record those uh for the parents so that they are able to uh observe from a remote basis the other thing that uh some schools are looking at is providing some of those performances for the students and so they might bring a couple of classrooms outside where they can space some of the students out and then the students can uh perform uh some songs if they're a
039band or if it's a choir something like that uh and so those are two examples of items that uh we are looking at for the middle school and Below students I think the one they emailed us about was a a rather larger production an actual play um is there any opportunity for them to perform for their families president O'Brien Miss Fischer again yes I would say uh if it's done virtually uh through that format they can live stream that performance or again they can record that for their parents okay um I'll move on because I I I just that's the answer um on we're looking at the return to school safety campus work teams um you mentioned the different teams that are there um and there is um a mention of parents when when were
040these parents selected and how are they selected or who selected them pres O'Brien Miss fer that goes back quite a ways uh that was I believe we started that first process in June we sent out our uh initial search to parents there was an application that they uh could fill out as you know we have an AMG that governs the committee process and so we followed that process and then probably I doubt I'm looking around the room I doubt there was ever a committee before that had the number of applicants that applied uh to this one so we were in the hundreds um in the number count of parents that applied and we had specific roles that we wanted the parents to fulfill and so some of those roles were if they had experience in
041emergency preparation or public health uh the medical backgrounds also with any human resource experience communication and then we had parent representatives from the five different regions as well as uh we had parent representatives from the different levels um and so those parents applied in that application process and they included in that uh process a description of what they could uh do with the team and how they could contribute uh to making it a um a successful year and so a variety of folks at the district took a look at the responses uh we had a spreadsheet that we went through uh where different folks marked uh who they thought would be the most appropriate to uh represent and make those contributions and then when we met together we looked to see where those aligned uh
042to see where there was agreement and then uh from there that group began meeting I'm going to look at Dr G I think we met Dr G the middle of July it was probably our first meeting because we began our parent webinars uh roughly I think the week after we started a meeting with them getting their feedback about what parents were most um inquiring about in terms of the coming school year one of the biggest things that's been brought to me during the election season and ever since um being elected is that only certain parents are selected for anything um and there's a lot of concern that only one side of the parent equation is being listened to um is there any discussion about opening it up for possibly parents that have a different mindset
043or a different view than the status quo I mean we have children of all different backgrounds and all different beliefs and all different um concerns about where we're at and it kind of seems like we're driven by just one is there any discussion about having it open for other parents um president O'Brien Miss Fischer I can tell you and I think Dr gallagan would attest to it as well I have actually been in those parent meetings and uh been part of those discussions and there has been a uh diverse range of viewpoints that have been expressed uh at those parent stakeholder meetings and so there is no one uh single view or narrative that runs through those meetings um and so um that that's that's what I would say with respect to the types of
044view points that are expressed uh in there so is there or isn't there any opportunity to add additional parents uh president O'Brien Miss Fischer in terms of making any changes to our uh work teams or our parent stakeholder committee uh we have not had any of those discussions um right now and if that were to change I will certainly update the board I would appreciate that but I would really like it to come in a board meeting uh rather than in a Friday update thank you thank you Mrs Fischer Mrs Reed do you have any questions um I just have a quick comment to follow up on um the drama email that we received today um I think what that drama teacher um was trying to say um in his email was that their licensing
045agreement prohibits them from being able to stream live stream or record that performance so um essentially if if they aren't able to perform it live for their parents they wouldn't be able to perform it um so um you know my daughter does theater it's her lifeblood that's her her love language and uh she's performing in a show um this weekend over the next two weeks and being done outside at nighttime um so everybody can can spread out and um it's the shows have sold out so um I know that her and for her cast they've come from all over the valley to be able to perform in this show um and I would really love to give um our other students the opportunity to be able to um to do that in a manner that's
046safe um I understand what our policies are and what our mitigation strategies um are and have been but I'm hoping that we can find um a compromise that will allow the students to be able to um perform in the way that to show what they've been working towards and working for that would also protect us um from legal options um you know from breaking those licensing agreements um I would just hate to see them have to pull the plug on something that's been through uh president O'Brien Miss Reed uh thank you for sharing that Miss Reed I would need to look at that uh email more detail is that was not sent to me beforehand it was it was sent to the board I'm and Dr Finch I believe I'm happy to forward it to
047you so you can can look it over and and hopefully maybe reach out to that um that those two teachers [Music] that Mrs O'Brien can I throw something in on that yes Mrs Ordway um I U very familiar with the licensing portions of um music and the drama departments I'm wondering if we've checked or if they've checked to make sure that since um really I don't think many performances are as they usually have been if if the licensing um the people that are um doing the licensing have done any kind of um accommodations for this um the covid um restrictions and mitigations that um schools Across the Nation um are experiencing so I don't know if if that's been looked at either pres president O'Brien Miss Ordway just to clarify uh when I say it
048was not sent to me beforehand Dr Finch give me a heads up uh today that it was sent but what I meant to uh convey was the particular teacher did not come to us before sending an email to you as far as if there was some particular concern and so I would need to uh have some time to look at that and then follow up with the school and Dr zerbach we do appreciate you following up on that um and uh getting back to us and whether it's the Friday update or the next board meeting that would be awesome thank you so much for your efforts to ensure that all of our students um are able to express themselves and and do the activities they love um while at school Beyond uh learning their academics
049um with that um oops did someone else have another question Mrs Fischer okay um I think then I will to say thank you very much for um another great job uh and I love the remaining school all right and if I could have a motion for consent agenda um Mrs O'Brien I thought that I would um tell you that there is one public comment but that won't be heard until um the action item which is 6B just so that's there thank you so much you're muted Mrs zway you're still muted there you go okay there we go okay so now we are going to make a motion to approve hold on one second now my iPad has closed also just want to make sure this consent agenda items a through h no oh yes through
050H yes do I have a second a second and for clarification if you all refresh your um screen if you haven't already you could verify that the um changes to the um human resource changes uh attachment has been modified to remove the one educator okay all those in favor please say I I I any nose please say no and any extensions that was uh 5 president O'Brien according to Miss Taylor thank you Dr zerbach the motion for consent agenda items a through H is approved unanimously so we will move on to action item 6A um I would move that the ask that the governing board accept the administration's recommendation to pre-approve the agenda as presented second thank you Mrs Reed are there any questions or is hearing no questions I um all those in favor
051please say I I I I any um oppose please say no and are there any abstentions uh president O'Brien we need Miss Reed to vote she did verbally vote I it's not showing up on my nothing popped up okay if Mrs Taylor could record Mrs Reid's eye we would be grateful and um the motion passes unanimously thank you Dr zerbach and Mrs Taylor I would ask that the governing board approve the annual K12 use of facility fee field fees scheduled for 22 I second Mrs mock is is there anything to hear from Mrs mock on this yes okay president O'Brien members of the board uh just a a brief statement about the fee schedule that we are putting forward this evening uh last year at this time we actually presented a fee schedule where we
052recommended a threeyear increase uh stepping closer to some of the rental fees uh that our neighbors and other districts around us have however due to the circumstances of the last year um with our renters and our community members that rent our facilities having just as many hardships in ability to rent in ability to run their programs because of the shutdown uh Etc we are actually recommending no increase to the fee schedule this year and we're recommending to keep all of the fees at the same rate they were for this current year uh 2021 and perhaps next year at this time when we're looking for 2223 we could maybe consider an increase at that time I'll be happy to answer any questions thank you for that um background and additional information Mrs mock are there any
053questions by board members hearing none I would call for the vote all those in favor of approving the um annual facility field and fee schedule for 2122 please say I I I I anybody opposed please say nay are there any abstentions that's a five vote Miss BR thank you so much Dr zerbach um Item B passes unanimously we will move on to item six C I can have a motion I have a motion that the board approve the e l a a p B English language arts advanced placement and international Balor adoption um and Mrs O'Brien I do this is where the public comment is so you let know um as recommended by district and we need a second first and then we'll have that public comment okay a second okay and I'm sorry you
054know what before we do the public comment do we want to hear from Dr gallagan first and then do it after that does that work perfect okay Dr gallagan we we'll go to you president O'Brien president O'Brien members of the board Dr Finch and online guests uh the this is the same presentation but we did add um into board docs the feedback from our community for the apib ELA adoption information was um also in this past week's Friday update you have uh the list of positive feedback as well as negative feedback just over just under 81% um were positive just over 16% were negative and um we just had about 3% that had no opinion um so I just wanted you to be uh to have that information and um I'd be happy to take
055any other questions uh that you you may have um miss obri you are muted right now thank you I'm sorry Mrs Ordway please read the um comment from the public all right would you also like me to read the uh comments to I guess I don't have to read the preface to that or do you want me to the board the board invites you prob you probably should to be follow process okay the board invites public comments on the district's business in general and on any agenda item in specific although now um the comments for this meeting are specific to the agenda items all speakers must observe the rules of to Corum speakers must fill out a card listing name address and topic handed to the board secretary prior to the president calling meeting to
056order speakers must make their comments no more than three minutes if necessary to accommodate all speakers within the 30 minute overall limit the board president May shorten each speaker's time constructive criticism is in order rudness poity disruptive conduct or remarks disrespecting personal dignity are not in order and will not be allowed under the Arizona open meeting law the governing board cannot discuss or act on any items not listed on the agenda board members May respond to criticism made by a speaker ask staff to review a matter or ask that a matter be put on a future agenda and just for a reminder the link for public comment during the virtual board meetings are um on board docs um so we have that link available um for our public to send a comment in um this
057comment comes from you've um muted yourself accidentally Mrs orway I did this is this item is from um audre Damron um she says that while on the committee for this curriculum adoption I was astounded to hear that our District's AP programs had not updated their curriculum in 20 years and IB never had a proper curriculum our students deserve better the curriculum being suggested for adoption tonight are well put together include technology components that are adaptable with canvas our district platform and align with the standards our students will need to succeed in these classes they contain a wide variety of literature ranging from Shakespeare to my Angelou each piece chosen with care to meet the different standards and prepare the students for the course courses and assignments I ask that you support the time and effort
058put in by committee by this committee made up of community members parents teachers and support the time and effort um of the administrators to adopt this curriculum giving our students the best opportunity to succeed in the future and showing our teachers we stand behind the work they are doing in their classroom each day thank you for your time and that concludes the public comment thank you Mrs ardway are there any board questions hearing Mrs o I just have a comment um going um I didn't read all of the textbooks so I'm not saying that but I have gone through it and I find that there is such a selection of um diverse selections diverse opinions diverse information along with fact fact fact so I I believe that this is the platform for our students to
059put in that critical thinking and to begin or continue but get so much deeper into um Discerning the difference between someone's opinion and the facts that it might be based on so the diverse selections that are in that that I've read so far that are are in these adoptions is just to me incredible so I really appreciate the time and effort that was put into um into doing this and Dr gallagan it's not a trick question and I I forgot to look but when were these if and not now if you don't know when were these textbooks actually um you know was their copyright because I know it wasn't last year it takes you know takes time for them to get out but I I'm just interested in that and if you don't know right
060now that's fine just um send it in an update president obrian miss orway the copyright was 2018 of the AP texts uh and I can find the copyright for the IB text and and put that in this um Friday update thank you so much thank you much so much Dr Galligan are there any other questions from board members I just I just want to make a statement as well um yes Mrs fiser I did take the time to Rifle through a lot of this um once a parent had sent it to me um you know this is how to get on this is where we found it um I am a little concerned learned that parents really didn't have a lot of time to look at it once they finally got it um and as
061I looked on my own I am very concerned that this um there is a variety of readings but there is an extreme liberal slant throughout this curriculum um it uh I don't believe it depicts um well it doesn't depict anyone who is conservative or republican or or um on one side in a positive light and it it doesn't present anyone on the other side as anything other than glorious um and so I do find it a little concerning um and I I I I'm saying that not because I believe it's going to change anybody's mind I'm saying that because I want the Comm committee to know I do appreciate their effort and their work um I do appreciate the parents that sent me their comments and their concerns and sent me where I could find
062things um and I do appreciate every parent on on all sides that um took the time to to provide their comment um but I just felt it was important that I noted um my concerns so that my vote is not a surprise um I do think our students need the best um curriculum and I know um there is such a wide variety of curriculum we would never adopt say an a Becca curriculum because it's it's a 100% biblical um I I think this is a curriculum that is um kind of on the other side and so uh my concern is just that um there is a a slant One Direction and because of that and that is the sole reason um that my vote will be what it is um but I do thank you
063for your effort uh Miss O'Brien you are muted thank you Dr gallagan will you um please uh remind us how long the materials were available again for the public to review it first went on public review uh in December right before winter break and it extended um just through um this week we we extended it so that um based on um board request for additional public comment um we were able to just extend it and and so some of the comments that you see were from from earlier this um semester and some of them were more recent within the last two weeks okay um and when we have given this the pandemic year how did we notify parents or the community members that this was um available for review M uh president O'Brien um we
064notify through our our website um both on the front of it and then in our curriculum area in general um this was a request a couple of years ago we do our best to get it out on our social media through Miss aled um we did send this information out to our teachers to send out to their parents and and we we did do that most recently within the last um two or so weeks and um we will continue to do our best uh as each of the board members would like us to do to get our public to review and comment excellent thank you so much if there are no further comments then I will call for the vote all those in favor please say I I I I'll any opposed please say nay
065nay any abstaining uh Miss obb if we could wait one second we have a two to one vote recorded right now yes sir I I don't I'm Sorry Miss Taylor you might have to record my vote it's lot kicked me out again I'll try and refresh and just to clarify Mrs Reed that is an i okay sorry it just popped up so yes I'll vote it's a n uh Mrs O'Brien it's a 4-1 vote thank you the motion um for the curriculum adoption is passes 4 to one we'll move on to item six D I would request that the governing board approve the employee request for separation of employment from Deer Valley Unified School District I second prior to um any discussion on this matter I'd like to uh read a statement tonight the governing
066board is considering whether to accept the resignation of a teacher normally resignations are approved through human resource actions during the consent agenda given circumstances surrounding this resignation I will provide information pertinent to the decision we the de Valley governing board members may make this evening after I read this statement provided by The District's attorney I will open the matter up for discussion and questions reminding my fellow board members that this is a personel Personnel matter and names will not be used are there any board members recusing themselves from the vote hearing none in order to terminate a continuing teacher for unprofessional conduct the district must provide a teacher with the due process procedures acquired by Statute these are in ARS 15539 to 15543 and they were provided to board members um in last week's update
067the process requires preparing a statement of charges for board adoption if adopted then the charges are personally served on the teacher once served the teacher has 10 days to request a hearing if no hearing is requested then their employment ends at that time time teachers often times request a hearing because doing so extends their income if a hearing is requested it is held within 15 to 30 days following the request unless both sides agree to a different hearing date Mrs fiser would you mind muting please the hearing is almost always conducted by a hearing officer although the board has the option of hearing the matter itself the typical hearing lasts one to two full days so almost all boards prefer to have a hearing officer conduct the hearing a student or students may be required
068to testify to prove the district statement of charges after the hearing concludes the hearing officer has up to 10 days to prepare written findings of fact conclusions of Law and make a recommendation to the board on whether or not the charges were approved the hearing officer's recommendation is then put on a board agenda for a vote to accept reject or modify the hearing officer's recommendation that process typically takes about three months to complete during this time the teacher is on paid administrative leave other costs to the district are attorney's fees for prosecuting the case hearing officer fees and fees associated with the hearing such as service fees subpoena costs a hearing trans script if desired Etc the total price tag is usually around $50,000 about $20,000 in salary and benefits to the teacher approximately 15,000
069in attorney's fees $10,000 in hearing officer costs and 5,000 and other related expenses the district's attorney does not believe any of those costs would be covered by Valley Schools Insurance trust District staff will also spend significant time preparing for and being at the hearing if the teacher is not in terminated they are entitled to recover attorney's fees from the district if a teacher tenders their resignation and the board adopts it then their employment ends no later than the day of the vote and may be retroactive to the date the teacher requested it to take effect a teacher who resigns is usually not paid past the effective date of the resignation and insurance benefits would typically end on the last day of the month in which the resignation becomes effective a teacher who voluntarily resigns would
070usually be disqualified from receiving unemployment benefits as well accepting a resignation is the quickest cheapest least disruptive and shest way to achieve the district's main objective severing it's an unemployment relationship with an employee it also avoids the need for for any student testimony whether the teacher resigns or is terminated the district can and in many instances must report to the ma the matter to the Arizona Department of Education this is covered in ars1 15-5 14 Arizona Department of Education can then take additional disciplinary steps with respect to the teacher cert certification including revoking It Whatever action the district takes accepting resignation or termination does not limit or control what actions if any Arizona Department of education's Professional certification unit will take I would just remind my fellow governing board members that this is a Personnel
071matter to determine whether or not to accept a resignation um please do not use the employees name so with that are there any process questions from my board members is there any discussion yes I I do have one thing I want to say okay Mrs Fischer I know the cost of going through the termination process dang it I know the the cost is significant um but I know that um allowing a resignation in Le of termination generally secures the certification of teacher or or administrator for future employment in other districts um considering my history I cannot in good conscience allow anyone to potentially be put in a situation where they are um compromised and I think it is highly concerning that any one would put a dollar above a lifetime for a individual and so
072I just think that is very important that we wait not only the money but the health and safety of students now and into the future um because um silently allowing something to happen makes you as guilty as the individual who does it um and that's just my opinion um that's all I have to say thank you Mrs fiser are there any other comments from board members Mrs O'Brien um is it okay I yes Mrs Ordway um Mrs Fischer I do not know specifically what you're referring to but I think I know what you're referring to and I would have um an experience or two of my own so when um I first read of the resignation as opposed to a termination um it seemed uh not exactly what should happen however when I read the
073information and realized that a resignation removes that person from our district immediately um knowing that uh the Department of Education looks at resignations and I have no idea what will happen after this but perhaps there might be um things that will happen from different uh agencies um the only thing that I see um when a certificate is taken away the only place that that person can teach is in um a charter or private school if they don't do a background check so I am more than um torn between a resignation and a termination but the resignation takes this person out of our system as soon as we vote and and that's why I'm I'm going to vote the way I vote any other comments from I just want to say that I just fer can
074we hold on Mrs fer could we let other board members who've not had an opportunity to talk first please thank you Mrs paperman or Mrs Reed uh yes I would like to say that uh student safety is top priority and I can see Miss orwe uh with her statement uh that uh what will be best for a students and uh a vaccination uh the border of Ed or the Lord or uh thorough investigation can continue with that but right now our focus is uh keeping our students safe thank you Mrs paperman Mrs Reed um I currently don't have anything to say at this point if Mrs Fischer would like to finish her thoughts that's fine with me okay Mrs Fisher I I just want to knowe miss rley I appreciate your comment but you absolutely
075do not have an idea of what I'm speaking of and and that's okay I don't expect you to but having worked in the industry for a long time I understand that the difference between a resignation versus a termination or even a non-renewal of a contract one one simply moves you somewhere else and one destroys your career or at least stops you from being in the in that area um and I I really don't agree with your statement about private schools or Charters um and I and I don't think this needs to be about them um it is public districts that will will hire again or a charter or any exposure to Children is my concern um and and I appreciate that we all have to vote whatever our conscience is um and for whatever our
076reasons are and and I I hold no oil will towards any other board member that votes differently than I do um um but I have to vote on my belief um thank you thank you Mrs Fischer so um what I'd like to say about the matter is that I would um given the circumstances prefer um a termination however when I consider um the additional impact on uh a student or students that may have to um provide testimony in hearings um it is thinking of helping them or protecting them um that will be uh guiding my vote as well as knowing that accepting a resignation terminates um our relationship immediately in addition um I do know that um there are statutory requirements for reporting um Educators and that the State Board of Education um will uh
077investigate and put an educator through the their the due process their due under the Arizona certification um requirements and once a um once they make their determination whatever that is uh it is shared um with every state in the United States and and all US territories as well so um having have spent some time on one of those advisory committees um they take their work very seriously and um a District's decision to accept a resignation or terminate does not um have any bearing on that process at at all uh that the State Board of Education follows um I don't know if Mrs Reed you have anything to say and I don't want to pressure you I'm good I just want to make give you an opportunity if you do and if you don't why will
078call for the vote um thank you Mrs O'Brien so when it comes to this decision I I also know that you know Mrs Fischer I sincerely um understand your where you're coming from and and you made very valid points um as did you you um also Mrs Ordway um just common sense wise um you can do a quick Google search um when when you're doing hiring and and I've done my fair share of hiring and um um I think that you can you can help figure out what type of person somebody is by what's posted on the internet um and and I know that there's there will be and there has been quite a quite a lot that has been posted about this um and then um we also have a um a statuto requirement
079that when when our district finds out that there may have been harm um to our students or to our employees that we file a police report and we have followed those policies to do those things um and I believe that um those um that our Police Department are conducting a very thorough investigation um that will also move um the situation into um a different um uh court if you will say um not just um with the governing board being a deciding um body so I'm confident in my decision of um the way that I am going to vote because I know that um there are um the possibility of other consequences um for um this teacher's um choices and behaviors that um stretch Beyond um the guidance and the authority that the governing board has
080so thank you with that will call for the vote all those in favor say I I I'll oppose please say nay I nay any I don't think we have any extensions Dr zerbach if you could verify my vote count for me please uh Miss Taylor has a 4-1 vote thank you the um accept of the resignation is approved 4: one we have already handled the matter in De or I'm sorry 6E and we now will move on to um preview item 7A which is a proposal for our K12 online school name and I believe that that is going to be Dr Gail gallagan um providing us with some information president O Brien members of the board Dr Finch and online guests I am so very happy to bring to you tonight uh our recommendations from
081the K12 online school committee our committee was made up of a diverse uh number of um children parents teachers administrators um Department um leaders and I I can tell you that the children who participated were engaged had such good suggestions and ideas and really were a huge part of the collaborative process in in working toward first of all a survey um for soliciting input and then taking that input and um identifying the names and options for the school mascot and colors and then finally um when we all came together with the um the final um information um or just a huge part of it I I am so very um proud of our team the students the parents the teachers and and our department um leaders that participated our process was we met four times
082you can see the information here we started early in February we ended um toward the end of March um as I just said um we first took a look at what was the history of uh the Deer Valley online learning program as well as the start of the Deer Valley Online Academy uh this year um the team worked on an initial survey that went out through U Miss aled's Department um we solicited initial input February 8th through 12th we came back on the 19th and decided we really hadn't had enough input um so we wanted to go out one more week and so that is what we did um we sent that exact same survey back out and and really bumped up our numbers which were which were pretty good uh here's here's just something
083that is uh just a a precious and sweet goal that our team made up of the kids and and teachers we really wanted to have 5,000 responses on that initial um survey because we had so many children and and um teachers involved this year and parents well our first our first four-way back to us was just about um 370 so it was it was like oh my goodness which is why we sent it back out again and we we did go up um a few hundred on March 2nd we took that uh survey input and determined a final names there were four names four mascots four colors that were part of the ballot that went out to our K12 dvoa DVP uh students and teachers uh it went out to our families through canvas and
084um we were able to get that um ballot information back uh and on that last meeting in March we reviewed the ballot and we determined um and came to complete consensus on a final recommendation for the K12 online school name mascot and colors and here it is um it will be called Aspire deer Valley's Online Academy our mascot will be the Phoenix and our colors will be red orange and yellow um we are working currently on what that mascot will look like but um this was the um ballots and our teams working through those ballots determination um Aspire is the school's name and I just wanted to um let you know that Juliet Amara is our director uh she replaces uh the previous director who resigned earlier this year and shelle Schubert is our very
085strong um and capable um principal uh and this year she is K K8 next year she will take on k6 so with that this is a preview item for you and we will bring bring it back for final approval at the April 27th uh board meeting thank you very much thank you Dr gallagan for sharing that's such um wonderful news and I love the uh new name and mascot and um certainly appropriate given coming out of a pandemic so it's beautiful um are there any immediate questions for this item all right awkward Zoom pause hearing none we will move on to preview item 7B which is the recommendation for 912 World L language curriculum materials adoption and um I guess we'll call this part of the show The Dr gallagan show once again um president
086O'Brien members of the board Dr Finch and guests tonight um Amber Martinez who is our world language and CIS and immersion coordinator and I will present uh the recommendations for World Language curricular materials our committee members um you can see here were um went through the same process as all of our committee members we WE Post to our website um we do our very best to also um put it out on social media through Miss aled's Department uh we did um have our teachers send out this information to their parents as well um that happened uh within the last three weeks so I just wanted to be transparent there and of course we um always work to have teachers and administrators represented as well well as our information service and technology department since they will
087be working hand inand with us on the digital licenses that go along with and then our parents so this is the makeup of our world language committee our adoption process you can see started um in October 9th when we began with our paperwork and um came to a a final end on March 11th although we did keep um that public comment and information on our website um up through just this uh last Friday as you know um the purpose of an adoption is really to ensure that we stay current and up to dat and that our students and our teachers have the very best um resources to support uh our our state standards and our curriculum uh you can see here that um our adoptions support teachers with their instruction and specifically this adoption is
088for second language acquisition and proficiency and then also for secondary and post-secondary opportunities once students graduate from our world language programs our rationale for the recommendation that you will see um is really right listed here and I'm not going to read each of these to you but the team it was a large team and and they really did Focus on these um seven area standards proficiency based as related to um world languages uh communication cultural competencies organization of the materials images um that are visually appealing um for children who are learning a new language and and immersing themselves in that culture the content um assessments and technology so these are all of the criteria for um our work the team's work and the recommendation that's coming to you I'm going to turn this over I'm
089GNA see if um Amber Martinez is here Amber are you on board okay you're muted Amber okay thank you so after after reviewing the curriculum materials from numerous publish ERS the committee recommended Carnegie learning for all three language groups Spanish French and mandrin to support their core in Carnegie learnings programs are directly aligned to the Arizona and National World languages standards students build their confidence in The Language by working in all three modes of communication interpretive interpersonal and presentational the program is designed to develop students language proficiency and cultural competence the dynamic uh digital learning platform includes listening and speaking tools a digital library of leveled readers authentic articles and cultural videos and an easy way for teachers to differentiate instruction the comprehensive instructional resources included um sorry uh included you know offer teachers a
090variety of ways for to engage te uh students in in the learning so starting with Middle School exploratory classes koge learning offers instructional tools designed specifically for younger students the exploring series provides an in introductory foundation for students to enter core World languages courses for Spanish 1 two 34 and 56 kevre offers students a collaborative and communicative approach to language learning each unit is grounded in cultural context and begins with an essential question and can do statements aligned with the standards the Scaffolding in each thematic unit leads to communicative activities in which students use the language in real world contexts once our students finish the core Spanish program they can continue to advanced placement courses there are close to a 100 students currently enrolled in AP Spanish language and culture and Spanish Literature the committee
091Rec recommends abriendo Paso by Savas to prepare students for the language and culture examination along with the AP preparation book by Jose Diaz for AP Spanish Literature we re recommend aulo aulo includes all the texts on the AP required reading list chronologically organized to allow students to analyze the work within an historical context all of these materials are aligned to the AP themes and include AP style practice questions and activities for our International Balor students the committee recommends Mana and Spanish B these resources help develop students language skills and critical thinking as they explore the five IB themes this is a two-year program which was revised in 2019 and these sources are aligned to the new test format and themes in addition we offer Spanish for Spanish speakers for students whose language is Spanish but
092who are still developing their literacy skills particularly in reading and writing for one two we recommend Spanish mini qes by the DBQ Project DBQ stands for document-based questions the mini Q's are small units of study consisting of four to seven documents in Spanish which students read in order to answer a question students develop critical thinking and literacy as they pull evidence from the documents to support their answers in writing in levels three and four 34 and 56 the committee recommends intrigas and imaha from Vista Higher Learning these resources include literature and authentic texts from Spanish-speaking world to engage more advanced students in thought-provoking discussion and analytical writing for our core French materials we return to Carnegie Learning the name of the series is t bronche t Bron is again aligned with the Arizona and National
093standards to help students develop Proficiency in speaking listening reading and writing as well as demonstrating a knowledge and understanding of French culture as with the Spanish program it includes a comprehensive collection of instructional materials as well as a digital platform which easily allows students to interact with the curriculum through Innovative technology T BR also includes level four which the committee recommends for AP preap exercises are included throughout the four-year program and communicative activities and themes are designed for alignment with ap we also recommend the AP French Preparatory book by Richard lad which includes um AP question and exercises for students in international balat the committee recommends Lon F and French B similar to IB Spanish IB French is a two-year course and the examination format and themes were revised in 2019 these resources are aligned
094to the new IB curriculum and are designed to develop students critical thinking and French Proficiency in speaking listening reading and writing and for our Mandarin program we recommend Carnegie learnings series entitled Jen bong unlike other Chinese textbooks Jen bong is specifically designed for American High School students the materials are relevant and colorful and focus on standards-based communication moreover the program includes interactive digital resources and videos to engage students in the learning process for students taking the advanced placement exam we recommend Baron's AP Chinese language and culture which includes comprehensive reviews for all parts of the exam as well as practice questions and exercises we intend to implement our new materials at the beginning of the 2122 school year in preparation for this Carnegie Learning is providing us with a professional learning plan to fully support
095teachers throughout the life of the adoption there will be two initial implementation workshops one in May at the end of the school year and one in July right before the new school year begins these workshops may be held in person or virtually in keeping with the covid safety measures we will then begin using the new materials in August 2021 in addition to the initial implementation workshops Carnegie will provide three custom workshops in order to meet our unique needs and 20 hours of virtual coaching and support in years 2 through 7 we will continue to receive professional learning support with custom workshops and virtual coaching to support our new teachers as they join our team Gail I'll hand it back over to you thank you Amber here is a breakdown of each of those resources that
096Amber just um shared the the vast bulk of the adoption really Falls with Carnegie Learning and our our large um Spanish French and Mandarin High School courses with the other um resources that Amber went over listed just below as you you can see um when you put all of that together the total amount for this adoption which supports um multiple programs multiple students in classrooms is just over uh a million so a million 46,5 181 that does include shipping and handling um and that is um where we are for um our Spanish French Mandarin and U the AP IB and um highle courses recommendations for our American sign language in Mandarin Capstone will be presented at a later date um we did not feel that the materials that were submitted were at the Quality that
097we would want and so we will bring that back um at another time so with that um I will say thank you gracias and I will have Amber say you're on mute Amber Amber we can hear you say sh or mercy be sh Mercy thank you so much Amber thank you so much Dr gallagan do any of the board members have questions for our presenters on this matter hearing none what I would say is if any come up um please email Dr Finch and we can um ensure they get answered prior to the next meeting at the end of the month we will go on to um our next item item 8A governing board reports um Mrs Fischer um I only have a few um this time of the year we have a lot of
098students doing presentations um and in general those presentations um have to be or at least their topic has to be approved somewhere by someone generally it's a teacher um last week in a fifth grade class A student presented sexual education topics uh in our district they um touched on lgbtq swag which I thought swag was a bag of stuff I've been educated um transgender homophobia um and went on into police brutality um this was done in like I said one of our fifth grade classes um the question I have for our Administration it doesn't have to be answered today but I would like it answered in a meeting not in a Friday update is do we have a standard for approval of topics um is there any parental consideration or consent for the topics um
099and uh is there any uh thing we could send to the parents or do we send anything to parents to inform them that the topics that may be okay in their household are not okay in someone else's household um so that's my number one I didn't expect anybody would have an answer for those today but I would like a response in a board meeting um number two um I we did all receive the Community Education um inquiry about them being um changing their hours to 7 a.m. um I I glad that my children are now all old enough to not have to go to that before and after care though I loved our before and after care but I can tell you if I had to drop off my children at 7:00 I would have
100never made it to work um so I do hope that Administration considers that there will be a lot of parents that will have to probably change what they're doing based on that change um and with our student count dropping I'm not sure that um reducing our services or making them difficult for our parents is a good choice um oh my third was a club performance we already addressed that earlier um I did try this week to join the NSA nsba conference um and I will tell you I have a new respect and understanding for what our students go through um and how ineffective uh online Communications actually are um I did spend a lot of time buffering watching buffering and um on the help line trying to figure out what's wrong with the system um
101and after three or four browsers was finally able to attend some of the um some of the conference um though I will have to go back um pretty much because I missed all the maybe two two things I was actually to be able to see um I am a little concerned that school boards associations are very heavily pushing liberal agendas into schools um I we're not here to push any political agenda um I don't want mine pushed on our children but I don't want someone else has pushed on them either I mean I was very concerned that there was a lot of content that was very questionable um very uh um pushed towards topics that we've we've um brought up before with the a critical race Theory and and things of that nature which the
102name keeps changing but the Topic's the same and it keeps occurring um so I am very concerned then I I just think as a whole industry we need to be cautious but as CH Deer Valley we definitely need to be cautious that we are not pulling in some national agenda or even even local an agenda that's maybe not in line with our community um our constitution provides for parents to be the primary in guiding their students education and I just really think we need to respect our parents um my last topic and I will uh stop at that is um I'm very disappointed that the ADA accommodations are being thrown out the window and that we are back to Virtual meetings that are virtually ineffective um I I hope that our district decides to um
103maybe start looking at what other districts are doing um because they are leading the way and moving forward while we are not and I just find it very concerning um that we are you know as a board member to have my ADA accommodations thrown out the window um what do we do to our employees or to children or to whomever um and I just think it's it's very concerning we need to start thinking about our whole population not just our chosen population and with that I will end my comment Mrs Reed thank you I just want to congratulations to our and um coach Hobson for um winning those um awards and achievements um I wish that we were there to be able to congratulate you in person um and also want to congratulate again Mrs
104wick for her new um appointment to Constitution um I'm excited for the last final couple of weeks um of school um with having a a senior um it's a little bit Bittersweet um for for me um you know I think that we're all ready for the school year to be over it's been quite a a tumultuous year um but you know a little bit I'm wishing I could rewind time a little bit more um just to have a few more weeks with my uh senior in high school um I do um I did see um I did get some of the screenshot sent to me um regarding um Mrs Fischer's um uh post post on her Ada accommodation not being honored um and I am highly concerned um with that and um you know I
105I do want to make sure that we are able to um to honor that ADA accommodation but because that is um confidential um I don't know what that is and and I know that the district cannot provide us um with what that was but um I know Mrs Fischer you had made some um strong accusations against um the superintendent who is our board employee and so if there is something that you feel that the Board needs to take action on to ensure that your accommodations are being um being held um I would I hope that um we could have that discussion and that you might be able to share those accommodations with us so we can ensure that those were um handled properly um on the other side of that um from some of the
106other that were shared too I do know that um you had mentioned that your Ada accommodation was going to revolve around two face Shields being worn um one at your chin and then one at the at the top um on the glasses um and I did see you wear um part of that um at the board meeting again know what your accommodations are because those are um confidential but um if it did have to do with both of those being worn um with sitting not too far away from you I can say that the top face shield wasn't worn um the majority of the meeting and so um if that's what what it was um you know I'm hopeful that um that we might be able to remedy that situation and um if it it
107was something else that um you that Dr Finch or the district did not do then um please please let us know so that the board can provide some corrective action on that part thank you Mrs um paperman I would like to thank everyone for the presentation also Toledo community members know that I am reading the emails and uh I know the mask mandate uh is uh can be uh an issue for some uh um I'm I'm in the battlefield as a teacher in the classroom I understand uh you know the student needs of mass breaks and uh but at the same time the district needs to follow mitigation plan uh we don't know what 2021 and 2022 is going to look like but for now let's try to do our best as as staff uh
108think out of the box maybe give our students more mass breaks uh uh now that the weather getting hot are given the opportunity to drink uh more water uh but uh it is a challenge the school year is almost over and I pray to God that 2021 22 uh will be a better year thank you Mrs Ordway well thank you um I I just have a little bit of a a summary on looking back the last I don't know six seven months but or a year however long it's been Co time maybe 12 years challenging times do present opportunities for Innovation and sharpening and in some cases discovering problem solving skills I am really truly grateful for all the efforts that have been put forth and continue to be put forth by all members of
109our DB USD family I'm very aware that not all are convinced that our met mitigation strategies and policies are necessary I'm also very aware that um we are now returning to uh having things that students wished that they could have had um before I believe that it is so smart and so brave for our staff students teachers and community members to stand so strong with this as as you see the Athletics happening you see the um Fine Arts happening um senior activities may look really unique but oh my gosh how cool is that going to be um but they're returning so our students have been thinking about this all this time what are we going to do for my senior year they started last summer and now they see how things are happening and and
110they're enjoying the moments all of the moments the sh shenanigan moments the signing moment M um sighing moments and and everything in between so it is so hard to continue to do what you wish you didn't have to do because I don't want to be on WebEx I want to be there and at the end of the meeting I want to give everybody a hug and tell them thank you and I missed you and all that and it's it's in order for that to happen we all have to continue to do what we're doing doing in a a safe and steady way and I believe that our uh leadership which from the top would be our board members need to stay together whether we agree on everything thing or not but we lead by example
111and if we want this to have a beautiful ending sooner than way later then we need to uh we need to stay the course so that's really all I have to say other than female wrestlers are awesome um so we're male wrestlers but the female streak has continued so I look forward to much much more at the end of this as the school year ends and um I want to to clarify a statement that I had made about uh it just came to my head right now about Charter and private schools my point was is that traditional Public Schools do not hire cannot hire will not hire um teachers that do not or that are not certificated whereas that is not the case for everyone else so with that um Mrs O'Brien I appreciate uh
112your leadership also and and there you go um thank you Mrs Ordway I will would like to uh first congratulate our um wrestling state champions from Barry Goldwater High School just for those of us for those folks who w't able to join during the awards at 6:30 um we had BR Garcia uh who is I believe the third it's her third state championship in a row um girls wrestling champ so that's awesome and Andrew um swum is the state champion for division 3 132 pound wrestling champ so congratulations to Andrew and then um I think it's important to point out for uh sand o Conor High School Varsity softball coach Melissa Hobson that she was nominated by um the Arizona inner Scholastic Association for the national Federation of high school sports uh coach of the
113year for 2019 and20 and not just was she nominated but she won so um I'd like to congratulate her we do have um awesome things going on in our district while we are achieving and growing and managing a pandemic so um those are a lot of glass balls to keep up in the air and and so it's important for everybody to know that that is continuing uh I also was able to attend the national school board association's annual conference um there were a lot of sessions on uh returning to school I feel like I say this all the time um I skipped those because been there done that right we've been in for a long time um so it's not as much fun to learn there but I did attend some sessions about um the
114importance of governing governing boards uh governing and um letting our our staff handle the daily operations and doing some self-reflection regarding that and so um have some hope to have some materials to share with uh Dr fch and fellow B board members I'd like to thank um Dr Tunis and uh Mrs alred in helping me to finalize um some comments uh for an interview request related to an equity article um in AED news and I think what is important about that is that um what it we do it every day in De Valley uh we look at you know subpopulations of students to ensure that we are meeting them where they're at and so that they can achieve and grow in in their learning um and that we're supporting them in their social and emotional
115learning as well well so I appreciate that um help I also attended um the Arizona Capital times does morning scoops and this morning's uh morning scoop I believe it was this morning uh what's next for K12 education in the state of Arizona there were five superintendents from across the greater Phoenix area and the one thing that um I I want to share right now is that the mod Ator talked about um loss of learning and I think that a couple of the student the superintendents brought that up the fact that you know there was a lot of learning happening during the pandemic it might not have been necessarily the learning of our state standards the way we would normally do them or or want them to be done um but to ignore the learning and
116growth that has occurred um during this year in our students um I think is is a discredit to to their their resilience and their ability to learn by doing other things and being in um you know different situations that does not mean that uh we wanton some have some areas to some gaps here or there um and I know I'm confident that our district uh leadership and staff is going to learn um and figure out where those are and provide the proper um supports to our students over the summer and and the next year to uh bring our students to the levels where we know they should be so I just want to leave you all with with that thought that we are learning a lot and our students are our staff our a District
117administration and our governing board and I really just appreciate everybody's hard work and um and we've only got about six weeks left to school so keep working hard because we're we're almost at the finish line and that I will turn it over to uh superintendent Dr Finch for his uh superintendent report thank you board members um just uh shortly I'm gonna jump off of what Miss O'Brien just said um it's been an honor to um for our team here to lead um actually this whole North Valley um on this covid adventure our school district has been a um been able to help many of our neighbors succeed and likewise we've had a great neik sharing group where we share our ideas and we met a ton this year twice as much as we did last
118year and so that working together made a difference and so um that's been good to um see us uh work together many of them are brand new superintendants are new to the superintendent chair so we were able to a lot of my team members able to help them out as well in the different divisions so I also I just want to thank um as I did last uh the last board meeting thank thank the the cabinet thank the administrators thank the staff for a great year or we can see the tape um but we still have a couple more miles to go but um It's Been a Good Year as we um celebrate the sports and the activities and the Arts and stuff at the end here it's been uh good to be able to
119have the students be able to experience that because obviously many of them missed out of that last year during this time uh as noted um we're continue to work with our attorneys on making sure um all our ADA accommodations meet um requirements so we continue to work with Miss fiser with our two attorneys we have Denise L Brit out of um and Robert HW that work on that and they'll continue to work on that um I'd want to also thank Joan Wick who um is now um being uh go over to Constitution and leave that District or leave that building pretty excited for her um that she's uh stepped up to the plate we want to thank Shan Lea for her service as well as um she was a a constitution uh principal for many
120years and did a nice job and was heading out to another state so um that's what I have from um from my chair It's Been a Good Year been a fun year uh it's been a difficult year all in the same breath um obviously Co gives us uh gave us many challenges but uh my team stepped up and did a nice job and uh we are we have a lot to be proud of so uh thanks and that's it for me thanks Miss obrian and I know it's out of of context but I'm sorry um I miss Reed I will send you an email um Mr Finch uh Rob Haw having anything to do with me is inappropriate this is not the time or place to talk about this Mrs Fisher the only time we
121have we're not board members any other time according to if I could please have um sorry future meeting dates and events are posted and if I could have a motion to adjourn I'll make a motion to adjourn the meeting at 908 and a second please thank you Mrs Reed um all those in favor please say I I I all those opposed doesn't matter all right um I I hope we had at least four I could Mrs paperman did you vote Yes okay we are Jour H yes I do thank you