Escondido Union School District Board of Education Meeting - February 5, 2026

001Zesty Harper: We have two speakers. Eric, do you want to go ahead and go to the microphone? And start whenever you're ready. Eric: My name is Eric Guyton. Thank you for having me here. It was it was a good thing that you guys let me come back to school. I've been doing good. I've been doing my work, and I've been thankful. And thank God for everything. Zesty Harper: Thank you. Alright. Is it Chantal? Chantal: My name is Chantal. I'm Zhaniyah's mother. Good evening, Escondido school board. I hope this message finds you well. I am writing to request reinstatement for my daughter, Zhaniyah Lewis. Over the past year, she has taken important steps towards personal growth and accountability. During her time away from the district, she has successfully completed counseling and participated in outside support program.

002Focused on behavior, emotional regulation, and positive decision making. This period has been a time of reflection and maturity for her, and I have seen meaningful progress in her coping skills and commitment to her education. Our goal is to have her return to a structured academic environment where she can continue her full, consistent education. We believe she is ready to reenter the school with a renewed mindset and a stronger support system in place. Thank you for your time and consideration. Zesty Harper: Thank you very much. We will now adjourn to closed session. Will return at oh. Sorry, it was one more? Oh. That's okay. Absolutely. Anya: My name is Anaya. I'm 13 years old. I haven't had to control my anger in more serious situations. I want to go back to district school because I like

003having multiple classes to learn from. I also want to do sports, and my goal is to get promoted from eighth grade to San Pasqual High School. Zesty Harper: Thank you. Okay. Now we are going to adjourn and we'll return at 7 p.m. Thank you so much for waiting for us. We appreciate it. We are reconvening the regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Education. Can I ask Obed Ortiz to come up to the podium and lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance, please? [applause] Obed Ortiz: All right. Please stand up. Put your right hand over your heart. Ready? Begin. All: 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. Zesty Harper: Thank you.

004All right. All members are present. And we do have a report out of closed session. Frank Huston: Thank you. At a closed session, the board considered dismissal of charges against a classified probationary employee and took action to approve those charges and release employee number 652735 by a vote of 5 to 0. Zesty Harper: Thank you. Moving on to the approval of the agenda. Are there any changes or I'm looking for a motion. Doug Paulson: Move approval. Mark Olson: Second. Zesty Harper: All those in favor, please say aye. Board of education members: Aye. Zesty Harper: Motion. Agenda is approved. Approval of minutes. Do I have a motion? Okay. Joan. Joan first. Joan Gardner: And I'll make that motion. Zesty Harper: Thank you. Frank Huston: I'll second. Zesty Harper: Thank you. Frank. All those in favor, please

005say aye. Board of education members: Aye. Zesty Harper: And the minutes are approved. Now, to our favorite part of the evening. I'm going to turn it over for our school recognitions. Rick Oser: Thank you, President Harper. We're very excited to have three schools who will be recognizing some of their amazing students. First up is Doctor Norton from Hidden Valley Middle School. Bryanna Norton: To move it up quite a bit. So good evening, President Harper and members of the school board, Doctor Ibarra, Mr. McGuire and cabinet members, thank you so much for the opportunity to highlight Hidden Valley Middle School and most importantly, our students tonight. So Hidden Valley Middle School serves as a lead demonstration school site in partnership with LCC and the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, working alongside the California Department of Education.

006This partnership has positioned Hidden Valley as an emerging model for learner centered redesign, and allows the work happening in our classrooms to directly inform the state level of learning, guidance and best practices. This evening, I'd like to take a few moments to share what that work looks like in practice and how our students experience learning every day through the following highlights. So the highlights I'll be talking about are correlated to the photos. We're going to start in the left corner. So what I want to say first is what makes our work so meaningful is not a single program or moment, but the intentional way learning is designed and connected for our students from sixth grade to eighth grade. At Hidden Valley, our design work is vertically aligned, so each year builds towards greater agency, application

007and leadership. In sixth grade, students engage in interdisciplinary learning experiences such as our Ancient Egypt Project in the left corner. Top. Through inquiry research and exhibitions, students build critical thinking, collaboration and communication skills. Sixth grade students also explore the essential question through their PBL (Project Based Learning) of how are people changed through relationships and experiences. This question is guiding our students how to think about leadership and belonging. Our students this year pitched their ideas. So if you look at the photo right in the middle, our students pitched those ideas in my office and they were talking about how to support our incoming fifth grade students to middle school. Those ideas evolved into our collaboration with our eighth grade students, and it will now result in hosting our elementary feeder schools in February and March for

008our Panther Preview Day. Students learned during this PBL that transitions matter and that relationships are central to success. In seventh grade, our students are currently engaged in the Hidden Figures PBL. Our students guided question was how can we use data, storytelling, and research to bring visibility to people whose contributions have been overlooked in our community and history. Through this work, our students learned from guest speakers, including partners from the San Diego Air and Space Museum and research individuals connected to San Diego. In eighth grade, learning becomes increasingly student driven. Through our Panther project, our students explored the essential question how can we, as eighth grade entrepreneurs, use a multidisciplinary approach to identify a specific community need and design a product or service to fill it. As part of this work, our students participated in the

009Mystery Box Challenge. And those students are right, second row of photos right in the middle. They participated in the Mystery Box Challenge, where they are given a limited set of materials and they were challenged to design a product or service. Our students collaborated. They did a prototype. They revised and reflected throughout the process, demonstrating innovation and problem solving. Eighth grade students also explored the essential question this year what psychological, cultural, and physiological mechanisms drive human fascination with suspense? This was in October, and Miss Frank actually saw the haunted houses that were created. They were pretty cool. Our kids had to literally measure the classrooms, design the props and the sets, and that is actually what you see right there in the lower left corner. That was the actual haunted houses that they did. It was

010super cool. The kids really got into that. What I will also say is that Hidden Valley supporting the whole child is a cornerstone of our design work. Our students utilize our wellness center to recenter, refocus, and receive support when needed, including conflict resolution and restorative practices. Wellness classes in our seventh and eighth grade intentionally focus on student created smart goals. They do their portfolio work, they do team building, they do self discovery, and they develop life skills. Students also identify their strengths through our Myers-Briggs assessment, and they build financial literacy through our class bank, which we're in our second year of utilizing class bank where they practice earning, saving, budgeting, and managing money in a real world context. These skills are applied through also our recently opened college and career lab for our seventh graders.

011Academic and skill based support is strengthened through our Panther Academic Center. We call it our PAC. So we provide four days a week after school. And it is staffed by our teachers as well as our classified staff. Our students receive academic and executive functioning support. Our students also connect through our electives and leadership opportunities. Our culinary students, if you look in the top right corner, they participated this year in our Chop challenge and they also just completed the Crumbl cookies. So if you guys all know about Crumbl cookies they just did the Crumbl Cookie challenge that highlights their creativity and collaboration. Our esports team this year. Come on y'all. They've placed first in three of the four competitions. So we're super excited about that. And finally our band and choir, which is another photo you'll

012see up there, further enrich our student life with our students performing at school and community events while building confidence and pride through music. But what truly sets Hidden Valley apart is our school community. Our students are curious, capable, and they're engaged. Our staff is innovative, they are reflective, and they are deeply committed to continuous improvement. Hidden Valley is not just implementing redesign. We are helping define what redesign looks like in the state of California. Okay, now to the absolute best part. Guys, I get to highlight our students of excellence who represent the heart of our school and the impact of this work. So I'm going to ask our three students to come on up[applause]. And parents, you're probably going to want to have your cameras ready. We're going to start with sixth grade. So Azaria

013Edwards. Azaria is a prime example of the culture of our school. She is safe. She is respectful and responsible at school, both in terms of academics and with her social interactions. She is helpful to others. She participates in class and she is a leader worth following. She has wonderful relationships with not only the adults in her life, but she also cares deeply about her peers. She pushes herself to be on top of her work and displays a strong understanding of the material at hand. As our sixth grade Student of Excellence Award [applause]. Our seventh grade Esteban Quintero Coronel. Esteban demonstrates outstanding effort, responsibility and a positive attitude towards learning. He takes pride in his work. He treats others with respect and he is always willing to help his classmates. Esteban's character and dedication make him

014a positive role model within our school community [applause]. Our final student of excellent recipient, eighth grade Obed Ortiz. Obed exemplifies leadership, responsibility, and commitment to learning. He confidently leads group work. He participates actively and he approaches challenges with focus and determination. I like to call it grit. Our kids have a lot of grit. His positive energy and his work ethic make him an outstanding, outstanding representative of Hidden Valley Middle School [applause]. Congratulations. Andrew McGuire: Take a couple pictures for us. Here. Bryanna Norton: Thank you. Rick Oser: Thank you Hidden valley, next up is Juniper Elementary. Brooke Cottingham: I have to move it down. I want the girls to stand with me because this night is all about them. So. Good evening, board president Harper, doctor Ibarra, Mr. Maguire, and members of the EUSD board and

015Cabinet. Tonight, I am proud to shine a spotlight on three outstanding Jaguars from Juniper Elementary. I want to begin by thanking the Juniper staff and families who are here to celebrate with us. Your partnership makes all the difference and we are so grateful to share this moment with you. I would like our Juniper staff and parents to please stand to be recognized [applause]. Thank you. At Juniper, curiosity, connection and community are at the heart of everything we do. This year, we began an exciting journey to redesign our school to better prepare our students for the world ahead. By grounding our work in the EUSD learner profiles, teachers are creating more meaningful, equitable, and impactful learning experiences, and we're already seeing the results in classrooms across our campus. One of our favorite examples is Jungle Time,

016when students come together and cross grade levels to build empathy, collaboration, and communication. Just last week we explored. I forgot to switch this. I'm sorry guys. We explored effective communication using the game of telephone. In my own jungle, after a few giggles and a lot of retries, the final message made it through loud and clear. The cat is fluffy. Mission accomplished. Students at Juniper also explore new interests through our Explore After School program, where passions come to life from hula, ukulele, rugby, cooking, musicals, and more. In December, our musical performers, our newly formed cheer team, hula and ukulele students performed for the school community, and they absolutely shined. As a proud community school, Juniper partners closely with families and the Escondido community. Through our family nights, literacy support, rock and roll to school with our

017Escondido Police Department and our brand new wellness room, the Jaguar Retreat, where it's a place to pause and relax. We're supporting the The emotional, social, emotional well-being of every one of our students, and we cannot wait to welcome all of you to our campus to see it. And now, the true stars of the evening. I want to welcome our junior champions who are making a difference every single day. Let's give a big round of applause for Liliah, Stella and Isabella. And they didn't tell me tonight was all blue, so I'm. They look snazzy, though. Alright, we are going to start with Liliah Rodriguez [applause]. Lila Rodriguez has been a Juniper Jaguar since TK, and she has been practicing the Jaguar way every step of the way. This year, Liliah is our ASB secretary and she

018uses her skills as an empathetic collaborator to promote a strong student government. Liliah is also a member of the PAWS for the News broadcast crew. Her enthusiasm and expressive commentary make her an effective communicator, which in turn helps draw in Jaguar viewers from all over the school. Liliah's academics are also very strong because she approaches them like she approaches everything else with a mindset of an optimist and an empowered learner. One of Liliah's strongest strengths, though, is her keen sense of being a leader and an ethical scholar. She encourages others to do what is right, helps in the classroom, and is a positive role model for everybody here at Juniper. Congratulations, Liliah [applause]. Our next Juniper champion is Stella Morentin [applause]. Stella has also been a Juniper Jaguar since TK. Each year she has been

019a shining example of an empathetic collaborator, as she eagerly volunteers to work with her peers both in and out of the classroom. She is also a dependable teacher's helper, always willing to step up when needed. As a fifth grader, Stella is not only an active classroom participant who always desires to learn, but she's also a Jaguar leader. She also participates in the PAWS for the News, helping to keep the Juniper community updated on the latest happenings. She's also a member of the Kinder Safety Patrol, helping our littlest Jaguars learn how to navigate their lunchtime safely. She also participates in after school enrichment activities. I believe she was Mrs. Clause this year in our musical after school, and she did a fantastic job. And she also successfully accomplishes all of her classroom assignments. She is respectful

020to her peers and teachers, dependable and responsible, and strives to make Juniper a safe place for all. Stella Morenstin is a model of a Juniper Jaguar [applause]. Alright, and standing next to me is Isabella Gutierrez [applause]. Isabella Gutierrez is an excellent leader who is highly involved in the school community, showcasing her leadership as an effective communicator. Stepping up as a captain for our Safety Patrol team and also a newscaster for PAWS for the News. It's a pretty impactful PAWS for the News. As an empowered learner, she actively participates in class discussions, school activities, and group projects, and her enthusiasm is contagious. She always has a smile on her face. She takes responsibility for her learning, being an ethical scholar, she completes her assignments with care and sets a positive example for everyone around her. Her

021willingness to work well with her partners exhibits the empathetic collaborator in her, and she contributes positively to the classroom and school community. She values ideas that are different than hers. She brings a light and a love for learning to our class and community, and we are so lucky to have a Jaguar like Isabella. Congratulations, girls! [applause] Rick Oser: Thank you, Principal Cottingham. Next up is Pioneer Elementary. Ellyse Jimenez: Alrighty. It's always hard to go last when you see all the amazing things happening across our district. Congratulations to Hidden Valley and Juniper families. Great job. All right. My name is Ellyse Jimenez. I am the proud principal at Pioneer Elementary, and I would like to start by thanking President Harper. Board members, Doctor Ibarra, Andy, as well as cabinet for allowing me to come today and

022speak to you regarding some of the amazing things happening at our school and highlighting three students that deserve this special recognition. We're really excited today. Before I get started, though, I would like to give a special shout out to all of those in attendance today. So my staff and families, as well as students can stand that are representing here tonight. Round of applause [applause]. We appreciate you coming out to support us all. So thank you. Alright. And now I'd like to welcome three amazing students that make Pioneer such a special place. If I can, please have Melissa Duran Rincon come on up, miss Karla Sanchez and Emmanuel Vidal Kovvalijszyn ][applause]. Alright, so tonight it is truly an honor to share some of the incredible work happening at Pioneer and to celebrate the people, programs and

023vision that make our school such a special place. And I first would like to start to say how immensely proud we are to recognize our very own Miss Corina Martinez, who's also here this evening. Who was named California State Teacher of the year. This is an extraordinary honor not only for Corina, but for Pioneer our district and now the entire state of California. To have an educator of her caliber representing our school community on such a large platform is both humbling and inspiring. Corina message of choosing love over fear is not just a philosophy she speaks about. It's something she lives out daily in her classroom and across our campus. It's reflected in how she builds relationships, uplifts students, and fosters a sense of belonging for all. That message resonates deeply within our Pioneer community,

024and we are proud it's now being shared far beyond the school walls [applause]. And in addition to celebrating excellence in teaching, we are also thrilled by the continued growth of our After School Explorer program. Pioneer currently offers over 20 after school classes on most days, made possible through our strong partnerships with our vendor led, but also our teacher led offerings. Our students have access to intervention as well as enrichment opportunities such as Lego robotics, yearbook, art, Ballet Folklorico, and so much more. These programs extend learning beyond the school day. They spark creativity and provide students with space to discover new interests, develop talents, and build meaningful connections with peers and the adults around them. And finally, at Pioneer we have continued to grow and strengthen our focus on increasing our student engagement and attendance. Last

025year, our site participated in [inaudle] through the San Diego County Office of Ed and provided us a strong framework to produce and reinforce that tier one and two attendance work. This year, we've intentionally expanded on that, prioritizing work that motivates students and builds excitement about coming to school each and every day. As you can see in the photos here, some of our Puma Pride pep rallies and the activities we have. Our efforts have included daily attendance announcements, targeted school events such as our carnival in the courtyard, which is pictured in a few of these here, spirit weeks, home visits to families, and schoolwide participation in our district attendance initiatives. And we're especially proud to share that Pioneer has won two district attendance challenges this year, the first being the Postcard Challenge, where one of our

026very own students is second grade student. The bottom right hand corner. You'll see her. Jocelyn Guzman. Her design was selected to be the district wide postcard. And there she stands with the trophy about twice her size [laughter]. The second recognition was awarded for increasing our average daily attendance, while also decreasing our chronic absenteeism during the November through January period, which is where we tend to see a large dip. So these accomplishments reflect the collective commitment of our students, our families, as well as our staff, and we are incredibly proud of the shared effort to keep our students engaged, connected, and on campus every day. So Pioneer success is a reflection of the collective efforts of all of those people I've just named, and we are so proud of where we are. We're grateful for the

027support we receive and inspired by the future we're building together. So thank you for letting me speak about a few highlights from Pioneer, but now the part we've been waiting for speaking about these three students that are standing next to me. So I'll go ahead and begin up with our third grade student, Miss Melissa Duran Rincon [applause]. Yeah. Melissa is a third grade student in Miss Morales's class who is also here tonight. Melissa Duran Rincon continues to excel academically in both English and Spanish as part of our DLP program. Melissa gives her best both in and out of school. She is active in her church. She participates in our after school activities such as Ballet Folklorico and is learning to play the violin. She genuinely cares about others and wants to help whenever she can.

028She is truly deserving of this recognition. We are so proud of you, Melissa [applause]. Alrighty, and next up is our fourth grade student, Miss Karla Sanchez from Miss Britt's class [applause]. Karla is a strong leader in our classroom who sets a positive example for others every day. She works hard, sets goals for herself, and stays focused as she works to achieve them. Outside of the classroom, Karla selflessly helps others and shows kindness wherever she goes. She also has a love for reading and proudly has the most AR points in class. Her dedication and caring attitude make her a role model to her peers, and that is why she was selected as our fourth grade recipient. Congratulations, Karla [applause]. Alrighty. Now our third recipient, our fifth grade student, Mr. Emmanuel Vidal Kovvalijszyn [applause]. All right. So

029it is a pleasure to recognize Emmanuel Vidal Kovvalijszyn, a student who consistently demonstrates responsibility, kindness and dedication. He approaches learning with curiosity and perseverance, setting a positive example for his peers. Manuel earned the highest I-ready math score at Pioneer Elementary, and his strong performance in math secured him a spot on this year's Stem team. Can't wait to see you in Rincon! Emmanuel also represented Pioneer as a member of the First Lego League, where he showcased strong problem solving skills, creativity and teamwork during the county wide competition. He was a key part of that team with his collaborative spirit, with his teammates and beyond. Academics Emmanuel is a well-rounded student who enjoys reading and playing soccer. Since moving from Argentina and attending school in the United States for the first time in fourth grade, he has

030accomplished so much in such a short time. His academic success, leadership, and positive character make him a true pride of our school. Congratulations to Emanuel [applause]. Rick Oser: Thank you, Principal Jimenez. And congratulations to all of the students who were honored tonight. Zesty Harper: Yes. Thank you for joining us for those recognitions. I do want to say that these schools are one of my favorites. And the students here I know, I know, I have lots of favorites. It's okay. But not only the students here. You have amazing teachers. I want you to know how amazing your principals are. You have rock star principals who think about you all the time and want the best for you [applause]. So I want to say thank you to them. So now, before we bore you with any more

031of our meeting, we're going to take a break until 7:45 so everyone can head home and do your homework. If everyone can take. Because if everyone can take their seats. Oh, can you hear me now? Okay, if everyone could take their seats, please. We're going to resume the meeting. I know it's a fun party. All right. So we are going to start with our public comments. The first one I have is from Marissa Johnson. If you want to come up to the podium. All right. Public commenter 1: Good evening school board and cabinet. I was here to talk about the immigration enforcement activity in our community recently. So many of us in the community have been very concerned with the activity taking place throughout Escondido. But last year, parents remember that EUSD was more communicative

032about how schools could and would protect students. This year, we haven't heard very much, very much communication. While you can't control the ICE activity in our community, schools are the bedrock of our community. They're the center for families to connect with each other, as well as providing a sense of safety for all students. Many of us parents feel completely helpless but have a desire to help any impacted families. We were wanting to know if the school district could connect us with resources or organizations where we can support any impacted families. We could deliver groceries, walk students to school. Anything we can do to support our students and families during this troubling time. Thank you for your time applause]. Zesty Harper: Thank you so much. Rachel. Is it Howe? Perfect. Rachel: I haven't done this before.

033I did not do my homework. Good evening board and cabinet. Thank you. So I'm just wanted to point out the ICE activity that's been happening in Escondido. Some of our students have experienced and witnessed trauma as a result of these agents. And some of the videos that I've seen online are completely harrowing. I would like to know if our students have access to counseling through the school system. And if they do, can we please have that communicated so that our families have been affected have access to this? That's the only question that I had. Thanks, guys. Dr. Luis Ibarra: I can answer that really quickly. Yes. Every one of our schools have a qualified social worker on campus. There also is a family liaison on every one of our campuses that connect any families to

034resources and all those. And we're also putting resources up on our our website that's connecting families to any type of resources. Front office also has there's little cards on there where families can get access to resources. And if the parent behind you that spoke first, what school are you from? Public commenter 1: [inaudible] Dr. Luis Ibarra: Perfect. Thank you. Zesty Harper: And I think they want to go together? These two? So is it Jarman and Eleanor? I'm saying incorrectly. I'm terrible with names, so I apologize. Jasmine. Okay. Thank you. Public commenter 2: Good evening everyone. Thank you for having us here today. My name is Jasmine Orozco and I'm a parent volunteer at Central Elementary. I have volunteered there for the past four years, and while volunteering, I have noticed the lack of shade areas

035in our for our children in the school, especially in the PE area and where they have recess. I'm coming here today to bring this matter to your attention. In the past, we have talked to principal, our principal, Doctor Cortez, and her ideas have been shut down due to laws the district has to follow. On September 2025, Doctor Ibarra and Mr. Maguire attended one of our coffee with the principals and we brought this to their attention. Mr. Maguire encouraged us to go out and vote, but that was it. As of today, February 5th, 2026, we still have no shade nor a timeline of a shade. At this point it's not a want, but a need. Our kids need shaded areas for their safety. Escondido gets hot, especially during the summer, and we have to avoid getting

036them, for them getting dehydrated or any experiencing any heat exhaustion. I understand there are budgets and protocols you guys have to follow. I ask for you to keep the children's well-being in mind as a priority, and that you help improve the children's experience at Central Elementary. Thank you. Public commenter 3: Hi. Good evening. I mean, I just like to reinforce her comments and recognize our parents. If you guys can stand up. We all came together from Escondido Central School Elementary [applause]. That is just a matter that we're worried about our kids. I mean, we've seen like. I'm sorry that 92 degrees. It's for a child to be outside. It's dangerous for them. And we currently have a like, asphalt pavement in our school, and it gets even hotter. So, please take this into your consideration

037to please help us out. And of course, with the help with our principal. So hopefully we can get something out of you guys. Thank you [applause]. Andrew McGuire: Thank you for all of you coming for that. Of course. Our team is constantly evaluating the way we can use the resources that we have for things like this, and they will be visiting Central and looking at what our options could be there. So thank you for coming and bringing this concern to us again. Thank you. Doug Paulson: And Mr. McGuire, thank you for taking their concern very seriously. For anyone who doesn't know Central School, I think what they're referring to is Fourth Avenue that cuts through the middle of the school. It's still asphalted. And it does get extremely hot. And there is at this time

038virtually no shade on the campus and a very dated play structure. So I hope that as we're looking at priorities, that will be one of them that we're looking at. Thank you so much for your concern. Zesty Harper: Thank you. And again, I apologize if I say your name wrong. Socorro? Socorro Sanchez: Hello. This is very brief. And. Hello, Doug and everyone. I'm Socorro Sanchez. I'm a the MTSS over at Rose elementary, and I am here because I have just a also a request. Rose Elementary is a wonderful school. As we all know. It has an old fashioned marquee. And this is a little something that is very close to my heart, because currently, every week, our wonderful janitor goes up and he puts up our little letters. But sometimes there's just not enough room

039on that marquee to really tell you or our community what is happening. And we'd love an electronic marquee. And the reason is, of course the school is right on Rose, and I know it's not the only school I've been at Central. I worked at Central. And it also needs a marquee. And the reason is our schools need to communicate with our parents. Right, parents? I agree. So currently Rose relies on that limited method of the old tag. You know, the little squares that go up there. But electronic marquees would significantly improve our ability to communicate timely, clear, and consistent messages to our families who pass by our campus daily. Many of our families rely on these visuals, onsite communications due to the limited access to emails, school apps or social media. We need to be

040more effective. We can share real time updates about school events, deadlines, and emergencies. They promote attendance and positive behavior, school spirit initiatives and they can highlight student achievements right then and there. We could also strengthen our family engagement by increasing awareness of our school activities, improving our school safety and community safety drills, closures and urgent events. All these things are vital. So please take into consideration not just Rose, but Central to and so many of our other schools that truly, it would be so beneficial for each and every one of our schools to have something like that. Thank you. [applause] Zesty Harper: Thank you again and thank everyone for coming out tonight. We really appreciate you voicing your concerns in front of us. CSEA, do you have anything to say today that you didn't already

041say, within three minutes? Well, once you start, I don't know. We'll see. We're gonna see. Noemi Navarrete: Well, to be honest with you. Well, good evening, everybody. My name is Noemi. For those in the room, my name is Mami. I am the president. This is my third year, so I think I'm getting pretty comfortable in the spot. So if anybody wants to make me past president let me know. And [laughter]. This is why they tell me, like, do you have things to say? I was like. Well, today we had our quarterly. And for those of you who don't know what a quarterly is, it's when union leaders meet with both the school board and the school board and cabinet. And today we had our quarterly. And I think it was a great meeting. Although in

042the beginning they were a little concerned about my topics. Let me tell you my first topic. It was just an introduction, but then I surprised them with a icebreaker. Right. And the icebreaker. I'm going to make this short. I promise it's going to be a good time. The icebreaker was about what our goals are as leaders this year, right? We were setting our goals for what is it that we want to work on? And, and something I shared with Doctor Ibarra just recently is because many a times we set goals for you, right? In our minds, we go like, this should be your goal. And maybe that's not the goal that you have, right? So many a times miscommunication or even mistrust is built because we're we are under the assumption that you should be

043doing this, but maybe that is not the focus that you have this year. And that's okay. Right? That's that's okay. Because you you have the own your own goals, right? Your own ideas of what it is that you want to leave behind. What is that footprint you want to leave behind. So today we we figured out what, what everybody's goal is. And so now we're clear. Right. And now we're going to help you set get those goals met. So we're going to bring it up again. I won't tell you what their goals are. It's going to be a surprise. We'll do it at the next one. But the other thing that we talked about was communication. And as we know, I have a lot of things to say, but but we also have a clear

044understanding that words have power, right? The things that we say and the way that we treat people and how we involve them in the conversation and how we involve them in, in participating, in making them part of knowing what, as Andy said, right? How does everybody fit right? What is your contribution to EUSD? What is your contribution to making EUSD great? So. So this is for all of us who are leaders. I am the president of the union and I am a leader. All of you who are board members, you are you are representing your constituents. For those of you who are who are cabinet members, you represent all of us, right? Your employees, the students, the community, the parents. That is your responsibility. For those of you who are principals, you are directors. Your

045responsibility is to the people that work under you, right? The community, the students, the the staff members that work alongside you to make your school, your your district, you know what it should be, which is our students, we should have our students should be our priority. But communication plays a really big part in that. And so as we have new leaders come into play, as we have as we continue to build EUSD into what it should be, you know, I don't know what it is yet. I mean, that's up to the board to decide. But as we work towards that, I just want to make sure that you reflect on your position as a leader, not just here, but over there and over here. Everybody. Right. That you reflect on your position as a leader

046and how it is that you plan on communicating better with those you work alongside and those who work under you? Right. And the input that our students also have in all of this to also talk about what our parents discussed, which was the fear that is in our communities. This is something that is very near and dear to our hearts because we see our students every single day and we see how afraid they are, but we also see how powerful they are. I am a middle school librarian, and I don't tell them to do these things. I just, you know, we just make sure that they're safe. But at the end of the day, our kids are amazing. They're amazing people who have this amazing ability to, to be advocates for themselves. And so we

047want to protect them. We want to make sure that they grow up and become great members of our of our community. And yes, EUSD has done a great job of communicating with families. We have the resources on site, but we can always do more, right? We can always do more. And we can help our students thrive in this community. And because they're one day going to be maybe sitting in your spots. So that's that's what we should aspire to. So I am done. I've ranted enough. Thank you so much. Thank you to the parents. Thank you to everybody who's here. And that's it. [applause] Zesty Harper: Thank you. EEEA? Andrea Sima: Alright. Good evening. I'm obviously not Miss Krepps, but I have some things I need to say. I wasn't going to speak, but now

048that I've heard from our families. Yes, ditto. You're going to hear that a lot. Thank you, families, for coming in and raising this concern, because it's also affecting the students on our campuses and the staff. We don't know what the perspective is. We don't know what our rights are. We don't know because it hasn't been communicated to us directly. We have a lot of staff members who question, so let's make a clear statement and put it out into our community. Thank you. Just a reminder that this affects our students and we have an attendance concern. I wonder how much of this is feeding that, because we can't build our attendance until we build the safety of our families and our staff to come to schools. It also affects their behavior and their ability to learn.

049So what is this all about? Oh yeah, it's all about students, right? We're here to educate and help students. That's why we all come to this district. Escondido Union School District for students. I also want to thank those parents for coming in and talking about shade. You know where I'm going with this, right? Yeah. It's every sight, every sight. And I'm going to take a moment of personal privilege right now. I've had three things shaved off my face. I've had four punch biopsies, and I've had a mole removed today. Okay. This is a concern that you need to be thinking about for the children's perspectives. It doesn't matter if they wear a hat or sunscreen when they leave their house. They're with us for quite a few hours. That sunscreen has to be reapplied. Hmm.

050Try doing that with TK. OK? Yeah. And I don't even think we can. We're not supposed to be touching children, right? Yeah. So what are we going to do about this? I'm asking you because you're the ones that need to make the decision. You have control of the money. Where are we going to get this shade? Because we need it. And a couple of you already know what I'm talking about. I'm from Orange Glen, and we need it too. Alright, so I beg district personnel to check all sites for adequate shade. Yeah. I'm not blaming you for my cancer, but I am going to blame you for children that don't get it covered. Give them coverage. Alright. I have another ditto. I was under the impression that all schools were going to be provided electronic

051marquees. Equitability. Let's make it happen. Thank you. [applause] Zesty Harper: Thank you so much. We are moving on to our consent items. Does anyone have anything they needed pulled or had a comment on? Nope. Then I'm looking for a motion for approval of the consent agenda. Mark Olson: I'll make a motion as presented. Joan Gardner: I'll second. I also would like to comment on one. Zesty Harper: Oh go ahead. So we have a second. So you can go ahead and comment it. Pull your will you pull your mic down. Joan Gardner: Thank you. I don't have the number up, but I didn't know we were going to get through it so fast. But it's the The Lusardi. Zesty Harper: Right? Joan Gardner: Refund. Zesty Harper: Yes. Joan Gardner: Usually when you see a change order,

052it's. Zesty Harper: It's the other way. Joan Gardner: To the to the maximum that's allowed. It's the first time I've seen a rebate to, in such a large amount coming in on time and under budget. Andrew McGuire: That's right. Joan Gardner: So thank you. Thanks to our great staff who supported that and and had their pencils out and and an eagle eyed. Way to save money. Zesty Harper: Yeah. I don't know if that's happened at the. No. In the county. Joan Gardner: Never never ever happens. Zesty Harper: Alright. Any other comments? So if you all are in favor of the consent agenda, please say Aye. Board of education members: Aye. Zesty Harper: Okay. It passes. Thank you so much. Now on to our presentation of our mid-year LCAP data review. Rick Oser: Thank you board

053president Harper, board members, doctor Ibarra and cabinet. It's a great honor to be here with my partner here, Director Sorensen. And together, we're going to provide a LCAP mid-year data presentation. This presentation will include an overview of the mid-year data, including the Iready data, as well as our updates on suspension, expulsion, and attendance. And then we'll talk about next steps, and we'll have a special presentation by one of our amazing principals to talk about how Felicita Elementary and the principal and the staff work together to actually put this data into action. So with that said, I'm going to call up Director Sorensen to get us started. Kathleen Sorensen: Good evening board president Harper, board members, superintendent doctor Ibarra, Mr. Maguire and cabinet. It's my honor to be here to present our district Iready diagnostic to

054data. Oops. So we're going to going to start with reading with the overall relative placement for each of the grade levels. As a reminder, overall relative placement refers to a student's performance on the diagnostic assessment in relation to their current grade level and the standards for that grade. So if it says three or more years below grade level and they're a fifth grader, that means they're working at second grade level. So as we look at this data you can see that there is as we progress through the grade level, there is definitely an increase in the red. However, one thing that we can celebrate is if you look at the green and the blue, fourth through eighth grade it's very stable. Usually when you see data like this, as you progress through the grades, the

055green and the blue decrease as the red increases. So that's definitely a celebration with this reading data. Okay. The next slide is a year over year comparison for each of the grade levels. Comparing 24-25 diagnostic to 25-26 diagnostic for elementary schools. The overall year over year gain for all students scoring at or above grade level declined by less than half a percentage point. There was, however, a gain of 3.3 percentage points in the number of students scoring it early early on grade level, the green. So blue is fairly flat, but green increased a bit. When we look at the grade levels. There was significant growth in kindergarten year over year and a slight gain in the number of fifth grade students scoring at early on grade level. Fifth grade also had a significant decline in

056the percentage of students scoring in the orange and the red, so fifth grade did very well overall. Then, if we move on to the comparison with our middle school grades, overall middle school had a 1.86% year over year decline in the number of students at or above grade level. The percentage of students in the red remained the same. Next we're going to look at stretch growth for reading. So this table shows our iready reading stretch growth for diagnostic tube. We focus on stretch growth because I-ready research indicates that meeting stretch growth for two years in a row puts students working below grade level on a path towards proficiency. So looking at this data, it shows that many of our students have met or surpassed the midyear goal of meeting 50% of their stretch growth. So

057all of the students in the yellow, the green and the blue have either met or surpassed the blue students in the blue have have completely met the year, their year end goal. And then the others are are moving toward it. Then you can see that the orange is 26 to 50%. So of course there are students in the high end of that orange band too, that are pretty close to meeting that goal. We gave the test in December, so we weren't quite at the midyear point between diagnostic one and diagnostic three. So it's expected that we would be a little under that many kids would be a little under 50% of their growth. And you can see here that second, third and fourth grade had some pretty strong results. Okay. Now moving on to math.

058This is again, the overall relative placement for each of the grade levels. And here you can see that kindergarten, fourth, fifth and sixth grade had strong results. Kindergarten did very well in both subjects. Then if we move on to our year to year comparison of elementary. Overall there was about half a percentage point increase in the percentage of students scoring at mid or above grade level, and kindergarten and fifth grade showed strong year over year growth. And you can see also that eighth. Or sorry fifth grade had a significant dip also in the number of reds as well. And then if we look at our middle school. Well sixth grade showed slight gains. The results were flat overall with a decline of half a percentage point in the number of students scoring at mid or

059above grade level. Then if we move on to our stretch growth we have a number of students again who have met or exceeded their midyear growth. And many that were close to meeting that goal. Kindergarten and first grade had the strongest stretch growth results with 39.26% of kindergartners meeting the midyear growth goal and 40.61% of first grade students who met or exceeded their midyear growth goal. And with that, I'm going to hand it over to Assistant Superintendent Oser. Rick Oser: Thank you, Director Sorensen. So we also wanted to highlight some mid-year data points with some of the other critical areas. So first of all, looking at our attendance rates comparing August through December attendance rate, you can see over the past several years we continue to show improvements in this area. With the most significant

060improvements between the 22-23 school year and 24-25. But this year as well, we have shown some improvements. And a lot of that is because of the work that's happening at the school sites, as well as directed by our Integrated Student Supports program, with Director Smith leading the charge on that. Another area that our ISS department has really supported, as well as the school sites is reducing the number of student behaviors that would result in suspensions and expulsions. And you can see the continual decline in that area where right now we are at 195 suspensions. And this is once again from August through the the end of December. So continue to make improvements in that area. And as Director Smith always shares, this is not that because we're not suspending student, we haven't changed our expectations.

061Students are just making more better choices. And so we're really pleased to see that. And also you can see the reduction in expulsions. So that's a significant decline as well. So there's been a lot of work over the past year really focusing on sharpening our principals and assistant principals, our administrators instructional skills, really leaning into them as instructional leaders. And this flowchart really captures the work that's been happening. When we are together, when we really collaborate and spend time sharpening our skills. So we we have our North Star, we have EUSD vision and mission, and that is our guiding force that's captured in the framework for the future with our learner profile as well as the learning model. Now, the critical piece from there going to the school sites is to identify the needs of

062the schools through extensive data analysis and identifying what is the specific focus area for this school year in each of the pillars. The academic achievement, school culture and climate, and student engagement. From there, it's critical that principals lead the charge in identifying a tight clarity that leads to coherence. This is the area that our principals have been focusing on the most. So how do we ensure that all of our teachers, all of our staff members, are clear on what the goals are and are engaging in those strategies? There's been a lot of work that's been happening in this area. A lot of time spent analyzing the data, setting that charge, and then working strategically in that area. We finish up with clear opportunities, giving everyone the professional development opportunities to continue to grow and build

063their capacity. And then we round up with accountability. And more important than accountability is the interdependence. We know that the single greatest influencer of student achievement is collective efficacy. So the schools believe that they control the conditions for student success. When the school holds high collective efficacy and has that interdependence and that belief that they can they can achieve the, the achieve greatness, then that's when we get the, the the greatest results. And then finally we circle back around continuous improvement. So refinement, which brings us right back to focus and continuing to sharpen the skills. So with that said we thought it would be really powerful to bring up one of our principles and we could have brought up many. We could have brought up all of our principles because they're all engaging in this

064work and have Principal Higginbotham from Felicita share how data analysis is driving the work at Felicita. So with that said, please welcome Principal Higginbotham to the podium. Oops. I'm sorry. There's one more slide before Principal Higginbotham [laughter]. Yes. Can you do my slide, too? Principal Higginbotham. So creating a data driven culture, that's the work that we've been doing. We've really have spent quite a bit of time in in strengthening our, our ability to look at the data and have that drive to work that we're doing. So what we've been saying is data is only valuable when it informs actions. Other than that, it's just numbers, numbers and charts. Meaningful improvement in practice and student achievement occurs through the intentional. That's the word that that we have said over and over and over this year, intentional

065analysis and action planning, not from the data itself. So here's a couple of ways that Principal Higginbotham will highlight how she's doing this at her school site in just a moment. But some of the specific actions have been the focus of every leadership meeting. Probably about 95% of our time together has been in this area. Evolving our district's MTSS. We know that a high quality, tight, multi-tiered system of supports where we look at the data to determine what what strategies, what supports students need is critical. Our professional development, mostly led by our own teachers and administrators has focused on tier one and tier two instruction, with the first teach being the best teach. And so let's plan for that. And then also targeting tier three instruction for students who need it the most. And all

066of our administrators have dashboards that really walk them through this through this process. And data being data driven is fundamental to those dashboards. It's the it's the starting point and the ending point. And as we're meeting with principals during our mid-year conferences, we're actually focusing on the data and then using that data to guide the conversation specifically about now what? It's central to our school efforts. And then finally, and this is where I'm going to turn it over to principal Higginbotham is deliberate efforts to go to dig deeper from the school wide, all to the grade level to the classroom and down to the individual student. And so with that said, Principal Higginbotham will show us how that's done. Stephanie Higginbotham: Good evening, President Harper, board members, Doctor Ibarra, Mr. Maguire and cabinet. It's my

067pleasure to be here to share some of the strategies I've used at my school. I want to acknowledge that I have borrowed these strategies from my colleagues. I really depend on the collective efficacy of the amazing administrators that stand next to me and above me, and I really thank them for all the things that they do to we do to support each other, which is sharing slides, sharing ideas. I'm thankful to Mr. Oser for giving us time at principal meetings to share these ideas. And so with all of that said, this is kind of what I've come up with this year. So at the end of our diagnostic two period, we have gotten together in many different ways that Felicita. So to start off first of all, we did a whole staff analysis. So at

068the January staff meeting, I presented school wide data to my teachers in reading and math, including in our areas of school focus, and I wanted to really celebrate and highlight the teachers that had some amazing growth for their students. And so we that was a big part of what we did. We were celebrating the teachers that are being extremely effective. And not only that, I asked them to come up with a list of some of their high leverage strategies that they can share with colleagues because again, we depend on collective efficacy. So I had them just take some time to reflect on why do you think that your data is so high? Why do you think that you are almost doubling what I-ready expects? Some of some of our teachers to get at this point.

069And so so we had had them put together a list of strategies that they shared with their colleagues. And then I had that tied specifically to the five dimensions of teaching and learning. So the five dimensions of teaching and learning is an instructional framework. So things like establishing the purpose, how we engage our students, etc.. And so they they made those connections and that was shared out with staff. We also even at this very last staff meeting today, we looked at our English learner data, and I was fortunate enough to have one of our TOSAs come out and do a PD for how we can better support our English learners. So I think it's important that we chunk the data and present it in small, small bites, because there's so many different ways to look

070at data and it can be very overwhelming. So at each meeting I present just a small little piece. And then we talk about how we're going to respond to it. Next up we discuss our data at leadership teams. So this on the bottom. What you see here is just a small screenshot from one of my leadership agendas after the Iready diagnostic was complete. So we got together and decided as a group how we were going to present this data to our teams. So we discussed what conversations we would have during our PLC collaboration time. We discussed maybe different areas we needed to shift our focus to how to split that collaboration time. For example, some of my grade levels said, you know, we've really been spending a lot of time in ELA, and I really

071think we need to shift more toward math. We talked about how to make our teaching more rigorous. We talked about the depth of knowledge and how to when we're making Smart goals, take those Smart goals and really analyze what are we asking students to do, and is it rigorous enough? And of course, we always focus all of our conversations on the four questions of the PLC. So those are some of the leadership conversations that we had. Then we took those conversations into our actual grade level PLC collaboration time, and we looked at data in reading and math for grade levels. So I provided them with just, again, small little snapshots for their grade level in reading and math. And we had a lot of discussions around how we were going to respond to that data.

072So for example, we discussed things like do we need to change our UA groups? Do we need to have certain students that we are going to focus on and what instructional moves are we going to do to target those students to grow? We looked at different curricular resources that we were going to use. I had this is actually a snapshot of one of my grade level teams agendas. So you can kind of see there what was on the agenda to review the data, to look at student data and plan those instructional moves? That's some of the data that we looked at there. And then furthermore, they specifically even went down to the nitty gritty of we're going to plan to make the same anchor charts, and we're this is what we're going to put when

073we're teaching. This is the anchor chart information we're going to share with students. So we looked at it as a grade level. Another way we looked at data was individually as teachers. So at a staff meeting, I provided my teachers with their individual data and gave them time to reflect. So each teacher was provided with their data in both reading and math. And on the bottom left there where it says reading. There was also a slide that they got for math as well. And so they got their their data and then their grade level data, and they specifically reflected on areas that that they want to celebrate, that they had glows, we call them, and then other areas that maybe they needed to to grow in. I had them take some time to pick certain

074focal students. So what students they wanted to really narrow in on for the rest of the year. Whether it be a student who didn't make as much growth as they thought they should have, or maybe it was a student who was right on the cusp of achieving proficiency. So they picked focal students and had time to reflect on what different instructional moves that they were going to make. So we know what we've been doing and what it has produced thus far. So if we want different data, what are we going to do that's different? Maybe we're going to pull a certain band of students an extra day for UA. Maybe we're going to again increase the rigor of some of the things that we're asking our students to do. So we had teachers, classroom teachers

075reflect on that data. And also I wanted to thought partner with the staff members who are not classroom teachers, but again, drawing on collective efficacy. Wanted to focus on all of the people who bring value to our school. So people like our social worker, our psychologist some of our SPED department, our, our speech pathologists, and I presented them with our school data and asked them to be a thought partner in what what they believed we should focus on and what our next moves should be. So each teacher and staff member had time to reflect individually. Then I had them bring their reflection to me and we had data chats. So I had a data chat with all of my teachers one on one, and we looked over their reflection and talked about their focal students

076and for that particular data that I gave them at the staff meeting, we looked at stretch growth. And then when we were in the data chat with me, we looked at typical growth. There's so many different types of growth we can look at. And so I had them plot their students on a quadrant. If you look at the bottom right corner here, there's there's four different boxes with different color bands. And so we took our students that were making growth and students who were not making growth. And we put them in these different boxes looking at both if they were on grade level or not, and if they were making growth or not. And then through a training that I was able to receive at the principal meeting from Iready, we were provided some of

077these resources and templates already built in for us. So I was able to get some ideas that I could take back to my teachers that were already built in. So if you look at that left bottom corner now. So if you look there's there's a purple band at the top. So if your student fell in that purple box, those are some strategies that you can look at to meet the needs of those learners. If your students fell in the turquoise box, those are some strategies that you can use. So it's really quick and easy strategies. So during these conversations they reflected on what strategies that they can choose from this menu, as well as what wasn't on the menu and what instructional moves that together we came up with to see how we were going

078to move these kids in the last stretch here of the year. So some of those ideas included things like having data chats with our own students. Which brings me to how we present our data at the student level. So teachers were conducting data chats with students. They, for example, plotted their progress on graphs. The bottom left here, that's a first grade example where they're charting their growth. The middle is an example from one of my teachers that she how she has data chats with her students. And then I also have a small intervention example that even my intervention teacher is talking to her students about data. And we want to pair that not just how you're doing, but we want to pair that with actionable steps for students. What can you do student, to improve

079your data? And so one of the things you see there I know it's like super small, but there's a piece of paper with a bunch of snowflakes. And so that's a fourth grade example of a teacher who had data chats and said, you know, every time you pass an iready lesson at 80% or more, you're going to color in this snowflake. And then the more lessons they passed, she tracks and she provides them with specific prizes. So that's an example of one actionable step that can be placed on the student. So they have more ownership of their data. So that is just a little bit of an example of how I went from macro to micro. Please let me know if you have any questions. Rick Oser: Not yet. Doug Paulson: We got questions for.

080Rick Oser: I was jumping the gun before now. This is Principal Higginbotham was jumping the gun and and jumped over my last slide. Thank you. I appreciate that, though. Well.[laughter] Joan Gardner: Can we still comment on. Rick Oser: Yes. Doug Paulson: Hold on. We need Principal Higginbotham back up. Zesty Harper: Gotta come back up. Go ahead Joan. Joan Gardner: Well, I don't know if you want to say something, but I am so impressed. And especially involving the students. That is, I think that will bring out the best in them when they are. And it turns into a competition kind of too, with their fellow students when they get to color in a snowflake. So whatever works. But but just letting them know how they're doing and letting putting it on that. Yeah. Great presentation. Stephanie

081Higginbotham: Thank you. And goal setting. Right. Joan Gardner: Yes yes yes. Thank you. Frank Huston: Well, we started this the Iready. It was very. We were kind of going what's this going to look like seven years down the road. And what you have done is amazing. I am so grateful that you and the principals are actually having the interaction with the teachers, sitting down, giving them time, giving them, hey, this is what's going on. How are we going to move forward? And we see the improvement overall that we've been hoping for. But the vigor and the everything that you're doing with your school. I'm assuming all of the schools are doing it at the same level. And I can tell you, I'm really excited to see the next few years to see how well this

082has progressed, because when we looked at I-ready, it was like, we can now focus on each student and we can pinpoint and then go from there. How are we going to teach individually for that student so that that student can then progress up? So I want to thank you so much. You guys are doing an incredible job. The teachers are doing an incredible job. I am very excited to see next year because just based on this presentation, I can tell that things are going to get much better. And you guys are just and you guys are working your tail off. Thank you so much. I mean, thank you so much. Stephanie Higginbotham: Thank you. Zesty Harper: Anyone else? No, I do, I always do. Nice try. I'm sorry. No, I actually I want to say

083I appreciate it as well. And I like that you are including other members, not just the teachers in what ideas you can have, but this is a tremendous amount of work. And I know all the principals are taking this on because, I mean, I've seen your the documents, you the documents and documents and documents and charts you have to fill in for this to track it and the ideas and you're updating it. So that is a tremendous amount of work that has been added. But I think you're you're seeing the payoff of that and seeing the, the school come together. I mean, your school is just humming with productivity. And really seeing that that shift in focus of, you know, breaking it down for the teachers. So they so they can address, you know, what

084each student needs and really provide that to really see that stretch growth that we're looking for. So just again, thank you. We know all the principals are working really hard on this. And it's a big shift. And I'm glad you guys have each other to collaborate with. And I know you can't wait til summer comes, and I'm just kidding. No. Thank you, thank. Stephanie Higginbotham: You, thank you. Rick Oser: All right. Back to me. So I want to thank Principal Higginbotham for being here, but as you said board President Harper, all of all 23 of our principals are working diligently in this area and really leading their staff. As I shared before, data is only as valuable when it. I'm sorry. Data is only valuable when it informs action. And that's a perfect example of

085a school that's taking these numbers and these percents and putting them into action. And that's what's happening across the district. And so shout out to Felicita, but a shout out to every single one of our 23 schools that's working diligently in this area. So in closing continual growth. That's what we're all about. As I shared before. The flow chart, we get to refinement and we start all over and we build upon the success that we had. We doubled down on areas that need adjustment. And so that was so critical. Why we did the I-ready assessment. We moved to I-ready assessment to before winter break because what that allowed was Director Sorensen over winter break when everyone, you know, was cozying up with their with their blankets and everything, she was at the computer and then

086her team over there putting all these data slides so that when principals came back on January 5th, they had the data, which then meant the principals turned around to January 8th, that first staff meeting, and put it into action. So quick turnaround. Thank you to the teachers for, for supporting that change. And thank you to the team for helping make that happen. So what you heard before culture of intentionality being very intentional. That's the work that's happening across the district at all of our schools. We also wanted to share that we are restructuring the way we or the development of our school plans. So in the past, our school plans would they would really be developed and presented to you in the fall. And then, as you remember, in January, we approved our school plans.

087Well, the school year started in August, right? So in collaboration with Human Resources and Fiscal Services, what's going to happen this year is in February, principals will know their budgets for next year. They will also know their FTEs, their, their staff allocations. And they'll actually start putting together their school plans in the spring. And then they'll meet with a team of directors and assistant superintendents make their pitch, and then they'll be able to move forward in the spring. Now it will still be developed, still need to go through school site council and eventually approved by the board. But they'll know what their action steps are based on the data before the school year starts. And then finally a couple other items instructional rounds. We, so to build collective efficacy or to build to collective efficacy,

088we need those opportunities. So as administrators, we're taking the time. We're carving time out of our schedule so that we visit a school together, visit classrooms not for an evaluative process, but for us to calibrate our expectations and our and sharpen our instructional skills. So last week we were at Felicita. We were also at Reidy Creek. We were supposed to be at Bear Valley on Monday. Change of plans. We're actually rescheduled for Bear Valley next week. Yesterday we were at Lincoln. So this is just part of the the culture of Escondido. Especially with the administrators now just learning from each other, growing together. We're constantly deepening school redesign efforts leveraging our ELOP opportunities, strengthening our PLCs, our professional learning communities. You heard Principal Higginbotham share that. And then finally, we're really leaning into this concept

089of impactful learning. So we have our school day. But all that time is not dedicated to learning. So from that time because, you know, you got recess, you got passing periods. All all, all of the all of the things that carve away at the time. And then we have our instructional time. But instructional time does not lead to impactful learning as well. And then even if a student is engaged, may not be impactful. You heard from Steph, principal Higginbotham before rigorous academic standards aligned instruction. So that's when impactful learning happens. When we're at the student's zone of proximal development, high quality teaching, well planned, that provides the opportunity for students to learn and grow. And so with that said we're it's been it's been a busy first half of the year. And I applaud everyone

090who's been involved in this effort, from the school sites to the district office and throughout the community. And it's been a lot of fun, and we're going to keep moving forward. So with that said, any questions or comments? Doug Paulson: So I'd just like to thank you for this idea of continuous improvement. We all know where we're starting at and we need to improve consistently through data. I do think we're headed in the right direction. And I think the intentionality is a large part of that. So thank you. I do have going back to the Iready diagnostics, I do have one piece of data that just jumps out at me every time, and probably in every school district in the state. Is the the jump in red between fifth grade and sixth grade? You look

091at it and it shows up in math. It shows up in stretch growth. It shows up everywhere. You know it. The the number of students falling behind just accelerates in that sixth grade jump. And I'm just wondering, and maybe you can't answer it tonight, but from your perspective, from a systems view, the entire school system, what is there that we could do to soften that transition or what what's the what's what are the elements there and how can we use this information to soften that that that drop? Rick Oser: Kathy, I saw you, I saw you get up. Did you want. Doug Paulson: Feel free to come back with an answer later. That's a big question. Rick Oser: That is a huge question. It is the basis of our empower ed and all the focus

092on differentiation and focus on tier one instruction. First teach being the best teach. Planning with student needs in mind. And it's a big part of the work that we're doing. And we do notice that we do know that there is a jump and we start to see significantly more red in our middle schools. And it's it's the work that, that, that we're doing. It's the work that we'll continue to do. And and we're excited to do that work. Director Sorensen, did you have something that you wanted to add to that? Oh, I, I thought she was going to come up and bump me out of the way. [laughter] Zesty Harper: And save you. Rick Oser: But it is, it is. It is. Doug Paulson: The answer. Rick Oser: It is a heavy question. And and

093it is it is the focus of our middle school principals as well as our district leaders. Doug Paulson: Thank you. Rick Oser: You're welcome. Joan Gardner: And I'd just like to thank you, too, Mr. Oser. And and thank everyone involved, the teachers and the principals who are leading the teachers and the dedication to taking the data and doing something with it, putting it to use, putting it to good use to for all of those charts. It's a lot of hard work and it's it's well appreciated because it will pay off in the end. We see it. We see it as having an effect. Rick Oser: So true. And if you're not from if you haven't been in a different district, you don't know how rare it is for what our Ed Services team led by

094Director Sorensen does. That doesn't happen in other districts. It's very impressive to be able to provide that data at principals and teachers fingertips. Joan Gardner: It's real teamwork. It's teamwork and willingness to put in the extra work and the dedication to it for the purpose, the purposes our students to help them grow and achieve. So true. Yeah. Thank you. Zesty Harper: No, absolutely. I agree with both of you. I I really appreciate how you have your North Star layout, because that really simplifies what you're talking about and how how everyone's how we're going to get where we want to be, where we know we can get to. And then I appreciate I mean, just so many good things about the data coming earlier, you know, taking the test earlier so the data can come earlier

095so they can actually use it in the classroom before, you know, before March and April. And we're done. We're tested. We're we're moving on. So and I appreciate you doing the instructional rounds as well, because we've heard that we heard that from the MTSSs. We've heard that, you know, from principals and teachers, you know, they want to see what everyone else is doing, you know, because you don't want to be in your bubble. So I appreciate you making an emphasis on that, because I think good things come out of come out of that when you see your colleagues at work. So thank you so much for all of that. And again, Kathleen, thank you and your team. I mean, your work with the data really makes it usable. You the way you are able to

096break it down and distribute it to people so they understand what you're looking at and what that's telling them and what's needed for those students is very impactful. And it wouldn't be the same if you weren't here to break it down for us, because it it is a gift you have. And it's a really skill that we're really fortunate that you possess and help us with. So the teachers and the principals aren't left with this sea of data to try to make sense of and lose a lot of time and energy. They would have to spend by working with it. And you, you provide that for them. So thank you and your team for doing that because that's very important. So thank you. Anyone else? Okay. Thank you Rick. We really really appreciate it. Rick

097Oser: You're welcome. Thank you. Zesty Harper: Thank you. Slow clap. Is that what you're saying? [applause] All right, moving on to M1. Frank, do we have two? Do you have a motion for us? Frank Huston: Yes, I do. Case 2024-25-04. I motion that we accept the recommendation for reinstatement. Zesty Harper: Do I have a second? Joan Gardner: Second? Zesty Harper: Alright. And this is a roll call vote, Doug. Doug Paulson: Aye. Zesty Harper: Joan. Joan Gardner: Aye Zesty Harper: Frank. Frank Huston: Aye Zesty Harper: Mark. Mark Olson: Aye Zesty Harper: And I vote Aye as well. Frank Huston: All right. Reference case 2024-25-05. Motion to accept the recommendation for reinstatement at a school of the district's choosing. Zesty Harper: Thank you. Do I have a second? Mark Olson: Second. Zesty Harper: Thank you Mark. Doug,

098how do you vote? Doug Paulson: Aye Zesty Harper: Joan. Joan Gardner: Aye Zesty Harper: Frank Frank Huston: Aye Zesty Harper: Mark Mark Olson: Aye Zesty Harper: And I vote I as well. On to human resources. The tentative agreement with CSEA. Audrey Frank: So I am seeking approval of the tentative agreement with CSEA for a new one year contract in accordance with the AB 1200. Zesty Harper: All right. Thank you so much. I know that was a lot of hard work, so I appreciate CSEA. I'm sorry they aren't here for the vote, but we appreciate them and all the effort and the negotiations team as well. Do I have a motion? Mark Olson: I'll make a motion. Zesty Harper: Do I have a second? Frank Huston: Second? Zesty Harper: Any discussion? All those in favor, please

099say aye. Board of education members: Aye. Zesty Harper: Motion. Motion passes. Thank you so much. On to N1 Education Services Board policies. First reading. And we have several of them to get through. Rick Oser: Thank you, board president Harper. So the first one is the comprehensive safety plan. And you can see that you have the documents in front of you, the comprehensive safety plan. There's minor revisions to it. Specifically speaking to the the requirement to provide training that's now being called out in the, in the board policy. This is a recommendation from CSBA (California School Boards Association). Doug Paulson: President Harper, do you think we might be able to vote on these one at a time? Zesty Harper: I was going to just say we'll do them one at a time. And so. Exactly. Yeah.

100So is there any questions on this one? We're on 0450. Joan Gardner: I don't have a problem or a question with the board policy. The devil's always in the details when we look at the AR's. And and so it's just one item in the in. And apparently we have no say over the administrative regulations. But and I want to know if this is word for word, what comes down from CSBA, CSBA actually suggests, is that not so? Dr. Luis Ibarra: CSBA provides the verbiage. There are times when it says suggested or recommended, optional. So this one was extreme. This one. These AR, these policies came down from CSBA as this is the verbiage that they're recommending to be able to comply with the new state laws that came down, I believe over the summer. But

101we have until March 1st to adopt. Joan Gardner: Yeah, but I just want to I just want to throw this out. And this is not my main focus of these policies. But it was just something that jumped out at me. And I remember the last time we had an administrative regulation that I didn't worry about, and it turned out we ended up in a lawsuit over the the video that came out of the administrative regulation that because of verbiage. And so on AR 450. On page three. And you gave us links to that in our in our yeah backup. So it is page three of the administrative regulation. Zesty Harper: They're pulling it up. So take a minute to find it. Joan Gardner: Yeah, I've gotta find it. Zesty Harper: Yeah. So you're fine. Take

102your time. Joan Gardner: It was in our weekly update. Yeah. Maybe it's because I'm whispering. Well, I can I can read it to you. Yes. Okay. It's it's on page three and it's it's just one it's one item on page three. And it's among the strategies for providing for providing a safe environment. The CSSP may may also include and then it's number four. Curriculum that emphasizes prevention of violence and alternatives to violence, such as multicultural education and literacy. And I'm so the rest of it is is actually reasonable: character, values, education, social and emotional learning, media analysis skills, conflict resolution, community service, learning and education related to the prevention of dating violence. All of that. What does multicultural education have to do with preventing violence? I talked about this last board meeting about unity, about

103unity of purpose, about getting together as one. What what causes violence is when you have people who can't, who can't communicate with one another because they see themselves in separate silos. Separate, separate groups. That's the the multiculturalism. So I don't know why that word is necessary. It's another we talk about trigger words. For me, it's a trigger word. Dr. Luis Ibarra: Is that the only? Joan Gardner: That's the only thing on that in that old. Dr. Luis Ibarra: Because the AR's don't get adopted, so we don't have to. Joan Gardner: I know but they're there. Dr. Luis Ibarra: Right. So we can, staff. We can go back. Staff can go back and look at it. Yeah. And we can bring it back for further review. Like. Right. Exactly. But we we we're more in control

104over the ARs than we are the policies. And I think what's imperative is the policy. Joan Gardner: Oh yeah. Is the one I think policy is fine. Dr. Luis Ibarra: Okay. So we'll we'll go back and look at that particular verbiage and get rationale for that. And then we'll have another. Joan Gardner: Policies usually are fine because they come from the board but it's how they're implemented. Dr. Luis Ibarra: Correct. We'll go back and look at it and kind of. Joan Gardner: ...attention to. Dr. Luis Ibarra: Right. Joan Gardner: And that's how we get in trouble. Okay. Thank you. Zesty Harper: All right. Any other comments on this one? Okay a motion. Doug Paulson: Move. Approval of board policy 0450. Joan Gardner: And I'll second. Zesty Harper: Okay. Thank you Joan. All those in favor,

105please say aye. Board of education members: Aye. Zesty Harper: It passes. It is approved. On to 1340. Access to district records. Joan Gardner: Okay. And this is an old policy. Zesty Harper: Put on your mic. Sorry. Joan Gardner: This is an old policy. And all we've done with this policy is strike a lot of references about students. First of all, I'd like to say something because on on reading these policies and they're all they're all required by law now and they have to be passed by by March 1st. And I have to say that our schools, Escondido schools, have never, to my knowledge, collected information on parents or children. Anyone comes to our district and applies to to be a student. They are welcomed with open arms. We never inquire as to status of parents

106or children. There's. So that's not even an issue. Never has been even. And it is in our policy. The state has required us now to make a new policy entitled. Zesty Harper: Response. Joan Gardner: Response to immigration enforcement. And so the verbiage that's being taken out of the existing policy is being put into a new policy. So and I, I call this virtue signaling to say, look, look what we're doing to help you. We've always protected the privacy of our students and our and our parents. That's never been an issue. The safest place our students can be is in our schools. We don't allow people to come onto campus or to to access student records. The only problem I have with, which one? Which number? Zesty Harper: We're on 1340. Access to district records. Doug

107Paulson: Access to district records. Zesty Harper: No, I know, but I mean, they're all tied together. [lowlevel muttering] [lowlevel muttering] Joan Gardner: Access to district records. Okay. So this is our policy. Hang on. This is this is the old one. Yes. Zesty Harper: This is, I think, just the public public records request. Joan Gardner: So. Okay, so there's nothing wrong with this. Zesty Harper: Okay. So the so on 1340 we're okay with the 1340, which is this is the public records request. Doug Paulson: Okay. So can I just move to approve policy board policy 1340 access to district records. Mark Olson: Second. Zesty Harper: Thank you Mark. All those in favor? Board of education members: Aye. Zesty Harper: Okay. It is approved. Okay, so now we're talking about 1445, the response to immigration enforcement. Joan

108Gardner: Okay. This is. Zesty Harper: The one. This is the one. Joan Gardner: This is fine. This is protecting the again protecting the privacy of our students and our parents. As far as I know, it is against the law. And I, I don't believe we employ Undocumented people or people who are not authorized by law to work in our district. That's a current law. California school districts and I went online to to find out if that's so. And this is what I came up back with. California school districts are currently restricted from hiring undocumented immigrants due to federal law, which prohibits the employment of individuals without legal immigration status. However, there, however, there are ongoing discussions and legislative efforts aimed at changing the situation. The conclusion is, however, that while current federal law prohibits the

109employment of undocumented immigrants in California school districts, ongoing legislation, legislative efforts may change this in the future. The situation remains dynamic and developments in state legislation could significantly, significantly impact employment policies in the future. But as of now, we do not employ undocumented people. So the fact that in response to immigration enforcement, we have a line on the first page of the. Zesty Harper: Number two. Joan Gardner: This is the policy. This is the actual policy. Dr. Luis Ibarra: Yes. Joan Gardner: The personnel records of any district employee, personal information of any district employee as defined in Civil Code. The following civil code or any other confidential employee information is is not to be disclosed or accessed. That line belongs in the in the privacy in in the the one we just, access to district

110records, that should be in access to district records, that shouldn't be in our policy, because it implicitly implies that we would willingly harbor or hire or employ undocumented persons. Persons not legally authorized to work in the United States or in our school district. So what I'm saying is, at some point, we could get into legal trouble. For having a policy that implies that we are employing and are trying to hide the fact or or protect the fact that we're we're employing undocumented people. Doug Paulson: So right now if any. If any law enforcement agency, any law enforcement agency were to ask for the personnel records of any district employee, personal information of any district employee. Joan Gardner: We wouldn't give it. Doug Paulson: To them. We wouldn't give. So we're really we're just restating the

111law and restating current policy. Joan Gardner: Yes. But under the heading of response to immigration enforcement. Doug Paulson: I got it. I'm just saying that. Andrew McGuire: It doesn't necessarily change anything that we're. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt. Joan Gardner: I'm sorry. Andrew McGuire: Yeah. It doesn't change the practices that we already have. It has changed the heading and moved it to a new heading, of course. But it would require a judicial warrant for us to turn over any records of any kind. It's not something that we would ever give to somebody without that. Dr. Luis Ibarra: Or it's required by state or federal law. Joan Gardner: Do you understand what I'm saying? I'm saying that they've created a new policy. Andrew McGuire: Yes. Joan Gardner: To say we're going to protect our

112undocumented students and parents, and that's not ever been an issue. We don't ask. Andrew McGuire: Right. Joan Gardner: We wouldn't know. Andrew McGuire: We have no record of that. Joan Gardner: Right. We have no record of it. And by the same token, we by law know that we do not employ. So why would that be under immigration enforcement? Why couldn't it stay under. Under records that where it belongs under under access to personnel records. Andrew McGuire: Right. And that would just be all of these policies. This batch of them is a part of that. The new California state law that's requiring us to make these changes. Joan Gardner: Yes. And they also required us to to something that got us into got again, got the district sued. And we're still under that lawsuit because the

113the state of California is defying federal law. But I've always I've always been a, I always follow the rules. I always try to follow the rules. And I think we should too. Dr. Luis Ibarra: And and every, every district in the state of California is required to adopt these policies. Joan Gardner: Well, somebody's going to bring a lawsuit, you know that. Doug Paulson: So this these were drafted by attorneys? Andrew McGuire: Yes. In alignment with the new California state law. Zesty Harper: Joan, you're absolutely right. I mean, that's what they're trying to make us do. And it and with the virtual signaling. Yes. But and then also at the same time, I think we also are trying to remind our families and our students that the schools, just like you said, are a safe place

114for them. We don't care what your status is. We are here to teach you and to love you and make you a great person. And that's, that's our goal. Joan Gardner: Never, never been an issue. Zesty Harper: Exactly. Because because that's that's what our focus is. Joan Gardner: And that's what we could be stressing every day. Dr. Luis Ibarra: Yeah. And I think they and along with that, the effort to put it under this title is so that it's easily searchable, where you can say, okay, what is what are the protections because people are worried about this. But you're right. And they're like, we can find it over here. Joan Gardner: And I don't find a problem with that, you know, pulling it out and saying, okay, look, this is how we're protecting you, even

115though we always have. Yes. We can't protect people that we're not allowed to employ. That shouldn't be an issue. Andrew McGuire: And these policies are every district in California has to pass. We have always protected our students, their families, people that come to our schools. We don't collect these records. It's never been allowed to collect those records. But there's 1100 school districts in California, and I can't speak for all of them. I can speak for us. You're speaking for us. These are not a change to our practice. Joan Gardner: Right. Andrew McGuire: But everybody has to adopt these. Perhaps somebody hasn't been as eager to protect their community as we have. Joan Gardner: Okay, we can go ahead. And I understand the the pressure that we're under from the state, but you will not hold

116it against me if I can vote against this particular one based on based on principle. Zesty Harper: Oh, no. Absolutely, absolutely. I again, Joan, you're right. We we're working to protect our students and our families and our employees. And they you know, this is just paperwork. It doesn't change what we do and how we we what we stand for in this district. Okay. Anyone else? Joan Gardner: It was. It was. It was in the administrative regulations for the access to district records that protected our employee district records that was taken out of the administrative regulations. Zesty Harper: Well, can we we can, but no, Joan Gardner: That's that's again, just as. Zesty Harper: They could add it back in, but they could add that back in. Joan Gardner: Well, what difference does it make. We're

117not taking it out of this. Zesty Harper: I mean, either way, they're still protected. Even though we don't have the records they would be looking for. Joan Gardner: Yeah, because we don't keep those records and we don't ask. Oh, yeah. Oh, no. Yeah. Like I said, this policy is fine. Zesty Harper: No, I agree Joan Gardner: Except for the fact that we're we're we're implying that we're breaking the law. Doug Paulson: And so with understanding of the objection to item three B, I'll move approval of policy 1445. Frank Huston: Second. Joan Gardner: Thank you, Frank, for a second. All those in favor, please say aye. Mark Olson, Frank Huston, Zesty Harper, Doug Paulson: Aye. Zesty Harper: All those opposed? Joan Gardner: No. Thank you so much. On to 5125 student records. Any discussion on this

118one? No. I'm sorry. Doug Paulson: Along the same lines, I object to the wording in the 246 paragraph immigration or citizenship status of student or a student's family member may only be collected and disclosed in accordance with BP 1445. It's like we don't do that. There's nowhere on our forms to do that. Why are we saying we'll only do it even though that 1445 prohibits us from doing it, I. [low level talking] Andrew McGuire: If the law were to change 1445, then that policy would be following the law that would be enumerated in 1445. At this time, we don't collect those records. If the law were to ever change to that effect, it would affect 1445. Then this policy here would then be impacted by that. It's referring back to. At this point, it seems

119like a circular argument. Doug Paulson: Yes. Andrew McGuire: If law were to ever be changed, similar to the last one, if law were to be changed to allow the hiring of of individuals that we can't hire today, these laws, these board policies and Ars are all change. Zesty Harper: All right. Doug, is that okay? So do I have a motion for a 5125. Frank Huston: Motion to approve 5125 student records. Zesty Harper: Thank you. Frank. Do I have a second? Mark Olson: Second Zesty Harper: Mark, thank you for the second. All those in favor, please say aye. Board of education members: Aye. Joan Gardner: All those opposed? No she hasn't. Okay. Okay, so it's five zero. Thank you. On to 5125.1 release of directory information. Last one. Any comments on this one? No. Don't know.

120We're. It's worth a discussion. Doug Paulson: What what is the directory information that we're discussing here. What is a student directory? Andrew McGuire: Just a listing of information about or identifying information about our students like kind of listed here email addresses. Unless students name address things of that nature college and prospective employers, including military recruiters shall have access to directory information. Military recruiters shall have access to students name, address, email address and telephone number unless the student's parent or guardian, or if they're 18 has requested that information not be released. Doug Paulson: So this is more targeted to high schools. Andrew McGuire: It yeah, we don't have military recruiters in our middle schools at this time. Joan Gardner: All right. [low level talking] Zesty Harper: Do I have a motion? Mark Olson: I'll make a

121motion. Zesty Harper: Thank you Mark, do I have a second? Frank Huston: Second. Zesty Harper: Thank you Frank. All those in favor, please say aye. Board of education members: Aye. Zesty Harper: Thank you. Motion passes 5 to 0. Thank you. I think that was the last one. Right? All right. Thank you so much. Now, Doug, I'm going to start with you for board members reports. Doug Paulson: Okay. So I have had the pleasure of attending several meetings mostly in the last week here starting off with the Special Education Council which I was supposed to be at and not nets. And just A really good discussion on retention of personnel. How do we not just recruit the best personnel to fill our special education spots, but how do we retain them both Classified and certificated over

122the long term. What are the factors that are forcing special education personnel across the state out early in their careers, and how can we address that? And it's just a fantastic discussion. Also got to attend the council PTA where we heard from we had two board members and the mayor. So we we were able to field a great many questions. And it was it was our PTA are so well organized, every school with a PTA or a PTA. So and just, I just can't say enough about the council, PTA and how they bring together the schools and encourage them to work with their schools to enrich the education of of everybody. Again, just really fantastic. Also attended Duke last week, I guess. Right. And that was another very, very good meeting that led to our

123visiting Central School on Friday and missing the Jonathan because, as I say, I only run when someone's chasing me and I don't get chased very often anymore. And, and so I was able to talk with the parents there as well. And they had done just a fantastic job with their Jonathan showing the real power of our Tas. And I wanted to shout out to Miss Cortez that the relationship she has with her parents is pretty outstanding. I just want to remind everybody about the Escondido Education Foundation gala and fundraiser tomorrow night, If you're not able to attend. It's okay. We will take your credit card number and we will run that credit card for any amount you want. We are a full service organization. Just hoping to see everybody there. Joan Gardner: Fall in love

124with California schools. Again with Escondido schools. That's that's the theme this year. And the foundation does such wonderful work in supporting our teachers for the extras and, and the creative ideas that they come up with. So that's where all that money comes from, from the fundraisers. And this is a big one for the year. So I hope everyone has gotten their tickets. I actually was able to attend the school services governor's budget presentation, which left us with a lot of questions. In any case be interesting to see how it shakes out in the May revise. And also, gosh, I should have written down. The writing celebration. Yes, I knew it was someplace yesterday. And I have to say, I got to I got to look at a lot of work from our schools, and I

125was truly impressed with the beautiful printing that I'm seeing and the writing from the lower grades, kindergarten, first grade, second grade. Just stunning. And the spelling, the perfect spelling. They they really are paying attention. And I'm seeing great, great things coming from our lower grades especially. I am not seeing any cursive writing yet, and I know it's it's a standard now, so I'm hoping that at some point that that will show up in our writing as well. I know it's I know it's being done, but we need to see demonstration of it as well. It's a beautiful thing to be able to write cursive. And when you when you do write cursive, you find out how it flows and how quickly you can jot something down without having to print everything. Although again, the printing

126is really excellent starting. That's good. That's my report. Thank you. Frank Huston: No report this week. Mark Olson: Just a couple things. Had the opportunity to receive a lot of messages and and pictures from a lot of the students and their families from the young authors writing event. And so Joan mentioned it. So I want to thank all those that participated, but also put that on a lot of positive feedback and a lot of messages from our families that really appreciate it. Also, the chance to be on Bear Valley campus last week for their, I think they call it like the community health fair. A lot of organizations from the community were present and want to thank the staff there and all those that participated, all those in the community that came out. It was

127a great event. A lot of organizations and I, at this point in my life, I relish small things. And I noticed being on campus at the lunch, there still are a few students that quickly eat their lunch that they bring from home, and then change into their basketball and football gear and try and get as much out of that lunch break as possible. So it was good to kind of see that that simplicity is still there. And I enjoyed interacting with the teachers and the students and kind of seeing them interact in a more free and open. I want to thank all those that put that on. They do a great job as all of our campus administrators and staff do. So that's my report. Thanks. Zesty Harper: Thank you. I joined the Sped council

128meeting. The other week with Doug where they were talking about their co-teaching model. How they help, one of their goals is to help the gen ed teachers understand the how and the why and give them the tools to really help with the integration of special ed students. And they were also focusing on the positive things that EUSD does and what we can do better. So I might start inviting myself to that, that, that meeting as well, since there's only one board member because I, I found it very valuable and they had a lot of good information to share. I did attend the PTA as well, where we heard from the mayor and we were asked questions. So one of the things I'm trying to focus on because of I'm on the community schools steering committee,

129and I feel like time is of the essence. I'm trying to focus my site visits with the MTSS positions at the school. So I started off with just an absolute rock star. I think I started really high on the caliber of MTSS specialists, Miss Kimberly Palm at Mission. I spent quite a bit of time with her, and I was just blown away by everything she does. And what that staff at Mission has really worked to rally. They were talking about, you know, the protest and how they interact with the students, what they did after with students, and how they got the students thinking about what they're trying to do and the message they're trying to send. And it was I found that very impactful. And all the things she is involved in on that campus.

130And so I'm interested to see what, you know, because every school site is going to be different. I might hit up certain school sites, certain MTSS people as well, to really get a flavor because I mean, between. Yeah, between middle school and elementary is Different campuses are obviously different. But how we're you know, again, how what is the cohesion going on with the district? Because I think my one concern with community schools, it's our needs are so great. The vastness of what we can do is so great, but we can't do everything. And so are we, you know, what are we losing if we're trying to do just too much, you know, in this, these this five year period, we have maybe seven. And so I really I really want to have a better understanding

131of what the challenges are on the campuses and in the everyday. So I'll be hitting up a lot of MTSS specialists and hopefully they take my emails. But I'm looking forward to that. I also attended the writing celebration with Joan, which again, a lot of great stories and examples and creative thinking. It was great to see. And then I wanted to thank CSEA as well for meeting with us for our quarterly meeting. That's always great. I think we are we are unique in that, where we try to meet regularly with both of our bargaining units to keep that line of communication open, because, again, we all have we're all working for the same for our students. And if we don't work together and we don't keep the communication open, misunderstandings happen. And you know, those

132relationships become impacted. So I appreciate that that we that they're willing to speak with us and we, we work on those relationships. That is my report. Does cabinet have anything to report? Andrew McGuire: This guy does. I just wanted to say from everywhere I go here in our schools, even at home, just seeing the steady state of state of effort out there amongst all of the staff in education here and just want to say thank you to all of all of those in EUSD here that are laying it out every day, choosing love over fear. So thank you. All of you. Dr. Luis Ibarra: Ditto. Yeah. No report. Zesty Harper: Report. Thank you so much. We have two meetings coming up. Our next one is a board study session, which is going to be about

133the budget. So I encourage everyone to attend because that is where you will see the details of what we're working with, where we make our priority decisions. And how that all comes together. So that's Thursday, February 19th at 6 p.m. here. And then our next regular board meeting will be Thursday, March 5th at 7 p.m. here as well at the Carilyn Gilbert Education Center 2310 Alder Grove Avenue in Escondido. We do not need to go back to closed session. And so everyone, we are adjourned. Thank you so much.