001Well, good afternoon and welcome to this regular board meeting for the Colton Joint Unified School District Board of Education on today, September 4th, 2025. It's wonderful to see a full room tonight. We have some great presentations uh lined up for this uh this afternoon, this evening where we can celebrate some wonderful student interns and recognize of course some outstanding staff that we have here in the district. So, but we will begin this meeting as we do every meeting with our roll call. So, I'm going to ask Miss Medina if you'll please call roll. >> Mrs. Flores, >> present. Mr. Fuentes, >> present. >> Mrs. Sandival, >> present. Miss Thorino, >> present. Mr. Ibara >> present. >> Mrs. Haro >> present. >> Mr. Flores >> present. >> We also have Spanish language translation services available for
002anyone if you wish to uh participate in that. We have Miss Cynthia Bueno, a translator here this evening and she'll share a little bit information about our translation services. Mrs. Bueno. >> Thank you President Flores. Good evening. [Music] Thank you, Mrs. Bueno. We'll begin our meeting as we do every uh meeting with the renewal of the pledge of allegiance. I'm going to ask board member Fuentes if you'll plead lead us in the pledge of allegiance. Please stand. Put your hand over your heart. Ready? Begin to the flag of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Thank you, board member Fuentes. Our first item for action today is item 1.3. This is the adoption of the agenda. At this time, staff is
003asking for some amendments to the agenda. The amendments are as follows. Uh an amendment to item 9.1. This is a close session item for public personnel appointments. Uh they would like to add two certificated coaches, head varsity volleyball boys, soccer assistant girls. Two classified coaches, basketball assistant boys, head varsity spring football boys. Four volunteer coaches, band co-ed 2 basketball boys, head varsity basketball boys, and eight volunteers. Dr. Miranda, are there any other additions or amendments to the agenda? >> We don't have anymore. >> Okay. So, I will ask for a motion to approve the amendments as presented by staff. >> Wonderful. I have a motion by board member Haro and a second by board member Fuentes. Uh, all those in favor, please say I. >> I. >> Any any objections? Any abstensions? Hearing none. It
004is so ordered unanimously. Thank you. This takes us to our school showcase for this evening. We have uh Washington High School here and our student leaders to give our presentation. So, I'm going tohead and welcome them to the podium. Do we have principal uh Sandy Torres, please come forward. >> Good evening, board president Flores, board members, superintendent Dr. Miranda, and members of the audience. Um I'd like to introduce two of our students from Washington High School. are Hawks, uh, Miranda Eiano, and Nathan Perez. [Applause] Good evening, board members, dignitaries, and community members. My name is Miranda Eiano. I am a 10th grade opportunity student at Washington Alternative High School. and my and my name is Nathan Franco and I'm a ninth grader at Opportunity High School at Washington Alternative High School. >> We are proud
005to be here tonight representing Washington, a school where students like me get the chance to grow and learn in a unique setting. >> At Washington, we connect learn to real life. For example, our one center partnered with Cowresh Healthy Living SBCs and I RCD for a cooking class and garden harvest. We learned about nutrition teamwork and health living. Thank you for the royal Thank you to the Royal J for donating a private fence for our wellness center garden. It gave us a safer space to work and grow. Last March, we hosted a woman's celebration. It was a chance to recognize the strength, leadership, and contributions of women in our school and community. >> Last April, we came together as a school to celebrate Easter. Students volunteered as the Easter Bunny to pass out gifts to
006our neighbors, San Salvador Preschool. This gave us chance to connect and enjoy the the day together. >> On the same day we held our spring Olympics, events like this help us wait help bring us together, bring build >> school spirit and create lasting memories. >> On April 21st, we had our men empowerment which focused on leadership responsibilities and become better role models for ourselves and others. On April 21st, we had our men's Oh, I'm sorry. One of the highlights of the 2425 school year was getting to attend the 66ers baseball game together. It was a fun way to show school pride outside the classroom. >> May May was one of our business months. We had another cooking class which continues to build on the life skills that will help us beyond high school. >> Career
007Day opened our eyes to real world opportunities. It inspired us. Imagine what our lives could look like after high school. >> We also held a meet and greet where our independent students study I mean study students connect with people who support and believe in our success. >> We celebrated our seniors with a special lunch. Events like this remind us that every milestone matters and they motivate us to keep moving forward. >> And of course, gradu graduations for many of us, it proves that second chances really do work. >> We're excited for what's ahead. Programs like PBIS help keep us motivated and on the right track. >> In the summer, we had another garden harvest. It showed that the lesson we learned at Washington continues all year long. In August, we started the school year with
008welcome back activities. It gave us a chance to reconnect and start the year off strong. Our wellness center has been a huge help. We've learned how to manage stress, take care of ourselves, and stay focused on success. Open house brought our families and community together. For many of us, Washington is the first school where we've really felt that we belong. Even on unexpected days like when weather changes our plans, we find ways to learn teamwork, responsibility, and flexibilities. Uh, and yes, even celebrate birthdays matter. Those moments make us feel seen, appreciated, and connected to our school. >> We're excited about what's coming this fall. There's always forward to at Washington High School. >> We'll continue with Saturday school. We'll continue with Saturday school. ELAC and SSC cooking classes, Hispanic Heritagees Celebration, our mental wellness workshop,
009and the upcoming PSAT. All of these give us support we need to grow academically, personally, and emotionally. Washington High School is more than a wait is more than a place. >> Washington High School is more than a place to earn credits. It's a place where students like me find encouragement, support, and hope. To the board of education in our community, thank you for believing in us. We ask that you keep investing in Washington because when you give give us a second chance, we show that we can rise above our above our struggles and and succeed. Thank you for supporting us and thank you for believing in second chances. Oh, before you before you leave, you don't get off that easy. Come on now. First of all, fantastic job. Wonderful presentation. It's the start of the
010school year, so there's a lot going on. A lot of this was what occurred obviously last year and coming into this year. Um, let me go ahead and start by asking board members. I know there's lots of comments and questions. I'll start with board member Bertha Flores. >> Thank you, Miranda, and uh, Nathan for the presentation. Um, I hope you had as much fun putting it together as we enjoyed it and we had fun watching it. Um my f my favorite was the San Salvador uh presentation with the Easter Easter celebration. That was that was my favorite my favorite part. I also want to um just I wrote down some notes of what you said. You um some words stand out. You said we feel we belong. I think that's music to our ears because
011that's what we want. We want you to feel like you belong. Um, and that somebody cares for you, your teachers, your principal. Uh, you also use the words we felt connected. Uh, I we this is where we find encouragement, support, and hope. Beautiful, beautiful words. So, wish you a great year. >> Other board member comments, please. Board member Harlo. >> Yes. Real quick, I just want to say thank you for your presentation. I know some snafoos happened. It's okay. That doesn't matter. You got through it and you were nervous, but you still came through and did a fabulous job and we all all everyone here appreciates all your hard work. So, thank you. >> Board member, please. >> Thank you, Dan. First of all, uh just want to say that you did an excellent job.
012You know, nothing ever goes perfect and that's part of life. We all deal with imperfect uh opportunities and times in our life, but you persevered and you you worked through it and uh I saw a lot of teamwork going between both of you talking to each other and say it's your turn. No, it's my turn. And I've been there, done that as well. So that that's fine. That's fine. The idea is to enjoy what you're doing. uh one of the the comments that you made and you thanked us for investing in you and I just want to repeat that in a reverse order. I want to say thank you for investing in yourselves because that's what's going to take in order for you to achieve your goals to reach your careers and and do well
013in life. for all our students. We want to see them make those extra efforts. And uh with uh schools uh Washington as an example, it you know, we love giving our students the opportunity to grow and and to at least get an opportunity to see what directions they want to uh go in their own individual lives. And one last thing, you guys, I want to thank both of you for being student representatives. As you come up and talk to the board of education, you are developing the skills, the knowledge that you can take back to your school and and be leaders there. So, don't forget that. And uh like I tell everybody when you guys apply for college or for jobs, you know, write down what you're doing that you you are you've talked to
014the board and you've done some public speaking because that goes a long way. So keep that in mind. So just want to say thank you. >> Thank you board member. Board member Fuentes. >> Thank you. I guess my uh colleagues have said what I would wanted to say. So I'm just going to say ditto. But the one thing is you guys did just an awesome job. When you challenge yourself, you're going to succeed in whatever you do. And I really like your presentation, all the activities that are going on. One of the things that I really like was the harvesting. I want to try that corn, man. Try some of that elote. Yeah. So, but you guys did such an awesome job. I'll ditto. What my colleague said, just keep doing what you're doing. The
015opportunities are there. Take them, grab them, grasp them, and challenge yourselves. because when you challenge yourself, you will succeed. Thank you. >> Other comments, Steve, board member Senoval, >> great job. Awesome job, you guys. The presentation was perfect. Um, I like the way that you guys have the, you know, I know we have a little loops in there, but you keep smiling and I like that. So, great job. Okay. >> Thank you. I guess board member Dorian Noa, please. >> My board members have already said what a great job you did. You did. But what resonated with me was you said, "Thank you for giving us a second chance." And as board members, that's what we want. We want all of our kids to succeed. So when you say things like that, it encourages us
016to continue to find ways that we can meet the needs of all of our kids because we're all different. And I was just really pleased to see tonight when you were trying to you made it through things that were kind of hard, but you did a great job and you were really cute doing it, too. So, um, keep up the good work and we're really glad that we're found something that you can be successful at and keep doing that your entire career and you're going to be really happy with your life. Thank you for being here tonight. >> Well, obviously fantastic job. Um, I love second chances. That was a theme that you shared a couple of times. Uh, I work, my day job is in helping men and women who are in recovery. So,
017a lot of the folks I work with are on their second, sometimes third, fourth, or even fifth chance. And that's okay because I tell them when it comes to opportunity, it's always there. It doesn't matter how many chances. It matters what you do with it. And I want you to both know that your story and whatever it is, because we haven't had an opportunity to learn, but I'm sure over the year we'll hear and learn and we'll visit more of your story, but your story is part of you and it's part of your success. You're here not in spite of it, but because of it. So, be proud of that. Be proud of where you are and know that you're paving the way for future students to also believe in themselves and make it. So,
018we are so proud of you and I want to thank you for all that. So, if you'll uh wouldn't mind coming up, we'd love to shake your hands. Absolutely. Here's to Wonderful. Thank you again for that wonderful school showcase. Next on our agenda are special presentations and we have three great presentations this evening. We're going to begin with item 3.1 which is our student intern recognition. This is a fantastic program that we're very excited about. We've got lots of folks here to celebrate the student interns. And so at this time, I'm going to go ahead and ask our uh director of secondary education. We have Dr. Mooney. And I believe Mr. Paul Lucero, our CT coordinator, is going to join him in this presentation. Is that correct? All right, we'll turn it over to Dr.
019Mooney. >> All right. Good evening, board president Flores, board members, superintendent Dr. Miranda, and members of the audience. It is my honor tonight to introduce our coordinator of assessment and data as well as career technical education to present our student summer interns along with our CTE department. So I'm going to turn over to Mr. Paul Lucero. >> Thank you. Tonight we're here to celebrate the students who participated in our 2025 summer internships. As you can see on your screens, um, we had another successful summer. And before we get into the specifics, I would like to provide a bit of context through the video that was created to promote participation in our internships for this past summer. Try it. We're the same. There it goes. I'm pressing play. It's not going to press. >> Oh, it's
020the PDF. Sorry. Sorry. Apologize for that. Uh, there was a video that was pretty good. It was it was our promotion video. Um, it basically explained why we do what we do, right? Um, so very important, but I can uh skip that and move on to this slide because it also speaks to it, but it speaks in a better language, which is my language, data, right? Um so um for a bit of data to show why we do uh or why we bring these opportunities and why they're important. Uh for the class of 2024, we have that data now. Uh 44% of our graduating seniors entered the workforce or the earnings market shown on the screen there. Uh this is a uh Bureau of Labor Statistics um study that's done and it asks if education
021pays. So if you want to look that up later um you can. As you can see, a high school diploma will only help the 44% of our students um earn second from the bottom and face higher unemployment. Just let you look at that for a second. Now, these are averages from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and we feel that to help our students earn above average, we have to provide opportunities like these internships that we provided to our students. The quotes over there, I think, uh speak for themselves. So those were in the video. Um in the video uh one of our students said, "I heard about this opportunity by the CTE team coming to one of my classes." Um we do go out to the classes. We promote these um internships quite a bit
022and we want to make sure that students know that these opportunities out there. Um there was another quote uh from Owen Chang actually in the video, our facilities um director. He said that he has all the qualities we look for in a great employee. And that was speaking about his intern from last summer. Um, another uh student quote, you get to work in a professional setting, get to learn real world skills, and work with a team that helps you grow. That was from a student in uh student services last year. Um, and what I think is very important to know about these internships is that the division leaders, the directors, the supervisors that bring these students in truly do make them a part of the team and treat them as professionals, which is important for
023this experience to take place because we do want them to earn that above average earning or um wage. And then the last quote there says, I got experience that I wouldn't have have been able to get without this internship. That's also key, I think, to what these internships bring to our students. um it's that that time that they have during summer outside of the classroom that they can get into these professional settings and be successful. For 2025, um our summer of 2025, we had 27 students at 12 work sites across the district, which doubled our numbers from last summer. So, we had spoken about 2024 previously. This is now um this past summer. I would be remiss if I didn't mention the two people who are primarily responsible for the recruitment, monitoring, and success of
024this program. Um, Doris Hernandez and Avelia Triquez are our workbased learning techs who tirelessly, fearlessly, and fervently advocate for every student to have these types of amazing opportunities. Um, please give them a round of applause. They're over here. Thank you. Now, I'd like to turn the mic over to some of the students, uh, student interns, excuse me, to tell us about their experiences. So, first up, we have, uh, Stephanie Betta. Uh, she, uh, interned in TK6 this summer. So, I'll let her come on up. Stephanie. >> Hello everybody. Good afternoon. Uh fellow peers, families, and district faculty staff, my name is Stephanie Bera, and I am a student at Bloomington High School. When I first saw this internship posting on my school's Club Rush, I was interested. As someone who wants to pursue a career
025in education and with a strong passion for teaching, I was hooked on the TK through six position available. Although the interviewing part was probably the most easiest to get done, it's hard to admit that assisting kindergarten teachers in their day-to-day tasks was the hardest. I worked with kindergarteners and bilingual kids, sometimes one-on-one, who had difficulty learning their alphabet and numbers. I would say this entire experience was fulfilling. I love to see what I call, of course, my students improved weekly on their tasks, whether it be counting by tens or learning site words. I just felt like I did something really good for them. My favorite part of this experience was with a kid who struggled with the pronunciation and sounds of their alphabet and only knew less than half of them of them altogether. I
026was assigned to him to do one-on-one study sessions, helping him in various ways that adapted to his learning style. On the last week of the internship, we conducted one last test on their alphabet, and he knew more than half of their sounds and names altogether. It truly did make me happy. And I'd say overall that this internship taught me how to be patient and understanding, learning how to process two contrasting ideas and come to an agreement, and most of all, more about myself. I had begun to get an idea of what I was really getting myself into and I enjoyed it. And I believe that's all I had to say. So, thank you for your time. [Applause] Next up, we have Jamie Baron. He uh uh interned in nutrition services. So, Jamie, come on up.
027[Applause] Um good afternoon to everybody and thank you for coming. Um my experience in my internship was um very good. I learned a lot. The people I worked with too, they taught me a lot. Um throughout the internship, I really learned about communication. Um I'm a little nervous. Um, first off, I do want to say thank you for um, everyone that came out for this. Thank you to the board. Thank you to um, the internship program. And I want to thank thanks to my brother and my mom to supporting me throughout the internship. Thank you to the people I worked with at Jobaka. And I'm also very grateful to be um, here and have a chance to go participate in this internship program for the summer. That's all I have to say. And our final
028student speaker is uh Maline Fakuri. She um uh interned in language support services. Maline. [Applause] >> Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Maline Fakori and I'm currently a senior at Bloomington High School. This past summer, I was delighted and grateful to be one of the selected students to be a part of the Colton Jordan Unified School District intern program. Throughout my internship, I was trained to utilize important skills to excel in the workplace. I was provided with structure alongside insight on a day-to-day life and what a successful career looks like. I found the hands-on interactive experience to be very beneficial to my future. My team and the department of language support services not only created a professional but positive work environment for me. This was very beneficial to my future and I think
029that this is a great program to help students get experience and see what a successful career could look like for them themselves. Thank you for providing this for me. Okay. Uh many of these students are uh football players. They're also uh band section leaders and there's a game tonight at 7:30. So we're going to try to get them out of here. U I'm going to move on to the awards. It's probably good that the video didn't work. That was two more minutes. Um so uh we'll get through that to our awards. Uh students, uh as I call your name, come on up. Uh I'll shake your hand and then you can stand here in the center until everybody's called up. We'd like to get one big picture and uh greet everybody as you come up.
030All right? So stay up here as you come on up. Um and we'll start off in um our internships with mental and behavioral health. So the first student uh Alicia Casanos, come on up. Um we have Jasine Gomez. Come on up. U Miguel Alaman. [Applause] Now we're going to move on to student services. Oh, sorry. I also had slides for all of these. Um the supervisor for mental and behavioral health was Antonio Castro and we had a lot of other help in there as well. Um, so next we're on to student services. Uh, supervisor was uh Missy Kingston for student services and Cassandra Dominguez. Come on up. [Applause] >> Thank you. Um, Samantha Perez, Alvarado, [Applause] Sophia Menace. [Applause] We're gonna move on to language support services and this would be Maline Fakuri. [Applause] Now
031we're going to move on to TK6. And as you can see from the screen, this is our most uh popular internship, which is really cool. So, uh, moving on, Jesselle Leon, [Applause] Amy Natividabad, [Applause] Alyssa Duke, [Applause] Stephanie Betta, [Applause] Sophia Asencio, [Applause] Tito Raina, [Applause] Karina Antios. [Applause] and Sienna Hakundi Rosales. Hakunde, sorry, I was gonna mess it up. Thank you. >> All right. Next, we have nutrition services and that would be Jamie Baron. And for our uh preschool San Salvador interns, we start off with Natalie Rosco [Applause] and Irene Padilla. [Applause] And we did have quite a few other interns that weren't able to make it tonight. Um, we have some graduates that are all, uh, taking classes. Um, we have students, like I said, that are out at different events across the,
032um, district. But I did want to say, um, I'm very proud of this program, but most proud of you all, the interns. Um, I appreciate the work that you did this summer. I know that it was an unpaid internship, so we paid you in that experience and hopefully some, uh, work experience credits as you went back to school. But I can't tell you enough all the positive feedback that I received from our staff on your professionalism, um, your commitment to the position and everything that you did. So, I truly do applaud you. Thank you and appreciate every single one of you. So, thank you again. Let's give him another round of applause, please. All right. Now, I'm at a loss for what to do next because there's so many of you and I don't know
033how we're going to make the picture happen. So, I'll let that work itself out. >> We'll we'll make it work. We've done it before. First, I'm going to I'm going to have Katie wrangle us, but if we can, board members, we'll we'll jump we'll jump down to the Well, [Applause] Thank you. >> Glad I know that there is a lot going on obviously for our students. So, just want to be very brief. Thank you so much for taking advantage of this opportunity. To our amazing staff uh and leadership team, thank you for making this uh a reality. It was a dream. Now, it's a reality and it's only going to get bigger and better. So, we're so excited for that. Thank you, Paul, for what you do. Um and to the students, keep up the
034great work. We're not going to be offended if you need to sneak out. Moms, dads, and kids, I know there's a lot going on. I have kids myself that are doing homework and band practice and there's football tonight so there's a lot going on so don't worries if you need to sneak out that's okay. Um we'll move on to the next uh item in the agenda but thank you again for being here. >> Yes. And of course parents, thank you parents for what you do. Absolutely. Yeah. That's right. I was going to say and there's lots more seating. Yep. >> Yeah. And those of you in the back are lucky. There's all this front row seating available now. So, feel free to come on down. All right. Wonderful. Okay. Well, our next item on the
035agenda is the introduction of new management. And so I'm going to ask Dr. Da, our assistant superintendent of human resources to please come forward for this presentation. >> Thank you. And good evening, board president Flores, board members, superintendent Dr. Morano, and members of the audience. It is my honor and pleasure to welcome our new management team members. And I'd like to first start with our new assistant principal of Sllover Mountain Continuation High School, Dr. Tamara Frasier. [Music] [Applause] Now, Dr. Frasier comes to us with an extensive and comprehensive background in K through2 education. Uh she's a special education teacher. Um she was a HBCU college readiness program lead. She is currently an adjunct professor for National University and Sanford School of Education. Um she is also African-American parent engagement specialist and many more. >> Come
036up here. You made me feel like a limo driver right now. But so so sorry. Uh fun facts, my favorite part. L I told you. Um she proudly shares that her greatest comp accomplishment is her two sons, Kier and Kyne, who are both HBCU graduates now and thriving in their respective um career careers. And so our historical black colleges and universities, I'm gonna stay there for a moment because something that I learned about Dr. Frasier is she in her personal time, she has raised money to take students down to a historical black college and universities tour. And multiple multiple kids who didn't believe they can go to college actually believe they can go to college and actually over 20 kids have enrolled and successfully completed their degrees. So just a kudos to you. She has
037also been a Black Student Union adviser for over 18 years. Um, and we're really looking forward to her bringing what she's learned and those resources um, here to Slover Mountain, which their first meeting will be September 18th. So, looking forward to that. Um, she loves in her relaxation time. She does a couple of interesting things and some of them resonates with me, but I'd never seen this, but she likes to read and watch the ID channel. Okay, some some people know what that is. All right, I need to I need to step up my game on TV, I think. Um, American Greed. I've heard of that one. And then my favorite, Judge Judy. while she's enjoying those TV shows, she also likes to partake in brownies. And so she loves brownies. So my favorite is
038Gary Dailyaly, but uh you know, my wife's makes great brownies, too. So um but ultimately um we are so excited to have Dr. Frasier join us. Um there's so many connections that she brings to our district and and resources and we're just looking forward to seeing you bring that to Slover Mountain where you can't spill Sllover without love and those kids need to be loved and I know that already I'm already hearing and the district is hearing that they feel loved by you. So thank you so much for what you have done and what you will be doing in the future. >> So I'm going to give you some time. So you have a lot of friends and members. You please feel free to introduce them and then go ahead and address the board. >>
039Okay. So good evening. Good evening board president Flores, board members, Superintendent Miranda, and members of the audience. My name is Dr. Tamara Frasier, and I'm truly honored to serve as assistant principal at Lower Mountain. This opportunity is both humbling and inspiring and I'm committed to serving our student, staff, and community with dedication and integrity. I would like to spend a special extend a special thank. She has through her leadership, she has already mentored me, coached me, um stayed late with me, um allowed me to ask multiple questions over and over again on how to do things. Um these past few weeks have been nothing but a blessing at um Slover. I'm deeply grateful to have my family and friends and community partners here. Um and I'll to share this moment with me. I do have
040um some of my um Alabama State Alumni Association members with me here, H.B.CU. Um I have my cousin and her husband. I have a lot of family here. I have my amazing illustrious sorority of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated. They're here. [Applause] Um I have the um my NCNW sisters are here which is National Council of Negro Women. Um the um men of the 100 black men of the Inland Empire who are one of my biggest supporters here as well and some of the men of Omega Sci-Fi Fraternity Incorporated are here as well. and um with the help of um together with the district um the district unwavering commitment to professionalism and putting students first through achievement, equity, and um wellness. I wholeheartedly wholeheartedly dedicate the the rest of my working future to to Colton
041Joint Unified School District. I'm honored to be here and I'm looking forward to serve uh serving here for a very long time. So, thank you. Thank you. Thank you for having me. I appreciate it. [Applause] One more round of applause for Dr. Frasier, please. Our next management team member I'd like to introduce is our sa our security supervisor for safety and security, Stephen Cruz. [Applause] Stephen comes to us with a very interesting and eclectic background. Um, first and foremost like to thank you for your service. Stephen is a correctional specialist for the US Army Reserve and so learned a lot. We talked about um some military things earlier and he's definitely done some great things there. Um he's been a district safety officer for CO Joint Unified um since 2018 um and now um and
042was the interim district supervisor last year. Um he has done so many great things um through the Army Reserve and one thing that he strongly believes in is discipline and teamwork and leadership skill training that he's he's acquired in the field. Um some of his fun facts, he enjoys camping and spending times outdoors. It helps him to recharge. He likes learning new things about himself, especially through self-discovery and personal growth. Um, he is a fitness and outdoor enthusiast. And he loves loves cats. And so he has he owns two cats. One's name is Pooky. The other No, I'm just joking. What's the name of the cat? What's the name of your cat? >> Okay. Murky. I don't know where I got Pooky from, but Murky. Murky. And so, um, but Stephen, um, we you've already
043shown us that your your patience and your ability to build relationships with students, which is so important in your position. Um, we want kids to feel safe and in a place of learning. So, thank you so much for what you've done and what you will do. I'd like to give you a few moments to address the board. >> I'd like uh good afternoon board. Um, I'd like to say thank you for the opportunity. Um, last year as an interim was a learning experience for myself. Uh, I learned a lot. Uh, I'd like to apply what I've learned and what I'm continuing to learn. Um, I've been doing that with the great help of, uh, my director, uh, John Saxs, as well as with, uh, my two leadership team, um, co-workers, um, Sean and Frankie, um,
044they weren't able to make it, but, uh, with the help of them and their mentorship, they've, um, guided me to be successful. and um I I plan on um continuing to be successful and uh being committed to uh join. So, thank you [Applause] Oh, shoot. And uh Stephen Stephen, I'mma bring I'mma invite you back up because I know tonight you go home to a very special person that you didn't introduce. Stephen, come on. Back up. Oh, yes. Yeah. I didn't I didn't come alone tonight. So, I'd like to thank Brianna Garcia for actually coming here. Um, my family is all the way in LA, so they they they make a long commute. Uh, but I really appreciate the fact that she's here. She's a great support system. I also wouldn't be here if it wasn't
045for her help. So, yeah. Awesome. >> I had a nickel for how many people I saved doing that. I'll show you. But thank you so much. That concludes my presentation. >> Thank you, Dr. Day, for that. And again, um we're so excited to have new leadership here in the district. I'm always impressed when I see these fantastic, dynamic professionals come to Colton Unified to be part of our team. Uh and then of course when we see folks from within be promoted and grow, it's a fantastic thing. So, thank you for fostering that, Dr. Miranda, and your team and everybody in the district. It's wonderful to see. All right, that takes us to our next item on the agenda, which is item 3.3, our employee recognition. So, we have directors uh Dr. Kathy Cervantes and Eric
046and Ciso for this presentation. >> Good evening, Board President Flores, board members, Superintendent Dr. from Miranda and members of the audience. My name is Erik and Ciso. I'm director of human resources classified and I'm here to present the employee recognition for the month of August. So we are going to be starting um by calling Jamal Boyce up our chief technology officer so that he can present to Mr. Ron Lemos our classified member. come on both up and a big round of applause for Ron. Good evening, board president Flores, board members, superintendent Dr. Miranda, and members of the audience. Uh, I do want to just uh I get the privilege to acknowledge a special person on our team. Um, four months into my employment here in 2022, I had the opportunity to hire four new technology
047support specialists with the help of Dr. Peterson. And so, actually five because one retired. So, we had 40 applicants apply for the position. Um, and normally you probably filter through them just because you don't want to sit and wait through all that time. Um, but I felt there might be some quality candidates in it. So we pushed through and interviewed them all despite maybe some nuances in their applications. Um and during that process uh one particular individual stood out to me because normally when you go in the process you look for a person in it you look for a person who has the technical acumen but ultimately you want somebody with the the the personal skills uh because we're a customer service department. And so during the process when Ron was interviewing I'm like he
048was checking all the boxes the technical and he was coming off and you can see like the heart the person and just how he was sharing how he cares for people and I'm like oh my gosh this is like the perfect candidate and I tried to hold my composure. Uh, I don't know if I can say too much about the ratings, but like he was like way up here, but uh, some of the push back I was always getting uh, I was getting was like, "Oh, he's too young." Um, and I'm like, "What does that have to do with anything?" So, at the end of the day, he was one of the four selected. And then just from that point on, any school that he visited, I was getting unsolicited responses from uh, administrator staff.
049Oh my gosh, I love this guy, Ron. He just goes the extra mile. He has that follow through. And like this continued on. And then we had a uh probably a year or so later, maybe a year. Yeah. We opened up a new position, a lead techn technology support specialist. And you have these this sense of entitlement where people feel they belong here. But once again, he knocked it out the box. And the the push back once again is he's too young. But I'm like, what does that have to do with anything? He has the skill. He has the ability. And he's just proven that from day one. And you can see his heart. And even what he presents in in meetings, I'm like, "This guy, he has some unique thoughts, some um innovative thoughts."
050And so I even bring him in sometimes just to ask him, "Oh, what do you think? What should we do?" Because I feel as a leader, we don't know everything. And we have people like we're looking at interns. They have experiences that we don't have. And one of just uh one of the most memorable experience I just remember one of the students received a MacBook from um winning one of the awards like attendance from like student services but it was still it fell somehow it failed under the management of uh CJSD. So when they got home, it was still kind of locked down and restricted and they were frustrated having issues and I think they may have reached out to some of our staff and they was just given a a response of basically do
051it themselves. But Ron took the initiative to assist that family member and then whatever he had to escalate he escalated. But then the other aspect he also just he followed up and reached out to the parent, reached out to the daughter just to make ensure everything was okay. So, I just want to say like Ron is a rock star and I don't believe this will be the first time he's at this podium or he may be at uh what Brandon was mentioning just new management. So, I just feel he has he's super talented and don't let his youth uh fool you because he knows what he's doing. So, I'll let Ron just uh say a few words. >> Good evening. Thanks, Jamal. That was awesome. Uh, >> No chat GPT. No chat from the heart.
052Hi everyone. Uh, I'll stick to notes though. >> Hi everyone. Thank you CJUSD and the employee recognition committee for this award. Uh, the best part of my job isn't just fixing tech. It's the reactions. The kids who wave and say, "Hey, you're the IT guy who fixed my Chromebook." Or the teachers who tell me that I literally saved their day. Um, knowing I can make someone's day just a little bit easier is what makes this job rewarding. I want to thank my support system, my girlfriend Danielle, uh, my brother, uh, Johnny, my friends Jared and Annaise, and my new family with Derek, Karen, and Brian for being here. I'm honored to share this moment with them and with all of you. Thank you. [Applause] I'm sorry, Ron. I forgot to ask you. Uh, where did
053you work before? Um, in what department? >> All right. Yeah, there we go. with Jared. Yeah, >> I had to get that one in because when we found out he was going to school to be in IT, we introduced him to um IT leadership and let him know that there was a career path for him. So when he came back, we were so stoked. So happy that he's still serving. So that concludes that part. Our next uh presentation is for certificate um for certificated employee of the month and that is TOA from Lewis Elementary Sandra Picazo. Let's give her a round of applause. [Applause] And present and presenting her it will be AP Theres Valdez. Good evening board president Flores, board members, stu superintendent Dr. Miranda, and members of the community. Lewis Elementary is proud
054to celebrate Sandra Picazo, recipient of the CJUSD employee recognition award for August 2025. Sandra serves as our T teacher on assignment or TOA, our CASP and ELPAC coordinator, and our MEL specialist. Her impact on our school community is immeasurable. Known for her unwavering dedication, professionalism, and heart for students, Sandra embodies the qualities of outstanding educator and colleague. Sandra is a tireless worker who continually goes above and beyond in every aspect of her role. Whether she is coordinating assessments, organizing intervention groups, or supporting English learners and their families, Sandra approaches each responsibility with skill, care, and efficiency. Her leadership has been instrumental in helping a significant number of our mouth students successfully reclassify, the highest in the district elementary wise. A testament to her knowledge of the standards and her commitment to ensuring every child's success.
055Her colleagues describe her as the goto person on campus, someone who wears many hats with ease and always has a solution. From troubleshooting technology issues to providing valuable instructional resources, Sandra is quick to step in and offer support wherever it's needed. She is equally responsive to parents, often reaching out in Spanish to ensure clear and effective communication with families. Sandra's impact extends beyond academics. Her thoughtful involvement in school events, including our promotion ceremonies and holiday programs, reflects her belief that every student deserves to be celebrated. Above all, Sandra's goal is always to help students, teachers, and parents succeed. Her collaborative spirit fosters a supportive work environment while her re reliability and responsiveness ensure that Lewis Elementary continues to thrive. We are truly blessed to have Sandra on our campus and this award is welldeserved recognition
056of her incredible contributions. Congratulations, Sandra. Sandra, sorry, Sandra. And on behalf of Mrs. Bill, our principal, myself, and the Lewis staff, thank you for making Mary B. Lewis Elementary shine. [Applause] >> Okay, I wrote it down. I'm not good at this stuff. Um, sorry. Um, so thank you so much for this honor. This is my 15th year with Colton and I've been blessed to spend every one of those years at Lewis. >> Yes, being a Lewis Eagles means working with incredible team, amazing administrators, and a wonderful, inspiring staff who are more than colleagues, they're friends. Everything I do is to help our students and staff shine because Lewis deserves recognition for the incredible work happening there. I'm grateful to every teacher, staff member, and student who makes Lewis such a special place. I want to
057say big thank you to my family. I couldn't do any of this without the love and support of my family who are here. My mom, my uncle, my aunt, my husband, and our four amazing children. And of course, I want to give a very special thank you to my partner, teacher, and friend, Tanya Tapia. She's always by my side, and together we are a team that I'm very proud to be a part of. Thank you again. Thank you. Another round of applause for Sandra Picazo. [Applause] Thank you. And that concludes our presentation. >> Thank you for that. And again, congratulations to the honores. And uh at this time, um we just want to say thank you. We have amazing staff that do amazing things. So, uh these these stories are inspiring for all of us.
058Our next item on the agenda is public comment. Uh I don't have any public speaker cards. Do we have any other public speaker cards? I see Miss Medina. We do not. All right. So, at this time, we will go ahead and close public comment and move on to our action session items. Uh, tonight we have action session items uh 5.1 through 5.36. We will be pulling 5. Make sure I get this correct. 5.2 for separate consideration. Are there any other items that board members wish to pull for separate consideration? All right. Hearing none, I will call or excuse me, I will ask for a motion to approve our action session items 5.1 through 5.36 with the exception of item 5. Two. Okay. A motion by board member Haro. Is there a second? >> Second by
059board member Thorino Noa. Okay. Any questions or comments? All those in favor, please say I. >> I. >> Any opposed? Any abstensions? Hearing none. It is so ordered. That takes us to item 5.2 uh adoption resolution uh board compensation uh for board member Sandaval. I will call for a I will ask for a motion for approval. >> So move >> motion by board member Ibara. A second by board member Haro. Um any questions or comments? Okay. All those in favor say I. >> I. >> Any opposed? Any abstensions? >> It is so ordered. Please note with one abstension that is uh board member Sandable. All right. That concludes our action session items for uh this evening. Our administrative reports. Uh are there any questions with respect um item 6.1, our approved dispersements? All right. Hearing
060none, we do not have a facilities update today if I'm not correct. Okay. So, that will take us item 6.3, our ACE update. I'm seeing no. Okay. No ACE update this evening. Uh CSSE update. Do we have a representative from CSA? No. No update tonight. Thank you. Appreciate that. Okay. Uh MAC update. Oh, okay. Sorry. And then RO update >> next week. That's what I thought. Okay, great. All right, Dr. Miranda, we're already to superintendent communique Kay. >> We're we're we're moving through this quickly. All right. So, uh, do you have any board? >> Football games to get to tonight. >> Okay. >> I wouldn't know, but I'm not in any league. So, uh, all right. So, uh, let's see. I want to go to the first slide there. Jamal, if you don't mind. Just
061want to highlight this incredible program that uh assistant superintendent Greg uh from has brought to uh business services spotlight on excellence s ox. Uh so business services led by uh Mr. from has launched a uh the spotlight on excellence employee recognition program separate from what uh we do districtwide. I just wanted to highlight because uh it's inspired by the fret factor right by Mark Sanborn which emphasizes going above and beyond in daily work with positivity, creativity and care. So goal is to recognize celebrate employees who demonstrate exceptional dedication, initiative and a caring approach uh to service with their colleagues uh students, families and the community. Uh so far uh great amount we have 27 employees who've already been nominated uh with participation uh continue to grow uh employees uh get nominated by their peers, supervisors
062and community members for outstanding acts of service. Uh whether it's a single thoughtful gesture or major contribution that significantly benefits others. Uh so get this, the awardees receive a pair of CGSD socks, actual socks. uh the feature of the business services Instagram account, CJSD_BST. Yeah. So, celebrating the contributions publicly. Again, thank you, Mr. From uh for leading the initiative. Uh the SUKS program is already fostering a culture of recognition and appreciation within CJSD, shining a light on individuals that go above and beyond in our district. Uh, next one. Very excited uh and uh we're very thrilled that uh our district uh California School Board Association has nominated us for a Golden Bell award. Uh we are just thrilled to announce that district has been notified that uh our equity through wellness serving the whole child
063that every site has been selected as a finalist for the 2025 golden bell awards. Uh this is a procedures award uh highly sought after by school districts, county offices throughout uh California and uh CSBA received a record number of applications this year. Uh and our application was submitted under the social emotional wellness category highlighting a holistic approach to social emotional and mental health and well-being of all members uh in our district community. Uh, and so again, I I do want to thank uh, City Superintendent Dr. Ortiz and Director Castro for his dedication supporting our award-winning uh, programs in our district, mental health. Uh, it it just an incredible uh, service that we provide in our community. So, we look forward to uh, getting the final results of that and then celebrating at CSBA uh, this
064year. Last uh item that I have is the give back academy. Uh you're not familiar with this. Uh let me explain a little bit about what it is. This is uh fourth the fourth year uh and that marks the collaboration with the give something back community rather and uh we partner uh with them and the children's uh deserve success department from uh the San Marino County Superintendent of Schools uh and so they uh bring the give back academy to our secondary school sites. So, GBA continues to be offered as an optional club once a month during one of uh class periods with coaches covering topics such as community building, social and emotional skill development, and career exploration, helping stu students navigate their post-secary education path. So, we have many of our students uh who are
065returning for the fourth consecutive year benefiting from the continuity of relationships that enhances student engagement and school connection. Uh this program will also be offered at our middle schools with sessions occurring every month. Uh so again uh thank you to uh student services for their continuing uh for continuing this valuable partnership with San Marino County superintendent schools uh and for the supporting uh what we care most about our students growth and success in our district. So uh just wanted to highlight some outstanding things that are going in our district. Uh that is my communicate this evening board president. So back to you. >> Thank you for that Dr. Miranda. We appreciate the update. All right. Next item on the agenda are board member comments. U we'll begin this evening with board member Senoval. >> Okay.
066Okay. Uh board member Ibara. >> Well, I just want to say that uh you were talking about uh footballs here. So, uh, I did get an opportunity to go to see Col High School play, uh, last Friday. Unfortunately, uh, they did not win and but, uh, what was really nice about it is that Colton's uh, fan base was out in numbers and there was it was really uh, really good to see. It just reminded me of I'm going to say it because I could say it the old days. Um where we used to pack the the stadium all the time and uh I had opportunity to see uh Miss Sandoval there and uh found out that uh one of her sons was playing number 24 and uh Yeah. Yeah. He was he was there. Uh
067but it's interesting because every time uh I go to events like this um I get a lot of people approach me for a lot of different things. But the one of the major uh problems that uh some of the people several people approached me was that up in front, you know, they had uh some paper signs where the handicap need to were sitting and they were be people were pulling and just dropping them on the floor and then sitting there. So, you know, one of the things that we need to take a look at is maybe making permanent signs on there. And uh it does there are signs that say uh wheelchair, but it doesn't say handicap. And and so there was signs for wheelchair, and then I noticed that somebody had taped uh uh
068signs that said handicap seating only. That's what it said. and and those were the ones that the people were pulling out and so that they had a whole line of people standing so that the complaints came from the people that couldn't see and none of them were really, you know, should be in that area. So, I just wanted to bring that to our attention. And I don't know if uh that similar situation applies at Bloomington or Grand Terrace, but something that we may want to take a look at, you know, so that people could enjoy the game and uh you know, and the people who need to be sitting there can have the opportunity to sit there. So, just wanted to mention that as well. So, uh, at this point I'm hearing that everything is
069going really well at our schools. All schools are running really smooth. Uh, I'm getting a lot of reports from family members that their students uh, their kids are are are happy and pleased with their teachers. So, everything sounds great to this point and I'm sure it'll continue to do so. So, just wanted to mention that. And uh yes, you know, and uh like uh Dan said earlier, you know, we have great employees. I make no bones about that. You know, we have great instructors, great administrators. This is a great place to be. And I heard couple of our new employees say that, you know, they they want to be at Colton. And I think that that's something that that theme has been growing and growing and growing over the last several years now. Um when
070I first came on back in the late 90s uh the theme was you'll come and to Colton they'll get experience and then leave to Redlands and you know that was seemed to have been the the theme and but now people want to come to Colton and stay here. So, you know, I just contribute that to everybody that's here and those who are not here, our administration, our superintendent, uh, for making people feel like they belong and I appreciate that a lot. So, I that's something I just wanted to mention as well. So, that's all I have to say. Thank you, Dan. >> Thank you. Thank you, uh, board member. And then, Dr. Miranda, if you'll just follow up with us on that. Obviously, we take ADA accessibility very serious and we've spent a lot of
071money to bring our facilities up to ADA accessibility code. So, we want to make sure that that's addressed. Wonderful. Thank you. Uh, board member Haro. >> Yeah. Thank everyone tonight for being here. Um, meetings like tonight are so special. I mean, not that the others aren't, but they're really special when we honor our own, when we honor our teachers and our staff and students. Um, it's just wonderful to see all the things that are happening. And, um, so I really uh look forward to meetings like this where we are able to honor as many students as we did tonight. Um, and the uh I apologize for not making the earlier board meeting, but I was stuck at jury duty and I have to continue with jury duty. So, I got to do my civic duty.
072And um and I just want to say um because, you know, I'm a mom. I'm a proud mom, a proud CJUSD uh stu uh student and graduate. Lori, you were one of her teachers. Um my daughter has started a new position. She's working for Garner Halt. She is their curriculum and professional development specialist. And so, um, she learned everything she knows from CJUSD. So, I'm just really proud of that. So, I just wanted to say, uh, to mention that. >> Well, congratulations. Please share that with her. That's an awesome uh, awesome program and they do a lot with schools in the in the area. So, very cool. working. >> That is awesome. Very cool. Um, next is board member Fuentes. >> Thank you, uh, board president Flores. Uh, first of all, I want to apologize.
073I haven't had the opportunity to go out to those back to school nights to all of them. I've been carless and uh, it's pretty sad, but uh, soon hopefully this uh, coming weekend or this weekend, I'll probably have a car and hopefully get back on my streak of visiting the schools and all of that. So, but I wanted to share that on Tuesday, Dr. Miranda and I had the opportunity to be interviewed by uh a news affiliate of ABC. Uh it's a show called uh the Business Report, San Southern California Business Report. And uh it aired on Tuesday at 4M on 1490 a.m. and 98.1 FM. And we were also streaming online. And we got to share the story of our district. We got to share a little bit about the design plan, dual immersion,
074the 1010 9595 that we have and many other things that we highlighted of our district. And so we had that opportunity to share the story. And tomorrow it'll be aired again Friday at 10:00 a.m. on 1490 a.m. and 98.1 FM if you want to uh get on there at 10 a.m. and take a listen to our interview. Uh it was awesome uh that she opened up uh uh and uh you know asked us a couple of questions about ourselves and all of that and I thought it was great and when it ended she said well you just had about 800,000 people listen to your you on uh the radio and online. So the story of CJUSD is out there and I I got a text from her and uh you know she was sharing about
075uh some positive uh feedback that was coming back from people. You know how they get on social media and they start saying good things about it. And so it's good to hear that our story is out there. These are the type of things that we want in our district. We want our people to know what CJUSD is doing because we want CJUSD to be number one and that's our goal. We want CJUSB to be out there. We want to be the the example school district of the districts around us. And so far we are in my book. We are we have exceptional principles, teachers, staff, you name it. We have exceptional and I just want to thank each and every one of you for everything you do. You know, every day I know it's a
076challenge sometimes because you have students that'll do this, do that, but you know something, we still love them. We still love them. And we'll go with the model that Slover has. You can't spell Slover without love. And I think a little bit of love brings a lot. We saw that today with our Washington students and the way they shared and they communicated about second chances and all of that. And that's what we do. That's what we do here at CGUSD. I wanted to share that. If you want to listen to our interview again tomorrow, uh 10:00 a.m. 98.1490 a.m. Uh take a listen and you'll hear a little bit about what's going on in our district, which you probably already know, but it's great to hear. Thank you again. Love you all. Have a great
077evening. >> Thank you, board member Fuentes. Uh board member Bertha Flores. >> Hey, lots lots to be proud of today. Um the internship awards, thank you Paul for an amazing program and we're looking forward to seeing more of this uh next year. Um the socks, thank you, Greg, for uh for starting this. This is amazing. I love it. and the um employee recognition and the new staff presentations. Thank you HR Dr. Dade for uh putting a spotlight on these and making our our district shine. Have a good evening. >> Thank you board member Bertha Flores and board member Borinoa. I mentioned earlier uh with the students from Washington High School how encouraging it is for us as board to hear our kids and the and the successes that they've had. I don't think anything at
078least for me and I think our whole board feels this way. Nothing is more meaningful to us than when we have kids up here doing anything here at our school district because you see the hope in their eyes and just it's just really exciting. And when I saw the kids tonight from your program, Paul, it just wow. It just makes you feel like we're doing something so good for these kids. So, thank you for all the hard work that we've you've done in your department and and everyone actually everyone has a piece of that because you got their kids prepared for them being able to do this, but it was wonderful. On a personal note, I wasn't going to cry. I just want to say thank you for all the love and support my family
079in the last month or so. My friends here in Colton was like a family and it was hard to go through and those of you who were able to attend the service on Friday had touched my heart the way you'll never understand. I hope you never understand it like that because it's hard. But I just thank you so much because this is you've become kind of like my fontic and I really appreciate that and thank you so much. It's been the last year has been hard. The last month was almost it was the worst thing but but he's at peace now and we'll move on and hopefully I'll see some of you or most of you and I'll have a little more time to do visitations and those kind of things. So thank you very
080much. Thank you, Joanne. You know that we love you and we're here for you and we're so grateful to have you part of our family and we um we're here for you. Thank you. >> Well, I don't have any comments tonight. Uh just want to thank everybody for helping put together uh today's meeting together. Again, it was a wonderful array of celebrations and recognitions. Um we did take care of some business as well, which is important, but more importantly, we reaffirm why we're here. and it's for the students and the families that we serve and the opportunities that we're creating for their future. So, uh I'm so grateful for that. I get to witness it every day, uh with my three children, but really it's all the kids across the district. So, thank you everyone
081for being a part of that. At this time, we'll go ahead and close this portion and adjourn to close session. We do have a couple of readout items from close session. Item 10.1 is our personnel public employee appointment discipline dismissal release uh item on a motion by board member Fuentes and seconded by board member Sandaval and carried on a 70 vote. Uh the board approved the appointments in item 10.1 as presented. And item 10.2, this is the personal public employee appointment in close session on a board motion by board member Haro and seconded by board member Bertha Flores. And on a 70 vote, the board appointed Miss Christine Steer Hessen, assistant principal of Smithtech Elementary. So we will make that announcement and that's very exciting. That's the only those are the only items that we
082have to read out. So we will go ahead and adjourn and get