001Welcome. I call the January 12th newi Unified School District board meeting in session. Mr. Walk >> here. >> Miss Gonzalez >> here. >> Mrs. Seri >> here. >> Mr. Rivas, >> Mr. Kall's here. Item two, public communication close session items. Members of the public may address the board on items not on the agenda. Speakers will be allowed three minutes unless the time limit is waved by a majority of the board. The board will allow comments by members of the public on an agenda item during consideration of the item. The board may limit the total time for public input on each item to 20 minutes. With board consent, the president may increase or decrease the time allowed for public presentation depending on the topic and the number of persons wishing to be heard. The president may
002take a poll of speakers for or against a particular issue and may ask that additional persons speak only if they have something new to add. Complaints against specific district employees should be resolved through the district's personnel complaint procedure. The right to address the board does not exempt the speaker from any potential li liability of defamation. The proceedings of the board are recorded and are part of the public record. At this time, does anybody have any members of the public wish to address the board on any closed session items? All right. Seeing none, the board will head to close session. 4:04 p.m. >> Welcome. [clears throat] Call the January 12th board meeting back to order. Uh, everybody please stand for the flag salute. >> Ready, ready, begin. I pledge algiance to the flag of the United
003States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> Item B, report out of action taken in close session. Uh in closed section, the board of directors uh um appoint or Mr. Puit received a positive evaluation and was appointed as the real property negotiator for the Newman Unified School District OHS baseball field project. Item number four, public communication agenda and non-aggenda items. Members of the public may address the board on items not on the agenda. Speakers will be allowed three minutes unless the time limit is waved by a majority of the board. The board will allow comments by board members of the public to an agenda item during consideration of each item. The board may limit the
004total time for public input on each item to 20 minutes. With board consent, the president may increase or decrease the time allowed for public presentation depending on the topic and the numbers of persons wishing to be heard. The president may take a poll of speakers for or against a particular issue and may ask that additional persons speak only if they have something new to add. Complaints against specific district employees should be resolved through the district's personnel complaint procedure. The right to address the board does not exempt a speaker from any potential liability for defamation. And the proceedings of the board are recorded and are part of the public record. And we have a few items tonight. U first Mrs. Eddie Dilla from I'm sorry, Mr. Eddie. I'm Yolo Middle School. If not, Edward will fix
005it for you. There we go. I'm a little nervous, believe it or not. Um um well, good evening, Mr. Puit, Dr. Saka, President Cabbron, and board members. Um my name is Eddie Davila. I'm one of the school counselors at Yolo Middle School and um making my monthly of January uh you know presence here uh to invite you know board members and uh dads here you know for uh fourth annual dads conference that's going to be in two weeks on Saturday uh January 24th uh this year's uh name is uh of the the conference will be the the modern dad navigating fatherhood in the 21st century. So it is an event uh that will start off at uh 8:30 with our this year's keynote speaker. We have uh Jason Muggard who's uh Scoy's chief of staff.
006Uh this year's topics that we'll be discussing uh dads will have the opportunity to attend uh three sessions of the four uh topics that we have that will be discussed or talked about in our conference. Uh one of them being uh preparing kids for the future who will be presented by uh Mr. Alonso Navaro who is series Unified School District's director of child and nutrition. Uh in that uh session uh he'll be uh talking about teaching finance, literacy, independency and resilience, instilling confidence, self-worth and responsibility and supporting education and career goals. Then we have another one which would be a co-parenting and partnership who would be um um done by Mr. Eric Gomez who's a Gomez um owner of a Gomez brothers grappling academy from Waterford, California and uh he'll be talking about strengthening relationships
007with spouse partners in parenting sharing responsibilities fairly respecting differences and parenting styles. Uh next uh topic for another session is uh the evolving roles of the fathers who will be uh presented by our very own uh Newman Unified uh school district uh m or clinician Mr. Kayla Wilkinson. uh he'll be talking about uh how fathers has changed over generations breaking stereotypes of the provider only role and fathers as nurture role models and active uh participants in all areas of child's life and uh lastly is uh digital age parenting who will be presented by um officer Gomez from Newman PD uh helping kids navigate social media gaming and online risks modeling healthy tech habits as a father and creating techfree family traditions we do have on one of the sessions uh the last session um we
008have Mr. uh Huie Costa who will also be uh kind of motivating dads to get involved you know in uh in sports here at school get involved in their kids education and the benefits of that as well. So um I had uh I had a couple dads ask me once why why do you continue why do you do this this event? You know we are as far as I know the only district in the county that does provide an event like this for dads uh for dads. I know series tried I think two years they they did it and then um just fell apart. Uh but I do it because of the outcomes you know the positive outcomes it has across the board when dads are involved um as well um you know in terms
009of academics and social emotionally as well. And um there's an article I was reading um I read during break that said you know it's a the author spoke about how he felt awful saying it but you know I quoted him saying I I think where schools have gotten it right where it comes to getting men and fathers involved has been by and large through sports. School struggles finding ways to get those same dads who are very devoted very invested and very involved on the sports side of the equation to take on an equally as active role on the academic side. So, it is a 4-hour event um or 3 and a half hours if you put minute to minute. Uh lunch is provided. There is raffles um as well for dads. Um we are having
010tri tip and chicken, you know, if you want to kind of throw it out there to the dads. Um I know we we are working uh with Miss Greselda from counselor from Hunt to uh continue that mom's conference. maybe not this this school year, but for the next uh school year, bring that up again and making it more open for for more moms to attend um as well. But it's um as as we as long as we continue to get dads involved, I mean, we're going to we're going to keep this going. You know, I try to put a different times of the school year. I think January kind of falls good with with sports. You know, not a lot of sports going on and uh think not a lot of uh family outings. But
011if if you do know of any dads uh you know, not necessarily from from Newman, but if you have like a brother or a cousin and um you know, that can benefit from this uh this event, it's it is a well um uh well attended event and as well as uh nothing but positive feedbacks. Um it's it's not that us dads don't do a good job. It's just that, you know, it's it's it's always good to get tools to kind of, you know, help with our everyday life. And mom's kudos. you know, I'm trying to get the dads involved, you know, so they can kind of take some some stress off your guys' back and stuff. But, um, but yes, it's it's in January, always January, always the third week of January. And I do
012have some flyers that I will leave if you guys do u would like one. Um, to register, it's I do it just to have a cat count for food. Uh, there's a link on the parent square, but if uh you guys forget to register or, you know, somebody last minute, you know, decides to attend, it's fine. you know, have them have them show up. So, it is at the Yolo cafeteria. Um, doors open at 8 and uh we start off at 8:30 and it runs till about 11:55 and then lunch will be as follows. So, thank you. >> Thank you, sir. >> Thank you. >> Thanks, sir. Our next speaker, Karen Mendoza from Herd Bington. Good evening, members of the board. First of all, I'd like to congratulate Paula Matthews on her retirement. I had
013the opportunity to serve with her at the negotiations table for nearly 20 years. Congratulations, Paula. Um to the board, I'm addressing you this evening again on the matter of exclusion of staff from the 2425 retroactive payment. I believe this is a systemic leadership issue as I've contacted the board multiple occasions for multiple issues and not once have I received a response. I understand that some former staff received an email last Friday that the board took action on September 8th excluding employ excluding the former employees and the district could not go against board action. I understand this. However, the recommendation for the exclusion came from the assistant superintendent of HR. The board doesn't act without a recommendation from the district administration. The recommendation goes against years of past practices where when a contract settlement was reached
014and paid in a subsequent year, anyone under that contract year, anyone under contract during that year was included. The CSEA settlement which the classified management staff follows as we are unrepresented was signed on May 8th, 2025. This was signed during the time that the classified management was employed by the district. Because of the lack of communication on the part of the board or the district, it can only be inferred that this was a direct insult to the staff who left for whatever reason. What a way to attack attract and retain staff by treating them with disrespect. I understand budget constraints, but the district chose to move forward with a settlement and it should apply to all classified manage management employees who were employed at the time of the TA was signed with CSEA. My question
015to the board is what is the justification for the exclusion when the impacted classified management employees were clearly under contract when the TA was signed? This is a question that should easily be answered by the administration if it was justifiable. If this question continues to go unanswered, you'll continue to lose valuable staff with years of institutional knowledge. That's the message you're sending. Thank you. >> Thank you. Our next speaker, Cassandra Figueroa from parent from Hunt. Good evening. My name is Cassandra Figueroa. I previously served as a fiscal analyst under the former assistant superintendent of business services, Carolyn Mendoza, where for seven years I supported the district's fiscal operations. I'm here for transparency regarding the retrop paid in November. I was part of the May payroll and HR meeting where we directly asked whether an active
016employment clause would be added to the settlement and we were told no. I followed up by email to confirm the tenative agreement. Like many employees, I never received a written response, but verbally we were again told no such clause would be added. Based on that guidance, I helped prepare the retro payroll files before I left on baby bonding leave. So when employees later saw the money deposited and then taken back without explanation, it was shocking and distressing. This was not a simple payroll error. It was a result of mixed messages and a breakdown in communication. If this language was later added to save money, I think it's fair to also explain why the very next month a salary increase for the same management group was brought to this board. I also believe this can be
017corrected. [clears throat] During my time in physical services, admins sometimes directed payments to be issued and staff were not in the position to question those directives. That's why I believe this action is possible. I'm not here just about the money. I'm here because people deserve honesty, consistency, and respect. I'm asking the board for transparency, and action to make this right. Finally, just for the public record, the Brown Act does allow brief response from the board and administration. Thank you for listening. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Item number five, approval of the agenda. Could I get a motion to approve the agenda as listed for tonight's meeting? I'll make that motion. Thank you, Mr. Rivas. And a second. >> I second. >> Thank you, Mr. Rudy. Mr. Walk, >> I >> miss Gonzalez. >> Hi,
018>> Miss Rudy. >> Hi, >> Mr. Rivas. >> Hi, >> Mr. Caravo. I 50. Uh item number seven, uh a retirement recognition of service. Miss Paula Matthews, please come on up and Mr. Heather Vargas. >> I said Mrs. Heather Vargas. and Miss >> Good evening, board president Kamrell, Superintendent Puit, and members of the board. Tonight, um we will be uh recognizing Miss Paula Matthews tonight for her 21 years of service. And Miss Paula Matthews, the reason Miss Dolly Wall's here standing right by me is um she had two jobs. She had two supervisors. So, she worked with Miss Dollywal in the morning since she worked with as a district tester um doing district work in the afternoon. So, I'm going to kind of just highlight a couple things and then Miss Dolly Well will take
019it over. But we're recognizing her for 21 plus years of service, lots of volunteer time before that. Uh Miss Paula was an instructional aid. She was a district tester, a doubles tester. She would test students. She would train new staff, train new instructional aids. She would train new teachers. Um she would progress monitor students um actively. She'd go in and meet with kids and test them. She was an ELPAC tester, an alpac trainer. Um as long as I've been in these types of roles for the past six or seven years, I never had to worry about Bington cuz she just kind of like handled Bington, which was a a relief to me. [laughter] Now it's something I'm like, "Oh, I had a meeting with her right like her right before her last day and I
020said, "Okay, we need to sit down. I need to know all the things that you did. like I need to know everything. [laughter] I need to know what holes I'm gonna need to fill uh with in your absence. Uh because the list is is long. It's felt most deeply at Hunt and Bington. But if you've been in the district for any length of time, I'm sure that you've also um interacted with Miss Paula at all the other sites as well. Um she was an intervention specialist. She knew all the intervention programs. She knew how to teach them. She trained um new intervention aids. Um, so there was that. She was often the summer school secretary, which that was a big help every year. Um, not every single year she was, but many years she was.
021Um, after school band and music, she taught a lot of our fifth graders instruments. Um, performing at winter programs. That is something that is something that we notice is not that doesn't happen. And so, you know, that's just a whole list of things that she did outside of just her role specifically at Bington. And we are going to miss her presence and miss all that she brought to NCLUSD. Um, so congratulations. >> Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> Um, good evening, Board President Kapal, Superintendent Mr. Puit, members of the board, assistant superintendent Dr. Seaha and all of our valu valued community members joining us this evening. My name is Kavita Dollywal and I'm the principal of herd Bington. Tonight I would like to say a few words about our dear Miss Paula. Um Miss Paula's
022journey began with volunteering one day a week um for Newman Crows Landing and then in March 2004 she officially joined the team bringing her kindness, positivity and unwavering support to every role that she held. Miss Paula has been an amazing addition not only to Bington but to every school site that she's touched over the years. Her laughter, warmth, and genuine care for students and staff has made a lasting impact on all of us. We will miss her dearly dearly. We wish her all the best in this next chapter. We look forward to seeing her smile and hearing her laughter when we visit her at Target. Thank you, Miss Paula, for everything that you've done for our schools and our families and communities, and you will always be a part of the Bington family. >> Thank
023you. >> Oh, beautiful. Thank you so much, >> Lord. If we can meet Paula in front to get a picture. >> I just want to thank everybody that came also. It blesses my heart that so many were here and and thank all of you. I've enjoyed working here all these years. I enjoyed volunteering to begin with. I've known Frank since my kids were in school and he he taught them basketball [laughter] way back when and I said I'm going to go volunteer at school and I did and and then I Mrs. Kendall said, "Why aren't you working here?" So I did. So thank you very much. I've enjoyed the time here and look forward to volunteering and substituting. So, thank you No, I don't >> need to get me a job over there. Thank you.
024All right. Item B, hun presentation. I'm going to wait. A student ran to the restroom. So once she gets back, my students, come on down. Hello. It's not just me, myself, and I. I have a village today here with me. I'll start. Good evening, President Cabra, Superintendent Puit, members of the board, and community members. I'm still waiting for one student. Sorry. Okay. So, as as we wait for her, I want to introduce myself. I'm Rosie Artiaga. I'm the principal for Hunt Elementary and today's presentation is focused on college and career readiness. This year is our first year that we had career day thanks to Miss Gilda. Where is where you see [clears throat] what happens? [laughter] She's our wonderful counselor who does great things at Hunt Elementary. We're very privileged to have an amazing staff
025and she is an active member of our school. Miss Reella, I was just talking so highly of you. >> Sorry, I want you to see that. >> Okay. But thanks to her, we got this going and that's the focus of today's presentation. I'm sure you guys don't want to hear me speak the whole time. So, I have lovely fifth graders who were selected by their teacher to do today's presentation. So, here we go. You >> [clears throat] >> guys ready? Okay. Does this work, Edward? >> Yes. >> Hi. >> You're fine. >> Hi, my name is Himea Santos and I'm a fifth grade at elementary. And for this slide, I would like us all to read together together. >> College and career readiness. Being college and career ready means that a student has the knowledge,
026skills, and mindset needed to succeed after high school. Whether they choose to attend college, join the work program, join the workforce, or pursue other career pathways. >> Hi, my name is Giana Romero and I'm a fifth grade student at Milton Elementary. senior and today I will be telling you about our career day journey and year-long plan to help students dream about their future classroom lessons introduced the five career pathways for your college community college US military trade school and job after high school lessons focused on how interests and strengths guide possible future careers students completed a career interest survey to discover careers with that match what they enjoy built on early curiosity, confidence, and goal setting. Reinforce that everyone's career path is unique. And when I took the career interest survey, I found that based
027on my personality and interest, my the the >> career path >> the career path that matches me is artistic. Hi, my name is Isaac and I'll be talking about our career day highlights and impacts. We welcomed 19 amazing presenters representing all five pathways. Student ambassadors graded our presenters and walked them to their booth. Students explored real tools, uniforms, demonstrations, and participated in questions and answers. Students left inspired, aware of more options, and excited about their future possibilities. And by the way, I was one of the ambassadors and I had the privilege of meeting our presenter. Our mission in Hunt is to build a strong foundation for lifelong learning by developing academic skills, habits of mind, and a belief in future college and career pathways. Hi, my name is Isaac Ozale. I'm a fifth grade student
028at AA Elementary. And today I'll be telling you why Style Elementary. First, early exposes, builds awareness and confidence. Second, encourages school settings and motivation. Third, helps students understand the possibilities beyond K to 12. Lastly, lions with district portrait of a graduate outcome, college and career day activities, banking center on wheels, kids got to see the tea windows and the cat opening desk. I will now show you a video of the kids exploring the truck. >> Is there a video there? Not linked. >> Oh, >> career pathway examples for your college trade school and a career about additional training. Cosmetology options. Kids got to see makeup, hair, and nails. After all, wait. After writing the different career options, I want to pursue a four-year college education to become an AR architect. Hello, my name is Eva
029Valencia and I'll be talking about career exploration, [clears throat] strong community partnerships that connect students with real experts, exposure to vocational pathways, projectbased learning connected to careers, family community engagement. Parents participated by sharing how they help students explore realworld opportunities. Special guests, including our county supervisor, were invited to engage with students and highlight community leadership, cultural events, and community partnerships, communication through parents square and conferences. I would love to share that my mother feels very comfortable reaching out with any questions or any concerns. Data impact to support college and career readiness. Improved attendance through attendance incentive programs. Growth on California dashboard indicators. Increased student engagement and confidence. Did you know that Hunt Elementary has the highest attendance rate out of all the schools in the district? Next steps. Expand career speakers and field trips. Strengthen
030SEAL to career identity connections. Continue partnerships with middle schools. enhance family resources for college awareness. The career path I would like to follow when I grow up is to go into the military in the space force to be an astronaut. >> Hi, my name is Ariana Campos and we have a question for you. What made you decide on your career path and do you enjoy what you do? Mr. Puit? [laughter] >> Absolutely. First, I started out um with a love of education and a love for sports and I started out as a teacher and a coach and that's was the perfect blend of those two things and that's what got me started. >> Mr. Kra, [laughter] >> you got to email these questions to us too, right? Um [clears throat] I actually followed in my
031father's footsteps and my two older brothers were firefighters. um how I ended up on the school board. Um I honestly don't know. Um it was a long path of a hard career that um uh that anybody could probably do if you just put your mind to it and and focus and commit yourself any job, right, >> Mr. Rubz? >> I'm with Don. You got to let me know these things before. But no, uh my career path is wasn't what I wanted to do, but I do it. And I do it because I enjoy coaching, so it works around my schedule. So enjoying the school board, that's something I always wanted to do since I was in high school. I made a promise to uh he's no no longer here with us, but Mr. Mc Williams,
032that if I ever get the opportunity, I'm going to join the school board and I'm on year four and I can't wait and continue to keep doing it. Thank you, >> Mrs. Serrudi. >> Well, my career path took a whole turn. Um, I did have a career, but I chose to leave it behind so I can focus on my kids. I raised four of my kids and um, I have three of them that have gone through college and I currently have my 13-year-old in 8th grade. So, my focus has been on raising my family and now I'm on the school board, was actively involved in school with every single one of my kids. So, I feel blessed to be on the school board and hopefully make a make a change for the better. Mr. Walk.
033>> Yeah. So, my uh mom was a school teacher for 35 years, and I grew up basically in her classroom going uh during summers and after school when I was out of school uh to her classroom and helping her. Uh she was a kindergarten and transitional kindergarten teacher, although I teach high school. I still think I could do it, but uh uh but I'm not willing to try right now. So, um, I'm a history teacher because my great-grandfather served in World War I, my grandfather served in World War II and wars and that historical aspect and my family has just really always fascinated me. And then for the school board, my master's degree is in government. So, I've always been interested in government and politics and how that whole aspect works. >> Mrs. Gonzalez, >>
034this must be the most challenging uh presentation we've had in a while. Um [laughter] um I've been a social worker 15 years and that probably started um all thanks to my parents who became foster parents when I was six. So just a little bit younger than you probably. And it's kind of uh been my whole life, you know, just advocating for people um through child protective services, through working at a hospital setting, working in hospice and end of life. Um, and then I became a mom and I realized the importance of advocacy and education. And it can be really challenging sometimes working against systems that just don't really make sense sometimes um trying to advocate to change things that maybe have been around and implemented for so long. Um, but the reward of it is
035just like nothing else. Especially when you get to see somebody's life completely changed because of something that you really fought hard for. So, um, I recommend it as a career to anybody who's really passionate about people. >> One more. It won't do it from here. >> Yeah. Okay, ready. >> Thank you, H Elementary School preparing students today for the opportunities of tomorrow. Thank you for your time. >> This concludes our presentation. Not without saying that I wouldn't be here doing what I'm doing without my team, Mrs. cope, Miss Rela, my office staff, my teachers, my classified staff, everybody at Hunt, we work really hard. We do have the best students, by the way. They are dedicated, they're committed, they're kind because at Hunt, we choose what, guys? >> Kindness. >> Questions. >> Thank you guys.
036And that presentation was good, interactive, and you caught us on off guard. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. >> Thank you guys. item C, alternative education presentation. >> Mrs. ski is it's kind of hard to beat that presentation, right? But we'll try our best. Good evening, President Don Cabrell, Superintendent Mr. Puit, Assistant Superintendent Dr. Sea, board members, and community members. I am Liliana Skiz and today I am wearing my adult education hat. I wear different hats every day of the week. So there's times when I need a second to remember which one I'm wearing. Happy New Year's and welcome back. I'm happy to report that our adult education programs are running very smooth. And today we are going to highlight one of our programs, our ESL program provided by Learning Quest. I would like to introduce
037Miss Victoria Hernandez. She is the program where am I at? Hold on. program director of ESL and family literacy who is going to share an overview of the program and the classes that we currently offer. Thank you so much. Good evening. So, a little bit about family literacy. So, we realize that literacy development is most effective when family families learn together. So that's why our program, our ESL program actually offers free child care. And I have to second the idea that Hunt has the best students because that's where our ESL program is located. So unfortunately, I don't have any um ESL students here with me tonight because they're currently in class, but um they're enjoying the program there. So the reason why we do want to have that lifelong learning along with their parents is
038because it creates a bond. When parents are able to help their children with homework or help them with any other aspect of their lives, it builds a bond that is never ending. So we offer a variety of different services. So our um ESL program runs during the duration of the semesters that are in school. As I said earlier, we have a child care component that is also completely free to the parents. So, all of our classes are free for the ESL students and their children. We also have a packed program where we have a 4-week class where parents learn steam centered activities that can be done together. All those materials are given free to the parents and to the children. And we also have transparency with everything. Um, I do quarterly reports to all the
039uh staff at Hunt Elementary to make sure that our program is running smoothly. Um, we have our curriculum overview. So, we currently have three levels. Level one is beginner, level two is intermediate, and level three is advanced. We offer free textbooks to students and their children. We have book report books that are also given free. Um we offer uh classes centered on reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. We focus on contentbased instruction which basically just means that we focus on daily life skills. For example, we have civic objectives and this most recent one is uh centered on health. So parents are able to communicate with health care professionals and also advocate for their own children whenever they're having any health crisis. Um we offer a 7030 teaching approach which just basically means that the students
040are focused on learning rather than listening only to the instructor. The students are um active participants of their own learning and we also offer trainings and workshops provided by our staff throughout throughout the year. For class testing as I mentioned earlier we focus on specific objectives. So the most recent one was health. We also focus on culture and diversity. We even have a cultural presentation. This year is going to be focused on spices. So, I'm going to have spices from different um community groups here and have a presentation on them with a readaloud by the staff and students. We also focus on interacting with the school system, making sure that parents feel comfortable navigating um power school, parent square, any um resources that are utilized. uh making sure that we're focused on family nutrition and
041navigating other community resources that parents may be too scared to navigate on their own. I am happy to say that from our last student survey results, we have a 100% um completion rate and they just feel more happy. 98% of our students feel more confident speaking English in their everyday lives. 98% believe that they can better communicate with their family or on behalf of their family members and 45% would not be able to attend classes without provided child care services. So I'm happy to say that we have 41 adults currently enrolled. 22 children are being served right now and in total we're serving 63 students between adults and children. Thank you so much. Lastly, I want to thank Hunt Elementary for graciously allowing us to use your facilities. And a huge thanks to our board
042members and district leadership for your support where with our alternative education programs and helping us serve our students. Thank you. >> Thank you. [applause] Item D, student board member report. Miss Vanishia. >> Hello everybody. I hope everybody had a good break. I know I did. I slept a lot. So students returned last week on the 5th. But before our break, our staff members had a secret dress up days, which I kind of suspected when I walked into um calculus and I seen Mr. Felber in pajamas and not his shorts in 40° weather. Anyways, so also that week was our finals week week which also wrapped up our first semester grades and over the break the girls and boys basketball teams had their winter classic tournament game in which our JB boys won championship. Now this
043week is officially homecoming for all winter sports such as soccer, basketball and wrestling. Their homecoming games are all scattered throughout these days and along with homecoming come dress up days as well. So today was PJ day. Tomorrow is Star Wars day. Wednesday is Space Jam day. Thursday is skiers versus skaters day and finally Friday is spirit day. Along also on Friday there will be a rally and following that basketball games from JB boys, girls and boys varsity that start from 4 to 7:00 and our zoo theme is glow-in-the-dark. Last but not least, on the 26th of this month, the staff versus students volleyball game will will be happening. So be sure to come and join and support even though our teachers will be losing yet again. But that is all I have for this month's
044report. Thank you. Thank you. Uh item E, attendance awards. Dr. Sea. >> Good evening, President Cabraw, Superintendent Puit, and members of the board. I'll start off with the staff attendance award for the month of December. this month or for the month of December goes to Bonita. So yes, Lily, you get to take home another trophy. Most improved attendance for the month of December will go to Oresta High School. working hard >> and as mentioned earlier by our students uh once again with the highest attendance uh rate for our district is Hunt Elementary School. Can I just keep it? >> She'll need to add a asset tag to it and keep it there. Right. Thank you. >> Thank you. Uh item F, our LCAP plan major report and dashboard review. Mrs. Heather Vargas. All righty. Good
045evening once again. Um, this as I was putting this together, it was making me think of, you know, how around this time of year when they do the state of the union report. That's what I feel like. This is the state of the district. This is everything. [laughter] Feel like this is a lot of information here, but I'm going to try to um combine these two, both the dashboard review and the midyear LCAP. So, we have really great news uh with our California dashboard that um came out in December. Um [snorts] our English language arts and mathematics are yellow for the district. Um they were both orange last year. Um English learner progress last year was orange and it's green. So, we went up two color bands with English learners. College and career readiness is
046blue. It was blue last year. It's still blue, but it also increased 9.7%. Um, in science, this is the first year that science got a color and that was green, which is really pretty great considering it's been a new focus for our district. Um, so these are the academic indicators. These aren't all seven indicators on the dashboard. These are just the academic ones. Um, but they're the ones we sort of like, you know, kind of peel off um when we're look thinking about instruction. So, that is really great news for all of our sites. This is our dis these are our district colors. Um and they everyone's just done a really great job. This slide shows all seven indicators. So it shows uh suspension rate, college and career, you can see that is blue. Um
047graduation rate is blue. All of our all of our areas for graduation rate improved. So all of our sub subgroups also improved with their graduation rate. English learners, socioeconomically disadvantaged, uh, students with disabilities, all of those areas. Undergraduation rate improved. Chronic absenteeism went down, so that went to red. Um, this is from last year, and we've already put things in place this year. So, as of right now, it's already um that is that color band is is reflecting last year's 15.7% of students were chronically absent. And if I just pulled the data, I think last week it was like 6%. So that's we're already fixing that to make it um you know move in a positive direction. Uh suspension rate, that's when a student's getting suspended. We always are pushing for alternative alternatives to suspension
048and there's a balance between alternatives to suspension and then keeping our school safe, right? So we we want to have alternatives and all the site principles are really great at looking for alternatives to suspensions, but we also want to make sure we're keeping our school safe. So if something is, you know, we need to have that consequence, um we're not really shying away from holding students accountable for their behavior. Also, here's just a quick 2024 comparison. So you can see the English language arts, math, and English learner progresses were all orange. So it, you know, at just a quick glance, you can see here's the English language arts and math moved up to yellow and English learner progress is green. So really a positive trajectory across all seven indicators and um really proud of all
049of the sites for all of their hard work. It's the teachers in the classrooms. It's the principles supporting the teachers and um us as district personnel hopefully providing structures and and and some some support to them so that they can do their jobs really well. So for the midyear LCAP review goal one um that one's really focusing a lot around high quality education preparing students for college and career. Um that's all there's under goal one there's 26 metrics. So there's a lot of metrics and a lot of actions underneath that goal. Goal two is parent and student engagement that um focuses a lot on the whole sty the whole child like behavior and social emotional wellness and parent communication and community connectedness um supporting you know creating a supportive school community. Goal three uh that
050is mostly focused on equity multiplier funds that affects Westside Valley Continuation High School. So that's just like our three goals or the breakdown. So without reading all of those indicators and metrics and actions and all of that, I'm just pulling out some key highlights and strengths. Um on the academic indicators, the fouryear cohort graduation rate increased from 93.9% to 97.4%. 4% um exceeding our 96% goal. Students with disabilities graduation rate rose from 79.6% to 86.8%. So that's been that's positive momentum. Uh AP enrollment increased from increased to 23 about 23% up from the 14% baseline. Dual language immersion uh exceeded goals. We like to like track our enrollment there to to evaluate that program and we have 547 students enrolled in our dual language immersion program and the target was 530. Our English learner progress
051um our RFP progress rebounded on the 2025 dashboard up 6.9%. Long-term English learners reclassification improved to 19%. Um as a district we went from orange to green with English learner progress which is what I was sharing. And then also little special shout out her Bington and Hunt both um went to blue with their English learner progress. Um so that does that's really noteworthy to call out there. School climate improvement suspension suspension rates remain under 5% districtwide and dropped at Westside Valley from 10.8% to 3%. uh parent, student and staff perceptions of safety and connectiveness improved uh substantially per healthy kids survey results. Uh so if we look at areas for improvement and growth um ESPback performance gaps so although um we see improvement on our ESPback score some subgroup performances remain low especially for students
052with disabilities African-American students declining in ELA and English learner gap. So, [snorts] English learners we can see are making progress and we can even see that they are making improvements and growth, but there still could be a a discrepancy between their progress in the progress of English only students. So, we're still going to work on closing that gap. Uh chronic absenteeism. Oh, yeah. There's my little note. We we became red because we were 9.9% and then it went up to 15.6%. And the little note there in yellow says 6.4% 4% on January 6th. Um, also it's not it's important to note that our highest chronic absenteeism is in TK and 12th grade. I'm not sure if that's surprising to anybody. TK is not mandatory and those little babies get sick and parents keep them home.
053And so there's reasons for TK. And then 12th graders, they kind of have one one foot in the door and one foot out of the door sometimes. And that's a tough those two populations, you know, account for a lot of our chronic absenteeism. Um, [clears throat] also our chronic absenteeism is particularly high with our homeless students and students with disabilities. Um, this is still a critical risk factor affecting ac academic outcomes across multiple goals. So, it's something that we will continue to work on as a district. Wanted to share some additional midyear updates. Uh, we are currently under federal program monitoring for those five areas. CTE, career technical education, English learners, um supporting effective instruction, student support and academic [clears throat] enrichment, and uniform complaint procedures. So, it has been just a lot of um
054attention to our FPM. Um we're currently in the middle of meeting with reviewers. Um and we have until the 23rd of this month to get them everything they need. if we don't have something or there's a finding, we'll have time to remedy the findings. Um, but that has been something that, you know, um, Miss Topia and Dr. Sea, Leslie at the high school with CTE, she kind of got us in compliance there. I was happy about. [snorts] And but there's a lot that we still have to um that we still need to work on to be in complete compliance. Um, another thing, our DA, differentiated assistance. So last the last two years we've been a differentiated assistance for English learners. So you've heard me talk about all of our professional development has been [clears throat]
055focused on English learners. All of our um classroom instructional changes have been connected to English learners and those scores went up. And so this year they shared the news with us that we are no longer in differentiated assistance for English learners. But now this year we are in differentiated assistance for students with disabilities. So Dr. for Susan and I will work together on coming up with a plan because as you know students with disabilities is not just a students with disabilities and a um a special needs classroom issue. It is all of our issue because these students are in all of our classes, right? And so it's improving how do we improve instruction in every classroom? Um how do we create the best outcomes for these students? So we are we've now moved into differentiated
056assistance there and that that's going to like shift our focus a bit. Another update we're working on is a math pilot update uh K kindergarten through 12th grade and um the we had several meetings reviewing curriculum. There were about 65 publishers that had curriculum on the state adopted list. um our district uh professional learning teams paired it down to they had like 15 priorities. So they wanted to make sure there was like spiral review. They wanted to make sure there's real real world applications. They wanted to make sure the materials came in Spanish. There was a list of 15. From that list of 15, I paired it down to four. And then we took teachers from every single grade level um [clears throat] to evaluate curriculum. and the piloting team chose Amplified Desmos math. So,
057two teachers per grade will kindergarten through 12th grade will be piloting um this math program February 2nd to March 6th. OS will choose to pilot a second one u March through April. So, at the end of the pilot, I'm going to meet with the team. If they choose to move forward with that, then we will go ahead and adopt that for next year. I think most most people uh staff members for sure students and I'm sure parents are going to be really happy for new curriculum that looks like math again [laughter] and everything that we looked at looked very promising and we're very excited about this. So there will be you know updates as we get closer but the goal here if they select that curriculum will be to have new new math curriculum for
058for the 26 27 school year. And that's all I have. Any questions? >> Yeah, >> Thank you. And there was even an article in the newspaper about uh our dashboard improvements. So that is something for you and your team to be proud of cuz getting those needles over to the green and the the higher colors is something. So thank you again. Uh item G, first reading of the policy regulation 1312.3, the uniform complaint procedure. Mr. approve it. >> Yeah, this is the an update recommended by CSBA. Um, part of the reason we're having a first reading and a second reading tonight cuz it's in the um it's in the uh the consent calendar also is we need it approved by the board to be uploaded to the FBM in time. So, it's it's one of
059those things. It's recommended and we could bring it at any time, but it it makes sense to get it done now so we can show that it was board approved. So >> thanks sir. Item H uh board of trustees self-evaluation also Mr. Puit. >> Did you speak to me? Okay. So you've been each been emailed the board self- evaluation and uh so we would like to have you guys complete that on your self-ealuation and have that back to the next board meeting >> or the week before. Right. >> Tonight. >> When do you need a budget? Do you think the 26th would work for you or do you need till the 30th? >> 26. Yeah, that's right. >> So, January 26th. Okay. >> Uh item eight, consent calendar. Consent calendar items are routine in nature
060and usually do not require board discussion. Individual items may be removed by board members and presented for discussion and separate action. The consent calendar will be adopted by a roll call vote. Can I get a motion to approve the consent counter as listed? >> I make a motion to accept. [snorts] >> Mrs. Sudi, thank you. And can I get a second? A second. Thank you, Mr. Rish. >> Mr. Walk. >> Hi, >> Miss Gonzalez. >> I >> Mrs. Shudy. >> Hi, >> Mr. Rivas. >> Hi. >> And Mr. Gro. Uh, item nine, action items. appro uh a approval of the 2025 comprehensive school safety plan. Could I get a motion for action item A? Want to make that motion? >> Thank you, Mr. Ravish. And could I get a second? >> I'll second. Thank you,
061Mr. Walk. [snorts] Uh Mr. Walk, >> Mr. Gales, can that Miss Gonzalez? [laughter] >> I I did send a few comments to Mr. Puit um about it um and they were addressed you. Um some of my some of my main concerns were just consistency throughout the safety plans. Also, we talked about active active shooter training on the plans. I think it's updated for like November 1st, 2023. Um and it sounds like that's still happening and there's still training happening. if it could just be documented a little bit more clearly. Um, but aside from that, it looked good. I think just just overall consistency throughout each site. Um, and then some schools had a little bit stronger language for students with disabilities than others. So, those are my those are my recommendations. Um, for now, just
062due to those comments, I I vote nay. Okay, Miss Mr. Shudy. >> Hi, >> Mr. Rivas. >> Hi. >> And Mr. Robot. Four more. Uh, item B, approval of 2425 school accountability report card published during the 2526 school year. Can I get a motion for action item B? >> I'll make a motion. >> Thank you, Mrs. Shy. >> I'll second. >> Thank you, Mr. Reus. Mr. Hi, >> Miss Gonzalez. >> Hi, >> Mr. Rudy. >> Hi, >> Mr. Rivas. >> I miss. >> Uh, future agenda items. We have the Newman Crows Landing Unified School District Musical Performance. Uh, do you have any info on that on the date? >> We don't have the dates, do we? >> We do have the dates. Huh? >> Tickets go on sale January 16th at 3 p.m. >> January
06316th 3 p.m. >> and the dates are March 13th, 14th, 15th, 20, 21st, and 22nd. I believe March 13th is the opening night for the dinner. And I believe we'll have Scott Kikall in attendance as he I believe he performed in that one when he was in school. >> Really? That's cool. >> All right. Item number 11, our superintendence report. >> Thank you. First of all, I want to thank First of all, I want to thank Hunt and Alad, our our tigers and our lions. So, uh on their great artwork around the building. So, thank you for that and excellent presentations. Um, the second is uh I want to say uh it is National School Board Appreciation Month. So again, I want to let you know how much our community appreciates each one of you.
064So thank you for what you do. It's not always easy. So um and then some just some basic information. The giving tree that we that the district did provided 135 students gifts for Christmas and uh and the majority of their lists were were were filled out for that. Um, our Beyond the Bell coat drive uh served over 100 coats to to students throughout our our community. Um, another big thing is our TK and Kinder registration. We are going to begin that on February 3rd in during the day and February 4th in the afternoon and it's going to be by appointment. So, if you know anybody, they can make an appointment at any site. Uh, they all have the same form to fill out. So, we um we we're not going to ask anybody to go
065somewhere else if they've already checked in somewhere or called about it. We're going to make sure that we can get them registered. One other thing that I just received today is we had a high school senior, Hector Seeddra. He was just admitted into Columbia University through the QuestBridge scholarship. So, Thank you, sir. Uh, moving on to our board reports. Mr. talk. >> Yeah. Um just looking to resume walkthroughs at the end of January and then look forward to all the second semester events and end of the year events. Um I know it's early but they're going to be coming quick. >> Thanks, sir. Mr. Gonzalez, >> 2026. Wow. Um, I know. I was I was telling the board that I can't believe we're getting invitations to all of these events already. It feels like we
066were just there not that long ago. Um, so looking forward to all of that end of the year fun stuff. You might see me with Mr. Walk at the end of January. I'm not sure yet. I have to look at my calendar. I'll let you know, Mr. Puit. I'm not sure yet. Um, otherwise I hope everyone had a a good holiday break and a restorative transition into the new year. And um, I'll see you all soon and I'll see you next month. >> Thank you, Mrs. Shudy. supposed to be >> supposed to be by the sheep. >> Well, I hope everybody had a good um winter break and I hope everybody's ready for the new year. Um first of all, um I want to just say thank you to the whole district. Um attending the
067employee um employee makes a difference breakfast. Um it's kind of hard to just pick one person from each site and to recognize their their wonderful work and their wonderful contributions to the district. Um but I just want to say personally that um each and every single one of you guys in this district has a um special place in this district. You guys are valued. You guys are u very much appreciated. We know the hard work that goes into it. um every decision we try to make and the way we make it is not for us but it is for you guys. Um I think my team and um um along with our superintendent I think we are trying the very best to be as transparent and consistent and um let you guys know that we
068are here for you guys and we do value each and every single one of you guys. So, thank you and continue doing the good work you guys are doing cuz it's very evident that something good is happening by what Heather just presented. It's it's showing that something is going right and we should all be very proud of it. So, um continue doing what we're doing and hopefully we continue making progress. Um and other than that, like Mr. Davila said, "Please go to the um father's conference because um it is something that um as a dad you you gain a lot of insight." Um and to the presenters today, congratulations. Um Mrs. Keebus and Miss Octaga, you guys are are wonderful and you guys are doing a wonderful job. So, thank you. >> Thank you, Mr.
069Reeves. Got a couple things. Welcome back. It was a good probably hope vacation you guys well deserve and needed. And seniors that are in here, this is it. Like enjoy it. Get to school. I don't want to hear 4.0. I have 4.0. I don't need to go to school. Get in school. Okay. But enjoy it. It's going to go quick. My son's graduating. I wish every day would go slower. Enjoy it. Okay. It's going to be you're going to be walking down that up the stairs getting your diploma. Everyone's going to cheer and then you got the real world. That's it. Enjoy being a kid right now. [clears throat] Okay. Enjoy it. Um like Miss Trudy said, that dad's conference I went a couple years ago. It's really great. There's a lot of dads that
070went and I was like I talked to them after I know a couple and they said it was really eye opening and they actually learned a lot. I'm going to be attending and I hope to see a lot of a lot of dads there. Other than that, enjoy it. Welcome back. Good. Thank you, sir. And I don't really have much tonight but um off of the new year. Um a lot of changes coming. got to go forward. And thank you to all of our staff across all the sites to make um our facilities look top-notch. Matt to his team, Heather to your curriculum team. Those those those reports that come out, there's a lot of positives in those. So, um another year of going forward and we will see you guys next month on February
0719th. Uh >> that's what it says. [laughter] Uh, meeting adjourned at 7:07 p.m. >> Seniors, you have any papers? Bring them up. We'll sign them.