001Mhm. >> Mhm. >> [music] >> Mhm. >> [music] >> Good afternoon. I would like to call this workshop to order at 2:03 p.m. Number one is 26-3833. Review intended approval of the 2026-2027 student progression plan and school procedures handbook. Mr. John Morris. >> Good afternoon board, board chair, superintendent Mr. Vinner. Um, my name is John Morris. I will be going over the reviewed of the changes to the 26-27 pupil progression policy. Um, yeah, I will go through the big major changes that there's something you need me to go back to and address or look at specifically, please just stop me and let me know and I'll go back. I tend to go through this pretty fast, so just let me know where to stop. Um, this one jumping straight to the first one is just
002removing some old language in reference to ESE students riding the bus. Um, when it talks about desegregation purposes, this was just recently caught. So, there's that was just removing that statement right there that you can see there. Um, this one I would recommend talking about a little bit. So, this This is language being added into that has been part of our Neola policy 5200 in reference to grades and students attendance. Um, this was brought This language was brought from that Neola policy from the attendance committee um, to put this language in. And I I want to go over some specifics that are in here. It states that a student who has 10 or more days of unexcused absences within a semester, days are defined for full days for elementary school and individual periods for secondary
003schools, or 5 days or more on a block schedule, may not receive a passing grade for the course if he or she cannot demonstrate mastery. And it goes into some examples as to why. Um, talks about school administration providing opportunity for the students who accrue the unexcused absences um, to demonstrate mastery. Those are some examples but not limited to just those examples. So, this is a policy we've had in Neola that we just haven't followed for years. I don't know at what point this was removed from pupil progression. Um, it has not been in there since I've been in this position for 8 years. Um, so in order to follow what was in Neola, this was added in there. Uh, just want to state that this is not say it is guaranteed as soon as
004a student hits 10 unexcused absences that Skyward is just going to automatically put a failed grade in for students. Um, it'll be something that'll be looked at and reviewed at school sites um, with some procedures to be able to look at what that looks like for a student. For example, misses their first period as a freshman for 10 or more days unexcused, what is that going to look like for a student when it comes to their grades? They may receive a failing grade as a result for missing that many days. Does anybody have questions with that one? That's really the the big one that we're looking at today. On this next one, just some more clarity in terms of tardy and how it counts. Um same thing here, just students clarity with the maximum of
005two days to turn in a note. This wasn't going away. This is just more specific in terms of what those those for sure excused absences would be counted for. There are some added DE language just to help with uh students getting their DE materials on time. There's been a couple examples where kids don't get their DE materials and then last minute want to request them um when we've already paid for it and we're budgeted for what was already taken. So, um they just put in some language that the DE department, CT department put in some language for that. Um this just some more DE language that talks about a kid who's in the early admission program at PHSC about if they get dismissed from that program, they would return to their their school that they
006are enrolled in. Um they just wanted to be specific, not your zone school. So, Nature Coast would be the example or if you're choice in somewhere, doesn't mean just because you're removed from the program you would go back to your zone school. You would go back to your school that you're enrolled in. These were just some areas here in terms of just adding pre-K, nothing major. Um this was just clarifying in terms of makeup work. We count OSS does not count as an unexcused absent to state reporting, but we count it for the purposes of make up work policy. We count OSS as an unexcused absence. Um this right here is just to help uh really kindergarten teachers in terms of their grade books um being able to not have to put in many grades
007in for social studies and science just because again it's kindergarteners having that many assignments for kids they're having issues you know really finding tests and such to put in for them. Um this was just clarifying language that we've we've already had and been following just the 100 minutes of supervised safe and unstructured free play recess per week for students in grades K through 5 ensuring at least 20 consecutive minutes daily. This we just talked about with the grades for kindergarten. This was just being removed. We don't have progress reports anymore. We haven't for quite some time with access to Skyward. Parents are be able to be aware. This was language that was changed from semi to 60%. Um the issue was in elementary there were kind of had some issues where if a student had
008a 65% on a test they weren't necessarily allowed to make up that test, but a student who got a 60 or below can make it up and get possibly a 70. So they just wanted the numbers to match here both being 60%. Uh there's a bunch of updates here that just changed instead of saying foreign language when it comes to coursework it's world language. This was just removed um because we have updated the charts. If you guys saw it, I know it looks gross when I do the edits. All this is being removed um in terms of this chart and all we do now is we pull straight from the state. This should make it easier for anybody who does want to reference this for grad requirements and such. Um it comes in there it's
009just pulled from the state Florida DOE website. Goes into These links that are on here are not live because this is a PDF. Um but it references the link that parents could go to if they wanted this document. So it goes into your grad requirements. Obviously the the latest one is this first graduating class of 20 27 will be the one required to have a half credit in personal financial literacy. Uh we also make known on the next one. Uh an Access diploma is a standard diploma. It is just a standard diploma with Access courses. So they have to meet the same requirements um as a regular diploma student. So we note that as well. Again, that's just an update with foreign language. Uh not to confuse anybody with these testing score table We had
010to update some dates and years. Uh if you remember a couple years ago during the COVID times it was very complicated in terms of how the state was doing their scale scores for concordant and such. So we just had to clean that up a little bit because now that those cohorts have exited per se, now it's just a flat look at what those scale scores were or what they need to be. So that's why you see a lot of change language here. I just talked about this standard diploma with Access courses, not an Access diploma. Uh AP Capstone We updated some language here. AP Capstone diploma is a is an opportunity for at all five high schools. Uh essentially last year's legislation passed that if a student receives an AP Capstone diploma they're an automatic
011qualifier for Bright Futures for bright futures scholarship. Um But with that comes some specific courses for the last year's incoming freshman class as well. So any student coming in last year freshman class has to take certain AP courses to meet that. While anybody this year's seniors and next year's seniors will be able to meet it just taking AP courses. They don't have to meet specific ones. School counselors are all aware and they've been sharing that information. And those are just updates. Just adding seal of fine arts as another seal that got added in through legislation last year. We just put the specifics in here. Schools have already been aware and have acknowledged they've known what the requirements are. We just wanted to make sure now that rule making was done during the year, we just
012wanted to make sure this was in there. Um since we talked about this, this was emphasizing as you guys know, you got some parents coming in asking that you know, certificate of completion is no longer a thing. Parents were still continuing to ask and their students participate in the graduation ceremony when our policy says no, it's only students who meet the requirements for a standard diploma. So we just highlighted and included to make sure that people understand that means you have to meet the required credits 18 or 24, 2.0 GPA and the state assessment requirements to participate in a graduation ceremony. This just updated AP test fees. It's $99, but you can every school can apply a $9 rebate, so they're really $90. I just put it in there for $99 cuz that's how it
013comes up, but every school and every student can get a $9 rebate. They also get reduced if you're a low income student, it can reduce down to I believe it's $49. And athletics, this just talks about quick little word added here with student insurance. Now it includes athletes and sideline cheerleaders. That was something Dustin added. Um this is just some updated language in terms of school nurses and such. Is there something in here you need me to stop at cuz there's quite a bit. A lot of it's just grammatical cleanups. This is just more This is just an update to textbook adoption cycle. Um nothing big here. Uh Angel Pagan added this language in terms of students using 45 Florida for for emergencies. This line was removed. And then this just talks about adding this
014language in reference to safe schools. And then the last updates were just changing foreign to world language. Um one last thing I just need you to look at that will be amended and added. Um talking with Joe Class, I know Miss Hawkins was on top of this policy also. Um this will be policy. It's our lice and I'm not going to try to pronounce that word. But lice policy and it just needs to match what our new Ebola policy is. So I will bring it up just to see it. This will be added in there under our lice policy in terms of kids being sent home if nits or live lice are present. Any questions with pupil progression? >> Dr. Morris, can you go back to the I think it was the very first thing
015you brought up about the grades for it to and connected to attendance? >> Yep. >> Okay. So, I just wanted to make sure cuz it says a student who has 10 or more days of unexcused absences within a semester. I just was checking to see if semester or it was the whole year. So, in this So, this is per semester 10 days. So, the student could be technically out 20 days for the year. >> Right. So, yes, elementary look at it as 20 days. >> Okay. >> Yep. Unexcused. >> Unexcused. >> Correct. >> So, if the student is not um Five of those days could be because a parent writes a note that the child was sick. >> That's ex- That'd be excused. >> So, then that'd be excused. So, then they'd have to be
01610 unexcused. >> Correct. So, and then elementary, you know, they have some concerns with that piece cuz again, when you're in elementary, it's it's mostly a parent responsibility for a note, not necessarily the kid. So, >> Yeah. >> So, obviously, that's why it says may have a failing grade. So, that way it's not something that's necessarily punishing the kid because a parent's not writing notes for the kid or even keeping the kid home themselves. >> Yeah. What this does is it gives us the latitude to um with the may that this student could pass or not. >> Correct. >> With a failed grade. >> Yep. >> Okay. >> Which could be a problem down the road. But I'll address it later. >> Okay. I just wanted to clarify that. >> All right. I think I'm
017done. >> Board, do you have any questions? >> Nope. >> Okay. >> Mrs. DePaul. You want to wait on that one? >> Yes. Yes, please. I'm going to wait until this comes around again next year. >> Okay. Uh I'm sure it will. I mean, it's one of those ones that >> Yes, it will. We'll see We'll see how it works this year and >> Okay. >> get the information, I think, to make a better decision between the word may and will. Cuz that is the issue. >> Yep. >> Okay. >> Mr. Pender. >> No, I'm sorry. >> No. >> Thank you, Dr. Morris. >> All right. >> Thank you, Dr. Morris. We're on item number two, 26-3692. Review and tentative approval of the 2026-27 staff handbook changes that support the ongoing operational needs of the
018district. Hello, ladies. >> Hello, good afternoon. I'm Alexis Brown, director of human resources. >> Rachel Becker, coordinator of human resources. >> Thank you for being here. >> Thank you. So, while Rachel brings up the strike through, we did provide a summary of the changes. There were no serious changes this go around. Most of them were just clarifying language or grammatical. Um but if we do have any specific we're happy to go over those while we're here. >> I only have one. >> Okay, go ahead. >> Page 50 or 311, I don't know which one it is. Um our emergency shelters. It doesn't have East East side listed. >> Emergency shelters. >> Mhm. >> Okay. [clears throat] >> And they are going to be an emergency a shelter now, so that was the only thing I
019had when I read through it. >> Okay, we will definitely add that before it goes for final approval. Were there any other questions? Board, any questions? >> Anything you want to go over? >> just for the sake of time. Okay. >> All right, well if you have any questions before next board meeting, let me know. >> Thank you. >> Item number 3 26-3492. Review and tentative approval of NEOLA policy volume 26, number one. Mrs. Kidder. Thank you for being here. >> I know if I switch the right one to the wrong one. Okay, here we are. Good afternoon. Madam Chair, school board, and Superintendent Pender. Uh, it's my pleasure to be here to present to you policies to be considered for review in volume 26, number one of the Neola policies. I believe that you
020all have had an opportunity to have a hard copy to review. Um, we do have some of the reviewers here today should you have questions. Um, I can scroll through them or whatever your pleasure is. >> I don't think that is necessary. I think if there's anything that we're concerned with, we should just go ahead and address that with you. Board members, do you have any concerns? >> I don't have any concerns. >> Thank you, Mrs. Bondzio. Mrs. Deval? >> Good to go. >> Okay, thank you. >> Same here. >> Oh, thank you. Okay. All right. Thank you for being here. >> Absolutely. >> Item four, 26-3693, review and tentative approval of the revised safe driver plan for the 2026-27 school year. Hi, how are you? Rachel Becker again, coordinator of human resources. >> I've
021provided a summary of the changes for the safe driver plan. There's not many changes, really clarifying information. If anybody has any questions regarding, I'll be happy to answer it. >> Thank you. Board, do we have any questions? >> No question. >> Mrs. DeVol? Let her get her thoughts together and >> Sure. >> Okay, I think we are all good as a board. I don't believe we have any questions for you. >> Great. Thank you so much. >> Thank you. >> great afternoon. >> Thank you for being here. Item number five, 26-3841. Presentation on the adoption and purchase of Wayground as a district educational engagement platform for grades K through 12. Hello, how are you? >> Good afternoon, Jessie Diaz, supervisor of instructional technology. >> Jess Siler from Wayground. >> Holly Record, Fox Chapel Middle School.
022>> Charlotte Northford, Deltona Elementary School. >> Thank you for being here. >> Thank you. I'm just going to get the presentation going. That's not All right. Okay. Madam Chair, board members, Superintendent Pender, thank you for this opportunity. The purpose of my presentation today is to propose the adoption of Wayground as a district educational engagement platform for grades K to 12, replacing Seesaw and Nearpod as a unified student-facing interactive teaching and learning platform. The Instructional Technology Department conducted a 3-month free pilot of Wayground across the district. Today, we will share what we learned, what teachers experienced, and our recommendation for next steps. First, let's talk a little bit about Wayground. Wayground is a single platform that can replace various digital tools. So, it it can't replace teachers. It replaces digital tools, which is very important. Um
023if you notice, I do have a few points there, uh and I'm not going to read them verbatim, but as you can see, uh two of the most important ones probably are the teacher efficiency and district visibility. And what do we mean by that? Um teacher teacher efficiency uh that covers a lot of things, but for example, the teacher being able to create an assessment quickly when they have content that they that they've taught. So, if you notice, Wayground is not something that students are going to be sitting in front of all day. That's not what Wayground is. Wayground very much needs a teacher. It is a tool that the teacher uses to enhance what the teacher is teaching, the content. Um what I I did mention also uh visibility, which another factor is that
024the reporting is across the district. So, not only can teachers see the reporting and get actionable data at the district level, we can also see that data and it is across the board K to 12, which is unlike what we currently have, which we're using two different platforms. We're using Seesaw and Nearpod to enhance instruction. Um, and we'll go over that a little bit more. >> give us clarification, so both those programs would be dismissed? >> Correct. >> And Waygo would take over? >> Absolutely. >> And what is the cost? What's the savings? How does that look financially? >> So financially the savings is a somewhere around between 48 and 50,000 dollars is the savings. >> By having Waygo? >> Correct. >> And then what is the term limit on Waygo? What did we have
025to sign? >> It's for one year. >> Okay. >> It's a one-year term, just like with Seesaw and Nearpod, our um, contracts with them are ending right now, so we are not renewing. >> So we can move right into Waygo. >> Correct. >> And where did we pilot this out? >> All the schools. >> And what was the findings? >> Well, we're that's what we're going to get into right now. I have all the data, but the the exciting thing about it was that even though it was not a mandate, it was not a a mandatory participation type thing, teachers, they wanted to be a part of it. Um, we had around around 100 teachers who joined the pilot, but more than almost 400 teachers used it because even though there were teachers in the
026actual pilot, which was like when you're doing a study, they were like the test group, if you will, others also joined even though they weren't part of the official pilot, but across the district any teacher who wanted to have access received access and the students as well. >> Well, did you have any negative feedback? >> Not not really, not of the program per se, and any negative would have been negligible. In other words, out of 100, one or two might say, "Well, I like this one better." You know, but So, a lot of the time it's more anecdotal than giving a reason that's impacting how your how your lesson is being impacted or I can make a an assessment quicker with this other application. Really right now, Wayground is not a new application, just to
027be clear. Wayground has been around for a long time. In fact, when I was a reading coach, I used it. The thing is that it was called Quizzes back then, but it has evolved greatly in the last few years to the point of uh where teachers were just amazed at what they could do. And we do I do have some anecdotal feedback that I'm going to share in the >> And what does it take for a teacher to learn the program and how to use it? >> Well, it's it's pretty Uh what Well, you guys go ahead and then you can talk to that. Teachers. >> It's pretty easy to use. It'll walk you through. It gives you lots of options. You can upload a PDF, for example, and have it turn it into a
028quiz for you. It'll take a video and give it questions that you as you're going through the video and stop and ask the questions as you go. There's very little learning for the teachers to do other than >> Do we have to have training? Are we Is that in the horizon? Are we training the teachers on this program or is it something that they're going to self-teach? >> No, we have been training and we do support teachers. In fact, to tomorrow and and Thursday they are doing training on Wayground specifically, one of the applications that they are training on. But, it's one of those things that's it's pretty intuitive compared to other applications that teachers have used. >> want to make sure because what I've heard as long as I've been on the board is
029that we would roll out programs, put them in the school, and then >> Absolutely. >> maybe give them a little bit of short, small snippet, brief interaction of training, and then we leave, and then they're left to And then also, within the component of whatever program it is, there's so many things that they could do, but they've never been trained to the full capacity. So, therefore, what we're paying for never really pays out for the value of what that program really could be for us to really make a good judgment because there's so many sections that are not utilized. So for me it's near and dear to my heart that I hear teachers constantly say that we'll give them something but yet not give them the right training that they need to be able to
030utilize it to the best of what it's capable of doing. So I just want to make sure and I know you've heard me say this over and over it's kind of one of my little things I preach on that if we're going to give this to the student to the teachers to be able to make an impact on these students I just want to make sure that I don't hear from them that yeah they threw this at us but yet we're supposed to try to figure it out in between what time? We don't have time but yet there's been no formal training. So I just want to add that disclosure not saying you are or aren't none of the above but I just want to make sure that if we're going to do this that
031they are being trained. >> Absolutely and that's duly noted and and it's one of the things that um as the person overseeing a department that that's what my team does is support and provide professional learning. Right now they have priorities for this new year and obviously that is one of them if a teacher needs additional support they can actually reach out to them through teams. Hey I need help with this I need to learn that and they're able to not only go to their classrooms but sometimes if one of them happens to be at a different site they can meet through teams and somehow prioritize that need. So the technology has been helping us in that sense as well. >> So so far we're saving on money. The teachers are liking this better than the
032other two programs that we're eliminating. >> Overwhelmingly. >> And we're going to make sure that they're trained correctly. >> Yes ma'am. >> Okay. Is there any negatives yet so far that you've come across? >> Not from teachers not from teachers. >> being used in how many districts? >> Oh you know oh that would probably be a question for >> It's being used worldwide. Um, we're international and we are in the United States. >> So here in Florida, can you give me for instance? >> Um, off the top of my head, Pinellas is using us. Um >> Brevard, any of those, anybody else? >> Um, we're being used in Houston ISD, Arlington ISD in Texas. Um, we're being used in many schools in New York City, um, New York in particular, um, Illinois, Iowa, Idaho, all
033over the country. >> But here in Florida, not a trick question, it's okay that you don't know. But here in Florida, is it several districts or >> Yeah, yes, it is several districts. Um, you are able to have a district license, but you're also able to have just a school license. Um, so I'm not familiar with more of the school level licenses. I'm more familiar with the district level licenses. I work with our enterprise clients. >> Okay. >> Fox Chapel, we've actually had a school license the last 2 years, too, that we paid for through SAC funds and Title 1. And I believe it's much more cost-efficient to do it as a district license, also. >> What does that cost? >> 77,000? 70 79? >> So for us as a school, when we had to
034pay for it, it's by student and I want to say it was around $7,000 and we have about 800 students in our school. So and moving forward with you know, less funds available, like we would not be able to purchase this as a school for next year if it wasn't approved by the district. >> Yes, and the advantage of having done the pilot is that they currently still have access to it. Um, Wayground left it open for us so that teachers, while they were doing training over the summer, could still have access to it. So it's it's a pretty seamless thing once we roll into the actual service because it's currently on. They currently have access to it. So it'll be just continuing to support an application that is in um, in use, to say
035it that way. >> And it also works with other programs that we use like Canvas and different things, correct? >> Absolutely. >> So, it integrates with stuff that they're already using every day. >> Correct. >> Absolutely. And um as we continue, I'll show some of the advantages of it, but I think and I'm just going to clarify this once more. It is not a learning platform. They don't sit and learn math in front of it by lessons that are built in there. No. Everything that happens in Wayground, the teacher sets that. So, if the teacher is teaching about synonyms and the different types of synonyms, the lesson, the content is that. With Wayground, they can create an assessment to see if the students are getting it. Many advantages are the they get data quickly, they
036get actionable data that they can well, instead of grading something later, I can know right now if you know this or not. And then I can take action as a teacher. >> Mrs. Duvall, is it like the used to be a ticket out? Do you Do you remember ticket outs? Yes. So, this would help a teacher immediately on that ticket out know whether the students understand. Okay. >> Most definitely. >> I like that. >> Yeah, exactly. So, um exit tickets, bell ringers, you name it, it can all happen. Um but also at the same time to your point, you get that instant feedback. So, if you're using standards to assess your students on those particular questions, that feedback comes back to you and you can group students accordingly based on what they're learning, what they're
037not learning, and then reteach accordingly. >> That's ideal. Mr. Pender. >> So, we've used this example and I've said this to Jesse and I've used this phrase a lot with what's happened here um with this program that happened to be being piloted, but it also replaces some layered programs that we have. So, I've said before that and we've said in cabinet, Jesse understood the assignment. So, we've asked departments to look at programs that they have, where they overlap, if there's any overlap, is there another alternative that will work, or can we have a conversation about unoverlapping them because we're paying for the overlap. So, that's what one of the things that Jesse accomplished in this and if this moves forward is to save that money. >> Absolutely. >> Um so, we're providing a program that
038it seems as though teachers support, that'll give us a good prob product and we've uncovered some of that overlap and saving that money in the process. So, we're using this as an example, hopefully if it's approved, not only of a great teaching tool, but how that process moves forward as we look at budgets and that overlap in the future present as we move forward. >> Absolutely. >> Thank you, Mr. Pender. Mrs. Deval. Jesse, um let's just leave it this will get approved. What is your plan for um >> [clears throat] >> assessing how it's going this coming year with the teachers? I could I could >> their expectations. >> Absolutely. There's going to be various diff various things we're going to be looking at. But obviously, with these kinds of programs, sometimes it's hard to
039determine the direct impact that it has on for for example, on how kids score on high-stakes assessments, right? However, one of the things that was interesting this year was that Fox Chapel Fox Chapel was has been using it for 2 years now. And they've been very methodical in how they've been using it specifically with civics in their social studies department and they work together. They develop assessments together that brings a certain formality to the process and also of expectation. So, interestingly enough, when you look at their data and I wasn't going to bring that in and nor do I have it in my slides because I wanted to look at that a lot closer. This is data that I really want to look at closer so that this year we know what we're looking for,
040but their data's through the roof when it comes to civics. Now, I'm not going to attribute the entire thing to Way Ground. However, it is a common denominator. They have been methodical using it and we know that when students are How can I say what word to use? When they're assessed, let's just say assessed with different types of uh Well, I can't find the word right now, but I don't I don't want to use I want to say triggers, but I know that's probably not the best word, but but when you're using different types of assessments, that's the best way to really know that students are learning and that they're getting the content. I know that you know this, but that's a case for me that is been very interesting to look at their data.
041So, my hope is that as more schools, because remember, this can it's not something that's going to be mandated. That's one of the greatest things about it. >> It's an option. >> Exactly. >> And I like the fact that safer civics when a student is engaged and you're able to captivate them and it's interesting, that's when you learn opposed to having to sit there and go through something >> Absolutely. >> and you don't even understand and it feels like it's way over your head and then you have to test on it opposed to once again, the same thing with learning and having that resource there to where you're like, oh, I get that. Oh, I understand it and you keep moving to where then you're going to see your test scores be so much better.
042>> I agree. And to be fair, I'm not going to talk negatively about Seesaw, nor am I going to talk negatively about Nearpod. They're They're good applications. The thing is that if I can do the same thing or more with another and pay less, >> Yeah. What made us not have Wayground before we went with the other two? >> They were very expensive before and and in a sense, I think they're still competing, but a lot is changing in the world. >> before we went with the other two? >> I knew them as quizzes before. And they were actually considered a few years ago, but at that moment, it did not make sense for us to move with quizzes and they've evolved so much since then, too. They have changed a lot. I want to
043say in the last 3 years. They've become a a very robust application. >> Wayground Well, Wayground? >> Wayground. Yeah, they were limited to just what their name was, quizzes. That's what they did. It was quizzes. But now, they can't call themselves quizzes anymore, so they changed that to Wayground and you know, with I think with a lot of >> it seems to be competitive as well. >> Yes. Well, they matched the um >> I do want to also point out we were not bought by anybody. It was just a change of name due to everything that we were going um and enhancing. Um so, you're still dealing with the same people behind quizzes. It has not been bought out. We are the same people that we were before. Um we just offer so many more
044ways to enhance your learning on a daily basis. >> So, you're just broadening and also the price is competitive. Yeah. >> Absolutely. And that's the reason we did we couldn't go with them in the past, even though we were looking at it and it was it was there, but it was costing us about the same thing that it would cost to get Nearpod. And Nearpod at that point >> had more to offer. >> Yes. And now, Wayground has really blown them out of the water. At the At least as far as us um accommodations, the way accommodations are applied is >> Okay. >> We're going to talk a little bit about that in a minute. >> I'll quit speaking. I'm going to have you try to [laughter] breeze through it a little bit. >> I
045appreciate you. Okay. So, um our proposed solution is to consolidate two separate products into one unified platform that streamlines reporting, integrates digital resources, and creates a consistent workflow experience across grade levels. So, you can see on the left side how there's Yes, there are applications that they function, but they don't work together. Reporting is not together. It doesn't look the same. The flow is not the same from K to 12 because we're talking about two different um application languages, if you will. And now we would be using one application that is helpful for the continuum when we talk about from K to 12. Um Aside from the finance the financial saving that we already talked about um this that this move represents, there are numerous benefits to our overall goal of enhancing the teaching and
046learning experience with relevant time-saving tools. Here are some, all right, that I kind of mentioned some of them already, but just to highlight maybe one or two. Um Imple- We're implementation ready because we've already started it. We have been running a 3-month pilot where we're already running. Um there's not a whole lot to be done as far as getting us together. For example, uh are we going to have to spend on getting it uh synced to our single sign-on? No, it's already synced. It was part of the pilot. We we are we already use single sign-on. We already use ClassLink for encryption or, you know, so that the kids can access the application in a safe um environment. All of that is already set. There's nothing that we're going to have to pay extra for
047or anything like that. Um Oh, and I did Canvas integration, which was meant mentioned earlier. I believe you mentioned it. Yes, and that's critical. Whenever I'm bringing any application or you're thinking of anything, that's my first question. Are you guys compatible with Canvas? That's my first question. Absolutely, and there is reason for that. Right now, kids get to college and there's an LMS and most likely it's Canvas for the most part. It's the It's the most used worldwide, but there are others, you know, so definitely that for me is very important. Um Okay. Now And And I guess this is kind of clear, but why explore this approach? We addressed it a few minutes ago. Um why even look for alternatives? Um there were various reasons, financial we did mention, but there were also four
048key challenges, not the only ones, but yes, there was low usage of Nearpod. Not as much as I would expect um considering how long we've had it. As the same with Seesaw. Even though it's been available and training has been offered, we were still not getting as many teachers using it as as we thought we should. And we we dug into that. We asked and one of the things obviously was that we that we did hear from some teachers is that well, as soon as they get to third grade, then it's something else. You know, now it's not that anymore and I'm not going to invest my time in something that and there's a lot of different reasons and I understand all of that. So, definitely we want something unified, something that continues that that
049flow if you will. >> Mr. Diaz, will you do us a favor on that? >> Mhm. >> When it comes to the platforms, when they show a low and inconsistent inconsistent usage and that's happening, will you bring that to us so that we can actually get some data on how low it's getting and who is really using it and not so that we don't continue using a program? >> I The The programs that are under my purview, I I absolutely. And now there's going to be less programs under my purview, right? Because we're eliminating one. But definitely >> seen that. I have heard that. So many teachers tell me it just sits there. So, that's something else that I feel like I want to get a handle on because why have it if it's really
050not effective, if we're not utilizing it? >> And I agree with that. And that's one of the reasons that when my team and I we sat down and all year we have been monitoring this. It didn't come up just because oh, there's this problem. No, we had been already thinking about this and it just made everything fall in line as we saw other situations that came up. But >> Mr. Pender, will you take a note to see if somebody would update us on the usage of those programs that we're approving to know how much it's really being used and how active it is? >> I did. I went back. I made that note. Um and the other thing is is if we don't have that second bullet up there in a program that limited visibility
051where we can see the program usage if that's not a part of the program, then it becomes a little bit more difficult to find out how the program's being used. So, it's important when we purchase programs that we have the ability to see the usage rate at different schools, different levels to determine is this when we're optimizing our budgets, is this something because if we're not using it, that's the first when I go looking for uh places to optimize our budget, that's the first place that I look. If we're not using it, then why do we have it? So, it's important that as we bring on programs that we have the ability to look in that visibility that you have up there is could be like to know what's going on, but it's really just
052simply usage even if we have that hours like, you know, I know I-Ready has number of minutes on task and and those type of of metrics to know are we using it or not. So, that's the first clue in order to be able to optimize not just budgets, but use and how it's being used by students and teachers and are they really using it. So, I appreciate that. >> our district personnel are that maintain these and look at all this documentation, I'd like to make sure that that's duly noted what Mr. Pender just said and that we start doing that so that we're not just wasteful spending and not you know, getting a program that is really benefiting the district and the and the students. >> Absolutely. And the lens through which one looks at
053the data is important as well because as I mentioned before, we have applications that are mandatory applications that are part of curriculum. So, I would expect to see certain kind of data. This program, which is something that is um you know, teachers use it if they want. It's a choice. The data is going to look different. But if I'm seeing that there's a lot of teachers using it, that's a good sign for me. If I'm seeing that it's extremely low, so I I agree that's a very good metric to be looking at and it's something we're going to continue. >> back to us from time to time and you'll stay on top of that along with anybody else in the district that is listening and Mr. Pender, I'm sure you'll get the memo out that
054from now on that we find out exactly if these programs are being utilized. >> And sometimes it's not from that usage. It may not be that the something is wrong with the program >> Mhm. >> indicate we need to have more professional development around the program or a part of the program if a part of the program isn't being used. So, we use that data to inform either more professional development or maybe the maybe it's not the best program for our use. >> love to see you take action on that, Mr. Pender, because like I said in the past, so many programs I could sit here and name. There's so many components that are not being utilized because they do not have the training that's needed. So, I love this conversation right now because that
055is something that we do need to make sure that we get on top of because we haven't been really, you know, when it comes to from what I'm hearing from teachers, getting the correct training in the proper hours. Mrs. Deval, >> would it be realistic to ask you to maybe give us back some information in January, this coming January on how it went first semester in the workshop? >> Absolutely. In fact, today I do have data to present from the pilot, but that would be a good follow-up for us is to show how it's being used um you know, after the formal adoption of it for the district were it to be approved today. >> And if we can nail it down now, that'd be great. >> Mrs. Bonczek? >> That's what I was going
056to ask, is it on our agenda for tonight? I didn't >> It is not. You You remember there's a rule now, we have to wait. >> But wait, for tonight >> So it'll be >> It'll be on the next one, on the 23rd. >> Okay. >> It'll be on that evening. >> I mean, I'm okay with it moving forward. >> I try to be a rule follower. So that's why it's not there tonight. >> It'll be on the next on the end end of the month's board agenda for adoption, but if we answer questions here, then it can be on the consent agenda and >> So I think you have consensus now, so that you know, because I hear Yeah, I hear that the board members are okay with it. >> I appreciate that. >>
057So you don't have to wonder. Um would you talk about the last bullet, IEP 504 accommodations briefly, and then after that, can we move forward? And I'm going to speak >> Miss Norford, is that for your IEP accommodations at Deltona? >> Absolutely. >> Can you speak on that? >> Sure. It comes with the accommodations where the questions can be read to the students. They um can we can limit the choices for particular students. It could be and it can be done individually. So maybe Jesse is on an IEP and he needs his choices reduced, whereas Jessica on the end doesn't need any accommodations, I can reduce them for him and leave the question the same for her. It also has the ability to translate for our Hispanic population as well. >> That's awesome. >> So
058it shows the English and then it will give the Spanish as well, and the students can see the Spanish and understand how to answer it that way as well. >> So can I click Can I clarify something? So, when you said like reduce task instead of circling, x-ing a task, you can put this task in and say only give me five choices or five or three different Yes. Different problems instead of 15 problems. That's amazing. Um, what about for nonverbal children? What does it do for that? >> I'm sorry, say that again. >> Nonverbal children. >> Um, it would have to the teacher would have to set it up with pictures and images or >> But it can It can It can handle that. >> Yes. >> That's amazing. >> Yes. It also has dyslexia
059font, which a lot of the kids really benefit from also. >> That's another plus. >> Will we Will we make sure for the dyslexia, the nonverbal, will we make sure that we are doing that for those students? >> Absolutely. The These are the things that we want to put in in teachers' reach um, so that they can um do more and reach more of the kids. You know, do more but not but without Exactly. Exactly. >> Well, what you're saying is without having to do more. Because kids that are less of a content, they're actually having to make a test for them or rewrite a test for them. >> And >> Or If you get a teacher that doesn't really want to bother, they're crossing out and circling, you just do these or scaffolding over.
060And it it it it it does create more work on a teacher to have to do all those things when you're trying to accommodate a child. >> And that's probably one of the most powerful things that I had in consideration as we were looking at the different applications is that um, what they call that general uh, accommodation system where the accommodation follows the student. It's very different. No None of the other applications has that up to now that I know of. In other words, once I set Jesse's accommodations, it doesn't matter what assessment Jesse's taking, it could be a multiple choice, it could be something else. They follow me. So, that's powerful because you know, now it's not like I have to remember who has what. No, if you set it, the kid has it.
061And accommodations are one of those things that usually don't change a whole lot during the year. They're pretty much set in stone. >> DeVault. >> Yeah. >> Do we have consensus on this, do you think? >> We have consensus. >> Move forward. >> Yes. >> Okay, so I'm going to move quickly then through this. >> on the um nonverbal and the dyslexic children. >> Okay, just answer the questions and go, I think is what they're saying. >> the dyslexic and the Get your pronouns right. That's very important. >> Very important. I don't want to have a pronouns situation. >> play when it comes to that. >> [laughter] >> On the nonverbal and the dyslexic children, would you please do me an extra favor and will you reach out to these teachers that those that have
062those students because a lot of times [clears throat] let's say, I know that you put it out there and all the teachers have access, but sometimes if they don't realize how great this is, they may not even venture to it. >> I think I can do more. I can probably partner with our ESC department since we have meetings where we see each other. I can talk to our, you know, counterparts in ESC and they can also let their folks know, "Hey, now we have this." And >> I just want to make sure though that that next step happens. >> Absolutely. >> Because let's say I'm a teacher and Charlotte's a teacher, you're using it and I see it, heard about it, but I'm busy in life and I never really get into it. But yet
063I have some kids that could have benefited and this would have been really advantageous for them, but I never utilized it. So, just an extra step to where even though it's there, not every teacher's going to use it. So, I just want to make sure that we do that because I think once they try it, sometimes proof is in the pudding, and once they actually try it and taste it, they're going to say, "Oh my goodness, this it changes everything." So, somehow I want to reach more and reach out more than we have before. >> I can also do you one better with a school and district plan you do of the ability to set a case manager. So, every school could have a case manager that's in charge of all IEPs to ensure that
064all students accommodations are in the platform. There's no additional financial back >> And our staffing specialist should be able to help with that, too. >> So, you can set those accommodations and make sure that it carries through for those students. >> Mr. Diaz, will you make sure that that happens? >> I'll follow up. >> Okay. Thank you. And then, who do we have anybody that's going to go around and kind of um oversee setting it up and making sure that teachers are >> Well, it it it it would be under my department. We would be the ones that would be making sure that teachers know how to set it, and it's going to be one of our priorities this year. >> Cuz you can always take Charlotte and move her around from place to place.
065>> I'm not sure how she feels about that. But, we're definitely going to be um supporting >> detail. So, with that being said, I already know her personally, so I know how she is, so >> Very much. >> Okay. Um where are we at now? >> Um we're done when if we're done. I mean I think this is just data from our pilot. Very you know >> Good data. >> Bring that data back with you when we get our January >> Mhm. Absolutely. >> data, and then we can compare and everything. >> Absolutely. >> Okay. Well, we look forward to seeing the results, and thank you for being here, and thank you guys for doing your due diligence and trying to help these students again. >> Absolutely. >> We appreciate you. >> Thank you. We
066are on to item number six, 26-3802. That's the presentation of 2026 survey results for staff, parent, and student annual engagement surveys. And I'm going to give you guys 3 minutes. No, I'm just kidding. See the clock? We want to end at 3:00, please. We save the best for last. We knew you guys would just breeze right through and let Ms. March back to all the talking. All right, we ready? Okay. Please introduce yourself. >> All right, good afternoon, Madam Chair, board members, Superintendent Pender. I'm Jen Marchback, Director of Research and Accountability. >> I'm Alex Senial, Supervisor of Human Resources. >> I'm Aaron Ellerman, the Director of Communications. >> Okay, so I'm going to start us off with the student engagement survey. We had 13,500 students complete the student engagement survey, an increase of 3% from
067the previous year. So, our goal for next year will be to continue to increase um the participation of the survey. Overall, the results were consistent from the previous year with many areas demonstrating an increase. So, our first area, safety. Um this was an area strength across all levels. Safety is a clear strength overall. All questions regarding safety were above 75%. Um we need to keep a continued focus to ensure all students feel confident that safety concerns are addressed and that they feel safe at school. In the bottom corner of each slide is a breakdown by school level. Some areas there is a greater variation. However, in regards to safety, it was pretty consistent across all school levels. >> When you see When you see a difference from it not being 100% on safety for students
068that feel safe, what was Do you know the reasoning? >> I would think that ask the schools would be a better um be able to explain better to you on that. >> Mr. Ellerman. >> Yeah, so through the parent survey, a lot of them said, uh, that the students, just in general, with things happening in the world, you know, didn't feel safe. Well, it's not a direct reflection on actual >> Like the Like the the what could happen, the potentials. >> Correct. >> Okay. Okay, in regards to class experience, student learning remains a strong positive at 77%. Overall class experience is consistent year to year. An area of a focus is to look at the variation by school level to identify the factors contri- contributing to these differences. Student experience, 72% of students feel they
069are learning the skills needed. Understanding personal strengths is steady, but slightly lower. Um, an area of focus is to continue to support students in developing a clear understanding of their individual strengths, especially in the higher grade levels. Overall, students are reporting a positive student experience. Relevance, um, this is an area of focus. Relevance improved slightly, but remains an opportunity for improvement. Students see the importance of learning more than the application. We need to improve connecting learning to students' futures and interests. Academic support, this was an area of strength across all levels. There is a strong overall perception of teacher support. Over 90% of students feel teachers want them to do their best. 80% of students feel their teachers don't give up on them and help when needed. Involvement, this is another area of strength across
070all levels. Students indicate high levels of engagement. The majority of students are actively engaged in the classroom activities. Students show a strong commitment to effort and perseverance across all school levels. 90% of students feel they feel they try their best. Persistence. This is another area of strength. Students demonstrate strong perseverance when learning gets challenging. Students feel supported, students stay engaged, students persist through challenges. Over 80% of students keep trying when things get difficult. Self-management. Another area of strength across all levels. Overall positive trends, strong adult relationships, and improving peer interactions. The vast majority of students follow rules, are kind to other students and their teachers. Future aspirations. Another area of strength across all levels. Most students report confidence in their education and career paths. The majority of students still plan to pursue further education. Almost
07190% of students are confident they will find a career and over 80% of students are excited about their future. Acceptance. Um here's an area of focus. All three questions show a slight decline. We need to strengthen belonging, respect, and school pride. Elementary students report a stronger feeling of acceptance. Relationship management. Students report strong and improving peer connections. We need to strengthen the feeling of student support. On a positive note, almost 90% of students have at least one friend to sit with. Relationships with peers. Students generally perceive their friends as hard working. 77% feel their friends work hard. We need to strengthen peer attitudes towards school and increase students perceptions about school. Relationships with adults, this is an area of strength across all levels. Over 81% of students report feeling supported by their teachers. Support from
072administrators remains positive at 71%. And lastly, the two questions these didn't really fit under one domain. Um this is an area of focus. We need to continue to strengthen students comfort being themselves around adults and increase students overall enjoyment of coming to school. And that's the student engagement survey. >> Thank you so much. Board members, do you have any questions? >> I think Aaron's not >> Okay, for the employee engagement survey, we had 2,626 responses this year, so that did increase and our participation went up by 4% as well to 85% participation. So the next couple slides are on the district feedback. So they did slightly decrease, but they both are still um staying about the same 88.94% and 72.8% for the district strategic plan and training. For the vision and mission and comfortable to
073refer a friend to work in Hernando County and satisfaction with the communications, again they did slightly decrease, but they've stayed about the same in that trend area over the years when we look back comparing to like 2022 around when we started the survey piece and they have gone up. So it's just they went down a little bit this year. Communication, the way it's provided, we have seen strengthening in the three areas that have stars, which is our social media and our communication from supervisors, so at the sites and in the departments, as well as word of mouth from colleagues. Longevity, the length of time worked in Hernando County schools. Um, we do have a lot of people in the 3 to 5-year mark, as well as the 6 to 10 years and our more than
07420 years, so people have been in the county for a while. For the retention piece, um, the most important factor is culture of the site, um, which you'll see later in the slides, as well as salary, increased workload, and lack of time to complete tasks. This area, feeling valued and celebrated, um, scored really high across the board with feeling valued at their sites or in their department as over 92, almost 93%. Supervisor feedback also remained about the same with the area of supervisors outlining expectations for their jobs and what needs to be completed increasing. Communication also went up in two areas and then slightly decreased in one. Um, supervisors providing constructive feedback and giving that support, so that's both at the school sites and in departments. Policies and decision-making were both over 90% as well
075with, um, supervisor fairly implementing policies going up. Culture is our area that um increased across the board completely, which aligns with the retention piece that was mentioned earlier as why people stay in the district. Professional learning and goals, I know that has been mentioned a lot. Two areas did increase, leadership opportunities provided at sites and clear goals at sites as well. And then homegrown, our amount of alumni working in our schools has increased as well. And we did see a slight decrease in the amount of people actually residing in Hernando County and working here. And then our goal for next year is to increase to 90% completing the survey. Any questions? >> Board members? >> Thank you, sir. >> All right. So, as you may know, last year's parent survey data was a little abysmal
076and I made it a priority to set out to change that. So, there were significant uh shifts and revamps done uh working alongside school admin, some other departments uh to make this a more engaging survey. So, this year's responses uh 4,700 compared to last year's 2,200. So, really our key consider considera- considerations were to increase the response rate uh kind of condensing the survey down to a palpable amount of questions uh and a time frame under 3 to 5 minutes, which is in line with industry standard uh in addition to a five-point scale. So, that's your two uh two options on either side and a neutral and not applicable option. And you'll see that in some of the data here. So, learning and student support. Now, these numbers take into account um So, in order
077to kind of get a better understanding of the survey percentages with the additional option that we didn't have before, uh you kind of have to look at measuring the negative results uh to get a true depiction. So, I've included the neutral and positives uh to kind of align that. So, uh you'll see the key notes underneath. Basically, in this segment, we've continued strong perception of student opportunities. Safety um continues uh to be one of the strongest categories uh in the last two surveys. Leadership, admin presence, assistant availability uh we saw a slight increase. Uh there's several positive feedback comments uh in the qualitative data section. Uh I'll go over that at the end. I've also sent you all of the qualitative comments. So, I think there's around 4,000 total in so. Uh communications, uh crisis
078communication, we've seen a uh a pretty substantial increase in that. Um and then overall preferred method, uh no surprise, text and Parent Square. Atmosphere environment, uh engagement remains positive. Uh awareness uh still an issue, which we're constantly working on that Uh and that's going to be with you know the ability to participate in certain events committees etc. I just qualitative data this is just the overall synopsis of those three basic questions we asked in the sentiment so I used SurveyMonkey to do an analysis of sentiment analysis of all the responses. And this is the overall all response it gives. And like I said I've sent you all of those qualitative responses. As well as I've looked over them myself and any qualitative responses I could address immediately I have worked with as well as the
079schools it goes in the next steps so distribute results to schools we've went over this already did so little comparative research and then you know address the qualitative feedback I've worked with them to do that. That was back in March April so and then our next year's goals to get 6,000 responses I may be reaching there but you know always got to set the goals high. Encouraging active involvement and I really want to build trust by showcasing you know our community our parents that we're taking their comments and their voice seriously through showcasing action because I want this to really matter for them so we can get more engagement because it's their voice you know it's a good way to hear their voice. So any questions comments concerns? >> Not for myself board members. >>
080Thank you. >> I think we're good. >> Thank you so much for being here. Thank you for your presentation. Mr. Myers, do you have any closing comments? >> I don't, Madam Chair. >> Board members, do you have any closing comments? >> No. >> Mr. Pender? >> No. >> Okay. At this time, I would like to call this meeting adjourned at 3:13 p.m.