001Good evening. How is everybody tonight? It's great to see you. Thanks for coming. It's a little rainy out, but we are all sunshine and rainbows here today and we're happy that you are here. So, I would like to call the school board meeting for Tuesday, May 20th for the De Mo public schools to order. Miss Rios, could you please take the role? Yes. Miss Alonso, here. Miss Campos here. Mr. Dixs here. Miss Knox, here. Miss Marrono here. Dr. Mayberry Mace here. Miss Norris here. We have quum. The first item of business is approval of the agenda. May I have a motion and a second to approve the agenda? Alonso so moved. Campo second. We have a motion by Miss Alonzo and a second by Miss Campos. Is there any discussion or questions? Board members, please
002cast your votes. Mayberry remains. Yes. Next on the agenda is the public forum. Mr. Dixs, we provide speakers at the forum an opportunity to address the board for up to three minutes regarding items that are not on the board agenda and up to five minutes for an agenda item. If anyone wishes to speak during any portion of the business meeting, please email rosa.riosdschools.org. The same speaking protocols apply to all individuals who wish to address the board. Speakers will be called individually and we ask they state their name and zip code prior to providing comments. Students and miners do not have to provide their address. Guests of the board are encouraged to speak to matters relating to the programs, services, and operations of DMPS. Please remember that Iowa law prohibits us from discussing specific employees or
003their job performance. We ask all speakers to avoid references to personalities or character attacks as those types of comments do not contribute to the purpose for which this public forum exists. The use of inappropriate language will not be tolerated and individuals choosing to do so will be gled out of order and asked to excuse themselves from the premises or escorted out by district security. As a reminder to the board and public, the board will not engage in a discussion with public forum speakers as it is our obligation to discuss only matters posted in the public agenda for the sake of transparency and the opportunity afforded to all community stakeholders. Matters requiring attention will receive appropriate staff and/or board followup at a time after the meeting. Thank you for participating in this public forum. We appreciate
004your feedback and input. Miss Rios, are there any speakers for the public forum? Yes, we have two. First up is Heather Brady. You may approach the podium on this side. Sorry. Yep. This one over here. Hi, my name is Heather Brady. Um, I live at 63439th Street in De Moines. Um, I believe in the power and promise of public schools. As a single mother, I've struggled often to navigate the complex systems at work at DMPS. There are so many people trying to do good work, but the systems, they're not transparent. They're not simple. They're getting in the way. I'm particularly concerned with the future of multilingual learners at DMPS. who holds the future of multilingual learners in in their hands and in their hearts. We know that the BFLs, the bilingual family liaison, they're the
005backbone of refugee and immigrant youth and families here. Who else is listening to their voices? Who else is understanding their strengths and taking the right action? I'm asking the board to keep these interests at the forefront of your mind when you're reimagining our education. I want to hear this focus clearly articulated. Um, I want to understand and I know many of the people here in this audience would love to understand how you plan to uh empower these communities and work so that they can also advocate for their future and that there's a place for this in your system. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker is Tom Rendan. Good afternoon. My name is Tom Renon. I um live in De Moines. 50310 is my zip code. Um I sent both of my daughters through the De
006Moines public school system and both were honor graduates from Hoover High School. I am also a member of Iowa CCI and its public school strong effort. Together, public schools strong and Iowa has organized hundreds of individuals to support fully funded public schools that teach the full truth of our history, uphold the dignity of individuals of all races and backgrounds, and have the resources to unlock the full potential of all students so that they can be the leaders of tomorrow. I am also the author of a book entitled saving play. Last month, I had the opportunity I attended the US Play Coalition's National Conference on the Value of Play in Bloomington, Indiana. At this conference, I attended a session entitled Healthy Balance of Learning and Play in Schools Follow the Data Led by Dr. Deborah Ria,
007a professor of kines kinesis kinesiology at Texas Christian University. Her presentation dramatically illustrated the effectiveness of increasing unstructured play aka recess in elementary and middle schools. She has evidence that makes that the difference between 30 minutes versus 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity makes an enormous difference. Recess actually makes formal learning time more effective. She discovered that 15 minutes of recess allows students to learn an hour of content in just 40 minutes. She argues that we have we have to stop pitting so-called content time against quote unquote free time or recess. Both are necessary. Both support one another. As you reimagine education, I am urging you to adopt evidence-based practices around extended resource, recess, and free time for children. Dr. Ria's link project, and that's L I N K, has been examining the
008health, physical achievements, cognition, and social and emotional progress of children twice a year over the past nine years. Her link formula is four 15minute outdoor unstructured play breaks throughout the day and 15 minutes of social emotional learning curriculum lessons every day. What schools saw when they did this was increased attention focus, improved social skills, enhanced problem solving, creativity, and critical thinking skills, more robust immune systems, fewer discipline issues, improved behavior, less bullying, less chronic stress and anxiety in children. 30 seconds remaining. 30 seconds. I think I can make that. It's time we strengthen our public school system through better mental and physical health. higher social expectations and quality time in the classroom. I encourage you to learn more about this. And I have a little handout if you want to just see some of the
009outcomes based on the link project. I don't know if I have enough to go all the way around, but um we'll we'll see that. But um uh so I just encourage you to really think about the role of recess and what it might take to extend recess from the typical 30 minutes a day to 60 at at at a minimum. Thank you. Those are all the speakers I have signed up. The next item on our agenda are district recognitions. Uh Dr. Roberts, are there any recognitions for today? Yes, madam. Yes, madam. Okay. Third time is a charm. Yes, Madam Chair. There are a number of district recognitions. Um, and I'm excited to bring them to you this evening as we continue to bring forth recognitions at schoolboard meetings where we celebrate the successes and accomplishments
010of students both in and out of the classroom as well as the staff including teachers and all the adults who serve them. This evening's recognitions are a few, but I'm happy to share by bringing forth on the agenda for the very first time a group of student leaders in the mo public schools. This is the uh inaugural cohort and they are certainly setting the tone for what is to come. Our superintendent's advisory council. The superintendent's advisory council consists of two student ambassadors who were elected by their peers from each of our high schools that convene once a month with the superintendent and or the superintendent's executive cabinet. The mission as created and agreed upon by the council is for uh De Mo public schools students who are part of this council to provide a superintendent
011and executive cabinet members with feedback on ways that the district can improve students overall experiences in our schools and to ensure that we are providing and cultivating strong two-way communication between our almost 31,000 student body and every single adult who served them. While there are so many conflicting priorities with all of our students, um many of whom are seniors and this is a big week for them. I see some of them who are seniors are here with us as well. And so we are thankful. We have a number of uh those individuals who are part of the council here with us this evening. I would ask um that they come up as a group to the podium so that they could be recognized. Let's give them a round of applause as they're coming. [Applause] board
012uh the mo public school and community. So often in the prek12 education space, we posit that we are doing work on behalf of students and their voices and their experiences matter. But too often we make these decisions that are devoid of actual student voice. And this is an attempt to ensure that we are living true to the ideals and values that we've said that we want to. And that is to re make sure that we are having those voices and have them elevated. Um they look amazing, don't they? But more than that, um, if you ever have an opportunity to sit, uh, in the presence of these young people at any given time, you will be truly truly inspired, understanding that our future is really, really bright. Um, I will open it up and offer
013for any one of them um to share any remarks if they so choose. If not, no pressure. After which I want to ask that the board indulge us in having uh one a member of our team to have the council stand within the de and take pictures with the in with the board members in the background. We'd love to hear from you. Bet you they're not shy at all. I can tell you that. Go first. I'll go first. Don't worry. Yeah. It's amazing to see you guys again. Hello. How are you guys doing? Good. Yes. Yes. I would say for me one of my biggest values has been free speech. And I think as we've seen things change with this administration, I don't want to get too political, but as we've seen things change, we've
014seen free speech get censored. And I want the reason why I'm bringing this up is because I want to tell you guys there's a reason why free speech is being censored. They people are worried about what youth have to say. And there's power in free speech, which is why it's being censored. And I feel like through opportunities like the Superintendent Advisory Board, it's one of the easiest ways for youth to practice free speech because free speech is not always just giving speeches in front of people. Free speech also happens in private. Free speech also happens with small groups as well. And I'm really grateful for this opportunity. And for any youth watching this video, I strongly encourage you to incorporate free speech into your life and try to it's an act of rebellion when you
015practice free speech. I want to end it with that. [Applause] any additional Hello there, Mr. Roberts, members of the board. Um, thank you and apologize for my late arrival and also thank you for finally giving me the blazer, guys. No, but um I have the unique experience as well uh serving on the reimagined education committee alongside with this committee and the work that we've done along there of having the privilege to be part of the student experience subcommittee and having them actually listen to student concerns and forming this group I think has shown a great promise for the future as we move these types of decisions that are going to have to be made. Uh and again to emphasize that point of free speech student voice I mean this is a school district with Tinkerv
016De Moine. Let's not forget that. [Applause] Mhm. If it's anyone that all these decisions are going to be impacted, it's these students that represent our district beautifully. And as I leave um this upcoming Sunday at the commencement of East High School, uh it's been a privilege to serve on a excellent board with you guys on the reimagine education committee and with these fellas here at the superintendent advisory board. Thank you. Thank you, Chris. Hi, I'm Ian Schaefer. I represent North High School um on the board alongside Thank you. alongside my other uh colleague that's not here today, Julie Juliet Hanley, and really being on this board has been able to really get the youth voice involved in discussions of what's in the future for De Moines public schools. And I'm somebody from Ankeny where they
017don't have anything close to this within their school board. Being able to come to De Moine and have this experience to where student input is actually valued is one of the most incredible things that I've ever been able to be a part of. And with what's going on right now on how public education is being affected discriminatorily is awful. And students are here, the students on this board are here to really show that public education matters and public education is going to continue to be on the rise. Maybe not right now with what's going on in the legislature from the state level to the country level. However, students are the future within DMPS and public education is going to be a top priority for all the students within the school district and being able to
018have the student advisory council is going to help support the future of public education. Thank you. Hi, my name is Pisa. I represent Virtual Campus High School. Um, I'll also represent East. Um, I want to shed light and value to diversity. Um, if you look around in this room today and everyone behind me, there's a very big class of diversity. And it just goes to show that no matter who you are, where you're from, what your background is, your voice matters. You are who you are. And it just goes to show, as you said, that public education does matter. Um, where I'm from, um, education isn't really a big thing. it's hard to get education like this. So standing here today in front of everyone um with these group of people behind me, it it
019feels amazing and I'm so glad that I got this opportunity. So thank you. Thank you. Thank you board. Dr. Roberts, my name is Gabe Garcia. Uh I am a sophomore student athlete at Roosevelt High School. Uh, one big thing for me is I'm a diverse person. I'm a student athlete. I'm Hispanic. I um run my own business. And for a voice like mine, so diverse to be heard across the board and for my input to be heard by important people means a lot to me cuz you know sometimes you don't hear that voice. Like even in certain parts of our world today, the minorities aren't being heard of society. And it's great to see in De Mo public school to have such a diverse voice like myself be heard. That's all I got. Go Riders.
020[Applause] All right. Just just one question for those of you if you're comfortable that have chosen not to speak. Is there anything that you you have an opportunity to tell the board really just about anything? And so, uh, is there anything you want to share whether, um, if you you're graduating, something that you felt was like unfinished business or something, uh, that you want to make sure we consider when we're up here pontificating and talking about stuff. May I add one quick thing? All right. So, this is my first ever time coming to a schoolboard meeting. And behind me, I hear a lot of interpretations of uh presumably Spanish-speaking people within this room. And something that I would like for the board to consider is DMPS is a very diverse school district, arguably one of
021the most diverse in the Midwest, most diverse in the state by far. And we have a lot of different speaking individuals that are students. However, their family also cares about what is going on on the board. And so I would personally like to ask that if in the near future if whether even though the in-person interpretators may not be able to come, if we're able to have online video interpretators in the future for individuals that wish to have um knowledge on what's actively going on on the schoolboard at the moment. Thank you. [Applause] Thank you. Anybody? Janna, go ahead. We'll we'll get Dr. Roberts right on top of that. Thank you. Any last comments? Thank you so much for your service. Thank you. If we can have have you all come into this area board,
022if you can stand for there. Oh, wait. Where's your stool? Tyler, are you good? Let's see. All right. Ready? One, two, three. Excellent. [Applause] Is that the deal? Yes. Quickly. Yeah, I'll go very quick. Thank you, Madam Chair and board. Uh, is that your own logo there? This is our superintendent advisory council. We're all wearing the same blazer. The school board would like our own blazers. Kaye, please make note of the Maybe just with DMPS. I would think that'd be great. We should have them interpreters and blazers. Madame chair, board and community. Additionally, there are four very quick items um but certainly I believe are worth mentioning tonight as part of our recognitions. The first is uh last week at weeks middle school we saw that um an expansion of um certainly our uh strategic
023priority number five which is around community partnerships and collaboration with a great partnership with the Ken Clark Foundation and Musco colliding where they completed um one of the many pitches at Weeks Middle School. Ultimately the goal is for them to complete a mini pitch at each of our middle schools. Um there was lots of local and national media coverage but more importantly um the smiles on our faces on the faces of our students certainly is well worth these partnerships. Additionally, um, last Sunday marked the end of our first full flack football season, uh, with a championship where we had 165 young women competing for Midland and high schools with lots of excitement, well attended, um, lots of support from our community and spectators, and we're looking forward to continuing to support our students. So, part
024of the support came from the NFL's Minnesota Vikings, and we will continue to expand and build upon that partnership to ensure that there is enough play in every way, shape, and form for our young ladies. The state track and field championship begins this Thursday. And I'm mentioning that because one, we have representation from all five of our comprehensive high schools where student athletes have qualified in 25 different events. If you can as a Drake University, please come out and and cheer them on. Share on your uh school team, your alma mada and make sure that you wear your paraphernalia as possible. And finally, the class of 2025. This is without a doubt one of the most celebrated and excited weeks for the mo public schools. We celebrate the commencement of eight different graduation ceremonies beginning
025on Friday through Sunday. Class of 2025, we are excited uh to celebrate you, acknowledge the hard work that you've put in, and look forward to seeing you walk across the stage. Madam Chair, that concludes this evening's district's recognitions. Thank you very much. It's an exciting time. We are now going to move to the consent agenda. As a reminder to the board and public, the board will not engage in discussion or deliberation with a speaker regarding comments made to agenda items. Discussion and deliberation will remain among board members at the board table with speakers comments informing the board's discussion, deliberation, and determinations as deemed necessary. Miss Rios, do we have any speakers? No speaker for consent. Mr. Dixs, I believe you have the consent motion. I do, Madam Chair. I move that the board approve the
026consent items in accordance with the recommend recommended action for each item on the consent agenda, including bills previously authorized, certified, and approved for payment by the board secretary in the amount of 5,865,95646. We have a motion by Mr. Sorry. Go ahead. End of that. Sorry. and procurement card transactions in the amount of $682,76721. Is there a second? So second. We have a motion by Mr. Dixs and a second by Miss Campos. Is there any discussion or questions? So, at this point, I'm actually going to ask to amend the consent agenda items and pull item D14, which is the personnel report. And so, for me to do that, I would need a second. So, now we'll turn it to vote on the amendment to the consent agenda item, which would remove item D14. So, we have
027a motion by Miss Norris and a second by Mr. Dixs. And now we'll vote. Do we need on the amendment? Uh, uh, Dr. Mayberry. Yes. I think he said, did he say yes? He said yes. Yes. Miss Alonzo. Yes. Okay. The vote has passed 7 to zero. Now we'll vote on the consent agenda without item D14 on it. I don't need a motion, do I? Yeah. Okay. Board members, please cast your votes. Dr. Mayberry M. Mayberry May. Yes. The vote is approved 7 to zero. And now we'll move to discuss the consent agenda item that was pulled which is D14 which is the personnel report. Um and so Dr. Roberts I let the board board colleagues know I let you know. Um madam chair. Yes. Just in order to discuss you need a motion a
028second. Uh may I have a motion to discuss item? Knox makes a motion. Dix the motion is to approve, correct? Yes. Oh, okay. We need a motion. Thank you. We need a motion to approve item D14. May I have a motion and a second? Go for it, Dick. Second. We have a motion by Miss Alonzo and a a second by Mr. Dixs. Are there any discussions or questions? And at this point, yes. Yes. So I the question I have Dr. Roberts is and I don't know if um Susie is here either. She's not she's absent. Okay. Is just to help understand the there's approximately 30 positions that are resignations and then elections and contract changes in their teaching and learning department. And I was hoping to understand that because there's an additional cost I think
029as well. Are you in a position to be able to speak to that tonight or do we need I am at a high level. Madam chair, I believe what is being referenced here is um while there are some position changes, the resignations that we see and then elections um is uh pertaining to individuals who are curriculum coordinators. the curriculum coordinators specifically in this instance uh had an amendment to their their uh positions and contract where we've extended the number of days um that they are going to be contracted for. Um one of the primary reasons for um this change is to ensure that there is additional support being provided from the teaching and learning standpoint. Let me also offer that I believe and certainly uh remain to be to stand corrected 100% of those individuals
030recognizing the need for us to not only dedicate or reallocate additional time to support our teaching and learning inputs um and and practices. Um they've all um having had a number of different conversations agreed that this is a change that they believe uh will benefit um the district and the work that we're doing. So I I guess I'd like to understand what the impact is for our teachers directly because this is not a sign this is a significant cost. This is about 25 people that we're changing contracts for and increasing salaries. And so I just I want to um understand how this is going to impact our teachers. The impact of teachers is positive. There's no negative. there's additional time spent to support teachers, additional coaching, um additional resources allocated. I'm I'm not sure I'm
031understanding. I don't think it's a matter of positive or negative. I I think I think I hear what the chair is saying. I I would personally like to understand how this is going to what we believe the impact on the classroom is going to be every day. Is it um is it more support for teachers? It's the same person. So, is this what will the extra time give them? what will the result be for next year in our classrooms? Maybe that's the the way to the question. Absolutely. Thank you. The question really aligns really strongly to our strategic priority number one, which is to improve um teaching and learning. And it means that because now our uh coordinators will have additional time in the summit. The sum is such a critical time for us to
032plan and prepare to deliver on targeted and differentiated professional development to all of our teachers. And um often times we find ourselves in a place where there's just not enough time during the regular school year. An extension of time for these individuals will allow them to have adequate preparation to now come back into the school year um delivering to teachers in a way that gets them better prepared as well. Dr. Roberts, I guess I would also ask um how the teachers are being brought in because I think good professional development sort of is a two-way street in that if the feedback the feedback has to be good and it has to be specific uh to improve the teaching and so so is this extra time um is part of that to to help give that
033more specific feedback to teachers in classrooms. Thank you board member Digs. That's an excellent question. you know um in order for us to see improvement around pedagogical strategies from teachers um we have what we call in education the feedback cycle or feedback loop and that means that when curriculum coordinators uh directors of teaching and learning chief academic officers go into classroom to visit and observe teachers it's important that we're not only observing but we're thinking about a feedback loop um that is grounded in sort of seminal uh uh research and books such as get better faster leverage leadership where we're expected to come back and give teachers bite-siz feedback that is intended to improve how they're delivering instruction through the feedback cycle which we call reteing. I'm getting very technical but to answer the question
034absolutely right giving these curriculum coordinators an additional opportunity um to have time to better prepared to prepare a robust scope and sequence of professional development for teachers that will extend throughout the year um will only have nothing but positive benefits and I'm sorry for all the questions but I I am not as familiar with I know we have many levels of contracts and I'm not always familiar with what all of those mean. Do these individuals does their status change in any way in the eyes of the district based off of this change to a different contract? Yes, the contract certainly changes. They are going to have um additional days certainly to their contract which also comes with a change in their compensation um change with hours work. Yes. Okay. Okay. Other questions? I think Dr.
035Roberts, my my job, our job is to trust you to make the right decisions. I think I just um am feeling that the stress of our budget over the years is going to get worse. And so this is we're cutting things to do this. And so the I guess your recommendation is this is more important than some of the other things that we've chosen to not fund. And so because because we know the budget trajectory that we face. Absolutely, Madam Chair. And thank you. You know, um I I've heard the board loud and clear. One of the things that truly inspires myself and my team from this board is your continued challenge for us to make sure that we are when we thinking about reallocating resources, the resources going directly to the most important part
036of our work and that is improving teaching and learning that is impacting teachers, it's impacting students. And so I sit here with um tremendous amount of confidence and comfort knowing that I'm listening to the board but also listening to our teachers and our teaching and learning leaders. This is a prudent decision and I believe that the return academic return of this investment will manifest itself in months or years to come. Okay, great. With that, board members, please cast your votes on item D14. Dr. Mayberry Maze. Mayberry Maze. Yes. Uh the vote has passed 720. We move on to our next order of business, reimagining education update. Uh Dr. Roberts and uh Matt Smith, please come up or Dr. Roberts. Thank you, Madam Chair. Um on behalf of uh Matt and and Dave and the rest
037of the reimagining education committee, I just want to bring a quick update to you all. As you know earlier this month we conducted a survey about reimagining education specifically the concept of signature schools which are themed specifically around an academic or a career focus. This is one of the five major components of our reimagine education initiative by adopting evidence and researchbased practices providing schools that would give students immersive experiences in their education and career interests. It's with excitement that I share that the response to this survey was tremendous with more than 14,000 people taking part, the vast majority of whom are students. This is a lot of data for the team to analyze, but they're up to the task. We welcome this response rate with excitement and because of the importance of this part of
038the reimagine education uh endeavor, we want to take a little bit more time to do so. So while we're taking our time to analyze this data and then come back to the board eventually and the entire community with our findings tonight, I want to share some high level feedback with you if I may. First, there is a lot of student interest in the signature school concept. Twothirds of our student ser survey respondents saw value in making such schools an option in the M public schools and more than 80% of them had some interest in enrolling in a signature school. more than 80% of our student respondents. Some of this strong interest came from teachers being experts in the specialized subjects of these schools and in offering curricula that align with student interests. Second, there is
039a strong interest in a range of potential areas of focus of these signature schools. While STEM, science, technology, engineering, and math, and in some instances, we've seen an evolution of STEM where we've added an A with science, technology, engineering, arts, and math was often mentioned. There was also interest in schools that specialize in areas such as the arts, world languages, Montasauri, and career and technical training in addition to health sciences. We want to take a close look at this feedback, including how these interests align with our three regions as exposed during our reimagine education committee meetings. For the board's next meeting on June 3rd, we plan to bring two things to share. First, a more detailed look at the results of this survey, and second, the committee's recommendation for the areas of focus for signature
040schools as part of our reimagining education proposal. Since announcing the reimagined education proposal in February, I have been encouraged and excited about interest and response from this entire community, the De Moine community, beyond just our school system. It is clear to me that people know that we need to plan for a brighter future, not just for today, but for generations to come. and the response to our commitment to reimagine education and reinvigorate our schools thus far has been nothing short of inspiring and encouraging. Signature schools are often cited often and an an often cited component of the plan that people have expressed a lot of interest in and I'm glad that we're getting close to being able to share even more details about aspect of this very exciting and important initiative in the mo public
041schools as a part of this undertaking. In the coming months beyond just our June 3rd board meeting, we will continue to provide everyone with updates along this journey, continue to enlist your voices and input and offer additional information via our reimagine education website. Together with this investment, I believe that we are truly going to continue to build on our endeavor and our aspiration to provide our students with a world-class education. Madam Chair, that concludes this evening's high level update about reimagining education. Thanks, Dr. Roberts. And one quick clarifying question, the signature school survey analysis, will that be put online before the June 3rd meeting or during the June 3rd meeting? What do you think the public can expect? Probably during. Yes. I was just gonna say probably during the meeting unless there's a um Nope.
042Just Yeah, if that's okay. Yeah. Great. Thank you. Thanks, Matt. Madam Chair, if I may. Yes. Um Dr. Roberts, you said that um community members should continue to voice their input via the Reimagining Education website. Is there um currently an additional survey link that families should utilize for that or am I did I misunderstand that? No, thank you board me. No, uh they should continue to voice their input, not necessarily via our website. We're going to continue to listen to their input and their voices. So, what's the best way um for that input and voice to to be um expressed or heard? Absolutely. Thank you. I think one of those ways is we continue to be open to receiving um email communication. Um uh Matt can certainly be in as to whether or not there
043are additional um venues that you may there there still is the the active um link on the website where someone could submit a question and we will still respond to that. So but uh emails we've received several emails just directly as well but either either works. Okay. Thank you so much. And I have noticed thank you there have been um FAQs that have been added and answered. So thank you for that. So if people haven't looked at that, I think you're doing a good job just trying to keep up to date with the questions that you are getting. Thank you. So thank you. Okay. So June 3rd. June 3rd. Looking forward to providing the board and community with an update. Thanks Matt. Great. Thanks Matt. Uh two other uh items that we are going to
044cover quickly tonight actually. So board policy update and then naming policy update. So, um, board colleagues, you may remember when, um, we had a conversation about policy compliance in general, and one of the things that Kaye, and I thought she was out here. There she is. Um, in partnership with Dr. Roberts uh chose or were forced to tackle was um just all of the policies and understanding compliance to policies and getting us on a schedule where we are reviewing our policies on a regular basis. And so all I want to do is just let you know that um Miriam uh who is our attorney as you know and Kaylee, Dr. Roberts and uh Rosie and a few other team members are coming together and Dr. Roberts is working to create a policy hierarchy for lack
045of a better term so that um the board knows because ultimately this is board policy board policy and district policy are really synonymous uh and so what's going to happen is Dr. Roberts and team are going to lead a comprehensive review of policies. This may not happen overnight, but it will ensure that there's a process in place so we are compliant um on an annual basis with the policies that need to be reviewed. So, I think that's a long way of saying it's being addressed. Um the one piece that I'd want all of you to know because it is board work is that we are um updating and we everybody's had input just a little bit and that's part of what we're going to try and accomplish by the end of June is the board
046governance and we're going to call it operating handbook. So if you think about the nomenclature I think we're trying to get to which is there is board policy right otherwise some people use it as district policy. Board policy and district policy for the purposes of hierarchy are the same. So board policy and then underneath that there are administrative regulations. Correct me if I get this wrong. Administrative regulations and then underneath that are the operating handbooks. That's correct. Kind of the you know whether it's for a department, a school, things like that. So, uh, I just wanted to let everybody know that that is something that is being taken seriously and, um, if anybody has any questions or you want to get really excited about it, Miriam is very excited about it. So, we are lucky
047that Allers Cooney actually likes to do policy work. Yes. Uh, and the series work. So, with that, I'm going to frame the next. Does anybody have any questions on that? The policy compliance piece. So again, just one. Yep. How often um is it recommended that we do that? So there's there's two answers to this. I think um Dr. Roberts and the team is identifying some uh things that hadn't been updated on a regular schedule. So I think that there is a significant amount of work to actually get everything to be comprehensive and uniform. Um so there's a lot of front-end work but then it's on a as recommended basis and so IASB the Iowa Association of School Boards um recommends certain like every three years. The state has certain compliance terms as well. So the
048state may say you have to review this policy every year or every three years or every five years. So it's a combination of what is best practice and what the state recommends. So I think uh if if I'm guessing how Dr. Roberts is going to prioritize it. It's looking at the policies that for FY25 we need to ensure that we're compliant in in FY26. So, uh, because it's going to take some time to tackle this very big project, but it's important. So, thank you. That's good. Thank you. Any other questions on that? Okay. So, with that being said, one of the board policies or board duties is naming of facilities. And um one of the things that some of you may recall is this all mine or did you get yours? Um some of you
049may recall is the process that was started um which is I think we all went through the naming process on different committees. Kim did you serve on a committee once a naming committee? I think all of us maybe have had that opportunity and um there were a few things that I thought were we all felt were really important. Um one of them was greater involvement by the staff in their recommendations and vetting as it relates to naming of district facilities. Um the other issue was around documentation of all of the naming of facilities and uh some type of consistency. And so Kaylee in partnership with Patrick and Anna agreed to tackle a really hard hard uh topic which is naming of district facilities. So with that they were tasked I think nine months ago maybe
050with trying to come up with a set of recommendations for the board which would be board policy on how district facilities would be named. And if that's a good enough framing, I'm gonna turn it over to you to take us from there. Kay. Yeah, I think that's I think that's a pretty good framing. If you want to and to this group, we're um listening today. We're asking questions. And then the goal would be that this policy would be on consent. And I should also say Dr. Roberts has been participating and giving feedback. So this is not something that is unfamiliar to you, Dr. Roberts. Okay. Maybe I'll tee up a little bit here. Kayie, just with um we started this process out by just wanting to look at the policy again and making sure that
051we had it uh had everything we needed in place with the policy. But I think with the reimagining education effort um on the horizon as well, we wanted to make sure that there was a clear process for the public to follow uh so that it wasn't confusing uh for any communities who wanted to um do some naming in honor of one of their one of the members of their community. And and so I just I want to say two things. One, thank you to those members of the public who have been incredibly patient while we've tried to work through all of the legalities of this and um Kaylee, thank you for going through all of this and our legal partners um as well for all of their work because the complexity of this is a
052lot more than we thought when we started it. Um, but I think having a really good policy that's buttoned up uh will um serve us well in the future. So with that, I don't know if you want to give a couple of highle and we had a couple of questions that we wanted to bring back to uh the board as well for their consideration. Yeah. Um when we started going through this, we realized that a lot of this policy needed um structure to it and um some requirements were, you know, a submission form and things like that. So in front of you, what I handed out to all of you is the policy 740 naming of schools and facilities. Um the one that says at the top is the policy that I'm recommending today. The
053policy 740 BP um is our current policy. I just wanted you to have that in front of you in case you didn't have um your computer with you. This is what the district has currently. And then I also included um procedures for the policy 740. So this would be the admin regulation as Jackie was talking about to go with um and associated with policy 740. So this is how we're going to act out this policy. Um I just and we won't to be clear. This is the that's the current. The shorter is the current. The longer it's a lot of paperwork. They both They both say BP at the top, but they were labeled correctly. No, that's all right. They were label labelled correctly when you sent them. The middle is the new the thicker
054is the procedure and the a line to the left is current. Yep. Sorry. I just wanted you to have the current in case you didn't have your um computer. And I also included the thicker one is the procedures. um we won't go over that today, but I will reference a few things from that because it'll have kind of the donation amounts and times time frames of um naming. Um but just some of the changes that you'll see in the new policy. Um I'm not going to go through it all. You guys can throw some questions at me if you have them. Um but some significant changes that we made um were putting timelines in for the naming committee um and the board. So we have um we give the community obviously a time frame of
055when we're going to get back to them on sub their submissions. Um it also clarifies um the board members and the naming committees and the superintendent design um as well as the communications department to help with um the vetting process as well. Um and then it also defines naming structure um at the top there. You'll see that it has um a few bullet points of what district facilities includes because that's been a huge question. Um in the submission process um when you submit a naming for a school or district or sorry district facility which includes schools um we also included a formal um submission process uh that you will find well it's basically throughout um but the standard naming procedure you'll see that the naming commit committee made up of two board members and a
056school district representative. Um we'll bring that to the board and then the board will vote on that. Just stop me if you have any questions by the way. Okay. Um naming criteria, who and what can be named. Um right now we're going through a process with operations. We're asking every uh building or facility that we have in the district to submit by the end of May um what is currently named in their building. So that could include a plaque, an art center, um a classroom, pretty much anything you would think of is named in De Mo public schools. Um so we will have all of that historical data. Um and we will use that moving forward. Um we will use that kind of this criteria on what can be named and what it should be
057named after. Um so one of the things that we did change is currently you are to be deceased two years. Um after extensive research into other school districts, uh we changed it to 5 years. Um a lot of other school districts across the country have that consistent time. Um we also added in vetting and research requirements because we currently don't outline that in the U policy of any names submitted to the board. Um we also put in eligibility uh clarification for district staff. So you have to be five years separated um from your role uh if you are a teacher or board member or anything along those lines. Um looking at the renaming procedures um it basically gives the board unconditional renaming authority which we did talk about earlier earlier Jackie. Um in at the
058end of the policy, it actually states that the board has the authority to rename a facility at any time. Um so if we run into a snag of some sort, um the board can then rename any facility. uh we added in so in the current policy um it states um very vaguely that you can be named a facility can be named after someone or um an area. Um so we added in with the potential of reimagining and the actual requests we've already gotten of people wanting to name things after individuals in the community. Um we added in some language that states uh the honorary naming of significant contributions. So one significant contribution can be uh service to de mo public schools. Um so teacher board member and it outlines kind of those examples. Um or
059you can also give a significant financial contribution. Um, and I did want to outline in the procedure, um, you will see, and I know we're not voting on that, but, um, one of the questions we went over is what does that look like? What's the dollar amount and the timeline for that as well? Because that's something we do not have currently. Um, and you'll see that in the procedural document. Um and that outlines for donations towards school buildings, um facilities, and also memorial plaques or amenities basically in the metro. Okay. Um we also put in a new process uh with the submission form after you're approved for your school or facility or plaque, what have you. Um we will work with all ours to get a naming agreement. Um we currently do not have any
060agreements in place um that we're aware of uh for this particular process or policy. Um so we will now moving forward have agreements with either honorary or donation specific naming in the district. So, we can keep track of all of the named um district facilities. I believe that's the extent of the changes. There's a lot of them. So, any questions? Board colleagues, I would just jump in to say that this is not an effort to wipe the slate clean and rename every building. This is not an effort to um have a McDonald's high school uh because they made a significant donation. This is an effort to put a procedure in place uh so that people know uh how they can honor someone who's made a significant contribution. But I think the reality of this is
061also that um with some of the ambitious plans and ideas that we have um I think being open to our community and our entire community u making support in different ways including financial contribution to the district. I think we should be open to that and um and if it's appropriate and if uh they go through the process um finding a way to honor that contribution. So, I think that's sort of the the the framework for this, but it's not an effort to just wipe the slate clean and start over and rename everything. Um, it's just an opportunity to think differently moving forward. Can you just one go ahead one question? Yeah. I didn't see anywhere here um if there is a deadline so people can submit any proposals at any time. Yeah, we we talked
062about that having a timeline. Um but based on donations, it just makes sense to have um the submissions open at all times because we never know if it is a financial contribution when it would come in. It just would get really messy with timelines. Um and we currently don't have a huge volume of them. Who knows, maybe we will someday. Um but for now, it works to have it just open year round. Thank you. Yeah. I think my question is just confirming that we increased the threshold of submission. So we added so you have to submit a certain number of signatures you have to provide a justification. You have to have talked to your community. You have to have so I just I we don't have that here but I do think if you remember
063off of top of your head some of the key questions that you ask in the form that would be helpful. Yep. because it's really getting um it's not intended to make it harder as opposed to I think more thoughtful about why somebody has been selected and that there's input from stakeholders beyond just one particular individual. And Madam Chair, just to add on to that, I think um through no fault of their own, this has been sort of a free-for-all in the district. there have been things named and every building has a different procedure and every building has a different way of doing it. I think this standardizes that and um helps everyone with a framework to to think about it. Yeah. And some of the questions um I apologize I did not print that out.
064I should have. Um we did come up with a submission form that someone would have to submit if you're trying to rename a school or name a facility. Some of the questions um obviously what name are you proposing? Why do you believe that this current name should be changed with regard to community relevance? Um why is the proposed name significant giving um details about the person event or area being honored? Um value and mission of the school district. Have you discussed this proposal with community members? and if so, what feedback have you received? And then you also have to submit a petition with 250 signatures um from community members as well. Thank you to the the committee for your thoughtful um approach and um thorough approach to rewriting this. I have just two questions. under
065the guidelines for naming of schools or facilities, you have different guidelines for elementary and secondary. Can you help me understand why those are different? Yeah, actually that is what we currently have and that was one of my questions to the board was um would you like to keep those standard? Um currently for secondary schools we give priority to geographic regions or US presidents. Um, and then it's a little more lenient with uh elementary and middle. Um, and that that was one question I did want to bring to you to hear your thoughts. Um, because that I'm going to be honest, this is just what's in the current policy and if we want to change it, we sure can. Um, just would like to hear your thoughts so we don't go rogue on high schools. We
066discussed today that the prioritization of presidents seemed a little bit outdated. it just felt a little bit old-fashioned and maybe that we if just taking that out to free us up to think more creatively about it would be a way to go. So I would be supportive of the removal of that language and consistency across the district um PK through um 12. Um, and then the other question I had was regarding the naming with a significant contribution. Is that something that I'm not seeing it here, but would that be for a specified amount of time? So if I give a significant contribution today and someone comes in and wants to give that same significant contribution in a year um what what time is it time bound? Um and where is that identified? Is that in
067the procedural document? Yes, it is. So um it is page the fourth page in the procedure document. You'll see naming rights duration. Um I also did extensive research into what other districts have of for language in this. Um you'll notice that for both honorary and capital it's up to 10 years. So we will um submit to the board and the board will decide um the amount of time that someone's name will be on a building or facility. Um we will also have agreements. I guess what if someone comes in a year later and says, "I want to give $5 million to this." We'll have an agreement in place um that your name won't be taken off until your agreement is up. So, you can give somewhere else. Okay. Yes. Thank you. I just want to
068I know we talked earlier and I'm I'm I'm struggling with how this is written a little bit. I just want to make sure that we are very clear that everybody understands there's two pathways. Yes. So if you don't donate money, there's still a process where district facilities and when we say district facilities, think just for the for everybody that can't see the description, indoor amenities, con, you know, common spaces, extracurricular facilities that there's a process for both. So uh to the degree that we can make that clear, I would just appreciate that. Yeah, I think we we can make it more clear than it is currently and we did discuss that earlier. I added in um Jackie under the honorary naming to recognize a significant contribution um with the in the second sentence it says
069significant contributions may include and it gives two examples. I did check with legal counsel and um they said we could put in via financial contribution. So that's more clear. They did have some push back on, you know, if someone does give a give us property or a building or something like that. Um so we just have to discuss what that would look like. But then number two would be significant service or impact as a staff member, volunteer, board member or combination thereof. So, those are the two very different ways um that you can have something named after you. Other questions? Great job to the committee. Very excited to see this next chapter unfold for our district. Yeah, it's exciting. Yeah. And unfortunately, now the real hard work begins actually because it's the cataloging of all
070the We're going to have so many $5 million gifts, we're not going to know what to do. It's going to be who can get your 5 million in first, right? Yeah. Sound like a fundraiser. Give it a blood. Okay. Um with that, thank you very much. So, uh we are going to then move to items of privilege. So, board members, is there anything you would like to say uh as we are in items of privilege? Excellent. everyone uh preparing for this weekend and upcoming graduations. Thank you um Mr. Phil uh and your um staff that will be working very hard with everyone else this weekend. Thank you so much for all of your work. Miss Martana, thank you. Um it is the final school board meeting of the school year. Although we will continue to
071meet throughout the summer, I just have a quick note um to our leaders, our students, and our families. And um really grounded in my deep gratitude to each each of these groups. Um to our leaders, you've been steadfast and thoughtful in your decision- making. You've guided us through a complex year and I want to thank you for keeping our students at the center of your guidance even when the path has not always been so clear. Our students, you've shown perseverance, creativity, and courage in a world that continues to shift around you. Tonight was so inspiring to hear um from some of our students and um I can can honestly say I've seen that how much our students have learned, have led, have fallen but have gotten back up and have grown. They are the reason
072that I do this work. Um and to our students, you are your efforts have made have truly been inspiring to me. um and our teachers and staff. You've given your time, your energy, and your hearts to the work of educating our students, not just in the classroom, but in offices, in cafeterias, buses, buildings. Um your impact has been profound. Your commitment to student growth and improving student outcomes, student well-being, and their success has not gone unnoticed, and it's deeply appreciated. So, thank you. Um I I hold and celebrate not only um that our triumphs but our trials. We've grown together um throughout the year. We've overcome quite a bit and I look forward to all that we will continue to overcome together and have a wonderful and restful summer. Thank you. Can I just say
073one more thing? Uh there will be um some educators, people that will be very actively assisting, supporting uh students during summer school. Um thank you for the work that you're doing, reminding parents that their students need to get some work done. Um for showing up to do that, um giving up part of your summer to continue to support um our students. That's priceless. So, thank you. Well, I want to recognize an amazing award that one of us at the table received last week, was it? I'm It's all a blur. It's all a blur. Um, but our very own Anna Compost was named an inspiring woman of Iowa. Um, and I was there to be able to watch her video and she was actually nominated by Jackie Norris. So, it's just quite a girl power moment
074up here. Um, but I want to just uh recognize you for that incredible accomplishment. It was very cool to see our board um and our team recognized in that space as well. It was a fabulous lunchon for the Girl Scouts um of Greater Iowa. Couldn't have picked a better cause and just congratulations to you uh for inspiring us up here at this board table, but also inspiring so many women and everyone across the state of Iowa. So, congratulations to Miss Compost. Did we get free Girl Scout cookies? Yeah. Yeah. Uh, okay. I just have a few things. One, uh, at the risk of sounding like a board nag. Uh, you all have received a weekly update, and I just want to encourage you to check your calendars and let Rosie know because we are really
075trying to stay disciplined with our calendaring and also have to weigh a lot of reimagining education and other demands on our time. So, please let Rosie know if you are going to be missing June 3rd, June 17th, or July 8th, and let us know about the possibility of July 24th. Uh, so that's just one thing. Uh, second thing is I'm really excited for soccer teams. So, this is such an exciting time frame and I think Tuesday and Thursday are big days. Um, I'm pretty sure uh in the soccer schedule. Uh, the next thing I want to apologize for is I did not, so this is my fault. So, in full transparency, I did not post that there will be a board social gathering at Big Grove after our schoolboard meeting. We usually post it just
076so everybody knows well ahead of time. So, full transparency, there will probably be more than um three board members at Big Grove. it is now posted and we get together from time to time to actually be human beings and connect and talk about our families and things like that. So, uh and I guess you're welcome to come if you want to come. And um just the last thing is um I would uh love to um acknowledge all of our retirees. Uh we have some big big big retirements and it is quite a list and some people with uh well over 40 years of service and I know Dr. Roberts, maybe you'll talk about that in your remarks, but I think everybody is getting uh a golden apple and getting recognition. And I just want to
077thank all the people that committed so many years of service to De Mo public schools. Okay. Okay. I guess I'm going to go real quick. Uh I want to thank everybody that's here present. Um like Kim said, this is our last official schoolboard meeting and uh CCI and public school strong group that is here every week with or every meeting with us. Uh early nights, very late nights. Uh and I appreciate you guys all for being here. Uh and then also just a little thing about graduation this week for the families that are watching. Uh, a couple things have changed uh for processes. So, Forest Avenue and right in front of uh the NAP center will be closed. So, make sure you find alternative parking. And I bet the high school staff have already sent
078those emails, but I just wanted to let the parents and the families know about that change. Uh, Dr. Mayor Maze. Yes. Thank you. Uh I wanted to echo some of the comments, but I I certainly want to acknowledge the seniors who will be graduating this year and saying congratulations, but I also want to take this moment as a reminder for the adults within our community to be compassionate around this time. Although it's a significant milestone for many, it also is an extremely emotional time for many of our students. So as we meet with our seniors and we congratulate them recognizing that not not all of them have definitive plans for what life looks like after they cross that stage. So being mindful loving and being supportive if we can help them with jobs, we can
079help them with college, if we can help them with whatever their desires are, but not making the assumptions that everyone and every senior has a definitive plan for what's next and just being compassionate around that topic. Great. Appreciate that comment. Okay, Dr. Roberts, do you want to wrap us up with any items of your privilege? Certainly. Thank you, Madam Chair. I know that the board has an extended meeting after this, and I wouldn't want to stand in the way of that. But with that said, certainly allow me to echo the sentiments of the board um by directly speaking to our uh soon to be members of the class of 2025. um the appearance and family members. We know that for all of you um graduation is not just about that lone individual walking across the
080stage uh culminating their um preK12 experience by receiving a coveted high school diploma. But for many, graduation from high school is a family event. It's a celebration of what is possible by serving as an inspiration for many of your siblings and in many instances family members who did not have the benefit of this opportunity and so what I'm going to share with you is quite unpopular during commencement exercises and that is at every commencement exercise you have heard the guidance from those who are facilitating and that is we ask you to hold your applause until everyone walks across Ross the stage. Allow me to offer this executive decision by saying that you don't have to hold your applause. And I say that because I've seen over the years when we those of us in positions
081of authority and influence have suppressed the celebratory spirit in moments for too many parents, many of whom may not understand the direction or guidance that has been given. As you come to each of these ceremonies, understand that there's a lot of pomp and circumstance, and we want you to treat them with a high level of respect, but celebrate your children, your nieces, your nephews, whomever you're there to support. And to our graduates, this is one last time where you will have an opportunity to demonstrate how important it is for you to act in a manner that your parents and your bailance and your nana and everyone expect you to act. So treat these circumstances and ceremonies with a lot of respect. We're there to celebrate you. Very important to acknowledge that. to build on board
082member Marano's point um and some others who mentioned in reference our students from the superintendent and library council this evening if after listening to them you were not excited about the future of our graduates I don't know what else will to listen to them talk about some meaningful and relevant topics today to hear one of them quote the landmark Supreme Court case of 1969 of Tinker versus De Moines and why freedom of speech is important to students the case where the Supreme Court reminded every single person when a student enters a schoolhouse, they don't leave their constitutional rights at the door. That was moving for me to hear the connection made by our students and to our teachers, leaders, and staff. This weekend doesn't end your school year. We will see you all the way
083working hard through June 5th. I know you're going to talk with me at happy hour because I said that, but we still love you, madam chair and board. Thank you all. Thank you for your governance. Thank you for your leadership um as we get ready to finish up this school year and finish really really strong. Um and the best is yet to come for the M public schools. Thank you all. Madam Chair, that concludes my remarks. Great. Thank you, Dr. Roberts. Uh thank everybody for joining us tonight. We really appreciate you being here. And the meeting is adjourned at 6:46 p.m. Thank you.