001Mrs. Barnett, Mrs. Stalard, >> here. >> Mr. Nielson. >> Okay. Can we all please rise for the pledge of allegiance? I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Okay. Um, I am gonna have a moment of silence. And if you haven't silenced your cell phone, now is the time or a perfect time to do it. Okay, moving on to discussion items. Um, achievement profiles update. >> Good evening, Madam President, members of the board. So, uh, we wanted to start off this evening discussing our achievement profiles. This Friday, you will see letter grades come out for all schools throughout the state of Arizona. And, uh, we wanted to get ahead of it
002and give you guys in the community, uh, a little bit of a preview here, but then also talk a little bit about some of our next steps. For me, uh, when I was hired to the district, one of the areas that I really was interested in looking into was our academic achievement and then trying to identify what are some strategies that we could begin to incorporate for some quick wins and then those schools that are already doing some solid strategies. And so I'll hand this over to Mrs. uh Dr. Hay who will bring up Dr. Leette. So go ahead. >> Thank you Dr. Lefit. Madame President, members of the board, I'm happy to welcome Dr. Suhi Ladette, our new director of curriculum instruction to talk about our academic progress review. I'd also like to thank
003Mr. Brian Delesio in the audience who collaborated with her and uh the team putting this together and then of course thank all of our audience members who came to our special meeting uh waiting for I think it's this. So >> good evening President Soik, governing board members, superintendent Dr. Lefit and Littleton community. Thank you for your continued support of our schools, staff, and students in the best district. Tonight, I am pleased to present our annual review of our academic progress for the 2024 2025 school year. A little nervous with a focus on school letter grades and the processes in place that will continue to drive student achievement. Let's begin with an overview of how schools and districts earn their letter grades. The Arizona Department of Education calculates these grades using a combination of growth, proficiency,
004acceleration readiness measures, and English language learner pro progress. The method the methodology for calculation stayed the same as the previous school year with a breakdown as follows. Growth with 50%, proficiency 30%, acceleration readiness with 10% and ELLL progress 10%. for the overall final grade. Here is an overview of our school letter grades over the past four academic school years. Our schools have demonstrated both stability and improvement. The school grades for the 2425 academic year are also currently preliminarily. The final determinations will be presented by the state board of education using the proposed cut scores adopted yesterday during their monthly meeting. The official release of the grades to the public is expected the evening of October 31st. What you see are the expected letter grades of our schools and district. You'll notice two schools that are
005under review. Let's take a closer look at the estimated school letter grades for the 2024 2025 academic year. We are planning to appeal the letter grades for two schools, Lake Prep Academy and Littleton STEM Academy. Lake Prep Academyy's initial designation is a D. However, due to the school being only two years old, we have found that the school was not able to earn full points possible. After having some preliminary meetings with Arizona Department of Education, it was determined that Lake Prep that the Lake school letter grade could be appealed. Some of the concerns that prompted our appeal are that Leaken Prep Academy in the 2425 school year was only in its second year of existence and therefore not eligible to earn certain points. Another point is that the student population growing, we're adding a grade
006level every year which impacts their overall student count which affects their subgroups that did not have at least 10 stu students that were present for the full academic year or FA. Littleton STEM Academy has preliminarily earned a school letter grade of B. They are two 100ths of a point away from an A with 83.98 points. We also plan on appealing the Littleton STEM Academy school letter grade based on their EEL proficiency on the Azella. Azella stands for the Arizona the Arizona English language learner assessment which is a standardsbased assessment used across Arizona to measure the English language proficiency of students whose primary language is not English and serves two main purposes. One placement in the appropriate EL program and two annual reassessment of English proficiency. Littleton STEM Academy also experienced external circumstances during the AASA
007state testing which the state board may consider during the appeal. Specifically, during a testing session, a fire alarm went off triggering a school triggering a schoolwide evacuation. Lastly, you will notice that the Littleton online academy is a C. Due to a declining interest by the community postcoid, we have decreased enrollment opportunities one grade level each year with this year only serving grades in seventh and eighth. As it currently stands, we will not have enough students to generate a letter grade for this current academic school year. I know what you're thinking. So, what are we going to do about it? What are we going to do to increase schools and district grades and ensure number one that all of our students are learning? Our work is guided by the four essential professional community learning community PLC
008questions. Number one, what do we want our students to learn? Number two, how will we know when they have learned it? Three, how will we respond when students do not learn? And four, how will we respond when students already learn it? You will see the three goals from last school year. This very important question, question number one, what do we want students to learn? Yields portions of our district goals and initiatives. These goals are designed to increase student achievement and foster a culture where every student is recognized as a learner. And I am happy to report on the following measures. All schools aim for a 10% growth on the K3 district reading assessment. I'm proud to report that eight out of nine schools met or exceeded this goal. For grades fourth through eighth math, our
009target was a 66% growth rate and seven out of nine schools met or exceeded this goal. Attendance is a key indicator of engagement and all schools met the average daily attendance rate of 95% or better. Finally, family family engagement is essential and all schools achieve the 10% growth in family engagement. And how awesome is that? To touch on the second PLC question, how will we know when students have learned it? We measure student learning through the Arizona Academic Standards Assessment, AASA, our state our Arizona State Assessment, and other evidence of mastery. Here are some highlights on the growth on the growth portion which as a reminder is worth 50% of the total methodology for calculations of letter grades. Call your business academy saw a 16% increase in grade five math. Australia STEM Australia Vista STEM
010Academy achieved a 31% increase in grade eight math. Littleton STEM Academy posted a 13% increase in grade six ELA and Trace Rio Service Academy saw an increase of 26% in grade 5 ELA. These are a small sample of learning highlights and we will continue to identify the needs per school and overall district to continue to strive for academic excellence. This table highlights schools that have met or exceeded the state average in the student proficiency portion. And as a reminder, proficiency is 30% of the total methodology for letter grade calculation. Under the ELA section of the Arizona Academic Standards Assessment, you will note that Trace Rios outperformed in grade three ELA the state average of 36 with 39%. Littleton Online ELA grade 5 outperformed the state of 37 with 67%. Littleton STEM Academy ELA grade 6
011outperformed the state of 41 with 48%. Littleton online ELA grade 7 outperformed the state of 42% proficiency with 50%. Collier Business Academy ELA grade 8 outperformed the state of 40% with 45%. Australia Vista STEM Academy ELA grade 8 outperformed the state of 40% with 44%. And Littleton STEM Academy grade 8 ELA outperformed the state of 40% with 49%. This table highlights schools within our district that have met or exceeded the state average in student proficiency on the math section of the Arizona academic standards assessment AASA. Trace Rio service academy outperformed ma um in math grade three outer st maintained the 42% average as a state. Kier Business Academy math grade six outperformed the state of 29 with 42%. And Australia Vista STEM Academy math grade 8 outperformed the state of 27% with 32%. The third
012question is well how do we respond when students do not learn? When students struggle we respond through targeted interventions throughout the PLC process. Collier Business Academy and Australia Vista STEMmies have both exited additional state support demonstrating the effectiveness of the use of our strategies. Congratulations to the schools the two schools that have worked extremely hard with intentionality to be dismissed and are no longer in state identified need. We will continue to partner with Clinton STEM Academy through targeted professional development and continued work in professional learning communities. In thoughts of the last PLC question number four, well, how will we respond when students already know it? We must recognize this need and plan for different opportunities for students who have already mastered the grade level content. For students who have already mastered grade level content, we
013offer multiple pathways depending on their mastery level and their grade level such as acceleration pathways, community preschool program, curriculum extensions, differentiated extren instruction, flexible grouping, and gifted and talented programs. Did you know that with the board's approval and support of our community preschool program, it is making a significant difference of our students? Our preschool students who attend our community preschools scored almost 22 percentile higher points higher on the FastBridge point um screener than those who did not. 22% higher. Wow. Talk about a proven effective pathway that will help our students beginning in their foundational years. Looking ahead, our focus remains on learning, collaboration, and results orientation. We will continue to expand our community preschool program and provide ongoing professional learning in math, ELA, and writing with I with AI. We are strengthening PLC structures and
014processes to increase support for subgroups subgroups including special education, EL, and gifted students. Our commitment to a results orientation means using data to drive proficiency and growth across all of our schools. Thank you so much for your partnership and dedication to our students successes. We are building a culture of learning, collaboration, and achievement here at Littleton Elementary School District where we are building tomorrow together. I am happy to answer any questions for the board from the board. As this concludes my presentation for the 2024 2025 academic progress >> and if I can just excuse [clears throat] me before we ask any questions, thank uh uh Dr. Hay, her team, Dr. Lette, but really the work has been our campuses and um all of our administrators are represented here. All of our sites are represented by
015administration, but uh we have almost a a large chunk of Australia Vista contingency here as well. And so I'd like to congratulate you guys on achieving that A. I know that was a long time coming and hard work. So congratulations for that work. [applause] Um Dr. Liddette mentioned PLC PLC structures and intentionality. So uh when I came in one of the things I mentioned was uh trying to identify those those quick wins and when you look at the data that was presented earlier can can you go back to slide I think three Dr. Liddette? Um that one. Yeah. When you look at that one, you you start to see the patterns and the trends that take place and you look at what's happening. And what we started to see is those schools that had the
016consistency or started to see those increases, they had a little bit better um and they were a little bit further along in the PLC process. And we talked about that and discussed what would that look like if we supported each other districtwide and how could we help each other win. For me, I always believe we're all in this together. And um and for us, it's and I take a sports analogy approach. We watch basketball games, a basketball player falls, but what's the first thing that happens? His teammate comes to pick him up. Here, we're trying to help pick each other up, lift each other up. And so those schools that have been on that pathway have been great uh resources for those that are still working through those processes. And for me, I know within
017the next few years as a district that letter grade will jump up significantly through this work. So thank you >> Mr. Senos. Well, >> first thank you for the work um all that your department has done and everything. Um it's great and amazing to see just the data in terms of where we've been moving as a district with proficiency. Um now I I applaud I applaud all the progress. Um I applaud it all but I think looking at it you know we are moving um in a trajectory that has shown our progress to go a little more down than past years. Um and I and and that that concerns me just individually. Um but obviously I don't have the answer to that as an individual board member. um that's for our educators and our staff
018to have that because they're the ones who are doing the work daytoday and our students. Um so I eventually it doesn't be now but eventually I would love to hear that furthermore of just what are the plans to work with those sites that have you know lost that progress um forward. But obviously I'm somebody who who respects later grades but doesn't believe that they they make our schools what they are um you know our schools are what they are the cultures they are. So um yeah that's just my comments. Thank you for the presentation. >> Vice President Senos. Thank you so much for your comment. What a relief that you um represent our district in having that adage that school letter grades don't make the school or the people who are working it. So, thank
019you and I applaud you for those thoughts. >> Thank you. [clears throat] >> Okay. Um item B, school student uniforms. >> Okay, Madame President, members of the board. So this next item is an item prior to me coming in, I had heard a little bit about uh uniforms and uh uh governing board questions, concerns, and and really looking into uniforms and what that would look like for the future of Littleton. And so um we had a few questions on some data that we were looking for. So, uh, I'll hand that over to Miss Garrison who will talk about some of the next steps that have taken place and then get any future guidance from the governing board on uniforms. Thank you, Madame President. Governing board, last March, you may recall we looked at um, we
020were talking about uniforms. We looked at the current dress code policy. We took a little look down memory lane. We talked about how we got started with the uniforms and how the practice has evolved and how things got changed over the years. And it seemed that the board was interested in digging deeper at that meeting. So the board helped design a survey that went to students, staff, and families at the end of last year. The survey was 10 questions, and the first one was really just the identifier, whether you were student, staff, or parent. This slide shows you how many in each category responded to the survey. Students in grades um five through eight were asked to take the survey. We had approximately 2900 students at that time. So about 73% of the students responded.
021We had roughly 3,900 families with 1787 responding. So that gave us about 46% of the parents that we expected to respond did respond. And we ended the year with just over 300 employees. So about 43% of the staff responded. Oh. Oh, did I say 500? >> 600. >> Oh, I'm so sorry. We ended this year with just over 600. That's right. 600 employees. So, that meant about 43 responded. Thank you, Dr. Lefi. This next slide shows you um the results separated out by each group. Now, what you're looking at here is the positive responses, the agreements with those statements. For example, on the first one, um, it said uniforms make school safer. So, you can see that 72% of the parents agreed with that, 74% of the staff agreed with that, 42% of the students
022agreed with that. So, I just wanted to make sure that this was clear that that was the agreement with the statements that we gave them. Um, make kids more comfortable and confident. You see, parents and staff were matched evenly there. Kids came in at 36%. reduce bullying 72 73 44 respectively and I won't read them all to you because I know you've had these all week probably had some time to go through these um but it is agreement there on the next slide I I will have been fascinated with this since March since we talked about it there's so much data out there to look at and I'm assuming you guys were looking too um interesting so I we picked some of the stats that we thought you would be interested in. And I'd like
023to start with one that isn't on the slide, but interesting. Uniforms are not the norm across the country, but they are in our area. You had an attachment there to show you in our area who is using them. We attached a chart so you could see that. Recent statistics show about 20% of all public schools do require uniform and most of those are elementary schools. The national data shows right now that more elementary schools are going toward uniforms. But look at what's on the screen. Teacher retention improves when students wear uniforms. Uniforms reduce the visual, social, economic differences, but students report a better sense of belonging when they don't wear the uniforms. And I thought it was important to note here, there's really no strong evidence that uniforms affect student achievement at all. Um, and
024parents are split on whether it reduces or increases expenses and students report feeling, this is across the nation, students report feeling less able to express their identity or indiv individuality when wearing uniforms. And those are all things that you guys talked about last March. So what we did is I I we put we decided on four things to start your discussion because this is a discussion item tonight. So if you'd let me go through all four, these are four things that came to my mind as I was reading the um the information. Um first of all just um the first one is we can keep things just as they are. This would keep things consistent and it does align with the survey responses from the adult responses. There's really nothing compelling in the survey data
025telling us to make a change. On the other hand, it is a long-standing practice and it may not reflect a goal for increased self-ex expression. The next thought is we could modify the uniform guidelines and provide some flexibility in what the kids are wearing. This could promote equity in inclusion and maybe seem a little bit more modern. The con is it takes time to get that input and it would be very important that we um have a have shared clarity of what those flexib flexible changes would mean on the next slide. Another thing for you to just discuss. We could also remove the uniform requirement and instead define a dress code. This encourages trust, reduces enforcement time and supports self-expression. The challenge with this again is it takes time to define and we don't always
026agree on um modesty or what's acceptable. That just takes a time because even though the national trends are saying we're going toward uniforms, the districts report that it takes time to build that with your community. It's successful whether you have them or not depending on what your community wants. And finally, just another thing for you to consider uh uh another discussion point is to pilot a change. This could mean we run a test on a select school or select schools or a grade level before making a district-wide decision. And just like all the other things I've given you, there's pros and cons. The pros of this are we have time to collect feedback. It minimizes disruption and identifies implementation changes. The challenge is the inconsistencies across the school and the way that we do school
027choice. So could lead to some confusion. But the bottom line is uniforms none of the research that I could find there not a magic solution for anything. There isn't any data that says they hurt or that they help. What is certain is that when we're implementing a change like this, we should proceed carefully and build our tomorrow with our community. turn it back over to you. >> So, this is a discussion item. Um, the administration is just looking for feedback from us on what we're interested in of the four options or if we have another option. One of us has another option. Um, I first want to start saying by wow, our community really showed up and gave us their feedback. Over 4,000 plus people. Um, majority of that being student responses. Um, that was
028the biggest group that showed up in their survey. Um, and I think that's big. Um, I want to go back to just the survey results if we if we could. Um as you can see you know obviously the adults um seem to feel more confident on that they feel it makes it feel safer that kids more comfortable reduces bullying then when we get to say famil family's monies gets a little more divided and in the middle um even among students as well um and I think that's kind of what caught my eye the most was how a major not even a majority of families agreed based on this survey of the 46% of our parents that responded agreed that it actually saved families more money. Um, and even students agreed with that statement as well.
029And I thought that was pretty pretty big. Um, the cost difference as well was kind of low moderate um, responses. But I think what was really interesting is how even parents and staff were divided among help create a sense of community and belonging among the uniforms. staff and parents were divided. And then only 36% of our students, 25, I'm sorry, 25% of our students agree that it actually makes them feel that they have a sense of community and belonging in their schools. And I thought that was really big to me um in terms of our feedback our kids had to say. Um, I think that was one of the biggest things that just stood out to me individually, um, was how our students really showed up and they were really passionate about this and they
030really want to see us do something about it. Right now, as the adults in the room, that's that's left to us to make. Um, you know, they gave us their feedback. Now, we have to figure out what we're going to do. Um, and I thought that's really really cool to just see the beauty of our students showing up and responding and being a part of this process was really, really cool. Um, and that's kind of I think we'll I'll kind of start my discussion before moving forward with any other things, directions. >> Thank you so much for all of this hard work um and getting all these statistics and information. Um, with regard to where it says creates a sense of community and belonging, I guess I was kind of confused because um, with the
031schools it was compared to, they wear the same uniform we wear. So, for example, the students from Academy of Math and Science, they wear the same uniform that Littleton would wear, the same, you know, that anyone else. So, I guess like I'm I'm divided as a um you know, as a community member, as a parent with with children in this district. Um but then also um you know, respecting the fact that children do need to have a sense of um individuality. So, I guess I don't know. Um it was something else too with regard to um I know that there are some students who um have shared that it's hard for them based on their body style. So for example uniform looks a certain way on some students it looks a different way on other
032students who have a different body style and it kind of causes a stigma a bit of discomfort with regards to them having to tuck their shirts in where they're not necessarily very comfortable with their their their body style. then it kind of draws attention to parts of their body that they're not, you know, feeling good about. So, I don't know. I I just think that this is really really something we need to think about and um also being mindful of the fact that it does in the morning make things a lot easier. So, I don't know. I'm conflicted. >> I also want to thank you for all your hard work because that was a lot of data diving there. Um, I'm with Miss Barnett on some of them, especially the body type, I know, um,
033from working in the district and from being a parent myself that, um, there are a lot of kids that even when others think they have a perfect body, they don't feel they do. So, the tucking in of the shirt is is a really big deal. Um, I now work at a school where we don't have uniforms and it it was an eye openener. You know, the first couple weeks I my mouth just stayed open all the time. Um, but I I like the fact that I think, you know, we should do some more digging into this. I didn't feel it saved me money as a parent um for my child. I usually forgot to buy her clothes when the seasons changed because she wore a uniform every day. So, I forgot to get the regular
034clothes that she would need. Um, I'm all for opening it up a little bit to, you know, change it a little bit to let them be more expressive about their individuality and stuff like this. So, I I think we we should do some some more um research on this and see what we can do. >> Um so, speaking as a parent of a student who does have sensory issues, I will say that our uniforms make life just a little bit harder for her in her everyday life. Um, and so I, as a parent, am very interested in modifying or revising it in some way in order to one meet body types, but also meet the needs of our students who may have sensory issues. As a teacher who taught 16 years in an elementary school
035that did not have uniforms, I know the battles that happen with dress codes and how different staff interpret a dress code differently. And so I feel like, hey, maybe a uniform is better because there's less battling. It's a clearcut thing. Uh much more clear-cut. I know that there can be different interpretations of our uniform, but it happens less. Um, I think looking at the data, the adults, most of them are pretty, you know, in agreement for most things. Um, I know having middle schoolers, they want it changed. Like middle schoolers all want to embrace their individuality and they want to wear what they want to wear. And so, personally, I am more geared towards revising. Um, that's just kind of where I'm at right now with as we've gone back and forth. >> I' I'd
036like to chime in just to throw in a thank here too as um as the board determines which direction to go. Remember, uniform and dress code are two different two different items. We're talking uniform. uh dress code still needs to be in place as to um what creates that level of modesty or whatever it is we're looking for. So, I just want to make sure that distinction exists. So, items like tucking in shirts still are considered a dress code type of policy versus or practice versus what you wear and how you wear it. Two different things. >> Thank you for that clarification. Um Dr. a feed. Um, you know, I think the biggest way this kind of approached me is, um, you know, at the end of the day, um, 71% of our students want
037change, right? They they they want change. At the end of the day, we're all here for our kids. Um, we all can't be in this room if there are not students in our schools, if our parents don't send them here. Um, so I definitely, the message is very loud from our students. They want change. Now, Well, how that change is implemented is where the adults are divided and I think that is common with anything that changes in our society. Adults will always be divided on how the change should happen. Um that's happened many times in this very boardroom. Um a lot um but at the end of the day we come forward with the solution. But I myself every time there's career day I speak to middle school students. I cannot tell you how many
038times this is the number one thing that gets brought up. How in the world do we get rid of school uniforms? How in the world can we do it? And I think they don't care who I am, what I'm doing, what I talk about, but when I bring up the fact that they actually have an opportunity to be a part of a process to change this, they all got so motivated, to see change and to be a part of something. And so I think as the adults in the room, I see the data that our students want change. Now I'm the question I'm asking myself is how are we going to do that for them, right? And I think yes, there's going to be a divide among the adults of how we should implement that
039change, how fast it should go, how slow it should go, but end of the day, I think that we should do it for our students because they're demanding that we do it for for them. And at the end of the day, um this is something that will not change overnight, whether the board chooses to modify or fully move forward with the dress code. At end of the day, we're respecting the decision of our students and we're moving forward and allowing them to have that choice. And I think about further like Lichfield and and Buckeye on the southwest valley, they don't have uniforms, you know, they're not that far from us on the southwest side and Goodyear and Buckeye. Um, but you come more to the west side, Mville, West Phoenix, more hardworking people of class
040communities, they've been structured to be stuck with uniforms. They're in for 20 plus years. And so I think of it more as a societal issue, but also more to the fact that a lot of these comments that these kids said is like,"Wh should I have to wear uniforms? I'm not going to wear it in high school." Like it just and I think about the fact of how a lot of kids really hinted on points that they don't feel it saves their parents money. You know, if parents are going to go out and spend hundreds of dollars on uniforms, why not just spend $100 on regular clothes? Um, you know, and I think those are a lot of points that not just myself, but my kids brought up. I sat down. I talked to my little
041brother and sister a lot about this. They are in fifth and um third grade right now at Lincoln and they have very strong feelings. They don't care about how their day at school is, but when you bring up this, they get so motivated and they want to say something on it. Um and so I think that's the beauty of it to see that the biggest group that showed up was our kids. They showed up and we always say, "How do we get our kids involved? How do we how do we hear from them?" Well, you know, we we've heard from our kids and they've made it loud and the message is very clear. They want to see change. Um, and I think that's kind of what I want to lead forward with is is leading
042towards a change for our kids. Um, because they're demanding it. And so I think based on these groups and these data responses that we should move forward with a dress code. Um, not disagreeing on how fast that should be implemented or how slow it should go, but I think we should move in that direction. And I think the message it sends to other West Valley districts is Littleton is willing to take on something that is not a common practice and we're willing to make change for our kids because we're going to listen to them and do it for them. Um, so that's kind of where I stand on all of this. Um, I really appreciate all the work. It's been years in the making. This has this data has been needed and we've we've seen
043it. We've heard now our community's responded. Um, and I feel like we we should make that change um, with our staff along the way, with our community, with our parents, but um, you know, our kids are demanding it. Um, and they're the ones who have to live through this at the end of the day. They live through it dayto day. Um, it's our jobs as adults to regulate it, how it's implemented and how it's not. Um, with the input of our community and our students. So, that's kind of how I've been feeling about this whole process. Um, about it. I know there's a lot of strong feelings on a lot of um how this should be and how this has been played out. Um but at the end of the day, I feel like this
044is something that our kids should have the opportunity to see. Now, if you came to me and you told me only 900 students responded in middle school and we had over 4,000 parents responded in support of keeping uniforms, then maybe I'd have a little bit of response. But our students outnumbered us on this one. They showed up and they made that change um and input. So that's kind of where um I'm leading in just my ability. And I think at the end of the day, it gives kids more of a passion to feel more seen. Um you know, and I think at the end of the day, you know, in terms of bullying and all of that, you know, somebody's still going to be bullied whether they wear a plank polo or not. They're still
045going to be bullied because it's all down to the individuality of who that student is, who how they look like. It's not about what they wear. Um, I think that's a lot of my, you know, feedback on it. Um, as we move forward, so the administration is looking for some direction from us. Um, do you feel like you have enough direction or would you like us to continue to discuss? Yes and no. I you know for me um I I I I look at it a few different ways and so do I think I have enough possibly but I I think the change that come has to has to shift how that's communicated because right now um for me for me my focus is always on students culture learning how are we building and you
046know I uniforms to me e either way. I'm I've been in organizations where we've gone either way. So, I I don't I don't My kids have worn them, my kids have not worn them. So, I can go either way, but I haven't heard definitively of yes, uniforms, no uniforms, modify uniforms. What I can communicate is most board policies regarding uniform are structured so that the superintendent develop and enforce policies and regulations pertaining to student dress code and really it's around safety. And so for me if the idea is to say okay we want to move away from uniforms but now the next step becomes what does that look like? So that then moves towards towards the board saying hey we need to look at policy then and what is standard policy around that. I mean
047I it's it's for me to come back every month every quarter or every semester to discuss uniforms takes us away from student achievement from making sure our buildings are are safe making sure those I you know for me I don't care either way. I can say that I while I'm partial to modifying our uniforms, if we were to get un rid of uniforms and go to a dress code, I can support that. I'm not like staunchly in one area or the other. And I feel like while we sit on a board and we make policy, the administration has to enact it and enforce it. And if that means that we need to allow you to make a dress code or decide how this goes, this is not something that I want to spend monthly talking
048about. It's not something that I feel like needs the whole board to decide on in my opinion. Like >> yeah, um I I'll echo that. Um, I think based on the discussion that's been had and a lot of these student comments that were brought up from our cute students, um, I would say we, you know, we direct the administration to move forward with number three. Um, and now I think, um, leave that up to our administration on terms of like Amy's mentioned, how we move forward with number three. Um, remove the uniform requirement. Um and I feel like they come back to us whether that's in four to five months say hey we we drafted up a subcommittee of parents students and staff they came together with a dress code um this is how it
049looks like and it's going to be implemented in the next school year um I think if that's something that the administration can take on um and then come back to the board in maybe next year um in the springtime and say hey we took direction from the board and you know we presenting this to you guys to say this is what our community our parents and our students want to see in a dress code without uniforms. Um, and then kind of having that discussion. >> So, I agree. Um, my thoughts about it is that I wonder would it be possible for us to have an option? I know some parents do feel that the uniforms for whatever reason are best for their family, but then maybe for there to be an option where it's not
050mandatory. So, maybe sometimes, you know, if that's what is best for your family for whatever reason, you can continue to do that. um you know knowing that you'll be in compliance but then also there'll be an option where maybe they don't have to wear uniforms. So you know I don't want to like necessarily get away get rid of them completely because maybe that is for whatever reason someone's family dynamic where they best for them where they're they're getting uniforms um secondhand and this is what they receive and so this is what they have. You know, >> just to clarify what you're saying, Rachel, are you saying giving allowing some schools to have uniforms like that's their uniform and then some schools aren't? >> Something like that. You know, definitely something, you know, the administration will
051know best. Um, but just something where I don't want it to be necessarily where we move so far to the opposite end and then there are students who they only have uniforms and now they're like, "Oh man, you know, this is really, you know, not good for me." But then also I don't want other students because it's not for my for my family and this is about all of us collectively but for my family uniforms are not beneficial. It's easier for the children and also I noticed when we have dress down days for the kids how excited they are to be able to showcase their fashions. They're excited to go to school. They do better that day because they're feeling confident because what they're wearing is indicative of who they are and they do better
052those days. So I want that to be an option for kids to have that. But then I don't necessarily want to move so far to the other side where kids who only have uniforms are now like, "Well, what do I wear to school?" >> Yeah, I I I agree, Rachel. I think that's that's a really good point. Uh but I think at the end of the day, um if we if we have a dress code, right, I think that that gives the kids opportunity to wear whatever they want, right? And I think they can come in wearing a polo or or wearing anything that they want. Um I think that's kind of what a dress code would do for our kids. Yeah. option three. >> So, I agree with all of you guys. Um, I
053noticed when they talked about like if they want to wear if we just did a certain school, you know, it could mess with our school choice because some kids may not want to go there if they have to wear a uniform. Um, I I I like number three. It's I it has I have always um been a non-uniform person and I feel that it does give kids that individuality. I do believe though because of the way the staff and the parents felt. I agree we need to acknowledge our students, but I agree that I feel we also need to acknowledge the parents and the staff because yes, kids want their individuality, but kids don't don't always understand. Um, I would like to see a committee made up of parents and staff and, you know, admin
054and community members. I would like to see, you know, something like that with students. So we could come up with a if we do go with a a defined dress code, we could come up with something that's going to be easily I want to say implemented so that it's not just more work for the staff to take on and more work for parents to have to do to find certain things if that makes sense. >> Um I I echo what Linda said. Um I think the biggest thing is that um you know change is is never easy but we need to communicate that very effectively to our community and to our students and to our staff and to our parents but also we need to make opportunities for them to be a part of it
055along the way. Um right this isn't a top down thing. This is a bottom up thing. So um by forming I agree with Linda we should form a committee direct the administration to form a committee um over the next couple months and have that have that um figured out um by the spring of next year and then bring that back as a um board action or discussion on the results of that committee so that we can hopefully make a full decision on a dress code um policy by the next school year. Um just so we give our parents and our community that time and then we're able to communicate that effectively to them. Um, but also I I do agree with Linda. We do need to acknowledge our parents and our staff, which is why
056I think it's so crucial that we take them along the way. I'm going to say that we we have to take our parents, students along the way, otherwise this could just end up being very chaotic of a change. Um, so Amy, I know Dr. Lefita says, so go ahead. Um, I would just say, and this is just me speaking as myself, I feel like if we were to in the future direct administration to form a dress code, I would assume that the administration would reach out to parents and staff to form that dress code. So I don't while I'm all for giving everyone their peace and their ability to speak up. I would make the assumption that if as a board we said hey you're making a dress code this is our policy they are
057going to take in that input from all the stakeholders and so I don't know if we have to formally make a committee I don't that's just my thought like we would tell that's what they would do I would assume in getting feedback on how to write a dress Thank you for that clarification, President Sosnik. Um I think um at the end of the day, as long as our um community has that opportunity to be a part of creating a dress code, um it's all I just I want to make clear. However the administration does that that they can do it as long as they communicate that to the board along the way of how they're doing it. I think would just be a little helpful. Not month by month, but just maybe keep us updated
058how they've done with this process. um in terms of how they're communicating that to the board. But um I do agree with the majority of my colleagues that we we should move forward with um with number three. >> Dr. Lefy, do you feel like you have the direction you need? >> Yeah, we're good moving forward. Thank you. >> All right. Thank you. Um moving on to item C, board conference opportunities. Good evening, Madame President, members of the board. So, several meetings ago, we discussed policy uh BIBA, I believe, and we discussed uh opportunities for board members to attend conferences. So, we said we'd come back with a listing of several conferences that seemed really focused on work of the governing board to give the board members an opportunity to review and discuss to see if
059there item or um to see if there are professional developments they'd like to attend. Then what we could do is put all that information together, come back at a future date for an action item to approve whichever uh professional developments the board would like to go to in future dates. If there are other things that come up, we can still have those discussions, but this is just a generic list of items that we were able to to find. >> Just for clarification, um pre um previously what we would do is if we found a conference we wanted to go to, we would just we had kind of like each board member was allotted a certain amount of money and that was their pot, you know, their little pot to use if there's a conference that
060they want to do. Are we no longer doing that? >> Right. So, while there's still funding attached to that, it's still what what we're trying to do is just identify those items now so that we can go ahead and get our budgeting and everything in line. And so for us, what would be great is to say, "Hey, if uh four of the board members identified those, we'd bring those and just have those all approved so that moving forward, we know the exact budget. We have everything planned for and it's already approved so we can move forward." >> Okay. So essentially you want us to Rachel's point you want us to just tell you what conferences the board sees interested in and then we would just >> right just as a yeah just as a board
061have that discussion on which one. So example um someone may want to go to uh National School Board Association conference and there may be one or two board members who say hey I'd like to go to that as well because then it gives us kind of a frame for how we want to structure these moving forward. Okay. >> I can say for me it is very hard for me to tell you which ones I'm interested in because I like to hear what the breakout sessions or the keynote speakers are. Um, just based on this list, I would probably be pretty interested in the um, Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendent just because so many of our students are of Latino or Hispanic descent. Um, so that's the one that kind of stood out to me.
062I have been to NSBA conferences. Um, and there was some good found there, but not at least the one I attended. I did not come back feeling like it was worth the money we spent to send me there. >> Um, for me, I think the one that kind of stickked out just for me was the annual advocacy institute for the NSBA. Um I've heard a lot of board members have gone to that conference and especially now with all of the um federal noise um just put it one way. Um regarding education, public education, I think more than ever that one's really important for board members to go to um to lobby and to work with their um Congress people related to federal funding for school districts. Um so that one recently I've gone to cube
063um which relates to equity um and inclusion basically primarily for uh people of color board members primarily um for urban institute. Um that one has always been the one I've gone to the most um the last two years. So this year I was thinking of going to the advocacy one just given all the federal stuff that's going on. So, it's the uh number number three on the left. They have numbers. It's number three. The National School Board Association and then the annual advocacy. Yeah. It's in February next year and I know um I texted Ada about it. I know the early bird registration ends mid November for that one. Um, so I think we have a board meeting before that. That's the one that I was personally interested the most. Just personally me. I don't
064have one yet. I'm I have to keep reading. >> So, Madame President, members of the board, what we could do is um we've identified a couple. We could bring those forward and then um as you go in and and to these uh Miss Ellis has done a great job of she's added links to those. You can actually go to those and identify those conferences and get additional information as well. So um we can take a few other things at a different time. Okay. Thank you. >> Thank you Dr. Ley. >> Go ahead. >> I just want to ask like a to Rachel's point in the beginning I'm sorry to a point of clarification. Um so when in going forward in the future so for example if a conference comes up you know January next year
065we want to go should do we go moving forward do we want to just have a board meeting about a conference or do we want to just let our secretary know? So, so the idea is and this is one thing I'd like to move more towards is trying to bring items whether it's whether it's governing board staff in general trying to bring a larger slate of items because then it kind of calendarers it out and it aligns the budget a little bit better. For me, I try to for me the budgeting part of the process is extremely important. And I know oftent times what happens is things will come up and you'll constantly hear I want to go to this, I want to go to this whe regardless of who it is. And so I
066want to kind of make sure we can kind of align that to make sure it aligns with all of our goals and the things that we're trying to do as an organization. Okay. Um All right. Moving on to item D. It is board self-evaluation. So we as board members and Dr. Levit um every two years we evaluate ourselves as a board and how we think we're doing. And so um we all have the report that's here. You can see the years we've taken it. Um and then just kind of looking over our data. Um blue and green. I'm sorry, I'm going too fast. Um, let me see. So, looking at our data, we're going to look at what do we see, what does the data suggest, and identify any goal areas that we may have.
067Um, and then potentially build two or three goals using the smart goal framework. So, blue and green um is always or most of the time. Yellow and red are some of the time never. And then black is don't know. So, one thing that I when I was looking at this um kind of reflected on is when you compare our 25 data to our 23 data, only three of the current board members took this. So, I think while the data is interesting, it's not exactly the same group of people every time taking this. Um, and then if you go as far as 21, I believe I'm the only one that's still currently on the board who did this. Um, so I just kind of wanted to have us have time to look at this and kind
068of have a discussion about it. Um strand one or standard one was our what's our conduct and our ethics and do we provide re responsible school district and governance that seems to be pretty common I mean the study for the past three times we've taken this um if you combine both always and most of the time when you get to standard two um set and and anyone on the board or anyone feel free to ask questions or give comments um set and communicate high expectations for student learning with clear goals and plans for meeting those. Um we did go from 90 96% agree always or most of the time to 86. So that was kind of a dip that we have there from 23 to 25. Um, strand three, structure, create conditions districtwide for student
069and staff success. We did go from 96 and 23 to 75 for o always or most of the time. Standard four accountability holds school district accountable for meeting student learning expectations. We did go from 94% to 65 in that always or most of the time. And then standard 5 advocacy, we went from 82 to 65, from 23 to 25. I think it's always good to reflect um and evaluate how we're doing. So, I appreciate that we have this data to look at. Any comments, questions? >> Thank you, Amy. Um, I think going through I think what the biggest thing that I noticed was um question five a little more a little more down under the the chart just going like a little bit down how comparing to 2019 to 2025, how much um we've grown
070on what we think is um commitment to a clear and shared purpose. Um, we've actually grown on that as a as a board. Amy, you will be the only person I think was on the board at that time. Um, but I think we we've grown even prior to the last time that we did that with three of us being on the board in 2023 doing that um in terms of a shared a shared purpose. So, I thought that was a little bit of a growth um for the board. I thought another interesting one. Oh, well, Linda, go ahead. >> Okay. Yeah, I'm just going through and pointing out the interesting questions that I thought had the most quoteunquote controversial data. Um, from our responses, um, I thought also too for question seven, um, that one
071was pretty interesting. um gathering input prior to making crucial decisions. Um we've grown a lot since 2019 to 2025 and even from 2023 to 2025. We've grown a little bit. Still almost the same, but a little bit of progress. Um but that was pretty interesting, but I won't give any more pointer questions. You can go, Linda. >> I just had a quick question. The the don't know, is that taken into the percentage? Yes. Well, I don't know. What if like someone doesn't know or like they're brand new? Is that like a bad thing that >> I don't think it's a bad thing. I think um knowing that we had brand new board members filling this, >> right? You don't know. But I think that is also could be a growth opportunity in the fact that
072as a board member you don't know like we need to make sure you have a feeling about that or an opinion or you know give you the information you need so that you can have an opinion on that is a growth point. Is there anything that stood out to any of the board members that um we feel like we need to make goals upon? I know from many many years ago when we took this, one of the things that as a board we felt um we evaluated ourselves and felt like we were not active on all the campuses enough. We weren't present. And so from that became our board goal of being at two school sites every quarter and one ASBA event every semester. And that's kind of been an underlying goal of all of
073us as a board. I don't think this year we went over that with any of our new board members. So Linda, this may be surprising to you that you had this goal. [laughter] >> When the last time you reviewed that? >> Oh, it's been many years since we reviewed that. Um, two years ago when we filled this out as a board, we did not want to make any new goals. We kept our same goals. So again, we make our goals based on this. So did we share? I don't know. Do we have that data from the previous Well, I guess we're a new year, so we're almost through a full first year of the new board. Have we tracked that data based on our goals yet? Usually ADA provides it when we do the end
074of the like the whole big data day where we get the binder and we go through it all. >> It's always in there. I don't think we've done very well in our goals. So it doesn't get presented in the very quick presentation. So, so Madame President, when you brought up um when what was brought up were opportunities to be on campus, I think those are things that as we go through the weekly update and if you notice in those updates, there are opportunities for events that are happening on campuses uh within the community. Example, on Friday, I believe there was a Hispanic Heritage event at fine arts. So those are opportunities that that board members have to be present uh be visible to engage with the community, engage with students and staff. Those there are
075numerous opportunities that take place throughout each week. Uh all of our schools are doing a really good job of putting things out there so that we can have um uh participation from both the community board and so on. So those opportunities do exist. >> Okay. So my goal is to work on the areas that are black because I'm pretty sure that that's me that put don't know. So that will be my goal is to mark these down and work on them so that I don't have those marks on there anymore and I do understand more. >> Well, I thought what was interesting going on question 44 all the way all the way down the have a long-term facilities plan in place for construction and maintenance. Um I think more than half of the board didn't
076didn't even put a don't know or just some of the time. Um so I think like moving forward Dr. Leafy like if if we could be made like aware of that like is there a facilities plan in place um for construction and maintenance just like something that really stood out to me for that one. >> Yep. Madam President, Mr. Senator S. Yeah, th those are the things that we're working on. So part of part of the the process here and actually kind of even going back to the uniform piece for me it's what are the things that we truly have to begin to focus on and put in place. And so I'm really trying to focus on a lot of those components. I know we're working on facilities. We're working on ensuring that the facilities
077are um are up to par. You know I I I want our students to be in top-notch facilities uh academics. And so we're putting all those components together. One thing that I know we're working on that kind of ties into this is a long-term strategic plan. What you'll begin to identify those components. And again, those types of things take committees as well. And so for me, part of part of the work is not to either dilute our staff or or the community and over inundate them with committees and surveys. And so how do we strategically do that? And so, um, that's been part of my, uh, thing that I've been trying to communicate is really, you know, just if there's some trust in the administration to work through these processes, communicate those, uh, put those,
078whether it's in an update, information items, discussion items, or even in some of the action items that come to the board, we try to address those. Maybe in a board update, could we get an check-in on our board goals and how we're doing >> and just a review of what our board goals are? >> Yep, we can look for that. Thank you. >> Right. Anything else on this item? All right, moving on to our next item, which is board norms and commitments. We had a special meeting where we met with Julie Bacon from ASBA and kind of came up with a list of expectations and shared agreements that we have um between the administration and the board and ourselves on the board. And so kind of where we want to go with this is having
079a conversation. Well, one reviewing everything that we decided on that night because it was kind of a lengthy night. Um and then seeing if there is the ability for us to discuss and maybe form um a solid four maybe five norms that we can hold ourselves accountable to um as norms. This is a discussion item. Um I want to be very aware that uh Mr. Nielsen couldn't be here. So I don't want to um pass anything that he really without him having his ability to speak um on and reflect on. So looking at this um the very first one we have board superintendent communications. We have the expectations we worked with Julie on um and then our shared agreements. I'm not going to read them all to you. >> [laughter] >> Then we have the
080same thing with emergency communication protocols and then superintendent board communications as well again. And then agree board agenda agreements broken down to current board agenda items and future and then preparing for meetings. and then during the meeting agreements and after board meeting agreements and then site visit agreements. Then board community communications. Obviously this is six pages long. So I would love to you know make it more concise or just I'm 100% honest. I didn't know we had this. Um I didn't know I mean I knew this was a thing but I don't think we ever we've ever reviewed it. Um at least as long as I've been on the board. >> This is just the summary from the October. It was the summary summary of that meeting that we had made. Okay. Okay. >> So
081this is just showing you the summary of what um ASBA did for us. >> I mean I think it's it's pretty good. Um I do agree on the first one uh the regular communication but the superintendent uh weekly update. Um I do love the new forward mat format um that um our former interim superintendent Dr. Cole came up with. Um I think that was that was a good format or Dr. Freeman sometimes would a little ramble on in there. Um, but I think it's been very effective, the weekly update, um, in terms of information we get in there. And I think that's kind of one of the biggest ways the administration's able to communicate with us. I think that also established trust with them, um, with answering our questions and things that we want to
082know that are going on the district. Um, so I I think it looks looks pretty good. I feel like this was a pretty good summary of the meeting that we had. Um, I just kind of want, not that any of us are breaking any of these currently or will, but um, just kind of keeping it fresh in our mind the agreements that we had and then seeing if there's a way to make this more concise or just maybe more clear or if there's any uncleararity in there because it is it was a long meeting that got summarized to six pages. Okay. So, for me it's pretty clear um the verbiage and everything else as to all the different um ones in here. I don't know how to make it more concise. I mean to like
083slim it down from six pages. So just a thought um I think that you know Julie Bacon did an amazing job of really just condensing everything that we met with her about that evening. But um my only thought is that with regard to um the reference it makes when board members visit a school and then of course the manner in which they conduct themselves maybe we can provide clarification as it relates to if they are there in the capacity of a parent or if they're in the capacity of a board member. I think maybe that's the gray area just to be very very clear when it comes to that. Um because there are times when we as parents will go up there and we're wearing our parent hat and so we're engaging in that capac
084you know in that manner but then if we're there as a board member it needs to be you know clear that you know I'm I'm not I'm not a board member I'm here as a parent >> I agree with you Rachel I know that there's many times I have been on campus that Okay. Yeah. Um, but I also know that while I may be there as a parent, everyone still sees me as a board member as well. Like I'm not there in my official capacity, but >> I'm lucky nobody ever knows who I am. >> They never know. >> I try to hide and go to an assembly and get called out. >> Keep it incognito. So >> yeah, I think the side visit agreements. Um I think maybe keeping this in mind at our
085um next board meeting related to a agenda item related to visit of sites, the badges as well. I think that could be something we could attach to have that just on display and reminder um when the board makes that decision to have badge access. Um, I think that would be a good thing to add in there as well. Um, and then rewrite that communication based on how that goes out. Um, and I think also after board meeting agreements, um, I'm going to be very honest. Um, number one, I I have broken many times. Um, so, um, I've had my opinions um, and I voice my opinions on whether I agree with the majority of the board's decision or not. Um and so I feel like I don't want to say undermine um but I want
086to say I do agree that board members and I think it should it is board norms like board members will support you know instead of saying support I think we'll both respect respect um you know um I think board members should like guess we're going to all not agree always but we shouldn't Even if board members have disagreements, we shouldn't force them to always have to respect of the will of the majority of the board like each individual board member should have that ability to have their expressions because end of the day they were elected to have those expressions um from the community and the public. So, I like number one. I love the idea of it, but personally, um, >> I don't feel >> I think it's very hard. I don't ever want to
087limit someone's free speech. Like, I don't ever want to tell someone they can't say um >> how they feel because we are elected as representatives of different groups in our community, right? Um I do think though that sometimes if you leave a board meeting and say as a board member I disagree with this. While that is in my opinion perfectly fine to say in the DS when we are discussing um leaving a board meeting and saying something like that kind of makes it feel like one you're heard. I mean, I I'm I'm conflicted because it allows our community to know like, hey, there are other people who believe what I believe and I didn't I don't agree with what the board decided, but it does, I think, build a perception of the board is not
088cohesive and that they can things can keep coming back and decisions can keep being changed. And I there have been many times that I've, you know, disagreed with what the board has said and I just kind of go along my way and I don't say anything publicly in a public format. Like it may be a conversation I have with someone. Um, but I don't I caution us on making a public statement saying I disagree, but I also don't want to stop someone from speaking their opinion. Like I don't ever want to do that. So I think that that comes back to kind of a personal choice on what you are comfortable with and if you feel like you are meeting the agreement and the norms there really comes down to just like you said um
089it's it's a fine balance of having level of decorum and not you know engaging in a divisive way when we are a cohesive unit but I think it's also important for people to um maintain that level of trust in each individual that they voted to their board understand that that person didn't necessarily sell themselves out or sell them out you know so I think like we might make a decision as a board that certain members of the board do not agree with and so the community then is aware of these decisions being paid. I don't necessarily think that we'll be doing anyone a service by saying, "Oh, no. I agree." You know, cuz then they're like, "Wait a minute, like what is what's, you know, what's this really about?" So, I think as long as
090we're engaging in a manner that is not being divisive or is is not um trying to push our own agenda, you know, against the board. It's important for us to stay true to ourselves and our level of morality and what we stand for as individuals because ultimately that's why our community voted for us to be in this position. So, it's just about find that balance and having decorum. >> Yeah. I mean, I I I I definitely agree that, you know, we always want boards to move forward, you know, United, you know, three votes is three votes, you know, and if there's always going to be three votes for that issue, it's going to stay until the board changes. Um, you know, depending on how the community and people feel about it. Um I personally don't
091like having the you know stay silent. I I agree with not not undermined but um I think board members should be able to respectfully dissent um you know with the board's decision. Um I have I've done it many times um you know personally um and you know because it's what I believe in as an individual board member um and I respect you know the will of the majority of the board but you know we'll still speak you know how I feel about that outcome so >> and I Marcus I if I came across as like I don't want you to speak your mind that is not what I was trying to say I think everyone has to leave and feel like did they meet and follow the norms and the agreements that we had and
092if you leave here feeling like you did wholeheartedly great like I'm not saying you didn't like you are you as a person are accepting these norms and if you feel like you're meeting these norms great I'm speaking for myself and like what I feel like am I meeting the norms and what do I feel like if I'm agreeing to this then what that is interpreted as in my mind could be completely different than what it is in yours and we're both representing atives of different communities and different parts of communities, right? And so I'm not disagreeing with what you've done or have done. Like I'm I'm just saying I do what I feel like is good for me and like if I'm living up to it and you do what you're doing and I'm not
093going to judge for you what your agreement to the norm is or not. >> Okay. >> Does that make s like I don't know if I'm making sense but >> but I mean even I'm going to be very blunt like you know it it does sound like a like just based on language is we would shame individual board members from you know >> right >> descending with the decision of the court >> and I agree like I want board members to do that um >> because it's it's a it's a beauty of democracy um you know so I I agree what you said though like I like do you leave do you respect you know colleagues and you know I may not disagree with our decisions but I respect you all very much as as
094individuals and as colleagues Um, and so, >> so how would you feel more comfortable? How could we reward this so you would feel more comfortable? >> Board members. Well, I mean the staff. Is there a reason why we put staff in there? I mean, I guess staff because they are the ones affected by the decision if it's a certain thing related to. >> This is Julie Bacon's summary. So, this is not something that we or anyone in Littleton wrote. So, I couldn't tell you why. I guess you know being say you know progressive um board members and staff you know will respect the decision of the board but something along the lines of the board will also respect the ability of staff or board members to respectfully descent >> okay >> on the board's decisions
095if that's does that make Dr. Does that sound too blunt or something along that lines? No, I I think um from our meeting, Madame President, board member Senos, I I think what um as we went through our meeting that evening, what the intent was from the language and how um as we were discussing and it was written was for us to understand that as a group once a decision is made that is the decision at that point. and whether we agree with or disagree with the decision, we move forward with the decision. And so you brought up staff, so I'll use staff as the example. Um, tonight we were discussing uniforms. I'm just going to use that because we're here tonight. If I were strongly one way or the other, if I were strongly keep
096uniforms and I was being told get rid of uniforms, my responsibility responsibility would be to say the decision or the will was to move forward this way. So for me, it's to leave the room and not say the board voted that way. It's for me to say our organization is moving this way. And so that's that's how I interpret. And I look at it that way because I never want to show dissension. And I say that from this perspective. I know as an organization um we've dur during the finance piece we had discussions about future work, bonding, things like that. I think the more we dissent from one another, the community views dissent and then the questions come in of well should we or shouldn't we and why versus we communicate that these are the
097things that we communicate this is what we're going to do this is how we're going to do it and this is what it looks like moving forward me it's just purely about communicating that we made the decision we live with it we move forward we keep going and I think that was Julie's as she as she documented what we had discussed. I think that was her intent with the language. >> Linda. >> Yeah, I know. Linda, um I just I haven't said anything and I apologize for that. I'm trying to get was trying to get my words together, you know, what to say. Um but Dr. Lefit, I think you um said it very well. Thank you. Yeah, and I think at the end of the day, you know, these are these are board norms,
098you know, um that's why I was confused in the beginning of staff is in there. I think this agreement, right, is supposed to be for the superintendent and the board. So, um I do I do agree with you, Dr. feet that um but also I feel like I I just I'm somebody who always wants to not limit people from expressing whether they agree or not with a decision right I don't want to create an environment that is like that where we can't prevent people from dissenting from a decision you know um and I agree with you right from the public's perspective we we always have to come together and make a decision and I think whether thick or thin our our board has we went through a superintendent search and then we came through with
099a decision as a board um even though there were a lot of again dissents and disagreements from staff and community and board members on that process. Um so I feel like that's just a very much of an example of just how I feel. I I just want us to respect descent but also just say that this disscent is not undermining, you know, it's it's respectful descent, right? be like, I just I didn't agree with this vote, but hey, we're going to move forward as a district united, you know, and move forward through it as an issue, you know. Um like for example with the uniforms, you know, people are not going to agree with what the board just did. And we're going to respect their decision and their descent to not agree with what the
100board, you know, move forward as an option with uniforms, but we want people to be able to express themselves and be able to have that. And that may sound very, you know, progressive and and radical and not, you know, not not a common practice of a school board. Um, but I feel like that is just kind of where I'm I'm coming from with board members and just creating an environment where we can respectfully descent, you know. >> So, Madam President, what I would just say is just if you want to remove the words or stay silent and just keep not undermine, it doesn't say anything about disscent. It just says board members and staff will support the decision of the board. That's that's that's the verbiage that's there. And it's it's the the the term
101that I think is really the term we're all trying to just define and agree on is not undermine. I don't know if anyone said truly stay silent, the word is there. But really, when you look outside of the parenthesis, board members and staff will support the decision of the board, the parenthesis piece being the not undermine. So it's to not leave and and and talk about how bad it is or bad of a decision or whatever. So or do something to destroy the decision. That's really undermine would be something to destroy that decision or to impinge on the decision and the actions taking place moving forward. >> Okay. So this is nothing we're voting on tonight. This is just a discussion, right? So, um I mean are we as a general comfortable with just taking
102out the parenthesis or stay silent, not undermine like >> Okay. >> Yeah. I just what we would really call Iowa was just to stay silent. I don't think [clears throat] anybody should be forced to stay silent if they don't respect the decision of the board. You know, that's >> doesn't sound very democratic. So, Right. Anything else um on this that we feel like we want to have a conversation about or maybe we were summarized too quickly. Okay. All right. Well then, um is there a motion for adjournment? >> I motion we adjourn. >> Linda, is there a second? >> I'll second. Marcus. All in favor say I. I. >> I.