001of allegiance. >> I pledge allegiance 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. >> Like to welcome everyone to our meeting tonight, particularly our presenters from uh Haber Hill Elementary tonight. So, we'll get started so we can get to that. Um, are there any changes to the agenda as printed? >> Do we have a motion then on page two to approve our agenda? >> President Banch that we the agenda as printed. >> Thank you. Is there a second? >> Second. >> Thank you. All in favor, please say I. >> I. Opposed. The motion passes and we'll go right to the superintendent report. Johnny. >> All right. Thank you, President Van Antworp. We have our director
002of secondary I'm sorry, director of elementary education, Dr. Kelly Jensenius, who will kick off our superintendent report tonight. >> Good evening, Superintendent Edwards and members of the board of education. Um, I'm excited to present to you tonight uh Mr. Jeremy Zance and his team um from Haver Hill, his team of students here from Haver Hill who are going to report out to you about their new schooling tonight. So, I'm not going to take up much time. Without further ado, Mr. Dance and his team, come on up. The floor is yours. >> Don't worry. Good evening, Superintendent Edwards, members of the board, and all of these amazing guests that came to uh participate with us tonight. Uh it's an honor to be here this evening representing Haver Hill Elementary School. Last year, these three students, plus
003another who unfortunately has moved, uh had the opportunity to tour our building uh while it was still under construction. uh they took detailed notes, wrote reflections, and shared what they learned with their classmates through our morning announcements and other opportunities. Uh tonight, I'm excited to welcome these three students back to share what they feel about our new building. Wow. Um, uh, please join me in welcoming Noel, who will go first, Owen, who will go second, Terrell, and the three outstanding Haverh Hill, uh, Hornets, who are excited to share the reflection of our new school. After they share uh, thoughts, I'll take a few questions from the board if you have them. Uh, then we'll close with a short video created by Kayla Miller that features students uh, interviewed from each grade level. It really captures
004the excitement, energy, and pride our students feel about their new school. Uh we're incredibly thankful to the board, to the community for this beautiful new space, uh building designed around community, collaboration, and connection. Every day we see students and staff bringing that vision to life, uh and what it truly means to be part of the Hive. So, please join me in welcoming Hello Hello members of the board and everyone here. My name is Noel and I'm in fifth grade at Haver Hill. Thank you for building our new school and letting me see what it's like as a student. The first thing you notice in is space. The gym is really big. That means we can run full games without bumping into each other and classes can save the space without waiting so long. The lunchroom
005is a huge improvement. It's much larger, so lines move faster. It's less crowded and it feels calmer. That makes lunchtime more enjoyable and gives us more time to actually eat and talk. Around the school, there are new benches, which may sound small, but they matter. We use them to eat, eat with friends, and take quick breaks. It makes the school feel welcoming. I like having cozy places around the school to work independently. more space and better. Even though it's the building is bigger, I learned to n navigate it pretty fast. The hallways make sense, so it's easy to it's easy to find classes and get where we need to be on time. We move between the different spaces a lot during the day. More space and better design help us learn. When we're not crowded
006or stressed, we can focus. The gym helps us be active and health healthy. The lunchroom helps us feel calm and ready for the next class. Thank you to the school board, our principal and teachers, the builders, and everyone who planned this. You didn't just make a bigger building, you made a better day for students. I'm proud to go to school here. If you'd like, I can answer questions about how students are using spaces. Thank you for listening. Hello members of the board and guests. My name is Owen and I'm in fifth grade. Thank you for our new school and for listening to a student's view. The first thing I notice is how put together everything looks now that it is done. The decorations in the hallways make the school feel welcoming and proud of our
007work. The buildings look clean and organized. That helps us focus because the spaces feel calm and ready for learning. The lunchroom is a big improvement. It's cleaner, brighter, and moves faster. So, we have more time to eat and talk with friends. My favorite part is the classrooms. They're set up for learning, and there's more room to move, better places to keep our materials, and it's easier to see and hear the teachers. We get to move to different spaces during the day to learn. On Fridays, we even get to go all as a fifth grade to the treehouse for town hall meeting. When a school looks cared for, students want to take care of it, too. Clean, well decorated spaces make us feel proud and help us do our best. There's a lot of space to
008move around so we can be successful. Thank you to the school board, our principal and teachers, and everyone who designed and built this school. You didn't just make it look nice, you made it work better for students. I'm excited to learn here every day. I'm happy to answer any questions about how students are using the new spaces. Thank you for your time. Good evening. My name is To Bella Jr. The new school looks so much different now that it is fully built. To me, it looks way different than the first time we toured it. For example, we have four fifth grade rooms instead of three. And there are multiple learning learning studios that help us learn on on different levels and in different ways to obtain our education. My favorite part about the new school
009is the treehouse because it's a big shared space that is used by all the upper grade level. I especially like when the fifth graders meet there and have our weekly overview. What surprised me most about the new school is during our first tour, it looked enormous on the inside, but now that it's complete, it doesn't look as big as I thought it would be. but is is still a really cool school. What is different about the new school that I didn't expect is a space that every grade has which is called the commons area. This area can be used for ELA and as an independent workspace. Let's go Hornets [Music] there. Let's before we do the video, are there any questions for the students? We'll conclude with the uh there's a video question if if
010the board has any questions. >> What's your favorite thing? >> The treehouse. >> Treehouse. >> And the treehouse is >> explain that a little bit. >> The what? >> It's like a big It's like a big upstairs space. It's a big upstairs space. uh is shared by all the upper grade levels. Uh it's really I don't know what the other grades use it for, but we use it on Fridays to have a weekly overview. And I don't really know how to explain it. >> So if you walk up the the gathering stairs, it opens up to a a larger space that we use for multiple different areas. We've named it the treehouse because all of our um uh design was based around nature and seasons. So, uh the the teachers and students have had named
011different parts of it. So, that upstairs common area that we would call it, the gathering stair is what you probably had different things referred to as in in the presentations from the different companies, but we of course at Haverell, we uh do things our own way and we named it ourselves. And so the treehouse is that open gathering space on the second level. >> Good choice. >> Yep. >> I didn't hear anybody mentioned the playground. [Laughter] >> Is it okay? >> The playground um what we had last the last few years, it's definitely way bigger as wood chips. Um but but yeah, not really a bunch of field. There's a black top. Um and there's a lot new equipment which makes it really nice because we've never had those. Well, we've never had equipment like
012that. It's just been the same equipment and then moved to a different area so we could build it. And then >> so we're still missing some of our green space. So, uh, as was presented in the last board meeting, it sounds like Central, uh, their green space is starting to grow. Some of our green space has yet to be seated, and so we won't have a place for soccer and football until, uh, hopefully this time next year. So, uh, we'll see how that goes. But that that uh has been something that we've adjusted to uh, and so uh, over the next couple years, we'll continue to adjust to that. I love the name treehouse given how Haver Hill is so nestled within the trees and how the trees are so um visible from the classrooms.
013>> For sure. >> Well done all of you. >> My favorite part from the new school is the special rooms which include library, art, music, and the gym. They're a lot bigger than the old ones and they can have a lot more things that suit them. Like the gym now has Rockall library and art room also connect and the music room has two storage closets for storing things. >> I am curious what you do at your weekly fifth grade overview meeting. What happens there? >> Uh what happens there? It's like what we do for our weekly overview. We we look at what we learned about for the whole week and what we're going to be focusing on for the week the week coming. >> We call it the town hall. >> That was one of
014our little secrets at Habra Hill. But now it's out. >> Sounds like it's working though. They like it. >> They do. They do. In fact, I was at school last night working until about 9:30 just trying to catch up and the playground was full uh until dark. So, uh yeah, the the they like it, that's for sure. >> Um I would just like to thank you students. You did such a good job explaining how the space is making it easier and better for you to learn. That is so important. and you did such a good job explaining it. Mr. Zance, thank you for being here. It's it's it's it's like a picture. Is it is it worth worth a thousand words you guys here? >> Well, we we welcome you all to come and visit
015any day during school and you can see uh the real magic happen every single day. So, we welcome any of the board members to come and visit us anytime they'd like. >> Thank you. Thank you for being here tonight. sit down and watch. >> Thanks for coming back, too. >> Could we have our picture taken with you guys? >> Uh, for a dollar. >> A dollar. >> We're going to take a >> Let's go front. >> I think Brad is going to be our unofficial photographer. >> Where we stand? We're going to go right across and we'll put the students up front of us and we can just kind of do a nice middle shot. >> You guys stand right here in the middle. Come on. >> Get in tight. Making sure in the middle.
016>> You guys are taller than some of us. >> Sure. >> All right. Here we go. One, two, three, and we'll do one more. One, two, three. A nice looking group of students. >> Just hold it for the parents. Parents, come on and get your shot. >> Come closer if you want. >> Come on. get the shot you need. >> Great. Congrats. >> All right. Thank you. [Applause] >> We have a video for uh for the board and for the community. [Music] My name's Reema and I'm in fourth grade. My name is Haddie. I am in second grade. My name is Callie and I'm in fifth grade. >> My name is Laney and I'm in first grade. >> My name is Aaliyah and I'm in third grade. >> My name is Ian and I'm in
017kindergarten. >> What's your favorite part about your new school? >> That the teachers are nice. >> I love the community area. This is one of my favorite parts of the school and um I love it so much because um this is where we learn most of our stuff and because the whiteboard the whiteboard's very cool. Well, I love it. >> My favorite place is the playground. >> And you like the zipline? >> Mhm. >> What do you like about the zipline? >> That it like goes fast. My favorite part is the fireplace. >> What do you love about it? >> It's like calm and peaceful and I can come down here and read. >> And what did you think of the building when you first saw it? >> I thought it was really big and
018it was very creative. My favorite part outside is the merry goround. And my favorite part inside is the smartboard cuz you can draw and erase on it. And my other part is is the cubbies because it's a cool place to store stuff. >> I like the stairs because the cushions feel good and I just like the design of it. whole school and community area is very futuristic and it's very enjoyable and I love the furniture. It's very like I just like love it. It's so comfy to sit on. >> And you did Young Fives in the old Haven Hill. Now you're in the new Haven Hill. What do you think of this new building? >> I think it's nice. >> Yeah. What's your favorite part? >> Um that there's two levels. There's an upstairs and
019a downstairs. >> Which one is your cubby? >> This one. >> I like your back now. >> Thanks. It has Hello Kitty on it. >> Cool. Thank you. [Applause] Thank you as well students. Uh I will say that your presentation uh is better than Mr. Gerver who's our assistant superintendent who's not here. So thank you for uh that update. Uh next we have a uh quick little presentation around a trip to Switzerland and uh Italy and that will come from Miss Pollson at Northern High. really quickly as they're walking out. I just want to say that as a science teacher in the high school, those kiddos know how to make a claim and justify it so well. So well love that. Um, well, good evening and thank you all for having me here today to
020share some details of an exciting opportunity for Portage Northern and our community. So, with EF Tours, I'm planning a trip in the summer of 2027. It's a 10-day tour to include Switzerland and Italy. I'm wildly excited and I'm happy to share this um will be my fourth world trip with students. The last have been to Costa Rica and then Iceland. Travel is one of the most powerful forms of e experiential learning that we can offer our students. They step out beyond the classroom into a new country, culture, and ecosystem. And they aren't just observing, they're actually applying what they have learned in authentic global context. I've been fortunate enough to see students strengthen their independence and confidence and their responsibility as they, for example, figure out flight and passport protocols, money exchange rates, how to
021navigate shopping in stores that have crazy prices, figures that they don't even really know what they mean. Um, and and just food like unlike anything that we've ever had. I love seeing them experience once in a-lifetime adventures like witnessing a humpback whale breach the water. Been there, saw that. Farming techniques in an environment with 247 sun four to five months of the year and 247 darkness the rest of the year. Seeing the population efforts of little leaf cutter ants. I'm kind of speaking from my previous trips. Leaf cutter ants in the tropical rainforest transport plant and harvest their food, trapesing long paths through the dense forest. And baby star strawberry dart frog tadpole on the back of its mother as she climbs her daily climb to high heights in the canopy in search of the
022next pool of fresh water. The eerie sound of howler monkeys in the early hours as we woke up at the base of an active but slowly releasing volcano. catching the sun scoot across the side sky, seeing it straight up above your head at noon. Can't find that here in Portage. Um, but only out from 6:00 am to 6 pm Costa Rica. While in the same day, skyping home and having the sun still out until 10:00. Sun goes down at 6:00 p.m. but staying out here when you're It's just It's mind-blowing. While in Iceland the past this past summer, we saw the sun um not really fully set at all. So, uh, Midnight Sun, we realize how important blackout curtains really are. And, um, the making friends, the making new friends while on the non-stop adventures
023with ported students that are fellow travelers, as well as we fill the bus with other United States um, students and staff, teachers. And so, for this tour, for this one, I'm excited to see and learn about alpine ecosystems, art, and architecture. um be able to stand my feet in a structure that's almost 2,000 years old. Like what? Um EF Tours jams in the experiences on their tours. And why do I pick EF tours? I know we have we are fortunate in Portage. our our teachers have um grabbed hold of several opportunities for travel experience for kids, but I chose EF tours um mostly because that's who I started with and um have been so impressed with their tour consultants from day one, their 24hour with us the entire trip tour guides that they provide for
024us. they hire um they're very careful about selecting safe destinations to travel to. They do background checks on all traveling adults and they select um very cultural or culture typical hotel and cuisine for us um to to experience. So they have 24-hour emergency service and they seem to hire very knowledgeable tour guides. They um seems like they put a lot of eggs in that basket. Um they the the tour guides that I've had the 247 with us all the time really do go the extra mile to make our experience topnotch. They are very connected and they will push in some um additional experiences. Um we want to hike Costa Rica both times I went as an extra you know like just hey I these guys are available who's in and so then we go and
025it's just awesome. So as a high school teacher, I've witnessed the personal and academic growth that the programs offer. They foster that students return more confidence, curious, and globally minded. Partnering again with the FTours for me ensures a safe and meaningful and and transformative experience for my students, and it represents an invaluation and their development. Thank you again for taking the time to hear this presentation, and I'm really excited for your approval for this tour in 2027. Well, thank you for making this opportunity available for our students. Is this is this the first or trip to Italy and Switzerland? >> This will be my first. I don't know that anybody actually has gone on this trip. They've gone Spain and >> France. Yes. Um but I I I actually put three options out to the
026student body for travel. And I picked the one that got the most interest, you know, the little whiteboard activity in the hallway and little social media stuff. But but yeah, so this one actually hands down and I think it was the um coliseum coliseum and the Elps. It seemed like those were the ones that the kids were really wanting to experience. So that's why this one this one won. So, yeah, this will be the first time I'm I'm aware of that our school has been able to offer something like this. >> Very good. >> And can you just off the top of your head say specifically where the places are, some of them that you'll be going? It doesn't You don't have to tell me everyone. I'm just curious. >> Yeah. Um well um Lucern,
027Venice, Aini, Aisi, sorry, and Rome um and Florence. Those are our main stops. So, we'll start in Switzerland and then work our way down. >> Yeah. Um, yeah. >> Yes. >> You said this. I didn't catch it, Danielle. How many students do you anticipate? >> I didn't say that. Um, I usually shoot for small crew. Um, 12 to 15. I There's a lot more interest in this one than in the past, Costa Rica and Icelands. So, I'm probably going to go with 15 to 20. We won't fill a tour bus. So, what's cool is um EF tours will fill a tour tour bus. So, we will connect with other teachers and students from around the United States to fill that. So, I kind of like that piece of it too. I get to connect with
028other teachers and then our students get connect with um other other students around the United States and their friendships. I mean, you are on a non-stop adventure, you know, like it's the the experiences that you have are just one after another life once in a life. I always feel like it's once in a lifetime. I mean, I know I've been on a lot of trips now. Um, but I it is for them it's like it is incredible and they are immediately like connected, you know, and it's fun to see that. Um, they also like room together and just they're some of the teachers will change it up too and who's rooming with who every night. Some don't do that, but um it really shakes it up and just it just forges those friendships even stronger.
029So, it's kind of it's fun. It's >> more than fun. It's why I'm doing it four times and I'll continue until retirement. It's just awesome. And isn't it nice when someone else tells them their bag has to be out at 6:00 a.m.? >> Yeah. Yeah. >> Yes. Yes. Um Yes. And I I don't know if I've just been super fortunate or what, but I have had the kids that or if it's just the structure of all of it go, but they have just been really on, you know? I mean, you got a tour bus that's going to be waiting for you if you're not on. And so it's it's it's fun. And that that that's one of those responsibility things, too, because some of these kids have never really been out, you know, on their
030own where they're sharing a room with, you know, someone else. So, yeah. Any other questions? >> Thank you. >> All right. Thank you. >> Coming back to the podium, Dr. Kelly Jensenius, uh, to share a little bit about some things we've done related to music. Thank you, Superintendent Edwards, and members of the board of education. I am here on behalf of our district's music educators and students to express our sincere gratitude for your approval of the $369,576 purchase purchase of musical instruments that was funded through the 2019 unallocated contingency bond funds back in June. Um, this project truly reflects a collaborative collaborative effort, uh, K12. And over the past year, our music educators from every school work together to identify and prioritize their most pressing needs very carefully. Thanks to your approval, each school received
031the essential instruments to support student learning and growth. Uh your support brings us one step closer to ensuring every Portage public school student has that opportunity to experience a consistent highquality music education program. So on behalf of all of us here in Portage, thank you. Uh we're also grateful to the members of our CIA curriculum instruction and assessment team and the business department uh whose diligence and collaboration made this order possible. That was a lot of work. uh your belief in the power of music education is deeply appreciated. And to close, I want to share a short video with you and a slide deck from our schools highlighting their appreciation and showing the real impact of your support. So with that, I'll have Barb start with the video. I'm just keeping you busy with the
032videos. has been pretty exciting to feel like it's essentially Christmas every single day at the beginning of the school year. [Music] When I came in, we had a few talks about new equipment and but it was exactly just that. there were just a lot of talks and there was a list that had come about uh from last year and so I came in and I thought oh cool like we have a list we have some we have some wishes and some hopes and of what we're actually going to get just didn't feel real until things started showing up um just at the beginning of this year >> band and orchestra are very expensive activities and we're privileged that the district supports us even in my own program almost 40% of my students are using a
033school provided instrument some of the instruments I've been using in my own program said Portage Township which hasn't existed for a minute now. And so the opportunity to give them that to give them that beautiful instrument is really satisfying and rewarding. They've earned it. It's so exciting to get um what we really need to have all of these programs be successful. Our music programs here at PC are extraordinary and the kids deserve the the best because they work really really hard. So, it's exciting to get the resources that every everyone needs and can use on a daily basis. The biggest things that we received um are some new pianos, which are going to be really fantastic for our program. And we also here at PC got some garment racks to help organize all of our
034concert attire. So, dresses and tuxes that our students wear to perform in. Um they had been just very haphazard around our space. Now, with our garment racks, we can be really organized by ensemble and alphabetized, and it really just helps streamline um the concert performance process, which can be really stressful, but this is a really good tool to make sure everything is as smooth as possible. >> From the equity side of things, too, for us, this just gives every kid the opportunity that if they want to be in band, they can. and that if they're in this program that they will have the opportunity to succeed because the equipment won't limit their abilities to perform. It's a non-starter when it comes to a tuba. No student, unless they're super super super serious about it, will
035ever consider purchasing. To give those students a chance to play and to have high quality equipment is huge. allowing our students to use trombones that have the extra slide that allow them to play all the notes in between to mimbas that all match across all of our players so that when one student plays a note and the other student does, it's the same. When they're not in the same condition, that definitely is not true and it it can affect what they are doing. The students are really excited about it. They come in and they go straight to the kids hands. It's really important to me and for our students that they all have an equitable experience by opening up the case, having a shiny new instrument, and having that same experience and the same opportunity
036to succeed as their counterpart next to them, no matter what building they're in or where they're coming from in the district. Our students can learn to improvise on instruments. These are really um accessible way for any student of any age to be able to learn to create and improvise, which is a really important part of learning music. They play harmonies, they play melodies, they they learn scales, and they're learning how to respect instruments as a really important tool for their learning, which I believe carries through into their middle school years, high school years, and beyond when they're going to be learning more instruments as well. >> Before I only had 10 instruments that they could use, and so they had to 10 of them would go to instruments, and then whoever was left would wait
037on the carpet or on the risers. Now, we all play at the same time. So, when I say switch, they're actually switching from one row to another row to a different size instrument because oftentimes the different sizes play something different. So, they're getting to experience different parts rather than just one like they had to last year. Feel like it'll give every child a chance to be more successful in their performances. And because we have more, we can do more. So, I'm very excited for that. It was a real point of pride for building that open house for parents to see that Portage is investing in the music program. >> I hope that this is not a once in a career thing for myself, but it it sure to this volume feels pretty special. We're in
038a really special position to be able to give that to our students to allow them to succeed at the level that they are more than capable and and will continue to be. >> Great. I will follow that up with a short slide deck from the elementary music teachers who wanted to share their gratitude as well. clicker. I'll just >> No, that would be helpful. There we go. How about that? All right. Um, so it's tiny, but they just are basically saying thank you for your generous decision to buy the new instruments, and this act of kindness and support has brought immense joy and excitement to our program. Um, and they have undoubtedly enhanced the quality of their programs, providing students with the tools they need to grow and thrive as musicians. And they're seeing those
039impact on their learning experiences and the sound at this of those school performances, which if you've been to an elementary concert is very important. Um, your investment is a testament to the value that you are placing on the arts, importance of providing students with that well well-rounded education. Um, and they would like to thank you for the and believing in the power of music to motivate, inspire, and educate. And that means the world to them. And you'll get a copy of this slide deck as well. I'm sure they have it in front. >> Perfect. Great. So, here's our 12th Street players there playing on their new instruments. We've got our Amberly Tigers making some music there. We got some bonos. And we go to Angling Road applying their knowledge. I also saw the music teacher
040with the gym teacher doing some fun stuff online. Um some collaboration with music and gym. Then we have our central Mustangs. You see some pictures there in their new music room which you'll get to hear from them here in a couple weeks. And then we have our Haver Hill Hornets here um playing their instruments, showcasing Lake Center. Again, that was Beverly Rock who was talking in the video. These are her students. And then we have our Morsbridge Eagles showcasing some of their new instruments as well. Oh, and another one popped in. And then Woodland. Uh got some drums down there and showing off. Finally, they'd like to just thank you once again for for that all that you've done and really appreciative. This is a really wonderful investment in our students. So, thank you so
041much for that. There any questions that we can answer for you all? >> Thank you Dr. Jenius for the presentation around music. And uh as we conclude the superintendent report, just want to share with the board and community that we've been trying to be a little more intentional around video usage. Uh particularly highlighting all the wonderful things we're doing in our district. It's just another way to connect with our our uh consumers as well as our parents and other stakeholders. So this information will be, if it's not already, will be on our social media pages and other feeds. Uh just also want to inform the board and community tomorrow night at Central Elementary School, we'll do anformational night about the bond at 6 PM. All are welcome to attend. And on Wednesday, I'll be holding
042some listening and learning sessions for our community, parents, those who have children, those who do not. Um that'll be at the Port Zang Senior Center Wednesday at 1:30 and 6 p.m. So to give parents, community members two opportunities. And then lastly, um we sent out a communication today to all of our families around uh free meals uh for the 2526 school year. There, as we know, there was some budgetary things going on at the state level. Those things have been resolved and so we're able to communicate that uh meals will remain free for all port students for the entire school year. And then for some parents who put money on their children's account, there's a process for them to get be uh refunded any uh anything they paid for in advance. So that concludes my
043report today and thanks for all of our guests as well in all the presentations. >> Well, thank you for sure. What a great superintendent report. >> That was fun. Mhm. >> Okay. We'll move forward with our comments and communication section and uh we have uh someone who wishes to speak tonight and that would be Cat Frank. Welcome. Good evening. I'm proud to share some incredible highlights from across our district that reflect the heart, dedication, and success of our students and staff. Mustang Mentors, now in its fourth year at Central Middle, led by Ann Noert, continues to grow and thrive. Uh, what began with just 20 high school students, has now grown to over 90 dedicated mentors. These students give their time twice a week to support middle schoolers, primarily in math, but also in ELA,
044providing both academic help and meaningful mentorship. These relationships go far beyond tutoring. They build trust, confidence, and a real sense of connection across our schools. Thanks to Ann for facilitating this group. A touching moment was shared with me by Mrs. Crouch at Haverhill working with second graders during a challenging day. She was teaching around 50 students in her learning studio because her colleagues were finishing up testing with other kids. As you can imagine, it was a little noisy and she started to get overwhelmed. One student with ASD quietly offered a small but powerful gesture of empathy, putting his arm around her shoulder and resting his head gently on hers. That small act transformed her day, and when she called home to share the story with uh the student's mom, she was very excited, too. In
045our high school classrooms, inclusive learning continues to shine. Katie Painage at Northern High's Spanish 1 class. As a student who loves music and is on the certificate of graduation track, uh he began dancing to a class song that was playing. Uh he invited a peer who happens to be a football player to join him dancing. Even though it was just the two of them dancing, the whole class was really supportive. It's a perfect example of how music and language can bring students together. At Community High School, Mrs. Mrs. Ramsdale and Mrs. Kershman have launched a new student leadership class. In September, students led schoolwide efforts for childhood cancer awareness month. These leaders practiced public speaking, made announcements in classrooms, and inspired their peers, creating a culture of ownership and engagement beyond academics. One student leader
046even sent a thank you saying that three years ago from that day was her bone marrow biopsy that showed she was in remission. and it was great for the class to recognize that month. Finally, we celebrate the Portage Northern Marching Band and the Porter Central Marching Band for outstanding early season performances. PC had a huge win at their first competition at Stevensville Lakeshore, earning first place in class A and sweeping the captions best music, best marching, best percussion, and best color guard. Porters Northern delivered a strong performance at Jennison High School and were recently featured on Wood TV8's Morning Football Frenzy. Uh their next performance will be October 18th hosting the Husky Marching Invitational. These stories represent just a glimpse of the positive culture, connection, and excellence happening across our schools. Thank you. >> Thank
047you. Yeah, thanks for being here. Our uh next order of business is uh comments by board of trustees. >> Cat mention you mentioned what I was going to comment on which was the marching bands. Um I remember competing at Jennison when I was in high school and yes Central's band did well at Stevensville. Um, I really proud of both bands and really excited at how well our schools represent themselves, representatives at um, invitationals such as that. And uh, the Northern Invitational is going to be amazing. And the Central team, the Central Band will also be at Kentwood for an invitational that day. So, it's going to be a busy day for every band member in the district. Thank you, Kimberly. Anyone else? I just want to remind board members that uh we have a retreat
048before our next board meeting in October 20th. Um, a lot of that retreat is going to be dedicated to an update from Johnny on his 90day entry plan. Uh, there's some P uh policy governance training planned and uh some other items as well. If anyone has something that's pressing, please let me know and uh if there's room, we'll try to get it on the agenda. Okay, with that, we'll move to our consent agenda. On page five, we have the September 22nd, 2025 regular business meeting minutes. Are there any concerns or exceptions with the minutes? Uh hearing none, the minutes are approved as presented. And we'll now move to assurance of district performance monitoring report 2.1 treatment of consumers. >> Thank you, President Vantor and members of the board of education. Uh you've received this in
049advance, but I do want to highlight a couple things. Uh starting on page 17 and 18 specifically, uh you'll see a couple of charts. One chart on page 17 refers to our parent surveys. So last spring, uh parents were surveyed about uh the quality of what we offer here uh in Portage public schools. They're called parent satisfaction experiences. Uh that mean score of 4.8 uh puts portage in the 70 to 80th percentile on the parent survey. The next line top box percentage that means that 43% of the parents on a fivepoint scale rated portage as a five and uh the next column I'm sorry the next row the top two percentage means a four and five combined combining those two categories that means 78% of our parents rated as either a four or a five.
050Then the very last row speaks to the net promoter and this is a 10-point scale. And so basically that 59.19% means that roughly uh 51% of our parents rated us a nine or 10 on a 10-point scale. Moving that over to page 18, uh the students were asked about their satisfaction or engagement or experience with Portage Public Schools. Their mean score is a 3.89 which is in the 50th percentile for students. And similar for the top box percentage of 33% or 33 and a half% uh rated their experience is five out of five and close to 70% uh scored as a four or five for our top two percentage. in the very last row where you see roughly 40 and a half% that means 40 and a half% of our students responded a nine or
05110 in terms of their um speaking positively about our school district. With that being said, I just wanted to highlight a couple bright spots as a trend. Just as measured by our parent surveys, we remain consistent in our main score top box percentage and top two percentage. And also as measured by parent surveys, we've had three consecutive years of increases in our net promoter score. And then finally under seven on uh that bullet as measured by student surveys, we've had three consecutive years of increases in our main top box top two percentage and our net promoter scores. And then the last component I just want to share with the board is uh skipping over to page 21 and 22. Uh under my report for 2.1.5 on the policy language uh we've said that our district
052communications include these various mechanisms. One of the new mech mechanisms that we've instituted this year alone is our LinkedIn profile. And so we're looking to engage with a LinkedIn audience which is a little different than some of our other platforms. Our LinkedIn audience is primarily what they would consider to be professionals and our goal or our interest primarily would be for those uh people who are looking for jobs either in the district or in the surrounding areas. It want we want to have a presence in that community as well. In the past we've primarily used it exclusively for job postings only. So now we will be using it for more promotion uh of this district as a whole similar to the way we use Facebook. And then uh on page 22 just sharing in my
053report uh under 2.1.6 um the note with the paragraph halfway through about emails, text message apps, push notifications. As the board heard in our last meeting, we've added a bus transportation app to improve our communication uh communic our communication vehicles for our families. So, uh that concludes my report for um monitor 2.1 and I'll be happy to answer any questions of the board. >> Mr. I just had a question. I think you just answered it because one of my questions is how do we communicate these results to parents, caregivers, community members, and it looks like that we're going to be using social media accounts of various types to >> correct >> let people know how we're standing on these survey results. >> Yes. And uh at a school level, the principles get a similar report
054and they also share out information with their staff and with their community or students sharing their resorts results with the community. And the goal is to have our schools and the school district work on their areas that they want to grow in >> to to address their their scores or performances. So >> great. Thank you. Any other questions? >> Quick question. The top scores have definitely improved. Have the uh parents who might rate us at the bottom also decreased? >> That's a good question. I don't have that information with me at this moment um in terms of a scoring of what we report out. They kind of just report out on those top two areas. But I I believe that um our our consultant KK would have that additional information. >> My apologies for not
055asking that sooner. I think of it earlier. >> No, it's great. >> It it is great. >> It is great. >> What you share with us is that um those in the top two are considered satisfied and that um those have remained high and significant over time. Uh the net promoter score is the score that listed as willingness to recommend meaning I'm willing to recommend my school district to another family or so on so forth. The other categories she's mentioned that are not promoters she called them either passives or detractors and our passives would be those whose scores are seven or eight and then the detractors would be six or below. Uh, but I don't have that particular score with me for either of the two programs. >> Thank you so much for your flexibility
056with my asking last minute. Thank you. >> Um, I I had um a brainstorm this afternoon as I was looking at this material. Um, but I've got to step back. So, um, my colleagues will remember last winter when we took um, monitoring report 1.1 and we took it through our retreats and we had some discussions about how we should word our policy and then what our expectations should be for the district um with with the goal of raising the bar and and where we landed was the concept of we want uh PPS's performance to be at or above three out of four districts that kind of serve a community that looks like ours. So the bar is high, you know, like um suburban suburban communities and we didn't want to be in the middle of
057the pack. We wanted to be at least at the 75th percentile. So uh and I'm going to give more background here. So, in the back of my brain, I thought in this year's review cycle, there was one area where I wanted to wave a little flag and ask if colleagues would consent to having that go back through retreats and having us just walk through how we define what is good and what our expectations are. It was not this uh it was treatment of staff. Um, and that's going to come in future months and I I'll make my point then. But I was as I was looking at this just the same kind of logic uh flows. And so as as I look at some of these scores um I don't know kind of how we
058stack up in the world of others other communities like ours. And so I just I wanted to float the idea um would we be willing at at some upcoming retreats to kind of pause, you know, ask Johnny for maybe some more data, ask some more detailed questions to make sure we understand the data and and maybe tweak the wording of our policies so that we're we are setting the bar higher. we're we're stretching, but we're being fair um in how we do it and not set something that would could never be achieved, but something that, you know, could be achieved if we're patient and kind of keep keep talking about it and keep this out there. So, anyway, that's a a long- winded way of I'm just I'm just kind of planting the seed. Um
059a and um the timing of this I mean right new superintendent and it's kind of like okay getting a fresh start on a couple of these monitoring reports and just trying to figure them out and and set the bar um a little higher but appropriately higher. That's my speech. Um you know planting a seed and um yeah we'll see where it goes. I think we I think we do good in our retreats when we're we chew on these things. I mean it's it's it's kind of slow and tedious and we kind of sometimes quibble over words and and I mean take time doing it. So um and oftentimes it's punt at the policy committee and they bring something back and we beat it up and we but um but I was really happy where we
060ended up when we when we looked at 1.1 last year. Um and just going to try to encourage we do that with a a few more policy areas where we have these really good measurement measurement systems. >> All right. Thank you. >> Thank you. Anyone else? >> I just have one question and I know this probably isn't the right spot for it, but it kind of close with what you're saying because I was curious and I don't want to analyze the data on this. I know there's a lot, but you know, when there are items that are that a lot of people comment on either positively or negatively, I don't know how that shows because we're seeing just an overall average, you know, so you know what I mean. But, you know, >> I'd be
061curious to see how we approach those really hot topics that a lot of people are concerned about. >> Yeah. In and in fairness when you're looking at the uh the N let's say in this case for our parents that's roughly,00 or so and obviously our students are higher and uh so I think the comments are all over the place. Um and I have not analyze the comments from this last particular spring cycle and I think there's obviously a lot of people who share happiness and may not comment. It could be other, you know, others who don't uh who may not be as satisfied or passive who may share the comments. So, we always have to be careful with the comments because it's not a requirement that every respondent must reply. So, you you kind of
062have to take with a little grain of salt, not to ignore it, but just understanding you're not going to get,00 families to write or parents to write a response, a freestanding response. Okay, thank you. >> Any other comments or questions? Uh, there's a motion then to approve the monitoring report on page 13. >> President Benerp, I move that the board of education accept monitoring report 2.1, treatment of consumers as a reasonable interpretation and evidence of compliance with policy. >> Thank you, Terry. Is there a second? >> Second. >> Thank you. Any discussion? All in favor, please say I. I. Opposed. The motion passes and monitoring report 2.1 is approved. And we'll now move to page 26, monitoring report 2.8, conflict of interest. >> Uh thank you uh Randy as well. conflict of interest is uh
063related to say that the superintendent shall not conduct any quarters business including hiring and employments with any organization or individual which I could benefit from direct business financial and the like. Uh I just wanted to just raise one area uh on my report on page 29 uh just to share that I have been a board member with two of our local partners. Um, and I explained this in my interview process. Uh, both the Air Zoo and the YMCA, those are longstanding partners uh with Portage Public Schools prior to my arrival even and um I received no compensation for my time. My time is strictly beneficial and any of the financials related to their partnership with the district is usually handled by someone else or the business office. So, just wanted to share that with the
064words. You probably already know that, but I just want to share that I I serve as a board member, and it's a great relationship that the board and the district and these organizations have had for a long time. I look forward to continuing those partnerships. I can't say I'm going to always be a board member there, but I did want to just lift that up so that the board is aware of my involvement as a volunteer in those two organizations. >> Thank you. Any questions for Jenny? This is pretty straightforward. >> Not a question, just a comment. Um, thank you for your integrity on sharing something that probably didn't have to be shared, but you just wanted to be absolutely above. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Noticed and appreciated. >> Thank you. Um, there's
065a motion, please, on page 26. Mr. President, I move that the board of education accept monitoring report 2.8, conflict of interest as a reasonable interpretation and evidence of compliance with policy. >> Thank you, Mark. Is there a second? >> Second. >> Thank you. Any discussion? All those in favor of approving monitoring report 2.8, conflict of interest, please say I. >> I. Opposed. Uh the motion passes and the monitoring report is approved. Uh our last item is a discussion item, the MASB delegate assembly handbook. And uh whereas in some years there have been uh dozens of uh amended resolutions to take action on, this year there's only these three. And uh I'll remind you these are uh discussed and voted on at the delegate assembly at the annual fall leadership conference. And uh these resolutions uh
066uh affect Michigan schools, public education, and they determine how MASB proceeds with the state legislature and other groups as our chief uh lobbying arm. So this meeting will be a lot faster than those in previous years. uh you always hear a presentation from the executive director Don Watuba and uh he'll talk about highlights of uh of state education MASB during the last year and then uh Jennifer Smith um the um government relations director will also speak and I suspect she'll have quite a bit to say this year about how the state budget came together. So that ought to be pretty interesting. So anyway, uh I hope you've had a chance to read this. Whatever you see in capital letters is what we're to vote on and whatever you see crossed out is will disappear and
067everything in capitals would be part of the new resolution. I don't know if you've had a chance to look at these. They're pretty straightforward. I don't if anybody had any questions or comments. >> I didn't find anything controversial here. Right. The one thing I thought was interesting is in in that first resolution, assessment and competency testing, the last paragraph, it says MASB opposes the use of testing as the predominant criterion for student promotion, graduation, school district accreditation, teacher administrator evaluation, school funding, or for the determination of school district success. I did not realize that was there until this uh this came to our attention. So I guess my intent is to vote in the affirmative for all these things. Anybody have any issue with that? Okay. Well, we've reached the end of our agenda. Thank
068you. Um I need monitoring reported valves and the self assessments and with that we are ajourned. Thank you.