Regular Meeting of the Board of Education - May 19, 2025

001[Music] Okay, it is now 6:00 p.m. and we are out of closed executive session and we will reconvene the regular meeting of the board of education with the pledge to the American flag 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. [Music] Roll call, please. Mr. Diesel here. Mr. Herrera here. Mr. Hempy here. Mrs. H here. Mr. Mueller here. Mr. Piggy here. And Mrs. Yon here. Okay. Before we start the regular meeting of the board, as a reminder, all board members are expected to follow our approved meeting norms and board protocol. Okay. Are there any items on the agenda any members of the board would like to amend or move? Hearing none. Do I have a

002motion and a second to approve the agenda of the regular meeting of the board of education on May 19th, 2025 as presented? So move second. Okay. He Okay. Member H made a motion and member Hempy seconded the motion to approve the agenda for the regular meeting of the board of education on May 19th, 2025 as presented. Discussion. Roll call, please. Mrs. H. Hi, Mr. Hempy. Hi, Mr. Diesel. Hi, Mr. Piggy. Hi, Mr. Mueller. Hi, Mrs. Young. Hi, and Mr. Herrera. Hi. Motion passes. Okay, thank you. We now have our district celebrations and I would like to turn this portion of the meeting over to Dr. your sugar. All right. Thank you. Uh we have a few recognitions today and if you are in the audience and you are a dual language program graduate, if you

003would come forward please. We are very proud to recognize this very special group of students, the inaugural class of the dual language program at Seth Whitman Elementary School. These students were pioneers embarking on a unique educational journey as the very first participants in this program. Through dedication, perseverance, and a commitment to bilingualism and multicultural understanding, they have not only excelled academically, but have also set a lasting foundation for future generations. Now, as they have graduated from high school, pretty incredible, right? Like it's your first Monday as a high school graduate. Uh we celebrate their accomplishments, their growth, and the incredible example they have set. We are honored to acknowledge their achievements and the important role they have played in shaping the success of the dual language program at Seth Whitman and beyond. Congratulations graduates. We

004are so proud of you. President Herrera is going to hand you out a card and I'm going to read the list of all of the graduates, some of whom are with us here today. Aaron Bement, Carmen Cruz, Sophia Garza, Emerson Lasonus, Natalie Mandera, Elizabeth Martinez, Aurora Nava, Noheime Ortez Gonzalez, Guadalupe Rivera, Brock Simmons, Addison Solum, Libby Vanickle, Brianna Young, and Janet Sepa. Congratulations graduates. He was here when they first committed. And I think we will Miss Hadley will take your picture. Mr. Herrera, do you want to be in the picture with our graduates? Sure. Um, wanted to say congratulations folks to this class, right? Um, you guys started from from the very first, you know, the first graduating class. Uh so as I say and uh really proud of you guys for for sticking it

005through right getting all the way through. So congratulations. This is quite the achievement. So really happy for you. Our next celebration this evening is our AFS intercultural program recognition. Our AFS intercultural programs, a leading organization for international high school student exchange, would like to recognize Belvadier North High School. Do we have uh anyone here from Belvadier North? Ah, Miss Sherman, come on up, Miss Sherman. uh Bel on behalf of Belvadier North, Miss Sherman, uh one of the associate principles there will be ex accepting this recognition. The students and staff of Belvadier North uh are being recognized for their dedication to support AFS students and fostering intercultural understanding. Belvadier North High School has a strong history of hosting AFS students, supporting them effectively and promoting global citizenship within their communities. So, thank you very much and

006come on up. [Applause] Okay. Um, good evening members of the school board. My name is Orin Gasha and I'm from Indonesia. Hi, I'm Ba Lupi Boom. I'm from Germany and we are here to uh recognize Belove North High School as an official um school for AFS. Yeah. Um AFS or the American Post Service is a global nonprofit organization that has been building intercultural understanding and peace through exchange programs for over 75 years. Each year thousands of students from all over the world take part in AFS programs and they also live with host families. They engage themselves, immerse themselves in many different goals in many different topics. Exactly. And the mission of AFS is to create global citizens which are younger people that are able to appreciate and respect different cultures, can communitate, communicate across borders

007and can make a positive change. and Belier North supports that mission by welcoming students like us. Yeah. So this recognition the AFS um hang the video the AFS medallion school award is given to schools that demonstrate very strong commitment in promoting international exchange students and also promoting global learning. It truly reflects the dedication of school administrators, teachers, and students who believes in the power of cultural exchange. And thanks to Belier North, I've had opportunities that I will never forget. For example, I joined the soccer and basketball team, and I was part of the spring play this year, which I would have never been brave enough to do in Germany. And um I gained so many friendships and memories that I will never forget, and I will forever be grateful for that. And as for me,

008Bel North also opened a lot of the worst I could ever imagine. I had the chance to be a part of the winter play. I played the piano and jazz band and I was also part of the spring uh musical. But one thing that I would really love to highlight and is the most meaningful highlight of my exchange here was being inducted into the international plasma society. It made me feel truly seen and valued for who I am and what I contribute as a part of a school community. And none of those things wouldn't would have been possible without a school that believes in us and in diversity and inclusion. And those lessons that we've learned go far beyond academics there are about community and cultures. Exactly. And obviously we wouldn't be able to be

009here if it wasn't because of our wonderful host family the healers. Um we thank them for giving us a home for supporting us like their own daughters for ups and downs and most importantly they also gave us a second home and second family. And a special thank you to our principal Mr. Friezma and for the DNHS team. Their encouragement and support has made it possible for us to have so many opportunities and special memories and make a difference in the lives of many students at our school. Therefore, tonight we are proud to present this certificate of appreciation from AFS to Bel New York High School in recognition of your outstanding support for intercultural exchange and global innovation. Thank you for helping us become more independent and openminded. Thank you so much. [Music] You want to

010take a picture with your dad? Not so fast. Not so bad. Thank you. Thank you. Wonderful job. You have a wonderful job. Thank you. All right. And for the last two months, we have been able to recognize Mike Lascola at our board meetings. And we wouldn't want a month to go by without recognizing him. Uh so, Mr. Lascola, come on up. Mr. Lascola is the principal of Everest High School and he is the recipient of the 2025 Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Leadership. We are honored to recognize Mr. Mike Lascola, principal of Everest as the recipient of the 2025 Golden Apple Award for Excellence and Leadership. Selected from among many outstanding principles, Mr. Escola exemplifies what it means to lead with heart, vision, and unwavering commitment to student success. Under his leadership, Everest High

011School, a school designed to serve students who find traditional high school settings challenging, has become a place where students not only find support, but also discover their potential and achieve success. With a student body of approximately 60 high school students, Mr. Lcolola fosters an environment built on trust, individualized attention, and high expectations. His belief in every student's ability to succeed, combined with his innovative leadership, has made Everest a model of perseverance, opportunity, and achievement. We truly could not be more proud to celebrate Mike Lascola's well-deserved recognition and thank him for the incredible impact he continues to make in the lives of his students, staff, and community. Congratulations. So welld deserved. One of only two in the state. Don't. Thank you. Can I say something? You sure can. So, I know a lot of you are

012new to the board and you are starting into a two or four year journey. Um, and I just want you to remember that we have a lot of students that appear to not be successful or are not accomplishing what we expect them to accomplish at school. And I just want you to keep in the back of your mind when you're making your decisions in the next couple of years that it's not always due to lack of motivation or desire or ability. There are factors that these students face every day in their lives that are affecting their education and they just need an opportunity to shine in an environment that is untraditional than most of the students in the district. So, thank you very much. Thank you, We are just really truly fortunate to have Mr.

013Lisquola in this district and hopefully we will for years to come. And the following people have been nominated by their peers for going above and beyond in district 100. Beth Marini, are you here? She has a fit tonight. That's all right. Uh we will still read her recognition. It has been one of my most wonderful experiences teaching students who need math intervention and working with the team at Lincoln Elementary. The progress, the growth we see is amazing and what a gift to be a part of of that. To add to that, Beth Marini is an awesome and all inspiring leader and educator. Her balance of compassion and understanding along with her leadership and knowledge make for a disciplined, decisive, and calm leader. She is a valued gift. Thank you again for this tremendous experience. Thank

014you to Miss Marini. Alexandria Risa, are you here? There she is. Come on up. Uh from Perry Elementary School, a big shout out to Alex, one of Perry School's paraprofessionals. Miss Reza has brought warmth, patience, and a gentle spirit to our kindergarten classroom. She's compassionate, she's dedicated, and she's always making a meaningful impact on our littlest learners. Miss Reza goes above and beyond every single day to care for our students. But her work with the students she helps and the work with her students she helps is nothing short of outstanding with compassion, patience, and a deep sense of dedication. She ensures this the students feel safe, supported, cared for, and seen. Her calm presence and expert care make a world of difference for our staff and our students at Perry School. Thank you so much

015for all you do, Miss Risa. [Music] You're going to do a group photo. Okay. Okay. I'm sorry. We know that we do group photos. I apologize, Miss Hadley. Uh Sean Winters and Mario Ortega, come on up. Both. Yeah. Both Shawn and Mario recently earned their CPMM certified professional maintenance manager certification. The CPMM program sponsored by IASBO and facilitated by the Association for for Facility Engineering is a rigorous and comprehensive training designed to elevate leaders in the field of facility management. To achieve this certification, Shawn and Mario successfully completed an in-depth program followed by a proctorate exam covering a wide array of critical topics including preventative predictive and reactive maintenance, inventory controls, computerized maintenance management, software planning and scheduling, indoor air quality, documentation strategies, training and work cultures, return on investment, safety and health. Can you

016imagine that long list? They learned about them all. As the district embarks on its facilities master plan and multiple renovation projects, Shaun and Mario's dedication to professional growth and excellence in facilities operations is truly commendable. Their achievement reflects a strong commitment to staying current with best practice and leading with expertise. They bring so much value and leadership to this district. We are so fortunate to have them both here. Uh thank you very much, Sean and Mario, for your service to our district and for this accomplishment. And now we will take a picture. Good job. Thank you. You won. We're doing a porch. That's right. We're We're to hear. Do you want to do a porn shop? Yes. I mean, we can do that as celebrations. We don't have a December agenda but just celebrations. Well,

017in the spirit of celebrations, right? Um, any other board members would like to share anything positive about the district. If none, I will share and I'm glad um that a lot of us in our room uh the board members were able to attend the graduations uh this past Saturday. I think both schools, I want to commend the schools, the staff for putting on um the graduations. They did an excellent job. Uh despite the wind, we got through it. But, uh fantastic job both schools uh and their teams there. So, I wanted to do what we call a board shout out to them because again, fantastic job and congratulations to all the students that graduated. Uh we are very proud of the folks that graduated from our school. So, anything else, folks? Nothing. Okay. Very good.

018Up next, we have our student council representatives from both of our high schools to share what is happening in our district 100 schools. First up is Belvadier High School. Do we have anybody from Belvadier High School? None. Okay. Um if not, we will move on to Belier North High School. Do we have a student council representative from Bab High School CNN summer mode? It's a graduation mode. Um, all right. So, uh, we will now have our board committee report starting with the educational services on May 6. Mr. Diesel or, uh, Mr. Mr. Mueller, do you have anything you would like to highlight or share from the educational services committee committee minutes? Um, no, nothing. Does anyone have any questions for uh Mr. Dile or Mr. Mueller or Dr. Carlson or Dr. Johnson? Okay. Uh, moving

019on to business services on May 6. Mrs. H or Mr. Hempy, do you have anything you would like to highlight or share from the business services committee minutes? Things coming up on roll call and consent. Thank you, Mrs. Hul. Uh, does anyone have any questions for Mrs. Hul or Mr. Hempy or Mrs. [Applause] Arch? CNN. We'll move on to parent teacher advisory on May 7th. Uh the minutes from the pay teacher advisory committee meeting on May 7th are attached for your review. Policy and personnel on May 8th. Mrs. Junk or Mr. Peggy, do you have anything you would like to highlight or share from the policy and personnel committee? Mini policy is so exciting. Yes, it is. We appreciate you. Okay. Does any anyone have any questions for Mrs. Junk or Mr. Piggy or Dr.

020Shug or Dr. Ady. All right, seeing none, we'll move on to our first reading of of policies. The follow the following policies have been submitted for our first reading and will be brought back to the board next month for final approval. Does anyone have any questions or concerns regarding any policies? Hearing none. The policies listed on the agenda F5 through F27 for the first reading will be added under roll call actions roll call action items next month for final approval. At this time, members of the public and employees of district 100 may make public comment. As a reminder, any person appearing before this the board is expected to address the board only at the appropriate time and follow the directives of the board president to remain to m to to maintain order and decorum. Identify

021oneself, limit comments to three minutes and aim to conduct oneself with respect and civility towards others and otherwise abide by board policy. eight uh semicolon 30 visitors to and contact on school property. First up is is it Nathan Netlin Elante? Nathan Alexander. Nathan Alente. Nathan Alexander. Alexander. Okay. Alande. How do you say your name? Nathan Alexander. Nathan Alexander. Thank you. You got all the sheets like we're all you. Is one speaking on behalf of everybody or are you guys all individually going to speak? Uh there like two people talking. There's me and Okay. Okay. So, go ahead, Alexander, and then we'll we'll pass it over to who's the next person. Uh, I'm starting and then we're naming off all our names. Okay. All right. Hello everyone. My name is Jim H. Um, I'm Dylan. I'm

022Nick. I'm Lucas. And, um, we're all working on a US history project focused on creating positive change within our local community. For our initiative, we have chosen to address the growing concern of vaping in our schools by proposing the installation of tape detection alarms. So, our school is a place we deeply care about, not only because of our own educational journey, but also for the well-being of our friends, classmates, and future students. We believe that installing vape alarms will create a safer and healthier school environment by deteriorating vaping on school grounds. This plan can significantly lower students exposure to harmful substances, lower the risk of addiction, and increase focus on engage in the classroom. So, we've spoken with peers who have expressed discomfort and concern when using restrooms, citing frequent encounters with students. So, we

023had we interviewed a bunch of students for our school and we asked them if they think vaping is getting out of control. And they said every time they go into the bathroom, it's just freaks of nicotine and just kids in the bathroom like installs vaping. And we asked them how do they think they can like it can it put to a stop and they all said that vape detectors would be the best way to just get rid of it altogether. Um, this environment makes many feel unsafe and intimidated and it's an issue that should not be overlooked. To address this, we are reaching out to propose a collaborative fundraiser involving district 100 parents and staff. We already learned that the administration at North has obtained a quote estimating the cost installation at approximately 20,000. We

024believe this goal is attainable with support of the school and local community. We strictly ask for your support in helping us as fundraiser to reach this goal. We believe that the campaign has fit through student square and effectively engage a wide audience of parents in a short period of time. Ultimately, all parents want their children to lead healthy and fulfilling lives and we believe this step will help ensure that by taking corrective measures now we can make a lasting effect on the safety and wellbeing of our school community. Thank you guys for considering supposedly possibilities working together to make a meaningful difference. Thank you for your time. Thank you Mr. Hand and Mr. Oh, Alexander, thank you. Any other further comments? Thank you for being here tonight. Thank you very much. Nicely done. Next up

025is Jen Jackie from Badier Park District. Hi everybody. I am Jen Jackie. I'm the executive director of the Belier Park District. I've met many of you, but uh new board wanted to come and formally introduce myself um as a partner with the school district. Um so for many years, the park district has provided third base and club horizon after school programs um focusing both on active passive recreation and safe and supportive environments. Third base uh serves all six elementary schools out of four sites and Club Horizon serves um the special education population who needs more supportive services out of our special recreation facility. Um so we're excited to share that in the 2526 school year we are planning on accepting childcare assistance funding which is um state assisted funding for families in need um both

026in after in both after school programs. Uh we've completed the DCFX DCFS exemption process and expected to receive final approval for the CCAP uh program uh next week and the park board will um be taking action on final approval. Um and we will also be opening a third base site at Washington. Previously Washington was going to need um but we're opening Washington. Perry will still due to space limitations will still be headed to Lincoln though. Um so these these are just important steps so that we uh can uh in expanding access to affordable and safe child care especially with there not being enough spots available in the community uh right now. Uh the district leaders helped identify that and we all kind of took action to do that. Um and then looking ahead um 2526

027school year we will accept it and then 26 summer camp we will accept it at both our um summer camp camp compass and uh Camp Horizon for youth with disabilities. So we're excited with that. Um kind of just goes along with the initiatives. Uh also wanted to make you aware that we recently launched a youth financial assistance program um supported by First Mid Bank. Um this program is designed to assist families in need who live in the Belvadier Park District uh boundaries by covering twothirds of the cost um for those in need um of the uh programs to participate in a wide variety of recreational programs. So it includes things like youth soccer, chef's creation, ice skating passes, uh daddy daughter dance, all of those things that some some of the kiddos might miss out

028on um due to financial circumstances. So, we're really excited about that. Um, and we just look forward to continuing to partner with the school district. Thank you for spending time with you guys. Thank you, Mrs. Jackie. Thanks for being here. Uh, next up is Matt Sickert. Bring back memories from about five years, four or five years ago. Couple quick things at the very beginning. Um, first of all, I'd like to start out by recognizing the teacher that we lost, very valuable member of the community. 2008, I met Andy Warhang, my first year at Belier High School, and he was a young, anxious teacher who was worried about everything. And that individual turned in by all accounts, and not only would be a great teacher, but a great administrator. People like that can always be replaced,

029but they'll never totally be replaced. we cannot replace somebody like Andy Warh and the loss is going to be substantial for the kids, staff and the district. Um, moving on from that to show I'm not all about test scores all the time. Um, one things we wanted to talk I talk a lot about is test scores, the fact that we need to show some improvement on it. We have three elementary schools on the watch with us. Um, one's been there for quite a while. So, some people don't understand technically or don't understand what it takes to be on the watch list or some of these other um designations. The other schools that are on the watch list are commendable. So, what's it take to be a commendable school? 67% graduation rate, which we're far above,

030but so is Rockford as an example. You can't have you can't be an exemplary school, which is the top 10% of the state, which we're not. And you can have a group that's in the bottom 10% of the state. So I asked a question at one of the meetings that you guys may go to at the triple I conference. That sounds like a pretty big range to me. So what's the what's the proficiency rate in commendable among the schools in Illinois? And fortunately the lady from his told me about 37.5% to 83. So it's about a 45% range for how schools performed in the commendable range. So just to let you as that as a reference point um in spec I listened to the last meeting when I was in dispose and um I listened

031to Jen Hunter talk and thought she brought up some really um outstanding points. Um I think what we need is and I think what they ask for is they're asking for boots on the ground so to speak. I know they spoke about things like continue the services at central. They want more representation through committees and things like that. But looking at their scores, I mean, some of the spec kids take the alternative assessment. Our kids in math on the alternative assessment are five times below the state average. Not 5%, five times below the state average. Our kids in ELA are 60% of the state average. When we talk about um the regular A kids, when we look at the elementary, when we look at ELA, ELA last year, not just talking last year, I have

032data from 2010. So, I mean, we if I had more than three minutes, I'd let you know some of it. ELA was 65% of the state average. Math was 54% of the state average. That's where we rank on the last test. On the SAT in high school, our ELA was 64% of the state average and math was 30. math is 37. We had 9.8 of our kids hit the state average or hit math proficiency on the state test. Now, Tom Buker shared with me something the other day that showed for some high schools in Illinois that had 0% of their kids um were proficient in reading that they had a graduation rate of over 90%. Now, I know we're not anywhere near that. Ours ours, by the way, were about 20% proficiency, not zero. But

033in math at 9.8, 8 we've gone down almost 50% the last four years. Now I don't think it's a teacher issue and I don't think it's a student issue. I think it's a curriculum alignment issue that we need to look at and figure out why we are where we are and ending this knowing I'm getting pretty close to my 3 minutes. Um unless you seven care about test scores, we're not going to get any better. We're going to be talking about the same thing. The last board meeting I was at, somebody said, "I spent nine years lecturing the board on this." My one my one comment to that would be, "Give me a reason not to have the test scores be good enough where I don't have to get up and talk about test scores

034anymore." Thank you. Thank you, M. Mr. Zicker. Okay. Next on the agenda is our consent agenda items. Are there any items on the consent agenda any members of the board would like to take out for separate consideration? Okay, seeing none, do I have a motion and a second to approve this consent agenda items number 1 through 20 as presented? Mrs. H. Second, Mr. Dmire. Okay. Member Hal and uh Mr. Dmau seconded the motion to approve consent agent items number 2 through 20 as presented. Any discussion? At this time, I would like to acknowledge the following donation. $75 gift card from Walmart for Belvadier North High School Musical Theater. $250 from the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois for Belvadier South Middle School Book and Read Book, I'm sorry, Book and Read Club and $400 from Belvadier

035North Blue Thunder Music Boosters for Belvadier North High School Music Tennessee Highway Trip. Roll call, please. Mrs. Help. Hi. Mr. Diesel. Hi. Mr. Piggy. Hi. Mr. Hempy. Hi. Mrs. Young. Hi. Mr. Mueller. Hi. and Mr. Herrera. Hi. Next on the agenda is our roll call items. Regulatory basis engagement audit. Do I have a motion and a second to approve the regulatory basis engagement audit as presented? So moved second. Okay. Member Hal motioned and member Piggy seconded the motion to approve the reg regulatory basis engagement audit as presented. Any discussion? Roll call, please. Mrs. H. I. Mr. Piggy. Hi. Mr. Dieseler. Hi. Mr. Hemp. I, Mrs. Young. Hi, Mr. Mueller. I, Mr. Herrera. I motion passes. Organic life renewal. Do I have a motion in a second to approve the organic life renewal as presented? I

036move. I'll second. Okay. Member Humpky made the motion and member Young seconded the motion to approve the organic life renewal as presented. Any discussion? Roll call, please. Mr. Hempy. Hi. Mrs. Young. Hi. Mr. Mueller. Hi. Mrs. H. Hi. Mr. Piggy. Hi. Mr. Dieseler. I. Mr. Herrera. I. Motion passes. Research study. Research study best practices and inclusion. Do I have a motion in a second to approve the research study best practices and inclusion as presented? I move. Second. Okay. Member Hempy made the motion. Member Tiggy seconded the motion to approve the research study best practices in conclusion as presented. Discussion. Miss Fabian, is there anything you wanted to highlight? Uh aside from the fact that I'm just excited that we can move forward with uh having a a larger group, a committee that will be charged

037with uh looking at best and current practices and inclusion to help us develop an implementation plan for the district and that implementation plan will come back to the board for approval at the conclusion of this study. Any further discussion? See on the roll call, please. Mr. Hempy. Hi. Mr. Piggy. Hi. Mr. Mueller. Hi. Mrs. Help. Hi. Mrs. Young. Hi. Mr. Diesel. I. Mr. Herrera. I. Okay. Motion passes. Front of house PAC lighting request. Do I have a motion in a second to approve the front of house PAC lighting as presented? Move. Okay. Second. Okay. Member Junk made the motion. Member H seconded the motion to approve the front of house PAC lighting request as presented. Discussion. Roll call, please. Mrs. Young. Hi. Mrs. H. Hi. Mr. Hempy. Hi. Mr. Mueller. Hi. Mr. Dam. Hi. Mr.

038Piggy. I. Mr. Herrera. Hi. Motion passes. ATS supervisor. Do I have a motion in a second to approve the ATS supervisor as presented? [Music] So move. Second. Okay. Member Hul made the motion. Member Yn seconded the motion to approve the ATS supervisor as presented. Discussion. I would just share that uh this was a uh new position that we created last school year. Uh we did it to provide uh better structure rather than just sending a student home on an out of school suspension giving them a place to go which uh we know research does not support the use of out of school suspension as being effective for the student uh or for the rest of the school population. This however provides um an alternative to that uh where there's structure and there's support for these

039students but they aren't on the main campus. So a consequence uh and also providing some structure. Uh we have used this position for that. So it's reduced our overall uh out of school suspension dates. It's also increased our overall attendance as a result of that. Uh and we've also been able to utilize it uh in situations where we have students that we do not have uh a placement for. we've been able to have them attend there as well. Uh last year we piloted the program. This year we had it for a full year in place. So we're bringing it back to the board here to continue it as an ongoing position. Uh we think that there is uh a need for it and a strong uh return on investment for this uh investment that is

040being made uh in this position. Any questions? Further discussion. Roll call, please. Mrs. Hulk. Hi. Mrs. Yunk. Hi. Mr. Hempy. Hi. Mr. Piggy. Hi. Mr. Mueller. Hi. Mr. Diesel Meyer. I. And Mr. Herer. I. Okay. Motion passes. Okay. Possible action to approve the 2025 2026 administrative contract for M for nine for a 9-month dean of students at Belvadier North High School. Do I have a motion and a second to approve the 2025 2026 administrative contract for 9month dean of students at Beladier High School as presented? So move second. Sorry. Okay. Member Hawk made the motion. Member Yunk seconded the motion to approve the 2025 2026 administrative contract for 9month Dean of Student Services. Sean Donsson at Body North High School. Discussion. Roll call, please. Mrs. H. Hi. Mrs. Young. Hi. Mr. Mueller. Hi. Mr. Piggy.

041Hi. Mr. Diesel. Hi. Mr. Hempy. Hi. Mr. Herrera. Hi. Motion passes. Is Mr. Dunson here? No, he is not. Okay. Wanted to congratulate Mr. Johnson. Moving on. Possible action to approve the 2025 2026 administrative contracts for 12 month bilingual integration supervisor. Do I have a motion and a second to approve the 2025 2026 administrative contracts for a 12-month bilingual integration supervisor as presented? So moved. Second. Okay. Member Piggy made the motion. Member Young seconded the motion to approve the 2025 2026 administrative contract for 12 month bilingual integration supervisor. Youth San sorry Ruth Sanchez as presented. Discussion. Roll call please. Mr. Piggy. Hi. Mrs. Yunk. Hi. Mr. Mueller. Hi. M. Mrs. Hbert. Hi. Mr. Hempky. Hi. Mr. Domeer. Hi. Mr. Herrera. Hi. Motion passes. Is Mrs. Sanchez here today? No. Okay. Well, we would like to

042congratulate her, too. We do normally try to bring people here. It is an incredibly busy time of the year and I know that uh we are very excited, however, to welcome these new leaders to the district. Absolutely. Do I have a motion and a second to approve the 2025 2026 administrative contract for 12-month special education middle school and outplacement supervisor as presented? So move second. Okay. Member Peggy made the motion. Member Mueller seconded the motion to approve the 2025 2026 administrative contracts for 12-month special education middle school and outplacement supervisor Mary Dalberg as presented. Discussion. Roll call, please. Mr. Piggy, hi. Mr. Mueller, I Mr. Diesel. Hi, Mrs. Young. Hi, Mr. Hempy. Hi, Mrs. H. Hi, Mr. Herrera. Hi. Motion passes. And is Mrs. Dolberg here? Not finished. Okay. Again, congratulations and welcome to the

043district. All right. The following the following items have been added for discussion or will be coming up for further review or possible action in the future. Background information has been provided and the board may ask questions and or request clarification at this time. Upcoming contracts and reneurals as pro are provided for for your reference. I would now like to turn it over to Dr. Shug for administrative reports. All right. Uh yes, no board discussion really uh unless there's any questions on uh that upcoming contract renewals and reports which is a recurring uh topic in that uh item. Um any questions about those contracts? All right, then I'm going to take us into our superintendent comments. Uh the month of May is uh it goes by in a split second. Uh there are so many events,

044so many things happening. Uh and it is also just so many fantastic celebrations. I frequently say, uh my two favorite days of the year are when we get to celebrate our seniors at our local scholarship night, followed up by graduation. Uh last week over 80 students were awarded over $246,000 in scholarships. Uh I cannot state strongly enough the generosity of our community. Uh being there on that scholarship night uh and seeing those awards, seeing those community leaders uh it's an emotional, positive, inspiring night. Uh and we are really really fortunate here in this community uh to be able to send so many of our seniors on their way in a better fashion. So we thank our community for that. Another big night in our district was our Everest High School graduation. Uh we want to

045congratulate the 21 graduates from Everest High School. Uh they had their uh celebration last week. Um and many of those students we also saw at our Belvadier High School and Belvadier North graduations as well. Uh but it's a very special uh night for these uh these students who uh may not have taken the traditional pathway to graduation. uh but nonetheless uh did the work uh did what was necessary to walk across that stage and we're really proud of their efforts. And as many of you here in the B uh boardroom tonight had the opportunity to attend uh our our North High School and our North High School. Uh but it's really our North High School and our BHS uh graduation ceremonies. Um, it's it's easy it's easy to to flip those two. Uh, but I

046just want to shout out everyone at North and everyone at BHS uh, who made those graduation ceremonies so very very special. Uh, Mr. Frema, Mr. Lewis, uh, really coordinated outstanding e uh, afternoons for us, a morning and an afternoon. Uh they may have been a little bit windy uh but I think everyone felt really uh great about the work that was accomplished. The celebration that we were able to have uh and the students in their uh incredibly articulate speeches uh just really are going to go out into the world and make us really proud. So uh it's a good day for Belvadier uh to see those kids go across those stages. Uh last week our central office administrators uh participated in Belvadier's 9th annual build a bike event. Uh we uh were able to donate

047and build four bikes for our local students uh which is just so fun. It's such a wonderful community event. Uh so many people from across uh the community again uh coming together to really support our students. Uh give them a uh an opportunity to have a bike that they might not otherwise have had. uh gives us a chance to give them an experience that they might not otherwise have had. Uh encouraging outdoor activity and time away from screens. So uh love build a bike and appreciate Hamlock Ford especially for the work they do to make that event possible. Jessica Romano was teacher of the week over at Calonia Elementary. Uh Jessica, if you've ever had the opportunity to be in her classroom, is truly outstanding. uh one of her parents uh wrote the nomination uh

048saying Jessica is one of the most amazing teachers we have had the pleasure of working with. The love, understanding and commitment to kids is the of the ultimate importance to her and all the staff in the classroom. Uh there is absolutely no doubt her heart is in it for the kids. She does fantastic work uh with those littles over in Calonia. We have talked a lot about Mike Lascola. You just can't say enough about this guy. uh he uh is remarkable and again one of only two principles in the state to win the golden apple award for excellence and leadership. May was teacher appreciation month uh and we had uh four of our own recognized by the catalyst for educational change nominations like we like to do. We're going to mention them tonight and we're

049going to bring them back in June uh to celebrate them uh again. But uh Joy Bowman, Angela Doss uh were both recognized. Dr. Bowman in the early childhood education program and Angela Doss, fifth grade teacher over at Washington Academy. Both of them doing truly outstanding work. Also recognized uh former board president Carla Mayville and Jesse Pisky uh who is the high school social worker over at Everest High School. Uh so Catalyst for Educational Change accepted those nominations, displayed all of those educators uh on their Facebook page. Then they uh coordinated individual celebrations for those uh those people and gave a $5 Starbucks gift card and a certificate of recognition. And it was really really nice uh to have that opportunity to highlight them as well. Our next slide is our thank you slide. Uh but

050as uh we have talked a lot about over this past month um we were deeply saddened this month uh to lose one of our administrators uh Andy Warhine. Andy served as an assistant principal most recently at Washington Academy. Uh however, he also served as a teacher, a mentor, a coach in our district. Uh and his legacy will live on for many many years to come. Uh he like so many people we've talked about this evening truly put his heart into his work every single day. Um when I think about Andy uh I truly think about uh his laugh and his voice and the spirit and energy. Uh truly no one that you would think of I think as as more present and more alive uh than Andy Warh. Uh and I think we've really struggled

051with his loss over this past uh over this past uh few weeks. I wanted to thank Dr. Johnson who really coordinated um all of the supports that we had across the district uh for our students and for our staff. I want to thank uh Mr. Winters and the custodial and maintenance team uh who were able to assist us in coordinating the funeral and visitation that took place at BHS. Uh they took incredible care to make that day uh as special as they could. Uh the Warhane family uh Sarah Warhine just could not have been uh more gracious uh and and the outpouring of love that our community brought uh to the Warhanes uh and uh to our school community during this time uh is is felt by all of us. So we are grateful um

052in our time of sadness. We appreciate all of the outreach that we have received and I'd like to ask us to please uh take a moment of reflection in Andy's memory. Thank you. That includes concludes my superintendent comments. Uh but we do have some other admin reports that we wanted to highlight this evening. Uh and we're going to start with the facilities master plan update. That's my queue. Um so what we have attached here are um again a recap of the facilities master plan projects um that were identified um in the approval by the board. Um and just wanted to give kind of an update of some of the projects that have already occurred and were paid from the operation and maintenance um budget. So they were able to do some of this work already

053um on their own. Um there are sorry there are check marks in the projects that we are going to be doing this summer. Some of those projects include the cafeteria seating at Calonia Lincoln and Mean Schools. Um the we had planned on doing um the Seth Whitman fence on the playground, but we've already completed that. So that was already completed for us. Uh we're doing some chilled water replacements. Um some electrical panels work. We were able to uh replace water heaters already at uh central. I don't want to read through this whole list, but um if you go uh to the very bottom of that list, you can see we've already spent um $225,000 from the O andM budget that they were able to do that within absorbing it with their um the benefit to

054that is that we know some of these projects are going to come in much higher than what they are, which enables us to still have the funds that we had promised in the fund balance transfer and in the bonds that were sold. Um, at this point we are ahead of the game. 45,174 from what Larsson and Darby um had said these projects would cost. I say that with extreme caution because if you go back to Belvadier North's um the track repair was estimated at $40,000. Uh the board had approved that contract at $890,000. Um, and the tennis courts were quoted at $80,000 and that bid was awarded at 632,000. So, we are not going to be staying to the good uh for very long on some of these projects. Some we can do uh much

055more efficiently than what they proposed, but we did know that those were very far off the estimates um on what they were predicting. And we'd had many conversations about this as a board prior to the new board being set. Um and that is why um it leads to the next conversation about the Nexus Solutions update. Um we have uh contracted now with Nexus Solutions as a performance contractor to do um an initial analysis of these priority projects and kind of do a realignment of where are these projects and what is the real cost and scope of what we're going to see in this as they start to bid out these projects. Um I have met with Nexus twice now. Uh the last meeting was last week and Mr. Winters joined in that uh meeting as

056well kind of outlining the expectations developing when they're going to get the uh timeline. You do have attached in here kind of their projected timeline. Um they did finish their initial scope review yesterday or Friday. Um and we were scheduled to meet tomorrow. They have asked for us to postpone that meeting one week because there were questions that they wanted to get some clarification from Larsson and Darby on. Um they want to make sure they're showing up here with the questions already answered so that we're not spinning wheels. Um as we had talked about when we started working with them, they are very eager to make this a um flagship district that they're going to be working for here in Illinois. and they don't want us to have questions that they did not anticipate. So,

057they are taking their time in this initial scope and then we will um start that process. Um the projects that are marked on here um as summer 2025, those are all scheduled to go and most of those are um nonhealth life safety funds which are what we did not issue the bonds for. Those are in that 10 million that we processed over from fund balance to capital projects. So all of our funding is here. Most of the funds in the health life safety have been invested with a draw down schedule assigned so that they'll meet our projects which we will be able to tweak that once we have their full timeline of what are we actually going to be able to do um in these years and what is the scope um of how long

058it's going to take. And really Perry is the one that is the the contingent on how we are going to stage those renovations in a way that we will minimize the lease disruption. But we also have to plan for that disruption because the $6 million at Perry is not going to happen with in a summer nor is it going to not impact us in some way. So we want to make sure that we have a full plan going forward. um they will be meeting um with me and Shan uh two more times and then we will have a third meeting to review this whole timeline and the project scope in depth uh with Dr. Shug there as well and that presentation they will plan to come after that meeting make sure they've had that they

059will come and present to you kind of what their initial scope was what they were seeing and how we've outlined the project going forward. um they are able and willing to come to any of our board meetings that we would deem. So if you have questions about this um let me know and we can assure that they will come here and address those questions um but until we have those um timelines and that initial scope and assessment uh we're just kind of coordinating those conversations um through us to get that scheduled and most of the part I should be able to answer most of those questions that come up through this meeting. Uh Mr. winters as well. We'll be able to to handle those. Um, but I do have bi-weekly meetings scheduled that with them

060as touch points to make sure that we're staying on track and that we're um doing this process. I do plan on creating a graphic for you as these projects start kicking off that shows that $32 million we put away and how we're uh drawing that down and what you're seeing happen. Uh we will also continue to update this priority list so that you can mark off which ones have actually been done including the actual cost of that project so you have a way to deem that. Mr. Winters did want me to tell you that there are a lot of projects that are on the 4th through 10 year that we have been completing as well. But we are really focused on what you gave funding for right now and what we're able to have already

061accomplished and how we're funding those. when we start the conversations back up again about years four through 10, we'll be able to also show in that side what we've already accomplished through our normal budget process. And some of those have become emergent needs that we can't they said it was a 4 through 10, but it became an immediate need when a boiler door uh cracked and we had to get that repaired or we had to take an emerent action on those. So, you will expect to see more updates. We will always include those in the board update for you as well. Uh but we can do routine updates through the board meeting as well. Um and just as uh an idea of where the long-term plan is on this. So we are implementing right now

062the first three years of the master facility plan as was approved by the board this past October. So that's the primary focus of what Nexus is working on right now. However, we are hoping to bring to you uh by August or in August that first look at what years 4 through 10 might look like. Uh and again, just like years 1 through three, you're approving a design or a concept of what that's going to look like. Then, just as you're seeing now, each individual project will come before the board uh for additional uh approval on what those spend amounts look like. So you will be actively engaged throughout that process. Uh but we will be working really hard over the course of the summer with Nexus uh and with our team on bringing to you

063that comprehensive years 4 through 10 so that we can really have the most seamless uh movement across all 10 years of that facilities master plan. Are there any questions for Miss Armstrong, Mr. Winters or for me on the facilities master plan? I didn't fully understand the charter of Nexus. They're they're project management or they they come in to help us prioritize our they they are our performance contractors. So um as in my role of dayto-day and Mr. Winter's dayto-day responsibilities we cannot oversee timewise all of the bids and processing and watch the construction management. Um, so what they will do is they um identify the project needs of what we've said we've approved. Now they're going to scope them together. So if I have to buy four elevators, I'm going to buy them as four

064elevators, not as one individual each year that we decide to do it. Um, they will look at the scale of what we can do and they do the bidding. um they put out the RFPs, they work with contractors and the contractors, the board will approve um the contract as we send it out and agree to spend the money and they will be the the monitors and the day-to-day making sure that those contractors are staying um on task and they um it's like general contractor project manager. Yeah, it's like the project manager type um situation. Sorry, my words are just reconciliation of discrepancies in our Yep. When we see something Yeah. When we say something isn't on test, they're going to make sure they stay on timeline and they assure they meet budget and if they

065don't meet the budget, that was part of the conversation. They absorb that cost. So if they miss there's not the change orders um that are coming in routinely um they are going to make sure that it is in their best interest to scope it out and give us what is actually going to cost and they will hold the uh subcontractor accountable for that or they eat the cost of that. So so they're a critical element of the facilities master plan. Yes, absolutely. and and one more really important aspect especially with the energy cost is that they will guarantee in energizations with their energy projects. That that's huge. Um and just as another point of context uh the board did interview uh multiple performance contractors. So two it was narrowed down to two. The board interviewed

066those two and opted to go with Nexus. Uh opted to go with a performance contractor, which is not a requirement. Uh but the board decided that that was going to be the best way for us to implement that facilities master plan in a thoughtful and cost-effective way over the next 10 years. Uh and then made the decision uh between two uh performance contractors uh that made sort of that final cut to go with Nexus uh who is relatively new in terms of serving Illinois. uh but came we felt with a really authentic approach and a really sound uh plan and as uh Mrs. Armstrong mentioned the desire to really be uh a flagship district here uh in Belvadier uh as we do their work the work with them moving forward. Thank you for always sharing

067the background context. There's there's there's just a few things I know that are uh in motion in the district. I appreciate you asking the questions. Any other questions for Mrs. Armstrong, Mr. Winters? We will be bringing this forward every month. Yes. So, essentially, Nexus is going to keep us from having a budget of 40 grand and having a bill of 600 grand is what? Correct. Correct. And we have them now for 10 years. Well, no, not necessarily. They are the performance contractors for year 1 through three at this point. But they are also as part of that contract they are doing development and conversations as the board looks at years 4 through 10. Um so that they are able to do those concurrently in looking at engineering and scope as we start doing those processes.

068That's the other component is they do all the engineering uh design and getting those things move forward. So, as we start looking at that 4 through 10, uh, previously we had Larson and Darby here, which will still be a part of this process. Um, and we had Cunningham who did that master facility study. This is more or less taking some of that Cunningham component off the plate. We've paid for their uh, services and now it's bringing to someone that will actually help us design and build those ones moving forward. and we would certainly have the option of continuing with them, but we're right now with them for the first three years of master facilities plan. I think a big factor in it is just the sheer number of projects and also the size of the

069projects and uh Mr. Winters and his team have a day job, you know, keeping things running daytoday. So, I think we felt it was uh good to have a a third party involved and help us manage these contractors and guarantee some savings. Yeah, they they manage also and are accountable for the quality of the work too. If there's they they do a final inspection and wellifications any of the projects that happen first of all we have to have the ROE come they have to come in and inspect and nothing can be completed till the state comes in and inspects it but yes they do all the walkthroughs they go through and do that prior to us going to the state and saying okay we're ready for our to come in and do the approval um

070because most of these projects are in the health life safety fund which is what we sold bonds for so we have very stringent responsibilities that we have to meet to be able to use those funds for these projects. So, um, lots of permits and regulatory requirements that they will definitely help us navigate through as as there's as Mr. Dies Meyer said, we have a lot of other responsibilities going on at the same time. U, but this is one of my top priorities to make sure that we all stay as it is Mr. winters as well. But I want to make sure the board is always informed of where we are costwise. Um because you can approve these contracts and keep going. And you approve a track for 800, you approve us a tennis court for

071600. Sometimes when we do them months apart, they don't always stay in the forefront of your mind of how much money have we actually spent out of this. I said I'm put a thermometer up here with the little red gauge and just say, "Okay, we're busted now. This is where we are." which I hope we don't get to, but inflation, tariffs, all of the things that we're faced with are realities that is things we could not have necessarily anticipated prior to November. Just one small tidbit of information, uh we have years 1 to three and then years 4 to 10. Overall, in those 10 years, we've already done about $3 million worth of projects that are not in the uh $32 million that we took out. So, we have been uh doing strategic spending and

072through grants or whatever, you know, ESER. So, we're making some real progress. Any other questions on the facilities master plan? Again, you'll see in your board update every week. We'll keep that priority project list updated as that evolves and changes and you'll hear from us every month on this moving forward. Um you'll have the opportunity to ask any other questions and always feel free to reach out as well. Um all of this is going to be moving through the business services committee. Um moving forward we had that facilities long-range planning team but we're really routing everything through that uh business services committee. We also have a second board meeting of the month that we can potentially utilize uh if you'll need full board or uh input on some of these pieces as well, which is

073possible. Um all right. Uh next is our bilingual program and handbook update. Uh usually our admin reports don't go so long, but then tonight I did ask uh uh Mr. Manduhano and Mr. Mandera to uh speak a little bit about the progress on our bilingual uh program. As you know, last uh year we completed a bilingual program review uh and we've put several pieces in place and I wanted you to uh hear from Mr. Manduhano and Mr. Mandera about those next steps and what to anticipate moving forward. Good evening everyone. Um, so yeah, so just kind of quick brief overview of what we've been doing, what we've been working at our three levels and at our district level and just kind of give you guys a little uh news that we we've gotten back some

074preliminary scores uh from our students uh at the elementary level. So we've been working uh with our um with our teachers primarily. One of the differences that we're going to see from um for next year um is our newcomer teacher or program at the elementary level. Um we actually uh have decided to just uh get rid of the newcomer at the elementary level. Um we've seen a lot of our newcomers that came in this year were more at the secondary level. So at the end right around December we ended up with a classroom of two students with one teacher. So we felt that uh financially um that was just not good practice for us to uh have one teacher for for one and two students. So we went ahead and made some changes where we

075had that teacher serve more as a push and pull out uh teacher that was uh supporting um EL students at that school K5. So was able to support and work uh with more students uh at that capacity than being assigned as as a newcomer teacher. Um so the other thing that we've been doing is um with K5 uh literacy adoption um the district have gone and chose us with benchmark uh for the Spanish language arts portion at the elementary level we use the Spanish component adalante so working on providing trainings for our dual language teachers so that as next year as they are working with language arts in both Spanish and English they're not repeating the exact same thing. So, their training that they're going to be receiving in June is kind of working um

076on how do they uh manage their language time and blocks so that they aren't repeating but they're supporting one language to the other. Um and then also for math uh we went ahead uh last year we we had math instruction and our dual language program be done in English. Um and so what we've done in this year was kind of just use some of that data that we've received to kind of start as our starting point um our baseline and then kind of work from there to see how our students how we were doing. What previously we had seen that um math it was in English for K12 then at 345 they switched to Spanish which that's actually as you guys may know now uh state testing time. So we would see a dip uh

077in our students scores and then uh they would go back up and then again six sixth, seventh and eighth they would change the language again back to Spanish to English. And so we kept seeing dips. So we went ahead and decided that for for this year we were going to change third grade to English uh in math and then we were going to slowly roll up. Well, after looking at uh some of the performances, we've decided to just rip the band-aid off and just go completely 345 um and actually really district-wide for dual language uh students to have uh math instruction in English. So, we're going to be carefully looking at that data just to see, you know, are we making progress um from the previous scores that we've seen so far in math and

078some of our dual language classrooms, they're doing phenomenal. We actually had some of our classes that are indo outperform their monolingual peers, which was excellent for us, right? It's good news. Um there's other areas that we're still working on, but you know, slowly uh we're going to see we want to make sure that all of our students in our programming um are are outperforming the rest of their peers. At the middle school level, um again, we will continue with our newcomer programs both at South and at Central Middle School. The other thing that we've been focusing on is uh making sure that we are maintaining state protocol when it comes to um bilingual programming. Um our bilingual classrooms need to be at 90% of our monolingual classrooms. So looking at that data, looking at where

079we were not in compliance and we added uh some EL teachers to kind of help support those numbers so that making sure that we stay in compliance. um for for that and those classrooms were our dual language PLA uh or SLA and then our social studies class. Um the other thing is again they are working on language uh or language arts adoptions for ELA and we were working on the Spanish language arts adoptions. So we did not really find anything that's comparable to our ELA adoption. So we were continuing to work. uh we think we might have found um uh a solution for us at the at the middle school level for SLA. So we are currently going to use um Adilante which is what we currently use for K5. They have a sixth grade

080unit um that we're going to use for sixth and seventh grade and then eighth grade we're going to kind of look at some other uh alternatives that are out there um to to provide uh curriculum for our students. And then for social studies again they're looking at um curriculum. Uh so we have decided to extend our and continue to purchase license through TCI. Uh and so that's teacher curriculum institute and they do offer uh social studies curriculum uh in Spanish. So we will contract with them for one more year using their resources for our teachers at the high school level. Again, similar to middle school, our our um newcomer program is continuing. Um so we are keeping that and again similar to the middle school, we're working to make sure that we uh remain at

081that 90% of our um classes that are smaller than than their monol than the monolingual classes. So again there we had to hire an additional staff there to make sure that we are uh stay on target. Um the other thing that they've been doing at the high school levels is they've been really working on providing SCOP training for all of certified staff. Uh the projection was for all certified staff to be certified by the end of June 2026. Um our high school principles have done such a phenomenal job that they should be done with all of their certified staff at the end of this summer. So that's a big shout out to them for all the hard work that they are doing to making sure that all of their staff are receiving these trainings that

082are going to support uh all of our EO students at their uh at their buildings. Um the other thing that we've talked about um was also then at the district level uh getting our staffing u situated um and providing supports for myself to making sure that uh we are able to fully support all of our staff and teachers at all three levels. So we went ahead and last month um board approved to hire a secondary supervisor um to help me at the middle and high school level earlier today. uh you went ahead and um approved to have an integration specialist or supervisor coming in that's going to be working with all of our visiting teachers that are coming from other other um countries to work with our students. So coming new to to our countries

083and learning our system is very difficult. So they definitely need somebody um to help them and support that. And so I thank you once again for for your support in in helping um our teachers, especially our teachers that are coming from other countries. And lastly, uh our handbook. Um so we've been working on our handbook. There is a link there for you guys to look at that is going to go out this week to our staff for feedback. Um and so we've worked really hard uh this whole year uh with the committee to get that going. Um, and so I think uh we're pretty close to having a final complete draft that'll come back to you this summer for approval. Um, and then lastly, what I I wanted to mention, um, so we did get

084our preliminary access scores. Um, the access test is an assessment that we give that uh all of our uh, English language learners um in nationwide. Um and so it's kind of holding districts accountable to making sure that uh they are providing students whose primary language is something other than English uh the resources and that they are making adequate progress in English. Um so this year out of the just a little over 2,000 students that we've had we had 112 students exit bilingual services. Um, so in other words, they they got a proficiency score in English, um, which is higher than it's ever been since I've been here. Um, just to give you guys a reference, the year before that, uh, which was last year, we had 76 students. So, um, whatever we're doing, whatever our

085teachers are doing are are really it's working. And so I think a lot of that has to do too with our high schools providing our teachers those extra supports and helps in getting um some of the training needed uh to help support our students. Yes, you may ask a question. I just wonder if you could tell us a little bit about the newcomer program. Is it just one class? How long do they stay in that class? I mean it said there was only a couple kids in the class. So is that one full-time teacher to couple kids? So at at the elementary level, it was one teacher working with three, four, five students. Like I said, we we never really got higher than four students at the elementary level. In August, it was four that

086was enrolled in that 30th grade level at that point in time. Correct. And so we just felt that the what we were doing there really wasn't working and and financially wasn't it wasn't responsible. at the secondary level it's completely different story. So, um that one we have approximately at one of the schools I think the teacher was working with 18 students at central um at South uh just I believe she like 10 12 students think they're working with them at uh providing ESL supports. So instead of students going to language arts, they were going to ESL um and providing those English uh resources and then they were also working with them um to kind of just bring in and then teaching them about the whole US school system. at the secondary, at the high school

087level, there is uh courses on again ESL, foundational English. Um again, welcome to US schooling again. And then depending on the level of math, kids were going into uh newcomer math, which is basically extended algebra A, which next year would be extended algebra B. Um and so again, those vary again based on the students needs. So just cuz a student is a newcomer, they may or may not need those extra resources in English. Um so it just depends on the students need and it could be they could stay in that classroom the full year. They could be in that classroom for a semester. So it just varied on and it all varied on the student. So the potential for 18 kids with one classroom teacher for multiple periods a day. Correct. And then they transition

088into regular classrooms to correct. Correct. as they are progressing, if the teacher feels, yep, this kid's ready to go in a gened classroom, for example, then they would go on there. They would still the rest of the periods of the day, they would go and they they would um go into some of their gened classes. Um but for those specific English um and then you know this like we called it uh welcome to welcome to US. Um, again, just kind of getting them familiar on how to use a locker. Um, you know, what it is going from one classroom to another classroom. Um, so something that they may not be used to. And then sometimes we do have a lot of students that are coming from other countries with interrupted schooling who they might have

089just gone through elementary and that's it. So, um, so but I would I would think and I don't know that they should trans just trans transition out of those pretty quickly. like how to use a locker shouldn't take you more than Yep. Yep. So, some of them like I said were using they were using they were done in a semester while it took others a little bit longer. I mean again a lot of it also depended on when they came in into the states and into our schooling and then how much trauma they went through. Um we do have some that were refusing to come to school and would just come to school every now and then. Um so it just it just varies on the student situation. No ex no situation was exactly the

090same for all the students but yeah there were some that were easily ready to transition within the semester while others it took a little bit longer. Could you give me the nutshell version of the purpose of the bilingual handbook? Yeah. So, the purpose of the bilingual handbook is uh when we were doing an audit last year, last year, um we noticed that there was a lot of questions, a lot of discrepancies on practices. Um so, we figured we needed something that it's just one quick stop shop that anyone can go to and if they had a question regarding how what's the process to when we receive a a new student into the district or what's that process? You know, it outlines and dispose everything out. Um if a student wants to refuse services, okay, what's

091that process? Because there's a there's a process that we have to do that we report to the state. So just one quick stop shop where if anybody has a question, they could just easily go to look it up and then if they have any other questions, reach out to us. So it's supporting administration, supporting administration, supporting um bilingual teachers, supporting nonbilingual teachers, um supporting counselors, especially when they get a new kid that's coming into the district. you know, well, how do I know what classes to give? What classes are they going to take? So, just one quick easy guide. Yeah, you noticed a deficiency and that sounds good. Um, the other thing, um, I'm happy to hear that that you were monitoring the math and science scores of the elementary. Have you done similar I

092know it's a small set of you know it's a small set to be able to you know find a trend but it's interesting that you found a trend and and you you adjusted with the math. Have you done the same at the middle school and high school? So that that'll be next. Um so we're starting with the elementary because that's kind of where we decided to make the switch. Um, so reality is next year probably we're not going to see much of a difference, but the year after that we probably will because next year our fifth graders will be doing English. So then we figured from there it' be a lot easier for us to start uh tracking that data cuz right now they're going from they took uh their in Spanish and then next

093year they're going to take IR in English. So again there's the language isn't necessarily the same. you know, we would assume that kids should should be able to transfer from one to the other, but not always that is the case. So, uh, after next year, once they have in fifth grade, they have math and English, then they go to sixth grade and then we'll be able to kind of track that. So, kind of going to serve as a baseline for us really in a sense uh the next year and then being able to completely look at that date. Is is math in middle school already in English for the dual language? Oh, okay. So it it went from kinder first and second in English, third, fourth and fifth in Spanish, then sixth grade all the

094way up to graduation and all in English. Okay. So we just figured, you know, we we were seeing a lot of discrepancies there. So we're hoping that this is this is our fix. Okay. Thanks. Any other questions for Mr. Manduhano or Mr. Mandera? they will be back in July uh for the approval of that bilingual uh handbook and uh that is another good opportunity to ask any other followup questions as well. Thank you very much for being here tonight. I'm going to take us back to the strategic plan and we're going to quickly go through those goal updates. Uh we'll start with goal one. Dr. Carson, anything you want to highlight there? Sure. Um well, I'll just say that we just met uh Dr. Bot, our director of curriculum, and I just met with the

095math action planning team uh this afternoon and just uh we're very proud of all the work that's taken place to work on aligning our instruction um to our assessments and um done a lot of work this year in expanding building classrooms and our elementary schools and our high schools and look forward to continuing that. Um, last Friday, our middle school ELA teachers met with the new um, curriculum provider and they put together their plan for how they're going to provide the professional development next year. As Mr. Mandahano referenced, our SCP uh, plan is going really well ahead of schedule. We're excited about that. Um, our special education team is working on getting an idea grant uh, put together and some professional development for the department for next year. Um, and then in our uh prek,

096we want to uh again celebrate the fact that the audit has been completed and that they're gearing up to do the screening for our next round of applicants for the coming school year. Thank you, Dr. Carson. Any questions for Dr. Carson? Uh, goal two, Dr. Johnson. Yes. Um, so with goal two, I'm very excited that we are bringing in the um, National Council for Mental Well-being and they are going to do mental health first aid um, as a professional development offered to our staff and it's in the summer so we weren't exactly certain how many we would get and we actually hit our max of 60 participants with a weight list. So, um, I'm very excited. We have had staff members attend that outside through another partnership. Um and um it was so powerful that

097they said we have to figure out how to bring this back. So we are using some grant funds to be able to offer that to our staff. Um and depending on how it goes potentially we'll be able to bring it back in other summers because we did have to wait list um some staff for that. Um, in terms of goal 2B, uh, we had the opportunity of meeting with Congressman Foster, uh, last week, uh, to specifically talk about mental health and, um, what the Stronger Connections grant was able to do for us is provide clinical counseling for our students, specifically in the area of mental health, and that grant is expiring. So, um, we were discussing that need with Congressman Foster and we will have a report out for ED services next month just on

098where our gaps will be and what those costs look like. So, you will see some information regarding that next. Um, also, uh, we have a wonderful partnership with the police department and sheriff's department on our handle with care initiative. So, if you don't know what that is, if a police officer is in a home um and of a traumatic event, um they are able to communicate to us the address and we are able to notify the social worker and the principal just of the student name with the words handled with care. um no details, but it it allows us to have an FYI and a quick update that something's happened. And um then our staff know to be very observant of of the student. And in many cases, um they don't see anything different. Um

099in other cases, it's a family they already work with and they really appreciate the heads up because often we would sometimes find out, but it would be weeks later. Um and so we meet multiple times during the year. We've incorporated North Boon into that as well. Um, North Moon School District and um we are going to actually have them continue tracking this summer. So, for the first time in August when they return, we'll know um if there's been incidences um in homes um so that way we can start to support the students and families right away. Um so, we're excited for that um update through our partnership. Um, and then with 2C, I just wanted to highlight that there were 13 students that earned a pathway endorsement. Um, I know last month you had approved

100a position that would work with Mr. Fry on internships, but also some pathway work. Um, and the approval of that position will help continue to grow um in these areas, but this was was more than doubled than before. And so, we're super excited for that work and can't wait to see where that goes for our students. Questions for Dr. Johnson? Uh goal three, uh we are continuing to work on our communication audit. We actually will have focus groups uh this week um meeting with uh the team that's doing that communication audit to do a deeper dive into the survey that we administered uh to our students and to our community. So they will be in town this week to do that. Uh and they will also be uh facilitating our rebrand meeting. uh they will

101bring be bringing us some initial looks at a potential rebrand uh and what that uh might look like on it tomorrow night. Uh so uh we'll be meeting on that tomorrow night. Uh we are really um we're really excited about that work and uh continuing to work on expanding those parent community partnerships. that survey data really came back uh saying that the closer you are to the school district, the more you know us and the more you feel like you trust us, the farther away you are. Uh the less you know us and the less you feel like you can trust us. So really trying to bridge that gap uh with those people that don't have a natural connection with the school district. Uh how can we reach out uh to those individuals out in

102our community and really be uh better partners moving forward? Any questions on family and community partnerships? and uh goal for Dr. Ay. Hey, just one thing I wanted to highlight uh uh pretty pretty happy about the 66 of our subs uh will be receiving a bonus at the end of the year. Uh in order to get a bonus, they have to work at least 50 uh or 75 days. 50, it's a $500 bonus and then it's another 250 uh if they work 75 days. So, um, just to put that in perspective, that's about a third of our our sub pool that are, uh, that are subbing, uh, day in and day out. So, uh, so really happy about that. Thank you, Dr. Eddie. Any questions for Dr. Edy? Does that include the permanent subs? Uh,

103no, that that's just it does include long-term subs. So, it would be long-term and then our daily subs. Other questions for Dr. 80. All right. Go five, Mrs. Armstrong. Okay. for uh strategy 5A. Um I already talked quite a bit about the facilities plan. So um you have the update on that. Uh tech and cyber security. Um right now we are doing the finalization of the bids for our student information system. So we've got reference checks back and now we are coming back together I think this week for the final discussion with the committee on the options of what we want to bring forward uh to the board for consideration. So it has been a very aggressive and intense um process of two-day interviews with each company and we've interviewed three companies. Uh so that

104was six days of uh Tyler Bell's time and our registars and so many people were coming in and checking in. Uh Matt Fry also participated in every single session of that process. So, uh, we have dedicated a lot of time to make sure that we're making thorough decisions, including BEA in those, uh, analysis and and interviews so they could ask those questions as well. Um, so really took a an in-depth look at that. Um, 5B really, um, it's pretty much the same as last month in that we're still we're working on the FY26 budget development with the buildings. Um I have the majority of the build buildings already have submitted their draft proposals for their budget. Um and I'm starting out with the the departments now. Um but we continue to work through that. And

105of course everything in 5B also is tying directly to that uh facility master plan right now. Questions for Mrs. Armstrong. All right. Um then last thing that I will highlight in admin reports is that uh the foundation for excellence in education uh gave out their annual grants uh at the amount of $32,147. Uh you can take a look at uh several of these really worthwhile projects um that our teachers submit every year. Uh we are so grateful uh for our partnership with the Foundation for Excellence in Education. Uh it really allows us to do some things we might not otherwise have been able to do. Uh and we have great teachers uh willing to really go above and beyond. Uh which is what applying for this grant entails? Uh and then also executing on it.

106So we are excited about that work. Uh Mrs. Young uh has stepped up to sit on that uh board. Mrs. Young, anything you'd want to say about that? I just think it's awesome. We do such good work here and our teachers are so amazing. There is no doubt. and we are very appreciative of them and the foundation for the work that they do for our kids every year. And that is all I have to highlight. I feel like it was a really long admin reports. Uh but that's that's all we got. Uh Mr. Herrera. All right. We don't really just say something like that. All right. So folks, looking ahead at the upcoming district uh events, we have business services in June 3rd, educational services committee meeting on June 4th. Special meeting well if we

107needed special meeting the board of education that's June 5th and regular board meeting of course in June 16th next month. Um do we have a motion to adjourn? No motion. Okay. Okay. So member Young motion to adjurnn. Member Mueller seconded that motion. All those in favor say I. Those uh post say