001Good evening everyone. We're going to go ahead and begin our special call meeting. Going to go ahead and call this meeting to order. Um being that a majority of board members are seated, we have determined that there is a quorum. Um, moving on to item two board. Would it be okay if I move the presentation of colors and pledge of allegiance up to what would be now item three? >> Yes. >> Awesome. Do we have a motion to approve with that amendment? >> Motion to approve. >> Motion by Mr. Johnson. Do we have a second? >> Second by Mrs. Taylor. All those in favor indicate by saying I. >> I. Those opposed, nay. Eyes have it. The amended agenda is approved. >> We need to move five up. >> Want to move five? >> Yeah.
002All right. >> Mr. Wyoff has brought up a an amendment to the agenda. Moving item five up to what will be item four. Any discussion on that? Are we good? >> Motion [clears throat] to approve. >> Motion by Mrs. Rocket, second by Mr. Johnson. All those in favor indicate I. I. Those opposed, nay. Eyes have it. The agenda is amended a second time. [clears throat] All right. And with that, we will now have the presentation of colors and pledge of allegiance uh by Freedom High School's JOTC led by Major Brian. 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. Forward. >> [applause] >> Thank you. Freedom High's JOTC led [clears throat] by Major Brian Odest. We
003will now have the board moment of silence and board invocation. Uh led by Mr. Wyoff. [clears throat] have moment of silence. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the opportunity to serve the students and families families and the teachers in our community and grant us the wisdom as we make decisions, encourage to do what's right, and humility to listen well. Help us to place the needs of the children first and lead with integrity and care. May our work tonight be guided by a shared commitment to the future of those that we serve. In his name we pray. Amen. >> Amen. >> Thank you, Mr. Wyoff. We now have superintendent updates with Dr. Autton. >> Good evening. Thank you. So, just a few updates for the board this evening. We want to give a huge shout out
004to our maintenance crew aka ice snow removal squad. Um, you'll see these gentlemen, not that some of them are electricians, they are painters, but it was all hands- on deck. And so, we are so appreciative of of this team. So, I would like to give a round of applause. [applause] So, thank you Dr. Bob Akard and and his crew for all they did over the the snow days when we got to sit home and look at the snow and drink our coffee. They were out working on our campuses. So, thank you. We also want to highlight our elementary schools who recently participated in our archery tournament. I think we had um multiple of our elementary schools in some middle schools competing over the past couple of weeks. We also have EC family night. Um we
005had a huge turnout and Miss Grale remind me we had 35 parents families show up uh to our EC family night. So that's been a huge success and so we're really appreciative of our EC team for hosting these for our families. You can see here pictured we have one of our students from Ray Childers Elementary School with the American Heart Association at UNCC Health Blue Ridge. This is fourth grade student. First place um from Ray Childers, Sophia Fona. Second place was Journey D and WA Young um also had a third place winner Sadie Goodson. So, uh, congratulations to these young ladies who participated in the art contest. And in February, we have lots to celebrate. One of those is Black History Month. So, we'll have different celebrations going on across our campuses in honor of
006Black Black History Month. It's also CTE um, career and technical education month. So, we want to recognize them and celebrate. They are currently sixth in the state in credential attainment with over 6,959 um credentials earned at a rate of 86.87%. So we're really proud of um what our CTE folks are doing with our students. February is also National School Counseling Month and actually we missed that first week, February 1st through the 6th. Um, but we'll be recognizing our school counselors and you'll actually hear from Connie Thompson, I think on February the 23rd at our next meeting. She'll have a presentation um, just kind of looking at what our school counselors do and how they serve our students. This week is also love the bus week. So, we want to recognize our bus drivers and all
007that they do for us and getting our students to school safely and home safely every day. So, just recognize our bus drivers um, for love the bus week. And we have our EC parent learning session coming up on Tuesday, February 24th. And this is our second one, I believe, this year. And so this is a great evening for parents to come out and hear from related service providers and just understanding all the supports that we have for EC students in our county. And those are my updates. Thank you. >> Thank you, Dr. Roden. Um, do we have any questions, comments? Hearing none. All right, we're going to move on to our staff updates with a balanced instruction update with Dr. Edwards, Dr. Wilson, and Mrs. Kurpatre. And Dr. Wilson's not able to be with us,
008but these two ladies are going to cover all of it for us. >> Uh, good afternoon board. Thank you for allowing us to provide you guys with a brief update on the balance instruction initiative that we started implementing in August. Um just to give you a little bit of information, um we put out a parent survey um to uh teachers, administrators, and parents. Uh left it open for a week at the beginning of January. um we pulled some uh just some big stroke district information that kind of shows uh the direction that we're going as far as the balance instruction initiative. And so the first thing I want to start with is um our class link data. Every student logs in via class link and all of our Burke County apps are pushed out through
009this platform. And so um we took one week um u where we knew that we weren't having testing or something going on and use that week in comparison this past fall to the fall of 2024 just to give us an idea to say, hey, are do we have any reduction in the amount of time that we're spending online? And so just [clears throat] keep in mind that this um information is the amount of time that we're in the Burke County apps. It's not um the amount of time if if they're in an external application on the web. And so we chose the week of October 28th um of 2024 and compared it to October 27th uh of 2025 that week in time. And that's a lot of numbers on the screen. So we took that
010and um we did an average for you and we found that for our K5 students we saw a 17% reduction in the amount of uh screen time that there was. For our 68 students, we saw a 13% reduction in the amount of time um and that's just in the instructional day uh amount of time that um they were on screens or on the Bur County um apps. And then we saw a 3.97 increase um in our high schools. Okay. And then um as I mentioned, we sent out a survey where we asked parents, teachers, um all certified staff and administrators to give us some feedback on how they felt and their perception of how the balanced instruction initiative was going. And so um [clears throat] for our um parents, we asked um these questions and
011we broke it down into K2, 35, 68, and 912. And so we asked each of those groups, did they feel or perceive that their students had an improved student engagement um in their classroom? Did they feel that their student was improving in reading comprehension, improving in handwriting, improved retention of knowledge, improved um or did they feel that uh the this initiative was positively impacting their student um and their overall well-being? and did they feel that the school was maintaining an appropriate balance from a parents perspective of the balanced screen time and uh paper pencil um or traditional instruction and technology use. And then we asked parents, you know, were they in favor and support of this initiative? And so um you can see for our K2 that it's overwhelmingly positive either strongly agree um or
012agree in all of those areas. And um that's pretty consistent. You'll see for 3,568 and 912 parents um you can see that um there's a large support and they feel that uh this initiative is positively impacting their student and um there's a a strong and overwhelming support for this initiative. So I'll just kind of go through those for you. All right. And then um in addition to just the um uh agree disagree type questions, we asked for some qualitative feedback and Miss Kurt Patrick is going to share some of that. >> So from the open-ended portion of our survey, our parent stakeholder group shared the following strength and successes. Improved penmanship with fine motor skills in lower grades. Improved penmanship in written expression in the upper grades. stronger reading skills as a result of the
013increased focus and attention as well as positive changes in student behavior. Parents also highlighted the positive notable difference in their home routines including reduced homework conflict and better sleep patterns as well as a stronger family and school connection. So on the physical side, parents also noticed reduced headaches, eye strain, and screen related fatigues. [clears throat] And as always, we want to at were some um areas that we can continue to improve on. So for some challenges, parents shared the feedback regarding inconsistent implementation of reduced screen time across classrooms and schools and some parents reported frustration with that inconsistent communication about the change of instruction and then also the why behind it. Some parents also um shared again in inconsistent implementation across schools and teachers. And then also we we realize that any initial initiative is
014going to have some challenges. So we are open to continuing to look at that and sharing that with our administrators and with their school leadership teams. But overall, our parents perceive benefits across academics, behavior, health, and family life after school and support the reduced screen time. And we ask our teachers similar questions. Um, and we again we broke it down into K2, 3, 5, 6, 8, and 912. And we ask uh teachers [snorts] um did they perceive that uh there was an improved student engagement? Did they perceive that students had um stronger handwriting, notetaking, and organizational skills? We asked them if they felt that they had adequate instructional materials uh for this initiative. Um and then we asked if they felt that they were able to effectively determine when technology uh provided the clear instructional
015advantage. Um and then the final question for our teachers was did they feel that they needed some professional development in order to continue to grow in this area. And so you can see um that all of our teachers um felt that for K2 the majority felt that this initiative was positively impacting students. Um and um just under 50% said maybe they could use a little bit of professional development in this area. And 35 it's very similar. Um um positive they feel like this initiative is positively impacting students in their classrooms. they're seeing um uh uh positive results in their classroom. They feel that they are able to effectively determine when the technology use supports their instructional goals and um just under 50% maybe they could use some professional development in this area. And it's again
016it's very similar um uh you can see the um 68 teachers um feel that they're they have um improved student engagement it's positive results. Um they feel like they are able to effectively determine when the technology provides the clear instructional advantage and maybe maybe they maybe or maybe not could take some professional development in this area. And then again 912 um you see uh over 50% positive results as well um similar results. And from our teacher survey, those strengths included improved student engagement, stronger social skills, which leads to an increase in positive studentto student discourse and collaboration, improved retention of information, and teachers also reported spending less time having to police um whenever students are on their computers alone. asked for some challenges. Some students showed an initial resistance to more of those paperbased tasks
017and some teachers would also like a clear definition of the balance resolution. However, we also know that there there needs to be some teacher autonomy. You know, you have those folks that want they want them the barriers put in in line for them and so that part has been a little challenging for some of our teachers who are [clears throat] very much rule followers. But again overall our teachers perceive benefits across academics, behavior, health um as well as social emotional for our students and they support the reduced screen time. >> And again we asked administrators similar question um and they we asked them to look at it through the lens of their entire school and if they felt that the balanced instruction was being implemented consistently. Were they seeing positive changes um in student engagement
018learning? Do they feel that the teachers are supportive of the initiative? Do they feel like they have sufficient resources? Um and just is there an overall positive effect on students? Um and then they asked uh we asked um if they felt confident in their role as an instructional leader, did they feel confident in providing feedback to teachers um to how to um continue to grow in this initiative? And then uh we asked if they felt that professional development would benefit um them and the teachers in their building. And so you can see um strongly agree agree um in in all areas. So again our um open-ended survey results strong support for balanced instruction. Administrators shared that they noticed an increase in hands-on learning, handwriting, critical thinking as well as student created projects. And they also
019shared additional feedback um has also been reported as a result of increased observations of studentto student discourse and critical thinking. And again, administrators also shared that they appreciate the support from our board of education in this resolution. The large largest challenges or areas of growth noted also by administrators include a need for that additional professional development. That is a common theme across all of our surveys and something that we look forward to sharing with our administrators and for them to share with their school leadership teams. And then again, overall our administrators are very supportive of our balance technology. And just a few other uh data points that we wanted to point out that were um kind of unintended results from the resolution where we can see um that our student behavior incidences uh there's been
020a 26.2 reduction in office referrals under the category of misuse of technology from 2024 to 2025. Um, Gaggle is um, it's a tool you may or if you have students, you've probably heard of it. Uh, but it's a tool that we have uh, to monitor students um, their Gmail, their Google Drive, and their um, online activity on the web. And so, uh, initially AI scans all of those things that are going through. If it flags out as something that's concerning, a human is picks that up and analyzes it and says, "Yes, that needs to be escalated and we need to let the school know that there's a potential uh, situation." And so, um, then the school gets an alert. And so, I'm going to show you just a little bit of information, uh, comparing 24,
021uh, 2024 to 2025, um, August to October. And you'll see on the screen where it says PSS, which is a possible student situation, uh, like a safety concern, and then a coupon, which is a questionable content that students are accessing. And so you can see overall we had a little bit of an increase but when you break it down by K5 you can see that um the number of incidences uh from 24 to 25 there's no incidences this year during that time frame. Um you can see that our middle school incidences were reduced by a total of 20 and then high school went up a little bit and when we kind of stepped back and said why um we think it might have been because Helen was um 2024 so our our time that we
022were spent online was lower um uh or less because of those nine days where we had no access to anything. And so that's one of the things um and I will also say that Gaggle is continually increasing their monitoring um to keep kids safe and even with that we still saw a reduction in a lot of areas. Another thing as an unintended an um our paper usage is going up and so you can see we've spent a little bit more on printing uh because we're using more paper and then um our student device damage rates especially with K8 um mainly staying at the schools and in their classroom. Uh we saw almost a 2% um decrease in the number of damages that have uh are taking place on our devices. And that's that's our update.
023>> We're happy to answer any questions. >> I have so many questions. >> Probably not all for today. No, I'm just kidding. >> No, probably. So, okay. >> Yeah. >> Okay. So, back way way back at the parents. Um, it seems to me, sorry, I want to make sure I ask my question correctly. Um, it seems to me that the parents are by and large very supportive of the initiative, very supportive of the resolution, but I feel like that they are asking consistently through through um all the results that they need a little more guidance on what's happening and where it's happening. And I'm just asking if you are if you are putting together a plan for that. So we would like to um this is our first time sharing this of course publicly. We
024have not shared this with our principles or administrators. We would like to share this with our principles administrators do some problem solving there but then also take it back have them take it back to their school leadership team so that our school leadership teams can also take some ownership and what that needs to look like and sharing out with our parents and our communities. >> I mean it makes my makes my heart happy to see positively impacts my child's overall well-being. That that in itself is just That's just amazing. Um, and then for the teacher part of this, is there a reason that we are so strongly invested in teacher or administration or school autonomy? I feel like overall as a district, there's nothing wrong with giving them guidance and saying in K5 grades or
025K2 grades um programs A, B, and C are being used haphazardly, so to speak. You like A, you like B, you like the A and C and whatever. Um, and giving them guidance and saying pick one or pick two. some of those guidelines. We do have like districtwide programs that we say this is what we use by and large for our core content or core uh curriculum. Um but where the autonomy comes in is based on the instruction for the day. We feel like based on the task sometimes technology is a great tool for whatever maybe they're doing an experiment they really need to access and spend 30 minutes doing some data analysis but then another day they may need something and they really need hands-on activity. They may not need it at all. And
026so that's where it comes the autonomy comes in based on the task. Like sometimes it's a great tool and sometimes it's not. But there there are some parameters as far as the programs go. Um I think sometimes our teachers like you said are rule followers. They want to say they want to say well you can be on there for 42 minutes every day and that's it. But I want to be careful with that too because some days 42 might be sufficient and then other days that may not be sufficient. So we just want to be really careful. >> Yeah, I understand that. But I think it's something we can visit. This is just my personal opinion. I think it's something that we can revisit and say, >> okay, maybe an overall usage of the week
027>> and say, you know, you've got x number of minutes or whatever for each class. >> And maybe we get some suggested windows or something. >> Yeah. Overall, just to just to keep them to give them a checkpoint. You don't have to use all those minutes, but if and if you go over, it's not that big a deal as long as it's not consistent. but this is kind of where we want you. >> Um I don't think there's anything wrong with that because that was the one thing that I noticed throughout the whole >> survey from the from the teacher point of view. >> Um and they are definitely asking in my opinion so for some professional development and balanced instruction. >> Yes. >> And I know you guys are on top of that. >>
028All right. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> See I just came to three questions just >> so this makes me super happy. Um, I think the one comment that really resonated me with me was um I think was the administrators resembles pre-COVID learning environments and I think that's where we were all trying to figure out how to get back to um and at the inception of this um resolution, we wanted to give that autonomy because we were like, you know what, I don't know what we're doing. Let's just take a shot in the dark and see. And based on this feedback, I think that now both par well all three parents, administrators, and teachers are saying, "Okay, we love it, but we need a little help." So, I think this is appropriate. Maybe, you know,
029again, finish out the year, see how we do. But for our May retreat to see how we can start honing this in a little bit. Um, because we were the first to do it. So, I don't think there is a guideline or a blueprint. And I think people are watching and so for them to say almost unanimously we would like help on we love it but we want help um says a lot and I think we've talked about >> I think that's what they're asking for us to define. >> Yes it is. >> Well and then we have so many beginning teachers um where traditional teaching >> Yes. It's just it's new and it's like okay well how do I do this? I was taught to instruct on the computer. So now we're taking it
030back to resemble pre-COVID learning environments. I'm gonna keep saying that. Um we need help on how how to figure that out. And so now we have I think an opportunity um and I know you guys are already talking about it for our veteran teachers maybe to get in there. Um maybe some partnerships with our teacher colleges that we have great relationships with to say, "Hey, this is feedback we've gotten. they love it, but is there ways for us to kind of collaborate on how this won't be a problem in instruction five years from now? So, this makes me super super happy. I think we're on the right track. Um, we took a huge >> success for sure. I mean, the all all levels, you know, your parents, your teachers, and your administrators said that that
031student engagement was up, >> and that was one of our main goals with the whole thing was to see students more engaged. having discussion, taking notes, um that sort of thing. So, I feel, you know, where we're here, we we can start stepping up with that. But that that's a little victory, you know. >> It's a huge I'm super excited. >> We're not even looking at a full six months yet, too. Right. This is what, just a couple months. >> Yeah. >> How are you guys feeling about it? >> We feel really good about it. Um especially after the survey, it kind of solidified kind of what we thought was happening in our buildings and kind of what the perceptions were. And so our hope is hopefully in May at the retreat that we can
032bring some more solid numbers after we've kind of been through it for almost a full year at that point to say here's where we are. This is just kind of a benchmark, a baseline year, but even like you said in less than six months, I feel like we've made some major major steps forward. So I can only hope and I think when Christy Abernathy presents shortly with the midyear testing data, you'll see I think there's probably some correlation between this and what you're getting ready to see. So we're really excited. Thank you. >> I'm sure all the principles and stuff kind of appreciate that a little bit, you know, referrals and stuff. >> Can I just say I appreciate so much the hard work. I mean, you can tell this survey, these surveys were so
033well thought out and you put so much time and effort into them and thank you so much for that because everything I could have asked you to gather and more. It's it's phenomenal. So, thank you. >> Great job. >> I'm so excited. Thank you. [laughter] >> So, we hope to come back in May with even better news with with our bell instruction. So, >> thank you. Thank you, ladies. >> Thank you. >> All right. Moving on to the Chartwell quarterly update with Chartwell's corporate office. There's a clicker. >> Hello everyone. >> Hello. >> I'm gonna let Chef uh Odise here. She's from the Navigate team. So, I'm going to let her go ahead and get us started and then we'll kind of take a turn to speak to you guys. >> Awesome. >> Hi. Hello.
034Good afternoon. Uh my name is Odalis or Chef Garcia. I am part of the navigate foundation uh that pairs with chart wells and also compass group. So essentially let's see there you go. So a little bit about navigate we are a nonprofit that pairs and has a partnership with Compass Group who is one of the largest hospitality groups in the world. And basically what we do is we gather students who are interested in the food and service industry who are really passionate about it or just want to know more about it. and we set them up with apprenticeships or internships. So this is where chartwells comes in and we prepare them. We basically do boot camps where we do soft skills. So financial literacy, we do leadership, effective communication, um resume building, interview practice, and
035then also hard skills, knife skills, cooking, um identifying different methods of safety, sanitation, kind of helping them guide them into working in the food service industry, whether it's Chartwells, and then later on in life, anywhere else in Compass, because Compass is in all over uh the country and all over the world from the Spectrum center in Charlotte, hospitals, retirement homes, and so we trying to give them a little bit of that all around in their program. We also are partnered with ACF. So that is the American uh culinary federation. And so with their internship, they can then proceed to a 10-monthlong apprenticeship that can also lead into accreditation for the federation. So they could get um certified uh executive chef um throughout the program. They can get serve safe certifications as well. So we try
036to build um build them into different skills um with our program. And so we go here with our partnerships with uh Chartwells and pass it on to all. Thank you, Chef. Um so I'm just here to talk to you a little bit about what it's looked like for us here in Burke County. Um, and so just speaking from experience, I have worked alongside Chef uh Garcia. Uh, we are currently in our second cohort. Um, which is really exciting to be a part of. It feels like we just introduced this program. Um, and so just from a full circle perspective, um, watching the students from week one to the end of their semester just really grow and and flourish in this program. Um, week one we watch them walk in and you know very shy trying
037to stay out of the way in the kitchen and um, you know, don't get me wrong, they are in our kitchens and they are working alongside our teams. Um, in addition to that they are serving their peers as well. Um, some of them come in as early as 6:00 a.m. and work for a couple hours. Some of them work through the lunch shift. Um, and in addition to that, they also receive a paycheck every two weeks. So that is something um, that is intriguing to them. Um but week one they walk in and we have um you know real life conversations. Do did you complete your onboarding? Uh what is onboarding? How do you want your paycheck? Do you want it direct deposit or do you want a paper check? And you know these are
038things that they haven't thought about necessarily. And so um it's a great conversation starter with these students. Um also taxes. How do you fill out the taxes? Um you know a lot of great questions that these students have. Um, you know, week one, mid-program, um, to the very end of the program, you start to watch these students just become so confident in the kitchen. Um, our Chartwells team takes them under their wing and, um, they learn how to work with our industrial size ovens, steamers, our chemicals, and so they really get a really good advantage, um, into what it's like to work for an employer and walk into a kitchen and feel confident um, after graduation. And so that's really the ultimate goal with this um working alongside the Navigate team. It has been such
039a great experience um because they really partner with us to um walk these students through each step um and then give them more excitement and opportunities outside of graduation. So um we are super excited to have them. Again, we are in our second cohort. Um, and so we are just so thankful for you guys and your support with um, navigate. And, uh, we just want to thank you guys this evening and, um, with that, I'm going to pass it over to Aaron. >> Yeah, I would just build on what Chef Garcia and Cheyenne have already said. Uh, as Chef Garcia noted, Compass is a very large organization. Um, so beyond the day in and the day out of part of their school day being working in the kitchens, um, extended them an opportunity to help
040one of our other accounts. So, in at the beginning of November, we had a food show in Asheville. We needed some culinary support. What was the young lady's name? >> Vanessa came and helped us all day long do prep. It exposed her to a new kitchen and how she fits in there and working with some different leadership and, you know, seeing different leadership styles and that sort of thing. Uh, Chef Garcia took them on a field trip to Charlotte where they were exposed to a number of different operations. Again, seeing something other than child nutrition. um got to see our North American headquarters and had lunch at uh 2400 Yorkman Avenue, which is where all of the Compass magic happens in the United States. Um and again, this is just our second cohort and really
041the fourth cohort, I think, overall. Um so, we're really getting it on the ground floor and right now it's a exclusive uh partnership that we have with Navigating Compass. So, um again, really looking forward to expanding this in the future. I just wanted to show you a little bit of what we kind of do visually for you. Um, we do like the one week of boot camp and we do like the professional development. Um, and we really answer a lot of questions for them. Um, in terms of the tax information, uh, the onboarding, what does that look like, right? Background check, what does that even mean? We kind of walk through that whole process with them. Uh week two is the hard skills. So they get to wear the chef coat and they get to
042they feel a certain kind of way when they wear that chef coat um and really get into the kitchen and learn about knife skills, how to properly hold a knife and all that good stuff. And along that 12week program, um Cheyenne and her team, they really work together to, you know, bring out these kids into a real life situation of working in a cafeteria, right? Working in food and child nutrition. where does their food come from, how is it prepared and how they basically get consumed. So they get to see that whole cycle and then hopefully the end of result is for them to get exposed but then have experience for themselves. So then that way they have a resume already. So then they finish, you know, their schooling and they're like, "All right, I
043have these certifications, I have this experience, I can go out and have the confidence to find employment or find employment within Compass Group because we are so large." Um, and they have that opportunity to whether if they want to go out into across the United States or internationally as well. And then this is just some I'll show you the three 30 second video of just the impact of what Navi is really quickly. Oh, just kidding. linked in there. I don't think transfer. Well, I just want to show you that the video is mainly of the graduation. Uh this past year, we had about 300 students uh graduate from the Navigate program all across the United States. From Atlanta is where it all started. Uh we have cohorts in Charlotte, that's where I reside and work
044with. Um but then chart wells we have from New Jersey to Connecticut to Illinois to Indiana um even venturing out to Nevada and we're still growing. So we are um we're really in the forefront of trying to get these kids the opportunities to get the experience to let them grow essentially whether it's working at a food truck uh whether it's working at a cafeteria or doing catering events. It's really to build them up. And so the picture right here was from our first cohort. Um we have Alex, Vanessa, and Elen. And they graduated. This is from the uh North American headquarters of Compass where they had to do their um field trip and their minds were absolutely blown of seeing that exposure, talking to executive chef from there um and really having a conversation with
045them and eating the food of course, which they were very excited. and um and they had a they had a blast and it really got them excited about okay what do I want to do with my life and this is you know this is the the the way I want to go so it was really amazing to kind of see that transition and that transformation between the students and that's what we're here for essentially as uh navigate foundation I think yeah that's >> thank you any questions Thank you guys. >> Hey chef, we see you back there. [laughter] >> Next we have the first semester testing data with Dr. Abernathy. Good evening board. Uh Madame Chair, thank you so much for this opportunity. Just to give you a quick update. Um it's kind of twofold.
046We're going to talk about just a little bit on the fall testing data from EOCC's and then we're also going to give you just a quick update on check-ins um for elementary and middle school. So as you can see on that first slide, um this is an overview of our fall EOCC testing data. Um as you know, fall and spring um are added together in our high schools to get proficiency. Uh so this is the percent proficient of students that scored a three or higher on their EOC. Um you'll see the first column there is before retest. So that was the initial test that we took before Christmas. Um and how students scored on biology, English 2, math 1, and math 3. Um as you can see, they actually did pretty uh quite a bit
047um higher than uh fall of 2024. Um which is that last column. Um remember biology is not listed in fall of 2024 because last year all of our science curriculum and test was brand new. Um so we didn't get scores in the fall and they were delayed in the spring um for reorming um in that process um to set cut scores. Um so as you can see they were quite a bit higher on most areas after we averaged in the retest um of all students that came in and took it. Again, remember this was the first year that we were allowed to be able to retest in the fall and both proficiency and growth counts for our accountability measures this year. So, we were super excited about that. And I really feel like our schools,
048I want to commend them. They did a great job of getting students back in, remediation, retest, all in five days. Um, it was a lot, but we um I feel like were very successful overall. Um, as you can see, it went up anywhere from six uh points higher to um, you know, some were three. Um, I mean, look at math 1. We're at 98% proficient right now for all students in the fall. To me, that's big. Um, so I'm very proud of them and how hard they've worked. Um, but they were very strategic on making sure we got students back in the building. Um, and how we were set had that set up with remediation and when they retested. So, very proud of them. Um, also, um, just a quick overview for the middle of
049the year, um, for elementary data. Um, remember this is, uh, a year that we chose as a district, um, not to participate in all the North Carolina NC test check-ins because they are adaptable. Um, and we weren't real sure how our students were performing overall with growth measures. And so this year, we decided to create our own inhouse for the first two. So, check-in one and check-in 2 are common assessments that our instructional support created um for our students. Um for elementary, you'll notice that all reading went up from check-in one to check-in 2. You'll notice the NA there um for third grade reading because we choose not to give that first check-in because the kids have just taken bog um and we don't want to test them back to back um for reading. You
050will also notice that math is a little off on the numbers. Um, but those are measuring different standards for the first and second check-in. So, it's not something that's cumulative. Um, so I think that's important to point out. Um, but there's still lots of progress I feel like happening. The third check-in, we will use the North Carolina model for check-in um to give that last really good practice before they take the final EOG. Um, so this actual screen is not showing proficiency though. I'm going to point out it is the average percent correct. Um, and so that is a better measure for us to be able to work with teachers and schools of really digging into data and looking at um, where students are and what areas they need some improvement in. The middle school
051data is um, listed in the next slide. Um it talks the sixth grade I'm sorry sixth grade uh math um seventh grade math eighth grade math and then the reading scores there as well. These are cumulative. You will notice there was a slight dip in seventh grade both in reading and math and then eighth grade math. And we are um of course having conversations around individual students and how to make sure every kid is growing. um we've it's been a real big focus on us in the past couple months and continues to be a focus um for the rest of the school year to see what students we really need to target. And then the last slide talks about the science scores. Um the science scores um both fifth and eighth grade. As a reminder,
052last year was a brand new test. Um so we're just now starting to get some of those support documents um for teachers and some of the items and how the test has changed um for through the state. Um but you will notice that it's broken into three domains. Earth science, physical science, life skills science. Fifth grade has already taken two of those. They've done earth and you can see um that this year was higher than last year. Physical as well higher than last year. The reason there's two numbers there for physical for 2526 is because it's broken down to two strands into physical science for the check-in and the 2425 is just the EOG from where they scored last year. You will notice it's not the same group of kids. So, we're not measuring and
053looking at cohort same kids to from year to year. This is two separate groups, but it kind of gives you a good measure of where we were last year compared to where we're at so far this year. Um, eighth grade has Earth only because they are in the present state this this month of testing, physical science check-in in our middle schools. And so we hope to have that by the end of this month. And then of course life science, we will test later this spring. I would love to entertain any questions that you have. Pardon my ignorance, but what remind me Kim, what was the reasoning in picking I guess the third as opposed to doing the NC um test for maybe the first. >> Yeah. So, that's a great question. So, the way that
054NC PAT works um is that you have to have two consecutive check-ins in order for it to be an adaptable EOG. So, by just us doing one takes our kids out of the adaptability piece, okay? But it gives them a practice, a real practice of what the North Carolina testing system is closer to than the locally created. >> Is there a chance that I guess because the three doing it on the third one >> is going to be what they take the so it doesn't count as the adaptability type for that EOC. So it takes us completely out of that. Correct. >> I'm with you. >> So we were very strategic in that. Uh we are presently working with our instructional coaches and Dr. Dr. Wilson and Miss Kurpatre on exactly which check-in we feel
055like is going to be the best one to give because there's A, B, and C. >> Yes. >> Yeah. Because we want to do what's best for the kids. >> Any other questions? >> Very. >> Thank you. >> All right. Moving on to the consent agenda items. Uh, we have open session minutes from December 2nd as well as December 15th. Do we have any questions, concerns, or do we have a motion? >> Motion to approve by Mr. Beck. Do we have a second? >> Second by Mr. Johnson. Do we have any further discussion? >> Hearing none. All those in favor indicate by saying I. >> I. Those opposed, nay. Eyes have it. The consent agenda items pass unanimously. At this time, we are going to go ahead and make a motion to enter into close
056session pursuant to the North Carolina General Statute section 143-318.11 subsection A1 and 6 for the purpose of considering confidential personnel matters as further defined by North Carolina General Statute sections 115 C-319-321 and pursuant to subsection A3 to receive information protected by the attorney client privilege. Do we have a second? >> Second by Mr. Wyoff. Uh, any further discussion? Hearing none. All those in favor indicate by saying I. I. Those opposed? Nay. Eyes have it. We are now in close session. Board discussion and agenda items including board amendment budget revision with Mr. Keith Lawson. >> Mr. Lawson, how are you? >> I am. How are you? Thank you. First individual line items various equipment needs schools in the district for a total of 79. >> Do we have any questions or do we have a motion?
057Motion by Mr. Beck. Do we have a second? >> Second by Mr. Wyoff. Any further discussion? Hearing none. All those in favor indicate by saying I. I. Those opposed, nay. Eyes have it. Uh, budget revision 06012626 has been approved. Mr. Lawson, >> thank you. 325,000 projects high school. And I will also point out that this money is coming from state lottery repair funds, not >> I make a motion to approve. Do we have a second? >> Second by Mr. Johnson. All those in favor indicate by saying I. >> I. Those opposed, nay. Eyes have it. Board action. No. Wait a minute. Mr. Lawson. Board budget revision 07012626. Lottery RNR has been approved. >> Thank you, Mr. Lawson. Next, we have the personnel board action report with Mr. for >> record is. >> Do we have
058a motion? >> Motion by Mr. Beck. Do we have a second? >> Second by Mrs. Rocket. Any further discussion? Hearing none. All those in favor indicate by saying I. I. Those opposed, nay. Eyes have it. Thank you, Mr. Recorder. Next, we have a vote to close Hilderbrand and Ikard Elementary School with Oh, we're just making a motion to close it. Yes, >> I'm making a motion to close. >> Okay. All right. We have a motion on the table. [laughter] >> We're voting to close Hilderbrand and I elementary school. We have a motion on the table with Mr. Beck. Do we have any further discussion or do we have a second? >> Second. Second by Mr. Whiteoff. Any further discussion board? Hearing none. All those in favor indicate by saying I. I. Those opposed nay. Eyes
059have it. The vote to close Hildabbrand and Ikard Elementary has passed unanimously. Next, we have a vote to consolidate Hildabbrand and Ikard Elementary School. Do we have a motion or do we have any questions or concerns? >> Make a motion to consolidate elementary school. >> Motion by Mr. Beg. Do we have a second? Second by Mr. Johnson. Do we have any further discussion hearing? None. All those in favor of voting to close or consolidate, I'm sorry, Hildebrand and ID Elementary indicate by saying I. >> I. Those opposed name. [clears throat] >> Eyes have it. The vote to consolidate Hildebrand and Ikard Elementary School has passed unanimously. Next, we have board policies. First reading with Dr. Uton for policy 1510 4200 7270R responding to bomb threats 2325 board meeting news coverage 2335 advanced delivery of meeting
060materials and 3460 graduation requirements. So the first three on your agenda AB and C um came out u from Miss Rocket and Mr. Beck and looking at some policies that were at least 8 to 10 years old. Um, so there are some antiquated languages that we just want to clear up and clarify in those policies. Um, and then also for item D, the graduation requirements, we noticed that there were some um, kind of got convoluted in the way that it was printed and so we had to go back and restructure that policy to make sure it was accurate with state board policy. So there were just some inaccuracies in the graduation requirements we wanted to clean up. So these are for a first reading. If there are any questions or concerns, I'll be happy to
061bring those back for a second reading on the 23rd. >> So, I have one really quick for policy B 2325 board meeting news coverage. I don't like the word frustrate. Would it be okay if we replace that with unreasonably limit or something like that? >> Which paragraph are you in? >> Um, first paragraph. First paragraph I believe is the last sentence. >> I feel that frustrate is very subjective. >> I'm sorry. Second paragraph. >> Second paragraph. >> It's the last but not in frustrate the coverage of the meeting. Yeah, we can definitely change >> like unreasonably limit or something like that. [clears throat] That's all I have. >> Good. You want to keep it the the days? Okay. >> All right. Um motion to approve the second reading for all policies together or we can
062vote separately. What is the board's pleasure? >> I'm I think approve all together. Okay. So, we have a motion by Mrs. Rocket to approve all of the policies together. We have a second by Mr. Beck. Any further discussion? Hearing none. All those in favor indicate by saying I. I. Those opposed? Nay. Eyes have it. Any further business? Do we have a motion to adjurnn? >> Motion to adjurnn. >> Motion by Mr. Beck. Do we have a second? >> Second by Mrs. Rocket. All those in favor indicate by saying I. I. Those opposed nay. Eyes have it. The meeting is adjourned. Good night, everyone. Thank you.