Orange County Board of Education Regular Meeting - May 18, 2026

001All right, we'll get started tonight with recognitions. Good evening everyone. Tonight we are proud to recognize the next generation of literary leaders emerging from the 2026 Orange County Schools youth poet laurate program in partnership with our North Carolina poet laurate Jackie Shelton Green. This year marks the fourth year of the OCS youth poet laurate program. Through this initiative, students strengthen their artistic voices and grow as leaders who use storytelling and poetic craft to engage communities across our district. As part of the two-day program, students engage in a two-day poetry workshop led by Jackie Shelton Green, where they spend time writing and sharing their poetry and collaborating with fellow young writers from across Orange County schools. Since the launch of this program, our youth poet laurates have represented Orange County schools in remarkable ways. They have

002visited the North Carolina governor's mansion twice, spoken at statewide convenings, performed at poetry festivals, participated in community outreach in the Hillsboro area, presented at our district's stars of education conference, and inspired younger students by visiting elementary schools and middle schools across our district. Tonight, we are honored to recognize two outstanding student poets who have recently been named the 2026 Orange County Schools Youth Poet Laureate and the 2026 Orange High School Youth Poet laurate. On behalf of Orange County Schools, we congratulate these remarkable students on their achievements and thank them for representing our schools and our community with excellence. I would first like to recognize our 2026 Orange County Schools youth poet laurate Avery Kadalano. Avery is a freshman at Cedar Ridge High School and is already emerging as one of our district's top young poets.

003Our judges were deeply impressed by Avery's poetic craft, authenticity, and strong artistic voice. During the selection process, Avery was named the district youth poet laurette at our OCS night of poetry in April, and we are so excited to see him continue to grow and lead in this role. Avery has prepared an original poem to share with us tonight. Please join me in welcoming Avery. >> Good evening. My name is Avery Catalano and um I brought this poem today. It's called You Start How Everyone Starts. And a little bit behind this poem is my English teacher of the year gave us a prompt of giving advice to youth. And I figured in order to do that, I should give a little bit of information about what I went through for my first year as a high

004schooler. So, a part of that and the fact that I love to quote movies and music and the poem that I read during my OCS night of poetry was one that used a lot of that and I figured I still have a little more in my system. So, I want to get that out using this poem. So, here it goes. You start how everyone starts by me. You start how everyone starts with the simple and exuberant congratulations. You made it here. which feels like being gently pushed forward into a hallway that echoes differently. The mundane would call it high school. A few steps away from being an adult, they say, like there's a clear staircase like you won't miss one in the dark. There are perks supposedly, don't get me wrong. Uh, no one tells

005you what to do anymore. Or is it they do just quieter like suggestions you're expected to follow anyways? You can stay up late now because of homework, because it's due tomorrow, because that sounds better than saying you don't feel like sleeping yet. Like, your brain finally got loud and time just slipped away. You can drive soon, which sounds important until you imagine it. Your hands on the wheel, not heroic, not steady, barely moving because you forgot to take your car out of park. We treat it like it's a big deal. Yet, where would you go? Not far, not anywhere that changes you, just circles, just roads you already know, seen from a different seat. Your brain is in the thought process of being on a road. Yet, where you are going, you don't need roads.

006The average person would phrase it as thinking outside the box, but that seemed too plain for such excellent advice. It's a refusal to be confined by the ordinary paths worn smooth by other people's shoes. Shoes no longer recognizable, only dusted and faded with the logo of the Greeks. victory. You tell yourself you'll figure it out on the way. You promise yourself you'll make your own paths. You kind of have to. Don't overthink it. You will anyways. You'll make friends or find them. Like stations you didn't know you were tuning into. There are categories now. Crazy subsections. People who speak in movies and lyrics and panels and punchlines, movie nerds, music geeks, comic kings, and somehow you understand them. Not all of them, but enough to stand nearby and not feel like you're wandering into the

007wrong scene. Like maybe for once you're not the extra. Middle school becomes a rumor. Old news, outdated headlines. It's not who dated who anymore, it's who hasn't. Which looking back on it now feels like not much of gossip and more like inventory. Like everyone's quietly counting and pretending they're not. Now, let me get to extracurriculars. Extracurriculars are all the rage in high school. Everyone says it's grades, but when you try to gather those you are familiar with to be in a study group, most of them will say something about the debate team, track meets, poetry reads, the noise changes. That's the strange part. It doesn't disappear. It spreads out. More space between voices, more room to think. You overthink or just exist without being called on it. The other day you ate lunch in the

008library. Not hiding, not exactly, just there. And it felt like something like choosing quiet and realizing no one was going to stop you. Like a small invisible rule had been broken and nothing bad happened. Yet the seniors sitting on their thrones of age respect give you nicknames like newbie or freshy. And it gets annoying until you get to say it. And that's when it lands. Not the word, the shift. You feel taller. Not in inches in permission because no one's assigning you a place anymore. No charge. No labeled seat, just open space and the uncomfortful freedom to decide where you fit or if you fit at all. And some days you almost want someone to decide for you just to make it easier. Just to say sit here, be this. It's simple, but it's not

009simple. It's better and technically worse. Here, I'll explain better. You don't know what you want to do. Not really. And that's okay. Apparently, everyone says that like it's comforting. Like not knowing is a shared language. Like everyone's just pretending they've got it handled. Walking a little faster so no one notices. They're guessing to. And you start to not worry about things that sound Sorry. You start worrying about things that sound like adult thoughts. Time, the future, what comes next? Money. in the vague distant way that still somehow feels urgent to catch yourself thinking ahead and then stopping like, "Whoa, slow down. Take it easy." And you don't even know where you heard that from, just that it sticks. Like advice passed through static, but no one hands you the answers anymore. No one breaks it

010down step by step. You're expected to figure it out from context clues, from half understood conversations, from resources and references. You almost get like a voice in your head saying, "Don't stop believing even when you're not sure what you're supposed to believe in yet." Or the feeling that you've got time after time to get it wrong before you get before you get it right. Or that quiet stubborn thought that maybe, just maybe, you're going to take on the world someday. Even if right now the world is just a schedule and a hallway and a version of yourself, you're still editing. Not a big revelation, just small moments of almost understanding, finally clicking into place, like realizing no one actually knows what they're doing. They just say it with more confidence, trying to look like you

011belong, even when you're not sure where that is yet. Trying to grow into life, trying not to stutter. That doesn't come with instructions. that still showing up, still walking the hall, still choosing seats, still learning the difference between being alone and being independent, still figuring out how to move forward, even if you don't know what you're doing yet. You start how everyone starts, but end not knowing how to end. Thank you. Wonderful job, Avery. Thank you. We would also like to recognize Liz Cruz Davis, the 2026 Orange High School Youth Poet laurate. Liz is a student at Orange High School and is an exceptional writer with a powerful voice. She has already shared her poetry at the Orange County Schools Black History Month Expo and at the Dudley Flood Centers Mapping the Movement Convening for

012State Leaders. We are grateful for her commitment to literacy leadership and for the way she uses poetry to engage and inspire others. At this time, please join me in welcoming Liz to the podium to share one of her original poems. So, I have a bit of a similar writing style to Avery. I like to write off of music, but my writing is very emotion driven. So, this is a writing a bit about the color blue. So, it's called the notions of the blues. Blue used to be my favorite color. Baby blue. Bright and soft, gentle. Now I have no choice but to feel each and every tone, every shift in color, every notion of the blues. Why am I always in the wrong feeling navy? Why must I listen when the ones who pry and

013poke have all but nothing to say? Taste the bitter and the berry blues. Why must I change at a time I've got all but no knowledge of who I am and who I want to be. Feeling the deepest of cold midnight blues. The ones with their fiery pitchforks of rage and resentment just as lost as I. Do they too see in the tones of the true rooted rhythm of the blues? Do their hearts too beat the sad slow ballad of the oppressed youth swallowed in a shroud of bewilderment and endless soulsearching sharing the same blue tinted world. How much how must one change when they haven't the chance to figure out who it is they're changing? Told they're bad before they get the chance to be anything. And what is that? Deflection, projection, reflection. I

014have to earn the respect of their searing eyes and devastating flames. And yet my respect for their merciless wildfire is yet expected. Moving parts inside of me never touched on my own accord, but for the fuel of their devastation. to be thoroughly appreciated. Waiting for my turn. Feeling the shift in blue as I hum along to the heartbreak it holds. A cut that just won't cease its seep. Letting words come together, hoping I'll feel better. For now, until their flame no longer holds rage, but a tender song of care. The tune that will always catch my ear will be all the notions of the blues. Thank you. And our students will go ahead and shake your hands and take a photo. principles are here. Okay. Good evening. Tonight, Orange County Schools is excited to recognize

015an outstanding group of students who have been selected to attend the North Carolina Governor's School this summer. Governor's School is one of the most prestigment programs in North Carolina. Established in 1963, the program brings together some of the state's highest achieving rising seniors for several weeks of advanced study, creative exploration, and leadership development on a university campus. Students are selected through a highly competitive process based on academic achievement, talent, creativity, leadership, and teacher recommendations. Rather than focusing on grades or tests alone, Governor School challenges students to think critically, collaborate with peers from across the state, and engage deeply in a specific study of, excuse me, area of study. Students participate in rigorous coursework, discussions, performances, and experiences designed to expand both their knowledge and perspective. This year, Orange County Schools is proud to have the

016following students selected for Governor's School. Mr. Smith, will you help me out? Um, from uh next slide, sorry. Uh, from Cedar Ridge High School, if you'll join me at the podium, Mary Keenan, class, and this these are their classes for Governor School. Um, who couldn't be with us tonight. Uh Jaden Lidle. Uh Mary is attending in the area of English. Jaden is going to be attending. Jaden is gonna be attending in natural sciences. And we have Oscar Rosen Powers who will be attending in social sciences. So we're excited for you guys. Don't go anywhere. And from Orange High School, you'll go to the next slide. Okay, suspense is Tristan Tani uh who's going to be attending in the area of mathematics. So this IS uh please join me uh in congratulating again these students on

017this remarkable achievement and wishing them a transformative experience at Governor School this summer. SO we go Let's go. Good evening, Chair Athetherton, Vice Vice Chair Padilla, Dr. Jones, members of the board, and everyone gathered here. It falls to me to recognize teacher appreciation week and what a solemn responsibility that is. As we all know, they are the reason why we are here is so that teachers can teach students and students can graduate with options available in employment, education, and enlistment. This is why we're here and teachers felt it during the week of May 4th through May the 8th. I don't want to take much more time because we have so many wonderful things on the agenda tonight. But let me just tell you that huge thanks are due. You've seen Miss Jayla Davis, our communication

018specialist, weaving through the room this evening. She and our administrative assistant, Gloria Moody, helped make sure that this year's teacher appreciation week with the digital thank you cards. Did anyone in the room send a digital thank you card to a member of our staff? Thank you. Thank you very much for doing that. We nearly doubled the number that went out from last year. And we're very, very excited because those go a long, long way. Let me just tell you that if you haven't already learned how to use Simy and you're watching at home, please go to the abstract for tonight's meeting and and look up some of the links. There's a video featuring the voice of Dr. Jones and the faces of our teachers and our students. There's a letter from Dr. Jones to our

019staff that signifies just some of what we all feel. We appreciate very very much what it takes to do this profession and to our teachers and to everyone who works in our schools, thank you. Happy teacher appreciation week. May 4th through the 8th was a wonderful time for us and we have so many more recognitions to come. But if you haven't already gone, please visit orangecountyfirst.com/thank teachers and you'll find everything there is to know about teacher appreciation here in Orange County schools. Thank you very much. Good evening, Mr. Board Chair, Madame Vice Chair, members of the board, Dr. Jones, the cabinet, and committee comm community members. My name is Valerie Green and I am interim director for child nutrition services. This evening, we would like to bring attention to a special day for the Orange

020County Schools um school nutrition services school lunch hero day. This day provides an opportunity for schools and communities to recognize the valuable contributions of our school nutrition professionals. This year, this day has been celebrated annually since 2013 on the first day of May, which was May 1st, 2026. These unsung heroes not only prepare and serve meals, but they also promote healthy eating habits, support students with dietary needs, and help create a warming environment in school cafeterias. Thank you for acknowledging the hard work of the school nutrition services with this special day. Thank you. Good evening everyone. Good evening, chair, vice chair, school board members, our superintendent, uh our chief equity officer, Dr. Laneir, who couldn't be here tonight. Thank you to him. our district leaders, staff, um, and our community members. Thank you all for

021taking this evening to recognize, uh, National School Nurse Day, which was observed last week on May 6. And thank you to our incredible nursing team. Um, absolutely number one, the best ever anywhere. And I would challenge any school district for that. Um, this is Miss Walton. Uh, I asked for her to say a few words because she's very special to us. She tried to leave us and couldn't stay gone for very long and we got her back. So, I thought her her her view uh would be very interesting for us to hear. >> Thank you, Sylvia. I'm a little taller than you, so I'm going to move this a bit. >> Good evening, Orange County faculty, members members of the school board, and colleagues. I was asked to share a few reflections on my experience

022as a school nurse with Orange County Schools. I began at New Hope Elementary in 20 2021 in the middle of the COVID pandemic. At a time of enormous transition for both the school and our district, we had a new principal, a new faculty, a new lead nurse, and a constantly changing set of guidelines as we navigated an uncertain and very difficult time. Very quickly, I learned that school nursing is way more than band-aids and ice packs. It requires flexibility, resilience, and the ability to adapt at a moment's notice. Operating in an environment with limit limited resources and funding, many nurses purchased supplies with our own money. Although we followed the same protocols, we often felt like 13 different nurses working on 13 separate islands. But even with those challenges, I stayed because of the people.

023The faculty, staff, and nurses I worked alongside became like a family to me. I grew to know not only the students who came through my clinic, but also their siblings, parents, and most importantly, their stories. I saw firsthand the hardships many children carry with them every day. And I learned that sometimes the hug a child gives on the way out of my clinic may truly be the only one that they receive all day long. Knowing I could provide comfort, safety, and care even in the smallest ways meant everything to me. In 2023, I had to step away from my position for some family reasons. A year later, when my life circumstances changed and I urgently needed to return to work, the very first person I called was Sylvia Compton. She has always had my back

024and has been someone who supported and advocated for nurses without hesitation. I called her on a Friday, explained my emergency situation, and by Monday, she had found a place for me back with Orange County Schools. Since returning, I have been amazed at how much our nursing department has grown. Thanks to Sylvia's leadership, we are no longer separate clinics working alone. We truly are a team supporting one another through emergencies, difficult cases, and everyday challenges. Nurses are now valued members of student support services across our district, comp collaborating to improve student safety, health, and well-being. We regularly meet to ensure that the care we provide is evidence-based and aligned with our state and national standards. We now have updated supplies, emergency go bags, and excitingly working wheelchairs in every single school. Most importantly, there is a

025growing recognition of the important role that school nurses play in supporting student success. Whether I am administering life-saving medications, verifying endless immunization records, or sitting quietly with a student who just needs someone to listen to them, school nursing remains the hardest but the most rewarding work I have ever done. I am so proud to be part of this team. I am proud of our leader, Sylvia Compton, and I am grateful to each one of you for continuing to put students first and for recognizing the value of the care that we provide every day. Thank you. Well, that was very nice and sweet. And Miss Hower, I was thinking about you tonight when I decided what would I say because I feel like we're held to high standards. You always say we bring you to tears.

026Um and I want to try So you got your tissue. Um I thought what what could be what could we share? So one of the things I asked the nurses was send me some of these uh little notes that your students write to you so I can read them because I like to laugh and I thought I I would share. You heard, you know, school nursing is so much more than giving band-aids, ice packs, doing training. We we definitely, you know, do teach our students how to manage their chronic health concerns, but it's also very nice when we get these nice little letters. And I I can tell you on behalf of our health uh student health over there, these little things are like a million dollars when we get them because anytime we get

027a note like this, we are constantly sharing this with each other. So, this one says, "Dear Nurse Clark, you have been the best nurse ever because you helped me do insulin and you make me feel so good." Thank you, Nurse Clark. Nurse Daniel, I want to thank you for helping the school when people get hurt or sick. Without you, school would be a gem fil gross school. I'm pretty sure they meant germs. You are the best school nurse ever. So, I hope you do not leave. Happy nurses day. And there's a big smiley face that says, "Thanks. Thank you for helping all of us when we don't feel well and for calling our mom." So sweet. Uh, nurse Walton, thank you for taking care of me when I was sick and hurt from elementary and

028in middle school. You help me with so many things. Me and my mom appreciate your services, especially the nice mints and ice. So many people like you for the for the for you taking care of all of us. You're super kind and nice to all of us. So, thank you so much. I don't think many people appreciate how many people you help. Most school nurses just say, "Here's a ice pack." and go to class. But you try and understand the situation and try first what you can do and comfort others. If you are and if you are good to like 400 students, I can bet you are a good person. Then they signed their name and they said the guy who wrote this note. There was one special one I got this week as well

029from a student. Um, not often high school nurses get letters because as you heard earlier, they are independent. They do the things. So, we're building relationships. It says, "Miss Compton, I realize you are not a teacher, but I still wanted to thank you. You have been the best and nicest nurse ever I have ever had. You always seem happy, which is refreshing. You also kind of remind me of some relatives, which is comforting. Thank you." Thought that was sweet. Now I said I'm not no tears but I received you know God has people in places for whatever reasons. Uh there's a student that I have grown close relationship with who has since graduated our district who was one of my first students when I started out in school nursing that I really thought no we're

030going to make a difference who just so happened to call to check in today and was like what are you doing and said well I'm sending something and they are watching us so I'm going to read this and it's very special Miss Compton saw potential in me when I couldn't see it myself since sixth grade she She has shown me constant love and guidance, encouragement, never judging me for unburden for my unburdening mistakes or mistakes, I'm sorry, for my upbringing or mistakes, but instead meeting me with compassion and accountability. One moment stands out in 10th grade when I was skipping class. She left work during her break, came to my house, made sure I went to school, and later took me out to eat to encourage me and remind me of my potential. Because of

031her, I graduated high school early, earned my CNA license, and now pursuing a goal in becoming a CRNA, which is a certified nursed assistant, which they make some good money. Miss Compton is more than a school nurse. She is someone who truly changes lives through care, consistency, and belief in others. And I just want to say, I know she's watching from home. So, thank you, and we appreciate that. And again, thank you to my entire nursing team. Truly are the best. So proud to be part of this team. Um, and on behalf of all of our nurses, I just want to say thank you to everybody on the school board, our superintendent, Dr. Laneir, all of our district leadership, and our community and our students and parents. Thank you. All right. Um, next we have

032our agenda adoption. I'm not aware of any item to be pulled tonight from consent. Um, can we have a motion to approve the agenda? Oh, you got to press the >> second. >> Motion to approve the agenda. Second. >> We have a motion to second. Any further discussion? All in favor? I >> I >> opposed. Agenda has been adopted. All right. Next, we have public comments. >> Madam Chair, do we have any vice chair? Do we have any comments tonight? >> Yes, we do. We will now have hear public comments. Speakers will be called in the order in which they signed up. Each speaker will have three minutes. Yielding the time to other speakers is not permitted. If a speaker would like to share written materials, please hand them to our board clerk, Franklin Mune,

033and he will distribute them to the board. The purpose of public comment is for the board to hear from members of the public, not to engage in back and forth discussion. Per our policy, board members will not respond to speakers during the public comment session. The board greatly values public feedback and welcomed all comments regardless of viewpoint. However, please be reminded that children are often present at these meetings and that our policy prohibits profanity, vulgarity, and personal abuse of any person. We ask that all comments be civil, respectful, and free of personal attacks. Any speaker who violates our public common policy or otherwise exceeds the bounds of order and decorum will be given a warning. Continued violations may result in the speaker being ruled out of order at which point we will move to the

034next speaker. Tonight we have one speaker, Miss Carrie Hamill. Thank you for having me tonight. Teacher appreciation week brings me um it the recognitions in Orange County schools always are so moving to me. the children and the teens of this community, fame will find them, but what really uplifts me and gives me hope is that they're fulfilled and that teachers and staff see them and water their talents. Um there I've I've been to your meetings for several years and you've heard me talk about structural de uh deficits. Um those have included the fund balance, child nutrition fund, and thanks to Miss Wrath and to Dr. Jones. Thank you for putting this district and community on much better financial grounds. I appreciate you. The structural deficit that I'm here to speak about is the supplement for

035teachers and school staff. This district is not competitive with the neighbors. And all of these students and the staff deserve to have a supplement that is that is competitive in the market. And it is far from that. I have a regular contact with studentf facing teachers and staff from this district and I'm always amazed the shortest and longest from helping families to the children with lowincome um matters and even just today I walked in with someone and they just had an aura I just of capability and of course it was one of your assistant principles. Your school level staff are terrific and they need it. We're in budget season, but I always feel like I'm behind. I can't ever get in front of it to get a supplement. That's right. So, I'm going to ask

036for a starter fund. And certainly the county will be hearing from me that we shouldn't have two districts that the supplements are so desperate. It is painful. And as some of you know, I live in the county, but my children are not districted here. This is a structural deficit that is deteriorates the whole district. So, what's my starter fund? I would ask the following folks, if you have a ring on or a watch and you can switch it to a different hand and think about it later. Um, I'd like the law firm, the audit firm, the architectural firms to think about saying we'll give 5 to 15% of what we're paid into this starter fund to get this supplement fixed. As for central office, perhaps three or four furlow days for the many associations that

037this school district belongs to ask for a reduced fee in order to take care of the student-f facing teachers and staff. the consultants which are less but the consultants and all the other vendors ask will you be part of this starter fund and please at the next school leader the school what do you call it the school where you go meet with the county commissioners the leadership meeting talk about what is going to happen to this and where is this garden going to sprout the teachers and the staff need a supplement that is higher it's a structural deficit it and it is hurting the children. And you do so much with what you're given, but this needs to change. Thank you for hearing from me tonight. >> And that concludes her public comment. >> All

038right. Uh, next we have board comments. Bonnie, you can start it. >> Um, thank you. Um, first time maybe I'd like to request that we start every meeting with student poetry. Kind of sets us in a different place. It's was wonderful to hear that. Um, happy Maycember. Is that what we're calling this? Mayber. So much going on. Um, and thank and makes everyone so busy and I just want to thank everyone who is showing up every day. Uh, congrats of course to our poet laureates, our governor school members and always our school nurses. and I brought my tissues and you tricked me and said you were I was going to laugh and then all of a sudden I wasn't. So, thank you. It's amazing what you what you know the scope of your work is

039is incredible, but the compassion that your team brings to it is amazing. And I just need to point out that our school nurses are paid on the teacher supplement. So, the the the raises that we're talking about are also for school nurses. So, I wanted to use that. I have really have one thing I want to talk about and that's a big shout out to Public Schools Strong, the Orange County Association of Educ Educators and everyone who showed up at the county commissioner meeting last week to advocate for competitive salaries for OCS teachers and staff, including nurses. I was incredibly moved by our teachers who like they always do dug deep to express the joy that they feel working at our schools and the proud the pride that they feel by the great results that

040they are getting for students. At the same time, everyone in the room learned the about the burnout that comes from working in underfunded schools and the challenges of living on an OCS salary given the high cost of living in the triangle, inflation, and the lack of raises for years, especially when they can make more in other nearby school districts. It's more confusing now because the new state budget framework looks like great for beginning teachers, but it doesn't help much when it comes to making OCS salaries competitive with Wake, Durham, Chapel Hill, and Guilford. Our teachers have shared their truth and I am grateful. So, I'd like to ask use this time to ask the rest of us, families, students, taxpayers, to write to our county commissioners and let them know how you feel about the

041board's request to raise supplements and salaries for OCS teachers and staff. And the questions are, is this a priority to you? The second question is, are you willing to pay a little more in property taxes if that's what it takes? The commissioners need to know that this is important to us. And by the way, silence says a lot. So if we're not speaking up, they hear that too. It will be um interpret if if there's silence, the commissioners will think this is not important to us. You can send a simple email, and it doesn't have to be long, a simple email to the commissioners at Ocarountnc.gov. And you may also want to attend the county's budget hearing on May on May 28th at 7. and it's going to be at Southern Human Services on Homestead

042Road. And if you do show up, please wear red for ed. Thank you to our teachers. Thank you, Public School Strong. Thank you. >> All right. and >> uh well, good evening and thank you to everyone for being here tonight and a big congratulations and a and a shout out to all of those who were recognized tonight, especially our students. I I'm always amazed at our students who are so willing to get up and speak. And I mean, it just amazes me. So, I appreciate their work. I appreciate their warning to do that. and appreciate all of our students going away to Governor School as well. This is the season of um a lot to do in Orange County schools. I have attended the teacher of the year banquet. I've attended the retirement banquet. Um,

043but I had a extra special time at the Special Olympics that were held at Cedar Ridge High School. And I'd just like to thank everybody who helped with that because it was it was a very hot day. But we had students that were just having a ball and I really appreciate everyone who got together and brought that back. Um, it was here for several years and then it went away. But I appreciate everyone and I would like to give a shout out to our own Franklin Mun because he was master of ceremonies that day. Now, he did get to stay inside the booth while the rest of us were outside, but I'm not going to talk about that. But, um, it was a wonderful day. Um, I also attended the field day at Pathways Elementary

044for the first graders because I had a granddaughter participating in that. Um, I was at the joint meeting with uh, Chapel Hill and the county commissioners and um, there's a lot going on there and anyone who can get out and speak on our behalf, we would be most appreciative. Um, I've been to a coral concert. I uh also have attended the a wax museum at Pathways Elementary in third grade. Mr. Athetherton was also uh there for that. And I think um one of the best things that I have done was the IB art show at Cedar Ridge last week. And that always just amazes me. the writing that the children do, the art that the children do and the force of the teacher to very gently, a gentle force move these students in the right

045direction and um that was just amazing. So, thank you to everyone who's invited us to things and uh I have enjoyed attending and look forward to some more. Thank you. Yes, I've been really enjoying all of the um end of year activities. Um congratulations to our teachers of the year and our retirees um and to the poet laureates and everyone going to governor's school. Um and uh you know I I want to thank everyone who went out to speak at the county commissioner meeting on behalf of funding for our schools. um you know, our teachers shouldn't have to come to public events and like bear their no, you know, their their finances like that publicly in order for them to receive the compensation that they deserve. Um I'm grateful to them and to everyone else

046who came out to advocate. Um and um you can Google Orange County NC budget and get to the right page that has some information about the proposed budget and how to um and Bonnie gave you the email address. Again, I would just encourage everyone um you know, if you support um greater funding for the schools to to write or attend and and let them know. Um uh and then um one other thing I did was uh re last week, this is Monday, um I went to the Orange County Climate Council. Um I'm our representative to that and it only meets twice a year. Um uh I will forward you all the slides from that because I think it's really interesting. They have a a beat the heat campaign that's about to kick off because um

047heat is the biggest weather is it causes the most like human harm of weather issues. Um and um one of their priorities that's not their like this year priority but further down is sort of like youth education around issues around um heat and avoiding heat exhaustion and um heat stroke and things like that. And one thing that came up that I Miss Compton's here um you know somebody said well we've got to make sure we get to the like the schools and that the schools understand the you know how important this is and whatever and one of the folks from the county who's leading this is like well actually we already spoke to them and like they like they have it together better on on this than we do and so that's you know it

048was very um so that's our nurses and athletic directors and our coaches and our it's it's the team making sure that you know there's obviously guidelines we follow and all that, but it was nice to hear our folks shout it out as like yes, they're they're really on top of this. So, um yeah, so that's I'll I'll send you all the slides. Um and I think that's about all I wanted to share. >> Thanks, Carrie. >> Hi everybody. Um appreciate everyone who came out to the meeting today celebrating our students. Loved hearing our our poets. Um tremendous talent. Um, I love that we have our poet laurate program. Um, and uh, also our governor's school uh, students. Those are really tough positions to get those opportunities. So, those are those are excellent. Um, shout out

049to our our nurses and the the team they managed to um, really forge. The community that that you all have across schools, I think is what makes it so um, unique for our district. And I know board members have from other districts have said to me, "Hey, you've taken another one of our nurses." I'm like, "Sorry, better over here." Um, I also wanted to mention, I was really thinking about um how much we've uh how much our community has spoken out on behalf of public schools um in a number of key events. Um the teacher of the year event was lovely, the retirement event was lovely, but I was thinking um of some of the events where we as a district um you know we we're a really financially responsible district and some things we've

050done um just inhouse um that took a lot of work and collaboration um the strategic plan um development and launch. I've really enjoyed those um focus groups and uh meetings that we've had. There was a lot of community coming together for those and that was, you know, Dr. Jones's team working to make that happen in house. And I loved the Special Olympics event which was also supported by some of our nurses out there on that hot day. And just once again that was a like an internal effort to make something uh really big and vibrant um and inclusive with um with our uh district and school staff which was awesome. Um, so there's been a lot. I've been really impressed by our community, um, voices at our public meeting, um, the advocates for the teachers

051rally, which, um, like many people, I also attended, um, uh, earlier this month, um, as well as everyone coming out for the county commissioners meeting. We had a couple hours of public comment um speaking to how difficult it is particularly in our district as was mentioned the structural disparity. Um you know we get funding equal to our sister district but we don't have some of those special funds and um it really makes it hard to be competitive even as we do so much with with less. Um, so I was very impressed by all our um, individual public speakers and incredibly people had incredibly wellressearched and nuanced comments and um, we're really lucky to have a community um, um, our public school strong um, community, our Orange County Association of Ed educators and a lot of

052individuals as well who just came and spoke really um, thoughtfully and meaningfully and and and accurately to the um, conundrum that we're in and how um stressful that is as well as with shared the teachers who spoke out with their personal uh situations. Um so I wanted to thank everyone for their their collaborative work. >> Wendy, >> thank you. I want to say that I am grateful to be in a community that comes together uh and try to do right by our students, our teachers, our nurses, public school strong for standing and many of the other people that came to speak to the county commissioners. We're grateful for your support. Um I and I want to congratulate all the uh the poets and definitely I want to take the time to say that I'm grateful

053for the teachers that are the guardians of our future are so um and the nurses that keep us healthy and keep us going. Thank you so much. And let's not forget about the nutrition people also uh that were mentioned um earlier for May 1st. Um I was able to uh participate in just a few events this month. Um not many um as many of us have very tight schedules in May. I was able to participate on the um Olympics which was phenomenal. Again it was a hot day and I want to say thank you to Dr. Jones, Mr. um MUN and everyone that participated. As it was mentioned, we do everything in house. So, we try not to spend money if not if it's not necessary. So, I want to say thank you. Um, and

054last thing I want to say is that during this difficult time, it is important for us to remember that we need to remain calm and ask our community to continue to come out and advocate for our district. and we have to uh be patient and remain hopeful. Thank you. >> Thank you. Um first of all, I just wanted to thank our poet laureates and congratulate them uh the governor schools nominations and thank you to all the lunch heroes. Um I also wanted to thank everyone that's come out to speak to our commissioners in the meetings, outside the meetings. Um I got the um pleasure of riding the bus to Raleigh with our teachers and seeing everybody come together and it was a very important event for all of us to show solidarity especially at the

055state level. Um and just really appreciate everybody's support around that. Um, and we need to continue that support. And as Miss Vadilla mentioned is it's a really tough tough time for a lot of people in our community and we need to continue to help each other and know what those helps are. So don't be afraid to ask how somebody's doing. It really helps. Um, I also would like to thank all of our nurses as well. um just for the advocacy, the compassion um for all the health care and well-being of our students. And Miss Compton, thank you for your continued leadership and mentorship. Um it really helps and you can see it every day in our schools. Thank you. Um I did get the uh pleasure of attending a few things here in the uh

056district. um the first ever design challenge. It was amazing the innovation, the ideas, the research of our students, um some of the most amazing designs and thoughts that I've ever seen. And I just wanted to take a moment and thank all of the district staff, uh all of the uh teachers that came out, all of the um judges that came out and took the time on a Saturday to come and um discuss all of these approaches. And I'm definitely looking forward to this being an an annual event for the support of our district and the steam that we're trying to give um and all of our schools. Um, definitely enjoyed, as mentioned, the Pathways Wax Museum, seeing all of the students. Uh, learned a lot of history and facts, and the students just did amazing

057job. Uh, the Cedar Ridge band performance. Um, this was the first year that the band director had the freshman class all the way to seniors. So, very emotional for everybody in the room. Um, got to attend the HS family game night. Uh they had a perfect night. It wasn't hot. Uh a lot of families came out and definitely enjoyed the ice cream out there. The Orange Middle uh band concert, uh wonderful performance. Uh the the gym was packed. It was great to see everybody come out and listen to all the accomplishments of the students. Uh the Cedar Ridge Art Shore that was mentioned, there were over 500 pieces of art. They said it was their largest yet. And you had everybody there from art one all the way up to IB art and listening to

058one of the IB students that had shared that they will be going to Italy for their first year in college to learn abroad. Just amazing what some of our students are getting the opportunity to do. Uh the Orange High School coral concert. Uh wonderful to hear all of our talented students there. Um the Cedar Ridge FFA banquet. um we got to see a wonderful um slideshow about all their accomplishments um and the give back to their uh to our community and some of the things they're looking forward to doing. Also, they had their spring plant sale which are plants made by the students and support of the events that they have at the school. Uh and also really excited to see their barn opening this year so they'll get to use next year. um the

059health and wellness fair. Uh a lot of people in our community got to attend that. Um got to see all the group Zumba going on, including the superintendent partaking in that. Um also the Orange Theater put on their Great Gatsby uh production. Uh amazing drama. Uh wonderful to see all the the students and staff there supporting the students. the career fair at uh Gravaly Hill Middle School, getting the students to think about career at a young age, at all grades, asking very thoughtful questions. Um the teacher of the year celebration, wonderful to celebrate our teachers uh and their accomplishments. Uh the Orange County Special Olympics, everybody has mentioned it was wonderful to see that come back. um all of the staff at all levels coming out to support. Uh Franklin did a wonderful job as

060well there. Um and also um I got the opportunity for the last OSNAC meeting which is the Orange County Special Needs Advisory Committee and the reflection of that committee that helped pull together the Special Olympics uh some of the uh family academy that's coming together through that group and also the wonderful discussion that's coming about in there knowing that uh there is uh a group within in uh Orange County to help all of the families. Um, one other thing I'll mention to the board is uh I did attend the North Carolina School Boards Association uh chairs meeting. Uh there was a lot of discussion uh and concern about declining enrollment across the state. uh lower funding talking about federal impacts, state impacts and the uncertainty in their own uh county of what will happen. Uh

061there were many discussions around consolidations uh what holds the future of public school and also talking about us needing to be together and reaching out and talking to each other about these challenges that we do not have to face these alone. Um so it was very wonderful to hear. Uh, I'd also just like to thank the board and its continue advocacy not only at the joint meetings but also reaching out and continue talking to our state legislators, federal and also our local commissioners. I know that all of us uh care very deeply and I just appreciate each and every one of you for all you do and talking to them. With that, we'll move on to the next part of our agenda. All right. Next up, we have our consent agenda. >> Oh, sorry. I'm

062so sorry, Dr. Jones. >> It's okay. >> I forgive you. >> Uh, good evening, uh, Chair Athetherton, Chair, uh, Vice Chair Padilla, members of the board, um, any students that may be watching. I know we had a house full earlier. It's always a pleasure to acknowledge and recognize our students and the great work that they are doing. um staff uh our nurses that were here and their leader Sylvia Compton and uh community members. As we continue to monitor developments at the state level, we are optimistic that the final state budget will include the proposed average 8% salary increase for teachers. This increase is exciting news for our educators. However, teacher raises this large will increase our current continuation funding shortfall from the county. If you recall from um early earlier presentations, and it's a little

063bit of an odd year because not having a budget all year, we usually have some indication of where we're going to fall. And so we proposed a 4% continuation increase. Uh the average 8% salary raises will increase our budget continuation shortfall from approximately 712,000 which is what we reported. Um based on the 2.5% that the county manager is recommending that will increase from 712,000 to about 1.3 million. And so I'm just providing the updates so that just for transparency because this is a different type of year that we're in and um just wanted to make sure that everyone is aware of of that piece moving forward. Um, we've had some preliminary discussions with the county and so we are hopeful and we'll be waiting and watching to see what they this final decision is. And

064at this point, it's up to um county commissioners. But again, excited to see an increase of 8% for our teachers, but we have to be able to match that on the local side. Tonight we are going to share a draft of our strategic plan for 2026 and 2031 through 2031. I could not be more excited to talk about the work that has gone on for the last year, the process and the direction that it's going to set um for our district. I strongly support this draft for two important reasons. First, it is truly communitydriven. The level of engagement from students, families, staff, the community members has been tremendous and their voices are reflected throughout the plan. Second, regardless of what any strategic plan says on paper, our district has demonstrated a clear commitment to continuous

065improvement. Over the past few years, we have improved academically, expanded social emotional learning and mental health supports, reduced suspensions, and seen growth in nearly every area of our teaching working condition survey. All while maintaining high expectations and accountability for ourselves and for our students. We are not perfect and we will continue to strive to improve every day. But no one can question the work that that our work remains centered on the students and the families that we serve. What excites me the most about the draft is not just the final product, but the process itself. This work was completed internally rather than contracted out which allowed us to authentically engage our community and create meaningful collaboration across departments. Teams came together together to better understand how their work intersects and more importantly how we can

066continue improving by working together on the behalf of our students. This is still a draft plan. It will be shared with our community for additional feedback and will be discussed in greater detail during a retreat with our board later this month. As the board considers that feedback and provides direction moving forward, my hope is that we move ahead with a unified vision and shared direction for staff as a great deal of time, thought, and care has gone into developing this plan. And I'm incredibly proud of the collaborative effort that has brought us to this point. That concludes my comments. >> Thank you, Dr. Jones. All right. Um, we're up to the consent agenda. Do we have a motion to approve? >> Motion to approve. The consent agenda. >> Second. >> We have a motion, a

067second. Any further discussion? All in favor? I >> I >> opposed. Motion carries. Consent agenda is approved. That brings us up to discussion action u the RFQ for construction manager at risk. >> Good evening everyone. Um Mr. Board Chair, Madame Vice Chair, members of the board, Dr. Jones cabinet and community members. I am Melanie Garrell, the new director of construction and capital planning. Here tonight, I'm here to provide you a bond update in where we stand. Oh, I have the clicker. >> Thank you. Thank you so much. So, I'm here tonight to present um what a construction manager at risk is and where we stand and um ask for a recommendation at the end. But first, let me walk you through where we are and and what a construction manager at risk is. So, in

068this in this graphic, you see that Orange County is at the top where the board as well as staff has selected an architect as well as a project management firm. So, here tonight, we are here for the construction manager. So, just to let you know where we are graphically in the process of hiring a team to build our new elementary school. Next slide, please. So, what does a Seamar do? That's the short acronym that we use. So, um there are three three parties involved in in building a new building using the Seymar delivery method. Um on the far left, you see that there is the design which is the designer, the owner, which is us listed in orange as then the construction team. So, as we move through the process with the design team, the

069owner and the construction manager are now brought in. So programming is um the beginning. What is programming? It is where we determine how many classrooms are needed, what size the cafeteria needs to be, um what types of offices are needed, how many staff members will sit in this building. That's what programming is. And once program is is complete, the owner reviews it. Again, we're not left out in any of this process. we are along every step of the way but graphically to represent how um the owner is involved this is the best way to show it. So we review the programming and then the it goes back to the designer and they move to schematic design meaning what might the building look like? You know we're still not clear. you know, we're still toggling between

070programming, making sure that once we see the building quote unquote on paper, again, we don't know what it looks like. Um, you know, we just want to ensure at this phase that our programming fits inside the building footprint. And at this point is where we're bringing in the construction manager, which is what what I'm here for tonight. So once we finalize the schematic design, the construction team will then give us an estimate to make sure we are on budget, which is one of the many benefits of this delivery method. Next slide, please. So I know there are quite a few words on this slide, but let me direct you to the middle of it. Collaboration, schedule, and cost. The Seymar del delivery method provides us with the three main topics that we are most concerned

071about is making sure we collaborate with the architect, making sure that our building it can be built for the cost that has been determined per each estimating bucket on the previous slide and that our that our bid packages are able to meet our schedule. So yes, this might be a bit technical, but essentially what the three buckets in the middle mean, are we able to break down um what it takes to build a building in small enough packages to make sure we are able to hire enough people to meet our scheduling as well as our cost. So that's exa essentially what is the most important um three items on this slide for the Seymar delivery. Also this provides cost transparency as well. So at any time um internally we can ask well where do we

072stand with the budget? Next slide please. Thank you. So for our Seymour selection process I just want to walk you through the timeline. On April 9th, we issued an RFQ and from that RFQ, we had 12 firms submit to to um submit their qualifications on April 23rd. Between April 23rd and April 24th, all 12 packets were reviewed um and short and we shortlisted four firms um were invited to interview the we will talk about the selection criteria in another slide. But our main topics of interest were expertise and strength of the team as well as two other items. Our interview our team had interviews on May 7th. Um and our biggest targets during the interview in addition to the two items above were pre-construction cost management and designer collaboration. Next slide please. So this is

073the team that set on our selection uh committee. We had we made sure to have a good mix of people. people who um know what happens in a school building, people who know how to build a building, how to maintain a building, as well as the designers and architects and and our project management consultants. Next slide, please. So, this is the selection criteria we use. This is the rubric. As you can tell based on this rubric, um, past experience and pre-construction expertise were rated heavily. Um, because with pre-construction, as I talked about bid packages, that ensures that we are getting the best price available, that we actually have subs to fill all of the roles that it takes to build a school building. Um, having K12 and Seymar experience was a very big topic. Um

074there, you know, there are different types of commercial buildings, but K12 in particular is very special and kind of a niche market. Um so we wanted to make sure we had the best of the best available. Next slide, please. So we did talk about I did talk about briefly the interview process, but this just kind of breaks it down a bit further, making sure we focus on project closeout and communication. Um, we found that, um, as you know, Orange County Schools is a very special place and we want to make sure we're able to continue to include our students and staff in this process. So, making sure we have a team that can support the p our public engagement needs was also a hot topic of discussion. Next slide, please. So, these are the nuts

075and bolts of why I'm standing in front of you this evening. Our Seymour interview process determined for the top four construction firms. Um I'll start from the bottom up. Number four was Barnhill Contracting out of Hickory. Um the team selected number three TA loving company plus Davis Construction not affiliated with Mr. Davis. Number two, Balfford Batty came in um came in second. They're out of Dallas is their headquarters. However, they have an office in Charlotte and in Raleigh. But we as a whole team of people selected Lechase Construction and SGS Contracting. You'll probably ask me why, but I'll answer why. Um, we chose Lechase for many reasons. Um, but the main for many reasons listed on the previous slides. We also, um, they also are in favor of the public engagement. a member of their

076team is a graduate of Orange County Schools. So, that did help play a a factor into why they were selected. Of course, we know we can they can build a building and they do all of the other things, but those all of those items combined sent them to the top of the list. So, our recommended firm for entering um into contract negotiations is Lease Construction and SGS Contracting. Next slide, please. So I'm here before you this evening to ask for the recommendation from you all to approve staff to enter into contract negotiations. That is my recommendation. And then and then we have an upcoming meeting at the finance and capital planning meeting May 27th, 2026. Next slide please. Are there any questions Sarah? Thank you and welcome to your first board meeting, I think. So,

077um, thank you. >> Uh, this is great. This made a lot of sense. Um, I noticed several of the finalists were like multiple companies together. Can you just sort of speak to that? Like, how does that work? Is that a common thing? Like what does that mean? >> It is. So in in addition to multiple firms having mult different firms having multiple it's a joint venture and in that joint venture um firms are looking to increase their hub participation historically underutilized business participation. So that is a way um to increase participation to meet county goals. That's typically who sets our goals for these types of projects. Um, in addition, they also help recruit um, smaller firms so they can be a subcontractor of the subcontractor. Um, meaning that they're able to get their foot in

078the door in commercial construction. >> Bonnie, I just want to also welcome you and thank you for the presentation. We met at the gallery, walked through and I um I thought you were the architect actually and um you really um and I have this um weird habit of trying to connect dots and you have this uncanny ability to say, "Well, Miss Hower, that's interesting, but the dots don't really connect that way." And you're very nice about it. So, you I really look forward to working with you and um you really in this presentation, you've demystified a process for me and I really just wanted to thank you for that. Look forward to hearing more. Thank you. >> Right. Any other questions? >> Just one quick one. I'm sure this is Googleable, so my apologies, but

079do you like what are some of the schools that they've done in our area? >> So, they worked with a neighboring county um on a few on a school there, specifically Murray Massenberg. >> Okay. >> They have other schools in their reputation, but that's the only one I have a connection to with them. >> Okay. >> So, >> great. I'm sure they have others listed on their website. They absolutely have so many others. >> Okay. Thank you. >> All right. If there are no other If there are no other questions, this is up for action. >> Motion to approve moving ahead with the contract negotiation. That's the motion you're >> motion to approve going ahead with contract with the >> We have a motion, a second. Any further discussion? All in favor? I I >>

080I >> opposed. >> Thank you so much. >> It's been approved. >> All right. Next, we have our spring indoor air quality report. Good evening. Excuse me. Good evening, school board, community members, Dr. Jones. I'm Hank McKe, the director of maintenance for Orange County Schools. My purpose here today is to present to you the information on the indoor air quality and the results from spring inspe from our spring inspection, the steps being taken to maintain optimal air quality, uh excuse me, what we are doing well and what we have opportunities to improve on. In the pa in past presentations, there have been references to Dr. Cercio providing reports for OCS IAQ. Dr. Cercio has now fully retired and we're now using another organization um that is responsible for preparing pre preparing the reports and assessments

081to go go along with them. Am I driving? You driving, Kevin? All right. Indoor air quality refers to the conditions of the air inside the buildings, especially as it affects the health and comfort of the people inside. Testing the IAQ is the process of measuring and analyzing the air inside the building to identify pollutants, contaminants, and overall air conditions. The goal is to ensure a clean, healthy, and safe environment for all of our buildings occupants. Uh some things to know about the process are that sampling and inspections take place as a snapshot of what the environment is in the school. We always strive to improve the process in order to ensure that we are doing the very best for our district for the round of sampling and inspections. We have updated sampling methodology this year.

082We historically we have uh only requested from the admin locations. This year we have upped our number of locations to try to get a 10% snapshot of our schools square footage. In some schools that might mean 10 15 samples other schools just three or four depending on the size. So, carbon dioxide is a excuse me, carbon dioxide is a byproduct of the air we breathe. Um, ideal indoor CO2 levels are below 1,000 parts per million. Levels at or below 1,000 parts are ideal for alertness concentration, excuse me, and concentration for our building occupants. So, all right, slide four. it. >> Yes. Um, currently our schools are inspected twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall. Um, as it relates to humidity, the EPA's recommended range is between 30 and 50%. The

083indoor humidity measures can be impacted by open windows, ineffective or underutilized HVAC systems, and leaks. OSHA recommends temperature a temperature range between 68 and 76° F. All right, next slide, please. Currently, excuse me. As mentioned earlier, visual inspections happen um as the measurements and samples are being collected. The team is looking for signs of water intrusion which can impact indoor air quality, creating condensation and elevated humidity. Identifying and addressing conditions related to water intrusion will limit additional damages, poor air quality, and potentially more costly repairs and remediation. Next slide. A wide range of species, excuse me, species and types of spores exist in our environment. The the exact kind of concentration kind and concentrations can be determined through laboratory analysis. The ideal methodology for identification is through indoor air sampling. It is recommended that all

084visible organic growth be remediated no matter the type. All right. The IAQ rating is structured uh interpretation is a structured interpretation of the data including laboratory analysis, the temperature, the humidity and the carbon dioxide and visual inspection. So all of this goes into one to get our results or our and our data. So um the results are presented in one of four scores very good, good, fair and poor. In identifying a rating, particular uh consideration was given to the most adverse conditions observed within each facility. All right, there we go. All right, so here you'll see um this year's ratings. I'll give y'all a minute to look them over and then Kevin slide nine. All right. So, this is a comparison of the last three um including this year. Um as you're viewing these this

085comparison, please remember that samples are a snapshot in time. CO2 readings can be implemented impacted by HVAC systems that are that are at target temperature when the outdoor temperature is moderate and that air exchanges cease and slow by the concentration of people in the room. Humidity can affect can be affected by simply just by cleaning or open windows and the occupation of the students in fac in the facility. Right. So, here's our action plans for um the schools rated fair. We'll make adjustments to our HVAC systems. Um we'll investigate and address moisture intrusion, address reported organic growth, take updated samples and environmental adjustments to be made. We're really in that last step taking the steps of the um the sampling. We've already addressed quite a bit of the issues. Um all right, slide 11. So

086these are our continued efforts. We we will uh continue with our quarterly vent cleaning um ensuring proper ventilation to our reduced to reduce CO2 levels and identifying sources of damaged ceiling tiles and addressing that as it happens. Also a big factor in this is our custodial staff and they have been doing a phenomenal job the last few years um keeping our schools up. That's our OCS employees as well as our contracted services. Um, I want to make sure to give them the hats off for that. So, all right, slide 12. All right. The OCE maintenance division is committed to preventative maintenance to avoid degradation, excuse me, of indoor air quality and more costly repairs. Ongoing measures include air filter changing every 90 days, vent cleaning quarterly, coil cleaning every two years, duck work cleaning every

0875 years. So, all right, any questions? Thank you. >> I appreciate the presentation, the specific strategies and um steps and and protocols that you're doing and it it does seem like we we're getting like uh broadly more specific and more consistently specific data. So that's that's really nice for us to see. Um, and I I like your uh your plan for addressing the ones that happen to be fair. As you said, it could be kind of like a oneoff, you know, because of fluctuations, but um noticing um back on slide nine, just um the most kind of dramatic up upticks or improvements seem to be central from fair to good to very good and Hillsboro from fair fair to good. So, I was just curious, did those get kind of that specific treatment protocol type

088of thing? And so you're so is that meaningful shift in a positive direction? Did you do anything specific at those schools? I guess you followed the protocol that you have at the end. But >> so central um with the three years or the three reports here, so year and a half um we were finishing up the HVAC renovation there, >> right? >> And there's a lot of work in the controls there to make sure that we're circulating air the best that we can. Um, so I I think a lot of that came through that with Central. Um, Hillsboro has just been a good school lately. Um, keeping it really clean, addressing roofing issues as quickly as possible. And of course, it's got a new roof on the 100 building and 300 building over the last

089two years, as well as a new um, fresh air unit on the 100 and 200 building when that roofing project was done. >> Thank you. Sarah. >> Um, yeah, I I like the reporting um and some of the like visualization of some of the um like counts and things. Um, and I um love that you're doing an increased sampling to get a bigger percentage of the square footage. That's awesome. Um, and it's good to see the improvements in some places. Um I did notice um it looks like nine out of the 13 schools had at least some rooms with the increased CO2 levels. Um and so I have some concern I'm glad to see like the two most sort of dramatic are part of that group there that's being addressed. Um I do have some

090concern about um some of the other schools which also had those higher levels. Um, I know you said, um, like sometimes if the temperature is just like kind of moderate, like the the HVAC system isn't running. And so that's one of the things that can cause that. Um, I'm just thinking like I mean uh like the effects of the high CO2 are still sort of the same in terms of like um making it harder to like concentrate and like you know those kinds of like effects. I'm thinking about like testing coming up soon. Um like uh you know academic testing. I mean um >> yeah, I'm just wondering if there's more being done there to address some of those other places. >> It's it's definitely something Shemica and I are looking into um and talking

091with controls folks on how we can make some changes there. Um it also plays an effect in the extremes. Um, if the outdoor air temperature is really high, it's tougher to pull in that outdoor air or really low because we're having to reheat it and uh or cool it depending on um so it's it's things we're looking into there for that those other sites. >> Okay. Okay. Thank you. Yeah, I think um last year I think I was proctoring for an EO G exam. Um and it just happened to be in this room that like got like way too warm and there's like not much you can sort of do about it when you're like and I was seeing kids like falling asleep and I was like oh no and then like I protocured in

092the same room the next day and they you know they had talked to administration and gotten it cooled off in there. Um but it just reinforced the like this makes such an effect on like >> you know how kids are showing up. And sometimes it's it's a it sits right at that temp where it needs to be cutting on and it's not. And I can't tell you how many calls we get and we go in and look into it to see what what the issue is and it's right there on set point. >> Um I'll make a slight just adjustment to it and like that the AC cuts on and it circulates. >> Yeah, I appreciate what you all are doing. Thank you, >> Bonnie. >> Yeah. First of all, I don't think it's fair

093that you went after Mrs. Miss Grell because because she's talking about the concept, the big ideas, the people and you've got what a couple hundred classrooms that you're testing for air quality microorganism. So, it's just it's unfair to you, but you did great. So, thank you for that. And it really is good to hear that you're increasing the sampling and that we're cleaning the coils and um and duct on a regular basis. That's that's new for us. that that's new for us. So, I appreciate that. I want to build on, you know, just little bit different way to look at what Sarah's talking about. As I read the reports, it's almost random that, you know, there's two schools that you're looking at. I'd like to hear a little bit more about that, but it seems

094that every school has spaces that that happen. I um and and how do you so we get this report twice a year, but how do you on an ongoing basis keep track or monitor the quality of air of air flow in rooms and what processes do our schools have to report to you and get you? >> So, uh this year we actually have a new work order software system. Um, and I think as of Thursday was the last time I looked, we've gotten 3,700 work orders since June July 1st. So, we're constantly getting stuff back. Now, that's everything from HBAC issues to needing deliveries and that sort of thing. But, we get quite a bit of HBAC issues um, and calls and requests just for changes. Um and uh so that's the main way is

095through through that work order system. >> So so the teachers and and schools are with in touch on an ongoing online live to you on an ongoing basis. >> So they are reporting to admin at the school to put in a work order. Um each school can be a little different on who some principles choose to do it. Some principles have the custodians doing it. It's all in how the school operates but the work orders come from them. It's there to be used. Yes, the tool is there. That's great. >> And we encourage to use it. >> Yeah, that's great. That's fantastic. Um on the two schools on on Sandbeck and Orange High, right, which so they seem to both, you know, what is driving the problems and what's the timetable to maybe get because

096you said you're not waiting to the next report. >> So, Standback is in need of a new HVAC replacement there. And I understand y'all get calls about standback. Um it uh the RFQ is going back out or is out, excuse me, right now, I believe. Um and we're working to do that replacement. So >> Orange High is just always a constant checking on things and moving them around. Yep. >> Thank you. Thank you. Thank you both for all of this. Great. >> Well, I I need to give credit to uh Shemica Burton. This is her presentation and she did a great job putting it all together. I'm just here presenting it. >> Any other comments or questions? Uh I just have a couple. Um first I just want to recognize that this is not required

097to be done. This is not state legislative, but it is something that our county views as valuable and ensures that the air quality for our teachers, staff, and everybody working in the buildings is good and continuously good. So, I appreciate the superintendent continuing this. Um, also I just wanted to highlight that. I just wanted to highlight that although you recognize the janitorial staff for doing such a wonderful job and they are. I do want to recognize our maintenance staff that are in there making sure our AC's are working even in between when we can't replace them, addressing the leaks and looking at ways to improve. So, thank you to you and all of your staff that keeps our buildings in great shape. Um, and lastly, I just wanted to highlight that I really appreciate the

098detailed report that y'all included and everybody had mentioned the the graphs and the controls and seeing how things are being measured and the increased sample sets to look at that continuous improvement element of how we can continuously ensure we're not just taking a sample and saying good, but looking across the full building. and you can definitely see that in the charts on the consistencies of it. So, thank you and uh we really appreciate all the hard work y'all are doing. >> You're welcome. >> All right. >> Next, um we're going to have the equity task force join us at the table. Good evening. Chair Athetherton, Vice Chair Padilla, Dr. Jones, Orange County Schools community members. We are excited to meet again here for our annual convening of our um equity task force round table. We

099have a select group of our equity task force members present here today. I am Kamar Sathy. I'm the district equity facilitator for Orange County Schools. Dr. Laneir could not join us today. Um but we are going to press on with this conversation. And I just I have to say before we start, there are um just listening to this board meeting today, there are so many wonderful things happening in Orange County schools and it's it's just great to continue to hear about those um and we appreciate your support of all of that. So, let's actually go ahead and get started by having equity task force members introduce themselves and just a reminder um because I'm going to forget as well to turn your mic on and it's not a push to hold, it's just a push

100to start. >> Good evening everyone. I'm Dr. Jessica Dreer, the director of student engagement and support services for Orange County Schools. Good evening. Happy Monday. My name is Toba Haristen. I serve as executive director for Boomerang Youth. >> Hi everybody. My name is Jayla Davis and I am the communication specialist for Orange County Schools. >> Good evening everyone. My name is Sandra Blefco. I'm the family engagement coordinator and the lead of the family lessons. >> Hi y'all. My name is Gion Chamblas and you may know me in a former position, but I am here as a community member. >> Hi everyone, my name is Spring Dawson Mccclure. I'm here as a parent and a member of the task force. >> All right, so we can begin with our next slide. So what you see here

101is just the overview of our current strategic plan that is set to sunset this year. We can move on to the next slide. Going into priority one uh which is part of the work that we are doing and the next slide please. Priority four which was the primary focus of our conversations as we were doing um our rewrite. We can move on to the next slide. So, the overall purpose of the equity task force. Next slide, please. We're going to start off uh with the definition. And I I have that up there for you all to read. I don't I don't need to read that out to you. I will point out um there are a couple of characteristics of this definition that really guide our work. Um and it is the focus on all

102students having what they need um to be successful. You can move on to the next slide. The definition continues with um certain calls to make sure that we're countering biased behaviors and unfair policies and practices that are occurring throughout the district. Next slide, please. So, we make our decisions in the equity task force and in the work that we're doing through three lenses. And this may look familiar to you as it is a slide uh a variation of a slide that Dr. Wiler presented at a board equity retreat last year. Um I just turned it into a fancy graphic. Um so we do our work by um looking at the problems that we're facing and the challenges that we're seeing in the district through an equity lens, through a community lens, and through a data

103lens. And that is described there on screen. Next slide, please. That is a lot smaller than I expected it to see. Um all right. So our core values drive the work that we are doing here and it really starts with ensuring that all students have access to the the education that they deserve, the high quality education that they deserve. The culture of belonging is a major component of the work that we do and uh ensuring that we're identifying and addressing those academic disparities. As discussed earlier, the family and community engagement events that we are doing um and that we've done this year have been phenomenal. We continue to look at feedback about those events and figure out what we can do to really strengthen them and get more families to attend those event. We've been

104really excited about the progress from those events. Next slide, please. Initiatives for the year. Next slide. So, we start off our equity task force meetings at the beginning of the year reviewing our state accountability data results. And we do that to set the stage for the work that we're doing. the data, the accountability data um really helps our equity task force members understand the metrics that are used to determine the evidence of highquality teaching and learning that's occurring. We spent a good portion of our time really looking at um pillar two and it does say rewrite up there. It's really a write um because we were writing pillar two, but I think the mistake um and the typo there of rewrite really speaks to the nature of the work that we've done. We have gone

105back to the drawing board over and over again with multiple iterations using feedback from community members, from students, from equity task force members that um to me and to us it feels like a rewrite even though you know publicly it is a right of this plan. Um so as I mentioned we did um get the feedback from teachers and administrators from community members from students and I'll speak more on that in a second. um and from equity task force members that are present and those who are not present uh here today um so they could share in their feedbacks um their feedback digitally through um through conversations that we're having by email and through Google Docs and also um in person as we were going through the actual plan and really asking questions. We we

106looked at every single word and every single phrase and made sure that it was it was there on purpose. It was intentional. um it it um it actually added strength to the plan and there was you know there was a meaningful purpose behind every single word and phrase that was there. So that last bullet um is really important. So one of the things that we did uh Dr. Lir and I went into Orange High School in Cedar Ridge High School and had some student roundts with students. the logistics of figuring out how to have students attend our equity task force meetings, you know, off-site um later in the evenings. It was it was a little tricky and we really thought about the best way to make sure that we got their input um in a

107meaningful comfortable um space for them and that really meant going to them. So, we went to them. We spoke to administrators and made sure that we were seeing students from a variety of backgrounds um who had a variety of experiences and had a lot to share about Orange County schools and their experience in our schools. when we started to ask them questions about um about discipline, about the strategic plan, about um the things that we work on in the equity task force and the equity initiatives that we do. We didn't quite know what to expect as we were as we were two people that, you know, they may have seen us in the hallways from time to time. Um, but otherwise, you know, the relationship, the connection isn't there enough to be like, tell us

108what we need to work on as a district when it comes to discipline. It did not take them very long to open up to us about what they want to see changed. Um, they gave us such powerful feedback. I was furiously taking notes um and constantly asking I need you to repeat that again. That was that was incredible. We need to hear that. Um they gave us quite a bit of feedback about um training regarding the the code of student conduct and how they um they would just really like to know more and to hear more about that and hear more information about that. We made it clear that this document is is not just a a reactive document for when a student gets in trouble. it is it is there to protect you um

109as students if you know what it is that could get you in trouble. Um it is important to know that ahead of time so that you don't get in trouble. So they actually started really pouring in asking questions like okay what if what if this happened and what if this happens. So um they want to have these conversations and Dr. Dr. Lener and I have had conversations about how it's important for us um you know to continue to relay that information to administrators because um this is an educational opportunity. Students want to have these conversations. It will prevent discipline issues for them to know fully what it is that could get them um into trouble. Um they also spoke to us quite a bit about fairness. Um, and you know, we had we had students

110just be completely honest with us, which was it was really powerful to hear, but um, you know, students shared that some of them feel like they're the kinds of students who they can walk through our buildings um, and try to get in trouble and they won't get in trouble. Um, whereas they can see some of their peers getting in trouble more frequently. Um, and the students who were saying this were the ones that were saying it's unfair. the ones who feel like they're able to move through a particular lesson and kind of get away with certain things or not get, you know, pointed out for um for doing something that they're not supposed to do. They're the ones saying that that was unfair. So, they were really calling on us to do better about that

111and to make sure that we are providing the kind of training for administrators to um balance our discipline in a really fair and equitable manner. I could go on and on, but the feedback was was absolutely incredible. And um please know that it is not a one-time event. Um it it filled our cups to hear from from them and it guides our work. It's important. Um this is this is an absolute must that we we need to do in order to keep continuing this work forward to hear from students. So we plan on doing this more often. Next slide please. So before we go into next steps, we do have um you can move on to the next slide. Um, we do have some Yeah, that's right. We do have some equity task force members

112that uh would like to share some comments about uh the process this year. So, go ahead. >> Thanks, Mr. Sathy. I'll be quick. I'm really grateful that we still have an equity task force in our district. I'm really grateful that we have an equity policy that folks worked really hard to bring about 10, 12 years ago. And it's honestly like it feels like a real privilege and an honor to be part of the task force to be sitting around the table to be able to engage in that kind of iterating in the Google doc to be able to ask really candid questions to look at data from the listening sessions together to look at how y'all synthesize that and then like really dig into the specific quotes and examples. The main thing that I want

113to say is gratitude and one piece of feedback. I would so love for more parents to be involved in this process. I would love to keep thinking creatively together about how to make it actually accessible for a much bigger swath of parents in our district to be part of it. I actually learned incidentally from another parent last year who couldn't go to a meeting and she asked me if I could go. I'm busy. I I do miss emails for sure, but I just want us to think a lot more about how to get the invitation out there consistently, often in multiple ways. And um I know y'all think a ton about parent and community engagement, and I don't think it's simple at all. Um but I would love to see us take that on as

114a topic um in future equity task force meetings. And one specific example I want to mention because two different parents brought this to me separately in recent months. The board policy that exclude or that requires a background check for committees that meet outside of the classroom offsite not around children keeps some parents who would want to participate from being on the equity task force. And I think it's worth taking another look at that. I think it's worth coming back around to it now. Maybe the context in which that was passed doesn't apply anymore or maybe y'all would think about it differently now for the equity task force and other opportunities for parents to be engaged with zero risk to children. Hope that made sense. I'll leave it there. Thank you and thank you for sharing

115that. Um, I will say what has excited me first about this task force. Well, first of all, like you said, that equity still exists in this day and age, and I can't help but get emotional about it when equity and addressing disparities is literally on the chopping block everywhere. Orange County Schools has woven equity into every pillar and that's as it should be. And the focus of this task force being youth and community centered, I have to say thank you to the staff for ensuring that those parties are all engaged. Um, I'm excited that this is not just a oneandone, that this is an ongoing process because once you have a strategic plan, next comes accountability and that was also discussed. And so I know that this work will continue to be discussed to make

116sure as things are identified, you know, perhaps as you have seen with the students, pivots need to be made. And I am encouraged by the fact that this task force is open to that and willing to stay on top and engaging every party. So thank you Uh I am excited to be part of the equity task force. Uh I have been part of the equity task force since it started since the very beginning and I have seen the transformation and I have seen uh the work of uh different leaderships and uh now um especially with this planning or the new strategic plan and how we're taking into consideration I you know the voices of our community, our families, our teachers teachers, our students, and um I think is um is is I'm happy to be

117here and and be part of this change and um I completely agree with uh um all of their comments that uh we need to invite more families to be part of our team. Um I think uh it it can um have more positive changes uh for our district. Thank you. So, as executive director of Boomerang Youth, we are uh for those of you who may not be familiar with our organization, we are a small nonprofit and we partner with Orange County Schools to provide alternative to suspension programming as well as some as well as proactive social emotional learning in school for middle school students. I am here to offer uh my perspective from that position in partnership with this district. It has been joyous. It has been refreshing and incredibly encouraging to have a school

118district who centers the very special student population with which we work. Um, I like to tell folks my first big girl job out of undergrad was as a student coordinator for an alternative to suspension program. And navigating those partnerships with school districts can be precarious because you kind of sort of solve an issue for them, but if they give you too much visibility, then it looks like this is a bigger challenge or situation for the community and district than it could be. Um, I will say that uh in my experience with Boomerang under Dr. Jose's leadership and administration. It has been an incredibly warm welcome, but also opportunities to realize real change. Um, that commitment to equity I have seen well before this first draft of the strategic plan. But in our first conversations as

119we talk about how do we improve the referral process? How do we look at our programming to make sure that we are doing everything we can to reduce barriers so that the students who need a safe space in those moments of disconnection can have that opportunity to build those skills, think about their core values and return back to school with a smarter toolkit in terms of how they resolve conflicts, how they manage stress, and how they emotionally emotionally regulate from moment to moment so that they can avoid those conflicts which net time out of school. Um, this is not just a draft on paper, ink on a page. This is real life actions. These are very real and honest conversations that I have had with Dr. Jones and members of her cabinet. Dr. Dreer has

120been oh, a trusted partner in this work for many, many years. And it feels good as a nonprofit when the landscape for us looks so unsure, very scary. Um it is beautiful and really reassuring to have a district partner who understands the impact of our mission and holds out their hand in partnership and says we've got space for you. Um come in and let's work together. So on behalf of Boomerang and the over 80 families that we have touched this fiscal year, I just want to say thank you for creating that space and I am so excited about what's to come. Thank you for those perspectives and that feedback. I'm very proud of the work that we are doing in the equity task force. So, moving on to our next steps. We are um we're

121committed to continuing this work and the support for pillar 2, specifically around aligning our community resources um with our community collaborations and community agencies, our continued student mental health support, work around chronic reducing chronic absenteeism, continued opportunities for receiving and acting upon student voice as I mentioned earlier, and ongoing feedback and discourse regarding student discipline in the continued effort to decrease the number of out of school suspensions. Next slide, please. >> And we'll open this up to questions from board members. >> And before we have questions, I just wanted to um say thank you to every member of the equity task force and staff that um facilitate these conversations. uh not only I don't know if you knew you were going to have to do this this year but like really focusing on the feedback

122that um is revolved around your pillar right the things that are important to you but we also gave you an additional task of looking at the entire plan right that is based in equity and improving communication that two-way communication and making sure that it makes sense throughout and that you can see that um in every space, in every word, in every graphic. And so I just wanted to just appreciate you for the time that you took to do that because I know that we have taken time to do that. And I know how much time that has taken, but to be able to go back and forth and it is a right, but to your point, Mr. Sathy, it is much of a rewrite because of how many times you went back and forth to

123have the authentic conversation and really just grateful. I want to point out that the conversations with students were separate from the conversations we had with the strategic plan initially. we went out as staff and I attended those conversations with each um at each school and we did those especially you know at the high school that was our starting point but after that and once they received some of the feedback um Mr. Sathy and Dr. Luner went out again to the schools to get additional feedback to support their pillar and to make sure that they're able to hear the voices of students throughout the plan as well. I mean that's what we're here to do. That's what we're here for to um ensure that we create an environment where there are no barriers where every student

124has an opportunity if they want to do uh the governor's apply and be accepted to the governor school where every student can and envision um being an architect or engineer through the programming that we offer. And so, uh, not limit that just because you're, you know, of a program or you're a friend of a friend shows you, but how do we open up access to all students? And so, I just thank you for all all all that you've done to um ensure that that is truly woven throughout the plan and to continue to hold us accountable in doing that. So, thank you. And and now if we have board members with questions, please. So before we get to board member questions, I just want to point out that policy has been changed. There's no background

125requirement for that. It's been I don't know several months months February. I was looking I couldn't find it. So but anyway, sorry. Uh board member comments. >> Go ahead, K. >> I just want to say thank you to everyone. >> I just want to say thank you to everyone for your collaboration. I know it's a lot of time. I know it's it's it's late. I really appreciate hearing from all the different um voices and all the different um community um members and um I love I love the boomerang collaboration and that is such an important part and so many things are weaving together. Um, and I'm thinking about it as looking at your presentation, everybody. Um, thinking about all we've done to increase student mental health opportunities and supports and um the the different um

126angles and ways to support students who are experiencing some discipline issues. I mean, all all these things are interconnected and interwoven. And so it was really good to hear everyone's um what you see working well and that you each highlighted um an area of where um more focus continues to be needed. So I I just really appreciate your time and all your brainstorming and collaboration. >> I just want to say how much I appreciate you including the students. You all know me. you know what I've done and they are a huge part of this and they can not only can help with what they need but they can help with the mental health pieces and and everything. And so I just really applaud you for um bringing them in. And I know I sound like

127I'm in the bottom of the barrel, but thank you all very much for your work. I think you've done a great job and um it is greatly appreciated. So thank you. uh Wendy and then >> thank you. Thank you everyone for being here and spending time um and u pushing to continue to have equity as much as we can. Um I am curious uh it was mentioned that many students spoke to to you and Dr. lineer like I'm excited to hear the stories like how many students and how many times did you go to school to be able to get all that information from students? So, we actually um given the timing and to make sure that the feedback was was put into this actual um writing of the plan, we went to uh both

128schools once and um we met I don't have the number just off the top of my head, but the first group was at least 15 students and the second group was about about the same. Um and yeah, I mean there there were students that we we just couldn't we couldn't hear from because there were so many that had things to share. Um, you know, to be to be perfectly honest, like I taught elementary and I taught middle school, but I honestly after hearing that feedback and how much they were willing to like hold us accountable. Um, it made me realize like if I just did one year of teaching high school, they would have like transformed my teaching practice because they were being completely honest about what they needed to see change. So, it it

129is it is absolutely going to continue because it was such valuable feedback. >> Yeah. as I look at you, I sit there and go, "What a powerful group of people." And the thing I'm sure of is you're not afraid of us and you're not afraid to tell us what we need to hear. And that's really important. Um, I have two questions. One is a micro question and one's a macro question. I'll start with the macro question. It builds on what Dr. Jones was saying. It would be helpful for us to really understand the barriers to families get learning about the programs that are available to their kids. And these are everything from um getting into engineering school at state, you know, and and understanding the classes that they need to take in eighth grade and

130ninth grade to get there because too many kids are ending up graduating and they're they don't have the school the classes that they need to get get in. um um AP, CTE, all these things that we talk about. How do we create excellence for kids? Um I I would be lying if I wasn't like crazy impressed with what we're doing with mental health. It's truly incredible. Um, and I'm so happy that Boomer, you know, it's funny because Miss Haristston, I swear I think you're here to work yourself out of a job because, right, because you're trying to reduce the number of people that go into your program. That's pretty amazing. So, so it' really be helpful to us to understand how do we get because sometimes it you know I think we need to go

131to them you know how do we what where do we have to show up and we as where do we have to show up for people to know how to do the best how to get the most that they can from us. Um, the other thing is a really micro question and that's restorative justice and and I don't know if you heard this from the kids. What I'm hearing from parents is that you know and I to me restorative justice starts with a simple I'm sorry. That's like the essence of restorative. Maybe I'm simplifying it, but but that if there's an incident, you know, the students involved with the incident might not find out what happened to the person who who offended their kid or or create a problem for their kid. So, what what

132are we doing with this restorative justice? And and is that real? and um you know is that you know privacy made that not I just don't know what's you know what is going on with that because it seemed like something we're really trying to do. >> Okay. So um yes restorative justice restorative practices are real. We provide um training at the beginning of the school year throughout the school year. I believe Boomerang has provided and assisted us with training staff. Um uh when we report out um to the board twice a year, once in January, I think at the end in June, you'll see restored activity that is uh can be um a mediation between two students. Um however that needs to look depending on the situation. So we have trained staff in every school

133that that do that. So yes, it is um 100% real. Now um we we cannot disclose a punishment of another child to a to anyone else. Um FURPA prevents us from doing that. And so um I'm not sure if that answers your question around that, but we're not allowed to do that. So I think the the point of the restorative piece is how do we repair the relationship? It's not about what punishment did you get, what punishment did I get, does it match for whatever reason. It is. And in most cases, it's usually a miscommunication between the students where once you sit them down together, you're able to repair that relationship and they no longer have an issue or uh we just need to not have a relationship, right? And they can come to terms

134with that. And so just being trained to understand whatever the situation is in front of the adult that they help them to work through it. But um but no, if anyone is asking for what another student received as a punishment, if they are not their parent or guard guardian, we are not allowed to provide that and we will not. Sarah. >> Um, yes. Thank you all so much for joining us tonight and for all of your work on the equity task force. Um, I just wanted to pick up on like a couple of themes of what you said that resonated with me. Um, I guess starting with like sort of what's next and where are we going to focus in the future? Like this set of things makes a lot of sense to me. Like

135it when we can tackle things like student mental health, chronic absenteeism, disperate discipline, um, experiences, um, like that's going to like help so many more children be able to be successful in school. Um, and I really appreciate and I'm excited that we're going to be doing more um, listening from students about what's working and what um, you know, what they need um, and how they experience school. I think that's all very powerful. Um, and I you all saw many of the comments in the strategic plan feedback and pillar 2 was like the one that I was assigned to I think. I don't know. I feel like I read a lot of comments about these kinds of things. Um, and so you know that this communication piece that you brought up like how do we um

136help families understand and navigate and like um be engaged like that that's such a huge piece of it. spring you brought up like how do we make this like the task force more accessible to more parents and um and I really think there's opportunity as we think about for the district how we like what families need and how we communicate with families that there's sort of a parallel to the like student voices piece of like really just talking to people you know just like talking to figuring out some way um I guess this is sort of a hope for for the the committee you know is this idea about making it more accessible and sort of like exploring how do you do that How do we figure out how to like get around a table

137with some uh families who are not the ones to show up to things and like figure out kind of what they need and what they want that to look like? Um I I just would love um some thinking about that. I think that I think that could really help us figure out this like communication and engagement question. Thank you all for being here tonight. It's really great to to see all of y'all. Um I just wanted to to highlight a couple of things that come to mind on the evolution of the equity task force and um uh Mr. Sathy and Dr. Dreer, you know, we have gone through multiple iterations of our code of conduct because we didn't have it right. And I love the fact that we continuous to look at data and say

138we need to make changes. We need to make this clear looking at the data at the schools. Is it being done consistently? Not consistently and us having those conversations and the board's willingness to listen and try new things that may not be obvious. So, thank you for that historic work and getting us to continuous to improve that. Um, Boomerang definitely has been very key in our progress uh way back when y'all were in Chapel Hill to the old Walmart to now, you know, across from Standback. and you know really appreciate the open houses y'all have to reach out to others and let them see the process of how y'all intake students and listen to what they're concerned with before you know bringing them into the program. I think that's one of the things that makes

139it so successful and accessible. Um I also um you know I'm very interested in getting more student voices you know including partnership as well and EC students and those voices. Um and you know as we were talking and some of the wonderful work that's been done with strategic plan you know I'm wondering or curiosity I had is we do so many events and we have tables. I wonder if we should have an equity table there at some of these events to have people come up and, you know, have curiosity. Oh, how do I get involved? When do you meet? How can I give you feedback even if you're not a member in there? And I think those tables would be valuable even with our, you know, like um some of the student events we have,

140you know, having them be able to come up and say, "Hey, we want to hear your voices." you know, because what I've learned on the board, there's no perfect solution to getting engagement. We have to keep trying different things and reaching out and meeting them where they are. And I think it's uh you know an acknowledgement you'll have and the items and I'm very excited to see you know chronic absenteeism because no matter how strong our core is if we're not the students are not able to be there for any number of reasons we've got to figure out how to remove that barrier and I'm excited to hear what things you have. Um, but on behalf of the board, thank you for all your work, your honesty, and really appreciate y'all being at the table

141with us. Uh, especially as everybody mentioned, so late at night, but we thank you for all of your hard work y'all are bringing to us. Thank y'all. Yeah, I realized That's your waste. This is on. I need to turn that off. >> What now? testing. Testing. Okay. Sorry. All right. Ready? All right. Uh once again, good evening, Chair Athetherton, Vice Chair Padilla, board members, Dr. Jones, community members still remaining in the room, and those of you online. Uh, Miss Mariah Morris, uh, director of strategic initiatives, and I are here to present the draft of the Orange County Schools 2026 2031 strategic plan entitled Engage Orange, Building Foundations, Inspiring Futures. The name of this plan was selected by the priority focus workg group that was composed of internal and external stakeholders. throughout our presentation tonight as

142well as throughout the actual draft that you have. Uh we hope that you will see how the development of this plan focused on engaging our community around the priorities and aspirations for our students and how we will continue to engage with folks to ensure student success through the duration of the plan. Tonight's presentation will provide an overview of the development of the new strategic plan. We'll take some time to talk about the organization of the new plan and the major components and then provide an overview of next steps. From the beginning of this process, we were clear that we wanted to ensure an inclusive process that would promote a shared understanding and ownership of the new strategic plan. Last fall, we launched the strategic planning process and we shared our plan to develop the plan

143um and this visual with you to engage, challenge, and inspire our entire community in this process. So, let's take a deep dive into each one of those pieces. So, first let's look at the engage phase of the process. Throughout the process, we engaged with our stakeholders to hear what mattered most. We conducted a community survey that received over 600 responses. Our superintendent and team met with students from each school. We conducted community and neighborhood listening sessions to hear from our parents and community members. And priority focus groups met to work with the feedback we received. There's the numbers of all the places and all the times. This draft is a culmination of many touch points and opportunities for our community to engage in the process. As you've heard already several times tonight, student input was

144integral in the creation of this plan. At each school, we asked students to tell us about their educational experiences, including how schools supported their future goals, what made them feel seen and included in the school, what keeps them engaged, and what teachers do that matter most to them. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank our students for their thoughtfulness and their engagement in this process. Your feedback made a tremendous impact on this plan. The community convenings and neighborhood listening sessions provided opportunity opportunities for us to hear directly from our community. We asked and then we listened. One thing was very clear. Our community cares about the future of our students. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank our community for taking the time to come and talk with us at these convenings. Your

145input matters. Finally, the priority area focus groups met to analyze the feedback uh we received and identify the highest priority for Orange County schools as we navigate the future. The priority area focus group brought together internal and external stakeholders, including each of you. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you and our priority focus area groups. They had the tough task of taking all of that data and uh from the surveys, the convening and the students and identifying those big rocks that rose out of the data. Some of those big rocks were that our community values strong foundations for our students, that they value that our students have access to future ready pathways and they understand how that's going to impact their future. that our students should be involved in engaging and rigorous experiences

146in and outside of the classroom, that they should have access to highquality staff, and that they should feel support not only academically, but in all areas of their life, and then finally, that there should be good engagement and communication both with our students, families, and our community. So let's take a look at the we challenge phase of the process where we challenged ourselves to write a communitydriven plan. So how did this draft come to be? So first this is the recipe. We took all of the feedback and organized it and consolidated it into major work areas and overarching ideas that arose in the data. So you can see the kind of a snippet of one of those uh documents. The priority focus work group then read that feedback and identified trends that emerged first individually

147and then as a group. You can see on the right a picture of this work in action, excuse me, in action with grouped individual trends on the sticky notes that were then collectively identified and named by the group. District staff then took these trends and aligned the current work and identified where work needed to be either discontinued, shifted or changed somewhat or kept um continued based on the available data sources. The trends then went back to the priority focus workg group to determine the most important themes based on all of the information that we've had thus far. These overarching themes became the components of the new plan, primarily the pillars and the focus areas that you'll learn more about in just a moment. Finally, an internal work team made up of cross departmental members worked

148together to further flesh out the actions and performance indicators to create the draft you have tonight. This plan was not authored by one individual, but instead it's the work of the collective voice of our community, staff, and students. At this time, I'm going to turn it over to Mariah Morris, the director of strategic initiatives, who will walk us through the next part of the presentation. Good evening. And boy, I mean evening, right? It's been a whole day. So, at this point, we're going to transition to reviewing the draft of Engage Orange and highlighting several of its key components. The full draft of the plan is online through the board materials and assembly. During this presentation, we'll provide an overview of the plan and discuss several key elements in detail. As Dr. PAC mentioned, the priority

149area focus groups were an integral part of the development of Engage Orange. This group included community members, parents, teachers, principles, district leaders, and board members. Throughout the process, they provided structured feedback on the direction of the plan, including the naming of the plan itself. At our most recent meeting, the group voted to adopt the title Engage Orange: Building Foundations, Inspiring Futures. The name engage Orange carries a dual meaning. First, it reflects the intentional and authentic engagement that has guided the process with stakeholders throughout this whole process. Second, it reflects our collective commitment to ensuring every member of the Orange County Schools community remains fully engaged in our vision and mission over the next five years. We envision a district where all students are engaged in high quality learning each and every day. Families are engaged

150in their children's educational experiences and teachers and staff are engaged in meaningful purpose-driven work on behalf of our students. The phrase building foundations reflects the strong feedback we heard from the community about the importance of ensuring students develop solid academic and social emotional foundations that prepare them for their hopes, dreams, and future opportunities. Early literacy and numeracy are essential and are prominently represented in this plan. At the same time, our community made it clear that foundational skills are important, but not alone uh not enough alone. Inspiring futures speaks to our shared commitment to preparing students to thrive in a rapidly evolving world. Our community values learning experience, opportunities, and pathways that align with our students interests, aspirations, and future goals, ensuring that every graduate is able to walk across our stage and experience success in

151whatever path they choose. The logo you see here centers on community as the driving force behind the plan. Five figures rendered in the pillar colors rise together from a shared set of pillars. Their arms raised and connected through a constellation of dots that radiates upward and outward. The columns ground the composition in the plan's fourpillar structure while the figures above communicate with those pillars to um comm communicate what those pillars exist to serve the people. The dot pattern ties back to the community engagement process that shaped the plan. Many individual voices coming together to build something unified. The overall composition moves upward reflecting the aspirational energy of building foundations inspiring futures. At the beginning of the plan, you will notice the inclusion of the Orange County School's portrait of a graduate. Before identifying focus areas

152or strategies, we want to take a step back and ask a simple but critical question. What do we want to be true for every student who walks across the stage at graduation? What emerged was feedback gathered through a wide range of listening sessions. Across these conversations, one message was clear. Mastering academic standards alone is not enough. Our students also need opportunities to develop durable mindsets and transferable skills that will prepare them to navigate an increasingly complex and changing world. It is it is from these skills that we developed the Orange County Schools portrait of a graduate which is closely aligned with the North Carolina public instruction portrait of a graduate that and represents our commitment to preparing students not only for academic success but also success in college careers and life beyond Orange County schools.

153These skills include being an innovative problem solver, an effective communicator and collaborator, and a future ready critical thinker among others. So, how are we going to do that? It's through what we are calling the Orange County Schools experience. The Orange County Schools experience is a promise of what every student will experience consistently in Orange County schools. It reflects our commitment to creating learning environments where students are actively engaged in meaningful learning experiences, where learning is relevant and connected to their future goals, and learning is empowering, equipping students with the knowledge, skills, and confidence they need to thrive after graduation. Everything that follows in this plan, the pillars, the focus areas, the performance indicators are all designed to bring this vision to life. Y'all excited? Good. Just testing, you know, 9:35. So, now we're going to

154read the whole plan in totality. Just kidding. Now, we're going to briefly discuss the organization of Engage Orange. The structure of this plan represents an important shift in approach from pre previous strategic plans. Rather than centering the work around isolated goals or disconnected priorities, engage Orange is organized around a set of aligned pillars designed to work together in support of a shared vision for our district. Just as pillars support the distribution of weight across a strong foundation, the four pillars of Engage Orange work together to uphold our district's commitment to excellence, equity, and continuous improvement. Each pillar represents a broad long-term priority area that reflects a major commitment within the strategic plan. Then within each pillar, you'll find focus areas, performance indicators, and actions. The focus areas identify the specific components that we will concentrate

155on over the next five years to drive meaningful progress. Performance indicators are the measurable outcomes that we will use to monitor growth and determine whether our efforts are leading to improved results. And finally, the actions outline the key strategies, initiatives, and next steps the district will implement to strengthen performance within each focus area. This shift from isolated goals to aligned pillars reflects our commitment to moving beyond siloed work and toward collective ownership across departments and throughout the district. It also reflects a deeper commitment to a continuous improvement model, one that prioritizes collaboration, reflection, and long-term growth. As we mentioned, the plan is organized around four core pillars. Each pillar is grounded in two unifying concepts or components, equity and communication. Equity serves as of the foundation of each pillar because it will serve as the

156foundation of all decisionmaking and it represents the lens through which we evaluate priorities, allocate resources and ultimately shape policy. Communication is the bridge that connects our schools, our families, and our broader community. Throughout Engage Orange, each pillar intentionally embeds opportunities for meaningful two-way dialogue, ensuring that families and stakeholders are not only informed but engaged as partners in our work. Engage Orange is grounded in a shared commitment to achieving excellence across these four pillars. Pillar one focuses on preparing students for life after graduation. Pillar two focuses on engaging the whole student in safe and supportive learning environments. Pillar three focuses on cultivating, supporting, and retaining excellent staff in service to our larger vision and mission. And pillar four focuses on maximizing operational excellence in order um in support of our student success. We will now be

157doing a deeper dive into each pillar. Um, actually that's in a moment. Before we do that, we want to talk a little bit about how we will measure progress and communicate results. Engage Orange is designed with a deliberate approach to monitoring implementation and evaluating impact across the district. There are some shifts in our approach to measuring and we want to share a little bit about the why behind the shift. In education, we often optimize for metrics that are easy to measure simply because that data is available, not necessarily because it's the most valuable. There is no inherent correlation between how easy something is to measure and how important it is. We have pushed our teams to get more creative in measuring these harder to quantify metrics. Engage Orange is grounded in a cycle of continuous

158improvement within each pillar. Lasting improvement does not happen through isolated initiatives or one-time benchmarks. It happens through an ongoing process of collaboration, reflection, analysis, and action. The continuous improvement model provides a structured framework for making measurable incremental progress over time while allowing the district to main responsive to emerging needs and opportunities within each pillar. District teams will regularly monitor performance indicators connected to the identified focus areas. These indicators provide measurable evidence and help ensure that the work remains aligned to the outcomes outlined in the plan. Importantly, this approach strengthens accountability. Teams will consistently track progress on key performance indicators and provide updates to the board of education and community. This creates transparency, shared ownership, and a clear understanding of both success and areas where adjustments may be needed. At the end of the 2526 school

159year, we will be working to create baselines that we will numerically report to the board by shifting our accountability focus from a static one-time goal to the continuous improvement model. Our aim is to position engage orange as a living framework that actively guides decision making and district improvement. Engage Orange's accountability framework also includes formal performance indicators anchored in a defined set of outcomes identified as the best in North Carolina metrics. These metrics represent clear, measurable district-wide targets that will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of our continuous improvement efforts and hold ourselves accountable for achieving outcomes that prepare every student for success after graduation. The best in North Carolina metrics are intentionally aligned with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction strategic plan, ensuring our work remains connected to statewide indicators of student success and

160district performance. Importantly, each met metric is grounded in state monitored data and measured through established state accountability systems providing transparent, objective, and consistent prog uh measures of progress over time. On page 10 of Engage Orange, you will find the specific district targets established for the completion of the plan in 2031. To ensure ongoing accountability, the district will establish annual benchmarks and publicly monitor progress towards these long-term goals each year. This process allows us to celebrate growth, identify areas requiring additional support, and remain focused on achieving the outcomes outlined in the plan. Now, we will do a deeper dive into each of the four pillars. Pillar one, prepare students for life after graduation is truly the heart of Engage Orange because it reflects the core question driving the entire plan. What knowledge, skills, and experiences do

161our students need to thrive after they leave Orange County Schools. This pillar is grounded in the shared belief that success after graduation requires more than mastering academic standards alone. Our students must graduate prepared to think critically, communicate effectively, solve complex problems, and collaborate with each other. At the same time, we know these future ready skills can only be built on a strong academic foundation. That is why this pillar begins with a strong focus on foundational literacy and mathematics. We are committing to expanding evidence-based literacy practices, strengthening foundational math instruction, and ensure students receive timely interventions and support when gaps exist. Early learning and explicit instruction matter, and this plan clearly reflects that. At the same time, this pillar recognizes that students deserve engaging, rigorous, and meaningful learning experiences throughout their educational journey. Through highquality instruction,

162effective professional learning, strong PLC collaboration, and the implementation of systems like MTSS, we are creating conditions where every student can succeed academically, socially, and emotionally. This pillar also reflects a commitment to expanding access to future ready opportunities for all students, whether through advanced placement, career and technical education, career and college promise, IB, career exploit exploration, or credentiing experiences. We want every student to graduate with a clear pathway forward and experiences connected to their interests and goals. Pillar two, engage the whole student in safe and supportive learning environments, reflects a foundation, a fundamental belief of engage orange. Students cannot fully engage in learning unless they feel seen, supported, and valued in their school communities. This pillar recognizes that educational excellence and student well-being are deeply connected. When students experience strong relationships and supportive environments, they are

163more likely to attend school consistently, engage in learning, and succeed academically and personally. At the center of this pillar is the commitment to supporting the whole student. That means recognizing and responding to students academic, social, emotional, and physical needs through coordinated systems of support. We are continuing to support social emotional learning, expanding youth mental health first aid training, and continuing to provide researchbased practices to support the whole child. Pillar three, cultivate, support, and retain excellent staff, reflects a core understanding that the success of Orange County schools is directly tied to the success of the people who serve our children each and every day. If we want strong outcomes for students, we must ensure we have a strong and supported workforce. This pillar is grounded in a clear commitment to continue our efforts to build and

164sustain an excellent workforce where all staff feel supported and empowered to grow professionally. It recognizes that recruitment is only the beginning. Our long-term success depends on how well we develop, support, and retain the talented educators and staff already in our system. At the front end of this pillar, we focus on continuing and expanding recruitment efforts. Um, and then we recognize that attracting talent is not enough. This pillar places equal emphasis on retention. We are committed to creating positive, supportive, and accountable working environments where staff can collaborate and grow. Ultimately, pillar three though is about more than just staffing. It is about supporting a professional culture where educators and staff are developed, valued, and retained so they can do their best work on behalf of our students. When we invest in staff, we strengthen every classroom,

165every school, and every student experience across Orange County schools. Pillar four, maximize operational excellence to support student success, reflects the understanding that high quality instruction and strong student outcomes are only possible when the systems that support our schools are efficient, reliable, and well-coordinated. This pillar focuses on the behind the scenes work that often goes unnoticed, but is essential to in everything that happens in the classroom. Operational excellence ensures that students and staff have what they need, when they need, and where they need so that they can focus on teaching and learning. At its core, this pillar is about creating aligned systems that work together to intentionally support student learning. We are committed to maintaining safe and healthy learning environments through emergency preparedness, clear communication during critical situations, and a secure and reliable technology infrastructure that

166supports instruction and operations across the district. This pillar also emphasizes the importance of safe, efficient, and reliable transportation and school nutrition services. We are focused on improving route efficiency, strengthening communication with families, and ensuring students have access to nutritious, highquality meals that support their readiness to learn each and every day. Finally, this pillar strengthens how we communicate and engage with our community. By improving digital access, streamlining communication systems, and elevating our district through branding and storytelling, we are ensuring families, staff, and stakeholders feel informed, connected, and ultimately engaged. So, for today's purposes, we are going to focus on the structure, intent, and alignment of the plan, but not go into every single individual action. Are y'all okay with that? Or you want to read each one? I'm just kidding. It's not choice. Therefore, we are

167not going to walk through every individual action step within the pillar today, but those details are intentionally included in the draft that is uploaded to assembly if you're following along at home. So included in the actions of each pillar are the specific steps, initiatives and strategies that repres represent the practical work that we as a district will do to achieve focus areas and improve our performance indicators. These action steps were not developed in isolation. They were created through a highly collaborative process with cabinet members leading crossf functional teams across departments to ensure alignment, coherence, and shared ownership of the work. The performance indicators identified in engage orange represent the measurable outcomes that we will use to track progress and determine whether our efforts are leading to improved results over time across each pillar. These indicators

168are not static targets. They are part of a dynamic system of continuous improvement. Work teams across the district will begin by first establishing a baseline for each metric. From there, they will engage in an ongoing cycle of monitoring, reflection, and adjustment using a continuous improvement model to ensure we're making sustained progress. This approach allows us to moves beyond simply reporting data at a single point in time. Instead, we'll be able to see trends, identify areas of growth, and make informed decisions that ultimately improve outcomes. Importantly, progress on these performance indicators will be reported to the board of education and shared with the community. This ensures both transparency and accountability for how the district is advancing toward the goals outlined in engaged orange. We have set performance indicators for 2031 outlined in best of North Carolina

169metrics that are aligned with state reported data. There are 25 additional performance indicators, some of which you are familiar with because you are getting those currently reported to the board. However, there have been some additional indicators added after hearing from our community. Every performance indicator will be reported out to the board in a public with a numeric baseline being created at the end of the 2526 school year. And every year after we will be reporting on the continuously improved outcomes throughout the year at a similar cadence as this past year. You'll be able to see improvement over time. Staff will be able to identify trends and speak to ongoing continuous improvement efforts. In September of every year, we will give an overall status update on the strategic plan, including how we performed the year before

170and where we hope to go the next year. As we close out the overview of Engage Orange, this final video serves as a way to bring everything together. Throughout this presentation, we've walked through the vision of the plan, the portrait of a graduate, the structure of the pillars, and our approach to accountability and continuous improvement. This video connects all of those pieces into a single cohesive picture, showing not just what the plan is, but how it came to life through a deeply collaborative process. As you watch, consider how each component we discuss today fits together to form a unified vision for the next year of Orange County Schools. As we commit to engage Orange together, we are building the roadmap for the future of Orange County Schools. Are you ready to engage Orange? From the

171start, the new OCS strategic plan, the compass that will guide our work for the next 5 years, has been designed as a communitydriven plan to ensure that we continue improving outcomes for the students we serve. We have made every effort to hear the voices at the center of our work in every corner of our community. In September of 2025, we launched a survey that brought in over 600 responses. In the fall, Superintendent Dr. Danielle Jones and senior leaders started a listening tour first with our school administrators and our teachers of the year. Then we opened the door for the whole community to join this important conversation about building our future. Starting with two large convenings at Cedar Ridge and Orange High Schools. We branched out into every corner of our district from Fair View to

172Cedar Grove, Effind to Orange Grove, and held our first session ever that was primarily in Spanish translated to English for those who needed it. Most importantly, this whole time extending into the spring, Dr. Jones and district staff were visiting every single school and listening to the voices of those who will be most impacted by our strategic plan over the next 5 years and more, our students themselves. All this time, we asked the most crucial questions. How do our students, families, and staff experience our schools? How do students know when they've had a great day at school? What are they looking for that helps them feel like they belong and that our schools are helping them set meaningful goals? What are the most important priorities of our wider community for our local public schools? All this

173engagement brought us to the challenge of designing our new strategic plan, engage orange, with many voices helping to build one plan with each and every student at the center. And now we are ready to let all these voices shine through to inspire our students and our schools to reach their maximum potential. We are asking you to join us and engage Orange. Thanks to collaboration throughout our whole community, Orange County Schools is charting the course to a future where every student can build the skills they need to succeed beyond graduation in safe, welcoming, and supportive schools marked by excellent staff and operational systems. The hallmark of our success will be when every student knows right where they are on the path to graduation and success in their next stage of life. With options available in education,

174enlistment, and employment, our schools and our community have so much to gain from seeing this plan succeed. And ultimately, it is our students who are counting on us to make sure we carry this work forward. >> Thank you for helping build. Thank you for helping build. >> Thank you for helping build my future. So at this point we will talk about the the third phase Dr. PAC shared about the we engage and the we challenge and the third phase is the we inspire. So on this next slide, you can see our original timeline that we set forth this past July. We're on track to complete the timeline and meet our internal deadlines. We are now moving into the green phase where we share our draft, provide opportunities for more feedback on the draft, and then

175make revisions before we bring the plan back to the board in June. Beginning tomorrow morning, the draft of the plan will be posted on the OCS strategic plan website for public review. In addition, we'll launch a communitywide feedback survey that will remain open for two weeks from May 19th through June 2nd to gather feedback from stakeholders across Orange County schools. We are committed to ensuring broad awareness and participation by actively sharing the draft and survey with our school communities through email, the district website, and social media channels. This slide highlights the key milestones as we transition from the development of Engage Orange into the full implementation across the district during the 2627 school year. We will bring the revised plan back to the board for consideration and adoption on the June 15th board of education

176meeting. Following board approval, we will begin the administrator launch at our June leadership retreat. This session will bring together principles, assistant principles, and district leaders to ensure a deep understanding of the plan and a strong aligned start to the implementation at both the school and district levels. Finally, in August, we will formally launch Engage Orange with all employees at the Stars of Education conference. This will ensure that every staff member across Orange County schools begins the year with a clear understanding of the visions, priorities, and expectations outlined in Engage Orange. Thank you for your time and your engagement and your ongoing partnership in this work. At this time, we're happy to take any questions or feedback you may have. >> Yes. Um, can we get the a motion to extend for a duration? I'm open

177to suggestions. >> Just because we extend it that long doesn't mean we have to stop. >> Motion to extend for 10 minutes. >> We have a motion and a second to extend the meeting. Uh, any further discussion? All in favor? I >> I >> opposed. We are extended 10 minutes. >> All right. Questions from anyone >> questions or comments? Sarah, >> can I just have a a clarification question? I think we're also we have time at um an upcoming retreat also to ask further questions. Right. So I'm trying to scope like how many questions we should be ask >> the the retreats more focused on the metrics but I'm sure we could cover others so if you have more specific questions here or generic or >> I have like generic reactions >> and let me

178just say the retreat you can ask whatever questions you have so if you don't get to all of them tonight I think that's fine. Um, and I think we've kind of talked through and outlined our view of metrics. So, if you have um you've seen some of them that are set um within the plan and if you have questions regarding the continuous improvement model and what we're proposing there, um, feel free to ask them tonight as well. >> Awesome. I mean, my highle reaction is I'm so excited. I'm so excited about the process that this has gone through which I think was very thoughtful um and even stayed on time like you know I I just think the process was great. I think the product is great. Um I have like more specific questions or

179suggestions or things like that but overall like I just I love the overall um I'm very inspired by the best in North Carolina metrics idea. I find that very inspiring and clear. Um, and I really like many of the elements of this very much. Um, I have a little bit of a question about how a couple of the things at the beginning sort of fit together. So, like the portrait of a graduate, which I think is like um, great. And, um, if I were just like reading this for the first time as somebody who had never heard of a thing like that before, I think I'd be like, what does that mean for my kid? Or, what does that mean for us? like just something a little more um that and the OCS experience. I

180think if we were able to even put in the like eventual plan as sort of like couple of stories or imagine this kind of just something to make it a little bit easier to understand what it means. I think that could be helpful. Um and I'll just I'll we only have 10 minutes so I'll just stop and say there I'm very excited to talk more about it too. Carrie, >> I just want to say I think it's it's been really well done. I think that um like everything from the scope to the um the time the timeline to the intentionality, there's been clarity and intentionality and I think it's all come together really well. And I do want to just shout out the um the sideby-side document of the internal draft that has all those,

181you know, for anyone who's following along and feels like, well, what exactly are those metrics? Um they're in that other document. And so it's really nice to see those side by side. >> Wendy, >> thank you. Great presentation and I'm excited to see it unfold. I know it's been a lot of work. So, thank you. So >> yes. So communication. >> So, as they explained when they were presenting, you have your best in North Carolina metrics that are at the top of the priority. When it comes, you have performance indicators. The performance indicators will create a baseline at the end of this school year and we'll be presenting um the baseline metric and year-over-year improvement for each of the performance indicators that is um based on the continuous improvement model. >> Those are for your

182performance indicators. >> Can we show an example? >> Yeah, we can talk through an example. Sure. >> Here. Oh, grab my phone. >> Yeah, we can we can we can talk through that, but the I think it's important to to speak publicly regarding the um the nature of the plan and the way that it's structured. And so, uh for example, in our pre our current plan, we have um goals around transportation. And that's been one we presented in uh December that uh we had a goal to reach 95% on time arrival in December. We talked about that a little bit and we said that we're at 88% on time arrival. And so if 88% ends up being where we end this school year, hopefully we've done some things um since December. Hopefully maybe we end

183at you know 88.5. We're just going to say 88 for a round number because that's the number that we have. When we get to the fall, we're going to say, "Okay, where where do we want to go with transportation efficiency? It's at 88." I think with all the strategy we're putting in place at the end of the school year, we want to see 89 or 90. We'll share that with the board. If you have feedback to give regarding that, you can share that at that time. But it's about continuously improving over time and showing that. So, we can say we're going to get to 95%. We may or may not make it. I have no issue with determining a number right now for 2031. But the fact is that uh things happen. There are circumstances

184that sometimes are out of our control. And so, we find it to be more meaningful to have ongoing conversations about what's actually happening and where we're going and moving as a district. And so with just taking the example with transportation, we we're not going to get to the 95 this school year. I mean, I can go ahead and tell you that. So what we don't get to the 95, right? We would try again the next five years. I think we really hone in on where we are and focus on making incremental improvement and continuously having those conversations with between staff and the board and our community and what it is we need to see movement moving forward. And so no, you're not going to see us say transportation we're going to get to 95% by

1852031 unless that's what the the board desires. We'll we'll do that if that's the will of the board at but what we're saying is we want to focus on continuously improving year-over-year and provide you the same reporting structure that we've been providing you. So not avoiding any numbers but setting those out there year-over-year to show that we are growing and moving in the right direction. and you may get one where we don't. And then uh we're going to be transparent about that just like we have been around the transportation goal in December. And we're going to share strategies that we're looking to improve and then we're going to be reporting that out to the board and the community and in hopes that we are able to do better and get it right and then report

186that out as well. What I can't >> Yes, every performance indicator is going to have a metric. We're going to establish a baseline. For some, we don't have anything established. So, we're going to establish baseline data, report that out, and incrementally share where we hope to be year-over-year. And then we use that to guide our work throughout the school year and have ongoing, and I'm just going to be honest, just more meaningful conversation around how we're moving and improving as a district. I think um you know in speaking with the district teams and seeing them really truly collaborate with one another um and talk through where their duties intersect and how they work together to move and improve for students was more meaningful than us saying give me what your goal is and tell me

187how you're going to get there. And so we have to continue the same structures that we established in creating this plan over the next five years if we're going to have this be the ideal premier district that we know that it can be. And we're committed to doing that work. And so yes, metrics. No, you're not going to see them by us written out on there. Yeah. >> Yeah. Each performance indicator. Yes. So to your question, I think it's important to point out that um there's not a you know a line that like pillar one focus area one action one indicator that is that is old style and there's not always a through line to that one action that one focus area to that one piece of data. Often the data has multiple lanes. So,

188so you see you you showed up this page, but you'll see that the pillars explained with the focus, I mean with the priority um so I'm sorry with the performance indicators. You see it's past my bedtime. Uh with the performance indicators, those performance indicators give us um a thermostat if you will on how this pillar is doing. We using our best information with the data that we've received that we our current work. We've taken all that and to say this is what we think will move the needle. This is based on our our our input and our professional knowledge around these these subjects and that way this is your dashboard for this pillar. Then all of these performance indicators are your dashboard for the plan. Does that does that help? Okay, >> I know. Sorry.

189>> Motion to extend by five more minutes. >> We have a motion and a second. Any further discussion? All in favor? I I opposed. All right, we've extended five minutes. I'll I'll just add that um Sarah and I have had the pleasure of going through our second one of these and this has shown significant engagement, outreach, and ensuring we could get the most feedback as possible, especially at the school levels, the teachers, the community, all of the outreach. And I just wanted to say thank you. Um, y'all's energy that you have brought to all of these engagements has has been noticed and we appreciate it. And it's just wonderful to see this come together, not only in the presentation, but also in the document to see how these items fit together. And I am, as

190everybody mentioned as well, very excited to see this and to start doing the work to see how we get to the next step. And I I just want to highlight to your point, Dr. Jones, as these metrics come up, I I expect there's going to be dependencies on us. you know, for example, you know, transportation. Um, when I was at u the the living wax museum, I see the lead of the transportation department taking an activity bus to make sure that our bus drivers are available to bring home students at the end of the day. So, I know that everybody's engaged and it may require funding to address some of the issues we have to meet those metrics. So, I appreciate the context of that as well. Um, if there are no other comments, we

191have reached the end of our meeting and it only require >> motion to adjurnn. >> We have a motion. Have a motion. Second. Any further discussion? All in favor? I >> I opposed. >> Meeting is adjourned. Thank you.