001Well, good evening everyone. Thank you for joining us at the regular session of the school board meeting. Um, I would like you all to please join me in the pledge of allegiance. I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Thank you. You may be seated. Uh we will start our meeting uh with our vision and our strategic goals. Um, our vision is posted up on the board on the uh uh monitors. Uh, vision for Avon Community School Corporation is a nationally recognized district of choice that embraces all students and prepares them to grow and thrive for their future. And we summarize that by uh four little words, all belong, learn, and
002grow. And now we'll feature some students, some really smart students from our Oh, Avon Middle School South, uh, that will go over our strategic goals. [Music] In cooperation with our community, we will become a professional learning community, improving student achievement by providing equitable experiences and opportunities for all students. In cooperation with our community, >> we will create systematic and purposeful innovation opportunities to develop critical thinkers. >> In cooperation with our community, >> we will support students well-being, mental wellness, and a whole child. We will be healthy, safe, >> engaged, supported, and challenged. >> Go south. [Music] >> Go south. Uh we will move on to the next item on our agenda which is our favorite part by far. This is our celebrating Orioles and we'll start by celebrating um academic excellence at our own middle
003school south. Dr. Windham. Thank you Mrs. Woodward. Uh so each month at our regular meetings we recognize a different school uh and ask our principles to come and bring some students to be recognized for different ways that they are demonstrating academic excellence. And so Dr. Pio is here with uh some other staff members from Middle School South uh to celebrate some of our students. So Dr. Pio, >> good evening everybody. Thanks for coming to middle school, having been an intermediate and they've just they've done a great job. So, we're excited to celebrate them this evening. Um, and we appreciate the opportunity to get to do it. They've had a strong positive start. They've been on time. They've been following procedures, leading by example. Uh, giving great effort, organization, and time management, which is such a
004huge part of middle school, and figuring all that out. They've stayed positive even when facing challenges like lockers uh at the middle school level. They're asking for help, participating daily, striving to grow, and we are proud of their attitude, leadership, and commitment to growth. So, I'm going to introduce our two team leaders uh for our two teams in sixth grade who are going to introduce the students. And students, when you come up, we're just going to have you line up right here across the front. So, I'll start first. our Cyclones team. >> Um, thank you for the opportunity to celebrate this group of middle school students. We have an amazing We've had an amazing start to our school year and this group of leaders has really stepped up. They have led the charge in this
005transition to from sixth grade to middle school. They have learned and followed expectations including a lot of what Dr. Pio said, as well as wearing their lanyards, um getting to class on time, not having um having their supplies ready and they're ready to learn. They are inspire their other um classmates to do the same. They do all of this with smiles on their faces and smiles that we look forward to seeing every single day. However, it would be remiss of me not to acknowledge the administration's role in this fantastic start. Our administrative team has worked hard to get solid procedures in place to ensure student success and safety. They consistently and graciously remind teachers and students of expectations and encourage us to follow them. They've taken time to collaborate with teachers and get feedback on
006our concerns. They listen to our thoughts and they make decisions that have cultivated a positive environment at South. I will tell you that I had many of the same apprehensions and fears that these students had in their first days. I was worried about finding my way around. South is a huge school with lots of different hallways and I don't know the other half of the school at all yet. Um, I was worried about not doing things the middle school way. I was worried about what would happen when I failed and I'm was 100% sure I would. But all of those feelings were met with kindness and grace and answers so that I would no longer be insecure and I could confidently do my job. It's been a blessing to work for this team. But now
007to acknowledge the stars to the show. So I'm proud to introduce my Cyclone team. I have Fidil. Come on up. Yeah, absolutely. Charlie, Zoe, Andy, [Applause] Reese, Gia, Damon. Oh, Damon's not here. And Eli [Applause] Hi again. I'm uh Mrs. Brooks and I echo everything that Mrs. Johnson said. Um you know, I've been teaching sixth grade a very long time and it's a really hard year. This year is compounded by the fact that everyone's in a new building, everyone has new teachers, um everyone has new lockers and new schedules. And one of the things that I've been most impressed with, especially with this group of students, but our entire sixth grade class, is their willingness to figure it out. Their willingness to make mistakes and then figure it out. Their willingness to ask for help
008and then figure it out. You know, academics really do bump up in sixth grade and especially now that we're in the middle school. But to me, that's not the hardest part. The hardest part is coming into a building where I think something like maybe 100 kids are repeat kids. Everyone else is new. And while that is good that we're all in the same boat, it's also really hard. So for me, the hard part of sixth grade has always been helping kids grow in responsibility and organization. I can work with the academic piece, but when your kids come in prepared to be kind, to ask questions, to help each other, that's when we really see growth in sixth grade. when the kids come in ready to figure it out. So, these kids were chosen because we
009noticed how well they've done with this transition, but also because they're good people. So, my students are Alani, [Applause] um, Harshel T [Applause] Bella, Claire, Damian, EMTT [Applause] and Emily. [Applause] I would just say super proud of this. You know, just walking down the hallway in the morning, getting tons of smiles from our sixth graders, lots of hells and welcomes. Have one more round of applause for our Okay. So, um students, Mr. Carr is going to want to take a picture of you. So, I don't know where he went. Um so, he might want you to scrunch together a little bit here, but he'll give some direction. And then don't go anywhere because our school board might have some comments and questions for you as well. So everybody, if you're a little bit on the
010shorter side and the middle about half of you, even if you're medium size, if you're a little bit taller, stay in the back towards the middle. Everybody together looks good. You guys want to get on either side? Everybody see me? I can see everybody. Don't go anywhere. Parents, go for it. >> Okay, students, if you would turn around and face our board, we um we're going to have a couple of questions for you. We want to fuss on you a little bit because this is pretty impressive. U this certificate of excellence that'll um I bet one of your parents will put that in a book that they've kept since you were a little teeny kid and this will go in there. So, you know why it was hard for you in my opinion this year
011is because if we had stayed with an intermediate school, you would have been the oldest. You would have been the seniors. you would have been the top cheese in that intermediate school. So then we reconfigured our schools and you became the newbie, the youngest in your school, right? But what this award tells me is that even though that happened, you still remain leaders. You're leading others with everything that you're doing. Um how well you're adapting to that change. And I just want to say congratulations because that is really um that's an indicator of who you are as a person. You decided to take that opportunity to still show your leadership. So thank you for being such a great example of our really smart and really um um our leaders that exist in the sixth grade
012at South. That's that's very cool. Thank you. Board members, what do you have to say to these smart kids? >> Sure. >> Well, hi there everybody. My name is Mr. Langford and uh I long time ago had three children of my own who were also in middle school south. They all went to Middle School South. Uh maybe not as early as you did though. Um so, hey, couple things. I just want to congratulate you all for being leaders already that are identified by Dr. Pio and Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Brooks. you know, uh, we've been really busy the last six weeks of school, right? I mean, it's gone way quicker than we probably ever anticipated. But I want you, if you do me a favor tonight, when you put your head down on your pillow
013and you're about to close your eyes, you know, those two minutes before you fall immediately asleep, um, think about all the newness that you've experienced and all the opportunity you've had already in those six weeks. Think of all the new friends you've made. Think of all the new teachers you've met. Think of all the new subjects you've encountered. Think of all the fun stuff that you've done. Uh whether it's eating lunch at the cafeteria or maybe gym class or art class or some of your music classes. It's an amazing amount of newness in the last six weeks. And isn't it kind of wonderful? And this newness tells you if you can do this now at your age, just imagine as you get older each year, how much you're going to learn to enjoy and relish
014in the newness of stuff. So congratulations and thanks for coming tonight. >> I too. Uh, my name is Cindy Simmons and you want to hear a good one? I went all 12 years in your building south. Now you're going to go, "Huh?" When I I had elementary there. I went there for elementary and then I moved over to a building for sixth, seventh, and eighth that's long gone. It was old, torn down, ratty looking. And then I came back to the high school for my high school years. So I could tell you every place in that building, every step, everywhere. Take good care of that gym floor, too. That gym floor is pretty special. But congratulations on such a neat award. Uh it's great to see you're off to a good start. How's the lockers
015doing? >> Okay. You like them? Okay. Well, that's Yeah. Most most of them don't. Do you have trouble? the combination and all that. Not at all. Well, that's good. So, you guys uh like being over there? I'm sure you do. I don't see I don't see many heads going. I see a smile. Okay. Well, you guys are in a great building. Take good care of it. And congratulations once again. Thank you team uh leaders and thank you Dr. Pio for what all you have accomplished. Thank you guys for coming to see us tonight. Um I was going to say in addition to academics, organization is a big skill at your age level. Um I have a kid who's still in eighth grade and we struggle for organization. So for you guys to have that, you
016know, take on that responsibility and that organization. That's a really big skill to have. Also being kind to each other, that's we all need that. So I appreciate you guys and you guys will continue to be leaders and I'm sure we'll see most of you up here again. >> And thank you to the teachers. Thank you. >> Awesome. Well, good job you guys. Keep up the good work. I mean, we're just in the middle of the first semester, so keep up that uh good work and go south. Okay. Thank you. Very good. You can go sit back. All right. Um, the next item on our celebrating Orioles agenda is the recognition of the governor's award uh for distinguished hooers. Um, and that will go to our own Grace OD. Uh, Dr. Windam. >> Yes, Grace,
017if you'd like to come forward while uh we brag on you a little bit. Yeah, right there's Grace. Uh so Grace is a student at uh Avon High School and she has been helping veterans and military families since she was barely eight years old. Uh instead of asking for birthday gifts for herself, she asked for donations to homeless veterans and their families. On her 8th birthday, with the help of the community, Grace raised over $1,200 and filled two box trucks with food and clothes clothing to support homeless veterans. um as a 20 24 2025 uh junior uh department uh volunteer uh Gra and she was the president of this group. Grace raised $28,000 for helping veterans and families. So she uh made crafts, she sold wreaths, she spoke at churches, at different uh civic organizations
018and meetings to network and raise money. And this evening when I mentioned to her family that she had raised $28,000, grandma clarified for me that over her life uh since she was 8 years old, she's raised $35,000. $35,749. So, thank you, Grandma, for the clarification. Um on Memorial Day weekend, she places flags on veterans graves and uh runs a bake sale. Um, in one of the reference letters for this award, it was shared that Grace's commitment and energy is non-stop and she truly makes an impact on our veterans, families, and our community. This summer, Grace was presented with the Distinguished Hooser Award by the Lieutenant Governor at the Summer Conference of the American Legion. So, she's been a student Grace has been a student in Avon since preschool, and we uh are so proud to
019recognize her and thankful for the impact she's had in our community. Our board has a letter of recognition for you, Grayson, and they'll come up and take a picture with you as well. So, if you want to come up here in the center, but thank you for all you've done. [Applause] Uh let me read this um this let me read this letter board members and then we'll take a picture. Dear grace, we extend our heartfelt congratulations on receiving the prestigious distinguished hooser award. This honor is a testament to your unwavering commitment to HBAF helping veterans and families and we deeply admire your dedication. Your focus on raising funds and awareness is an inspiration. Your efforts have made a meaningful impact on our community and you continue to exemplify the true spirit of an oral leading
020with compassion, service, and integrity. Thank you for inspiring others and for being a shining example of what it means to serve. Thank you. [Applause] Well, Miss Grace, um I have known of you since the uh just before you were born. Um and known you um most of your life and now I know you every week because I'm coaching you in speech. Um, and it is no surprise to me that you would be this giving of your time, effort, and energy um to help an underserved group, our veterans um that really rely on that kind of special help and um assistance. And so um I'm sure that as you are doing your work to raise money, $35,749, I'm going to get a dollar out here in a minute. it's going to be an even number. Um
021that when you do that in your in your heart, you are doing that for all the right reasons. You're doing that because it's the right thing to do. Uh you're doing that because this is someone who truly needs help and you see that need and you feel that. Um, but I don't think that you necessarily think about how wonderful it is that you're giving to your Avon community by doing this because you're recognized as state level um for that and for that Avon as a community is a benefactor of your generosity of time, effort and energy. So, thank you for being a shining example of just having something that you very very much feel passionate about um and that you're willing to take the time to act on. Uh we are truly grateful that you
022are an Avon student and have been since preK. Um and we just really admire uh this work that you've done. So, thank you, Grace. Thank you to your parents and your grandmother uh for all being here tonight. And um it's super special to recognize you. >> Well, Grace, I've known uh through my wife, your former language arts teacher, that you were a terrific student and I've known from coaching you in speech what a hard worker and delightful person you are. I didn't know about this aspect and I'm sorry I didn't know about this, but boy am I glad to know about it now. Um what what great selflessness, what a wonderful example you are, as Mrs. Woodward said. And here's another exciting part. Not only the great work you've done, but people like you who
023in a high school already have this um this instinct, this drive to work and do things for other you are future leaders. Um and I can't wait to see what your future beholds. Thank you for being part of Avon uh for now and hopefully for a long long time to come. A sophomore. Okay. And how long have you been doing this? >> That's right. Duh. I knew that. Eight years old. Good for you. Well, I can see you have a lot of family support, which is great. I can tell by your face that this is coming from the heart, and I just great to see this and thank you for all you do for our veterans. >> You are truly an inspiration and you're truly a leader. Um it's not a lot of times that
024we hear about a student your age doing fantastic things that you're doing and I think a lot of people appreciate it and I'm so glad that we got the chance to honor you for this. So, thank you and continue to have that drive and dedication. >> Okay. Thank you. Next item on the agenda is the comments from the board president. And my comment is if you want to leave, now's the time. Thank you all for being here. Kids, go home and do your homework. Take a bath. Thank you parents for being here. I have a problem for my >> Bye. Okay, thank you everyone. Um, our next item on the agenda is public comments to the board. This is the part in our meeting uh when our public can make comments. We ask that you
025keep it to 3 minutes or less. Um, and that you refrain from using anyone's name uh in your comments. Um, and so it looks like we have one individual uh Danielle Lmer, if you would like to come up, you'll need to come to the podium. >> Yes. Nobody can hear on the streaming if you don't. Do you have any question? You guys think child. >> Thank you. Uh we will move on to the next item which is the consent agenda. Item A is the approval of minutes for the regular session on August 11th, 2025. Uh the approval of minutes for working session on August 25th, 2025. Approval of claims and payroll. Approval of the August transfer memo. Approval of the personnel report. Approval of disposal of equipment. Approval of the donation report. Um, as well
026as the approval of overnight field trips and the appro approval of programs and camps, approval of the ECA purchases, ECA changes. I will entertain a motion on the uh consent agenda items. Board members, >> I move ahead. >> You go ahead. >> I move that the board of school trustees approve the regular session minutes on August 11, 2025. the working session minutes on August 25, 2025. The payrolls for August 15, 2025 and August 29, 2025. The many payrolls for July 3, 2025, and August 29, 2025. The August and September claims, the August transfer memo, the personnel report, the disposal of equipment, the donation report, the overnight field trips, the programs and camps, the ECA purchase, and the ECA changes as presented. Second. >> Motion by Mike, seconded by Cindy. Is there any discussion? All those
027in favor? Motion passes 40. I was remiss. I should have mentioned that unfortunately Mrs. Parent isn't here this evening. She has a health issue that she's coping with. So, we wish her the best. Uh the next item on the agenda is item number seven. Um update on strategic goal one. We will hear from Mrs. Alde, Dr. Hines and Mrs. Shayovich. Well, good evening. I got we got to stand here now. Um so we are back um to speak a little more a couple I think it was last month we talked specifically about the strategic plan and shared some updates and today we're going to zoom in on strategic goal one. So as as as you guys have set a goal for us it's all about student achievement and through our work with our professional learning
028communities. So last month I talked a little bit about our Avon instructional model and so um our our team is going to talk to you a little bit more about the work we did last year and that we are doing this year. Really we're going to talk through a timeline and when we think about the Avon instructional instructional model there was a need to really get insanely clearly focused on instructional strategies and that is all to support student learning. So when what we did is we know there's sometimes that teachers teach these amazing lessons and what we need to really identify is what are they doing because if we know exactly what we did then we can replicate it. So if I can say I taught this uh highly effective lesson it's because I did
029these three things then I can replicate that in future lessons. So that is our one of our big things. And our other piece is we really wanted this to fit with our mission of all belong, all learn and all grow. We know we need all students to grow and learn each day in our classroom. Um and so we're going to have focus on those instructional strategies so we're meeting the needs of all students. So this now we're going to talk a little bit out of our journey. And so during the school year last year, we really wanted this to be about the needs for Avon. Um this wasn't about an outside entity coming in. We definitely did leverage of research through all this um about best practices, but it was really our Avon administrative team
030and our Avon teachers saying what do our students need to learn and grow. And so we did that work around two areas. One was around that idea of lesson planning. How do we really create high quality lessons lessons through our lesson design model and then how are we focus on instructional stat strategies the most effective ones with each student each day and so that's what we are going to talk a little bit about this process good evening and super excited about the work here because as you heard it was it's a collaborative effort uh PK through 12 and I'll share a little bit about how that happened so our second step after we knew we identified this vision that we needed to to really get insanely clear about our instructional strategies is we brought our
031coaches and our administrators together and really brainstormed what are the high yield instructional strategies uh that lead to to to more learning for students. And so we brainstormed and then we had each uh the administrative and coach coaches teams go back to the buildings and they got to work with their teachers to also do the same activity with a group of teachers in their building. Some uh of the principles did it with all teachers, some of it did with their their guiding coalition. Uh they had the autonomy to decide what group of teachers uh did they want to use. And then those teachers came together uh and they ranked uh with the administrators the most important instructional strategies that they felt uh were going to to lead to the most learning and the most growth
032in our students. And then as an administrative team uh and uh our coaches, we came back and we used those rankings uh and and vetted it with research uh to to determine what are the best strategies uh that we need to make sure that we all see um every day in our classrooms. And so you can see uh the eight strategies uh that we came um to a agreement on is teacher clarity, direct instruction, making learning relevant relationships, feedback, classroom discussion, activating prior knowledge, and scaffolding. And all of this, you can see the website there. All of this is listed on our website. Um and it's got a lot of resources on there for our teachers as well. And so these are the eight strategies that we say we we should be seeing this in
033classrooms all the time. And now since we've named it, we are much more intentional about talking about it. After we named those eight strategies, we needed to to get even deeper. We need to dig deeper into each individual strategy. And so school teams researched two of the eight strategies. So we broke up the eight. We sent them off to all the school teams, the teachers, and they did their own research. Um the administrators, the coaches, and teachers all worked together, and it came to a product. And I think you have the the product in your packet potentially uh there. But um they so this is an example of teacher clarity and we have uh these for all eight of the strategies and I appreciate uh Mr. Carr and his work because he does his magic
034to to make it look just so amazing. Um but we uh really appreciate this work from our teachers and our leaders. But you can see, you know, it's got the definition. It's got why it's important, some dos and don'ts. You'll see a Hattie check on there. That's the research that really shows effect size of what really moves the needle on learning. It's got tips. It's got activities. It's got connections to our teacher rubric. What are some implementation steps? And so we have these for all eight of our strategies. Um and and then we are are using them um throughout the the the year. And so uh Mrs. Shadow is going to share a little bit how we're using them. >> So after we got clear on the strategies, we kept having conversations with the leadership
035team. How do we make this connected to what teachers do every day? And we knew that was going to shine through in lesson design. If we're just talking about the strategies in isolation, it might be difficult for a teacher to figure out where it belongs and where it doesn't. So, in this conversation, um, we we began to hone in on a blueprint for lesson design. And so really just naming the components that we can be consistent upon and then defining them and creating common language so that when we're having conversations with teachers, we're all on the same page. And then we've connected those lesson plan components to these strategies. And you can see the larger circles. So that teacher clarity is that orange light bulb. The larger circles are where there's a strong essential connection
036from that strategy to that portion of your lesson design. and the smaller ones are just more of a supporting connection. So when you think about this and on the teacher implementation side, we're naming the strategy. We know the research behind it. We've unwrapped what it looks like in practice. And now we've also connected it to if I want more bang for my buck and I really want to work on guided practice in my lesson. These strategies are the way I can improve that portion of lesson design. You'll notice on this one pager that we pulled together, we have also designated the R teacher rubric connections because we also know we want our teachers to grow and so when we give them feedback, we can make connections to that feedback to which strategy would help them
037grow in that area. So this really intentional work all together um is is what we did last year to pull it together and now this year we're rolling it out in our building. So all of our leaders have been a part of this process. All of our teachers have had a voice in this process and now we've put together uh each each month we're highlighting a piece. We're we're doing three strategies this year. We've started with teacher clarity and so on the August 27th we've already rolled out one time we've talked about teacher quality. So our curriculum team will create the presentation. We create the the model. We model it for our teacher and administrator leaders at our meetings and then they take it back to the building and in our PLC professional development days
038they deliver it. And so what's really neat to see that I enjoyed on August 27th was that in every building from our high school to our preschool you had teachers having a common conversation around teacher clarity and how having an understanding of teacher clarity can impact your lesson design. Therefore, taking us back to our strategic goal of if we can all name it, we can replicate it and it will certainly impact student achievement. That's what we're working on and we will continue to um roll it out this school year. Every professional development day, they'll have a presentation that we've created and modeled for them and they'll continue to deliver it so we can hone in and refine and improve it. >> So, this is great work. I I wonder as teachers are learning new methods,
039did you find that that was they were embracing it right away, were they early adopters, in other words, or was there more reluctance? Um, can you talk about what the teachers experience has been as you've rolled this out? >> I would say just like anything, we have teachers at all different places and so we have teachers who are already experts at this who could be teaching this to everyone. Um, we had schools that did studies of like teacher clarity last year and then we have some teachers that maybe are new to teaching. So, this could be some newer work. Um, I think overall they are embracing it. Um, and really as a like being very reflective about what they're doing and how do they learn from other colleagues. >> I think it has allowed us
040in the professional learning community specifically to really continue to come back to that collective teacher efficacy that now I can gain that knowledge from my as well and I appreciate that our teachers had a lot of buy in around that >> with uh during the professional development was just fantastic conversations about you know I I may be really good at being clear at the beginning of a lesson because I think teachers are focused at the very beginning especially when you think secondary teachers that have a bell to bell you know we have a do now and we you know hit our learning target well at the end of end of it you're you know you're like I'm scrambling to get to the end of the period but maybe you aren And so I think a
041lot so there's teachers that are really like Carrie said all at different levels but it really helped them laser focus on different pieces of that lesson design and then also how does that connect to teacher play. >> Yeah I think that's an important thing um that is something that I think teachers um typically teach the beginning part of a lesson at um the right pace and the right clarity and then as time gets short then they get pressed. I I had to laugh it where you say if you can name it, you can replicate it. Um that used to be a common issue in the restaurant industry where I worked because we would come up with wonderful recipes. The chef would and we'd say, "How'd you make that?" And he'd say, "Boy, I wish I
042knew. Didn't write it down. Didn't know how much salt I put in that or basil I put in that." And so it never came out the same. And it wasn't until we had the discipline to have someone follow that chef around and write down precisely all the measurements and the order in which they went in that we were able to have that continuity. So I mean that is a transferable thing to a lot of industries and it doesn't surprise me that the teaching and learning is you got to know how you did it in order to replicate it. Awesome stuff. One quick comment I have and you did mention it but I can't imagine it's not part of your everyday conversation or at least weekly conversation and that is the role of artificial intelligence AI
043and teaching doing what I do for a living. I'm constantly involved with lots of industries and it's a daily if not weekly conversation for me about AI the good and the bad. One of the bads are that it's very easy to say do a lesson plan on Tale of Two Cities and there is no collaboration and someone else something has done it for you. But here you've got the collaboration, you've got the actual thinking through the process. And if you talk to people who really know a lot more about this subject than I do that say, what are the two best ways to make sure that AI doesn't overtake what we do? And they'll say collaboration. Make sure human beings are involved and there's an ongoing conversation. And two, specificity. and because AI just hasn't
044quite figured out specificity and may never to the degree that we can where we're talking about how did the student in second period react to that point and so I like the collaboration process. I don't thoughts on any of that. I mean, I think AI is a great starting point for pieces, but we even had one of our schools use AI from our lesson design to create some lesson plans and then when teachers reflect it, they're like, "Oh, whoa, these are not that great." Because you brought, like you said, multiple minds are on the table and we can and they looked at it and they could make it 10 times better. And I think when a group of teachers has started with a really clear conversation about what it is they want students to be
045able to do and what they want them to know at the end and they've gone through that process together, then AI becomes a really useful tool because I know what I'm trying to get out of it as opposed to just starting with write me a lesson. Well, I mean the lesson plan is a is a that's a model to use and then you put your st then you're using your standards as the content. Good question. >> So, as we get feedback and see how each of these are working, we're willing to go back and rework it and change stuff. Okay. For sure. >> Okay. >> This is a starting >> I mean, is there a certain measure to say what's working and not working? Like, how do we measure that with so many different opinions
046and ideas? >> I think we look at things a couple ways. We do. I mean, we're putting some exit slips out and asking for feedback. So, that's that more that um qualitative piece, but really I think that the piece we'll really watch is our student data. Um and so as we have common formative assessments, we have common summitative, we have the state level assessments. So, that's really I mean all of the strategic goal one the end result is our student achievement. We added the link onto their agendas for PLC's so that it's right there when they go every Wednesday to have conversations about their common form of assessment that maybe somebody talks about they're more clear. Hey, let's go look at an activity on our our instructional model. They can click there and access it
047right away. >> Um I'm I really think everything happens at the right time for the right reason. Um because this programming to me would not have been nearly as successful if we had not had a lot of experience with PLC's. I mean that is the you know talk about scaffolding. Uh that's the scaffolding that makes a program like this work. Um, and so I'm just so pleased that we built those foundational elements um that we can now put this next level um in and we wouldn't have in my opinion we wouldn't have been able to do that and translate it into student success had we not had that foundational element. So, so thank you to all of you, our thought leaders in instruction and curriculum and um you know I'm I'm anxious to see uh
048how this is embraced by our teaching community but then also to see what the results will be in student achievement. Thank you board members. Any other questions or comments? >> Um this is really well thought through. So I mean I appreciate all the time and effort you put in this. I mean this is this is pretty intense. I mean really detailed. So thank you. >> Improving student achievement by providing equitable and experiences and opportunities for all students and that is so important now all students. So thank you for that. >> Thank you. Thanks. Uh Mrs. Hald, we'll wait till you walk back to your place and then we will move on to the next item uh which is item eight, unfinished business and we'll start with our enrollment report. Oh, Mrs. Alde. >> Hello. >>
049Hi. Um, I thought tonight would be a good time to look at kind of be able to reflect on redistricting a little bit because it was um almost a year ago, I guess not quite a year when the board um after the community came together and the redistric committee um brought the some recommendations that the board made a recoming for this year. And so when redistricting happened, um the meetings, the goal was to have our middle schools between 800 and 900 students. That was the feedback from the community. And so now our numbers have really settled. And so our three middle schools are all between 800 and 900. Um our largest middle school is Middle School North at 886 and then um South is the smallest at 791. So a difference just between 95 students
050between those three school I mean from the largest to the smallest. And remember this year is kind of a little bit of anomaly because we did allow the board allowed um if students could be grandfathered if they were already at the school for the couple years they could stay there for their last year just eighth graders and we had around 30 kids at North exercise that and so that that number came out exactly I feel like the committee and the board wanted it. And then elementaryaries. We uh really wanted our elementary schools become to be around that 500 to 600 students at each school and between the eight schools. Um our smallest is at Hickory at 507 and our largest is Maple at 613. And so that's a difference of just 106 students from our
051smallest to our largest elementary school. And if you remember last year um we ended Maple ended the year around 783 students. So they reduced Maple alone reduced 170 students this year even though they brought in another grade level. Um and if you talk to Mrs. Harrison, she said you can definitely feel it at Maple. Um just the size difference. So I really just wanted to illustrate, you know, through u the guidance of the board and the work of the committee really we were able to meet those goals that were set. Uh, and so right now, um, as of when this was reported, we're at as a district, um, K12, 10,521 students, um, around 250 students at the preschool to take us a total of 10,771 students. >> Thank you. >> I have a question. >>
052Sure. I noticed the high school from 85 to 93 >> took a drop. I counted up 109 students. Is there any reason why? >> Sure. I mean I think that was from the beginning of the year till um till current. A lot of that is when um we keep all students enrolled from the previous year until we receive um something from another school district. Um, and so we need the actual like a request of records before we can unenroll a student because you have to document when you unenroll them for graduation rate purposes. >> Thank you. >> So that's a typical year. >> I looked at that and I thought, whoa. >> Yeah. I I noticed the same thing, but I also noticed I went back to the trend data from last year, the two
053months, August to September, and you'll see that the same thing happened. Um, and that enrollment actually the difference in August 2024 enrollment and September 2024 enrollment is almost the exact same number 119 students difference versus this year 121. So it's a dip that we take annually because of uh >> do you know how many students I know that we had in our last meeting some discussion about students that had still not shown up for school as I think we were talking about the high school. Um so eventually you have to clear those students out. >> Um so have we completed that process? >> Yes. >> Okay. >> Yes we did. We it takes the you we start so early compared to other districts even in the state of Indiana. So we need to wait um
054we wait about it's right around three weeksish. Um and then we our registars work very hard of reaching out to other schools because they can see through this website a state u the state website of where students are at and we make sure they request records so we can do it because there's a process that you have to do to make sure we just keep track of where students are at for safety um purposes. May I ask another question? Do we know how open enrollment students are we doing okay with that or have some students left or >> want to come in? >> Well, I mean based on the um that the really the window closed in May so they can't I mean even if there are some interest we have to follow our board
055policy. So um no other ones have come in. Um we uh I think I reported I think we had about 58 that actually enrolled. Okay. >> Um and that are here. I'm not aware of any that have um moved out or have left the district. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Well, thank you. >> Thank you. Item B is cost savings and efficiencies. Mrs. Glass. >> Thank you, Mrs. Woodward. Good evening, board members. Avon received $32,215.50 50 cents in energy smart savers rebates for Avon Middle School West. These rebates help support our operations funds where we pay for our utilities. We also collaborated closely with PSI to apply for these rebates during the construction process to ensure cost efficiencies in our buildings. >> Thank you. >> $32,615 >> 50 and50. >> It's pretty awesome. Thank you,
056Sheila. Thank you. >> Okay. Uh we'll move on to item number nine, new business. Um item A is the materials order authorization for the Cedar Elementary chiller. Dr. Finley, >> we are in the process of having to replace the cedar chiller. Unfortunately, it's re reached the end of its life cycle. We have very talented uh maintenance people and we've tried so hard to keep it going, but it's 20 years old and and the parts are no longer available. So, it was time to to replace that chiller. This is simply to get the parts ordered. There will be a competitive uh bid for the installation, but we want to go ahead and get that started so we can be sure that it's in place for the spring warmer months again. And at this time, I move
057the board of trustees approve the material purchase authorization as presented. >> I move that the board of school trustees approve the material purchase authorization as presented. >> Second >> motion by Jennifer, second by Mike. Any further discussion? I think one thing of note is that the lead time on this equipment is substantial. um six months potentially it takes to get the materials. Um so an important factor about why we're putting placing the material order now um is precisely as you said so that at when the warmer months do come around next year that we'll have the equipment. Um and that is something unfortunately that's universal. It seems the HVAC um on these large units is very difficult to procure. It takes a long time to get it. So, I appreciate our foresight. Um the motion
058was made by Jennifer, seconded by Mike. Is there any further discussion? >> I just um in our information, I mean, I appreciate appreciate that they went, you know, to try and save it so much. They tried everything before we, you know, had to go buy a new one. So, I really appreciate maintenance trying to do everything they could save it. >> Absolutely. And they're good. And and at that same time, the Sycamore chiller was having some challenges, too. So, we were really concerned for a minute there and they were able to get it up and running, and it's perfectly fine at this point. So, we'll do our best to keep them running as long as we can. >> Yes, at this point. Yeah. >> All those in favor? Motion passes 40. Thank you, Dr. Finley.
059Um, we'll move to item B, which is the 2025 bus replacement plan amendment. Dr. Finley, >> again, this plan reflects the upcoming purchase of 4 AV buses. They're the smaller buses that are a little more versatile for us and and they don't require the CDL license. So, we've found that they're extremely beneficial. And I think at this point, we've realized that um a few of our ABS are probably um 16 or 17 years old and are reaching the end of their life cycle. So, we're going to try and replenish that. And we found with the new middle school, we can run some of the um ECA routes. Coaches can drive the the buses. There are other people in the middle of the day. We, you know, Avon Academy uses the buses occasionally. Um I saw
060a group coming back. It was great from IvyTech on that bus the other day and it was great to to have that opportunity for them. Um Kim Laboski's group uh student internship from the high school. They use those AV buses, a lot of different uses for them. So, they've been really versatile and we found that um they could replace, you know, some of the other things that we're doing. And also um some of the McKenna Vento students, students who live outside the school district who need transportation. So, again, we can use these buses without the CDL license. >> How many students does one of those buses hold? approximately 16 >> 16. Thank you. >> Other questions or comments? >> Uh then I will entertain a motion on this item. >> I move that the board
061of school trustees approve the 2025 bus replacement plan amendment as presented. >> Motion by Mike, seconded by Jennifer. Any discussion? All those in favor? Motion passes 40. Thank you, Dr. Finley. >> Board member items, Mr. Langford. >> Sure. Well, that was an awfully efficient regular meeting, wasn't it? >> It was. >> Should we blame that on Mrs. Parent? >> We should. >> I'm sure she's watching. So, >> yeah. No. Uh, well, we miss you, Sarah, if you are watching or we when you will be watching. So, uh, nice meeting. Thank you, everyone. um uh the the ordinary uh maintenance and issues things like chillers and school buses are very much a part we do and uh I appreciate all those of you who put the extra time in. Uh also the the the ongoing efforts
062by Mrs. Ald and her team uh for curriculum collaboration among teachers is at the paramount of what we do do. Uh this is a good reminder and I'm not trying to be political. I'm going to be the opposite of political. It's a good reminder that the day in dayout business of the school corporation is about the children and the staff. It's not about the other stuff that you might hear about, read about, hear politicians talk about. We're out there doing the best that we can on a day-to-day basis because our students are doing this on a day-to-day basis as well. So, thank you all. >> The meeting was just fantastic with all the students out there and their parents. I always enjoy seeing the kids and what's going on. I like that. And then all
063your donations that I forgot. Sorry. And thank you donors for everything and thank you everyone board members administrators thank you and parents teachers I always like enjoy the beginning where we celebrate the Oreos I think that's the most important part of our meetings the most enjoyable one um also curriculum is a big deal so thank you for the time and effort that's put into that and I always appreciate hearing about that and having the opportunity to ask questions um and also like I said with the maintenance and and there's stuff that we have to has to be replaced. So, we have to do it, you know, to keep our schools up and running. So, >> thank you. Uh well, I know that we uh look at our um standardized testing scores as an indicator of
064student success, and I think that's important. But having kids stand in front of you that have earned an award because of the citizenship that they show, because of the leadership that they have. Um, I can't think of a better um academic achievement um way to see our progress than to see our smart kids uh doing their um best to be great citizens to be engaged in their uh learning and just to be um a part of our Avon community. I I think that um you know something like Grace OD raising so much money um without recognition and giving up everything you know every Christmas, every birthday because that was something that was important to her personally. Those are the kind of people that we as adults strive to be. And here our kids are achieving
065that um in when they're young. And it's it's honor. We're so honored really to have such dedication uh to our students and to see them really thrive in the way that you do when they stand in front of you. Um I want to thank my fellow board members for engaging in uh professional development this upcoming week as we uh attend the ISBA uh conference. Um I think we'll hear some really good speakers. I think we'll gather a lot of really good information. Um, and I appreciate the fact that we as one of only three exemplary boards in the state that we all make that a priority uh to go and spend our time when we should be probably at work. I should be that day. Um, but it's important that we um that we do
066that. So, thank you board members. Um, I really just think our instructional prowess every single year when we do things like AIM goes up and up and up. we are really investing in superior development of teachers that impart that instruction. And so programs like AIM really I I meant it when I said that all of the things that we have built foundationally before now um really something like AIM sits on top of that and is able to propel um so thank you so much for your work um also Mrs. all day um for doing um everything that it takes to help our teachers really continue to develop their own skills as well. Um, finally, the last thing that I want to say is, you know, we're all proud Orioles and we like to um to
067we get um feelings about all of the things that we're doing in our schools, but um I we're back in the swing of uh speech practice right now. And I would encourage each and every one of you to just go sit in the parking lot at the end of school uh at Avon High School at the end of the day and watch what goes on because you've got kids bounding out of that uh out of those doors. Uh some of them are getting in their car and leaving, but you've got a full band regimen. The drum line is practicing. The football team is out. We're running track. We've got cheerleaders. We've got all these students that are engaged in the things that they love in their school career and it's inspiring. Um they I I'm
068sure that every high school in Indiana is probably largely the same as Avon High School, but for me that feeling and that sentiment is really different. Um there are a lot of engaged students in Avon and we are we are really blessed and fortunate to have that. Um, so if you want to, you know, charge up your wings a little bit, feel like an oral, um, just go sit in the parking lot at any day when school is dismissing and you'll see what I mean. Uh, Dr. Windam, >> just two things. Um, appreciate your comments about the instructional model work. I want to thank uh, Carrie, Matt, and Jenny. That work is really impressive and uh really unique in Avon because in a lot of districts they would have paid for some outside consultant to
069come in and do work and we didn't want to do that because we knew we had the expertise here in our leadership team. Um, and then just that clarity across the district that just simply doesn't happen anywhere I've been where we're talking about the same instructional practices at an elementary level that we're talking about at a at a high school level. It's really really unique. A lot of work, a lot of hours went into um the presentation that you saw today. Uh, second thing I want to thank officer Dit from for being here. She is our newest school resource officer. So, she completed her Indiana She completed her law enforcement academy training and then now is doing uh training here locally and so shadowing uh Sergeant Logan today uh to make sure we're all safe
070here and uh doing lots of other experiences around the community with the sheriff's department with uh different community agencies just to make sure she's got that that full perspective on what it means to be an officer but then more specifically what it means to serve schools and kids uh here in our building. So thanks to both of you for being here. Thank you all. >> Uh we will adjourn at a record time 804.