001okay I have 6:30 we're going to go ahead and get started with tonight's board meeting for those that are able if you wouldn't mind standing for the Pledge of Allegiance pledge Al to the flag of the United States of America and to the repblic for it stands one nation God indivisible liy and justice for all we have all seven board members present so I'll call the meeting to order Dr Phillips thank you Miss Weldon we'd like to start each board meeting with a reminder of our mission vision and core values and here in bcse our vision is to be the choice to learn work and play our mission is to develop expert Learners by partnering with our with our community to invest in people and our core beliefs are that we can all rise to
002the challenge of high expectations that learning is most effective when we have Choice flexibility and see relevance that we Thrive when our physical and social and psychological needs are met that our community and School District district are stronger when we partner with one another that we flourish because of the diversity and variability in our community and that our democracy and Democratic institutions are strengthened by civic-minded citizens and we're starting off this evening we have two public hearings both related to the same topic that's been on the agenda a couple of times in the last month or so this be the last tonight will be the last steps taken on the 2024 lease rental Bond uh from a board perspective and there are two public hearings required so I'll hand it over to Dr Boseman and
003or Mr brineger to handle those public hearings Mi Mr mcgyver can I ask do I have to gavel out because it's a public hear we should okay I'm ging out of the meeting and entering the public meeting thank you and so these two these two hearings um we I don't think we have to gabble out between the two but there are opportunities for public input both related to the lease rental bonds one is just to hear any public input on the lease itself um this is related to the $ 44.1 million bond that would be issued to pay for the first phase of all the projects that were just presented between 5:15 and 6:15 this evening um and also there is an additional appropriation hearing anytime the district is going to spend or may spend
004dollars above and beyond what was approved by the board last fall during the budget process we allow for we advertise these public hearings and allow for public input um before moving on to the next step in the process and so at this time if any members of the audience or the board have any questions about the 2024 lease rental bonds or the lease itself or the additional appropriation uh we can take your questions or your public input okay appropriate weit time was that I think that was an appropriate wait time all right uh no questions then we will go ahead and gavel back into the regular board meeting Dr stom if you would please thank you president Welden Dr Phillips and the board of school trustees tonight I am honored to celebrate the bcsc teachers
005of the Year first I would like to celebrate Molly Fountain 2023 bcse teacher of the year who completed her interview with the Indiana Department of Education today as a top 10 candidate for Indiana's teacher of the year with over 655,000 teachers in the state this is quite an accomplishment and we congratulate Molly on representing Northside Middle School and bcsc well at the state level this evening we are here to also celebrate the 2024 bcsc teacher of the year Derek Chastain as Mr Chastain makes his way to the front Podium area we will play a video prepared by Josh brette on Monday August 5th 20124 with the help of Dr Parsons in Columbus e High School bcsc administration surprise Mr Derek Chastain by recognizing him as the 2024 bcsc teacher of the year representing the entire
006District at the state level for the Indiana teacher of the year program after the celebration and as the new school year began we stopped by Mr Chastain's classroom to see our teacher of the year in action and ask him what it means to be named bcsc teacher of the year and we also heard from a few students on why he is such a special educator here well I I mean I'm really humbled it's just an honor I mean East has the best teachers in the world the district has the best teachers and I'm incredibly touched to receive this honor and it's very meaningful especially considering what my colleagues have said to me and and also what my students um have said about me you can obviously tell he loves his job just how he teaches
007it and how he just always wants us to get involved with everything he's always smiling which like you always love like the teacher's not smiling they obviously aren't really enjoying where they're at but he's just always smiling always happy and he'll do anything to like help you I think the way that he just enjoys all of the material that he's teaching it's so clear that he loves what he does uh he's always bouncing in his shoes and just very very happy to be there and you can tell and I really love that and a teacher it's one of my favorite things about teachers is what what they love is seeing what they love to do and it just helps me want to learn more you I I couldn't I couldn't do this work without the
008people around me the staff and students I consider myself a people Builder right I'm an encourager I mean this this is part of why I'm here and um I feel really you know blessed and honored to to be able to share these days with with the students here at East High School this is this is where we Kindle the the flame I mean this is where it all begins like as a teacher if you get a student interested or excited about that subject that that could go on forever you don't always know what a difference you're making and so you have to kind of have to trust it you know like all right I'm making a difference I'm going to stay after it and then I don't know kind of like in science itself you
009get these moments like this one where you know you get to know what a difference you made and it's really touching and that's said I've been really the most touched and moved by the things my former students have said yeah congratulations to Derek Chastain on being named the 2024 bcsc teacher of the [Music] [Applause] year DK Chastain has has been described as a lifelong learner a collaborative peer an engaging teacher and a stand-up comedian amongst colleagues His science classroom is an environment that emulates mutual respect for every student and staff member who enter his classroom door whether teaching at Columbus East High School or Indiana University Columbus Derek's impact on others is profound Derek's leadership in the science Community has seen him share his passion for science from providing lessons and explorations of planets and
010stars at the planetarium to traveling to Germany to present and disseminate his research and scientific findings Derek's dedication to education is highly visible in the ways he plans for and provides students with optimal access and opportunities to engage in the foundations of science whether he is constructing telescopes with students or fact finding to form hypotheses Mr Chastain's classroom culture truly aligns with his mission to be a people Builder as Derek submitted in his teacher of the year letter I am a teacher and people Builder fulfilling this calling gives me a joyful and unparalleled life experience I always work to help people grow by giving them the tools they need for success and encouraging in them along the way throughout Derek's distinguished career he has received many formal and informal Awards and recognitions of these include
0112015 21st century Scholars distinguished alumni award 2017 Eli Lily teacher creativity Fellowship award 2018 Indiana Association of School principles academic Allstar most influential educator award award and the award we celebrate tonight the 2024 Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation teacher of the year award it is an honor to present to you Mr Derek Chastain 2024 bcse teacher of the [Applause] year Well I uh I just very uh grateful very grateful and very delighted to be here this evening um to receive this recognition as the bcsc teacher of the year and I'm I'm both I'm just honored and humbled uh to represent the the many dedicated and talented teachers in this Corporation so so let me try to express all my gratitude here all right so thank you to my parents and thank you to all the teachers
012and college professors who inspired me thanks to the awesome faculty and staff that I've had the privilege to work with in this Corporation I want to thank all the teachers who mentored me and encouraged me when I first started and thanks to my department and all of my colleagues at Columbus East High School who encourag me today I feel like I te teach alongside the the best teachers in the world they're a constant support of fresh ideas and they they make me a better teacher every day thanks to my family and friends because they always put up with the antics of a crazy science teacher I want to thank my um all my students they bring my classroom to life and they make teaching and learning such a joy even if all the assignments don't
013seem particularly joyful at the time and I especially want to thank my wife who as an educator um Can can really connect with me and relate to all of the uh demands and the challenges and the rewards of this profession so since this recognition I've been asked um way more than usual you know why why do I do this why am I an educator um so a couple things come to mind the first one is a single demonstration from my junior high science teacher and how it absolutely captivated me it was the electrolysis of water where you pass electricity through water and you separate it into hydrogen and oxygen and I remember that like it was yesterday I remember standing at that counter at that table watching the whole process I thought it was so
014cool I wanted to learn everything about it I I think that was the moment that I became hooked on science and that taught me how a single moment can make a lasting memory I do this demonstration every year I also think back to my college days where I was over halfway through my biology degree and teaching was not something that was even on my radar but all that changed when I realized that whatever I learned with anything I learned it it really only took on me when when I shared that with others um I am passionate about science and I do love to share that uh that passion with my students and I firmly believe it's my calling to teach science as a way to encourage and Inspire the Next Generation and I am delighted
015to do this important work I still can't put into words exactly what this means to be selected as the bcsc Teacher of the Year this is such an honor I'm deeply moved by all the notes cards and congratulations that have come in especially those from my former students as they share their memories of my class and their success in life all I can say is I love what I do and I am forever grateful to know that this work makes a difference so I just thank you all so very very [Applause] much thank you Derek we'd like to present you a plaque so don't go anywhere we have a plaque for you for teacher of the year and then we also have your name plates on our teacher of the year plaque that remains in
016this in this room and then I'd also like to invite up Dr Tammy iorio with the Bartholomew Consolidated School Foundation to present to you a [Laughter] [Applause] recognition thank you on behalf of the school Foundation congratulate you and thank you for everything you do for our students thank you thank you okay thank you Derek and go ahead and Shake Hands thank you let's congratulate Derek one more time for being bcsc 2024 teacher of the year that [Laughter] picture got to do like a proud of that thing that's right I can see the camera congratulations again Mr Chastain enjoy the rest of your evening family of Educators leaving right there you can you could certainly tell that when somebody uses terms like people Builder and only has meaning when you share it with others that's that's
017a true true educator right there okay I think next we have next we have some Representatives here from the south Asia Network to present a check to the school foundation for an event they held last year so please come on up folks thank you again [Laughter] thank we're honored to be able to partner with thank you so much thank you for everything that you do with Foundation thank you thank you awesome thank you sincere thanks to the South asiia Network they held a Galla last spring and this presentation has been delayed for a couple of months but um their support of the school foundation will certainly help uh our kids and our teachers um get access to some creative and Innovative things for their classroom so thank you thanks if I me just a minute
018yes I'm in Foundation that we just found as you may all know that sou are closely attached to St so the whole purpose of establishing this Foundation was to uh get ourselves associated with the school Foundation to encourage stem education so in fact as part of that Gala night that we had back in Spring we recognized three stem students as well as the school teachers uh we went through the process to evaluate and um Josh actually helped us to put together the similar video for ourselves also to recognize the teach of the thank you very much for and uh so as part of this we are committed to continue to support the school Foundation thank you for the very good thank you so much nice okay next we have school board member reports Pat's shaking
019his head I don't think Mr Bryant has anything tonight so I'll move to Mr major yeah so I mentioned this earlier I was at the Redevelopment uh committee meeting tonight and the housing study that they have worked on for some time now is almost complete looks like uh they've got way more feedback uh in number of pages than they thought they're trying to get some of the report condensed and and arrive at more of an executive summary that way they can share it with the public probably mid to late September uh the central Tiff expansion for inclusion new Toyota facility was discussed Arcadia Drive which is uh where the new Department of Public Works will be they talked about uh around $6 million for improvements there uh the Health Trust we had a meeting last
020week it was a pretty good meeting there's nothing really new to report there uh looks like I think enrollments about the same as what it was costs are a little bit higher um I think we probably had a lot more kids and and adults that had the sniffles in the spring that drove up some costs so but everything looks to be pretty positive there so hopefully this fall we'll talk in a positive manner about premiums um we'll see where that ends up but we we should have another meeting sometime September October time frame so thank you Mr Stenner the uh thank you the district and Facilities committee met uh last Friday and the volunteers from the community that serve on that committee were able to see the uh presentation that we saw tonight I'm thinking
021maybe in one or two places I noticed where comments during that meeting might have shaped uh what we saw so we appreciate their help I don't have any updates Mr gries just a couple quick things U from the school Foundation um August 16th I guess last Friday was a officially um the executive director Nicole Cunningham her last day um with the foundation and so I said at the last meeting I'll say again U many many thanks to Nicole and her time spent and time invested as the executive director of the foundation and I recently learned that uh um the foundation does hope to name a new executive director here in the near future future um two other things uh mark your calendars November Sunday November 10 we'll be here before you know it the Wizards
022uh game at Columbus East one of the biggest fundraisers of the year I guess maybe the biggest fundraiser of the year for the foundation and then uh lastly I just I don't want to steal his Thunder but I just learned from Mr Nan that Dale will be back on the trail um I think Wednesday uh will be headed back out east to Maine to tackle more of the at and uh continue to raise money for kids in bcsc in need of eyeglasses and high school kids um that are taking dual enrollment courses dual yeah and um so again everything up to date and a place to donate can be learned at bcsf stars.org no reports here no reports and Mr Grimes can steal my thunder anytime good okay cabinet reports Dr hack thank you as
023our team comes together um I have been waiting to present this report for a long time uh starting in March of last year I'm like can I talk about it now not yet can can I talk about it now not yet um how about now oh let's wait till they're actually you know ready for us to talk about it so the state produced our scores this last week and we are ready to talk about I read scores and the scores of our youngest readers in bcse I have two people up here with me tonight that will help I'll let them introduce themselves whenever the time comes but this is an exciting time for us and we just thank you for letting this happen tonight I'd like to start by giving you a brief history of
024I 3 as you probably know our assessment somebody has a clicker I can tell Chad not yet I mean Dr Phillips not yet don't don't spoil it for me um so as you know the assessment is around three parts it's foundational reading it's literature and it's non-fiction so those three parts come together for our students to take a test it's about two hours over the course of two days it's not timed and so our students we feel like it's a fair assessment it's a fair assessment of where they are it's a fair assessment of the timing and it's also a fair assessment because we get those results back so quickly we can adjust our instruction to meet the needs so that's why we feel I three or I read as we call it now is
025a fair assessment got there go so you have this slide in front of you but I want to go ahead and point out a few things 723 students passed I 3 or I read in bcse this past year this is phenomenal we are so proud of the students and we're so proud of the teachers who are intentional with their instruction to make this happen so 723 was our number we do have students that did not pass I read three and that number is 128 that 128 within that number there are 53 with an IEP 28 are considered El students or have language as a second under two years as their as their um language inside the school and then that brings us to 47 we have 47 who do not qualify for what we consider
026to be a good cause exemption based on Senate bill one so you've heard a lot about Senate bill one and now that starts coming into play so we would have 47 students unfortunately that would be up for retention at the end of their summer school experience our students get three opportunities to pass I read starting in second grade they move them to third grade they get two chances there one of those happens to be in summer school and if at the end of summer school they have not passed they would be considered um a cause for for retention unless they have a a um a parent or a family member who steps up and asks for a waiver for that for that reason okay I've got it all right so this is a an exciting
027slide for us because this does talk about our comparison with the state average looking at this slide you will note that we exceeded the state average by 2.5 percentage points we have a goal of 95% of our students passing by the year 2027 this is a goal that's set by the state but it's also one that Dr Phillips has encouraged us to continue to grow towards and that is our goal we will be intentional with our work getting to that 95% passing rate we are so proud of the efforts again you can see the growth this year and we'll continue putting putting all efforts to making that goal a reality this one talks about the demographics as you can see we outperformed the state in our El population we outperformed the state in our socioeconomic
028status with those with that group and then the group that we did not get any information on would be our special ed um numbers but I feel confident that we will outperform that as well based on our based on our data that we've been collecting inhouse so again you see that another exciting slide for us these are the categories that the state does report out on so that's why we report on on them as well as you look at this slide we had a 6.5% percentage increase uh Point increase from 2023 and we narrowed the achievement gap between our e Learners and our non-el Learners this is a great time to give credit to the great work being done in our buildings to build confidence and knowledge in these readers let me though give you
029an example of both the challenges and the honor that we have in serving our students we had a family moved to Columbus from Guatemala early March the third grader had an amazing smile a curious mind and very little comp Rion of words spoken in English this little one was still mandated to give the iy test she scored at a beginning pre- Premier level understandably our teachers worked with this child and while she didn't pass on her attempt in summer school her spirits were high and her knowledge of English words were on a trajectory upwards beginning her journey to read she loves School loves her principal and knows that she is here to learn and grow this is just one story behind the numbers and there are so many more that happen happen in our schools
030every day this data presents the soci economic status we again outperform the state with this and we and look at that jump an increase of 10.3 percentage points lessening the achievement gra gap between these two groups and before I turn things over to Dr Demmer I just wanted to point out that we were one of the pilot groups this past year that gave the second grade um test the I test to all of our second grade students there is a mistake sorry it's 23 24 on this on this slide um but we gave that test to all of our second grade students you can see that we had 812 that we tested I'll let Jenny explain the results but I wanted to let you know that moving forward with Senate bill one all students will
031be tested in second grade in the state of Indiana it's the same test the same presented in the same way with the same cut scores it's just again given to them early I'm sorry late in their second grade year so that we can get a baseline good evening uh my name is Jennifer Demmer and I'm the principal at Taylorville Elementary so this slide shares with you um as Dr hack said we had 812 second graders in our district that took I read last school year of that of the 812 second graders 363 of these students passed so that was above the state average as you can see on this slide what does this mean for us well of those 363 students that passed do not have to take the IAD assessment as third graders so
032that's one less assessment for them to take during this school year it also means that we have 131 students according to the state that are considered on track without additional reading interventions worked with them this year um again that's right at the state average and then we have 318 students that are con considered at risk meaning they need additional interventions to help pass this school year we know as part of bcsc we will dig into the data to ensure those 318 students this year continue to grow as well as the 131 to ensure that they pass when we look at this data what does it do for us why did we do the pilot well going into this school year we were able to work on classroom placements a little bit um more in intent
033um as well as working on starting those interventions a little bit sooner with students instead of trying having to get to know them and collect data at the beginning of the year we started the year with data each report that we get from I tells us how a student will per performed on foundational skills literature and non-fiction um so that when we are beginning to break students into their intervention and enrichment groups from the beginning of the year this helps we don't want to forget that we had 363 three students that passed so we also want to continue their growth as we go into this school year this slide allows us to break the numbers down a little bit more based on the data points we have from all of our second graders this school
034year taking this past school year taking the irad assessment you'll see on the one side 363 students passed and 131 students are considered on track in the maroon and gray section we are able to break down that 318 students a little bit more um of those 318 students 68 students currently qualify um for a good cause exemption if their case conference um Team decides it's needed and if they do not pass some of those students very well will pass um and then of that 27 students would qualify for a good cause exemption because they have been in the United States for less than 2 years and also receive Services through English Learners um and we do not currently have any students that have been retain twice or that number would be different which then brings
035us to the gray area on the chart statistically we have observed that if students score a minimum of 365 as a second grader they're more likely to pass I read as a third grader and we have 90 students at this time that fall in the range of scoring between 365 and 445 which makes 446 a passing score so we have 90 students that fall in that range um we have lots of data which is a great thing I love to pour into Data look at the numbers and it tells us a lot of great things happening in our district but we do have to remember as the short story Dr hack shared they are students and we don't have numbers sitting in our chairs so our staff members are doing a great job of meeting
036the needs of these students the data gives us view or perspective when we're thinking about creating those intervention groups um and we also had the challenge last year of measuring the growth of all students as we've talked about some qualified for a good cause exemption but it's really important for us that we are working on Literacy for all students so we then tested um students to see the growth and to measure the growth that they had on um that third chance at I read um all of our students have the ability to learn and grow at high levels so now I will hand it over to jeie Long hi my name is jeie long and I work in the elementary curriculum office and today I want to talk to you a little bit about some
037of the strategies that we used in our classrooms over the last year and in this year moving forward so as Dr Dr Demmer spoke earlier that we received a whole lot of information based on how those students in second grade scored on I read and we were able to use that to she said Place students in classrooms we were able to use that now this year in August to work with students to intentionally work on some interventions because we know exactly where we they need that work so with I read we're able to compare apples to apples we know that we are preparing them for that assessment that's coming but moreover we are working to get them to be fluent readers which is the most important thing we all want them to pass but being
038a fluent reader will help them in life with math and science and social studies and stem and then more over to those graduation rates so that data becomes very very important to us in that in that third grade and how we use that um we are also a thing that the state is really focusing on and you'll hear a whole lot of information on is progress monitoring what does progress monitoring look like in our elementary school so we're very fortunate that we have a tool this year um that we tried with our all of our third grade students last year and saw huge success as you saw from the results so we now have that tool now for K to fifth grade to do some intentional progress monitoring so that progress monitoring is a very
039small test that they will take and the the teachers and the the schools the grade levels they will decide when they are going to give that and and the frequency of when they need to to give that based on the students that they had in front of them so we talked about so if you have a student that is really lacking on your data that you have on phonemic awareness phonological awareness there is a progress monitoring tool about 10 minutes is what it takes it gives us concrete information realtime information on where they are on phonological awareness it also can test them on Phonics where they are in phonics and that phonics is really what they call the secret sauce for getting students be to be able to decode and read and then the most
040important thing that we want all third graders to get to as quickly as possible is that oral reading they read a passage and answer some questions they're practicing oral reading they're practicing answering some questions because comprehension is our goal our main goal is that you are able to read and understand what you are reading so we are very fortunate to have that progress monitoring tool so we know exactly where they are throughout the year so we don't have to wait till March when we do I read again so we have information on those students throughout the year and it's relevant and very current to what we need so you've heard a lot about Senate bill one Senate bill one has I I didn't know I would ever be so immersed in a Senate bill in
041my life but we are really diving into Senate bill one and one of the things that it says in Senate bill one is that if a student does not pass I read by that March window in third grade then they will be retained if they do not show some gains so one of the ways that they said is that you can take it a third time and that's during summer school so we did decided we knew that was coming this coming summer so we were a little we were proactive we had summer school this year and invited our third grade students that did not pass our students our teachers and administrators worked incredibly hard during that week uh a little over a week so so summer school happened after our last teacher day so after
042the the teacher day they came in here all of the teachers that were um going to be teaching summer school I talked to them about science of reading some resources that we have in our curriculum that they could be using and then the next day they received students uh for summer school one of the things is we notic is we had a lot of our students pass after that summer school uh time now it wasn't just one week and they magically were able to to read so when we got that information in March teachers were very very intentional with those students the last nine weeks and then that week uh a little over a week of summer school and we saw great gains from that and the students actually they had a great time and
043and just loved it so we are we feel like we have a really good idea of what that could look like this summer so we I think that was a great uh plan that we had to to start that this last summer throughout the summer or I'm sorry throughout the the year we are going to continue uh PD on the science of reading so I'm sure you've heard a lot about the science of reading so through those our district PD days we will be working with the elementary teachers no matter what you are teaching on science of reading because we are all reading teachers in every subject that you have you're going to have to be reading at some point even math Mr Nan there's lots of reading so we want to make sure that
044our elementary teachers and actually all teachers know we are all reading teachers so we're going to be doing some development of our teachers during those PD days and we're very thankful that we have those our uh c ccic will be meeting very soon to discuss these results as well and one the last thing U that I want to talk about uh before we turn it over to questions uh we are very very excited that this year we are participating in the idoe literacy card C Cadre excuse me this is cohort we have four schools that are participating in this CSA fodrea Mount Healthy Parkside and Richards and with this we are able to gain invaluable Knowledge from these people that are going to all these meetings that are working with these schools this is two
045years uh that they are working with this receiving training and so we are really focusing in on how we can learn from them to share with all of our buildings um so we're just very grateful for the opportunity to participate in this in the literacy Cadre through the state so now we are happy to answer any questions that you might have on I read or um our literacy report I've got a quick question first of all thanks to all of you and and this is probably most appropriate Dr hack for you or um and I promise I'm not trying to put you on the spot or get you in hot water with this question and I ask it because a as a teacher myself I've seen many tests over the years that I would argue
046did a very poor job of measuring what they said they would measure so what would be your honest assessment of the assessment sure we've had the opportunity to give the assessment and watch students with the assessment it is truly foundational skills it's talking about phonics it's talking about foundational pieces it's talking about certain vocabulary it's the who what when where and why of reading whenever they ask a question sometimes our questions and our assessments get so complex that the students get lost in the question for example um what was the theme of this story that that becomes very much more difficult um what did the author mean when they said this again much more uh more difficult to to answer the questions coming from I read are truly um Point questions in the text it's
047very little inferencing it's more more knowledge based on what did you read and that has been a game changer for our I read students I learn is a different story that's why we cannot compare the two but we do feel when we've seen this test given students feel comfortable taking it they understand it teachers feel comfortable giving it um because they do feel like it's it's the items from the state standards that they have they've practiced and worked on okay yeah thank you and I I yeah I I knew there was a significant difference between between the two and I yeah my question is related to I read sure so thank you um I have a several questions um first a couple about the second graders that took the test um so I asked Dr
048hack earlier and she informed me that it's the same test they're actually taking the third grade test same test the third graders taking so one thing is that we had 43% of our second graders passed the test that was written for third graders and I think 43% doesn't sound like very many but that's pretty or 45% sorry that's that's amazing right we are very proud of that um my question is so the state says 131 are on track based on their score as second graders and then I'm a little gray about the gray area so 90 students are kind of on track I what's the difference between those 90 students and 131 students that's my question sure so out of the 318 that are are considered at risk we've done a statistical analysis based on
049two years of our data so that's where um again we're we're still in the in the primary um stages of understanding our data over a longitudinal time but if you score at a 365 or above we feel even though you're at risk we feel like we're going to get you over the hump we really do um and so that's the that's the Tipping Point of a number that we're like let's do it we know we can capture those 90 kids and make and make some great things happen for all kids but those 90 we should be able to get over the hump by by our stati statistical analysis so that means with the interventions absolutely with the interventions right so so the way that we look at that is we have um the on trck
050kiddos would need very little intervention so the passes are passed they'll never take the ivory test again the on track they do need some interventions but they're they're less interventions than what would be needed for the at risk the as at risk we need to do a 90-minute reading Block Plus give additional support and that additional support can come from book buddies which we encourage all of you to think about family support small group instruction individualized instruction so we have a multitude of ways to reach our atrisk students and then um on the summer school first of all it's commendable that teachers were working on that before summer school which sounds like that was a huge part of that it was um but do we know what of those that participated what percent passed or
051do we know numbers from SU 77% or 77 students came to summer school consistently and 44 students passed okay um and finally um book buddies um which I am volunteering in book buddies and it's it's fun even for a meth teacher and it and they make it so easy to do um we're watching your student and how they're doing by the way what's that I'm I'm just joking just joking Dale student right there they um well and every once in a while they'll ask me about they they'll they'll bring up math not me but anyway um I question that so my question is in terms of these numbers how many I know it hasn't started yet for this school year at least at Schmid it hasn't but how many book buddies I know we always
052need more but how many do we have volunteers so we're at um 100 plus right now we could always take more volunteers because the more volunteers we get the more students we can bring in it's all based on the number of volunteers first so because of that uh the last I checked we were at about a 120 volunteer um area so so knowing that that's how many students we can serve but any more volunteers we serve more students okay thank you and out of um our students from last year 98% of book buddies pass I read for the 318 uh how how was the communication plan I I guess to the parents and like what Support Services have you provided or at least try to bring them in on is to get ready for the
053third grade right so we've already sent home a letter this year saying your child is at risk to um to not pass IAD we know though that there are interventions along the way we're not trying to do a scare tactic to parents but we want them to be aware and that letter was sent out last week just letting them know that your child is at risk we're still going to do the work that happens inside of school but we need your help outside of school too so we gave them suggestions on ways that they could help their child at home as well as what other things that they can do in the to to um to booster and and really help their confidence of their child reading read at night that's the very first thing
054we ask all of our families to do continue to read at night thank you and then another letter will go home after um the the um second semester beginning of second semester just as a reminder because at 3 318 not all those students are still with us and then we've gained some other students too so since Co our our trend has been the wrong direction and so I think seeing these numbers this is awesome this is great work that everybody's put together um I think everybody appreciates all the effort from teachers parents students so thank you all um one question I have you done first you've done a great job with the presentation because you've answered all but one of my questions okay so thank you and I think you've done good job with other
055people's questions too but with the monitoring the progress monitoring would it be possible to May maybe get like a mid semester semester end report just a very high level to show that throughout the school year you're getting what you need out of the students and the parents to deliver on their half the teachers have what they need and book buddies and others to help support on their side so that we know before we get to the end of the year that we're going to be good or bad and where where we need help can advocate for more help thank you for for saying that and on this slide I I ne neglected to point out 2020 is not up there because of covid so you were exactly right the state we're seeing the the the
056results now um down from where where we were with Co but now we're both we're both trajector up which is trajector up uh so that's exciting for all of us to see and we do have a universal tool that we're giving to all of our third grade students so we can get that information real time we're also going line by line with kids um so we know kid by kid who needs what support and how we can best support them from our office but and and then help the principles who help the teachers so we can do that for sure would would it would it benefit everyone to see if that tool for third graders would be easy to use for maybe pick one or two schools to try in second grade just to familiarize
057them with the tool actually we had a meeting about that today so I'll let genie talk about that so last year we really were focused really on our third grade students but we were able to purchase the seats for all of our K to five students so we are working really hard with going into the schools and re and really identifying those second graders and talking about so you have information from nwea um that they take um three times a year so we they we get scores on that they also do um the universal screener for dyslexia so we get really quick information on our second graders of they're flagged uh for some reading challenges we also take adaptive oral reading so we get information really soon really fast and so we are working with
058our first grade we we talk to kindergarten they kindergarden they're trying to understand life the first semester are there students that in the second semester we can do some progress monitoring on but even in first grade so we're talking to all of our buildings first grade do we have some students that we can get some some concrete data on second grade for sure we want to be proactive we want to be able to address situations as soon as we can or see where they're shining and soaring and keep them soaring because that's there's a tool where we can with that oral reading if they are soaring we can up the grade level so that they're working to go even higher but we have also for those students that need a little extra boost so yes
059we I am working or our office is working with all of the the instructional coaches in the building uh myself and another one of my colleagues were going into the buildings that do not have instructional coaches to work with especially those second and third grade so we can be more proactive and that we we are all we are all using this tool we like this tool and that it's quick it's 10 minutes they're getting a really good practice but it's Universal all of our students will be taking this the same one so we're able to talk about the the data because we're all using the same thing that was very very important to us that we were all using the same progress monitoring tool so yes it that was a very long answer but yes
060we are working with actually first grade and second grade third grade but we are also you know our fourth fifth fifth grade sixth grade what are we doing for them we don't want to just lose sight of anyone just because they're they're out of that I read three that I read year we really are concerned how can we even progress monitor that oral reading in fourth grade and in fifth grade which we have the tool and then what do we need to do for sixth grade just so that we can keep pushing and pushing and get and so they just the reading scores go up and just we have better reading across all grade levels thank you anything thank you I one of the presenters one of the speakers and I think it's even in
061the last slide uh talked a little bit about the science of reading and I'm wondering if you could give me say somebody asked me in the grocery store store what the science of reading what's new and different about that what the change is the benefit right so fortunately we have a science of reading expert who's standing right here with us so I will turn things over to her but it is definitely a question that's out there it's it's grounded on on Theory and it's grounded on Research so we're very fortunate to have Genie at the helm whenever we talk about science of reading and remember every teacher in bcsc third grade through through kindergarten will have access to her her materials so I'm so glad you asked asked uh so the when we I first
062yeah so I'm going to condense but so really when we think about science of reading the state and the dyslexia Association has a really big definition so we worked in our curriculum team last year to kind of condense that so that we could talk about what that is so really the main things that you need to think about with the science of reading is that it is 50 years worth of research from many different areas so it's not new it's not a fad it's also not a program but what when we think about science of reading we're really thinking about that what we're teaching is systematic so when our students they are learning skills from easiest to hardest and it progresses from kindergarten all the way through really second grade is where those foundational learning
063the most takes place so that's the first thing that it's systematic the other thing is that it's explicit that it's explicitly taught uh we we work to make sure that that Phonics that code based reading is uh explicitly taught to the students they learn those those phonics rules those syllable divisions so that kind of explicit teaching so the teacher's teaching they're practicing they're doing lots of lots of new skills and practice the other thing is is the the big five of reading so the big five of reading is that we are instructing systematically and explicitly on a phone ological awareness phonological awareness is how we manipulate sounds how students can tell the difference between cat and bat what's the different sound the the the beginning sound is different we also work on Phonics we've talked
064about phonics and that's that code uh that those those those phonics codes that we teach them those rules the other thing is fluency fluency is one of the most important things that Bridges all the work they doing primary with the phonics and the phonological awareness to then reading comprehension because that's how they read are they able to read at an appropriate Pace are they do they have some accuracy and do they read with expression um and not monotone so that fluency is that bridge between the two the next the the fourth one is vocabulary that students have a range of vocabulary that depth that breadth of vocabulary and knowing when to use a word is it big is it gigantic or is it enormous to know those shades of meanings of words uh the morphology
065of words and then the last one and the reason why we do all of this is comprehension that's the end goal is that students are able to comprehend what they are ask it's really that big body of research on how students learn to read and write and that's with systematic instruction it's explicit and that it's explicit on those big five reading components thank you I'd encourage you to tell them to call Genie in the supermarket as you can see you couldn't find three more passionate people about reading we we love what we do we love working with reading and our our youngest of students and our oldest older students too um but we're not letting up on the gas we know we have work to do we have 85% passing this year we want to
066strive and we will strive to meet that 95 for the state and for bcsc it is nice to see the wind in your all sales it the energy is infectious and I appreciate all we a long we can talk a lot more I I was going to ask um I'm really interested you still need to get about 3 and a half% better every year the next three years to get there so a long list of great strategies and I'd really like to see some of the outputs of the September ccic I know you'll be doing a lot of brainstorming work and coming up with new strategies or places where we can double down on what what we have so I think we'd all like to see how that turns out we'll be excited to share
067that as well good thank you real quick one last question for me do you know when the the I hate to do this but when the when the math testing information comes out for I learn yeah I learn is already out it is out okay yes awesome thank you all right remind me if I see jeie in the store I'm going to go the other direction just it's just because it's on the weekend I love to talk about learning how to read but just on the weekend um that thank you for that all three of you that was terrific um terrific information and a reminder of why we're here the goal is not to pass the test but to be a fluent reader and so to make sure as many of our kids are ready
068to read fluently by third grade or by the end of third grade Miss Welden the next item on the agenda is the first reading of the reorganized policies uh just a reminder for anyone that hasn't heard the story before we have engaged with a Indiana based Law Firm to take over for niola um in the management of our board policies and they sent us a package of policies to review uh four weeks ago three and half weeks ago we reviewed those internally those went on to the website two weeks ago 14 days before tonight and um and then tonight so 14 days is what our current policy mandates those be posted publicly before the first reading so tonight's first reading uh is on 14 policies I'm not going to read them to you uh although
069I promise I am fluent 14 policies will replace or consolidate all or part of 26 current Neola policies so again the goal of this is to simplify the policies so that they're easily digestable by the public accessible by the public and easier for the board and for the district to manage than they were under our previous agreement I already told you about that timeline the second reading for these is scheduled for September 9th there was one caveat to that and that that bottom down uh uh the bottom section down is just a reminder of the way that church church and Ann which is a law firm putting this together for us that is the way that they have organized the policies for the 20 or so districts they've done this for over the past decade
070or so so the uh 14 policies up for the first reading tonight include uh Firearms weapons and destructive devices reporting of child abuse abuse or neglect the tobacco use policy uh responsible use of Technology Wireless communication devices which is one that's mandated uh that we update this summer by uh by new Indiana code Civility and decorum functions of the board which I'll go into in just a second here um attendance is the next one that is mandated by the most recent legislative session um there was only one clause in there that was required to be updated and it was not a change for us homework District organization standard of care and supervision of students staff ethics the teacher appreciation Grant is one that must be approved during the September 9th meeting so regardless of what
071happens tonight we have to have that one approved and uploaded in order to pay out those teacher appreciation grants when they come this fall and then last is data breach and protection on the right side of the slides we have the Neola policies that all of those will replace again 14 rep policies replacing about 26 current Neola policies the only one that I want to point out to you that um is is a little bit of a variance from from in the past the rest of these have no substantive changes over our current policies but under functions you might remember remember that I sent you a note not too long ago that our current policy says that we will post the policies they'll be up for 14 days we'll do a first reading then there
072is a mandated by our policy that was just passed last year by this board a mandated Public Work session to review those changes before the second reading occurs in policy prop osed policy B 175 functions the 14-day posting remains but the only thing that we have changed in that proposal to you this evening is that there is not a mandated Public Work session since there since there aren't substantive changes to the policies but if the board votes to pull out one or more of these to conduct a public work session and and further discussion on that one would be pulled out and we could hold either hold that work session before the second reading or just delay the second reading for that one two or more policies that the board chooses to pull out if
073the board moves forward and says we don't need a public work session on these then on September 9th all of these will be in their second reading and up for approval happy to take any questions on either the process or any of the the content of these proposed reorganized policies so I think this is clear I'm going to play back what you just said to to us on b175 and if we were executing the change you just described in this session if somebody on the board said I really want to talk about no tobacco policy I'd like and we would actually make a motion would we make a motion and vote because the way the functions policy is now written as it requires majority of the board so a board member would make a motion
074we would get a second and we would vote and if majority wants to hold a work session that's what we would do correct that's what the proposed B17 policy essentially just in the sake of for the sake of transparency tonight um based on our current policy that has not yet been replaced by b175 we would need to have a public work session between now and the next um the next the second reading proposing that the board basically wave that as a procedural requirement if all of the board members agree that there's no need for that with these reorganized policies of course we could schedule one prior to the next meeting or between now and then if that's the board's desire but if we move forward in approved b175 then in the future there would just
075be a time right now when a board member would say I propose that we pull out the no tobacco policy and have a public work session before the second reading board could vote on that and we would do so if a majority of the board voted to do so and for the yep yep I heart policies okay I heart policies and for the um just to to remind us all M most of our polic policies require majority are there any exceptions to that vote to to implement a policy are there any exceptions to that I would have I would have to go back and look at the bylaws provision there are some policies within the policy manual that are designated as by laws those may require a slightly different approval procedure if I'm if I'm
076remembering correctly um but generally speaking most of them are by a majority y thank what questions do the team have so miss wen at this time if if there are any or there if there are no other questions or discussion I would ask if any board members would like to make a motion to pull any of these policies out to have a public work session on between now and the September 9th meeting um when they would be up for a second reading and approval was an appropriate wait time was good I'm keeping track okay these will remain on the website for anyone in the public who wants to see them on board docs under policies and then proposed policies this is package one and it'll be the next one it'll be about three more weeks
077before the next package is posted under a different tab ready to review under package two thank you one clarification not not that I'm considering doing this but but that um motion from a board member to wait on a policy like for this group could still be done next time and then do a um do a public work session pull that one out and do a public work session for the next meeting I that's a great Point um Mr Nan that it would not have been approved at that point at the September 9th meeting for example with this package so if if any of you were to get feedback from the public that they really want to dig more into this or you discover that you have any concerns then at the next meeting we could
078take that step okay good point thank you so is the second package expected to be the late September meeting then is that the plan September 23rd meeting would be the first reading they would be posted by September 9th thank you very much next item under cabinet reports is the quarter two financial report Mr Briner for the first time [Music] good evening everyone um pleased to be here in front of you for my first time uh discussing the quarter 2 financial report um good news I get to bring to you our revenues across the board are about 99.4% uh higher than they were for the first half of last year your education fund is about 8.4% higher operations fund 14.4% higher and the operating referendum fund 2.3% higher are on on Pace to uh reach their
079budgeted Levels by year end looking uh at education fund expenditures uh salaries and benefits are up 9% over last year this is as a result of the pay increase for all employee groups that occurred following the collective bargaining agreement last fall the addition of the high school administrators for cohorts and continued success in filling positions operations fund expenditures salaries and benefits are up uh approximately 4% over 2023 and your other expenditures are tracking as budgeted for the year the operating referendum fund expenditures are all tracking as expected uh if you want to look down at the Safety and Security it looks like we're a little low for the year but um we have ordered buses that have not come in yet when those buses come in we will have those expenditures so we are on
080track for the year within that that area dialing down a little closer into the referendum uh area the salaries through quarter 2 operating referendum contributed approximately 3.3 million in increased salaries for employees that's 540 teachers and nearly 1100 staff members that benefited from The increased salaries as a result of the ref referendum and then finally your Quarter Two fund cash balances um pretty much across the board we're ahead of where we were for last year your education fund operations fund the referendum fund and the health dental trust are all ahead of where they were last year um those first three the education fund operations fund and the referendum fund are all ahead due to stronger than anticipated revenues for the first half of the Year higher salary and benefit costs in the second half of
081the year will bring some of those balances Down The Debt Service fund is a little bit lower than last year but that was planned and will continue to draw down slightly over the next year and be glad to answer any questions you may have I went kind of fast I apologize so for the operations fund it's clearly growing at a faster clip than the other ones just based on you know year-over-year is there a strategy to allow the educ tion fund to retain some of that growth by lowering the transfer or cuz I was just trying to figure out how to balance or if there's plans for those operation fund excesses because I know the goal if I recall our conversation in the past try to keep two pay periods an education fund two pay
082periods and operations fund but that growth seems like it would exceed that that is exactly what we intend to bring you two weeks from now during the budget Workshop pass you pay to ask that question and you can't ask Dr Phillips he's not the finance guy anymore point of order you noticed I didn't speak up at all I understand we had the prior conversation yes out of curiosity what is driving the additional Revenue well we had I'll take first half if I miss it you'll back me up right um part of that is um with the 4% cap on the levy increase we have seen with higher assessed values on property we are receiving more money because the values are higher so our tax revenues that way are higher I'm not sure if there are
083any other ex excessive Revenue areas there that's one particularly only with operations on for um for that one and that's um that's essentially because even those at the tax caps already on property taxes if your assessed value goes up with a maximum of 1% and those revenues increase so we're we're just losing less to tax cap losses um the second one is that you all have I've said it for years we underestimate revenues and overestimate expenditures um and then the third one that is not anything that we can really predict is um sorry uh returns from Investments the interest rates staying as high as they are for as long as they have um have generated at this at middle of the Year about a million and a half into each the education fund and the
084operations fund and so a significant amount of coming from that but you know three months from now that could be gone so we actually have a proposal we'll bring here in two weeks on the budget um to appropriate some onetime spend that would use up some of those dollars for some priority items including Safety and Security it's really H handy having him one Flor above me any other questions thank you very much you did a great job thank you okay we have public comments tonight so just remind everybody of our um process if you would like to speak at um the board meeting there is always a blue sheet at the table when you walk into the room and you can put your name um address and then usually if you put um you know
085what you want to speak about that's helpful uh that sheet get makes it around to me and and it's always part of the agenda you get 3 minutes to speak and that timer will help you stay on track um we ask that you not use any individual names of people specific titles are kind of the same thing so we just want to make sure we keep this um professional and um if you have a long list of people and there has a point that you'd like to make and it's already been made it's okay for you to pass when I call your name you can just say your Point's been made and I I will move on um I ask for no cheers or jeers from the audience I think speaking can sometimes be overwhelming
086in an environment like this we just want to make sure everybody feels comfortable doing that okay so first on the list is Michelle car hi everyone um I first wanted to start off and let you know um thank you all for all the work you're doing um on successfully helping our young people learn how to read I can tell you and it may come as a shock to those who know me um I didn't jump right at the start when I was taught to read it did take a little bit of of help um some extra time with me before I could pick it up um now I'm an Avid Reader some may say I'm an addict um but it's definitely a passion of mine I try to read everything I can get my hands
087on um and a lot of times I feel like I grow from what I'm reading especially if it's from a different perspective that I myself have never experienced and I can say um I experienced that when I read the book push earlier this year um I chose to read it myself just on a whim I knew that there had been a movie on it I hadn't seen the movie yet um but I I heard good things and I was like I want to read this book and see what it's all about um I've learned now that it's been challenged and it makes me kind of sad um I remember being uncomfortable when I read the book I remember crying when I read the book but I also know that sometimes being uncomfortable means you're growing
088and it's something that you grow from I mean if I walked away from everything that made me uncomfortable I wouldn't be up here speaking so um you know and things I drew from the book was that a young person might be able to recognize abuse abuse that they might not have been able to see uh before and and also as an adult um it's a reminder for me and I think others of situations that you may look at it from the outside and think you've got it understood but it's not what you really think it is and underneath there was so much more and a lot of people judged the main character for what they saw on the outside and didn't know what she was personally going through and I think it was a good
089reminder that you know we need to stop before we just make assumptions and maybe learn about the situation that the person's in and I thought it was a very good reminder a great growth thing and as a option and not a syllabus book I I think as a mother of a East student that is perfectly acceptable I would be fine if my child read it um you know I would just be there in case they had questions concerns UNC Comforts I would just make sure I was there for them so I would just like you to take it into consideration to to keep it there as an option thank you thank you Miss Carr uh next we have Susan Smith hi I this Smith um I grew up in Columbus um I've been gone for
090like 20 years and I just got back N9 months ago but Michelle my daughter has been keeping me up to date with books that have been challenged and I have to tell you I'm sad because when I grew up and a lot of you are around my age they didn't ban books they wanted the kids to learn and if we take away stuff like this book and others we learned this stuff it was good for us it was good for our children growing up so why is it not good for my grandchildren and other kids their age you shouldn't subract to books you should be encouraging your children and my grandchildren to learn things that we knew and we grew up with challenging a book to me is wrong every book out there teaches you
091something yes it might scare you a little bit it might make you on edge like Michelle said but you're learning and that's what your kids need to learn that's what my grandkids need to learn and I didn't come back to Columbus to come to a place where they're challenging books I I've been in Missouri I've been in Nevada and I've been in Kansas in the last 20 years in those States they have not banned books I come home and find out that you wanting to challenge books I believe it's wrong I'm ashamed of the fact that books are being challenged chenged and I want to tell you guys that if we learned it and we taught it to our kids there's not and they were they were good they nothing harmed them they're not damaged
092so why should the kids the new generation be damaged by stuff that we learned it's wrong I beg you please don't challenge any more books because you're taking learning away from the kids and that's wrong that is so wrong please please give this a second thought and don't do this thank you thank you Miss Smith okay those are all the comments vote Yes Mr briyan voting on this due to the fact I wasn't here last wee very good you're right you're accusing yourself okay I'm accusing myself all right I'm a nice guy okay so uh motion and second for approval of item nine uh minutes from our August 5th and board meeting and executive session all those in favor say I I all those opposed say nay motion CES passes 60 thank you also have
093a request for approval under item 10 new business for the items A and B supplemental contracts and school fundraisers as well as claims and payroll the claims for just the August 19th claim run of just over $700,000 the pre- runs to this point uh through July of just over $13 million that includes the semiannual debt payments it's a reason for the large dollar amount there and then also the August 9 payroll from just under $3 million the other new business includes the resolutions related to the 2024 lease rental bonds uh for which we held the two public hearings today and then three of the federal title grants uh Title One Part A Title One Part D and title three part A I mve sorry go ahead I move that we approve line items a through
094g under Section 10 as presented second thank you Mr Schultz and Mr nelan are there any questions or comments from the board yeah I had a question about the title 1A um it showed that there was counseling being contracted and that we had uh uh Wellness specialists at some but not all schools is there is that is that something that we would benefit from centralizing and sharing resources it it wasn't clear to me how how the resources are used and like if you had four schools and two Wellness Specialists are they at both do they make it to all four schools or are they just for so just understand a little bit more about how how the people are used and if do we need more people is this on okay um our Wellness special
095student wellness Specialists um are in and Dr hack may be able to make sure I speak correctly I believe seven of our current elementary schools so we're just sharing and braiding funds from education fund covering those and using some Title One funds for our Title One buildings so we work to make sure that every building has that coverage um not just two of the four we just are supporting funding through Title One in those buildings okay that helps yeah yeah and they're still there they're just paid for in a different way different ways correct yep any other questions thank you Mr CH any other questions or comments these items no all right uh we have a motion and second to approve items 10 a through G as presented all those in favor please say I
096I all those opposed say n Mo car Dr St thank you the two human resources recommendations for this evening consist of one appointment and one leave I request that you please approve the Personnel recommendations as presented in your board packet I move that we approve all HR recommendations as presented by Dr stal Bal second thank you Mr Grimes and Mr major any questions comments from the team thank you okay and there are no additional Human Resources recommendations for tonight thank you all those in favor of approving item 11a human resource recommendations please say I I I all those opposed say nay motion carries 7 Z thank you Mrs Weldon I just want to point out there that I mentioned last meeting that our new teacher orientation had the fewest new teachers we'd had in a
097long time I want to say for the first meeting after school's been in for a couple weeks only having two and one of them being a leave is is also a quiet HR report for us so exciting exciting that our staffing situation is continuing to get better amidst a very difficult Staffing Market no less okay all right I think I think we have board input and review Mr Nan would you like to start um well just that congratulations to Mr Chastain and it it says a lot about him that he um spoke about his colleagues too besides just himself and and the report on reading um the fact that it was great data but also the the passion for reading that the presenters had and the passion they shared that the teachers have is is
098very encouraging similar congratulations to Mr Chastain in East High School um it's awesome and then also again on the IR I know I've been talking with Dr hack off to the side on several occasions and not only the passion but honestly just the presentation itself was very just very very good in terms of just again benchmarking against the state average already identifying where we're at risk we have strategies to meet the at risk I think that's exactly what everyone wanted to see and I really appreciate the work that you know Dr hack's doing and the whole Elementary Network so I think it definitely commendable well in no particular order real quickly here first off congratulations to uh Mrs helden who on Friday will be recognized at the chambers women in leadership lunching uh secondly again
099congratulations to Mr Chastain and all other others that were nominated and just a a big thanks to the dedication and commitment of all teachers across the corporation and then lastly um something that I think is an excellent addition and potentially very substantial uh just a reminder to community members grandparents stakeholders in the community to take advantage of the Legacy pass which is new to the corporation this year uh age 62 plus maybe it's special to me CU I'm inching closer to that uh but um yeah where please visit the uh administration building here or any uh Central north side North or east to uh attain a complimentary a a sticker that goes on your ID to uh to gain admittance to any school sponsored event awesome very good uh um I just want to uh
100thank Dr Phillips uh for holding up his end of the bargain and Contin pushing us down this road of changing policies I'm not joking I'm going to get iHeart policy stickers for all of us because it is going to take a long time and it's going to be a lot of heavy lifting but I just think we're going to be so much better on on the end at the end of this so I appreciate um I appreciate you getting that going and and the patience and commitment of this team to to see that through I think that's a big win for us um and then I'd also like to congratulate um bus drivers custodians food staff teachers um for completing a first full week of school you know the first few days you're real excited
101and then the whole week comes and I know my my kids at a whole another perspective last Monday and they were really tired this Friday and I'm sure that was felt across all of all of the people who were were dealing with him all week so congratulations to getting through that now we're now we're off and running and um I also wanted to just reiterate um what Dr stom said on regarding Molly Fountain like what an accomplishment for her to make it to the top 10 that is quite a long process it's a difficult process I'm not all surprised she's there CU she's fantastic and just wanted to recognize her again absolutely uh Mr Chastain and Miss fountain um doing amazing work representative I think of the teachers across the district I enjoyed U the
102presentations that we had tonight beginning with the 2030 en Vision presentation appreciate all the teachers and staff that have been putting work into uh the building remodels and building construction planning uh presentation as other board members have said on the reading initiatives are is just amazing and again I think there's great work going on in bcsc and it is uh much appreciated thank you yeah I want to agree with everybody else on the passion that was shown um during the presentation on reading I think we've all been in presentations with 100 page slides with less substance than what they shared with five or six slides so very much appreciate that the depth and breadth of knowledge and the ability to speak to it with basically no notes means they're truly experts in what they're doing
103so thank you for that I know again to what Nikki said uh thank you to everybody for their efforts it's there's bumps to the beginning of every school year uh thankfully everybody's been fairly patient uh I think we've not seen a whole lot of Social Media stuff out there that's been too bad um we've had some things here and there but I think everybody's coming around and and we're past all those bumps uh again to hit Mr Chastain um with accolades I've said this before uh I think I went to six or seven different graduation parties because my daughter graduated and all of her friends invited Mr Chastain and it says a lot when I go to a different party and I still see the same teacher showing up and so when he talks up
104there it's because he cares and I got to directly see that through my daughter so I appreciate that from him um and uh I hope that uh Molly Fountain sets the bar high so that we can see if Mr chastang can meet that level so hopefully we'll be talking about him a year from now in the same light in the top 10 so thank you I've uh worked at the public library for seven years now and there was a young lady that works down there that has nine great Dangs and she brings one great D in and put him in a room and kids go in and read to that great day and there was one young lady that cried because she wasn't able to stay another half an hour to read to that dog
105and I just sort of started laughing myself because I thought it was funny and then Cindy day which is a young lady that works at the library she comes up to me she said you know that young lady couldn't read until she started coming in here and sitting and reading to that dog Dr hack I'm not telling you get a great name heav be but uh it is a situation that reading is so important not only to the kids and not only to us but to everybody including great Dames I agree with the rest of my board members about what has happened here tonight and I'm pleased that probably the most I ever spoke isn't it it is okay and on that high note Let's see we will be together again on September 9th at
106uh 6:30 in the admin building for regular Schoolboard meeting and then again on the 23rd of September 6:30 right here okay and that meeting on the 9th is an important one so we have the budget Workshop as I mentioned before and then second readings on those policies and and Pat if you could just get two more grade de we'd have one for every Elementary I can't believe one person has nine grade gings uh I I do after just want to add something after some of the comments that you all made about the um the start of the school and and heroes that helped get everything going you all don't know that in the 24 hours prior to the start of the school we had Network lines cut to three of our buildings including the transportation
107center so with 24 hours left before buses were set to go pick up thousands of kids and run 8,000 Miles the technology department Department Mr Williams back there relocated the entire routing system to this space hooked up everybody from the uh transportation department here and they ran everything for routing on the first day of school from right here with Dr Boseman standing right over there while all of this construction thing things were were going on under his uh his supervision as well so that operations Department deserves more Kudos than what people will ever know so thank you and then the last thing is that between now and the next meeting is rivalry week and yes I do have to say it like that rivalry week so best week in Indiana in sports and um if
108you have not seen our kids compete against one another and then hang out after the game on the field together in in you know Blood Sweat and Tears often times in all you know all three um hugging one another and enjoying themselves as friends and competitors uh you haven't seen anything better than that so make it to some event cross country tennis volleyball football soccer all happen uh in the next 14 days or so okay well that meeting is a journ thank you everybody