001[music] Hi, I'm Yolanda. I've been a bus driver with Columbus City Schools for 15 years. I love it. It's flexible. I was a single mom with four kids and I needed the flexibility and the hours. [music] So, being able to work a split shift was awesome. Making sure that you make contact with each kid every day, it [music] changes them, changes me. Columbus City Schools brought a lot to my life. I believe I'm a family. We're a family. I really enjoy what I do. [music] And it's not just about the kids. You have teachers, you have employees, and they all contribute to what we do best here, and that's educate. [music] Actually taught me how to drive. Taught me directions. North side, east side, west side. I know where I was [music] going when I
002first started. Now I know everywhere. The whole Columbus. Tuition reimbursement. I [music] was able to go to school. Come join us. Apply now. CCSJO.org. Today we went [music] to all of the feeder schools, so all of the elementary schools and two of the [music] middle schools that feed into West and we did a clap out with their kindergarteners and fifth graders. >> The walk was really fun. My favorite part [music] was seeing all the little kids and seeing how happy they were and knowing that they're going to be here one day with us. showing students that they can graduate one day. As long as you stay on track with everything that [music] you need to and you just stay focused on the stuff that you want, then you can really do it >> with such
003an exciting [music] event today. It's so great to see our kids that we haven't seen since they were in elementary school. Um I was lucky enough to be their teacher [music] for second and third grade. So, it was really special to see this group come through. just great opportunity to celebrate and it's important because it builds the connection and I think that's something we really need on the west side is to build a connection between our elementary, middle school and high school students. >> We always talk to the kids about what happens after elementary school, but um an event like today shows [music] them where they can be in the next few years. I think it just shows them how all of their hard work can pay off as well in the future. La. [music]
004down. Hey Heat. Heat. [music] [music] Heat. Heat. N. Heat [music] up here. [music] Heat. Heat. [music] >> [music] >> My name is Lolita Van and I am a special ed instructionalist. >> [music] >> Greetings and welcome to this week's highlights from across the district. It's March and our district is proudly recognizing Women's History Month and National Reading Month. We are honoring the women who inspire [music] and lead across our district while also celebrating the power of reading to spark curiosity and learning in our students. Together, these observances remind us of [music] the power of leadership, learning, and representation in shaping bright futures for every [music] student. Throughout the month, we look forward to uplifting the voices, [music] stories, and contributions that continue to strengthen our schools and our community. On Tuesday, March 10th, our district
005welcomed community partners to East High School to [music] learn how themies of Columbus City Schools are preparing students for the jobs of the future. During the visit, leaders from the Columbus Chamber, Columbus Partnership, the Ohio State University and Nationwide Children's Hospital joined freshman students to see the Academy of Health Sciences in action. Students participated in hands-on medical training and demonstrated the skills needed for careers in central Ohio's growing health care workforce. Experiences like this show what's possible when education and industry come together to create meaningful pathways for our students. Recently, members of the Ohio Black Judges Association visited Columbus City Schools classrooms [music] as part of Civics Week, giving students the opportunity to hear directly from leaders serving on the bench. During visits to Columbus Downtown High School, Ridge View Middle School, and Woodward Park
006Middle School, Kim Brown, Stephanie Mingo, [music] and James Green engage students in meaningful conversations about the justice system, civic responsibility, and the role of courts in American democracy. Connecting students directly with leaders in the justice system helps deepen their understanding of civic responsibility and the role they can play in our democracy. Thank you to the members of the Ohio Black Judges Association for taking the time to connect [music] with our students. On March 12th, Columbus Alternative High School hosted its general [music] and international balorate art exhibit, bringing together students, families, and community members for an evening celebrating student creativity. 14 seniors from the class of 2026 presented their senior show featuring beautiful collections of artwork. Guests also explored additional student pieces in [music] ceramics, painting, and drawings displayed throughout the gymnasium and hallways. Congratulations to
007the students and staff at Columbus Alternative High School on hosting a successful art show. Your creativity and talent [music] continue to inspire us. These have been your highlights from around the district for March 17th. Thank you so much for joining us. Good evening. The regular business meeting of the Columbus City School Board of Education for Tuesday, March 17, 2026 is now called to order. Please call the role. >> Miss Adair, >> present. >> Dr. Kennedy, >> present. >> Mr. Katame, >> present. >> Vice President, >> present. >> President Dr. Miranda, >> present. forum. >> Please join me in saying the pledge of allegiance. >> Pledge allegiance 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. Before
008we begin the full board meeting, I would like to take a moment of silence in honor of CCS alumnus and United States Air Force Tech Sergeant Tyler Simmons, a graduate of the Eastmore Academy. Although Tech Sergeant Simmons family is unable to join us this evening, we will be acknowledging him with the resolution at our upcoming meeting on March 31st, 2026. Thank you. Tonight's agenda will include public comment and board resolutions to honor coach Michael Bell and student Cassidy Hayes for their heroic efforts in saving a student from East High School. There will be updates from board committee chairs along with the board monitoring report on seventh grade math interim goals. Following that, discussions will take place on various board policies regarding promotion, entrance requirements, and graduation. Executive marks will be given by the superintendent, internal
009auditor, and treasurer. The consent agenda will include items 8.1 through 23.7 for approval and other legislation after which the board will move into executive session. Is there a motion to adopt the agenda? >> So moved. >> Second. Second. Thank you. Hearing no objections, the agenda is adopted. >> Mr. >> Please call the role. >> Mr. Adair, >> yes. >> Dr. Kennedy, >> yes. >> Vice President, >> yes. >> Mr. Katame, >> yes. >> President, Dr. Miranda, >> yes. >> Motion carried. >> Thank you. Now, public comment. We have one public comment. Valina up church. >> Hello. >> Yes, you have three minutes. >> Okay. Yes. [clears throat] I'm here because I have a question that it seemed like I cannot get answered. Okay. My child was in school. Okay. I informed the teacher weeks before
010of a problem with another student. Come to find out, they ended up getting into a fight. A teacher was hit in the midst of this. They expelled my child from school after the little boy admitted to hitting the teacher. And can't nobody explain to me why my child was expelled for the entire for the retire remaining of the year and he gets to go back to school. Like I talked to his mom, the school, they this board, the superintendent, they all keep making it seem like I want them to tell me what they did to this little boy. What discipline I'm not asking that because I already know that I had conversation with his mom at the expulsion hearing. Him and his mom admitted to hitting the teacher. Like I'm not understanding. And then they
011send me an email talking about my child committed the details offense and the details written below. Like how did she do it? And somebody else is admitting to doing it. My dad my daughter out of school. She has a IEP. They put her on home instruction. One hour a day. One hour a day. Now they doing all of this to correct her grades because I'm complaining about this IEP when she has straight Fs. Now they trying to give her all A's. That's because I'm complaining like what is my child actually learning from Columbus City schools when y'all constantly kicking her out five days for a jacket never giving her in school suspension when there's tons of kids walking around y'all school building a day with jackets on, hoodies on. I have pictures. I have videos
012of all of this and everybody wants to make it seem like I'm the crazy one or something and I'm really confused on this and I'm asking for answers. Then they saying that another thing they trying to say that there's no video like when the teacher was telling his statement at the explosion hearing he said I think I think Marquita I think Marquita I think I was facing this way. When you think something, you're not for sure. If I'm for sure that Marquita hit me, I'm gonna be like, I know for a fact Marquita hit me. I know for a fact I was looking to the left and she hit me in my face. I'm going to be able to give you a full details. He cannot do that. When I get to the school that
013day, they was about to Columbus police was about to arrest my child for assault because they was unaware that my child had got into a fight with another student. Mifflin Middle School made it seem like my child just fought the teacher. Like this is unnecessary and it's not fair. It's a discrimination and y'all denying my child her education rights cuz y'all constantly keep picking her out. >> Thank you. Um we will um Superintendent Chapman will follow up with you. My understanding is that you've already had some meetings and so you will follow up on this. >> Yeah. I wanted to bring it to the world's attention because even Miss Chapman when we were on the phone, she just was saying like she was just brushing it off. Just listening because I'm talking but brushing it
014off. >> Thank you. We will have somebody follow up with you. Okay. There are no other public comments. Before we move into board matters, I would like to take a moment to recognize and celebrate St. Patrick's Day, honoring the legacy of St. Patrick and the rich contributions of the Irish community to Columbus. Irish immigrants played a vital role in the building of our city during the 19th century, helping to develop roads, railways, and neighborhoods which laid the foundation for the Columbus that we know today. This legacy continues with traditions like the St. Patrick's Day parade in Columbus, which brings our community together in celebration. In Columbus City Schools, we recognize that this history reflects something deeper, the power of perseverance, community, and opportunity through education. Like many immigrant groups, Irish families came here seeking a
015better future for their children, and they understood that education was the key to that promise. That belief is directly aligned with the mission of Columbus City Schools to ensure each student is highly educated, prepared for leadership and service, and empowered for success in a global community. The values that we celebrate today, resilience, inclusion, and hope are the same values that we strive to instill in every student that we serve. As we honor the Irish heritage, we celebrate the diversity that strengthens our schools and our city. Thank you and happy St. Patrick's Day. All right, celebration. I want to recognize board member Adair who will read both of the resolutions. And you want them to come forward? >> Yeah. Could we have Coach Bell and Miss Hayes come up to the podium? >> [applause] >> We
016would also love for anyone from the East High family and friends to kind of come around them in the back. Come on up. [applause] So, it is uh my honor and privilege to present uh these two resolutions uh for the heroic efforts of both of you. Um we are probably one of the last organizations I think to do this because of our timing, but you are ours and so I hope that this one is the most meaningful. Um, I will start with uh Coach Bell and then I will do Miss Hayes's and then we will give you both an opportunity to uh say a few words and then we will take pictures. Okay. All right. So, this is a resolution to honor and recognize Coach Michael Bell of East High School. Whereas coach Michael Bell
017serves Columbus City Schools as an educator, mentor, and coach, and has made lasting impact on generations of young people through his leadership, discipline, compassion, and unwavering commitment to students. And whereas Coach Bell is a graduate of Columbus City Schools, has devoted more than 20 years to working with working with and coaching young people, modeling what it means to give back to the very community that helped shape him. And whereas coach Bell has earned recognition for excellence in coaching, including coach of the year honors in 2022, reflecting the respect he has earned through his leadership of student athletes and his dedication to building strong teams and strong character. And whereas Coach Bell has also distinguished himself as a student athlete and community leader, including his induction into the Ohio Dominican University Hall of Fame for basketball,
018further reflecting a lifetime of excellence and service. And whereas Coach Bell's influence extends far beyond wins and losses, and he is widely regarded by students and players as a trusted role model, a positive force, and a steady presence in their lives. And whereas in February of 2026, when one of his East High School players was shot after school hours, Coach Bell immediately ran toward danger, rendered aid, helped stop the bleeding, comfort the student, and remained by his side through an extraordinary traumatic moment. Actions that have been credited with helping save that student's life. And whereas Coach Bell's response in that moment was heroic, but it was also deeply consistent with his character. He has shown throughout his service to Columbus City Schools, namely that caring for students, protecting them, encouraging them, and standing beside them
019in moments of crisis is not outside of who he is, but rather a reflection of who he has always been. And whereas coach Bell has demonstrated that the role of an educator and coach is not confined to the classroom, the practice field, or the game itself, but include shaping lives, building resilience, and showing students that they matter. Now, therefore, it be resolved by the Columbus Board of Education that this board does hereby honor and recognize Coach Michael Bell of East High School for his extraordinary heroism, his steadfast service to students, and his enduring contributions to Columbus City Schools. And be it further resolved that the board expresses its profound gratitude for Coach Bell's example of courage, mentorship, and love for students and commends him for embodying the best of Columbus City Schools. That is a
020motion. >> Second. >> Call the role. >> Dr. Kennedy, >> yes. >> Mr. Katame, >> yes. Miss Adair, >> yes. >> Vice President, >> yes. >> President Dr. Miranda, >> yes. Motion carried >> and the second to honor, recognize, and celebrate Cassidy Hayes for her courage and compassion in a time of need. Whereas Cassidy Hayes, a student enrolled in the East High School Health Sciences Academy of Columbus City Schools, demonstrated extraordinary courage, compassion, and presence of mind by rendering aid and comfort to a fellow student following a recent shooting while which occurred outside the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library on the near east side of Columbus. And whereas in the immediate aftermath of the incident, Miss Hayes remained alongside Coach Bell and the injured student, providing reassurance and support
021while emergency assistance was being summoned and until help arrived. And whereas Miss Haye's calm demeanor and willingness to remain on site during the extremely traumatic moment reflects remarkable character, empathy, and deep commitment to the well-being of others. And whereas Miss Hayes is a participant in the East High School Health Science Academy, a program designed to prepare students for careers in health care through rigorous academic study, hands-on learning, and training that emphasizes patient care, responsibility, and service. And whereas the health science health sciences academy equips students with both the technical knowledge and the compassion mindset necessary to respond effectively in moments of crisis, preparing future health care professionals to serve their communities with skill and humanity. And whereas the actions of Miss Hayes reflect the mission of Columbus City Schools to ensure that every student is
022highly educated, prepared for leadership and service, and empowered to make a positive difference in the community. And whereas the Columbus City Schools community is strengthened by students like Miss Hayes, whose actions demonstrate courage, empathy, and a commitment to caring for others when it matters most. And now therefore, it be resolved by the Columbus Board of Education that this board does hereby honor, recognize, and celebrate Miss Hayes for her heroic efforts rendering aid and comfort to a fellow stu student during a moment of crisis. Moreover, this board commends Miss Hayes for embodying the values of the East High School Health Sciences Academy and the mission of Columbus City Schools. That is a motion. >> Second. Call the RO. >> Vice President. Yes, >> Mr. Katame. >> Yes, >> Miss Sedair. >> Yes, >> Dr. Kennedy. >>
023Yes, >> President Dr. Miranda. >> Yes. >> Motion carried. [applause] >> Mr. Bell, >> do you have any comments? >> Oh, you want me to go first? [laughter] >> Yes. >> Put the age card on. I was pulling age. No. Um, you want to go first? >> You sure? >> Okay. >> Um, first off, uh, we just we want to give God the praise and, uh, give him the honor and just thank him for allowing me to, uh, walk this walk and be where I needed to be in that situation to do what I I had to do in that situation. And I know anybody that's committed their life to the youth uh would have responded the same way and and naturally. And uh um I want to thank you guys for the honor. Uh
024my life has been about working with kids. My life will continue to be about making change and the difference in this district from the from the district I came from. I'm a product of it. So I'll continue to do that and try to uh make make I'm in a position to make a difference. So definitely going to honor that position. And I just want to give a shout out to my sidekick, my girl Cassie right here. She did her thing and uh you deserve all this. Go ahead. >> Um uh thank you guys for honoring me and recognizing what I did. It was a very different experience for me. And but if I had another chance to do it all again to save another life, I'll definitely do it. [applause] >> Hey, we're going to
025get pictures. So stay right there. >> First time here. You ain't mention your ad. Get off. How are you? That's the work, right? >> Are you ready? [laughter] Yeah, I can update. >> I'll give it next round. Patrick will give his >> It's pretty cool. The other three candidates all >> is on mine. >> Yes. >> Can you put the podium back? >> No. >> Oh, is not. It's the other one that didn't make the finaliz. Yeah, but she's been on before. Yeah. I forgot >> again. Thank you to East High School for being here and celebrating um the accomplishments and the bravery of Coach Bell and Cassidy Hayes. We will now have board committee updates and appointments. And we're going to start with um Vice President Les to talk about policy. >> Our policy
026and governance committee met last Monday and it was a very productive meeting. Um we discussed three policies in depth that have been product of work groups from the district that have been um producing great product. Um particularly our first policy that we discussed was the artificial intelligence policy. A long time coming led by uh Mr. Chris Lockheart and his team. And um we had uh one of our educators, Courtney Johnson, who has also been pushing us for quite a while on this policy. It's one that is not only legally required, but even before the state said we needed to implement an AI policy, we were well on our way to drafting one. Um we will also be working on a cyber security policy to follow. Um but Mr. Lockhart has led a work group of
027about 50 people I believe it is. Um which is a lot of people to manage but it brings lots and lots of perspectives from different staff um students and um participants in the ecosystem of Columbus City Schools. And that was important to have those voices in the work group. And so thank you for leading that charge. Um, we talked about the policy draft, policy 7540.09. Um, the state of Ohio put a a rule in place or a law in place that says that we have to have a policy in place by July 1st. We are well on our way to having that done. So, the policy and governance committee actually approved the initial draft of the policy and that draft will be brought to a future board meeting. We also talked about the quality points
028policy which is policy 5421 and relates to middle and high school determination of grades. Um with this we had a presentation from Dr. Keith Harris, uh Clarence Daniels, Dr. Brian Morton, and Miss Heidi Baxter. And I I believe we had additional team members there. So please don't take offense if I did not list your name. Um but again we had a work group working on this issue comprised of educators and administrators um all the folks that need to be in the room. Um and they put out a great product. Um they gave us a brief explanation of the topic of quality points and they talked about the policy um the initial policy where the problems were and how they how they recommend that we improve upon our grading system in the future to not only
029make it more clear for parents how grades are arrived at um but also to make the process flow better for the educators who are actually using the policy dayto-day. And so we had a draft that the committee approved and um that will also be coming to a future board meeting. We also discussed a drug and alcohol testing of classified employees without CDL licenses who transport students in alternative vehicles. This is non DOT testing. Um this policy is 4162.01. This policy is required by changes in state law and in the administrative code which require us to update our policies. Um so we have done just that. We have um a good team who have led the work and I I leave out our legal of course I forgot about um James and Kyle Lathwell who have
030done really all the leg work um behind getting all these policies together and working with our work groups. Um and then John Dean helping us quite a bit. um to to make sure that we have this on the right path so that we can um make sure that we are doing things that comply with law but that also makes sense for the operation of the district. So that policy has a little bit more um time that we need to to spend on it um especially with some of our OC partners but we are going to do that and then that will be coming to the board so that we can come into compliance with state administrative code. We also discussed um policy 5410 which is on the agenda for tonight. So I will not go
031into detail about what that policy is about but that is about promotion, retention and placement. We are currently out of compliance with that policy. Um there were changes under state law that made us need to update the policy. So we will be seeing those updates in a later section of the board docs tonight. We also talked about policy 5112 entrance exams. Um we are hoping to get that policy update as soon as possible. Um and so that is on the committee agenda for tonight. Um the recommended from legal update is adopted by March 20th which would mean we need to adopt the policy tonight. Um again that's on an agenda item. So I will discuss it in more detail when we get to that item. We discussed policy 5336 care of students with diabetes which
032is a complete replacement um compliance and practice uh of a policy that existed. We uh made changes to that policy because of state law changes and had successful collaboration between the administration and our nursing staff representatives. We're still working on that policy with some of our OPS representatives who represent um some of the secretaries who may be required to do some of the um additional requirements that fall within the policy. And so once we have that all together, that will come to the board for a future board meeting. And then we discussed policy 5330 use of medication um which is currently out of compliance and we intend to uh bring into compliance as soon as possible. Um there were specific provisions of House Bill 70 which went into effect March 20th 2025 to clarify how
033medications are defined. Um, the law and draft policy now distinguishes prescription medications from over-the-counter medications. And the policy uh drafted was revised to reflect the provisions of House Bill 206, which were effective April 9th, 2025 authorizing the storage and use of drugs to treat seizures. So, that policy will be coming to a future board meeting. It is not on for tonight. We do have three board policies um that will be on the agenda tonight. And so I will stop talking until then. Um I do want to call out we had two new members to the committee. Um Miss Janice Keys joined our committee and was participating um last round and then Dr. Miranda had her first policy and governance committee. So we are grateful for their participation and inclusion and look forward to good work
034moving forward. >> Thank you Vice President Les. And now we'll turn to board member Adair who will talk about her committee and provide updates. >> Um, thank you, President Miranda. I do uh want to highlight that Dr. Kennedy and Dr. Pier sit on this committee with me and our public committee members are Miss Noel Britt Kioshana Lount Burrell who actually came with me over from ETRM. Uh Elizabeth Castelyn Turner who is a return on this committee and a new member is Mr. Desand Cox. So, thank you to all those uh committee members that are serving. So, I'll provide a a very brief up update because I did submit an eight-page report. Um, and you can find that in board docs. Um, and so I we um we met for the first time for this board
035year and uh began really by grounding the committee in the purpose of the work and what we are going to be working on this year. And so right now this committee as well as the board and district really sit at a really important intersection um where we need to make sure that we are aligning our academic vision to our spaces, resources and systems that support it. So at its core, this work is really about helping um answer a question that our community has been asking for a very very long time and that is what is the shared vision for education in Columbus City Schools. Um so this year the committee is focused on leading this educational visioning process that will result in what's called educational specifications. Those specifications are intended to define the baseline student
036experience across the district and serve as a long-term framework to guide future decisions about programming, staffing, facilities, investments. And as this committee continues the work, it will also start to incorporate academic return on investment lens to help evaluate how resources, programs, and facility decisions align with student outcomes and opportunities. Um, so in our in our uh committee operations, we did a lot of kind of welcome to the committee stuff and we did review and reapprove our committee charter. We looked at our a work plan and we uh reviewed an a meeting agenda, our meeting calendar. Um our work plan does include the questions that board leadership asked us to address both in June and December. Um and we'll focus on understanding what our current educational offerings are for students, the community satisfaction with those um
037what is it they want to see and the cost and barriers associated with providing the academic experience that our community wants for our students. Uh we also had a presentation from the Ohio Facility Construction Commission on what is educational visioning and one of the key takeaways from that discussion was that facilities should be designed to support educational experiences rather than the other way around. Um and so that is something that we actually haven't done here as a district. Um and this really helps to reinforce that uh you know in order to make that first step we have to foundationally understand what it is we are offering and what the comm what the community wants. So that led us into a review a beginning of a review of the district's current offerings and the student experience.
038Um and we had so many of our members of our team participate which was great. Our committee got to really understand the breath of what goes on in our organization. There were even some comments like, "Wow, I didn't know I didn't know we did that much." So, I want to thank um all of the staff members who were there um who uh participated in that discussion. Um it it really highlighted uh you know, both the fact that we have a lot of opportunities across our district, but also we have inconsistencies in access um from school to school. our superintendent brought that up and a major theme of the conversation was really about a need to more clearly define what is guaranteed to every student as part of the foundational experience um before the district can
039really fully move into uh broad envisioning. So, we're going to be working on that as well. So, toward the end of the meeting, we kind of went off script a little bit, which was great. And um we invited all of our staff uh to share their perspective on the future of education through their lenses and we um heard a lot of comments um and it really reinforced the importance of flexibility, real world and career connected learning and a more holistic approach to supporting students academically, socially and emotionally. And it also highlighted the value of continuing to engage educators and staff in this process as we move along. Finally, I want to touch on uh community engagement because that is now folded into all of our committee work. And so I will uh make sure that
040I in my reports as well as from the table highlight what we are doing. Um and so the work ahead will include things like surveys and community conversations. Um we want to hear directly from students, families, staff and the broader community. We also want to go and experience. So um taking field trips not only to our facilities but other districts as well so that we can better learn um and design that educational vision that we really need in those ed ed specs. So um that is my report again much much more detail in the written report that you can find on board docs. Thank you. >> Thank you board member Adair especially for your leadership. this um I think what what we will be finding in this committee will be very important to laying the
041foundation for the future of Columbus City Schools. Um and then I want to announce the following persons are appointed to serve as members of the equitable and transparent resource management committee. So welcome to Martin Davis, Munir Lynch, and Cynthia Price. My belief is you will have a meeting March 19th and you will be reporting on your committee at the next board meeting. So the board extends this appreciation to each individual for their willingness to serve and for their commitment to supporting the work of the district. All right, we're ready to look at the B board monitoring interim goals too, four to six ins for seventh grade math. And I'm going to turn it over to Dr. Chapman who will share. >> Yes. Good evening to our board members and community members. Tonight we'll provide an
042update on our math interim goals for grades four through six and the steps we are taking to strengthen math outcomes for our students across the district. But first, I want to begin by recognizing our amazing educators, our teachers, our building principles, our support staff who is getting the work done in our schools and our classrooms each and every day. We could not do this work without you. And tonight's conversation is really um a conversation about the progress as well as the opportunities that we have in this particular area. We know that improving math outcomes requires clarity, consistency, and daily commitment. And I want to send gratitude to everyone in our middle school grades or elementary grades four, five, and sixth grade, middle school who are working on this work every day in the classroom. Dr.
043Brown and I will provide a comprehensive update on math across the district. We'll begin with a summary of our midyear I Ready data and take time to celebrate the schools that met their interim goals and then we will outline our intentional and focus response to what the data showing us. As superintendent, I have established interim goals directly connected to student outcomes in reading, math, and metriculation. Our comprehensive math strategy to meet the grade seven goal emphasizes strong tier one core instruction, targeted tier 2 support, and intensive tier three intervention to ensure students receive the level of support necessary to accelerate growth and build lasting proficiency. Because the board has set our math goal at seventh grade, I establish interim goals in grades four, five, and six to ensure we remain on track to meet that
044target. This monitoring process allows us to review progress midyear, identify where students are on track, and make course make midcourse corrections where needed so students receive the support necessary to meet our spring goals. Waiting until the end of the year to review data would limit our ability to respond effectively and efficiently. As I often say, the real magic happens in the classroom. Our strongest teachers monitor student progress daily and adjust instruction in real time rather than waiting for the end of the unit results. As we examine math data for grades four through six, we are modeling the mindset we expect across the system. Data driven, reflective, and focused on continuous improvement. At this time, I will turn it over to Dr. Brown to share the math data. >> Good evening. As we've looked at before
045with interim reports, um there are two lines on this chart. The top line in this case uh the blue line represents our historic and current performance uh towards this interim goal. The orange line on the other hand reflects the targets for each year. As you can see we've exceeded our goal this year. Our students have uh continued to show continuous improvement are moving in the right direction on this and it's again gradual continuous improvement. I'm happy to say that when we and not surprisingly when we look at individual student groups as well uh again we've colorcoded this the light blue is ind indicative again of students who have exceeded uh the the board goal at this or pardon me the interim goal at this point in time and again most groups in this grade level
046grade four have uh exceeded the target as well. Moving on to grade five. Um, while our students showed improvement from uh last year, we're still while we're near, we have not met the goal for for fifth grade. And when we look at uh the fifth grade math by uh individual student groups, we see most student groups either demonstrated gains uh or exceeded the target. Uh but again, we're as an overall we're near but did not meet the goal. Sixth grade on the other hand looks quite different. Our students didn't meet the goal this year, nor did they meet it last. So we have a trend in this case where we're trending in the wrong direction for sixth grade. And this trend is going to be the primary focus of our corrective action plan as we
047move forward. Not surprisingly, when we look at uh individual student groups, those declines were shared across many student groups uh in the in this um grade level as well. So no no no surprises there. Again when we look at this as a whole system um it is one lens to look at it. Uh it overlooks uh the vast differences in performances that can occur between buildings. I'm going to hand it back to Dr. Chapman to talk about individual buildings and and the individual buildings that have outperformed this goal. >> Thank you, Dr. Brown. As we review these results, it is also important to recognize the progress being made across the district. This slide highlights 36 schools whose fourth grade students met their interim math goals. We want to take a moment to acknowledge the focus
048work happening in those classrooms and thank the teachers, support staff, and leaders in these buildings for their commitment to strong instruction and student growth. In fifth grade, 37 schools met their interim math goals. We recognize the consistency and effort required to produce these outcomes and appreciate the educators and leaders who are driving this work forward. In sixth grade, 14 schools met their interim goals. Across these buildings, we see consistent core conditions in place. Core math instruction is protected and implemented with fidelity. Instructional leadership is visible through regular learning walks and timely actionable feedback. Teachers are using data not simply to report results, but to adjust instruction in real time. And there is strong collaboration around student work and effective instructional strategies. While we celebrate this progress, our responsibility remains to ensure that every school has
049the clarity and support necessary to achieve similar outcomes. And our focus moving forward is to scale what is working and continuing strengthening math instruction across the district so that more students meet and exceed our goals. As we celebrate the schools meeting their interim goals, it is equally important to understand what is driving both our successes as well as our challenges. Since November, we have engaged in a root cause analysis process. We have analyzed our I Ready diagnostic trends across grades and domains and examined growth targets and cohort progression patterns. We gathered feedback from teachers, department chairs, and school leaders, and intentionally elevated teacher voice to ground our analysis in classroom practice. We then integrated the quantitative and qualitative findings to drive decisions, ensuring our conclusions reflect both measurable trends and the instructional realities across our
050schools. Through that root cause analysis, several patterns emerged. First, the need is broad rather than isolated. Performance patterns span grades and domains, which tells us our response must center on strengthening instructional consistency across the system rather than targeting a single group or standard. That includes ensuring stu students are consistently doing the thinking in math, engaging deeply in problem solving, reasoning and discourse, and that small group time is used intentionally for targeted support to accelerate learning. We are also seeing and hearing from teachers that as math becomes more complex in grades five and six, foundational understanding becomes more visible. In the earlier grades, skills are introduced and practiced with focused attention. In the upper grades, those same skills must be integrated and applied together in more complex situations. For example, in grade six, solving a ratio
051problem requires students to draw on their own understanding of fractions, multiplication, and the interpretation of variables within a word problem. If any one of those skills is not secure, the cognitive demand increases quickly. Students can become caught in the mechanics of solving the problem and lose sight of the underlying mathematical goal. As this complexity increases, quality and consistency of instruction become the key leverage point. That is why monitoring and implementation are essential. Districtwide professional learning must align tightly to priority areas to ensure coherence and impact. And principal development must center on instructional leadership, building capacity to monitor and protect consistent highquality instruction across classrooms. Building on our discussion of increasing cognitive demand, this release question, one of more than 40 questions on the grade six OST, illustrates the level of thinking that students are expected
052to demonstrate. Students must interpret a realworld situation, recognize that the equation represents the cost of aluminum doors, solve for the unknown variable, and then use that information to determine how many fiberglass doors remain in stock. That's part A. In part B, they must extend that reasoning by calculating the total value of those remaining doors. Success on problems like this depends not only on computation but also on literacy, comprehension, and mathematical reasoning. For some students, gaps in literacy and reading comprehension create an additional barrier before they even begin the math. If a student struggles to interpret the situation described in the problem, the cognitive demand increases very quickly. This is the level of thinking our instruction must consistently prepare students to demonstrate. Seeing the level of thinking required on the grade six OST makes it clear
053that our response must be intentional and systemwide in response to the data feedback from our educators and the rigor students are expected to meet. This slide outlines the key areas guiding our work moving forward. Strengthening core instruction, advancing our semester 2 math action plan, implementing targeted tier 2 intervention, and providing curriculum updates and support, and reinforcing monitoring and implementation. At the core of this work is strengthening tier 1 instruction, which continues to be our ongoing focus. We must consistently protect dedicated math time and instructional routines, ensuring classrooms are structured and predictable. Within that time, instruction must maintain a balance of conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, and application. So, students are not only learning procedures, but understanding and applying math in meaningful ways. Every district professional development day carries an underlying focus on strengthening tier one core
054instruction and reinforcing effective teaching practices aligned to our instructional framework. Principles continuously monitor core instruction within their buildings and district leaders engage in routine interdep departmental learning walks. Together, professional learning and monitoring ensure that expectations for highquality instruction are clear, supported, and reinforced across the system. While strengthening tier one core instruction remains an ongoing and essential focus, we also recognize the urgency to accelerate learning where gap exists. Since November, we have been intensely refining our semester 2 math action plan, which centers on implementing daily spiral review in grades three through algebra 1. Spiral review is a structured routine that takes place during the first 10 minutes of every math class, allowing students to revisit previously learned concepts to strengthen retention and mastery. Research consistently shows that retrieval practice, spaced practice, and review improve long-term learning.
055And this routine is designed around those principles in a it is a strategy that reinforces prior learning and prevents gaps from widening. We are beginning this work in grades three because we know foundational gaps do not suddenly emerge in middle school. They compound over time. By focusing on grades three through algebra 1, we are prioritizing the grade levels where state assessments occur and where content becomes more complex. This allows us to focus on monitoring and support on priority grade bands to ensure strong implementation. As structures are refined, this work will expand to include earlier grades. Our goal is to act early enough to prevent gaps from widening while ensuring we implement this work with depth and fidelity. This slide provides a visual example of what the spiral review resource looks like. Tasks are calendarized by
056day, intensely designed to reduce the planning burden on our teachers. Educators do not need to determine what to pull, design new materials, or structure the routine. It's already built, aligned, and sequenced. Teachers may be at different points in the core curricular resources, and that is expected. But spiral review is not tied to a specific lesson, but to a specific day, allowing it to function independently while maintaining consistency across classrooms. The content is aligned to the OST blueprint and directly informed by the patterns we are seeing in assessment data, ensuring it is not a random review, but intentionally focus on key standards where students need additional exposure and practice. Problems cycle across depth of knowledge levels and standards, so students revisit important ideas over time. A critical component is student ownership. Students track their results and
057selfassess, allowing them to identify patterns in their learning and determine what still needs attention. And to support strong implementation, we paired the launch of spiral review with targeted professional learning on January 15th for our principles and for all of our teachers on January 20th. While spiral review strengthens durability of learning for all students, we are also reinforcing our tier 2 intervention structures to accelerate students who need additional support. Tier 2 instruction is built around flexible grouping informed by diagnostic and unit level data with targeted instruction focused on the highest leverage prerequisite skills. Ongoing progress monitoring allows our educators to adjust instruction and regroup students based on response. Small group instruction remains aligned to grade level learning progression so that support accelerates access to core content. To strengthen this work, we align professional development to MTSS
058and datadriven instruction. In addition to strengthening instructional routines, we are advancing curriculum updates aligned to what the data is showing us. We are front-loading critical prerequisite standards so students build essential foundations earlier in the year and enhancing resources in K and grade one to strengthen early number sense. We are also identifying targeted opportunities within unit pacing for reteaching and review even within tight instructional time constraints. Intervention resources are being realigned to updated curriculum learning progressions to ensure coherence across core and intervention structures. In addition, we are building first semester spiral review resources to strengthen learning from the very start of the school year and intentionally expanding spiral review with developmentally appropriate resources in kindergarten through grade two. Finally, we are preparing summer learning opportunities to help close gaps and strengthen readiness across grade levels to
059ensure that instructional improvements translate into measurable gains for students. We are pairing implementation with intentional monitoring. Districtwide teacher professional learning is being aligned to high impact instructional practices that directly address student needs and reinforce the core math routines we have outlined. At the same time, principal professional development is focused on strengthening instructional leadership, specifically observing, protecting, and reinforcing core math routines across the classroom across all classrooms. Finally, we are utilizing the learning walk tool as a consistent monitoring mechanism to identify instructional trends and inform coaching and support. This concludes the update on our midyear math progress and the actions underway to accelerate growth in grades four through six. As we close, I want to again acknowledge what we are hearing from our teachers across our schools about the changing needs of our students. Members of
060the academic service team have spent time in classrooms and in conversation with educators and a consistent message is that many of our students are entering school with increasingly complex learning needs. While our tier 1 structures are aligned to core standards, many students need more additional instructional time and opportunity to develop foundational skills. Our teachers and educators are working tirelessly to meet these needs while balancing the many instructional priorities within the school day. This work cannot happen in schools alone. Our family engagement team will continue working with families to provide practical resources to support learning at home and we welcome continued partnerships from our community to strengthen early skill development for our students. Thank you to our staff, our families, and our community members who remain focused on supporting student success. I appreciate the opportunity to
061provide this monitoring update and we will be happy to answer any questions that you may have at this time. Thank you. >> Is there a motion to accept the monitoring reports as provided to the board? >> Um I'll move yes. So moved. >> Second. >> We have. >> Okay. Is there any discussion? >> Yeah, >> board member Les. >> Yes, thank you for that report. Um, great work team. Um, I have a question about a future application that could happen. Um, so we know in the legislature there's a bill, it is called Senate Bill, Senate Bill 19, that has already passed out of the Senate and will be going through the House. Um, a very high level of I think the intent of the bill is that academic intervention services are provided to students based
062on a scores assessment. And that scores assessment, as I understand, is a single test on a single day. Um, and this is an application that only applies to public schools. No other schools that get state funding. Just fun. So it includes language that talks about math improvement monitoring plans and we know in the reading intervention area there's a thing called rimps reading intensive uh improvement monitoring plans and we know the data on that um with math improvement monitoring plans it's my understanding that ODU would have to put forward whatever the background is or the education um pedagogy is not really the word I'm looking for, but but the what we're supposed to be relying upon when we're um talking about what we're basing our math education standards on. um this math improvement monitoring plans which
063they're referring to as MYIPS. If that was a requirement that came upon this district, how would that affect our ability to provide services and the same or similar types of intervention programs that you have outlined in this presentation as something that we're going to be working to move forward and how would it affect the operation as a whole? >> Thank you, Vice President. I would like to invite Joe Hearnen, our director of math innovation and technology to come up. Uh Joe has been working on this and researching this. But before um I invite him, I would like to share just a couple of comments because you asked about SB19. Know that this is at the top of mind for all of us. We've been researching and following and tracking this legislation. This would be another
064unfunded mandate from the state. Um SB19 appears to be modeled after the law that put RIPs into place. Um when reviewing the NAPE scores after the implementation of RIMPs, it is evident that reading scores have actually dropped in grades four and eight. That drop began before the pandemic and has accelerated since. This law, if enacted, will further increase the administrative burden on all of our educators, our teachers, our principles, and our school-based staff when there is no evidence that a compliance or audit management approach has led to improved outcomes for students. So, we are very concerned about this legislation and I certainly want to invite Joe to share a little bit more about what um we've been researching and tracking related to this legislation. >> Uh yeah, President Miranda, Vice President, members of the board.
065My name is Joe Hearnen. I am the director of mathematics, innovation, and technology here for Columbus City Schools. And just want to provide a quick update of our position and where where we're at with Senate Bill 19. So, Senate Bill 19 is currently being considered by Ohio lawmakers and proposes several statewide changes to mathematics policy. These include new requirements for academic intervention services, individualized math improvement and monitoring plans or MYIPS as you mentioned for students who qualify for intervention, district level mathematics improvement plans, and expanded policies related to advanced mathematics learning opportunities. So there's a bevy of of um items in this law that would impact our district. So because of the potential impact on school districts, we've been meeting with state lawmakers to share the district perspective and highlight implementation considerations. While we support
066the goal of strengthening mathematics outcomes for students across Ohio, several concerns have been raised. First, the bill creates significant unfunded mandates. In a district the size of Columbus City Schools, the requirement to develop and monitor MIPs would result in thousands of plans each year. In addition to the funding implications, these requirements would place additional demands on an already limited instructional day, creating further strain on educators responsible for implementing these supports. Second, the legislation is misaligned with ODU's K through2 mathematics plan. ODU's plan emphasizes an integrated multi-tiered system of supports that includes strong tier one instruction alongside targeted intervention. Senate Bill 19 focuses primarily on intervention services, which creates a gap with ODU strategy and may limit the ability to improve outcomes at scale. Finally, some provisions related to advanced mathematics placement conflict with existing laws
067and policies on how districts currently implement gifted education and acceleration. We'll continue to monitor this legislation and remain engaged with lawmakers to ensure that any policy changes support strong math instruction and are practical for districts for effective implementation. Thank you. Other questions for the team? >> Yes. Board member Adair. >> Um first of all think I want to thank the team and everybody. Um um you know I think doing the two by twos um all of the questions are submitted that the board members have already seen. the community can see all of the questions board members have already asked as part of uh the process already. We're not supposed to repeat them. So, um I do want to lean in a little bit though on something that you mentioned and that is around time and
068especially when we are talking about academic return on investment and our resources. Um, a lot of your strategies really here are about time and and the use of time, whether it be in professional development or the way we're changing things in the classroom. Can you speak a little bit more about what that means? Um, and if we are kind of looking at it as an investment time, it means that there's something else that we're not doing because as you said, the day is limited, especially in those elementary school >> blocks. Can you just talk a little bit more about that and maybe talk more about it in terms of investment? >> So, I would say that instructional time is always the X factor. It's limited. we can't get it back once, you know, the school
069day starts. We can't um get that time back. And so we have to prioritize and be very intentional about how we plan for instruction each day. And so when we think about the elementary day, we have a planned block of time for core instruction for literacy, core instruction for math, and an intervention block. Right now, when we think about um the RIMPs, we talked about the reading, intervention, and monitoring plans. Our educators are required to spend 30 minutes of intervention time on the RIMPs. And so, again, we talked about SB19. That would be an additional pressure, more time, and we don't have the agency to extend the length of the school day in response to this legislation. And so it creates an additional pressure and administrative burden to figure out what do we have to
070sacrifice instead to ensure that we're compliant as opposed to ensure that we are providing the what our students need. So, when we think about time, we've talked about how we want to make sure that we're maximizing the time we spend in professional learning, maximizing the time on task that our students have um during the math block. For this particular ma monitoring report, we're talking about math. We talked about making sure that there's time embedded at the beginning of the math block for that spiral review. That gives us an opportunity to make sure that we're revisiting those foundational skills in a very sequenced and intentional way every day with all of our students. Uh recognizing that the math skills build upon each other and so we have to make sure that our students are retaining those
071foundational skills. So I would say that the instructional time is the X factor in all that we do and when our we can maximize the time that we have with our students uh we'll be more successful. And so the strategies that we've outlined really um provide more clarity as well as coherence across the entire system about how we're going to spend our time to ensure that we have an improved outcomes for students in these um targeted grades grades four, five, and six based on the data. Right? So we did um lots of convers quantitative data, qualitative data. We've talked with our educators. we've heard from them about what was missing, what we needed to do differently, what we needed to double down on. And so the strategies um and our theory of action in this
072monitoring report reflects uh those conversations and interactions. >> The other question I have around kind of the academic return is around uh people because that is obviously huge piece of what we pay for. And so you mentioned obviously teachers, the the the day-to-day classroom teacher that's teaching math and then we have principles. Are there other professionals um in our organization that are supporting these strategies that it's important for the board to keep in mind um as we are talking about um budget and things like that so that we can ensure we have the right people that are supporting uh these math strategies. >> I would say absolutely. So there are sta other staff members who have a direct impact on the students instructional day and then there are several staff members who have an indirect
073impact on the students day. So we think about um if we're talking about this monitoring report was for grades four, five, and six. If you think about a fourth grader, um they would be coming in contact with um the principal, the classroom teacher if they're receiving specialized services, a special ed teacher, ESL teacher if they're receiving ESL services, gifted education, instructional assistance that might be pulling students for small group or pushing in and supporting students in the classroom, indirect impact. Um it's important to note that um the cafeteria um workers that are providing the meals, the bus driver that picks the student up from home to ensure that they get to school on time. everyone that they're interacting with, including our nurses who may be um helping mitigate um any of the health challenges that
074a student may be having, the secretary that is supporting the student and greeting them as they come into the building. Everyone um that is serving our students directly or indirectly play a role in ensuring that our students are ready to learn in the classroom and that our educators are ready to teach. So this is all hands on deck. Um, everyone in the organization plays a role in ensuring that um, our students have what they need in the classroom to support teaching and learning. >> 100%. Let me ask it a little differently. 100% agree with you. Um, but are there haven't yet talked about that are that are really integral to these strategies? like are there math intervention aids or are there coaches for the teachers or I don't know like I just you know we
075we've been looking at obviously in our budget looking at positions looking at ways to be more efficient but part of this the job of this board is to make sure you have what you need in these particular strategies because these are board goals >> and so um while everyone 100% makes these things happen daily because it's a whole child approach. >> I'm I'm I'm interested more in if there are specific uh positions that um other than teacher and principal that you've named outright in the strategy that we should be considering. >> Well, I would say if we think about our first round of reductions, we've made some reductions to um our building subs. Um I would say that our building subs work directly with students um and have developed relationships at each one of our
076schools and that is certainly we are we will feel the impact and the loss of losing uh those valued colleagues that ensure the continuity of instruction when a classroom teacher may be absent for any number of reasons. I would say that um instructional coaches um we've made significant reductions in instruction reducing instructional coaches um because we are trying to protect the resources closest to the classroom um professional development support we've reduced our um team that support our extended learning team that support the carryover and the continuity of learning in the summer. um that team has been reduced significantly. Um those will always those all of those positions that we've already made decisions about will certainly have an impact on um the supports that we provide and the work that's most important that happens in schools.
077And if when we start talking about the next round of reductions, those reductions will be deeper, right? And they will get closer and closer to the classroom. So we think about some of the support positions that ensure that our students um are ready to learn in the classroom. Our support positions that remove the nonacademic barriers out of our students way so that they can be ready to learn in the classroom. We will certainly uh begin to feel um how heavy these decisions are because they impact um our students, they impact our staff, and they significantly impact our ability to um ensure that we're on the right track for improving outcomes. >> Um I have another question different now. in looking at all of the charts for each of the grades. Um, you know, appreciating that
078we have, uh, not met two targets and we're kind of not on the right trajectory in fourth grade to hit it next time. Um thinking about those gaps that we are going to have for next year and the year after. If even if all these strategies work, can we still meet the goal that we have or that the superintendent has had for these interim measurements so that we can hit that seventh grade goal based on kind of where we are on those charts. And you maybe can put one up to like it. Let me back up a few. >> So to your point, the the trajectory here isn't quite what we would like to see. And if we move forward, this one actually is in the right direction and is closing a gap as well.
079it it's when we get to sixth grade that we're seeing a a pretty substantial shift because sixth grade really stands out in this case. I do believe that the team's efforts to build foundational and re reinforce foundational skills will help with this. I'd also like to for those who weren't here uh in the fall, we actually went up in every grade in in math last year. So, there's a weird thing going on here about um math and and what we're seeing. We're doing really well with kids who are right around grade level and we're moving more of those into proficiency. We have a large group of kids who don't have those foundational skills. And so this targeted intervention at foundational skills and particularly starting it earlier and building it over time I think has a
080great deal of promise to help our kids who just need that foundation so that they can actually access uh the content and and again have reduced cognitive load when when they're doing that. So I I don't think we're out of out of um reach of these things at this point in time. I think the strategies are very well aligned. Um but time is of of the essence here. My last question and if you leave this up and then for a second and then go to our sixth grade shoutouts. Um so one thing that's interesting about this is that um congratulations to these 14 schools. Um, but most of the schools on this list are actually the sixth grader, sixth grade is in an elementary setting. And so I um I asked this as part of
081my questions about the sixth grade transition and the grade bands. Um, you know, we are committed to going back to more traditional grade bands, which means sixth grade moves up into a traditional middle school. That's what we're kind of working towards across the district. But I but now in seeing this, I would love to hear just a little bit more thought or if you were all surprised by this as this kind of information kind of popped up. >> Yes, thank you board member Adair for asking that question. When we were looking at the data on this slide, um we immediately recognized that um look at the schools, the elementary schools versus the middle schools. The elementary schools spend more time on math. They have more time in the instructional day for math. In elementary schools,
082they're spending at least 60 minutes of instruction on math. And in the middle schools, depending on the schedule, there's about 48 to 52 minutes. And if you take that number of minutes and add it up for the number of minutes per week per year, it's a significant um number of minutes that's lost in instructional time based on the middle school math schedule. So the elementary schools are these students in grades four, five, and six or at sixth grade in this slide that are at an elementary school. Sixth graders at an elementary school. So they're a K6. they actually have more instructional time than their peers or counterparts who are have sixth grade at a middle school. Um so that is an important insight for us as we think about um again I said earlier instructional
083time is the X factor and I believe this data also proves that too and so that's an important insight for us as we can continue to reflect on not only grade configuration but the amount of instructional time the length of the school day and how we control for um advocating for more instructional time time on task for our students. Thank you. >> Great questions. Any other questions? >> It's not not necessarily a question, but uh a concern or and or just a comment given this and thank you to the team for especially the the the the root cause analysis of what we're seeing. Uh that's an exceptional job. My my thoughts are given the large number of students who are not meeting benchmarks, uh I love the idea of the spiral reviews. I I love
084the idea of the the tier 2 targeted uh instruction and I'm just wondering uh will that be enough to accelerate learning versus keeping them still in a a remediation type of space, right? as opposed instead of moving the needle, we're just remediating young people from year to year. So, we're still in high school in the same situation, but we're not meeting our benchmarks. >> So, again, I I mentioned earlier that we actually saw improvements in mathematics across all grade levels. And truthfully, four, five, and six were set up again to to stage to seventh grade because we knew if we wait till algebra one to start to do things, we're way too late. Our algebra one scores went up last year as well. So, yeah, I think we're working the right trajectory. And what's unique
085about these interim goals uh compared to the the board goals is we're we're looking at both growth and achievement. And what we're focusing on here and what the team has focused on in terms of intervention is to accelerate growth because ultimately the way we're going to close gaps is to have students learn more. And growth is the most direct measure of learning for students. And this is why we've woven it into and the the board was supportive of this early on with ELA and we've just mirrored it to math. And this is what highlights again the need isn't that we're not catching kids around grade level. We're doing great with them. We're accelerating them. We actually put more kids into eighth grade last year. Eighth grade math. Seventh graders taking eighth grade math. So we're
086we're moving kids along. It's that pool of kids and and I love the idea that the team has leaned into about starting earlier to keep reinforcing those those skills so that as kids progress you we're closing gaps on the front and then we're doing things in terms of tier two to catch kids up in the middle. >> Thank you Dr. Brown. And I just also want to add because it's worth repeating five times remediation will not help us close these gaps. And so that's why when we talk about that spiral review, we've talked about the the importance of making sure that it's only 10 minutes 10 minutes of every math class and then we have to spend the bulk of that time on making sure that every child in the entire district has access to
087grade level content. That is where we will make sure that every student is exposed to the rigor and the demand that they are being asked to demonstrate on the OST. So remediation is not the way to close the gaps. It's not the way to close the gaps where we're talking about literacy math. We have made sure that we have moved removed the focus on remediation. If our students are coming to us with gaps, it is not okay to expose them to grade level content for the entire class period and they never have access to grade level instruction. And so we have to make sure that the majority of the time that our students are learning whether it's math, reading, science or social studies that they have access to highquality instructional materials, most importantly grade level
088content. The reme the remediation or the review that spiral review is just a fraction of that class period. And so I think we want to make sure that we continue to echo that and uh communicate that across the entire district. um as we continue to have these conversations. >> All right. Thank you. >> Thank you. No other discussions. Um if we can now call the role. >> Sure. >> Mr. Katame. >> Yes. >> Mr. Simmons. >> Yes. >> Vice President. >> Yes. >> Dr. Kennedy. >> Yes. >> Madair. >> Yes. >> President Dr. Miranda. >> Yes. >> Motion carries. >> Thank you and thank you for your hard work. All right, Vice President Les to talk about policies 4.5. All right, settle here. Policy 5410. So this policy is the promotion placement and retention policy
089policy 5410. It requires immediate action at the board table to address a statutory change related to district retention practices. This updates necessary to become compliant with House Bill 96, which was the budget bill that passed last year. language in that bill that prevents districts from using attendance as a consideration and retention determinations. Our policy currently uses attendance as a consideration and retention determinations that is currently against state law. There's language in our current Yeah. So that's that's what I'm talking about. Um, this policy is the subject of ongoing work and will return to not only the policy and governance committee but back to this board for further consideration because there are additional pieces of the policy that our team and the work group want to attack. But right now what we're asking the board or
090what I've been asked to ask the board is just to bring this policy into legal compliance which requires that removal of the language that prohibits the use of attendance as the primary criteria criteria for student retention or promotion. Um there is one additional change and that is simply removing he she and placing the words they um or him her and saying the student instead of him or her. Um those are the only other changes uh to the policy at this point. This policy will again will be coming back to the board at some point with further recommendations from the team. But what we are asking now is that we come into compliance with House Bill 96 which passed last summer has been in effect um so that our policy reflects the legal requirements. I'm not
091saying we have done anything um or that our practices are out of compliance with the law, but our policy the language of our policy currently is. So um I do not like doing a I I like doing a first read. I do not like asking for the waiver of um the first read and right on to the second read, but I do have to do that on two policies today that we are out of compliance with. Um when things like budget bills pass or big massive lame ducks happen, there are lots of bills that pass through the legislature and they make a massive impact on the system. They touch lots and lots of different policies and we do our best uh to do legal compliance reviews and get our policies up to speed. So you
092will see two policies tonight that I'll ask for this on. Uh but generally as a practice I prefer that we do have a true first read, give some time in between um and then do a second read. But what I'm asking I guess today is uh for the board to consider since we are currently out of compliance to bring this policy back into compliance knowing that it will come back before the board at a later date. So I will make a motion first to wave the first reading on policy 5410. >> Second. >> Any discussion? Call the role. >> Mr. Katameir. >> Yes. >> Mr. Simmons. >> Yes. >> Vice President. >> Yes. >> Dr. Kennedy. >> Yes. >> Missair. >> Yes. >> President. Dr. Miranda. >> Yes. >> Thank you. >> Okay. So we
093we are treating this as if it was a second reading. So my next motion would be to adopt the proposed changes to policy 5410 in order to come into legal compliance. >> Second >> discussion, please call the role. >> Dr. Kennedy, >> yes. >> Mr. Dair, >> yes. >> Vice President, >> yes. >> Mr. Katame, >> yes. >> Mr. Simmons, >> yes. >> President, Dr. Miranda, >> yes. >> All right. Um, it's okay. Board President will move into item 4.6. >> Yes. >> Which is policy 5112. That is the entrance requirements policy. This policy is again being affected by change in state law. House Bill 114 which passed on November 19th, 2025 and was quickly signed by the governor thereafter. um altered language about kindergarten entrance date requirements. So, the state has changed the law
094about kindergarten entrance date requirements to be admitted without meeting early entrance criteria. The law now requires children to reach the age of five and the the pertinent language is by the first day of instruction of the school year of admittance. The date in our current policy says September 30th. So, if a parent is looking currently at our policy on when their student can enroll, um it is actually out of compliance with what the Ohio Revised Code says that they are allowed to enter. And so, that would not be correct. Uh for purposes of making sure that our families know not only what our policy is and what we would need to be enforcing because it is state law, uh we need to get this policy into compliance. And so this is the second policy um
095that I am asking for quick resolution as it will go into effect March 20th which is in 3 days. So in 3 days our policy is out of compliance with the law and if a parent is thinking about kindergarten for next year and they look at our policy it would be incorrect with state law. So we're asking for um again a waiver on the first read just to bring this into compliance. um and then adoption of the policy. So I will make a motion um that we wave the first reading on policy 5112. >> Second. >> Thank you. Call the role. >> Mr. Adair, >> yes. >> Dr. Kennedy, >> yes. >> Mr. Kameer, >> yes. >> Mr. Simmons, >> yes. >> Vice President, >> yes. >> President Dr. Miranda, >> yes. >> Okay. Okay.
096And now I will make the motion to adopt the proposed changes which comply with the requirements in House Bill 114 that are found at Ohio Revised Code 3321.01. >> Second, >> please call the role. >> Dr. Kennedy, >> yes. >> Mr. Adair, >> yes. >> Mr. Kame, >> yes. >> Mr. Simmons, >> yes. >> Vice President, >> yes. >> President Dr. Miranda, >> yes. >> Okay. And then our final um policy for consideration this evening is policy 5460. This one we actually do get to have a full first um first reading on. Uh but with it we're going to have a little bit of a presentation from our administration. Um and so I'm going to go ahead and kick it over to Dr. Chapman to um explain to us the need behind this policy and
097all of the details. >> Thank you, Vice President. Tonight, I would like to invite our colleagues to come forward and provide an overview of the propos proposed revisions to our district's graduation requirements policy. Tonight, you'll hear from Dr. Brian Morton, director of K12 teaching and learning, Mr. Nick Cassell, metriculation specialist for region 6, Dr. Zach Duberstein, leadership coach for region 6, and Megan Broengam, district high school resource counselor. This proposal reflects a cross-functional collaborative effort with input from multiple departments and stakeholders including principles, counselors, teachers, and district teams to align CCS graduation policy with changes in state requirements. >> Good evening, President Dr. Miranda, Vice President, members of the board, Superintendent Dr. Chapman, Treasurer Cook, Internal Auditor Okconor. Thank you so much for giving us the opportunity to present to you this evening. My name
098is Dr. Brian Morton. I am the director of K12 teaching and learning. And I am joined with Dr. Zach Duberstein, leadership culture [clears throat] 6, Nick Cassal, metriculation specialist for region six, and Megan Broadigum, district high school resource counselor. We are excited to present to you an updated graduation policy proposal. This was indeed a crossf functional collaborative effort with multiple departments represented that contributed to the final product. The proposal was reviewed by multiple stakeholders including teachers, principles, counselors, social workers, legal curriculum, career technical, educational teams, and others. This was a true collaborative effort and we want to give gratitude to all that were involved. At this time, I would like to acknowledge the counselors that are here this evening in support of our proposed changes. We have a group sitting back here with us. [applause]
099>> This proposed change align CCS graduation policy with the state's graduation requirements. In 2023, the state updated its policy to include competency and readiness requirements in addition to the minimum credits required for a state diploma. CCS credit requirements currently exceed the state minimum. With expanded opportunities for students to earn graduation seals and take elective courses, now is the appropriate time to align CCS's policy with the state. Before we dive into the specifics of our proposal, I'd like to take a moment to anchor this initiative in one of our three Columbus City School Board goals, closing opportunity gaps. A central part of this goal is our commitment to increasing the percentage of students who meet graduation requirements. By removing barriers that may hinder students abilities to meet these requirements, we are enhancing access to more flexible
100academic pathways. This ensures that all students not only graduate on time, but are also fully prepared for success in college and in their future careers. Through this proposal, we affirm our commitment to creating equitable opportunities and providing the support and resources needed for every student to succeed. Additionally, our own work to develop portrait ready graduates continues to serve as our northstar, ensuring that every student is prepared not only for success today, but for a bright future ahead. Our goal for this presentation is to for the board to approve this graduation policy proposal, which would bring CCS's graduation policy into alignment with the state requirements. Next, Megan Bradum will share with the credit and assessment components for the state graduation requirements. And board members, you have all of these materials in this red folder at your
101seats. >> Thank you, Dr. Martin. Um, we would like to take the opportunity to review the current state graduation requirements with you. I will briefly explain the three components of the state graduation requirements. Credits, competency, and readiness. First, students must meet the credit requirement. This must this means that they need to [clears throat] earn at least 20 credits in specific subjects during high school, including English, math, science, social studies, and other coursework. Second is the competency requirement. To demonstrate competency, students must earn a 684 or higher on both the algebra 1 and English 2 OST assessments. If a student does not reach the score, there are alternate ways to demonstrate competency. And finally, students must demonstrate readiness. To meet this requirement, students must earn at least two seals for graduation, one of which must be
102a state defined seal. These seals highlight students accomplishments in high school, as well as their readiness for college, the military, workforce, and other post-secondary pathways. Together, these components, credits, competency, and readiness, ensure students not only complete their coursework, but it demonstrates the knowledge and skills that they need for success after high school. Taking a closer look at each of the components, we'll start with credits. Students are required to earn a minimum of 20 credits during their high school career. These credits must be in specific subject areas outlined here, including core academic courses as well as electives. And it should be noted that one credit of fine arts is included within these state elective requirements, allowing students to fulfill part of their elective requirements while gaining experience in visual art, music, theater, and other fine and
103performing arts. In addition, beginning with the class of 2026, our current seniors, uh students are required to earn a half credit in financial literacy, which is also included in these 20 credits. So, reviewing the competency component of graduation, the most direct way for students to demonstrate competency is by earning a score of 684 or higher on both the Algebra 1 and English 2 state exams. If a student does not meet the required score, they are required to remediate and retake the exam or exams to try to improve their score. If a student does not meet the required score after their second attempt, they may use one of the four alternate options here um to demonstrate competency. And this brings us to the last component of the requirements readiness or seals. In order to graduate, students
104must earn at least two graduation seals and with at least one of them being from the state defined the state defined list. In total, there are 12 seal options. Nine of which are defined by the state of Ohio and three are these local seals which each district has a flexibility to define. The local seals are the community service seal, the fine and performing arts seal, student engagement seal. And this system of earning seals gives students the opportunity to create a pathway to graduation that aligns with their strengths, their interests, and their post-secary goals. Next, I would like to introduce my esteemed colleague, Nick Cassell, who will review Columbus City School's current requirements for graduation in more detail. >> Thank you, Megan. [clears throat] In addition to the state graduation requirements, Columbus City Schools has its
105own local graduation requirements. Here is an overview of the current CCS graduation requirements. As shown, CCS includes the three primary components. Earning 22 credits, demonstrating competency, and obtaining two seals. For this portion of the presentation, we will focus specifically on the credit requirements needed for graduation. Columbus City Schools requires students to earn 22 total credits compared to the state requirement of 20 credits. In addition, CCS policy includes several components that go beyond the state's graduation requirements. Students must earn an additional academic elective credit in either science or social studies as well as one technology credit. Students are also required to complete 120 hours of internship experience. [clears throat] We are proposing removing the academic elective technology and internship hour requirements. Under the new proposed requirements, students would be required to earn 20 total credits. Students
106will need to complete a total of five elective credits as part of their graduation requirements. Out of these five electives, half a credit must be in financial literacy. Students are also required to earn complete one credit in fine arts. This can include courses such as art, music, theater, or other arts classes that allow students to explore their creativity and self-exression. After meeting those two requirements, the remaining electives will be chosen by the students. This gives students the flexibility to explore their interests, take additional courses in career pathways, and deepen their knowledge and subjects they enjoy. I would like to introduce Dr. Zachary Duberstein to provide rationale for the proposed recommendations. Thank you, Nick. Why are we recommending these changes? First, this provides students with more flexibility to meet state graduation requirements. Students can choose courses
107that align to their interest and post-secary goals. Research shows that when students have more choice in how they graduate, they are more likely to graduate. Second, our current CCS requirements of technology credit and internship requirements were visionary prior to the creation of the state's uh readiness requirement seals. However, new options from the state have made them redundant. Now, students who are interested in pursuing community service can earn the community service seal just as students who are interested in technology can earn the technology seal. Third, aligning our local requirements to to the state empowers counselors, teachers, and administrators to focus on our mission and ensuring that each student is highly educated, prepared for leadership and service, and empowered for success as a citizen in a global community. As mentioned earlier, under the proposed policy revision, students
108who want to further demonstrate technology skill will still have the opportunity opportunity to do so by earning the technology seal. Additionally, students may earn a community service seal by completing 45 hours of community service. Students may also participate in work-based learning experiences which connect classroom learning to real world applications through experiences that allow students to develop academic, technical, and professional skills through authentic workplace learning. In summary, the removal of the internship hour requirement, technology credit requirement, and academic elective requirement doesn't limit the options available to students. It enhances them by increasing access to a wider range of courses. We are giving students more flexibility to create their own academic journey. By aligning the graduation policy with the state requirements, we are creating an environment that gives students greater autonomy and choice in their educational journey.
109This alignment not only ensures that we remain compliant with the state requirements, but also empowers students to take charge of their academic decisions, allowing them to tailor their learning experiences to their strengths and interest. If the board gives its approval, we will begin notifying all relevant stakeholders, students, families, staff, and the broader community about the changes of the graduation policy. Our goal is to ensure that everyone is fully informed well in advance. We're excited about these changes and the increased opportunities they will provide for our students. With this timeline in place, we're confident that our community will be well prepared for the transition and that the implementation of the revised policy will be smooth and effective. Thank you for your time. To close us out, I would like to now turn it over to our
110superintendent, Dr. Angela Chapman. Thank you team for tonight's um presentation. Uh this presentation makes it clear that this is an important step forward and how we support students on their path to graduation. These proposed changes remove barriers while maintaining rigor and high expectations. This provides students greater autonomy, choice, and flexibility while ensuring our local policy reflects the pathways and opportunities now available throughout the through the state. What I appreciate most is what this means for our students. It means more opportunities to pursue interest, more room to shape an academic journey that reflects their goals, and more ways to demonstrate readiness for what comes next. This proposal supports our board goal around increasing graduation outcomes and closing opportunity gaps. It reflects the direction of our portrait of a graduate work which calls us to prepare students
111not just to earn a diploma but to leave Columbus City Schools ready to lead within their communities. At this time I will turn the agenda back to Vice President for any comments or discussion. Thank you to the team for that presentation and thank you for all your work on this policy and helping us think it through as clearly as you have. Um, I will turn it back over to President Miranda for if the board has any questions. >> I'm kind of curious how did students fulfill the technology requirement >> are able to engage in various courses throughout um starting actually at the eighth grade level um through the 12th grade level. So there are a few courses that are specifically designed to meet that criteria. >> Okay. So if there's no longer the technology requirement,
112does that affect the classes that are offered? >> It will have a different impact. We'll be able to offer advanced courses that um align closely to the technology pieces. Um when it comes to our students, they're engaging earlier within with technology. Um starting as early as kindergarten and really it lines itself up perfectly into the high school. Um this will give a chance to really explore other options when it comes to technology that also align to our technology seal. >> And will it align with the um the certificate >> seal? The seal. >> Yes, the technology seal. Yes. >> So the classes will be more specific to the seal. >> Correct. And and students will have that option to engage um with taking courses for that seal. >> Thank you. >> All right. Oh, there's
113one question I have actually. Um, it's related to the use of may on granting diploma of adult education to all district residents over the age of 21. Do you recall why we changed it from shall? >> Sorry, I just thought of this question. >> I do not have a direct answer for that, but we'll be glad to get back to the team and share that with you. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Thank you. And thank you to all of our counselors and educators who are here with us tonight in support of this recommendation. Appreciate you. [applause] >> All right, we'll move to the executive reports. We'll start with Dr. Chapman. Do you have a report for us this evening? >> I do not have a report, President U. Miranda, but I do have a few
114comments. >> Yep. Um, as you all know, March came in like a lamb, but it's certainly going out like a lion. As you know, we have experienced severe weather over the past few days. And like the rest of the community, we have had power outages, water damage, and trees down. I want to share our deepest gratitude um to our buildings and ground staff who have worked throughout the weekend checking our buildings and making the necessary repairs resulting from the storms. Their quick response, care, and dedication helped ensure our schools were safe and ready for students and staff to return on Monday. We are grateful for their hard work and for the pride they continue to show in caring for our district and our facilities. We also want to thank our principles and school teams for
115their leadership and support as we experienced multiple power outages again last Friday and again yesterday. Our school leaders and staff know how to step up and work together, keeping their school communities informed and supported in times like these. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you to our entire team for your prompt response, flexibility, and leadership. And we have officially completed quarter three. Yay. [applause] Almost there. [laughter] And that is something to be proud of. This school year is moving very quickly and our students have already accomplished so much. As a reminder, tomorrow, March 18th, is records day, which means students will not report to school. As our educators finalize and enter grades in Infinite Campus, I'm encourage our CCS families to please take a moment to log into Infinite Campus to review your students report card
116and monitor their academic progress, ensuring they are on track and receiving the support they need to finish the school year strong. CCS families, now is the perfect time to have those important conversations with your child about their progress. I can tell you from my own conversations with my child that a quick check in on goals, plans, and how the school year is going can open the door to meaningful discussion and is very, very helpful. And as we head into the final quarter, this is a great time to celebrate growth, talk about what's ahead, and encourage your student to finish strong. We are in the home stretch, and I know our students are ready to rise to the occasion. Our students have worked all hard all year long, and I know they have what it takes
117to end this school year with pride, confidence, and success. Quarter 4 is our finish line moment. It's our chance to stay focused, stay engaged, and give our very best effort each day. And that's the message for our students, for our staff, for our families, for our entire community. So, let's keep the momentum going, CCS. We've got this and let's stay focused and work together. This concludes my remarks for this evening. Thank you. >> Thank you, Dr. Chapman. Mr. Okconor, do you have a report for us this evening? No report, just an update. Uh wanted to update you on the fiscical year 27 OIa work plan timeline. We have begun our fiscical year 27 risk assessment and that will incorporate interviews with board members, leadership, management, and staff as well as some other areas where we
118know some problems exist and we would like to collaborate with both the treasur and superintendent to help alleviate those. Um also any new laws, rules, regulations, processes to maximize resources and emerging risk. That'll be part of that process. Um our risk assessment will take about six weeks and then we'll work on those risk that have high or higher higher moderate risk and develop an annual audit plan and we anticipate bringing that to the board for your review and approval on June 2nd. And that concludes my remarks. >> Thank you. >> Mr. Cook, do you have a report for us this evening? >> A formal report. Just a couple of quick comments on our financial report ending uh February. Property taxes are down 75.6 million through the end of February. Collections were pushed back a month.
119We continue to monitor that. We expect in March and April we'll get back on track, but we're watching that closely at this point in time. Just wanted to highlight right now we're down 75.6 million on property taxes. That concludes my report. >> Yes. Um, board member Simmons. >> Thank you, President Dr. Miranda. Um, Treasure Cook, could you just elaborate a little bit on what you mean by the collections were pushed back? >> Yeah. So, Franklin County delayed um property tax receipts from being collected, mailed in by a month. So, our monthly plan, the five-year forecast aligned. We were expecting January, February, and March to be normal collection months. We spread that out over that quarterly period. Instead, we've now got February, March, and April that those are going to come in on. We do what
120we call property tax advances where folks will make their property tax payment, our community members. We then request those payments from the county. We've not been able to get those until this past month at a slow trickle. We expect that to normalize and pick up as we head into the latter parts of March into April. Um, so there was just a delay with property [clears throat] tax bills that centers around property tax leg property tax legislation in the state of Ohio. We've seen this around the state. Um, I hope this is a one-time event, but we'll we'll continue to monitor that as we go forward. >> And then is it fair to say because it's only a month, that's something our our district is financially positioned to manage. Whereas if it was say a six-month
121delay, that might be a [clears throat] different conversation. >> Yes. If it was a six-month delay, it would be a different conversation. And so as of today, I looked, we're 180 million below plan. Just for some context, we're still very comfortable with where we're at. Should we run into a further delay or consternation, we have an investment portfolio that we can bridge that cash flow with. >> We're not there at that point. Now, again, we expect in communications we've had with the county, these will begin to come in now. >> Okay. Um just out of curiosity, so is it it kind of I guess what I'm I'm the information I'm receiving from you kind of suggests that our ability to um you know just continue operations in the event that these delay of collections and
122payments that we're counting on happen um you know kind of relies on our ability to have cash on hand and our ending cash balance. >> That is correct. We would we would be hitting what they would call at home our savings account to cover any shortfall that we have at this point in time. If we have to get there, we're not there yet. We would certainly bridge that gap with that cash balance that we have on hand, then we would replenish what we dip into as those revenues hopefully come back >> and we're but if we were ever in a position where we didn't have appropriate days cash on hand, we might not be able to do that. >> That would be correct. As you look at the out years of that forecast, we run
123into some consternation with cash and that's an issue at that point in time. Obviously, a huge concern we've all heard is this proposed ballot initiative. Um that that would be problematic because again that's the largest port portion of our revenue approximately 80% coming from property taxes. So we continue to monitor it. We have reserves at this point which will help us weather a storm. But again those are risks that we need to pay attention to going forward. This is a small risk, but I think it is important to note that having that savings account on hand allows us to bridge that gap and continue to operate as normal. Thank you. That concludes my report. >> All right, we're going to consider our consent agenda. Our consent agenda consists of items 8.1 to 23.7. Are there
124any items a member would like to have removed and voted on individually from the consent agenda? If not, do we have a motion to accept? >> Yep. Second. >> Thank you. >> Okay. >> Mr. Simmons, >> yes. >> Mr. Katame, >> yes. >> Dr. Kennedy, >> yes. >> Mr. Adair, >> yes. >> Vice President, >> yes. >> President Dr. Miranda, >> yes. >> Motion carried. We will now consider section 24 under other legislation. Colleagues, tonight we bring forward a resolution to renew the superintendent's contract. This reflects our commitment to stability, continuity, and sustained progress for our district. Strong leadership matters, especially in times of both challenge and opportunity. And this renewal affirms our confidence in the direction of the work underway. So I will now read the resolution for reemploying the superintendent. Whereas the Columbus
125City School Board of Education desires to re-employ Dr. Angela Chapman as superintendent effective August 1st, 2026 through July 31st, 2029. Now therefore, be it resolved that the Columbus City School Board of Education hereby approves the contract of superintendent for the term August 1st, 2026 through July 31st, 2029 as presented, and be it further resolved that the president of the board be authorized to execute an appropriate employment contract with Dr. Angela Chapman as superintendent of the Columbus City School District. Is there a motion to consider item 24.1? >> Motion. >> Thank you. Second. >> Second. >> Thank you. Any discussion? >> Yes. Board member Vice President Les. >> Yes. >> I will just say um congratulations Dr. Chapman. We are thrilled to extend um the reemployment of your contract or the reemployment contract. Um we have
126enjoyed working with you and you have done an incredible job in this community. Um, people trust you, they like you, um, our families trust you, and we are, we trust you as a board. So, we are happy to work on all of the things that we will be working on at least through July 2029 and hopefully thereafter. Um, there is a lot to do in this district and we know that you both understand that and are very committed to it. So, very excited uh for this moment and so grateful that you are willing to stay and work with us. Any other comments, discussion? If not, please call the role. >> Mr. Casemare, >> yes. >> Mr. Simmons, >> yes. >> Dr. Kennedy, >> yes. >> Mr. Adair, >> yes. >> Vice President, >> yes. >>
127President, Dr. Miranda, >> yes. >> Motion carried. >> We will offer an opportunity for Dr. Chapman to say some words. >> Thank you. Um, I'm deeply honored um and grateful for the board of education for the trust and confidence that you've placed in me to continue to serve and lead uh in CCS. Um, it's certainly my privilege and honor to continue the work that we've started. Um, Dr. Miranda, as you named that this is a pivotal time uh to serve and lead in public education considering um all of the challenges that we face in public education and so many variables and factors that are out of our control. Um, but it is certainly my unwavering commitment to ensure in all the decisions that we make, um, whether that's in the board table, um, in the
128boardroom or in the classroom, that we will be centering the needs of our students, our staff, and our community to ensure that we're continuing to drive towards improving student outcomes and keeping the main thing the main thing. Um I also want to say thank you to our board of education for your support um for your leadership, for your guidance, um and for your governance, for ensuring that we are aligned and we are focused knowing that uh strong governance is essential to effectiveness for any system, but certainly for our system. So I am um certainly committed to CCS and committed to seeing the work through. Um, we have some certainly some tough decisions ahead, but we also have lots of opportunities to reshape uh decisions, resources, how we allocate our resources, and I'm really committed to
129making sure that we do that in intentional ways that drive this work forward. So, thank you. Thank you. Thank you for the opportunity to continue to serve in CCS, and I am looking forward to this next chapter. Thank you. >> Thank you. All right. I'm going to turn it over to Vice President Sarah Engles. >> I motion that the board of education move into executive session pursuant to Ohio Revised Code section 121.22G1 22G1 to consider the appointment, employment, dismissal, discipline, promotion, demotion, or compensation of a public employee or official or the investigation of charges or complaints against the public employee, official, licency, or regulated individual unless the public employee, official, lency, or regulated individual requests a public hearing. That is a motion. >> Second, >> Mr. Deair, >> yes. >> Dr. Kennedy, >> yes. >>
130Mr. Kameer, >> yes. >> Mr. Mr. Simmons. >> Yes. >> Vice President Les. >> Yes. >> President Dr. Miranda. >> Yes. >> Motion carry. >> You. Please note that the board will adjourn following our executive session this evening and will not be reconvening in this room. Our next board meeting will be on March 31st, 2026 at 6 p.m. here at 3700 South High Street. The change in the meeting date is due to the district's spring break scheduled to start on April 3rd.