001It is now 6:00 on April 23rd, 2026. Now I'd like to welcome all of you to our regularly scheduled board meeting. Um before we came in here, we honored 20 students. 20 uh junior scholars, which was a huge accomplishment for them. That's they they were in the top 5% of all the eighth graders. So, we congratulate them. We thank the parents. But also there's nothing I want to thank tonight is is the teachers. I truly want to thank each and every teacher in our district. I know we they don't hear it a lot from from board or from cabinet stuff, but we thank y'all for it everything that y'all do. The way you handle everything, um we just thank you for being there for our kids and trying to make sure that we're all one
002family and it feels like the district is a big family. And it it makes me think of another family of a father that had two sons. You see, one went off and squandered all of his inheritance. But then when he realized he had nothing, he came back to the father. And that father was there waiting on him. Excited when he saw him coming. And the father didn't question it. Father didn't do anything but welcome him. Welcome him home. Gave him the best he had. That's kind of like our teachers. You see, we're in public education. We accept all. If you're within our district, we want you in our district. We want you here in our schools. We thank our teachers for being there for the students. No matter how they come, no matter what background
003they come from, what they what language they speak, we accept all. And our teachers are there on our front row each and every day working with these kids. I know they don't hear it much from a lot of us about thank you. I I myself am truly thankful and I know this board is truly thankful for the teachers we have. So, thank y'all because y'all were the reason we had them junior scholars tonight. Y'all were the reason why we have honor graduates coming out of our high schools in just a mere 3 weeks. These kids can go anywhere within our dis- within our state, within any college. They're well equipped coming out of Lex Two. They can gain anything they If they can dream it, they can gain it. They can go anywhere they if
004they set their mind to it and they can do that because of our teachers. Our teachers are there for the students to teach them. Some sit in classes and they can't even speak. There's so many different languages they come in, but they learn it and they teach it. So, we thank y'all. I just want to take that moment tonight to thank the teachers, thank the junior scholars and the parents that brought them here and had trust in Lex Two to raise these kids. So, thank you, teachers. >> [snorts] [applause] >> And with that said, we got two more high-flying students from BC and I'm going to turn that over to Ms. Wooten. Thank you, Mr. Chair. We're delighted to have uh two students from Brookland-Cayce High School with us tonight to lead in the invocation
005and the Pledge of Allegiance. Leading us in the invocation is Ryan Knight and leading us in the pledge is Nia Angel. Ryan is a senior at Brookland-Cayce High School. Ryan has been a member of the Brookland-Cayce marching band since his freshman year. Ryan is also an Eagle Scout, which is the highest honor in scouting. After graduating high school, Ryan will be attending the University of South Carolina in Columbia to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering. Ryan's work throughout high school has positioned him to be in the top 10 of his class, and Ryan has earned a spot in the Capstone Scholars program as a Dean's Scholar. Nia is a senior at Brookland-Cayce High School. She is a photographer with the yearbook staff. Nia is part of the International Club that participates in cultural dance festivals.
006Nia is the team manager for Bearcat soccer. In her spare time, she assists her dad at their family restaurant, Monterrey's. After high school, Nia is attending Midlands Technical College, where she will major in business administration. Okay, Ryan. Amen. I 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. Thank you so much. All right, with no with no objection the consent agenda stands approved as presented. And now I'm going to turn it over to Dr. Cooper for honors and accomplishments. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Good evening. Good evening, board members. Good evening, Lexington Two community. First tonight, we have Dr. Rob Burgraph, our director of instruction and accountability, will introduce us to a group of Lexington
007Two eighth graders who have been identified by the South Carolina Department of Education as having exceptional academic talent. Dr. Burgraph. Thank you, Dr. Cooper. Mr. Chair, members of the board. We were able tonight, uh as Mr. Key said, to recognize 20 outstanding eighth graders from across our four middle schools. And I'm going to ask those junior scholars to kind of make your way this direction. Um we'll go in the same order. We'll start with Busbee, then Fulmer, Northside, and Pine Ridge. Dr. McDonald uh explained out there, but for those in the audience, uh eighth graders who take the PSAT and score at a high enough level, a 550, I believe, in ELA and a 5 or a 530 in math, are recognized as a junior scholar. And it being a junior scholar opens the door
008to a number of academic opportunities and challenges that carry them through their high school year and and beyond. So, it does set them on a path for great success. And we have uh the privilege of recognizing a number of them here tonight. So, junior scholars, when I call your name, if you want to come up and be recognized, you can come stand right here next to the podium. And then uh if you would, kind of make your way across that direction. From uh Busbee Creative Arts Academy, we have Mercy Lawrence. >> [applause] >> Piper Lovett. >> [applause] >> Giuliano Canestraro. >> [applause] >> Lane Kay. >> [applause] >> And David Muncy. >> [applause] >> From Fulmer Middle School, we have Sadie Ahearn. >> [applause] >> Carly Crowley. >> [applause] >> Diana Garcia Santos. >> [applause]
009>> Zachary Humphreys. >> [applause] >> Asa Ingram. >> [applause] >> Addison Moore. >> [applause] >> And Connor Nutter. >> [applause] >> From Northside Middle School, we have Emerald Ahunbia. >> [applause] >> Joshua Ellisor. >> [applause] >> Sean Jant. >> [applause] >> Genesis Harvey. >> [applause] >> And Mason Whitmire. >> [applause] >> And then finally from Pine Ridge Middle School, we have Jairo Moscoso Ortega. >> [applause] >> Caden Glover. >> [applause] >> And Roberto Lopez. >> [applause] >> These are our Lexington Two junior scholars. >> [applause] [applause] >> And junior scholars and families, you are welcome to stay for the board meeting or if you need to get to dinner or whatever evening activities you have, you are welcome to leave. Thank you for being here tonight. >> [applause] >> And we are certainly proud of
010all of our junior scholars, all of their parents, the community that helped get them this far. And as Mr. Key said so accurately, to our educators who helped them get this far as well. And we look forward to seeing future forward where we go from here. Next, we're going to hear about some of our fall and winter athletes and coaches who have received prestigious recognitions for accomplishments in their sport. With so many multi-sport athletes in our district, we know that some are at practices and games right now. So, we'll be sharing the names of athletes on our big screens around the room and on our district website. We will bring our high school athletic directors up first. And following our high school presentations, Busbee principal Alicia Dickerson will come to the podium for special recognition
011of one of our archery coaches. Thank you, Dr. Cooper. Uh my name is Chris Napper and I'm with the Airport High School. I'm the athletic director, head football coach. And I would like um and athletes, please listen to this. I'm going to call out the sport and then you're going to say your name and um what your recognition is. So, if you were all-region or all-state, you will say that. So, we are going to start with football. Josiah Thompson. Football. Uh Ben Humphreys, all-region. Jonathan Brown, I-20 Bowl. Isaiah Clements, all-region. Amir Lynch, all-region. Thank you. And now we will do >> [applause] >> And now we will do uh cheer all-region. Shania Kennerly, all-region. Ella Robbins, all-region. Breanna Rodriguez, all-region. Laura Bell Boatwright, honorable mention. >> [applause] >> And we also have their coach Coach
012Boatwright here today um in attendance. Um likewise, we also have volleyball today. Corley C, all-region. >> [applause] >> Coach Key, one of our football and strength coaches was here today to represent them as well. And then we also have our wrestling coach Coach Williams is here today. Raise your hand. There you go. There you go. And um if you're a wrestler, please come up and introduce your name and your accolade. I'm J. Tyler DeFreeze and I'm at state. Jonathan Brown and I got um 100 wins. Savannah Frazier. Yeah. >> [clears throat] >> Skyler Simmons, I got all-region. Preston DeFreeze, state. Naomi Lawyer and I'm at state. Given Dyer, state champion and co-female region. >> [applause] [applause] >> And as you can see, there are some more names on there, but um those students, most of
013them are doing other sports at this time in spring, so they could not attend today. But uh from their family, I want to thank the families from Airport for coming, everybody here to recognize these students. And of course, our principal Mr. Shillito. Thank you all. Completely. >> [applause] [applause] >> Yeah. There it is. Anybody catch that? I'll Anybody else do that, lose their glasses and they're at the top of your head? >> Isaiah, y'all come on. Good evening. I'm coach Clyburn. We've got our some of our athletes and coaches coming up now. I'm going to um start with our list. We have an extensive list of the athletes that you see that are actually playing a spring sport. A lot of our coaches as well are pulling double duty. Um I'm going to go through
014our list and then I'm going to let the the athletes that are here piggyback uh on top of me and introduce themselves and talk about their sport or just and mention their sport and and their award. Um but for time purposes, I'm going to go through the first list that we have that you see up there is our football all-region list. Um and again, just about every single one of these kids is playing a spring sport. We had Andrew Frick, Bennett Plane, Makai Pringle, Barry Dickson, Evan Simmons, Princeton Robinson, Campbell Parsons, Max Clyburn, Keondre Carmichael, Antoine Lawson, Avery King, and Davion Boykin. We had two of our football players that were all-state, Andrew Frick and Bennett Plane. We had several players that were selected to play in the Palmetto I Series All-Star Game. Um Jordan
015Browning, Tyree Johnson, uh Stevie Bennerman, Jamarion Griffin, Davion Boykin, Barry Dickson, and Princeton Robinson. Um in volleyball, our all-region was Zatwanna Clark. Um in cross country, we had Darian Tolyer. In girls tennis, we had Amy Lee Amy Lamb and Grace Sir. In cheer, we had Janiah Franklin, Jordan Wilson, um Zaria Simpkins. And then in boys basketball, we had Isaiah Daniels, Isaiah Orree. Beckett Riley and uh Avery Richardson. In girls basketball, we had Tiana Goodwin and Cameron Ethridge. In wrestling, we had Connor Matthews. Uh Connor was also a state qualifier along with Nigel Annamie and Amari Rice. Um in terms of coaches, we have coach Terrance Gibson who is here, our girls basketball coach who was selected to the Carolinas Classic All-Star Basketball Game. Um and then um me, I'm the athletic director and the football
016coach. I was selected to uh coach in the uh um Palmetto I Series All-Star Football Game as well. But with without further delay, and then I'll talk again at the end. Those of you know me love know I love to talk. Um but I'm going to let these athletes come up and say their name and uh and say that their um recognition whether it was an all-star game, all-region, or both. Some of them have both of those. Uh good afternoon. My name is Princeton Robinson and I got honorable mention for all-region and I got nominated for the all-star game. >> [applause] >> Uh good afternoon. My name is Isaiah Daniels and I got selected for all-region for basketball. >> [applause] >> Uh good afternoon. My name is Tyree Johnson. I got selected for the all-star
017game. >> [applause] >> Good afternoon. My name is Cameron Ethridge. I got selected for all-region. >> [applause] >> Good afternoon. My name is Tiana Goodwin and I got selected for all-region as well. >> [applause] >> Awesome. And then um coach Larry Davis is our head boys basketball coach. He is here in attendance. I know Miss Goodwin. Um our Miss Duncan was here. Um and we have the staff at Brookland-Cayce High School. I'm very fortunate, um very blessed. Um they pulled the rope when it needs to be pulled. Um coach Scotty Dean was our head wrestling coach. He's now been summoned to coach JV baseball at Brookland-Cayce High School, so he couldn't be here tonight. Um and and it the list keeps going down the line. Um coach Mangus is also our head golf coach. He's
018one of our football coaches. And those are just a few examples of of what's going on at Brookland-Cayce Cayce High School uh this spring. The number one thing, our objective, and all of these young people know it, is academics is our first charge. That's our number one goal, and and that's what we're most proud of with these young people is having good grades and knowing that the end at the end of your career at Brookland-Cayce High School, we want you to have a a a task at the next level. Whether that's college, a job, a an any number an assortment of different things. Could be the military, but those academics are going to open those doors, and all of these young people, a lot of them that talked to you tonight, a lot of them
019that are on these lists are going to have that opportunity to go on and forward forward their career um at the college level possibly in athletics. Um and but again, the number one thing is to uh is to get that degree, have the academics, and to be good people. And that's that's what we have, and we've got great coaches that are doing that at the same time and appreciate the opportunity to come and celebrate their accomplishments with you guys in the Lexington Two District. And and coach Napier and I at Airport, um we we kind of have got the slogan that we're Lexington Two Strong, so we're one big family, and we appreciate the recognition. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Thank you, coach, and thank you, students. And now we'll have Miss Dickerson. Mr. Chair,
020members of the board, and Dr. Cooper. It is [snorts] my honor to recognize an outstanding educator and coach who has made a lasting impact on our students and school community, Coach Robin Walsh. Coach Walsh has served as an archery coach for over a decade, beginning in 2015, working with both middle and high school student athletes. Currently, she leads three programs across our district, Busbee Creative Arts Academy, Brookland-Cayce High School, and Airport High School. Under her leadership, students receive high-quality instruction and Bullseye 3D Challenge and IBO 3D Archery. She emphasizes safety, proper technique, and consistent skill development, ensuring that every student has the opportunity to grow and to succeed. Beyond daily practice, she plays an active role in facilitating local tournaments, assisting with organizations, set up, and overall competition management. Her ability to design structure practice
021plans and maintain strong leadership both in practice and during competition has created a culture of excellence within her program. What truly sets Coach Walsh apart is the environment that she and she does create. She fosters a positive, inclusive, and team-oriented atmosphere, where students build confidence, develop sponsorship, and support one another. She also mentors student leaders, encouraging responsibility, accountability, and peer leadership. Coach Walsh maintains strong communication with families and actively engages the community, building a network of support that strengthens her program. Her impact is evident in the success of her teams. Since 2019, her teams have consistently participated in state invitationals. And since 2021, they have earned invitations to compete at the national level. An incredible accomplishment that reflects her dedication and the excellence of her students. Most importantly, Coach Walsh embodies our mission, promoting character,
022teamwork, and student engagement in everything that she does. Coach Walsh, thank you for your commitment to our students and for representing Lexington School District Two with excellence. >> [applause] >> Congratulations, Coach Walsh. She has been at it for a long time, and and Miss Dickerson said it correctly. She's an excellent educator. We appreciate you. Thank you. Absolutely. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Okay. >> [clears throat] >> Next, we will hear from Emmy Lou Todd, director of special services, who is going to tell us about a sizable grant that Lexington Two received from the South Carolina Department of Education to better equip special education students with becoming college and career ready. Miss Todd. Thank you. Good evening, Mr. Chair, members of the board, and Dr. Cooper. I am very proud to announce that Lexington Two has
023been awarded the Education and Economic Development Act grant to support targeted students at Airport High School, Brookland-Cayce High School, and New Bridge Academy. This grant will directly impact approximately 93 high-need students, including students with disabilities in our set and transition programs. This grant allows us approximately $100,000 to fund activities for for our students. The purpose of the grant is to strengthen college and career readiness through a multifaceted approach that includes hands-on career training using the PACE curriculum and work-based learning experiences. PACE stands for practical assessment of and exploring systems. Um increase opportunities for students to earn state employability credentials, extend extend Excuse me, expanded partnerships with local businesses for job exploration and placement, family engagement through parent university and community resource support. The initiative also focuses on improving key student outcomes by increasing graduation and
024career readiness rates, reducing absenteeism and discipline referrals, and expanding access to meaningful work-based learning opportunities. The grant represents a significant investment in preparing our students, especially those with the greatest needs for successful postsecondary outcomes and workforce readiness. I will say Miss Tiffany Chaplin, our secondary coordinator, should be the one sharing this as she did all the leg legwork, but she is becoming an aunt tonight for the first time. Um she has I will commend her. She has collaborated with a number of our Lexington Two directors um and administrators to gather all of the documentation that was required even to apply for this grant. Um and I wanted to specially thank Dr. McDonald for your support in moving through this process as well. So we're really excited. Thank you. >> [applause] >> And Miss Chaplin, if
025you're out there listening, we appreciate you. Thank you so much. Now, members of two of our two high school choirs had extraordinary opportunities recently to share their musical talents with audiences in Europe. We'll hear about each of the trips next. Hello, good evening. My name is Amanda Heinz-Rona and I am the director at Airport High School. Um thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak with you tonight. I'm very pleased to share just a brief overview of our recent trip to Italy, which took place January 26th through February 2nd. As you all as you all well know uh from being contacted on a Saturday afternoon, our journey began with an uh unexpected challenge. The snowstorm was the first snowstorm weekend prevented our departure from Columbia, and so we ultimately secured a special permission to
026drive to Atlanta and um catch our flights. Thank you again, by the way. Um thank you uh fortunately, once we were underway, the remainder of the trip proceeded smoothly, and we made it to the airport. Our first destination was Venice, where we spent two days and performed our opening concert. While there, students explored the city in chaperone groups, visited landmarks such as the Rialto Bridge. And attended a glass blowing demonstration that offered a unique glimpse into local craftsmanship. Uh my husband and I were so enamored with the glass that we purchased our own set of glassware that arrived earlier this week at our house. Uh we loved it. Um our performance took place um at a beautiful large church with remarkable acoustics. When we were done singing each song, the uh reverberation was a solid
0277 seconds to the back of the church and and and back to us. It it was pretty stunning. >> [snorts] >> It created a memorable experience for both performers and the passersby who stopped to listen. They would just come in off the street and come hear us sing. So here's the inside of that church. It was huge, very tall ceilings. There's a glimpse down the aisle. Beautiful stained windows. There's us. Um from there, on the next day, we traveled uh by high-speed train to Florence, where we spent two days immersed in the city's rich history and architecture. Despite some rainy weather, spirits remained high. Our second performance was held in a more intimate venue. Some of the cool architecture we saw. Great pizza. There's Kylan. He's back there. >> [snorts] >> Um the second venue
028uh was much more intimate. Um I I think I liked that concert better, actually. It was a neat uh smaller place so you could hear each other really well, and it was just a very welcoming environment. Once again, uh people just came off the street once they heard you singing. It was uh really great to um see how much Italian the Italians just appreciated choral music from just right off the street. Um [snorts] the the first church also had no heat, and this one did, which was helpful. On our way to Rome, we made Oh, there's a picture. Uh we made a stop in Siena uh for um just some a few hours to spend at the Duomo and to grab some lunch. Um the the walk to the Duomo was a bit challenging, but
029it was well worth the effort to see this historic place. And of course get some more amazing food. And then the last few days were in Rome. We concluded our trip with visits to many iconic landmarks, including Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, the Roman Forum. Throughout the experience, students not only deepened their understanding of history and culture, but also represented our program by sharing their musical talents internationally. Um this trip provided invaluable educational and personal growth opportunities for our students, and it was truly a privilege to witness their engagement with a new culture and environment. Many of them have never been on a plane before. Um some had never left the state or been on an overnight trip. Um so thank you for your continued support and for allowing me to share this experience with you
030tonight. Appreciate it. >> [applause] >> We do have a few of the students who went to Italy here. Um hello. My name is Kylan Gillis. Um I'm a tenor with the choir. I'm in the 11th grade, and my favorite thing about Italy was just being able to see the world from a different perspective. >> [applause] >> I am Austin Nash. I'm the bass in the choir, and I'm in ninth grade. My favorite thing about Italy was seeing all the landmarks there and learning more about Italy. >> [applause] >> My name is Allison Calder. I'm an alto, and I am a senior this year. My favorite part was learning all the different culture that is a part of Italy. It was really beautiful, so. >> [applause] >> My name is Peyton Jordan. I am also a
031senior and an alto, and my favorite part would definitely be the architecture and of course the food. >> [applause] >> My name is Keely Zion. I'm a junior. Um I sang soprano for this thing. Um and [laughter] my favorite thing was getting to see things such as like the Colosseum, and also um getting to just see how people like in different cultures interacted with us, and how also I found it very interesting how they knew different languages. Like they knew English and Italian, and it was just very welcoming. >> [applause] >> Good evening, Mr. Chair, members of the school board, and Dr. Cooper. I think most of you know I'm Wendy Humphreys, and I am the sister school to Airport High School, and we just returned last Wednesday um from a week-long cathedral tour in
032Ireland. And so I just wanted to highlight the um presentation and performances. And so our first performance was a choir exchange, and Miss Todd has a um picture. We um did a joint concert. Um they sang for 20 minutes, and then we sang for an additional 50 minutes so that the audience would receive an hour plus concert. And the one thing that stood out to me and to the students when they were talking at dinner and things like that were they enjoyed the spirituals. And it just didn't dawn on me that they don't hear spirituals. And we had four spirituals, and so that's what the audience appreciated the most. We sang in Cove at Saint Colman's Cathedral. The second presentation, the students performed not performed presented the music for an entire Catholic Mass. There was
033only one Catholic student there. And so it was a very it was a learning experience for all of us. But they represented this school district like you cannot imagine showing reverence, appreciation of the Abbey that they were singing in. And having to follow a mass without knowing what was happening. So um even Mr. Van Oman >> [laughter] >> He was kneeling on the concrete. But um we did the full Catholic Mass in the 10th century Holy Cross Abbey. And then our final performance was a full concert with just the BC Honors Choir in Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin. And um that was I think my favorite because the students said that they could hear one another better and they were well received. And I just wanted to let you know that um we took 13
034students from Brooklyn-Cayce High School Choir. We had three alumni. We had one district office personnel, one BC administrator, one North Side math teacher {slash} parent. And then there was a collaboration between the orchestra director, myself, and the dance teacher because we ended our trip with a farewell dinner that included Irish dancing and string music. So it was just wonderful. Um with the alumni, the one thing I want to let you know, the three alumni that went through and are products of our district and I say our district proudly. One is currently a middle school choral teacher in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Another one is a private voice teacher and a public school high school piano teacher. And then the third is here in Lexington as the artistic director of Village Square Theatre. So without your
035recommendations and your support in the community in this South Carolina West Columbia Cayce area we are producing wonderful fine arts leaders and I just want to thank you on behalf of myself and also um Ms. Todd had a couple of sentences she wants to share as not being an outsider, but somebody that's not in the chorus classroom. Um I told her that she could only say two sentences though. Um I cannot tell you what a pleasure it was to attend this trip. It was a once in a lifetime for me. Uh my co-workers here in the district office will not believe this, but I was in show choir when I was in high school. Um and to see the um dedication and I mean the commitment, the enthusiasm um from these students I was very
036impressed. Well-oiled machine from sunup to sundown. Um I will give a little shout-out to Ms. Humphreys. It was so nice to be on this trip with her. My first day of teaching at Fulmer Middle School 20 years ago. Um I had a note in my box on the first day of school saying we're so glad you're here and we want to keep you. And here we are. It was just so nice to come full circle. Um these students did an amazing job to represent Lexington School District 2. And two of the three that she was talking about Dr. McDonald were Winthrop grads too. So Uh beautiful trip. A beautifully um executed, Ms. Humphreys. >> [applause] >> They uh Jim, I think there's a video at the end of that presentation, hopefully. It's like a minute
037long. It's just a brief thing of them singing. Hopefully it plays. Everyone is at honor society inductions and soccer games and all the things. I don't know if it'll play. Oh, perfect. >> [music] [music] [music and singing] [music] >> Wow. >> [applause] >> Outstanding. Well, they don't have field trips like we used to. >> [laughter] >> I'm wondering if I got four more years eligibility in that. Man. All right, that concludes your What do you got one more? I have one more. Oh. And finally tonight, you may recall last month we heard about some individual honors in music theater, orchestra, and band. We are continuing that this month, but looking primarily at performance assessments. Jim Block, executive director of Lexington 2 Performing Arts Center and Fine Arts Programming will tell us share some about these
038performance recognitions and then after that Batesburg Principal Alicia Dickerson will come back to the podium and tell us about a significant achievement of our band director, Mr. Hunter Reese. Thank you very much, Dr. Cooper. Good evening, everybody. Mr. Chair, members of the board, cabinet, our guests. Um it's an honor to come before you. I prefer to give our teachers and students the spotlight, but this time of year many of them are preparing, especially the tens of them on the stage right now for Cinderella next week. So let me give you a plug to please come see that at the end of next week. A wonderful show with Airport High School and some BC students. But today I'm here um several years ago we spoke about the goals with building a building of the magnitude of
039the one behind us um and building a fine arts program that's top-notch uh not just around this community, but around our state. And I just want to thank each of you for allowing us the time to recognize the hard work and dedicated dedication of my team, the teachers, our administrators in here, um especially all of our students collectively. Uh tonight I want to share the next round of incredible accolades and we're not even done. There's still some festivals to be uh had and still some uh ratings still that we can receive, but up until this point this spring Lexington 2 students and programs have received 12 excellent ratings, 27 superior ratings, and an incredible three superior ratings with distinction, which is a perfect score um at festival. Um that is quite a bit more than
040I have ever seen in my time in Lexington 2 and I'm incredibly uh proud of them. I'm going to name some of them and once we get final results from the rest of them, we will um put together a comprehensive list for you guys so that everyone can see the good work. But at Airport High School, Kaylin McDonald's orchestra program um had superior at CPA for the freshman orchestra, superior with distinction for her honors orchestra, um excellent at solo and ensemble, superior with distinction at solo ensemble for um students um a total of five uh six superiors and two superiors with distinction with distinction and uh three excellent. So Kaylin McDonald did a a phenomenal job. She's a first-year teacher here in Lexington 2. Um so let let's give her a round of applause. >>
041[applause] >> Mr. Spivey at Airport High School's band received an excellent rating at CPA. Um we also had um Ms. Amanda Rona helped with our Fulmer Choir and they received an excellent rating. Um she came down from the high school to help support those kids. Very grateful for that. Um thank you, Ms. Rona. >> [applause] >> Ms. Rona and Ms. White um in theater had the ratings that y'all saw last year. I mean last month, I apologize. But um she's going to come forward real quick. I want her to explain one of the accolades they received just this uh past weekend also. Um so we had solo and ensemble this weekend and we got uh 10 superior ratings and an excellent rating. Um one of the superiors was a perfect score. Um, and because we
042uh received those ratings at solo and ensemble combined with our CPA score and all-state and region choir, um put all that together for the first time in Airport High School chorus history, uh we will be receiving the Outstanding Performance Award, the OPA, this year and we're very excited cuz that's the highest you can get >> [applause] >> Um, and I did bring a couple students with me to represent all of those things that we did this weekend and I would love for them to be able to introduce themselves to you. Hello, my name is Paris Brown and I'm a sophomore. >> [applause] >> My name is Aaron Brown and I am also a sophomore. >> [applause] >> Hello, my name is Calvin Gillison and I'm a junior. >> [applause] >> Hi, my name is Austin
043and I'm Austin Nash and I'm a freshman. Thank you guys. Congratulations, Airport also. Um, in addition to that, we had uh some accolades from uh Busbee Creative Arts Academy. I'm going to ask for uh Ms. Alicia Dickerson, the principal, to come up to cuz she can share very special recognition they've received. Mr. Chair, members of the board and Dr. Cooper. Mr. Reese is not able to attend this evening, so I'm honored to share this exciting update on his behalf. Each year, our seventh and eighth grade students audition for the Academy Winds, our band's premier performance ensemble. This year, 50 students earned a spot through a rigorous audition process that included scales and selections from their concert music. The group had the opportunity to work with Mr. David Santiago, director of athletic bands at Newberry College
044and former band director at Chapin Middle School. He commended our students not only for their high level of performance, but also for their willingness to take risk and grow as musicians. On May 4th, the Academy Winds traveled to Greenwood High School Performing Arts Center to participate in the concert performance assessment. This year, the ensemble performed at grade two level, challenging music that exceeds what has been performed in previous years. I am proud to share that the Academy Winds earned a superior with distinction rating for the second consecutive year, an accomplishment that marks the first time in both school and district history. Our students demonstrate excellence not only in this their stage performance, but also in sight reading portion of the assessment, truly showcasing their talent, discipline, and dedication. And I actually got to be a
045part of that as well. I got to attend all three of the CPAs. And so, if you go on our Facebook, I am that woo girl in the back as I'm taking the video of all of them. I'm extremely proud of all of our students at our school. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Thank you very much, Ms. Dickerson. Also, the BC High School Wind Ensemble under Titus McCutchen received an excellent rating at CPA. Um, we also had uh Jeffrey Chen received an excellent rating at CPA for orchestra. So, that's just a small snapshot. There's still more on the list and more to come. Um, our two elementary schools uh in Cayce Elementary and Saluda River, Saluda River just hosted our theater festival um for the state and both of them received uh superior ratings as
046well this weekend. So, many great things happening in the world of the arts and I'm just very grateful for the principals who support that, our teachers, the parents, um and especially you guys for um your investment in the arts in Lexington Two. Thank you very much. >> [applause] >> All right. And before we go much further, you know, I talked about being a family, Lex Two being a family, and thanking the teachers, I would like to take a moment and just thank one of our teachers and just have a moment of silence cuz uh cuz our family got hit hard this week, so I'd like to take a moment of silence for Mr. Bo Elkins' family. Thank y'all. Um And now we're going to move into public participation, but I do not believe we have
047any. Is that correct, Ms. Keller? All right. We're going to move on down into administrative reports and turn over to Dr. Cooper for our superintendent's report. >> Thank you, Mr. Chair, members of the board, our community tonight. I want to take a few moments to introduce an important opportunity for our district, arts integration. This conversation is especially meaningful as we think about the future of Saluda River Academy for the Arts and Busbee Creative Arts Academy. Both schools are already known for creativity, student expression, performance, and artistic opportunity and that identity is something that we value deeply. We are proud of what these schools represent for our students and families and we believe they hold tremendous promise for the future. As we look ahead, we also have an opportunity to deepen and strengthen that work through
048a clearer understanding of what true arts integration means in instruction. The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts defines arts integration as an approach to teaching in which students construct and demonstrate understanding through an art form, engaging in a creative process that connects an art form with another subject area while meeting objectives in both. Simply put, arts integration is not just about having the arts present in a school or using an arts activity to support a lesson. It is about intentionally designing instruction so that students learn academic content and artistic skills together in meaningful ways. This matters because arts integration has the potential to make learning more engaging, more relevant, and more memorable for students. When students are able to connect learning to creating, performing, responding, and expressing themselves, they often develop a deeper
049understanding of academic content. This kind of approach can strengthen student engagement, support achievement, and help create the kind of dynamic learning environments that are attractive to families who are seeking meaningful opportunities for their children. It also helps to us to continue building schools that stand out for both innovation and student experience. Just as importantly, this work must be developed in a way that supports our teachers. Arts integration is not something that happens simply because we name it. It requires thoughtful planning, professional learning, modeling, collaboration, and time. That is why our approach must be phased in and carefully carefully with integrity. We want teachers to feel equipped and encouraged in this process and not overwhelmed by it. We have already seen promising experiences at both campuses. In what Saluda River in that Saluda River currently, we
050are benefiting from a grant that is bringing experts in to work alongside teachers. Our goal is to continue investing in training, support, and resources so that our educators have what they need to grow this work with confidence. Our vision is not simply for these schools to be known for the arts in the name or reputation. Our vision is for them to become places where arts are woven into learning in ways that strengthen instruction, deepen student understanding, and expand opportunities for children. Over time, we also want to grow this work beyond these two schools and build a stronger arts integrated pathway that extends through the feeder pattern to Brooklyn-Cayce High School. We know families value the arts opportunities already available in our district and we believe that deepening this focus will make our schools even more
051attractive to students and families while enriching the academic experience we already provide. This work aligns naturally with who we are in Lexington Two. As champions for children, we believe students deserve learning experiences that are rigorous, meaningful, and inspiring. We believe creativity matters, expression matters, and student engagement matters. Arts integration, when well done, is not just about the arts. It is about stronger teaching, richer learning, and greater opportunity for students. That is why we are excited to begin introducing this work more intentionally, to support our teachers in the process, and to continue building schools that serve students well and inspire confidence in the families that we serve. To help bring this distinction to life, we'll conclude this report tonight with comments to demonstrate the difference between instruction that may occur in a magnet or arts focused
052school and instruction that reflects a truly arts integrated lesson. Our hope is to is that this example will make the concept more tangible and provide a clearer picture of the direction of the work ahead for our students, our teachers, and our schools. And at this time, I will call Brandon Brantley, principal of Saluda River Academy for the Arts, and Ms. Alicia Dickerson, principal for Busby Creative Arts Academy, to the podium. Thank you. Good evening, Mr. Chair, members of the board, and Dr. Cooper. First, I'd like to say thank you, Dr. Cooper, for bringing arts integration highlighting arts integration in her superintendent's report. I'd also like to thank the board for providing arts integrated and arts experiences in general to all of our students in Lexington 2. I would have to agree with Mr. Key, field
053trips have definitely come a long way since I was like in high school. Um Now, while we're definitely not traveling to Ireland and Italy with Ms. [clears throat] Todd back there, we are very proud to share some of the things happening um at arts integration at Saluda River and Busby Creative Arts Academy. So, I was going to have you guys get up and participate, but we decided that with our space and with the number of people that we and all these folks probably want to go home tonight, we were not we would not do that. But, I wanted to share just a little bit about arts integration. So, there's really three levels of arts in schools, arts as curriculum, and that's our certified arts teachers that you're traditionally thinking about, whether that's music, theater, dance,
054visual arts, media arts, and all of those classes that almost all elementary schools have. Arts engagement, and again, most teachers in their classrooms doing this as well. When that's learning occurring using arts to learn another subject as a teaching tool, and I can share some examples in just a second, but you're writing a you're writing a story and you're drawing a picture about it, okay? And but arts integration is true learning when the learning is occurring holistically, integrated the arts and the grade level standards, they're woven into your lessons and both standards are being taught with the same level of fidelity, okay? So, here's like two different or three different examples of arts enhancement versus arts integration. So, if you were doing a dance a teacher was doing a dance about the planets in the
055solar system. Um instead, for arts integration, that would be using levels and pathways to divide to design a dance and talking about choreography that's focuses on the solar system. Another example, and I won't read all of them, but you might see students dressing up, like dressing up and reading aloud a book about a scientist. Well, instead, we're presenting to the class a monologue written from the viewpoint of a famous scientist using voice inflection, pitch, and volume. So, you see that we're teaching both the grade level content standards and then you're also teaching the arts standards. You're just weaving those things together. All right, so as Dr. Cooper already said, arts integration is an approach to teaching in which students construct and demonstrate understanding through an art form. Students are engaging in a creative process which
056connects an art form and another subject area and meets involving objectives in both, and that's the key term. Key part of that. All right, so this is just an example of something that you might see in one of our classrooms, and one of the examples is character grounding. So, essentially, we refer to our students as actors and as artists in general, and they use actors use their bodies, voice, face, mind, and heart to tell stories. And down here at the bottom, you see there's lots of theater standards to include acting, play making, play writing, researching, responding, and then what the strategy some of the things that it does benefit and how it benefits students. So, how does that fit? So, that's more the theater part of it and what this activity or this would bring
057to the classroom for the students. But then you're thinking about a fourth grade classroom, you might see them learning about historical figures such as Harriet Tubman, Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, and I have the standards there for you what classroom content teachers are required to teach. Um but instead, they are thinking through those body the body, the gestures, the posture, thinking about asking students how characters if you were that character, how might you move? How might you sit? How might you talk? How would you move your shoulders, your arms, your legs, your hips, your chest? Yeah, that was the part I was going to have you all of you do. Um and then um talking again about voice, thinking about how might that person what would the pitch be, their pace in their speech, um their
058volume, what accent might they have, the texture of their voice. So, then having them use their heart and thinking about how that character feels. And again, any of this can be adapted to any content standard, this is just an example. So, the kids would actually act in their character's voice being that person um as that teacher um asked them says action. Um this we also um do a lot of collaborative work in our classroom. So, students, for example, students might freeze as their character and then come to life with their movements introduce themselves to each other um using their voices telling their partners who they are and then really staying in character as they go through these things um using their bodies, their character's body, voice, and movement um to respond and making us truly
059believe who they are. Um and this particular activity I actually witnessed in a fourth grade classroom. Um they were doing a different um content standard, however, they were truly assessing the students' content knowledge um because they were able to see it in this work versus the paper and pencil test. There's some of the work that you can see that arts integration happening at Saluda River. Um lots of good stuff. You can check out our social media and see those as well. And I also included, which I'm not going to read all this to y'all, I promise, um but you will see we highlight a teacher weekly that to our family and our community that's integrating arts, and you will see, and I can share all of these with y'all if you're interested, um but you
060will see that they do a lesson highlight, there's artifacts of their lessons, and then they look at the art standards, vocabulary, and then also the academic standards. So, you can and then we have one again from one our dance teacher who is also as our arts teachers, they're also required to integrate content standards because let's be honest, teaching's too hard to do by yourself. You you need a partner to support that work. All right. So, with that being said, first and foremost, thank you so much. I I I am so delighted to lead into the next school year school year as the principal at Busby Creative Arts Academy. Part of my passion, of course, is the arts, and part of the passion within our school is the arts. So, we are in the beginning parts
061of with a long a professional development within our BCAA in-service that we had February 13th. We work with, and so does Saluda River Academy for the Arts with ABC Institute, the Arts and Basic Curriculum. So, we had a full day professional development in which all of our teachers participated. Did you include that, too? Uh yeah, that's just some of our partners who support us in our work, the South Carolina Arts Commission, ABC, the Arts and Basic Curriculum, Arts Now, and then also, of course, Lexington 2. Okay, with that being said, I was actually going to have all of you do this as well, but we do not have much time, so I'm going to show you examples of it. So, again, this work does not happen by chance, it happens through intentional professional learning. And
062so, part of the requirement on the professional development day, we actually learned about how to with arts integration, how to do what's called a tableau. And a tableau is a silent, motionless scene where students use body positions, facial expressions, and spacing to show understanding of a concept, story, or idea. So, what we had is we actually had an example that they gave us to provide us so we could take it directly into our classroom. So, this is an example of the Spanish-American War, and so what they had us do is we in a sense reenacted it, but again, you're frozen in time, frozen in space. And so, it was a neat way for us to understand and interpret the information prior to. So, this would make an excellent way of introducing in social studies, but
063it also can be integrated in our ELA classes and other classes as well. And then this is our group of teachers, our fabulous teachers here, and you can see their reenactment of it. See? Uh-huh, yeah. I will say I will say those are our true actors. They those are our talented people at our school, but again, they did a fabulous job. What was neat about the tableau as well is that when you're frozen, then the teacher walks around, they will actually tap you on the shoulder and only you are allowed to speak. And you are to speak as that particular character or thing. And so, some of the other groups didn't necessarily have all of the people be involved. They actually had as I will go back, they had as you see the hotel sign,
064they actually even had the hotel, they had their arms out like that, so they represented the hotel. So, it was all kinds of different ways in order to represent, and then they would actually share based on how the hotel felt at that time as well. And then we also we moved into what was called concept trees. And so, part of the arts integration and what I wanted our teachers to fully understand is how we can and how how we should develop our art curriculum into and across across the school. So, with that, we created what was called a concept tree where we focused, of course, on the concept, which is the trunk, then we have, of course, the main branches, and then we really focused on how exactly our core content fits into our arts
065and how our arts can fit into our core content. And so with that being said, I know you're not able to see it so well, but you'll see at uh the trunk at the bottom, it's cause and effect. You will see the different um content areas, ELA, social studies, and so on. And then the branches represent different parts of social studies and ELA. And then if you you can't really see the leaves, but I will share that later, but that's where you integrate the arts into that. And so the acting and the different things that you're able to accomplish with that. And so we do a lot again. Please check us out on Facebook. We spend a lot of We like to post a lot, but we spend a lot of time with our arts
066integration. I've been real big about this this year with with our teachers, with our students. We have so much buy-in, so we're going to continue with our professional development and looking forward to next year of really integrating even more, but there's just so many examples that we have done this year. We had a pie day fun. We did a a lot of activities with that. We recently had steam day, which was a fabulous uh controlled chaos day. So we had a wonderful time with that. We also have a CSI investigation. So any we have all kinds of different things that and ways that we can integrate the arts. So I'm looking forward to the future and how we're going to continue to integrate the arts into our content area. I believe that's it. Thank y'all.
067Thank you. >> [applause] >> More to come on arts integration, and with that, Mr. Chair, that concludes my report. All right. We're going to move on into finance now, and I'm going to turn it over to Ms. Strickland. Good evening, Board Chair, fellow board members. Tonight I have the March financials. They were uploaded last week for your review. Are there any questions about about the financials or the people activity report? Any questions on them? All right. Without objection, the monthly financial reports are accepted as presented. >> [clears throat] >> Thank you. All right. That was quick. All right. I'm going to turn this over to Ms. Hugs for human resources. >> [snorts] >> There we go. Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair, board members, and Dr. Cooper. I do have the staffing report for you today.
068Currently, we have 21 support vacancies, 24 gen ed vacancies, and seven special ed vacancies. And just as a reminder, our we will be issuing contracts on April 30th, which is next week, and they'll be due back on the 11th May, which is a Monday. Are there any questions? Any questions there? All right. Thank you. Move on into instruction and turn over to Dr. McDonald. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good evening, members of the board. Um first off, I want to give you all an update on our um tech use in the early grades. As you all know, we convened a task force on April 15th to begin that work. Uh and so our folks that attended that included teachers, parents, and as well as district uh team members. And what we chose to do during that
069time was really to focus on five areas of tech use in our early grades. We looked first at purpose. We looked at the balance. We looked at interaction. We looked at duration. And we looked at development. Our core was to determine why are we using how are we using and what are we getting out of it. And um our team did a really nice job of of really focusing on those areas, and I've put together some draft guidelines. When those are ready to be shared, we're going to bring that to the board uh to give you a full review of what that work has looked like as we make some decisions as we go into next year. Um that work will continue with our administrators, our coaches, as well as going to our larger group
070of teachers uh to review more of that. Uh so I just wanted to make sure you all had an update on that. And tonight, um I want to give you another great update on our work with AI. And as you all recall back in January, we shared with you the work that the team had been doing um as we talk about artificial intelligence and what place it has in Lexington 2. Uh tonight we have Dr. Deadman uh and Dr. Wolf who are going to share some additional updates and information with you. Thank you. Good evening, Mr. Chair, members of the board, and Dr. Cooper. I'm going to be we are going to be providing an update on our AI guidance for the district after we met with our task force back in March. Um again,
071we had some board representation there. We had uh district administration. We had school administration, and of course our teachers. Um we invited some parents, but unfortunately, they were not able to attend. >> [clears throat and cough] >> But we did have um good representation from multiple different stakeholders there. Um as a reminder, we do have cuz we have um brought this forward previously. We do currently have one-pagers for students, families, and educators where we talk about what is AI, what is responsible use, not responsible use. And then it also includes copies of our usage usage scale um that we have developed for the district for both again educators and for students that will help guide how teachers are allowing AI use in the classroom if they choose to. And then our guidance document for the
072district that again we revisited that as a committee to make any necessary updates. And then also the AI website that we have created. >> [snorts] >> So these are just the updates that I'm going to go through. The first one that we decided to work on was syllabus wording so that we have if you are familiar with the collegiate level, um they those professors are now using um syllabus wording to disseminate their AI policies at the university level. So we thought it was appropriate to bring that into uh we decided middle and high schools. So we did again work with our teachers and our administrators to develop some syllabus wording to be included on teacher syllabus at the beginning of the year. Um Um Oh, is it on there? Yeah, it's up there. So I'm
073not going to read that out loud to you. Um but just know that that we did develop that as a committee. So the curriculum work, that was another focus that we decided to to work on to figure out what topics are going to be most important for our students to know and what we want them to graduate with, the skills and the knowledge regarding AI. So we started drafting a topics list that we want to make sure our students are aware of and educated on. So we have that topic list. Our next step will be how. How are we going to do this? Um our schools at different levels obviously look different. So we need to decide, okay, is this going to be a standalone lesson? Is it going to be integrated into a content
074area? What's the best way for both our teachers and our students to to gain this knowledge um and learn how to use AI responsibly and and ethically and effectively um with that understanding of what it is and what it is not. So [snorts] that will be kind of upcoming. We also took our resources that we developed, the usage scale in particular because that's going to be kind of the driving force behind um any classroom AI use. So we sent that out to our schools and to get feedback from teachers that are actually going to be implementing this to see, okay, what recommendations do you have? What feedback do you have? What support do you need from us to be able to feel comfortable talking about this with students? What support do students need to be
075able to understand what this scale means for them and their classroom assignments? Um So we have we started gathering that feedback. We're going to send it out again. We have gotten some some really good feedback already, but we want to see if we can generate a little bit more um so that we can make sure that our teachers and our students are getting the support they need uh regard regarding AI and its use in our classrooms. We also have developed an AI website. So with again feedback from the committee, we took some time to look at that to see what else was needed, if there were any changes that were that were recommended. So we've added some additional resources to that website. >> [snorts] >> Um I've also added a contact page cuz that was
076missing. If anyone has questions, there's now a a area for contact information there. Um cuz I didn't realize, you know, we look at it all day, but we may not realize a little detail like that could be important. So um that's been updated. And that will be all of these resources, one thing to keep in mind is they will be revisited constantly cuz this is changing every single day. Every day. And we're getting new updates. We're getting new tools. So all of these things will be constantly evaluated and updated as needed. We also, like I stated previously, we looked at our guidance document that we've created and made sure that it was still relevant cuz that's going to be a key, too. We want to make sure we're we're staying relevant and on top of
077everything that's coming out, making sure that our our guidance is what it needs to be for our students and our and our staff. So we took a look at that, made any necessary changes. Um there really wasn't a lot right now that we made from when we met in the fall, but there were some recommendations that we took into account for to make sure our guidance is is accurate as possible. And then our next steps, most of these I've already kind of mentioned, but um the curriculum work needs to continue, how we decide how to best get that out to our students, make it as easy as possible for our teachers, what that's going to look like in our schools. Again, um it's it's geared for our students to understand what AI is, what it
078is not, how it impacts us as members of a society. Um we'll also look at a PD plan. Again, part of that feedback is what support do you need from us? What support do you want from us? So that's going to be part of the PD plan to include in-person PD, online PD, on-demand video tutorials, um I've already worked started working on a YouTube playlist that can be shared out for teachers to as they have time and the interest to learn more about AI and how it is available in the multiple platforms across the district, and also the best way to um distribute that syllabus wording that we have that we've developed as a committee. So that's that's our AI update. We're happy to answer any questions you might have. Ms. Burkett? Um thank you.
079I enjoyed the meeting very much. Um I appreciate how everything changes. I I read something yesterday that changed my mind about about 14 different things. >> [laughter] >> Okay, it's a daily thing. But um please keep in mind that we as a board are still waiting for a proposed policy from y'all uh before things are implemented. We're waiting for a proposed policy uh because uh really the the AI policy for the district should come from us as opposed to there's already a huge AI program in place and we're sort of trying to catch up to figure out what it is. So um I know we worked on that some uh the day that I was there, uh but we are still waiting for that to to see this this policy. And as I said, I
080appreciate that it changes every day. So I mean it's it's it's very difficult to do that, but um there ought to be some general things, my fellow board members, that we can say, "Okay, we're prepared to say yes to this. We're not quite prepared to say yes to something else right now." Do you know what I mean? And so anyway, I just wanted to remind you guys. Thank you. Ms. Rucker? I just wanted to thank y'all for the the detailed report there and the work we're doing with AI. I know it's continuously changing, but to take that deep dive into, you know, you working with the schools and that kind of thing, um I appreciate all that. Um I know that parents are probably very interested in knowing too, you know, what's what's allowed, what's
081not allowed on this assignment or for this course and that kind of thing. So I know that'll, you know, we'll be working on that and get get that out to them so they understand as well. And then um you know, as we develop this, I know that we're going to need that um in-class pencil, paper, pen and paper time. So we want to make sure we're still, you know, having our students do some in-class work and maybe there's a percentage, you know, speaking of policy. Uh you know, maybe we want to look at something like that to make sure we're we can have that covered. Yes. Thank you. Yes, ma'am. Mr. Brett? Uh great work. Thank you all. The only thing I had is is the website live yet? It is live. Yes. Um I
082do need to it has gone out in our classroom corner newsletter for teachers to look at and families as well. I do need to see the best way to get it out to our community as well, so they have that website. >> Perfect. Thank you. >> Yes. Great work. Thank you. Yeah, my question is not AI. Sorry, it's still instruction though. Okay. Okay. >> [snorts] >> Any more for AI? All right. Thank you all. Thank you. Thank you. All right. I just wanted to ask a while we're under instruction, I just wanted to ask a a few questions. Um I'm just looking to things a little bit more regarding our ABC report. So um you know, every every month we get our our ABC report, attendance, behavior, course progress, and I'm very thankful for that.
083I would like to know if um kind of how we're looking with the attendance behavior. We get the updates each month, but I don't can't really gauge like is it improving? Is there anything that we need to be discussing or any initiatives we need to take on to improve those things? And then also on the course progress, um I know the state department has adopted the, you know, 75% of students to be at or above grade level by 2030, so we've kind of adopted the same. And so um you know, I see where we have the elementary and middle on here, but I do wonder like what um metrics is the state department using for middle um elementary, middle, and high for that? And what are we looking at um to gauge that? And um
084yeah. You know, just having this every month, this is super helpful in having that long-term goal and vision, I think is great to keep close at hand too. So I just appreciate all your work on that. Absolutely. Thank you. We'll be glad to send you all some comparison information between years uh for both discipline and for attendance. Um as far as the 75% was that's based on state test scores, but we can certainly give you their description that they provided to us as well. We'd be happy to do that for you. Okay. Thank you so much. Any more questions? No? Uh yeah, instruction. The uh uh I'm going to probably keep harping on it for a while, so forgive me, but kids with computers without the ability to use them well, aka type. Uh I
085think with AI we were talking about acceptable use policies. I'm sure Hauser and all his group have acceptable use policies. And the more I think on it and talk to uh especially educators, it is does not fit within the acceptable use policy of this as a tool if we can't use the utilize the tool properly. We wouldn't give people a whole bunch of, you know, nail gun. Kevin wouldn't give kid [clears throat] a a nail gun without making sure they I every are able to properly use it. So I would love to see us put a much higher priority on figuring out before we start relying fully on these come mid-third grade, that we're actually getting kids at least learning the home row, at least understanding the the inefficiency of having 77 tabs open in
086Google Chrome, the simple things of treating this as a tool cuz that's what it is, and how to properly use that tool. So I would love to see big work on that over the summer. I think it's a a low-hanging fruit for us, and um you know, and up here a lot of times you have some people who are really for something you say and some people who are really against it uh when we talk about this, all all we hear is people saying, "By goodness, we need to figure out how to use these computers more appropriately." So Absolutely. Uh everything the only other thing I had for instruction was the coaches uh thing today was fantastic. Thanks for setting that up. Uh learned a lot, and I think it was good across the board.
087And thank you all who were able to make it today. Thank you for being there. That meant a lot to the coaches. They they really worked hard to showcase their work from the year, and and they were very proud to show that work off. So I appreciate y'all being there today. Ms. Burkett? Um Dr. McDonald, uh on the course progress, when it says percentage of students at or above benchmark, what does benchmark mean? Does that mean projected growth? Is that that category? To that. >> [laughter] >> Be careful. Don't fall over. Don't worry. I wasn't prepared to come up and answer a question. >> [laughter] >> That'll be replayed. Um I was on camera. I just thought it wasn't worker's comp. I thought you broke your arm. >> [laughter] >> Please don't fall. I need
088you, Dr. Burggraf. Please don't fall on Um MAP pre uses a couple different metrics, and so I want to I will get you the exact definition of benchmark so that I don't misquote it. They use different reports. Um one aligns to the state assessment and those reporting criteria. Okay. This is a more comprehensive look and it narrowing it down to one metric. So their definition of benchmark, I will get for you what the exact wording is. It is not the 50th percentile. It is kind of that broad group of kids who are on track to make the progress that they need to make. So but we will gladly send that to you. Okay. So really this has nothing to do with meets and exceeds. It does not. No, it is not. >> a predictor at
089all, really. It's a predictor of potential growth first, but it is a it like Dr. Burggraf said, it's a multiple layer piece. That's why we'll send you some additional information on that. Okay. And then just in general, I know you're not the math person, but um we have a couple of them of the middle schools, kudos to them for going up in math from fall to spring, but the vast majority either stay the same or fall behind from the fall to the spring. Why is that? There's a couple factors. One, it is two of the areas that we need to improve as far as instructing, data analysis, and geometry. We tend to set those to the side, and I say we collectively, just in in instruction, teachers focus on the the uh computation pieces, the
090addition, subtraction, the fractions, the decimals, which are all important. But sometimes we save the geometry, the the looking at graphs, the interpreting tables to the end of the year. Not every district does that, and so we need to make sure that we are incorporating those because what that does is it compares us to schools around the the country really as far as progress. Um are we setting our kids up with understanding all the concepts of math before they take that spring map testing as opposed to having some of it fall after we administer the the um assessment. And sometimes it is what you see in spring is not the same group of kids that were reported in the fall. We we gain kids, we lose kids, so it's very hard for us to compare even
091across the school year um when we take map three times a year and assume that it's the same group of kids. So often this time of school year we get kids who come into Lexington 2 who aren't with us all year long. Um if we were to narrow it down to just the kids who were here from fall to spring, I would suspect that that would look different. Um well, we do have to teach whoever walks in the door. >> Absolutely. Absolutely. >> And I mean there are two of the schools that went like from 71% to 75% from fall to spring. So I mean it is possible to improve over the course of the school year. And so um I I just would like for us to really sort of deep dive on well,
092why is that? I mean you've given one answer for that, but but it seems to me that the goal should be that you improve over the course of the school year because the whole idea is that over the course of five school years we're increasing a bunch. And so um that the falling behind is troublesome. Yes, ma'am. Thank you. Any others? All right. Got one down. All right, we're going to move into operations and turn over to Ms. Warren. Thank you. Uh Mr. Chair, members of the board, Dr. Cooper. Um I'm here to provide another operations update for you in your packet with your CPIF update um for the work continued and completed and ongoing. Also um an operations update with a few key highlights of work that's occurred um since our last meeting. You
093know, since spring break can be a slow time in a school district, but not in facilities and maintenance. You see lots of work happens over spring break. We've got to take advantage of those opportunities when when kids and staff aren't in the buildings. And Mr. McPherson and his team jumps on a lot of things and gets them done over spring break, which I know that I appreciate very much. Um going down to transportation, uh just a little highlight here. Mr. Sergeant um came across this um opportunity and he was excited about it. And so he's going to be out there with his team at Segra Park on April the 24th for bus driver appreciation night. He might throw out the first pitch. I don't know. Hadn't heard that yet, but um show up and you
094might might find out, but that'll be a great night for school districts from around the Midlands to uh have their transportation staff celebrated. So we appreciate the Fireflies and their invite you for our team to be a part of that. Uh student support services you see, you know, work continues especially with our nurses doing a lot of work here uh with screenings um and kind of doing some end of the year uh items that they have to take care of. And then technology um we hosted pretty cool. We hosted a cybersecurity master class. Uh a lot a lot of IT departments from around the Midlands joined us uh for information provided by the state department. So that was a great opportunity to to learn and and be a host. Like I've said before, we've become
095the hub for a lot of different groups um because of this beautiful facility we have. And so we're happy to host those opportunities for our staff to grow and other staffs um from other districts as well. Um so happy to answer any questions in regards to the operations update. I have one question. We really have fax machines still? Absolutely. Not not much longer. Yeah? Wow. >> You want to fax Lexington 2, do it soon. >> [laughter] >> Last chance to fax us. Last me to do it. I I've not had one. Uh so any other questions? All right. So I guess the next item will be our um CPIF uh for um round two, second reading for that. Brought this to you last last month for first reading. So you know, one minor change. Um
096as we mentioned uh the last meeting, we did make an adjustment with uh the work that'll happen at BC High School with the track. Um you know, we'll have that resurfaced. And then we'll use some of that funding as well for some drainage improvements uh in the baseball outfield there um and some surrounding areas where we need to do some work to to help the drainage a little bit. We can have some issues out there periodically. But everything else is is the same from first reading. So happy to answer any questions you might have. Any questions on CPIF? Make a motion first. Yes, Ms. Corley. >> Um So um Mr. Chair, since we've moved right on into old business, I'm going to make a yes, I'm going to make a motion um that we um
097approve the administration's recommendation for second and final reading of CPIF for the 26 27 school year. We have a motion and a second. Any discussion? I'll I'll entertain Oh, good question. What What are you planning on with the BC baseball field? I know that's the Right field. >> Uh it's center center to right center field. Looking at some options there to you know, help help with that. So we got we're working on a plan to to improve that for next season. All right. Thanks. All right. We had a motion and a second. All in favor say aye. Motion carries. Thank you. All right, we're going to move into new business, consideration of AP computer science textbook selection. And that is followed Dr. McDonald. >> Yes, sir. Uh tonight you have before you a request to
098approve a textbook adoption that is of course required by the state of South Carolina. There was a giant one, I guess three options this year for us to consider. And we're asking you to approve um the AP computer science principles and AP computer science A. I'm happy to answer any questions you might have about the books. Mr. Chair, I make a motion that we approve the administration's recommendation for the AP computer science textbook selection. Second. Had a motion and a second. Any discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Motion carries. All right, we got some out of state. Mhm. Um I'm going to make a motion and if there's no objection, I'm going to combine um item B and C and ask that we approve the consideration of the four out of state overnight student
099travel request as presented and the consideration of one out of state overnight staff travel request as presented. >> Second. >> Had a motion and a second. All in favor say aye. Aye. Motion carries. You got any more in there? I've just got announcements. All right. All right, we got announcements now. That's all I see. Alicia, hang on. April 28th, Airport High School Education Foundation Gala and a silent auction at 6:00 p.m. The program starts at 7:30. That's at L2IC. Um May 5th, Human Resource Spring Career Expo at the Lex 2 Pack Center lobby from 4:00 to 6:00. May 15th, Target Exit Ceremony at New Bridge Academy at 9:30 a.m. Can't believe you are just graduating. May 19th, L2IC Signing Day L2IC room at 10:00 a.m. May 19th is Adult Ed graduation at the Pack Center
100at 7:00 p.m. May 21st is a student half day. May 21st, BC High School graduation at BC Stadium at 8:00 a.m. May 21st, Lex 2 Retiree Recognition Reception at the Pack lobby at 5:15. I think I skipped uh You're good. You're good. >> Okay, no, I didn't. May 21st, monthly board meeting at at the board room at 6:00 p.m. May 22nd is student half day, last day for students, and the end of the fourth nine weeks. May 22nd is Airport High School graduation at Airport High School Stadium at 8:00 a.m. May 25th is Memorial Day holiday. May 26th is teacher flex day and the last day. And the good old day, May 27th when report cards go home. So that wraps up announcements. Saying now, turn it over to Ms. Wooten. Um Mr. Chair, I
101make a motion that the Board of Trustees enter closed session for the following: consideration of personnel appointments, reappointments, retirements, and resignations, and contract matter regarding New Congaree Elementary project. I have a motion and a second. All in favor say aye. Aye. All right, we are in executive session. Thank you all for coming. >> Mhm.