001All right. I'm going turn it back over for a superintendent report. Turn over to Dr. Hefner. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Uh, first I want to be sure that everyone is aware that Board Docs has transitioned into a platform called Diligent now. So, if you go to the old page of board docs, you won't be able to access the current information. So, to access our current agendas, you can go to our district web page and you'll see a tab right in the middle of the page that says to click here to learn more about the system and our agendas. And you'll then see a link to the district's board meeting page and finally a link to the the diligent platform. or just go to the board of trustees tab across the top and drop down to
002um the board meetings and that'll get you to diligent as well. But that is a new platform that we've been working to transition to. So I want to make sure you know where to find that. Second, I just want to say that I know this has been a really long stretch from January to uh spring break with no days off to rest and I would like to thank our teachers, our administrators, our students, and our parents for maintaining your focus and attention so far this spring. Uh many schools have been reviewing these last few weeks in anticipation of the state testing that has been mentioned in grades K8 and end of course exams. Uh the window opens May the 1st for South Carolina Ready, which is the Thursday after we return from spring break. Uh
003so that will be here before we know it. Testing will run through May 14th with makeup testing in the days that follow. And our high schools will be administering advanced placement exams May 5th through the 16th, senior exams May 7th and 8th, and end of course testing May 12th through the 16th with makeups in the following weeks. So, um, please note that I am not immune to the fact that testing is one snapshot of what our students know on one given day, but it is still the measure by which we are judged in the eyes of our state department of education in our community. Many of you have likely heard schools stressing the importance of doing your best and being on time and getting good sleep. And those are all good points to pay attention
004to every day of the school year, but especially during testing time. These tests are important because they help us understand how much progress our child, your child has made and where they might need support from us moving forward in the year ahead or the remainder of the year. And so that said, I want to reiterate that these tests are just one piece of the puzzle and we know that and they don't define our children, their intelligence or their potential. Our main goal is to help to help them to show what they've learned hopefully in a low stress supportive environment so that we can figure out what we need to do to support them moving forward to continue their growth and their achievement. So, if you have any questions or concerns about that, definitely feel free
005to reach out to your child's school. We appreciate your partnership and helping our students finish the year feeling confident and proud of what they've accomplished. You know, our students, our main goal is is growth. We want to make sure that our students are showing growth and that we celebrate that growth. So, um, we are proud of all of our kids and as you see here at every board meeting, we have such a well-rounded, amazing group of children that every time I leave a school, I am just reminded of why we do what we do and they make us so proud in so many different ways. So, so thank you for your support in that and and just know that we're here to to assist in any way that we can. That concludes my report. All
006right, moving on along. We're going to move into finance now. And I'm going to turn it over to Miss Strickland. Good evening, everyone. Tonight, um, I have the financials for the month of March. But first, I want to kind of give a overview of the teacher salary schedule and where that is in legislation. If you remember, the governor asked for $3,000 per per sale on the teacher salary schedule for the minimum teacher salary schedule. The House Ways and Means came back and approved a $1,500 increase per sale, which gets the starting salary to $48,500. Um, the House also approved that increase of $1,500 per sale. Um, the House also deleted the column for bachelors plus 18. So, there's still discussion at the state department level on how that will be handled if that does pass.
007Um, but I want to remind everyone that as long as we as long as our local salary schedule is more than the minimum, then we meet the minimum and we do not have to give an increase because we are more than the minimum. Um, also in the house they increase the employee health premiums. So there would be no cost to the district, but the employee would have to pick up that cost. So the Senate Finance Committee has met and the Senate Finance Committee eliminated the employee premiums, but they put that cost on the employer. So um that would right now the employer projection is a 4.6% 6% increase for the year. So, it would be 2.3% for the fiscal year. Um, and I just got that information yesterday. Um, also the the Senate Finance Committee
008approved the um $1,500 increase per sale and the Senate is to start considering the spending plan next week. So that's where that's where that process is in legislation right now. Um I have back to the financials. I have uploaded March financials for your preview. Do you have any questions concerning those financials? There is one thing I want to talk about. Um the ES funds. On April 1st, we received an email from the state department of education with an attached with a a letter attached from the US Department of Education. And that letter was dated March 28th from the feds. In the letter, it stated an immediate amendment of the late liquidation deadline to an effective date of March 28th, 2025. Um so that meant all funding for ESTRE projects ended March 28th. Um since then,
009since we received the email, we have had a conference call with the state department of education and our plan is to apply for the late liquidation fee for each of our projects to the US Department of Education. So what we're talking about is $861,243 where we are applying for for each project that we have totaling that amount to the to the US Department of Ed to see if we can qualify for the late liquidation. So I just wanted you to be brought up to speed where we are with that. Um we don't know how long it's going to take. Whether they approve it or don't approve it, we're not sure, but we are planning to apply for that late liquidation. Um, it just it for you to expend the funds. So, we've already issued purchase
010orders for the project. So, like we've told the company that yes, we're going to have this project and you can start working on the project. We don't pay for the project until it's complete. So we it was just an extension of time to issue the payments for the project. Yep. Mr. Rucker, with that information, is there anything we need to hold moving forward on until we hear back or um from my understanding all the projects are happening? They're all happening. They're all like all of them are HVAC projects. They've all started and they're all all are rolling. So, we're hoping um with our application to the US Department of Ed that it'll go through and we'll be approved for the late liquidation. Thank you. That's all. Thank you. Any other questions? Oh, yes ma'am. Do
011we have a plan? Um they will be bumped back to the CPIF budget and so that will have to be you know amended for those for those projects. You're welcome. All right, without objection, the monthly financial reports are accepted as presented and that's going to move us on down to human resources. I'm going to turn it over to Dr. Cooper. Thank you, Mr. Chair, members of the board, Dr. Ha. I'm going to call our director of human resources, Stephanie Hawks, up to give us an update on our vacancies, please. Okay, Mr. Chair, board members, Dr. Havner, good evening. I do have an updated report for you. As of this afternoon, we have 12 support vacancies, 20 regular education vacancies, and only seven special education vacancies at this time. So, are there any questions? Without any
012questions, that concludes our report. Thank you. All right, we moving on along tonight. All right, we're going to turn over to um Dr. McDonald. we go into instruction and we'll continue to keep the pace, we hope, but um I will make zero promises. Um tonight we have a couple of presentations for you that that were requested earlier this semester uh at our work session. And so um first up tonight, Alexis King, who is our coordinator for um our dual enrollment and early college programs, is going to share some statistics and information with you about the success of that program. um she does a fantastic job in that role and we're looking forward to to hearing her uh information this evening. Good evening, Mr. Chair, members of the board, Dr. Hafner, thank you so much for
013the opportunity to update you all on Lexington 2's dual enrollment program. Tonight, I'll be taking a little time to share an overview of what dual enrollment is, the benefits of our program, our current pathways and participation, some of our challenges that we faced, and the steps we're taking to grow and improve our program moving forward. Dual enrollment allows eligible high school students the opportunity to take college coursework and earn both high school and college credit at the same time at no cost. Through our partnership with Midlands Technical College, students in Lexington 2 can get a jump start on their post-secary goals while they're still in high school. Students in our program commit to a minimum of two college courses or six credit hours each semester with some even committing to taking courses during the summer.
014Our core goals are to enhance college readiness, giving students early access to rigorous coursework, and helping families save on the rising cost of higher education. And we've been accomplishing that with a few objectives that you see here. Our academic rigor we um implement through college level coursework. The college readiness, we expose our students to early post-secondary expectations. Early exposure to higher education um allows us to support them in this endeavor while they're still in high school. So they have that support from us. Transitional support is through individualized advisement sessions and having clear um academic pathways. And again that cost savings for students and their families. Um we're able to cover their tuition and textbook costs. And we'll talk a little bit more that about that later on in our presentation. The early college program is
015designed for motivated rising ninth and tth grade students who are in good academic standing and who can demonstrate college readiness through uh qualifying test scores. We currently offer several pathways under the associate in arts and associate in science degrees including concentrations in marketing, accounting, general management, public service, and interdisciplinary studies. Each of these pathways are designed to align with high demand career fields, current high demand career fields, as well as offer our students college transfer opportunities for their chosen college degree programs. We are especially proud that these pathways or three of our pathways, our marketing, our accounting, and our general management. We're were created in collaboration with our Kate partners at the innovation center. Our students in the coming school year who successfully complete one of these pathways, not only will they earn their associates
016degree, but they will also meet the criteria for being a Kate completer. So, this means that they will graduate from Lexington 2 both college ready and career ready. So, we're very, very excited that they'll be able to have that designation through this program. While we did see a slight dip in our early college enrollment last year, we've already been able to rebound um this school year and we do expect continued growth for the 2025 2026 school year. We currently have 57 applications for from interested new students representing all of our middle and high schools. And so that is brand new students coming into the program. So we are extremely excited about that. For our upper classmen who also want that college experience, we offer the dual credit enrollment pro uh program. Eligibility is very similar
017to early college. It is based on their current academic performance and any qualifying test scores that they may have. Our dual credit options lead to certificates in public service, health science, business administration, and general college studies. These are all credentials that offer students a great starting point toward both college and workforce goals once they graduate. They'll be able to leave high school with real progress made. Um, these programs and pathways are going to be structured in ways where we expect to see continued growth and enrollment. Um, as we just did this school year, students in our program have access to a wide range of transferable college level courses. And you see here we have an example of of just a few of the many courses that students are eligible to um, participate in through Midlands
018Technical College. There are courses like English composition, college algebra, psychology, public speaking. Um, these are most of the courses that are transferable to colleges and degree programs here in the state of South Carolina. Um, but in addition to those more general education courses, we also offer students the opportunity to take elective courses in areas such as business, law, marketing, the sciences. So, we try to do our best to make sure that we talk to each and every student to find out where their interests lie so that we can guide them and direct them into um enrolling in the courses that best suit their future plans. Each year, we are happy to have a number of our dual enrollment graduates in the spring not only come out with a high school diploma, but with college credits,
019certificates, and their associate degrees. At this moment, we are expecting 36 Lexington 2 students to be awarded certificates or degrees from Midlands Technical College this year. Um, as you can see, that's going to be one of our higher numbers that we've had in the last few years. So, we're very, very proud of those young ladies and young men for that accomplishment. So, at this time, I'd like for you to meet and hear from some of those very students who will be walking the stage this year. Um, they're going to share a little bit about their experiences participating in our program and they're not rushing to come up, but I know they're eager to talk to you. Good even Good evening. My name is Prince Patel and I'm a junior at Brooklyn Casey High School. I'm
020proud to say that by the time I graduate next year, I will have earned my associate degree in science through the dual room program from Milan. Being part of dual rooming has been one of the most rewarding and challenging parts of high school journey. It gave me a head start in college while still in high school and it helped me grow both academically and personally. I've learned how to manage my time better, stay organized, and handle a college level workload. all skills that will be benefit me after graduation. Balancing college courses with high school responsibilities hasn't been easy, but with the support of my teachers, family, Miss King, and Miss Summer, I've learned how to stay focused and push through challenges. I'm truly thankful for the opportunity to earn college uh college credits early. It's
021saving my family thousand tuition and has shown me that I'm capable of achieving big things. I hope that whatever college I attend, I can continue to build on everything I'll learn through this program. Thank [Applause] you. Good evening. My name is Carlina Redmond Mario and I am a junior at Airport High School. I am so proud to let you all know that I will be earning my general college studies certificate from Midlands Technical College on May 7th, 2025. This will be a year in advance of me receiving my high school diploma. I am also working toward my associates degree in science that I will receive when I graduate high school. Once I knew that enrolling into dual enrollment courses would get me ahead in college and high school while also saving thousands of dollars, I
022knew that it would be a decision that I would not regret. And my motivation stuck throughout the start of my college career and I will continue to stick throughout the end. Dual enrollment has strengthened my studying methods and my time management while also challenging my ability to participate in multiple curricular activities. I have been able to learn to navigate my high school and college work, allowing me to participate and exceed in all extracurricular activities I am a part of. This has prepared me for my future college life that I plan to spend at the University of South Carolina and major in nursing. I have completed 10 college courses so far, almost 12, and the list will continue to grow. I have learned that if you stay focused and on top of all work, you will
023learn how to navigate your classes and it will get easier as you continue with your courses. I have the experience of a college student that most people do not have in high school. I have to prepare everything on my own, pay attention to all the due dates with no extensions, and have more individual responsibility. This has all this has allowed me to be a more responsible and reliable student. I am grateful for the opportunity to be in dual enrollment and to get ahead in education because education has always been one of the most important things in me and my family's lives. Dual enrollment is the start and opportunity for me to become a nurse and to help people in need like I have always wanted to do. Thank you for taking the time to listen
024to my experience as a dual enrollment student. Hello everybody. My name is Leen Chavez and I am a senior at at Airport High School. In one month, I'll be getting my associates of art and science and then going into U and and then going into sorry and then going into the University of South Carolina this following year. Drollment has helped me so much into becoming the college ready person I am. I have taken around 15 classes ever since starting the enrollment and it's caused me to to value education and take pride in my own work. It's it's caused me to be so uh perseverant in my in my college work that I feel completely ready and have no stress um entering this next chapter of my life. The work I've done here at Dual Romment
025will change me forever and will help me become the chemical engineer that I strive to be. Currently, I've basically knocked out the entirety of the Carolina Corps before even entering or before even entering USC. And that makes me so proud. Thank you. This is just a sampling of the students from both of our high schools who have taken on the challenge of the dual enrollment program. And one of the things that they did not mention um that for parents especially may be of interest is if they go through with this program and if they're able to take um and participate in the associates program, they can knock out potentially their entire freshman and possibly their sophomore years and they may be able to start their college their true college experience as a junior. So that
026is a a major major accomplishment for our students. So, as with any growing program, we face a few challenges. Um, some of those are things like scheduling conflicts, faculty shortages, and some communication concerns. Uh, in some cases, we have had to adjust students schedules um or their academic cla plans due to Midlands Tech staffing limitations. One solution we have been exploring um for this particular challenge is identifying current Lexington 2 faculty who may be elig eligible to teach college level courses for us in this program. We do have a few teachers who are close but they are a bit shy of meeting uh Midlands Tech credentiing requirements and so we are looking for opportunities to be able to support those teachers progress and certification so that they can work with us in this program. Additional
027solutions that we have also instituted include offering flexible scheduling, offering multiple course formats, strengthening communication efforts, and collaborating closely with Midlands Tech with advising and course support. So, we do all that we can so we don't have to tell a student no. We want to be able to offer every course that can be of benefit to them in the future. We are glad that this opportunity comes again at no cost to families through a multiple um through multiple different means. Midlands Tech uses lottery tuition and SC wins funding for students tuition. And we are extremely grateful to Lexington 2 for covering the cost of all textbooks, thus removing all major financial barriers for all of our students. Recruitment for the upcoming school year is well underway. We have connected with our school counselors, our career
028specialists. We have hosted parent and information nights. We've visited the middle schools and we've sent communications directly to students and parents. We've also used district media and communication streams to share promotional materials to ensure that all of our families and all of our students are aware of the opportunities that this program affords. So, we have a special event coming up. This year's graduation ceremony for the class of 2025 will be held Wednesday, May 7th at 3 p.m. at Colonial Life Arena. And with no tickets required, we would be happy to have all of you come and join us in celebrating our students and all of their accomplishments because we have many more in addition to the wonderful three students that are standing behind me. So both our dual enrollment and early college applications are currently
029open and available on our Lexington 2 website and innovation center uh websites. Um we have worked myself and Mrs. Brenda Summer to streamline the process to make it as painless as possible for our students and our and their parents. Um but if there are any questions, they are all welcome to contact us and we will um answer any of those questions for them. We'll be happy to do that. So, we thank you for your continued support and at this time I'll be happy to answer any questions you have or if you have any questions for our students. Have any questions? All right. Thank you so much. Thank you, M. The next item, Mr. chairman. On our agenda for the instruction division tonight, uh as you all recall, annually we are required by state statute and
030regulation to um for you all to approve updates to our district strategic plan and to our school renewal plans um that are administered by the schools. The the updates are to reflect the progress we've made in the strategic plan as well as the school's individual renewal plan. So um just so that you all are aware, the scores that were added are from 20 23 24 school year. The actions are from 2425 school year. So in next year's re review, we will add updates from this year's scores. So scores are always a year behind. Actions are always the current year. So we um wanted to present those to you. You have all of the plans as well as the district strategic plan. And um our recommendation is that you all will accept these this evening, but
031I'm happy to answer any questions you might have. Any questions? You need a motion on it. Mr. Chairman, I'd like to make a motion that we accept the presentation of the district and school district renewal plan updates for 2025. I have a motion. Do I have a second? Second. Second. Any discussion? Okay. I'm sorry. I don't know what we're voting on. You're voting to accept these um plans as they're updated as listed. Well, there are just a whole bunch of pieces of paper here and I'm not sure which one. So, each every five years, the district is required to develop a five-year strategic plan, which we did uh I believe that was in my first year here. And during that same year, the schools look at the district strategic plan and the goals within that
032strategic plan and they develop their school plans centered around their school deficits but related to the district needs. And so as required by the state department, each year the schools and the district go in and insert the data that they have been able to acquire over the course of the last year, last year's data. And as Dr. McDonald mentioned and this year's um steps of action towards fulfilling those goals. So, it is a a a routine procedure that is required by the state department, but it does drive the goals within the school buildings each year. Those plans are linked to the document that was shared with you prior to the meeting as I understand. So, um, if you can click, Mr. Leblanc, if you'll scroll down and click on the school district plan there. So,
033essentially what you have is is a a rather lengthy document. You can see this particular one is the district plan. It's 89 pages. Each year we update the actual data. So in the the link document that you all had, you'll see where we've added the current data that we have, which is for last school year. But if you scroll down, Mr. Leblanc, you'll see the action steps that were written into this plan. And in each one of those sections, there's a 2425 update with the actions the district has taken over the course of the last year. Can I just ask my fellow members? Is everybody correct? Those are the actions that have taken place over the course of the last year. I read it as well, but I didn't really wasn't sure what was up.
034I probably should ask questions also, but I have I didn't see anything I wasn't comfortable with. Miss Bquette, there are no changes to the action steps, only an update for you all and for the public to see what the progress has been over the course of the year. So we haven't changed any um there have been there were no changes to the actual action steps that were written in the plan un except for one section where we referred to star now it says map those are the only change um everything is just an update for the annual report I'm sorry it's Dr. McDonald, can you remind us when the next um strategic plan will Great question. So um we um we should write our plan in 27 27 um there are some changes coming with
035um with the Cogna as you all know that's our accrediting body that may extend that one additional year. We're still waiting to see if we're going to fall into that. But right now, the plan would be to work on that over 26 27 school year. And that's when the the the new document will come out and then that's when it takes a lot more time to review because you're reviewing it. That's right. That will include all new goals, new actions at the request of the board. Uh new focus areas that may have come from our state level uh or any program changes that we're going to make will be included in that document uh for the next which will guide us for the next five years. Miss Castle, you had a question. I was just
036going to say I've had to have him clarify some things before, too, and and call fellow board members to make sure I understand, but he doesn't bite. He's very nice and he can dumb it down for even me. So, it I would always reach out to him because he's very quick and I'm not saying that because you're listening to me. Thank you. Any others? All right. All in favor say I. I all oppose. Motion carries. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And tonight, um our next item is to present to you, as we assured you we would do, is to bring you a report on our MAP testing. As you all recall, this was our inaugural year, um for using MAP. The district had previously used it many years ago, uh but we've brought that back and
037we've been giving you regular updates and reports on that. Uh but tonight wanted to give you an overview so you could see sort of at a glance where we started, where we are now. Uh we are of course in the process right now of of of trying to wrap up the school year. Uh these data are a few weeks old because we have concluded all of our assessments for MAP. Um Dr. Bergraph, our director of instruction and accountability is going to review that with you this evening. Uh and then answer any questions that you may have. Bergraph. Excuse me. Mr. Chair, members of the board, Dr. Dr. Hfner, I want to give you a brief overview tonight of MAP testing throughout the 2425 school year. As you may know, by state proviso, we are required
038to administer a formative assessment to students three times a year in the fall, winter, and spring. Uh that is mandated for students in grades 1 through 8. Along with that, in accordance with the South Carolina Education Accountability Act, the state provides a list of assessments from which we can choose. All of the assessments on that list have gone through the the rigorous validation uh studies to make sure that they are aligned to state standards. Uh and from that list, districts can choose an assessment that meets their needs. uh for the years preceding this year we used star and as uh has already been mentioned tonight this year we switched to map growth up on the screen are just some of the reasons that we selected map this year I want to highlight two number four
039on that list predictive insights in addition to helping uh predict how students will perform on the SC ready assessment at the end of the year it also provides predictive insights for tests like ACT and SAT so that as students get into middle school we can begin to see the kind of trajectory that they're on for some of those high school assessments that are going to make them college ready. The fifth item there on the list as well differentiated instruction. You'll see a screenshot later in this present presentation that shows how MAP breaks out for teachers uh not only students performance but what their next steps are as far as what students are ready to learn and how they can help that student move forward toward reaching their goals. We know that there is no perfect
040test out there. MAP is not a perfect test. They simply don't exist. And so we go into it knowing that there are some limitations regardless of which test that we choose. Uh some of the the limitations that we know this is our first year using an assessment. So it's hard for us to contextualize scores because we don't have scores from last year to be able to compare it to. Next year we'll be in better position to to speak to uh changes year-over-year. It's not a perfect predictor of state assessment scores. uh it's about uh an 85% correlation with the the state test which is a high correlation but it's not a perfect correlation and you can see some of the other limitations that are up there as well. Identifying those allows us to proactively address
041the limitations with students. We implement training so that teachers and administrators know how to use the data that MAP provides. We work with students uh to find what testing accommodations are needed and make sure that they are able to show us all that they are capable of showing when they take these assessments. One of the limitations um that's important has already been mentioned here tonight. It is one measure of students progress and so to use it as the sole determinant for placement in programs for instructional decisions is ill advised. It is one data point of many when we are looking at a whole student and it is intentionally titled the map growth assessment. It is not designed to be a snapshot one-time look at a student's progress. It is over the course of the year.
042Are they growing and are they making progress? Whenever we have conversations with parents, administrators, there is that that cautionary statement. Some students just aren't good test takers. What they know comes through a a portfolio of evidence, conversations, work samples, everything combined to give you a a true picture of the whole child as a learner. This is an important data point, but it is not the only data point. On the screen, you can see uh map, this is a tongue twister, map math growth percentiles from fall to spring. Just high level you typical bell curve. Any number between 41 and 60 is considered typical. It's the middle of that curve. Highlighted in green are all the the grade levels in the schools where we had a growth percentile fall in that normal range. Highlight Riverbank second
043grade which exceeded that normal range. And there we have for reading as well. Same color coding setup. green indicates they're in the normal growth range. Saluda River fifth grade exceeded that range in reading. As content coordinators in in my role as the director of instruction, we look at where it's not green. Where do we see areas of need that going forward we need to work to improve? So, some of our takeaways, fifth grade math, it's a difficult year for students in math. Fractions and decimals can be tricky if you don't have a firm grasp of whole numbers. Fifth grade's designed to really develop that conceptual understanding so they see what's happening when I'm multiplying two fractions together or I'm dividing fractions. But it's not how you and I were taught math. And so inevitably what
044happens is they learn some of those shortcuts. flipping the fraction upside down, multiplying across. It helps them get to the answer, but it doesn't help them understand what they're doing or why it works. And then on the state assessment, that's not the way that they're assessed. So, fifth grade math is an area for growth and helping teachers see the need to develop that conceptual understanding. Grades one and two reading is an area where we continue to enforce reinforce our efforts when it comes to intervention and early literacy. Making sure that students don't get to third, fourth, and fifth grade and need intervention that we fill those gaps on the front end when they have those phonic and phenemic awareness gaps so that by the time they get to third grade and beyond, they can decode
045and read fluently. And finally, pacing and content. As we go through a school year, time is a precious commodity. And the closer we get to the end, the more sometimes teachers feel the need to to squeeze in material that they may not have gotten to yet. And what happens is you sacrifice some of that depth in order to try to cover the remaining standards. So oftent times over the course of fall to spring, we start to see that gap widen a little bit as time becomes our our enemy in the school year. Here you see middle school. Same color coding. Green means that they fall within that normal growth range for math and for reading. Some key takeaways in middle school. Sixth grade is a difficult transition year for students. Going from the the confines
046of elementary school to the big world of middle school is a difficult transition. And we see that show up in academics, too. It's one thing for fourth grade teachers to have a conversation with fifth grade teachers because they're down the hall from one another. It makes for a smoother handoff from students in one grade level to the next. When you go from elementary school to middle school, they don't always have those opportunities to collaborate and talk about the students who are moving up. So we need to make it a point of emphasis on our part to facilitate those conversations and make it a smoother handoff not only in terms of knowing the students but what the expectations are in fifth grade and what the expectations are in sixth grade and how to bridge the two.
047On the positive side, eighth grade math and and English uh language arts are typically strong points. What we find in eighth grade is because they're also teaching algebra 1 and English one, that high school content, naturally the rigor of all of their instruction gets lifted just a little bit and students rise to that occasion. So where we see student performance tend to fall off a little bit in sixth grade and seventh grade, they often rebound in eighth grade. And finally, achievement trails growth. and and we know we have to grow before we begin to see the results play out on the achievement side and we see that in MAP as well. There's a lot of growth happening and that's great gaps are closing but we don't see it always play out in the achievement results
048yet that is coming down the road. Little timeline of how we moved through the year. uh because this was a new assessment after the fall administration, we trained our administrators to then bring back to their schools how to use those one-time reports. How do I find out how students did on that one piece of testing? Then after the winter window, we brought them all together again and did training on growth reports because now I have two data points and there's a whole new set of reports available to me to speak to how students uh moved from one season to another. This is a sample of what a teacher sees on a student report. You can see not only do they get an overall score, but they break it down by domain. One of MAP's key
049tenants is goal setting. So teachers are able to go in and have a conversation with a student. Let's set a goal for next time. Let's adjust your goal from what MAP says. Let's let's see if we can stretch you just a little bit further. and they can play around with the score and the percentiles to arrive at a target growth that's realistic for the student but also stretches them uh beyond their current level of performance. And finally, as I mentioned in MAP, there are instructional area reports. So, it will break out for teachers exactly what students are ready to develop so that when they're pulling those small groups for instruction, I'm not having to guess at what those needs are. I can immediately begin to address them and move a student forward toward reaching that
050goal over time. We see a chart of their growth and their progress. Uh parents, this is a an easy chart to interpret. When I get a parent report home, I can see how my child has done over time, how that line trajectory has changed. Um we have three data points. As we go through multiple years of MAP, they will begin to uh really have a a line that stretches all across that page and show their growth as a student. There's the alignment between MAP and SC ready. You can see it hovers right around that 85% alignment. They are getting set to release a new study in 2025 to look at that alignment again because this was done pre-COVID and learners are are different postcoid than they were pre-COVID. So they will uh update those those
051numbers. We also have a high transiency rate in Lexington too. We have students who move from one school to the next within our district. Students who move across the river in and out of Lexington County. you see there um the transiency rates as of four April 3. And I only bring that up because to look at winter testing and then to look at spring testing, it's often not the same group of students. There's a significant difference in who is is behind those scores. So on the next few slides where I have broken out for you the percentage of students who are projected to reach grade level proficiency, I did it in two ways. The green is students who were continuously enrolled with us all year long. They have been here from fall to uh the
052day of spring testing versus in black where it is all students uh who took the the spring assessment. Those are there for your review. Broke it out by middle school as well, math and reading. So what do we do? We took MAP testing in March. State testing is in May. How do we navigate that interim period? One is intensive grade three reading intervention. We brought all of our elementary school principles together to have a conversation of what we need to do as a last push for those students who are just on the cusp of demonstrating the reading proficiency that they need in third grade. They put together a plan and have adopted an all hands-on deck approach to helping those students across the finish line. middle and high school. Uh we've leveraged Math Nation boot
053camps. It works uh in a format with a practice assessment similar to the state test, but then breaks it out into sections for the teacher and the students to work through playlists and review the content behind those standards. And finally, the content coordinators have worked with grade levels to say, "Where are you in in your pacing? We have this many days left. Here are the most important concepts that we need to fit in in the time that we have remaining with students to make sure that we are making the most of the the days that we have with them. We don't have a similar assessment at the high school or previously we didn't. So this year we move toward adopting a similar approach to the high school level through benchmark assessments. Again, something that students
054can take throughout their course and see their growth from the beginning of a course to the midpoint of that course all the way to the end. The benchmarks are modeled after the EOCC test both in format, in length, and in the the question types that are asked. And then the content coordinators meet with the departments after those benchmarks to look at the results, talk about the instructional implications, and what uh what they're going to do. moving forward and this is the first year that we've used those as well. So, we're learning we're looking at the assessment calendar and saying where is there overlap between a benchmark and what would otherwise be a unit assessment and can we use one assessment instead of two. We're looking at what's the appropriate length um what's expected on the
055EOC, what is going to give us an accurate picture without being overly burdensome um on the the students or the teachers. And finally, adjusting instruction. As an example, US history took the first benchmark and students scored remarkably well on unit five content that they hadn't gotten to yet. as a teacher that informs me that going into unit five, I can shave a few days there and apply them back to earlier units where students needed some more instruction. So, it does give a glimpse of what do students already know going into a course that allows me to pace myself more appropriately as a teacher. With that uh is an overview of MAP testing and benchmarks. I'm happy to answer any questions. Any questions? What was what did we have before Matt in this? It was a
056test called STAR by Renaissance. Okay. How much involvement does it take? I mean, one thing I hear from the elementary school teachers is how, you know, busy they are, you know, administering these tests and I hear kids come back and say they know what they made on the MAP test, which is good thing, bad thing, I'm not sure. But I just want you know what is involved for the elementary school teachers is you know experience been here. What do they have to do different than maybe what they used to have to do in the past? The difference between the the test that we previously used and this test is that the the previous test was a timed test. Students had a fixed amount of time per question and if they did not answer in that
057amount of time it automatically moved them forward. MAP is not a timed test and and nor is SC ready that they'll take in a couple of weeks. So, for a student um giving what I would consider their their best effort on a math test, it can take anywhere from really 40 minutes to about an hour to work their way through the test. Um they have reading and math. So, that's two blocks of time. And due to other state legislation, our first graders really also have to take the MAP and kindergarteners have to take MAP reading fluency, which measures their their what it says, their reading fluency. But that's another test in that same time frame that first graders have to take. They get the overlap of of both types of testing. Miss Rucker. Yep. You
058got it. Thank you for the presentation on MAP. Um I, you know, just appreciate also your comment about the assessments. If it's covered in MAP testing, we don't have to duplicate that. So that will give more instruction time for our teachers. So I just wanted to say I appreciate that. And um yeah, so just thank you for the presentation and all the details there. Absolutely. Yeah. Thank you, Mr. Reker. If I could add to that, we are going to do a thorough scrub of all of our assessments just so that we can make sure that we're fully aligned, even the timeline of administering MAP. The first one's going to be earlier next year because we were getting everything set up, but it'll even be earlier. And I think teachers will appreciate that a little more,
059having those bigger windows. Um, but we we have made the commitment to go back and look at all assessment to figure out which ones are required, which ones are luxuries, and which ones maybe need to go to the wayside. and already made some of those changes this year. We made some early changes in the year uh in our lowest grades and have made some at the high school level as well just in the last few weeks. So, we'll be looking at all of that this summer. Thank you. And you also mentioned that the the MAP testing drills down into the specific skill. So, it shows where each individual child is strong and where they're weak. So, that when they have the extra time, they can go back and build on those weaknesses. Yes. And build
060on those. and they see as a student, it gives me ownership of what my next step is. Um, so it is a tremendous benefit for for the MAP testing platform. Thank you. We think a lot of our teachers that those green and yellow boxes that you saw is because now they have a more defined way to look at the needs of the kids. They can lean in on those. And so you see it is producing results. It shows that our kids have a great I think a greater amount of capability than maybe what our data showed before because now we can stretch them. We know where to stretch them and we're finding that to be helpful. Um, and when I spoke with Dr. McDonald. Let me just make sure that I understand this correctly that
061an individual parent can ask what the grade level of their student is based on this year's testing. So if they have a third grader, they can be told whether they're reading and doing math on a third grade level. Yes, ma'am. Okay. So parents should know that they can find out that information. Sure. and MAP has a family report that goes home um that breaks down in more familyfriendly language uh an explanation of the score of the students growth and what parents can do at home to help support. Thank you. All right. Thank you. And the last item I have for y'all tonight, I promise, um, is that, uh, we shared with you that we were working with a committee to help put together what we're affectionately referring to as Lex to Flex is some flexible
062learning options for our high school students. You have at your place tonight, a draft, and we call this a draft, because that is exactly what it is, a draft. There are a number of things in there that will take um, uh, approval by the state uh, Department of Education. So this item has been shared with them. Uh it is now under review. Uh for your knowledge, we may have to bring some things to the table to ask you to uh request some waiverss from state policies and regulations which we will bring to you at a later date. But right now, this is sort of our working draft. Uh you can see it's going to give us some flexible opportunities again if approved by the state department of education. So we um if if if we
063get the word that some of these things may not be allowable, we will go back to the drawing board to look at other ways uh that we can do this. The committee that's been working on this have have already started looking at the the ideal student who may be a candidate for this uh looking at some ways to increase capacity and opportunity. Um we we are very excited and I I've really enjoyed working with that group. Several folks on our team as well as folks from the schools have have really put a lot of effort into this and are we're going to go full steam ahead until we get told to stop. Um and again, we may have to bring you some things for for approval throughout this process, but we'll keep you updated on
064that. That's all I have, Mr. Chairman. Thank you. Any questions for him before we move on? All right. Thank you. We are going to now move into our operations and I'm turn over to Mr. Warren. Thank you, uh, Mr. Chair, members of the board, Dr. Hfner. A few things to provide as updates for your information. First off, our operations update for October. I mean, for October, thank goodness it's not October. Um, operations for April um is included. Uh, just a few highlights from that. Uh, we've in safety and security, all of our lockdown drills have been completed, you know, for our schools. um uh excited about our our principal's attention and focus to that with the support of Miss Angeliano and and getting those drills taken care of in a timely fa fashion. You rise
065to the level of your preparation and we continue to prepare and be ready. We we we definitely hope for no emergencies, but we're ready um and equipped if they do arise. Um also once again, we'll host the school safety training week June 2nd through the 5th. This was a big highlight for us uh last year. We had uh law enforcement folks from all over the state came for a week. It was at Newbridge Academy uh last June and just training in all areas of of um you know really really school and law partnerships and how best we can continue to to um to work together as a team. That's exactly what it is. Our partnership with our with our law enforcement agencies. Also incorporating our school administrators. They'll be present uh at some of these
066trainings as well this summer. So excited about that being hosted here in Lexon and too once again got some really good feedback from that last last year. Uh facilities and maintenance. Um just a few highlights there. The scoreboard at BC is operational um and up and running. Uh we've done some more fencing work uh at airport specifically um and then uh at the baseball field a new back stop padding was installed um by our maintenance team. So a few highlights there from facilities and maintenance transportation. We've completed our uh spring evacuation drills. Have have taken care of those once in the fall, once in the spring, and then down with our student support services. Continue to to work very efficiently there supporting our students and families. Just a few deadlines and dates were listed there.
067And also um the love and logic classes uh are being held. Uh there's some dates. We've already had uh two of those. One more on April the 29th. Um and then we'll have some at Wood at the CC as well. So continuing to provide ways to support our families and provide help for them as they, you know, continue to kind of navigate, you know, parenting and all the challenges that that can bring. So, um, that's the operations update for April. Any questions on that? All right. See, no question. I'm going to throw it back in your court for consideration. Second and final reading. Yep. And then then also just real quick want to um just note our CPF progress documents included as well, you know, for your reference. We've knocked off a few more of
068those since since March. So that is that is there for you to review and um if you have any questions or anything, you know, that that kind of outlines our work, Mr. McFersonen and his team, all the things we've accomplished and continue to accomplish this year. Um so yes, moving to uh the next item um old business that's uh down to number 11A uh consideration of uh second and final reading of our CPI for 2526. Uh before I really get into that, also want to want to talk about, you know, what also is attached there for your reference. Um this is really feedback from the board. Um, we've heard some some some pretty um, you know, clear feedback on, you know, our long range facilities plan and really tie that into uh, our CPIF uh,
069plan moving forward. It's something we've, you know, we've done in practice, you know, o over the years. I mean, since I've been here, of course, you know, prior to to me being here, but wanted to really look at that long range plan and and and bring that into a more, I guess, condensed fashion. um more of a five to sixyear plan that we'll look at as we focus on the next five to six years for facility needs, major facility needs here um in Lexon 2. Uh the previous one went out to60. So I felt like it was something we could look at and really make a little more intentional with our time and energy and focus for the next five to six years and and the plan for this would be to bring this to
070you every January during our you know winter workshop and and really look at as a five to six year plan. So each year maybe adding another year to it and looking at you know really what's next um in in the world of capital project needs for our district and then using that as a uh kind of a lynch pin for uh the CPI plan that will be brought to you know in the spring following that discussion on the long range plan in January. So what you have here in front of you as far as the long range plan is um still a few highlights and this is all you know um fluid. I mean that nothing in this document is set in stone. Uh nothing in this document is something that we're saying absolutely 100%,
071you know, is going to happen when it says it's going to happen. It's just something for us to continue to use as we make decisions and funding decisions and and facility decisions for our district. Um you know, talking about the the discussion we've had about, you know, Congre needing some attention, whether that's a replacement, whether that's a a rebuild, you know, what that might look like. still a decision for us to make as a district and for the board to provide direction on. So that's listed there and also a funding, you know, model for for that school. And then moving down to transportation, you see that listed on there as well. Something we've talked about as being the other really major new facility need, you know, for us here uh in Lexon 2. And then
072u feedback once again from the board, we and meeting with Mr. McFersonen and going through our um I say minor but a roof and new HVAC is not really minor but compared to a new building we categor categorize those as major and minor. You see a painting schedule there. So you see painting you know wood and pine ridge that is part of our CPI plan for 2526 that is included um finishing the work at airport high schools stadium and then moving down into um you know the years to come and looking at our painting schedule with Brooklyn Casey Busby airport kind of following uh in the years to come to address the painting needs there. Also the roofing schedule. We have north side and wood which is um a part of your CPIF plan. Um
073that that is presented to you tonight for final reading. Um actually I'm sorry that was part of last year's moving forward. We have Busby's roof um as part of your CPIF plan. That will be the summer of 26. And then HVAC schedule is attached as well um for the next you know going out to 2028 you know for our needs with HVAC. One thing I do want to mention here, this is this is my mistake. I want to own it. Um, we do have Busby's um rooftop units as part of the 2526 plan for HVAC. So, I'll add that here. I need to add that here for uh for summer of 26 to capture the HVAC rooftop units at Busby. So, I'll add that, you know, as a change to our plan to make sure
074that's captured. Um, I just noticed that, so I apologize. Um so with this and then tying into our um CPIF plan kind of provides some pretty pretty clear direction for the next five to six years and then every January we'll look at it. If we need to add something, delete something, change a date, we can definitely do that with your direction, you know, with with input from the administration on on the needs for our district. Um, so I guess any questions on this format for the long range plan is what we want to work off of, you know, for the next five to six years. Met. Yeah. I just wanted to thank you, Mr. Orin, because I was one of those people who said, I got to see a long range plan, and you have
075just done a wonderful job. So, thank you to you and your staff who put this together this way. It's really helpful. Yes, ma'am. Thank you. Definitely a team effort, and I appreciate your feedback because it gave us some clear understanding of what what you were looking for. So, you're welcome. I just wanted to thank you for the um status of the current CPIF. Uh that was great to see today. And then also the long range plan before we approve the the CPIF. I would like to recommend that we add that to policy for us to approve that um I think I had mentioned my March 1 uh each year um because I don't want any future boards to forget that we have a long range plan and I feel like if it's not possibly tied
076to policy we could forget that we have it and not keep it current. So just a thought and suggestion there. Yeah, I hear that and like I said I do feel like it definitely needs to be something that's kind of a standing agenda item on that January January workshop but yeah definitely hear your recommendation but also want to make it part of what we discussed. I think it's perfect for a January workshop but again with you know different maybe in the future other people planning it it might get forgotten if it's not tied to a date and a policy. Yes ma'am. Thank you so much. Done. Yes ma'am. Okay. Um Mr. Chairman, I'd like to make a motion that we um approve the administration's um recommendation for second and final reading of the fiscal year
0772026 CPIF budget 2025 2026. I have a motion to have a second. I have a second with Miss Castles. Any discussion? All right. All in favor say I. I. All oppose. Motion carries. So, all right. We're gonna move That's all you had there, Mr. Warren? Yes, sir. All right. We're going to move into new business. And um Mr. Chairman, I'd like to make a motion that we accept the three student travel request um as presented. A motion and a second. Any discussion? All in favor say I. I. Motion carries. All right, I'mma turn this one over to Mr. Warren. Consideration of naming. Uh, well, yes, this is um, you know, for your consideration and action, you know, I know as Mr. Key, Mr. Chair, you, you know, discussed earlier um, you know, with with the
078impact of Mr. Lawrence LG Gardner had for High School um, and also Lex District 2. Um I did get to meet him several times and even though it was a short time that I got to know Mr. Mr. Gardner, you know, the impact was obvious there and and so this this request comes from um Airport High School um AD football coach, coach Fidler and also Mr. Schill supports it 100%. Um you know just referencing again you know the dates began volunteering as a student in Airport High School in 1969. Service lasted until March of 25. So you're talking about, you know, over um you know, 50 over 50 years um of service. Um he uh equipment manager for the football program through all head coaches in the history of the school, served as a team
079historian. In addition to football, he served a baseball team in many aspects. Most recently as a scoreboard operator for all home games. Uh Mr. Lawrence attended many airport high school events to support the student athletes of our community. He will be missed dearly by students, staff, and community members. And the request uh to come before the board for consideration and action is to honor Mr. Gardner by naming the fieldhouse after him. Happy to answer any questions, provide any more information. Miss Wooden. Uh Mr. Chairman, I make a motion that we accept um the consideration and and naming um from the administration and Airport High School um of the Airport High School Fieldhouse in honor of Mr. Lawrence Gardner. I have a motion and a second from Miss Rucker. Any discussion on that? All in favor
080say I. All oppose. Motion carries. Thank you. All right, we're going to move on into announcements. Now, I know y'all ready to get to spring break, and that's going to start Friday. So, April 18th through 25th will be spring break. May 1 be our board workshop here in the district education center at five o'clock. On May 1st, May 6, human resource career expo in the pack lobby at 4 to 6. May 14th, Target exit ceremony at Newbridge Academy at 9:30. If y'all never been to that thing, go to it and see them kids, the excitement that they have and what we can provide for them kids because you will come out of there with tears in your eyes. It is a special occasion for them. And then on May 15th, we're going to have our
081retirement reception, recognition in the pack center. May 15th, our next regularly meeting of the board of trustees here in district center at 6:00. Can't believe we're going over all these graduations, but it's that time. May 20th, adult education graduation here in the Lexon Performing Arts at 7. May 26, Memorial Day holiday. May 27th, student half day. May 27th, Airport High School graduation in Eagle Stadium at 8 o'clock. May 28th is a student half day, last day of school. They're going to be excited there. May 28th, end of the fourth, nine weeks. May 28th, BC High School graduation at Bearecat Stadium, 8 a.m. May 28th is teacher inservice day, their last day. They're going to be excited there. But then that May 30th, report cards. Hopefully they all be happy, but report cards coming home May
08230th. And that concludes our announcements. All right, Mr. Chairman, I make a motion that the board of trustees enter close session for the following. Receipt of legal advice regarding property, receipt of legal advice regarding state regulations, tuition ra discussion, consideration of personnel reappointments, appointments and resignations. I have a motion and a second. All in favor say I. Motion carries. Korean executive. Okay. I make a motion that the meeting be reconvened in open session and the appropriate affidate executed. I have a motion and a second. We back in open session. All right, Mr. Chairman. I'd like to make a motion that we um accept um the administration's recommendation to um that the board authorizes the administration to use its discretion in waving out of district tuition fees for the school year 2025 and 2026. Have a
083motion. Do I have a second? Have a second. Any discussion? All in favor say I. I. Motion carries. All right, Mr. Chairman, I make a motion that we approve the two resolutions as presented concerning properties. Have a motion and second. All in favor say I. I. All oppose. Motion carries. All right, Mr. um sorry, me write something down here. Okay, Mr. Chairman. Um, I make a motion that we approve the administration's request for a 4K teacher and a 3K teacher for special ed and two ML teachers. Have a motion and a second. Discussion. All in favor say I. All oppose. Motion carried. Mr. Chairman, I make a motion that we accept the administration's recommendation for um resignations, retirements, terminations, new hires, and appointments. Have a motion and a second. All in favor say I. I.
084All oppose. Motion carries. Mr. Chairman, I make a motion that we accept the administration's recommendation for candidate A for the assistant principal position at Riverbank Elementary. Motion and a second. Any discussion? All in favor say I. All oppose. No. All right. Motion carries. Four two. Mr. Chairman, I make a recommendation that we accept the administration's recommendation for candidate A for director of adult education. Have a motion and a second. All in favor say I. I. All oppose. Motion carries. Mr. Chairman, I make a motion that we adjourn. Second. All in favor say I. I. Get out of here.