001This meeting of the Tyler ISD Board of Trustees called to order. The presence of a quorum has been established. The meeting has been duly called and the notice of the meeting has been posted in the time and manner required. We do not have anyone signed up for public participation. And so now we will go into considering approval of Nexus now agreement with the University of Texas at Tyler for 1882 partnership with select campuses. We have Dr. Bobby Markle, the Chief Innovation Officer for Tyler ISD that's going to come up and provide you a little bit of a review of somewhat of some information that's already been presented to the board. And then we can go through the discussion about what's in front of you in in terms of the the binder in front of you.
002Dr. Markle. All right, we're in business now. Well, thank you President Atkins, school board, Dr. Crawford for this opportunity. It's a long time coming and so we're excited to not only present this but put in front of you our partnership agreement with UT Tyler. So real quickly just to remind you this partnership is about redesigning and looking forward. When 1882 became an option for districts, this district decided instead of looking at it for turnaround because we're not in that position that we really needed to think about it from an innovation standpoint. And so through this journey, I would call it, partnering with UT Tyler as the lone finalist in the partnership that we all agreed upon that we would get to this agreement with is an exciting opportunity to not only build the future for
003teacher preparation, but also build the future for STEM preparation and education for our students here in Tyler ISD. Just a quick reminder, we will soft roll this out with these three schools, meaning, you know, we will look to the future of opportunities later. Uh at Pete, we will look at an early early literacy-based teacher prep program. At Clarkston, it is more of a generalized teacher preparation program, specifically housing residents, which is a new program with us and UT Tyler, where a student would do both their clinical three and four phases at Clarkston and be paid a salary for that. So, we're really excited about that opportunity. And then at Bonner, um this is a really special project not only to this district, but Dr. Crawford with the STEM UT Health partnership around biomedical sciences. And
004so, that program will kickstart a new adventure with with those students at Bonner to begin to help to realize that in Tyler, Texas, you have a pathway from pre-K all the way through residency and medical school, which is extremely exciting. Looking at the board packet, I don't know where we might have some questions, but the first tab is all about the agreement that we are getting into with UT Tyler, um if board approved. And then behind that, um we're highlighting some of the amendments that, if there were any questions, um we can cover those right now. And that is it. I will hand it back over to y'all. Okay. Discussion? Questions? Mr. Lassiter? Thank you, Madam President. Just to make sure I simplify this for my own brain, we got three schools. The biomed is
005at Bonner. Kind of like the teachers academy with the paid intern stuff is at Clarkston and then the one at Peete. Tell me about early literacy. I don't get the distinction there. Check, check. Here we go. Can I go back to my seat? Do you need me to stay here? Okay. Whatever works for you. Good thing this is a special board session. In early literacy a few years ago, TEA and everybody realized that we needed to focus on the science of reading. And so what came out of that is a lot of trainings, a lot of opportunity to to re-look at how we teach early literacy. Well, what we want to achieve at that school is a model campus for all the elements that science highlights as well as opportunity for students who traditionally have
006some underperformance around early literacy. The way we've been equating it through our visits with Houston and some other districts is trying to get them at least closer to the starting line so they can become more competitive with their peers, especially in the reading arena. So the goal is to double down on how we present literacy, but also make it a focus of how they do their scheduling, have extra supports through the UT Health or I'm sorry, the UT Tyler College of Education. As we grow it, the goal is to align that to research and theory practices coming out of UT Tyler where there's a marriage between what students are learning at UT Tyler to become an educator, but also what they're practicing on this campus as well. Um so we will be hopefully again if
007the agreement is passed and we go down this path together with UT Tyler we will be working closely with them on course design so that it aligns to the science of reading. That also would provide professional development um intensive professional development for the staff currently at Peete. Along with some additional uh support. So if you think about a student teacher that's at UT Tyler right now, that would be an actually a designated location long similar to Clarkston to where you would actually have some of those that are could potentially be a paid internship while they're getting their student teaching at the same time. Right now, we know that student teachers have to pay for their own way unless they're on some other type of scholarship. So there might be a little bit of incentivization to
008get a some additional support, some additional bodies into a campus that has struggled to to uh to uh select the best teachers that are out there, provide them some more support. Very similar to the same model that you're talking about at Boulter. Um we've got other campuses as well that could be using this, but again the capacity of the the school of education at UT Tyler doing that at five or six campuses, we just don't think we have the capacity to do that on our end or their end, I think frankly. So being able to start where needed the most kind of epicenter of of that at Peete. Uh and they had you know, they they were a C last year the year before that. They did not make a passing grade there. So that's
009how that's where we've identified it. So I'm I'm sorry. I'll say this one other thing is what you can envision in maybe a five-year plan or longer or quicker. Um we we've talked about how Jones and Peete are within a mile of each other. And that was done 20 years ago uh as we were going back and rebuilding all of our campuses. I'm not saying that if I'd have been superintendent here that we wouldn't have done that, but you've got to look at a different way to use that those the proximity of those facilities. We could envision a pre-K 2 campus and a 3-5 campus with an overlaid again people that are going to watch this, we're not doing this right now, but an overlaid attendance zone to where you focus on the early early
010education pre-K 2 at one of those campuses, 3-5 at the other. Just some creativity there, some outside the box thinking that could potentially be utilized there. Right now, we're just going to really focus on the early literacy there. Uh you may ask what curriculum's being used at at that campus. As part of the agreement, it's actually part of UT Tyler's choice on the curricula that we're going to be using at those three campuses. Now, we have great relationships and partnerships with their school of Ed with our curriculum resources that we have here, so you would be seeing at two of those three and an Evergreen Systems of Excellence Academy. So, our our curriculum, so ESE aligned campuses at Peete and at Clarkston because those campuses have been struggling and they need it. Bonner, not so
011much, it's an A-rated campus. You can go over there and have some fun with STEM as well. So, you asked about literacy, that's kind of an overview of what the plan of attack is on that. How many kids will we have in the partnership altogether? Do you have a rough idea between the three campuses? That is in addenda. Where is that? Oh, it's in Back there in your Yeah. It's addendum one. 6-7 Where Casey, you know that answer. It's about Is it It's almost a thousand? It's It's around 1,300. >> Our 1,300, okay. 1,300 And these three campuses will be that ESA aligned type of deal that we looked at. Two of them >> the three. Right, not Bonner. >> Yeah, Bonner's going to have its own STEM curriculum as it will be evolving there
012in partnership with all the the health care supports there in the biosciences. Thank you. To answer your question specifically, it's 1,185. It's on page 12 of addendum four. >> Price is right. Come on down. We were We were close. You got the buzzer, Casey. $1. Okay. Comments Mr. Newsom? What you got? I have a question regarding addendum one. Going through Sorry. I addendum one going through the TI TISD charter policy, I I was I got a little confused as to which board we were referring to in this particular policy. I I did not and I may have overlooked it where actually define which board we were referring to because on the front it had TISD and UT. So, I wasn't sure when it referred to board making decisions and boards in that addendum as to
013which board we were referring to. Is there a specific section on that? >> it it's the entire The entirety? I couldn't identify which board we were referring to. We have two boards and and that I want a clarification to make sure we understand that, too. And that's this campus charter. Our board policy, not Okay. Oh, this is our board policy. >> Okay. That's That's fine. I didn't I couldn't tell that from >> I apologize. I thought you meant Yes. I think somewhere it should should maybe refer to it as TISD board and then maybe throughout it can refer to it as just the board. But, I was confused cuz I never could really I never saw anything identifying which board. So, document like this, I think it needs to be identified. >> Specifically, specif- specifically
014on page five of eight where it says probation the board may place a campus charter on probation as permitted. That would be this board. Yeah. And as far as the agreement goes, and so, um this is your board policy on here. And so, you adopted that back in November. And as far as the creation of a board of a separate uh governing board, that would be an actual board that was on somewhere in the addenda to where it's actually it's made up of who UT Tyler has selected. And they have the governance structures to supervise the three campuses that we're talking about. Okay. Okay. And just a brief look at it, if it refers to the campus charter specifically when it's speaking to that, but all other references to the board is Tyler ISD's Board
015of Trustees. Well, I I got that when I got to page five and I thought superintendent, so it's like, oh, okay. But before that time, I was still kind of out there and oh, what okay. On this So, I can understand that, but it didn't unless I'm not seeing it, it didn't refer to it specifically. And when you have two boards yeah, you get a little confused at times. So, that that's the only reason I asked that. That didn't identify a policy either, no more than by number and I would I don't know the numbers. Okay. Mr. LaSoya Thank you, Madam President. On the structure of it, I think I have it correctly and it alludes to it artist saying basically we're going to hand this off, it's a partnership, but we're going to hand
016it off to UT Tyler. They're going to have their board and that board is going to go up to their I guess executive director that's the liaison between us. Am I understanding that right? >> Executive director of the 1882 agreement partnership works for UT Tyler. Right. Reports to that board. And that board reports to Dr. Philly who is in the audience. She is also the chair of said board. Right. So, it's a little different than how we're structured. >> Right. Okay. And according to agreement, there's no for lack of better word, cross-pollination on that board. In other words, nobody from our board is over on that board, so it's separate. It's correct? You cannot have anyone on the school on this board serving on the UT Tyler governance board. Thank you. But we do work
017collaboratively uh between the executive director and superintendent of schools um along with the the president of University of Texas at Tyler as well. But as far as reporting structures go, no, we don't do that. I I I love it. I think it speaks volumes that Dr. Filly is going to chair that board. I think that that means they're serious about this and they want the same results we do, so. Sure. I Just questions regarding faculty for the campuses, how's that going to be arranged? Yeah, part of the agreement um in here, you've got we support a lot of the operational things that go on on those campuses, obviously. Um UT Tyler's not going to run their own HR department for these three campuses. It's the executive director that is actually going to be responsible for
018the the hiring, much like a superintendent does, um for just those three campuses and working with those principals in the selection of that staff and faculty. With however advisement that they're going to get as far as uh staff and faculty or parents to choose those individuals. Um the hiring processes actually are handled through our HR department here in Tyler ISD, the processing of such. Same thing with payroll and the payment of and etc. etc. Uh will the current teachers on those campuses have to apply for to be employed on the campus, similar to Boulter, or if that Yeah, we're we're we're not acing these campuses at this time. That is not a reconstitution. Okay. There's enough natural turnover that occurs at both of those all three of those campuses. Not so much Bonner cuz pretty
019stable. Um that we've been able to do some of that. Miss Miss Sherman's back there in the back that does supervise Pete and we do think that this year there's going to be enough turnover on that campus that it's almost as if we are ACing it other than we're obviously not putting half TIA teachers over there. >> Right. And again, the staff sizes are also different from ACing the campus as well. Mhm. Again, we're spending X amount of additional dollars at Boulter and a turnaround sit not a turnaround situation and A situation um to be able to do what we're doing over there separate of this. Right. Yep. Okay. Okay, I I I think I understand. I asked those questions because of the concerns that the teachers had on both of these campuses when we
020implemented the new program. I guess I just wanted to reassure the teachers that they have a job and that it's not going to be like Boulter in that actual aspect of reapplying and all that stuff. You know, that when any when you make any changes, staff always get concerned. So, I'm just trying to make sure that we clarify that on their behalf, I guess. >> Thank you for that softball question there. Um They have a contract with the district. And if they're in good standing, then they will be hired. Uh as as far as these campuses go, again, good good standing with the district. Um as far as that goes, the executive director will be the one selecting those and whether or not they're going to stay at those campuses or not in coordination with
021the principal. Appreciate that. I I think it's worth saying again. Of course. Yep. Anyone else? Okay, could I get a motion? I move, Madam President, I move that we approve the agreement with UT Tyler. Second. All in favor? I. I. Any opposed? The motion carries. Very good. Dr. Philly, would you care to address the board from your seat, or you can come up to this right here, standing microphone? No, I just want to say thank you so much for this partnership. Um I I'm Julie Philly. I'm president UT Tyler. By background, I'm physician, and I thought from East Texas, I thought when I moved back here, the single most important thing to be a part of would be the medical school. And it has indeed been very near and dear to my heart. But I
022can honestly say our school of education and partnerships like these have been the most impactful to me personally. I think we're going to set together, work together, um to trust each other to do what's right. And I have every confidence working with Dr. Crawford and his vision, and then with Dr. Markle, that we can make it happen. And I can also tell you, it puts a lot of responsibility on my office, and on me, but I'm ready for it. I also have a cell phone that works. I'm also happy to come back. I'm happy to update people, and we're happy to keep you abreast of all of the progress, because we're going to do this together. I'm so grateful, and truly today, I'm very, very excited. Thank you, Dr. Philly. Now, we'll say Ms. Atkins,
023uh today marks the the first step in a two-step process. So, we'll take this and actually submit it to TEA. Um we've got a a window, about a 3-week window in there to work with them in some negotiations with them as well. But obviously, 1882 is one of their um their their their prize projects that they really are promoting out there. Um the great thing about ours is, we're not in a turn turnaround situation on being on a list. Um anywhere near that, and so we're excited about this coming from an innovation standpoint. So, uh we will be presenting that to the the agency here tomorrow. Right, Dr. Markle? Yes, sir. Okay. Hey. We do not need to go into executive session. So, can I get a motion to adjourn? I'll move. Second. All in
024favor? Aye. >> Anybody opposed? Motion carries. We are now adjourned. Okay.