001All right, we call this regular board meeting to order on April 10th, 2025 at 6:31 p.m. Hey, roll call, please. Falls Graph here. Mayor, guess who's here? Mask on here. Next, we have the agenda for the regular board meeting for April 10th, 2025. Can I get a motion? I'll move. I'll second. Any uh changes? No changes. Thank you. Discussion. Call the question. Call your eye. May I? J. Who's I? Mask on. I Any public participation at this time? Not at this time. All right. Then uh I will make a motion to adjourn to close session at 6:32 p.m. Can I get a second? Public call the question. I may sus. Mask on. Welcome everybody. We can reconvene this regular board meeting for April 10th, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. Miss Alfred, would you lead us in
002the flag slip? States of America and to the republic for it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. Mr. Falsegraph, would you uh please read the civility statement? Oh, Natalie. When conducting the district's business, we will strive to communicate clearly and concisely with a respect for the time of others. Listen objectively, carefully considering the opinion of others. Understand the counterproductive events of disruptive, demeaning, and intimidating behaviors. understand and respect district policies and procedures. Maintain a respect for the rich history of the district and the efforts of others who have served in the past. Thank you. Thank you. Item five, close session. No action was taken in close session this evening. Item six, public comments, recognition reports. Any public comments tonight? Yes, sir. too. Michelle Davis and Margaret Vilobos.
003Good evening. We're here representing the Actton Women's Club and we're really excited about the partnership we've been developing over the last year or so. I don't know if you're aware, but we operate a resale shop. It's up by Crazy Autos. It's fabulous. All kinds of wonderful things. And I see nodding heads. And it's a a complete volunteer effort. So, the money that we get, we our goal is to plug it right back into the community. And we have a lot of very passionate women involved in our committee that are really interested in young people in schools in education. And uh I just wanted to update you a little bit on what we've been doing and kind of what we see in the future. We um instituted a grant-based program last year. Prior to this, we
004just like gave money away to different organizations to sports groups and um parks and the library, but we didn't ever really ask for any accountability. And we recognize that to protect our status as a nonprofit, we need to have that. we need to support what we're doing with the donations. So, we moved to a grant-based a a projectbased grant process. And with this process, we asked the applicants to describe, what they want to do, who it's going to benefit, how much is it going to cost, how long will it take, and then after they're through, we want them to provide us evidence to show us what they did. I'll just give you a a quick example that I'm sure that you all have seen, which is the snack shop at Pi Desert down on the
005lower field. We um really want to focus on supplementing and enriching the learning experience for our students here in in Actton and in Aguodosce. We also recognize that there are things that the district is responsible for like what you need in the classroom, the materials that you need and so on. And we've also been working with the parent organizations at the at the three schools and that's been really beneficial. But their focus is also on the entire student population on the on the learning community. And we can support that and we are but we can also be um support things that might focus and and help fewer number of kids. So for example, maybe a sports team. We um last year we were able to well actually it was last summer to help the cross
006country team go on their um training program at Mammoth and and we're really proud to be able to spread the wealth in the community. We um and I'm just going to toot our horn because I'm really happy about four things that we have coming up that I think are terrific. And one of them is we're supporting and she's hiding over there in the corner, Miss Jones, the um supplemental reading program that she's using that the teachers are implementing for first and second graders at Metoark School. Field trips are wonderful. I bet if I ask you all, you could tell me the field trips that you went on when you were a student. I know I can. Way back, we visited the LA Harbor. I thought it was wonderful. So, um, even better sometimes are field
007trips that you can bring to the school like the upcoming American Revolution that is coming to to High Desert. We're happy to sponsor guest speakers. The the speaker that um the Vasquez student body ASB is eager to have come and focus on emotional de intelligence and also on I was going to say development but intelligence too and um and non-bullying because we know that that's a real problem. And then um I'm personally very excited because we're going to be hosting with the schools a program called Living Voices, which is a really fun way to get a historical experience. an actor will be coming and they will be portraying a a a not an actual historical person but a a person from a particular period in history and they will be um interacting with the video
008and other materials to tell that story at um Vasquez the story is about it's called Through the Eyes of a Friend and it's an a friend of Anne Frank and what this young person's experience was like during the the Holocaust period and then at um High Desert and we're and we're going to take it to the whole community because we're going to have another performance at the library the same day that'll be open. So, if you want to come, you're all welcome on the the 30th of May. It's um called Hear My Voice, and it reflects on the women's suffrage movement and getting the vote for women because we all know how important it is from schoolboard elections all the way up through the through the ranks. So, just a little update for you. Thank
009you. Appreciate your time. Do you have anything you wanted to add? No, just that we're very um grateful that we have a good partnership because it takes two to tango. That's what I always say. And it really helps out the community. So, thank you very much for listening to us and involving the community and allowing us to help. I I should actually there's one more thing I really need to recognize is the help that the district has provided us with the resale shop because they allowed us to use a classroom here to take deliveries to sort materials and then get it up to the shop and we really appreciate that. That gives us more money that we can put back into to help everybody. Thank you. Yes, definitely a big thanks to the Actton Women's
010Club for all that you do. I do think my wife may have bought things back from the store that we donated once, but uh Brock Champion, you're going to get the timer, though. That's right. Yeah. Good evening, Dr. Sakin, pre president Masone, and esteemed members of the board. My name is Brock Champion, and it's a true honor to speak on behalf of Options for Youth Acting. Thank you for your time, your careful review, and your recommendation to approve our renewal petition. I also want to thank Director Nay Patterson for her thoughtful visits and guidance throughout this process. When I joined OFY acting in 2017 as the assistant principal opening our Fontana 1 and two sites, we had no students, just a vision to serve those who had been left behind. Within two years, we were
011serving over 1500 students across eight school sites. That growth didn't come from advertising. It came from students and families who felt seen, supported, and believed in. Today, we serve 2368 students, a powerful reflection of the real need for our schools. In January 2023, I became principal. Since then, alongside two outstanding fellow principles and a strong leadership team, we've nearly doubled our economic reserve and on a pace to finish the the year with another surplus. We responded directly to your 30-day letter, strengthening our fiscal oversight, submitting a corrective action plan and contracting with Charter Impact, a trusted back office provider supporting over 100 charter schools with finance operations and compliance. But numbers only tell part of the story. Our st students come to us behind in credits, juggling jobs and family responsibilities or carrying emotional scars
012from feeling invisible in school. And yet they show up with a spark of hope. We meet that hope with structure, compassion, and relentless support. We remove barriers and help them believe in themselves again. We don't just teach, we transform lives. For eight years, OFY Actton has gone beyond academics, taking students on life-changing trips to places like Ireland, Washington DC, and Europe. Because we believe learning should expand their world view, not just their transcript. We connect them with meaningful workforce opportunities that lead to real internships and apprenticeships. We give them a chance to play sports, build teamwork and discipline, and feel the pride of wearing a jersey. We offer dual enrollment so they can earn college credits while working toward their high school diploma. For many of our students, these are life-changing moments they never dreamed
013possible. And our commitment is working. The staff's report confirms that we offer a sound educational program, that we're fully capable of implementing it, and that our outcomes, reading and math growth, A throughG completion, and improved school climate show meaningful measurable progress. We're W was accredited and over 83 of 83% of our students are considered high-risisk under DAS, highlighting our focus on students with the greatest need. I've seen firsthand how much this board values students, especially those who need the most support, and we share that same commitment. We're ready to move forward with humility, transparency, and a strong focus on improvement. With Charter Impact now supporting us, we're confident in our ability to meet expectations and continue growing. However you choose to proceed, we're committed to honoring your trust and continuing the important work we do
014together. Thank you for your time, your service, and your belief in our mission. We are proud to do this work and honored to do it in partnership with you. Thank you. Thank you. Add a representative, a CSEA representative Natalie. Good evening everyone. Today I'd like to start with High Desert Middle School. Some Hulk highlights for High Desert. Homero works tirelessly to complete his missing assignments and brings his grades up. Maya Adalie is always trying her best and is striving to get all A's no matter the circumstance. Adrien Aras has improved his overall focus in class and he is also teaching other students how to be more tech-savvy. Darren Hidner is being polite and helpful. He organized the class chart and instructed others which charger went to their computer. Abraham Delgado demonstrates what it means to
015have courage when faced with academic challenges. Some past events for our Hawks. We recently had our AV SBA dinner and thank you to our awesome sixth grade team for showing for going above and beyond to welcome the members. Mr. Roland leads the harmonic bronze handbell ensemble and they were magnificent in their handbell performance. Missy is the student squad adviser and brought our mascot Talon along with the spirit squad to welcome guests as they arrived. Our outdoor science school was this week. Our fifth grade students attended outdoor SC science school and we had our biggest group ever with 36 fifth grade students. Thank you to Mrs. Revelis and Miss M Miss Mrs. Hickden for attending with our students. Thank you to Mrs. Banola for supporting and teaching the students who remained on campus for the week.
016HDS Music and Talent Night is coming up soon and we invite everyone to join us on for HDS Music and Talent Night on April 11th, tomorrow at 6 p.m. It will be a great night highlighting the amazing talents of our students and watching our fifth and sixth grade students perform with Miss Emma. Some upcoming events last night. Last night we welcomed all of our parents of incoming Hawks with the great parent night. Information about athletics, academics, and activities were shared along with the campus tour. Some athletic updates. JV girls volleyball is having a blast. They won their game on Tuesday against Delphi Academy and hosted a game today against Trinity, which they won. So, congratulations to them. JV Flag Football is rostering a team of 26, fifth, and sixth graders all eager to catch passes
017and score touchdowns. They play today against Our Lady of Perpetual Help at Heritage Park in Valencia. And congrats to our and congrats to them for today's win. The varsity girls basketball team is starting their season strong with a 1-1 overall record and played today at Ilead Lancaster. Our boys varsity basketball team is energetic and focused holding their record one to one and playing I lead Lancaster today as well. And congrats on their win. Track and field has opened their signups to join the team. If interested, please see signups with Mrs. Button. Practices are starting right after spring break, April 28th. Some cap campus updates for High Desert. The play area and scooter races is in full effect and is really having a positive impact on students. Kids love all of the new opportunities to engage
018in games with each other and it is having a very positive impact on student behavior. Thank you to our AADUSD school district and board for supporting the creation of this area for our students. Moving on to Vasquez. Some highlights for Vasquez. We are thrilled to announce that Mrs. Wagner has been awarded the prestigious title of teacher of the year. Dr. Sahakin made this exciting announcement at our staff building bridges meeting last Wednesday. Her dedication, passion, and hard work have truly made a positive impact on our school community. On April 1st, the Vasquez ASB hosted a successful successful blood drive in partnership with the American Red Cross. Thank you to the generosity of our students, staff, and community members, we were able to make a significant impact in saving lives. On April 1st, students, seniors also
019attended Analopee Valley Colleg's student success conference to prepare to attend this fall semester. The VHS counseling and weare teams in partnership with Dr. Smith are leading classroom presentations on the impact of students words to promote mental health awareness, positive language, conflict resolution, and a respectful school environment. Some upcoming events we have for Vasquez car show is happening this Saturday. It is an event held by our ASB and senior class to fundra for them and we welcome the entire community to join us. Spring break is happening uh April 21st to April 25th. The cast testing will be held during April 22nd to May 2nd and the CAST test is on May 5th. Some athletic updates. A big shout out to our varsity volleyball team. They're absolutely smashing it this season with a perfect 12 to zero
020record. They need just one more win to claim its first ever league championship. In swimming, every single swimmer took more time off their events. Elijah took 3 seconds off his 50 free. Lena took 5 seconds off her 50 free. Sophia swam her first 100 and took 2 seconds off her 50. Miko took 17 seconds off his 200 free. Our boys placed in first in their grouping for their relay. And Miko placed first in his 200, gaining points for the team. They're obviously doing amazing this season. Track turned heads at the LA County Championship this weekend at Golden Valley High School. Ivy Rios, who won the 800 mile run and 800M run and broke the record by 39 seconds in her first time running it. Vivian Schneider also won the long jump and placed in discus
021high jump and 4x400 M relay. Other medal winners included Austin Hilton, Ben Hegim, Everett Blaha, Ryan Alenas, Addison Campbell, Shane Proser, Brendan Blaine, Alexis Van Orornum, and Haley Honiki. And Natalie Guzman also set a new personal record in the mile by one minute. Congrats to our Mustangs. Softball is now five to zero in league play. Daniela Eskimala tied a CIF softball record in their recent game against Santa Clarita Christian with four home runs in one game. This is the first time this has been done since 1994. Baseball is 8 to1 so far this season and they are completing competing for a playoff spot. Some campus updates. VHS is now offering after school tutoring to support their students in their academic success. This tutoring service will be available to all students who may need extra help
022with their coursework. The tutoring sessions will take place Monday through Thursday at Vasquez High School. And that is all for my report tonight. Thank you. Thank you very much. Spotlight. Thank you, Mr. Mascone. Tonight we're celebrating our district spelling be students who were amazing. All our students are amazing as we know, but tonight it will be the spelling be students. For that, I'd like to call up principal Michelle Van Ornham to do the honors. please. So, tonight we honor our students for our 9th annual spelling bee. Um, it was actually held in February, but we wanted to make sure that they were recognized this school year and we thought high desert night would be a perfect night to do it. Um, so we want to welcome up in first place. It was Paisley Keart. in
023second place her twin sister Ellie Keart and in third place first name there you go there's a lot of Seymours but um Grace Seymour one of our fourth graders from Metallark So, we definitely want to thank Mr. Larry Roland. He wasn't able to be here tonight um because he's not feeling well, but he uh has been our spelling be adviser for the last two years and is amazing at really everything that he does. Um and the spelling bee was no different. The the thing we also want to say is I want to mention that the sisters battled it out for multiple rounds back and forth before a winner was decided. So, I'm not sure I wanted to go home with you guys that night, but but uh congratulations to our students and we're so proud
024of them. And I really want to give a shout out to our teachers who helped them practice. Um they did a lot of practice rounds in class. Um and just emphasizing how important being able to spell is, which is the ultimate goal. So, congratulations to these students and for you guys. I know they're going to want to see the picture. Thank you everyone. Yeah, well done everyone. Thank you for sharing. Superintendent report. Thank you. Tonight I'll be focusing on two goals. Uh goal two, effective leadership and uh instruction as well as goal three, community engagement. We're celebrating and recognizing a wonderful teacher. Natalie took stole my thunder earlier. No worries. Wonderful teacher that we all know and admire, Miss Christina Wagner as our district's 2025 teacher of the year nominee. She'll be part of an
025excellent group of teachers being recognized in September by the Los Angeles County Office of Education. We will have Christina here for a September board meeting. I'll let her know about that piece. She loves being able to connect and collaborate with all of her students, her families that she supports and colleagues. She also loves being able to utilize her creativity and this profession. Teaching is one of the most personal professions in the world where you can make a lifelong impact. And Christina, you have made your mark on all of your students. Many congratulations. Very welld deserved. As part of the celebration of staff, we celebrated our district staff from all three sites on April 20 April 2nd, sorry, with a barbecue lunch and a workshop which which followed. Topic for all staff was classroom strategies to
026support student self-regulation through mindfulness. I'd like to particularly thank Miss Yolanda McCaulay, my executive assistant to my right, as well as Eddie Romano, Jordan Schmidt, Marcy Bayz, Ernesto Mora, and the Vasquez team for that afternoon. We all had a wonderful time. Thank you. Goal number three. On March 31st, our district hosted the Analopee Valley School Board Association dinner meeting held at Vasquez's gym. superintendent and their teams from the Analopee Valley school districts uh were treated to a fantastic dinner prepared by Miss Wagner and her students. Um so thank you um culinary arts. Prior to dinner, they experienced a wonderful performance by the harmonic bronze led by Mr. Larry Roland. The guest speakers for that evening from were from the children law center as they shared with the group their advocacy for foster youth students in
027schools. Please uh bear with me as I thank the following individuals and groups for making the event so special. Um board vice president Brianna Tony who secure the opportunity for us to host um the AVSBA. Yana McCauley, my executive assistant Shiloh Via Seenor and Lana Galbreth Vasquez High School office team, culinary students and their phenomenal teacher Miss Wagner. Our IT, our IT team, Caesar Ortiz, and Alex Rodosia. Custodial team of Eddie Romano, Jordan Schmidt, and Marcy Bayz. Sienna Taxony staff member from Metallark. Our student schoolboard rep, Miss Natalie. Our Vasquez High School senior and guitarist, Jared Sanchez, who provided a lovely evening, lovely atmosphere for the evening. ASB High Desert Vasquez High School and their wonderful adviserss. Metallark student council, our student greeters, the arts program which supported the wonderful handprint place mats that you
028see now posted up at the disert spirit squad, Vasquez cheerleaders, metallark student council and school mascots. All right. And finally, we kicked off highlighting our wonderful schools and their highlights for the current school year about a month ago with a presentation from Metallark Elementary. Tonight, we'll be hearing from High Desert and their principal, Michelle Van Ornham, regarding their highlights for this academic calendar as well as planning for the future. So, with that, Mrs. Van Ornham, please. magic here. I like it. All right. So, um, good evening, uh, board members and superintendent Sahakian. I am very proud to be the principal of High Desert School. Um, those of you that know me, I have loved High Desert for many, many years. This is my 22nd year at the school, my fourth year as principal. Um, so
029I bleed green for sure. Um, I am super excited to see the audience filled with our staff members from High Desert and students. And so I hope that tonight captures all of the love and um, community spirit that we have going on at High Desert. Use my magic clicker back here. Um, so first, uh, for scholar achievement, um, we entered the yellow last year with an increase of 8.6 six points in English language arts. Um our I Ready is charting to um be even higher this year. So we should see another increase this year. So um you'll see the scores reflected there. The top row is the beginning of the year and the bottom row is the middle or no sorry the the bottom of each grade level is the beginning of the year and
030the top row is the growth. So you can see every time that green increases in the brighter colors, that's good news for us. We're making progress in getting more kids to be on grade level um and less kids to be below grade level. In math, this is definitely where our area of growth is. We're maintaining, but we're still in the red. So, we need to move this up. We are hoping that with our focus on checking for understanding, small groupoup practice, um new adopted curriculum that really focuses on the why of math that this will go up next year. And so far, our I Ready scores are trending in that direction. And so we anticipate that to be a good outcome this year for an increase. English learner progress is the thing that we are
031most proud of. Um we have been trending up each year. So if you look at the bottom chart, we were at 11% um ARFEP means redesated um English proficient and then 13 and then uh 16 and so um enter Miss Denise Seymour and we hit 31% reclassification rate last year. a designated EL class with a designated teacher who's bilingual. Um, and what a difference that has made. So, we anticipate similar growth, although it's going to be really hard to beat 31%. So, um, suspension rates. So, this has to do with our discipline data. You can see pre and postcoid, um, we were trending up kind of going into COVID and then obviously when COVID happened, there were 0.36, but we were in school for a month and a half. So that doesn't really count. Um
032when we came back, we saw a big escalation in behaviors, but we've been trending mostly down ever since. This year, um with the implementation of our play area, that has really made the biggest impact. Our kids have things to do at break and lunch and so they are less likely to get in trouble. And so that um and then second to that would be our counseling department. Having a fully staffed counseling department on our campus, night and day. And so I want to definitely thank Miss Zulie Quesada and Miss Alandre Condi for um being on our campus because they're able to resolve conflicts before they become discipline issues. And so that has been I mean you can see it's a dramatic increase. That's our number right now if we were to end school today which
033is huge. So some other things that we implement is positive praise. So we have things called hawk highlights. Um, there's nothing worse as a principal and this was an adjustment for me because when I called as a teacher, I could call and say great things. When you call as the principal, the the the parents heart drops immediately and so I'm able to say, "Hey, this is a great phone call." And then continue on so that they can continue breathing. So, I love our Hawk Highlight program. You hear the highlights here as well. Um, I love just being able to celebrate kids in the moment. We don't have to wait for a big awards ceremony. if they're doing something great, let's highlight it, honor them, and then it will get them to keep repeating that great
034thing because it was acknowledged. Um, we also have interventions. So, we have weekly trackers if for students that need more frequent reminders. We do have a progressive discipline system that we work collaboratively as a team. Um, and even a nothing there. Sometimes a kid just needs a break and so they might get a nothing note and get a trip to go visit another teacher to drop something off um just to give them a an outlet and then reset and reframe when they come back. Um we also are working on practicing our emergency drills and making sure we're more consistent than those. When we had the initial training, they said we had to be under a minute um for a one-story evacuation. We're supposed to be evacuating the campus in a minute. We've almost we're getting
035there. We went from 10 minutes, we're now down to two and a half. So, we're we're doing pretty good. Um, chronic absenteeism. I know this is a big topic of conversation. So, ours is continuing to decline. Um, we're anticipating this to take another big drop um this next school year. So, but we are definitely focusing on attendance and getting kids to school every day. Um, we are Mon'nique in our office. She is fantastic and she is on it with those phone calls every day encouraging people to come even if they arrive late. Um, and the other thing is we just want to make sure everybody feels welcome. And so I want to give a shout out to our office staff because every single stu person that walks through that office feels welcome whether they're late
036or or on time. So I appreciate that. Um, we made formal attendance plans with tiered system. And so this also formalizing all of that has really helped us solidify our program and what we do and which is also contributing to a decline in chronic absenteeism or a rise in our ADA. Um, in addition, we're raising awareness for all kinds of things. Um, making sure that we honor community and culture with Red Ribbon Week. Um, this was a a altar that was in um Miss Akunia's classroom and it was fantastic. Miss Rebecca Sautello went above and beyond. These are life-size. Uh, what's the name of them, Miss Aunia? Do you remember? There you go. What she said. But, um, but they're like life-size in the classroom. And so, they talked about Day of the Dead for
037Deos Muertos. Um, in addition, we have Medal of Honor Awards. Out of all the awards we give on our campus, this is our absolute favorite. It's a moment where teachers really talk about the key values that students have and why they're so important. And we really hope that they shine and then they get a Medal of Honor um coin, a challenge coin to have them remember to keep doing that. And I just want to thank Miss Marilyn Alfred for being our Medal of Honor um adviser and um connection with the Medal of Honor Character Development Program. She's also a national trainer and we are super lucky to have her on our campus. Um, in addition, we have increased over the time that I've been there community engagement with family nights. So, we have dodgeball, we
038have um family game night, we have talent shows, um, we had steam, we have steam night that we just had. There are things where our family can connect with us on a whole different level other than just academics. In addition, we have informational meetings like back to school night and open house. And we hope that all of you will join us for our upcoming open house that has become taken on a whole new life with a student showcase. And so it came from an idea of a schools to watch assembly and became instead of um a regular open house, it really is a showcase of everything that's great about High Desert. So we hope you can join us on May 29th for that. In addition, we um participate in community events. So the connection with
039the community is really important and we we feel like the middle really does matter and it's important that that we connect ourselves as the middle and we help bridge between high school, elementary school and the community. And so we encourage our kids and participate in all of these different events um to support the community like they support us. In addition, we are so grateful for our community partnerships. You heard from Michelle Davis who is amazing. Um and the entire women's club uh as I was listening to you Michelle I can tell you are a former teacher so she's amazing. Um but Asmo Actton women's club ADS women's club the Aadulce airport like so many things are possible because of these partnerships. Um and it it goes clear down to Vasquez culinary and Mrs. Carrie Owens
040and their connections with our school and wanting to promote things here. Um parent engagement. So, we have different parent university options. We have coffee with the counselor, um, pastries with the principal, thanks to Miss Zulie Quesada, we had mental health parent workshops, and they were offered in both English and Spanish. And for our Spanish speaking, that was actually our biggest attended one. And I think parents really appreciated to be able to sit at a meeting and have the whole thing done in Spanish to where they could just fluidly understand the conversation. So, thank you to Miss Quesada for that connection with the Department of Mental Health and making those workshops possible. Um, in addition, we have Medal of Honor mentors. So, one of the things that we did, um, is our eighth graders serve as
041mentors in our fifth and sixth grade classrooms. And we train them to serve as mentors. And they build connections with those fifth graders. And, uh, one of the things that we did after the fires was we actually had a Medal of Honor lesson about community and sacrifice and courage and how can we help? And it even had parent homework for discussion items that they did at home that night. Um it was probably our favorite Medal of Honor mentor lesson that we've done. In addition, student voice is really important. So we um send out a survey to our students and the red is showing you um do they feel connected and do they feel that there's somebody at school that they can go to? So that big red is a strongly yes. So our students and
042then the blue follows it um with also agree. So, we're really seeing that our students feel connected. Um, we're trying to get that circle closed, but we're doing pretty good. And with that, because student voice is important, I want to invite up some student speakers because I want you to be able to hear directly from them. So, I want to invite up Levi Bowmont and Abby Seymour and Mila Adelaide and Matthew Santos Rodriguez and Dylan Hickden and Shayen Botton. Hello. Hello. My name is Levi Bulmont and I'm in fifth grade in Mr. Bellis's class. This year has been packed with awesome and sometimes messy memories. One of my favorite moments was popping glitter fil balloons to model star clusters. We also got our hands dirty with papier-mâché. We made all kinds of cool crafts. At
043High Dinner School, I've had the chance to play sports, which I absolutely love. I'm on the basketball, football, cross country, and volleyball team. Basically, if it run if it includes running or jumping, I'm in. My favorite subject is science. I mean, where else can you mix things together and make stuff bubble and call it learning? We also took a trip to outdoor science school, which was like science class turned into an adventure. We did archery, rock climbing, and also learned how to survive in the wild. It's a lot harder than it looks. We explored ecosystems and talked about sustainability. Plus, we had a ton of fun along the way. Thank you. Good evening, members of the board. My name is Abigail Seymour, and I'm proud to represent the sixth grade class at High Desert School.
044One of the biggest highlights of my sixth grade year has been my classroom experience with my teacher, Miss Ayers. She's helped me discover a new love for history through creative and engaging teaching style. It's never boring and I look forward to learning more with her each day. We also switch with the other sixth grade group which means we learn from both teachers. Mr. Roland teaches us computer art and helps us build important technology skills in fun and creative ways. I'm also incredibly excited to be part of the harmonic bronze handle group. I've had an amazing time participating in sports like basketball and volleyball. Our school's league shows us how to try different sports throughout the year, helping us discover what we enjoy. Overall, sixth grade at High Desert has given me so many opportunities to
045learn, grow, and be involved. I'm really proud to be part of this school. Thank you for your time. Hi, I'm Mila Adoway. And I'm Matthew Santos. And we're both seventh graders at High Desert School. Education at High Desert is full of fun and hands-on learning like making a nutrition bar or planting plants in science. It also allows for meaningful conversations in class during AVID or Socratic seminars. To add on to education, High Desert also provides tons of extracurriculars. I participate in handbells, volleyball, and dance force all through the school. I also play for the High Desert uh for the I play I also played basketball for the High Desert team and had a great time with my great teammates. I'm ready to try other sports next year and experience new things. On top of all
046the sports and clubs, High Desert also also offers fun and engaging electives like life skills, computer science, CTE, and a lot more. Overall, High Desert is the place you want to be for a good education and even better memories. Thank you. Hi, my name is Shaylin Botton and I'm an eighth grader and a proud student of High Desert. I'm part of ASB where I help with video editing for events and announcements which I really enjoy because it lets me be creative and involved in our school community. Hello, my name is Dylan. I've played volleyball, soccer, and I'm going to do track. I love being an active part of teams where we support each other and have fun doing what we love. My favorite class is English because I enjoy reading, writing, and expressing ideas in
047creative ways. But honestly, what makes High Desert really special to me is the people. We also really appreciate being a part of family nights, including game night and steam night. It really brings the community together. Thank you for supporting our school and making High Desert a great place. I couldn't have said it better myself. So, I'm going to be really short on the rest of this and you guys can uh read the highlights later. But um professional conferences, professional development is really important and it's important that we get outside of Actton um to see what else is out there and then bring all the great ideas back. So, we really support teachers attending professional development. Um in addition uh we encourage professional learning among ourselves. Um there's a saying that the smartest person in the
048room is the room itself and I definitely feel that with our team of educators. They are the smartest people in the room and we learn more from each other um than anything else. In addition, we have activities like I shared about connecting between the fourth grade road show, the eighth grade road show. Um when we invited the Mustangs to our Hawks ribbon cutting and they played against the Hawks, that was the best game. Um, so all of those connections are what make our school um, important. In addition, I am mostly proud of our schools to watch redesignation. So this was our fourth redesignation. Um, so we have been a school to watch since 2012 and I have been part of that process since the beginning and I am so proud of the growth that we
049made. I love that it helps us to focus on our school and the things that we're doing better each year. In addition, we bring assemblies as Michelle Davis had shared. So, we've had Kaiser Permanente Medal of Honor care um recipients speak to us and we had this year we had a choices assembly in um in addition we work on college and career readiness. So, this one I just want to give a shout out to our community members. Arts Day and career day are not possible without all of the community members that come and celebrate and share all of the things that they are doing. It's really important that our kids hear it directly from the professionals. what do you need to do now to be able to become whatever it is you want to become
050and also to explore things they might not have known they wanted to be. In addition, we have a whole list of field trips. So these are all field trips where our kids are leaving campus to be able to go and explore the world beyond Actton which I think is really really important for them to have that hands-on learning. Also we have all of these play opportunities. So if you had looked at this list three years ago, it might have been like three items. Um we have exploded it with lots and lots of things for our kids to do and the the proof is in the pudding as far as the discipline data. In addition, we have after school enrichment. This has also grown. Um we have programs that have been around for a long time
051like harmonic bronze that is absolutely iconic. And then we have new things like our crochet club that Mr. Rellis started. Um, athletics has dramatically expanded under the direction of Miss Gina Botton. So, thank you to Don Schneider for getting athletics started. She had a vision for it being changing the campus and really bringing people back to campus and that came true. And then Miss Botton picked up that and ran with it. Um, Silver League had dropped JV and she found us a new league and so now we have full JV teams, in some cases two teams. Next year, these are our goals. So, we're looking at expanding even more. Um, we're going to take our sixth period elective time and split it into two classes and have two 45minute electives. So, we're going to have
052double electives. So, those kids that need intervention will still get to have a fun elective. Um, and then we're going to add all of these other electives that will lead into the pathways up at the high school. In addition, we're working on additional student uh mental health workshops for students and parents, social groups, um lunch clubs, and our new library aid, Miss Chelsea Lebelloo, is working on a graphic novel section and a bunch of things to get kids to love reading. So, that's all I have. Thank you very much and thank you to all the students who spoke. I know that's uh not always the easiest thing. I definitely hear a lot of best practices that good for the superintendent. Yes, that concludes my report. Thank you. Thank you. dry desert. Uh, no subcommittee reports
053this week. Uh, submissions. There are no submissions this evening. Thank you. President, if I may, I move that we adjust the agenda to bring the charter up next. Please get a motion. There's your motion in a second. Call the question. graph I may just say I mask on I a great idea I move that we take a recess at 8:19 p.m. Call the question. The Jillian IS I may just Mas. as soon as we find the superintendent. All right, we reconvene from recess at 8:27 p.m. Following Mr. False graphs suggestion. We're going to move item 11 a resolution 242514 resolution to approve the options for youth charter school renewal petition. Can I get a motion? I'll move discussion. Could I have the two sentence version of the staff recommendation from the superintendent? Yes. Uh staff
054recommends the renewal of options for youth charter school for a period of two years. Thank you. That's all I have. Further discussion call the questions you have. Hi May. This is a masc. We'll resume with item eight, the consent agenda. Can I get a motion? I'll second. Dr. Sakin. Yes. If I can make a comment for item 8 E actton women's club grant medallark uh for our literacy program. Thank you once again to our wonderful acting women's club as they presenting here for public comment. Their generous uh contribution grant for metalarks literacy intervention program is greatly appreciated. So thank you. Discussion call the question. I may mask on I just a minute. The joant eyes. We need to start over. Item nine, personnel report. You get a motion. I'll move. Dr. There are no changes
055to the par report. Thank you, sir. Discussion. Call the question. I the Julian I. May's eye. Musi. Mask on. I item 10. Student education services. Approval. Bid quotation from West Music not to exceed $22,236.89. 89 cents. Can I get a motion? I'll second. Dr. Sakin. Thank you. Through the arts block grant funds, we are seeking approval for purchase of instruments such as bong bongos, drums, and other instruments for our music enrichment program if approved. Discussion. Natalie, I'm going to call the question. Call the question. May I I did not. We're going to go backwards just a second to uh item 9B 20 2024 25 successor proposal from CSEA chapter number 473 to AADUSD articles 4567 10 11 and 17. Can I get a motion? I'll second. Dr. Sakin. Thank you. Staff's recommendation for the board
056to approve the 2425 successor proposal from RCSEA to AAD AADUSD. There are seven articles which includes language on duty hours, transportation, salary, employee benefits, employee transfers, employee leaves and concluding language. Thank you. Discuss. Discussion. Call the question. The Julian I draft I M I mask on I back to 11 business services B 2324 audit report and a motion I'll second thank you President Mason the audit report for the year fiscal year ending June 30th 2024 has been completed by our certified public accounting firm of Chrissy White and Associates. Uh they do the internal audit with um with support of our business services office. With that said, I'll call up Mr. Nuen, our assistant superintendent of business services to present the process as well as the findings. All right. Thank you. Good evening board members. Um
057like what what Dr. mentioned um there were three small audit findings and um the good things that we didn't have to return any funds back to California Department of Educations. So the three small audit findings was that there were late again this year we were late to submit our audit report. That is because we we had a change in payroll staffing and unfortunately I had to and fortunately I had to pick up the payroll responsibilities making sure that staff gets paid on time. Um making sure that the time sheet gets in, we calculate them and we make sure that we we we pay our staff correctly. And um right now though we got a new payroll staff coming in and she's helping us out. We're very happy to have Miss Christine Christy 2 to be
058on board with us. Well, our goal is to have our audit report to be submitted to California Department of Education as well as LA County Office of Education on time for the um for next year. Another audit finding was the lack of segregation of duties for journal entries. So, like I mentioned earlier, um our staff, we have minimal staff here. So we do we carry a lot of hats but one of my goal is we're going to have um our accounts payable staff to approve all the journal entries as well review and approve the journal entries as a basically a second set of eyes for when I submit the journal entries and the last one which is the ASB right now we're using um Blue Bear at Vasquez High School to manage our ASB accounts
059any donation that we receive um it it goes through Blue Bear and but it's not as um flexible. So we are looking at a third party um application. It's going to be online. It's called ASB Works. We are pilotating that right now to make sure it fits our needs. Um when when um community members or parents would like to donate funds to Vasquez High School, they can do that via through ASB works. There's a small fee associated with that. Also, it's going to streamline the process of checks and balances in regards to the banks bank reconciliation checks being deposited. So, it's going to work out well with us. In addition to that, um we had a subcommittee like what Mr. Maize mentioned at the last board meeting. We had a subcommittee where Miss Celeste came
060in and presented the process flow, workflow in regards to the donation process as well as how students purchase goods and services through ASB through the ASB. So again when um our goal is to look our goal is to implement ASB works for the next school year. So but those are the three small findings. So we're very fortunate that um there was no return of funds back to California Department of Education. Very good. Thank you. Uh any comments regards to finding three. Um, thank you for your nuance treatment of very delicate issue so we don't have a repeat of Yes. Yes, sir. that. Anyway, it represents the students very very poorly and I thought I was going to give have to give out the giant ranch dressing bottle award. I don't want to have to do
061that. So, you all anybody who knows what I'm talking about, call me. I'll tell you. Maybe we can you can sit in the audience and I'll have you sit there and then you and I can have an open discussion about this. It's embarrassing to me. That's all I have. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. W. Those are uh should be proud of that audit result for having such a small set of findings. Um obviously, as Mr. Fzgraph mentioned, the third one's certainly a point of attention for yourself as well as our subcommittee. So I'm confident we can expedite the uh deployment of ASP works and that will help rectify that. Correct. Thank you. Item Cate bid. Um we need to call the is that an ext. Mask on I thank you. I'll defer to
062Mr. New. Yes. Um, the IT department went up for formal bidding for a next move that one in yet. We were doing call the question on the audit report. Oh, I'm sorry. Uh, item C, e-ray bid valuation matrix fortnite or for tonight. Fortnite Fortnite firewall. You get a motion. I'll motion. Now's my turn. That's your turn. So, regarding the firewall. Yes. Okay. All right. Thank you, Taken. Um the IT department went out for competitive bidding for the next genation next generation firewall through e-ray funding district. The district current firewall right now is end of life. There's no longer supported by foret and so that unfortunately we're not getting any updates on our new software applications such as malware, ransomware, threat prevention to block all those threats both internally and externally. Um, so again, we went
063out, IT department went out for competitive bidding, a five-year contract, so that way we can get the best discount through funding. Again, um, the district will pay 64%, e-ate will pay 36%, the total cost of the implementation for the hardware appliance is $76,000. It's a 5-year contract. Yes. Does anyone have any questions? I'm more than happy to answer. Discussion. What is the uh facilities and finance committee? Do you have any input from that committee on this? We did. But we did we did cover this in our facility and finance subcommittee meeting. So it's very necessary in our opinion. So you would recommend I would vote yes. I I would. Thank you. This is a managed service, right? Yeah. Call the question. I will abstain. Thank you. I me. Mask on. I Item D, new serving
064counters at Metoark Elementary School. I get a motion. I'll second. Dr. Sak. Thank you. So, this will be for Metoark if approved. New service counter equipment funded through the kitchen infrastructure training fund. Mr. Mo, that's correct. Thank you. Um the first similar to how we going to install the new um serving counters at High Desert, we're going to do the same thing similar to at Metallark Elementary School where if we implement the new new serving counter, the food services can have the flexibility of providing more expand the salad bar, expand the hot and cool meals to our students. What we're planning to do though, if the board approves the new servant counters, we're going to take the servant counters at Metallark and we're going to move the existing one here to the district office. So
065that way we can ex service the new three kindergarten um students. um not not new three kindergarten students but the new set of kindergarten students that is going to be here as well as the our preschool and our transitional kindergarten students as well. What was the total amount on this? The total amount on this was, let me pull it up here. And it's going to be paid through the um bear with me here, excuse me, through the kitchen infrastructure grant. And the total cost is $56,374. Discussion. Once again, the facilities and finance committee has this fit in your priority list of improvements for the district overall and do you how would you recommended I vote? Yes, we did talk about this. I remember that at the last meeting and uh it does fit in and
066it is being funded through a kitchen. Yeah. Grant. So, we would vote yes. Call the question. Julian. Gra I may I sir mask on I item E AB 1200 public disclosure disclosure of proposed collective bargaining agreements between California school employees association CSEA and the actual unified school district for 2425 school year I get a motion second I'll second Dr. Thank you. So CSCA and our district has reached a mutually agreed upon tenative agreement for the 24-25 fiscal year. The settlement includes a 2% salary schedule increase as well as a 2.5 onetime off off schedule salary payment. Thank you. Discussion call the question. Jillian Igraph I may. Yes. Mask on. I 12. Legislative and policy discussion. Second read and adoption board policy and administration regulation for 5144.1 suspension and expulsion due process. Can I get a
067motion? I will move. I'll second. Dr. Saki. Thank you. So at the May 27th board meeting, we had u the three items A, B, and C all as first reads for um the current item A, suspension, expulsion, due process. Uh just to reiterate some of the updates in terms of language include suspension authority shall be used only when other means of correction have failed. Onampus suspension guidelines as well as students may be expelled only by the school board and due process guidelines were updated per the policy. Thank you. Just for clarification, these are all recommendations made to us by the California School Board Association. That's correct. Discussion. Um I will remind everyone that at the kickoff meeting of the policy and management subcommittee in February, we had an overview from the district's attorney about how
068board policies are developed, maintained, and uh improved as necessary. I engage in a robust discussion with the district's attorney and some theoretical scenarios in which children with eligibilities for special education services how they are treated by these policies. And it would be my recommendation of the board to support the staff recommendation for items A and B under legislative and policy discussion. Thank you, Mr. Fza. Call the question. The Jillian ISI mask on I item B second read adoption administrative regulation 5144.2 suspension expulsion due process for students with disabilities. I will move that. Dr. Thank you. So the administrative reg 5144.2 policies being updated with new language in support of students identified as an individual with a disability which includes sections such as a manifestation determination due process outline discussion. I will uh refer to the
069comments I made about item A and by virtue of the policy and management subcommittee recommended the board approve this item. Thank you Mr. Falsgraph. Call the question. Dillian I falseg graph I Mus I mask on I you hear me? Yeah. Item C, second read and adoption, new board policy and administrative regulation for 3230 federal grant funds. Get a motion. I'll second. Dr. Sakin, thank you. I appreciate this new policy as we um have quite a few federal grants. one being the mental health grant under US Department of Education is quite involved. So I do appreciate this policy professionally speaking. So this new policy being introduced covers lawful expenditure of federal discretionary funds such as reporting guidelines as well as our fiduc fiduciary responsibility as a school district. Thank you Dr. Sakin. Discussion Natalie, do you
070have something to say? Are is somebody going to say call the question? Miss, not yet. Mr. Fzgraph or Miss Dr. D, do you have any uh recommendations on this? I recommend we approve it. Oh, thank you. Call the question. The show I graph I can you hear me? No. M I Yes. Who's mask on? I All right. Everybody's favorite time. Board comments. Okay. I have behaved very well the last few minutes. Oh, it's your due. Acting Women's Club, I want you to know I have suffered on and teetered on the brink of poverty because I stopped at your boutique. I want you to know every guitar that I ripped the neck off of is done with stuff that I bought at your boutique. Um, I love what you're doing for our schools. I really love
071what you're doing to our schools and I like it that you are putting accountable projects on the table that are measurable because those projects can be applied for an award. This is starting to annoy me. I I'm going to light up already, so don't don't push the microphone thing. You'll be able to hear me very quickly soon. Teacher of the year, Miss Wagner. Um, we all know you're great at culinary stuff. When um the other teacher left here, I wondered how we could replace her, and you've done that really well. And I personally know that your door is always open to those kids that need you the most. And in a world where people have to have safety rooms because of their emotional outburst and neurodeiversities, your room was always open to that before it
072needed to be funded. And personally, I thank you very much. And Wendy Barnes, you are still the best. And thank you for leaving us this wonderful teacher. The spelling be I have identical twins. um just like the first and second place. Uh but the three of us can't even spell our last name. So congratulations to the family. Hey. Hi Desert. I care about the scores. The cupcakes are great, but they'll be the reason why I light up here in a minute. Thank you for the sugar buzz. I like the scores, but what I like better is when someone can tell me why the scores uh are up and critically look at them and the administrators do their job. And I have never seen maturity at the microphone for your students basically doing public awareness commercials
073about why other kids should attend your school. Remarkable. Okay, it's time for a lesson on what I do up here. I listen to the staff. We have a great superintendent. We have a great administrative team. And so I depend on those people to do the work. And I think they know better than to bring garbage projects to me to dump in my lap and have me embarrassed in in my community to the voters that were goofy enough to vote for me to sit up here at work. I do not dump garbage projects that are going to embarrass my commissioners or my council members to their community. So, when you send me emails and you're telling me why I should consider an alter alternate uh recommendation other than what my staff is recommending. You are making
074a terrible mistake. You're being presumptive and you're asking me to sell out the people that work to make me go to my community and say, "Hey, we're doing a great job." If you are in a charter, I have sat up here for years and I'm going to I I don't care who likes it. In fact, if you don't, that's great. But when I started on this board, I had people on the board asking me why I was asking questions. And the questions I was asking to people who were lying to me were asked by a federal judge when people went under federal indictment for stealing $80 million of children's funds. How do you do that? And no. Oh, I don't notice. Okay. So, when you're when you're in a charter and you're sitting out here,
075you know, I run you through the ringer and and I hope you don't mind. If you do, that's too bad. But you've been in here for four years and your partner, what's his name? Who? Yeah, I'm I'm sad he wasn't here tonight, but you're in my face every two weeks and I know where to find you and you deal with them. But I appreciate very much that you're here. Okay. But I don't need the letters telling me what to think. I know what to think. Good. Next thing. If you're running a charter, I'm not going to run your special education pro program. I am not going to run your HR department. I'm not going to run your legal team. If you want me to do that, I'm well equipped to do it. And when you
076dump problems in my lab, I'm a fixer. I'm not an active listener. I'll sit there for about five seconds and go, "Okay, I'm going to fix this for you." So, if you're going to dump your problems in my lap and send me letters like this, I'm going to fix your problem for you. And you might not like the way I fix it, but it will be fixed. Finally, do not put me in a position to spend a a penny of my district kids funds because you can't do your work. I am not here to babysit you. I don't babysit my staff. I'm sure the hell not gonna babysit you. Do not send me your mail. Do not send me your email. Questions? Good. Next. So, um the uh event we had last Monday, not last
077Monday, the Monday before the ABSBA uh was a great event. Um had a great turnout. Thank you for all the schools for showing up and representing us very well. It seemed to come off uh well and uh as I said, none of the other school districts are doing that. So, we made a large impression I believe. Um Miss Van Orm again, thank you for everything you do. Um, it's amazing all the people you bring, everything that you're doing for our school district and getting the the junior highs ready for getting into high school, especially our sports programs. And it's great. We see what's happening now with the Vasquez sports programs coming from you. Um, and again, thank you for everybody for showing up and being here. Thank you, sir, for understanding. and uh we appreciate
078you being here. Okay. I want to take this moment to sincerely thank everyone of course who attended. Your presence, your engagement, and your continued support are what keeps our district moving forward. I also like to congratulate options for youth for your charter renewal. Your commitment to offering alternative student center pathways is of course is deeply appreciated. Uh your success reminds us of the importance of providing every student with an opportunity that fits their unique journey. Uh to the staff and students who helped organize the Analopee Valley dinner, thank you. The food was fantastic, the hospitality was great, and your efforts uh did not go unnoticed. A big thank you to of course our spelling be participants. It was an incredible achievement. You've made of course your parents proud, your your educators proud, the community proud,
079and we celebrate your hard work and academic excellence. I also want to express my appreciation for the students who spoke tonight and shared their personal experiences. Hearing their voices, their challenges, their growth, and their successes of course reinvigorates my purpose of why I sit up here. And it also reminds me exactly uh the reason it reminds me it puts these into context. all these policies, decisions, it puts them into context. You can really kind of see the outcome. So, I I appreciate you adding that little addition to your presentation. Um to all the principles and district staff, thank you for the long hours that uh you you attend these meetings. It's, you know, it's already what 8 9:00. Your leadership um your unseen efforts that are behind the scenes. I do appreciate all the work
080that you guys do on day-to-day. And finally, a heartfelt thank you to the Actton Women's Club. uh there isn't an event that I attend that I don't hear their name. Um so well I I do appreciate their generosity and their continued support for of course all of our programs. With that, I'll pass it on to you. Thank you again. Uh always uh always proud to be part of the district and always uh thankful for the opportunity to serve. Um definitely big shout out to Acting Women's Club. Always a part of everything that happens around here. a lot of good things come through them. Uh, Miss Van Orornum, thank you for your wonderful presentation. Uh, it was always I love that you brought the statistics for what's going on at your school and that you had
081a reason why these things were happening. So, uh, that's wonderful to see. I hope that we can see that in other presentations as well like what are the actions specifically taken to increase and what you expect to have in the following following years. Uh with that, thank you everyone. Item 14, calendar, next board meeting is on May 8th. Does everybody anticipate being able to attend? Item 15, future agenda items. We have the Vasquez High School presentation coming and the quarterly strategic plan report. And finally, item 16, adjournment. Can I get a motion? A motion. Call the question. Jillian I. Paul I. May I desc. We adjourn this meeting at 8:58