001e e e I'd like to call this meeting to order it's my privilege to uh um handle the proceedings today I will admit I'm a little nervous because the last time I was President we were on Zoom all year so this is the first time for me actually in in person that I'm presiding um so welcome everyone to our meeting um I would like to ask you to please stand and join me in the flag salute ready salute one under with thank you so much um Madame secretary would you please establish a quorum for us today present present present I will note that we have two uh members that are absent today um we'd like to continue on with our um inspirational reading Jenny bream would you please do that for us today stage they
002are a powerful for that helps Express themselves critically engage in arts to confidence discover their uni Arts teach will probably work together and embrace skills that will serve them far beyond the CL by supporting Arts education we open we students chance to let's let's continue to the Arts every child has the opport expl I know that we here at the president superintendent of schools do believe in the Arts and do everything we can to support our students to uh expand their Horizons and and participate in the Arts I'd like to next ask our student representative J uh Jacob cavaso so please uh come forward and tell us what's [Music] happening also we are extremely grateful that same day we also gave for about scho two individuals in the Netherlands who are working with the F
003Well they came to see CCH in action and explore opportunities model CCH educational program in other parts of the world they has been such a great honor to work alongside p and his amazing teent over the last year students recently participated in the r career skills town this is our third year comp and we've taken first place in the Sierra division every year it's a great honor and opportunity for CCH students to showas demonstrate their unique industrys although CCH does not have a fireing program I am extremely proud to say that two of our amazing sophomores first and second place in firefighting competition beeting out all schools with a dedicated firefighting program our robotics team also just returned from a competition this weekend as well and I am proud to announce that they won the
004great professionalism award which reflects the respect kindness and integrity our team players on March 29th CC will be holding his prom at w ples Park I also want to thank Dr K and the Fresno County Superintendent of school staff for giving C the opportunity to PR at the FR County Office e e e Zoe a senior at University High School is a distinguished student leader and a shining example of dedication and perseverance with a GPA of 4.02 Zoe demonstrates academic Excellence while balancing range of leadership roles and extracurricular activities she currently serves as the president of the black student history passion and integrity Beyond her school commitments Zoe is deeply engaged in programs that cultivate leadership and service she has spent her Summers participating prestigious initiatives including West Point summer leaders experience the Ronald Reagan
005student leadership program and Camp Royale a Leadership Camp sponsored by additionally she participated in fcss Pima program and serves as a Cabinet member I'm Dr cob africanamerican youth Excellence series cabin contributing her voice and insights to shaping educational policies and initiatives African-American students Zoe's commitment extends beyond the classroom and leadership programs she demonstrates extraordinary dedication by driving an hour each way to attend University High School oh exemplifying her determination to academic and personal growth her unwavering commitment excellence in service inspires her peers in the community so we're so proud of you I will say a few words of affirmation then each of our three board members will be doing so as well and then we'll invite your superintendent to say a word or two and then you get to sort of accept this great honor
006uh let me tell everybody in the room that Zoe is a pretty exceptional young person I've known her for three years now I've seen her work in in so many different Arenas of leadership and it's so profound when a young person can articulate so elegantly and eloquently exactly what the uh the experience is as a student and how certain decision and policies and practices and programs and protocols and norms and implicit Norms really affect the actual enduser our students and so it's a privilege to be able to work with her and I say work with her because I have so much respect for her that I consider her truly an equal when we're making decisions together so uh I'm so pleased to be able to honor you today uh for those of you in the
007room we have 206,000 students in Fresno County schools and TK through grade 12 and we think about every child in Fresno County ages 0 to 22 and how we want them to have a very bright future uh I just attended the Leon S Peters award last night and I was sitting in a room with about a hundred people that have all been dedicated to this community for leadership service and um integrity and I thought about you when I thought about the fact that i' get to spend time with you today honoring you that you have demonstrated the same level of of uh capacity for serving and being a leader as some of those folks that I was in the room with just last night and you're only 18 so the fact that you 17 oh
008she's corre could go on and on you are truly truly exceptional and the fact that you use those skills that you have been um maybe born with and developed over time to serve others and to lead others with humility with a willingness to really work with others to make things better for many is really pretty pretty exceptional so I am very very pleased to honor you today as our March 2025 superintendent superst congratulations so we'll take a few moments to um share our thoughts about you Zoe and then we'll have pictures is anybody else here to speak uh right after we share a few words of affirmation I wanted to invite her superintendent from University High to say a word to Zoe will accept her recognition all right terrific car I'm sure I'll be very
009very quick you know very much deserved Zoe um I also want to highlight the fact that you're so brave that you know you're going in hopefully into the US military um you know I learned that my husband's family came from many generations of military people so on my side I don't know much about it I've always been like if you go into the military you are so brave and and so I just want to commend you for that and for wanting to serve our country in that capacity so I wish you the best and I hope that you continue in in in your journey and wish wish you so much success as well thank you M Burton yeah I think this isn't the first time you've been in this room for recognition right I think
010the debate team from University of high has been here for couple years in a row for your guys accomplishments um it's a it's a great Dedication that people make to not just further themselves but to further those around them and I think that's what's evident what's written here about you and what we sort of learned as we learn about the debate teams and you guys come and explain what you're doing um I congratulate you on just getting a congressional letter of support it's not the easiest thing to do um although we might have some people that prefer the Naval Academy up here um but yeah but West Point is certainly a an enormous accomplishment you know it's a very elite um school when you come down to the number of people that apply and and
011the actual class size I think people don't people sometimes don't realize that the class sizes there are not large um and uh the commitment is unwavering it's sort of um I think of PE in high school but like a little beyond that every day PT is sort of important and 03 and 04 come early and they come a lot um so I congratulate you on your dedication for that and how you've been involved in our community kind of elevate that and thank you for um you know what I anticipate will be a a career of future service towards our nation so thank you very much and I just want to say that for uh a person of your age to have uh see I'm I'm tripping over my words and I'm talking about this that
012you have the ability to give voice and you have done that through your leadership and through your work and through your service um that's going to take you so far in your life um and and it's so commendable um having being a rotarian and hearing that you went to Camp Royale it's really um thrilling to me and because that's a really different experience a different leadership experience about voice right you know that's it's Unique so anyhow um I am so excited to hear about uh your trajectory in your life and in your career and hope that you come back and share with us um whatever you do and wherever you go we want to we want to hear back from you and know that you're contributing to our our community our country and our world
013so thank you so much so we I'm jff Sports at Hickman I am the superintendent SP University by J school on the brno State Campus U you know we're all often known for these Great accomplishments and all these team Awards and you know these students are smart and all that but really it's the kindness and um that's what university hi I a little my students here um she applied to West Point she's also applied to Bley Theus that was a stay say so many places wherever she ends up she'll be a super she has been heard of the superintendent uh Eugene C A and then also the advisory Council putting on the African-American um conferences each year she plays the trombone PR music school at University of high so she plays tromo in art Orchestra
014she was also the first student to speak at the Martin Luther King Jor Cy here at South Park Jose bu 4.0 as we' mentioned she's taken seven of nine of our 8 classes that we offer at University High and also nine or 10 I was going to count real fast res State forces as well so Chief is just Superstar proud hello hello sorry it's great today I'm really really to accept this I definitely acknowledge that I work really hard and I'm glad to share that with other people um and I'm just really grateful for everything I I said I sure that's mentioned like my parents have Dr me in hour past four years and that really grateful for all the support they've given me I could do it without all the people that support me
015like to see with you I have M poo who's our register but also a massive for me over the past s years she has helped me with so much and those all those Fresno State courses that my awesome awesome principal mentioned I couldn't have enrolled in without the help of uh M some of them were up different things that and so I'm just so grateful for everybody this especially also Dr coper Who has given me so so many opportunities who I love to work with all so honored and grateful thank you so much okay picture time for those of you in the audience we do pictures and then we break usually and then this guy John interviews our kiddos come on next [Music] Zoe we are going to pause for just a moment before you
016get to interview her [Music] super and then Mr Matan because you have something special here for her for those of you in the we're very lucky to have Mr matan's generous support of our program and this uh would you like to say anything Mr M she's amazing overwhel listening to what she's doing and what she wants to do she hadn't plan out for the next 40 years at her age I didn't know the next day congratulations thank you congratulations again Zoe and to University High School okay so let's honor our um Employee of the Month uh Miss bradan please welcome Laura here um we are pleased to honor Laura Trula moral expanded mning program the sa Department as our March every she in addition to as the before school and after school s for scss
017also work with f Unified School District during regular school hours demonstrating her incredible work ethic and dedication to her community her caring and thoughtful nature is evident in everything she does Laura is always available for her students parents community members ensuring that everyone feels supported in value under her leadership the expanded learning program has become a true second home for students Laura's focus on creating a positive environment reflecting and the engaging activities and academic support her staff provide which help direct students on the path of the success what truly sets Laura apart is her unwavering enthusiasm no matter how long her day is whether it's 6: a.m or 6:30 p.m. wow she everyone her passion for her work and her belief in the importance of Community are not only uplifting but also Inspire and motivate
018those who have the privilege of collaborating with you create such an atmosphere of encouragement for all those around you thank you for being such an intergral part of the expanded learning program team and congratulations we do kind of a similar routine as we did with our super star so that's right and I'm first and Laura it was such a joy to be able to go out to Malaga and celebrate you for those of you in the room you can see a picture up here there's at least 100 students Age 4 to about age 12 at the most one of the most beautiful schools in Fresno County we have 350 of them this is Malaga uh the Sun was shining and everybody was trembling with giddy excitement because everybody knew except for you everybody knew except
019for you I don't know how they kept it under wraps for a bit and a whole crew of us from our office went that doesn't happen very often for for surprises like this off site uh about I think six or seven of us went because we all wanted to be part of your big moment and watching the kids celebrate you and the staff have so much respect for you uh speak so much about who you are and how you serve I do want to underscore the fact that she works two jobs you're not alone we have a handful of our parents that are so devoted to our kids that if there's a place to fill in a need in our schools they just f it and uh I hope those aren't your hours that you're
020working oh goodness we probably need to talk to Tannon about [Music] that anyways uh your level of commitment is extraordinary and clearly you are beloved at your site which is very very important to our Extended Learning we want our kids to feel like they did not go to a Latchkey program they went to a loving welcoming uh environment and that was very evident that you are making that the case at Val thank you Laura for all that you do M Burton um I'm always amazed at the people who work in expanding learning um I'm sort of I don't know I'm not a latch key kid I call myself a feral kid I was just kind of in the street while my parents were at work um and sometimes that led to me do some things
021like fall in my bike and not know what to do or you know I kind of got injured a lot um sometimes people think I should have been a doctor because I got went to the hospital so much uh but this really provides a a very safe place for kids um to receive additional work um had a little bit of experience long long ago and Clovis Unified working with some of this stuff for the before and after school programs and um helping kids do homework and and items like that and how imperative that is for for kids to have a safe place to go after school and before school uh where they can not only feel you know the love of someone who truly cares additionally about their education but can help them with homework
022um I can't do math for elementary school students because it's gotten too complicated um but um you know thank you so much for that environment that you provide to them and then continuing even during the day working on campus with students um you know it just shows how much you enjoy I think really to be with students and probably how much students enjoy being with you and I think the picture you know is really what speaks so much of the students excitement to celebrate you there and so thank you for your service um there in Bor thank you U just want to commend you for all your work um I think as someone who's been on the receiving end of like amazing teachers and and faculty and all of that it really has made a
023big difference in my education and I can name those that were part of that process of you know growing up and being part of my career and all of that and then the years that I spent AB Biola teaching after school for fourth fifth and sixth graders I think have I've carried with me till now and and realizing that like those kiddos you see now are going to be in college and you're going to look back and you're going to say oh my gosh how where did the time go by um but I I know they will always remember you and and they will always remember your smile and your welcoming presence and so we all know that our kiddos go through a lot of things at home and not all of them have the
024fortune of having you know easy lives and so having that support is so critical because they they get to feel you know loved and cared for and and and see an example and in their adults and so thank you so much for being that for them and I hope you continue with our team thank you so much Laura I am so proud of you because I know that the parents in your community depend on you it's it you are keeping their kids safe you're keeping them engaged you're keeping them healthy you're keeping them fed you're doing all of those things and U I know the Malaga Community I know the Fowler Community is in my area um been on that campus many times and I I am just absolutely certain those kids love you and
025you love them as well and we are grateful for that because they all deserve the type of attention that you give them and we couldn't ask for more we're very grateful so thank you so much [Music] I've been doing this job since 2003 I started I started as a Parra back in 2003 I became s Le in 2006 so yeah say that I have truly truly loved my job um yeah I love going and seeing the kids I can tell you every child's name in our school district that's at my campus um I couldn't be out here but I would honestly I have to say that I wouldn't be where I'm at if it wouldn't have been for my sta I do have some really amazing people who also make me look as good as
026I do and help me get through the dates and get everything done with so for that I am grateful so thank you very much I would oh you would bet you to say your family is also a critical factor in your life to to let you or and support you and encourage you to work 6A to I mean that's a big deal so thank let's take a picture good [Music] so at this time we're gonna take a 10-minute re oh what did I do Cesar Chavez I'm sorry I have we have one more recognition I'm I mess that thank you so um so we would like to uh honor the SE Cedar Chavez student essay contest recipients and I get to C that we with us and this awards ceremony is only two years in
027the making it's only in year two so thank you Dr Alison Hernandez for making this a possibility for our students and giving them the opportunity to really explore the challenges Caesar chavas faced in his journey toward Justice and equality if you'd like to Q USF or present this we we look forward to hearing what you have to share wonderful and thank you for the opportunity to be here today for allowing us to recognize our essay winner so at this time I'm going to introduce Brandy Fleming who is a Content specialist for our publ language arts D and history of social studies Department to present the award welcome Brandy afternoon members of the school board there you go thank you than you I'm with you I they're both here I they today we celebrate um two
028exceptional Young Writers who have demonstrated a profound understanding of s Chavez's Legacy um Aon Gonzalez and okay in his essay um C at education as impairment Aaron reminds us that education can be a powerful tool and shows how uh Mr Chavi used his background and knowledge to educate Farm Workers and help them gain the rights they deserve and once stri me most was ain's personal connection right in his writing that he learned from his mother much like CH from Chavez that um giving to others will come back his commitment to community service um embodies CH Mr Chavez's Spirit when he writes um when we help each other without being asked we really feel the spirit of him saying CE you um ofies of brighter tomorrow shining the light of education on others demonstrates remarkable Insight
029noting that uh s Chavez worked his entire life to educate people about their places in the world most impressive is kori's commitment to action um she's working to like she said I'm working to fulfill my passion of enlightening others lives with education just as St our Tris approves spreading education and promoting learning are one of the most meaningful ways we can help the society um canor is a very very active in service with robotics and and um volunteering at um we at the library um and uh so I I'm absolutely certainly she's going to bring her selflessness and service to all of her future endeavors uh so wonderful job conratulations both students haven't just studied Mr tr's Legacy they're actively living it through community service and educational Outreach so to Aaron and canori your words
030Inspire us and your actions will change your communities congratulations on this well-deserved recognition may you continue to carry forward SAR T's torch of education and empowerment Dr would you help with and as I'm making my way down there I think I see a a couple of really proud teachers back there um what's what were the the high schools that our two students came from one is from our fcss family and also from okay this is my favorite part of the job I'm so proud thank you for all that you do for yourself we and we'll do one UniFi represent you you want stand pict I'm going to report this to Dr Shapiro congratulations in your accomplishing okay I'm going to I don't know me and maybe this are you there you're good okay good [Music]
031congratulations students you know when you can express yourself in writing in addition to students expressing themselves in voice you got it made it's awesome so now is the time we're going to take a 10-minute recess outside the door um is uh cake and other goodies to uh indulge in to celebrate all of our honor today um and after the recess we'll begin with our community input and then also our um public hearing so we'll be inviting the others back in during this recess so uh we'll resume at uh precisely 2:20 I'll give you an extra two [Music] e e e the meeting please it is now time for our community input this is not the big picture um public hearing this is in community input time um public May address the board pursuant to establish
032procedures no action shall be taken pursuant I hope I'm saying that word right to California government code Section 5 4954 point3 individual speakers shall be allowed 3 minutes to address the County Board of Education per board bylaw 9323 I've not received any request for speakers for the public comment are there any okay we'll move forward then we'll begin our public hearing uh regarding Charter renewal Petition of big pitcher educational Academy it is now um and we're at item H1 the public hearing regarding the charter renewal Petition of big pitcher educational Academy is now called to order the Fresno County Board of Education considers each Charter petition seriously in accordance with applicable laws the purpose of this public hearing is for the board to receive public testimony regarding the big pitcher educational Academy renewal Charter petition
033the testimony is intended to provide the board with information regarding the level of support for the petition the board shall consider the level of support for the petition by teachers other employees and parents or Guardians of the charter school and of the school district where the charter school petitioner proposes to operate or has operated the purpose of this public hearing is for the board to receive comments from the public public for the board to consider it is not the practice of the board to respond to questions or comments during the public hearing if any member of the public who wishes to speak during this public hearing but has not completed or submitted a speaker's card please do so at this time I do have a huge set of uh uh names here each speaker is
034limited to three minutes we will have a a timer here because of the number of speakers I ask you to please please stop when the timer goes off um if a previous speaker has already presented the speaker's P Viewpoint the speaker's asked to State his or her agreement with that speaker as opposed to saying the same thing over and over okay um we ask you uh okay I have received a request from the big pitcher educational academy uh that correspondence dated March 17th 2025 be May part of the public record of this public hearing I direct the staff to make this correspondence part of the public hearing file I'd like this pass this to our uh administrative secretary to ensure that it's in the file we'll begin with Dr Jeff Hunt who will provide the
035background and then the public May address the board and I'm just going to remind the board members that uh we may ask clarifying question but this is not the time to respond or provide uh opinion Dr Hunt item 81 is a public hearing for the charter renewal petition for Big Picture education straty Charter submitted by superintendent and executive director Diana cons the BPA the big picture renewal petition was submitted February 5th 2025 the renewal petition is for BPA to continue operations as a County Board authorized Charter for a fiveyear term beginning July 1 2025 through June 30th 2030 the lead petitioner is superintendent and executive director Diana Gonzalez each member of the County Board has received a copy of the charter petition the renewal petition is currently under review by the Fresno County Superintendent of
036Schools Charter Review Committee a comprehensive committee Report with recommendations will be completed and delivered to the bo before the April 2nd of its release and the April 17th presno County Board of Education this Gonzalez and Heather to thank you Dr Hunt um we will begin with uh Diana Gonzalez and may I remind everybody please speak into the microphone if you need to adjust it you can adjust it um this to stay on time my name is Diana Gonzalez I join fa education Academy December of 2021 as vice principal of the adult school program along side Dr Jerry and tanerite when he retired at the end of the 2122 school year I was promoted to principal and then in January 2025 became in my nearly four years at big picture I have worked with dedicated teachers
037and staff who strive to create a safe environment for all of our students most of those students come from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds and face significant challenges that complicate their learning abilities families trust us to help them overcome these obstacles and space to heal and growth um California dashboard indicators like State Testing and college readiness have been low historically and big picture learning model that we're following which is a international company does not match a lot of Bo of California's educational climate currently is we're aware of that Fresno County has alerted us of this and underperformance issues being very serious um and they also agree that the the picture learning model would be International um appears to be in effective in California prior leadership has faced skepticism when discussing these challenges with Fresno County beforehand and
038they are very aware of it now however our new leadership team which was formed officially in the summer of 2024 is committed to change we serve students who are ages 4 through 65 and enrollment is rising as fam are choosing to follow us in our new Direction um Community discussions and PPA member perceptions reflect this excitement for these changes um which have been implemented and rolling since de summer of 2024 our current leadership is the strongest that we have ever had and including Fresno County we all wish that we had been here sooner we take responsibility for appren deor past actions or inactions and the progress that we're moving towards her perance however these changes that we've initiated have started cultivating like agriculture in the Central Valley take time to take root great ground and
039then ultimately footage as previously shared with Fresno County um we've enhanced student supports and classes with AIDS and after school programs for academic Improvement we spent nearly $300,000 on a brand new aligned curriculum other lines from CK grade we've increased professional development in various academic areas and we work closly with County and state boards and teams for systematic changes at all levels with f picture BPA represents more more than just our data we serve students and families who have historically felt unsafe and unsuccessful in other schools our leadership restructuring and Mission refocus are aim to create a we- giving environment so I'm just gonna ask for for order um uh Miss Gonzalez are your uh speakers standing in order at this point they are not stand um could I ask them to assemble sort of
040at least in order so that we can minimize the time in between so there we go thank you I appreciate that so our next speaker is V Victoria roacha my name is Victoria um as a parent who uh sorry as a parent who has Preferred charter schools for my children I'm excited to share my experience with big picture Elementary this this school has proven to be exactly what my daughter needed as transition from elementary to U Middle School from her very first day it was clear to me that big picture provided a nurturing environment that encourages grow my daughter has truly blossomed in ways that I hadn't anticipated and I attribute much of her progress to the unique opportuni offered at this school at big picture Elementary my daughter has been able to embrace various
041experiences that have significantly attributed to her development she participates in board meetings engages in sports and proudly serves as her class of student body president these roles have enriched her understanding of leadership and responsibility allowing her to build confidence and find her voice I was particularly impressed when she applied to the sunyside doctor Academy um the support that she received from the office staff it was invaluable they went above and beyond to to help her gather the necessary documents and information ensuring that she was able to complete her application on time and be accepted the dedication of her teachers have made a profound impact on her journey outdate picture they constantly take time out of their busy schedule to provide personalized support including writing letters of reference that were essential for her future aspirations lastly
042but not least coach Murray's found out as an exceptional Mentor he is always accessible to students guiding and inspiring them not just in athletics but on their personal growth big picture is truly a beacon of light in our community and I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity have provided my daughter and cus other students thank you AR C I'd like to start off by saying that two years of attending big picture Elementary I created great bonds but not only with students but with staff um but not only have I created bond for so much memories that will never ever ever forget I think of been picture as an inspiring and educational school the bonds of friends that I had over the time will stick with me forever um the way that teachers and staff really
043care and they pay attention shows how much good of a school big picture is they push you to your best and they want you to see that they want you to see you succeed and they pour their love and care with you every step of your journey at your time there without the push as these teachers I wouldn't be who I am right now I wouldn't be a straight A student who got accepted into the doctor's Academy and I wouldn't be the student who I am right now if I was s and students that big picture point I'm trying to get across is that big picture is a really good school and I think a lot of kids should go there sorry a lot of the teachers that I have been around in Big Picture
044have helped me so much and the students have supported me the way that I get to stay in a classroom with kids that I've known for S this year I think it's really good and you get to create bonds with kids and they end up kind of coming your siblings you see them as somebody who seen last year so when you go there the next year you think of them you're like I know you I don't have to be afraid I like how they focus on you you know you get this experience where some schools that AR Charter Schools don't get it since the school is smaller they pay more attention to your every need and I really admire that thank you for having actually a Marcus Ortega I want to start by saying I've
045been here since I was ing so I've been for n years I we to school I didn't go through school after all these n years I've known some of the same staff same friends sta they they just they can focus on you so well because our school isn't a a giant school where everyone is you know don't have time for it's a smaller school so you don't have as much opportunities for events but you do have more opportunities to learn one-onone with your teachers and that has helped me grow so much over these years I didn't I wasn't the smart as been growing up until we really switched I think what we our campus over to what we are now I would say that helped me a lot for all staff that came to sixth
046gr and it really helped when Sports came along because when Sports came along for me that helped me grow with all my friends even more and the staff and that made my love for sports and the school strike so much more and that's really all I have to say that we now have Elias Ramirez yeah grade I've been there since kindergarten 9 years I've been knowing him I think you can make good Bond down that school with all the staff they push you and the attention they give to you is amazing because you could learn oneon-one I want to shout out Miss Walker cuz she really pushed me a lot oh yeah I lacked off a little bit in seventh grade and I felt like you just put me right on and I want to
047thank other staff like Miss Ken and Miss Jenny for always being there and that all Sly Avala Sor and I want to talk about why should B high school has amazing teachers who genuinely care about us they aren't like other teachers at other schools if any student can help every teacher is always will to assist us whenever we're strugg there is always a c to support us and our principle is the best please think about the impct of children please keep us open for everyone who there are teachers that I Reed one of them is Mr he taught me a lot of stuff that I did not but I didn't know I learned how of my personal and academic problems has a big imp on not students and element school and closing down would have
048so much impact on people don't want next we have Demetrius Mayberry yes my name is Demetrius Mayberry and I've been a math teacher and advisor at Big pier high school since it's conception um big picture is the first known School I've ever worked at and taught at as students come to us and develop their capacities up grown alongside them I now stand before you as an Agent of Change ready to take part in the positive transformation of society one student at a time and I think that's who it starts with our students they are our teacher big picture educational Academy I think is an asset to Southwest brno in our community when we enroll students we enroll the family as well to be sure Southwest presno doesn't have the best reputation however this says nothing
049about most individuals who reside there the reality is is that our young people can't readily change their environments and robust evidence supports to claim that we are a product of our environment so I think that the creation of big picture educational Academy has positively impacted families within the community big picture educational Academy I think is a Beacon of Hope for many of us who for whatever reason need a different way of learning and meeting expectations with its internship safe spaces small sizes and attentive advisers it is a robust alternative to the traditional High School pack and it is for this reason that I implore you to keep big picture educational Academy intact and operational for the next five years thank you next we have Gustavo Hernandez oh Wonder okay thank you thank you so we're
050not going to do an oral translation he can you want to do his his talk and then I would like for the record to somebody to read his trans translation thank you IND is it so now for the translation thank you learning the English language is the key for all of us to work bed with a demanding and growing Society needs to be more competent more effective andil with that enging program is very important to be able to communicate with employers teachers doctors and Etc that is why we seek to raise awareness in each one of those present so that more people can have access to secular and free education a United Society generates excellent results in all human heits for this and many more reasons it is very important that this program continues and
051remains open and improvable to reach more young people and adults to help form individuals with ethical Val thank you thank you next we have Alexander Menon name is do Menon teacher ofure High School many roles and duties at most Grade B since I was hired in Fall 2020 at this time I've had the opportunity to serve and support our school our community and most importantly our students our District's one student at a time philosophy is duly put into practice daily the small class sizes allow for more focused instruction and the inclusion of every student in their academic Journey you can get to know each student as an individual and make connections for them that they may not have had the opportunity to have in a previous School wherever our students and their families come from
052they are ensured an appropriate and unique education the ability to participate in learning through interest opportunities in the community I have seen firsthand the positive impact this has not only for our school but for our students they can get a head start with those high school plans they can get real world experience that will help them exponentially the rest of their lives it's in the N big picture that we allow our students to see the bigger picture who they are who they want to be in this I hope that my remarks have shed some light who we are and what we can continue to do our Charter R thank you Sonia [Music] erera good afternoon and I'm a lead advocate for a shine together formerly known as team success we are a nonprofit here in
053prno and um we are dedicated in helping uh young moms who are parenting or expecting um help them build right futures for themselves and their children shine together um wholeheartedly supports the outstanding work of big picture educational Academy and the impact they have on their students big picture education Academy has been an invaluable partner in providing R around services for young parents ages 13 all the way to 25 to assist with education navigation health and wellness financial literacy and early childhood development we are truly honored to have a memorandum of understanding with big picture educational Academy which allow us to host peer learning support groups for y we are deeply grateful to Mr RIS principal at Big Picture educational um adult high school and Miss Gonzalez big picture educational Academy superintendent for the opportunity to
054support their student on I have to say um I've been in Chine couple of months and out to um Mr Roz um he has just been great um and being able to allow our program to be their their student nothing un returned other than um being services to their students uh we have um our members who are actually enrolled in um their school and I actually have one in particular who took a break and we're trying to our goal as an advocate is to try to get them back into um pursuing their education and this student in particular call them members she said if I do this I'm only going to go back to one okay that and it was definitely big picture so um and she get doing greate so thank you for that
055OPP next is Katie Adams i'ms I'm student services at special education director um as it's been said this year marks a transformative moment for our school with new leadership at every level um we are actively implementing targeted strategies that address the unique needs of our 568 students offing both academic and social emotional growth our diverse Community includes students in various cultural backgrounds it's vital that we support their individual Journeys so like you we love data and numbers that helps us guide our instruction um so fa field approximately 15% of students um that we uh serve are on individualized education fans IEPs um they're receiving Services through our special education program just other 8% are identified as homeless or part of the auth system furthermore 65% come from socioeconomically disadvantaged homes lastly but possibly most alarmingly
05692% of our students come from backgrounds smk by adversity reflected in their High adverse childood experiences so their Ace scores research shows that High a scores can lead to challenges in academic performance something we don't want to overlook um I'm sure you're aware that children exposed to trauma often struggle with attention memory and emotional regulation pure critical skills for success in the classroom studies indicate that 50% of children in foster care and 60% of homeless children face significant learning challenges due to their experiences these statistics represent real lives and stories that are dedicated staff to PR daily making our work not just our job but our mission while academic achievement is of course of Paramount importance we must also understand that the specific population we serve and the adversities they collectively encounter the large majority
057of our population has not been able to show um academic or social M gr and traditional educational settings which is how they ended up with big big picture in the first Cas Albert Einstein famously said everybody is a genius but if you judge a fit by its ability to find a treat it will live its whole life leaving it St excuse me stupid this quote resonates quite deeply with Mission our students are Unique Individuals and they are not combined by standardized tests or traditional measures of success some may you are spool through a narrow lens focusing Sol on state testing scores to gauge success however I urge you to please Embrace a broader perspective one that values the holistic development of our students research does indicate that educational settings prioritizing supportive relationships and traum informed
058instruction can significantly mitigate challenges and lead to Greater success we're deeply concerned about any narrative suggesting our students aren't worth the investment that their potential is overshadowed by their past that perspective is not only misguided but undermines the remarkable progress that we have made together our students are worthy of every opportunity to succeed and that's best for our community as well let us remember that every student has a unique path to success just as we wouldn't judge a fish by its ability to find a tree we must not judge our students solely by test scores do not matter so let's please uplift our commity and invest in the future of our students let's show them we believe they matter that's how I'd like to be remembered as an educator how that you next we have
059Dora Rodriguez I am a proud I am proud to be a student of big future high school before coming here finishing High School F Out Of Reach life responsibilities support and personal challenges made difficult for me to the educational but at big picture I found a positive environment where learning is personalized bless and designed to help adult students like suced the teacher and staff understand our challenges work with us to develop Real World skills that meaningful and St big picture of high school is more than just a school it is a community that empowers students to overcome obstacles and achieve their drinks I want to thank big picture media I feel special to I've never done this before and it gives me more motivation to finish what I want to do in life to finish
060school but I didn't do when I was young because I do want to get a good job better job for my grand babies now and to do that I have to finish school and I want to thank big picture for being there for me and the staff I can't remember their names I'm kind of nervous but everybody in the office they're really really nice I can only remember fix br's name everybody else is everybody's been so nice I really really love that school and I want to tell everybody that whoever wants to finish school like I didn't finish I want to send them here because this is the wonderful school and the wonderful set I want to thank everybody for giving me the opportun be here stand here uh next is Jesus TI steel I
061am here and my it is not easy to find confession understand day go not in their the possibil of obtain school or p and to give their all change life thank you so much Natalie Abrams hey good afternoon I'm mie Abrams and I've have been fortunate enough to be the high school principal pictur the last eight months in my 22 years of education I have spent 16 years in charter schools includ including opening charter schools out state in my time I worked with very successful Charters and Charters that needed restructuring at former organizations I was tasked with recreating and rebuilding failing Charters and their cativ the big picture was looking for a principle I applied without hesitation I knew I could make a difference when I arrived at big picture I instantly fell in love
062with the school there was and is something very special about big picture there is a sense of belonging a sense of home it is evident not only in our staff but our student body our Charter is unlike any other I've ever worked for or sorted yes the students are the same but the determination for every student to be something other than the label they were given by others is different it is no secret that our students have come from challenging backgrounds they have adult responsibilities and adversities but they are still children children that have faced extreme hardships trauma challenges yet they have overcome their setbacks they have found a place that loves them from the moment they step foot on our campus our students know that big picture is a safe place where we meet
063them at their level of Need for many students we we meet the need of love acceptance and Trust before learning can ever occur we have to show our KS that they matter despite their academic or disciplined record this is a fresh start a start to learn to grow and to achieve I know many will say our records do not indicate that our students are growing academically but I challenge you to listen and to know our student stories we have big picture measor students growth beyond the test we look at the whole student from the first time students academic life they are attending school daily for the first time a student is believing in themselves for the first time I've heard students tell parent I want to graduate from high school these positive changes do not
064occur overnight but we never give up we push we support and we love our kids and we show them how smart they are we tell them how smart they are we instill in them how smart they are and students believe how smart they are students know they are smart and better yet they know how much we care in the past 6 months big picture has made big strides in providing more academic support and opportunities for students and staff we have implemented a cohesive curriculum that embeds PD and face-to-face training from experts we have provided mentors to all our teachers we have implemented a board policy approving mandatory intervention programs to close alerting Gap our students have taken FS every month teachers are creting Curriculum maps as betting formative and summative assessments within the curriculum in
065English and have an ELD support program that helps our students not only we know we now have a CTE teacher in the process of building a pathway all these changes have been made in six months and I say that again we have done this in six months when have you ever heard a big picture making such academic changes and we are not stopping we are serious when we say we are not the leadership of yesterday we are the leadership of today the future a big picture we have the future of an academically sound school with the best students and the best staff that anyone could ever over thank you so much Nate shankles afternoon board members thank you for giving us the opportunity to speak today as I was standing here I was looking at
066your norms and I noticed that you have one that is to listen with intention and I have believe that you are listening with atttention and trust that you you will consider the remarks that we make today so thank you very much for that um I'm a social science teacher I've been a teacher for 10 years nine of those have been at big picture and I think in that time frame I could have gone to another school that paid more I think I could have gone to another school that had more opportunities for career advancement and growth but I did I I stayed at big picture and there are many reasons why I stayed but there are two reasons mainly why I stayed the first is our internship program every Wednesday our kids go to real
067work sites in the community they get real experience with professional uh Professionals in their field of Interest working with real customers solving real problems what other high schools offer that opportunity to their students I know I didn't get that opportunity when I was in high school and and I was wul underprepared for the workplace when I started I started at a bank and I couldn't make phone calls uh I couldn't interface with customers effectively why because I didn't have that experience and our students get that experience as early as their freshman year not only that but our internship program provides them with opportunities that will change their future and that have changed their future Nate Ortega was uh one of our students a few years ago he got uh an internship at siore a Welding
068and Fabrication company here in Fresno he now has full employment there after he graduated Jonathan marz was one of my students for four years in my advisory he he got an internship at the National Guard helicopter repair facility near the airport he was there for two years he now is a soldier in the National Guard um Alexia and Stephanie are two of my students this year both of them are interns at the Community Center for the Arts and Technology um led by their um amazing Mentor Armando Valdez they didn't know where they wanted to go or what they wanted to do after high school until they got their internship and it was at that internship that Alexia decided that she was going to pursue uh a degree in broadcast and electronic media at San Francisco
069State starting this fall and that Stephanie is going to be pursuing a degree in journalism and communication starting at Fresno State in the fall and these are just four examples of countless of students whose lives have been changed because of our school because of our internship program and this isn't even the best part the best part is the relationships that we get to build with our students through our advisory program our students spend four years with me and the other caring advisers on our campus they don't switch advisers they stay with they stay with the same group of students for those or years where they get to build meaningful relationships and we all know the population of students that we are talking about they come from disadvantaged homes that come from families that have struggles
070I came from that I came from a family that was falling apart when I was in high school and the people who got me through those problems my teachers and my coaches I'm here because I want you to strongly consider think about the decision to renew our school for many reasons these students are provided to build relationships caring adult Stephanie Hinton following Stephanie is Kyle and then um the other Kyle okay Stephanie my name Stephanie Hinton I am the executive director of f picture educational Academy to Echo what our superintendent stated in her opening remarks we fully acknowledge without argument that previous years did not meet the expectations or the standards our students deserve the academic outcomes of past years fell short and we need to account for those failings however it would be a
071grave disservice to our students to ignore our current trajectory and judge our school's potential based solely on past performance that took place under different leadership since the installation of our new current administrative team which I remind you has been in place for less than one school year our school has undergone a comprehensive transformation current leadership has implemented rigorous accountability systems data-driven decision-making protocols professional development structures that were previously absent and have invested in revitalized curriculum rather than deflecting blame or minimizing the challenges we Face we have taken full responsibility for addressing the institutional weaknesses that led to these shortcomings but you must also recognize that these changes require time to produce quantifiable results the dramatic turnaround that we are witnessing is not coincidental it is causal our leadership team has systematically identified and reimagined the
072structural issues that hindered student achievement in the past yes academic outcomes across our program and the entire State remain below where we all want them to be and yes there have have been sweeping changes at our school this year but let's be honest those changes were necessary to deny our Charter of new at this critical juncture when our students are demonstrating measurable progress and positive outcomes would unfairly penalize our students and families and disregard the significant Investments already made to address previous administrative failures it would interrupt the meaningful transformation that is truly underway and I believe would deprive a community of would deprive our community of an educational institution that not only meets the needs of students who have fallen through the cracks in other schools but an institution that now under new leadership is
073delivering on its promises aside from my official role with the school I'm also proudly the parent of two big picture students my children and all of our students from TK to adults deserve the opportunity to continue their education in an environment that is now unequivocally committed to their success I resp respectfully urge you to evaluate our Charter on the strength of our current trajectory and the demonstratable improvements we have already begun to achieve rather than solely on historical data that reflects a leadership approach and organizational structure that no longer exists now I ask anyone here who shares this belief to stand with me to stand with us as we continue to advocate for our kids our families our school and for the support and respect our students and Educators serve Kyle Bowers ladies and gentlemen
074hours Baron of a seventh grader a big picture and he's on the other they Spectrum so he's had some trials and tribulations this is his second year but I'm really proud to say that if it wasn't for a lot of core staff uh Mr Murray uh or Coach Murray apologies Mr Alvarez and Mr Morris have really been intrical components along with the front I honestly ladies at the really really have the wheels going in areas that I don't I don't think they get recognized for how uh furthermore what I'd like to really end with is that uh you'd really be doing a disservice to this community and to these kids they're trying epically and uh I feel like with everything being on phon today I feel like it's a little bit harder to get kids
075attention and whatnot so to see these kids actually thriving and ding it it would be a grave disservice to take away big picture of any Services there so thank you very much I really appreciate the other Kyle Kyle Crouch uh my name is Kyle I've been in the classroom uh for 14 years uh C or CL unified Central unified kban unified in the last six years have been a big picture um when I was in high school I had no idea what I wanted to do besides rest um I didn't have great leadership as far as a guide to show me where um I wanted to be in my future and uh when I was growing up my parents told me you either have a strong mind or a strong back and to figure out
076what you want to do um I went to college with the uh anticipation of just competing in college and I did um I wrestled at Fresno City and Fresno State until they uh dropped the program um at that time I decided um since I didn't feel like I had great leadership as teachers and mentors um that I wanted to get into the classroom and do what I could in order to support the students um what makes big picture different is it's not the traditional mold of Education because we all know that there's no bold to teach students um they get lost in all of these other organizations and they end up on our doorstep where we accept them for who they are and their needs um our internship program provides a great outlook for young
077students that don't have Direction and we're able to provide them with career and life skills for their future with anticipation of them walking across the stage as a senior directly into a job or career path of their choice that they have told us for those last four years we take the one student at a time approach personally not just our slogan on our web page but a meaningful relationship with all of our students FCC or fcss has an approach of creating every opportunity for students to reach their potential without big picture in our area where would our students opportunities be they were lost in their other opportunities that they have had and now they have found their home as a mentor and advisor I have countless stories to support the big picture model as mentioned
078by one of my fellow teachers Nate Ortega was my student during Co he wouldn't even turn on his camera by the time he graduated he knew exactly what he wanted to do as a welder fabricator alandro Hernandez and Carlos Camarena got into real estate as an entrepreneur through their Smoothie business that they created on campus in partnership with Bona as they got donated fruit every single month Dakota Allen works for the Fresno Grizzlies now Fabian Rodriguez is now a staff member with us but also in the US Army Sophia Morales is a barber janaa Higgins works for bsk labs he laa does creedy design and animation Isaias Alvarez and Noy James are also welder Fabricators that just thought last week a personal invite from Anthony aera to compete um how many Educators do you know
079that in the like the past students and their current students knows that much about them and that is because big piter educational Academy truly cares about their students next is Princessa hello good afternoon Poss sh exp school grade the beginning I knew this was because should the environment is and because it's personal something that they don't offer at this school or something you something this this sense of connection extended not only to my peers but also to my staff and teachers always here to help one of the biggest reason n big picture is because this nutrition program the L has G me an internship I discovered what I enjoy and my daughters which gave me a clear path for my future when I graduate and walk off the stage I will have I want to
080take another thing I love big picture is amazing F trips this trips have allowed me to visit places I have never been places I might not have had the chance to see I on these trips with my friends have not only been fun but have also brought me Clos to them make inate relationship picture school has provided me with so many opportunities to grow academically professionally and personality I grateful to be part of this school interest and supports me when I need help and ALS build a mindful connection with thank you for listening next is Rosa [Music] conto can you stand a little closer please thank and finally Carter Anderson good I'm a sophomore big teacher I just attend this year it's my first year here I chose big teacher because I heard it was
081a smaller School than what I was used to I used to live up the mountain store school there was heyting was in a safe environment we had lock Downs like twice a week I heard about big picture being a safe and kind environment I didn't know what to expect attending a big school school in a big city and I heard everyone was kind here the STA they're so kind shout out my P teacher Mr Crouch because I have CMT La so it's pretty much prevents me from doing physical activities so holds me back going on and my old school that didn't accommodate with my needs but here I told him about it he's been really helpful with accommodating me with our cardio VES I can use walking I can choose running I'm not supposed to
082run because it can hurt me physically mentally and give us a chance to experience the world a real world such young AG your here you go where you want what is I used to do the big picture Elementary because it was good experience because I want to be a teacher when I go because all the teachers here inspired me to go out and want to become a teacher and the student services teachers they're tremendous what they do they they academically emotionally they support you with whatever they do all the teachers throw whatever they're doing out the door for you for us for them whoever needs help school's here for you I didn't want to start like I was scared to attend and right when I attended it's going good it's going good then in December
083me and my family had a tragic and principal Miss help you get through it tell me c over there help me m g help me everyone's helped me get through it it's been hard last few months dealing with it and I didn't know how to so I went to miss AB ask her girl she just told me what I need to know K has been the most helpful Miss G to everyone I have friends feel like family to me my own family helps me in work in hard I would love to thank all of you for presenting I know it takes a lot of courage to do this and I acknowledge that um and at uh 3 17 I now close this hearing we'll take a 5 minute break so that those of you that
084are are heading home can exit the room thank you so much break time I time e e e all right I'd like to resume our meeting um thank you all for still being here uh at at this part of the meeting we have no reports and in information uh at this point we're going to move on to action items um we're going to begin with item J1 which is consider approval or denial of the Career Technical education Charter renewal petition and recommended resolution uh just read that uh and uh based on Education Code the board must either approve or deny the CC renewal Charter petition at this meeting first Dr Jeffrey hunt will provide information to the board relating to the Charter committee's report including its findings and recommendations regarding CC renewal Charter petition then
085CC will have equivalent time to respond to the Charter committee's recommendations and findings Dr Hunt please right good afternoon again vice president Moto trustees superintendent coper and cabinet item J want is to consider approval or denial of the Career Technical educ Charter CCH renewal petition the petition was submitted January 23rd to the uh County Superintendent the charter committee performed a thorough and objective review of the petition supporting documents including a Department of Education State acquest the California dasp the ctec local control and accountability things additionally members of the charter committee attended the ctec public hearing February 18th to hear from ctec staff parents students the committee conducted a charter renewal site visit on Wednesday February 12th where members met with ctec leadership students parents and Stam members based on the review of the charter petition
086interviews and Analysis of student outcomes the committee unanimously agreed to the recommendation out is Section Five of it reads the charter committee has determined that the renewal petition meets the Education Code requirements for Charter renewal and recommends that the Fresno County Board of Education approve Career Technical education Charters petition for five you thank you Dr Hunt Dr vice president Dr Mas and distinguished uh board thank you so much for just the opportunity to be here today it is a pleasure just to be Avail uh be a part of that process to be able to have the opportunity to really communicate what cc is all about and have the opportunity to communicate with you and have your support to the process as we go through the aspect of communicating what C has been able to accomplish
087the last eight years we're really excited about what we've been able to do and where we're going every day we get to celebrate what our kids are doing it's one of the exciting things about CCH there isn't a day that doesn't go by get to celebrate and put something on Instagram about how the amazing things that CCH students do which makes the next five years that so we look forward to the process and working alongside you in the next five years thank you very much thank you we did not stop to ask questions of Dr Hunt I'm curious if anybody on the board has questions I just would for the record Dr Hunt I would like you to tell us what we recog recognize your the recommendation are there other options that the board has
088I'm not saying we're going to do that I just want to hear what the options are uh for the board in terms of the petition renewal request so CCH Charter is in the in the three Charter uh the charter renewal standard has three academic tiers ctech falls in the middle performance tier where the there's an analysis of their academic performance that drives whether or not the board renews the charter there are a couple other Provisions that the committee review in in in Education Code um that are to be considered and though and as they were outline in the committee report there governance is um a factor the charter committee reviewed that and there were no concerns with governance um fiscal can be a factor if fiscal is a factor there's a procedure to go through
089noticing the charter giving a time to remediate the issue um and if the charter for some reason failed to remediate that issue thisal could be a concern um other concerns that could have Arisen during the review period was a finding that the charter is not serving all students who wish to attend that's a newer element in Education Code because that's been found where some Charter for various reasons or um kind ofil kind of filtering their enrollment or tailoring their enrollment um and so those are other things where we look at enrollment uh numbers for ctec and we look at the enrollment processes for C ensure that c is indeed not um kind of picking and choosing the students that that thank you any questions of our director of ctec comments I I don't know but
090my only comment's going to be I'm going to say thank you to Jonathan I know you've been very receptive of additional supports coming into your school I know um sometimes that's kind of a difficult item to have the light Shin on uh middle performing and uh the tremendous progress I believe that you guys have made probably in the past I'll say like two to three years on academics and bringing those schools those scores on standardized testing and the dedication that that's not just from an administrative perspective but it's also from staff um really putting that forward and I I just think that we need to recognize that the the grand effort I call it it's the heavy lift at any school is Raising scores and and bringing students to understand uh measurements of their academic
091performance um you know is important because it's an evaluation of really what they're learning um uh and it's been uh great to watch your guys School grow to watch your enrollment start to come after the pandemic um to hopefully levels that you guys want to see it at and then also the Outreach that you guys have done through the community um you know we got to see um our presentation today from the student of the uh partnership that developed and uh resulted in a donation to the school recognition um you know I think Dr Clyde always talks about ctec was established to be a demonstration for how this can be done in other places and so one of the most important things that our student told us today was people from other countries came to
092look look at it as a model um and so I don't know if we celebrated that enough but thank you for that thank you for what continues to go on there um and thank you for that emphasis that you've put as an administrator into the staff there I know it's a been a it's not an easy job yeah can College conversations with we actually went Sol well just about two weeks after we came into and was able to sit down with them they wanted to hear about like what does it look like for you guys for the last eight years what did it entail how have you gotten what you like how is it that you do it being able to walk through their program and seeing some of the struggles as an independent Charter
093trying to do right follow the model seeing their struggles one of those that open this support has the investment that you guys made into rights made success know we have professional development this the support of teachers the support of to be a to say we're going to be successful we're really going to count on what that looks for students right and being a not have that stress has given us the ability to really be that to where individuals are coming from NE and they're wanting to see this put out all over not just in the Netherlands but in Ghana and in New Mexico and in South Carol South Carolina and uh and Las Vegas so there's really exciting opportunities to see where like in the snowball this may happen and it has to come to
094realizing you guys are the ones that have made this a possibility as well it's the dream and the vision that has come through all of us that said all right this is worth it kids it worth it so recognizing that right helped us increase those scores helped us create more opportunities to have impact on the just can't thank you guys enough of that yeah I think that's sort of for us as board members to to focus is um you know the percentage of students that are a through G qualified uh it's not just that they go to school but it's that they have that opportunity College isn't the right thing for everybody um you know I know when I I first went to college and then it was not the right thing for me so
095I took a break um joined the workforce and then when I was ready for college I went back um but really that's the important thing is you're providing that opportunity of students to be qualified and to be a through G qualified for a UC or State College uh even if they are maybe going to a community college you know Fresno City Rams here I am today um but but that's it and you know it's sort of recognizing thank you for that commitment where that's been and I mean what were we at were you're like 80% on uh Associates degrees or something like that pretty high yeah thank you did you have comments questions I definitely just comments um I was fortunate enough to to be a part of the the charter Review Committee and well
096when I signed up I didn't know what I got myself into to be honest but there's just so much reading to do and data to look through and and it's our responsibility right to do that but it was amazing to see such good data positive data and and then getting to experience interviewing students and staff and and and parents that just takes such pride in being a part of this school and I think for me one of the biggest things is would I want my children at this school and if I my answer is yes that's good thing that's a good thing right yeah and um I been fortunate enough to be part of charter schools that have had that track record and I think it's never the fault of the students how the charter
097school does or succeeds or or otherwise um it's a responsibility of of the management and the staff that's there um and ultimately you know we're creating these these Charter Schools or supporting these charter schools with the goal of students succeeding and being able to go on to you know be in the workforce and and successful and and it's a huge responsibility on all of us um to make sure that all of our Charters are are performing well and are a place that we can be proud to support and ctec is one of those places and I'm so glad that that's a place in my district that I you know represent um I'm very proud I'm proud of all your work I'm a champion in the community as well for CAG now um recommending parents and
098telling them about the amazing thing you you guys are doing and I'm confident in doing that and that's the biggest thing is I'm I I will tell a parent your your kid will succeed there I know it and and to be able to say that with such confidence it's a big deal so thank you guys for for everything you're doing and um I I wish you so much success and I hope that you guys keep you know changing lives and and and for all of us [Music] yeah it's my desire to be there and was one of the greatest things in accepting this job and seeing where the school was a place that said okay kids need to be able to walk across the street down the street walk through our doors and see opportunities
099to change their that's what I'm so excited about when I get to see more and more kids walking down the street you know entering our our our campus because they're in the neighborhood then we're doing the right thing so excited about what that looks like in the next five years too thank you and I'm just going to add one more thing as I'm beyond parent but grandparent looking forward I had a grandchild that I think yeah know she's only two right now but I think she might do all right there you know you just need to add dual language to the curriculum maybe Chinese I don't know you know any anyhow but I I agree with my colleagues here that um you know the data speaks for itself in terms of um the accomplishments and
100on top of all the awards and honors and opportunities that the students have had so [Music] creating school is not a simple thing which I've SE Li so thank you so staff has prepared resolution number 20 25-8 to approve CCH renewal Charter petition for a term of 5 years is there a motion to adopt this uh resolution 20258 approving the CC renewal Charter petition so move I'll second okay moved by member roblas and seconded by member Burton um roll call vote please yes yes yes motion car car congratulations thank you congratulations to you this is her Charter it is is her Charter two statement you thank you so much thank you I was gonna say I remember when many more of us thank you way everybody takes a lap thank you thank you go celebrate
101with your [Music] cake the check is in MA moving on to item J two consider adoption of uh fcbe resolution number 20255 recognizing April 5-1 as week of the young child did you know there's 30 million children from birth from age birth through age eight in America uh this week will also honor the families and the teachers and the other adults who will help make CH who help make children the most of their learning opportunities federal state and local governments communities parents and the private sector all share the responsibility of ensuring the well-being of Children and Families and I can speak um on behalf of many many many of us in presno county that get up every day and think deeply about what we can do to better support uh young children not just during
102this week April 5th through the 11th but but every day so I I urge you to join me um and the early care and education department uh in recommending the board adopt April 5th through the 11th as week of the young child any discussion any questions I will say I'm just because I'd like to I worked for Early Childhood Program when this first started it's like so amazing to see how how things have evolved and come and that we're still celebrating week of the young child it's so important to our entire system I believe anyhow is there a motion to approve so move second second okay motion with member Burton second member robless roll call vote please yes yes yes okay uh um moving right along consider adoption of uh fcbe resolution number 20256 recognizing
103April is autism acceptance month the theme for the 2025 autism acceptance month is quote celebrating differences by celebrating differences it encourages us to see that each person unique and their differences are a normal part of life so instead of thinking of autism as a condition that needs to be fixed we should celebrate the differences a autism brings worldwide there are 75 million people who are autistic and many of those individuals continue to face discrimination what best place for us to be uh mitigating that is here in schools and so I encourage you uh to join uh me uh and let it be resolved that the Board of Education and the superintendent of schools moves that and encourages all Fresno County school districts to participate with appropriate activities and curriculum on this day April 2nd and
104throughout the year thank you superintendent questions comments is there a motion to approve so Move Motion by roblas second second by Burton roll call please Vice yes yes yes item number four consider adoption of fcbe resolution 20257 recognizing April 21 through 26 as Administrative Professionals week so you know it takes a small to move along an educational uh group and uh probably the MVPs of that work are our administrated professionals uh and you know that in the next several months we will be celebrating many members of of our team I think it's so fitting that we're starting in April with our administrative assistants uh and other office Professionals for their growing and diverse contributions to the workplace in 20 in um the name was changed to Administrative Professionals Day to further reflect the expanding role
105of office staff and to keep it step of the changing job titles and expanding responsibilities of today's uh administrative Workforce so I recommend that the Board of Education join me in adopting this resolution Min gr professionals week in Fresno County and I'll just also mention that in the case of this opportunity we as we're celebrating our staff we would attach the resolution to an email of appreciation so that every member of Team fcss sees and feels your appreciation through this uh resolution thank you I would like to make the motion to approve especially in honor of our administrative support person here today who all also supports our trustees Association and I've had opportunity to work with many many years so uh do is there a second second motion by masimoto second by Roes roll call
106vote please yes yes yes motion carries uh item five consider adoption of FCB resolution number 20259 recognizing April 22 as Earth day the idea of celebrating day each and every one of you it's an annual celebration that honors the achievements of the environmental movement and raises awareness of the need to protect Earth's natural resources for future generations and since we're in the business of those future Generations feels very fitting uh this year's Earth a theme is our power our planet and I invi I invite uh the Board of Education uh to recognize Earth date and encourage all Fresno County school districts to participate with appropriate activities and curriculum on this day at throughout the year questions comments motions motion to approve a second okay motion by robless second by Burton roll call vote please yes
107yes yes item six consider adoption of FCB resolution 20251 recognizing April as National Abuse Prevention month abused and and neglected children are 11 times more likely to engage in criminal Behavior as an adult the national Child Abuse Prevention month is recognized in April to provide information about child abuse and neglect in the United States this year's national campaign theme is quote doing things differently believing in communities to encourage communities to work together to support families rather than just responding to incidences of abuse and neglect and we are a key partner in this community with regard to responding to uh abuse neglect and need with the fact that we have our 12 wellness centers uh in our school districts and uh exist for providing that type of support uh and knowing as well that there's a
108huge network of Community Based Partners in Fresno County that work with us um many of which are taking the lead on this and we We join and support their efforts uh just makes very uh appropriate for us to join forces and and adopt this resolution a motion to adopt motion I'll second it uh W call vote please motion by Burton second by mamoto President yes yes yes motion carries item seven consider adoption of fcbe resolution 2025-the seik heritage month is celebrated to honor the community's contribution to our nation especially California's agriculture industry particularly here in the Central Valley seeks mainly from the Punjab region in India began immigrating to California in the early 1900s seeking railroad Timber and agricultural work for a better economic future seeks are also active members of Civic service and advocacy
109projects which are all Hallmarks of their beliefs in equality Freedom peace and Prosperity therefore I recommend the Board of Education join me in recognizing April 2025 as seek Heritage Mon and encourage all Fresno County school districts to participate in appropriate activities and curriculum to respectfully support this this month ahead thank you questions comments motions move all second motion by roblo second by Burton roll call quote please yes yes yes motion carries okay we are moving into closed session all those who are not part of the uh board I we ask you to exit session all are e e e reporting out on Clos session in close session the board took action to accept an offer letter from from the sanen River Parkway conservancy and Trust to purchase approximately 67 Acres of real property owned by
110the Fresno County Board of Education specifically the property at issue consists of parcels with APM APN numbers 049 d93 d06 049 d93 d08 and 049 d9310 and is commonly called Scout Island North the purchase price set forth in the offer is $1,200,000 and contemplates that the parties will negotiate and enter into a formal sale option agreement regarding the property within 90 days okay here we go moving on to itl trustee activities travel request Burton do you have any travel requests that I know of I think it's three I don't have any those are travel I just want to uh make a request or make get clear that as a delegate to csba delegate to delegate assembly there will be um assembly in May the information has not come out yet as to the hotel reservations
111but it would require two nights and mileage on my behalf for uh participating in delegate assembly so i' like to request approval of that if that's needed I I think it is okay so um are there any no other requests so I would ask uh for a motion to approve my request to attend delegate assembly in May I will motion to approve Dr masamoto's request for travel I'll second thank you roll call vote please yes yes yes thank you travel expenses and reimbursements uh we have three items listed below or on the agenda for member Burton myself and member tap Scott mson these are um travel expense reimbursements any questions concerns motion m to approve second made by Roz second by Burton roll call vote please yes yes yes thank you receipt of Correspondence any
112correspondents no comments by board members who'd like to begin um sure I don't usually prepare comments so so I just speak from the heart that's um well I did want to highlight um and I don't know do did I don't know if you were planning on announcing about the know your rights Workshop that's coming up okay cuz I wanted to make sure I did um and let me pull up the flyer here cuz it was sent to us um and it's coming up so I want to make sure that I so this is a a know your rights workshop and I just you know want to say thank you to Dr kofer for um helping make this happen and and taking a lead leadership role in and educating our community about immigration rights um so
113this is going to be um at ctec high school on Saturday March 29th um and uh at 9:00 a.m. so for our community and this is um in Partnership ship with cro La Familia advocacy Services um who will be doing um this training and they're going to be answering questions um with regards to how to prepare your family in case there's a an Emergency um H uh what to do if in the event that immigration comes to your home um and where you can find trusted um resources in our community as well so um if you want more information there is a phone number I I believe we'll be sharing this information I know that I will with Community as well um in terms of like specifics with the flyer and posting it on social
114media and otherwise but thank you so much for for making this happen and I hope that you know we continue to educate our community in in various um ways you know with more than just immigration right because there's so many so much education that is needed in our community so um and um other than that I think that was the biggest highlight it was definitely the highlight of my week so thank you for doing that great thank you M Burton um I think I really only have two things um number one I was I don't know I was uh I was surprised um I I didn't realize that our next meeting is during the middle of spring break so I changed my plans but I will be here um maybe next year I'll I'll remember
115that when we're doing our our planning meeting um for uh meetings um and I was surprised that you guys aren't closed during spring break that was the part I was really surprised when Jason said no it's just Friday and I was like oh wow that's when they get work done yeah um and the only thing I wanted to share is um Fresno's having a unique uh item this Saturday um it's called Taste of freedom on March 22nd at Fresno State um it's actual it's an African-American living history day and it's to Spotlight buff soldiers and black Pioneers across the US um I was actually listening to the radio and listening to a presentation uh by the two women who are organizing it uh one who uh I think she actually travels she's from the area
116but travels across the country uh and does like oral histories of I think Harriet Tubman um so pretty good activities going on this weekend uh not to miss out and it's a pretty unique opportunity and it's actually their first one that they've ever done um and it's free and you can kind of learn some of the contributions of um African-Americans to the United States history um so just wanted to make sure everybody sort of knew that that was going on wonderful thanks I have a couple quick things to report on uh last week was legislative action week for California school boards Association I participated in SE six uh calls with different legislative offices including assemblymen arambulas with Dr rambula our assemblyman of rambula as well as uh multiple others I don't even need to name
117them all but um it was a really interesting week and we learned a lot learned a lot uh kind of a big issue for csba right now I mean in the list of priorities one of them is um an assembly bill I think it's 1111 the asking to extend the deadline for um electric buses for all buses in The Fleets at to be elected from the current deadline is 2035 and the request is to extend it at least 10 years because the infrastructure is just not there and it's not feasible for most of our uh districts and agencies that are busing our students so Ian something to to follow and something to watch uh last Tuesday was our Fresno County School trustees association meeting thank you to the cabinet and superintendent for attending thank you
118to Angela for doing all of the prep work for that it was a really good night I think um for two reasons one uh we acknowledge um uh Pete Philippi who's currently uh president of Sanger uh school board has been a board member for 27 years he received the Del cederquist um member of Distinction award for this year and I think was is very deserving um and also because Kevin Gordon and Jack O Connell from uh Capital advisers spoke to us um and that was interesting and enlightening and all of those things because the The Dominoes keep falling and the parts keep moving right in terms of uh uh both state and federal uh uh actions related to schools uh and the only other thing I want to make sure and maybe uh superintendent uh
119Koper will mention the board training coming up on you'll mention that so encourage everyone to attend if you haven't signed up yet thank you so uh moving on to superintendence report well I thought I'd start with a little business first so uh you have an attachment that gives a little information on guidelines for the annual board project again last year we upped the budget to two excuse me $220,000 per year uh your vote was to invest in three projects and we will have a report uh for you on those three projects at April's meeting uh but we wanted to make sure you knew the opportunity to do so again in July so the document you have is our upto-date uh uh guidelines and it it it it describes it frames the purpose of the board
120project was which is really an opportunity for you to take an active role in in in events and programs that exist that enhance existing programs that impact the general education of Fresno County Stu students we deliberately do that pretty open-ended things that you care a lot about we can we can be responsive about the budget is $20,000 per year uh and in March typically I bring this information forward to you just as a reminder to start thinking about it uh in April uh I have begun in the last two years to provide you some suggestions because in year one we fell into the reality that it was really wonderful to have invested in a project that we then take forward to csba and you know win a Golden Bell word over and you then in
121chance had the opportunity to feel very very familiar with the project that had gone forward so I'll did the same and April have a I'll have a short list with a brief description of some things that we think are uh exemplary in our office that you could come alongside and support and enhance and certainly no it's simply some suggestions if you have something in particular you're interested in uh please feel free to bring It Forward in April and what typically happens is that uh during a A Moment Like This we just sort of sunshine those and discuss them openly and uh and then by May we're actually a little more formal about that process uh and sometimes the board asks for more information in May I'll just remind you that we can do that for
122you I can do that uh in writing just another brief uh description or we can actually have a presentation um and then in June we're we're hopeful that you've actually made a final choice for an investment of $220,000 in a project and that we then can track it to a successful completion at the end of the next year just a reminder of that process uh if you have any questions you know offline please feel freet to uh to ask me about that do you have any questions right now about that okay it's a pretty routine process uh okay well then I'll go ahead and just uh share some some observations and uh Marcy a little bit repeated from uh the uh the trustees meeting on Tuesday night uh I so appreciate the opportunity to speak
123I really try to keep it very succinct for our trustees but when you have the opportunity to have 100 or more superintendents and board members are arguably so influential in our communities in every corner of presno County we really want to kind of deliver in the things that they may be most uh heavy on their hearts and on their heads so uh uh so forgive me if this is a little bit of a repeat Marcy one of the most significant conversations Happ at the national level is the potent potential closure of the US Department of Education uh I think all of you know that while no final decision has been made discussions around this possibility raise important questions about the future of federal funding for critical programs that directly imp impact our schools I've shared
124with you marcu very astutely asked how much money do we get from the federal government we have a 460 million dollar budget and about 72 million of that is from um is is federal funding we rely very heavily on that to meet the needs of our our most vulnerable students in all of Fresno County schools there are seven categories that we receive federal funding Title One funding which supports our low-income students special education funding otherwise known as idea that ensur services for students with disabilities Career and Technical education programs that prepare our students for the workforce uh and I felt like today was a great testimony about how much our our adults and our educators are valuing that our kids have multiple Pathways to a successful and bright future CTE is critical in that early
125childhood education initiatives including preschool access after school and enrichment programs School nutrition programs which ensure students receive healthy meals and I don't need to tell you with a one in four food scarcity uh uh ratio uh uh in Fresno County that many children get their only nutritional and balanced meals at breakfast and lunch 5 days a week in our schools so critical and finally educator training and professional development which strengthens teacher quality closer to home in our own State of California we are as Marcy mentioned in the season of legislative advocacy uh in an attempt to ensure the state funding prior continues to prioritize TK through 12 education and I'm uh working actively with our 57 other C California county soups uh to advocate for our priorities we do that best when we work with
126csba and other um uh coalitions and so we're going to do our very best to do that uh as effectively as we can that said we've had a lot going on in the last month this is our season of Excellence so thank you for being able to help us celebrate our mock trial Awards our spell off our Science Olympiad tonight's our science fair culmination a career skills challenge History Day and uh and uh the fact that we were able to host the new board member training by the association last month as well those are all events that we've just completed I continue to be touched by the level of effort that our staff puts into making each and every one of those events extraordinary so that whole families are are attending and then they linger
127for long periods of time in front of that step and repeat literally a bunch of balloons and a step and repeat is caused for family celebration and I often wonder how many of those pictures make the Christmas card you know because the whole amilies come together to Center their attention and you know their Care on their children's success it's beautiful to watch coming up I often overstep I'm going to give you the ones the the calendar items that you will receive from um uh uh Angela and uh um Diane uh I I I don't know how many of you have ever attended uh it's a quiet Friday night in downtown fres of the heartbeat Awards uh it is what our Arts team puts together in partnership with uh kjel John osen and um our students
128actually perform their art in the space of about a 2hour time period take a quick dinner break come back for the award ceremony it is wonderful that's on Friday night uh March 21st uh the next Saturday which is the Saturday you mentioned um Brian we have two major events happening uh you matter day and then we are uh sponsoring a you can believe this a braille um uh competition where our kiddos are practicing and honing their ability to bre to read Braille yes it's it's a lot small smaller attended than some of our other events but uh if you'd like to go and affirm them I will be there at 10:00 a.m. after I I get to um kick off new matter day uh again new matter day is in partnership with okay produce uh
129Brady and Maddie and toy and remarkably generous with our kids and uh there's something very special about watching that service work that happens on the 22nd on the 29th we have our know your rights uh event and again very grateful for uh Margarita Roa and her whole team at Central La Familia for being such a strong partner they have for 50 years been doing parent advocacy work and um they're stepping up in our moment in need so I'm grateful for their uh ability to step into an issue that feels so deeply personal uh for many of our children in our schools and their families uh we have a trusty governance training that our that our legal team has um made available we I I think it will about as good as it gets there is
130Master's governance programs that you can pay a lot of money for we're offering this up to our board members for no feed at all and uh dinner and dinner oh my goodness the deal about that is there anything else you'd like to add yeah really come please be great I think we I think we figured out we have about 65 or 70 brand new new to the roll and so it's important to know who we're you know really kind of targeting we might even get more specific about how we send that word out and then finally uh again in the world of CTE we Anthony a even got a shout out tonight today I don't know if you caught that uh that design build has gone from what was about um I think six seven
131different construction companies working now it is the thing to be doing and we had to move it all the way to the uh KS Fairgrounds it's going to be about four times bigger than it was last year that is the brain baby of Anthony and what that ends up happening is the the people that are the the industry partners are just so proud to come and be a part of the work with our students and many of our students get job offers right then and there uh we give out Awards it's just an amazing experience it lasts three days so I would invite you either to the kickoff or the summation of the awards um and we can give you more information about that that again is April 9th there's a lot going on uh
132in all of this there's a lot of adult issues and I always remind our Educators to try to keep focused on powerful teaching and learning we've been making some incredible gains in our schools across districts we're seeing chronic absenteeism on the decline and I'm really proud of our team who can see that data clearly and then come alongside schools and say have you tried this have you thought about this it's not a tell it's not a direct it's not a mandate it's a we're going to coach and support and I think that um our team is getting better and better at figuring out how to do that but our schools uh and then certainly Ela and math scores are showing steady progress and I have to share with you that our monthly superintendent networks meetings
133have become very focused on on powerful teaching and learning and discussing what's working and it's there's a lot of synergy and a lot of really good um work happening with our superintendent networks meeting that are very very focused on again powerful teaching and learning and uh I know we did a a a um social media but I always worry that it's not I really wish I could have a banner on the top of this building when really extraordinary results happen with schools we had five school districts with eight schools get school to watch that's a very very prestigious recognition and those five school districts are kings's Canyon Unified School District Sanger unified Fireball Clovis and Fresno again eight schools with that level of um Excellence uh based on very objective criteria is really really um
134powerful Testament of the kind of incredible uh educational opportunities we have for children in Fr County I think the categories this year were middle school and alternative Eden they yeah that's a lot District any questions for the superintendent cabinet hey we're doing good team okay uh let's see any future agenda items anyone would like to suggest I do so I I had been thinking about this and I I well I meant to share this with our board president um but I do I would like to see just like how we have our inspirational reading um to hopefully incorporate something like student advocacy readings um at our board meetings um obviously with the support of our superintendent's office and um I think it's just so important that our students now that we have the ability to
135broadcast our meetings um where they can see themselves and their peers can see them advocating on issues that are important to them and and we're in this very important time in our nation where advocacy is so important and so I feel like this is an opportunity for us to uplift their voices and be able to hear what are their concerns what are they worried about um what are their suggestions that you know we can incorporate or or even just listen to their needs um and be able to help you know um give them the confidence of being able to advocate here and then in their communities as well so it's just a suggestion that I would really like to be considered let us look at options and opportunities and very likely start up in July
136have you about yeah yeah that gives us some time to think about things uh and now they say July kids aren't even in school in July so many but I appreciate your your your uh suggestion we'll definitely come back thank you thanks other uh future agenda items note that our next meeting will be on April 17th yes during Thursday spring break uh at this preso County Office of Education uh site same place same time right yeah okay without any further business all motion to that's right we have to move to the meeting motion question to adjourn by uh Burton member Burton seconded by roblas roll call vote please yes yes yes thank you appreciate it thanks for the help no problem meeting jour pleas e