001Good evening everyone. I'd like to call to order the regularly scheduled meeting of the board of education on February 24th at 5:15 p.m. Can I have a motion a second to approve the order of the agenda, please? >> So move. >> Second. >> Student advisory vote. >> All those in favor? I. Any extensions? Motion passes. We have close session items tonight. Public may comment on closed session items. Members of the audience may address the board on any listed close session item. Persons wishing to address the board regarding an item scheduled for close session are asked to submit a request to the board prior to the start of close session. Comments from visitors shall not exceed three minutes unless the time limit is waved by majority of the board. The board shall limit the total time
002for public input on each item to 20 minutes. With board consent, the president may increase or decrease the time allowed for public presentation depending on the topic and the number of persons wishing to be heard. Tonight for close session, we have item 3.3, public employee discipline dismissal release. Would any members of the public like to speak on this item? We have any advanced written requests? In that case, is there a motion and a second to recess to close session? So move second. >> All those in favor? I. Any nos or abstensions? All right, we'll be back in about 15 minutes. Good evening everyone. We are reconvened at 5:33 p.m. We will start tonight with the pledge of allegiance by Roy Lopez Jr., executive director of educational services. If you have the ability to, please uh
003rise and join me in the saying of the ple pledge of allegiance. Please place your right hand over your heart. Ready, begin. Thank you for that. In close session tonight, the board uh heard item 3.3, public employee discipline dismissal release, and gave direction to staff. Do we have a motion in a second to approve the minutes of the February 10th, 2026 regular board of education meeting? >> Second. >> Student advisory vote. >> All those in favor? I. Any nos or abstensions? Motion passes. Brings us to reports to the board. Starting with item 7.1, grading policy committee recommendations presentation by Eileen Lechenby, director educational services, and Leslie Spainhower. Tossa. >> Good evening. Um, President Elder, members of the board, um, fellow cabinet members, Dr. Wesley and our community. Um, we thank you for the opportunity for
004us to present our grading policy and review committee outcomes. Mrs. Luckmb is joining electronically because she is at a required training, but she is online and she will be presenting with us tonight. Mrs. Luck and I are very excited because our students are here with us. And their voice and their experience was the center of our process and all of our decision-m on the committee. So, we're going to have them come up here and introduce themselves, um, what grade level they're in and what school they're at, and then we will begin the presentation. So, come on up, students. sixth grade at Paris. >> Hi, I'm Moore. I'm an eighth grader at Adams. >> Hi, I'm Matthew. I'm an 11th grader at Roondo Union High School. >> Hi, I'm Eli and I'm a junior at Roondo.
005Okay, we're gonna start with Eli. Sometimes the pointer cooperates, sometimes not. >> Okay. >> All right. Sounds good. Can you hear me? Oh, perfect. Thank you so much. >> Okay, so first I want to talk about why the committee was formed. Uh, it was formed for two reasons. One, grading and equity because our students at Rodondo Union especially and around the school district feel that having a different teacher can can be influential in um what your grade can result to be. and the classwork and class and load that you may have. And then the second reason are our is our goals. Um we want to review the grading policy board and ed code um understand the current grading practices and then make recommendations to you guys uh to consider uh uh regarding the board policy.
006Next is our committee composition essentially who came to our meetings and who's in this committee. We have two middle school teachers, one from Adams and one from Paris. 11 high school teachers with representatives from most departments. Two middle school assistant principles and two high school assistant principles along with eight students including us four from all three schools. And then Dr. Wesley, our superintendent, Dr. Garland, Miss Eileene Ley, and Miss Leslie Spainhower. Thank you. So, we approached our committee work with the goal of getting input and feedback on how to align at the course level. Our committee meetings included structured conversations and opportunities to provide feedback on multiple versions um of proposed board policy, both written and verbal feedback. We also made sure to leave time to answer questions that would arise in the course of
007our meetings. Um and through the committee work, we surveyed staff as well. So, in November, we surveyed all middle and high school teachers to understand what their current grading practices were. Um, and then later on the committee identified a need for more specific information. So, we did a follow-up survey in January of our middle school teachers. And we are really grateful for the educators and students who served on this committee because they provided us valuable feedback and insight both in the meetings and since the meetings. So, I'll turn it over Matthew now for an overview of our first committee meeting. >> Thank you. Uh, our first committee meeting was very productive. We started by kind of discussing the affforementioned uh survey sent out to the educators. Kind of going over what we saw the teachers
008thought was going was going on with the system, what they liked, what they disliked. Oh, sorry. And um overall what the current I guess you could say what everyone felt about what we have with grading. Then from there we identified the specific strength of the rubrics we have at the both high school and middle school level being very clear and very like friendly for the students. We really like that. But we also identified the area of growth of alignment among courses which basically just means um having the same practices and almost like treatment of of um grades and assignments for all levels by the same teacher. Like for example, say one teacher would round up a grade for one science class, but in the same class, but with a different teacher, they wouldn't. We just
009wanted to align that. Um, on top of that, we also discussed board policy review, and we reviewed the current ed code, and the students and educators provided their insights. At the second meeting, the committee read and reviewed the next draft of the proposed changes. Teachers and admin discussed the changes in small groups and gave feedback to the district administration. Everyone had a chance to leave questions in a parking lot to be answered at the next meeting. The students met with Miss Spainhower to share concerns, ideas, and questionings questions about grading practices. And then we had uh student we had student focus groups and uh we have a few quotes up there that just that are from students and teachers and how they feel. The first one is um mostly just that they believe that instead
010of a high workload, it's unnecessary and it should be less on the workload. Um, someone else said that the grades should be a reflection of who you are and not so much on the fluff and the uh amount of class in the amount of homework that's assigned. And then also another quote about how homework is not a reflection of a topic and it's more busy work. So teachers should focus more on helping kids understand the content rather than assigning them homework. And our final meeting was just going over the affforementioned parking lot um discussions and talking points brought up. And we also discussed how 84% of core content area courses use the standardsbased grading skill. And that's at the middle school level. So, and we described the differences and benefits and downsides of um the
011aformentioned again core content grading style and just the traditional one with the 90% being an A versus the 85% being an A. We also discussed more policy and drafted our uh policy proposal which we're here for today to present. And again, members were encouraged to give as much feedback as possible whether it be in person or via email. And we finally did our communication and personal development pan which discussed just the feedback again and will be reviewed and revised for the March 13th panel. Great. So what does all of this mean for our grading practices? Our topline priority was to ensure that our policy and practice is for teachers to align their grading practices at the course level. So this means that any student in a class such as biology or Spanish 1 are going
012to be evaluated on a set of consistent practices including the grading scale, category waiting, late work policy, and opportunities for retakes. This provides a level playing field for all students enrolled in a course in RBUSD. At the high school, the vast majority of teachers are using a traditional grading scale with some small variations. And so our recommendation is to continue with one traditional grading scale for our high school students. And then approximately 84% of our core subject teachers in the middle school are using a standardsbased grading approach. And so the proposed changes to the policy reflect that. Given the uniqueness of the content of PE and our electives, they are going to stick with aligning at the course level. So they have the option of either grading scale, traditional or standardsbased. And due to the
013fact that social studies is beginning their highly anticipated journey to adopt a new curriculum, we are also extending an extra year for them to make the switch to standardsbased grading. So for our social studies department that would begin by 2829. The recommendations also include a timeline for teachers to enter grades which is three weeks for most assignments and four weeks for major projects and assessments. This will ensure that students know how they are doing in their classes and can take steps to improve their performance. And finally another recommendation is that extra credit opportunities are limited to academic measures and are made available to all students. So given the shifts in policy and practice and the input from the teachers on the committee and in the surveys, there is work to be done to implement these
014changes. On March 13th, our secondary students will enjoy a day off, but our teachers will get the opportunity to hear more about why we are aligning our grading practices. And we'll participate in a structured protocol in departments to discuss, refine, and align their practices at the course level. In addition, we'll be providing overview trainings on standard-based grading to make sure all of our middle school teachers across the different content areas are equipped to utilize these practices successfully. Moving forward, equitable grading practices will be a focus of our professional learning for our secondary educators in 2026 and 2027. And this would include an exploratory committee to look into the feasibility of standardsbased grading at the high school. And then I will turn it over to Ari to bring us home. Thank you, President Elder and board
015members for your attention. We want to thank everybody who was a part of this committee for their work that they did and for listening to student concerns. Have a great night. >> Do you have any questions for us? >> So, I first just want to thank our students for being part of this. Your feedback is so important. Um, that's who we're here for, our students. We've all got kids who've gone through the district or in the district. So using your voice this way is so important. Um, one other thing I would ask the board is we do have a discussion item on this later, but we have our students here now. And in the interest of them not having to stay till the end of the agenda, if you do have questions for them, this
016is a good time. >> Just we're just doing students. >> You can do whatever you want, but >> but yeah, but don't let's not ask the students to stick around till the end if we don't need them to. >> So are we asking questions now or not? >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. >> Okay. >> Yes. Sorry. I'm sorry. >> Yeah, ask away. >> Um, are you the I think you mentioned there were eight students that were involved on this committee. Are those the only students that gave input on the grading practices in the small groups? Just the eight. >> There were eight involved in the committee. However, in the student advisory council, I believe there was more input that was provided at that time. >> Yeah, this originated from the student advisory council. Um, I don't
017remember exactly how many students I have at the high school. I want to say like 25 30 and uh we get together to select goals. We have a process and this was one of the top three um topics that the students wanted to take on as a goal with our student advisory council which is what led to it being on the strategic plan which is um why um they are also part of the committee. And what the example was is a student said, "I have a certain class, I won't I won't name it, at the high school, and he has the same class, but a different teacher, and if I was in his class, I would have an A, but because I'm in this class and my teacher doesn't round out, I have a B."
018And it's just not fair. Um, also there uh we've learned that there are um over nine different grading scales in in our power school. So that means that the chances of inequitable grading um are there's nine different ways in which students can be graded. So the whole idea is to provide continuity and alignment. So this originated from the student voices of my superintendent student advisory council. >> So I'm I'm trying to like put together in my head what we have now versus what you're what we're being asked to change to. Um, and one of the considerations I have is if you have two of the same classes with two different teachers at the high school, for example, um, are those classes taking the exact, are we saying now they're going to be the exact same
019tests, the exact same lessons? There's no individual teacher um, presence, you know, is it is it just going to be root? No, they'll be enlighting on on practices such as rounding up, such as late work, uh pieces like that, not what they're teaching. It's not going to be locked step on you have to use the same assessments across the board. Although a lot of the departments already have benchmarks that are similar, but it's not going to be a requirement that we're going to have based on this policy. I guess I'm kind of struggling with the idea of how do we, for example, the rounding up that's coming from that teacher's, you know, curriculum and in their grading. Um, and so I'm I'm not leaning one way or the other. I'm just trying to understand how
020we're we're making this fit. Um because I I personally do believe there's a lot of value to our individual teachers and you know we're not hiring robots for example. We want people with personality. We want people who want to be there to teach these classes and I want to make sure we're not getting away from that um and still maintaining the integrity. Right? We're just focusing on um teacher practices that could create inequities. So that like uh Dr. Wesley was explaining, if you're a student in one particular class, same exact horse and you have a friend that's in a different class, one rounds up and one doesn't, it can create some inequity in grading. So that's what we're going to focus on. And the teachers on the secondary uh PD day will be working in
021their departments to talk about that and come to a consensus by course. So they'll have the opportunity to talk to their colleagues >> and the teachers still make these decisions. I mean the ed code says that that they decide how students will be graded. All we're asking is that they decide collaboratively so that the courses are aligned and so that one person isn't doing one thing and another person is doing something different and and that's all we're asking. They would they will decide what these practices are. We're asking them to have an agreement by course, not even by department, just by course. >> I guess the So, what are we asking them to agree on? >> Their grading practices and they will have a tool. For instance, are we all going to round up or
022are we all not going to round up? Are we all going to accept late work with a penalty, without a penalty, or are we not? Are we going to allow retakes? Are all of us allowing retakes, or are none of us allowing retakes? Are is our scale going to be this this this 90 80 70 you know what what is our scale going to be? Are we do we all have the same scale or do we all have a different scale? >> Okay, that that makes a lot more sense. The the rounding up to me is a little less um I mean a teacher in their own classroom is going to give a student. Are we talking like if somebody gets a 99.3 do we round up or do we not? >> It's more like
023an 89.7. Some teachers round up and some teachers don't. Quite honestly, if I'm if I'm the teacher and you're bringing this to me, I'm going to get around that by giving an 89. I I mean, it's just like, does this solve our problem? Where are we trying to go? It does make a big difference to a student who feels like I could have gotten an A. This is told to me, I could be getting an A in this class. I want to apply in this case to UC Berkeley, but because I by the luck of the draw, I got this teacher, I will now have a B. And that is not fair. And that's how this all started. >> Um, can you tell me what standardsbased grading means? I mean, for the community that's here,
024when you say go to standardsbased grading, >> I'm going to have Mrs. Luck jump in on this. Are you still with us? >> Yes, she is. >> Yes. >> Yeah. So, um, basically this is something that has gotten traction at our middle schools and so we started it in our math departments and over the years other content areas have also added it to like their system of grading. The idea is you look at the standards that every teacher is instructing on and you're evaluating students on a criteria like a four-point scale. So, similar to our elementary school, a four is exceeding the standard, a three is meeting, a two is approaching, and then a one is below the standard. Um, and that gives more descriptive feedback to students on how they're actually progressing in their
025learning where they might not understand like what does an 89% mean. Um, you have more descriptive qualifiers for your learning. Um, and then the tricky thing is with standardsbased grading, you have to find a way then to convert it into um the percentages in Power School. And so there is a scale that's used to convert that because if you get a three and you're meeting standards and you just take that as a raw percentage that would look like a 75% C. Um and so the standardbased grading scale basically looks all right if we're meeting the standards that should be like a B or B minus and it converts um into our percentages. So, does that mean people would be getting just a certain A B C? >> So, >> you're going to go back to
026one, two, three, four, and then you're going to convert that to a 100 point scale. How does that work? I think if you just to kind of bring it back to the board policy that you're going to be looking at later, you will notice that there is no prescribed scale and that's the work that the teachers will do on the 13th because there are there are different there are a couple of different ways to incorporate a standardsbased scale and there's a seamass way which a lot of our math teachers from way back when we implemented common core learned how to do that that scale and are still using that scale and maybe our English language arts or social science teachers teachers use a different standards base. So that's the work. That's why when you look
027at the recommendations, we've agreed not to put an actual scale for standardsbased because they will come up with that, you know, uh but for the traditional that was part of the original language. >> And I thought that we I know we have a board policy that requires teachers to accept late work. So I'm surprised to hear that um we need to somehow >> that's only if the absence is excused. If there's an unexcused ab absence then that's up to the teacher. >> So then this would be prescribing that an unexcused absent they'd still have to take they or they get to decide if they take that but they would still follow the board policy that allows kids the opportunity to >> Yes. Yes. Exactly. as long as they're following the same practice on course and
028all of the teachers >> so all teachers would follow the same the same >> course >> in the same course >> for unexcused absence >> like if I'm a chemistry teacher and she's a chemistry teacher we would have the same practices so it's equitable not by department just by course >> okay and you said there are nine different grading scales in power school >> yes power school said it's the most amount of scales that they have >> someone said 11 I think it's more than nine >> well who decides what the grading scale is currently. >> I don't know how nine got in there. It was before me, so I'm not really sure. Yeah. Um, and there is going to be professional development opportunities. So, we'll make sure there are a lot of teachers at
029the middle school level that haven't been trained officially on standardsbased grading. So, we're going to ensure that they get trained as well. >> Just a follow-up question. So, nine or 11 grading scales, is that typical? >> No. Power school representatives have told us it's the most >> I mean over the course of the years I think people may have decided that they wanted to grade a certain way and requested that a grading policy be created and we haven't had policy about grading policies and that's part of some of the recommended changes that these policies be approve approved by the site administration and that they be consistent among course that's those are the two key changes that were uh recommend commending to you so that we aren't in a situation where we have nine or 11
030different grading scales. Um and so that that's the work mostly will be done on the 13th. So that ideally um by the time the new school year starts when they hand out their syllabi you'll see these consistent practices and grading skills that students and parents will be aware of. So once that happen who ensures that that stays that way and we have a adopted or agreed upon practices. >> So all of the grading scales, all this information, all of the um grading policies will be um turned into the principles and then they're going to take a look at it, approve them or not approve them. Maybe they might ask for some changes or some edits and then they will be monitoring to ensure it gets done. then at least everybody's syllabi is consistent so they're
031ready when they leave the PD day to have their sylli ready to go for parents and students. >> Thank you. >> This is my question for our students is what you're asking for is fair and consistent grading in a class level which does not seem unreasonable um given the incredible grade pressure. You know the first thing colleges look at your GPA, your grades, things like that. So having that consistency at the class level is what you're looking for because I bet you would also like easy grading, but that's not what you're here asking for. You're asking for consistent. That's that's fair. Thank you. Appreciate that. Again, appreciate your voices. >> Is this the first time we've included um our students in these committees with regards to grading practices? >> Was it common practice for us
032to put students on most of our committees? I'm not sure in the past if we've >> I'm not aware of any grading committees >> or not grading committees where we've involved their feedback and we've got >> we've begun doing that last year. So that is something that I've asked that our team do is to when appropriate >> um please have student representatives and we often go to my student advisory we'll email and say hey we have a committee on this any is anyone interested in being on it and then they can volunteer to be on the committee. And then for our students, do you feel as if um your input has been heard and it's being incorporated in what you're presenting to the board? Yeah. Okay. Um and if I'm hearing Dr. Wesley, Dr. Garland
033correctly, we're still giving our teachers um a lot of discretion in that particular course. We're not saying everybody across the department needs to follow this particular grading practice. We're saying if you're a teacher and there's four biology classes and you're the four teachers, the four of you need to just be consistent in how you grade. We're not telling them how to grade. >> Correct. >> Right. And we're not even doing it by department. We're very specific to give them that flexibility and that discretion. I agree with um Miss Silverman Neoth about I do want our teachers to have that discretion. They know our students. They know, you know, what they're doing in their class and and their coursework. So, I just want to make clear that we're not setting that um as a a wrote
034um process um giving our teachers that discretion. But for our students and having been a parent of, you know, high school students, I've been on that receiving side of my kids saying, "Oh, my best friend is in a different class and the teacher grades differently and they're on a different unit and their project is graded this way." So for our students, I want to remove that that sort of, oh, I hope I get this teacher versus the other teacher. Um, because it's not fair. They really should be able to rely upon every teacher who's teaching that class to grade them the same way as their other classmates. Yes, to answer your question, we are following the ed code, which allows teachers to determine their grading practices and scales. We are simply asking that they be
035consistent by course. >> I have more questions, but do we want to wait till we get to the um board policies or should we keep going? >> If it involves the students, I would just say ask them now. Otherwise, we can we'll be discussing this at the end as well. It's up to you. One question I had was well one of the slides had a remark about homework. Um and are you prep are are what are you proposing in terms of homework? How is that being presented so that that's fair amongst the classes. So that's another thing that they will be discussing um on the March 13th day in uh let me find it. Is it one right here? Yes, homework's not reflection. So, as far as homework goes, um that's going to be a
036topic of discussion in general, but the grading practices for equity are going to be about like the rounding up piece. Do you allow retakes? It could go into a conversation about homework, but we're not going to require that they're in lock step with those pieces. It depends on what it is. So, um >> and just to be clear, that's not in the board policy, >> right? board policy. There's homework in board policy and it talks about um that piece and it's in the new one. >> But you're not saying that one teacher you're not going to ask the teachers to be consistent in the amount of homework they give. So someone could give you >> summer work, let's say, and another teacher could not and you're just out of luck if you got the teacher
037that likes summer work >> or it could further your education and you could be set up for success. >> I'm sure our students love that. We won't require them to be consistent on the amount of homework they give >> just on their grading policies, >> their practices. Yes, ma'am. >> And it would be up to the principles to decide to make sure that they were being consistent. >> They would have to monitor that piece. Yes. Make sure they're consistent with what they committed to um what they agreed to. >> And were all the principles brought in on this committee at some point or are they going to be like to get their feedback on? We did have administrator um representation and also we've met with our secondary administrators to talk about the March 13th PD
038day. They will be facilitating the afternoon sessions so they're well aware of of all of these policies. We're going to use a protocol. They know about the new BP and AR and this would be starting next school year. >> Yes. >> And then the following school year for social studies and never for PE and electives >> unless they want to. We're going to train and we're going to offer training to all of our middle school um teachers. If they'd like to implement it, that'd be great. They would have to do it across course level, but it won't middle school for the social studies, but the high school is different. >> The high school's on the traditional scale where we're going to explore possible the feasibility of doing standards based grading at the high school level.
039We're going to form a committee next year. >> So, the change for the middle for and I guess I'm confused. So in middle school we're going to be doing one two three fours. >> We're going to be doing stands based grading in the middle school >> and then you're going to go to high school >> and it's going to be traditional. Yes ma'am. >> Okay. >> Now we are exploring the feasibility is now >> no I know that's the way I mean I had to so understood why it was different in the first place but >> and then you're going to explore going to one 1234 in the high school. We are looking at we're going to form a committee to explore the feasibility of standardsbased grading at the high school. Just explore, see what
040it looks like. >> It may or may not be feasible, but we know that's the predominant uh stand uh grading scale at the middle school. And as it relates to homework, there isn't anything prescribed in the board policies about homework. The only time it's ever mentioned is it says that a teacher shall base a student's grades solely on the quality of the student's academic work and their mastery of course content based on district standards. Students shall have the opportunity to demonstrate this mastery through a variety of methods including but not limited to to to test projects portfolios class or home practice andor class discussions as appropriate. So it's not this is this slide is just what the students were sharing and the focus themes that came out and that would again is up to the
041teachers to decide how homework is assigned how much homework is assigned. This is just their voice and how they feel about homework but that's not anything to do with the policy that you're looking at this evening. >> And then just a quick followup to what Mr. Cho had asked regarding the gatekeeper. you know, who's the follow-up? Who's going to be able to ensure that um the, you know, a syllabus but that one student receives in again back to like biology class, a student in, you know, teacher A and teacher B. We're confident that when we roll these out at the beginning of the school year, those students would could compare it and be like, "Oh, yeah, they look identical." Like that we're not going to have a situation where one student's going to say, "Well,
042mine looks different than yours." We shouldn't. So, the plan is that it rolls out with the commitments that they're making on the 13th. And we'll make sure the administrators are monitoring that. >> Okay. And so, our principles and our administrators at the high school and middle school are going to make sure that all the teachers are submitting this in advance. They've been reviewed and they're going to be consistent across the board for our students in that particular class. >> Yes, ma'am. >> It's the grading policy portion of the syllabus, not necessarily our grading. They can do what other personalizes. At least the students can count on the grading policies being consistent whether they're in teacher A's class or teacher B's class. >> Yes, ma'am. Of the same course. >> Okay. >> And a lot of
043courses already have this in place. Just just so so we're just so we're aware that's >> it is a practice in some of the departments already. >> When when you say that it already is a practice in some departments, what does that mean? link. >> It means that some of the teachers have already gotten together and decided that their syllabi will be the same and that their policies are the same. >> Okay. But their grading is still >> but maybe in other courses they are more of an independent in terms of how they grade. >> Okay, that makes sense. >> There are some courses that are currently aligned um already. Any >> other questions at this time? So, we're just being asked to do this for middle school >> and high school >> and the
044high school. But, but but I thought we're still waiting for a committee to come and tell us more about this is the committee. So what is coming to you tonight is the first reading of the board policy >> which outlines and I have a print out if you you know you don't have it in front of you but >> which outlines the recommended changes to the board policy 5121 >> what is what what I think it was Lesie or um >> Dr. Garland somebody said something about the high school is going they're going to be deciding that >> Dr. Garland they're going to be deciding >> based rating >> for the high school >> for standards based rating we're just going to form a committee that's just going to explore the feasibility >> okay so
045what are we being asked to do tonight with regard to the high school >> stand tonight the board policy has not changed in terms of the high school you look at the board policy it says for high school students grades for achievement shall be reported for each grading period using the grade scale below secondary traditional grading scale A+ is 98% to 100 and that's advanced. A is a 93 to 97.9. A minus 90. So this is original. No, the only thing that's changed is instead of it saying outstanding for an A, it's now advanced. >> Okay. That's what I >> but high school they'll have consistent grading practices. >> But yeah, the scale >> and that's that's a that's also middle school. Yeah. >> So the big change we're being asked is for the middle
046school. So um a change is asked that there will be consistency among the the four core classes at the middle school so that they have aligned uh the standardsbased grading not until 2728 because we would like to make sure that we provided a year for for those who currently don't have standardsbased grading. And Eileen, if you're still there, can you just share a little bit about the survey so the board understands where we are in terms of staff using standardsbased grading at the middle school? >> And may I clarify really fast, not till 2029 for social science for middle school because the adoption. >> Go ahead. >> Yes. So um we surveyed in January again um all the middle school teachers to see what grading scale they currently use because we want to align at
047the course level. That's our goal for this year. Uh but there's a lot of different grading scales that are in use and so at the high school it seemed really clear-cut. Everyone has been doing traditional grading scale. Um so we just need to make sure that that stays in place. At the middle school 84% of the core subject teachers are already using standardsbased grading. Um and so given that like the mass the majority of teachers were using it, we thought let's invest in this. We can train our teachers, some of our new hires who maybe weren't part of the initial rollout. We can talk about what what conversion tool makes the most sense for standardsbased grading for different content areas. But because we already have 84% of teachers using it and we want to be
048consistent and aligned at the course level, that is our recommendation. >> I can wait until until we discuss the policy. Any other questions particularly for our students while they're here? >> Thank you so much. Really appreciate all your input for being here tonight. All right, on to our second report to the board. 7.2 Measure S Citizens Bond Oversight Committee presentation of the 20242 annual report by Doris Donloo Richmond. chairperson. There we go. Good evening, board of education members. I'm Doris Donlu Richmond and I am the current chair of the Citizens Bond Oversight Committee. Hold on, I need glasses. I will be providing a brief overview of our committee's 2024 2025 annual report for Measure S. I also want to thank Sundi Foley, uh, Jason Sunung, Andy Aick, Scott Palmer, Karen Reid, and Nikki Vasquez, who
049are my fellow committee members. In November 2024, voters approved Measure S, a $278 million schools facilities bond with 67.5% support. Because it passed under Prop 39, the district was required to form an independent citizens bond oversight committee to ensure accountability. The board appointed the committee in March 2025. The committee's job is straightforward. Review bond expenditures. Ensure funds are spent only on voter approved facility improvements. Confirm that no bond funds are used for employee salaries or operating expenses. Report annually to the board and the public. It's important to note that the committee does not approve contracts or manage construction projects. Our role is oversight and transparency. This reporting period covered the months leading up to June 30th, 2025. Since the committee was newly formed, it met once in spring of 2025 to receive training, organize leadership,
050and establish procedures. At that time, financial reports were not yet available for review. However, audit reports were later received and based on the information reviewed, the committee certified that bond proceeds issued in April 2025 were used only for purposes authorized by law and not for salaries or general operating costs. The first series of bonds up to $80 million has been authorized as part of the total $278 million approved by the voters. Bond funds are placed in a dedicated building fund and may only be used for measure S projects. Going forward, the committee will meet quarterly, review financial and performance audits, monitor project progress, and continue providing public updates to ensure transparency. In short, Measure S represents a major investment in our schools and the Citizens Bond Oversight Committee exists to make sure those funds are
051used responsibly and exactly as voters intended. Thank you. >> Thank you. I'd like to thank you and all the bond committee members. Um this is going to be the shortest presentation you ever give because you're going to be busy. There's a lot going on. So, thank you for all your work in performing this valuable oversight to, you know, provide that transparency for the public. So, really appreciate that. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Up next, item 7.3, midyear LCAP presentation by Roy Lopez, Jr., executive director, educational services. >> Good evening, President Elder, members of the board, Dr. Wesley and my fellow cabinet members and community. Uh Mr. Lopez and I are here tonight to present on the California dashboard. Um so this requires that school districts present this report annually before February 28th for the
052LCAP and the budget overview for parents. Um we have a three-year cycle for our LCAP and we're currently in year two. Year three will end next year for during the 2627 school year. And now Rory Rory will present the elements of the dashboard and how our performance was. >> Good evening board of education and our community. Uh I wanted to begin first with an LCAP uh snapshot. It all begins with our educational partners. That's our LCUP committee that is uh has committee members from that are a district staff. We have a student uh member. We have parents on the committee. Uh it's a great pleasure to facilitate the committee as we work on the LCAP uh annually. Uh the LCAP has four distinct goals. Uh goal number one is around student achievement. Goal number two
053is student engagement and uh social emotional learning. Goal three is around equity and access. And goal four is around parent engagement. Part of the LCAP is to identify uh LCFF funds. So those are local control uh funding formula funds uh that are provided to um develop actions around different metrics. Uh a little bit later I'll share what those metrics are. And part of the LCAP plan is to provide a budget overview for parents. This slide just represents uh our district. Uh beginning with our schools and our student population. Uh in the lower right is our student demographics. Um similar to our uh California dashboard, we report out metrics uh as part of the equity reports looking uh at our students uh demographics uh and responding to their needs. Uh and in the center box we
054have our overall uh budget for the district as reported when the plan was uh adopted uh over the summer of uh 2025. And again um highlighting uh unduplicated students. Those are students who are English learners, low-income and homeless and foster youth. So when we take a look at the LCAP, there are two essential elements. One of which are metrics that we use. uh that we want to respond to. And for the midyear report, we really think of it in three buckets. We have some metrics where the outcome is unknown, other outcomes that are in progress, and some outcomes that are known. So, one outcome that is known is that we have our uh CASP and CAST results from the previous school year that the ALCAP committee takes a close look at and develops actions around
055that. Some outcomes um are haven't been uh completed yet such as the California healthy kids survey. Uh we uh plan to administer the chicks survey for short uh as of March and some outcomes that are in progress like our MAP growth uh in reading and mathematics. So as our metrics are so important, we have to respond to those metrics. So we have identified actions under those four uh LCAP goals and similarly uh to the metrics some of the um action items have been implemented and uh have had uh expenditures associated to them. So some that have not been started others that are in progress and some actions that have been completed. For example, uh many of our staff are identified within our LCAP like our counselors uh like uh support uh staff like our TOSAs.
056Those have all are have been completed as well. Uh some um actions uh are currently uh in progress much like our math adoption committee. And so uh we use these actions and uh to again respond to our metrics. And within the midyear report, you could see uh which actions have been um implemented to date or partially implemented and those expenditures uh that have uh also been reported. Uh to note, we do use the um fall interim report which is as of October 31st uh 2025. So in the next four slides I just wanted to highlight what the uh four uh alcap goals are and highlight some actions uh to date. In the lower right hand corner you could see the budgeted amount that's associated to this particular uh goal and then also uh the estimated
057expenditures as of October 31st. So alcap goal one is around um academic achievement. some highlighted actions um throughout action one uh excuse me throughout goal number one around academic achievement. You see that our uh counselors uh which all of our schools have are highlighted. What's uh extra special this particular school year is that we have a counselor on special assignment and educational services that is working directly with our counselors at the school sites for onboarding on RBUSD's uh CYBHI billing program through Car Solace. So I wanted to highlight that uh particular uh action item. In addition, uh each of our school sites have a school site instructional leadership team that is being led by uh one of our directors in um ed services, that's Eileen Lechenby, where they're analyzing data, creating uh site goals and
058action plans and uh implementing implementing evidence-based instructional strategies schoolwide. Uh an additional item, and this is a huge one, is our secondary school's mathematics curriculum adoption. also highlight highlighted as an action within the LCAP uh where they are going to be piloting a new secondary math curriculum aligned with the California uh math framework and um also included that is uh RBUSD's instructional vision and guidance on implementation. In the upper uh right hand corner, I did want to highlight that last year we added an action item around uh our CAST scores. So, in working with the LCAP committee, we added um professional development around science for our uh science teachers and uh our elementary science teachers at the October 3rd PD day received uh professional development with our current uh adopted curriculum around amplify science. ALCAP
059goal 2 is around uh SEAL and school safety. uh highlighted actions uh is again highlighting the integral use of school status uh to so that way we have a continued focus on attendance to address chronic absenteeism. Uh we have our local um tri uh district survey that was implemented and administered to students uh in the fall uh that gives us uh real-time data to support students around uh their social emotional and well-being. uh whole education uh the whole child education is also an action item here. So think about all of our programming that's in addition to our standard um academics uh such as robotics and um amongst other things. In addition, I wanted to also highlight an action item around our mental health services. We have a strong partnership with the South Bay Children's Health.
060That is also an action item within uh LCAP goal number two. And uh just wanted to highlight our our partnership um with South Bay Children's Health. A LCAP goal number three is around equity and access. Again, in the lower right hand corner, you can see the uh the budgeted amount around uh goal number three and what has been uh the expenditures through October 31st. So, some highlighted actions for goal number three is around our special education programming. Uh last year they uh the special education department and working with uh some of our special education teachers reviewed a new curriculum to be implemented. Um and that was uh a curriculum was selected a year ago which is teachown which is being implemented this year that includes social emotional learning English language arts, math, science, social studies
061interventions and goes all the way up from the elementary through um our adult transition program. In addition, one of our um uh events that we provide uh backpacks for our uh unduplicated students occurs right before the school year starts. We're very proud of this particular uh event where a backpack with uh essential school supplies are provided to our students uh before the school year starts so they're ready to learn. Uh in addition to uh those two items, I also wanted to highlight our work around uh PBIS, which is a positive behavior intervention and support. It's a critical component to our multi-tered system of support. All of our school sites have uh PBIS teams and really PBIS is a school-based framework that supports students to improve social, emotional, and academic outcomes um for all of our
062students. And uh ALCAP uh number four is around parental involvement. This was a huge um uh topic of discussion for our ALCAP committee a year ago. They were really impressed with the offerings and wanted to see an increase in the offering offerings of um parent engagement and parent educa education events. So you can see here that uh around parent engagement, we have uh established committees like the special education parent advisory committee where we have parents that uh sit in an advisory role um as well as our district English learner advisory committee which I facilitate as well. So we have our English learner parents that participate in that particular committee and uh educational services in collaboration with a number of our schools have offered already a number of uh parent education classes in a series and
063you can see here that uh is a list of those uh topics that have already been um delivered and shared uh with our parent community. And really quickly, as I mentioned earlier, uh our LCAP is truly based on uh matric uh the metrics and our goal and our actions that are in response to those metrics. So we have those that are identified around academics, college and career engagement and well-being. And there are obviously additional metrics that we use such as uh teacher and red uh retention, credentiing uh which I reported on uh during the California dashboard presentation. our facilities inspection. We want our students to uh come to learning environments that are uh welcoming and uh clean and uh uh again welcoming for our students. And of course our Williams compliance which we report out
064um in the fall typically um in September. So the LCAP midyear report is posted to the uh RBUSD website on the ALCAP web page. Um, and that concludes the midyear report. Any questions? >> Just have one question. So, coming up in the future, we'll be doing another LCAP survey. Um, very important for everyone to give their feedback and their responses. When can we expect that? I know we're working on some of the questions and incorporating more feedback, but uh, do you know a rough timeline? >> Great commercial for President Elder. Uh we're tur we're we're currently targeting the month of March which is a month earlier than we have in the past. >> Perfect. Thank you. So yeah this is great to hear from our students to hear from our parents from teachers everyone. We
065we want to know from the community. >> Yeah I would say before spring break only because we want to implement the strategic plan questions with the LCAP. So it may take us a little bit longer but before spring break. >> Perfect. Thank you. >> Of course. >> Any other questions? >> Thank you. >> All right. Thank you. Uh, up next. >> I don't know. I really start clapping. >> Sombi started clapping. >> Sombi claps. You clap. Uh, up next, student board member report by Keely Ghoul. Oh, sorry. Skipping over something very important here. Uh, item 7.4. Going on to the Mandarin DI presentation by Dr. Allison Garland, assistant superintendent educational services. Roy Lopez Jr., Executive Director Educational Services and Alexander Glenn Toita principal. >> So it's us again. Um good evening uh President Elder, members
066of the board, Dr. Wesley, um fellow cabinet members in our community. We are super excited to be here tonight to discuss the possibility of opening a Mandarin dual immersion program at Toledita Elementary. Um our community has expressed strong interest since precoid and it's only gotten stronger since then. And tonight we look forward to sharing with you uh dual immersion benefits. We're going to talk about a little bit of enrollment data and then all of our planning efforts to support this opportunity for our students and our parents. And Mr. Lopez will discuss the benefits. >> This is me removing my LCAP hat and putting my dual immersion hat. For 25 years, I've had the great pleasure of supporting bilingual and dual immersion programs. In those 25 years, I've developed programs uh in collaboration with groups uh
067on our campuses that I served in the past uh developing programs from the ground up. I've worked very closely with uh schools that have uh different levels of implementation around dual immersion. And I'm just super excited about this opportunity as we explore uh dual immersion um for Mandarin. Dual immersion or dual language has three pillars. One of which is academic achievement. The other is uh being bilingual uh bicultural bilingual also uh social cultural competence. And you can see here listed on this particular slide the benefits uh for students who are enrolled in in dual immersion programs. there's research to back this. Um, we're really excited about the opportunity uh to possibly add to our dual immersion offerings in the district. And you can see here that there's tremendous benefits not only cognitively for our students,
068but also in addition to our English learners whose primary language is not English and may be enrolled in a dual immersion program. And so there's many benefits uh again as they are listed here. At this time, I'd like to pass it over to um Principal Glunt. I brought my cheering squad. Um, thank you. Good evening. I want to start by sharing a quick little story. Uh, my very first coffee with a principal ever, Dr. Wesley was there with me and a parent raised their hand and the question was, "When are we getting a Mandarin dual immersion program?" And the response at that point was, "That is not a part of our strategic plan at this time." And with your support, I am very excited to hopefully be able to answer that question with this fall.
069So, why Mandarin and why Toita? First, Mandarin is already an established language pathway in our district. It is offered at both middle schools and at the high school, and our students can begin coursework starting in grade seven all the way through high school their senior year. We are incredibly fortunate to have Kathy Wang leading the Chinese program at the high school. The She's amazing. the program she has built and her passion and her expertise have been recognized at the national level. And on top of that, like was stated before, there's been strong community interest in the Mandarin dual immersion program dating back to before COVID and from my time in Rodondo since August 2023 at my first coffee with the principal at least. And Toita is being considered as a potential home for mandon dual
070immersion for a few key reasons. As we know, our district is facing declining enrollment and Toleda has felt that impact. Despite new construction within our boundaries, we have not seen an increase in enrollment and we are currently the only elementary school with empty classroom space. And at this on this slide is a look at our enrollment over the past several years going back to the 2021 2022 school year. At first glance, it may look relatively steady, but I can tell you that behind the scenes, there's been a great deal of effort just to remain in the low 400s. For example, TK was intentionally placed at Toita to help support enrollment, and you can see that reflected on the right side of the slide. But what I think is especially important to highlight is that nearly
07130% of our total enrollment consists of students who either attend Toledita through school of choice or on an interd district permit. So our goal is to position Toleda as the home of the Mandarin dual immersion program in order to strengthen and grow enrollment in a sustainable way. So when I was researching um the opportunity to join RBUSD and thankfully I have had that wonderful opportunity. Um one of the appealing uh programs that I researched about the district was that it had an a longestablished dual immersion program and someone with experience as I have um having the opportunity the last four years to work directly with the dual immersion Spanish program has just been an absolute pleasure. So uh to continue uh work around dual immersion um is very very exciting as I mentioned before and
072so the reason why I wanted to highlight that is we have a model that is an exemplar and there's many aspects of uh the dual immersion Spanish program that we can mirror um when we uh look to possibly implement dual immersion Mandarin. And so one of those uh key elements of uh dual immersion uh that has been so su successful with the DI Spanish is that we do strive to offer a two-way model uh dual immersion program. Really what that means is in simple terms that the students who enter the program at kindergarten half of the student half of the student population is uh native English speakers and the other half are heritage or Spanish native speakers. And so that's what we will strive to do. Uh so as we explore uh DI Mandarin, uh
073we want to again lean into what has been so successful not only with DI Spanish but other DI programs in general. >> So as we started this work, one of the first steps that we took was distributing a parent interest survey. And we initially shared this at our kindergarten and TK information sessions, but it quickly gained traction even outside of our district. We received approximately 190 responses and of those 87 were verified as ageel eligible for kindergarten and the 2627 school year. And as Mr. Lopez just mentioned the best practice in dual immersion programs is to aim for a balanced class composition, half heritage or fluent Mandarin speakers and half English only speakers. And the results from our survey are very encouraging. Not only did we see strong interest from English-speaking families, but of those
07487 kindergarten eligible families, 67 of those indicated that their child is either fluent in Mandarin or have has had some level of exposure. And so this balance will be critical to building a strong program foundation. And this table breaks down interest by district, either RS or neighboring districts or others, um, and by grade level of those families that express interest in the Mandarin dual immersion program. Of the 190 respondents, 163 provided us with birth date information. So, we're able to verify their um, eligibility and what grade level they would be placed in for the 2627 school year. And what this data really shows us is that the interest isn't limited to just our income in incoming kindergarten families. We're seeing interest from incoming TK families and even families younger than that, which really is a
075nice strong indicator of the amount of interest that we could have for long-term sustainability and gives us confidence in the potential success of this program should the board choose to move forward. So, some of the work that we've done in preparation to bringing this forward with you tonight, um, we've taken several important steps already. I shared this concept with the Toita staff earlier in the year before distributing the survey. We established a working group and begin visiting existing Mandarin dual immersion schools. Building relationships with principles, teachers, and leadership teams has been invaluable. We really want to make sure that we're learning from programs that are already successful. And then once we confirmed strong family and community interests, we posted um teaching positions on Edjoin. And I'm thrilled to share that we received 17 qualified applicants,
076including some from out of state. And that level of interest speaks volumes about the viability of this program. So, if the board approves, moving forward, our next steps would include expanding our working group to include Toledita teachers, continuing site visits to other Mandarin dual immersion programs, and strengthening our professional network. And in fact, uh, our working group will be in San Francisco next week attending the Cababe conference. And we want to continue to build our knowledge and our partnerships. We would then determine the specific program model and curriculum and then to develop a three to fiveyear implementation plan. Our hope is to hold a parent information night in early March with enrollment tenatively scheduled to open on March 17th. And so in summary, the exploration and planning we've done shows that Toledo is uniquely positioned
077to be the home of the Mandarin Doula immersion program. We have a strong verified community interest, a clear K through2 pathway, available space, and the staff and leadership to implement it thoughtfully and successfully. This program isn't just about language instruction. It's about expanding opportunities for students, enhancing our existing incredible school community, and supporting RBUSD and Toledo's long-term growth and success. And with that, I would like to introduce Kathy Wayne. Thank you. Good evening, board president, board members, Dr. Wesley, and members of the cabinet. My name is Kathy Wong. I'm honored to serve as a member of the Mandarin DI working group, and I lead the Chinese program at Redondo Union High School. Over the past several years, we have seen transformative growth in our high school Chinese program. Enrollment has increased, engagement has deepened, and
078students stay not because they have to, but because they find purpose and connection in the language and culture. Our program was recently recognized as one of only 12 recipients nationwide of the national out outstanding K16 Chinese program award. This recognition reflects not only strong instruction, but the culture we have intentionally built. Our classrooms feel like a family. Students support one another. Parents are deeply engaged and trust the program. They see the growth in their children and are proud of what they are achieving. We also work closely with our u middle schools to ensure alignment in curriculum and proficiency targets so students transition confidently into high school. This is why launching a Mandarin DI program at the elementary level is so powerful. A DI program allows students to build language proficiency early, creating a seamless progression
079into middle and high school. With clear vertical articulation across levels, we can create a coherent K12 pathway that develops bilingualism intentionally and systemat systematically, not by chance, but by design. Through my professional work beyond the district, I present at national conferences, hold national certification in language proficiency evaluation, and serve as a national trainer for AP Chinese teachers with the College Board. These experiences gave me insight into what strong sustainable language pathways look like, and I'm prepared to bring that expertise to the development and implementation of a highquality DI program in our district. We have already seen what is possible at the high school level. Expanding this opportunity to our youngest learners allows us to cultivate that same motivation, community, and excellence from the very beginning. Thank you. That concludes our presentation. Thank you. Any questions?
080>> Yeah, I think first point of order. You mentioned that should the board approve this program. I don't see an item where we're approving it on this agenda or discussing it. >> So there's no action item, but we'd be asking if you had any hesitations for us to move forward because we want to start in doing interviews. We have a working group who's going to make decisions on the model of the program and also on the curriculum. So your your your actual action will be when we bring forward a request to hire someone and a request to purchase the curriculum for the the one cohort. >> Yes. So as a previous action item, putting it on the strategic plan was in some ways what led to this. >> And so that also matches the protocol
081when we implemented the dual immersion program at Washington. >> So it's just a discussion item or if we bring up any hesitation now would be the time and this is for starting this fall. Not you can have a hesitation about having a mandarin DII program and then there's a hesitation about making it happen this fall. Our recommendation is to begin in the fall. Um because we've shared this evening the work that has been done and the information that we've received and there's more work to do. But before we proceed, we want to make sure that a majority of you um give us that blessing. And it's it's um if you want to have public comment on this topic now, you can. If you want to give us that that okay to move forward later, you
082can. But the whole intent is to share the work that's been done and to u make sure that the board is aware of what's going on and allowing us to continue to move forward because moving forward would mean again creating a three to fiveyear plan um interviews. We have nine people who've applied to the position. We posted it to see if there was interest and so we had nine people apply and also um >> 17. >> Sorry, 17. Oh well, last time I looked it was nine but even better. um uh and also uh the working group that we've created would then begin to start talking about the model. Is it a 50-50? Is it a 9010? And choosing the curriculum. All of which would be decided before uh the end of June so that
083we could bring that back to you for approval. And that would be the action that you would take. >> So the action would happen in June once all of the because I I do have a ton of questions. Am I the only one in this? >> You can ask them. I think maybe start. >> Okay. No, but I was wondering if we want to hear public comment because normally we don't get that opportunity to hear the comments before we discuss since it's not usually agendaized. >> But >> we do have public comments on this item, advanced ones, and I'm sure others do. >> Okay. But it's not an item. It's just a discussion. So, I mean, >> sure. >> As a report to the board, we can discuss it. >> Yeah. Okay. But we could
084also move public comment up and then come back to this. >> Well, do you want the comment before I've asked questions or after? What are you suggesting? >> I'm just suggesting >> right now we're on the question about maybe you should ask questions while we have our presenters here. >> Okay. >> Yeah. >> Um the slide you had about Toita enrollment, >> what's the goal for enrollment at Toledita? >> Um >> how what's the capacity I would guess? I think at the most enrollment from what I've learned, but prior to me was about maybe closer to 540 540 550 >> 540 we've had >> there in the last 10 years within the last 10 years. >> Okay. And so >> but your question is what was what's the goal? Well, I guess first was the
085capacity and so is there and then I guess my second question is what's the goal ideally that we would have enrollment at toita 5 again or is >> well we currently have um portions of the campus that are designated like portable classrooms to replaced by modular classrooms. So we would have the capacity to have enough classroom space for a dual immersion program kindergarten through fifth grade. Um so it would be adding depends on how the model works. It could add we could add five more classrooms, eight more classrooms. Um so really it's we have the physical capacity on the campus and we have within the measure S bond measure a plan for building modular classrooms on the campus. >> And when you say we have the capacity for the dual immersion program, >> the physical
086space. So it would not be we could keep this enrollment for regular >> English speaking students and on top of that so we would be looking at going up to close to 600 students on the TIA campus. >> It's possible. Yes. >> And we would be with measure but uh bond funds we would have that many. So it' be a much different campus. We'd be hiring you know it' be a larger >> well different than what >> we've had for the last since 2021. We have a lot of empty classrooms on that campus and we can't say that of our other elementary school campuses. >> Okay, so that makes sense. So we have enough space, physical space. It's not like Bernie that has the tiny footprint. Um, so my next question is regard to this
08750/50. We we're not sure that that's the program that we're going to go for. >> The committee will decide >> one of that's one of the things that we want to explore all the benefits and the pros and the cons to. We've seen some models. Most of the models surrounding us are 50/50. We've s are looking at observing an 8020 school. There's 7030. There's a bunch of different models and um ways to implement it. But our goal would really be to see what schools and sites have implemented this program with the most success um and try to emulate that and also taking into account what we want our students what we want to make sure that we are providing for our students specifically. So that's something that we as a committee would go to Cababe,
088discuss all the pros and cons, meet with curriculum developers and see what that would look like um and make a recommendation as what would be the best model for our school. >> So for example, if it was a 50-50 model and we don't have 50% of the class that live in Roondo Beach that are native Mandarin speakers, that would be when we would open up to outside the district. Well, the model doesn't have to do with the dual immersion. >> So, maybe explain the model like how would you get into the DI program. >> so there's two two separate things. One is the composition of the class which is 50% the goal the guiding principles state the best practice is 50% native or heritage speakers of whatever language you're doing the program in and 50
089English only. So, that's one part of it. That's 50/50. But then the other separate part of it is how much time will that language be spoken in the classroom? Will it be spoken 50% of the time in English and 50% in Mandarin? 8020. So the makeup of the class is a separate conversation than the type of program that we were we'd be suggesting to implement. >> So then I guess my question goes more toward the makeup of the class. Would they be all Red Roondo students? I think the goal would probably be to of course have Roondo students served first. >> Well, we have board policy that gives priority to Redondo residents first. So, we would follow >> regardless of whether they speak Mandarin or not. >> So, that would be well, this is the
090same with the DI program at Washington. So you have people who apply for the English only and you have people who apply and have shown some level of proficiency in the native language and then you take redando families first and if we don't have enough redono families then we have our list of permits and oftentimes that leads to a lottery. So that's how we've done it and that's what we continue to do. >> Okay. Um, if you have other questions that I don't want to hog it all, but I have more. Go ahead. If you don't have any other, go. I >> can go where you can keep going. >> No, go ahead. Um, so going back to that because that's where you know I was getting caught up is understanding the dual immersion which
091I didn't understand before that we had 50% native speakers of English and 50% on the heritage or native speakers. Um, and we do that for Spanish because I know there's a lot of people and a lot of what we hear is that why are we doing this if I can't get in I can't get my kids into Washington's Spanish program. Why are we doing another program? Why not just expand the Spanish? And so I wanted to kind of have you maybe hear for the public like why we wouldn't be just seeking to grow the Spanish program. Why are we starting a new language? Is that you want me to answer it? >> To that point, um, at least in the in the time that I've been with the district the last four years, uh, we
092have noticed a decrease of students whose parents uh, submit the DI application and claim that their child is a native speaker. And so part of our process is uh our two DI Spanish kinder teachers will assess uh our students for uh Spanish language proficiency that's appropriate for at the kindergarten level. Um that's both expressive language at receptive language. And so what we've noticed is a number of those students actually would not qualify according to our cut scores uh as native speakers. So, it's been a challenge, at least in the time that I've been here, um, to fill those spots on the heritage native speaker side of Spanish, but we have been able to fill them. And so, um, if we want to truly stay to the model, um, as a two-way program, um, to venture
093out and to seek, um, or establish another DI Spanish program, I think that would be, um, counterproductive to what we already have right now currently with our dual immersion Spanish and how we strive again for it to be a two-way model program. >> Do we have people on the waiting list for Spanish or not? Uh so what happens is uh for the last two years I can speak to all uh students who were assessed for Spanish language proficiency uh and scored um that they are heritage or native speakers in Spanish were offered a spot in dual immersion Spanish. Those that were not were then part of the pool for the lottery. Does that make sense? >> For n I just meant in general. I I was under the impression that there were several people who
094would apply to go to DI Spanish DI and were not able to get in to the >> only the English only. So you have you have two different enrollments when you apply. You say you check my child speaks no no Mandarin or no Spanish therefore you're English only. And if you have some level proficiency you check that box then you have to take a test to prove it. What Mr. Mr. Lopez is saying that we've been able to meet the the request of those for the that's shown some level some level proficiency in Spanish with no weight list but we have not been able to put everyone who's requesting that speaks only English. So there has been a wait list for just the English only and what he's trying to explain is that because there's
095been difficulty in more of the native speaker side to expand that will be difficult if we want to be true to the dual immersion program. I'd also like to add that the reason why we are going down the mandrin is because we have a very large population of people who've been asking for it. We have a very strong program at the high school thanks to Miss Wang and we offer it at the middle school and we do not offer it at the elementary. This would be something that we do not offer and it will meet the needs of community members who are asking for it and it will give students the opportunity to learn a language K through 12 and that is the reason why we are making the recommendation and why we put it
096on the on the strategic plan in August. >> Are there any other languages that we have at the middle school and high school besides the Spanish and Mandarin? We offer French at the high school, >> but not in middle school. >> No, we don't at this time. No. >> Just going back to the weight list question. Uh do you know roughly how many uh people are on the English only weight list? Um or like a percentage um because I know I've heard from a lot of very passionate engaged parents who love DI programs. Um there's clearly a huge community demand there. Uh and some of the things they've asked for is they would like Spanish instead of Mandarin. I just guess numerically what do you do you know roughly how many are don't make the
097lottery. >> So just as an example for this particular school year we had 26 applicants who claimed that they the the student was a fluent Spanish speaker. They those students were assessed and all students who scored uh as native speakers of Spanish were offered uh placement in the DI uh Spanish program uh as native speakers. Those that did not would then became part of uh the pool to uh for the lottery. And uh last year we had 23 students that remained on the wait list through October. >> Okay. >> Those are native speakers though. know the English speaking >> the the English speaking that also included those students who were not uh native speakers of Spanish >> was 23 >> 23 >> and we have two classes of of just over the year so we
098understand there's two classes of Spanish DI we're proposing one cohort at Toledita >> and so just to um just to add a a piece like that Mr. Elder referenced when he talks about there's a you know you've heard from a lot of parents who really love our dual program and they want more duel but what I think the piece that maybe isn't coming together is that Mr. Lopez keeps talking about native heritage speakers of Spanish. So, what we have to be able to explain to our English-speaking families is that any expansion of a Spanish program would no longer be a dual immersion program. And our school district has historically committed to the pillars that Mr. Lopez spoke about that come as a result of a dual program. They do not come about as a result
099of an immersion program. And so the school district is committed to a dual language model, not an immersion model. So I think that's an important understanding and explanation for families as to one of the main reasons why we have not added more classes. Um because it wouldn't be a dual immersion program. >> I think that's really sorry. >> So I was going to say just going back to the the original stats because that's what we want to be successful. But uh having heard from a lot of very passionate DI parents for Spanish, I've also heard from a lot of very passionate parents who want DI Mandarin. Um and so there is some percentage of of parents who don't make it into DIP Spanish for their kids. But 100% of parents who want DI Mandarin don't
100get in because we don't have a program right now. Um so to me that's kind of the biggest challenge is there's no pathway right now. Um and this would give that. So >> correct. >> Sorry. >> I was just going to say I think Dr. Alpern's what you got at is exactly where I think the biggest misunderstanding maybe of the program exists because you know in Roondo there are plenty of families that complain they can't get into the dual immersion but that's without an understanding of what that really is and maybe something we can do better is um somehow explain that through the Washington you know process as people come in and try to and end up on that weight list is to understand why I'm not getting in because I think it's a really
101valuable part of our program. Um, and so in saying that, are we certain that we have enough Mandarin speaking students to start this program? >> Yeah, we shared that slide. We we are very certain. >> And how big is this class going to be? not to exceed 26. So, >> and so only half of those are going to get in. So, we're going to have some very unhappy parents. >> Yes, we are. >> So, in starting our program, which you know, with all the accolades that we want to do, we're also going to have some very unhappy families that are not going to get into the program. How are we going to decide who gets in? >> We'll do the same process as the Spanish DI. We have a lottery. It's a public lottery in
102this room. So, you're saying the goal is to have one class in the fall. >> Um, so we need to see we need to see what interest we have in first grade, but ideally we would start a kinder and a first, but we would only have one per grade level ultimately for all, you know, K through five eventually. >> So, potentially starting two classes, >> potentially starting a >> but only one at each grade level. So, we're talking about starting at >> and committing to only the one in each grade level. So if we we can see that we have definitely enough for a kinder we may have enough also for a first grade and if we can have a K and a one then that would be the ultimate we wouldn't go beyond beyond
103first. >> So part of that is that long-term planning that you were asking these questions about. Right. So if we added one per grade level then you're looking at utilizing six more classrooms. >> Right. If you're looking at two per grade level, you're looking at 12 classrooms or 11 classrooms depending on combo at the upper grades. But but ultimately like because I was here when we implemented Washington, we had 560 students at Washington Elementary School. We had so much space there. The school is now has a capacity of 830 and at its height Washington had 820 students. So we had so much ability to grow. That's why we knew we could build a program with two at each grade level. Yeah. >> So but the goal for this would only be for one each grade
104level. So we're talking about a relatively small. >> Yes. Because we also we do not want anyway want to impede the ability for students to enroll at Toledo who live in that community. Right. So, it's just to add on the program, not to take away from the existing program. >> In starting with the 1K class, are you anticipating that there would be any Red Roondo students who won't be able to go to Toleda because of that? >> No, that that's what I was just saying that we would we would only have the one class so that we would not in any way impede or affect the current enrollment. But as Miss Glenn shared, 28% of the students now don't live in the Toleda area, although they do a great job of making everyone feel like
105they're part of the community. I just want to say that. Um, but if they live in the community and they want to go to that school, this program would never ever get in the way of their ability to do that, nor had it at has it at Washington. >> And from a long-term city planning standpoint, there's no housing allocation in that area. It's all in North Rodondo for the most part. So I don't foresee any population trends changing based on the current housing housing element. Sorry I can't >> I just I think it's important to say that because on the slide we have all the other districts and I want parents to understand that it's not affecting we're not saying that and there's people in Roondo that won't be able to go to Redondo school.
106Um everybody still has their choice. >> We have plenty of room. If I can add, I I've been part of this discussion earlier on. Um, as you may or may not know, um, my family's been very fortunate to have all three uh of my children go through dual immersion Spanish program Washington from u 13 years ago. My oldest senior will be graduating in a couple months. Um and the way I understand the numbers um as it stands today about a 30% of our Toledita population are students um are either permits or are in um a school of choice. So that means if we have suddenly have explosion of babies that come to Dolita, we'll have 125 spots as it stands today. Well, they'll be divided into six or 25. So I I think I think
107that's what's giving our administrators um very high confidence that the Toledo residents in that area will have a spot. This program will be only adding on to making this Toita community and dare I say Roando Beach Unified School District community more full and rich in things that we teach and learn together. Uh that'll be my hope and that'll be my expectation. I mean to your point of not everyone's going to make it in according to this interest survey. There are going to be people who are upset and disappointed but if we do nothing all of them will be upset and disappointed. So um we can't give everyone everything. I would love that be able to >> I just I think it's going to be a lot harder now that we've done this and and for
108these families that are so invested now into our process to really understand there's a 50% chance your child is not going to get into the program even if we do it. >> Yeah. So I just want that to be very clear. >> Yeah. Yeah, we heard from Washington, too. >> That's really unfortunate. >> Um, going back to the dual immersion commitment that we have, there's immersion and there's dual immersion. Are you proposing a dual immersion in Mandarin or a immersion program or is that a TBD? >> No, that was one of the slides that we showed. >> So dual language is the umbrella term. Dual language speaks to any instruction that's offered in English and a target language. Dual immersion can be offered in two ways. It's either a two-way program where half of the
109students are heritage speakers of the target language and English speakers. There's also a one-way program where a majority of the students could be heritage speakers of the target language or um Englishonly students because we've had we've had such success with a two-way dual immersion model that we have at Washington where again the entering class of students are half native speaker heritage heritage speakers of Spanish and English speakers. That's the model that we want to continue. >> Will this displace any teachers at Toledita? >> Not to my knowledge. No. >> So, if we don't do any Mandarin at all at Toleda, there's there is a possibility a teacher can be displaced. That's been the case for the past several years, which is why we've tried very hard to accept the permits and to keep the school
110of choice. Um, especially kids in TK at Toledita to try to not displace. I mean, a teacher has been displaced in the past, but if there is displacement, it is not because of this program. >> It's declining enrollment. >> Correct. Um so one of the questions I had um is that uh again hearing from all these very passionate parents who love DI programs, other offerings and options are possible too that they brought up like some of these after school enrichment programs. Are we looking at expanding those across elementaryaries for different languages? Um you know districtwide uh you know maybe there's not a DI program available at every site but if we can bring these language programs to these thirdparty vendors is that something that's being looked at? So, I can't speak to for all the
111other seven elementary sites, but for my school specifically, um, hearing that because there is such a demand for just language expo exposure in general, specifically and primarily in Spanish, looking at other options like an afterchool enrichment program that's more consistent rather than one trimester, one day a week is definitely something that I would be interested in exploring. Um, I don't know if my seven fellow other elementary principles feel the same, but I think that would definitely fill the need and the want of some of the community that's asking for that consistent instruction in a different model. We've offered after school language programs in the past and so we'll definitely explore what options are out there and again there's some some strategy to it because if we are able to offer an afterchool program even of
112Spanish at Toledita that may help with enrollment right and that's that is the goal um and there are other schools I mean all of our schools are experiencing declining enrollment but at different rates right as you said the north side is growing and it's not as it's not declining at the rate that the south side is So we could possibly add after school language classes at other schools as well to maybe help drive that that enrollment. >> I think if we had some robust offerings for these after school enrichment programs again through thirdparty vendors that's something parents really appreciate and it's something students can really benefit from. >> Um one of the questions I have the success of all this really hinges on teachers. So I love hearing that we've got 17 well-qualified applicants. Um
113I wish we had 17 Cathy's that would be wonderful for all of our students. >> I think we all agree. Yeah. >> Um and then we're hearing some of them are out of state. Um what what does it take to you know the the the details of picking curriculum and and going through all that process? Can you kind of walk through what this would look like if this moves forward of what how do how are teachers notified? What are the timelines for some of these things? Um you know curriculum choice all those different pieces. >> So should we be given the blessing to move forward? That's some of the work that we would be working on in the very near future. We've already in our working group discussed um some of the pros and cons
114of the different models. So 50 language exposure timeline in the classroom. Um I know that Kathy has been in contact with some curriculum vendors and is helping us vet through that process to make sure we select the best possible curriculum for our students. Um and then of course the hiring piece of that is making sure that those teachers that would be teaching this program have that input and voice as well before moving forward. So hopefully timeline is relatively soon that we have those answers because we want to make sure that we're giving parents the opportunity to make an informed decision on if this program is something that they want to enroll their child in and some of all those programmatical pieces too. >> Yeah, please. >> So dual language or dual immersion has been around
115for some time. On this particular slide in the lower right hand side there is a document and it's in its third version uh that was released by the center for applied linguistics called the guiding principles of dual language education. And the guiding principles gives guidance under different strands program structure curriculum professional development parent engagement. These are all critical pieces that we use as a guide. So it anchors us in our work. Within the guiding principles of dual language education, there are rubrics for each of the principles from an exemplary program to one in its that's in its infancy. So we're going to use this as a guide to help us moving forward. So I think this speaks to everything that principal glint has already uh shared and what you are asking board president elder like
116what does it take? We use that as our guide and it's been a valuable tool in the time that I've worked with dual language uh programs and again it's in its third version and um a highly effective tool for us and it has it all laid out uh as far as uh steps for us to uh take in implementing a dual immersion program in general. >> If I could just add a one quick comment. Um I I I know that we all know that what we have at our school district we have a lot of great things going. one of which is Mr. um Roy Lopez Jr. He is the expert in this particular subject matter and has been doing this professionally for 25 years. I just want us to recognize that this is not
117a resource every school district has even with other districts with dual immersion programs. It's it's a rare um resource. We have him. We also have Miss Wong uh as a resource. Again, many school districts do not have these resources, but we do and we should capitalize those. and he's done a great job working with the Spanish DI program. >> So I too was around when we implemented the Spanish DI program a minute ago. I can't believe it's been this long. Um I it seem it's very exciting. I'm totally love dual immersion but I do I do remember growing pains and I do remember that it doesn't just affect the elementary school. It goes on and on and then it's the middle school and then again it will be the high school. It is a huge
118huge undertaking. It is not just one or two classes at an elementary school. And while I appreciate the demand and I understand it and I respect it and I know we're amazing and I know Mr. Lopez Jr. Dr. is is fantastic and we have this great resource. It's a lot. We would have an We have 9,000 how many students? Almost 10,000 students, the majority of which are needing support in English language learning, plus a Spanish award-winning Spanish DI program. And now we want to implement a Mandarin DI program. I um I'd love to hear from Ed Services, from Principal Glenn, but also from the secondary, like do we have the room at Paris, from the high school? Is this something that we are truly ready to take on? I I I've heard the demand as
119long as everybody else has to. And that sometimes we say no and we don't prioritize it because we know where our resources are and what we're good at and what we can and can't do. So I am not against teaching Mandarin at Roondo. I am very um I have concerned I don't think is the right word that we are going to if we do something I want to make sure we're doing it well and with everybody collaboratively and not in a rushed fashion. >> Well, the advantage is that we've we have done it and it's we are now in our 13th year and so we have a blueprint on for how we have to do it and it it doesn't happen overnight. it it's going to take us you know 12 years one one class
120at a time but uh to answer your question in terms of enrollment Paris is also experiencing declining enrollment so yes we would have room there >> but we would have to expand our mandering offerings there >> like we did with the DI >> right so there were things that had to be brought on and then also it would be expanding the language at the high school as well right it can't just be >> no at the high um the the DI students have the ability to take an elective class and the Spanish language >> and would that be the same for Mandarin once they got up there or are we going to figure that out as well? >> And we have the classes at the high school. >> So you wouldn't be adding any more
121Mandarin classes at the high school to affect >> Yeah. You'd need a native speaker because in Spanish there's we added electives at the high school. added an elective that not all students took because they maybe they wanted to take another elective but they would continued on with the Spanish through AP. >> Yeah. Do you want to go to >> so uh procedurally we'll go to public comment and then come back to this item? >> It's up to you. So >> you can just do it now. take the comments related to it. I think it's helpful. >> Yeah. >> All right. So, uh I will read the hearing guidelines here. Members of the audience may address the board on any topic regardless of whether it's listed on the agenda. However, due to the Brown Act regulations,
122the board cannot engage in public discussion items not on the agenda. This is just going to be for this agenda item. Topics not on the agenda. Um comments from visitors shall not exceed three minutes unless the time limit is waved by the majority of the board. The board shall limit the total time for public input on each item to 20 minutes. With board consent, the president may increase or decrease the time allow for public presentation depending on the topic and the number of persons wishing to be heard. We do have some advanced written requests on this item. So, I will start with those. Starting with Amy Ha. Hi everyone. >> Hi, I'm a parent in the community and when I heard about the possibility of the Mandarin immersion program, I was so freaking excited and
123happy, but also sad because my kids are too old for this. Um, if it happened 13 years ago, we would have jumped on it right away. I did send my daughter who's now 15 um to a Mandarin immersion preschool and I just wanted her to get the language wherever she could and at that time it was a small class of 12 this preschool and half of that class after when the kids were ready for kindergarten um the school was in Manhattan Beach and half of those families permitted into Bradic which was the next closest >> next closest uh school and I was shocked that the parents would drive from the South Bay to Venice every day and that's how passionate parents are about the program and I didn't do that but um I'm excited that
124the possibilility is here now and I just wanted to share that. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Up next we have Lucy Koy. >> Hi, good evening. Uh my name is Lucy Co. I am the director of business partnerships for Nihow Cultural Arts Center. So we um were founded in 2012. We are a Chinese chain of preschools after schools online courses. We also create our own curriculum. We have different sets of textbooks and curriculum that are like from for non-natives for native speakers for non-native speakers from different age ranges. So there are sets for preschoolers, sets for kindergarten, first grade, like elementary school, sets for middle school, sets for AP at high school levels. Um so we have these different levels and um we really are very excited to see the possibility of another dual
125language immersion um school coming up. Um, I'm actually here today at the request of some of the parents of our students at our Roondo Beach preschools and after schools who are also hoping to have this in their daytime public school. Um, so to keep us short on time, I was going to talk about some of the benefits, some of the concerns, but the presentation covered a lot of things and um, Miss Lynn, thank you so much for bringing up a lot of the concerns. I think what I really wanted to address today are the common concerns for dual language immersion programs. Um because we work with different school districts. LA USD, West Cavina USD, um Anaheim USD, they mentioned Bradic, we are at Radic uh as well. So we provide different services to support um
126depending on what you're looking for. So after school enrichment was mentioned at Orangewood Elementary School. During the daytime, they don't have quite enough instructional time to be able to qualify as a full immersion program. So we come in in the afternoon as an enrichment program to make sure that they hit the uh hours of instruction that are necessary and to give the students um a little bit more support um supplemental practice and exposure time. And then at schools like in LA USD, we send out TAs that we train to work with our daytime teachers. Um, especially with the two-way model that you guys are looking at here, you have half the class who are native speakers, half the class who are non-native, which means you are functioning with two very different levels. So, in order
127to be able to keep the native speakers challenged while making sure the non-native speakers know what planet they're on, you often need a TA to be able to say, "Let me give these people some attention while you the main teacher works with these." So, and then um that's something that we can do whether it is in the daytime or in the afternoon. Um, on top of that with our textbooks, we have textbooks, curriculum, daytime teachers, after school teachers, um, TAs to go in throughout. And, um, we're not limited to that. We really just want to help make sure that, um, we times up. We can help you guys make a successful program. So hopefully you guys can uh let us know what kind of support you would be open to, how we can help you,
128if you would like for me to introduce you to the school districts we currently are working with to see um how our involvement helps as well. Thank you. >> Thank you. Up next, we have Lindsay Mir. Hi, good evening. Thanks for letting me speak to you tonight. My name is Lindseay Mir and I am here as a parent and a Roondo Beach resident to advocate for bringing this Mandarin program to the district. I am a mom to halfchinese children and languages deeply rooted in identity, culture, and family. I never learned to speak another language as a kid growing up and I always felt like that was a missed opportunity for me. And because of that, it has been and continues to be a priority for my children to become bilingual. For the past 5 years,
129my older daughter has attended LA USD Mandarin immersion program at Bradic. We do that 50-minute drive every day one way in Culver City. We made that commitment because we believe strongly in the value of language learning, not just for cultural connection, but for cognitive growth and future opportunity. Through my volunteer work at Bradock, I've seen firsthand how the Mandarin immersion program strengthens the entire school community. It fosters a more globally minded culture that extends well beyond the immersion classrooms. I've witnessed this through schoolwide cultural celebrations, collaboration between classrooms, and assemblies that highlight global themes and perspectives. Currently, a Mandarin program is not offered in Roondo, but by expanding our language offerings, we can provide families with greater choice while reflecting the diversity and global nature of the world our children are growing up in. Offering
130both Spanish and Mandarin programs demonstrates that our district is forwardinking and committing to preparing students for a globally connected future. Mandarin is the most spoken language in the world and China plays a major role in global business, technology, and international affairs. Giving our students early access to Mandarin prepares them for a world that is increasingly interconnected. Beyond career advantages, bilingual education strengthens problem solving skills, builds cognitive flexibility, and fosters empathy. It helps children see the world through a broader lens. Bringing a Mandarin immersion program to our district would expand access to these important benefits for more families. It would also reduce the need for parents to commute long distances long to other schools offering immersion programs making bilingual education more accessible within our own community. I truly believe this is an investment in our children
131academically, culturally, and globally. Thank you so much. >> Thank you. And up next is uh Wen Laauo. Apologize if I'm >> All right. Good evening uh board of um directors. Uh thank you again for having this session. This has been very enlightening and I am one of the uh enthusiastic parents that are really excited about this program. Personally, I have a six-year-old who's in kindergarten right now. And I also have another four-year-old that's going into TK. And for the last since they were both two, they have been going to a Mandarin immersion preschool. And I've seen the growth that they've had. And I've been extremely impressed. And it's one of my similar to Lindsay, we share similar values as we really would like our kids to continue that Mandarin journey. And we're so excited that
132this district is offering that opportunity. Um I think one thing I just want to bring up because a lot of folks have brought up a lot of good points is that um for the board's awareness there's a lot there's quite a num few quite a number of um Mandarin preschools um so from Nihal one plus singing Chinese sav um chia seeds mandarin tree there are a whole lot of uh preschools that can really serve as feeder schools into this program um and so I just want to make sure the board is aware of that and um Yeah, lastly again I just want to express how excited we are about this program and I really do hope that we can make this a reality this year. So thank you again for all the hard work that
133this team has done and for your consideration tonight. >> Thank you. Those are all the advanced written requests on this agenda item. Would anyone else like to speak on this? >> Me. >> Hi. Um Anita Averick in case you've forgotten me. Um, when Ashley's first started at Burl, there was a very large ESL population. And I suggested to the then board that maybe if they put the students together in first grade and mixed them up that by the time they got out of sixth grade, everybody would be speaking two languages. And you would have thought I had 14 horns in my head. But that being said, 20 years later when I was on the school board and I said the idea of the dual immersion came up was jumping on it. It was the best
134thing. And yes, people were unhappy because not everybody got in. My neighbor was a kindergarten teacher and he spent the whole summer teaching his student his son Spanish so he could test as a Spanish speaker to make sure he got in. But the program is phenomenal and it's phenomenal because it's done half and half. I also wanted to put mantra in it at that point but we didn't have a place to put it and so for a few years I kept trying and I kept I kept losing. But I think that it's a really important thing that we do this now. Somebody's going to be unhappy they don't get in. If you don't get in a pottery class at school because there's too many. You're unhappy. If you don't, it's okay to be unhappy if
135you don't get into something. Not everybody has to have a medal to win everything. We should be past that point. So, you have six years to figure out how to make this work for the middle schools. You start planning now and you have 12, you know, nine for the high school. It can work. And I think it'd be a really bad decision not to go forward with this. I think this is phenomenal. It puts Roondo where we've always been. We've always been the leader and everything and this just continues us to be there and I think we know how to run a program like this. We've done it. You guys are phenomenal and I and I and I think it would just work really well and our population here is very largely Asian more than
136it it ever was. And I think it's important that we respect those parents and I think we should put the program in. >> Thank you. Would anyone else like to speak on this agenda item? >> Speak again. >> Just a little bit. >> I'm sorry. You've already spoken. Sorry. >> It was just in response to a couple of things that came. >> So, we don't actually have this as an action item. So, there's no vote. >> Right. There's no vote, but we would like to move forward. So, does anyone on the board have any additional questions or any um comments in terms uh of us not moving forward? Otherwise, I would like to work with our team to continue this planning and get dates out and information out to all of the families that have
137expressed interest. >> Um when you say working, when will it be brought to the board? like you know this working group will you be working with all the language teachers at the high school and the middle school as well to get their feedback on you know I'm just curious I see some of our language teachers here tonight um are they part of this >> I think they're here to support their colleague but I don't know why they're here um >> there's Spanish and French here now I know that both teachers they're both my kids teachers are here >> yeah um so we have a working group and as a reminder um all teacher uh participants are chosen by our association um RBTA. So they select their members >> um I know Miss Wang is on
138is a part of that working group um along with um Miss Glunt and Mr. Lopez and so um and and whoever RPTA has selected. So we would begin the work of creating at least a kindergarten class and seeing if there's enough interest for a first grade class. And we would like to um do this with the uh goal of starting that this fall of 2026. >> That has that group already been selected? >> I believe yes. I believe the teachers have been selected. Yes. >> Okay. And would it come back to the board in progress reports at each board meeting so we would know what was happening because I would imagine there's going to be a capital cost for curriculum and whatnot that we'll have to >> Yeah. And it's one it's one class. uh
139but we would be giving you updates as we do in our Friday updates. We can also do another presentation as an update. Um but ultimately it would come to you in the form of approvals in terms of the curriculum and also the um the hiring of the teacher. >> If I could add just one more thing. Um as a parent um who had three kids go through and and they're all still all in the program. My youngest is a fifth grader at Washington. One of the things that we had done um since I was a parent when Kylie was a kindergartener that we start this program not school in a in a school but it's a one community. So whatever we did at the parents we did it for the entire school. I can confidently
140say that Washington has more programs than it did 14 years ago and it's been that way ever since. Um I've also checked in with some of the teachers. We became friends over time. they share the same understanding. I verified my I'm not just hallucinating and imagining. Um it is also a larger school. We get to do a lot of fun things and I as as one of the duties that I have as a board member is to do site visits and I get to watch my son play in the school in the playground. He doesn't just play with Spanish speaking students. He plays with anybody who play with him and he's an outgoing child so that helps. Um but it's always been that way. And the same with the her two older sisters they have
141friends they have go do girl scouts and boy scouts all the activities in the community fully comingled and that is the model I believe we're going to after creating this particular program that we're one community just wanted to add that everybody understand is what we're doing >> I think fundamentally I think this is an incredible opportunity for our students I just want to make sure we do it right to echo Miss Flynn's concerns concerns. We just have to make sure this isn't a one-time thing. We have to make sure we launch it successfully. So, I appreciate all the work everyone's put into making sure it's successful. Um I just want to make sure that the focus is the long term. Thank you for all that. >> So, I mean um I'm such a big fan
142of uh multilanguage. I speak two languages, but my first language was actually French. So, I learned French before I even learned my own native language. Um, and then I took Spanish and then I took French and my kids are speaking different languages now. I have a great niece who's in our dual enrollment program, dual immersion program at Washington. Watching her grow and and being able to speak fluent Spanish um without any parents who are of native or Spanish background. Um, one of the benefits we have of being able to launch a dual immersion Mandarin program is that we do have the footprint from our dual immersion Spanish program. So, we've seen the growing pains. I remember those first cohorts. I remember the disappointed parents and the various tools that you had to implement um when
143it didn't work out. But we get the we get to see now what we were able to do. And so those concerns, yes, I I don't want this program to be a oh kindergarten through fifth, but we were able to see what happened when we got to the middle school and and we grew that. You guys grew that. You made it happen. And then we have the advanced courses available for them at the high school. So our our our blueprint is there. We know there's going to be growing pain. We know there's going to be disappointments. but we've already addressed those in the past. So, we have that to rely upon. Um, I love the ability to introduce another culture to our community and for these students to have that opportunity. So, yes, if we
144can make it happen, um, I'd love to see this program um, launch. >> Thank you. >> Sounds like there's probably some interest from the board though in bringing this back either as a regular update or as a discussion item or at some point as an action item. It's a massive undertaking and I feel like the community deserves to have as much information about it. You know, it's going to raise more awareness about our Spanish immersion program that we have right now. It's a great opportunity for people to understand that more fully and to appreciate that what we're doing. I think um it's I would really encourage it to maybe be even a standing item if we're really planning on launching this in the fall like to keep and updated on where we are going because
145>> well we'll continue to provide Friday updates and I and I think when we come to with a recommendation for curriculum we can explain how we got to that point and we come with a recommendation for an employee we can talk about that and so and if you want it to be even more regular let us know. But we have work to do and we're we're committed to doing it and making it the best we can. Um, always there's road blocks, road bumps when you're starting a new program, but we will do whatever we can to make this as seamless as possible. >> I um I I I think of course we're all in favor of more language, more language programs, all of this. I have concerns like Miss Flynn about the timing and um
146the undertaking. Um, but I think it, you know, we have to kind of just see where it goes and and well, if our leadership believes that this is the best thing for Toita and your community, feel confident, Miss Glint, that this is a good expansion at I would love to hear that from you and to because you guys are taking on a a big undertaking here. It's not simple. So, um, I'd love to hear what you feel, how you feel about it. I think that um there we go. Sorry. Um I think that this is an incredibly exciting opportunity and I think that calming the fears that this will somehow affect negatively the existing culture that we have is not founded. I can understand maybe the hesitation, but I see it and I think my
147staff sees it as well as a great opportunity to not save Toledita because it's not at risk of going anywhere, but enhance and enrich the culture that we already have and then add to it by bringing this program to Toleda. Um, something that I'm very passionate about making sure happens is learning from the mistakes of um, not mistakes, the of the roadblocks of others. >> the growing pains and I want to be very mindful and cognizant of making sure that this doesn't become two separate schools or two separate programs or a school within a school. And something um, like Mr. Cho mentioned, you know, those roadblocks and bumps, we don't I don't want that for Toleda. Nobody wants that for Toledo. they will happen and we will get through them. Um, building the network of
148people that have gone and walked this road before me and learning from those mistakes is going to be really important. Um, and I think the other thing that we have to mention is the existing staff at Toledita um are incredible and they never don't they never do anything halfway. They jump in with both feet. They're passionate, excited to make sure that it's successful because that's a part of the Toledo reputation is it is an excellent school and making sure that that continues. So, I have confidence in the team that we've already built. I have confidence in my staff to make sure that they're welcoming. I have confidence in the existing community to make it welcoming. And I have confidence in the community that we hopefully get to add to be able to make our school
149and the district an even better place with more opportunities for students to have this pathway to bi literacy. So thank you and I mean I do appreciate all the work that's gone into this and obviously you all are the educators and we want to you know be but I would be appreciate being kept more publicly in the loop and you know making sure that what capital costs are this will be. Oh, absolutely. Remember, it is one one class per grade >> all the way through high school. >> Yes. >> And then I just wanted to um >> it's such a big undertaking. Is there the concern that um it's going to take away resources from >> I mean I feel like we have a lot of resources needed for our the kids that we have
150now and are you know >> that is Yeah. Yeah. So that I think that's where the concern is is because we're we're we're trying to to accomplish so much going on in our district because we're always improving and making sure that we're not taking away those resources that for our other students, our other teachers, the campuses, the M. So it's just another undertaking and and I think that's where the concern is is, you know, making sure our resources are not being depleted to launch this program. We understand we would not deplete the resources to launch this program. >> Any other questions or comments? >> All right, moving forward with item 7.5, student board member report by Key Gold. >> Thank you. Congratulations to our JV and varsity game day competition cheer teams. They competed among
151teams from other states and our 38 athletes brought back seven USA Spirit national titles to Roondo Union. This was such a historical moment for our cheer program. Last Saturday, the RHS dance kicked off their competition season at Chino High School. The team had a strong start and ear in second place in their division. The RHS spring rally would take place next week along with the spirit week and a teen beach theme. Congratulation to Ronda Union's academic decathlon team for placing seventh in their regional competition. With this placing, they have earned 18 medals total and an invite to the state competition next month. We have eight seniors who are named national merit finalists. Each student has demonstrated distinguished performance and high potential for future academic accomplishment. All finalists will be considered for a national merit scholarship
152award. The RHS Jazz Band program competed at the Western States Jazz Festival on Saturday with the Jazz Band earning second place in their division. Finally, tomorrow, Rodono students will participate in career day and have the opportunity to hear from three industry professionals of their interest. Thank you. >> Thank you. Up next, Superintendent Report by Dr. Nicole Wesley. Okay, I'm going to invite um Amy Hut to join me in my report and we're going to do my report from the uh podium. um this time last year and this year uh just want to take my board report to acknowledge our PTA and um I'm I'm not going to read their their mission statement, but uh as you will you will see by the end of this report just how much the PTA um adds to the
153enhanced journey of our students. And there's so many programs and opportunities that we would not have if it were not for our our PTAs um at every site and our council PTA. Amy Ha is our PTA president and um and so um what I want to share because this is not you're going to do this for me. >> Okay. Um that each of our schools has an active PTA or a PTSA. PTSA. The S um starts at the high school level. Is it at the middle school level? Middle school, secondary level. >> Um these are just some of the activities that we're going to highlight tonight. Um but there's more activities that our PTA councils and PTAs um sponsor at our school sites. And the reason why um we talk about our PTA is because
154they're celebrating 129 years of existence. Um, February 17th is actually Founders Day and the founders there, as you can see, is Alice Mcllen Bernie and Phoebe Apperson Hurst and Selena Sloan Butler. So, thank you to the founders. Um, they we we hope that we're making them proud or PTA is making them proud, but they have I don't think they realize just how much of an impact they would have on students um when they started a PTA. Um, for the next slide, what we're going to do is just highlight really briefly um each school. Each school has many of these programs, but these are the programs um that we're highlighting that correspond with the school. So, at Alta Vista, um they have an annual career fair and um they actually set up tables so that students
155can interact with the various careers. And so, um as we say here, exploring tomorrow's possibilities today, we want to thank the Alta Vista PTA, the Barrow Heights Multicultural Night. I think all of our elementary schools have amazing multicultural nights that truly is a highlight of the year and here are some pictures from their event. Um, our secondary schools also have multiple cultur nights thanks to their PTAs. Many PTAs have movie nights. This just happens to be the movie night at Burl this year um with popcorn community even um and good vibes. And so this is a great way for the community to come together. And again, other schools have had movie nights as well. So, thank you to the Bernie PTA, Jefferson Makers Fair. These cute kiddos um make amazing crafts and food themselves, everything
156handmade, and sell it after school. Our next slide. Susanna, can you do the next slide, please? >> Okay. Um our next slide is representing Lincoln and their multicultural night. Um and so at the multicultural nights, it gives the um community an opportunity to highlight all the various cultures within that community where there's food and activities and um a lot of learning as well. And so if we could get to the next slide, it would represent Lincoln. There it is. Yay. Um, it's also the year of the horse. So very relevant. Um, fun runs. Our PTAs also sponsor the fund run. So here's an example at Madison and we have running together, stronger together. So it takes definitely a lot of volunteers. Thanks to the PTA for being there early in the morning at most schools.
157sometimes in the afternoon um and helping them count laps. And so again, uh FunRun is one of those programs we likely wouldn't have to the extent that we do without our PTA. The next two slides are Toita's Make Makers Fair. It's really incredible what our little students come up with and they love it when their parents, their friends, and their teachers come by and see what they've made. Next one, too. I believe every school has a makaker fair. Um, so let's look at Washington. >> Yeah, here's uh Washington, the first slide. And uh let's go to the second slide. So one of the special things that we encourage for the makers fair is for students to if they have a nonprofit or charity that's close to their heart to donate a a portion of the
158proceeds of their proceeds to that um nonprofit. So at Washington, one of the students, Avery from second grade, donated the proceeds from her handmade card sales to the school library fund. She made $200 from her handmade cards, and all proceeds went to the Washington library. The next slide. So we also have Makers Fair at both Adams and Paris, our middle schools. And it's gotten so popular. Look at these pictures. People exploding everywhere. Um definitely one of the most popular events at the school. Okay. Our PTAs also sponsor reflections. It's an annual competition. Um this year the theme is I belong. And I happen to go to this meeting where um most of the student participants were able to come to the PTA meeting and be recognized by the president and their principal. and students expressed
159um through various mediums, art, music, dance, uh words, poetry, what the theme I belong means to them. It's very moving and touching. Again, all schools have this. Paris has um a pretty robust um program with a lot of students um participating. Um several uh one and will represent RBUSD at the 33rd district level and and possibly the state. We've had students participate at the state level as well. So, go Panthers in this case. Good luck. >> Thank you. >> Um, also Patricia Gizler, our continuation school, uh, they also have a PTA and, um, hands-on art is another main program with PTA. And so we wanted to represent that. Here you see Mr. Brandt, the director of Alt Ed, is participating with the students. Not only do students engage in art lessons, but they learn about
160different artists, different techniques, different art genres. Um so this is um a program that we highlight at the Dryler >> at the high school. Um the name changes from Makers Fair to Sea Hawk Marketplace. And these pictures are from our holiday um holiday Seahawk marketplace. And I wanted to invite Mr. Marvin Brown uh principal of RUHS to say some words. >> Thanks Amy. Uh so I have the privilege of introducing three exceptional Seahawk students that are marketplace leaders. These seniors are not first-time participants. There are veterans uh vendors who have participated in our Seahawk marketplace and have truly grown through their experience. The Seahawk marketplace is more than just a student market. It's a real world entrepreneurship in action. And students develop products, manage budgets, they market their b their brands, they engage with customers,
161and they reflect on profits and losses. It's authentic. It's hands-on learning that prepares them for college and careers and beyond. So, joining us tonight are Mackenzie Thompson. Come on up, please. Sarah Yuda, come on up. and Sienna Bark. Each of them represents innovation, resilience, and creativity, and they strive to cultivate at RUHS. So, I'll let them share on their in their experiences in the SEOK marketplace. Thank you. >> Hi everyone, my name is McKenzie. I'm a senior at Roondo Union and I have been a student vendor at every marketplace since the tradition began my freshman year. I sell cupcakes, pettyors, and cookies for my business, Kenny Cakes and More. But the sweetest part about the marketplace is getting to see the joy I can bring to my community. Before the marketplace, I never really thought
162of my baking as anything special. But now, as each year I have people lined up waiting for the clock to hit 400 p.m. so they can buy all the sweets they have been waiting for all year, I realize that getting to share my baking is what makes it special. Of course, the marketplace is a great opportunity to learn business and customer skills, but for me, it is more so a great place to showcase a craft that you are passionate about and share it with a community that cares. I am very grateful that I have been able to participate since the beginning. Thank you. Oh, and also I'd like to give a quick thank you to my parents who were the ones who encouraged me to do it in the first place. So, thank you Uh
163hello, my name is Sarah. Um I have been a uh Seahawk uh marketplace vendor only once. However, I sold uh wax stamp earrings as well as handmade clay pins. Um what made this event special to me was the opportunity and entrepreneurship and creativity. I gave students the freedom to turn their passions into something tangible and profitable, which is a rare opportunity in high school. Um in addition to being a vendor, I also helped with some uh event organization a little bit. Um, I assisted in like planning the table layouts, grouping vendors based on what they were selling. Um, overall the marketplace has given me a hands-on experience to not only selling but in leadership and collaboration. I'm really grateful for the part of for being part of the program that empowers students in such a
164practical, meaningful way. Thank you. Uh, and I'd like to give out a shout out to my mom who's my greatest supporter. Hi, my name is Sienna and I have participated in the marketplace for four years now. Uh I started out actually selling pler beads with my sister at the Bernie marketplace at the time, but then when it came to the uh Roondo Union campus, I decided might as well try my hand at that. However, uh I stopped selling plar beads uh and moved into nature photography my junior year, which has since then bloomed into selling coasters, tiles, uh calendar calendars and prints of all sorts. Uh and I just want to make sure that I shout out my mom, of course, cuz she is one who introduced me to this. Um, but yeah, I feel
165like selling my nature shots to all these people that I've sold them to over the years has let me share my view of the nature of the natural world as well as just the world in general. Uh, and I feel like I've also been able to achieve other like opportunities such as selling at the local springfest at the Redondo uh or at the Hermos Beach Performing Arts Center. Uh, I've been invited to participate in the Riviera Farmers Market every Sunday. Uh, as well as other minor things like holiday markets in uh, South Rondo. Uh, I just want to make sure that I thank everybody for letting me be like an uh, having the opportunity to participate in these marketplaces because it really expanded my passion for nature and nature photography. Good evening everyone. I'm Wendy
166Venzant. I'm the 2025 2026 RUHS PTSA president. Thank you McKenzie, Sarah, and Sienna for being here and sharing your experience with us tonight. We are so proud of you and all of our other student creators and entrepreneurs who participated in our fourth annual Seahawk marketplace back in December. We love that this cherished PTSA uh program was embraced by our PTSA board and members four years ago and over the course of these four short years it has brought our PTSA Redando Union and RBUSD national recognition. We are proud to say that we not only won a 2025 California State PTA collaboration spotlight award last May for this program. We also were recognized in August as one of only 330 schools and PTAs nationwide as a 2024 2026 national PTA school of excellence. And out of those
167330 schools, we were only one of three nationwide and the only one in the West Coast to be awarded the highest honor that National PTA can give, the prestigious National PTA, Phoebe Appersonhurst Family School Partnership Award of Merit. Thank you to our RUHS community for helping us achieve these amazing accolades. I'd also like to thank Amy Ha for creating or for chairing this event. Well, she created it too, at least at the high school uh four years ago and to Rachel Shaker, our chair for the last two years. And last but not least, Marvin Brown, our princ our proud principal, and all of our um assistant principles. Mr. Watts is here, Jeff. and um of course all of our teachers and our staff and our admins for being shoppers of all of these students. So,
168thank you and our community. Our community comes out as well. So, thank you for your support and thank you to California State PTA for this recognition and to National PTA for being a nationwide organization that provides support and tools to help us set and meet our goals, thereby ensuring that our programs have the greatest impact for our students and our community. And if anybody's interested in sharing the event for spring one, come find me. Thank you very much. So, we invite everyone to join your local PTAs. Um, at the schools, the annual fee is between 10 and $15 depending on your school site. Volunteering and going to meetings is not required, even though it's really fun to do so. Um, so look for your PTA emails to do that. And last year, the last school
169year, volunteers across the district for the school, um donated over 20025,260 volunteer hours and that's a value of over 4.8 million for our students. So, please join us. Can we get a picture with the board and our students and our um PTA members who are here? >> I'll hold you. >> No, I think we have a shop. Amy usually has I wrote about >> Yeah, I'm going to stop. >> Are you Yes. >> At least I hope. >> We're just going to slide. >> Can we do it without her? >> There's still a corner. a motion to >> Sorry. And so we run a little bit late. Do we want to take a fivem minute recess? Is there a motion in a second? >> So moved. >> Second. >> All those in favor? I >>
170I >> We'll be back in 5 minutes. All right, we are reconvened at 8:01 p.m. and we will head back into the hearing section. I'll read the disclaimer again because we didn't get to everyone before. Members of the audience may address the board on any topic regardless of whether it is listed on the agenda. However, due to the Brown Act regulations, the board cannot engage in public discussion on items not on the agenda. Topics not on the agenda which are brought to the board's attention may be investigated by the administration and report made to the board either publicly or privately at a future meeting. Comments from visitors shall not exceed three minutes unless the time limit is waved by majority of the board. The board shall limit the total time for public input on each
171item to 20 minutes. With board consent, the president may increase or decrease the time allowed for public presentation depending on the topic and the number of persons wishing to be heard. We do have a couple of advanced written requests here. We'll start with um starting with Keith Ellison. >> Good evening. My name is Keith. I'm here to address the proposed change. >> Sorry. You want me to start over? >> Sorry, didn't mind. No problem. >> Sorry, >> that was a practice round. >> Uh, good evening. My name is Keith Ellison. I'm a teacher uh at Adams. I'm here to address the proposed change to the grading policy, specifically the clause stating that middle school students will move to standard-based grading in the 2728 school year. Um, I'm not only here to oppose standard-based grading, but
172I'm primarily here because the process used to justify this policy has been built on misleading facts and numbers and a staggering lack of transparency from our district. The district continues to site the grading committee as a key proponent of this change. However, the majority of secondary teachers on that very panel were against moving to a standardbased scale. This is the reason this policy is not being included for the high school. According uh according to the district, the only reason is being pushed at the middle school level is based on a flawed district survey. The district states that 84% of core subject teachers use the system. Yet, this statistic is misleading. The district survey asked these three questions. One, which scale do you use, traditional or standard base? Two, if you use standard base, how comfortable
173do you feel using it? And three, if we change to standard base, how much support do you need to use it? These aren't questions looking for feedback regarding standardbased grading. They are looking for conclusions. They never asked teachers if we liked using standardbased scale, and more importantly, they never asked if this would be beneficial to students achievement in their classrooms. The district didn't seek our input, nor did they want it. They created a survey to make it seem as if they had support for standard-based grading. The district is confusing usage for approval while ignoring the fact that in an independent RBTA survey of middle school teachers, which asked, quote, "Do you support the change to standard-based grading," unquote, over 80% of respondents were against the change or felt they lack the information to even consider
174it? In fact, most teachers were not even aware that the district was trying to force middle schools to change their gradings policy until a few weeks ago. This is a profound failure of transparency. The district has even admitted, quote, "We don't know exactly how this will look in every classroom." Yet, they are asking you to approve this policy. To ask this board to approve this policy without knowing how it works is akin to jumping out of a plane while still building a parachute. You are being asked to codify a system before anyone has a chance to discuss if it will actually benefit student achievement or what it would look like in every subject matter in practical terms. All because of a flawed survey. If the district truly viewed teachers as partners, they wouldn't be forcing
175through a policy based on misleading survey results that failed to reflect the input of teachers. And if the goal is truly a 2728 implementation, there's no reason to rush this flawed policy. So I ask you on the board, reject this current language. Mandate a middle school committee just like the high school is getting next year to study this and discuss this and take teachers opinions into account. For this grading policy change to work, the district is going to need buyin from teachers. And based on how the district has handled it to this point, that is going to be hard to come by if this policy passes in its current form. Thank you. >> Thank you. Up next, Peter Report. Good evening. My name is Pete Rapport. I'm an eighth grade US history teacher at Adams.
176As we consider the transition to standardsbased grading and the CAMS grading scale, I am here to share concerns regarding the long-term impact on our students academic readiness. While improving assessment clarity is a worthy goal, the current proposal presents four significant risks. First, grade inflation and reduced rigor. The proposed scale, where a score as low as 85% is recorded as an A, is deeply concerning. This grade compression masks achievement gaps, making it impossible to distinguish between a student who has barely met a standard and one who has truly mastered it. We risk giving students a false sense of mastery only for them to face a GPA shock in high school when their performance no longer translates to an A. Second, the loss of teacher voice. Effective teaching is more than a checklist of standards. It is
177an art form. In a rigid standardsbased grading framework, the power standard becomes the ceiling. Teachers often feel pressured to discard enriching off-standard material like stories and moral inquiries that build character simply because they don't fit into a districtmandated rubric. Third, the vague nature of the proposal most recently shared to teachers. The talking points provided were filled with shalls and shoulds, but were silent on the how this actually works. To suggest that we move to a uniform grading system across all middle schools without providing a concrete granular roadmap for how it will function is a leap of faith, not a sound policy. We are being asked to endorse a philosophy before we have seen the blueprint. Finally, lack of clarity and buyin. Meaningful change requires the genuine support of the teachers on the front lines. The
178district has cited current usage of standardsbased grading as a proxy for approval. But using a system, sometimes by force, is not the same as professional endorsement. There is a current there is currently a lack of clarity given or clarity even among the teachers already using this system leading to even more confusion about what standards grace grading it standardsbased grading is and what it looks like. Moving forward without first educating the staff on exactly what this looks like is like asking a citizen to vote on a bill without re letting them read the text. Common sense dictates that we understand the impact of a policy before we endorse it. We are asking our students to be high school ready. Yet we are considering a system that removes the very rigor and grading system that they will
179face in 9th through 12th grade. I advocate that we maintain our current grading scale to ensure our students remain competitive. At the very least, we should delay implementation until we have a unified 6 through 12 grading philosophy that respects both high school requirements and the professional autonomy of our faculty. Thank you for your time and for prioritizing the long-term success of our students. Thank you. There's no additional advanced written requests. Would anyone else like to speak on any agenda or non-aggenda items? Okay, then moving on to our communication section. >> Oh, sorry. Uh, did you want to speak? >> Hi. >> Hello. Hello board members. My name is Aaron Rush and I am speaking for um on the dual immersion program that we discussed earlier and wanted to address that and I really commend the
180board for for educating our children and focusing on dual immersion programs. Um I would ask the board to consider maybe an important uh priority um which would be to ensure the long-term success of a mandrin rollout or any dual immersion rollout if we decide that that's the best way to boost enrollment. And I understand from the discussions previously that we're going to still continue these conversations. And one thing I think is that is very important is that we consider also providing meaningful language access through a grant-f funded afterchool program. Um whether it be in Mandarin or in Spanish. Having those options is going to no matter what help enrollment but also increase um the pathway for third through fifth graders to entering elementary school. And so by being able to do that, um, language exposure,
181uh, as you know, is more powerful when it extends beyond the classroom and when families have access to resources. And so when students have the opportunities to practice in authentic settings and when the wider school community feels included in the journey. While we're excited about the dual immersion track, we do want to address a reality which there has been expressed interest over 190 applicants. So that's um very exciting for a large program. I think what we need to address is in the school capacity it is naturally limited. So if we as expect there is going to be a long wait list um for a Mandarin program that the district faces um an important choice meaning that many families are choosing our district specifically for these language opportunities and if they don't secure a spot in
182the DI lottery we do risk losing those families to other districts um or private options. Um an afterchool language program is a strategic way to serve the unmet demand and keep those families enrolled in schools. Um and so my ask is for the board to consider concurrently with a dual immersion program the opportunity to explore a a language enrichment program after school. Um this will help students that are trying to expand their language knowledge. Um, and while we're looking into dual immersion, truly looking at how this can better serve the community by by offering an afterchool track um, in Mandarin, possibly Spanish, um, we're going to gain family retention. Um, if for students that don't get into the lottery system, um, they would have a clear pathway to biiteracy. um and keeping those families invested
183in the Toleda community or in the district. Broad community support so both DI students and the broader community can gain space for practice and cultural programming. Um ensuring no one feels um that they haven't had an input on the decision. And then equity through funding. So you can utilize grant money um elops to be able to remove financial barriers ensuring the access isn't just for those who can afford private enrichment um through and then thoughtful implementation. So including clear communication >> motion to extend by one minute. >> Sorry. >> Thank you. >> Sorry. >> I appreciate your time. >> Oh, sorry. I wasn't trying to cut you off just procedurally. You got >> well then thank you for your time and by leveraging an afterchool option for families it will help create a community that
184can support a dual immersion that we put in place. So I think we can run these con together so that we're able to see what language path works for our students but also do a test because as it was mentioned during uh the meeting prior it is on a short timeline. So being able to look at all different opportunities for our students and being able to expand language exposure will help our students be prepared for a middle school pathway. Um one other point that I did want to say is that um currently in our programs in middle school I believe we need to have um we only offer electives u not core content for Spanish. So when the model uh the model is less exposure so there's no current offerings out of language or elective
185options meaning that the students that are in the Spanish immersion program currently do not have a program where they can go where they can truly continue their Spanish language program. So what I would ask is that we're fully considering that um as well and to service the students that do want to expand their dual immersion. Thank you. I appreciate it. >> Thank you. Is there any other public comment on any agenda or non-aggenda items? >> Um, hello. My name is Diksha Prasad. I'm currently a senior in high school and I'd like to speak about standardized grading in the middle school. I currently tutor two kids who attend Adams Middle School and I've seen firsthand how the standardized grading affects their math grades. And I, in my personal opinion, the four-point scale fails to capture the
186nuance of a student's true understanding. One of the girls I've tutored, I've seen her get a two out of four on a test for a fundamental misunderstanding of a concept. But I've also seen her get a two out of four for simple calculation errors. This four-point scale has been detrimental to her academic success and doesn't fully show her level of learning within her classes. um this system of grading is not an accurate measure of these students academic success and I think it should be carefully considered before it is pushed forward to every single subject in the middle schools. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> I do want to share with the board that we have still Eileen Lechenby on line if you want to ask any questions or follow-up questions. I know we're going to
187be discussing it as a um a board policy >> and as a point of order. It's a discussion item tonight, not up for a vote. >> Correct. It's a first reading. First reading discussion. Yeah. >> And you were you received a summary. >> Uh any other public comment on agenda non-aggenda items? >> Going once, going twice. All right. Moving on to communications. This section provides an opportunity for the board of education to hear reports and communications from our employee associations and the community support organizations below. Our reports, all reports are limited to five minutes. Members of the public may address the board of education concerning the section. Each speaker will be permitted to speak for three minutes per item. The board may limit the total time for public input on each time to 20 minutes,
188starting with the Rona Beach Teachers Association. >> Good evening. Um, my name is Jennifer Bell and I'm here to share our wonderful teachers for our spotlight RBTA uh, teachers and I would love to introduce to you as many of you know Senora Duran and Madame Graio. Did I say correctly? >> Okay. All right. Thank you. >> Hello. Uh, I want to thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight. My name is Amanda Duran and I'm a proud RBOSD uh teacher for 13 years, 21 years as a teacher. I currently teach Spanish 1, Spanish 4 for college prep, which are non- Spanish speakers, and ESTO culturales, which are cultural studies in Spanish. Um, our Spanish program services levels one through AP Spanish literature, and I am very proud to be the teacher of cultural studies. I
189wanted to highlight some things that I am involved in, which is quite a few things. My department creates culture for our community. Not only do we have Latino or Hispanic Heritage Month, we have Cesar Chavez Service Week, we have recently collaborated with Madame Graio on Marty Gro with our jazz band, our Brazilian culture club, and our Spanish and our French honor societies. Not only do we provide culture with our loss muertos uh celebrated for 32 years um but we provide authentic real life opportunities for students to engage with culture right we have CPRs which are cultural participation and research projects that give student agency it services many or a variety of students the successful students in our classes are not only ELLL students but students with IEPs and 504s and So because we have so
190much experience and we have representatives from Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Mexico, uh we are a unique program that has authentic teachers, caring teachers, and teachers that make connections with their students. And so I urge you to continue to support our programs. My cultural studies class is very well very wellversed on investigations. We are currently investigating world religions in Spanish. We have also done cultural uh examinations of uh winter festivals. We have learned the five C's of language which are culture, connection, um sorry, I'm forgetting all the communication and uh connect connection and comparison. And so students of those levels are from level two to level post AP. And so I wanted to highlight that course because it is it has been offered and supported supportive of the DI students. And so I'm proud
191to be their teacher because it's it's given them opportunities to continue their language. And I just thank you for your support of our very collaborative, experienced group of teachers that we have in our Spanish and our French uh department. And I'm happy to introduce Madame Graio who is here who has collaborated with me on many different opportunities for our students. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Hello. Good evening. Bonswar. Um I just wanted to talk a little bit about uh some of the more uh project- based learning that we're doing as well as field trips as well as other opportunities that we're providing our students. Um, we focus a lot on culture because we know that as uh language teachers, culture drives the language acquisition and uh and there's nothing more for students than to
192be emotionally engaged in what they're learning and to remember what they're learning and uh that helps them later on in life. Uh we uh we pro uh so since be I've been at Red Roondo Union for 15 years now. I teach French one, two, three, four, and AP. Uh since before I arrived at Roondo Union, we've had a program where we host uh where we have Roondo students host students from uh Mexico. And since I arrived uh every two years, every year and a half or so, uh I have uh French students that come and our our community hosts them. And it is an invaluable um experience and opportunity for our students because not only does it create lifelong learners, it also creates those lifelong friendships. And I can't tell you how many times students
193have gone back to France to visit their host family, their student that they hosted uh even 10 years later. Uh so that is important. I also bring my students to the American French Film Festival yearly. And this is an extraordinary experience because students are able to watch a the first premiere of a French film in the US. And in addition to that, they are able to ask questions firsthand to directors, screenwriters, composers, uh, lead actors of the movies as well. And so I continue to do that. Uh, this year I'm going to be taking a group of students to Norton Simon also for a guided tour. And why do I do all of this is because I want to show them that uh even though French may not be the most uh uh spoken language
194in our community, it is something that is spoken worldwide and it is a growing language that is going to be spoken in the world uh especially when it comes to the future of Africa and uh fun fact um most countries are teaching their uh employees French so that they can go in and work in Africa and be successful in business in the future because that is the future. future. Um in addition to uh these uh excursions uh we do a lot of project-based learning to bring the students into we give those students the opportunity to practice language in real life scenarios. Anything from going to the doctor's office, teaching them what you know and teaching them to describe their own symptoms but in a foreign language. Um preparing students for writing resumeumés in a foreign
195language, interviews in a foreign language. We um the marcado marketplace preparing them uh prepare in the foreign language preparing materials buying negotiating selling um there's dios muertos where it exposes different cultures as well uh we supervise uh academic national honor societies the French honor society and the cervantes honor society uh we use a lot of music uh in our uh in all levels and right now I'm working on you have heard of the sweet 16 college basketball tournament. We do the same thing in French, but it's uh it's franophhone music. So, it's music from all over the franophhone world and they have to comp they have to re make reviews for each different song and video and compare and contrast um which ones they like and not. And why? because it teaches them to make
196their own opinion to give accur use accurate information uh to express themselves because there is nothing more valuable than knowing and being informed about information and knowing how to speak about it uh logically and with passion and that's what we teach in our class. So, thank you very much for your attention and thank you very much for taking the time to listen to our world languages and cultures program. Thank you so much. Uh, up next, California School Employees Association, American Federation of Teachers, >> Rodano Beach Council Parent Teachers Association. >> Good evening, everybody. Um, Amy had to run to the high school to go to a theater meeting. Um, so she's left me, Jessica Wong, the EVP at Roondo Beach Council of PTAs, to introduce to you Eliza Lane, uh, the proud PTA president at
197Jefferson Elementary. Bring it back. Good evening. I won't hold you for very long. I know it's a little bit late. My name is Eliza Lane. I'm the president at Jefferson Elementary. Um, I've actually worked in education for over 20 years. And in those years, I've seen how PTAs serve as a bridge between the community and our schools. So coming into this presidency, the one thing in mind I had was to figure out how to support that bridge further. Um, so this year we launched our special education and inclusivity committee at Jefferson. Um, and we have two wonderful chairs that have really hit the ground running. Um on the parent side, they created a parent support group with quarterly meetings where parents come with students who have 504s or IPS. They come to kind of share
198resources, stories, lean on each other for support. Um we've had therapists attend these meetings as consultants. We've had um we have an upcoming one with uh guest speakers that are going to talk about that transition um between elementary school and and middle school. On the student side, we brought friendship club uh from the Friendship Foundation to Jefferson Elementary, which has been really exciting. My favorite addition this year. Um the student, it's actually kind of resembled a real club in the beginning with a line out the door and students getting checked in and really popular at our school. Um we had a community partner, dance one, come in and teach them a dance recently. Um and I'm going to share one more thing about our friendship club. Um, one of the favorite activities that we had
199was a friendship bracelet making activity where students chose colors to represent what they kind of value they seek out in a friend. Um, some of these values were honesty, loyalty, trust, um, kindness. Um, and so to close out, my daughter in the spirit of friendship has created friendship bracelets for you that she maybe will give to Dr. Wesley to distribute. Um, but we are very excited to to have the support of the board and the district in kind of funding and creating these bridges between our community and our school. So, thank you so much for having us. >> Thank you so much. I'll make a motion to receive and file. >> President Elder, >> yeah, >> we have less than five minutes to complete this agenda. So, do we have to motion to extend? >>
200Yeah. >> Oh, thank you. >> Thank you. Thanks for waiting. >> Oh, we can keep going. I thought it was only one 30 minutes. >> No, we can. >> Doesn't mean we want to, but we can. >> Uh, well, let's start with 30 then. So, we are coming up on the three-hour mark. So, we need a motion and a second to extend the meeting past the three-hour mark. >> So, moved. >> Second. >> Student advisory vote. >> You sure? All those in favor? I >> I make a motion to let our students go home. >> So, move. >> Yes. >> Excellent. >> Yes. >> Mr. >> I think we're extending by 30 minutes until we're sure what the procedure is. >> Sorry. Thank you for clarification. Um, but yes, you should. You've got studies. >>
201Thank you for sticking it out. >> We love you, but goodbye. >> Yes. >> Uh, all right. Finally, uh, superintendent comment. >> No, you didn't call on our >> I'm sorry, Beach Education Foundation. I'm so sorry. Apologies. >> I keep it short. I promise. >> No. >> All right. Uh, good evening everyone. Um, just a very short report this evening. Um, so as you know, RBF summer sessions, we've opened registration a couple of week weeks ago. We already have some classes that are filling up fast. Um, but I wanted to share this evening that after a successful meeting with the district today, we were able to add, um, a couple more classes. So, uh, enrichment. Um, so we are adding an enrichment prep class for math 67 at the middle school. Um, and we are
202also able to add, um, a class that we've previously offered before COVID. It was a class that was prepping Spanish elementary students at the dual um immersion at uh Washington. So, we're just um able to to add that. And also the algebra 1 prep class, we are going to um expand it. I know we had this request from parents from last year. We're going to expand access to students that are currently in seventh grade going into eighth grade, but taking algebra 1 in in eighth grade. So, those are just some very small um changes that we're we're planning to add. Um, we also wanted to share that there's still time to sign up for the Hoffman Murphy yard sign. Uh, the deadline is February 27. Um, so the way it works on March 6, magic
203volunteers come and put a sign in your yard. Um, and then the same magic volunteers pick it up on the 17th. Um, and for every sign, we get $25 um, from Hoffman Murphy to RBF. So, you don't really have to lift a finger except just to press click on the sign up. Um but otherwise it's kind of like free money. Um and last but not least um we wanted to keep the sparkle at the end. Um so we wanted to announce that our RBF gala sunset suare will take place on March 21st. Um this is an evening of fun and fundraising for our RBUSD students. Um and this year the event will take place at the California Surf Club. So it's a gorgeous location as you know. Um and the theme this year is California
204dreaming. So, please mark your calendars and start dreaming about those outfits that you're going to wear. So, that concludes my report. Thank you so much. >> Thank you so much. Appreciate that. >> Now, any superintendent comment. >> Oh, sorry. May 21st, not March. >> May 21st. Okay. >> I'm so sorry. >> Do I need to come back? No. May 21st. I'm sorry. >> Yeah. May 21st. >> 78. Yeah. Six. Six were already offering. Yeah. >> Okay. Thank you. >> All right. Perfect. That brings us to general consent calendar. Are there any items anyone would like to pull from general consent? >> I'd like to put uh poll 10.4, 10.6, and 10.8, please. >> Anyone else? Is there a motion to approve items 10.1 through 10.3, 10.5, 10.7, and 10.9 through 10.11? >> So moved. >>
205All those in favor? >> I. >> All right, we will move on starting with item 10.4. >> Motion to discuss 10.4. Second. >> Is that you seconding or >> No, I was just making the motion. >> Yeah. Is Is there a second? >> Second. Oh, okay. >> Oh, >> you can second. >> I I can, >> but he didn't. >> I I didn't pull it, though. >> Thank you. The item uh before us is National Women's History Month. I'd like to just highlight a few sentences in the resolution we're uh asked to adopt today. American women have played a unique role throughout the history of the na of the nation by providing the majority of the volunteer labor force of the nation. American women were particularly important in the establishment of early charitable philanthropic and
206cultural institutions in our nation. American women of every race, class, and ethnic background served as early leaders in the forefront of every major progressive social change movement. American women have been leaders not only in securing their own rights of suffrage and equal opportunity, but also in the abolitionist movement, the emancipation movement, the industrial labor movement, the civil rights movement, and other movements, especially the peace movement, which creates a more fair and just society for all. Despite these contributions, the role of American women in history has been consistently overlooked and undervalued in the literature, teaching, and set of American history. So, I'm glad that our district will designate upcoming month as National Women's History Month. And I'd like to also recognize on this day as there are 12 people, nine of them are such leaders, including
207the audience in this room. It's worth noting that the role of women is so strong and we need to recognize and celebrate them every day, not just one month of the year. >> Thank you. Any other comments or questions? All those in favor? I. Any nos or abstensions? Motion passes. Moving on. First and a second to begin discussion item 10.6. Adopt resolution R25-2629 recognizing March 31st as Caesar Chavez Day. Thank you. Item before us uh is designating March 31st this year as Cesar Chavez day. He was a historic figure of the 20th century who inspired millions in into action for economic justice, civil rights, and political empowerment. He was a son of migrant farm worker. He learned about the oppression of field laborers firsthand and founded the United Farm Workers America in 1962 to help
208educate his fellow farm workers to understand their right to a safe workplace and a just wage. He also developed and adhered the principles of nonviolence in his crusade for peace and justice after studying civic action and the works of Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He and his followers dedicated themselves to the education of migrant workers and their children through the establishment of better schools, fighting to empower farm workers through voter registration and teaching community members how to organize themselves to effectively represent their interests with government, school, and financial institutions. He said, quote, "Real education should consist of drawing the goodness and the best out of our own students. The end of all education should surely be service to others." Thank you. >> Thank you. All those in favor? >> I. Any nos or
209abstensions? Motion passes. Uh motion is second, please, for item 10.8, approve field trip, extracurricular activity travel request during the 2526 school year. >> So moved. Uh, and procedurally we're just taking a vote or did you have any comment for this? >> I just wanted to abstain myself from voting for this particular item. Thank you. >> Excellent. >> Oh, since you opened the item, um, I'm excited to see that the boys are going to state basketball. That's amazing. And there's a field trip that's on here to China. Um, that it says it's fundraising is involved. There'll be fundraising by the students. Is that correct? in order to attend. >> I we would need to I need to look into the answer to that question. My understanding is that it would be heavily subsidized. >> Um >>
210Okay. But on this item, it did say 1,500 a person. >> I don't know. >> Parent donations. Do you >> mind if I jump in? So for the invitation letter, it said that it would cover after landing expenses including accommodations, meals, transportation, and insurance. And from my understanding, it would just be the flights >> which the the district wouldn't pay for the students would fund raise for. >> That's what it says. Fundraising. >> That says parent donations. >> Parents donate. Yeah. >> Yes, ma'am. >> Uh also the the boys basketball team, this is for your approval should they qualify for state. >> Oh, okay. So, just in case. Yeah. >> All right. That's why I was wondering. I didn't realize they had already made state. >> Okay. >> And then um as far as the
211China trip, if you would like, we can get more information and bring it back if that's needed. I don't have those answers. All those in favor? >> I. Any nos or abstensions? >> One abstension. >> One. All right, brings us to our action items starting with 12.1. Motion to second, please, to begin discussion on approve the bid award to Crown Castle as internet service provider. >> Garcia, >> tonight we are requesting the approval of a three-year contract with the option to extend for an additional two years with Crown Castle as the district's internet service provider. As a reminder, Roondo Beach participates in the federal program, which helps schools and libraries access affordable high-spe speed internet service. Our current 5-year ISP contract is coming to an end this summer of 2026. So, this past December, we
212put out a formal request for proposal RFP for up to 50 gigabit connection to our district data center. And on January 15, we received four qualified bids. Each proposal was evaluated using the -ate required scoring matrix which places the greatest weight 40% on the overall cost. Additional factors included service reliability, prior experience with the district, implementation timeline, and completion of all required documentation. After full evaluation, Crown Council earned the highest overall score. Their proposal is both responsive and responsible, and it best meets our operational needs while remaining compliant with -ate federal rules. The total estimated contract amount is 540,000 over three years with an anticipated general fund impact of approximately 216,000 after -ate reimbursements. For these reasons, staff recommends approval of Crown Castle as a district's internet service provider. >> Thank you. And this includes
213uh connection at Adams as well. >> That is correct. So we are diversifying circuits. So one empo the main point of entry would be here at district office and we are diversifying the circuit by including another circuit coming out of Adams Middle School. >> Thank you. And but per the e rate requirements we cannot have that um be we can't use it as an active active configuration. >> That is correct. >> It's unfortunate but >> but we don't make those rules. >> That is correct. the federal government guidelines make those rules. >> Perfect. Thank you. Any other questions or comments? All those in favor? I. Any nos or abstensions? Motion passes. Motion is second, please, to begin item uh 12.2, adopt resolution R25-2630, reduction or elimination of particular services. >> Some moved. >> Second. >>
214Dr. Stephanie. >> All right. Um unfortunately we are projecting a reduction in federal funding to our schoolto career program over at the high school. Um and the reduction of federal funding or projected reduction of federal funding would um necess necessitate the layoff of one classified staff member from that program. Um so basically this resolution uh gives us permission or uh to um initiate the layoff process. um we would issue a a preliminary notice of of um non-real I'm sorry preliminary not notice of layoff um by March 15th um and then the permanent or the final notice would come May 15th um but we have to notice the employee by March 15th um a lot can change between now and when school starts. Um we're hoping that we get that federal funding and we can always
215resend this notice. Um but we have to plan on the worst case scenario. Um and so that's why we're bringing this forward at this point so we can meet those um statutory deadline or that statutory deadline of March 15th to provide a preliminary notice. >> Thank you. Any questions or comments? All those in favor? I. Any nos or abstensions? Motion passes. Uh motion a second, please to begin discussion on 12.3. Vote for no more than six candidates for the California School Board Association Delegate Assembly Region 24. So moved. Second, >> uh, Dr. Wesley. And we have a red folder item for this with an updated ballot. >> So originally there were more than six candidates, but at this point there updated was sent out to us by the CSBA. Uh, once again, this is um
216for you to vote on the delegates that will represent um school board members at the at the state level. Uh we talked a little bit about this when you considered three terms possibly since um it's hard to to serve as a delegate when you only have two. Nevertheless, um now there are only six delegate openings for six positions and we generally submit a ballot on your behalf. So this is your opportunity to discuss and give direction on how you want us to complete this ballot. >> I do see some veterans on here who've been on school boards more than 20 years. So do see how they get there. >> Um, >> so is this a motion to approve the six or ballot? >> We get to decide. >> Okay. So >> I would make a
217motion to approve all six since there's only six thoughts. >> Right. >> Um, >> I'd second that motion. >> Okay. >> Any substitute motions? All those in favor? I. Any nos or abstensions? >> Motion. The second to begin discussion on 12.4 approve the memorandum of understanding between the Rodono Beach Unified School District and the city of Rhode Beach regarding the school resource officer program for 25 through 27. So move >> second. Um, so thisou was approved by um our city council um and um city um and city and so you can see that it was signed and um this agreement is for two years uh at $200,000 each year for our school resource officers. We've um I think this is the third amendment to the original agreement that we started years ago under Dr. Keller's
218leadership. Our SRO's are very valuable to us. We have a great relationship with them. Officer Wolfinger, Officer Yap, we're fortunate to have them. And so, we would love to keep the relationship going with the city. Um, this does not cover the even half of the cost of the SRO, although they are assigned to our schools. um for the most part during the the school day, unless they're called on something else, they are of serving our schools. Um so the recommendation is for the board to approve this two-year agreement, >> comments or questions. >> I know that all of us have participated in discussions and and going back and forth trying to make sure this works and save and and honor the valuable resources we have. I'm glad we came to this point. Thank you for
219working to make sure that it gets to this point. Thank you, Dr. Wesley. >> Thank you. I think that we need to publicly explain what's happened here for the to keep a clean record because this board voted previously to approve anou less than this and >> from the city. um it was their proposal and now we're coming back and although I agree and we're all in agreement with this um proposal um I think for the record we need to kind of explain why um the city and the best way I can say so if somebody else wants to explain it but essentially the city changed their minds and withdrew theou even after we had approved it and even though it came from them. And so now we were stuck without an agreement even though we
220value this program so much and this program means so much to us um that we've come up with the solution to move and I think maybe the city just came out ahead too quickly earlier um by sending us an MU that we then approved during a board meeting. But um you know to make sure that we are are being cautious with our spending and and things that we've previously approved. It's important just to state that. >> Okay. Thank you. I I think you quite well. >> Any other questions or comments? >> As long as you all feel that's an accurate statement, I'm good. >> Well, it's public record. We did vote and approve a contract >> and I will say the one that was previously approved I don't believe was signed by the city >>
221which is why we insisted that it be approved by and signed before it was sent to us again. So we knew that it would not be sent back. I think it was voted unanimously as well. >> Any other questions or comments? All those in favor? I any nos or abstensions? Motion passes. Uh motion is second to begin discussion item 12.5 receive for second reading and adoption board policies administrative regulations and exhibits. >> So moved. >> So we've already gone over these at a previous meeting. Does anyone have any additional feedback or comments, questions, concerns? A case motion to approve. Sorry, I already had a motion. All those in favor? I Any and he knows their abstensions. Very good. This brings us on to our discussion items. Item 14.1, receive for first reading the following board
222policies, administrative regulations, exhibits, and board bylaws. This is dealing with grading policy, and adult education. >> Well, you don't have to have a motion to start a discussion. >> Yeah. >> Do we Sorry. Do we have the option to um essentially push this again for first reading and discussion? I feel like we got a lot of information tonight that um deserves some further thought and discussion and quite honestly seeing this come up for this agenda today that was so slam of stuff I I just don't feel like I am personally able to make a decision on that. I don't want to be kind of stuck. >> I think it's a discussion item so we're not making a decision. So she's just bringing it forward. >> But when it comes back next time, it would be
223for decision. >> We can bring it back as a discussion item, too. >> This isn't even for first reading. >> This is a first reading with you. >> No, this is first reading. This is the first reading like we always do. >> This is for first reading. Oh, >> yeah. And we've sent this we've sent this to you with our recommended changes in Friday updates. Um I do want to make some corrections as to comments that were made this evening. Um there was an initial proposal um that did include a uh one of the speakers said that there um referenced a districtmandated rubric grading scale. If you look at the policy, I think if you have it, you'll see that there is no grading scale. We listened to the um concerns of the middle school
224teachers. Also want to note this doesn't impact PE electives, only the core classes. Um, but we before coming to you for initial read, we listened to our union representatives and the concerns of a of the few that were vocalizing them and removed that standardsbased grading scale so that the teachers on May 13th can can work on creating it. So, if you look um at the 5120 U board policy, I believe on page um starting on page one at the bottom, it says standardsbased grading scale. There is not one. Um maybe at a later date we would come back with one after the teachers have met to create and add it. But we there was one in a in a earlier draft and maybe that teacher who referenced it saw it in an earlier draft, but
225we took it out. Um and all we're saying in this section is that beginning in 2027 on that very first page um at the middle school that the um that all grading should be an administrative approved standardsbased grading scale. That gives us a full year to um implement this. And is Eileen Lechen be on the line? >> She is. Um >> yes here. I would Eileen, can you talk to the board about the survey because I think there's also some misrepresentation. >> So, we did an initial survey um all secondary teachers, so middle school and high school. Um and then in one of the committee meetings, we talked about the difficulty for the middle school because we do have one school where all core subjects are already doing standardsbased grading. Um and we wanted to
226make sure that the March 13th PD day where we talked about alignment was productive. Um, and so we wanted to go back to the middle school teachers specifically and survey them and get more input on who is actually doing standardsbased grading versus traditional grading. Um, so there were three questions as mentioned in the public comments, but there was also a fourth question and that question was, do you have any comments or suggestions that you would like ed services to review? And so that was sort of like the open opportunity for people to give input. I think whenever you talk about grading like this is something that people feel really strongly and passionately about. we're all trying to do good things for kids. Um, and so there are like on the flip side people who are
227really strong champions of standardsbased grading who've been doing it for a really long time and we didn't want to basically force a a fight in the room between teachers between the two grading scales when we already had 84% of core subjects doing one. Um, but we did recognize that like there is one department at one school that has not adopted it and would need more time and that's why we gave the extra year for our social studies teachers. >> Okay. Just for clarification, are we in this policy we are not saying that all middle schools have to go to standardsbased grading or are we >> we are saying that in 2728 because let let me >> which is 1 2 3 4 A B CDF F. >> Okay. They but they have get that's not
228prescribed here. They get to decide that and that's the work of March 13th. So you see how there's a traditional grading scale. >> Yeah. >> There was one in an earlier draft that did say 1 2 3 4 be we we listened to the union who expressed concerns and we took it out so that the teachers would have the ability to create that standardsbased grading scale. um work the work of March 13th and then we would come back with an amendment with that grading scale. But right now all it says is that in 2027 28 we middle school core middle school teachers would do standardsbased grading. And and what Eileen's explaining is that if you have language that says that classes have to have the same sta grading scale and we don't say that standardsbased
229must be the type of grading because 84% of our core teachers already use standardsbased. you're going to put people in a room who are like, "No, I absolutely want to do traditional. No, we want to do standard space." And an overwhelming majority are already using standard space grading. We are aware of of a department at a middle school that is still using traditional. And we also know that we will be recommending looking at curriculum adoption at social science at the middle school level. So we pushed that that social science until 28 29 if I mean I think that's very reasonable to get to a standardsbased grading scale for a department in two three years or two years. >> Yes. And and they will be looking at an adoption. So likely there'll be some assessments in
230there that they can look at and some grading skills. Can I also mention the process really quickly? So and Eileen jump in at any point. So we had asked for um a member of every department from every secondary school to be placed on the committee. We asked for members. We also were very clear that this committee was going to be making recommendations to the board to this specific policy administrative regulation and we asked for members multiple times in order to get the teacher voice. Um Eileen, I don't know if you want to jump in and add anything to that. Yeah, we um you know people are really busy lives after school and so when we didn't get as many people from our initial request for members, I went back to our association and asked like
231we at least wanted to make sure every site was represented. We wanted to make sure we had more of a middle school voice. Um and so I worked with our association to add more people to the process even after the official call for the committee closed. Um, and then we did send an email to all all RBUSD teachers a few weeks ago and in there it had like my contact information like please reach out and I did get two questions back from people um about the grading policy. One was clarifying and one was like we had a really productive conversation about concerns with it and moving forward. So I do think that for most people this is not a fundamental shift in practice at the middle school level. There is a small group of people
232where this is really going to be a bigger lift. Um and we want to work with them and give them the timeline and the support they need to implement it. >> You know and we liken it to the block schedule. We gave a year for that transition. We have Chris Steinhouser is coming in on the 13th to talk about grading practices to help with that alignment. Um we have um all next year to provide professional development for what is standardsbased grading very similar to the transition to the block. Um and I know you heard from two voices tonight. One from a individual whose department isn't impacted but may be talking on behalf of others and one from a department where it won't be implemented for two years. But there are many voices in favor of
233this. Um, we even had our principles re, you know, reach out or try to get more people to be on the committee. And I also understand that we sent out the initial survey because we didn't have as many representatives as we'd like so that we could give all teachers the ability to have a voice in terms of what, you know, the type of grading that initial survey. Um, and then when we saw that there was such so many teachers who were doing standardsbased at the at the middle school and we didn't want them to have to essentially argue over how we were going to move forward because you got some kids with standards base and some kids with traditional. We need alignment. I asked that we send out another survey to middle school and we
234make sure that we get a very high return rate. And that's where we learned that 84% of our core classes, we're not talking about electives, we're not talking about PE, they're more than welcome to adopt standardsbased, but the core classes. And our inability to move forward with this change means that we will continue to have inconsistencies in grading practices, which is not equitable. And so that's the recommendation in terms of the change language. Somebody referenced a um one of the speakers said um talked about the proposed grading scale and you know the district mandated rubric. There isn't one. There was one in initial draft and we took it out so that the teachers could create create it um because the one that was in here was related to seam mass. So I think maybe they
235saw an earlier draft and didn't realize that was taken out. >> But didn't when Dr. Garland was presenting. She said that you're going to be convening a committee to do standardsbased grading at the high school. Did that >> just explore? >> That's just to explore the feasibility. >> That's not in any language. >> All we're asking for you is to approve the changes in the board policy there. There's nothing >> and the language in the board policy doesn't say that middle school is going to standardsbased grading. >> Yeah, it does. They still get A B CDF F grades in middle school, but just using a standardsbased grading, which is what the majority you're saying of people in middle school determined, but the numbers haven't scale hasn't been determined. >> There is a scale that people
236are currently using, but I'm just gathering all of this as well. But what I'm hearing is they may not be one through four. Maybe they will determine it's one through six to better delineate somebody's mastery versus somebody's >> meeting of a standard. >> Yeah. The social standard based scale if they're concerned about grade inflation. >> The policies are the what like your AR is the what. But the actual work that happens doesn't happen at the board. not asking the board to approve the same. >> Why are we approving a grading scale for elementary and high school but not for middle school? >> Because that's been the original policy. So >> It's already there. We just didn't touch that. >> I know. But why why why do we do that? Why >> in in >> it's
237just a long history of grading in a school district that was K8, >> that was not K12. like there's just we went to standards based report cards at the elementary level back in 2007. >> We didn't do that at the secondary schools. So, it's just like you're not coming into it new. Like there's a long history of >> Yeah. But our goal grading practices >> has always been to do better. >> Yeah. And this feels really like when I read this policy, we're doing elementary and we have this two and a half sentences about the middle schools and then we go into high school. I feel like we're missing something >> because because we are not trying to prescribe because you heard tonight, right, about a mandated rubric. We're not trying to prescribe that. They
238haven't had a chance to create it. And the idea would be to bring this back once they've had that chance. All we're saying is it needs to be standardsbased. But that that goes against what you heard tonight, right? And so at this point, that would be the work on March 13th. I don't I don't know if we're making sense, but that's the idea. >> I get I I I don't know. I I'm trying to understand the difference between what's happening at secondary traditional grading scale and what we're asking for at the middle school. I think that's what I'm missing. >> Okay. So, the the grading scale that's in in the policy now, that's the same grading scale that's always been in the policy >> for the high school. Yes. And some middle school teachers currently
239use it, >> but there is none for the middle school right now. >> Yes. The middle school language is vague. For middle school students beginning in the 2728 school year, all grades for achievement minimally in core subjects shall be reported for each grade period using an administrator approved secondary standardsbased grading scale. minutes left open for >> the reason why is because 10 years ago when we shifted to common core a group of teachers at the middle schools include I was a principal at the high school went partnered with Leola Marry Mount in a program called Seamass and they have standardsbased grading and they had um Paris in particular had the principal at the time Dr. Nigrand had a vision for everybody to have the same grading practices. What a what a progressive vision back then.
240and Paris took off and they went from having the CAMS grading scale that went from math into science and then English and then social science. Adams did not have that same transition. The math had that and the science had it but the English and language arts never fully grasped it which is why we get this higher percent and it and it really being about some maybe some Adams teachers are still using the traditional grading skill. There is another way that you could possibly do standardsbased grading scale. That's the seamass way. So if we put the seam mass way in here and you approve it, then we are telling now the social science you have to do it this way. But all we're asking is that you approve the language that says and not tonight. This
241the first reading that says that they that they must do standardsbased grading. How they do that? If they wanted to use the seamass one, then they can use that one because all we want is there to be consistency among the teachers in the same course. If they decide that they want to adopt a different one standards base, then they can do that and that's why you don't see it in here. And it was there was one in here originally. We took it out for this very reason to give them the ability to create that scale. if they feel like there is great inflation, they can just create a different scale because we're just asking that it be standardsbased and that it be consistent. Um, beyond that, it's up to the teacher and that's that's the
242change. Does that make sense? >> Okay. on on the um where where it has the um I don't know what page it is but it starts with for um middle and high school students and we've taken out middle >> second page and then there's the grading scale and below that it says all courses must use one of the board approved grading scales but we're only providing one right so there's no choice in in what they can use. >> sorry, I can jump in too. >> Yeah, go ahead. I >> Yeah, we're talking standards based >> just to jump in real quick. Uh, we are at our half hour mark. Um, we have a motion and second to extend by another half hour. >> So move. >> Second. >> All those in favor? >> I. >>
243Any nos or extensions? >> It has to be by 30 minutes. >> It doesn't have to. No, >> there is nothing in our board bylaws, by the way, about extending meeting times. >> I thought I thought we had it, but >> I thought we did, too. But >> online and couldn't find it. >> There is nothing in our bylaws. So, >> Oh, I I could probably find it. >> It might be in our board handbook, but it's not in our bylaws. >> I know. Maybe it's in our handbook and not on the posted gamut, but I because we were looking for it. I didn't think we could go this long. >> Yeah, that's fine. So, does that make sense, Dr. Garland? What? >> Yeah, I think Eileen wanted. They're talking about the scales, the board
244approved scales for Yeah. an AR. >> So, the the goal here is you have the traditional scale at the high school and we have a scale that teachers are going to collaborate on that makes sense for the middle schools. That would be a standardsbased grading scale. That one has to be administrator approved. That gives us the flexibility for teachers to work through like what they want that to be. Once we know what that is, then we would want teachers to be like we're talking about our elective teachers or PE teachers. Basically, we're saying you should do one of the administrator approved standards based grading scales or the traditional scale, but we want to get away from having multiple other versions of the scale that are created for different classes. >> And maybe I >> So,
245it's just limiting. >> Can you explain briefly what is why we're making this recommendation for standardsbased scale? why we believe it's >> Hold on before you go there because that's a whole separate thing. But on this wording, I think we need to change it then if this is what we're going to do because this says for high school students, you shall use this grading scale. So if there's a potential that there would be another grading scale um and we're allowing use of a board approved grading scale, we would have to somehow something's wrong in this language. Well, then we'll just have it change that all courses must use the board approved grading scale and be aligned at the >> But but Eileen saying that's not what we're going to do. >> Oh, I thought we're
246under the high school section. >> This is high school. >> Yeah, this is this is the high school is continuing to use the traditional grading scale. >> The middle schools is where we're we're asking for the or they're asking for us to do the standard base. what that scale will look like. And thank you, Dr. Wesley, because I kept looking for the scale that they were referring to and I couldn't find it. So, it's really just about we'd like middle school to all be on standard base. What that will look like will be up to our middle school team >> to determine and then they will create that scale that everybody at the middle school will apply. So what we're reading here, this scale is only traditional and it's only applicable to high school. >>
247Correct. But but we have to we have to fix the language because this allows for high school students. It shall be reported using the grading scale below. The next sentence at the end is all courses must use one of the board approved grading skills. either there's one that they have to use or they have a choice to use others. But this says both. >> Okay, we can strike that. >> We can I say we say the >> the approved >> all courses must use the >> because Eileen saying that if they're going to if they come up with a different scale then this is not going to represent what >> and that ultimate because the original policy draft did have a scale and we took it out. So that should have been also revised >>
248because the the previous versions had the standardbased scale and then it also had the traditional grading scale and that why that's why that sentence reads one of >> right. So if you go by this they have to use this grading scale. We're not leaving the potential for them to create whatever it is they decide to create later on. If they decide to change they'd be going against board policy. But I think there's some confusion because you're referencing a sentence that's under the high school section. So >> I'm talking about the high school because we say look at the top of that page for high school students grades of our achievement shall be reported for each grading period using the grading scale below. >> And by the way that's original language that's this has been in
249this board policy. >> Okay. So using no the green is added >> right >> using the scale below. That's one choice. you're using that scale. >> So, we can amend the sentence after underneath it. Th that would be fine. I'm just saying this doesn't work. This doesn't make sense. >> So, are you in agreement if we bring it back to read all courses must use the board approved grading, would that solve this issue that you're discussing right now? >> No, because up above it says that they have to use this grading scale. >> So, should we say that they must use this board approved grading scale? I mean, I'm not that's the original language up above. What if we strike the green sentence? Is that >> or should it still say and be aligned at
250the course level? >> Important piece that we want to keep in there is they have to be aligned at the level. >> I thought, can we make it the board policy that the courses should be aligned in what they're doing as opposed to saying it has to be a standardsbased grading? I mean, is it wasn't the whole point that the if you're taking biology, all the biology teachers are going to adopt a grading scale and go by it. So, I think we're confusing middle with high school because a high school can do the traditional grading skill and they they just need to agree by course what their grading skill is going to be and their grading practices are going to be. >> Okay. Now, at the middle school, a majority of the core teachers already
251are using standardsbased. And so, if we don't say that they need to do standardsbased, you're going to have an issue where people who strongly want traditional are not going to want to make that switch. And that's going to be an issue. And because a majority already are using standards base, we're recommending that we go fully to standards base in a year after we've provided PD and given them time to learn about the standards base. >> A year and a half. Really? >> Well, a year and a half and >> two years. Two and a half years for one department in particular that expressed concerns. >> So, how about we just put all courses must be aligned at the course level. should be all course grading must be aligned. >> All courses so it's clear >>
252all I'm sorry say that again all grading >> all course grading policies >> must be aligned at the course level >> all course >> grading >> yeah because teachers are going to have different ways of teaching. There's going to be all kinds of differences there we want to embrace, but >> we're still saying they have to use this grading scale. >> Okay, that's it. There is no no other grading scale to be used at the high school, >> right? And Eileen, is that that would be the intent. >> Okay. >> Yes. >> Okay. So, they can't come up with their own. This is it. >> Right. >> Exactly. >> I did have one other question for you um for us. So if we are saying that we're doing this at the course level, there are
253multiple courses in biology department. So are we saying that we could have four different because there are four different courses, >> right? So like honors biology would have to align on their practices and regular biology would have to be aligned. They don't have to be doing the exact same thing as the other >> and they already use the traditional scale, >> right? >> So they wouldn't need to have that alignment cuz they the high school. >> So in algebra one, for example, you could maybe have a policy where you are allowing for retakes and then as kids move up the math continuum, you might shift the policy as they're getting into more and more advanced course work. So it's alignment at the course level, not the department level. Because a student in 9th grade in
254algebra 1 is very different than a student in AP Calc as a 12th grader. >> Yeah. But they all use traditional so they don't have to align on that because they already are. >> So the questions that the board seems to be asking staff um seem to kind of like weave in between both grading scales and um classroom practices toward grading. And so I think that's where >> that's where I'm getting. >> So I think that's where the confusion is kind of playing out because like Mr. Cho is just asking about like four biology teachers, right? So if you're teaching regular bio, those four bio teachers have to determine they're using the same grading scale, but they are making con they are developing consensus around the practices that they will each adopt and implement in
255their classrooms. There's two teachers who teach biohonors. Those two teachers will also use the same grading scale, but they will also gain consensus around what practices they will both adopt in their biohonors classes. So, I hope that clarifies the questioning. I I think it does, but I'm I'm just going to say from my perspective of since we're looking at this as closely as we are today, I'm uncomfortable with the middle school, the lack of attention to the middle schools um compared to what we do for elementary, compared to what we do for high school. I don't think that's a fair comment because we've spent all most of our time with the middle school and the only reason why you >> but on our document on our policy >> but we took it do you understand
256why we took it out? >> I understand why we took it out but when you look at our policy as a board we have a policy on K through five. We have no policy on middle school except that it's standardsbased. That's it. And we have all this information on high school. We so that's why I was trying to explain that we did not put a prescribed grading scale under the middle school because the teacher to give the teachers an opportunity to create that grading scale >> and then they'll create it and come back to us and that will become the policy. >> No, that that's where I'm confused. I don't think they have to come back to us >> that's that's so when they meet in March then why are we approving this now? So
257that we can say, "Hey, you need to come up with a standardsbased grading scale." >> Otherwise, they will choose >> otherwise they're going to choose traditional. That that's why or or something one of the other 11 that that exists. >> Basically, we're we're we're it's a board policy that will send them down one path. You're at the fork in the road. And a board policy that says you must go left. Left is standard base. You may not go right. and use traditional. Otherwise, without that language, they would say, "Well, 20% is going to use tradition because you didn't tell me I couldn't." So, this board policy is simply saying, "We're directing you left." >> And with however, whatever happens down left, >> Yeah. I was just going to say with Miss Archer's analogy, >> the
258path that the teachers then go on in the left, there's flexibility as to what to do as they go left. And then when they define that, then it comes back to the board to kind of fill in the blank spaces. >> And another important, sorry to interrupt. And another important piece is alignment by course because that's some of the work that we're going to be doing on March 13th. That's why we're bringing it now so we can say here's the change in board policy now. We need to align by course to make sure there's equity. >> I I totally get it. I think the more we talk about it, it just becomes that the more we talk about it, the more we're learning about it and I have more questions and concerns about doing it.
259Um, but if they come back to us, I guess that that's the answer. It feels uneven to me. It just doesn't feel right. Um, and but the besides that point, I wanted to say, didn't we have a board policy last year? where we discussed about turning in late work and can why isn't that in the st that would be like at the bottom of >> I think that's under absence I think that's part of the absences board we can we can share that with you in a Friday update but >> board policy 6154 >> it's about absence >> okay because when it said effective absences on grades at the bottom of this that's where I thought I would see it there because we wanted to make sure teachers are using grace and not penalizing students
260students for late work. Not just based on absences, but for late work. >> Everybody should be allowed to make it up. >> Yeah, that's part of the absences policy, I believe. >> Yeah, >> it's 6150 >> versus unexcused. It's in the excused versus unexcused, and we took some of that language to put it in here. >> Okay. Yeah. So my question was just whether or not we needed to include >> I didn't know whether to include the belongs in here or not. >> But I but I know that we thought we didn't want kids being punished getting a zero because they turned to something in late. Completely different policy though. >> Okay. But it's part of the grading policy >> or it hasn't been >> right >> up until now. Well, if you look under
261that section, it says, "Whenever a student misses an assignment or assessment due to an excused absence, they shall be given full credit for the subsequent satisfactory completion of the assignment or assessment within a reasonable period of time. A teacher may assign a failing grade to a student who has excessive unexcused absences during the grading period. Students who miss school work because of unexcused absences may be given the opportunity at the option of the teacher to make up the missed work for full or reduced credit. >> Some of that's ed code >> and that's align with that code. I was saying that's line with that code. >> But I want it to apply. We agreed it would apply to not just an absence. If a student turns in something late, they shouldn't just get a zero.
262>> That's up to the teacher. >> But that's not what we discussed as a board last time. I don't believe >> I think I I think that's in conflict of ed code, Rachel. Yeah, the ed code allows the teachers to make that decision >> and we can look into it again, but they the teachers have a lot of rights when it comes to the grading and so long as that it's I mean excused absences of course unexcused the teacher creates that policy. >> I just have a really I thought we had discussed this because we all agreed. I have a really hard time if a kid doesn't turn in an assignment and the teacher offers no option for that child to to do that work. They're not learning because now why should they do it
263if they're going to get a zero. And if we can fix that as part of our grading policy, I would say there's a benefit to our students to earn points for every assignment if they can make it up. >> Well, we can look into that. we can ask council and look into whether or not the ed code would allow for that. Um, and I mean that would be but we >> I would >> we really just tried to >> Okay, we can look into it. >> I mean I know I know this has come up before because we asked that the teachers use grace and that you know for example if you told my son he missed an assignment and he's not going to get any credit why is he going to do it? I
264think most teachers do make exceptions if a student talks to them or family talks to them. I mean, from my experience being the high school principal and still talking to Marvin, I mean, I do think teachers give grace and I think a lot of it has to do with the circumstances of that individual student. >> I I I I think I hear what Ms. Simon Neoth is saying. Um, and I also agree with you, Dr. Wesley, that's probably what's happening. I think what she's is is is asking us to is let's look at it again and so that there is a policy that all the teachers can and students can rely upon so that the grace is expanded on all students >> if that's allowed under >> if it's allowed in the the ad code
265and whatever else we have to follow by I think that's all she's asking >> maybe we just never followed up on it after we talked about it once before. >> So let's look into it see what it says. The premise of standardsbased grading is exactly that too. It's that the focus should be on what students have learned and if they can demonstrate mastery. And so things like taking off points for late work are just not even a part of the framework of standardsbased grading. Like if you complete the assignment and you show a level three understanding, then that shows that you're proficient. And so some of the standardsbased grading policies in the middle school are designed because we want to keep kids in the game. We want to keep them engaged in their learning. We
266don't want a student in sixth grade to opt out of doing their work because they're going to take a penalty or they're going to get a zero on late work. And so that is part of the reason why standards based grading in a middle school is a a good approach. >> And the reason we went with that is because the majority of the teachers are already at standard based and that professional development is where they're going to flush all of this out and then it'll come back to us to be codified as a board policy. But you're asking us to this is just first reading till. So will there be a second meeting before that? >> We're gonna bring it to you on March 10th >> and then the PD on the 13th. >> PD's
267on 13th. So we are asking for any feedback so that when we come back on the 10th that we it would be approved. That's ideally how this would go. But >> we're already looking at PD. So you know um looking at bringing people out and what we need to do to ensure that all the teachers receive training everyone. Um, one of the comments from Mr. Rapaort was about an 85%. Where's that? Does anybody know where that's coming from? >> Yeah, he's talking about a grading scale that was in this. He must have seen it earlier and we took it out for that for the reasons that he said >> so that they can get together and decide what they want that the social studies in anyway what they want that grading scale to be. And
268I think Eileen actually I think you spoke to this but you know P school when you have um a student information system they they have a difficult time quantifying standardsbased grading. And so we have to provide to powers school the equivalent of and so if you're grading on a standardsbased grading model with a one two three or four you're giving powers school a percentage to translate into a grade and so that's why I said you know they may determine that they can utilize standards based grading on a 1 through six scale or a 1 through eight scale like you know there's flexibility to make those local determinations but whatever they are they can be uniform and then Susanna can establish that and put that into the st into power school and then that becomes the
269uniform options and how it translates from a standardsbased grade into a percentage Does that make sense? >> Yeah. >> If 85% of the people are using standard base and you have nine different grading scales in there, does that mean that the percentage that are not following stand and brace are responsible for nine different grading scales in Power School? >> What's the high school too? >> That's the high school too. Just so you know, it's the high school too. Yes. It's like >> every teacher's got their own power grading school at the middle. >> Exactly. No. >> Right. Yeah. >> Yeah. At the middle school, they are only using two scales. the high schools where we've seen more of the breakout. >> So, if we've always had a grading scale in the board policy, um, and
270it looks like that's not changing, how did they get so many at the high school level? >> Not following the policy. >> Okay. So, just not following policy, probably. >> Okay. >> Not monitoring it. That's the goal of this. >> Yeah. Well, I think the northstar for all of us is we've heard from our students the the challenge of, you know, inequitable grading policy. So, we want to have a fair policy, not necessarily an easy one. Um, you know, it needs to be fair and it needs to be accurate. It's just the details are challenging. But, yeah, I appreciate there's been a lot of work done to get us here and it's going to take a lot more work and that's why we're not looking at changing anything tomorrow. It's you looking at standardsbased a
271year and a half out. So from a procedural standpoint, this is our first reading. We've had some edits we've suggested. Are there other changes people want to see? more thoughts, questions, feedback. >> If I could recap so I know what what my charge is next is to speak with our attorneys to check on ed code about late work and then we are going to change >> um that one sentence to on the AR second page all course grading policies must be aligned at the course level. Is that correct? >> Let's say that louder. >> Can you say it again louder? We are changing that one particular sentence in green. All course grading policies must be aligned at the course level. >> Yeah. So we're we're striking must use one of the board approved grading scales.
272>> Yes. >> We're striking that adding that sentence that we just said. >> Uh all course grading needs to be aligned at the course level for middle school as well >> eventually. All right. We don't have that in there yet. Right. >> It's in It's in the board policy. It says >> in the board policy, a teacher shall have a student's grade uh shall base a student's grade. Wait, hold on. Sorry. I think this is it. >> Uh I just read why we don't 9:30 at night. Gets hard to focus. >> Yeah. I just read it. Shoot. >> The superintendent or designate shall establish a uniform grading system that shall apply to all students in that course and grade level. Teacher shall teachers shall inform students and parent guardians how student achievement will be evaluated
273in the course. It's the second paragraph of the board policy. It's mostly of the original language. The two p the short >> 15121. >> Yes. Uh the second paragraph the superintendent andor >> designate shall inform teachers system that and we just all we added were the words that shall apply to all students in that course and grade level. Grade level is more elementary. Teachers shall inform students and parents guardians. Did you see it? >> No, I'm not reading down. >> Um, >> it's in the two page. It's in the >> regulation or the policy. Sorry. >> It's on the BP policy. Sorry. The BP. >> Got it. Now, >> second paragraph from the top. >> That's also from a procedural standpoint. This is our first reading. If we decide to move forward at a second
274reading, we could still make changes and come back for a third reading or >> this isn't our only chance to make modifications or choose what >> Well, the idea is to have it so we can actually have it in time for the PD. So, we really do need to make our modifications now. So, yeah, >> ideally. >> Thank you. I was going to bring that up, too. Yeah, we have PD day. >> We can go through it. I've read it so many times. >> She's looking. The AR is where we specify the actual policies. So the question isn't on the board policy. Rachel, your question is on the regulation. >> Yeah. >> Okay. And Nikki was reading the board policy. So if we go to the regulation for grade five, K through five for middle
275school. The only thing we're going to state in this regulation, not policy, is for middle school students beginning in the 2728 school year, all grades for achievement minimally in core subjects shall be reported for each grading period using an administrator approved secondary standardsbased grading scale. >> That's it. >> That's all we will say about middle school. >> That's it for now. In the future, we'll come back after everyone's >> Yeah, we're not prescribing it. We're letting the teachers do that. >> Yeah. >> Come together and >> we're leaving what was in there for the the high school grading skill. >> So I think Dr. Garland that was your your I think the answer is yes. That your your statement was correct. >> Yes. Thank you. Thank you. If you're looking um at the administrative regulation
276on page three under the section requirements for issuing and recording academic performance grades. And you look at number two, policies will be provided for site administrator review and distributed to students at the start of the course and will be consistently applied by the teacher. And then the one before it, grading criteria including assignment waiting, board approved grading skills, policies, late work shall be developed by each department and shall be consistent among teachers of the same course. So it's it is in both. >> We're at 9:30 again. Um, I did find that policy. We did find the policy. >> And what does it say? >> Board believes that late night meetings deter public participation and can affect the board's decision-making ability >> 6154 >> and can be a burden to staff. Regular board meetings shall adjourn
277by 8:30 unless extended to a specific time determined by a majority of the board. The meeting shall be extended no more than once and if necessary may subsequently be adjourned to a later date. >> So, policy is that >> that's 9323 meeting >> 5154 is where I've got it. >> Wait. >> Oh, wait. No, sorry. I'm looking at the wrong one. You're right. Sorry. >> It's a bylaw. Bylaw 9323. >> Yeah. >> Should we correct the motion we made earlier? >> No, we're done. We're already out past our last motion. We have to adjourn the meeting now. >> We did it twice. >> Yeah, we could have only done it once. >> Are there any other uh recommended changes or suggestions? Okay, we'll make the corrections. We'll look up the ED code and we we
278do plan to bring it back as an action item on the 10th. >> All right, that takes us to announcements and communication since we're past time. I think we should skip board member reports. >> Uh calendar of events is on the website. Motion a second to adjurnn. >> Second. >> All those in favor? >> I. We are >> adjourned.