001All right. I would like to call to order the regularly scheduled meeting of the board of education on May 13th at 5:01 p.m. Can I get a motion and a second to approve the order of the agenda, please? So move second. All those in favor say I. I. Any opposed or abstensions? All right. We will recess to close session after hearing public comment on any items. Public comment and close 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 address the board prior to the start of close session. Comments from visitors shall not exceed three minutes unless the time limit is waved by a majority of the board. The
002board shall limit the total time of public input on each item to 20 minutes. On close session agenda tonight, we have 3.3 public employee appointment certificated title middle school principal. 3.4 conference with legal counsel existing litigation John Doe versus uh John Doe tier an individual. and 3.5 conference with legal counsel existing litigation uh an individual versus South Bay Union High School District. Would anyone in the audience like to speak on any close session items? Do we have any written requests? Okay, then do we have a motion and a second to recess to close session? Second. All those in favor? I. All right. We will recess to close session and be back at 5:30. We are back in open session. Like to start with the pledge of allegiance by Blake Tenfu from Paris. Oh, place your
003right hand over your heart. Ready, begin. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indiv. Thank you. And please be seated. Thank you. We had three items for close session tonight. Uh the first though, I'm very excited and I'm pleased to announce that during tonight's close session, the board of education voted unanimously to appoint Brooke Mada as the next principal of Adams Middle School. Brooke has been a dedicated educator at RBUSD since 2008 with experience as a social studies teacher, psychology teacher, and activities director at Rodondo Union High School. The Adams teacher on special assignment for a year and most recently assistant principal at Adams for the past two years. A UC Santa Barbara graduate, go gauchos. With a
004master's degree in education from ISUsa Pacific, Brooke is known for her student centered approach, strong communication skills, and collaborative leadership. She is passionate about continuing to build a positive, inclusive culture at Adams while maintaining high academic and behavioral expectations. We wish her continued success in her new role. Please join us in congratulating Brook Mada as the new Adams Middle School [Applause] principal. On item 3.4, four, the board received information and gave direction to staff. And on item 3.5, the board received information. Can I have a motion and a second to approve the minutes of the April 2, 21st, 2025 RBOSD board governance workshop? Second. All those in favor? I. Any opposed or abstensions? Student advisor. Oh, sorry. Student advisory vote. Uh, actually, no, you have to abstain since you were not at the Uh, excellent.
005Uh, motion passes. Item 5.2, the minutes of the April 22nd, 2025 regular board of education meeting. Do I have a motion and a second? So, move. Student advisory vote. All those in favor? I. Any opposed or abstensions? Okay. Next we have reports to the board starting with 7.1 techre scholarship presentation by Alice Matthews and Karen Hassine American Association of University of Women. Oh okay sorry uh we will uh move on to 7.2 Darts the dignity and respect towards students award presentation by Dr. Nicole Wesley, superintendent of schools, and Key Gould, student board member and our UHS associated student body members. Good evening, board members. Um, every year a local Red Roondo business is selected by the Roondo Union High School Associated Student Body, ASB, um, to simply acknowledge the ways in which they support our
006students um, at school and in the community. And so, DARCH, which stands for dignity and respect towards students award, um, is going to be presented on behalf of our ASB members this evening. And they will share with you the business that they selected and why. Good evening. Good evening board members and members of the cabinet. We're from ASB. My name is Jacob Wyn and I'm Gia Kiron. The darts award is something Rondo ASB takes pride in choosing and after coming to a decision this year we've decided to honor the business Japonica with this award. Japanica has always been very generous, helpful and kind to our students and community. They have hired countless RUHS students and have continuously provided a safe, inclusive and fun environment to work in. Um we we really hope that Japonica understands
007how much they deserve this award and how compassionate and hospital and how much hospitality they have given our community, our staff and our students and we really really appreciate them. So can Mr. and Mrs. May please come to get their award? Yeah, of course. We're really hoping Thank you. [Applause] for item 7.3. We have a toupe presentation by Rachel Andrews, RUHS counselor, and Kelly Goo, Paris Adams counselor. [Applause] Oh, needs to lower it for me. All right. Good evening, President Flynn, members of the board, Dr. Wesley, and cabinet members. My name is Kelly Gu, and I'm the intervention and tobacco use prevention education or TP counselor at both Adams and Middle School, and I run the program at both schools. This is my third year in this role in my 19th year in the district.
008Hi everyone. Uh thank you so much for inviting us to present tonight. My name is Rachel Andrews. I don't know what year this is. I started in 2007 and um this is my fourth year at the high school running the wellness center. Thank you. Got to bring it back down. Uh we do have our wonderful students here today as well that we'll introduce a little bit later. Um but we do have um media Lopez Lopez um Blake Chen Fu and then also we'll be speaking briefly about Sydney Johnson and um Aiden Thompson as well. Got it. All right. All right. So we have already talked about TP tobacco use prevention education. Um so we're just going to highlight a few really cool things about the program and then we're going to present on our logo
009contest that we had this year. Um, as you know, our counselors here, we have a comprehensive school counseling program, which means all of our counselors are trained to support with social, emotional, mental health, academic, and college and career counseling. We are jacks of all trades and masters of all trades. And this is our amazing counseling action plan, which Tupi figures into because it really meets the social and emotional standard of healthy coping skills for our students. This is a brief overview just how the MTSS breaks down. We have so many different lessons that we do with students in seventh grade and eighth grade which Kelly will highlight. We also have lessons pushed out to our 9th through 12th graders. Um we also have uh Nlloxxone training with with our amazing Beach Cities Health District partners
010which we're so grateful for. Um we've trained all of our staff at both middle schools and high school in um tobacco use prevention education. We also have Red Ribbon Week activities. We do parent nights. Thank you to our amazing district PTSA for partnering with us on those parent nights. We also have several assemblies and these are all funded by our TP grant that we got by joining the 2P coalition which we're so grateful to be a part of. For our tier 2, we have group counseling. We have a healthy lifestyles group at the high school. Um we have some amazing data and special surveys that we take with our eighth graders. We also have quick kit distribution and safe turn-in for vaping devices. And then at the tippy top we have brief intervention which is
011four session motivational interviewing counseling and individual counseling and therapy for all students who need it. All right. This year um we as a component of our 2B uh tier 2 grant um we served approximately 731 7th grade students at both middle schools and they participated in five 2B lessons. You can see the titles there. So they talk about the effect they learn about the effects of nicotine, cannabis on the brain and the body, uh, cigarette and vape waste and its impact on the environment, addiction, marketing strategies um that target youth, coping, stress management and refusal strategies as well. And the highlight, as some of you know, is the famous pig lung lab. You can see it um there at the bottom where students get to inflate. There's a little foot pump at the bottom and
012they get to compare what a healthy pig lung looks like versus a simulated uh diseased pig lung. And of course, they respond very strongly and they remember it saying it's gross and they love experiencing the lab, but they um they never forget it. And the engaging lessons that we have really help our mission of long-term um prevention. Um and then on the right we have our science uh 8 for eighth grade students. They completed three TP lessons and we use our Stanford uh cannabis awareness and drug prevention toolkit as part of our district action plan that we completed since last year. And they and there we address um and review the dangers of cannabis. We also include the dangers of alcohol, opioids on the body and brain, uh healthy decision-making, stress management, and then we
013also talk about high school transition. So, we pair with our wonderful link crew at RUHS and they showed their support by um sharing a wonderful welcome video for our eighth graders. Talk about work work life balance and peer pressure communication. Um and then we end with the end of the year 2P celebration which you can see at the bottom there and in partnership with the Redondo Beach Police Department. Um they include a snow cone party with the science classes with the highest participation. Um it's a fun way to reward them in um for their engagement. And we thank Officer Holffinger and Officer Yap for supporting our program. We just had our party today at Paris and then we're going to have another one at Adams later this month. Me again. All right. And then we're
014going to talk a little bit about um my HB or mapping youth health behavior survey. Um it's it was administrated to our eighth grade students at Paris through their social studies classes completed anonymously and of course our parents and guardians were informed in advance and were able to opt out um if if they would like and um the survey is a requirement also of our TP grant and um we have it every two years and the data is reviewed and compiled independently by researchers at UC San Diego. Um this is the second time we administered it at Paris. My first coordination was in 2022 and since then we saw some positive decreases in substance use. So if you take a look, we have a 1.6 drop in marijuana use, a 1.2% drop in vaping, and
015a 5.3% drop in alcohol use. So we do look forward to continuing our TP efforts to further reduce substance use among our students. And now Miss Andrews will discuss some highlights from RUHS. And for those who are getting caught using substances, vaping with paraphernalia, maybe drunk on campus, whatever the case may be, um instead of sending them home uh to play their Xbox for a day or be at the beach when they're suspended, we instead have this amazing program that we launched this year called Seahawk Summit. Seahawks Summit is a restorative day um where our students get to go to Al Cove. They check in, they do the intake through alcove, their parents get to attend a parenting class that is somewhat semi um required as part of the day. Um and they love it.
016We like we meet with the kids. We help them get to know each other. We do a little circle and then we go into having a new life house sober living come. We have several 19 and 20 year olds, some of whom even went to our schools um who are living a sober lifestyle who come to report out to our students about sort of how everything got started for them, help them understand the connection between mental health and substances. We also have them volunteer at the Silverado Memory Care Facility where they work with the elderly um who are memory impaired. They spend an hour with them, drawing with them, coloring, doing all kinds of different activities which is really really eye opening for them and helpful. Um, we also have journal time. We then hear
017from the volunteer center to get them connected to volunteering opportunities in the community. Um, we have an amazing speaker, Emry Chen, who everyone knows from Beach City, Beach City's health district. Thank you. Um, who comes and talks about stress management. Then we've partnered with Vetic Vibes to give a sound bath um and a local parent Carrie to do yoga nidra with our students. Um, we then circle back to working with the parents sitting down together talking about what they learned from the day. And then we also survey the students to see how do you feel about this day? And um they love it. They think it's amazing. We've had 30 students go through this program so far and we've only had two students have repeat offenses so far. So we're seeing very good outcomes. Um
018but it's only our first year. So stay tuned and thank you. All right. And finally, we are here to also announce um our 2P RBUSD logo contest winners. Um this was the first um RBUSD2P logo contest. It was open to all of our secondary students in RBUSD and we received submissions from nine very talented artists and a distinguished p distinguished panel of school leadership reviewed and voted on the entries. Today I'm excited to present the first uh second and third place designs. The winners will will receive gift cards and chop swag as well as recognition on the website. So, we're very proud of their creativity and enthusiasm that they brought to this initiative. So, first I would like to call up one of our third place winners, Blake Chenfu, seventh grader from Paris Middle School
019to share a little about her wonderful logo. Uh, hi. I'm Blake Chan Fu, seventh grader from Paris Middle School. And a little bit about my logo is when I finished like my fourth I think uh uh lesson from Miss Goo, there were a few words that like were left in my mind after her um lesson. And I was that was where I got my design idea and I just put it all together in Canva and it ended up looking really nice and I put lots of words like health, education, growth, awareness and tolerance. Some words that stood out to me from the lessons. [Applause] Our other third place winner, Aiden Johnson, uh Johnson was a 10th grader from RUHS. He's not able to attend, but Miss Andrews will share a little bit about his inspiration.
020All right. What Aiden shared is he said, "I entered the TP logo contest to spread awareness about the long-lasting effects of tobacco use. I also wanted to create something to help inform people about tobacco use as I have relatives who have sadly passed away due to its effects. My TP logo uses rounded geometric forms with each letter being composed of thick rounded shapes evoking a modern look. While the semi-transparent layers where elements intersect, create a visually engaging 3D like effect. Utilizing the colors of the RBSD logo, the blues and yellows are well suited for an educational public health element. I really like creating my logo and implementing a modern style to it by using the elements already within the school district. Thank you so much for choosing my logo as a third place tie. Sorry,
021it was Aiden Thompson. Excuse me. And our second place winner was Sydney Johnson. She was a seventh grader from Paris. Um she was not able to attend tonight, but here is her wonderful logo as well. And finally, I am honored to introduce the winner of the RBUSD2B logo contest, Mida Lopez Lopez, seventh grader from Paris Middle School. And she will now share a little bit more about her beautiful logo, also seen on my shirt as well. [Applause] Um hello, my name is Maria Lopez. I am a seventh grader from Paris Middle School. Um one of the things that I focused on while creating my logo was the main lesson behind these behind um the TPI lessons. I realized like all of these things are to focus on our growth and to improve our our overall
022well-being. And so I decided to put that into my logo as um I put a lot of um green spirals and two students lifting up a brain to kind of show the growth that is going on between the community. So yeah, [Applause] and that's it. Thank you. Thank you. and we always love hearing from our students. Thank you so much for coming out. Did you bring any adults with you'd like to introduce by any chance? Yes. So, um, personally, I had my parents and my little sister come. My dad, um, Alejandro Lopez, my mom, Loreno Lopez, and my little sister, Padme Lopez. I'm very I'm very grateful for for them and them being able to come to show appreciation towards the effort I've been putting up. [Applause] Uh I have here with me today my
023mom A Chen Fu. Uh thank you for coming to support me. Thank you both so much and congratulations. Uh you know these these efforts are wonderful to see and it really has an impact. So, thank you for that. Does anyone have any questions? Yeah. Can they take a Oh, that's two. No, you're fine. You're fine. Let me start talking about [Applause] All right. Next up, we have item 7.4, school status attendance awards by Yens Brandt, principal of alternative education and director of instructional support. Thank you, everyone. We on green light. Got it. Should know better by now. All right. Uh, good evening, RBUSD board president Dan Elder, members of the board, Dr. Wesley, and executive leadership. Uh, we are very proud and happy to announce our three most improved attendance schools at both the elementary
024and secondary schools. Uh, as a result of their collective efforts, our students are better off both academically and socially, emotionally. Uh, research clearly shows that the more students are in school, the better off they are. So, there's also an additional reason Dr. Dr. Alpern appreciates this one as well as the academics and social emotional piece. Uh, our district's improved attendance benefits both funding and our overall budget. So, a huge thank you to all of our RBSC school sites, teachers, staff, and administration for providing safe, welcoming, inclusive, and engaging educational opportunities for our students and families. So, as we finish up the year with our final attendance numbers, we'd like to acknowledge Burl, Bernie, and Adams. come on up and enjoy me over here everyone. And and we have these uh fancy awards for you to
025display in your respective offices. So for our elementary schools uh Burl and Bernie, they cut their chronic truency rates by 34% and 19% respectively. Very well done, Burl and Bernie. And for our secondary schools, uh, Adams did the best job with an 8% improvement for chronic absenteeism. So, as a result of their efforts, we would like to present, acknowledge, and celebrate our three outstanding principles, schools, and attendance teams here tonight with their awards. Miss Jennifer Freellander, principal Burlender, attendance clerk. And Lori Bender, attendance clerk. Thank you, Lori. Eileen Lechenby, principal [Applause] Bernie. And I'm here with Shauna Taxson, our library media tech and attendance clerk. Thank you, Shauna. Eileen knows how to take charge. I like that. All right. And now for Adams. Andrew Estrada, principal, and Brooke Mada, assistant principal. And I'd like to
026introduce Jessica Lee and Sarah Leeshik, our two amazing counselors. Uh, no pressure, Brooke, to go back to back now, new principal. And, uh, just quick side note, I've known Brooke for many, many years from our RUHS days, and Adams is very lucky to have you as principal and fantastic work by Andrew there over the years. Thanks so much, everyone. Congratulations. Is it time for a photo? Thank you so much. No pressure. [Applause] Do it. Yeah. Yeah. Sorry, I had to do it. I was I was informed there's a follow-up question. Sorry, I just wanted to thank everyone for that because we know students do better when they're in school obviously. Uh one of the questions I just had real quick though has attention to attendance has that played a role in this or what was
027what was impactful? How did you make this happen? Um I guess this might be for the principles and the staff as well, but how did we we helped do this? Right. Um, and it's called school status now. It used to be called A2A. Um, just for clarification, but it it really it's a system that does a few things. First and foremost, it collects all the attendance data. Lets us know on a daily, if not hourly, basis, uh, our students are tardy, our students on excuse absence, what's going on. Gives us that data. Um, and then on a weekly basis, it gives each principal and their attendance teams a weekly report as to which students they need to focus in on. Um, and it also, I'm sure our parents and families really appreciate this part, sends
028out the letters on a weekly basis. Lots of friendly nods there. Um, and informs them as to uh I don't know what you're talking about. Uh, but informs them of how their students are doing uh with their attendance. So, it's an intervention um system for that. Thank you. Yeah, I know. This really improves student outcomes when they're there. So, thank you and everyone. Absolutely. Yeah. And and and due to the attendance system that we've had for the last three years now, we've raised our uh ADA percentage by 1% each year, which is a significant jump where as many California districts unfortunately and across the nation are seeing declines in attendance, we're actually seeing improvements, which is great to see. Thanks. Wonderful. Anybody else? Any other questions? Thank you everyone. Have a great night. Thanks. [Applause]
029Up next is our student board member report by Key. Okay, good evening everyone. AP testing officially started last week and will take place through this week. Students have spent the last few weeks preparing and studying for their tests. The young leaders had an amazing district-wide spirit week and I'm very proud of all the hard work they have dedicated to putting this together. The annual pancake breakfast fundraiser for RHS football and cheer will be Saturday, May 17th from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. This event will be in the Seahawk Bowl on the visitor side and a ticket can be purchased from any football or cheer athlete. So, we hope to see you there. Thank you. Thank you. Up next, we have our superintendence report by Dr. Nicole Wesley. Okay. Good evening, board. Um, this evening, I
030wanted to highlight our IT team, information technology. They've done quite a bit um this year with a lot of more work to come. They they're sort of like, you know, silently behind the scenes um often supporting and helping getting in getting out. So, just want to take a moment to celebrate them and just sh highlight um some of the work that they've done this year. Um, so here's just a brief summary of um, I'll show some pictures, but as you know, just about everywhere you go. Um, we need the technology in some capacity, whether it be the actual Chromebooks, laptops, uh, projectors, etc., or um, simply the software, the programs that our our students and staff members engage with. So, we're really lucky. Here's just an overview of some of the things that they've done
031this year. Um, I particularly enjoy the new website. Hopefully our community has noticed that that um while it looks clean and fresh, this is a representation of a lot of hours of work. Um so we did shift over to a new website for the district and all of our schools. And so we're hoping that it's more user friendly and people are able to find information easier. Um so thank you to our IT for for putting that together. Um AI uh we are one of the few districts that are moving forward with an AI initiative and a task force. They started the real team AI task force um which including included providing professional development to staff on PD days. There's a task force that has been meeting regularly will continue to meet and um they will
032be coming up with guidelines for student use appropriate and not appropriate use of AI as well as continuing to train staff members on how to use AI to help them with u be more efficient and effective. And there she is our CTO uh leading the way. So, we're going to highlight some of of the work um that people may or may not know about the new elementary report cards. Um there was a thought that they would be uploaded as PDFs, but nope. Susanna and her team decided they were going to program the report cards into Power School to make the work of the teachers much easier. And so, we're very thankful for them to taking that on. Um, again, it seems like nothing to a lot of people, but it really does represent um the
033work of the IT team. Um, they met with u my student advisory group Susanna and uh her ITtosis to talk about their concerns. One being the filter um that was driving them crazy and due to that meeting and interaction um the IT team did um come up with a new filter um as opposed to content keeper. They've been meeting with uh student advisory a couple times uh this year and last year. Security uh really important couldn't be annoying, but the multiffactor authentication for our email um for our portal with all of our software and now for our um access to our powers school student information system. So um training staff, working with staff um and helping them understand the importance of this security is really gone a long way. Um, also really behind the scenes,
034they've switched out a lot of the infrastructure, um, new wiring, etc., helping to make, uh, the network more reliable and work faster. There's going to be more work to come. Working together and and thanks to our board, we we did approve a um, $54 million project where all of these artifacts here are going to be switched out over the next couple of years, starting um, at Lincoln at Paris Middle School this summer. So, we're excited about the bond money. Again, thanks to our community for that support. Um, next up, we're going to be transitioning our phones to the cloud. Again, providing more access and security. Just some quick photos of the IT team and our TOSAs teaching students um in the classroom, teaching robotics first with movement to our younger students and then actually participating
035on the um laptops. There you go. Sam Steckle, one of our toasts, working hard and the IT team is a lot of fun. If you ever get to know them or hang out with them, they keep it real. So anyway, want to thank our amazing IT team for all they do and for the work that's to come. Um, before I finish my report, I do want to introduce our new director of educational services, Eileen Lechen, and she's going to come up and just thank you for your support. All right. Thank you. This meeting is such a love fest. I'm so happy I'm here. Um I'm Eileen Lechen and I have been in RBUSD for 10 years, starting as an Adams Middle School teacher. So I see some of my former students here, which is a
036real throwback. Um and I just wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the opportunity you have given me to join Ed Services again. It's kind of a homecoming as the new director. Uh being at Bernie has been such a privilege. It is an honor to lead in this district. The students are so fun and joyful and hardworking. The staffs are amazing. Will do anything that's good for kids. And our parent community and our PTA is like top-notch. And so leaving Bernie is something I do. It's very bittersweet. Uh but I'm really excited to get back to the district office and get to work with older kids again um and support the middle schools, the high schools, and all of the other elementary schools. So I'm really thrilled for this opportunity and
037I thank you for how much you've invested in my personal growth and development over the last decade. So, thank you board and cabinet. I really appreciate it and I can't wait to get started. All right. And so, the Bernie staff is really sad to see Miss Lein be leave them, but we are going to be starting interviews this week and we will keep the board updated as we move through that process. So, we're lucky to have her here to help out the new principal transition as well. And that concludes my report. Thank you. Thank you so much. brings us to our hearing section 8.1. 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
038in 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 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. We have one advanced written request from Khloe Malbury. I apologize if I butcher anyone's name. Good evening, members of the board. My name is Khloe More. Today marks three months since I made one of
039the most difficult decisions of my life. Stepping down from my role as special education teacher at Lincoln Elementary. Since fifth grade, I knew I wanted to work in special education. At 10 years old, I spent every recess with peers with disabilities, started Special Olympics in high school, took my classmate with autism to junior prom, and led Best Buddies in college, leading to receiving a statewide honor for my involvement. I later earned my master's degree and dual teaching credential. I pursued this path with intention, building skills, gaining experience, and fully committing to the students who often go unheard. When I interviewed at Lincoln, I emphasized my passion for student- centered decision-making, and also asked about supports for new teachers. I was assured that strong systems were in place, and I accepted the position with confidence and
040excitement. What followed was not what had been promised. I taught the kinder first grade special day class where most of my students were non-verbal. They couldn't go home and describe their day to their parents. I was their voice. I brought concerns and ideas forward in their best interest, but was often asked to prioritize district direct directives instead. I had strong trusting relationships with my students and families, but felt little support from leadership. Advocacy often led to push back. Decisions made for students were sometimes treated as insubordination and eventually my contract was not renewed. I left feeling silenced and disheartened. My students deserved more. Their families and instructional aids deserved more and so did I. In reflecting on my experience, I want to offer constructive feedback. Number one, provide mentorship specifically for new special education teachers,
041especially in high needs classrooms. Induction programs are not designed for special education. and my mentor teacher and I have supplied this feedback. Number two, foster open communication between educators and administrators so student needs can be addressed collaboratively without fear of retaliation. Number three, invest in instructional assistants who play a critical role in supporting students with disabilities yet are often undertrained and undervalued. Offer consistent trainings because so many IAS enter midyear. And number four, demonstrate consistency and transparency in how special education services are implemented. Because every school district is so different, special education is not a place, it is a service. And it only works when the people delivering that service are heard, respected, and treated as essential and indispensable. I will always be deeply proud of my students and the work we did together. I
042hope their future in this district includes more of the support and respect they deserve. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Are there any other written requests? Would any member from the audience like to speak on anything either on the agenda or not on the agenda? All right, that brings us to item 8 uh.3, opening the public hearing concerning the 2024 2025 energy service contract for LED lighting project. Is there a motion to open the hearing? Second. All those in favor? I. Sorry. Student advisory vote. Uh any nos or abstensions? All right. The public hearing is open. Would anyone like to speak on the energy service contract? Do we have a motion to second then to close the public hearing? Second. Student advisory vote. All those in favor? I I nos or abstensions brings us
043to item 8.5. We will open the public hearing concerning the adoption of the grades 6 through 8 Whitton wisdom English language arts instruction materials. Is there a motion in a second? Second. Uh student advisory vote. All those in favor? I any abstensions? Would any member of the public like to speak on the adoption of Witten Wisdom ELA instructional materials? All right. Can I get a motion and a second to close the public hearing? Second. Student advisory vote. All those in favor? I. Any nos or abstensions? Very good. Sorry. Third one. Third time's the charm. We will open the public hearing concerning the adoption of teachtown instructional materials for preschool through adult transition special day class programs. Is there a motion and a second? Student advisory vote. All those in favor? I. Any knows? Any abstensions?
044Would any member of the public like to speak about the Teachtown instructional materials for preschool through adult transition? Can I have a motion, a second to close the public hearing? So moved. Student advisory vote. All those in favor? I. Any nos? Any abstensions? Very good. Uh, that now brings us to communications. Do we have anyone from the Rondo Beach Teachers Association who would like to speak? You do it today. I got to do it. Good evening everyone. for our final presentation for someone in our district to highlight what RBTA has been doing. We have our fabulous, she's the two-timer tonight, um Rachel Andrews, the mental health and wellness uh counselor. We're very blessed to have her. Thank you. Thank you so much for welcoming me back. Thank you to the board and to everyone um
045here. Thanks for listening to me for three to five minutes. I'm going to talk as fast as I can. Um, so my name is Rachel Andrews and I'm the mental health and wellness counselor at RUHS. Uh, this is Oh my gosh, you're gonna play this for me. This is amazing. Okay, so this is our fourth year. I don't have a clicker. Should I get a clicker? Um, this is our fourth year running our wellness center and we are so so so grateful um to have had this opportunity to run this uh wellness center on our campus. Essentially what it is is it's a safe space on campus where students can go if they are feeling emotional, if they are crying in class, we tell them, "Don't cry in the bathroom. Come to the wellness center."
046Um if they're having a panic attack, if they're feeling overstimulated, whatever the case may be, their dog just died, they can't learn math, they come to the wellness center. They have a designated safe space on campus. This is how we roll it out because of course we follow our MTSS tiers. So tier one, we have lessons every day um th or every week, Thursday through SSH. We also do them in person. We have a schoolwide mental health fair and we do staff training for our staff on suicide prevention every year and as you heard before on tobacco use prevention. Um we also have for tier two we have group counseling. We have student workshops, parent workshops, and parent coaching. And then of course tier three, our fewest students, individual counseling, individual therapy, brief intervention, DCFS
047reports and risk assessments. In order to do this, we support drop-in students throughout the day. And then I also consult and collaborate with several mental health providers, psychiatrists, psychologists, uh, IOP, PHP programs, school psyches, counselors, admin, and staff. I also supervise interns, and then, um, supervisor contract with South Bay Children's Health Center and Clear Behavioral Health. I also run a peer counseling program and I'm the adviser for our NAMI club. So, the way that we do this is I have six interns. I have three clinical uh mental health interns that are getting their L LMFT or LPCC and then three school counseling interns. We have a contract with we are so grateful to have South Bay Children's Health Center, our therapist Louisa for 30 hours a week. We have CLA for one hour. Yay. Thank
048Thank you, Claire, for coming back for one hour. And then we have 12 peer counselors in order to see us in order to sign up for services. These are all over campus. Students can scan them. They can also get to them through our Instagram, which the metrics on our Instagram are showing. That's how they're mainly making appointments and then also through our website which is what our parents usually use. This is our wellness pass. So our students can scan the QR code for services. But if they are in class and they are having something's going on, they're feeling sad, they're feeling stressed, they can get this pass from their teacher, get it filled out, how much time is their teacher going to give them with us, we log them in when they arrive. We log
049them out when they leave. We also have a shared calendar so everyone can see when we're open, when we're closed, when we have workshops, when we have groups. Current trends. These are the current trends we're seeing. Digital safety, belonging, family concerns is a big one. That's like the biggest one of this year is I want to have a better relationship with my parents. It's been kind of amazing to see actually. Um suicidal ideation, body image, navigating relationships, boundaries, that's another big one this year. Lack of sleep, motivation, and then burnout. That's the last biggest one for the year. Um, my safety net, which we rolled out under Dr. Wesley's um, purview when she was over student services, is still going strong. We had 90% of teachers show it this April. April's the highest month for
050student suicides. So, we want to make sure that we are rolling this out in September and again in April so our students can have a plan if their mental health goes down. This is a sample of some of ourCCL that we've done. These are all the different videos. In person, we do stress management and test taking anxiety. We do them through all of our Avid classes and by request for teachers. These are all the videos we've pushed out. A few highlights are um focusing on gratitude, focusing on sleep, body image, why am I so awkward all the time, do I really need to go to class, things like that. How do I get motivated? Um we also touch on things like grooming and extortion and how do you stay safe digitally? Um whatever is going
051on with our kids, whatever they're asking us about, we are putting this out for them. Commonly misused words in mental health. If you want to watch a funny one, watch that one. Um, these are all hyperl for your enjoyment. Feel free to take a look. Um, they're no more than 10 minutes long. Then we have group counseling. We have four different groups. We have stress management group drop in Tuesday snack and SSH. That is a drop in. You do not have to come every time. You just come when you're stressed. We go over strategies. We talk. We figure out what to do. We have a connections group. Those are for kids who are feeling lonely, disconnected, need to make friends. They're staying home from school. We want them to come to school. We bring them
052to school and we get them connected in this group. We have a mindfulness group and then also our healthy lifestyles group which focuses on healthy coping skills. This is just a sample of a few of our workshops. We've had over 30 workshops this year for our students focusing on emotional intelligence, long-term versus short-term gratification, dopamine versus serotonin, uh healthy tech habits, a QPR to suicide prevention, parts work. Parts work. What is that? Right? Brain spotting. Psychonamic therapy. What is that? How can it help you? Art therapy. Repairing your relationships. um how to recognize a positive relationship or red flags. Um all kinds of different really cool if I encourage you to take a look at our Instagram so you can see all the things we have going on. Um our peer counselors, here's a few
053of them at prom. They're amazing. They apply in May. We interview them in June. They are trained in mental health first aid, youth mental health first aid in August. I have one or two period and when students come in, they greet them. They sign them in. They check in with them. They offer them any kind of coping tools that we have. and then um they try to support them themselves and then elevate it to an adult if necessary. Um May is mental health month, which is why I'm here. Thank you for inviting me. Um so in the quad at lunch on the 21st, if you're not doing anything, please come out and see us. We have over 55 organizations who have who will be joining us. It's going to be a big thing. So I
054highly encourage you to come check it out. And then this is our data as of May 5th, which I crunched early just for you. Um, so total individual sessions right now is 1,654. Of course, that number is higher because it's not May 5th anymore. In terms of drop-in sessions for panic attacks or students in crisis, we've had 236. In terms of just visits to the wellness center, 2,605, that's during class. Um, we do try and get them back to class. I know it's a magical place, but we really try to get them back to class. Um 195 students have received regular therapy either through the wellness center and my interns or South Bay Children's Health Center. We've had 31CL lessons. That's going to be much higher by the end of this month. Over 25 workshops
055attended by over 600 students and parents. Group counseling. We've had over 650 students attend these groups. And of course, our lunch and nutrition visits because we want mental health to be normalized because mental health is health. This is our data for now, but you can see it on our Instagram at the end of the school year. And thank you. Your time means so much. [Applause] Thank you so much. Do we have anyone from the California School Employees Association? How about the American Federation of Teachers? Hi, good evening board, cabinet. Um, I didn't really mean to do that. Um, I I am here. I I I do see some new faces and I know that you haven't seen me unless you know my double ganganger because I haven't met her, but um um I'm Patty Moreno.
056I'm the AFT president. Um I haven't come to a lot of board meetings only because I am busy working with CDC and we we we closed at 6 and then by then I'm burned out. speaking of the slide because I get burned out but um at the end of the day uh but I did want to make the effort to make it at the end of like towards the end of the school year and and make that effort to come at least once a month and just to do a quick check-in. Um AFT as you know has ratified um our contract back in March and then we're looking forward to sunshining early June with Dr. Stephanie and and the rest of the team. And then I also wanted to just update you on summer plans.
057I I know we shine the the most in summer, but I I I encourage you to to try to like come by CDC if you if you get a chance June, July, August, because that's really when we really shine. But thank you for hearing me out and and I hope to see you more often so I can practice my public speaking. Thank you. Thank you for coming out. How about the Rodono Beach Council Parent Teacher Association? Hi everyone. Good evening. I wanted to share um two amazing free events that we have coming up that's sponsored by the council PTA. The first is on Sunday, May 18th at the high school. Rodon Union High School has an amazing aquatic center that I haven't seen until this year and I'm a senior. Um, I walked over there
058and it's a beautiful facility and I also didn't know that all RBUSD students can swim there for free on the weekends and I feel like if I don't know then a lot of other people don't know either. Um, so water safety day is going to be at the aquatic center on Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 2 p.m. And we hope a lot of families come out and see what the aquatic center has to offer. There will be uh free swim assessments, hands-on CPR demos. We have the fire department there, the Coast Guard, lots of really fun events for the whole family. So, I hope everybody comes. The second event is happening on Tuesday, May 20th, and um I'm so happy Rachel went went right before me and talked about how teens want better relationships with
059their families and their parents. So, this event is called How to Talk to Your Teen and Find out what's really going on. And um I went to the QPR suicide prevention training and found that to be really impactful and afterwards I felt like all parents can really benefit from having those communication tools for their to use with their kids. Um, so I talked to my friend who was the uh the PTA president of Torrance Council and we decided to partner together and we're having this event at West High in Torrance um for for the whole community, for anyone who wants to come. So, it's for parents, it's for children ages 10 and up. Um, it's how to talk to your teen and find out what's really going on. And I I feel like I got
060so much from that one workshop on how to get my my children to open up versus clam up. So I hope everybody comes to that. It's 6 pm at West High on Tuesday, May 20th. And next I want to introduce um I have the Madison PTA president Jamie Hecker and also Charma Lagard from Lincoln. they would like to talk about some events at their school. [Applause] Hello, I'm Jamie Hecker, Madison PTA president, and we just had our multicultural night last Friday. It was our biggest event um of the year and our biggest multicultural night um so far. It's our 10th annual. We had 26 countries or cultures represented. We had over 600 attendees. We had seven performances, lots of food, dancing, and lots of fun. So, um, for the community, thank you. [Applause] Hi everyone.
061I'm Charma Gar and I'm the PTA president over at Lincoln. Um, I wanted to talk about our wellness spaces that we created a couple years ago. We're really proud of them. We call them the zenens because we're lions. And um they've been great for our students to just have somewhere to kind of get away from the just the overall madness and chaos of the playground. Um sometimes they're quiet and there spaces where they can play with fidget toys or work on mindfulness coloring or we do breath work. We're going to have a yoga um instructor there for and it's actually there three different times. So, it's staggered. We have two zenons depending on the grade level, but we're going to offer yoga this Thursday. And um sometimes it's just coloring and sometimes there are other
062cultures at our school that want to bring an art project or something else, a tradition or a culture that they want to share with our students. So um we've just found them to be really um just a respit from the playground. The students really enjoy them. the parents, it's an opportunity to come and hang out with their kids at during recess time and um I don't know, they just feel like really happy spaces and we feel like we're really supporting our students. So, that's all I have. Thank you. Thank you. Up next, Rodondo Beach Educational Foundation. Good evening, Board President Flynn, Dr. Wesley, board and cabinet. Thank you for having me this evening. I'm John Nemoth. I'm the RBF president. Uh, one update this evening that I'm super excited to remind everybody about. This Friday,
063uh, May the 16th, we are having one of our biggest fundraising events of the year. It's our RBF spring gala. This year's theme is called the sunset suare and it will be an evening filled with um fun music, dancing, elevated food, elevated um cocktails with a RBF signature cocktail this year. It's never been done before, so this will be a first. And the reason why this event is important is because this past year RBF granted back to the district $1.14 million. And a lot of people really wonder where does that money come from? And there are a number of events that go on throughout the year starting with the investor drive in the fall. But one of our biggest events is the spring gala. And it's our goal to raise $100,000 on Friday night. And
064that will be through the course of silent auction, live auction, and sponsorships. And so we only have 23 tickets left. We're going to we're going to sell out. So I just found out what our ticket count was before I got here. So if you haven't gotten your ticket, please go to rbf.org back/gala and get your ticket. Um, just to give you a preview of some of the very cool auction items that we have, you can spend a a day in the life of uh the mayor of Roondo Beach, Mayor Light, um, has uh, put himself up as an auction item. All five uh, city council members have also volunteered. You can be a city council member for a day. Um, Dr. Wesley has has offered to have lunch with a lucky winner. Uh we also
065have principal Marvin Brown at the high school is going to be doing an ocean view uh rooftop deck barbecue that is second to none. It's a priceless auction item. Um and other things like the blimp. Has anybody ever ridden on the Goodyear blimp? Probably not. So that is going to be one of our live auction items. So, if you can't attend the event, you're more than welcome to go online and unbid on some of these items, but there will be a handful of items that will only be available in the live auction where you have to be present to win and to bid. Um, so I just really wanted to encourage everybody to please come. Um, whatever you bid and win is a taxdeductible uh tax deduction. Um, and so it's a win-win for everybody.
066So, um, look forward to seeing you there this evening, uh, Friday night. It's from 6:00 to 10:00 and it will be at Kinc Cad's restaurant on the Roondo Beach Pier. Thank you. Thank you. And while you're here, actually, quick follow-up question. What is the recommended dress code or attire for this event? Because I got a lot of questions about that. So, the dress code is California chic. What I'll I can tell you what that doesn't mean. It doesn't mean flipflops and a tank top. Uh but you know what it also doesn't mean is it's not coat and tie. So think like maybe kind of a Tommy Bahama kind of if I'm going to um to Hawaii or some kind of a tropical resort maybe you want to wear something comfortable and kind of loose um
067but definitely it's you know little upscale but not not flip-flops. I don't know if that's helpful. Also, I think that we may have even posted something on social media with some California chic examples. So, check that out. Otherwise, just Google it. Perfect. All right. Thank you so much. Looking forward to it. Thank you. [Applause] Uh, and finally, superintendent comment. Dr. Wesley, would you like to just Yeah, I would like to make a quick comment. One, I'm really excited about the gala. I know you are, too. It's so much fun. So, if you haven't bought a ticket, only 23 left. buy one. It's really worth your time and effort. It's going to be a blast. And thanks to RBF for taking it to the next level at Cancades. Really excited about that. Thank you so much.
068Just really wanted to again thank our PTA who came this evening. Again, representation of the way in which our community supports our schools, which is why Roondo is so great and we can't do it without them. So, all of these activities take a lot of time and volunteers and and effort. So, we're so lucky to have such a committed PTA at all of our schools. Um, and also wanted to thank our counseling team. Love seeing how the TK through 12 counseling plan is at work. Um, it's so exciting. Um, that is posted on our website for parents who'd like to see what we're doing at each particular grade level. Um, and the ways in which we're supporting the whole child. Um, this is a fascinating, amazing, and as a parent, I'm just so glad that
069my child and all children have access to these resources to help them through this journey and through our school district. Um, and also want to make sure that the board knows that we are also committed to supporting new teachers. And so we will consider the recommended feedback that was shared this evening and um, look into how we can better support our special ed team. Thank you. Thank you. Up next, we have our general consent calendar. Would anyone like to pull any items for discussion? If not, is there a motion in a second to approve items 10.1 through 10.5? Second. Student advisory vote. All those in favor? I. Any opposed or abstensions? All right. We have no separate consent items. That brings us to our action items. Item 12.1, approve key analytics professional services for financial
070management, program tracking, and reporting. This be Dr. Alpurn. You got a Oh, sorry. A motion to second to open. Second. Yes. Thank you. Yes. Uh thank you. Um our staff u basically Laura Chan, our executive director of fiscal services, um has taken the lead on this. Um but we've met with we've evaluated a number of different financial management software programs for um managing both bond and facilities. For previous bonds in the school district um we utilized Excel documents um which is not particularly time efficient um and it's also subject to input data input error. Uh so the key analytics program that we're recommending tonight will really streamline our operations. it it will include automatic uploads and reconciliation of district financial data will eliminate the need for dual entry. Um the system will allow the district
071to easily prepare reports for you um for our citizens bond oversight committee and um will meet the reporting details that are needed when we apply for state matching funds documentation. Um so we're tonight we're seeking approval for a 5-year contract utilizing bond funds. Um, it's for $72,000 a year. There's a $5,000 setup fee. And Laura Chan is here in the back here. If you um have any questions about the agenda item at all, she can speak to it. Anyone have any questions? Is there a motion to second to approve? Second. Student advisory vote. All those in favor? I. Any opposed or abstensions? Very good. Item 12.2, approve contract award for districtwide LED lighting programs to improve energy efficiency. Motion a second to begin discussion. Second. All right. And is this also Dr. Albert? It is.
072Thank you. Uh utilize utilizing bond funds. Uh the district's LED lighting program will upgrade interior and exterior lighting throughout the district. In the interior spaces, the lighting will be direct wired and for exterior fixtures, um, long-lasting LED upgrades will be installed along with significant energy savings and higher quality of light. The upgrade will also reduce our ongoing maintenance and material replacement costs um, with an annual estimated savings of over $300,000. We also believe we can re we would be eligible for savings credit of up to $170,000 from um SoCal Ren um and their lighting incentives program. And I have Fred Neil here, our director of facilities and construction management should you have any questions about our LED lighting program. I have one. Hello. Hello. We've been talking about this for a while. A long time.
073A very long time. I'm so excited to finally see it here. My goodness. At least what? Six years. As long as I've been around. Oh, it's been quite longer than that. I know. Yeah. We talked about this with Metro Q funds. We just didn't have enough, right? So, it's good to see this coming back because I know some of the fluorescent lighting in those classrooms is very unpleasant to put it mildly. Um, so yeah, this this is going to be good for everyone. Fortunately, we have the money because as of January 1st, you can't buy fluorescent lamps anymore. So, we have no choice. We were track kicking and screaming. Fortunately, we started the process. There was also one other savings. I don't know if it was listed there as disposal of lamps and ballasts. There's
074another 4045,000 a year. and with the lamp's long life keeping custodians off ladders, which we've had a couple long-term injuries. So, yeah, it's it's a major program. You can't you can't lose. Thank you. Excellent. Thank you. Any other questions? Is there a motion and a second to approve? I think you just call it a motion. All right. Uh student advisory vote. All those in favor? I. Any opposed or abstensions? Very good. We're getting new lights. Finally. Uh item 12.3 approve the 202425 legal services with Atinson Anderson Lawyer RDE and Romo, a professional law corporation for Measure S Bond Legal Services. Is there a motion and a second to begin discussion? So moved. Uh Dr. Albert. Yes. Uh, our school district already operates under a current legal services agreement with the AL AALRR firm. Um, however,
075as a district, we want to keep track of our legal services for the bond program separately and receive separate billings from the firm because it will be better and easier for us to be able to track. So when we get build from them, you know, we're separating out when we have special ed costs versus facility program costs. So this amount, this $50,000 is really for um legal services that AALR is providing from basically March until June. Um they spent a lot of hours working on that IT project. Um and so this approval would just um cover us through June. And then next year when we bring back legal services agreements for all the firms, we would do two of them for AARR at one time. One would be for general services and then the other
076would be for the bond program. Any questions or comments? Student advisory vote. All those in favor? I. Any opposed or abstensions? Excellent. Uh item 12.4, approve change order request for Toita retaining wall project site work from MPI Contracting Services. A motion in a second to begin discussion. Dr. Alpurn, I believe this is you, although I think we have someone uh here to speak as well. Yeah. Um, I I know I've provided to the board photos and some contacts in the Friday updates, but um I'd like to ask Fred to talk to you um and explain the need for approval of change orders for work that exceeds 10% of project costs at Toleda specifically. Thanks, Brad. Yes, ma'am. Good evening all again. Um I don't know how deep you want me to get into this, but
077uh short story is we began construction uh before the complete set of drawings was back from the state architect and there were changes that we ran into that were cost impact, schedule impact. So we hustled through it and basically they were it was it was either wait to start after spring break or take advantage of spring break and not impact the students as much which was huge. So we had elected to go forward, rolled the dice and snake eyes. So uh we've picked it up and we got it under control. Now there is going to be I should I speak about we're not finished with surprises. Now all the design is fine. The upper playground deck is failing that we couldn't see until we started excavating. And it's actually, you can see if you saw
078the photos, the actual asphalt starting to fall. We know it's 8 ft deep back into the grade. And it teases. We don't know where it goes. And there's I'm not putting a person in there to dig around and find out, but we're going to have to peel the asphalt back at least another 8 10 feet. and we'll use that material to back fill the retaining wall we'll have finished before we do the top. Otherwise, we could lose the whole slope and it' be even a bigger problem. So, so just to be clear, Fred, um we're going to we're going to finish the retaining wall. Yes. Fill it all in. And then that peeling back that he's talking about is going to be from the playground level is. So we'll be looking at that and seeing
079how far into the playground we're going to have to attack it. We we won't know till we get there. But we we are Yes, definitely build the retaining wall so we have a place to backfill too. Yep. Otherwise, and we will be it'll be a combination of digging eggs. We won't know till we get there. And that'll be a separate request. That'll be that'll be another change order. I'm sorry. Do you know what the timing is? We're still finishing on schedule. What's that mean? When was that? Well, what finishing what on schedule? The wall or the peeling back? Everything. Everything. Mid June. Oh, this year. Yes. Okay. And this is still coming through maintenance. Yes, this is still coming through deferred maintenance. Um we will we will proceed with the work pro and not wait
080for the board official approval because that's just the nature of like doing that that kind of work but also wanting to share with the board what's ahead and what to anticipate. So at the next board meeting likely you will have another change order in place to ask for authorization for. I know our Toledo families and students and staff are very much looking forward to having an intact school again. Um and it's it's coming from deferred maintenance just to confirm because the original retaining wall that had failed was so old we it wasn't insured. It wasn't you know covered by anything because correct times change. Um so yeah that's but at least this type of construction is very very affordable. Um and DSA approves things very quickly. So apologies that it's taken so long for everyone
081at Toita. But this is also why we put money into a deferred maintenance account for just such failures. If I can just take a quick moment to acknowledge uh the expertise that we have and within our school district. Um as Dr. Alen shared, we had seen the extensive of discoveries. They're giant sinkholes and these are things that you will not be able to until you get in there. as mentioned, peel things back off. And um I checked with you know when I once I saw the pictures I shared with my general contractors uh and these are commercial firms and they recommend exactly what was faired and and the speed in which that our team has moved on for student safety and having this campus back to the Toledo community uh is something that one one
082we have expertise in the house you know within our district and two commitment to our students. So those two go side by side together. just want to thank you for your work, your team's work getting our, you know, campus back to as quickly as we can and as safely as we can. So, thank you. Thank you. And the contractor is also is a great contractor. They're as concerned as we are about getting it done and getting it safe. Thank you. Any other questions or comments? Student advisory vote. I All those in favor? I. Any opposed or abstensions? All right. 12.5. I don't think you want this one, Fred. Uh, approve the adoption of Witten Wisdom as the grades six through eight English language arts instructional materials. [Laughter] Have a motion and a second to begin
083discussion. Second. Uh, all right. Dr. Garland, are you sure, Fred? Oh, he's gone. Uh as part of our strategic plan to improve student achievement in English language arts at the secondary level, one key action item was for middle school teachers to pilot the wit and wisdom curriculum. During the pilot, teachers provided thoughtful feedback on the curriculum materials, the professional development needed, and the implementation process. Parents also had the opportunity to review the materials. This curriculum also supports the alignment of ELA instruction across grade levels as witten wisdom is already used at the elementary level. Uh adoption at the middle school level would create a consistent and cohesive learning experience for our students. If the board approves this adoption, the next step would be to establish an implementation committee comprised of middle school educators and the
084committee will develop a three-year implementation plan to ensure a smooth and successful roll out of the curriculum. So, we recommend the board approve the adoption of Witten Wisdom as the middle school ELA curriculum. Any comments or questions? I'm um really excited. I don't even think I have one. How about you? There you go. I can barely talk anyway. Um it's on. It's on. Put your mouth. I don't want to touch it. Um I uh am really excited about the implementation of Witten Wisdom at the middle school um and how quickly it came about because I was part of the initial um roll out into the elementary schools and it in my opinion has been a huge success. Um, I'm constantly amazed when we go on our school site visits what the kids are doing today.
085And I'm really excited to see how it plays into middle school. This is great because it directly aligns with our strategic plan of improving student outcomes and achievement with a high quality curriculum. So, I'm excited to see that carry through and see what, you know, having powerful tools like these for our teachers, what they can do um for our students. So, yes, very excited. Thank you. And thank you to everyone who piloted as well. I know it's always challenging to pilot a new curriculum, but uh I I saw a lot of our teachers working very hard to make it make it uh work at middle school level. Any other comments or questions? Student advisory vote. All in favor? I. Any opposed or abstensions? All right, we're getting witten wisdom. 12.6 Approve adoption of Teachtown as
086the preschool through adult transition special day class instructional materials. Motion and a second to begin discussion, please. So moved. Also, Dr. Garland. Thank you. Uh RBOSD special education teachers have been actively collaborating to address the need for a comprehensive curriculum tailored for our special day classes. As part of this effort, the committee of teachers thoroughly explored and evaluated several curriculum options. After careful consideration, the committee recommends the adoption of Teachtown, a robust standardsbased aligned curriculum designed specifically for students in special education settings. Teachtown provides instructional content across preschool through adult transition and covers core academic areas including ELA, math, science, and social studies. And in addition, it offers critical instruction in social skills and independent living and supports the diverse and unique needs of our students. The adoption um represents a meaningful step towards ensuring
087all students in our SDC programs receive consistent highquality instruction aligned with state standards. Parents were also giving the opportunity to receive or to review the curriculum and provide feedback. We recommend that the board approve the adoption of Teachtown as the instructional curriculum for special day classes serving students from preschool through adult transition. Thank you. Any questions or comments? Student advisory vote. All those in favor? I. Any opposed or abstensions? Excellent. We have new curriculum 12.7. Approve the initial proposal by the Rodondo Beach Teachers Association to the Roondo Beach Unified School District. Motion to second. Begin discussion, please. Second. This will be Dr. Stephanie. All right. Whenever we uh open negotiations with our labor partners, it starts with uh what's called a sunshine letter. Uh they usually send one to us uh making it public what
088they wish to negotiate this year and then we send one back. Um so this uh item 12.7 is RBTA's letter to us allowing and if approved allows us to open negotiations this summer. Thank you. Any questions or comments? Student advisory vote. All those in favor? I. Any opposed or abstensions? Excellent. 12.8. Approve the initial proposal by the Ronda Beach Unified School District to the Ronda Beach Teachers Association. Motion to second to begin discussion. Second, Dr. Stephanie again. All right. And this is our letter back to RBTA opening up negotiations. Excellent. Any comments or questions? Student advisory vote. All those in favor? I Any nos or or absentions? Very good. 12.9 Approve the third amendment to the memorandum of understanding between the Rodondo Beach Unified School District and the city of Rodondo Beach regarding the school
089resource officer program. Motion in a second to begin discussion. Uh Dr. Alpern or Dr. Wesley. I'll take it. I I think it's actually comes out of ED services, but um the so we have a two-year which is coming to expiration. So this was sent to uh Mr. Curtinbach, our executive director of um educational services who is our liaison. So this uh this agreement was sent to him and so therefore we're adding it to the agenda. Um there's no change in the um the terms um the the time period or the amount. So this would be an recommendation, our recommendations that you approve for the next two years. Thank you. Any questions, comments? I just thank RBPD and our incredible school resource officers. They do a lot in our schools um and a lot in our
090community of course as well. But I'm really appreciate the partnership we have with the city on this. It's uh you know, we all serve the same community. So it's great to see this type of collaboration with the city and the school district. So very happy to uh to see this coming back again. Uh student advisory vote. All those in favor? I. Any opposed or abstensions? All right. Carrying on to 12.10. Approve adoption of the revised Rodondo Beach Unified School District Board Governance Handbook. Motion in a second to begin discussion, please. Second. Uh, Dr. Alpurn. Uh, this is actually me. This is Sorry, this is this is attendance. This is a result from our April 21st board workshop when we we met with our governance um consultant who um allowed us to review our board governance
091handbook which is on our website under the board tab. And so um I'm just fortunate to be able to work with the five of you and to go through that handbook and to um review our policies and our norms um on how we engage with each other and on our campuses. And so what I'm bringing back to you is the handbook with the revisions um that you requested at that workshop. And with this adoption, we will um formalize those revisions and then repost it to the website tomorrow. Questions or comments? I just want to thank the board for working collaborative collaboratively on that. That was very helpful, I think. Um and also it continues to evolve with us. So it's it's great that we have that and uh you know just appreciate Dr. Wesley, all
092your your help hurting cats because sometimes we kind of go off in different directions. So, thank you for that. Student advisory vote. All those in favor? I. Any opposed or abstensions? All right. Motion passes. 12.11 receive for second reading and adoption board policies, administrative regulations, and exhibits. Motion a second to begin discussion. So moved. Second. Dr. Wesley. Yes. So, these are the board um the board by policies that you looked at um last at the last board meeting and you did ask for some revisions. I believe um Dr. Garland had made those revisions per your request from that meeting. So, we're bringing back the all of the board policies along with the the um policy that you asked to be revised. Questions or comments? Um, thank you for making the revisions. It all looks It
093all looks good. I think it's 115 pages, so it's fun reading. But, uh, yeah, thank you all for doing that. And I thought I just would add that we um we do take the time as a district leadership team, particularly the cabinet and the directors to read the CSBA um board policies that come out to review our existing policies and make sure that they are are in alignment with new ed codes. And so it does take time, but we are a district that really does um appreciate that we have a board that wants to see updated policies. So we will continue to do that. Generally, it's about four times a year. So depending on how many new policies come out. Thank you. Student advisory vote. All those in favor? I. Any opposed or abstensions? All
094right. Motion passes. Moving on to information items 13.1 unofficial attendance and enrollment reports. Motion and a second to begin discussion. Is there a motion? Okay. Sorry. Uh Dr. Alpurn. Yes. Um the darker color is this year. The bright pink is last year's attendance. Um in March, we were slightly better um in March this year than we were a year prior. Um nothing particular really stands out other than, you know, this standard pattern where the best attendance is on a Monday and the worst attendance is on a Friday. every single week. It's a very consistent pattern. Um, so then I'll go to April's attendance. Um, what happened there? So that low spot is the Friday before spring break every year. We're consistent. It's consistently bad. Um, but and we know that and a little worse last
095year. Um but you also see even the day before the last day is also low. Um as well as the first day back after spring break. So apparently nine days isn't enough. Um so you know I don't I don't want to dispel um Mr. Brandt's presentation because really the work that he has been doing and that the the school sites have been doing to really work with families to focus on attendance does help our students. It helps them feel connected to school. It helps them just be engaged. It also helps our bottom line financially. Uh but this year while we have for the last two years been improving this year we'll probably see about the same um as a as an enrollment I'm sorry as an attendance rate it'll probably come in at about 95%
096which is similar to last year. It's not the precoid 97% but it is still much better than the year after COVID when we were looking at like 89 90% attendance rate. So we really have improved a great deal. I don't think our society will ever return to the precoid world of 97% attendance. Thank you. Yes. Yeah. I know there's been a lot of illness this year too, so that's always fun. Any comments or questions? Thank you, Dr. Alpurn. Um, we have no discussion items, which brings us to 15.1 board members reports. Uh, starting with board member Archer. Um, hi. Uh, last several weeks we've had these amazing um, teacher and staff appreciations at all of our school sites. So, we want to thank our parents, our students, our PTAs, um, PTSA for doing that. I
097wanted to do a little shout out here for um the team here at the district office. Um most of our parents and our community probably don't see all the folks that are here in this building as well as our maintenance and operations um out building. So they make all those wonderful things happen on our school site. So I just want to say I really appreciate them, the IT team. Um so just a shout out to them that we appreciate all of their work and efforts as well. Um, I was able to attend the um, who gets in and why presentation with some of our board members with Jeff Celingo at the high school. Um, what was really impressive was the turnout. I think it was like over 800 attendees, parents of students that have um,
098kids in elementary and middle school were there as well as high school parents. And just starting that conversation was so great. So, I thank Dr. Toronto for putting that on, Dr. Garland for um uh uh moderating it and I hope we continue to have those types of presentations for our parent and our community. I know there's another one that he's coming back in November. So, I'm hoping that we see the same kind of results. Um uh this past Saturday, uh Mr. Cho and I attended the um dual enrollment workshop at El Camino College presented by um our assemblyman Al Maritui. that also had a really good um showing and just information getting this out to parents. You know, community college is a great option and it changes perspective. Um they were just great and just
099to get on that campus. I didn't realize that they had um middle school students that can enroll at El Camino College and they don't turn that away if your child is ready for it. But I just like the fact that um our district is continuing to um present and give options for our students um for whatever their pathway is for career and college. So that's my report. Thank you. Uh board member Silverman Neimoth. Uh board member Flynn. Just going to add my thanks and appreciation to everybody including the students who make this school district so amazing. Board member Cho, thank you. Um, as many of you have attended, many events are taking place throughout this wonderful schools uh within our district. And um our work also continues with our partners um that are in our
100within our community, our city uh leadership, our health district, uh police and fire and and obviously our head foundation and our PTAs. Um, as I reflect upon this school year and we as we continue the work, um, as we work strongly to finish the school year high, um, I just have this memory of how I had viewed the school districts before I was elected to to serve in this role. Um, little that I knew um, from our my perspective um, the school, the city, the health district all were the same. and and that's what um Mr. Elder had mentioned earlier to the residents. We're all one body serving the same residents and the work that that we are doing as as a as a as a collective here to working with partners in our community
101um is very important. And it is continuing and I believe it's getting stronger and you will as you will see with um uh renewed uh leadership in the city um including our and our leadership here and our board with Miss Archer joining with continued work with the leadership and the benefit of our students which is our number one only focus with dedicated teachers dedicated staff. I'm excited that we will continue to be improved as a community not only as a school district but as a community. So I want to thank all of you and commend you for the hard work you're doing without even knowing that's the work you're doing. So it's the best part and thank all of the leaders that are present here continue to push forward every day for our students. So
102my sincere thanks to all of you. Thank you. Uh and I'll just echo echo what so many others have said. Um and I'm glad we got to celebrate recently is is thanking all of the adults in the district that go above and beyond every day for our students to give them the best they can. Uh I'm glad we have this the whole week of appreciation. It needs to be forever uh because it is a really challenging job, but thank you so much for everything you do for our students. And then also thank you to our students. This is a challenging time of year. Some of you have finished your AP tests and things are downhill. Some of you still have them. There's still finals in all your other classes. There's a lot going on right
103now. We are almost to the finish line, but there's still tears of joy. But uh but what I would just say is hang in there. It's just a little bit longer for everyone. Uh and and uh that's important because some people are making some bad decisions this time of year. We're getting too close. They're looking at Tik Tok social media challenges and things like that. Please make good choices. Uh we are almost there. And again, thank you everyone. That brings us now to events, activities, and announcements. On May 26th, it is a holiday. It's a nonwork, non- studentent day because it is Memorial Day. May 27th will be a regular board of education meeting at 5:30 p.m. for open session. June 10th will be a regular board of education meeting. Uh again, also 5:30 p.m.
104open session. And what everyone's most excited for, June 11th will be the last day of school for TK through 12. With that, could I have a motion and a second to adjurnn? So moved. Second. Student advisory vote. All those in favor? Hi. I'm not going to let anyone say no or abstain. We are abjourned.