ASD School Board Meeting 01/05/21

001president Vias we are ready uh to go live thank you it is 6:02 on Tuesday January 5th 2021 I'm going to go ahead and call this regular school board meeting to for the Anchorage School District Happy New Years to everybody on Zoom we have all seven board members president myself um board member Hildy board member Hollman board member Donley board member Mitchell board member Bellamy and board member Marat uh Dr Bishop and uh some of her staff is in the boardroom and some are also joining us online as well at this time for the flag salute I'd like to ask board member Bellamy if she could please us resist us with this are you on mute Margo my apologies I am ready than thank you I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States

002of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for [Music] all thank you before we begin I would like to acknowledge with gratitude the Deni of people both past and present who have lived on these lands since long before Anchorage was here may we all be good stewards of these lands Janan we want to welcome you to our meeting and thank you for attending and supporting the work of the encorage school district and this board the mission of the Anchorage School District is educating all students for success in life the board thanks students parents teachers staff School business partners and the entire Community for your investment in our district with your time your talent and your tax dollars next up is the approval of the

003agenda at this time I would entertain a motion I move to approve our agenda as written thank you did any board members have any um additions or modifications or amendments that they wish to make at this time not hearing any um if there is no objection I will take that as a unanimous consent of the agenda as is next up we have um a special section uh that we haven't done in quite some time and we are all excited to do and participate in um it is the Denali Awards and at this time I would like to turn this over to Dr Bishop to help us kick it off all right thank you madam president president and thank you uh to our employees who are here in the boardroom uh we are so happy to

004celebrate you this evening uh and really we celebrate you all year long uh and appreciate your work I will Begin by uh sharing a little bit about the Denali award to alaskans Denali means great one and the anchor school district is proud to have employees that display greatness in the areas of achievement service and dedication this is the highest award that the anchored School District gives its employees twice each year supervisors submit nominations and a panel of ASD employees your peers select a number of co-workers and teams of colleagues that demonstrate outstanding commitment to the district's mission of educating all students for success in life due to the constraints of covid last spring we were unable to give our spring Awards we generally give three a year so uh I'm happy to present uh the

005spring Awards as well as the fall Awards and we have six Awards to be given this evening so thank you to those at home uh we have some awardees at home uh some nominators at home as well as some in the room but we are so pleased uh to honor you this evening I'd like to turn it over to our first award and our first board member Mr Hollman who will present that award thank you this award goes to Dr Celeste long a consant professional during her 25-year tenure in the Anchorage School District chat optional Elementary School teacher Dr long is unwavering in her commitment to students and families as a primary teacher for chugat Dr Long spends much of her time dedicated to her students they are always first in her eyes and her

006attitude words and dedication reflect that Vision Dr Wong's dedication continues in her virtual classroom where her classes are rigorous engaging and kids feel connected in a new learning environment one parent wrote my daughter who is now in sixth grade shared with me that Dr Wong's class Remains the one and one class she truly felt challenged to stretch as far as she can academically Dr long is celebrated as an ambassador for the teaching profession she constantly pushes her boundaries reflecting her commitment as a lifelong learner chat optional principal Dr clir Hill commended Dr long for her tireless work and great dedication to the education profession quote children are always first in the eyes of Dr Wong her attitude words and dedication reflect that Vision her passion is in the classroom and staying connected to children as

007their teacher quote Bill said Dr Long continues to set the bar high at chugat optional by being invaluable to her students one student so Dr Long quote out of all the teachers I had she was the one that challenged me the most and encouraged me to learn the Imp she had on me and other students is enormous she set me off to such a great start on my learning and did the same for so many others quote in a letter written of support one parent wrote quote in a very small amount of time she's been able to get my son to be present for his Zoom classes but to be a participant and be an InCharge learner watching her facilitate online dialogue with class is nothing short of amazing quote the administration invites the board

008to join in recognizing Dr Wong is a Denali Award winner for the example of Excellence that she sets for the entire Anchorage School District Community thank you Dr Wan yay Dr Long thank you and uh celess we would like to offer you if you'd like to unmute if you would like to say a few words we would love to hear from you thank you so much I really feel honored and grateful for this recognition this is my 26th year as a teacher in the encorage school district and I'm a product of the school district I am proud to be a member of the ASD staff thank you so much thank you so much uh Dr long and your principal is online uh Dr Hill would you like to say a few words as well yeah

009thank you um so I met Celeste when I was a very young teacher at malun um and I always envied her and um most of her career has been in Title One schools and an opportunity came up where she could teach at chugat and um so she's you know this is her second year there but Celeste is um is somebody I admire in so many ways and she as a colleague and um and now as a learner with her and um she's definitely deserving of this award and has given her life to education so I just want congratulate you Celeste it's a welle earned award and I'm proud to work alongside you awesome and I just want to add that um it's very difficult to to meet everyone and know them a little bit more

010personally but uh Dr Long uh in I think three four different School visits and this is a testament to her always challenging herself which is something that she said uh that she does to her students that she challenges them uh I I met her at a summer school in this wonderful F outfit teaching kids to sing and dance uh I visited her after we had the earthquake when her whole classroom was transitioned to another school from uh Eagle River I think to Birchwood and then I uh saw you at chat so uh she definitely is active around our district and cares about the communities in which she works and continues to challenge herself after 26 years to continue to learn and Advance her career uh in ASD as an educator so thank you so much

011once again let's congratulate Dr long should I go ahead and jump in he given by member Mitchell okay um the next recipient of the Denali award is Heather Fleming mir's Middle School librarian Heather Fleming has served MIRS for 15 years promoting literacy serving the community and bringing positive energy and innovative ideas Miss Fleming goes above and beyond her position to provide a safe engaging and inviting space for students staff and community members her help developing Panther Camp a transitional support program for incoming seventh graders is a shining example of her organizational leadership her supervisor principal Eric bman said Miss Fleming is the glue that helps bind our school Community together especially during these days of separation and remote instruction she is a tremendous asset to Mir School culture and student achievement and this impact is

012evident throughout our school Community Miss fening continues to dedicate substantial time and effort to ensure the success of the mir's library and her fellow District Librarians developing study groups to enhance their skills her work on the mir's leadership team often introduces new professional development opportunities to staff Beyond her dedication to students and other Librarians Miss Fleming provides critical technical support for mir's teachers she regularly attends technology trainings and brings mir's the latest educational programs and implements new techsavvy strategies all while executing her responsibilities as a librarian to 750 students numerous teachers shared their support with one saying since the pandemic Miss Fleming has continued an online version of her book club and she designed an online book checkout system where students can request books from the library she serves as a leader in our school

013filling a variety of valuable roles and she performs them to the highest standards the administration invites the board to join in recognizing Heather Fleming as a Denali Award winner for the example of Excellence she sets for the entire anchored School District Community congratulations Heather congratulations Heather and she's here in the room with us and holding her award and we're gonna get a picture and for those of you who you your camera is too far away those are not stripes on her mask that is a fancy Library mask with books on it so if you just in case you needed to know so the dedication is there all right thank you congratulations Heather and your principal is online and would also like to share a few words Mr Beckman all right hey thanks everyone I appreciate

014the uh the invitation uh Heather congratulations uh it's great to see you there with Dr Bishop and the board uh and Dena Mitchell thank you for such a a great introduction to Heather and her incredible contributions to mirors and to ASD uh I would only add to that long list of accolades uh the role that Miss Fleming plays as a champion of inclusion at our school uh and the important place that the library at MIRS and of course libraries everywhere play in welcoming people um in who might otherwise not have a place to go and at mir's uh Miss Fleming uh curates a library that is open that is inclusive that is welcoming um for kids who aren't so popular sometimes or not super socially Adept and that is an amazingly important contribution and of

015course Heather um and I say this as a educator now I think this is my 24th year um Heather may be the best collaborator I've ever worked with uh and by that I mean when you work with her you're you're you're better at your job and you shine and that's what she does for all of us at MIRS uh the students the teachers the staff and the families who get to work with her we're all better off we do better work and we shine as a result of of being in her proximity uh she's a wonderful nominee for this award and I'm I'm so proud of you Heather as are all of us at mirors thank you uh thank you so much Mr bman and uh Heather we would also like you uh to say

016a few words uh put you on the spot um and thank you for running such a wonderful Hub of learning at the library at MIRS thank you thank you um I'm honored that my supervisor and my staff um nominated me for this award and winning it is is spectacular thank you thank you so much and happy new year thanks for being here and the next award who is also in the room uh Miss Brenda Evans please come forward and and uh would principal Hy like to stand right next to her we'd like to give you your award and uh speaking this evening about Brenda and her work is member maret so congratulations and uh we will hear about you and we could still watch it up there there we go hi Brenda it's my honor

017to introduce another outstanding individual receiving the Denali award and Linda Evans known to her student for being thoughtful kind and humble Eagle River High School cafeteria manager Brenda Evans is recognized for encouraging support to students and her dedication to the Eagle River Community Miss Evans excels at fostering positive relationships every day with her students a recent survey asked Eagle River High School students which staff they felt connected to and cared by and an overwhelming number of respondents identified Miss Evans as that person who cared for them and improved their sense of well-being we all know that she does an amazing job works hard and is internally positive but it was heartwarming to see so many students recognize that as well many kids noted that she saw them as a real people always made sure they

018they were fed and when they were absent she was the person who noticed and followed up with them upon their return said one Eagle River High School staff St member interactions in the cafeteria are brief but they can make a lasting and influential difference in a student's day-to-day life the kindness and attention that Miss Evans shows her students also reaches out and impacts families Brenda has changed the way my daughter sees school she has always been shy but Brenda helped change that during her freshman year she ordered a sandwich and didn't think much about it when she returned a few days later Brenda not only remembered her name but also her order explained one Eagle River High School parent from that point forward her near daily interaction with Brenda has changed her confidence and attitude

019about school the administration invites the board to join join in recognizing Brenda Evans as a Denali Award winner for the example of Excellence she sets for the entire School District Brenda you are what makes as great thank you Brenda and I'll give you an elbow congratulations and um principal Hy what would you like to say about Brenda well I'll say everything that was in there is absolutely true um Brenda is just a um a part of our team that you know we we talk about the beginning of the year that everybody's part of the team uh including everybody from uh our kitchen staff to our po to to everybody and she has really stepped up fill that role but what I really love about her is how she gets to know the students and whenever

020there's a student that's really U hurting or needing help she'll show up into my office and say Mr Hy Mr Hy it just hurts me it just hurts me deeply that we have a student that needs this or needs that and uh we find help we find ways to do it so um she is on the front line she knows all the students and everything that needs to know about them and we just really appreciate that um I I I look back you know well this is my 30th year that I've been out of school and uh I look back to think if I can remember any of the cafeteria staff that uh was in there when I was at school and I I remember because my mom was uh worked in the cafeteria so

021I have to remember that but uh I know 10 15 years from now that a lot of our students in Eagle River are going to know Brenda they're going to remember her so that just says a lot for her wonderful Brenda the mic is all yours thank you thank you so much I feel so honored um I can't thank Tim and the staff at Eagle River High School I I am so proud to work for ASD thank you you brought tears to my eyes happy tears thank you so much thank you y congratulations thank you and our next awarde who is also in the room uh taking the seat as far back as he can get from the front is uh Mr Rob Holland please come forward as well as Mr [Music] Roth and member

022Bellamy will begin to speak about Rob Holland and his work and dedication to ASD thank you Dr Bishop I am honored to uh acknowledge and recognize our next recipient Mr Rob Holland as our director ctor of Maintenance and operations Rob conducts a lot of his work behind the scenes often unnoticed Mr Holland readily and efficiently assumed the leading role of preparing school buildings to receive staff and students in addition to performing his primary duties ensuring districtwide cleanliness and sanitation Holland recognized the need to procure disinfectant during the district closure while keeping costs down he needed a different gain plan after realizing that most options were cost prohibitive and not sustainable in the long term with minimal guidance he researched and recommended the district purchase Machinery to make vast quantities of disinfectant inhouse at a fraction

023of the cost of purchasing it elsewhere Rob's Vision will literally save the district thousands of dollars over the next several years his Innovation and strategic thinking maximized the best outcome while effectively operating within a very limited budget and that is a quote from our senior director of Maintenance and operations Darren Hargraves described by his peers as a consumate professional and role model Mr Holland has helped the district attain unprecedented Clinton standards during his three years as an employee to his this is another quote to his core Rob subscribes to achieving excellence in everything he does and that is from Tom Roth our chief operating uh officer his attitude attention detail and Leadership permeate through his Department the administration invites the board to join in recognizing Rob Holland as a Denali Award winner for the example

024of Excellence he sets for the entire Anchorage School Comm District Community thank you Rob and congratulations [Applause] [Music] Mr to Mr Roth would you like to add a few words I would love to so so Rob I just have to tell you you're a rockar having hav had the the pleasure of working with you here the last several years Rob really is all about Excellence he he is he is without question an expert in his field sought-after expert but I think what impresses me most about Rob is that it's about his people he's a great leader he he he leads by example he does what he asks people to do he's always out there on the weekend middle of the night wherever his guys are he's there I just also want to recognize you know

025Rob we had an earthquake here a couple years ago and we were able to get our kids back into almost all of our schools in 10 days and that is in no small measure due to Rob's leadership and his custodian team with all the help of this District that that he really set that tone that it was all about getting our our kids and our staff back into into buildings and then he's truly integral to this effort here over the last couple of months to return our staff and our students to school buildings safely so Rob it's a real humble honor for me to work with you thank you for everything you do and I'm thrilled that you are being recognized for this award thanks Rob your direct supervisor is also online Mr Darren har

026Graves who would like to say a few words as well and I just want to let everyone know that not only did uh rob you save us money in PCH making our own Sanitation that like your personality that permeates it it per permeates those Co viruses but uh the fire department as well as other districts around the state are now sourced with the same substance and saving money as well so you really your work in ASD is um really shared around the state and in other entities as well so we thank you for that and Mr hard Graves well uh thank you very much I tell you I can't think of a person that's more deserving in this than Rob Holland I've had the honor of knowing Rob for about 20 years and I'm privileged

027to work with him here at Anchorage School District Rob is a a focused critical thinker who works tirelessly to find solutions to current problems as as we've heard uh and he's um and regardless of how uh difficult these problems are he is a he finds solutions to the problem and anyway it's great working with you Rob you're you're a deserving uh person for this I can't think of uh any body else that has uh dedicated themselves quite taken the phone calls late at night I mean you're a trooper so congratulations and Rob you don't say much but this evening we want you to talk please share your wisdom with us okay thank you very much um I really wish I could thank every single person by name that I work with I've never had it's

028never been such an honor in my life than that I get to come to work every day with the people I work with and uh that means more to me than anything it's just been amazing and I really truly appreciate it thank Youk [Music] you also in the room we have a dynamic duo admin team please come forward anina and Karen and member Donley will share words on this dynamic duo congratul Tagan team administrative Duo the tarmigan elementary school's administrative support team of Mrs anina Feliz fan namami and Mrs Karen Johnson are known as knowledgeable and compassionate mentors parents and staff describe Johnson and Feliz Fagan Nami as the Dream Team and the dynamic duo of tarmigan tarmigan principal Kelly ramley is proud of how her administrative team works together to support families staff students

029saying the working relationship of the front office is vital to a school Success each of them takes the time to understand a parents needs and get the help help they are looking for in a timely manner it's a great honor that I get to work with these two ladies many students wrote letters of support one student said of both they always help me other students and especially adults and teachers I respect them like a teacher Mrs Johnson's joyful laugh and Mrs Feliz faab namami thoughtfulness and kindness are hard to miss and are often the first interactions people have when arriving in the morning despite 400 students at the school they both dedicate themselves to knowing students names their families and their special circumstances the connection to students in their homes is noticed by families one

030parent said they feel like your own family they know the students and parents in the school and treat each of them as though they are the most important thing Karen will stop what she is doing to help a student who's having a rough day anina will walk students to their class when it looks like they need help I don't know two people more deserving of recognition the administration invites the board to join in recognizing anina Feliz ban Nam Nami and Karen Johnson the N Award winners for examples of Excellence that they set for the entire Anchorage School District Community congratulations all right thank you so much and we're going to get our picture taken and um growing up I had a big long polish name with about 14 letters but it it sounds easier than

031it spelled but when people say it's blei but they didn't understand it so you have to help us with your name because that's the biggest respect we can give like instead of you know children's names please help us with your name how do you we'll give you this mic Anita go ahead Fel Felicia bomi ficia bomi I'll work on that so thank you so much and uh your principal Remy is online and would' love to say a few words well congratulations anina and Kieran um customer service is the Cornerstone of what ASD wants to provide to our community and Karen and anina do just this with such a high standard they both take time to listen to parents um community members that call in students and staff sta so um I don't know I truly

032would not be where I am and as be as successful as I feel I am at Tagan without these two ladies um our school has a better culture and climate because of the hard work that these two do so thank you Karen and anina for everything you do behind the scenes that on a moments notice looks um orchestrated for a long time and a key word was behind the scenes which a lot of people like to be but this evening you're not and we would love to hear from both of you so Adina what can we share tell us a little bit about yourself if you'd like or S right um thank you so much for this opportunity I'm just like when I was told of this um award I'm very speechless as um a

033proud member of ASD and I could have not done it with my partner as you all described so I thank you and especially to my principal assistant principal and staff and for you and all of you for your support I'm honored thank you all right we'll uh practice good thing and uh safety Rob you're checking that out we're do good with that there you go okay these are Tears of Joy by the way I just um I just would like to say that we can't we couldn't have done this without the Tagan uh staff the teachers the administration our students uh their families our families and friends um together we make an extraordinary team so thank certainly do thank you so much and many you notice and Mr Donley thank you we gave you the

034toughest names and you did so well good job thank you so much and our last award this evening goes to a big team could the IT team the field service team please come forward some of you are at home some of you are in house come on up and uh we have individual shts and then we have one big one so um I think Santa should hold the award if any of you saw the news with Santa delivering candy through the shoot oh I hope children aren't watching sorry this is Santa's helper right here all right so um with that uh our board president Alisa Bas please share those words with us thank you it is my honor to congratulate The Information Technology field service team the size of the Anchorage School District Demands a

035large Information Technology team to accomplish its Mission with minimal disruption or downtime during the district's closure and response plan all 40 team members were vital to ensuring a smooth and successful transition to Virtual classes all while continuing staff and teacher tech support after District staff were set up for remote work Chromebook distribution was the next big hurdle the team phys physically sanitized and inventoried over 10,000 devices across 100 sites in the span of 3 weeks to ensure schools were ready for distribution in the spring the spring rollout was no small fee but it was dwarfed by the speed and efficiency of the Fall distribution an additional 11,000 devices were dist distributed over eight days doubling the goal of 5,000 Field Services Supervisor Calvin Ross said of the effort this team performed a herc Herculean act

036on behalf of our students and staff members the team Worked six days a week with over 10hour days two weeks straight the work done by it Field Services is like a constant drum be the employees and their work fly under the radar out of the spotlight it is a team who work tirelessly to advance the district Mantra of educating all students for success in life this was recognized in many letters from staff one special education teacher wrote it is only recently occurred to me that in the many years I have interacted with the IT team they have never shared their own achievements they seek no Fanfare only the opportunity to serve teach and recognize the success of others around them a secondary teacher echoed that sentiment saying in this time of Crisis and uncertainty it

037is important to recognize the amazing teamwork that is going on behind this sces to keep Anchorage School District staff and students moving forward in the learning process the administration invites the board to join in recognizing the it Field Services team as Denali Award winners for the example of Excellence they set for the entire Anchorage School District Community congratulations all right and Calvin I think uh is gonna add some words about your team uh well uh thank you guys um I just uh to share with um you know we're technicians we don't really appreciate the spotlight typically um however uh this team whenever um a challenge arose it was simply uh what comes next um and uh it when Co first started we weren't necessarily sure what was going to be required and how quickly we'd

038be able to get students back into classroom but it very quickly became apparent in the spring that that wasn't going to happen um and so when that challenge arose we knew that well we need to do some form of Education um and so with that um this team everything from moving our operations from our Kennedy Center to physically within this building uh to the Ed Center within a day um to tireless uh times running around the district in hot buildings uh sanitizing devices and then uh finally this fall when we were able to get devices out on buses for students uh and physically meet them at at their homes typically with a device um it was the effort of this team that that really allowed that to happen um and so I'm honored and thankful

039for uh the work that you do um and just happy every day I I really when we have our daily sta meetings it's it's just a joy to to see these folks and uh what they do for our district and for our community thank you excellent thank you and um there's a book called the Invisibles and and it's about the people who uh really make things really run but we really don't know it and and a lot of our award awardees tonight from our it professionals to our office staff and our Librarians and our teachers and our lunch professionals uh we know that ASD and serving kids could not operate without you so so you're not invisible would you like to speak first which one everybody's gonna look down come on good teaching just says

040we pick someone so there you go be ready all the time yeah all right okay well gosh I didn't think I'd have to say anything I figured it was all gonna be up to Calvin um so I guess I'm just gonna say that I am really pleased and honored and grateful and appreciative that I get to work with so many people every day that really care about what they do and like you just you need to do something and it just happens and and the way they go and there's no fear of not being able to do it they just go for it and so I'm I'm really pleased that I work with so many people like that um it's really special and I'm really glad that I got the opportunity to to touch um

041my community and serve my students in a more direct way than I usually do excellent thank you thank you thanks and many of our technicians some of them standing here have helped me as well and you haven't made me feel badly about my lack of knowledge so thank you so much uh I'm truly honored as the superintendent and along with the school board uh to honor such great people in our district and Dr not it's not a cliche when we say what do we say you make ASD great great like Tony the Tiger that's like yes at this time I would like to invite all board members all of our administrative staff that are on video to you know please come on video with us and just give one last final round of applause to

042everybody in the room online just thank you thank you thank you love it thank you so much once again thank you thank you honored to work with you president via it's back to you wonderful thank you next up on our agenda um our community engagement section and our military report and I believe I saw him with us tonight um Colonel Jason delamater thank you miss michaeles you guys hear me okay we sure can thank you for joining us tonight you bet happy 2021 to everybody it's great to start off the school board meeting giving out some Hardware to some well-deserving folks so congratulations to all of our award winners I know the folks here on J bear are probably customers a lot of the service of the of the folks that you recognize today so

043that's fantastic I've got four quick items I want to share with the board today two on behalf of our school leaon and then two from the installation um so to start off uh just want to let uh the team know that we've got our uh J bear School principles are working very closely with our um on Bas School AE uh program um directors on getting ready for transportation plans on you know the 19 January you know we hope that sticks sticks in good uh to make sure we get our kids back to school on time and in a good space the second item is is that uh over the holidays we still had family showing up here um for new assignments um and they've been working really hard on getting connected with the uh the

044faculty and staff at the schools that their kids are going to be enrolled in a lot of them are still in quarantine because of the rules and are living in temporary lodging locations but uh one thing we have found is that the schools have been very responsive and helping these parents and these families get connected so we want to thank the school district for that as well two quick items I want to talk to you related to covid on how things are going with the installation so the J bear is still under Health protection condition Charlie and we still are currently under a public health emergency now the public health emergency is currently set to expire on Thursday the of January um and we expect the installation leadership are doing a lot of work right

045now to kind of assess current conditions to see if we're going to allow that to expire or if we're going to do need to extend that again a little further so I I fully expect that Colonel agular and her team will probably make an announcement um as early as we hope on on what the plans are going to be um with the public health emergency and then the last item I want to talk to is just uh the fact that we are um seeing vaccines showing up in the state of Alaska and it also means that we're seeing our our those for the installation and just as what we're seeing with the uh the implementation plans in the municipality and in the state um the early priority for those vaccines are going to who you

046would expect it would be on the base which would be our Frontline healthare workers our First Responders and folks like that um if you haven't had a chance to check it out on the J bear Facebook page our PA team did a great video where they've actually gone and shot some footage of some of our folks actually getting their vaccines and kind of talking through uh why they think it's important and how it helps them in their in their in their um in their duties so I encourage folks to check that out uh P any questions that's all I've got for the board tonight but I'll stand by if there are questions thank you so very much did any board members have any questions at this time all right not seeing any so thank you

047very much for joining us tonight and happy New Year and we look forward to you know working with you in the future all right thank you very much ma'am thank you next up is our Board conference and committee reports I don't believe anybody has met uh since our last meeting but if uh we'll just do our our Run Circle run and just have folks update when their next meetings are for the community that would be wonderful I'll start with uh chair marett of Finance thank you president vies um as I stated before um I kind of gave uh our board meetings or our our finance committee meetings are right before the board meeting and um our next one is going to be the 19th of January and then after that we are going to be

048moving it to a different date so at our next board meeting I will let everyone know when our next um finance committee meeting will be in February thank you and chair Bellamy for communications still having trouble with the mic tonight I apologize so uh yes we are last meeting we have not met since since our uh December meeting our next meeting is next week on the 12th from 3:30 to 4:30 and uh this week we have uh we are planning on Friday to have our legislative our virtual legislative uh luncheon uh without food of course but good company and uh that link that information will be on the website for the for the members of the public who might be interested so our next meeting is next Tuesday 3: to four 3:30 to 4:30 I

049think no I think that's it I don't have it in front of me thank you very much and chair Hildy for governance thank you we had an extra meeting in December to go over just our 6,000 policy reviews that was on the 19th and some board members said indicated they might have a few others they might want to review so just send them in you know you can send it at any time but certainly the 6,000 this would be the time to take a look at it and our next meeting will be on the 12th at 3:30 to 4:30 so then so my correction is we will be after uh the governance committee 4:30 to 5:30 perfect thank you um community outreach um any good Community Council meetings that folks have been attending I know

050a lot of uh Community Council meetings got kind of compressed in the middle of December and um or some just took it off um but did anybody go out into the council meetings and you know have anything they wanted to share at this time all right n oh miss Margo yeah I I think uh I think I don't know that there's anything um I think one of the things that's interesting for me uh has to do with the legislative reports that the um the bills that are going to be coming forward um uh this this this uh session and uh so that was very interesting a lot of my count several councils did not meet at all because of Christmas uh those that did meet uh you know had a really good um conversations around

051uh School opening as as well as uh I I I absolutely enjoy hearing the legis the the legislative uh plans and uh lots of assembly updates so um so we we it's not that we don't I don't have anything to report it's just that it was Christmas and people were like otherwise preoccupied thank you thank you all right not seeing any other hands we'll go ahead and move on in the agenda next up is public testimony I'll go go ahead and read a brief is statement the board welcomes public comment on non-agenda and non-action items we value public comment as it ensures that we remain aware of public thoughts ideas and concerns and informs our decision-making process the school board encourages anyone wishing to provide public testimony to sign up in advance for in-person or

052telephonic testimony or to email written comments by 2 p.m. the day of the meeting these comments will become part of the meeting record there is a 1-hour time slot at the beginning of the meeting testimony and excess of 1 hour will be heard at the end of the meeting or may be submitted in writing if you have signed up in advance for inperson or telephonic testimony you will be called on in the order in which you were signed up you will have three minutes to testify when 30 seconds remain a chime will ring to inform you so that you can finish your sentence additionally it is not our practice that board members answer questions or engage in discussion with members of the public this is your time to speak an hour time to listen the

053board will consider all information shared by the public and when deemed necessary issues raised in testimony will be referred to the administration for followup we have by looking at my list I have 20 people that will take up our whole hour so we will start with speaker number one on the telephone Mr Daniel kimp Daniel are you on the line with us tonight yeah can you hear me we sure can you have three minutes the floor is yours good evening and happy New Year uh my name is Daniel Kemp I'm retired com com Army Combat officer teacher and the ASD co-chair of the Alaska Black Caucus education committee and parent of ASD students I'm here to voice my opposition to reopening inperson learning and post poning it and F focusing our effort on Equitable online

054learning until a vaccine is widely available for the life of me I really cannot figure out whose interest this board is serving by reopening classrooms is it Governor dun Lees Rich parents is it the virus itself wealthy campaign donors and special interest groups I don't know all I can tell you is what interest you're not serving and that's the am who are most vulnerable to the Corona virus you are sending students and families that are the most vulnerable directly into Harm's Way and you know it you wouldn't send students and teachers back into a burning building would you of course not you'd wait until the fire was out and safe to go back in so why are you doing it now you're basically forcing our teachers and children back into a building while it's still

055on fire what is the solution you proposed send them back in with inadequate protection even if they had adequate equipment you're still sending them back into a burning building we could just focus on Equitable online learning and wait until folks get fireproofed I.E vaccinated but you would rather listen to special interest in folks who say they can no longer wait to get back into school that's still on fire I might add I employ you to not send us back into an environment burning with covid it is unethical and immoral and our children teachers and communities deserve better according to an article recently published in the Atlantic androider 2117 districts across 30 States about half of those reported significant staffing issues and this was all before Thanksgiving Christmas New Year's and the Advent of a new

056and dangerously more contagious strain of the Corona virus currently running rampant across the United States and around the world now for the past 6 months this board has been on a mission to reopen classrooms despite the apparent Danger opposes we have warned you about this time and again including tonight but it's like you're not listening at all so let me speak to those you may care about listening to your voting constituency ladies and gentlemen of the public the school board is not working for the best interest of our children or you it is working in the best interest of the Corona virus did you know that the ASD currently does not have enough substitutes to cover for all the teachers who will get sick from covid the board members knew they also know that school

057bus drive ERS janitors and staff will get sick and or quarantined from Co but have no plan on making up for those Personnel shortages they just want to open up as soon as possible black children deserve better they need consistency in order to learn not a stop and start schedule which is exactly what you'll give them if we continue on this path I tell you who would love that kind of schedule though who would just eat it up the virus Mr K so I'm telling you not to forget the dangers I understand of our school board has this hand remember remember how they ignored your danger and warning remember each member who voted to put our community In Harm's Way thank you Mr your time is up thank you um speaker number two is not

058with us if he shows up um before we get to number 20 we'll go ahead and get him in otherwise he may end up um rescheduling for another meeting speaker number three Andrea Gardner uh in person and I believe she's walking up to the podium there as soon as she all right I can't quite see you from the oh there we go um thank you for joining us minute you have three minutes and the floor is yours thank you my name is Andrea Gardner I am an ASD Teacher and parent Einstein wrote everybody is a genius but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid you have all done a heroic job this school year so far you have made

059incredibly difficult choices and in doing so you have kept our children safe and undoubtedly saved hundreds of lives in our community thank you this school year this pandemic school year is not one for climbing trees it was and continues to be a year for swimming we cannot measure this pandemic against any other school year if we use the constructed achievement measures of the past to define whether or not we have been successful this year then and I assure you this district will be deemed a failure yet that's not true when we cast aside our past expectations for climbing trees and remind ourselves that this year is unlike any other we can see the successes of the school year thus far there has been unprecedented new learning unique opportunities for connection and widespread resilience and grit

060far more important than that you have prioritize student and staff lives above all else and for that I will be forever grateful when I was in sixth grade a student was killed in my classroom her name was Alicia penard she died when a bookcase in our classroom crushed her we didn't just process our grieving and return to life as normal her death reordered our world and in an instant that school year became about a different kind of learning entirely if schools reopen now there will be members of our ASD Community who contract covid at school and in all likelihood there will be deaths someone's mom will die because you felt it unfair that bars remained opened in our community Someone's Child will die because you deemed it critical that our youngest students not fall behind

061arbitrary academic benchmarks that you yourselves defined have you considered how many covid deaths you're okay with in our district please please don't allow shortsighted pressures to inform long-term decisions please don't be comfortable with the inevitability that Co will spread in our schools I adore my amazing students and I cannot truthfully assure their families of my ability to keep them safe I spent the past seven years of my life trying to overcome the crippling setbacks of having a chronic and degenerative joint condition in my efforts to get back to the job that I love it is horribly ironic that my triumphant comeback is this year I will not walk headlong into this pandemic and I will not return to my classroom until I have been vaccinated even if I were to receive my first dose tomorrow

062which is not an option I would not have immunity until March 17th please wait the vaccines are on their way and you have done such a corageous job guiding us through this year of swimming now is not the time to turn your laser focus on forcing us up into the trees next up is Speaker number four on the telephone Alex Lum Alex are you on the line with us tonight can you hear me we sure can you have three minutes and the floor is yours uh thank you I appreciate it um and thank you superintendent bishop and school board members for all the work you're doing to support uh the education of Anchorage students um my name is Alex Blum uh I'm an Anchorage resident and I'm here to express my concern about the January

06319th date for reopening in-person learning I'm concerned that this plan doesn't account for the way that it will harm communities of color and it will disproportionately harm communities of color children and adults of color have already been disproportionately impacted by covid-19 it's been more likely to catch it and die from it because they like peer because of you know all kinds of history and pleas racial Injustice that we're going have time to get into but all that means is that students of color and their families if they go back in person they'll be assuming much greater risk than their white PE in a way that is not fair just or Equitable and because families of color understand this they L less likely to send their kids back in for inpersonal education and this January 19th

064re opening going to lead to a segregated School experience with students of color learning online and white students learning in person can be separate but unequal treatment instead all students should continue to learn online and the online experience should be improved accordingly so that it works well for all in students I'm also concerned about the timing of this reopening fallowing so closely on the Christmas and New Year's holidays we saw a spike after Thanksgiving as as people travel in with each other and we're about to see another one right as schools will be reopening or would be reopening in addition the new variant of covid-19 appears to be more contagious and no longer sa to think the risk for kids would be the same traveled from England to New York to California if it's not

065in our community now it will be by January 19th we just don't know what all the risks of this new version of covid-19 is going to be for all of those reasons I urge you to wait on reopening inpersonal education until it can be done equitably safely and with the information you need thank you for your time and for giving the testimony [Music] thank you next up uh speaker number five in person if she is there uh Roslin Grady Weiss pres michelis Roslin has switched over to telephonic and I do believe that she's on the [Music] line okay perfect thank you um hi Rosa we can hear you you have three minutes and the floor is yours hi I am a parent and an educator I pray my voice is being heard a co-chair of

066the education Committee in the Alaska Black Caucus as well I have five children three preschoolers and two junior high schoolers all in the Anchorage School District program I don't know how many of you guys can say your kids are actually in school right now well none of mine are going back to imperson school I have SE had several deaths in my family and close circle of friends as as well as my own mother nearly dying because of covid I will not take that chance because of you all well 4.5 of you so politically pressured in my opinion your social media likes ultimately show that I am in opposition of opening schools as you can tell but let's start having real courageous conversations of that matter for our children what are we doing as a district

067as parents as supporters of our children why are we rushing to get back into a building to restart the whole school year has anybody thought about the children that may return to school and they haven't been to school at all the whole semester what's the answer for those kids what are we doing with these assessments do they really make sense are you just using it for negative impact conversations why are we allowing a pacing guy dedicated to a runaway train style of teaching there are the these are the conversations that should have been had as a whole what are what were the qualifications for all these different committees and the people that were in them because as a parent and educator I would have loved to have given my input but I was never asked

068what my opinion was why are we not talking about the tier one and tier 2 teachers not setting the school district expectations while we are online learning I thought the mission of the anchor school district is to educate all students for success in life the importance of com competent and professional staff in achieving this mission is essential are we really being essential or we running a political agenda that is what is best for our children is really not the agenda it is what is best for some of these adults most we're not focused on Equity whether we're talking about educators of color children of color or academic disabilities when it comes to learning distance learning should have been the most important process of what we have been going through during this pandemic but it seems

069like everybody is too darn focused on getting into a classroom and into a building when are we going to start holding these teachers accountable with all the learning that they need to be to to to learn to successfully educate our children through this pandemic why are we opening schools and the city has only begun to now vaccinate the seniors in Alaska and not teachers and there is no vaccination at all for children you are willing to further traumatize children instead of meeting them where they are at the thought of servicing children hiding behind that are we hiding behind our opinions and how we feel please rethink about opening schools as well as allowing employees way to intermingle to set up classrooms when Christmas break in New Year's was literally just two weeks ago if that

070there are more converage conversations to be had thank you thank you next up is Speaker number six Jared Gardner and I don't actually see him on the line so I will watch for him um speaker number seven Kayla Paige Kayla are you on the line with us tonight can you hear me we sure can you have three minutes and the floor is yours good evening I'm a kindergarten teacher in the Anchorage School District I'm here to oppose the opening of school buildings at this time I feel very unsafe having school staff and students re-enter the schools we've heard about tutoring groups and these are these are small groups compared to a regular classroom only up to 10 students per teacher so this is not the average school size or class size I'm sorry taking care

071of the needs of 10 students versus 25 students is very different mitigation strategies for 10 students or less versus 25 students is very very different I'm also having a really hard time understanding plans for re-entry when we know we have a vaccine now why are we considering for for in school staff who are who are at all different risk levels back into school buildings where this virus will most certainly spread wouldn't The Logical and ethical thing to do be to at the very least wait until all School staff have had had the opportunity to get both doses of the vaccine if they wanted to before I I use the word forcing and I want to clarify what I mean by this I've heard many times that teachers who feel unsafe have options and this is

072untrue I know of teachers who have serious health concerns who have tried to apply for medical leave and have been denied if you're a if you're a teacher and you feel unsafe about returning face to face if you don't want to risk your life or the lives of your family or your children your only option is to really resign and is heartbreaking my school has just lost another teacher to resignation this is all I have to say thanks thank you next up is Speaker number eight Mary Richards Mary are you on the line tonight hello can you hear me okay we sure can you have three minutes and the floor is yours awesome thank you first of all um I hope everyone had a restful holiday I know we all needed it um I really

073do appreciate everything that everyone is doing I know everyone is trying to do the very best they can uh my name is Mary Richards I come to tonight smack daab in the center of the region we call chuak and Eagle River home of the Denay and auta people I'm a mother of a child in our district I'm a veteran teacher I'm here as a proud member of our teacher Union I'm also here tonight as a member of the Alaska Black Caucus because I have been so inspired and moved by their Schoolboard testimonies all year The prominent narrative that we are ready to go back to school and that everyone is safe as ringing loud and clear I'm here to keep ringing a different Bell many teachers are feeling despair right now they are feeling defeated

074and like it is no use to voice their concerns any longer about safety and wellbeing they feel diminished and invisible I'm here to elevate their voices I'm here to Bear witness the district narrative that is being sent out to families is false we know everyone is not going to be safe I feel we do a great disservice to the community and more importantly to our children when we paint a fake smile on and pretend everything is okay it isn't teachers and staff don't feel safe right now speaking about their concerns surrounding safety and well-being the fact that teacher safety and well-being has not been legitimately acknowledged in board conversations about opening schools as of L of heartbreaking our children will never be safe in a system that intimidates teachers into Despair and silence our children

075will never really feel safe in a system that forces teachers back into the classroom during a pandemic when we know they won't be safe just yesterday and Danielle referenced this earlier in the Atlantic Early Childhood policy expert Elliot hasel writes that even in places where schools want to reopen too many teachers are sick or quarantining for classrooms to operate and substitutes cannot fill the void schools are not safe schools cannot stay open if this speeding train does not stop this will soon be our ASD reality soon if forced to return to school teachers and staff will become sick or even die he cites many examples of this unfolding currently in the lower 48 Hospital urges schools to now only reopen K through 2 and sped classrooms until all staff can be properly vaccinated so to

076the superintendent and the board I'd like to ask for a compromise send only teachers and staff who wish to voluntarily return back into K2 and sped classrooms on January 19th hold off on forcing any other teachers or staff to return and opening any other classrooms until all teachers and staff have been vaccinated after everyone has been vaccinated let's reassess and see where we are this is not only a just compromise but it sends the right message to our children we care about you when you tell us you don't feel safe we hear you we are here for you we will protect you thank you thank you very much next up I'm going to go up to speaker number six Jared Gardner Jared are you on the line with us tonight I am yes can you

077hear me we sure can you have three minutes and the floor is yours okay thank you um good even evening everyone my name is Jared Gardner I am the father of an elementary school student and husband of an elementary school teacher I personally have struggled with how to think about returning to in-person schooling and I recognize both that the interests at stake are hard to quantify and that there are a lot of unknowns but I oppose the current plan to return for a few reasons and I urge the school board to do the same first though there are a lot of unknowns we do know that we are not out of the woods when it comes to the pandemic the district has canel plans to return a few times when cases grew and hospital beds

078ran thin now numbers are currently down from the December Highs but we are not yet a week removed from the holidays and with travel and holiday Gatherings all expectations are that case counts will increase again Dr fouchy explained just a week ago that we have to assume that it's going to get worse and I think in his comment he was talking just about the effects of holiday travel he wasn't even addressing the new covid strain which looks to be about 50 to 70% more infectious second though we are not out of the woods yet with the arrival of xine we can start to see where the trees end so why are we rushing now before we know how this latest Spike will look why are we not ensuring that our teachers and atris community members

079are vaccinated before we go back to school now my understanding of the current drive to return is from the memorandum the board passed on December 15 which spoke to the disproportionate effect of Public Health measures on school children who and this is a quote um from the memo have borne a heavy burden of sacrifice for the community's response to the covid-19 pandemic I frankly don't understand this rationale there's a lot our community could have done better to control the spread of the virus even by just regularly wearing masks and limiting indoor social Gatherings and travel but it seems backward to suggest that just because we didn't do enough to control the virus in some Arenas we should send our kids and teachers back into classrooms with each other there's also a different element of inequity

080at play here it's present in remote learning where some students lack adequate resources to take full advantage of online learning opportunities but it's also present in in-person schooling where some students are part of communities that are more likely to suffer severe illnesses or deaths from infections I don't feel really qualified to compare and balance those inequities myself but one thing I know we all can do is listen to the voices from those affected communities the Alaska Black Caucus for example opposes the return to in-person schooling on these grounds noting statistics from the CDC showing that Alaskan native Black and Hispanic persons are about four times more likely to be hospitalized from covid infections and almost three times more likely to die because of numbers like this districts that have opened inperson schooling find that people

081of color keep their children at home at higher rates than white family and in those circumstances as would be the case with ASD the available online options often drop in quality or they demand significant parental involvement it just feels to me like we're really forcing this issue unnecessarily particularly when vaccines will soon be more widely available I hope you all reconsider this plan thank you for your time thank you very much next up speaker number nine Mitchell Paige Mitchell are you on the line with us tonight this is Mitchell hi thank you for joining us you have three minutes and the floor is yours I am an elementary school teacher here in ASD and I'm testifying today to oppose the return to infers learning I know there's a lot of controversy surrounding this subject and

082I want to use my time today to address the successes we've seen in small group tutoring the vaccine and The New National Administration being sworn just sworn in in just two days I feel that the district has done a good job of creating small group tutoring sessions these small groups allow for a much higher degree of control for me that is key in mitigating the spread of covid in schools schools can socially distance 5 to 10 kids in a classroom they cannot distance 20 plus students I know that the most that most of the risk of the spread of covid is in the community and with mitigation strategies it decreases the chances of spread in the school while Community spread remains High we still run the risk of Contracting Contra Contracting it and having to

083close schools mitigation strategies are effective only when followed 100% efficiently meaning that it only takes one mistake to potentially spread or contract covid-19 closed indoor environments allow for maximum exposure 5 and 1 half hours in a closed room is the perfect conditions for spreading the virus a virus that has most recently mutated to be even more contagious we're in quarter three and now we have two vaccines that have been approved and are being distributed everything is lining up to put an end to the pandemic mitigation strategies still allow for risk why are we taking the chance of spreading covid when there is an end in sight there are two vaccines that will protect people from this P pandemic it's my opinion that we should continue to look toward the safety and health of Our Community

084First and keep our schools in the online environment until there is widespread availability of the vaccine in two days time there is a new Administration being sworn into our national government this new Administration has stressed the importance of providing funding for schools and supporting schools and communities so that we can safely reopen in person they have expressed that they have a plan to address the pandemic and keep and and help our country start healing with an end to the pandemic in sci it doesn't make sense for me to reopen schools we should continue to support those most in need through tutoring in environments that can be highly controlled and successfully mitigated we should wait until there is no risk to our staff and students Health before we go back to in-person learning thank you very

085much for the time next up is Speaker number 10 Susan Ritter Susan are you on the line tonight and Susan if you can hear us I believe it is star six to unmute all right we will come back to Susan in a moment speaker number 11 Sharon Jackson Sharon are you on the line with us tonight again that would be star six to unmute if you're with us Sharon okay do I have speaker number number 12 in person that would be Tony biscup yeah I'm pretty sure it was either or okay I don't I don't see her online so that's why I asked if she was there in person um 13 Sarah Price is Sarah in the boardroom today that her walking up good evening school board and superintendent I am deeply disappointed in this

086school district and this board and if I were in your shoes I don't know how you could justify what anguish you were putting children through let me be clear there has never been and still is not any scientific evidence to keep students out of school you base your decisions on political pressures and fear putting that our safety and education last I have been fighting to go back to school for four months now I started with many eager students who helped and we even developed a resolution supported far and wide and you ignored us but it must be easy for you to do so because as students mental health continues to deplete many can no longer bring themselves to even stand up to the despair you are inflicting and I don't need to cite sources for

087what I see happening to my friends my classmates and the students across this District you must stop misleading the public by claiming you reopening schools because you have chosen to give up on nearly 20,000 of your students here's a graph of the Anchorage covid cases you wished for a flatten curve and I may have been out of school for almost a year now but even I can still identify shapes the cases are plummeting our hospitals are relatively empty and nearly all of your own guidelines are green forber Hollman you told me that if the community began to drive the numbers down and our Hospital capacities began to open up you too would push to send all our students back since then cases have decreased 56% covid patients in the hospitals have decreased 50% and member

088Bellamy you spoke to me of the importance of knowing when to Pivot given new circumstances we have new circumstances president you have acknowledged the silent majority who want to return which is true and that 80% of our families were going to return when you gave them the opportunity I know one of the topics you were most passionate about is choice and education both member marett and donelly you have been true heroes for Education this year as you have always supported reopening our schools or remember Hildy you have been a leader in supporting the superintendent for every decision she has made to send students back and I have faith you would do the same for secondary students so superintendent Bishop clearly you have the support of the board our community and it is scientifically sound that

089schools are safe so why are you choosing to let students suffer this doesn't seem like something you know is best because I know you care for each and every student so tell us why what's holding you back and we can solve it together I remember four months ago when I first started testifying You released your first plan and gave one month until you were going to send students back it's January 5th don't leave 20,000 children behind thank you and congratulations to the wonderful Denali award recipients next up we're going to go back up to um speaker number 10 Susan Ritter um Susan are you back on the line with us I'm try thank you hello everyone evening thank you ah the smartphones how smart are they you got the floor is yours thank you members

090of the school board Dr Bishop School administrators members of the Anchorage Education Association and the Anchorage Community my name is Susan Ritter I am a high school special education teacher and and I am a proud member of the Anchorage Education Association first of all I would like to thank all my co-workers for maintaining their professionalism and work ethic during these difficult times working during a pandemic is not easy but my brothers and sisters of the Anchorage Education Association have done an outstanding job of educating their students some members of our of our Anchorage Community both young and old have recently accused teachers of being members of the quote teacher Mafia Union unquote initially this Turner phrase sounded rather comical and humorous from a dark comedic point of view however after having the term teachers Mafia

091Union bed about numerous times during past school board meetings I felt this phrase needed to be addressed members of aea are citizens of Anchorage we are your neighbors friends relatives we are not the enemy and we do not wage violence against anyone I'd like to show you or give you a couple of definitions of what the mafia is the first is from Wikipedia good old Wikipedia a secret criminal Society from Sicily a similarly conceived criminal organization in the United States basically running drugs and narcotics a group of people likened to the mafia and from the um I'm sorry that was from Miriam Webster from Wikipedia uh the mafia is an organized crime syndicate that participates in activities such as protection racketeering arbitrating disputes between criminals and brokering and enforcing illegal agreements and transactions so the

092mafia is a criminal entity that uses violence against people in order to gain an advantage of some sort the mafia kill people they murder people teachers are members of this community we do not do those things we are here to support our students we are here to support our community we look to our board and to our leadership to ensure that our students and our staff are able to teach in a safe environment please stop demonizing teachers we want what is best for our students and that is the safe teaching environment thank you very much thank you next up speaker number 11 Sharon Jackson Sharon are you on the line with us [Music] tonight Sharon it's going to be star six to unmute all right well try and come back to and this is the

093second time I see her on the phone um just the the connection isn't coming through I still don't see number 12 we did 13 uh don't see speaker number 14 speaker number 15 Elizabeth McGee Elizabeth are you on the line with us tonight can you hear me we sure can you have three minutes yes you have three minutes and the floor is yours good evening school board members superintendent bishop and community members thank you so much for the opportunity to speak tonight my name is Elizabeth Kong McGee and I'm speaking to you tonight as a school counselor with ASD the main reason for my testimony tonight is the continued advocacy and education of the role of the school counselor as it has been shared that we are start as it has been shared that we

094start moving forward with a safe re-entry into school change is hard for all especially our students and the families of students that we will that will be returning there is excitement anxiety uncertainty fear and some trauma experienced during this pandemic some of the issues that have been discussed during this pandemic that do affect us as school counselors is communication and mental health it will be important for you to encourage Administration to communicate with the school counselor as we want to be proactive and solution focused in our interactions with staff students families and the community parents students and staff lean on us to make sure that information is given accurately and problems are work through in order to help students progress and not fall behind I know for a fact that the elementary school counselors in

095this District have been working collaboratively and proactively on putting together a re-entry plan on how they can be utilized appropriately safely and productively when we return as I have stated in many testimonies School counselor should be spending 80% of their time in direct and indirect services with students which impact all students communication will be key school counselors will need to be able to direct families and help them advocate for the needs of their child mental health is another aspect that has been shared with the community and that many of our students and families may have experienced because of this pandemic although I have stated this before in my testimony as well although school counselors play a big role in mental Health we are not therapists and should not be expected to do that in our

096role I have had the privilege of sitting on the national school councel position statements Committee in the past and writing upto-date position statements in which the role the school counselor is addressed according to the position statement of the school counselor and student mental health it states preventative school-based mental health and Behavior Services are essential without planned intervention for students exhibiting early warning signs setbacks and academic career social emotional learning development can result later in life and even into adulthood school counselors are prepared to recognize and respond to student mental health crisises and needs school counselors address these barriers to Student Success by offering instruction that enhances awareness of mental health and short-term interventions to include small group counseling until the student is connected with available Community Resources in closing imagine a bridge with board rocks

097extending out from the main Bridge our district has phenomenal School counselors at every level that are the center of the bridge and are the connections to students staff families and the community stakeholders that are the boardwalk thank you for your time thank you speaker number 16 Kate lad Kate are you on the line with us tonight Kate if you can hear us it is star six to unmute okay I don't know um hello Kate are there you are thank you you have three minutes and the floor is yours thank you sorry it takes me a couple times all right um thank you good evening I'm a parent and an elementary school teacher and I would like to remind the school board and the superintendent that while we've seen a decrease in local and state Co

098numbers we will be heading into the classroom as the professionals predict as we're going to be experiencing a rising in cases from the holiday break and possible travel the most important mitigation strategy of distancing is just not possible in my classroom leaving about one to two feet between students whether it is set or not the first back in the building are the guinea pigs if it goes well they'll bring back three to six that is the definition of a guinea pig while some children get very sick others minimally many not at all we do know that they are vectors for this virus and spread it often without even knowing I've repeatedly been offended and disappointed in the narrative that schools are safe they may not be a super SP for children but we know that

099staff and students uh families will be impacted my own mother-in-law right now is fighting for her life in a hospital in Texas with covid sadly she contracted the virus from her very own school-aged grandson who was still playing on a basketball team and brought it home my husband and children could lose their mother and grandmother when it could have been prevented this is the reality of the situation with the vaccine on the horizon I implore you to hold off a little longer so that we can avoid the holiday Sur it protects staff and our students families I also want to stress the importance of vaccinating all teachers that would like to there should not be phases and tears for school staff all teachers that are going to be in close contact for 5 hours a

100day with 20 plus students should all have access to the vaccine if they choose before going face Toof face at the very minimum the first dose I understand the older teachers are more at risk but as one nurse told me it's like playing Russian roulette you don't know how it will affect one person to the next a doctor told me of a patient around 40 who lost his Hearing in both ears and vision in both ey or Vision in one eye sorry this is a vascular virus it travels in the blood everywhere and this is why we're seeing such a range of damage to the human body yes your chances of dying are very small but the lasting effects are still unknown there are alter are alternative options and missed opportunities to do this safely

101while also meeting the needs of the students I believe that we should be having small group morning tutoring with our high need students and zoom class in the afternoon while we're waiting for the vaccine out once all teachers have at least had their first dose if not both then we could begin to phase in the Pro phase in process this will allow ASD to best serve all parties and help the community stay safer this would also create a more continuity of learning for the families that are not comfortable with the return right now as of now many families wish to stay safe at home but have to change teachers classmates platforms this is a major roadblock for parents and absolutely disruptive for students if he really cared for the well-being of the students the school

102board would consider the major issues and create a plan that address this massive inequity for families that want to remain online just a little longer please consider the professional opinion of teachers let's create small groups for the high need students while all teachers have the opportunity for vaccines if they want it I don't want one of my students going home and infecting their father or grandmother like that happened in our family there's too much to lose and please remember that the students are not failing their surviving a pandemic thank you thank you uh next up speaker number 17 um in person looks like Keith har Haren was a good try thank you thank you I did my best you have three minutes and the floor is yours when you're ready thank you all right thank

103you uh Dr Bishop and school board members for your time tonight I know that we are working in difficult times and that navigating this pandemic is not an easy task for anyone yesterday I was stunned and I don't use that word lightly but stunned to learn that my school and two others are going to be bypassing the phase in process for K through two schools and bringing back the full complement of their students to repeat that's from K through six bypassing the phased in process I'm a big believer and working through the chain of command when it comes to wanting to know answers to questions and my questions to I know will not be answered in this format but I hope that someone will reach out to me and the colleagues in my school to

104the colleagues and Baxter and Girdwood as well who are also bypassing this phased in process and explain to us what is so unique about our mitigation plans at our sites that give you the right to strip us from any learning that might take place in the initial process of bringing these kids back to school it is is untenable absolutely untenable my questions today were is there going to be random testing of our students and population for K through six no is more staff going to be brought to our school to reduce our numbers no has there been improvements in ventilation to allow this to happen to bypass this learning process of this highly touted plan that we've been reading about and hearing about for so long these were the words in an email we received

105today from you Dr Bishop we look to get grades three through six back as soon as possible as confidence quote grows around our safety protocols and mitigation procedures end quote my school is not even being afforded that to roll out before the full compliments of kids are coming back K through six it boggles the mind it boggles the Mind as a teacher I am compelled to be responsible for the safety of my children first the safety of the other children in the building and my colleagues and in multiple times in our school we've had situations where we've had to rise to the occasion you are not even letting us do that thank you thank thank you I'd like to just um oh nope 11 Dr off okay so speaker number 18 Heather wolrich Heather are

106you on the line with us tonight I'm can you guys hear me we sure can you have three minutes and the floor is yours greetings and thank you I am Heather wolrich and I've been teaching in the ancorage school district for 21 years serving communities from Mountain View to be Valley it has been my greatest honor to serve the students of Anchorage my fellow teachers and I am a proud parent of two wonderful ASD students while I know the pandemic has been difficult on everyone in every facet of daily life I am encouraged by how my kindergarten students are learning and flourishing online I am encouraged by the growth camaraderie and depth of community that I see within my colleagues and I am looking forward to getting to teach my students in person when the

107time is safe you see I cannot wait to be with my students in the classroom it is a truly magical place to be but I do not feel safe going back on January 20th while we have all been working so very hard to bring back a bit of normality there is one thing that is missing a vaccine for myself and all staff I am not over the age of 50 I am a mother of two when we return I will not be able to help my own children with their online schooling I have only one underlying condition not two as required for the next tier of getting the vaccine I am in the last group of our state's population to be eligible to receive the vaccine I do have a child at home with underlying

108health conditions I do not want to bring this virus home to her I do work with wonderful kindergarteners but it is very difficult for 5-year-olds to social distance and maintain impeccable hygiene while being in the same room for five hours each day and I do have a tiny classroom where 36 in is the furthest apart any of us can get I do have colleagues that will be vaccinated and will be continuing to work from home in their online environments as a kindergarten teacher I am not afforded this option I am here to ask you to make one of the following choices one delay face-to-face learning until all staff returning to those settings can be vaccinated fully two Lobby for the state to allow teachers returning to face-to-face settings to be vaccinated regardless of age or

109conditions or three allow teachers who are eligible for the vaccine and still working remotely to donate their doses to a colleague that must return to the classroom please know that I want so greatly to be with my students but I also want to be safe and continue to live a life free of complications from covid or the possibility of death I want to be here for my family and my students I want every teacher to have the option to be vaccinated before returning to face-to-face learning thank you for your time and your consideration thank you our last speaker tonight is on the telephone Celeste Hajj groden Celeste are you on the line with us tonight I am you have three minutes and the floor is yours thank you good evening members of the anchor school

110board and superintendent Bishop thank you for the opportunity to testify tonight I am Celeste hod growen president and CEO of the Alaska Black Caucus we are a nonpartisan organization that advocates for the rights of black people and the bipo community in the areas of Health Justice economics and yes education members of the Alaska Black Caucus committee on education have been testifying regularly against reopening schools for good reason tonight I join them in testifying against reopening schools until teachers staff and other essential ASD Personnel are vaccinated and a secure reopening plan is in place you already know communities of color the bipo community are disproportionately impacted by covid-19 experiencing higher rates of infection hospitalization and death as well as economic and housing disruption I don't need to repeat this because I know you've heard it over

111and over and probably tired of hearing it but let me be clear it's absolutely not time to Pivot until a secure reopening plan is in place and our teachers staff and other essential ASD Personnel are vaccinated if you want to safely securely and reliably reconvene our students back in our schools we must Elevate the vaccination of essent Frontline workers to include teachers and School staff we all need to continue to work together to deliver on the promise of equity and justice for all we need to keep equity and Justice at the top of our list as we continue measures to limit the spread of covid protecting the most vulnerable among us while being mindful of those who have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic children teachers and yes black indigenous people of color lives matter

112too thank you so much thank you madam president yes ma'am um I I wanted to share that uh in the room here we had uh someone come to sign up to testify that did not get on the list and I would wonder if the board would honor one more speaker is there anyone else yeah I'm see I'm see some thumbs up on the screen yeah I I sorry about that nope um in person so have him come up to the podium and we'll give three [Music] minutes if you could please state your name for the record oh hello hello uh Senator Laura reinbolt uh thank you for the honor and H everybody online um the history of America we've had many many pandemics roughly one about every 15 years so it's really important that we

113look into the history um the AIDS pandemic is actually still going on now there is no vaccine for that and I never recall in the history at least my history of schools all being shut down our economy being shut down it it has just been alarming the response of what is going on so I actually want to say thank you board members for uh considering opening up the schools you all do take an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution and the Constitution says that the schools shall be open I think that the shutting the schools down has been extremely detrimental and I'm here to testify to please open up the schools and I believe you can do medication mitigation efforts and uh I think it's really important our children need to socialize I subbed

114for many many years and I tell you they need the interaction in the classroom many of them do um it's the preferred method for many parents I do support homeschooling and things like that but many alaskans prefer the the um Public School op option and um I'm very concerned about are the kids safe at home right now there are probably many many many most I would say probably your home safe but there's many that there could be abusive situations you guys probably would know more than any about the risks of those students um at home and I really believe that the Haven School is a Haven for many of those students and um I think we're also putting an undue burden I know I hear from the parents about they're trying to hold down their

115jobs they're trying to get their kids their kids are are really suffering right now and you all know that the online learning many of them are not signing on I talked to a lot of teachers and it's not working for a lot of the kids so I really highly recommend that you get them back in the classroom with mitigation um and and reasonable ones I think trying to keep kids six feet apart and wearing masks honestly I don't think the science is there but you know I would I would highly recommend looking at the healthy American and um and and looking at that kids do well with covid they recover well and even the adults that do catch covid there's excellent treatment options if you look at doctors on the front line they they uh

116have an excellent um options with Ivermectin and hydroxy chloroquin and zinc and I personally am far more afraid of the vaccine itself that I am of covid um I worked in the biotech field I worked in Pharmaceuticals and I was a district business manager for pharmaceuticals up in the state of Alaska and I am very concerned with the MRA vaccines and I would highly recommend that you guys go to learntherisk.org the MRNA vaccines are not the Silver Bullet for many of us do not believe I think they're very risky and very experimental so I just want to encourage you all please let's not make this about fear I hear all this fear you know come on let's make it about the kids you guys signed up to educate our kids let's do the job let's

117uphold your oath to the Constitution and open back our schools and I think we can do it safely so with that thank you very much for the opportunity thank you Senator I didn't recognize you in your mask thank you thank you um so that concludes our public testimony um on the agenda we also have our written public testimony where um most board members know but just want to say it you know for the community as well I believe there's about a half a dozen or so um written testimony that the community has submitted for us that it is public out there on board docs um so encourage everybody to go out and read those next up on the agenda is the superintendent update and at this time I would like to turn it over to

118Dr Bishop president and uh board members I wanted to share uh that um tonight's report will uh really expand on the information that was presented earlier in the work session to uh really provide additional um guidance and support and and support the board in understanding the plan as well as the public and where to get additional information uh we're going to share tonight uh on a health services update uh much of the testimony talked about V sces uh we hear about testing and Jen petronis and Tom Roth are going to share a little bit about that uh in addition uh our CFO Jim Anderson will update more uh on the covid relief funding allowing for additional board questions and of course Dr Stock and his team will review uh any questions in regard to Schools

119starting so without further Ado uh I want to start with health services update and um Jen tronis and uh has been excellent in in keeping us a breast of um what's been going on and one of the things that she and her team are doing which actually I'm going to start with good things here are really their um an essential part of the process of vaccination in our city uh as well as in our school district and she's going to share a little bit about our school district uh but I just want to share with you some pictures of our School nurses who have been outstanding uh so the first one was a nurse uh you know inoculating another nurse here in ASD and they were thoroughly trained and went through the process and understanding

120of the the full day uh training um you know we used to be uh a little bit queasy around shots but we are certainly happy that these came around uh but our staff uh if you missed on uh the news uh our nurses actually volunteered and went around to different fire departments and uh helped uh inoculate First Responders and so or vaccinate rather and uh so we're just so proud of them and I really want to um give them a shout out as the good things in ASD uh we are certainly certainly blessed to have uh our School nurses aboard as well as uh their leadership of Jen petronis uh one of the things that uh she recently shared is that um once again uh just so we know uh the American Academy of of

121Pediatrics uh shares that that we begin with the default and the understanding that all of our goals should be to get kids back in school and um those disparities that we have seen and heard and really are experiencing with our own kids are simply exasperated as uh people have shared in the community uh those that struggle with food security those that struggle with learning uh those that struggle with housing um all the supports that schools offer really engage in those as well as the academics and for this reason uh to to stop having that Gap widen uh school is essential to provide those Services as well and um simply put you know we have school nurses also to support the the health and well-being so thank you for that and I'm just going to uh

122that was a little adly but I'm GNA turn it over to Tom Roth and his team thank you thank thank you Dr Bishop and and through the board president I'm I'm I'm frankly I'm just going to pass over to uh the director of Health Care Services Miss Jen Patronis to give an update on the vaccine as well as uh what the district is looking at with regards to testing so Jennifer to you thank you Tom and Dr Bishop so covid vaccine is here and we are excited to announce that tomorrow we will begin our first round of vaccinations within the district this includes um Phase 1 a tier three which is the remaining nurses that have not yet been vaccinated and some of our sped members we're also going to begin vaccinating phase 1B tier

123one which includes all of our staff and community members that are 65 and older we have about 2,000 vaccines either here or on the way with about 1,800 appointments and most of them are getting booked up pretty quickly um and people are really excited along with our nurses who were very excited to start giving these vaccines to our own people start tomorrow um covid vaccine testing um we've also been working pretty hard all through the month of December to ramp up our testing capabilities throughout the district so that our staff students and families feel safe so symptomatic testing is going to be offered at 11 different schools through different Services we have a vendor Capstone that's going to be setting up in five of our school parking lots for walkup sites the school-based health centers

124also going to offer testing at their four locations we have visit Health who is going to do popup testing at 11 of our schools throughout the month of January and we also have two of our Abbot ID now machines for Rapid testing for more of those cases where we need to know right now um if they're positive or not also working with the mun they're encouraging all staff and students who are returning to face-to-face learning to get asymptomatic testing next week so that they know before beginning um back to school on the 19th if they're positive or not and members can go to any established testing site that's published on the dhss website and get that asymptomatic testing they're really going to start advertising that and staff and students will get priority next week for

125that testing and that concludes my update slide please quick update on covid-19 relief funding I think uh all of the board is tracking uh that the legislature and the president uh followed with signing the latest uh relief bill for K12 as you can see on the slide it's 54 billion Nationwide which is still over four times as much as the original cares act Alaska gets about 0.29% of that amount which is just under $160 million um at state level they're allowed to keep 10% and the rest will be distributed in accordance with uh title one so over the next week or so we'll see the uh more details coming out as to how much Anchorage we'll get and some of the rules and strings associated with that there in addition to that 54 billion there

126will be some additional increase funds Federal impact Aid many of the title programs um CITC 21st century and others and that information will also be coming out not large amounts at um 10 plus million dollars for the whole nation uh but we'll see how that plays out for Anchorage the best part of this particular bill is that these funds can be used through September 2023 so it will allow us to look at U efforts that will last more than just one year uh as as we look at this the the original or the initial guidance coming out of secretary D's office is that the uh funds can be used to measure and address learning loss among students who are disproportionately affected by Corona virus and school closures um it'll allow us to focus on low-income

127students children with disabilities English Learners and other areas that the staff will be looking at over the next several weeks as we uh provide the recommendation on the use of these funds um it looks like there's going to be some expansion of potential uses in compared to the car's act but uh we expect to see quite a bit of documentation this this bill was actually um broken out into 12 appropriated appropriation bills so it'll take some time to get all of the details some of the other highlights that will affect the community um although maybe not so much ASD specifically is there is $10 billion in child care funding assistance those rules are coming out now starting to see them flow down and we suspect that money would go down through the government chains to

128the city the 3.2 billion for uh subsidized internet services um if a family um received free or reduced meals or they participated in the program that would allow them to have $50 um a month subsidy uh towards that over the next couple years and then $100 for providers who um who provide some lower rate options for people who require internet in addition the governor's fund has about 2.75 billion Nationwide uh that has to be dedicated towards private schools I suspect that we'll be involved with the distribution oversight role of that uh but it will not come from our funds unlike the original cares act pending any questions okay we can go on to the other piece and then have questions uh facilitated at the end um Dr Stock can you just uh share the highlights

129of our school start I will do that thank you Dr Bishop and through the board and to the rest of the to the board president the rest of the board uh the board uh is looking looking currently uh at the flyer that went out to the public that has a lot of the details in it so most folks are familiar with this so the board did have an opportunity to ask a lot of questions in the work session so I'll just hit a couple of highlights the prek through2 k6 self-contained in wayy school will be uh opening on January 19th uh grades 3 through six will follow thereafter once we get uh the mitigation and the logistics I make sure that they're all working well and uh of course you all are aware that the

130middle school and high school select students will be starting on January 19th as well and um those families have all been contacted before spring break we're looking at approximately just a broad estimate of about one out of every four students will be coming in face to face in those uh schools at the middle and high school level for some extra help to get caught up on courses um I would like to answer two questions that have come up one came up in the public testimony as a question about some of the elementary schools that had grade levels that were not K2 coming back and the flyer that went out describes this it talks about select elementary schools that have unique programs that may bring back some additional students back along with prek-2 examples of that

131would be we have schools that have combo classrooms where grades two and three are in one room together doesn't make sense to bring back only only half your class with just second graders so many of them would bring back the combination class as a whole to keep the class together other examples are various kinds of optional programs various unique programs multi-age classrooms or uh even schools that have a lot of space and and Staffing where they could spread out more there's just a lot of different things that might go into why a school might be unique the other question that came up that has been common from the community that I'd like to address in closing is just this what about families who are not ready to come back to school um but do not

132want to switch to ASD virtual what are their options and what what I would say is that their option if they do not intend to return to school for the remainder of this year would be ASD virtual we do have short-term options for families that are in flux for a few weeks for a while or students that are quarantined due to illness we do have some options whereby those families can access recorded lessons we've got the entire second semester now recorded and planned out that matches up with the curriculum for those grade levels in the elementary anyway and so those Elementary families would have access to that during the time in which they're absent but as far as a long-term option it would be ASD virtual and so that concludes my report uh and thank

133you I appreciate uh the team as well as uh the School Board I know that uh we had presented this information but uh knowing that our board meetings take into account uh full discussion just wanted to provide additional uh time for comments and uh really public transparency of our plan and the other items that are timely this concludes my report thank you Dr Bishop did any board members have any questions on the superintendent report for Dr Bishop or her team uh member maret um two questions I guess the first one is um when we talk about the covid vaccination um for teachers when it when it comes about or or for our staff that are getting it now are they able to get the one that gets the booster in two weeks or are they

134having to do the one in 28 days is there a priority with that or is it you just get what's available through the board president Tom member maret we ordered the madna vaccine when the booster is 28 Days Later we do have a small amount of the fizer which the booster is 21 days later but due to the storage requirements for the fiser we did not want to get it in large quantities but if somebody really wants the fiser they can request it okay thank you and then my next question is um when our students come back to school and I I've been reading a a lot about you know mental health and that sort of thing um and I and I'm not sure how we're proceeding with this but we aren't necessarily looking at

135assessing students right away and I think I've heard this before but I just wanted to um ask the question again about are we just going to try to work on getting the children acclimated meet their needs and if there's any assessments that need to be done could be done later um through the president to member maret yes we our days are built in with with engagement and learning and seal uh so but there is a time that we we're going to to see what kids do know uh because in order our our teaching is really informed by understanding what kids need to learn and so we do need uh to assess that doesn't necessarily mean a child's going to sit down with a piece of paper or computer in front of them uh please know

136that teachers make assessments every 3 minutes they're determining what to do next in a classroom uh and using their best judgment and so uh in the larger term of assessment I would say that that's happening daily uh and watching it and it's happening right now while while teachers are paying attention to their students online uh but as far as uh formal assessments no we are coming back to learn we're we're getting more engaged it's going to be like the beginning of the school year but uh we do need to understand what kids know and are able to do uh to teach them the next phase and the next that builds on to the next grade level in their matriculation um thank you and I guess I just want to make a comment for those um

137individuals that are deciding on what's best for their students my grandson will be returning on the 19th and so will my uh son's fiance's daughter be returning on the 19th so we have two children that will be attending school in person thank you member yeah thank you next up in the queue is member Donley thank you madam president um Madam superintendent um Dr Bishop uh the last meeting you advised the board the school district was going to contract with the bond educational group for an equity audit I was wondering how much uh my first question my two I'm entitled it I was wondered how much that was that contract was going to be for sure um we were going to put the details of that contract in the board newsletter this Thursday but I can

138share it's a little over $30,000 so uh Dr Bishop I'd encourage you to uh do some additional vetting of this particular organization I had the opportunity to listen to the CEO Jason otley PhD um on over the break since the last meeting on several podcasts um some of the rhetoric is really concerning um there seems to be a lot of R rhetoric but very very short on any constructive suggestions for reforms for Solutions um statements such as there's been an epidemic of prejudice the racist policies run this nation uh 400 years slavery has marginalized uh the black community in America I mean I even with our common corat I couldn't make that one work but absolutely no response of any clear statement of proposed Solutions or suggestions for Action uh in very very friendly uh

139inquiries being put forward to say what can we do the only uh response was we need to rewrite policies and that's just not very uh convincing that this is a really uh helpful exercise utilizing an organization that their only suggestion for reaching some solutions to the challenges we're facing uh with equality in this nation is we need to rewrite policies uh given the opportunity to make solid suggestions that's not something that I think is very valid to just throw that out there that generically so I think we need to take a stronger look at the merits of Contracting with the bond educational group for this proposed educational audit well thank you for that feedback and uh like any audit uh what the audit does is really provides a baseline for where a district is and

140so we're going to utilize this information to know where we are how are our kids doing what do we know as a staff and what do we understand about our school district uh the work that's to be done is really for us to decide as well as the board and the board has spoken through its guard guard rails and its goals uh the importance of really all Student Success and so what we're looking at is understanding uh about our students about our employees have we met that Mark and then we're going to take a look this third party so it isn't ourselves judging ourselves because sometimes um as you know even from testimony folks uh trust the outside more than they do inside is to take a look at our Baseline and then really work

141uh as a team as a district as a board together uh to reach and have plans for uh Equity of access Equity of outcomes uh certainly the audit isn't or the auditor or the company isn't going to tell us what to do uh that's really um ASDS Journey and as you know we've begun this journey uh we've already identified uh through the College Board which is a very outside organization again that already did an audit of our AP courses and the students ability and who is missing out on AP uh to take some action in that regard uh We've also looked at our ability for our staff members to really progress into teacher leaders as well as other Educators and so we've taken some action in that area so we're are simply uh the company

142and the audit of the company will will provide us a Baseline and and I agree with you um it's not their job necessarily to to tell us everything to do because certainly uh we need to do what's right and what's right for our community and our people in a good fit for ASD uh to move along that that road um that that journey to ensure that all students have success in life and and I'm really encouraged that I also want to be a a good place for all staff members to feel that they're welcomed and that they can really do their best in strive so uh I assure you that um there isn't a company out there that can prescribe how to do something uh one way there isn't a silver bullet um that might

143not be appropriate to say in school settings anymore but uh it's not there there isn't a a one way to do it so I assure you uh we will bring back our plan to the board uh and certainly uh the board has already proposed that its own policy uh Administration hasn't done that but thank you for your comments but Madam superintendent why would we entrust our audit which will provide us with very important information we to work on these very serious issues to an organization that's being led by somebody that couldn't offer a single cont suggestion how to address these issues when given a perfect opportunity to do so and has exhibited some pretty loose fast and loose utilization of facts don't we want a real impartial audit an audit that could really lead to

144progress I believe this can we just have a difference of opinion and uh Sonia hunt our senior director uh that works on compliance and and uh Equity uh if you'd like to add in any information that you have from uh the organization to the president to members of the board thank you so much Dr Bishop um when we looked for um when we thought about what do we want from an audit an uh an equity audit we looked at what is comparable to audits that were done in similar large districts they were typically done by academics people who were steeped in research steeped in um uh uh data finding um that really wanted to look at the culture of equity in the school district look at the data in terms of things like the achievement

145Gap or the opportunity Gap um to look at what types of trainings were needed for staff on varies various levels and so um when we looked at um what other school districts were doing other comparable districts this is what we found and um very comfortable with it um uh Dr Atley who leads the bond group along with um his colleague that will be working on the audit are academics and Scholars um in equity and so um that's the type of uh um a knowledge base that we wanted to bring in bring to the table and and certainly uh member Donley we will share uh the outcome of that with the board and the board will uh work through this process with us we we'll be working on this uh right along with the board thank

146you um member Donley did you have um another question or well I guess it's not so much of a question is I remain very concerned about the utilization of critical race Theory uh to develop policy in this school district I do not think it's a legitimate um academic exercise um I've you know read the books that were utilized uh in the instruction class that the ASD participated with in this summer um and very concerned about they are not true academic products they're really storytelling it's kind of a pop culture and it's very concerning if we're going to go down that path to conduct an audit I think we need an audit that could be useful and helpful and constructive and let's make some progress but I don't think we're going to find progress from the

147folks in the critical race Theory community thank you for your comments next up in the queue is board member hullman um thank you uh yeah I was startled to find out we do have schools that are returning all grade levels um are there other schools that are in between those three and some of the and the schools that were outlined inogram I I'm kind of wondering what the status of all the schools is we can uh uh through the two member Hollman through the board President we can provide that um there are schools in between uh schools that have as Dr Stock shared a two3 combo or specialized program a lot of our optional programs uh because they have uh second through fourth grade or first through fourth grade uh they've elected to bring uh

148that back the decisions uh were made at the school level with school staff not District staff uh and their plans had their choice of grade levels brought back so their leadership teams at their schools uh worked through those uh mitigation plans and they're planning for schools together and then they provided uh that and were uh really reviewed and explored by their supervisors uh led by Dan Barker in the elementary school and Kirsten Johnson uh for second schools so uh we can uh provide those there are quite a few uh because as you know uh the choice in our district has many many different choices for programs uh Denali is a school that uh elected uh to uh provide their plan with uh uh the majority all almost all their students returning at at their grade

149levels those that choose to go back to school there's many that are choosing to remain online but we will provide the board that there a a followup I mean to me one of the big uh mitigation options that we had was the ability to use the empty parts of the building but also realize that that probably none of these schools will have 100% students return so if it can also include the expected student population that'll be coming back um that that would be useful to know as well if all the grade levels are opened up but only only 60% of students plan to return then obviously there's still a lot of space for mitigation to spread kids out and and do different things um but in in terms of relaying to the public exactly what's

150happening it would help to have that to be more accurate thank you thank you um that's great feedback and uh our schools as well as teachers have done uh just so the the board knows and the public uh virtual um uh you know uh tours of their classroom uh where students will sit what the mitigation looks like uh we do have at different schools really by choice of parents uh there are and and even in individual schools different classrooms some classrooms we're finding with 15 children uh some upwards uh of 23 to 24 uh in those classrooms that have more children uh in them without additional space uh you know curtains those accordion walls to open up and things like that uh that's essentially where they're utilizing those uh dividers uh that we made in

151hundreds and hundreds uh through Darren Hargraves and his team uh for those um mitigation uh walls if you will those clear walls so uh the the teachers themselves as well as the principles have done walkthroughs open houses and um video walkthroughs so uh we can provide that information because uh at every school every classroom uh we did take a look uh because we uh are uh abiding by uh the emergency ordinance of 50% capacity of the fire code and so that took place as well so classroom by classroom teacher by teacher they were reviewed but we'll provide that for you next up in the que is board member [Music] Bellamy yes thank you um Madam president I had my question had to do with my initial question had to do with um whether or not

152we had um kind of piloted that that owl um camera you know what I'm talking about the one we used you know have we palleted that or thought about pting that in a classroom um so that uh kids if there was a school where we had uh some kids in some kids home is it possible for us to maybe pilot how that might work um in a classroom so I and so that's that was one of my questions sure but my comment um relative to the equity audit I am absolutely in support of the equity audit I agree I I compliment the superintendent for Having the courage to do it and I am challenging this board to have the courage to have the discussion to leave your judgments at the door you are entitled to

153your own opinion you are not entitled to your own uh facts so when it comes to issues of race we have to keep an open heart and an open mind this is not something that just started our data is absolutely clear our children of color are not doing well all of our children are not well and there are issues of race in this District and either we are going to be nonjudge mental and open-minded and stand with each other to find the answer nobody's going to come in this district and tell us what to do but we need to start somewhere so I look forward to the information that's going to be given to the board uh I had not planned on discussing this tonight because I knew we were going to get some information

154in board connect so I give the superintendent and her staff the opportunity Miss hunt the opportunity to share what they want to share um and and whether it's you know C CTR has been around for ages and we don't have to like it we don't but at least be open-minded and hearted enough to listen to see where the applications could be and not and not just uh uh disband the whole uh process so I look forward to uh going through that process with this board it is not going to be easy it is not and no the policy we have we have been working on now since September I plan on on work continuing to work on it because we need it we need it to guide the work in this District the policy won't

155tell us what to do but it would be the beacon to tell us how to get there thank you thank you and to reference owls um we do have several of those and classrooms uh many classrooms are utilizing them rather schools uh a couple of the issues are the cost of the owls we couldn't outfit every classroom uh and certainly one of the uh issues we found is that if we were to stream every classroom in every school at the same time every day uh we don't uh have enough um bandwidth to do that so we would really be slow and shut things down so the ability uh we have the ability for everyone to do it uh not certainly everyone to do it at the same time and that and we found that that's

156one of um one of the difficulties well if we could find maybe one one one like classroom or one school that might have a couple of classrooms that want to try it I I'm just intrigued by it I mean that little thing can follow your voice where and and kids can see the teacher the teacher the kids can see each other I I just think um if it if if there if it had if it was possible just do a little teeny tiny pilot that might there are some that are already doing that actually so we can share uh their work in that that would be great thank you it is pretty cool I agree with you yeah next up in the queue is board member Mitchell okay I'm going to I have been having

157trouble with my computer so I've got the sound on my phone but hopefully I won't cut out um so I am really excited about the new semester I'm excited about the new year I'm excited about the vaccine I am concerned about um some of the teachers and some of our staff who do have um health issues either themselves or with their families I'm concerned about the fact that um the priorities of teachers is saying that initially we're only going to do 50 and above with pre-existing conditions um and I um just want to go on record again saying that I really really very much appreciated the back to school plan that was presented to us on December 1st um it allowed for a lot of flexibility for teachers and families and students who felt comfortable

158to come back in it gave us a chance to get learning and to ramp up and it made a lot of sense to me um so I am still concerned about um going back into classrooms before we have um teachers and and families who need it vaccinated um so I you know I think it's everybody's goal to get our kids in as into inperson learning as soon as possible um but I I really really appreciated that December 1st plan and I thought it was wise and um took into consideration a lot of different factors I also just want say as we're embarking on um 2021 I really um am I I'm just so grateful to everybody from the administration down to everybody for the Herculean effort the amount of work the amount of uh changing

159the amount of time that's gone into engaging students to do the virtual so as we start transitioning back to inperson I just want to again acknowledge the incredible amount of work and hours and effort and um stretching boundaries and learning new things and all of those things and our students who um just the connections that were made the things that have happened have truly been miraculous and I really want to commend everybody for that all right I don't see any other board members hands raised at this time um so we're going to go ahead unless Dr Bishop you had any final thoughts you wanted to share otherwise we will continue on the agenda no thank you madam president uh that concludes uh my report appreciate it thank you so very much next up is the

160consent agenda and vice president bony if you would kick it off for us surely will thank you I move to approve the consent agenda consisting of memorandum 017 the Personnel report uh regular session minutes from October 20th 2020 and regular session minutes from November 3rd second I have a first and a second Katie if you would please do a roll call vote member Mitchell she's got her thumb up M maret yes member Hollman member Hildy yes member Donley yes vice president mamy yes and president melus yes oh [Music] whoops and the consent agenda passes with seven Ys and zero Nays we next up are action items we only have one item on the action agenda and vice president bamy if you could absolutely uh I move to approve the expulsions of the students associated with

161ASD incident numbers 1691 and 170 as discussed in executive session okay I have a first and a second Katie if you would please do a roll call vote member Donley yes member Hildy yes member Hollman I wasn't looking at the screen was that a thumb member Hollman was that uh yes yeah sorry uh member marett yes vice president Bellamy yes member [Music] Mitchell did we Lo is member mitel not online right this moment no she's there I'm sorry she's got her thumb up okay I'm sorry I missed that thank you and president VIIs yes and uncontested student hearings uh passes with seven Y and zero Nays at this time we are at the non-action item of part of the agenda are there any items that board members wish to pull all right not seeing any

162hands up um so we'll go ahead and keep on going it is our second opportunity for public testimony and I do have uh one that joined us uh that uh was not able to connect earlier uh speaker number 14 Amy holics Amy are you on the line with us tonight can you hear us Amy working on it I see it going back and forth on the mute and unmute um but right now it is muted star six how about now perfect we can hear you thank you you have three minutes in the the floor is yours okay good um hi I imagine thank you you have minutes oh I'm listening to my computer I got to turn that off sorry I imagine you're tired of hearing from me I'm tired of hearing from me but

163I have no choice I want all of us to come out of this alive we're all connected so I'm still here but guess what there's two new players in the game one is on my side yes our ship has hit an iceberg yes it's sinking but here is hope the vaccine teachers in Alaska from as far as bread admission to Sitka have already been vaccinated my friends healthcare workers and elderly have too hang on let's stay in the Lifeboat the ship is coming Nationwide we see a movement calling for teachers to be vaccinated before returning to school a safer return will be consistent for our kids we will still teach with mass stand six feet apart be adamant about safety but we will be vaccinated you can't open schools without teachers use this energy you

164have for opening classrooms to get vaccines into our bodies demand it do it for these kids I've been denied a virtual job and an ADA request even though I'm 59 and high risk so I'm still here unfortunately I'll be used as a sub for every class in the school like a fool I believed ASD when they set safety parameters in the summer about covid levels and reopening I regret not taking leave even though I love my job and despite the financial damage it would have done I've taught through many illnesses but I can't teach through this I can't risk it for a district and community that reduces me to nothing denies my health requests and and my safety and gives me no concrete data and when I'll get my vaccine there's no glory in becoming

165a headline in this fight the effort to open January 19th should be re-evaluated now that vaccination has begun in our community ASD should shift focus on getting teachers vaccinated before you open doors align vaccinations with those of us going in for the first face-to-face trial period K2 elementary teachers should be offered the priority as soon as possible postpone until this time this latest info is so confusing I said there are two new players one is the vaccine it's on our side the other is not it's the mutant variation that is more transmissible and possibly more harmful to our children we need to be more conservative in protecting them this highly transmissible variant wed in Great Britain causing the country to lock down shut schools and close borders it's already in at least four US states

166putting our youngest and most medically fragile students face to face while the variant is spreading in our country is reckless we need to stay virtual re-evaluate and vaccinate thank you thank you and I do not see the other possible speaker that was going to join us so I'll reach out and see if she wouldn't mind submitting a written testimony um next up is school board and administration comments and are there any board members or Administration that have any uh final thoughts that they would like to share for the night member marett of course I do sorry so um Dr Bishop how many teachers do we have employed with the school district that are um have contact with children AIDS teachers that sort of thing how many would you say we have employed well we go

167I have to remember which one to use uh you know we have you know it depends uh teachers um you know that work with children oh at least 4500 to 5,000 people work directly uh with students every day in classrooms okay so for 4500 and and it's not that I'm trying to uh discount the the testimony that we've heard tonight but it's not 4500 and I have to believe that most of our teachers are willingly going back to school um knowing that ASD has done everything to mitigate [Music] um the risk uh associated with Co I'd also just you know I wouldn't ask our teachers to do anything I wouldn't do myself um so starting on the 19th I will be in schools I've had several invitations from teachers to join their classes and I

168plan on accepting those invitations I truly believe that we are doing the right thing for our students and I understand why there would be Fe here um you know I have um diabetes and other things also but I do believe in what we're doing and I will be there um just so you know that I would never ask a teacher to do something that I would not do and I I do support our teachers I think they do a tremendous job and I I just wanted to make that statement thank you thank you next up in the queue is member Bellamy I just want to do a shout out to Katie Grant Katie for those of you who do not know she is the wi the wind beneath our wings for this school board and

169I don't know how she does it but she manages to always have a smile have everything ready for everybody all the freaking time and Katie I just want you to know that we appreciate all that you do and I am inspired by your tenacity your attention to detail and I thank you and I I actually really do love you here here thank you yes and the other the other um thing I'd like to just share is that the an the Anish public it was in our board connect but I also have been trying to get my own book club together uh for uh the the the Anchorage reads They're bringing back an the Anchorage public library is bringing back um the the the the um uh Anchorage reads program and so in that program the

170community involves itself in literature in reading through book clubs and um sessions at work or and and so I I just want to give a shout out to them and I encourage people if you want to be on my book club just send me a email or a text uh because I'm going I want to do a book club uh around the um they have they have one book that they' selected for students I don't have that with me now but they also have the second book which is for adults and that book is by uh is is entitled stamped from the beginning a definitive history of racist ideas in America and that um that will be that is put on by the um Anchorage public library and I look forward to um participating in

171community discussions around literacy and Civic dialogue so I just wanted to put that out but it's ALS it's in our you can look on their website but it's also it was in our our board connect this last time and my final um uh announcement which I wanted to announce at the beginning of the meeting is the uh Alaska children's trust is is going to hold a vote for kids mayoral forum and and somehow um and they are looking for organizations who would like to partner uh with that they're not supporting anybody it's informational only so I just wanted to share those two points thank you thank you next up in the que member Donley oh thank you Madam president and follow up on member Bellamy's uh information there um I think she's absolutely right we

172need to be open-minded and listen as we deal with these important issues um as we heard last summer um two particular books were utilized in developing a educational class uh for uh instructors I believe um one was um how to be an anti-racist and the other was white fragility uh was lucky to get copies of those and and read those uh and took a lot of notes while I read them and I'm really looking forward to any kind of a public discussion regarding those two uh Works um I totally agree with member Bellamy that it's good to be non-judgmental and open-minded uh but for the Anchorage School District to be hiring someone who is anything but that to conduct an audit is simply wrong uh we when you have an audit it's all about being

173fair impartial and neutral and not having a outcome determined before you conduct your audit and I think the track record of the company that we are proposing to hire is the exact opposite of that as I think I proved with some of the direct quotes from the CEO of that company tonight um yes I do recognize that critical race theory has been around for some period of time but there's a lot of erroneous theories that have been around for a long time and it doesn't make it legitimate or right and so I think we need to really be open-minded and have a Frank discussion about the substance of critical race Theory and the merits of it and its faults because they're very significant gaps in its efficy and its U lack of of being really

174an academic uh area um seems mostly uh based on storytelling and just predetermined assumptions and so we I really look forward to having that discussion in an open-minded way in that debate Mr dy I welcome you to my book club thank you looking forward to seeing this next up board member Mitchell um hi there yeah my member Bellamy mentioned um something she said triggered my memory the Alaska Association of school boards has opened their 30th annual June Nelson Memorial Scholarship they will be giving away 15 scholarships Statewide to graduating high school seniors for $1500 each and I encourage any um ASD senior who is interested in continuing on to postsecondary of any type of um education to apply for that you can get that information at aasb Alaska associationof schoolboard.org so um the re the

175application period closes on March 8th thank you thank you all right I'm not seeing any other board members hands up but I don't see any other Administration hands up uh so just uh letting folks know our next board meeting is uh January 19th uh coincides with the first day of back to school there are committee meetings between now and then uh with governance and Communications next week and finance uh just prior to our January 19th meeting and I believe those are all the updates I've got for everybody um at this time I'd entertain a motion to a journ move to a journ happy New Year too yes everybody have a happy New Year we'll everybody in a couple weeks yep all right thank you