001Please join us in the pledge of >> allegiance. I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Thank you guys for coming tonight. We got a full crowd, so that's good. Uh, we'll turn it over to you for the the memo. >> Do you want to ask for any Oh, I don't have anything to add to that. Okay. >> Any questions uh from the board on the memo? >> All right. Hearing none, we'll move forward to public comments. Um, the first is if you have any public comments, just uh state your name and address. Try to keep your comments to three minutes or less. So, >> if anybody wants to have public
002comments, please step to the podium. I don't want to set up. >> No takers. Last call. All right. Public comments are closed. All right. Second, we'll move to the Northwest Bank check presentation. So, I want to thank Kim and >> Gay to be be here to present the check. >> If we don't have a picture that doesn't have him, can you take >> Yeah, sure. You want to take a picture of all this together. >> Move my chair out of the way. >> Do you guys all want to come up? >> I'll get one. away a lot of big >> usually somebody else. >> All right. One, two, three. One, two, three. >> Thank you. So, we are we have the honor of presenting a check in the amount of $5,420 to the Yorktown Community
003Schools Foundation. And >> I'm sorry, >> you're good. >> And um this is just many ways many ways that we invest in the community. um not just by doing a new building and all of that, but we also support things in the community and we're proud to do that. >> So, I will I would like someone if you have anything to add, please. >> No, I don't. You did a great job. Well done. >> And I know Mr. Kelly and Mrs. Nixon, Dr. Sturgeon all served on the foundation board. Anything you want to say about how this came to be or >> Yeah. Yeah. So, the foundation, you know, we've got a really good group, really good board, but part part of the problem is fundraising for operations, different projects that we have going on.
004We've done a ton of teacher grants, obviously, some big projects. Appreciate you guys support and obviously being part of the community and the the remodel you guys are doing, investing in. >> So, we are continued. Yes. Continue to invest in any way we can. >> Thank you. So, anything? >> No, just grateful. I I believe a lot of this will probably go right to teacher grants and so that will go right back to impact a lot of classrooms. Um we just highlighted one that Mrs. Purdue did uh this past year at Pleasant View in Yorktown that was a joint um project. So same as Ryan just really grateful that you guys are >> we appreciate you educators. >> There's a term that the foundation board came up with three or four years ago that I
005really like called margin of excellence. And so the idea is that there are a lot of excellent things that happen at Yorktown Community Schools and the foundation exists to provide that extra margin to go to the next level. So things that maybe you wouldn't normally fund through a classroom supply list or something like that, the foundation can come in and award grants and do some things that are just over and above what is already excellent. So we appreciate your support. >> Thank you very much. >> Be part of it. Thank you. >> Thank you. We catch that in the trailer. >> Bring it right to the trailer. >> Bring that down. Just hang on to that other >> Thank you so much. >> I will >> actually look to the left and look to the
006right and the tour's done. >> Thank you, ladies. Thank you. >> Yeah, I think to add that, you know, the the foundation has spent a ton of time and hours just, you know, even just creating a database for the people that would donate have interest in supporting, but the teacher grants go a long way. But, uh, Mrs. Nixon, thanks for I know where she went. Did she leave? Oh, she's she's our president now. But I think the amount of work that goes in that I mean I think the fourth for the fourth is supported by the community foundation the luminary festival the art um fundraiser and there's several different things that takes a ton of time that goes into that. So appreciate the board and obviously the contributions from a monetary standpoint to help support
007that. So thank you uh Northwest Bank. Let's move on to item C. Mrs. Brewer for the presentation of the adaptive physical education at Yorktown High School. >> Absolutely. Um, thank you for the opportunity to share some of the meaningful work that's happening over at the high school. Um, over the years we've made a real concerted effort to You want to go ahead and do the next slide? Thank you. um to expand opportunities for all of our students. With recent shifts in the graduation requirements, uh we found ourselves in a unique position to be able to bring several departments together um in order to provide some opportunities uh to bring back our peer tutoring program and to introduce adapted PE to students with disabilities. Um both of these additions reflect something that we feel very strongly
008about and that's that every student deserves to have experiences that are challenging, meaning meaningful and designed with them in mind. Once we found that path forward, our school counselors, uh, Mr. Robinson in the PE department, Mrs. Thompson, who is our peer tutor, uh, teacher, and then Mrs. Kelsey, who is our functional academics teacher, they took the reigns and they were off. >> Mr. Robinson. >> Yeah. Um, there it is. Um, so, uh, as far as last spring, Miss Brewer came to me and, um, you know, proposed the idea and and wanted to develop this concept here at Yorktown. Um, started out by reaching out to some of my contacts through Ball State University, people I went to school with, some of the local um, schools who have adapted PE programs, and that was kind of
009our base point for where we've started so far. um very fortunate to have um some influx of specialized equipment that really allows these kids um some modifications that can really have a positive impact um in our area of physical education. Um and then I just think looking at this year as we've gone through the year, it's had a really great impact on the students from Mrs. Kelsey's classroom and then also the peer tutors as well. Um, and really one of the most encouraging things that I'm hearing more and more this spring is kids are coming up to me and telling me, "Hey, I think I'm going to try to get involved in that program. I think I want to be involved in the peer tutoring in um the adapted PE class." So, that's just an
010awesome thing for other students to seek me out and communicate that with me. Um, my name is Ginger Thompson and I am in charge of the peer tutors academically. Um, it's my responsibility to build their courses in Canvas, keep their grades up to date. Um, but perhaps my favorite part of the job is getting to read their weekly journals and reflections. Um, it's just awesome to hear what they're doing, what they're learning, and the wins that they're seeing for their mentees. Um, and I don't know, it's just it's really it touches my heart. Um, Miss Bur and I sometimes have our moments where, you know, I share what I've read. Um, it's just really cool to see students who are they're impacting the lives of their peers. They're making the school a better place to
011be and I just feel really grateful to be part of it in a small way. So, you can see some of their quotes that I've pulled from from some recent journals >> and you guys are going to introduce yourselves. These are some of our peer tutors. >> Yes. >> Cooper. >> I'm Ruth. >> I'm Alex. >> Um, I'll go first. >> Um, the adaptive PE program, I really enjoy it. I didn't know that it was a thing and obviously it's a new class. Um, but when I was making my schedule, I didn't know what I wanted to be. And I said, "Teacher, um, because that's what I've always wanted to be." And the counselor said, "Hey, why don't you try peer tutor?" And so I did. And I really love it. I enjoy getting to
012play with the students and my peer tutors. Um, uh, one thing that has stood out to me, um, while this semester and last semester, um, there was one student, um, I didn't know that it was her birthday, but I heard from other people coming up to her saying happy birthday. Um, so the peer tutors decided to get together and make a little happy birthday card and I think she really enjoyed it and we all enjoyed making it for her. >> Yeah. Um, one thing about this class is like it's just one of the most rewarding experiences I've had at Yorktown. >> Um, there's so many kids that they kind of have a shell that you have to break to get through to them and and to help them learn. And one thing that I've noticed
013is that once you can allow a student to be comfortable with you and you can talk to them more than like they just they light up. Their smiles are flowing and it's just it's so it's something so rewarding and we're truly blessed to be able to see that. And like for example, one thing that was really uh that touched my heart is just randomly uh this was like two days ago and we were in a peer tutoring class and a student uh came up and just gave me a hug randomly. like it really touched my heart and it's just it's so rewarding to see the way that we can impact um their lives and they also have that same impact on us as well. >> Perfect. I was in the same boat as Ruthie. I
014really had no idea what the class was. The counselor recommended me taking. She thought it could be a cool opportunity to learn some new things and it really has been. It's been pretty cool to help uh help kids that you know need help or learn certain things. Like what Alex said, it's really cool when you get someone out of the shell and they're able to experience new things and stuff like that. >> Yes, nice work. >> Um, so as Miss B said, I am the functional academics teacher, so I get to be with our functional academics kiddos day in and day out. Um, and I think kind of piggybacking off what they said, um, inclusion and adaptive PE isn't just a special education benefit. It's truly a schoolwide benefit. And I think hopefully hearing from
015the peer tutors and how this experience has been for them gives you guys a little bit of insight into it's not only benefiting our special education population, but our general education population as well. and being in the functional um academics room, I get to see firsthand how this benefits our kiddos. Um and what a joy that is for me to experience and what was once maybe a limited experience is now turned into an expanded experience. So, traditionally in a PE class, my students might have more limited physical participation, social interactions, um, and limited skill building. But through this program, we've been able to expand on that, um, and provide them with those expanded experiences. So, a student that maybe touched the ball once in a 30 minute time frame is now touching the ball 20
016times in that time frame while receiving feedback and support throughout that time. And the social interactions, as you can see, they're much more meaningful and intentional now. And um like everyone else, I think that has been one of the best things for me to see when I walk the hallways with my students now. They're high-fiving the other kids. And that seems so small to us. But for my students who have maybe never felt included like that before, that makes their day and inevitably is making their high school experience um that more positive. Um, and they're also just able to gain self-confidence through feeling included like that and doing these skills that they maybe thought were once too hard and are practicing them daily. Um, and growing in that self-confidence. You can see that throughout not
017only PE but in their whole education as well. Um, so it's been an awesome experience and I hope we're able to continue building on that for our kiddos. and we our peer tutors um actually were able to put together a video of our functional academics classroom sharing a little about a little bit about what this experience has been like for them. >> The tutors that help me they just help me uh just slow down with other kids that need help and that don't learn certain things. P2. >> So the older kids um got to play ball with me. So um so I got to part myself too, but >> new people. Magic. >> So, a program called um Champions Together was really a catalyst for expanding our unified experiences across the corporation. Champions Together is
018a partnership between the IHSAA and Special Olympics and we're really fortunate that a few years ago, Mr. Heiden involved us in this effort. Um that program pair pairs students with disabilities and without disabilities to come together in shared activities uh to build relationship and have a sense of belonging. And every year we've been able to host a K12 event. Um what's grown from this foundation of inclusion has been remarkable. This past January we took students from our adapted PE actually it's okay. Yeah. uh members from our adapted PE class, our peer tutors, and some of our middle school functional academic students to Urban Air for a spectacular unified field trip. Additionally, Mrs. Green has expanded our FCCLA competition to include a unified experience. We held our first unified esports event last week, and this spring,
019Mr. Hiden and our student athletic leadership team um will plan a family event for Champions Together. Also, in collaboration with Mrs. uh we will host a community outreach event called Autism Rocks which is a partnership designed to spark acceptance and opportunity for students and individuals on the spectrum. Uh the most fulfilling thing about this culture that our students has built is that they are making this experience sustainable. Um, extracurricular groups like Champions Together, our mentor program, the Key Club, and several others anchor the positive inclusive environment in our building. And for years, our class officers have chosen to will funds to these organizations to allow them to function without the burden of fundraising. And it's awesome full circle moment whenever uh students are able to give back to the programs that have positively shaped their
020high school experience. We want to thank um the board as I drop my papers and Dr. Henshaw uh for your support and trusting us professionally to create these experiences for our kids. But none of this can happen without the teamwork among all four building leaders, our athletic department, our school counselors, and the special education department, including the teachers who are the to help get that information out. So, thank you very much. >> Thank you. Yeah, thank you guys for coming and and just thinking outside the box. It's you know obviously resources are limited but I think doing those things that you know help and just think outside the box but obviously this board has to have that commitment from a financial perspective too to figure out those financial constraints and when you look at our
021mission I think it's you know providing committing to providing all students with excellent educational opportunity. I think obviously the special needs students were a part of this, but and the reality is like the volunteers, the mentors, when I see that happen, the challenge league or anytime you volunteer, those people tend to get more out of it than who you're trying to help. And so, thank you guys for coming because I think that that's the biggest impact on top of what we're already trying to do. So, appreciate you guys coming and kind of sharing your story and everybody joining as well. Thanks for all you guys do. So, I don't know if you guys have anything to add. >> Thank you. >> Any board members have anything else to add? Thank you. >> Thank you guys.
022>> And you guys do not have to stay if you don't want. We'll bore you. You're welcome. You're not enough. You're not going to have fitness. You got like 30 seconds to walk out of >> Thanks everybody. >> Yes. Thank you. >> Well done. >> Thank you. I didn't know that. >> All right. Well, thank you guys. Uh, moving on to the consent agenda. Any comments? >> I don't think there's anything super out of the ordinary there. There is a an updated facility use agreement with the Red Cross and then you see this establishment of a clearing account for funding the Northern Indiana Superintendent Club Conference this fall. Other than that, I think everything's standard. >> Make a motion to approve the consent agenda. >> Second. First and second. All in favor say I. >>
023I. Hearing. Uh. All oppose. Same sign. Hearing none. Motion passes. 30. >> Do I need to say anything about the two absentes or no? Or is that fine? Okay. All right. Uh on to number four, reports. Dr. Haw strategic plan updates. So, I think everybody knows we haven't officially adopted the strategic plan uh yet and the board is still in the process of kind of reviewing and editing, but one of the things I've tried to do is provide the board with some updates monthly of some things that we are doing to go ahead and undertake some work on the strategic plan. And so one of the things that's uh happened there is um Joe Cox, who's our communications specialist, has drafted a communications audit survey. It's been reviewed by principles. I've reviewed it and at
024the appropriate time, our plan is to deploy that to all of our certified staff to gauge what platforms we use and how we use them in terms of software, social media, etc. And one of the things that came out of the strategic plan was this idea that um it wasn't that we don't communicate enough. I think consistently sometimes it's that we communicate too much. And the phrase that was used in a couple of uh settings was it's it's white noise sometimes because we get it from this platform and this platform and this email and this social media. And so it's just an opportunity for us to review what we're doing. In addition, um, and special ed staffing is not specifically covered in the strategic plan, but we're evaluating, um, at the district level as we
025staff for 2627, uh, what we can do in terms of assignments and teacher case loads, as we look at special ed K12, and specifically looking at behavioral services at Pleasant View and how we can structure our staffing so that we have more behavioral services available at Pleasant View. more hours during the day. And then uh Mrs. Seabolt has already scheduled a site visit to go over to Delkcom. Um Delcom has a couple of different what I I'm probably out of date, but I would call self-contained classrooms or specialized classrooms at Albany and uh to evaluate their programming. And then another component for us is that our required preschool special ed programming. So for students that are three and four and five and not yet in kindergarten, we're required to provide them special ed services, but
026we don't provide it locally. We provide them through our membership in the co-op in Muny Community Schools. And several of the member schools in the co-op have been creating their own preschool specialed programs. And so that's another component that we have talked about about how we would do that. Uh, and we feel like it would be probably to our advantage and to the advantage of those students and and really to the advantage of Pleasant View ultimately to have more and earlier contact with the three and four and five year olds rather than sending them into Muny and then bringing them in as kindergarteners without them ever having been in school here. So, that's just another that's just in the last months and things that we've worked on. And what I'm my plan is to just
027update this month by month so you've got a running total of some of the things that have been worked on relating to that and then when we officially adopt the plan we'll have some of it already underway. >> Great. >> Thank you. >> All right. Um we will move on to lost track here. Yeah, this is a really plenty of >> detailed email, but I just thought an update here that you would want to know. So, Fred Pzo, for the people in the audience, uh, is one of the owners of Context Design. That's the engineering firm that is undertaking the planning for our softball field. And so, I I try to check in with him at least every few weeks. And I checked with checked in with him a week ago and said, "Hey, what
028how are we on this?" in his response. Um, you can read it there. Still working on the civil portion and uh expect to have I think he says in roughly two weeks. He emailed me, he texted me uh yesterday. I for some reason I gave him my cell phone number, but um and asked me for some of the site survey work from tennis, which I have, which I shared with him today, which he felt like would be both a time and money saver. And uh so again, that that is still underway. We're still making progress on that. And just no action required. I just wanted you to know that that work continues to move forward. >> On that last sentence, the page turn, are we including all the coaches and I guess parties involved in
029that page turn? >> I would say probably the the same people that were in the room. Okay. Um, so that would be a representative of the board, building administration, athletic, coach Penrod. I think Rachel was in that meeting and, uh, >> I think that was a good group, but if there's other people you guys think we should get included at that stage because I think that's something actually on paper to kind of pick apart. So, okay. >> So, I'll keep you posted as that develops. >> And the anticipation is we're trying to get that obviously not for the season, but end of this year. It it's a it's a calendar year 2026 project is the goal. >> Okay. Perfect. >> Any questions from the board? >> All right. Hearing none. Let's move to business 5A
030approval of 2020 2627 schedules. >> So we discussed this last month. It's been discussed uh at the administrative level. Uh we've discussed it through discussion with the YTA. I went out and discussed it with bus drivers who are probably going to be most impacted by this going forward. uh shared the this proposal with our food service director because it has an impact for her. And uh at this point I am ready to recommend that you approve these schedules. The elementary schedules are if not identical >> They're not changing at all. Um and then the secondary schedules are adjusted to go later. And so again, the intent here is that this allows us to further stagger our start and end times for secondary and elementary. And it will allow us to consolidate routes. And so Jeff
031tells me that he believes that we can easily consolidate somewhere around six routes almost immediately. And in addition to that, you will be running more miles on buses, but you won't need as many separate buses to purchase. And so we can have some years where we can weather the the shortfall caused by SEA1 in tax collection and manage through that. And honestly, I think if we do this, by the time we get to 2028, this alone probably should be enough to help us weather our shortfall in our operations fund in calendar year 2028. Not to say that we aren't going to revisit it and check in some. And I do know uh we're basing this at least in year one on attrition. So as we have openings in our transportation department, drivers know we may
032have to shift people around, but we won't hire drivers at least for the first six openings that we would have for next year. And uh as I understand it, they didn't volunteer to me, but after I left the bus barn, Jeff had about six drivers who said I would be willing to to do that if that opportunity comes available. So I think we're headed in the right direction. >> Good. Do you want to approve this, >> please? Motion to approve the 20 26 2027 schedule as presented. >> Second. >> The first and second. All in favor say I. >> I. >> All oppose. same sign. Motion carries 30. Item 5B, Board Docs proposal. >> So, we had some discussion last month about this and Board Docs is now called I might have said it was
033called relevant, but it's called Diligent. Um, so the the board docs platform was purchased by a different company and so Cara and I uh very willingly got on a web call with um diligent and went through this process at the request of the board. Short version is that what we know as board docs is going to sunset. When they didn't tell us, right? They they were very graceful and said, "Well, sometime, you know, just keep using it as long as you want to, but eventually it's going to go away." We're paying, I think, about $2,700 a year. To move to diligent is going to be $5,400 a year. And you can see if you go in the other proposal that actually they're they're like all good salespeople. they're giving us a deal here. Um, and
034uh, it after we looked at that and in consideration of the fact that the the software is going to sunset that we're using currently, which we have used for eight years, didn't they tell us, which I couldn't believe it had been that long, but we would recommend that we go ahead and move to the $5,400 uh, price point. I don't feel like we need the committee manager or the live stream package right now. That's not to say that we couldn't add it at some point in the future. And I think uh Greg's doing a great job back there for I don't know, free I guess, right? But all included. But um at least start with the $5,400 uh plan. And then we also know that they will do the migration for us of all of
035our archived data. And that's not an immediate process. So we probably would be better off to just go ahead and move forward now. Yeah, I'd make a motion to approve the transition to the uh new board docs or diligent for 5,400 a year. >> Second. >> First and second. All in favor say I. >> I. All oppose, same sign. Motion carries 30. 5C. Approval of interior exterior painting quotes at Yorktown High School. So, we'll we'll have several of these little projects that we're undertaking and I have for your approval. The first is it's all one item, but a quote of $27,890 for Gower painting. And so, this is to paint the athletic hallway, which is the hallway right outside the main gym at Yorktown High School, and then the 100 hallway, do I have my
036number right? Which is the hallway directly east of the main office there. and uh then and they will do that work over spring break um if it is approved. And then in addition, a quote of $9,172.80 from crew construction and they will be painting the canopy roofs and the two mechanical pen houses at Yorktown High School. And as I said in here, there will be a separate proposal later for painting the main gym roof, which appears to be copper, but actually is just painted steel. And so the plan is to bring all those roofs that look like they're copper colored to match the new construction at the sports performance center. >> I have a motion to approve. >> So move. >> Second. >> First and second. All in favor say I. I. >> All oppose.
037Same sign. Motion carries 30. >> Short business agenda. So we're on to closing comments for the superintendent. Uh, I'll just say everybody in the audience is invited on April 16th. That's a Thursday, and before the track meet, we're going to have the ribbon cutting for the sports performance center at Yorktown High School. And uh, I shared that this morning at the chamber meeting and got an email later in the day asking if they could come and do their their uh, ribbon cutting process for us. So, I said I'll have to ask and get back with them. uh we want people to come and be a part of that and see the facility and enjoy it. So, we'll get some more communication out on that, but put that on your calendar if you're here. Um oh,
038it's been about a week and a half ago they started loading equipment onto the roof for roof roof replacement and then winter came back or may I don't know, maybe it was >> blowing wind gale and then rain and then winter came back. >> So, they haven't made a ton of progress, but they are there. they've started. Once they really tear into it, it'll be about a 70-day construction uh process for us. Um if you have been past the middle school on Tiger, you know that they're putting up fencing at the middle school softball and baseball practice fields. So, that is well underway and they've been doing it in the wind and the rain and the snow. Um, I mentioned earlier the painting and so that's the plan is that we're gonna break that up
039into manageable chunks. And so the eventually we'll have all the hallways inside of Yorktown High School repainted as we've done in virtually every other school in the district. And then the high school hallways will also get new ceiling tile and new LED lighting. And then I mentioned the exterior painting as well. There's some other smaller projects that Brian Wagner and I are working on that you'll see unfolding. I want to specifically compliment Stacy Miller and uh the program that she did at Yorktown Middle School with the Susicle and I think I saw the attendance numbers were almost 600 people or something like that. And so that that was fun that she took that on. And that was also funded in part by the school foundation. So appreciate the partnership there. And uh how many days
040are left until spring break? I sort of lose track, but um >> two >> wishing seriously everybody. One thing I learned a long time ago is you think that spring break is for students, but it's really not. It's it is for students, but it's also for uh people that are working hard every day. And so wishing all the teachers and administrators some rest and some relaxation and ready to come back and finish the year. So have a good spring break. Thank you. Closing comments from board members. Jason, >> uh, thank you to all those that attended. Thank you to our teachers for all your hard work and administrators. Stacy, thanks for the presentation. It's helpful. You know, we don't get to see that stuff. So, I know there's some work that goes into putting that
041together just to show up here at six o'clock on a Tuesday night. But, thank you, >> Ashley. >> Thank you everybody. And yes, Stacy, I love seeing that. And I'm love that you started that and that Ben is doing such a good job with it. It makes a big difference to have that. Thank you to all of our teachers and admin and I hope everybody has a good spring break. >> Yeah, thank you guys for being here. Stacy, thanks for that presentation. I think a question maybe for the board and I've talked to Dr. Enshaw about this a little bit. We talked about tiffs and redevelopment commissions is I I think going to those groups at some point. Obviously, we want to be supportive of development because that's how we kind of increase our revenue,
042but I would like kind of your guys' blessing to have a discussion with the redevelopment commission at some point of just here's potential projects, maybe a blanket coverage that could say, "Hey, that can we get this amount for these topics?" Um, my thought is is if if we don't ask, the answer is going to be no. So all you guys thoughts on to me there's two approaches is ask for a chunk of money for specific purposes or a I guess defined purpose or a specific project that kind of meets our descriptions. I think through some discussions I've had is they're going to want things that are community type projects and so I think we can do either one but to me it's like let's start that conversation if you guys are okay with that. >>
043Yeah. There's just to me no downside. Um you're not in a worse position if the answer's no. Yeah. >> Um I think there's been some history of them funding some projects like that before. So 100% in agreement. I mean I think we we've talked before we have to be creative about revenue sources. >> Yeah. I think the topics are safety, energy efficiencies, community type projects, accessibility. So I think whatever they ask is we kind of know what the categories that have to fit. So I'll try to kind of craft that presentation. I'll send you guys maybe a PowerPoint that I might present to them for coming back if that works. >> And and I think for the staff in the room and especially administrators, if there are things that you think, boy, it would sure
044be nice if we had X, but it's never been done. Um, feel free to farm those back to me. And as Mr. Kelly and I have talked, you're trying to find things that are beneficial that demonstrate a community connection. And so it's not only going to be school use, but community use. And there's a safety accessibility component or an energy efficiency component to it. And so, you know, I'm I'm in the same place you are where if we can identify some of those things that are easy wins for the redevelopment commission and something that we need, why wouldn't we ask for it? So, >> yeah. >> All right. Well, we will stand adjourned at 6:38. Thank you guys for coming. journal to