001It's my birthday. How are the children We have one holy holy mother. Just watch it, buddy. Good evening everyone. >> Good evening. >> This is a meeting of the Southfield Board of Education in public for the purpose of conducting the school district's business and is not to be considered as a community meeting. There is one opportunity for public participation during the meeting and comments are limited to three minutes per individual. The board will listen to comments but may not respond during the meeting. If you wish to address the board, please submit a comment card immediately. Roll call. Telicia Bel, board president. >> Good evening. Leslie Lovemith Thomas, vice president. You bet. Good evening, Nicole Densson, treasurer. >> Good evening, Ammani Johnson, trustee. >> Good evening, Julian, trustee. >> Good evening, J Anderson, trustee. >> Good
002evening, Chi and Naji, student board rep. >> Good evening, Paris Whitman, student board representative. >> Good evening, Jennifer Green, superintendent. Taking minutes this evening, we have Miss Carolyn Foster. Technical support is being provided by M1 Studios and all members of the Executive District Network team. are present in the audience. >> May we all stand for the pledge of allegiance, please? >> I pledge allegiance 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. At this time we will have board matters. >> And now we're ready to welcome our newest trustee Jana Anderson. [applause] swearing her in this evening will be the honorable judge God. Amen. I said amen. >> I'm church. >> I go to church. Come
003again. >> That's going to happen a lot. [laughter] >> Come closer. [laughter] >> Miss Foster's gonna get the mic. >> We're gonna get a microphone for you guys. Good evening everybody and uh I apologize for having my back to you but good evening to everybody that's here. Southfield uh public schools board members Dr. Green, members of the public, elected officials, Mr. Anderson and um Miss Anderson. My name is Kamisha Gant and I'm an Oakland County Circuit Court judge and I serve in the family division at the circuit court. And it is my pleasure to be here with you tonight. It is very special for me to be here tonight um to swear in Mrs. Anderson as the newest member of the Southfield uh school board. Um tonight is special, not only because I I know
004Mrs. Anderson personally, but Mrs. Anderson is my former staff attorney at the circuit court. And so my staff and I are so excited and so proud to be here tonight. Lisa Dinard, the judicial assistant and uh I would say Mrs. Anderson's old uh partner in crime, I should say, is here to support you. What I want to say is this is that from what I know about Mrs. Anderson is that the appointment um to the Southville school board was an excellent choice. Mrs. Anderson has uh held the welfare of children which would include their education for many many years. So far before she was appointed to this position, far before her kids attended the Southville public schools, far before she was my staff attorney, before she even became a mother, she was interested in the
005welfare of children and she served in capacities that allowed her to do such. So she served in that capacity in Wayne County with the friend of the court. She also uh served on many organizations that supported that goal as well. So I feel like the um board of education for Southfield public schools will be very lucky to have Mrs. Anderson. Mrs. Anderson is someone who has innovative ideas. She has a compassionate heart and she has a work ethic like no other. And I was sad to see her go. So I know so she'll do a great job. She'll take it seriously and um you'll be an asset. Mrs. Anderson has a nature of kind of standing off and being quiet and unassuming. She doesn't like the limelight. And for many, many years, she's supported me
006and my career, my endeavors, my staff members and their endeavors. She's watched attorneys come through our courtroom and she's been proud and supportive while they were sworn into the bar. Children have come through our courtroom where she has supported them and cheered them on. families have come to adopt children and I can go on forever and she's sat quietly and she's never wanted to take any credit for the I would say the great work that she did while she was my staff attorney at the circuit court. We together [clears throat] helped and assisted thousands of families in Oakland County and together we implemented actions that would safeguard the welfare of children from harm. And so I appreciate that. So [clears throat] now is your time to shine, be in the limelight, and show these people
007the great talents that you have. And I'm so proud of you. [laughter] >> [applause] >> So now, if you're ready, please raise your right hand and repeat after me. I, Jana Anderson, >> I, Jana Anderson, >> do solemnly swear >> to support the Constitution of the United States >> to support the Constitution of the United States >> and the Constitution of the State of Michigan >> and the Constitution of the State of Michigan >> and to perform my duties >> faithfully. as a member of the board of education for the Southfield public schools. I know that's a mouthful. [laughter] >> The board of education for the Southfield public schools >> and to always uh faithfully do my duties to the best of my ability. >> And to always faithfully do my duties to the best
008of my abilities. >> Congratulations. [laughter] >> [cheering] [applause] [laughter] >> Hey, we have some we have some things for you because we love you. [laughter] All right. Forever team 2A, go out and make me proud. All right. [laughter] Thank you everybody. [applause] >> Thank you so much, Judge G. We are so happy to welcome our newest member, the school board. >> Um, before your before >> before your family leave, if you would like to take a family photo really quick. >> So, Okay. >> Hi. Thank you. I app Ask me the proclamation. >> Great. >> Thank you. How you doing? >> I'm great. >> So much family. At this time, we're going to have a proclamation presentation by our county commissioner, Yolanda Smith Charles. >> [applause] >> Thank you uh madame board president. Thank you
009so much for that warm welcome and uh welcome to the board your new newest trustee um through the appointment process which is no small feat. So congratulations to you Miss Anderson. as I hasten to uh my proclamation because I know you've got a lot of uh matters in front of you for voting and discussing um I wanted to recognize this amazing board of education uh having served right where you have served uh some time ago and so I jotted down a couple notes that I just really wanted to share uh as I get to the proclamation. So as was stated I'm Yolanda Smith Charles. I'm the Oakland County Commissioner representing half of Southfield, all of Oak Park, Letherford Village, and Royal Oak Township. And then of course there's Lenny Taylor who I share the wonderful
010city of Southfield with who couldn't be here this evening. Um, but as I mentioned, we are recognizing schoolboard trustees across the state of Michigan. As some of you know, January is school board recognition month. And so having walked this walk many many years, I just know how difficult and challenging and sometimes super thankless this job can be. Uh there was a joke. I know this don't apply to y'all, but they just pay us with like a rubber chicken, like a cold chicken dinner. And um but we had, you know, futures in our hands. Um so I want to recognize you all. Uh of course I heard uh Miss Leslie Smith Thomas uh achieved what was the status again if you don't mind. Master Diamond. >> Master Diamond. Yes. Congratulations on that which is also worthy
011of recognition. Um uh we pride ourselves in South Public Schools on excellence. Our our honor board status. I hope you guys are fulfilling. Um reminding myself that su success of a school district is based on the success of the board of education. If you rise, the district rises. You fail, the district fails. And we are counting on you guys. And so, as I mentioned, it's the hardest, probably most important public service role available to us as residents, as citizens here in this wonderful country. And so, the proclamation reads, "In part, Southville Public Schools proclamation honoring you. Whereas it is an honor to recognize the dedicated public servants who ensure that Oakland County Schools maintains standard of excellence in education and continues to nurture the minds and spirits of our students. Whereas Oakland County is home
012to 28 local school districts and administers educational opportunities to more than 175,000 students. Whereas schoolboard members represent the views and priorities of the community they serve and they reinforce the principle of local control over public education, setting a vision and a structure for their districts. Board members visit their schools and attend community events. They listen to parent voices. They make sure that they are advancing student achievement and well-being in the ways most desired by each unique community. Whereas under the guidance of its seven member board, Southfield Public Schools serves the vibrant communities of Southfield and Lether Village, the district offers a diverse range of educational programs from specializedmies focused on arts, STEM, and world languages to gifted and talented initiatives in early childhood education. With the focus on student achievement, community engagement, and continuous improvement,
013the board's oversight opens pathways for every learner to thrive and reach their fullest potential. Now therefore, be it resolved, David T. Wart, chair of the Oakland County Board of Commissioners, Commissioner Yolanda Smith Charles, and the entire Oakland County Board of Commissioners do hereby proclaim January as school board recognition month in Oakland County. And we thank you for your dedication to our children and to public education. So, I'd like to present this to you, uh, President Bel. And then maybe you could stand and we could get a little photo. >> [applause] >> I'll take take a moment of privilege while they gather and recognize my dear your dear buddy. She went to Ley. We can't all be Blue Jays, but uh her name is Ashanti Bland. I know you know who she is. And uh I
014just want to recognize her and tell her I love her. >> You need one more. Okay, there we go. >> One, two, three. >> Great. [applause] Thank you so much. Because you sat in the seat, I'm going to let you steal my shine. But my next item was to recognize our council woman that's in the building, Ashanti Bland. I want to publicly state how we appreciate you, how we are excited to have you still support us even though you're in another role doing amazing things. We love you. We love you. This board still supports you and thank you for continuing to support us. [applause] >> Are there any additional board matters trustees? Happy new year everyone. Um so we have hit the ground running of course. Um we had the task of filling our um
015appointment which we did that throughout December and then quickly moved into um our board retreat um or our organizational meeting and then our board retreat. Um so we had the pleasure to the pleasure of um spending last Saturday at the beautiful plant man um where we engaged in workshop um regarding board consensus um and continuing to grow and develop our leadership skills. We at that time we also had an opportunity to set our board goals as well as our superintendent goals. And so we do want to invite you all to continue to stay a breast of how we are developing um in those goals and meeting those goals and those benchmarks. Um really just a real quick overview, our board goals um involve our midyear review. So in June that is so if you've heard
016that we do not evaluate um the superintendent, that is not true. She knows that that is not true. Um and so we also have put on our um agenda our midyear review which happens in June. Policy review and updates which we are constantly keeping a breast of um our policies and making sure that they are meeting the needs of our um of our district and our stakeholders. Our board operating procedures. So just tightening up how we operate as a board. Um how we govern um that is also one of our top priorities and also our trustee education and readiness. As you mentioned um when uh county commissioner asked about my award level status, a master diamond is actually the six out of seven levels um award levels that you can achieve through the Michigan Association
017um of the education of Michigan associ school board association. I have so many associations. I was about to name a whole different one, [laughter] but MASB um which is the association that we as a school board um is that we are a member of and we obtain our ongoing development and education credits and um experiences, conference experiences through. And so there are seven levels and I have achieved six of the seven. Um and I do believe that this board is committed to continuing to grow. Um we have long time been an honor board which means that we've all achieved a certain merit level or certification level and we have made that one of our goals this year to um to return to that and maintain that status. That's all I want to share. Right. Thank
018you. >> Anyone else? Good evening. Happy new year everyone. >> Um I just wanted to acknowledge um two amazing women that are in the audience. That's Principal Baldwin and Principal Bridget. I think that they have done an amazing job with the Bernie move. Um we have moved to SRAK in Vanderberg. I'm a proud Bernie mother and I just want to say I've watched it. I've been on parent uh meetings. Um, I want to give a shout out to our chief of staff, Jackson. Chief Jackson, uh, superintendent. Um, just just an amazing job. Uh, I've been out watching this the the social workers, the teachers, everybody has hands on deck and it really shows that we are a family here in Southfield. And I just want to say thank you so much for everything you've done
019to make that move of a successful move. So, thank you. Any other trustees? Hearing none, we're going to move um into our agenda with um the report of the student board representatives. And we're going to start per usual with ladies first with Miss Paris from Southfield ENT. >> Happy new year. >> I'm Paris. I'm one of your Southwood board representatives and I'll be reporting out for Southwood ENT today. The start of a new year brings fresh opportunities, new experiences, renewed motivation across our school. January has already been a busy and successful month for our students, and I'm excited to share a few highlights. For January, here are the past and current highlights for Southwood High School for the Arts and Technology. I'll first report for our sports highlights. Our boys basketball team is on the
020road today headed to Waterford to compete. And on Friday, we'll defend their court against Berkeley. Our girls basketball team is hosting home games today against Bloomfield Hills and Thursday against Troy as they continue their winning streak. Wrestling has been on fire, finishing second at the Bishop Folly Tournament and earning eight medals, including a first place finish by Kenneth Brooks. We're also proud of our girls wrestlers presented Warrior Pride at the first ever Tri County female only competition. The boys bowling team remains undefeated with Aiden Mason bowling a game high 279 against Harper Woods. JC Taylor placed second in the OA singles. Aiden Mason finished fifth and the team earned third place at the early bird tournament. Our che our cheer team hosted the annual beach blast competition with over 20 schools in attendance. Our cheerleaders
021delivered a strong performance. The team also competed at Troy on Monday, re earning a third place finish. The Warrior Band stayed busy this winter. They performed at university's concert band on December 16th, participating in the band Jamberee on December 20th and taking part in the annual Canada parade in Essex. Between rehearsals, performances, and traveling across borders, the band has proven that music truly has no limits and that warriors can stay in formation no matter the weather. Now for the leadership and activities highlights. The senior board's annual lip sync show was a major success and continues to be a favorite school tradition. The performances were creative, high energy, and wellreceived with a large crowd in attendance. A special thank you goes to class of 2026 advisers Mr. Green and Miss Crosby along with dance company and
022Miss Shinki for ensuring the event ran smoothly from start to finish. The National Art Society Mittens for Kitties drive wrapped up in December. They collected winter gear for children in our district. On December 16th, they went to Stevenson Elementary to donate all the collected items. To celebrate participation, a party was held for the top three seminar classes that collected the most donations, which combined community service with school spirit. Student council successfully hosted their third blood drive of the year. The turnout was strong and many students and staff donated. This event once again demonstrated the compassion and leadership for our student body while contributing to life-saving efforts. Business Professionals of America students attended the regional leadership conference on December 15th and it was an extremely successful and eventful day. Nine students qualified for states showcasing their
023dedication and professionalism. Princess Taio won first place for fundamental business fundamental desktop publishing. Ute Audi came in second place for human resource management. Small business team received second place with Armani Davis, Salaba, Cory Hickman, and Kendall Shortidge on the team. administration support team placed second with Laya Arrington, Paris Paris Whitman, Princess Taio, and Brooklyn Williams on the team. Additionally, Leila Arrington and Paris Whitman were awarded the diplomat torch award at regionals recognizing outstanding leadership and service. BPA's cafe de warrior is open every Friday during seminar and continues to be a success. BPA leaders run the cafe serving both students and staff. Those have been strong and the experience has helped them build organization skills, teamwork and time management as well as real world business skills. The book club on the same page has completed their
024first novel, one of us is lying and members are currently finishing their book reports. They've also started their second book with many choosing the weight of blood, a modern retelling of Carrie. The club continues to encourage discussion, lit literacy, and student connection. Debate Club, which originally consisted mostly of sophomores, has expanded to include students from multiple grade levels. Members focus on SAT prep, debate topics, and guide discussions to help improve literacy, communication, and critical thinking skills. Counselors Council, made up of students recommended by teachers and selected by the counseling department, is currently planning honoral activities for the second quarter. Earlier this year, they successfully organized a movie night to award high achieving students from the first quarter. Let me now tell you about the academic highlights. Students in science classes participated in the science fair
025where they were guided through the entire scientific process. Students selected their own topics, completed the steps on the scientific method, created physical boards, and presented them to their judg judges. As the semester comes to a close, students are preparing for final assessments. January 14th is first and second midterms. January 15th is 3rd and fourth hour midterms. January 16th is fifth and sixth hour midterms. release is 10:30 for midterms on as those are half days. The next card marking begins after MLK and PT day on January 21st, giving students a fresh start for their academic new year. For the safety and security highlights, C2 pipeline students participated in a 90-minute training and discussion session focused on safety, bullying awareness, and students responsibility. Their participation reinforced the importance of creating a safe and respectful space. The addition
026of metal detectors has improved school safety and the tradition has gone smoothly. Students and staff have been well adjusted and the process has gone over efficiently and well and is well managed. The new year has started strong with students staying engaged in leadership, academics, and service while continuing to prioritize safety and community. We look forward to all that 2026 has to offer. Thank you. [applause] >> Great job. Do any trustees have any questions or Miss Pierce comments? >> No questions, board president. I just want to um make sure the community heard that our um metal detectors are going well, smooth transition, and that the students feel safe. I think that um I know we mentioned that uh Chief Jackson isn't here, but Chief Jackson, the superintendent, and the entire team who made sure that operation
027um moved smoothly, I think uh uh definitely deserves an applause for that. [applause] Thank you, VP. If we have no other trustees, we're going to turn it over to Mr. Chi. bring us some energy in here. You ready? Okay. >> Wow. I haven't My fault. Wow. I haven't seen you all since last year. I'm sorry, but if I had to hear that joke, all of y'all are going to have to hear it. I'm happy that I recognized some new faces. I would like to give a round of applause to the woman right next to me, the esteemed Miss Janae Anderson. [applause] I also noticed that some of you have switched titles. So, I would like to give another round of applause to Mr. Alicia Belulk, the new president. [applause] Miss Leslie Elsid Thomas, the new
028vice president, [applause] Miss Iet Wedo, the new secretary, [applause] and Miss Nicole Densson, the new treasurer. We may be looking forward to this year, but I want us to reminisce. I did during my school's alumni day. Seeing all those faces made me smile so hard I think a bracket got loose. We had over 50 alumni come back to share with our students to help them prepare for college and life. During that time, we also had a student versus staff versus alumni game. I know you can already tell think of how competitive that day was. As fun as my as an experience that was, I believe one of the greatest experiences I have had was during the winter concert. The concert featured middle school and high school dance, band, choir, drama, and art at a gallery.
029Just so you know, I can't draw, but those art pieces were amazing. The ability to see my good friend Jaylen came come to our own and really shine as MC really made me smile. Last month, the sixth and seventh grade attended the beat the streets homecoming. Learning about the struggles that kids face sadly face today, like the harmful effects of vaping. It also gave them a much needed lesson. Be true to yourself no matter what. We at university were also given several copies of New York Times bestseller we beat the streets. How friendship led to success by doctor Simpson Davis, George Jenkins and Ramik Hunts with Sharon M. Dripper. If you would like to read the book, please see Miss Bivvens or Miss Rankin upstairs in the seaw. Our eighth graders visited the historical Frank
030and had some interactive learning experiences and did some shopping too. The middle school house party was a huge success. The crew leaders did a phenomenal job with planning and plation of the first house party. Planning such a big event had to be a struggle. At least it would have been it for me. They were given a fun challenge of coming up with new dances and chants for the houses of the next party. Next house party. Speaking of speaking of Yeah, speaking of house party speaking of last month, I hope you still have some of that jelly. I know I do. Who couldn't? After working tirelessly to make the hallway look amazing in the deck the host contest. While the seniors may not have won sadly, I know I'm crying too. In my belief, we won
031in spirit. We congratulate the juniors who were the winners of the deck the halls contest. The elementary student council also sponsored a Santa's workshop where students were able to purchase holiday gifts for their loved ones. Mr. Grinch presented fun memories and photos with the scholars. We had two great weeks for spirit weeks with holiday wares and teams. Unfortunately, you guys didn't see me in my full holiday. Yeah, I know you're crying. While we may be talking about the I'm sorry. While we may be talking about the past, I think we should talk about the future. The future of AI that is all of you have probably yet about it more times than I can count. I have I know for the kids my age has been a great consideration before decided what we wanted to
032do. My school believes instead of running away from things that scare us, we should find a way to make it benefit us. We are participating in the hour of AI event. In Miss Green's elementary class, students have been learning how computers learn, make decisions, and respond to us through chatbots. They have been learning and understanding more of the limits than most people in the most people in this room know. In other words, you should ask them what beat book means. Our houses are learning different essentials through the classroom. Proper eye contact, handshaking, exhibiting positive behavior, standing when speaking with the class and teacher. They're practically ready for an interview. Yet, that is not all we are learning at the U. Kids are truly grasping how to play ball and showing that understanding of the court.
033The fifth/6th grade team is undefeated with a record of 3, while the seventh/8th grade has an impressive record of 2-1. Last Thursday, the fifth/6th grade beat the Thumpy Tigers 31 to29 and the seventh and eighth grade won 41 to2. The middle school cheerleaders won first place at a Royal Oak High cheerleading competition. As you all know, we are currently right in the middle of exam season. If if you need help, you can join a tutoring club founded by Reagan S. Miss Reagan. Our tutor UU is open for both for middle and high school students. However, if you believe your high school student is a good fit to be a tutor, you should contact Miss Sims at our group mess also organizing high school volunteers to assist in elementary launches. Elementary school are preparing for the
034I Ready media assessments beginning on January 13, 2026. Speaking of exams, we'll be having a half day for each exam, each of the exam days after today for high school only. Sadly, you don't get to see me when you pick up your kids. [sighs and gasps] I know it's terrible. You can take pictures of you can take a picture of the schedule if you want. It has gone out to the school for the past few weeks. I hope you all have a great time studying. I know I'm not. There are some people I know wouldn't struggle with exams. While she may not be in high school yet, she has shown a great deal of knowledge. The third place winner of the district might be Skyla. As you all know, their things other than books this
035community. AIA knows that in just seven grade she's already proven to be an important part of the community would have been pivotal in the planning and implementation of a successful house party. There's only one scene that can bring people together no matter where they come from. Music. Before the winter, Mark was in the opening act of a National Canada parade welcoming Santa Claus. We as charges believe in charging right into the future. But as you know, charging into things is dangerous with our plan. Our current plan starts with lucky for you, you get to spend so much time with your kids on board the cake day on January 19th and reckon day on the 20th. Report cards are scheduled to come out on January 26th. So make sure to actually check for that. The university
036science fair is on the 28th. I scream, you scream, we all scream for double good popcorn. make sure to look out for it in the parents guard. Thank you very much. [applause] >> Thank you for representing University K12 Academy. Trustees, do you have any questions or comments for Chief? Good job. And as usual, you said you guys were in the middle of exams, so you are you can excuse yourselves if you want to leave um at this time. >> Did you want to be a good mention? >> Yeah. >> Okay. So, um there were a few things mentioned about the band that I just want to um reinforce. So, the band um just announced actually today they are participating in the pregame show for the Pistons on February 5th at Little Caesar Caesar's Arena. This
037is um a fundraiser for them. So, please do follow up with how you can support them. They are they've been invited um to participate in the Mira in New Orleans. Um I believe two different three two different parades. um during that is mid- winter break. Yep. And so um all fundraiser sponsorships um and that type of support will go to support them in their travels and their endeavors. And as you know, they have been um really uh blowing this this band season out um of the water. They're really doing a great job of exposing the scholars to different opportunities to help them um currently in their band experience as well as to expose them for their collegiic experiences. So, please do look for ways you can support them. Thank you. >> Uh Paris, that black
038box on your desk is a gift for you from SF. Don't leave it. And also, if I may, board president, um the event on the 5th at Little Caesars's Arena is also the H.B.CU night and the National Panh Hellenic Council Night. We will have a QR code. Once Mr. Giri provides us with that QR code, we will have it posted on social media as well. The band has committed to selling at least 100 tickets. So, please help us toward our goal of um selling those 100 tickets. Thank you. >> Thank you. At this time, we're going to have the report of the superintendent. >> Yes. And thank you, um, Treasurer Densen for leading in with our two employees of [clears throat] the month. You notice we skipped having one in December because we wanted to
039do a December and a January together, and we would be remissed if we selected anyone other than Miss Baldwin and Miss Pritchette for our employees [applause] of the month. We're going to watch two quick snippets of the ladies and then we'll invite them up to speak. >> Oh, you started [music] with partner. >> They're all together. Okay. >> Hi, I'm Cher Dockerty, director [music] of fiscal services for South Public Schools. On behalf of the whole finance team, we would like to nominate Mr. Tiner as partner of the month. >> Mr. Tiner is so kind and helpful and we [music] truly appreciate him greeting us at the door every single day. It brings a smile to our face when he opens a door and says a kind word. Mr. Tiner is extremely helpful and will help
040out in any situation. [music] He will help carry bags if your hands are full. He moves furniture. He's always willing to lend a helping hand and you can tell that he [music] genuinely cares. On behalf of the team, we would like to say thank you to Mr. Tiner. you you think we should recommend? >> Well, there's Mr. Tiner in real time. [applause] >> We also got partner. [screaming] [laughter] [applause] >> All right. All right. [applause] Yeah, we're gonna take a photo with you officer if that's okay. >> Okay, very good. >> Everyone's going to stand up and just stand right in the middle of the >> There you go. [laughter] One, two, three. >> Got it. >> I apologize for having those um in the opposite order, but if you know earlier today, I was
041tracking down the two ladies because they were so busy in their school. So, we actually had to find them at their locations. So now, please, the employees of the month. >> James Jackson. I'm chief of staff for South Public Schools, and I am honored to nominate [music] Principal Tiara Baldwin as our employee of the month. Tiara is a phenomenal leader. And we have just gone through one of the [music] district's largest and and most complex moves to this date [music] of moving relocating students from the Bernie's home campus to [music] two remote campuses. and Principal Baldwin played a pivotal role in the success of that move. So, with her hard work, her dedication, her leadership skills, it was an easy choice uh for me to nominate her as our employee of the month. Congratulations, Tiara.
042And thank you. [cheering] [applause] >> Congratulations. Yes, you are the employee of the month. >> Really? >> Yes. Amazing job. You and Kimble on the transition from Bernie to the swing spaces. so much. We'll >> be remiss if we did not acknowledge and appreciate [applause] Great. >> [applause] >> So, the next individual is actually a partner of the month who is not present this evening, but I want you to hear because this individual is one of our e employees and we actually did hers in her native language. Go ahead. Hi, my name is James Jackson. I'm chief of staff for South Public Schools and I am honored [music] today to nominate Lulu as our partner of the month. Lulu has not been with the district very long uh and not been uh working at the
043administration building that long, but since she started, she has done a phenomenal job. We are uh incredibly impressed with her work ethic uh and the [music] way that she really just uh gets everything done every morning when I come in. The the building looks amazing and it is a testament to to her hard work throughout the day. We really appreciate her being here and again I'm I'm honored to nominate her. or two. [laughter] [music] See a gracias and >> I am honored to nominate assistant principal Kimberly Pritchette as our >> can tell he did the move management. Everyone he nominated was move management >> very [laughter] hard with the leadership at Bernie. [music] Assistant principal Pritchette has been a is an amazing leader and has been uh a crucial piece of the planning for the
044move from Bernie to two remote locations. [music] And over the last several months we have been working very hard to get these plans together. and because of of her leadership and her professionalism uh we've been able to [music] make this successful transition and now that she is running one of the remote locations uh her leadership uh just [music] continues. So we are extremely impressed and and I just absolutely think that she [music] is worthy of uh of this nomination. So, thank you, Assistant Principal Pritchette, for your hard work and congratulations. Hi, my name is James, [applause] chief of staff, and I am honored to nominate Principal Tiara Baldwin as our employee of the month. Tiierra is a phenomenal leader and we have just gone through one of the district's largest and and most complex moves
045to this date of moving relocating students from Bernie's home campus to two remote campuses and Principal Baldwin played a pivotal role in the success of that move. So [music] with her hard work, her dedication, her leadership skills, it was an easy choice uh for me to nominate her as our [music] employee of the month. Congratulations, Tiara. And thank you. >> Hi, Miss Bridget. >> Oh my gosh. Oh, >> what is that for? getting you. >> Well, thank you >> for being an amazing administrator. Employee of the month. >> I'm employee of the month or it's for opening the building. >> You're employee of the month for opening the building. >> Okay. That too. >> Such a great job. So, actually, you are for December and we're going to have uh Miss Baldwin for January because
046you both did such an amazing job navigating all of this. No, thank you. >> Thank you so much. And also I told her I wanted to surprise you. I told her about the concert and she you were going to be her plus one, but you don't have to have a plus one because I also have a set of tickets for you to go to the concert as well. [laughter] >> I'll be taking both of you to the concert. >> Thank you so much, Dr. Green. Oh my gosh. So, yes, I thought they cropped that out of the video, but both of the ladies will have an opportunity to go see new edition with a plus one for their hard work leading to this. [applause] >> Okay. Not sure why we have that echo, but I
047I also hope that it um is affirming to our you parents because there is a lot of transition that will be happening there as well with move management and I want to assure you that the team is actively engaged in the planning for your move as well. you will have opportunities to see all three campuses uh where your children will be uh for the next three years as we go through the move management process and the new build um of the university K12 campus. I've heard that there have been a number of conversations that haven't been sanctioned relative to transportation and some other things. If it is not an official district document or the district spokesperson speaking to that, please know that that information will be forthcoming. Okay. Thank you. >> Okay. Board President, as
048we move along the agenda, we do have a staffing update as we have committed to every month. If Miss Foster could pull that up, we do have some good news to share with our community and with you trustees. Miss Foster, you can move forward. We still have a few vacancies at Adler. One ASD teacher. We have that being filled by an ISSN team member and one speech pathologist being filled by a partner. The 0.5 gym position at McIntyre. Of course, that is still being filled by the long-term substitute per the request of the building leader and um with us phasing out that campus. Stevenson. Oh, no typo. There are no vacancies at Stevenson. Yay. that deserves a round of applause. At Bernie, which is now divided into two buildings, we do still have uh one
049ASD teacher vacancy being filled by a substitute teacher, one EI vacancy being filled by an ISSN team member, one kindergarten teacher being filled by a substitute teacher, and I believe they have some someone um lined up to take that position. So, I know that they were interviewing for that um vacancy. And Vice President Smith Thomas, before you ask about the alternate pathway programs, I just received a text message before the meeting start asking me to speak on the uh stage at the mid-inter conference with the talent together program for our increased participation in that. So, wanted to acknowledge that. >> Wonderful. Thank you. And it looks like you are my reader, too. >> I'm trying to get better. [laughter] Okay, next slide, please. You went the opposite direction. >> Okay. Stevenson is vac Thompson. Two
050ASD um teacher vacancies, one science teacher. That position is still posted. I continue to ask all of our viewing audience if you know anyone that is certified or retired that holds a Spanish a science certificate and wishes to come back. Please extend the opportunity for them to join South Public Schools. one Spanish teacher. Um, as you know, trustees, we are using the MEG languages partner platform to uh fill that gap for our scholars. Next slide, please. Levy, no typo. >> No vacancies. Congratulations, Levy. [applause] Southfield High School for the Arts and Technology, one ASD teacher vacancy. And for those in the audience, and I know Paris asked last time, ASD is a uh autism spectrum disorder. Next slide. University K12. No typo, no vacancies. Yay. Oh, I see my babies in the audience clapping. At
051KC, which is Kennedy Learning Center, we have one SXI teacher uh vacancy. That candidate has been identified. It's currently being filled by substitute teacher. And we have one social worker vacancy and that is being filled by one of our partners. Busy two speech pathologists both being filled by our partner organization. Two ECS teachers um again being filled by a retiree and one EIV early intervention teacher is in need there at Busy. Districtwide positions. We have filled three positions here. Um I believe we have Miss Asia Mercer here in the audience this evening. She's our new communications coordinator. Asia, please stand and be recognized. [applause] And yesterday was her first day on the job. So, congratulations to Asia. We do have someone identified for director of career focused education. She will be starting with us on
052the 26th and you had an opportunity to meet Mr. Devon Stevens at the last meeting and I believe he's here in the audience as well. So, Mr. Stevens, you came back. Welcome. All right. Uh we also have a candidate identified for the intense student support network Medicaid billing supervisor and that rounds out all of our district-wide positions. So this is probably the best report that we have had in a very long time. Um due to all of the hard work of our team. So thank you to all of you for interviewing and recruiting and building the team. That's Southfield Public Schools. Any questions? >> No. All right. All right. Thank you. Next we have our um director of Busy Early Childhood Center, Dr. Ursula Kelly Wash. Well, good evening everyone. My name is Ursula Kelly
053Wash. I'm happy to present the report, the January report for Busy Center for Early Childhood Education. So um many of you or some of you might know that busy our motto is college begins at busy and so we're happy to and sometimes I will per um u refer to the teachers there as preschool professors. It's really important to know as we begin the new year that early childhood education is the foundation for all things wonderful and great. And so the benefits of early childhood education is just always good to reiterate that it um supports families. It supports language development, um social emotional development, enhanced skills, and as we are preparing for our kindergarten signing day. It's just a great reminder about the power of early childhood education. Okay. So, the director's report, we're going to
054talk about enrollment, um our average daily attendance, um how we monitor children so that they are successful in elementary school and beyond. Um we're going to talk about our education report, health and safety, and family engagement. So, um our enrollment report is not quite accurate, which is great because we had some new students enrolled this week. So actually and with our um baby rooms, our in the toddler room, baby dino and um our tabo room, it's always a revolving door because the students age out based on their birthday. So we actually had one in um yesterday was her first day. So really for EHS is 14. Um for Head Start, we have 58 students and for GSRP we have 72. So, um, we're constantly doing orientations and so our numbers are rising, which is great.
055Um, for our average daily attendance, um, despite, um, our triple threat and the numbers being high, we do always focus on health and safety at Busy, but as you can see, our average daily attendance is um, still pretty high. Early Head Start 84%, Head Start 83% and our um our blend classroom which is Head Start GSRP 83% and GSRP 84%. But we always focus on like I said you know washing as soon as kids enter the classroom they have to wash their hands and just really focused on um health and safety and well-being. Um and also we focus on nutrition. So, our CACF report um it's a little low um for December because we were out um for um a few days, but for um breakfast and u I'm sorry, for breakfast, our students, we
056were able to feed over a thousand students. For adults, 275 for our AM snack um students 198 for adults 58. Um lunch we had um for students, 138. for adults 278 and for our PM snack um for students 93, for adults 272. And we just really we not only during our um CA CHCFP time, we always focus on engaging students in conversations too because eating is about community. It's about celebrating um with language and so it's just more than just eating. Um for our monitoring report, we are focused on identifying what students need on a within a timely um fashion. So this number is also not accurate. Today we were able to submit another child fine report based on a teacher's um observations and um actually another one will be submitted today too. I mean
057tomorrow. So um we always um encourage um teachers to observe to provide strategies and if the strategies are not working then of course we do a child fine report and we submit that to our child fine coordinator where we always work together as a team to provide the interventions that students need to be successful. And last month we had a FA1 review where we had a team of um guests from out of town come in and um do a Head Start focus area review. And that consisted of um a data review, a human resources review, a URIA team data review, um a program management, and of course, thank you to the board members because I know that they spoke with you even on the day off. we still met virtually. And to the policy council
058members, thank you to our team as well because the lead reviewer was very thankful for the conversations that she had with you. And um based on some of the feedback that we received, although the report is forthcoming, we do know that there um that we at BU busy we are we are in need to do some things so that we can really be successful with our FA2 review, which is the big review. And so as a result, um Mrs. Rogers and Dr. Freeman and I, we will be having bi-weekly meetings so that we can make sure that some of the things that they touched upon, they weren't really supposed to tell us much, but we can get a head start on what we need to do to be successful. Um, and also, um, I know
059Mr. Stevens, we talked today, too. We're going to have a HR meeting so that we can make sure that um our staffing um the needs and the requirements are accurate and based on what the Head Start standards are. um our child observation record which is core which is how we um assess and review at busy. We're in period two which ends on March 1st and so teachers are always taking in adult notes um taking pictures uh making sure that the observations um align with our KDIs which are our key developmental indicators to make sure that our kids are or our scholars at Busy are progressing well. And then also um we're now focused on our home learning packet. So if if at any time we have to maybe um do some learning or that's virtual
060or um students are maybe out due to illness, we can refer to a packet so that they can um always have continuous learning at BSY. And so as many of you know we do our educators empowering educators each week. And um the last meeting that we had, the teacher presentation was based on the milestones for literacy development. So it was great to just get an overview of what we're doing in the baby room up in um for early Head Start to GSRP. And um also we have a weekly teacher staff newsletter which I send out every Sunday and it gives um just updates and um tips for what we can use in the classroom. And so our family engagement will take place um this Thursday. We're having our kindergarten signing day as we welcome the
061class of 2039 to kindergarten. It will be at busy from 5:00 pm to 7 pm. We're excited about that and um just as many of our scholars can our parents can see all of the wonderful kindergarten learning opportunities that Southville has to offer. So, and we've been getting a lot of um RSVPs from external people as well. So, we're excited about that. And um well um we'll also have registration there, transportation, and um each representatives from all of our elementary schools in Southfield as well. Okay. And once again, congratulations to all of our wonderful board members who have transitioned into some new positions and titles. Looking forward to working with everyone and congratulations. Any questions? Trustees, do we have any questions? >> Yes, ma'am. Um, good evening, Dr. Walsh. Um, I wanted to ask a
062question about the, uh, federal government. They have changed their pie chart. >> Um, uh, the health and hum of health and human services. So now, are we going to be using his pie chart or are we going to stick with the pie chart we have? really interesting that you asked that because that was one of my questions too. I know Dr. Freeman, we were talking about that. Um, we want to basically >> continue to do what we're doing based on science and based on what we know is correct for children. Um, that can be one of the questions that we will pose to our um the program management for Head Start. But until we receive something that is um confirmed, we're going to stick with um our immunization chart. What students need to be enrolled
063in Head Start. >> Thank you. Um so first of all I just want to say I love that you um refer to the teachers as the educators as preschool professors. Um when I started my career I started my career in early childhood as I've shared with you and I had one of my first professors said to us people will treat you like glorified babysitters but it's up to you to show them differently. And I always held that and I always held myself to that standard. And so it sounds to me that you are creating a culture there where the educators there can truly see themselves um as educators of our youngest population. So I just want to applaud you for that. >> Well, thank you. >> So thank you. Um also I do want to
064ask through the chair um superintendent if we can make sure that the inind is also represented on the updated reports and then um as the team moves forward with the upcoming review that we get any and all policies that will support the work happening at busy that we can get those um you know as they come up for any revisions or anything that we can do to support you to make sure that the policies are not a hindrance to the work that needs to continue. >> Well, thank you. We'll take care of it. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> Any other questions? >> I just wanted to say thank you for your hard work and seeing class of 2039 made me blink my eyes a couple times. >> Yes. >> Um but it looks like
065we're planning for the future. So, thank you for your hard work and seeing these numbers rise um is very exciting to see. So, thank you. >> Okay. Well, thank you. It's my pleasure. >> Okay. Thanks. >> All right. We are going to move into public participation. If you wish to address the board regarding a school related issue that has not yet been resolved by school administration, please submit a comment card immediately. Comments are limited to three minutes per individual. As a matter of fairness, speakers with complaints against individuals are asked not to mention any persons by name. Complaints concerning employees pursuant to board policy 9130 should be brought to the attention of the school principles or other administrators before coming to the board of education. Your cooperation is appreciated. We have one this evening, Miss
066Marie Banks. Good evening everyone. Um, happy new year. As usual, I'm here to bring tidings, good great tidings about university. Um, and I know we're getting our new communication person. Um, but the community needs to know and reiterate that the cap the AP capstone results came out and not only were we platinum last year, but we were platinum not in the same fashion as last year, but we even improved upon our platinum status for this year. So, [snorts] I was I just got off our middle school call today right before I came here and there were parents saying, you know, you all are always saying that our numbers are better than Cass and Renaissance and West Bloom, but show us where cuz they still don't know. So to our communication people, to our board of
067education, just like we hear the same commercial every 30 minutes, we got to run this greatness all the time because people don't get it. They think we talking out the side of our mouth. So I had to put the US News and World Reports on there where we still are ranked higher than a lot of our compass that our competitors and these parents are making decisions. So I applaud uh the teachers and the staff. I have a PTSA meeting, a general board meeting um with our president uh next week, but I also have a high school call. And one of our focuses are going to be on how can we affect the culture for this move. I don't want to talk logistics. I don't want to talk academics. I want to talk about parent culture
068and how we can shift it to a positive note about this move. And it has to start now. The starting point is our academic success. That's the starting point. And we need to keep hearing it and keep hearing it. We need to keep hearing the programs at Southfield ENT. We need to keep hearing the programs at university. We got to keep sometimes it might sound like we're bragging or it's a broken record. I stand up here every month and I talk about it. My daughter just completed her first semester at Case Western. She's playing basketball, actually getting in the game now. She was on the dean's list, but she came back to alumni day at university and got great advice about how she could proceed with her premed studies just from other medical students already
069graduated from university. The last thing is I want y'all to please do consider hurry up and finishing O house before three years and maybe we can move there in a year and a half. That's another thing. And another thing that was on our call, parents still are very concerned about transportation. Um that did come up and it was brought up by our administration that they don't have control of that that we it's a wait and see, but I they do want to know. They're really concerned especially with families with multiple sites with children at multiple sites. Thank you. >> Thank you, Miss Hanks. >> As this time, we're going to move to our consent agenda for action items. Is there a motion? The motion has been moved in support. Any questions? Any discussion? Hearing none,
070board secretary, will you please call for the vote? >> Trusty Anderson, >> yes. >> Trusty, >> yes. >> Dson, >> yes. >> Trusty, >> yes. Johnson. >> Yes. >> Motion approved. >> Motion carries. >> At this time, we have report 6440, personnel action report. Is there a motion to open and approve? >> Motion has been moved and support. Are there any discussion? Is there any discussion? Trustees, you have received this in your package. If there is no discussions, board secretary, will you please call for the vote >> Thomas? >> Yes. >> Johnson, >> yes. >> Dun, >> yes. >> Anderson, >> Yes. Yes. >> Motion carries. Dr. Green, we have some information items this evening. >> Yes, we do. Poor President. The first is report 6441, the university auditorium elevator renovation. This is a retrofit
071for one of the elevators at on the uh university campus. Um, as discussed in our board meetings, our um, owners, architects and construction meetings, we did have two companies investigate this matter, the only two elevator companies in our local area, that being uh, Kone and Otis. Uh, Kona has the parts in their inventory and they were able to provide us with a quote to get the work done in a timely manner, which aligns with the bond work happening in our district. The key to note here is while we're building um the majority of that uh campus being a new building to have to build a new elevator shaft would be four to five times the amount of what it would be to retrofit the current elevator shaft that we have there on the campus. So
072this proposal is to move forward. Um it's less than $200,000 to retrofit this elevator and it would be funded out of bond dollars. Um, board president, it is for information, but given the time sensitivity and lead time on some of these items, if it is the pleasure of the board, we would ask that these bond items be considered for action if it is the pleasure of the board. >> Is there a motion to open and approve report 6441? So >> um board president before moving forward if we can understand which of the items I do see a few of the items listed as um bond fund. So if you're asking that several of the items if it's the pleasure of the board yes we we do have uh two others. So if you would like
073me to bundle those or to present all and then we come back and do the bond items and general funds you can present all. >> Okay. So that is are there any questions trustees relative to the retrofitting of the elevator? >> None. Hearing none. Okay. The next item is a general fund item. Um that had to do with our move management and having additional buildings um in which we needed to provide timely hot lunches for our scholars. So we are asking to move forward with a leased vehicle and that will come out of general fund dollars. If there are any questions, we do have our chief operating officer here, but board um trustees, I believe you have all those information, all of that information in your packet and have asked uh questions relative to that.
074I'm pleased to share that the food has been delivered to both Vandenberg and South Regional in a timely manner and the scholars are um happy with their lunch thus far. It's only a week and two days in so we will continue to monitor that. Next is report 6443. That is our storm water board resolution that is required uh by code to ensure that we are not polluting any of our natural water sources. We are adjacent to that of the Rouge River and we are committed to ensuring that we follow proper protocols. So this would be a board resolution confirming that the board is aware of this um requirement and that we are all moving forward in that direction. Report 644. This one is bonfunded. Um, as mentioned, we do have several moves occurring in our
075district this summer, the summer of 2026 already. Palmer has been our move company of record. They have handled everything that we've done to date. We've been able to negotiate with them to keep our rates down by approximately $434,000. I'm looking for TJ in the back. Yep, that is confirmed. So, we have kept our price down, but we recognize that we have really maxed out Palmer. So, this will also bring on a secondary move company specifically to assist us with the university campus so that we have the appropriate number of semi-truckss, the appropriate number of movers to move both Levy and Bernie back to their home locations. We also have Thompson moving out for the summer, moving back in at the end of the summer and university moving to three respective locations. So, we have a
076lot of move management happening um this summer, more than any other summer throughout this entire bond project. So, that being stated, we are asking that we approve um one additional move company that is 6445 and then of course continuing with Palmer for the moves for Levy and Bernie and Thompson. Premier would exclusively handle that of university. Last but definitely not least that is droplet but that is completely different. That is our um internal system whereby we record people's requests to go on field trips to participate in professional development opportunities to attend conferences and it allows us to see the workflow of all of those individuals requesting those items. and it affords us an opportunity to provide the state and federal government with any supporting documentation as they request for audit. >> When does that expire?
077>> That ends in I believe June 30. Is that correct, ladies? >> Okay. So, we have some time. >> Yeah. Okay. >> So, we want to get ahead so we have no interruption in service. >> Dr. Green, is it the wish of the superintendent's office to make all of these items? If it is the pleasure of the board, >> is there a motion to open and approve report 6441 through 6446? >> Excuse me. Support. >> The motion has been moved and supported. Any discussion hearing? None. Board secretary, will you please call for the vote? >> Johnson, >> yes. >> Myself, yes. Trusty Den, >> yes. >> Anderson, >> yes. >> Motion carries. >> Thank you, trustees. At this time, we're going to move into our financial report and monthly bill dispersement by our treasurer, Nicole
078Densen. Thank you, board president. I am currently working with our former treasurer and board president, our superintendent, and the financial department um to ensure a smooth transition. Um so, I appreciate your help and your assistance. Um, I have reviewed the bill dispersements and monthly statements and there are currently no risk. The board will not put the district at risk by opting in to 31A, which we've discussed at prior meetings. This would eliminate eliminate attorney client privilege and create state oversight for certain educational activities. However, please note that funding for social emotional supports is secure in Southfield public schools through June 30th, 2026. And that is what I have for the financial report. Thank you. Trustees, do we have any questions for our treasurer? Right. Hearing none, we're going to move down our agenda for the
079good of the order. Do we have anything trustees? >> I have one thing. Um, at one point you brought up um the um dress code. I would like to re visit that again at some point like early, not later, but I would like to um um do that again. Revisit it. >> This is a great time to talk about uniforms if that's what you're saying. >> Yes, uniforms. Okay, >> we can revisit that. Dr. Green, can you please work on >> We'll put it on the agenda. >> Put on agenda. >> Anyone else? I just want to take this time to thank our board. I think we have an amazing um board um full of collaborative um consensus um based off of our Ber retreat. Um I am looking forward to um working with each
080of you and serving our community. We have a I want our community to understand we have a ton of servant leaders that's looking forward to serving this district. Um, we realize that we're in a battle, um, in education, but what I love about this board is that all of our armor fits different. Um, and I love that because you have to have your own armor to fight in a battle. So, I just wanted to publicly say thank you. Thank you for your collaboration. Thank you for your consensus. And I look forward to continuing to serve our community together. So, thank you. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> Any other discussions? Y'all gonna love me for getting us out of here, right? Future meetings. [laughter] Future meetings. Monday, January 19th. Um it's Martin Luther King Day.
081There is no school parents. There is no school parents, but there is a ton of things to do in the community. So um that's where I know our um chief operating officer is this evening. >> Chief of staff um James Jackson is there today with the MLK to celebrate our youth and to hand out certificates. So, there's a ton of things to do. Also, um Oh, the Peace Walk at Help United Methodist Church at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, January the 20th is Records Day. No school. >> No students. I was about to say we don't have school two days in a row. Yeah. Yeah, we do. Yeah. No students. January 19th or 20th, staff, please report. Tuesday, January 27th, um special board meeting and study session will be here at 6 o'clock PM. Wednesday, January the
08228th will be our Capitol facilities bond legislative briefing at Adler Elementary. That will begin at 5:30. And Tuesday, February the 10th is our regular board meeting back here at 7:00 p.m. >> We have a hearing too hearing. >> We do. We arrested and that is all. >> Yeah, that wouldn't be on this day. And we're adjourned at 8:20. from the attic.