001and call the meeting to order please rise and join us in the Pledge of Allegiance foreign welcome to the Rockwood Board of Education meeting we would like to thank the administrative team and all the staff and students at Marquette High School for being gracious hosts for our meeting this evening thank you also also to the ambassadors who are here from our schools to assist with greeting and signing in our guests the purpose of this meeting is to conduct the business of the district hear reports about our progress and listen to the community on important issues we want to remind all of our visitors that we expect the audience to remain civil and respectful at all times as the board conducts its business calling out verbal aggressiveness inappropriate language or name calling is not acceptable if
002the meeting becomes unruly the board may take a recess until such time the audience is appropriate if inappropriate behavior continues by individuals they may be asked to leave the meeting if the audience becomes so inappropriate in their behavior that we can't conduct our business the board reserves the right to adjourn the meeting the sport of Education meeting is live streamed for the community's convenience opinions expressed that the meeting are not necessarily the opinions of the Rockwood School District YouTube reserves the right to Monitor and block an accurate and misleading content that process is beyond the control of the Rockwood School District we want everyone to have the ability to see and have the ability to hear the business of the district reports presented in the comments of everyone who is here to speak we request
003that all individuals speak slowly and clearly if you have a sign we ask that you keep it down low so you are not obstructing the views of others we appreciate your cooperation and that you took the time to attend tonight's meeting could I please have a motion to approve the agenda second motion and a second any discussion all those in favor please say aye aye anyone opposed and that passes next could I have a motion to approve Board of Education meeting minutes for September 15 2022. so move motion and a second any discussion all those in favor please say aye aye aye anyone opposed that passes next could I have a motion to approve Board of Education tax rate hearing minutes for September 29 2022. so move second Motion in a second any discussion all
004those in favor please say aye aye anyone opposed that passes next we have our first section of Patron comments which is for agenda related items only so I will read um some instructions about that and then we'll get started during Patron comments Rockwood patrons May address the Board of Education concerning issues related to the school district under our updated policy there are now two Patron comment sections during regular board meetings the first public comment period shall be solely for Patron comments related to items on tonight's agenda which will be limited to 30 minutes the second public comment period shall occur at the end of the meeting order of business and shall be for patrons to make a statement or address the board concerning any issues pertaining to the Rockwood School District please know that patrons
005also have the opportunity to submit comments and writing to the board at any time each speaker will be limited to three minutes combining time or giving your time to someone else to speak is not allowed only one speaker is allowed at the podium at a time the board uses the public comment periods as an opportunity to listen and receive information but board members will not engage in debates or discussions with those speaking other than to seek clarification of their comments if needed a board member may ask that the superintendent ensure that the appropriate staff member follows up in a timely fashion with the individual regarding the information question or concern presented during Patron comments we have a stand with microphones ready so both the board and the audience may hear the patron comments clearly I
006would like to remind everyone that comments about individual employees and or students will not be permitted in public session we also expect that you will remain civil and respectful in your remarks and if anyone becomes disruptive we reserve the right to cut your three minutes short verbally aggressive language and vulgarity in any form is not acceptable whether you are reading someone else's remarks or they are your own it will not be tolerated the board appreciates that you have taken the time to come this evening and we value both your input and your perspective for your convenience our three-minute time clock is ready first we invite Jessica risenhoover to speak good evening I attended the Open Session before this and that related to ethics and um and that's here what I'm here to speak about again
007to speak about tonight is the ongoing need for a code of ethics to govern our Board of Education members I'm personally tired of Board of Education members using our school district as performance art we saw that in St Charles when a board of education member ridiculed the stakeholder we saw it at the Boe meeting two weeks ago when a board member uh question to contract related to Dei those comments weren't for our kids they weren't for the betterment of our school it was nothing more than political performance that they were trying to make out of these proceedings and it worked a local hate blogger gave their performance and ovation almost immediately it went up uh in fact their words were that uh the staff of that blog uh was helping to look into it so
008are you here for us and the community and our kids are you here for performance art because if it's performance art please step down you're of no use so I'm asking that you take the ethics review seriously and put some serious parameters for your own behavior as well as uh consequences for when those things are broken because when you don't have those things in place it undermines the confidence of every single taxpayer in the Rockwood School District thank you next speaker is Jocelyn yedlika foreign good evening and thank you for the opportunity to speak my name is Jocelyn yadlica and I'll be commenting on consent agenda item 8.04 specifically the contract with Shantae Duncan for the love program I am pleased to see this contract appear again for consent vote today and hope the delay
009did not disrupt the program during our last board meeting the contract with Shantae Duncan was removed from the consent vote for the request of a board member who thought the business did not meet a requirement because this action was both confusing and concerning I want to make sure the community is aware of the services Shantae Duncan provides the district and why her program is so valuable to our students the program Shantae Duncan offers is called love and has been running here since around 2015. the purpose of love is to empower young women of color by focusing on self-love Sisterhood Community Development and Entrepreneurship an article written about Shantae Duncan in 2018 references the work of washu Brown School of Social Work Professor sharada Butler Barnes as part of our ongoing research Butler Barnes worked with
010middle school girls in Rockwood to study the importance of racial identity and social emotional learning and how these factors help girls of color have positive educational experiences Dr Butler Barnes observed that girls who felt as though they belonged in their school had higher academic achievement higher gpas and aspirations to attend college The Love Project is a continuation of the work of Dr Butler Barnes it is backed by research and offers evidence-based interventions that create a sense of belonging and purpose for young women of color who are finding their way in a predominantly white educational and social environment the work of Shantae Duncan supports the way forward and the Rockwood mission statement I am speaking specifically about this to ensure those listening will be informed and have no further confusion about the removal of her contract
011during the last Board of Education meeting having a board member question the status of a business and demand the contract be removed was unexpected and hopefully what I have shared will help the community see the value of the program and dismiss any concerns I'm thankful that our school district continues to invest in programs that uplift and Empower young women of color thank you board for voting to continue the love program and the next speaker is Kate sickles foreign also to speak on the 8.04 with the love project that was tabled last month my understanding is what's a single Source vendor for the past six years and was initially submitted by the director of student services who also sits on the board for on the Share Group who does this program uh that seems to be
012a conflict of interest for the taxpayer for how much they're spending on this program if passed this evening the total expenditure over seven years would be over a hundred and forty eight thousand dollars to the taxpayers of this District the program right now from my understanding serves less than one percent of the tax paying families of this school district it seems like a lot of money to spend on a small amount of students not fulfilling the mission to ensure all students realize their potential so I have two questions for the board one what percentage of students in the Rockwood School District have received instruction through this program and two in the past six years what data if any has been provided to show positive outcomes for this program thank you and that concludes took the
013first Patron comment section we'll move on to superintendent and board comments Dr Kane foreign thank you president Bayes The Rockwood School District is the number four District in the state of Missouri and ranked among the top three percent of all districts in the country according to niche.com's 2023 rankings Niche is a website that helps families discover schools and neighborhoods and based on its ranking of a number of factors including academics teachers culture diversity parent student surveys health safety resources facilities clubs activities and sports as a district Rockwood received an A-Plus grade from the site and ranked in the top of one percent of the 455 districts surveyed in the state we are ranked number 229 at niche.com's national ranking in the top three percent of the nearly 000 school districts polled nationally congratulations to all
014students staff family members and patrons as we continue to make Rockwood such an outstanding place to learn and to grow okay nearly 100 Rockwood administrators patrons I'm sorry parents Board of Education members and school resource officers and representatives from local police and fire departments met for the district's annual crisis planning workshop at the administrative Annex on September 28th the meeting served as a chance for Rockwood representatives and area First Responders to convene and discuss safety procedures and protocols it's a part of our continuous efforts to ensure safety of all of our districts students and staff this past Monday during a district-wide professional development day Rockwood staff also participated in some intruder training all staff who participated in Monday's training I'm sorry who did not participate in Monday's training will do so at a later date
015we are committed to providing a safe learning and working environment for our students and our staff their safety and well-being is a top priority and we will always seek to improve our preparedness in an effort to keep our schools and our communities safe all four Rockwood high schools earned the distinguished School designation from Project Lead the Way pltw for the third straight year they are among 197 high schools from around the nation and 26 from the state of Missouri to be named as distinguished schools a designation that recognizes the schools and their commitment to increasing student access engagement and achievement in Project Lead the Way coursework Rockwood offers an assortment of biomedical sciences and pre-engineering courses that align with the pre with the Project Lead the Way standards it provides transformative learning experiences for students
016and teachers through courses that truly cultivate in engaging in Hands-On classroom environment in the stem subject areas nearly 1800 Rockwood students are currently enrolled in Project Lead the Way courses and I'd like to commend our Project Lead the Way teachers and students for participating in such a valuable learning opportunity I'm frightened of the pictures that may appear on this next one but over the weekend I was honored to be a special guest at the Rockwood Summit homecoming parade that was on Friday night and I also had the opportunity to serve as Grand Marshal for the Eureka day parades that was on Saturday morning okay I don't see anything that's going to embarrass anyone in my in my family in terms of my behavior at the parade so um all of our schools students and staff
017members from our schools were very well represented at the Lafayette and Rockwood Summit homecoming parades on Friday and at the Eureka day parades as well it was an ex it was extremely encouraging to see all the joy in the spirit at these events and it was like a sea of humanity the engagement the excitement if you ever have an opportunity to serve as Grand Marshal there are some advantages to actually staying in the vehicle versus trying to get out and walk the uh the path it takes a little bit of endurance in order to do so and I'm pleased that's not actually on that screen at this particular point in time so thank you to all of our students and staff members and our families for helping to make those memorable occasions and to really
018help our students to celebrate as well thank you and finally tonight I would like to extend a heartfelt sympathy to all of those that have been impacted by Hurricane Ian I am thinking particularly about Dr Kamala Patton who was one of the four finalists for the national superintendent of the Year award the four of us have actually bonded together we call ourselves the aasa final four and so we have stayed in touch literally throughout the entirety of this process and so when we could text we were texting with Cam to make sure all was well and looking to see what we could do in terms of support she leads the Collier County Public Schools in Naples Florida and they suffered widespread damage and lives have actually been lost in that area believe it or not
019they actually started back in school today but their students and families I can almost assure you are going to be working to recover from the storm for some time so I'm thinking about how we as a district can be of best support to these families that have been impacted and I have some ideas but I also want to cultivate some ideas and gain some some insight from others before we take some of that next steps but since this is on YouTube cam I want you to know we're thinking about you we're praying for you uh our thoughts are with all of you at this particular point in time if there's anything that you need from Rockwood please let us know and we'll keep you all uh up to date in terms of our thoughts and
020our actions as we move forward thank you president Bates thank you Dr Kane any board comments this evening I have a comment from my daughter who wrote a letter about one of her teachers so this is my eighth grader she said our district is one of the most would call empowering what is that you you ask empowerment is the process of becoming stronger and more confident when I was just a little girl mind you she's 13. um I used to be very timid very quiet I received a letter from Rockwood asking if I could skip I actually could skip a grade in math um I could not wrap my head around it the fact that I could be in a class with older uh children it was just really hard to think about but little
021did I know that my third grade math teacher Mrs hake who's retired what changed my life forever as a six to seven year old I was very timid and very quiet like I did not like speaking out loud or asking questions Mrs hake changed that for me she taught me how to stand up for myself and not to be afraid to ask questions and make mistakes one word that she taught me over five years she did have her literally like three years in her or four years in a row um to stick with um that stuck with me forever it's being assertive when I was on the bus I was being bothered by some of the students and she told me not to be aggressive or mean but be assertive and to this day I
022remember that I was very nervous I ended up talking to those students and then they let me uh they did not harass me after that um sorry so this is an empowering teacher and one of my favorites also she helped me grow into the confident girl that I am today and I'm extremely grateful for her I have one more from my fifth grader because of course we have to be equal right okay Mrs lamb is the best teacher because she encourages not only me but the whole class to be great she always Believes In Me When I am stuck on something she empowers me and my classmates she would never yell at us and she told us that one once we are in her class we have a special place in her heart earlier this
023week we were taken we were talking about Intruders and she said she would risk her own life for us I love her so much because of how empowering loving and funny she is she makes a lot of funny jokes sometimes and it makes it cracks the whole class up and now that I'm in her class she has a special place in my heart that was it well that's a hard thing to follow but speaking of empowerment I and I also attended the interior training on Monday actually in this room and it was and I did feel it was empowering we're going to learn and the the staff and and students in Rockwood I think will be uh well prepared to handle an event which we hope hope never happens but it was it was uh
024it was good to be here and to hear how we can implement the four e's and in the morning I also attended transformational coaching the art the art of transformational coaching I think and that was also about empowerment because it's a we all have to help coach each other and so it really applied well to uh to a board member as well as other other staff so it was a it was a good day of learning for me and so I appreciate that opportunity to attend those things thank you Dr Dr Kane mentioned a lot of great positive things about the high schools in Rockwood but in in that conversation after that there was a lot of nice things about the middle schools and the elementary schools and we're not just high schools we're middle
025schools and High School in elementary schools so anybody in the audience tonight I'd like for you to take a look at some of the rankings of our middle schools and our elementary schools within the state that's what makes Rockwood so great there's not another District in this state that could compare when you put all three levels of the schools and how they rank in the state there's just no comparison so you can you can make comments about Rockwood and you can wish things were better but please take a look at the positives and the great things that are happening in Rockwood and enjoy those for this great District that you live in thank you any other board comments all right thank you all next item uh where am I on the agenda could I have
026a motion to approve the consent agenda items as submitted it's all move second motion and a second any discussion um I have a couple of uh concerns here actually um I would like to remove actually I would like to vote no on the Shantae Duncan also the um sista keeper and the last one is the Tony Thompson I don't feel like they serve all of our students so I vote no on those three yeah I agree so we will get to the votes in just a second um any disc other discussion do you want to bring up the um public gifts oh yes we have a public gift tonight we have a public gift tonight and I'm sorry I forgot it I got engrossed in what is he was saying and I'll find it right
027here somewhere I'll find it it's up on the board there Marquette High School has a monetary donation of eight thousand dollars for the purchase of furniture provide furniture and fixtures to teachers work group and that's provided by the Marquette parent organization and we want to thank them and they'll get a nice thank you from the district thank you very much all right thank you Dr Kinder thank you uh for reading that the and to the donors so the motion is to approve the consent agenda items as submitted all those in favor please say aye aye anyone opposed no no no no no so are you all vote those who are saying no voting on all of Casino for the three items so can we take those out and vote on them separately the ones that
028Izzy or just we can I mean a weekend or can we just vote and we will take them out and vote on it separately so we'll pull those out so the first motion is going to be for the consent agenda items excluding let me pull them up so I read them correctly which one is that I've got them here in the paper form but I want to make sure that I'm reading them correctly okay so we will just pull out I'm just wanting to wash that on this thing it's a point which one oh four so we will pull out the first three of 8.04 I just was looking for 8.04 so um excluding the first three uh under 8.04 the motion is to approve the rest of the consent agenda items as submitted 8.04
029under student services yep okay yes thank you under student services the first three under that go through that again please so this motion right now is to approve all of consent except for the first three under 8.0 for under student services and then we'll do those separately purchasing the related contracts Child Nutrition Community Aid and Human Resources no it'll be the student services so the first three under students first 300 student services thank you so right now we're approving or not everything else so all those in favor except for the three that I've mentioned um all those in favor please say aye aye aye anyone opposed okay so those pass and then we will go through those other three individually we probably need to do them individually okay so um this one could I have
030so I need to restate a motion for each of those three so I gotta have a motion to approve the uh purchasing and related contract for Shantae Duncan DBA sisters helping each other reach a higher height from 8.04 under student services so move motion and a second all those in favor please say aye aye anyone opposed no no tell me who is no so who are the no's okay so the motion fails yep the motion what fails the next uh item could I have a motion to approve the system keeper Empowerment Center purchase and related contract for twenty five thousand two hundred don't move second Motion in a second all those in favor please say aye aye anyone opposed no no same same for did that one pass no that fails it was four to
031three wasn't it three three four yeah three four to three three four I missed the fourth one somewhere and then the third contract is uh the purchase that could I have a motion to approve the purchase and related contract for Tony Thompson Inc 32 900. so move second motion and a second all those in favor please say aye aye anyone opposed no same four same four okay that motion fails and next I'm inviting uh Carmen Fisher up she's the director of Child Nutrition could I have a motion to approve the proclamation designating October 10th through 14th 2022 as national school lunch week so I'm a second Motion in a second welcome thank you good evening president Bates members of the board Dr Kane this year we celebrate national school lunch week from October 10th through
032the 14th the fun and creative Campaign theme is peace love and school lunch and it highlights the importance of healthy school lunch at to a Student Success both in and out of the classroom national school lunch week helps us educate parents and students about all the wonderful benefits of the school lunch program research shows children are getting their healthiest meals at schools national school lunch week will highlight the nutritious Foods available daily at school the federally funded national school lunch program has been fueling students for success for 75 years this year Rockwood is serving nearly 7 600 students lunch each day school lunches offer students fruits vegetables whole grains and milk and meet Federal nutrition standards limiting fat calories and sodium Rockwood Child Nutrition staff are working hard to offer lots of fresh fruits and
033vegetables to our students we are purchasing locally grown watermelon and a few other vegetables from three girls in a tractor a small farm in Marthasville Missouri the students have really enjoyed the locally grown watermelon it's super sweet this year breakfast and lunch have returned to paid free and reduced after being free for all students last year we have approximately 13 percent of our students qualifying for frame reduced meals um if paid students pay an elementary pay three dollars and sixty cents for a lunch and then secondary 380 for for lunch last year we served an average of 13 000 lunches a day and with a total of over 2.2 million lunches served during the 21-22 school year currently we're serving 7 600 lunches a day and while we continue to be short staffed with over
03450 vacant positions we welcome volunteers to assist in feeding our students and appreciate the support we've received from numerous administrators in getting the students fed this school year yeah thank you Carmen and thank you to a special thanks because I know how hard the people in your department are working as well as others but I know a lot of our cafeterias are short staffed I know we've got a lot of parents coming in now to volunteer and things are running well and we have a lot of people stepping in and doing things that fall outside of their job description to help make the day go well and uh new and exciting systems in place because of that so just thank you very much for all all the hard work great thank you and we do
035have a proclamation we'd like to read and I think director Romberg has that International School national school lunch week official Proclamation whereas the national school lunch program has served our nation admirably for 75 years through advanced practices in nutrition education and whereas the national school lunch program is dedicated to the health and academic achievement of our nation's children and whereas Recent research shows students are receiving their healthiest meals at school and there's an Evidence of continued need for nutrition education and awareness of the value of school nutrition programs now therefore we the Board of Education of Rockwood School District do hereby proclaim the week of October 10th through the 14th 2022 as national school lunch week and we encourage all residents to become aware of the benefits of the national school lunch program and support
036good nutrition habits for their children in Hope of achieving a more healthy citizenry for today and the future in witness whereof I have unto declared and caused the official seal the School Board of Education of the Rockwood School District to be affixed and thank you for all you do for our students thank you all right so the motion is to approve the proclamation designating October 10-14 2022 as national school lunch week all those in favor please say aye aye aye anyone opposed that passes and the next item uh should be coming up the proposed agenda for the October 20th 22 Board of Education meeting any comments or discussion about that foreign future agenda presentations and events to attend obviously we are all connected to our Google Calendars so keep watching that then that takes us
037to our second Patron comment period uh for non-agenda items we will now hear from those Rockwood patrons who have signed up to speak about non-agenda items as a reminder each speaker will be limited to three minutes please remember that comments about individual employees and or students will not be permitted in public session we expect that you will remain civil and respectful in your remarks and if anyone becomes disruptive we reserve the right to cut your three minutes short for your convenience our three-minute time clock is ready and first we welcome Candace let me just make sure I'm correct Candace Carter Robinson up hi thank you for letting me speak tonight my name is Candy Carter Robinson I'm the mom of five children that attend Rockwood schools I have the opportunity to experience every one of
038the Rockwood school schedules I have a high schooler two middle schoolers and an early and a late start Elementary with these children I am able to fall into many categories of parenting I have twins I have a child of color I have a child who is adopted I have two children who receive services from SSD I have a child that identifies with the lgbtqia plus Community I have biological children I have step children and I have a child who is doing amazing in school and I have a child who's struggling I have a child who is struggling with depression anxiety anger issues pure comparison suicidal thoughts and ideation this all being said I want to take a minute and thank our director of student services for all of his work with my family a few
039board meetings ago he spoke about Pathways Wellness Center after the meeting I sent him a message which opened up a conversation and really a partnership I know he is working with me for the best interest of my child he is helping us help our child be happy be successful and navigate School he really puts our child in the center and looks at the big picture and helps us figure out the best course of action for him I also wanted to follow up with a few meeting a few things that were brought up at the last board meeting somebody last board meeting asked about repack so I sent an email right following the meeting asking about their meeting the email was promptly replied to and the instructions for joining the next meeting were included the meeting
040was last night and although I was unable to attend I do have future plans for attending I they seemed very inclusive and very friendly in their emails the second item I do want to address from the last board meeting which was voted down tonight um was the love contract we provide services for groups that are sectioned out SSD kids receive SSD Services gifted children although I would argue that all children are gifted go to SLC Christian athletes have sca athletes have training camps Etc why does anyone have an issue with a service being offered for a group of students that are being suspended at a far higher rate than their counterparts October 12 2022 is National stop anti or is National stop bullying day this morning I spent the day at an elementary school looking
041at an alternative option for my son parents need to hear this loud and clear bullying starts at home I am thankful we are teaching our children to speak up and speak out against bullying but what do we do when the bullying continues to happen at home from the parents we try to protect our kids in buildings we spend tons of money on sticker systems but the biggest threat to our students is coming from their parents mouths thank you so much from for your time this evening foreign ER so as part of the performance art at the last school board meeting were comments about repack repack is a parent group so it's a feedback to administrators about programs that they're thinking about instituting so it's the same as Dr willett's curriculum committee we're all invited to
042join it whether you choose to or not is a personal decision but we're all given that equal opportunity repack is the exact same way they come to us and they say we're thinking about doing these things for kids who have special needs what is your feedback on that and of course we had that to put on our little performance for the local hate group and question the value of repack and then we sit here tonight and we vote down three programs that are meant to address and make all students in this District feel seen heard and welcome so what we hear is that we're going to educate all students except for this group we're going to educate all students except for this group everybody has value except for this specific group we don't educate all
043kids we don't welcome all kids and it's not everybody this is a great District but unfortunately it is this ongoing issue of some people are shoved into the corner if my kid makes your kid feel uncomfortable we can't say pronouns for the love of God it's ridiculous we're a public school that is funded with public dollars this is a government Institution we have a legal and moral responsibility to represent everybody and if you're not going to do that leave my God it's not hard this isn't your little personal sorority it's a government Institution and there are federal guidelines that require us to educate everyone whether you like them or not I really don't care so I'm asking that we reevaluate these contracts and figure out how it is that we are going to support all
044kids where they are whether some people in this room like them or not next speaker is Jocelyn yedlika foreign I was not prepared for the events of today's meeting four out of three or sorry four out of seven voted on three programs that are either provided by or provided with the gold to support minority groups in our school district okay I just had to get that out before I read my statement for some time I've been collecting statements from walkwood staff members who would like to share their support for Dei and SEL programs but they do not feel supported or safe enough to do so and I can totally understand why now tonight I'd like to share the full the following narrative that discusses how books lead to important discussions about differences inclusion acceptance and
045empathy so this is a statement written by one of our teachers diversity equity and inclusion are all vital to all levels of Education I am an elementary teacher and firmly believe in how these help all students to succeed the last two years I read aloud a book by Sharon Draper called out of my mind and its sequel out of my heart told through the main character's point of view melody was born with Cerebral Palsy you cannot walk talk feed herself or take herself to the restroom reading and discussing this book with my class the last couple years built a tremendous amount of empathy we have students who use talkers and who can out walk so to read a story like this makes those friends feel empowered and seen it brings a great discussion to where
046it's comfortable and brings normalcy to what is so many people's lives it also empowered my students to be better leaders in how they treated any peers who may have a physical or intellectual different ability as for the hidden disabilities I read a different picture book every week that touched on all sorts of ways that my students could see themselves in or build empathy for someone so different from them it helped make things that may have been considered embarrassing or not to discuss as things that are normal and help to build a great community as with that Comfort safe space and Community comes a great deal of academic achievement as kids take more risks collaborate and succeed across the board that's the end of the statement I would like to add my concern that Dei is
047taking a back seat in our district due to misinformation and confrontation caused by a small cross-section of our community when I read the article about Dei programs pausing I realize that we are losing ground as a district or we are giving the appearance that we are to appease people who did not understand what Dei is diversity equity and inclusion are so ingrained in our school's culture that it's impossible to separate the two and why would we want to we need to stand confident in our programs and support the staff and administrators that work hard to develop and Implement them no more pausing no more playing catch up let's push on and continue the way forward next speaker is Sally Nichol thank you good evening my name is Sally Nichol I use she her pronouns and
048the parent of two students who have been in Rockwood since elementary school kindergarten got high schooler now and middle schooler I didn't script tonight I wasn't even going to um but my drive home brings me past the side of the Kiefer Creek accident that occurred last November I drive past it several times a day driving past it several times a day means that I've gotten a little desensitized to it even though there is always something out honoring the loss of life that occurred there today however I couldn't stop the tears because there was a birthday balloon our district has been through so much the last several years and while this year feels like it's getting back to normal we still have a lot of hurt and we still have a lot of wounds our social
049emotional learning curriculum and the efforts and support of our teachers and our staff for all of our students is critical and I wanted to say that I appreciate the programs that our district does do I appreciate our staff to support our students I appreciate our Central Administration who support our staff and students and I wanted to remind you all to please continue to support the programs again for all of our students so that they can get through the Pains of childhood and the tragedies that no one should have to face and become well-rounded adults to be able to succeed and reach their potential thank you and that was our final comment so we will adjourn the meeting