001good evening everyone tonight we're here for the public hearing on the proposed academic and financial plans from the new york state independent monitor my name is marisol ramos lopez i am the chief communications officer for the rochester city school district and i will be your moderator this evening the monitor for the new york state is dr shelly jallow and the superintendent of schools for the rochester city school district is dr leslie small tonight's agenda is as follows we will have a virtual meeting protocols a presentation on the overview of the proposed academic and financial plans district response to the proposed plans from the board and administration an opportunity for the public to make comments and next steps in the process after dr jallo has finished her comments i will open up the meeting for questions
002anyone who submitted a request to speak will be given three minutes to speak and will be called upon by name when it is their turn there are individuals who signed up to speak for the academic and financial portions of the report of the plan excuse me and they will be allowed to speak for three minutes on each of those plans speakers will be called in the order that the speaking was received and in the order that the board of education stipulates which is students parents community members and staff written comments can be submitted to state monitor at rcsdk12.org the statutory requirements are chapter 56 of the laws of 2020 require that the monitor appointed by the commissioner of education developed proposed five-year academic and financial plans in consultation with the board of education the legislation
003also requires that the board conduct a public hearing on the proposed plans to consider the input of the community that hearing is taking place tonight and it is my pleasure to welcome dr shelly jallow the state's independent monitor dr dallin good evening marisol thank you for everyone for joining us this evening i want to thank the superintendent and those in attendance uh let me start with an overview of the development of the two plans the plans for academic and the plan for financial for the rcsd uh school district the monitor shelly jallow took a three-pronged approach to data collection data was initially gathered through actively actively excuse me participating in daily work activities of central office staff members second purpose purposive sampling was used to identify individuals internal and external to the organization to participate
004in interviews and focus groups finally district documents and other ad artifacts related to district business were examined the key findings from the academic plan before we talk about the key findings there were about 40 recommendations made related to the academic plan this is just an overview of what some of those findings were rcsd at all levels of the organization must make a long-term commitment to focusing resources on the acceleration of student achievement in the district rcsd at all levels of the organization must make a long-term commitment to redirect resources away from programs practices and partners that have been unable to demonstrate evidence of producing positive outcomes in the areas of teaching and learning this would be critical in order to make resources available to implement the recommendations contained in this report rcsd has been challenged
005to execute programs and plans fully therefore district and school leaders would benefit from trading on the core components of implementation science rcsd must collect and examine accurate reliable data to measure teaching and learning in every classroom which would accelerate student outcomes throughout the district must provide equitable resources to keep a diverse student population engaged in the lifelong learning cycle rcsd must expand the definition of district success beyond the singular notion of graduation rates to incorporate the concept of college career and civic readiness rcsd must re-establish the non-negotiable practice of regularly communicating expectations and holding every level of the organization responsible and accountable to student success these are the key findings for the financial plan rcsd at all levels of the organization should make a long-term commitment to focusing resources on the acceleration of student achievement
006in the district rcsd at all levels of the organization should make a long-term commitment to redirect resources away from programs and practices in partnership partners that have been unable to demonstrate evidence of producing positive outcomes for students rcsd should align district resources according to a declining student population number four rcsd should make a systemic commitment to adhere to the budget constraints of the district and refrain from a culture of buying now and trying to figure out how to pay for it later rcsd should adopt a goal to reduce borrowing over the next five years rcsd should optimize all processes related to the collection of money owed to the district number seven rcsd should demonstrate the courage to examine long-standing beliefs practices and structures that may be contributing to the growing budget deficit number 8 rcsd
007should re-establish the non-negotiable practice of regularly communicating expectations and holding every level of the organization responsible and accountable for student success and financial solvency two preview presentations were made at committees of the whole one for at the essa meeting and one at the finance committee these meetings took place in october the exact dates will be provided um at the end of this presentation and then we also did two work sessions which took place last week on the uh 10th and the 12th of november on the 10th uh we went through the financial uh the academic plan in detail line by line every finding every recommendation and we repeated that process for the finance plan on the evening of the 12th of november the board voted to approve and accept both plans in preparation for the
008public hearing this evening and inclusion of the public input that we will be receiving from you this evening and on to next week the final step is the presentation and review by the new york state department of education and the plan for that is to submit that opportunity or the documents to sed by december 1st next steps uh requires at the moment to submit these plans as i specified by december 1st to commissioner rosa for her review and consideration and approval where there is agreement on one or both of the proposed plans such plans will be deemed approved where there is disagreement on one or both of the proposed plans by january 15th the commissioner shall approve the plan the proposed plans were any of the requested amendments or make any other modifications the commissioner
009deems appropriate the board must provide the commission with any information requested to include plan within three days of the request next we will allow persons who have signed up to speak a maximum of three minutes to make their comments or ask their questions our first speaker this evening is sarah olivieri sarah are you with us yes i'm with you please turn your screen on and i will set your timer timer for three minutes again now hi good evening dr jello my name is sarah olivieri and i'm a parent of a seventh grader and a ninth grader in the rochester city school district i'm also a special education teacher in the rochester city school district and have been for almost two decades i agree with so many of your recommendations one of them i'm concerned about
010is the class size in regard to academics over the past year there have been many cuts in social workers reading teachers intervention teachers and k-12 educators my daughter spent her elementary years in a school that had the maximum amount of students due to the school's popularity this system failed her she's a quiet kid who was able to move through the system without having her learning disability detected or properly addressed many of her teachers were overextended trying to address issues like student disabilities the effects of concentrated poverty trauma and racialized trauma less teachers means less choices for classes and opportunities over the years i've watched art music interventions sports and so many jobs and programs that directly support children and their learning needs be cut how will we support children and reimagine education when we return
011to in-person learning will there be counselors and social workers to address the trauma students are experiencing will there be reading teachers teaching teachers and restorative practices and academic intervention teachers to work directly with children and support the overflowing needs in the classrooms how will you ensure our student leaders engage in professional learning that addresses anti-racism practices how will you hold school leaders and educators accountable when work around racism becomes too uncomfortable for them what guidelines will the state recommend to allow student voices to be at the top of the student voice lead ladder of student and adult equity accountability is strongly missing in the rochester city school district how will resources be adequately distributed among the schools and what recommendations do you have for the rcsd so students and families can feel heard valued and
012seen what recommendations do you have for employees to feel cared for appreciated and valued and what will this pandemic teach us about public education and the systemic structures that are designed for only some to succeed will compassion over compliance be embraced at a state level what will the state do to support integrity and creativity over systems and structures like standardized testing i would like you to recommend a plan that honors the social and emotional learning needs of students and find the data that supports that because data supports students can learn if their emotional needs are met a plan that honors students parents and educators as trusted members of the school community dr bonita love said it best to love all children we must struggle together to create the schools we are taught to believe are
013impossible schools built on justice love joy and anti-racism please consider this when you're giving your recommendations thank you so much for your time thank you thank you i appreciate it thank you very much miss oliveri thank you our next speaker is bobby welch bobby please turn your screen on and so that everyone understands for public hearings it is required that screens are on so that the public is aware of who is speaking and so are the people who are listening board members as well as state monitor jello and superintendent myers small it appears that miss uh welsh is not on with us so our next speaker is mr delahanty is jasmine maldonado crossbow on i have her as third on my list yes but she's also not um in the waiting room as well okay
014mr dillahunty welcome you have three minutes thank you um after teaching for the past 20 years in the district as well as being a parent for the past 14 years in the rcsd i've watched the promise of a sound basic education come under attack again and again it is the state that promises that sound basic education in our new york state constitution it is the state that has the power to fund our schools properly it is the state that could legislate more equitable school boundaries and it is the state that needs to address the systemic racism that has led us to this point it is time to stop finger pointing within the district and look to state leadership to deliver on their promise of a sound basic education instead we have a state monitor who
015is proposing further cuts to teachers and programs it is easy for someone who doesn't have skin in the game to say cut here and cut there not only is this unacceptable but it is criminal once again the most vulnerable in the community have to pay for the systemic racism and lack of leadership that has led us to this place but the problems we pay that we face right now were created by the state and further exacerbated by the state the only remedy is a state solution which funds us properly and prepares the suburbs for a county solution it is criminal that rochester suffers financially like this year after year while districts like brighton penfield pittsford and webster whose residents profit off the city get to reject city children and claim that their district is superlative
016but those mighty region scores only show how well they reinforce systemic racism and segregation you want those you want to fix the budget gap there are 20 other school districts in this county dependent on the city find your funding there or unite us so that we all share the same fate that is the only sound basic education and integrated county thank you for your time thank you very much mr delahunty our next speaker is megan delahante reddington ms delahanty readington are you with us hi yes thank you good evening you have three minutes thank you my name is megan reddington i'm a parent of three students in the rochester city school district and i just want to let you know that um i am looking forward to tomorrow night and dr meyer small addressing um
017the plan for reopening i know it's speaking specifically to academics and the plan moving forward i'm looking forward to this information and the metrics and the guidelines to when the rcsd will reopen because we know now that after 10 weeks and watching the surrounding districts charter schools and private schools that they've reopened that transmission at school is low and we can't afford to keep kids at home or the gap will widen and we will continue to lose students to the private schools charter schools and then others to hopelessness and a sense of their loss of worth but tonight i mainly wanted to address five concerns that i have as a parent and how they pertain to the academics in the city school district it is not easy to be a parent right now in the
018city school district and navigate all of the the recommendations and the dysfunction that seems to be happening but i've tried and here are the five things that as a parent i'm i'm asking for you to support number one a moratorium on charter schools we need to stop our resources going to charter schools number two we need to end the managed school choice policy which dr dallo i know you're recommending that has created chaos for our district number three we need the energy community energy to get new board members it is time for van wyk willow powell and cynthia elliott to move along and we need to bring in new leadership onto the board of education i know that's not your job dr jallo i'm it's a call out to the community to in the next
019election let's let's make a change we need to stop cutting and the reductions at the classroom level chop from the top not from the bottom we cannot afford to continue to lay off teachers and those those professionals that are in the classroom we need to look at district office and where can we get rid of um you know save money at the top and number five transparency our parents need transparency so that we can hold the superintendent the board of education and central office accountable don't assume that parents don't care about their children we do care about our children our own children and the children of rochester so with the time left i want to make a plea for this moratorium on charter schools i received an email from someone in the district that said
020they don't see charter schools as a bad thing their competition and competition is good it is not good there should not be winners and losers in public education because we are losing and that's not okay we have two systems that are failing i know charter schools look pretty but they're not all pretty they send students back to the rcs and we are failing them so thank you dr jello for your recommendations and i hope that we can move forward as a district together thank you thank you very much miss delahante reddington have a good evening thank you our next speaker is laura smith laura welcome hi you have three minutes do i because i was asked to speak about both do i just run through both in the second yes you are correct i apologize
021for that you have three minutes for the financial and three minutes for the academic all right thank you okay good evening my name is laura smith and i'm a community member and proud parent of a future rcsd student while dr dr jello we have spoken before in my role as a founder of action for education equity i want to be clear that my comments tonight are on my own and i do not speak on behalf of action for education equity um so dr jallo i have read your report i'm talking quickly about the financial one uh and i want to first comment on the many things that i am supportive of in this potential and student tracking tool um finding 16 regarding the usability of the budget book and finding 20 about the inclusion of
022costs and now this with proposals to the board will all help greatly with financial transparency both internally and and with the community i also really like your recommendations regarding a contract negotiation team um i strongly support finding 39 regarding boces service costs and relationship with the city of rochester my concerns on the financial report really relate to the relationship between rcsd accountability and state accountability for the current financial situation um state funding for public education is a legal right in our state constitution the state has a number of ways to generate revenue none of which are available to the rcsd or to the city of rochester it has to meet its financial obligation and understand the impact for rcsd students when it doesn't as your report stands there are no references to the chronic underfunding
023of the district or the long-term destabilizing effect on district performance there should be at least one finding in this regard there are also some clear opportunities for the state to have input into some of the other findings so for example findings 34 35 and 36 are regarding transportation costs one of the impacts of chronic under funding in the rcsd is that it does not provide busing to any students for less than 1.5 miles as you know that's the minimum distance for state transport aid were the state to waive this distance requirement for rcsd it would remove one of the factors that impacts parent school choice this would reduce state transport costs freeing the state to use that money towards the 86 million it owes rcsd a year in foundation aid also in finding 37 you
024touch on charter schools and indeed your charts show the destabilizing influence that charter schools have had on district enrollment however i'm wondering why the recommendation is not to terminate the financial relationship between rcsd and its competitors your recommendations relate to deficiencies at charter school level which your responsibilities are oversights for these organizations i would ask that the recommendation be to remove the administrative burden to a more appropriate agency allowing the rsd to better meet finding one focusing resources on the acceleration of student achievement in the district i make these comments not to deflect from the very serious uh check changes that need to be made at district level but to acknowledge the hard truth even if the district is financially immaculate it cannot bridge the gap between a financial investment um now if it's okay
025i'd like to move on and i have some comments related specifically to the academic plan again i just want to reiterate that i am not speaking on behalf of educate action for education equity these comments are my own and not action for education equities um so i do support the structural reorganization and respect that you have significant expertise in this area but i do have some concerns about the plan put forward when we discuss chronic absenteeism and right sizing of the district we must understand the many external destabilizing factors which make up those numbers so for example when we look at the influx to rcsd when they absorbed 560 multi-language learners from hurricane affected regions virtually overnight the district had to make room for those students and provide the supports needed those students academic performance
026will also immediately come under rcsd's statistics respite uh despite them being entirely new to the district we have a significant transient population and virtually unending flow of students moving out of the district to charter schools and then back into the district from charter schools it's not clear to me and your recommendations a robust strategy to address that though i do recognize that a virtual academy is part of that solution um i see our school district as a boat in a storm your report report focuses on asking rcsd to stop the boat from rocking when they have no control over the wind and the rain which is causing the storm but you dr jallo you do have some power over the wind on the rain um i would ask your report to be more bold on
027the role that rochester city our suburban districts monroe county and the state play in delivering a quality education to our children i see no recommendation regarding monroe county-wide infrastructure to divert students to other districts to prevent concentrating students with significant need in the rcsd um i see your report you comment on rcsd staff you commend them for their efforts to provide for families during the pandemic but my concern is there's no discussion of what agencies should lead that effort how can teachers be accountable for student academic achievement if the district is acting like a giant social safety net without leadership from other agencies in your report there are 26 uses of the word accountable or accountability without agency without autonomy and without investment is simply scapegoating the district needs to change there is no doubt
028about that but the state county suburban districts and city need to recognize that actions like arbitrary threats to withhold funding profit-based contracts with rcd failing to address systemic racism and failure to lead in removing the barriers to education which are under their control mean the rcsd cannot focus on its cold mission your six minutes are up thank you very much for being with us this evening our final speaker this evening is mr peter berkin mr burkin you signed up to speak for both the academic and financial hearings so you also have six minutes mr berkin with us good evening would you please unmute yourself you have six minutes and your time begins now imagine for a moment when everyone goes back to school and everyone getting along raise your hand if you've ever been affected
029by bullying or know someone that has so have i that is why i'm so passionate about bully-proofing people i'm peter burkin i assist city public schools are having difficulty with bullying what i understand is students are being bullied frequently not attending school suspended and not passing readings exams excuse me what schools are seeking is students graduating i spent 22 years as a teacher i subbed kindergarten k-12 i was a home and hospital instructor i taught at school for long-term suspended students i taught at hillside children's center in northaven both jails and as a full-time teacher in secondary general education i'm a graduate of parent leadership training institute i am currently writing a book called bully proofing my mind yes 234 solutions to the problems what what i can do for this district i like to
030offer myself as a bully proofing consultant it would be my pleasure to offer the district a complimentary group consulting session i would love to discuss this further with you but it wasn't always this way for me at age nine my younger brother and i had an idea let's have a rock war and use the shutters waiting to be painted as shields as quick as the idea my dad came into the garage being the older boy he took me and threw me against the garage door he left me hurt frustrated and angry in that single moment i believed i was a bad kid my innocence was lost my fifth grade teacher punched me in the back when i was fumbling through a math problem in seventh grade i got cut from the lacrosse team though these
031painful experiences i discovered life lessons from all the hurt this followed me to set a good example to my students my son i led with compassion and empathy i learned i do not have to do exactly what i learned from my parents i embraced the great things challenged the things i did not like and led with love how many of you want to know the number one secret to being in a healthy relationship with your students focus your attention on all the loving things your parents and teachers taught you and avoid the hurtful things so the secret is i will not relive my past trauma by recreating it with my students raise your hand if you're committed to end bullying in schools and the community again it would be my pleasure to offer the district
032a complimentary group consulting session the time is always right to do what is right martin luther king i'm peter burkin and thank you thank you very much thank you mr burkin have a good evening so the next steps for dr jallow's plan is a record of this public hearing will be made available on the district's website at www.rcsdk12.org under the state monitors page the draft academic plans are available on the district's website and we encourage you to review them and answers to any questions that were not addressed in this hearing and are relevant to the topic will also be available in in the public record if you have any other issues that you'd like to address with the state monitor please email state monitor at rcsdk12.org and you will receive a response thank you very
033much and have a good evening you