001Good evening and welcome to our Monday March 2nd meeting of the instructional policy and student achievement committee for the Akron Public Schools. With us in attendance, we have committee members uh member Harrison and member Jaros, board member Carmela Kelly, and our administrative committee member Dr. Lash. Um our first item of business today is the approval of previous minutes. So moved. Second. All right. Um I also want to make a note. As everyone knows, our district is saving money in every way possible. So, from now on, we do have paper copies of everything we're doing in this committee and I believe other will be following suit. Um we're going to try to have one paper book um in case we need it for reference, but everything else is going to be here in BoardDocs. So, hopefully
002everything for this meeting today is in BoardDocs. Um so, we can access it electronically. It's 2026 and we are committed to moving into the future. Um so, our meeting minutes, I also wanted to know if any um members wanted to review them. They are in BoardDocs. Uh next item up is public comment. I do not believe anyone has signed up for public comment. Going once, going twice. Okay. We do have a lot of items, so I want to keep moving forward. Our first discussion topic is in the under curriculum and instruction and it is about policy 5600 and 5610. This is a continuation from our previous meeting and I believe this is also coinciding with item 4.01. Dr. Lash, do you want to keep it in 4.01 to move on for sake of time? Yes,
003let's move it to 4.01, please. Thank you. All right, thank you. So, then our next item in 3.01 is a Book Doll College and Career Academy update. Thank you, Dr. Monar. Um I will ask Director Ebright. Thank you. Uh good evening, board members and assistant superintendents. Nice to see you tonight. Um there is a handout, I believe, that is in your folder. Correct? Yes. And we will get that put up on BoardDocs after the meeting. >> [laughter and gasps] >> So, uh I think last month we were supposed to There were some questions around just some updates of where we're at mid-year with the cosmetology program, knowing that we had some design changes uh that were issued from the state right before school started uh and that our seniors were still finishing the full cosmetology
004program over at Book Doll. Uh and we currently have 12 kiddos still enrolled in that program. Actually, 11. One just left the district, so we're to 11 in the senior uh cosmetology full cosmetology program at Book Doll. So, there were some questions that came up and just where they're at. Um we have been meeting with the team regularly, including the teacher, uh sort of getting updates on the hours and the status of how the students are doing. So, the table that you see on the front of your page has the um 12 students uh that were that were in the program that are in the program and their current number of hours and where they're standing as of mid-year. These were the January hours. Uh February just closed, and so the teacher is working on
005February hours now. Uh has until about mid-month to submit those to the state, so when those are ready, we'll update this document and republish it on your Friday notes, so you can see where they stand in the most recent month. Does that make sense? We did redact their names, obviously, and they included some notes about their standing and how well they're doing, um and any concerns about them finishing out the year. Are there any questions about that first box and how it's laid out? Why don't you go ahead through the whole thing and we'll save all questions for the >> Sure. And then uh the other thing that we've had going on is the half-day program design, extended day. This was our attendance intervention piece, as you are aware. We talked at length about the
006number of hours that students need to complete for full cosmetology, which was 1,500, and we have a total of about 1,789 total hours that is available for them to achieve. So, we need to see their attendance rate at a certain percentage so that they're making all those hours and completing their uh remote learning modules and getting credits in the courses like chemistry um and English that can apply towards their uh towards their skill sets. So, uh with those things all together, we have about 1,789 hours, as I said, uh and we know that some students were having some difficulty. You know, if they miss a couple weeks, they get behind pretty quick. We have a snow day, uh a snowmegeddon, and they lose those hours. Lots of things can contribute to why students could get
007behind on their hours during the school day. So, having that extended time where they have someone there uh that she comes in at 1:00, she stays until 6:00 p.m., so she's there 5 hours a day with the students um and is able to give some makeup time beyond the school day, and that's been working out really well. She did start and spent the first month uh 3 to 4 weeks of school working during the day with the students. The schools, the teachers, and the administrators, and I felt it was important that she had time to make relationships with the kids so that they knew her and who they were staying with, could get to know what their needs are, to work with the teacher and diagnose each and every student and what was happening with
008them. Uh and then the first week she was supposed to start the full program was snowmegeddon week, so she got a little bit of a delay, but she is up and running, and uh she's having about 12 students now a day have been showing up and taking advantage of those supplemental hours to get themselves back on track. So, I'll be interested to see when those January hours officially come in the impact we've been having with that as well. So, we'll be able to let you know that. We also have some other items that we're working on designing there. We're looking at a summer learn and earn. If you recall last year, we were able to do that program with a group of students helping them recover credit through a project-based, work-based learning initiative. And they
009were students who were greatest at risk in our in our in our in our school systems for not finishing school on time. We had about 50 kids that went through that. We want to replicate that same program again this summer, but also expand it for our cosmetology students. So, one of the problems that we have with them coming in the summer is that they want to go get jobs and work. And we would like to build out an internship this summer that would be available to our cos students so that they can come in, get those internship hours under their belts, continue working on any additional needs that they have while they're working a summer job for us. So, we're thinking about how we could design that as a project that kids can work on
010together, a public service project. Maybe they're going to do the middle schoolers' hair and nails and get them ready for school and come back in the fall. So, we're looking at something like that for them what they think will be fun, engaging, and valuable for them and keep them in working on their hours. We're also been talking with the University of Akron CTE Early College. This will be a couple years out as students get licensed, they can be eligible if they're taking CCP in English, math, science, and social studies to graduate high school. Though, this is really cool. It's a super cool with 30 hours of an associate's degree in CTE education. And they specifically we specifically talked about the licensure program at cos for cos as one of the areas we'd like to try
011to focus that on as well as a couple of programs around the city. Um but looking at how that could be an option to fully graduate not only as a licensed cosmetologist but as an associate's degree in cosmetology as well. Um we are looking if it's possible depending on how many students are enrolled this uh for next year. Um this program can only have 75 students. That's the max allowable by state. He's approaching almost that number. So I was hoping that if he had a few open seats that we could offer it up to a few other students who may be interested in Transy so that we have a completely full program and maybe there's other students um who haven't been able to enroll there that we can see about getting them transportation to take
012advantage of the program and just try it out and see how that might work. Uh but again, they're finishing up numbers right now in enrollment. So as we get those answers, we'll be able to see what availability could be um on deck. So some design options for growing the program um and having uh giving the kids every opportunity they have to accomplish what they need to. Um on the backside, uh there are some other questions that have come up I think since last month. Um >> [snorts] >> the uh principal is looking at some scheduling options and adding some uh more time during the school day. Uh our seniors do get early release and I talked to the teacher some of those if they were eligible for early release, they have been staying and getting
013extra hours in the cosmetology program now. So that's been really beneficial for some of those students that had the free freedom in their schedule to take advantage of that. So that has been happening. Um we will be submitting the cosmetology uh design hours for next year's program which we do every year about April. Um and uh our hope is this summer with that extended time. One of the things that came up which I found interesting was that I heard that the kids get a lot of test anxiety and that they they need that extra runway and they want to do some extra prep with them in the summer. So they felt that even if kids were close to or ready with their hours come June that they would still like to have them in, get
014them practice, run them through some modules, get them ready for the assessment portion of the test, rather than just saying, "Okay, you finished your hours, let's take you down to Columbus." And so, part of that summer learn and earn could be incorporating our graduating seniors in that as well and helping them out. So, we're looking to take them down for state testings mid to late summer so that we give them a longer runway to get ready for the test and be prepped for it and so that they can feel successful. So, those things have all been going on. Um there were some other questions around the ins the hours and I've reiterated here that we do have, you know, an extra 289 hours built in the schedule as it is. And again, part of the
015major problem is just making sure that students are there on time and able to take advantage of it and we don't have major events that set us back. Um And then the same thing around, is there a daily schedule allows students to earn the required hours? No, there's not a need. There was I think a question, do we need somebody during the day, another teacher during the daytime? I don't think that that's going to help. I think the extended hours after the school day is where they really needed more time with the students. Having another person during the day, you're still going to have the same issues, right? It's just having two people in the room. So, having the extended day has really been beneficial. The kids are expressing that it's helping them out the
016as well as the principal, academy principal, and teacher. And yes, I think we have the cur corrective plan moving forward. You know, the State Board of Education's going to have to see if they want to reapprove us for a full cos program. What they want to see is that we're producing licensed cosmetologists. So, I'm hoping in this list of students that we'll have a good group that are ready, especially given some extra runway this summer to finish and get prepped and feel confident to go take their test. We'll take them down in a CCAA van or two and have a they want to go down the night before. I want to tell you that cuz they don't want to wake the kids up at 5:00 in the morning and drive them to Columbus, so they
017want to drive down the night before, get a good night's sleep, get a great breakfast, and go test that day. So, those are our plans right now for cause and what we're trying to to do. Okay. Anything I can clarify for you? Thank you for that and I know it it felt like an auctioneer but it was so much information and to get in the to board decks for the rest of the board. I really appreciate this and maybe in the future even to like scroll down in a quick share might have been helpful for any viewers on YouTube. [clears throat] But with that, so much great information. Are there any questions from the committee? Member Harrison. Thank you, Madam Chair. I have a couple of questions on the September 2nd instructional policy meeting, there
018was a discrepancy in the number of hours. Um And so in that discrepancy, it seemed to be pretty significant. >> [clears throat] >> Not not significant discrepancy but um if there was or if there wasn't, seemed to be pretty significant. I know you had a number and the building principal had a different number. So, does this number reflect that the principal and the district got together and and determine that this is the correct >> think she just was going off some old information when she first said that because it when we initially did hours, we were missing something and we had when we worked with the state, we were able to correct that and I think that she was thinking of the old hours when she was thinking we didn't have enough time that we
019needed during the day. But I did talk with her after that meeting. We went through the sheets and she was and she remembered that she had received the new hours and was I'm It just I think was a confusing moment in that discussion. >> So in September I'm just going to go back to the September 2nd and and in the line of questioning becomes we went a significant amount of time without having anyone eligible. Okay. So so that's different if they didn't pass the test on the first or second time, but we went a significant amount of time without students eligible. And so as I look at the 11 students here now given the date that we are in the the academic year now from today from March 2nd through the summer how many hours
020can be acquired? How many hours are left? Well, yeah, and it's going to vary by each student. Some of them are finishing up some of those yeah. >> itself. >> Well I would say probably 250 left in the hours during the day and then they have their extended time for their remote learning modules that some of them are still completing. So it kind of depends on how far they are. That's why where they're at in that. If if they've all done with that then they're just >> Okay, I'm just I'm just looking for the available amount of hours not specific to any student but okay from March 2nd through >> How many hours of class time do they >> all August 1st. What is the available number of hours that can be accumulated? >> Yeah,
021I can get that calculated for you and get it to you. I don't know offhand exactly how many classroom hours of time they would have left in this school year. If they're halfway through you know, it's probably about 200 I would say is where they're probably would have to finish up in the daytime hours. So with the extended time I see the the The is here from 1 until 6. Yes, sir. And so, at what point at what time does extended hours start? At the conclusion of the school day, so when the students are dismissed, they report to her about 3:30. Uh so, they have about 2 and 1/2 hours then after the school day to work with her. Uh she comes in at 1. One of the reasons when we designed for that position
022was we the last block of the day are the 10th graders. And we felt that if we could make sure that the 10th graders had a really strong start and were really had an extra like layer of attention that they would have that strong foundation going into their junior and senior year. So, that she starts a little early to work with the newest people to the program. Okay. So, we talked about this September 2nd and I see she started December 9th. Is there a reason that we have that 3-month Well, there was a there was a a quite a bit of delay between the posting and what kind of posting and what kind of position that we could place in there and that went back and forth quite a bit um between labor and the
023uh HR department until we settled on the position that we were able to fill and then uh she uh the posting went out. This particular person uh received their had was a licensed cosmetologist but got their cosmetology instructor license as well during that time waiting for us to have it posted and then hired and and put into a position. Okay. Um so, you'll get the hours the available um hours that the hours from from now until the end of Let's say Let's say August 1st. That's available to the students. Mhm. And and when we're looking at the status, I guess I'm looking at and I see good good good, but then when I look at the hours Mhm. uh I see not good, not good, not good. Yeah. Um so um yeah, if we can
024get the available number of hours and um then we can go from there. Thank you. Any other questions from the committee? I have one clarification. So, it says we're submitting the program design approval uh to the board in April. Um when should the board anticipate an update and then the follow-up question I'll just tell it to you all now. Um what does administration need from the board to support this? So, yeah, we are each year in the springtime we'll submit our once the master schedule's ready and where we know everything falls and all the hours, we'll submit the program designs to the state then they have to approve them. Um usually they approve pretty quickly and they did approve quickly last year, but as you recall it was 2 weeks before school where we got
025the letter that they changed our approval. So, uh the state board of cosmetology kind of makes, you know, that timeline and so we might be a little bit at their mercy. As soon as we know something from them, as we get answers, we'd make sure that you're informed of that. And part two of your question was? What This is where you get to make your ask. Yeah. >> [laughter] >> We we we don't approve here, but we want to hear it. Yeah, we would love We would love to be able to move back to the full cosmetology program given the design and the outcomes have been aside from the licensure have been very strong. Um his And of course tests are really well, the work-based learning hours and internship hours are are the highest uh
026in in any of our pathways. They're doing really well in those regards. So, I'm hoping those other factors can come into play and that I'd ask that we could advocate for that. That would be a huge help. Mhm. Yeah, one. Member Harrison. Thank you. So, um I I and I understand we are where we are now. Um but to go to a hair design from a full service cosmetology for me it's lowering the standards so we can meet the standard. If we have to come up with a plan. Um, something that we can articulate, something that we can show the public that this is where we are, okay? And until we get to where we need to be, we're we're going to do hair design. But the program was designed um as a full cosmetology
027program, and I think that the purpose of college and career is high wage, high demand or high demand, high wage. Um, and and I I just don't agree with dropping the standard because we could not provide enough support um to meet that standard. And um so I would ask that we we we get those numbers of hours and that we also submit a plan um that we can look at and we can articulate um of how we get back to the full service as it was designed. Absolutely. Thank you. Member Kelly. Marci Marci, thank you for that presentation. That that is a lot of information. I am I'm curious about what efforts are being made to include these students' guardians or parents cuz this is a large this is a big responsibility. >> It is.
028And commitment on their end as in regards to us them being responsible to to gain the hours that they need to even take the state board. Yeah, there is a certain level of responsibility when you go into cosmetology in particular because of all of the requirements that you have to meet. It's it's uh multi-faceted and can sometimes I think uh be a little overwhelming for a student who's, you know, 15 making that decision. Um and making sure that their family feels well well informed. And so we did work the last couple years for family involvement nights, launching them in the program and when they select the program understanding more clearly what it means to select this program and what your requirements are going to be. And how to take advantage of the extra supports when
029they're needed in summer hours or extended day hours. The independent work that has to go into it because the remote learning modules are independent. You do have to complete those. They're not They can't be part of the school lab hour time. They have to do those things independently. So there's a lot of requirements that students need to understand. So we have two documents that we have this year, one for the cosmetology program and one for hair design program that outlined each year's requirements and the minimum number of hours students are expected to gain each hour in order to maintain success and be on track. And then the parents had to sign that. The student had to sign that. The teacher sends home now monthly reports. He meets with the students regularly and they see where
030their hours are at but then sends home also monthly reports to the families and so they got a sense about where their students are being successful or where they might be falling behind. I think it's really great that we have so many students that are getting that are motivated enough to stay after and be making up those hours and I think that the family involvement and them being really well informed about what the program means has been um foundational to making sure that that's being successful this year. Thank you. Mhm. All right. Thank you. And moving on because we do have about seven more things to get through by 5:30 so the next meeting can start but this is one of my favorite topics every year and I've already had so many parents come up
031to me asking about this because programs from other places already open and filling up. So, please tell us about summer programming. [laughter] So, you know, this is the time of year and you know, we at one point we had, you know, dozens and dozens and dozens of things that are happening and we try with every dollar that we can stretch in every fathomable way, whether it's grant dollars or partnering with other organizations who can bring their their talents and resources to our students. Tiffany Lundy is my CCA extended learning program correct and coordinator and she makes sure that she wraps her arms around all of this and she works closely with you success summits as our liaison between APS and them and the providers that are there. So, we have a lot of work that
032goes on back and forth in the in that department or in that area. So, and as we look into this summer like every summer, we start planning when in August for next summer. It's not something we can rest on, but what always gets now we get to the point of this year where the dollars that people have to spend start becoming free. We have people establishing their staffing for the summer and what programs that they can run. So, this point in the year is where things start coming in fast and furious as far as the availability. So, we know we have some standard things in our mix that we do for all students and those are listed there in that confirmed programming because we know we repeat those things like the third grade reading Academy
033that we'll be doing indicated on here approximately how many teachers we will be hiring for that. And I I did that because one of my questions to you all is that these come through fast. We're not always going to be able to send people to subcommittee. We're hiring quickly. We're getting teachers confirmation for summer. And then there's always a couple like a two days before summer starts, somebody will say, you know, I'm sick. I can't do it or something happens. We have to replace them on the fly. So, this is, you know, turning around very quickly when we have teachers. Extended school year always happens every summer from office of school improvement office of special education, sorry. And they are working with extended school opportunities for students with special needs. Level Up Academy is replacing
034the old mystery camp is replacing the old pre-fall. >> [laughter] >> That's for all elementary age students and they will be able to attend, you know, first grade through fifth grade rising first graders through fifth graders have their Level Up Academy. Which is a two-week Academy. We hire about 87 teachers for that to do some enrichments with students. It was moved this year to June instead of August. So we're running everything in the elementary will be happening in the elementary during the June window. We always do a summer swim program for elementary age students. So some of those things are things we do every summer. They will require teachers. They will require vendor contracts to go out and those types of things will be coming to board and will indicate that they're for summer programming.
035Our middle school July camps, our adventure camps are on deck again for this year. Camp Invention is an outside provider, but they have a long standing engagement with our with our schools. They but they hire their own staff. We just help them coordinate space inside of our schools. Of course credit recovery and advancement for our high schoolers and we will be doing summer work based learning again through job. And we do a bridge program for sixth grade. So those ones we know are standards. Meat and potatoes of our summer programming and then the the items down below are other things that we've done when we've been able to free up dollars and establish where things are coming from. The cosmetology camp, techy camp, Gilby's Garden, all those things were in the process right now of
036just making sure we've got the funding in place and the windows of time in which the staff will be able to do those things. So I listed some of those that we'll see coming up. There may be something else that pops up. I I some emails come in today of some people that wanted to provide services for our students Um and then Ms. Landy will start adding them to the list of of available services. So there's a timeline right now but we'll see those you know contracts and summer staffing. You might have saw some of the postings went out last week for summer. So as those people get placed and hired we start turning them around through HR to send to board and indicate that they're going to be working for summer. We also will
037have you'll see people on paraprofessionals. We often need them throughout the summer as students come in who have special needs. Uh or interpreters you know that we would be hiring paraprofessionals if their IEP says that they need it and that we can make sure that they have full accessibility to any summer programming that they may be involved in. And we also ask our paraprofessionals to help run our office because our secretaries like to take the summer off you know. So we need somebody to help run the offices. So they come in and they do that extra work for us. Um That's probably the meat and potatoes of that too. Was there anything any questions about what's going on with summer at this time? Member Dress. What is the current budget for the summer program? I
038[sighs and gasps] think I I think I have about $180,000 total. And we reduced it from 280 from last summer. Okay. So we reduced 100,000. Okay. And that I want to take those I'm sorry. Go ahead. Mr. Dress, the that does not include the extra programming like third grade reading academy is a required program that we do at elementary ed houses that. Um credit recovery for our high school students comes out of secondary ed and so they have their own budget for that. So we do keep track of where all the dollars are coming from whether we use general fund dollars or grant fund dollars in our summer. And now are Are specific programs? Can I recall 2 years ago or so helping with Firestone having a summer camp program. Does each CLC, each school
039provide some form of summer programming or camp or a leadership camp, things like that? Not necessarily. Usually most of the big things that are coming through the district come through us. Um we will see some of our uh for example, robotics teams might come in and do some things in the summer where they have a special team at their school. They will still come through us and I would still fund that out of my general fund for our summer experiences because they wouldn't have any other way to do that, but uh so that as those things kind of come about, we pay attention to those. Um schools that have JROTC programs uh often do summer leadership with their ROTC kids in the summer, so uh we would capture those, too, and that's some of that
040dollar Those dollars I have help fund those things as well. Um and occasionally there's something that happens at a school, but it it might be that uh they have an existing relationship and they just uh haven't told us necessarily about it and they're just continuing something that they've been doing during the school year with the kids. You know, if they have a bowling league and someone's been doing a bowling league, they might just keep doing the bowling league and they just don't let us know. Member Harrison. Thank you, Madam Chair. Do we actively look for partnerships, say something a a a camp and and and they don't have a place to um offer their camp and and so we have buildings, we have these community learning centers. Uh do we look for those opportunities? Yeah,
041so that's part of the work that Tiffany does with YSS is that that connection with them because uh Youth Success Summit has convened all the out-of-school time providers in the in the city as much as they probably have almost all of them at this point. They talk with quite a bit of them. And they're sort of under this big umbrella, which has been great because it's hard when 100 people come at you wanting to do something and and being able to work through one organization to get all the information out. So, uh she's routinely holding meetings with them, showing them how to schedule their uh their CLC space, and walks them through that process. Um if they become part of our umbrella, we sort of um then put them in our whole um Can I
042Can I stop you and and How many people do we have on the outside that we're providing space and they're providing the technical details? How many do we have currently for this summer? Currently for this summer, it's going to be right now it'll be the the students in the Adventures Camp middle school programming. That That's where we focus our efforts. And they're expanding that. So, that's a co-design between our teachers and the the youth providers uh to provide an uh an enrichment {slash} academic opportunity for students. So, that's where our big our big focus are. And then as this other ones come in the spring, they'll work with Tiffany to get online. But as of right today, I don't have them right today. Uh I know the ones for Adventures Camps that they're they're working
043through that. The um other ones that they'll approach us and say, "Hey, we've got this summer opportunity." Like the zoo will say, "Hey, we're doing this summer thing." And then we'll work with them. But a lot of them are in design as well, too, for their summer. So, as soon as they let us know, we start to incorporate them where it's appropriate. Any other questions from committee members? I have a whole bunch. Um thank you for all this information. It's very helpful to see on here not just the programs that are confirmed, but programs that are potentially on deck. Because I think a lot of the questions that families are asking, um like you said, last year there were a number of, especially the YSS camps, that came in later in the summer, and then
044people wanted to register for them. Um it's helpful to see how many teachers that you will need for these. So, I see on here one of your questions how the board like us to identify these items. Um we will communicate to you, but I I think this is a great start. So, we can push these through to make sure everyone can get what they need. Um the questions I have, um are these online or when will they be online and when will families um be able to see not just what what's available, but um as member Drose kind of point out, where they are, right? Which locations these are? Yeah, so we time it right around spring break because that was sort of the information. I think when kids are home for the week, parents
045start thinking about summer real fast. So, we start sending home uh all calls, information, flyers to homes during the spring break week so that when they come back, everything's live and they can start signing students up for that. Um I know for third grade reading academy that uh they're working right now on sending out those letters to to students that are invited. So, those will start coming in now. Uh and as we uh we're looking to do paper registration. We will have everything up online on the website again um with all the details so that people can see what's available that's being sponsored by Akron Public Schools or is hap- is happening in our schools. And again, as those things come up, we feature them, we push them out, let people know that there's new
046things that have occurred. Um we try to get as much notification out right there around spring break uh as they return so that they have time to sign up for things and Um thank you. And I know that this is a big undertaking and it is an evolving thing, but I will say that their camps already filling up and so people parents are trying to figure out, you know, do I wait and or wait for the APS camp or do I sign them up for another camp? Um because remind me of the cost of our camps. >> They are free. So, to your to your point though, we we'll have save the dates up. We think we we had a big meeting last week finalizing some of the dates and making sure we had all
047the locations. Um cuz you know, even though we use our CLCs, there's things like paving or projects or new carpeting that's going in. Sometimes those things are happening in schools, and we have to make sure we're not using those spaces. So, uh we think we have all of those things aligned and ready to go. Um and so, as those uh have been finalized, we'll get save the dates up on the website for sure with all the windows. So, people will see what we're offering, and as they come online, we'll keep adding them. Thanks. Yes, and especially if our registration might be a paper registration or communication through our principal, um having one even maybe calendar of what we have and when we're going to have it. Because our camps are so affordable, they're not just
048free, but they also come with breakfast and sometimes lunch. Um and this is a great, safe, and enriching place for our kids to be over the summer. Absolutely. >> um I want everyone not only to see what we have up here, but if you're considering something else as uh Member Harrison pointed out, if you think you could fill one of these gaps and be one of our free summer camps, um who should be contacted? Well, they can email expanded learning at apslearns.org. They can email me. Um if they want to become part of the the YSS network, which is a another great place cuz they'll advertise if you're doing an independent thing, whether it's in our school or at your organization, um they can put it up on there as well. Uh you know, we
049can't advertise for every single kind of organization around the city. That's what YSS does. Um but things that are happening for our kids in our buildings, we definitely want to make sure that we are highlighting them and that uh parents can see how to get involved in those. Thank you. And then, the last question, a parent that has a question should go to their principal first or have an email address uh here first? >> Yeah, and and uh they probably the for right now, the principals aren't going to have a lot of information. We meet with them at their principal meeting this month to give them an overview of what's coming up as well. Um so if it's calling the school office aside from maybe the third grade reading academy which was being invited directly
050from their school. Uh the rest of that would be on the website. Um you know, we have akronschools.com/summer is our website that will have all the in house all the information. Okay. Any other questions from the committee? Thank you very much. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Okay. Moving right along here. Uh we are now in section 3.2. Um instructional personnel and professional learning. And we have a policy update I believe. Yes, thank you Dr. Monar and um >> [snorts] >> she is currently under the weather but Dr. um Chapman uh would be here to present that and so in her stead however we're going to ask uh Mr. Adam Matter uh to come forward and give us um a brief update. Thank you Dr. Lash. Good evening [clears throat] board members. Um so the board
051began a draft of a suggested policy ending March 2025 to replace rescinded policy 2260.04. Dr. Chapman pulled items from the suggested draft to consider as part of an instructional policy discussion around reestablishing uh the integration of our district's lens regarding principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Uh you have a copy with you of the items pulled from those considerations that the board created with Dr. Chapman. Um and as you consider these discussions, you have that uh you have a copy of those items in front of you. Uh Dr. Chapman will obviously be back to discuss further at the appropriate time. Uh but I believe Dr. Lash and Dr. Chapman wanted you to have that in front of you now so you can put your eyes on it and start reviewing. Uh Dr. Lash, did I
052miss anything there? No, that was great. Thank you, um Mr. Madden. So, we present this now again in her um absence and um ask that we uh when she returns that we will continue internal conversations around um what the implications are and what considerations our um academic team has met to um kind of look at these things and also think through um for instance, in like our curriculum uh development pieces that as our um um curriculum adoptions have gone forward, we've been mindful of these things. And so, just want to continue that work. And so, Dr. Chapman uh will take the lead on that and will definitely be back in April to um give an update as to what has happened from what you see in front of you, um what revisions have been made.
053Thank you. Are there any questions from the committee? Thank you. Well, thank you. Um and I look forward to hearing more in April. Okay, moving right along. We are now in section 3.03 um with a quick um update in uh actually member DeRosa's committee, uh a resolution came out about House Bill 42. Um and uh the board passed that resolution and I think this is an opportunity to even though we have passed that resolution to talk about if what the impact to our district might be if the if it does go forward. Thank you. Good afternoon board members. First of all, I want to thank you for passing that resolution to oppose that bill. For those of you who are not familiar with this bill, this bill requires certain state agencies to collect immigration and
054citizenship data, which is something we do not do with Akron Public Schools like other school districts. So, the passing of this bill, the good news is let's go back. The good news is it's still sitting in the state house. They do not have a date to vote it on it at all. So, that's great news for us. There are three concerns that we do have if this bill does pass. And the first one is this will be a bill that does not come with any additional funding. It will be required for us to collect this data and report on this data, which will require our school districts like Akron Public Schools to hire additional staff. The additional staff may be a bilingual engagement specialist, could be additional interpreters to help with this piece. The engagement
055specialist full-time can cost between 73,000 to 98,000 depending on experiences. The other piece that we have to consider is what would this data be used for, right? We don't use it, we don't collect it because we follow the Supreme Court ruling on Plyler versus Doe. And that means we don't collect any immigration status in order to enroll our kids. So, that's another thing we have to look at and trust in our community. Because what we have to remember, a lot of opponents of this bill includes educators, advocacy advocacy groups who have raised concern about the effect of it on our community. And our students [snorts] and our families need to come to school every day feeling welcome, valued, and safe. So, that's some things to consider in regards to cost, trust and environment uh trust
056and enrollment and legal considerations. But, I do want to again thank you to this board for um issuing the resolution to oppose that bill. In closing, it's not about data collections, right? It's about keeping our community, our students, and families safe. I can answer any questions that you may have in regards to this House Bill 42. Thank you. Are there any questions or comments from the committee? No. Well, I appreciate this and I um I think this is a great opportunity for us as we are looking at how we reshape our committees and the purpose and the function of our committees. Um not just to look out for our district, but also use our district information to also communicate for um instead of reacting to policies, we can proactively, hopefully, um not not need to
057react to them, right? And we can maybe uh pass resolutions to oppose them and hope that our representatives can use this information. As our district is looking at making reductions, that's in our last um board meeting, uh our superintendent discussed that we have to make a lot of reductions. Unfunded mandates, 73,000 dollars um and staff and lots of people. And so, this also would hurt programming, and so there are lots of angles in which um something like this could be very detrimental to our district, our finances, but as you stated, most importantly, trust in our community. So, thank you. Thank you. Okay. 4.01, Dr. Lash. Um Dr. Monard, we have a 3.03B. >> Just kidding. I forgot that's a new addition. No worries. And may I also just say um just for the record, thanks
058to Dr. Wynn, our ESL um and world uh studies uh content supervisor. But yes, 3.03B, um I'm going to invite um Dr. Green uh to talk through um a textbook adoption for CCAA. Good afternoon, everyone. Oh, I get to see it on the screen. Yeah, I'll take it. Um so No, no. I can't. I got old eyes. No, it's um don't worry about it. Don't worry about it. Nope. Just sleep. Yeah, it's fine. Um open that up and then open that right there. There you go. Good afternoon, and thank you all very much for giving me the opportunity to share this information and to seek your approval of this recommendation. Um starting last year, we began a curriculum audit of our college and career academy courses. One of those audits included the auditing of our
059finance pathway, which our finance teacher had shared with us um the curriculum that was currently in use was not covering all of the standards and competencies with which students should be empowered if they are to be successful in the finance workplace. As a result, we reached out to Professor Roy Baker at Stark State. He agreed and then at that moment we realized let's have a textbook adoption. Beginning in September of 2025, we assembled a team of stakeholders which included community partners, teachers, APS staff, and students. And together they came, they met, and then they evaluated I believe six different texts that were published by McGraw Hill, the Goodheart-Willcox company, and Cengage Learning. The textbook adoption committee members met and evaluated texts in this pathway. The review was thoughtfully considered and considered all materials, achieved consensus
060on final recommendations in September of 2025, and that information was presented to our CCA leadership team for their approval. Once that approval was given, we then brought that information here. And so the course the textbooks that are asked being asked to be approved by our board are as follows: Accounting Fundamentals by which is published by McGraw Hill, that would be for our financial courses in the finance pathway that is the two 12th grade courses. And then Principles of Business, Marketing, and Finance which is published by Goodheart-Willcox which would be for the 10th and 11th grade courses which are Business Foundations and Management Principles. At the April 6th board meeting, a motion will be made to adopt the above if you say so. And in the meantime the textbooks are on display outside so that you
061can look at it and review it at your leisure. Any questions from the committee? Um, I see on here for the textbook committee information um that this uh is textbooks for the East CLC um on the committee. Um so is this for the ECLC Key Bank pathway? So this is for the finance pathway that we currently have created course of studies for. So this is just so that we can make sure that wherever we teach finance we have the appropriate instructional materials. Member Harrison? So what are we currently using? So right now we are using textbooks that are approximately 6 years out of date. And so we are trying to make sure that we are bringing this up to date. The textbooks that they have um I believe they are old McGraw Hill texts um
062accounting fundamentals. So we're we're adopting the newer version. They're >> [clears throat] >> So so they're out they just got out dated or they were out dated 6 years ago? Um I believe they were published 6 years ago and they're no longer in print. I believe that is the situation that the teacher conveyed once we looked at it. Um it is definitely not in print. But as far as the approximate dates um I believe I believe it's When we looked they were out of date. >> Okay. >> So let me say it that way. So what pathway are we approving these for? For our finance pathway. So we want to make sure that we have again the correct materials to be able to you know provide instruction no matter what building we are teaching finance.
063I'm looking to Have we approved a a pathway, a curriculum, a Would you say no matter I'm going I'm sorry. >> ago when it's college and career academies was first implemented and we did great at course of study approvals and we submitted that to the board. That was back I believe in in 2019. And um at that time the books were sound. But you know, that was 7 years ago and so now the books are no longer sound. So we just did a textbook we did textbook adoptions for all of our pathways. >> just cut in cuz Yes. I'm not talking about the books now. I'm talking about the actual Okay, the accounting is housed at Is this housed in every high school or we're not talking about college and career, we're just talking about
064the accounting classes, the financial classes? I'm trying to find out if we're in college and career or we're in just straight curriculum. So finance pathway is a pathway, so it's a part of career technical education, it's a part of college and career academies. However, because it's adopted by the board, it can be taught at schools if they choose to adopt that pathway. So in getting approval for this text, we are saying okay, no matter whether it's at East, whether it's at Firestone, whether it's at Buchtel, if we teach finance, these are the text that the board has said it's okay for us to use. Okay, I guess that's That was my question. The curriculum is transferable. Yes. >> Yeah, okay. Member Tros. How many books do you plan on purchasing? >> 25 >> Just a
065class set. >> Okay. And is Does it fit within your budget? Yes. Perfect. Okay, thank you. Um So So um this what you have on this sheet here >> Yes. at the bottom, the finance pathway course sequence, the books that you are asking for covers all four of those courses. >> That was the committee being fiscally sound. They wanted to make They said, "How about we get books that covers multiple courses?" And so, the um book by GW, the Principles of Business, Marketing, and Finance will cover uh the courses in grades 10 and 11, and the Accounting Fundamentals will cover the courses in the two uh 12th grade semester courses. All right. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. All right. 5:26. Dr. Lash, I tried really hard to keep us on track. How do you
066feel? I appreciate that, Chair Monar. Um, I'm feeling like we've got a lot to uh to do yet, and so I'm looking at um Member Harrison, but he's he's not giving me any indication one way or the other if he will give us time. Um, but uh Chair Monar, if we at least could um maybe get the update for the uh Jennings relief proposal, as that will be moving along, and it does also connect to our policy 5112 entrance requirements, which has the the update um per law. If we could do that, and then circle back, if that's okay, if we have time, or if someone is so generous to give us a a couple minutes. I think that's a great idea. Okay. Thank you. I'm going to ask um Mrs. Carter to present our
0674.02 um and 5.01. Oh, this is my touch screen. >> All right, I'm giving members of the board chair good evening. I'm doing an update for our Leggett CLC redistricting and since our last update we've continued a comprehensive communication and engagement plan to ensure Leggett families and community members are informed and supported through the process. We've held community meetings at Leggett and Enis to share the proposal, answer questions and gather feedback. In addition, we attended interim pickup at Leggett to engage families directly and provide another opportunity for conversations. We've updated and posted translated FAQs on our website where we have questions and answers incorporating questions raised during our meetings. All of these materials have been shared and remain publicly accessible on our website. We will continue ongoing communication and transition planning with affected families. Leggett
068will also host a family night on March 5th which we attend which we plan to attend and provide additional information and support for people that may continue to have questions. In addition to communication efforts, the principal of Leggett and Enis are actively collaborating to plan meaningful transition activities this spring. Their focus is ensuring students and families feel supported and experience a smooth and successful transition. Regarding next steps, the formal recommendation will be presented on March 9th and will remain on the agenda until March 23rd. Right now there's the proposal is in your in board docs under this particular section as it would read on March 9th. As and then if there's any changes to that proposal as it relates to how it's worded, we would need to know that now so that we can make
069sure that we make any corrections come March 9th. And this ensures the required 30-day review period and presentation at two consecutive board meetings. And so we'll seek final approval on April 13th. Any questions regarding that portion? Okay. And then you see the timeline is there. Okay. >> [snorts] >> Next, we are going to discuss House Bill 140 Don't go ahead. Sorry, before you before you move on to the House Bill, um, I do know one of the questions that's come up is the extended open enrollment for families and there's a Google form for the open enrollment. Um, when does that close or will that close? Have we communicated the end date of that? I think Oh, I'm sorry. So the special open enrollment period will not open until the board votes on the proposal. And
070then Dr. Lash will open up the special enrollment period to provide those families an opportunity. Does that satisfy Chair Monar or you want to know when it will close? I I think parents busy parents want to know when do I need to fill out the form? Do I need to fill out the form today? And if I have a week, what Right. So to communicate deadlines for parents. Yes, and I'm looking in the FAQs just to make sure that I don't get the date incorrect, but in case I don't find it, I'm just for our families to know as Mrs. Carter indicated, once the board we won't open the special open enrollment period until the board approves. And then so it will go live that evening, April 13th. And typically we keep that open for
071at least a couple weeks to so our families have enough time or feel like they have enough time to make a decision. But we don't want to tarry too long because we have to, you know, move kids, make placement decisions and and things of that sort. And so April 13th, I would anticipate it to open and then we will make sure that we do several all calls to those families to let them know when it closes. But I would anticipate at least 2 weeks after that. Okay, thank you. So next we'll talk about House Bill 114 which impacts our policy 5112, Board Policy 5112. This is going to be an overview, but you have our current policy in your packet. I believe it's the second to the last page. And then you also have our
072recommended changes. But we'll have to have another meeting where we have time to really sit down and look at the options that Neola has provided us and make those insertions into the updated policy. Mrs. Carter, um the board does or the committee members do have it. Yes. Okay. Thank you. With the with the with the proposed changes. Yeah, they have the proposed changes and they have the current policy in their packet. Okay, just wanted to >> can look at how it changed. >> [laughter] >> How it will change actually. And so the update is primarily driven by statutory alignment including changes reflected from House Bill 14 and updated Ohio Revised Code language. And so our current policy was adopted in 1998. And so it still serves us well, but it doesn't fully reflect current law
073or the more detailed early entrance and documentation requirements now expected of the district. And so, there are three major shifts in the policy. First, the kindergarten age cutoff moves from 5 by September 30th, which helped me out when my child started school at 4. But now, children have to be 5 years old the first day of instruction. So, that's going to be a big change for our families in the community. And this aligns with current statutory language. And second, the early entrance process is significantly formalized. The proposed policy establishes a structured referral process, defined evaluation timelines, and a required acceleration committee, a written plan, and an appeal process. And third, we are adding detailed documentation and screening requirements, including protections for foster youth and temporary enrollment provisions. The most notable change is the age deadline
074adjustment to the first day of instruction. Additionally, early admission is no longer simply referenced as standards and testing. Instead, it connects to a defined early entrance criteria process outlined in the policy. So, in the current policy, first grade admission includes language requiring teacher recommendation and a waiver committee. The proposed policy aligns more directly with state law by referencing successful completion of kindergarten under statute. It also allows early entrance to first grade through the same formalized criteria process. And this creates consistency between kindergarten and first grade early entrance decisions. So, this slide gives you kind of a side-by-side comparison of the policy in order as it's on as it as it's in the proposed policy. And so the updated policy explicitly requires documentation such as proof of age and custody orders consistent with state law. It
075also outlines temporary enrollment procedures for protected children including foster youth. Additionally, the policy now references required health hearing, vision, and speech screenings while preserving a parent's right to opt out in writing. And then these additions ensure compliance and child protection safeguards. The early entrance section is substantially expanded. The proposed policy requires a formal referral process, written parent permission, a defined evaluation timeline, acceleration evaluation committee that in include specific members, a written acceleration plan, a transition period, a defined appeal process to the superintendent, and this ensures decisions are equitable, documented, and defensible. In summary, um the policy um just as an overview is basically confirming alignment with the updated statutory framework. And again, one of the big changes is the age requirement for our kindergarten students as well as outlining the early entrance uh procedures. Any
076questions? Um thank you, Mrs. Carter, and thank you, Chair Monar. Let me just add this, and I I apologize cuz I I looked down and realized the copy that you have is a drafting copy, but the the copy with what we are recommending for the insertions and the the corrections, that copy is loaded in board docs if you have seen it already and so we'll make sure that you have a paper paper copy of that as well. If if you would like since Chair Monar talked about >> [laughter] >> Really that's because I got a shake of the head from member Harrison to not give you a paper copy, but but it is in board docs. So is administration asking us to move this for a first read to the board policy committee? Yes, if
077that is the flow to the policy committee. All right. Yes. So would someone like to make a motion to move to Any opposed? Yes, member Jeros. Now was there a timeline that this had to be completed by? No timeline member Jeros that I can think of off the top of my head, but we have noticed that other districts have started communicating the change, so we just wanted to just make sure everything is in alignment as we communicate with our, you know, principals to communicate with families and publish things. We want to make sure our policy aligns. Okay. And so we have in front of us is a draft version, but I don't see the actual version on board docs. You don't see it there? I do not. Okay. I don't know if any of my
078colleagues see it. What was that? 5112? >> [clears throat] >> Okay, I will make sure you have it. >> Okay. And I dare say if you want me to walk you through what the changes are I can, but noticing the time I will make sure that you have um the the final draft, if you will. Maybe you don't work here. What? I guess I guess uh Madam Chair, I guess my recommendation would be from a procedural standpoint to delay next month since there's not an urgency to it cuz I do think that as we move forward with these meetings that these need to be in board docs. So, we as board members and committee members do need to be able to read what we're going to be putting on to the general membership meeting. I
079do trust that whatever has been updated is probably just procedural and basic, but for the procedure, I'm going to recommend we table this to next meeting and make sure we have these documents in front of us so we know what we're moving forward to the general membership meeting. Okay. All in favor? I. I. All opposed? None? All right. We move to April. All right. Um I am noticing the time. It is we are taking 10 minutes from our policy committee, but I do believe there is one other update to include and then perhaps we can also save this one for April. Okay. Yes. That's your lash. Thank you. Give me the number, uh Chairwoman. I'm sorry. So, we are moving 4.01 to April. We're moving 5.02 bringing those back in April. And then for 6.01
080Um is that the update? Okay. Just want to make sure. So, um Michelle, uh Mark Waskerns was going to give this uh update um if Mr. Johnson would just come and just give us a quick update. So, many of our families may have um understood that our students uh partici- some of our students participated in um demonstrations and peaceful protests. We do have a board policy that permits that. Um and so, if uh Mr. Johnson can just give a quick kind of some of the uh protocols uh that we followed, Mr. Johnson, and communications that we've sent to families. So, I will I will spare us the the presentation. In summary, um we we have a board policy that allows for our students to do a peaceful protest, um and that provides that allows for
081schools to provide um a safety safety measures for students who are participating in these protests. Um the the biggest I think the biggest thing just to keep in keep in front of us is um that while students are leading these opportunities, uh school administration, teachers, and school personnel do work really hard to make sure the students are safe. Should they leave campus, or should they leave the building to go participate in one of these in some of these protests, um there is a time limit, and they do are escorted out and back in to ensure that their safety is to ensure that they're safe. Member Harrison? I have [clears throat] a question, but I I would prefer you email the answer. Sure. Um do Do we have defined if if they go outside of what
082is allotted for their um protest? Um and and I would offer that every protest is a peaceful protest, and the ones that go outside the peace is not part of the protest. So, I'm going to say the protest. Do we have a defined um way of addressing um if they go outside of what's allotted. It it don't answer it now because then they'll do it and um, but if you can email that to us. I won't. Yes, sir. I won't answer it, but I will I won't answer it here, but I'll make sure you get an email, for sure. I I appreciate how brief it was, but are there any slides that you think would be especially helpful for us to see? Um, I also appreciate you took the time to make them, so. Um,
083say that again. And if I can just say for the record that member Molnar want to see the slides because she's not on her time. So, yes, there there are slides. They're not They're not loaded up here, but I I will make sure that they are available. Just keep talking. Talking. Just I I don't want to stall. And um, yes, if in the future if we could have access to the slides before the meeting or even during the meeting, it would be um, very helpful in helping us prepare and review. Um, but I do appreciate um, the fact that as students are um, motivated um, and to to stand up for things that they really care about, um, but are supported to be allowed to do that in a safe environment that the administrators are
084um, taking care of our kids as they grow into active citizens. And that's what we really want, our active and involved citizens who care about their community and care about their neighbors and um So, thank you for sharing that. >> Yes, ma'am. And with that, because it is not my time and I have taken far more of the legal policy committee as my time, I believe that our plan then for next meeting is 301 Ed Steps. uh policy update from Dr. Chapman. 303, is that this one? That will be That can be 303. Okay. Yes. Um and then 401 uh grant update. 401 will be our quarter three. Quarter three. >> We'll have quarter three uh data at that time. Okay. The So, is the grant part of 303 then? The grant is part of
085303. >> Yes. 303, okay. Um and then in 501, we will bring back 5112, but also I believe you had another policy you wanted to bring to the committee for us to prepare. Y- Yes, and I a lot of items here. Sure board are No, that um so, in addition to that policy, we will bring um foreign exchange policy as well. Okay. Okay. And we are getting a lot of work done and we are trying to be rapid and not uh go into the other committees, um but there is a lot to do and I do also ask as we have 402, another large topic that I think uh we should start discussing in our April meeting is the concept of building consolidation. And so, um as we have our April meeting mapped out today,
086we theoretically could put it in board docs tomorrow. As many updates as the board could have now before the April meeting will help us prepare and help us have questions you know if they're going to be slides, if they're going to be handouts to have them prepared for us and we will try to have an expeditious meeting. Is there any other new business or comments? If we are prepared to adjourn then So moved. Second. Thank you. We are now adjourned at 5:47. Thank you.