001This regular meeting is called to order. Please rise for the pledge. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. >> Mr. Shelby, please call the role. >> Mrs. Mahalis, >> here. >> Mrs. Click, >> here. >> Mrs. Fuller, >> here. >> Mr. Dr. Achim >> here. >> Dr. Schneider >> here. >> All right. Tonight we begin our meeting with special reports and recognitions. The Aurora Board of Education is proud to recognize and congratulate the following students for being selected by Rotary International as students of the month. From the high school, we have Emily Tomorrow and Xavier Bour. May I have a motion, please? >> Moved. >> Mr. Shaldy, please call the RO.
002>> Mrs. Click. Yes. >> Mrs. Fuller. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Mahalus. >> Yes. >> Mr. Achim. >> Yes. >> Dr. Schneider. >> Yes. >> All right. Students, would you please come forward and get your certificate? >> You want to come all the way around? >> Congratulations. Green standal. You can p You can pose with that. I know how you get one. Congratulations. Is that your picture afterwards? Go ahead and make your way over to the podium. Yeah. We're nearing May and there's so much to celebrate in the greenhouse, especially in this month, but I am especially excited to be with all of you. Aurora High School is proud to recommend two students, Emily Tomorrow and Xavier Bourd, to our board of education as our Rotary students of the month. We would also like to extend
003our sincere thanks to Mrs. Pam Mahalis and our board of education as well as our Aurora Rotary for providing us the opportunity to recognize two amazing seniors. There are so many students in our district worthy of celebration and it is truly wonderful to have the opportunity to highlight their achievements and impact on our community as part of our board meetings. Our first student, Emily Tamaro, embodies the light within our greenhouse, gently and kindly, encouraging those around her to open their hearts. Like sunshine over a field of flowers, her presence draws others in, helping them feel safe, valued, and free to be themselves. Through her example, she inspires a spirit of care and compassion in everyone around her. Whether it be at Princess Prom, NHS Trunk or Treat, the Aurora Historical Society, or in her roles
004as a freshman mentor, AHS ambassador, and Interact Club member, Emily Tomorrow's light and service to others, is inspiring to see. Mrs. Tony Taylor, our senior class advisor and English teacher, echoes this and describes Emily as a rare student who balances highlevel achievement with a deep, authentic kindness that elevates the entire classroom environment. In the classroom, Emily is a joy to teach and the embodiment of an attentive learner. She approaches every lesson with thoughtful focus, giving her full respect to all teachers and classmates during discussions. What sets Emily apart is her intrinsic motivation. She isn't just working for a grade. She is working to master her skills. Her work ethic is truly admirable as she consistently exceeds the requirements of assignments to explore topics with greater depth. She is a passionate learner who leads by example.
005Emily has the biggest heart. She is naturally inclusive and possesses a keen emotional intelligence. often going out of her way to ensure no one feels left out. This optimistic, patient approach to life makes her a pillar of support for those around her. Emily plans to attend Bowling Green State University this fall, and we congratulate Emily on being named an Aurora Rotary Student of the Month and express our deepest gratitude for the light she brings to our greenhouse. She is a student who truly makes us glow. Good evening everyone. First, I would like to sincerely thank the Rotary Club, its dedicated members, and the board of education for selecting me as April Student of the Month. I'm truly honored and incredibly grateful to receive this award. Being recognized by an organization that has done so much
006for students and for our community makes this moment even more special. I would also like to thank my family because I would not be the person I am today without them. They have supported me through every success, every challenge and every uncertain moment. They have always encouraged me to work hard, stay kind, and never or sorry, never give up on myself. Over the years, they have instilled in me the morals and values of respect, perseverance, compassion, and humility. Everything I do is built on the foundation that they gave me. Throughout high school, I have been involved in the National Honor Society, the Interact Club, Fresher Mentors, and Age as Ambassadors. These experiences have meant so much to me because they have shown me the importance of giving back whenever and wherever I can. They taught
007me that helping others doesn't just impact the people around you, but it changes you, too. Serving others has helped me grow into a more grateful, understanding, and compassionate person. One of the clubs that has impacted me the most has been the Interact Club because it gave me so many opportunities to volunteer within my own community. Being able to give my time to causes that directly help the people around me has been incredibly rewarding. It made me realize that community service doesn't does not always have to be something huge to matter. Sometimes even the smallest actions can mean the most to others. Being a freshman mentor has also been very personal to me. I remember how overwhelming the transition to high school could feel. So, being able to help younger students like me through the same
008challenges was something truly I that I truly valued. If I were able to make even one student feel more comfortable, more confident, and less alone, then it was worth it. Another person who has made a lasting impact on me is my 12th grade English teacher, Miss Taylor. She gave me back my love for reading and helped me become a stronger writer through her feedback and encouragement. But what stood out to me most was how she cared for us about cared for us as people. I never felt like I was another student in her classroom. She always wanted updates about our lives, asked how we were doing, and supported us through everything. She showed me that teachers are not just there to teach lessons, but are there to care, to guide, and help students believe in
009themselves. My involvement within these clubs has also strengthened my passion for helping others, which is something I plan to carry with me long after high school. Although my volunteering opportunities through AS are slowly coming to an end, I fully plan to continue volunteering in college. In the fall, I'll be attending Bowling State or Bowling Green State University to major in criminal justice with a forensic specialization. For a long time, I thought I wanted to become a nurse because my mom and my aunts all work in the medical field. Growing up around them, I saw firsthand what it meant to dedicate your life to helping others. I knew I wanted that same purpose. But eventually I realized I wanted to help differently. I found that through criminal justice. I hope to provide answers to people to
010or provide answers and closure to families during some of the hardest moments of their lives. I hope to give a voice to those who can no longer speak for themselves. I've always believed that a person dies twice. Once when they physically pass away and a second time when their story stops being told. I hope through my future career that I can help prevent that second death because every person deserves to be remembered and every story deserves to be heard. That is why Rotary's mission means so much to me through community cleanup, supporting students, scholarship, speech contests, and helping nearly eliminate polio worldwide. Rotary shows how a lasting impact can happen when people actively choose to serve others. Thank you again to the Rotary Club, the Board of Education, my family, my teachers, and everyone here
011tonight for this incredible honor. I'm truly thankful, and I will always remember this moment. Thank you. Good evening. It is my honor to recognize our second uh Rotary student of the month, Xavier Board. When you speak with Xavier, you quickly learn that his aspirations are rooted in both purpose and passion. He sees himself one day returning to the classroom, teaching high school world history and coaching football as a running back's coach, continuing the very impact that has shaped his own journey. Xavier speaks openly about adversity, not as a barrier, but as a blessing, believing that every challenge is an opportunity to grow as a person, student, future educator, and athlete. He carries deep gratitude for the greenhouse, sharing that the ups, the downs, and everything in between have shaped him into who he is today.
012Through his experiences, he has developed resilience, empathy, and the ability to build meaningful relationships, all while pursuing his childhood dream of playing college football on scholarship. But what makes Xavier truly special is not just what he hopes to accomplish. It is who he already is. Xavier is a captain and all-state running back for our football team, a member of track and field and an active participant in numerous leadership and service roles across our school community. He serves as a student liaison for the Aurora schools foundation. He is a member of the superintendent's advisory council, an AHS ambassador and has been involved in both the national honor society and the national technical honor society. His commitment to service and growth extends into education as well, having served as a as a pre- studentent teacher at Harmon
013Middle School and currently at Lake. AHS English teacher Mr. Albrech described him best, sharing, "Xavier is one of the most mature young men I have ever had the chance to work with. He participates in class and the other students really look up to him. What I like most about Xavier is that he's not afraid to try new things." During English class one day, I mentioned that he should audition for the fall play. We're always looking for guys. He actually did and earned one of the spots in our play. This was the first time he was on stage. He did great. That led him to helping out backstage during the musical. He really helped us out and everything ran smoothly. From AHS science teacher Mrs. Bell, he is bright, thoughtful, and kind. He genuinely wants to
014understand the material. He leads by example and does not judge his peers. He goes above and beyond what is expected of him. Xavier, thank you for the example that you have set, for the way you have enriched our school community, and for reminding us what is possible when perseverance is matched with humility and heart. Okay, so um I don't know how many of you board members were here four years ago, but this is actually my second time receiving this award. It's a little bit different because my voice isn't as squeaky and I'm not on a Zoom call, but you know, I'm as grateful, if not more, as I was before. Also, speaking of that speech, I spent a lot of time and Mr. The tour has also spent a lot of time bragging about myself
015and um as much as you guys probably want to hear 20 more minutes of me doing that, I want to change the direction for gratitude. For those of you who do not know, my name is Xavier Bourne. I am a future Aurora High School graduate going to Ganon University to degree or to pursue a degree in secondary education. And I um today, instead of bragging about myself, instead of listing my accomplishments, I have a brief list of thank yous. I first and foremost want to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Without what without what he's done, I wouldn't be here. None of us would be here. I would like to thank the administration, Dr. Milstatic, Mr. Hayes, Dr. Patch, Mr. Baker, and Mr. Torres. Their leadership has shaped my life and my career and
016as well as the lives and careers of all of my peers and we are truly grateful for your leadership. I would like to thank the rest of the board of education for nominating me uh twice. I appreciate that. Um I'd like to thank Mr. Abramovich. Um what you have done during some of the most interesting times in my life as a mentor I will always remember. I would like to thank Aurora High School's office secretaries, Miss Lucas and Mrs. Burgerer. They do all of the unheard work and um it's something that we should all be grateful for. I'd like to thank all of my Aurora teachers from Mrs. Scoffield, my very first class in sixth grade, all the way to Mrs. Mr. Albert, my very last class in 12th grade. I'd like to thank my
017third, sixth, and eighth grade students for always, and I mean always being honest with me, especially when I don't want to hear it. Um, I also like to thank any other teacher or mentor that I've ever had or coach because I can't name the endless names of people that have positively influenced me, but I want everybody to know that they have made an influence on me. I'd like to thank the Aurora High School custodial crew as well as the Harman Middle School custodial crew. When you want to talk about doing unheard work, they're in there at night, they're in there at day, and not just the cleaning, but they're people who spend time with us. I don't think I would have got through our six-hour football practices without, uh, you know, Daryl or Kurt u
018making jokes or, you know, hanging out with us. So, they do all the unheard work. I'd like to thank the Aurora Schools Foundation for taking a gamble on me and, you know, signing me or inviting me to be the first ever student leazison. I hope that my tenure with the Aurora Schools Foundation made a lasting impact in my community and I also hope that we can continue to have student liaison. I'd like to thank all of my friends, my family and my peers including Emily for, you know, always pushing me and always, you know, trying to drive me to be the best version of myself as well as anybody else who nominated me for this honor. I would also like to thank my adversity, uh, Mr. Torres talked about it very well and we did
019not correlate this just so you guys know but my adversity is the reason I am here. My adversity is the reason that I am the person that I am. And adversity reminds all of us that without the lows, without the losses, the wins don't mean as much. And most importantly, I would like to thank my parents and my sister as well as my grandparents and every other extended family. Without the consistency, dedication, love, and sacrifices that you have all made, I would not be anywhere near the person I am today. This award is just as much mine as it is yours. Thank you. >> Thank you students and congratulations on a well-deserved honor. Are we going to get pictures? Couple pictures. Okay. Okay. Okay. While they're doing that, we can move on. Um, we don't
020have anyone who signed up to speak tonight, so we'll move we will move on to the approval of the minutes from our March 30th meeting. May I have a motion, please? >> Second. >> Are there any um edits or comments additions to those minutes? >> Okay, Mr. Shy, please call the role. >> Dr. Schneider, >> yes. >> Mrs. Mahalus, >> yes. >> Mrs. Click, >> yes. >> Mr. Aim, >> yes. >> Mrs. Foley, >> minutes are approved as written. Maybe we'll wait another minute to see Looks like they know that they >> All right. So, now we'll move on to the superintendent's report. >> Yes. Uh I will go first and uh I'm going to have Mrs. Moros actually go up to the microphone over there. We'll pull up her presentation. Um board of education,
021I know that uh you were either up here or perhaps in the audience through the last few years of English language arts uh updates from Mrs. Jen Miller, our reading coach, and myself as we went through all the changing landscape uh with reading and dyslexia and all those requirements. Um we're through most of that. Um, however, there is now a math bill u that is evolved and continues to evolve that has sort of been in the works uh for years and it's actually still not finalized. I'll keep talking as we Mr. Hayes gets this rebooted. We're having some technical difficulties with that. Um, so it's it's still not passed. Senate Bill 19. Uh, however, I wanted to have Cara come in uh as our math coach, one of our ma math experts to talk a
022little bit about um what we're doing in the district in terms of just where we are with math and math curriculum. Um but then also connected to SB19, some of which we we uh think we know how it's going to end up. Uh but they continue the legislature continues to add things, take things out. Um and so it's still not finalized, but at the same point in time, since it's just been going on so long, I thought it'd be good for the board to have an update on math, uh just like we've had with ELA. So with that being said, Mrs. Moros, uh the floor is yours. Thank you for being here tonight. >> Thank you and good evening to everybody on the board. Um, I'm going to talk about just two different components and
023it's a brief overview tonight, but the Ohio Mass Plan is one component and then there's the legislation that's right now sitting in the House and we're waiting to see some of the final details. So, oh, clicker. There we go. Ohio now has a vision for mathematics and it's to empower students with the confidence and ability to apply mathematical concepts, procedures, and reasoning enabling students to thrive in a variety of contexts, life experiences, and career pathways. So, this vision is outlined in the Ohio math plan which was released this June, this past June. And this is actually a beautiful document. This was put together by an advisory council of over 30 members which included administrators, instructional coaches, teachers, um people from math organizations like the Ohio Council of Teacher of Mathematics and all of them they
024were interviewed several times throughout the year working on this plan which was released and I will say that it absolutely aligns with our vision of what we want for kids and Um, a three of the pillars of that Ohio math plan are high quality instructional materials. We don't just want teachers grabbing things off of teacher blue teachers or um Pinterest or we want actually evidence-based curricula like we have CPM at our our middle school. We have bridges at um Harmon and we have an innovative design at our K2 um with a mix of curricula. Then it has a second pillar of the math plan is effective teaching strategies and that's the how right we want to know what's the implementation of that curricula. You can have great materials but if you don't know how to
025implement them effectively then they're going to fall short. And then last is that component of professional capital that we need to provide development for our teachers whether it's inside or outside of the district. And that's um speaking the same language from principles to coaches to um uh teachers within the district that we're all speaking that same language of that vision of mathematics for all kids. >> Sorry, my clicker's delayed. >> Oh. There we go. So the component of the effective teaching practices is really if you have to think about when our most of our experience with mathematics was about answer getting right it was getting it fast. it was following the procedure that the teacher was showing you and then you'd go practice that for several several problems sometimes more than you ever wanted to.
026Right? Um we know now that we want to focus on more the why behind and give build deep conceptual understanding before kids apply procedures. So that really um puts the heavy lifting on them as well that they're doing the thinking and reasoning and not the teacher, right? So if the teacher showing a procedure, they're doing all the thinking and reasoning and saying, "Okay, do what I just did." And we don't want that. We know now that there's more than one way to effectively solve a problem. There's many um variety of efficient and effective ways. And I've been most recently coaching in first and second grade classrooms. And I am blown away about all of the strategies that they apply when they have strong number sense and the ability to share their strategies um and working
027with the teachers that are providing that um intentional um pattern dosing of giving them problem strings and number talks. So I mean literally I saw second graders applying a negative number strategy. Some were uh using removal. when we're thinking of subtraction as distance and all with the same problem and all very efficiently. So, um we know that this is empowering for our learners to do this. Um the eight effective teaching strategies are what teachers should be doing and that's what is outlined up here. If you think of we need to establish math goals to focus learning. So, we need to really set the intention. What do we want students to learn? Then we need to pick really rich tasks that are interesting, right? And those we like to say low floor, high ceiling, like there's
028entry for everybody, but you can literally take it to the moon and back if you want. Um, we need to use and connect mathematical representations. We live in a very visual world now. We can pull up all kinds of interactive um virtual manipulatives. We can also um for them they're we can create they can draw models. We're using a lot of models in um math class today. Hands-on manipulatives, bead racks, 10 frames. So, all of these um help create a visual representation of the mathematics and increase understanding. Um we need to facilitate meaningful mathematical discourse. So, we uh like to think in our classrooms that we have the kids talking about math more than the teacher. And so that when kids are provided um a chance to to share their strategy and then provide evidence
029why it makes sense and then to debate about it, right? I mean, I think none of us really experienced a math class where we could debate and talk. It was a lot the teacher told us and we were to do it. So, and we know that's going to serve them in um everything they do in life, right? to be able to um strategically and critically think about things and provide evidence for why they think that way. Uh pose purposeful questions. So teachers, what a math class might look like now when they're doing that task, they might be giving hints and extensions. And so really keeping the kids in flow based on what they're observing and the interactions in front of them. And so our teachers need to be very masterful facilitators of math discussions. um
030they're providing uh procedural fluency but with conceptual understanding. So we're not just memorizing multiplication facts. We understand multiplication is groups of because if I know that four four time five is four groups of five. That helps me to figure out 14 groups of five because I can think of 10 groups of five plus four groups of five. And those are the types of strategies we want our kids to be thinking about. if they're doing 19 * 5 that they can think, oh, it's 20 groups of five and I just take away a group. So, those that's the flexibility and the number sense that we're um trying to achieve in our mathematics classrooms. Um supporting productive struggle. Sometimes people think that's just like throwing you in and like throwing you in the water and say swim
031or not swim. Uh that's not it. It's really about perseverance, right? We in order to solve complex problems, we've got to build stamina for productive struggle. Otherwise, you just give up, right? And hit a wall. So, what what do you do when you don't know what to do? Um, and so that's the importance of the productive struggle. It doesn't mean that we're just not scaffolding and we're not giving those hints and helping them get to that end goal. Um, and then elicit and use evidence of student thinking. And this is where we use the actual student strategies to build understanding. And that's that consolidation at the end of class that okay, we went and did all these things. I've observed this group do that, this group do that. Which one am I going to pull
032in first and then next to build and create understanding for all now because they might not have all gotten there. And that's that consolidation piece. So those are eight effective strategies. This is in the Ohio math plan. It's a beautiful thing. We have um really nurtured these uh for years. I mean this is what we believe. This aligns with our design specs. Process over product. Learning is social. So these are um nothing uh that we're worried about. These are what so that was what the teachers are doing. These are what this the kids are doing the standards of math practice. So the kids need to persevere and make sense of problems. The kids are constructing arguments and critiquing the reasoning of others. Um, the kids are modeling the mathematics in different ways, whether it's on
033a number line or with equations or with an area model. Um, the kids are attending to precision. So, we're not saying when we say we're not focusing on getting right answers anymore, we still want them to get right answers, but it's just we know the process. How they got there is where the reasoning and thinking lies. And that's a window into where I need to instruct as a teacher because I know where I need to build when I see their understanding. Um so those are this would be what the kids are doing which is the other component and then legislation. So Ohio math plan not not in law not legislation but what is put out by the Ohio Department of Education supported by the math community. Beautiful thing. Then we have legislators uh as kind
034of a spawn of 8 House Bill 96 putting out a math bill now. So that is Senate Bill 19 and the different features of Senate Bill 19. Some good things and some bad things but they took a two-prong appo approach. So they want to work on um basically the reason why they're focused on math. We know prof proficiency in Ohio went down and then it was accelerated by the pandemic, but it is back on the rise. We're slowly getting back to where we were pre- pandemic. But this is kind of to put some safeguards in place to improve math achievement. So they're kind of taking that two-prong approach of like let's look at intervention. Who needs intervention? and our struggling learners and then how do we push our kids on the other end um on
035the advanced side of the spectrum that need a quicker pace and are ready for more of a challenge. And so um one thing that they are proposing is advanced learning opportunities for grades 3 through 5 and then a automatic enrollment to algebra 1 for um our seventh graders to eighth graders based on if they score on one point of data. And this is the controversial point accomplished or advanced on the OST. And so most people in the math paint we look at multiple points of data and you know uh kids are more than a number on one point in one day. So this is you know something that's been up for debate about how they're pushing kids and will they hit a wall and how do we provide for that um scaffolding but we do
036provide enrichment in our grades three through five. Oh that's okay. I got to back up. our technology is not working well. So we do provide um enrichment all most of our teachers now have been um trained to be for gifted instruction as well like most of them are getting that credential as well. So um through differentiation within the classroom and then we have compacted courses in middle school that we move kids based on um how they score on a couple different data points. So that's one element is the automatic enrollment that would be in this bill that they a parent would have to opt out that they would just automatically if they score and also just to know accomplish sounds great but on a test like that that could mean they got scored as low
037as a 60%. So, it's just it's a little mis um it's a little deceiving when they say the accomplished or advanced on the OST. And then the um other component is that the accountability piece, schools that are scoring less than 51% proficient would have to be on an improvement plan. Obviously, that would not apply to us. Um there would be some required uh professional development for teachers much like I'm thinking like they did science of reading but that there would be some math training that would be required. Um and then of course there are uh RIMPS now they're proposing MIPS the math improvement plan and that's for our um kids that would score limited or basic on state tests would then trigger some highdosese tutoring three times a week for them. Um then the last
038component is curriculum control and the state is taking that proposing to take that away from local control that they would uh produce a list of five um curricula that they think is high quality and I don't anticipate that our current curricula would not be on that list but you know the state throws some surprises sometimes but it is one of the most highly used and it is highly rated in ed reports which is something they value that they look at and um uh so we we don't anticipate that's going to be a problem our bridges and our CPM curricula they also came out with five diagnostic um math diagnostics and they surprised us that some of them did not align with the reading diagnostics so um next year we will for the first time ever
039I think have two different diagnostics, one for math, one for reading. Um that's a universal screener essentially, but the state calls it a diagnostic. And we will continue with Ames Web, which is what we um currently have. And then the reading is looking into some different possibilities because Ames web was taken off of their list. So fun times. But um yeah, so the the curriculum control, the teacher requirement, there are some uh licensing things that might change a little bit too because they're looking to um train pre-ervice teachers more, too. So, those are good things. So, those are kind of the right now it uh the House is on recess, but uh they've proposed some amendments and then it'll go back and forth a little bit with the Senate and we're just waiting to hear
040the final details. But one thing is that they'll push the curriculum list possibly to next spring. It was supposed to come out this spring and now they're saying possibly next spring. So, we will find out. But in conclusion, um, in conclusion, we will continue to nurture and design learning environments that we know are best for kids. And that's the effective teaching practices, standards of math practice, our design specifications. Um, we're always we are um nurturing future ready learners, right? who are going to be collaborative, critical thinkers, flexible thinkers, and apply those competencies whatever career they choose. So, like our amazing students that spoke today. And if you have any questions or comments, I'm happy to answer. >> I think it's great that we're ahead of the game in terms of the effective teaching practices, right?
041And you said we're already doing it. >> And um did you say you think that our curriculum will be one of the five that is approved? >> I do. I will be very I I would put money on it, but the state does some really crazy things. >> Yeah, we CPM at the middle school and the high school and then bridges three through five are both pretty well established. Uh curriculum's a great reputation. So we would be surprised if those are not on the approved list when it is finally released. Yeah, big help >> and they're wonderful um curriculum. So, I mean it's it supports our vision and our design specs. So, we don't uh anticipate any controversy there. Hopefully that they will be on the list. They are widely used and highly rated in
042ed reports. So, >> great. Thank you very much. >> You are welcome. >> Interesting. >> Thank you, Mrs. Marilos. >> You are very welcome. Okay, that concludes your report. >> The microphone. Can we grab that? >> Yes, it does. Mr. Hayes is going to go next and talk about uh some professional development day use time. >> All right. So, thank you to Miss Smalls and the board for allowing me to shed some light on our inservice dates that we had in both February and March. And so anytime that the board of education grants us this release time, we want to be clear and transparent about how we're using that time to really continue to effectively uh enhance our students experiences, grow our our ability to collaborate as staff members uh and hopefully, you know, being
043aligned with the green standard. So what I want to do today is uh walk you through what kind of each building did on both the 13th as well as what we kind of focused on on March 6th. So starting with February 13th, uh I first want to give um you know extend gratitude to our our building administrators, our instructional coaches. Uh we really took a decentralized approach to this day. Uh we wanted each individual building to be focused on things that were pertinent that were relevant to their particular building at that particular time of the year. Uh and that that comes with strong leadership willing who are willing to be you know listening to their teachers and put together practices that are uh really meaningful and timely. So, thank you to all of our administrators
044and coaches. Uh, just starting things off, uh, Miller and Kred both used a lot of that time to take a deep dive into their narrative based reporting system. So, for those of you who aren't familiar, uh, Miller and Kredock are using uh, trimester schedules. So, it's not necessarily the same as the the traditional quarter schedule. So, that February 13th date really aligns well with, uh, where where we would fall to give uh, families, you know, really good qualitative feedback. and it allows the st the staff members to really work uh together to develop a lot of those narrative reports. Um then moving over to Leighton really that the focus here was on vertical team analysis. So, the math team mapped out small groupoup instructional strategies based on diagnostic data, uh, while the ELA teams examined
045student annotation and note-taking, uh, which are really just durable skills that are practical all the way through and especially as our kids continue to advance in, you know, the middle part of the year to kind know where they were, where we want them to go by the end of the year. Uh another part of that day uh in the elementary levels was spent where um our special education teams and our really our PK5 MTSS teams got together and as Mrs. Moros noted that our ELA curriculum uh is getting maybe there's different options from uh vendors from the state and we were going to have to potentially pivot what some of those vendors looked like. So we took time during the uh that day to bring a lot of these people together who um administer a
046lot of these diagnostic tests and uh we had two different vendors which one one of them was uh I ready and the other one was called the cadence and so did a lot of training on both of those uh systems so that our teachers could start triing them which they've been doing over the course of the last couple months and this was so that when hey uh we have to make a decision about what type of uh vendor to go with our staff is prepped and prepared to know what's actually uh the best to move forward. So, there's a lot of leg work that went in even well before the February 13th date to be able to bring those things to our staff members to allow people to actually have training uh to go through
047it all. And so um spent hours actually going through that and uh most likely we're probably going to go uh for the ELA component with the I Ready uh as we move forward because like Melo has noted Ames web as web was what we were currently using and that's no longer going to be an option for uh ELA. Uh and then just shifting gears um to Harmon in the high school they spent uh a lot of time uniquely. Harmon really dope into PowerBI data. And for those of you who aren't familiar, PowerBI is a platform from the state which allows uh all teachers to have access to um really detailed score reporting that that's connected to questions on OSTs standards driven so that our teachers can be really really diagnostic. So, uh, another part of
048this, uh, date is crucial because as our teachers have been able to connect with our kids throughout the course of the year, they've gotten to know them, know where they are, then they can go back and look at, hey, how they've been performing. They've been doing some benchmark checks throughout the course of the year. So, they can use the OST platform to do some uh benchmark checks and they can use that data to drive their next steps as they kind of prep for the, you know, next two months, so to speak, when they were getting our kids prepared for those OSTs. Uh so they did a deep dive there and then subsequently aligning what their strategy is going to be like from a different PLC perspective. Uh then shifting gears to the high school they
049did a lot of work on student intrinsic motivation connecting to uh how we continue to help our our kids grow learn especially with a variety of different SEAL needs uh connecting into our MTSS processes. So staff did case study scenarios uh and then they they really got into a lot of UDL which stands for universal design of learning which are really like uh Muriel has actually used a great term of uh you know low floor high ceiling types of strategies. So there's entry points for all of our students to go in and yet uh really sky's the limit in terms of what they can do with some of these strategies. So they've focused a lot of intentional time there to continuously grow uh you know our ability to you know help our our kids continue
050to achieve and grow at the highest of levels. All right. So with that I'll shift to the March 6th date. So where the the February 13th date was really decentralized with a lot of really building specific needs. Uh the March 6th date we kind of shifted and had a lot of uh external uh experts coming in. We also had a lot of uh time for our staff members then to collaborate in their departments in their PLC's to taking a lot of other uh having a lot of uh time to continue to map things out but uh for the home stretch of the year but um this thing keeps going out. Uh but what what I'll tell you first in this ex in this room here we held four sessions from Dr. Emily Moffield who's kind
051of a nationally renowned expert on the world of gifted education. And uh although we use that term gifted education, it's really again kind of connects to universal design and learning strategies, things that can be applied to kids in every single classroom. And there were four different sessions here as well as kind of a uh a catch-all session where people could come in, ask questions and things like that. But each of the sessions was really geared towards specific subsets of our of our staff population. So some that were geared more towards secondary teachers, some that were geared more towards uh elementary teachers. And um we were able to bring uh Dr. from Mofield in through the Jennings grant that we had received uh past year. So it was at no cost to the district. So it
052was great and uh extending gratitude to Becky Quinn, our gifted coordinator who helped make that happen. Um we also had um based on some staff feedback wanting to have some uh legal updates from um regarding 504 compliance. So our staff members are always kind of going through uh you know how to handle certain situations with regarding student accommodations and things like that. So, we brought in one of our uh attorneys that uh we work with uh and she provided kind of a a really engaging uh think tank session in our media center where we had uh members from all different buildings uh from administration to counseling to teachers all coming together to be able to ask questions of their legal team about how to handle specific scenarios. and they kind of she had a little
053bread basket where she pulled out prompts and topics and went through them all and went through different situations and how to handle them uh to be in you know compliant legally and it it was she's really uh engaging and great. Um give me one sec. I'll just reconnect this here. We are actually getting a quote to hardwire this. Uh we've gone back and forth between the wires to the ditto and now we're just going to get another setup and try our third setup for board meetings to make sure that uh this works along with some updated speakers uh when Mr. Aquilla gets that from Shannon Electric. So more infrastructure investment. >> All right. Sorry about that. And then um give a shout out here to Mr. Magleanico, Mr. Torres. Uh they did a lot of
054work with our PAR educators throughout the course of the uh that day. So we brought in uh specialized training to help them. That was something too that came from feedback from our staff of our our PAR educators wanting more robust opportunities to grow within their craft. Um so we brought in some outside experts to really help them continue to have uh more opportunities to grow within their roles. Uh S in the back there as well as uh Chris Greeny with the nutrition group also brought in uh some people to work with our kitchen staff. They did some knife safety training updates. We had some CPR training uh going on. So there's just a a wealth of things happening uh throughout the course of that day. Um but then one of the other things that I
055wanted to touch on the last bullet point up here is just connects to um enrollment and staffing alignment. So this particular day is uh really meaningful because it comes off of the heels of uh our enrollment numbers kind of being done from the high school in terms of registration as well as uh uh our kindergarten registration kind of being finalized at that time. So what that allows us as an administrative team to be able to do is start projecting uh staffing needs and then to take the subsequent next steps and that also involves a wealth of conversations about what are we going to do next so we can be good fiscal stewards for the district while also giving our kids the best opportunities possible. So if we don't have a certain number of students enrolling
056in a particular course that may adjust where a particular teacher is needed throughout the course of the day. um depending on how many students are enrolling uh in you know in kindergarten it might impact you know our staffing needs there how we might have to shift people and that's not just regular teachers that involves pair of educators and so many other subsequent needs throughout the district so that day allows us to be able to break down a lot of that data that information have detailed conversations with each building uh team so Dr. Milst Milstitch and I started out that morning at the high school talking with the high school team moved over connected with Mr. Branovich and the middle school team talked with uh the elementary team as well, you know, looking at where we
057needed to make some adjustments and things like that and where we could go for the rest of this spring and that allows us to, you know, operate effectively and smoothly moving forward. And but that's the type of thing that, you know, we couldn't just do that on the February 13th date, you know what I mean? It's timesensitive and that date is really meaningful for us to be able to do that work and have those good conversations. And a lot of times that that means that a building administrator might then have to might then have to go back and have a conversation with additional staff members and things like that. So truly grateful for having that opportunity. Uh and so just in close uh at the beginning of the school year, we we really stressed about
058uh stressed upon the reset model. That's a a text that our advent team uh read and we've kind of weaved the these elements within a lot of our work this year. So the sense, diagnose, decide, act, and adapt. And so when we look at like this time of the year, the February and March PD days, we'd really look at that as like the acting phase uh where we can analyze data, where we can uh look at new tools like Acadians and I Ready, uh where we can look at OST data and then make adjustments where then we can kind of shift into the adapt phase where then from like say Mar fe late late February, early March to the home stretch of the year, we can then put those practices into play to set ourselves
059up for success, to set our kids up for success to, you know, wrap up the school here. Um, so ultimately I just want to give you guys kind of a sense of how we're using that time, trying to be really strategic and efficient with it. Uh, but we're also incredibly grateful for the opportunity to do all this great work to serve our kids, our colleagues, and our community. So, uh, with that, I'll answer any questions that you may have, but also have to say, go green. >> I have a question from the educators about the Um, >> do they like it? >> Well, they're they're they're vendor assessments. So, they're not the curriculums. So they're they're basically, you know, for example, uh a cadence when we're looking at uh looking at a a student at
060Miller Elementary's ability to speak, they're using like this uh tool where a student is is saying a word. They're listening to the sound and having to track it on this like iPad or touchscreen computer uh based off of what they're hearing and tracking. Um so there's some human error elements that can come into place that I I took a lot of those and you do them in a minute. It's very stressful um where you're kind of you're going through and you you don't want to make a mistake or anything like that. Um but it's also very authentic in terms of you know you're really getting in and hearing what the the the child is doing. Whereas in some cases if a student is just taking an assessment based on a computer where they're selecting an
061answer or something that it might not be giving you the the best data that you you would ultimately want to have. Um, in terms of just general feedback, the from our staff, I Ready allows us to do a lot more and could also be a little bit more cost-effective. So, for example, some of our gifted testing and things like that that has to happen from uh grades two and on uh that we have to use other vendors for, we can actually uh we're in compliance with I Ready to use that as as a tool as opposed to having to pay multiple other vendors. So, that's probably a driving force right now. Uh but there's pros and cons to all of them, but they're basically, you know, uh starting data points and uh you know, we're
062always collecting multiple data points. So, it's just one type of thing and we're seeing where we can continue to grow. Uh we actually started this process before the state was even saying that we had to shift anything because um really a lot of our student performance data we were seeing even using Ames web uh that maybe some of the students that we would traditionally have flagged for maybe needing intervention were not getting flagged that way but that's based off of you know state data and things like that. So which is maybe a little bit more skewed. So even talking with a lot of the the different vendors it's you know they're saying that okay you're probably going to see similar types of uh things. It's not necessarily hey this is as web is is not
063you know having the correct you know assessments or anything like that. So it's just kind of a byproduct of the state but ultimately probably leaning in towards the the ready aspect. >> Yeah. >> All right. Well thank you. Learning about all of that helps I think it helps all of us understand that the professional development really is an investment that does lead to success among our staff and then you know it enhances our student achievement. So thank you. >> Y absolutely. Thank you. >> Okay. >> All right. Financial reports for uh these will be for March 2026. For the month of March, revenues exceeded expenditures by approximately 9.04 million due to the semiannual property tax collections. This increased the general fund cash balance to uh 24.4 million. uh slightly above that but uh through March
064revenues are 3.2% higher than prior year and expenditures are 3.1% higher. Uh revenue March revenues increased 4.5 million compared to last year primarily again due to higher real estate tax collections but as you recall prior month collections were a little lower than normal. Uh so this uptick was to be expected to kind of get that timing of those collections back in line with each other. Um, year-to- date revenue totals a little over 48 million, which is again 1.4 million or 3.2% higher than prior year. Revenue received through March totals 48.4 million or 91.8% of the expected annual revenue. March expenditures increased uh by about $149,000 compared to last year. year-to- date expenditures total 38.5 million which is 1.1 million or 3.1% higher than prior year expenditures are trending slightly higher due to um you know
065some insurance costs and salary costs and again um salary costs are going to kind of increase every year due to step increases percentage increases even though we did have some offsets with uh you know not filling some positions um it just if those positions would be filled it would even higher than what they are currently. So sometimes you don't see that like compared to prior year that decrease, but that's just because again people get the percentage increase steps increases. So you're going to still have those increases, but when we don't fill certain positions, it's just not going to be as drastic as an increase as it would have been. So that's where some of those savings come in. um expenditures through Margin are 38 um and a half million or 73% of the expected annual
066expenditures. Uh the total cash balance for all funds is 26.4 million with general fund comprising uh 24.4 of that total. The district's cash flow improved significantly in March due to property tax settlement receipts and we expect to receive our Summit County settlements in April which will allow that trend to continue um into the next month. Expenditure growth is consistent with expectations and despite trending slightly above forecast, the net impact on the year-end cash balance is minimal, indicating no significant change to the district's financial outlook. Overall, the district cash balance remains consistent with long-term forecast expectations. And one more thing that's not in the reports or this financial report because I got it kind of last minute at the uh Friday, Portage County is going to be sending us a distribution. Um there was some based
067on the letter they sent, uh they are returning a portion of unexpended money from the real estate appraisal fund. So essentially probably over time some of the appraisal fees we've paid um they've uh kind of collected and haven't had to expend some of that uh and they have the ability to refund or return some of those funds. Um so they are choosing to do so now. Uh and we will be receiving $745,656.71. >> Um so that's was a nice little unexpected chunk of change. uh we'll get again not something we will expect or put in the forecast for future years to be getting um but uh definitely a nice surprise uh >> and that was like a a sexual evaluation, right? So once every six years maybe adjustment is is our understanding. We're still trying
068to figure out because this is kind of unusual for them just to give us $745,000. >> Yeah. All all the all the treasures in Portage County were a buzz on Friday when when this came out. So >> it was like Christmas morning. >> Oh, thank you to Portage County. >> Yes. >> Uh yes, thank you to them. >> Um so >> okay, >> we'll see that reflected in future financials, but again not going to be placing that into any forecast or anything or expectation, but good for this year. >> Okay. Does that conclude your report? >> That concludes my report. >> All right. Exhibit D1 is a resolution to approve financial statements and reports. May I have a motion? >> Moved. >> Are there any comments or questions? >> Right. Then please call the role.
069>> Mrs. Mahales? >> Yes. >> Mr. Achim? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Click? >> Yes. >> Dr. Schneider? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Fulwood? >> Yes. >> All right. Thank you for that. Exhibit E1A is a resolution to accept gifts and contributions. May I have a motion, please? >> So moved. >> Second. >> We thank both of our donors on this list. Uh, and may call the roll, please. >> Mrs. Click, >> yes. >> Mr. Aum, >> yes. >> Mrs. Mahales, >> yes. >> Dr. Schneider, >> yes. >> Mrs. Ful, >> yes. >> All right. We have 18 uh personnel resolutions. And if there are no objections, I will take them together. Is that okay with everyone? Um, so first I'll read through them. We have exhibit E1B1, a resolution to accept resignations and a retirement. Exhibit
070E1B2 is a resolution to employee support staff. Exhibit E1B3, a resolution to take notice of expiration of supplemental and extended time contracts. Exhibit E1B4, a resolution to award a teacher a one-year limited contract. Exhibit E1B5, a resolution to award teachers continuing contract status. Exhibit E1B6, a resolution to award teachers a one-year limited contract. Exhibit E1B7, a resolution to award teachers a two-year limited contract. Exhibit E1B8, a resolution to employ specialists for next school year. Exhibit E1B9, a resolution to terminate the employment of a support staff member. Exhibit E1B10, a resolution to approve the introductory appointment of support staff. Exhibit E1 B11, a resolution to provide uh public notice of an intent to uh proceed with a retire rehire. Exhibit E1 B12 is a resolution to non-renew contracts. Exhibit E1 B13, a resolution to employ support
071staff substitutes for next school year. Exhibit E1 B14, a resolution to approve leave of absence requests. Exhibit E1B B15, a resolution to award supplemental contracts to district and non-district personnel. Exhibit E1B16, a resolution to award summer supplemental contracts. E1B17 is a resolution to increase the employment percentage of licensed staff members. And exhibit E1 B18 is a resolution to terminate the employment of a support staff member. May I have a motion for approval, please? Second. >> Are there any comments or questions about any of those? All right. Mr. Saldi, please call the role. >> Dr. Schneider, >> yes. >> Mrs. Mahalis, >> yes. >> Mr. Achim, >> yes. >> Mrs. Click, >> yes. >> Mrs. Fuller, >> yes. >> Right. Resolutions are passed. Um, exhibit E1C is a resolution endorsing the observance of staff appreciation week,
072which begins on May 4th. May I have a motion for approval, please? Second. >> All right. And I would just like to say that I have um written a little note that's going to go in where is it going? >> The pulse on Friday on behalf of the board. So you'll see that. But um just thanking our entire staff. One of the things I I wanted to say at our meeting tonight, which which comes from what I wrote, is that I think one of the things that sets us apart from other districts is the unwavering commitment of our staff to ensuring that all students feel nurtured and are challenged to excel, not only in academics, but also in anything that interests them beyond test scors and report cards. And I I think that that's really
073true of us. And we appreciate each and every one of you and all of you who do the work in the classrooms and behind the scenes. And thank you. Okay. Um, Mr. Shy, please call the RO. >> Mrs. Fuller, >> yes. >> Mrs. Click, >> yes. >> Dr. Schneider, >> yes. >> Mr. Akum, >> yes. >> Mrs. Mahalos, >> yes. >> Um, exhibit E1D is a resolution to approve uh an update to our AI policy. May I have a motion, please? >> Moved. >> Chair Seconds. Um, we've had a chance to review this the last month or two. Are there any comments or questions about it before we vote? >> Okay. Mr. Shi, please call the RO. >> Mrs. Mahalis, >> yes. >> Mrs. Fuller, >> yes. >> Dr. Schneider, >> yes. >> Mr. Akum,
074>> yes. >> Mrs. Click, >> yes. Right. Policy is approved. It's written. Exhibit E1E is a resolution to approve an out ofstate and overnight trip for the Quizbowl team. May I have a motion, please? >> Second. >> Any comments or questions on that? >> All right, then. Mr. Shroy, please call the role. >> Mrs. Fuller, >> yes. >> Mr. Achim, >> yes. >> Mrs. Click, >> yes. >> Dr. Schneider, >> yes. >> Mrs. Mahales. >> Yes. >> Um, and as I said, I think I said this to you, I'd love to have these students come in at some point. I don't know when, maybe they don't want to come over the summer, but at some point. >> Yeah, that would be great. Uh we won't know uh how it happened or what happened I guess
075until uh June, but I can talk to to Coach Walker, Mrs. Annie Walker about that because she would uh she'd love to do that as well. She'd love to bring the the students and showcase that. >> Okay. And we have no discussion items tonight. Are there any board items? >> Okay. Um and then with that, we move into executive session to consider the compensation of a public employee. May I have a motion, please, to do that? >> Second. >> Mr. Shaldy, please call the role. >> Dr. Schneider, >> yes. >> Mrs. Click, >> yes. >> Mrs. Fuller, >> Mrs. Mahales, >> yes. >> Mr. Akum, >> yes. >> All right. >> The board has entered executive session at 8:02. >> Okay. And we we don't intend to um haven't uh vote on anything. No action,
076right? Except >> So, have a good night. See you. >> Have a good night and thank you for coming. Go home. Yes, we'll