001regular meeting of the board of education is called to order please rise for the pledge IED to FL United States please call Mr AUM here Mrs click here Mrs Schneider here Mrs mahalis here Mr sabulski all right we begin tonight's meeting with the resolution to recognize Excellence the Aurora board of education is proud to recognize and congratulate deepy pangorei and Dallas Cole as rotary students of the month may I have a motion please second for deep and Dallas please come up to the front Mr hay go ahead thank you Mr mallis as well as the rest of the board of education for allowing us to shine uh Spotlight on to amazing aora High School seniors we're going to begin tonight by uh talking about uh Deep D and I'll start by sharing some sentiments from
002her teachers who nominated her for rotary student of the month beginning with Miss Caracus government teacher she said deepy is a remarkably positive and kind student always bringing a bright smile to class each day her self-motivation is truly inspiring as she constantly pushes herself to become the best version of herself Beyond academics she's actively engag in her community passionate about sports and deeply committed to her education Matthew teacher Mrs simmerman said deepy is just a ray of positivity she doesn't get bogged down when things get difficult she buckles down Smiles works hard and gets it done her attitude and grit are the reasons she comes out on top but the reason she stays on top is how she treats everyone around her she makes you feel noticed and welcome I was glad to have gotten
003to be part of her story and finally Mrs Linley English teacher said deep de smile warms the room while her personality warms everyone's hearts in class she builds up everyone every one of her peers with her positive energy and enthusiasm for learning as she moves into her future career in medicine her warmth will be the perfect accompaniment to her Brilliance and her patients will be so lucky to have her by their by her side by their side she engages all students around her she is an includer she is the first one to reach out to others to collaborate on a project she is deeply involved in the community Through cultural activities with her Temple and is a class officer she radiates kindness and compassion for others puts her entire heart into everything she does consistently
004participates in class engages and leads small groups and is just overall truly amazing it's my pleasure to recognize deep deep Ang Glory good evening everyone first I want to express my deepest gratitude to the Rotary Club and boy members for this incredible honor the rotary club's dedication to youth clubs and community service is truly inspiring and I'm grateful for the opportunities has provided the impact rotary has on young leaders is outstanding and I'm honored to be a part of that mission for those of you who do not know me my name is DT pungi and I am a proud student of high school this community has shaped me supported me and given me opportunities to grow as a leader student and person none of this would have been possible without my family my dad is
005the hardest worker I know teaching me that with dedication anything is possible his sacrifices pushed me to work harder every day my mom is my rock always encouraging me and supporting me I owe everything to them and I'm so grateful for their love and guidance at aora high school I've committed myself to making a difference as class officer I have helped organize events like senior Beach day and sled day bringing my class together through National Honor Society I've had the privilege of volunteering for princess prom and night to shine um creating Unforgettable experiences for others in greement glob Global I've worked with second graders to teach them about different cultures fostering inclusivity and curiosity one of my most meaningful experiences has been playing volleyball for Aurora as Captain my biggest goal wasn't just about winning
006it was ensuring that every girl felt like she belonged I worked hard to build a culture of unity and support ensuring that the values we created would last long after I was gone representing my community has been an honor and take and I take pride in being a role model for other younger younger athletes one place where I felt a strong impact is in my AP Literature class while I've always been drawn to science this class became one of the most comforting parts of my senior year not because of the subject itself but because of the teacher who made feeling who made learning feel like home Mrs lley has made this year so much better simply by leaning with kind with kindness and reminding every student that they are capable of learning anything the world
007needs more teachers like her and I feel incredibly lucky to have had her in my life looking ahead I will be continuing my studies at the Ohio State University majoring in biology or psychology on the pred Med track my goal is to attend medical school and become a pediatrician dedicating my life to advocating for children and underserved communities and ensuring every child receives the care they deserve thank you to my family for your unwavering love thank you to my school for shaping me into the leader I am today and thank you to board member service educ for this recognition and for your commitment to service leadership and Youth Development aora will always be home and I will always be grateful for the people who have made me who I am thank you and next I'll
008turn it over to AHS assistant principal and 62 special services coordinator Mr Victor Torres who will uh introduce uh Dallas Deep D congratulations next up we're going to honor and recognize Dallas Cole starting with HS English teacher Mrs Lenley the two words that come to mind when I think of Dallas are diligence and integrity Dallas is willing to put extra working to succeed multiple times we have met because Dallas is constantly striving to improve Dallas's Integrity of promoting equality and acceptance through the stop the hate Club as well as his everyday actions will serve him well as he studies political science in the future our world needs more hardworking and empathetic people like Dallas As Leaders next up is from HS music teacher Mr berett Dallas is a wonderful student I've had him in class
009for the past seven years he is friendly and well-liked by everyone he has a great personality and instantly makes everyone feel special that is a great attribute for an aspiring politician Dallas is always willing to help and volunteers for many events he truly does everything he can to improve things for others he is also a very good musician a strong leader and an excellent public speaker he has recently been recognized for his his poetry reading overall he is an excellent person and I'm blessed to have him in my life next comes from HS social studies teacher Mr Price I've been lucky to have Dallas both as a freshman and now as a senior and throughout the years he has remained a positive and uplifting person in the classroom he has an ability to lighten the
010mood actively engage in discussions and contribute meaningful insights into any conversation he always treats his peers with kindness and support embodying the qualities of a great classmate and leader ladies and gentlemen it is my pleasure to present Dallas Cole hello everyone good evening I would first off like to thank the rotary club members Boe for this award thank you for all you do and thank you for providing this award to me it means so much I'd also like to give a very special thanks to my mom and grandma here tonight and my dad who unfortunately couldn't have made it and also my sisters and my entire family that continue to inspire me to make the world a better place one step at a time services that the Rotary Club provides include promoting peace supporting education
011and protecting the environment roting peace is so vital to making our world more unified and I believe it is of the utmost importance and Excellence to strive for a world of Peace supporting education is crucial as every young person should be offered the opportunity to succeed in the most unimaginable and difficult tasks that lie ahead protecting our environment means protecting the thousands upon thousands of intient species that deserve to have a home and be healthy F focusing on this issue is a topic that is constantly debated and must be dealt with so it is incredible that the rotary focus on this as well some of the clubs that I've been involved with over the past four years have been aora Amigos which has given me the opportunity to teach Spanish to students at Leighton also
012Stars which has enabled me to use my voice to speak on opinions and has led me to become co-president helping to give every student a voice and a true chance to be heard I've also been involved in interact club which has given me the chance to help others in need activities that I've been involved in has been Habitat for Humanity where we help paint exciting for a couple homes a couple times rake and run where I ranked LS for ranked R legs leaves for elderly people who were un aable to do it themselves and also princess pommer I was able to use my imagination to dress up as Aladdin and make the little girls happy Sports I have been involved in within the school have been cross country in tennis I've also learned how to
013remain more patient focused and dedicated to striving to achieve my goal I enjoy volunteering and participating and bettering the community because I love being able to help those that are struggling being able to provide for those that have less than us is how we act human giving basic necessities whether that's making turkey baskets for families who can't get them on Thanksgiving or helping setting up Christmas trees in retirement homes or even dressing up as an elf in July for special needs children those have all been opportunities where I was given the chance to make the world a better and more Humane place my favorite class at AHS has been AP US Government and politics thanks in part to My incredible teacher Mr Ruben this class helped create a foundation for what my what my future
014could look like I immediately became more invested in the politics and issues this country fa faces and learn learn more about the Supreme Court cases struggles of our former presidents and how our branches of government work to give us a democracy after graduation I plan on attending college either at pit University or Michigan State majoring in political science hoping to go into law school to study criminal and civil law after law school I want to start campaigning for politicians and work my way up into politics to hopefully run for a house seat or senate seat my goal is to really be able to give everyone of voice to be heard and feel listened to fix the issues that we currently face thank you all right we so we got a motion in a second and
015didn't vote Mr bison please call the roll uh Mrs click yes Mr sabulski yes Mrs mahalis yes Mr AUM yes Mrs Schneider yes all right thank you students for coming obviously your futures are very bright and we appreciate your coming tonight and if you'd like to leave you're welcome to do that now or you're welcome to stay whatever you'd like to do all right tonight we have I don't blame you tonight we have no hearing of public comments and so we'll move on to the approval of minutes um uh for the organizational meeting of January 7th the special meeting of January 15th and the regular meeting of January 27th may I have a motion please moved second are there any comments or additions edits for those minutes all right Mr bison please call the rooll
016Mr sabulski yes Mrs click yes Mrs Schneider yes Mrs mahalis yes Mr a yes all right minutes are approved as written next we'll go to the superintendent report I understand you're yielding your time I am and we're actually this is where we come back and have an opportunity for our building uh administrators to share their goals and so we're going to start with Mr Hayes and Mr Torres talking about AHS goals uh to start things off all right well thank you to the board of education for allowing Mr Tores now the opportunity to U provide an update regarding Aurora High School's annual building goals you might recall that the primary goal each and every scho school year is to optimize student growth performance and achievement and although AHS has experienced exceptional outcomes over the last
017several years there's absolutely no way that we want to remain stagnant and that's why we've embraced this theme of living learning and leading with heart this year while having our staff members embark on a metacognitive Expedition examining a multitude of areas associated with their roles as Aurora City Schools Educators and provided in the digital materials I shared with the Board of Education last week and the same print materials I provided with you tonight just a reminder about these goals were grounded in a wealth of student performance data as well as stakeholder feedback data in alignment with the roots of our strategic Vision in hopes of allowing uh our students and staff members to continue to live learn and lead with heart extending the notion of living learning and leading with art our staff has been
018committed to thoughtful reflection and collaborative efforts ensuring that our instructional practices continue to involve in ways that best support student learning and success one of our key Focus areas this semester has been a comprehensive audit of assignments homework and assessments along with the RW of our instructional strategies and pedagogical approaches this work involves staff members completing individual audits of their own practices while also engaging in department-wide and interdisciplinary discussions to identify commonalities in areas for further refinement these structured forms allowed Educators to reflect on their methodologies share insights and explore Innovative approaches to enhance student engagement and achievement and within the framework that Mr Tores just outlined uh our staff generated a great deal of qualitative data and we subsequently analyzed that data for emerging patterns and Trends some of those are outlined on the
019board in front of you uh things like diversifying assessment formats giving students multiple ways to Showcase their Mastery focusing on higher order thinking and differentiating and Scaffolding skill development while placing a sincere emphasis on real world applications now as I mentioned this work resulted in a great deal of data and we tried to analyze for patterns and Trends but then what our instructional leadership team did was really tried to narrow the scope and narrow the focus to give our staff members something a little bit uh more tailored to to approach their aircraft in the future so with assignments homework and assessments we we narrowed down to enhancing relevance and personalization with clear connections to our competencies or the roots of our strategic Vision as well as incorporating feedback and reflection as integral components this means
020getting our students to think truly about their learning when we look at things like uh in instructional and pedagogical approaches we had focused areas of integrating inquiry based and cross-disciplinary learning as well as fostering social and emotional growth through instruction and again we have clear connections here to our competencies and just like we want our students to have individualized and differentiated approaches to their learning we want our staff members to have individualized and differentiated approaches to their own professional growth to best serve the needs of our kids and now this resulted in a great deal of data collection a great deal of metac cognitive reflection and refinement but it also led to uh a lot of actionable change that's already taken place this school year uh positively impacting our students lived experiences we wanted to
021take a few moments to share some of those anecdotal examples so as Mike alluded to beyond the instructional audits patterns and Trends I'd like to highlight some specific examples of how our work lines with key competencies in accordance with our District's strategic Vision starting with critical thinking our Spanish Department expanded the accountability Partners tutoring program during time allowing students to support one another in a structured teacher guided session this initiative has been shared across departments fostering a culture of peer learning and mentorship additionally we have revamped our Afterschool peer tutoring program also known as the ASC by our kids to make it more accessible and effective for students who need extra support by refining this structure recruiting more peer tutors in ensuring targeted academic assistance we've seen increased student participation in stronger connections between Learners
022we've also reimagined our Ela instruction by embedding scholarly Research into lessons helping students draw modern-day connections to classic literature resilience our mtss team developed and implemented a new series of freshman many lessons that focused on Executive functioning skills these lessons emphasize time management study skills communication and organization essentially equipping our kids with foundational skills necessary for academic and personal success I will also add that student feedback has been overwhelmingly positive and appreciative of the lessons that we've implemented collaboration we've also seen the formation of new interdisciplinary professional learning communities better known as plc's fostering meaningful connections between subjects starting with math and science AHS math teacher Mrs Duncan and AHS science teacher Mrs wat have collaborated to align key Concepts between AP pre-cal and AP envir environmental science helping students draw connections across discipline music
023and Performing Arts the music department has initiated combined orchestral and core performances providing students with a richer cross-disciplinary experience in English and social studies HS English teacher Jessica tresco and AHS social studies teacher Jake neb have formed a PLC centered on Universal Design for Learning better known as udl strategies and interdisciplinary writing integration insuring that our kids are strengthening their literacy skills across the curriculum we've also had a number of experiences both in and out of the classroom that have helped shaped our students sense of empathy for example we recently had a guest speaker from Rwanda connecting with our Juniors via Zoom sharing their insights and perspectives that align with our students historical readings we've also had a number of teachers adjusting their practices to help students realize that empathy doesn't just extend to other
024people but also their surroundings for example our environmental science classes have taken just a a little bit of an adjustment to how they communicate with students to help them realize that empathy extends to the lived experiences their or the organisms and species literally making up the world around them when we look at things like balance we've also had teachers prioritizing uh student balance between uh their academics and extracurriculars we've had uh staff members embracing mindfulness strategies uh to help de-stress students and then at a more tactical level uh we had this led these audits led to a robust uh examination of our freshman biology PLC to look at the alignment between assignments homework and assessments and how we can eliminate any potential barriers to optimize student growth and performance and the feedback from students and
025parents alike this far has been excellent uh and then moving forward to Innovation there's no doubt that generative AI has played a critical role this school year in helping our teachers continue to evolve their practices uh for example we've had a number of teachers using AI tools to examine their Assessments in alignment with state standards as well as looking at how then they could maybe adjust question Types on their assessments and ultimately their instructional strategies to close potential gaps for students and generate even higher quality student data and when we think about things like our cyber security program uh that speaks to innovation in itself but we've been able to partner with a number of people to bring into uh an organizations to come into our campus and connect with our kids about the Innovative
026work that's going on in this immersive field and how our students can prepare themselves to be Future Ready this also extends to taking our kids off campus where they've gone to the University of akran and partnered with staff and faculty team members to engage in Hands-On learning within the Cyber range at uh on akran campus now all of this work uh uh took place in the first semester and already we're almost through with the third quarter and in the third quarter already we've had our staff members do audits of our Systems Operations and structures as well as uh our communication methods with students staff and other stakeholders our instructional leadership team has already started diving into this data collected from these audits with collaborative efforts we aim to identify train uh Trends and patterns that
027W form our next steps shaping future professional development opportunities and instructional Focus areas and as the semester winds down and we go into the fourth quarter our staff is going to be auditing our extracurricular undertakings as well as what we're quinting as celebrations praise and uplifting which is kind of we're examining a variety of things including our PBIS values and principles uh our Awards and basically how we're uh elevating the climate and culture for students and staff members alike um but again ultimately uh the very nature of this intentional and strategic and metacognitive work uh is helping to create a truly sustainable uh learning environment for our kids that optimizes student growth performance and achievement while embracing and upholding the roots of our strategic vision and allowing everyone in the greenhouse to continue to live
028learn and lead with heart so that's what we got for you that was a lot open any questions if you can you mentioned something about student feedback being positive posi how did you get the student so Victor mentioned that in regards to our mtss lessons and we actually embedded a a a student survey form on the spot that they filled out in real time so that we generated thousands of responses uh over the course we did uh three different mini lessons and had you know approximately 250 kids fill out uh the surveys and they had a variety of question types that gave us feedback to how we can continue to tailor uh the sessions and just also just seeing how helpful they felt that they were so also encouraging to see how aligned you are
029to our strategic Vision thank you any other questions all right thank you Mike thank you for the time thank you now up there thank you for the handouts too okay so uh we go from the building goals of the High School uh now down to a K through five initiative and uh quite frankly I'm starting to get nervous that uh the board uh is going to get uh a little tired of seeing Jen and I come up here uh again to do the the science of reading and dyslexia uh this is uh actually part three only part two I think with Mrs Miller here our our reading uh coach and literacy expert so uh just to backtrack a little bit a little history on this uh I know that uh some of our board members
030um have uh been here since we started this and some uh came on a little bit later um but this is actually part three I was going back and looking at my notes and presentations the first time I actually uh updated the board on dyslexia science of reading changes was December of 22 and then last year January of 24 uh Jen came with me to talk about where we were uh with this initiative and now it's part three uh February uh 2025 to talk to you about sort of the next next phase uh and what we um are obligated to do in terms of of uh you know from this date and then also how we've gone about doing that so if you just look at our agenda up there uh I'm going to take
031the the first part of this and sort of go back in time and talk about some of our requirements uh legislation and then talk a little bit about what we have done this year uh with our pilot then I'm going to turn over to Jen because Jen's really been most Hands-On working with our teachers she's going to talk about the pilot she's going to just do a quick reminder of uh the science of reading sort of the national approach versus Ohio uh talk about how we're approaching um our pilot and the requirement to implement uh a high quality instructional material and then I need to uh end with uh I guess I searching for the best word I kind of put blessing and quotes up there it's a blessing it's an understanding of this is
032where we are and this is what we're obligated to do and I need you know the board to say say yes we understand that go ahead and and do it it's not necessarily a resolution but that's that's sort of uh where we stand right now so uh let me get this started so this moving back to uh December of 22 that's when I first came to talk to the board about this um I think everybody is aware uh that this has been a big push in Ohio and uh they started with some legislation uh that was surrounding the dyslexia there was a guide book that took a long time for the state to come up with but bottom line is that there is a body of research called the science of reading um that really
033updated um all Educators about you know how the brain works how students learn um you know what are the best approaches and so what we started to do a couple years ago U even before all the most recent legislation in response to the science of reading becoming more well known is that we uh turned our approach and this I talked to the board a little bit about this to a blended approach what does that mean it just means that we have uh made fundamental shifts and we have increased the amount of structured literacy which is that sort of explicit instruction the kids get every single day on letters and sounds and you know how you put that together uh and build those basic reading and skills so we we started doing that a couple years
034ago uh increased that with uh what our youly resource and we especially hit that hard K through2 and as needed as they get older in third fourth and fifth so we we did all that um we started that dyslexia professional development so that was K through three when we had to um from the state we were given these learning modules and we had to implement uh that professional development all teachers K through three uh we have done that we changed some a lot of our screening assessments and interventions to meet all the requirements so this is this has all been done um more recently uh and I think I brought this to the board in in the summer and talked about this previously um we there was another layer uh coming from the governor about
035professional development and it needed to be done for for all staff so that's we've been working on that that this entire year we're almost complete uh with that professional development uh from you know prek all the way up to the high school depending on their pathway and what they needed to have done that is to be completed by June uh we're almost done with that and then uh the last piece in terms of um the S so and and then the dipen um we are required to uh to pay our teachers um for that professional development depending upon their pathway which I'm close to being able to do I'll be uh working with Mr bison's office treasurer's office to make sure uh that that's all set we'll pay them we will immediately submit for reimbursement
036from the state of Ohio they've allocated dollars um to make sure that um that that that our staff members should PA so that's sort of a just a backdrop of all of all that's been going on for the last couple years it's been it's been very busy with that um another acronym all these fun acronyms so we talked about Sr the science of reading uh what we we've been working through this year is HQ IM high quality instructional materials for K through five so uh I have just a little excerpt over there uh we know that uh we are required to start to implement a program this year and we've done that with the pilot and then we do need to uh purchase uh and adopt officially uh that that that program that curriculum uh
037by the end of this year so we've been working through that when I first came to the board I didn't know if there was going to be money to help us pay for that I didn't know if the if there was going to be enough stien money to go around for all that training there is that is you know that has been funded to a certain extent uh there is a a high quality instructional material list of approved programs that we had to go through and kind of vet those out and we've decided to Pilot Benchmark Advance this year and Jen's going to talk about that um and I'll talk about the budgeting I guess I'll sa that a little for a little bit later in the presentation uh but there and and we have
038received funds for for that uh to a certain extent uh our concerns remain the same so I do want to say that loud and clear and without saying too much before Jen goes we we are concerned about a program being a one- siiz fits-all um and interfering with some of the best practice approaches that we've implemented here in the last decade or so uh and a lot of that does have to do with the lack of differentiation we know students have different needs and we need to meet those needs and we have a we we have our typical approach is to focus on practices not just adopt a program that is handed to us because it's hard for a program um to work the right way or in a best practice way for all students
039every District remember these are these are national standards too they're not even necessarily linked to Ohio standards so there's a lot of work we have to do to take this program that we are required to purchase and Implement to make it work for our students here in a so that's that's a point I want to make clearly to set the stage for Jim that good enough for you Mrs Miller all right the show is yours for a little bit oh let me talk about that let me talk more one thing really quickly then Jen going talk about the the pilot um just the structure um I I should talk a little bit more about this the uh we decided not to have all teachers uh do the pilot we thought that that would be overwhelming
040especially at the lower levels so you can see what we did up there K1 and two we had three teachers per grade meaning six to seven sort of kept our standard approach we had others uh those teachers who volunteered to Pilot three four and five they're already in teacher teams so it didn't make sense to do that so they've pretty much piloted um as a whole and what we've been doing this year is sort of training learning trying to trim make it ours uh but as we move into next year that's the full adoption uh and revision so I did want to say that before Jen talks about how we've merged with the framework and and obviously want to thank Jen and and our principles for their patients and then all those pilot teachers because
041it is a lot of work as we're trying to go through this and it will continue to be a lot of work all right now I really am to turn over go thank you um we have been trying to stay very true to the um National panel of literacy and their recommendations for what's best for our um readers and writers and what they came up with um is this body of research that says we need to make sure we're explicitly and systematically teaching to all five pillars um and Big Ideas that kids need in order to be successful in their literate lives um what they did not intend to happen was for the research to turn into a one-size fits-all scripted program what they wanted it to be is a an ongoing body of research
042that's always evolving and always changing and saying what are some explicit things we can do for our kids but what can we also do to make sure they're having a lot of opportunities to apply and practice those skills in authentic ways in the classroom so the state of Ohio gave us eight choices and we through lots of work and through lots of um meetings and presentations chose one called Benchmark Advance um our challenge with this was to mesh the program with our literacy framework and make sure we were staying true to designing learning environments that still aligned to our strategic Vision um so rather than turn a page say a script Turn the Page say the script we really wanted to make sure we were make giving explicit lessons in both Reading Writing and phonics
043but also giving them ample opportunities to practice that in the classroom so I just wanted to share with you a few ways we did this because I'm super proud of it and I'm very excited um and thankful for the pilot teachers that have done taken on this work to overcome their the challenges we were facing with a scripted program and make it work for our Learners um in the reading block they want to make sure you have a mini lesson that teaches a very specific isolated skill but what we added in to make sure our Learners were getting what they need is we add small group instruction in so that kids are reading across multiple genres multiple books they're getting feedback in the moment from their teachers on what they're reading and and talking about
044their reading and the skills that they're learning through those many lessons so we do want to tr stay true to the research and offer explicit lessons but then also make sure we're differentiating and giving kids feedback and encouraging them to read authentically um multiple times throughout the day same thing in our writing block um this is some of my favorite work I've seen um the teachers give a very explicit mini lesson this is how you write a topic sentence and then our writers go off and write a topic sentence but what this has enabled us to do is to make sure that um kids are writing not just specific to that but they're able to then apply it in other um content areas across settings so we're able to see that they're using these great
045strategies across multiple settings throughout their day um so this common language and this explicit lesson has offered us that common language to say do you have a topic sentence does your topic sentence introduce what the reader going to learn about in your writing and then we also um stayed true to making sure we're conferring with our writers often having small strategy groups to give feedback and making sure we give them opportunities to share their writing and be really excited about their writing um lastly um in our in phonics they do have a very um specific scope and sequence we need to follow very exp explicit phonic skills we need to teach but we Blended that with um a multi-sensory approach to make sure kids are engaging with the sounds and the letters and the patterns
046and the multi- syllabic words so that they're able to use those strategies in their reading and writing um so in closing I just want to assure you or assure our community that we are teaching kids explicitly how to read write and apply phonics patterns but we are authentically giving them opportunities to apply that and that application piece is the most important piece um for our young readers and writers um so with that being said I want to take the time to thank the pilot teachers they have put in countless extra hours to help blend this program into our current framework and without them I would be drowning the principles and Mike and um Paul have off also offered time for us to meet and reflect and really make sure that we're Paving the way for
047when the all teachers um adopt next year and I am very grateful for all the time and support um they have given the pilot teachers and our team does anyone have any questions well I just want to make sure I understand so because of a legal requirement we're being forced to purchase a curriculum that's correct and then we're trying to stay true to our vision by continuing to do what we've always done because we've done it really well correct now we just have to do it with these other yes at the time it's p for it will change again bad about some set up I don't like to spend money so I tried to cut as much as I could out of the budget to make sure we're only getting the materials that we need
048and the extra we don't want boxes collecting dust so that is another thing Paul can talk to you a little bit about but I've worked relentlessly with our rep to say this is where we're at at and th this is what would be most helpful for our teachers in our district and she has been awesome I mean we have been cutting things out and and less units and less explicit materials and more Hands-On materials and she's really worked with us so that helps me a a little bit more in spending this large amount of money you probably do like to spend money just not money just on shoes you're leaving me up here just in case you are further um so thank you Jen I appreciate that and I'm sure the board appreciates having those
049you know specific examples of what that looks like with the kids and the teachers in the classroom so yes we are required uh per House Bill 33 to uh have an adoption this year uh completely as we go into next year the language is not uh Implement with Fidelity but the language is Implement and we will meet the language in the letter of the law so uh in terms of budget you can see some of the numbers up there I have to be honest I told you this before uh if if you were to buy the whole program this is absolutely an unfunded mandate I mean it just it just is they gave us $135,000 for a Core Curriculum material K through five along with intervention materials uh when we first started this and Mike
050and Bill contested this I was concerned that we were going to have to spend roughly $300,000 on one program which is a tremendous amount of money we don't spend money on that we are very very fiscally conservative so we have $135,000 from ODU that is that's been deposited Mr bson has it in the general funds I actually set aside roughly half of my whole curriculum budget for an entire year um the 12,000 uh and sort of scrimped along rotated some things and I told uh Mr vas and Mr Roberto I might also have to dip into the general funds just to meet this legal requirement Jen has been great the camp has been great we like I said we've tried to trim get the digital resources not buy units that we don't need that are
051review units etc etc I can go on and on so the concern is not necessarily going to be our reality but I guess in term of the understanding and the blessing that I need I need to go forward and meet this eal you know this legal requirement is that I think um we can take that amount from Odo that $135,000 and potentially you know for another 40 to 50 that's it meet this legal requirement and get the materials meaning that that money that I set aside even within my own budget we'll still have a surplus for that or a carryover and we won't be dipping into the the extra General funds or you know shooting my entire Budget on meeting this legal requirement so I'm thrilled to be able to say that it's not um
052complete yet we're still in negotiating you know the negotiation phase and going back and forth just got some more um numbers today but I'm pretty comfortable in saying that uh you know it'll be under 200 and potentially even only 175 to 180 and I don't want say 100 only because that is a lot of money for a program but where I where we started from I I think we're doing pretty good so I know that was a lot but it is a it's been a big undertaking for the last few years uh that we've been working on so I just want you know full transparency everybody to know where we are and this is what we have to do we have to spend this money and this is how we've done it and we have
053to adopt but we'll tra stay true to our framework and to our strategic vision and we'll do what we need for for our Learners here right thank you any other questions what were some of the um the things that stood out about this program that you guys SED to good question I'm glad you want to take that absolutely that is a really great question this program is aligned more to a workshop type model like we were used to they keep the mini lessons mini so this program more so than any of the other programs limited teacher talk and allowed time and resources for practice opportunities and we felt that was really important that you know this the people doing the learning the people doing the talking are the ones doing the learning and we wanted
054our kids engaged in talking and reading and writing not sitting and listening and being compliant and that really stood out to us with this program yeah this program also um allowed us to keep our current um phonic program that we have so much research on that says it is really working for kids we've had tremendous growth um with our decoding and our fluency um and on all outside audits so we did not want to give that up we had trained and worked and we it worked so well this program allowed us to have our own phonic program with this and that was important to us great question thank you for asking I wanted to just reemphasize that without Jen's understanding of how young people learn to read and right um we would not be able
055to take a program like this and pull the best of a program first of all recognize that this is of all the other programs that are out there this is one that we can think make uh it work but then pull the best of that out of there and with her time and energy and Leadership and then with the pilot teacher time and energy spend on that and by the way that time and energy is not reflected in that 130 whatever that is there we never would have been able to even approach being able to C that without all the extra things that were put in there it's just we were very blessed to have someone like Jen uh and Paul leading this uh initiative to be sure that it it fits what Aurora Learners
056need what our young people need so thank you to you too thank you Mike thank you B okay thank you thanks all right so that concludes your report take right okay m bis uh thank you Mrs mahalis I have uh two resolutions for your consideration this evening first being the uh financial report for January and in January our expenditures exceeded revenues by a little over $2.9 million uh decreasing our general fund cash balance to about nine u $9.5 million s months into the fiscal year the revenues were about 3.26% less than projected and expenditures about 1.1% less uh a couple of things on the revenue side uh all day kindergarten uh Revenue was $17,730 so this is for the second half of the school year and then also kindergarten or excuse me uh preschool tuition
057was 32359 again for the second half of the school year we also received our second amount of casino revenue uh in January we received 96,2 uh down a little bit from August when we receive 99,1 32 it's kind of how it normally runs you get a little higher in the summer a little lower in the winter people may not go out and gamble as much I'm not sure um expenditure side uh nothing really to speak about everything's pretty much within typical variances so thus far for the fiscal year revenues are about 71,900 less than projected and expenditure is about 87,8 grer so right now we have an unfavorable variance of about 100 nearly $160,000 7 months into the fiscal year okay exhibit D1 is a resolution to approve financial statements and reports we have a
058motion please second are there any com comments or questions for Mr bison right Mr bison please call the RO Mrs mahalis yes Mr AUM yes Mrs Schneider yes Mrs click yes Mr saboli yes resolution is approved okay second resolution uh this is an annual resolution which we do it's the resolution accepting the amounts and rates uh determined by the budget commission and kind of goes on from there uh but uh really what what this is is this sets the tax rates for this particular um year calendar year uh so this ties in with what the um um revaluation was County and also ties in with our Debt Service as we uh from our alternative tax budget which we filed in January uh says tells the uh County how much dollars we need to cover our
059debt for the uh existing bond issu so that ties into what millage is assigned to that and so when you look at it um uh for tax year 2024 total re real property valuation in the district increased by 32.11 so which is kind of what was expected because of the larger evaluation um went from 882 m637 590 to 1 Bill 88750 so increased by uh $283,000 um but what has happened because of that our effective millage um first for uh homeowners went down by 99.62 Ms or so now it's a total of 37127 Ms and also the uh for commercial industrial went down by 10.62 Ms to 47.66 Mills so really what happened is that the uh residential millage overall went down by 20.6% now when you look at it you say well valuations went
060up by 32% but if millage only went down by 20 uh perc the thing is the inside millage 5.6 Mills is not affected by this and that amounts about 12% of our total millage so that's how um the overall decrease in millage is at 20 20% not 32% which the valuation was so in reality we do get a few more dollars on our inside millage uh as with the city and county as those are to 10 inside Mills and non voted Mills that are not affected by House Bill 920 so inflation um we do get the additional dollars on that so if there's any questions regarding this thank you for that explanation exhibit D2 is a resolution accepting the amounts and and rates as determined by the budget commission may I have a motion move
061second are there any questions from Mr Bon please call the uh Mr Snider yes Mr AUM yes Mrs click yes Mr sabulski yes Mrs Mahal yes conclude your report yes okay on to new business we have um exhibit e1a which is a resolution to accept gifts and contributions the PTO donated $5,000 for laps for Leon and $3,200 for roller blades for Leighton PE may I have a motion please second we thank PTO for both of those Mr rollison please call the role Mrs CL yes Mr AUM yes Mrs mahalis yes Mrs Schneider yes Mr saoli yes all right on to Personnel resolutions we have exhibit E1 B1 which is a resolution to accept resignations and retirements may I have a motion please second we thank all these people for their service but we would be
062highly remiss if we did not make special mention of Donna joso and her serving in the district for over for over half a century 52 years um I did some math trying to figure out guess how many students she reached and I just lost count after few like 20,000 because I wasn't sure how many she repeat and what grades she taught where but she reached a lot of um elementary students with her love for music and we trust that she continue to do that in whatever she decides to do now and won't probably be with children but in some other way and I've been to concerts of hers recently and I have to say her excitement has not waned at all she's she's stayed true to herself any other comments Mr bison please call the
063rooll Mrs Schneider yes Mrs mahalis yes Mr AUM yes Mrs click yes Mr savolski yes all right next we'll take exhibit E1 B2 through E1 B6 as a group um I'll read through them and then I'll get a motion so E1 B2 is a resolution to employees support staff substitutes for this current school year exhibit E1 B3 is a resolution to award supplemental activity contracts to District Personnel exhibit E1 B4 is a resolution to approve the introductory appointment of support staff exibit E15 is a resolution toloy long-term substitute teachers for this school year and exhibit E1 B6 is a resolution to employ support staff I have a motion second any comments or questions about those Mr bison please call the rooll Mr aim yes Mrs Schneider yes Mrs mahalis yes Mr sabulski yes Mrs Cliff
064yes all right resolutions are approved next we have exhibit E1 B7 which is a resolution to award a new administrator contract to Mr Hayes may I have a motion please so moved well I would just like to say congratulations to you um as your report tonight proved you are committed to creating a positive learning environment for the high school students and now we'll see how you do moving down through the grades but I know you'll do well became highly recommended by Dr M thank you would you like say anything before we vote you want to vote okay we'll vote did I already get it I did yeah oh yeah we should vote right in case yeah all right M please call the role Mrs Schnider yes Mrs mahalis yes Mrs click yes Mr sabulski yes
065Mr aen yes all right now would you like to say something um just to the to the Board of Education I just want to extend my sincerest appreciation for for your support support uh the opportunity means the world to me uh and I'm going to continue to operate with a Relentless passion for our kids our colleagues and our community um and then to specifically Mike and Paul and the rest of our administrative team I want to extend my deepest gratitude for your support um your collegiality your leadership your friendship uh and uh you know I want to do in turn everything I can to support you all uh and you know Empower you to continue to give our kids the best experiences possible uh while continuing to dream and believe and uh you know operate
066with heart so uh thank you and then um I can't wait to get to work uh and then just lastly um uh I take the role of uh being the aora high school principal as a great honor and responsibility and uh to everybody in that building right there uh and everyone who helps the greenhouse Thrive I can't I can't thank them enough uh for the life they breathed into me and the inspiration they give me on a daily basis uh I feel just so lucky and so grateful uh for the uh experiences and uh I'm going to continue to operate with as much uh you know heart and soul as we navigate these last few months of the academic year uh and I plan to do the same for the district in the assistant superintendent
067role for years to come so uh with all the Gratitude all the past thank you so much for everything appreciate thank you all right I think then um we'll take exhibit E18 by itself resolution to approve the reclassification of licensed staff members may have a motion please moved second any comments or questions Mr bison please call the rooll Mrs mahalis yes Mr aam yes Mrs click yes Mr sabulski yes Mrs Schneider yes all right exhibit E1 9 is a resolution to award administrator contract renewals may I have a motion please moved chair seconds any comments or questions Mr bison please call the RO Mrs Schneider yes Mrs mahalis yes Mrs click yes Mr sabulski yes Mr Aken yes all right and with that objection congratulations to those administrators um with that objection I'll take exhibit
068e1b 10 through E1 b113 together uh E1 B10 is a resolution toloy to employ license substitute teachers for this school year exhibit E1 b11 is a resolution to award supplemental activity contracts to non-district personnel and exhibit E1 B12 is the same non- district personnel and exhibit E1 B13 is a resolution to employ parttime support staff may I have a motion please second any comments or questions Mr bison please call the role Mr aen yes Mr sabulski yes Mrs Schneider yes Mrs click yes Mrs mahalis yes um exhibit E1 b14 is a resolution to approve a job description for transportation director position and pay scale may I have a motion please moved second any comments or questions about that Mr bison please call Mr AUM yes Mrs mahalis yes Mrs click yes Mrs Schneider yes Mr
069sabulski yes all right all those resolutions are approved exhibit e1c is a resolution to approve an emergency school closing on February 6th May I have a motion please second Mr bison please call the role Mrs click yes Mrs Schneider yes Mrs mahalis yes Mr sabulski yes Mr a yes in exhibit e1d is a resolution to authorize membership in the Ohio High School Athletic Association may I have a motion please move second any comments or questions Mr bison please call the RO Mrs Schneider yes Mrs click yes Mrs mahalis yes Mr sabulski yes Mr a yes all right that concludes that portion of our meeting um under discussion item we have board Community Communications yes um so Molly and I had the privilege of attending the osba um beyond the basics workshop on Saturday we found
070it to be very informative um we also formed connections with other board members in northeast Ohio so found that to be valuable um one of the themes again mentioned this after attending the osba workshops um is about uh you know the importance of community engagement and communication um we all know without the advocate it's been such a challenge to reach um stakeholders that don't have students in the district um and I think that timely communication from the board is important um you know we have so many things going on like new administrative appointments um the levy renewal and um you know facilities planning that I think it would be important to get ahead um but it's not something that you know I don't I don't have the answers so I think what I would like
071to propose is that we um form a board committee um with the goal in mind to explore you know different methods for Community engagement and what the board's role might be in communication so welcome um just to kind of second uh what Jen was saying here after attending that um training um a big theme that always comes up is that Community engagement and the board's role in being able to do that to um strengthen public trust to really open up a dialogue between the board our schools families and the wider Community really especially this year when we've made some uh pretty um important decisions that I think we all feel very confident with and so trying to um communicate that to the community is the best way possible and um recognize that so many of
072our our community members do not have children in the district and so to reach out to them in the same way that um we're able to do so with the the the families that have children in the schools with final forms um so they understand um the challenges we face and the way in which we um engage in those and look for Creative Solutions and um stick to our strategic vision and everything we want to do for the district um I also think it would be important to develop a committee whether it is an ad hoc committee to to to work on this at this point with an important year or um to have something on a more permanent basis if being a standing okay um so I think the next step then would be
073to talk to Mr ver then about setting up that committee and um I guess reach out to the board and see who who wants to be on it with him to go from there okay I will reach out to the two of you because since you're the ones bringing that up we can kind of start the conversation to see who would ideally be on on Comm okay okay thank you are there any other um well are there any board items all right then we are going to move into executive session to discuss the employment of a public employee and we do not expect to take any action when we come out other than to aour so thank you all for coming