001Okay, good evening everybody and welcome to this meeting of the Tiger 12ton School District Board of Directors. Um, we will start. I apologize for the very few number of people you see in front of you, but we do have a third board member online. So, we do have a quorum of the board so we can conduct business this evening. So, I'll start with um our approval of our agenda and consent agenda. Do we have any changes to our agenda tonight? Dr. Superintendent >> Chair, we have two changes to the agenda. The first chair uh change is on section seven which reports and discussions. Uh the director board director's reports on presentations. We did have to cancel that today because um the limited number of board members that can attend online. We will get those rescheduled
002or modify our schedule on that one. >> And um we also have a change to the exec session section 10 on action items. Um again because of the inability of uh board members to attend in person we will um we will cancel that. >> Okay. So we have an amended agenda this evening. The chair would entertain a motion. >> I move that we accept the agenda as amended. >> I'll second. >> It's been moved by Director Miles seconded by D by by Vice Chair Urban that we approve the modified agenda. the agenda as modified. Any further discussion? Hearing none. All those in favor, please say I. >> I. All those opposed. Motion carries. Three votes. It's what it takes. All right. We'll move on now to our recognition and good news. We have a lot
003of new faces in the room, so this should be good. Um, and I believe that is Brian. >> Director Brian Bailey coming up to tell us what's going on. Okay. Good evening, Chair Zerse, members of the board. It's my privilege to fill in for Director Reid this evening and welcome three amazing leaders to TTSD. And if I could, I'm going to call them up one at a time as I introduce them. And I'll first start with uh Dr. Jordan Mills. So, very pleased to introduce and welcome Dr. Jordan Mills as our next director of communications and school relations. Dr. Mills has been with the TTSD since 2006, beginning her career as a third grade teacher and most recently serving as Bridge as principal of Bridgeport Elementary since 2018. A second generation Tiger High School graduate
004and a former Tiger Tigerette. >> This not in the script. >> It's not in the script, but we added that. Um, she brings uh uh deep district knowledge, strong leadership experience, and a passion for inclusive communication. Dr. Mills also brings a thoughtful sense of humor to her work, grounded in the belief that while this work is important, it's equally important to not take ourselves too seriously. She will transition into the role this spring, succeeding Alex Pilaski upon his retirement. Congratulations and welcome, Dr. Mills. >> Thank you. >> Thanks, everyone. >> That's it. Well, I'm I'm I'm delighted to be here. I am really really looking forward to this opportunity. TTSD has my heart. It always has. And I can't wait to be serving our community in this way. So, thank you. >> Thank you. >>
005Yes. >> Next, if I could have Kelly Montgomery join us. >> Welcome. TTSD is pleased to welcome Kelly Montgomery as our new facilities manager. Mr. from Montgomery joins us from Clakamus Community College where he serves as director of campus services, capital construction, and project management, overseeing more than $70 million in bond funded projects. He brings extensive experience in capital construction and facilities planning and will play a key uh role in major TTSD bond projects, including the replacement of Fowler Middle School and renovations to four elementary schools. In addition to his professional experience, Mr. Montgomery is a lifelong learner and the first male in his family on both sides to earn a graduate degree, an experience that informs his commitment to growth and stewardship. And he will begin TTSD on February 17th. >> Thank you all
006for having me. I'm very excited to be joining your team and I hope to be a integral part of it. >> Thank you. >> Wonderful. >> Thank you, Kelly. >> And last but not least, if I could have Jeremiah Patterson join me. Jeremiah is going to join us as our new assistant superintendent. Um he TTSD has selected Dr. Jeremiah Patterson as our next superintendent. He is a fifth generation educator with nearly a decade of district level leadership experiences. What did I do? Did I mess up something? >> Assistant to the regional manager. Assistant to the regional manager. All right. Now your hands are throwing me off. So most recently, Jeremiah has served as superintendent of the Gladstone School District following eight years as assistant superintendent and previously worked as a teacher and principal. He brings
007a strong focus on instructional improvement, collaborative leadership, and community partnerships. Dr. Patterson will succeed Dr. Lisa McCall upon her retirement and will serve as second in command to the superintendent. Welcome, Jeremiah. >> I'll be very brief. I just want to express how thrilled I am to be joining this team. Uh the teameing nature of it uh of this this community is exactly what it was that attracted me to it and everybody I met in the interview process was incredibly welcoming. Um I've known Dr. McCall for a number of years and I know how big the shoes are that I I am going to be filling. So thank you for having me. >> Wonderful. And thank you to all of our new leaders. Welcome to the board or welcome to the district. Welcome to the board.
008You didn't know you were signing up for that, did you? >> Welcome everybody. It's really exciting to have such extraordinary talent joining our our district office. Welcome. Okay. I love it when good news is really good news. Um we'll now move to our student representative reports. Um >> Ryland, do you want to go? Do you want to go first and second and third and last? Oh yeah, of course. Um I was hoping that everyone else would be here and especially Moss, but um I all I wanted to report on was uh the studentled activism uh last week on Tuesday, which was organized by students and was very thorough on following every guideline that had been presented in the student handbook and the TTSD policy. And they had the numbers for Dwaltin are roughly 600 to
009800 students who joined us, which were pretty insane numbers. And from what I understand, it went off really well. That's all I have to report. >> Thank you very much. >> All right. Uh, superintendent and board communication. Oh, I'm sorry. Public comment. No, wait, that's next. Never mind. I'm getting ahead of myself. Well, good evening everybody. Um, just want to comment on all the the new hires that we have coming in this year. Um, we had a lot of applicants for every position and the hardest part, the hardest decision that we had to make was sifting through how many highly qualified folks were applying for these positions. And I think it's a testament the reputation of this district that is Highside Doctor and is a really good problem for us to have. Um, we're really
010excited for all of you to join our team and I just want everyone, especially the board, to know that the district is going to be in good hands with this type of talent joining the ranks. So, so welcome to TTSD. We're thrilled to have you here. Um, on a not so positive note, uh, there uh is a high volume of sick kiddos that that have been report and I've heard some parents talk about it today. talked to Director Kinch today and she said a couple of our schools have been hit particularly hard with flu-l like uh situations going on. So, what I'd like to say is folks out there, make sure that you're taking precautions. If you're not feeling well, stay home. Um and we will find a way to get you back up to
011speed, especially for our kiddos. Um and also make sure you're washing your hands and make sure you're coughing into your elbows. But let's try to stay safe and healthy this this winter season with that bug going around. Um last board meeting we had uh a visit from OSA and they communicated with the board about how they felt about bargaining and we've been bargaining for about 11 months now and uh the board and the public are very well aware of the challenges that we've had and we really appreciate our partners at OCA for the way that they showed up in the boardroom and both like a respectful but a very direct manner and what that did is it prompted did a meeting with us and we really appreciate them taking the time midweek to have a
012meeting. We know that communication is the way to go when things get tense and we had a very what I believe and I think they would agree but what I believe is a a productive and a fruitful meeting where we're able to to get unstuck if you will and I think we are on the pathway um to hopefully coming to an agreement um sometime in the near future. So, we're really hopeful uh again um the highest amount of respect for the OCA leaders in the way that they showed up and um we're really hope looking to get something ratified uh sometime soon. So, just want to give you an update on that as well. Want to celebrate uh Twin High School's Brook Mayo. Can we flash that picture of Brooke? There she is. So, um,
013last week we, uh, KOSA recognized Brooke Mayo as the the KOSA assistant super assistant. Look it, Brian. I blame you. I blame you. Assist assistant principal of the year. Uh, the Oregon assistant principal of the year. Brooke has been an integral part uh at the of the Wallin team. um does a remarkable job advocating for kids, being a teammate, and just showing up and giving her all. And uh it's her leadership um just shows one reason why TTSD and and Tiger or Twin High School, another club, while Twin High School is in such great shape. So again, um congratulations to to Brooke. She'll be recognized at the NASSP conference later this year and at KOSA and Seaside this June. So, um, her next step is potentially being the assistant principal of the nation. So, we'll
014see what happens with that. So, fingers crossed for Brooke. Um, I want to thank Ryland for um, commenting on the activism. And I have some comments on that, too, that I prepared. So, I'm actually going to read these comments. So, last week, students at Toalatin and Tiger High Schools participated in a student led walk out. This was a nationwide action, one in which students across the country exercised their First Amendment rights to peacefully assemble and express their views. These events were not organized by TTSD, but they're protected under the district policy. And when students choose to engage in in civic expression, our responsibility is very clear. Our primary focus must always be on student safety. And I want to recognize our building administrators for their careful planning and leadership during last week's demonstration. And I
015want to thank our law enforcement partners for their support in helping ensure that students maintain maint uh remain safe while exercising their right to protest peacefully. As we look around the country, the same issue extends to citizens rights to freedom of expression without fear of harm. And no one should lose their life simply for exercising that right. The moment that we're living in in this nation is perilous and is complicated. As a superintendent, I'm deliberate about limiting my comments on political matters to those that have a direct nexus to schools and to the well-being of our students. And unfortunately, that nexus has become increasingly clear. Earlier this year, we experienced incidents connected to immigration enforcement activity that placed students in unsafe and uncertain situations. These were not abstract policy debates. They affected real children in
016our schools and their families. Our students are not just learners. their emerging civic participants beginning to understand their voice, their rights, and their responsibilities in a democracy. What happened this weekend in Minneapolis serves as a painful reminder that the stakes of civic engagement are real. It's not difficult to imagine how such events could touch our own community. Our obligation as educators extends beyond keeping students physically safe. We're also stewards of the democratic process that depends on informed, thoughtful participation. And when appropriate and with careful guidance, schools create a safe forum to help students make sense of what's happening in our country. Public education has always played a vital role in sustaining democracy. And at its best, it teaches young people not only how to think critically, but how to engage respectfully, stand up for one
017another, and to believe that their voices matter. When the peaceful expression of those voices is met with violence or fear, it challenges the very principles that we're entrusted to uphold. We can hold space for complexity while still being clear about our values. We can protect safety while honoring student voice. And we can reaffirm through our actions in our care for one another that democracy is strongest when it's exercised with dignity, restraint, and respect for human life. Those are my comments. Thank you. >> Thank you very much. It's powerful. Thank you very much. All right. Uh fellow board members, do you have anything for communication? I'll start with Vice Chair Urban. >> I see your hand up. Fire away. >> I know. I preemptively did that. All right. Well, first of all, I'm sorry for not
018being there. I went to Boston and with 20some inches of snow, I am still currently in Boston. I was supposed to come home a couple days ago, so hopefully I'll be back tomorrow. So, I apologize for not being there in person. Um, I really wanted to echo, and I won't, I'll just sort of plus one, most of what our superintendent just um just said, and really the idea that our schools must continue to be those places of stability, of safety, of compassion, and I'm proud of our district. I'm proud of our family partnership advocates. I'm proud of our PSOs that are really all networking together to ensure that that stays the case. So, I really appreciate that. The only other business is um and I can report on this more on the latter side of
019it, but the I'm going to come home and then I'm going to leave again to go to DC um and we will be lobbying for education at the federal level, be meeting with representatives um and le legislators there and really kind of trying to figure out amongst all of this what it's looking like for the department of education, for funding, for IDEIDA money, all of the things. So that's sort of what the focus is and then there will be another conference after that focused on academic return on investment um and some other pieces like that. So that's sort of upcoming for me. Um and again I think that's about it. >> Thank you Director Miles. Anything? >> Thank you. Not too much. Um I really just want to echo and uh really appreciate uh the
020words that our superintendent just said. Um thank you for speaking that into this space. I really appreciate the community that is created um that allows for uh our students to um proudly and respectfully raise their voices while um while our district and its partners help to keep them safe and um and thank you for your words and for calling that out and for their right to to raise their voices. Um also just want to welcome leadership. I know we just did that and just want to extend u my personal welcome. Thank you. really look forward to to uh working with all of you and um and sharing in the great work that you do. So, thank you. >> And Thor, I just want to double check. Has Director Weston been able to get online to
021join the meeting yet? >> Okay. Um well, hopefully she'll be able to make it later. Um so, I want to plus one the plus one. Um, but also to say that I really in light of the superintendent's comments, I really want to um offer my thanks to the students at Talton High School and Tiger High School for doing their protest within all of the the structures and rules that were set out for them in order to keep them safe. And the fact that that was such a successful um way for them to advocate their uh their feelings um and let their voices be heard, I think is a testament to the really amazing students we have in this district. Um another example of how amazing the students in this district are. Uh last week I
022was able to go on a tour at Talton High School of our CTE programs. Um and it was truly amazing. Um we visited um business classroom where students are working on t-shirts and banners and stickers um all supporting the school district causes so that uh student groups can sell these t-shirts um make money for their organizations and it's all all of the work is done inhouse. They're also running the cafe, student cafe, where our culinary students are also making the food. The business students are doing the advertising for it and the business model for it. It's an amazing partnership of all of these different CTE programs. Um there was one classroom we went into where they were doing web design and every time an idea popped up, the teacher was like, "Yes, let's do it.
023Let's do this cross uh discipline maneuver where these kids in this class can join up with these kids in this class and make something really impressive that is a true real life experience, something that they can take with them out into the real world after graduation. But probably the coolest part of the entire time was the uh engineering class had been doing uh wing design on airplanes. And the final exam as it were was uh to have their airplane attached to a long string on a little motor that would whiz it around and if it launched and stayed up that was a pass. Um and these airplanes were incredible. We were standing out in the hallway watching these airplanes whiz around and not a single one of them crashed. But the best moment of all
024was kids from another class who had come out to watch it. And one of the kids in that other class said, "Oh, cool. I can't wait for class tomorrow. I get to do that." And that enthusiasm for school was so wonderful to see. And I can't help but think back to my own experience um back in the dark ages when I wasn't even allowed to take wood shop or metal shop because I was a girl and how far our schools have come and I'm so proud of what they are now. And if there's anybody out there who doesn't think that Tiger twin has amazing CTE programs, I challenge you come and see what our kids are doing in schools because it's amazing. Okay. And now I'll get off my soap box. We will now move
025to the public comment section of the evening. Oh, wait. I'm sorry. Director Weston, you have made it online while I talked for a very long period of time. Do you have anything to share for um board communication? >> No, just happy to have been joining the meeting. Um good to see you all. I think we can just proceed with the agenda. >> All right, we will do so then. So, public comment tonight, we have nobody signed up for public comment. So that makes that a very quick agenda item. We'll now move into reports and discussion. And as we discussed earlier, we will not be having board director reports on s presentation since we did not have that work session this this earlier this evening. And we'll move on to the finance oversight committee report and
026that is director C and Marcia Chapman. Good evening. Welcome. Good evening board. I'd just like to introduce you to Finance Oversight Committee Chair Marcia Chapman who will present her annual report of the Finance Oversight Committee. >> Good evening. Great to see you all. Um, so my plan tonight is to just give a sort of brief overview of what we do as a financial oversight committee and then just highlight a couple of things we did this year that are maybe above and beyond the normal year. We are a five member committee. Three members from the community and that is myself, Shannon Moxley and Jim Keller and then we have two board members and those tend to rotate but this year that was um vice chair Himemes and director Weston. Um couple of things we do. We
027focus on controls. We are not responsible for the finances of the of the school district but but responsible for evaluating the controls and making sure that those those are being done properly and with careful risk management. Um the things we do in regular meetings, we have an a a questionnaire that we give to the CFO and she and her staff fill that out. We review that every every time we meet twice a year. Um we talk with the audit auditors. We get a report on the investments and um we our report we look at insurance once a year. Um this year a couple of things we did above and beyond those normal things. Um we talked to the bond adviserss as the as the bonds were being issued so that we could understand how that
028what that process was. Um we updated the investment policy to be cons consistent with guidelines that came out from OSTF. Um, and those were sort of our main above and beyond things this year. The only other thing I would say that, and to me this is one of the things that the financial oversight does to committee does that's maybe the most important is that at every meeting um, we ask first the superintendent to leave so that we can ask staff if there's anything that he's asked them that they're uncomfortable with. Then we ask our CFO and controller to leave and talk to the auditors. Is there anything that they have been that makes them uncomfortable? Um, the answer during my tenure has always been no. But part of the reason that is no is because
029that question is asked. And I think that's one thing that many school districts are not necessarily doing. And that that brings that extra level of of um of sort of accountability to everyone. So, I'm really grateful to this school district for having a financial oversight committee and for what we we are able to do. Um, so any questions? Director Weston, since you're a member of that committee, do you have anything to add? >> Nothing to add. >> Great. Then I don't think I have any questions, but I do want to express my gratitude. Um, it's I I agree with you that it's great that this district has the financial oversight committee. It's even better that we have really qualified people from the community sitting on that committee, especially people who have been there for many,
030many years and understand how the finances of the district work and so don't have to be re-educated every year. I know it's a great help to our CFO. So, thank you. Um, and please extend my my thanks to the remainder of the committee as well. Um, Shannon Moxley and uh >> Jim Keller, I couldn't remember his first name. Thank you. Um, but yes, please extend my thanks to them as well for the great work that they're doing on this committee and thank you for the report. >> You bet. Thank you. >> Our second action item is our resolution. Oh, nope. Is our Mitch annual presentation. I cannot keep my >> It's what? >> We're reports and discussions. Yes, I know. I don't know how I got ahead section ahead of myself. >> You're ahead of
031yourself. >> I am. I I keep going down one section. I skipped over. Yeah. Anyway, moving right along. Mitch, annual presentation. Thank goodness. Assistant superintendent Dr. McCall knows what's going on because I seem to be on the wrong place in my playbook. Good evening, board chair, board directors, superintendent, student rep. So, it is my u pleasure to introduce uh Mitch uh charter school staff. We're starting with Caitlyn Blood, the principal, and uh Mitch uh will be presenting an overview and sharing highlights around from their annual report and then any of the priorities for this school year. So, starting with Caitlyn, take this one. All right, we brought half the school tonight as you can see. Um I am going to read from some notes just because I want to make sure that uh my reputation
032of being a slow speaker does not continue. Um but I also wanted to thank you Dr. Udo for your statements tonight. Uh those resonate with us as well. Thank you. >> Next slide. Thank you. All right. So thank you for hosting us this evening. It's an honor to be a part of the Tiger Towalitin School District and to serve our families and community with the incredible staff and leadership at TTSD. We're grateful to Dr. McCall for the partnership and care she has shown Mitch over the past two years. We're wishing her a wonderful retirement and lots of quality time with her family and grandchildren. To show our appreciation, Mrs. Hans has passed out some Mitch Fox cookies baked for you by our nutrition lead Kathy Lazatin. So these are they're homebaked. Tonight we'll be sharing
033some of the year's highlights including student academic growth and systems of support, restorative justice implementation, progress in literacy instruction and professional learning, access to nutrition and priorities for the 202627 school year. Nicole and I are joined tonight by Leah Smith, our intervention specialist, who will be sharing about the execution of the early literacy grant at Mitch, and Carmen Simons, our agriculture teacher. Carmen will show how she centers cultural diversity and neurodeiversity in agriculture class, as well as a sneak peek into the implementation of the Toalatin watershed improvement grant in the Mitch school garden. Our enrollment is currently at 220 students, which is low for us, though on budget. Based on our current and projected enrollment, we should bounce back to 235 next year. In regards to student academic growth, we saw student performance increase in
034ELA, math, and science last year back toward previous pandemic levels. Our professional learning communities are leaning hard into professional development that focuses on best practices in the science of reading. And we currently have onethird of our grade level teaching staff that have completed or are currently enrolled in the language essentials for teachers of reading and spelling, also known as the letters program. We've also adopted the University of Florida Literacy Institute foundations or UFI curriculum to provide effective, explicit, and systematic reading instruction in kindergarten, first and second grade. In terms of school climate data, last year we reported concern about a large disparity we were seeing in the referral rates between white and underserved students. In some instances, underserved students were receiving receiving referrals at a rate that was three times as much as white students.
035We brought this information to our staff, our school board, and our community, collectively, engaging in a second year of restorative justice implementation. This effort is addressing bias in our behavioral support systems, and developing a school culture that centers dignity and belonging. I'm happy to report that as of this current year, we have reduced those referral rates for underserved students by 33%. In addition to our disciplinary data, we've also been working to make Mitch a more supportive and inclusive place for all families, which which takes us to our recent nutrition services program with Nicole Hans. Next slide, please. Hello everyone. I'm going to try not to talk too fast. So, we for those of you who don't know, we started the nutrition program at Mitch last fall. Um, so it was kind of funny at the
036beginning of the year. Uh, it started in November, we didn't have the management ready to like get the kids going on lunch. So, it's just funny to start something midyear and then realize all the logistics that go into it. Um, but we are seeing children eat. We are seeing kids being able to learn better. They're more regulated. Um, we recently got a salad bar, which I'm not sure I'm very excited about it. I know it's just a salad bar, but the kids like they are just digging out of there like extra fruits and vegetables and you just never know what kids like. I see kids eat broccoli and peas and all kinds of yummy fruits. Um, and I love that they have access to healthy food. I know that that is a big a big
037deal in nutrition at our schools. And then besides that, we have our backpack buddy program, which I think this is our fourth year doing that. Um, it receives its primary resources from local food pantries and the remainder from Mitch community members. So, our families and staff and everyone support the program. Um, and we also started a food pantry this year. Um, it allows families to shop by the box. Um, and and this was started due to the decreases in federal and state funding. Um, there was definitely a need there. Um, and for our food pantry, all food items are donated by the Mitch community. So, we have a really strong community right now and it's nice to see people coming together and having that love. >> All right, next slide, please. Thank you, Nicole. We
038are in our second year of restorative justice implementation at Mitch to improve our school culture and more specifically our behavioral management and disciplinary systems. Historically, the school has been challenged with managing student behavior in a way that is comprehensively supportive of our students, families, and staff versus traditional traditional models of school discipline, which can be punitive, exclusionary, and divisive, oftentimes targeting historically underserved communities. Restorative justice, for those unfamiliar, is a framework that centers relationships. Instead of solely punishing students for mistakes or forcing insincere apologies, these practices center the connection that we share as a community and focus on healing the hurt that has been caused. Restorative justice is an approach to behavioral supports and interventions that sees the whole student and treats them with dignity, which is essential to building a culture of belonging. Now
039in our second year of partnership with an organization called Just Outcomes, we are continuing to train staff on tier 2 interventions like restorative inquiry, co-creating our school purpose and guiding principles, engaging families in surveys, and a family engagement night this past fall. Next year, we will continue on to tier three interventions like restorative conferences, re-entry meetings, and individualized support plans throughout the building. We're seeing restorative circles every morning and throughout the day to pro to process big feelings and difficult moments. We're hearing discussions around accountability, support, and repair so that students, staff, and families can learn to advocate for their needs and actively listen to one another. It's far from perfect and it's very messy, but ultimately what we're seeing at Mitch is an increase of connection, understanding, and empathy. things that seem harder and
040harder to find in life beyond school. I'll hand it off now to Leah Smith who will share about some of the work being done to prepare our students as readers and leaders. Next slide, please. Hello, my name is Leah Smith and I am the reading specialist uh and the summer literacy program lead at Mitch. Uh this summer, Mitch had the opportunity to host its first free summer literacy program aimed to minimize summer learning loss and to provide academic enrichment to our students, prioritizing students in tier 2 and tier three interventions. Our program was a success in its trial run and we were able to provide 45 hours of additional small groupoup instruction over the course of three weeks at a 4:1 studenttoteer ratio at no cost to our families thanks to the Oregon Early Literacy
041Grant. Between pre and post assessments, we saw an average of a 26% increase in student performance. Overwhelmingly, students, staff, and families reported positive feedback and gratitude for the programming. And looking forward, we are hoping to build off of the foundation from last summer, and we hope to continue the program with accessibility at the center. Thank you. >> Thanks. >> Come on down, Carmen. Uh, next slide, please. Thank you. >> Uh, good evening. I just wanted to excuse me. I just wanted to highlight a couple of programs that we have or a couple of projects we have in the Mitch agriculture program this year that are in line with the school's overall mission of centering student dignity and autonomy with a focus on our students relationship to the natural world. So the first is our project
042with the Washington County 12 wershed improvement grant. We received funding to build 250 linear feet of native pollinator hedro. So that includes a variety of native species selected for um ecological benefit as well as traditional cultural significance to the Calabua people. Um it's going to transform what is right now a turf field into essentially an extension of the outdoor classroom of the garden. It's going to more than double the what I would call the functionally educational space of our garden. And it's going to give us a space that is focused on letting the students get to know the plants that I refer to as their neighbors, the plants that are native to the place where they've grown up. And let us really focus on that, which is relevant to uh tribal and shared history education
043standards as well as Mitch's seed indigenous seed rematriation curriculum. So exciting project. And the kids got to watch us drive an excavator last week. They're getting to do a lot of the planting. They're very involved in creating the space as well as welcoming it into the community, making it a part of their educational experience. Could we go to the next slide? So, this is just a I wanted to show folks an example. This is one of the primary inspirations for the project, which are micro prairies at PSU. I helped work on this project. I just wanted to show folks what uh the kind of pollinator headed drone micro prairie thing looks like. Give a sense. Ready for the next slide? So the other thing I wanted to highlight in our agriculture program is how we
044center cultural diversity and neurodiversity. So all education around edible foods, medicinal foods, traditional uses for plants is centered in geographic and cultural origin. Students learn about how humans have been involved with plants for thousands of years. How they were involved in domesticating, creating species that they are eating. They have a sense of where the lettuce, where the carrot comes from in a very deep and culturally specific sense, which is especially exciting for students who might come from the same or have an ethnic background in the place where those vegetables are from. A lot of them are incredibly surprised to learn that because we think of them as super or they are raised to think of them essentially as supermarket vegetables when in fact every single veggie on earth has a place that it comes from
045and a culture that it comes from. And kind of in line with that, we have a big focus on supporting neurodiverse learning. So, universal design for learning standards are at the center of how we design lessons. Um, there are always different ways to approach the same topic, visual, uh, written, if possible, other forms of s other sensory approaches if there are things the students can pick up, touch, smell, taste. And I wanted to especially highlight the fact that every class students learn a new ASL sign. And they've already built up a pretty robust vocabulary of noun signs throughout the course of the year that I've caught them using in other classes in the hallways. So, it's an exciting thing to see spread beyond agriculture to the rest of their educational experience. That's all I have
046for y'all tonight. Thank you. >> What was the sign? Did you you taught them the sign for empathy last week? Yeah, it's um two fists, one in your heart, one to the side, little bounce, and it points up. It's understand but on top of your heart instead of your head. >> So, we had little kindergarteners running around the school going was wonderful. Thank you, Carmen. All right, next slide, please. Okay. So, looking forward to 2026-27 and our 25th year of operation, we're committed to maintaining a growth mindset and executing our 2026 to 2029 strategic plan. PLC's will continue to develop our literacy curriculum in alignment with the science of reading and best practices. Our goal is to provide a dynamic scope and sequence that builds on student knowledge throughout the grade levels and incorporates differentiated
047instruction to meet the needs of every student. We will enter our third year of restorative justice implementation in partnership, continuing our community engagement nights and developing our PBIS systems in alignment with practices that center the culture and identity of our students, our staff, and their families. Thank you so much for your time this evening. We could not do what we do for students without your support and are so grateful to be a part of the critical work that is done in this district to serve every student every day. >> Thank you so much. Do any of my fellow board members have any questions or comments? >> Vice Chair Irvin. >> Well, thank you for that presentation. Um I think director Bled knows I love every year when she comes and I so appreciate um her
048authenticity and really the whole team that comes every year and it's different a little bit every year but the authenticity in which you really talk about here's what we still need to do here's what we're doing here are kind of hopes and dreams but the north star is always really the same in terms of the students and that really like inquirybased really thoughtful around the space kind of historic geographical indigenous space that you're in. I love it so much. We've discussed this I think in other years how much that really resonates with me and I think with so many of our families. I love to see a lot of that improvement in math um last year when you showed the things at the beginning um and really love all the stuff around agriculture. So exciting
049to hear that you have really a good robust nutrition program and that's going strong and kids and you're seeing that difference um when kids have that food on site. Um so yeah, I just appreciate the work. I know it's always a heavy lift to do this presentation um but really appreciate it and excited for all you're doing. I'll just acknowledge that um this is always a strange space for me. Um I have worked at the school for a long time and so I'm always hesitant to say a lot. It is not a conflict of interest but I always stay away from voting anytime something comes up. Um I am aware of a lot of the work that they do including um in my professional capacity I I do work with them um including supporting the
050board on their strategic planning and so I'm aware of a lot of what they do. They are tracking a lot of these things and like I said it is it is not a conflict of interest in Oregon but I do stay away from a lot of the um the work that that we do with them. Um, but um, I'll thank you for your presentation and and then I just try to stay out of the conversation, but I am well aware of all of the work that they're doing. So, thank you. >> Thank you for that solid disclaimer. Director Weston, did you have any comments? >> I guess not. Um, thank you so much and I want to echo what um, Vice Chair said about the authenticity and the transparency. I really appreciate it. Um, given
051that, I do have a question for you. Um, I I really appreciated your your uh letting us know that you have a problem with uh referrals um being three times um what they are for white kids. U three times for students uh um minority. So, I'm really having a hard time with words tonight. Disadvantage. Thank you. Oh, disadvantage students over our white. I'm very pleased to hear that you're working to address that and you've gotten that down by a third. But by my math, that means they're still twice as likely to get referrals as your white students are. So my question is the work that you've got um in line for next year with those tier three, is that where you're hoping to address those concerns? And can you extrapolate a little bit more on
052what that plan is? >> You oversee a lot of this kind of work. I know And so you know how complex it is and how deeply seated bias rests. So yes, tier three is it's critical, right? It's those it's that individual care. It's those wraparound supports. It's um returning students to the classroom with dignity after there's been harm done. It's a really critical part to the big picture which is shifting culture overall. So yes, it is critical and it will get us closer. Also acknowledging that equity is a journey that we will be on forever. So seeing our numbers reduce really just in the first part of this school year has been really hopeful as as much as they have. 33% is a big number for us. But tier one is where so much of
053this work happens too. creating that culture where a student can just walk into the classroom and feel like they belong and feel like they're treated with dignity from the beginning before any harm has occurred, I think is is really a massive part of the work that we're doing and ensuring that we're doing it in partnership with families from day one as well. So, I'm mad, too. And thank you for being mad with me. But I'm really proud of our staff, and I'm really grateful to our community to being open to this work. It is not easy. It's very uncomfortable. It does not fit into our perspective of what discipline and what's right and wrong, at least the way a lot of us, I think, were raised, schools are historically and traditionally punitive. So when someone
054harms someone else, we think they should be harmed in return. And so we're really flipping the script. And it's not easy, especially at an elementary level. Um, but it's also easy because it feels right in a way. So, um, I hope to come back to you next year and say that it's fixed. I appreciate what you said about it's it's a process that you'll never actually really finish because I think that's what we have found in our work in this district as well is that it's it's ongoing. You can never take your eye off of it for a minute. So, thank you very much for that. Thank you so much for your presentation. Um, it's lovely to have all these different aspects that make Mitch unique presented to us and I really appreciate it. So,
055thank you very much. >> Thank you. >> Okay, now that I have my readers on, I can see that now we're going to action items. It's a dangerous thing to put an agenda in front of a woman when she doesn't have her readers on. All right, we'll start tonight action items with our legislative priorities. Director Alex Pilaski, welcome. >> Thank you. Good evening, board members and our only student representative tonight. Thanks for coming, particularly with finals looming. Uh on January 12th, uh we put before you a draft legislative polic policy document uh at a work session and had the opportunity for some valuable input from the board both at that session and the the board meeting afterwards. Uh since that time, I've also had the opportunity to talk with uh director Weston a little bit
056about uh her perspective and appreciate that. And the document you have in front of you now reflects some uh changes that we've made to um address what we heard. In particular, I'd uh direct your attention to the opening portion of the document which talks about precisely what it's designed to do and also what it's not designed to do which is not to limit uh the scope of of of um your consideration of particular bills that might come up during this during the session. So that's that first sentence right there at the top. And then in the uh bullet points underneath is starting with secure and stable funding and then addressing PERS costs. Right underneath that, there's a new section about safe and welcoming schools. And that is all new wording, and it calls out in
057particular a couple of bills that we we uh heard about uh during on January 12th uh around uh a bill around universal free meals for all students and another bill requiring that schools adopt policies around responding to immigration enforcement efforts on school property. So, uh, what we have here again is a revised document for your consideration. And with that, I'm glad to take any questions that you have. >> Any questions, comments, concerns? >> Vice Chair Irvin, >> I move that the board approve the 2026 legislative priorities as presented. Second. It's been moved by Vice Chair Irvin, seconded by Director Miles that we approve the 2026 legislative priorities as presented. Is there any further discussion? I see Director Weston's hand up. >> Just wanted to uh thank um Director Bowski for the um for the work
058and discussion. Um it's an important topic and I think that we've um that it's important for um I really appreciate that staff brought um thoughts and um things for us to discuss and that the board um is discussing the various um legislation that's coming before us in this legislative session or not before us but before um our state in any Um, I think the work that is making sure that Oregon is following the law um, in a way that keeps our students and families safe is really important. For example, making sure that there's due process and making sure that um, families know how to keep their their students safe. um making sure that we have um the ability to support legislation around um people showing up with face masks because then, you know, there's no
059way to even know if it's law enforcement or not if they're not identified. So, I think it's really important to have a little bit of flexibility and make sure that some of those things are covered. Um so, thanks for the work on that. Thank you, Director Weston. All right, we have a motion and a second. Any further discussion? Hearing none. All those in favor, please say I. >> I. I. >> All those opposed. >> Motion carries. Thank you so much. >> Thank you, Director Holl. >> Our second action item is our Northwest Regional ESD 20267 annual local service plan. We have many dignitaries in the audience. Come on down. >> Good evening. I was just actually going to do a brief introduction. Superintendent Dan Goldman from Northwest Regional ESD will be introducing his colleagues and
060discussing facets of the local service plan. >> All right. Thank you, Jessica. Dignitaries. That is fantastic. Thank you. What a warm welcome back at Tiger 12th school district. Thanks for uh having us. Um, Madam Chair, members of the board, Superintendent Udada, u, my name is Dan Goldman. I'm the superintendent of the Northwest Regional ESD and a proud expatriate of the Tiger Dualton School District. Um, with me tonight is, uh, Dr. Megan Logan. She's our chief academic officer and somebody that, uh, is, you know, famous in the Tiger 12 school district, not infamous. um our uh vice chair, not infamous, our board vice chair, Moren Wolf, um who's been serving on the ESD board for some time. And I'm going to quickly pass it to uh to Moren and she's going to kick us off. Oops.
061>> Let's do it. Mic. So, um am I bent? There we go. Okay. Good evening everyone and just real honor to be here representing the ESD and as superintendent uh Goldman introduced me I think I'll go ahead and jump to the second slide and we'll move forward with the presentation. Um and just as a reference I do uh represent the atlarge position on the board which is nine members uh and uh I am elected or appointed by the board into that at large position. Um so on this slide we talk about our service area. We serve 20 school districts across Telma class of Colombia and Washington counties and their 100,000 students as well as thousands of young children in our birth through age five programs. Our size and diversity affords our districts a larger economy
062of scale than any other region in Oregon. As you can see by the diversity of our services offered in our plan this evening. Next slide please. Um, each year the ESD, as you know, co-develops a local service plan with district leaders, which then must be approved by our board of directors and 2thirds of the boards of our component school districts, making up at least 50% of the student population. Again this year, superintendents from across the region region unanimously approved this plan in November, which includes core services that are made available to all member districts, as well as a menu of services available when using service credits or contracting with our team. It also includes our student success act technical assistance plan for your student investment account and associated grant applications. Next slide, please. The LSP
063is one slice of the services provided to districts from the ESD. It does not include the grants and the value ad services that we execute on behalf of your school district. Though we have included that additional information in your packet so you can gain a more complete understanding of the breadth of our partnership. So with that, I will pass the baton to Dr. Megan Logan, our chief academic officer, to discuss some of the current ways we are working together and she can put um her spin and highlight those things that we're doing for the Tiger 12ton School District. Thank you. >> Thank you, Marina, and thank you board of directors for having us tonight. Um as you can see, there's a lot of different um programs and impact that we have with your school actually
064with your school district. And I wanted to highlight um on the right hand side specifically we talk about our instructional services department um which year to date at about halfway through the year we've provided over,200 hours of um coaching, professional development um and consultative support around these. There's some key areas here where you guys have very highly engaged within um that work. I wanted to also highlight your the early literacy support services that we've provided. Um it's been over 516 hours of support that we've provided to your elementary schools to work specifically around the science of reading and early literacy. Um working with over 71 um different TTSD um employees. So you guys have really been enga highly engaged across all of our supports but really specifically in that area as well. >> Next I'm
065turning it over to Dan to talk about the money. >> Okay, let's talk about how this thing works. So, thank you very much. Um, I'm really, and by the way, I'm I'm really really proud that we are working with the Tiger 12 school district on literacy. As folks who have been on the board for a while know, I was the uh curriculum and instruction director here where we um we created this whole thing called EVIS, which was a new invention really in the uh in the world of public education. And um Tiger is uh is known as a leader. It's an absolute leader in reading instruction. And uh we're just happy to be joined up with a district that um knows what it is to move uh move literacy practices. Um so the scope of
066the local service plan as Moren talked about this is one slice of the uh service array uh that the ESD provides but this is the slice that has to do with the state school fund. So um it's an important piece of what we do is a large chunk of our budget. Um and there are three components that we're going to talk about tonight. One is core services, the other is menu, menu of services, and then um the student success uh act technical assistance plan. So um so the state school fund, how it works, uh with the ESD, uh the ESDs make up four and a half% of the state school fund. So, um I was happy to see your legislative agenda um just now. You know, uh stable funding in the state school fund that
067also, uh means stable funding for this local service plan. Um you know, I might have to talk about your legislative uh policy in terms of special ed and not including EIECSE, which you will see here that um is makes a big difference in your school district. However, um the way that this works, four and a half percent comes and then uh it's all goes out ADMW um comes into Northwest Regional. We're the largest CSD in the state. We're about 17 or 18% uh of uh of that fund. And then 10% stays at the ESD for operations and just to keep our lights on and all th those types of things. And 90% of the funds are directed by school districts. So you have a huge say in how these funds are utilized uh for Tiger
068Twalton and also in the region uh as a whole. 75% of those funds goes into your agency. We call them agency account goes into your district account and you can use it to purchase services. That's the menu of services that we'll talk about uh briefly but we'll talk about tonight. Um or you can take it in transit and use it for district priorities that you can't get at the ESD or that are, you know, your own district priorities. 25% stays in what we call the core, but it's really by law it's called resolution services. And so 25% stays um at the ESD and we determine as a region how to best utilize those funds. Um and we'll go through those programs here in a moment. Um that's uh the statutory language. We we won't focus
069on that stuff. We already talked about the the way that we c the way that we establish this plan uh in our region um I think is distinct uh and makes this a little bit different than the way other ESDs plan with their school districts. Uh we have a singular focus on co-design with our districts. We spend all year um in various ways collecting feedback and making sure that this plan is not designed by us over at the ESD, but is designed with your leaders and your staff in the room. And so it's continuous improvement, right? Like we're just never we're never ending. it does come to a head um in October and November uh where we take all the feedback that we've been collecting, create the draft, and then uh in November the superintendent's
070vote um on this plan. And again, as Moren uh let you know, there was unanimous support across all our superintendents for the plan that's before you, which is very important to me. So, here's what's in the core. Um you'll see there's a number of buckets that two big big buckets are technology and uh and what we call education programs. Trying to make not make contact with Susan Barard over there. Uh but technology is a big part of what we do. Um this is what all the school districts who are participating in the core program um receive. And so you can see you know a wide range of services. That's not all the technology services we provide. Um you can also purchase and you do purchase additional technology resources from the ESD. On the right side,
071the education programs, um Dr. Logan, she just changed her name. It's not fair. Dr. McCarter Logan, uh uh she referenced a number of those that Tiger Twitton is highly involved in. Um we also have added this year uh while we had college and career readiness as a ad last year. We are really working hard to scale up a workforce development program for the region that um helps us accelerate the kinds of things that you were talking about uh across the region in a systematic way for kids. Um so there's those two uh those are the two main main pieces there. Oh, uh I should say there's also in the administration services, we do do a regional compensation analysis that's uh open for all our school districts in our region. Um and then we do run
072an aspiring administrator program across the region and you um have a lot of participants in uh our aspiring administrator program. So growing our next leaders, the menu services, there is a lot here. you can see the diversity of the programs in the not just the presentation but in the full package that you've received to review. I will just quickly flip through here and let you um stop me and ask me questions about programs if you'd like. Otherwise, we'll just uh keep rolling. So, you see a lot of services here in administration ranging from uh like I me mentioned executive principal uh principal coaching uh Medicaid reimbursement all those types of things. uh early learning um we are your uh well we are your child find in the birth to five space. So uh we do
073your evaluations and find kids eligible not eligible for services before they come into your kindergarteners uh kindergartens and then we serve kids through our EICSSE grant with the state education programs. we touched on a bunch here. Um, a lot of a lot of things come, you know, quote unquote free in the core. Um, but there are some really important programs that we provide um to many of our school districts uh for for purchase. Um, I will reference Junior Achievement uh there. Tiger Twitin is participating in Junior Achievement. So, that's one that's really cool. We uh were a partner uh with Junior Achievement in opening up a junior achievement center uh which is basically finance literacy and getting kids uh exposed to the world of work in Hillsboro. The old center was out on 8 past
074around 82nd Avenue on Foster. So it brings that program really uh much closer to uh to your school district. We also do our dual credit programming here as well. Special ed is um it's our bread and butter. We have amazing special educators uh in Northwest Regional ESD and you have as you saw uh the slide that Megan showed you, we have uh many many staff members who serve kids with uh with all kinds of challenges and uh and assets in your school district. um including running uh a number of social emotional learning schools uh for children who need more intensive uh care in their in their school day. Technology we addressed uh a little bit but we have things to purchase there and you do. And lastly, uh I want to spend a little bit
075more time tonight on the student success act plan because uh we are in an interesting budget time as you all know and have discussed and a lot of the things that we provide um the school district are uh threatened by um by uh OD's first you know their tiered their tiered plan for reductions. So, a lot of the things that are to your plan for reductions are actually services that are provided by the ESD. And I wanted to make sure the board understood as we head into the short session what those programs are. So, our student success success act um integrative guidance technical assistance plan. Um here are the components in it uh that uh are also agreed upon by our superintendent. Um a lot of it is also directed by the state contract that
076we have. One of the things that is in our SSA TA grant that we use those funds for is early literacy support. You can see the caution box on the top right hand side that um shows that we are uh the one of the things that OD is proposed is a $7.5 million reduction to our SSA technical assistance grant early literacy as you'll see on the next slide which is not part of the local service plan but it is part of what we do for your district. um early literacy we also fund through our regional educator network which is through the educator advancement council. Those braided funds um make up a lot of the hours that we just talked about serving Tiger 12. So that's that's a concerning uh budget cut for uh for us
077and I think for the district as well. And all the stuff that you see here in yellow is on the cut hot seat. um if the if the economic forecast dips and uh we get into uh you know into a reduction cycle at the state level. And so that's a lot of programming um a lot of important programming uh for kids and I just wanted to call the board's attention uh to the moment that we're in. And with that sorry to end it in a very dower way. We really love working with the district. y'all. No, I I do want to I do want to uh extend my appreciation to the district. Um we uh partner quite a bit obviously and I'm happy to take any questions. We are happy to take questions. >> Any
078questions from our board members online? >> From our board members in the room. >> Board member. Um I will just say one thing. I I said this last year, I'll say it again, that not enough people know what an ESD does. Um uh ESDs are really the um really the unsung heroes of public education. They really provide key and critical services to districts um which can really vary widely depending on the needs of the district. And some districts in Oregon, for example, would not be able to provide their own special ed or technology services at all if not for an ESD. And for us, um, all of we we get necessary and complimentary services from Northwest Regional ESD and so appreciate the support and services that you provide. I I've read through the whole plan.
079Um, I'm so sad to see all of that yellow and um, but really appreciate the plan that you put together and all of the services that you provide. I work with the ESDs in my professional life. So appreciate all of the work that you do. Thank you so much and for the work that it took to put all of this together and for being here. I will echo all of those thoughts and um just add the all that you always put on a really good presentation and the highlighting it all in yellow just makes it so crystal clear what's at stake and even though many of the things that are highlighted in yellow aren't specific to Tiger Towit and aren't specific to Washington County I know that they're specific to somebody's child in our area
080um and that hurts to think that that might not be there for them next year. So, we'll add that to our legislative priorities because we have that flexibility in our legislative priority plan. So, it's a good thing. Um, I also do want to just say, um, I am on the budget committee for the ESD. There is no possible conflict of interest, no potential, no actual, no nothing. It's a volunteer position, but I just wanted to make sure everybody knew that. >> Did you have anything to add, Mr. >> I just want to give my appreciation and public for the the ESD. um they're conveners, thought partners, collaborators, advocates, and always very responsive. So, we just appreciate you all and all that you do in the plan, but also outside of the plan that people don't
081see. You all are invaluable. >> Thanks. >> If there's no further discussion, I would entertain a motion. I move that the Tiger Twitin board of directors adopts resolution 2526-13 authorizing Northwest Regional ESD local service plan for 2026 27 as presented. >> Second. >> It's been moved by Director Miles, seconded by Vice Chair Irvin that the board of directors adopts resolution 2526-13 authorizing the Northwest Regional ESD local service plan for the 2026 27 year as presented. Any further discussion hearing? None. All those in favor, please say I. >> I. >> All those opposed. Motion carries. Thank you so very much. Go and do great work and >> hopefully nothing nothing in the yellow will will go away. We'll now move to our next action item which is a pair of resolutions for granting exemption from competitive
082bidding and that is director Monte. Welcome. Good evening. Um, tonight I'm coming before the board to ask for consideration of approval of resolution 2526-14, which will adopt um, findings of facts to grant exemption for from competitive bidding for Fowler Middle School and utilizing the construction manager general contractor or CMGC process in that in that uh, for that project. The board I believe is aware that we utilize this um contracting method multiple times in the 2016 bond uh with highly successful results. So um given the complexity of Fowler Middle School um and construction during occupied leaving the the existing building occupied during construction, we believe this is going to be the the most valuable and um um the the best path forward for construction of Fowler Middle School. So, we held a an an exemption hearing
083on January 20th. Um, advertised that 14 days in advance and we did not have any attendees or to date we have not had anyone ask for the findings of fact um for that as noted in the the proposal. Um once approved, this will go to RFP for selection of the CMGC firm uh to get that process underway. So, this is what we're asking for tonight. Oops. Vice Chair Urban. I move to approve the resolution adopting the attached findings of fact granting exemption from competitive bidding for the Fowler Middle School project by means of utilizing construction manager general contractor CMGC services and authorizing selection of CMGC services by request for proposals. >> Second. It's been moved by Vice Chair Irvin, seconded by Director Miles, that we approve the resolution adopting the findings of fact granting exemption
084from competitive bidding for the Fowler Middle School project by means of utilizing construction manager general contractor CMGC services and authorizing selection of CMGC services by request for proposals. Is there any further discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor, please say I. I. I. I. All those opposed? >> Motion carries. Thank you very much. And our final action item of the evening. Still director Monte. >> So um again we are asking for approval of resolution 2526-15 which adopts this similar findings in fact for uh exemption for competitive bidding for our first cohort of elementary schools which is Mary Woodward Elementary and Byron Elementary. uh similar in nature to this. The these projects are very complex in in nature because they're going to be done during occupied construction. So we feel that CMGC services would uh is
085the best and most beneficial for the district. Uh the exemption hearing for this project was also held on January 20th was ad advertised 14 days in advance in DJC and and uh we had no one attend the the hearing and to date no one has requested findings of fact. I move to approve the resolution adopting the attached findings of fact granting exemption from competitive bidding for Mary Woodward Elementary School remodel project and Edward Byum Elementary School remodel project by means of utilizing construction manager general contractor CMGC services and authorizing selection of CMGC services by request for proposals. Second. >> It's been moved by Director Miles, seconded by Director Weston that we approve the resolution adopting the attached findings of fact granting exemption from competitive bu bidding for Mary Woodward Elementary School remodel project and Edward
086Byram Elementary School remodel project by means of utilizing construction manager general contractor CMGC services and authorizing selection of CMGC services by request for proposals. Is there any further discussion hearing? None. All those in favor, please say I. >> I. I. >> I..................... All. Those opposed. >> Motion carries. Thank you very much. >> Thank you. >> And with that we have come to the end of our agenda. We will not be meeting in executive session as mentioned earlier. And so we are adjourned at 7:47 p.m.