Regular AHISD School Board Meeting March 18, 2026

001Christmas 40 years. Go upstairs. How are you? How's >> she at? >> Are you over her being black? >> No, I hate I hate Texas. I hate >> I love the positivity. >> But she's doing good. Where's Indiana? >> Is that the golden >> he told me he likes he really likes to let me know. That's why I'm taking this. text to realize the cup is wrong. always been working on his own. Wow. What are you doing? What's up, Ty? >> I mean, maybe get back to Let's consider all this stuff. Heat. Heat. 6:00ing back to 6:00. >> You're always in a hurry last night. I'm kind of messing. >> All right. Good evening. Can I please have everyone's attention? It is 6:01 p.m. on Wednesday, March 18th, 2026, and this is a duly filed

002and post regular meeting of the Alma Heights Board of Trustees. Thank you all for coming. I'd like to welcome anyone listening to our live stream broadcast. If anyone would like a recording of this meeting, we will post a link on the district website within 24 hours at the ending of this meeting. In addition, Sorry. Sorry. >> What? What happened? >> Nothing. Nothing. >> Uh, in addition, we also post the materials being presented within 24 hours, so you can review a copy of those as well. The recordings are under the school board icon at our Alma Heights Independent School District.net website. If anyone in our audience would like to address the board tonight, we welcome your input during our citizens to be heard item on the agenda. Please fill out the yellow form, which is actually

003white, um, by the door and read the instructions and indicate the agenda item if there is one that we can introduce you at the appropriate time. But at this time, we're going to go to section two. I'll turn it over to Dr. Frank. >> Thank you, Mr. President. I appreciate that. Welcome everyone. Uh, I'd like to, uh, we're excited about having our recognitions. Uh, a lot of folks here. I do want to recognize uh before I start recognitions, we have some scouts from troop 809 here. Give us a wave. >> Thanks for being here. Working on civic engagement or some such merit badge. Thanks for being here. Hope we give you lots of good notes to take. Uh, everyone else who's here for recognitions, we're excited that you're here. Uh, we do ask that you

004stay to the end of all the recognitions and I'll let you know when that is. uh at which point you can leave or you can also choose to stay for the rest of the business part of the meeting. We'd like to kick off our res our uh recognitions tonight with our powering the profile video featuring from Cambridge Elementary, Mariana Manettas. Come on down. Yay. All right. So before we uh show the video, I want to uh share with everybody that uh you know our profile of the learner articulates this knowledge, skills and attributes that we work hard to instill in our students from the time they start at Howard to the time they graduate in the high school. And one of the things we do is like to shine the spot like to focus a

005profile on our educators who exemplify a part of the profile. And so Mariana is being focused on today to uh show that. Now you'll watch the video and you'll see little uh bullets at the banners at the bottom that kind of explain the different parts of the profile she's um exemplifying. Now I don't think she's seen the video yet, right? So this is this is the best part. No, Mariana, of course, is at Cambridge Elementary and she is currently the bilingual ESL coordinator and academic interventionist. So, we're excited. Are you ready to watch this? >> Yeah. All right, let's queue it up. >> You nervous? I am from Cambridge and I power the profile by communicating and collaborating. I think sometimes even myself and the high school students, we're all second language learners, whether you're

006learning English or you're learning Spanish, right? Um, so I think that's kind of like the theme. It's like we're always learning and we're always growing. Um, so I'm a true believer in that and and I think everybody can learn Spanish. Um, it is really a gift and um, especially here in Southampton. >> A lot of times I think they listen better to a high school student sometimes. I think they can relate and um, also it's really uh, amazing because they've been there. So they are also showing kids right modeling what is possible. So sometimes I feel like Spanish 6 is a great program for that um to build grit resiliency and applying what you've done right applying like learning Spanish in an authentic way. My favorite thing is like twofold. I've had I've done this

007for like seven years a program and I've had some students that really changed their major and and they were thinking they were going to do something else but at the end they ended up wanting to be teachers. So I think that's amazing and sometimes students um really love teaching students Spanish and learning and math and they feel very useful and they're giving back to their community. It's been amazing because coming you know from a different campus to a brand new campus it's much larger. It has been amazing that she has been able to help provide it and guide me along the way with ideas with uh planning with problem solving. Um she's has the brain for all that and the energy. She will use me that tell tell me that I can do it. She

008will help me make me believe that I can do something. She will help me not feel nervous. She will and she will keep teaching me the same thing. So I will keep learning and I will remember everything. I feel I'm so excited to do the work that she's going to give us. I think it's an honor. >> I like everybody that I work with. I like the parents. I like meeting new people. Um and I like welcoming them to all the lights. And I do tell everybody that we are probably the best Spanish program in San Antonio. >> We do want to uh want to give you a chance to tell us a little bit more about the video and then we'll get a sense of who's here to support you. So, anything you want

009to add? >> No, I think it's okay. >> You did a great job. So tell who's here supporting you in this front row especially >> friends my my friends and my my husband couldn't be here my father-in-law fell >> um but my daughter and my friend Anna and my teacher friends and everyone is here Y encourage everybody to push that video out on social media. It's on our YouTube channel right now. CONGRATULATIONS. >> SORRY, GUYS. We got one down back there. We got a recognition tightening up behind the scenes. Next, we'd like to come up and recognize state qualifier for swimming, Cameron Persico. COME ON DOWN. WE'LL GET TO IN A MOMENT. We do want to also note that Henry Tucker was a diver uh but over spring break that was adventurous and ended up

010breaking a bone in his leg. Right. >> But he's doing okay now. >> He's doing okay now. Uh he's he's recovery. um he he was in Bise on family vacation when that happened and um having a little too much fun, >> you know, and kind of got a little hurt. So, uh but he's back home. Uh surgery went well. Um he's going to take it this week off um from school. Doctor's orders that he should be back hopefully back on Monday and then we'll kind of go from there and work on his recovery and see if we can come back and do it better next year. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, state qualifier um Henry was fourth place in the 1- meter diving competition. >> Yes. way. So, we want to spread uh good wishes

011for his recovery. >> Thank you. Thank you. I will definitely take that to him. Thank you. >> Thank you for being here. And now we've got uh Cameron, my notes say that you qualified in both the 100 and the 200 freestyle. Is that correct? >> Yes. >> Wow. Now, when I hear Yeah. >> So, when I hear freestyle, I picture the way Frank Stannage and I swim in the pool. Is that kind you just however you want? >> No, >> you can be >> doesn't get you award, >> right? >> What's the objective is to go as fast as you can. I guess you're right. So, tell us a little bit about how this year's gone for you and what the experience was like. >> Well, I feel like this year I focused a lot

012more on branching out with my swimming. Of course, my two main events are the 100 and the 200, but I feel like branching out has allowed me to focus on getting better at everything, allowing me to get better at those two events. >> Sounds like a well coached athlete. Speaking of, Coach Norm Claus, anything you want to add? >> Yeah, so Cameron is this is his second time to go to state. He just barely missed it his sophomore year. And it goes to show you that a hundth of a second here, hundth of a second there is the difference. but he was on as a freshman, he was on our for free relay, uh made it to state. Uh and we were just talking about how the guy that we looked up the most to

013um Philip Moo, you're actually swimming faster than he did back then. So, he's really he's come a long way and he's probably one of our better swimmers that we've had in um in 15 years. So, >> that's great. >> And you you hit a personal best at state in your times in both the 100 and 200 inch. Congratulations on that. Now, let's Somebody's back there. So, wave at us if you're a relative of this guy. Thank you all for being here. I know it's a lot of background work for the parents to help support these athletes. So, thank you very much and congratulations to you. >> Appreciate it, guys. >> Real quickly, >> we said this. We're going to have a whole bunch of boys and a whole bunch of girls here next year. So,

014be we need to make more room. building. >> Thanks, GUYS. >> Our final recognition from tonight is to hear from Ver and Lindsay about how the high school student council is doing and what you've been up to. Come on down. >> Hi everyone. My name is Ver Pat. I'm the student council president. >> My name is Lindsay Lamb. I'm the student council vice president. And the first order of business that we're bringing to you is that devastatingly we had to cancel our talent show. >> We didn't have enough acts like last year. But in spite of that, we're bringing an open mic night open mic day during lunch on our first Friday in April that May. Okay. Sorry. In May and we're going to set up a stage hopefully in the now open courtyard cuz

015some of the fences got moved back. and we're going to set up a little stage for anyone to go and sing uh open mic night, karaoke, stuff like that. >> And then moving on to we're also having our blood drive March 31st. So if anyone's children are at the high school and able to donate blood, have to be either 16 with a parent slip or 17 and above to donate blood. So that's happening on March 31st. And as well as we're also participating as a school in the in the um sorry in the battle of the flowers parade and our school's theme is under the sea or like under the sea or mystical. So I'm personally dressing up as Poseidon >> on the float and then we have a lot of other people dressing up

016as mermaids, jellyfish, things like that participating. >> That's great. So to take it back to some things we did before break. We had our amazing first Friday even though there was a lot of students missing. We had a free slime booth which was a hit. You know high schoolers slime very good. And then we also sold cotton candy which is something we're definitely bringing back for other first Fridays because it was a hit and we were working the clock. Um looking forward a little bit um later this month we have the festival of learning which is super exciting. It's going to be at the junior school. We're also doing cotton candy there and then we're going to be doing snow cones again which is what we do earlier in the year and then also um

017we did it last year at the festival of learning and it was super fun. So we're super excited for all of that. >> Also really quickly I just want to congratulate Lindsay because she's getting to speak at graduation as a senior even though she's vice president. SO >> thank you all for being here for being so busy. Yeah, great job. >> Thank you. >> Um, now is this the time I told you I would tell you when we're done with the recognitions and so if you were here just for that and needed to move on, this is a good time to leave. But you're welcome to stay for the rest of the meeting. Thanks for being here. No, I'm walking back there and I'm walking. so bad. I can't read this. It's like a >>

018Okay, we're going to move to section three, citizens to be heard. >> Uh we have received three requests to speak on an agenda item or public comment. When your name is called, will you join us at the table to speak? Each person will have three minutes to speak and Christina will hold up card when there is one minute left and another card when time is up. In making your presentation, we ask that you do not refer to individual students or personnel by name or position. Especially in a public setting, it is best to be careful with comments about specific people. In addition, mindful of due process and legal obligations. The board will not respond to your comments tonight. However, we welcome and appreciate your input and as an important member of our community and will

019follow up with you separately as necessary. For everyone else listening, please know that if a member of the community speaking tonight raises any concerns or questions, we will have a member of the staff contact them directly to follow up. So we will begin with the best elementary teacher ever, Miss Mary Kane. >> Sorry to say. >> When does my time start? >> Not until she tells you. You're good. Okay. Make get yourself comfortable. >> Okay. Okay. My name is Mary Cabain. I'm a retired Cambridge elementary school teacher who spent 30 years in Elmo Heights AHISD. I'm speaking out because I care deeply about the district's integrity. Every classroom in AHISD proudly displays the profiles of the learner. Teachers are expected not only to post them on the wall, but to live them daily with the

020students. We teach children to exhibit exceptional character, to challenge existing mindsets and ways of thinking, and to value diversity as a strength. These are not decorative slogans. They are promises. I am asking a simple but serious question. Are these profiles of learn truly our values or merely our branding? The decision to cancel a children's author visit to our elementary school suggests a troubling gap between what we profess and what we practice. The author made it clear in writing that he would not speak about LGBTQ issues. Nevertheless, the district withdrew the invitation based not on what he planned to say, but on fears about what he was perceived to represent. That distinction matters. During my years teaching in Elmo Heights, I taught Number the Stars, a book about the Holocaust, an undeniably difficult subject. I taught

021it because it helped students to grow empathy, courage, and moral clarity. In other words, it embodied the profiles of a learner. What lessons are we teaching students now? We are teaching them that asurances don't matter. That fear overrides facts. That is not exceptional character. That is avoidance. Let me be clear. Listening to parents is essential. Protecting children is essential. Following the law is essential. But none of those obligations require abandoning due process, fairness, or intellectual honesty. Three families raised concerns. The appropriate response was to review the facts, and the facts were clear. There was no violation of law, no planned violation of policy, no evidence-based reason to cancel the visit. When leadership reacts to pressure rather than principle, it sends a message far beyond the single. It's a it tells students that curiosity is conditional.

022It tells that the community that values bend under discomfort. That is a chilling message. Strong institutions are not defined by the absence of controversy, but by how they respond to it. Reinviting the author under clear written expectations consistent with Texas law would be an act of would not would not be an act of defiance. It would be an act of integrity. If the profiles of learner are to mean anything they must apply not only to the students but to adults especially those in leadership. I urge you to reflect on this decision to correct it and to reaffirm the Elmo Heights district. Our children are watching. >> Thank you. Um, next up we have I'm sorry it's Erica. >> Eric Eric. >> Hi y'all. Um I'm here to speak as both a uh Elmo height parent

023of a a third grader um but more importantly as a academic historian with 20 years of working on uh P through16 alignment on social studies curriculum um and have been following the kind of changes that are kind of in the pipeline in terms of the social studies TESS um and kind of you know we're a few years away from those going into effect um I unfortunately why I was invited to the last marketing group due to a health concern. My father wasn't able to make it. I hopefully will be able to go into the March session if they have it. Um but kind of reviewing those really closely. Um you know what concerns me and and it's not sort of just the ideological motivation of some of the stuff on there. It's really that once

024again we're seeing the state board of education move away from the critical social studies skills that our students need to succeed at a college level, right? Those critical thinking skills that are embedded in uh things like the CCRS. And I think as we see these rolled out and start being implemented, you know, as we get into 2030, I hope our district kind of has the courage to say we don't need to hit every single TE. We don't need to hammer home the TES. We don't need to maximize compliance with directives from, you know, state board of education. Um, what we can do is focus on those social studies, critical thinking skills that are going to serve our students well throughout their lives. We'll probably actually do better on EOCC exams. In my experience working with

025a couple other districts, folks who kind of ignored the TEACS and focused on skills did better anyway. Um, but we're going to get tre, you know, because of the political nature of those, there's going to be tremendous pressure to hit every teak. And I just really hope we just focus on what's really important. As a professor, I don't care what a student comes in knowing. I don't care about any content. I want them to be able to read and analyze a document. I want them to make historical arguments and they're going to do fine. Um, and so just as we are in this increasingly uh ideologically driven interference in terms of kind of local school districts and curriculum development, I hope we start thinking about how we're going to respond to those changes. Thank you.

026>> I appreciate it. Thank you. Um, next up we have Ann David. >> Hi everyone. I'm Ann parents of a kid at the junior school and the high school. On February 20th, a US district judge enacted a primary, I'm sorry, preliminary injunction on sections 3724 and 27 of SB12. Um these applied to Houston, Katy and Plano ISDs only. um and the decision. So then the injunction of course doesn't impact H ahisd but in the judge's decision and I quote school districts remain obligated to comply first and foremost which were italicized in the original opinion with federal law even when doing so requires disregarding contrary state directives. The the heavy implication being there that parts of SB12 those sections in particular do violate federal law. Um section 24 which is subject to the injunction is one

027of the provisions used to explain the cancellation of Chris Barton's visit. It states restriction on instruction regarding sexual orientation and gender identity. A school district open enrollment charter school or district or charter school employee may not provide or allow a third party to provide instruction, guidance, activities or programming regarding sexual orientation or gender identity to students enrolled in pre kindergarten through 12th grade. Now, most reasonable people do not interpret one page of one book written by the same author that was not going to be discussed in an event falling under instruction, guidance, activities, or programming. And an injunction on this specific part of the law is clear guidance to school districts to approach these restrictions with caution because they may not actually be constitutional. I think this injunction actually gives space for the district to

028reschedule Chris Barton's visit. Additionally, the injunction and the judge's opinion, um, which feels a little less dry than the average judicial opinion, because I spend a lot of time reading those, really points to what many of us knew about SB12 before this moment, which is the restrictions it seeks to impose are wrong. They are just not right. So, I would encourage the district and the board to continue thinking really hard about the policies around SB12, especially since we have a clear judicial direction in which things are headed with the law. And again, by adopting policies that keep control local, that respect the professional expertise of librarians and teachers, we are doing the work that supports our students in being well, being honorable, having integrity, and being wellprepared for college. Thank you all. >> Thank you.

029Okay. Um I'm going to move on to section four, items for presentation or possible action, but I'm going to do a little curveball. We're going to go to item C first, which is presentation of campus seabbass elementary campuses. How's that sound? >> Huh? Thumbs up. How's the new school? Everything good? >> Me? >> Yes. Fabulous. Mom and Joseph been through it. >> I was just smiling. That's great. This is our third cafeteria. >> Hey, we were thinking we had a building committee meeting. We were thinking about more construction on campus. >> So mean. That is not truthful. >> That's not truthful. >> No more. One more year. >> Okay. All right. We'll hit it. >> All right. Good evening. appreciate youall having us. We're excited to share our data with you. We are a collaborative

030elementary team. We work together. So, just in introducing that, you're going to see some common themes here. You're going to see some ways some information is presented. We have some common celebrations. And while we have some common celebrations that to to share with information, we have some unique ways that we kind of got there because we're addressing specific needs on our own campuses at the same time. But I do want to speak real quick. the the common themes that you'll see really are um a moment to celebrate our instructional coaches Jenny Aberhold, Megan Massie, Susanna Sitter. I'm just telling you the work that they do every day has a positive impact on the students in our building. So, um you know, as we go through this, I want to make sure that we obviously celebrate

031them because they do great things. So, when we get into the pillar, I'm glad it's big. So, I'm just telling you, I thought when it first was up there, I was like, I paid for a vision that I should probably use one day. And so I'm glad I can read this here. Pillar one, um, you know, the key question obviously is to what degree do all Woodridge learners demonstrate academic growth, achievement, and outcomes. And so we look at our pillar one goals specifically to Woodidge. We're also I've highlighted how they're aligned to our WIGS, how they're aligned to our wildly important goals in our district. So you'll see some alignment there from the wigs that 80% of our students make one year's growth in one year's time using MClass and MAP. And I'll get into

032what those look like here in a moment. And then it's tied to specifically a trend that we saw in our camps the last couple of years to really focus in on 80% of our fourth grade students will make one of year's growth in math utilizing math. So that's a more specific area. Again, we're going to have that same bar for all of our students, but that's one of our areas of focus. Um the next one really line um ties into the writing the wins that all read students will write across content areas on a daily basis and we're going to measure that that 80% of our third through fifth grade students will grow at least one point in our textbased responses in reading language art star. So more specific goal there and I'll talk a

033little bit later about what that looks like in writing across all content areas. So um our data we're going to celebrate. I'm going to kind of talk through what that looks like here where we are from beginning of year to middle of year. But when we look at some common metrics, we use map and in-class growth and also achievement when we're looking there. And I'll talk through what grade levels specifically use that. Our professional learning communities that dive into specific areas of need in their grade levels. Our CBAs are locally created assessments that really they're aligned with our YAGs, our year at a glance to really dive into how our students are measuring out on specific TESS at that time. and then tell pass that measures the um growth of our emergent bilingual students on

034our campuses. So we'll start with math math which is a great celebration. You're going to hear this is our goal here. We have high achieving students. That's something to celebrate. But also our responsibilities continue to grow our students, right? We have high achieving students. How do we continue to grow them on our campuses? And and when we have these, you'll see it kind of presented in different ways. This quadrant here of of like high achievement, high growth is our focus. So we look beginning of year math map. That is our first, second, third, fourth, and fifth grade students. Math measures our math progress. the beginning of the year they're at the 70th percentile performing 70% of the country at the beginning of the year. So now the teacher our campus responsibility is to grow them.

035So middle of year we're at the 76th percentile continuing to grow our growth percentile 67. So a huge celebration in math and we we look at reading map which is our third fourth and fifth grade students beginning of year at the 71st percentile. high achievement again for our students. Again, how do we grow them? They're they grow at the middle of year to the 76th percentile. Again, in comparison on a national level that the growth percentile is they're they're growing more than 69% of these students nationally. Our science map is our fourth and fifth grade students. When you look at the 61% growth percentile, but when you look right here, that's that's a great celebration as well. But beginning of year, they're at the 75th percentile, starting outperforming 75% of the country beginning of year

036and then growing into the 77th percentile. And then our MC class, which is our first and second grade reading data, that 70% of our students have made average, above average or well above average growth from beginning of year to middle of year. And what that leaves us here is the second semester essentially to continue to grow our students and reach our academic goals. So like the next piece is like how do we get here? And there's a number of ways. So, I'm going to focus in on a couple of areas is we have a great committed campus design team that is using real-time data to design not only the meaningful learning that takes places at our adult learning, which is our faculty meetings monthly, but those really meaningful half-day professional development opportunities that we have

037on our campus that we're using real-time data. We're making having data dives. Um, that is a a term that we use up there. That's really really neat. This year we created two groups in our first beginning of year data dive and what that did it two groups we called it push and protect and we compared how they finished the previous year in star to what does the star projection at the beginning of year for the next school year and there's a summer lag in there. There's things to consider but we had a group of students that we wanted to protect that kind of scored under the projection of where they finished the previous year. And so when we designed meaningful work for our teachers, by middle of year, we had removed 33 of those 60

038students off of that list that we want to protect. And obviously there's a list too of students that we feel like we can push to the next level with that same area to address. Um, another neat thing we have coming up, speaking of like an intervention of targeted students, is a math prep camp that we're calling mules math masters. Say that a bunch of times. We have we have identified students that we're inviting to stay after school with us on March 31st and April 1st. And it really becomes these two afternoons of making math learning fun for our students. It's going to be a gamified afternoon of building confidence in our students. We understand like when there are, you know, when there's some gaps that you need to address, you also need to ensure that

039your students love being on your campus. And I think that's a big part of three right here. bringing some students in that we think we can from test taking strategies to spiral reviews of like not only individual data but historical data that we just need to make sure that our students are prepared for with the upcoming spring assessments to really build confidence and then communication is a big piece. We just sent home a great resource for our parents that uh you know just it just brings some some star resources in the spring. And again, we want to make sure it's not the end all and be all, but at the same time, you you build confidence in your students when they have resources to be able to utilize at home as well. So, we have

040um sit home like example fractions. So, if they're cooking at home, you know, they can um a parent could use a measuring cup and speak to a fraction. just something that that you make these connections at home hopefully to continue to not only build the knowledge, close some gaps, build confidence in our students, and make that connection with our parents at home, which is a huge piece of our success. A pillar three is is really to what degree do our Alamo Heights learners feel a sense of belonging at our schools. It's our pillar three goal was that 90% of our Woodri students would have a positive response in our February feedback to how much do you feel that you belong at your school? uh and and then that it's tied to the wig of communication

041that I just spoke to of protecting our culture by encouraging honest constructive communication and then honoring the responsible use of technology in our classrooms. So a celebration for us here is that in our February feedback 91% of our students express the level of belonging on campus. It's supported by 97% of our parents express the level of belonging for their own child. and and you know and it really that doesn't just happen. I think Woodbridge is a great because sometimes I think it's the happiest place on earth friction. We are collaborative. So you know but you know I wasn't even playing. All right. So how do we get here? And and it's it it really is anytime I can say this to people, it is that the character work that takes place at our campus is

042real. And it's again I I speak to Maria Gonzalez, Christa Stevens who drive that on our campus, but it's real. It happens every morning in our morning meetings. It's there's there's character lessons, there's conversation. We have a be thewe journal that our students write in every morning, writing across content areas outside of the academic realm. But in in our character work, the morning meetings also drive and speak to our schoolwide initiatives. And it creates common language for us that lives in our sparks. And we use these sparks in meaningful ways in celebrations in in redirection, what have you. We're just consistent with when we use it. So I really think that it it leads to meaningful authentic character work and and that allows for our students to feel a level of belonging. When I know

043like there's a competitor in me, too. Like I I see that and I want 100% of them to to be in the dark green. You know, you want to pull our students to go, you know, what what you feel on that day. Like what is it? But you know, we finish with common language. My finishment getting off of WL I love you and mules up. I've created some confusion because they do mules up now. I've got to correct it a little bit here for them, but we're getting there. All right. But I want our students to know that um that that's important to us. And as we wrap up like our data from Woodidge, I want to speak to I I'm confident I I don't believe that these are independent pillars, right? We're having academic

044success at our school because our students feel safe and loved on our campus and our students feel safe and loved on our campus. They enjoy coming to school and doing well. And a really cool data point here is that at Woodridge, 99% of our students feel pushed to do their best by their teachers. and 98% of them trust that their teacher will push them to um to keep trying even when they feel like giving up. Like that's powerful stuff and it's supported here um that 99% of our parents and guardians feel the same way that their own child has a positive learning environment when they drop them off on our campus. So I'm grateful for our community. I'm grateful for our teachers and the work that goes into this. I'm really excited about where we

045are academically. I'm excited where we are obviously in pillar three as well. So, we look forward to a strong finish to our school. So, um Alex, I'm going to pass this over to the amazing principal at Cambridge where we two of my girls went so I know the campus is amazing and my third didn't and she's mad at me that we didn't get here in time Cambridge. So grateful for y'all. Appreciate it. >> Good job, Sean. >> That was great. >> Just like my sweet colleague here next to me said and shared, there is a lot of similarities among all three of our campuses. We're really proud of that. It's intentional. We collaborate. We we're always connecting and checking in. Um but there's unique differences too because we have to respond to our hope. We

046have a different hope and different needs on our campus. Um the work that we do at Cambridge is centered around high achievement, high growth students to make making sure that they have a strong sense of belonging and that they feel safe on our campus. And so you'll feel hear a little bit about that throughout this presentation. So pillar one, student learning and progress. What's that key question? to what degree do our Cambridge Cambridge learners demonstrate academic growth and academic achievement. So the goal at Cambridge has been all year that by the end of May 2026 all of our students grades 1 through 5 will make one year's worth of growth in one year's time. That's also one of our wigs our wildly important goals for the district. But we here are a little ambitious but

047also very intentional about our grades three through five. Um having better outcomes on our state assessments, state assessment, the start test, reading and math. We're also going to do that by increasing the percentages of our students meeting the grade level on the state assessment and mastering the grade level on um our state assessment. It like Sean said, it is one day one test. It's not end all be all, but it is our responsibility to make sure that we equipped our students to make sure that they are ready for any measure. So when we're looking at data, we all look at it very differently, but we're all, you know, utilizing the exact same metrics. We're looking at macros, CBAs, TP pass, PLC documentation. We're even seeing historical trends on our star data. Um, I want us

048to pause and kind of look at this graph here. If you look at that x-axis, which is that horizontal line, that's student achievement. That is how are students are performing overall. When you look at that vertical line, that y-axis, how are students growing overtime? Those little dots, the green dots that you see in that upper right quadrant, that is every third, fourth, and fifth grade student at Cambridge. That is indicating that every single one of our third, fourth, and fifth grade students at Cambridge is achieving at high levels and making high growth. And that to us is a huge celebration because that is a goal for all of our campus for all of our students to continue to achieve at high levels and to make adequate growth and progress. So what do we do with

049this data? We look for strengths. We look for trends. We come together and this is um really an action. It's uh what our campus has been working on in sitting in and engaging in all year. Every time we take any any assessment, whether it's MAP or CBA, this is an example of a CBA that we took the second nine weeks of school, we will look at um our results as a grade level and then our students have our teachers have gotten really comfortable in being uncomfortable. They will look at their class and they'll ask themselves, how is my class doing in comparison to the rest of the grade? And then we'll kind of ask these critical questions because we need to do something. Is someone teaching it better than I am? um do I need

050to partner up and maybe get some tools and tricks on hey you come in help me with you know take 3.57 um what misconceptions are there what do we need to do about small group and retouches and so this is pro this is like action uh number one and it it goes alongside our data review and our PLC's again up there is another way that we track um our student progress that is right there a running spreadsheet of every first through fifth grade student at Cambridge from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. It's multiple data points where we're looking at data and intentional about moving our kiddos and have making sure they're moving forward and that we're moving the needle and that everybody's making growth. It's a live document. We

051go into it during PLC's and we just talk about like, okay, what changes do we need to make? Are we meeting their needs? Are we accelerating those kiddos who've already surpassed that end of the year mark? and are we intervening for those kiddos who truly need um intentional intervention. These two documents speak to the work that we do during our walk to learn model. Walk to is an RTI or response to intervening. It's a response to intervention model where our students in let's say third grade move from teacher to teacher, classroom to classroom. We share kids. It's not my kids, it's all of our kids. And so we look at what do they need and we just we take a group and some of us may take the accelerated group, some of us might intervene

052with the tier one instruction, but we are sharing kids and making sure that all of our kids are getting systematic, explicit instruction targeted specifically to what they do. Another big action, something I'm really proud of um coming in as a new principal is how willing our teachers are to continue growing and asking to attend professional development. They have um asked to go to a national uh math conference. I was going to call it a national dance conference. >> Which they probably would ask to do that too. Yes. Right. Yes. National math conference that we've uh done a lead forward training where I went alongside with our teachers um to help us with you know some star prep and review um that we have here coming up. We've brought in um Elizabeth Martin to help us

053with that extended constructive response model. Um, so a lot of just PD and a lot of willingness to continue to grow. Something we're really excited about is a Saturday camp. It's our first annual Saturday camp that we'll host on April 11th and it is centered around this sweet test that we don't love because it is one day and uh but it it's bringing our kiddos in in a calm environment to give them some test taking strategies. Even though STAR is one day, one snapshot, start taking I mean standardized testing um standardized testing and test taking strategies are something that they're going to have to be exposed to the rest of their life. They have to take the SAT, PSAT, ACT, TSI. And so we are really just kind of equipping them um so that they

054are ready and uh successful on any measure. So yes, we prioritize academic progress and academic achievement, but more so we care about about our students, their well-being and their safety. So this year, the big question was to what degree do our learners feel a sense of belonging and safety in our schools. And so our goal this year was for 90% of our students, we want, and I think Sean said it best, is we want 100% of our kids to have a strong sense of belonging on our campuses. uh we're striving for 90% but here at Cambridge we really kind of honed in on making sure our students felt safe. So safe has always I'll go back but safe safety has always been a priority. It is for all schools to make sure that our students

055are safe but this year has been a very unique year for Cambridge with construction. On any given day we have construction crews, contractors, ahis ahist maintenance departments. I mean, we are constantly um having to just be really vigilant and know our surroundings and so we are pouring into our kiddos and making sure that they feel a strong sense of safety. So, how do we do that? So, this is just an artifact, but that's a little bit of our fall feedback. We look at surveys, character data. We just want to make sure that our parents, our students, our teachers, all stakeholders feel a sense of great programs, great systems, you know, a great school culture. So when we talked about that um student safety, we were really proud and this is a huge celebration to see

056that 90% of our students feel safe at school and our parents feel that their child is safe at school with all of the complexity that's happening on our campus and every day is a new day. We've had three different cafeterias and all of us are still smiling and taking care of one another. We are on firewatch. their kiddos know how to exit and enter the building and and we gibble about it, but really I mean it's it's teaching young ones to really know what it is to stop and say no, we're no intruders in our building and should you be here, should you not and reporting. You see it, you say it, you report it. Um so it's something that we're really really proud of. Strong sense of belonging. So I I I said we

057wanted us but we wanted to be at that 90%. Um, and we're right at 89. If I include that orange 7 percentage points, then it takes us to 96. But I was challenging myself. So, we we have some growth. We want to get to 100, but 90% of 94% of our parents express a level of belonging for their children. And one thing that I I can say about this is that even with all of the things going on at Cambridge, we haven't skipped a beat. There's not been one thing that has been cancelled. We have we're about to host Balloon Fest with all of the construction and uh that's that's huge. Our community is still wanting to come together and be present. >> So, how do we get here? How do we maintain and protect

058our culture? So, our campus resource officer uh Connor Tran, he has been truly a gift. He is walking the perimeter. He is checking doors non-stop. He's reporting. He's making sure that the the kids know who he is, that he's visible. Um, so that's that's a really it just feels good, right, to have him as part of our team. We want to continue to enhance our student belonging and our campus culture. And we've done this through morning meetings. Uh, we're trying to implement a new um, social emotional learning planning time so that our students really don't feel like all we talk is about math, science, reading, right? It it's about all things. Um, and then our core values. So at Cambridge, we show integrity, compassion, gratitude, kindness in everything we do, everything we say, and everywhere

059we go. Well, we're going to possibly revamp those core values this next school year. We've had them around I think uh Mrs. Ber said around six, seven years. So, we are reaching out to our stakeholders, to our parents, to our teachers, our kids and asking is that still um the core values that we want to continue to live and breathe. And so, we'll see. We'll roll that out in 26 27 and possibly there might be some changes or maybe not. Um we're also applying for some uh promising practices. There's really good things happening on our campus. There are some student leadership opportunities that our kids are embarking on. Um they're leading all kinds of drives and really just supporting uh families that are outside of our community. So in closing, uh I do want to

060take a minute to just express my deep gratitude for y'all um and the trust that you have put in me, Dr. Basher Boy, um for leading such a great school. It's um I know that Cambridge is the original Elmo Heights school and I know that that comes with great pride in a lot of history. I know it because everybody tells me about it. Really cool to see some of the gentlemen in our community come in and point to that picture of Kennedy passing by and saying that was me. >> And so I need everybody to know that I honor that and uh I take great pride in living this campus. >> Thank you. And now my sweet friend who leads our sweet school says. >> So they left a new kid on the block to

061you guys. So distinguished board members, thank you for being here this evening. I come to you to talk to you about all the amazing things and the happiest place on Howard Early Childhood. And so we really want to talk to you about pillar one, student learning in progress, which was really what's guided on the question, to what degree do all Howard learners demonstrate academic growth um on outcomes of circle, math, and in-class. And I just wanted to pause here for a second and kind of talk to you a little bit about these universal screeners. Um the circle assessment is given only to our prek students that says both reading and literacy skills. And then math and inclass are given only to our kindergarten students. in math assesses math and MCL class assesses literacy. So our

062goal is for 90% of our students to show a year's growth on those three universal screeners. And so here I would like to present to you the kindergarten student data. You can see uh the difference between beginning of the year versus middle of the year. Um when we talk about circle assessment I specifically pulled two skills and that is number discrimination and shape discrimination. You can see that our students have made great gains um based on their u middle of the year. We're almost there and this is just middle of the year. So this is really great growth for our students in prek. And then our funological awareness um compared to beginning to middle of the year, they have already grown 10 percentage points, which is fantastic because that means that our prekers are coming

063in with those fundamental uh literacy skills. They're really going to build some really great readers. So our prek teachers are doing a phenomenal job to really uh pass on the baton to our kindergarten students. So very proud of what's happening in prek. So now let's talk about kindergarten in math. Um here you can already as Sean already mentioned to you we have students who already come at high performing 71% of our students were already on the national mean um and then we have grown still at to 85%. What I really like to focus here is on the 79th percentile. Our students have grown. Um we're on the 79th percentile and this is a national mean. So this is not like just Texas students. This is like a US. Um our students are really performing. I

064know that um principal who knows it's really great to call principles. Um she she um talked to you about graph and she talked about high growth, high achievement. Our students are in that percentile. um our students are doing a fantastic job. To present to you in a different um different perspective, only 7% of our students 7% of our kindergarten students are below the 40 percentile. Um to the point where we were able to share our interventionist with Cambridge. So our students are making great gains in math. Um and that even um it just makes me very proud of all the growth that has happened because we have students already come on high performing but then the challenge comes how do you grow them and we are doing that at Howard. So looking at reading assessments

065once again you can see the composite score has definitely increased from beginning of the year to middle of the year but look at it that like middle of the year 87% of our students our kindergarten students are either at or above average growth rate. Um we're almost there and this is just middle of the year data. So I'm really excited to see what we're going to do by the end of the year. our students are definitely um knocking it out of the ballpark when it comes to math and literacy in kindergarten. So, super proud of all the work that our teachers have done. So, now you're probably wondering how did I get there, right? And so, here are some high lever actions that we have really have done, but I really like to focus on

066the second one, which is explicit teaching of skills. I know that Sean talked to you guys about our instructional coaches. We have an amazing one. Miss Massie has really taken the baton. um we have new teachers on our campus and so she has really built a system um I told Miss Massie I said I really want to create systems to break silos and so she's like tell me more and so we have allowed our new teachers to go and observe other classrooms and so she has built a schedule where our new teachers are going to go see other classrooms and peer observation they have a review when they're writing their observations we have extraordinary teachers here at um at Howard and so we really want them to allow to see maybe things that are they're

067implementing new strategies, new ways of looking at it, how they're implementing their grade. Also help our teachers with modeling the lessons um helping them through the blueprint and really going diving into boutiques and really making sure that she is getting all um hitting all those verbs and nouns and boutiques. But another part that I'm really excited about is at the end of this month, we're going to have a vertical alignment within our campus. our early childhood special education teachers here. We have three are able to go into the kindergarten classrooms and see how does that how do I fit into this vertical alignment because so often do we talk about it but how often do we allow teachers to go and actually see what is it that they do in kindergarten in prek and then

068our prek teachers are going to be able to go to the kindergarten the kindergarten classrooms and do the same thing. This really allows our teachers to have like more of a holistic point view and really see how do they fit into this piece. Um, and once again really seeing all the extraordinary teaching that is happening at Howard. Um, one of the things that I'm really proud about our prek teachers is that they took the initiative of doing a book study. It's called intentional interactions. I myself did the book study. I learned a really uh great ways to interact with our students, with our prek students. And so there was really a great dialogue and communication among teachers about what are the best practices for early childhood. Um this is really powerful because our two prek

069uh teams were able to communicate among each other. So really great things um great things happening here. The next thing that I want to talk to you about student well-being and safety which was guided on to what degree do all how our students and staff members feel safe and connected to our campus. Um based on our fairy feedback, 98% of our parents expressed a level of further child sense of belonging to Howard. Um our students are a little too young to do the computer assessments, so we rely on par. So thank you Mr. Herberger and Mr. Pman for taking that assessment. You are on here. Um so I appreciate that. Um these are direct quotes on here that were taken uh directly from the fair bear feedback and um we take those quotes very seriously

070because at the end of the day um we want our children to feel loved and seen and heard especially since we are the very first doors of their educational career. So we appreciate that. So once again how do we create that? How do we get there? I would really like to focus on two things on room transformations. Um the very first thing and I know when um room transformations is such an engaging way um that we uh have our students uh relate to the information um it really allows students to uh immerse themselves, make it real world connections, make it relevant um and really create those experiences where they're able to connect that new learning and then have those experiences to connect to uh prior learning. So, it is such a great thing. I know

071a lot of people say it's just hats and a mask. It is more than that. That is Addie. And Addie is a pirate and she is really learning um all the different things about map, how to read a map and she's learning next to and under. And so, yes, she is dressed like a pirate. She's also using the vocabulary words and later on she's going to be able to connect that. And so, um, you know, whether you're receiving a letter from your parents written, um, I mean, how often does a four-year-old, 5-year-old receive a letter with their name? Um, and so those are the types of things that make those, uh, types of learning so powerful, which we'll go back to joyful learning, and joyful learning, I think, is just one of those things that

072just defines Howard. Um, joyful learning happens within the classroom, whether you're a pirate, a baker, a race car driver, a camper. I mean, I can go on and on all the things that they transform themselves in, but it is also the way that you hear them in the hallway, whether how they're learning the color red and they're spelling red and they're learning all this oral language and the teachers have mastered how to walk backwards and still monitor the kids. It's just always this constant sounds and music um that our children are doing and the teachers are very intentional and even in the centers that they put for their younger artists or um joyful learning is definitely one of those things that I feel really makes students look forward to coming to school and they never

073know when uh for example Missy might be into a candy landing. So you have seen how amazing our students have done academically but at how we really want to focus also on the whole child approach. So how are we doing with that? Our parents have reported that 97% of them feel like we are providing appropriate character education. Um based on our bare feedback, it was a common theme that emotional safety was provided for their kids plus strong relationships among our staff um with their child which really resulted in them having a sense of belonging. Um and so that makes me very happy because uh we are their very first introduction to um public school. Um, I will also like to add on here too that um, this year we have grown so much at Howard

074to the point we have grown one prek classroom and a kindergarten classroom. All of our prek uh, tuition slots are taken. Um, so we are still having people on that wait list. So, uh, they want to come to Howard. Parents want to be there. I actually just had a parent this afternoon when I had an art and I said, "Hey, we're thinking about putting our kid in private school." But because we had such a powerful and experience with our child um who is a special needs student. Now we're going to bring our child here and I'm so excited because I was just taken off the wait list and now he's going to be able to come here. So stories like that makes me feel very happy because it validates the work that is being done

075every single day. So we talked about students and I want to talk to you about staff. 25% of our staff is new at Howard this year, which is very unique because we had a transition and we had, you know, I didn't know what to say on that one. So 25% of our staff is new and so we really wanted to protect our culture. So before you go and buy any type of costumes on Amazon, please come and see me because we have turkeys, we have chickens, we have pizza. I mean we got all kinds of things. So please come and see us. And so we love dressing up um as part of that, you know, being related to the kids. And so um one of the things that we have been really being intentional is

076like feeding our staff. We have noticed there's a trend with their bellies are full, their hearts are full. And so we really like to we um we make pancakes for them in December for the 12 days of Christmas. We grill for them on the first half day. And so you see Mr. Kasos there grilling some um hot dogs. And next week, this is your formal invitation next Wednesday. You're more than welcome to come and enjoy Costco Smith's hamburgers um being grilled by uh Mr. Kabas and myself and Miss Massie. Um I promise you we'll put extra seating on your patty but um you're more than welcome. And so um we also use that time to really connect um our staff. We talked about silos and systems before. And so this is a really great way

077for us to really build that connection um and that bond and the relationship and that trust because we know that learning among peers won't happen unless they feel they feel a sense of trust and a connection with someone else. So, we talked about like there's like a bingo and you figure out who has a cat and who's a dog person and who's a traveler and and so it was a really great way for us to um create that uh space and time for them to connect. So, that was really exciting um for us. And so, um what does the results say? Um I'm really proud of this. I because I I'm also very competitive, but I try not to say that I'm competitive. I'm like an undercover competitive. Um, and so I we were the

078only one that had 100% ON and you look at our very feedback, you look at all of them, the only one that had 100% and that was that our teachers feel trusted >> to teach. Um, and so they feel trusted that they they can do what is best. And so that makes me really happy. Um, and so I'm and also 97% of them of our staff said that they feel proud to work at Alamo Heights. >> That's awesome. >> And so as a new member of Alamo Heights, I want also wanted to take this time to tell you thank you. >> That's awesome. >> Thank you for everything you do. I know your seats are hard and they're not always easy and it's a volunteer position and I know that you take time from your

079families and the things that you do, but you do it for our kids. And um as an educator who absolutely loves this field and I'm going to die as an educator, I want to say thank you for choosing me as Howard and allowing me to build such um powerful connections with educators who feel just like me. And I know that Dr. Bashar was tell like this is so great. I feel so great and so lucky. So I feel truly blessed um to be working alongside such an extraordinary educator. So thank you so much and thank you for everything you do. Um thank you very very very much. Um and so that is so last month you started with Miss uh Principal Smith who talked about the tallest um uh learners and now we ended with

080our smallest but yet mighty meals. And so, um, yeah, that's the end of the presentation. Thank you. >> Great job. >> Okay. Anyone have any questions? >> Lots of bright spots. Incredible spots with middle of the year data. It's not data that we've seen before this year. >> That's awesome. >> There's lots of different reasons for that, but appreciate your instructional leadership. You guys are a great collaborative team. Thank you'all. >> Thank you. >> All right. Thank y'all. >> Thank you. >> Okay. And now we're going to go to presentation of February feebruary feedback 2026. And Dr. Walker, I wanted to just thank you that I know that this February deal is your other TIA is your other baby, but this has been your baby forever. And obviously obviously >> all three principles and all

081five principles for that matter and the community use that information and really enjoy getting to see it real time and obviously they care about the information. I know it's a pain but but thank you for always doing that. >> Oh, thanks for saying that. So I'm excited to talk about you guys. They laid a great transition and my presentation, our presentation, whatever scandage is after this is TIA enhanced. So I just think there's just a beautiful thread line between what you've heard from principles, what we've heard from our community and the way we're trying to recognize and honor the work. So just some basic information about February feedback. There is a annual, it's not a once one and done thing. In the fall, we survey our students and there's what I call our standing topics

082that we ask about every year. Safety, school climate, belonging, expectations, and then there's ad hoc topics that we may ask about for a couple years and then not another year. And then in the spring, we survey students again, but this time they get feedback to their direct teachers. And that's also when we survey our staff and our parents. So response rates, this year it was the strongest we've ever had. We had a 97% response rate with our students. They do it in class, so that's understandable that it would be so high. Our staff had a 74% response rate. And our parents had a 40% response rate, which seems low, but when you look at overall just emailed community surveys, if we get to 40, that's considered very strong, especially since our survey window is only

0832 weeks. There's no incentives. Get your name into a Walmart gift card. Like there's nothing like that. And there weren't any real hot topic this year on the survey. So the fact that we got four out of all of our four out of 10 um students were represented in the feedback I think is incredible. >> Can I ask clarity on that? So back to the last slide. So 4,731 parents, but like I got I received it twice because I have two kids in the district. I only fill it out once because my kids are both in in high school. >> I use that. >> Yes. >> So, does that result? >> Yeah. I just every year look at 40% and just look at how many total. Okay. >> Because it goes to guardian one and

084two because I don't know blended extended families. Correct. >> So, you may have two kids represented by one family, but in other case there may be one child represented by two. >> Okay. Fair enough. I just didn't know if that skewed your results or >> No, that. >> All right. So there were a couple new questions this year that I thought the results are pretty interesting. We have always said we have a very highly educated community. 47% of the families have a graduate or professional degree with another 37% have a bachelor's degree. So when we say we have a highly educated community, y'all, we have a highly educated community. Uh and you see that when you read the comments that they give us like they are well they are thoughtful well-written comments >> and we've

085also said that we're a generational school that we're the boomerang families come back. This was interesting because 70% of uh respondents said that they are first generation in our schools. >> Oh wow. >> Which 30% are second, third or fourth generation. But families are choosing to move here and they're the first generation here. So just so you all know and you've heard our principles talk about it the way we analyze I take the first two responses. So in this case, how fair or unfair is the school system of evaluating and grading students? Extremely fair, quite fair. And I just combine them. Whether you feel it's extremely or quite, you think it's fair, that's a positive response. Anything that's 70% or higher, I consider if seven out of 10 people agree that something's good, that's strong.

086Uh we also look at on the red if there's more than 10% of our community or population that disagree with something that's worth looking into. But it's not just a one-off thing. We also look at year-over-year data. And if we see a 1 to two percentage point change, that's just normal variation. If it's a 3 to 4% change, that's noticeable. When we see something that has a more than a five percentage point cheer change, that's a meaningful shift. And when we see it happen year-over-year, we're seeing some real trends. So when this year, same question, it went from a 85 to an 89% shift in one year. That's a pretty positive change. We also look at there's not just one safety question, there's several because you might not understand one question, but when there's several,

087we look at them together. We also compare how to student responses, how do safe does my child feel compared to a student, how safe do I feel and see if there's any gaps there. So in this one, here's parents, how fair unfair is a school system of grading? Remember, it's 89% positive. We ask students how fair or unfair is the school system of grading. We're at a 76% positive. That was in the fall. Remember in the fall that's when we went to only one re reassessment opportunity. Here's the spring and now it's back to 89% when we ask students to give feedback to their teacher. >> Interesting. >> It is interesting. >> Interesting. >> So we also looked at and you saw This one, I have to tell you, she gets her data on Friday

088and she was like, I cannot wait for this weekend. >> That's true. Uh, I'm going to lean into it. That is absolutely true. This is but we also look at you heard Ariana talking about campus by campus because when we see trends sometimes it's localized when secondary or elementary but in this case about assessments and test look at secondary and elementary that is so consistent in how students feel like they're graded. We also this when you heard all of our principles talking about just how things feel good. This is teachers on most days. How enthusiastic are students about being at school from 69% positive last year to 77 this year. >> Wow. All >> right. So that's teachers >> with all of their schools under construction. >> Even parents and the loss of conference period

089and the loss of interventionists. I mean there's a lot y'all. >> So on most days, how enthusiastic is your child from 62% positive to 64% positive from parents? That's very interesting. Even when we ask kids, how much do you think students enjoy going to school? Even that went up one percentage point. But when we looked at that overall, that just validates the fact that there is a good vibe on the campuses. >> So, I pulled out a few things I thought might be of interest to you all. Let's talk about cell phones and technology. So, this is parents. Remember last year we saw that big dip down 80% to 73. This year it's bounced back up to 77% positive with parents feeling like the use of technology is appropriate for their child. And this last

090year was a huge aha for us with the number of parents who said I just don't know how much child how much time my child is on a device. This year that went from 45% unsure last year to this year 38. So that's a positive. We still want to close that but it is a positive uh trend. >> This is uh 2026 on the left, 2025 on the right. This is that balance question of are you using more technology or paper? So just take a look at the bottom Cambridge. Yellow is I use more paper and pencil than technology. Last year 22% this year 47%. And you can see that trend h on every single campus just the shift to a more balanced uh paper and pencil in addition to technology. I think because of

091that that influenced this this question was asking parents how well do teaching styles of your teach of your child's teachers match your child's learning styles that went from 71% positive up to 76 and I think the fact that there is more paper and pencil and maybe more balance in our classroom that that influenced this with cell phone and I'm just going to look at the bottom Since since the no cell phone policy started, how has student focus and engagement in class changed? 57% of our teachers said significantly. Students are more focused and engaged. Another 30% said somewhat improved. I like the 12 because I think it's honest. No noticeable change. Students find other ways to be distracted. So, but overall all of the effort and you've heard our assistant principles at the high school talk

092about how much effort it takes to continuously have the conversations and shape behavior, but it's paying off on the focus. So, on bond and finance, how well is Alma Heights doing in the area of school facilities? Look at that positive change. 8 percentage point year-over-year. >> The one campus that still has some red, it's Howard. because that's the one. >> We got to risk down. >> We're working on it. >> It's going to be fabulous. >> Parents, uh, how do you feel about the frequency of communication? 65% saying it's just right. I feel well informed. Which communication channel have you used? Number one is Monday Mail followed closely by social media. >> Only 4% of our families saying, "I don't read or receive the updates." Otherwise, because we're doing it, Julianne's leading multiple ways of

093pushing out the information. One way or the other, parents are informed. Uh, this I think is another nice trend. How knowledgeable are you about the Texas finance system? We started asking this question back in 2024 and only had 32% of families who said or parents who said extremely knowledgeable, knowledgeable. Now, that's up to 47. How knowledgeable are you about Texas finance system? How it impacts Almo Heights? We're at 50 over 50% saying that parents feel knowledgeable or extremely knowledgeable. So all those inhome visits, all of the communication you're doing like that's paying off so that parents can understand because it is not easy to understand and people just need to hear it over and over again. Staff feedback. Dr. Basher talked about like this is a year like no other. You guys, if you just

094put yourself in the shoes of our teachers with the loss of the second conference period intervention going back in the classroom like so many things have changed >> overall how positive is the working environment at your school 10 percentage point positive change >> across the board every this isn't just Howard happiest place on earth like this is every campus look at that maybe we'll get rid of the next one. >> The other comments, >> this is the one Ayana was speaking about. >> This is to what extent are teachers trusted? This is what we always hear that teachers do choose to work in Alamo Heights because of that high level of trust and that continues. How is how well is Alma Heights doing in the area of hiring and retaining? positive from the point of

095view of teachers and positive from the point of view of parents and we like that alignment. This is an interesting question because of the psychology in it. Uh how positive are the attitudes of your colleagues? Not you but your colleagues and here 10 percentage point positive shift. >> That's crazy. all the changes that's >> and this is if we talk about a key performance indicator this is the one how likely are you to recommend Alamo Heights to a friend or colleague when we talk about the marketing we're doing in our new normal the best marketing we have is parents talking to parents about schools and we're at 98% of our families saying yeah I'd recommend Ellen Heights and then this overall job satisfaction. >> Like that's extraordinary. And a lot of that is because you

096heard our principles talking about the work they put in every day to build relationship and make it feel personal and teachers feel valued and they feel trusted. Even though that doesn't mean the work's not hard, right? And that doesn't mean this year is exceptionally difficult because of the challenges as we walk through budget constraints. But all of those work little by little. Our staff is satisfied. So next steps, every teacher gets an individual report. This is what it looks like. This happens to be an elementary teacher. So one, I hope our teachers feel affirmed because that's a lot of green up there. But looking at it, a teacher would go, "Wow, the one thing where there's some orange and red is directions are clear." Maybe instead of just saying directions, I need to put it

097in writing. We also know that a couple years ago, there was a gap between how teachers how much they thought technology was being used and what students were reporting it. So now teachers get direct feedback on technology for their students. addition, they get all the open-ended comments. So, this is, "What do you like the most about your teacher in this class?" Uh, what I like the most about my teacher, she's really kind, understanding, and respects me. I like that my teacher is a swifty, and she's organized, even though she's tired, she pushes through it every time. And there's also a question about what could this teacher do to improve the learning of all students? Uh, one thing this teacher could do differently to improve this class is explain more. To be honest, I don't know.

098I think it's all helping me. Maybe put the definitions in English because sometimes I get confused and things. I want you to know that our instructional coaches do go through, they pull out anything that violates our code of conduct. >> If there's anything where a student was just inappropriate, delete it. But things that are prickly, my teacher talks too much, that stays in >> Mhm. because it is authentic from students. Uh open-ended, very well-educated community that does give us feedback. We had 1,215 parents that wrote answers to three open-ended responses. That's not 1,200 responses. That's 1,200 parents who wrote responses. 250 teachers. I want you to know that our administrators read everything. When she said, "I went home." I did go home. I got myself a nice beverage. I sat in my backyard. I read

099everything. Our administrators do the same. We do use AI to put together kind of pretty themes and public facing, but every comment is read by at least five people. So, here are just a few of those comments. Uh Hunter, will you read this one? >> Sure. We value the high-quality, engaging curriculum and the passionate educators. Our daughters are constantly challenged yet encouraged and they come home excited to share what we've learned. The district does an incredible job of making education feel like an adventure rather than a chore. >> I love that >> the lessons. >> Um others just positive, but they did give us feedback. So, some of the concerns, there were concerns about class size, there were concerns about some cheating, there were concerns about technology, making sure that homework comes home that parents

100can see. There were concerns about program cuts and restoring some experiences and programs for students. Uh, there was a question about if Alma Heights could expand a program or service, what would it be? There was a lot about trades. There was a lot about test prep. This was interesting. And wrestling wrestling. >> That's so funny. >> Never seen that before. But wrestling made big. >> So overall, what our community comments on, >> it's the people in this district time and time again. the counselors, the bus drivers, the people, the administrators, just overwhelmingly what people appreciate in Almo Heights are the people. And I end the way I always end by saying that truly feedback is a gift. And I think the reason why so many people take the survey and take the time or take

101it six times and write the essays is because they know that we're going to treat it like a gift. >> So that is the end of February. Feedback, >> questions, comments. You are amazing feedback. >> Thank you. >> Yeah, that's great. >> All right. And now I think I'm on to the next one. >> You're on to the next. >> So I'm going to say principles goodbye. Yeah. I had a long day to move on. >> Oh my gosh. Yes. Good job. >> Good job. >> Walker. >> Okay. >> Can I ask a random question during the transition? You had like a thousand motors respond. Is there any sort of statistical study that says like if folks don't respond whether they would win one way or the other just completely unovable? Because I would think

102a lot of people like I'm generally happy. I'm not going to reply. I you're on to it. People respond if they have something to say. >> Yeah. >> Whether it is my child's had a great experience or >> terrible, right? >> I got something to say. They they are everyone's motivated for some reason. >> Um I like to think it's the humor in my emails that that's why people responded, but >> uh no, I haven't seen it. >> Cool. Thanks. >> All right. Next, >> TIA. >> So, we have talked about this. you watched a video on this. So, we're >> outstanding video about >> Thank you. Thank you. We're going to go through this in a quick clip, but you saw our outstanding administrators and this is really well timed uh to talk about

103just recognizing the hard work that our administrative campus administrative team does. So, you all know TIA is an expansion of the original TIA which is for teachers and it does provide a 10% extra amount of funding on top of what we're getting for teachers. It is very similar that it's created to attract attract and retain top talent. For teachers, it uses T tests and student growth. For administrators, it will use TESS and campus growth. For TIA, it has a set designation amount and it's for 5 years. For administrators, um it's one year and it will change every year because it depends on the amount of funding that we earn uh through the original teacher incentive aotment. These are the cut scores. We're using the same expectations that we have for our teachers. Uh 50% growth,

10455%, 60 or 90. We're using those same cut scores for our administrators. The difference is instead of a set amount, it's a proportional distribution using a multiplier. So we always stay within our budgeted amount. So it looks like this. We have 15 principles, assistant principles and deans who will be eligible for the enhanced program. We'll look at their TES scores and the amount of growth that occurs on their campus. give them a designation level, add in that proportional amount, take the total amount of funding, divide it by proportional weight. That gives us a base amount, and then we use uh find out a specific stipened amount for each one of those levels. >> Can we somehow figure out a way to do instructional coaches in that? >> No, we can do strategic compensation for them.

105And so what this does, you know, it allows when we look at compensation for next year, 100% of our teachers are covered by TIA. >> Our admin at this level are covered in TIA. >> And so we have cabinet administration. We've got librarians, nurses, counselors, auxiliary staff to look at. >> Okay. >> So you're shrinking that pool. >> We're shrinking that pool to shuffle around. >> Once we get to this destination, it will stay for the 5 years. one year >> they have to re-qualify every year and the amount of stipen will vary and what I like about this is that students do better >> teachers do better administrators do better >> and just for context remember to earn that highest level 70% of kids on a campus have to show a year's worth of

106growth in a year's time last year on our TIA assessments about 55% of kids showed a year's worth of growth on MAP this year beginning to middle we're at about So, it's a stretch for them to get to masters. It was a stretch for our classroom teachers to get there. >> And I'm going to turn it over to my partner Frank to talk about the HR component of this. >> Thank you, ma'am. The what I'll be dealing with. Oops. This is not the one that we had earlier. >> The one I put my slides on. >> Do you have that one, Christina? The link. >> He's looking for the shorter one. here that we're out of time and I'm just finding out. >> Uh, can you speak to that part from the access stations from

107this one and show you can find the other one? >> Tap dance a little bit. You can do it. >> Yeah, I can do it. Okay. I I can see why it's happen. Um so um basically what this is is an attestation that y'all are saying that >> and we did put this in front of you all at the GM meeting. So you're >> correct. Yeah. So um basically Dana is going to look at our whole program and by her initials she's saying that it meets all the requirements and is legal. >> Um Clay is going to initial the addestation to show that we're in compliance with the policies of the district. So it's more from a government standpoint and they know it's more from the approval and knowing the ins and outs of the

108program. So um >> for so I'll zoom um so this is a required assurance document. We have to turn it in when we turn in our proposal for enhanced TIA. So we still have to go for approval. This is part of it. Uh this ensures the compliance with House Bill 3. Um, and it also validates our local designation system. When the superintendent certifies, as I mentioned, we're making sure we have accuracy and completion uh completeness with the program and uh that will fully implement the system to include all teachers and all administrators. As I mentioned, the board president certifying that the governor awareness is there for the board. The board's been informed and the work aligns with the board public. Jimmy mentioned that all teachers have to be eligible. That's what you're attesting to under

109number one, that our program includes all teachers. Number two, uh you're attesting that our compensation plan is performance-based, which Jimmy showed you a little earlier. Also, that we have differentiated teacher evaluations based on performance and we align pay with teacher effectiveness. And then at test station three is showing that our leadership compensation will apply to principles, assistant principles and academic deans. And we have to have a strategic evaluation system under TIA at test station four and five are these two items. Districts may not provide across the board raises except for when we can show demonstrable need for increasing salaries because of inflation. And we have to assign our teachers to the most crucial assignments. So the strongest teachers go to the students with the greatest need. What this does is reinforces our commitment. You heard

110the common theme from principles tonight that it's all about improving performance, continuing continuous improvement. So this also helps in that regard by having a TIA enhanced. We can expect it will improve uh leadership practice and teaching practice. We're getting ready to have our job fair and we're really excited about the competitive positioning that we have with these different programs because it really feels like now we've got some oomph when we step in the ring and compete with other districts. But just uh briefly, you know, as we go through and we implement this from an HR point of view uh to give you some assurance as you sign the attestation, we're going to make sure that it's applied with fidelity. We'll be double checking numbers going through calibration. Um, we'll also ensure we have adequate staff

111communication so that they know where they stand in the system when they get designated. And we're going for consistency as well. So, we're going to request that you initial the attestation so we can submit the enhanced TIA package. Jimmy's going to do that. Um, and then we're dedicated to ongoing support and mentoring to make sure that the program goes on. And to conclude, um, we know that the enhanced TIA is going to help us further in our performance-based compensation system. And the whole result of this, Dana signs the attestation, we send it off, and hopefully we can get approved. >> Thank you. I will add that less than 10% of school districts in the state are even eligible for TIA enhanced at this point because they don't have all of their teachers. You have to

112have all of your teachers eligible before you can begin to give designation to any administrators. That's right. >> And because we did that, we're one of the very few districts even eligible to apply. >> That's awesome. I think there's like we're likeund >> 124 which you know that's great because y'all did the hard work but I mean I do feel sorry for the other 90% of the school districts that haven't figured it out. I mean it just >> they're trying to figure it out. >> I mean it just doesn't I think you should charge consulting fees or something or can you >> All right. Well, thank y'all are awesome. >> Well, hey, I mean, she spent like two years putting this thing up. >> I know. I know. I know. >> Okay. >> Um, >>

113Ty. Okay. >> All right. Let's move on to section five consent agenda. >> Uh, we do need to vote on this. Actually, we vote on what the >> Oh, I'm sorry. CIA. Yeah. >> Yeah. Do I have a motion to approve the enhanced TI uh acid advertisation? >> I moved. >> Uh do I have a second? I'll second. >> Any further discussion? >> All in favor, please say I. >> I. >> All oppose? Nay. >> Great. Motion carries. All right. Now, we're going to move on to consent agenda. Next item on our agenda is the consent agenda. These items that the board considers routine or that have been previously reviewed and discussed in prior meetings and that we therefore enact in one motion. If there is anything in the consent agenda that any board member

114would like to remove to consider as an item on the regular agenda, please speak now. Okay. Um, and I also want to mention that we did receive almost nine $7,000 in donations last month, which is always I I feel like we always say that every month. Like I I mean, I don't know what they're doing, bake sales or what. I mean, a lot of great stuff. Um, all right. If there's no items to pull out, do I have a motion to approve the consent agenda? >> All right. Do a second. >> Second. Thank you, Carrie. Uh, no further discussion. All in favor, please say I. >> All oppose. Nay. >> Great. Motion carries. Now, we're going to go to board member committee reports. Uh, first report will be communications committee meeting, learning walks. >> I

115think that's me. Yes. >> Um, so we had a great learning walk at the junior school on February 19th. Time flies. It doesn't seem like it was that long ago. Um, and it the focus was on technology and it was great. You know, broke up into small groups um and just popped into rooms. I got to walk around with Yodera and Frank and um, you know, I thought that um, we kind of had some prompts to look at um, see how technology was being utilized in the classroom and um, I just was really impressed. So, I thought, you know, we saw a lot of engagement and collaboration and um so it was fantastic and I also just want to give special um kudos to Kim Alexander who did a really good job leading the kind

116of initial presentation and then as always um I think it's it's really great to hear from our students and teachers and the panel that she sort of facilitated at the end was great. So that's it. Okay, let's go to policy review committee meeting. That is Karen. >> Do you want to help me with this one? We went over um the new stuff. >> Yeah, it was Frank. >> Yeah. There's a lot of policies on the horizon, but we're taking our time. We're not doing it this month, but anyway. So the two things specifically are uh DNA local, right, which is about how we do our test observations, you know, right now that we're TIA and that kind of thing. Nobody's had a waiver from those. We kind of talked about bringing that back. And then

117the second one we talked about was this policy that says you all have to approve any expenditure over $100,000 that's budgeted. The question came up was you already approved the budget. Why are you approving the expenditure? talked about those two things. >> Those two things um we're we're still working on talking. >> Yeah, we're still talking. >> We're not rushing. >> That's right. We're taking our time. >> Slow. Did you see that? We're going >> slow. Notice we're going slow. >> Building committee. >> Hunter. >> You want to go? >> No, I didn't take notes. But I just love that you never go. No, it's okay. >> Um, so I do want to take a minute just because I think it's we're at a important step in this. So we've spoke primar this was Monday

118and we spoke specifically on the junior school and the dcc. Um those are kind of the two projects that are front burner items right now. I'll start with the junior school. So we walked through um designwise you know I think we spoke about that they presented last meeting. So it's not really it's really just kind of milestones where we are in the process. They have decided to break that project into three different packages. A site work and structural package, a structural steel package, and then really the balance, the large scope of it is finishes and remodel of the old space. Um, which is probably going to be I don't know, they didn't give us a number, but call it 40 of the $60 million in the project. Um, that is a little concerning. We shared

119that concern because the way they're te releasing those out does put us in a position where we understand the logic of it from a schedule standpoint starts this summer. They need to meet it for the school schedule. They need to start the work this summer. But we are going to be in position and so the the team is going to work on making sure we try to get pricing as good as we can on as good plans when we go on the first project even though it'll be informal pricing >> with identified budgets in each. >> That's right. And so they they understand the concern. We talked about it for a while. Um we agreed that it's the right step. Um and so they'll be moving forward with that uh this summer. So the schedule

120still is planned for starting in June um with the site work permit. And then on the DCC, um we're going to get to the finish line on the design as is, but the price has escalated pretty substantially at this milestone. The team thinks that there's some pretty that Bartlett is carrying some pretty strong contingencies at multiple line items in there. So, we're getting to the finish line and then we're going to see what the pricing comes in and we might need to have a conversation at that point in May. >> Correct. >> Anything else? >> No. Good. >> Okay. No, I think that's good. >> So, first GMP for junior school May. >> May next one June. >> We'll get and then August. Yep. Thank you. >> Uh, okay. a safety and security committee meeting.

121That is mwah. Um, we met >> Reyes Cruz. >> No, I know, but we met yesterday. >> We met Reyes, who's the Bear County Emergency Management Operation >> operation, >> and he was uh glad to come. He talked about uh you know how he's been involved with all different school districts, but you know, furthermore, he's involved with basically you know how to respond to emergencies more than anything. And uh >> and all kinds of emergencies. It was a >> Yeah, it was. It was uh and uh we talked about um >> we had to we went into um executive session right now. >> Remember, >> can we say what we said in executive? I don't think so. >> Yeah, you can. >> And so, WELL, THAT'S ABOUT IT. WRAPS THAT up and that was >>

122we have some information to present to the board today in executive session a recommendation moving forward executive session move forward so >> okay height school foundation board meeting Dana >> yes I attended the foundation board meeting today and um the entire agenda was about board training for the new endowment campaign so we're at a really exciting place for the endowment campaign um is being launched in a variety of phases. I'm excited that Carrie Hilbrand is going to be um chairing that that steering committee um doing that important work. But uh you know the outside um consulting group just came in and had you know straight talk session with the board members about what their role is um as we walk through this next phase. um just uh you know to me the um the possibility

123of getting to that $10 million mark. >> It's going to be more than that >> and not necessarily even stopping there. And I love their philosophy that this is going to be a different endowment campaign than the last where they got to the 5 million and they stopped. You know, they they've got the different phases um outlined and it's just there's incredible momentum. You all have a book outlet tied up that is the endowment heights first and I really encourage you all to take this home and just look through it. Just some great talking points. We talked through elevator speeches. We talked through um just the way to talk about this next endowment and we are like not even in the launch phase yet. So they're prepping folks to really get active and engaged in

124this. So I lay my head on my pillow at night knowing the foundation is going to take care of us. >> Okay. Thanks. Uh section seven, business recommen recommendations. We don't have any at this time. So, let's go to section eight, calendar review. >> This will be quick. >> Okay. So, there's a lot on the calendar view. This will come in your Friday. >> Oh my gosh. >> The rest of the year, GUYS. >> Christina appropriately stopped at her next board meeting. I was like, you know what? I just put all May there because May is crazy for all of us. Many of us have seniors and >> um we just need to and so I'm not going to read through all of this because you can just see there's a lot. >> Um >>

125I will work in my Friday update to do the looking ahead where I identify kind of what's coming up that next week um for you and it is always helps me when you text me and just kind of let me know things that you're not able to. Some of the events come through calendar invites and if you kind of accept those and reject those they come through. It's very helpful. So, lots lots of time together, y'all, in April and May. March, April, and May. >> Started this week, every day this week. And then I will >> All right. >> Right. And I like I so unplugged at spring break that I came back on Monday and it wasn't until like 2:00 in the afternoon that I looked like at this week's calendar. >> Oh, yeah.

126>> And you guys got a follow-up email like, "Oh my gosh, we're going to see each other every day this week." So, >> yeah, that's a fact. >> Thank you guys for >> that. Was great. >> All right. All right, superintendent communications. >> Sure. So, um, celebrations, Julianne puts this together for me every month. We've got lots of, um, celebrations first. You see a picture of our tappy, which is our Texas Association of Future Educators. We have national qualifiers both at the varsity level and at the junior varsity level. Incredibly proud of the work of um, Jackie Moore and what she's doing with our teacher prep program there at the high school. This feeds really nicely into our early college high school PEK program. So, just great to see that we've got national representation um

127in that competition. Our Spurs dance team girls did an outstanding job at state competition. Our officers received first place, state champion um dance routine. Our uh overall team received second place at state and there were other numerous awards. And then also, we just had an incredible turnout in the Odyssey of the Mind. We have multiple teams that are heading on to state. I don't know them. >> Next weekend. next week in the state. So, we've got elementary and junior school teams that are heading. >> And then if we go to the next slide, um we're celebrating our boys basketball playoff run. We were regional finalist in what's considered the elite eight final teams, which is very exciting. We had a record number of attendance uh in our grand mules senior mules the Friday before spring

128break. It was a kind of just a great way to kind of end before we left for break. Uh it's interesting. We have I don't know probably I'd say 25% of the um attendees are um repeat attendees so they like to come every time >> and then we have about 75% who are new attendees and so it's just um it's just a really fun morning. Our students uh ambassadors our senior ambassadors are the real highlight of that program kind of talking about their experience. >> So love spending time with them. I know if you go to the next slide, uh just real quick bond update. We had a great celebration the week before spring break where uh we were able to have the home game of a shutout game um at the new uh Mule

129Diamond Stadium and my first pitch made it across the plate. >> It was great. >> You did great. >> She did good >> and he made it and so very exciting there and I think that's the final slide. >> All right. Any questions about celebrations or violence? >> No. Um, all right. Before we move on, I'm going to read a letter I got for the board from a teacher at Cambridge. It says, "Dear Alma High School Board, thank you. Does not begin to cover the amount of gratitude I have for each of you and all that you do to support us and our community on a regular basis. You give your time and talent to ensure we have the best of the best in every capacity possible. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for all

130you do. We couldn't do it without your love and support. Warmly JJ Allison. >> Okay. So, if there's no objections, we're going to take a short break. 2 minute 2 minute 25 minute break before entering my second man. I just did it.