001puncture, infection control, patient care, and communication. By the end of the program, the students can earn industry-based certification as a phabbotomy technician, preparing them for future careers in healthcare. This evening, our students will lead us in an interactive demonstration sharing the techniques and safety practices they've used in their practicum. Please join me in welcoming the Belton High School Phbotomy students and their teachers as they begin tonight's showcase. [applause] >> Good evening. U my name is Stephanie Yarian and I am the phabbotomy and medical assisting teacher at Belton High School. And I love being able to see the kids get in the lab and um learn some hands-on skills. And um another blessing that is kind of a surprise is when I take them to the community partners and they they go and work in Scott
002and White and um other facilities. Um it's such a cool thing to see prior students um and and run into them in places and see my physicians assistants and nurses and respiratory therapists. So here are some future healthcare workers. Um we have Jillian Giannis and we have Sophia Olivero and they're going to show you all all of the things we do. >> [applause] >> Hi everybody. I'm Sophia and we're as Miss Yianne said, we're her phabbotomy students and we go through the whole year learning all of our skills so we can go be in the medical field. Um, phabbotomy is just the art of taking somebody's blood and 70% of the tests that doctors run is from the blood that we take. So if you needed any test done or any test was ordered, you're
003most likely going to see a phabotamist for it. Uh we do have a specific order of draw that we have to go through for the risk of carryover, which is just one additive taking from one tube to the next and that can mess up our tests. And our order of draw is usually going to just going to be blood culture, then light blue, then red, gold, green, lavender, gray, and then royal blue and pink and so on and so forth. And that's we have different colors to run different tests and each color represents a different additive from that test. Like if you needed a glucose test, you'd usually see a green top. Or if you needed um CBC, you'd see light blue. We run these tests to make sure everything is healthy in your body
004and to make sure that everything is functioning the way it's supposed to be. and Jilliam is going to show you how to do a vena puncture. Okay. So, first she's going to get her gloves. And usually we'd identify the patient's name, but it is not a real human being. Next, she's going to take the tourniquet and tie it 3 to 4 in above the site that we're going to stick to make sure that we have enough space to find the vein. And she's going to tie the tourniquet tight enough where two fingers can fit in it, but not tight enough where uh where not loose enough where it's going to fall off. We tie the tourniquet to stop arterial blood because we only want venus blood. She's going to take her index finger and palpate,
005which is just her looking for the vein over her sight. When she finds the vein, she's going to untie the tourniquet because you can only have a tourniquet on for no longer than 1 minute. She's going to clean the site with an alcohol pad. Then as it's drying, she's going to collect all of her materials, which today she's going to be using a butterfly needle with a tube holder. I forgot. Sorry, y'all. She's going to retie the tourniquet once the site has dried because if there's any alcohol and we were running a blood alcohol test, that could mess up the levels and that would mess up our results. She's going to take the tupolder and put it in her hand. She's going to take the cap off and inspect her needle. When she figures it
006out, she is going to pull back and anchor the vein. And then 3, two, one, stick. If you didn't see, there's a flash of blood that came through our butterfly tube. Now, she's going to put the tube in the tube holder. And the blood is going to come out. She's going to untie the tourniquet because, like I said, it can no longer or be on for longer than 1 minute. Once our tube fills, she's going to invert it to make sure the additive gets mixed with the blood and the test is run properly. After that, she's going to take gauze and remove her needle and ask the patient to apply pressure and she's going to put the safety up so we don't have any accidental needle sticks. Put it in our sharps container. Then she's
007going to check the patient. He's no longer bleeding. And then we'll wrap him up with cob band, which is usually our standard wrap, and then we'll send him on his way. Do y'all have any questions? [applause] >> [applause] >> Yes, >> we do take a test at the end of the year to get our certifications. Yes, sir. >> Yes, sir. >> Yeah. >> Um, well, I'm going to Texas Tech and she's going to UT. So, we would find clinics up there to make a little bit of money while we're still going to school. Yeah. >> Yes, sir. Also, while we're still in school, if you're 18, you're eligible to go to clinicals if like January through March, and that'll get you in a real hospital setting while taking other people's blood. Of course. Any other
008questions? No. Thank you all so much for letting us be here. [applause] [applause] >> Thanks so much to our phbotomy students for that outstanding demonstration. So tonight's showcase is actually a twofer. So, next we have our RN, which is Andrea Stonebrook here, and she's gone through the entire medical health pathway through Belton ISD, and she now serves as a school nurse at Burell Elementary School. Andrea, thank you for being with us here tonight. Can you share what it feels like to be back in Belton ISD this time as a nurse instead of a student? >> Um, yes. Thank you for having me. I feel it's such an honor to be here sitting in front of you all. Bear with me. I don't do this often. I'm a oneperson clinic and I stay in my little
009shell. Um, but I will say it's just such a pleasure and an honor to be back here um as a nurse. You said it was as a nurse instead of a student, correct? Um, yes. I'm so sorry. Okay, let me catch my train of thought for a moment. Um, I will say that it is such a blessing to be able to serve now in the community that put so much into me so many years ago. I don't like to admit how many years ago. Um, but I will say just one of the biggest things that kind of comes to mind when I was thinking about this question is just kind of the change in responsibility. um you go from being the one as a student getting poured into um to now having the uh honor
010and the opportunity to be that one that now pours out um and pours into our students on a daily basis. I love getting to see them grow and learn and be excited on a day-to-day year-to-year basis. Um and so just what an honor that is to be back at Bolton. >> Thank you. >> Yes, ma'am. So, um, when you think about your healthc care experience and everything that you've done in the district, what made you say that this is a profession for me? Um, it's kind of unique to be back here at Milton because truthfully, um, if it wasn't for Milton ISD, I would not be sitting here in front of you as a nurse. Um, I actually, uh, was in in my junior year of high school into the health shadowing career program. Um,
011prior to going into that program my junior year, I did know that I wanted to be in health services, um, or health career. Um, I just did not know what, um, I didn't under have a true understanding of what healthcare had to offer. Um, my mother was an occupational therapy, my grandmother was a nurse, so I kind of saw that, but I didn't really know the aspects. Um, but through that health shadowing program, I got to follow different nursing careers, different specialties. Um, and that really opened up my eyes to what nursing actually is and what a ministry it is. Um, and so really through Belton, um, I am now here today, uh, after my junior year. Um, and I will say a quick shout out to Mrs. Templan as well who was my instructor
012through that program. What an amazing lady and just such a wonderful lady. Um but um after my junior year that um led me to I did actually apply to the phabbotomy program and the licensed vocational program. Um got into both but then I ultimately decided to go the nursing route. Um completed the licensed vocational nursing program my senior year of high school and that led me on the path where I am today. So thank you Belton and thank you health services. >> So to that note, why do you think it's important for the district to grow their own healthcare professionals? Yeah, I think it's very important um to be a little bit homegrown. Um I think us um people such as myself that had the opportunity to go to Belin and um you know be
013a student here at Belton um we kind of understand have a little bit more understanding of the culture, the values, the belief um that Belton instills in those who you know go to school here and those that serve here. Um, even I say the temperament of Belton, you know, we kind of have that understanding. Um, f Belton is very much a familyoriented district. Um, I myself have gotten to see that a little bit more personally um, than some through my father, Andy Foster, who's been here um, since 2006, so 20 years this school year. Um, so just what a privilege it's been to see him um, be a leader in this district and now that I get to kind of step up and also um, be an example and a leader through this school district.
014So, what advice do you have for these young students that are coming up through the same way that you did? >> Yeah, that's a very loaded question. When we spoke the other day, I was a little tongue tied um because there's just so many thoughts that run through your head. I could pass the microphone to all these lovely ladies and gentlemen back there. Um and I guarantee you each one would have something different to say because there's just so much excitement you want to bring to our next generation, our next workforce. Um so much advice that you want to give. But in just kind of thinking about this um and discussing with my husband who's also a nurse, I kind of came to a three-fold answer um kind of the highlights that I would give
015um into the audience I have today. Firstly, I would say um never stop growing. Never stop learning. Always be willing to have the mindset of I need to learn something else. Every day is a new day. Um you don't know everything. I promise you, it doesn't matter if you're the new grad starting or the 30-year veteran nurse, you are going to learn something different. Um, and nursing is a forever changing profession. Secondly, I would say, um, don't underestimate the power of a smile, a kind word, um, a kind gesture, a listening ear. Um, we as nurses don't always, you know, provide care like you would see. Sometimes we're just there to be that listening and ear and to, you know, help them through certain situations. Um and lastly, most importantly I would say is to
016not forget your why. Um you know we all go into this profession for a reason. It is a very um hard profession. It is a very um profession that takes a toll on you. So I would say in those moments of doubt in those moments that you're like what the heck just happened? Um as you're walking to your car and you're trying to figure out life um those car rides home sometimes where you're not listening to music and you're just kind of staring in the abyss. I take those times to just remember why I chose this career, why I'm here, what my purpose is, what I want um my purpose to be, and how I want to affect the lives of our kiddos. Um, and if it comes down all the way to a band-aid
017all the way up to a chronic care or whatever it may be for the day, I try to reflect and, you know, see how I helped somebody, how I um was able to help a family, and just reflect on those moments. So, I would say most importantly, never forget your why. >> Well, thank you, Andrea. you are the journey of the graduate and we appreciate you for being here. Um, ladies and gentlemen, uh, this is Andrea Stone Brook. Thank you so much. [applause] So, the board of trustees is going to make their way to the stage while we reset. Please give us one moment. The whole is this your husband? Awesome. Good evening everyone. Thank you for joining us this evening and for your interest in Belton ISD. I hope you've enjoyed the demonstration by
018the Belton High School phottomy students. Let's give them a round of applause if you will. [applause] The time is 6:27 p.m. and the Belton Independent School District Board of Trustees are now convened in a regular board meeting on Monday, November the 17th, 2025 at the Pittinger Fine Arts Center located at 400 North Wall Street in Belton, Texas. A quorum of board members is present. This meeting has been duly called. The notice of the meeting has been posted in accordance with the Texas Open Meetings Act, chapter 551 in the Texas government code. I want to welcome the members of our audience and our live stream viewers to this meeting. As the Belton ISD board of trustees, we are here to set goals, listen to reports from the superintendent, approve budgets, contracts, personal appointments, and make policy
019for the district. This is a meeting of the board of trustees held in public, not a public meeting. Prior to this meeting, the board of board members received information related to items on tonight's agenda. Agenda items may not necessarily be handled in the order listed on the notice. This meeting is open to to all who wish to attend and hear the matters discussed. These proceedings are being livereamed on the district YouTube channel and will be available for review in the days following tonight's meeting. For the video to adequately reflect the proceedings, I respectfully request that you please remain from talking while others are speaking and that cell phones remain on the silent mode. Please rise for a moment of silent prayer or meditation. Please remain standing as our students from High Point Elementary lead us
020in the pledge of allegiance and honor to the Texas flag. >> Aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Honor Texas flag. I aliance to thee, Texas. One state under God. One and indivisible. >> Please be seated. The first item on the agenda this evening is recognitions and we'll turn it over at this time to our communications team to lead us in that regard. >> Hang with me for just a second until the board gets down here and take a picture with them and I'll read some fun stuff about you. Okay, y'all ready? Okay, y'all go on. Good evening. Our first recognition this evening is our pledge students from High Point Elementary. We
021have Samuel Parker and Leila Par. Samuel loves math and enjoys the challenge of solving problems. His friends describe him as funny, competitive, sporty, and intelligent. Leila is a fourth grader. Science is her favorite subject because she loves exploring how things work. Her friends describe her as caring, empathetic, and a wonderful friend to have. Well, we are so grateful to have you guys with us tonight. Thank you for starting our meeting off in an amazing way. [applause] And now we will recognize our students from our showcase this evening as well as Andrea Stonebrook who participated as our very own um journey of a graduate nurse health science student um who is now a nurse at Burell. As you saw tonight, the health science pathway allows our students to gain both medical knowledge and hands-on experience through
022courses like principles of health science, medical technology, and anatomy and phys physiology and also sets a path forward for their futures. And we were so grateful that Andrea could join us tonight and show the complete cycle. And um we're truly grateful for all of you uh for being here with us tonight. And next up, we will recognize our Special Olympics bowling team [applause] for their outstanding performance. [applause] We are recognizing these students for their outstanding performance at the area 12 bowling competition back on October 24th at Fort Hood. This team brought home five first place uh awards, four second place and three third place awards and a ton of additional top finishes. We are so proud of them and to their coaches. grateful to their coaches Lauren Marks and Misty Norwood for their leadership and
023support. Congratulations to our bowling special Olympics champions. [applause] [applause] >> [applause] >> And we want to also recognize this evening National Merit Commended Scholars from Lake Belton High School. These two seniors, Abram Gardo and Taylor Rogers, have been named National Merit Commended Scholars for their exceptional academic promise, ranking among the top 50,000 students in the country. We are truly proud of your remarkable accomplishments. [applause] truly a distinguished honor and we're glad to recognize you. Thank you guys. And our marching band state qualifiers from Lake Belton High School. you. [cheering] [applause] Lake Belton High School Stampede Marching Band advanced to the UIL 5A State Marching Band Contest, continuing the remarkable tradition of excellence that they started when the school opened in 2020. We have our directors Bobby Yrian, Craig George, Jacob Guero, Grant Shane, Jesse Arble,
024and student teacher and Belton High School alumnist Jacob Masters. [applause] The Stampede uh represented Lake Belton High School and Belton ISD with excellence at the state contest last week in San Antonio. Congratulations to our students, directors, and families who continue to raise the standard for musical excellence in Belton ISD. Congratulations, Stampede. [applause] Awesome. Y this way. Awesome. Congratulations. Congratulations. And as our students exit, we also now want to recognize our CTE program that has allowed us to become a district of distinction for CTE. We are proud to recognize Belton ISD's career and technical education program for earning the CTE District of distinction honor from the Career and Technology Association of Texas for the second consecutive year. Belton offers over 25 programs of study and in 2425 school year students earned over,00 industry certifications. Our program
025continues to demonstrate growth and excellence in connecting classroom learning to real world opportunities. and CTE is led by director of preK12 career readiness Denise Ays. Congratulations on making us a CTE District of Distinction. [applause] And next, we'd like our finance department to come forward. We are proud to recognize Belton ISD's finance department for earning a superior achievement a rating in the school financial integrity rating system of Texas for the 14th consecutive year [applause] For the last six years, the department has also gone above and beyond to apply to earn the ASBO accreditation and the GFOA accreditation for excellence in financial reporting which they have earned for six consecutive years. And again, that is an additional extra layer that is not required. that this group puts forth the effort and the energy to make sure that
026we are um uh operating at the highest financial with the highest financial transparency and it's a lot of work um uh to go through these additional layers and these additional audits um but it is a tremendous effort and again six years straight to earn both that national and international award. Congratulations [applause] and Heath Condi, come on up from High Point. We are proud to recognize Heath as the Temple Rotary Club's educator of the month for October. He is in his fifth year in education and he teaches first grade and is known for his leadership, positivity and student first mindset. His his principal uh Courtney Brewer says that Mr. Condi plays a key role on our guiding coalition and consistently advocates for what's best for every student. We appreciate his positivity and adaptability which is inspires
027those around him. Congratulations, Mr. Condi. [applause] And next up tonight, our department showcase is our incredible health services team [cheering and applause] [cheering] [applause] led by Mary Lisa Fanning. Our department features 31 full-times nurse full-time nurses, including 21 registered nurses and 10 licensed vocational nurses. Everything from daily care to emergency response. These school nurses provide essential support across all campuses, and they truly exemplify compassion, professionalism, and dedication to student well-being across Belton ISD. Congratulations on being recognized this evening. Health Services Department. [applause] And one of our key partners with our health service department is our community partner Baylor Scott and White Healthc Care who are making their way forward this evening. And we want to recognize them for all that they do as valued partners. Through programs like Dare to Dream, healthc care hero events,
028high school job shadowing, and mentorship, they explore real world healthcare careers while building technical skills and leadership. And in addition, this evening, we're pleased to be able to announce a new partnership that was started this year with our health services department and Baylor Scott and White Health called the Well Kids Pilot Program, which is a program that's at Hubard branch providing medical care for students who are having difficulty accessing it through residents through residents uh who are part of the program at MLAN MLAN's Children's Medical center. Um those wellchild visits, our uh staff are able to help um nursing staff uh and uh physicians are able to provide families with medical care that's desperately needed and bridge the gap. So with that and so for so many reasons, we are truly grateful. I do want
029to mention that you guys are debuting tonight a brand new award. Our big red community partner award has been rebranded thanks to our students at Belton High School in the construction trades program and they created we gave them very little direction um or guidance and we told them we just needed an award that we could present to community partners and we wanted it them to create it and that is what they have created and you are the inaugural group uh to receive that award and we couldn't think of a better community partner to do that with. So, thank you to Baylor, Scott, and White for all that you do. [applause] And we have one more um final very special award um this evening. Um Lori Curry, would you please come forward on Thursday, November 6.
030It started out as just an ordinary day in the cafeteria during lunchtime at High Point Elementary. As paraprofessional Lorie Curry was monitoring and attending to the needs of students as they were eating their meals, she noticed that kindergarten student Adonis Hernandez was in distress. She quickly assessed the situation and realized that Adonis was choking and unable to breathe. She immediately began performing the Heimlick maneuver on him until the piece of food blocking his windpipe was dislodged and his breathing returned to normal. Adonis was evaluated by the school nurse and aside from being a little shaken up um he was otherwise just fine. Um the nurse and the principal contacted Adonis's parents who were overcome with gratitude and wanted to know how they could show their appreciation to Miss Curry. So Lori, I don't know that
031we could ever adequately um recognize or thank you for your actions in the cafeteria that day. Uh what you did defies expectation and is nothing short of heroic. Uh no one is more grateful to you than Adonis and his family who were here tonight and would like to present something to you [snorts] as a thank you to celebrate you. Um, we are truly grateful beyond words and please join us all in recognizing Lorie Curry. [applause] [applause] >> [applause] [applause] >> And audience, if you will hang tight for just a minute while the board goes back to the DAS because they may have some words that they want to address. >> Thank you. Thank you. Thank you all for being here. I've attended many board meetings in 36 years. Um I will tell you tonight makes
032me exceptionally proud. We have highlighted the incredible work of our student athletes who y'all they bring their own entourage. If you've never been to one of the Special Olympics events, you have to go and you have to see the community that comes out. Um to be able to recognize our incredible partners. I don't know if everybody knows this, but we have residents that actually go into Southwest Elementary School, do lessons with our students all the way up to high school. Our students get to do practicums because of those amazing relationships. We have incredible students. I I went to your um state competition. I went to your area competition. They got it wrong. Y'all were number one in my book. I will tell you right now, you should be exceptionally proud of how well you did.
033[applause] We we have incredible directors that are in the back that are just amazing. The countless hours staff I'm sitting here looking at an incredible health care team. Um some of which who have helped me when I had an off day. Thank you for taking my blood pressure. Um not that this job would cause that. and to our incredible CTE staff. I hear we won a barbecue award over the weekend, but we'll we'll let communications announce that one. >> And yeah, you're welcome. And oh my gosh, to get to see and hear from someone who went to school in Belton ISD, took advantage of the programs, our industry based certifications, ultimately became a nurse, and came back to serve in the community. I could not be more proud of this school district and our own
034hero for saving the life of one of our students. So, thank y'all so much for being here tonight. And Manuel, I'll I'll be quiet. I promise. >> I could say ditto to all that. Um well, the we start meetings off like this, it really it really makes you feel good. It makes you feel proud to be sitting up here uh to watch these things uh unfold. uh especially when you have a former student come in and tell us how she was impacted by the programs that we have here in this district. Uh public education is alive and well, folks. Uh this is just a great display of that. Anyone else want to chime in on that? Chris, I know you've got some things to say. [laughter] >> What are you trying to say? >> No,
035all I'm going to say is this is a this is why we do what we do. That's right. Okay. This is a total 360, right? From students to staff to community partners, >> right? I mean, this is why we do what we do. Like, this is a tough job. Um, but I couldn't I couldn't do with a better group of people, and I couldn't do it for a more deserving group of students and a more a deserving group of uh faculty members and community members. I mean, this is I mean, this is it. Um, and I got to end it with a go stampede. Let's go. [screaming] [laughter] [applause] >> Anyone else? All right, guys. And um we're we're about to start our meeting. Uh you're certainly welcome to stay if you would like or
036if you don't have time to stay then you can certainly make a quick exit. [laughter] >> And this was She's gonna do it. Thank you. How are you? We're always in trouble. Oh my god. All right, we'll get started again. Um, next on the agenda are public comments. And I believe we have no public comments on agenda items. Correct? We have one on non-aggenda. All right. So, we'll move forward. Moving on to action items. Item four in particular, public hearing. Public hearing regarding Southwest Elementary turnaround plan. Dr. Goolan. >> Yes. So, our assistant superintendent for teaching and learning, Gabby Nino, is at the podium and she is going to present information about a turnaround plan for Southwest Elementary School and then we can open it up for comments. >> Good evening. I want to start
037before getting to discussion about the actual plan um for Southwest Elementary School by reconnecting to some accountability changes that we've had over the um last few years that are directly connected to student performance as measured by the STAR assessment. What you see on your screen is just a timeline from 2019 to 2025 that illustrates the changes um every year either in the format of our state assessment star or the way accountability rules are applied to that assessment um in the A throughF system. Um, something that we haven't frequently talked about is a change in the 2021 school year as a result of Senate Bill 1365 that actually changed the way the A throughF system is applied to schools to determine um their their ratings um including a shift to considering consecutive years of performance versus
038just the performance for that school year. And I want to show you just a a a quick visual to explain that shift. Um prior to 2021, um a campus might be identified in need of improvement based on that ex that current year performance. Meaning, for example, we just finished the 2425. Actually, not just, we got ratings in the fall for the 2425 school year. And if a campus had earned an F rating for that year, the school improvement um activities would have been based just on that school year. under the new um application of rules, a a school's uh engagement and school improvement activities is based on historical years including um D-ratings for campuses. And so campuses earn what's called an unacceptable count. Um and we'll explore a little bit more of what that looks
039like. But with that change, it's important to keep in mind that with the rule change, there are two years um in particular that we had zero ratings because the rating system was um withheld in litigation. Um and so we were making predictions on school performance while also planning for school improvement. we had really good predictions but um just want to make sure that there's an awareness that we are applying some activities um based on changes during a time where we did not have accountability ratings released to us publicly. So let's talk um in particular about Southwest Elementary School. In the 2022 23 school year, the campus did have a rating of an F with a a score of a 59 um overall score. In 232 24 they had a D. In the old system that
040I illustrated previously that would have been considered a reset. We still would have had improvement activities but it would have also counted it would have reset their count in performance. And then in the campus did earn a 59 overall rating which um is an F which is resulting in our campus needing to write what's called a turnaround plan. And I want to talk to you a little bit more around what a turnaround plan is and then get to very specifics about Southwest Elementary School across the state of Texas. If a campus or a district is writing improvement plans um due to needed improvement as a result of um STAR assessments, they must write plans in alignment with what's called the effective schools framework. That framework outlines five different areas of focus um that need to
041be in place and are considered highly um important for effective schools. And those categories are in strong leadership and planning in strategic staffing in the school culture, positive school culture and high quality instructional materials and assessment and an effective instruction. Now, in order for a school to determine where their areas of focus are, they go to through a pretty extensive process to write their turnaround plan, there are visuals just as cues up here that are visual images of the actual plan. But the campus initially goes through a needs assessment in each of those five categories. And in that needs assessment, they start with describing what their vision is for each of the categories, if it was fully actualized. And then they reflect on where they are right now as it relates to each one of
042those categories. And they determine then what is the difference between my vision and where we are right now in order to plan very targeted action steps that will be implemented to improve school performance. Once they they've identified those areas, then they start thinking about the strategies that they will be using or the learning that is needed for the campus to um take step forwards with those strategies and what will be the measures along the way to illustrate that they're progressing. Those include identifying the learning needed, how frequently they'll engage in learning and again what artifacts will um illustrate progress for them. So for Southwest Elementary School as um the team, the campus leadership team and district leadership team um engaged in this needs assessment process that involved teachers that involved community that involved the instructional
043leadership team, meaning Felicia, our principal, and her administrative team, as well as district supports, myself, Holly Moore, um Denise Sharp, who supervises the campus went through that needs assessment process. process. They identified first strong school leadership and planning. In this area, the team really reflected on does our feedback that we're giving teachers align to the needs and are we being very systematic in that? And so, we've made an investment in professional learning. Our instructional leadership team has engaged in learning in what's called get better faster. And it's a process that they use to observe and give teachers feedback in the classroom and what a support cycle looks like for that teacher. the learning and the action um not only involves uh Miss Gibson and her leadership team at the campus, but also um Denise Sharp,
044our executive director of school leadership, um Holly Moore, who serves as our district coordinator of school improvement, and myself have all engaged in the learning. And that um really like tangible activities that you'll see are an increase in the frequency that teachers are getting feedback and what the feedback cycles look like to sit down and say, "Teacher, here's what we observed. Here are the strengths and the one small high lever action you might take to improve instruction." So that's a a big area of emphasis for the team at Southwest Elementary and for us in supporting the campus. The second area that they identified as needing needing an intense focus is in high quality instructional materials and assessment. In the needs assessment process, it was identified that there could be um strengthening of fidelity of implementation
045of instruction. Um was there rigor or the level of depth that instruction um was happening at was an area that Miss Gibson and team feels like we need to improve. And so there's a connection to that feedback, but there was also a need to strengthen the resources that were in place for teachers to use in the classroom. And so through a a school improvement grant, we were awarded funds um that has supported um some some external support and training to a very deep level with our instructional materials, including Blue Bonnet Math and our SAVIS English language arts instruction. And so the goal in this area is to really intensify the focus ensuring that every student receives the highest quality instruction every day using those resources that are recognized as high quality instructional resources. And then
046the uh final focus area that they felt like really needed to be emphasized was in effective instruction. It may sound like that's what I've been talking about, but the effective instruction here is reflecting using data tools on how every student is doing in very quick cycles. So on assessments that are administered in the classroom, how did students do and how are you responding rapidly and flexibly um to the student needs. So, a couple of things that have happened that are shifts at Southwest Elementary is one, in their instructional planning process, they have built in days at the end of each um unit of study that allow them to go back and retach quickly. And so, they've built more flexibility in their instructional timeline so that when they administer an assessment, they come together immediately and
047they um plan how they're going to respond. So, we gave that flexibility and timeline. That also means flexibility with each other and teachers. They um have implemented what's called win time. And so, not only is it just in their regular instructional time, but the Southwest Elementary team comes together and they look across classrooms and say, "Where were the strengths of Mr. Beck's classroom? What were the strengths of Mr. Preston's classroom? and how might we plan together to make sure that um students are getting that strength-based instruction together. So, they flex their students and plan for responsive instruction during a a 50inute window of time daily with their students and they come back together weekly to review students progress and make any adjustments. So those are the areas um strong leadership and planning, high quality instructional
048materials and assessment as well as effective instruction that have been emphasized at Southwest Elementary. I do want to share a couple of things that we are working on to ensure that um they are supported in their efforts. This is not just the Southwest Elementary team, but this is our district that needs to support um in particular in strategic staffing. Um we are working with a team to plan for how we can ensure that the highest quality um teachers are in place and in place earlier on the southwest elementary campus um that allows them to put high quality learning in place and their systems in place with reduced variability. Um I also want to talk about related to culture some supports that we're putting in place. culture of high achievement means that you're maximizing every single
049minute that you have available with students. And one of the things that Miss Gibson would really like to do is to extend the school day at Southwest Elementary. And so Cassandra and I are work, Dr. Spearman and I are working right now with our transportation team to identify how we can remove transportation as a barrier and extend the school day for students um who may need to stay longer at school. and we ensure that they have transportation um after extended opportunities. In addition, um Miss Gibson is preparing a list of every single student on campus that needs a mentor and currently does not have a mentor in place so that our team can ensure that those um things are in place and that no child goes without that um support through a mentorship on her
050campus. So, in the plan that has quite a few I'm going the wrong direction again, y'all. I'm sorry. Um quite a few extensive details. I do want you to know that the highest leverage areas are in that leadership and planning, high quality instructional materials and assessment and effective instruction. At this time, I want to answer any questions that you all have before we turn into a public hearing. >> Trustees, anyone have any questions for Miss Nino? >> A couple questions. Okay. I have a couple of questions. I know we we really talked in depth about this a couple of weeks ago, but um just remind me how soon are we able to begin implementing the the plan and then and then how are we going to know because I know other than STAR, we'll we'll
051be able to see that progress, but how along the way are we going to see the fruits of the hard work that they're putting into this? Absolutely. So, the interesting thing about the turnaround plan um is that it's intended for implementation next year, but there's just no way that we would identify a need in a process and not start working the work right now. And I will tell you that um Felicia and team have already they had already gone before the school year started through a very extensive process in writing a a needs assessment and improvement plan and started from day one on strategies. This process has just really helped us tighten up. one of the areas that you just asked about how we will know in this process we identified an additional way that
052we can tighten up and we um developed really Holly and and with Felicia's help um she engaged in some learning with another campus um and another community that's in one of her like schools who had a really strong data profile that helped them really articulate clearly what are our targets in each of the domains of the state accountability system and put a monitoring metric in place on a single single page measurable tool. And so that's a way that we've improved and are implementing. After any data window that we have, that's a district-wide uh data uh window for assessment, then a support team will go and meet with Miss Gibson and her team and use that monitoring tool that we've developed to say, are we on track or are we not? So those will be done
053quarterly at a minimum. Now, with that said, she and her team are together every single Friday. I was with her team on Friday as they were reviewing their classroom assessments and making adjustments. And so we should be seeing moni we should be seeing progress weekly with teachers, but we'll do quarterly checks as well. >> Anyone else? Chris, >> um I want to thank you for the work that's being done on the campus. Right. So for the campus folks that are here, like I I know this is not the top thing that you want to be doing, right? like um you know, you don't want to be having this conversation, but I want to thank you for the way that you've jumped in on this and you know, taking ownership of it and and really like
054doing the hard work that needs to get done, right? Because I certainly recognize that this is not easy. Um when we did get briefed on this, I don't know, a week or two ago, I guess, um you know, a couple things kind of raised raised eyebrows that I feel like I have to explain maybe a little bit, right? So, the first thing that raised my eyebrow was lover lover for, right? high quality instructional materials and assessments, right? The first thing that came to my mind was, "Well, what what do you mean we don't have high quality instructional materials, right? We just adopted a new curriculum." Um, and so, you know, I think it and and what I understand from the from the conversation before is that yes, like we did just adopt a new curriculum.
055Those are high quality materials. And I think what's going on at Southwest is some early adoption, right, around those materials and really jumping in um to to to get a head start really on the rest of the district on that. Um, and so, you know, it's not that we don't have high quality instructional materials. We absolutely have that and we're using that and we're we're jumping in again with Southwest kind of getting getting in the front of that. So, am I good on that? >> You are. I'd love to respond to it a bit and say that part of the needs assessment that um really Felicia and her team implemented is that we did have concerns about the high quality instructional materials. So they did jumpst start and their work really helped um as us
056helped us in understanding in the adoption process last year um ways to improve as well and they also have an intense support plan in place that's helping helping us strengthen our implementation for the rest of the district as well. >> Yeah. Um I mean I've read the plan and you know so impressed with the thoroughess of the plan. the tabs and tabs and tabs and tabs and tabs and tabs and more tabs and tabs uh and all the rows of those tabs like I mean it's very clear right the the amount of work that went into that so like we we've seen that thank you um I'm also super impressed kind of looking at lever five um around the u datadriven um sort of approach to this and the fact that like we can drive
057this down to the individual student in the individual classroom right and can see that, right? Like um we know where the spots are, right? Um we know, you know, where the the the biggest improvements can be need to be made, right? And we can see that down to the student, right? So there should be no doubt um you know, that we're using data to drive what's going on. And I was so impressed with that. Um you know, interested in figuring out ways that we can automate some of that data a little bit more to take some of the creation of that data um and make it a little bit easier. Um that's probably a longer term challenge unfortunately. Um but very impressed in that and it it made me feel you know I I knew
058we were doing the work right but it really sort of helped cement it for me that yes we're doing the work we have the measures we're looking at this stuff we're moving in the right direction so I think the the the things that we are doing are the things that we need to be doing um in order to you know get this on on a on a better track um and again thank you it's about execution now right execution and and you know measure it and and tweak and continue to go. So, um, thank you for for doing the hard work. >> Anyone else? >> Gabby, um, you mentioned about um, Felicia wanted to extend the school day. C, can you talk a little bit more about that? >> Sure. Um, so when we have
059a higher number of students who may be experiencing poverty, that's the first example that I would give. We know that every moment that a child has structured activity um structured experiences is incredibly important. Um I will talk about and we're all talking with principles tomorrow about sticky learning. When when you have unstructured around you, it's very hard for learning to stick in the brain. That is research proven. Um, and so for many of our our students, um, and it's not in any kind of criticism, when I leave school, I go home to unstructured activity. Gabby Nino's children do the same thing. And it is very, very hard for a child who lives in poverty um, to have learning stick when a large p percentage of my day is unstructured. And so Felicia and I um
060have visited about some ways to give more time in a structured environment that is academic in nature. Um and so our conversation just said I want to do I want more time for my kids to be on task. And so then our job is to help remove any barriers that are preventing that from happen. So, um her our goal is that when we come back from break after holiday, um that our students who are in need of the most support will have the opportunity to stay at school longer to get um some targeted support aligned to their needs and that transportation will not be a barrier for that. That they can stay at school a bit longer and get targeted support for their needs. >> And and we've talked about that time needs to be
061very intentional and very strategic for the individual student needs um during that time. And so I it has to be engaging. So it has to be aligned to what that individual student needs. It has to be engaging. Not all students are going to jump for joy about staying after school. Um so it has to be incredibly engaging. We need to be able to provide snacks for students and we need the support of families to support us in giving us that extended time with their students. So the timeline would be the timeline would be January. >> Yes. Okay. >> That's our goal is to start in January when we return from break. >> So what are we doing between now and in January in the interim to to implement that? >> Absolutely. So one identify any
062barriers that might exist and one I just named for you all was transportation. Um Felicia and I visited last week about the need for every family. We just had parent conferences. So, I don't want to imply in any way that our parents didn't get conferences, but that every single child who is in need of additional intensive support would have a conversation um with their teacher supported by our campus leadership team and communicating. We want to extend the learning time for your child, what barriers would prevent that from happening. And so Felicia and her team will work between now and break to make sure that we have contact with those families and ensure that they understand the importance and that we um will be supporting them. In addition, some work between now and then is identifying
063who the staff will be that would support that time and what tools and resources they'll use for that time. >> And then the other thing you mentioned was um the mentor program. Can you can you talk to us about about that? >> Yes. So, um, when visiting with Felicia, she has she has she has mentors on campus. She has a group of students that still don't have a mentor secured with them. And so, we just talked and I said, "You need to send the list out because we're send me the list. Send it to our team. There is no way we're going to let a child who needs a mentor not get a mentor." And so this is about ensuring that we as a a district support team um when they've been working the work
064to find mentors and not um I don't want to say not finding success but not securing someone yet and we have a team here that can help with that. And so just ask that they share that um so that we can get students connected to what they need. Now, Felicia um she has strong feelings about each student has somebody they need and so she asked, "Can I articulate what the needs are for each student so we can work to find somebody that aligns to their needs?" Absolutely. You tell us what um we need to search for and that's what we're going to find. >> Okay. And I I also like Chris was saying, I want to thank you and your team and I see I see our administrators here from our, you know, from our
065campuses around the district. Thank you guys for what you do. Uh I know there's been a lot of time, toil, and effort associated with this. So really, really appreciate that. Okay. Uh anyone else? >> What's been the response from the parents who have heard about this opportunity for the structured learning after hours supports for snacks and transportation? >> So at right now, the team will be working from now until break to really work with each one of the families. So, let me back up to response just to plan. Um, Felicia's had several family events. Um, one that we didn't have the turnout that we would want to and so then she and her team rethought, what are we going to do? And so, they had a student performance and then they accompanied that performance with
066an information for families around their improvement efforts. And so, they got a very large turnout then and got feedback from families on their improvement plans. um the the extend extension of the school day um that is a new conversation that we've started and are going to make happen um with a launch date after January. And so we haven't um I can't say to you this parent responded this way yet. I will tell you in my past experiences, all I've experienced was a a sense of gratitude from families um that we communicated we see there's a need and we're going to remove barriers to get that support in place. Yeah. Yeah. Chris. >> Yeah. Sorry, I'm gonna come back at it. Some things have triggered some things for me. Um [snorts] maybe as a follow-up, I
067don't know that we need to do that here, but I'm definitely interested in understanding more about the uh community engagement for the campus, right? So, what does that engagement look like with the families and and all that kind of stuff? Um is there anything more that you need from us for Southwest? Right. Is there anything that we can do? And and I'm going to I'm going to I'm going to speak for myself. If there's something that I can do personally, okay, like if you want me to come if if we do end up with, you know, extend the school day and you want me to come and do math with kids, like you >> put me in, coach. Okay? I'm put me in, coach. So like, is there anything that that you need from us
068that you're not getting or that that we're doing that's in the way? Let us know. You don't have to let us know on camera, right? You can let us know after the fact, but no, let let us know. >> Yeah. So, I will respond on camera and just say we've we've always felt like there was um champions from our school board in this work. Um I will ask that you continue keeping your eyes out for work that they're engaging in and events that Southwest Elementary is hosting and and be present and be visible. Phenomenal things are happening at Southwest Elementary and I would proudly have my own children um take part in school at Southwest Elementary. Absolutely. As we extend school day, would love for you to be there. Um, I'll use the mentorship as
069an example. As we get that and we see their specific needs, there may be connections that you all have to groups in the community that would proudly serve and mentor. And so we'll we'll share that with you all as well. >> I'll just say um we went and did a site visit at Southwest and so to answer Chris's question, Felicia at the end of that meeting actually invited us anytime that we wanted to come by and I'm sure that extends to everyone on the board. So, okay. Thank you, Gabby. Uh, the time is now 7:19 and we'll now hold a public hearing regarding the Southwest Elementary turnaround plan. Do we have anyone signed up? All right. So, the time is 7:19 and the public hearing is closed. Port, any follow-up questions for Miss Nino before
070we go on to action items? I don't have a follow-up question, but just a thank you. I want to reiterate that I'm sitting here looking at the faces of individuals that are giving everything they've got to continuous improvement on their campuses and I'm incredibly proud of them. And I just want to reiterate um when you're doing turnaround school work, when you're doing school improvement work, having done it as a principal, Gabby Nino has done it as a principal. Um it's easy for everyone to identify what are the challenges. These ladies know the challenges better than any of us can know the challenges. They're there every single day. They're seeing the celebrations and they're seeing the challenges. So, I would just continue to reinforce, please support them. Go to their events. I went to a storybook
071event that I'll tell you all about later in the superintendent report. I mean, they they and their staff, their teachers are working so hard. And so, um, please, if you can get to some of those events, I know that they would appreciate it and I certainly appreciate everything that y'all are doing. >> I didn't see Felicia back there, so she's there. Yeah, I I saw you Gabby Gabby was standing there so I I didn't know. I saw the other ministry. Yeah. So, uh you remember I came to your campus and we we we talked to the parents in Spanish. You remember that? So, if if I can ever do that again, please let me know. Okay. All right. >> We also have an amazing um um faith-based leaders group that we work with and our
072principles come together with them. We have somewhere around 30 um from all of our local churches, nonprofits who come to the table and work with us. We have a process now for communicating our needs. So I think that's another place for identifying potential mentors. And so we're just looking for every time we are gathering with community members to look for um mentors who are willing to spend some time willing to read. We have education connection reading to our students matters. And so just a plug for our faith-based leaders and their support of our schools. They have also come to the table and they're incredible partners with us. >> We're behind you girls all the way. So don't got all the confidence in you guys and your administrative team and your teams that are working with
073you on your campuses. So we're behind you. Don't ever think that that it's not that way. Okay. All right. Um All right. Move on to action items. Item five, consider, discuss, and take appropriate action regarding school improvement plans, including the Southwest Elementary Turnaround Plan. Do we have a motion to approve the Southwest Elementary Turnaround Plan and the local improvement plans for Chism Trail Elementary, High Point Elementary, Hbert Branch Elementary, and South Belton Middle School as presented? All right, Mr. Bzon. Second, Mr. Beck. All those in favor, please raise your hand. That passes 720 to zero. >> Hey man, just before we go on on that subject, um, so I'll extend the same invitation to the other campuses certainly. So [laughter] if there's anything I can do for you all, you know, please let me know.
074>> Okay, that takes us to item 5B. Consider discussion, take appropriate action regarding the teacher incentive allotment spending plan. Dr. Goolan. >> Yes. So board, as you know, we indicated to the Texas Education Agency last April that Belton ISD intended to explore and implement the teacher incentive aotment program. And so our team got to work with um Gabby, Deanna Loith, Melissa Laferty, Todd, um a lot of our teachers came together with us to really look at what could this look like for Belton ISD. Part of the process is you have to bring to the board and discuss the teacher incentive aotment spending plan. So Melissa is here and she's going to go through the requirements of that plan. Just as a reminder, we had a discussion item in the last board meeting where we discussed
075this and tonight she's going to give you some highlights and we're going to be asking for your consideration. >> All right. Good evening. Like Melinda said, we're here to discuss and seek your approval of the Belton ISD uh teacher incentive aotment spending plan. Um there are a multitude of different spending plan models. They can take different shapes, different forms. Um but tonight for your approval, we are recommending a 90% 10% uh model plan. Um and in this model basically 90% of the uh earned teacher aotment 90% of that would go to the teacher that earned the funding would go to their compensation and then the t the district would then uh reserve 10% uh for the cost it takes to run uh the plan. The 90% model is one of the most common plans. A
076lot of the districts surrounding us are are using this same model. Um, and we this model probably best maximizes the amount of dollars that can go to a teacher that earned those that funding as well as balancing the costs that it takes for the district to run that plan as well. Um we're also hoping that by doing this it will incentivize other teachers uh to start uh working and participate in that plan as well. Um you can make it as complicated as you want. Uh for instance I mean you could do a 45% to that teacher's compensation and another 45% to the grade level team. um depending on each district's, you know, um needs or their their plans. I mean, you could make this as complicated or as simple as you wanted to uh to
077make that happen. Any other comments, Deanna? All right. So, just kind of run you through uh what that 90% teacher compensation would look like. Um, for example, a teacher that would for for example example number one, if a teacher earns $3,000 in an allotment, the district would take 10% to help cover the cost that it takes to run that plan. And then you would back out that is included in compensation are the benefits that are paid by the district on that teacher's behalf. And so by including those benefits that the district pays, that then reduces the amount of the allotment that the teacher would receive in gross pay. So for instance, in example one, rather than $2,700 in gross pay, that teacher would have a gross pay of $2,398 and I believe that's 62. Um,
078then you would back out that teacher's deductions. They're withholding just like payroll. So, their take-home would be $1,678. Now, if you're wondering about um why are those benefits included? Um as this program gets larger, that that cost to the district increases. There's no additional funding that helps supports that increased cost to the district for those benefits. And so TEA has allowed uh for those benefits to be uh in that calculation as well. So then in the district's 10% reserve um here you can see that uh if there was about 1,134,000 that were gener a lotment that was generated by teachers if the if the district reserved that $113,400 for their cost most of that cost is the Star Renaissance to help pay that cost where those assessments are housed. um and calcul and assessed. Um
079also there would be you know consultants and additional staffing costs that would go that are going to be experienced by the district to run and manage uh all of those allotments and getting those through the payroll system and to help pay for that professional learning to help other teachers uh participate and become eligible for a teacher incentive aotment. So you can see that that 10% is easily consumed uh by those additional costs. Now, uh, one thing to remember for a teacher to be eligible, they must be reported in a designated teaching role that is within our teacher incentive aotment plan in the fall snapshot submission and then be in the classroom through the winter PE submission that goes to TEA and then remain in the classroom throughout the end of the school year to be
080eligible for an a TIA aotment. payment. Um, this slide right here kind of goes through a couple of scenarios that are addressed within our plan um for additional for payment eligibility for those teachers. So, for instance, teachers that are here in the winter submission um who do not complete the school year because they have a milit a mandatory military reassignment, we will go ahead and uh let them receive their compensation. teachers that and this will probably more than likely happen. Um teachers that move from one campus to another will also still receive their compensation and that compensation will based on that funding that at the campus where they were at the winter submission that generated that funding. Okay? So they would be paid from those funds. teachers leaving uh that are here through the they
081have to be here through that winter submission to capture that data that goes to TEA to calculate those aotments. So those teachers in that winter submission and then if they leave before the end of the school year for reasons other than that mandatory military leave um will not receive compensation. Uh the remaining funds that that may get left on the table will then be distributed to those designated teachers at the campuses where the funds were generated. And the amount that each teacher would receive cannot exceed $5,000. And if there's any remaining funds after that, then we those would be used for hiring stipens. And then for those teachers coming into the district with a designation uh will be paid the same as our existing teachers here in the system. So the teacher payouts will happen
082as follows. Um after that winter submission that information is submitted to TEA who then calculates each of the allotments for the teachers. The district does not calculate do any of those calculations. then they will send those aotments and will notify us of those in April of 2027 which will be the first payout year. Um, one thing to note those aotment amounts can change from year to year which is due to the demographic changes that can happen at the campuses. So those allotments will not be the same from your year. So, if you earned 3,000 last year, you may not necessarily have the same dollar amount going into the following year. Retiring designated teachers that earn a designation, they will receive their compensation earlier than the others in May of 2027. and that will give us
083time to process them through payroll, submit their information to TRS so that they can get processed and start receiving their annuity payments uh in a timely manner. And finally, all other designated teachers will receive their compensation in June of 2027. All right. And we're open to questions or discussions. >> Any questions for Miss Laferty? >> Oh, yeah. Um, thank you for this. I feel like um, we've been talking about this for a long time. So, it's exciting to just see this really start to come to fruition. I guess the question that I have um, is once we decide, are we locked into say if we do the 9010, are we locked into that or if we see at some point that maybe we could go up to a 93? I know you said we could
084we could get as complicated as we want. Um, once we decide, are we locked in? Um, >> um, no, you're not. you can change um now I'm not sure the timing of that change but you can change your plans and a lot of districts went out and made them either complicated or did not reserve 10% for the district and what they were finding they were backtracking and had to go back to saying hey we need to go back to a 9010 to help cover those increased costs to the district >> okay thanks >> yeah can I say something on on yeah I mean we're not officially locked in right but if if right now the 10% % is the maximum that the district could reserve to cover expenses, right? And so the 90%, right? And
085in our scenario, the 90% would be, you know, what you give to the teacher. But if we were to implement the 90% and then try to change that, especially to lower that, you're not technically locked in, but there's a uh there's definitely a morale issue there, right? That you've got to figure out if all of a sudden it goes from 90% to 80% or 75%, right? So, you're not officially locked in, but I mean it I think it's going to be really difficult to make changes um and set the expectations properly if we do start to make changes. >> It couldn't go below 90%. So, we will be locked in at at least 90% by the state. We could change it to 95% but but we'll not we cannot go the state won't allow us
086to go below 90. >> Want to make sure. Mhm. >> Would that be an annual decision? >> Um, we would only recommend changing it if if there's a review and and we find a need to. Otherwise, once we once it's approved by the board, it stays. In talking with other districts, folks that are changing started out at a higher percentage than 90 and are finding the program is costly. Um, as you add on additional teachers, um, you'll be looking for new assessments, new ways to assess. There'll be professional development costs, and they are finding they they have to go back to a 9010. You're correct. That does cause a morale problem. If you start high and then you you take away that they're and there are districts facing that right now. >> [snorts] >> So
087if a teacher is a 9010 and then it changes to 45 whatever then that teacher has to go with the lower doesn't stay at the 90 right >> we wouldn't change that model I mean we wouldn't recommend it we're recommending a 9010 the model that's out there that was the 4545 is there are districts who decided what they and and we it's a struggle right because when when you have kids that are performing academically with the teacher we all know there are other players involved. We know there's pair professionals, there's instructional um you know, coaches and interventions. We know there's a team effort. Um and so in an effort to honor that, there are districts who chose these plans at like 45% goes to a designated teacher, 45% goes to the team. That being said,
088you can see when you take those amounts and take all the the benefits out how much it really does impact it. And so th those are just some a few examples out there to show you there is flexibility, but by far the majority of districts including those in our area are at a 9010. >> That was my next question. So the centrally it's a 9010. >> It's a 9010. >> Okay. >> Chris, >> would you mind going back four slides? It's the example of gross pay and net pay and >> Oh, there it is. Yeah, definitely not there. >> Yeah. >> Um, this is a really important view, right? And we talked a little bit about like making sure that this view is very transparent and communicated to everybody right off the bat, right? We
089had some challenges, I think, with the HB2 uh increases, right? And I think this view of it is a great reaction to that, right? That I think is very transparent as to what's happening and sort of generally guiding what the expectations um are. So so awesome u awesome view here, right? And to to illustrate Dr. Lovesmith's point, right? I mean, if you if you just look at column number one, right? And you see that in this 9010 model at 1678 and change, right? The purpose of the aotment is to make a meaningful difference, right? And so if we start to if we like cut that in half, right? like is that now a meaningful difference? Right. I I don't know. Right. Um and so if you go back down one slide or advance one more
090uh is this the cost? Yeah. And so we talked a lot about this in the budget committee, right? Like do we do we reserve the full 10 that we're allowed to reserve? Right. And I think we landed on yes, we should reserve the full 10 because if you notice here, actually the 10 the full 10 doesn't actually cover all of the costs that we anticipate, right? So there's still going to be a gap that we're going to have to meet above that 10%. And so that's why we, you know, we had some discussion on on whether we should land there or not. So that that's how we got there. Um can you go one more advance one more please? Um the fourth bullet. Um, so the remaining funds will be distributed to the designated teachers
091at the campus that generated the funds. So is this in a case that we had a teacher who was going to earn it leave and so that's where those extra funds are coming from? >> Yes. >> Okay. >> And that is a very very rare situation. >> Yeah, I would think that would be rare. >> Teachers are aware in April of the amount they're going to receive and so it would be from between April and the end of the school year that they were choosing it to come back. And we are required to have a plan for how we'll spend that money. >> Okay. All right. That's it. Thank you, >> Riley. Yeah. >> Yeah. I was just going to echo what what Chris just said about the expectations. Um yeah, hopefully when when they're
092getting those the week before that goes out and they're reminded of that slide. >> I would even say not even the week before. Like when we're talking about it now, we've got to be communicating and setting that expectation now a year in advance. >> Yeah. And they all go down about half the Oh, and the other thing regarding the expectations, I think we need to remember this. These are still assumptions because we're still being going through an accreditation process, right? So, we won't we don't know until the end of this school year. Well, no, not even then. Maybe if you could clarify on that of when we'll know for sure if we are accredited. >> So the data will be submitted to Texas Tech University in October of 2026. So we'll finish out this school
093year collecting the data. We'll submit that data in October and then we should be receiving back I think it was by January from Texas Tech if our data was in fact validated. I also just want to comment um that just so you in regard to the communication upon a final approval of our spending plan, we do plan to um sub to provide every single teacher that's in the eligible pool with just a clarification for them personally that they are in this designation. They should be knowing know by now. I feel confident they do, but just double-checking and how their data will what their data is in fact based on. In addition, we have an in-depth guide book that will be published on the website that covers all of the details of our plan. We'll include
094all of these things, how things are calculated. There'll be examples of the payout. So, that will be on the website um hopefully by the first of this year. I just I just wanted to reiterate, yes, there is a possibility a district would not get a would not get their data validated. I know Deanna doesn't want to think about that. um everybody is working really hard. Um but I also know that reality has happened across our state. And um and if if there is a a disconnect between test performance and student growth, then there is a chance you could not get validated. You get feedback, you learn, you go back out. And that has been a reality um for school districts. And so I appreciate you bringing that up because it is a long um runway
095for TIA to actually be implemented. And so ideally I know the team would have loved to have hey let's work on calibration for a year or two before we start. Well if you do that you you calibrate for two years then you tell we we think we're ready. We tell TEA it's another two years before a first payment. So we we jumped out prior to that and so that is a risk and I think it's important that we say that and I also think it's important. Um I received a comment in a listening session recently and I think there's confusion around who gets to set the dollar amount. Um you know I think the comment was around I've seen different amounts. Belton ISD does not set the amount of these awards. So, I think that's
096super important. The Texas Education Agency will set those dollar amounts and those dollar amounts will not necessarily be the same every single year. So, I think to the communication point, we're going to have to overcommunicate that and overcommunicate that. Um, we do not set that. The state sets it and it's very likely those dollar amounts could change. So we'll just keep communicating that so that everyone understands that >> you are correct. I will add, you know, it makes me extremely nervous that there are districts where their um programs were not validated. I will say that we um applied and were accepted to um a data support for this year. And so I'll be working with them directly to look at our files, preview our files, doublech checkck our files. So, um, yes, it is always
097a possibility. Um, but I will assure you that we're doing everything we can to make sure this is successful. No pressure. >> Okay. No further no further questions, no discussion. All right. We'll move on to to a vote here. Thank you, ladies. All right, this is 55B. Do we have a motion to approve the proposed teacher incentive aotment spending plan model allocating 90% to teacher compensation and 10% to the district to cover administrative costs to support the program as presented? Have a motion. Chris one, Miss Bass two. All those in favor, please raise your hand. That passes seven to zero. Well, that concludes our action items this evening. Next on the agenda is reports. Dr. Golden. >> Yes. So, Christine Parks is going to come to the podium. Um, tonight we are doing a report
098on our work around goal one. Um, just as a reminder, goal one is around strengthening partnerships. It is very much anchored in one of the beliefs that the board has adopted and that is community engagement enhances the educational experiences of our students. And so Christine has been shephering the work and she's going to give you a quick update. >> Yes. Thank you for um allowing me to spend some time and update you on our progress with KPM1. Um uh our uh goal one is again to strengthen the support and engagement of all stakeholders in the pursuit of the Belton ISD vision. And um uh really we know that having a strong school system is essential component to having a thriving community. And we also know as uh seen demonstrated tonight and at board meetings and
099other places that we have an incredible community who is behind our schools and wants to be supportive and wants to be involved in those processes. And because of that overwhelming engagement of this community, um that's really what led us to develop this key progress measure for this year really designed around this concept of strategic partnerships. And yes, we've had a long-standing um uh uh partners long-standing partnerships with multiple community entities and agencies um that have been flooded with interest um in supporting our schools over the years. However, if you were to ask um uh various campuses andor departments um what what was a strategic about their partnership or how they were measuring success in their partnership or um uh what their intended outcomes of that partnership were um you may get uh various answers depending
100on who you were talking about based on the partnership. So that's where we started moving into this year where we were using common language and expectations districtwide around developing these partnerships so that we really had a collective understanding of the elements that go into a strategic partnership. And the first one um is really about defining the purpose and the outcome. And we worked with campuses and departments over the summer and at uh the start of the school year really looking at their data, looking at their campus um uh plans at their um needs assessments and then identifying where in those needs could we potentially use the help of a community partner. And so really starting with that data, identifying the need and then really thinking strategically about who do we have in our this community
101that can help us um bridge that gap and meet that need. So really um uh identifying then partners that um where they really had a shared vision um and that uh both the partner and the campus were equally committed to that outcome. Um and again those outcomes being measurable and achievable outcomes for example increasing student participation in afterchool programs or increasing parent engagement um or um you'll see in a minute uh one of the examples increasing student attendance um and what that might be. So really being intentional about each campus and or department identifying their need based off of their individual needs um needs assessments. And so then the second part or element of the strategic partnership is really defining what that partnership looks like. So, the scope of the collaboration and really naming those
102specific activities and programs that were going to be done mutually um uh to benefit our students and our overall success. So, examples of that that we gave campuses to really think about were joint workshops or events or mentorship programs or um internship or volunteer opportunities um enhancing curriculum activities or shared use of facility or resources or community service projects. Those were some of the kinds of things that we were um asking campuses and departments to generate thoughts around. And then being able to really clearly define the roles and the responsibilities of both the campus and the partner um uh clearly identifying the resources that would be needed in order for those um partnerships to be effective. So, what could the school district really provide to help that partner have what they needed to do needed
103when they came in in order to be successful and set up um everything from um uh accessing materials to um uh communication channels, what that would look like. And then um what could and what clearly could the partner communicate? Because sometimes we have these ideas about what a partner could communicate but it may not be what they what they could contribute but it may not really be what they could contribute. So really being clear about what the campus was able to offer and provide and what the partner was able to offer and provide align to that share vision and uh partnership and then really thinking through those operational procedures um in terms of how often were the two groups going to meet. So, how often was the campus and the community partner going to meet
104to talk, to strategize, to plan? Um, because these things don't just happen after one conversation, right? It takes a lot of time. And in order for a partnership to truly develop, that's an ongoing relationship. So, what is that going to look like? Are we going to meet monthly? Are we going to meet quarterly? Are we going to meet in person? Phone calls, whatever that may be. um if um there is a need for any kind of data sharing or privacy issues for either entity, making sure that we've really been thoughtful about those things and that we've um uh removed any and all barriers from those things. And of course, anytime we have community partners that are coming in and working with our students, um making sure the background checks and things like that are in
105place so that um all of those pieces uh don't hinder us from moving forward. And then probably the most not maybe the most important uh piece but maybe the most difficult piece in the process is really thinking through that final element that evaluation and assessment. So how are we really going to be able to tell if this partnership that we've entered has been effective? So what are those metrics for success? How um how what evalu evaluation methods are we going to use? I'll give you a couple of examples. Uh, Burell is teaming with the Texas Farm Bureau um to uh uh to build a hydroponic I had to write it down phonetically, a hydroponic grow tower um in their school and um a Farm Bureau is going to come in and they're going to talk
106with the kids about how they need to care for it and what they need to do. So one the measures of success for that program that Burell has identified is you know are they able to successfully grow fruit grow the food grow the fruit grow the vegetables are they able to produce food and grow their own at the end of this and even a more specific measurable outcome that they are looking to do is uh to keep the water in the happy zone um which is optimal um pH of about um whatever that is um uh for 55 of 61 days. So those are the kinds of measurable pieces that the campuses are really working to say, okay, yes, we think this is great. Yes, build us a hydroponic uh uh uh garden and we're
107going to, you know, work that, but how are we going to know if it's being successful? So really thinking through those processes. Uh Tarver is another campus that is partnering with the jumping company. uh Tarver identified um attendance and increase in attendance as one of their goals and one of their needs. And so the jumping company is able to offer and will um uh bounce house once a month. They are setting goals for students for attendance and students that meet those goals are going to have the opportunity to participate in the jump house. But how are we going to track that progress? Tarver is going to be tracking those individual students and their project and their attendance progress as it goes to make sure that it is beneficial at the end and that it is
108truly tied to what their initial goal was. So those are just a couple of examples. Um we have the implementation timeline that you can see up here. Um we are still kind of mid um and early in the phase but um in August the goal was really um for us to be looking at and brainstorming what the needs are and brainstorming potential partners. September was really about uh campuses and departments um uh making contact with initial partners to see if what the feasibility of developing a strategic partnership would be. um October and really now has really been all about drafting those partnership agreements and we were able to give campuses and departments an outline that went through the strategic steps that we just talked about so that they could use that template to really guide
109some questions as they were meeting with their partners and developing those um uh uh timelines and those structured partnerships. um they are in the process of sending those to my office right now and so I'm looking at them and giving them some feedback about some different things or they're calling and saying how can we measure this what are other places doing because this is what we want to do but where's a good starting point for us to really think about measuring this so they're generating a lot of conversation as that is happening the final plans are not due until midFebruary so I'm sorry till mid January so they're still all of our campuses are and departments are in different phases with that. And then once those plans are submitted, all of the partnerships should be
110in full swing um no later than February through May. And during February um February through May, we've given them two windows to provide us some tangible feedback about how those partnerships are progressing. Um we've got two dates. um uh March 1st and May 1st, campuses and departments will submit um their evidence of of those partnerships in place and then they're evaluating their effectiveness. Again, we're early in the process. partnerships aren't supposed to be finalized and in place until mid January, but as you can see, we already have several that have been turned in or have already started or those agreements have been finalized. And here are just a few examples up here. um Leon Heights um Belton Church of Christ has been an incredible partner to them and really reached out um all with the
111goal of increasing student engagement um through ongoing support activities throughout the year. Um Burell, we talked about their uh partnership with the Farm Bureau on their hydroponic uh grow tower. Hubard branch as a partnership with Temple College that's really that's also focused on increasing student engagement. Uh Temple College is going to be partnering with them to host a math star family nights, literacy nights, science and STEM night, and um even partnered on their Veterans Day program. Belton Middle School and UMHB are collaboratively designing um experiences to promote physical and mental wellness for middle schoolers. Um it's they're going to work to develop a two-eek wellness unit um that UMH is going to help come in and uh lead some of those lessons as well as they will host a wellness open house for families. And
112again, that goal for that campus was to strengthen the community engagement and really um uh collaboration for future projects and internships as well. This of course is all just a diving off point that we hope as these uh partnerships are getting up and going that it does encourage future collaborations and for those partnerships to grow. We talked about Tarver and their partnership with the jumping company aligned to increasing achievement um I'm sorry increasing student um attendance. Our transportation department is partnering with the Belton Chamber of Commerce um uh partnering specifically to assist with some Fourth of July parade um uh logistics that they're working through. Lake Belton Middle School is looking to implement the watchdog programs to increase parent participation especially with our dads across that campus. And then one of the partnerships that we
113recognized tonight was our health services department and their partnership with Baylor Scott and White in particularly with the um residency program at MLAN's Children that um they are hosting a that well K well kids pilot program at Hubard branch where those uh pediatric residents are coming to the campus and um uh the school nurses are working with those residents and with the families to bridge that gap between health care um for our students that are maybe having difficulty accessing those things. I'm trying to see if I have any if I missed anybody up there. And then our educ education connection is up there. We um we've had education connection in the district for quite some time, but we had one or two of our campuses that said, you know, we've been doing this, but we
114really haven't been very strategic about it. So, we feel like we can take this opportunity this year to really revisit how we're implementing that program and working with those partners um and really make it more impactful for our students and hopefully for the volunteers as well. So, those are just a few and again, um hopefully we'll have four or five slides filled um uh after January with all the partnerships that are up there, but these are just some of the ones that have um uh been uh formalized. And and honestly, I think I've gotten three more since I made this slide last week. So, I know there's one with Temple College and another one um uh two with Temple College and um another one that's in the works. So, um, very excited, very proud of
115our campuses and departments for really, um, uh, being thoughtful about how we engage with our community. Again, we're so blessed to have an incredible community that's invested in our schools, but how can we do it in a way that's very strategic and really meeting the needs of our students and our families. So, um, with that, I'll be glad to take any questions. Any questions for Christine? >> I just really really love this. First of all, thank you for all the hard work that you're putting in to make sure we have this on every single campus across the district. Um, you know, Dr. Golden, you've mentioned a few times that you've been several districts, but this was the first district, I believe you said this a few times where community, the word community is embedded in
116our value statements. And you obviously hear that tonight, but not just the word that's written on a wall, but you can definitely feel it in this work and in this community. >> Our community really does value and esteem our district and what Belton ISD does for our children. Uh I've seen it firsthand. I I got to volunteer watchd dogss years ago with my kids who were in elementary school. I don't do that when in high school anymore. Um they don't think it's nearly as cool anymore. Um, but just touching on what you mentioned with Belton Church of Christ in Land Heights. I mean, that is such a phenomenal relationship that's been in place. What that church has done there on that campus for probably five, six years now. Um, I think that's one of the
117hallmark connections we have for our campuses. I'd love to have more churches involved all across our district. And just thank you for all your hard work and making sure that we have that at every single campus. >> Anyone else? Chris. >> Um Christine, if there's a business or entity that's interested, >> sure. >> Do they reach out to you? >> They can absolutely reach out to me. Yes. Okay. Absolutely reach out. >> And how are we h how are we doing the matching, right? How are we making sure that like any one entity isn't just getting overwhelmed with like all the campuses reaching out to them? How's it how does that work? >> So, great question. And that's part of why we asked campuses to think kind of flip the script this year and think
118in terms of their needs assessments and what their needs are and then think about different entities across that our community that could maybe fill that need. So some have reached out and say, "Hey, I've got a need for this. Do you know anybody?" And so I've been able to say, "Actually, as a matter of fact, we do. We had a group that just reached out to us. Let me put you all in in contact." So, anybody that is willing to participate and would love to partner, please reach out to me and then we will help facilitate that need. Um, again, this being the first year of really defining what the strategic partnership looks like and having that evidencebased um uh um data to support how that partnership is evolving is is been a little bit
119new and a little bit different. But the goal is, like we talked about earlier, that this is just the the tip of the iceberg. That this will continue to grow as we see, oh wow, by really being aligned on our goals and objectives of these partnerships and what we want to achieve, we can achieve so much more than we initially thought. So if it even if it's not part if someone's interested and they it's not part of this first phase of partnership, we will keep them on a list and we will continue to develop those partnerships with anybody that wants to. So absolutely. Yes. Reach out to communications. >> And so just as a follow-up item, I mean, I would be interested to understand like what the different campuses defined as their needs. >> Sure.
120>> Because I don't think I think this is after the campus improvement plans, right? So the details not in there, but I I would be interested in >> Sure. >> in understanding that. It could be it may have been something that they identified in their improvement plan and then they were just think but how maybe they had thought more locally about how they were going to meet that need on their campus and now we asked them kind of think bigger think about this community that supports you how can uh maybe somebody in this community a group or a business in this community support support you in that so >> and let me clarify I don't want to create more work right so if the list exists [laughter] >> right and and in follow-up conversations on
121goal progress, we can include some of that information of the needs that have surfaced for sure. >> So for for example, Tarver and attendance being their primary objective. When all of these are turned in, we will have a list we're developing right now of what everybody's targeted area was and then of course who they're partnered with. So yes, 100% we will have that at the at the very end. I have a question of h how does this goal move forward in the future? Do do we is this kind of an aggregation of marginal gains like we hope to do this every year or once they get the one they keep one or do we hope they when when they have this strategic partnership they keep that and then add one the next year like what
122>> so I think the answer is yes and yes. So potentially um with a partnership that's just growing or starting this year um as they go through this year they may decide oh my gosh guess what we could grow this partnership and add two or three other components with this one partner right or we could say now we've really looked at our needs assessment and we've realized we have another need so maybe we need to explore adding another partner or partnership that can help with that need while we still continue this other because the need didn't go away after a year specifically that's not what happens. And so yes, potentially again just the jumping off point and being able to grow partnerships both within and with the current partner but also expanding to additional partners
123to meet the needs. >> Okay, I think that's it. Thank you, Christine. >> That brings us to board committee reports. As I understand, there was no policy committee meeting this go around. Is that right? Okay. All right. >> We just focused on the taps, tips, and lips. Did I get it right? >> Oh, very good. >> Yes. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> The map for the tap. >> I told you. I guess you didn't say that in the [laughter] meeting, but you did too. [gasps] >> Okay. Budget. Uh, Brandon, Chris. >> All right. I did my best to uh connect to the meeting from San Antonio during the state margin contest. So, Brandon's probably going to keep me honest here. >> Um, yeah. The first item we talked about was the 2627 budget planning. Um, if
124you went to the workshop, which everybody did, uh, you're wellversed in what we talked about from from that perspective. Um, second item was the TIA spending plan. >> Again, you're now well versed in the TIA spending plan. [laughter] Uh, um, we talked about an item that is uh that falls under the closed meeting uh, closed session uh, guidelines and so we're going to be talking about that tonight. So, I'm not going to get into that one. Um uh I think we did a brief update on the demographic uh report. Um and then also talked a little bit about uh bus sales um and what do we do from a remaining bond funds from the prior bond. Um so those that's those are the highlights. Was there anything else you want to >> Okay. A lot
125of fun stuff. >> Oh this is great stuff. [laughter] Okay. Facilities. Thank you Chris Brandon. Uh facilities. Um Rucker and Jeff. >> Yeah. Not a whole lot. We went back over the uh 22 bond update. Looks like we're be closed most of that out shortly. Uh talked a little bit about the uh the bond election 25. Kind of looked at the numbers where where things were voted on against things like that. Had a good discussion about that. Uh talked about replacement of AC units. We've got several of them going on right now throughout the campuses. They'll be doing a lot of work over the holidays getting them in when the students aren't there. [clears throat] Had a little bit of real discussion. Uh we actually went in the demographers report. Um, so we didn't have
126to sit through a 45 minute presentation on that tonight. You're all welcome. Um, that I didn't actually have anything to do with that, but I'm just glad we didn't have to sit through that. Um, and actually that that was one quick thing on that one. You all got a copy of it. You can look at it and it shows what we know. The area is not growing as fast. It's not built. The area is not growing as fast right now. New home sales are down across the board. There's not as much inventory out there right now. um you know for the first time in many many many years the uh average price of a used home is now gone above the average price of a new home. So that shows a shift that's you know
127taking place and beyond that that was it unless I messed up the recorder. Nope. All right. Good. >> Thank you gentlemen. Okay. Um that takes us to Dr. Golden superintendent report. >> All right board since we met last I have a couple of things to highlight. one, we were um incredibly fortunate to provide a fall dinner for our new to profession um staff members in Belton ISD. So, this is just um a picture of all of us together. Um I couldn't show you the one where we all actually ran towards the camera. It was a great action um action video, but just the energy with this group of professionals. Um, we had, um, I think it was the Lake Belton High School strings performed. We had our, um, culinary students make a delicious, amazing meal.
128It was incredible to just celebrate our first year teachers and um, some of their mentors were in um, the audience for this. And so we held it in the fall and we held it at a time where there's something unique that happens somewhere in October and November in teaching. It just feels like you hit a wall. Some people talk about a fall wall. Um it gets really hard and these individuals are doing such a good job. And so we just wanted to take a moment to encourage them. We want to keep teachers. We know that year one to five it's difficult to keep teachers. And so this is just one of our strategies to make sure that they feel known, they feel seen, and they feel appreciated. Um because we are incredibly proud of them.
129And so again, more pictures of that event are on your right. And um the campuses also had posters that they created, cards that they wrote their new teachers just encouraging them in what is an incredibly worthy profession, but a very hard profession. Um also a lot of community engagement opportunities. Um one want to share the picture on the right. I know it kind of looks like a board meeting, doesn't it? um leadership Belton came to visit. They had an education day. So they came and talked about a little bit of state of the district and shared some things that are going on in Belton ISD. They gave me some great insight and feedback. They're an incredible group of professionals from across our community that just want to know how they can plug in and how
130they can support Belton. So that was incredible. Also, the image on your left side, that is from our faith-based leaders group. So, we have a really engaged group of community members that are coming together. It's faith-based leaders as well as leaders from our nonprofits coming together to do the very thing and to collaborate on the things that Christine was just talking about um in the presentation for goal one. also been in lots of classrooms and I will tell you seeing lots of events and experiences. Everything from getting I forgot how fun it is to read to kindergarteners. Um I had that great experience when my son hit kindergarten for the first time. I was a campus principal at the time and I looked at the kindergarten teacher on my way out the door and went,
131"Wow." Um wow, your job is hard. Um, the book was not about cats or dogs or what they did over the weekend, but I got lots of comments and questions. They are very curious and I just loved that. And also in the middle um top picture I thank you Chris for being there. So when we talk about the importance of community engagement, both that center picture and the one on the right, I want to highlight. There are a lot of things people can do in their retirement and can do with their spare time, but we have a community full of individuals that use that spare time to give back to our students and our staff. The picture in the middle is an incredible young woman who's talking to us about her artwork. This is at
132the Grace Gallery. So, it's a space in our community that was given up free to actually display our students artwork. Um, the artwork was incredible. We had so many parents and community members come out to look at the artwork. This is just one example. It was incredible the turnout. I didn't know what to expect and incredible that this space was donated for free for our students and the owners of this space were there present and engaging. It was incredible. on the right hand side of that. Again, another example of how many community members have donated time, materials, and their expertise to help our masonry students, our construction science students to improve their craft. And that's just a student, by the way, that was teaching me how to actually build a wall. So, if you need
133some help at your house, I think I'm your girl. >> I heard it was crooked. >> Who said that? That is not true. It was measured. It was evaluated. And that young man is so impressive that was teaching me. So it was fun. It's a fun experience. Fun things I get to sometimes do. But what was most important is the community that was surrounding these students giving expertise, supplying materials. Um and it truly was enhancing that program. And then at the bottom, um, I had I was invited to go to Lake Belton High School. And these incredible young women have, um, they have choreographed a dance. It's going to be unveiled later in the year. It is also a nod to supporting those going through cancer, um, particularly breast cancer. And I will tell you,
134they I was in tears. The music was appropriate, perfect, incredible. their dancing skills were amazing. Um had the chance to tell them a little bit about my story and I will tell you I left so inspired by these incredible young people. Um also again more fun happening across our campuses. I wish you had the chance next year. Please put on your calendar to get to storybook time at Chisum Trail Elementary School. Not only was it incredible what the staff did, but also it's not just fun. It happened to be around Halloween. But also on display all throughout the building is authentic writing both in English and in Spanish. Um you had teachers bringing books to life. It was incredible community turnout. Um so many parents and students were there and it was just so fun
135to be a part of that. And they tried to get me to judge. They got me to judge last year and I was like I'm not doing it. I am not telling any group of teachers that theirs was not first place because I think they all were incredible and continuing. So yes, as you heard um like many of you did and some of you were actually dragging props out onto a field. Um had the opportunity to really witness the hard work of our bands at Lake Belton High School and Belton High School. Um I will tell you I was blown away by both bands. I had no idea there was a wardrobe change in the middle of Belton high schools. I that was a crazy shock to me. It was incredible. I had people standing
136next to me crying. I mean, they were just brought to tears with how incredible that performance was. Um, Lake Belton High School went on to state, got to watch that performance performance. And as you heard me tell the students, I'm sorry. I think the judges got it wrong. I think it was incredible. Um, it was powerful. Their music was outstanding. So, what an honor to be able to see that. Um, I know. Thank you. I know Chris, you um are a participant and dragging some amazing props out as well as all the parents. If you have not seen what our parents do, it's not just our students who are working hard, but it takes an army of parents to make those experiences happen. And I'm incredibly proud of them. And then I also got to
137go to some plays and um on the left hand side new tech um had hosted one of our community meetings with our career readiness partners. So partners from all around the community coming in who spend their time dedicating their time to helping us think through how do we ensure our students leave our system um career ready. And so just final remarks just want to say thank you. Yes, we did have a bond election and want to thank our community for um the vote of confidence for our proposition for technology. We have over 19,000 devices. We are a large school district in the state of Texas and very thankful for that support. Um while we're incredibly disappointed in the results and some of the other propositions, we know our needs did not end based on that
138vote. So, we are listening. I'm doing a lot of listening, listening to feedback, particularly Proposition A. Um, and we had, I have to thank the bond advisory committee. We had community members from all across our district that came together, studied our facility needs, they studied our long range plan. They made recommendations for us to move forward. Um, their hard work. I just have to say thank you. and to all the all the other community and staff members um that supported just getting the word out on what was in these propositions. And so um with that, that's the end of my update since the last time we joined together. Thank you, Dr. Goolan. Anyone have any questions for Dr. Golden? Comments? Okay, that takes us to item 6D, board highlights. Anyone want to share anything? Chris,
139I think you're probably busting at the seam to talk about the band, right? >> You were there. >> I mean, I will. >> Oh, yeah. >> Twist my arm. [laughter] >> Um, yes. The last month for me was brought to you by the fine arts department. Uh, in every way that it could possibly be brought to you by the fine arts department. Um, yeah. I'll start with the art show, right? The art show Friday night. No, man. I don't even know when it Saturday. >> Saturday. Uh, Saturday was so awesome. And yes, this guy did back into the light switch while the news was interviewing one of our students and cut the lights out completely. >> I know. I like I can't even believe I did that. But um I mean the picture that Dr.
140Golden had on there like you know had the opportunity to talk to several of the artists that were there and the explanation that we were getting was you know I asked the student like talk me through how you made this piece of art right it was all digital art and I couldn't wrap my head around like how she possibly put all that together. Um and I got to hear the story around um you know the makeup that she was wearing. That was actually a photo of herself like that sort of the clown looking photo, right? It's actually a photo of herself that she took. She had never done her makeup before, right? And so she talked about walking around for days in that makeup trying to kind of get that perfected and walked us through
141the whole process. But it was that kind of interaction with the students that whole evening about about their works of art about uh with their parents uh with the art teachers. Um the art teachers were so proud. Um and uh you know the the one teacher, oh my gosh, his name is escaping me from uh new tech >> tab. >> Yes. Um uh uh you know one was even a subject uh of the artwork. I mean they were just so proud to be there. So it was a great opportunity and some of the works are even um have price tags on them. So if you're interested in purchasing a piece of art, uh some of our students are uh willing to separate uh separate themselves for for a price. So it's great. Uh that was
142an awesome event. Um, I went to a couple theater productions. I mean, again, if you haven't seen a Belvelt ISD theater production at any level, you are missing out in a huge way. Um, these kids are so crazy talented at all levels. Um, just so amazing. Um, uh, okay, so let's talk about some marching bands, right? Uh, two full marching bands, right? Marching 100 and, uh, in the Stampede. Um, oh my gosh. Um, if you I mean, I know you've seen them, right? if you gone to a game, you've seen them. But I think the wardrobe change was was new. I think that was the first time that you saw the wardrobe change for marching 100. Um, and if you if you don't know what I'm talking about, they basically had, you know, their initial
143uniform that they walked out in partway through um their um their their set when the sun came out as part of their set, they actually had ripoff like a tear away uniform, right? That they they changed from like a cloudy gloomy purple to a bright yellow. It was amazing. It was a really awesome visual effect and so hats off to the marching 100 for what what they were able to do. Like I've not seen that anywhere, right? So that was kind of a new thing. Um and I think that program's got a lot to look forward to. Um you know, they've got a really young band. Um you know, a lot of freshman and sophomores. I think they understanding what's going on. They made it all the way to the level right before state, right?
144So made it all the way to areas, great experiences. So you know, my prediction is if it's not next year, it'll be the year after that uh that they're they're going to make it there, too. So, they're very so very close and so awesome. Um, Stampede. Oh my gosh. Right. So, five years out of five. Uh, there's five years in their existence that they could have qualified for state. There's five years that they qualified for state. Um, and so we've got a lot of amazing things um going on there. And it wouldn't be possible at either school without our middle schools. Um, and so our middle school band and orchestra programs as the fe theaters into the high schools are what it's all about. Like that's where they're learning. um like really setting the foundation
145and you can see that right you you can absolutely see it. Um I've spent a lot of time watching video of the uh other performances from uh the folks who you know the 14 folks that finished ahead of us. Um I'm I'm now a band analyst. Uh if you want to know my opinion on you know what we need to do going forward, let me know. But um but it was just so awesome to be with those kids. Um I did get roped into chaperoning. I mean, I shop around lots of the events all throughout the year, but got roped roped into chaper running state and that was a pretty awesome experience. Um, and then little known fact, if you hear anything about chaperone shenanigans, uh, that would be me. Uh, and so I was
146the, uh, sort of behind the-scenes reporter for the stampede all season long and that culminated in, uh, in, uh, my last, uh, report, um, at the state state event. So, >> I think it's your new job. >> [laughter] >> If you know, you know. You've there. It's a It's a It's a membership only group. So, yeah. Yeah. >> Chris, I remember you telling me at convocation how how good Stampede was when they came and the drummers were there, right? The >> You were telling me about that? Yeah. >> Yeah. I got to tell you, like top to bottom, like fine arts all the way around, whether it's art, whether it's band, whether it's music, whether it's dance, uh, right? That the dance teams, we got something going on, right? For sure. Right. And it's and
147the important thing is it's about the stickiness, right? That this is the stickiness for these kids. This is a lot of ways these are the things these are the the programs and the opportunities that um keep these kids coming to school, right? So from an attendance standpoint um they you know from a grades perspective, right? They've got UIL grade checks. Some of these things are the reasons why these kids are coming to school and continuing to perform in their other classrooms. So can't say enough about how important that is, >> right? Yeah. >> Thank you, Chris. Anyone else? uh got to do a theater production as well and then Belton High homecoming game and then on Friday it was airing at Belton High and then at Lake both to see both the teams get sent
148off before their playoff games and it's just incredible to see the support that always happens there. They're done differently at Belton and then at Lake uh the way the the bands come out and parents and everyone supports them, but it's just uh again great support from our community. Um, let's see. Lake Belton High School girls basketball home opener. Big win. Um, was a was a really great one. And then faith-based leaders meeting again, which is always uh one of the highlights of semester, I think, to meet with our pastors and faith-based leaders around uh Temple Belton and Morgan's Point. Um, and then met with a teacher recently at Leon Heights uh who had amazing things to say about Dr. Golden. So, um, yeah, those are my my highlights. Thank you, Rucker. Anyone else want to
149share? >> I'll go. >> Yeah, you're on. >> Um, yeah, it's fun to kind of reflect over the month of the fun things that we get to do. And so, uh, definitely got to attend some various sporting events. You know, you you just can't go wrong with Friday Night Lights with the with the football team, the band, just all the things about Friday Night Lights. And um, also attended some different fine arts events, you know, to to Chris saying that it starts at the middle school. I got to go to a sit in concert for beginning band sixth graders because I have a a daughter who's trying the obo, which I don't know if you all know the obo is like truly one of the hardest. So, it's really fun listening to her practice at
150home, but they create this a sitin concert as a way to just introduce kids into how to how to perform. And so it's just this super informal way where we're essentially kind of sitting with our kids nearby and the the band directors are just um kind of going section by section and helping them play some notes or partial of a song. But it's just super low-key. It's it's informal, but you can just tell the kids are so proud of I mean some of these kids, they literally just picked up this instrument two months prior. And so what they're able to do, I was just so blown away um with with these sixth graders over at South. So that was a really cool experience. Um also got to see um South put on their um their
151theater performance. I think that was last week. >> Totally impressed. Which I also learned that the the theater teacher there is a product of she learned from Miss Stuff at the high school. And so she's giving coming back kind of like what our nurse we heard from our nurse today. she's she's back kind of full circle and um and she's also one of my daughter's teachers. Um and she's just incredible. You can just see the joy that that these teachers have. And and speaking of teachers, um also looking back over the month, there was the conference day, parent conference day. Um 12 and I didn't even get to do all of my kids teachers having kids in three campuses. Um, I mean I got to see 12 out I think out of the 20 and
152I have to say the common theme is we have incredible teachers that do incredible work. Um, thank I was thankful to hear good reports of my kids, but I was also, you know, I went as a parent, but you you know, still having kind of the board hat on and I just walked away from every single conference of I I'm just truly proud of our teachers um and the hard work that they they do day in and day out. Um, it's not easy, but I I could just tell that they're they're excited to be there. Um, and so they're thank and they're really thankful for parental support. They were they were super you know just thankful that you know um that they got to meet with us as parents and you know it's always it's
153always just great to get have that face tof face interaction. I think that is just it's just um it's priceless and so just thankful that we we do that for um we take the day. I know that secondary that's really hard. you can't meet with 200 parents. Um, but they do what they can and really a lot of these um teachers at secondary. I mean, they encourage you that if if if they're not meeting with somebody that you could just pop in. So, I was able to kind of sneak squeeze in some more. Um, but just walked away just really proud of our teachers and and thankful and um and I know that I'm thankful for the teachers that my kids are having. So, I know that that's happening all across the district. So, I
154was just really um that was a a takeaway from that day. Um and then got to go to the Hubard branches their Veterans Day um event last Friday, which was that last Friday or the Friday before? Two Fridays ago. Wow, y'all. Um that was an incredible um experience. And speaking of the partnerships, Temple College was there. They're they had their mascot. He was there. Um so that was really cool to see. And I now seeing that that that they're a partnership, they're attending their events and and being um um present, but just really proud of of what they put on. It was incredibly patriotic. I I don't know how anybody could have attended that and not have felt emotional. Um I mean, the the music teacher over there, she had she selected the best patriotic
155songs. I mean, when she started out and the kids started singing Grand Old Flag, I mean, it's amazing how you don't hear a song for decades, but the moment you hear it, you can just pick right back up. Um, it was just incredibly patriotic, very honoring to our veterans um that were there. And really just to to look out and see our kids listening to the program and um and you could just get a sense of that they were they were proud to be a part of that to be able to give back to their um to their veterans to say thank you and to um um just be proud to be an American and and um who we are and because of of our veterans. And so it's just really that was a really
156incredible um um uh event that they put on. So it's been a fun month. Thank you, Erin. Anyone else? Riley. >> Yeah. Um, I went to South Belton Middle School orchestra concert that was held at Belton High School. Um, I was impressed with the parents. I could tell some of them were just dog tired before it started, just, you know, they'd been working all day and it was it was late. It was at 7:00 and and yawning and things until until the concert started. And then, you know, brand new, you know, students just starting in the orchestra and boy, they were cheering them on. Uh, you don't expect it in a in an orchestra concert, but they had like signs like they have in football games, you know, big signs and things like that. So,
157um, I I was proud of the parents that showed up. Um, and then Chris used a word stickiness that I thought was pertinent. I I I I've heard folks some folks say, you know, maybe not agree with all of the extracurriculars, but that's not been my experience, you know, with orchestra, football, sports, band, all of these things. A lot of these things are super important to the students, to the parents. They show up and it gets them. One of the elementary schools, you know, they they they got people in by having kind of a community event and then they then they got to share some extras. Um, so I think those things are important and I was glad to be there. >> Thank you, Riley. Anybody else? Okay. Well, that takes us to our consent
158agenda. Does anyone wish to pull anything from the consent agenda? No. Okay. Do we have a motion to approve the consent agenda as presented? Mr. Bzone, M. Mr. Floor. All right, that takes two. All right. Uh, all those in favor, please raise your hand. That passes seven to zero. That takes us to public comments on non-aggenda items. I do have one person, Mr. Kilbertson. >> Sir, if you'll come up to the podium there. Let me let me read this into the record real quick before you get started. Okay. In order to comply with the Texas Open Meetings Act, the board may not respond to comments or otherwise discuss or act upon any issues that are not posted on the meeting agenda. Participants will be allotted three minutes for public comments regarding non-aggenda items. We have
159a timer on the screen, sir. Um, and if you'll identify yourself and where you reside and then you can begin. >> Keith Gilbertson. I live in the district um out off of Arrowhead Point. I want to say that I'm pretty impressed with the things I heard here tonight. Pretty amazing what stuff you guys have to filter through. Very good. I came here primarily to talk about BD and I realize I don't want to rain on your party on this thing, but I feel like the community got it right. When I look at the money that was going to be spent and I look at the value of what you're going to get, I believe they got it right. And my people go through Lake Belton system and the shared facilities from what I know seems
160to be working well. I I don't see a problem with shared from what I hear and the uh complaints I think just aren't what I hear aren't valid. we're not uh money is not unlimited. Okay. And somebody's paying for it and it's us. And then I have I really enjoyed the part about the uh Southwest school, but I never heard anything about recruiting your very best teachers and giving them propay to go take on that Southwest challenge. We I I feel that, you know, here's here's the kids that really need some emphasis. Why not recruit the very best teachers, give them extra pay, and put them to work taking on that challenge. Okay. Second to the last thing is I would like to see something published about the categories of employees we have the numbers
161administration teachers teachers helpers support staff. I'd like to see what goes on there. I think people in the community have a right to see you know what what we're happening there. And the last thought is probably [clears throat] I've got a burr in my saddle still from the library or librarian thing that happened here about two years ago, maybe three. What would be wrong with us having one head librarian and a bunch of librarian texts at the various libraries? I feel like this is a group that have kind of felt that they were an entity onto themselves. not responsive as they should be to school board or admin. And that's all I have and the time has run out. Thank you very much. Thank you, sir. That brings us to item 9, close session. The
162time is 8:34 p.m. and the board will now go into close session for A. Student disciplinary matter text government code section 551.082. B personnel text government code section 551.074 consider superintendent recommendation regarding termination of assistant principal term contract employee. C deliberations about real property tax government code section 551.072. And finally D consultation with attorney text government code section 551.071 071. One. Okay, the time is 9:15 p.m. and the board will now reconvene in open session. All action items, reports, and consent items for this meeting have been addressed. There being no further business, this meeting is adjourned at 9:16 p.m. Hey, there's one thing that we