001All right, that brings us to agenda item six is board of trustees report. Is there any committee reports? [clears throat] I don't have much of one, but I I just real quick I wanted to um I guess I could just report to the group here that last month the uh education foundation uh offered about three different time slots to sign up for what they called new member orientation and and it was for new members and current members. Uh in any case, it was fantastic. Uh it was very organized and uh they kind of went through the history uh of the of the education foundation and then really talked a lot about their priorities for this coming year as well as the programs that they plan on supporting for our district and um anyway just thought
002it was awesome and that was that's my report for the week or for the month. >> Any other committee reports? All right, if not we'll move to item 7A bond 2022 project update. We have Teal Construction and Claycomb Architects with us tonight. Good evening. Um, we'll go ahead and get started. Um, this is the 2022 bond project update. We're focused on the Rockport Fton High School at the active project at the moment. I do want to give you an slight update to the Fulton Elementary project. Uh there's little pieces that come over time. One of which is just your accessibility inspection. That's when somebody comes inspects the project to make sure that you know everything meets ADA and Texas accessibility standards. We had that inspection done. Only a couple small items that just need to
003be adjusted. They happen on every project. And we Jamon and I walked through the building before this board meeting, checked them all. We came up with a game plan. Shouldn't be very invasive. And uh we're making sure that we've got all the checks and balances, make sure that the building is built, how uh to code, and how it's expected to be. Um but we'll go ahead and talk about uh Rockportton High School. Uh project building, it's 86% complete, authorized 33.56 of the $39.34 million. and um substantial completion is scheduled to be for February of next year. It's coming up soon. You want to talk about So you walk through the school now and you'll see um a lot of pictures and finishes in all the classrooms. Um got a lot of pulling down ra half
004classrooms on the first floor. Um we are pushing towards getting kids in those classrooms. Uh so continuing work uh and and we're also working in um the athletic area last month uh getting pace work installed in there, duck work, everything overhead so we can start getting finishes on the floors and start getting all last finishes in that area to get that turned over as quickly as possible. Um so continuing forward in the classroom wing uh lot of cleaning and us getting out of the way. Um, that's our goal. Uh, so the school can get in there and start putting furniture which is already moving in. Uh, they start putting furniture in classrooms and classroom set up show up exciting for us. We've got some inspections that coming up in the next week and a half
005that are critical to getting kids in there. So that's our big push. Uh we're obviously still working in the athletic area trying to get duct work installed and completed and so we can start getting hard ceilings in all final stuff to get us we can start putting floor finishes in which moves to getting kids in >> and to note uh we we started our punch list of the project in in several of the classrooms and we we don't do that until it's practically ready to move in. Uh, I was walking the job site today and I saw there were several rooms I couldn't get into because they were waxing the floor, you know, and that's really the last thing you do aside from some small adjustments here and there. Um, couple of photos that we
006wanted to share. This is some uh this is a week old. It actually looks further along than this now. Uh, theatrical equipment, lighting. On the left is your AV classroom and podcast studio. And on the right is your your theater classroom. Musical instrument storage. case work. Um the in both band and choir, there's going to be some music storage, you know, case work, the the shelves are specifically designed for specific instruments. And uh I don't know if you can see very well in those photos, but they're designed to absorb sound and deflect sound as well. And so they're I mean it's just an example of more and more of the finishes coming in uh to the building. Um upstairs, this on the left, that's near your main entry. is kind of a welllit bench area
007that's kind of a higher finish. And on the right is what uh I've heard y'all are going to call the pros net. Um up on the second floor overlooking uh overlooking the town. Um like I mentioned, these are a week old. Progress since I took these photos is actually pretty significant. You see a lot more ceiling um and a lot less floor protection. Now um and then just continued canopy installation. Um you can look out you can look over at the high school right now and you can canopies coming all the way up to the main entrance. If you're over on the football side, you can see uh they were just putting that last face plate of the the canopies on that lower canopy right there. Um any questions or comments? >> So the other
008day, and I guess this could have gone under committee reports as well, but we had the salt committee and we got Dr. Austin surprised the Salt kids with the um privilege of going into the high school and seeing it first. And I wish I had the video of the moment when they walked in to the front to see their eyes, the what came out of their mouths and the appreciation that they had when they saw what they were going to be able to learn in. So, of course, I cried and uh probably will now. Um, but it was neat to take them into the theater room and into the band room because they all celebrated each little area as if it was their own in that moment. And um, each classroom they ran into, they
009ran straight to the windows and they were shocked that they were that they were going to be able to see outside and it was like a kid at Christmas in each of those rooms. So, thank you for the work. Thank you to the taxpayers and I'm excited for them to get to see and learn in that environment. >> They're excited as well. I'm excited as well. >> I'm listening to you and I know that the safety and security of our students was one of the main reasons why a lot of things changed in our athletics department. it. We had students who had to go across parking lots um in unsecured areas and after tragic events that have happened in other school districts, that's the last thing we wanted here. So everything we did in revamping
010athletics was for the safety and security of our students both here and at Fulton campus because again PE we all realize how important PE is in the elementary age. Our athletics department is PE for a lot of our students here at the middle school and high school level. So creating that opportunity for them to be safe and secure to go to those acade those areas. But what I'm hearing is we're making sure that the classrooms are ready because we have a lot of outdated classrooms that we toured, we saw when our taxpayers made the choice to go into this project. They saw these outdated classrooms that were from back when, you know, my 60-year-old husband went to middle school in some of those. So, um, you know, he it they're they're old. They're not up
011to date with what with what we need now. And you are making sure that those things are ready for our kids first because that's what we need to make sure happens. Thank you. >> Appreciate it. >> All right. Move to agenda item 7B, feature campus report. We have Fulton Elementary tonight, represented by Principal Cox. Good evening. Thank you. Awesome. So, this is our Fulton Elementary report. Thank you to all my staff members who joined us. You did not have to, but we feel your love and support. Uh, so priority one, just a quick recap. Um, we've been partnering with E3 Alliance, some capacity builders that have been supporting us with our math work. Dr. Carter is a huge fan of E3 and so she also came and joined us. Um we work worked on some
012focus fuels impact work really disagregating our data. Um we've also done some more work with them with a QSA. It's more than a turnand talk and so that's some researchbased strategies by John Sidlets. Um, we've had some staff members attend Arby's training, which stands for researchbased instructional strategies in reading and math. We're also working with sustained across the district with all campuses, all principles and leadership teams to develop a literacy framework. We're excited about that. Uh, we have students of 46 emergent bilingual students who work on a K12 summit program with reading, listening, speaking, and writing. um just in the first nine weeks. And so of course y'all know we're into the second nine weeks, we've had 3,377 books circulated through the library. We've had uh 242 in-person conferences on the October 13th date. That
013doesn't include the over the phone conferences or Zoom or conferences before or after. Wanted to give y'all some numbers. And then incl,000 skills mastered which is 100% and then over 24,000 proficient skills in reading and math and um 80 is equivalent to proficient. So there's some of our staff members and students there. You may recognize some of them. Coach Sa um and then at the bottom right that is the principal advisory council. I'm excited to kind of have like a Fulton salt group. Uh we will be doing a tour of Rockport on December 2nd, kind of mimicked after leadership of of Aranis County. These students not only had to fill out an application, but they also had to have a letter of recommendation from a current teacher and a past teacher. And so you would
014have loved to have read through their applications. We are developing leaders all across our district starting at Live Oak as well. Uh connected to priority 2, you see some of our staff members there. We are doing employee of the month each month nominated by their um colleagues. Dr. Austin got to witness that at one of our faculty meetings. We continue to build capacity within our leadership team, our instructional coaches, hospitality, um MTSS team, attendance team, safety team, mentor you, PTO. And this is just a little glimpse into some of the things that we do. And then you see at the top um that is one of our teachers. We would consider that a practice clinic where the teachers that are seated are pretending to be the students and the teacher standing is facilitating and they
015are working on building capacity within our own teams. Uh connected to priority three, I did mention the parent conferences. Um I did want to mention the more which is a weekly newsletter that goes out to our families. And I know that I hear about engagement and are our families engaged. I personally think that families that view our newsletters, that is a a way to engage with the school. And so I calculated when I made I sent this report to Dina a couple weeks or last week 7,000 over 7,000 views on the newsletters that I've sent out since the beginning of the year. So kudos to our parents who are reading our newsletters because I know we put a lot of work into those. We've had CIS, who's here to present tonight, give out 270 food
016bags just in the first nine weeks. Those numbers continue to rise. Um, our uh counseling team has been bringing in a guest speaker once a month. You see at the bottom, Rachel Almond is a pharmacist and she came and spoke with the whole school. So, we're continuing our community partnerships and strengthening the things that we're doing. We've launched Hope Squad this year, which we've heard middle schools had great success. And so those are our students who had to be nominated by their peers as a trusted uh classmate. And then if you see at the bottom left, that's just a little glimpse into our food pantry that we have at Fulton. And kudos to Miss Anna who got that going for our families. Um, and then connected to priority 4, we are up to date with
017all of our trainings um, within our campus across the district. Uh, we do have our armed guard that is always on campus. I know every campus has that. We continue to run drills. We do door checks not only once a day. They're done multiple times a day and then also admin with administration at least once a week if not more. Um, we do continue to use school safe ID at Fulton and Live Oak, not just for building entry, but also for our car pickup and dismissal. All of our teachers are equipped with stop thebleleed kits in our common areas as well. And then, of course, we're so thankful that we have a campus nurse. You also see that um that the fire Fton Fire Department came over and our kids got to learn about their
018job and how they help the community. And then at the top you see officer Garcia. He is holding a retired hose that was donated to us after our beginning of the year training. One of the firefighters said, "Hey, I have something I want to donate to your school." And that is how it can help with the doors. Once you put it on there, the door cannot be opened. And so we're so thankful to our community and everything that the district does to make sure that we are safe. student clubs. We currently have all of these clubs here in action. We are hoping to double our numbers this year, but again, we are asking our teachers to volunteer their time either before or after school. And then, of course, we know Miss McCloud, she's continuing her
019clubs, and we're super proud of the things that we're doing and so thankful to our staff, our students, and our parents that make these clubs clubs possible, as well as our PTO. And then this brings us to our teacher recognition. Um, we are so excited, Dr. Austin, that you added this piece this year that we get to recognize a staff member. So, I am going to read a few words. Get your tissues ready. So, those of you that don't know, Adriana Alaro is one of our third grade math and science teachers. Not to be cliche, but I would consider her to be one of our grow your own because she started in Rockport um as a parah I believe or substitute. She also worked in CIS for many years, the communities and schools, and she
020fell in love with children and teaching, and she worked her way up to become a certified teacher, and she's continued to be in our district, um, giving back in more than one way. Um, her she is a mom and so her children are her pride and joy. uh she has some great kiddos that have come through our school system as well. And so we're super proud that not only is she an awesome mom, but she's also an awesome teacher. Beyond just leading in her classroom, she is our UIL coordinator. And I know when I came back to Fulton, we hadn't had UIL. And so she brought it back. And I'm proud to say that not only did she bring it back, we are going to be hosting the district meet this year, [laughter] which is
021a huge undertaking. And so we cannot wait to see how it goes. I know that she is going to do so well. Some of her colleagues have said that she has so much passion and initiative. She is as driven to improve herself in her career as she is with her students in her learning. She's a colleague you can count on, you can talk to, and laugh with. You're always looking for ways to not only better yourself, but also your team. Adriana, your colleagues say that you're a great mentor and someone who's not afraid to advocate for yourself and your students. I actually talked to one of your students and asked them about you behind your back, and they said that you are kind, you're patient, and you're a great teacher. She said it with a
022smile on her face. And lastly, one of your colleagues said, "You are an amazing teacher. You're a fabulous teammate. You create great classroom culture and you help kids feel safe to take risks. We both colleagues and students are so blessed to have her in our lives and she makes FE the place to be." Congratulations, Adriana Afaro. >> [laughter] >> And I see her children in the back. Proud kids back there. Come this way. Come this way. I also wanted to give Bolton a shout out for their attendance. Where did she just go? Oh, there you are. Your attendance is awesome. So, keep up the good job because I know it's hard to get kids there, especially when they're not driving themselves. So, I know. Yes. So, good job. >> All right. That brings us to
023item 7C, annual communities and schools report. We have Gloria Taylor presenting. Yeah. >> As they're making their way up here, I do want to note that this year Rockport Fulton Education Foundation has 100% funded communities and schools. We work in partnership with them and I told them how amazing this group is and how we need to keep them in our schools for as long as we can. And so just thankful for Rockport Pulton Education Foundation and Communities and Schools. And I got to see Gloria this morning as well. >> Yes, you did. It was a pleasure. Um, well, good evening, uh, President Cruzen, board of trustees, Dr. Austin and Rockport Bolton ISD leadership. I am Gloria Taylor, chief executive officer for communities and school, and it's my pleasure to be presenting to all of you
024today. See? All right. Reflecting on the past year, I feel a deep sense of pride in the spirit, resilience, and achievements of our students, families, and community. I am excited to share the impact of our collective efforts. In this report, you will find details about the growth and accomplishment of CIS and our student communities during the 2024 2025 school year. We all recognize that behind every statistic is a story. Each number represents a student, a family, a community striving to overcome challenges that could have jeopardized their education and future aspiration. Together, we are addressing the needs and removing the barriers to create safe, supportive environments where students can thrive. But before I move on, please allow me the honor of having our CIS Rockford Fulton site coordinators wave who serve your schools um and be
025recognized because we are truly success successful only through their dedication and hard work. And you're going to hear a little bit later from each of them. But here is your staff member. And of course we will always always always remember our beloved and communities and schools um has been a committed partner with Brockport Fulton in the goal of lowering the dropout rates and increasing graduation rates. CIS currently serves all four schools and all four schools have a full-time site coordinator. Our mission surrounds student with community support empowering to stay in school and achieve in life. Each day students arrive at school carrying a multitude of challenges, concerns and obstacles, often grappling with trauma that impacts their education journey. Our commitment is to stand alongside our students addressing the barriers that they face which may include
026poverty, hunger, stress, anxiety, resource limitations and more. We strive to provide the support and resources necessary to empower them not only to succeed in school but also to thrive in life. So this slide depicts the demographics of the students we served in the attensive case manage program. So what do we do? Communities and schools were a national organization that ensures every student regardless of who they are, their ability, zip code or social economic background has what they need to realize their potential in school and beyond. So how do we do it? We do it using our model which is in three tiers. The schoolwide services, the targeted interventions for small groups, and our intensive one-on-one support. We work together with students, families, teachers, counselors, school staff, and stakeholders to create meaningful change that positively impacts
027lives today. Our collective goal is to pave the way for future generations education. So this CIS model is focused on helping students remain engaged in their education and ultimately graduate from high school. We identify the specific needs of students who are at risk of dropping out of school. And once those needs are identified, CIS customizes support for students and their families, offering the individualized case managed services that encourage students to be fully engaged in learning. We are also involved the community as part of this process. We carefully monitor this data and track educational outcomes for the students we serve. So CIS assigns a full-time case manager to each campus to provide this direct services and we connect the students and families with necessarily community resources. So this side right here shows the number of services
028offered uh throughout the year in our core services and as you can see last year over 50% of our services were in the supportive and guidance services but not far behind were the health and human services of course attendance engagement and academic support. So what were all results? These are official results results validated by Texas Education. I'm happy to report that they validated and CIS enrolled and case managed here at Rockport Fulton 280. That's in the intensive tier three services. These services showed that 90 uh 96% of our students improved in academics. 99% of our students stayed improved in and in in behavior. 83% of our students improved of attendance. 100% of our students stayed in school. 98% were promoted. And 100% of the case managed seniors graduated. I'm sure you got this in your
029packet, but if you get a chance to read Skye's journey, it brought me to tears and I know it'll bring you as well. Um, and we just wanted to show one of the many success stories that happened here at Rockport Fulton ISD. I'm going to move this quickly because I want the ladies to give a snippet of what they've been doing this fall. And I know they're so anxious to share. They're really not. They're nervous, but I'm gonna just continue this. So, our supports uh last year we had uh we gave out $2,600 in economic uh student support services. We gave out u groceries for over a thousand. We paid rent. We gave out two medical uh vouchers, um clothing, transportation, utility. We offered um we took 16 of our students shopping for school clothes
030and um that total to 1,600. And last year we gave out 80 holiday HB cards, 80 of them to your families and that total to $10,000. We gave out 25 caps and uh gowns so you seniors wouldn't struggle to pay and that total to 1,162. We are giving out Thanksgiving cards um this week and last week and we're also going to give out um some cards for the winter break. So, our future together, that is a typo and I am so sorry, but we are very very very excited um that on September 3rd we received a notification of a generous grant award to community and schools at the Coastal Ben and through that and through our efforts we wanted to honor Anita. So together with Rockport and administration and Dr. Austin, everyone involved, we're going
031to be uh opening up a um food pantry and it's going to be called Miss Anita's food pantry. Heard I thought I had it together until I had to say it again. Um but we received funding and it's going to be able to defund all the way through 2027. So, um, that is my short presentation. I will answer any questions, but if not, I will have our wonderful site coordinators come up one by one and give you a snippet of what's been going on this fall. Kristen, you're first. Let me Oh, Kristen, you're nervous enough. And here I am. I'm close. stand. Can y'all hear me pretty good? Okay. Like real close like this. There we go. Y'all ready? Okay. My name is Kristen Ford and I am the CIS case manager at the Rockport
032Bolton High School. Each day I have the privilege of working alongside our students, families, and community to make sure their needs are met and their futures are bright. My daily responsibilities are wide ranging, but each one is deeply meaningful. I join administrators on home visits. I make attendance phone calls. I do Saturday school emails for all the parents and students and talk to them one-on-one about the importance of coming and making up their hours for credit recovery. Um, I cover the lunch shifts. I do morning boost bus duty to greet the students. Most of them are on my case load. Uh, I lead groups including we're starting another group, students working against tobacco, which is something Miss Anita had at the middle school that the kids have wanted to come and and they want to
033bring it here at the high school. Um, I help [clears throat] guide students through college and career exploration. We work on FASA assistance, field trips. I also provide tutoring and homework support because I believe every student deserves a tool to succeed academically. the tools. Beyond the classroom, I coordinate weekend food bags, assist with basic needs, and even help families pay bills when times are tough. During the holidays, I organize gift cards for families in need. And throughout the year, I manage our clothes closet and secure donations to ensure no student goes without. Whether it's Saturday school, mentoring, or simply just being present, I strive to be a resource for both the students and the families. What drives me most is my love for this job and for the community I serve. Helping others is not
034just part of my role, but it's my passion. Every phone call, every food bag, every tutoring session is an opportunity to make a difference in someone's life. And there is no greater reward than seeing a student or a family feel supported, encouraged, and cared for. At communities and schools, we're more than just educators. We're a family. And I am honored to be a part of that family, working each day to lift up those in need and help our students build the future they deserve. Thank you. Hi y'all. My name is Daniela Lovevet. I am the middle school site coordinator for communities and schools. And I wanted to start off by saying, God, I'm so sorry. I come into this position knowing the community and district are still mourning the loss of Miss Anita. Grief is
035a slow and heavy process. But I share it with you. Not only as someone that experienced her friendship as an adult, but someone who also had her guidance as a student at the very middle school I'm at now. How lucky am I to be part of this full circle moment. I promise to grow in this role and continue the foundation that she has already built at this middle school and with this community. Um, I was supposed to have pictures. I was promised pictures, but it doesn't really look like I did. So, um, it's going to be a little awkward how I'm sharing this. Um, I am very excited to be here in this role. Um, some of the things that I'm excited to bring to the middle school is some academic focused support. I am
036partnering with the NJHS and Mrs. Irving and doing a peer tutoring program where not only are the kids going to be able to get their hours for their NHS, but um some of the students input was that my teacher is a horrible teacher and I need more help and it was not the case. It was that they just need someone with a different kind of teaching. And so I'm hoping that with the peer tutoring they would get that better understanding for their class. So with that, I'm going to hope to get a little bit more accountability for students own learning, developing their social skills, and supporting collaboration with our students. I'm also introducing an honor code for these students. That is going to go as I have acted with honesty and integrity in producing this
037work and am unaware of anyone who has not. I'm also working on a project called inspiring alumni. Right now I am focusing on the highlighting the welding program at Delmare. With this inspiring alumni project, I hope to inspire curiosity and the pursuit of career exploration, bridge the gap between school and home when discussing postgrad options with parents, educating on the degree programs and certificates Delmare has to offer, and reminding teachers of their why. Um, I'm sorry. I've also been working really hard on getting more community support. So, I've been attending Chamber of Commerce events. They do a weekly Wednesday cap uh coffee meeting. So, I've been going to those. Um, I plan to make at least once a month or go to at least one a month. And um, they had asked me, "How do
038you feel local community members and local businesses can best support teacher staff and the district?" And this is how I responded and I feel like it reflects me in this role very well. I feel that with consistent support from a unified community, a mirrored foundation will be built for the students to excel in academics and extracurriculars. The growth will not just stop at our campuses, but pour over into their adult careers. That same foundation will also foster a work environment with high retention, boosted morale, and a variety of collaborative staff. When there is a clear connection between the community members in the school district, it becomes easier to find resources, create develop create and develop relationships and expand programs. A community of unity will also attract more families and in time strengthen local economies, the
039very backbone of our town. Um, I am very excited to be here in this role and I hope y'all see the potential that I have to be here. Thank you. Good evening everyone. My name is Anna Werta and I am proud to serve as the communities and schools case manager at Fulton Elementary. My role is all about supporting our students and families so that every child has the opportunity to succeed both inside and outside the classroom. One of my daily responsibilities is helping students stay engaged in school. I make attendance phone calls and conduct home visits to ensure families feel supported in keeping their children present and ready to learn. To encourage consistency, we have our pirate store and in an incentive program where students with perfect monthly attendance earn three pirate bucks to shop
040for rewards. Academics are also a priority. I provide tutoring to help students straighten their skills and I organize small lunch groups that focus on social and emotional needs, giving students a safe space to connect and grow. I also participate in field trips and assist with dismissal because being present in all aspects of their school day helps build trust and relationships. Beyond academics, I coordinate staff food drives and maintain a small food pantry to support families who may be struggling with basic necessities. I also keep a closed closet and provide snacks to students who need them, ensure ensuring no child goes without essentials. And when families face financial hardships, CIS steps in with bill assistance, helping cover critical expenses so families can keep the lights on, water running, and stability in their homes. This kind of
041support makes a real difference because when basic needs are met, students can focus on learning. I also help students look toward the future by promoting college and career awareness through activities like career bingo and exploration events. We open doors to possibilities and inspire students to dream big. Alongside staff, I emphasize the importance of hygiene and health, reinforcing habits that contribute to overall well-being. At Communities and Schools, our mission is to surround students with the community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life. I am honored to play a part in that mission. And I thank you all for being partners in this work. Together, we are making a difference, one student, one family, and one day at a time. And I just want to thank um Mrs. Cox because she's been
042a great support for me. This is my second year, and everybody, the community just steps up for all of our kids. and it's just amazing to see. Thank you. Okay, I'm trying not to put my glasses on. Uh my name is Courtney Brown and I am at Live Oak Learning Center. Um my time at Live Oak has been filled with meaningful opportunity to support our students and families. Each each week I lead small lunch groups where we talk about the important topics like behavior, your pirate our pirate commitments, emotions, bullying, and expectations. These conversations are always followed by an activity that helps students put what we've discussed into practice. A big part of my role also centers around attendance. Whether it's tracking attendance, creating incentives, or encouraging students to be present every day, I focus
043on making sure all things attendance are a priority. On campus, I serve as a daily car rider greeter in the morning and help with the car rider duties in the afternoon. I support the behavior team whenever needed and check in with many students each day to ensure they feel seen and supported. Beyond the classroom, we assist with families whenever they reach out, whether it's helping with food assistance, paying a bill, or simply being a resource in times of need. Right now, our focus is making sure all our families are taken care of for Thanksgiving and for Christmas. And it's inspiring to see our community come together during the holiday season. Part of that work includes reaching out to many of our local churches and businesses for added resources and assistance, which strengthens the support network
044of our families to our families. One of the projects I am working on now is with a group of first graders. We're calling it the service beautifification project in partnership with the city of Rockport. These students struggle with attendance or behaviors, but through this project, we're striving to help them grow in both areas while also giving them the chance to make a positive impact on their community. Each quarter, I take a small group of students, usually four kinder, four first and five second graders to visit the lo a local nursing home. We bring an activity, we share conversations, and enjoy snacks. These visits not only brighten the day of our residents, but also teach our students the value of kindness, respect, and connection across generation. These experiences taught me that education is not just academics.
045It's about building relationships, supporting families, and creating a safe and welcoming environment for every child. I'm proud to be a part of CIS and Live Oak Learning Center. And Miss Poland, you rock. Thank you. for any of it. >> No, but I just know that you are all making Miss Anita very proud. So, thank you for continuing to celebrate her and continuing her legacy. I also want to say if you are watching and you see what we've showcased tonight with RFISD, between Roy, between the bond, between communities and service, I don't know how anybody can say RFISD isn't doing good things. So, thank you for showing up every day and being a positive impact in all of our lives. >> Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. >> You, too. All right. Next, we have agenda
046item 7D, TASBY update 126. It's our first read. We have Mrs. Adams. >> So, this will be one of many. Uh a lot of the things in here are already um items that we have talked about that came from the 89th. Um why I say that there's more to come. Not a whole lot of financial Kathy stuff is in this one. So TASVY will continue is continuing to get the verbiage correct. Um and so this is just a first read of uh update 126. if you have any questions. >> Any questions, board? >> All right, we'll move to item 8A. Consider take possible consider take possible action to approve the purchase of access control equipment and installation for the middle school campus. Mr. Noatne. >> Okay. So, this is part of the bond 2022 safety
047and securities upgrade portion. And we've actually been working on this back and forth for a while with several vendors. Um we got some quotes earlier that actually came in pretty high and we were able to uh work find other ways to get this uh worked out. So this will be access control for all the classroom doors, all the offices and majority of our like network closets, mechanical rooms and everything will be badge access to go into our system. Currently they're still using keys everywhere. This will be the last campus where we can get access control. And the price came in at 397,27. That is the quote that I'm recommending that we go forward with. Uh this again, the quotes we had before were near a million dollars. So we were able to really cut this
048down, finding other ways to get access control to work in that uh building. This is also part of our long range facilities plan that is presented in March. >> Did anyone have any questions for Mr. Noi? >> [clears throat] >> Sorry, [music] I'm not sure if I I couldn't hear everything that you did you confirm or did you say that this in fact was out of the bond program? >> Yes, this will come out of the 2022 bond. >> Right. And my understanding is we allocated a certain amount of money for security type items. >> Correct. Okay. Thank you. >> I think my only question is why is the motion saying not to exceed 500,000 when our lowest price was 297 I believe. >> I just put that in there in case there's any other
049doors or any unexpected occurrences happen whenever they get in there. There shouldn't this is a turnkey install and even vendor said no this is the price. But I put that in there in case there was well there's a few doors here that we want to add. But really it shouldn't move from this. I just put that in there as a buffer in case because originally the prices came in so high. I still wanted to keep a little bit of a buffer in there in case something unexpected came up. But they assured me that it should not go anymore. I mean this is a kind if we approve this that is their highest price unless we add something or find something that we wanted to do more of for this project. But as of right now,
050it should stay at this price. >> Oh, it's 3.97. Okay. And then just for confirmation for um anything if you did add anything, it would come to the board if it was over 50,000. 50 and over. Correct. >> If you made a change that was Yes. >> Yes. >> Any other questions? Theoretically, that would be if we stuck to the um to the motion the way that it's currently written, it would be 50 over the 500. Correct. Not 50 over the 397. >> Yeah. >> Okay. I mean, is it would it be good? >> Well, a couple things we could do is if there is something over 397, we can bring it to the bond committee just to discuss. Even though the motion says that, but if there's something over 397, we meet regularly with
051the bond committee. We could bring it to them. >> Yeah, >> I would like that only because I know how much we have left in contingency. >> All right. I'll look for a motion. So, I'll try. Yeah. Uh, so I I'll make the motion to approve the purchase of access control hardware and installation for the middle school campus not to exceed $500,000 to be paid out of bond 2022 funds and anything over the $397,000 to be brought to >> $397 627. Okay, the actual number. Oh, sorry. $627. Okay. Um is brought to the bond committee for consideration. Okay. >> Oh, we have a motion made by Mr. Burton, seconded by Mrs. Jarnell. Any further discussion? All right. We'll take a vote. All in favor? >> I. Any opposed? Motion carries. 6 brings us to item
0528B. consider take possible action to approve school library advisory council's recommendation of library materials. Miss Robin, Dr. ROBBINS. >> Thank you. So, this is the first time we're starting this process. This is our um we had our first committee meeting with our um school library advisory council. Um, thank you for those nominations. We have got parents that are all in place. They attended that first meeting. Miss Lein hosted that meeting. They went through some training processes and they are presenting their first list of library materials um for approval. This isn't approval of purchase. This is approval of the list. And so that was attached in board book. So do you have any questions about that? It's probably a horrible question, but um the gentleman that came up during public comment and uh was talking about
053a book, I couldn't understand everything that he was saying. Uh but would was he asking that that book be reviewed to be put into >> he was asking if we could consider it and he actually referenced this committee and so we have a form we have a process for making book recommendations on our district library website and so he would just need to go on and make that recommendation and then the committee it would go on review. We will only review lists two times a year. So we're doing one in the fall and one in the spring. And so it would go to review for um that's the process he referenced. >> Okay. So by him coming here, will that book end up on the list or it has to Okay. >> He would need
054someone would need to recommend that book. Yes. >> Okay. >> I'm making a note to follow up on that, but yes, it would need to be recommended. >> Okay. Thank you. Are there any other questions? If not, I'll look for a motion. >> I move that we approve the library materials recommended by the school library advisory council. >> Second. >> All right, we have a motion made by M. Randle, second by Miss Austin. Any further discussion? Take a vote. All in favor? I. Any opposed? Motion carries 6. This brings us to 8 C. consider take possible action to approve the appointment of RFISD representatives to the Arandis County Appraisal District Board of Directors. I believe we had Dr. Austin passed out resumes at the last month's meeting to review. Is there any questions? I I
055just wanted to provide a background just I am one of the appointees currently um make sure everyone knows where we were um taxing entities expressed an interest in changing appointment methods and procedures. We held a joint workshop um the outcome was not uh successful if you will it didn't meet the threshold and the due date requirements for any changes to be made. So that's where we are now. We have two expiring positions um on that board of the evenear appointments. Um just wanted to make sure everyone knew that's where we were and if they had questions on that >> and that's based on the 1998 or >> 89 resolution. Okay. >> All right. Look for a motion. >> I would move that we reappoint the current two serving appraisal board directors to our expiring positions.
056Micah Hail was appointed to serve the remainder of an unexpired term and would serve as appointee for seat three with a term expiration of 2028 as he is an even-ear appointment. Kevin Lambert is serving as appointee seat one also an evenyear appointment and his new term would expire in 2028. >> Second. >> All right, we have a motion made by Mr. Jarnell, seconded by Mr. Burton. Any discussion? All in favor? I. Any opposed? Motion carries 6. >> All right, brings us to agenda item nine, our superintendent report, Dr. Austin. >> All right, thank you so much. So, we will begin with Dr. Robins and teaching and learning. All right. So, this month I uh we rounded out our third principal and assistant principal learning labs. Um Fulton hosted and I just want to say this.
057Um I gave you some detail about that day in in board book, but I I want to say this. We we've moved away from a traditional kind of compliance-based principal meeting, which generally happens in a lot of systems. you have these monthly principal meetings. They can go on, principles walk out with a long list of to-do items, typically more logistical in nature. Um, we're moving into our third year with a little bit of a shift in the way we've been doing principal meetings. And this year we did our first, this is our second year with a learning lab style. It is moved away from logistics and moved to I would say about 80% instruction. 80 to 90% instruction. This year we shifted from a 3 to four hour meeting to a full day. So we
058spend a full day with our principles and Dr. Austin and I spoke at length this year about how to even make a shift of what we used to call AP connect with our assistant principles and we bumped our APs to a full day. That is a big ask for campuses. They have to give those assistant principles over for a full day. And secondly, they um we are that assistant principal day is also a full day with with this learning model. We do a little bit more logistics simply because assistant principles are operating in a lot of those um topics that need a little bit more of that coaching and support um and some of the other aspects of the day. But these days are full commitments to having hard conversations about instruction. And I have
059never worked under a superintendent in my years in sup central office where the alignment around the instructional conversation is top to bottom from the conversations that are happening with the school board to the superintendent to the principal level to the assistant principal level so succinctly aligned. I have never seen such a strongly aligned system of that instructionally based discussion. Um we actually had this month our our instructional coaches led us as leaders district and campus in the internalization process that our teachers are doing. We got to sit and feel that how our teachers feel it. We got to feel it because many of us are coming to a content that may not be our background, right? we we haven't all taught K12 math and reading. So to have that experience of feeling what our our
060teachers feel and then going and doing walkthroughs that are solely for the purpose of our learning. We tell our teachers that when we do those walkthroughs, this is not about you. We give them some strong positive feedback. We tell them we can only learn if we're in the trenches with you. So we do a few walks and then we come back and we calibrate as a team. We are having really really strong conversations, sometimes hard conversations. Trust has to be in that room. But I am walking out of those days feeling like the work is coming together. And I just want to really thank our principles for continuing to show up in that in the ways that they are. um their staff is doing the same their assistant principles and that ensures that and I
061called this eyes on implementation because we can build systems all day long but if those things aren't moving to the campus level and we aren't seeing it in the classroom none of those systems fly none of them hit the student level of learning so moving those principal meetings out of central office into our campus buildings allowing a full day of learning for our leaders ers um has just really I feel like been a critical step in a direction toward that student work that we keep talking about. So, I just wanted to say we're we just finished up our third month um this school year for that. We'll take a little break in December and come back in January. Any questions? I don't have a question, but you know, I have a comment. Thank you. um
062going into and looking at what those teachers are go are having to do to be able to deliver their curriculum and be able to deliver it in a passionate way that's not scripted. You know, that takes that time and thank you for walking in those shoes and going in there and seeing how teachers are taking that that internalization and delivering it into the classroom. Thank you for doing that that way. And I really really hope that we get to see that translate into students absorbing better because we're supporting better so that they can perform better to their best ability. This isn't about our ratings. This is about students doing the best that they can. it. I know we get raided, but are we giving our students our best and letting them be their best? That's
063what it boils down to every day. And thank you for all the support that you are giving. We hope that >> I could totally give more updates on instruction. I promise you. The one that I do want to talk about is uh Dr. Robbins and our principles have rolled out a formative assessment protocol. We always have protocols, right? We love them. We love our one pagers. And I I was able to attend uh Miss Cox's formative assessment roll out and listening to our teachers and how we are looking at all of our students, seeing where their successes are, seeing how we can get better as a team. Like I know that's happening on every single campus. You know, if our board ever wants to have a glimpse, please just come talk to me because you
064can see the instruction every day. I know our team right here, our our teachers and our team, we love to host. And that's something in the spring semester I'm going to start setting up if if there's times to do some curriculum rounds with you guys, but it's going to be very scheduled. [laughter] All right. Any questions for Dr. Robbins before I go on? Huh? Oh, she needs a new name tag. Okay. We've got her all kinds of We got her signs and all kinds of things. They confirmed you as Dr. Robin. So, we're going to move on to our business office report with Kathy Henderson. So the business report is here. It's at the end of October. One thing I want to point out to you is the tax report which is on page six.
065Because the tax notices were not sent out till the middle of November. This looks a whole different than you normally do. So next month I'll have the 2025 information in there. Um and so we we started collecting 2025 current year taxes about mid November. So you'll see all this kind of look normal to what you're used to seeing um in December for the November meeting. Any other questions? >> Your long cash flow sheet. I just want to remind you just because sometimes it's hard to read up there. We did put it in your folder as well. I thought No. Yeah. Okay. as say I promise we put it there so you could see it >> you have >> I I wanted just to point that out because we you know September we had a little
066bit of a concern and then we're like okay we paid things a little bit faster than we had normally and so October we should see a drop which you which we did and we have compared it to last year's as well. All right. If no questions, any questions? I know y'all are still looking. I'll give some wait time. All right, we're going to move on to HR, Miss Molly Adams. So, we had our first pickle ball tournament. It was outstanding. It was very windy but it worked out. Um I do know that next year I will make sure that the question on um um ability level is uh written better so that the first place team was not in the amateur bracket. It was asked how I don't even know how it was, but I
067never played pickle ball before. So, stop. >> Well, as you guys can tell, Coach Sosa was the winner and the assistant tennis coach. So, maybe you put it as are you a natural athlete, yes or no? [laughter] >> I did not pick Coach Brandham either. I was given him. So, >> yes. >> Sorry. >> Still gonna give you a heart attack. >> But we had a great time. Uh lots of laughs um and hope to see many more in the years to come. We are currently working on our next um event for staff. Um it'll be a bowling um event and that'll be in the winter. And Mike, do not put amateur. And I will say this, I think Miss Adams has done a great job. One of her her priorities is our staff well-being.
068And all of this aligns with our strategic plan of doing events like this. So, I'm I'm just excited to participate in that. Did not win. I actually was I should have been in the amateur bracket at that day on that day. >> There you go. Um in addition um in January we have a whole uh wellness um it'll be a kickoff kind of that New Year's resolution. Um, and we'll have actually a phabotamist come in and so you can actually do your yearly blood draws and it'll be sent to your doctor's office. Um, uh, and so lots of different things um, going to be kicked off um, for our physical um, wellness in January. U, we also attended three amazing career fairs um, recently. I'm telling you, the turnout I was nervous about the fall.
069Um, but the turnout was really um, awesome. Anam Corpus was amazing. We had so many people coming up to the table. Um, and so uh, and asking really great questions. Um, and we actually had our own Michelle Staples, um, who is a parent of an alum, um, and a wife of a current employee, and she always makes rounds and talks very highly of the district. Um, attendance, you'll see, >> hold on, hold on. I've got to point out one thing. >> Oh, y'all, all my Aggies with me, I want you to see that is my ring on Rockport Beach. We made sure our Aggie educators saw a video of the classic ring on Rockport Beach and told them they had to come teach at the beach. So, I'm just putting out their fall. >> Great
070video. >> That is 100% my class of 01 ring on Rockport Beach. we uh for attendance um we did get the tea um approval on the waiver for that September 24th 27th 24th um day and so um we got guidance on what we do from um there um it'll actually just be a non-instructional day so that um low attendance will not count against us. So, we're getting that cleaned up with PAS. Already is cleaned up with PS. Um, do you all have any questions? >> Quick question. I'm trying to remember what was the attendance rate that we budgeted. >> 90 90 what? >> 94. Thank you. Thank you, Fulton and Middle School. You guys are rocking it. I know that it's hard right now for Live Oak and High School. High school's always hard, >>
071but we've talked I'm sure the babies have been sick. >> They I'm telling you, in their check-ins, both Denise and Jod, I was like, attendance and they're like, we've got we're going to get it. >> [laughter] >> I one thing I want to say that I think the new building will also help because when we left Salt and this is what I meant to say earlier is when you ask those students how do you feel about the building they all said it's motivating it's it's moving it's motivating they're motivated to go and learn they're motivated so to me I think when you see the facilities they all want to come and check it out so I think attendance in high school will go up in spring. It's the seniors that we just have to [laughter]
072they've checked out. All right. If you don't have any questions for Miss Adams, I'm going to move to our athletic department report. Coach Sosa, I just want you to know you missed the part where I was talking about football and giving you a shout out. Okay, >> you can say it again if you want. No, it's okay. Um, as you can see in my report, um, we got the participation numbers. Uh, we we're finalizing, um, fall sports. Hopefully the official fall sports don't end until another month or so. But, um, but we have started basketball. Uh, obviously boys basketball, those numbers are not complete yet because we still have some football guys uh, still in season. Uh, girls basketball, you can see those. Um, we are we did start wrestling. Okay, wrestling. The first uh
073first match was last week and actually another one will be uh tomorrow. So, we don't have those numbers yet on the board report since I I had to report this um last week uh before we we actually had the official numbers. Um my next deal was the UIL eligibility. I know there was some some questions and some concerns with the first six weeks eligibility that UIL pulls. Uh I was not here. Coach Reyes reported on those. Um again we are on a 9ineweek system. Um this is the report card grade that we received and you can see that there are uh big jumps in just our our class or by class. Uh obviously seventh grade I think they understood now what the UIL eligibility was. Uh those numbers were very low. Um obviously any any
074failure is uh is one too many but uh we had a lot of failures then we still have a lot of failures now but it is um making uh making progress and you can see it by cohort um and we're trying to improve those numbers obviously I think what what is telling and in the statistics is if you look by sport by the fall sports by uh football volleyball cross country and team tennis all of those programs am totals or even just the high score, the middle school totals are way above what the actual totals are by grade. And what that tells me is that kids that are involved in something have a higher um higher ability to be able to pass. It just it goes with it. And you can even hear it from
075uh Fulton's report. They had 29 clubs that those kids are able to be involved in. That is again part of our strategic plan of getting kids the belonging of wanting to be in school. Obviously a brand new school is amazing, but whenever they get into school, how are we going to keep them there? And so obviously athletics is something that I am uh very deep into. Uh but we even saw the community in schools. They had 100% of those kids, those seniors graduating. Um, and it's all about connections and athletics is another way to connect. Our coaches, our inseason coaches are doing a really good job. Uh, what we're going to do hopefully better in this ne second nine weeks is to focus on those out of season kids, those offseason kids and and uh
076getting them to make sure that their their schoolwork is a priority uh especially whenever they're not they're not competing in a sport. But, uh, I I think that's a very telling result, uh, of what, um, kids in season obviously want to be eligible. They want to play. Uh, we need to contact those kids that are, uh, in offseason and, uh, get those kids to pass as well. Um, but other than that, uh, my celebration was obviously Royce. We already had his party earlier today. So, um, does anybody have any questions or concerns? >> No, but I do want to make a comment on the seventh grade UIL stats. You also have to remember that this is the first time these kids have had to juggle an athletic schedule, a school schedule, and whatever else after
077school. So, I know my daughter has really struggled, you know, with trying to figure out she leaves at 5:45 in the morning and she's not home until 6:30 or 7 at night and you got to remember she's still 12. So, it's one of those things. So, that to me is not shocking. They're just learning the balance and priorities in that. >> And then you see the drop in ninth grade as well. U because they're getting into high school. It's a new set of pressures. It's a new class load. And u and and going next year, we see those and we have some uh some preventative measures for our middle school coaches and also for the high school coaches as well. >> Coach, I have been asked at various events. They see the flag out there
078with the 212. would you please explain to our community what that is about because I keep hearing questions about it and I know it's in the athletic manual. >> No, which is why I'm also asking I can't answer I'm sorry I I don't it's I I will be really honest. I love watching the sports. I love watching the kids. It's it's not something I have been into. I can tell you a lot more about band and choir than I can about too much >> is not just athletics. It's it's a mindset. So, uh what the whole idea there is at 212 degrees water turns it boils. U but at 211 it's just very very hot, very very hot water. But that one extra degree turns it from very hot water to steam. And when you
079have steam, you have something that can even uh uh power a a train. And so that's kind of where it goes there. And and the mindset is we can all be at 211. It's average to be 211. It's average just to be very very hot. But what are we going to do to get us that one extra degree of coaching, of teaching, of the effort we when we talk about athletics, then it's that one extra degree that you're going to do an effort. How are you going to be a better teammate today? How are you going to be a better person? And that it it all it is just one little degree. It's just a little decision that you have to make. And so the 212 idea um we introduced it this uh really we
080introduced the athletic program in January of this year. We talked about it uh as an athletic department and then as a school district. Um I was asked to talk to the teachers and everything because it is a mindset. It's not just an athletic deal. It's if we can all live our life that way. Uh if I can what is that one extra degree that I can do as a husband to make my family a little bit better as a father and uh it just takes a little bit of effort and a lot of times we want to just be complacent and just be very very hot. But we need to be uh find that that how to be a boiling person in a sense. >> That makes a lot of sense given the fact that
081I did do a Google search because I had forgotten that 212 was the boiling point. But that does make a lot of sense and that kind of went the direction I was thinking. But thank you coach for explaining it that way and thank you for reminding us all that that one degree matters. >> Yes ma'am. >> So with that being said I would like to give a shout out to the community members who have been that extra degree supporting the football team this year. I mean we've had an outpour of people wanting to come in and support the boys of fall. So you have Back Lakes Lodge who has young kids who supported the football team with team dinners and events. And then you have the Logan family who is feeding 120 on Friday night.
082So thank you to them. And then also the Pirate Club stepped up and paid for the transportation to San Antonio. So with all of those, those are the people who are given the extra degree. And so thank you to all of them. All right, I'm going to move to our last superintendent report as always, Mike Noatney. [laughter] >> I know I won't know what to do. >> You're you are the reason why we are able to do everything we do because you keep it all running. Not just me also all the team that uh transportation, maintenance, tech, they all part of the team. They're they're the they're the real ones that keep everything going behind the scenes. Okay. So, just a couple of projects we had going on since the last operations report. Uh pictured
083on the left there, that is our maintenance for man foreman David Cerna. He's uh on the excavator there. So, we did a new lift station behind the new baseball concession stand. Uh, and when we did that, we used to have a smaller lift station that serviced the trainers room. So, we actually deleted that one and piped it into this newer, bigger tank that has a couple of backup grinder pumps. So, there won't be any issues uh running the bathrooms or anything there. And it's so far worked great. And then on the right there that there's a few items that we the district took on in this bond project outside of the GMP to help uh reduce some of the costs. And one of those was the interactive panels in all the classrooms. And that's what's
084pictured on the right. So, we had uh them all installed just a couple of weeks ago and the district also did all the cabling for those panels and so that has been completed since the last operation report as well. That is in the new high school edition. They were also put in at Fulton but that was done done right before school. Okay. And then moving on to the budget. Uh we started at 788,500. So far we've uncovered $300,232. uh expenditures since the last operations report 38,674 and that leaves us with 488,268 remaining. That concludes my report. >> Any questions for Mike? >> No, but I'll make a statement for Mike and his team. Y'all are y'all are putting in the extra degree as well. Um, a lot of these items that you see in the
085bond, we took away from the GMP so that we didn't have to pay a a percentage to the architect and to the contractor and we took it upon ourselves or I should say you have taken it upon yourself and your team and and y'all are doing the extra work and we really appreciate that. That saves the district uh money and in turn saves the taxpayers money. So, I appreciate that and thank you so much. >> Thank you. >> All right. That concludes our superintendent reports. >> All right, that brings us to item 10 A or 10 which is our consent agenda. So the superintendent may consolidate items on the agenda summary for possible group action or trustee may suggest group action on on any item to expect the meeting board. Are there any questions? I
086believe it's a few minutes, previous minute uh board meetings. If not, then I'll look for a motion. >> I make a motion to approve the consent agenda. >> All right, we have a motion made by Mrs. Jarnell, second by Mrs. Randall. Any discussion? Take a vote. All in favor? I. Mr. Ro I. So we'll motion carries 6. All right, that brings us to agenda item 11. So at this time, the board will recess an executive session pursuant to the Texas Government Code section 551071, 551072, 551074, and 551076. And the time is 7:34 p.m.