0016:34 >> 6:34 p.m. on Monday, February 9th. Uh, first thing, if we can do the pledge, please. >> Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> All right. Uh, next up will be roll call. >> [clears throat] >> Kate >> here. [snorts] >> Roseanne >> here. Paul >> here. >> Taylor >> here. >> Marlo >> here. >> Peter >> here. >> Noah >> here. >> All right. Next up then is citizen comments. District citizens are allowed to comment to the board for up to three minutes. Uh I did not see any papers appear. Does anybody in the crowd wish to address the board for up to three minutes? Okay, we're going to move
002on. Next up is reports. Board member reports on workshops or meetings attended. Does anybody have anything? >> Uh Paul, >> so I was at the WASB delegate assembly and that was for all the things that we voted on here. Um pretty much everything went as we had wanted. Um the only one that kind of stood out was the school lunch program one where they want to lobby for school lunches for all students. um where we had chose not to have all students because it's more of if the kids are able to afford it at home and the parents are able to afford it, why throw it on the taxpayer. Um but there was a lot of good discussion that happened uh for many of the different resolutions. It was pretty interesting um just to watch,
003you know, the crowd and a lot of the same people talked that, you know, they all pretty much had an opinion. Um but it was just a an interesting con uh concept where you know most of the people that either had a um resolution or um had a disagreement to the resolution were the ones that spoke the most. So that was pretty interesting to see. Otherwise most of the people were just kind of quiet and sat and went along with the voting. >> Which category were you in? I actually uh talked on a few of them that we had maybe disagreed on or um had a different thing for. Uh the school lunch one I spoke on that we weren't in favor of because you know it was a undue burden on our taxpayers and
004also if we did have to pay for school lunches, it wasn't going to come out of some federal fund or something like that. It would come out of our dollars. So that would take away from possible teachers being hired or um help for the students. So, I brought that up, but it's still kind of passed pretty heavy on supplying the student lunches. So, it's pretty interesting. But it was that's pretty much all I had. >> Okay. Um, anyone else have anything? Roseanne? >> No. Okay. Uh, superintendent report. Jill. >> Yep. So, what kind of took place in the last uh since the last schoolboard meeting? Um, so let's start with things that are happening at the high school. So our high school was earned a place in the 2425 AP school honor role recognizing our
005strong student performance, expanded access to AP courses, and the commitment to college readiness. The recognition recognition celebrates schools whose AP programs are delivering results for students while also broadening our participation. Additionally, scheduling has been underway, not just really at BHS, but also at Carter. But students at the high school have been reviewing course options and planning for next year with the guidance of their school counselors as they explore their interests and focus on their future goals. Also, [snorts] at BHS, there was freshman orientation and family engagement night. It was hosted welcoming all of our aid students and families to meet the teachers along with talking with all of our coaches and adviserss for over 29 different athletic programs and 31 different student clubs. Thank you to all of our students, staff, coaches, and adviserss who
006helped make the night such a welcoming environment for everyone. This month, February, is uh CTE month. CTE stands for career and technical education. is highlighting hands-on programs that connect academics to real world skills and career pathways. And one of those classes that's in a spotlight is called Woods TNP. That class is where students focus on foundational skills, shop safety, and proper tool use before applying those skills to hands-on projects that are developed technically and to be able to really enhance their craftsmanship. Also in our introduction to agriculture class, the students have been engaged in what's called the farmers market. So students in Miss Laroo's uh introduction to agriculture presented their farmers market final projects to the staff. Over the semester, students created small businesses by growing at least 50% of their project from product from
007the beginning to the end. They also had to budget all of their expenses, develop marketing plans, and prepare items for sale. Five student groups participated and they offered a range of products ranging from salsa and pasta sauce, chapstick, tea, and salads. Students were evalued on their professionalism, preparedness, customer service, visual appeal, and advertising. The projects also provided a really good hands-on realworld experience combining agriculture and entrepreneurialship together. Additionally, um, at the high school, BHS will be presenting Legally Blonde, uh, the musical, and that will be taking place on March 13th, 14th, and 15th. Ticket information will be coming out very soon. Also, we had a driven leadership conference where students at BHS and Carter attended in W Whitewater where they were developing leadership skills and school improvement action plans with the guidance of their presenter
008from their presenters and their adviserss which were Ben Hendricks, Matt Nye, Patty Tenhagen, and Stephanie Rumler. On the athletic side of things, our BHS dance team qualified for state in both palm and jazz. And uh they placed sixth in palms and they placed ninth in jazz. And uh Michaela Vendon and Jenna Fay also earned all state honors with their solo routines. Boys wrestling won the SLC conference this weekend, so just two days ago. Um and our girls wrestling team took third place. So kudos to all of those teams. Additionally, when it comes to the wrestling program, uh Porter Tit earned his 100th career win, a major milestone reflecting his dedication and hard work. And then also Patrick Scrunts also reached 150 career wins with a 24 and4 record. He became the fourth rest wrestler in
009BH BHS history to be able to achieve this honor. So, congratulations to the students at the high school in relation to what's happening in athletics. And then, as you know, we kind of highlight one elementary school um or K8 building um at one at my superintendent report this month is Cooper Monasuri. So, um with the help of Laura Kramer, we which is our grand writer, we were able to secure a discounted 10 by 15 American flag for Cooper Monastery's gym. The original price was $640 and we got it down to $130. Additionally, the American Legion is the one that generously gave the dollars for Cooper to be able to purchase that flag for the gym. Uh we did not have one prior to that. So, thank you to the American Legion for assisting with that
010at um Cooper. We also had a really lovely uh fabulous music concert for the students in grades first, second, and third grade at CUR. And students in uh lower grades also are paired up with students that are in the upper grades each month and they do a variety of activities in order to build upon community and get to know one another. This month, the focus was on the importance of being a good human. Also, there was students who participated in the spelling bee at Cooper and Sky Richard took first place, moving her into the next level against other contestants from across the state. Um, good job to all and good luck to Sky. Lastly, um, this is for Cooper, but all of our elementary schools, our students, um, were all participating in the math 24
011competition. board members, if you remember Derek Strait coming last year, you you were in that math 24 challenge that he had you do. Um, so that competition just took place and Cooper was the host of that. So kudos um to all the kiddos that got to have fun doing that math 24 competition. And [clears throat] then also just within our technology department, we are working on uh piloting a program called securely only for the middle school and the high school. It is a program that uh potentially lets us improve our Chromebook management um and our ability for teachers to respond to feedback. Um, it has been really interesting because my own girls are seventh graders and are experiencing it as one of their teachers is the pilot. And it's pretty funny because I was like,
012"Hey, something going on in your class different with your computers." And they're like, "Yeah, mom, kids don't really like it because um, we can't go to whatever sites you want. We're locked in on whatever the teachers um have for us." And I'm like, "Yes, [laughter] that's what we want, everybody." So, um, it's it's great. It is a program that that is the intent that it really ensures students are doing what they're supposed to be doing on their Chromebooks. Um, teachers can literally lock them into only certain things and they can't navigate away from them. Um, you can view everything the students are doing. And it also is potential for us to um change how we do passes for students also so that it can be electronic in that regard as well. So just piloting that
013right now with three three teachers at Carter and three at the high school. Um and we will see uh how the teachers uh respond to that and if it's the the right program for them. The reason we started it is because teachers were reaching out asking for some sort of program like that. We did have a program called GoG Guardian in the past. Um, this program seems to be a little more updated than that. So again, just piling in and we'll see where it goes. Um, but from my perspective, it's a good idea. >> Um, go ahead. >> What's the name of the program again? >> Securely. >> Okay. [snorts] >> And then additionally with technology, our technology department established a simulated fishing attempt with all of our staff. So, the staff did not know
014that we were putting out a fishing to see who responded to it. Um, and we did have some staff uh go into the the fishing and even put in their credentials and things like that. So, um it is good for us to be doing these fishing exercises because it is allowing us to to focus in on what do we do to in order to strengthen our cyber security. So, um, we will be potentially, you never know, doing it again, um, at some point so that again, we just can continue to get more data in order to determine next steps with that. I did not click. I was proud proud of myself. [laughter] Um, and then, uh, as you know, we've been working with a company called Signal Fire on some marketing in the background. Um,
015so I just want to share two videos with you. They're about a minute and a half long um that have not been publicized anywhere as of yet. Um, in order for you to just see these, um, then we will start uh getting these out into the universe. Okay. So, the first one is in relation to Wisco. So, that's our Wisconsin Connect charter school. Wanted that one to be the first one that comes out as the open enrollment window starts now. and it is a program where we tend to see a lot of open enrollments coming in. So, um this video is solely on Wisconsin Connect Charter School. At Wisconsin Connect Charter School, we believe learning should meet students where they are. Wisco is a public charter school open to all Wisconsin residents in grades 4K
016through 12. With students learning from communities across the state, we offer flexible paths to success. Whether it be fully online, a blend of in-person, virtual learning, or a book-based option, no matter the path, WICO [music] empowers students to learn anywhere. If another student asked me about joining Wisco, I'd tell them the benefits are being able to still do [music] a lot of the things a regular student would be able to do. And like, you still have a bunch of opportunities. I'm able to spend more time with my family and [music] friends, and I get to do my work whenever and wherever I chose. Yeah, I can just work at my own pace and they have opportunities I couldn't have otherwise. >> That's what Wisco does. It gives every kid their own plan. >> The teachers
017are also extremely supportive and they want you to succeed. [music] >> If I need help with a specific thing, I can spend the amount of time necessary on it instead of being rushed along. I'm able to get help from teachers quicker. It makes me a lot more responsible, a lot more accountable for myself and and my grades. >> It offers opportunities that I wouldn't get otherwise if I was in a traditional school program. [music] And I'm able to do things like earning credits early and dual credit for college. >> They're helping me be successful in life by offering me resources [music] to help guide me towards my future career. and they work to fit me in programs that allow me to get my foot in the door early. >> Students looking for a flexible option
018tailored to their individual needs are encouraged to enroll. Visit our website to learn more. So, that's our first video for um for you to see. Let's see if I can get to the next one. Oh, yeah. Good. Okay. So this one is >> I'm really excited about >> I'm going to pause it for a minute. This one is for our elementary schools uh not including Monasuri. So this is talking about our traditional elementary schools specifically. I'm really excited about how curious and expressive my students are becoming. [music] They're learning to share ideas, ask questions, and advocate for themselves. the staff from the front office all the way to the [music] lunch aids. They really reinforce how to be a kind human, not just a good student. >> I love that it feels like a family.
019The teachers know my name even if I'm not in their class this year. Makes me feel safe and important. Students get excited about so many things, especially when they have the chance to work with others. They really enjoying teamwork and [music] their enthusiasm for helping one another is something special. >> I would say that the teachers want you to be smart, but they care more about you being a nice person. It's a fun place to grow up. One thing I love is watching students [music] curiosity take off. Whether they're exploring during playtime or diving into learning activities, helping students discover what excites them and grow their passions is truly one of the best parts of my job. >> Our teachers believe in us and we all feel like a big family. Everyone is welcome here
020and has a way to fit in. Our children generally enjoy going to school every day, which means a lot to us. What they especially love are the extracurricular events that bring the whole family together. When kids learn how to communicate confidently and connect with others, they're bu building skills they'll use for the rest of their [music] lives. So, that's two of our series that we will have and we'll slowly be dripping them out um as we move forward. Um but just wanted you to show show you the two that have been um developed and are ready to go. And that's it for my superintendent report. [snorts] >> Okay. Um anybody have any questions or comments for Jill? >> Where are you going to put those out on? >> Social media website. Okay, next up is
021consent agenda items. This includes uh [snorts] board minutes, bank statement and bills, uh approval of appointments, resignations, retirements, donations, and then Neiola policy updates for second reading. And then just to do a donation highlight, the total approximate donation values, total approximate value of donation items donated this past month were $15,445.70. So, uh, we're really appreciative to everybody that contributed it over the last month to our school district. So, uh, with that said, I'm looking for a motion to approve the consent agenda items as presented. >> So, moved. >> Okay. Is there a second? >> Second. >> Right. All [clears throat] those in favor say I. >> I. Opposed. All right. Consent agenda items are passed. >> Next up is items for discussion and information. So, first item is going to be the school action plan
022for Waller. So, we'll turn that over to uh the principal uh Ann Phillips. >> Hello everyone. Is [snorts] >> Nope. >> [snorts] >> Now you can hear me. Hello. >> Um Jill is going to be pulling up. We're kind of doing a little bit of a something different for everybody. Um the goal was to kind of be a little bit more strategic with the information that we're going. I would love to tell you that I was in a ladder 100 ft up dressed like an elf. It was great. I still do all those things. We still have lots of fun at Waller. It's a great place to be. It's a great place to work. We have wonderful families. Um, but the reality is that we want you to be able to be comfortable with kind
023of where we're at with our data, where are we at with our strategic plan, where are we at with what it is that we would like to get to, and what are the numbers and the information that goes along with it? Because you are our stewards. That would give us a lot of information to the community. So, let's get you as knowledgeable as we possibly can. So, our goal today is really more kind of a conversation. So, feel free to interrupt me, ask questions, get some like get in there if you don't know what I'm talking about. But um at the beginning of the school year, Jill and the rest of the uh district admin team uh presented to the the principles, hey, we would like to have a one-stop shop for all of the
024information related to your school, the strategic plan, your goals, and the data to back up whatever it is that you're doing. Um so that when we communicate these things out to everyone, it's an easy, okay, step one is this is where we're at. this is what our goal is and this is the information to back it up. So, I'm just going to go through that information with you so that one, you can get comfortable with what it is that we're presenting on our scorecard and two, you can see what it looks like at the school level. Um Jill's going to jump in a little bit when it talks about things that are more higher level district and things like that. There's a lot of times that like um I'll ask Jill to like interrupt. So
025if she does, she's not jumping on my jumping on my flames or anything like that. She's just popping in. So if you look at [laughter] if you um also uh you kind of had a little bit of culture and climate conversation with the wonderful staff members that were here. I hope you had a great dinner with them and were able to get some information from them as far as that goes. Um, so let's jump into the brass tax a little bit more here. Um so if you look at uh the big picture of where our goals are for um both our student goals and our uh community goals uh our student pillar for our strategic goal for ELA for Waller is to increase uh from 60.7% proficiency on the forward exam and that's a collective
026between third and fourth grade and go to 63%. So raising that by two percentage points. That's pretty common across all of our schools that we are trying to increase by about two percentage points on the on the forward. Um a lot of effort goes into those two points and it's a it's a pretty heavy lift from year to year. So just know that that's pretty common across the board. Um on this first section here um I have some longitudinal data. So from 2021 through 2024 kind of where are we? A really big thing to note there is um the it our practices don't [snorts] have like a trajectory that are always just straight up. Um sometimes they do vary. So I wanted you to see that over time we are increasing but there are little
027dips occasionally. You'll see that in the next several pages that there are dips and there are places where we are definitely climbing um depending on um what we're looking at. So um our [clears throat] ELA goal is to raise from um 60.7% to 63.7 and our math goal is going to be going from 58% to 60%. As you'll see um in third and fourth grade specifically um with ELA and math we have like 62 and 67%. So again it's just an average of or it's a collection of those numbers. Um math it you'll see we have a very uh Carter Middle School is very lucky. We have a very uh pretty high group of fifth graders right now. So when I talk about like outliers our fourth graders are are current fifth graders. last year's
028fourth graders were definite outliers. Teachers are probably giving you a Yep, that's absolutely true. Um, one of the student pillars I culture-wise, Waller is a wonderful place to be and our stutter survey data says that from parents to students to staff um we had some pretty high numbers, really fortunate to be at Waller. Um, so when we talk about our stutter um, survey information, it's more about maintaining where we're at and not slipping. So in the stutter data, um, it's on a fivepoint scale, getting a four is [snorts] really great, right? If you have anything over a four, you're just trying to maintain that number and maybe increase it occasionally. So like if you look at our student pillar, the one place where we were lower than a four um for our students uh survey
029was about being on the bus and feeling safe on the bus. So collectively and um Rebecca Benedict is here, the dire principal. Hi Rebecca. uh we have talked as elementary principles, we have a really strong team and it was like okay what are the things that we can do collectively to make sure that all of our students are getting the same experience on the bus that we have collective practices that we're doing we're consistent across the board a parent is hearing the same thing from Rebecca that she's hearing from me that she's hearing from Thomas bus right so like we just want to make sure that our practices are pretty consistent and that's what we've been working on this year so hopefully that will change our numbers moving forward. Um the places where our parents
030were saying they needed the most kind of increase even though we're at that 3.9 coming up on a four is having to do with feedback and positive feedback related to their students. So knowing where their students are at academically but also getting positive feedback about their students. So things that we've decided to start doing, we have more uh communication that's going home to parents. A real big huge thing that we've started this year and I'm really excited to see how this changes is Parent Square. I think Parent Square uh the platform that we're currently using for communication with parents has increased the uh if you will touches that teachers have with parents on the daily basis and just a an ability to have a bigger open line of communication. So, I'm guessing that that number
031is going to increase as far as like parents knowing that teachers are giving feedback about their their students. Is there anything on this first page that you have any questions about? And Jill, is there anything that I'm forgetting on this first page? The only [clears throat] thing to point out too is just really wanting the the intent of the scorecards also is for everyone to have a clear alignment between the district strategic plan and how our buildings are helping assist with the strategic plan. Right? So notice at the top it says student pillar and then strategic goal one um for that ELA information and then student pillar strategic goal two. Right? So it's helping align so that you know like this work is assisting with or look at the bottom community pillar strategic goal one
032right so you can see the alignment from the school all the way up to the district's strategic plan that's a really good point the um if you want to think about what it was that we decided as a board as a community for what our strate strategic plan was going to look like this is the how are we getting there what is what is the actual thing that's happening at each school that's going to make that happen. So, thank you. That's exactly true. So, if we go on to page two, um we went on the staff experience survey and again, I'm really very fortunate the numbers that um I have are in the fours. So, my job is to just maintain that and increase kind of where we're at with that. One of the areas
033that the staff has said that they would like more of is just more feedback from me. How am I doing? What's going on? How am I doing in in class? How am I doing with parents? How am I doing as an instructor? So, what I um have increased this year, I don't know if they've noticed or not noticed, but what I've increased this year is just my uh like rounding. I take a lot of laps every day as much as I can to be present to know where kids are at, to know where teachers are at, problem solving on the fly every single day. There's a lot of, hey, do you have two seconds? There's a lot of problems that are solved just in those laps that I take. Um, and I think that that's
034been kind of beneficial. I don't know. They're they're nodding, so hopefully that's how they feel. Um, the other piece that I that I wanted to say is that it does it it's a lot of them as well as me. They are a wonderful staff to work with and they are very open to feedback. They're open to questioning and all of those things. So, this number is not indicative of me. it's indicative of we, which I just want that to go on record that we're saying that. Um, underneath uh there's a little bit of not a little bit, it's a longitudinal look at the big picture of our state report card. And so on a state report card, if you've looked at it before, it has those four categories that go into that composite score. So
035our composite score right now is an 81.7, which is exceeding expectations. Yahoo. Nice job, everybody. Um but what goes into that are those four um areas achievement target group outcomes growth and on track to graduation. The big thing that I want you to see here is that we have been um increasing in mo most places but the one spot that we're still working on is that growth. So our biggest area of growth is growth interestingly. So if you look at that that's kind of um fascinating. The place that I think um I just absolutely am super proud is that on track to graduate. Our kids want to be at Waller. They're not not there. Our attendance is pretty phenomenal. Our [snorts] our number of students that I have a struggle with when it comes to
036attendance is on one hand, which is insane for 247 students that I can count on one hand. the number of parents that I've already had communication with concerns about. We all know what's kind of going on. Um, but kids want to be at Waller, which is wonderful because we know that students in school mean that they're getting the things that they need. But also, this is a really good moment to say kudos to Waller [snorts] because uh the school report card went from a 76.2 2 to 81.7 and you can see a 12 point uh no a 8 point uh increase there in achievement and then the growth score went up uh target group outcomes went up and on track to graduation went up. So just so you know too what um achievement is literally
037in relation to percent of students proficient growth is how well have they grown from the uh last time they took the Ford exam to the next one. Okay, so that's third grade data to fourth grade data really. And then target group outcomes is in relation to our bottom 25% of students who scored on the forward exam and how are they growing um towards reaching proficiency. So every single building is given the uh which students are in that 25th percentile and then it's our staff know which kiddos they are and then also just how [snorts] are we helping grow them as well. So just you can see our target group at Waller now is at a 81.6. So it was a 70.8. So that's a huge uh increase there also. So just kudos to the Waller
038staff for all the work that you guys have been doing. And a big kudos honestly to the the district uh because we were given who our crew is that we need to focus on. I think was it last year that I was like, "Hey, we have this really great um piece of data that has given us exactly who it is that we need to work with, who our group is, and you know exactly what to do with them." So, just that um that desire to figure out who those people were, who those kids are, what are their needs, what where are they at, it was the start of it. We weren't uh trying to shoot into darkness. We knew exactly who we were um aiming at and what we needed to do. So, it's interesting
039once you know what you're supposed to be doing and you do it that things increase. It's like amazing. Um, so yeah, I another little pat on the back for the district. We have been working on really gathering that data and figuring out very specifically who we need to work with. So, okay. Uh, next page. Uh, this is more this is interesting because this is I Ready data. So I Ready is the diagnostic that we utilize for second through fourth grade. Well, it's actually through 8th grade. Am I right when I say that? But for our purpose, it's second through fourth grade. >> Um they are given a diagnostic in September, January, and April. and they uh those pieces of information kind of gather uh us some knowledge of where kids are going to be at
040specifically on the forward exam that they take because the uh diagnostic says, "Okay, if you're at this spot of proficiency, you're most likely going to be proficient on the forward exam." So, it's lovely because in September, we already know who we need to start targeting and where they're at and what we need to work on from the math and uh ELA standpoint all the way down to standard. So, if somebody's vocabulary isn't great, we can we know, hey, this group is a group that we have to pull together for this for this reason. What [snorts] I wanted you to see is that uh the beauty of this uh tool is that we know based on the amount of longitudinal data that we have that our students usually we can expect a 20 point jump throughout
041the year right so like right now we [snorts] are at if you look at third grade ELA the top left [clears throat] in the fall we were at 48.1% of our third graders were proficient on the I Ready, meaning they were on grade level. They weren't a grade behind. They weren't two grades behind. They were where they needed to be or above that. We saw then in January, we've now increased that by about 15 points, right? We know that we're probably going to get another five points at least in the spring. Like that's where our data is going. The other piece go ahead, Joe. And what Annie's um referring to, just to make sure you can follow the data really well, is that you'll see the same year is listed three times, right? And there's
042a F, W, and S behind each of them. That is referring to fall, winter, spring. Okay? So, it's that same group of kids. So, when she says, you can see the 48.9 to 65.2 to 69.8, right? That's in the fall, then in the winter, and then in the spring. Okay? So just so you know like what you're looking at >> and it's testing on grade level content. It's testing on like third grade if it's a third grade ELA test it's testing on the grade level standards and where are you at in the grade level. Um, I think it's very interesting. Just saying again, cohort when I was speaking of our current fifth graders, if you look at third grade math top right, and you see that in the fall of 23, we already on day
043one had half of our third graders were already proficient in math, 49 49%. And then uh if you go down to fall of um 2425, we were still at 40% of them. But then if you look at um spring of 2425, fourth grade math, same cohort, we went from 72% of them in um third grade being proficient to 78% of them in fourth grade being proficient. So, a very high group when it came to math, but it's love. It's I like being able to see the cohort. That's where it's like great that you're seeing kind of how things work, but when you're able to actually see a group of kids and how they move forward, it's really nice having that data well to know, okay, this is pretty common for this group. This isn't common
044for the group. Where's the red flags here? Okay. Um, any questions about this super exciting information? I know you were loving all this. All right, next page. We're talking more about um our early literacy and this is where we're going to get a little bit into the weeds of Act 20 and and like the reading plans and all of that. I know you probably have a lot of questions related to that coming at you if you're hearing any of that information. So this is kind of where that's a little bit more explained. So we have um a test called Ames Web and our students in early literacy through so 5K through uh third grade take that test also three times a year. So that's another diagnostic that they take. So if you think about our
045second and third graders, they're taking two separate diagnostics three times a year. So just this is what a a normal second and a normal third grader is doing. They're getting two tests um in the fall, two in the winter, two in the spring. I'm sorry, that's a lie. They're getting three >> three in the spring. [snorts] >> Three in the spring forward exam >> because of the forward exam with our third graders. So our third graders are getting forward as um I ready >> and yes and fourth grade. Um so if you look here, I just wanted to say these graphs are kind of explaining apples and oranges a little bit. So the 5k in first grade that is an early literacy score and second and third grade is an ORF score. So just wanted
046to explain to you stands for oral oral reading fluency but you can see it's in parentheses behind each of the titles there. See where it says early literacy and then the bottom says or that's oral reading fluency. So it's two different assessments. It's not the same assessment. But when it comes to early literacy, you need that before you can do anything with NOR. So like early literacy is like letter naming, word sounds, um, uh, phenome segmentation, meaning like the sounds of things, and then nonsense words. Trisha Lynch is here, and she's one of our reading specialists. If I say something wrong, Trisha, just give me a little you're wrong in she can go hard in the weeds with you if you're interested in knowing more about literacy. She's very, very intelligent. Um but on there
047so that is just a one minute test that that you're given one to one where are you at with all those things? Same with the next layer. Now it's important when it comes to the the reading plans because if somebody were to flag at like 25th percentile or below then it becomes a question of okay do we need to do a reading plan with them? So, they would get a second uh screener that they would take and then they would [cough] kind of decide, okay, where are they at as far as needing reading plan? Right now, just for your information, we're at about 35 reading plans in the winter since the winter um diagnostic has happened. Waller is still at about 35 reading plans K through three, just in case you were wondering. And um
048one way to get out of h get out of one way to test out of having a reading plan though for a third grader is to score proficient on the forward exam. So if they were to score proficient on the on the forward exam, but they somehow flagged in their screener at an under a 25th percentile, they wouldn't necessarily have to have a reading plan because they're still considered proficient at the grade level. Okay. I think some really cool data to notice is the year in both [snorts] the kindergarten and first grade and then look at 2526 in the number of students who are already um meeting the goals uh just in the winter right so 62% last year where it's 82.9% this year so um and then 27% last year in first grade but
049it's 80.8% now in first grade with this other cohort of kiddos. So just kudos to our staff. Um we have implemented a new English curriculum. CKLA um was the first year. Last year was that implementation. Sometimes we do see an implementation dip it's called when you're implementing new curriculum into the system. But now we're on year two of that curriculum. Um and our staff have really really liked it. Right. Look at them shaking their head. Look at them. It's actually fascinating because the uh third grade teacher, Katie Dickinson, is here as a third grade teacher and Anna Abbott is here as a second grade teacher. And Katie's like, "Oh my gosh, they're coming in with so much more knowledge than they had even at the beginning of last year." Like just one year's worth of
050information. And Anna would say the same because of first grade and first grade would say the same because of kindergarten. Like it all builds on everything and they're just curiosity on these topics is just crazy. Like Katie's like, "Oh, I'm talking about fftom in my [laughter] and Vikings, ancient Rome. We're they're learning all these things." And it's funny. Um I was saying, well, this is where people start to, you know, only think about um ancient Rome. Have you heard that little thing? You think about ancient Rome a 100 times. I'm like, you're the one who started it in third grade. [laughter] >> This is just a really good representation of the hard work that our staff have done. We also all of our teachers last year and some of them this year um had to
051undergo keys for literacy training. Um so they were using all of their late start Wednesdays to engage in that required training that we established as a school district. Um and then our our newer teachers to our system andor in the upper grade levels at the elementary are engaging in that this year. But it's it's really assisted with ensuring everyone kind of has that common language across the system. one with our curriculum, but then two with some um training across the the system. I know it was a lot of work. Um look at them. They're Yep. A lot of work. Still is. Yep. So, the upper grade levels, some of them are still doing it. But it really is nice because it has caused a lot of common language and common understanding so that no matter
052which school you're in, you have that same training um and backbone with the science of of reading. So, um, just kudos to our staff because it was a really heavy lift last year and still is this year for some of you that are doing the training now because they're trying to take on new curriculum but also have to engage in pretty rigorous training at the same time. So, just really appreciate that. >> We as an admin team also engaged in kind of the same PD and I feel like I my knowledge expanded exponentially. I think that um the biggest thing that I've seen when it comes to uh keys and its benefit from a professional development standpoint is the confidence. Like our staff is so is not that they weren't confident before, but just their
053ability to feel so much more confident in their literacy education and teaching and professional development has been outstanding to me. their desire to talk about things with like a Trisha or Sandy or any one of our reading interventionists like they have a little bit more knowledge instead of Trisha feeling like she's an island. She has a a more of a crew that are like, "Yep, I know what you're talking about." Which is great. Um, next page, not to leave math in the in the dirt because I have no desire to do that, is our fastbridge scores. So, first grade and 5K and first grade. You saw the math scores for I Ready, but because I Ready doesn't only starts in second grade, we do a a platform called FastBridge. It's kind of the same as
054an Ames web. It's a real quick one minute test, one to one uh testing all of the foundational numerousy skills across the domains of um number relation and operations. So, it kind of does a quick I always say dipstick of where everybody's at with math and then we pull from there. There isn't like a reading plan situation or an ACT 20 for math, but we kind of live in the same land as that. If they're below 25th percentile, we kind of evaluate, decide where we're at, and then they'll pull for um our times. It's a really good time to talk about when does all of this happen. Um at the elementary level, we have something called boost time. It's 40 minutes a day, and that is a time for all grade levels to decide where
055our students are at and pull those target groups for who needs what. So, some need math, some need ELA, some are in intervention, some are in uh tier one, meaning in the classroom um intervention. And so, it's like that time uh for teacher teams and intervention teams and special ed teachers to all decide what are we going to do with that grade level group. Every grade level is at the same time and they're varied throughout the day so that all related services are able to push in if necessary at those times. So, it's very that's kind of like a golden time. We don't touch that time. And then, um, they grade levels will usually with every couple of weeks decide if they're going to be switching over to, um, groups depending on how they're doing.
056Um, students who are on a reading plan are also progress are done progress monitoring once a week. They're they have progress monitoring happen, meaning where are we at? So weekly there could be a decision made about like who's going where this person flagged for that. This is going on with that. So any questions about that. Okay. Um the last thing I kind of wanted to talk about and not kind of but very uh important is our highest needs populations. So, our students with IEPs and our students that are economically disadvantaged is a is a big area that we want to make sure that we're addressing because they are how are they doing? How are things going? What's happening with them? So, the scores that you're seeing right now are the forward scores. Okay. Go ahead,
057Joe. >> Yep. And as you're looking at this, um, see where it says SWD? That stands for students with disabilities and then the SOD students without disabilities. Okay. So dark orange is with disabilities and then the light orange is without disabilities. So we're just being able to kind of track them side by side next to each other just so you know what the data is that you're looking at. So within that whole group, we saw that specifically in ELA and in math, there were some um big huge gaps between our students with disabilities and students without disabilities where they were performing on our tests. So what we decided to do, one of the steps that we decided to do was as an elementary principal team and as an elementary district team, we've uh started developing
058look fors and developing um a walkthrough process for like how are we evaluating the practices that are are consistent across the board because we know that if you have students that you're targeting and you have consistent practices, the numbers are going to increase. So that has been our biggest action step related to these numbers and this gap has been okay what are we going to do as a result of this gap we are going to uh change not change our practices but make our practices consistent. Uh Jill always says hey what's that person doing over there that they're getting such a good score. Can we duplicate that practice somewhere else? So that's our job as an admin team to be able to say okay these are the things that we're seeing that are causing um
059numbers to go up. Do we want to replicate that or do we need to coach everybody to a place where they're feeling comfortable doing those same things? So, uh, the purpose of having these two charts here on this page and the next page, which is our economically disadvantaged students, is just to say we're aware of the gaps. We know that they're important to look at and we have a plan for what we're doing with them. >> Any questions? This was a lot of information, but again, the desire for this whole presentation is to say, "Yep, sleeping on roofs is fun, but what are you doing with the data um in your building?" Right? Like, are we doing things that are actually teaching children things like that? [snorts] Any big questions that you have? And again,
060every principal has a very similar expectation in regard to putting this all together. So, we're coining it scorecards. Um, and I think I shared with you earlier in the year was just giving the team time to get all the data in here. And once we were ready to kind of roll it out, you would start to see it at board meetings, right? So, this is that time where we're we're feeling kind of ready to do that. and moving forward, you would see this from our every building when they when they come to the schoolboard meetings. Um, but this is a this is a good time to uh talk to Annie about things, but I can't reiterate it enough either in regards to I feel like we've come or the the schools have come to you
061quite a bit already and shared a lot about what we do culturally and we've we've kind of hammered that, right? That side of things. So, how are we showing the academic side and what we what we're tracking and its alignment to the strategic plan at the same time. So, um it's just that good balance between Yes, she still goes on the roof or not the roof, the uh You should do that again. >> It was a 100 foot ladder by the >> the 100 foot ladder slept on the roof. >> Roof. >> It's roof. Marlo. >> Apparently, we're dogs around here. It's fine. Um, and yes, like all those fun things are happening. I mean, that's what's makes school fun for kids, right? But at the end of the day, we get measured and held
062very accountable to our data. So, like, how are we doing with that and what are we tracking? So, just really wanted to make sure that's brought forward to you guys, too. Any questions at all? >> This is fantastic. >> Oh, good. Well, it's you're going to see it several times, so that's good. It's But is it easy? It's easy to understand. It's easy. Good. That that was the goal is to make it digestible for people that aren't in education and know kind of how to see things and ask and understand it. So, thank you. All right. Thank you everybody. Y [applause and cheering] >> What's that? >> No. >> She's got some good stories about the roof. That's for not during the live stream. Everything, >> right? I do think that's accurate. Thank you, Annie.
063>> Right. Uh, thank you again. Um, any well staff that would not like to stay, please feel free to go. [laughter] >> All right. Next up is the submitted grants update. Um, as you saw in your packets, we had, as of January 30th, over $3.1 million in grants that have been submitted thus far. We'll have um Laura Kramer come up and give an update as to where we're at. >> Sorry, I thought that was going to be my update. [laughter] Just going to get out of it. Um, there was a PowerPoint. I don't know if that's somewhere available but um if not I can just um provide a summary. So since I started in mid August um I've been able to meet with all of the district administrators all the schools had a tour been
064able to get um a good look at um what's working, what's not working, where the needs are, what the wish list versus needs are um and help kind of come up with some priorities. Um, I've also done that with the city, um, because I do, um, work with them part-time as well. Um, one of the the things about grant writing these days is that it's a very, um, competitive, uh, climate for grants. Um, and especially in our current, um, state of affairs, there's, you know, funding is cut everywhere for everyone. Um, and so there's a lot of competition. So I I can submit a [snorts] grant and be one of 700 applicants so we can still put our best foot forward and um do everything right and still not be funded. Um we do a
065lot of research on what we're looking for to make sure that our mission, vision, and values matches that of a donor. So we're kind of working as a district to come up with a strategic plan for our fundraising um and grants. So, we're not always knocking on the door of our community partners locally, but expanding our reach. Um, there we go. >> I'm sorry, one second, Lauren. Laura, I'll get you. >> Uh, page three. >> Yep. >> Jumping around. >> Um, and so, one of the things that we're looking to expand is our network of um, partnerships. So if we have uh staff members who have family that work in a you know ex corporation perhaps they can help spread the word about our need or a specific project or program that's happening. Um and
066we were successful with that. Um we had a parent um of our one of our [laughter] soccer uh [clears throat] students at the high school um approach us with an opportunity to submit three grants um that would be able to fund STEM programming. So we we need those networks and partnerships in order to um continue to expand where we can seek funding from. Um just a little bit on submissions for the city. Um I did work closely with the staff at the Burlington Public Library to submit a grant um for a local project. It's funded through the state of Wisconsin. We submitted it at Halloween and we still don't know. the timeline was due uh the end of February, early March is when they're planning to make um any announcement. So, another point about grants,
067they're sometimes a long wait um after we do the work. Um, I also submitted one over the holiday break, um, for T-Mobile Hometown grants. And both of these grants were required to be shovel ready, um, which indicates that they're they're funding, this is the last little bit of funding before they can break ground or um, like I know we have major projects um, at the 496 building, but we don't have all of our ducks in a row. So, some of those grant opportunities we're not able to apply for if the funding is requiring that shovel ready, permits pulled, all that good stuff. Um, and then we, you know, partner with anybody in the city that's um looking, they'll reach out to me and I I meet with them, get the information, and then submit a
068grant like I did with the farmers market. Um, as far as general community groups, I've only um written three. Um, and none of them have been approved. Um some of them [clears throat] they're really looking for um a big reach um or really focused on meeting the needs of low moderate income participants. So like with the basketball um program we can always try um and unfortunately that one was denied. So the next slide will show you just kind of what's outstanding um so and what's been denied. So, out of those six grants, um, we're still waiting on three. And then, >> and those three equal $1.4 million. So, it's a a big amount, you know, that, um, she's also applying for. Just wanting to call that out. >> Um, as far as the uh, grants
069specific for Burlington School District, um, I have submitted 38. So, most of my work has been focused on submitting applications on behalf of the district. Um, we have been awarded 10. Um, doesn't look like a big amount, but $11,000 is more than we had um six months ago um for some of these programs. Um we also have 21 that are outstanding and still in the process of being uh determined. So, that pending amount is is pretty big. Um we had one large grant that um I worked on with pupil services. Um that was a federal grant with only 26 awards and we just learned that we were not one of them um for for school safety. So I guess our need for school safety compared to the nation is is not as significant. So I
070that is not a a bad um a bad thing. So um it's just you know a large dollar amount unfortunately. Um however that information to write that federal grant was used to submit for a state grant. Um so once we have the information um the nuts and bolts of a grant were able to use that information and apply for other funding sources. Um as far as relationship building um we again expanding our partnerships in the community is really critical. Um Jill and I have been meeting with Microsoft um multiple times since October. Um and we have a pending um promise or commitment for a grant to help update the computer labs um for CTE and the high school business program. Um we're also looking um [clears throat] to skill up our our staff with different
071opportunities for um education through Microsoft and they're willing to work with volunteering which also adds um a lot of value to our organization. Um, we, you know, tomorrow, uh, Ben from CTE, Ben Hendricks and I are meeting with Snap-on. So, it's just another way to to expand our partnerships in the community. So, that's some of how I spend my time. Um, I think that's about it. Um, we have just the summary. Um, so really twothirds of our grants that we have submitted are outstanding, those decisions. Um, and I think we shared a a list of all the funding that we've done, um, all the applications. So, um, certainly if you have connections that you want to send my way, please email me or call me. Um, and I'm happy to answer any questions. >> Do
072they ever send you reasons why you may not have won a grant? >> Most do not. Um, if I feel strongly about um, that maybe something was missed, I I definitely go back to the funer. Uh specifically with um the one I did for the Lady Demons, the Junior Lady Demons, they they were very um concerned about the cost for the families being because they went on our the website for the uh Junior Lady Demons and said, "Well, that's more than um somebody that was a 50% low moderate income would be able to pay." So, you know, there they felt the audience was not the the right fit for what they wanted to fund. But I you know there are times where they give an answer some just they get so many that they don't
073um share the feedback but it is always great to get the feedback. >> One thing that I'd like to just add and give Laura a lot of kudos on is that she has only been on our team since July 1, but really didn't necessarily start right away in the summer. And she the amount of work that she has already um taken on and you can see the amount of grants that she has already written, the amount of time that you have spent like getting to know staff, understanding our system, understanding our community. Like in order to write the grant, you first have [clears throat] to understand the systems and how to write for the systems. So she's done a really amazing job trying to establish herself too within this role. Um, so I personally am
074really impressed and surprised sometimes at the number of grants she has already written because I did say there's no expectation for the first couple of months to because you need to just first, you know, who are the city people that I need to talk to, right? Who are the businesses? Who are the staff members? Right? All of that kind of stuff. But she really has um done an amazing job. you have done an amazing job of being able to um really start to get to know staff at a really accelerated level in order to get us to the point that we're at here um at the beginning of of February really. So just kudos to Laura. >> Any questions for her at all? Our thought is maybe like twice a year umish is how often
075Laura would come back and give updates about grants is what we're kind of thinking. So um we'll just kind of play off of when it makes sense to have her come back and present again. But just wanting you to know like this kind of format is what she would probably you'd be seeing again from her. Make sense? >> If you have other feedback on that just let me know and we can chat about it. Okay. Okay. All right. Uh, that's great. Uh, next, did you have something? >> Well, um, [clears throat] sorry. If, um, the grant application gets denied, um, where do we go from there? I'm just looking at some of these, um, like the Reman Foundation, um, for the 4K transformation. So, that one was denied. Where do we go at that point?
076Does it kind of move down to the bottom of the list for the next year or [snorts] >> I would say typically um if we don't get funded the first time I might try again. The second time they're sending us a message. Um it's we're not a fit for their purpose. Um that particular one is was new to me too as a a foundation. and I had never heard of them before and and they had a connection to um a school district that we want to model our 4K program off. So I thought, oh there might be a way to get a connection, but sometimes [snorts] it's just a a fly by the seat, you know, throw a dart and see where it lands. But >> and then um follow up after. So, if we're
077going to have an update a few times a year, um, so like the one for the K the kids garden program, that one was denied. Do we push this out to the community to see if they can help? Um, >> sure. Like for that particular um project, we secured funding from our Burlington Garden Club. Um, then I went and we just were awarded on Thursday $5,000 from the Burpee Seed Foundation. Um that's a national grant. Um so to for the same program so it will all of that money will go to F FRC. They're planning to build garden beds and Okay. >> Um so that's great. Um we had another garden grant um through a different foundation that we tried to get for Cooper. Um we were denied for that but there's still other rounds.
078So I will always keep trying. There's a Whole Foods garden grant. Um and I know there's several schools dyer included that want [laughter] that want a school garden. So, it's it's really just making sure um that we're always paying attention to what's being released. Like today, I sat down and there was something new that came across our desk and so I'm halfway through writing it. It's due on the 15th. So, I just have to adjust um our schedule to make sure we can fit as we find good connect possibilities for our schools. >> Thanks. >> Yep. And you can see too when she's got in preparation for February, there's a big grant there that she's preparing for um for that um charter school uh two-year eligibility for 600,000 or up to a million each year.
079So that is something that she's working on now with Mandy for the charter school. So things come in come into play at different times. Um Oh, I was at You might want to come back up to the mic. Um I was asked this earlier. Um, and I just correct me if I'm wrong here, but at the beginning when you first started because the question was where how do you even find this all this out, right? We you wanted to sign up for some list serves, right? Can you just explain those a little bit so that the board because I was asked that before we even started. >> Yeah, sure. That's a a really great question and I meant to talk about that. We signed up for Grant Watch, which is a subscriptionbased service. Um, I'm
080used that for nine years. I'm very comfortable with the format, but it helps you put in um like the information you want. Um you know, and just really hone in on a specific thing. So, if we're looking for capital improvement or child care grants, I can just hone in on that. Um and then every Tuesday I get a list of like 20 things that, hey, check this out. And I go through all of them. Sometimes they're you have to live in Apple or you have to, you know, be part of a different community to to be eligible. So just because there's grants available, if you read the fine print, we're not eligible to apply. We also have um another listerve through a corporation um that's able to put together educational based um funding opportunities that
081we get once a month. So I'll go through that um specific for Wisconsin and then read some other all states can apply for these grants. So um in total I think it was less than 750 for both subscriptions combined. So, um, trying to be cost conscious. [clears throat] >> Thank you. >> Any other questions? [laughter] >> Thanks. >> Right. Next up is Neiola ongoing policy review first reading. So, we'll have uh chairman of that committee, Mr. Cobbernneck, take over. [snorts] >> Okay. So, [clears throat] I don't think we've gotten into our new way of doing these yet. So, this >> No, that's going to be in items for action. Yep. >> So, this is first reading, which we'll probably see it again next month as a second reading in the um consent agenda items. So,
082[snorts] just keep that in mind for now. Um so policy jumping into it policy 5112 is entrance age and the biggest takeaway is the um immunization records or waiverss um that could be applied for this um that's the largest change to this policy policy 5310.01 01 emergency nursing services plan. Um it is a replacement policy and it more fully incorporates the requirements of administrative regulations um for the development content and review of emergency nursing services. [snorts] Um, it's recommended so that we can remain compliant with our other policies and that the districts will coordinate with their nursing professionals to confirm that an appropriate and comprehensive plan is presently in place. Um, next one is policy 5411 which is third grade promotion and retention. Um, so I on this one it's just adjusting the verbage for
083the district to the student's school and then the parental notifications section. The policy has been updated to include various parental notification provisions. Um, this is required for compliance with the law. Policy 5464 is early graduation. Um it gives additional options for evaluation and approval of early graduation requests. Um it also updated to specify that a student who graduates early can still participate in district programs or activities. Um so like for instance if they graduate in January, they could still participate in spring sports or clubs. Um I guess the biggest example would be if they're in like a play. So like say the play starts in November or whenever and goes on until January. They could still participate. >> Or other good examples are even in the spring. So we graduate at the end of May,
084but spring sports sometimes are still going into the middle of June. So this is saying you graduate, you can still participate in those programs, but you still fall underneath all uh board policy rules, right? So, suspensions or something like that in the event that um students were to want to participate in things that they shouldn't um once the school year is over. >> they're still involved in our um programs and they still fall under board policy rules. >> The next one is policy 5505 academic honesty. Um it was updated to specify that the respect uh to student use of AI tools, students are expected to properly attribute any content. Um also students involved in third party administered programming are expected to fully comply with the rules of that organization implements. Um, so basically if you're
085using AI, you need to specify that you used AI. Policy 5530, student use of or possession of intoxins, drugs, or paraphernalia. Um, basically it was updated to include within the prohibited substances and to include lookalike substances. Um, one example would be a snorting a pixie stick, pretending that it's um, you know, cocaine or some other drug. >> Mhm. um that was added so that kids don't participate in that and pretend that they're doing drugs. >> Mhm. >> Um policy 7440.03 is small unmanned aircraft systems or drones. Um basically they modified the title to include the term drones. Um it's also consistent with the WIAA administration policies and procedures. Um so basically when how and where you can fly a drone would be covered in this policy 7450 is property inventory. Um so changes to the
086policy removes reference to capital assets since um matters are comp contemplated in the policy 74 55. Um, these revisions are recommended to clarify and continue for clarity and continue compliance with the law. So, we basically went over what we [clears throat] would cover as having um barcodes and stuff like that under this policy. Um, furniture would be another one that we're starting to try and implement possibly, but most technology. Um, we also talked about tools that may be used by the building and grounds crew because of costs associated with that. Um, so all those were kind of thrown into the policy so that we could track those. Policy 7455 is the accounting system for capital assets. Um, this was also done for appropriate useful life for capital assets based on the government accounting standards board.
087Um so it's it's what's required by auditors um to be able to do the proper audits that they need to make. Um also we added some a second set of additions because every other district also has those in their policies. [clears throat] Next one is um policy 7460 conservation of natural and material resources. Um basically it's an outline of energy conservation evaluation and implementation policy. Um it was confusing prior to and it didn't provide options for specific application of such initiatives. Policy 7530.02 is staff and school officials use of personal communication devices. Um, one of the things that was covered was just keeping if you're using your own device that you keep the material according to state laws. Um, that was the biggest thing out of there. So, if you're a staff or school official
088using your own PCD, make sure you keep uh applicable material according to the state laws. [snorts] Policy 8120 is volunteers. um basically included optional language clarifying that volunteers are required to abide by policy 8660 which is our transportation by private vehicle for district sponsored activities or trips. Um we did revise 8660 in 2025 already. So >> [snorts] >> um basically just updating the two policies to to match each other. Policy 8420 is school safety. [snorts] Um this one the policy is updated to reflect the crime reporting requirements enacted by the legislature and effective for the 2425 school year. >> Um the law requires high schools to collect and report incidents as described. The first deadline is July 31st. Um >> yeah this was if you remember Chris Wines director of people services presenting the information
089in the summer about students who had received some sort of citation from the police on school grounds right that's this policy so this is just um in relation to that >> and then the next group of policies were also done by the department of public instruction and the school nutrition team Um, the school nutition team conducts an administrative review on a 5-year cycle for all Wisconsin districts. As a proactive measure, Neola collaborated with them to identify and incorporate their recommended revisions. Uh, so these following policies were all revised with um the content that the DPI and the school nutrition team came up with. Policy 8500, food services. 8510, [clears throat] wellness. Policy 8531, free and reduced priced meals. Policy 8540, the vending machines. And policy 8550, competitive food sales. Um, a lot of those they
090talk about not competing with federal uh >> assistance and food programs. So, a lot of it is like the vending machines and the food sales cannot compete with your free and reduced price meals. Um, those are the biggest takeaways from that. And finally, the last policy is 8660, which is transportation by private vehicle. Basically, the only way you can transport students in a private vehicle is if the superintendent allows it. Is there any questions? >> [snorts] >> Okay. All right. Next up is items for action. Um we just have one item which [clears throat] is the policy committee review and board action process. So uh the rationale behind this was just uh to make a an adjustment that aligns with our process with Dola's recommendation um recommended structure by treating the policy committee's review as
091the first reading and reserving the full board's meeting for the second reading and final action and ensures policies receive thorough committee review while preserving the board's ability to request further discussion at any time. Um Jill or Paul, do you want to add anything else additional to that? >> Um so if we were to cover a policy and anyone on the board didn't feel comfortable with either passing that policy as it was written or wanted further discussion, it could be removed from that meeting specifically and added to the next concurrent U meeting. But this was basically done to shorten our policy implementation timelines. Um because right now we're looking at three months I believe before we can implement a policy technically. >> Um this would shorten it down to basically a month possibly if depending on
092when policy meeting >> our policy committee meets. >> So it's just allowing us to make sure our policies are more up to date and get them done in a timely manner. Again, super super common to have the first reading happen at a policy committee meeting if a school board has a policy committee. Now, if you don't have a policy committee, then you would have a first reading and a second reading at two different board meetings, monthly board meetings. But since we have a policy committee, most school districts that have one are doing that where the first reading is at the policy committee and then the second reading comes to the board as an item for action. And then again, like Paul said, you can always pull a specific policy out. If you want to review
093one specific policy and push it to the next month, you can always do that. >> Okay. What What does this consent agenda revisions do though? I'm a little confused because does >> Yeah. So, we [clears throat] did attach the So, that's a good question, Peter. So the policy is also attached there that would adjust this um component so that policies would not be located in the consent agenda anymore because we would be shifting them to items for action. So they wouldn't show up in the consent agenda. So we attached the policy that this relates to also because if everyone if the board agrees so we we would need a motion on that also, right? Um, so if the board agrees to shift and have it not be in the consent agenda anymore, then I also
094um would encourage the board to give a motion to approve that consent agenda policy also >> because right now we just went through first reading in discussion, >> but tonight we had consent agenda for second reading, right? Which we just approved. >> So this would flip that around, right? >> So am I missing that? basically their consent agenda policy. We list that policies are in the consent agenda, but they would no longer be in the consent agenda because we're not >> we we would have first reading with the policy committee. >> Yeah. >> Then second would be with the board as a whole >> items for action. So then when it would eliminate it from consent agenda >> and then policies would not belong in there either. >> I understand. Makes sense. So, it's basically
095cleaning up our whole process to make sure we cover everything. Okay. [gasps] Any other questions or comments, concerns? Okay. Um, I'll entertain a motion. >> So, moved. >> Second. >> Okay. Um, we're going to be doing a roll call vote then. Um, Kate, how do you wish to vote? >> I >> Okay, Rosanne, >> I. >> Paul, >> I vote yes. Marlo, >> I. >> Peter, >> yes. >> And Noah, >> I >> Okay. All right. Motion passes. That covers both um items that uh was requested. So, all right. Uh next up then is schoolboard committee updates. [cough] Um, in our notes, we had the Southern Wisconsin School Alliance monthly meeting from January 13th. Um, Jill, do you want to comment on that or >> give me a hot second? I guess that was a
096while ago, Taylor. Hold on. >> We'll come back to that. Um, finance, Peter. >> Sure. Uh, we met January 13th. Uh, the committee, we talked at length about planning for future referendum. Um, and we're following up. The full board is going to have a a follow-on discussion on the 26th of February, so coming up in a couple weeks. >> Okay. Uh board governance and communications, Kate. >> Um the meeting that we had scheduled for January 20th was cancelled and we are planning to reschedule that after the finance board workshop on February 26th. Um, I think we're actually going to potentially look at another meeting prior to that, but we'll see what people's schedules are. Uh, next up, uh, building and grounds. Marlo, >> um, excuse [clears throat] me. So, we met on January 26th and
097we went through um Mckenstre's dashboard just looking at um the assets and how um we're able to manipulate that and build our game plan um for improvements or repairs. Um some pretty big ticket items on there if you all remember. So, um it'll be interesting um how we go about um just um keeping tabs on our assets and keeping them function functioning as best as possible. [clears throat] Okay, not done. Sorry. [laughter] >> We also went through um a demon a little bit of a demonstration on a box which is our work order program that our maintenance team uses um for the district buildings and such. and um very promising the way that it ties into um the McKenry piece. Um and yeah, I think it it gives a a lot of detail in maintenance
098hours, who's assigned what. Um I believe it also tracks uh the manh hours for >> um completion um of said work orders. [snorts] So yeah, very very informative and I think it's really good for the district [clears throat] partnership with Mckinstry. Yeah. >> Okay. >> Good. >> Uh, we want to go back to you, Jill. >> Sure. >> All right. Southern Wisconsin School Alliance. >> Yep. So, as a school board, we're part of the Southern Wisconsin School Alliance and has meetings once a month. Um, and in the update, they had quite a bit of information and pieces on the focus of uh, property taxes. They shared a bunch of articles. Um Dan Ross Miller from um WASB also shared out a good article in relation to the impact on people's property taxes and how the
099state not giving any increase for this year and next year is the cause for higher local taxes to be going up. Right? It's not something local school districts are doing um to increase uh property taxes, right? So, we did hear that just a little bit um in the community when people's tax bills came out that they we lied to them, right, about the increase for the operational referendum um where that is not the case. We were very honest about what the actual referendum would do, but we have no control over decision- making at the state level. Right? So, it was a lot of conversation about that. They also um talked about the rehired annuitance. So that's the ability to rehire um staff that are retired and be able to do that at a quicker um
100clip to be able to to rehire them. Um it looks like that's not going to go anywhere at the moment. So you can rehire them. You just have to wait 75 days and then there is a required number of hours they have to stay under um once they do come back if they come back. Um but uh it is one that superintendents especially across the entire state are really pushing for and encouraging to make adjustments to that uh legislation. Um so that was something that was discussed just a little bit, but a lot of it was about um property taxes. Um and uh yeah, that's kind of what was the main discussion during that meeting. >> Okay. Uh next up is going to be teaching and learning Rosanne. >> Okay. We met this morning so
101this is quite nice that you're meeting tonight. Uh we went to Cooper which is all monastery now and um we went to through several of the rooms. Um TJ the principal was very nice. He uh he was interesting and he had a background not in monastery. So I mean he's had a lot of learning to do also. And uh we visited the rooms which is always the most fun is to see the kids and what they're doing. They were all engaged. It's a very different then I'm having been a teacher and pretty traditional uh it's very different but I noticed that they were enjoying learning as the others do and everybody no matter what method we're using is in Burlington it seems like they're all learning. You know each each teacher even there within the
102monastery the methods were a little different. I noticed when when we were watching them it was a very good day. Uh we went to all the rooms. We also went to Wisco and met the teacher there who had quite a bit to say and understood the program a little bit better. It uh it was I thought it was a great morning and our next meeting will be in March. >> Okay. Uh excellent. Next up is Paul for policy. >> So we met on February 2nd and we covered what was covered tonight. Um I think we have another meeting in March, but I don't remember specifically when um >> um I don't have it listed on our upcoming meetings yet. >> Yeah, I don't know that we set it for March yet. >> I think we
103were going to discuss tonight. >> Tonight would probably be when we can talk about >> Oh, yeah. We didn't because No, no was absent, I think. So, that's why. >> Correct. [snorts] >> So, we'll schedule that and then have one in March. >> Okay. All right. Last but not least, personnel. Noah >> uh personnel, we met virtually this last Wednesday, February 4th, and discussed all of the um appointments, resignations, retirements, and terminations since our previous meeting. And then we'll be meeting again um in March uh Wednesday prior to our monthly board meeting. Do you want to you or Jill do you want to share a change that has been made to our personnel committee meetings? >> Sure. So um previously the entirety of our personnel committee meetings were done in um close session but after
104talks with Alana the her recommendations per state law basically um say that unless it's pertaining to a very specific um like personnel matter with the terminations or or other things like any appointments, retirements, resignations, that should all be happening in open session. So, this was our first meeting where we um followed under that um that guidel uh we had a conversation about where determinations belong then. Um and what we decided and in uh conversation with legal counsel at the same time uh was that terminations will live in the personnel committee underneath executive content. Um so if you are ever curious if there was a termination then you would go under uh the personnel committee and look there to see if there was a termination noted. Okay. Okay. [snorts] >> Any questions for any of the
105committees? Okay. Uh, next up is future meeting updates. Uh, Southern Wisconsin School Alliance. That meeting is tomorrow at 7 a.m. I'm sorry, 7:30 a.m. As Peter mentioned, finance committee workshop is February 26th at 6 p.m. That's here. Um, let's see. We've got a board workshop on standardsbased grading. That is March 2nd at 6 p.m. at district office. Personnel Committee meeting, as Noah just mentioned, March 4th at 1 PM. Our regular monthly schoolboard meeting is March 9th here at 6:30 p.m. District Office. And then, as Rosanne alluded to, teaching and learning committee is March 13th at 9:00 a.m. at the district office. And then we'll be scheduling future meetings here after the uh conclusion of this meeting for uh board governance and policy. Uh, next up then is um close session. So I will make a
106motion that we move into close session per Wisconsin statute 19.851C 851C for the purpose of discussing the superintendent's performance evaluation and Wisconsin statute 19.1F NG and 118.125 for the purpose of discussing confidential student information. Do I have a second? >> So move. >> Okay. So we have a second for that's going to be Noah. >> I made the motion. All those in favor say I. >> I. Opposed. We are in close session. Thank you. >> Have a good night everybody. >> [clears throat]