001[music] Heat. Hey. Hey. Hey. >> [music] [music] >> Heat. Heat. [music] Heat. [music] Heat. [music] Heat. [music] Heat. [music] [music] >> [music] [music] >> Heat. Heat. [music] Heat. [music] [music] Heat. [music] >> [music] >> Heat. [music] Heat. [music] >> [music] >> Heat. Heat. [music] >> [music] [music] >> Heat. Heat. [music] Happy birthday. [music] >> [music] [music] >> Heat. Heat. [music] [music] >> [music] [music] >> Heat. Heat. >> [music] [music] >> Heat. Heat. [music] Heat. [music] [music] Hey. Hey. Hey. >> [music] [music] >> Heat. [music] Heat. [music] Heat. [music] Heat. [music] Heat. [music] Heat. [music] Heat. Heat. N. [music] [music] Heat. [music] Hey. Hey. Hey. [music] >> [music] [music] >> Good evening and welcome to the board of education meeting for Gley Evans School District 6 on January 12th. This meeting will now come to order.
002Please join us for the pledge of >> allegiance. Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, liberty andice for all. Miss Lemon, will you please call the role? >> Director Zari, >> present. >> Director Bentley, >> present. >> Director Campos Spitzy, >> present. >> Director Edmonds, >> present. >> Director Limos Garcia, >> present. >> Director Mash, >> present. >> Director Roi, >> present. >> All board members, present. >> Well, we want to welcome you all back to second semester. Hope you all had a wonderful holiday and um just restful time. Happy new year. Um we are off and running with our new board members have already done a school visit to Brentwood Middle School and we're excited for all
003the all the school visits, all of the events, getting to celebrate the great work being done here in District 6 and we know this semester is going to fly by. Um today we were able to attend a legislative preview hosted by District 6 and UNC um just to see what kinds of challenges um priorities that our legislators have and uh we really appreciate them being there and available to answer questions and to you know see their community and see what is important to us and how we um can serve our students and our families the best. Um, something fun you might all want to attend is the Central West basketball game this Thursday night, our cross town rivalry. Um, always a lot of fun to um to watch our athletes compete and and see them
004all, you know, come together and see their friends from middle school after um some excellent sportsmanship. So, thank you for joining us this evening. Um, our first item on the agenda is to approve the agenda. This is an action item. I move that the board of education agree school district 6 approves the agenda as presented. >> Second. >> Is [clears throat] there any discussion on the motion? >> Seeing none, Miss Lemon will please give us a vote. >> Director Zari >> I. >> Director Bentley >> I. >> Director Campos Spitzy >> I. >> Director Edmonds >> I. >> Director Lemos Garcia >> I. >> Director Mash >> I. >> Director Roi >> I. Motion carries 70. And I apologize, I should make a note in my agenda, but I also want to recognize our council
005of student representatives um members that are here with us this evening. Um they also shared their experience attending the CASBY um conference and and all that they learned as students. So, thank you always for your input and for being here. Um I will now pass it over to Dr. Pilch for her honor role. Thank you, President Matthews. I am honored, President Matthews. Oh my goodness. What? Old habits die hard. President Mash, you know, I was just thinking I'm gonna do the honor roll. I'm not going to mess up my superintendent comments with the honor roll and then I call you President Matthews. Okay. >> Couldn't be a better mess up. I >> Thank you, [laughter] President Mash. Thank you. Um I am honored to recognize uh an individual and an organization tonight in my superintendent's
006honor role. And the individual I want to honor um is a student from Bell Romero Academy. Axel Guerrero Hina Hosa is a recent winner of the Gley Philarmonic Orchestra's Magic Baton Melody Contest. The Magic Baton Melody Contest is a composition contest um where local music students in grades 2 through 12 uh participate in the contest and Axel is this year's winner. Um, here to tell us more about the award is our specials coordinator, uh, Mrs. Kathy Aari. And Axel, come on up. Hello, Dr. Pilch and board. This is an exciting time because we get to celebrate uh, students making music in collaboration with our community. and Ben Barnhart, the um CEO of the Gley Philarmonic Orchestra, was planning to be here to tell a little bit more about the actual contest. But uh we also
007have uh Axel's teacher, Dee Flanigan, and she will be telling us about Axel and how this came to be. Flanigan. >> Hi, my name is also Dearra Flanigan. Um, yeah. And, uh, I'm Axel's piano teacher. I get so excited when there's another deer in the room. Um, I teach piano at Bell Romero. Um, I've been lucky to have Axel in three semesters of piano over the last two years. Um, he's such a hardworking student and so friendly and helpful and open and kind to all of his peers. Um, and we had this opportunity for Mr. Dylan Fixmer, the composer and residents from the Gley Philarmonic to come and teach a workshop to our students about how to write music. And so he came and did the workshop. Um Axel was there and was so attentive
008and hardworking and tried his best even when sometimes things are uncomfortable when they're asked to write poetry and asked to play random notes on their instrument until they find something they like and write it down. And then we turned the composition into a longer project in my class. So it was a unit where students continued to write their own poetry, their own music and um learn how to notate it properly on traditional music staffs. And Axel was the first or second, I can't remember now, um student to finish. So, he was like really ahead of the game, really motivated. Um, and he wrote a song about helping other people, which didn't surprise me at all because he's an excellent student and an excellent person. Um, and then he was honored at the Gley Philarmonic winter
009concert where Mr. Fixmer orchestrated a melody um or orchestrated a whole piece based off of Axel's melody. So, congratulations, Axel. Congratulations. >> Congratulations, Axel. It's really quite an honor. Um, and then the next organization I want to recognize is actually uh one of our community partners here in the district. And I think as school board directors, you all know that we could not do what we do here in district 6 without the tremendous support of our community partners. And and this is especially true for our students who need the most in the district, some of our students um with disabilities. And so I am honored tonight to recognize Highland Park Lanes Bowling Alley and um recognize Jackson Danes and Zack Andress who are here with us tonight. Jackson and Zach and the team at Highland
010Park Lanes were nominated for the superintendent's honor role for their continued support of our students um by one of our amazing special education teachers. So um I'd like to invite our executive director of student services, Tom Grible. Um and Judy, I think are are you here, Judy? Oh, there you are. Yes. To come up and tell us more about the recognition. Thank you. Good evening, board, uh, President Mash, uh, Dr. Pilch and student representatives. Uh, I'm Tom Gribble, executive director of student services, and I'm excited to be here tonight to recognize our partners from Highlands Park Ranch. Uh, Highlands Park Lanes. I knew I was going to say that wrong. Um, it's been an outstanding partnership. Over 30 years, we have been working together way before my days. um they have supported our unified bowling
011program, our special Olympics bowling um program and their continued commitment to our students with disabilities has made a meaningful impact on our entire community. And so we extend our sincere gratitude to them and their dedication and their generosity. So if you think about it, even in recent years, a couple days, 32 lanes, back-to-back games, we're talking thousands and thousands of games of bowling. um in recent years, but tens of thousands over recent um you know last four or five years. And so their generosity, their unwavering support and an outstanding community partner. Um and I at this time I'd like to introduce one of our finest D6 adaptive physical education teachers, Judy Smeak. >> Um hi, my name is Judy Smeik. I'm an adapted physical education teacher in the district and this is my 23rd year
012in the district. Um, Zach and um, Jax Jackson at Highland Park Lanes have been so great to work with over the years. Um, we want to thank them for their commitment to hosting Special Olympics and adaptive physical education events for students with special needs in our district. Um, they've collaborated with our adaptive physical education teachers and Special Olympics Colorado. um to host our school day special Olympic bowling events um for students with intellectual disabilities and students with special needs in district six. Each year we host one elementary, one middle school, and one high school school day event. Um this year we had students participate from 16 elementary schools with 180 students attending this year's event. Um, at our middle school event, we had 104 students participate from 10 middle schools and at the high school
013event, we had 100 students participate from three high schools um for students with special needs. They've also worked with us um on having Chessa Unified um high school bowling practices and tournaments for several years. In unified bowling, we had three of our high schools, each with separate teams, participate with over 60 students. Um, several of our young elementary students at our school day events, have enjoyed participating in ramp bowling. Ramp bowling is one of the adaptations that's provided at Highland Park Lanes so that students with significant disabilities can participate by pushing the ball down the ramp. You know know that students are enjoying the activity when you see the big smile on their smiles on their faces. Tonight we have two representatives from Highland Park Lanes, Zack Enders and Jackson Dinus. And um we'd like
014to uh welcome them to come up and say a few words. >> Rock paper scissors. >> Yes. Rock paper scissors. Thank you. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> Uh I'm usually the guy that does most of the talking. Jackson is the He's Yeah, he'll do some talking, but not usually. I've sprayed half of your shoes. Like I recognize half this room. I've sprayed them all. I've put your bowling balls away. Um so I realistically I we can't thank you enough. I've been there for the whole 30 years we've done this. I'm just starting my 30 year. Um Jackson's grandpa actually brought me into the team 30 years ago and now he and I run this. So um it's an honor to be brought in with you guys today. Um we can't thank you enough. It's
015just part of the community. Like we do our part, you guys do your part. So we can't thank you enough. Hope you guys come out and support us this summer as we bring in the pro tour for the seniors. And we just signed a contract we're going to have the women bring in as well. So uh CBS will be here this summer with us broadcasting a lot of that. I hope you guys can swing through in the month of May, check out some Pro Bowl and bring it into Gley, Colorado. So, thank you. Sorry. Um, I just want to say we've been working with these guys for I mean, it's I've been there for 17 years now and the uh support staff, the teachers, all the um volunteers, they do amazing work and I'm just
016really happy that we get to work with them every year. So, thank you all very much. wants us to fancy right now. >> Yeah, let me do it. >> So much squish. Squish a little bit. There you go. >> Perfect. President Mash, I see that um our executive director at the Gleyfield Harmonic, uh Ben Barnhard, has come into the back of the room and so I'd like to introduce Ben. And Ben, I don't know if you wanted to say a few things about Axel and about the program. I suspect that you do. If that's okay, Mrs. Nash. >> Thank you, Dr. Pilch. And I apologize for being late. I had another presentation just before this that I was late getting out of. So, I just wanted to be uh someone who also uh congratulates and
017and thanks Axel for all of his hard work and putting the the composition together um and the melody that we ended up playing at the Gley Philarmonic concert. So congratulations to you, sir. Um, and I want to give you just a really brief background on that contest just so that you're a little bit aware of how it works and who runs it and uh who's interested in participating. So uh the Gley Phil has a real initiative to uh provide music education in the community. We're not just about our wonderful worldclass symphonies, but we also want to go out into the schools and make sure that people have access to resources and um they understand career pathways that are available to them in the arts. And so that's what this magic baton melody contest is really
018about. It's what it's about. It's about career pathways and uh exposing folks to careers like uh composers, um music directors, librarians, production managers, executive directors, things like that. So, we hope that that this experience uh inspires you, Axel. Um, and I want to give all the credit to Mr. Dylan Fixmer. Mr. Dylan Fixmer is the one that brought this to the Gley Field Harmonic. I was just on the board at that time and he brought that uh this contest to us in 2022. So far, we've already impacted more than 400 students. Um, so what they do is Dylan will go into the uh schools uh all we serve grades ages 2 through 12. So he's going into elementaryaries, he's going into middle schools, and he's going into high schools. And we run two contests per
019year. One for the middle school, elementary school level, and then one for the high school level. Um and what he does is he'll engage with the students with the permission of the music instructors and he'll perform composition workshops which is really really enlightening. Uh if you've ever had a chance to watch him um what he does is he takes students through the thought process of taking something like an emotion attaching it to a musical note and then multiplying that over and over and over. And he does it through film primarily is how he gets started. So, it's really fascinating how he connects one art medium to another art medium. Um, once he gets the basics down, he'll ask students to write a melody. If the students feel comfortable and confident, they'll actually submit the melody
020to the Magic Baton Melody Contest. And I've got some figures for you. In fiscal year um 25, which is about a year ago, we had 128 entries into that contest. And then this year, just at the middle school level, now we're talking elementary and middle, we're not quoting high school numbers, 119 entries across the board. So, this is what Axel has done. He has uh outperformed in many ways the other 118 entries, although we appreciate every single one of them and we think it changes lives. Once Dylan gets that melody, he'll actually turn around and orchestrate it and have it arranged for professional symphony orchestra. And what it amounts to is at the beginning of u these two Glyfield harmonic concerts is they'll play several bars, several measures of of the uh finished melody that
021Dylan has arranged for symphony orchestra. So it starts with a a class and then it grows into a seed and that seed is planted and then it's um really exposed uh to the to the general Gleyfield harmonic uh audience twice a year. So, we're grateful for the partnership of School District 6 and uh for everything that you all are doing. So, thank you so much. >> Thank you for being here. I was just wondering, is there a recording available of Axel's song? >> Uh there is. Um we can share that. We can share that great someone. Yeah, I'll work with Amy and we'll get that out to you all. >> Any other questions I can answer? >> We appreciate your partnership. Thanks for being here. >> Thanks so much. All right. So, you're I'll finish
022with your honor roll. Yes. Okay. And then moving on, um we have another special item, school board recognition month. And I believe I will hand this over to our council of student representatives. Good evening. I will be reading the school board proclamation. Whereas school board members are elected to sit in trust for their diverse communities and that in capacity are charged with meeting the community's expectations and aspirations for the public education of their students. And whereas school board members are elected to serve these students of Gley Evans School District 6 and remain steadfast in their commitment to furthering student achievement and expanding opportunities through the continued intim implementation of the district's strategic plan innovation 2030. And whereas schoolboard members are entrusted with the guardianship and wise expedential of tax dollars and they are responsible for
023manditating and preserving the buildings, grounds and other areas of school districts that the community has put in their trust. And whereas school board members provide the essential leadership necessary to ensure a clear shared vision of public education, setting high standards for the success of every student and demanding the effective and efficient operation of the district. And whereas school board members adopt vital policies to give voice to that leadership and employ a superintendent to administer these policies while maintaining diligent oversight of district performance and compliance. And whereas the individuals elected to these positions deserve our profound recognition and gratitude for their countless hours of volunteer service and their unwavering advocacy for the students of our district. Therefore, I, Sarah Venegas, president of the Council of Student Representatives, on behalf of the students of District 6, do
024hereby declare my sincere appreciation to the members of the board of education of Girley Evans, District 6, and proclaim the month of January 2026 as school board recognition month in District 6. I urge all students, staff, and citizens to join me in recognizing the dedication and hard work of our local school board members as we work together to mold an education system that meets the needs of both today and tomorrow's students. Thank you very much, Miss Vangas. And thank you all. And once again, we're we're very excited for our new board members who have joined us, and we're going to get a lot of good work done together. Our next item on our agenda is a report from our council of student representatives, specifically Maria Duran Santiago and Natalie Anne Perez from the District 6
025online academy. >> Pressure, huh? >> Good evening, board of directors. Uh, President Mash, both start with an M. I also almost did that. Um, and Dr. Pilch, it is my pleasure to introduce two amazing navigator student leaders at D6 online academy. Uh, Maria Duran Santiago and Natalie an Perez. Good evening board of directors, President Mash, and Dr. Pilch. My name is Maria Doris Santiago and I am a junior at District 6 Align Academy. Today I am grateful for the opportunity to stand before you and to share the great work happening in our school as well as a strong and supportive community we help build together. I am proud to say that we have some amazing schools in our district. But let's be real, online learning in is the future of education in many professions. That's
026why District 6 online academy helps prepare all of its students by building the digital literacy skills they need to succeed. We use many internet based systems that allow people to work, learn, communicate, and share information digitally. Thank you, District 6, for making it possible for all students to have access to the digital resources and technology to succeed. This school year, District 6 online academy implemented the use of two very important online platforms. The Cammy program plays a critical role in our online school by improving accessibility and ensuring all students can meaningfully engage with academic content by offering flexible notation, text speech, and collaboration tools. Cami expands the resources available to support student learning and academic [snorts] success. We understand that students learn differently and some of us may need a little extra support to be
027successful. That is why our school provided lexia power up to help build skills in word study, grammar and comprehension that give us lessons at our level and the support we need to better understand our schoolwork. This has led to great growth in our classrooms and increased confidence in our classes. These are only two of the many platforms we use on a daily basis and we cannot ignore those who ensure all of our digital resources work without issue. So a special thank you to our IT department and cyber security team. Our school makes every effort to support learning where students are at and it has changed how school feels for me personally. My time in district 36 online has been amazing. Back when used to attend in person, I was constantly behind on my assignments and
028my grades weren't ones I was proud of. I also [snorts] struggled with socializing with others in person. Even though I had amazing teachers who made me feel comfortable and welcomed, I still struggled to ask for help. Ever since I was in fourth grade, I have trouble interacting with other people and often change schools due to problems. At District 6 online academy, I feel comfortable asking for help and I am able to freely express myself without having to worry what others might think. For example, during my first semester of sophomore year, I was getting F, C's, and B's. But now, my first semester of junior year at District Online Academy, I have earned all A's. I am truly thankful for my classes and teachers because teachers can easily send us a message in the Zoom chat
029compared to traditional school where the teacher has to go around the class and take time with each individual student. I am truly grateful for District 6 online because they've helped me make all these positive changes in my life. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to speak today to share some of the successes of our school as well and as well my experience. Now I will have my classmate address you as well. Good evening, board of directors, President Mash, and Dr. Pilch. My name is Natalie Anne Perez, and I am a senior at District 6 online academy. Today, I will be sharing my story of how our school has supported me and the flexibility it provided me that other students might benefit from. Online learning can be very isolating and you need to know or
030you need to have the drive to get the work done. But it does not mean you are alone. We have amazing teachers and adults in our corner to offer help to further support our students. The District 6 online academy offers a flexible learning environment where students can seek emotional or social support as well as mandatory in-person meetings. Time for students who may be struggling with academics. As a student who has experienced this, I understand the importance of the flexibility aspect and enjoy coming in to work with Miss EMTT and the administrative team. I encourage all students to take advantage of this opportunity which makes our school unique and supportive. I'm really excited to hear Mr. Awesomeus and our administration team are working on an ex working on exploring a self-paced program for students who need
031even more flexibility. This is just one more way our school continues to grow and listen to what students need. I'm confident this program will be just as strong and supportive as the one we have now. And most importantly, students will know they are not alone. I hope students across District 6 take advantage of the self-paced program as and support supported by District 6 online academy. This will allow even more students the chance to succeed in the way that works best for them just as I did. I never came to school purely for academics. What mattered most to me was the emotional support it provided. During the critical transition into high school, I struggled to find I struggled to find that support at Gley West. I felt unseen and need and my needs were not being
032met. As a result, I began to fall behind. Not because I lacked capability, but because I lacked confidence and guidance. The experience forced me to confront challenges I was not prepared for at the time. I had to relearn how to believe in myself and more importantly how to advocate for my own needs. While the journey was difficult, it shaped who I am today and taught me the power of support, resilience, and self- advocacy. All thanks to District 6 online academy. I began this journey as a frightened freshman. And I stand before you as a superhero senior. I'm pro proving you you that you are always allowed to have your cake and eat it too. Junior year became the turning point that shaped me into the student I am today. I enrolled into one college course
033and I stepped taken slowly and intentionally with the support I needed to build confidence. I was an average student, but I was a resilient one. You could have never guessed that I was a student who was receiving special services and I refused to be placed in a box. My education experience till district six showed me what special is, better, greater or otherwise different from what is usual. We have full power to be better than how we got here and we will leave better than when we better than what we will be better when we leave. As of this previous semester, I have achieved the GPA I have always wanted, achieving a 3.0 at the CTE Center, working with the help of Lauren Applehans to become the teacher students deserve, and a 3.0 at District 6
034online academy. I have been working hard to achieve the opportunity to prove my potential. As of now, I am done with all high school courses and I'm moving to my Ames career once more this spring. I have balanced being a high school a high school student and being placed in concurrent enrollment from AS and UNCC while remaining with my home high school to provide all the support I could possibly need. Constant check-ins and even going over plans for each semester to make sure I continue to follow building my toolbox in college. I gained my my strength from the encouragement of my home high school. This is not just a statement. It is something deeply personal to me. No matter where I go or what I achieve, my home will forever be District 6. This journey
035was never a negative experience. It was an opportunity to grow, to rise, and to discover my own strengths. It was a challenge to become a superhero. And I want everyone to remember this. Students are superheroes learning how to control their powers at a young age with the right support, encouragement, and belief to become a superhero. Thank you to District 6 for supporting me on my journey and Kheimman Elementary, Brentwood Middle School, and most importantly, District 6 online academy. These schools and staff members left a lasting impression on me forever and it will inspire me to pursue a career in teaching. I will take the love and care I received and share the same love and care with the future students in District 6. I am overly excited to return and become the model superhero that
036will lead District 6 students further emotionally and academically in the classroom as a teacher. Thank you. Thank you both. And we have a comment from Dr. Campo Spitzy. >> So, um, thank you for being interested in teaching. We look forward to having you apply to a district 6 job. Um, but I actually have a question. Um, when you decided to do online school, what made you decide on District 6 and not some of the other schools in town like Goal Academy? And >> um, what really made my decision really set is that I knew my problem was is that I had really bad anxiety. I walked in the halls and since you're a freshman, you're a frightened freshman, you kind of get pushed around and you're smaller than everybody else in your classes and you're
037kind of just overwhelmed by a lot. And I knew if I chose District 6 online academy, I would be able to choose comfort because it's not only at home, but it's also district 6. And I know District 6 will provide the support that I needed to get back on track. Thank you. Any more comments or questions? >> I'm curious for Maria to answer that question, too, just because there's a lot of online options in town, right? It's not just um D6 online academy. There's also Goal Academy. So, I'm curious how you cho why you chose District 6 over some other online schools in town. >> Well, I chose District 6 because I think that's a really good district, but I just had a bunch of problems with my other schools. But I still thought that
038District 6 was a really great district. So I decided to stay here and not like give up that good opportunity or to keep. So yeah, >> thank you, Miss Beng. >> This is more of just a comment because I see you both in CSR and you're both CSR members and I just love hearing from you guys. You guys are just amazing. So just kudos to you guys. Maria, you're usually very um quiet, kind of kept to yourself. So, I love seeing you out of your shell and learning more about you. And Natalie, always so spontaneous and amazing. So, I just love hearing from you both and all the positive things and your amazing experience within our school district that just continues to build you as leaders and proves why you're part of CSR. So, thank
039you. >> Thank you. Thank you. I think my favorite part about getting the the CSR updates from each individ individual school is obviously the students always have such great pride in their school and each building has a different or not building um has its own culture and flavor and um something unique. So we really enjoy hearing your experiences and thank you for taking your Monday night to be with us. >> Thank you guys. Have a great semester. you. Oh, thanks for providing it. >> You're [laughter] welcome. >> All right. And now we are moving on to our superintendent's report. So, I'll pass it back to Dr. Pilch. Thank you so much, President Mash. I'll start with uh congratulating and thanking you all u for National School Boards Appreciation Week. Um, you as the as Sarah
040said, you do so much and you you do do this um as a volunteer and and you choose to come and serve our students and our staff and our families and our community and I thank you for that. Um, I could not do the work I do without the board of education who we have serving district 6. So, thank you for that. And then I wanted to share that um we have launched a K through3 literacy achievement initiative and some of you have heard me talk about this in the past um but we'll come before you at our next work session and and go more deeply into this literacy initiative but I wanted to share with you that uh we contracted with an organization called West Ed who we've contracted with before who actually helped
041us uh with our work around uh developing our plan for our mult multilingual learners uh many years ago when I was in my early years here in the district. We worked with them and we've seen tremendous results um because of that work. And so we are working with them. They've been here in the district. They were here in December. Um and then again uh they're back this month and then we will several of us will go through a a a training of the work that they will do with us here in the district when we go into classrooms. And then they will be back later this month and will be in every one of our schools. They won't be in every classroom, but they will spend some time in in every school. And so, I
042just I want to put that on your radar. You may hear some talk about that um in the school community. Uh we have um conducted a town hall with all of our teachers K through three. We put that a copy of that town hall and some additional information in your weekly bulletin. So, you have that if you want to take a look. If you haven't looked at it yet, it's about 50 minutes. So, maybe you want to just go fast forward through it. Right, Jenny? So, uh, Jenny Jensen, our director of literacy, um, and elementary ed, has been helping, uh, helping with this and leading this initiative. Not just helping, really leading this initiative alongside with Lisa McGee, our coordinator for language arts and literacy. So, lots of help and lots of work going into
043this. And I'm really excited about this work. We uh we have seen some pretty significant growth, but we're not seeing our achievement line up with um with [clears throat] the the level of work that's going into this. Our teachers and administrators are working so hard in the building. And there's a disconnect between the hard work they're putting in and the results that we're seeing. And so what the initiative is about is really looking at what are the barriers, what's getting in the way that we've got this disconnect that's occurring uh between the high level of work that's occurring and and really the performance data. So I look forward to sharing more with you about that um in the future. And then finally, I would just like to take a moment and and recognize um the
044passing of of a of a great and amazing leader here in our community, Mr. Robert Twiton, uh who went by Bob. and and Bob passed away on December 27th at 92 years of age. Um he lost his wife Betty um in in 2020 during COVID. And so there will be a celebration of life later for both Bob and Betty. Um but um I want to talk just a little bit about Bob and his really significant impact on education and on our community. Bob and Betty did so much for the entire community. um they gave to scholarships, they gave they gave to um nonprofits here in our community. There is not I I would venture to guess there is not a nonprofit in our community that has not benefited from their philanthropy and their giving hearts.
045And uh we certainly benefited from that here in district 6. Uh Bob started the student recovery program which was a program for 10th graders um for males who partic mostly males who were behind in credits and who were not on track to graduate. And the intent of the program um was to design an intervention that would get students to graduation on time. We own that program now in district 6. I was honored uh when we finally had the mill levy override dollars that I could go to Mr. Twain and say how about we take that program into the district now. um and you won't feel a responsibility to fund that forever. Um he also was critical in our implementation of the blended learning initiative. Um this was when we first began to introduce devices into
046the classroom. We found that blended learning was one of the most impactful strategies with our English language learners. What we found was that in classrooms uh with English language learners, those that had the blended learning tools were outperforming those students who were in classrooms who did not have that. And Mr. Twiton helped us to fund that initially before the passage of our first mill levy override. And I'll just say we probably would have never uh had the courage to go for a mill levy override or passed one without his wisdom and his guidance. Uh Bob was one of just a few leaders here in the community who served on a business advisory committee uh with with our staff and me and who advised us on how to on how to begin to think about a
047mill levy override and what that might mean for district 6 so that we could bring a package to the board of education to consider for the first mill levy here in override here in district 6. He also served on our bond committees, our bond advisory teams and helped helped advise on that as well. Um he also helped to implement our success foundation um discovery labs or what you've known as the smart lab um with his significant contributions his em and Betty's in 2022 we were honored to be able to name the twinton pre-engineering academy um after Bob and Betty Twinton and to have his name as a as a legacy here um on our prek through 8 uh pre-engineering academy I I think many of you know that Bob was an engineer by trade and
048he was deeply dedicated to public education because um public education changed the trajectory of his life and he became a civil engineer um at Kate. They were big supporters of Kate as well and leaders um during their time there at Kate and so I just can't say enough about him. The final thing I want to mention is the Twiton um Institute for Educational Change that at at UNC and Bob implemented that. Um it was run for decades by Janet Elhorn who just retired last year. Um but that institute was was and is intended for educators throughout the state of Colorado, teachers and administrators. Um and he he when he talked to me about the instit institute, what he shared with me was that he he invested in that and developed that because he so believed
049in the importance of developing people and the importance of providing leadership opportunities for people and um he will be greatly missed. Um he and Betty leave an amazing legacy here in our community and our state and really throughout the country and I think we are honored to be able to call him a friend and an adviser. Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Pilch. The next item is an update on our I2030 uh student learning and achievement goal 2 artificial intellig intelligence task force update. Thank you, President Mash. I see um Mr. Osmus, assistant superintendent, and uh Dean Andrews, director of curriculum instruction assessment, and uh Tony Czech, our chief information officer, coming to the podium uh to give you an update on artificial intelligence. As you all know, um artificial intelligence is here. Uh and it
050it is a it is a freight train and we're we're trying we're trying to stay on the train um rather than be run over by the train. So um we want to share with you tonight where we are with uh thus far with our AI task force. It was just a little over a year ago we came to you and had had just implemented a task force around artificial intelligence. So, uh, with that, Mr. Osmosis, I'll turn it over to you and your team. >> Thank you, Dr. Pelch, President Mash, Vice President Bentley, members of the board, uh, and Dr. Pelton, council, um, of student reps. My name is Anthony Ospen. I'm the assistant superintendent of secondary leadership and graduate of the Titon Institute. So, thank you for mentioning that. Tonight, Dr. Deed Andrew is
051our secondary curriculum instruction and assessment and Mr. Tony our chief information officer and I will present an innovation 2030 strategic plan update on how we are supporting artificial intelligence or AI. This is an exciting but challenging effort across 23,000 students and 3,000 educators where some embrace AI, some are cautious but all need support. AI is here in all forms and we embrace the work. Just this w last peak last week alone, I saw my eighth grade son interacting with AI to support his writing in school. My fourth grade daughter begged for an AI puppy. And my oldest daughter just told me that my new favorite song and artist is AI. [sighs] Here it comes. So all of our strategic work is grounded in our mission and our vision and our values. Of the four focus
052areas found in our strategic plan, artificial intelligence is outlined in student learning and achievement. Student learning and achievement is where we engage all students in a challenging personalized education preparing all students to be college and career ready. Our strategic plan contains goals and this work is found under the goal to implement consistent and coherent aligned curriculum assessment and instructional practices that are researchbased to ensure that all students learn. AI is connected to two objectives in our strategic plan. to support educator instructional practices, to promote access and equity for all students, and to implement a professional development plan to ensure quality teaching and learning. And our major outcome for this has been to develop and implement an artificial intelligence task force to provide leadership and instruction and assessment, which we have done. There are four main
053action steps in our strategic plan for this work. First, to support teacher efficacy and effectiveness by connecting instructional practices to district achievement goals and to provide high quality professional development to our educators. Another is to support achievement by using AI to enhance the curriculum. I'll say it again, to enhance the curriculum to support students and then to update policy um as needed and that is everchanging. This slide captures our AI task force members that lead this work and pilot many of our AI programs so that we can plan and respond. A big shout out and thank you to this group of district teachers and staff. We know we cannot do this work alone. So we do participate in a statewide collaborative effort led by the Colorado Education Initiative, sometimes referred to as CI. There are
054eight districts in all and is collaborative and four industry partners which include Magic School, IBM, AI edu and Sparkf fun. This collaborative meets periodically through the year to support each other on AI implementation and it's nice to have a thought partner to dig deeper and share how we support teachers and students with AI. I'll turn this part over to Dr. Dean Andrews. >> Uh thank you Mr. Rasmus and I do just want to acknowledge kind of what everybody's been talking about in terms of uh what the landscape currently is with AI. Uh there's a lot of noise out there right now with AI and the reality of it is there are over 300 uh tools dedicated specifically to K12 education. Um and there are such an incredible number that are coming onto the market now.
055And so the reality is we also know that there that we need to be really thoughtful and make sure that we don't get caught up in the next big thing. Uh we also acknowledge that there are some legitimate concerns around academic integrity and cheating. And so our AI task force has been charged with cutting through the noise and helping us have real clarity uh for our educators and our students. And so what you see on the current slide is a framework that we've created uh to help support our teachers and our students with that level of clarity. And so we want to use AI as a tool that enhances our student thinking, not replacing it. And that's a really critical component of the work that we're doing. Uh and so to guide students, teachers can
056indicate that this is a red light assignment. And if a student had if a assignment is red light that means students need to complete the entire assignment on their own with no support from AI. If it's yellow then students can use AI as a brainstorming tool or to help them with outlining or maybe they got stuck and to help get them started. If it is labeled as green students may use AI through the entire assignment process using it as a co-pilot as they complete their work. As we make this shift in education with AI being everywhere, it's going to be important that we focus more on process and less on product. And so to help guide teachers with this as well, what we need to do when students turn in a final product is for
057them to also turn in their prompt history showing what questions they asked II. Also showing the evolution of their work starting with their initial draft and notes and then developing into that final draft. So teachers can see the work that they did in the mental and thoughtful engagement that students engaged in. And then of course we need to have the human edit where students put their own voice into it so we can see how they shaped it. Use their own thinking, their own voice to really shape the final product. We also know that in a world uh a digital world that we live in, our AI task force knows that students need to develop an online maturity and we've done that through a K12 digital citizenship progression for all of our students that focus on
058five key components. Uh the first one being healthy habits where students really need to be thoughtful and start creating boundaries for themselves around how they use devices and how often they use devices. We also need to make sure that our students in an online environment know how to be empathetic and show respect towards others to avoid cyber bullying. We also know that students need to be incredibly thoughtful as they post things in an online environment because of the implications it could have for their reputation so that they really think before they post. We also know that our students need to be very careful about how they share personally identifiable information so that we make sure they protect their data and maintain their privacy and safety. It's also going to be critical in a world ubiquitous
059with AI for students to understand AI, what are the ethical, what are the biases AI has and also how they can engage with it to be uh productive members of society as they move forward. With that clarity, we've been very selective in the AI tools that we brought in. One of the tools is Magic School. And what Magic School has provided, among many things, is an opportunity for students to engage with lesson planning that makes them more effective and more efficient. For example, they can push a button when they've created a lesson and provide additional language supports for students or to help support a student who has a specific learning disability. Another tool that we've invested in is Course Mojo. Course Mojo seamlessly aligns with our EL education curriculum at the middle school level. And
060what it does is it helps students by prompting them to dig deeper into text and engage in deeper analysis and also helps support them and push them to be more clear and provide better explanations inside of their writing. And the last one I'm going to talk about is one we are considering with our 612 math adoption, EDIA. Uh this particular tool serves as kind of a math coach or tutor. as students work through problems and think critically, it will provide them with feedback on the things that they're doing well and showing uh demonstrating mastery on, but it will also give them feedback on what they're struggling with or what their misconceptions are. It's really powerful in that it provides that kind of support in real time, but without providing answers. The other thing it does
061is it provides teachers with a dashboard that shows let's say for example a student has a spec a group of students have a specific misconception. The tool will show them that group of students and then suggest instructional resources that they can use to help support students in developing and addressing that misconception. Uh the next piece, the next slide uh that we're going to show is just a brief animation that shows how EDIA works with students and helps support them, showing them what they did well and what they may have struggled with. With that, I'm going to go ahead and turn it over uh to Mr. Tony Czech uh to give you an update on policy. >> Thank you, Dr. Andrews. Good evening, President Mash. board directors and Dr. Pilch, as we've discussed, our priority for
062us right now is updating our policy framework. We've already made some great strides and figuring out figuring out how AI fits into the classroom, but now we need to zoom out and look at the entire organization. We want to build a framework that ensures we're being safe, secure, and very intentional about the tools we bring into the district. Essentially, this task force is going to look at our current rules, see what's missing, and create a clear road map for the responsible use of AI and aligning with our district goals. But this isn't just an IT project. This work touches every corner of the district. That's why the group That's why this group we've assembled includes leaders and experts from across the organization who have the authority to make these big picture decisions. We're already seeing
063some great strides and momentum here. For example, through the Elevate AI grant from the Colorado Education Initiative, our finance and IT teams recently went through professional development focused on the operational side of AI. We're not just planning for the future. We're already building the expertise we need to manage it. Of course, we can't do this in a vacuum. Our stakeholders, the people who who will be most affected by this policies are critical to our success. We're committed to a very collaborative progress process. We'll be hosting listening sessions, holding formal feedback rounds, and sending out surveys. We want to make sure that the final recommendations of this task force are shaped by the people who are actually doing the work in our schools and offices every day. We know that managing a project of this scale
064takes time, especially if we want to do it right. This timeline established ensures we have the room to really listen to our stakeholders and understand the implications of every policy recommendation. We want to be thorough, not just fast. And with that, I'll turn it over to Mr. Asmus. >> Thanks, sir. >> Yep. And then we always know that we'll have next steps with this. It's just ever changing. So we'll continue to work on the on the draft policy for the board to review. Um always continue to provide support to our teachers, to our families, to our students, and then continue to work on this three-year plan that seems to always change about every six months. So it could never catch up to that. It just changes so fast. And then monitor the federal and state
065legislation. And I know there's a lot of a lot of monitoring of that right now and and just keeping track of that one so we know how to respond here in this district. So with that, we'd love to be able to answer any questions or hear any comments. Thank you for the presentation. Dr. Campos Spitzy. >> So I don't know I don't think you'll be surprised uh to hear that I get really nervous about AI. Um, I I think it needs guard rails as you guys have expressed. Um, when you talk about red light, yellow light, green light, I love the red and the yellow. The green makes me really nervous. [laughter] Um, this conversation came up recently at uh my trustee meeting at UNC, right? We're having the same conversations at the university level
066and we have a a trustee who sits a student trustee who sits on our board and while um the faculty seem to be wanting to embrace AI act Audra who's our student trustee was the one putting the brakes on on everyone in the room and saying you think students are doing this responsibly they are not they are cheating I am their roommates I am their friend and Um and so so I you know I think we can't go into it with rosecolored glasses. We have to go into it with um with the knowledge that there is a huge temptation there. And um and teaching our students that AI is does not critically think. It is a language learning module or whatever LLMs. Um it's good at predicting the next word you're going to write in
067a sentence. But so I I uh I'm so glad that we are putting so much thought into this. Um I I don't want us to necessarily embrace it. [laughter] Um I don't think just because it exists it's a good thing. Um agreed that maybe the workforce is wanting kids to come out of schools being good prompt engineers and knowing how to ask the right questions. Um, but I would hope that our teachers are always asking students where the primary source is coming from. Um, and not just what um, you know, chat GPT spit spit out at them. Um, and then uh on a final note, because I could talk about this for a while, but I I do hope our our students are also learning about the environmental impact of AI and and uh the
068same student trustee joked that she had just finished a final for school and that she probably killed a forest doing it, you know, and um she with her classroom. So, lots of reservations around this new technology. Um really want our kids to come out critical thinkers with original thought. Um, yeah, and am interested to see what you guys come up with as far as drafting board policy. Interested to review that. Um, but I will review it with a critical eye, just so you know. >> Sure. >> Miss Beng. >> Thank you, President Mash. Um so as a student in the classroom we have um had the opportunity to um use AI as a tool within our dual enrollment writing classes. Um I know there can be a lot of reservation around AI especially when used
069in writing. Um but that's why I really appreciate the use of the green light, red light and yellow light. Um within our um class we implemented more of a yellow light. So our goal was to write the paper completely ourselves, use outside sources, scientific research and a lot of um of those natural sources of our own ideas. And then after our paper was completely written, we were then able to sub um instructed by our professor to submit it into AI in order for it to maybe solidify our ideas or give us a clear thought process of did we explain this the way we wanted to or is it just kind of gibberish in our minds because we write very differently than we talk. And sometimes AI was a helpful um tool to further clear those
070sentences that might have been a little bit more confusing in the beginning. Um we did use it very cautiously. Our professor was very adamant about that. We were um to screenshot every question, everything we implemented into AI, our writing, the questions we asked, the responses we got. Um, I think AI can be a helpful tool sometimes once you're using it in writing, especially for maybe those students who are struggling a little bit more. Um, there are tutors available, there's teachers available. Um, sometimes students might struggle understanding a little bit of what tutors are trying to explain or maybe of what their teachers are trying to explain and AI can just be used as a tool. Um, of course, cautiously because as Dr. Campus Vitzy pointed out it can be used in a not so positive
071way but overall if the students are using it cautiously within our writing class it definitely improved a lot of our students thought process as they finish up writing their papers. Thank you. >> Thank you for sharing directors Garcia. >> I want to thank you for your presentation and the thoughtful process that you have in place and the timeline. And I feel it's important that um as a district that we do evaluate where we're at with AI um as our next generations go into the workforce, it will be something that our workforce will be looking for. So we're teaching them about the responsibility about how to utilize it about the right times in the right places are certainly important as well. So I appreciate what you've presented today. Um so thank you for that, >> Mr.
072Bentley. Yeah, thank you guys. Um, I don't envy your spot. I uh the the AI world is very exciting but very scary at the same time. It's it's rapidly evolving. Every everything you guys are doing today basically is going to be outdated tomorrow as fast as it's moving and in times 10 by you know the day after that. Um there's an old saying the only two things there's for certain are death and taxes and and I like to add change onto that. It's death, taxes and change. And so I I really believe if we don't prepare our students for for this, um I I don't believe it's going away, I don't think it's a fat unless the power goes out and then we got a lot of other issues to deal with. Um but as
073far as being a business leader, um we are we are forced >> [sighs and gasps] >> uh whether you want to or not, you either you either have to adapt AI in your business or you're going to get left in the dust. and and we can see the the cost structure going so far down so quickly that if if you're not using AI, you're you're uncompetitive immediately. Even in a welding shop, there's there's so many benefits to to AI that um if if we don't prepare our kids, we're going to be they're just we're we're kind of hob hobbling. It's we're taking them back a notch. So, um I am with Brenda. It is a little scary and I am reserved, but I also I can see the value in in the real world and
074um I don't I don't think it would behoove us to keep our heads in the sand and pretend like it's not happening. So, thank you guys for looking forward as far as you can and till we get to a crystal ball. Um I don't know what more you guys can do, but definitely appreciate the work. I also would like to know a little bit more about that AI puppy. So, >> I know, right? >> I hope you did see in the presentation how we're trying to keep this AI super tight. There's so many places that we can go and we're like keeping it tight and and under control. And check out the AI puppy, right? It's out there. >> Yeah. There's literally no way to keep too many guardrails on it if they have access
075to a cell phone. I mean, it's I know >> you guys can do what you want. And >> if they have access to a cell phone, they have it >> wide open. So, for sure. >> Director Ozari. So, I I I just have a couple of questions uh on the task force stakeholders when you're going to be having these listening sessions. Uh especially in regards to students, how how's that going to be done? I we have a lot of students in this school district. Are we going to be going to the council of student representatives or are there specialized students with specialized skills that can also weigh in on the use of AI? >> Yes. Thank you. I like that answer. >> Uh but in all seriousness, um we are getting together the invites for
076the initial organizing group to start putting together those types of things and who's involved in the stakeholders and this needs and I I was speaking to Dr. Pilch about this. This is a very wide net because there are so many different stakeholders and so many different interests involved. So the more we get the better our product's going to be. So it's going to be all those groups. And then another question, it may sound a little funny, but are we going to be using AI to help AI write an AI policy? [laughter] >> it'll enhance anything that we do, but it will not be the start. Um, just just like what was mentioned here before as the student writing samples, we make them write on our own. There is plenty of AI generated stuff out there.
077I don't think we need to need to capitalize on the start of our work. Now, are there some good things in there that it's going to help us, you know, tailor things? Absolutely. I I can't I I would be I would be remiss if I told you right now that we're not AI is not gonna play a part in in the in the in the polishing of some of these policies and and making sure that there's there's other things AI does. Deep research. Okay. So, AI is connected to actual scholarly research. It isn't just madeup stuff all the time. So, there are ways to fact check and and look at sources and verify that the information being sent to us is true. So if that helps. >> Okay. And then finally just one other uh
078and that is it seems like an ambitious timeline to come up with a policy a draft policy recommendation by May 2026 and then uh following up on that the a three-year implementation plan. Um are we actually going to be able to have a a draft policy ready in May in your opinion? >> That is the hope at this point. Um, I've got to start out being ambitious. >> Okay. >> All right. Thanks. >> I think we can do it, >> Miss Medina. >> Um, I just wanted to say from a student perspective, I have seen the red light, yellow light, green light, and the paper trail um being implemented in my higher level classes. Um, I feel like it's a really good framework um for students to be able to have a guide on how
079to use AI effectively and not get in trouble for using it. I feel like it's important for um for people to teach students how to use it and not necessarily plagiarize or not use your own ideas. I just wanted to let you know that. Thank you. Director Edmonds. >> Oh, good. My button works. Um, so first I I just want to say I think it's it's really important to keep that focus on the students maintaining their voice and I face I mean I'm in communications so I've even within it's almost a monthly thing and sometimes a daily thing of what new AI thing can be there. Um, but it's really important for those students to keep their voice, for the district to keep their voice. Um, I try to tell my co-workers all the time
080who who who email me much better than they speak to me. Um, that that it's sometimes clear how AI is being used. My question though is um, is there policy or within this of how teachers will use AI for essentially using AI to catch AI? My son shared an example of how most of his class or a good portion of his class got caught using AI and maybe it's part of because they weren't using the red light, green light, yellow light, but is that part of the plan as well is just like how teachers can utilize it to kind of keep things in in check or because it sounds like I mean obviously a lot of it is for the students, how do how can the students use it but also maybe around the teachers
081as well. >> It is part of the task force. It is part of the plan. Um, I would say that AI detection is as faulty as AI itself. And so we want to be really careful that we people that are doing that are probably doing that outside our scope. And so one of the things that we'll want to do is train our teachers on how to try to identify AI and have that conversation with students. Um, but we there is not a there is not a failsafe policy that can just catch AI. And um there are some some colleges that are in lawsuits for um for doing that to students and and coming back on the college. And so we want to be very careful and and we try to stay a part of that
082and we will stay in front of that with teachers. >> Director Roi, >> I wanted to comment um just because everybody else has commented. I felt like I needed to too. So, uh, but I guess, you know, my, uh, concern with AI, um, just it's kind of a word that comes up and it strikes fear, um, in terms of just what the future means and what that looks like for us personally and for our students. And I, you know, have been um in the conference we just went to, there was such an emphasis put on the uh relationships, the personal relationships between uh teachers and students and administrators and and teachers and students. And I it almost feels like um teachers are almost being set up to be the AI police and you know spending
083a lot of time seeing if the kids are are um going with the green light when they shouldn't and that kind of thing. So, I guess I kind of I um I think just because it's coming, it doesn't mean we have to embrace it just like everybody else does. >> And that we do need to keep focusing on those relationships uh with the kids and the teachers. >> Thank you. And we'll continue to push the the product of a process. I want to see your work. I want to monitor your work. I want to see what you're doing and give you feedback every day. Well, thank you very much for your presentation. I was going to make some snarky comment when you were walking up like AI, what's the big topic? Obviously, every single person
084up here has talked about it and it's, you know, like some of the biggest problems that face our students are so much bigger than us and we are trying to do the best that we can to manage it. I just wanted to call out that I really love the digital citizenship and especially that there's an ethical, you know, artists makes make art and then AI steals it. And you know, plagiarism, you always I always think of of writing, but there's all kinds of plagiarism. Um, so that our students really understand and and I Yeah, it's like it's exciting. I I love using it for like make me a cartoon picture of this, you know? I I use it for cheesy things, I guess. But um but human beings are we created the the technology we
085are creative beings and so I just hope we don't lose our humanity as we have created things to replace ourselves. Um and then I'm sure that this is part of like freshman English class. But I I think my biggest concern with AI is is how to recognize what is real, what is good material, what is peer-reviewed scientific articles. Um, you know, I've seen so many videos, they they look better and better. It's so hard to distinguish what is fake and what is real. So, um, I just hope that we have robust instruction on that for our students to have that discernment. Um, and it might be an ambitious timeline, but like Mr. Bentley said, we're probably already too late. Not too late, but I mean, so I really appreciate the thoughtfulness. I mean, every big
086mis decision we make in District 6, I think we've historically done a good job of contacting all the stakeholders. And so I really appreciate that you're going to do that as well. And I think May sounds great. So, as you know, as as thorough without, you know, rushing as we can be, but at least to have something in place and obviously it's going to be probably the most updated policy that we're going to have. So, so thank you all very much. Thank you for presenting this. I'm sure there might be follow-up questions, you know, in in the future, but we appreciate you. >> Yep. >> Thank you. >> The next item on the agenda is public participation. and I don't believe anyone's signed up to speak with us. So, we would like to now approve
087our consent agenda, which is an action item and requires a motion. >> I move that the board of education agree school district 6 approves items as presented on the consent agenda and authorizes the officers to sign any and all contracts. >> Second. >> Any discussion on the motion? >> Seeing none, Miss Lemon, will you please give us a vote? >> Director, >> I. >> Director Bentley, >> I. >> Director Campos Spitzy, >> I. Director Edmonds >> I. >> Director Lemos Garcia >> I. >> Director Mash >> I. >> Director Roi. >> I. >> Motion [laughter] carries 70. >> Our next item is um to the approval. No, I miss I think I'm ahead of myself. Board priorities. Yes. Public notice of meetings and designated posting sites. Um this is also an action item and requires
088a motion. I move that the board of education agre school district 6 approves a district website as a designated posting site for the public notice of meetings. >> Second. >> Um is there any uh discussion or Dr. Pilch, would you like to say anything about this? We have to post where our where the information regarding our meetings will be and we choose our district website. That's how the public knows when we're meeting and what we're talking about. So pretty straightforward. All right, Miss Lemon, will you please give us a vote? Director Zari >> I. >> Director Bentley. >> Hi. >> Dr. Campos Spitzy. >> Hi. >> Director Edmonds. >> Hi. >> Dr. Lamos Garcia. >> I. >> Director Mash. >> I. >> Director Roi. >> I. >> Motion carries 70. >> And our final item
089is the approval of updated school performance frameworks. This is also an action item. >> I move that the board of education of Weld County School District 6 approve the revised school accreditation ratings as presented. >> Second. >> Dr. Pilch. We have a presentation or Yes. Thank you, President Mash. Um, so we have some good news for you. Uh, we did, uh, appeal to the state board of education on three of our schools on their school accountability performance rating and those have been approved by the state board of education. So, you appro you have already approved the old rating and so we need to bring you back to you the new recommendation from the state of Colorado for your consideration tonight. So, uh, because, um, not all of our board members were seated at the time
090of the last approval, uh, I've asked Mr. Osmus to just quickly go through what the different, uh, ratings mean for for all the board members and then to present the new ratings. Thank you. >> Thank you, Dr. Pilch. Um, as shared in the October 13th presentation, schools are accredited in one of four categories, and the Colorado Department of Education assigns a school plan type. It's either performance, which is the highest a school can be awarded, improvement, priority improvement, or turnaround based on the results um from the standardized test, CMAS test. This last fall, District 6 requested the Colorado Department of Education to reconsider the accreditation statuses for three schools. Central to improvement, Centennial to Performance, and Maplewood to improvement, which were all approved by the Colorado Board of Education on December 10th, 2025. This means
091that now 19 schools are at the performance level, the highest rating. This is the highest number of schools at the performance than we've ever had. These include for elementary, Centennial, dos Rios, Martino, Martinez, and Mfort, Chapel, Fred, Chardis, Mcola, Titon, and Winterrad. All middle schools, Heath, Brentwood, Franklin, and Prairie Heights are at performance, and so is Early College Academy. Charters at performance include Frontier, Union Colony Prep, University, Westridge, and Celita. This is exciting news to have so many schools at performance. These 11 schools are in the improvement category which is still acceptable, still great. We still celebrate at this level. They include Hyman, Jackson, Maplewood, Miker, Shasheen, Bella, Romero, Central, Northridge, West, Jefferson, and District 6 online academy. Congratulations to these schools as as well. They're on track to get to performance. Scott, James Madison,
092and Union Colony are the only schools at priority improvement, and we have no schools in turnaround. With only three schools currently on priority improvement and 19 schools at performance, District 6 is on a great place compared to when Dr. Pilch was hired in 2015 when the district had 11 schools designated as priority improvement or turnaround. This progress stamps that leadership matters. I'll turn it back to you, President Mash, for any questions and approval of these updated school performance frameworks. >> Thank you for sharing this great news with us. Director Campo Spitzy, >> I love ending this meeting on such a high note. And I just have to repeat your words that this is the first time, this is the highest number of schools we've had in performance in the history of District 6. 19 schools
093with 14 being our public non-charters and five being our charters. And so just love that. It's awesome. I just we're just doing the good work and I'm so proud of us. [laughter] >> Miss Beneggas. >> Yes. I just wanted to echo what Dr. Campos Vitzy is was saying. I think it's absolutely amazing from a student's point of view. Just all the hard work, all those late nights, working with tutors, working with teachers, all the staff work, everything in between, it's this is just proving that all the hard work that goes in within those schools, within the curriculum, it's paying off. And 19 schools at performance ever is absolutely amazing. This showcases our students dedications, our teachers dedication and our board members of education's dedication to just um to our students and to our staff. And
094it's it shows students that our hard work is all worth it and it's going to continue striving because district 6 is going to continue striving. So I think that's amazing. >> Thank you very much. Yeah, we we have just had a banner year. I mean, we have these amazing um performance standards. We have our graduation rate at 90%. We have [clears throat] all of our awards for superintendent, teacher, principal, counselor of the year. So, >> it is a great great place to be here in district 6. Thank you very much. >> Um will you please give us a vote? >> Director Zari, >> I. >> Director Bentley, >> I. >> Director Campos Spitzy, >> I. Director Edmonds >> I. >> Director Lemos Garcia >> I. >> Director Mash >> I. >> Director Roi >> I.
095>> Motion carries 70. >> Thank you all for joining us for our meeting this evening. Again, welcome back and we're excited for another great semester here in district 6. This meeting is adjourned. Maybe [music] Heat. Heat. [music] >> [music] [music] >> Heat. Heat. [music and bell] [music] >> [music] [music] >> High [music] heat. [music]