001Heat. Heat. [Music] Hello. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Wow. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Natal. [Music] Hallelujah. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Good evening. and welcome to the board of education business meeting for Gley Evans School District 6. This meeting will now come to order. Please stand and join me for the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Miss Lemon, will you please call the role? Director Azari, present. Director Bentley. Director Campos Spitzy, present. Director Mash, present. Director Matthews, present. Director Norwood. Director Sullivan, present.
002Five board members, present. Thank you. And I'd also like to welcome our Council of Student Representative students with us tonight. Sarah Venegas from Early College Academy and Dante Parand from Gley Central High School. Thank you for being here and we always value your input. Um, so we have only six weeks left of this semester. I know that probably incites varying emotions depending on um, your role here in the district, but I wanted to just offer our sincere encouragement to our seniors who are running hard towards that finish line. One of my friends who has a senior said that being a parent of a senior is like having an additional part-time job. um with all the lasts with all of I see some nodding in the in the audience out there. So um best wishes to
003all of you whether you are applying for scholarships for entrance for an internship or um looking for what you're pursuing right after high school. We wish you all the best. We also wanted to invite everyone to the district 6 art show that is opening April 17th here in our um administration building lobby. The reception is from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. As you make your way out, you can see that some of it is already on display. Um, but we would love to feature the artwork from all of our district 6 elementary and K8 schools. So, be sure to stop by and peruse um all of those beautiful pieces. Um, and at this time, I'll turn it over to Dr. Pilch for her superintendent's honor role. Thank you so much, President Mash. It's that time of
004year um where District 6 is privileged to recognize some very prestigious scholarships uh here in the district and and I believe we have those students here with us tonight and and some of their family members. So, uh family, I encourage you as your student comes up to receive the recognition, feel free to to get their picture and and uh to notice that. I first would like to recognize our Daniel's scholarship recipients. And I'm going to tell you a little bit about the Daniels Scholarship and then I'm going to let you know who won those scholarships. So, um, annually, u more than 2,000 students apply for the Daniels Scholarship. This is a scholarship that is awarded to students in just four states in the country, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. This year, the Daniels fund
005uh funded 209 209 scholarships in those four states. And we have two of those students here in district 6. Daniels fund scholars are selected because they embody the criteria that Bill Daniels uh defined for the program. And that criteria is strength of character, leadership potential, commitment to serving their communities, academic performance or promise, well-rounded personality, and emotional maturity and stability. You know, with that, I really think I need the two students to come up to the podium as I finish this. So, I would like to invite Anastasia Rodriguez and Levi Carlson to go ahead and come up and let me finish talking about you. Come on up. We want to look at you. Um thank you. You can just stand there so that so everybody knows who I'm talking about when I talk about these
006this amazing criteria on which you were selected. So scholars were selected based on those values and those were values very important to the founder of this scholarship. Um, they also include ethics and integrity, honesty, respect for people, loyalty, reliability, an entrepreneurial spirit, patriotism, and dedication to the community, and commitment to excellence and etiquette, which means that overall you're really good kids, right? Um, so Daniel Scholars have to attend a partner school within that four-state region that I mentioned, either Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, or Wyoming. So if you're planning to go somewhere else, you don't get to be awarded uh the Daniels Scholarship. Um, but they will each receive up to $100,000 over the four years toward their undergraduate degree. I was asking Mr. Matthews, can you get a college degree for that? And he assures
007me you can. Um, Daniel Scholars may use their scholarship at any accredited nonprofit college or university um, anywhere. Oh, anywhere in the United States. You don't have to go to the four schools. You have to have gone to high school in one of those four schools to get the award. So, you can use this anywhere in the country. Um, so this year we're proud to honor two of our students who are recipients of the scholarship. Um, please join me in congratulating Gilly West senior Anastasia Rodriguez and University High School senior Levi Carlson. Stay there. You're not done. Stay there. You're not done. Um, Anastasia has been very involved in future farmers of America at Gley West and especially she's interested in animal sciences. She plans to attend Colorado State University next year to study animal
008and equin science with the hopes of becoming a large animal veterinarian. And Levi um is also very active in extracurricular at University High, including marching band, pep band, jazz band. He's in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He's on Student Council and in the National Honor Society. Uh Levi said he was excited to learn he will receive the Daniels Fund scholarship because he plans to attend Colorado State University as well to study computer science. Congratulations to both of you. Thanks you guys. Congratulations. Congratulations. And now we have another scholarship award recipient to recognize. Um, I think that, uh, District 6 has some real magic here when it comes to receiving these big honors, uh, and scholarships, and we've been fortunate to have a student recognized uh, as a Betcher Foundation scholarship winner. So, since 1952, the
009Betcher Scholarship Program has existed here in Colorado in an effort to keep Colorado's most talented seniors in state for their post-secary years. Scholars are selected based on academics, service, leadership, and character. So, in addition to receiving an $80,000 scholarship award across the four years, scholars also receive institutional um merit and or needs-based uh needs-based scholarships for their campuses. Um and as a comprehensive scholarship, the Betcher ALS award also includes programming and support to ensure that scholars reach their full academic and leadership potential. So students who are Betterra scholars are Betterra Scholar throughout their college career and they're they join other Betterra scholars throughout Colorado uh really starting this summer preparing them for college entrance and then they're followed throughout their college career. I am honored to recognize tonight uh one of the students in Colorado
010here in uh district 6 from Gley Central High School who has been awarded a Bacher Foundation scholarship. Natalie Shyz Salazar. Come on up Natalie. Congratulations Natalie. Uh Mr. Matthews and I were talking that we think almost every year that I have been here, we have been so honored to have a Veterans Scholar. And I will tell you, um, and some of you know that district that I was in before I came here, we did not always have a Veterans Scholar in that district. And so, we're so proud to have you, Natalie. I want to talk just a little bit about you. Okay. Um, Natalie has uh participated in volleyball, wrestling, and track at Girly Central. She's also served as the president of the National Honor Society while maintaining a part-time job. Uh she plans to
011attend the University of Colorado Boulder to major in biological sciences and minor in businesses. And she hopes to become a vascular surgeon someday. Uh she is the second person in her family to receive this full ride scholarship. Her brother Yahir uh received a better scholarship in 2022 and is is in attendance at the Colorado School of Minds here in Colorado. Congratulations, [Applause] Natalie. Thank you, President Matthews. I mean, President Mash, pardon me. I'll get used to it. I promise. Thank you, President Mash. You're very welcome. I bet that won't be the last time that happens. And that is a Okay. Uh, we now need to approve our agenda. And I need a motion, please. I move that the board of education of Gley Evans School District 6 approves the agenda as presented. Second. Thank you
012both. Is there any discussion on the motion? Seeing none, Miss Lemon, would you give us a vote, please? Director Azari I. Director Campos Spitzy I. Director Mash I. Director Matthews I. Director Sullivan I. Motion carries 5-0. All right. And then Miss Lemon is our Gley Creative District here. Okay. Excellent. So our next item of business is the Gley Creative District coloring book presentation which is a very special event that happens every year. And at this point I will welcome Miss Mrs. Louisa Anderson, chair of the art commission to share this with us. Greetings school board and uh attendees. Uh this is in fact the uh sixth iteration of the book that we've got. It was completely redesigned this year for our third graders. We have a little over 2600 that are going out to our
013third grade. Every student within district 6 either at a charter school, the district 6 schools or some of the other private uh and charter schools will all all the third graders will receive their coloring book. Uh it does feature uh newly drawn drawings uh and activities for our students of various artworks around town, especially those that are new uh especially our u new arch trees that have been installed uh and added and the boxes the traffic boxes at many of our intersections throughout town. Some of these boxes were decorated by well designed used designs of students within the district. So, and teachers. So, keep an eye out for those. And you'll learn how the process is done as well with making a drawing that can be folded over so that it fits around the whole
014box. So, we thank you very much for the opportunity to share with the city art commission and the creative district and district 6 to get these in the hands of our students. Unfortunately, I do not have them with us. Uh we had hoped that they would be ready. They are ready, but they didn't make it here tonight. So, thank you all for the opportunity to share. Thank you very much. Thank you for supporting the arts and encouraging that in our youngest students and I look forward to maybe peeking at one of those at some point. Our next item is a proclamation for educator appreciation days and this is also an action item. Requires a motion. I move that the board of education of Gley Evans School District 6 adopts the honorary proclamation declaring that educator
015appreciation days be celebrated in the district during spring 2025. Second. Thank you both. Mr. Aari, Mr. Matthews, would you please read the proclamation? Gladly, Madam President. Educator appreciation days. Whereas a well- educated public is essential to the preservation of our national freedom and our democratic system of government. And whereas the people of the United States have recognized that free access to public education for all children is a vital component of a strong and vibrant country. And whereas the board of education recognizes and honors the important impact that teachers and staff have on our children's education. And whereas a rich and well-rounded education incur includes curriculum instruction and support for the physical health and well-being of our children. And whereas children's education and the success of their schools is also dependent upon exceptional and dedicated leadership
016at the school and district level. And whereas it is appropriate that teachers, staff, and educational leaders be publicly recognized for their dedication and commitment to educating and supporting all students. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the board of education of Weld County School District 6 proclaims the following national recognition dates to be celebrated and recognized in our local schools and communities in Gley Evans, Colorado during the spring of 2025. Administrative Professionals Week, April 20th through 26th. Physical Education and Sport Week, May 1st through 7th. School Lunch Hero Day, May 2nd. Teacher Appreciation Week, May 5th through 9th. School Nurse Day, May 7th, 2025. National Education Educational Bosses Week, May 19th through 23rd. given under my hand and the executive seal of Weld County School District 6 this 14th day of April 2025. Natalie Mash, President,
017thank you very much for reading that and I always enjoy um giving when we get to um vote on these proclamations. We're very intentional about um celebrating the work here in the district. So I believe that Aaron Snyder, our president of the Gley Education Association, will be accepting this proclamation. Are there any comments from board members? Mr. Ozari, I say this quite often in our uh work sessions and most people don't get to see or hear th those sessions. Uh but every time when we go out to buildings, I I don't know if most people are aware, the school board visits every school in our district over time, every time I go out to those buildings, and even as a former educator, I'm very impressed uh with the learning that's taking place inside the classrooms.
018And I always leave with this feeling. Again, I'm a former educator. I always leave with this feeling. How do the teachers and the staff of that building do their job? It's amazing. And the kids are on task and the halls are quiet and orderly. And I just deeply appreciate everything our teachers and staff do. Uh food service workers, bus drivers bringing the kids to school, teachers in the classroom, campus monitors, principals, custodial staff, the whole bunch as school nurses. just uh thank you very very much for everything you do for our school district. Dr. Campos Fitzy. Yes, this proclamation um comes up every year and it's it's always a little hard because I feel like every one of those um sections or leaders in our buildings deserves their own proclamation. You know, our school lunch
019heroes and our PE teachers, our school nurses. Um, I will say that whenever I meet someone and I find out that they were a school teacher in our district, my instinct is to want to say thank you for your service. And really because, you know, we talk about it so much. It is it is vocational, right? It's like a calling. It's teachers do not do their job for a paycheck. They do it for so much more. Um, and and and they're supported by their school building. there. I think on the school board, I learned more than ever how much um you know, the school is more more than just a teacher. There's there's so many other adults in that building who are helping our children grow into the people they're becoming. Um but I just
020think of my kid coming home from school one day and she wants to talk about what she ate for lunch. Like I know that today she had some butter and jelly and her favorite teacher is her PE teacher and um and and you know she loves going to the school nurs's office because she gets a lollipop. And so um just knowing how all of these groups just touch our kids' lives every day, our students lives and just love on them um and allow them to succeed in their academic journey. Uh I just really do thank you for your service uh from the bottom of my heart. Mr. Matthews. Thank you, Madam President. Um, yeah, I would I would simply ask add um we thank our teachers or we try to thank our teachers and and
021all of our support staff as often as we can. And we can never say thank you enough. And so, um, I know reading down this list, I I could think, uh, I can see the people, uh, the administrative professionals that were in the schools that I went to and the PE teachers that I had, um, the women who and, uh, sometimes men who were in in their lunchrooms. Um certainly the teachers and um e the nurses who oftentimes wrote me a note to get out of class and um and and even our educational bosses. And so it they make such an impact not not just on on our kids but the rest of our lives uh the rest of those kids' lives. And so again we cannot say thank you enough. Miss Snder, would you
022like to say anything? You do not have to. Otherwise, we will. Oh, yeah. I do actually want to say something. So, Erin Snyder, elementary educator, currently serving as GA's president. Um, thank you for all of the things that you said. I also feel the same way about all of my educators. Um, and especially like first of all, I appreciate the pro proclamation. I also appreciate the list because as educators we get into doing our stuff and it's hard for us to remember, oh yeah, we got to do that. And if you look it up on Google, like there's a week all the time, like there's multiple weeks to honor people. So, thank you for giving us a list so that we can all remember to celebrate each other when the time comes. I remember Frank,
023my custodian, when I was a kid. And I currently the thing about being the president I miss a lot from our school buildings is having lunch every day and breakfast. Um, so that is a time where our students can socialize and be cared for and um, it's just all of the things that you guys said. And I recognize that we are very fortunate to have a board of education who supports us and our community who supports us in a way that um, you say it often and frequently and um, and I think you mean it and so it is appreciated and thank you. I accept this proclamation. Miss Leven, will you give us a vote, please? Director Azari, I. Director Campos Spitzy, I. Director Mash, I. Director Matthews, I. Director Sullivan, I. Motion carries 5-0.
024I would just say to students, parents, and um community members, if you see an educator in the next month, just thank them for all their work. Um our next item is our superintendence report. Give that to you. Thank you, President Mash. Um, I I first want to share that I had the the honor and privilege of attending Hades Town uh the the teen version of the musical this past weekend at Girley West High School. And I just want to announce that this is the last production for Mrs. Peggy Frammel. Uh I think she's been there 40 years or so um as the theater arts director and uh it's really a fine show. I hope you'll get a chance to go see it. Uh there's still another show on this coming Friday and Saturday night. You
025can go on their web page. Uh tickets are $15. It is it is a beautifully done show. The the depth of the talent of the students and uh you can just see the beautiful direction of all the staff and production crew that were involved. It it's a beautiful beautiful show and I I hope more of you will get a chance to see it and and to send Miss Falaf FM as um the students call her off in um lots of good cheer. I also want to um make an announcement that our Special Olympics annual uh track and field event is coming up on Saturday, April 23rd at 9:30 a.m. at the district athletic complex. That always proves to be an excellent event to attend. Um and it's open to the public. If for some reason
026they should get rained out, then they'll come back um on April 30th and have the event. And then finally, I want to share that um Mr. Matthews and I went uh down to the Capitol last Monday, a week ago, uh to testify before the uh state education committee regarding the school finance act, which is health house bill 1320. So, we were testifying in support of the school finance act in an effort um to encourage the legislators who serve on the state ed committee uh to to pass that um and move that forward to the appropriations committee and then eventually it'll go to both floors for approval. But it is this house bill um that will implement the legislation we worked on so hard last year which was to change the school funding formula. And for
027those of you who who were with us on that, you know, that formula means really um channeling the dollars in the school finance act to to go to the students who need those dollars the most. And so in a district like ours where we have a lot of of students who live in poverty, a lot of students who are learning English as a second language, and students who are being served through special education, this finance act is a gamecher for our district. um it changes how the money flows to school districts and it is a more equitable formula. And so um we're very excited about it. I would encourage um those of you that pay attention to this sort of thing to encourage your legislators uh to to continue to support House Bill 1320 um
028and the implementation of the new school finance act. Thank you very much, President Mash. Next on our agenda is our innovation 2030 update student student learning and achievement goal one concurrent enrollment. And so I'll turn that over to Mr. Osmus. Thank you, President Mash, members of the board. Dr. Pelch, Council of Student Reps. Uh, my name is Anthony Almouth. I'm the assistant superintendent of Secondary and K8 Leadership as well as postsecary readiness. I'm joined tonight by Jenny Schilling, our director of career and technical education, and Jordan Carlberg, our career pathway specialist, and also some students. We're here to present to you tonight a little bit about concurrent enrollment and how that has changed u some of our students um opportunities that they've had in high school. This work is found in our innovation 2030 strategic
029plan and it is funded by MLO. And so I just want to start by talking about the Milvy override and just thanking our voters in Gillian Evans for this opportunity. Um this work that you hear tonight just can't be accomplished without um our voters and the support from our community. This work is grounded in our mission and our vision and in our values most closely related to we know that every child can achieve. We build positive relationships with students, families, and communities, and we promote access, opportunity, and choice. Our strategic plan has four focus areas. This work falls in our student learning and achievement and is found under goal one to provide a personalized learning experience so all students graduate on time and are career and college ready. We're tracking by 2028 90% of students
030in grades 6 through 12 will include a college or career pathway and academic course of study in their personalized learning plan. And our objective is to provide career pathway exposure and awareness at all levels through options for all students to meet or exceed graduation requirements through post-secary opportunities. And I just want to say that with concurrent enrollment, three things happen. In addition to the objective one, concurrent enrollment reduces the financial barriers to higher education. Students often face financial challenges to college or post-secary training. Concurrent enrollment allows our students to earn college credit at no cost to them, making college more accessible. Also, taking concurrent enrollment classes builds confidence and college readiness. Many students do not see themselves as college ready due to a lack of exposure or support. Concurrent enrollment gives our students the opportunity
031to be to experience college level coursework and this helps close the achievement gap. And lastly, concurrent enrollment accelerates career pathways and workforce readiness for students who may not pursue that traditional four-year experience. Concurrent enrollment can provide access to career and technical education courses and industry certificates. Our action on this one, major action is just to inc to increase the opportunities of concurrent enrollment by communicating with students about academic pathways and expanding partnerships with post-secondary institutions to include teaching on the high school campus or on the college campus. To kick off this presentation, I'm going to turn this over to Jenny Schilling and then we'll hear from some of our students as well. Thank you, Mr. Osmus. It is an honor to provide an update on our I2030 efforts to highlight the meaningful opportunities we're creating
032for students as they explore and pursue their future career and college goals. This past Friday, a group of community members toured the D6 CTE Center. And as they visited classrooms and learned more about the programs offered, the words they used to describe the opportunity provided to students were empowering, engaging, and meaningful. I couldn't help but take a few notes because I realized how frequently I'd already used the word opportunity while preparing for this update. In searching for other ways to describe the impact of this work, I came across words like moment, space, time, and event. But two words I came across particularly stood out. Freedom and hope. Those words captured the true essence of what this work represents for our students and families and speaks deeply to the heart of the work we are fortunate
033to do. With that in mind, I'm proud to share that 3,720 high school students participated in career pathway in a career pathway this year. An increase of over 1,000 students compared to last year and 1,219 high school students enrolled in post-secary coursework during the 2425 school year. And the very first cohort of CNA students at Gley Central High School achieved a 90% certification pass rate, significantly surpassing the state average of 75%. These numbers reflect more than just program growth. They represent expanded expanded access, equity, and long-term impact for students across our district. Thank you for your continued support of this important work. And it is now my pleasure to introduce Ashley Mahiha, a Girly Central High School junior and student of the certified nursing aid program to share the experience the CNA program has provided
034to her. Hello and good evening. My name is Ashley Mahia and I am a junior at Gly Central High School. Being here in front of you all is an honor. First and foremost, I want to thank our school board for supporting concurrent enrollment and allowing the CTE program to offer classes that prepare students like myself for the future and helping us choose which career path to pursue. My experience with concurrent enrollment has been one of my most significant opportunities. Through concurrent enrollment, I was fortunate enough to get into the CNA program through concurrent enrollment. Um, I I was fortunate enough to get into the CNA program through Morgan Community College and I was able to take this course at Gly Central. Along with choosing to pursue a career in the medical field throughout my years
035in high school, I have taken classes that include introduction to health science, um, anatomy and physiology, orientational health careers, and medical terminology. An orientation to health careers and medical terminology are also available through Morgan Community College. Concurrent enrollment allows me to obtain college credit and get a head start on classes required for my health science degree. Also, this past fair, I went to um HOSA through our club at Gly Central. HOSA focuses on preparing students for careers in the health science field, encouraging leadership, and promoting healthcare awareness. HOSA helped me learn more about different careers in the medical field, which helped me get a better understanding of these careers that I could continue with. Our hosta club was highly successful and several students placed in the top 10 in our events. After high school, I
036want to continue my education and pursue nursing. Having the opportunity to be in the CNA program now gives me an early push and puts me one step closer to becoming a nurse. And it's just an excellent opportunity. So again, I want to thank District 6 for giving me the opportunity to become a certified nursing assistant, which is the first step in pursuing my dream of becoming a registered nurse. Thank you. [Laughter] Thank you, Ashley. Good evening. My name is Jordan Carlberg. I'm the career pathway specialist. Uh concurrent enrollment is opportunity for students in grades 10 through 12 um to earn college credit while in high school. The courses must be a guaranteed transfer course or a CTE pathway course as designated by the Department of Higher Education. What is unique to district 6 is that
037there is no additional cost to students to participate. Textbooks, fees, and other costs are all paid through our mil levy override. Many of our concurrent enrollment courses students participate in are offered on the district 6 campus. This includes 11 district 6 CT pathways where students have the opportunity to earn college credit, educational certificates, and industry certificates, preparing students for a successful launch into the plans after high school graduation. In addition to the CT pathway courses, students are also earning guaranteed transfer courses, which will count towards their future college degree plans. A guaranteed transfer course are courses that can apply to an AA, AS, or most bachelor degrees at a Colorado College or universities. Here's a list of our top five concurrent enrollment courses with the highest enrollment for math credit being as college algebra and
038the highest enrollment for ELA credit being UNCC um English composition. This opportunity wouldn't be possible without our amazing long-standing partnership with Ames Community College and the University of Northern Colorado. Also, in order to enhance our CTE pathways, we have increased our partnerships with Northeastern Junior College, Front Range Community College, and Morgan Community College. As you can see, uh, concurrent enrollment continues to grow in district 6 with just over 1,200 individual students participating in the 24-25 school year. The large growth in participation in the last two years is a result of development of standardized districtwide student enrollments process as well as the amazing work our high school counselors and career college readiness coordinator do every day in supporting our students through the application and enrollment process. Um district 6 students enrolled in 41 individual college courses
039this school year with an average course earning about three credits. This means our students have earned approximately 12,000 college credits by the end of this school year. I'll now hand it back over to Jenny to share about the three extended high school programs under the concurrent enrollment umbrella. Thank you, Jordan. The first program I want to share with you is um Ascent, accelerating students through concurrent enrollment, a fifthyear high school program that allows eligible seniors to take an additional year of college classes at no tuition cost. Students participate in concurrent enrollment the year after completing 12th grade, earning college credit while the program covers tuition, books, and fees. Over the last year, District 6 has 13 students continue their education through the Ascent program. Students need to complete nine concurrent enrollment credits upon the completion
040of their senior year to be eligible for this program. This is a program we are waiting to hear if funding will continue and we are paying close attention. The second program is the teacher recruitment education and preparation or TREP program created by Senate Bill 21185. The TREP program creates the opportunity for qualified students in an educator career pathway to concurrently enroll in post-secary courses for the two years following their 12th grade year. We currently have two seniors enrolled in this program taking classes at Ames Community College. To be eligible for the TRP program, students need to complete one course in the educator pathway during their 12th grade year. Students interested in the educator pathway also have the opportunity to take classes at the CTE center where they can earn 19 concurrent enrollment credits. Finally, the
041PEK or Pathways to Technology Early College High School program is a ne is a unique educational model allowing high school students to earn their high school diploma and an associate of applied science degree while also gaining relevant work experience in a growing field. Courses are taken for both high school and college credit and are at no cost to families. PEK programs are offered in the construction pathway at Gley West and in the advanced manufacturing pathway at Gley Central High School. Students in the Gley West High School senior cohort will have completed 37 college credits at the end of the school year and students completing their junior year will have completed 19 college credits towards their associates and project management. Additionally, Ames Community College has partnered with the University of Wyoming, allowing students a one-to-one credit
042transfer directly into their construction management program. It is now my pleasure to introduce Diego Guzman, a recent graduate of the construction management PEK program at Gley West High School, and Titus Jenkins, a current Gley West High School senior and PEK student, to share their experience. Hello, my name is Diego Guzman. Uh, I'm a recent graduate from Ames Community College and Gley West. Uh, I just want to start off by saying thank you for just the opportunity and all the the fundings that went towards my education and gave me to this point. Uh, when I started off my freshman year, I didn't really like understand or even know what the college experience would even look like. So, uh, starting in, I met Carl Bberg and everybody else that helped me get into the Ames Community College.
043And with taking extra credits towards my senior year, it helped me graduate in December, which helped push towards getting my 27 credits to CU Denver, which is hopefully now next next year will transfer to 30 36 credits of transferring credits with added on classes. So, starting in uh starting starting in my junior year, I took uh 19, right? Yeah. I took 19 credits with uh Ames Community College. And then I also did an internship with Roach that helped me not gain just the construction experience but also of the workforce and learning different parts of AR uh from the architecture side all the way to just the project managing. And so going into CU Denver, one of the biggest things that I learned was not just of time management, but just the dedication it takes just
044to go into school and with the money and just all the all the back work that I've never seen before. And so with with PEK, it helped me prepare and also finish my education instead of a four four to five years, I'm going to be able to graduate in two years with my bachelor's in architecture, which is something I've never ever seen myself doing, even if you told me in the beginning of this program. So my biggest thanks is just given this this opportunity and bringing on uh Carberg and Miss Hansen. And I know she's not here, but just giving these two to help push me throughout this and just giving me the motivation. Thank you. [Laughter] Hello, my name is Titus Jenkins. I'm a senior at Greley West High School and this is my
045third year in the PEK program. I was asked to speak about the PEK program and how it's benefited my education. I am passionate about the PEK program, so I could probably spend the night talking about how amazing it is, but since it's a school night, I'll try to keep it to a minimum. The PEK program has offered me a ton of support and opportunities I never thought I would have. From higher education at no cost to job opportunities and internships that have allowed me to put my skills into a real world setting. Before PE, I had no idea what I was going to do after high school. I wasn't on the right path. I wasn't applying myself to school and overall I was just wasn't motivated. One day my construction teacher Mr. Carlberg came up
046to me and asked me if I was interested in joining the PEK program at PEK program at Gley West. It piqued my interest so I joined. As they say the rest is history. Since then I've become completely different person from passing all my classes with flying colors and I'm actually enjoying school. I have a plan for my future now and I'm determined to achieve my goals. I always had the ability to do great things, but this program has gave me the plan and the drive to chase my dreams. As you can see, I'm grateful for the PEK program for many reasons. But the fact that I will be halfway through my college career at no cost to me is invaluable. Being able to focus on my studies and remain goal oriented without the stress about
047worrying how I'm going to pay for my college is huge is a huge blessing. To say I'm grateful for PEK program would be an understatement. I owe so much to this program. The way and the way that I'm going to repay is to accomplish every goal I set out to achieve. It's a challenging world we live in, but my determination and PEK's generosity are paving the way to a bright pe to a bright future for me and hopefully for many more students to [Laughter] [Applause] come. Postseequity work is just fun. just hearing from students and how this work impacts them and prepares them for college and and to accomplish things that they never thought they could even do. So, I thank the board, I think the community um for the mil levy, right? I think
048the teachers and the schools and the counselors and everyone that supports this and and our post um and and our team um Jordan and and Jenny, thank you. And our next steps on this is just continue to share the opportunities available to students. Um we seem to continue to get the word out. you see that every year we increase um and it is really just about getting to families and so that we are driven on that work. Um and then we also connect this through our um our discovery lab and you'll see sometimes our truck that's out um just getting our students at a younger age um excited about this work and even our smart labs in our K5 um elementary schools and then also uh continue to support our students to access these post-secary
049offerings and we'd be happy to answer any questions that you might have. Thank you very much. I think we have some questions. Um, first, Miss Bengis. Thank you, President Mash. If this will There we go. So, I did have one question before. Um, I kind of went on a little rant there. So, you mentioned the Associates of Science. So, is that more targeted towards the other district high schools or would that be different for early college academy since we already do have that partnership with AS? Um, how does that work for early college? Um, thank you. Um, the PEK program is um kind it's similar to like an ECA program. Um it's a high school um early college while in high school. And so um students are following an associates of applied science degree plan
050um while also doing all the normal high school stuff. Um the same course work that they do as a normal high school student. All that is just usually embedded within one of the the career um really it's supposed to be embedded within the STEM pathways. Um but at District 6 it's embedded within construction trades at West and Advanced Manufacturing at Central. Okay. Thank you. Does that answer your question? Yes. Thank you so much. All right. So, I am a student at Early College Academy and as I did already mention, we do already have that partnership with Ames. So, currently I am a full Ames student. I'm taking only Ames classes. Um, but I can relate to many of the students here because of having those concurrent enrollment classes, those classes that are more advanced, that
051are like they said, taking that next step into those career paths because it helps you helps you put aside all those tedious core classes that normally you would have to take once you enter college. All those math classes, all those in English classes. As we have seen, the AS trig and college algebra classes are both the most popular because those are core courses you have to take in order to get through those smaller associates degrees, whether that's your associates of arts or associates of science. So, getting through those um higher level classes right now in high school helps you then pursue your career right away. You don't have to worry about those extra little classes. you can right away pursue all those other classes that are going to be more structured to the career path
052that you want to take. Therefore, it allows students to also challenge themselves and connect with other students that are the same that are at the same level of education that they are and it helps them build off of each other as well. So, thank you so much for that amazing opportunity that our district offers us. Thank you, Miss Vengas. Dr. Campos Spitzy. Yeah. Um, I had a few questions. Um, so as far as the ascent and the TREP programs, are those dependent on state funding? Is that right? Okay. And then is there like a cap to how many students we can take? Is there a limit? We have 13 slots for the ascent program. Um, and currently we don't have a limited number of slots that we can take for TRAP. Okay. And I had
053the same question as as far as slots for PEK. We don't have any slot. We can have as many students as we'd like in PEK up to up to about 24 in a class. Okay. And then do we do we normally fill it or is it do we currently it is full? Uh currently Katie Hansen's uh teaching assignment is completely PEK. Okay. Um and the kids they start in ninth grade. Is that right? They start in ninth grade in the principles of construction class and from principles of construction they move they have a choice to either continue just in a construction pathway or to move into the PEK program. And so the students um they know they're going into PEK coming out of middle school. Is that they can apply to be part of that
054program? We did that when Mr. Carlberg was teaching there with our eighth graders as they were coming up to high school. Um, currently we're recruiting or promoting this program from the sections of principle of construction, which is an entry-level construction course. Do you ever use your alumni to recruit more interest into PEK? Um, this is our first alumni, so absolutely we'll be using Diego to help us recruit for this program. Um, all right. I think I think those were my Oh, I did have another question. Um, so you mentioned some of the concurrent enrollment courses are taught on the high school campuses and some of them are taught off the high school campus. So what's the percentage there? And um the college algebra and English comp, those are our highest ones participating in concern because
055those are offered on a district 6 campus. Um students are allowed um to go do concurrent enrollment on a Ames or UNCC campus. Um, usually we run into we just wherever it fits within their schedule. They still have to do all their high school classes and if it fits within their schedule um then and we don't offer it on a District 6 campus, it's open for them to to travel um to those campuses to participate. Um the the ratio I would um it's well over half of our students are doing concurrent enrollment on a District 6 campus. Um the next most popular program is probably Career Academy and those students are spending half the day over at Ames. Um, and that's a pretty large cohort of students as well. So, we can get you those
056numbers and that breakdown of of how it breaks down. We can provide you with that. Cool. And when they're taught on campus on a District 6 high school campus, who's teaching the course? Um, most of the time it's a District 6 um teacher that has been approved by that post-secary institution. Secondary is is interesting because um they have to go through their own vetting for each institution. And so even someone might be a credential by Ames, they still have to be get vetted by UNCC and vice versa. U but most of our um concurrent enrollment is offered by district 6 educator that's been vetted. And then we do have a few um Ames employees that are coming to um Gley West um and Northridge to teach um college algebra and then to teach criminal justice.
057So thank you. Yeah, Mr. Ozari. So, this this question is basically just springboarded off of what Dr. Brenda had already asked, but uh for instance, Ashley said she takes classes at the Morgan Community College. I'm going to make the presumption that that's online or is she does does she drive out there herself or No, I mean, how do these how do kids access these classes? And what happens if a student does not have access to a college that's not in our vicinity? So the the list of colleges that we've expanded to to enhance our um career techch ed pathway like Fort Morgan Community College with really central um that instructor has been um Beth Anne Hockey is a registered nurse and has been um vetted by Morgan Community College to offer those classes at Gly
058Central and so there's no traveling. Um same with NJC um our two cosmetology instructors have been vetted by NJC and they are teaching the cosmet cosmetology program at the CTE center. And so um those those post-secondary partners that are kind of outside of our boundaries um those are um taught by a district 6 employee um through those organizations. And um can you describe just briefly what vetted means? Yeah. So like I mentioned there each um each postsecondary partner has their own process. Um it usually entails within the current teched pathways it usually entails showing that they have a CTE CTE authorization within that pathway and then um there is the work experience and so if they're teaching within the current teched pathway they have to show that they essentially if they've come from industry um
059and then also that they have post-secary course work within that um program and then from there each institution takes that information reviews resumes transcripts all that stuff and then um assigns what course numbers prefixes each individual teacher is credentialed to teach. And so it really is individual by individual. Um for our core or our guaranteed transfer courses, um those ones are a little bit harder to get instructors vetted by because they have to have either a master's in that core content or at least 18 post-graduate credits in addition to a masters if it's outside of their core content. And so, for example, if we had if to offer college algebra um another college algebra section with a district six employee, that that instructor has to have a masters in math or if they have a
060masters in a different subject area have to 18 graduate level credits in math. And so to find those unicorns is a little more challenging, but we do have a handful in our district. So, and then and just one other question. So when these instructors come into our schools and they're working on I'm presuming with a smaller group of students and so from the state and maybe Dr. Pelch can answer is from the state level perspective what are the requirements in regards to like licensing teachers license being able to work with students under the age of 18 etc. So, a teacher from UNCC or Ames is not required to have a traditional teaching license because they're we're not actually giving them um district six credit. We're giving them college credit and then counting it for district
061six credit is what we're doing. Uh so they're, you know, they they've been endorsed by their postsecondary institution that they're coming to us from, uh which allows them to be here. Do you want to add anything to that, Jordan? Nope. That's Yeah. So uh but but really the classes are comparable in size to other high school classes on our campuses. One of the one of the pieces that we must adhere to for current technical ed credit there are certain requirements of keeping class size um to to a certain level in order to get our Perkins fund reimbursement and for vocational standards at the state level. Okay, I think I understand. Not totally. If you don't, you know who to ask. Yeah, I do. Thank you, Jordan. Yeah. And Mr. Matthews, I had a question for
062Mr. Jenkins. Titus, you said that you are a completely different person from before um you started the program until after. Can can you tell us a little bit more what that what what you mean by that? Yeah. So when I was I would say like a freshman sophomore when I was a freshman or a sophomore in high school I was around about probably a 2.5 2.7 GPA and then from that from my junior year and senior year now I'm I'm about at like a 4.2 4.1 GPA. So it's changed like my academics and like what I focus on. I'm not like I'm like more paying attention to my school. And why do you think that that happened? I I believe it happened because I think that PEK is just such a great opportunity and if
063I'm going to be in those classes, I feel like I should be putting my all into what I have. Okay. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Osmus. I also had a question for you. Um you said that we're we're we're doing more recruiting. What are we doing differently this year, this coming year that um that we didn't do in the past? I think about three different things. One, we have a we have a beautiful truck, a Discovery Lab um that um is out in front of schools at times to attract students and get them excited about getting high school, taking a class, getting into a pathway. You saw that we have increased our our pathway by over a thousand students this year, kids taking a in a in a um pathway course. And um there's that.
064There's a smart labs now that we we have aligned with this work uh K12 and so using a program to get kids excited about that. Um I know that'll be a couple years before that grows. But then also just our the work that we're doing with our parents and so continue to reach out to parents or continue to reach out to students to make sure that they are aware of this situation uh of this great opportunity that we have. And so we um we also had people at the CT center the other day and and we were we were giving them a tour and many of them said, "Oh, I didn't even know that this was here." And so we so we know that we are making growth, but we have a long way to
065go. Thank you. Yeah. Thank you all for the presentation and thank you to the students and even alumni for coming back and sharing your experience. Thank you, Miss Benegas, for also sharing your experience with an um concurrent enrollment. And um I think there's been some presentations where we've equated that number of credits to a dollar figure and that's also just astounding um what we're able to provide to our students like you mentioned at no cost to yourself so that you really have that that head start. So um thank you very much for all your work in this area. Mr. Osmus, we actually do not have our council of student representatives on our agenda. So, I wanted to make sure. Are there students here? No, there are not. Gotcha. Okay. Thank you. Okay. So, the next
066item on our agenda is our public participation. As a board, we welcome the comments of community members and we dedicate a portion of each business meeting to provide an opportunity for the community to present brief comments. Our speakers are limited to two minutes for comments. Our board members typically will not respond, but we may ask our district staff to do so. All written testimony or handouts must be submitted to the board secretary, Miss Amy Lemon. We ask all speakers and those in attendance to conduct themselves in a dignified and non-disruptive manner. Cheering, snapping, clapping, and other distractions are not permitted. Anyone who disturbs order may be required to sit down or to leave the boardroom. Speakers are responsible for their own speech and should refrain from profane or obscene remarks. All remarks must be suitable
067for an audience that includes kindergarten through 12th grade students. This board is committed to providing a safe environment where all members of the school community are treated with dignity and respect, and we expect all speakers to exercise their speech rights responsibly. Our first speaker this evening is Miss Lynn Parish. Welcome, Miss Parish. And you will have you want me to introduce myself or anything? Whatever you'd like to do. You'll have Okay. Is that part of my minutes? I believe so. Okay. Never mind. Okay. Sorry to change the tune a little bit. Um, so more than 10 girls were negatively impacted by the volleyball program at uh and other high schools. The complaints were made to the district 6 title 9 coordinator because that was where we were directed. When I informed some of you that
068the summary and final report had issues, I was ignored. I was later told in hindsight the investigation should not have been conducted by D6 staff but was compl was completed as a courtesy by your title 9 coordinator but also as an independent third party. Yet the summary report notes that the school was in violation for not reporting a title 9 issue to the D6 title 9 coordinator. This is just contradictory and confusing. 100 pages of the redacted report were visible to me. Three had information regarding interviews from me and my daughter, but not one document that I provided was included. But 97 pages of irrelevant documents were included from the accused. For example, there were 16 photos from my Facebook page of my daughter playing volleyball and celebrating milestones with no explanation of relevance. Why
069were we not informed that District 6 should not have conducted the investigation or that it was being done as a courtesy or by an independent third party? Why were the issues with the investigation never acknowledged? Who oversees the quality of investigations? The courtesy failed students. The failure. There was failure to communicate truths from interviews. There were over 10 false statements from mine. Incorporate documents that supported actual complaints. Um, include victim statements. Record interviews. Initiate interviews. Provide recommendation to prevent the rehire of a coach in question given the facts. Be unbiased. explained relevance of documents, noticed typos and grammatical errors. None of our names were even spelled correctly. The investigation was a disappointment, an embarrassment, a waste of taxpayer dollars, and wasted time. But most importantly, it dismissed the severe emotional impact on numerous students. I
070just hope that you guys consider that and reav your your policy on how you conduct investigations with charter schools. Thank you. Our next speaker is Don Banks. Thank you, Miss Banks. You will have two minutes. I have provided each of you with a handout that gives you background on the case in which I'm referencing this evening. My hope is that you can bring critically needed changes to the district policies related to charter schools. It would I would be so grateful to have you email me at your convenience with answers to the questions I will provide. On August 1, 2024, I emailed the district athletic director, Chris Klene, to ask about the district's jurisdiction over university schools athletics. Mr. Klein never responded to my email, but forwarded it to Jim Donaghhue, the title N investigator. Why
071didn't Mr. Klein reply to my email and say there is no jurisdiction over charter schools in the district? Why didn't he refer to me, refer me to a policy, and provide me with the correct body that would hear my concerns as a charter school? On the same day, I received a call and voicemail from Mr. Donahghue asking me to contact him urgently, which I did and had an hour-long conversation. Why didn't Mr. Donahghue say immediately this was not in his scope of authority? Why did he go to university schools the next morning and begin an investigation? On October 31, Mr. Donahghue stated that he had 112 complaints to investigate since the beginning of the school year. Mr. Donahghue said that he is the only he is only one person in his department. Recently, Dr. Pilch
072said that the investigation was merely done as a courtesy. Do district students deserve to take a backseat to a courtesy investigation? The policy needs to be clear and available and openly shared with families like ours. I respectfully request your help. Please read the handout documents included Google Docs link that I have shared with you. I urge each of you to ask how this board can help the district assist charter school families like ours. Please provide district employees with clear policies and procedures related to charter schools so that charter school families may be treated with respect and honesty. Thank you. Thank you, Miss Banks. Thanks for being here. The next item on our agenda is our consent consent agenda, which requires a motion. I move that the board of education of Gley Evans School District 6
073approves items as presented on the consent agenda and authorizes the officers to sign any and all contracts. Second. Thank you both. Is there any discussion on the consent agenda? Seeing none, Miss Lemon will give us a vote, please. Director Zari, I. Director Campos Spitzy, I. Director Mash, I. Director Matthews, I. Director Sullivan, I. Motion carries 5-0. Thank you. Our next item of business is the purchase of land at 4350 37th Street, Evans, Colorado 80620. Um, this is also an action item. I move that the board of education of Gley Evans School District 6 approves the property purchase contract and the first amendment of the contract and authorizes Chief Financial Officer Megan Sponsor to sign related documents on behalf of the board of education. Second. Thank you all. Uh Dr. Pilch, I'll give this over to
074you. Thank you, President Mash. You all may recall that we have discussed um this possible land acquisition in executive session several months ago um under our ability to go into executive session to discuss real estate. This is the property we spoke to you all about in Evans um which would be a possible future school site. It it is a large enough property to to be a high school site or to be a combination site between um a high school elementary school, middle school, elementary school. So, we're pretty excited about the site. Um, I think the city of Evans is is excited to have us purchase this site. Um, it it does impact some other street work and road work they have going on in in their community. And so, um, it's in our best interest
075and the the best interest of the city of Evans for us to move um on the purchase. At this time, we do plan to use uh reserves to purchase this property. um as we've talked with you all about previously um and this this in my opinion is a very appropriate use of reserves. It's a one-time purchase um not an ongoing cost to the district. Are there any questions or discussion on this motion and we did have the opportunity to ask those questions um in the exe executive session. So, Miss Lemon, will you give us a vote please? Director Zari I. Director Campus Bitsy I. Director Mash I. Director Matthews I. Director Sullivan I. Motion carries 5-0. Right. That is all of the business that we have for this evening. Thank you for joining us. This
076meeting is now adjourned. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. [Music]