001I call the May 6, 2025 Colonial School Board meeting to order. Please rise as Mr. Peter Rudlaw uh will recite the pledge of allegiance. Pledge 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. Thank you, Peter. All right. All right. Moving on to additions or corrections. Are there any additions or corrections to the agenda? All right. with no uh additions or corrections. Do I hear a motion? I move that we approve the agenda as presented. All right. Do I hear a second? Second. All right. Motion moved by uh Dr. Dorsey, seconded by Mr. Handy. Uh are there any questions or comments from the board? No questions or comments. All those in favor, please signify by saying
002I. I. All those opposed, nay. Motion carries. All right. Uh Now is the time in the board meeting for our celebration of the E in the power of we. Uh we'll bring um we'll begin with our student board member, Miss Leun Ainolio, to provide us with her report. I'm not even going to ask her if I said it right. Some kind of reverted on the last name, but you know, it's okay. One more month. I got I'm going to get Yeah. Yeah. Sure. Sure. Sure. So, um, on the academic side at Penn, we're in our last market period, which I'm very happy about. Um, AP exams have started and they're running very smoothly thanks to our amazing, um, AP coordinator, Miss Handy. Um, I personally have, um, AP exams today both weeks, and to say
003that I'm dreading them would be an understatement, but, you know, I hope every student at Penn tries their best and has a good year. Um, on the athletic side, spring sports are coming to an end. Um, I know every team tried their hardest, no matter the record. And um I hope every athlete enjoyed their season. Um as a tennis player, I think I did. Uh socially, lots of big things for seniors. We have prom graduation and the seniors are even seniors, the counselors are even throwing us a senior event on May 15th, which is really great. And I know last meeting uh no the meeting in March, everyone was pressing me like, "Oh, where are you going?" And then I gave very avoiding avoidant answers to where I'm going to college. I'm very happy to
004say now that I'm going to Washington Lee University on a full ride. And I would really like to thank the board um for giving me this position because I think representing Penn and being on this board really helped me gaining the full ride. So I just want to thank you guys for selecting me. It's really it's been an awesome time being in here. This is my last meeting as a pen student. So it's been great. Uh Loom just to double check you will be at next month meeting. Oh yeah, of course. But you I won't be a pen student. I don't think that is true. Thank you so much. All right. And now to continue our e in the power of we storytelling. I'm going to turn over the mic to Colonial strategic communications officer,
005Mr. Gabe Phillips. Uh Mr. Phillips, the floor is yours. Thank you, President PQ, Mr. PQ, Dr. Jones, Columbia School Board. Uh tonight we have several uh recognitions and I apologize for stumbling through this. I am filling in for tonight for Miss Wilson. Um before we get started, um I do just so you know, you're a Colonial student for the rest of your life. Once a Colonial, always a Colonial. So you get to No matter what, whether you're graduated or or still here, you're always a Colonial. All right, let's get started with our students. On Friday, January 31st, Colonial students participated in the sixth annual Newcastle County Mitfa Challenge Project Soapbox Showcase along with their peers from Aquinic, Red Clay, and Christina school districts. This year's event was held at the University of Delaware. Finalists were
006selected from each of our middle schools to showcase their civic engagement by presenting speeches that they have crafted in their social studies class around issues that matter to them. Project Soapbox calls on young people search, develop, and deliver on an original speech of an issue of interest, including recommendations on how to act on that issue. Gunning Bedford student Blake Miller was recognized for their presentation and speech at the end of the program. Students from William Penn presented on their issues to action projects where they research topic about problem in their community and then take informed action by creating and implementing a plan for change. Throughout the day, students presented to an audience full of community members, elected officials, and school leaders who were energized and empowered by their passionate voices for our youth. These powerful
007speeches and projects have a lasting transformative impact on the students, classrooms, schools, and communities. Colonial social studies teachers were so proud of their students achievements and helping reinforce the importance of civic engagement. I'm going to read some of the names and the topics of the students that presented. If you hear your name, please come forward. We're going to get a group picture with uh the board. And forgive me if I pronounce your name wrong. Um, Nvea Crawford, Brianna Diaz Jordan, and Denise Pavon Garcia for non-renewable resources, Denasia Hepern and Bernay Merritt on Gang Violence, Cassandra Hunter and Sophie Val for domestic violence, Aziz James on healthy Delaware, Madison Mlean for on including women's voices in the legislative process. Emily Perry on implementing a genderinclusive policy in colonial. Janelle Tony on child neglect. Journey Roy on
008sexual assault. Stevie Wright suicide prevention. Audrey Hlam on human trafficking. Kamani Higgins on racism in America. Kayla Latran on drug addiction. Desmel Nunes on human rights. Arian Dixon on the legacy of football. Yariel Fredelli Diaz on helping the schools in need. Clue Seawward on teen drug addiction. Ronaldo Medina on the dangers of soda. Sabrina Dubois on discrimination. Praise Ayandre on sports and school. Blake Miller on social media. Peter Rudloff on wrestling. Katon Carter on police brutality. Hana a abdul Rahman and forgive me these don't have categories with them. Miam Zigg Delaney Castillo Rodriguez Priscilla Demo Zariah Cannon Shannon Wongas on artificial intelligence to high Forbes on recess and Maya Wright. I need everybody to stand a lot closer than that. You look so happy. Don't be scared to scoot any. Yeah. Can we get taller
009people and then shorter people kind of shuffled like holding pins? Can we get taller people and shorter people like bowling pins? We got a couple more. If you guys would come over uh come over here, see Dr. Baker to get your certificate and then redraw your parents. Congratulations. [Applause] Next up, we have our staff. Starting first, Dr. Nicholas Baker, our supervisor of curriculum, assessment, and instruction has been honored with the 2025 excellence in education award by the University of Delaware College of Education and Human Development. This prestigious award is presented to an alumnist who has demonstrated and sustained a meaningful impact in the field of education. Dr. Baker was recognized for his innovative teaching and leadership, strong dedication to student and family engagement, and his creative collaboration with community organ organizations that directly support our
010students. Dr. Baker, you come up. Head over the thing light shine. Congrats, Dr. Next up, we have Rachel Naro. Miss Naro is a seventh grade social studies teacher at George Reed Middle School, and she is being recognized by the University of Delaware with a 2025 outstanding clinical educator award. This recognition is given to a dedicated clinical educator who hosts student teachers. Rachel is recognized for hosting multiple student teachers and providing them with strong guidance. [Applause] Sto a little bit more. Thank you. I appreciate it. Thank you everybody. Thank you. Our last recognition could not join us tonight, but we're going to uh recognize Mrs. Warman anyway. Um Ryan Warman uh is a uh fourth grade teacher at Pleasantville Elementary. Uh this past weekend, Miss Warman was recognized by the Middle States Council of Social Studies
011as the 2025 recipient of the Collins Skinner Elementary Social Studies Award. This award is given to an elementary teacher in the Mid-Atlantic region who emphasizes social studies instruction in the classroom. Ryan was celebrated for her strong commitment to professional learning and civic engagement and the powerful opportunity she provides her students. Congratulations, Ryan. And those are our recognitions for this evening. Thank you very much, Mr. Phillips. You did a fine job. All right. And so now's the time in the board meeting for board members and the executive secretary to discuss items of information and topics from our participation in various professional organizations. Um specific updates and documents are listed in the agenda. Um are there any concerns, questions or points of interest um that board members would like to discuss? Um, I would like to go
012over an order for what we have already listed uh for DSBA for the Delaware School Boards Association. Um, we can start with uh Mr. Cross because I know it's been very active this [Music] month. They were committee voting. several proposed legislations that affect school boards and uh the first one is an act to amend title 14 of color code relating to schoolboard meetings. The act requires that school meetings have a means for the public to view and provide comment remotely. We oppose that unanimously. The next one is an act to amend title 14 of the Delaware code relating to training for schoolboard members. The act requires that members of school boards including charter schools receive training uh as follows. We oppose that because we already provide training and we don't need the state to dictate
013exactly what we're training. Um the next one to amend title 14, title 29 code relating to the recording of meetings and public bodies. The act also correspond correspond changes to existing laws requires school district boards, members of charter, schools, the state board of education and the full board of trustees and public institution higher learning to have a digital copy of the recordings of the meetings. We oppose that unanimously. Act to amend title 14 of the dollar code relating to school boards, the act that a school board candidate and member must inhabit the district um or designated portion of the district that the member represents. We supported that unanimously. The next act is the act requires school boards to allow members to attend schoolboard meetings by remote method under certain circumstances relating to health and deployment.
014We supported that unanimously. And the last one is uh under current law, most school board members who are elected and those who are appointed to fill vacancies until the next election are required to complete a criminal background check. And we support that unanimously. That concludes the six bills. Mr. Cross, Mr. We meet tomorrow, so I won't have nothing. [Music] Um, so I am the board representative for the William Penn counselors committee, which made up of, of course, the counselors at William Penn, a board member, a parent, a student, um, and staff from central office. Um, so I just wanted to do a quick report. Um, this was the second meeting of the year. The first one in September or October was a uh, the report was the goal setting um, for the counselors and then
015this uh, meeting was the followup as to how they with their goal. Uh the counselors had chosen to tackle student attendance. They set a very aggressive uh goal to uh to decrease absences and and party. While they did not achieve their goal, the preliminary data appears that attendance didn't get any worse. Um, and I know that doesn't sound, you know, great, but the reason I wanted to talk a little bit about this was because, uh, I was very impressed by the number of, uh, and the, um, the innovation that the counselors showed in trying some new things to work with kids who have chronic absentee issues. Some of the um, activities range from individual counseling, group counseling, um some other new initiatives. And late in the year, uh the group got uh turned on to
016some resources from a national organization. Uh and the counselors reported that in looking at those those resources and suggested activities that look like a pretty rich area for them to delve into. And so um they are looking forward more improvement next year with perhaps a bigger toolbox. That's my go. Thank you. You got a chief school officer association. Yes. I'm going to report out on behalf of Dr. Mena. Um the chiefs met on May 1st. The chiefs met with Delaware Secretary of Education Cindy Martin and discussed a v a variety of topics from the recent work of the public education funding commission to current legislative bills and do initiatives. Delaware Academy of School Leadership provided professional development regarding how to foster positive school culture and climate. We have anything else from the board? Good. All
017right. Uh so moving right on. Uh the next step is public comment. Do we have anything for public comment right now, Gabe? All right. Uh, I'll take a second. I will just say just uh wanted to announce um I was at the uh entrepreneur day here at William Penn this morning and I was truly amazed uh to see uh how well it was ran and the panel we have is just getting better and better. Uh the Q&A session was incredible. It was great from the students and seeing students that have been there multiple years and how they're improving on it. Um, it's an amazing thing to see here at William Penn. We are not a trade school, but we definitely have a lot to offer is what I can say. And, um, uh, we are
018poundforound being able to help our students, um, prepare themselves into the workforce and their next steps after the high school. And I'm very excited to see what a lot of these young students uh, what will happen to them in the future after seeing them working this morning. So, um, congratulations to all the students that, uh, you know, had great businesses that they created and then also to the teachers who helped organize it. Thank you for that. Um, so at this time, uh, now the public comment is passed, we don't have anything. Uh, we're going to actually just pause the meeting to allow families, students, staff, uh, to celebrate the recognition that they had here. Uh, we understand that families, students, and staff may have other commitments and may need to leave. Uh, however, for others
019in attendance, we'll resume momentarily. Uh, regularly scheduled meeting shortly after the following brief uh brief falls. school board enthusiasts. So, moving on, the uh next agenda item is the consent agenda. Uh the items listed under the consent agenda have gone through board review, including documentation concerning these items have been provided to all board members and the public in advance. Items in the consent agenda generally include routine and business office actions and updates as well as approval of previous meeting minutes and education related items such as choice and student placements. Uh with that being said, do I hear a motion? I move that we approve all consent agenda items as presented. Oh, sorry. Should ask if we hear a second. Second. I'm giving the tie to Mr. Handy. Um as moved by uh Mr. Smith, seconded
020by Mr. handy. Um, are there any questions or comments from the board? All right, with no questions or comments, all those in favor, please signify with saying I. I. All those opposed, nay. All right. Motion carries. All right. Next up on the agenda is updates and action items. Dr. Jones. All right. Dr. Nicholas Baker, supervisor of curriculum assessment and instruction, will discuss Colonial's approach to economics education and financial literacy within the social studies department. Dr. Baker. Thank you, Dr. Jones. Good evening, President PQ, Vice President Smith, Dr. Jones, members of our school board, and Colonial Community. We are honored this evening to celebrate our students who have demonstrated their achievements by engaging in the civic process. So tonight I'm pleased to showcase how we support citizenship but through developing economic and financial literacy. I'm joined
021tonight by three incredible educators and two outstanding students who will be working with us tonight. First, Miss Kelly Shusco, K12 social studies instructional coach. Miss Rachel Narjo, who you just met recently, grade seven social studies teacher at George Reed Middle School, Miss Jessica Sawyer, William Penn economics teacher, and students from William Penn High School, Bessida Ros and Cristiana Shid, who will be working with us tonight in assisting our board members in a simulation focusing on a lesson that we teach in high school courses. So, do you all remember your high school economics class? Or maybe one that you took in a college lecture hall with 300 other individuals? Chances are it was a dry subject that did not necessarily spark excitement or relevance. Gone are those days. Uh we are learning economics in an engaging,
022interactive, and real world way for our students to encounter and be prepared. Tonight, we'll showcase how our social studies teachers help our students become economically literate. When students learn about supply and demand or quotas or taxes, they're not just memorizing terms. They are learning how to think critically about real world issues. By building their economic literacy, we help our students grow into informed and engaged citizens who can understand public policy and participate meaningfully in our democracy. Our students learn how to become thoughtful, strategic decision makers and that's where financial literacy comes in. It is decision making on the individual level. It's about applying those same critical thinking skills and to everyday life situations, managing money, setting career goals, making informed financial choices, what to buy for lunch that day. This can lead to long-term health
023and wellbeing. Just like math and English language arts, economic reasoning is a fundamental skill for individual prosperity and societal well-being. So, we are now going to talk about what we do in elementary school where it starts with our youngest colonials. And Miss Kelly Scho is going to highlight a few of those key pieces for you. And I'm going to be distributing some sample books that we use to teach the students these economic principles. Kelly. So, our Delaware students begin economics education at a very young age. It's important to start this early because just like with civic engagement, these are important skills that create lifelong habits and need to be taught in an interactive and engaging way for our youngest Colonials. For example, in Colonial, we implement a program called economics for kids, and that's kindergarten
024to second grade. These materials have been designed by the center for economic education at the University of Delaware and some of them even created or piloted in our own colonial classrooms. These accessible, culturally responsive, highquality lessons provide dynamic standard-based resources for both teachers and students. They serve as a foundation for economics instruction that will continue through middle and high school. Students engage with picture books to explore key economic topics such as economic choices, trade, economic systems, and the foundations of how money and other mediums facilitate the exchange of resources, goods, and services. Students will also engage in financial literacy through understanding why do skills matter. How does setting goals and create a plan path to achieving those goals? How does planning for spending help you help you make informed choices? How does saving help you
025achieve goals? And how can planning for potential and unexpected risks reduce your chances for personal loss or harm? So those are all our um K to5 elementary personal finance standards that they focus on. And all of these books have been screened by my own children. Um, and I bring up these concepts whenever they want. I'd like to give this one to budget managers. Yes. The mo no money, no problem. Some adults could use some of these lessons in books, too. This one for all of our budget managers. That is required reading in colonial. So now we're going to talk a little bit about where those foundational skills go when they go to middle school. So you see that we start at a very early age introducing these concepts and these students understand these needs and
026ideas really coming in, you know, into preK, kindergarten. So Rachel's going to talk to you a little bit about where this goes in middle school um as well as we set up uh for high school. In seventh grade, our social studies curriculum dedicates the first half of the year followed by a comprehensive exploration of economics in the second half. We follow this sequence so that students have an understanding of the political system to better understand the economic connections in the second half of the year. Seventh grade becomes an important foundation for high school program. We begin with an overview of different economic systems around the world. From there we delve into macroeconomics, examining key indicators like GDP, inflation, and unemployment alongside the influence of fiscal policy, the Federal Reserve, and the Federal Budget. This includes
027crucial discussions on topics like redlinining and gender wage gaps. When we study microeconomics, students learn about graphics, supply and demand, and market equilibrium. The year concludes with simulations on international trade and personal finance which provides practical hands-on lessons in budgeting, banking, career planning, and investing. This well-rounded approach ensures students develop both a theoretical understanding of economics and practical skills for navigating the financial world, fostering critical thinking and responsible citizenship. So after the exposure in middle school, what ends up happening is they head up to high school um where they really dive deeper into these topics and Jessica's going to describe that. Colonial has had a standalone course in economics and in personal finance um for well over 20 years. Um so we have been one of the original districts that had this course. Um and
028we we through the personal finance piece as well through that course. So Jessica, do you want to talk about your experience? And Jessica is going to lead us through an activity that we'll be doing with our students. Okay. Um, so building upon financial economics concepts that were introduced in middle school, William Penn's economics course dives deeper into these concepts as well as transitions into personal finance, equipping students with practical money management skills. It is important that we reach out to our local community when teaching these skills. For instance, we recently had John Bell from the Better Business Bureau of Delaware present on scams that are targeting our teen students, emphasizing employment scams and the risk associated with planet payment platforms like Venmo and Cash App compared to the potential protections that credit cards might carry.
029The curriculum also covers crucial topics such as paying for college, career exploration, budgeting, managing checking accounts, understanding taxes, analyzing financial institutions, and exploring credit, investing, and insurance for long-term financial well-being. We are grateful to use curricular materials and professional development from the Center of Economic Education and Entrepreneurship at the University of Delaware and the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. Through this support, teachers help their students apply problem solving skills to financial decisions, evaluate payment options, understand the role of government and financial markets, manage their risk, and recognize how laws and regulations affect consumers. At William Head, we are committed to preparing students to make informed, confident financial decisions that will benefit them for the rest of their lives. Today we will have you take part in an activity that we teach in our taxes unit.
030As you can see um taped on the fishbowl and towards the back of the room um there are cards that have questions on them. Our students participated in this activity last week but unfortunately Jessica and Christiana were um doing their extracurricular sports so they were not in class that day. Um, so I have some clipboards and questions being passed around. So what we're going to do is I'm going to pair you up with partner on the board and either a teacher or a student. Um, so I'm going to give you a letter and that's where you're going to start. So for example, if I gave you the letter G, you're going to find G. So G is right here. And this asking a question that's giving you the annual salary telling you how many times
031that person gets paid and you have to figure out what their paycheck is going to be. So, you would use your paper, do the math, and then once you find the answer, let's say the answer was 3,000. You're going to look around the room and find 3,000 in the answer box. The card that has your answer on it, that's going to be the next question you answer. Then you're gonna keep going until you finish. Any questions? Okay. So, I'm gonna partner you up. Okay. So, you guys, you'll be with um Christian and you guys will be with me. Um you guys will be with Miss Naro. Then you guys will be with Miss. So, I'm going to tell you which letter you're going to start. Then once I give you your letter, you can start.
032You guys are going to start letter A, B, C, and letter ask question. You can come up a little bit closer. Okay. How do you know? It says that. Okay. So now what we have to do is we have to look for that answer and figure out where it is. That's our next station to go to. Yep. Find the What number are you looking for? 40. That might be over there. a little bit. Found it. What is your roast? Listen, not everybody. killing it. little period. So then we're gonna look for where it says answer. Oh, I think all the way down. Nope, it's not there. We're still going. No, over here. No, I found it. Oh, okay. Oh the answer [Music] Okay, that's what I'm doing. Oh, no. That's okay. I didn't tell you
033that. That's $3,000. Glasses on. Glasses. $3,000. That was What letter was that? Just let her do the math. You were there. You were close. And if you were doing like there is approximate 43% deduction, right? [Music] There we go. There we go. Okay. Oh my god. Let me try. And then 20 people I lost some. All right, even if you're not done, I'm going to have you head back to your seats. Thank you for participating. Yeah, I am. Thank you. Now, if you would like the answer key, um, Miss Sawyer's available at the end. Uh, able to help you there or just talk to Miss Falcon. Um, so, you know, hopefully you got a little little glimpse of really how you know, I started by recollecting to our early economics classes uh that we might
034have taken at the high school or in college and you know personally I never had an economics class until college and you know really it was it's it's amazing how this state has put so much emphasis on it but how critical it is and I learned the hard way in college when I see those stands at the university here sign up for a credit card um and get a free t-shirt well that was attractive to me at the And so, um, little did I know what came with that. And it's really important that we equipped our students really starting at a young age with those skills and those habits, um, that they need, um, and that, you know, sometimes they don't make the same mistakes some of us make um, and have had to learn
035the hard way about. Uh, so economic literacy is vital. Um, and so any of us would be happy to take any questions that you might have uh, about anything. Start going down the line. Mr. Mr. Cross, what do you teach them about long-term short-term investing? Long-term short-term investing. Do you want to talk about that? So, we just kind of touch on that. I don't want to do the whole deep dive into the stock market. It's just too much for them. But, um, we do emphasize the importance of saving early. So, I emphasize to them as soon as you start your first job, start a 401k. Roth and we talk about the different forms of investing, the less risky forms and then building up to the most risky forms of and that's actually one of the
036points embedded in the personal finance standards for high school. So um the resources that we use out of the Federal Reserve help us cover that. Mr. Andrew, what about um the different types of insurance and how they can benefit them in Great question, Jessica. Um, so for insurance, we definitely cover car insurance because we teach it to sophomores, so they're about to start driving. We teach the importance of um auto insurance and then renters insurance, which is um soon to be relevant to them as they're graduating, moving out um and insurance. What about life insurance? Yes, life insurance. Um we do cover that um in the taxes unit as a deduction and then we do What also helps is a lot of these topics. So a lot of the students take our business courses uh
037here where they'll dive into this as well. And we also have a senior math course uh as well. So some of the students are noticing sometimes a cross section of when they're learning this material as well um and applying it. Well, my my comment is that I think it's just terrific that that you're doing this because I managed to graduate from high school, not knowing how to balance a checkbook, not knowing how to manage any of my personal finances. Um, but I have a question. I I just did uh the other day I sat down and looked at every bill that is in the current legislature regarding schools. I feel like there was something in there about financial literacy. There was. So, I'm not crazy. No, it had to do with the They were mandating
038it. It was a half year credit which meant schools had districts had to come up with another half to match it. They said we already teach financial literacy in our district. All right. So there was so there was legislation requiring a halfyear financial literacy credit. Correct. Is it still pending or was it So it's still up now. Okay. They ended up doing a study across all of the districts this year just to see how financial literacy was addressed. Um and then Literally the report was just revealed to the legislature. Um so it's in the queue basically and so they're using the findings uh figuring out how to approach it and possibly make any adjustments to the legislation. Well, I'm just going to give my opinion, but it certainly seems like you're already doing a pretty
039good job comprehensively of covering what it is they're looking for. Thank you. I hope so, too. Thank you. Well, and believe it or not, there's actually a good amount of districts that do not have something in place and so quite a bit. So, again, we were one of the pioneers for it in all honesty. My predecessor started it when the state really enacted these these the initial legislation in the early 2000s. Um, and some districts just do not have those courses or opportunities. All right. So, there's the context. Thank you. I don't think there's a single thing that you have mentioned that you've been answering those questions that I was taught coming out of high school and I'm not that far away I don't believe from from that um or I was class as opposed
040to me you see I tried to say that in the most gentle way possible and I still got burned um but no it's just that's I'm very proud that that's what we're offering is what I really want to say because I mean I graduated from vote was school of thection The reason they wanted to do that, right? And so with us embedding it right now in the economics course, every 10th grader takes that course in Colonial for example. Yes. In this district and that's where we'll have to see what the legislation might adjust with that, you know, around placement, but this district's always invested in that. somehow was a half year which didn't seem to work, right? Um the followup and I'm sorry guys, but obviously we're going to go back to high school level
041like things where I I can't think of a good question for you guys, but on that there is ever changing as far as what almost feels not scams, but taking advantage of people with a lot of loans and especially with technology, you can get your paycheck quicker, all that types of things. There are cert you just right into a curriculum because things happen so fast in this day and age. Um, is there time where you just have open discussions and warn them about different things they may actually see that are available to them that they shouldn't try to take? Yeah, this is when we use the Better Business Bureau of Delaware and we have um John Bell come in and um he's been coming the past three years and he comes up with new scams.
042Like every time he comes, he always um tells stories about um people that reach out to him for scams. And even after his presentation, the kids will come up to me and say, "I got this text. It's a scam." So anytime I get something, I try to say like, "Hey, I just got the scam." Like I've got checks about my easy. Yes. So, just kind of keeping up with the Better Business Bureau cash. Um, yes, we are teaching that that if you pay your bills through cash have no effects on your credit. I first want to say I applaud you for what you're doing because financial literacy is critical. Um I can share with you just growing up where in a household I only knew what my parents knew and I love my parents to
043death but I realized they didn't know anything and they couldn't teach me anything about financial literacy and I knew just and in in saying that it was just a repeated it was just repeated poverty in my house without actually learning this information. Um so I applaud you for what you're doing. is definitely much needed and I'm really pushing hard legislation to talk to a lot of people on making this mandatory. Um and sometimes I question do they really want to make it mandatory because then everybody's going to start doing well and the world that we live in they don't want everybody to do well but um that's just me speaking speaking on behalf of just so everybody knows disclaimer. Um, so is is the K through8 curriculum like embedded throughout the curriculum throughout the year
044or is it just a certain time of the year or in certain units? It's it fits in certain units. So typically we look at the different economic concepts that are are coming that are addressed in social studies or in math or in um business. So in the middle school for example, they take a JG class where they're using um the uh the site will Thank you. Journey achievement. And so the students take that as an uh part of that elective as the curriculum for that uh in the middle school uh currently. And so we yeah we we really look to see where we can see that insertion uh for those lessons uh at this point. You know there there's always you know sometimes the issue of time you know but that's where we're trying thoughtfully
045to figure out how we can integrate it uh and incorporate so that it's meaningful. They need to see learn the economics behind it and see the applied aspects especially with the financial literacy. And once the student gets to high school, it's mandatory in seventh grade. Right. Yes. And then they may take electives in business. Um so right now uh our uh 10th grade course, it's a full year economics. They spend half the year roughly taking the personal finance topics within the economics concept. So they we mesh the course together as one experience. Um so they're getting that full year. They also students can take the senior math uh that deals with finance math as well right now. Um and then various business electives cover the material as well. So there's multiple touch points that they're
046able to uh get for this. Definitely everybody's coming for 10th grade. I believe the more the more that we educate our students on financial literacy. Yes. Completely. I I had a similar experience as you're you were describing you know your upbringing with that. It was the same in my house with it as well. And um wholeheartedly uh rel and I remember being really fun and we still remember it still like to this day like John whatever his name was coming in like activities and I think it really helps like identifying scams and everything so that was a lot of fun. It really is impactful to students from like a student perspective and I did like econ and like the the finance like financial literacy part was always everyone's favorite part like normally liked the first
047one but the second part the second tenure was always the best partner so yeah I think that our program is really good thank you all very much appreciate Mr. Phillips actually how do you guys uh how does the curriculum address um lack of better term digital currencies such as bitcoin things like that Jessica that is a great question and our love to ask that. Um, so I am not as wellverse in that as I would like to be. So, um, kind of touch on it, kind of not. That's definely something that we want to try to implement more in the future as it's becoming more relevant. You know, just like we've had prior presentations around artificial intelligence, you know, just in the field of of this, it's just increasing exponentially and trying to keep up
048with it is critical. But that is really where we have a great partnership with UD and the center for econ um that really help keep the teachers informed and at the forefront of a lot of this so that the students can have Dr. Baker. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. [Applause] Okay. Next, the Division of Health and Wellness and Talent Development will co-f facilitate a conversation with the board entitled We Care. Good evening, board members and guests. My name is John Cooper and I'm going to be co-f facilitating a presentation tonight with my colleague Dr. Sher Woodall and Dr. Jennifer Alexander. Thank you. Um, and there's actually a tie to the presentation that Dr. Baker just gave, and I think you'll see it later in the presentation. Uh, we recognize that today, May,
049is mental health awareness month. We see lots of you wearing green. We really appreciate that. Um, of course, we're committed to supporting our students mental health all year long, but we call that specifically this month. We recognize that part of mental health um, part of the whole person is physical health as well. So when we talk about the division of health and wellness and the wellness plan that we're going to be referencing briefly, it encompasses the whole individual, not just what we typically consider mental health. What I have for you tonight um a little demonstration. I'm going to ask my colleague um Mr. Ed Stefan to come up. Um Ed is in charge of our McKenna Vento and foster care um services for youth. And in order this I'm going to ask for a volunteer
050pre-selected president to come up and uh be our um representative of a student told to stretch first because we don't have workman's com yes I was told hopefully you don't have any lower back issues but you put this on um we recognize that uh all of us including our students um carry around an ind backpack so what this represents is this idea of an invisible backpack. Um, and in those backpack, we're conceptualizing there's a number of things that can weigh us down, each of us as adults and our students. Um, I'm gonna ask my colleague, Mr. Ed Stefen, to talk a little bit more about this in detail with the bricks that we have here. And then I'm going to be placing as Ed this is turning into like an endurance contest, not the intent,
051but as Ed talks about each of these, we'll place a brick in here and you can comment on what that experience is like. So, Mr. Stefan, thank you. As Dr. Cooper had shared, all of us carry this invisible backpack with us every day. The populations that I work with typically in day in and day out, their backpacks are going to have one, two, three, or all six of these bricks in them. Not everyone has all these bricks in their bag every day. And that's where we see the different levels of heat. First one we'll look at is housing instability. Currently, Colonial, we have over 300 students experiencing homelessness as of this morning. Um, they're living in different areas, whether they're doubled up with family, friends, or other folks in the community or living in one
052of the 13 hotel hotels, including the hope center that are in our feeder pattern. Uh, we also have students who are living in hotels outside of our feeder pattern that come to us as well. So, housing instability is a huge one. We also have another 70 students who were placed in foster care. housing might be stable now, but the trauma that caused them to be removed from their house, original housing is not gone from their lives. So that would be an additional break for them in there. After that, we can go you can put the motel in there since I touched on that. As I said, we have 12 traditional hotel hotels in Colonial and then the Hope Center, which was taken over by the county during CO within our feeder pattern. You can see
053students coming to school with are experiencing a little bit more discomfort than others on the school bus or in the van. Transportation will be our next one as I hit on the van. Many of our students are displaced ride on a private van service to and from school. Uh currently we have Mr. Wolf here in there is one student at or two students coming from Seafford every day and going home every evening to Seafford on a van service. So that's an hour and a half ride And that's for different reasons why they're still with us and transporting them. Crime is one in our motel, specifically down the Route 9 corridor that we've experienced a lot of concerns with over the years. Um, not necessarily our students committing crime or doing anything, but not being able
054to go out, play after school, having to stay in their motel room, and not having that time to socialize like other students that they're going to and from school with each and every day. So that adds another brick to their backpack. Let's go with food. Food insecurities run rampid in our state, country, and in our district. This is something that's not as um called for. We're not asked for that as much because there are resources available. The issue is the healthiness of the food that's available to our families who are struggling because a lot of times they don't have the refrigerator. They don't have a means to cook. So they're getting prepackaged meals that are all sorts of things that are not good for. So that's one more brick added to the backpack that he
055is unfortunately carrying. And the last one being the health brick. As I just touched on, students living in some of these motel double up not living in what many of us would consider standard living accommodations impacts their health and wellbeing. And that goes from breathing in mold within the motel, animal droppings, uh, and then mix that with some unhealthy eating habits. And those students are coming with a a very weighted book bag, as you can see, to and from school. So that's what a lot of our students day in and day out are dealing with, just getting to and from school, not even dealing with the academics of the AP testing and things like that. Thanks, Ed. Uh, before we go on to the next Can you just comment briefly on what that feels like?
056To be very honest, um it was an emotional toll that was going through as you're adding it when you feel a physical pulling down with that and it it symbol here as you're doing it was actually very emotional to considering everything. So it means a lot more. Thank you. Thank you, Chris. I'll add that when we were practicing this in my office, we actually had the same experience. Um, okay. Um, as the board knows, several years ago, we did um officially adopt a wellness policy back 2017. So, I'm ready for the next slide. Uh, the wellness policy that we have in Colonial is based on this idea of the whole school, whole child, whole community model. And it's got all these different components. And, uh, in future meetings, we're going to be revisiting this, talking
057about some components of the wellness model. But, we rec that there's a community involvement, health education, all of these things are involved in supporting our students. And one of the things that is exemplified by the presentation this evening is that our division health and wellness essentially works with every single division in the district and the presentation over you. You want to take a look in the packet that describes that. Okay. At this point, I'm going to turn the presentation colleague Dr. Jennifer Alexander to talk about one specific component of wellness plan that has to do with employee wellness Dr. Alexander. Thank you Dr. Cooper and good evening everyone. Um I'm excited to be here to talk to you a little bit about employee wellness um and specifically um related to our district wellness plan. And
058so I would say last May um we closed out mental health awareness month by inviting our employees to participate and complete a wellness and mental health survey. Um, this survey was created in response to u school leaders recognizing um that many of their staff members were taking leaves of absence. they were not coming to work and also understanding um wanting to learn about some of the challenges that staff were facing regarding their wellness and mental health. And so from the survey, a work group was created um and there was representation from our elementary, middle, and high. We actually have some of our work group members here this evening, Jennifer Goldsboro and Greg Napoleon. We also have our human um resources lead specialist who is part of our work group along with Dr. Cooper and myself
059and we were charged with digging into the survey data and from that the concept of employee wellness champions was born. And so what is a wellness champion? Um a wellness champion is an employee who is passionate about promoting wellness in the workplace. And wellness describes a lifestyle which is primarily supported through healthy eating habits, physical activity and quality sleep. And all of these lead to positive health outcomes. Um and wellness is just one important element of the overall well-being um that's important and so we decided to use that framework to help us launch our employee wellness champions. So we are going to get you involved test your knowledge here. So in front of you, you should all have a folder. And if you open up your folder, you will see, I believe it's on the
060right hand side, um, you have statements. You will also notice on the side the other side of the room, we have the different elements of well-being listed. For example, we have purpose well-being, social well-being, financial well-being, physical well-being, and community well-being. And so, what I'm going to ask you to do is take those statements out of your folder. You're going to read them, and then when I invite you to do so, you are going to place them under the element that you believe it most closely represents. And so, I'm going to do the first one with you. Um, this one says, "Liking where you live." And so when I look at this and I think about my family, I think about my home, I think about liking where I live, it would fall under community.
061So I'm going to place this under the community element. So at this time, I invite all of you to grab your statements and we're going to move over. I'm going to ask my colleagues um Jennifer and Greg. They're going to help you out and you are going to place your statements under the well-being that it most closely associates with. We have two Where did you All right. So each of them should have three. So we have four some place or we have one in the middle. So what engaging. All right. So, let's check our work. So, per under purpose well-being, we have finding meaningful work. How you occupy your time and it should be engaging in activities that bring you joy. So that's under purpose. Under social well-being, we have having loving relationships, having strong
062relationships, and a sense of belonging. Financial well-being. Um, effectively managing your economic life to reduce stress, increase security, and making the most of the money of your money from day to day. physical well-being. Yes, having good health, having enough energy to get things done, getting adequate sleep, and community well-being is liking where you live, feeling safe, and having pride in your community. So congratulations.