001[Music] great we are ready welcome everybody to the district service center and to this month's um listening session for the duth Board of Education I'm going to turn it over to our um I just forgot no clerk Mikel to do roll call uh member banks here member Durk eer present member Lear Kemp here member lall here I am here member sidowski here member Williams is excused superintendent megus here assistant superintendent bonds Deputy clerk zunich here executive director of HR and operation Severance present secretary Patty pet here and roll call is done thank you clerk mik Cel moving on we'll um member loal please read our 11 11 tools of Civility I'll also start with our schools Mission our District's mission statement every student every day will be empowered with learning opportunities for growth creativity and
002curiosity in preparation for their future in a global Community our vision is that duth public schools provides an academically engaging safe and inclusive environment with high expectations and responsible use of resources our core values are learning Excellence Equity collaboration and belonging we also adopt the 11 tools of Civility which has been a project in a process in duth for many many years this school board recognizes 11 tools of Civility that will provide increased opportunities for civil discourse in order to find positive resolutions to the issues that face our community these tools include pay attention listen be inclusive don't gossip show respect be agreeable apologize give constructive criticism take responsibility be honest and care for others and show your evidence share your reasoning those are our tools of Civility welcome everyone thank you and clerk micel
003can you give us our information for the listening session yeah thank you everyone for being here tonight uh if you have handouts for the board please give them to our Schoolboard secretary pette uh persons addressing the board will have 3 minutes total when speaking the use of negative personally identifiable language is not permitted persons addressing the board may not merge their time in order to allow one person to speak more than three minutes the clerk of the board will start start the stoplight timer at the start of each person's time green means go yellow means wrap up red means stop when the red light comes on the chair will gavel to single signal you to ends and in the interest of and of respect for every listening session speaker please hold any commentary during the
004speaker time until they're finished thank you thank you and before we begin today I just want to do a quick reminder about personally identifiable information even if it's positive or negative we would ask just instead of using in identifying individuals by name that you do by position please even if you're speaking positive positively about them so please again remember don't use names use positions and then I would also ask that waiting for Applause until everybody's finished to facilitate time um in between so thank you and we look forward to hearing from everybody tonight and we'll start out with Michelle Riley Michelle sorry to interrupt will you turn on your microphone so that we can hear you better it sounded on to me okay so thank you all for your time and effort supporting students and
005staff in our district we couldn't do it without you we know that the budget is very tight this year but there's some positions that are critical for everyday success for all of our students each and every day one of these positions is the dean of students students and staff in both of our high schools benefit from having these positions the budget cuts have eliminated the position at East for next school year our dean of students overseas and runs s SWS School within a school our largest accommodation for academic success for atrisk students meeting with both students and their parents setting goals for individual students and monitoring their attendance and behavior which are all needed for this program to Be an Effective intervention our dean of students meets with hundreds of students each semester about their
006attendance hosting restorative in-person one-on-one conversations about their attendance and creating attendance contracts as well as overseeing Saturday school and truancy Court regular attendance is one of the most important pieces to Student Success and for increasing graduation rates in high school and in life beyond our dean of students provides mental health support by providing a safe space for students needing guidance Beyond formal counseling all of the guidance C ERS at our school are female and with our de of students identifying as male some students feel more comfortable talking with somebody of the same gender identity our de of students Works closely with setting three staff helping to train and Coach fellow Educators and advocating for each and every student making sure they receive the proper support they need our dean of students continuously builds positive adult
007adolescent relationships with students through both academics and Athletics serving as an assistant coach and organizing and Staffing before and after school programs available for students which creates leadership opportunities for students who are not involved in other positions in the school our of students uses restorative discipline strategies to enforce District policies managing individual student behavior and conflict in a personal one-on-one manner every day in order for students to understand school expectations and realize how their behavior does not follow these it takes a lot of time effort and persistence I want to thank the board for bringing this position to our school a few years ago and for all of the gains our students have made from having it now I'm asking you to please keep this position and the forward momentum it has brought to our
008school for both students and staff every day thank you thank you next we call Alyssa manowski I'm sorry if I didn't pronounce that correctly good evening I apologize in advance but I'm uh I can't really tell my story without saying who it's about um my name is Alicia manowski and I'm a concerned Mom I'm here today to share my story about David Clark the current dean of students at East High School and could you just use dean of students would that be okay well this is about him I mean this is personal experience I'll I'll do my best thank you um I'm here to ask you to reconsider eliminating the dean of students position at East High School my son Wyatt was a 10th grader when the pandemic hit like so many students he had
009a tough time transitioning to online learning he was so behind by the time School resumed in person he was failing most of his classes and struggling with attendance he was drowning and I felt like a one woman Army trying to find some way to help my son achieve graduation I could not get the attention of a single person at the school I needed help to guide us on how to overcome the predicament my son got himself into Along Came the dean of students he first of all noticed my son Wyatt was floundering he approached him at school respectfully he reached out to me he guided us all to get the tool tools that we needed to get Wyatt back on track I'm very happy to say that Wyatt finished his senior year through ALC and
010was able to graduate with his class my son would have entirely fallen through the cracks without Mr Clark I also have a son Evan who's currently a freshman at East and a member of the football team the dean of students is their assistant head football coach I've watched him train and Inspire Evan and the entire football team and make a personal investment in their success on and off the fields he shows up daily in the waight room and these helps these boys year round his investment goes far beyond what we see in this world when evans's grade started slipping this winter I reached out to the dean of students who told me he was on top of it and that we're all here to support your boy Mr Clark is committed to helping our students
011grow into good humans and succeed as students this is rare and precious you need him to have your back in the backs of our kids for the future of duth East and the good of our whole Community I humbly ask you to reconsider your decision to remove the dean of students position at the school thank you for your kind consideration thank you for your words next we have Brian Youngman um afternoon evening my name is Brian Youngman and I am a parent teacher and Community member of duth public schools and I am here to advocate for our media Specialists libraries are integral to school functioning and culture media centers provide a quiet space for students to do homework study and gain knowledge Additionally the mere existence of a functional library is an invaluable building wide
012behavior management to tool without a media specialist in the room to help create and conduct this culture the media center becomes simply a holding area and nothing more we saw this happen during the pandemic when we got rid of our media Specialists then furthermore maintaining a healthy school library sad that we have to say this will save the district money in the long term a Library without someone monitoring checking out and preserving books and cl class textbooks will result in missing and damaged books that the district will have to replace at a later date finally and most importantly our school libraries build and create a culture of literacy within each building reading is as much cultural as it is a skill in a state with 50% of our students reading at grade level I would
013think that we would want to promote literacy so I ask what message are we sending to our students about the importance of reading when we won't even fund a library in a school a large part of my job is to build demand to build a demand for reading libraries create both the supply and the demand for literacy people don't read because we have created a culture where there is no reason to read we don't talk about what we are reading we don't read around our children and now we are discussing limiting students access to literacy I am reminded of the adage the person who doesn't read books has no advantage over the one who cannot read them thank you next we have shanai Bush good evening everyone my name is Shania Bush and I'm a
014science teacher at Deluth East High School I want to discuss some of the decisions that have been made in terms of budget cuts I understand that budget cuts are required due to our large deficit and decisions have to be made but I also want to bring to your attention that one of the roles that was cut the dean of students is very important to our students and our staff our Dean plays an important role with our community at East I started teaching in the district and at East 7even years ago and I've seen our school before we had our Dean so I've personally seen the impact that he has on our school Community I could talk about everything I've seen him change but I just want to touch on a few throughout his time at
015East as our Dean he has worked hard to decrease the behaviors and create relationships with kids and staff over the past few years he's had many students with behaviors and also started rebuilding our school's culture he works in many different areas of our building sometimes he'll be out of his office helping our special education teams and other times he's talking with students about their attendance behaviors or working with our s SWS teachers I have seen him talk to students about their behaviors and then the next day that kid will greet him in the hallway or spend time in his office just chitchatting with him along with many of the different tasks throughout the day our Dean is working hard to create a school Dynamic that revolves around lifting each other up and supporting one another
016which is in short supply we've seen low attendance at sporting events dances and other school related activities and it's just getting lower so when students have found out that our Dean was being displaced they were extremely upset I've had a number of students that have shed tears and asked why what they could do to have their voices heard our students have connected with him in ways that they have not with other other members of administration and that's to no fault of the other staff but our students and staff are crying for you to hear us to listen to the words that we have been saying and genuinely take reflect on our decisions or your decisions I apologize we understand that cuts have to be made but please take into consideration that our staff and our
017students and our community would like you to keep our DM students thank you Thank you Lisa Breeland welcome hi um is it okay if I say dos just to be shorter okay um my name is Lisa I'm a junior at East High School and captain of the doth East girls soccer team to be honest I've never really enjoyed School the environment's really overwhelming and anxiety inducing I know students struggle with the pressure stress and expectations that come with being in high school for most of my time at East I felt like I had no adults in the school that I could truly trust or talk to it always seemed like there was a barrier between students and administration making it difficult to open up and ask for help that changed when I met our dos
018from the moment I met him I could tell he was very different he is welcoming kind and genuinely cares about the students at duth East he takes the time to listen and you never feel like just another name on a roster with him he makes you feel seen valued and supported talking to Administration has always been one of my biggest fears they are intimidating and at times it feels like they care more about enforcing the rules than the students as people our Doos has never made me feel that way even when I've made mistakes he's never treated me like a failure or a bad person instead he focuses on how to move forward and learn from the experience rdos has been a mentor to so many students and his impact is remarkable considering he hasn't
019been at East that long since he became one of my mentors I've noticed real changes in myself my grades have improved improved my attendance has significantly gotten better and I've started pushing myself harder in soccer I feel more motivated to be the best version of myself and a huge part of that is because of our D our do it is rare for students to have a strong trusting relationship with administrator but our Doos has shown that it should not have to be rare he is proof that when students have someone to turn to someone who listens and genuinely cares they can Thrive East needs that kind of support and our do is the person who gives it to us hi my my name is Elizabeth Ramsey and I'm a senior at East I moved here
020my freshman year after spend ladies we can't merge time together I'm sorry I don't think that are you listed today are you speaking today no we just like we're told that we could do it together but like split the time in half you know what this time I'm going to let it but in the future we're not so sorry thank you continue okay I'll start over hi my name is Elizabeth Ramsey and I'm a senior at East I moved here my freshman year after spending most of my childhood in another state adjusting to a new school full of unfamiliar faces was difficult especially while navigating my parents divorce I struggled to find comfort in my new environment and after losing my counselor Dave Bergen due to displacement I felt even more lost he had been
021one of the few people who truly understood what I was going through and helped me find my footing that's when I was introduced to our dos Mr Bergen connected me with him to work on my 504 and from the very start our dos made me feel safe he shared his own EXP experiences with similar struggles and provided me with strategies to overcome challenges both in school and in life for the first time I felt like someone genuinely understood me and that made all the difference he motivated me to push myself always encouraging me to be the best version of myself and stay focused on my future but our dos is so much more than just a coach or the Dina students he is a huge part of our school he has built meaningful relationships with
022students ensuring that everyone he interacts with feels heard valued and supported his door is always open no matter how busy he is even on days when he's hard to track down he never forget forgets to check in when he has time losing our dos wouldn't just be losing a staff member it would mean students losing someone who truly cares someone who makes School feel like a place where they belong he has had an undeniable impact on the athletes he coaches the students he mentors and the culture of East as a whole his positivity is infectious you'll never see him without a smile hi good evening I'm Sharon brist and I'm a member of the duth women of today the sponsoring organization behind the Memorial Day Parade as most of you know the reason for Memorial
023Day is to remember those who fought and died in service of this country a veteran friend of mine once said in the morning the flags are at half mask and we mourn those who went before us at noon the flags are raised and we celebrate their lives the Memorial Day Parade has been occurring every year in duth since 1871 so May 26 2025 will Mark 154 years of this parade the only time there was no parade was 2020 and we know the reason was covid so why am I addressing you well as you have guested I have begun the process of getting schools organizations and businesses to sign up to be in the parade and naturally some of the first to be contacted the high school bands Denfeld and East their response and participation has
024been great in the past however this year I'm told they cannot participate I was told that this year the Memorial Day holiday is a 4-day holiday in isd709 and that Tuesday is a non-student activity day I also was told that the district has a policy of schools being closed on holidays Memorial Day being one of those days that is where I think you come in two people one a teacher one a member of this board said that it is the band director's decision and the students should not be expected to be in the parade I can understand that but my response to that question is what if this was a Fourth of July parade or better question what if this was Spirit Valley days or the Christmas City the north parade now you know they're
025all going to be in that that parade and I think they should be but that one's televised this isn't I am looking for people to give up about four hours of their day on a Monday it was mentioned that the there are some budget cuts and that could this parade could result in overtime for the band directors and custodians but what if it was sports team that needed to practice before a tournament the next day would they be allowed in the facility I think they would in closing while I understand that being in the parade is an interruption in the holiday weekend for students families and staff I'm sure that our men who marched into battle and gave their lives in service of their country did Not For a Moment think it was an inconvenience
026so in any if there is any way that this board can help to make make sure that this doesn't happen again next year that the schools can be opened on Memorial Day so BS can get their uniforms and their instruments I'd appreciate your help thank you thank you next we have sier Sierra Keenan hi good evening uh my name is Sierra Keenan I'm a parent of three children enrolled in the NOA Vision Spanish Immersion program at L Elementry and our family will be transitioning to Myers Wilkins next year with the program expansion um in January I came and commented to the school board listening session and I asked the board to prioritize resources to support the Spanish Immersion program teachers and Community to make the program expansion successful and maximized collaborative teamwork across the schools
027and at that time I asked the board to ensure that resources and funding at Myers Wilkins will not be negatively impacted by the integration of the Spanish Merion program and requested the board promote programs focused on building empathy and respect in order to foster a positive and cohesive School environment for all so I'm here tonight to ask that the school board share an update with the NOA Vision Spanish imersion program staff and families on how the district is continuing to address the questions and concerns that were raised at the January 13th community meeting at L and how the district is supporting the expansion into Myers Wilkins to set the program up for success on January 13th when members of the uh School Board came to L to meet with families the district identified next steps
028that the district would take to support the transition planning the steps identified by the district included District staff providing ongoing support in the transition process in coordination with human resources facilities Transportation Food Services and the teaching learning equity and Equity department and the timeline for these next steps was identified as mid January to June as we're now approaching a April I feel the district owes us an update on what steps have been taken and will be taken to continue to support this transition um I'm specifically curious about the Spanish emerging program director's position and if it will be expanded to cover her time to be dedicated to the program in two locations and I'm curious about the logistics and support for the teachers transitioning over to the Myers wilin School who will be assisting with
029packing up physically moving material setting up new classrooms um as we approach the summer I think these are questions we need answers for I'm curious of all resources such as Spanish books available in the library and English literacy support for the emerging students will be available starting at day one in Myers Wilkins so my request is that the district hold another meeting either at LOL or Myers Wilkins in April to provide updates to the community and take questions from family and staff as we continue this transition process thank you for your consideration and your time thank you next we have Norman Nelson hey welcome hey my name is Norman Nelson I'm a junior at East High School I'm here to speak on behalf of our dean of students position a little background on the dean
030of students in our class in football is when he got year uh we were just driving at East as freshman and the next year as we progressed to the JV team so did he and this last fall as much of our class was moved up to the varsity level he was also helped to brought up to help coach The Varsity level now for me personally at our school I don't see any bigger Mentor figure than ouro students um I think on a weekly basis he helps me with many things whether it be from clearing the kids vaping out of the bathroom so I can use it for its intended purpose to just providing a place to talk and focus on navigating the chaos that is high school but I think his impact extends much Beyond
031just me or the football team after uh school every day he holds um a lifting program called Hound power now Hound power is um intended for Just Sports like Just Sports but he's open to anyone who wants to lift with open arms even if they do not intend on playing a sport but I think his impact extends even beyond that I have many friends who play no Sports at all but still see him on a regular basis for help with pretty much anything around the school I think ardina students truly cares about the student population at East and a lot of kids are going to lose a real strong role model figure if he has moved elsewhere thank you thank you next we have Anthony Carlson welcome Anthony good evening members of the board I'm
032Anthony Carlson I'm here tonight to speak on behalf of my coach and dean of students Mr David Clark concerning his employment and the overall preservation of the position the dean of students I will Begin by highlighting the importance of the dean of students as a position in the school as it is my understanding that it is going to be either condensed or removed completely in the district in my opinion the dean of students acts as somewhat of a father figure of the school at fuel dealing with matters such as attendance student behavior and student safety in any case these are vital elements in a successful school which require a dedicated genuine and passionate person to keep them in check these are all traits that Mr Clark possesses and expresses in his work I do understand
033that the district needs to cut non-essential spending in order to meet the budget but I do not understand how this position could be thought of as such even if it must be that a different position is combined with the dean of students the position is an absolute must and Mr Clark is the best person for the job as he is a vital asset to our community and culture at East Mr Clark's exceptional character and dedication to his role as the dean of students has made him a beloved role model and Mentor in our school his open door and listening ear are just a few of the many opportunities that he has given to students outside of his role as the dean besides being the dean Mr Clark promotes physical and mental Wellness through our football
034team as well as our hound power program which is utilized by not just not just by athletes but by many students who Mr Clark has encouraged to take part and better themselves through physical fitness Mr Clark is not only good at what he does can you just say Dean the students for me please of course thank you he excels he excels by helping students with mental behavioral and or substance abuse issues to change their course referring them towards physical fitness through our how power program he excels by coaching and mentoring the football team where he is the assistant head coach and most importantly he excels by making students feel welcome included and safe at school in short the dean of students position and Mr Clark specifically sorry our Vital assets to the students and community
035at duth East thank you thank you for trying Anthony we appreciate it you did great by the way um now we have Danny westol good evening I come to you as a parent a teacher Community member and a product of isd709 I'm here to urge you to reconsider the budget decision regarding the media specialist position a media specialist is not just a librarian they are a licensed educator researcher an essential resource for both students and teachers replacing a full-time media specialist with a part-time media specialist and a part-time pared professional is not an equal substitute at East the media center plays a crucial role in academic success English teachers rely on it for research projects novel checkouts citation instruction and career research our media specialist is invaluable in assisting students with research cating diverse reading
036materials and fostering a love for books she teaches students how to evaluate sources navigate databases and think critically and is essential skill in today's digital world she has gone a Beyond expectations creating MLA 9 resources providing oneon-one research support designing creative displays that hook kids into the library and facilitating book clubs for which we had over a 100 Kids participate this winter the media center is more than a library it's a hub for equ Equitable academic access it is the only place where students can print assignments it provides structure environment for 504 testing small group work and peer collaboration when students need materials beyond our school's collection our media specialist ensures that they have access to district and online resources we surveyed The English Department and found that this semester alone teachers plan to utilize
037the media center for career research historical literary studies and media literacy instruction directed by our media specialist without a full-time media specialist these opportunities will diminish a pair profession professional cannot provide the same expertise in guiding students through research evaluating digital resources or fostering literacy engagement a part-time presence cannot match the consistency and accessibility that our students need on a personal note I've taught English in is79 for 21 years literacy is a district priority for a good reason because students don't read anymore they rely on their phones they struggle to discern credible information since our media Specialists are arrived after having a part-time media specialist she has connected students with books that they genuinely enjoy and for the first time in many years I see kids reading for enjoyment and they're actually happy about it
038and they like to talk about it with me finding the right book can change a students entire relationship with reading underfunding this position is a disservice to our students and to our teachers a media specialist is not an optional role they are a catalyst for Student Success I urge you to restore this position to a full-time position our students deserve daily access to professional who can guide Inspire and equip them with the skills needed for the modern world thank you for your time and consideration thank you and um after this is all complete could Jordan Johnson please come up and see me quick there's just a technical thing we just need to fix for your presentation um that would be great thank you lastly we have Sonia Hinson hi it's uh I'm Sonia Hawkinson um
039I'm a teacher at East High School I teach PL science forry fish and wildlife and um thank you for being here and thank you for your time and I'm here to talk about um the potential loss of our dean of students um if I remember correctly I started the same year as our Dino students and I'm fortunate enough that my classroom is just down the hall from his and my first year at East I'm pretty sure I was down there um at least every other day and he made my job um so much more doable um I teach an elective and so I have a lot of special education students in my classes they're uh 50% are more special education so I do have students with behavior issues in my classes often and so the
040Dina students and I are we're very close um as you've heard from other people the dean of students has become a huge mentor and an important part of our school at East I can't imagine the school um without him he with uh Saturday's school and attendance contracts being the assistant football coach he's improving outcomes for for all students and especially for students at East who would normally fall through the CRA the cracks um with my personal experience is working with the dean of students um and students in my class he really truly will not give up on any student not just students that he knows and has relationships with truly any student um as other folks have mentioned we have an amazing mtss coordinator integration Specialists and counselors at East um and I can't believe
041that I'm saying this um but they're all women and we need a male uh we need a male to be able to relate to students that may not feel comfortable coming to a woman um so I really urge you to reconsider your decision to displace our dean of students um it'll be a huge harm to East and to our community so thank you for your thank you and that concludes our listening session we appreciate everybody oh [Music] you guys agree I'm very oh no that's okay that's fine that's I my myself and I forgot to start like there's no I don't know time I like e e e Jordan are you okay if it's just me oh yeah okay oh sah school board if you could return so we could um let Jordan redo his
042please please Anthony can you see if John is out there and just tell him to come back quick he's on the camera he's in the media oh he's interviewing never mind we're good all right we'll just make sure Amber gets back and then we're going to get her done okay that's okay good are you okay with that Jordan good good um she just stepped out for a second yeah should I just so Jordan how's it going much more relaxed this time around no it's everything is paused right now I mean the they can hear this no this will be at the end of the meeting yeah member Sadowski has returned so once she settled oh member banks I know you are e e all right so we're going to go ahead and are we ready
043perfect okay go ahead Mr Jordan okay and just real quick for our audience um while Mr Jordan was doing his earlier Community comment to us we had the system cut out so we're doing this again so we have it recorded for our public go ahead thank you Mr Jordan great uh good evening members of the school board uh my name is Jordan Johnson and I'm a resident of downtown duth I'm here before you this evening to address implement ing the black studies curriculum as part of the district's courses which would meet graduation requirements educational aspiration and youth wisdom arise with adequate representation and academic coursework related to their lived experiences advancing their knowledge about truthful histories engaging them as critical and self-reflective thinkers as you know duth is a predominantly white Community our black families
044have been here for generations and our bat population continues to increase in 2022 the graduation rate for our black students was at 41% which is half the graduation rate of our white students if we are a district that claims to support the success of all our Learners and provide positive School cultures I'm requesting you to implement a black studies prek through2 curriculum within our school district like New York City public school did this and are still teaching it today given the current National Climate and decisions being made within our federal Administration here is the Cur guide which was created through Partnerships with city council foundations a research center and more this is only 31 pages of a 522 page document if our required courses for social studies include Civics and Global Society United States history
045American government and politics economics we can include black US History 16007 to the present Warrior Queen States women and queen mothers reparations 1 two and three the black vote and current in voter legislation and E and economics black economic empowerment having an elective course on africanamerican literature diverse perspective literature ethnic studies does not adequately provide the historical context economic framework and richness of black African Heritage lived experiences I recognize the new ethnic studies course being offered as an elective per the current law in this our state however there is current legislation house file 29 that has been introduced uced by representative Kesha to repeal ethnic studies requirements canceling ethnic studies Appropriations and amending a minister statute and this is just one of bills being introduced in our state as elected officials our students teachers staff
046and Community need you to stand up and be clear that you support our students of color I want to highlight this statement from the black studies curriculum guide that says quote through an examination of the intersection of race culture identity and power this culum seeks also to Foster critical thinking informed dialogue and an appreciation for the complexity of our shared Humanity in ways that Advance educational transformation and social change I appreciate your time and listening this evening and requesting you to implement a black studies curriculum in our school district and please hear this request thank you so much e e