CMS Board of Education Meeting- July 13, 2021- 6pm

001[Music] e when you go to conect good evening I now call the July 13th 2021 meeting of the Charlotte meinberg Board of Education to order and I just want to say how how good it is to be back with a whole bunch of people in the chambers again um to be in person with the public so thank you all for being here [Applause] tonight all right I will now entertain a motion to adopt the agenda so moved second uh all those in favor of the motion please raise your hands any opposed okay okay Madame clerk the agenda is adopted by a vote of 8 to zero I'm now going to call on board member Rhonda Chek to introduce tonight's pledge leader fabulous we are really pleased tonight to have Alejandro Morena Castillo with us to

002lead the Pledge of Allegiance Alejandro is a native of Charlotte whose parents came here from Mexico he attended Huntersville elementary and is now a rising eighth grader at Bailey Middle School in Cornelius and this means a lot to me because my own children went to Huntersville and Cornelius Alejandro is very considerate of his peers and his teachers he likes to spend time with family play soccer or football and practice acting next year he will be in the honors drama class at Bailey which is an awesome class despite some academic obstacles during the pandemic alandro is dedicated to his education and advocates for himself and for his peers tonight he's accompanied by his mom josha josha and and his dad Alejandro along with his Learning Zone superintendent aquanetta Edmonds and Bailey U Middle School assistant principal

003Margaret brigh I'm going to turn it over to you Alejandra for the Pledge of Allegiance please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance I pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which we stand one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all you may be first I would like to start off by saying thank you for having me at tonight's board meeting my name is Alejandro Marino Castillo a rising eighth grader I have been going to Camp CMS at Bradley Middle School in Huntersville North Carolina to me Camp has been fun I have enjoyed the daily math Ela and science lessons we are reading the novel patient Zer in ela which explores the medical social and cultural responses to an epidemic we have had

004lots of good class discussions on this topic every Thursday we've been able to spend part of our mornings outside in competitive games as a reward for working hard throughout the week I have learned how to weave a basket and exercise in fun ways thanks to Camp CMS enrichment classes all of my teachers have kept things fun and engaging um I look forward to going each day to see my friends we have built a great Community here between the Bailey Bradley and Ranson students based on respect and I am grateful for this [Applause] opportunity good job thank you okay we're now going to move to requests from the public and our first request from the public in well over a year um so so the rules are as follows each speaker will have a maximum of

0052 minutes to address the board groups will have seven minutes each speaker will speak on any topic of their choice except for individual student matters or specific Personnel matters personal attacks will not be allowed profanity or other inappropriate language will not be allowed the board reserves the right to cut off any speaker who violates these rules um we don't have to worry about you're on mute anymore um we do have two um stands two podiums to come down to if you want to divide yourselves um and I now call the following individuals to come down front to the microphones and I will ask you to call in the order um to speak in the order in which you are called so first up we will have Brook whis and Brian whis and then after um

006you guys will have Melanie Holland and Mike Holland and Luke Holland oh okay all right so it looks like we're starting with the Hollands go right ahead Holland thank you I recently shared my thoughts with some North Carolina teachers around critical race Theory and even after learning of the deplorable abusive conditions I grew up in the extreme poverty lack of medical and dental care homelessness and my horrible education among other things they still manage to make it about my color you're a racist white supremacist you and your white privilege don't have to comment you don't get to comment are we supposed to believe that these same teachers won't be having the same type of racist dialogue with students in their classroom and can be really trusted to guide student conversations these teachers didn't care about

007any part of my story not even how I managed to take a severely disadvantaged background and made something of it which to me would be what I'd want to hear as it relates to how I can help my students I served in the Air Force then formed a nonprofit for atrisk youth then became a chaplain of a gang populated Youth Detention Center which is where I gained tons of insight but none of that mattered What mattered was the color of my skin and the opinion they didn't agree with working as a Chaplain and gang mediator taught us a couple of important things we knew that based on color and gender we were an unlikely pair but found that by sharing our Collective experiences we had a lot in common the sad fact is that if

008this had been in 2021 we wouldn't have gotten the chance to really know one another as people versus our color we learned that no matter where we've come from with the right attitude and taking personal accountability we can do and be anything see ourt CRT takes away our commonality and divides CRT is racism you can feel good about it's not about teaching true history and inclusive teaching as some would argue it's the opposite look at the curriculum after all CRT is theory that ignores fact stats logic we are teaching victimhood which is a total ins insult to the black community and teaching our white students that they are inherently evil oppressors both are being taught that it's a crime one way or the other to be born a certain color this wasn't okay decades ago

009and it's not okay now thank you very much and I'm going to be strict on the two minutes with everybody and if we could hold [Applause] thank you all we need to hold the Applause we've got 80 89 speakers I believe tonight so we'll just keep our decorum um and and after you Mr Holland I just want to call down the next few speakers so we can be efficient Sarah huitt then um Madison Cox and then Sarah Holland um so Mike Holland if you could go ahead thank you I'll begin by saying that an opposition to CRT is not a denial of the existence of racism because it can exist in the hearts of anyone regardless of skin color but the idea of promoting anything associated with racial division gender identity sexual preference political affiliation

010or social status has absolutely no place in schools to say that this program is meant to unify and awaken those who are blind to the systems that are inherently and purposely racist is just a lie without any facts or data to back it and rather than create programs to bring kids of all Races together to resolve conflicts appropriately to participate in programs together what you're wanting to do negates everything that the Civil Rights Movement works so hard to do with CRT and other woke ideology you're wanting to move back to an Era where we isolate and categorize students based on color sexuality pronouns political and religious affiliation CRT teaches that if even indirectly whiteness is inherently evil and being black means you're born a victim which is simply not true it teaches that nothing can

011be done because of being born black or white so you engineer systems to move the agenda forward that favors certain races that's racism plain and clear then what's just as horrible as being a Christ Christian straight Republican are having any different opinion other than what's being pushed by our current Administration and the school board automatically makes you racist homophobic transphobic or irredeemably evil since the district paid Mr KY $25,000 to train leadership of in this Theory I decided to read his book and to quote his his solution the only way to fight against past discrimination is to have present and future discrimination and that fact the fact that is supported by CMS is outrageous and racist anyone that thinks discrimination of any kind is the path we should be taking for our schools and this

012country clearly has no regard for any other race other than their own isn't that also racism students should be learning how to think critically Advance themselves in their studies in order to graduate learn to associate with people of all Races genders cultures and classes without discrimination but that doesn't seem to to be what's important right now with this school district referencing the survey that you have sent or will send out who in their right mind would think that any school at any level has the authority to identify for the student what their level of racism is who their preference of race should be thank you he [Applause] Luke go ahead just give me one moment sorry okay in my years of school I was never the type of person to choose friends simply based on

013what they look like I was bullied a lot for being shorter I like to be alone and do my own thing and I never really had an easy time socializing with kids through most of my elementary and middle school years after my nth grade year I was schol district rezoned and I was moved from a mostly white high school to a mostly Black and Hispanic High School my parents were actually really excited because I always thrived better in a more diverse environment there was much more acceptance and and much less judgment and my friends and I always got along not always because and we sorry and my friends and I got along in the I'm sorry I lost my place uh my friends and I did not make it I'm so sorry and the friends

014I made along the way were always a mix of different races me and my friends always got along because of who we were how we treated each other and our similar similar interests not because we look the same I spent four years of my high school year in a jotc program where we were taught the principles of unity and teamwork and all that we did inside and outside of school because of the environment that the jotc instructors cre created this group of guys and girls in all backgrounds became somewhat of a family the school board is trying to now break us into categories that put a spotlight and just and to show how different we are it is trying to isolate and divide US based on what we look like and how we agree and

015disagree on things why is this such an important policy to our school district why is the school district working to promote programs isn't why isn't the school district working to promote programs of unity teamwork self-respect and respect for others rather than working so hard to break us into groups based on color and sexual preference then praise some and shame others for the category that they fall into I believe that doing this will cause more problems throughout the school district and cause more racism than it is right now thank you Mr Holland Sarah huitt we've got Sarah huitt then Madison Cox and then Sarah Holland good evening I am a mom of four kids ages 7 to 17 and a me ber County taxpayer what I find very sad is that we are in the state

016in this world and in this culture where free speech is under attack if you if what you want to say deviates from the standard narrative that is expressed in the world you will be under attack so I'm going to keep it very simple if as adults we can no longer speak freely about our own personal beliefs and public opinions how will our children ever have the courage to speak up and say something something different in class about their beliefs we are living in a very divided time and the current narratives we are talking about are further dividing everyone parents should have the choice whether to send their kids to school with a piece of cloth or paper on their face it should be up to the discretion of parents to decide if they think it

017is best for their child to wear a mask for 6 to8 hours a day no child should get in trouble or have detention at school because their mask Falls below their nose and on the topic of CRT you can call it anything you want but no child should be divided by the color of their skin in school or be taught that they are inherently oppress an oppressor or a victim of others because of the way they were born no child should be put in the position to be divided from their friends because of the color of their skin no child should feel like they are divided from their family members because of the color of their skin or any physical iCal attribute we are all extremely privileged to live in America which provides tremendous freedoms

018and opportunities some of which like freedom of speech are being limited everyone who was born in this country and those who have struggled and sacrificed everything to come here has all have the same Liberties others around the world would give everything to have we should be teaching this message of Hope to our next Generation so they can be unified with their peers not divided about whether they wear a face mask or whether their skin color is different than their you all right Madison Cox and Sarah Holland then Nicole Ria my name is Madison Cox I'm working on my master's degree in child psychology because of my passion to work with kids of all ages and backgrounds my heart has always been to cultivate a sense of confidence in students as they achieve whatever they put

019their minds to regardless of any circumstances what is Happ happening is an approach to focus on demonizing individuals and drawing lines in the sand for students to take sides on gone are the days of celebrating differences and truly and genuinely getting to know one another regardless of those differences the problem that I see with the push for CRT is that it is a theory that was create has been creating an environment where anyone who even questions this approach is swiftly attacked and thrown into a group of racists bigots privileged homophobes Kens and so many other derogatory terms and entire lives have been destroyed because of it and for our youth the results are devastating I've seen correspondence between our mom and North Carolina teachers as the attack and the attacks have been disgusting she has

020been called all the names I listed above and more all while remaining completely diplomatic and respectful in her questions and comments as we all should be especially teachers these are your teachers how in the world do we expect to promote open dialogues within the student body when we can't even trust the teachers to talk to a parent or adult who has a differing opinion opinion you've taken out the practice of promoting critical thinking which includes being objective in analysis and alternative viewpoints you're replacing history with a narrative that fits a political agenda this says only encourage bashing harassing bullying and intimidating those with differing viewpoints which is what has been happening on social media Pages such as exposing CMS racist that was created by CMS students this site taxs students and list which school they

021go to for the sole purpose of labeling them as racist homophobics trans phobics simply because they don't agree I would think that this would go against the CMS anti-bullying policy but although reported many times the site Still Remains up you Sarah Holland and then Sarah Holland then Nicole Ria then Vanessa Shelton Jones Miss Holland hello I wanted to talk about how sexist the dress code is in our schools a dress code that singles out that girls should not be a distraction I do believe we should have a dress code and keep clothes like booty shorts and tooth Toops out of the professional environment but culture body types and budgets can only make room for certain things leggings for example are pretty cheap and formed to most body types but our extra large shirts have to

022cover every square inch of our butts literally or we are coated that's a problem since not all body types are the same we have a male teacher reported for saying inappropriate things like some of you girls come to class dressing like you're in a strip club I'm glad I don't have a daughter and using the term stty when referring to a female student's outfit or others start the morning out by saying in front of the class these exact words let's see which girls are naked today while having other te teachers and the school counselor laugh about it this is a huge problem we had another teacher say in front of the class any girl who is wearing leggings stand up and turn around so we can see if you are in code then to say

023you and you go to the counselor this is humiliating it's sexist and clearly harassment that creates a hostile learning environment and this was done right before eog's boys are considering boys are constantly sagging their pants and shorts below their butts with their underwear hanging out but the quarter of an inch exposed butt crease is an in issue I've got a picture of what I was wearing in this particular day if you'd like to see my parents spoke with the Middle School principal about these issues and she was immediately defensive of our teachers not the students that were humiliated the zoom call was recorded so you can get a copy to see for yourself finally the dress code doesn't allow for cultural or E ethnic expectations Stags for example that can protect an African-American student's hair

024or hairstyle are against the dress code you allow for religious coverings but not functional what's the problem of banning something that has a function I suggest that you have students and staff discuss the best course of action for the current and future dress code [Applause] policies Cole Ria and then Vanessa Shelton J Jones and then Jennifer Thompson Miss Ria hi I'm Nicole Ria and I stand for moms for Liberty and I'm here to talk about masks across social media news and discussed by families what's the big deal just wear the mask it's selfish not to it's only a minor inconvenience today I want to ask you one question what if they're wrong I mean they've been wrong before open your mind to just consider this what if the masks are indeed harmful there are numerous

025studies that have been done that show that this is the case so what if Mass are har our kids I know you've all heard this a group of moms had their kids masks analyzed any of you with kids know when they come home from school their masks are disgusting this is what they found on their mask tuberculosis menitis sepsis keratitis Amic and sephtis ecoli diptheria Legionnaire's Disease strep and several staff infections just one of these is scary enough the point is there is much more harm to these kids than Co the mass are a magnet for these diseases on June 30th the Journal of American Medical Association known as Jama published their findings that the younger children wearing masks are at a higher level of carbon dioxide levels you can imagine how dangerous high levels

026of carbon dioxide are in the bloodstream think about your kids from the time they get on the bus to the time they get off the bus face masks are an experimental tool with no proven ability to stop the spread of viruses they are only approved under the emergency use authorization this means they're not legally allowed to be m ated anywhere for any reason I brought this visual aid to show that the school mask mandates across the United States the dark blue States represent the only remaining states with school mandates note North Carolina is one of the last 10 40 40 states have lifted this Mass mandate or maybe not even had one at all it's time that we stand up for our kids there should be no mask mandates in this school and there should

027be no dependency for vaccinations that are experimental Shelton Jones M Shelton Jones then Jennifer Thompson then Lisa O'Brien and um can we start the timer when I call the next name because we just have so many folks to get through so I'm going to ask you to hold the Applause because if it if it goes over we want to make sure everybody's voice is heard um so just going forward I'm going to call the pretty quickly um all right Vanessa go ahead I'm Jennifer I'm sorry I'm Jennifer Vanessa I'm not Vanessa I'm Jennifer oh Jennifer okay so we didn't have okay thank you so Jennifer Miss Thompson go ahead we all agree that our district has a problem with achievement gaps but the idea that this is solely based on Collective racism and unconscious bias

028that needs to be disrupted in our schools is highly debatable I've looked through the social justice lessons for this upcoming Year's social emotional learning curriculum and I'm very concerned with what I see one politically skewed lesson celebrates the success of black Americans however all examples given are liberals cond Lisa Rice Dr Ben Carson and liutenant Governor Mark Robinson are fantastic examples yet didn't Merit a mention surely we want to show our students a variety of successful black Americans with a range of viewpoints another lesson discusses the validity of the black lives matter movement and states that quote some people believe that this is a movement based on the false Assumption of systemic racism systemic racism is currently being debated all over the country so clearly not everyone believes that racism is ingrained in our very

029being and core value of our country to teach about systemic racism as if it were a widely accepted fact is extremely biased how about a lesson defining privilege as the quote unearned power and advantage that benefit people just by virtue of being white teaching children that a person skin color automatically grants them uned privileges is biased and highly contested in addition you're calling our children to be activists which in itself is not bad however you're teaching them what to be activists for instead of allowing them to determine that what's even more concerning is that all of these lessons have the intent to make our children feel disgust towards our nation they focus on our problems they give no credit at all to the progress we have made in closing I don't see how this curriculum

030will close the achievement gaps or do anything other than teach Division and Hate CMS needs to check its privilege for teaching our children and leave the morals and values to parents all right our next three speakers are Lisa O'Brien and then Bill Fountain and then Beth Cola cerso so are you Miss O'Brien yes all right go right ahead okay Martin Luther King said that Darkness cannot drive out Darkness only light can do that hate cannot drive drive out hate only love can do that we need to be that light lifting up our children with love and unity in our schools but instead We are tearing them down by promoting hatred and division we are not opposed to teaching truthful history we are opposed to labeling people as oppressors and victims solely based on the color

031of their skin parents beware of terms like social justice diversity it inclusion those inherently good things are being used to disguise a biased political agenda and sadly even in some Christian schools for example here's a social social justice lesson entitled my identity and my bias that requires my son to examine his white privilege and male privilege and the very next slide talks about oppression this Matrix of Oppression was given to all CMS teachers which shows that if your skin is white you're automatically an oppressor that means the 2 million Union soldiers who fought in the Civil War and slavery were also oppressors how is that teaching accurate history instead instead of creating a safe space for healthy and respect ful debate our schools are becoming indoctrination camps and a breeding ground for hatred and division

032just look what it's doing to teachers and parents does this look like love and unity parents it's our job to teach our children about morality values and where their identity comes from stop this toxic curriculum and have the courage to put an end to it thank you all right next we have Bill Fountain then Beth kakero and then Megan oconnell hi I'm Bill Fountain based on my experience as a military officer business manager and 10 years teaching High School CMS is lacking two important often overlooked organizational principles and which is the cause of their problems the first principle is solidarity meaning that we are one human family whatever our race economic level ethnicity religion or sex we're all descendants of Adam and Eve pushing the latest social fad be it sexual disorientation racism or wealth

033Envy tells the students they are inferior yes victims of some injustice which in turn zaps their will and dignity leaving hatred dependency on those puppeteers pushing their victim status what coach wants a team of whiners no he or she wants people who will give their all work as a team CMS must stop all this so-called social justice issues focus on the basics Reading Writing and math in other words the communicating and reasoning skills the second principle is subsidiarity meaning decisions should be made at the lowest level this principle invites parents the first Educators to know their sons and daughters are being taught face it CMS is a big bureaucracy and needs a big dose of solid of sub subsidiarity I suggest you execute a four-year plan to radically dissolve the CMS Administration and flow responsibility

034down to the community level look if charter schools and private schools can do it why can't CMS we could reduce the CMS budget and eliminate a lot of highly paid or all right let's keep it quiet please so we can hear everyone's voice um all right Beth kakero then Megan oconnell and Bob Stans missio good evening I'm a CMS parent of a rising third grader and kindergartner I'm also physical therapist in the community with Advanced Training from the postural restoration Institute I assess for changes in posture driven by impaired breathing patterns and instruct individuals on breathing mechanics specific to adolescence I aim to improve spinal and cranial development and red reduce scoliosis risk I'm here today to share my Professional Knowledge on why prolonged mask use is detrimental toward our children's development mouth breathing is

035a consequence of prolonged mask use that prevents a forward position of the jaw this reduces our air way creates compensations along the spine and rib cage to be able to draw air into the lungs mouth breathing prevents air humidification which reduces the lung's ability to pick up oxygen in this book gasp two Dental Airway experts describe how mouth breathing leads to altered growth patterns sleep apnea and neurologic issues in adolescence specifically quote a poorly structured and functioning Airway can ultimately damage the prefrontal cortex which controls executive function skills intensiveness anxiet and depression a literature review published this April in the inter International Journal of Environmental Research and public health reports adverse side effects of mask use across 65 Publications including statistically significant reductions in blood oxygen saturation increase carbon dioxide blood levels and increase pulse

036rates I urge you the CMS Board of Education to value our children's health and development during this most vulnerable adolescent stage and please remove mask mandates and schools let's wake up follow this science and let our children breathe thank you okay Megan oconnell then Bob steans then Stacy Stacks Miss oconnell I am a parent in the CMS School District I have heard a number of varying definition attempts of critical race Theory the fact that there is not one way to define it demonstrates perfectly that it's confusing and controversial and not appropriate for our impressionable kids this might be a great conversation for an adult theory class but not for our young children I live on a street with Asian black white and Indian families with kids of all ages very rarely does a day go

037by that all kids are not flooding the streets hanging out they aren't focused on the color of each other's skin what they care about is the person their friend is based on the kindness they express they care about playing with each other and having fun teaching each other games and sharing toys I teach my children that the differ differences and diversity that we have create a strong Community but critical race theory is at best controversial it's also manipulative and divisive nobody can predict how these theories will be interpreted or resonate with each child the thought of someone else influencing my foreign five-year-old children on how they should feel about themselves and how they should view others based on the color of their skin discuss me it's a moral and it's shameful the hyperfocus on race

038is completely against what MLK stood for in the Civil Rights Movement if you stand to racialize everything then you stand against ml this whole Theory push is a regression of our society it should appall every one of us to the point that those in favor sorry hello that those in favor should be held accountable I'm here to make it clear that when you enforce these rules and push these policies it makes me question both your competence and motives it is time for us to speak up for our children the vocal minority cannot continue to dominate the [Applause] message Mr Ste then Stacy Stags and then Rebecca Ivanov hi I'm a CMS parent and um I noticed on the zoom call last time and also here I'm noticing that um in your classroom here over 75%

039of you are not wearing a mask so why are you asking our kids in their classroom to wear a mask give you something visual visual to think about if somebody had a cigarette in their mouth and they and they took an inhale and they put a mask on and then they exhaled you would see smoke coming out through that mask and all around their mask and if you were standing six feet away and you were wearing a mask you're going to smell that smoke so just realize the smoke particles are five times bigger than the co particles so if smoke can do that imagine what Co can do um through the mass Sweden uh has kept their kids uh basically unmas no lockdowns no deaths for their kids uh the ICU basically for kids and

040the and the teachers uh it's very rare anybody is there uh JMA uh Pediatrics did a study on carbon carbon dioxide content from wearing masks this is ages 6 through 17 carbon dioxide levels were six times higher than the unacceptable levels and that was only each kid was only tested for 9 minutes and you're keeping these kids masked for 4 and a half hours America's Frontline doctors concluded the mask wearing will not reduce covid spread and cloth masks have a 97% penetration rate Dr fouchy Who just recently had about 3,000 of his emails released to the public has actually said has actually said in his emails that mask and lockdowns do not work so it's amazing what he says in his emails versus what he's telling to the general public science does not support mask

041it's time to unmask our kids do what uh Roland and Stanley Counties have done here unmask our kids make it [Applause] volunteer all right Stags you are Stacy Stags I am Stacy Stags I am a CMS EC parent of twin girls who are rising second graders and thus have no virtual option this fall in the last school year we've watched exhausting series of votes about whether to reopen classrooms from October to May meinberg County has reported 8,95 school age covid cases but the CMS dashboard has only counted 1228 or 13% of the total in an undercount of nearly 7,000 children in our County none of you acted or question that disparity I've watched you drag teacher staff and students through he in two we increments while more than one of you questioned the dedication to

042their job I wasn't quiet then and I will not be quiet now last month amid the relative success of Camp CMS stories broke of rape of underage students at Myers Park High School deliberate indifference from the adults and even reports of retaliation against victims reports continue to come in over the summer and it doesn't appear that you're listening in 2019 to 20 school year there were 1,72 reported incidents of which 61% were determined to be violations of Title 9 protections under the law these numbers demand a response and now you've let the snakes in moms for racist nonsense I'm sorry uh M moms for moms against Liberty what are they called um I'm sorry you know who I'm talking about um they've seized on the disarray of this leadership they intend to drown all of

043our good work that's being done here with the desperate throws to maintain white supremacy they will fight let her please letter speak the fight for Dei initiatives was lost years ago I'm coming I'm calling on you to rebuke their Twisted extremism today before they enlist yet another board member into their AstroTurf campaign of misinformation thank you all right Rebecca Ivanov then Elaine John then Kevin a new topic yay Equity does not guarantee Equitable outcomes as stated recing by the board Equity does mean providing equal input resources opportunities to our children how do we devise effective strategies to narrow the education Gap exacerbated by the board and superintendent closing of CMS for 11 and a half months one a middle school mandate requiring a seven period schedule to include study Hall and tutoring access to every

044student during the school day the principes can choose to offer options like daily academic support AB days or approval for an additional elective for students who do not need it before and after school tutoring do not work it's not accessible to disadvantage students who lack Transportation build it into the school day make a guided help it costs us no money we need to be all in on this solution and as a side note I do not work for CMS but I'm an educator I teach study hall during the day to all my kids who need help at my personal school and my previous schools out of state and it works number two middle and high school teachers with the exception of a few specialized AP teachers should be given Equitable rosters by their principles the

045experienced veteran teachers must stop being given solely the honors and the accelerated kids while your New Years one to three teachers are given predominantly the group the population that struggle and need the most help Equitable looks like Equitable rosters to every teacher the same access and opportunity for our disadvantaged kids to highly academic content learning as the honor students three bring teaching assistance into every school help teachers with over 30 students of bearing billing and behavior issues finally get the support they need put to good use the extra funds just receed back from the city and give the principles the budget to hire the more staff pushin pull outs give them the support they need thank you thank you all right Elaine John then Kevin then molini Kumar when people in Charlotte think about Myers

046Park High School images of Stellar Athletics a phenomenal IB program and a community of more than 3600 diverse students come to mind what probably doesn't come to mind is rape and and that friends is by Design you see Myers Park High School has an image to uphold an image that cannot be tarnished by the reality that on October 21st 2014 a 15-year-old Myers Park student Joe row was sexually assaulted on campus unfortunately this wasn't an isolated incident but because the administration still values the school's image over safety of students the community has only recently been made aware of numerous other sexual assaults taking place over the last 7 years various authorities including the US Supreme Court have made clear that schools by and through their employees and agents must address peer perpetuated sexual harassment and

047violence it is obvious however that the current administration at Meers Park would rather side with abusers than follow through with the prescribed Title 9 protocols examples of these include discouraging Miss Ro from filing a formal complaint against her as salent by threatening re retaliation against her academic standing if he were not found responsible failing to report the attack to miss Rose's mother failing to properly investigate her as salent or otherwise take corrective action or safety measures against him failing to offer information to miss row about her rights and Options under Title Nine demonstrating a victim blaming attitude towards sexually abused female students as a parent of two current Myers Park students I request a full internal investigation by CMS into the MP Administration I demand clear title 9 policies mandatory reporting written records of all

048reports and training for all staff Personnel students and parents on how to report sexual violence and finally I believe CMS sexual education must expand to include a unit on sexual violence dat Miss John thank [Applause] youse thank you Mr and then then we've got molini Kumar and then Lori dienzo Carter good evening I'm a proud American history teacher in Charlotte meinberg Schools and I wanted to speak tonight about the importance of an engaging and rigorous history curriculum for our Scholars my mission as an educator is to empower the next generation of leaders and change makers to be critical thinkers with an understanding of their community at the local level the national level and their Global community and I believe that the current history curriculum gives me the power to empower my students I believe that

049all students deserve honesty and education rooted in facts and truth even if those facts are difficult and even if some of those truths about the history of North Carolina in the United States make us uncomfortable Educators trained professionals know how to best design age appropriate lessons for students and help them grapple with difficult facts while teaching them to be critical thinkers and lifelong Learners the American tapestry is filled with many contradictions failures and successes and to Blind our students to The Good the Bad and the Ugly of American history history would be to do a disservice to our Scholars their parents and the community at large the current CMS framework for social studies curriculum allows flexibility for teachers to innovate and provide a culturally responsive education that allows our diverse students to see themselves in

050the American story while also providing an unsanitized version of history that fully displays and allows students to engage with The Good The Bad and again the ugly of American History I urge the board to continue to work with this framework and allow Educators to do our jobs and do the critical work of building the next generation of critical thinkers and I yield the rest of my time thank you okay thank [Applause] you all right lini Kumar if you are here and then Lori if you're here and then Jen Bourne are you molini I am please go right ahead hello yes this is the first time I'm attending a CMS board meeting a little embarrassing to say because my kids have been here for a long time so I wish I attended earlier meetings but yes

051this the first time and I'm glad it's in person um I didn't realized I'd have the opportunity to speak so I'm a bit unprepared um what I'd like like to say is given that we're coming out of this pandemic I thought coming into this meeting what we might be discussing is how we can make sure all our students have reached the right levels they should be at for reading maths writing I I am I am disappointed but I know this is a Hot Topic that we're talking about CR because I can assure you that children coming out of this pandemic just want to go back to their normal play time and the last thing they're thinking about is what color is the child I'm playing with down the street so the fact that this we're

052putting so much energy into it while I appreciate that we need to sort this out it is disappointing that especially after a pandemic this is the first thing that we're the main topic that we're talking about instead I'm very concerned about levels of achievement um across the school all our students and that's really all I wanted to say impr promptu you thank you thank you Charter Carter and then Jen Bourne and then Britany Fogerty 11 years ago I began my North Carolina teaching career at garinger high school where I had the distinct honor of working side by side with 2014 North Carolina teacher of the year James Ford since garinger I have taught at Olympic High School school and Philip oerry Academy my time at these schools has greatly informed my growth as an educator

053listening to my students and colleagues experiences allowed me to examine my own understanding of race and bias I am grateful for the training that CMS has provided over my time with the district it has allowed me to grow and serve my students with an eye on Equitable diverse and inclusive teaching the most significant thing I've learned is the power of culturally responsive teaching not to be confused with the current hysteria regarding critical race Theory culturally responsive teaching allows students of all Races to learn about themselves and their peers via the curriculum the world's history standards require that we teach about the Renaissance period in Europe after examining the art produced during this period my students embark on an exploration of art that speaks to them they then create a presentation to share with their peers

054this assignment encourage engages all students broadens their cultural understanding and expands their compassion for each other the result culturally responsive teaching combined with social emotional learning for the win I will never forget this painting the flower carrier by Diego Rivera the student who shared it said the reason she chose it was because it reminded her of how hard her mom worked to get her here to the United States to give her a better life I will never forget the discussion that ensued in my classroom and I pray that my students don't ever either if we want all students in all schools to be seriously engaged in learning about the world and each other we must continue so now we have Jen Bourne and then Britney Fogerty and then Kendra Dixon good evening CMS leaders and

055Community I am here to address this month's Sideshow and it is a sesow it is the responsibility of Education professionals to identify and teach students everything they need to be fully prepared to engage appropriately and successfully as adults in the world this is the role of public education in the past year we told teachers they are essential and forc them back into unsafe buildings before vaccinations were widely available now we tell them that we don't even trust them with our kids well my family trusts teachers if you don't trust public schools and public education I have great news you live in North Carolina and we are a state that has chosen to fully fund school choice at the expense of our traditional Public Schools you can go Charter you can go private but if you

056are so unhappy that you are showing up to every board meeting to complain there's the door if you are tired of being called a Karen or it hurts your feelings then don't be a Karen communities need schools more than schools need another adversary and you there are plenty of adversaries in Raleigh we are dead last in per pupil spending in the country we fall billions of dollars short of the national average annually and no one ever signs up to talk about how we can support this elected body as they work with a significant funding deficit every year if anyone knows how teachers might be feeling it is probably this school SCH board well I'm here to say that everything is not your fault I'm showing up to ask how can I help and please continue

057expecting staff to engage in anti-racist work please continue to hold staff accountable for racist practices and behaviors please continue to watch the sideshow knowing that it is meant to distract and maintain a laser focus on equity and the children you serve I am here to encourage you to thank you and to charge you to see beyond on this month's distractions if we've learned anything this year it is that there will be another one next [Applause] month okay Miss fery and then Kendra Dixon and then Michelle McConnell Miss Fogerty hi I'm Britney Fogerty a teacher at Hornets Nest Elementary first I want to thank you for the CMS race bias power Equity professional development that was provided during this PD identified as being in the growth Zone on the graphic that outlined a Continuum of being

058anti-racist according to this graphic being in the growth Zone means that I promote and advocate for policies and procedures that are anti-racist I'm here to advocate for anti-racist policies for historically excluded groups of people for my students for my colleagues and my own child changes are needed within our curriculum in order to include history and events that have negatively impacted our black and brown students there are some who will try to point out that our countryes history will make children of particular races or Sexes feel uncomfortable well history is uncomfortable how about the black and brown children sitting in our classrooms who has felt uncomfortable now or in the future when they realize their very own history is not taught by excluding certain events from the curriculum we are promoting a narrow perspective of what

059the history of our society is not teaching things that may make children uncomfortable prolongs the discomfort of our black and brown students while also denying students of other races and backgrounds the knowledge to make critical decisions about who they're going to be and what kind of world they wish to live in moreover I would like to encourage and support additional professional development in race bias equity and power there are teachers who will ignore deny and tune out this critical information for Student Center teaching while this is within their rights it should not continue to be comfortable let us continue to set a precedent in CMS as educators of all all people of all Races religions sexual orientations and cultural backgrounds to present factual information in a safe environment that will Foster critical thinking and decision-making

060skills for students to forge their own path forward in this world because that is where we will see change thank you all right thank you um okay now we've got Kendra Dixon Michelle McConnell and Serena Evans do we have Kendra Dixon in the house good evening my name is Kendra Dixon and my family is just beginning our journey through CMS with our oldest child entering first grade in the fall I'm speaking today because I know a group has been working to make this meeting a referendum on the most recent Boogeyman critical race Theory I want to make sure the board hears from parents who are supportive of the new social study standards which of course do not actually involve critical race Theory however the same group is doing a very good job of conflating any

061mention of race with critical race Theory any efforts to reform how we consider race and diversity in teaching even any mention of race diversity or inclusion is being branded as such and I'm here to say that this CMS parent believes we absolutely must discuss these issues in our schools there's simply no way to teach our history without it my hope for my children as they make their way through our public school system is that these new standards give them a stronger foundation in history that I received because when you only teach part of the story you end up with an incomplete picture and Lim Ed understanding of our current world I don't want my children to blow up grow up with these same blind spots in their education and not only is this clearly the

062right thing to do it's also what is best for our children a 2016 study provided evidence that culturally relevant teaching promotes academic achievement and engagement among all students teaching about cultural diversity is important even when classrooms are not diverse after graduation students will be required to interact across racial and cultural lines to be successful in a diverse society and schools should prepare students for these interactions concealing the truth of racism will only erode trust in the education system for students who are already aware of discrimination and leave the other students unprepared for the outside world thank you right thank you okay Michelle McConnell and Serena Evans and then K May first of all I want to thank that parent thank you so much for coming and for what you said good evening super tant Winston

063and members of the board so nice to see you in person my name is Michelle McConnell and I'm an elementary school teacher and proud CMA member I want to begin by thanking you for the way you handled the recent situation with the County Commissioners thank you for standing up for students and families and Educators we sincerely appreciate it I am proudly anti-sexist what does that mean it means I reject patriarchal power structures and actively work toward gender equality does this mean I hate cismen absolutely not I've raised two sons as well as two daughters and I understand that patriarchy harms our young boys as well as our girls it sets them up with unrealistic unrealistic expectations and pressures learning about gender equality has made my son stronger more well-rounded healthy kind men who are more

064able to be successful as they relate to the wide variety of people they encounter in this world I'm also proudly anti-racist what does that mean it means that I reject white supremacist power structures and actively work toward Racial equality does this mean that my class classroom is in a safe space for white students absolutely not Equity is the best practice for all students social emotional learning helps all students diversity benefits all students these are not code words for some Boogeyman agenda out to crush the spirits of our white children claims to the contrary are blatant propaganda white supremacy harms white children as well as black and brown and it sets them up with unrealistic expectations and unhealthy pressures it helps all students grow into healthier well-rounded successful human beings who are able to live and

065learn and interact with a wide variety of people have no fear board members we know what we're up against and it's nothing new we didn't want to be here tonight defending our work as Educators but John Lewis to told us to get into some good trouble maybe that's what's happening here tonight rest assured we are committed to continue doing strong work good work and we hope you will continue to celebrate that work with us thank [Music] you thank you so Serena Evans K Mae and then Chris warer we have Serena Evans here tonight um Serena Evans and then K Mae and then Chris I know I'm pronouncing this wrong wower Serena is not here okay are you K I'm Chris you're Chris do we have K ma here okay so Chris you are up and

066after Chris we've got Jessica aam and then Amanda Thompson rice all right good evening my name is Chris bber I have been a CMS teacher since 2008 and I'm also a CMS parent in all that time this past year or so has been particularly difficult in addition to teaching through a pandemic many thought about how to teach in the face of a racial Reckoning after Derek schin murdered George Floyd in broad daylight this Reckoning has been followed by a predictable backlash I'm here to help ensure that anti-racist voices are the loudest I support the anti-racist work that CMS has required its leaders and teachers to participate in it behooves us to do both individual and systemic work to call out and break down white supremacy both when it is trendy to do so and not

067second let's name what's happening just as CMS is taking steps to address racism some people are trying to stoke white fear at the expense of communities of color just like the hecklers and harassers who ganged up on Dorothy count Scoggins in 1957 as she and others integrated Harding High School these people seek to undermine the education of people of color by claiming that they and their children are victims the descendants of the people that sought to keep black children out of white schools are now trying to keep black people's identities stories and histories out of mainstream education and we cannot allow that to happen now the social studies curriculum and revisions the updated standards support the nuanced and critical teaching that I have always seen in the best of classrooms in CMS and elsewhere we

068can trust young people to look into the face of uncomfortable truths students including white students almost never disappoint in their ability to confront our past and problem solve in the present Blair ammani says if black children are old enough to experience racism white children are old enough to learn about it I would argue that white adults are also old enough to do so let's keep expecting more of our children and ourselves thank you thank you all right thank you um now we've got Amanda Thompson R and then Jessica Parmenter and then Michelle solo I stand before you on the shoulders of my ancestors and for the voice of the voiceless I'm an educator I'm a CMS parent I'm a community advocate I'm also the cmae president today I stand before you as an anti-racist educator

069in CMS we do culturally responsive teaching not critical race Theory it's a research based approach on teaching that connects students to their cultures language their life experiences and what they learn in school culture responsive teaching also allows students and Educators to know that we belong the the diversity of voices represented in our communities in our curriculum must match what our kids see in their communities and in our school buildings we promote and support Educators today as you have listened and will continue to listen who is being divisive who is izing a tool that has been used throughout history let's think about it during emancipation Jim Crow segregation and and segregation it is used to divide people and disrupt progress towards a mo a more just Society just think one year ago we were United as

070one last summer fighting for the good of all men women and children battling battling the P pandemic of covid and racism now we are here the Vicor was feeling oppressed and create this superficial hysteria for some when you have accustomed to privilege the move towards Equity feels like oppression Educators and Educators in education are the sole people that can truly change the future and dismantle and disrupt practices we will continue to get in trouble good trouble that's why we are being attacked and for not bowing down and kissing the Ring of of of white supremacy CMS we stand with you the work of equity is vital for our school district especially to % of our black and brown kid for all zip codes they deserve an equal opportunity equity and diversity is the key lever

071for us to be better than our past it's the key for us to live in the Creed of how to become an anti-racist future for an inclusive future for all all right thank you Mr Parmenter then relle solo and then Jessica D Dreer go right ahead Mr Parmenter good evening I'm not going to waste any time talking about CRT because that whole conversation is a disingenuous distraction but I do think it's important to talk about what's behind it in general this movement we're seeing Nationwide is about people worrying that their kids might not continue to enjoy the advantages of being centered in everything we do in our Public Schools I'm not sure if yall know who ibram kendi is but he puts it this way racist power manipulates ordinary white people into resisting equalizing policies

072by drilling them on what they are losing with equalizing policies and how those equalizing policies are anti-white it's important to recognize that's exactly what's happening here this noise that we are hearing is a reaction to equalizing policies it's a reaction based on the fear that Equity work means white students getting demoted it's a reaction to the work that's being done to ensure that our Public Schools which in meinberg are home to 74% students of color are welcoming spaces where our students feel that school is for them and about them so what does that work look like it looks like intentionally reading books written by authors who look like our students it looks like taking steps to ensure that all students have access to rigorous learning it looks like adopting social study standards that mean our

073students will learn about unfiltered history and yes it looks like Sy systematically examining our own attitudes and behavior for biases that we might not even be aware of because we've never had to think about them before equalizing policies and none of them would be necessary if our school's practices hadn't been so unequal for so long we are on the right track we still have a long way to go but we're on the right track please do not be distracted or deterred by the noise recognize it for what it is and continue to focus on building the system that our students deserve thank [Applause] you all right relle solo then Jessica Dreer then Bradley Boer Miss solo hi my name is Rachel Salo and I'm a proud parent of two CMS students I think we can

074all agree that no matter where we are from or our race or our Creed we all want our students to have a good education I'm concerned that nationally funded political organizations are creating intentional division within our communities though last winter the conservative organizations Heritage Foundation and the American legislative exchange Council held webinars warning about the perceived threat of teaching critical race Theory subsequently a number of conservative operatives have decided that scaring parents about CRT would be a winning issue for them in the 2022 midterm election Christopher rufo of the Manhattan Institute promised in a March 15th tweet that we will quote eventually turn it toxic the goal is to have the public read something crazy in the newspaper and immediately think critical race Theory the 1776 project Pack's stated purpose is quote campaigning on behalf

075of Schoolboard candidates that vow to overturn any teaching of the 1619 project or critical race theory in their school districts nationally funded AstroTurf organizations like parents defending education and moms for Liberty emerged with the goal to teach parents to become quote Watchdogs of local education systems in North Carolina we have the Carolina teachers Alliance and Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson who instituted a task force for reporting indoctrination in classrooms for some of these organizations and personalities it is about grift for others there is a direct effort to undermine public education and increase support for school vouchers or privatization moreover it is a thinly veiled ploy to create outrage and use Schoolboard races to drive confused parents to the polls in the 2022 midterms in short they're coming for your jobs defend our kids thank you all

076right so we've got Jessica and then Bradley and then chandria odm my name is Jessica Dreer I teach at hornet nest Elementary School I love my school I felt compelled to speak out today after a colleague spoke with the news channel and expressed thoughts on cms's Race bias power and Equity professional development training I felt that her words highlighted our school community in an ignorant and racially biased way white people have been the only ones entitled to comfort while learning history discomfort should accompany learning if Educators who think like this especially ones teaching a class full of black and brown students are so against merely examining their own personal biases in order to uncover unintentional but potential harmful teaching practices well then I can't help but wonder if these are the same Educators recommending medication

077and suspensions for black students at a rate higher than white students not solely because of student Behavior but because they lack cultural awareness effective teaching strategies and an open mindset to the training at hand today there are black and brown students walking into schools still fighting battles they shouldn't have to currently black students are seven times more likely to be suspended than their white counterparts black students receive 74% of short-term suspensions in the district yet they comprise only 36% of the student population black students account for 81% of school-based referrals into the criminal justice system now I ask you this have we improved D our historically racist educational system past the point of Educators needing reflective training have we removed all racially motivated inequities within our schools the answer is no as Educators we should

078understand the importance of lifelong learning racism is so embedded within the educational system that'll make certain Educators Educators who claim to love these kids so upset when addressing racism within a training that they argue on National Television they have to give up their power when only asked to examine their own thinking discussing the release of the data Madam chair you were quoted saying ultimately you have to get to the root cause of this what is it that kids need before they get in trouble well let's start with having anti-racist teachers thank [Music] [Applause] you Bradley that Bradley Bo then shandria Odum and then Abby doery all right my name is Bradley bour I have been an educator for 22 years 15 of which have been in Charlotte meckelberg I currently teach second grade at Hornet

079sest Elementary and I absolutely love my school hornet nest is an amazing school with some of the most caring nurturing and effective teachers which is probably mostly reflective of all the schools in the district but there also exists a minority of teachers and staff in the schools in the district that are okay with the things the way things have been that deny racism as a problem avoid the hard questions about themselves play the victim when asked hard questions and are only comfortable talking to others who look and think like them but sadly they are teaching students that do not look and think like them as a white male I have not had to experience and I probably never will experience the world in the way in which my students of color and marginalized students will

080but I want to be a support for them I wanted to share that I'm so appreciative of working in a school district that is promoting effective professional development such as the CMS race bias power and Equity PD that we took part in at a synchronously during the 2021 school year recently an interview on national news brought this PD into a negative light and was based on misinformation over the last few years I have learned that inaction is just as hurtful as supporting racist polities policies and that's why I'm speaking up tonight and will continue to speak up to whomever I need to and as many times as necessary so to overshadow the negativity of the fact that some are angry and or don't see the rationale for the professional development course I want to say

081that it is indeed needed and say thank you to CMS for providing this PD I want to say thank you for allowing me to participate in an activity in which I had determined myself where I fit in on an oppression reflection Matrix depending on our age race sexual orientation and other factors we ourselves were able to determine if we were a member of a privileged group um as a middle-aged man it was evident that I belong to many privileged groups but as a gay man I was in a targeted social group most if not all of my students are in targeted social groups why is this important we see other people through our beliefs and leavs on hold and cease in our own existence no matter how brief is difficult but it's necessary thank [Applause]

082you okay we've got shandria Odum then Abby doy and then Derek Moore is shandria here all right so are you Abby go ahead why are you teaching a curriculum that is based on division when you are being told now is the time to be unified this curriculum you're forcing on our children is not a reflection of unity labeling people based on the color of their skin is not Unity labeling someone is oppressed and the oppressor is not Unity that is the de def definition of division the curriculum curriculum you forcing onto our children you are teaching them to be racist you are not stopping racism you are creating it you're creating hatred and Division quote hate and ignor ignorance have not divided the history of racist ideas in America racist policies have driven the history

083of racist ideas in in America that's by kendi himself I think you all know him you paid him $25,000 to speak this summer I don't think we've seen that contract yet what are you forc what you are forcing upon our children are your racist policies you cannot teach your way out of racism my parental rights right now are being stripped because of your policies and you need to know I am not co-parenting with the government it is not your job to force these ideas onto my child your job is to teach my child math language arts Science and History including American history we are Americans we are not as you want us labeled our only label we have is American no our history is not perfect um nobody's history is perfect but we have come

084a long way thanks to the people before us like Martin Luther King Jr that taught us to judge your character and not skin color we the people are not going to let you take us backwards with your politically driven agenda you are not here to raise my child that is my job let me remind you again your job as the school board is to put forth a curriculum to teach our children language arts Math Science and Real History what you are currently teaching is a propaganda and you are failing miserably at educating our children to be productive Americans remember God created One race as an ex and he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on the face of the Earth all right thank you no Derek Moore then Quinn harget and

085then Siobhan Carroll Mr Moore okay give me a second I am a proud educator 23 years West meinberg High School fear has no place in education no Mandela once said education is the first step for people to gain the knowledge critical thinking empowerment and skills they need to make this world a better place for all of us not a select few the purpose of education is to Enlighten is to elevate to provide hope I said hope a hope that we can all make this world better not not just for some of you mothers fathers brothers sisters historian Howard Zen stated that our students deserve a curriculum that survive that serves as an antidote to discouragement and right now they're discouraged fear has no place in education how can we effectively teach our children history if

086you want that history to be select Ive you can't exclude history because it makes you feel uncomfortable can you imagine teaching a holocaust because it makes the Germans today feel bad oh oh sorry kids no no an Frank for you cuz uh it might oh we revealing the truth it might hurt somebody's feelings shame on us that's foolish you you know who hates learning you know who hates learning about the Holocaust do you know huh somebody say who not Naes and people who think it never happened still today in 2021 all students deserve to examine multiple perspectives of History if we exclude problems from yesterday's history ever resolve problem thank you thank you Mr all right twin haret and sioban carold and Mary Margaret Murray Miss harget yes during my 13 years as a student

087in CMS I experienced hundreds of Pop quizzes today I will be giving a pop quiz question one who sailed the ocean blue in 1492 question two this meeting is being held on the unseated land of which Native American tribes question three please quote something Martin Luther King Jr said other than I have a dream or by the content of their character question four in 1955 a 15-year-old school girl refused to move to the back of the bus nine months before Rosa Parks what was her name question five what Supreme Court case ruled that bans on interracial marriage are unconstitu ution question six name an inventor a black inventor other than George Washington Carver question seven what role did Reverend James Reed play in the Selma civil rights marches this pop quiz was a lesson in

088culturally relevant teaching how did you do did everyone answer the first question how about the others did you feel shame a wise man man once said American history is longer larger more beautiful and more terrible than anything anyone has ever said about it board members you must denounce any partisan attempts to censor to censor me or critical thinking my mic and culture education cries of Marxism indoctrination are just smoke screens for ignorance and racism and to any educator who chooses to broadcast their discomfort with diversity training on national news I ask what message are you sending your diverse students and co-workers man said a child cannot be taught by anyone who despises him thank you child cannot be AF to be fooled thank [Music] you guys I I got to keep it to two minutes

089each um okay sioban Caroll Miss Carol go right ahead I a mother of two CMS children a rising first and ninth grader I've been through the ringer with CMS and have been here before to applaud you when you get things right and raise the alarm Bells when you're getting it wrong CMS has much work to do when it comes to closing the opportunity gap between black and brown students and their white counterparts and a laundry list of other items but your commitment to follow the state standards and make sure that students learn about history and its proper historical context including the ways race has and does play a role in it is critical to both students critical skills and to closing the achievement Gap as well as a reminder uh 75% of your students are

090black and brown and if my words are not enough let me tell you a story of why it matters in the third grade in a CMS Elementary School my child went on a field trip to L Plantation when she got home and I asked what she learned on the plantation she told me about farm animals and farming I asked if she learned about slavery and she looked at me puzzled and said no when I followed up with her teacher she said that slavery was not covered in third grade standards for history North Carolina agriculture was so that's what the field trip was about taking any child regardless of their race to a plantation in North Carolina and not talking about slavery is exactly what those against historical accuracy want to happen this is not about

091a theory that's only taught in college anyway and no CMS student will be learning this is about making sure white people feel good about history they don't want to remember my father my my father my children's grandfather is turning 80 next year he was born outside of Chicago the same year as emit till my children should know that regardless of if it makes others feel bad what about making my children feel whole please do not let hyperbolic statements not based in fact hijack your efforts stay the course ensure history is told through an accurate lens and do not bow to the voices of a loud and persistent few who do not represent the best interest of the majority of CMS parents steer you in the wrong direction thank you all right we've got Mary Margaret

092Murray hi my name is Mary Margaret I'm a mom to three CMS students we love our school teachers and administrators I'm here to address masks and reopening without restrictions but I want to say this about CRT any movement that hides behind Talking Points while separating kids in classrooms by skin color under the guise of teaching about oppression is abusive and harmful it should be rejected at every level back to my main point we're at a highly rated Elementary School and yet we continue to lose families every single day to private schools charter schools and home school one of the main reasons parents are moving their kids is for normaly the mask mandates need to end School functions need to open and run as they always have we have much more information about covid along with

093vaccines and yet we continue to restrict the lives of children in school out of an abundance of caution is not a good enough reason anymore in 2020 fewer children died of covid than from heart disease suicide homicide car car crashes or drowning pneumonia and the flu are more dangerous to them the odds of children becoming seriously ill from the virus or passing it to someone else is hundreds of times lower than dangers we've been living with for decades according to David Wallace Wells of New York Magazine Mass vaccination in the US has utterly changed the landscape of the pandemic not only by protecting those who have received shots but by changing the calculus for all those who haven't by eliminating almost all of the mortality risk of the population at Large masks are germ-infested unregulated

094medical devices and if the board would like to require children to wear them for seven plus hours per day you need to give us clear evidence that there's no heing being done and that it's vital masth should be optional and all activities and school functions should be up and running if the excuses that the governor's toolkit um requires it then we would like for you to pressure the governor along with the parents to say change the toolkit get it changed so the mask can come off of kids in school um these his voters and your voters that are leaving the schools it's time to remove the masks fully open schools and give these kids their lives back now we have Gina navarete then Melissa Easley and then Mike Markham and Gina when you get here

095you will be officially be speaker number 42 out of 84 so we'll be halfway through fabulous I break you think we will we'll have to bathroom I'm doing just fine hi I'm Dr Gina naar and I'm here to as a neuros psychologist and a CMS parent to support the CMS initiative to make our history curriculum more comprehensive and factual than the curriculum that we were were taught when we were children the fact is that teaching academic subject should not be about cherry-picking which information we choose to teach and let's be clear choosing to only speak about those subjects that don't make us uncomfortable it's not Academia is indoctrination this should not be a divisive issue teaching our students the truth should not be out for debate the fact is that teaching a more comprehensive and

096complete curriculum in history will only help us and our children understand ourselves and our community as a whole other countries have been doing this for decades why can't we I like many people in the audience are here to support you and your efforts to begin the road to equity by taking the first step talking truthfully about our history please do not let a small group of parents and politicians Sidetrack your efforts do not let them dictate that your curriculum because if you do you open the door to being told in the future what subjects should and should not be taught in the schools we are not asking Educators to teach novel Concepts or radical ideas ideas by the way that our children already talking about outside of the classrooms we are asking that our children

097are taught an accurate and comprehensive history of the country and the world and to the parents on the other side that don't want their children to potentially experience discomfort I say our white children do not need their comfort more than our black and brown children need and deserve their dignity thank you all right Miss Easley oh yeah I didn't recognize you behind the mask okay good evening Madam chair dashu members of the board and superintendent w my name is Melissa Easley and I speaking tonight as a former CMS teacher a CMS parent of two children and the co-founder of the largest Pro public education Facebook group of North Carolina teachers United first I want to show my support for the CMS racist bias power and Equity professional development that CMS has provided to teachers across

098the district it is a shame that some did not take advantage of this golden opportunity to see how we can be unintentionally hurting the students that we love care for and see every day as a 14-year social studies teacher I always taught with the belief that no matter our color background or zip code we want all students to have an education that teaches the truth of our history Integrity on how to be a productive compassionate citizen of society in our current climate there has been manufactured outrage over a political problem that doesn't actually exist and is nothing but a Shameless attempt on the part of some politicians to score political points the truth is CRT is taught in a graduate school not in K12 saying CRT is caugh is taught in K12 is like saying

099electrical engineering is also taught in K12 it's just not happening what is happening is our teachers are encouraging our students to think critically they are teaching students honestly about who we are and where we came from they are teaching Integrity on how we treat others they are they are celebrating our differences and encouraging our students to fully participate in building a better nation and future for our children we can do this by including programs such as cultural teaching cms's program of equity inclusion through content and personal development is working it is leading a great it is leading to great teaching improved academic performance more inclusion in advanced coursework improves health and wellness and for the first time all students are seeing themselves in the current curriculum I implore you to keep pushing and not let

100politicians censor teachers to stop kids from learning our full history and to share stories of confronting Injustice to build a more perfect union thank you all right so we've got Mike Markham then Ronda Walker and then David Olen good evening I'm here to express my deep concerns about critical race Theory or CRT and well-meaning proponents of it or any similar initiatives critical race theory is just that a theory CT divides Americans into two groups the oppressors whites and the oppressed non-whites character decisions and personal values do not matter in the realm of CRT some people think opponents of CRT and similar initiatives are simply looking to hide America's past sins and prevent history from being taught not so just as I was when I was a child just as our students are currently I was

101taught extensively about slavery Jim Crow and the Civil Rights Movement I was also taught about MLK who believed in judging content of character over color of skin CRT is not line with this at all Richard Delgado author of the seminal work on CRT wrote whites are incapable of righteous actions on race this is both divisive and inaccurate racism does exist but it's a hard issue that cannot be fixed by any particular curriculum Dr ibr X Ki the world's foremost critical race theorist shockingly wrote the only remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination obviously dangerous in 2021 racism is not something that presents a serious impediment to success and achievement in America financially the highest ring group in America racially are not whites but East Indians Indians do better than whites that is not white supremacy

102if black Americans were our own country we would be the 17th wealthiest Nation on the planet out of 195 Sovereign Nations that is black power what I would advocate for is to take all the quote unquote black history that we emphasize during the shortest month of the year dumping into the regular history his books and simply call it history American [Music] [Applause] history all right Ronda Walker then David Olen then Meredith Fox good evening thank you so much for having me here I'm here on a totally different topic uh it's a lot of anxiety here tonight but um I'm give you something else to think about um I'm here to talk about the resoning that's occurring in Min Hill um my community versage is located on True Light Church Road and we are zoned for

103Lebanon Road Elementary um even though Lebanon Elementary has 96 to 122% utilization uh we were told in 2002 that everyone on the right side of True Light Church Road would attend Lebanon Northeast midle and then everyone on the left side of True Light Church Road would attend Bane and then Mill Middle now Bane Elementary has 64% utilization now fast forward now to 2000 or 2021 based on the maps now everyone on the right side of True Life Church Road will attend Bane Elementary except my community versage now for some reason vers was left out we've got two communities now being built that are new million doll homes on the right and the left of versage and they magically appeared on the map for Bane Elementary that has 64% utilization now we in versage will remain

104at Lebanon Road Elementary with 96 to 122% utilization and also using trailers and you know how that goes with 122% utilization uh Bane is about 2 miles from us so with s walks our children could walk to Bane Elementary School and me I would drive my grandchildren because I've got an 8-year-old grandchild who lives with me um so we would love to attend the same school as the rest of our community which would be in Min Hill because we pay Mill taxes I know that that has nothing to do with you thank you Miss Walker all right dve Olson then Meredith Fox and then we've got a group of alnisa Washington donique Kelly Vanessa Stewart and Ashton Ford Mr Olen hi there thank you for having me uh my name is David Olen I'm from

105Columbia South Carolina uh my grandfather was an educator Minister and coach in Swansea South Carolina for 40 years and led his uh High School through the days of integration when that first uh took place and he was selected from his community uh to be the one to unite uh that Community um to have profitable discussion we must first unite under the common ground of Love of our communities children and Country we can't have profitable discussion if at all we hate our country our communities or each other so with that said to quote the Apostle Paul from 1 Corinthians 13 if I speak in the tongues of men and of angels but have not love I am a noisy gong or a clanging symbol so if you don't love each other your words don't mean anything

106so with that said I'm going to pray for all of us here father God talk over let's let's let in the name of Jesus Lord we pray over this meeting and at the words of everyone here we ask that you would unite us under the Common Grounds of love and for uh this country Lord we thank you for all that you've given us and we pray that our words would not be those of a of a s of a clanging gong but that they would last and that they would be meaningful in Jesus name amen amen all right so it sounds like there's a difference what we're debating some people are wanting to have added historical facts that are accurate to history and that's fine while some people are saying don't teach our kids that

107they should hate each other or that they should feel oppressed or that they should feel they're an oppressor based on the color of their skin all under the realm of social studies they're different things and we should recognize that so uh I'd like to quote a couple Proverbs here so Proverbs 1:7 says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of all knowledge thank you that's your two minutes wisdom thank you Meredith Meredith Fox that's your two minutes thank you all right [Applause] go right ahead critical race theory has become the latest buzzword intended to spark divide and outrage it is a lens taught to graduate students that examines the interaction between race and legal institutions no matter how advanced your kindergartener is no one is teaching them legal Theory what you really have here

108tonight are people asking you to not allow teachers to teach that systemic racism existed or continues to exist that would be like Germany making it illegal to teach about the Holocaust the irony of a group of white people declaring racism is over leaves me unsure whether to laugh or cry while we can debate what information is appropriate to teach students of different ages we cannot entertain any debate on whether systemic racism exists there are countless scientific studies demonstrating racism is pervasive in every aspect of life from the housing market to the labor market to policing to education we cannot whitewash or censor history just because because talking about racism makes some people uncomfortable this is not about balance teaching or sides this is about preserving teachers ability to teach the truth doing the right thing

109is not always popular nor easy just think of the massive uproar and resistance that followed Brown V Board of Education in the segregation efforts or the unsuccessful fight to keep Evolution out of our schools I'm really glad to work in a district where I am not only allowed but encouraged to teach history accurately and provided professional development and resources to ensure I can be a culturally competent teacher like every single time I speak here I know I will go home to an inbox full of expletives insults and death wishes I'm sure each of you experienced this on a far greater magnitude than I it can be hard to stay the course with all of that noise and so I just wanted to say thank you and then as one of your employees I'm looking forward

110to the work that lies ahead in ensuring equity for all of our students thank you [Music] thank you now for our group Miss Washington Miss Kelly Miss Stewart and Miss Ford you guys get seven minutes what would you do if you felt someone you loved was in danger well I believe our children are in danger as a mother of a CMS student and as an educator I am immensely concerned that our children are being taught by people that do not genuinely have their best interest at heart the thought that our children are being judged by the color of their skin takes me to a place mentally that I never thought I'd have to be in in 20121 when I began working at my school I was fearful of not connecting with the kids but saying

111that I love each and every one of them is an absolute understatement which leaves me unable to comprehend how a person or persons could work for kids they can't or won't love furthermore work for kids they refuse to understand or fully educate hornet nest I'm sorry hornet nest is number 719 out of 1578 of the most diverse public schools in North Carolina so educating them on their history and how life became what it is today is something that is long overdue far too long our children have been taught only whitewashed American history but never given an opportunity to flourish from learning where and what they have come from unfortunately I was unable to participate in the recent race training about Equity inclusion and diversity and that's because I'm a proud teachers assistant so that was

112not something that was shared with me um it's not about destroying some of our children's self-esteem or teaching them to hate themselves but more about opening their eyes to what the truth was and is today a place called The Melting Pot that's our American history that's what we call it but how can we live in a place that's called a Melting Pot when some of us will not include the ingredients that that in that make up the Melting Pot recently one of my colleagues decided to go on public television and express an unwarranted opinion i' like it to be known that this person's ignorant opinion on the district's race bias and power training does not reflect the vox populi at hornet nest in the two years of working here I have had the pleasure of

113being trained and taught by several of the most inspiring Educators Educators that are open and willing to continuously of all for the greater good of the children open quote every child deserves a champion an adult who would never give up on them who understands the power of connection and insist they become the best they can possibly be end quote Rita Pearson and educator as I end i' like to pose a question would you be okay knowing your niece your nephew your child was being taught by someone whose moral compus allows them to educate a child differently based on the color of their skin good evening everyone my name is Don unique Kelly and I am an instructional assistant at Hornets Nest Elementary I first want to thank you all for allowing allowing me the opportunity

114to speak on behalf of myself as well as some of my colleagues next I would like to ask you what is the difference between an educator and an effective educator an educator is defined as a person who teaches informs and inspires others the state of North Carolina requires you to obtain an education and license before you can teach but what makes us effective effective educators are identified by the respect passion and love they have for their students and their students educations all in addition to their licensure and certification I have been at hornets nest for what will be two years in August and throughout my journey I have been awarded the opportunity to work with all of the K through 5 students and teachers in some capacity majority of my colleagues have displayed the quality

115ities of an effective educator whose morals rest on an e Equitable inclusive and diverse education for all students however it has been brought to some of our attention that there are a number of teachers at hornets nest and within the district whose morals and values have a different foundation in a recent interview on National Television a colleague of mine stated that the C that cms's race bias power and Equity professional development required teachers to admit their white privilege yield their power and train students in that way according to the National Center for Education statistics hornet nest enrollment during the enrollment during the 2019 and through through 2021 school year consisted of 397 black students 149 Hispanic students 46 Asian students 21 students of two or more races 16 white students and three American Indian or

116Alaskan native students making the probability of teaching a student with white privilege or power to relinquish a about 2.53% in fact there's a greater chance that each teacher will have a class full of students whose history consists of very little to no power visibility equality Freedom or worth in this country it is terrifying to know that there are teachers and parents who view this training as problematic because it is the least that a historically institutional institutionalized racist system could require from its employees although I was not required to take the CMS races bias power and Equity professional development I completed a semester long diversity and privilege course whose training was very similar to the training that my colleagues received while this country puts raal racial privilege on a pedestal it is not the only priv

117privilege that one can have in fact each and every one of us has some form of privilege that the person in front of us behind us or to either side of us does not have the goal of the professional development is to identify your privilege and an attempt to prevent it from hindering your connection with your students and colleagues it is not a negative thing to see someone's color gender sexuality or ability because these are qualities that make each of us unique and by acknowledging those traits you learn how to be a great friend a more effective educator or a better person did you know that Georgia female college became the first University to offer bachelor's degrees to women in 1836 or that in 1884 tape versus Hurley established the right for Chinese American students

118to attend public schools in 1931 Alvarez versus Lemon Grove School Board prohibited the school board from turning away Mexican-American students in 1954 Brown versus Board of Education established that segregated schools were unconstitutional in 1957 the Little Rock Nine were the first to desegregate Little Rock Central High and in 1960 Ruby Bridges became the first African-American child to dis desegregate William France Elementary School in Louisiana yet just 61 short years later here in 2021 a group of Hornets Nest Elementary Educators stand before you defending and pleading for Equitable inclusive and diverse education for our students before I depart I would like to leave you with this thank youel Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past and thank you thank you all right so now um we'll go back to two minutes for our individual speakers

119we've got Megan car Milani and then Hana kadan and then Arthur Griffin stand up for a minut my back is seing hello my name is Megan carani and I am a parent but today I'm here as a representative of long covid Kids USA we are part of an international afy group that focus on supporting the parents and caregivers of children with long Co in addition we ate the medical community in research and raise awareness of long covid given our intimate knowledge of the effects of long covid on our children we are calling for mandatory mask requirements to continue in CMS let me walk you through why we know children are developing long covid in large numbers the UK office of national statistic estimates that up to 15% of children in the UK have developed long

120covid the nhi excuse me the NIH puts the number of children who developed long Co between 10 and 15% which means long Co is not rare in children long Co is typically defined as prolonged symptoms of 5 weeks or more during the acute phase of covid infection children tend to have mild symptoms or be completely asymptomatic what we have found is that a significant portion of children will go on to develop new symptoms 3 to five weeks post infection these symptoms include fatigue brain fog and physical pain it is very common for a child to be asymptomatic during the acute phase of infection and develop long covid weeks later we do not know which children will develop long covid he Healy children are at risk long Co is a disab disabling condition for many we

121are seeing both neurological and immunological symptoms children report inability to play sports inability to concentrate and complete assignments fatigue so significant some are unable to walk brain fog comparable to dementia and constant overwhelming pain common diagnoses of children with long covid are disautonomia which is the dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system mcast or mass Cell Activation Syndrome which is a condition of the immune system mecfs which is a complex multi-stem condition that can lead to disabling fatigue small fibr neuropathy fibromyalgia and other autoimmune syndromes we do not know if children with long covid will recover at this time as you know schools in CMS were mostly safe last year but that because that's our two minutes thank you all right so now we've got I guess Hannah cadan is not here so Mr Griffin and

122then Monica musler then Aiden finnel Mr Griffin the podium is yours good evening um first of all three three observations um one I want to thank you for engaging uh the Council of great City schools with respect to student outcomes focused governance I think that's critically important for all of our students I want to remind you that the outcomes mean what students know and are able to do uh the Leandra lawsuit is not the ceiling that's why they said it's call it the sound basic education that's simply the floor so as you enter your deliberations tomorrow um since I've heard all this wonderful dialogue I'll just simply say uh implicit bias um explicit bias exists for educators they probably heard of something called Jane Elliott uh if you haven't looked at Jane Elliott's uh video

123take a quick peek at it it'll give you a real good Bird's eyee view of what this debate is about your job is to provide the appropriate training so that teachers can deliver the appropriate and excellent pedagogy in the classroom each and every day the reason I'm here though is to remind you to keep your word on December the 3 you said you were going to come back and talk about high school diploma endorsements uh as I looked at everybody's uh School Improvement plan back in December the words don't even exist as your consultant said if you want student outcomes to change adult behaviors have to change so I look forward to your having a debate and discussion about student high school diploma endorsement in the near future because school starts in 5 and a

124half weeks so good luck tomorrow thank you thank you all right do we have Monica musler in the house we do and then after Miss mler we've got Aiden finnel and then Grace Morton Aiden's not here Aiden's not here okay so we've got Miss musler and then Grace Marton I'm here as a proud CMS parent our children deserve an education based in fact truth and transparency as a parent I welcome Educators who teach our children to look at things from different perspectives and different viewpoints if parents and educators are unwilling to move out of their comfort zone with facts and truth then we are failing our children CMS has a student population comprised of many cultures religions and backgrounds and it's imperative that educators are free to provide instruction about cultural and racial differences not

125only in our nation but throughout the world teachers are trained professionals and should have the ability to teach using factual and accurate events both past and present I grew up in the Deep South where remnants of Jim Crow were everywhere there were almost zero people from other cultures and certainly no one who practiced any religion other than Christianity by the time I graduated from college I knew more about the Confederacy than I did about the Holocaust or the Civil Rights Movement I was never taught about the Tulsa Massacre the Wilmington riots Native American boarding schools red lining and I only learned about Japanese internment camps after college in classroom discussions throughout my education there was no dialogue about other races or cultures my husband was raised in AP pareed South Africa where his grandparents were

126sent as children from Berlin during World War II our family history is ugly and uncomfortable but we don't hide from it we want our child to learn all of these things I call on all CMS parents to support the teachers and the staff who are leading the hard discussions words matter and words like multiculturalism diversity socioeconomic status and systemic racism belong as discussion points in our classrooms just as much as the words Justice Liberty and freedom thank [Applause] you all right so we've got Grace Morton then Lily Russell Pinson and then audre Ben m mof hello my name is Grace and I'm a senior at Myers Park High School today I'd like to discuss the Nikki W case as she was not granted her title n rights throughout her experience reporting her rape at Myers

127Park according to the newly released legal documents about the case W reported her sexual assault to a total of four staff members all whom neglected her rights and Options under Title 9 according to paragraph 72 section D of the lawsuit filed against CMS since CMS schools received Federal funding there's a clear expectation of both the enforcement of the title n policies within schools but also the training of Staff members on how to handle the situation involving sexual violence and other gender-based harassment staff members at mys Park who have chosen to remain nameless have revealed that title 9 training has been administered inconsistently and when given has had no additional content added from the previous years in some years there have been student portions in which teachers were instructed to inform students of their rights and

128protections under the government mandate however many students never received the information from their home room teachers and are still unaware of their Title 9 rights or existence of the Mandate such as Title 9 according to an informal survey of former and current Myers Park students I'm a I was a minor in a CMS school when I was sexually assaulted I was unaware of my rights and I have and I had turned to a trusted teacher however I wasn't protected from my assaulter and he received no consequences from the administration until my parents became heavily involved at the time I thought my case was an anomaly however I see it as a symptom of a large problem of sexual in Charlotte meinberg Schools overall CMS and mys Park have failed to offer protection to victims of

129sexual assault and as well as informing students including myself of their rights established by Title 9 my question for you is what are you going to do to make those changes in the school system thank you thank [Applause] you you Lily yes ma'am all right go ahead hi everyone my name is Lily Russell Pinson and I am a senior at Myers Park High School today I'd like to discuss how Nikki ww's sexual assault case was mishandled by CMS throughout Nikki ww's process of Seeking Justice for her assault she states insensitivity and irresponsible behavior from members of Myers Park and CMS staff one Myers Park senior administrator was a defendant in ww's case and is documented in the lawsuit as discouraging ww from making any formal action while a defendant spoke with the Minal plaintiff alone

130paragraph 44 of the lawsuit filed and 2015 reports that he stated that if mg the perpetrator of the assault were found innocent then w will be suspended for having sex on campus in order to jeopardize her good standing at Myers Park High School at no point in this conversation did this Myers Park senior administrator informed W of her options to reced after the traumatic events in the woods surrounding Mars Park High School Instead This reductive statement was made by a person in a position of power further discouraging juwell from pursuing the matter further another further example of this insensitivity to the extreme trauma wanell experienced was when the Myers Park of senior administrator mentioned before gave a speech about the woods at Myers Park during an assembly in the 2015 2016 school year as stated

131in paragraph 55 of the lawsuit during the assembly this senior administrator informed students that some people go into the woods and don't come back Happy by saying this he is implicating that some of the blame for the assaults in the woods lie on the victims as they went into the woods in the first place this pattern of disrespect and insensitivity towards victims of sexual violence and gender-based harassment on campus show that some CMS staff are ill equipped to handle such a sensitive and complex issue of sexual assault due to the fact they neglected to provide protections for w and a former of her tile nine rights Charlotte mberg Schools specifically Myers Park High School and its Administration have failed to protect their students against sexual violence on Campus based on the egregious nature of how

132this case was mishandled CMS must conduct a thorough independent review of the Jill row case including the staff involved as well as provide a renewed commitment to ensuring title n rights being upheld through continued training we the students of Mars Park High School are entitled to a safe environment to learn and while we're still being denied that we will not be silent or silenced thank you thank you [Applause] we have audre [Applause] here we've got Audrey and I'm sorry for mispronouncing your name I'm sure I am Ben Ben MCL and then after Audrey we've got Katrina Carson hi my name is Audrey Ben MCL and I am a senior at Myers Park High School I have come to speak before you all today in order to share my story of harassment at Myers Park High

133School and humanized my experience it is easy to Discount a story when it is under a pseudonym but much harder when you have to look me in the eye while I share the events that occurred my freshman year at Myers Park I experienced harassment on the Myers Park High School campus at the hands of another student every day this male student would follow me to my car and make comments of a romantic and sexual nature that made me highly uncomfortable when I reported my discomfort surrounding this situation to a member of Myers Park faculty the teacher told me that this was the real world and I needed to get over it I was not read a list of options to address the situation nor was I offered any support from the school I can't think

134of a single female presenting student that has not experienced some sort of harassment at our school the boys of the school relentlessly cat call group and otherwise harassed students in the halls I feel unsafe and as if I am not listened to on the Myers Park Campus due to the actions and lack of action of the Myers Park staff thank you thank you you Katrina hello everyone my name is Trina Carson and I am a currently rising senior at Myers Park High School I transferred to Myers Park in the middle of my freshman year under the impression that Myers Park was one of the best public high schools in North Carolina I'm standing here to tell everyone here that I could not have been more wrong as a woman I am terrified of going to

135Myers Park again knowing that if I was sexually assaulted or raped I would not receive any help or care and it would be disregarded I wish to live in a world where I am not terrified every time I leave my home but the sad truth is that I am well Myers Park has Administration has failed to realize is that change starts with us the perpetrators have not should not have been punished and the victims should not have been blamed but that is not what happened today I stand here with some of the most powerful and amazing women who have come together to make this world a better place people may look at us and see a couple of teenagers and think what could they possibly change well let me tell you us teenagers have managed

136to plan an entire protest with more than 100 people showing up and we also have managed to get on almost every single news station that night let me tell you that we have more than 50,000 people on our side your students are angry and we demand change in the best interest and safety of your students there must be an internal review of Mars Park High School thank [Applause] you now we have joy Po and David Price and then Reverend Gregory Jerel do we have joy in the house oh okay it's over the Applause or under the [Music] Applause today you've heard stories of how Myers Park Administration have made an active effort to cover up actions of rapist in their student body these these acts are abhorent but I'm here to speak on behalf of

137Myers Park victims who could not be here today the hundreds if not thousands of unreported cases you may be thinking unreported cases that's not our problem but these two groups have both been affected by the same culture of rape apology that stems directly from Administration I was 14 years old when I was raped in the woods of Myers Park while being P pulled into the woods by my rapist I was a plain view of Myers Park security and staff who are directing traffic at the end of the day any adult who sees a child being aggressively pulled into the woods should stop what they are doing and address the situation this was not done not long after I was raped the two members of administration came on the morning announcements and warmed of a large

138black snake that lived in the woods and was biting students they said if you go in the woods a bit there's nothing we can do to help you we are not responsible for anything that happens in the woods for years I believed that no matter what happen to me and there there was nothing they could legally do to help me so reporting was useless whether there was actually a giant black snake in the woods or not there this simply shows that the administration at Myers Park do not care about victim's pain and that message comes too loud and clear this message is also seeped into the minds of many of my teachers throughout the rest of my time at Myers Park I suffered from episodes of PTSD and crying fits in class not a single

139teacher ever asked me what was wrong and I was simply sent to the bathroom and given a Kleenex it is one thing to have school officials who don't care it is quite another to have those school officials teach that hateful mindset to their staff students are given a crystal clear message from Administration that their pain is of no concern to them I may not I may just be one person standing here before you speaking but make no mistake I have the voice of every single run reported case of sexual assault at Myers Park High School behind me today I can't speak for all of those but I can tell you why I didn't report what happened to me because Myers Park High School told me that there was nothing they could do to help me

140I should have felt safe and and protected at Myers Park High School and I did not that does why today I ask you to re-evaluate your Overlook Title 9 policy as well as take direct action against Myers Park Administration thank [Applause] you [Applause] all right thank you Christ go ahead thank you y'all got a tough job so uh let me know if you guys want to drink afterwards um my name's David Price and I'm a graduate from Huff High School in Cornelius um today so there's been a lot of talk about critical race Theory and intersectionality and this isn't what I had written down but um I as as a a white American could learn could use to learn more about black history I can admit that I could use to learn more about the

141struggles of African-Americans the things that have happened in this country to our African-American brothers and sisters were not good we can admit that and I think everyone in this room can have a conversation about the facts that things weren't good slavery was not a good thing racism Jim Crow were not good things and we can understand that but I don't think the solution is intersectionality and the teaching of critical race theory in schools and I know people I've been hearing them all all night laughing and snickering about these things but the solution to issues like this is not is not curriculum it is teaching our young people virtue and character and love for other people hold up thank you that is what we should go after this curriculum that divides people among their race divides

142people teaches white kids that they're oppressors and black kids that they'll always live an oppressed life is not good for anybody if anything over the past few years America has only become more racist because of the heightened conversation and politization of racism we need to talk more about character and leading students to pursue virtue in their lives thank you thank you Reverend jel Bo thank you for uh allowing me hey guys come on let's let the rever so before I before I speak any of my uh prepared comments I just want to take a moment to honor the voices of those young women who've spoken so bravely here this evening and and to acknowledge that the racialized violence that exists in this world grows with from the same root stock as the gendered violence that

143exists in this world and that the work that we have to do is to attack all of that violence um so it it likely does not surprise you then uh that what we just saw was uh in the face of the stories of that of that kind of violence the immediate attempt to distract from it to return to the sideshow that we've had here this evening uh you have made the choice with curriculum uh to go to begin moving towards anti-racist education and so I want to encourage you to go deeper we've not gone deeply enough yet we still have the distractions we still have the sideshow we must go deeper if I were speaking to uh to those who came to bring that distraction tonight rather than to you I would remind them that

144the problem as white parents is ours white dinner tables teach kids to say peace peace when there is no peace until we root out the culture of white supremacy altogether and white church churches Rob kids of their souls before they have had a chance to develop a coherent moral vision for the world in that context white kids who are not the center need teachers and institutions that will tell them the truth if they're not going to get it from the other institutions and homes that serve them and so again with my time running out I would encourage you to go deeper to live into the charge given to us by our creator to live not from fear but out of courageous love thank you all right now we've got Laura Isel then Katherine titty then

145Justin Perry hi tonight I will be speaking to you from a relatable perspective as a mom on the topic of critical race Theory I hope you can hear my heart heart for all people and most importantly for our kids through what I say my role as a mother is the most important role I have and I ever will have my prayer is that I will raise my children to be respectful kind hardworking accountable for their actions and a friend to all critical race Theory teaches exactly the opposite of what they claim to thwart which is racism I teach my children that we are one human race created in God's image in stark contrast CR critical race Theory seems to support that we should be separated by race it focuses on skin color and suggests that

146some kids are oppressors and some kids are oppressed this confuses manipulates labels and marginalizes children these negative stereotypes are being taught to students who have would have never thought of them to begin with this indoctrination is dangerous and undermining to the family unit of which the government and school school districts are not a part of CMS paid ibram X KY 25,000 taxpayer dollars to speak to CMS teachers one of his philosophies is the only remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination why discrimination has no place in the classroom the role of the CMS board and DPI is to assist in educating our children in language arts science math and history without bias That's The Good The Bad and The Ugly but true history CMS parents pay attention to your child's social emotional learning curriculum and

147be aware of divisive critical race Theory we should be teaching our students to value and celebrate their differences in an inclusive way critical race theory is the antithesis of what Dr King spoke of when he said he dreamed of a day when people would not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character removes critical eras thank you thank you all right Miss titty and then we've got uh Justin Perry and then shmaya Haynes hello my name is Ka titty and I am the co-district lead of diversifier narrative CMS a student Le initiative working to create a diverse anti-racist curriculum that utilizes texts and lessons both by and about people of color in joining this fight my mission was and is to create a curriculum that accurately reflects both

148the students in this District as well as the history of the United States acknowledging the importance of representation followed by acting on set acknowledgement will allow every student in the CMS District to see themselves in the text they read and lessons they learn while confidently engaging in relevant beneficial dialogue however as possible critical race Theory bands present themselves Across the Nation including in North Carolina these rights are under attack not only will these bands impact the possibility of an anti-racist curriculum but the discourse students will have in the classroom will be changed drastically therefore it is crucial that Charlotte Mecklenberg stays true to its message of inclusivity and commits to a truthful diverse curriculum while many opponents of critical race Theory quickly support these bands there is often a lack of understanding of what critical

149race Theory truly is and where it is truly applied it is a framework for analysis in which students in higher level education courses such as law or graduate school are taught not to forget or rewrite rewrite the past but to consider how history impacts the present as we constantly encourage youth to be critical thinkers and reflective learners the same must apply as we examine our history the failure to present an accurate culturally responsive teaching of America's history is an utter disservice and will not act as a protective barrier instead it will leave students ill-prepared to confront inequity and Injustice in their own communities while invalidating the experiences of students of color who will truly benefit from a narrative that denies the past and scoffs at the idea of systemic racism it is time to reject

150ignorance demand a complete range of voices for our students and diversify our narrative thank you Mr Perry then miss Haynes and then Adrien win in 1989 Kimberly kinshaw coined the term intersectionality to explain how overlapping or intersecting social identities particularly minority identities relate to systems and structures of Oppression domination or discrimination today I'm trying to put intersectional advocacy into practice in less than two minutes intersectional advocacy means acknowledging that indigenous people were violently displaced from their land culture and children when European explorers came to this land intersectional accuracy means I'm committed to supporting an honest curriculum that recognizes that race gender and class were exclusionary qualifiers to vote when his country was founded intersectional advocacy means I will make sure to let people know the difference between Shadow slavery where you and your children had

151to give up your name culture and became permanent property which was different from indentured servitude which was still exploitation but came to an end with culture intact and at times land intersectional advocacy means that we will educate students to know that the IM first immigration laws restricted US citizenship to free white persons of good moral character intersectional advocacy means that I recognize that when women got the right to vote in 1920 it did not include black women who were still racially shut out into the Voting Rights Act just over 50 years ago inter sectional advocacy means that we will teach about the Homestead Act GI Bill and New Deal that were the greatest expanders of middle- class wealth in this country while largely excluding black Americans at their Peak for me today intersectional advocacy means

152standing for both an anti-racist curriculum and practices while also standing as a man in solidarity with young women who have been victims of sexual assault in Myers Park and any other school in the district even though I as a man never feared that experience myself we cannot simultaneously smash the patriarchy and uphold white supremacy Fanny Lum Fanny L Hammer once said nobody's free until Everybody's Free well I'm inviting everybody in here it's time for us to break our [Applause] chains a lot into a minute 52 seconds all right Miss Haynes and then Adrien wi and then Terry Nichols we stand here today in this chamber and members of this community with very different ideas of how history should be presented in our schools history should be presented in a factual way I want white children

153to know about the atrocities of slavery Jim Crow and the continued systemic injustices that have been opposed on black bodies you speak of Dr Martin Luther King as if he didn't die in the name of truth the truth that he and our people were men and women he died to he died because he was determined to get our society to recognize black people as human beings this Peacemaker and Fighter for the same truth some resist today is what he was Gunn down for democracy and hypocrisy cannot exist cheek to Chic it can't go in hand in hand with the denial of facts the fact of the matter is black men and women were bound and chained in this country while we while some people sung hymns on Sunday the same Bible that we stand here

154today and quote speaking of love black men and women in America were anything but loved that includes Dr Martin Luther King that includes Fanny Lou HR that includes Mary McLoud methun Marcus Garvey the list goes on and on those are the people who I want white children to know about what's important about that what's important about that is that my children will work with your children my children will go to college with your children and what will they think of my black children will it be love or will it be we're going to have conditional love as long as it suits me and what I [Applause] want thank you we've got Adrien W then Terry Nichols and Rebecca Lauder our ability to reach unity and diversity will be the Beauty and the test of our

155civilization mahat mandhi greeting school board members and fellow Educators I'm Dr Adrien WN a 15-year special education and Mathematics teacher in CMS and a seven-year inter International instructional coach having trained teachers in China Indonesia Malaysia Japan and batswana I stand in proxy tonight for those parents and students that were unaware of the systemic fight that desperately needs to hear their Collective voices Dr Martin Luther King states and individual has not started Living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all Humanity we are constantly barraged by the individual individualistic mindsets and ideologies of privilege all of the isms bigotry and systemic disenfranchisement today we say stop it listen and do what is Equitable for all students at CMS within the past 5 years it became public

156knowledge the publisher McGrath Hill downplayed slavery in school textbooks and a Pearson textbook stated slaves have not been unhappy discontinu The Audacity Of perpetually covering up historical facts like Lake Norman Lake laner Black Wall Street and much more we need to dis deconstruct the impact privilege continues to make on our children then reconstruct a more comprehensive path that proves fair to all and Equitable which is called diverse Equity we have a fundamental responsibility to educational Equity education is the great equalizer when we do better and know better I'm charging you to continue that play thank you thank [Applause] you Terry Nichols then Rebecca Lauder and then Ken Mack uh good evening my name is Terell Nichols and I'm a proud grandmother of five mixed race beautiful children here in Charlotte I have no agenda but

157the welfare and future of all of our children I'm going to give you a quote if history repeats itself and the unexpected always happens how incapable must man of learning from experience George Bernard Shaw and I will add that if we hide history we will never learn to adjust ourselves I really don't understand why people don't want the truth the real truth of History um in this country to be taught that is not true I know exactly why to uphold white supremacy that's how this country's been operating black and brown people have been given the responsibility of protecting the feelings of white people forever meanwhile keeping their monuments to men that bought against the US to keep their slaves traitors how are we supposed to move on and unite when you don't want to acknowledge

158the harm that was done how are we supposed to move on when you just want to forget the horrors of slavery you think it will make your children feel bad what about the feeling of black and brown children that are faced with racism every day even in school by students and teachers my grandson was told he was racist against white people because he spoke out about a scene in a film that was shown in school and as racist the assistant principal even chimed in in support of the teacher that called my grandon races that was an opportunity for the educator to have a conversation but unfortunately where my mixed grandchildren go to school they are the minority thank [Music] [Applause] you all right we've got Karen Mack and then sudor Conrad and then Gabrielle Gomez

159Saxon I a former teacher um in CMS yeah Rebecca louder I'm sorry I skipped you so yes you go next okay um I'm a former teacher of five years in CMS a small business owner and a mother of five I know firsthand that our job as teachers isn't to push our beliefs onto the children CRT is a Marxist ideology and based on opinions maruza came up with it with the focus on the color of your skin so pardon me if this sounds disrespectful but how do we determine how white is white am I White am I Atrium Health has me as black African-American my children range from paper white to light brown like me kind of depends what season it is sometimes I'm Miss Bailey's color sometimes I miss Blake's color when my hair is

160black and curly like it was post chemo Atrium Health classified me as black well it's I mean my my point is does it matter I'm a human you guys let's order order I'm actually Italian American as an Italian-American I know a great deal about how Italians have been treated as second class citizens I also know how Irish Americans were treated they were treated and called dirt they were called pigs they were called good servants if their masters handled them harshly Italians were lynched in the early part of the century I have stories from my family of hardships my family was very poor when they came here and they lived in a two-bedroom house and suffered greatly with 10 kids but that's you know do some research off of Google about the history thank you thank

161you that's your two minutes thank you guys let's just keep it civil Reverend Mack good evening I'm Minister Karen Mack president of the Charlotte mberg nwacp and I stand on the shoulders of great black leaders like Thor Good Marshall and John Lewis and Daisy Bates and Fanny L hmer and Martin Lu the king people who are willing to lose their lives so that black people could have a life and so that black children could have an equitable education and I stand here today in 2021 to discuss an educational harm racism I'm an anti-racist and I believe it's important that we begin to teach the truth in the educational system the rich beautiful truth about black people in this country as well as the harms done to us the hateful brutality against black people for over

162400 years that's important because we are resilient people and we don't wear our harms but we walk around every single day traumatized because even in these days we are dealing with hate implicit by bias and bias in the educational system as well as outside of the educational system systemic racism hurts black people and has for over 400 years and it was intentional let's be clear it was intentional and so in my last words because I hear about the word of God so much in here today the word of God says in all our getting get understanding it also says the truth makes us free so for those white folks who are uncomfortable learn about our history so that you may be free so that we can be free be free beloved be free we've got

163sudor Conrad then Gabrielle Gomez txon and then Nikki juwell uh my name is sud Conrad and I'm an educator representing Education First Alliance North Carolina in I'm here to oppose critical race theory in our schools critical race Theory teaches children they are defined by their race not as individuals this is isn't this what we've been trying to stop since the Civil War ibram Kennedy who again was paid $25,000 by CMS to speak this summer said babies at 2 to 3 years old start internal izing racist ideas they start Discerning and making decisions based on racist ideas we're allowing our society to raise them to be racist this idea of his is completely false as a mother of a 2-year-old I guarantee you she does not know what race is we have not taught it to

164her therefore she doesn't understand it racism is taught kids do not see it until they're shown to it to them therefore when when we teach critical race theory in our classrooms we are teaching that they are nothing more than the color of their skin they are either oppressors or the oppressed teachers are agents of the government and by allowing critical race Theory to be taught in schools that is a direct attack on children from our government what we must do is prioritize character and academic excellence in our schools which will in turn inspire children from all cultures and racial backgrounds to achieve their potential in schools Should students should be taught how to think not what to think I would like to end with a quote from Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson we are doing our

165students a disservice whether they are black white brown Native American gay straight it doesn't matter we need to be teaching them standards that are going to allow them to be encouraged am thank you all right we've got Gabrielle Gomez Saxon and then Nikki juwell and then Gregory D Ranken all right I support cms's efforts to to create an inclusive curriculum but this requires change I went to Colin of Language Academy and received a multicultural education but since then I have learned that we need an Intercultural education where there is an exchange of cultures and ideas not just a mention of culture to check a box as an intern for this Smithsonian institution I've been working to expand education on Latino history and have realized the limitations of my own knowledge on the subject because I

166have been taught a whitewashed version of US History through this internship I tasked with creating learning lab collections about influential Latino figures in American history my first collection was about does wera a Chana labor movement and Civil Rights Act activist and that I had yet to be introduced to she was just important in leading the the Delano grape strikes 1965 as s Chavis was yet she is often dismissed in history books what what we did learn about slavery Jim Crow and the Civil Rights Movement were one-sided and seemed to gloss over the oppression of racial minorities for example I was never taught about EMT till from Mississippi and the the the atrocities white men inflicted on the 14-year-old and the history of police brutality in the United States and on minority groups the only way

167we can progress as a society is to understand our nation through a holistic and inclusive approach to history with this knowledge we can learn from our past and prog progress towards a um more change inclusivity and Justice thank you thank [Applause] you go right ahead my name is Nikki ww but you may know me as is Jill Row from the lawsuit against CMS I'm 22 years old I love art and music and theater I know 20 digits of piie when I was 15 years old I was raped in the woods by Myers Park High School and it was covered up by the MP Administration I say all this because I need you to understand that I Jill row am a real person and I'm not against you I continue to speak out because I care

168about CMS and its students I know that there has been significant changes to the school district since I was a student but the fact that survivors have come forward with stories like mine from 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 and 2019 shows that those changes have not been enough there needs to be an overhaul of how this District handles reports of sexual violence at their schools the sexual education system needs to be reformed so students know how to recognize and report this violence and most importantly there needs to be accountability for the Myers Park Administration that has allowed and encouraged these atrocities to be swept under the rug because they value their reputation over their students well-being at this point based on your silence with the exception of that extremely hurtful and victim blaming Facebook f

169post it feels like I care more about your students than you do if you cared about your students you wouldn't demean them on social media or set up police officers to stop their peaceful protest or make them erase their chalk all while ignoring their legitimate cries for change your students are speaking up you can either listen to them and do what's right or you can fight it but either way we aren't going away if you truly care about your students like you were elected to you will ensure that there is accountability and justice for all their survivors that have been silenced thank [Applause] you [Applause] thank you all right Mr Ranken you're up my name is D Ranken I'm a member of the bpc education committee I understand that school district has a long way

170to go in addressing performance student performance especially around black and brown students but I would like to give credit where credit is due last year was brought to my attention that due due to covid a volatile social climate and a newly ad EO curriculum there was a decision to exclude certain lessons from the curriculum lessons that included literature such as the narratives of Frederick Douglas The Little Rock N and the Holocaust this was very disturbing and due to concerns about omitting these very important lessons CMS arranged meetings with the bpc education committee to give input on how to make the curriculum more diverse and inclusive thank you to Matt Hayes Brian Kingsley Beth Thompson Brandy Nelson p and the entire CMS academic team for your willingness and dedication to make the CMS curriculum diverse and

171inclusive thank you for seeing the value and diversity and allowing students to see themselves within the lessons allowing along the same time the CMS leadership along with the superintendent saw the valuee becoming a more a more anti-racist District thank you to your leadership thank you Mr superintendent for seeing the value and learning how to how race power and bias play a role in education as well as student outcomes I'm here to ask you as a board and CMS leadership to continue this good work that you're doing continue to work towards becoming a more inclusive District continue to work towards becoming an anti-racist District according to National the National Bureau of economic research students that participated in an inclusive curriculum their GPA improved by 1.4% and attendance improved by 21% don't give in to these ill-informed

172individuals pushing a false narrative that our students are being taught to be anti-white this is just not true although very important reading and writing education is more about reading just reading and writing it also includes learning about different different cultures and seeing the value in all of the different cultures so once again please thank you for your good work and ask you continue to work towards becoming allowing our students to become more educated in a culturally responsive manner thank you okay now we've got Stephanie Spivy then Christine Van Meter and then Steve reskovic [Music] so miss viiv is up spy I apologize thank you okay I'm Stephanie Spivey from District Six history justifies governance and the governing and the narrative serves the politics teaching critical race facts is Central to the spine of American History

173it is not coincidental that we're having this fight over which story we would tell about this country the very same people are trying to suppress the vote while some oppos CRT are you the same who oppose the removal of Confederate monuments the American idea is indeed in trouble as it should be we're being taught stories not facts stories that secure virtue that protects virtue in 1965 two American Titans faced off on the subject of the country's racial divides nearly 56 years ago later the the event has lost none of its relevance the Cambridge debate more than half of it is devoted to explaining how Ballwin and Buckley upbringings and formed their ideological beliefs perhaps the opposition to critical race Theory would have us satisfied with the dab of nobl oblig mixed with a bit of

174waight your turn for the truth to be taught I don't think so Board of Trustees support the inclus the inclusive curriculum no backward steps thank you Miss FY all right Christine Van Meter then Steve oreskovic and then Pastor Kate Murphy I'm going to assume like most Americans you all support our armed forces and might have a personal connection as I do myself an army not representative of the nation risks becoming illegitimate in the eyes of the people it is imperative that we leverage all aspects of the nation's diversity to include gender ethnicity religion education thought sexual orientation and cultural background to create and sustain an inclusive organization that attracts the best the nation has to offer this is quoted from the website of the office of diversity inclusion and equal opportunity at West Point our

175nation's Premier academic and Leadership institution how can we sustain a force that's successful with Future Leaders if they carry a narrow myopic one-sided story of our country and its people for our country to lead from the front we are obligated to ensure children learn material that encompasses the honest history of all Americans and their ancestors such as the red summer of 1919 and the 1944 GI Bill where African-American World War II veterans were denied the benefit meant to increase prosperity for those who served these men for fought for freedom they were not afforded at home I lived in Germany and children learned the horrors of the Reich Holocaust and visit concentration camps they learned atrocities their grandparents may have committed what would you think if they didn't teach this to those who oppose culturally relevant

176teaching and say you would feel discussed please check your hypocrisy in the mirror what are your motives to stunt the intellectual personal and academic growth of this generation what defines your fear white children feeling bad about themselves for learning the truth are they coated in fragile porcelain that they will crack with feeling uncomfortable the truth emerges that this is more about you your Prejudice and an unfounded fear at accepting the truth of history that racism and oppression have been injected into the veins of our society laws and institutions since its Inception thank you and you girls are brave Mr oresic I have in my hand a list of 205 teachers known to the superintendent as members of the social studies Department who are teaching critical race wait a minute nope that paper's blank just like

177Joseph McCarthy's when he alleged the state department was filled with Communists fear did not win then and it will not now but lessons from the past haven't been heeded today facts fall to opinion and propaganda while Boogeyman are everywhere it seems some are believing the lyrics that history will teach us nothing we recently received a new set of social study standards and teachers are at work crafting lessons for new curricula these lessons will EMP emphasize inquiry rather than memorization but teachers have been using inquiry methods for years engaging with primary sources so students can understand the why of History evaluation is not based on what a teacher thinks but a one the student can prove inquiry helps students gain historical perspective and understanding of the settings that are shaping people's lives and actions in the

178past critical thinking skills are taught and honed as students interact with primary sources to move from knowledge to analysis evaluation and finally creation through informed action this final stage is important informed action allows students to demonstrate the ability to implement Lessons Learned From the Past to affect change in the future this is not indoctrination but instruction students are learning how to identify facts and reliable sources to chart a force of action for change facilitating this type of learning means we must be honest about our past not to place blame but to ensure that we do not again fall prey to fear and ignorance neutrality favors the oppressor we need to be rational and empathetic to the Past journey of all Americans we must be true to ourselves and our Collective history so that we the

179people can achieve that more perfect union for what we've been striving since 1789 thank you thank you Pastor Murphy hi my name is Kate Murphy I'm a pastor here in Charlotte but I'm also the mother of a 10th grader at North meinberg a seventh grader at JMA and a rising kindergartener at ble elementary and in 1980 when I lived in Louisville Kentucky busing was instituted in our city and my parents put me on a bus and I started school at Whitney M Young Elementary School on MLK Boulevard and I had an amazing experience as part of a rich diverse student body but while I was there learning and playing and loving my classmates who were very different from me I also learned that America was the greatest nation on Earth I learned that America had

180never lost a war I learned that Kentucky fought on the right side of the Civil War which was meant the union side which was not true and I learned that MLK fixed racism I learned in my very wonderful diverse school that America had one story and it was triumphant and heroic I learned a whitewashed fairy tale version of American history in 10th grade in my apus history class my teacher tried to teach me about Japanese internment camps I stood up threw my book on the floor and yelled at him that he was lying to me I simply didn't believe he was telling the truth because it went against everything I'd learned about American history who knows what I would have done if I learned about the Tulsa massacres redlining the 13th Amendment convict leasing an

181imit till I don't know what I would have done cuz nobody taught me about them nobody even taught me who Whitney M young was even though I went to an elementary school named after him thank you for doing better by my three white daughters I support these social studies [Applause] standards so now we have Susan and covich then Glenn Stevens then Tracy gainy do we have Susan all right looks like you're up Mr Stevens careful go right ahead this past year accentuated several negative Dynamics within discussions of our students Public School System these Dynamics many of which have been on display tonight do not do nothing to Foster our students ability to strive to for their best possible outcomes the first Dynamic is a claim to Wi in which two completely opposing views of VI

182point of view appear to be logically equivalent when in fact they are not this is represented by the belief that because the loudest on social media spouse one belief that belief must in fact be true as opposed to a second belief which may in fact have the overwhelming collection of data to support it this is the danger of vilifying others on social media if one is not careful one's belief system becomes dominated by a singular mindset which may not be supported in confirmed data and more importantly it doesn't best serve our students the second dangerous d Dynamic is substituting one's person one person's actual position with a misrepresentation of the position represented by the assertion that because one supports fiscally responsible government one must be opposed to those who serve our students in one year

183my family has given more to our adopted son's team of Educators than my first son than in my first son's entire six-year lifetime yet my fiscally conservative views have been wrongfully characterized as being anti-teacher a contention which only serves to shut down discussion and limit valid viewpoints finally there is the dangerous Dynamic of interpreting definitions of key terms wrongly represented by the egregious way in which quality and Equity are often misrepresented equality is a condition in which two separate quantities are the same 2 plus 2 is the same as four Equity is the allocation of resources in a way that differ that differ students or populations arrive at their chosen outcomes though the outcomes May not in truth be the same nor are they guaranteed the time is long passed for the name calling by

184some to stop and for our students to come first thank you thank you do we have Tracy gainy and then I've got another Joy Poe okay then Jen nitel and then after Jen we've got Stu lockerby and then Julie Anna Kaufman so I'm up you're up okay good evening my name is Jen nitel and I'm the executive director of the educational Equity Institute which is a nonprofit based here in Charlotte I'm speaking tonight as an educator but also as a mother of three children in CMS schools a senior a freshman and a fifth grader a large part of the work that I do focuses on providing professional development and consultation to schools and school districts who are looking to expand their knowledge and understanding of racism and the inequities within the educational system we tell

185the true history of our country because it is essential that Educators and their students understand the root causes of the ongoing inequities and and racism within our society we have educated thousands of teachers and other school administrators and on the whole the feedback as we get is very positive we hear a lot of Educators say why haven't we heard this before why weren't we taught this in school we will not eradicate the inequities within the CMS until we confront our complicated and hypocritical past teaching our history doesn't mean that we are explicitly telling white children that they are racist teaching our true history doesn't mean that we are out to make white children feel bad about being white all of this is counterproductive to the cause what is needed is an emphasis on providing opportunities

186for our children to learn about and discuss in a deeply intentional and developmentally appropriate way about our true history this can be done and it is essential for us to heal as individuals as a community as a nation from white supremacy and racism no one is immune from their negative effects you will also hear that teaching about history and racism should be left to parents and I can tell you that as a mother of three boys who I'm doing best to raise as anti-racist I am fighting social media the media and peers this task can is ongoing and daily and cannot be left to parents alone I urge you as school board members to continue to support the use of cultural responsive antibio practices that promote the social emotional and intellectual development of all of

187our children thank you thank [Applause] you we have Stu lockerby then Juliana Kaufman and then Katie McCoy thank you so much and thank you for your patience decades ago we started teaching evolution in our schools and most people know that that was uh popularized by Charles Darwin through his book Origin of Species what a lot of people don't realize is that the subtitle was Origin of Species or the preservation of the favored races now I take that statement as racist that In Darwin's view there were favored races more advanced races of course he didn't look at himself as a racist he was making observations and then making in my opinion very very wrong conclusions now I'll let you decide whether critical race theory is teaching that we have favored races I hope that it doesn't

188but in this country We As Americans say that we believe that we have a creator that we are created with certain inalienable rights life liberty and the pursuit of happiness and Alexander Stevens recognized that the founders abhorred slavery and hoped for a way to abolish it in fact Thomas Jefferson in his original draft of the Declaration of Independence laid the fault of the slavery's import into the United States at the feet of King George but he said they were in error you see Alexander Stevens was the Vice President of the Confederacy Democrat I'm all in favor of teaching the real thank you so we've got Julianne Kaufman then Katie McCoy and then Jessica atham are you Juliana I am go right ahead I am over overwhelmed this is my first school board meeting and I

189am so sad to the core at where we are as a people we are Americans and we are tearing and dividing each other up I was not planning on speaking but I've been making some notes um mainly because my son was diagnosed with autism two years ago and the doctor was so afraid of being being ridiculed for writing a note that allowed him to not wear a mask in third grade um that he refused to write it the CDC guidelines are guidelines they are not law okay so I have I want to talk about Jesus because he is why he is why this is why we he came this Division and confusion is why Jesus came is why he bled on the cross for our sins this um this my my time I wanted to

190talk about masks but I am overwhelmed and I am burdened let me just say this 21 us code 360 BBB D3 States no emergency authorized medical product can be forced as individuals have the option to accept or refuse administration of the product we are protected by law my son has not been protected I pulled him out because he needed to breathe 21 us code 360 bbb3 includes masks PCR tests vaccinations look up T experiment thank you thank you and then Jessica I couldn't read your last name man she to share the gospel so there's really not more I can say um that's really all we needed to hear tonight really um I was not planning on to speak um thank you for your service first of all thank you regardless of if we agree with

191one another thank you for your service my name is Katie McCoy I am a graduate of Providence High School class of 99 South Charlotte Middle School and Elizabeth traditional Elementary School also both my parents graduated from CMS at Independence and Olympic my grandparents graduated at CMS and my great-grandparents graduated at CMS for the first time in five generations my husband and I pulled my children from the school system for now because we believe the school system is not listening to the many concerns of local parents first as many have said tonight parents should have the choice to determine whether or not their children have to wear a muzzle on their face there are multiple studies out now that show children are not super spreaders of covid there are multiple Therapeutics out there that work like

192Ivor mctic and hydroxychlor that many doctors and scientists say are actual cures and there's a vaccine for any teacher or administrator who wants it now in terms of what some are calling cultural appropriate learning you have heard many viewpoints today so how do we move forward of course we should learn about different cultures ethnicities the history of slavery slavery we definitely need to listen to that um the Holocaust we should never divide but we should never divide children into different camps oppressed and oppressor if we listen to those who agree with cultural appropriate learning or CRT or whatever you want to call it then there is no Redemption and that goes against my Christian faith and countless many other families of all ethnicities in CMS I will leave with a recent alveda King quote who

193is MLK's great niece a freedom fighter thank you ma'am thank you Miss McCoy so do we we have Jessica Jessica aam I can't read this no all right well Miss McCoy was our final speaker um I think I'm gonna we're going to do a five minute recess before we move on we've got a great meeting if if anyone wants to stick around we have some great reports and action items coming up so we'll be right back the Lord I'm so stupid at this I forget all right up yeah I assumed it was building [Music] security [Music] it's a necessity all right fun and then my dad's a teacher so I wouldn't be able to get to the board meetings right you hanging in there I just have to update my mind feel like I've got

194way too many things up here at least I didn't have to lay on the floor this time is it better much better yes is it better that one meeting I had to go outside and lay on the floor these red chairs there's something about them that's very unfriendly to the back I don't know what it is I think there a whole no lumbar there's no lumbar support well to everyone who's still with us God bless you to everyone who's still watching at home thank you um the next item is our consent agenda is there a motion that the board approve the consent agenda item motion to approve second okay uh before we move to a vote does any board member wish to pull any part of this item for individual consideration no all right um

195all those in favor of the motion please let it be known by a show of hands do we have any opposed okay that passes Madame clerk by a vote of 8 to Zer Mr superintendent I believe you've got some Personnel appointments to announce yes and thank you madam chair it is my honor to present four Personnel appointments uh this evening uh the first of which uh which you see over my shoulders uh the first of which is Mark angerer who is the current principal of br runs Avenue Elementary School a former principal at Carmel middle and an assistant principal at both Wilson and Carmel uh Middle School it is my honor to uh announce that Mr angerer will be serving as the new and proud principal of South mecklinburg High School and I am sure

196uh that uh he will uh continue with the uh track record of success that has already been demonstr ated under the previous leadership and build upon that I would normally ask Mr anger to come to the podium or stand and give a few brief remarks um but he is out of town and uh will not be able to do so tonight but I wanted to acknowledge Him the second principal appointment that I have this evening is Mr Casey Jones and Mr Casey Jones is the current uh principal of West mecklinburg High School proud principal he tells me all the time and he's not going too far um Mr Jones is my choice to be the new principal of Olympic High School he lives in the Steel Creek area uh and has previously served in several

197rows um in New York City including as the founder um leader of the Innovation diploma plus High School Mr Jones I would like to give you an opportunity to share a few brief remarks at this [Applause] time I will be brief um thank you super tenant Winston and the CMS board for the opportunity to lead the Olympic um Community being a resident of Southwest Charlotte I have seen the tremendous growth and transition and diversity our area has experienced over the last last couple of years I'm excited about the opportunity to continue the work that has already been started in the Olympic community and to provide spaces for our students to have their experiences that will prepare them for post-secondary success I have heard about the great work that is already been done on the campus

198and I look forward to being an additional resource for both students and families before I take my seat I would like to take um to thank my current Learning Community superintendent aquanetta Ed Edmond for her leadership and support and I would also like to thank my future Community superintendent Steven Esposito for his vision and passion for the Olympic Community I am so excited and I can't wait to engage with our families because that's my community so thank you Bor and thank you everyone have a good night thank you Mr Jones next up is Mr Dwight Thompson who is the current principal at Tua CI Elementary School uh he is my choice to be the next principal of Renaissance West steam Academy Mr Thompson previously served as an assistant principal at both albamar Road Elementary School

199and another school in a neighboring District um he also served as resident principal at Westerly Hills Academy and as a teacher at University Park creative arts Elementary School Mr Thompson would like to invite you to provide a few brief remarks superintendent Ernest Winston and all of the board to my learning community superintendent aquanetta Edmund I get to stay with her so that's an awesome opportunity to continue with I am totally excited to join Renaissance West steam Academy I think that the model that they have in place in the last four years since the school opened is a great opportunity for the students on the west side of our city and for us to really make things happen for that community so I'm completely all in and invested I can't wait to meet that staff and

200I again thank the board for this opportunity to continue in my leadership and also to lead Renaissance West theme Academy thank you thank you Mr Thompson and last but certainly not least you can please stand uh principal fasen I would like to acknowledge uh Tanya fasen who is the current principal at James Martin Middle School where she has served since 2014 uh prior to that she served as a principal at Hawthorne Academy of Health Sciences uh she's also been an assistant principal in the district as well and I'm excited to announce principal fasen as the new principal of our virtual Middle School principal fren please share a few brief remarks good evening or good night everyone I would just like to First say thank you U Mr Winston for the recommendation and also I would

201like to thank um Dr ratley and uh Mr John Wall who is my current uh Learning Community soup and Dr Beard who is my current Ed they both have provided a lot of support for me uh in my journey at James Martin Middle School um as you stated I've been there for seven years um I'm looking forward to this opportunity um I've done a lot I've seen a lot I've learned a lot and I'm ready to move forward with doing a great job with the virtual Middle School I'm looking forward to making sure we create this environment that has already been created in many of all of our schools because of the pandemic but to keep that going for those students who really need a different type of a learning environment and then I just

202want to take a minute just to say because I have with me my daughter and she's been sitting here all night uh Bria and she's a product of CMS by way of maler Creek High School and she's a rising sophomore at Winston Sal State University and also I have with me my cousin SL dad and there's a story behind that Calvin Bank who's here with me in support too so again I'm glad that they sat here all night waiting and I appreciate the board and you Mr Winston for this opportunity and I will not let you [Applause] down and as I promised you all may depart at this time I know you've been here for several hours you can leave if you want to dismissing everybody else or you can bring us breakfast Bojangles runs

203so are these our principal appointments ma'am that's everybody okay well let's move on to the action items our first action item this evening is approval of the 2022 2023 academic calendar before the board acts I turn to the superintendent to introduce this item and to make a recommendation thank you madam chair at this time I would like to recognize Angie Bartles and Stephanie McKinny to present uh our recommendation for the 2022 2023 academic calendar Miss BOS and Miss mcken will provide uh greater DET about the process for developing the uh academic calendar and the recommendation but before they do so I would like to just take a moment to mention that uh we bring to you this recommendation board members after careful consideration of community feedback uh for example we heard from both staff members

204as well as members of the community a great deal of support uh for including several religious holidays um that are included in what we will recommend uh momentarily and as Miss BOS and Miss mckenny will share several factors uh such as timing uh and the length of winter and spring break uh periods drove much of the discussion uh and I want to take a moment to acknowledge um Miss Jennifer de laara who serves as the board representative on the calendar uh committee um I would also like to just take a moment to clarify uh that our request for feedback we every year we request feedback and that request for feedback does not necessarily mean a vote for one of two options as an absolute um instead we use that feedback to really guide um our

205decision making um and we believe that the hybrid recommendation that will be presented shortly is the best blend of staff and Community input and most important it is student Focus so with that I am going to turn it over to miss mckenny and miss farles thank you superintendent Winston so um as you um alluded to superintendant the calendar creation is a multi-step process and it has several intervals and built into those several steps there are feedbacks um Loops that we go through and We Gather that feedback to help inform us us to ensure that we make operational decisions that um maximizes the um instructional time within the academic calendar and so as a summary the academic calendar has to be built with 215 total um days for our staff PID paid days for our staff

206per state statute um the calendar has to have four we call them categories of days first of all instructional time it either has to have 100 85 instructional days or 1,25 instructional hours we use the 6h hour um days a day uh 6h hour day MA minimum or maximum rather which means that we have to have a calendar that's bu built with 171 instructional days that meets that 1,25 hours um then the second um area that we have to include is annual leave days holidays and then the balance of those 215 days is made up by um teacher work days so as a review of the two options that we put forth for a public vote the calendars they were pretty similar but the differences um that I want to highlight is the ending of

207semester um semester one on calendar a ended January 27th where um on option b it ended on January 24th the timing of winter break is one day longer in calendar B B and it's two uh consecutive weeks I'm sorry in calendar a it's two consecutive weeks in calendar B it extends itself into the January 2nd um meaning they will get a work day before they come back into um the the regular school year then the other thing to highlight is the timing of spring break in calendar a is the week um of Good Friday and calendar B is the week after Good Friday so again this is what the calendars look like when they went to um public um Vote or consideration for feedback um calendar a it highlighted October 5th um as a religious

208holiday and um Good Friday April the 7th calendar B highlighted um September 26th as a religious holiday Jewish holiday Ros Shana and um October 5th was recognized in calendar B um Young compor and then also um Good Friday was also recognized and I'll turn it over to Angie to go through the data that we received from our survey thank you so as the superintendent and miss mcken both mentioned we put both of those two options out for public feedback we heard back from 11,800 folks in our community um both our students our employees and parents in the community at large 57% of those folks preferred option b of the two options so that was a slim margin um of of approval for option b just wanted to highlight briefly for you we do ask um

209the people who respond to tell us what stakeholder group they belong to and the preference amongst both our parents students employees and community members was option b although you'll note that we didn't have many students or Comm community members complete the the survey this year we ask a third and very important question in our survey when we're asking for feedback from the community and that is what criteria guide the decision making of of those who are responding we ask this to better understand what matters to our stakeholders in evaluating the calendars and that helps us better balance throughout the process as Miss Penny pointed out as we make iterations as we go what's important to the most possible number of stakeholders and that informs the recommendation that the calendar committee brings forward to the superintendent

210for his consideration we wanted to point out that when we asked this question about the 2223 school year that the the people who chose option b three um two-thirds of them told us that they did so because of the length and timing of spring break which as Stephanie pointed out is one day longer in option b and it occurs the week after Easter and Passover it was interesting to note as well that of the people who chose option A almost 75% of them did so because of the length and timing of winter break which as Miss mcken pointed out is one day longer in option A and also is a full uninterrupted two weeks so based on this feedback and also conversations with internal stakeholders and our leadership team on the academic side of the

211house and our cabinet team the calendar committee recommended to the super intended a hybrid option which we're calling option C but it is really option b um with two additional considerations present so we have included a non-instructional day during the November election day which is uh November 8th and then we've added one teacher workday to the beginning of winter break to um to adhere to the feedback that we got from the people who chose option a um and cited they did so because of the length and timing of winter break we are proposing this option as the um recommendation because as I mentioned and as you saw in the in the survey results there was not a very large margin of preference for option b so we believe that this will be able to optimize

212the elements that matter for the majority of State holders who gave us their feedback and also adhere to leadership and board feedback about the importance of having a non-instructional day on the November election day so option C is here for you on the screen there are the two differences um from option b that I mentioned so you'll note the teacher work day on November 8th you'll also note the teacher work day on December 20th that decreases our total number of instructional days to 175 and so the Imp lication of that is um operational in nature if we do not have 177 instructional um days then it will call into question our ability to have all four of our early release days or it will mean that the superintendent cannot wave all four of the makeup

213days that are allowed um per policy so the recommendation we made to the superintendent again was option C for his consideration tonight well thank you Miss Bartles and Miss McKenna for your leadership of the calendar committee and I know that it is probably our largest Committee in the district and and and we do that intentionally because we take very seriously the opportunity to be as inclusive as possible with all of our stakeholders uh internal as well as external stakeholders so thank you for sheering us through that uh process and so Madam chair board members I would just reiterate reate that my recommendation to the board for approval to for the 2022 2023 calendar is the hybrid option C version all right do we have any questions okay I'm going to turn to board member Jennifer

214deara for to make this motion thank you madam chair I move to approve the academic calendar for the two uh 2022 2023 school year attached to this motion entitled option three have a second second okay would you like to speak to your motion yeah certainly briefly and and thank you Mr superintendent for taking some uh extra time this evening to explain the process and to elaborate you know how how we go about this I know Miss Bartles and Miss mckenny have done that several times before us here but I think just taking that extra moment to um explain how complicated it is um is is really appreciated now that we have five extra people in the audience that are left with us and maybe 20 people watching from home so it's good to to get

215that information out um to the public um I appreciate all the hard work that both of you did this year in particular because we had to run the meeting via and during Co remotely so they had to come up with I just want to share this briefly special ways to to for us to all I mean how was how many was it 40 60 people coming together to manipulate these calendars in a virtual environment and it was very complex and it was um not an easy task so first of all thank you for figuring out unique ways to do that um during Co um and I'm very pleased that we were able to come up with a with a hybrid model that incorporates some of that extra feedback that we did get from various community

216members um including some of the Jewish High holidays that that we discuss that are there and also election day I know our Municipal education advisory committee many of those members in the M committee had indicated that that was very important uh countywide and so I appreciate that feedback I would like to suggest um for consideration in the future however I'll just throw this out there because um despite our efforts to explain I think oftentimes that um that we are still Gathering feedback the fact that two um calendars are put out in the way that they are folks really do think they're voting for one or the other and that the the one that is the majority that wins should be the the one and only um I appreciate the extra explanation tonight an option might

217be there can be ways that we can capture the values that are important that values piece the length of the winter break the length of the spring break holidays all of those maybe there are different ways without forcing folks to choose one color and other that we can still capture the values that are important to the community so it doesn't confuse them it's just simply an option for us you know to think about next year on different ways that we might be able to present that so the community still feels involved um but it doesn't Force us to have to sort of vote against what they what they voted for motion to say option C not option three I certainly can restate that should I do that now restate the motion yes option okay Madam

218chair I move to approve the academic calendar for the 2022 2023 school year attached to this motion entitled option C C okay now do we have a second second all righty any further debate running well you know I all those in favor of the motion let it be known by a show of hands please and that passes by 8 to zero um all right our next action item is a recommendation to approve the title one two and four Grant application I'm going to turn to the superintendent to introduce this item and to make a recommendation thank you madam chair at this time I want to um um recognize members MERS of our team um led by Kate Miss Katie sineri um and Miss Allison Whitaker uh who who are going to provide an update um

219on several areas of important funding um for which we must approve Grant applications uh this funding is critical to our efforts in the district uh to provide Equity U and outcomes for our underserved individuals and groups uh within the CMS community and so with that I am going to toss it over to you guys good evening board members and Mr Winston I pleased to be here tonight to share the title one portion of the application for the 2122 school year I do want to recognize our title one team members who are watching on Facebook live so hello Dr lawani and uh Miss mainus uh Title One is the largest of all the federal entitlement grants to support supplemental academic programming to our highest need schools CMS received a slight reduction in 2122 Title One planning

220allotment we have also a 15% carryover which is allowable under federal law from 2021 school year and we that will help us continue programming outside of the regular school calendar please note our poverty percentage served is the same as 2021 the US Department of Education offered a flexibility option in light of pandemic data DPI has selected to utilize this flexibility option and asked that all leas districtwide utilize this so we will be using last year's poverty data and serving the schools at this poverty percentage and above in 2122 school year we will serve 83 schools in CMS we will also and we must set aside funding for non-public schools who wish to access Title One funds through CMS and we also have a program with the um school at Thompson for neglected and delinquent set

221aside that is required these two slides highlight all 83 Title One schools in the 2122 school year and on this slide we will show that we have one new school new to CMS as well as Title One South Pine Academy we have no schools uh in grandfather's status meaning that they are exiting Title One and Huntingtown Farms did was in grandfather this last school year and has exited our first set asde I'm going to discuss as far as District set asdes under the title one application include parent and family engagement it is a required set aside leas are required to set aside at least 1% of our Title One funds for family and Community engagement 90% of that 1% is red distributed back to all 83 Title One schools for use for family and Community

222uh programming the remaining funding as well as an additional amount of funds are set aside for district positions to provide additional support to our schools and we have two positions a title one director and Title One specialist to provide training and coaching um and also would want to just a quick shout out March 19th Title One Fair upcoming in 2022 put it on your calendar our next set aside at the dist District level is the prek program Bright Beginnings uh it serves 2,178 four-year-olds across the district the program includes 121 classrooms um we did add two from additional from last year and it also along with those classroom positions it provides uh support positions uh for those classrooms as well another St asde that is required under Title One Is to allow for funding um

223an opportunity for non-public schools to access funding through CMS that is Title One funding specifically to support Stu students um at risk so we have this year 20 schools who have elected to uh participate and we are currently in the consultation process with those schools we have a another set aside specifically for beginning teacher and development support and this is ongoing coaching and training for teachers who were entitle in school schools that are in year0 to 3 years um we currently fund six coordinators that work across all our Title One schools under the title one leg excuse me legislation the there are two different designations based on EOG and EOC as well as graduation data and they receive coaching and training through a um continuous Improvement support model in on the NC Star School Improvement

224platform and we have an NC Star specialist who uh conducts that conducts that support another required title one set aside is for um supporting students who are experiencing homelessness CMS must set aside at least 1% of the entire budget for this program this is the one set aside where funds can and are used outside of Title One schools we fund the MCV District liaison position as well as as 10 MCV social workers at school sites with the largest number of students that are enrolled currently experiencing homelessness we also set aside funds for asep BP programming during the school year as well as covering the ASAP BP um offering for Camp CMS this summer an additional slide um we used to have foster care under the homeless set aside we under Essa we must separate it

225out we normally do not have much participation there but we are required to set set aside funds for children and Foster Care separately and we have um over the last year and last couple of years had a handful of requests to access funds and another set aside we offer with our district funding um and this is in addition to the title three Grant is English learner support for our Title One schools this includes coordinating teachers to support classroom instruction practices for translator interpreters um prop positions as well as um a contract for translation services to translate written documents in multiple languages I mentioned this earlier but we do set aside a an amount for what the federal government identifies as neglected and delinquent programming um we work with the school at Thompson and the amount

226of children is established um through account by the district but then the school the the school district does not set the found the am amount of funding the state does so we will have that total later this month we have one new initiative um it's a districtwide title one initiative and it is a daily substitute stien we're offering onto uh that is on top of what the regular substitute pay is and it will um be for substitutes who choose to work in Title One schools and we're working with the human resources department to offer this incentive and it is a daily sement one more set aside uh to ensure compliance in programming and as well as oversite for the title one law and as the regulations we have set aside 8.6 of the allowable 12%

227for staff in the both the title one Department as well as administrators for the central one learning community and also there are additional districts uh costs that are included on the right hand side of your screen those are also can Capt captur but in that 8.6% and finally get to our Title One schools the remaining balance is distributed to our schools to build their plan and budget to supplement their school Improvement plan goals and add additional action steps to further support their work and to highlight this some common expenditures I made a list here uh to show different uh fun ways that our schools do spend their money including positions professional development uh curriculum planning past the regular school year as well as uh supplemental supplies parent and family engagement and also those transition activities

228that are needed between grade levels and with that I'll turn over to Dr sineri thank you great to be here this evening um I'm gonna briefly go through two smaller grants so this is our title two grant that I'll do first and then our title four Grant after that the title to Grant is for um Building Systems of support for excellent teaching and leading so this is really about building capacity for Effective teachers and effective leaders in our schools our title 2 planning allotment also um went down just slightly so um in the 2020 2021 school year we got about 5.1 million for title 2 for this upcoming school year our planning allotment is 4.9 million um one of the things that our title two Grant supports um is our CMS teaching Residency program so

229this of course is a um program for um folks that maybe don't have an education background um but have industry experience to um become a teacher and so we do support the CMS teaching residency coordinator along with some of the training and stiens um for the CMS teaching Residency program through title 2 do you need me to help you are you okay you okay Dr Jones excuse we also um through title to support um beginning teacher development and support this is a place where our entitlement grants actually work together so you mention uh Allison mentioned earlier that title one supports um beginning teachers um development and support as does um title 2 so those work together um so one of the new initiatives under title two is two additional new teacher support coordinators um so

230in addition to the six that Allison mentioned earlier because they've had good success with um our new teacher support coordinators in um keeping our new teachers um within seats this also supports training for new teachers um title 2 also provides funding for educational leadership development and so this includes a number of Partnerships with our local Unity unities UNCC queens and winthrip um to name a few and those are four um programs where teachers maybe want to become leaders in our district um and so they can be supported through that process this also supports our um training for principes and assistant principles um and includes diversity and inclusion professional development as well um title two of course supports a number of teacher professional development so this is in addition to the new teacher one I amend

231mentioned earlier this includes our um math and Ela Specialists um that support um content um and support teachers within our schools along with um trainings a very specific trainings such as like the Orton Gillingham training as an example in addition to that like our other federal grants we do have some requirements for administrative costs and um we are required to offer title 2 also out to private school schools we have 27 private schools in meinberg county that have decided to participate in title to for the upcoming school year our title four Grant um is the smallest of the three that we'll talk about this evening and title four is the student support and academic enrichment Grant um it is focused on three areas safe and healthy schools well-rounded education and effective use of Technology our

232title for planning allotment actually went up um just slightly as you can see we um will receive about $100,000 um over the planning allotment that we had for this current year within our safe and healthy schools um category within title four um this must be at least 20% of our title four funds but as you can see we spend about 50% of our title four funds on safe and healthy schools this supports initiatives like our bilingual social worker so we had one of those supported by title for this past year that's been increased to two for the upcoming year in addition to that um title for supports restorative practices um seal curriculum um things like the anonymous bullying reporting platform that's in place mobile crisis Panorama um school-based mental health for our um underinsured or

233uninsured students and um professional development for our student services professionals under well-rounded education again this must be at least 20% of the grant um however we do um increase that um to much more than 20% of the grant this supports our equal opportunity schools program um this is to uh increase the number of underrepresented students taking Advanced cours workk at the high school level that's currently in all of our Comprehensive High Schools um it also supports um supplemental math curriculum resources so this is actually like the workbooks things that kids um need to support the curriculum um K5 science kits and an elementary music platform and curriculum finally the smallest bucket as I mentioned it's effective use of Technology this needs to be at least $1 of our grant so a very small portion um

234but we do um set aside 30,000 here for professional development for the effective use of Technology as with the other grants administrative costs and private schools um and so again we have 27 private schools in meinberg County participating in title four for the upcoming school year we're on to um questions all right any questions or comments Miss buers Bailey and then miss Marshall and then Dr Jones Thank you thank you for this report um it's always interesting to see how the federal government decides to hand out amounts of money for a variety of things and then you have to keep track of which Penny went which one so I thank you very much for doing all that um most I have a couple of questions in the title one uh you mentioned that the U

235the new category of Foster care had been carved out from something that was in previous years but you didn't really have a whole lot of applicants for that or you don't anticipate you'd have a lot of applicant for that there are more options for children in foster care as far as resources um other than just ASAP Bap that are made available so we just have not so in last year we had or the actually 1920 school year we had four students and the year before that we had three and so we just don't have many um but we do work directly with the the department of um you know Social Services to make sure that we get those applications across them as quickly as possible when they're when we have requests so I guess if

236we've only got three to four students do you end up using all the money that's set aside for that and not necessarily what do you do with the excess if we we usually try and move it later in the year over to MCV the homeless set aside so that they ASAP if some they we usually have requests for summer programming okay all right that that's my first question my second question is regarding these substitutes in Title One um I really appreciate the fact that we're able to offer us uh something above what they normally earn because they do a marvelous job for us um are are we getting our Title One substitutes from Kelly Kelly Services anymore no we are not we're in collaboration with the human resources department great thank you thank you no

237more questions Miss Marshall and then Dr Jones just a just a couple um just want to make sure you probably said this but I think I'm I tuned out a bit here a little bit every now and then um it real get real I'm real um uh title two I think two three and four are they they don't they can be spread across all schools they can and I think I missed saying that is probably all my notes but um title one goes to our Title One School specifically title two um and title four are for all schools in the district and I see The Residency um program which is so great is in title two I believe is that pretty much funded with those title2 dollars um It's a combination of title two and

238the CMS Foundation okay okay great well thank you Dr Jones um I hope I can talk um behavior management technicians what school schools utilize dollars for that those positions many of the schools do I can get you a list um but yes many of the schools do um identify BMT as a position with Title One funds Title One is generally academics so we can also support social emotional learning as well and so one of the strategies is is when a a a child is having a need to step away and reenter they can step out of the room with an adult who does some guiding counseling and then they can enter back into the classroom so it reduces the amount of time out of class oh I'd like a list of the schools um my

239concern is does it take away from the academic Focus um or some schools utilizing it at the exclusion of the of the uh reading the title one you should not they should the the intent is to that they are that resource for the child so that they can so they would get back in the classroom yeah the general title one teacher plus a BMT uh there it depends it depends on the individual school's different allotments okay so it wouldn't be a school that didn't have a teacher but had has a BMT so the schools are identified in their needs based on their like they work with their they work with their sit team members to identify what the needs are if it's that they have enough classroom teachers but they do need some kind of

240resource to ensure that kids that when they have needs are able to be addressed and then return to the classroom that might be a reason why they select that position I very much would like to see schools and where the bmts are and if there is a BMT and okay um a one teach I can get that to okay thank you yeah just quickly um I'm glad to see that we have the option now for the extra $20 uh a day for our first substitute teachers I know that um or it's my feeling that in general they're still severely underpaid um but can you please repeat that I know you told me that the other day was it $80 and 103 and and and confirm that those are State rates is that correct you absolutely

241correct okay so we don't have an option like if we wanted to pay them I'm I'm looking at I mean we can do the extra 20 but we're paying what the state we were paying the state rate which is $80 non-certified and 103 certified the title one portion the incentive it would be a $20 uh bonus per day okay for classroom teacher subs and then I did have a couple people just text me quickly to ask if I don't know if you can summarize this but how is it that that private schools participate like how does that play out um I think it would be helpful there's public interest to want to understand that yeah so it's um ferally like it's required that we offer um what are called Equitable Services to our private schools

242and so we actually have to offer that to all private schools in meinberg county and then they um essentially complete a form to say that they um would like to opt in for those Services um with title one they would receive um individual students would receive um tutoring Services essentially MH and then with title two and title 4 um they have to work really within what's allowable in the Grant in consultation with our district so at no point are we um providing money directly to the private school um because we're in it all comes through the district um so if there is something the students are participating in the service that's right okay because they qualify for it that's right okay thank you any questions on this side all right well then going to turn

243to miss Carol Sawyer for the motion thank you Madame chair I move to approve the grant applications for Title One title two and title four funding if approved the grant funding for title one will be used to support the identified Title One schools with supplemental instructional support for students with identified academic needs parent and family engagement and Recruitment and Retention of high quality teachers among other items the grant funding for title 2 will be used to support CMS initiatives to improve the quality and effectiveness of teachers principls and other school leadership and to increase the number of teachers principles and other school leaders who are effective at improving student academic achievement in schools among other items the grant funding for title 4 will be used for CMS initiative to support safe and healthy schools well-rounded

244education and effective use of Technology do we have a second second okay any further discussion or debate okay all those in favor of Miss Sawyer's motion let it be known by a show of hands any opposed okay Madame clerk that passes by 8 to zero and our final third and final action item tonight is uh recommendation to temporarily suspend the GPA provision in principal sorry policy JJJ so Mr superintendent could you please introduce this item and make your recommendation yes thank you madam chair um due primarily to the impacts of the uh pandemic on our ability to adequately uh serve all students needs for the past several semesters um this board has uh taken the step to suspend policy JJJ uh that is the policy that requires a minimum GPA to participate in many extracurricular

245activities um and we recommend the continuation of the suspension of policy JJJ for the upcoming semester um I I have to say this does not represent a relaxation of academic standards uh We've maintained that academics must uh and should always come first however many students experiences are enriched with uh our school sponsored extracurricular activities such as band Athletics um and uh many other activities and many of these students academic experiences are intensively correlated to their participation in extracurricular activities without those experiences academic achievement is likely to suffer uh rather than improve and so we know the pandemic has had a profound impact on our students lives and it is our goal it is our aim to return to normaly as much as possible for the upcoming school year and we believe that our board can

246send a clear message um of support for that effort by extending the suspension of policy JJJ for the upcoming semester and that would be my recommendation Madam chair and that's just one semester not not the whole year that is correct one semester all right any any questions okay I will turn to miss Chek to make this motion oh I'm sorry I had a question I thank you sorry go right ahead Miss Fowler if we create this um this motion and it is only for the first semester what will we do to just to remain Equitable for the second semester sports or clubs that may be happening for example our Spring sport athletes would um the GPA sometimes does not update for the ad day bday courses just to play Devil's Advocate I totally agree that

247we are not laxing on our learning abilities and our putting um education in the Forefront so I was just asking if we create this policy for just the first semester will we reconsider to allow it to be for our second semester athletes or band members and Etc as well yeah I will be asking for that we we have uh our team is looking at second semester down but we thought it was important um to ask the board to suspend for first semester only that is something uh Miss Fowler that we are taking a look at and um if we deem that it would be appropriate we'll bring back another recommendation to the board um at the appropriate time okay thank you okay Miss cheek Madame chair I move to approve the superintendent's recommendation to suspend

248the 2.0 GPA requirement for participation in extracurricular activity as required in policy JJJ for the first semester of the 2021 2022 school year provided a student meets the local promotion standards from the 2020-2021 Academic Year and I would like to speak to my motion if I get a second get a second second okay so Mr Winston I brought this up to you probably about a month or so ago as a concern um and and Mr Dr Hayes got to hear from me about it as well my biggest fear having raised three children through the system and have knowing the importance of extracurricular activities a wide variety of those to students and how it can motivate students to do better in school to participate in chorus frankly there is a young man here tonight that I

249was present the day he was born and he's a friend a family friend and he was part of the chorus program at Huff High School um so I I got to go speak to him after and he's been the only person that kind of hung out and waited for the whole meeting and I thought of you David as I was thinking about this motion the importance of that music program the importance of rooc robotics Odyssey of the Mind soccer track whatever the the extracurricular that that speaks to the heart of a child a heart of a student is something that we need to honor and respect we've we've we've made it really tough for those kids to be academically successful and we need to pour all of our energy into making them academically successful this

250fall so that they can meet requirements for for the spring um Briana I completely understand your concern and I have that as well I think we're going to have to look at that as we get closer obviously a lot of the winter activities will be affected by this but it was really important to get this on the table tonight because tryouts for all of those things and signups for all of those clubs and all those things are going to happen very quickly so I ask my colleagues to support this I strongly believe that student outcomes and academic Excellence is what we have to strive for but I think we also have to to look at the heart of every every student and do everything we can to help them heal and get back to some

251sense of normaly and this will be a big step and I certainly am so excited to think about being at a choir concert this fall in person I hope and and at a football game in the fall not in the winter and at track when it's not you know November and 18 degrees out freezing cold so I I'm really excited about getting back to normal and this is a big step for our students and our staff at our at our schools so I please urge everyone to support it any further discussion or debate Mr string so this is really tough for me because um uh superintendent Winston you use the terms extracurricular and enrichment and I agree I think all of these are fundamental to the development of our youth um they do absolutely enhance

252the curricular activity but I can't support this because curricular is the core and for a whole slew of reasons not the least of which is all all of our students knew that this was the expectation last semester and they were able to perform how they were able to perform now we're looking at next semester and saying well it was a difficult situation so we're going to lower the bar and that's that's what this is right I mean we can say it's not lowering it but but we are indeed that's exactly what we're doing one could certainly argue that perhaps what needs to happen is if our youth is not able to meet the standard meet the expectation in order to perform in the extracurricular activities they need to focus on the curricular activities and not

253participate in the extracurricular activities so I I'm not able to support it just the same way as I wasn't able to support it last time we're actually here for the curricular activities I'm glad we can provide all of the enrichment through extracurricular activities but I can't support lowering the standards and saying that's good enough it was difficult but you know we're going to let you play anyway or we're going to let you sing or dance all of the wonderful things we offer they are extracurricular and they are enriching but we have standards and they knew they had to meet those standards anybody else before we move to the vote Miss Fowler I think we need to bear in mind in order to maintain equality I mean Equity that's different from equality equality is giving students

254all the same opportunities but not looking at each student circumstances what we're doing is looking at the circumstances that the students were put in last year and giving them the space to grow allowing them to have a growth mindset and motivate students to learn if we see the students and see how they were struggling last year through a global pandemic it will allow us to realize that the student can go to the extra curricular activities and keep the students seel in mind that should be the focus is the SEO so I really hope that you all vote to keep the um GPA requirement for the um extracurricular activities because extracurricular activities coincide with curricular activities and many students have um expressed that to me and I really hope hope that you all bear that in

255mind throughout your decision thank you so just to be clear you're urging us to support the superintendent's recommendation yes ma'am okay all right I think we'll call the vote all those in favor of Miss chek's motion let it be known by a show of hands any opposed so that passes by a vote of seven to one pardon 7 to2 did I miscount oh no no no maret oh who made the second Margaret Marshall thank you okay all right so that was our final action item we now have two uh reports um the first is a camp CMS update and I turn to the superintendent for this update thank you madam chair so this week marked the continuation of our uh Camp CMS summer learning and enrichment program after a onewe Hiatus uh and just yesterday

256I and several uh board members along with uh staff visit one of our elementary schools uh to see firstand some of the great teaching and learning uh taking place during this uh program uh this was an after hours visit uh and we witness the type of activities that our staff members uh are providing for children in our extensions program uh for exceptional children and this was truly an amazing experience um and that is just one example uh of what is happening in our schools during our summer program uh we hear feedback from families um uh that students are benefiting from this effort and we know that the students who are participating uh will return to school this fall uh better prepared to continue their learning and so uh Dr Tangela Williams uh Dr Frank Barnes

257and I believe uh Miss Christine Pou uh will join us uh momentarily for a detailed update on the first 3 weeks of the program but before they do I would like to just state to all of our teachers and staff that we understand that there have been uh some delays in payment uh and I can assure you that our human resources uh department is working very hard uh to correct those delays and any mistakes um this will be rectified uh many payments have been issued uh and all payments um uh provided as soon as HR uh will be making the next necessary um uh Corrections and so with that I'm going to turn it over to Dr Williams to uh kick us off thank you superintendent Winston um board chair board Vice chair all members

258of the board thank you for this opportunity to give a mid program update for Camp CMS um tonight we will review camp cms's objective we will talk about registration and attendance in terms of an update um Dr Barnes will provide us with an accountability measures update and Miss Pou will provide us with a human resources update and we will also talk through some next steps for Camp CMS um just as a reminder Camp CMS is an initiative that's born um from North Carolina State legislation that's designed to address unfinished learning and any negative educational impact of the covid pandemic um the camp is designed um to address the needs of our at risk students um but CMS did take the initiative to open up our camp opportunity to any family that wanted to participate and

259just as a reminder um we have we collectively as a team um have lifted up a program um for summer learning that is outside of the scope and sequence of any other summer program we've ever um done in CMS um with Camp CMS so um and because of that scope and sequence of the summer program all of our departments have leaned into the work um and we've definitely embodied what it means to be team Camp CMS team CMS and I just want to pause to say thank you to everyone um that has done anything um to help us make Camp CMS a success many of the colleagues that are sitting to my right that have and some that have already left tonight but definitely want to say thank you um for all of our departments

260leaning in um and we know the scope and sequence of our camp is is large there's a lot going on in the background um we've been able to do a lot of things that are successful we've had some bumps along the road as we've gone along but it was delightful tonight um to hear the student voice um that we heard earlier this this evening from Alejandro who spoke about what he is actually learning in Camp CMS and spoke about the fun that he's having um while he's actually learning in Camp CMS and just to keep us grounded um in the student voice and the student experience is really um what camp CMS is all about so Camp CMS objective is to increase student mastery and to deepen understanding of high priority grade level standards by

261providing students with time instruction and opportunities to access to access grade level content and we just want to emphasize here again that we are I'm not attempting to recreate an entire school year but we are prioritizing Iz ing some of the high priority grade level standards um that our academics department has lifted up um as the standards that we believe will give um students the highest leverage opportunities to be more successful when they enter the next grade next year and um we are reminding ourselves that camp CMS in its totality is a 24 instructional Day Day program and in those 24 days um our students are um engaging in in a plethora of um different content at different grade levels and that's what we see on this side here and we are reminded that um

262all of our kids also have access to exceptional Children's Services if they qualify for those um English learner services and student support services our curriculum is the openup curriculum for Math and the L curriculum for English language arts um and we are using our caring School Community um curriculum for our social emotional learning and I just want to lift up again our bridge program um for our Rising ninth graders and just to put this in perspective if we think about it um our current Rising ninth graders um the last time that these students were in school full-time in person they were seventh graders so if we think about it um in that perspective we're reminded of how important um this opportunity is this summer as we provide um students with opportunity to um get access

263to some of the curriculum that they will experience in the next grade level I and to be acclimated again to a campus um in person in terms of our registration and attendance update um we do have 3,972 students who are enrolled in our portal um of those 30,000 about 19,95 students are are deemed at risk and those numbers were accurate as of July 12th in our portal our registration right now is closed um with the exception of our third grade students who have not yet met the read to achieve benchmarks um and our students who are new to CMS and our future enrolled students um our average attendance information um as of the week of June 28th um we have average um we are seeing about 15784 students um who were in attendance the third

264week um which was the last week of the first session um we are currently in the first week of the second session of Camp CMS and on average of that 15,000 students about 10,000 students are at risk who were in attendance um that third week of the first session this slide just gives us a breakdown of um the numbers of students at each grade level who we do deem as at risk um in this information I won't read every number on this slide but you do have it for your reference we did take some time um when we realized that our attendance um numbers were not what we anticipated them to be um we did ask our site administrators to take some time with their teams at each site um to do some Outreach effort

265um to families um to inquire and to see if we could we could locate some of our students and to determine why they were not attending um and we do have some information on this slide that summarizes what um what our site administrators and our teams found so about 34% of the families we were able to contact UM said they just were no longer interested in attending Camp CMS about 88.6% um said that their student would not be in meber County this summer about 7% um said that their student had enrolled in a different summer program about 5% said that their student does not does not any longer need this academic support for the summer and about 39% gave various other reasons not accounted for on this slide some of those um various reasons that

266um were given were the bell time for the school that they were assigned didn't meet the family's needs um there were some medical reasons lifted up some personal family um reasons lifted up and there are also in that 39% some instances where the family um did not um did not return the Outreach effort or we did not reach them and I'm going to turn it over now to Dr Barnes who is going to give us some accountability measures updates thank you Dr M borrow the thank you so much so good evening so to provide a little context on the data you'll be shown in the next couple of slides uh We've set an objective or a goal uh that by the conclusion of 24 days of Camp CMS instruction that at least 80% of Camp

267CS participants would have met or would be approaching meeting the standards taught and tested during that 24 day period uh in that way we've set that and I do want to acknowledge what Dr Williams said is that that is for students K through 7 those eighth graders are treated as rising nth graders so they would be included in grades 9 through 12 objectives just to clarify why it's just K through 7 uh we pulled the data on June 30th would have which would have been after the 11th day of instruction uh these data reflect assessments that were given at different intervals some uh classes and subjects or should grades and subjects uh assessed every four instructional days some every 6th some every 7th some every 8th so some data may be inmp complete either students

268weren't present when the test was administered or the test Administration window was not yet completed at the 30th which meant that when they came back after the brief Hiatus they would have continued to test and so some students haven't yet been showing up in those numbers and that's some of the reasons why but certainly Dr Williams can talk about other reasons why as well for grade 9 and 12 we've Set uh smart goals around credit accumulation however after the 11th day of instruction credit accumulation figures had not yet been pulled given the I'll say the early point of the camp CMS experience but allow me to show you these figures for K through 7 first in English language arts what you'll see uh going from left to right is the the grade level from K

269through seven the number of students tested and I want to point out that for grades three and four and six and seven there was continued testing that would have continued after the 30th but the these are the students who were captured at that point then what you have here in the middle percent meeting or exceeding Mastery that's the percent of students who are meeting exceeding Mastery on what would have been the most recent assessment given it's not the sum of all assessments but the most recent assessment given and in some instances there might have been one standard or two standards that were being tested with that assessment because remember I said four days Six Days Seven Days so that's important to keep in mind and then the last um column on your far right a

270percent of students who are nearing Mastery I think it's important to keep that 80% in mind so you really want to say okay based on how many students are meeting or exceeding Mastery and those who are approaching Mastery if all things being equal if our students who are have experienc Mastery right now on future assessments continue to experience that Mastery and we do well moving the students who are near are we close to 80% which is our smart goal so what you can see is in most grades I think we're trending um to towards the right direction however I would say there's a point uh of uh I would say interest and greater exploration for what's happening in grades three and what's happening in grade seven even though all students haven't yet been tested but

271those are things that just cursory view of the data say there's things that we need to ask and things that we need to look at what we're doing in mathematics this data looks similar um in in format what you saw in English language arts uh but here you see uh I would say in grades four and also in grade five where we're seeing H there is a greater proportion of students who are nearing Mastery than who have yet experienced and demonstrated Mastery based on the most recent assessment they were given once again noting that this isn't the total of all standards in the grade span but the one or two standards perhaps three standards that were assessed for that most recent assessment so this gives you a snapshot of where we were after 11 days

272we've just returned and just experienced what I believe is our 14th day so we're going to continue to work with that I want to hand things over to my colleague Miss Christine pel to talk about some human resource information thank you Dr Barnes here we go so Staffing is in great shape in fact a couple of weeks ago we really transitioned our efforts to looking at that average daily attendance and then making sure we um equitably redistribute staff and that's just a fancy way of saying that at the end of the day there were about 11 teachers that we reassigned to different sites based on student attendance so the rest of the new hires right now are limited to vacancies should they occur so if we have people that um you know came into an

273issue needed to resign and we had a vacancy then we're we still have people in the pipeline to be able to fill those positions I thought it was also too important to share for any staff who are watching just a reminder around our payroll and first bonus payments that are expected to be paid out this week on the 15th and along with that are um the two teacher work days that were back on June 10th and 11th those are also going to be processed and paid for that um pay date on the 15th and that concludes the human resources report all right so in terms of next steps um We are continuing to focus on the quality of instruction and progress monitoring at Camp CMS um we are actively engaging in um Educational Learning walks

274and and giving feedback to teachers and to site administrators about the quality of instruction and those walks are being done by the site administrators themselves as well as by learning community and Equity um teams that are going into our our schools regularly um and we're also going to begin and continue to create um the content for for the required Department of Public Instruction reporting and um what's going to be required by DPI um is that we report on the promotions and retentions the pre- and post program assessment results map is what we're using for for CMS um and we are to report on the credit attainment through Credit Recovery which we will know those numbers after on the conclusion of the second session and we are also to report on attendance to DPI and we'll

275pause now for any feedback and discussion any questions anybody it's getting [Laughter] late Mr M Marshall I just do want to make a quick comment I when we were at Paul Creek yesterday um one of the administrators there said they're really seeing nice interests from folks whose family whose students weren't really really had chosen a virtual option whether that's exceptional children or whether that's children in general course General work um that we're using this summer to sort of re acclimate and I was really pleased about that and that those families were really enjoying it taking advantage it's so good stuff thank you Mr stren thank you so guys I'm I'm focused as I was last time right on the mission of this program uh we know there as I mentioned there's three sort of reasons

276for kids to be attending this right for remediation the the core purpose of of providing the summer school experience here um for enrichment and frankly for for daycare and so I'm really focused on that mission piece right and and Dr baru and I talked last time about 60,000 at at risk uh youth in our district and at the time we were talking about 20,000 having attended at least a day now we've got an average of 10,000 and so now we now we're under 20% of our atrisk youth utilizing this program that we've set up that the state set up for them to help them uh achieve achieve the level of Mastery that they need and so I'm I'm looking at the reports and the target the target that was set was 80% Mastery or progress

277of Mastery can you help me out with that when I I think I wrote down 80% mastered or made progress yes sir so right now what we were able to give you a snapshot of is how students were doing basically onm on the assessments that they were given so far however one thing that we do have at our disposal are a couple of different measures that would allow us to give kind of a pre and post look uh students uh teachers teachers back in the spring made what you call a feedback form which provided kind of how students were doing on a set of Standards those students who were current CMS students at the time we also are able to use or were asked to use uh different assessment that would kind of give us

278a pre- and post look and we were allowed to use our measure of academic PR progress for those students who use the Tesla will use the spring Administration and then we'll have to do an administration at nearing the 24th day either the 23rd or 24th day at the conclusion so what we would pursue is 80% who would either meet Master the standards that were taught and tested or who are making progress we don't have that post look yet to be able to determine how many are making progress but we do within our platform on which the assessments are administered able to say are they nearing Mastery and those are the two figures you given excuse me so that's what it would be either meeting that or progressing but I think I might have gone a

279little bit farther straight than where you were leading me to no no it's brilliant right so so you've got a snapshot of a point in time using the platform that's been developed which you know so that everybody understands is different than our normal platform right we've had to to conjure something up here to to do this but you've done that we've got a snapshot do you have the starting point so you know where we are at the 11th day say but do we do we know where we started we've got a Target we know where we are at the 11th day do we know for sure that we're we're actually making progress toward that objective what I would uh say is the data that our team has provided is our best Glimpse at this point

280uh the platform that we've had to kind of stand up outside of our student information system is less precise than we needed so we'd have to exra not have to we are going to have to extract the data out of that system and then look at those data um after we get done with the 24th day to answer that question in totality but we did not want to be mood on this to make sure that that we can answer your question the best we could at this point in time right not just mine right because this is a snapshot that's roughly halfway through right 24 days we we're on day 11 and and we're required by the state to give a view of where our students started and where they end right so do we

281have the snapshot of where they started or is that something that still needs to be developed we have a snapshot of where they started minimally for those students who were with us um in CMS in the spring we have it um allowed students uh who have come to us either from out of um District out of state or out of country to come here so it won't be the full number who participated but I wouldn't say it's even close to the majority the majority yes we do have a prefigure and do we have a view view then of what that starting point was and the progress that's been made because I think what you described tonight and I appreciate it but was where we stand today versus our objective and I maybe I missed it

282but I I don't think you gave a a view of of where we started right now now obviously on any given day particularly in the in summer school not all the kids are there every day we've got you know 20,000 having attended a day but only 10,000 attending on a regular basis so I I know it's difficult but what I'm trying to build a picture of is we started here this is where we are now is this where the objective is slightly further is this where the objective is have we made very slight progress that that's what I that's what I'm missing in in the data is that that you're reflecting is how much progress has been made relative to the progress in the first half versus the progress that still needs to be made

283to meet our objective in the second half of summer school I would say based on our current assessment data if we' see students who are meeting Mastery we have a partial view for those who have yet achieved Mastery of the standards that have been taught and tested I have an incomplete picture we haven't been able to do that calculation of say pre starting place to current Point yet we need a little bit more time than we have um between the data pull and the time we wanted to make sure the board had that provision okay now understand this I will make this modification that's in the aggregate an individual teacher she has that view on an ongoing daily basis so I want to distinguish between what a teacher has for her instructional purposes and what

284we have say for our monitoring and managerial purposes in the aggregate Dr Barnes do you mind flipping back to the stats for one sec I I won't belor this point guys but mathematics this is fine just wanted to make a point here if I look at first grade and and we're looking at 42% meeting or exceeding Mastery what I'm trying to understand is at the beginning of summer school was that at 22% was that at 40% right because if we went from 22% to 42% halfway through okay we're making making good strides making good progress if we started and we were already at 40% and halfway through summer school we've gone from 40 to 42 that's a very different view right in terms of the amount of progress that's been made in the first half

285of our summer school program I'm not able at this point to speak to the the progress made from that starting point but I am able to say at a point in time where we are at that point in time thank you but I but we will be able to answer that question as we near the conclusion appreciate it thank you anybody else so the um are these remind me again are when are these Rising grades or like kindergartener that's that K that's someone who just completed kindergarten correct correct but the bridge program are kids who just completed 8th grade and are going into ninth grade and they're doing that at their high school campus so they get a little head start of their Camp getting familiar with the campus that is correct yes okay yes

286only our current eighth graders are participating in the next grade level's location um all other grade levels are as you stated kindergarteners are participating in the location where they were kindergarteners um eighth graders are are going to the high school that they would attend next year and I know our staff some of our staff are signed up for the full six weeks some are doing the first three weeks or the second three weeks are the students doing the full six weeks or are they in chunks as well we did ask for families to to to um sign up for Camp CMS for the full six weeks for six weeks and then how are we determining the standards to teach so our academics Department did that work um before Camp CMS commenced um and they took

287a look at the standards um that are taught throughout the school year um and determine those High leverage standards so um standards that um historically may have caused um lower degrees of Mastery throughout the school year um standards that are test at a tested at a a higher level on the end of grade assessment um standards that um will be most high leverage for the next grade level to make sure kids have those prerequisite skills for the next grade level so I'm taking all those things into account and the the amount of time um that we are looking at for our six we program um all those things were taken into account to determine the standards that we we we deemed High leverage for Camp CMS all right thank you very much anybody any other

288questions before we move on to our next report thanks thank you appreciate it good night um all right so our next report is an update on the um planning for the American Recovery Act act yeah and I will turn to the superintendent for that report thank you madam chair uh as part of the American Recovery uh plan CMS uh I think as is widely known received a significant amount of uh Federal funding to help us uh with our efforts to um uh overcome the unfinished instruction uh resulting from the uh pandemic um it cannot be stated uh enough that our student focused approach is undertaken with the understanding that the past two school years have been disrupted like none before and so students have faced challenges that we must help them overcome and our staff

289has stepped up and delivered in the face of great adversity but we all know that more work must be done and we must must not let the pandemic set our students education um beyond the present must not let it set it back beyond the present and the American Recovery plan funding is among the keys to us serving our students and driving Equity of outcomes for all especially especially for those who have been impacted most significantly at home uh and at school during the pandemic uh those groups for the most part are the same as those underserved prior to the pandemic uh much Community discussion has taken place regarding our plan to allocate the funding we received as part of ARP uh CMS staff has undertaken an effort to involve stakeholders from several areas of our

290community and will continue to do so with uh inclusivity and transparency in making allocation decisions that focus on student outcomes Katie sineri returns uh at this time to provide an update on uh ARP funding allocation uh and plans for engaging community members and stakeholders um as CMS makes decisions on the best ways to use those Federal resources to support Student Success Dr sincerity I'm going to toss it back over to you thank you sir superintendent Winston um so today I'm going to provide uh a essentially like a planning update so as I had shared um back in April shortly after we um found out about this funding um we um we are following a very intentional planning process and so this is really um just a planning update for you this evening the first few

291slides that I'll share um will probably look familiar I wanted to share them again for context um before I got into what we're hearing so far from from stakeholders and what our next steps are so the American Rescue plan is the third of um the third of three um covid related um funding sources that we're receiving so this is elementary and secondary school emergency relief funds you may hear it referred to as sr3 um or the American Rescue plan or ARP um for this one in particular that you see on the right side of the screen um we are receiving 37.5 million that's our planning allotment um and that's available to us 2third of that is currently available to us um so from June of 2021 um but it does not need to be spent

292right this second or even next school year this is available to us through September of 2024 um so just so that that's clear um we are receiving these co9 pandemic emergency funds due to increased needs in a variety of areas so as we've recognized there were needs prior to the pandemic but in many many areas those needs have increased um as our superintendent has just shared and so this funding is really intended to be responsive to those needs and focused on our students These funds as with other federal funds have very specific um what are called allowable uses um so the American Rescue plan funds in particular are um specifically for the prevention of reduction of or in response to covid-19 these can be used um for a number of different things but I've summarized

293those allowable uses um into really three categories one of those being student learning needs and so this is um anything that would impact student learning from um addressing learning loss uh to anything that would um support special populations or even Mental Health Services or support social emotional learning um as we know that impacts it also health and safety so this is is um making sure that our um um personal protective equipment is is in place and um school facilities are ready to receive students and we have um the right Personnel such as nurse extenders in place for our for our schools and then finally um these funds can also be used for what would be called the continuity of services or the continuity of employment so throughout the pandemic we saw where there were places

294where we had to um utilize other pandemic relief funds um to support things like the co leave so just so you have an understanding of um the different allowable uses here as I had shared previously we are utilizing the Council of great City School schools guidance as we go through this planning process um the council does recommend that you start with really focusing on safely reopening schools for all students I'd say that's where we're we're starting that's where we are now then address pre and post-pandemic unfinished learning so that will be much of the work as we get into the 2122 to school year and then finally build lasting Equitable systems of teaching and learning so really thinking about this funding as I mentioned it goes through September of 2024 um so thinking about this

295funding not only through September of 2024 but the ways that we can build capacity and have a longer lasting impact as we think about our plans um and what we're able to do with this funding um just again making sure that we're using these um guiding questions as we go throughout the planning process process um as they've been very useful and helpful in um the work of our um planning teams so our planning process that as I shared back in April um really starts with stakeholder input and so we have started to get stakeholder input throughout the months of April May and June and we will continue that through July and August um and concurrent with that we're funneling that stakeholder input to our Focus area planning teams and so these are groups that um

296you you may be familiar with from the budget process the um planning teams include academic performance great teaching time and student wellness um health of the district and access to Advanced cours work and so those same teams it's not a separate process um it's really making sure that that's aligned to our strategic plan our strategic Direction um as we think about how these funds can um provide what our students need now Based on data based on stakeholder input and based on the Strategic direction that we have set so Focus area teams um will take that stakeholder input they'll think about phase one planning some things that might be immediate as we think about the 2122 school year but then also think about that longer term planning as I've mentioned um and we do obviously intend

297to to follow the continuous Improvement cycle as we Implement as well as far as stakeholder feedback so far um you can see on the screen we've hosted stakeholder um feedback meetings with a variety of existing groups um and we focused fused on our existing groups uh primarily because uh it gives us sort of a captive audience in a way right so we have folks um that are able to engage because they're part of an existing group um but we also have found that we're getting really good feedback and good discussion because folks are um trusting of groups that they're already a part of and meetings that they uh regularly attend so you can see here that we've um hosted a number of those feedback sessions with various groups throughout April May and June um as

298I mentioned we are continuing to engage and scheduling with additional Community groups throughout the month of July and August as well we are utilizing the platform thought Exchange in addition to the um stakeholder feedback session so we've had 343 participants um hop on thought exchange and give their thoughts that way as well either through part of one of the meetings or um separately from that so you can see there and U they also get to rate thoughts on thought exchange so we've had um 6,927 thoughts rated up to this point um here's what we're hearing from stakeholders so far one of the biggest things we're seeing is um this theme of really increased needs um and that's increased needs in areas of academics social emotional and mental health needs um we're hearing from stakeholders that

299they're seeing increased absenteeism and disengagement um increased need for translation and interpretation Services both for students and for families um we're also hearing from stakeholders that they have a continued need for virtual or remote learning option um and a continued need for both technology and connectivity that came out loud and clear throughout our stakeholder feedback so far in addition to that our stakeholders have provided a variety of thoughts or ideas um proposals if you will um throughout their feedback those included things like adding additional staff to support students and that ranged from um asks to add staff that would be more instructional or academic in nature um to those that would be more social emotional counselors social workers things like that um to also health professionals um nurses or nurse extenders was mentioned there were

300also a number of um requests or or thoughts around mental health support and access and really increasing that access um Family engagement Support also came up um even us using some of the terminology of Ron services that we saw that throughout the feedback um there were also requests for after school enrichment and tutoring programs um in addition to that again the request for interpretation and translation services um technology and connectivity and then I'll note too there were um a number of requests for additional pay for teachers and school-based staff this ranged from thing from requests for bonuses and raises um there are things that came up through the feedback that are you know I want to be transparent about what we're hearing that may not be allowable on American Rescue plan and so um an

301example of that would be something like teacher raises would not be something we could do on an American Rescue plan um funding but just wanted to be transparent that that is something we're seeing in the feedback I also wanted to provide for you um a representative sample of the um of some of the things we're seeing from stakeholders and so um these you can see on the screen um are representative of some of the themes that I've I've already mentioned so um you'll see where there's ask for additional instructional positions at schools um uh including mtss leader positions there are asks for counselors and social workers um and these are all thoughts that are um highly rated through thought exchange which means that someone put it out there and then multiple people um rated that

302as an important idea or an important thing to put forward um we also saw asks for interpreters um and even asks for specific training like Orton Gillingham in addition to that technology food Support over the summer um support for chronic absentee ISM again um Equitable language assistance and mental mental health needs you see that directly through some of the quotes from our stakeholders um so finally um as I mentioned this is the planning process that we're following we are still um collecting stakeholder input we're excited to do some additional um stakeholder input sessions with some of our um really influential Community groups through July and August and um we'll continue to funnel that stakeholder input as we're receiving it to our Focus area teams as they really begin their planning um and go through that

303planning process and then vet and align the plans um we will come back to stakeholders to share those plans for additional feedback as I mentioned this will be somewhat iterative because it is a multi-year grant um and we will be following the continuous Improvement cycle um as we go throughout both next school year and the additional years of the grant last thing I'll mention our our thought exchange is still open and so if um folks are still listening um this evening and there are uh ideas or thoughts that are maybe not represented yet in the themes that I've shared I encourage you to um utilize our thought exchange that is still open to share your feedback and your thoughts this time that's all I havek you this is Dr sinceri night do we have any

304questions not that I A A couple things um that I want to talk about um I know that we had budgeted some um work around environmental air handling that sort of thing I believe in that second sort of trunch of money the 141 million yes um and I don't I didn't see that in the 300 uh million piece we still may be doing some of that I would assume um has that that did uh it didn't come up in shareholder I in stakeholder input but I would assume we will continue to use those funds for that can you speak to that sure so we did um we allocated from the first round cares act funding and the second round um the cersa carassa sr2 whatever you want to call it um a pretty actually significant

305portion of our um cersa funding was allocated directly for improving air quality um that is still an allowable use with American Rescue plan so certainly we will work with our Building Services team to evaluate where we are based on what's been allocated from the source of funding to see what additional needs would be required um to make sure that the air quality in in our schools is where it needs so I would assume that's it I've heard from one of the schools in my district that they might be interest that they didn't know that they were they wer in the sort of first batch they might have some needs so I would assume I'm looking at Miss Turner going and we probably can still still in the process correct are okay come to the mic

306so the so our viewing public out on the internet can hear what you have to say is there's at least three people still watching so yes and um I think we had quite a bit of money for um PPE as well as some projects um under cares Act as well as uh the crystal funding I think we received about $42.5 million um and all of that is focused on air quality indoor air quality um in addition to that I think we've already submitted our application to her for ARP funding but you know we are still taking um information from the public and making decisions about that funding so we're not exactly sure how much of that but again um our plan was to focus on indoor air quality okay okay okay well great and and

307I uh appreciate that and I think too um I mean obviously this is a a a conversation about what's allowable with this last the ARP funding how we're going about that so just to to the to the five people that are still watching this um this is not the final plan this is just part of what what I just want to make them to make make sure that there is lots more to come and and and the other thing is I know that we have initiatives that we'd like to kick off in this next school year particularly I'm very interested in extra Staffing for tutoring for what we might be doing in that so I know we we have to get busy and that's a thing we may not be able the first day but

308I know that's that's in the in the hopper in some form or fashion yeah so one of the things as I mentioned following the Council of great great City Schools um recommendations really getting kids back into school first and then focusing on those pre- and post pandemic okay um needs and so we'll see um some initiatives really kind of potentially roll out as the school year progresses thank you I appreciate that yep and this is um not a plan so glad you mentioned that not a plan just the themes we're hearing from stakeholders so far as I mentioned we do have a number of other really important stakeholder groups that we have scheduled for July and August as well this is an update not a plan yet not a plan yet yes thank you it's

309the planning for the plan okay anybody else yes no um let me just see I think I had one question but it can probably you know what I will send my question later no problem um thank you very welcome for all of your work and that you put into this um so that was our final information item for the evening now turn to the superintendent for his report thank you madam chair tomorrow marks a great day for Charlotte meinberg Schools uh tomorrow we celebrate an event that our entire Community can look forward to a board member Dr Ruby Jones who represents District 3 uh where Julius L Chambers High School is located uh will be uh offering remarks about the about the broader meaning of this new name in the context um of its significance

310for our entire community and uh congresswoman Elma Adams will also join us to share some thoughts as well and I'm looking forward to uh with other board members to celebrating the new school's name uh this represents a decision that this board uh made last year uh to move toward a more inclusive diverse and supportive mindset Julius Chambers life work included breaking down barriers for students and families of color and that should be celebrated not just tomorrow but remembered as an example for us all to follow every day I know that there has been much news coverage and we heard uh a lot of our speakers earlier uh this evening um and there's been even more social media chatter uh concerning critical race Theory um which is a topic that is misunderstood by many um and

311uh I think well defined by a few um without giving um too much oxygen to something that uh people would use to distract rather than constructively contributing to a conversation that moves us forward than rooting Us in the divine of P pass I feel that we have to spend a few more moments to just address this um our schools do not teach and do not promote a doctrine of critical race Theory our district does however actively support learning and professional development for our staff to be able to recognize the shortcomings of systems that have long contributed to inequities that have led to disproportionate outcomes for students of various backgrounds those disparities exist throughout the nation and we recognize that they exist too here in Charlotte mecklinburg Schools uh only by developing understanding of those systems

312and our roles in either supporting or ending them can we truly say that we're uh committed to equity uh for all students um and we have a long way to go we have a long way to go to reduce performance gaps uh evident uh for many of our students and eliminating the structures that prevent us from doing that is a key step only by recognition understanding and a shared commitment can we make sure that we're on the right track our students deserve equal opportunity to learn and grow and they deserve environments where different perspectives not only are allowed but incouraged to be discussed and that is our commitment to our students to our families in our community uh we will remain focused on developing staff uh who support students in the best ways possible and

313on giving our students the best opportunities to succeed thank you m thank you all right Miss cheek and then miss Sawyer just briefly um just a couple things to piggyback on what you said Mr Winston I watched Dr keny's interview with um Sonia Gant and the one thing that I took away from it the main thing I took away from it and if anyone that actually watches it some of the people that spoke to I actually watch it I think they would probably have not heard a lot of the quotes that were made about some of the things that maybe in his books that are more controversial that I don't necessarily agree with or or see eye to eye with but what I did see eye to eye with him was that we have to

314make sure that every teacher in every classroom looks at every student with the same level of expectation that the ex the bar is set the same way and that the bar cannot be different for a girl or for a child of color or for anybody we have to have high expectations for all and um and that is what I took away was one of the most important things I took away from what he spoke what I wanted to say tonight is I heard something tonight that that shook me a bit during public comment we had some incredibly Brave women speak tonight current and former students that we heard from that went through some traumatic events at one of our facilities and I was troubled when one of them said she was afraid that we had

315not heard from them or heard them because we really haven't responded and you and I have spoken about how I'd like for us to have a more public response to to show them how we truly feel about what they've gone through I'm saddened by what they've had to go through as as women and as students at CMS and I want them to know and any other students at any school in CMS to know that if they have been a victim of sexual harassment or sexual assault that I am a voice that will take their complaints to the title 9 Department if they want to reach out to me um if they don't feel safe reaching out to their own school or don't feel that they they're being heard so I want them to know that

316there are people on this board I I know several of my colleagues feel the same way but I also want them to know as a board member that I've asked you and I've asked our board chair to to take a deeper dive into Title 9 and what the program entails so that we can present it to the public with the next I think the next month at the August board meeting we're going to be talking about that and I want to reemphasize the commitment of this board of myself and that I'll keep pushing the board and staff to make sure that at every level from the schoolhouse all the way through central office through every Department that everybody understands what the title 9 program is and how to implement any flag that is set up

317that says I have a concern about a sexual assault or sexual harassment I want to make sure that there is not a a staff member at CMS that does not understand how to properly handle a complaint that somebody has in the future and I want to tell those young women that spoke tonight that they were heard and that they that that we will make changes as a result of what they have gone through part of me wants to get a bulldozer and bulldoze the damn woods behind Myers Park High School right now and I don't have a bulldozer I probably would go over there tomorrow um but I want them to know that they were heard and that I know that I have other board members that feel the same way as I do that

318we will be committed to making sure that their voices were heard and that changes are made at every level through CMS and that we will continue our implementation of Title 9 that we started about five years ago and that's all thank you Miss CH Miss Sawyer thank you I um truly appreciate your comments um this evening superintendent Winston uh makes me very proud to be part of CMS to hear your clear expression of the work that we're doing and the work that continues to need to be done to root out um bias and racism and the structural um systems that we have to dismantle to ensure that every child um Can succeed in our school and in our society I also really wanted to extend a a thank you to the many staff members who

319spoke about what their training in um race bias power and Equity meant to them and how it's transforming their teaching and as our professional development around race and power and Equity transform our staff it will transform our teaching and create better uh environments for our students so I I appreciate the the teaching assistants who spoke so eloquently as well as the teachers who spoke um so um with with such commitment to our students so thank you thank you Miss Sawyer Miss Marshall um my dad often says try not to get your exercise by jumping to conclusions and I think that that is very good advice and so I I think that while you know I hear have heard a lot of conversation in media and the community about critical race Theory we teach the North

320Carolina standard course of study that's what we do do and so we're not teaching a critical race Theory um in our school so I just think that that is something that I want people to understand and and if they've got any questions certainly you reach out to your principle to your teachers and uh and we'll you know we'll go from there um but I but I do think that's important for us to remember and and to to sort of piggyback with Mrs Chek there um certainly want to also lend my voice to say if you know I'm I'm available to if if anything comes to me in terms of uh concern I'm passing it on and so we want to make sure that anyone that has anything they feel uncomfortable with that we get that

321to the right folks and Title Nine and and that again our staff everywhere is very Adept at facilitating those concerns because that's the most important thing and and actually the most important thing is prevention and so we've got to work on a culture of mutual respect for all of us at all of our campuses and that is work that um you has been going on for a long time and will have to go on for a long time because we're dealing with human beings and that's and that's just important for all of us to keep that in mind and we want students uh to be able to feel safe everywhere and so we will we will work towards that always thank you all right anybody else thank you Miss Marshall anybody miss deara yeah I'll

322just speak um briefly I know it's getting late um um but just to sort of U piggyback off of what Miss cheek and Miss Marshall said I also um was grateful um to the ladies who spoke tonight and shared their story St uh we do hear them um you know I I also just on a practical level you know hope I know Mr superintendent we spoke some of them are former some of the newer allegations are former students I don't know what we've done to reach out to make sure they know even if they're not current CMS students that what their statute of limitations are and what their rights are to encourage them to report you know even years after if that's the case because we certainly I think could have a role to to

323communicate just that information still even if they're no longer in the system and that would be that would be helpful to make sure that we're doing everything that we can do to get the right information um in their hands um I hear what my colleagues are saying about following our Title Nine um you know policies and practices that have been implemented with Fidelity across um the district and then I also you know that's one piece of it and then there's what I think of as as like the culture piece and just encourage the district to continue to think about um you know how we respond the training beyond the just follow the actual title not exactly what it says but the sensitivity with which the words that are used in the moment when um something

324may even be just ins insinuated because maybe it's not even a clear accusation um but I think it is incumbent upon us to dig deeper and to look for red flags because sometimes people um uh you know um speak in ways that are indirect because they're calling for help and and to the degree that we're able to train our staff to to Really tune in to the culture piece around that understanding the fears that you know many of our students would have for not wanting to speak up and to pull that out to the degree that we can I just think there's always work for us to do in our community to address the culture piece and I hope that um that will be something um in addition of just following the Title Nine practices

325with Fidelity which of course needs to happen that we can always um strive to do better um for all of us thank you thank you Miss de laara Miss Fowler Mr stange do you guys have any parting thoughts for the evening no good thanks Dr Jones Miss bars Bailey all right um so um I will bring it home um yeah I too want to thank all the young women for their courage tonight um there are a lot of people behind this dis who can relate um and um I do expect in August the superintendent and I have talked about doing a a real deep dive into Title 9 UM in our August meeting um I I can tell that there is a lot of work to do to raise awareness of how to report and

326what support you should expect when you report I believe that our students can actually help us um with how to raise awareness um they can probably tell us better than we can figure it out for ourselves with how to raise awareness um and we sure need our staff to be aware of how to handle a title 9 report um and and how to give the necessary support um and I just want to our last message is tomorrow night we will be back together for a governance Workshop this board is in the process of clarifying and sharpening the priorities in our strategic plan um so that we can more clearly monitor progress and more clearly communicate results to the community um so we're really um doing a deep dive into that tomorrow evening I'm excited about

327that work it's the next stage in our governance work so you are welcome to join us in room 267 at 6 o' if you are a wonky governance nerd like like we are um or join us online um and with that I will thank the final survivors of the meeting for sticking it out with us and I will entertain a motion to adjourn so moved second all those in favor of the motion show of hands any opposed y'all are rock stars man rock stars we are adjourned but you know the rule is if we meet after 11 you have to go to Bojangles and bring snacks [Music] right