001[music] Good afternoon everyone. We're going to call our um work session, our February 17th work session to order. Um, looks like we have our first item is the bell change for the 2627 school year for Green Elementary School only. So, welcome to uh Mr. Corrosa, Mr. McCabe, and Principal Blake. Um, thank you. And we'll turn over to you all. >> Excellent. Thank you. And we're also joined by Jason Tomkins, the uh senior director for transportation, and Joy Milin, the director of central operations, logistics, and systems. >> Welcome. commend Aggie pride to you my fellow Aggie and welcome to the district. >> All right, so wait for this to be pulled up. >> Chris is starting. He's got All right. So, in 2019, Green Magnet Elementary had a uh bell bell schedule change approved. It was
002originally running from 9:15 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. Based on feedback from staff and families, they had agreed to push that dismissal time back to 4:00. Um, staff is here today to propose to move the dismissal time back to 3:45 p.m. The recommendation today falls within the strategic alignment for priority three, operational effectiveness, goal seven, employee experience, and aim 19. So, some background information again, 2019 was the bell schedule change. From 2022 to present, um, we had a principal transition. Principal Blake took over. Um, we the overall proficiency increased by 20 percentage points. The school has met or exceeded growth expectations. Green is no longer classified as a recurring low performing school and instructional systems were implemented to balance academic rigor with social and emotional supports. So going through that, staff looked at ways to uh
003make a recommendation to bring that bell schedule change back to 345 and doing so they made sure that they didn't impact the instructional u component of what they were doing on a day-to-day basis. So of course we did some public engagement. We ran a thought exchange for two weeks. It was actually three Sundays and we heard uh from many families. We're going to share that feedback with you today. Um, but just to kind of outline the the summary of what we got back [clears throat] from families, many expressed support for the early dismissal, noting benefits for after-school activities and family time, concerns about instructional time minimizing transitions. Um, despite only a 15minute uh earlier dismissal, there were some uh concerns about the impact on working parents with that early dismissal time. suggestions to align specials
004and world world language classes to reduce transition times were evident and the changes seen as potentially beneficial for student focus and behavior amongst others. So looking at all the uh participants okay so we had 70 participants in all and I know we put a lot on this slide but I wanted to capture each of the different groups so you can see the feedback from each group. So all of the participants at the top the middle section is parent and guardians only and then the bottom section is just the staff information only. So just in general the participants there were 70 which generated 60 thoughts. They were rated 687 times with roughly an 11 ratings per thought. And then you see the numbers there for parents and guardians. 34 participants were parent and guardian and then
00536 for staff. And as you can see, we outline the different themes that are captured from this feedback collection. Student focus obviously being the highest one as well as world language classes. This is a magnet program that offers world languages. So you see a lot of families interested in making sure that that will not be impacted as part of this change. And then amongst others rated in the four or higher generally four is an area where you're going to see a lot of alignment amongst uh participants. The other areas were after school activities, collaborative planning, instructional time, recess and lunch, student engagement, and transition time. So, you can see these uh different themes that were offered up for families, but again, a lot of alignment in the sense of um and not feeling like this
006was going to be an impact on the instructional time, which again was the most important to families and staff. So, here's the parent and guardian feedback. I captured the four highest rated thoughts as part of the thought exchange. Again, talking about um impact on world language classes. Um uh after school being able to participate in activities after school and then people looking forward to an earlier dismissal time. And just a food for thought, um Green Elementary is the only elementary that has the extended day uh release. So then looking at the staff feedback, the highest rated thoughts again talking about student uh stamina, dismissal routines, keeping specials, being intentional about high uh high quality instruction, and then again support recruitment and retention. Again, because when you have teachers who are teaching a longer day than
007other schools, that could become troublesome for uh the principal to hire additional staff over time. So, what does the proposed schedule alignment look like? So, we're looking at minimized transitions. It protects uninterrupted core instruction. Again, we're not impacting instruction for students as part of this dismissal change. Pairs lunch and recess and specials in world language. Maintains the magnet language programming. And meets the district recommendations for the core instructional time. So with that, staff's recommendation is to reduce the dismissal time from 400 pm to 3:45 p.m. In essence, for the 2026 instructional calendar year, green would be proposed to be on a bell schedule from 9:15 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. And with that, we'll open up for any questions. Great. >> Well, thank you for this presentation and for the work that went into this and
008great to see that we are making some growth uh at Green and so that's always exciting. I saw Dr. Ing's hand. So, Dr. Ing, I'll turn over to you for a question or comment. >> Um, thank you. Um, thank you for the presentation. Um, can can anyone of you uh elaborate on exactly how pairing the lunch recess and the specials and world language can um make it more uh efficient? Yes, we were just focused on minimizing the amount of transitions that we were eating time away with. And so by pairing them together, we could minimize multiple transitions throughout our day. So our teachers are not transitioning our students from specials to world language. Those teachers are doing that. And so then they're working in tandem. and based on the place as to where they're um
009listed in the building, it will strip some of that transition time versus leaving the classroom to go to specials, going back to the classroom, leaving the classroom, going back to world language. So, we were just trying to be intentional with minimizing and taking away minutes in that realm. >> Any other questions or comments? >> I do. Um Mr. um Chair Swinson. Yes, absolutely. Miss Rice, >> uh, thank you so very much. Um, I, as I was listening to your presentation, um, and as Mr. Carosa indicated that this is the only school, uh, that has this particular time, is there any particular reason why we want to discuss why this school changed its timing to begin with? And then what were your gains with changing the time um moving it outside of where most schools already
010end at 3:45? Are there any pros to that? >> So to I'll let you talk about the academic piece, but a lot of what this change entailed was dealing with u we had transportation concerns at the time in 2019. uh shortage of bus drivers obviously um there were late pickups happening and so in in in a way to try to just make sure that we were making better use of the time for the students we extended the school day to 3:45 at that point. Um Joy, I don't know if you remember anything about the routing at that point, but generally that's what we were looking at was just trying to make it easier for the transportation department to get to the students within the time periods that we allow for them to be after school.
011So that was generally it for the academic piece. I'll let the principal speak. >> Yeah. So to pig piggyback off of that, um we just wanted to be good stewards of the time. And so since we had that extra time at that point, Green was not um it was a low performing school. So we just redirected some of our focus to create some really tight systems for teaching and learning so that um we could build this momentum to get to this point where we feel like we can continue on that same level of trajectory without the additional 15 minutes. I know that that was something that the staff was definitely interested in doing when I transitioned over to green, but we were not yet ready and I did not feel comfortable bringing this proposal to
012the board until I could be confident that we would be ready to sustain what we've already put in place. >> And as we mentioned earlier, you know, we didn't impact instructional time as part of this change. They just looked at other ways to shave off the 15 minutes in order to make it um accessible for both staff and families. >> Followup chair. >> Yes. Yes. >> Thank you. Um, so are we looking at any other schools being able to propose this type of change to change a better schedule in the future? Um, are we looking at um, Green trying to return back to this in the future or will we be able to maintain um, this schedule moving forward with all of our schools? cuz I because hearing this now and bringing it before the
013board and changing the schedule, it just, you know, it makes me wonder um you know, will any other schools be able to propose this type of change >> [clears throat] >> um and flip-flop or will we be able to maintain keeping all of our schools at the latest time of being in school as 3:45? I'm just curious about that in particular. um and how long Green has been doing this in particular. And I'm for this schedule going back to where it can align with the district as a whole um and for families. I'm just concerned about this particular transition and wondering is this opening the doors for other people to bring proposals through the same? >> Yeah, Miss Rice, uh Chris McCabe, thanks for the question. um uh you a few little pieces that you
014had in there built into your question. So Green switched to this 4:00 dismissal time in 2019. I think that was part of your question. How long have they been doing it? Um at that time, one of the restart flexibilities that um Wake County was approving was some bell schedule or calendar adjustments. We no longer allow that flexibility in our restart schools across the district. So to your question, could another school using restart flexibility extend their bell schedule like Green had previously done? The answer to that is no. We don't do that anymore. So bringing green back to the 345 dismissal in alignment with all the others, they were grandfathered in. Um but we no longer feel like they need to be. >> Thank you. I was wondering about that particular piece as I recall um
015in the restart process at one point. Thank you so much. That's all chair. Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> All right. Any other comments or questions from the board? >> All right. Hearing none. Um thank you. And Mr. uh Crosen, will this come before the board for the full vote? >> Yes. So this will be part of the presentation that transportation will bring as the annual bell schedule changes. So we won't bring this at the next board meeting for approval. You'll just approve it as sweeping changes for the entire district. >> Great. Well, thank you. >> Okay. Thank you. All right. >> Thank you. >> All right. So the next item on our work session is the cohort three, four, and five restart information and restart overview. And that presentation looks like we will hear
016from uh Dr. Robinson, area superintendent Overman, and looks like area superintendent McCay will be staying with us for this presentation. So, I'll turn over to you all. Welcome. Good afternoon, everyone. Chair Swanson, vice chair, uh, esteemed board member, Superintendent Taylor. Since 2016, uh, Wake County has been a statewide leader in implementing the restart model as a strategic lever to accelerate improvement in schools identified as recurring low performing. During today's update, we will share information of how restart uh, schools align with our strategic plan. We will share the results of the state continued authorization review for cohorts 3, four, and five. And you will also receive information for schools eligible for restart in the 2627 school year. The data you will receive demonstrates meaningful gains including schools exiting low performing status. But it would also show
017areas where we must intensify support and strengthen implementation. With that said, our our approach remains clear. Strategic flexibility, focused accountability, and accelerated achievement. Um, at this time, uh, area superintendents James Overman and Mr. Chris McCabe will walk us through the overview and the update for this afternoon. >> Thank you, Dr. Robinson. Thank you all for allowing us to be here today to share some information. Um, as Dr. Robinson uh discussed earlier. Today, our intent is to look at um an overview of restart schools within the district and some information about restart schools as a whole from the state. We will also look at sharing information about cohorts three, four, and five. And we'll talk a little bit about what that means to be in a cohort and then even why those cohorts are grouped together
018this year. Um and then we will identify newly eligible restart schools and next steps. So we're going to start with a restart overview. And so as Dr. Robinson stated, this started a long time ago um 2016, but it originally gained ground in 2010 as a part of a law that was passed by the general assembly uh to reform continually low performing schools. And so out of that in 2016 they began looking at the restart model. And so the goals at that particular time were to remove barriers that may be interfering with the educational process, utilize charter-like flexibilities to address school and student needs and model innovative instructional practices and then leverage flexibilities to increase student achievement. So schools became eligible by being recurring low performing which means that a school has been low performing two
019out of the last three years and so that has been continued over the years with the restart model. You clicked that for me. Thank you. So in terms of restart in Wake County um we were a part of the process in the beginning. Uh we consider ourselves to be pioneers with the two schools that started with the restart model. Uh those were Barwell Road Elementary School and Walnut Creek Elementary School um back in 2016. And so um currently today we have of course 203 schools. 40 schools are utilizing the restart model within the district in this particular school year. Two new schools are eligible for restart in 2627 and three additional schools remain eligible from last year. And so we'll talk a little bit more about that as we get into the presentation. Um, and
020again, just a reminder, the purpose of restart schools in Wake County is to increase student achievement is the main goal and the main focus. So, of course, everything that we do within the district, we want to be sure that it's aligned with our strategic plan. And so, this gives you the detailed information of how the restart model is aligned with the strategic plan. Um, there are aims and things that have been identified within this process. So, I'm not going to read each one to you, but we can tell that it's definitely aligned with the strategic plan. So, um, one of the things that we've been able to do is to utilize different flexibilities that are more charterike within the district. And so some of the examples that you're probably familiar with are budget flexibility where
021our schools are able to utilize some of the salaries uh to provide additional learning opportunities. Uh we have schools that create additional coaching positions so that they can provide job embedded professional development. Um and then we have also sometimes supplemental curriculum resources and assessment tools. um we lock in on our particular curriculum tools within the district, but if there's anything that we need to supplement those things, then we utilize that as a resource. We also utilize human resource flexibility. Uh schools are allowed to convert positions, including teacher assistance to address achievement and staffing needs. Um they also have the flexibility to hire and place teachers outside of their required certification areas when appropriate. Um and so there are times when this is appropriate. A lot of schools will do this for what we call specials.
022Um so if you have a person that's been a professional artist within the community and you have an art vacancy within your school that you've not been able to fill, then you are allowed to look at that particular person as a candidate to fill that position. Um we also look at human resource flexibilities to provide additional compensation in some cases um in addition to that of the state salary to recruit retain uh highquality staff members. And so those are some flexibilities that you're probably more familiar with this graph that is on the slide here that is presented. This is information that has been provided to us from DPI. And so often when we do this presentation, we get questions about what are the most impactful flexibilities or what are other schools across the district doing.
023And so this slide identifies flexibilities being utilized by schools exceeding expectations across the state. And so it kind of summarizes it for you. As a part of those schools, um we are proud to say that the schools on the right side, Barwell Road Elementary, Beaverdam, Forestville Road Elementary, Green Elementary, Lockhart Elementary, Powell Elementary, and Wakeline Elementary contributed to this data and are also um exceeding expected for academic gains. So um DPI has thanked us for their contribution to this information as well. So the next slide talks about um it breaks down the 40 restart schools that we have within our district and how they performed this past school year for 2425. So of those 40 schools, nine restart schools exited low performing status and you can see the names of those schools there. We had
024two restart restart schools that exited recurring low performing status and that means they were able to stay free of being low performing over that 2-year period to not fall into that cycle. Um, three previously eligible restart schools exited recurring low performing status. And so, if you'll recall a few years ago, we talked about how we would recommend or not recommend certain schools to move forward with a restart application. And so we looked at some different resources and things that we could utilize for those schools. Um, and we are proud to say that for those three schools, they exited uh recurring low performing status based on the structures and supports that we were able to provide outside of submitting a restart application. And then that last group is five restart schools that remained out of recurring
025low performing status. And so that's the goal for all of our schools to get them to this point. And so, um, we're extremely excited about those schools and how they've modeled for other schools. Thank you. So, at this time, um, we are proud to bring forward Mr. McCabe is going to introduce the two principles that we have with us today. Um, it is important to note that all of our restart principles are working extremely hard today. We just tapped two to be able to share some information with you about moving out of low performing status. So, Mr. Can we just remind them about last year, your presenters that we have? >> Yes. >> Yeah. So, thanks. So, um if you remember last year when we brought the similar presentation to you, we brought um two
026principles with us. In fact, Miss Blake, who is just up here and has been mentioned on two or three slides here, um was one of the principles that uh we brought to share her story um and her success at a restart school. Um and then we also brought um Margaret Feldman at Dillard um Dillard Drive Middle School with us. And so, like Mr. Overman said, we're we're pretty proud of the work that's happening across restart schools in our district. And so, we wanted to tap some additional leaders to give them the opportunity to share their success um that they're having um in in some of our restart schools. And so, we are um we're proud to uh to to have with us uh Mr. Aldridge at Milbrook Elementary um and Mr. Warren at Timber Drive
027um elementary school. You you'll see a snapshot of their school and some data and some demographics about their school on the screen um for you, but at this point I'll turn it over to Mr. Warren, principal at Timber Drive to share with you a little bit about his story and then Mr. Aldridge will follow him. >> Awesome. Thank you so much. And I want to thank Dr. Robinson, Mr. McCay, Mr. Overman and the board for allowing me to come and just share a little bit of the great work that's happening over at Timber Drive over in Garner. I'm from Garner and graduated from there, so I like to give a shout out every every time I get a chance. So, go Trojans and Titans, but Trojans. So, yeah, the restart when I got to Timber
028a few years ago, really the goal was to have high quality instruction for all students every day. and looking at how we can do that and looking at what the students deserve, what our community deserves and how we can make changes schoolwide to increase the student achievement. And what we looked at is we looked at lots of data, the existing data from before my arrival and feedback from the staff, feedback from the community and really looked at how can we leverage the restart flexibilities to meet those goals. And our ultimate goal of exiting that low performing status and meeting the student achievement, meeting or exceeding growth. So, one of the things we looked at was more people isn't always the best, but it's how you strategically use those human resources that you have. So, taking
029a look at the instruction, taking a look at who is working day-to-day with the students, where does the rubber meet the road? And we looked at ways to be creative with convergence and using the restart funds to increase staff, but not just increase the staff, have those staff working directly with students both in small groups and in core instruction. And one of the ways that we did that was through bringing on more coaching positions and more coaching months so that the coaches could work alongside the teachers, providing professional development, facilitating PLC's, assisting with collaborative planning opportunities, co-eing and modeling high impact strategies in the classroom. And that coaching then extends itself beyond that one person. Extends itself to the classroom teachers. They have that support that's working close that gets to know their practices and
030gets to know the students. And then we saw the gains from that teachers had access to more coaching and those coaches also worked directly with the kids because it was important to us that everyone in the building is working directly with students. Another restart flexibility, we were able to use some of those funds for trackout tutoring. So, we are a track 4 single single track year-round school and we know that it's important for our students to continue and to have access to learning opportunities even over those trackouts. Um, you know, especially the winter one that was long. This one was super long. But those opportunities, what we were able to do was use those stipens, use some of the restart funds to pay certified teachers to uh teach and tutor strategically identified students over the
031trackout. And that was on campus and they still received transportation through the district. They still received lunch, breakfast. It was a full day program. and we were able to strategically identify and invite students to that opportunity and continue some of that learning over the trackouts. We're also one of the things that'll be mentioned on the next slide is we're also an opportunity culture school which you may learn more about but that is a model that we're aligning with where we have multiclassroom leaders and that's another form of instructional support both for students and staff where a staff member works closely with teachers and students to coach enhance the instruction partner model and to improve outcomes for all. So, those were a few of the things I'm very very proud to talk about that are happening
032at Timber Drive um as a direct result of the flexibilities allowed by the restart model. And I'll turn it over to Mr. Aldridge. >> Um and I'll just um again share the gratitude uh Principal Warren shared. Um thank you for us uh for allowing us to come and and speak about restart schools. Um I'll mention Principal Blake again who thinks I need to update my headsh shot. I guess I don't have enough gray in that picture for for it to be realistic. But um no, I you know, I've been around uh restart schools for a while. I was an assistant principal at Carol Middle School for 5 years and this is six sixth year uh at at Milbrook Elementary and definitely have seen some changes in the way the the district operates restart. Um and
033I'm really happy with where we are right now um with uh the systems and structures in place. Um you'll hear a lot of the same things I'll share as as principal Warren shared. One of the primary ways we use restart flexibility is through conversions. Um we realized that we were not going to intervene our way out of being uh what's on there at D. We're actually an F the year before that. Uh we weren't weren't going to intervene our way out of that. We needed to improve core instruction. Um and at a school with a high staff turnover rate, um coaching became a really important uh element that we needed to consider. And so we've used Conversions uh to support teachers in a number of ways. Um, we have a second assistant principal and then
034we have three instructional coaches. Each of those coaches works with two grade levels. So, they're able to provide a lot of highquality regular time coaching teachers, facilitating PLC's, getting to know the students and what they actually need and supporting teachers in meeting those needs. Uh, so those conversion flexibilities have been really important for us. Similarly, we've looked at some tutoring opportunities uh through restart funds. Uh a couple years ago we did some varsity tutoring which is like an online program and then last year we had our own teachers providing that tutoring support. Um we looked at uh it was primarily through math. We looked at star data uh for that group of students experiencing uh the tutoring versus all the other students in the school and that group was outperforming every other group on that
035one benchmark assessment. So there was some evidence pretty strong evidence really to support that the tutoring was working and we're continuing that. Uh this year uh Principal Warren mentioned uh opportunity culture. That's something we're going to be exploring next year. Uh we haven't done it yet, but um similar um use of flexibility for us uh at Milbrook. So um I think that's just one of the things I I I want to kind of end with on on my part is the great thing about Restart is it allows unique schools to find unique solutions to unique problems. It allows for innovation. It allows for creativity. It avoids kind of a one-sizefits-all approach. Um, and I think that's essential in a district this size. We're going to have differences across schools. And so allowing the school and
036the principal and the area superintendent to navigate situations and use funds and resources in a way that fits the unique needs of the school is really important and so we appreciate that continuation. >> Well, thank you Mr. Aldridge and Mr. Warren. Um uh it's always good to bring our school leaders before you and for you to hear directly from uh them on the work they're doing um in our schools. Um you you'll note a lot of the things that both of them said align with what you probably hear Dr. Taylor say often about the impact of collective efficacy, right? how that is the highest yield strategy that we have and when we are building up coaches coaches to build up other PLC leaders and as Mr. Warren said that spills out throughout the building that's
037how collective efficacy works and so they're really leveraging a high lever strategy there um and I'll end before I turn it back over to Mr. Overman to continue the presentation end with just a very public congratulations to both of them for working hard to move their schools out of low performing status. >> Thank you and thank you principles. Thank you. So, the next portion of our presentation is centered on the restart continued authorization process. And as I stated, this year we have 11 schools and we're looking at uh cohorts three, four, and five. Well, if you'll remember, Barwell and Walnut Creek were cohort one. And then we had a group of schools that were cohort two. And then that other thing happened that we don't talk about, which was COVID, and caused a shuffle and
038had to create different cohorts and combine different cohorts. So after this year, we'll be back to a single cohort of schools that we're reviewing each year. But for this year, we are focused on cohorts three, four, and five. So the purpose of the continued authorization process is to grant at the end of your five-year period to determine whether or not you're authorized to continue using restart as a structural model. And so um it review the review requires multiple steps over a two-year process. So they're having to do reports. They participate in different meetings with DPI as well as the district. Um and then all of that information is submitted to DPI. Um and so there are three possible outcomes by policy uh with the authorization process. One is you can be granted continued authorization based
039on the work and stuff that you've done and a model that I'll show you in a minute in terms of their workflow. You can reapply in order to continue if you don't meet that criteria and then you can submit an application to exit if that's where you feel you are and that is a need for the district. So this is the structure that I was talking about. This is what DPI utilizes to identify continued authorization. So they take each school through each one of these categories and it's a flow if this then that and they go through and then they determine at the end whether or not the school has met uh the continued authorization. So what's going to be really interesting about this list that I'm showing you now is there are 11 schools
040and out of the 11 schools nine of our schools met the academic gain needed for continued authorization. So then you look and you see Timber Drive is on that list. And so the same thing when I received the list, I called DPI immediately. What? You you made a mistake. There's a typo. Something's wrong. Well, lo and behold, in October, the policy was updated. And so it used to be that you had to show the amount of academic gain for one year during that 5-year period. October of 2025, they revised that policy to say that you have to meet that academic gain number two times within that five-year period. And so what happened was he moved out of low performing status, but it only counts for him as one time during that five-year cycle period. So
041um I shared my thoughts on that process, but I wanted to be sure that you understand why he was on that list. Um so again out of our 11 schools nine of those schools met the academic gain needed for continued authorization. So the two schools that did not meet uh that particular standard. Um Riverbend Middle School and Timber Drive. Um as a result of that they have two options as we've talked about. We can reapply in order to continue which is what we would want to recommend for them and then or you could submit an application to exit. And so, um, as a part of what we've done with schools that fall short of that mark is comprehensive support plans are created or revised and updated to meet each school's needs. Um, there's a comprehensive
042and in-depth focus plan designed with area superintendent, academics, executive leadership coaches, etc. um for those schools. They talked a little bit about the opportunity culture and you'll learn more about the opportunity culture, but it is a form of coaching that takes place within the building, but it has to be by qualified people that have already demonstrated that they're blue in terms of their growth. And so, um we also look at different academic supports, additional training. Last year, we took the two schools to Harvard over the summer to do some work. We're proud to say that those two schools both moved out of low performing status um as a result of that work and u more instructional focus within the district and an instructional framework would also be included in that information. So that that was
043about the authorization process. Now the next portion is the restart applications for 2627 or the schools that are eligible for a restart application in 2627. And so again, I'm not going to reiterate all of that information to you, but this is information that you saw on the slide in terms of where the schools are and what it is that they're doing. The actual schools that are eligible for restart applications for 2627. The two new schools are Nightdale Elementary and Zebulun Middle School. And so those two are newly eligible. We had three schools that were eligible last year that remained eligible for this year as well. And those are the schools that are shaded in blue. Um that are Brentwood, Wake Forest Middle, Wildwood, Wildwood, Forest Elementary. And then as we stated earlier, the three schools
044that were previously eligible and no longer low performing are listed there as well. So those are the schools that we provided other resources to and other supports and were able to move them out. So, it's important for you to know, I'm sorry if you'll go back before we leave that slide. The area in the pink um is the criteria that the area superintendent's review. So, for instance, the two new schools that are on this list are Nightdale Elementary and Zebulun Middle. So what would happen is the area superintendent would look at this criteria and see to make a determination in terms of a recommendation to working with academics, working with the chiefs and working with uh Dr. Taylor to determine whether or not we would recommend if a application should go forward or not. So
045in conclusion uh in terms of restart schools and the restart model one we talked about it being aligned with the strategic plan. We talked about the 40 schools that are utilizing the model in 2526. Um we've shown you that restart is making a positive impact with schools. We talked about nine of the 11 um cohort 3, four and five schools met the academic gain target. and we've talked about the things that we would like to see in terms of support with the schools that did not, the two schools that did not. Um we've talked about the criteria and everything else. And so as a part of next steps, um we would look forward to continuing the restart model with the authorized nine cohort 3, four, and five schools. Um we would like to have support
046to reapply for the two schools that did not meet the target. And then we will consider continue to consider new applications, supports, and even future exits in the future. So, we shared a lot with you today. Some of it you may have been familiar with and some not. Um, but we want to give you the opportunity at this time to ask us any questions that you may have. Well, thank you for diving into this and thank you for the work that you all are doing to moving your schools and moving the needle forward onto this and to the support that you all are giving as area superintendent to support the great work and the growth that's taking place. And so, um, I will look around and see if there's any questions or comments. We'll start
047with Miss Edmonds and then Mr. Hagerty. >> Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um, a couple questions and a comment. So, can you um tell us um both of our principles that are here just a rough number of the additional resources that you get as far as like is it 50 grand, 100 like what what are we talking about? I have no concept. So, >> they they probably are not able to to share that particular number with you. Okay. Um what we do is try to build a plan for each school based on where they are. And so, um, we look at all of their resources that they have in addition to restart, title one, etc. Um, sometimes there's other conversions that they look at, but we try to build the whole plan based on the school
048needs and then that becomes a part of their school improvement plan overall. >> So, it's not really is it really is is it not additional resources? It's more of a >> It is. It's definitely additional resources. Yes. >> Okay. So, is there any kind of number you can share with me even if it's not per school? >> Yes. Um, so overall this past year, and this has fluctuated, um, at one point it was a million dollar, $8 million. It's been reduced down to, I think this year it was $5.2 million is what it was. And then what we do is we do a per pupil allocation based on those schools within that area. Um, yeah. And and Miss Edmond, so I'll add so the the the number that is in the budget to support restart
049schools, right? We allocate that out based on needs in conversations with our 40 restart schools. Um and the um I just lost my thought. What was I? >> You were saying based on the need. >> Yeah. Based on based on the need per school. And so it's it's not necessarily um an even distribution. Sure. >> Right. It's it's it's again it's it's it's uh based on based on need and conversation as the principal is creating a plan in collaboration with us. >> Okay. >> Yeah. >> And I know last year's budget uh we did add a million dollars to restart schools. I think it was from 5 million back to 6 million what what it has been in previous years to continue that support. So that was something I just wanted to add to that
050from last year's budget. >> Thank you. And may I Sure. >> Thank you so much. Um, the reason I'm asking is because the things that you mentioned, um, that the restart funds allow you to do, coaching, co-eing, tutoring, including trackout tutoring with school meals, instructional support, those are things that would help all schools. And I'm glad that you have these funds and resources. Um, you you need them. They clearly get results. But it's infuriating and this is my comment that the state is not providing more resources for our public schools across the board for these kinds of extra supports for students that need and and educators that need the extra support. Um, and I've asked about a number because um, I looked at my voucher sheet and just as an example, Wake Christian Academy got
051$3.4 million in 2425. That's state money and North Raleigh Christian Academy got $4.3 million. So just those two schools, what is that back you back of the napkin math like $8 million just for those two private schools that are within Wake County um state money and again I think these things that you mentioned could support you know all schools whether low performing or not. Um so thank you chair for >> sure >> letting me make that comment. >> Uh we'll go next to Mr. Heggery followed by Mr. Hegley, Miss Coughfield, and then Miss Rice. >> Thank you, Chair Swanson. So, um, thank you all for coming and for this presentation. Uh, I do want to give credit where credit is due. I want to note the accomplishments of Principal Eric Taylor, Brier Creek Elementary. I
052know he's worked very hard on this, and I'm really proud to see those results there, as well as all of our schools and the performance that they they they've put in. Um, I'm going to piggyback on some of the questioning that Miss Edmonds had, but I want to bring it up in in another light. One of the things that makes this work possible, I guess it's u it's um there's two principal areas. There's the flexibility that you get and there are then the additional resources. And as we were putting together our budget last year, one of the things that we were very challenged on was would we have sufficient funding, you know, for our restart to to continue funding our restart program at a level similar to the year before. And as we looked at
053reductions of funding, that was one of the options on the table that the superintendent had to consider. And so as we put together our board budget and brought that to our county commissioners, there was a recommendation by the county manager to come in at a number lower than the board's budget, which would have resulted in a larger cut to these valuable programs. But the board of commissioners by a contested vote, but by a strong vote, voted to fund our board budget at the level of $40.3 million as an increase in public school funding. And that made continued funding of this program at this year's levels possible. And the reason I bring that up is that when we're giving credit where credit is due, I want to make sure everyone in the county can see this
054presentation >> because what you've been able to show through your hard work and the gains that you've made here is the investment or the the returns on their investment. And specifically what we have here is all of the hard work by administrators like yourselves, by our staff, by our certified teachers in these schools has led a number of these schools to be able to exit that low performing status or be eligible to leave that status. You have a direct connection between the public investment made into this program and then the return on the investment, these wonderful results that you're bringing forward. So, we have a program that works and going forward in a budget year that's going to be challenging. To Miss Emman's point, we need to know how much this program will cost to
055continue. But in addition to knowing the cost, you bringing us these results help us to go back and justify why those sons why those funds are so very vital and why we need that continued funding. So, thank you all. >> Thank you. So, Mr. Hagerty, uh I'll also add to um the comments that you're making about the budget piece, and we do recognize that uh the restart flexibility is something that's very important. It is um part of what we will consider in the budget uh as we begin to put numbers together. Um I kind of wanted to save comments to the end, but I I'll just kind of share this now. Um what we know about the FL um uh the restart program is a continuous improvement of how we use this program as a
056district. And what I can tell you is that um uh from that initial time up until now we become um a heck of a lot better in terms of efficiency and how we use it. I do want to applaud the area superintendent because uh when they had to look at what that funding was, uh they had to work extremely hard to make sure we were uh as efficient as we could be because there were the potential of those cuts. And so we do want to make sure that that is a part of what we examine this year when we do our budget. Uh I'll end with um uh I I do hope that our general assembly recognizes uh the value of flexibility. Uh and what we want to stress is that is not about a
057school being in academic trouble before they have the ability to be considered a restart school. That's something that we know is is valuable for all schools. So we appreciate uh those comments about the budget piece. uh and that is something that uh will have to continue to be a high priority. >> Thank you, Dr. Taylor, Miss Cfield. >> Thank you. And thank you very much for the presentation and I think uh Dr. Tail, you just took it out of my words out of my mouth about the valuable um aspect of them understanding how the flexibility um really changes things. Uh Beaverdam Elementary School was one of the successes in my uh district. I believe it was last year, but time could be flying and it could be two years. >> Um, but they went from
058an F to a D, which is a very very um it's a big jump when you're a failing school and you go to a D versus you're a B and you go to an A. That's so it's a lot of work that was done there in pretty much two years or less. So, I mean, that was great. So, it does absolutely show that is helping. Um, I do have a question in reference to the funding and I know you can't give specific because it's it varies between schools, but if you were to have one school, what would be a range of what it would cost? >> It just overall because it >> so I don't have that number with me right in front of me, but I can say that uh the per pupil allocation
059that we look at um when we divvy it up is about $190 per student um is what we try to do. Um, so that's kind of our focus and that shifts depending on, you know, what's cut or what changes. Um, so that's where we try to to land >> that per year. >> Um, well, each year it depends on the total amount of money that's provided, but yes. >> Okay. Um, all right. So my next question, I I do think that it's really important for the general assembly to see information like this and see how how valuable it is because I think in Beaver Dam, one of the when we sat down and talked about it, one of the biggest things was having more adults in the room, >> having those instructional assistants, having the
060coaches, working with the families to get more of an impact directly with that one specific student. And I like what you said about unique problems, unique solutions and unique problems because it it is true. That's exactly what they're doing is you kind of zoning in on that. So, it's important for our general assembly. I was going to ask about our legislative um agenda if we could put something on there about that because I think it's important for them to know that. Um my last question is we have a growing number in restart status. Did I hear you say that they changed the eligibility requirements? >> So, no, that was just for the reauthorization process. So just the authorization. >> Yeah. So what we did was to look at initially like when we started with the
061two schools anytime a school became eligible we submitted an application but then we started to see that some schools kind of come into low performing status and move out. And so what we wanted to do was to be a little more strategic and say, "Hey, if we can look at these three schools a little bit differently, provide some additional resources prior to submitting the application, then it may be that they don't need to be full-fledged restart schools." And so that's where we were talking about like a Brier Creek um a Vandor Springs Elementary School similar to that. >> So good question. Thank you. >> Thank you. Yes. Yes. I'm sorry if I misspoke. In my head, I knew they went from an F to a C. >> Yes, Favor Dam. Want to make sure I
062am giving them the kudos where it's welld deserved. [laughter] >> Okay. Thank you very much. >> Thank you. >> All right. Um, Miss Rice and then Dr. Job. >> Thank you so much. Um, Chair Swanson, uh, Dr. Taylor stole my word before I got a chance to speak. And the first thing I want to do is to applaud our area superintendent. Um while Mr. uh Overman is actually right here uh representing as area superintendent, I see your name in your region here with quite a few schools that's come out and have met those expectations. And so I did want to um give kudos to our area superintendent, our principles, our staff, and most importantly the students who were complying and did the work and and followed through what was necessary by the leadership of all
063those um for mentioned. Um like Miss Edmonds, I will agree in reference to money with legislator, but I would like um to just make a brief comment around reimagining what education um could actually look like if students were funded at a proficient level coming into school. And so while we're looking at and we were sharing about money that is necessary um that could go into these restart schools um I really would like to look at or for us to examine that the majority of the schools that are on our list of it are elementary schools. Um, elementary school is important for us to look if we can um, look at it as a board right now. Uh, because children that come into elementary school, where is the last place they were? Home. Zero to five.
064What changes the game for everything is the work that we put into our early childhood programming um for families that may be uh in the assignment um range that come into those schools. Um and recruiting that that aligns with the laws that we have about making sure we that we find students that may be at risk um prior to um in the 0 to 5 range. And so for me uh while this money shows what we have done well with remediation is what we have done. We have proven that we know how to remediate students well. But reimagine our district looking and spending this level of money to students who were proficient. And what and all I'm saying is let's as a board if we could just um reshift um a piece of focus around
065how do we prevent the restart process from even happening since we're at an elementary school level with majority of the 40 of our students. What would it look like if we put deeper efforts into helping these children before they get here so that the money that we're using goes into a different process? So, I'm only asking for us to shift a little bit and look at some root causes of why we're here at the restart process and how could we as a board since um Miss Koffield mentioned um legislative pieces um some of the things that we could definitely say is looking at that um or shifting um some focus of really asking for the legislators to do universal prek or whatever we could do in way that directly affects our children. And so I
066just wanted to say um thank you to the staff that has done all that they could do. Um I just want to send out a cry to parents um to please invest in your children prior to bringing them into the district and then continue to invest in them when they get in the district. Um because if we collaborate with parents and train them on the um some of the art of teaching as the students first teacher um I think that we'll be able to see our district funding look a little bit differently. So, I'm sorry it wasn't necessarily a question, but a comment of just having us to look at root causes and then reimagining what we could look like um as we have to, you know, pour this money into our restart models, but
067reimagining what it looks like in our early childhood level. >> Thank you, Dr. Joe. >> Um, thank you all for being here. Really appreciate it. Um, and I very much appreciate what you all are doing with these students and these schools. I think uh I appreciate what my colleagues have said too. I think we can all stipulate we need more money and we need more resources in all schools and we need these are great things to be doing for all students. But considering the current climate and the current legislature we're dealing with and the current situation, my question is really to what do you do to support if you could expand on it because you talked about it a little bit, but if you could expand on what you do to support schools as they
068exit um to make sure they don't become restart schools again. Um especially if it's something like you were saying that Mr. Alers tutoring is one of which is wonderful but I think that would probably be one of the resources that would get defunded if once um they're no longer exit school or no longer restart schools rather. So what do we do to make sure that those gains persist even without the resources there? >> Yeah, I think that's a great question. Um we have not exited any schools yet um out of the restart process. So that have been named. We do have schools that we are closely monitoring that we feel like are now close to being ready. Um I think one of the things that's really important to us is that those structures are in
069place that they've been able to build with the flexibilities and that they're able to continue that academic gain each year. And so um we are proud to say that now we do have some schools that we're going to take a look at develop criteria and to determine if they're ready to be exited. So, but it is really important for those schools to sustain those structures and to be able to continue to move forward with that academic gain. >> Can you give some examples of what you mean by those structures? >> Sure. So, um if there are coaching structures, then the number of coaches if they do not have restart funding anymore may look different, but that structure still needs to be there, right? You're going to gain new teachers every year and you need to
070be sure, I think as Mr. Warren talked about earlier that you're getting a high level of quality instruction on a daily basis. And so when you can build in an instructional coach or an MCL from opportunity culture, then that just ensures that you have someone ready when those new folks come on board or if you have someone that's not doing as well to address that immediately as opposed to going two or three years and working through a different process. Doc Dr. Jeb, I'd like to uh add a [clears throat] few more comments to that. And one of the things that we talked about is um the flexibility that comes along with restart and that if you exit the program then you actually lose your ability to have that flexibility. And so right now the state
071doesn't have a um a timeline if you will in terms of exiting uh the restart program. You can be there as long as you're doing the work. Now what they can do is determine that a school is not making adequate progress and they can execute from the restart program. And so uh that's uh I think one of the reasons that we haven't done so if that school continues to show progress uh we know that a great part of that is because of the flexibility that they have and that if you exit then it's something that you lose. Uh so at this point uh as long as we're meeting those mandates and the state reertifies and we'll continue that. But but that's one thing that we do have to consider if we actually what would that
072support look like? >> Dr. Ing or Vice Chair Hershey, do you either of you all have comments? Okay. Well, I just want to echo what's been said and I did check our legislative agenda and it's still on there for restart like flexibility. So we can always keep that on there. So therefore we can see the general assembly can see the importance of that and I just think it's important you know when you have strong leadership in schools that can help shift the culture and get everyone to buy into the work we can see great gains and then having the support of district leadership. So um if thank you all for pre presenting to us. Uh so we just want to be clear and be sure that we have your support to move forward not only
073continuing re restart with the nine schools that were authorized but resubmitting the reapplying for the authorization for the other two. Yes. I did not hear any uh concerns about that and that was going to be my wrapup to say making sure that we are aligned and all clear and so it looks as if we do have the green light to move forward and appreciate the great work. >> Awesome. Thank you guys for your support. Thank you. >> Thank you. And so now given that that is all of the items on our information on our work session at this point I'll entertain a motion to move into close session to consider confidential personnel information protected under GS43-318.11 A6 and 115C-319. also to consider confidential student information protected under GS115C-402 and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy
074Act 20USC.1232G to consult with the board of education attorney to preserve the attorney client privilege as provided into GS143-318.1183 to consult with the board of education attorney and preserve the attorney client privilege as guided as provided in GS143-318.1183 due to current litigation the White County Board of Education versus Triangle Forest Products INC Inc. Uh and finally to consult with the board of educ to consult with the attorney employed or retained by the board of education to preserve the attorney client privilege between the board of education and regarding PH1 Smith Road/ Sunset Lake Road public infrastructure improvement related to the Felton Grove High School site and specifically on the property excuse me of Triangle Forest Products Inc. and to receive board instructions as the position to be taken on behalf of the board of education in
075negotiations and pending lawsuits in the Yes. >> So moved. >> It's a motion that has been a very long motion that has been properly moved by uh by Sher Hershey, seconded by uh Mr. Hegerty. Any discussions on the motion? >> Chair Swanson. Um because we are in a virtual meeting, will we have to use a roll call vote for this vote as well? >> That is correct. Yes. >> Um so with that, I'll just do a roll call. We'll start with Mrs. Rice. >> Yay. >> All right. Uh Dr. Job, >> hi. >> Dr. In. >> Hi, >> Miss Cfield. >> I chair vote votes I. Vice Chair Hershey. >> I >> Mr. Heaggerty >> I. >> Miss Edmonds >> I. The motion passes. We are now in close session and we will return at
0765:30. Are you facing >> I'm face towards Yeah. >> All right. So, we should be able to just All right. >> Did you play it? >> Uhhuh. >> Did you play it? >> You did a great job. [laughter] >> I want to hang around now. Yeah. Come on. >> I know it's going to be a show. You see your man? >> Well, uh, we going to do this, right? Okay. >> It's just magic to see. What are we saying? >> Okay. Was the working This all Um, >> you need another Yes. >> power source. >> I do. >> Um, there's one in here. >> I have a power in the office. That's where they Sorry. that straight. Take it as well. looking this way as well. >> One, two, three. >> I'm a little check.
077Just make sure it's okay. >> Yes, sir. >> Only thing I can Are you ready? >> One, two, three. >> There you go. That's your >> thing is like it's it's just really okay. >> I was getting something on that mic. Would you work? >> Yeah. >> This is very real. I'm a little >> This is for I think she decided to wear heels today. They're >> both try the other one. One, two, three. >> I'm not hearing any I can hear it. It's just really >> honestly like I think we might be okay just for that sound. >> Okay. >> Can you uh give me a little bit Dr. Javus? I have to turn it up. So, [music] [music] >> All right, I hear you. [laughter] All right. Y'all going to sing tonight? I
078want to hear y'all. >> Question. >> Um, you'll have the microphone. >> Okay, good. Cuz one is a little She's five, so I was worried. We wanted steps to it cuz we didn't know if she Okay, that's perfect. >> Yeah. Um, are you going to have him face the board or face this way? Um, which would be what would you like? Well, I have us presenting to the board. >> Okay. Board. >> All right. So, what we'll do, um, we'll just have uh, >> and she's little, so I can just pull it pull it down. >> We can just do this. >> Yeah, I can pull. Yeah, cuz she's a little. >> Okay. >> Two littles. A third grader and a kindergarten. >> Let's pull it up. So, >> and then do we want to
079do we want to flip to have the course face the board then or That's That's what I'm thinking. So >> you guys willing >> So they can they'll stand here singing towards the board. >> That way they're facing the cameras too. >> Uh yeah, they'll face uh face two. Yeah. Okay. >> And then um like we talked about in the email yesterday, I'm going to give the intro and then when I finish then it'll be the video. >> Yep. >> Okay. and little people and then you >> okay >> do me a quick favor. >> Um Dr. Chavis, can you give me one more test with the keys? Harrison, can you talk into this mic at the same time? I'm getting >> we're going to try to go through this mic. It's a little low.
080So, we're going to also test if this one's working. [music] Testing. One 2 3 1 2 3 1 [music] 2 3 1 2 Check check. [music] >> All right. [music] Did it sound like? >> Yeah. Okay. >> So, one way or another, we're good. >> Yep. So, the audio is on left podium. >> Voices are on right podium. >> I got left podium maxed. Um, and that was able to pull down right podium a little bit. Neither of them were peaking. It's gonna be all right. >> Oh, really? >> God, that looks like >> Well, it's not going to be on camera, so look at that. Sorry. >> Oh, the the warping. >> I'm like, you know what? >> I don't think people are going to look. >> Now, where should I put this? So,
081we have the last graduating class. >> Okay. >> 1968. >> Yeah, I think right there. >> Okay. Um, so see like two's going to be this way. So it has to be >> right. >> Um, how big is the uh wire? >> Okay. Um, so we can get them >> here to stand. >> Yeah, cuz they're >> they're going to be around like directly behind me, >> I guess. Or they're they're going to sing. >> Yeah. Um Maxine Morgan Smithfield. Okay. KD, >> right? They went to Providence or something, right? >> Is mommy on there? >> There she is. Dennis >> Austin Street Jackson Crawford Dunn >> Ruby Denner seats for y'all Johnny >> and I have called I think Kesha said 11 y'all but got 13 stos just to be safe. Yes. Y'all want
082more? >> Got ice cold. >> Ice cold. >> Stop it. Stop it. >> Will have you seen commercial with the good boy? He got on shirt. >> Oh yeah. >> Yes. That is my That is my favorite >> commercial. That is >> too with her next girlfriend. She took her to college, but friends are >> mine. We didn't have >> Oh, you did? >> Let me see. >> I don't want to block out the chav. >> Dropped something. >> Oh. Oh yeah, thank you. 8:30. >> So, first I want to say thank y'all so much for being here this evening. And once we finish and Mr. Hinton does his public comment.