Updates on the Fight for Quality Public Education in Brevard County, FL
0:00 Thank you.
25:29 All right.
25:59 Thank you.
1:29:27 in elementary math increased.
1:29:12 Science, fifth grade went up, biology went up,
1:29:15 eighth grade slight dip, also studies went up.
1:29:18 Just really, really good news,
1:29:19 a lot of good hard work by our students and staff,
1:29:22 and we just wanted you guys to see that data
1:29:24 and see where we think we’re gonna be,
1:29:26 and we’re voting, obviously, for option one.
1:29:29 - Yes, thank you, very, very exciting.
1:29:31 Thank you for all the hard work
1:29:32 from all the people that I’ve put in for this.
1:29:33 So I think for all the criticism
1:29:35 that you may receive out there,
1:29:36 when you see something like this,
1:29:37 you go, okay, we’re doing something right.
1:29:39 So our people are phenomenal,
1:29:41 and we appreciate them tremendously.
1:29:43 All right, do we have anything further
1:29:46 to discuss on that topic?
1:29:47 I don’t think so, I think we’re onto the,
1:29:49 do you wanna take a short recess
1:29:50 to go to the restroom, like a five minute?
1:29:51 Okay, so we’ll come back at 10:50,
1:29:54 we’re gonna take a short recess.
1:30:09 We’ll be right back at 10:50,
1:30:11 we’ll be right back at 10:50,
1:31:05 Thank you.
1:36:05 to provide our fourth quarter discipline data update.
1:36:08 We’ve had an opportunity to actually look at the data from
1:36:13 August 10th through May 24th.
1:36:17 So that’s what we’re going to be comparing for this data
1:36:21 presentation.
1:36:22 I have with me, I have Mr. Christal, he’s our new director of
1:36:26 student services.
1:36:28 He hit the ground running last week and so we’ve had an
1:36:31 opportunity to onboard him and provide
1:36:33 him with a lot of the data and conversations around the data as
1:36:36 well as Mrs. Cash and Schmidt.
1:36:38 Today, again, we will review briefly, there will be a slide
1:36:44 about the discipline organization of how we actually monitor the
1:36:50 data and make sure that we’re providing data with fidelity
1:36:53 throughout the school year.
1:36:55 We’re also going to provide an overview of how we’re going to
1:36:58 provide an overview of how we’re going to go over that as well
1:37:02 as some of our next steps that we have planned for next year.
1:37:04 You know, we did have an opportunity to look at the data and we
1:37:07 are making some tweaks to some of the things for next year to
1:37:10 make sure that we implement with fidelity again.
1:37:13 And then we will go over Title IX and the bullion update and
1:37:17 provide some next steps for exciting steps for next year with
1:37:21 that and then we’ll allow for questions at the end.
1:37:24 Again, this is our district discipline structure of how we’re
1:37:29 monitoring discipline within our district.
1:37:32 The Office of Student Services, our job, my role is to make sure
1:37:36 our team that we provide professional development to all of our
1:37:40 stakeholders as well as make sure that we
1:37:43 have processes and procedures in place in place to make sure
1:37:46 that our policies are being implemented with fidelity.
1:37:49 Our, of course, our school principals, they are responsible for
1:37:52 the implementation of those policies, procedures at their school
1:37:57 site and then our Chief Office of Chief Schools.
1:38:00 They make sure that if we’re looking at trend data and things
1:38:04 are not being implemented with fidelity or that we need some
1:38:08 more professional development at a particular school, they will
1:38:12 intervene and
1:38:13 and provide that support with the principal at their school.
1:38:16 Some positive impacts that have occurred over the past, I think
1:38:22 within the past couple of months has been the continuation of
1:38:27 collaboration with our BFT as well as with our transportation
1:38:32 department.
1:38:32 We’re going to continue those practices for next year because we
1:38:36 get on time feedback where we can make those corrections within
1:38:39 the moment instead of waiting until there is a problem and
1:38:42 sometimes it’s very proactive where we’ll start talking and then
1:38:45 we’ll say, okay, I’ll bring that back next month that we can
1:38:49 continue on with that discussion.
1:38:51 And so it’s a lot of collaboration with transportation and BFT
1:38:54 this year and that will continue for next year.
1:38:57 Another expectation is that just more referrals are implemented
1:39:02 within a 24 hour period.
1:39:03 We will continue with that practice for next year and then
1:39:06 monitoring the implementation of that for next year as well.
1:39:10 Very excited about the code of conduct that is completed, we’re
1:39:13 moving forward with a lot of our training and you will see that
1:39:17 when we continue to talk about next steps and we really want to
1:39:20 focus on what are the expectations for our students?
1:39:24 And in our code of conduct, we did place, I think it’s a third
1:39:27 or fourth page in there, expected behaviors that we want our
1:39:31 students to bring forward and we will have to teach those
1:39:35 expectations.
1:39:36 So we really want all of our training, we’re going to focus on
1:39:39 that first and then we’ll go into what were the changes and then
1:39:42 what other expectations that we expect on our campuses.
1:39:46 I’m going to turn it over to Mr. Crystal.
1:39:49 So this first slide is the will be the depicts the total number
1:39:53 of office discipline referrals from that time frame that we’re
1:39:57 talking about of August 10th, 2023 to May 24th, 2024.
1:40:03 The total number of referrals at this point was 95,814 with
1:40:08 about 21,426 students receiving referrals.
1:40:12 So these are going to be our targets going forward.
1:40:14 So these are what we have set forth.
1:40:18 The, this, this slide is, these are the top 10 highest
1:40:21 discipline codes as of May 4th, 2024 willful disobedience is, is
1:40:26 down approximately 1% or about 1,006 instances, fewer, fewer
1:40:32 instances.
1:40:33 So this is the highest discipline code by race currently willful
1:40:39 disobedience and out of assigned area are the focus across the
1:40:42 board for all students going forward.
1:40:45 Um, this is part of that setting the expectations and keeping
1:40:48 students in school, um, and we know that’s paramount.
1:40:50 This is the, uh, top 10 corrective actions by school.
1:40:57 Um, this year there was the addition of the lunch detention code.
1:41:01 Um, with that, uh, the alternative classroom placement and loss
1:41:05 of privileges did fall out of the top 10 from 2023 to 2020, 2024.
1:41:09 Uh, 23, 24, sorry.
1:41:14 This slide depicts the total number of ISS and OSS as of May 24th,
1:41:18 2024.
1:41:19 Uh, we’ve seen an 8% decrease or about 3,403 fewer incidents, uh,
1:41:25 this school year.
1:41:26 Uh, students are using, uh, schools are using other consequences
1:41:29 to keep school, uh, students in school.
1:41:32 Um, this is going to be the focus of the professional
1:41:34 development, which will include a lot of those successful
1:41:37 strategies that we’ve seen the schools.
1:41:38 Um, they, uh, ascend, they kind of shared a lot of their
1:41:41 practices and we’re going to embed that in professional
1:41:43 development going forward.
1:41:45 Uh, this is the, this, uh, slide shows Brevard’s risk ratio, the
1:41:50 racial breakdown.
1:41:52 Uh, this is the, the district will monitor the data throughout
1:41:55 the year as we support schools.
1:41:57 Um, with the overall, uh, drop in ISS and OSS, we should see a
1:42:00 reduction in this as well through continued improvement.
1:42:04 These are the, uh, this slide illustrates the racial breakdown
1:42:08 of the alternative center placements, the school year,
1:42:12 approximately 263 fewer students were sent to the ALC.
1:42:17 Uh, 312 students that would have gone to the ALC opted for the
1:42:20 drug diversion program instead and are currently still in school.
1:42:24 These are the alternative, uh, these are the codes that resulted
1:42:29 in the placement at alternative center.
1:42:32 So you can see those higher numbers, simple battery fighting and
1:42:34 drug possession are the main reasons for placement.
1:42:37 Um, and that’s going to be the target area of focus going
1:42:39 forward for professional development and student support.
1:42:42 These are the list of schools that have recommended, uh,
1:42:47 students for placement at the ALC.
1:42:50 And these are the, uh, this was, uh, introduced in the middle of
1:42:57 the school year.
1:42:59 But this slide depicts the students that opted for home ed in
1:43:02 lieu of alternative placement.
1:43:04 Uh, the data collection started approximately around January
1:43:07 going forward.
1:43:08 This is going to be embedded from the beginning of the year
1:43:10 going forward.
1:43:11 So we’ll have complete data there.
1:43:12 And this next slide is the very similar one to the first one,
1:43:17 but this is breaking down by race.
1:43:18 So this slide depicts the same data, but it’s broken down by the
1:43:21 racial subgroups.
1:43:22 Next steps, we’re very pleased we already started part of this
1:43:41 process.
1:43:42 Um, when we unveiled some of the new changes to our MTSS problem
1:43:47 solving, um, process, uh, at ASCEND 2024.
1:43:47 Um, we did that, um, last, uh, week before last on Wednesday and
1:43:52 Thursday, uh, some changes to that.
1:43:58 And we’ve already started training our administrators.
1:44:00 They were trained on June 11th and they’re going to be trained
1:44:03 on June 20th.
1:44:04 And we’re going to continue to train all stakeholders of what
1:44:07 these practices are and the changes that
1:44:10 we’ve made.
1:44:11 We made it less about the paperwork and more about what is it
1:44:15 that the students need in
1:44:17 order to get, make sure that they get their services and
1:44:20 supports more quickly.
1:44:22 Um, we are also going to have district monthly trainings for all
1:44:25 stakeholders.
1:44:26 We already have that on the books, uh, with behavior academics
1:44:29 and attendance.
1:44:31 Before with the MTSS process, we were, um, looking at a student,
1:44:35 it, a student may come
1:44:37 forward where we’re looking at them for attendance.
1:44:39 Then we come back two weeks later, we’re looking at, or a month
1:44:42 later, we find out, okay, well,
1:44:44 there’s attendance.
1:44:45 There’s an academic problem.
1:44:46 So we are now focusing and looking at the whole child.
1:44:49 So when we bring a child up, we’re looking at attendance.
1:44:52 All of these behavior, these things that may contribute to a
1:44:55 student not being successful
1:44:57 academic behaviorally as well.
1:45:00 So we’re looking at students as a whole to problem solve
1:45:04 solutions.
1:45:05 So we can get services and supports again to them quickly as
1:45:09 possible.
1:45:10 We also, we’re going to continue with the behavior intervention
1:45:13 toolbox, where we have, we actually
1:45:15 had teachers participate in this, where they come and they get a
1:45:18 professional development
1:45:19 on strategies and we give them a toolkit that they can take back
1:45:23 and utilize, uh, in their
1:45:24 classrooms, uh, positive behavior interventions and supports.
1:45:28 What does that actually look like?
1:45:29 We talk a lot about that, but we really want to provide
1:45:33 interventions and strategies and like
1:45:35 a little toolbox for our teachers that they can utilize in the
1:45:38 classroom.
1:45:38 Um, we’re going to continue with our FBA and BIP training.
1:45:44 We started that training last year.
1:45:46 We’re going to continue that training to make sure we have
1:45:48 interventions and strategies that
1:45:49 teachers can utilize within their classrooms, as well as our
1:45:53 school principals can utilize
1:45:56 and be a problem solver for, uh, their school, uh, staff.
1:46:00 We’re going to continue, uh, with coaching and mentoring of
1:46:03 teams.
1:46:03 When we look at the data, we see that there’s a trend for a
1:46:06 particular school.
1:46:07 Our goal is to go out and meet with that school to say, hey,
1:46:10 what kind of support, what, what
1:46:12 do you need from us?
1:46:13 So, we wanted to do more of that coaching and mentoring with our,
1:46:17 uh, schools with the problem
1:46:18 solving, uh, process, um, for the development of the MTSS
1:46:23 website, uh, you know, we’re unveiling,
1:46:25 uh, new website.
1:46:26 Uh, we really want to work on that and have that be a resource
1:46:30 for all of our, uh, staff.
1:46:31 As well as, uh, MTSS, it used to be, we had one half an academic,
1:46:36 we had a, uh, employee
1:46:38 that was in, um, CNI, and then we had one that was in student
1:46:42 services.
1:46:43 Now we have both that will be housed up under student services
1:46:46 that will focus on the whole
1:46:48 child and looking at it from a district wide, uh, support of, uh,
1:46:52 our, uh, schools.
1:46:53 This was something important from last year, we did, uh, like a
1:46:59 pilot, uh, where schools
1:47:01 could upload, uh, student statements into focus this year,
1:47:04 moving forward, starting in August,
1:47:06 it will be expected that all documents will be uploaded into
1:47:10 student statements into the focus,
1:47:12 uh, database.
1:47:14 You know what I’m going to ask you real fast.
1:47:16 Can I jump in and ask it?
1:47:17 And the recommendation when a referral is written for a teacher
1:47:20 to be able to make that, that’s
1:47:21 also going to be starting the school year, correct?
1:47:23 Yes, yes, yes, I did.
1:47:25 We, we, we forgot to put that on there, but yes, we already
1:47:28 worked with ET on that.
1:47:29 That was something that Mr. Reed, uh, worked on, uh, we’re
1:47:33 working also to align the corrective
1:47:36 action levels to incidents and focus because sometimes they
1:47:38 would not, we didn’t get the data
1:47:40 correctly because we didn’t have a code or the code didn’t match
1:47:43 this intervention.
1:47:44 So we want to make sure in some instances we are looking at all
1:47:48 of the, we’re creating like
1:47:50 a dummy account to go in and be able to look at, um, the
1:47:54 interventions as well as the codes of
1:47:56 infractions to make sure they match.
1:47:58 Perfect.
1:47:59 Um, also we’re developing training for all of our stakeholders,
1:48:02 which will include,
1:48:03 you know, our teachers, our bus drivers, we already have our bus
1:48:05 driver training already on the books,
1:48:07 as well as, um, training for our teachers, our administrators.
1:48:13 And we’re moving towards more of the module training. So when we
1:48:17 have new staff that come on
1:48:19 board, they can still get a lot of this training instead, you
1:48:22 know, sometimes they get lost in the
1:48:24 crack once school gets started.
1:48:25 Right.
1:48:26 So we want to make sure that we have a library of, uh, resources
1:48:29 that’s on demand for our, uh,
1:48:32 schools so they can utilize for training. So we’re just very
1:48:35 excited about a lot of the training that we, uh,
1:48:39 are planning for our stakeholders to make sure that I feel like
1:48:42 we’re in a better spot than it was last
1:48:44 year. Cause when I came in, it was like, we were creating from
1:48:47 scratch. And now I feel like we’ve gotten
1:48:49 feedback from our stakeholders that we’re tweaking a lot of the
1:48:53 things as well as implementing a few new
1:48:55 things as well. So I’m going to know if there are any questions
1:48:59 at this point, uh, about the discipline
1:49:01 data before we move on to the title nine and bullion form, I’ll
1:49:05 turn it over to you. Ms. Jenkins.
1:49:07 Yeah, I have a lot. Um, so
1:49:13 the whole point of having this conversation 18 months ago was to,
1:49:18 well, we all know the point. So
1:49:21 let’s talk about where it went from there. Cause I argue what
1:49:24 the point actually was.
1:49:26 If the goal was for us to correct this process, the goal should
1:49:32 be for student behaviors to decrease
1:49:34 in order to increase academic engagement and hopefully increase
1:49:37 academic performance.
1:49:40 And so it’s great that we’ve streamlined everything. Uh, we
1:49:45 reviewed the code of contact,
1:49:46 all of that. That’s great. But I’ve been saying for the past 18
1:49:49 months, every time we have this
1:49:50 conversation is the goal is to decrease student behaviors and
1:49:53 increase student engagement. And we
1:49:56 haven’t seen that yet. It’s been 18 months. Um, this draft
1:50:00 statement we’re going to send out today
1:50:02 about this presentation is frustrating to me because it’s, it
1:50:06 doesn’t really serve a purpose.
1:50:10 And it’s fluffing for no reason when we could just be honest
1:50:15 about the positive things that have taken
1:50:16 place and be honest about the things that we still need to work
1:50:19 on, um, to show that we acknowledge
1:50:22 the benefits of the data that we’ve gathered. The whole point of
1:50:25 gathering data is to use it to affect
1:50:27 change. Um, and I don’t see that here in the statement we’re
1:50:31 going to send out today.
1:50:32 I don’t see it acknowledging some of the negative things that
1:50:35 are in here that are leading to these next
1:50:37 steps, which would bring positive change to our district. Those
1:50:40 are things that we should be
1:50:41 sharing with our community intentionally, uh, because it shows
1:50:46 that we are engaged and that this change
1:50:49 was effective. So I have a question. Um, and Ms. Dampierre, I
1:50:54 appreciate this next step section
1:50:56 because that’s what I’ve been saying for the past 18 months is
1:50:58 what are we doing to change the behavior?
1:51:00 If the numbers are going up, okay, what are we doing to change
1:51:03 the behavior? Because we don’t want to keep
1:51:04 seeing that one of my questions because it’s not in this
1:51:07 presentation. It’s not broken down that way
1:51:09 specifically, but it has been in the past is the two highest
1:51:12 demographics for, uh, referrals and behavior
1:51:18 were kindergarten and ESE. Is that still the same? Because we
1:51:22 don’t have that broken down here.
1:51:24 Are those numbers still some of the highest? And if so, um, I
1:51:29 clearly can identify the things in the next
1:51:31 steps that are going to directly address ESE, but are we
1:51:34 thinking forward about what can we do uniquely
1:51:37 for those kindergarten babies that are coming in and struggling
1:51:40 behaviorally? Um, what, what do we have
1:51:43 in, in, as a plan in place for, for those classrooms and for
1:51:46 those students and those families and those
1:51:48 schools that are struggling with those behaviors in that
1:51:51 kindergarten? And sometimes if there’s a pre-K,
1:51:53 it sometimes is reflected in that classroom too.
1:51:59 One of the things is to make sure that, uh, again, we talk about
1:52:03 the changes, but what are
1:52:05 specifically teaching those expectations for our students that
1:52:09 we expect them to, you know, to adhere
1:52:11 to when they come to, uh, to school? We also, um, have put in a
1:52:16 behavior attack at the majority of our
1:52:18 elementary schools to really be that resource to be able to
1:52:22 teach those strategies because it’s all
1:52:24 about strategies and interventions as well. And I’m just going
1:52:27 to be honest with you. We didn’t do a
1:52:30 whole lot of that this year. It was trying to get things under
1:52:33 control as far as processes and procedures.
1:52:36 And we’ve already been planning because that’s some of the
1:52:39 things that we really want to be able to provide
1:52:41 interventions and strategies that teachers can utilize and, you
1:52:45 know, pull and be able to utilize it within
1:52:47 their classroom. But that behavior, uh, tech will also be a
1:52:52 resource for our schools and we’re training
1:52:55 them up as well to be that resource, but really focusing on what
1:53:00 we expect and how we expect them to
1:53:02 behave in the classroom. So, um, uh, that’s one of the main
1:53:06 changes. I’ve already looked at some of the
1:53:08 training. I’m like, if we put this, that’s why it was important
1:53:11 to put it in the code of conduct.
1:53:13 Okay. We keep talking about, you know, how we expect, but we’ve
1:53:17 never taught it. You know,
1:53:19 a kid is coming to school for the first time. How do we build
1:53:21 community in the classroom? How do,
1:53:23 you know, what do we expect when the kid transitions from one,
1:53:27 you know, one activity to the next? So
1:53:29 teaching those specific strategies in the classroom.
1:53:32 So, and, and just to, to preface with, uh, my frustration and my
1:53:40 questions aren’t to you as
1:53:42 an individual, it’s to this conversation we’ve been having for
1:53:44 18 months. I don’t put all of this
1:53:46 responsibility on you. I’m well aware of everything you’ve been
1:53:49 doing in this category. So please
1:53:50 understand that. Um, I, I pushed back a little bit on the, we’re
1:53:53 not, we’re not teaching the expectations.
1:53:56 I, I don’t believe that our kindergarten teachers aren’t, aren’t
1:53:59 doing that. Do I believe that
1:54:00 there’s new teachers that need those classroom management skills?
1:54:03 Absolutely. They can always
1:54:03 use that support. But, but I appreciate you saying the piece
1:54:06 about the behavior tech. And again,
1:54:08 I’m just throwing it out there. Like, these are the things that
1:54:10 we should be telling the public
1:54:12 that we’re doing in statements like this, because it’s great. It’s,
1:54:15 it’s, it’s a positive thing for
1:54:17 our families to know that we are investing in those resources to
1:54:21 change the behaviors that we’re seeing
1:54:23 in those classrooms. So thank you. I appreciate that. Um, my
1:54:27 other question
1:54:28 slash comments.
1:54:33 So when we go to, I think it’s page six, uh, I’ve brought this
1:54:45 up every single time and I’m not going
1:54:47 to stop until I’m gone, uh, because it’s critically important
1:54:51 and we just keep ignoring it. Um,
1:54:54 when we have certain demographics and populations of students
1:55:00 that are coming up on these data charts
1:55:04 at a significantly higher percentage than the percentage that
1:55:07 they represent within the population
1:55:08 of our schools, that tells us we have a problem. We, as a
1:55:14 district, if our goal is to decrease behaviors,
1:55:18 increase engagement, increase academic achievement, it is our
1:55:21 responsibility to dive deep into those
1:55:24 numbers and understand the why and understand what kind of
1:55:27 resources and supports we can put into those
1:55:30 schools or to those specific students in order to change it.
1:55:34 That is our job. So I’m going to say that
1:55:37 again, looking forward.
1:55:44 Um, to page 11, um, our risk ratios for free and reduced lunch
1:55:51 and black or African American students
1:55:53 has increased. I don’t know if I’m going to use the word again
1:55:57 or not, because I don’t know what the
1:55:59 date range is on this. Um, but it has increased while others
1:56:02 were dropping. Again, we had a conversation
1:56:05 about how one point zero is kind of the neutral line. And so
1:56:10 when you fall beneath one, it’s not
1:56:13 necessarily a positive thing. Um, it’s showing that there is a
1:56:16 significant imbalance. So when you have
1:56:18 two categories of students that are significantly higher than
1:56:22 that, again, it’s showing that there’s
1:56:24 a disproportionate, there’s disproportionate data. And we as a
1:56:27 school district have a responsibility to dig in
1:56:30 and understand why and affect change for those students.
1:56:35 Um, I have a question about so with ALC, I have a couple of
1:56:47 questions. My first question is,
1:56:49 it says here that on page 12, uh, slide 12, sorry, um, 263 fewer
1:56:57 students were sent to the ALC in 2324.
1:57:03 And forgive me because I don’t have the comparative slide in
1:57:06 front of me, but I
1:57:07 could have sworn we were just presented information about our ALCs
1:57:10 where the numbers were higher than
1:57:12 ever. Am I inaccurate in that statement? Or was that just the
1:57:17 conversation because it was talking
1:57:20 about moving from three days to five days? I don’t recall the
1:57:24 numbers being higher at the third quarter
1:57:27 presentation. Okay. So, and the third quarter presentation was
1:57:32 up until that point comparing
1:57:33 last year to this, uh, to last year to this year. This is totality.
1:57:37 And now, um, this data is comparing
1:57:39 last year, the full year. The full year. Okay. This year, the
1:57:43 full year. Got it.
1:57:43 If I remember right, at the end of third quarter, we were
1:57:46 actually looking at whether we could go back
1:57:47 to five days full time. Right. Because at one campus. Right. But
1:57:50 it was very high. That’s what I’m
1:57:52 asking. So it’s because it’s the full year data. That’s
1:57:54 different. Yes. Okay. So again, I brought this
1:57:59 up 18 months ago and I, and I’m going to do it again and I will
1:58:01 keep doing it again because it’s my
1:58:03 obligation. So we have disproportionate data on the types of
1:58:07 students that are being sent to ALCs.
1:58:11 We have, my color codes are backwards. Sorry. Give me, or they’re
1:58:14 black and white, I should say,
1:58:16 uh, underneath. Okay. Um, 274 black or African-American students
1:58:22 are being sent to the ALC
1:58:24 and 235 white students. When black students represent 15% of our
1:58:29 population, when black students are,
1:58:33 according to our slide six, um, performing these behaviors at a
1:58:40 lesser rate. Um, but they’re attending
1:58:44 the most severe consequences more often. Uh, that math doesn’t
1:58:48 math up for me. So again,
1:58:50 it’s our obligation as a school district to look into that data
1:58:52 and ask ourselves why. Um, when I brought
1:58:54 this up a long time ago, one of the responses was some students
1:58:58 are opting to do home education
1:59:00 in lieu of ALC. And I asked for this data to be presented a long
1:59:03 time ago, and I’m appreciating
1:59:04 that it’s back on here. Um, and what it shows is that, um, the
1:59:09 percentages of, uh, black students
1:59:13 opting for home ed is not significantly different than our white
1:59:17 students, not enough to explain why
1:59:19 there are more black students, uh, inside of the ALC than white.
1:59:23 It is absolutely our obligation to pay
1:59:26 attention to the data that we’ve asked for and to do something
1:59:30 about it. Um, again, Ms. Dampierre,
1:59:32 I appreciate slide number 17 tremendously, uh, because I
1:59:36 understand the benefits of this. And the more
1:59:38 and more new staff that we have and fresh educators that we get,
1:59:42 uh, the better that this can make them
1:59:46 in that classroom management. And I most appreciate the MTSS
1:59:49 conversation because someone from the ESC world,
1:59:51 we’ve had this conversation privately, but just to say it
1:59:54 publicly, it is an absolute nightmare sometimes
1:59:56 for some of our schools that don’t have a huge, tremendous ESC
1:59:59 staff to get students into the
2:00:01 place that they would be most successful. So thank you for
2:00:03 taking that seriously and deep diving into all
2:00:05 of that paperwork. I also want to mention something else in
2:00:09 reference to the SIN 2024. I know when we talk
2:00:14 about culture and climate that includes the behavior academics
2:00:17 and includes all of those measures. We felt
2:00:20 so strongly that this needed to be in our school improvement
2:00:23 plan that it is one of our goals that
2:00:25 our schools were working on at SIN 2024-25. And they had groups
2:00:29 where they were looking at, okay,
2:00:31 what are some of our school-wide expectations for tier, I hate
2:00:37 to talk about tiers, but tier one,
2:00:39 school-wide expectations. Those were some of the questions. What
2:00:41 does that look like? And then what are we
2:00:44 going to do for those students who the tier one, those school-wide
2:00:47 expectations are not working for?
2:00:49 What are some things that we’re going to do differently or
2:00:53 enhance to address and try to,
2:00:56 you know, make sure that we provide some of the strategies for
2:00:59 those students to ensure
2:01:00 that they’re successful. So there is a process that the schools
2:01:04 went through to make sure that we’re
2:01:06 looking at all students, regardless of races. Like, okay, what
2:01:10 are we doing for those students who are not,
2:01:12 you know, successful in the classroom? What are we going to do
2:01:14 with that? So, and that Ascend 2024
2:01:18 consisted of teacher leaders, as well as administrators, school
2:01:23 counselors. So everyone
2:01:24 getting together and problem solving, what does that look like?
2:01:27 And they had the opportunity. We
2:01:29 provided our office, this more referral data for the schools,
2:01:33 their OSS, the ISS, as well as their climate
2:01:37 survey so they could create these goals and put in action steps
2:01:40 of what they were going to do for next
2:01:43 year. So all of this is, it’s going to help us, we think,
2:01:47 because when you have a foundation of
2:01:50 everyone looking at the data for the academic, as well as the
2:01:54 behavioral and attendance portion of that,
2:01:56 that it’s going to set us up for success. So we will be
2:01:59 monitoring this as well. They’re going to turn
2:02:01 those goals in before the end of the summer. We’ll be monitoring
2:02:06 the action steps, but our goal
2:02:09 is to really problem solve. And we also talked about how the
2:02:13 principals can set up problem solving that,
2:02:17 what that model is going to look like on their campus to look at,
2:02:20 like you just said,
2:02:21 the individual student at that things are not working for, for
2:02:24 that tier one.
2:02:25 So there are some things that we are planning to do differently
2:02:28 for next year.
2:02:28 And I, and I appreciate that. If that information as it comes in
2:02:34 and there’s the,
2:02:35 the review periods can be presented to the board or just
2:02:37 provided to the board. I would appreciate that
2:02:40 because ultimately I love to hear that we’re doing that. And I
2:02:43 love to hear that our, that our district
2:02:45 leaders are doing that, but it is, it is a hundred percent, a
2:02:48 top down approach. And if it’s not coming
2:02:51 from the top or from this board and the board doesn’t buy into
2:02:54 it, it’s not going to be sustainable.
2:02:56 So please present that data to us as soon as you have it. Okay.
2:02:59 Thank you, Ms. Jenkins. Ms. Campbell.
2:03:03 Thank you for following through with our request this year to do
2:03:11 this quarterly update,
2:03:12 because it was really important for us this year to start seeing
2:03:14 the differences. Now I’m going to use,
2:03:16 I’m going to emphasize that word start because I, I have a
2:03:19 different perspective, Ms. Jenkins from,
2:03:22 in this conversation when we, as, as aggravated as I have
2:03:26 actually also been at maybe how this
2:03:28 conversation started. The fact was that 18 months ago we started
2:03:31 the conversation and that was going
2:03:32 to require policy changes, which we did last year. It was also
2:03:35 going to require really doing great
2:03:40 record keeping, which we found out through our audit, as well as
2:03:44 just staff like it. We weren’t doing that.
2:03:46 We had the ability with focus now to incorporate all of that
2:03:52 data keeping, record keeping. And so,
2:03:55 I, you know, actually we should have anticipated and did, staff
2:04:00 did, some higher numbers in certain
2:04:02 categories, because for the first time people were actually, you
2:04:06 know, being held accountable to record
2:04:08 things to record the consequences to make sure that it’s in
2:04:11 there. And then, and then as we’ve gone
2:04:13 through, and then we’ve got the student code of conduct, what he,
2:04:18 I am not in dismay at this point
2:04:23 over the numbers that have increased. I’m super excited to see
2:04:26 the decrease in willful disobedience,
2:04:29 because we didn’t recategory, recategorize that in any way. I
2:04:32 mean, that’s, that’s its own category,
2:04:33 because some of the fighting and aggression, like we, we’ve
2:04:36 moved things around in the, in the student code of
2:04:37 conduct from last year, this year, but this, and then in the
2:04:40 coming year, but that, that one is willful
2:04:42 disobedience is willful disobedience. We didn’t recategorize
2:04:45 that, that I recall. And so, I’m
2:04:47 excited to see little victories, right? And, and fewer students
2:04:50 being, you know, our rates of in-school
2:04:53 and out-of-school suspension, because we, we gave people options.
2:04:57 But what, what I’m looking for moving
2:04:59 forward is, now that we have a clear, more concise student code
2:05:03 of conduct, now that we have, we are,
2:05:07 we are, have done, had a year of accurate, more accurate record
2:05:10 keeping, and we’re moving into year
2:05:12 two of that more accurate record keeping, now that we have
2:05:14 training that’s going on, it’s gone on through
2:05:16 the year, but specifically heavily focused this summer, from
2:05:20 here on out, I want to see those numbers go down.
2:05:23 And I will have an expectation, I have, I have a positive, I’m
2:05:27 an optimist, but I have a positive
2:05:29 expectation that those numbers will continue to go down, because
2:05:32 we will be able to more effectively
2:05:33 deal with this. I would, however, though, join Ms. Jenkins in
2:05:37 saying, I think we have, I think we
2:05:39 need to add that conversation about the behavior text to our
2:05:42 press release. Because when I look at these,
2:05:44 we have in the past looked at those kindergartners that are
2:05:47 coming in, and even the seventh graders
2:05:49 that are coming, it’s those kids moving up into the next level,
2:05:52 so ninth graders, there’s where we
2:05:53 always see the higher behaviors, because they’re moving into
2:05:55 that new atmosphere, and they just have
2:05:57 got to get their feet underneath them. But things like willful
2:06:00 disobedience, out of assigned area,
2:06:02 classroom disruptions, physical aggression, those particular
2:06:05 four out of our top 10, I think in an
2:06:08 elementary setting, in that, in that kindergarten setting, is
2:06:12 going to particularly be affected by
2:06:14 having that behavior text in the classroom. And I would add to
2:06:17 that, even though it’s more of an
2:06:18 academic thing, we are now funding those IAs, and the truth is,
2:06:22 even though those IAs fall into the
2:06:24 academic side of the house, those IAs that we’re putting into
2:06:28 kindergarten, when students are able to
2:06:31 more fully engage in their academics, because there’s more
2:06:33 people to help them, then the behaviors should
2:06:36 also fall, because they’re focused, and there’s more eyes, and
2:06:41 hands, and people able to help them
2:06:43 focus on those academics. So again, another thing that I think
2:06:46 is going to help when we look at future
2:06:50 behavior issues, future discipline reports, is that we’re going
2:06:53 to have more people in the building
2:06:55 focused on, you know, students being more actively engaged in
2:06:58 their academics, and helping to focus
2:07:00 them back when it comes to behaviors. And so, you know, moving
2:07:03 forward, if these numbers stay the way they
2:07:05 are, you know, chop, chop, let’s do something different. But I
2:07:10 really think that we’re now in a place, this is the year, this
2:07:13 coming year, is the year,
2:07:13 these a year, that I expect all these to fall. And I may be
2:07:16 wrong, but I think we’ve done too much work
2:07:18 in your department, and the staff, and all the way from the top
2:07:21 down to the schools, has done so much
2:07:23 to make sure that we’re set up for success moving forward in the
2:07:26 future. Okay, that being said,
2:07:27 I wanted to ask a question about how our in-school and out-of-school
2:07:36 suspension numbers, which would have
2:07:37 been slide eight, might or might not have been affected by the
2:07:41 drug diversion program. Because
2:07:42 we know, obviously, our expulsions have gone down, because we
2:07:45 have, the students have the opportunity,
2:07:47 but could these drops right here, it’s not, I mean, these drops
2:07:51 are in the thousands, so the, you know,
2:07:54 the 200 and 313 kids who chose out of drug diversion. But are
2:07:58 those students when they’re first, and this is a
2:08:01 process question, it may be a chief of schools question. When a
2:08:04 student is first found to have
2:08:06 alcohol, or THC, whatever it was it, that would have put, to
2:08:10 give them the options of ALC, or a drug
2:08:13 diversion program, are they included in these numbers, are they
2:08:17 serving some out-of-school suspension days,
2:08:20 and would that have gone down, because of the fewer numbers of
2:08:24 students, I mean, are they still serving
2:08:27 those out-of-school suspension days, before they start the drug
2:08:30 diversion program, that’s my question.
2:08:31 Are you tracking, I mean, I’m trying to be clear, is it, is it,
2:08:38 is this number affected at all by that?
2:08:40 Yeah, so the way the process works, they are immediately placed
2:08:44 on a 10-day suspension pending,
2:08:45 okay, and so before you can set up the hearing with the parents,
2:08:49 and offer drug diversion, all that,
2:08:50 it usually takes several days, right, so the amount of time that
2:08:54 a student would be out on suspension,
2:08:56 before they go to the ALC, or enroll in drug diversion, is
2:08:59 probably the same, it’s the same, okay,
2:09:01 so this, so this is a true, you know, decrease in out-of-school
2:09:05 and in-school suspensions,
2:09:07 well, they wouldn’t have gone to in-school suspension, but out-of-school
2:09:09 suspensions, not affected by
2:09:11 that, because they’re going to go ahead and conserve those 10-day
2:09:13 pendings, until the decision is
2:09:15 The number of days are out would probably be this, because it
2:09:17 usually doesn’t end up being 10,
2:09:19 at some point, we, right, right, right, right, right, right,
2:09:21 right, but, no, I think the reason that
2:09:23 the numbers are down is because the schools used other disciplinary
2:09:27 consequences, other consequences,
2:09:29 and they were attacking behaviors earlier in the process, you
2:09:33 know, which led to fewer suspensions,
2:09:35 because we didn’t get to the point where it was going to be a
2:09:38 suspension, good, thank you, and they
2:09:40 really utilized that lunch detention, if you saw that, yeah,
2:09:44 yeah, yeah, so that went up, you know,
2:09:46 and that’s, well, and I have to point out this, this is actually
2:09:49 surprising to me, you know,
2:09:51 we made the change last year, for the last half, three, you know,
2:09:57 three months, or the last half of the
2:09:58 year, to give principals the authority to suspend more, they
2:10:03 could do more without district approval,
2:10:06 and yet, the number still went down, so I think that’s a
2:10:09 positive show, as well, I mean, because
2:10:12 some, the expectation may have been from some, oh, if you give
2:10:14 the principals the authority to suspend
2:10:16 more without checking it, they’re just going to be suspending
2:10:18 right and left, and that’s not necessarily,
2:10:20 I mean, we may have some at some schools, but, I mean, that’s
2:10:23 not necessarily proving true, so I’m,
2:10:25 I’m glad to see that, another little positive in this, but, you
2:10:29 know, like I said, I expect those numbers
2:10:31 just to continue to come down, and just so you know, the
2:10:34 behavior, hiring of the behavior tech came from
2:10:37 my team, and I visiting schools, and having conversations with
2:10:40 principals, and they, you know,
2:10:41 and I could see that they were struggling somehow, actually, I
2:10:45 witnessed a couple of them where they
2:10:48 were spending a lot of their time at the elementary level,
2:10:51 chasing kindergartners, yes, and it’s not,
2:10:53 and so this behavior tech is for the whole school, it’s not even
2:10:57 for ESC students, it’s for those students
2:10:59 who, you know, who need to be redirected, and taught those
2:11:02 strategies, so I wanted to make sure Ms. Jenkins
2:11:05 didn’t think that, I didn’t think the teachers, the teachers do
2:11:08 a great job, but for those students
2:11:10 who is not working for, redirecting, and reteaching, and
2:11:13 modeling for those kids in the, you know,
2:11:16 in the classroom, or outside of the classroom, that’s why that
2:11:19 position was brought forward,
2:11:21 so that came from us looking at the data, and having those
2:11:24 problem-solving conversations with principals.
2:11:27 Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Campbell, Mr. Susan.
2:11:31 Hey, Dr. Rendell, I just want to kind of, and Ms. Pam, I want to
2:11:34 ask you guys a couple of questions,
2:11:35 because there were some statements made earlier, but I’m not
2:11:37 sure if they were
2:11:38 made incorrectly or not, but Dr. Rendell, do you feel that our
2:11:41 student achievement has gone up,
2:11:42 did you just present today on our achievement levels going up?
2:11:45 Yeah, I mean, I think the presentation we just shared showed
2:11:49 that we’ve recorded increases in ELA,
2:11:52 and most math and science. Okay, and then Ms. Dampierre,
2:11:56 did we see a significant change in the staff surveys from before
2:11:59 discipline was corrected till now?
2:12:01 The, I can tell you, we only did a survey in the spring. The
2:12:09 goal next year,
2:12:10 and we’ve already had this conversation, is that we will do a
2:12:13 survey in December,
2:12:14 as well as year-end, so we’ll have some, this was just the
2:12:17 baseline data.
2:12:18 Right.
2:12:18 We were just coming in, and we didn’t think it was fair to give
2:12:21 them a survey in December,
2:12:23 where we were just starting to, and we were working out those
2:12:26 things that needed to be
2:12:29 implemented with fidelity. And so next year, the goal is that we’ll
2:12:34 have that survey twice,
2:12:36 in December and in May before the leave. Sure, and you had a
2:12:40 survey that went out that showed that 86%
2:12:43 felt comfortable with the discipline changes, and they were,
2:12:45 right?
2:12:46 Yes, and based on the conversations that we’ve had, and meetings,
2:12:50 that monthly meetings we have with
2:12:52 BFT, as well as with transportation, we’ll continue to have that.
2:12:57 They feel like we’re addressing some of those deficiencies that
2:13:02 were not being addressed prior.
2:13:05 So that would be successful in that we’ve had to survey and
2:13:07 discussions inside of our
2:13:09 unions and trade groups, that they feel that this process has
2:13:13 worked, and we’re working towards
2:13:14 better goals, and there’s a constant evaluation and going
2:13:17 forward?
2:13:18 Yes.
2:13:18 Okay, and the survey that was given out by the auditors showed a
2:13:23 significant difference in what
2:13:25 we’re seeing now, correct?
2:13:25 I, I.
2:13:28 Are you using RSM?
2:13:30 Yeah, RSM.
2:13:31 The auditors came out and showed a survey that was saying that
2:13:34 we had
2:13:34 deficiencies in a lot of our disciplinary actions, and the
2:13:37 survey that we have recently has shown
2:13:39 a difference in showing that what we’re doing is making a
2:13:41 difference with our, with our unions.
2:13:43 Yes, based on, you know, the topics that they had, they wanted
2:13:47 us to make sure that there were
2:13:48 processes and procedures in place, and that we had a, where we
2:13:52 were putting data into focus and doing
2:13:55 that with fidelity. So all of those things, yes, we’ve done
2:13:58 those things that were outlined in RSM.
2:14:00 Okay, Ms. Dampere, do you feel your team, what, you and I talk a
2:14:06 lot about this, and what you end up
2:14:08 finding is, is that we’re talking where you’re combing through
2:14:12 the data, and you’re always trying to
2:14:14 find improvements in processes, meeting with your principals one-on-one.
2:14:19 Can you talk a little bit
2:14:21 about that process that you go with your teams, you’re meeting
2:14:23 inside the schools? Can you walk through that a little bit?
2:14:26 We, each one of my directors, we have data metrics that we look
2:14:32 at and monitor on a, on a monthly basis. And
2:14:35 we, as a team, we look at the data, we look at all sorts of data,
2:14:41 just, not just the, the behavioral data,
2:14:44 but we look at the threat assessment data. We look at the SRI
2:14:47 data. We look at all of those to tell us a story
2:14:50 about a school. If we’re looking at it from, you know, is this,
2:14:53 this particular school having issues
2:14:55 in every area? Or for example, if Title IX, there’s a cross
2:15:01 connection with that, and what we’re saying
2:15:02 as far as office discipline referrals, that tells us where we
2:15:05 need to go out and, you know, meet with
2:15:08 schools and see, hey, how can we support you? And that’s done on
2:15:12 a monthly basis. We’re going to
2:15:14 continue that practice again. I may be tweaking a few things as
2:15:17 far as some of the metrics. Now that
2:15:19 we’re going to have the data dashboard, they won’t have to spend
2:15:22 as much time, Mr. Reed.
2:15:23 They, there, there was a lot that went into us pulling those
2:15:27 data metrics, but I didn’t care,
2:15:29 because that’s going to lead us into improving our practices.
2:15:33 Also, when we’re looking at whether or not
2:15:36 data codes, or if we’re schools that are actually completing the
2:15:41 referrals within a 24-hour timeline,
2:15:44 that also provided us an opportunity to look at the data for
2:15:48 professional development. If we’re seeing
2:15:50 trends where that, I’ll just give you an example, willful
2:15:56 disobedience is occurring. Okay, what are some
2:16:00 things that we can help a school with, with willful disobedience?
2:16:03 Also going over the data at the
2:16:06 monthly principal meetings, once we see that there’s a trend
2:16:10 with, I think we did so many, every, every
2:16:13 month we did a principal meeting, and it was based on what we
2:16:17 saw with processes and procedures and some
2:16:19 of the data metrics. So as far as implementing with fidelity,
2:16:24 that process really, we started in October,
2:16:27 making those visits, and not just there with ESC as well,
2:16:31 looking at how we can improve practices and
2:16:34 support our schools. And we did some meetings, and we walked
2:16:38 with BFT as well, just to see what was
2:16:41 happening at a school to provide some additional supports. And I,
2:16:44 and I think to Ms. Campbell’s
2:16:46 comments is that this year has been a lot of that, and I knew
2:16:50 you were going to say it, because your number
2:16:52 one thing that you consistently say is we need to figure out the
2:16:56 data, hold everybody accountable,
2:16:58 but then find the supports that are needed to help these
2:17:00 children. And I think we don’t talk about
2:17:02 that enough. That was mentioned that I agree with it. We don’t
2:17:05 talk about your amazing work that you’ve
2:17:06 been doing on the back end. And just like you said, you started
2:17:09 going out in October to address these
2:17:11 issues. It’s not something that could have been addressed
2:17:14 immediately and turned. And I just knew you were
2:17:16 going to say that the number one thing that I think that you’ve
2:17:18 brought to the table that we discuss all the
2:17:20 time is the supports to the schools. You’re in the schools, you’re
2:17:23 meeting with the schools, you’re
2:17:24 bringing BFT to the schools, you’re doing a lot of that stuff.
2:17:27 And that was not something that was
2:17:29 evident before. And I think that that is going to, to Ms.
2:17:32 Campbell’s comment, turn the corner on a lot
2:17:34 of this stuff, because you can’t just flip a switch and expect
2:17:37 it to change. But there is hard work,
2:17:38 determination and identification that you’re doing that’s making
2:17:40 it. So I wanted to thank you for that one.
2:17:42 Dr. Rendell, can you explain to me the correlation between 3,403
2:17:47 days of out of school
2:17:48 suspension to student achievement or, you know what I mean, less
2:17:52 days? Can you give me that? Because
2:17:53 because I think that kind of to help the public understand what
2:17:57 that means.
2:17:58 Yeah. So obviously, if the student’s not in class, they can’t
2:18:00 learn. And, you know,
2:18:02 that’s probably the best number in the whole slide presentation
2:18:06 is the fact that we reduced the
2:18:08 number of OSS days and ISS days. The number of in school
2:18:11 suspension days were reduced by 20%.
2:18:14 So that in the out of school suspension, it’s 3,000 over 3,400
2:18:20 days of not missed instruction,
2:18:23 you know, 3,400 student days back in the classroom, so to speak.
2:18:28 And so even though we, you know,
2:18:30 increased accountability and, you know, wrote more referrals and
2:18:36 issued more consequences,
2:18:38 the bottom line is, in the end, more kids were actually in class,
2:18:42 you know, compared to the previous
2:18:44 year. You know, more days of in-class instruction, not lost days
2:18:49 of instruction, which would have
2:18:50 probably impacted academic achievement. And I think that’s
2:18:54 something that we don’t
2:18:55 talk about enough is when we throw the number out there, 3,403
2:18:59 days of less suspensions. It’s, yeah,
2:19:02 that sounds good because it’s less kids, you know, being in
2:19:04 trouble or days suspension, but it directly
2:19:06 affects the achievement of those students. And, and I know Jean
2:19:09 and others that are on this board know
2:19:11 that when those kids are inside the class classroom, that’s when
2:19:14 they truly learn and being suspended is
2:19:16 not our goal. Our goal is to have them inside the classroom. Dr.
2:19:19 Rendell, can you tell us how the drug
2:19:21 diversion program supports student achievement? How, how does it
2:19:24 the keeping those kids at that school,
2:19:26 which is again, our number one goal, can you, can you explain
2:19:28 that to me? Yeah, so the drug diversion program,
2:19:30 we gotta give the board credit for taking the bold step to put
2:19:33 that in place this year,
2:19:34 offered these students the ability to remain at their home
2:19:37 campus, remain enrolled in their
2:19:39 coursework, seven classes that they were at their home campus.
2:19:41 The alternative learning center is not
2:19:43 the same learning environment. So the drug diversion program
2:19:46 allowed them to remain in their, in their
2:19:49 home school, access the same high quality curriculum, seven
2:19:52 periods a day, you know, some of those courses
2:19:54 are not available at the ALC. Now it was high risk, high reward
2:19:58 kind of thing, you know, because if they
2:20:00 messed up, they were going to then forfeit not just their home
2:20:03 school, but the ALC, they were going to be
2:20:05 expelled out of school. But, you know, the board took that step
2:20:09 and offered that program. It’s been very
2:20:11 successful. All those students were able to remain again, like I
2:20:14 said, at their home school and access
2:20:16 their standard curriculum. And I think there was, thank you for
2:20:21 that, Dr. Rendell. I think there’s some other
2:20:23 things that you have in some instances, some schools that did a
2:20:26 significant increase with
2:20:28 all of what we laid out for them and some that needed some
2:20:31 development and supports like Rockledge
2:20:33 had, I think 27 expulsions last year and they only had seven
2:20:37 this year. And others, there’s some great
2:20:39 schools that have done some great things. And I think we need to
2:20:42 honor them for what they are. And then
2:20:44 other schools that are going through some of those issues,
2:20:46 support them, find out how we can help them
2:20:48 and get them. Because our goal here today is not to find out to
2:20:52 just reduce the amount of times kids get
2:20:54 expelled and everything else. It’s student achievement. And I
2:20:56 think that looking at the numbers by both
2:20:59 how we are showing the achievement gains today, along with
2:21:02 showing that we’re reducing the total out of
2:21:04 school suspensions, along with some of the things that you guys
2:21:07 said is amazing. So thank you very much. I
2:21:08 appreciate your time. That’s it. Thank you, Mr. Susan. Mr. Trent.
2:21:12 All right. Well, so we don’t repeat.
2:21:15 I’m so sorry. I did a lot more than
2:21:23 months ago. I mean, we’re talking to a lot of educators in this
2:21:29 room and parents, and I think we
2:21:31 all do what we do, either teach or go into education or run for
2:21:36 the school board in hopes of improving
2:21:39 student achievement. Otherwise, I mean, what is the main goal of
2:21:43 a school district is doing that?
2:21:45 I don’t believe in consequences. You know, not every number has
2:21:52 to make sense if the goal is being
2:21:55 achieved. And I think we’ve seen it today that we are achieving
2:22:00 that goal of student achievement. It’s
2:22:03 happening. There is a correlation. I mean, I think a lot of
2:22:07 things with coaching in my life is if you
2:22:10 take care of the small things, sometimes it takes care of the
2:22:14 big things. And I don’t have expectations
2:22:17 on certain numbers going down. I want teachers and
2:22:19 administrators to continue doing what they do with
2:22:21 the situation that they’re faced every single day. I’m not going
2:22:24 to put an expectation that I want
2:22:26 less referrals or less discipline issues taken care of. I don’t.
2:22:30 If that was out of hand, and we were not
2:22:33 improving student achievement, then we have an issue. But when
2:22:37 we when I see tardies and miss handling of
2:22:42 phones, those things going up, and we’re still achieving student
2:22:47 achievement goals. That’s a good thing.
2:22:51 When I see willful disobedience going down. That’s the big
2:22:55 things that we didn’t have to take care of
2:22:57 as much because we took care of the small things. And it all
2:23:00 leads to that when when when it’s an
2:23:01 emphasis that you get to school on time and you get in the class
2:23:04 now now student achievement can happen.
2:23:06 It also is the willful disobedience of of or or or fights things
2:23:12 like that doesn’t happen in the
2:23:13 hallways because the students are in the classrooms and they’re
2:23:16 on campus and they’re in schools.
2:23:19 That’s exciting to see that things are actually working that way.
2:23:22 That’s the way it’s supposed
2:23:23 to happen. I’m excited to see the consequence of lunch detentions.
2:23:29 I that’s not an exciting topic,
2:23:31 but it is is it’s an immediate consequence to an action. I mean,
2:23:36 many times I’ve witnessed at the
2:23:38 schools I were at, where the bells rung were out in the in the
2:23:41 courtyard, and they’re giving out a lunch
2:23:44 the attention to serve that day because of something that that
2:23:47 student chose to do that morning. And that
2:23:50 that that handles it. You got to be in the classroom that that
2:23:55 in school suspension, the out of school
2:23:57 suspension those days, I mean, that matters. That’s huge. Give
2:24:01 it a hand to the board for taking the
2:24:03 the risk on the drug diversion program that could have blown up
2:24:06 in our faces. It really was a high risk,
2:24:08 high reward for the student, but it was also for us as well.
2:24:12 So I applaud us for doing that. I see the students who are
2:24:17 staying in schools without us having to
2:24:19 compromise our accountability for those students. We’re still
2:24:23 doing what we’re supposed to be doing
2:24:25 in standing strong on and saying students, you need to be in
2:24:29 class. You need to put the phones away.
2:24:33 It’s disturbing. Still, I know this probably is just going to
2:24:36 say because I’m old, but it’s disturbing to
2:24:39 see the behavior at kindergarten. You wonder, why are they
2:24:42 coming into schools with with such behaviors?
2:24:45 I don’t want to get into what I think, but how many times do we
2:24:48 go out to dinner and we see,
2:24:49 you know, babies with cell phones in their hands? And, you know,
2:24:53 maybe we need to really focus at home on
2:24:56 and getting those behaviors taught that, you know, it’s okay to
2:25:01 have that our young ones around adults
2:25:05 and individuals and teach that behavior. I don’t remember many
2:25:09 behavior texts and IAs being in
2:25:10 kindergartens years ago. I mean, it’s a fact that we have today,
2:25:14 but it’s an entire community. And I see
2:25:17 it. I see it when we’re in the schools. It’s needed now, but
2:25:21 those are things that is, I wish we didn’t
2:25:25 have to be facing. So I appreciate that you respect the data.
2:25:30 There’s not one thing in this presentation
2:25:33 that I know you haven’t gone over a hundred times in your head
2:25:37 and with your team. So I know you’re
2:25:40 looking at those, um, I see the slide where, you know, home ed
2:25:45 in lieu of ALC. Um, I mean, the black
2:25:48 demographics over, over doubled from 15 to 34 that they’ve
2:25:52 chosen that and only 46 to 49 and in the
2:25:55 white demographic. So they are, you know, uh, some groups are
2:25:59 taking advantage of, of, of that home
2:26:01 ed instead of, uh, going to the ALC. Um, and those are when,
2:26:06 when you hear
2:26:09 we’re putting them in ALC. I’m a big one on that. No, that’s the
2:26:13 consequence that they have chosen
2:26:15 based on the actions that they’ve decided to, to take themselves.
2:26:18 They’ve chosen those that route.
2:26:21 Um, so, um, just continue doing what you’re doing and, you know,
2:26:26 um, giving the supports to the schools.
2:26:28 I don’t think there’s conversation that goes by you and I have
2:26:31 that, uh, it, it isn’t about putting
2:26:33 more supports in the schools, giving the teachers,
2:26:36 administrators, and those students,
2:26:38 everything. I know you’re pouring your, your heart and soul into
2:26:41 this and we appreciate it.
2:26:42 It isn’t going to be turned around, uh, overnight. Uh, no, I’m
2:26:46 not putting a, uh,
2:26:47 a demand that these numbers need to be reduced. I just keep
2:26:51 doing what we’re doing. And over time,
2:26:53 uh, I, I, I, I faith and confidence that, um, it, BPS is going
2:26:57 to continue improving. So thank you.
2:26:59 Thank you, Mr. Trent. All right. I get to wait patiently until
2:27:03 everyone speaks at the end.
2:27:04 And so, uh, thank you for continually diving into this data. I,
2:27:07 I think you’ve said this a couple
2:27:08 times, expectations. So unspoken expectations lead to
2:27:11 disappointment. And so sometimes I think
2:27:13 that’s what we found with this. We weren’t setting a clear
2:27:16 expectation of what we expected from our
2:27:18 students and what we expected from our staff. And now we’re kind
2:27:21 of all rolling in the same direction,
2:27:22 which is very, very important. Um, I, I look forward to the day
2:27:27 where I’m going to use your analogy.
2:27:29 Sorry. Don’t, don’t be mad at me, Dr. Rendell, but, uh, I want
2:27:32 Brevard County to be the Georgia.
2:27:34 So everybody that drives on 995 knows when the second you hit
2:27:36 Georgia, you stop speeding because you
2:27:38 know why they write tickets and you get in trouble. And so I
2:27:42 would like our schools to be the Georgia,
2:27:45 so to speak, uh, when it comes to discipline that, you know,
2:27:47 what the expectation is and you know how
2:27:49 to behave in a classroom. Because if you do not, there will be a
2:27:53 consequence associated with that
2:27:54 behavior, whatever that behavior is. Um, I anticipate a day
2:27:58 where we see the first quarter data
2:28:00 being extremely high because they’re setting the expectation of
2:28:03 saying, hey, we see a lot of referrals.
2:28:05 And then we start to see it taper off because students now
2:28:07 realize, hey, they’re not going to allow
2:28:09 this in the school. So I can’t act this way. I can’t do these
2:28:12 things. Um, I think that’s the trend
2:28:14 that we’ll probably start to see. I hope that we start to see.
2:28:17 One, one thing I would just say,
2:28:18 I recommend doing and I think this has been an eye opening, uh,
2:28:22 tool that I’ve used when I tour my
2:28:24 schools. And I know you guys are at the schools now as I asked
2:28:26 to see a few different classrooms,
2:28:28 a lot of times they want to show you the shiny, nice classroom
2:28:30 with everybody sitting really well.
2:28:31 And, and I, I want to see the first year teacher’s classroom. I
2:28:34 want to see your seasoned teacher’s
2:28:35 classroom. I want to see the, the classroom that’s writing the
2:28:38 most referrals. Because a lot of times
2:28:39 you can go in there and just kind of spectate what’s happening
2:28:42 and give some positive feedback on some,
2:28:44 on some ways we could maybe help that classroom or take some of
2:28:47 those model examples and implement
2:28:49 them in other classrooms. So, um, just one, one recommendation I’ll
2:28:52 throw out there to you guys.
2:28:53 When you go out there, just ask to see different stuff than
2:28:55 rather than maybe the classrooms that
2:28:57 you get steered into. Uh, because a lot of times that’s very,
2:29:00 very eye opening. Uh, other than that,
2:29:02 uh, thank you for the work that you’re putting in here. I, I, I
2:29:05 want to continually have these
2:29:05 conversations. It’s important that we continually look at this
2:29:07 and monitor this. And,
2:29:09 like you guys are doing, you’re recognizing there’s an issue
2:29:11 here. We need to focus on this. Uh,
2:29:13 and we have the human element. This will never be perfect. So,
2:29:16 quite frankly, we’re dealing with
2:29:17 children. Children push limits. That’s what they do. Um, so we
2:29:21 will continue to have these
2:29:22 conversations, I believe, for as long as we’re in the business
2:29:25 of, of working with children. Uh,
2:29:26 so don’t get discouraged when you’re not seeing things that you
2:29:28 want to see. It’s just figures,
2:29:30 okay, well, hey, this is, this is reflecting that we need to
2:29:33 work or focus more in one specific area. So,
2:29:35 I won’t continue on anymore with that because I know we have
2:29:37 another part of this presentation. So,
2:29:39 I appreciate the work you guys are doing. Thank you so much. And
2:29:41 I, I believe it’s Ms.
2:29:42 Cash and Smith. Are you doing the, the next section of this?
2:29:45 Okay. I have a follow-up. So,
2:29:47 I’m going to step out to the restroom really fast. I want to
2:29:53 just highlight one thing. So,
2:29:57 the part about the behavior tech in the elementary schools, not
2:30:00 just being in our kindergarten classrooms.
2:30:03 Um, I appreciate you highlighting that, but I just want to, um,
2:30:05 bring to everyone’s attention too.
2:30:06 The reality is, is when you, when you have a grade level that’s
2:30:11 struggling so, so much,
2:30:13 especially an initial grade like kindergarten, getting data for
2:30:17 those students is so time consuming.
2:30:21 And so it’s really, really helpful to have that individual on
2:30:24 that campus to be able to be in
2:30:26 those kindergarten classrooms more often. Um, so just
2:30:29 acknowledging, yes, they’re going to be there for,
2:30:30 for everyone, but, um, putting them, putting them there is
2:30:33 really helpful for those struggling
2:30:35 kindergarten classrooms. Um, I, I think it’s important that we’re,
2:30:40 we speak about what was
2:30:41 just presented honestly. Um, to say we’re excited that kids are
2:30:45 getting to class more often, the data
2:30:47 says the exact opposite. By the thousands they’ve increased in
2:30:50 the categories of tardy to class and
2:30:52 tardy to school. So make sure you’re reading the slides before
2:30:55 you make statements publicly.
2:30:58 And, and, and it’s frustrating for me because I speak first, I’m
2:31:02 called to speak first, and then I
2:31:04 listen to everyone else speak. And for the first time, there’s a
2:31:07 benefit there. Not one other person
2:31:09 addressed the exact same issue I’ve brought up time and time
2:31:12 again. There is a blindness from this board
2:31:15 to have conversations about the data that has been presented
2:31:18 over and over again. I’m not necessarily
2:31:22 speaking to you, Ms. Campbell, because you did brush over it
2:31:24 really quickly. But what I’m talking about is,
2:31:26 there’s excuses being made by the majority of this board over
2:31:29 and over again. And it’s frustrating.
2:31:31 It’s frustrating because there was a huge sector of our
2:31:34 population of students that are being ignored.
2:31:37 And to excuse away that children made choices, that’s why they’re
2:31:44 in the ALC. Absolutely,
2:31:46 you’re correct. But when you look at the data, and those
2:31:49 students are doing the same behaviors at a,
2:31:51 at a lesser rate than the other students that they’re being
2:31:54 compared to, that doesn’t add up.
2:31:57 That’s a problem. It is our responsibility to identify the
2:32:00 problem and to fix it.
2:32:01 And the blindness is a problem for the board. And, and I, I
2:32:05 appreciate the interrogation of Ms.
2:32:07 Dampierre. Again, I said it before, it has nothing to do with Ms.
2:32:11 Dampierre or the district staff,
2:32:13 staff and their initiatives and their acknowledgement of it. If
2:32:15 the top of the line is in acknowledging that problem,
2:32:18 this isn’t going to be rectified.
2:32:24 - Thank you. Yes, go ahead. You are.
2:32:29 - There’s been some accusations that there’s a large population
2:32:33 center being ignored. Can you talk a
2:32:35 little bit around some of your things that we have that have
2:32:39 been addressing some of those? I think she’s
2:32:42 in reference to the risk ratios and stuff like that. Can you
2:32:45 talk around how your actions of going to the
2:32:48 schools, identifying some of the issues, what is the plan that
2:32:51 we’ve engaged with to overcome some of the risk
2:32:53 risk ratio problems that she kind of said that we were ignoring?
2:32:58 - I think the way we have included the culture and climate and
2:33:04 the SEND as a goal. We didn’t have
2:33:07 that goal as a part of the school improvement plan last year.
2:33:10 And that the ownership of, okay,
2:33:14 what are the school wide expectations? They’re going to work for
2:33:18 about 80 to 85% of our students. That other 15%,
2:33:23 what are some strategies and interventions that we’re going to
2:33:26 provide for those students to see,
2:33:28 you know, to make sure that they’re getting that resource or
2:33:33 support that is needed. Because again,
2:33:37 we want to make sure that our students are in school. But that’s
2:33:41 one of the things is
2:33:44 actually being able to look at that. It’s also going to help
2:33:47 with MTSS. We had a lot of processes and
2:33:53 procedures in place that should have been updated a couple of
2:33:59 years ago. And so what we did was we
2:34:03 streamlined, we worked with CNI, and this was a collaboration
2:34:07 effort when looking at how can we
2:34:09 streamline the MTSS problem solving process. I, we met several
2:34:15 times to just as a cohesive unit,
2:34:19 but then also once we had what’s required, we eliminated some of
2:34:25 those things and practices that
2:34:27 were not required. And so that’s going to streamline that
2:34:31 resource so we can get to providing those
2:34:34 resources and not doing it in isolation to do it as looking at,
2:34:39 you know, why is this kid not in school?
2:34:42 The MTSS process is going to look at attendance and behavior and
2:34:47 academics, all of those things.
2:34:49 Whereas before we were doing it sometimes in isolation and
2:34:53 sometimes with all of the,
2:34:55 the paperwork that we were requiring them to do that really wasn’t
2:35:00 needed, we couldn’t get to
2:35:02 that intervention quickly enough. So that we’ve streamlined that.
2:35:06 And we got a huge applause for the
2:35:09 teachers that were there when we told, told them, hey, we’re no
2:35:12 longer doing this for certain parts of
2:35:15 that MTSS process. So we’re doing a lot of our paperwork and
2:35:19 focus now and we’ve streamlined.
2:35:21 I went and pulled policy and actually legislative requirements
2:35:28 and said, this does, this is not
2:35:30 required. So why are we doing it? So we eliminated a lot of
2:35:32 things. So that’s going to streamline.
2:35:34 And I appreciate that because every one of the schools that I
2:35:37 went to go speak at
2:35:39 consistently, that was one of the top three issues was the MTSS
2:35:43 process. And you and I talked about it
2:35:45 and you identified it, you were already on top of it by the time
2:35:47 I brought it to you. So I applaud you
2:35:48 for that. And what you had said earlier was, is that in regards
2:35:52 to some of the risk ratios and some of
2:35:54 the other issues that we have at each one of the schools, we’ve
2:35:57 actually baked it into the school
2:35:58 improvement plan to start identifying those factors so that
2:36:01 culturally we can identify them also,
2:36:04 besides just the actions and then holistically look at those
2:36:07 individuals as a whole to support them.
2:36:09 Instead of just saying, you’re bad, here’s some solutions. You’re
2:36:12 actually looking at it from a
2:36:13 holistic perspective. And it’s part of your action steps. So,
2:36:16 you know, before we just had the academics,
2:36:18 now we have academics and culture and climate. So you’re going
2:36:21 to be, you put together a goal,
2:36:23 you put some action steps, and as a school, they’re going to be
2:36:26 monitoring that. And we will be
2:36:28 monitoring as a district as well to see how we’re making
2:36:31 progress. And then again, that’s where the
2:36:34 problem solving and then we go out and make sure that it
2:36:37 supports them, give them ideas and we problem
2:36:40 solve as a team. And we’re going to do a lot more of that. And I’m
2:36:44 streamlining also in my department,
2:36:46 especially in the discipline area, we are going to be doing some
2:36:53 things differently where Mr.
2:36:55 Christall can get out there more frequently to the schools
2:36:59 because that will be an expectations that,
2:37:01 you know, we’re all going and providing that support and
2:37:04 resource.
2:37:05 And I appreciate that because when they have to put it into,
2:37:08 when you put it into a school
2:37:09 improvement plan, it becomes part of your plan, not some sort of
2:37:12 side piece. So I appreciate that
2:37:13 you’ve put together a robust plan to deal with some of those
2:37:17 higher areas, risk ratios and stuff like
2:37:19 that for next year. I appreciate that. Thank you.
2:37:20 Yeah, just one more bite at the apple here. I hear the concern,
2:37:29 especially about the risk ratios,
2:37:30 we get presented this every time and they’re, you know, they’re
2:37:32 showing not improving. I have seen
2:37:36 enough of our data through the years, it’s not included in this
2:37:39 presentation to know that
2:37:40 our, you know, our highest risk ratio issue is free reduced
2:37:44 lunch. We also know that there is a higher
2:37:46 occurrence of free and reduced lunch in our black student
2:37:50 population. That is true.
2:37:51 There, and when we have, and our students with disabilities, we
2:37:56 have, sometimes we have a higher
2:37:59 representation of students with disabilities in our black
2:38:02 population than we do our white population.
2:38:04 I want us to be careful because if we’re, if, if, if what you
2:38:08 just suggested a few minutes ago was that we
2:38:12 have students committing the same offense and they’re getting
2:38:15 different outcomes. I haven’t seen anything
2:38:19 presented in this. For one thing, risk ratios, if I recall, only
2:38:23 have to do with in-school and out-of-school
2:38:25 suspensions, correct? They’re not talking about all disciplines.
2:38:28 And what we were presented with,
2:38:30 as far as the numbers of actions, the highest discipline codes,
2:38:33 none of those are
2:38:36 suspendable offenses unless they lead to something else. Willful
2:38:41 disobedience, out of a signed area,
2:38:43 can be, depending on how egregious it was, but tardy to class,
2:38:46 classroom disruptions, minor electronic
2:38:48 misuse, those are not suspendable in-school, out-school. So if,
2:38:52 if we’re truly going to look and say,
2:38:55 are we having our, our black students, our students with
2:38:58 disabilities or our, uh, or free reduced lunches,
2:39:01 are they, are they getting different outcomes for the same
2:39:04 offense? Then that’s egregious
2:39:06 and we need to take care of that. But that’s not in this
2:39:09 presentation. So I don’t think anybody can look
2:39:11 at this presentation and go, we’re, we’re causing this. I, you
2:39:15 know, I, I hear the concern.
2:39:17 Well, then we, then we need to get down, because what are the
2:39:20 offenses that are leading to that? Then if we want
2:39:22 to get that specific data and go, okay, how many black students
2:39:25 have fit, you know, um, committed this
2:39:29 offense and what was the result? How many white students or how
2:39:31 many free reduced lunch, how many
2:39:33 non-free reduced lunch, how many students with disabilities, how
2:39:35 not, you know, students who didn’t
2:39:36 have a disability. If we need that breakdown so we can get that
2:39:40 clarity, you know, I, part of this,
2:39:43 this is just a snapshot and part of the risk ratio conversation
2:39:47 and the, I’m going to get the initials
2:39:48 wrong, but C E I, there’s that or there’s extra S’s. I always
2:39:52 want to add, you know, mix up the letters.
2:39:55 That process, you guys are going school to school and risk
2:39:59 ratios that are extreme, the most extreme,
2:40:03 you are coming in and helping them problem solve, correct?
2:40:06 Yes, we have to, um, the DOE gives us a list of, of course, they,
2:40:12 while we’re on the list and then we
2:40:14 determine which schools are contributing to that high percentage
2:40:17 and then we’re bound to provide 15%
2:40:21 set aside of support and resources to those schools and we’ve,
2:40:25 this, the support that you, I’m talking
2:40:28 about my team going, that is above and beyond the C C E I S that’s
2:40:32 right running within itself. Um, so
2:40:35 that’s, uh, and remember that’s lagging data. It’s not leading.
2:40:40 Um, so, um, yes, that is something that we’re
2:40:43 required. We haven’t gotten the update for this coming school
2:40:47 year yet, but yes, we are required
2:40:48 to set aside that 15%. And as part of those conversations, are
2:40:52 you guys looking at that
2:40:53 specific granular level of data where you’re looking at are
2:40:56 there different punishments being doled out
2:40:59 for the same crime? Um, as far as the C C I S schools, yes, we
2:41:04 are looking at, and we will be able to do a
2:41:07 better job now that we have the dashboards, because I’m just
2:41:10 going to be honest with you, pulling the data,
2:41:13 we only pulled it once a month because it is very tedious. So we’re
2:41:17 looking at, I think we will
2:41:18 pull it on the 15th of every month, uh, all these different
2:41:22 reports. And then from there, uh, look
2:41:24 at it now that we’ll have dashboards, uh, available come August,
2:41:27 September, we’ll be able to pull it at
2:41:29 our fingertips and do some more in depth data. And that’s where
2:41:33 Mr. Crystal, he comes with that
2:41:34 background from Hillsborough County. Uh, and he’ll be able to,
2:41:39 uh, help us problem solve as well as some
2:41:41 additional strategies. We’ve already been talking last week
2:41:44 about, and we said, we’ll wait to next
2:41:46 year, we’ll wait to next year, because, uh, we’re going to be
2:41:48 putting those interventions and strategies
2:41:50 in place to monitor that. So my point is, it’s, it’s not being
2:41:53 ignored. No. It’s not being ignored. And,
2:41:55 and that data is probably some data that if there are
2:41:59 significant, you know, um, disrupt, uh, what’s the
2:42:02 word I’m looking for? Discrepancies. That’s probably some data
2:42:06 specifically that we need to look at,
2:42:07 because I don’t want to make just broad statements without being
2:42:10 able to know exactly what we’re
2:42:12 talking about. All right. I need to clarify that. We are just
2:42:19 for, just so that we’re aware,
2:42:19 we’re at 11:58 right now. And so we’re going to need to either
2:42:23 take a break, uh, because we still
2:42:24 have another agenda item. And then we still have the second half
2:42:27 of this presentation, which is the
2:42:28 bullying data. So Ms. Jenkins, if we’ll go ahead and finish with
2:42:31 your last statement. Yeah, I, I need to
2:42:33 clarify that. So when meeting with RSM,
2:42:38 we had this conversation in a one-on-one setting and they were
2:42:46 uncomfortable to present certain
2:42:48 information publicly. So I’m not making broad statements, Ms.
2:42:52 Campbell, and that may not have
2:42:54 been said to you or presented to you, but that was made very
2:42:58 clear to me. I have asked for this data
2:43:01 time and time again. We have mildly been presented this data in
2:43:07 the past, not in this exact presentation,
2:43:09 but other presentations, each of some of these top five,
2:43:12 whatever. I mean, I don’t know if it was five,
2:43:14 ten categories were broken down. I have been asking for this
2:43:19 data for a very, very, very long time. So it
2:43:22 is not a broad sweeping statement. It is a statement I have
2:43:25 asked for the information over and over again. And when
2:43:28 I say that it’s being ignored for the third time, it is being
2:43:32 ignored by the majority of this board. So I
2:43:35 appreciate you asking for that data so that I am not the only
2:43:37 one asking for it, because it is important
2:43:40 information for us to have. And it was brought up by RSM way
2:43:44 back in the day and we haven’t done anything
2:43:47 about it. I made an assumption that that same statement was made
2:43:51 to the majority of our board
2:43:52 members. I don’t know why it wouldn’t have been, but it was an
2:43:56 in-depth conversation I had with RSM
2:43:58 and it wasn’t presented when they came back with their findings.
2:44:01 The findings had nothing to do with
2:44:02 that. It had to do with process. And that bothered me, but
2:44:05 clearly we weren’t comfortable having that
2:44:07 conversation publicly. I’m comfortable having it because
2:44:10 identifying the bad things means we can work
2:44:13 towards progress and positive. So thank you. All right. Thank
2:44:17 you. Okay. So we’re going to go ahead
2:44:18 and go move on to the bullying and Title IX updates, if that’s
2:44:21 okay. All right. Ms. Cashin-Smith, you have a floor.
2:44:25 All right. So we’re just going to go through this data like we
2:44:30 have in the previous, oh, I went too far here, in the previous
2:44:35 session. So
2:44:37 we’re going to compare last year’s to this year’s and we know
2:44:40 that we have seen an increase in our
2:44:42 bullying data, both substantiated and unsubstantiated cases. Our
2:44:46 substantiated cases are up 24 percent.
2:44:51 That number has come down some. We, in the second quarter, we
2:44:56 were 52 percent above where we were
2:44:59 last year. So each quarter it has sort of leveled out a little
2:45:02 bit, which is good
2:45:05 that we did not, you know, continue at that pace. That was, you
2:45:09 know, making me a little bit nervous.
2:45:10 And then our unsubstantiated cases, which we know is really bogging
2:45:15 our principals and
2:45:16 administrators down in these investigations, are 45 percent
2:45:21 higher, which they were last quarter
2:45:24 58 percent higher in the quarter before that 56 percent higher.
2:45:28 So that leveled off a little bit as well.
2:45:32 But again, that’s a lot of extra time that is taking our
2:45:37 administrators from
2:45:40 the main work, which is academics, so. And I’m going to talk
2:45:45 about next steps at the end with all,
2:45:47 for both. So looking at our Title IX cases, total we had 27 this
2:45:53 year. And I am happy to say that right
2:45:58 now we only have six cases still open. If you remember, I think
2:46:01 we had 25 from the previous year
2:46:03 when I started. And so we’re going into the summer in a much
2:46:06 better place than we were even in the
2:46:09 fall of last year. You can’t always have them all wrapped up
2:46:12 because, you know, a lot of them take
2:46:17 a minimum of 60 days. And so it just takes time with all of the
2:46:22 different steps that are in this
2:46:24 process. It’s a very, very intense process. We do have two cases
2:46:30 that are open with labor relations.
2:46:33 One that is still open from last school year and one from this
2:46:37 school year.
2:46:40 So that’s a total of eight cases that are currently open. And
2:46:44 you can see the breakdown of how the 27
2:46:48 cases have ended up with – right now we have five that are
2:46:52 still in investigative progress and one is
2:46:55 with a decision maker. We had five that went to informal
2:47:00 resolution, which is great. That means both
2:47:03 parties agreed to resolve it a certain way. We had six that were
2:47:08 dismissed, three that were substantiated,
2:47:11 seven that were unsubstantiated. So our next steps – right now
2:47:16 we are working really hard on
2:47:19 building training videos. And we are building these videos for
2:47:25 bullying with – for our staff,
2:47:26 our students, and our parents this year, which is an exciting
2:47:29 addition. We know that we’ve got to really
2:47:34 get the definition of what bullying actually is to our families
2:47:39 and our students. And so we decided to
2:47:42 do this by making videos that we can put on our website, that we
2:47:47 can share out on social media,
2:47:50 really like going over, you know, the difference between
2:47:53 conflict and bullying. And I know that we’ve
2:47:55 talked about this in some of the previous updates, but we are
2:47:59 right in the middle of making these videos
2:48:02 and they’re – they’re – they’re – the one for the parents is
2:48:06 short and sweet, but it gets that
2:48:08 information to them. And, you know, I think that’s really
2:48:11 important. For our administrators, we’re
2:48:13 building more in-depth training and we’re doing this through a
2:48:17 Canvas course where they will actually
2:48:19 have to answer questions throughout the module so we know that
2:48:24 they’re really understanding
2:48:26 what is being asked of them and throughout the – when they’re
2:48:29 conducting the investigations.
2:48:31 We are also going to implement a new case management process,
2:48:38 which should really help
2:48:39 with that record keeping piece that came up earlier and keeping
2:48:42 us in compliance.
2:48:44 And, you know, all of these – both of these have specific
2:48:48 statute and law that is required in them.
2:48:52 And it’s hard to manage that across all of the different schools.
2:48:57 So having something where it’s very visible for the staff and
2:49:03 for us to kind of keep track of
2:49:05 those steps and how many days each thing’s been at each step and
2:49:08 all of the templates built out
2:49:10 right in those steps, which is going to be very helpful. We want
2:49:13 to focus on prevention. And I
2:49:16 talked last time about how we have Ms. Elam, who is really our
2:49:22 prevention person for bullying,
2:49:24 and she spends a lot of her time managing the investigation
2:49:30 packets. And so our goal is to really
2:49:33 free her up through this new case management process to get her
2:49:37 out in the schools more to be able to
2:49:39 do the prevention and that side-by-side coaching with our
2:49:44 administrative teams that are maybe struggling
2:49:47 through some of these investigations. So, you know, seeing where
2:49:51 we – where we see that they need
2:49:53 a little bit more support, her being able to go out and walk –
2:49:57 walk through these investigations with them.
2:49:59 And then we are working on updating our website with resources
2:50:05 for teachers and for our families and
2:50:09 students. So we had our site up and going and it disappeared
2:50:13 yesterday, so we’re not quite sure what
2:50:15 happened, but it’s going to – it’s going to get back up there.
2:50:18 Yes. So it looks more appealing and it’s
2:50:22 got links, you know, a link that goes to the stopbullying.gov
2:50:27 site that’s full of a lot of resources.
2:50:29 And our goal is to put that parent video up there for them to
2:50:32 also see it there. So just some of those
2:50:35 exciting things. And then with Title IX, we’re also working on
2:50:39 the training videos. And the nice thing
2:50:43 about those training videos is even like for our administrators,
2:50:46 they go through this course, but
2:50:49 then when they’re finished with the course, it will
2:50:52 automatically open up to some resources where
2:50:56 they can just watch the videos without having to go through the
2:50:59 questions again. So they can just refer
2:51:02 back to it. And when we get a new administrator or someone
2:51:05 switches roles, they can just be assigned to
2:51:08 the course and they have access to it. So it became a difficult
2:51:15 management process to really get them all
2:51:17 in here to train. And so our goal is to have them do these
2:51:21 courses and then do some of those Q&A sessions
2:51:25 with them on Teams where they can ask questions that they still
2:51:29 have. And, you know, go out and support
2:51:32 them side by side if that is something that they really need. We’re
2:51:36 also revised – well, we’re going
2:51:38 to implement the same case management software with this process
2:51:41 as well, which is going to be a huge
2:51:43 game changer with the Title IX. And we’re revising the flowchart.
2:51:48 We just saw some areas where
2:51:53 we could improve where certain things were happening. And our
2:51:59 goal is to eventually have some short little
2:52:02 videos that just walk through each – like you’re in this stage
2:52:07 of this flowchart. You can click on a link
2:52:09 and it’ll just show you like a little tutorial for just that
2:52:12 section. And adding when they pass the case
2:52:16 on from one – from the investigator to the decision maker that
2:52:22 there is a mandatory meeting that happens
2:52:25 with our Title IX coordinator just to make sure that they have
2:52:27 everything they need, they understand what their
2:52:29 steps are and they are prepared to move forward. And then
2:52:33 updating our website there as well.
2:52:36 So thank you. All right, Board, do you have anything to weigh in
2:52:41 on the Title IX data that was presented?
2:52:44 Just a question. At that point of handoff where they’re meeting
2:52:48 with the Title IX coordinator,
2:52:49 is that with the district Title IX coordinator? Yes. Okay. It is.
2:52:52 You’re good? All right. Yeah. Thank you. I’m glad about the
2:52:58 videos. I think that’s going to be tremendous.
2:52:59 Honestly, the unsubstantiated case obviously is alarming. So if
2:53:07 we can get those numbers down,
2:53:08 that will free up a lot of time. So very much excited to see
2:53:11 this.
2:53:11 We’ve also worked on some graphics that are really visually
2:53:17 appealing. They have the definition
2:53:20 on there and really helping students and families to understand
2:53:26 that cyberbullying is also part of the
2:53:29 bullying definition and you get to that repeated level very
2:53:33 quickly when it’s online and just some of
2:53:36 those implications. And our code of conduct merged that together
2:53:40 this year so that we’re really aligned
2:53:45 with the assessor and, you know, it’s all just improving. Yeah.
2:53:50 Thank you. All right, Board,
2:53:53 we are now at 12:10. We have one more item that we were going to
2:53:57 cover today and I don’t know who’s
2:53:59 presenting on this one with the policy updates. Yeah. Basically,
2:54:03 Paul was going to review it. It’s just a
2:54:05 policy update and the policy regarding professional development.
2:54:08 Okay. And it’s just to get it in line
2:54:10 with NEOLA. Okay. And so I think we’re probably good to go ahead
2:54:13 and cover that before we take a short
2:54:15 recess for maybe lunch and then we’ll reconvene after that. So I’m
2:54:18 going to go ahead and we’ll move
2:54:20 on to the next topic, which is the policy revisions for the
2:54:22 board review. And I’m going to turn it over
2:54:23 to you, Mr. Gibbs, if you want to run through what you have for
2:54:27 us. Yeah. On the on your agenda item,
2:54:29 there’s a summary and a red line version. Okay. And I mean, I
2:54:40 can put them up there. I think Lena added
2:54:42 them to the thing if you want them on the screen. No, I mean, we
2:54:45 have it right here in front of us.
2:54:46 So the summaries, as you’ll note, three of the four are pretty
2:54:49 much just NEOLA. The fourth is also
2:54:51 NEOLA. Okay. There is one typo where it lists the three policies.
2:54:55 We obviously don’t have a 4,000
2:54:56 set of policies at all. So we corrected that red line and struck
2:55:00 the two policies that we don’t
2:55:01 currently have on the books. Okay. The rest are all in line with
2:55:04 NEOLA. So as long as you are
2:55:06 good with it and have no questions, we’re good to move forward.
2:55:09 The staff thought that these were
2:55:11 needed to update prior to the next big update coming in the fall.
2:55:15 Okay. All right. Thank you, board. Do you have anything to weigh
2:55:19 in on any of these policies or
2:55:20 any issues or questions? None. All right. None. All right. So
2:55:26 then that. So yeah,
2:55:27 these will come back at the July workshop for first public
2:55:30 hearing and then July 30 for final approval.
2:55:33 All right. Perfect. All right. The last topic that we have is
2:55:36 the general counsel’s evaluation review
2:55:37 for the 23, 24 year. The board will finish the workshop business
2:55:41 in the superintendent’s conference
2:55:42 room with the general counsel’s evaluation and we’ll adjourn the
2:55:45 meeting upon the conclusion of the
2:55:47 evaluation. We’re going to take a short recess though. So board,
2:55:50 can we agree to meet back into the
2:55:52 superintendent’s conference room at one o’clock? Is that fair or
2:55:58 that’s?
2:55:58 Well, I mean, we can have an eating meeting if you want to have
2:56:02 an eating meeting. Okay. All right.
2:56:04 12:30 then is that, that’s probably not enough time. So let’s
2:56:07 split the difference. 12:45. Let’s
2:56:10 meet in the superintendent’s office, conference room, sorry, at
2:56:13 12:45. And we’ll reconvene the meeting
2:56:15 from there and carry on. All right. Everyone good. All right. We’ll
2:56:23 see you there. Thank you.
2:56:26 Thank you.