ALL RIGHT. GOOD EVENING, EVERYONE.
[00:00:02]
WELCOME TO THE MARCH 12TH,[1. Opening Items]
MEETING OF THE CAROLINE COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION.[INAUDIBLE]. [LAUGHTER] MARCH 2ND, MEETING OF BOARD OF EDUCATION.
IT'S 6:06 AND TECHNOLOGIES JUST TAKES A LITTLE BIT LONG TO WARM UP THESE DAYS.
THE BOARD OF EDUCATION CALLED TO ORDER AND OPEN SESSION AT FOUR O'CLOCK.
MOTION BY MR. BARTON, SECOND BY MS. DIGIACOMO.
ALL ON FAVOR TO OPEN THE MEETING, EXCUSE ME, MOTION BY MS. DIGIACOMO, SECOND BY MS. DILL, TO GO AND OPEN SESSION.
ALL THOSE WHO ARE IN FAVOR, THEN AT 4:05.
MOTION BY MR. BARTON, SECOND BY MS. DIGIACOMO, TO GO INTO CLOSED SESSION TO DISCUSS PERSONNEL CONTRACTS AND CERTIFICATIONS.
THEN AT 5:48, MOTION BY MR. BARTON'S, SECOND BY MS. DILL, AND ALL APPROVED TO ADJOURN CLOSE SESSION.
AT THIS TIME, I'D LIKE TO HAVE MOTION TO RECONVENE IN OPEN SESSION.
I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO RECONVENE IN OPEN SESSION.
MS. WAYNE, YOU MAY SECOND. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? [OVERLAPPING] AYE.
ALL RIGHT. WE'RE IN OPEN SESSION AND STAND FOR THE STANFORD PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE, PLEASE [NOISE].
AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS.
ONE NATION UNDEVOURED INVISIBLE, AUTHORITY AND JUSTICE TO ALL.
THANK YOU. [NOISE] YES, TO CLARIFY, MOVING FORWARD WITH OUR MARCH 2ND, BOARD MEETING.
WE'LL HAVE AGENDA THAT WAS SENT OUT FRIDAY AFTERNOON TO THE BOARD OR DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE AGENDA? MOTION TO APPROVE THE AGENDA.
MS. DIGIACOMO MOVE TO APPROVE THE AGENDA, MS. DILL SECOND. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? AYE [OVERLAPPING].
BOARD MEMBERS, NEXT PART OF THE AGENDA 1.06 IS APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES, HAD A FEW.
THE FEBRUARY BOARD MEETING WORK SESSION, AND A COUPLE OTHER EXECUTIVE WORK SESSIONS IN FEBRUARY WERE LINKED QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ON THE MINUTES AS PRESENTED.
HEARING NONE, DO I HAVE A MOTION? SO MOVED.
MS. WAYNE TO MOVE TO ACCEPT THE MINUTES AS PRESENTED, MS. DILL SECOND. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? AYE. [OVERLAPPING] THANK YOU. NEXT UP, WE HAVE THE CONSENT AGENDA, PERSONNEL.
[2. Consent Agenda]
WE HAVE COUPLE OF ITEMS UNDER THE PERSONNEL AGENDA.IS THE [INAUDIBLE] WITH US? YES. THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING, PRESIDENT NEWCOMB AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.
BEFORE YOU TONIGHT WITH THE PERSONNEL ITEMS FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION AND CONSENT.
ON THE AGENDA IS ONE LEAVE OF ABSENCE AND ONE RETIREMENT AT THIS TIME [NOISE].
THANK YOU. BOARD MEMBERS, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? HEARING NONE. DO I HAVE A MOTION TO ACCEPT THE CONSENT AGENDA? SO MOVED.
MOTION BY MR. BARTON, MS. DIGIACOMO. IS THERE A SECOND? [OVERLAPPING] SECOND.
SECOND. THANK YOU. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? AYE.
AYE [OVERLAPPING]. GREAT. MOVING ON TODAY.
IT LOOKS LIKE WE'VE GOT A COUPLE OF RECOGNITIONS TO TALK ABOUT.
[3. Recognitions]
FIRST ONE, UNDER 3.01, TOGETHER WE'RE BETTER, INCLUSIVE EDUCATION IN ARTWORK. DO WE HAVE WITH US ALL? [LAUGHTER] GOOD EVENING EVERYONE? SHEPHERD, HOW ARE YOU TODAY? I'M FANTASTIC. HOW ARE YOU? GOOD.I THINK WE ALSO HAVE, RACHEL, DO WE HAVE LINDA WITH US? [BACKGROUND] OKAY.
WELL, WE ARE VERY PROUD TO BE HERE TONIGHT TO RECOGNIZE LINDA ORIGINAL.
SHE'S A LACK URBAN MIDDLE-SCHOOL SEVENTH GRADER IN THE ARTS TOGETHER WE'RE BETTER POSTER CONTEST RECENTLY.
ARTWORK WAS SELECTED FOR FIRST, SECOND, THIRD PLACE AWARDS BASED ON MESSAGING, USE OF MEDIUM, AND THE PROMOTION OF THE CONTEST THEME, TOGETHER WE'RE BETTER.
SHE ACTUALLY RECEIVED A $100 GIFT CARD FROM THE ARC OF MARYLAND, SO WE'RE VERY PROUD OF HER.
[BACKGROUND] THE YOUNG LADY IS NOT WITH US TODAY, THIS EVENING.
BUT WE DO HAVE A CERTIFICATE FOR HER, WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT SHE GETS THAT.
GREAT. HER ART TEACHER? MS. [INAUDIBLE] [OVERLAPPING].
I'M SURE THE ART TEACHER DESERVES ALL THE CREDIT FOR THIS YOUNG SKILLS, BUT SOME PEOPLE ARE JUST NATURALLY GIFTED AND WE APPRECIATE THEM ADDING COLOR TO OUR WORLD.
[00:05:02]
YES, THAT'S GOOD.GREAT, GOOD NEWS. NEXT RECOGNITION WE HAVE THIS EVENING IS, MS. SHEPHERD, DO YOU HAVE THAT TOO, WITH THE MUSIC IN OUR STUDENTS.
IN EACH OF OUR SCHOOLS, EXCUSE ME.
ABSOLUTELY. THANK YOU, RACHEL.
I AM VERY HAPPY TO BE HERE TONIGHT TO CELEBRATE MUSIC IN OUR SCHOOL'S MONTH, FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH.
AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, THIS YEAR HAS BEEN A LITTLE BIT CHALLENGING TO TEACH MUSIC DURING THE PANDEMIC, VIRTUALLY AND WITH COVID RESTRICTIONS.
BUT OUR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS HAVE REALLY STEPPED UP TO THE PLATE THIS YEAR.
WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO OFFER SOME VIRTUAL OPPORTUNITIES AND WE'VE GOT REALLY CREATIVE WITH OUR SHOWCASES.
I BELIEVE YOU HAVE, RACHEL, DOES EVERYONE HAVE THEIR PACKET? YEAH.
OUR HIGH SCHOOL MUSIC STUDENTS HAVE WRITTEN YOU GUYS ALL LETTERS ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF MUSIC IN OUR SCHOOLS.
ON TOP OF THAT, YOU SHOULD HAVE A LETTER FROM ME THAT'S HIGHLIGHTING SOME OF OUR MOST PROUD ACCOMPLISHMENTS OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS.
I INVITE YOU TO LOOK AT THOSE WHENEVER YOU GET A FEW MINUTES.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE HAVE PULLED TOGETHER SOME CLIPS OF SOME HIGHLIGHTS OVER THE PAST YEAR.
GRANTED, THIS LOOKS VERY DIFFERENT THAN WE NORMALLY [LAUGHTER] TEACH MUSIC IN OUR SCHOOLS, BUT WE ARE SO PROUD OF OUR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS.
WE JUST WANTED TO TAKE A SECOND TO HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THEIR WORK.
IT'S A REALLY SHORT VIDEO CLIP.
[MUSIC] AGAIN, A VERY DIFFERENT SCHOOL YEAR, BUT WE'VE DONE THE BEST WE CAN.
I'M REALLY PROUD OF OUR STUDENTS AND TEACHERS.
I INVITE YOU-ALL TO JUST CELEBRATE MUSIC WITH US THIS MONTH, VIRTUALLY [INAUDIBLE] OF COURSE.
THANK YOU. THAT A REALLY A NICE PRESENTATION AND I LOOK FORWARD TO NEXT FALL, WITH THINGS BACK TO WHATEVER NORMAL WAS.
MUSIC FILLS SO MANY VOIDS FOR SO MANY KIDS.
NOT EVERYBODY CAN DRIBBLE A BASKETBALL OR THROW A FOOTBALL, BUT THIS GIVES THEM AN OPPORTUNITY TO EXCEL.
I THINK THERE WAS SOME LETTERS. I LOVE THAT IDEA.
YES, ABSOLUTELY. [OVERLAPPING].
THE MUSIC, AND THEN IT LETS US KNOW WHAT THE STUDENTS THINK.
THANK YOU FOR GETTING THAT DOOR.
IT'S ALL TO HARD WORK OF OUR TEACHERS [LAUGHTER].
THIS PACKET IS GREAT, I REALLY LIKE IT.
YEAH, THANK YOU, GUYS. HAVE A GOOD EVENING.
YOU, TOO. THANK YOU [OVERLAPPING].
AGAIN, BACK TO THE TEACHERS, BECAUSE NOT ONLY ARE THEY TRYING AND TEACHING STUDENTS VIRTUALLY, BUT THEY'RE PULLING OUT.
WE ALL KNOW TEACHERS DO EXTRA WORK AFTER HOURS ANYWAY, BUT THEY'RE ALSO TAKING THEM AND PULLING THEM TOGETHER TO SEAMLESSLY MAKE IT LOOK LIKE THEY'RE PLAYING TOGETHER.
THAT'S DOESN'T JUST HAPPEN NATURALLY.
I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY HOURS THAT'S TAKING, BUT WE DO APPRECIATE EVERYONE'S EFFORTS.
NO INDIVIDUAL ACTION ITEMS TONIGHT ON THE AGENDA.
WE'LL JUST MOVE INTO REPORTS, BOARD MEMBER REPORTS.
[5. Reports]
AGAIN, WE'RE IN A VIRTUAL SETTING BUT HYBRID SETTING, I GUESS I SHOULD SAY, BUT MS. WAYNE, HAVE YOU GOT ANYTHING TAKEAWAYS FOR THE MARK?>> WELL, I TALKED TO THE SECONDARY PRINCIPLES,
[00:10:02]
BUT I DID TALK TO ALL THE ELEMENTARY PRINCIPLES, EXCEPT [NOISE] MR. NICHOLS, I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO [NOISE] PUT MY FINGER ON HIM YET.I SHOULD'VE MENTIONED [INAUDIBLE] WAS HERE, BUT NORTH CAROLINE'S CHOIR PROVIDED MUSIC FOR CHESAPEAKE BLACK HISTORY PROGRAM, WHICH WAS ON THE 20TH.
THEY DID AN EXCELLENT JOB PROVIDING THE MUSIC FOR US FOR THAT.
WE DID RECOGNIZE TWO STUDENTS FROM CAROLINE COUNTY, [INAUDIBLE] AND [INAUDIBLE] FROM NORTH CAROLINE HIGH SCHOOL AND MARKAYLA WILSON FROM COLONEL RICHARDSON HIGH SCHOOL WERE BOTH RECOGNIZED AND WILL RECEIVE A TROPHY AND CERTIFICATE FOR BEING SELECTED BY THIS SCHOOL AS OUTSTANDING STUDENTS.
I'M HOME WORKING WITHOUT COVID.
WE DON'T HAVE COVID, WE'RE JUST STAYING OUT OF THE EVERYBODY'S WAY, I GUESS AND THE SCHOOLS, EMPLOYEES AND STAFF HAVE ENOUGH PROBLEMS WITHOUT ME IN THERE TO JUST ASK HIM A LOT OF QUESTIONS.
BUT THAT BEING SAID, I DO GET TO HEAR MY DAUGHTER UPSTAIRS PLAYING TWO DAYS A WEEK NOW PLAYING, WHEN YOU HEAR COMING THROUGH FLOOR PLAYING THE INSTRUMENT.
I DON'T KNOW IF SHE'S GOT STRENGTHEN CONDITIONING NOWADAYS OR IF SHE JUST WRESTLING WITH A CAT, I'M NOT SURE.
BUT SOMEHOW THEY'RE DOING THOSE ACTIVITIES.
>> MICHELLE STOLE MY FUNDED A LITTLE BIT, BUT IT WAS ALL FUNDED OFF ANYWAY, THE BLACK HISTORY PROGRAM THAT JUST BE COLLEGE THAT I REALLY APPRECIATE THE INVITATION.
BUT THERE WAS A VERY STRONG, AS MICHELLE ALREADY POINTED OUT, VERY STRONG NORTH CAROLINE HIGH PRESENTATION THERE AND A STRONG CONNECTION IN CAROLINE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS, WE HAVE THOSE STUDENTS INVOLVED IN SUCH A TREMENDOUS PROGRAM SO WELL PUT ON, IT WAS LIKE CENTER-STAGE, JUST TERRIFIC TO SEE THAT AND TO EXPERIENCE IT.
IT WAS ONE OF THOSE THINGS WHERE, OH, IT'S OVER NOW? IT LASTED A WHILE BUT THE TIME JUST FLEW.
I'M JUST LATCH AND ONTO YOUR REPORT THERE, BUT GOT TO EXPERIENCE IT AS WELL AND I APPRECIATE THAT A LOT AND THAT'S [NOISE] ALL I HAVE.
>> ALREADY, MS. RAYMOND FORGOT TO MENTION THAT BOTH OF US ATTENDED THE MAIN OPEN MEETING AT TRAINING AND BOARD SUPERINTENDENT RELATIONSHIP DURING CHALLENGING TIMES, WE BOTH ATTENDED, IT WAS VIRTUAL.
I ALSO ATTENDED THE EQUITY TRAINING SESSION THAT MR. FISHER HAD EXCELLENT PROGRAM.
SHE SENT IT OUT TO EVERYBODY AND I DIDN'T KNOW ANY BETTER.
I'M LIKE, BUT SOUNDS GOOD. IT'S GOOD.
IF ANYBODY GETS A CHANCE TO DO IT, IT WAS WELL, RUN IT IT BROUGHT UP A LOT, I THOUGHT I KNEW EVERYTHING AND I LEARNED A LOT.
I WOULD DEFINITELY RECOMMEND THAT.
I WAS ALSO ABLE TO VISIT ALL FOUR SCHOOLS ON THE NORTHERN END.
FEDERAL BERG, PRESTON ELEMENTARY, AND THE TWO KERNELS.
I WAS VERY FORTUNATE. I SAID, DO YOU NEED HELP? AND MR. TODD SAID WE NEED HELP IN THE LUNCH ROOM.
[LAUGHTER] SO THE NEXT DAY I WENT AND SERVED LUNCH TO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL KIDS.
I'M TELLING YOU THEY'RE SAINTS.
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHERS ARE SAINTS INCLUDED, BUT KIDS ARE TOO CUTE.
I NEVER WORK BECAUSE I'VE BEEN WANTING TO PINCH YOUR CHEEKS.
THEN MRS. HOLLOWAY INVITED ME TO ATTEND THEIR STAFF MEETING, WHICH WAS A MORALE BOOSTER, WHICH WAS REALLY NICE AND IT WAS REFLECTED MOCK TAILS VERSUS TEACHERS TO GO AND THEY HAVE DIFFERENT PLACES TEACHER COULD GO AND I KEEPING PEOPLE APART AND HAVE THEIR MASKS.
I GOT TO LEARN PICKLE BALL [LAUGHTER] AND I STILL GOT IT BUT IT WAS A WIN-WIN.
>> THERE WAS ONE OTHER THING, MR. FISHER, I THINK, ALONG WITH THE ARTS COUNCIL, WOULD OWN A PROGRAM JUST THIS PAST SATURDAY, VIRTUAL PROGRAM, [NOISE] I THINK IT FEATURES A GROUP THAT WORK WITH OUR STUDENTS AT ONE GROUP IS THAT RIGHT?
>> YEAH. THAT WAS AN EXCELLENT PROGRAM. VERY NICE.
[INAUDIBLE] YOUR SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT?
>> YES. I MIGHT HAVE TO ENSURE THAT EVERYBODY IS WELL AWARE OF HOW PLEASED WE ARE THAT WE HAVE SUCCESSFULLY TURNED TO ALL OF OUR STUDENTS TO SCHOOL AND [INAUDIBLE] ANOTHER.
[00:15:03]
SO THAT'S VERY EXCITING.OUR POSITIVITY RATES, DESPITE BRINGING MORE PEOPLE INTO OUR SCHOOL BUILDINGS HAS CONTINUED TO REMAIN VERY LOW AMONG STUDENTS AND STAFF.
JUST AS A REMINDER, THAT CAN BE FOUND ON OUR WEBSITE UNDERNEATH THE POVERTY WRITTEN REPORT AND THAT IS UPDATED EVERY FRIDAY.
ATHLETICS ARE UP AND RUNNING AND WE HAVE SOME GAMES THIS WEEK.
WE'RE GEARED UP FOR THAT. SO WE'RE REALLY EXCITED TO TRY TO BRING A SLICE OF NORMAL THING TO STUDENTS WE ARE WELL UNDERWAY FOR PLANS FOR SPRING EVENTS.
WE CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT AND DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY SERVICES SO THAT WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE INFORMATION TO MAKE THE DECISIONS AND THE MAIN [INAUDIBLE] AS PARTNERS TO OUR COMMUNITY VACCINATION AND TESTING.
PEOPLE CONTINUE TO TALK ABOUT HOW WELL CAROLINE COUNTY, THE VACCINE DISTRIBUTION IS RUN, ACTUALLY HEARD THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE THIS WEEKEND, SOME TALBOT COUNTY TEACHERS THAT LIVE IN CAROLINE WERE ABLE TO GET THE VACCINE CAROLINE QUICKER JUST HOWEVER THEY'RE BEING DISTRIBUTED OR THE NUMBER OF ELDERLY AND NURSING HOMES AND TALBOT COUNTY, I GUESS CAROLINE COUNTY ALLOWING US TO GET THE STUFF OUT QUICKER.
THE MORE PEOPLE, MORE FURTHER DOWN THE LIST. SO THAT'S NICE.
>> PERFORMATIVE. I'VE BEEN VOLUNTEERING ONCE ONCE A WEEK, HELPING DIRECT TRAFFIC AND EVERYBODY THAT GOES THERE AND HE'S ALWAYS COMMENTING ON HOW GOOD CAROLINE COUNTY IS DOING, THAT THEY'RE GETTING THE SHOTS OUT.
IT'S JUST GREAT AND IT'S GREAT THAT THE PEOPLE APPRECIATE WHAT EVERYBODY'S DOING.
I THINK THAT'S NICE. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE AND I'M OKAY.
>> YEAH, GOOD TO KNOW THANK YOU.
>> RELATED PEOPLE MAY NOT BE AWARE.
COMMISSIONER LARRY PORTER WAS FEATURED LAST SUNDAY.
I CAN'T REMEMBER WHICH TALK SHOW, BUT WBAL1090 IN BALTIMORE.
HE WAS TALKING ABOUT THE ABOUT THE VACCINE ROLLOUT AND HOW WELL THE COUNTY HAS DONE AND WHAT A GREAT PARTNERSHIP.
ALSO PUTTING OUT THEIR CONCERNS, WHICH HE HAS RAISED AT ALL LEVELS OF STATE GOVERNMENT.
BUT HE WAS REMARKABLY WELL SPOKEN REPRESENTED COUNTY REALLY VERY WELL, SO WELL THAT THE HOST SAID WE NEED TO HAVE HIM BACK AS SOON AS NEXT SUNDAY.
IT CAN BE SELF-DEPRECATING, SO I'M SURE HE [LAUGHTER] WAS HOLD THEM BACK SAYING REALLY IT MUST BE DESPERATE.
BUT HE DID A GREAT JOB AT, AT THE END OF THE DISCUSSION, COMMISSIONER PORTER WANTED TO TALK ABOUT CURRENT AND THE IMPLICATIONS FOR SMALL COUNTIES FOR COUNTIES LIKE CAROLINE.
HE WASN'T ABLE TO BECAUSE THEY'RE RUNNING OUT OF TIME AND THAT'S WHEN THE HOST SAID WE WANT TO HAVE YOU BACK.
WE WANT TO TALK JUST ABOUT CAROLINE.
GOOD TO SEE THAT KIND OF REPRESENTATIONS DID CONNECT VERY MUCH TO WHAT WE ALL DO.
THAT'S VERY TIMELY BECAUSE I THINK WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT CAROLINE AND LEGISLATIVE SESSION BULLET TONIGHT AND THAT DID PASS.
THE GOVERNOR'S VETO WAS OVERRODE WRITTEN, SO AND IT IS GOING TO IMPACT US ALL.
MOVING ON TO ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT AND DIRECTORS REPORTS.
WHERE ARE WE STARTING WITH THAT?
>> YES. WE'RE STARTING WITH INSTRUCTION.
>> THIS PAST MONTH, AS EVERY MONTH HAS CONTINUED TO BE BUSY WITH PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE UPPER ONE HERE, AND WE'LL ALL OVER REALLY ELEMENTARY MEDIA SPECIALISTS PARTICIPATED IN COMPUTER SCIENCE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WITH FOOD UP, GENERAL ED AND SPECIAL ED CONTINUE THEIR WORK TOGETHER WITH PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ON MEETING THE NEEDS OF UNIQUE LEARNERS AND YOU SEE THAT IN THE UPPER LEFT CORNER, IN THE CENTER.
I KNOW THAT THAT'S CHALLENGING TO READ, BUT THEY'RE THAT HIGHLIGHTS THAT WE HAVE LOTS OF EXPERTS RIGHT HERE WITHIN CAROLINE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
THIS WAS TIPS THAT TEACHERS WROTE FOR OTHER TEACHERS ON HOW THINGS THAT THEY HAVE LEARNED THROUGH HYBRID TEACHING AND WAS SHARED DURING ONE OF THE WEDNESDAY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES, AS WELL AS THE JAMBOARD FOR THE HYBRID TIPS AND TRICKS ON THE BOTTOM LEFT.
MOVING TO THE NEXT PAGE, YOU SEE AGAIN, JUST LIKE DR. SAELENS SAID, WE WELCOMED BACK MANY OF OUR STUDENTS, AND THEN MANY OF OUR STUDENTS FOR THE FIRST TIME.
THIS IS INCLUDING HANDS-ON COURSES AT CCTC,
[00:20:01]
AS WELL AS IN OUR HIGH SCHOOLS AND YOU SEE STAFF CHEERING AS STUDENTS ENTERED THE BUILDING FOR THE FIRST TIME.YOU ALSO SEE IN THE BOTTOM LEFT THAT OUR KERNEL RICHARDSON HIGH SCHOOL MEDIA SPECIALIST, MELISSA GILLESPIE OFFERED A VIRTUAL EXPERIENCE IN THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY TO SPREAD THE LOVE OF BOOKS WITH A VIRTUAL BLIND DATE, WITH A BOOK.
THAT WAS AN EXCITING OPPORTUNITY THAT STUDENTS HAD.
DOWN WE'RE IN THE BOTTOM, AGAIN IT SAYS SMALL VICTORIES DURING CIT MEETINGS.
TEACHERS SHARED THE VICTORY THAT THEY HAD SINCE STUDENTS HAD RETURNED.
THE MAJORITY OF THE COMMENT AND THE OVERWHELMING THIS WAS TEACHERS WERE JUST EXCITED TO HAVE STUDENTS BACK IN THE BUILDINGS.
SO OVERWHELMINGLY, THAT'S THE POSITIVE FROM THE MONTH.
OUR UPDATE FOR STUDENTS SERVICES FOR THE MONTH.
IT'LL TOUCH ON A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN DISCUSSED, BUT OUR SCHOOL HEALTH STAFF CONTINUES TO BE ABSOLUTE VITAL SUPPORT TO THE CAROLINE COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT FOR THE VACCINATION CLINICS FOR NON-STUDENT DAYS.
IN SOME OF THOSE POP-UP DAYS THAT HAPPENED WHERE THE ROADS WERE NOT SO GOOD TO GET IN IF THE CLINIC STILL WENT ON, SOME OF OUR STAFF STILL PROVIDED THAT EXTRA HELP WHICH WAS GREAT AND HAS BEEN MUCH APPRECIATED BY THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT FOR THEIR SUPPORT AND THAT'S WHAT YOU'LL SEE IN THE PICTURE THERE, IS FROM ONE OF THOSE EVENTS AND THAT ENDED UP IN THE RESTORE DEMOCRAT.
YOU'LL SEE THE ARTICLE LATER IN SANDY'S COMMENTS.
MR. COLE FISHER CONTINUES TO DO A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF WORK WITH OUR EQUITY WORK WHICH YOU'LL HEAR MORE ABOUT LATER TONIGHT DURING HER REPORT AND PRESENTATION BUT IT WAS A BUSY MONTH.
SOME OF YOU PARTICIPATED IN THE EQUITY COMMITTEE MEETING THAT WAS HELD FEBRUARY 9TH.
WAS A REALLY INTERESTING MEETING THAT NIGHT WHERE SHE HAD ASKED FOR STUDENTS WHO HAVE BEEN PART OF THE STUDENT'S VOICE COMMITTEE, TO SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCES THUS FAR WITH THEIR VIRTUAL LEARNING AND LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING INTO THE BUILDING.
AS DR. SAELENS MENTIONED, HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETICS, THE FALL SEASON STARTED ON FEBRUARY 13TH.
FIRST DAY OF PRACTICE ENDED UP BEING A VIRTUAL.
IT'S FIRST TIME WE'VE EVER HAD FALL PRACTICES CANCELED FOR ICE.
IT'S A YEAR FIRST BUT WE WERE ABLE TO GET THE FIRST PRACTICES IN AND OUR FIRST COMPETITIONS FOR ALL SPORTS STARTS MARCH 5TH.
GOLF IS UNDER A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT RULES SO THEY CAN SO ENCOURAGE THE SUPPORT.
WE ARE OFFERING THE STREAMING OPTION FOR OUR FAMILIES TO WATCH THE GAMES, AND BOTH HIGH SCHOOLS HAVE PUSHED THAT INFORMATION OUTSIDE.
I ENCOURAGE FOLKS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT IF THEY CAN'T GET OUT THERE.
OUR HIGH SCHOOL IN EIGHTH-GRADE COUNSELORS HAD BEEN HARD AT IT FOR THE PAST MONTH, WORKING ON SCHEDULING FOR NEXT YEAR AS SOME OF YOU ARE AWARE, THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF SCHEDULING SEASON.
SO OUR EIGHTH GRADERS, NINTH GRADERS, 10TH GRADERS, AND 11TH GRADERS ARE MAKING THEIR COURSE REQUESTS FOR NEXT YEAR AND THE COUNSELORS HAVE DONE A FANTASTIC JOB OF ADJUSTING TO THAT VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT AND FINDING CREATIVE WAYS TO GET THE SCHEDULING IN.
ONE POSITIVE THAT HAS COME OUT OF THIS, THERE HAS BEEN A LOT MORE INDIVIDUALIZED COUNSELING SESSIONS WITH THOSE REQUESTS.
IT'S THE ONLY WAY TO DO IT, FOR THE MOST PART FOR OUR HIGH SCHOOL-AGE STUDENTS AND OUR EIGHTH GRADE SO THEY REALLY ADJUSTED AND DONE A GREAT JOB.
IN THE LAST TWO ITEMS, MS. DIGIACOMO TALKED ABOUT THE LAST ITEM, THE CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE EDUCATOR TRAINING THAT TOOK PLACE, AND NICKY WILL TALK ABOUT THAT LATER TONIGHT.
OF COURSE, MISS WAYNE SHARED ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY THAT OUR MUSIC STUDENTS PARTICIPATED IN.
THAT WAS AN EFFORT THROUGH AMY KEPLER AND NICOLE FISHER WORKING TOGETHER AND IT WAS ENTITLED "THE JOURNEY OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN SONG." IT WAS LED BY SALISBURY STATE UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR, DR. JAMES WESLEY WRIGHT, AND HIS ENSEMBLE.
BEAUTIFUL EXPERIENCE FOR THE KIDS, WAS AN AWESOME EXPERIENCE IN THE WEEKEND AS WELL.
WE WATCHED IT AT HOME ON SATURDAY.
IT WAS DIFFERENT THAN WHAT THE KIDS SAW THE DAY BEFORE SO AT LEAST IN OUR HOUSEHOLD, IT ENDED UP BEING AND PUT IT'S DOWN AND WATCH IT AGAIN AND GET A LOT OUT OF IT.
IT WAS A REALLY GREAT EXPERIENCE FOR OUR STUDENTS AND ALSO TO SHOWCASE A LOCAL COLLEGE WITH A DYNAMIC MUSIC PROGRAM SO KIDS CAN SEE THAT OPPORTUNITY THAT THEY CAN HAVE IT LOCALLY WITHOUT HAVING TO GO FAR AWAY. THANK YOU.
I'M JUST SO HAPPY TO HEAR THAT WE'VE GOT FULL CAPACITY BACK IN WELL.
ALL THE GRADES BACK IN THE SCHOOLS.
THANK YOU TO ALL THE PEOPLE IN SCHOOLS, IN THE CENTRAL OFFICE, AND DR. SAELENS FOR PUSHING THAT.
I MEAN, WE'VE STILL STUMPED SCHOOLS IN THE COUNTY WHO ARE OUR STATE WHO AREN'T THERE YET OR GET KIDS BACK PLANES BOARDS INTERACTING.
I KNOW YOU ALL HAVE TALKED ABOUT IT, WAS THE ATTENDANCE POLICY, IS THAT PRETTY CONSISTENT NOW BEDSIDE ON WHY? [OVERLAPPING].
>> THE VISITOR POLICY IS CONSISTENT ACROSS BASE-SIDE.
FOR VISITING TEAMS, NONE OF THE BASE-SIDE SCHOOLS WERE WELCOMING VISITING GUESTS AT THIS POINT IN TIME.
IT REALLY COMES DOWN TO A CAPACITY ISSUE FOR SOCIAL DISTANCING
[00:25:02]
AND TRYING TO STAY WITHIN THE GOVERNOR'S ORDER FOR HOW MANY GUESTS WE CAN HAVE.THEN WE HAVE KEPT OUR INTERNAL PER HOME GUEST AT TWO PER AND AT THAT NUMBER WHEN WE WILL SPACE OUT BECAUSE WE'RE ALLOWING BAND LOT OF SCHOOLS ARE NOT.
>> YEAH. WE'VE ALL THOUGHT OUR BAND TO PARTICIPATE. A LOT OF SCHOOLS ARE NOT.
BY GIVING OUR BAND THAT OPPORTUNITY, IT DOES TAKE UP MORE SEATS, MORE ROOM ALLOWING OUR BAND WHEN THEY'RE PERFORMING OBVIOUSLY BAND PARENTS WILL COME AND SUPPORT THEIR CHILDREN AS WELL AS THEY'RE ENGAGED.
FOR US BY ADDING IN THE FINE ARTS PIECE, WHICH I'M GLAD WE DID, IT HAS TAKEN UP A LITTLE BIT MORE OF THAT ROOM WHERE SOME OTHERS MAY HAVE SQUEAKED OUT TO ANOTHER TICKET HERE OR THERE.
WE ARE AT THE TWO WE'LL CONTINUE TO KEEP AN EYE ON IT.
DR. SAELENS AND I WERE TALKING EARLIER, WE'LL CONTINUE TO KEEP AN EYE ON IT WITH MISS LAURA PATRICK AND HEALTH DEPARTMENT AND SEE HOW THINGS GO.
WE'RE JUST EXCITED TO GET IT STARTED AND HOPEFULLY MAKE A GOOD GOAL OF IT AND GET LITTLE BIT OF NORMALCY BACK FOR OUR KIDS AND FOR OUR FAMILIES.
>> AGAIN, JUST LIKE THE ARTS, THAT'S GOOD FOR THE KIDS. THEY NEED.
THEY PLAY IN SPORTS OR IN THE BAND OR DOING WHATEVER.
>> ALL RIGHT AND I'VE HAD SOME WITH TIME IT'S DIFFERENT.
I DON'T I MEAN, THE EVENS AND ALL.
I GUESS THE FOOTBALL FIELD HAS LIFE, BUT HOW ARE WE NON BAND KIDS? I GUESS IF YOU'VE GOT A VOICE FULL PLAN AND THEN THE GIRLS FULL PLAN, ARE WE ESCORTING THE OTHER STUDENTS OUT?
>> WE WILL, LIKE THIS FRIDAY AT KERNEL IS A GOOD EXAMPLE BECAUSE FRIDAY AND KERNEL WILL HAVE GIRLS SOFTBALL, OR SORRY, GIRLS SOCCER GAME FIRST, FOLLOWED BY BOYS SOCCER GAMES.
YET WE'LL HAVE TO CLEAR THE STADIUM.
>> I'M HAVING A PARENT TO ASK HIM.
>> I DON'T KNOW NOW HAT'S GOING TO BE FACILITATED.
>> WELL, I HAVE TO CLEAR THE STADIUM AND THEN REFILL THE STADIUM.
CARNAL WILL ALSO HAVE A VOLLEYBALL GAME GOING AT THE SAME TIME IN THE BUILDING.
ADMINISTRATION THERE IT WILL BE IN THEY DO A GREAT JOB BUT THEY'LL BE HOPPING.
BUT YEAH. IN ESSENCE, WHEN YOU GOT TO BACK TO BACK IN THE STATING, WE TRIED TO BUILD A LITTLE BIT OF TIME, SO YOU TIME TO CLEAR IT AND THEN RELOAD IT.
>> LOT OF THINGS TO THINK ABOUT.
NOBODY THINKS ABOUT I MEAN, NOBODY THINKS YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT AND WHAT YOU ARE.
I MEAN, THERE'S OBVIOUSLY SO MANY PARAMETERS TO KEEPING ON.
THANK YOU. NEXT UP, SPECIAL PROGRAMS.
>> SPECIAL PROGRAMS I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT THIS MONTH, OR ENGLISH LEARNER POPULATION, SPECIAL EDUCATION AND INFANT TODDLER.
DO IT ALL THE WAY TO THE LEFT.
WE HAVE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT THAT WAS PROVIDED BY OUR SECONDARY [NOISE] ENGLISH LEARNER TEACHERS ARE ELL TEACHERS TO OUR SCIENCE AND HELP TEACHERS.
THIS WAS TO TEACH THEM HOW TO PROVIDE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF SCAFFOLDING AND INSTRUCTION.
CRYSTAL PROVIDED US WITH SOME SAMPLES WHICH I THOUGHT WERE VERY FASCINATING, LOOK VERY SIMILAR IN SPECIAL EDUCATION.
EXCEPT THE ONE BIG DIFFERENCE WAS THE LEVEL OF SUPPORT WITH THE PICTURES TO COMPLEMENT THE LANGUAGE.
IF YOU TAKE A LOOK AT THE TOP PART OF THAT PICTURE, YOU CAN SEE HOW WITH THE LEVEL 1, WE'RE GOING TO START WITH A LOT OF PICTURES AND DEVELOPING THE LANGUAGE THROUGH PICTURES.
THEN AS YOU MOVE INTO VOCABULARY, YOU'RE LOOKING AT VERY SIMPLISTIC DEFINITIONS OR SYNONYMS TOWARDS.
THEN THE THIRD COLUMN, YOU CAN SEE THERE WHERE YOU GO INTO MORE OF WHAT WE CALL A CLOSE ACTIVITY, WHERE YOU HAVE A MISSING WORD FOR ME SENTENCE AND YOU'RE GIVING A WORD BACK.
YOU CAN SEE HOW WE MOVE UP AS THE LANGUAGE IMPROVES.
THEN DOWN AT THE BOTTOM, YOU CAN SEE THE SAME THING WITH A GRAPHIC ORGANIZER, WHERE WE START OFF WITH OUR DIRECTIONS ARE COMPLETELY IN SPANISH AND THEN WE MOVE TO A COMBINATION OF ENGLISH AND SPANISH.
THEN WE HAVE MORE ENGLISH UNLESS SPANISH AND THE ACTIVITY.
THIS WAS A FANTASTIC PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR OUR SCIENCE AND HEALTH TEACHERS.
BECAUSE AS YOU KNOW, MORE OF THE SUPPORTS ARE GOING TO BE IN THE ENGLISH AND THE MATH CLASSES.
THIS WAS GIVING THEM MORE IDEAS TO PROVIDE THE INSTRUCTION DIRECTLY TO THE STUDENTS.
[BACKGROUND] THIS WAS THE HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL.
SO THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN NINE THROUGH 12.
THEN AS YOU MOVE TO THE MIDDLE FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION, WE HAVE TWO OPPORTUNITIES, ONE FOR OUR FAMILIES AND THEN ONE FOR STAFF.
THE TOP PAIR TRAINING WEBINARS, EXCUSE ME, WORKSHOPS ON WHAT WE HAVE DONE IS WE'VE TAKEN SOME OF THE SPEAKERS, THE GUEST SPEAKERS THAT WE BRING IN TO SEE [INAUDIBLE] AND WE'RE TAPING THESE NOW AND WE'RE MAKING THESE AVAILABLE TO THE FAMILIES, ALONG WITH BEING ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN ACTUAL LIVE WORKSHOPS THAT ARE VIA ZOOM.
YOU CAN SEE ON THERE, SOME OF THE TOPICS THAT WE WOULD BE PRESENTING WOULD BE, WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO ENROLL IN DDA?
[00:30:03]
THESE ARE TOPICS THAT SOMETIMES DON'T ALWAYS MAKE IT OUT TO OUR FAMILIES IF WE'RE NOT THE LEADERS IN GETTING THIS INFORMATION OUT TO THEM.ALSO, YOU CAN SEE ON THERE WHAT ART CAN DO FOR YOU.
THEN WE MOVE DOWN INTO MORE OF THE FINANCE 101 AND THIS COMES FROM OUR MARYLAND ABLE GROUP.
WHAT THEY DO IS THEY TRAIN OUR FAMILIES AND OUR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES TOGETHER.
ONE MORE OF A FINANCIAL LITERACY AT THEIR LEVEL, HOW TO SAVE MONEY AND THEN ALSO HOW TO FAIR EXPENSES.
IT'S REALLY FASCINATING AND BELIEVE ME, I'VE LEARNED A LOT FROM IT MYSELF.
THEN ALSO TRANSITION AFTER HIGH SCHOOL.
WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF? SO WE CAN BACK IT UP AND PLAN FOR THAT TRANSITION.
LOUISA CARLISLE HAS DONE A FANTASTIC JOB PUTTING ALL THIS TOGETHER.
THEN AS YOU MOVE INTO THE SPRING AFTER-SCHOOL WORKSHOPS, WE'VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS.
WE HAVE A FALL, A WINNER, AND THEN A SPRING.
WHAT THIS IS IS WE TAKE A LOOK AT SURVEYS WITH TEACHERS WHERE WE, IN OUR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT THAT WE DO ON WEDNESDAYS, TALK TO THEM ABOUT WHERE WE NEED ADDITIONAL SUPPORT AND THROUGH THAT, WE ALSO LOOK AT STUDENT DATA AND WHAT THE DATA IS ALSO TELLING US.
THEN WE DEVELOP OUR WORKSHOPS AROUND THAT.
I'M CLARISSA, WHICH YOU MET LAST WEEK, WHO PRESENTED.
SHE'S A BIG LEADER IN THESE AFTER-SCHOOL WORKSHOPS.
WE HAVE A PRETTY GOOD POPULATION THAT TURNS OUT TYPICALLY WHEN WE WERE FACE TO FACE, WE HAD SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 12 AND 15 AND NOW WE'RE UP TO ABOUT 20 AT, FOR SOME DEPENDING ON WHAT THE TOPIC IS.
YOU CAN SEE ON HERE, THESE ARE ALL DESIGNED RIGHT NOW, OBVIOUSLY AROUND SPECIALLY DESIGNED INSTRUCTION.
THIS IS BECAUSE OF THE VIRTUAL BE IN-PERSON AND HYBRID MODELS.
WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WHAT THAT COMFORT AND CONFIDENCE LEVEL IS IN DELIVERING THE SPECIALLY DESIGNED INSTRUCTION.
THEN THE LAST PICTURE, OUR INFANT AND TODDLER.
WHAT YOU CAN SEE HERE IS, IS THIS IS LYNN BRENNAN, ONE OF OUR OCCUPATIONAL THERAPISTS AND WE PRACTICE THE COACHING MODEL AT CAROLINE COUNTY, JUST LIKE WE DO ACROSS THE STATE OF MARYLAND.
WHAT THIS MODEL IS WHERE WE WORK SIDE-BY-SIDE WITH FAMILIES AND WE'RE COACHING THEM ON HOW TO WORK WITH THEIR CHILD RATHER THAN DOING IT FOR THEM BECAUSE THE BENEFITS NOT THERE.
IF WE'RE TEACHING THE FAMILIES IN A COACHING MODEL, THEY'RE ABLE TO TAKE WHAT THEY LEARN AND APPLY IT TO OTHER SITUATIONS.
ALSO WHAT YOU CAN SEE HERE IS ONE OF OUR NEW DOLLS AND THIS DOLL HAS JOINT ARTICULATIONS.
WHAT WE CAN DO BECAUSE WE'RE DOING THIS VIRTUALLY, WE CAN SHOW HOW WE WOULD MOVE THE CHILD'S ARM TO REACH FOR SOMETHING.
THEY CAN SEE THAT WITH THE DOLL, AND THEN THEY CAN DO IT WITH THEIR CHILD.
IT'S PRETTY FASCINATING. IT REALLY IS.
I MEAN, A LOT OF PEOPLE MIGHT LOOK AT THESE THINGS AS TOYS, BUT THEY ARE INSTRUCTIONAL RESOURCES.
>> MOVING ON TO FOOD SERVICES.
>> YES, [NOISE] I'VE ASKED BETH BREWSTER TO BE ON ZOOM TONIGHT TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE AS LIKES TO FOOD SERVICE SO ON HOW TAKE CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE.
>> GOOD EVENING. WE FOUND OUT THAT, WELL, [NOISE] WE'RE BACK TO SCHOOL, WHICH IS VERY EXCITING.
ALL CAPTURES ARE OPEN AND SERVING STUDENTS IN SCHOOL AND ALSO VIRTUAL LEARNERS.
WE HAD THEM FILL OUT APPLICATIONS AND PARENTS CAN COME PICK UP AT THE SCHOOLS FOR A WEEK'S WORTH OF FOOD FOR THEIR CHILDREN THAT ARE IN NEED.
SHORE GOURMET WAS AWARDED THE INNOVATION AWARD FOR 2020 BY THE CAROLINE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND WE'RE VERY EXCITED AND SURPRISED ABOUT THIS.
BUT AS YOU KNOW, EVERYONE GETS THE WEEKLY UPDATES FROM SHORE GOURMET AND THEY'VE BEEN KNOCKING IT OUT OF THE PARK WITH THE MARKETING AND THE TWO DINNERS FROM WEDNESDAY NIGHT.
THE STUDENTS ARE BACK AND WE'RE VERY HAPPY ABOUT THAT, SO THEY'VE BEEN ENGAGED WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE MEALS.
ON ANOTHER SIDE NOTE IS THAT I FOUND OUT THAT FOOD FOR LEARNING, ONE, THE NON-PROFIT FOR THE YEAR, FOR THE BACKPACK PROGRAM, WHICH IS EXCITING ALL THE RECOGNITION [NOISE] WITH GETTING FOOD OUT TO OUR COMMUNITY.
I WAS HONORED TO PRESENT AT GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ON A PANEL ON OBESITY AND
[00:35:01]
GETTING HEALTHIER FOODS TO OUR STUDENTS WITH A PANEL OF PEOPLE THAT HAD A LOT MORE EXPERTISE THAN ME.BUT IT WAS NICE TO GIVE RAW BERLIN'S PERSPECTIVE ON BEING ABLE TO FEED OUR KIDS, PARTICULARLY SINCE WE HAVE SUCH A HIGH FARMS RATE AND NOT AS MUCH INCOME AS A LOT OF OTHER DISTRICTS.
CURRENTLY, I'M WORKING WITH 4H ON A FARM-TO-SCHOOL EDUCATION GRANTS.
AS MANY OF YOU KNOW, WE'RE WORKING ON THAT THROUGH CONNECTION, THE FARMING FOR HUNGER PROJECT OUT ON 328, SO I'M TRYING TO GET FUNDING TO BE ABLE TO TIE IN WITH OUR KIDS.
WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE FARM, TALKING ABOUT SOIL AND HEALTHY EATING AND DIFFERENT THINGS.
I WORK WITH NIRVANA ON THAT, WHO'S BEEN WONDERFUL.
WE TALKED ABOUT THE VIRTUAL MEALS BEING PICKED UP ON WEDNESDAYS.
WE'VE BEEN DELIVERING OUT 800 BACKPACKS TO OUR HIGHEST NEED KIDS AND WE'RE GIVING THEM FIVE DINNERS.
THESE ARE THE HEAT AND SERVE DINNERS THAT WE DID ALL THROUGH THE PANDEMIC.
WE'VE BEEN AVERAGING ABOUT 4000 DINNERS A WEEK OUT TO OUR HIGHEST NEED KIDS.
MATURE AS WE KNOW, FOOD DEPARTMENT IS NOT MAKING A HUGE AMOUNT OF MONEY RIGHT NOW AND SO WE WERE LUCKY TO GET A GRANT THROUGH MID-SHORE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION.
THEY'D BEEN VERY SUPPORTIVE WITH THE ORGANIZATIONS ARE GETTING OUT FOOD TO THE PUBLIC.
WE WERE ABLE TO GET A GRANT TO HELP OFF SET THE FRESH FRUIT AND VEGETABLES IN THE HOT MEALS THAT WE'RE SENDING OUT TO OUR KIDS.
>> VERY GOOD. THANK YOU FOR ALL THE HARD WORK THIS LAST 12 MONTHS.
>> THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME PRESENT.
>> GOOD EVENING. IN THE AREA OF COMMUNICATIONS, WE WERE ONCE AGAIN FEATURED IN THE WASHINGTON POST ON FRONT PAGE ARTICLE.
ON SUNDAY, GREENSBORO TEACHERS, RACHEL BREEDING AND NEGATIVE FOSTER WERE INTERVIEWED ABOUT THE CHALLENGES AND REWARDS OF HYBRID LEARNING AND AS ALWAYS REPRESENTED US SO WELL.
I BELIEVE THE REASON THE WASHINGTON POST KEEPS CALLING US IS BECAUSE THEY FIND OUR TEACHERS TO BE GENUINE AND A REALLY GOOD REPRESENTATIVE OF HOW THINGS SHOULD BE FOR KIDS.
WE'RE ENORMOUSLY PROUD OF THAT.
AS DEREK MENTIONED, WE ALSO CAROLINE COUNTY WAS FEATURED IN A STORE DEMOCRAT REGARDING VACCINES AND OUR SCHOOL NURSES PART IN THAT.
WE ALSO GOT A LOT OF REALLY GOOD PRESS ON THE FACT THAT THE SOLAR ENERGY THAT WE'RE USING IN THE SCHOOLS AND THAT A MAJORITY OF OUR BUILDINGS DO HAVE THAT FEATURE.
WE ALSO WANTED TO THROW IN COLONEL RICHARDSON MIDDLE-SCHOOL.
ALL THE SCHOOLS HAVE SHARED SOME REALLY GREAT PICTURES OF THE KIDS COMING BACK AND THIS WAS A GOOD REPRESENTATION OF KIDS BACK IN THE SCHOOLS.
LASTLY, [NOISE] FEBRUARY WAS FULL OF CELEBRATIONS AND THE SCHOOLS WERE REALLY GOOD AT SHARING A LOT OF INFORMATION ON BLACK HISTORY MONTH, CAREER AND TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION MONTH, NATIONAL SCHOOL COUNSELING WEEK, SCHOOL BASED WELLNESS CENTERS WEEK, [NOISE] PRESIDENTS DAY, AND BELIEVE IT OR NOT, FIRST 100 DAYS OF SCHOOL.
IT'S A BUSY MONTH ON SOCIAL MEDIA.
>> VERY GOOD. THANK YOU. MOVING ON TO STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE REPORTS ARE STUDENTS WITH US TONIGHT, ZACK O'BRIEN FROM NORTH CAROLINE HIGH SCHOOL.
>> GOOD EVENING DR. SAELENS, PRESIDENT NEWCOMB, AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.
OVER IDS LAST MONTH, DOLPHINS HOSTED FIFTH GRADE PARANOID.
SOME UPCOMING EVENTS FOR DES INCLUDE THE BOOK FAIR, WHICH IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW, AS WELL AS PICTURE DAY FOR ALL STUDENTS AND STAFF.
OVER AT ORIGINALLY THE TERRIERS HAVE SPIRIT WEEK AND TITLE ONE VIRTUAL FAMILY ENGAGEMENT EVENT.
IN GREENSBORO AT GES, THE HORNETS ARE EXCITED TO BE WELCOMING BACK 75 PERCENT OF STUDENTS AT IT'S BUILDING.
THE STAFF HAVE BEEN VERY BUSY GETTING PHONE CALLS FROM PARENTS SAYING THEY ARE EXCITED, THEIR STUDENTS ARE COMING BACK.
AT LOCKERMAN MIDDLE SCHOOL LAST MONTH, THE CHOIR AND INSTRUMENT PROGRAMS PARTICIPATED IN THE JOURNEY OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN SONG WORKSHOP, AS WELL AS WELCOMING BACK SEVENTH AND EIGHTH GRADE STUDENTS INTO THE BUILDING.
[00:40:03]
BACK IN [INAUDIBLE] AT NORTH CAROLINE HIGH-SCHOOL, THE BULLDOGS WELCOME BACK 10TH GRADE, 12TH GRADE STUDENTS.CHESAPEAKE COLLEGE HAD HELP FROM THE BULLDOGS, WITH THE BLACK HISTORY MONTH PROGRAM.
LAST MONTH, PARENT CONFERENCES WERE ALSO HELD.
SOME UPCOMING EVENTS FOR THE BULLDOGS INCLUDE MARCH FIFTH, FALL SPORTS GAMES START, AS WELL AS ON MARCH 5TH, INTERIM GRADES ARE CAPTURED.
LASTLY, ON MARCH 31ST, STUDENTS HAVE A HALF DAY.
OVER AT CCTC, LAST MONTH THEY HAD A VIRTUAL BACK TO SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE FOR STUDENTS AND FAMILIES.
UPCOMING FOR CCTC INCLUDES KICKOFF SPRING ATTENDANCE CHALLENGE.
OVERALL THE SCHOOLS IN WHICH OUR REPORT FOR ARE VERY ENTHUSIASTIC TO BE WELCOMING MORE AND MORE STUDENTS BACK INTO THE BUILDINGS.
>> VERY GOOD. THANK YOU, ZACK.
>> GOOD EVENING, PRESIDENT, WELCOME MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.
FEDERALSBURG ELEMENTARY, THEY HELD A VIRTUAL MATH AND READING NIGHT ON FEBRUARY 17, WHERE PARENTS AND THEIR STUDENTS WERE ABLE TO DO GAMES AND ACTIVITIES WITH MATERIALS, MATERIALS THAT THEIR TEACHER SENT HOME.
THEY'RE ALSO CELEBRATING READ ACROSS AMERICA WEEK WITH A SPIRIT WEEK THIS WEEK AND THERE WILL ALSO BE SCHOOL PICTURES ON MARCH 16TH AND 19TH.
PRESTON ELEMENTARY IS ALSO CELEBRATING READ ACROSS AMERICA WEEK WITH A SPIRIT WEEK.
AND THEY WILL HAVE SCHOOL PICTURES ON MARCH 18TH.
ON THE 16, THEY WILL GO GREEN TO CELEBRATE ST. PATRICK'S DAY.
COLONEL RICHARDSON, MIDDLE-SCHOOL PARTICIPATED IN THE JOURNEY OF AFRICAN AND AFRICAN-AMERICAN SONG ON FEBRUARY 26TH.
PDIS WILL BE HOLDING A VIRTUAL DANCE ON MARCH 11TH.
THEN COLONEL RICHARDSON HIGH SCHOOL WAS ALSO ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE JOURNEY OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN SONG ON THE 26TH.
COMING UP, ALL OF THE FALL SPORTS TEAMS WILL BE HONORING THEIR SENIORS.
VOLLEYBALL, BOYS SOCCER AND GIRLS SOCCER BEING THIS FRIDAY AND MARCHING BAND CHEER AND FOOTBALL BEING NEXT FRIDAY.
THE HOMECOMING FOOTBALL GAME WILL BE ON FRIDAY, MARCH 19TH, AND WITH THE SPIRIT [NOISE] WEEK LEADING UP TO THE GAME. THANK YOU.
>> GOOD EVENING, PRESIDENT NEWCOMB, DR. SAELENS AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.
YOU HAVE BEFORE YOU OUR FINANCE REPORT AS OF FEBRUARY 28.
WE ARE EIGHT MONTHS INTO THE FISCAL YEAR AND WE SPENT APPROXIMATELY 57 PERCENT OF OUR BUDGET.
I WOULD LIKE TO MENTION THAT THIS MONTH YOU'RE GOING TO SEE SOME AVERAGES AND A FEW OF THE SALARY LINE ITEMS. THIS IS DUE TO THE BUDGETARY SAVINGS PAYMENT THAT WAS APPROVED LAST BOARD MEETING.
THIS $500 ONE-TIME PAYMENT WAS PAID TO PERMANENT EMPLOYEES LAST PAYROLL, WHICH WAS FEBRUARY 26.
[NOISE] OVERALL, WE ARE UNDER SPANKED COMPARED TO WHERE WE NORMALLY ARE AT THIS POINT IN THE YEAR.
THIS IS DUE TO OUR CONSERVATIVE SPENDING, AS WELL AS SAVINGS AND VARIOUS LINE ITEMS SUCH AS TRAVEL, MEETINGS AND CONFERENCES, FIELD TRIPS, AND SUBSTITUTE COSTS.
WE'VE ALSO BEEN ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF SEVERAL RESTRICTED GRANTS TO COVER COVID RELATED EXPENSES SO THESE COSTS DO NOT HAVE TO BE ABSORBED BY OUR LOCAL BUDGET.
GIVEN THE CURRENT ECONOMY, WE ARE BLESSED THAT OUR BUDGET IS IN SUCH STRONG FINANCIAL SHAPE.
>> [BACKGROUND] THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU AND YOUR STAFF'S EXTRA WORK ALONG WITH MR. NAGEL, AND DR. SAELENS FOR THAT SAVINGS PLAN PAYMENT THAT WENT OUT.
[NOISE] I KNOW THAT WAS PROBABLY A LOT OF EXTRA WORK, BUT I HAVE HEARD A LOT OF GOOD FEEDBACK FROM THAT. THANK YOU ALL.
>> DOES ANYBODY ELSE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR AIR.
>> MOVING ON TO REPORTS AND PRESENTATIONS NUMBER 6.1,
[6. Reports and Presentations]
WE HAVE A STRATEGIC PLAN GOAL EQUITY UPDATE WITH MS. FISHER. WELCOME.>> GOOD EVENING PRESIDENT NEWCOMB, DR. SAELENS, [NOISE] MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, HOW'RE ARE YOU ALL THIS EVENING?
>> IT'S NICE TO BE [INAUDIBLE]. [LAUGHTER] VERY NICE.
I'M EXCITED TO ACTUALLY BRING SOME UPDATES ABOUT [NOISE] ALL THE THINGS IN THE WORLD ABOUT EQUITY.
THERE'S INFORMATION, BUT I'M NOT GOING TO BELIEVE THE POINT THAT WE'VE BEEN [INAUDIBLE].
I THINK IT'S ALWAYS IMPORTANT THAT WE START WITH THE DEFINITION, I CAN NEVER GO [NOISE] OVER THIS AND KNOW.
I REALLY LOOKED [NOISE] AT THE FACT [NOISE] THAT EDUCATIONAL EQUITY REALLY IS ABOUT READING EVERY STUDENT THAT ACCESS.
[00:45:03]
I WOULD LIKE TO PROBABLY AT SOME POINT AND THEN THAT CAN ACCESS AND SUPPORT BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE THAT'S ALSO IMPORTANT.BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT REALLY REQUIRES EQUITY IS WHAT IS THE SUPPORT THAT WE NEED TO SOMETIMES PROVIDE SO THAT ALL STUDENTS CAN REACH THAT PLACE WHERE THEY HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY THEN TO RESOURCES AS WE'RE PROVIDING THE DATA.
IT'S ALSO ABOUT LOOKING AT THEIR ACADEMIC SUCCESS, THEIR SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING.
[BACKGROUND] THEN IMPORTANTLY, UNDERSTANDING THAT WE'RE ALL UNIQUE INDIVIDUALS HOLD JUST AS WE ARE AND THAT WE VALUE THOSE INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERISTICS.
THERE'S A LOT PACKED INTO THAT DEFINITION, WHICH IS WHY I WILL ALWAYS GO BACK TO THAT DEFINITION WHEN WE START.
[NOISE] THE OTHER THING THAT WE'VE REALLY BEEN TRYING TO EMPHASIZE AND REALLY LOOKING AT IS THAT SOMETIMES PEOPLE DO GET A LITTLE CONFUSED ABOUT EQUITY VERSUS EQUALITY.
AGAIN, IT'S REALLY LOOKING AT THE FACT THAT EQUALITY IS THE OUTCOME WE'RE ALL TRYING TO GET TO AN EQUITY REALLY IS THAT PROCESS.
AS WE LOOK AT THE NEXT SLIDE, WE ARE USUALLY FAMILIAR A LOT WITH THE ONE THAT SHOWS THE THREE DIFFERENT PICTURES THERE OF SOMEONE TRYING TO ATTAIN SOMETHING.
I'VE BEEN READING SOME ARTICLES LATELY AND I'VE STARTED MOVING TOWARDS [INAUDIBLE] STARTED MOVING TOWARDS THE ONE WHERE THE BOXES IN THE PIECES THAT PROVIDES SUPPORT OR MORE IN THE FOUNDATION AND LESS ABOUT THE INDIVIDUAL.
BECAUSE AGAIN, AS WE VALUE INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERISTICS, WE REALLY DO RECOGNIZE THAT PEOPLE COME TO US AS WHOLE, COMPLETE PEOPLE.
THERE MAY BE SITUATIONS OR SYSTEMS THAT HAVE CAUSED SOME DIFFERENCES.
WE'RE ALSO STARTING TO GROW IN OUR WORK.
PUTTING IN A RECOGNIZE THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT THE SYSTEM LEVEL, NOT JUST AT A DEFICIT MINDED ASPECTS THEIR STUDENTS.
THAT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT, WE'VE THOUGHT.
I DO HAVE THESE IN THE CAR AND HOPEFULLY EVERYONE HAS ONE.
IF NOT, I WILL BRING THEM BACK IN AND MAKE SURE ALL THE BOARD MEMBERS THOUGHT THEM.
BECAUSE AT SOME POINT WE DO WANT TO GO EVEN DEEPER AND MAKING SURE THAT EVERYONE IS FAMILIAR WITH THE EQUITY LENS CARD AND HOW IMPORTANT IT IS THAT WE'RE ALWAYS START WITH THESE QUESTIONS.
NOT GOING TO READ EACH ONE OF THOSE BECAUSE I'D LOVE TO HAVE A BETTER CONVERSATION WITH OUR NEW TEAM AS WE REALLY LOOK AT THE QUESTIONS ON THAT CARD.
>> THEY'RE SITTING UP HERE ON THE TABLE [OVERLAPPING].
>> [OVERLAPPING] AWESOME. [OVERLAPPING] [INAUDIBLE]
>> IF WE DON'T HAVE THEM. [OVERLAPPING].
>> WE WANT TO MAKE SURE EVERYONE HAS ONE. THANK YOU.
[NOISE] AGAIN, WITH REGARDS TO OUR UPDATE, TRYING TO JUST DO A BIT OF A SNAPSHOT OF ALL THE THINGS THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING.
I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT THIS IS ALREADY HERE FOR IN THIS FINISH IN TIME REALLY DOES GO FAST.
BUT THERE'S AN AWFUL LOT THAT I'VE HAD TO LEARN, AN AWFUL LOT THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING AS WE'VE BEEN GROWING OUR EQUITY INITIATIVES.
ONE OF THE REALLY BIG FOUNDATIONAL PIECES WAS NOVEMBER 2019 WITH OUR EQUITY POLICY.
THEN THE FACT THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE THE EQUITY GOAL ADDED TO THE STRATEGIC PLAN.
BUT THEN THERE'S LOTS OF OTHER THINGS THAT'S COME FROM REALLY LOOKING AT WHAT CAN WE DO TO MAKE SURE WE ARE EMBEDDING THIS IN THE SYSTEM ITSELF.
WE'VE BEEN DOING [NOISE] TRAINING AND WE PARTNER WITH MID-ATLANTIC.
REALLY HAPPY ABOUT THE WORK WE'RE DOING WITH STUDENT VOICE AT OUR HIGH SCHOOLS AND STARTING TO INCLUDE MIDDLE-SCHOOL STUDENTS.
THE COMPONENT WITH OUR COMMUNITY HAS BEEN KEY, REALLY BEING [NOISE] ACCOUNTABLE TO THEM AND TALKING ABOUT [NOISE] WHAT'S HAPPENING IN OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM.
WHAT I'VE FOUND IS THAT WE DO A LOT OF THINGS BECAUSE WE CARE ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY, SO IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE'RE COMMUNICATING THAT TO FOLKS BECAUSE THEY DON'T ALWAYS REALIZE ALL THE DIFFERENT PROGRAMS THAT WE HAVE.
YOU GUYS DID GET YOUR NEWSLETTER WHEN WE DO HAVE HERITAGE MONTH AND [NOISE] AT DIFFERENT POINTS WE DO SEND OUT A NEWSLETTER WITH LOTS OF RESOURCES.
[NOISE] ANOTHER BIG THING THAT'S BEEN [NOISE] A GOOD [NOISE] STRATEGY IS OUR SCHOOL-BASED [NOISE] EQUITY IN THE EXAMS. [NOISE] I WILL TALK [NOISE] BRIEFLY IN A MOMENT ABOUT HOW WE'VE BEEN [NOISE] BUILDING OUT OUR SCHOOL EQUITY AWARDS.
[NOISE] WHEN DO YOU HAVE THIS PRESENTATION AND [NOISE] QUICKLY GO BACK AND AND YOU'RE GOOD.
THE [INAUDIBLE] EQUITY POLICY.
[NOISE] BUT AGAIN, FEELING THAT IT WAS REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE GO BACK TO [NOISE] THAT FOUNDATIONAL PIECE [NOISE] THAT AS A BOARD [NOISE] OF 2019, [NOISE] WE AGREED THAT THESE CORE BELIEFS WERE THE IMPORTANT PIECES IN THE FOUNDATION OF THE POLICY.
[NOISE] I'LL TAKE A SECOND TO LOOK AT THAT.
BECAUSE [BACKGROUND] IF WE LOOK AT THE POLICY, [NOISE] WHICH WE ALSO LOOK AT THE STATE POLICY, AS WE MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE,
[00:50:01]
WE USE THIS WORK TO REALLY BUILD THE FOUNDATION OF OUR [NOISE] EQUITY GOAL BECAUSE IT JUST MAKES SENSE [LAUGHTER].[BACKGROUND] IF WE'RE GOING TO HONOR OUR POLICY, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE WE'RE PUTTING IN PLACE THINGS IN OUR ACTION STEPS THAT ALLOW US TO HONOR THAT POLICY.
IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF SLIDES, I JUST WANT TO HIT ON SOME OF THE THINGS WE'VE BEEN DOING IN THIS LAST.
WHAT 100S PLUS PHASE NOW, OBJECTIVE 1, BEING RECRUIT AND RETAIN DIVERSE STAFF.
REALLY LOOKING AT [BACKGROUND] THE IMPORTANCE OF DIVERSITY.
WE HAD A FOCUS GROUP WITH THE COMMUNITY AND THE FALL.
WE HAD ONCE A NIGHT AND HAVE THEM ON THURSDAY.
YOU GUYS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME TO THE HEART OF OUR TRAINING AND OUR CLIP IS WORTH, AND THEN THERE IS RECRUITMENT EFFORT.
I WORK CLOSELY WITH DEBBIE AS WE DISCUSS HOW WE'RE GOING TO BROADEN AND DIVERSITY IN OUR DISTRICT.
[NOISE] [BACKGROUND] ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WAS IMPORTANT TONIGHT WHEN WE WERE TALKING AND DISCUSSING DIVERSITY WAS JUST THE FACT TO YOU IS WHAT IS OUR DEFINITION OF DIVERSITY? SOMETIMES PEOPLE CAN GET A LITTLE PIGEON-HOLED INTO CERTAIN AREAS.
BUT WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THE FACT THAT WE HAVE LOTS OF DIFFERENT NEEDS AND LOTS OF DIFFERENT PEOPLE, LOTS OF DIFFERENT SITUATIONS.
THE MORE WE CAN PUT PEOPLE IN FRONT OF OUR STUDENTS THAT ARE DIVERSE, THERE'S MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS TO CONNECT AND BUILD STRONGER RELATIONSHIPS.
[BACKGROUND] FOR OBJECTIVE 2, THAT'S WHERE WE [NOISE] LOOK AT THIS AGGREGATING DATA.
THESE BULLET POINTS ARE FROM OUR [NOISE] POLICY AND IT REALLY DOES DRILL INTO [NOISE] HOW WE ARE [BACKGROUND] WORKING TO MAKE SURE WE'RE ALWAYS LETTING THE DATA LEAD US, LOOKING AT [BACKGROUND] ANY AREAS OF DISPARITY.
MAKING SURE WE'RE TRYING TO THINK OUTSIDE THE [BACKGROUND] BOX AND PUT ALL STRATEGIES TOWARDS LOWERING THE DISPARITIES THAT ARE HARMFUL TO OUR STUDENTS AND ALSO, [BACKGROUND] AS YOU DISCUSSED LAST WEEK, WITH THINGS LIKE EQUITY POLICY [BACKGROUND] AND DUAL ENROLLMENT, MAKING SURE WE'RE ENCOURAGING OUR STUDENTS TO BE HIGH-PERFORMANCE STATEMENTS.
[NOISE] SOME OF THE ACTION STEPS WITH THIS PARTICULAR GOAL WORK ARE THE DISPROPORTIONALITY TRAININGS THAT WE DO THAT THE STATE PROVIDES WHERE WE REALLY DO DIG DOWN INTO OUR DATA.
BEING PART OF STUDENT SERVICES TEAM AND ALSO PART OF CURRICULUM, WE DO A LOT WITH LOOKING AT ATTENDANCE, ACADEMICS, AND BEHAVIORAL DATA AND THEN ALSO REALLY WORKING WITH THE LIAISONS.
THIS YEAR, WE HAVE DEVELOPED SCHOOL EQUITY GOALS THAT ARE TIED CLOSELY TO THE SCHOOL RIBBON POINT.
AGAIN, REALLY TRYING TO EMPHASIZE THAT THIS IS NOT EXTRA WORK, THIS IS WORK THAT WE'RE ALREADY DOING.
BUT AS WE DRILL DOWN DEEPER INTO OUR SUBGROUPS IN SPECIAL POPULATIONS, REALLY TRYING TO MAKE SURE WE'RE BEING AWARE OF WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH THEM.
OBJECTIVE 3, I THINK I SPEND A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME RESTING IN THIS OBJECTIVE.
THIS IS THE ONE WITH THE CULTURAL TRAINING AND BY NATURE OF FIRST AND ALWAYS BEING A COUNSELOR FIRST, THE TRAININGS ARE WHERE I REALLY DO LIKE TO DO THE WORK.
TALKING WITH STUDENTS, I THINK THAT ANYONE THAT WAS ON OUR EQUITY MEETING FOR THE COMMUNITY GROUP THAT GOT TO HEAR THE STUDENTS TALK, YOU REALIZE THAT THIS IS WHAT WE'RE HERE FOR.
[LAUGHTER] WE NEED TO BE LISTENING TO WHAT THEIR PERSPECTIVE IS.
WE HAVE HAD SOME OPPORTUNITIES FOR THEM TO BE OUT AND ACTIVE AND THEY HELP WITH THE HUMAN SERVICES COUNCIL STUDENT FOCUS GROUP.
LIKE I SAID, THEY DID PRESENT ON FEBRUARY 9TH AND WE DO MEET SO THAT I'M CONSTANTLY LISTENING TO THEIR PERSPECTIVE AND FINDING OUT WHAT TYPES OF THINGS THEY HAVE TO SHARE.
THE LIAISON WORK HAS REALLY GROWN IN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, REALLY TRYING TO DO MORE WITH GETTING TRAINING, BECAUSE YOU REALIZED EARLY ON IT WAS REALLY DIFFICULT TO GET TO EVERY FACULTY MEETING IN 10 SCHOOLS [LAUGHTER].
IT'S REALLY BEEN HELPFUL TO HAVE THESE TRAININGS MONTHLY WITH LIAISONS AND THEN HAVING THEM ALSO DO PRESENTATIONS AND STAFF MEETINGS, CITS.
I'M REALLY THANKFUL FOR THE WORK WE'VE DONE WITH MS. MCCORMICK AND GETTING MONEY WITH THE TITLE FOR GRANT.
AGAIN, HOW IMPORTANT IS THAT? NO LONGER ARE EQUITY TRAINING SOMETHING PEOPLE VOLUNTARILY DO? WE NOW HAVE THE SAME ABILITY TO PROVIDE STIPENDS FOR OUR STAFF TO DO THIS REALLY IMPORTANT WORK.
THEN AGAIN, THE TRAININGS WITH MID-ATLANTIC WE'VE HAD SPEAK UP AND ADVANCING AS CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE EDUCATORS.
I DO WANT TO TAKE A MOMENT TO REALLY HIGHLIGHT IN ON THE COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS.
BECAUSE AGAIN, AS WE'RE MOVING INTO YEAR 4 RECOGNIZING HOW, THERE ARE SO MANY PIECES THAT ARE GOING TO HELP OUR STUDENTS BE MORE SUCCESSFUL BECAUSE THEY CAN'T DO IT ALL BY THEMSELVES.
[00:55:02]
WORKING WITH PARKS AND REC WORKING WITH FOR WHY AND I DID SEE AND HAD AN OPPORTUNITY THIS YEAR TO BE PART OF A TASK FORCE, THAT MSDE AND ALSO PART OF A PANEL WHERE WE TALKED WITH COLLEGES ABOUT TEACHER TRAINING PROGRAMS AND CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE PEDAGOGY.THE MONTHLY MEETINGS WITH THE NETWORK HAVE BEEN INVALUABLE.
IN THAT ALSO, THE LAST PART, SOMETHING THAT YOU'VE ALL MENTIONED A COUPLE TIMES TONIGHT.
THE CAROLINE HERITAGE SERIES, THIS IS A NEW PROJECT THAT I'VE STARTED WORKING ON AND ENJOYING IMMENSELY.
HOPEFULLY, YOU USE THE LINK AND YOU CAN SEE THE PERFORMANCE THAT WE HAVE THE BLACK HISTORY MONTH.
WE TOMORROW WE'LL BE DOING SOME FILMING IN NORTH CAROLINE HIGH SCHOOL OR IRISH HERITAGE MONTH, YOU'RE GOING TO BE TREATED TO IRISH DANCE.
WE ACTUALLY HAVE A PERSON RIGHT IN OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM WHO IS A PROFESSIONAL DANCER.
A JUDGE GOES ALL OVER THE COUNTRY AND HE HAS AN INSTRUCTOR COURSE THAT HE DOES WITH STUDENTS.
THE CAROLINE HERITAGE SERIES IS A REALLY IMPORTANT WAY FOR US TO EXPOSE STUDENTS, STAFF IN OUR COMMUNITY TO LOTS OF DIFFERENT HERITAGE INFORMATION.
THE LAST SLIDE BASICALLY IS JUST SOME INFORMATION, BUT I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE HELPFUL.
THE EQUITY GUIDEBOOK AND SOME DATA FROM OUR TREND DATA FOR THE LAST THREE OR FOUR YEARS, AND THEN MORE INFORMATION ABOUT MID-ATLANTIC.
I WAS TRYING TO RUSH THROUGH THAT'S WHY [LAUGHTER].
>> COLLABORATIVE INSTRUCTIONAL FORMS.
>> A QUESTION. I HAVE TWO ACTUALLY.
CAN YOU SAY A LITTLE MORE ABOUT THE SCHOOL-BASED EQUITY LIAISONS? WHO ARE THEY?
>> SURE. WE HAVE ONE REP FROM EACH BUILDING AND WHAT WOULD PROBABLY BE A GREAT IDEA IS TO SEND ALL OF YOU OUR PAST EQUITY UPDATES BECAUSE I DID INTRODUCE THEM IN THE FALL.
>> [OVERLAPPING] IT'S ADULTS AS TEACHERS AND THEY DO NOW GET A STIPEND FOR THE WORK THEY DO TO GET THE EXTRA TRAINING AND THEY SPEND TIME LEARNING AND BRINGING THAT BACK TO THEIR STAFF.
IT HAS BEEN GREAT BECAUSE WE STARTED DOING A LOT MORE TRAINING TWO YEARS AGO, AND THEN THIS YEAR REALLY HAVE FOCUSED ON BUILDING OUT WHAT WE CALL THEIR COHORTS, AND WE HAVE GOOGLE CLASSROOMS AND EQUITY TEAMS NOW IN EVERY BUILDING.
MORE AND MORE FOLKS ARE BECOMING PART OF THE CONVERSATION.
>> THANK YOU. SECOND QUESTION IS, TELL ME WHAT DISPROPORTIONALITY [NOISE] TRAINING IS? I HAVE A HARD TIME EVEN SAYING THAT LONG WORD.
>> WHENEVER WE'RE LOOKING AT DATA IN FILE NAME SOMETHING I'D HELP IF YOU WOULD LIKE, WHETHER IT IS ACADEMIC OR WHETHER IT'S DISCIPLINE, BEHAVIOR, OR ATTENDANCE, THERE ARE TIMES WHERE YOU HAVE CERTAIN GROUPS OF STUDENTS WHO ARE UNDERPERFORMING OR WITH REGARDS TO DISCIPLINE.
A LOT OF TIMES YOU FIND THAT THERE COULD BE A OVERREPRESENTATION IN A CERTAIN SUBGROUP.
YOU REALLY HAVE TO START LOOKING AT WHAT THINGS NEED TO HAPPEN TO BRING THOSE NUMBERS IN LINE TO WHERE THEY SHOULD BE.
THAT'S WHERE THE CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE PEDAGOGY REALLY DOES START TO COME IN PLACE AND PEOPLE HAVING CONVERSATIONS ABOUT DIFFERENT TYPES OF LEARNERS AND DIFFERENT THINGS LIKE THAT.
HELPS YOU STATISTICALLY IDENTIFY WHERE YOU MAYBE NEED TO PUT SOME TANGENTIAL, IN A SPECIFIC AREA, YOU NEED TO PUT SOME TANGENT.
>> IF YOU HAVE A CHANCE TO LOOK WITH OUR EQUITY DATA SLIDES, YOU WILL START TO SEE OVER THE LAST 3-4 YEARS, THAT'S THE TREND DATA THAT WE PROVIDED WHEN YOU LOOK AT THAT, HOW SOME GROUPS ARE UNDERPERFORMING ACADEMICALLY ON CERTAIN ASSESSMENTS.
AS THAT HAPPENS OVER A PERIOD OF TIME, YOU HAVE TO START LOOKING AT WHAT DIFFERENT THINGS CAN WE DO.
OR IF YOU NOTICED THAT THERE ARE SOME GROUPS THAT ARE NOT REPRESENTED IN CERTAIN ADVANCED COURSES OR THINGS LIKE THAT.
THIS HELP AND LET US REALLY DOING AN EXCELLENT JOB OF LOOKING AT WHY THAT COULD BE AND WHAT SYSTEMS CHANGES NEED TO HAPPEN TO MAKE SURE [OVERLAPPING] FOR THE REST.
>> I JUST CLICKED UNDER THAT LINK AND IT SAID I NEED PERMISSION.
>> OKAY. I'LL TURN IT INTO A PDF AND THAT WAY WE CAN FIND IT.
>> I'M NOT WORRIED. [LAUGHTER] THANK YOU.
THAT WAS VERY HELPFUL. [BACKGROUND]
>> NICKY, THAT WAS A GREAT PRESENTATION, AND YOU'VE PUT A LOT OF TIME AND ENERGY IN THIS EVEN THE FOUR YEARS THAT I'VE BEEN HERE AND I KNOW THE MEETINGS YOU'VE DONE.
I CONTINUE TO STRUGGLE WITH THE FACT WE NEED MORE TEACHERS IN OUR BUILDINGS OF VARIOUS NATIONALITIES I'LL SAY, I DON'T KNOW.
I LOOK BACK ON MY HIGH SCHOOL CAREER AND MICHELLE'S MY AGE AND SOME OTHER PEOPLE ARE.
[01:00:06]
MRS. FRANCIS RICKETS WAS ONE OF OUR FAVORITE TEACHERS.SHE WASN'T EASY, BUT SHE WAS FAIR AND I THINK WE NEED TEACHERS THAT ARE THERE TO TEACH KIDS, BUT YET CAN RELATE TO OUR KIDS OF OUR MINORITY GROUPS AND IT'S A TOUGH CALL.
I KNOW WE LOOK ALL THE TIME AND MAYBE THE PEOPLE ARE JUST NOT GOING INTO EDUCATION. I DON'T KNOW.
>> LIKE I SAID, ONE OF THE THINGS WE TALKED ABOUT TONIGHT IS THE FACT THAT IT REALLY IS IMPORTANT AS WE FOCUS ON THE ISSUE OF TEACHERS OF COLOR, BUT DIVERSITY IS WAY BROADER THAN TEACHERS OF COLOR.
WE HAVE A COMMUNITY WHERE STUDENTS MAY COME FROM DIFFERENT KINDS OF FAMILIES, DIFFERENT KINDS OF SOCIOECONOMIC BACKGROUNDS, DIFFERENT RELIGIONS.
AGAIN, WE HAVE A BROAD LENS, WHICH IS WHERE THE EQUITY PIECE COME FROM.
A LOT OF TIMES WE DO JUST IMMEDIATELY THINK POSSIBLY OF RACE OR ETHNICITY, BUT IT'S BROAD.
WE EVEN LOOK AT THE FACT THAT WE HAVE MALES REPRESENTED IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
>> OR IF YOU HAVE CAREER IN TECH AREAS, YOU HAVE NON TRADITIONAL INSTRUCTORS SO THAT A FEMALE TO SEE YOURSELF AS A AUTO MECHANIC.
IT'S JUST NOT ALWAYS ABOUT RACE COLOR, BUT THAT'S ALSO VERY IMPORTANT, BUT DIVERSITY IS VERY BROAD.
>> I KNOW YOU'RE WORKING ON IT.
>> NEXT MONTH, LIKE I SAID, CAN'T WAIT FOR YOU GUYS TO SEE THE IRISH DANCE.
WE'LL BE COLLABORATING WITH PE FOR OUR ELEMENTARY STUDENTS TO GET AT SCHOOL.
>> WE DON'T HAVE TO DANCE, DO WE?
>> I DON'T KNOW. LIKE I SAID, WE HAVE DANCE [LAUGHTER]. [OVERLAPPING] [INAUDIBLE].
>> MRS. FISHER, THANK YOU. VERY NICE.
>> ANYONE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? [LAUGHTER] MOVING ON THE NEXT REPORT PRESENTATION.
WE HAVE LEGISLATIVE UPDATE AND I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE KIRWAN IF THERE'S ANYTHING ELSE, DR. SAELENS BESIDES KIRWAN, BUT I KNOW KIRWAN WAS A BIG PART OF THE DISCUSSION LAST WEEK OR SO.
>> PRESIDENT NEWCOMB, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, PREPARE FOR YOUR ONE-PAGE SNAPSHOT OF WHAT WAS ORIGINALLY CRAFTED AS THE MARYLAND COMMISSION ON INNOVATION AND EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION.
THEN WAS COINED AS THE BLUEPRINT FOR MARYLAND'S FUTURE AND MOST COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS THE KIRWAN COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS AND THIS IS THE SUMMARY IN AN EXPANDED FORMAT, WAS PRESENTED LAST JANUARY PRIOR TO THE SHORT AND LEGISLATIVE SESSION, BUT IT WAS PASSED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY LAST YEAR AND THEN VETOED BY THE GOVERNOR AND THEN THAT VETO WAS RECENTLY OVERRIDDEN BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.
THAT PIECE OF LEGISLATION DOES GO INTO EFFECT THIS COMING FISCAL YEAR.
IT CAN BE BROKEN DOWN INTO FIVE MAJOR POLICY AREAS.
THEY'RE THERE FOR YOU TO READ.
I DO WANT TO HIGHLIGHT A FEW AND ACTUALLY BACKUP A LITTLE BIT AND THAT SOME OF THESE THINGS HAVE ALREADY BEGUN TO BE IMPLEMENTED AS PART OF WHAT WAS COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS THE DOWN PAYMENT ON THE BLUEPRINT FOR EXCELLENCE IN THE AREAS OF CONCENTRATION OF POVERTY.
FULL-DAY PRE-KINDERGARTEN, TRANSITIONAL INSTRUCTION, MENTAL HEALTH COORDINATORS, SPECIAL EDUCATION, AND A DOWN PAYMENT ON INCREASING TEACHER SALARY, IS CALLED THE TEACHER SALARY INCENTIVE GRANT, AND I MUST SAY THAT WHEN WE RECEIVED OUR ALLOCATION FOR TEACHER SALARY INCENTIVE GRANT, THE INTENT OF THAT LEGISLATION AT THE TIME WAS TO INCREASE STARTING TEACHER SALARIES BECAUSE IT'S HIGHLIGHTED AS NOTED UNDER POLICY AREA TOO.
SECOND BULLET THERE TO INCREASE TEACHER COMPENSATION TO BE MORE COMPARABLE TO OTHER PROFESSIONALS WITH SIMILAR EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS.
IN A FISCAL SNAPSHOT, THE GOAL IS TO GET STARTING TEACHER SALARY IS $60,000.
THEY GAVE EVERY SCHOOL SYSTEM AN EQUITY-BASED ALLOCATION TO BE A DOWN PAYMENT ON THAT WITH THE INTENT TO INCREASE STARTING TEACHER SALARIES AND THOSE WITH LESS THAN FIVE YEARS.
SALARY IS A MANDATORY SUBJECT OF BARGAINING, SO WE HAD TO BARGAIN THAT AT THE TABLE, HOW WE DISTRIBUTED THOSE FUNDS TO FULFILL THE INTENT OF THE LEGISLATION.
IN ONE YEAR, WE ALWAYS COMPARE OURSELVES TO OUR NEIGHBORS HERE ON SHORE BECAUSE THAT'S TYPICALLY WHO WE ARE COMPETING AGAINST AS IT RELATES TO RECRUITING FOR THE BEST AND BRIGHTEST FOR OUR STUDENTS BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT THEY DESERVE.
[01:05:01]
IN ONE YEAR WE WENT FROM EIGHTH ON THE SHORE OUT OF NINE SCHOOL SYSTEMS, TO FOURTH ON THE SHORE OUT OF NINE SCHOOL SYSTEMS. WE'VE REMAINED IN THAT POSITION SUBSEQUENT TO THAT SHOT IN THE ARM.BUT OTHER THINGS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN IMPLEMENTED AS NOTED UNDER POLICY AREA NUMBER ONE, IS EXPANSION OF FULL-DAY PRE-K, AND WE'VE DONE THAT.
WE'RE DEALING RIGHT NOW WITH THE DECLINE IN PRE-K ENROLLMENT AND THE SUBSEQUENT DECLINE IN PRE-K FUNDING FOR NEXT YEAR BUT WE'LL WORK THROUGH THAT.
IN ADDITION, UNDER POLICY AREA TWO IS A SIGNIFICANT OVERHAUL THAT'S COMING AS IT RELATES TO THE INCREASE IN RIGOR AND STANDARDS FOR TEACHER PREP AT SO AT THE COLLEGIATE LEVEL.
THERE'S GOING TO BE EVER-INCREASING DEMANDS PLACED ON STUDENTS AS THEY COME OUT AS GRADUATES, AND THE WHOLE LICENSING FOR PRAXIS TEST IS GOING TO GET A LOT MORE DIFFICULT FOR TEACHERS, AND WITH THAT COMES A WHOLE RE-DO OF OUR SALARY SCALES TO MATCH THAT COMPENSATION TO THE ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH THOSE DEGREES TO INCLUDE OBTAINING NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFICATION.
A LOT UNDER POLICY THREE, AS IT RELATES TO COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS, THAT WITH THE GOAL BEING THAT BY THE END OF 10TH GRADE, THAT MOST STUDENTS ARE COLLEGE AND CAREER READY, AND THAT 11TH AND 12TH GRADE IS REALLY FOR THOSE THAT HAVE MASTERED THOSE SKILLS TO BE ABLE TO GO ON, AND EARN COLLEGE CREDITS OR CTE PATHS TOWARDS EMPLOYMENT AND POST SECONDARY COURSE REQUIREMENTS, AND THOSE THAT HAVE NOT MASTERED THE CCR BY THE END OF 10TH GRADE ARE PUT IN CLASSES THAT ENSURED BY THE TIME THAT THEY GRADUATE, THAT THEY DO ARE READY TO GRADUATE AND ARE COLLEGE AND CAREER-READY.
THEN FINALLY ON THE POLICY THREE.
>> I'M SORRY TO STOP YOU IN MID SENTENCE, BUT I'M JUST TRYING TO GRASP.
THERE IS STILL SO MUCH AT US IN CAREER ONE AND LIKE THAT FOR THE EXAMPLE, THEY ARE 11TH AND 12TH GRADES.
THE STUDENTS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE, IT SOUNDS LIKE PARAPHRASE IN LAYMAN'S TERMS REACHING THEIR HIGH SCHOOL STANDARDS IN 10TH GRADE IN THE 11TH AND 12TH GRADE YOU DOING MORE I GUESS IS WHAT YOU SAID, IS THAT BASIC?
>> THAT WAS SEVERAL YEARS AGO WHEN DR. [INAUDIBLE] WAS STILL SUPER INTENDED ABOUT ELIMINATING 12TH GRADE.
>> RIGHT. SO AS PART OF THAT RIGHT NOW, THEY JUST PASSED WHAT, IF NOT TOO MANY YEARS AGO THAT WE HAVE TYPE FOUR MATH CREDITS.
THEY HAVE TYPE FOUR MATH CREDITS IN HIGH SCHOOL.
SO HOW DOES THAT WORK OR NOT WORK WITH THAT.
ARE THEY GOING TO PULL BACK THE MATH CREDIT? YOU DON'T HAVE TO TAKE TWO MATH CREDITS IN HIGH SCHOOL NOW? TO BE DETERMINED.
>> THE COMMISSION'S RECOMMENDATIONS AND MSD REQUIREMENTS HAVE NOT YET BEEN BLENDED TOGETHER.
>> I WAS THINKING THAT MYSELF.
WHAT ARE THEY EXPECTED TO DO IN 11TH AND 12TH GRADE?
>> WELL, IF THEY'RE CCR FOR COLLEGE AND CAREER READY THERE IS AN ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR THEM TO EARN COLLEGE CREDITS AND DO POST-SECONDARY THINGS.
>> AND AT THIS POINT, WE ASSESS ALL STUDENTS BY THE END OF 11TH GRADE TO ENSURE COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS.
WE STILL HAVE DEVELOPED GRADES WHERE WE HAVE GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS AND COURSES AND ALL OF THAT.
SO ARE THEY PROVIDING GUIDANCE? NOT AS OF YET.
>> DO THEY HAVE AN END DATE FOR IT?
>> WELL, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THE VERY FIRST LINE ITEM UP HEAR IS THAT, THIS HAS TO BE PHASED IN OVER THE NEXT 10 YEARS.
THIS ISN'T GOING TO FALL IN PLACE IN THE FALL.
IT'S A MULTI-YEAR PHASE-IN WITH THE GOAL BEING FULLY PHASED-IN IN SEVERAL YEARS.
>> LAST BULLET THERE, TSR TRANSITIONAL SUPPLEMENTAL INSTRUCTION UNDER POLICY AREA THREE IS ALSO A GRANT THAT WE'VE ALREADY RECEIVED IN THAT AND ARE IMPLEMENTING AS IT RELATES TO READING PROFICIENCY AT THE ELEMENTARY LEVEL.
POLICY AREA 4 MORE RESOURCES FOR STUDENTS WHO NEED THEM.
AGAIN, CONCENTRATION OF POVERTY GRANTS HAVE ALREADY BEGUN TO BE ROLLED OUT AND WE NOW QUALIFY AND HAVE ONE THIS YEAR FOR THE FIRST TIME.
THAT'S FELT BY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND THERE COULD BE MORE SCHOOLS ARE QUALIFIED IN THE FUTURE IN CAROLINE COUNTY,
[01:10:01]
BUT FOR NOW FELT FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND ADDITIONAL FUNDING AND FOR OTHER SPECIAL POPS, EL ARE IN SPECIAL EDUCATION.THEN FINALLY POLICY AREA 5 AND I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THE LAST BULLET THERE, AND THAT IS AT LEAST 75 PERCENT OF THE FUNDING MUST FOLLOW THE STUDENT TO THEIR SCHOOL.
THAT IS GOING TO INVOLVE A MASSIVE AND COMPLETE OVERHAUL OF OUR FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING SYSTEM.
BECAUSE RIGHT NOW I KNOW WE ARE NEAR 75 PERCENT OF THE DOLLAR FOLLOW THE CHILD.
NOW I'LL JUST GIVE YOU ONE BRIEF EXAMPLE.
SOME THINGS ARE EASY U2 EXAMPLE SOME THINGS ARE EASY TEXTBOOKS.
WE CAN CODE THOSE DOWNS AT THE SCHOOL LEVEL.
HOW MANY TEXTBOOKS OR BIND FOR EACH SCHOOL.
BUT TRANSPORTATION IS NOT CODED TO THE SCHOOL LEVEL.
SO A SCHOOL BUS THAT HAS AN ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY RUN OR A SECONDARY RUN THAT HAS TWO SCHOOLS IN AS ALL OF OUR SECONDARY ROUNDS DO, IS NOW GOING TO HAVE TO BE COMPLETELY OVERHAULED AND REDEFINED AS TO HOW WE BREAK DOWN THE COST OF THOSE TRANSPORTATION RUNS TO TRACK THE DOLLAR TO THE CHILD.
WE HAVE UTILITY COUNT THAT UTILITY METERS FROM MULTIPLE SCHOOLS.
ONE UTILITY METER FOR BOTH OF THE COLUMNS.
ONE UTILITY METER FROM NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL AND CCTC.
WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO SPEND MONEY THAT HAVE ON THAT METER PUT IN A METER BEHIND THE METER IN ORDER TO TRACK UTILITIES.
HE SAID, WELL, MAYBE WE DON'T DO UTILITIES,75 PERCENT IS A LOT OF THE BUDGET BECAUSE THE PEOPLE SITTING IN THIS ROOM CAN NOT BE THEIR COSTS IN COSTS AND CENTRAL OFFICE IN GENERAL, HR FINANCE CANNOT BE SPLIT DOWN TO THE SCHOOL LEVEL.
SO WHEN YOU CARVE OUT WHAT CAN'T BE, IT LEAVES EVERYTHING ELSE.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF WORK AHEAD OF US.
>> WERE SMALL SYSTEM WITH SOUNDS LIKE BIG CHALLENGES IN SOME OF THESE AREAS.
BIGGER SYSTEMS PROBABLY EVEN HAVE BIGGER ISSUES WITH THAT POSSIBLY.
>> SCALABLE. SOME SCHOOL DISTRICTS DON'T HAVE ANY BALTIMORE CITY DOESN'T HAVE BUSES, RIGHT? THEY DO FOR SPECIAL NEEDS.
>> FOR SPECIAL NEEDS. BUT IS THERE ANY WHAT ARE THE LIKELIHOODS OF ANY OF THAT STUFF WILL BE AMENDED? SOME OF THESE POINTS WOULD BE AMENDED.
>> I DON'T THINK THE ACCOUNTABILITY PIECE BECAUSE IT'S ALL ABOUT ACCOUNTABILITY WITH THIS.
IN THAT UNLIKE THE THORN COMMISSION, WHICH CAME ON THE HEELS OF WAY TOO MANY RESTRICTED GRANTS, TIME SCHOOL SYSTEMS HANDS, AND PUSH BEHIND BARTON WAS GREATER FLEXIBILITY AT THE SYSTEM LEVEL TO SPEND THE RESOURCES WHERE THEY SHOULD FIT.
THIS IS GOING BACK IN THE OTHER DIRECTION AND IT'S ALL ABOUT POCKETS OF MONEY AND BEING ABLE TO TRACE THE DOLLAR DOWN DOWN THE TAIL.
THAT'S ALREADY EVIDENT THROUGH THE MARYLAND REPORT CARD. I THINK IT'S A VISIT.
WHAT IT IS THE MARILYN PARKER WHERE, WE'VE ALREADY HAD TO DO THAT, WHAT WE'RE ALLOWED TO DO IT BY FORMULA.
I DON'T BELIEVE THAT THE FORMULAS ARE GIVEN BROAD STROKE FORMULAS OF SAYING THIS HOW MUCH WE'VE BEEN TAKE TRANSPORTATION AND CURVE IT UP BASED ON JUST A MATHEMATICAL FORMULA.
I DON'T BELIEVE IT'S GOING TO SUFFICE AS IT RELATES TO THE REQUIREMENTS THAT ARE GOING TO BE FORTHCOMING.
THAT'S AT LEAST NOT THAT'S NOT MELT NAGEL'S OPINION PER SAY THAT'S THE TALK OF THE CFOS FROM AROUND THE STATE AND [INAUDIBLE] IS WE'VE, LAST YEAR AND THE YEAR BEFORE AND THE YEAR BEFORE THAT, WE HAVE ONE OF OUR CFOS, [INAUDIBLE] FROM FREDERICK COUNTY, ACTUALLY SIT ON THE CURB AND COMMISSION AT.
A LOT OF FEEDBACK FROM HE SO WHAT IS COMING DOWN THE PIPE.
>> AT LEAST 75 PERCENT OF FUNDING MUST FOLLOW THE STUDENT TO WHOLE THING.
EXPLAIN THAT A LITTLE BIT OF ARE THEY TALKING ABOUT EACH STUDENT.
LIKE, LET'S SAY THEY GO FROM FEDERAL FOR THE PARALLEL MIDDLE TO COLONEL HIGH, THAT IS WHAT THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT?
>> IT'S NOT SNAPSHOTS, IT'S FOR THE YEAR.
SO FOR EACH STUDENT, HOW MUCH ARE WE SPENDING ON THAT CHILD? SO EVERY DOLLAR THAT GOES TO THAT SCHOOL NEEDS TO BE AT LEAST 75 PERCENT OF IT HAS TO BE TRACKED TO THAT SCHOOL.
I'M GRABBING A NUMBER OUT OF THE AIR, I MIGHT BE OFF, BUT IF THERE'S 542 KIDS, AT COLONEL MIDDLE.
WHAT IS THE BUDGET OF COLONEL MIDDLE? WELL, HOW MUCH MONEY IS COLONEL MIDDLE SPENDING? IT'S 75 PERCENT OF THAT HAS TO BE TRACKED TO THE STUDENT IS THAT.
>> WELL, NOT TO THE STUDENT BUT TO THE SCHOOL AND THEN DIVIDE TO THE STUDENT. [OVERLAPPING].
>> IT'S NOT TO THE STUDENTS, SO IT'S NOT DOWN TO THE STUDENT, TO THE CLASSROOM, BUT YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO SAY THAT FOR EACH EXPENDITURE, HOW MUCH OF THAT EXPENDITURE IS TO EACH SCHOOL OR SOME TO THE SOME SCHOOLS AND THEN TO EACH SCHOOL.
THEN BY MATH, YOU CAN DIVIDE THE COST TO THE SCHOOL BY THE STUDENT POPULATION
[01:15:03]
AND SAY THAT SCHOOL XS RECEIVING X NUMBER OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS PER CHILD, TO EDUCATE THE STUDENT AS COMPARED TO SCHOOL Y THERE IS A DIFFERENT NUMBER AND IT SHOULD FOLLOW.IF YOU LOOK AT SOME OF THE OTHER MAIN POLICY AREAS, IT SHOULD FOLLOW THE THEORY OF MORE MONEY FOR SCHOOLS WITH HIGHER POVERTY THAT HAVE GREATER NEED.
IF IT DOESN'T, THEN IT COULD RAISE SOME RED FLAGS AND SOME BELLS AND WHISTLES.
BUT WHAT WE CAN'T CONTROL IS THAT SOME OF OUR SCHOOLS HAVE WE'RE A PEOPLE BUSINESS AND OUR BIGGEST SINGLE BIGGEST LINE ITEM WAS SALARY.
IF WE HAVE A SCHOOL WAS SENIOR STAFF, THAT'S NOT A HIGH POVERTY SCHOOL, THAT'S GOING TO SKEW THAT SCHOOL WAS HAVING MORE DOLLARS PER STUDENT THAN A SCHOOL THAT MAY HAVE MORE POVERTY BUT LESS EXPERIENCED THAT.
STAY TUNED. JUST EVEN HIRING WAVES THAT WHO KNOWS WHERE THEY COME IN, YOU JUST HAPPEN TO HAVE 10 PEOPLE RETIRE FROM CERTAIN SCHOOL AND YOU REPLACE THEM, THAT'S GOING TO SKEW YOUR NUMBERS.
>> I WENT TO A CONFERENCE ABOUT 10 YEARS AGO WHEN KIRWAN FIRST STARTED IN THEORY, I THINK IT'S A GREAT THING.
IT CHANGES THE WAY WE DO BUSINESS, BUT IS A PROBLEM BECAUSE THE BIG COUNTIES ARE GOING TO HAVE A PROBLEM FUNDING IT, AND SO ARE THE SMALL COUNTIES.
I WORRY THAT WE'RE GOING TO GET SO WRAPPED UP IN THE BUSINESS PART OF IT THAT WE LOSE SIGHT OF THE EDUCATION PART.
I WILL SAY WITH COVID, THE GOOD THING THAT'S COME OUT OF IT.
WE HAVE RAMPED UP OUR TECHNOLOGY AND I THINK THAT'S GOING TO BE REALLY NECESSARY IN THIS [NOISE] ERA.
I COMMEND THIS COUNTY FOR DOING THAT.
THE THINGS WE'VE PUT INTO PLACE FOR VIRTUAL.
I THINK WE'RE GOING TO SEE THE REWARDS FROM THAT AS WE MOVE INTO THIS ERA.
BUT IT BOTHERS ME TO THINK HOW IS THIS GOING TO BE EQUITABLE IN THE 23 COUNTIES IN BALTIMORE CITY WHEN THE FUNDING IS A PROBLEM? I DON'T KNOW.
>> A LOT OF MONEY COMING WITH THIS AND YOUR POINT, TECHNOLOGIES IS GOOD FROM AND JUST TO DRILL HOME THE POINT.
RIGHT NOW WHEN WE PURCHASE WE'RE IN THE MIDST OF GETTING READY TO DO THE ROLL OUT OF REFRESH OF LAPTOPS FOR ELEMENTARY TEACHERS.
RIGHT NOW THAT PURCHASE ORDER, WHEN IT GETS CUT, HAS ONE ACCOUNT NUMBER.
THIS TIME NEXT YEAR, IT WOULD HAVE TO HAVE MULTIPLE ACCOUNT NUMBERS TO SAY HOW MANY LAPTOPS GO TO EACH SCHOOL. [OVERLAPPING]
>> FIRST SCHOOL PER GRADE PROBABLY.
>> [OVERLAPPING] NOT THAT PRECISE.
>> NOT THAT PRECISE. OUR ACCOUNT CODING STRUCTURE CAN HANDLE THIS.
IT IS GOING TO BE AN INCREMENTAL LEVEL OF WORK FOR A LOT OF STAFF AS IT RELATES TO, WHEN DEREK GOES TO PAY FOR OFFICIALS AND EVERYTHING ASSOCIATED WITH ATHLETICS, HISTORICALLY, WE JUST CUT IT AS TO [OVERLAPPING] SYSTEM-WIDE ATHLETIC AT ONE ACCOUNT. [OVERLAPPING].
>> IT'S GOING TO BE FOR SCHOOL NOW.
>> WE GOING TO MAKE SURE VENDORS BILLS ACCORDINGLY SO WE CAN'T SPLIT THAT.
>> SO IT'S GOING TO BE INTERESTING [OVERLAPPING].
>> SORRY. WHEN I LOOK AT THIS, THE POLICY ORDER NUMBER FIVE, ACCOUNTABILITY, JUST ME SPEAKING.
IT OUGHT TO HAVE A SLASH AND SAY BUREAUCRACY NEXT TO IT.
[LAUGHTER] IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THE STATE DEPARTMENT EDUCATION IS GOING TO BE ADDING A LOT OF NEW EMPLOYEES.
WHEN I LOOK DOWN THERE AND SEE EXPERT REVIEW TEAMS ARE GOING TO VISIT THE SCHOOLS.
I GUESS [NOISE] LINDSEY, IF WE'RE NOT CUTTING IT, HERE COME IN THE PROS FROM DOVER, NOT DOVER, DELAWARE BUT FROM ANNAPOLIS, JUST AN OLD EXPRESSION APPROACH FROM DOVER.
HERE COMES THE EXPERT REVIEW TEAM BECAUSE SOMEBODY HAS DECIDED IT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH. HEAVEN HELP US.
THEN THERE'S THIS BIG SHADOW OVER THE WHOLE THING BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF MONEY COME IN WITH IT.
WHERE'S IT COMING FROM? THAT'S ANOTHER BIG LOCAL CONCERN THAT WE'RE GOING TO SEE A MAJOR TAX INCREASE IN THIS COUNTY.
ANYBODY WHO'S LISTENING AT HOME MAJOR TAX INCREASE AND THIS COUNTY IN PARTICULAR CAN'T MATCH THE REVENUE THAT EXISTS IN TALBOT AND QUEEN ANNE'S, BECAUSE THEY HAVE SUCH HIGHER PROPERTY VALUES.
PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THAT, OUR PROPERTY TAXES HERE ARE HIGHER THAN THOSE OTHER COUNTIES BECAUSE OUR PROPERTY VALUES AREN'T AS HIGH.
DOES THAT MEAN OUR LANDS ARE NOT AS GOOD? THAT'S NOT THE CASE AT ALL.
I THINK ALL OF YOU IN THIS ROOM UNDERSTAND.
JUST TAKE A RIVER TOUR OVER AND TALBOT COUNTY AND LOOK AT THE BILLION DOLLAR ESTATES OR WHATEVER THOSE THINGS ARE PRICED AT.
A SMALL, LITTLE PERCENT PER ACRE OR PROPERTY TAX ON THOSE PLACES YIELDS A LOT OF MONEY.
I DON'T KNOW IF TALBOT IS GOING TO BE OKAY.
I DO NOT MEAN TO PICK ON THEM OR QUEEN ANNE'S SO THAT YOU CAN'T
[01:20:04]
PUT POLICY AREAS SIX DOLLARS BECAUSE IT'S NOT A POLICY AREA.BUT IT'S CERTAINLY A BIG CONCERNED.
IT MIGHT BE OVERBLOWN AS A CONCERN, I DON'T KNOW.
BUT I SEE ALL THROUGH THIS, THERE'S GOING TO BE AN AWFUL LOT OF TRACKING, AUDITING, WATCHING THIS.
HOW IS CAROLINE GOING TO ACHIEVE THAT? HOW IS THE STATE GOING TO ACHIEVE THAT.
OVERALL, IT'S A WONDERFUL THING IN TERMS OF WHAT IT CAN DO AND KATHY, YOU ARE POINTING OUT THAT IT REALLY HAS GREAT OPPORTUNITY AND YOU ALL KNOW THAT.
JUST IT'S SCARY. UNLESS THEY'RE GOING TO START ANOTHER LOTTERY OR BUILD ANOTHER CASINO THAT FUNDS THIS.
I DON'T KNOW WHERE THE MONEY IS COMING FROM. JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND.
>> WELL, MR. NAGEL, AND IF THERE'S ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, PLEASE [OVERLAPPING] STEP UP.
>> THEY SAY AT LEAST 75 PERCENT.
ANY IDEA WHAT THE CURRENT PERCENTAGE FOR FUNDING IS RIGHT NOW? YOUR COUNTY IS AT 60 PERCENT ARE WE CLOSE TO WHAT THEY WANT?
>> WE HAVE NO IDEA [OVERLAPPING].
>> FROM AN ACCOUNTING STANDPOINT AND ACCOUNTING JARGON.
WE CURRENTLY TRACK EXPENDITURES BY FUNCTION AND THOSE ARE THE MAJOR CATEGORIES THAT ARE DEFINED IN [INAUDIBLE] .
THIS IS CALLED COST ACCOUNTING, IF YOU WERE TO GIVE THE ANALOGY A FACTORY, YOU'RE TRACKING THE COST TO BUILD A WIDGET THROUGHOUT THE SUBWAY LINE.
WE HAVE HISTORICALLY NOT DONE THAT.
WE'RE NOT TRACKING IT [OVERLAPPING] DOWN TO THE STUDENTS SO WE DON'T NOT REALLY KNOW.
BECAUSE OF THE MARYLAND REPORT CARD REQUIREMENTS, WE ARE USING SOME MATHEMATICAL FORMULAS TO ALLOCATE CERTAIN BIG LINE ITEMS TO THE SCHOOL LEVEL.
BUT THAT METHODOLOGY FROM WHAT WE UNDERSTAND IS NOT GOING TO BE ACCEPTABLE WHEN AS IT RELATES TO THE PHASE OF THE KIRWAN FUNDING BECAUSE OF; FIRST OF ALL, THE DIFFERENT BUCKETS OF MONEY THAT IT'S GOING TO COME IN.
THEN SECONDLY, JUST BASED ON THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE COMMISSION.
>> [NOISE] MR. BARTON, TO YOUR POINT AS FAR AS THE LOCAL WORLD PEACE.
WE ADVOCATED LAST YEAR DURING GENERAL ASSEMBLY AND WE ACTUALLY HAD A FLYER PUT TOGETHER IN SUPPORT OF [NOISE] OUR COUNTY IN THAT, WHAT THE IMPACT WOULD BE TO CAROLINE COUNTY AS COMPARED TO SOME OF OUR NEIGHBORS.
WHAT A PENNY INCREASE IN PROPERTY TAX GENERATES IN CAROLINE COUNTY, 258,000 DOLLARS AND THAT'S A YEAR OLD DATA, BUT STILL RELEVANT.
COMPARED TO MONTGOMERY COUNTY, WHERE A PENNY INCREASE IN PROPERTY TAX GENERATES 19.5 MILLION DOLLARS.
TALBOT COUNTY, OUR NEIGHBORS TO THE WEST, AGAIN, 258 FOR US, 742 FOR TALBOT COUNTY.
YOU CAN SEE THE DISPARITIES IN THE RELATION OF PROPERTY VALUE.
WE ARE ONE OF THE LEAST WEALTHIEST JURISDICTIONS IN THE STATE.
FOR YEARS, CAROLINE COUNTY HAS RELIED ON A SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING ALLOCATION FROM THE STATE CALLED THE DISPARITY GRANT, AND THAT DISPARITY GRANT HAS BEEN CUT GOING INTO NEXT YEAR BY THE STATE.
THAT'S THE PIECE THAT HAS TO BE FIXED.
AS KIRWAN GETS PHASED IN OR CAROLINE COUNTY AND THE GOVERNMENT WILL NOT BE ABLE TO MATCH IT AND MEET ITS LOCAL REQUIREMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS.
IT WILL BANKRUPT THE COUNTY, IT WILL RESULT IN DEPARTMENTS BEING SHUT DOWN AND OR MASSIVE UNAFFORDABLE PROPERTY TAX INCREASES THAT CERTAINLY NOBODY WANTS TO SEE.
CERTAINLY NOT ME. WE RELY HEAVILY ON ALL OF OUR COUNTY AGENCIES, THEY'RE PARTNERS WITH US IN SO MANY ASPECTS.
THAT'S IMPORTANT FOR US NOT ONLY PROFESSIONALLY, BUT PERSONALLY IN OUR OWN LIVES, WE NEED THOSE SERVICES.
THE STATE HAS TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO FIX THIS AS IT RELATES TO THE LOCAL FUNDING REQUIREMENT.
I'M HOPEFUL WE JUST HAVE TO ADVOCATE TIRELESSLY BECAUSE SOME BIG GUYS ARE IN THIS WITH US AS WELL, AND THAT'S THE CITY AND PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY.
THEY'RE IN THE SAME BOAT AS WE ARE.
WHATEVER FIX GETS IN FOR THEM HAS TO ALSO BE IN FOR CAROLINE COUNTY, THAT'S THE EQUITABLE THING FOR THE STATE TO DO.
>> [OVERLAPPING] THAT'S EXCELLENT ANALYSIS, IN MY AGE OLD COLLEGE BUSINESS TRAINING.
WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT COST ACCOUNTING AND WIDGETS.
THAT WAS EXACTLY WHAT WAS IN MY HEAD THAT THE FACTORY THAT'S PRODUCING SOMETHING AND SCHOOLS, I GUESS YOU COULD SAY IT'S A FACTORY PRODUCING STUDENTS,
[01:25:01]
[NOISE] BUT IT'S REALLY NOT A FAIR COMPARISON.BUT THAT IS WHAT THE 75 PERCENT PER STUDENT, THAT'S WHAT IT ENFORCES.
I APPRECIATE THAT THINKING AND THAT ANALYSIS VERY MUCH.
>> IS THERE ANYTHING WE CAN DO, LIKE YOU SAID PEOPLE NEEDED TO DO THIS, WHAT?
>> WELL, OFFSHORE DELEGATIONS, DON'T COME CLEARLY ON BOARD.
THEY KNOW THAT, IT'S JUST THAT WHENEVER YOU GET A CHANCE TO ADVOCATE FOR THE FIX FOR CAROLINE.
I DON'T KNOW WHERE THAT STANDS.
IT'S NOT THIS LEGISLATIVE SESSION IT WILL BE THE NEXT LEGISLATIVE SESSION.
BUT THERE ARE ASPECTS OF THIS LAW THAT WILL TAKE EFFECT THIS FALL.
WE DON'T KNOW, APPARENTLY KIRWAN 2.0 IS GOING TO BE INTRODUCED, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT EVEN LOOKS LIKE AT THIS POINT, SO STAY TUNED.
>> WE HAD THAT MEETING WHERE WE HAD THE COMMISSIONERS AT THAT ONE WORK SESSION AND THEY SAT RIGHT THERE AND SAID, "I DON'T KNOW WE'RE GOING TO PAY FOR THIS," [BACKGROUND] AND THEY WERE HONEST.
THEY WEREN'T BEING MEAN, IT JUST THE WAY IT IS.
>> YOU CAN'T GET BLOWN OUT OF TUNNEL.
>> THEY WERE HONEST. THE ONLY THING AND MR NAGEL WILL THANK YOU FOR GOING INTO THAT.
BECAUSE I WAS GOING TO ASK YOU FOR THE BENEFIT OF THIS BOARD.
THEY DON'T HAVE ENOUGH SERVICES AND DEPARTMENTS LARGE ENOUGH TO CUT TO MAKE THE LIFT.
THE ONLY [NOISE] WAY THEY CAN DO IS A TAX INCREASE, AND THAT'S A TAX INCREASE ON EVERY CITIZEN PAYING TAXES IN THIS COUNTY.
WE COULDN'T DO A LITTLE BIT, BUT WE CAN'T DO WHAT THEY'RE ASKING US TO DO WITHOUT THESE CORRECTIONS AT THE STATE LEVEL, MR. NAGEL POINTED OUT, AND THE PREVIOUS BOARD AND WHAT THE ADMINISTRATION DID ADVOCATE, AND I THINK [INAUDIBLE] YOU TESTIFY ME WITH MR. NAGEL.
[OVERLAPPING] OF COURSE, IF THIS BOARD OF EDUCATION GETS AN EXTRA DOLLAR OR TWO, WE'RE GOING TO DO MORE.
TRY TO DO MORE AND TO TRY TO DO BETTER WITH IT.
BUT AT THE SAME TIME, WE DO HAVE A GOOD RELATION WITH OUR COUNTY AND UNDERSTAND THE CONSTRAINTS THEY'RE UNDER AND IF THEY'RE WEAK IN TO A POINT THAT THEY CAN'T HELP OUT BURST, WHAT GOOD IS IT TO US IN PARAPHRASING.
I APPRECIATE OUR SYSTEM CONTINUING TO WORK PREVIOUSLY WITH THE COUNTY AND I HOPE THIS BOARD WILL AND STAY ON TO IT BECAUSE IT DOES SOUND LIKE THERE'S SOME CHANGES TO BE MADE FOR EVERYONE'S BENEFIT HOPEFULLY.
[NOISE] PER ONE TWO POINT OUT. GREAT. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, BOARD MEMBERS? LEGISLATIVE? HEARING NONE. THANK YOU.
MR. NAGEL. MOVE ON TO INSTRUCTIONAL UPDATE. THE SMART FORMAT.
>> YES. GOOD EVENING, PRESIDENT NEWCOMB, DR. SAELENS AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.
I COME BEFORE YOU THIS EVENING TO SHARE INFORMATION AND DATA AROUND OUR HIGH SCHOOL MATH CURRICULUM, AGILE MIND, AND OUR ESSENTIALS FOR LEARNING INITIATIVE THAT WE BEGAN DURING THE '17, '18 SCHOOL YEAR.
I KNOW THAT THIS IS A BIG TOPIC.
I WILL SHARE WHAT INFORMATION WE CURRENTLY HAVE REGARDING STATE ASSESSMENTS FOR THIS CURRENT SCHOOL YEAR.
THE TIMELINE HERE SHOWS AN OVERVIEW OF THE TOPICS THAT WILL BE COVERED ALONG WITH THE YEARS OF OUR IMPLEMENTATION.
IF WE GO BACK SEVERAL YEARS, DATA SHOWED THAT ALGEBRA ONE WAS A CONCERN FOR MATH IN CAROLINE COUNTY.
NOT ONLY IS ALGEBRA ONE A GRADUATION REQUIREMENT, IT IS A STRONG INDICATOR OF A CHILD'S SUCCESS IN HIGH SCHOOL AND ONLINE GRADUATING ON TIME.
AT THE TIME, TEACHERS WERE ASKING TO LOOK AT CURRICULUM FOR GEOMETRY, AND THERE WAS A PUSH BY THE CURRENT SUPERINTENDENT TO INVESTIGATE CURRICULAR MATERIALS TO MATCH THE NEW COMMON CORE CURRICULUM.
UNDER THE GUIDANCE AND DIRECTION OF MELISSA MULLIGAN, SUPERVISOR OF MATH, HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS PREVIEWED NUMEROUS CURRICULUM.
AS A COMMITTEE THAT RECOMMENDATION WAS MADE FOR AGILE MIND TO BE PILOTED AND THEN ADOPTED.
THAT BRINGS US TO THE '16, '17 SCHOOL YEAR WHERE THAT PILOT OF AGILE MIND BEGAN.
THIS TIMELINE CONTINUES TO SHOW YOU THAT OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS, WE HAVE CONTINUED WITH AGILE MIND AND ALSO IMPLEMENTED ESSENTIALS FOR LEARNING.
WHAT YOU SEE IS THAT STATE TESTING HAS SHIFTED OVER THESE SAME YEARS.
WE WERE GIVING PARCC ASSESSMENT AND THEN IN '18, '19 THE NAME SHIFT INTO MCAP, ALTHOUGH IT WAS THE SAME TEST AND THEN LAST YEAR WOULD HAVE BEEN THE FIRST YEAR OF THE NEW MCAP ASSESSMENT, BUT AS WE ALL KNOW, MCAP WAS CANCELED DUE TO THE PANDEMIC.
AS YOU WILL HEAR LATER TONIGHT, ADDITIONAL CHANGES HAVE BEEN MADE TO STATE TESTING FOR THIS YEAR.
WITH ALL THAT BEING SAID, I REALLY TRIED HARD TO GATHER CONSISTENT DATA POINTS THAT WOULD SHOW YOU THE BEFORE AND AFTER OF BOTH AGILE MIND,
[01:30:06]
AND ESSENTIALS FOR LEARNING AS THE BOARD ASKED FOR, IT WAS CHALLENGING. [LAUGHTER].>> CAN I GO BACK TO THE AGILE MIND FOR A SECOND? IT IS LIKE A TWO-PART QUESTION, WHAT ARE THE PLANS WERE LOOKED AT INSIDE AGILE MINDS AND WAS THERE ANY COMMUNITY INPUT?
>> THERE WERE OTHER CURRICULUM THAT WERE LOOKED INTO, DISCOVERY EDUCATION WAS ONE, CARNEGIE LEARNING WAS THE OTHER.
I BELIEVE THAT WAS MORGAN ON THE PHONE OR ON ZOOM.
I DO NOT KNOW THAT THERE WAS COMMUNITY IN WHICH SINCE IT WAS A CURRICULAR DECISION, IT WAS NOT A TEXTBOOK ADOPTION.
>> IS IT NOT LIKE THE PRESENT DAY EQUIVALENT OF, HOW DO THEY CAME UP WITH THE POLICY ABOUT TEXTBOOKS?
>> WE HAVE THE TEXTBOOK, [OVERLAPPING].
>> AT THE TIME WE CAME UP WITH THAT, WE DID NOT HAVE ANYTHING FOR A COMPUTER PROGRAM.
IN MY MIND, IT IS ALMOST THE EQUIVALENT THAT THE POLICY HAS NOT BEEN UPDATED FOR TECHNOLOGY. DOES THAT MAKES SENSE?
>> I DO UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU ARE SAYING.
I HEAR WHAT YOU ARE SAYING IS THAT YOU BELIEVE THAT THIS SHOULD HAVE GONE THROUGH A SIMILAR PROCESS TO THE TEXTBOOK SINCE THIS WAS A REPEAL CONSIDERING THE TEXTBOOK.
>> WE ARE WRITING CURRICULUM ALL THE TIME THAT COMMUNITY MEMBERS DO NOT HAVE A PART OF BY USING OUR STANDARDS.
IT IS DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT WE CAN LOOK INTO.
WE CAN LOOK AT THE TEXTBOOK POLICY.
>> I AM NOT TRYING TO BE ARGUMENTATIVE.
BUT REALLY FOR MATH FEATURE THAT AS THE PRINCIPAL, WHAT TEACHERS WERE INVOLVED AND THE PRINCIPAL LOOKED AT THE TEACHER AND SAID, "WILL YOU WORK" AND THEY REALLY NO WAS NOT.
>> YOU WILL HEAR THROUGHOUT HERE THAT ALL MATH TEACHERS AT THE HIGH SCHOOL LEVELS, WERE INCLUDED IN THE INFORMATION SESSIONS AVAILABLE TO THEM WHEN ALL THREE CURRICULAR THAT WERE LOOKED INTO.
>> INFORMATION SESSIONS ABOUT THE ULTIMATE DECISION, WHO MADE THE ULTIMATE DECISION?
>> I WAS NOT IN THIS ROOM THAT TIME. NO, NO, NO.
BUT FROM MY UNDERSTANDING, IT WAS THE COMMITTEE OF ALL TEACHERS AT BOTH COLONEL HIGH WHO PILOTED FOR YEAR AND ONE AND TWO TEACHERS FROM NORTH HIGH PILOTED IN YEAR ONE, AND THEN ALL TEACHERS PILOT IN THAT SECOND YEAR.
>> INFORMATION IS NOT MUCH INPUT.
OKAY. I GET IT BECAUSE I WAS NEVER IN THE MATH DEPARTMENT, NOR WAS I, [LAUGHTER] RIGHT.
IN FACT, WHEN A STUDENT THOUGHT, THEY HAD NOT GOOD TO A MATH CLASS AND THE CHILD HAD THE RIGHT ANSWER AND THEN I HELPED HIM GET THE WRONG ANSWER.
>> I DO KNOW THAT [OVERLAPPING] THE BOARD WAS INFORMED WITH AND THIS IS IN MY PRESENTATION AS WELL, BUT THE BOARD WAS INFORMED TWO TIMES IN THE '17, '18 SCHOOL YEAR ABOUT THE SUCCESS OF THE PILOT.
THE BOARD WAS ABREAST OF THE CURRICULAR CHANGES THERE AS WELL.
>> SORRY, RACHEL, THE NEXT SLIDE I AM SORRY.
THIS SLIDE SHOWS KERNEL RICHARDSON HIGH SCHOOL AND THE NEXT SLIDE WOULD SHOW NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL.
BUT THESE SLIDES SHOW YOU THE COMPARISON OF YEARS OF TEACHING EXPERIENCE OF THE MATH TEACHERS IN THE '17, '18 SCHOOL YEAR AS COMPARED TO THIS SCHOOL YEAR, AND THE IMPORTANCE OF THESE SLIDES IS THAT IN '17, '18, APPROXIMATELY A THIRD OF OUR TEACHERS HAD LESS THAN FIVE YEARS OF TEACHING EXPERIENCE, AND IN LOOKING AT IMPLEMENTING A PILOT CURRICULUM, WE DID NOT WANT LESS EXPERIENCED TEACHERS TO LEARN A CURRENT CURRICULUM OR OTHER TEACHERS PILOT OF A CURRICULUM AND THEN THOSE LESS EXPERIENCED TEACHERS HAVE TO LEARN A NEW CURRICULUM.
WITH A THIRD OF OUR TEACHERS BEING LESS EXPERIENCED, WE CHOSE TO HAVE ALL OF KERNEL RICHARDSON PILOT THE PROGRAM OF AGILE MIND.
WHAT IS INTERESTING IS IF YOU LOOK AT THE GRAPHS, ARE CURRENT YEARS OF EXPERIENCE, WE ARE NOW ACTUALLY ATTRACTING MORE EXPERIENCED TEACHERS IN CAROLINE COUNTY.
WE ACTUALLY HAVE MATH TEACHERS SEEKING US OUT FROM HER EMPLOYMENT, AS WELL AS EVEN WE HAVE SOME TEACHERS WHO HAVE LEFT CAROLINE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS TO COME BACK TO US FOR
[01:35:02]
REHIRING AND THIS IS DEFINITELY A SHIFT FROM A FEW YEARS AGO WHEN WE HAD A CHALLENGING TIME JUST RECRUITING MATH TEACHERS IN GENERAL.>> CAN WE LOOK AT THAT JUST FOR A MINUTE? [OVERLAPPING]
>> JUST TO LOOK AT THE COMPARISON.
>> WOW. YEAH, THEY'RE NOT DIFFERENT.
>> VERY, VERY MUCH SO. [NOISE]
>> IN LARGER SCHOOL TWICE THIS, PROBABLY TWICE AS MANY STAFF, JUST ABOUT ROUGHLY.
>> THE AGILE MIND PROGRAM COMBINES RESEARCHED BASE, I DO NOT LIKE THIS WORD, PEDAGOGICAL [LAUGHTER] STRATEGIES WITH TOOLS OF TECHNOLOGY TO CREATE A 21ST CENTURY LEARNING ENVIRONMENT.
IT IS A DIGITAL PROGRAM WITH TOOLS AND SERVICES THAT ARE ACCESSED ONLINE AND DELIVERED VIA A TEACHER FACILITATED CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION MODEL.
STUDENTS COLLABORATE AND ARE ENGAGED IN PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING AND ACTIVELY COMMUNICATE BY USING THEIR OWN WORDS TO DESCRIBE INTERACTIVE ANIMATIONS, MULTIPLE REPRESENTATIONS OF CONCEPTS AND REAL-WORLD SCENARIOS.
>> CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT THAT WORD MEANS? YOU DON'T HAVE TO SAY IT AGAIN. [LAUGHTER]
>> IT'S THE BACKGROUND OF TEACHING.
IT IS THE METHODS AND THE RESEARCH [OVERLAPPING] AND THE THEORY BEHIND TEACHING.
>> I SHOULD HAVE SAID IT IN THAT WAY FROM THE BEGINNING. [LAUGHTER]
>> AGILE MIND ALLOWS FOR OPTIONS FOR EXPRESSION SO THAT STUDENTS HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE PAPER AND OR DIGITAL RESOURCES.
THE PROGRAM ALLOWS FOR SMALL, FLEXIBLE GROUPING OF STUDENTS IN ORDER FOR TEACHERS TO DIFFERENTIATE FOR STUDENTS NEEDS.
IT ALSO OFFERS COMPREHENSIVE PRACTICE, HOMEWORK, AND TEST PREPARATION RESOURCES, AS WELL AS FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS, MANY OF WHICH ARE AUTOMATICALLY GRADED.
THROUGH THE AGILE MIND DASHBOARD, TEACHERS ARE ABLE TO ACCESS REAL-TIME DATA AND REPORTS ON THE PROGRESS OF EFFORT AND LEARNING OF THEIR STUDENTS.
WHEN WE BEGAN WITH AGILE MIND, TEACHERS WERE PROVIDED WITH JOB EMBEDDED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT THAT PROVIDED ADDITIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES AND LESSON PLAN SUPPORT.
>> NO, YOU'RE FINE. [OVERLAPPING]
>> IF I WALK IN BECAUSE IT'S DIGITAL AND CLASSROOM SO IF I WALK IN, WHAT SHOULD I EXPECT TO SEE? AS FAR AS ARE THE KIDS ONLINE PRETTY MUCH THE WHOLE TIME OR?
>> IT IS BOTH WITHOUT A DOUBT, WE KNOW THAT MATH PRACTICE NEEDS TO BE DONE HANDWRITTEN AS WELL, BUT EVEN PRIOR TO US THIS SCHOOL YEAR GOING ONE-TO-ONE, MATH DEPARTMENTS HAD CATS SPECIFICALLY FOR THE MATH DEPARTMENT SO THAT THEY DID HAVE ACCESS TO DIGITAL DEVICES TO HAVE THAT OPTION FOR BOTH.
>> BUT THE INSTRUCTION IS VERBAL AS WELL AS DIGITAL?
>> CORRECT. [NOISE] ANY OTHER QUESTIONS AT THIS POINT? [LAUGHTER]
>> SINCE YOU'VE ASKED, [NOISE] LET'S SAY YOU HAVE A TEACHER THAT WAS VERY SUCCESSFUL WITHOUT AGILE MIND, WERE THEY ALLOWED TO KEEP DOING WHAT WAS WORKING FOR THEM AND THE STUDENTS OR WERE THEY REQUIRED TO SWITCH?
>> THE CURRICULUM FOR THE COUNTY HAD SWITCHED TO AGILE MIND.
>> SO EVEN IF SOMEBODY WAS REALLY SUCCESSFUL WITH WHAT THEY WERE DOING?
>> THERE WAS ALSO A SHIFT IN THE STANDARDS AT THE TIME, THE COMMON CORE STANDARDS HAD SHIFTED SO IT WAS A SHIFT WITH THOSE STANDARDS AND THE CURRICULUM HAD CHANGED TO AGILE MIND.
>> I'M NO SURE IT ANSWERED THE QUESTION.
I'M NOT BEING, [INAUDIBLE] I DON'T KNOW IF THAT REALLY ANSWERS.
[OVERLAPPING] EVERYBODY IS REQUIRED TO- [OVERLAPPING]
>> EVERYBODY IS REQUIRED TO TEACH AGILE MIND AS THE APPROVED CURRICULUM.
>> THERE'S REASON FOR IT, I REMEMBER BEING ONBOARD AND IN DISCUSSION AND SEEING THERE'S REASONS BEHIND THAT.
YOU'VE GOT TO GO WITH THE FLOW, GO WITH THE SYSTEM, WHERE THE SYSTEM IS GOING.
JUST LOOK, IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT GRAPH, I THINK YOU'RE GOING TO, WE NEEDED SOME WORK. WE NEED TO DO BETTER.
>> RIGHT OR WRONG. GO AHEAD, LINDSAY. [OVERLAPPING]
>> IF YOU'RE READY. IF YOU'RE NOT READY TO GO TO THE NEXT GRAPH. [OVERLAPPING].
>> SURE, GO AHEAD THE SLIDE. SLIDE THIS UP. [OVERLAPPING]
>> BUT YOU ALWAYS HOPE, EARLIER WE TALKED ABOUT COMPARING OURSELVES TO OUR NEIGHBORS AND SIMILAR SIZE COUNTIES,
[01:40:01]
SIMILAR POPULATIONS AND ALL, BUT YOU ALWAYS LIKE TO BEAT THE STATE AVERAGE.[NOISE] AT LEAST WHAT I'VE SEEN OVER THE YEARS, YOU WANT TO BE ABOVE THE STATE AVERAGE.
[BACKGROUND] IT'S HARD TO PIN THAT DOWN, BUT SOME YEARS WE DO AND SOME YEARS WE'VE DON'T IN DIFFERENT TOPICS.
[NOISE] I WAS LOOKING AT THIS 15-16 YEAR PICTURE AND SAYING, ''I KNOW CAROLINE COUNTY CAN DO BETTER IN MATH THAN THE STATE, LET'S FIGURE OUT HOW WE DO IT.''
>> I SHOW ALGEBRA ONE DATA HERE BECAUSE TRULY GEOMETRY AND ALGEBRA TWO WHO ARE ALSO IMPLEMENTING AGILE MIND CURRICULUM, THEY ARE NOT REQUIRED TO HAVE STATE ASSESSMENTS.
ALTHOUGH WE OFFERED ALGEBRA TWO AND GEOMETRY, IT WAS INTERMITTENT THROUGH THESE YEARS BECAUSE THE STATE DID NOT OFFER THEM ON A CONSISTENT BASIS.
THAT'S WHY I'M HIGHLIGHTING OUR ALGEBRA ONE TRENDS.
YES, YOU DO SAY THAT THERE WAS THE LITTLE SHIFT.
IN 18-19, THERE WAS THE CAP, THE TWO PERCENT TESTING CAP THAT WAS PUT ON AND THAT'S ONE OF THOSE REASONS WHY WE DID NOT TEST THE ALGEBRA TWO AND GEOMETRY, WHICH IS WHY WE'VE GOT ALGEBRA ONE HERE.
IN 16-17, WHICH WAS OUR FIRST YEAR OF AGILE MIND, AS I STATED FROM THE BEGINNING WE KNEW THAT OUR MATH SCORES WERE LOW.
WE IMPLEMENTED AGILE MIND STARTING IN THE 16-17 SCHOOL YEAR AND CAROLINE COUNTY WAS AT THE SAME PERCENT OF PROFICIENCY AS THE STATE, ROUGHLY 5.5 PERCENT BELOW.
IN 17-18 AND 18-19, ALTHOUGH CAROLINE COUNTY WENT DOWN SLIGHTLY FROM OUR 36 SO DID THE STATE, AND AS YOU CAN SEE, WE DID NOT DECREASE AT THE SAME RATE THAT THE STATE DID.
>> WITHOUT TRIPLE ONE LENS HERE, ARE YOU SAYING THAT'S AN EIGHTH-GRADER? [NOISE]
>> SOME OF OUR ALGEBRA ONE STUDENTS ARE EIGHTH GRADERS BUT MANY ARE OUR NINTH-GRADER STUDENTS.
>> OKAY. THE THING NOBODY EVER WANTS TO TALK ABOUT, AND I TAUGHT MIDDLE SCHOOL FOR SO MANY YEARS, SOME KIDS AREN'T MATURE OR READY TO UNDERSTAND MATH CONCEPTS.
>> THAT'S WHY THE STUDENTS WOULD TAKE IT IN NINTH GRADE.
>> YEAH, BECAUSE ALL EIGHTH GRADERS ARE NOT THE PERFECT STUDENTS, WE'VE ALL BEEN THERE.
YET BY THE TIME THEY GET A LITTLE BIT OLDER, THEY FIGURE IT OUT.
>> ALGEBRA ONE TRADITIONALLY IS A HIGH-SCHOOL CLASS.
WE HAVE IT IN OUR EIGHTH GRADE YEAR AS FOR THOSE GIFTED [OVERLAPPING] AND TALENTED STUDENTS THAT CAN TAKE IT.
>> CORRECT. THE YEAR THAT THE STATE WENT DOWN, THE MSDE ACTUALLY WORKED WITH ALL DISTRICTS TO REALLY TRY AND DETERMINE WHY SCORES DIPPED ACROSS THE STATE.
SOME OF THEM WERE SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL WELLNESS OF STUDENTS, TESTING FATIGUE, TEACHER ATTENDANCE AND THEN IT WAS ALSO THE TIME WHEN A LOT OF FUNDING WAS GIVEN TO ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS SO THERE WAS DISCUSSION ABOUT INEQUITABLE STATE FUNDING AROUND CONTENT AREAS.
OBVIOUSLY, LAST YEAR WOULD HAVE BEEN OUR FIRST YEAR OF THE NEW AND CAP ASSESSMENT, BUT AGAIN, BECAUSE OF COVID AND SCHOOL CLOSURES, WE WERE UNABLE TO ASSESS.
THROUGH AGILE MIND, AS YOU CAN SEE HERE THAT THE COVID PANDEMIC ALTHOUGH IT'S BEEN EXTREMELY CHALLENGING FOR ALL, THOSE USING AGILE MIND ACTUALLY HAD SOME VERY POSITIVE OUTCOMES.
BECAUSE OF THE DIGITAL CURRICULUM, TEACHERS WERE ABLE TO QUICKLY MOVE TO ONLINE INSTRUCTION SINCE THEY HAD BEEN USING THAT DIGITAL CURRICULUM FOR SEVERAL YEARS.
ALSO, THE CROSS DISTRICT COLLABORATION THAT HAS BEEN IN PLACE HAS TRULY MEANT THAT STUDENTS RECEIVE A CONSISTENT EXPERIENCE REGARDLESS OF WHICH HIGH SCHOOL THEY'RE IN OR REGARDLESS OF THEIR TEACHER'S EXPERIENCE.
[NOISE] IN ADDITION, AGILE MIND BECAUSE WE HAD OUR LICENSES FOR OUR OTHER CURRICULUM OPENED UP THE MATH 8 CURRICULUM TO US AND THAT HAS REALLY ALLOWED US TO BRIDGE LEARNING GAPS THAT WE SAW FROM OUR CONTINUITY OF LEARNING IN THE SPRING TO NOW.
VERY NICE OF THEM TO HAVE AGREED TO LEAVE THIS OUT MATH 8 CURRICULUM OPEN THROUGH NEXT SCHOOL YEAR SO THAT WE CAN ACCESS THOSE MATH 8 RESOURCES.
HERE YOU SEE A SIMM MODEL, WHICH IS THE SCHOOL INSTRUCTIONAL MATURITY MODEL, AND IT SHOWS FIVE SYSTEMS OF A SCHOOL AND OR A SCHOOL SYSTEM DOWN THE FAR LEFT SIDE.
[01:45:06]
THEY INCLUDE CULTURE OR CONDITIONS OF THE BUILDING, CORE INSTRUCTION, COLLABORATION, CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION, AS WELL AS DATA AND ASSESSMENTS, BOTH FORMATIVE AND SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENTS.JUST TO GIVE YOU AN UNDERSTANDING OF THIS MODEL ITSELF.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE SIMM MODEL ALL THE WAY TO THE LEFT, SHOWS WHERE SCHOOLS WOULD BE IN CHAOS WITH LITTLE OR NO STRUCTURE.
TO THE FAR RIGHT, WOULD BE THE EPITOME OR THE GOAL OF ALL SCHOOLS.
MATH AS A DISTRICT TEAM IN THE SYSTEM OF COLLABORATION IS CURRENTLY TO THE FAR RIGHT.
THEY ARE AT THE POINT WHERE COLLABORATION IS TRULY TEACHER-OWNED.
TEACHERS ARE OWNING THEIR WEDNESDAY ASYNCHRONOUS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, ESPECIALLY AT THE MIDDLE SCHOOL AND THE HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL.
THEY'RE DRIVING THE AGENDAS FOR THEIR OWN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND ARE DEVELOPING THEIR CROSS-CURRICULAR COLLABORATION.
THIS TRULY IS PART IN DUE TO THE AGILE MING PROGRAM FOR BEING INITIATED SEVERAL YEARS AGO, ALONG WITH THE SUPERVISION OF MELISSA MULLIGAN.
HOWEVER, I TRULY DO BELIEVE THAT IT IS DUE TO THE TEACHERS THEMSELVES WHO TRULY ARE MOTIVATED BY THE SUCCESS OF THEIR STUDENTS.
BECAUSE WE ARE AT INDEPENDENCE, WE HAVE THAT COMMON VOCABULARY, COMMON EXPECTATIONS, AND COLLABORATION ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS.
STICKING WITH THAT SAME SLIDE. THANK YOU, RACHEL.
ALTHOUGH MATH IS AT THE FAR RIGHT IN COLLABORATION, A FEW YEARS AGO ALL ADMINISTRATORS AND SUPERVISORS WERE LOOKING AT CCPS THROUGH THE SAME MODEL.
WE WERE FARTHER TO THE LEFT THAN MATH IS NOW IN MANY SYSTEMS WITHIN THIS MODEL.
THROUGH OUR COLLABORATION WITH LEARNING SCIENCES INTERNATIONAL AND THE BEGINNING OF OUR IMPLEMENTATION OF ESSENTIALS FOR LEARNING, IT ALLOWED CAROLINE COUNTY TO TRULY EVALUATE WHERE WE WERE AS A DISTRICT ON EACH OF THESE SYSTEMS, SET GOALS FOR WHERE WE WANTED TO BE, AND BEGIN MOVING THE COGNITIVE WORKLOAD FROM OUR TEACHERS TRULY TO OUR STUDENTS WHERE IT BELONGS.
WE'VE ASKED SOME HIGH SCHOOL MATH TEACHERS WHAT THEY HAD TO SAY AS IT RELATES TO USING AGILE MIND AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ESSENTIALS FOR LEARNING.
ONE CORE IS, MANY OF THE STRATEGIES THAT LSI HAS ENCOURAGED WERE INSTRUCTIONAL TOOLS THAT I IMPLEMENTED BECAUSE OF AGILE MIND, THERE ARE MANY TEACHING STRATEGIES AND INSTRUCTIONAL TOOLS THAT I HAVE LEARNED BECAUSE OF AGILE MIND, AND THEY COINCIDE DIRECTLY WITH ESSENTIALS FOR LEARNING.
MOVING ON A LITTLE BIT TO ESSENTIALS FOR LEARNING, JUST AS WE ASKED TEACHERS TO USE A GRADUAL RELEASE MODEL WITH OUR STUDENTS, ESSENTIALS FOR LEARNING HAS USED THAT SAME GRADUAL RELEASE MODEL WITH TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS.
WE KNEW ONE AND TWO OF OUR ESSENTIALS FOR LEARNING, WHICH WAS THE '17, '18 SCHOOL YEAR AND THE '18, '19 SCHOOL YEAR.
OUR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WAS TRULY LEAD BY LSI WHEN INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNIQUES THAT FOCUSED ON ACADEMIC TEAMING.
THIS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT INCLUDED TIME FOR COLLABORATIVE LESSON PLANNING, WHERE TEACHERS WORKED TOGETHER IN ORDER TO CREATE LESSONS WHERE INSTRUCTION WAS ALIGNED TO STANDARDS AND PURPOSEFULLY DESIGNED TO MEET THE NEEDS OF ALL STUDENTS.
WE THEN OFFERED JOB-EMBEDDED COACHING BY LSI EXPERTS, WHICH ALLOWED FURTHER LEARNING AND THE LESSON PLANS FROM THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TO BE ACTUALLY IMPLEMENTED IN CLASSROOM PRACTICES THE FOLLOWING DAY.
TEACHERS WERE THEN PROVIDED WITH NON-EVALUATIVE FEEDBACK ON THEIR LESSON AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE STRATEGIES THAT THEY HAD TAUGHT.
PRINCIPALS AND SCHOOL LEADERSHIP DURING THESE TIMES CONDUCTED WALKTHROUGHS AND PROVIDED COACHING OPPORTUNITIES FOR TEACHERS TO CONTINUE TO IMPROVE ON THEIR STRATEGY TECHNIQUES.
THROUGHOUT THE FIRST TWO YEARS, THE MODELING AND THE SCAFFOLDED LEARNING YEARS OF ESSENTIALS FOR LEARNING.
PRINCIPLES HAD MONTHLY VISITS BY THE LSI EXPERTS TO PROVIDE THEM SUPPORT AS THEY AND THEIR TEAMS COACHED THEIR TEACHERS.
AS WE SHIFTED TO THE RIGHT OF THE GRADUAL RELEASE AND MOVED INTO INDEPENDENCE.
[01:50:04]
THIS IS WHEN OUR SCHOOL LEADERSHIP TEAMS IN THE 1920 AND THEN THIS CURRENT SCHOOL YEAR, OUR LEADERSHIP TEAMS HAVE REALLY BEGAN TAKING OWNERSHIP OF INSTRUCTION.THEY MOVED TOWARDS USING INFORMATION FROM THEIR RIGOR WALKS, THEIR CLASSROOM WALKTHROUGHS AND THEIR OBSERVATIONS TO TRULY ASSESS THE INSTRUCTIONAL NEEDS OF THEIR STAFF.
JUST LIKE WE ASK OUR TEACHERS TO DO, THEY USE THIS DATA TO PLAN THEIR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AROUND THE ESSENTIALS FOR LEARNING STRATEGIES.
STILL ALLOWING COLLABORATIVE TEACHER TIME FOR THE TEACHERS TO CREATE THOSE STANDARDS-BASED LESSONS.
PRINCIPALS HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO WALK OTHER BUILDINGS IN THE DISTRICT TO SEE HOW IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ESSENTIALS FOR LEARNING IS HAPPENING IN NOT ONLY THEIR FEEDER SCHOOLS, BUT ALSO IN SCHOOLS OF THEIR SAME LEVEL.
THIS IS TRULY ALLOWED PRINCIPLES TO BE THAT COLLABORATIVE TEAM THAT WE'VE ASKED OF OUR TEACHERS TODAY.
DURING THE SECOND YEAR OF IMPLEMENTATION OF ESSENTIALS FOR LEARNING, RIGOR WALK DATA WAS COLLECTED IN BOTH THE BEGINNING AND THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR BY A LEARNING SCIENCES INTERNATIONALS TEAM.
THEY LOOKED AT FIVE DIFFERENT AREAS.
THEY LOOKED AT CONDITIONS FOR LEARNING, STANDARDS-BASED STUDENT EVIDENCE, ACTIVATING STUDENT TEAMS, VERIFYING LEARNING, AND TRACKING STUDENT PROGRESS.
THIS DATA SLIDE SHOWS IT'S AN AVERAGE OF ALL FOUR OF THOSE PILLARS TOGETHER ACROSS THE 10 SCHOOLS WHICH SHOWED IMPROVEMENT FROM RIGOR DIAGNOSTIC WORK ONE IN THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR TO RIGOR DIAGNOSTIC WORK FOUR AT THE END OF THE YEAR.
AS YOU KNOW, SECOND-ORDER CHANGE TAKES THREE TO FIVE YEARS, THE FOLLOWING SLIDES ARE GOING TO SHOW SOME OF THE OTHER STATE DATA RESULTS OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS.
HERE WE HAVE OUR KRA DATA, WHICH I KNOW YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH BECAUSE ANGELA WAS HERE SHARING THAT WITH US LAST TIME.
BUT HIGHLIGHTING AGAIN, YOU CAN SEE THAT NOT ONLY WE HAVE INCREASED OUR PERCENT OF STUDENTS DEMONSTRATING KINDERGARTEN READINESS, WE'VE ALSO IMPROVED OUR RANKING IN THE STATE FROM FOURTH TO SIXTH OVER THOSE YEARS.
>> I CAN'T REMEMBER IF I ASKED HER THAT OR NOT.
IT'S NOT FAIR TO ASK YOU HERE ON THAT.
THAT'S OUR KRA, KINDERGARTEN RATING ASSESSMENT, FOR THOSE THAT WE'VE GOT.
YOU KNOW, KINDERGARTEN, JUST SAY FIVE-YEAR-OLD'S, I GUESS, RIGHT?
>> HOW MANY OF OUR KINDERGARTNERS ARE IN OUR PRE-K, COMING FROM OUR PRE-K, IS IT 30 PERCENT, 50 PERCENT, 75 PERCENT? DO WE HAVE ANY KIND OF IDEA?
>> I CAN'T REMEMBER I ASKED THAT OR NOT.
>> WE STATED ABOUT 75 PERCENT OF THOSE STUDENTS WHO ARE ELIGIBLE FOR PRE-K.
>> IT'S ABOUT 75 PERCENT THAT WE ACTUALLY ENGAGE WITH AND OTHER 25 PERCENT TYPICALLY [INAUDIBLE].
>> 75 PERCENT THAT ARE ELIGIBLE.
>> BUT WE DON'T KNOW HOW AND I SHOULD HAVE ASKED THAT THERE, BUT I JUST COULDN'T.
KINDERGARTEN BECAUSE AGAIN, I KNOW WE'VE GOT THE PRE-K PROGRAM NOW WE HAVE THE THREE-YEAR-OLD PROGRAM, BUT I'M TRYING TO SAY, IF THAT'S 500 KIDS OUT OF 1000 KINDERGARTNERS, THAT ARE READY, BUT WHAT ABOUT THE OTHER 500 WHO AREN'T IN OUR PRE-K PROGRAM OR HOW ARE THEY FALL IN AND HOW CAN WE BE RATED FOR THAT? HOW CAN WE BE RANKED ON THAT? IF WHETHER IT'S 50 PERCENT OF OUR KIDS AREN'T PARTICIPATING AND OUR KINDERGARTNERS ARE PARTICIPATING IN OUR PRE-K OR IS IT 25 PERCENT? I DON'T KNOW.
>> I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO RECOGNIZE THE WORK THAT WE DO WITH OUR COMMUNITY AS A FULL AS IT RELATES TO THERESA FRENCH IN OUR REACH OUT TO OUR DAYCARE CENTERS, TO OUR HOME CARE PROVIDERS.
WE DO A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, FROG STREET THAT WE DO USE THAT THE BOARD MAY BE FAMILIAR WITH.
WE'VE DONE SEVERAL PRESENTATIONS WITH FROG STREET THAT WE BRING THAT INTO THEIR HOMES.
WE HELP THEM TO UNDERSTAND HOW THEY CAN ALIGN WITH WHAT WE'RE DOING.
IF A PARENT MAKES THE CHOICE NOT TO SEND THEIR CHILD TO PRE-K, THEY STILL HAVE AN ADVANTAGE TO WORKING WITH THE SAME TYPES OF EXPECTATIONS THAT WE WOULD TO ENSURE THAT THEIR READINESS IS THERE.
THAT'S REALLY WHAT THIS TEST IS ALL ABOUT AS STUDENT READINESS.
MRS. ANTHONY, DID YOU WANT TO ADD ANYTHING?
>> I 100 PERCENT AGREE WITH EVERYTHING THAT YOU'VE JUST SAID.
ACTUALLY, THE CURRICULUM WAS THE BIGGEST CHANGE.
I THINK YOU REMEMBER THE DAY I CAME IN WITH FANNIE AND FERNANDO AND SHARED THE CURRICULUM WITH YOU.
[01:55:01]
THAT WAS THE BEGINNING OF THE CHANGE IN PRE-K. WHAT HAPPENED AFTER THAT WAS WHEN ANGELA CAME IN, SHE WORKED WITH TEAMS OF TEACHERS AND THEY WENT THROUGH THAT CURRICULUM AND THEY FOUND WHERE EVERY CURRICULUM IS GOING TO HAVE A GAP.WHAT YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND IS A CURRICULUM IS YOUR STANDARDS, YOUR METHODS, YOUR MATERIALS IN YOUR ASSESSMENTS.
INSIDE OF THAT, YOU'RE GOING TO FIND HOLES IN ANY CURRICULUM YOU PURCHASE.
SHE WORKED WITH THOSE TEAMS OF TEACHERS TO FILL THOSE GAPS.
THEN WITH THAT, THEY ALSO USE A METHODOLOGY CALLED CONSCIOUS DISCIPLINE, WHICH TEACHES YOU ABOUT HOW TO HANDLE YOURSELF, HOW TO HANDLE YOUR BODY, HOW TO BE SOCIALLY APPROPRIATE AT AGE FOUR, AND ALSO MOVING INTO KINDERGARTEN.
THERE WAS CHANGES THAT IMPACTED ALL OF THIS BECAUSE WHEN YOU LOOK AT WHERE WE WERE AT RANKING 14 AND THEN GOING TO SIX, I MEAN, WE HAVE DISTRICTS REACHING OUT TO US RIGHT NOW AND ASKING US WHAT WE HAVE PUT IN PLACE, BUT I THINK ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHANGES THAT TOOK PLACE IN PRE-K, WAS THE EARLY LEARNING ASSESSMENT.
THE EARLY LEARNING ASSESSMENT IS A FORMATIVE.
WHAT YOU DO IS YOU TAKE A LOOK AT THE SPECIFIC STANDARDS THAT YOU'RE WORKING ON AND THEN YOU'RE USING FORMATS THAT FORMATIVE INFORMATION THAT YOU'RE GETTING BACK WHEN THERE'S CHILDREN TO SEE HOW THEY'RE PERFORMING INCREMENTALLY.
YOU'RE NOT WAITING UNTIL DECEMBER TO DO A BIG TEST.
YOU'RE DOING THIS AS YOU'RE GOING TO GAUGE WHERE KIDS ARE AND THEN IF THEY'RE NOT WHERE THEY NEED TO BE AT THAT POINT, YOU CAN GO BACK AND YOU CAN TRY SOME DIFFERENT THINGS WITH THOSE STUDENTS.
I'M VERY, VERY PLEASED WITH WHERE WE ARE WITH THE KINDERGARTEN READINESS ASSESSMENT,.
>> THE DATA POINTS THAT ANGELA SHOWED YOU LAST MEETING WERE EXACTLY THE DATA POINTS THAT MRS. ANTHONY WAS REFERRING TO SO THAT THEY TOOK TIME TO TAKE A SNAPSHOT IN THE BEGINNING.
THEY TAKE ANOTHER SNAPSHOT THEY COMPARE AND IF THEY NEED TO GO BACK AND FILL THOSE GAPS, THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE DOING.
>> THEN SOMETHING ELSE TO PAY BACK ON WHAT PATTY SAID WAS, WE DO WORK COLLABORATIVELY WITH ALL OF OUR DAYCARE, PRIVATE AND PUBLIC, ALSO WITH THE JUDY CENTERS AND WITH THERESA FRENCH.
WHAT WE HAVE BEEN DOING THROUGH SPECIAL EDUCATION IS ROLLING OUT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ON INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES WITH THE LITTLE GUYS.
THEN WE ALSO CREATED PARENT TRAINING MODULES SO THAT PARENTS DON'T GET TO JUST SEE THE SNAPSHOT OR THE VIDEO THAT IS SENT HOME.
A VIDEO NOW, BACK IN MY DAY WAS PICTURES.
BUT THEY GET TO ACTUALLY LEARN HOW WE'RE TEACHING THE CHILDREN SO THEY CAN DO THIS AT HOME WITH THEIR CHILDREN.
ALL THE WAY BACK AROUND TO YOUR QUESTION ABOUT THE CHILDREN THAT AREN'T NECESSARILY IN OUR PRE-K PROGRAM, WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING IN OUR POWER TO TOUCH THEM TO BEFORE THEY EVER GET INTO KINDERGARTEN.
>> AGILE MIND. WE MOVED INTO ESSENTIALS FOR LEARNING AND I'M SHOWING YOU DATA POINTS OVER THE TIME OF OUR IMPLEMENTATION OF ESSENTIALS WE LEARNED.
>> THIS IS WHERE I'M GETTING CONFUSED.
IS THIS RESULT OF WHAT THE SAMPLING IS TALKING ABOUT, OR ARE YOU CLAIMING THAT THIS IS A RESULT FOR THE [INAUDIBLE]?
>> WHAT I'M SAYING IS THAT ALL DATA, THERE'S NOT JUST ONE REASON FOR ANY DATA POINT BEING.
YOU CAN'T REALLY SAY THAT THAT'S THE RESULT OF THIS, THIS, OR THAT.
>> IT'S A COMBINATION OF ALL OF THE FACTORS.
>> THERE'S LOTS OF VARIABLES AND CONSCIOUS DISCIPLINE THAT MRS. ANTHONY HERE SPOKE OF, DIRECTLY CORRELATES WITH THE ESSENTIALS FOR LEARNING STRATEGIES, SO THEY FALL RIGHT IN THERE, JUST DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE FOR OUR LITTLES.
SEPARATELY ALL THE DATA POINTS RUN TOGETHER AND THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT VARIABLES TO ANY ONE GIVEN RESULTS.
I THINK WE NEED TO REALLY FOCUS IN ON ALL OF THOSE VARIABLES.
>> THEY ARE TESTED IN SEPTEMBER, RIGHT? BECAUSE I REMEMBER WHEN ALL THIS STARTED BACK IN THE DARK AGES, EVERYBODY WAS LIKE, "OH MY GOD, WE'RE GOING TO TEST THESE LITTLE ONES IN SEPTEMBER." BUT IT GIVES YOU A GOOD BASE.
>> WELL, WHAT IT'S TELLING YOU IS, ARE THEY READY FOR KINDERGARTEN?
>> EXACTLY, AND THAT'S WHAT YOU WANT TO KNOW.
>> FROM VERY BEGINNING, FROM WHAT I SAW.
ESSENTIALS FOR LEARNING WAS GEARED FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
WHEN WE STARTED IN THE HIGH SCHOOL, THEY HAD NO REAL DATA TO SHOW US.
ALL OF THE FILMS THEY WERE SHOWING US WE'RE ALL ELEMENTARY PHASE, WHICH IS GREAT IF YOU'RE IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, BUT WHEN YOU'RE NOT IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL NOT SO GREAT.
THEN WHEN YOU HAVE A HIGH SCHOOL [NOISE] THAT'S BEEN LEARNING THIS WAY THE WHOLE [NOISE] TIME, THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN YOU GO,
[02:00:01]
[NOISE] YOUR PROB [OVERLAPPING].>> SECOND-ORDER CHANGE IS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT.
>> IT'S NOT NECESSARILY BENEFICIAL EITHER.
IT'S LIKE YOU NEED TO GRADUAL CHANGE AND JUST EXPECT EVERYBODY TO SWITCH AND MAINSTREAM AND THEN NOW YOU HAVE TEACHERS COMING IN THAT HAVE NONE OF THIS TRAINING AND ARE EXPECTED TO JUMP IN.
IT'S DIFFICULT, AND I GUESS ONE OF MY QUESTIONS IS IF IT IS SUCH A GREAT PROGRAM, WHY AREN'T MORE PEOPLE DOING IT, WHY AREN'T COLLEGES TEACHING THAT TO THE TEACHERS?
>> TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, WE'VE ACTUALLY HAD SOME CONVERSATIONS WITH OUR LOCAL COLLEGES WHO REALLY ARE TEACHING.
IT MIGHT NOT BE WHAT WE CALL ESSENTIALS FOR LEARNING, NOT BEING PROVIDED BY LEARNING SCIENCES INTERNATIONAL, BUT THE CONCEPTS BEHIND TEAM TASK AND STUDENT AUTONOMY IN TAKING OWNERSHIP OF THEIR LEARNING, THEY TRULY ARE-
>> PEOPLE HAVE BEEN LEARNING THAT ALL ALONG.
WE CALL THE DIFFERENT NAMES, I THINK THAT'S WHERE MY LIGHT BULB WENT OFF.
I'VE BEEN DOING IT BUT WE JUST PAY THESE PEOPLE ALL THIS MONEY TO CHANGE WHAT WE CALL IT; GROUP WORK TO COLLABORATIVE LEARNING, OBJECTIVE TO LEARNING [INAUDIBLE] IT'S GOT SOME GREAT TOOLS, I'M NOT GOING TO DENY THAT BUT AS A PROGRAM?
>> [INAUDIBLE] , WE IMPLEMENTED IT.
I MEAN, IN GOOD, BAD, OR INDIFFERENT, WE'VE IMPLEMENTED IT AND I THINK IT HAD IT'S CHALLENGES AND I THINK, SOMEBODY CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, MY INTERPRETATION IS SOME OF THE CHALLENGES THAT MIGHT NOT FIT IN CAROLINE COUNTY WERE ALLOWED TO BE ADDRESSED WHEN, I THINK YOU MADE IT YOUR OWN, THE SCHOOLS WERE ALLOWED TO MAKE IT THEIR OWN OR THE SYSTEM WAS ALLOWED TO MAKE IT THEIR OWN.
I CAN SPEAK AS A BOARD MEMBER AND KATHY WAS PART OF THAT BOARD AS WELL, IS THE INTENT WAS NOT TO TRAIN MS. DIGIACOMO AND MAKE HER RESPONSIBLE TO TRAIN FIVE MORE PEOPLE AND THOSE FIVE PEOPLE TO TRAIN FIVE MORE PEOPLE IN EACH SCHOOL WITH BRINGING THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE SUPPORT POSSIBLE AND SPEND THE MONEY FOR THAT SUPPORT AND TRAINING.
I KNOW BEFORE EVERYBODY WAS WAS QUARANTINED THE YEAR BEFORE THE NASPA CONFERENCE, PEOPLE WERE TALKING ABOUT IT NATIONALLY.
THERE WAS PRESENTATIONS ON IT AND OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICTS WERE ASKING A LOT OF QUESTIONS.
THERE WAS A LOT OF INTEREST IN THESE TOOLS, BUT I'VE ALSO HEARD TEACHERS WHO SAID, "WELL, YES, I WAS TAUGHT THIS 20 YEARS AGO WHEN I WENT THROUGH SCHOOL" IT'S NOT A NEW PHILOSOPHY, IT'S JUST THE WAY IT'S REVISITED BUT THAT BEING SAID, WHERE THE LIGHT BULB WENT OFF FOR ME IS WHEN MR. MCCORMICK SAID," [INAUDIBLE] THE LOCAL EDUCATORS WITHIN OUR ADMINISTRATION AND THE PRINCIPALS AND THEIR STAFF AND THEIR SCHOOLS COULD MAKE IT THE OWN."
>> THEY'VE TAKEN OWNERSHIP OF IT [OVERLAPPING] LIKE I SAID, JUST LIKE WE ASK OUR TEACHERS TO GRADUALLY RELEASE TO THEIR STUDENTS, THAT'S EXACTLY THE PROCESS THAT WE TOOK OF GRADUALLY RELEASING TO SCHOOL LEADERSHIP TEAMS TO TRULY TAKE OWNERSHIP OF INSTRUCTION OF THEIR BUILDING, TO DO THEIR OBSERVATIONS, CLASSROOM WALKTHROUGHS, GATHER THE DATA, AND SEE WHAT THEIR INDIVIDUAL STAFFS' NEEDS ARE AS IT RELATES TO INSTRUCT THEM, AND THEN OFFER THAT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.
>> I DON'T THINK THE GOAL WOULD MATCH REALITY.
>> OKAY, VALID POINT DEFINITELY.
>> THEY DO HAVE MORE [OVERLAPPING]
>> YES, PLEASE. GO AHEAD, LET'S MOVE THROUGH IT.
THEN COVID BLEW EVERYBODY OUT OF THE WORK.
BUT IT'S INTERESTING TO SEE WHAT POTENTIALLY COULD HAVE HELPED US WITH THE ONLINE ASPECT OF IT.
>> RIGHT. OUR MCAP DATA THE 1819 SHOWED AN INCREASE IN BOTH ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL ELA FROM 1718 TO 1819 AND ALTHOUGH MATH ACROSS THE STATE WAS LOW, CAROLINE COUNTY OUTPERFORMED MANY OTHERS DISTRICTS IN BOTH THE ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL AS WELL.
ALTHOUGH WE ONLY HAD SLIGHT CHANGES IN OUR 5TH GRADE [NOISE] MISA SCORES IN THOSE YEARS, FROM 1718 AND 1819, OUR AFRICAN- AMERICAN POPULATION ACTUALLY INCREASED IN BOTH GRADES;
[02:05:04]
FIFTH GRADE INCREASED BY 4.4 PERCENT, AND 8TH GRADE BY 3.3 PERCENT.IN HIGH SCHOOL, WE WERE TOP THREE OF THE EASTERN SHORE NINE, FOR SCORING AT LEAST A THREE AND AT LEAST A FOUR ON BOTH THE ELA 10 AND ALGEBRA 1 HIGH SCHOOL ASSESSMENTS, SO THOSE WERE OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN THAT YEAR AS WELL.
THE REASON WHY HIGH SCHOOL MISA IS NOT INCLUDED IN THIS SLIDE IS BECAUSE DURING THIS TIME, STUDENTS DID NOT NEED TO ACTUALLY PASS THE ASSESSMENT, THEY ONLY NEEDED TO PARTICIPATE.
ALTHOUGH SOME SCORES WERE CALCULATED, WE WERE ABOVE THE STATE AVERAGE AND THIRD AMONG THE EASTERN SHORE NINE IN THAT HIGH SCHOOL MISA, BUT IT WAS NOT A STATE REQUIRED ASSESSMENT.
THEN MOVING TO ADVANCED PLACEMENT, OUR PROFICIENCY RATE HAS CONTINUED TO RISE HERE FROM 2016.
YOU SEE THAT WE HAVE AN INCREASE OF 11 PERCENT OF OUR STUDENTS EARNING AT LEAST A THREE ON THEIR AP EXAMS FROM 2016 TO 2020, WHERE IN FACT, WE WERE ABLE TO ASSESS OUR ADVANCED PLACEMENT STUDENTS LAST YEAR AND THAT WAS DONE COMPLETE REMOTELY LAST YEAR.
I KNOW THAT THERE IS A QUESTION OF WHAT DOES STATE TESTING LOOK LIKE THIS SCHOOL YEAR.
I DO WANT TO SAY I HAVE INFORMATION TONIGHT, BUT I'M ALSO GOING TO SAY STAY TUNED BECAUSE JUST THIS MORNING, THEY HAVE ANNOUNCED A STATE BOARD MEETING FOR THURSDAY MORNING, ONLY TO DISCUSS 2021 SCHOOL YEAR ASSESSMENTS.
THE INFORMATION THAT I HAVE TONIGHT MIGHT BE OUTDATED BY THURSDAY.
>> I THINK THAT ACTUALLY, THE MEETING IS NOT TILL FOUR, SO WE MIGHT HAVE TO WAIT ALL DAY [OVERLAPPING]
I THINK IT IS AT 4:15 TO 5: 00 O'CLOCK ON THURSDAY EVENING.
>> YES, BUT I DEFINITELY ANTICIPATE SOME CHANGES TO THIS, SO I WILL STAY TUNED.
>> BUT YOU DO SEE HERE THAT NOT ONLY ARE WE CONTINUING, WE'VE ALREADY STARTED OUR ACCESS FOR ELO, THAT'S OUR LIDO ASSESSMENT FOR OUR EL STUDENTS.
WE ARE STILL MOVING FORWARD WITH OUR SAT SCHOOL DAY FOR ALL 11TH GRADE STUDENTS AND OUR AP EXAMS. COLLEGE BOARD HAS A COMBINATION OF IN-PERSON AND REMOTE- TESTING BETWEEN MAY 18TH AND JUNE 9TH; SPECIFIC DATES FOR SPECIFIC ASSESSMENTS.
WE'RE CONTINUING WITH OUR OLD ASSESSMENTS FOR MATH AND ENGLISH AND YOU HEARD ABOUT THOSE LAST TIME AS WELL.
RIGHT NOW, ALTHOUGH SEMESTER 1, ALGEBRA 1, AND ENGLISH 10 ASSESSMENTS, WERE ABLE TO HAVE STARTED JUST LAST WEEK, MSDE PUT A PAUSE ON THEM BECAUSE OF THEIR POTENTIAL CHANGES AND THEY ARE LOOKING TO OFFER A REMOTE TESTING OPTION.
THAT IS A PART THAT WE KNOW WE DO NOT HAVE ANY MORE INFORMATION, THEN THEY WILL HAVE A REMOTE TESTING OPTION.
AGAIN, AS OF TODAY, WE STILL HAVE THE ALGEBRA 1 ENGLISH 10 ASSESSMENTS.
THE STATE IS NOT HAVING US TEST OUR MISA OR GOVERNMENT THIS SCHOOL YEAR, BUT 3RD THROUGH 8TH GRADE AND HIGH SCHOOL MATH AND ELA WILL BE ASSESSED.
LAST YEAR IN THE 1920 SCHOOL YEAR, A STUDENT WHO PASSED ALGEBRA 1, ENGLISH 10, GOVERNMENT, OR THE SCIENCE ASSESSED COURSE DURING LAST SCHOOL YEAR, IS EXEMPT FROM PARTICIPATING IN, OR HAVING TO PASS THE ASSESSMENTS, OBVIOUSLY DUE TO US NOT GIVING THE ASSESSMENTS DUE TO THE CLOSURE.
AS OF TODAY, AND WE DO ANTICIPATE MORE WAIVERS, BUT AS OF TODAY, THE WAIVERS THAT HAVE BEEN APPROVED BY MSTE ARE FOR SENIORS AND JUNIORS ONLY.
SENIORS WHO ARE IN ALGEBRA 1, ENGLISH 10, OR GOVERNMENT, WE DO NOT HAVE MANY, BUT WE DO HAVE SOME SENIORS WHO ARE IN GOVERNMENT DUE TO THEIR CCTC COURSES AND SCHEDULING.
FOR SENIORS IN ALGEBRA 1, ENGLISH 10, OR GOVERNMENT, THEY HAVE TO PASS THE COURSE AND PARTICIPATE IN
[02:10:03]
THE ASSESSMENT BUT THEY DO NOT HAVE TO PASS THE ASSESSMENT.FOR OUR JUNIORS, THAT WOULD BE FOR JUNIORS WHO ARE IN ALGEBRA 1 AND ENGLISH 10, PASS THE COURSE AND PARTICIPATE IN THE ASSESSMENT.
STAY TUNED BECAUSE TRULY, AS I SAID, AS OF THURSDAY AFTERNOON, I MIGHT HAVE DIFFERENT INFORMATION.
>> BUT THEY GOT TO PASS THE COURSE?
>> YES, THEY DO HAVE TO PASS THE COURSE [OVERLAPPING]
>> IF HAVEN'T BEEN GOOD, BAD OR INDIFFERENT I GUESS, WHETHER THEY HAD CONNECTIVITY OR THEY HAVEN'T BEEN CONNECTING AND INTERACTING WITH THEIR CLASS REGULARLY, IT'D BE VERY HARD, I'M ASSUMING, TO PASS THE CLASS.
>> CORRECT. WE DO ENCOURAGE ALL STUDENTS TO INVOLVE IN TO THEIR ZOOM, TO COME TO SCHOOL.
ALL STUDENTS HAVE BEEN GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME IN AT LEAST TWO DAYS A WEEK.
WE WOULD LOVE TO HAVE ALL STUDENTS IN, AT LEAST THOSE TWO DAYS A WEEK.
>> I MEAN, THE INTERPERSONAL SKILLS, AND I MEAN, MS. FISHER MENTIONED IT'S NICE TO SEE SOME PEOPLE.
>> I'VE HEARD IT AND I'LL JUST SAY IT.
I'VE HEARD TEACHERS SAY THAT THEY KNOW THERE ARE SOME STUDENTS STRUGGLING.
WHEN THEY'RE NOT THERE, IF THERE'S NOBODY THERE TO HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE IN THE INTERNET WORLD OR THEIR ACTUAL WORLD.
NOW, WE'RE BACK TO SCHOOL, THANKFULLY, TWO DAYS A WEEK.
SOME OF THOSE STUDENTS THAT THEY REALLY WANTED TO SEE AREN'T SHOWING UP.
>> FOUR DAYS A WEEK FOR OUR LITTLES.
>> FOUR DAYS A WEEK FOR OUR LITTLES.
BUT I KNOW THE TEACHERS ARE VERY FRUSTRATED AND THEY WANT TO DO ALL THEY CAN FOR THEIR STUDENTS AND ESPECIALLY THE ONES THAT ARE STRUGGLING AND WHEN THEY DON'T SHOW UP, EVEN WHEN GIVEN THE CHANCE.
>> ALL RIGHT. I DO HAVE JUST ONE MORE SLIDE.
I KNOW IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME, BUT IT WAS A LOT OF INFORMATION.
>> WE'VE BEEN ASKING QUESTIONS. THANK YOU.
>> HERE, YOU SEE OUR CCPS STRATEGIC PLAN GOAL NUMBER 1.
EVERYTHING WE DO AT CAROLINE COUNTY IS FOR THE BENEFIT OF OUR STUDENTS AND TEACHERS.
WE CONTINUOUSLY REFER BACK TO GOAL NUMBER 1 OF ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE.
OUR THREE OBJECTIVES INCLUDE ENGAGING CURRICULUM, FORMATIVE, AND SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENTS, AS WELL AS INTERVENTIONS AND ENRICHMENT.
I SHOWED YOU TONIGHT HOW HIGH SCHOOL MATH WITH AGILE MIND, IS IN A REALLY GREAT PLACE AS IT RELATES TO AN ENGAGING CURRICULUM.
ALL CONTENT SUPERVISORS HAVE BEEN WORKING DILIGENTLY WITH THEIR COACHES AND TEACHERS TO CONTINUE THIS SAME EFFORT IN ALL CONTENT AREAS.
WE ALSO DISCUSSED STATE SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENTS OVER TIME.
AS FOR FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS, ESSENTIALS FOR LEARNING HAS TRULY GIVEN US THE TOOLS AND STRATEGIES THAT WE NEEDED, AND NOW KNOW SO THAT WE ARE AWARE WHERE OUR STUDENTS ARE, WHERE THEY NEED TO GO, AND WHAT WE NEED TO DO TO GET THEM THERE.
DAILY, EVEN THROUGH THE PANDEMIC, TEACHERS ARE USING TRACKING STRATEGIES AND THEIR KNOWLEDGE OF THE STANDARDS TO ENSURE THAT ALL OF OUR STUDENTS HAVE ACCESS TO THE CRITICAL SKILLS THEY NEED FOR SUCCESS.
THEN AS IT RELATES TO OBJECTIVE 3, THROUGH MS. ANTHONY'S DIVISION, STRATEGIC INTERVENTIONS HAVE BEEN IN PLACE TO MEET CHILDREN'S NEEDS, THEY'VE BEEN IMPLEMENTED.
LAST MONTH, YOU HEARD FROM CRYSTAL [INAUDIBLE] AS IT RELATES TO GIFTED AND TALENTED PROGRAM IN ORDER FOR ENRICHMENT OF OUR STUDENTS.
AGAIN, I KNOW THAT THAT WAS A LOT OF INFORMATION.
I HOPE YOU UNDERSTAND HOW AGILE MINDS HAS REALLY BENEFITED OUR STUDENTS, AS WELL AS ESSENTIALS FOR LEARNING FOR NOT ONLY OUR STUDENTS DAY IN AND DAY OUT BUT OUR TEACHERS AS WELL.
>> GREAT JOB LINDSAY, LOT OF INFORMATION THERE, RIGHT.
DO YOU THINK AT THIS MEETING THURSDAY, I'M JUST THROWING THIS OUT THERE.
GOD KNOWS YOU DON'T KNOW, BUT WOULD THEY EVER SAY WE'RE REALLY GOING TO SCALE DOWN THIS TESTING? BECAUSE WE HAVE COUNTIES THAT HAVEN'T BEEN IN SCHOOL SINCE MARCH 13TH AND ARE STILL NOT IN SCHOOL.
HOWARD COUNTY BEING ONE, AND MY GRANDDAUGHTER, SO [OVERLAPPING]
>> I DO BELIEVE THAT THAT IS WHY THEY MENTIONED A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO, THE REMOTE TESTING OPTION.
I DO KNOW THAT THERE IS, AS WE SAID, THE STATE BOARD MEETING THIS THURSDAY, LATE AFTERNOON.
THERE IS A MEETING FRIDAY MORNING AT 9 AM FOR OUR LOCAL ACCOUNTABILITY COORDINATORS TO BE BRIEFED ON HOW DOES THAT IMPACT, WHAT IS APPROVED AT THE STATE BOARD AND HOW DOES THAT IMPACT LOCAL DISTRICT.
>> VIRTUAL SOUNDS, WONDERFUL, BUT WHO IS TO SAY, "MOM,
[02:15:01]
I'M GOING TO SIT HERE AND HELP YOU." I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S THE BEST THING.I JUST THINK THIS IS A REALLY ODD YEAR FOR US TO COLLECT DATA AND BE WORRIED ABOUT THAT WHEN WE NEED TO GET THESE KIDS IN THE BUILDING AND [OVERLAPPING] WE'VE DONE A GREAT JOB.
>> I THINK EVERYBODY HERE AGREES WITH THAT, BECAUSE WE DON'T MAKE THE DECISIONS.
>> IS TESTING THE FOREMOST ISSUE? I DON'T KNOW.
>> NOW, DID I HEAR SOMEWHERE OR WAS IT SAID THE INTENTION THAT THEY WANT TO KEEP TESTING, BUT IT WASN'T TO HOLD US ACCOUNTABLE TO THOSE STANDARDS OR TRYING TO HOLD US ACCOUNTABLE FOR BUT TO KNOW WHERE THE KIDS ARE COMING BACK.
>> CORRECT. TO SEE WHERE THE GAPS ARE.
>> YEAH. TO SEE WHERE THE GAPS ARE.
WAS THERE ANYTHING WRITTEN OR WAIVERS GIVEN, YOU'RE GOING TO DO THE TESTING, BUT IT'S TO KNOW WHERE THE GAPS ARE, NOT [OVERLAPPING]
>> FOR FEDERAL ACCOUNTABILITY.
>> IT'S FEDERAL ACCOUNTABILITY AND IT'S LEARNING.
THEY'RE COINING IT AS A LEARNING LOSS.
WE ARE USED TO USING THE GAP WORD BUT THEY'RE LOOKING AT IT AS A LEARNING LOSS.
>> THEY HAVE TO BY LAW HAVE DATA POINTS, BUT I THINK THEY'RE TRYING TO COME OUT TO SOMETHING THAT'S NOT GOING TO HURT US AND HINDER US BY BRINGING OUR KIDS IN AND TESTING THEM TO DEATH.
THEY'RE TRYING TO LOOK AT ALL THE OPTIONS THEY CAN TO BE ABLE TO GET THE DATA POINTS THEY NEED FOR THE FEDERAL ACCOUNTABILITY PIECE OF IT AND STILL MOVE FORWARD WITH SOMETHING THAT'S USEFUL AND MEANINGFUL AND ADJUSTING LEARNING GAPS.
>> IT'S GOING TO BE TOUGH YEAR.
>> AS THE SUPERINTENDENTS, WE REALLY HAVE FOUGHT HARD THAT WE ARE ALL GETTING DIAGNOSTICS WITHIN OUR DISTRICTS.
WE PERSONALLY USE IREADY FOR THE MAJORITY OF OUR DIAGNOSTICS, OTHER DISTRICTS MAY USE IMAP OR A MAP AND DIFFERENT DIAGNOSTICS.
BUT BOTTOM LINE IS WE ALL USE A DIAGNOSTIC AND WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO CAPTURE THOSE DATA POINTS TO MEET THAT FEDERAL REQUIREMENT.
I'M HOPING THAT MAYBE ON THURSDAY WE MIGHT GET SOME POSITIVE NEWS THAT THEY'RE GOING TO ALLOW US TO USE SOME OF OUR DATA POINTS THAT WE HAVE BEEN PROVIDING TO THE STATE.
WE'VE ALREADY DONE QUARTERLY UPDATES TO THE STATE AS AN EXPECTATION.
I'M HOPEFUL THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO COME TO A GOOD COMPROMISE, THAT WOULD BE IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF OUR STUDENTS.
>> YEAH. IT WOULD BE NICE BECAUSE IT'S REALLY BEEN AN UNUSUAL YEAR.
>> YEAH. IT'S DIFFICULT TO FINALLY GET OUR STUDENTS BACK IN AND SAY, "OKAY, WELL I'M SORRY, BUT YOU'RE GOING TO TEST FOR FOUR TO SIX HOURS, AS SOON AS YOU WALK IN THE DOOR." ALL OUR TEACHERS WANT TO DO IS REALLY INTERACT AND SUPPORT SOCIALLY AND EMOTIONALLY OUR STUDENTS WHO HAVE BEEN DISCONNECTED.
>> WE'RE A SMALL COUNTY, THINK ABOUT THE BIG COUNTIES.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR WORK AND PUTTING THAT TOGETHER, I KNOW IT'S TIME-CONSUMING.
WE'VE BEEN ON FINAL REPORT OF THE EVENING WITH JUST GRADUATION WITH ALL THESE CHANGES WE'VE DISCUSSED.
I KNOW THE HIGH SCHOOLS WE'RE PUTTING OUT NOTICES AND WE'RE JUST GETTING SOME QUESTIONS AS A BOARD, SO WE FELT MAYBE WE COULD GET A REPORT HERE AND JUST GET IT OUT EVEN BETTER.
>> SURE. PRESIDENT AND THE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, JUST WANTED TO PUT THIS UP AS THEY SAY UPWARD.
I'M REALLY GOING TO TALK MORE, TALK THROUGH IT INSTEAD OF GIVING YOU A POWERPOINT.
TYPICALLY WITH GRADUATION, IT'S BUSINESS AS USUAL.
WE KNOW THAT THIS IS ALL FAR FROM BUSINESS AS USUAL.
WE'VE STARTED OBVIOUSLY MUCH, MUCH EARLIER IN OUR DISCUSSIONS TO TRY TO PLAN OUT SOMETHING THAT IS AS CLOSE TO NORMAL FOR STUDENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES AS POSSIBLE, WITH THIS BEING SUCH A LARGE ACCOMPLISHMENT IN OUR STUDENTS' LIVES.
A GROUP WAS CREATED, I PERSONALLY PARTICIPATED AS WELL AS OUR ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT, ALL OF THE DIRECTORS, OUR THREE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS, AS WELL AS BOTH OF OUR GRADUATION COORDINATORS.
WE'VE ALREADY MET SEVERAL TIMES, PULLED IN OTHER PEOPLE, WHEN WE NEEDED TO, WE PULLED IN JOSH AS IT RELATES TO LOOKING AT THE LOGISTICS PIECE OF IT, AS IT RELATES TO SOCIAL DISTANCING AND SUCH, AND EVEN EXIT AND ENTRIES FROM DIFFERENT PARTS OF STADIUM AND SUCH.
WE ALSO BROUGHT IN OTHER PEOPLE LIKE CHUCK TO LOOK AT OUR STAGE DESIGN TO ENSURE THAT WE HAVE THE SAFETY FEATURES THERE.
THERE'S A LOT THAT GOES INTO THAT, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE IN COMPLIANCE WITH EVERYTHING.
WE ALSO USED THE CDC GUIDELINES AND THE GOVERNOR'S ORDER THAT PROVIDED TO US AS IT RELATES TO CAP, SO HOW MANY PEOPLE CAN BE TOGETHER IN A GATHERING AT ONE GIVEN TIME, INDOORS OR OUTDOORS.
LASTLY, BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST, WE PARTNERED WITH THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT TO ENSURE THAT WE DEVELOP AN EXPERIENCE THAT'S NOT ONLY HEALTHY BUT ALSO MEETS ALL THE REQUIREMENTS THAT ARE SET FORTH AT THIS TIME.
THAT'S HOW WE CAME UP TOGETHER AND MET TOGETHER, HAD MANY, MANY DISCUSSIONS.
[02:20:02]
FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER WE'VE HAD TO HAVE A RAIN DATE.WE'VE NEVER HAD TO EXPERIENCE THAT BEFORE.
WITH THAT BEING SAID, WE'RE TYPICALLY USED TO OUR GRADUATIONS BEING BACK-TO-BACK.
WE ALSO HAVE THE CHALLENGE OF KNOWING THAT THE GOVERNOR'S ORDER WOULD PREVENT US FROM HAVING ALL OF OUR STUDENTS AT NORTH CAROLINE HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATING AT THE SAME TIME, EVEN IF YOU'RE IN A VERY LARGE AREA, AND EVEN DIVIDING THAT AREA OUT AND WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT TO ESTABLISH DIFFERENT ZONES WITHIN THERE THAT HAD DIFFERENT ENTRY POINTS, AND TRYING TO BE AS CREATIVE AND OUT OF THE BOX AS POSSIBLE.
MOVING STUDENTS TO THE STANDS, USUALLY WE WOULD HAVE THEM ON THE FIELD AND HAVE PEOPLE IN THE STANDS WATCHING THEM.
WE'VE GOT MORE BANG FOR OUR BUCK, THEY SAY, IF WE PUT THE STUDENTS IN THE STANDS AND REVERSE THAT ORDER.
BUT AS I SAID, USING DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE FIELD TO WHERE WE HAVE DIFFERENT ENTRY AND EXIT POINTS SO THAT WE CAN CONTAIN AND CONSIDER THOSE DIFFERENT VENUES AS OPPOSED TO ONE LARGE VENUE.
WE'VE TAKEN A LOT OF TIME AND ENERGY, RESEARCHED A LOT TO BE ABLE TO COME UP WITH AN EXPERIENCE THAT WE HOPE WILL REALLY MEET THE NEEDS OF HAVING AS NORMAL OF A GRADUATION AS POSSIBLE IN THE COMMUNITY.
SINCE OBVIOUSLY LAST YEAR, WE WERE UNABLE TO DO THAT CONSIDERING WHERE WE WERE IN COVID TIMES.
THAT'S JUST A LITTLE UPDATE ON HOW THIS ALL CAME TO BE AND WHAT OUR INTEREST WAS, WAS TO PROVIDE THE BEST EXPERIENCE FOR OUR STUDENTS AND OUR FAMILIES AS POSSIBLE GIVEN ALL THE GUIDELINES.
>> I HAVE ONE QUESTION, DR. SAELENS.
THIRD AND FOURTH IS WHAT, A TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY?
>> IS THERE ANY REASON WE COULDN'T BACK THIS UP A DAY SO WE WOULDN'T HAVE TO HAVE OUR RAIN DATE ON SUNDAY BECAUSE YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO HAVE TWO GRADUATIONS THAT DAY, AND DON'T WE TYPICALLY HAVE OPTIONAL BACCALAUREATE?
>> WELL, JUST TO ADDRESS THE FIRST PART, WE NEVER REALLY HAVE HAD TWO CEREMONIES AT ONE TIME.
WE TYPICALLY DO OUR CEREMONIES IN THE EVENING.
THAT'S CONDUCIVE TO PARENTS WHO MAY BE WORKING OR SUCH DURING THE DAY.
OF COURSE, WE'RE IN SESSION DURING THE DAY.
WE HAVE SCHOOL THAT DAY, SO LOOKING AT LOGISTICS.
THAT'S WHY BECAUSE WE HAD TO HAVE TWO VENUES, THAT WE PICKED A SATURDAY, TO BE ABLE TO HAVE A MORNING AND AN EVENING.
THAT WOULD BE MORE CHALLENGING, NOT THAT WE CAN'T LOOK INTO IT, BUT IT WOULD BE MORE CHALLENGING TO SHIFT THAT TO A REGULAR SCHOOL DAY WHERE YOU HAVE THE COMPETING OF STUDENTS WITHIN THE BUILDING, STAFF WITHIN THE BUILDING, COMMUNITY WITHIN THE BUILDING, NOT WITHIN THE BUILDING BUT IN THE AREA.
I'M CERTAINLY WE CAN LOOK AT THAT, BUT THAT WAS THE REASONING BEHIND IT, IS THAT WE FELT LIKE THAT DAY WOULD AFFORD US THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE A MORNING AND AN AFTERNOON, EVENING CEREMONY.
>> THE PLANNING YOU PUT INTO IT IS AWESOME, AND THE THOUGHT PROCESS IS GREAT.
I GUESS MY OTHER QUESTION WOULD BE, DID YOU GET ANY PARENT INPUT ABOUT THE WEEKEND? SUNDAY IS A DAY OF WORSHIP FOR A LOT OF FAMILIES, AND THEY EXPRESS CONCERN.
I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THERE WAS A CHANGE UNTIL I WAS TOLD ABOUT IT.
THAT WAS MY THING, WHERE THE PARENTS ASK, AND GOD FORBID, WHAT IF IT RAINS LIKE THE 3RD AND THE 4TH OR THE 5TH AND THE 6TH? BECAUSE LET'S FACE IT, WITH THE WEATHER AROUND MARYLAND [LAUGHTER].
>> [OVERLAPPING] THE KIDS ARE IN SCHOOL THAT WHOLE WEEK, THE SENIORS?
>> NO. WE HAVE REGULAR STUDENTS IN SESSION THAT WHOLE WEEK.
>> BUT SENIORS ARE DONE, RIGHT?
>> MONDAY WE UPLOAD OR MORE OR LESS.
>> [OVERLAPPING] IF YOU WERE WONDERING WHY [OVERLAPPING] WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY, FRIDAY.
>> I GET THE POINT THAT PEOPLE WHO ARE WORKING 10:00 AM, THAT DOESN'T WORK FOR THEM.
NOW, COULD THEY TAKE OFF FOR THEIR KIDS GRADUATION? SURE. BUT THERE'S AN AWFUL LOT OF PEOPLE WHO DON'T HAVE THAT CONTROL OVER THEIR SCHEDULE. I UNDERSTAND THAT.
>> THERE ARE PEOPLE AT WORK DURING THE WEEKEND TOO, SO MAYBE A PARENT SURVEY, I DON'T KNOW.
>> EVEN WITH A SURVEY, IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO GET EVERYBODY [OVERLAPPING].
>> BUT THAT BEING SAID, I MEAN, THE LEVEL OF DETAIL AND NUMBER OF ISSUES WHO EVERYBODY HAD TO DEAL WITH IS UNBELIEVABLE.
I'M JUST SO THANKFUL FOR THE WORK THAT EVERYBODY'S DONE TO PUT INTO THAT.
BUT BRINGING IN, WHETHER IT WAS THE PARENTS, AND JUNIORS, AND SENIORS, THEY MIGHT NOT HAVE CHANGED ANYTHING, BUT AT LEAST THEY'LL BE ABLE TO SPEAK TO THE AMOUNT OF WORK THAT EVERYONE'S DONE, JUST TO SHARE THE INFORMATION, IT MIGHT HAVE NOT CHANGED ANYTHING.
BUT AGAIN, I GUESS WE'VE SEEN A LETTER TOO AND THAT'LL BE READ IN PUBLIC COMMENT.
BUT THE COMMENT I GOT I'M JUST GOING TO ASK THE QUESTION.
THE DATES WERE SET IN THE CALENDAR, WE NEEDED RAIN DATES FOR BOTH OF THEM.
[02:25:03]
HOW DID WE DECIDE TO GO INTO THE WEEKEND INSTEAD OF THE OTHER DIRECTION? DOES ANYBODY RECALL THOSE REASONS?>> THE REASON WAS BECAUSE IT WAS A SATURDAY AND BECAUSE THAT GAVE US THE OPPORTUNITY TO TWO VENUES ON THE SAME DAY.
IF WE DID IT ON JUNE 1ST, WE WOULD HAVE PARENTS WHO WOULD EITHER HAVE TO TAKE OFF WORK, MAYBE THEY COULDN'T TAKE OFF WORK, DEPENDING ON THEIR JOB THAT THEY HAVE.
THAT WAS OUR MAJOR CONCERN THAT, THAT MORNING WE WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH ON THE 1ST OR THE 2ND IF WE HAD PULLED IT BACK UP.
>> WE DEFINITELY HAVE TO HAVE TWO GRADUATIONS.
>> TO BE ABLE TO MEET THE GUIDELINES OF THE GOVERNOR.
NOW, IF THE GOVERNOR GIVES US AN EXEMPTION OF SOME SORT TO HAVE SCHOOL SYSTEMS AS IT RELATES TO PARTICULARLY JUST GRADUATIONS, IF WE GET SOME SORT OF EXEMPTION OR SOMETHING, BUT AT THIS TIME, HE HASN'T PROVIDED ANYTHING IN THAT DIRECTION.
TO BE ABLE TO MEET THE GUIDELINES THAT ARE CURRENT RIGHT NOW, WHICH COULD CHANGE AS WE KNOW.
>> THEY CHANGE PRETTY OFTEN, BUT TO MEET THOSE RIGHT NOW.
NOW, WE HAVE DIFFERENT PLANS TOO.
I MEAN, IF THE GOVERNOR DOES LIFT THAT WE CAN CERTAINLY SHIFT AND CHANGE.
BUT RIGHT NOW IN ORDER TO MEET THOSE GUIDELINES, WE WOULD HAVE TO DO TWO CEREMONIES.
AS I SAID, WE TRIED TO DO THOSE IN THE SAME DAY, BUT WE CERTAINLY CAN LOOK AT THE TIMING OF THAT.
THING IS, IT COULD CHANGE THE LAST MINUTE AND THEN WE'D JUST NOT HAVE TIME TO CHANGE IT.
>> EVERYTHING'S PRINTED, EVERYTHING'S READY TO GO.
>> YOU HAVE TO THINK OF THAT TOO, I SUPPOSE.
>> TO DANA'S POINT, IT'S NOT JUST THIS CRAZY WEATHER, IT'S BEEN KNOWN STORMS COME, A WEATHER FRONT COME AND SIT FOR THREE OR FOUR DAYS.
I GUESS AS A COMMITTEE WE TALKED ABOUT THAT, PROTECTING THE ELECTRONICS THAT NEED TO BE PROTECTED AND JUST HONCHO UP AND GO.
IS THAT WHAT IT'S GOING TO BE ON SUNDAY? IF IT RAINS ON SATURDAY AND IT'S NOT CLEAR AND ON SUNDAY, WE JUST GOT TO DO IT, RIGHT?
>> WELL, I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT WOULD BE A SAFE SITUATION TO DO THAT.
I THINK WE WOULD HAVE TO LOOK INTO THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE.
>> [OVERLAPPING] THUNDER AND LIGHTNING IS DIFFERENT THAN RAIN.
>> YEAH. I WAS CONCERNED ABOUT WEEKEND TOO, AND WHEN YOU MENTIONED [BACKGROUND] ANOTHER WORKDAY, MORE PEOPLE ARE OFF ON WEEKENDS THAN DURING THE WEEK.
IT'S A CHALLENGE. I JUST THINK IT'S TERRIFIC THAT COMPARED TO LAST YEAR, WHICH THERE REALLY WASN'T MUCH OPTION, THESE GRADUATES GET A GRADUATION AS PLANNED AND UNDERSTANDABLY IT HAS TO BE OUTDOORS.
IF SOMETHING HAPPENS THAT RUINS IT BECAUSE OF THE WEATHER, MAYBE SOMETHING COULD BE DONE TO ACCOMMODATE THEM, BUT IT'S AT LEAST AN EFFORT TO GET THERE.
IT'S THE BEST EFFORT TO GET IT DONE.
YOU MAY HAVE SAID IT AND IT'S A MINOR QUESTION.
NORTH CAROLINE, HOW DO YOU DIVIDE THEM UP?
>> I ACTUALLY DON'T EVEN KNOW. WE HAD TALKED ABOUT SEVERAL DIFFERENT THINGS.
I DON'T KNOW. [OVERLAPPING] WE TALKED ABOUT BY ALPHABET.
>> I DON'T KNOW THAT, THEY MIGHT HAVE FINALIZED THAT AFTER WE TALKED, BUT WE HAVEN'T.
[OVERLAPPING] WE'RE MEETING AGAIN ACTUALLY FRIDAY AT 12:30 TO GET AN UPDATE.
>> THAT'S FINE. I DON'T REALLY NEED AN ANSWER TO THAT.
IT'S MORE LIKE, "OH MY GOSH, HOW DO YOU DO THAT?" YOU KNOW YOU'RE GOING TO DIVIDE FRIENDS NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO.
>> NORTH CAROLINE, IN CASE OF RAIN, IS THE GYM, IT'S NOT.
THE GYM IS NOT OF SIZE FOR HALF OF THE CLASS, THAT'S FOR SURE.
>> NO, BECAUSE INSIDE YOUR LIMIT IS A 100 PEOPLE, SO WE WOULD NEVER EVER BE ABLE TO MEET THAT REQUIREMENT.
WE WOULD DEFINITELY TAKE THAT OPTION IF THAT WAS AN OPTION [INAUDIBLE] IT'S JUST DIFFICULT.
I MEAN, IT IS COMPLICATED AND DIFFICULT AND WE REALLY ARE TRYING OUR BEST TO GIVE THE BEST OPPORTUNITY.
IT'S NOT GOING TO BE PERFECT, BUT I DON'T KNOW THAT ANYTHING THROUGH COVID HAS BEEN PERFECT.
BUT WE JUST KEEP TRYING TO ROLL WITH IT AND PROVIDE THE BEST WE CAN.
WE'RE VERY OPEN TO FEEDBACK AND CERTAINLY CAN GO BACK AND RE-LOOK AT THE DATES AND SEE IF THERE'S ANY OTHER OPPORTUNITY.
WE DIDN'T FEEL COMFORTABLE DOING IT THE WEEKEND BEFORE BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY THAT'S MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND AND WE FEEL THAT THAT IS A BIG TRAVEL TIME, SO IT BOXED US IN.
I ABSOLUTELY UNDERSTAND THE CONCERNS AND WE CAN CONTINUE TO LOOK AT IT.
AGAIN, WE DO HAVE ANOTHER MEETING ON FRIDAY AT 12:30.
>> WELL, IT JUST MIGHT BE SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT.
MANY OF US GRADUATED OUTSIDE AND WE PULLED IT OFF, SO MAYBE IT CAN BE DONE AGAIN.
>> DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA OF WHEN YOU WILL HAVE IT SOMEWHAT FINALIZED?
>> WELL, HONESTLY I FELT LIKE WE DID REALLY HAVE THOSE DATES FINALIZED,
[02:30:01]
BUT IF THE BOARD NEEDS US TO GO BACK AND REVISIT, WE CERTAINLY CAN DO THAT ON FRIDAY.DURING THE MEETING I'D BE HAPPY TO DO THAT AND REPORT BACK OUT TO THE BOARD.
BUT WE REALLY DID FEEL LIKE WE HAD THOSE DATES FINALIZED AND THAT'S WHEN WE DID A NEWS RELEASE AND THIS WAS JUST ACTUALLY PULLED FROM THAT NEWS RELEASE.
>> I KNOW PEOPLE CAN LISTEN TO THE MEETING AND FOLLOW UP, BUT I THINK IF WE COULD SEND OUT TO THE PARENTS, YOUR LOGIC, I THINK IT WOULD HELP A LOT.
>> BECAUSE AFTER YOU SAID IT TO ME, IT MIGHT MAKE PERFECT SENSE.
>> I THINK THAT MIGHT HELP SOME OF THE TENSION THERE WITH WHY ARE WE GETTING THE WEEKEND AND DAH, DAH, DAH.
>> SURE. ABSOLUTELY. I'D BE HAPPY TO DO THAT.
>> I WAS JUST WONDERING, I DON'T KNOW OF ANY FACILITY [INAUDIBLE].
>> WITH THE PARAMETERS OF THE INDOOR [OVERLAPPING].
>> THERE'S NOTHING AS LARGE AS ALL OF IT.
>> NOT EVEN THE PAVILION IS BIG ENOUGH.
>> IF THERE WAS A PAVILION LARGE ENOUGH, WE WOULD BE USING IT.
NOT EVEN RISKING GOING OUTSIDE, BECAUSE THERE'S SO MANY UNCERTAINTIES WITH OUTSIDE.
ON A DIFFERENT NOTE TOO, SINCE I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT DO LISTEN IN, WE'RE GOING TO BE STREAMING IT SO THAT WE CAN HAVE AS MANY PEOPLE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE ABLE TO FEEL LIKE THEY'RE THERE AS WELL.
WE'RE WORKING ON THAT AND HAVING AN OPPORTUNITY TO PROJECT IT TO ON SCREEN SO THAT IF THERE ARE THAT FAR AWAY FROM THE STUDENTS, THEY CAN HEAR AND SEE IT TOO.
SO WE REALLY HAVE PUT A LOT OF TIME AND EFFORT INTO TRYING TO MAKE IT A VERY SPECIAL OPPORTUNITY FOR OUR STUDENTS.
>> WE'LL THEY GO IN THE THEATER AT THE HIGH SCHOOL?
>> [OVERLAPPING] NO. THEY'LL JUST STREAM IT FROM HOME, JUST LIKE THIS MEANING, EXACTLY THE SAME TYPE OF THING.
NOT THE SAME COMPANY, BUT THE SAME TYPE OF OPPORTUNITY.
>> I THINK IT'S GREAT THAT WE'RE EVEN THINKING THAT FAR IN ADVANCE, AND IN ALL HONESTY, THE PEOPLE ARE AT HOME ARE GOING TO BE MUCH MORE COMFORTABLE AND [LAUGHTER] GET TO SEE THINGS MORE, I'M NOT KIDDING, IT'S MORE UP-CLOSE.
>> YOU CAN WEAR YOUR SWEATPANTS.
>> I GUESS LAST RESORT, IF WE HAD TO DO LIKE LAST YEAR, IF IT RAINS FOR 2, 3 DAYS.
>> I THINK WE WOULD TRY TO FIND ANY OPPORTUNITY TO DO IT WITH A DIFFERENT, MORE IN-PERSON OPPORTUNITY FOR OUR KIDS THAN LAST YEAR, AND THE TIMING OF THAT TAKES AN EXCEPTIONAL LONGER TIME.
SO THAT WOULD BE HARDER TO FLIP AND TURN ON A DIME TO PIVOT AND DO THAT IF NEED BE.
THAT WOULD PROBABLY BE A LAST RESORT, BUT IT'S A REALLY GOOD SUGGESTION. THANK YOU.
>> THE YMCA PLANS TO DO THAT DRIVE THROUGH THE COMMUNITY AND THE GRADUATES' HOUSES.
THAT WAS FUN AND I APPRECIATED IT. IT WAS AWESOME.
>> DO WE PLAN ON GIVING THEM THOSE PLATFORMS AGAIN?
>> THEY'RE LOOKING INTO DOING, AGAIN, WE HAVE A MEETING ON FRIDAY, BUT LOOKING INTO THEY'RE CALLED IT GARDEN?
>> IT'S, I THINK, YOUR GARDEN FLAGS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
THAT'S THE KIND OF VARIATION OF LAST YEAR, BUT SAME CONCEPT AS LAST YEAR TO PROVIDE STUDENTS WITH SOME SPECIAL TOKENS OF MEMORY FOR THEM.
>> BECAUSE I THINK THEY REALLY APPRECIATED THAT.
>> WE'RE GOOD? WELL, THANK YOU FOR THAT INFORMATION.
AGAIN, IT'S ALWAYS A CHALLENGE IN THIS ENVIRONMENT, COVID ENVIRONMENT.
I KNOW PEOPLE ARE TALKING AND STILL NOT HAPPY ABOUT SOMETHINGS, BUT HAPPY TO SUPPORT YOUR PLAN, HAPPY THE KIDS ARE GOING TO BE TOGETHER, AND HAPPY TO BE MOVING THROUGH IT SOMEWHAT, STEP AT A TIME.
MOVING ON, WE HAVE PUBLIC COMMENT AREA COMING UP,
[7. Citizens/Public Comments]
CITIZENS AND PUBLIC COMMON AREA, AND I THINK WE HAVE MS. SANDI BARRY ON THE LINE.BEFORE I TURN IT OVER TO HER, I JUST WANT TO SAY THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION IS IN RECEIPT OF A HANDFUL OF PUBLIC COMMENTS TONIGHT, AND WE HAD ONE A PREVIOUS MONTH, I DON'T KNOW IF WAS LAST MONTH OR THE MONTH BEFORE, THAT WAS A LITTLE OUTSIDE OUR POLICY AS OUR CURRENT BOARD POLICY STATES.
THIS BOARD IS VERY INTERESTED IN HEARING FROM THE PUBLIC AND OUR STAFF, BUT WE NEED TO GO BACK AND REVIEW OUR POLICY TO MAKE SURE IT'S APPLICABLE TO WHAT WE WANT, TO ALLOWING EVERYBODY TO SPEAK UP.
[NOISE] THAT BEING SAID, WE DID GET, AND I WANTED TO MAKE IT CLEAR THAT OUR E-MAILS ARE ON THE WEBPAGE.
WE'RE ALWAYS OPEN TO HEARING FROM THE COMMUNITY AND OUR STAFF.
BUT UNDER THE CURRENT POLICY, WE ARE GOING TO TABLE THREE EMPLOYEE COMMENTS WE GET TONIGHT AND ONE UNION COMMENT, WHY WE REVIEW OUR POLICY, AND AS OF RIGHT NOW, WE HAVE ONE TRULY PUBLIC COMMENT THAT I THINK MS. BARRY IS GOING TO READ.
[02:35:03]
>> THE MEMBERS OF THE CAROLINE COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION DESIRE TO HEAR THE VIEWS AND HAVE THE ADVICE OF INTERESTED CITIZENS.
THE PUBLIC COMMENT SESSION IS HELD AT EACH BOARD MEETING FOR THAT PURPOSE.
THE FOLLOWING PROCEDURES ARE TO BE FOLLOWED DURING THIS TIME.
IN VIEW OF SIGNING IN, CITIZENS ARE ADVISED TO EMAIL THEIR REMARKS TO PUBLIC COMMENT AT CCPSSTAFF.ORG.
THERE IS A FIVE MINUTE TIME LIMIT FOR EACH EMAIL, SPECIFIC AND PERSONAL REFERENCES TO STUDENTS, EMPLOYEES, OR OTHER ASSOCIATED WITH THE BOARD OF EDUCATION WILL NOT BE PERMITTED.
SHOULD SOMEONE WISH TO BRING SOMETHING TO THE ATTENTION OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OR THE BOARD ABOUT A SPECIFIC PERSON OR STUDENT, THEY MAY DO SO IN WRITING TO THE SUPERINTENDENT OR TO THE BOARD.
RUDE, SLANDEROUS, OR THREATENING REMARKS ARE NOT PERMITTED.
THE BOARD OF EDUCATION DOES NOT ENGAGE IN A DISCUSSION OF THE MATTER BEING BROUGHT TO IT DURING PUBLIC COMMENT.
IF APPROPRIATE, THE BOARD MAY DIRECT THE SUPERINTENDENT TO PROVIDE A RESPONSE FOLLOWING THIS MEETING. MRS. BARRY?
>> PRESIDENT AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, WE'VE ONE PUBLIC COMMENT FROM TRICIA [INAUDIBLE] .
I AM WRITING THIS LETTER AS A PARENT OF ONE OF THE NORTH CAROLINE CLASS OF 2021 STUDENTS.
I AM SINCERELY DISAPPOINTED ABOUT THE GRADUATION DATE CHANGE.
THE SCHOOL CALENDAR IS PUBLISHED A YEAR IN ADVANCE AND PARENTS CHOOSE THE DATE FOR PLANNING PURPOSES.
GRADUATION EVENTS, PARTIES OUT-OF-TOWN GUESTS, SENIOR TRIP PREPARATION, ALL HAD TO BE SCHEDULED WELL IN ADVANCE.
CAROLINE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS HAVE HAD US PARTICIPATE IN SCHOOL SURVEYS MANY TIMES, BUT WE WERE NOT GIVEN THE CHANCE TO VOICE OUR THOUGHTS ABOUT A POTENTIAL WEEKEND GRADUATION CEREMONY.
NOT ONLY WAS THE EVENT MOVED TO A SATURDAY, BUT YOU PLAN TO RAIN DATE ON A SUNDAY MORNING.
DID YOU CONSIDER THERE WERE ALREADY TRIPS PLANNED TO BEGIN ON SATURDAY? RESERVATIONS AND DEPOSITS WERE MADE.
DID YOU CONSIDER THOSE WHO ATTEND CHURCH ON SUNDAY MORNING? NO SCHOOL EVENT HAS EVER TAKEN PLACE ON A SUNDAY; THEATERS, SPORTS, OR PRACTICES.
THIS WAS THE YEAR NORTH CAROLINE WAS TO HAVE HAD THE FIRST GRADUATION AND COLONEL THE SECOND.
SO WHY WAS CAROLINE MOVED TWO DAYS LATER AND COLONEL MOVED EARLIER? I CONSULTED SOME BOARD MEMBERS AND THEY WERE NOT AWARE OF THE DECISION TO MOVE GRADUATION.
THE CLASS OF 2021 HAS NOW MISSED 3/4 OF THEIR SENIOR YEAR, THEIR JUNIOR AND SENIOR PROM.
NOW YOU ARE MAKING THEM POSTPONE THEIR SENIOR TRIPS AND MISS SUNDAY CHURCH SERVICES.
PARENTS SHOULD HAVE BEEN GIVEN THE COMMON COURTESY OF AT LEAST A SURVEY SO YOU COULD WEIGH OUR SUGGESTIONS, JUST LIKE YOU ASKED ABOUT THE RETURN TO SCHOOL.
A RECOMMENDED SOLUTION, KEEP NORTH CAROLINE GRADUATION ON JUNE 3RD AS DESIGNED.
IT CAN BE AN ASYNCHRONOUS DAY AND THE CEREMONY CAN BE AT 12:00 OR 4:00 AND 7:00, THEN THE RAIN DATE CAN BE ON FRIDAY.
THERE IS NO REASON YOU CAN'T HAVE A REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE BOARD OF EDUCATION AT EACH CEREMONY.
IF NORTH CAROLINE AND COLONEL'S GRADUATION CEREMONIES TOOK PLACE ON THE SAME DAY.
ANOTHER OPTION, KEEP THE GRADUATION DATE ON THURSDAY AS PLANNED AND HAVE JUST ONE CEREMONY.
THE CLASS OF 2021 HAS RAISED PLENTY OF CLASS FUNDS.
RENT MORE BLEACHERS AND POSITION THEM AROUND THE FIELD.
HAVING TWO CEREMONIES WILL ALSO FORCE FRIENDS WHO'VE BEEN TOGETHER FOR 18 YEARS, UNABLE TO GRADUATE TOGETHER.
HAVEN'T THEY BEEN THROUGH ENOUGH? GIVE THEM ONE LAST CHANCE TO BE TOGETHER. THAT'S ALL.
VALID POINTS, BUT NOTHING S BEEN RIGHT FOR OVER A YEAR NOW.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS. HOPEFULLY, YOU WERE LISTENING AND HEARD SOME OF THE CONVERSATION, SOME OF THE TOUGH DECISIONS AND PLANNING THAT THE STAFF HAS MADE.
MOVING ON TO DISCUSSION ITEMS FOR FUTURE BOARD ACTION.
[8. Discussion of Items for Future Board Action]
WE'RE STILL LOOKING AND REVIEWING THE FY 2022 OPERATING BUDGET.>> PRESIDENT NEWCOMB, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, THERE HAVE BEEN NO CHANGES, NO UPDATES IN ANY COST LINE ITEM PROJECTIONS FOR NEXT YEAR.
OBVIOUSLY, NO CHANGE IN REVENUE PICTURE UNTIL THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY IS FINISHED.
LOT OF UNKNOWNS, LOT OF QUESTIONS THAT NONE OF US HAVE ANSWERS TO AT THIS POINT AS FAR AS TARGETED REVENUE LINE ITEM WITHIN THE GOVERNOR'S BUDGET, AND LIKE SAID, NO UPDATE ON EXPENDITURES.
AS PRESENTED TO YOU LAST MONTH, YOU APPROVED THE SUPERINTENDENT'S BUDGET.
THE PRIORITIES LISTED HERE ARE NOW SUBJECT TO YOUR REVIEW AND MODIFICATION.
>> IS ANYONE ELSE COMPUTER HAS JAMMED UP OR IS JUST MINE?
[02:40:11]
BOARD MEMBERS, ANY QUESTIONS, DISCUSSIONS, OR COMMENT? I'M STUCK GOING ABOVE GENDER ITEM LINE. [LAUGHTER].>> SO LIKE MR. NAGEL SAID, A LOT OF QUESTIONS AT STATE LEVEL.
I GUESS MR. NAGEL, AND I'M NOT QUITE SURE WHAT HAPPENED, BUT THE GOVERNOR PRESENTED AN AMENDED BUDGET THAT ADDED $50 MILLION TO EDUCATION.
DO YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THAT?
BEEN NO DEFINITION COME OUT OF AN APPLE SAYS TO RESTRICTED AS FAR AS WE KNOW, BUT NO REAL DEFINITION.
[LAUGHTER] WE'LL HAVE TO WAIT TILL THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY IS OVER AND DLS WILL CARVE IT OUT AND PUT THEIR INTERPRETATION TO MSDE, AND THEN WE'LL HAVE MORE CERTAINTY AS TO WHERE THOSE FUNDS ARE GOING TO BE TARGETED AND HOW MUCH OF IT WE'RE GOING TO GET.
>> BOARD MEMBERS, ANYTHING ON BUDGET?
>> I CAN'T GET IT ON MY COMPUTER EITHER.
>> MY WANTS, BUT IT'S WORKING HERE.
>> MOVING ON TO LIST A FUTURE DISCUSSION ITEMS ON THE LIST THERE,
[10. Upcoming Meetings and Events]
WE'VE BEEN KNOCK IT OFF A FEW OF THEM, APPRECIATE THAT.CONVERSATIONS OR INTERACTIONS. ADD ANYTHING NEW, PLEASE LET RACHEL KNOW, MYSELF, AND DR. SAELENS.
NOTHING LISTED UNDER UNFINISHED BUSINESS.
10.01 UPCOMING MEETINGS, I GUESS OUR NEXT MEETING IS A WORK SESSION IN TWO WEEKS, DR. SAELENS?
>> BOARD MEMBERS, SO THAT'S OUR NEXT MEETING.
ANYTHING ELSE FOR THE GOOD OF THE ORDER? NONE.
[NOISE] DOES ANYONE HAVE A MOTION TO ADJOURN?
>> I MOVE THE MOTION TO ADJOURN THE MEETING.
>> MOTION BY MS. DILL, SECONDED BY MS. DIGIACOMO. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR.
>> THANK YOU, EVERYONE.
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.