* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:02] THIS IS CHAIRWOMAN [A. CLOSED SESSION] JANE LICHTER. I CALL TO ORDER THE MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF BALTIMORE COUNTY FOR TUESDAY, DECEMBER 17TH, 2024. THIS EVENING'S BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING IS BEING BROADCAST THROUGH THE BCPS ONLINE LIVE MEETING BROADCAST AND ON BCPS, COMCAST XFINITY, CHANNEL 73, VERIZON FIOS, CHANNEL 34. IN ORDER TO EFFICIENTLY CONDUCT THIS MEETING, ALL VOTING ITEMS THIS EVENING WILL BE DONE BY ROLL CALL VOTE. MAY I HAVE A MOTION TO GO INTO CLOSED SESSION AS PERMITTED BY THE OPEN MEETINGS ACT AS FOUND IN THE ANNOTATED CODE OF MARYLAND GENERAL PROVISIONS ARTICLE THREE DASH 3 0 5 B ONE B SEVEN AND B EIGHT TO DISCUSS ONE, THE APPOINTMENT, EMPLOYMENT ASSIGNMENT, PROMOTION, DISCIPLINE, DEMOTION, COMPENSATION, REMOVAL, RESIGNATION OR PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF APPOINTEES, EMPLOYEES OR OFFICIALS OVER WHOM IT HAS JURISDICTION OR ANY OTHER PERSONNEL MATTERS THAT AFFECTS ONE OR MORE SPECIFIC INDIVIDUALS. CONSULT WITH COUNSEL TO OBTAIN LEGAL ADVICE AND CONSULT WITH STAFF, CONSULTANTS OR OTHER INDIVIDUALS ABOUT PENDING OR POTENTIAL LITIGATION. SO MOVED. 10. THANK YOU. IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND. CHIKE. KALU. THANK YOU. MAY I HAVE A ROLL CALL VOTE PLEASE. MR. MCMILLIAN? MS. HUMPHREY? YES. MR. YOUNG? YES. MS. DOKI? YES. MS. HEN? YES. MS. FONG. MS. BOOKER DWYER. YES. MS. HARVEY? YES. MS. CHIKA KALU. YES. MS. KY? YES. DR. SAVOY. MS. LICHTER? YES. THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING. THIS IS CHAIRWOMAN JANE LICHTER. I NOW CALL TO ORDER THE MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF BALTIMORE COUNTY FOR TUESDAY, DECEMBER 17TH, 2024. [B. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE/SILENT MEDITATION (6:30 p.m.)] I INVITE YOU TO RECITE THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG TO BE LED BY MS. CHICO KALU. WE WILL THEN HAVE A MOMENT OF SILENCE AND RECOGNITION OF THOSE WHO HAVE SERVED EDUCATION IN BALTIMORE COUNTY. THANK YOU. TONIGHT'S BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING IS BEING BROADCAST THROUGH THE BCPS ON LIVE ONLINE, LIVE MEETING, BROADCAST AND ON BCPS TV, COMCAST CHANNEL 73, VERIZON FIOS, CHANNEL 34. IN ORDER TO EFFICIENTLY CONDUCT THIS MEETING, ALL VOTING ITEMS THIS EVENING WILL BE DONE BY ROLL CALL VOTE. THE FIRST ITEM ON [C. AGENDA (6:35 p.m.)] THE AGENDA IS THE CONSIDERATION OF THE DECEMBER 17TH AGENDA. DR. ROGERS, ARE THERE ANY ADDITIONS OR CHANGES TO TONIGHT'S AGENDA? I'M UNAWARE OF ANY ADDITIONS OR CHANGES TO THIS EVENING'S AGENDA. HEARING NONE. THE AGENDA STANDS AS PRESENTED EARLIER THIS [D. NEW BUSINESS - PERSONNEL MATTERS (Mr. McCall) (6:45 - 6:50 p.m.)] EVENING. THE BOARD MET ENC CLOSED SESSION PURSUANT TO THE OPEN MEETINGS ACT FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS TO DISCUSS THE APPOINTMENT, EMPLOYMENT ASSIGNMENT, PROMOTION, DISCIPLINE, DEMOTION, COMPENSATION, REMOVAL, RESIGNATION OR PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF APPOINTEES, EMPLOYEES OR OFFICIALS OVER WHOM IT HAS JURISDICTION OR ANY OTHER PERSONNEL MATTER THAT AFFECTS ONE OR MORE SPECIFIC INDIVIDUALS. CONSULT WITH COUNSEL TO OBTAIN LEGAL ADVICE AND CONSULT WITH STAFF, CONSULTANTS OR OTHER INDIVIDUALS ABOUT PENDING OR POTENTIAL LITIGATION. THE CLOSED SESSION SUMMARY AND THE OPEN SESSION INFORMATION SUMMARY CAN BE FOUND ON BOARD DOCS UNDER THIS MEETING. BOARD DATE, BOARD MEETING AGENDA DATE. THE NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS PERSONNEL MATTERS, AND FOR THAT I CALL ON MR. MCCALL. GOOD EVENING, CHAIR. LICHTER, VICE CHAIR HARVEY, SUPERINTENDENT, DR. ROGERS AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD. I'D LIKE THE BOARD'S CONSENT FOR THE FOLLOWING, PERSONNEL MATTERS, RETIREMENTS, RESIGNATIONS, DECEASED, RECOGNITION OF SERVICE, AS WELL AS CERTIFICATED APPOINTMENTS. THANK YOU. DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE PERSONNEL MATTERS AS PRESENTED IN EXHIBIT D ONE THROUGH D FOUR? SO MOVED. HARVEY. THANK YOU. DO I HAVE A SECOND? SECOND. CHIQUE KALU. THANK YOU. ANY DISCUSSION? MAY I HAVE A ROLL CALL? VOTE PLEASE. MR. MCMILLION? YES. MS. HUMPHREY? YES. MR. YOUNG? YES. MS. DOKI? YES. MS. HEN? YES. MS. FONG. [00:05:01] MS. BOER DWYER. YES. MS. HARVEY? YES. MS. CHICA KALU. YES. MS. LESKI? YES. MS. LICHTER? YES. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU MR. MCCALL. THANK YOU. THE NEXT ITEM [E. NEW BUSINESS - ADMINISTRATIVE APPOINTMENTS (Dr. Rogers) (6:50 - 7:00 p.m.)] ON THE AGENDA IS ADMINISTRATIVE APPOINTMENTS, AND FOR THAT I CALL ON DR. ROGERS. THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR, LICHTER, VICE CHAIR HARVEY, AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD. I'M BRINGING FORWARD THE FOLLOWING ADMINISTRATIVE APPOINTMENTS FOR YOUR APPROVAL. ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL, PARKVILLE MIDDLE SCHOOL SPECIALIST SCIENCE, OFFICE OF SCIENCE, HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND SPECIALIST SECONDARY ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS, OFFICE OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS. THANK YOU. DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE PERSONNEL MATTERS AS PRESENTED IN EXHIBIT E ONE? SO MOVED. THANK YOU. DO I HAVE A SECOND? SECOND. CHIKE KLU. THANK YOU. ANY DISCUSSION? MAY I HAVE A ROLL CALL THOUGH, PLEASE? MR. MCMILLIAN? YES. MS. HUMPHREY? YES. MR. YOUNG? YES. MS. DOKI? YES. MS. HEN? YES. MS. AUGH? YES. MS. BOOKER DWYER. YES. MS. HARVEY? YES. MS. CHIKE KLU. YES. MS. LESKI? MS. DOKI? YES. THANK YOU. MS. LICHTER? YES. THANK YOU DR. ROGERS. THANK YOU. OUR F FIRST APPOINTMENT THIS EVENING IS JOSH JOSHUA FARTY. PLEASE STAND TO BE RECOGNIZED. JOSHUA IS ATTENDING WITH HIS WIFE ASHLEY. ASHLEY, PLEASE STAND SO WE CAN RECOGNIZE YOU AS WELL. JOSHUA IS BEING APPOINTED AS THE ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL AT PARKVILLE MIDDLE SCHOOL WITH 17 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE WITH BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS. HIS PRIOR EXPERIENCES INCLUDE SOCIAL STUDIES TEACHER I, PINE GROVE MIDDLE AND SPARROW POINT MIDDLE SCHOOLS. CONGRATULATIONS. THANK YOU. OUR NEXT APPOINTMENT IS OUR LISA LEDBETTER. SHE IS ATTENDING WITH HER, WITH HER SIGNIFICANT OTHER ELLE BRINKLEY AND IS BEING APPOINTED AS THE SPECIALIST SECONDARY ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS IN THE OFFICE OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS WITH FIVE YEARS OF EXPERIENCE WITH BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS. HER PRIOR BCPS EXPERIENCES INCLUDE ENGLISH TEACHER AT RANDALLSTOWN AND WOODLAWN HIGH SCHOOLS. PRIOR TO THAT, SHE SERVED AS A CLASSROOM TEACHER IN BALTIMORE CITY SCHOOLS, AN ENGLISH TEACHER IN PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS, AN AVID LITERACY AND ENGLISH TEACHER IN FAIRFAX COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION SPECIALIST AND FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT SPECIALIST IN THE MARYLAND STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, AS WELL AS ENGLISH TEACHER ACADEMIC INTERVENTION, TE TEAM LEADER ENGLISH READING CONTENT SPECIALIST ACTING SUPERVISOR PRE-K THROUGH 12, ENGLISH LITERACY CONTENT SPECIALISTS AND ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND PRINCIPAL AT ST. AGNES CATHOLIC SCHOOL IN ST. FRANCIS OF A SISSY SCHOOL. CONGRATULATIONS AND WELCOME BACK TO BCPS. CONGRATULATIONS TO BOTH OF YOU. OUR NEXT [F. PUBLIC COMMENT (7:00 - 7:40 p.m.)] ITEM IS PUBLIC COMMENT. THIS IS ONE OF THE OPPORTUNITIES THE BOARD PROVIDES TO HEAR THE VIEWS AND RECEIVE THE ADVICE OF COMMUNITY MEMBERS. IF NOT SELECTED TO ADDRESS THE BOARD, MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC MAY SUBMIT THEIR COMMENTS TO THE BOARD MEMBERS VIA EMAIL@BOEATBCPS.ORG. THE BALTIMORE COUNTY PO POLICE DEPARTMENT'S HOMELAND SECURITY UNIT AND OFFICE OF SCHOOL SAFETY HAS RECOMMENDED SAFETY AND SECURITY PROTOCOLS, WHICH ARE POSTED IN THE BOARDROOM AND AVAILABLE IN BOARD DOCS AND ON THE BOARD'S PARTICIPATION BY THE PUBLIC WEBSITE. WHILE WE ENCOURAGE PUBLIC INPUT ON POLICY PROGRAMS AND PRACTICES WITHIN THE PURVIEW OF THIS BOARD AND THIS SCHOOL SYSTEM, THIS IS NOT THE PROPER FORM TO ADDRESS SPECIFIC STUDENT OR EMPLOYEE MATTERS OR TO COMMENT ON MATTERS THAT DO NOT RELATE TO PUBLIC EDUCATION IN BALTIMORE COUNTY. INAPPROPRIATE PERSONAL REMARKS OR OTHER BEHAVIOR SUCH AS LANGUAGE THAT PROMOTES VIOLENCE AGAINST A-B-C-P-S EMPLOYEE OR THAT DISRUPTS OR INTERFERES WITH THE CONTACT OF THIS MEETING ARE OUT OF ORDER AND WILL NOT BE TOLERATED. PERSONS WHO OTHERWISE DISRUPT OR DISTURB THIS MEETING WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO CONTINUE THEIR REMARKS AND WILL BE ESCORTED FROM THE MEETING. PLEASE OBSERVE THE THREE MINUTE CLOCK, WHICH WILL LET YOU KNOW WHEN YOUR TIME IS UP. THE MICROPHONE WILL BE TURNED OFF AT THE END OF YOUR TIME OR PRIOR TO THE TIME OF THE DISCRETION OF THE BOARD CHAIR. WE'LL START WITH OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM AFFILIATED GROUPS AND WE HAVE VICTORY RIN I, YOU'LL TELL ME HOW TO SAY THAT CORRECTLY, UM, FROM THE BALTIMORE CAC GROUP. THANK YOU. HOW DO YOU PRONOUNCE YOUR REINE? REINE? THANK YOU, . WELL, GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS VICTORY AND I'M A CO-CHAIR [00:10:01] OF THE BALTIMORE COUNTY SPECIAL EDUCATION CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE THAT ARE KNOWN AS CAC. WE ARE AN OFFICIAL ADVISORY GROUP FOR BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS. MORE IMPORTANTLY, I'M THE MOTHER OF AN AUTISTIC 7-YEAR-OLD STUDENT HERE IN BALTIMORE COUNTY. A FEW YEARS AGO, MY SON BARELY SPOKE. HE DID NOT KNOW HOW TO HOLD SCISSORS. HE DID NOT FOLLOW MULTI-STEP DIRECTIONS, AND THESE ARE ALL THINGS THAT ARE DEEMED AS TYPICAL AND EXPECTED FOR CHILDREN HALF HIS AGE. BUT LAST NIGHT WE WERE ABLE TO CHAT ABOUT HIS DAY, AND THIS MORNING I WATCHED HIM PUT ON HIS JACKET AND SCARF WITH VERY LITTLE DIRECTION, AND THIS PAST WEEKEND HE PERFORMED IN HIS VERY FIRST PIANO RECITAL. NOW, THIS PROGRESS WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE WITHOUT THE SUPPORT OF BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND MORE SPECIFICALLY THE SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAM. HE IS IN GENERAL EDUCATION CLASSES. BECAUSE OF THE SUPPORT OF HIS CURRENT TEACHERS AND IEP TEAM, HE'S ALSO RECEIVING BOTH PULL ASIDE AND PULL OUT SERVICES LIKE OT AND VIRTUAL SPEECH, AND HE HAS AN AMAZING ADULT ASSISTANT WHO IS CRITICAL IN ENSURING HIS FOCUS, INCLUSION, AND GENERAL WELLBEING. NOW, LET ME BE CLEAR. I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH MY SON. I NEVER THOUGHT HE WOULD HAVE FRIENDS OR PLAY GAMES, AND I THOUGHT HE WOULD SPEND HIS DAYS IN A SEPARATE CLASSROOM IN A SEPARATE BUILDING. MUCH OF HIS GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT HAS COME ABOUT BECAUSE HIS CURRENT EDUCATORS HAD THE RESOURCES AND TRAINING AND WORKED HARD TO ENSURE HIS INCLUSION AND PROGRESS. MY SON IS PROOF THAT SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES MUST BE FUNDED, AND THAT SPECIAL STAFF TRAINING IS CRITICAL AND CRUCIAL TO ENSURING THAT THOUSANDS OF CHILDREN HAVE THE FUTURE THAT PARENTS LIKE ME CAN ONLY DREAM OF. WE MUST CONTINUE FUNDING AND SUPPORT OF IEP FACILITATORS IN EVERY SCHOOL, EXTRA SPECIAL EDUCATORS TO SUPPORT EVERY STUDENT AND INCREASED TRAINING FOR ALL PARAS, ADULT ASSISTANCE AND BUILDING STAFF WHO INTERACT WITH OUR KIDS. I ALSO WANNA BRING TO YOUR ATTENTION THAT RECENTLY CAC HAD THE HONOR OF SITTING DOWN WITH OUR SUPERINTENDENT AND WE WERE IMPRESSED BY HER WILLINGNESS TO ANSWER QUESTIONS WITHOUT ANY PREP OR PROMPTING. AND IN ADDITION, SPECIAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT STAFF SAT DOWN WITH SEVERAL PARENTS TO HAVE GENUINE CONVERSATIONS AFTERWARDS. NOW I KNOW MY EXPERIENCE IS NOT UNIVERSAL. NOW IS OUR SPECIAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT PERFECT OR WITHOUT ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT? NO, ABSOLUTELY NOT. BUT IT HAS BEEN GREAT TO WORK WITH THEM ONE-ON-ONE TO PLAN HOW TO SHARE RESOURCES AND TO DEVELOP NEW METHODS TO REACH OUR SPECIAL ED FAMILIES. SO PLEASE, I ASK, DON'T JUST CONTINUE THE FUNDING, INCREASE THE FUNDING FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES TO ENSURE THAT INCLUSION CAN HAPPEN, IMPROVEMENT CAN HAPPEN, AND THAT NO STUDENT, REGARDLESS OF THEIR ABILITY OR NEURO TYPE, GETS LEFT BEHIND. WITH YOUR FUNDING AND YOUR SUPPORT, WE CAN ENSURE THAT CHILDREN LIKE MY SON OR THE THOUSANDS THAT RECEIVE SOME SORT OF SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICE CAN TOO, HOPEFULLY ONE DAY SPEAK TO THEIR PARENTS, DEVELOP EXPECTED ABILITIES, AND TRULY REACH THEIR FULLEST POTENTIAL. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME. THANK YOU SO MUCH. OUR NEXT SPEAKER, OUR IS COMING FROM UNIONS, AND THAT IS MISS CINDY SEXTON FROM TAPCO. GOOD EVENING CHAIR, TER, VICE CHAIR HARVEY, DR. ROGERS AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TONIGHT. I HAVE SEVERAL TOPICS TO ADDRESS. FIRST, AS I'VE BEEN VISITING SCHOOLS, I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT TWO THAT STAND OUT. IT'S BEEN A BIT OF TIME SINCE I VISITED, BUT I MUST LIFT UP HEB FILL ELEMENTARY AND PRINCIPAL DERMAN. I SPOKE WITH SEVERAL EDUCATORS WHILE I WAS THERE AND THE CLIMATE WAS POSITIVE AND ENCOURAGING. INTERACTIONS WITH STUDENTS WERE POSITIVE. THERE WERE NO STUDENTS JUST WANDERING THE HALLWAYS AND EVERYONE SEEMED GENUINELY HAPPY TO BE THERE. IT WAS UPLIFTING AND A PLEASURE TO VISIT. TODAY I WAS INVITED TO WINE IN ELEMENTARY'S WINTER CONCERT. IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN IN AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL THE WEEK BEFORE WINTER BREAK, YOU SIMPLY MUST GO. THE EXCITEMENT IS PALPABLE AND NOT JUST FOR THE STUDENTS. THE BAND, ORCHESTRA AND CHORUS WERE ALL PLAYING AND SINGING THEIR HEARTS OUT, UH, WITH WINTER AND HOLIDAY SONGS. THEY EVEN HAD A GOSPEL CHOIR AT AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. MR. WALKER AND MS. LANE, KUDOS TO YOU AND THE WORK YOU DO. OUR STUDENTS AND EDUCATORS ARE DOING AMAZING THINGS IN BCPS, AND WE NEED TO LIFT UP THOSE GOOD NEWS STORIES NOW ONTO THE BUDGET. WE KNOW THERE ARE BUDGET CONCERNS AT EVERY LEVEL OF GOVERNMENT, AND WE KNOW THERE'S A NATIONAL EDUCATOR SHORTAGE. THE LATEST NUMBER ESTIMATE IS AROUND 55,000 NATIONALLY. SO WHAT DO WE DO? WE MUST ABSOLUTELY MUST DO WHAT WE CAN TO RETAIN OUR EDUCATORS, AND WE KNOW THE ISSUE WITH RETENTION GOES FAR BEYOND JUST THE COMPENSATION, BUT COMPENSATION IS A BIG PART OF IT. OUR THREE YEAR CONTRACT WAS SUCH AN IMPORTANT PART OF LETTING OUR STAFF KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT AND PLAN ON. DR. ROGERS AND I HAVE HAD CONVERSATIONS, I'VE SPOKEN TO SEVERAL COUNTY COUNCIL MEMBERS. [00:15:01] WE TOUTED OUR SALARY SCALE AS THE HIGHEST STARTING IN THE STATE, WHICH IS AMAZING, AND WE NEED TO BE SURE TO CONTINUE THAT AND TO HONOR OUR AGREEMENTS. COMPENSATION IS A MAJOR PART OF ANY BUDGET, BUT CAN WE PLEASE ALSO REMEMBER THE COST OF ATTRITION? A QUICK SEARCH FOUND AN AVERAGE OF $25,000 PER TEACHER FOR TURNOVER COSTS. SO CAN WE PLEASE CONTINUE TO FUND OUR AGREEMENTS AND LET'S LOOK AT WHAT WE CAN DO TO KEEP THOSE EDUCATORS BEYOND THE COMPENSATION? I CONTINUE TO APPRECIATE THE ONGOING COLLABORATION BETWEEN EDUCATORS AND BCPS OFFICES, INCLUDING SEVERAL SPECIAL ED GROUPS, CURRICULUM INSTRUCTION AND MORE. WE ARE SO MUCH MORE EFFECTIVE AND PRODUCTIVE WHEN WE MEET TO IDENTIFY ISSUES AND WORK ON SOLUTIONS COLLABORATIVELY, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING THAT WORK. FINALLY, TO ALL WHO CELEBRATE IN ANY WAY DURING THIS HOLIDAY SEASON, AND TO THOSE WHO DON'T CELEBRATE. I HOPE YOU ENJOY THE TIME OFF AND WE RETURN IN JANUARY. RESTED AND EXCITED TO FACE 2025 AND ALL IT BRINGS FOR OUR STUDENTS AND STAFF. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS FROM NONPROFIT COMMUNITY GROUPS, AND THAT IS MS. LESLIE MARGOLIS, AND I BELIEVE SHE'S VIRTUAL FROM THE DISABILITY RIGHTS OF MARYLAND. THANK YOU. UM, GOOD EVENING, CHAIR LICHTER, VICE CHAIR HARVEY AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD. MY NAME IS LESLIE SIDE MARGOLIS. I'M MANAGING ATTORNEY AND POLICY COUNSEL AT DISABILITY RIGHTS MARYLAND, WHICH IS THE DESIGNATED PROTECTION AND ADVOCACY, UM, ORGANIZATION FOR THE STATE. DRM WORKS TO ENSURE THAT ALL PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES HAVE ACCESS TO THE SERVICES AND SUPPORTS THEY NEED TO LIVE IN THEIR COMMUNITIES, AND B THREE FROM ABUSE, NEGLECT, AND OTHER VIOLATIONS OF THEIR RIGHTS. DRM DOES A GREAT DEAL OF SPECIAL EDUCATION WORK, INCLUDING REPRESENTATION IN, IN, OF INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS, SYSTEMIC POLICY, ADVOCACY OF THE LOCAL, STATE AND NATIONAL LEVELS, AND WHEN ORIENTED LITIGATION. WE HAVE A LONG HISTORY OF REPRESENTING STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES IN BALTIMORE COUNTY. PART OF THAT HISTORY ALSO INCLUDES THE WORK WE HAVE DONE AND CONTINUE TO DO WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF SPECIAL EDUCATION TO ADDRESS SYSTEMIC ISSUES THAT COME TO OUR ATTENTION. WE RECOGNIZE THAT BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOL'S SPECIAL EDUCATION SYSTEM IS DEEPLY TROUBLED, BUT WE ALSO APPRECIATE THAT THE SUPERINTENDENT HAS MADE SPECIAL EDUCATION A PRIORITY, AND WE RECOGNIZE THE EFFORTS THE DEPARTMENT OF SPECIAL EDUCATION'S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND STAFF ARE MAKING TO TRY TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEMS, WHICH INCLUDE A SHORTAGE OF PROVIDERS USE OF INAPPROPRIATE DISCIPLINE AND A REDUCED BUT STILL HIGH RATE OF RESTRAINT, UM, AMONG OTHERS. WE KNOW THAT A SYSTEM THAT HAS GRAPPLED WITH THESE ISSUES FOR YEARS CANNOT FIX THESE PROBLEMS IN A DAY, A MONTH, OR EVEN A YEAR. AT THE SAME TIME, WE KNOW THAT PRESSING BUDGET CONSTRAINTS MAKE SPECIAL EDUCATION A FRAUGHT TOPIC OF DISCUSSION, AND I AM URGING YOU TONIGHT TO NOT DEMONIZE DISABILITY. WHAT DO I MEAN BY THIS? I MEAN NOT BLAMING STUDENTS WITH THEIR OR THEIR DISABILITIES OR ARGUING THAT STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES ARE TAKING UP TOO MANY OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEMS RESOURCES OR THAT THE SCHOOL SYSTEMS RESOURCES WOULD BE BETTER SPENT ON OTHER STUDENTS. ASIDE FROM THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT AND STATE LAW, BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS MUST COMPLY WITH SECTION 5 0 4 OF THE REHABILITATION ACT AND THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT, WHICH ARE CIVIL RIGHTS STATUTES THAT PROHIBIT DISCRIMINATION AGAINST PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES. THIS DISCRIMINATION INCLUDES MAKING ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT STUDENTS BASED ON THEIR DISABILITIES, FOR INSTANCE, THAT BECAUSE THEY HAVE DISABILITIES, THEY SHOULD BE EDUCATED SEPARATELY FROM YOUR PEERS WITHOUT DISABILITIES, OR THAT BECAUSE THEY HAVE A PARTICULAR DISABILITY, THEY'RE NOT CAPABLE OF MAKING EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS AND THAT SCARCE RESOURCES SHOULD BE ALLOCATED TO OTHERS. THIS IS THE VERY ESSENCE OF DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION AND UNFORTUNATELY, WE HEAR THESE COMMENTS OR THE SENTIMENTS THEY CONVEY FREQUENTLY, ESPECIALLY WHEN BUDGETS ARE TIGHT AND DIFFICULT. CHOICES NEED TO BE MADE. WE AT DRM HOPE THAT ALL STAKEHOLDERS WILL BE ABLE TO ENGAGE IN CONVERSATION FREE FROM LANGUAGE AND PROPOSALS THAT SCAPEGOAT STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES OR THAT IN ANY WAY UNDERMINES THEIR LEGAL AND HUMAN RIGHTS. NOT ONLY BECAUSE FEDERAL LAWS PROHIBIT SUCH DISCRIMINATION, BUT ALSO BECAUSE IT'S THE RIGHT THING TO DO. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TO ME. THANK YOU. OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS LYNN LONGINGS FROM THE BALTIMORE COUNTY CHAPTER OF CONTINENTAL SOCIETIES. GOOD EVENING GREETINGS, DR. ROGER, BOARD CHAIR LECTURE, , VICE CHAIR HARVEY, BOARD MEMBERS AND GUESTS. MY NAME IS LYNN LOING. I'M THE PRESIDENT OF BALTIMORE COUNTY CHAPTER OF CONTINENTAL SOCIETY. WE CONTINUE TO FOCUS ON IMPACTING THE LIVES OF CHILDREN AND YOUTH TO HAVE ACCESS TO QUALITY AND APPROPRIATE OPPORTUNITIES, UM, TO REACH THEIR OPTIMUM POTENTIAL. ON BEHALF OF HALF OF THE BALTIMORE COUNTY CONTINENTALS, CONGRATULATIONS, DR. ROGERS BOARD, STAFF AND THE PARENTS. YOUR LEADERSHIP VISION AND UNWAVERING HARD WORK HAS EARNED BALTIMORE COUNTY WELL-DESERVED STAR RATINGS ON [00:20:01] YOUR REPORT CARD. THIS ACCOMPLISHMENT IS A TESTAMENT TO THE COLLECTIVE EFFORTS AND COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENT IN EDUCATION, WISHING YOU CONTINUED SUCCESS AS YOU INSPIRE AND UPLIFT OUR STUDENTS. THIS PROGRAM HERE, THE BALTIMORE COUNTY, WE HIT THE GROUND RUNNING. WE STARTED WITH VILLE AND FED FEATHERBED LANE WITH DRUG FREE PROGRAMS RED RIBBON WEEK. WE GAVE OVER 750 WRISTBANDS, PENCILS, STICKERS TO THE FOURTH AND FIFTH GRADERS. THEN WE MOVED ON TO THE TRUNK OR TREAT WITH FED, UH, FEATHERBED SNACKS, CANDY. WE DECORATED OUR CARS AND WE GAVE OUT CANDIES, POSTCARDS. WE TALKED ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF VACCINATIONS AS WELL AS WE DONATED HATS AND DONATED HATS AND GLOVES TO THE PRE-K AND THE KINDERGARTEN STUDENTS. THEN WE MOVED ON AND WE PARTICIPATED IN THEIR THANKSGIVING FOOD DRIVE. WE GAVE 1220 $5 GIFT CARDS TO PURCHASE TURKEYS, UM, FOR WELL-DESERVED FAMILIES. THEN WE DECIDED TO PARTICIPATE IN THEIR, IT'S CALLED MISSION TO CURB ABSENCE AND TARDINESS FOR STUDENTS AT DEVELOPING. THEY DEVELOPED A WEEKLY PROGRAM FOR PERFECT ATTENDANCE. WE PURCHASED 75 BOARD GAMES, VOLLEYBALL, SCIENCE STEM KITS, SO THE STUDENTS TO GO TO THE TABLE IF THEY HAD, UM, PERFECT ATTENDANCE FOR TWO WEEKS STRAIGHT AND THEY ARE EXCITED. THEN WE DECIDED TO PARTICIPATE. HEAD BILL. I LOVE HEAD BILL. WE, UH, WERE ABLE TO PROVIDE SET 278. THIS IS CALLED LESSONS IN THE LUNCHBOX. IT'S AROUND THE STATES, UH, 50, ALL 50 STATES. DR. WINIFRED BOOKER AND HER PARTNERSHIP PROVIDED. UH, SECOND AND THIRD GRADERS WITH 270, UH, KITS. THEY TALK ABOUT, UM, BRUSHING YOUR TEETH, HEALTHY EATING, AND THE FUN THING IS THIS CARROT YOU'RE TAKING MOUTHWASH. YOU OPEN UP THE CARROT AND IT HAS TOOTHPASTE AND TWO FRESH AND FLOSS. THEY EVEN HAVE A MIRROR. AND SO, YOU KNOW, THE KIDS WERE SO EXCITED WHEN THEY GOT THESE AND THEY WANTED TO BRUSH THEIR TEETH RIGHT AWAY, . SO I WANNA THANK DR. BOOKER. THIS HAS HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR 16 YEARS AND SHE'S A ADVOCATE IN THE COMMUNITY OF PEDIATRIC. AND LAST BUT LEAST, I WANNA SAY HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL. AND MAYBE SANTA CLAUS WILL BRING US FOUR MINUTES INSTEAD OF THREE MINUTES. YOU GOT IT IN THREE MINUTES THOUGH, . THANK YOU. OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS MARIETTA ENGLISH FROM THE NAACP. GOOD EVENING VICE TOOK ME LONGER TO WALK UP HERE THAN MY SPEECH. GOOD EVENING, PRESIDENT LECTER, VICE CHAIRMAN HARVEY SCHOOL BOARD AND MEMBERS OF THE SCHOOL BOARD AND DR. ROGERS. MY NAME IS MARIANNA ENGLISH AND I CHAIR THE AXO PROGRAM AND EDUCATION CHAIR FOR BALTIMORE COUNTY BRANCH IN THE NAACP. YOU'VE SEEN ME HERE BEFORE. IT'S NICE TO SEE YOU BACK IN THOSE CHAIRS. I WANT TO BEGIN BY COMMENDING THE SCHOOL BOARD FOR SELECTING DR. ROGERS TO CONTINUE TO LEAD BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS. IT IS SURELY BECAUSE OF THE CONTINUED LEADERSHIP THAT SHE BRINGS TO BALTIMORE COUNTY THAT WE NOW HAVE THE 5 25 STAR SCHOOLS. I AM SO PROUD THAT 20 BALTIMORE COUNTY SCHOOLS RECEIVE FIVE STAR RATINGS THE MOST IN THE STATE. THERE'S BEEN A IMPROVEMENT ACROSS ALL LEVELS OF INSTRUCTION. WE KNOW THAT THIS IS BECAUSE OF THE BOARD AND DR. ROGERS MAKING DECISIONS FOR OUR STUDENTS, BUT WE ARE SURE THAT UNDER THE BOARD AND DR. ROGERS LEADERSHIP, THE IMPROVEMENT WILL CONTINUE AND THAT BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS WILL CONTINUE TO IMPROVE AND BECOME A MODEL FOR THIS STATE. I WANNA THANK YOU FOR YOUR EMPHASIS ON SAFETY WITH OUR STUDENTS BECAUSE IT IS MOST IMPORTANT. THAT IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS THAT WE WORRY ABOUT IN OUR SCHOOLS. I ALSO WANNA THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR SUPPORT OF THE AXO PROGRAM. WE ARE ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN RECRUITING STUDENTS FOR THIS YEAR, AND I THANK DR. ROGERS FOR ENCOURAGING PA PRINCIPALS TO ASSIGN A COORDINATOR TO THE PROGRAM. WE CURRENTLY HAVE OVER 10 SCHOOLS PARTICIPATING, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO HAVING A SU SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM AGAIN THIS YEAR. YOU KNOW, THE AXO PROGRAM IS AN ENRICHMENT PROGRAM, AND OVER THE YEARS, THE STUDENTS WORK WITH MENTORS AND TEACHERS TO DEVELOP PROJECTS AND PARTICIPATE IN ENRICHMENT [00:25:01] ACTIVITIES. WE ARE PROUD OF OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS. THEY ARE PROVIDING MANY OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR STUDENTS. OUR COMPETITION THIS YEAR WILL BE ON APRIL THE 26TH AT NEWTOWN HIGH SCHOOL, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO COMING BACK AND SHARING MORE INFORMATION ABOUT OUR WONDERFUL AND TALENTED STUDENTS. HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL OF YOU. THANK YOU. NEXT TO OUR INDIVIDUAL CITIZENS AND STUDENT GROUPS. AND OUR FIRST SPEAKER IS MR. RALPH JOFFE, WHICH I DON'T THINK I SEE HIM UNLESS HE'S IN THE HALLWAY. OKAY, WE WILL MOVE ON TO MS. OL AND SEE IF AT THIS POINT, GOOD EVENING. GOOD EVENING. I CAN SAY IT WAS NICE TO HEAR THAT AT LEAST ONE PARENT IN BALTIMORE COUNTY WHO HAS SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN IS, IS HAVING A GOOD EXPERIENCE. I WISH I COULD SAY THAT ABOUT MY CLIENTS AND NUMEROUS OTHERS. I HAVE A CLIENT WHO'S IN THE FIFTH GRADE WHO'S STILL READING AT THE FIRST GRADE LEVEL. AND THE FIRST THING THAT THE OFFICE OF SPECIAL ED SAID, IS SHE INTELLECTUALLY CHALLENGED? NO. WILL YOU GIVE HER THE SERVICES THAT SHE NEEDS? NO. WELL, MAYBE GIVE HER CONSULT OR MAYBE GIVE HER AN AID PART-TIME. BUT NO, WE DON'T FEEL SHE MEETS THE CRITERIA TO GET ALL THE SERVICES THAT SHE NEEDS. THE CRITERIA THAT BALTIMORE COUNTY SEEMS TO COME UP WITH, I WAS AT A MEETING TODAY FOR A CLIENT WHO HASN'T RECEIVED SPEECH AND LANGUAGE SERVICES SINCE LAST YEAR. WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT? AND I'M LISTENING TO THIS CHILD ON THE PHONE AND THE AMOUNT OF REGRESSION IS APPALLING. I WOULD LIKE TO BE ABLE TO HEAR MORE POSITIVE COMING OUT OF THE OFFICE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION, BUT THE FACT THAT I AM HERE AND THE FACT THAT I STILL HAVE A JOB WHEN I SHOULD BE HAPPILY RETIRED, MOST OF MY CLIENTS ARE IN THIS COUNTY BECAUSE THIS COUNTY HAS FAILED THEM. YOU FE YOU PEOPLE HAVE HEARD MY SON LAST YEAR COME UP AND SPEAK ELOQUENTLY IN FRONT OF YOU. MY SON DIDN'T SPEAK UNTIL HE WAS THREE YEARS OLD. AND I HAD TO FIGHT WITH BALTIMORE COUNTY TO KEEP HIS SERVICES GOING EVERY SINGLE YEAR UNTIL HE WAS IN 12TH GRADE. I HAD TO HIRE A LAWYER TO DO THAT. CAN WE STOP FAILING OUR KIDS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS AND START TAKING NOTE OF THE FACT THAT EVERY SINGLE CHILD WITH A DISABILITY DESERVES TO HAVE WHAT THEY NEED TO BE SUCCESSFUL? THANK YOU. THANK YOU. OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS DR. FARONE. GOOD EVENING TO ALL. GOOD EVENING. HAPPY HOLIDAY. MERRY CHRISTMAS. HAPPY NEW YEAR. I'M REALLY VERY HAPPY THAT WE HAVE THESE WONDERFUL PLANTS IN THERE. SIGN OF LIFE. AND ACTUALLY THE HOLIDAYS IS ABOUT LOVE AND FORGIVENESS, UH, ALL ALONG. SO WHY AM I INVOKING THE HOLIDAYS? BECAUSE I AM SINCERELY WORRIED AND I HAVE BEEN WORRIED FOR A VERY LONG TIME, CONTINUE TO BE [00:30:01] ABOUT THE PRESENCE OF ISLAMOPHOBIA AND ARAB PHOBIA IN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM. UH, YOU KNOW, DISCRIMINATION IS A DISEASE, AND I KNOW WE HAVE A GOOD POLICY, WHICH I'LL SPEAK FOR. UM, AND IT DOES NOT REALLY AFFECT ONLY ONE COLOR AND ONE RELIGION THAT AFFECT DIFFERENT CATEGORIES. UH, I EXPERIENCED ISLAMOPHOBIA AND ARAB PHOBIA WITH MY THREE SONS GROWING INTO THE SYSTEM. SO, AND I DON'T COME HERE BECAUSE SOMEBODY PAYS ME. I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT MY GRANDCHILDREN WOULD NOT BE TREATED IN THE SAME WAY AS MY SONS HAVE BEEN. SO JUST TO MENTION TO YOU, IN ABOUT 2004, MR. SHEPHERD WAS, UM, I THINK CURRICULUM, UH, DIRECTOR, HE IS THE ONLY CURRICULUM DIRECTOR THAT INVITED ME IN. TALK TO ME ABOUT THESE ISSUES. ALL MY EMAILS FROM THAT PERIOD OF TIME UNTIL NOW GO UNANSWERED. AND THAT IS A CONCERN FOR ME WHEN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM DOES NOT REALLY ANSWER REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION, COMPLAIN ABOUT AN ISSUE, NO ANSWER. NO ANSWER. IT BASICALLY MEANS THAT WE ARE HIDING SOMETHING. OKAY? AND I'VE SEEN IN SOME OF THE BOOKS THAT HAVE BEEN IN THE HALLWAY AND EVIDENCE OF THAT, UM, IT'S THERE. IT'S NATIONWIDE. SO MADAM SUPER INTENDANT, I RESPECTFULLY ASK YOU TO LOOK INTO THIS MATTER. I ONLY WANT TO KNOW THAT MY GRANDCHILDREN WOULD NOT EXPERIENCE THE SAME ISLAMOPHOBIA, A PHOBIA. UH, I KNOW IT'S THERE. THE CHATTER IN THE COMMUNITY TELLS ME IT'S THERE AND I'VE SEEN IT IN SOME OF THE BOOKS. THAT'S ALL MY REQUEST. I THANK YOU. HAPPY HOLIDAY. THANK YOU. NEXT IS PUBLIC COMMENT ON BOARD POLICY 83 30 D OH, SORRY. NEXT IS PUBLIC COMMENT ON BOARD POLICY ZERO 300 EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY. AND OUR FIRST SPEAKER IS MARIETTA ENGLISH. I'M NOT SPEAKING ON THAT. I'M SORRY. OKAY, THANK YOU. NO PROBLEM. OUR NEXT SPEAKER ON THAT, UM, POLICY IS DR. FARONE. YOU SAID 300, RIGHT? UM, ZERO 300 UHHUH . THIS IS REALLY A GREAT POLICY, HONESTLY, IT IS GREAT POLICY. HOWEVER, I NEED YOU TO BEAR WITH ME JUST FOR A SECOND. UH, THE POLICY TALKS ABOUT HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT, RETALIATION, INTIMIDATION, ET CETERA, UM, WHICH ARE FORBIDDEN, NOT ALLOWED. SO MY QUESTION IS, WHAT GUARANTEES FOR US AND THE PUBLIC THAT THE SCHOOL SYSTEM WOULD CALL INTIMIDATION? INTIMIDATION, WOULD CALL DISCRIMINATION? DISCRIMINATION? NOW, IT MIGHT SOUND SILLY, BUT YOU KNOW, THE, THE PRESIDENT-ELECT IS CLEARLY SAYING HE'S GOING TO GO AFTER HIS POLITICAL ENEMIES. ALRIGHT? IT IS IN THE NEWS. IT'S, IT'S THERE. SO WHEN I READ THIS GOOD POLICY, I WANT, AS A TAXPAYER, SOME SORT OF A LANGUAGE THAT ASSURES ME THAT YOU ARE GOING TO IMPLEMENT IT. THAT IS THE PART THAT I DON'T SEE IN THE POLICY. OKAY? AND, YOU KNOW, IN THE PAST, I DON'T SEE THE NUMBER MADAM CHAIR, SO I CAN KEEP GOING. OH, , KEEP TALKING. GO AHEAD. SOMEBODY DIDN'T START THE TIMER. MR. DR. FERONE IS NOT WORRIED. MS. S GOVER. . ALRIGHT. SO THIS IS MY, MY SENTIMENT, AND I WISH YOU WOULD TAKE IT IN CONSIDERATION. [00:35:02] AS YOU KNOW, I HAVE BEEN EJECTED OUT AND I FELT IN INTIMIDATED IN THAT. SO WHEN I READ THIS POLICY, I SEE LACK OF APPLICATION AND I REALLY WANT YOUR ASSURANCES. THANK YOU. DO I STAY OR LEAVE? I'M NOT SURE. STAY THERE FOR A SECOND. MS. SOFF, YOU SIGNED UP ON THE, UM, PUBLIC COMMENT FOR BOARD POLICIES. WHICH ONE DID YOU WANT TO SPEAK TO? UH, MISTAKE. OKAY, NO WORRIES. OKAY, THEN YES. UM, DR. FERONE, YOU MAY SIT, STAY THERE FOR YOUR COMMENTS ON BOARD POLICY 83 30 OPERATIONS 83 30, CORRECT. 83 30, YES. SO THIS IS A LENGTHY POLICY. IT'S A GOOD POLICY AND IT TALKS ABOUT VOTING, ROLL CALL, ET CETERA. MY CONCERN IS THAT US AND THE PUBLIC, WE DON'T HEAR THE VOTE SOMETIME OF CERTAIN MEMBERS ON THE PHONE. THE, THE, UH, THE VOTE TENDS TO BE WEAK. SOME MEMBERS DON'T REALLY SPEAK TO THE MICROPHONE. SO IF YOU BE KIND TO CONSIDER THAT WHEN MEMBERS VOTE THAT EITHER THE CHAIR OR THE EXECUTIVE SECRETARY WOULD REPEAT THAT VOTE IN A VERY CLEAR WAY, THEY DO THAT IN THE SENATE IN CONGRESS. AND I THINK IT WOULD BE OBVIOUS, AT LEAST FOR ME, I CANNOT REALLY HEAR SOME OF THE VOTES. THE MINUTES ARE REALLY CONFUSING AND I SPEND SO MUCH TIME ON THE WEBSITE. SO SOME OF THE MINUTES AND THE POLICY DOESN'T REALLY CORRECT THAT SOME OF THE MINUTES ARE ON THE WEBSITE. SOME OF THE MINUTES ARE ON THE BOARD DOCKS. UM, I THINK THAT'S CONFUSING. IT SHOULD BE IN ONE PLACE. IT'S EITHER ON THE WEBSITE OR ON THE BOARD DOCK. AND THERE MIGHT BE SOME REASONS FOR THAT. BUT NONETHELESS, I THINK IT SHOULD BE IN ONE, UH, ONE SIDE. I NOTICED SOME OF THE MINUTES ARE, THE WRITTEN MINUTES ARE SO BRIEF THAT THEY ARE NOT TRULY BENEFICIAL FOR SOMEBODY LIKE ME WHO WANTS TO DO A RESEARCH ABOUT SOME SUBJECT IN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM. ALRIGHT, SO BASICALLY WHEN I READ THE SUMMARY, THE WRITTEN SUMMARY, IT DOESN'T REALLY GIVE ME MUCH, WHICH MEANS I HAVE TO LISTEN TO TWO, THREE HOURS MEETING AND FLIP BACK AND FORTH, BACK AND FORTH. YOU KNOW, NOBODY HAS TOO MUCH TIME. I THINK THAT'S NOT REALLY EFFICIENT WAY OF DOING THINGS. MY RECOMMENDATION IS TO MAKE THE WRITTEN MINUTES MORE DETAILED THAN THEY ARE. ACTUALLY, I SAW SOME OF THE MINUTES THAT THEY REMIND ME WITH THE SONOGRAPHY RECORDING IN, UH, IN THE COURT SYSTEM. AND I MEAN, THAT'S NOT REALLY HELPFUL FOR SOMEBODY LIKE ME LOOKING FOR CERTAIN INFORMATION. LAST, BUT NOT REALLY LEAST IS ABOUT THE STUDENT BOARD, BOARD MEMBER VOTING. UM, I'M NOT REALLY SURE WHAT THE IDEA BEHIND IT. I THINK IT'S AN IDEA THAT, UH, IT, IT TELLS ME THAT YOU ARE GOING TO PUT TOO MUCH WEIGHT ON THE STUDENT FEELINGS. THANK YOU. [G. NEW BUSINESS - ACTION TAKEN IN CLOSED SESSION (Board Counsel) (7:40 - 7:45 p.m.)] THE NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS ACTION TAKEN, ENCLOSED SESSION. AND FOR THAT I CALL ON MR. DESTI JONES. GOOD EVENING BOARD MEMBERS. EARLIER THIS EVENING, THE BOARD MET ENCLOSED SESSION AND TOOK ACTION ON THE FOLLOWING CASES, HEA 25 DASH ZERO FIVE AND SDA 25 DASH 0 0 2. NOW WOULD BE AN APPROPRIATE TIME TO CONFIRM THE ACTIONS TAKEN DURING CLOSED SESSION. THANK YOU. MAY I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE ACTION TAKEN ENCLO SESSION ON HEARING EXAMINER'S CASE HEA 25 DASH OH FIVE AND AUTHORIZE MS. GOR TO SIGN FOR THOSE MEMBERS NOT PHYSICALLY PRESENT. SO MOVE POEY. THANK YOU. MAY I HAVE A SECOND? SECOND. CHIKE KALU. THANK YOU. ANY DISCUSSION? MAY I HAVE A ROLL CALL? VOTE PLEASE. MR. MCMILLIAN? YES. MS. HUMPHREY? YES. MR. YOUNG? YES. MS. DOKI? YES. MS. HEN? MS. HEN MS. FONG ABSTAIN. MS. BOOKER DWYER? YES. [00:40:01] MS. HARVEY? YES. MS. CHIKA KALU. YES. MS. LESKI? YES. MS. LICHTER? YES. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. MAY I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE ACTION TAKEN ENCLOSED SESSION ON HEARING EXAMINER CASE SDA 25 DASH OH TWO AND AUTHORIZE MS. GOR TO SIGN FOR THOSE BOARD MEMBERS NOT PHYSICALLY PRESENT? SO MOVED. HARVEY. SO MOVED. THANK YOU. MAY I HAVE A SECOND? I THINK WE GOT BOTH. ANY DISCUSSION? MAY I HAVE A ROLL CALL? VOTE PLEASE. MR. MCMILLIAN? YES. MS. HUMPHREY? YES. MR. YOUNG? YES. MS. DOKI? YES. MS. HEN? MS. FONG ABSTAIN. MS. BOOKER DWYER? YES. MS. HARVEY? YES. MS. CHILO? YES. MS. DUSKY? YES. MS. LICHTER? YES. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THE NEXT ITEM ON [H. NEW BUSINESS - BOARD POLICIES (Ms. Pumphrey) (7:45 - 8:00 p.m.)] THE AGENDA IS NEW BUSINESS REPORT ON BOARD POLICIES. THIS IS THE FIRST READER FOR THESE POLICIES, AND FOR THAT I CALL ON MS. CHRISTINA PUMPHREY, CHAIR OF THE POLICY REVIEW COMMITTEE. MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, THE POLICY REVIEW COMMITTEE ASKS THAT THE BOARD ACCEPT THIS REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE'S RECOMMENDATION AND PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE FOLLOWING BOARD POLICIES, BOARD POLICY ZERO 300, EQUITY EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY BOARD POLICY 83 30 OPERATIONS MINUTES. THESE POLICIES ARE PRESENTED TO YOU ON TONIGHT'S AGENDA AS EXHIBITS H ONE AND H TWO. THANK YOU MS. POEY. BOARD MEMBERS, ARE THERE ANY SEPARATIONS REQUESTED? MAY I HAVE A MOTION TO ACCEPT THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE BOARD'S POLICY REVIEW COMMITTEE FOR BOARD POLICY ZERO THREE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY THREE THIRTY. SO MOVED. DOKY. THANK YOU. NO SECOND IS NEEDED SINCE THE RECOMMENDATION COMES FROM THE COMMITTEE, IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION? MAY HAVE A ROLL CALL THOUGH, PLEASE. MR. MCMILLIAN? YES. MS. HUMPHREY? YES. MR. YOUNG? YES. MS. DOKI? YES. MS. HEN. MS. FONG? YES. MS. BOOKER DWYER? YES. MS. HARVEY? YES. MS. OU? YES. MS. KY? YES. MS. LICHTER? YES. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THE NEXT ITEM [I. WORK SESSION - PROPOSED FY2026 COUNTY CAPITAL BUDGET (Dr. Rogers and Dr. Grim) (8:00 - 8:20 p.m.)] ON THE AGENDA IS THE WORK SESSION ON THE PROPOSED FY 2026 COUNTY CAPITAL BUDGET REQUEST. AND FOR THAT, I CALL ON DR. GRIM. I GOOD EVENING. GOOD EVENING. BOARD CHAIR, LICHTER, VICE CHAIR, HARVEY, SUPERINTENDENT DR. ROGERS, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD. AT THE BOARD'S LAST MEETING ON DECEMBER 3RD, 2024, WE SHARED WITH YOU THE PROPOSED FY 26 COUNTY CAPITAL BUDGET RECOMMENDATION AND PREPARATION FOR THE BOARD ACTION AT THE JANUARY 14TH, 2025 MEETING THIS EVENING. STAFF ARE PRESENT TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE REGARDING THIS RECOMMENDATION. ANY QUESTIONS FROM BOARD MEMBERS? UM, YES. MS. DOKI. SO THE WAY THAT THEY'RE LISTED IN ORDER OF PRIORITY, IS THERE ANY CHANCE THAT BECAUSE OF THE AMOUNT THAT SOME, THE AMOUNT OF MONEY WE'RE REQUESTING FOR PRIORITY LEVEL ONE AND TWO, WOULD THEY GET PASSED OVER FOR SOMETHING THAT IS LOWER PRIORITY BECAUSE IT'S LESS MONEY? NO. NO. OKAY. THE ONLY, SO THE BOARD SETS THE PRIORITY, WHETHER IT'S FOR THE STATE OR THE COUNTY CAPITAL REQUEST, IF WE WERE TO GO, UM, SO THE, THE COUNTY GOVERNMENT WILL DECIDE WHETHER OR NOT THEY WOULD FUND A PARTICULAR REQUEST. SO ONCE YOU ALL MAKE THE DETERMINATION OF THE PRIORITY ORDER BASED ON OUR RECOMMENDATION OR CHANGES THAT YOU MAKE, IT GOES TO THE COUNTY, AND THEN THEY HAVE THE OPTION TO MOVE THOSE AROUND AS WELL. UM, IN TERMS OF THE STATE BUDGET REQUEST, WE WOULD NEED, UH, YOUR PERMISSION, THE BOARD WOULD NEED TO MAKE ANY APPROVED RECOMMENDED CHANGE FOR THE PRIORITY REQUEST TO BE ANY DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WE'VE ALREADY SUBMITTED TO THEM. SO THEY'RE NOT GONNA BE MOVED AGAIN. YOU JUST SAID THAT THE COUNTY HAS AN A CHANCE TO DO THAT. SO THE COUNTY, THE, THE COUNTY CAN CHOOSE TO, TO FUND CERTAIN REQUESTS. OKAY. OR TO NOT FUND CERTAIN REQUESTS. THAT'S, THAT'S THEIR PRIOR PREROGATIVE AS OUR FUNDING PARTNER. SO I MEAN, WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS THEY ACTUALLY COULD PASS OVER SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE UP HIGHER BECAUSE OF THE, THE COUNTY COULD. OKAY. THEY'VE BEEN TERRIFIC PARTNERS WITH, WITH US SO FAR IN THIS WORK IN SETTING THE PRIORITIES. UM, BUT, BUT IT IS THEIR, IT IS THEIR OPTION, JUST LIKE WHEN WE GIVE THEM THE BUDGET ON WHAT AND HOW THEY'RE GONNA FUND A PARTICULAR PROJECT. AND ARE, UM, ARE HIGHER PRIORITY ONE, THE TOWSON MOSTLY IN DELANEY, ARE THEY IN A STAGE RIGHT NOW AS FAR AS WITH DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT WHERE THEY SHOULD BE? THERE'S, THERE'S NOTHING HANGING THEM UP FROM BEING APPROVED. LIKE THERE'S NO, THERE IS, OTHER THAN [00:45:01] JUST BEING THEY DON'T HAVE THE MONEY. THERE IS NOT, WE ANTICIPATE, UM, YOU KNOW, DEPENDING ON FUNDING AVAILABILITY, WE ANTICIPATE BOTH OF THOSE PROJECTS TO GO OUT TO BID LATE, LATE SPRING. OKAY. OKAY. THANK YOU. YOU'RE WELCOME. ANY OTHER, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. NEXT, [J. REPORT - ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT (Dr. Rogers, Dr. DiDonato, and Ms. Mshinda) (8:20 - 8:40 p.m.)] THE NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS THE REPORT ON MATHEMATICS. AND THAT I, AND FOR THAT I CALL ON DR. ROGERS, DR. DEDO AND MS. AND MS. UH, GREENBERG AS WELL. PLEASE COME FORWARD. IT WASN'T ON YOUR LIST THIS EVENING. UH, CHAIR LICHTER, VICE CHAIR HARVEY, AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, THE MATH TEAM IS HERE AND PLEASED TO PRESENT AN UPDATE ON OUR STUDENT PERFORMANCE AND MATHEMATICS, AS WELL AS THE SPECIFIC STEPS THAT WE ARE TAKING TO, UH, CONTINUE TO ENSURE, UH, IMPROVEMENT ACROSS OUR SCHOOLS. SO WITH THAT, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO DR. DENADO. GOOD. THANK YOU DR. ROGERS. GOOD EVENING, BOARD CHAIR, LICHTER, VICE CHAIR HARVEY, SUPERINTENDENT DR. ROGERS AND BOARD MEMBERS. UM, THANK YOU FOR GIVING US THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE SOME UPDATES AND INFORMATION ABOUT MATH INSTRUCTION IN BCPS. UM, IN FRONT OF YOU IS OUR FOCUS ON OUR PATHWAY FORWARD, AND THIS WAS REALLY THE MODEL THAT, UM, DR. ROGERS HAS SHARED SEVERAL TIMES, LOOKING AT THE KEY INDICATORS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT TO MARK OUR PROGRESS AS WE CONTINUE TO SUPPORT OUR STUDENTS MOVING FORWARD. THIS HAS A SPECIFIC LENS FOCUSED ON MATH, AND YOU CAN SEE THAT WE ARE CONCENTRATED IN THE AREA OF MODELING AND REASONING. ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE SCREEN, YOU CAN SEE SPECIFIC GRADE BANDS AND CONTENT SUBJECT FOCUS AREAS FOR EACH OF THOSE GRADE BANDS, SO THAT IN KINDERGARTEN THROUGH GRADE TWO, WE'RE REALLY LOOKING AT NUMBERS AND OPERATION IN BASE 10. SO THOSE ARE THOSE FOUNDATIONAL SKILLS OF NUMBERS, COMBINING THEM TOGETHER IN VARIOUS WAYS, UM, IN ORDER TO THEN CREATE THOSE PRE-REQUISITE SKILLS SO THEY CAN THEN TAKE NUMBERS TO A HIGHER LEVEL WITH, UM, MULTI-DIGIT NUMBERS. AND LOOKING AT FRACTIONS AS YOU CAN SEE IN THIRD THROUGH FIFTH. AND CONTINUING THROUGH THE, UH, PROGRESSION IDENTIFIED ON THE SCREEN WITH LOOKING AT, UH, RATIOS AND PROPORTIONAL REASONING IN GRADES SIX THROUGH SEVEN AND IN EIGHTH GRADE, UM, EXPRESSIONS, EQUATIONS, AND FUNCTIONS. AGAIN, ALL OF OUR TARGETS ARE REALLY GEARED TO HELP MAKE SURE OUR STUDENTS ARE READY TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN ALGEBRA ONE, WHETHER THEY'RE TAKING IT MIDDLE SCHOOL OR HIGH SCHOOL, TO SET THE STAGE FOR THEN FUTURE MATH COURSES AND THEIR CONTINUED PROGRESSION. GOOD EVENING. SO IN TAKING A LOOK AT WHERE WE ARE ON THE LAST SLIDE, UM, THERE WAS A NODE TO THE NEW STATE ADOPTED CCR STANDARD THAT PLACES ALMOST AN EXCLUSIVE FOCUS ON ALGEBRA ONE SUCCESS AS AN INDICATOR OF BEING COLLEGE AND CAREER READY. SO IF WE TAKE A LOOK AT WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW, WE CAN SEE THAT WE'VE MADE INCREMENTAL GROWTH FROM 2023 TO 2024 ACROSS ALL GRADE LEVELS. THIS SLIDE HERE IS AROUND THE ELEMENTARY GRADES, AND IF WE LOOK DEEPER AT SOME OF THE STUDENT GROUPS, UM, THERE'S STILL SOME SPACES WHERE WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE SHORING UP THAT ACCESS SO THAT THE STUDENTS HAVE OPPORTUNITY TO ENGAGE IN THAT ALGEBRAIC THINKING TOWARDS SUCCESS IN ALGEBRA ONE. ON THIS SECOND SLIDE AROUND THE SECONDARY DATA, THE SAME TREND IS TRUE. WE SEE AN INCREASE ACROSS ALL GRADES FROM 2023 TO 2024 WITH THE MOST SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN ALGEBRA ONE. AND STILL IN SOME OF THE SPACES, PARTICULARLY HERE, OUR STUDENTS RECEIVING SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES, THERE WAS A DECLINE. SO THE WORK CONTINUES AND WE REALIZE THAT, UM, ONE OF THE CHARGES FOR THE MATH OFFICE IS GOING FORWARD. HOW DO WE RAMP UP THE PACE OF THIS GROWTH AS THE STUDENTS HAVE THEIR TRAJECTORY FROM GRADE THREE TO THE COURSE ALGEBRA ONE AS THEY ENGAGE IN IT? MSD HAS ADDED A SPECIFIC FOCUS ON THE MODELING AND REASONING, UM, MATHEMATICAL PRACTICES THAT LIVE WITHIN OUR CONTENT STANDARDS. SO IN ALIGNMENT WITH THAT, BCPS HAS INFUSED A FOCUS ON MODELING REASONING IN ALL OF OUR WORK. UM, WE HAVE OUR MODELING AND REASONING STANDARDS OUTLINED WITHIN OUR ASSESSMENT BLUEPRINTS. WE HAVE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING WITH PROFESSIONALS AND MATH LEADERS AROUND UNDERSTANDING AND UTILIZING THEM MCAP EVIDENCE STATEMENTS AND HOW MODELING AND REASONING LIVES WITHIN THOSE ASSESSMENT ITEMS. DIRECT TO SCHOOL SUPPORT VIA PROFESSIONAL LEARNING FOR SECONDARY ALGEBRA ONE TEACHERS AND ELEMENTARY MATH COACHES AND SPECIALISTS AROUND MODELING AND REASONING AND INSTRUCTION. AND ADDITIONAL WORK IS UNDERWAY TO DEVELOP SUCCESS CRITERIA FOR MCAP RELEASE ITEMS, MODELING AND REASONING, AND INCREASING INFUSION WITHIN PLANNING FOR UNDERSTANDING [00:50:01] THE ASSESSMENT LIMITS WITHIN THE CONTENT STANDARDS. UM, INTERVENTION IS AN IMPERATIVE ASPECT OF THE WORK THAT WE DO TO ENSURE THAT MATH STUDENTS ARE MOVING FORWARD TOWARDS MASTERY OF THE STANDARDS. THE OFFICE OF MATH HAS COLLABORATED WITH THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS OF SCHOOLS AND SCHOOLS ADMINISTRATORS AROUND WORKING WITH THEIR MATH LEADERS IN INCREASING EFFECTIVE FIRST INSTRUCTION. THE REIMAGINED REQUIRED TRAININGS ARE BASED UPON THE INSTRUCTIONAL AREAS OF GROWTH OBSERVED BY SCHOOL AND DISTRICT LEADERS. WORK WITH MATH LEADERS IN THE SCHOOLS FOCUSES ON CONTENT KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT AND COACHING FOR STUDENT-CENTERED CLASSROOMS. AND MSD IS CURRENTLY CONSTRUCTING AN MTSS FRAMEWORK, WHICH WILL INFORM OUR CONTINUED WORK ON ENSURING THAT STUDENTS WHO ARE GIVEN APPROPRIATE AND TIMELY INTERVENTION. WE HAVE A NUMBER OF NEW STRUCTURAL AND PROGRAMS IMPLEMENTED DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR. STRUCTURALLY MATH SIX NOW MEETS EVERY DAY TO ALLOW FOR APPROPRIATE SCAFFOLDING IN TIME RESPONSIVE INSTRUCTION AND ENRICHMENT ALGEBRA ONE SUPPORT COURSE PROVIDES ADDITIONAL TIME AND STRATEGIES FOR STUDENTS TO ENGAGE IN THEIR ALGEBRA ONE COURSE WITH GREATER MASTERY. HIGH IMPACT SCHOOL DAY TUTORING IS CURRENTLY PILOTED IN ONE MIDDLE SCHOOL. THE DATA THERE IS BEING GATHERED TO INFORM THE STRENGTHS OF THE PROGRAM AND POTENTIAL FOR SCALING UP. MULTILINGUAL LEARNERS WITH INTERRUPTED LEARNING COURSE WAS REDESIGNED WITH A CLEAR FOCUS ON THE STANDARDS NEEDED FOR SUCCESS IN A FUTURE ALGEBRA ONE COURSE, AND HAVING A MATH LEAD IN EVERY ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS PROVIDING CONTENT EXPERTISE IN PLCS AND CO-TEACHING MODELING LESSONS. UM, WITHIN EACH BUILDING, WE ARE ALSO LEVERAGING THE PLC MODEL TO EMBED PROFESSIONAL LEARNING IN CONTEXT OF EACH SCHOOL. THE PROGRAMS THAT WE HAVE HAPPENING NOW AS AN ASSESSMENT AS PILOT, WHICH IS GRANT FUNDED FOR GRADE SIX AND NINE OF OUR MIDDLE SCHOOLS, IT FOCUSES ON UTILIZING FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT DATA TO DRIVE RESPONSIVE INSTRUCTION. IM CURRICULUM, UM, IS IN, IS PROVIDED IN THIS DIGITAL FORMAT FOR AN INSTANT DATA COLLECTION FOR THE TEACHERS TO UTILIZE. WE ALSO HAVE A CONMIGO AI TUTOR PILOT, WHICH IS GRANT FUNDED FOR GRADE EIGHT AND 12 OF OUR MIDDLE SCHOOL. IT FOCUSES ON OFFERING AN AI TUTOR TO ASSIST STUDENTS IN REAL TIME WHILE WORKING ON CURRICULUM PROBLEMS. THE PLATFORM HAS DONE EXTENSIVE WORK TO ASSURE THAT STUDENTS ARE SUPPORTED IN CONTENT AND PROTECTED FROM POTENTIAL PITFALL PITFALLS. WHILE WORKING WITH AI KHAN ACADEMY HAS DONE SIGNIFICANT LEGWORK WITH INFUSING I A I IN EDUCATION AND TEACHERS AND STUDENTS WILL, HUH? I'M SORRY. AI WITHIN EDUCATION AND TEACHERS AND STUDENTS WILL ALSO BE TRAINED ON WORKING EFFECTIVELY WITH AI. OOPS. OH, OOPS, SORRY. UM, RENAISSANCE LEARNING PLATFORM IS PROVIDING THE NEXT STEPS IN OUR PROGRESS MONITORING AND INTERVENTION. THE KICKOFF IS HAPPENING IN JANUARY. WE'LL HAVE STAR ASSESSMENTS THAT WILL PROVIDE SCREENING AND PROGRESS MONITORING FOR STUDENTS IN GRADE THREE, GRADE FIVE. AND ALGEBRA 1D NA WILL PROVIDE PROGRESS MONITORING THROUGH STANDARDS BASED ASSESSMENTS TO MEASURE ALGEBRA ONE READINESS FOR STUDENTS IN COURSES DIRECTLY PRIOR TO ALGEBRA ONE. AND FRECKLE WILL PROVIDE DIFFERENTIATED PRACTICE AND INSTRUCTION AS A FORM OF INTERVENTION OUTSIDE OF HIGH QUALITY FIRST INSTRUCTION. AND WE ALSO KNOW THE IMPORTANCE OF STAKEHOLDER INVOLVEMENT. THE TEAM HAS PARTICIPATED IN BCPS FEST AND ALL CURRICULUM NIGHTS TO BE ABLE TO DISCUSS MATH EDUCATION IN REAL TIME WITH STAKEHOLDERS. BOTH BRIDGES AND ILLUSTRATIVE MATHEMATICS PROVIDES FAMILIES WITH UNIT RESOURCE GUIDES. THE OFFICE OF MATH WEBSITE HAS ADDITIONAL MORE IN DEPTH UNIT GUIDES THAT PROVIDE FAMILIES WITH CONTENT INFORMATION AND TOOLS TO ASSIST STUDENT SUCCESS ON STANDARD MASTERY. AND FAMILIES ALSO HAVE ACCESS TO THE LIBRARY OF MATH HOMEWORK HELPER VIDEOS. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. UM, QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM BOARD MEMBERS? MS. HARVEY? OOPS. NO, I ARE, YOU'LL BOTH HAVE A CHANCE, MS. HARVEY. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. UH, THANK YOU ALL FOR, UH, BRINGING US MORE POSITIVE PROGRESS, UH, FOR OUR STUDENTS IN MATH. I JUST HAD A QUESTION ON THE SLIDE WHERE YOU TALK ABOUT NEW INITIATIVES TO SUPPORT THE WORK. CAN YOU TALK ABOUT A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW OR IF THESE INITIATIVES, UH, HAVE, UH, STRATEGIES OR PROCESSES THAT SPEAK TO THE NEEDS OF OUR SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS OR HOW THEY'RE BEING, UM, MODIFIED TO MEET THOSE PARTICULAR NEEDS, THOSE VERY INDIVIDUAL PARTICULAR NEEDS FOR OUR SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS? UM, SO WITH ASSISTANCE, THE TEACHERS ARE GIVEN IMMEDIATE DATA UPON COMPLETION OF A PROBLEM IN ORDER TO HELP THEM GET THE KIDS, IT GIVES THEM WHETHER THEY TOOK A HINT OR TWO HINTS OR NEEDED A MORE EXTENSIVE HELP WITH THE PROBLEM. SO THAT THAT SPECIFIC PLATFORM GIVES THE TEACHERS IMMEDIATE FEEDBACK WHERE EACH INDIVIDUAL STUDENT IS BAT, WHICH ALLOWS THEM TO PLAN A PROGRESS MONITOR FOR WHERE AN ADDITIONAL INTERVENTION MIGHT BE NEEDED. UM, THE CONMIGO PROGRAM ALSO IS AN INDIVIDUALIZED PLATFORM WHERE [00:55:01] THE, IT IS MONITORED AS WELL, WHERE THE TEACHERS CAN ACCESS THE DATA IN WHICH THE STUDENTS ARE, WHAT KIND OF QUESTIONS THE STUDENTS ARE NEEDING ASSISTANCE WITH TO ALLOW FOR INDIVIDUALIZED. SO WITH CONGO, TEACHERS ALSO HAVE THE ABILITY TO, UM, IDENTIFY SKILL AREAS WHERE STUDENTS MAY NEED ADDITIONAL PRACTICE. SO IT COULD BE THAT A STUDENT MIGHT HAVE AN IEP GOAL OR AN OBJECTIVE IN A CERTAIN AREA WHERE IT'S A PREREQUISITE SKILL FOR ANOTHER SKILL THAT THEY KNOW THAT THEY NEED TO, UH, ENHANCE, THAT THEY CAN ASSIGN THAT SPECIFIC WORK TO THE STUDENTS. SO TEACHERS CAN TAILOR THAT IN ADDITION TO THE ADAPTIVE PART OF THE AI FUNCTIONALITY WITH THAT ONE. OKAY. AND, AND THEN JUST TO FOLLOW UP ON THE HIGH IMPACT SCHOOL DAY TUTORING, IS THAT, UH, ASSIGNED BASED ON IEPS, UH, TEACHER ASSESSMENT? HOW, WHICH STUDENTS ARE SELECTED TO RECEIVE THE TUTORING? OR DO ALL STUDENTS HAVE ACCESS TO THE TUTORING? YEAH, SO CURRENTLY IN, AT THE SITE THAT IS PILOTING THIS HIGH IMPACT TUTORING, ALL OF THE STUDENTS IN GRADE EIGHT AND A SUBSET OF STUDENTS IN ALGEBRA ONE, THEY'RE IN GRADE EIGHT, UH, TAKING ALGEBRA ONE, ARE RECEIVING THE TUTORING. AND HOW IT'S DEFINED AS HIGH IMPACT IS THE TUTOR TO STUDENT RATIO. THERE'S NO MORE THAN THREE OR FOUR STUDENTS PER TUTOR. THE TUTORS DEVELOP THE RELATIONSHIP WITH THAT GROUP OF STUDENTS BY BEING THE CONSISTENT SUPPORT EVERY TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY OF EACH WEEK. UM, AND THE STUDENTS HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY, EXCUSE ME, HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY, UM, GO DEEPER IN THEIR BOTH FLUENCY AND FOUNDATIONAL SKILLS AS WELL AS THEIR ON GRADE LEVEL, UH, CONTENT. SO THAT IS ALL OF THE STUDENTS AT THAT SITE IN GRADE EIGHT, WHETHER THEY'RE TAKING, UM, ON LEVEL GRADE EIGHT MATH OR ALGEBRA ONE. GREAT. THANK YOU. I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING THE OUTCOMES OF THAT AND THE CONVERSATIONS ON IF IT'S SUCCESSFUL, HOW WE SCALE IT UP. MM-HMM . MS. ALKI? YES. UH, SO WHO, FOR THE T, THE HIGH IMPACT TUTORING, WHO ARE THE TUTORS? THE T THE PARTNERSHIP THAT WE HAVE. SO THIS TUTORING CAME THROUGH A GRANT FROM MSDE, AND ONE OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE GRANT WAS THAT WE PARTNER WITH A HIGHER ED INSTITUTION. SO WE ARE PARTNERING WITH UMBC, UM, AND IT'S AN EXCITING PARTNERSHIP BECAUSE ONE OF THEIR CRITERIA IS WE WON'T DO VIRTUAL TUTORING. SO THOSE TUTORS COME FACE TO FACE THREE DAYS A WEEK TO THE SCHOOL TO WORK WITH THE STUDENTS. SO THEY ARE STUDENTS THAT ARE AT UMBC. THAT SOUNDS GREAT. IS, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT CAN BE FEASIBLY DONE AT ALL LOCATIONS? ALL, ALL OF OUR MIDDLE SCHOOL LOCATIONS, HIGH OR SECONDARY LOCATIONS SAY SO, UM, PART OF THE ABILITY TO, UH, THIS IS A RATHER COSTLY PROGRAM TO IMPLEMENT. UM, WE WERE ABLE TO DO IT THROUGH A GRANT THROUGH MSD, WHICH IS WHY IT'S BEING LOOKED AT AS A PILOT TO LOOK AT WHAT KIND OF RESULTS, UM, ARE YIELDED. IF THIS IS SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, WE LOOK TO CONTINUE, UM, BECAUSE THE RESULTS, IT WOULD HAVE TO BE FISCAL DECISIONS THAT WE ALL MAKE COLLECTIVELY TO TRY TO, TO IMPLEMENT THAT. UM, UMBC, PART OF THE PARTNERSHIP AND FEASIBILITY OF IT, OF HAVING THOSE STUDENTS IS THE PROXIMITY TO THE LOCATION WHERE THEY'RE DOING IT. SO THEY WOULD NOT, UM, PARTNER WITH US WITH ANY SCHOOL. IT WAS REALLY CLOSE PROXIMITY TO THE CAMPUS SO THAT THEIR STUDENTS, UM, STILL ARE MAINTAINING THEIR FULL COLLEGE COURSE LOAD, BUT ARE PARTICIPATING WITH OUR STUDENTS DURING THIS CHUNK IN THE MIDDLE OF THEIR DAY, UM, FOR, FOR THIS TUTORING OPPORTUNITY. UM, SO IT WOULD BE A MATTER OF IF THIS WAS SORT OF LIKE THE MODEL THAT WE CONTINUE TO SCALE, UM, FINDING THOSE OTHER LIKE UNIVERSITY OR SECONDARY ED PARTNERS WHO WOULD BE EITHER WILLING TO TRAVEL FURTHER FOR SOME OF OUR LOCATIONS, UM, OR HAD THE DEPTH, A GREATER DEPTH OF STUDENTS WHO MIGHT HAVE MORE FLEXIBILITY WITH THEIR SCHEDULES. SO THERE'S A COUPLE, THEY'RE ABLES, UM, MORE DEFINITELY LEARNING A LOT FROM THIS PROGRAM. UM, ONE OF THE, AGAIN, BENEFITS OF HAVING THIS PARTNERSHIP, UM, THROUGH THE GRANT WITH MSDE IS THEY HAVE AN IDENTIFIED, UM, PROGRAM FACILITATOR WHO'S FROM THE UNIVERSITY WHO HELPS COORDINATE ALL OF THOSE THINGS. UM, SO THAT, THAT'S DEFINITELY BEEN A BENEFIT AND ALLOWED US TO REALLY SEE LIKE ALL THE NUANCES THAT NEED TO BE ORCHESTRATED IN ORDER TO EXPAND THIS. SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO KEEP YOU GUYS UPDATED ON IT. OKAY. THANK YOU ABOUT THAT. UM, FOR, AND FOR THE OTHER ONES, FOR THE ASSISTANCE PILOT, THE CONOWINGO, THE RESET, UH, RENAISSANCE LEARNING PARTNERSHIPS, UM, I'M, I LOOK THEM UP AND A LOT OF THEM ARE ONLINE, UH, TOOLS, APPS. IS THERE A PAPER, YOU KNOW, PORTION, LIKE, IS IS THERE AN ALTERNATIVE TO DOING THIS ON THE COMPUTER? DO CAN IT BE DONE ON PAPER? IS THAT WHAT I'M SAYING? SO, PART OF ASSESSMENTS IS THAT IT TAKES WHAT WE HAVE IN OUR HIGH QUALITY CURRICULUM AND PROVIDES AN OPPORTUNITY FOR STUDENTS TO RESPOND, WHETHER IT'S THE PRACTICE PROBLEMS IN ILLUSTRATIVE MATHEMATICS OR THEIR COOL DOWN GUIDANCE OR, YOU KNOW, THOSE KIND OF THINGS TO RESPOND ON THE COMPUTERS SO THAT THE TEACHER GETS IMMEDIATE FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT DATA. SO THE GOAL FOR THAT ONE IS [01:00:01] TO TAKE THE PAPER GRADING AWAY FROM THE TEACHER AND PROVIDE TIME FOR THAT TEACHER TO REALLY INVESTIGATE, OKAY, HERE'S THE DATA THAT TELLS ME NOT ONLY HOW MY STUDENTS DO, BUT IT ALSO TELLS HOW MANY OPPORTUNITIES THE STUDENT NEEDED TO GET THE ANSWER RIGHT. SO THEY CAN CLICK FOR A HINT AND THE COLOR OF THEIR PERFORMANCE CHANGES BASED ON HOW MANY HINTS THEY NEEDED TO ACTUALLY GET THE, THE QUESTION, RIGHT. SO THE GOAL FOR THAT ONE IS TO SORT OF TAKE THE PAPER AND PENCIL OUT OF IT SO THAT THE TEACHER HAS TIME TO REALLY USE DATA INFORMATIVELY IN, YOU KNOW, MAKING INSTRUCTIONAL DECISIONS. SO THAT PIECE IS WITH ASSISTANCE. UM, THE RENAISSANCE LEARNING, UM, PLATFORM IS A DIGITAL PLATFORM BECAUSE IT'S GOING TO INCLUDE FOR US, A SCREENER TO ALLOW US TO SEE WHERE THE STUDENTS ARE. SO WE CAN BEGIN PROGRESS MONITORING BY STARTING WITH A BASELINE, UM, AND THEN PROVIDE FOR THE TEACHER A LEARNING PATHWAY BASED ON WHERE THE STUDENTS ARE PLACED THAT WILL SUPPORT THEM WITH THEIR TRAJECTORY, WHETHER THEY ARE STARTING ON GRADE LEVEL OR AT A PRIOR GRADE LEVEL. SO THOSE TWO THINGS, WELL, THE RENAISSANCE LEARNING PLATFORM REALLY IS A DIGITAL BASED PLATFORM, AND THE ASSISTANCE IS, UM, CONNECTED TO OUR CORE CURRICULUM. CON MIGO IS ALSO IN SOME WAYS CONNECTED TO OUR CORE, UH, CURRICULUM. AND CONMIGO JUST ALLOWS FOR IMMEDIATE FEEDBACK TO STUDENTS. IF YOU THINK ABOUT A TEACHER WHO HAS TO CIRCULATE THE ROOM TO GIVE EVERY STUDENT SOME PIECE OF FEEDBACK AS THEIR, THAT'S A VERY DIFFICULT, UM, TASK FOR MANY TEACHERS. SO WITH THE CONMIGO ALLOWS, THE STUDENTS CAN ASK A TUTOR THEIR AI TUTOR FOR SUPPORT AND GET IMMEDIATE FEEDBACK, WHICH IS A LOT OF TIMES WHAT THE REACHES RESEARCH SAYS STUDENTS ARE MISSING WHEN IT COMES TO BEING ABLE TO BE EFFECTIVE WITH, WITH MASTERING, IS THAT THEY AREN'T GETTING THE IMMEDIATE FEEDBACK FROM THE TEACHER THROUGH. THE TEACHER IS ADDRESSING 24 STUDENTS AT A, AT A TIME. SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE WAYS, I KNOW IT DIDN'T ANSWER YOUR QUESTION ABOUT PAPER AND PENCIL. THOSE ARE SOME OF THE REASONS WHY THAT DIGITAL COMPONENT MAY BE, UM, AN ADDED. RIGHT NOW WE HAVE PAPER AND PENCIL EVERYTHING ACROSS MATHEMATICS. SO THIS IS AN ADDED PIECE. BUT WOULD THIS, SO THE REASON I'M ASKING IS THERE'S SOME, I MEAN, I, I JUST WENT THROUGH THIS PROCESS OF, UM, AND I, I KNOW I BRING IT UP A LOT, BUT I JUST WENT THROUGH THE PROCESS OF MY OWN SON AND, UM, HE HAS AN IEP AND WE WENT THROUGH IT DOWN STRAIGHT. HE'S GREAT STUDENT AND VERY ATTENTIVE. UM, GREAT REMARKS. I HEARD EVERYTHING WAS WONDERFUL, ALL THINGS I ALREADY KNEW ABOUT HIM. BUT THEY SAID WHERE HE WHERE HE WAS HAVING ISSUES IS THAT ANYTIME THERE WAS A COMPUTER, YOU KNOW, ANYTHING HAD TO DO TO ON THE COMPUTER, HE GOT DISTRACTED, HE DIDN'T DO AS WELL. AND ONE OF THE REASONS THEY SAID, WELL, WELL, THEY GET TO DO A REDO. SO MY QUESTION, AND I ASKED TO PUT IN HIS IEP, IF THERE IS A PAPER AND PEN VERSION, HE NEEDS THAT BECAUSE HE CAN FOCUS BETTER THAT WAY. AND I THINK THAT IT'S IMPORTANT THAT ALL OF OUR STUDENTS HAVE THAT OPTION, BECAUSE WHILE IT'S GREAT FOR TEACHERS TO GET THAT IMMEDIATE, YOU KNOW, RESPONSE FROM THE STUDENT, IT'S NOT ALWAYS THE BEST AVENUE FOR THE STUDENT TO LEARN RIGHT AWAY. LIKE, IT'S IF YOU'RE USING YOUR HAND AND YOU'RE WRITING SOMETHING DOWN THE MEMORY AND THE COGNITIVE COMES THROUGH THAT WAY FOR THE STUDENT. SO WHILE IT'S GOOD FOR THE TEACHER, IT MIGHT NOT BE THE BEST OPTION FOR THE STUDENT. SO I, I WOULD HOPE THAT WE HAVE OPTIONS LIKE THIS WHERE THE, THE STUDENT CAN ALSO WRITE DOWN AS OPPOSED TO DOING EVERYTHING ON THE COMPUTER. SO IF I COULD, UH, MS. DOKI, UH, ABSOLUTELY. IN TERMS OF GIVING STUDENTS OPTIONS, PARTICULARLY AROUND MATH, UH, MANY TIMES STUDENTS STILL HAVE OLD FASHIONED SCRATCH PAPER WHERE THEY WORK THROUGH THE PROBLEM SO THEY CAN, UH, COGNITIVELY GO THROUGH THE PROBLEM. THE, THE BENEFIT OF THEM PUTTING THE, UM, RESPONSES IN THE SYSTEM IS TWOFOLD. UH, ONE, IT PREPARES THEM FOR THE ULTIMATE STATE ASSESSMENT WHERE UNLESS THERE'S AN EXCEPTION MADE, UM, YOU KNOW, MOST OF OUR ASSESSMENTS ARE DELIVERED, UH, ON THE COMPUTER. AND SO IT HELPS THEM TO BUILD THAT MUSCLE, UH, FOR THAT SKILL. BUT IT ALSO ALLOWS THE TEACHER TO HAVE IN REAL TIME NOT ONLY A RECORD OF, UH, UH, INFORMATION ABOUT THAT STUDENT, BUT A PATTERN ACROSS THE CLASS. BECAUSE WHAT WE'RE ASKING TEACHERS TO DO IS LEVERAGE THE PLC TO GO AND LOOK AT STUDENT DATA, LOOK AT THOSE PATTERNS, IDENTIFY WHAT THEY NEED TO CHANGE IN THEIR LESSONS NEXT WEEK, NOT NEXT YEAR WITH THE NEXT GROUP OF STUDENTS. THESE VARY STUDENTS. AND SO I, I THINK THERE'S A WAY TO DO BOTH TO MAKE SURE THAT STUDENT HAS THE PAPER AND PENCIL TO HELP THEM TO STAY FOCUSED ON WHAT THEY'RE DOING AND TO WORK IT THROUGH, UM, BUT ALSO TO PUT IT IN AS WE'RE PREPARING THEM FOR WHAT ULTIMATELY THEY'RE GONNA SEE AND HOW THEY'RE GONNA BE ASSESSED, UH, BY THE STATE AND IN OTHER REALMS. SO, WELL, AND ALSO, AS FAR AS GOING WITH BUDGET TALKS, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS GETTING AWAY FROM THE ONE-TO-ONE STUDENT RATIO WITH COMPUTERS. AND IF WE KEEP LEANING TOWARDS THESE, YOU KNOW, COMPUTER-BASED PROGRAMS AND ASSISTANCE, I'M JUST CONCERNED THAT WE'RE GETTING OUR KIDS MORE AND MORE DEPENDENT ON HAVING A COMPUTER AT ALL TIMES. THAT INFORMATION IS COMING. AND, UM, WHAT I HAVE SHARED WITH YOU GUYS IS COMING TO BEAR. UH, THAT IS NOT THE CASE. SO WE HAVE HEARD THE FEEDBACK FROM [01:05:01] OUR PARENTS, FROM OUR STAFF MEMBERS, FROM OUR TEACHERS, AND, AND REALLY LOOKING FOR THAT BALANCE. UH, THERE'S NO WAY THAT WE GET AWAY FROM COMPUTERS ALTOGETHER, THAT IS THE FUTURE. AI CAN BE LEVERAGED FOR GOOD, PARTICULARLY HELPING STUDENTS TO IMPROVE ACADEMICALLY, BUT STUDENTS, STUDENTS CAN'T BE ON THE COMPUTER ALL THE TIME. THERE IS A TIME AND A NECESSITY FOR STUDENTS TO SPEAK WITH EACH OTHER, TO SPEAK TO THE TEACHER, TO LEARN HOW TO WRITE, TO LEARN HOW TO SIGN THEIR NAMES, ALL OF THOSE SKILLS THAT ARE NECESSARY TO BE A WELL-ROUNDED STUDENT. AND SO, UM, I, I AM, I BELIEVE EVERYONE WILL BE PLEASED WHEN THE RECOMMENDATION COMES FORWARD, UH, WITH THE CHANGES THAT WE'RE GONNA RECOMMEND, UH, IN THAT AREA SPECIFICALLY. THANK YOU. WELCOME. OTHER QUESTIONS? YES, MS. BOOKER DWYER? YES. THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. AND I KNOW THAT BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS IS DOING EVERYTHING THAT, THAT YOU ALL CAN TO, UM, RAISE MATH ACHIEVEMENT. AND IT'S ENCOURAGING TO SEE THE GROWTH. I KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO MOVE ONE POINT. UM, AND, AND IN SOME CASES YOU'RE MOVING WELL ABOVE, UH, WELL BEYOND THAT. AND SO, AND EVEN THOUGH WE'RE MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, WE KNOW THAT WE NEED TO ACCELERATE IT EVEN FASTER. WE NEED TO OUR FOOT ALL THE WAY ON THE GAS. AND SO WHAT I AM WONDERING IS WHAT IS NEEDED, I MEAN, I KNOW WE HAVE CRITERION CONSTRAINTS. WHAT IS NEEDED FOR US TO ADVOCATE FOR FROM OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS OR STATE EDUCATION AGENCIES SO THAT WE CAN ENSURE THAT WE HAVE THE RESOURCES WE NEED TO ACCELERATE MATH ACHIEVEMENT IN SCHOOL? I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER THAT. WE NEED THE PEOPLE. UM, THE PEOPLE ARE, ARE THOSE IN THE CLASSROOM AND, UM, OUTSIDE OF THE CLASSROOM THAT HELP US TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE. SO WHETHER WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE CLASSROOM TEACHER, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE PARA ASSISTANT, THE STAFF IN OPERATIONS, CENTRAL OFFICE WHO PROVIDES REPORTS, THEY'RE ALL IMPORTANT. SO I WOULD SAY ADVOCACY IS AROUND FLEXIBILITY WITH FUNDING, SO WE CAN REALLY TAKE CARE OF OUR PEOPLE. UM, NOT ONLY RECRUITMENT, AS WE KNOW THERE WILL ALWAYS BE, UM, PROMOTIONS, RESIGNATIONS, RETIREMENTS, THINGS OF THAT NATURE, BUT ALSO RETENTION OF OUR STAFF MEMBERS. SO, UM, THAT IS MY, UH, FIRST RESPONSE IF YOU GUYS WOULD LIKE TO ADD ANYTHING ELSE ON YOUR WISHLIST, BUT I THINK WE CAN'T DO ANY OF THIS WITHOUT PEOPLE AGREED. OKAY. THEY LIKED YOUR, THEY LIKED YOUR RESPONSE. UM, OTHER QUESTIONS? I, I HAVE, OH, MS. CHILO. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION AT TWO. SO FOR THE FIRST ONE, COULD YOU JUST EXPAND ON HOW THE CONMIGO AI TUTOR PILOT IS KIND OF BEING IMPLEMENTED IN THE ACTUAL CLASSROOM? SO WE ARE GOING TO START IMPLEMENTATION IN JANUARY, AND IT WILL BE JUST WITH, UH, 12 GRADE, EIGHT GRADE EIGHT AND 12 OF OUR MIDDLE SCHOOLS. AND THERE'S GOING TO BE SIGNIFICANT TRAINING FOR BOTH THE STUDENTS AND THE TEACHERS WITH HOW TO WORK WITH THE AI PLATFORM, BUT IT IS TIED TO OUR ALREADY ADOPTED CURRICULUM. SO IT'LL JUST BE AN ADDED BONUS FOR THEM TO BE ABLE TO GET AS RIGHT IN TIME, REAL TIME ASSISTANCE WITH THEIR CLASSROOM WORK THAT THEY'RE ALREADY DOING. HOW IS COMPLEMENTING PERSONALIZED TEACHER INSTRUCTION? BUT I WAS JUST WONDERING, ARE THERE ANY SAFEGUARDS IN PLACE TO ENSURE THAT IT DOESN'T START TO LIKE BLEED INTO SUPPLEMENTING THAT TEACHER INSTRUCTION AS WELL? YES, ABSOLUTELY. OH, YES. YES. OKAY. DO YOU HAVE THOSE SPECIFIC SAFEGUARDS? UM, AS, AS FAR AS THE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN, THERE IS, THERE ARE THREE MODELS IN WHICH WE ARE GOING TO, UM, ADOPT AT THE SCHOOL LEVEL. THEY'LL PICK ONE MODEL IN WHICH IT WILL BE IMPLEMENTED, AND IT'S ONLY A PORTION OF ANY GIVEN MOMENT OF INSTRUCTION. OKAY. THANK YOU. I JUST HAVE ONE QUESTION. WELL, ON THE SLIDE THAT TALKED ABOUT PROGRESS MONITORING, YOU LISTED FOUR DIFFERENT, UM, VEHICLES. SO ARE, CAN YOU JUST ME A LITTLE BIT MORE EXPLANATION. SO ARE THESE PARALLEL TO SPECIFIC PROGRAMS THAT YOU DISCUSSED OR THESE MORE GENERAL IN NATURE, JUST TO GET A PULSE ON HOW WE'RE DOING? SO THEY'RE MORE GENERAL IN NATURE. SO, UM, RENAISSANCE LEARNING IS THE, UH, COMPANY. AND SO THE STAR ASSESSMENT IS REALLY A SCREENING TOOL TO GIVE YOU BASELINE, UM, ASSESSMENT INFORMATION, UM, FROM STUDENTS. IT CAN BE USED AS A DIAGNOSTIC, IT CAN BE USED AS, UM, VERY SIMILAR TO HOW WE'RE USING DIBELS OR AMIRA AS OUR READING SCREENING THREE TIMES A YEAR. UM, THE STAR ASSESSMENT IS A SCREENING TOOL FOR MATH, UM, WHICH IS ALIGNED WITH STANDARDS AND GIVES US THE SAME TYPE OF INFORMATION AND FEEDBACK AND CAN BE ADMINISTERED, UM, MULTIPLE TIMES OR SINGLE TIME. UM, SO WE'RE GONNA, YOU KNOW, STARTING THIS, UH, FOLLOWING THE WINTER BREAK WILL BE OUR FIRST ADMINISTRATION OF IT. UM, AND THEN WE'LL DO ANOTHER ONE IN THE SPRING TO SEE, YOU KNOW, OUR MONITORING OF, UH, SORT OF THAT GROWTH PERIOD OF TIME. UM, DNA IS REALLY, AND [01:10:01] I'M GONNA TURN OVER TO, UH, MS. GREENBERG AND, UH, MS. MISSION TO, TO TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT DNA AND FRECKLE. YEAH. SO DNA WILL BE ANOTHER ASSESSMENT, UM, THAT WE CAN USE TO MEASURE ALGEBRA READINESS. SO OUR SELECTION OF STUDENTS WHO WILL ENGAGE IN DNA WILL BE SPECIFIC TO THOSE STUDENTS JUST PROCEEDING THEIR ALGEBRA ONE EXPERIENCE, AND IT WILL BE AN INTERIM ASSESSMENT, UM, THAT THEY WILL TAKE, YOU KNOW, MULTIPLE TIMES THROUGHOUT THE YEAR TO REALLY KIND OF GAUGE WHERE THEY ARE. THE PLATFORM ITSELF THOUGH, PROVIDES AN ITEM BANK SO THAT AS WE LOOK AT IT THROUGH THIS PILOT, THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR TEACHERS TO USE IT TO CREATE SHORT CYCLE ASSESSMENTS AND JUST LIKE A QUICK, UM, EXIT QUESTION OR SOMETHING TO CONTINUE TO MEASURE. AND THEN ALL OF THE ITEMS ARE ALIGNED TO THE MARYLAND COLLEGE AND CAREER READY STANDARDS. SO THAT IS THE DNA PLATFORM. AND THEN FRECKLE IS, UM, A DIFFERENTIATED ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTION AND OR PRACTICE PROBLEMS THAT'S DESIGNED TO BE USED OUTSIDE OF THE FIRST INSTRUCTION. SO KIND OF IN THAT TIER TWO POTENTIAL USE FOR KIND OF CLOSING THE GAPS THAT MIGHT BE PRESENT BEFORE THEY'RE, THAT THEY NEED TO FILL FOR THEIR ON GRADE LEVEL STANDARDS. THANK YOU. IS THE STAR THE OLD STAR, LIKE WE USED STAR YEARS AGO. IS IT THE SAME STAR ASSESSMENT? IT'S NOT THE SAME STAR ASSESSMENTS, BUT, BUT IT'S THE SAME PREMISE WITH RENAISSANCE LEARNING. MM-HMM . THANK YOU. OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM BOARD MEMBERS? MS. DOKI? ONE MORE. I FORGOT. UM, THE, THE, THE BRIDGES INTERVENTIONS, HOW LONG HAVE WE HAD THAT? WE'RE IN OUR, I THINK WE'RE IN OUR FIFTH YEAR, BUT THE, THE ACTUAL, THE ACTUAL INTERVENTION, THERE WAS A, THERE'S BRIDGES AND THEN THE ACTUAL INTERVENTION. HOW LONG HAVE WE HAD THE INTERVENTION PART OF THE BRIDGES? IT WAS PART OF THE ORIGINAL PURCHASE. YEAH. AND HOW LONG HAVE WE BEEN USING IT? FIVE. NO, THE, THE INTERVE. LIKE HAVE WE BEEN USING THE INTERVE? I APPROPRIATELY, LIKE IT'S BEEN USED IN DIFFERENT CAPACITIES. SO LIKE, FOR EXAMPLE, WE USED A LOT OF THE MATERIALS OF IT, UM, DURING OUR SUMMER PROGRAM SO THAT WE COULD REALLY TARGET, BECAUSE WHAT IT DOES IT, YOU LOOK AT WHERE OUR STUDENT MIGHT HAVE, UH, STRUGGLED WITHIN, UM, A UNIT OR SERIES OF LESSONS, IT GIVES YOU SUPPLEMENTAL ACTIVITIES TO DO AND INSTRUCTION TO PROVIDE TO THE STUDENTS. SO TEACHERS CAN USE IT AS THEY NEED FOR STUDENTS. UM, IT'S NOT A 30 MINUTES, THREE TIMES A WEEK TYPE OF MODEL. IT'S REALLY MEANT TO BE A RESPONSIVE, UM, TOOLS TO SUPPORT STUDENTS BASED ON WHAT TEACHERS ARE SEEING FROM THEM IN THEIR CLASSROOM OR BASED ON WHAT THEY MIGHT SEE ON LIKE A UNIT ASSESSMENT. BUT HAVE WE BEEN TRYING TO IMPLEMENT IT DURING THE REGULAR SCHOOL YEAR BEFORE? 'CAUSE IT SOUNDS LIKE THAT'S MORE OF AN EXPLICIT EX INSTRUCTION AS LIKE, YOU KNOW, MORE OR A DITTO OR WHATEVER FOR THE, THE STUDENT TO WORK ON TO ACHIEVE, TO GET HIGHER AS OPPOSED TO LIKE AN ONLINE TOOL. HAVE WE BEEN TRYING TO INCORPORATE THAT? YEAH, SO GO AHEAD. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DID THIS YEAR WAS WE REIMAGINED OUR IMPLEMENTATION TRAINING. SO WHEN WE ADOPTED BRIDGES, IT CAME WITH IMPLEMENTATION TRAINING. UM, WE NOTED THAT THERE WERE SOME SPACES THAT WE WEREN'T SEEING ALL OF THE LIFT AND WE REDESIGNED IMPLEMENTATION TRAINING TO INCLUDE A FOCUS ON THOSE THINGS THAT WE THOUGHT WERE BEING USED MAYBE LESS. AND BRIDGE'S INTERVENTION KIT WAS ONE OF THEM. SO, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF WE HAVE THAT IN THE SLIDE, BUT TODAY WE HAVE TRAINED 91%, 91% OF OUR ELEMENTARY TEACHERS ON SORT OF A MORE EFFECTIVE USE OF THAT BRIDGES INTERVENTION KIT, NOTING ALL THE THINGS THAT HAVE ALREADY, THAT HAVE BEEN THERE, RIGHT, TO YOUR POINT ALL ALONG. BUT ARE WE USING THEM AND USING 'EM IN THE WAY THAT THEY'RE PRESCRIBED SO THAT WE CAN SEE SOME, SOME GAINS WITH OUR INTERVENTION IN TIME, UM, INTERVENTION? SO THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS WE STARTED AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS YEAR. AND, AND TO DATE, WE HAVE TRAINED TEACHERS ON HOW TO INCORPORATE THAT BRIDGE WITH SOME FIDELITY. AND IS THERE LIKE A, A TIER AS FAR AS LIKE, THIS IS THE ONE WE'RE GONNA DO FIRST AND THEN WE'LL DO THIS ONE, AND THEN WE'LL DO THAT ONE, THEN WE'LL DO THIS ONE. LIKE, IS THERE A SPECIFIC, UH, INTERVENTION THAT A TEACHER NEEDS TO GO TO FIRST BEFORE THEY TRY ALL, YOU KNOW, GO ONTO THESE PILOTS THAT WE'RE NOW DOING? ABSOLUTELY. AND IT'S OUTLINED IN THE LESSON. SO THE LESSON THAT IS COVERING PARTICULAR STANDARDS, THERE ARE, UM, THERE'S AN ASSESSMENT CALENDAR THAT TELLS TEACHERS, OKAY, IF A STUDENT IS PERFORMING IN THIS WAY ON THIS LESSON, HERE'S A GROUP OF STUDENTS YOU WANT TO ENGAGE WITH, INTERVENTION KIT ONE, MODULE TWO, UH, AND, AND SO FORTH. UM, SO I THINK THAT IT'S JUST ABOUT MAKING SURE TEACHERS UNDERSTAND HOW TO USE THE INTERVENTION KIT, BUT THE KIT IS THERE, IT'S ARTICULATED AND DESIGNED TO BE RESPONSIVE TO EACH OF THE BRIDGES LESSONS AS THE STUDENTS ENGAGE. OKAY. THANK YOU. OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT PRESENTATION. WE APPRECIATE IT. NEXT ON THE AGENDA [K. REPORT - SAFETY AND CLIMATE (Dr. Rogers and Ms. Mustipher) (8:40 - 9:00 p.m.)] IS I REPORT ON BCPS PROGRESS IN ACTION, THE FOCUS ON MENTAL HEALTH, AND FOR THAT I CALL DR. ROGERS AND MS. MUSTER, AND I THINK A WHOLE BUNCH OF FRIENDS. YES. IF THE LANDSDOWN HIGH [01:15:01] SCHOOL TEAM CAN COME FORWARD, PLEASE AS YOU TAKE TURNS, JUST TO MAKE SURE THE MICROPHONE CAN, CAN PICK UP YOUR VOICES. THANKS. YEAH, GOOD EVENING AGAIN. BOARD CHAIR LICHTER, VICE CHAIR HARVEY, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, WE ARE PLEASED TO PROVIDE THIS BCPS IN ACTION REPORT HIGHLIGHTING THE IMPORTANT WORK WORK HAPPENING AT LANSDOWN HIGH SCHOOL. AS YOU KNOW, SAFETY AND CLIMATE IS ONE OF OUR PRIORITIES, AND WHEN WE TALK ABOUT CLIMATE, WE'RE REALLY SPEAKING ABOUT THE ENTIRE STUDENT. WE'RE SPEAKING ABOUT THE SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING OF THE STUDENT. WE HAVE INVESTED HEAVILY WITH YOUR SUPPORT IN MAKING SURE ALL OF OUR STUDENTS HAVE ACCESS TO MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES. AND PART OF THAT WORK, AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE WORK IS FOR STUDENTS AND FAMILIES TO KNOW THE AVAILABILITY OF RESOURCES AND ALSO FOR US TO DE-STIGMATIZE, UM, THE USE OF HELPFUL RESOURCES. AND SO WHEN I REACHED OUT TO MS. MUSTER, UM, TO IDENTIFY A SCHOOL THAT WAS DOING THIS WORK PARTICULARLY WELL, ESPECIALLY AS WE GO INTO THE HOLIDAY SEASON, AND WHILE IT IS A JOYFUL TIME FOR MANY OF US, UM, WE DO KNOW THAT WE HAVE SOME STUDENTS, UH, AND FAMILIES THAT IT'S GOING TO BE DIFFICULT TO BE AWAY FROM SCHOOL, UH, FOR THIS PERIOD OF TIME. AND SO WE WANNA TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, SHARE INFORMATION WITH THE, UH, BOARD AND THE COMMUNITY ABOUT, UH, THE MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORTS WE HAVE IN SCHOOLS. AND LANSDOWN HIGH SCHOOL IS DOING A PHENOMENAL JOB, AND I'LL TURN IT OVER TO THEM TO, UH, LET US KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING FOR STUDENTS OVER THERE. GOOD EVENING, CHAIR LICHTER, UM, VICE CHAIR HARVEY, UM, SUPERINTENDENT ROGERS AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD. UM, THANK YOU FOR THE PRIVILEGE OF BEING HERE THIS EVENING AND HEARING FROM LANSDOWN HIGH SCHOOL. IT'S A REALLY EXCITING PRESENTATION WE HAVE, UM, TO SHARE WITH YOU SOME OF THE UNIQUE THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING AT LANSDOWN, AND WE HOPE TO CARRY IT FORWARD TO OTHER SCHOOLS. UM, SO I HAVE THE GREAT PRIVILEGE OF BEING JOINED BY ALLISON SEYMOUR, UM, PRINCIPAL SHARON MURRAY, WHO'S THE HEALTH, UM, EDUCATOR AS JOSH GRUB, DEPARTMENT CHAIR, ANGELA LADON SOCIAL WORKER. UM, AND I WANNA MAKE SURE I SAY IT RIGHT, CRYSTAL NEAL, WHO'S THE SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGIST THIS EVENING. SO, UM, ALL OF OUR PARTNERS HERE TO GET TODAY. SOME OF THE INFORMATION YOU'VE HEARD IN THE PAST IS AROUND THE CDC AND PROMOTING MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING IN SCHOOLS FOR OUR STUDENTS. AND ONE THING THAT WE'VE, THREE THINGS THAT WE KNOW, UM, IN THE NEXT SLIDE, SORRY, I DIDN'T SAY. NEXT SLIDE. MY APOLOGIES. OH, I HAVE THE CLICKER. BOY. THANK YOU. UM, SORRY ABOUT THAT. UM, FROM A SYSTEM LEVEL PERSPECTIVE, UM, THE CDC GIVES US GREAT GUIDANCE ON HOW WE CAN SHOW UP TO SUPPORT MENTAL HEALTH, BUT ALSO DISRUPT SUICIDALITY. SO THE THINGS THAT, UM, YOU SEE ON THE SCREEN IN FRONT OF YOU ARE THE WAYS IN WHICH WE CAN DISRUPT, UM, THINGS BY PROMOTING A SAFE AND SUPPORTIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT. SO WE WILL START WITH JUST PROMOTING MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING BY EDUCATING OUR STUDENTS, FAMILIES AND STAFF ABOUT HOW TO PREVENT AND ENGAGE IN EARLY INTERVENTION. UM, ALSO EMPOWERING OUR STAFF AND OUR ADULTS WITH SKILLS TO BOLSTER THEIR RELATIONSHIPS WITH OUR STUDENTS TOWARDS THAT SAFE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT AS WELL AS A CONNECTED ENVIRONMENT, UM, THROUGH THOSE RELATIONSHIPS. THEN, UM, ALSO LINKING OUR STUDENTS AND OUR FAMILIES WITH RESOURCES SUPPORTS, UM, AND POWERFUL SERVICES SO THAT INDIVIDUALS UNDERSTAND SIGNS, THEY CAN IDENTIFY WHO ARE MY HELPERS AND HOW CAN I SEEK HELP? OR HOW CAN, IF I AM IN A SCHOOL, WHO ARE THE PEOPLE I CAN, I CAN REFER A STUDENT TO OR TAKE A STUDENT TO, TO GET HELP. AND THEN ALSO, UM, JUST EXCELLING IN ACCESS, IDENTIFYING THE ACCESS PATHWAYS FOR STUDENTS TO TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES. AND I WOULD VENTURE TO SAY, AND YOU'LL HEAR FROM, UM, THE GREAT TEAM AT LANSDOWN, THAT THAT APPLIES TO ADULTS TOO. SO AS OUR PRIORITIES, UM, UNDER DR. ROGERS' LEADERSHIP SAFE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT, WE'VE HEARD ABOUT THAT A POSITIVE SCHOOL CLIMATE IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT, AND THOSE ALL GO INTO THE ACADEMIC SUCCESS OF OUR STUDENT. SO ONE OF THE MANY WAYS THAT BREE PRESERVE THAT SAFE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT, AND THAT IS TO ENSURE THAT WE HAVE THE SUPPORTS AND INTERVENTIONS AND RESOURCES, UM, FOR OUR YOUTH TO BE [01:20:01] WELL, UM, AND TO SEEK OUT THE SUPPORTS AND RESOURCES THEY NEED TO BE SUCCESSFUL. UM, SO TONIGHT I'M REALLY EXCITED TO HAVE THE GREAT LEARNING COMMUNITY OF LANSDOWN HIGH SCHOOL WITH ME. UM, AND, UM, FOR YOU TO HEAR FROM THEM ABOUT HOW THEY ARE ELEVATING STUDENT WELLNESS AND MENTAL WELLBEING. AND WITH THAT, I TURN IT OVER TO MS. SEYMOUR, PRINCIPAL. THANK YOU. AND THANK YOU FOR HAVING US HERE TONIGHT. SO I AM IN MY FOURTH YEAR AS PRINCIPAL AT LANSDOWN HIGH SCHOOL, WHERE WE WORK TO CREATE NO EXCUSES AROUND STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND STUDENT WELLBEING AND STAFF WELLBEING. UM, AND SO IF YOU SEE ON THIS SLIDE, THE, OUR DEMOGRAPHICS IN OUR BUILDING, ABOUT 25% OF OUR STUDENTS, UM, ARE AFRICAN AMERICAN, 30% ARE WHITE. UM, A GROWING HISPANIC POPULATION CLOSE TO 35%, WHICH HAS GROWN IN MY TIME THERE. UM, WE CONTINUE TO SERVE, ALMOST 25% OF OUR STUDENTS ARE MULTILINGUALS, UM, AND 13% RECEIVE SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES. AND THEN MY TEAM ALSO CONTINUES TO GROW IN VARIOUS WAYS. RIGHT NOW WE HAVE 99 CLASSROOM TEACHERS, UM, 15 STUDENT SUPPORT STAFF, AND ON MY STUDENT SUPPORT STAFF, I CONSIDER MY SCHOOL COUNSELORS AND MY SOCIAL WORKERS, MY SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS, MY SCHOOL SAFETY ASSISTANTS, AND MY HEALTH SERVICES TEAM, THEY ALL PLAY AN INTEGRAL PART IN THIS WORK WITH US AS WELL AS OUR CLASSROOM TEACHERS. AND THEN CURRENTLY WE HAVE 10 INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT STAFF WITH OUR PARAEDUCATORS AND OUR ADULT ASSISTANTS SUPPORTING STUDENTS IN THE BUILDING. SO WHEN I GOT TO LANDSDOWN, THE FIRST THING THAT I ASKED WAS FOR A MEMBER OF THE, UM, M-M-T-S-S TEAM TO COME OUT AND DO AN EVALUATION OF THE TIER ONE, TIER TWO AND TIER THREE SUPPORTS THAT WERE CURRENTLY AT LANSDOWN HIGH SCHOOL. UM, WHEN I HAD MET WITH STAFF, THEY HAD SHARED SOME THINGS THAT HAD BEEN IN PLACE THAT THEY HAD BEEN WORKING TO BE IN PLACE, BUT I ASKED FOR SOMEBODY FROM MS. MUSTER'S OFFICE AND OUR PBIS COACH TO COME OUT AND REALLY DO AN IN-DEPTH KIND OF REVIEW OF WHAT WE HAD IN PLACE. AND OFF OF THAT CONVERSATION CAME THIS OUR TRIANGLE, AND WE USE OUR TRIANGLE FOR EVERYTHING. AND YOU'LL SEE THAT WE, UM, IN THIS, THIS IS OUR WHOLE SCHOOL TRIANGLE IN THE AREAS OF SEL POSITIVE BEHAVIOR, MENTAL HEALTH, ACADEMICS, TRAUMA-INFORMED PRACTICES, AND SOCIAL JUSTICE INEQUITY. SO THIS REALLY DRIVES A LOT OF THE WORK IN THE BUILDING AROUND ALL OF WHAT WE DO. UM, AND WE CONTINUE TO ADD ON IT, WE CONTINUE TO REMOVE FROM IT. UM, BUT I KNOW THAT WHEN I CAME IN, IN 20 21, 20 22, OUR GRADUATION RATE WAS IN THE LOW 70 PERCENTS. OUR CHRONIC ABSENTEE RATE WAS NEAR 50%, AND THE SUSPENSION OF OUR AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS WAS OVER 15%. AND I KNEW THAT THAT NEEDED TO CHANGE, AND THERE WERE SOME THINGS THAT WE NEEDED TO DO AND PUT IN PLACE TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN. SO WHAT WE WANNA SHARE TONIGHT, UM, IS TO HIGHLIGHT FIVE OF THE PROGRAMS THAT WE HAVE IN PLACE, SOME AT EACH OF THE TIERS, UM, IN ORDER TO SUPPORT OUR STUDENTS AND OUR STAFF, UM, THROUGHOUT EACH SCHOOL YEAR. SO WE'RE GONNA START WITH OUR TIER ONE PROGRAMS, AND THAT'S A TE UM, THAT THE TIER ONE WHEN, YOU KNOW, IF YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE TRIANGLE, TIER ONE IS UNIVERSAL FOR ALL STUDENTS. TIER TWO IS MORE TARGETED SMALL GROUP INTERVENTIONS AND TIER THREE, OR TYPICALLY MORE INDIVIDUALIZED SUPPORT. SO OUR FIRST TIER ONE PROGRAM THAT WE IMPLEMENTED LAST YEAR WAS SUCCESS TIME. UM, AND IT INCLUDED SEL WORK. THIS WAS A WHOLE SCHOOL INITIATIVE THAT WAS IN RESPONSE TO INTERVIEWS WITH STUDENTS AND TEACHERS THAT THEY JUST NEEDED SOME TIME, THEY NEEDED SOME TIME TO GET CAUGHT UP ON WORK, BUT WE ALSO NEEDED SOME TIME TO DO SOME SEL AND LEARN ABOUT WHO WE WERE, HOW WE INTERACT WITH ONE ANOTHER, AND HOW WE CAN FIND RESOURCES TO HELP SUPPORT US. SO IT WAS AN HOUR LONG BLOCK THAT'S ONCE A WEEK. UM, IN THAT HOUR TIME, WE SPENT ABOUT 20 MINUTES ON AN SEL LESSON. AND THEN THERE'S 40 MINUTES OF ACADEMIC SUPPORT BUILT IN, PLUS OR MINUS IN THAT HOUR. LAST YEAR, BCPS, THE MTSS OFFICE HAD SOME, UM, SEL CURRICULUM THAT WE USED AND WE PILOTED FOR THEM. AND THEN THIS YEAR I TOOK THE OPPORTUNITY TO APPLY FOR THE GRANT THROUGH THE EDUCATION FOUNDATION FOR THE WAYFINDER CURRICULUM. SO WE WILL START IMPLEMENTATION WITH THAT IN JANUARY, UM, WHOLE SCHOOL WITH STUDENTS TO USE THAT CURRICULUM AS PART OF OUR SEL INSTRUCTION WITH OUR STUDENTS. GOOD EVENING. TH THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK ON THE WORK WE DO IN SCHOOLS PROMOTING MENTAL HEALTH WITH OUR STUDENTS, WHICH ALSO INCLUDES PROMOTING MENTAL HEALTH WITH STAFF AND FAMILIES. I HAVE THE PLEASURE OF OVERSEEING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF CLASSROOM LESSONS THAT OUR SCHOOL COUNSELOR, SCHOOL COUNSELORS DELIVER TO OUR GRADE 10 STUDENTS. WE FOCUS IN GRADE 10 ON MENTAL HEALTH AMONG MANY THINGS THAT WE COVER. UM, BUT SPECIFICALLY WE GO OVER ROLE PLAYING SCENARIOS AND HOW [01:25:01] STUDENTS WORK ON TROUBLESHOOTING DIFFERENT THINGS THAT, UH, AFFECT THEIR OWN MENTAL HEALTH AND AS WELL AS, UH, POSITIVELY IMPACTING OTHER STUDENTS' MENTAL HEALTH. AND ONE OF THE ACRONYMS THAT WE USE IS ACT, WHICH IS ACT, CARE AND TELL. AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE DELIVER, UM, TO ALL OF OUR GRADE 10 STUDENTS. AND WE TRY TO PROMOTE THAT NOT JUST FOR THEMSELVES, BUT ALSO TO BE ADVOCATES FOR OTHERS IN THE SCHOOL BUILDING. UM, AND THEN AT THE END OF THOSE LESSONS, WE ASK OUR STUDENTS TO CREATE POSITIVE MESSAGES SOMETIMES TO THEIR FORMER SELVES AND WHAT THEY WOULD DO TO IMPROVE OR THINGS THAT THEY WOULD DO BETTER, UM, BUT ALSO THESE POSITIVE MESSAGES THAT ARE POSTED IN THE SCHOOL BUILDING SO THAT OTHER STUDENTS CAN SEE WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT THAT, UM, SOME STUDENTS MIGHT NEED TO SEE IN THEIR DAY-TO-DAY, UM, ACTIVITIES. ANOTHER THING THAT WE'VE PROMOTE IS THE TALK TALKSPACE RESOURCE THAT HAS BEEN PROVIDED TO US SINCE I BELIEVE, UH, LAST YEAR. UM, AND THAT INFORMATION, UH, PROVIDES CLINICAL SUPPORT TO OUR STUDENTS, UM, AND IT IS DONE THROUGH THEIR CELL PHONE, UM, KIND OF LIKE A TEXT TO, UH, AND CONNECTS THEM WITH THE COUNSELOR CLINICIAN. UM, SO WE PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION, UH, IN THE CLASSROOM AS WELL AS WE PROMOTE IT IN HIGH TRAFFIC AREAS SUCH AS THE CAFETERIA OR OTHER AREAS WHERE WE KNOW OUR STUDENTS CONGREGATE SO THAT THEY CAN SEE THIS INFORMATION. AND BECAUSE, AS MISS SEYMOUR SAID, OUR SCHOOL IS VERY DIVERSE, WE DO HAVE THAT IN SPANISH AND IN ENGLISH AS WELL. UM, AND THEN WHENEVER THERE ARE ACTIVITIES THAT OCCUR IN THE BUILDING, WE DO REMIND OUR STUDENTS. WE DO REMIND OUR TEACHERS THAT WE DO HAVE, UH, SMALL, LIKE HANDOUTS AND PAMPHLETS ABOUT TALKSPACE THAT THEY CAN TAKE KIND OF LIKE A GRAB AND GO RESOURCES, UH, GRAB AND GO RESOURCE FOR OUR STUDENTS AND STAFF. I'M SHARON MURRAY, ONE OF THREE HEALTH EDUCATORS AT LANSDOWN HIGH SCHOOL. I CURRENTLY TEACH NINE 10 HEALTH EDUCATION AS WELL AS 1112 HEALTH EDUCATION. SO IN THE NINE, 10, AND 1112 HEALTH EDUCATION COURSES, WE ARE ABSOLUTELY ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT TIER ONE SUPPORTS THAT WE HAVE. BECAUSE THIS OFFERS CONTINUITY FOR OUR STUDENTS. THEY'RE ABLE TO HEAR THESE MESSAGES IN THE NINTH GRADE, AND THEN WE HEAR IN THE 10TH GRADE, AND THEN THEY COME BACK TO ME 11TH OR 12TH GRADE. AND WE ALL KNOW THAT YOU HAVE TO CONTINUE SPEAKING THE LANGUAGE IN ORDER FOR PEOPLE TO USE THE LANGUAGE. UM, THE TIER ONE SUPPORT OF HEALTH EDUCATION CLASSES DEFINITELY DE-STIGMATIZE CHALLENGES. ADVOCATING, UH, THE BENEFITS OF SUPPORT AND PROVIDING CONTINUITY, LIKE I SAID, TO THE CONTENT WITH EXPOSURE. THE, UH, OFFICE OF HEALTH EDUCATION DOES PROVIDE MANY OPPORTUNITIES TO REVISIT THE IMPORTANCE OF MENTAL HEALTH, NOT ONLY IN THE SCIENCE OF SUICIDE LESSON, BUT ALSO IN LESSONS ON HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS, GRIEF, MINDFULNESS, AND MENTAL HEALTH STRUGGLES AND CHALLENGES. THE SOS LESSONS ARE DELIVERED WITH A COLLABORATIVE APPROACH AT LANSDOWN HIGH SCHOOL, WHICH, UM, IS REALLY IMPORTANT FOR OUR STUDENTS SO THAT THEY KNOW HOW, THEY KNOW THAT THEY HAVE THE SUPPORT OF THE HEALTH EDUCATOR AS WELL AS MANY OTHER ADULTS IN THE BUILDING. UH, OFTENTIMES THE COUNSELORS OR OTHER SUPPORT STAFF, THE PSYCHOLOGIST, A SOCIAL WORKER, MAY COME IN AND TEAM TEACH WITH ME, AND ALWAYS I WILL GIVE THEM A HEADS UP THAT THE LESSON IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN SO THAT THEY ARE AWARE THAT WE MAY NEED SOME MORE SUPPORT. OUR, UM, STAFF IS WILLING TO COME DOWN, RETRIEVE STUDENTS WHO ARE STRUGGLING THROUGH THE LESSON, GIVE THEM IMMEDIATE CARE AND SET UP FOLLOW UP CARE, WHICH IS SO IMPORTANT FOR OUR STUDENTS. WE DO SHARE THE SAME VOCABULARY, ACKNOWLEDGE CARE TELL, OR ACT CARE, TELL A TRUSTING ADULT, AND THEN THERE IS THAT FOLLOW UP. UM, AT LANSDOWN HIGH SCHOOL, WE NORMALIZE CONVERSATION AND ACTIONS THAT SUPPORT MENTAL HEALTH. AND WHEN WE NORMALIZE IT AND WE CONTINUE TO TALK ABOUT IT, STUDENTS KNOW THAT THEY HAVE SUPPORT, THAT THEY ARE BEING HEARD. STUDENTS IN MY CLASS VERY OFTEN TALK ABOUT TALKSPACE. SOME STUDENTS WILL OFFER UP, I USE THIS, YOU GUYS, YOU SHOULD REALLY USE THIS. AND THAT'S SO IMPORTANT. WE ROLE PLAY, WE USE SCENARIO SCRIPTS, AND, UH, WE FIGURE OUT ME METHODS OF HELPING OURSELVES AND OTHERS. WE ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THERE ARE POTENTIALLY DIFFICULT TIMES, PARTICULARLY NOW WITH THE HOLIDAYS COMING UP. SO WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO IS THROW THIS OVER, IF I CAN, TO MISS DON FOR A MOMENT ABOUT, UM, MAYBE FOLLOW UP ON THE TIER TWO, HOW THAT LEADS INTO OUR TWO TIER TWO SUPPORTS. THANK YOU. I THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY TO TALK ABOUT ALL THE AWESOMENESS THAT WE DO AT LAND STONE HIGH SCHOOL. UM, SO WITH, UM, A LOT OF THE PROGRAMS THAT WE HAVE AND THE HIGH SCHOOL, WE ARE ABLE TO GATHER DIFFERENT KINDS OF, EXCUSE ME, JUST WE, WE WANNA HEAR WHAT YOU'RE SAYING. SO , SORRY. THAT'S OKAY. THANK YOU. UM, [01:30:01] WE WANT TO, UM, GATHER DIFFERENT, UM, THEMES THAT WE MAY BE SEEING WITH THE STUDENTS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. EVERY YEAR IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT. UM, IT'S IMPORTANT TO RECOGNIZE THAT STUDENTS, UM, ARE STRUGGLING WITH A MULTITUDE OF ISSUES, AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE TRY TO, AND, AND THAT ALL IMPACT THEIR ACADEMICS. AND SO WE REALLY WANT TO TAILOR DIFFERENT PROGRAMS, DIFFERENT GROUPS THAT WE CAN DO, UM, TO HELP SUPPORT THEM SO THAT THEY FEEL GOOD. AND WHEN THEY FEEL GOOD, THEN IT'S EASIER TO LEARN. SO SOME OF THE GROUPS THAT, UM, WE HAVE DONE, UM, INCLUDE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT THE HEALTH EDUCATORS ALSO DO IN THEIR CLASSROOM, WHICH SOMETIMES IS A JUMPING OFF POINT TO RE RECOGNIZE THAT, OH, YES, WE TALKED ABOUT THIS IN HEALTH. I'M NOW RECOGNIZING THAT THIS IS SOMETHING I MIGHT NEED SOME EXTRA SUPPORT ON. AND THEN WE HAVE THOSE SUPPORTS HERE, AND SO THEN WE MAY TAKE THEM INTO A TIER TWO GROUP SO THAT WE CAN EXPLORE THAT SO WE CAN BUILD SKILLS, BUILD A SENSE OF BELONGING. A LOT OF TIMES STUDENTS, UM, DON'T REALIZE THAT OTHER KIDS FEEL THE SAME WAY THEY DO. AND SO TO HAVE A GROUP WHERE PEOPLE WILL ACTUALLY TALK ABOUT THEIR ANXIETY AND HOW IT IMPACTS THEM AND HOW PEOPLE RESPOND TO THEM AND HOW THEY RESPOND TO THEMSELVES TO FEEL THAT SENSE OF BELONGING IS SO VITAL TO BE ABLE TO MOVE THROUGH BUILDING SKILLS TO MANAGE IT. AND WHEN STUDENTS LEARN FROM EACH OTHER, THAT IS VERY IMPACTFUL. UM, SO OFTEN WITH THE, UM, THE SOS LESSONS AND ALL THE OTHER, UM, HEALTH EDUCATOR LESSONS, WE ARE ABLE TO CHOOSE, UM, SOME STUDENTS THAT WOULD BE GOOD FOR EXTRA SUPPORTS. WE ALSO HAVE DONE THIS YEAR, UM, WE SENT OUT MANY COMMUNICATIONS TO PARENTS, TO STUDENTS AND TO TEACHERS TO NOMINATE, UM, ANY STUDENTS THAT MAY BE, UM, ENTRUSTED OR WOULD BE GOOD FOR A VARIETY OF GROUPS THAT WE HAVE. THEY WERE BOTH ACADEMIC GROUPS AND THEN THEY WERE ALSO BOTH, UM, AND THEY WERE ALSO SOCIAL EMOTIONAL KINDS OF GROUPS. SO GROUPS THAT WE HAVE DONE ARE THINGS ON ANXIETY. UM, WE'VE DONE HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS, MINDFULNESS, UM, THROUGH, UM, UH, OUR TRAINING WITH THE NC S3 GRANT. UM, UH, MR. GRUB AND I HAVE DONE THE CBITS GROUP, WHICH IS A TRAUMA GROUP, AND WE'LL BE DOING THAT AGAIN THIS YEAR. UM, EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING, I KNOW THAT MS. NEIL HAS ALSO DONE EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING SKILLS FOR OUR STUDENTS THAT NEED TO BUILD UP SOME OF THOSE, UM, PRACTICAL SKILLS TO HELP THEM THROUGH. AND THEN WE'VE DONE SOCIAL SKILLS. I KNOW MS. NEIL ALSO DOES CONFLICT RESOLUTION. UM, OUR SECOND SOCIAL WORKER THAT WE HAVE IS SPANISH SPEAKING, AND HE, UM, DOES SOME STRESS MANAGEMENT FOR SOME OF OUR NEWCOMER STUDENTS, WHICH IS REALLY VITAL BECAUSE IT'S REALLY SCARY TO KIND OF COME TO A PLACE WHERE YOU DO NOT KNOW THE CULTURE, WHERE YOU DO NOT KNOW THE LANGUAGE YOU MAY HAVE HAD DIFFICULTY GETTING HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE. AND SO TO BE ABLE TO HAVE SOMEONE IN THE SCHOOL KIND OF RECOGNIZE THAT AND BE ABLE TO SPEAK TO YOU WITH THAT REALLY MAKES A, A BIG IMPACT ON THEIR ABILITY TO, UM, BE OPEN TO LEARNING. UM, AND THEN WE ALSO DO A MENTORING PROGRAM, UM, WITH SOME OF OUR STUDENT ATHLETES WITH RIVERVIEW ELEMENTARY. UM, DURING OUR SUCCESS TIME LAST YEAR, WHICH WAS A HUGE HIT WITH BOTH THE LITTLE KIDS AND OUR ATHLETES, THAT REALLY, AGAIN, SHOWS THAT SENSE OF BELONGING. WE WOULD DO SEL LESSONS AND GOAL SETTING IN THAT. AND IT'S, IT'S SOMETHING THAT, UM, I THINK THROUGH OUR LANDSDOWN COLLABORATIVE WITH THE OTHER SCHOOLS, WE ARE ABLE TO REALLY THINK LONG TERM, NOT JUST OUR HIGH SCHOOLERS, BUT WE ALSO THINK ABOUT THE ONES THAT WILL EVENTUALLY BE OUR HIGH SCHOOLERS AND MAKE THOSE CONNECTIONS EARLY SO THAT WE CREATE THIS CULTURE OF REALLY TRYING TO, UM, LET EVERYONE KNOW THAT THEY MATTER AND THAT WE CAN WORK THROUGH WHATEVER IT IS THEY NEED TO GET THEM WHERE THEY NEED TO BE. UM, LASTLY, I ALSO, UM, HAVE DONE, UM, ONE-OFF KIND OF, UM, SEL LESSONS WITH THINGS LIKE TEST ANXIETY OR SLEEP MANAGEMENT OR LIFE BALANCE AND THOSE, UM, IN PARTICULAR CLASSROOMS THAT MAY BE STRUGGLING WITH THOSE ISSUES. UM, AND WE JUST DO KIND OF LIKE A ONE-OFF LITTLE WORKSHOP. SO THANK YOU. I'M GONNA HAND IT OVER TO MS. NEIL. THANK YOU. OKAY. SO FOR TIER TWO PROGRAMS, WE HAVE A TIER TWO, UM, DATA DECISION MAKING TEAM. AND SO WE CALL IT THE SEL TASK FORCE. SO WE STARTED THIS A FEW YEARS AGO, UM, AND WE MEET BIWEEKLY. AND SO SOME OF THE MEMBERS ARE PART OF THAT TEAM IS ADMINISTRATORS AND SOME OF OUR STUDENT SUPPORT STAFF MEMBERS. SO THE PURPOSE OF THIS IS OUR FIRST MEETING OF THE MONTH, WE LOOK AT TIER ONE SCHOOL-WIDE BEHAVIOR DATA. SO WE LOOK AT MINOR AND MAJOR REFERRALS. AND SO THE PURPOSE OF THAT IS TO [01:35:01] IDENTIFY ANY BEHAVIORAL TRENDS OR PATTERNS. UM, AND SO THEN WE TAKE THAT TO DEVELOP, UH, PROFESSIONAL LEARNINGS OR TRAININGS OR DEVELOPMENTS FOR OUR STAFF, AND THEN ALSO TO REVIEW AND REVISE ANY POLICIES THAT WE MIGHT HAVE IN OUR SCHOOL BUILDING. UH, THE SECOND MEETING OF THE MONTH, WE LOOK AT INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS. AND SO WE HAVE DECISION MAKING ROLES TO DETERMINE WHETHER A STUDENT IS AT RISK. AND SO IF THEY MEET THAT CRITERIA, WE DISCUSS AS A TEAM WHAT TIER TWO INTERVENTION WOULD BE MOST APPROPRIATE FOR THEM. THEN THEY'RE ASSIGNED A CONTACT PERSON. AND SO THAT PERSON WILL BE IN CHARGE TO COLLECT THE DATA OBSERVATIONS, THINGS OF THAT NATURE. AND SO WHEN WE MEET FOR THE NEXT MONTH, WE CAN DISCUSS WHETHER OR NOT THAT THEY'RE MAKING PROGRESS OR NOT. AND IF THEY'RE NOT, WHAT OTHER ADDITIONAL SUPPORTS THAT THEY MAY NEED. SO OUR OTHER TIER TWO PROGRAM THAT IS NEW FOR US IS WE HAVE BEEN CHOSEN AND PARTNER WITH LANSDOWN MIDDLE FOR THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR SAFE AND SUPPORTIVE SCHOOLS. IT'S A GRANT THROUGH JOHNS HOPKINS AND THE CENTER FOR MENTAL HEALTH. UM, AND THE WHOLE GOAL HERE IS FOR US TO LEARN HOW TO PROMOTE WELLBEING AND EQUITY FOR STUDENTS AND STAFF. UM, WE DO IT AS A FEEDER PATTERN. SO OUR CLINICIANS, UM, MR. GRCA AND MS. DON ARE TWO OF THE CLINICIANS WHO GET TRAINED IN SOME TIER TWO AND TIER THREE INTERVENTION PROGRAMS. BUT ALONG THERE THERE'S ALSO SOME STAFF TRAINING. SO WE'RE STILL IN THE LEARNING AND AND TRAINING STAGES RIGHT NOW AND LOOK FORWARD TO MOVING INTO, UM, SOME MORE IMPLEMENTATION NEXT SCHOOL YEAR. AND THEN FOR TIER THREE, WE HIGHLIGHT WITH VILLA MARIA. VILLA MARIA IS OUR MENTAL HEALTH PROVIDER THAT WE'VE PARTNERED WITH. RIGHT NOW WE HAVE TWO THERAPISTS THAT ARE ASSIGNED TO LANSDOWN HIGH SCHOOL WHO SUPPORT ALMOST 40 OF OUR STUDENTS ON A WEEKLY OR BIWEEKLY BASIS. UM, THE ONLY REASON I DON'T HAVE MORE MENTAL HEALTH PROVIDERS IS 'CAUSE I HAVE NO ROOM IN THE BUILDING. SO 18 MONTHS AND I'LL HAVE LOTS MORE ROOM TO BRING SOME MORE PEOPLE INTO SERVICE KIDS. BUT WE'VE ALSO PARTNERED WITH THEM IN SUPPORTING RIGHT NOW 10 ADDITIONAL STUDENTS. WE'RE LOOKING TO INCREASE THAT BY ANOTHER 20, UM, WHO HAVE TRUANCY CONCERNS AS PART OF THEIR CONSORTIUM FUNDING AND THEIR CONSORTIUM PROGRAM. SO WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THAT. BUT BESIDES THE WORK FOR STAFF, THE WORK FOR, UH, FOR STUDENTS, THE WORK FOR STAFF IS ALSO REALLY IMPORTANT TO ME BECAUSE IF THE STAFF DOESN'T FEEL WELL, IF THE STAFF DOESN'T FEEL TAKEN CARE OF, THEN THEY'RE NOT GONNA COME TO SCHOOL. AND ALL OF THAT WORK THAT WE DO WITH KIDS IS NOT GONNA YIELD THE RESULTS THAT WE NEED IN THE CLASSROOM. SO I'VE SPENT A LOT OF TIME OVER THESE LAST FOUR YEARS REALLY WORKING AROUND WITH THE HELP OF MEMBERS SITTING HERE WITH ME TODAY, AS WELL AS OTHER STAFF AT SCHOOL OF HOW DO WE HELP SUPPORT STAFF. SO ON THE TIER ONE LEVEL THERE, THAT NC S3 TRAINING IS HELPFUL. SOME OF THE THINGS THAT TEACHERS ENGAGE IN IS, UM, ABOUT THEIR OWN WELLBEING, UM, AND HOW DO THEY WORK WITH TRAUMA-INFORMED PRACTICES? HOW DO THEY WORK WITH, UM, NEWCOMERS THAT ARE COMING IN THE BUILDING? HOW DO THEY WORK WITH STUDENTS WHO IDENTIFY AS L-B-G-T-Q, UM, THERE AND KIND OF REFLECT UPON THEIR OWN PRACTICES? I ALSO HAD A TEAM OF 10 STAFF MEMBERS FROM SAFETY ASSISTANT TO TEACHERS TO ADMINISTRATOR PARTICIPATE IN THE MSDE, UM, OPPORTUNITY LAST SPRING AROUND, UM, BEHAVIOR INTERVENTIONS. AND SO WE HAVE REALLY FOCUSED ON EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE OF THE ADULTS. 'CAUSE THROUGH CONVERSATIONS, IF THE ADULTS DON'T RECOGNIZE RIGHT, THEIR OWN FEELINGS AND HOW THEY RESPOND TO TRIGGERS, HOW THEY RESPOND TO STRESS, IT RESULTS IN SOMETIMES NOT SO POSITIVE INTERACTIONS WITH YOUNG PEOPLE. SO WE'VE STARTED THIS YEAR SOME VERY INTENTIONAL WORK AROUND OUR OWN ADULT EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND HOW WE RESPOND TO SITUATIONS AT THE TIER TWO, WE TALKED ABOUT THE SEL TASK FORCE AND DEVELOPING, UM, PROFESSIONAL LEARNING BASED ON, EXCUSE ME, SOME OF THE BEHAVIORS TEACHERS ARE SEEING. AND WE'VE ALSO OFFERED MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID, EITHER BY MS. DON WHO'S A TRAINED INSTRUCTOR OR HAVE ENCOURAGED STAFF TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE BCPS OPPORTUNITY FOR THAT. AND THEN FINALLY, AND I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH, AT TIER THREE, I ACCESS AND I ENCOURAGE MY STAFF REGULARLY TO USE THE EAP PROGRAM AS WELL AS FMLA WHEN THEY ARE, WHEN THEY ARE STRUGGLING PERSONALLY, RIGHT? BECAUSE I'VE, I NEED MY PEOPLE TO BE IN A GOOD SPACE TO BE ABLE TO HELP MY KIDS DO WHAT THEY NEED TO DO. SO I DO ENCOURAGE THEM TO UTILIZE THOSE TWO TIER THREE RESOURCES FOR THEIR OWN HEALTH. AND THEN AS WE CLOSE, I'M JUST GONNA TURN IT OVER AND GIVE EVERYBODY 90 SECONDS, NO MORE THAN 90 SECONDS TO JUST CLOSE ABOUT HOW THEY FEEL ABOUT THE IMPACT OF THE WORK. SOME HAVE BEEN HERE FOR A SHORT TIME, SOME HAVE BEEN HERE SINCE I STARTED, AND SOME HAVE BEEN HERE FOR A VERY, VERY LONG TIME. SO, UM, JUST HEARING THEIR PERSPECTIVE I THINK WILL BE NICE ON HOW WE CLOSE WITH OUR WORK HERE AT LANSDOWN. THANK YOU. THIS IS MY 23RD YEAR AT LANSDOWN HIGH SCHOOL. [01:40:01] AND THIS WORK DOESN'T HAPPEN BY ACCIDENT. THIS HAPPENS BECAUSE WE HAVE COMMITTED TEACHERS, SUPPORT STAFF, COUNSELORS, PSYCHOLOGISTS, SOCIAL WORKERS, AND THIS HAPPENS BECAUSE WE HAVE AN ADMINISTRATION THAT RECOGNIZES THE IMMENSE NEED FOR OUR YOUNG PEOPLE AND WHO WILL DO ANYTHING TO GET US THE RESOURCES, THE TRAINING, SO THAT WE CAN DO WHAT WE MUST FOR OUR STUDENTS. THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU DO AND FOR EVERYTHING YOU DO. , DON'T FORGET, TAKE A BREATH, . JUST THREE DEEP BREATHS. IT HELPS. THANK YOU, MS. MURRAY. UM, I ECHO THOSE SAME SENTIMENTS. THE, UH, ABILITY THAT MY OFFICE AND IN COLLABORATION WITH, UH, WONDERFUL STAFF MEMBERS AND STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES CANNOT BE DONE WITHOUT THE LEADERSHIP THAT WE HAVE WITH MS. SEYMOUR. AND THE EMPHASIS THAT SHE PUTS ON TALKING ABOUT IT. AND AGAIN, TALKING ABOUT IT MEANS THAT WE'RE NOT GOING TO SHY AWAY FROM IT, THAT WE'RE GONNA MAKE IT RELEVANT. WE'RE GONNA MAKE THE CONNECTIONS NOT JUST TO OUR STAFF'S WELLBEING, BUT ALSO THE STUDENTS' WELLBEING, AND THEN ULTIMATELY THE ACADEMIC SUCCESS THAT, UH, HAPPENS AT LANSDOWN. UM, SO A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT WE, UH, DO, UM, ARE FANTASTIC AND THE COLLABORATION, UM, THAT I'VE SEEN IN MY SECOND YEAR AT LANSDOWN BY FAR EXCEEDS ANYTHING THAT I'VE, UH, DONE IN 17 YEARS, UM, WITHIN BCPS. UM, AND SOME OF THE THINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, ALONG THE LINES OF MENTAL HEALTH, WE JUST TALKED ABOUT THE HOLIDAYS AND THE HOLIDAYS ARE A DIFFICULT TIME FOR MANY OF OUR FAMILIES. UM, SO A PART OF MENTAL HEALTH IS ALSO SUPPORTING THE PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY. AND JUST WANNA HIGHLIGHT THAT. UM, OUR COMMUNITY SCHOOL FACILITATOR THROUGH HER HARD WORK, SUPPORTED ALMOST 50 FAMILIES FOR HOLIDAY ASSISTANCE THROUGH DONATIONS FROM STAFF DONORS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS. SO WE HAVE 50 FAMILIES AND STUDENTS THAT WILL HOPEFULLY HAVE A HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON BECAUSE OF THINGS THAT ARE DONE THROUGH DE-STIGMATIZING MENTAL HEALTH AND SHOWING SUPPORT FOR OTHERS. SO I AM A NEWISH SCHOOL SOCIAL WORKER. I'VE ONLY BEEN A SCHOOL SOCIAL WORKER FOR THREE YEARS AND HAS BEEN AT LANSDOWN HIGH SCHOOL. AND IT'S BEEN INCREDIBLE, UM, BECAUSE OF THE COLLABORATION, BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE REALLY ABLE TO BE OPEN AND TALK ABOUT IT. THAT IS SUCH A GOOD WAY TO DESTIGMATIZE MENTAL HEALTH WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT IT, WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR STUFF, YOU DON'T NEED TO TALK ABOUT YOUR PERSONAL BUSINESS. BUT WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT LIKE HOW THINGS ARE AFFECTING YOU AND YOU PROVIDE LANGUAGE THAT IS, UM, POSITIVE AND APPROPRIATE AND REAL TO THE TEACHERS SO THAT THEY CAN IMPART THAT ON THE STUDENTS, AND SO THEN THE STUDENTS CAN RECOGNIZE THAT AND SEEK THE SUPPORTS THAT THEY NEED, AND WE HAVE THE SUPPORTS THAT THEY NEED. UM, IT REALLY JUST CREATES THIS CULTURE OF BEING OKAY TO NOT BE OKAY AND BEING OKAY TO LEARN THESE STRATEGIES TO GET YOU WHERE YOU NEED TO BE. AND SO I THANK YOU, UM, ESPECIALLY THE LEADERSHIP OF, UM, MISS SEYMOUR, BUT EVERYONE AT THIS TABLE AND ALL OF OUR OTHER FIRST AT THE SCHOOL, THANK YOU. UM, SO I'M ACTUALLY A FOURTH YEAR, SO I'M EARLY CAREER. UH, BUT I ACTUALLY GRADUATED FROM LANSDOWN IN 2014, SO I GOT TO GO BACK. UM, AND SO WHEN I GOT MY ROLE IN MY POSITION, I THOUGHT ABOUT WHEN I WAS THAT AGE AND, UM, WHAT I NEEDED. AND SO THERE WAS TIMES WHERE I STRUGGLED AND I DIDN'T KNOW WHO TO GO TO, AND I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT RESOURCES WERE AVAILABLE. AND SO THAT HAS BEEN MY MAIN PRIORITY. AND I FEEL LIKE AS A TEAM AT LANDSDOWN, WE DO THAT VISIBILITY DAILY BASIS. UH, WE REALLY PRIORITIZE LIKE ESTABLISHING THOSE RELATIONSHIPS WITH OUR STUDENTS AND, UM, WE JUST REALLY CARE ABOUT THEM. AND I KNOW, YOU KNOW, WHEN THEY STOP BY OUR OFFICE AND, AND THEY RECOGNIZE OUR FACES AND OUR NAMES, THAT REALLY MAKES A DIFFERENCE. UM, ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY'RE AT THEIR MOST VULNERABLE. I SEE THAT A LOT OF OUR STUDENTS HAVE COURAGE TO ASK FOR HELP AND TO ADVOCATE FOR THEMSELVES. SO I'M JUST VERY PROUD OF OUR ENTIRE TEAM AND EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE DOING. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. THANK YOU. THANK, THANK YOU SO MUCH. BEFORE WE START WITH COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS, CAN WE PLEASE GIVE LAY AND SOUND HIGH SCHOOLS? I I AM GONNA TAKE THE PRIVILEGE OF STARTING WITH JUST A COUPLE COMMENTS JUST TO THANK YOU. UM, ONE OF THEM IS WE OFTEN HEAR OF THE GIFT OF TIME. YOU TRULY ARE, UM, GIVING YOUR STUDENTS A GIFT OF TIME. THE ONE, UM, THE SUCCESS TIME, I THINK YOU CALLED IT. YOU KNOW, LISTENING TO YOUR STUDENTS, HEARING THAT THEY NEED TIME AND THEN, YOU KNOW, STRUCTURING THAT ONE HOUR TO DO BOTH SEL AND THE ACADEMICS JUST SETS A WONDERFUL STAGE AND JUST TELLS THEM THAT YOU ARE LISTENING AND YOU DO, ARE HONORING WHAT THEY NEED. AND I'M SURE THAT IS, IS HUGELY SUCCESSFUL. UM, THE SECOND PART IS THE IDEA WORKING WITH THE OTHER, UM, ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOLS IN YOUR COMMUNITY, UM, TO FORWARD THINK THAT THESE ARE GONNA BE OUR STUDENTS. UM, I KNOW FIRSTHAND THE NEEDS OF YOUR COMMUNITY, UM, IT [01:45:01] IS A COMMUNITY THAT IS, THAT IS DIFFICULT AND YOU ARE WRAPPING YOUR ARMS AROUND THEM AND AROUND THEM AS YOUNG CHILDREN SO THAT WHEN THEY COME TO YOU, YOU'VE ALREADY STARTED TO MAKE THOSE RELATIONSHIPS AND YOU'RE STARTING TO REALLY HELP 'EM. SO KUDOS FOR WORKING WITH THE OTHER SCHOOLS IN THAT COMMUNITY. AND MS. SEYMOUR, THE WAY YOU TAKE CARE OF YOUR TEACHERS, UM, I CAN SEE THE PRIDE THAT YOU HAVE AS YOU LISTEN TO THEM, BUT TAKING CARE OF THEM AND MAKING SURE THAT WHILE THEY'RE WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITY THAT DOES HAVE TREMENDOUS NEEDS, THAT THEY ARE ALSO GETTING WHAT THEY NEED, JUST MAKES YOU A PRINCIPLE OF A PRINCIPLE. SO I, YOU KNOW, WANNA THANK ALL OF YOU FOR BEING HERE TONIGHT. YOU'VE WORKED ALL DAY. IT'S DECEMBER. WE HAVE A LOT OF NERVE ASKING YOU TO COME ON DECEMBER 17TH, BUT, UM, IT'S TRULY OUR FAVOR, OR IT'S MY FAVORITE PORTION, I WON'T SPEAK FOR EVERYBODY ELSE, BUT TO HEAR THAT THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING IN A COMMUNITY WITH HIGH NEEDS IS, IS JUST INSPIRING. AND NOW I'LL LET MY COLLEAGUES, UM, ADD ON. SO, MS. EY, I REALLY WANTED TO RAISE MY HAND FIRST BEFORE EVEN OUR BOARD CHAIR SPOKE, BECAUSE I KNEW I WAS GONNA BE REPETITIVE. BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. IT WAS AMAZING. UM, I'M NOT GONNA SAY, TRY NOT TO SAY THE SAME THING, THINGS THAT SHE SAID, BUT I THINK YOU'RE A WONDERFUL EXAMPLE OF WHAT WE NEED TO DO IN SCHOOLS THROUGHOUT OUR SYSTEM. UM, ALSO VERY SPECIFICALLY, UM, SUPPORTING YOUR STAFF AND THE INTENTIONAL WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING TO, TO, TO, EXCUSE ME, TO SUPPORT YOUR STAFF. UM, I LOVE THAT YOU BROUGHT THAT UP IN YOUR PRESENTATION AND JUST THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOU DO. THANK YOU, MS. HARVEY. THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR. I ECHO THE SENTIMENTS AND I, I REALLY JUST WANT TO SAY THAT, UH, YOUR PROGRAM ACKNOWLEDGES WHAT WE ALL KNOW IS THAT YOU HAVE TO ADDRESS THE WHOLE CHILD. AND WHAT I REALLY APPRECIATE IN YOUR PRESENTATION IS THE DYNAMIC WAY, THE NIMBLE WAY WITH WHICH YOU ADJUST TO WHAT THE STUDENTS ARE PRESENTING. SO MEETING MONTHLY, CHANGING YOUR INTERVENTIONS OR YOUR GROUPS TO SPECIFICALLY ADDRESS WHAT THE STUDENTS ARE SAYING THEY NEED IS A MODEL, UH, THAT EVERYONE CAN LEARN FROM. AND I DO HAVE ONE QUESTION AND THAT IS, HOW ARE PARENTS INTEGRATED INTO THIS PROCESS AS YOU WORK TO, UH, IMPROVE THE SOCIAL EMOTIONAL, UH, LEARNING FOR, UH, STUDENTS THAT THEY CAN SUPPORT AT HOME? SO WE SHARE, I SHARE A LOT OF STUFF OUT IN OUR WEEKLY COMMUNICATION. I LEVERAGE SOCIAL MEDIA. IT'S STILL AN AREA OF GROWTH FOR US. WE REESTABLISHED A PTA THREE YEARS AGO. SO LEVERAGING PTA HAS BEEN HELPFUL IN SHARING THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING. UM, MS. DON HAD MENTIONED THAT WE HAD AN ADDITIONAL SOCIAL WORKER ASSIGNED TO US WHO IS SPANISH SPEAKING. MR. ROSENBLUM HAS OFFERED AND DOES A MONTHLY MEETING WITH OUR LATINO PARENTS, OFFERS AN OPPORTUNITY TO MEET WITH THEM MONTHLY AS WELL. SO WE'RE BUILDING UPON THE, THE ADULT, THE, THE PARENT PROCESS OF GETTING THEM INVOLVED WITH US. BUT THOSE ARE THE SMALL STEPS THAT I THINK ARE STARTING TO BRING THOSE PARENTS INTO OUR BUILDING TO ENGAGE WITH US AROUND THIS. AND THE REALITY IS, IS THAT CULTURALLY, AND THIS IS A BARRIER THAT WE'RE OVERCOMING, WHICH IS WHY WE HAVE SO MANY SMALL GROUPS CULTURALLY, SOME PARENTS DON'T, DON'T SEE MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT AS APPROPRIATE FOR THEIR CHILDREN. SO THAT'S WHERE THE TEAM THINKS OUTSIDE OF THE BOX ON HOW WE CAN STILL PROVIDE SUPPORTS WHILE HONORING THE BELIEFS OF OUR FAMILY, BUT ALSO GIVING THE KIDS WHAT THEY'RE ASKING FOR AND WHAT THEY'RE SAYING THAT THEY NEED. SO WE'RE CONTINUING TO GROW AND DEVELOP IN THAT AREA IN TERMS OF GETTING MORE PARENTS INVOLVED IN THE WORK WITH US, BUT WE DO SHARE IT OUT AS MUCH AS WE CAN. COULD I ALSO SAY ONE MORE THING TOO, IS UM, BECAUSE WE'RE TRYING TO LIKE, UM, MS. MURRAY SAID NORMALIZE MENTAL HEALTH AND MAKING SURE THAT EVERYONE RECOGNIZES THAT AND WE USE THAT LANGUAGE IN THE SCHOOLS TO MAKE IT EASIER FOR, UM, THE STUDENTS. TO SAY THAT I ALSO USE TALKING POINTS AND USE ANNOUNCEMENTS ALL THE TIME WITH MY PARENTS TALKING POINTS HAS BEEN WONDERFUL TO BE ABLE TO EASILY AND QUICKLY, UM, HAVE COMMUNICATION WITH PARENTS AND LET THEM KNOW WHAT WE'RE DOING AND THAT WAY THAT THEY CAN REITERATE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE MIGHT BE DOING IN GROUP OR INDIVIDUALLY. AND SO THEY HAVE THAT AT THEIR FINGERTIPS. SO THAT'S ANOTHER WAY THAT WE COMMUNICATE WITH PARENTS. THANK YOU AND CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR SUCCESS. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK. MS. BOOKER DWYER, THANK YOU FOR THIS PRESENTATION. IT IS SUCH, SUCH GREAT WORK THAT YOU ALL ARE DOING AND ESPECIALLY THAT FOCUSED ON EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE WITH ADULTS. UM, BECAUSE A LOT OF TIMES ADULTS, THEY NEED THAT PERMISSION TO FEEL AND TO USE THE RIGHT WORDS TO UNDERSTAND, TO, TO CONNECT THE EMOTION TO, TO WHAT'S HAPPENING AND THE RIGHT STRATEGIES. UM, SO EVERY STRATEGY ISN'T JUST GO TAKE A WALK, UM, SOMETIMES YOU GET, YOU HAVE TO PAIR THE RIGHT. SO I LOVE THAT YOU'RE FOCUSED ON THAT EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE. WHEN I LOOK AT THE TIER ONE SUPPORT, UM, IN PARTICULAR, [01:50:01] I SEE THAT YOU HAVE THE WAYFINDERS LESSONS AND CORE CURRICULUM INSTRUCTION END OF UNIT ASSESSMENTS. HOW DO, HOW DO ALL OF THESE THINGS, UH, COMPLIMENT EACH OTHER OR JUST COMPLIMENT THAT CONTINUUM OF WHAT THE STUDENT IS EXPERIENCING IN THE SCHOOL BUILDING AS A WHOLE SO THAT, SO THAT IT DOESN'T FEEL LIKE IT'S SEPARATE. LIKE, OKAY, WE'RE GONNA STOP NOW AND WE'RE GONNA DO A WAYFINDER AND THEN WE'RE GONNA STOP AND DO LIKE, SO COULD YOU JUST SPEAK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW THIS ALL LOOKS IN IMPLEMENTATION AND HOW IT ALL COMPLIMENTS EACH OTHER? SO I THINK WE'RE STILL GROWING IN THAT AREA, RIGHT? WE'VE DONE A LOT OF WORK IN THE LAST THREE YEARS, FOUR YEARS TO KIND OF IDENTIFY WHAT WE HAVE. AND NOW WITH THAT WORK, WITH THAT SEL TASK FORCE, THAT'S MEETING TWICE A MONTH AND SOME OF THE OTHER WORK THAT WE'VE STARTED TO DO, THAT'S WHERE IT'S PUTTING IN THE PIECES AND TYING IN THE PIECES, RIGHT? UM, STARTING TO LEARN THE LANGUAGE TO HELP SUPPORT KIDS PERSEVERE THROUGH THE ACADEMICS, RIGHT? LIKE IF WE CAN HELP YOU PERSEVERE THROUGH WHATEVER THE HOME STRUGGLE IS OR THE PERSONAL STRUGGLE, THEN WE CAN START TO HELP YOU PERSEVERE IN THE CLASSROOM. SO THAT'S STILL AN AREA OF GROWTH FOR US AS WE KIND OF GO THROUGH ALL OF THIS. MY HOPE IS IS THAT WHEN WE GET, UM, WHEN WE START USING THAT WAYFINDER CURRICULUM, WHICH IS A CASTLE APPROVED CURRICULUM, THAT WE CAN START TO SEE HOW IT CAN FIT INTO SOME OF OUR ACADEMIC WORKS AS WE CONTINUE TO MOVE FORWARD. THE OTHER THING THAT REALLY, UM, YOU SEE THAT LANDSDOWN IS DOING IS THEY'RE TRAINING THEIR STAFF. SO YOU HEAR A LOT OF VERY SIMILAR LANGUAGE ACROSS THE TABLE TONIGHT. AND SO, UM, PROVIDING TRAINING ON YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID THROUGH OUR NATIONAL COLLABORATIVE, THERE WAS TRAINING ON TRAUMA INFORMED PRACTICES. SO IT'S NOT JUST OUR STUDENT SUPPORT TEAM THAT MAY SIT AT THIS TABLE TONIGHT. IT IS THE ENTIRE STAFF THAT'S PARTICIPATING UTILIZING THE LANGUAGE SO THAT WHEN THINGS DO OCCUR DURING INSTRUCTION, TEACHERS HAVE THE LANGUAGE, BUT OUR STUDENTS ALSO HAVE THE LANGUAGE. AND SO THAT IS VERY POWERFUL BECAUSE IT TRANSCENDS, IT DOES, WHETHER IT'S MATH OR IT'S SCIENCE OR IT'S ENGLISH, THAT LANGUAGE IS TRANSCENDING THOSE ENVIRONMENTS AS WELL AS WHEN STUDENTS SEEK SUPPORT OR HELP. THAT'S GREAT. AND THEN MY SECOND QUESTION IS HOW DO YOU KNOW ONCE YOU'VE REACHED SUCCESS? SO WHEN WE HAVE ALL THE TIER ONE, TIER TWO, TIER THREE SUPPORTS, HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOU KNOW, WHAT IS YOUR, YOUR KIND OF MARKER TO SAY, OKAY, WE, THIS HAS BEEN A SUCCESS FOR US. SO OUR MARKERS ARE GONNA BE OUR ATTENDANCE RATE, OUR CHRONIC ATTENDANCE RATE IS DOWN 10% THIS YEAR, UM, BASED ON SOME WORK, LOWER SUSPENSION RATE, CONTINUING TO WORK ON THAT, UM, SENSE OF BELONGING. SO I'LL BE INTERESTED TO SEE WHAT THE STAKEHOLDER SURVEY HAS TO SAY BECAUSE WHEN I GOT THERE, THE FEEDBACK FROM STUDENTS AND STAFF AROUND SENSE OF BELONGING AND TRULY DO I FEEL LIKE I'M A MEMBER OF THIS COMMUNITY, WAS VERY LOW, RIGHT? AND I HAVE BEEN OPEN AND HONEST WITH MY STAFF ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF A NEED FOR THIS TO BE A PLACE WHERE MY CHILDREN WOULD, I WOULD WANT MY CHILDREN HERE AND MY CHILDREN WOULD FEEL WELCOME AS MULTIRACIAL CHILDREN IN THIS BUILDING, RIGHT? AND DO THAT WORK. SO ALL OF THOSE KIND OF THINGS, EVENTUALLY IT'S GONNA START SHOWING UP IN GRADE DATA. IT'S GONNA SHOW UP IN GRADUATION DATA, RIGHT? UM, SO THAT'S MY ULTIMATE GOAL. BUT SOME OF THOSE THINGS THAT WE SEE IMMEDIATELY ARE HAPPENING, KIDS ARE COMING TO SCHOOL. IF WE CAN GET 'EM IN SCHOOL, STAY IN SCHOOL, THEN THE REST IS GONNA COME. AND THAT, AND THAT'S, THOSE ARE OUR BIG MARKERS RIGHT NOW WITH SOME OF THE GAINS THAT I THINK SOME OF THIS WORK IS ATTRIBUTING TO. I ALSO THINK IT'S HARD TO KIND OF, WHEN, WHEN MS. MUSTER AND I WERE TALKING ABOUT THE WORK, RIGHT? A LOT OF THE WORK IS INTERCEPTING THINGS FROM HAPPENING. SO IF IT DOESN'T HAPPEN, WE DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN, RIGHT? SO IT'S THE QUESTION OF, WELL, WHAT HASN'T HAPPENED BECAUSE OF THE WORK THAT WE'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO ANSWER, RIGHT? SO I'M HOPING THINGS DON'T HAPPEN EXCEPT FOR THE GOOD THINGS. YES. THANK YOU. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU. OTHER BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? MS. ONG? UM, JUST LIKE EVERYONE HAS SAID THIS HAS BEEN, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT JUST A FANTASTIC PRESENTATION, BUT WHAT IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING IN OUR SCHOOLS. AND SO IT'S WONDERFUL TO, UM, FROM YOU GUYS AND SO, UM, KUDOS TO YOU AND FOR THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING. UM, MISS, MISS SMAR, YOU SPOKE SPECIFICALLY ABOUT SOMETHING THAT I WAS GOING TO COMMENT ON AND THAT IS THE CULTURAL PIECE OF THERE'S UM, IN SOME, IN SOME CULTURES AND EVEN IF YOU THINK ABOUT, UM, SOCIOECONOMIC, IT'S JUST NOT ACCEPTABLE TO TALK ABOUT THESE MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES OR THESE, THESE THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON INSIDE OF US. AND SO I APPRECIATE WHAT YOU GUYS ARE DOING TO EVEN COUNTER THAT. UM, AND THEN I THINK, I'M SORRY, I FORGOT YOUR NAME, MISS DON. UM, YOU SPOKE ABOUT EXECUTIVE FUNCTION AND THAT'S EVEN SOMETHING ELSE WHEN I THINK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WOULD SAY, OH, YOU'RE JUST LAZY, YOU'RE SO FORGETFUL. UM, AND NOT REALLY UNDERSTANDING WHAT THAT'S ABOUT. SO I APPRECIATE THAT YOU GUYS ARE OFFERING, UM, THOSE OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR STUDENTS AND EVEN FOR THE PARENTS TO [01:55:01] LEARN. SO MY QUESTION THOUGH ABOUT WHAT THE EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING IS, HOW DOES A STUDENT BECOME A PART OF THAT? ARE THEY IDENTIFIED BY YOU GUYS? 'CAUSE YOU KNOW, THE STUDENT'S NOT GONNA TAKE THE PAPER HOME. SURE. SOMEONE MOM OR DAD. THAT'S TRUE. UM, SO WE SENT OUT, UM, A COMMUNICATION IN THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR WITH LOTS OF DIFFERENT SUGGESTIONS FOR GROUPS AND WE HAD PEOPLE, STUDENTS SELF-IDENTIFIED, ALTHOUGH MOST STUDENTS DON'T KNOW WHAT EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING IS. UM, SO THOSE USUALLY CAME FROM THE, THE, UM, THE TEACHERS. UM, BUT WE ASKED PARENTS AND TEACHERS AND STUDENTS, HERE ARE SOME POSSIBLE GROUPS THAT MAY BE AVAILABLE TO YOU. PLEASE WRITE YOUR NAME DOWN IF ANYONE IS INTERESTED. SO THAT'S HOW WE GATHERED IT. WE ALSO GET IT FROM THE SEL TASK FORCE. WE MIGHT GET IT FROM SST MEETINGS, WE MIGHT GET IT FROM CRISES. WE MIGHT JUST GET IT FROM OUR REGULAR INTERACTIONS WITH STUDENTS. AND SO, UM, WE HAVE RUNNING LISTS OF WHO MIGHT BE A GOOD FIT FOR WHAT GROUP AND THAT'S HOW WE, UM, DETERMINE WHO'S GOES IN WHAT GROUPS. THANK YOU. FANTASTIC. MM-HMM . OTHER COMMENTS? MS. ? HI. I JUST FIRST AND FOREMOST WANNA SAY THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION AND THE ONE THING THAT I'VE REALLY STUCK OUT WAS WHEN FOR YOUR SUCCESS TIME AND YOUR SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING INITIATIVE, YOU SAID THAT IT WAS IN RESPONSE TO STUDENT AND TEACHER CONCERNS. SO I WANTED TO ASK, OUTSIDE OF STAKEHOLDER SURVEY FEEDBACKS, WHAT DO YOU THINK WAS THE BEST PRACTICE IN ACTUALLY GETTING THAT DATA AND JUST YOUR MYTHOLOGY AND SEEKING OUT STUDENT VOICES IN ORDER TO IMPLEMENT SUCH A SUCCESSFUL INITIATIVE? SO I HAVE A, UH, PRINCIPAL STUDENT ADVISORY GROUP AND I ASKED THE KIDS WHAT I ASK THEM, WHAT DO YOU NEED? THIS IS WHAT WE SEE IN THE DATA. THIS IS WHAT MY CONCERN IS, RIGHT? AS THE PRINCIPAL, MY JOB IS TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE ACCESS TO GRADUATE AND BE PREPARED WHEN YOU LEAVE. AND WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT YOU NEED IN ORDER TO DO THAT. SO, AND IT WAS VARIOUS KIDS, 'CAUSE THAT GROUP IS VERY DIVERSE, WHO SAID, WELL, SOMETIMES WE JUST NEED TIME TO GET STUFF DONE RIGHT. UM, BECAUSE OF RESPONSIBILITIES OUTSIDE OF THE SCHOOL TIME AND WHATEVER. AND THEN I ACTUALLY HAD STAFF WHO WERE ALSO THINKING THE SAME THING. HOW CAN WE DO AN INTERVENTION? WHAT KIND OF INTERVENTION CAN WE PUT IN PLACE THAT REMOVES THE BARRIER OF KIDS NOT BEING ABLE TO STAY AFTER SCHOOL? SO A LOT OF IT WAS JUST CASUAL CONVERSATIONS WITH STUDENTS. THERE WAS NOTHING SPECIFIC THAT WE ASKED, RIGHT? IT WAS JUST LOTS OF CONVERSATIONS, KIDS HAVING CONVERSATIONS, AND ME GOING TO EDUCATOR COUNCIL, DEPARTMENT CHAIRS, TRUSTED TEACHER, YOU KNOW, VETERAN TEACHERS IN THE BUILDING AND THEY WERE LIKE, LET'S TRY IT. I MEAN, IF IT DOESN'T WORK, IT DOESN'T WORK AND THEN WE FIGURE OUT SOMETHING ELSE. BUT, UM, IT'S BEEN, IT'S BEEN WELL RECEIVED AND WE CONTINUE TO EXPAND AND STRENGTHEN THE PURPOSE OF THE WORK. THANK YOU SO MUCH. AND I HAD ONE MORE QUESTION AND IT WAS JUST, I GUESS IT'LL KIND OF BE HARD TO LIKE CODIFY SOMETHING AS LARGE AS CULTURE, BUT WHAT DO YOU THINK WAS TRULY THE BEST AVENUE OR JUST HOW YOU WERE ABLE TO FOSTER THAT CULTURE OF DE-STIGMATIZING MENTAL HEALTH AND SPEAKING ABOUT IT WITHIN A SCHOOL? SO THIS CAN BE APPLIED ON A COUNTYWIDE SCALE. I'M GONNA ASK MS. MURRAY JUST TO ANSWER THAT. WELL, LIKE I SAID, WE ALL SHARE THE SAME VOCABULARY. WE ARE ALL TALKING ABOUT IT. UM, AND I THINK THAT OUR SAFETY ASSISTANCE REALLY ARE KEY PLAYERS IN THIS BECAUSE THEY SEE THE KIDS, THEY KNOW THE KIDS AND THEY'RE ABLE TO NOTICE WHETHER THEY'RE OFF THAT DAY IF THEY'RE A LITTLE FREQUENT FLYER IN THE HALLWAY, RIGHT? OTHER STAFF MEMBERS STEP IN TO DO THAT AS WELL. AND I THINK THAT THAT'S KEY. MM-HMM . . AND IF I MAY LIKE DE-STIGMATIZING IT, ONE OF THE EXAMPLES WE USE A LOT, NOT JUST AT LANSDOWN BUT MANY OTHER SCHOOL COUNSELORS DO, IS TALK ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH IS JUST LIKE TREATING YOUR PHYSICAL HEALTH. MM-HMM . AND SO WHEN THEY UNDERSTAND THE EXAMPLES SOMETIMES USED, AND I MIGHT BUTCHER THIS ONE, BUT DIABETES IS SOMETHING THAT STUDENTS MAY NOT CONTROL WHEN THEY'RE BORN WITH IT. AND DO YOU MAKE COMMENTS OR DO YOU HAVE A CERTAIN WAY THAT YOU FEEL ABOUT SOMEONE THAT'S BORN WITH A PHYSICAL ILLNESS? AND SO THE STUDENTS TYPICALLY UNDERSTAND THAT CONVERSATION. SO THAT'S JUST AN AN EXAMPLE OF HOW WE KIND OF DE-STIGMATIZE IT BY ASSOCIATING MENTAL WITH PHYSICAL. AND YOU WOULD GO TO YOUR DOCTOR YEARLY, YOU SHOULD CHECK IN WITH SOMEONE FOR YOUR MENTAL HEALTH. THANK YOU. AND JUST ONE MORE QUESTION, I'M SORRY. THAT'S OKAY. AND THEN JUST WITH THE MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS, KIND OF HOW ARE WE TAILORING IT TO MEET THE NEEDS OF SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS OUTSIDE OF THE GENERAL CULTURE OF THE SCHOOL AND THEN FOR OUR ALSO NON-SPANISH MULTILINGUAL LEARNERS, NON-SPANISH SPEAKING MULTILINGUAL LEARNERS. SO THE NICE THING ABOUT OUR UM, SEL TASK FORCE IS THAT WHEN WE MEET ABOUT STUDENTS, THE SEL TEACHER'S PART OF THAT GROUP, UM, WE HAVE THE IEP CHAIRS PART OF IT AND OUR SST CHAIRS PART OF IT. SO THAT HELPS THERE BECAUSE WE'RE ABLE TO LOOK AT DOES THE STUDENT HAVE A BEHAVIOR INTERVENTION PLAN, MAYBE DO THEY NEED A BEHAVIOR INTERVENTION PLAN? DO WE NEED TO LOOK AT WHAT THEIR [02:00:01] SERVICES MAY BE ON THEIR IEP OR THEIR 5 0 4 PLAN AND COME BACK TO TEAM AND CONSIDER ADDING SOCIAL WORK SERVICES. OR EVEN SINCE MS. NEAL IS WITH US FULL TIME, ADDING MS. NEAL BECAUSE SHE'S ABLE TO SEE KIDS AND HAVE A CASELOAD OF STUDENTS. SO THOSE, THOSE STAFF MEMBERS ARE INTEGRAL IN THAT SSEL TASK FORCE MEETINGS. AND I INTENTIONALLY HAVE THEM THERE WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT YOUNG PEOPLE. THAT WAY WE CAN BE IMMEDIATE IN A RESPONSE IF WE SEE A SPIKE IN REFERRALS, A SPIKE IN BEHAVIORS, THEY'RE ALREADY AT THE TABLE AND IF WE NEED TO GO TO TEAM, THEY SCHEDULE THAT TEAM RIGHT AWAY, RIGHT. AND GET IT ON THE CALENDAR INSTEAD OF WAITING A LONG TIME. SO WE TRY AND BE REAL RESPONSIVE THERE. IN TERMS OF OUR MULTILINGUAL STUDENTS, THAT'S WHERE MR. ROSENBLUM HAS BEEN A HUGE HELP FOR US, UM, AND HIM BEING ABLE TO MAKE THOSE CONNECTIONS AND DOING THAT PARENT WORK, UM, AND WORKING WITH THE STUDENTS THERE. AND SO HE IS ENGAGING, HE'S BEEN IN ALL OF THE ESOL CLASSES TO INTRODUCE HIMSELF, WHAT HE'S THERE FOR. HE'S ALREADY RUNNING SMALL GROUPS, HE'S ALREADY MEETING WITH KIDS INDIVIDUALLY, UM, HELPING IN ANY WAY POSSIBLE THAT WE MAY NEED. SO WITH THOSE TWO PIECES, I THINK WE HAVE A STRONG TIERED SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR SOME OF THOSE GROUPS THAT MIGHT OTHERWISE FEEL LIKE THEY'RE NOT INCLUDED IN THE WORK. THANK YOU. YOU'RE WELCOME. AND ALSO, UM, WITH HOW YOU WERE SAYING LIKE WITH THE SYSTEM THAT YOU GUYS HAVE, IT SEEMS VERY PROACTIVE, BUT YOU WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT THAT SPIKE. SO IS THERE A SPECIFIC THRESHOLD TO SAY WITH THESE WITH X AMOUNT OF REFERRALS, THIS IS KIND OF THAT SPIKE FOR US TO INTERVENE? OR IS IT JUST KIND OF ON THAT STUDENT BY STUDENT BASIS FOR THEIR INDIVIDUAL NEEDS? A LOT OF IT'S STUDENT BY STUDENT, DEPENDING ON WHAT THE BEHAVIORS ARE, RIGHT? IF THE BEHAVIOR'S JUST CHRONIC LATENESS TO CLASS, THAT RESPONSE IS GONNA BE DIFFERENT AND BY A DIFFERENT PERSON THAN IF WE START TO SEE EITHER MORE CLASS CUT, LIKE A CHANGE IN PATTERN OF ATTENDING CLASS REGULARLY OR THEIR PEER-TO-PEER INTERACTIONS AND THERE'S A SPIKE, THEN THAT MIGHT GET ELEVATED TO A DIFFERENT STAFF MEMBER TO BE MORE URGENTLY RESPONDED TO FOR THEM. SO IT REALLY IS THAT WORK IS REALLY MORE SO STUDENT BY STUDENT OF WHAT WE DO. THANK YOU. YOU'RE WELCOME. I THINK WE GOT EVERYBODY. ALL RIGHT. UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH AGAIN. AND ONE LAST THING IS THE PARTNERSHIPS. THAT WAS EVIDENT THROUGHOUT YOUR PRESENTATION TOO, THAT YOU HAVE A LOT OF PARTNERSHIPS GOING ON AND I, WE CAN'T THIS ALONE. SO I APPRECIATE YOU REACHING OUT AND WORKING WITH THEM TOO. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. FEEL FREE TO LEAVE NOW. SO , SO THAT YOU CAN BE ON TIME TOMORROW. AND AS THEY ARE TRANSITIONING, THE NEXT ITEM [L. REPORT - SAFETY AND CLIMATE (Ms. Charley-Greene) (9:00 - 9:20 p.m.)] ON THE AGENDA IS THE REPORT ON THE CELL PHONE PILOT UPDATE. AND FOR THAT, I CALL ON MS. CHARLIE GREEN. THANK YOU. UH, WE ARE SITTING, CAN YOU GRAB THAT ONE AND THEN EMILY? SURE. PERFECT. SHARE. THANK YOU. OKAY. FOR OUR FINAL REPORT THIS EVENING, UH, WE ARE PLEASED TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON THE CELL PHONE PILOT IMPLEMENTATION. AS YOU'LL RECALL, UH, WE SHARED IN THE FALL THAT WE INVITED ALL SECONDARY SCHOOLS. WE GAVE THEM AN OPPORTUNITY TO OPT IN, UH, AND VOLUNTEER TO PARTICIPATE IN A CELL PHONE PILOT. UH, LAST SPRING, WE HAD A SURVEY THAT WE ADMINISTERED TO OUR STAKEHOLDERS, OUR TEACHERS, AS WELL AS OUR PARENTS AND FAMILIES TO HEAR, UM, WHAT THEIR SPECIFIC THOUGHTS AND CONCERNS WERE AROUND CELL PHONES. UH, AND THEN WANTED SCHOOLS THAT WANTED TO BE A PART OF EARLY ADOPTION TO SHAPE OUR NEXT STEPS AS A SCHOOL SYSTEM, UH, MS. CHARLIE GREEN HAS LED THIS EFFORT AND, UH, TODAY THE MEDIA WANTED TO KNOW A LOT ABOUT THE CELL PHONE PILOTS. WE TOLD THEM TO TUNE IN THIS EVENING. AND SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, I TURN IT OVER TO THE TEAM. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, DR. ROGERS. AND, AND GOOD EVENING BOARD CHAIR LICHTER, VICE CHAIR HARVEY, DR. ROGERS, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD. I'M HERE THIS EVENING WITH A NUMBER OF FOLKS WHO ARE GOING TO HELP IN SHARING, UH, WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH OUR CELL PHONE PILOT. UH, JOINING ME TONIGHT IS, UH, MS. SUMMERVILLE, WHO IS OUR DIRECTOR OF HEALTH SERVICES. SO SHE WILL HELP PROVIDE SOME CONTEXT TO WHY WE DO THIS WORK. ADDITIONALLY, WE'VE GOT WITH US PRINCIPAL CASTOR, WHO IS GOING TO SHARE WHAT CELL PHONE, UH, THE IMPLEMENTATION LOOKS LIKE IN AN ACTUAL SCHOOL WITH ACTUAL STUDENTS. AND WE ALSO HAVE WITH US, AND WE'RE SO PLEASED THAT SHE WAS ABLE TO JOIN US, MS. RAMONA BASILIO FROM THE PTA COUNCIL, WHO IS GOING TO SHARE SOME OF THE PARTNERSHIP, UH, THAT WE'VE EMBARKED ON TOGETHER TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE SENDING THE MESSAGE TO PARENTS AND EVERYONE ABOUT THE CELL PHONE PILOT. I THINK YOU CAN HEAR ME A LITTLE BETTER [02:05:01] NOW, SO I'LL MOVE DOWN. UH, SO NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. OH, WAIT, I HAVE THE POWER . THERE WE GO. ALRIGHT. UH, SO, SO DR. ROGERS SAID A LITTLE BIT OF CONTEXT, BUT I'LL JUST ADD THAT THE REASON WHY WE WENT ON THIS JOURNEY OF LOOKING AT A CELL PHONE PILOT WAS BECAUSE OF THE GROWING CONCERN ABOUT THE IMPACT OF CELL PHONE USE ON STUDENTS, ON THEM ACADEMICALLY, ON THEIR SOCIAL EMOTIONAL WELLBEING, AS WELL AS SOME OF THE BEHAVIORS THAT WE WERE STARTING TO SEE. AS DR. ROGERS INDICATED, WE CONDUCTED A SURVEY, AND THAT SURVEY SHARE, UH, SHARED SOME NEWS THAT WE ALREADY KNEW, THAT MOST PEOPLE AGREED THAT CELL PHONES ARE A DISTRACTION. HOWEVER, WE ALSO NOTED THAT THERE WERE PARENTS WHO FELT VERY STRONGLY THAT THEIR STUDENTS NEEDED TO HAVE ACCESS TO THEIR CELL PHONES, AND THAT IT WAS IMPORTANT IN EMERGENCY SITUATIONS THAT STUDENTS WOULD BE ABLE TO GET TO THOSE PHONES AND COMMUNICATE WITH THEIR PARENTS OR PARENTS WERE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE WITH THEM. AND SO WE WERE REALLY LOOKING FOR A WAY TO ADDRESS BOTH GROUPS BECAUSE WE KNEW THAT SOMETHING IN ADDITION TO OUR CELL PHONE POLICY WAS NEEDED TO ENSURE THAT THOSE INTERRUPTIONS TO INSTRUCTION, THAT THOSE WERE DECREASED, OUR STUDENTS WERE DOING BETTER IN TERMS OF THEIR SOCIAL EMOTIONAL WELLBEING. AND WE SAW A DECREASE IN BEHAVIORS. SO OUR GOAL IN LAUNCHING THE CELL PHONE PRO, UH, PILOT PROGRAM WAS TO LOOK FOR SOMETHING SHORT OF A BAN, BECAUSE A BAN WAS NOT WHAT OUR COMMUNITY WAS TELLING US THAT THEY NEEDED. WHAT THEY NEEDED WAS FOR US TO GO BACK TO OUR CELL PHONE POLICY AND THINK ABOUT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THAT. HOW CAN WE ENSURE THAT IT'S IMPLEMENTED WITH FIDELITY? SO, AS DR. ROGERS INDICATED, THE CALL WENT OUT. WE ASKED FOR WILLING VOLUNTEERS TO JOIN US ON THIS JOURNEY IF THEY WOULD BE WILLING TO VERY SIMPLY CREATE A SYSTEM IN WHICH STUDENTS WERE SEPARATED FROM THEIR CELL PHONES DURING INSTRUCTIONAL TIME, BUT ALSO HAD ACCESS TO THOSE PHONES SHOULD AN EMERGENCY OCCUR. AND SO WE GOT ABOUT 17 SCHOOLS THAT SAID, YES, SIGN US E FROM THE SLIDE 10 HIGH SCHOOLS AND SEVEN MIDDLE SCHOOLS. SUPER IMPORTANT TO INDICATE THAT THEY DIDN'T ALL DO EXACTLY THE SAME THING. THEY WERE UNIQUE SCHOOLS WITH UNIQUE COMMUNITIES. SO THEY DESIGNED A PROGRAM THAT MET THE NEEDS OF THEIR COMMUNITIES. BOTTOM LINE WAS THAT EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM ENSURE THE STUDENTS AND CELL PHONES WERE, UH, WERE SEPARATED DURING INSTRUCTIONAL TIME. THAT WAS KEY. AND SO WE'RE HERE TODAY TO SHARE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHERE WE ARE. AS I INDICATED, SCHOOLS ARE UNIQUE. SOME STARTED AT THE VERY BEGINNING. SOME TOOK A COUPLE OF WEEKS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY WERE ALL ON THE SAME PAGE IN TERMS OF OUTCOMES AND ALSO IN TERMS OF CONSEQUENCES IF THINGS DIDN'T GO THE WAY THEY WERE INTENDED. SO PEOPLE KIND OF STAGGERED THEIR BEGINNING. AND SO WE'RE NOT HERE TODAY TO SHARE QUANTITATIVE DATA THAT WILL COME ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED WITH REFERRALS AND FOCUS AND ALL OF THOSE THINGS. WE'RE REALLY HERE TO SHARE SOME EARLY LESSONS LEARNED, SOME PERCEPTION DATA. HOW DO PEOPLE FEEL ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT IN SCHOOLS? HOW DO PEOPLE FEEL ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING? WHAT ARE PEOPLE SEEING? AND HOW IS IT IMPACTING THE CLIMATE IN SCHOOLS? SO I'M EXCITED TO TURN IT OVER TO DEB SOMERVILLE TO SHARE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOME OF THE NATIONAL TRENDS AND SOME OF THE THINKING THAT INFORMED, UH, THE, THE CREATION OF THIS PILOT. AND THEN TO MS. LIA, WHO WILL SHARE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT PARTNERSHIP WITH THE PTA. WE'LL LOOK AT SOME EARLY PERCEPTION DATA, AND THEN WE'LL REALLY GET TO SEE WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE IN A SCHOOL BECAUSE PRINCIPAL CASTOR WILL SHARE HER EXPERIENCES AT SPARROWS POINT. THANKS, MS. CHARLIE GREEN. UM, SO THE NEXT SLIDE, I, I STILL HAVE THE PASS THIS LONG. SO THE NEXT SLIDE. UM, THE, UM, YOU CAN SEE ON THIS SLIDE THAT THERE'S REALLY TWO LEVELS OF CONCERNS ABOUT CELL PHONES. UM, ONE IS REALLY ITS IMPACT ON LEARNING, AND THE OTHER IS ITS IMPACT ON HEALTH. AND THAT THEY'RE BOTH EQUALLY IMPORTANT AS MS. CHARLIE GREEN HAS MENTIONED ARE, ARE EDUCATORS UNIVERSALLY AGREED IN THE SURVEY LAST SPRING THAT CELL PHONES WERE A DISTRACTION TO LEARNING. AND, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE, I HAVE A LITTLE DATA THERE FROM ONE OF OUR PRINCIPALS WHO COLLECTED DATA JUST IN A NUMBER OF, OF ACADEMIC AREAS THAT SHOWED THAT STUDENTS WITH CELL PHONE VIOLATIONS PERFORMED MUCH LOWER ON STANDARDIZED TESTS AND STUDENTS THAT DID NOT HAVE CELL PHONE VIOLATIONS. SO IT'S JUST KIND OF THAT IMMEDIATE MEASURABLE IMPACT ON LEARNING. NOW, UH, PROBABLY ABOUT 18 MONTHS AGO, OUR SURGEON GENERAL ISSUED AN ADVISORY ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA, WHICH IS WHAT MOST OF OUR STUDENTS ACCESS ON THEIR CELL PHONES. AND THEY'VE, THERE'S A NUMBER OF AREAS OF CONCERN ON HEALTH. UM, THE FIRST AREA OF CONCERN IS THAT WE ALL KNOW THAT CHILDREN'S BRAINS ARE VERY, UH, VULNERABLE. WE KNOW THAT WE DON'T GIVE 'EM CERTAIN DRUGS. WE DON'T DO CERTAIN THINGS BECAUSE THEY'RE VERY VULNERABLE. WELL, IT LOOKS LIKE CHILDREN'S BRAINS ARE PARTICULARLY VULNERABLE TO THE IMPACTS OF CELL PHONES, IN FACT, NOT JUST CHEMICALLY, BUT STRUCTURALLY. SO THERE CAN BE, AND THERE'S RESEARCH GOING ON TO FIGURE OUT WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THIS EXPOSURE TO IMMEDIATE GRATIFICATION IN CELL PHONES. WE ALL HAVE HEARD ABOUT DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY AND ASSOCIATION WITH SOCIAL MEDIA. [02:10:01] UM, BUT THERE'S ALSO CONCERNS IN THE AREA OF PHYSICAL HEALTH THAT WHAT STUDENTS AND CHILDREN ARE DOING WITH PHONES IS REPLACING HEALTHY BEHAVIOR, SLEEP, PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, TALKING TO OTHER PEOPLE WITH NON, WITH, WITH CELL PHONES. AND SO THE CONCERNS ARE PRETTY BROAD, UM, BUT THEY DO RAISE A RED FLAG THAT WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING. THANK YOU, MS. BASILIO. YES, I'M WITH THE, UM, PTA COUNCIL BALTIMORE COUNTY, IN PARTICULARLY THE FAMILY AND SCHOOL COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP GROUP. OUR INVOLVEMENT IN THIS REALLY MIRRORS WHAT THE NATIONAL PTA GUIDES US TO DO IN TERMS OF RESPONSIBLE CELL PHONE USE, IN TERMS OF SUPPORTING ANY EXISTING POLICIES THAT ARE IN PLACE. WE GOT TOGETHER WITH ABOUT 12 PARENT LEADERS AT A LEADERSHIP MEETING IN SEPTEMBER OF 23. AND THE CONVERSATION CAME UP VERY INFORMALLY ABOUT CELL PHONES, WHERE PARENTS WERE COMPLAINING ABOUT THEIR KIDS, ABOUT BEHAVIOR, AROUND GETTING THEIR KIDS TO GET OFF THE PHONE ABOUT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, MS. SOMERVILLE HAS MENTIONED IN TERMS OF SLEEP, IN TERMS OF ATTENTION, IN TERMS OF JUST OVERALL DISPOSITION WHEN IT COMES TO CELL PHONES. SO WE GOT TOGETHER AND FORMED A TASK FORCE. SOME OF THE SCHOOLS ARE INCLUDED IN THE PILOTS, SOME ARE NOT. AND SINCE SEPTEMBER, WE HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH PARENTS AND PARTNER GROUPS ON, UM, A FEW THINGS. FIRST, WE WANNA BE ABLE TO ADVOCATE FOR PARENTS TO AND CAREGIVERS TO BE MORE AWARE OF SOME OF THE, THE, THE ISSUES, SOME OF THE, SOME SITUATIONS, SOME OF THE DANGERS REALLY INVOLVED IN IRRESPONSIBLE CELL PHONE USE. WE WANT PARENTS TO BE MORE ENGAGED, YOU KNOW, KNOW WHAT YOUR CHILD IS DOING WHILE YOUR CHILD IS ON THAT PHONE. PAY ATTENTION, LOOK FOR THE CUES. AND ALSO, WE WANTED TO ENCOURAGE COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE PARTNERS, THE SCHOOLS, THE STUDENTS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS ON HOW WE TACKLE THIS IN A BALANCED WAY. UM, WE WANTED TO EDUCATE THE PARENTS 'CAUSE SOME PARENTS WERE NOT AWARE OR NOT AWARE THAT SOME SCHOOLS EVEN HAD CELL PHONE POLICIES. SO WE WANTED TO PUSH OUT THE FACT THAT BCPS HAS A CELL PHONE POLICY CALLED OFF AND AWAY, WHICH WE'VE SUPPORTED IT FOR SOME TIME, UM, BEING AT PTA MEETINGS, BEING AT BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHTS, SUPPORTING PRINCIPALS SUPPORTING BCPS AS THEY'RE ROLLING OUT THE OFF AND AWAY CAMPAIGN. AND THEN WE WANTED TO, TO LET PARENTS KNOW THAT THERE ARE SOME PROTOCOLS IF THEY DON'T KNOW THEM, IF THEY DON'T REMEMBER THEM, IF THEY'RE ANXIOUS ABOUT THEM, THERE ARE PROTOCOLS, THERE ARE WAYS TO COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR CHILD WITH BALTIMORE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEMS, IF THERE'S AN EMERGENCY, IF YOU NEED TO GET IN TOUCH WITH YOUR CHILD. SO HOW CAN WE WORK TOGETHER AS PARTNERS IN HELPING TO ALLAY SOME OF THE CONCERNS AND SOME OF THE FRUSTRATIONS AND REALLY THE ANXIETIES THAT PARENTS HAVE. AND I'LL JUST CLOSE MY REMARKS BY SAYING THERE IS A ONE, WE'RE NOT ANTI CELL PHONE. WE DO NOT SUPPORT A BAN UNLESS YOU ALL SAY BANNON , IN WHICH CASE WE'LL HAVE ANOTHER CONVERSATION, . BUT WE FOLLOW THE NATIONAL GUIDELINES IN TERMS OF CELL PHONE USE. AND WHAT WE SAY IS THERE'S A WARNING, WARNING ON CIGARETTE PACKETS. THERE'S A WARNING ON ALCOHOL, THERE'S A WARNING IN, IN, IN CARS WITH CAR SEATS. WHY IS THERE NOT A WARNING ON CELL PHONES AND THE MISUSE OF CELL PHONES? OKAY, SO WE WILL GET TO, UH, PRINCIPAL CASTOR, BUT I DID WANNA GO OVER SOME DATA VERY QUICKLY. JUST SO YOU CAN SEE THE SCHOOLS THAT ARE ENGAGED IN THE PILOT, THE SCHOOLS ARE LISTED HERE, AND AS I SAID, EACH OF THEM IS DIFFERENT. WHEN WE FIRST ROLLED OUT THE CELL PHONE PILOT, THERE WAS A LOT OF CONVERSATION ABOUT POUCHES. AND THE POUCHES ARE THOSE THINGS THAT LOOK LIKE SHOE ORGANIZERS, THAT YOU HANG ON THE BACK OF YOUR DOOR, THAT STUDENTS WORE TO PUT THEIR PHONES THERE AT THE START OF CLASS. AND TEACHERS WERE TO COME UP WITH A PLAN TO ENSURE THAT THAT WAS PART OF THE REGULAR CLASSROOM ROUTINE. AND SOME SCHOOLS ARE USING THAT AS PART OF THEIR MODEL. BUT THE FEEDBACK CAME BACK VERY QUICKLY THAT FOR SOME SCHOOLS IT WAS NOT GOING TO WORK. SOME SCHOOLS DECIDED TO MOVE TO SOMETHING VERY DIFFERENT, AND MS. CASTOR WILL SHARE HER, UM, UH, HER EXPERIENCE AT HER SCHOOL. MANY DIFFERENT MODELS EVOLVED. AND SO REALLY THE BOTTOM LINE AGAIN, WAS THE SEPARATION OF STUDENTS FROM THEIR CELL PHONES, WHETHER IT BE A BACKPACK, WHETHER IT BE A PLASTIC CONTAINER ON THE DESK WHERE ALL STUDENTS COULD SEE WHERE THE PHONE WAS, SEE THAT IT WAS SAFE, AND THEN GO ABOUT ENGAGING AND LEARNING OR WHETHER THEY CONTINUED TO USE THE POUCHES. WE WERE VERY EXCITED TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE ONGOING SUPPORT TO SCHOOLS. ALL SCHOOLS THAT WERE IN THE PILOT WERE PARTICIPANTS [02:15:01] IN DROP-IN REGULAR MEETINGS. IN THOSE MEETINGS, WE SHARED RESOURCES, PROBLEM SOLVING, BEST PRACTICES. THEY GAVE US FEEDBACK. AND SO IT WAS REALLY AN OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN FROM ONE ANOTHER, DISCOVER WHAT SOME OF THE KINKS ARE, AND FIGURE OUT HOW TO MOVE FORWARD IN A WAY WHERE WE COULD LOOK AT POTENTIALLY ROLLING THIS OUT TO THE SYSTEM OR ROLLING OUT SOME FORM OF THIS TO THE SYSTEM. AGAIN, THE DROP-IN SESSIONS WERE ABOUT PROBLEM SOLVING AND IDEA SHARING, BUT PRINCIPALS ALSO DESIGNED THEIR OWN SURVEYS TO SHARE WITH THEIR STAFF JUST TO SEE HOW PEOPLE WERE FEELING ANECDOTALLY. AND DR. ROGERS AND I HAD THIS EXPERIENCE AS WELL AS WE VISITED SCHOOLS, PARTICULARLY THE CELL PHONE PILOT SCHOOLS, WE HAVE SEEN STUDENTS TALKING TO ONE ANOTHER. WE HAVE SEEN STUDENTS ENGAGING IN DISCUSSION IN SMALL GROUPS, STUDENTS WALKING IN THE HALL, PURPOSEFULLY LOOKING UP AT PEOPLE AND NOT LOOKING DOWN SAYING HELLO AND GREETING THE CLIMATE. THE ATMOSPHERE IS VERY DIFFERENT IF YOU'VE EVER VISITED AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. AND I THINK WE HEARD OUR UNION PRESIDENT TALK ABOUT THE JOY IN DOING THAT. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT MAKES IT SO JOYFUL IS LITTLE KIDS IN THE HALLWAY ARE WALKING AND THEY SEE YOU AND THEY WELCOME YOU TO THEIR SCHOOL. AND THEY'RE HAVING CONVERSATIONS. IT'S ALMOST LIKE THAT IN SOME OF THE SECONDARY SCHOOLS NOW, WHERE KIDS ARE LOOKING UP, RECOGNIZING VISITORS AND SAYING, HELLO. SO WE ARE EXCITED ANECDOTALLY ABOUT WHAT WE'RE SEEING, BUT WE ALSO WANTED TO COLLECT A LITTLE BIT OF INFORMATION ABOUT PERCEPTION. AND I WANNA EXPLAIN WHY I CALL IT A PERCEPTION SURVEY, BECAUSE WE KNEW WITH THE DIFFERENT STAGES OF IMPLEMENTATION AND ALSO WITH SCHOOLS KIND OF GRAPPLING WITH WHAT TOOL ARE WE GOING TO USE AND HOW ARE WE GOING TO IMPLEMENT THIS, THAT THE DATA WAS NOT GOING TO BE STANDARD IN THE EARLY WEEKS OF SCHOOL. SO BY NOVEMBER, WE REALLY WANTED TO GET A QUICK GUT CHECK, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT IT? HOW IS IT GOING IN YOUR SCHOOL? AND SO WE CONDUCTED A SURVEY THAT ASKED A FEW VERY SIMPLE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE IMPACT ON THE CLIMATE, WHAT PEOPLE WERE SEEING, AND WHAT THEY WERE HEARING AS IT RELATED TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CELL PHONE PILOT. WE HEARD BACK FROM ABOUT 455 PEOPLE WHO SHARED THEIR FEEDBACK. UH, THEY ANSWERED QUESTIONS THAT WERE MULTIPLE CHOICE, BUT THEY ALSO, UM, WROTE SOME OPEN-ENDED, UH, WROTE SOME COMMENTS IN RESPONSE TO AN OPEN-ENDED QUESTION. AND SO WE SAID THAT WE WERE GOING TO REVIEW THE SURVEY DATA WITH THEM AS PART OF OUR DROP-IN SESSIONS AND ALSO USE IT TO INFORM OUR NEXT STEPS. SO VERY QUICKLY I'D LIKE TO SHARE WITH YOU, UH, JUST A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS PERCEPTION DATA, WHAT PEOPLE WERE THINKING AND FEELING, AND ALSO SEEING AS THEY WERE ENGAGING IN THIS PILOT PROGRAM, WE HEARD BACK FROM MORE HIGH SCHOOLS AT A HIGHER RATE THAN WE DID OUR MIDDLE SCHOOLS, AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THE CHART THAT'S DEPICTED HERE. AND OVERALL, WE FOUND THAT MOST OF OUR SCHOOLS WERE FAVORING METHODS OTHER THAN THE POUCHES. SO IT'S VERY INTERESTING BECAUSE INITIALLY WE TALKED A LOT ABOUT THE CELL PHONE POUCH PROGRAM, AND WHAT IT QUICKLY MORPHED INTO IS WHAT THAT PARTICULAR SCHOOL COMMUNITY DECIDED WAS THEIR BEST WAY TO MEET THE NEEDS OF STUDENTS. AS YOU CAN SEE, UH, FROM THIS SLIDE HERE, WE SAW THAT 69%, UM, IF YOU LOOK AT THE AGREEMENT AND THE STRONGLY AGREE, UM, BELIEVE THAT THE CELL FILM PILOT PROGRAM WAS HAVING THE INTENDED OUTCOME THAT STUDENTS WERE, UH, LESS DISTRACTED AND PARTICIPATED PARTICIPATING MORE FULLY, NOT ONLY IN CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION, BUT WITH ONE ANOTHER. AND THEN THE NEXT PIE CHART, A LITTLE BIT PREDICTABLE. UH, IT ASKS HOW DID STUDENTS RESPOND TO THE PROGRAM? AND WE SAW THAT WAS RIGHT DOWN THE MIDDLE. STUDENTS DIDN'T LOVE IT. UH, THEY DIDN'T LOVE THAT. THEY DID NOT HAVE A, DIDN'T HAVE ACCESS TO THEIR CELL PHONES. BUT WE FOUND IN SOME OF THE COMMENTS THAT I KNOW THAT PRINCIPAL CASTOR WILL SHARE IS THEY DID ENJOY CONNECTING, HOWEVER, WITH OTHER STUDENTS. AND SO WE, UH, LOOK FORWARD TO COMING BACK AND LOOKING AT ADDITIONAL DATA AT THE CLOSE OF THE SEMESTER. WE BELIEVE WE WILL BE ABLE TO THEN LOOK AT SOME MORE QUANTITATIVE DATA AS WELL AS PERCEPTION DATA AND BE ABLE TO SHARE THAT INFORMATION WITH YOU. UNTIL THEN, HOWEVER, WE HAVE WITH US PRINCIPAL CASTOR WHO, UH, WILL SHARE WHAT SHE'S FOUND AT HER SCHOOL, UH, AS SHE'S ROLLED THIS OUT. AND I WILL TURN IT OVER TO HER. PERFECT. GOOD EVENING. SPARS POINT HIGH SCHOOL IS A COMPREHENSIVE HIGH SCHOOL WITH 1100 STUDENTS ENROLLED. WE ARE LOCATED IN THE EDGEMERE COMMUNITY IN THE SOUTHEAST AREA, ALSO ENROLLING STUDENTS FROM THE NORTHEAST AND SOUTHEAST AREAS OF BCPS THROUGH OUR ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE MAGNET PROGRAM. AT OUR SCHOOL, AS YOU'VE HEARD, STAFF IDENTIFIED CELL PHONES AS A SIGNIFICANT DISTRACTION TO INSTRUCTION. WHEN THE BCPS CELL PHONE PILOT PROGRAM WAS PROPOSED, OUR SCHOOL ENTHUSIASTICALLY SHARED OUR INTEREST IN PARTICIPATING. WE'VE BEEN PARTICIPATING IN THE PROGRAM FOR APPROXIMATELY FOUR MONTHS AND ENGAGED IN THE PILOT PROGRAM WITH THE FOLLOWING GOALS IN MIND. FIRST TO INCREASE STUDENT ENGAGEMENT AND LESSON DISTRACTIONS TO INCREASE THE QUALITY OF STUDENT TO STAFF AND STUDENT TO STUDENT INTERACTIONS, TO ALLEVIATE STRESSORS [02:20:01] RELATED TO SOCIAL MEDIA, TO SUPPORT RESPONSIBLE DIGITAL HABITS FOR POST-SECONDARY AND CAREER SETTINGS. AND WE ALSO WENT INTO THE PILOT REALLY WITH A FOCUS ON PROGRESS OVER PERFECTION AS WE WENT THROUGH THE PROGRAM. NEXT SLIDE. PRIOR TO LAUNCHING THE PROGRAM, WE KNEW THAT TRANSPARENT AND ONGOING COMMUNICATION WITH ALL STAKEHOLDERS WOULD BE KEY. SO WE BEGAN COMMUNICATING OUR PARTICIPATION ABOUT THIS PROGRAM WELL BEFORE THE SCHOOL YEAR EVEN STARTED. THAT GAVE ME AND MY TEAM AN OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS CONCERNS I HEARD FROM PARENTS, I HEARD FROM STUDENTS. WE WERE ABLE TO HAVE SOME GREAT CONVERSATIONS BEFORE THE SCHOOL YEAR EVEN STARTED. UM, AND I THINK THAT WAS REALLY HELPFUL FOR STARTING THE PROGRAM SMOOTHLY. SOME OF THE STRATEGIES WE'VE USED INCLUDE FACULTY MEETINGS, SOCIAL MEDIA, WEEKLY PARENT EMAILS, SCHOOLOGY, AND CLASSROOM VISITS. THIS IS A HUGE SHIFT, PARTICULARLY FOR SECONDARY STUDENTS. UH, AND AS SUCH, WE UH, SAW THE NEED AS THE PILOT WENT ON TO PROVIDE RECOGNITION AND EVEN SOME INCENTIVES FOR OUR STUDENTS WHO WERE MEETING OUR EXPECTATIONS AT VARIOUS POINTS OF THE PILOT. AT MY SCHOOL, UM, ABOUT ONE MONTH INTO THE PILOT, WE CELEBRATED WITH OUR STUDENT GOVERNMENT BY BRINGING KONA ICE TRUCKS FOR OUR STUDENTS AND OUR STAFF TO RECOGNIZE THIS MAJOR SHIFT AND THE GREAT JOB THAT OUR STUDENTS AND STAFF WERE DOING WITH THE PILOT PROGRAM. WE ALSO RECOGNIZE STUDENTS EACH WEEK WHO ARE DEMONSTRATING HIGH EXPECTATIONS FOR THEMSELVES, INCLUDING ADHERING TO THE CELL PHONE PILOT. I BELIEVE THAT'S A VERY IMPORTANT COMPONENT OF THIS PROGRAM, THAT WE CONTINUE TO HIGHLIGHT THE POSITIVE ASPECTS OF THE PILOT PROGRAM AND CELEBRATE OUR SUCCESSES. NEXT SLIDE. DURING THE FIRST FOUR MONTHS OF THE PILOT, WE HAVE LEARNED SOME VALUABLE LESSONS INCLUDING TO BE FLEXIBLE. STRATEGIES FOR RESTRICTING USE DEFINITELY VARY BASED ON THE AGE OF STUDENTS AND THE CONTENT AREA. SILENCE PHONES, UH, MAY BE PLACED IN A BOOK BAG, A POUCH, OR A STORAGE BIN. FOR EXAMPLE, WE'RE FINDING THAT STUDENTS, OUR YOUNGER STUDENTS, PERHAPS THOSE IN NINTH GRADE, MAY NEED A MUCH MORE STRUCTURED APPROACH THAN THOSE STUDENTS IN 12TH GRADE. A 12TH GRADER MAY BE BETTER, BETTER ABLE TO SELF-REGULATE THEIR PHONE USAGE. WE'VE LEARNED TO CLEARLY AND REPEATEDLY ARTICULATE OUR EXPECTATIONS, UM, TO BE VERY CONSISTENT WITH OUR PROCEDURES AND RESPONSES, AND ALSO TO PROVIDE STRUCTURED CELL PHONE BREAKS AS APPROPRIATE FOR SOME OF OUR STUDENTS, THEIR CELL PHONE CERTAINLY PROVIDES A SENSE OF CONNECTION. AND AS SUCH, WE RECOGNIZE THE NEED TO ALLOW THAT APPROPRIATE ACCESS DURING THE DAY IN WAYS THAT DO NOT IMPACT INSTRUCTION, SUCH AS DURING HALL CHANGES, DURING LUNCHES, AND DURING SMALL BREAKS IN CLASS TIME. THE INITIAL RESULTS HAVE BEEN ENCOURAGING THROUGH CLASSROOM OBSERVATIONS. WE ARE IDENTIFYING REDUCED DISTRACTIONS AND INCREASED ENGAGEMENT DURING INSTRUCTION. AT MY SCHOOL, WE ARE ALSO SEEING A DECREASE IN PEER CONFLICTS RELATED TO CELL PHONE OR SOCIAL MEDIA USE AT SCHOOL. AND I HAD A CHANCE TO TALK TO SOME OF MY STUDENTS, UM, ABOUT THEIR VIEWS OF THE PILOT PROGRAM. AND I'D LIKE TO SHARE SOME OF THEIR FEEDBACK WITH YOU. THESE ARE THEIR WORDS. IT ALLOWS YOU TO FOCUS MORE. YOU START DOING YOUR WORK AND STAY ON TRACK DURING CLASS. YOU CAN'T BE DISTRACTED BY THE NOTIFICATIONS. I ESPECIALLY LIKE THIS ONE. IT IS HELPING STUDENTS TO COMMUNICATE WITH ONE ANOTHER. I'VE NEVER SEEN KIDS TALKING TO EACH OTHER THIS MUCH. I'VE HEARD A LOT OF PEOPLE SAY THEIR GRADES ARE BETTER, THEIR CONNECTING WITH EACH OTHER. IT BOOSTS COMMUNICATION AMONG STUDENTS WHO NORMALLY WOULDN'T TALK TO ONE ANOTHER. AND LASTLY, STUDENTS ARE MORE CREATIVE. WE DON'T HAVE AS EASY ACCESS TO CONTENT. WE HAVE TO USE OUR MINDS INSTEAD OF JUST LOOKING UP THE ANSWERS. AND WHILE I CAN'T QUANTIFY IT, I CAN SHARE WITH YOU THAT MY SCHOOL BUILDING IS HAPPIER. STUDENTS ARE MORE ENGAGED IN CLASSROOMS, IN THE HALLWAYS WITH ONE ANOTHER AND WITH THE STAFF. THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH, PRINCIPAL CASTOR. AND SO IN TERMS OF THE PILOT PROGRAM, OUR NEXT STEPS ARE THE CURRENT SCHOOLS. THEY'RE ALL STICKING WITH THIS. THEY'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO PILOT. WE ARE ONBOARDING ADDITIONAL SCHOOLS AT THIS TIME. UH, WE DO PLAN AND WE ARE BEGINNING TO COLLECT THAT QUANTITATIVE DATA TO GET A SENSE OF WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE IN TERMS OF THOSE MEASURES THAT WE HAVE, UH, TO, TO MEASURE STUDENT SUCCESS. AND THEN CERTAINLY OUR GOAL IS TO EVALUATE AND PLAN FOR NEXT YEAR USING THE INFORMATION, UH, THAT WE HAVE ABOUT THE IMPLEMENT EARLY IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROGRAM. AND SO AT THIS TIME, [02:25:01] UH, WE ARE HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD. THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT PRESENTATION. AND QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM BOARD MEMBERS. UM, MS. HUMPHREY, I HAVE A COUPLE COMMENTS AND ALSO A QUESTION. UM, FIRST A COMMENT. THANK YOU SO MUCH TO THE BALTIMORE COUNTY PTA COUNCIL. I THINK THAT THERE'S NO WAY WE CAN DO THIS WITHOUT A PARTNERSHIP WITH OUR PARENTS AND YOUR, UM, PARTNERSHIP AND COLLABORATION WITH THE PARENTS IS WHAT'S GONNA MAKE THIS SUCCESSFUL. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT PARTNERSHIP. UM, MY SECOND COMMENT WAS, I KNOW THE QUANTITATIVE DOUBT DATA IS TO COME, BUT I WAS EXCITED TO SEE JUST THAT ONE LITTLE SNIPPET FROM ONE SCHOOL SHOWING AN INCREASE IN, UM, MAP SCORES. MM-HMM . I THINK THAT'S GONNA BECOME REALLY IMPORTANT ALSO FOR PARENT BUY-IN AND ALSO COMMUNITY AND STUDENT BUY-IN EVEN, UM, TO SEE THAT QUANTITATIVE DATA IN THE FUTURE. UM, I'M, I'M SLIGHTLY CONCERNED ABOUT, ALTHOUGH IT'S OBVIOUSLY WORKING, ITS PERS POINT, THE INCONSISTENCY IN IMPLEMENTATION. UM, AND THE REASON I SAY THAT IS WE'VE HAD A CELL PHONE POLICY THAT HASN'T BEEN THE ISSUE. THE ISSUE HAS BEEN IMPLEMENT IMPLEMENTATION. AND OFTENTIMES WHAT WE'VE HEARD IS CONSISTENCY IN IMPLEMENTATION. UM, WHETHER THAT BE FROM CLASSROOM TO CLASSROOM OR FROM SCHOOL TO SCHOOL, STUDENTS MOVING FROM MIDDLE SCHOOL TO HIGH SCHOOL. UM, SO I GUESS MY QUESTION IS HOW IS THAT WORKING IN AT SPAR POINT AS FAR AS CONSISTENCY AND BUY-IN THROUGH, THROUGH TEACHERS THROUGHOUT CLASSROOMS? UM, AND OVERALL, HOW CAN WE ANTICIPATE THIS WORKING IN THE FUTURE AS FAR AS CONSISTENCY WITH OUR PILOTS? SURE, I CAN SHARE. UM, WE DEFINITELY WENT INTO THE PROGRAM WITH THE MINDSET THAT WE WERE GOING TO BE CONSISTENT ACROSS THE SCHOOL. WE VERY QUICKLY FOUND THAT IT VARIED, UM, BASED ON, I MENTIONED THE AGE OF THE STUDENTS, ALSO BASED ON THE CONTENT AREA. SO THERE ARE SOME CLASSROOMS WHERE IT'S APPROPRIATE FOR STUDENTS TO, UM, ACCESS THEIR PHONES A BIT MORE RELATED TO THE CONTENT. UM, JUST TAKING PHOTOGRAPHY OR ART CLASSES, DIFFERENT, DIFFERENT THINGS. IT REALLY DOES VARY. UM, WHAT WE FOUND IS WHEN THE TEACHER HAS A CONSISTENT APPROACH THAT'S UTILIZED EVERY DAY, THE KIDS ARE ADAPTING TO THAT DIFFERENCE WHEN THEY GO CLASS TO CLASS, WHEN THAT IS VERY CLEARLY ARTICULATED TO THEM AND TO THEIR PARENTS. AND IS, UH, WE HEARD EARLIER JUST THAT SEPARATION IS REALLY WHERE THE BENEFIT IS HAPPENING. WHETHER THAT BE IN THEIR BOOK BAG THAT IS SITTING NEXT TO THEM OR MOVED A LITTLE BIT FURTHER AWAY, OR IN SOME OF OUR, UM, YOUNGER CLASSROOMS PLACING A PHONE INTO A POUCH, MAYBE MORE APPROPRIATE. UM, WE'RE FINDING OUR KIDS ARE REALLY DOING A NICE JOB ADAPTING TO THAT. THANK YOU. AND SO I WILL SAY AS WE THINK ABOUT HOW WE, YOU KNOW, PERHAPS SCALE THIS UP, WE HAVE LEARNED THAT, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT CLASSROOMS, CLASSROOMS LOOK DIFFERENT SOMETIMES JUST BASED ON THE STRUCTURE OF THE CLASSROOM. HAVING A POUCH CENTRALLY LOCATED WAS NOT EFFECTIVE. AND PEOPLE FOUND THAT IT WAS MORE EFFECTIVE TO HAVE ONE OF THOSE PLASTIC PENCIL BOXES WITH VELCRO THERE ON THE DESK BECAUSE THEY WERE MORE LIKE LAB TABLES. AND SO STUDENTS' PHONES WERE THERE, STUDENTS WEREN'T TAKING THEM OUT, BUT THEY WERE SEPARATED FROM THEM. SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE INCONSISTENCY, IT'S LESS ABOUT ARE WE GOING TO OPT OUT OF FOLLOWING THE CELL PHONE POLICY AND MORE ABOUT WHAT MECHANISM ARE WE GOING TO USE TO SEPARATE STUDENTS FROM THEIR CELL PHONES? AND I THINK WHAT WE FOUND IS WITH SOME OF THE YOUNGER STUDENTS, THIS IS ANECDOTALLY WHAT'S COME UP IN THE, UM, DROP-IN SESSIONS WITH SOME OF THE YOUNGER STUDENTS, PARTICULARLY OUR MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS. CERTAINLY PHYSICALLY BEING, YOU KNOW, SEVERAL FEET AWAY FROM THEIR PHONE IS CERTAINLY SOMETHING THAT IS MOST EFFECTIVE. HOWEVER, WITH SOME OF OUR OLDER STUDENTS, HAVING THE PHONE VISIBLE IN A CLEAR PLASTIC CONTAINER, I'M NOT GOING TO TOUCH IT. I'M GOING TO LEARN. BUT I DO KNOW THAT IF I NEED IT, I CAN GET TO IT. THAT, UM, THAT HAS BEEN A LOT MORE SUCCESSFUL. SO TO YOUR POINT, UM, I THINK HAVING A CELL PHONE POLICY THAT IS NOT CONSISTENTLY IMPLEMENTED IS NOT GOING TO BE HELPFUL FOR US, PARTICULARLY AS WE SCALE UP. BUT HAVING AN EXPECTATION THAT YOU WILL HAVE A UNIFORM WAY OR MULTIPLE WAYS OF SEPARATING STUDENTS FROM THEIR PHONE. AND THERE IS AN EXPECTATION THAT WHEN THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN, THEY'RE AGREED UPON FOLLOW UP OR CONSEQUENCES IS WHAT WE'RE LOOKING TO CONSISTENTLY HAVE HAPPEN ACROSS THE SYSTEM. THANK YOU. MM-HMM . CAN I SAY ONE THING ABOUT THAT AS WELL? THAT'S, UM, A PIECE THAT THE COUNCIL HAS BEEN LOOKING AT AS WELL. CONSISTENCY. AND SOME OF YOU MAY KNOW THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION HAS RULED OUT GUIDELINES. AND THAT'S ONE, THE FIRST AMONG THREE GUIDELINES THAT THEY HAVE PUT OUT WITH RESPECT TO CELL PHONES AND CELL PHONE POLICIES. AND THAT IS BEING CONSISTENT. AND I BELIEVE THAT BCPS IS A LEADER IN THAT, AND WE ARE, WE ARE AHEAD OF THE GAME IN A LOT OF THAT. SO I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK TOGETHER. THANK YOU. MM-HMM . OTHER MR. VERMILLION? YES. OKAY. MS. MS. DOKI, UH, WAS THERE A SURVEY SENT OUT TO ALL STAKEHOLDERS ABOUT HOW THEY FELT ABOUT THIS? YOU KNOW, WHETHER ASKING SPECIFICALLY IF A BAN WAS SOMETHING THEY WERE, WOULD [02:30:01] WANT OR WOULD STRENGTHEN POLICY OR A PILOT OR WERE WE SPECIFICALLY ASKED THESE QUESTIONS? YES. LAST YEAR, LAST SPRING, WE, UM, PROVIDED A CELL PHONE SURVEY. THERE WAS A SEPARATE ONE FOR TEACHERS AND THEN A DIFFERENT ONE FOR COMMUNITY. AND I, I CAN'T RECALL WHICH MONTH I SHARED THE RESULTS WITH, UH, THE BOARD AND THE COMMUNITY. AND IT WENT OUT TO ALL STAKEHOLDERS SPECIFICALLY ASKING WHETHER IT DID THEY WOULD PREFER A BAN OR NOT. YES. OKAY. UM, ARE CELL PHONES A, UM, LIKE ON THE SCHOOL SUPPLY LIST? NO. WELL, I'M JUST ASKING THAT QUESTION. 'CAUSE YOU SAID IN SOME CLASSES IT MIGHT BE GOOD TO HAVE AS FAR AS PHOTOGRAPHY, ARE WE GONNA SUPPLY CELL PHONES TO STUDENTS THAT DON'T HAVE ONE IN THAT CLASS TO USE? NO, WE WOULD NOT DO THAT. UM, MY POINT IN SHARING THAT WOULD BE THERE ARE TIMES WHERE IT CAN ENHANCE THE INSTRUCTION. SO IN PHOTOGRAPHY, IF DIDN'T HAVE A CELL PHONE, THEN SURE, THERE ARE DEFINITELY OTHER OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE. I MENTIONED PHOTOGRAPHY. SOME STUDENTS USE THEIR CELL PHONE, THEIR IPHONE. WE CERTAINLY HAVE CAMERAS AND A LOT OF OTHER METHODS, BUT THEY DON'T HAVE TO, THEY DON'T, IT'S NOT NECESSARY. SO THERE'S NOT ANY CLASS WHERE A STUDENT WOULD ABSOLUTELY NEED TO HAVE A CELL PHONE? NO. OKAY. SO MY QUESTION HERE IS THE WHOLE WITH CONSISTENCY, UM, AND EVERY STUDY THAT SAYS STUDENTS PERFORM SO MUCH BETTER AWAY FROM THEIR CELL PHONES, AND IT'S NOT JUST SOCIAL MEDIA, IT'S THE ACTUAL, I MEAN, EVEN BEING HERE, I'M THINKING, WELL, WHO'S JUST TEXTED ME? WHO'S, IT'S A CONSTANT DISTRACTION. SO IF, UM, IF WE COULD GO BACK AND MAYBE JUST WORK WITH OUR PARENTS AND OUR TEACHERS, THIS MIGHT NOT BE SOMETHING THAT WE ASK OUR STUDENTS. DO YOU WANNA HAVE YOUR CELL PHONE IN YOUR CLASSROOM OR NOT? BECAUSE WHAT ARE THEY GONNA SAY? UM, IT'S INSTEAD OF LIKE OFTEN AWAY, MORE OF OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND, AND I UNDERSTAND WHERE WE'RE GOING, BUT, UH, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT ASPECT TO LOOK AT AS FAR AS YOU SEEING THIS, THE, JUST IN WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND THE, YOU KNOW, THE KIDS ARE TALKING TO EACH OTHER. IMAGINE IF WE EXPANDED THAT TO ALL OF OUR SCHOOLS AND ALL OF OUR STUDENTS SAID, IT'S OKAY. CELL PHONES ARE NOT ON A SCHOOL SUPPLY LIST. YOU NEED IT TO BE IN TOUCH WITH YOUR FAMILY, THAT'S FINE. IT STAYS IN YOUR LOCKER. I JUST WOULD LIKE TO SEE MORE POLICIES AS OPPOSED TO THAT, YOU KNOW, PUTTING IN A CLEAR BOX WHERE WE HAVE TO SEE IT. UM, I DIDN'T HAVE A CELL PHONE WHEN I WAS A KID. I GOT THROUGH SCHOOL. OKAY. YES, WE CAN PUT LANDLINES, MORE LANDLINES IN IF WE NEED TO GET IN TOUCH. UM, I, I JUST, AGAIN, GETTING AWAY FROM TECHNOLOGY, THERE'S JUST, EVERY STUDY SAYS THAT THAT IS GOOD FOR OUR STUDENTS. SO I, I DO WANNA CLARIFY A PARTICULAR POINT. AND I BELIEVE PRINCIPAL CASTOR, WHEN SHE WAS TALKING ABOUT A STUDENT IN ART CLASS, THAT WOULD STILL BE AN OFTEN AND AWAY POLICY, THE STUDENT ACCESSING IT FOR THAT SPECIFIC PURPOSE, NOT HAVING THE PHONE WITH THEM ALL THE TIME. BUT WHAT I DO WANNA SAY IS THE SURVEY DID INDICATE THAT NOT HAVING CELL PHONES AT ALL WAS NOT THE PREVAILING SENTIMENT. IN FACT, IT WAS THE OPPOSITE OF THAT. I THINK THAT THE PURPOSE OF A PILOT IS TO LEARN. AND SO WE WILL COME BACK AND SHARE ALL OF THAT DATA. AND AS WE THINK ABOUT HOW DO WE ROLL THIS OUT AND SCALE THAT UP, WE THINK ABOUT THE UNIQUE NEEDS OF COMMUNITIES. UH, WE THINK ABOUT HOW SCHOOLS ARE IMPLEMENTING AND THE IMPACT ON INSTRUCTION. WE THINK ABOUT HOW STUDENTS ARE ACHIEVING. ALL OF THOSE THINGS ARE FACTORS. AND SO THE CELL PHONE POLICY IS CONSISTENT. IT IS VERY CONSISTENT. UM, WHAT INDIVIDUAL SCHOOLS DECIDE TO DO AS LONG AS THEY ARE SEPARATING THEIR STUDENTS FROM THEIR PHONES, IS REALLY BEEN THE CONSISTENT THREAD FOR ALL OF THE PILOTS. AND I STRESS THAT BECAUSE I CERTAINLY DON'T WANT ANYONE TO WALK AWAY SAYING THAT WE ARE ENCOURAGING INCONSISTENCY. IT IS THE OPPOSITE. WE ARE SAYING THE ONLY DIFFERENCE IS THE MECHANISM BY WHICH STUDENTS WOULD ACTUALLY ACCESS THAT. AND SO, DR. ROGERS, YOU, I KNOW YOU WANTED TO MAKE A COMMENT. NO, I THINK YOU SAID IT WELL. I I I THINK IT'S WELL STATED. OUR, OUR GOAL IS TO MAKE SURE STUDENTS ARE AWAY ABSOLUTELY FROM CELL PHONES, LESS ABOUT WHETHER YOU USE A POUCH, IT'S IN YOUR BACKPACK, BUT YOU'RE AWAY FROM THE CELL PHONE. YOU'RE ENGAGING WITH EACH OTHER, UM, AND YOU'RE ENGAGING WITH YOUR TEACHER SO THAT YOU'RE LEARNING. AND ULTIMATELY, WE'RE THERE TO FULFILL OUR CORE PURPOSE, WHICH IS ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT FOR THEM. MS. BOOKER DWYER. SO THANK YOU FOR THIS PRESENTATION. THIS IS SO EXCITING TO HEAR. AND SO WHEN ARE WE ROLLING THIS OUT TO ALL 176 SCHOOLS, , OR AT LEAST TO ALL THE SECONDARY SCHOOLS? DO WE HAVE A TIMELINE? UM, FOR THIS, AND I REALLY DO LIKE THE, THIS APPROACH BECAUSE IT TEACHES STUDENTS SELF-REGULATION. UM, SO WHEN YOU BAN SOMETHING FROM STUDENTS, YOU'RE NOT REALLY TEACHING THEM HOW TO DEAL WITH IT WHEN IT'S IN FRONT OF THEM. SO THAT WAY WHEN THEY'RE ADULTS AND WE'RE SITTING HERE, WE WON'T BE DISTRACTED BY OUR PHONES BECAUSE WE'VE HAD THAT TRAINING COMING UP. AND SO IT'S REALLY HELPING TO PREPARE STUDENTS TO BE ADULTS. AND SO, UM, IS THERE A TIMELINE FOR THE ROLLOUT, AT LEAST IN SECONDARY? SO I WOULD SHARE THAT [02:35:01] THE, UM, TIMELINE IS FOR US TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS WITH, UH, PHASE TWO, LOOK AT THE QUANTITATIVE DATA. AND BY SPRING WE WILL USE, UM, OUR ADVISORIES. THEY WILL WEIGH IN AS WELL, UM, AS, UM, UH, OTHER STAFF MEMBERS TO LET US KNOW WHETHER OR NOT THIS IS A DIRECTION THAT WE WANT TO FULLY IMPLEMENT. UM, I SHOULD ALSO SHARE THAT AS WE GO TO ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS, UM, THERE ARE SOME ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS WHO'VE ASKED IF ASKED, UH, FOR THE POUCHES FOR GRADES FOUR AND FIVE. BUT BY AND LARGE, I, I CAN'T THINK OF ONE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. AND I'VE BEEN IN MANY THAT I'VE WALKED IN AND STUDENTS HAVE HAD OUT, UH, CELL PHONES, EVEN THOUGH THERE ARE PARENTS WHO PROVIDE THE STUDENTS WITH THE CELL PHONES, MIDDLE SCHOOL, THAT'S OUR AREA OF, UH, MOST DIFFICULTY. UM, AND SO THAT, THAT'S WHY WE INVESTED THE PRIOR YEAR IN THOSE BOXES FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL, FOLLOWED BY HIGH SCHOOL. UH, BUT REALLY ABOUT TEACHING THOSE SKILLS AND KEEPING THE PHONES AWAY FROM THE STUDENTS. BUT RECOGNIZING WHAT OUR PARENTS SAID TO US, UH, WHY THEY CITED THAT THEY DIDN'T SUPPORT A BAND WAS BECAUSE OF THE, UH, GROWING SAFETY CONCERNS THAT HAPPEN NATIONALLY. THAT IF THERE WAS AN EMERGENCY, AS A PARENT, AND I CAN EMPATHIZE AS A PARENT, THAT THEY WANTED TO KNOW THAT THEY COULD CALL AND HEAR FROM THEIR ACTUAL STUDENT. AND THAT, YOU KNOW, ANY MESSAGE THAT WE WOULD SEND WOULD NOT REPLACE THAT. SO REALLY TRYING TO FIND THAT BALANCE AND SEPARATE THE STUDENTS FROM THE, UH, PHONES IN A WAY THAT IS THOUGHTFUL. BUT, UM, TO YOUR POINT, MS. HUMPHREY IMPLEMENTATION IS KEY. WE KNOW 70% OF EFFORTS FAIL AS A RESULT OF, UH, POOR IMPLEMENTATION. AND SO THAT'S WHAT THIS YEAR OF BEING A PILOT, SCALING, ADDING MORE SCHOOLS NOW THAT WE'VE HAD A SET OF SCHOOLS. AND ONE OF THE THINGS I DON'T KNOW IF THE TEAM MENTIONED IS, UM, WHEN THEY HAVE THESE CHECK-INS, THEY SHARE BEST PRACTICES WITH EACH OTHER. THEY HAVE SHARED MATERIALS, THEY'VE SHARED SIGNAGE, THINGS THAT ARE MAKING THIS, UM, A PERVASIVE PART OF THE CULTURE. AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR TO FIND OUT WHAT WORKS BEST AND, UH, BE ABLE TO PROVIDE TO ALL OF OUR SCHOOLS AND OUR PRINCIPALS. HERE ARE THE TOOLS TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS IS SUCCESSFUL IN YOUR BUILDING MOVING FORWARD. THANK YOU. AND THEN MY SECOND QUESTION, UM, SO PRINCIPAL CASTOR, UH, THIS IS, IT'S SO GREAT THAT YOU STEPPED UP TO THE CHALLENGE. IT'S HARD TO DO A PILOT, UM, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU HAVE EVERYTHING ELSE GOING ON AT, AT YOUR SCHOOL. HAVE YOU FOUND THAT THERE'S BEEN, UH, ANY ISSUES WITH STUDENTS BRINGING IN LIKE A DUMMY PHONE TO SAY, OKAY, I'M, I'LL PUT MY PHONE HERE, BUT MY REAL PHONE IS IN MY POCKET. OR WITH, UM, APPLE WATCHES OR SAMSUNG DEVICES THAT THEY'RE WEARING. HAVE YOU SEEN AN, AN UPTICK OR ANY ISSUES WITH THAT? NOT REALLY. I MEAN, I, I THINK WITH THE PILOT, WHAT WE'VE LEARNED IS WE HAVE TO BE READY TO ADJUST. SO SHIRLEY, YOU, YOU MENTIONED SOMETHING THAT SOME OF OUR SECONDARY STUDENTS COULD CERTAINLY, COULD CERTAINLY TRY. UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, GOING BACK TO KIND OF THE, THE THROUGH LINE HERE OF AS LONG AS WE'RE PUTTING THE SYSTEMS IN TO HAVE THAT SEPARATION, UM, THAT'S REALLY WHERE WE'RE PLACING A LOT OF OUR EFFORTS. SO EVEN IF A STUDENT DID HAVE ONE OR MORE PHONES, UM, IT'S REALLY JUST THAT CONSISTENCY IN SEPARATING THEM FROM THE PHONE DURING INSTRUCTIONAL TIME. UM, AND I WILL REITERATE, WE'VE GOT A REALLY NICE SYSTEM IN PLACE TO PROVIDE ESPECIALLY HIGH SCHOOLERS WITH LIMITED APPROPRIATE ACCESS, WHICH THEY, WHICH THEY TRULY, UM, VALUE THROUGHOUT THE SCHOOL DAY. WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE DO IT IN A WAY THAT'S NOT IMPACTING THEIR INSTRUCTIONAL TIME. SO OFTEN A TEACHER MAY SAY, UM, WE'RE GONNA HAVE A FIVE MINUTE BREAK. WE USE A RED AND GREEN SIGNAGE IN EVERY ONE OF OUR CLASSROOMS. SO IF I COME IN AND I SEE THE SIGN IS ON GREEN, I KNOW THAT MEANS THE TEACHER IS GIVEN A VERY BRIEF BREAK TO ACCESS PHONES AND IT'S GONNA BE BACK TO BUSINESS SOON. THANK YOU. MR. MCMILLION. UH, MS. CASTOR, DID YOU GIVE THE TEACHERS THE AUTONOMY TO DECIDE HOW THEY WANTED TO IMPLEMENT IT? WE DID. SO WE, UM, VERY QUICKLY REALIZED, YOU KNOW, A A COUPLE METHODS THAT WERE GONNA WORK WELL FOR OUR SCHOOL, AND THEY'VE ALL BEEN BEEN MENTIONED. UM, AND I THINK IT VARIED BASED ON REALLY HOW EACH TEACHER RUNS THEIR CLASSROOM. UM, AND TEACHERS SELECTED THAT ACCORDINGLY. AND THAT'S BEEN WORKING OUT, UM, VERY WELL FOR US. SO WE DO NOT HAVE A, A SCHOOL-WIDE SYSTEM. OKAY. AND MY CONCERN HAS ALWAYS BEEN WITH THE POUCHES, IT'S THE KIND OF POUCH THAT DRAPES OVER THE DOORWAY OR, AND IT'S GOT A NUMBERED POUCH, LIKE ON PAGE TWO OF THE PRESENTATION. MM-HMM . SO THE KID HAS A SIGNED POUCH IF THEY DECIDE THE TEACHER USES POUCH. CORRECT. SO THEY PUT POUCH. MY, MY CONCERN'S ALWAYS BEEN THEFT THERE. HAVE YOU HAD MUCH THEFT? WE HAVE NOT, NO. THAT HAS NOT BEEN AN ISSUE. UM, OUR TEACHERS ARE REALLY BRILLIANT IN THIS REGARD, AND A LOT OF CLASSROOMS, IF THEY ARE [02:40:01] USING THAT, THE STUDENT ACTUALLY PULLS OUT A TICKET AND PUTS THEIR PHONE IN AND THEN THAT GETS EXCHANGED BACK FOR THE CORRECT PHONE, UM, AT ANY GIVEN POINT OF THE CLASS PERIOD. SO THAT KEEPS THINGS REALLY ORGANIZED, AND THAT'S HOW, UM, WE'VE NOT HAD ISSUES THOUGH, WITH THEFT. AND, AND MY SECOND THOUGHT IS, UH, I'LL VOLUNTEER TO LOCK UP MY PHONE DURING BOARD MEETINGS. RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU'LL JOIN ME. . SOME PEOPLE WEREN'T PAYING ATTENTION. , I HAVE SELFCONTROL. THEY'RE LOOKING, THEY'RE LOOKING AT THEIR PHONE. THANK YOU. YOU'RE WELCOME. THANK YOU. I JUST HAVE, UM, ONE QUESTION. THE PILOT IS CONTINUING. SO YOU HAVE MORE SCHOOLS COMING ON BOARD. WHEN ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO COME ON BOARD? SO WE'VE, WE'VE ACTUALLY BEEN ONBOARDING AND AS ON A, ON A ROLLING BASIS. THE 17 SCHOOLS THAT STARTED WITH US ARE THE ONES THAT WE SURVEYED. BUT ONCE WE GOT STARTED, SCHOOLS WOULD COME UP TO US, PARTICULARLY AS WE SHARED SOME OF THE OUTCOMES AND SAID, I WANT IN, WE HAD MORE POUCHES. SO THEY USUALLY STARTED WITH POUCHES. AND SO WE'VE BEEN ONBOARDING THEM AS WE MOVE FORWARD. WHEN WE COME BACK TO YOU AGAIN WITH DATA, IT'LL INCLUDE ALL OF THE SCHOOLS THAT ARE WORKING, UH, AS PART OF THE PILOT. AND THE REASON I ASKED IS MS. CASTOR TALKED ABOUT TALKING TO HER PARENTS WAY IN ADVANCE OF WHEN IT ACTUALLY STARTED. SO I JUST DIDN'T KNOW HOW THE NEW SCHOOLS THAT WERE COMING ON BOARD MID-YEAR WOULD HAVE, WOULD DO WHAT, UM, SHE HAD DID TO TRY TO GET THAT COMMUNICATION, UH, STRONG. I COULD SPEAK TO ONE LEADER THAT DID COME, UM, AND, AND SAY THAT SHE WANTED TO JOIN THE PILOT AFTER WE HAD STARTED. AND WE'D SPOKEN ABOUT IT AT ONE OF OUR MONTHLY, UM, PRINCIPAL MEETINGS. UH, SHE ACTUALLY SHARED THE DATA AND SAID, HEY, I WENT TO A MEETING AND MY COLLEAGUES SAY, THIS IS WORKING REALLY WELL. ANECDOTALLY, THIS IS WHAT'S HAPPENING. WHAT DO YOU ALL THINK? AND SHE, SHE SPOKE DIRECTLY TO HER COMMUNITY, VERY TRANSPARENTLY. UM, THERE WAS SUPPORT IN THE COMMUNITY FOR TRYING IT AND DOING IT. AND SO THEY ARE PART OF THE PILOT NOW AND MOVING FORWARD, UH, WE DID NOT SURVEY THEM BECAUSE THEY WERE JUST GETTING STARTED, BUT THEY WILL BE CAUGHT AS PART OF THIS NEXT, UM, DATA COLLECTION. WE'LL DO AT THE END OF, UH, FIRST SEMESTER. THANK YOU. MM-HMM . WE, ANYBODY ELSE? ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT PRESENTATION. THANK YOU. THE [M. INFORMATION (9:20 p.m.)] NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS INFORMATION, WHICH IS, UM, THE FINANCIAL REPORT FOR THE MONTH ENDING OCTOBER, 2024, MINORITY AND SMALL BUSINESS ENTERPRISE REPORT FOR 20 23, 20 24, THE OFFICIAL SEPTEMBER 30TH ENROLLMENT REPORT, AND THE THIRD PARTY BILLING ANNUAL REPORT FOR 20 23, 20 24. LET ME SCROLL THROUGH THOSE. OKAY. THE NEXT [N. BOARD COMMITTEE UPDATES AND AGENDA SETTING (9:20 - 9:30 p.m.)] ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS BOARD, UM, COMMITTEE UPDATES AND AGENDA SETTING. BUT BEFORE WE BEGIN WITH UPDATES, I THINK MR. VERMILLION WOULD LIKE TO START. I HAVE A MOTION I'D LIKE TO MOVE. I MOVE THAT THE COMMITTEE START DATES LISTED IN THE BOARD OF EDUCATION. BALTIMORE COUNTY HANDBOOK REVISED SEPTEMBER, 2024. PAGE 24, FIRST PARAGRAPH, FOURTH SENTENCE TO BE CHANGED FROM JULY 1ST THROUGH JUNE 30TH TO JANUARY 1ST THROUGH DECEMBER 31ST, EFFECTIVE JANUARY OF 2025. IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND 10. THANK YOU. ANY DISCUSSION? CAN I DEFEND MY YES, MR. MAY. NOW I'M GONNA READ THIS OFF. . AH, THAT DOESN'T MEAN IT WON'T HAPPEN NEXT TIME. I'VE ALREADY GOT AN IDEA OF HOW TO LOCK MY, MY PHONE. THIS. HEY, TAKE THREE DEEP BREATHS. RELAX AND OPEN UP YOUR MIND. THIS MOTION ALLOWS THE ELECTION OF BOARD OF EDUCATION LEADERSHIP AND THE COMMITTEE SCHEDULED TO ALIGN TOGETHER ALONG WITH THE ELECTION OF THE CURRENT. AND I SAY CURRENT SEVEN COUNTY COUNCIL, MAD DISTRICT BOARD OF EDUCATION MEMBERS. THE JANUARY 1ST START DATE ALLOWS TIME FOR BOARD OF EDUCATION, LEADERSHIP AND RESPECTIVE INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS TO ACCLIMATE PRIOR TO ASSUMING THE RESPONSIBILITIES. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. FURTHER DISCUSSION, MOVE A ROLL CALL. VOTE PLEASE. MR. MCMILLION? YES. MS. HUMPHREY? YES. MR. YOUNG? NO. MS. DOKI? YES. MS. HEN? YES. MS. FAL? NO. MS. BOOKER DWYER? NO. MS. HARVEY? NO. MS. CHIKA. KALU? NO. MS. LESKI. MS. LICHTER NO FAVORS. FOUR. [02:45:01] MOTION DOES NOT PASS. THANK YOU. WE'LL NOW START WITH COMMITTEE UPDATES. UM, THE FIRST COMMITTEE BEING THE AUDIT COMMITTEE. MS. BOOKER DWYER. OKAY. WELL, THE BEST WAY TO KICK OFF THE NEW YEAR IS TO DISCUSS AUDITS. SO WE ARE EXCITED THAT OUR FIRST AUDIT COMMITTEE MEETING OF 2025 WILL BE ON JANUARY 7TH AT 4:30 PM JOIN US FOR AN ENGAGING AUDIT DISCUSSION. UH, THE AGENDA WILL BE POSTED PRIOR TO THE MEETING. THANKS. THANK YOU. BUILDING AND CONTRACTS, MR. YOUNG, I'M SUPPOSED TO FOLLOW THAT LEVEL OF ENTHUSIASM. YOU CAN DO IT. GO. OKAY. THE FIRST BUILDING AND CONTRACTS MEETING OF THE NEW YEAR WILL BE JANUARY 13TH, 5:00 PM PLEASE JOIN US, . YOU DID GREAT. NEXT IS CURRICULUM COMMITTEE. AND, UM, OUR NEXT COMMITTEE MEETING WILL BE ON THE 23RD OF JANUARY. AND I JUST LOST, I WENT TO MY CALENDAR, LOST THE BOARD, UM, EQUITY COMMITTEE. MS. FONG, WE WILL BE MEETING ON THURSDAY, JANUARY 16TH AT 4:00 PM FOR THE EQUITY COMMITTEE MEETING. WE ALSO WILL MEET ON JANUARY 30TH, UM, THURSDAY FROM FIVE 30 TO 6:30 PM WITH THE, UM, EQUITY COUNCIL. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. UM, LEGISLATIVE AND GOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS. UM, MS. BOOKER DWYER. OKAY. IF YOU THOUGHT KICKING OFF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE, OH, GOD WAS GOING TO BE EXCITING. YOU JUST WAIT UNTIL JANUARY 15TH FOR THIS LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE. . UM, AT THIS MEETING WE WILL REVIEW AND DISCUSS THE MARYLAND ASSOCIATION OF BOARD OF EDUCATION LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES IF THEY ARE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE. AND WE WILL ALSO REVIEW AND DISCUSS ANY PRE-FILED BILLS. AND SO PLEASE TUNE IN BECAUSE WE'RE GOING TO USE ALL OF THAT INFORMATION TO CRAFT OUR LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES AND TO, TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE FULL, FULL BOARD BOARD. SO ONCE AGAIN, THAT IS JANUARY 15TH AT 4:30 PM ALL RIGHT, MS. EY, YOU READY? POLICY REVIEW POLICY IS VERY EXCITING FOR ME, BUT I DOUBT IT'S EXCITING FOR ANYONE ELSE. . UM, WE HAD OUR LAST MEETING ON DECEMBER 9TH, AND WE DISCUSSED, UM, FIVE DIFFERENT POLICIES, 31 60 REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF SCHOOL SPONSORED ACTIVITIES, 6,500 RESEARCH, TESTING AND EVALUATION EXPENDITURES, 72 40, DESIGNING SCHOOL SITE SELECTION AND ACQUISITION, AND, UM, 73 10 FINANCING DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION COSTS. WE HAD DISCUSSION, UH, UM, AMONG ALL FOUR OF THOSE POLICIES, UM, 31 60 FOR SCHOOL, SCHOOL SPONSORED ACTIVITIES. THE COMMITTEE DID HAVE A ROBUST DISCUSSION. THE OTHER THREE WERE MINOR RECOMMENDED CHANGES FROM STAFF. ALL FOUR OF THOSE POLICIES MOVED FORWARD. UM, THE FIFTH POLICY WAS 6,800 FIELD TRIPS AND FOREIGN TRAVEL STUDY PROGRAM FOR THAT, UM, POLICY. WE DID RETURN THAT TO STAFF. UH, THE PROPOSED CHANGES SOUGHT TO REMOVE FOREIGN TRAVEL FROM THE POLICY. UM, AND THE COMMITTEE DISCUSSION INCLUDED NOT REMOVING THIS OPPORTUNITY, UM, AND EITHER KEEPING THE FOREIGN TRAVEL LANGUAGE IN THE POLICY OR COMING TO SOME TYPE OF COMPROMISE. SO THAT WILL GO BACK TO, UM, STAFF TO UPDATE US WITH, UM, A COMPROMISE OR REMOVAL OF, UM, I'M, I'M SORRY, TO KEEP IN THE LANGUAGE REGARDING THE FOREIGN STUDY PROGRAM. AND THAT'S IT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. UM, AT THIS TIME, IF ANY BOARD MEMBERS HAVE AN AGENDA ITEM THAT THEY WANT, UM, TO BE CONSIDERED, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND. MS. EY, CAN I MAKE A COMMENT BUT NOT HAVE AN AGENDA ITEM? SURE. I JUST WANTED TO GIVE OUT A SHOUT OUT TO VICTORY VILLA AND ELEMENTARY. I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO ATTEND THEIR TOY EXPRESS, UM, EVENT. UM, THEY PARTNERED WITH THE NATIONAL FIRST RESPONDERS FOUNDATION. AND MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT NOT ONLY ARE THEY THE ONLY SCHOOL IN BALTIMORE COUNTY TO PARTNER WITH THAT, UM, FOUNDATION, BUT ALSO THE ONLY SCHOOL IN MARYLAND. AND IT WAS, UM, THE COMMUNITY SCHOOLS FACILITATOR, UM, YOU KNOW, RAN THIS. IT WAS AMAZING. UM, THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO OUR FIRST RESPONDERS. OUR FIREFIGHTERS FROM BALTIMORE COUNTY WERE THERE, AS WELL AS BALTIMORE CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT AND THEIR CANINE UNIT. UM, THEY HAD DIFFERENT STATIONS FOR THE STUDENTS. UM, I WAS EXCITED TO SEE, UM, HOW HAPPY THE STUDENTS WERE TO PARTICI PARTICIPATE IN EACH OF THE, UM, UM, DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES, UM, AND THE DANCE PARTY WITH THE BALLOON PROPS, WHEREAS BALLOON DROP WAS MY FAVORITE AND I PARTICIPATED MYSELF. SO NOT ONLY DID THE STUDENTS HAVE FUN, BUT I HAD FUN AS WELL. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MS. HARVEY. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. I ALSO WANTED TO JUST GIVE SOME RECOGNITION TO RANDALLSTOWN HIGH SCHOOL AND PRINCIPAL JONES. UH, THEY, UH, WERE ABLE TO, UH, GET STUDENTS TO VOLUNTEER, INCLUDING THE JV BASKETBALL TEAM, TO, UH, SORT HUNDREDS [02:50:01] OF TOYS, UH, FROM SPEAKER ADRIAN JONES ANNUAL TOY DRIVE. THESE STUDENTS SORTED THOSE TOYS IN AN HOUR, AND THEN, UH, THE SCHOOL SYSTEM WAS ABLE TO DELIVER THEM TO FAMILIES SO THAT ALL OF OUR FAMILIES COULD HAVE A JOYOUS, UH, HOLIDAY SEASON. I ALSO WANTED TO JUST TAKE THIS TIME TO CELEBRATE THE HARD WORK OF BCD AT BCPS AND TO, UH, PARTICULARLY THANK THE SUPERINTENDENT DR. ROGERS FOR HER LEADERSHIP AND THE ENTIRE BCPS TEAM. WE ARE AS A SYSTEM, UH, BUILDING SOMETHING HERE, AND WE CAN'T DO IT WITHOUT THE HELP OF OUR PARENTS, OUR COMMUNITY, OUR STUDENTS, AND EVEN MY FELLOW BOARD MEMBERS. SO THANK YOU. AS WE MOVE INTO THE YEAR, THE NEW YEAR, I'M VERY HOPEFUL THAT WE WILL CONTINUE, UM, TO NURTURE EVERY STUDENT'S POTENTIAL, THAT WE WILL CONTINUE TO FOSTER INCLUSIVITY, AND THAT WE WILL CONTINUE TO MEET THE NEEDS OF ALL OF OUR LEARNERS. SO I WISH EVERYONE A HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON, A SAFE HOLIDAY SEASON, PEACE AND JOY, AND I'LL SEE YOU IN THE NEW YEAR. I THINK THAT'S A WONDERFUL WAY TO END. SO THE [O. ANNOUNCEMENTS (9:30 p.m.)] LAST ITEM ON THE AGENDA'S ANNOUNCEMENTS, THE BOARD'S NEXT MEETING WILL BE HELD ON TUESDAY, JANUARY 14TH, 2025 AT SIX 30. WE ALSO HAVE A PUBLIC HEARING ON THE FY 2026 OPERATING BUDGET, WHICH WILL BE HELD VIRTUALLY ON TUESDAY, JANUARY 21ST, 2025 AT 6:30 PM I TOTALLY ECHO MS. HARVEY'S COMMENTS. UM, I HOPE EVERYONE HAS A WONDERFUL HOLIDAY SEASON AND THAT OUR STAFF HAS A TRUE, RELAXING AND ENJOYABLE AND MUCH NEEDED BREAK. SO THANK YOU FOR JOINING US TONIGHT, AND HAVE A GREAT EVENING. AND THE MEETING IS NOW ADJOURNED. OH. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.