[00:00:01]
CLOSED CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY BEAVER COUNTY
[Call to Order]
EDUCATION.SEPTEMBER 6TH IS A HYBRID VIDEO CONFERENCE AND IT'S ALSO STREAMED BY THE COUNTY CHANNEL.
AND PARTICIPATION WILL BE ACCEPTED BETWEEN 5:00 PM AND 5:30 PM.
BY SENDING AN EMAIL WITH YOUR NAME, PHONE NUMBER AND TOPIC TO ROBIN CHRISTIAN BERRY AT BUFORD.K12.SC.US, YOU WILL RECEIVE A PHONE CALL DURING PUBLIC COMMENTS WHERE YOU WILL BE ABLE TO SPEAK AND ADDRESS THE BOARD FOR A MAXIMUM OF THREE MINUTES ON ISSUES WITHIN THE BOARD'S DOMAIN.
THE FORUM WILL BE LIMITED TO 30 MINUTES.
IF YOU'RE IN PERSON, YOU MAY ADDRESS THE BOARD FOR A MAXIMUM OF THREE MINUTES ON ISSUES WITHIN THE BOARD'S DOMAIN.
EACH SPEAKER MUST FILL OUT A PO PUBLIC COMMENT CARD.
SEE THE BOARD CLERK FOR A CARD REQUEST FOR THE SECOND PUBLIC COMMENTS WILL BE ACCEPTED BETWEEN SEVEN AND 7:30 PM IN THE SAME MANNER.
SECOND PUBLIC COMMENTS WILL TAKE PLACE PRIOR TO A GERMAN NO LATER THAN 9:00 PM.
THE SECOND FORM WILL BE LIMITED TO 15 MINUTES IN THE EVENT THAT THE BOARD HAS NOT FINISHED ADDRESSING ALL ITEMS LISTED ON THIS AGENDA.
THE BOARD WILL RECONVENE AT 6:00 PM ON SEPTEMBER 7TH TO FINISH THE AGENDA ITEMS FOR
[Executive Session]
BUSINESS IS EXECUTIVE SESSION.QUADS, I MOVE THAT THE BOARD GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION FOR RECEIPT OF LEGAL ADVICE REGARDING TWO PENDING CLAIMS COVERED BY THE ATTORNEY CLIENT PRIVILEGE PURSUANT TO SOUTH CAROLINA CODE ANNALS, SECTION 34 78 TO ADULT EDUCATION HOMESCHOOL REPORT PURSUANT TO SOUTH CAROLINA CODE ANNALS SECTIONS 34 48 FOR DISCUSSION OF NEGOTIATIONS INCIDENT TO PROPOSE PURCHASE OF PROPERTY IN BLUFFTON, SOUTH CAROLINA, PURSUANT TO SOUTH CAROLINA, CODY ANNALS, SECTION 34 78 TO DISCUSSION OF NEGOTIATIONS INCIDENT TO PROPOSED WELL BRANCH EARLY COLLEGE FOR SAFETY, SECURITY TECHNOLOGY, INFRASTRUCTURE AND ATHLETIC SCOPE CONTRACT AMENDMENT NUMBER THREE TO CHARLES PERRY PARTNERS, INC.
PURSUANT TO SOUTH CAROLINA CODE ANNALS, SECTION 34 34, EXCUSE ME, 78 2 AND DISCUSSION OF NEGOTIATIONS INCIDENT TO PROPOSE BUFORD HIGH SCHOOL FOR SECOND FLOOR HVAC UPGRADES, CONTRACT AMENDMENT NUMBER 27 TO THOMPSON TURNER CONSTRUCTION PURSUANT TO SOUTH CAROLINA CODY AND ALL SECTION 34 78, 2 SECOND, WILLIAM SMITH, WILLIAM SMITH AND DISCUSSION MR. SMITH, UM, AND RECEIPT OF, UM, CHAIRMAN, UH, IN RECEIPT OF LEGAL ADVICE OF THE TWO PENDING CLAIMS COVERED BY THE CLIENT ATTORNEY PRIVILEGE, UH, UNDER SOUTH CAROLINA, SECTION 30 DASH FOUR, THAT 78.
UH, WHO'LL BE ADVISING THE BOARD ON, ON, ON, ON THESE TWO, UH, ON, ON THESE TWO, MS. CARTLIDGE.
OH, THERE'S ANGELA RACHAEL'S ARMS. WHAT CAN YOU DO TO KEEP YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS SAFE? DON'T PROVIDE EASY ACCESS, ESPECIALLY TO NARCOTIC MEDICATIONS, INVENTORY, YOUR MEDICINE CABINETS, ESPECIALLY CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES, SAFELY DISCARD OUTDATED, OR UNUSED MEDICATIONS PROPERLY.
DID YOU KNOW BUFORD COUNTY HAS MANY LOCATIONS FOR YOU TO DISPOSE YOU
[00:05:01]
ARE OUTDATED OR UNUSED MEDICATIONS MATTERS, DISCUSS[Action as Necessary or Appropriate Regarding Matters Discussed in Executive Session]
OBSESSION, THE SUPERINTENDENTS RECOMMENDATION FOR THE MONTHLY ADULT EDUCATION HOMESCHOOL REPORT FOR SEPTEMBER 6TH, 2022 DISCUSSION MIDDLETON.I, I MOVE THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION APPROVED AMENDMENT NUMBER THREE WITH CHARLES PERRY PARTNERS, INC FOR THE SAFETY SECURITY TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE AND ATHLETIC SCOPE AT WHALE BRANCH EARLY COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOL BASED ON THE GUARANTEED MAXIMUM PRICE OF $4,057,460.
UM, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE, UH, I'M GOING TO BE VOTING NO ON THIS BECAUSE WE HAVE NOT YET RECEIVED VERSION TWO OF THE MID PROGRAM RESET.
AND I WANT TO SAY THAT I RECOGNIZE THAT THE DISTRICT IS DOING IT ALL IT'S CAN TO HOLD DOWN THE COST AND THE COST RUNS ARE INEVITABLE, BUT I WANT TO SEE THE FULL PLAN BEFORE I VOTE ON INDIVIDUAL ITEMS. I DO MUST BE CONSISTENT.
UM, AND I DO AGREE WITH WHAT MRS.
AND ALSO I DO ALSO RECOGNIZE THAT THIS IS A, WAS A PART OF THE BARBARA FOR RANDOM, HOWEVER, UH, DUE TO THE TIMES AND FUNDING.
I THINK THAT WE NEED TO DEFINITELY TAKE A DEEP DIVE BEFORE MAKING THIS DECISION.
SO I TOO WILL NOT BE SUPPORTING THIS TONIGHT.
CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? YOU'RE NOT THAT CLEAR.
I CAN HEAR CLEARLY JUST FOR TODAY.
I MOVE THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION APPROVE AMENDMENT NUMBER 27, BUT THOMPSON TURNER CONSTRUCTION FOR THE SECOND FLOOR, HVAC UPGRADES AND BUFORD HIGH SCHOOL BASED ON THE GUARANTEED MAXIMUM PRICE OF 1 MILLION, 200, $3,015 AS A SECOND DISCUSSION.
MR. SMITH, READ THAT MOTION AGAIN.
THE BOARD OF EDUCATION APPROVED AMENDMENT NUMBER SEVEN WITH THOMPSON TURNER CONSTRUCTION FOR THE SECOND FLOOR, HVAC UPGRADES AT BUFORD HIGH SCHOOL, BASED ON THE GUARANTEED MAXIMUM PRICE OF 1 MILLION, $203,015.
AND IT'S MONEY WILL BE PULLED FROM A DIFFERENT POT.
UH, THIS MONEY WILL BE PUT FROM, FROM WHERE I BELIEVE IN EXECUTIVE SESSION, WE SAID IT WAS ANSWER FUNDING, CORRECT.
WELL, I JUST, I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT FOR THE PUBLIC SO THE PUBLIC COULD KNOW, AND THEY COULD BE EDUCATED AS WELL AS WHERE OUR MONEY'S COMING FROM VERSUS THIS VOTE VERSUS THE LAST
[00:10:01]
VOTE.THANK YOU FOR SAYS THE MONEY'S COMING FROM AS A FUNNY STYLE.
[Approval of Agenda]
APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA.I MOVE THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION APPROVED TONIGHT'S AGENDA, BUT MOVE I'M UNDER OPERATIONS COMMITTEE.
THE RECOMMENDED MOTION FOR APPROVAL OF INITIATIVE, ONE LAP SICK AND VACATION, LEAVE PAYOUT AND INITIATIVE TO SICK LEAVE PAYOUT AT RETIREMENT TO THE WORK SESSION IN THREE DAYS, BECAUSE THIS IS PART OF THE DISCUSSION THAT IS, UH, INCLUDES THE, UM, CLASSIFIED STUDY.
AND I THINK IT WOULD BE BETTER TO LOOK AT IT AS A WHOLE, AS OPPOSED TO IN PIECES.
AND THAT'S JUST A FEW DAYS AWAY AND YOU ALREADY HAVE IT ON THE UPSIDE.
SO I NEED IT SECOND BEFORE I CAN SAY ANYMORE.
RACHEL, WAS THAT THE SECOND BOAT, RIGHT? UM, WOULDN'T THAT BE A DISK WOULDN'T WE JUST TABLE AND DISCUSSION AS EMOTION OR I'VE NEVER SEEN A MOTION TAKEN OFF INTO AGENDA ITEM BECAUSE I DON'T DISAGREE WITH THE, THIS, I THINK WE HAVE THAT DISCUSSION AND IF THE BOARD WANTS TO MOVE IT TO WORK SESSION THAT I, I DON'T CARE.
I THINK THAT WE TAKE AGENDA ITEMS AND NOT MOTIONS OFF OF WHEN WE APPROVE THE AGENDA, BECAUSE THEN THERE'S NO WAY TO DISCUSS THE MOTION AGENDA.
I KNOW, WHICH IS ALSO A LITTLE BIT UNUSUAL BECAUSE IT REALLY SHOULD, THE AGENDA ITEMS SHOULD BE OPERATIONS COMMITTEE REPORT AND THE MOTIONS WOULD COME OUT OF IT.
I DON'T THINK IT'S A BIG DEAL AND I DON'T WANT TO SPEND A LOT OF TIME ON THIS ISSUE, BUT I, THAT A LITTLE BIT IRREGULAR TO ME.
SO I'LL DEFER TO YOUR, UM, DECISION, UM, YOUR MOTION A SECOND.
LET'S LET'S VOTE, VOTE ON THE MOTION AND IT SEEMS LOGICAL.
I'M NOT SURE IF IT CAN, IF CONFORMS WITH ROBERTS, UM, BUT I DON'T HAVE TIME TO RESEARCH IT.
SO IF THERE'S NO OBJECTION, LISTS LET'S SUPPOSE RACHEL WAS THE SECOND.
AND WHAT EXACTLY IS THE MOTION AGAIN, TO APPROVE TONIGHT'S AGENDA, BUT MOVE THE RECOMMENDED MODE UNDER OPERATIONS COMMITTEE, THERE'S A RECOMMENDED MOTION LISTED THERE ON TONIGHT'S AGENDA, AND I'M, I'M PROPOSING TO MOVE THAT AGENDA ITEM TO THE WORK SESSION WHERE OTHER PARTS ARE GOING TO BE DISCUSSED.
AND WE ALREADY HAVE IT ON THE WORK SESSION AGENDA.
ALTHOUGH THE WORK SESSION AGENDA HAS NOT BEEN POSTED YET BECAUSE I ATTENDED AGENDA SETTING.
THE, THE CLASSIFIED STUDY, CORRECT? THAT'S TRUE.
SO WE'RE GOING TO, WE'RE GOING TO POSTPONE THIS UNTIL WE HAVEN'T VOTED.
AND MS. FREDRICKS HAS COMMENTS BEFORE ME, SO I DIDN'T HAVE SAW HER.
I WILL NOT BE VOTING FOR THIS BECAUSE I DO SEE IT AS SEPARATE FROM THE STUDY.
THIS IS SOMETHING ENTIRELY DIFFERENT.
THIS HAS TO DO WITH RETIREMENT PAY HAS TO DO A SICK LEAVE PAYOUT.
IT'S IT'S SURE YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE, THE DOLLAR VALUE OF WHAT THIS WILL BE, UM, MIGHT COME INTO THE CONVERSATION ABOUT THE CLASSIFIED, BUT THIS IS A TOTALLY SEPARATE THING AS TO WHETHER THE BOARD WANTS TO SUPPORT THIS OR NOT.
SO I WILL NOT BE VOTING TO DELAY THIS CAUSE I THINK WE CAN DO THIS TONIGHT AND SEE, NOW WE'RE HAVING A MOTION DISCUSSION ON THE MOTIONS IN THE APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA SECTION.
SO I'M JUST SAYING, I THINK WE SHOULD HAVE THIS DISCUSSION.
I DON'T THINK WE NEED TO ALTER THE AGENDA BECAUSE NOW WE'RE DISCUSSING WHETHER OR NOT THE MOTIONS VALID.
WE'RE NOT GOING TO HAVE A PRESENTATION FROM STAFF.
WE'RE NOT GOING TO HAVE A REPORT IN ADVANCE.
IT JUST SEEMS AN ODD PLACE TO HAVE THIS DISCUSSION.
ARE YOU COMFORTABLE WITH THAT DOCTOR? LEAVE IT, LEAVE IT ON THE AGENDA WHERE WE GET TO IT.
YOU CAN MOVE TO POSTPONE IT AND THAT'S FINE AS OPPOSED TO DOING IT NOW.
IS THAT OKAY? I MEAN, I THINK IT'S THE SAME RESULT.
AND IT SEEMS LIKE EVERYBODY WOULD BE MORE COMFORTABLE WITH THAT.
SO I NEED A MOTION TO APPROVE VISION TO, AS IT IS I MOVE, WE APPROVE THE AGENDA AS WRITTEN BACK IN MR. SMITH QUESTION.
ANY MORE DISCUSSION, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR.
[Pledge of Allegiance, Moment of Silence, Statement of Media Notification ]
[00:15:06]
OKAY.WE WOULD STAND FOR THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE, PLEASE.
THE MEDIA HASN'T BEEN PROPERLY NOTIFIED PERFORMANCE
[Student Performance – Beaufort Middle School Gifted and Talented Band ]
DOCTOR, UH, STUDENT PERFORMANCE FROM OUR MIDDLE SCHOOL GIFTED AND TALENTED BAND.[Points of Celebration]
ON THE AGENDA.UM, MR.
AND SO YOU MAY REMEMBER THAT OVER THE SUMMER, WE RECOGNIZE BATTERY CREEK HIGH SCHOOL'S FUTURE FARMERS OF AMERICA TEAM FOR COMPETING AND WINNING AT THE STATE LEVEL OF THE WILDLIFE HABITAT EDUCATION PROGRAM.
THEY'RE BACK WITH US TONIGHT WITH A NEW WIN FIRST PLACE AT THE NATIONAL WILDLIFE HABITAT EDUCATION PROGRAM COMPETITION, AND HERE TO TELL US ABOUT THE FFA AND THE COMPETITION IS AGRA SCIENCE, INSTRUCTOR, ELIZABETH MELTON.
AND I SEE THAT OUR BATTERY CREEK PRINCIPAL, MISS DENISE, THE SART IS ALSO PRESENT.
[00:20:38]
THANK YOU SO GOOD EVENING, EVERYONE.UH, WE ARE HERE ONCE AGAIN, AS A CELEBRATION, THE TEAM GOT FIRST PLACE IN NATIONALS IS OUTSTANDING.
UH, SOUTH CAROLINA HAD A GREAT SHOWING ON THE FREIGHT SIDE AS WELL.
AND, UH, THE STUDENTS BEHIND ME TOOK ALMOST AN ENTIRE WEEK OUT OF THEIR SUMMER TO TRAVEL TO KENTUCKY, TO COMPETE IN THIS.
UM, WE DID HAVE A FOURTH MEMBER, DIEGO VEGA.
HE CAN NOT BE WITH US TONIGHT BECAUSE HE IS NOW A FRESHMEN AT CLEMSON, A UNIVERSITY IN AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION.
SO WE ARE VERY PROUD OF HIM AND FORGIVE HIM FOR NOT BEING HERE TONIGHT.
UM, ALL OF THE STUDENTS, ALL FOUR OF THEM WERE TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS WITH THEIR INDIVIDUAL SCORES.
UM, AND THAT WAS WITH THE WILDLIFE CHALLENGE AS WELL AS WITH THE RECOMMENDATIONS ON SITE.
AND THEN WITH THE TEAM, OF COURSE, THEY GOT FIRST PLACE.
UM, THE JUDGES, WHEN IT CAME TO THE ORAL REASONS FOR THEIR MANAGEMENT PLAN, THE JUDGES SAID THAT THE BOYS WERE, UH, WELL-MANNERED.
THEY WERE POISED, TOOK THEIR HATS OFF AND SHOOK HANDS INTRODUCE THEMSELVES.
SO THEY REALLY REPRESENTED NOT ONLY SOUTH CAROLINA, BUT BEAVERT VERY WELL.
AND I WAS GOING TO SEE IF THEY WOULD LIKE TO SAY ANYTHING ON THE SPOT ON THIS.
WE HAVE A CERTIFICATE OF RECOGNITION FOR TANNER MCCRACKEN ONTO HOLLINGSWORTH HUNTER SMITH.
WE HAVE ONE FOR DIEGO VEGAS AS WELL.
CAN WE QUICK, A QUICK PICTURE OF CONGRATULATIONS ON A JOB? VERY WELL DONE.
THE NEXT ITEM UNDER POINTS OF CELEBRATION IS REALLY QUITE, UH, AN IMPORTANT, SIGNIFICANT AND EXCITING, UH, POINT OF CELEBRATION THIS EVENING.
IF YOU THINK BACK, UH, TO 2019, UH, WHEN THE REFERENDUM PASSED IN NOVEMBER OF 2019, SHORTLY AFTER PUT TOGETHER A CITIZEN LED OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE THAT, UH, HAS MONTHLY MEETINGS TO REVIEW THE PROGRESS AND THE WORK ON THAT REFERENDUM, AND THEN REPORT QUARTERLY TO THE PUBLIC, UH, THROUGH OUR BOARD MEETINGS ON A QUARTERLY BASIS.
WELL, RECENTLY THE CITIZEN LED OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE OR CLOCK AS IT'S KNOWN, WAS SELECTED AS A RECIPIENT OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA SCHOOL BOARD ASSOCIATIONS CHAMPIONS FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION AWARD.
THE AWARD IS PRESENTED TO COMMUNITY RESIDENTS, ORGANIZATIONS, OR BUSINESSES OR INDUSTRIES WHO SUPPORT AND CONTRIBUTIONS HAVE SIGNIFICANTLY BENEFITED PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
WE WILL HAVE A FORMAL AWARD PRESENTATION AT A FUTURE DATE WITH MEMBERS OF THE CLOCK PRESENT, BUT WE WERE SO EXCITED TO SHARE THIS NEWS AS WE ARE SO GRATEFUL FOR THE SERVICE OF OUR CLOCK MEMBERS IN MONITORING THE DISTRICTS $345 MILLION BOND REFERENDUM THAT WE JUST DIDN'T WANT TO WAIT.
AND WE WANTED TO GO OUT AND ANNOUNCE IT, AND WE'LL HAVE A, WE'LL HAVE THEM PRESENT AT A FUTURE MEETING.
AND IF I MAY JUST ADD ONE LAST PIECE, UM, OUR SCHOOL BOARD, UH, NOMINATED THE CLOCK COMMITTEE, AS YOU ALL KNOW, YOU ALL DID THIS THROUGH THE SOUTH CAROLINA SCHOOL BOARDS ASSOCIATION, UH, AWARD.
AND SO, UH, THANK YOU FOR THAT, UH, FOR RECOGNIZING REALLY THE GREAT WORK OF OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS, UM, PARTICIPATING IN PARTNERING WITH US ON THIS.
AND I WOULD SAY THANK YOU TO CANDICE WHO, WHO WROTE, WROTE IT ALL UP BECAUSE I HAD TO HAVE 140 WORDS OR LESS FOR EACH ONE OF THESE LITTLE SECTIONS AND, UH,
[00:25:01]
THERE'S ONLY A FEW PEOPLE THAT COULD DO THAT.SO THANK YOU, CANDACE, UH, PUBLIC COMMENT.
I'M NOT SURE WHETHER I'M HAPPY OR SAD ABOUT THAT.
[Chairman’s Report ]
CHAIRMAN'S REPORT.I WAS THE WEEKEND BEFORE LAST IT WAS THE SCHOOL LAW CONFERENCE UP IN GREENVILLE AND SEVERAL OF US WENT AND I WOULD ENCOURAGE ALL BOARD MEMBERS IF YOU CAN POSSIBLY GET TO THAT TO GET TO IT.
IT IS, IT IS JUST LOADED WITH REALLY GOOD INFORMATION.
NOW, SOME OF WHICH LIKE CONSTITUTIONAL LAW IS PROBABLY NOT GOING TO AFFECT US MUCH BECAUSE WE HAVE, WE HAVE ATTORNEYS WHO ARE GOING TO PUT IT.
IT'S GOOD TO KNOW THE WAY THINGS ARE GOING.
UM, BIG TAKEAWAY FOR ME WAS ON, ON THE CONSTITUTIONAL STUFF.
THE EXACT SAME ACTION CAN EITHER BE PERMISSIBLE OR NOT PERMISSIBLE, DEPENDING WHICH PART OR WHICH, UH, CLAUSE YOU ARGUE IT, WHERE THERE WAS, THERE WAS, UH, AN INSTANCE WHERE THE EXACT SAME ACTION WAS DEEMED IMPERMISSIBLE, UM, UNDER THE FREEDOM OF SPEECH PART, AND THEN EXACT SAME ACTION WAS PERMISSIBLE UNDER THE ESTABLISHMENT CLAUSE.
SO I'M NOT SURE THAT GIVES US A WHOLE LOT OF GUIDANCE, BUT, UM, IT WAS INTERESTING.
I WOULD ENCOURAGE EVERYBODY TO GO OUT TO THE BOARD ASSOCIATION WEBSITE UNDER SCHOOL LAW, AND YOU CAN LOOK AT THE HANDOUTS.
AND OTHER REALLY GOOD THING WAS THE, THE, UH, LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS, WHICH ARE POISED TO PASS THE NEXT SECTION.
CAUSE WE ALREADY KNOW WHAT PASSED, BUT THERE'S SEVERAL THINGS THAT ARE POISED TO PASS THE NEXT SESSION.
I THOUGHT THAT WAS PRETTY INTERESTING.
UM, THE, EITHER ONE OF THE OTHER FOLKS THAT WOULDN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT THAT, YOU CAN LEARN A LOT AS, AS, AS A MEMBER OF THE BOARD BECAUSE A LOT OF TIMES THINGS COME UP AND, UH, CONSTITUENT ACCESS QUESTIONS.
AND SOMETIMES WE DON'T, WE DON'T HAVE DANCE, BUT IF YOU ATTENDED THIS CONFERENCE, NOT ONLY IS IT LOCAL, BUT IT'S NATIONWIDE.
I MEAN, WE HAD A LADY THERE FROM, UM, WASHINGTON DC.
AND SHE GAVE US SOME GOOD INFORMATION BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF STUFF COMING DOWN NOW ABOUT GETTING RID OF BOOKS, OUR LIBRARY AND BURNING BOOKS AND ALL THIS STUFF LIKE THAT.
SO WE NEED TO TAKE HEAT AND, AND MAKE SURE THAT WE UNDERSTAND WHAT IS GOING ON WITHIN THE NATION.
[Committee Reports]
REPORTS ACADEMICS.THE ACADEMIC COMMITTEE MET ON AUGUST 24 AND THE COMMITTEE VOTED UNANIMOUSLY TO BRING FORWARD A RECOMMENDATION TO CREATE TWO NEW HONORS LEVEL CREDIT COURSES THAT J R O T C LEVELS SEVEN AND EIGHT AT BLUFFTON HIGH SCHOOL AND CTE HEALTH SCIENCE AT BATTERY CREEK HIGH SCHOOL, DR.
STRATOSE AND HER TEAM WILL PRESENT THESE TO THE BOARD.
THEY DO REQUIRE FULL BOARD ACTION, GOOD EVENING, BOARD MEMBERS AND CHAIRMAN STRIVEN GER TO SEE IF ANY OF THE INSTRUCTIONAL SERVICES DIVISION IS BRINGING FORWARD TWO HONORS LEVEL COURSE COURSES FOR CAREER TECHNICAL EDUCATION FRAMEWORK.
THE COURSES ARE THE FIRST IS A PACKET IN YOUR FOLDER REGARDING ARMY JUNIOR ROTC COURSE LEVEL SEVEN AND LEVEL EIGHT.
THE SECOND IS A CTE HEALTH SCIENCE THREE COURSE TO PRESENT A FRAMEWORK AND PROVIDE INFORMATION ARE KAREN GILBERT, DIRECTOR OF CAREER TECHNICAL EDUCATION, COLONEL FOSTER SENIOR ACADEMIC OFFICER ARMY J ROTC FROM BLUFFTON HIGH AND HIS PRINCIPAL, DENISE DONICA IS SITTING QUIETLY IN THE BACK THERE.
ADDITIONALLY, JUSTIN HARDY, THE HEALTH SCIENCE TEACHER FROM BATTERY CREEK HIGH SCHOOL IS JOINING US VIRTUALLY AND HER PRINCIPAL, DENISE LAZARD
[00:30:02]
IS JOINING US AS WELL.BOARD MEMBERS, PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THEN HONORS COURSES EXTEND DEEPER OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR STUDENTS AT LEARNING CHAIRMAN'S DISTRIBUTOR AND BOARD MEMBERS.
I BRING FORWARD KAREN GILBERT TO START IN THIS PRESENTATION AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.
STRATAS, CHAIRMAN STRINGER AND BOARD MEMBERS, YOU KNOW, CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION, AS WELL AS JRTC CAN APPEAL TO ALL STUDENTS, WHETHER THEY'RE GOING INTO THE MILITARY STRAIGHT TO WORK AND OR ONTO A TWO OR FOUR-YEAR UNIVERSITY.
SO WE WANT TO GIVE THOSE STUDENTS AT ALL LEVELS, PURSUING DIFFERENT PATHS AND OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE A LEG UP, TO HELP THEM MARKET THEMSELVES.
ONE OF THE WAYS TO DO THAT, THAT BENEFIT THEM AS WELL AS THEIR PARENTS.
IF THEY'RE APPLYING TO COLLEGES IS THROUGH HONORS WEIGHTED CREDIT.
WE HAVE SEVERAL COURSES THAT'S ALREADY GRANDFATHERED IN, UH, BUT EFFECTIVE 2017 18.
THE DEPARTMENT OF ED RELEASED A NEW FRAMEWORK.
SO AS WE MOVE FORWARD, WE WILL LOOK TO THESE TYPE OF CRITERIA.
SO WE'RE APPRECIATIVE TO, UM, AT LEAST, UH, PRESENT THE FIRST TWO.
AND THEN WE HAVE A PLAN FOR LOGISTICS TO KEEP IT MANAGEABLE.
SO YOU HAVE IN FRONT OF YOU, JUST A GOOD DEFINITION OF WHAT, WHAT OUR HONORS COURSES, IF YOU, IF YOU WALKED INTO ANY COURSES, WHETHER IT'S CT J ROTC OR, UM, UH, UH, ENGLISH MATH, UH, IT WE'RE, WE'RE IN ESSENCE, TRYING TO HELP THAT ADVANCED LEARNER TO, TO GROW AND CTE AND J ROTC WOULD BE OUR GOALS BY OFFERING MORE HONORS LEVEL COURSES TO HELP THAT STUDENT FOR INDIVIDUAL GROWTH, UH, TO HIGHLIGHT THE RIGOROUS STUDY OF A LOT OF OUR CTE AND GERRITY C COURSES, PARTICULARLY IN OUR IT AND OUR HEALTH HEALTH SERVICES.
UM, IT'S A WAY TO GET, TAKE THAT PRACTICAL KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS AND APPLY IT TO SOME MORE OF OUR CHALLENGING FIELDS OF STUDY.
YOU KNOW, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IT IN PAST PRESENTATIONS ABOUT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND WHAT ARE WE DOING WITH THOSE FIELDS? THAT'S GOING TO HAVE EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES.
WELL, THAT'S GOING TO REQUIRE THOSE CRITICAL THINKERS AND PROBLEM SOLVERS AND BEING ABLE TO, UM, UH, EXCEL AT AN HONORS LEVEL CAN HELP THOSE STUDENTS FOR WHEN THEY GRADUATE.
SO IN 2000, AT THE END OF 2017 AND 18, ACTUALLY THE STATE RELEASED A FRAMEWORK, A GUIDEBOOK TO SAY, HERE ARE SOME CRITERIA THAT WE WOULD WANT TO SEE IF WE WERE LOOKING AT PROVIDING WEIGHTED CREDIT, THE THREE OVERARCHING, UM, UH, GUIDELINES WOULD BE THERE'S EXTENSION ACCELERATION AND ENRICHMENT OF THE STANDARD COURSE OF STUDY.
UH, IT HAS TO ALIGN WITH THE SOUTH CAROLINA PROFILE OF THE GRADUATE.
THERE NEEDS TO SEE SOME DIFFERENTIATION OF INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES FOR ADVANCED LEARNERS, AND THERE NEEDS TO BE SOME WAY TO, UH, ADDRESS PURPOSEFUL ASSESSMENT.
SO WE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ALREADY EMBARKING ON THAT ANY WAY TO LOOK AT NOT ONLY THAT SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT, BUT ALSO WHAT ARE WE DOING IN FORMATIVE LEVELS? IF A STUDENT RECEIVES HONORS WEIGHTED CREDIT, THEY GET A 0.5 QUALITY POINT, AND THEN THAT IS CAPTURED IN POWER SCHOOL WITH AN HW AT THE END.
AND THEN, UM, THAT'S HOW IT GOES ON THEIR TRANSCRIPTS.
SO THE PROCESS, UH, PER THE NEW FRAMEWORK IS THAT, UH, THERE IS AN APPLICATION.
AND SO FROM THE DISTRICT LEVEL, WE CREATED A TEMPLATE, BUT SO THAT WAY IT'LL BE A CONSISTENT IN FORMAT WHEN IT COMES TO THE ACADEMIC COMMITTEE, THAT TEMPLATE NEEDS TO HAVE THE COURSE DESCRIPTION.
IT NEEDS TO HAVE THE STATE STANDARDS SO THAT WE KNOW THAT AS A SOUTH CAROLINA APPROVED COURSE, WHAT ARE THE KEY CONCEPTS? WHAT WOULD BE THIS TEACHER OR THE INSTRUCTOR'S EXPECTATIONS FOR HONORS LEVEL PERFORMANCE? AND THEN AS THE TEACHER INSTRUCTOR GOES THROUGH A YEAR WITH THE HONORS LEVEL, THEY'LL, THEY'LL COLLECT SAMPLE WORK FROM THE STUDENTS, RUBRICS, UM, UH, EXAMPLE ASSIGNMENTS.
AND WE'RE GOING TO COMPILE THESE INTO A GOOGLE DRIVE FOR FUTURE REFERENCE.
ALSO, IF THERE'S AN ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS, UH, ADDITIONAL, UM, ITEMS THAT THEY WOULD NEED, THIS IS TEACHER INITIATED AND THERE IS A SIGNATURE PAGE THAT'S REQUIRED OF THE TEACHER, THE PRINCIPALS.
OUR TWO PRINCIPALS HERE TODAY, THAT'S VERY SUPPORTIVE OF THIS, OF THIS, UM, UH, HONORS, UH, INITIATIVE.
UM, BUT IT ALSO REQUIRES THE SIGNATURE OF THE BOARD CHAIR.
SO, HENCE WHILE WE'RE BRINGING IT TO YOU TODAY, SO YOU CAN SEE WHAT THE FRAMEWORK LOOKS LIKE.
BUT THEN AS OUR GOAL, WHERE WE HAVE SIMILAR COURSES, THOSE TEACHERS WILL COME TOGETHER IN PREP, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, THEY WILL COLLABORATE.
AND THEN WE'LL PRESENT TWICE A YEAR TO YOU IN A PACKET, UH, SIMILAR TO THE LOCAL BOARD APPROVED COURSE COURSES.
AND THEN THAT WAY THE ACADEMIC COMMITTEE IS JUST LOOKING
[00:35:01]
AT REVIEWING, UH, THE LIST THAT THE TEACHERS COME UP WITH FOR SPRING AND FALL AT THIS TIME.I'D LIKE FOR COLONEL FOSTER, IF HE'LL COME, HE IS PRESENTED TO YOU.
THE HONORS LEVEL WAITED FOR, FOR JRTC SEVEN AND EIGHT FOR ARMY.
IT IS THE GOAL FOR ALL OF OUR JRTC PROGRAMS TO BE ABLE TO OFFER HONORS LEVEL.
WE'RE STARTING AT THE TOP AND WORKING OUR WAY DOWN.
WE'RE JUST APPRECIATIVE COLONEL FOSTER ARMY PRIOR, PRIOR COMING FROM AN ARMY FAMILY THAT HE'S PAVING THE WAY FOR US.
AND THEY WILL HEAR FROM MRS. HARDY ON THE HEALTH SCIENCES COURSE, COLONEL FOSTER.
GOOD EVENING, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN.
UM, SO THE FIRST THING I'D LIKE TO SAY IS THAT THE PROGRAM IS AWESOME.
I REALLY ENJOY BEING AT THE SCHOOL.
THE KIDS ARE GREAT, AND IT'S SAD WHEN I HAVE A KID COME TO MY CLASS AND TELL ME THAT MY MOM SAYS I CAN'T BE IN CLASS BECAUSE IT'S NOT WEIGHTED AND I NEED TO KEEP MY GPA UP SO I CAN GET INTO A SERVICE ACADEMY.
AND SO TO ME, I WAS LIKE, OKAY, WE GOTTA CHANGE THIS.
UH, SO THAT'S WHY I TOOK THAT INITIATIVE TO SAY, HEY, CAN WE PLEASE GET THIS TO BECOME AN HONORS CLASS SO THAT THOSE KIDS WHO WANT TO BE IN THE CLASS CAN BE IN THE CLASS AND GET THAT HONORS.
AND SO HONORS IS NOT FOR EVERYBODY AS WE KNOW.
SO WE SET IT UP SO THAT IT WOULD BE A LEADERSHIP POSITION.
SO THOSE THAT ARE IN KEY LEADERSHIP POSITIONS, WHETHER IT'S IN A LINE COMPANY OR ON THE STAFF, THOSE ARE THE ONES THAT WOULD GET THE HONORS, UM, UH, CREDIT FOR THE CLASS.
SO THAT, AGAIN, IT'S VERY CHALLENGING, UH, HAS BEEN CHALLENGING SINCE I'VE BEEN THERE.
AND I'M SURE IT WAS CHALLENGING BEFORE I GOT THERE.
UH, THESE KIDS ARE DOING A LOT OF WORK OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM IN ORDER TO, UH, ACHIEVE THE GOALS THAT WE HAVE FOR THEM.
AND THE GOAL FOR ME, UH, IS OUR MISSION STATEMENT.
OUR MISSION STATEMENT IS TO ENCOURAGE YOUNG PEOPLE TO BE BETTER CITIZENS.
I DON'T PUSH THEM TOWARDS THE MILITARY.
I DON'T PUSH THEM TOWARDS ANY INDUSTRY.
MY GOAL IS TO MAKE THEM A BETTER PERSON WHEN THEY STEP OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL, IF THEY WANT TO GO TO THE MILITARY, I'M ALL ABOUT SUPPORTING THEM AND HELPING THEM.
THIS IS ALL ABOUT MAKING OUR YOUNG KIDS BETTER CITIZENS.
SO WHEN THEY STEP INTO OUR COMMUNITIES, THEY APPRECIATE WHAT THEY HAVE HERE.
MRS. HARDY, IF YOU ARE, CAN HEAR US, IF YOU'LL PLEASE SHARE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHY YOU WANT, UH, YOUR PRESENTING HEALTH SCIENCES, THREE, THE ANATOMY AND STRUCTURES AS AN HONORS WAY TO OPTION.
SO I'M JUST SEEING HARDY, I'M THE HEALTH SCIENCE TEACHER AT BATTERY CREEK.
UM, I BELIEVE AS HOW SCIENCE THREE IS STRUCTURED ALREADY GOING THROUGH 12 BODY SYSTEMS IN ONE SEMESTER MEANS THAT WE'RE TOUCHING EACH BODY SYSTEM FOR ABOUT NINE DAYS.
IT TOOK ME SIX YEARS WITH AN UNDERGRADUATE AND A GRADUATE DEGREE TO FULLY UNDERSTAND THE PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF THESE DIFFERENT DISEASES.
SO I WANT TO EMPOWER STUDENTS TO WANT TO GO INTO THE FIELD, UM, AND TO ENCOURAGE THEM SO THAT THEY CAN TAKE CARE OF US ONE DAY.
HOPEFULLY IF I TEACH THEM WELL ENOUGH.
UM, SO NOT ONLY DO I WANT THEM TO KNOW THE ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF THE BODY SYSTEMS, I WANT THEM TO BE ABLE TO APPLY IT.
AND SO THAT'S WHAT THE HONORS COURSE WILL DO.
UM, AND SO THEY'RE GOING TO PROBLEM SOLVE DIFFERENT METHODS AND DIAGNOSTICS FOR THOSE 12 BODY SYSTEMS. SO AT THIS TIME, DOES THE BOARD HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR EITHER OF THE TWO REQUESTS? THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN, NO HONORS COURSES ARE A REWARD FOR EXTRA WORK OR EXTRA RESPONSIBILITY.
AND WHEN YOU ARE ASSIGNED OR YOU ACTUALLY HAVE TO EARN A LEADERSHIP POSITION IN ROTC, I'M AN ROTC GRADUATE.
WE ARE REWARDING THOSE PEOPLE BY HAVING AN HONORS PROGRAM, WHICH THE REWARD, IF YOU MEET THE STANDARD, WE ALWAYS HAVE MEET THE STANDARD TO GET, THIS IS A GREAT POINT INCREASE.
AND THAT GREAT POINT IS VERY, VERY CRITICAL FOR THOSE STUDENTS.
NOT ONLY THAT ARE APPLYING FOR UNIVERSITIES, BUT ALSO FOR SERVICE ACADEMIES OR AN ROTC, A COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP.
NOW THIS IS THE FIRST PROGRAM WE HAVE OTHER ROTC PROGRAMS, AND THIS IS GOING TO BE THE MODEL.
AM I NOT CORRECT FOR THE OTHER PROGRAMS TO FOLLOW? SO IT WON'T JUST BE THE ARMY AT BEAT.
THE ARMY LEADS AWAY AS IT ALWAYS DOES.
VERY WELL SAID, SIR, YOU WERE DOING REAL GOOD UNTIL JUST THE END THERE.
[00:40:01]
UH, THANK YOU, COLONEL FOSTER.AND I KNOW, UM, THAT PRINCIPLE, UH, THAT THIS WAS A REALLY BIG PROJECT.
I'VE TALKED TO YOU ABOUT IT BEFORE, AND THAT IT WAS, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF WORK TO BRING.
AND WE HAD THAT VERY CONVERSATION.
HE ENDED UP WITH A, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE TO TAKE FIVE CP LEVEL CLASSES BECAUSE YOU STILL HAVE TO TAKE WHAT HEALTH, RIGHT.
SO NOW IT'S FIVE CLASSES AND IT DOES REALLY IMPACT, UM, CLASS RANK AND PARENTS ARE VERY COMPETITIVE ABOUT THAT.
AND WHEN YOU'RE APPLYING TO THESE COLLEGES, YOU HAVE TO TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION.
SO I THINK THIS IS LONG OVERDUE.
UM, AND I ALSO WOULD AGREE THAT YOUR PROGRAM IS AWESOME.
I THINK THAT THE BLUFFTON AND I ALSO THINK HILTON HEAD HIGHS.
I MEAN, BUT I'VE BEEN TO THE BLUFFTON SCHOOL.
IT'S, IT'S AN AMAZING PROGRAM.
UM, SO I GUESS I SUPPORT WITH IT.
MY BIGGEST CONCERN IS WHY DOESN'T THIS COME FROM THE TOP DOWN? YOU GUYS HAD TO KIND OF PUSH THIS.
IT TOOK A WHILE THE DISTRICTS, YOU KNOW, BRING IT TO THE BOARD AND NOW IT'S THE MODEL.
WHY IS IT, WHY DON'T WE HAVE THINGS WHERE WE MAKE A DECISION, LIKE WE WANT TO MAKE THIS HONORS CLASS.
AND SO THEN WE'RE GOING TO DEVELOP IT AND WE'RE GOING TO ROLL IT OUT BECAUSE THEIR PARENTS, YOU KNOW, IT AFFECTS RECRUITMENT.
I DON'T KNOW HOW LONG IT'S GOING TO TAKE.
I JUST, SO I DON'T WANT TO SPEAK SPECIFICALLY TO THIS PROGRAM OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
IT'S, UM, I FEEL LIKE SEVERAL TIMES THE SCHOOL IS DRIVING THE CHANGE AND IT'S HAPPENING IN SCHOOL BY SCHOOL.
AND THERE ARE CHANGES THAT I THINK WOULD BENEFIT THE WHOLE DISTRICT.
SO IF I MAY ON THAT, TO BE HONEST, I'VE BEEN DRIVING THAT CHANGE SINCE I GOT HERE.
I REMEMBER TALKING TO YOU ABOUT, THAT'S WHY I WAS SURPRISED.
I ASSUMED THAT ALL THE SCHOOLS WERE DOING IT, BUT, BUT PART OF IT IS THAT THERE ARE CERTAIN THINGS THAT HAVE, HAVE TO BE IN PLACE IN ORDER TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY CAN GET THE HONORS CREDIT AND THEY'RE DOING THINGS TO GET THE HONORS CREDIT RIGHT.
AND SO THAT'S PART OF WHAT HAS BEEN WORKED ON.
UM, BUT I'VE, I'VE BEEN PUSHING IT, UH, SINCE I GOT HERE.
WHEN I LISTENED TO THE ACADEMICS COMMITTEE MEETING, I WAS SURPRISED.
I ASSUME WE WERE ROLLING IT OUT.
DISTRICT-WIDE SO I WAS A LITTLE BIT CHAGRINED WHEN I REALIZED, BECAUSE I KNOW A LOT OF KIDS IN ROTC AT HILTON HAD JUST BECAUSE THAT'S MY KID'S SCHOOL THAT ARE HAVING THESE SAME CONVERSATIONS.
SO IT FEELS LIKE RELIEF IS GOING TO BE COMING TO THAT PROGRAM LATER.
AND I DON'T KNOW WHY WE HAVE TO DO IT ONE AT A TIME CHAIRMAN, IT'S ACTUALLY A REQUIREMENT THAT IT'S PUT TOGETHER FRAMEWORK BY THE TEACHER.
SO IF OUR TEAM WENT AHEAD AND WROTE IT, WE CAN'T, WE NEED TO HAVE THE COLLABORATION OF THE EDUCATOR.
THAT IS A REQUIREMENT BY THE STATE FRAMEWORK.
SO LET'S SAY WE HAVE ANOTHER SCHOOL HERE ON THE FLOOR WHO WOULD LIKE TO PICK UP A HEALTH, UM, SIGNS THREE.
THEY CAN TAKE THE FRAMEWORK THAT IS ESTABLISHED BY THE UNIQUENESS TO ADDRESS BLUFFTON HIGH SCHOOL NEEDS TO BE FINGERPRINTED OR MOLDED BY THE EDUCATOR.
WHO'S LEADING THAT INITIATIVE AT THE SCHOOL SITE.
J ROTC STUDENT AT HILL MED HIGH SCHOOL UNDER COMMANDER PFEIFFER.
AND, UM, I STUCK WITH IT THROUGH ALL FOUR YEARS AND WAS A PLATOON COMMANDER.
SO I ADORE THE PROGRAM AND WHOLEHEARTEDLY SUPPORT BRINGING AN HONORS COMPONENT TO IT BECAUSE I KNOW THAT WHEN YOU GET TO THAT JUNIOR AND SENIOR YEAR IS WHEN YOU START, START TO SEE KIDS LEAVING THE PROGRAM AND YOU GET THOSE ONES THAT REALLY STICK WITH IT BECAUSE THEY'VE GOT A HEART FOR IT, BUT LET'S ALSO REWARD THOSE KIDS TOO.
UM, SO I WHOLEHEARTEDLY SUPPORT, UM, THE SERVING AS A FRAMEWORK FOR THE OTHER PROGRAMS. UM, THE ONLY QUESTION THAT I HAVE IS, IS THERE ANY ADDITIONAL INVESTMENT REQUIRED FOR EITHER ONE OF THESE HONOR CLASSES, UM, IN TERMS OF TECHNOLOGY OR THINGS LIKE THAT THAT MAY BE NECESSARY? I DIDN'T SEE ANYTHING IN THE PAPERWORK.
SO I JUST WANT TO CONFIRM THAT THERE'S NOT, THEY DIDN'T INCUR ANY COSTS UNDER THE DEVELOPMENT OF EITHER OF THOSE FRAMEWORKS.
UM, PROBABLY HOURS AND HOURS OF THINKING IT THROUGH AND PUTTING IT TOGETHER.
BUT I DO WANT TO GIVE MORE CREDIT TO DO.
RODRIGUEZ, SINCE I GOT ON BOARD TWO YEARS AGO, HE AND I HAD CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THIS.
AND SO WE'VE TALKED THIS A LOT.
UM, AND SO I, HE KNEW THAT MY POSITION IN TRYING TO PUSH THIS FORWARD AND I HAD GREAT SUPPORT AND I HOPE I DIDN'T MISUNDER BECAUSE I'M NOT SAYING THE DISTRICT, I THINK THE DISTRICT SUPPORTED IT.
IT JUST IT'S THE ROLLOUT, YOU KNOW, LIKE OUR, WE DO DO THE, THE OTHER COMMANDERS AT THE OTHER ROTC PROGRAMS KNOW THAT THEY CAN DO THIS AND THAT THERE'S A PATH FORWARD.
AND THAT'S KIND OF MORE WHERE IT'D BE LIKE, WHEN YOU WERE SAYING, LET'S GET THIS, WE'RE A PURPLE STAR DISTRICT.
WE'RE PRO MILITARY, LET'S GET ALL THE ROTC HEADS AND SAY, GUYS, LET'S, LET'S MAKE THESE HONORS PROGRAMS. HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO DO.
THE TEACHER HAS TO BE ON BOARD.
[00:45:02]
KIND OF JUST CONCERNED ME THAT CONCERNED ME, BUT, UM, I'D LIKE TO SEE IT JUST KIND OF COME UP AT THE SAME TIME.SO PEOPLE DON'T FEEL LIKE, WAIT, NO MA'AM.
AND I TOLD HIM TO STAND WHERE YOU'RE COMING FROM, BUT, UH, DO THEIR BEHALF.
IF, IF SOMEONE JUMPED UP SAID, HEY, I'M GOING TO START PUSHING THIS FORWARD.
I'M GONNA LET THAT PERSON PUSH FIRST BECAUSE NOW THE GROUNDWORK IS LAID OUT AND NOW I HAVE TO REWRITE OR TRY TO CREATE MY OWN WHERE NOW THE DOCUMENT IS GOING TO BE SOUND FOR ALL OF THEM TO LOOK AT, CAN MOVE FORWARD.
WHEN WILL THE NEXT ONE, WILL THE OTHER OTCS BE ABLE TO BRING IN? AND I'LL ALSO NOTE THAT, UH, WE HAVE A LIST OF CAREER AND TECH ED COURSES THAT ARE GOING TO BE UP FOR THE HONORS WEIGHTED AS WELL.
UM, I WOULD SAY WHEN THEY PUT THE NEW FRAMEWORK OUT IN OF 17, 18, UH, WE HAD STARTED THE WORK OF THE WORK IN 1819, AND THEN WE HAD THE PANDEMIC THAT HIT AND IT REALLY DID NOT TAKE TRACTION.
AND THIS HAS BEEN A GOOD YEAR THIS SUMMER TO, TO WORK ON WITH COLONEL FOSTER AND WITH MRS. HARDY.
SO IT IS OUR GOAL FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE, OF THE, UH, JR RTCS TO BEGIN THEIR LEVEL SEVEN AND EIGHT AND SOME OTHER CTE COURSES AS WELL TO, UH, BRING BACK FORWARD TO THE ACADEMIC COMMITTEE IN THE SPRING SO THAT THEY WILL BE READY.
UM, IF, IF APPROVED IN END OF JANUARY, THEN IT CAN BE FOR A SECOND SEMESTER HONORS WAITING AND DEFINITELY FOR THE 2223 SCHOOL YEAR.
SO WE WANT TO COME TO THE ACADEMIC COMMITTEE TWICE A YEAR WITH, UM, THE LISTING OF THE APPLICATIONS AND JUST TRY TO KEEP IT MANAGEABLE THAT WAY, BECAUSE WE ENVISIONED, UH, MANY MORE.
AND I, THE ONE CONCERN I HAVE WITH THE SECOND SEMESTER IS YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE ONE PLATOON THAT'S GOING TO BE IN THE FALL THAT WOULD NOT GET HONORS WAITING UNLESS YOU CAN MAKE IT RETROACTIVE.
AND THEN YOU'D HAVE A SECOND PLATOON THAT WOULD, SO I'M, I'M IT PROBABLY BE BETTER JUST TO WAIT UNTIL THE NEXT YEAR, IF I'M DR.
STRATUS AND THE ACADEMIC COMMUNITY WOULD BE OPEN TO, UH, A, A FALL SEMESTER, WE JUST DIDN'T WANT TOO MUCH TIME TO PASS WITH FALL.
BUT, UH, DEFINITELY FOR THE SPRING, SEVERAL CAMEL.
YES, I WAS TALKING ABOUT THE, UM, HEALTH SCIENCE.
THESE ARE SOME OUTSTANDING COASTERS, BUT ONE IS MISSING POSITION ASSISTANT.
THAT'S THAT? THAT'S, THAT SHOULD BE ON HERE ALSO, SIR, WE CAN CERTAINLY MS. HARDY COULD CERTAINLY ADD.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON, I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
I, I HOPE THAT THE GENERAL IDEA OF THIS IS RULING THE ROTC PROGRAMS OVERALL AND BY OFFERING, UH, YOU KNOW, THE HONORS CREDITS IT TASTING AND, AND CREATIVE ENOUGH TO BRING IN TOP STUDENTS.
BUT I THINK THEIR INTENT IS TO DEVELOP A LARGER PORTION OF OUR ENROLLMENT TO BE OUR TC STUDENTS, BECAUSE AS HE STATED EARLIER, IT'S A GOOD TRAINING GROUND FOR ALL THE REST OF THE WORLD.
WHEN YOU GET OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL.
AND RIGHT NOW, YOU KNOW, OUR PROGRAMS, ACTUALLY OUR RESPECT FOR AUTHORITY AND RULES AND REGULATIONS AND TIMELINESS AND ALL THE OTHER THINGS THAT RACHEL LEARNED WHEN SHE WAS IN ROTC BY THAT STARTED COMING TO CLASS LATE A FEW TIMES.
BUT THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE THE VALUES THAT WE WANT.
WE WANT TO DEVELOP AND TO MAKE THAT PROGRAM ATTRACTIVE, IT HAS TO BE ATTRACTIVE TO OUR BEST STUDENTS.
UH, MY, MY, MY QUESTION IS IN TERMS OF WHAT, WHAT DOES THIS, WHAT WILL THIS LOOK LIKE? I MEAN, IN TERMS OF MAKING IT A EXCEL, WHAT DOES IT ALIGN AS AN EXCELLENT QUESTION? SO, UH, YOU TALKED ABOUT FROM DISTRICT DRIVEN AS WE START TO ADD MORE CAREER IN TICKET AND JRTC COURSES THAT STUDENTS CAN, CAN, UM, HAVE AN HONORS OPTION.
WE STILL HAVE TO OFFER THE COLLEGE PREP THAT'S PER THE SAXENDA FRAMEWORK.
UH, WE WILL WORK TOGETHER AS A DISTRICT TEAM, AS WELL AS WITH THE PRINCIPALS AND THEIR TEAMS TO MAKE SURE THAT AS WE ARE, UM, GOING INTO THOSE CLASSES, UH, TO, TO, TO NOTE, WHAT, WHAT IS AN HONORS? WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE IN THE CLASSROOM? UM, THE INSTRUCTORS PER THE FRAMEWORK WE'LL NEED TO SEND THE DISTRICT TEAM, UH, EXAMPLES.
UH, SO BY THE END OF THIS SEMESTER,
[00:50:01]
COLONEL FOSTER WILL HAVE SOME EXAMPLES OF WHAT HE'S DOING WITH THOSE STUDENTS WHO WANT TO RECEIVE THAT HONORS WAITING SO THAT WE'LL HAVE SOME EXEMPLARS, WHICH AGAIN, WILL BE A GREAT, UM, MARKETING TOOL TO THEN HELP BRING ON OTHER INSTRUCTORS AS WELL, AND ALSO HELP THEM TO DEVELOP THAT TEACHING AND LEARNING PRACTICE.IT'S GOING TO BE A MATTER OF A TEAM EFFORT TO OBSERVE, UH, TO BE OF SUPPORT TO THE INSTRUCTORS, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE FOLLOWING THAT FRAMEWORK.
BUT I ALSO WANTED TO UNDERSTAND WHICH ONE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
MAYBE THIS IS THE HONOR COURSE.
WHAT DID THE KERNEL FOR HIM? WHAT DOES THE ACTUAL CLASS, WHAT DID THAT LOOK LIKE VERSUS A REGULAR RJ ROTC CLASS? BECAUSE I WAS AN AIR FORCE AT YOUR HIGH SCHOOL, UNDER OUR CURRENT JOHNSON.
I'D BE FOR THE HIGH SCHOOL AS WELL.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE AS WELL.
AND I'M A B FOR ALUMNI JUST TO GIVE HER HIGH SCHOOL.
SO, UM, ON THAT NOTE THERE, SIR, I WILL TELL YOU THAT, UH, UH, WHAT SEPARATES THEM IS THEY'RE ALREADY DOING IT.
UM, WE'RE NOW WE'RE GOING TO GIVE THEM A FEW EXTRA TASKS, UM, FROM THIS DOCUMENT THAT WE ADDED IN HERE, UH, HAVING, GIVING A PRESENTATION AT THE END OF THE COURSE AND DOING A LITTLE BIT MORE RESEARCH.
UH, SO THEY HAVE ADDITIONAL TASKS, BUT ALREADY I'LL TAKE THE BATTALION COMMANDERS EXAMPLE, UH, STEPHANIE SANCHEZ, UM, SHE HAS SPENT COUNTLESS HOURS IN PLANNING AND PREPARING FOR ALL THE THINGS THAT WE DO.
SO LAST MONTH, UM, WE HAD OUR STAFF CAMP SO ALL WEEK LONG, WE TALKED ABOUT THINGS WE WANTED TO ACCOMPLISH THIS YEAR.
AND THEN AT THE END OF IT, WE HAD PLANNED FOR A, UM, A KIND OF LIKE REWARD FOR THEM TO GO UP TO YORKTOWN, STAY THE NIGHT ON THE YORKTOWN ITSELF IN CHARLESTON, UH, AND GET THE CHANCE TO SEE THE, THE SHIP AND ALL THE MUSEUM PIECES OUT THERE.
AND THE NEXT DAY WE WENT TO THE CITADEL BY ALUMNI AND GOT A CHANCE TO TOUR THAT CAMPUS.
BUT THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT THEY LOVE DOING.
AND AGAIN, BUT IT TAKES TIME TO PLAN ALL THAT STUFF.
AND I PUT ALL THAT ON THE KIDS, THEY PLAN IT, THEY PREPARE FOR IT.
THEY SUBMIT THE DOCUMENTS THAT WE NEED TO DO.
UM, I'LL SIGN OFF ON IT, BUT YES, ALL THAT WORK, THEY SHOULD BE REWARDED FOR THAT.
AND THAT'S WHAT I LOOK AT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE HONORS RIGHT THERE, SIR.
AND I JUST WANNA LET YOU KNOW, I'VE SEEN YOUR PROGRAM SEVERAL TIMES.
I BET AT BLUFFTON HIGH SCHOOL AND THE KIDS ARE VERY MOTIVATED.
THEY DO THEIR PUSH-UPS PHOTOS, TEXTILES AND PULL-UPS AND THOSE TWO.
AND JUST TO SPEAK TO, UM, MRS.
WELL, THIS PROGRAM CAME OUT AT SO-AND-SO TIME AT ONE SCHOOL.
SO WHEN IS IT GONNA COME OUT AT OUR SCHOOL? AND SO WHAT HAPPENS IS THAT THERE'S THIS, UH, UH, A CURE THAT WOULD BE INSENSITIVE AND OBJECTIVE TO EVERYONE'S NEEDS.
AND SO THEREFORE IF THE ONE THAT IF IT WAS COMING OUT AT ONE TIME ACROSS THE DISTRICT, YOU KNOW, LATERALLY, THEN THAT SENDS A DIFFERENT TONE, A DIFFERENT MESSAGE, BUT SOMETIMES EVERY NOW AND THEN DOING ONE VERSUS THE OTHER, IT'S JUST A DIFFERENT, IT'S JUST A DIFFERENT UNCOMFORTABLE SITUATION THAT IT MAY NOT PUT THE ADMIN IN BUSTED THAT IT MAY PUT BOARD MEMBERS AND OTHER PEOPLE IN THOSE POSITIONS.
SO I W IT WAS NOT AN, A, A JOKE SHOT HAVING IS JUST A CAKE.
SHE HAD, SHE SAID IT IN A CARING WAY.
SO I DO, I DO AGREE WITH OUR WHOLE HEARTEDLY.
AND I'D LOVE TO SEE WHEN WE BRING THINGS FORWARD AS IT BEEN THE WHOLE DISTRICT.
AND JUST SO THAT, YOU KNOW, EVERYONE'S ON THE SAME PAGE, BUT THAT'S ALL, BUT I DEFINITELY APPRECIATE ALL YOUR HARD WORK.
I'D LIKE TO ADDRESS TWO POINTS.
SO I TOTALLY AGREE THAT WE NEED TO BE TRANSPARENT.
UM, AGAIN, WE ALL HAVE THE SAME OPPORTUNITIES, UH, BUT AGAIN, IF I WAS THEM AND SOMEBODY JUMPED UP, YEAH, I'M GOING TO WAIT UNTIL THEY PAVED THE WAY, THEN I'M GOING TO JUMP IN IT.
AND MA'AM, UM, MS. BELL, RIGHT? YOU MADE A COMMENT WITH REGARDS TO, UM, YOU KNOW, FIRST PLATOON, SECOND PLATOON, GETTING THOSE CREDITS.
UH, I WILL TELL YOU THE NAVY IS, IS A BIT DIFFERENT, UH, OF A BOAT AND THAT, UM, NO PUN INTENDED, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, TALKING TO COMMANDER FIVE FOR, UH, THEY WILL HAVE KIDS SIGN UP FOR THIS SEMESTER, BUT THEY DON'T ALLOW THEM TO SIGN UP FOR NEXT SEMESTER.
AND THEY HAVE NEW KIDS COMING IN NEXT SEMESTER FOR THE ARMY PROGRAM AT BLUFFTON HIGH SCHOOL.
THEY COME IN AND THE MAJORITY OF THEM WILL STAY THE ENTIRE YEAR, EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE GETTING A YEAR'S CREDIT FIRST SEMESTER AND A YEAR'S CREDIT FOR THE SECOND SEMESTER, THEY WILL STAY THE WHOLE TIME.
SO I DON'T, WE WON'T HAVE THAT IMBALANCE OF THE HAVES AND HAVE NOTS, UH, INSIDE THIS PROGRAM.
I HAVE A MOTION PRIOR TO MAKING THE MOTION.
I WOULD LIKE TO THANK BOTH OF YOU FOR, UH, MS. HARDY AND, AND, UM, COLONEL FOSTER FOR THE WORK THAT YOU PUT IN THROUGH THEN MAKING THESE HONORS COURSES.
AGAIN, IT'S A STATE REQUIREMENT THAT THE, THESE ARE TEACHER DEVELOPED COURSES.
SO THAT'S CRITICAL FOR EVERYONE TO UNDERSTAND THAT THE TEACHERS HAVE TO DEVELOP
[00:55:01]
THESE COURSES.THE MOTION IS I MOVE THAT THE BOARD APPROVE ARMY ROTC AND ARMY ROTC, EIGHT HONOR COURSES, AND THE C T E HEALTH SCIENCES LEVEL THREE HONORS COURSE.
SECOND, ANY MORE DISCUSSION, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR.
IN ADDITION TO, IN ADDITION TO THE NEW HONORS LEVEL COURSES, UM, THAT WE JUST VOTED ON THAT WERE PRESENTED AT THE AUGUST 24TH MEETING ADMINISTRATIVE REGS WERE ALSO PRESENTED ISE 11, PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND 17 HEALTH EDUCATION, BOTH WERE PLACED IN BOARD DOCS FOR YOUR REVIEW TO BE COMPLIANT WITH STATE LAW REGARDING HEALTH EDUCATION, THE BOARD OF EDUCATION MUST RE ESTABLISH A LOCAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
THE ACADEMIC COMMITTEE VOTED UNANIMOUSLY TO BRING THIS FORWARD FOR ASSIGNMENT TO THE POLICY COMMITTEE.
I MOVE THAT, WE ASK THE CHAIR TO ASSIGN TO THE POLICY COMMITTEE THAT DUTY OF DEVELOPING, OF RE OF DEVELOPING A POLICY TO REESTABLISH THE LOCAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE SECOND.
UM, JUST FOR THE POLICY COMMITTEES THING IS IT LOOKS LIKE KIND OF A CUT AND PASTE BECAUSE IT'S A STATE LAW, UH, BUT IT, BUT IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE EMPHASIZE, CAUSE OBVIOUSLY IT ESCAPED OUR NOTICE PER YEARS.
I JUST WANT HIM TO MAKE A BRIEF COMMENT.
I REMEMBER, AND I RECALL WHEN POLICY COMMITTEE WAS LOOKING AT ALL OF THE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT WERE REQUIRED OF THE LOCAL SCHOOL BOARDS IN STATUTE, WE LEFT A BLANKET STATEMENT UNDER OUR BOARD RESPONSIBILITIES, SUCH AS SAYS WE ARE TO COMPLY WITH AND FOLLOW FEDERAL STATE AND LOCAL LAWS.
UM, SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE ALL AWARE THAT IF WE DO CODIFY A SPECIFIC ONE NOW INTO THE POLICY MANUAL, WE MAY HAVE TO GO BACK AND DO IT FOR OTHERS.
SO JUST BE COGNIZANT OF THAT WHEN, WHEN WE DO BRING IT FORWARD.
UM, ALTHOUGH I THINK IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO DEFINITELY HAVE OUR EYES ON.
CAUSE OBVIOUSLY THERE WAS SOME, A LAPSE THERE.
AND THAT WAS THE REASON I THINK THE LOGIC BEHIND IT IS WE DO FOLLOW ALL THE STATE LAWS, BUT WE MISSED THIS ONE.
AND, UH, SO WE, WE NEED A LITTLE KICK IN OUR BUDS, SO TO SPEAK.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, YOU WERE, YOU WERE AN IML.
NO, THAT CONCLUDES THE ACADEMIC, UH, REPORT.
OUR NEXT MEETING IS SEPTEMBER 28TH.
I'M GONNA GET IT DOWN TO A TIGHT TWO OR THREE MINUTES HERE.
UM, WE HAD A LOT OF MEETINGS, SO IT'S A LONG RUN FOR A SHORT SLIDE.
UM, I JUST WANT TO GO QUICKLY OVER THE THREE MEETINGS WE HAD SINCE OUR LAST BOARD MEETING.
UH, WE MET WITH, UM, ALICE WALTON AND HER TEAM REGARDING THE COMPLETION OF THE COMPENSATION ANALYSIS FOR CLASSIFIED STAFF.
AND I KNOW A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS.
WE HAD A PRESENTATION FROM MGT CONSULTING.
UH, IT'S 161 PAGE DOCUMENT THAT WAS PLACED IN BOARD DOCS.
UH, WE HAD THE PRESENTATION AND THEN FELT LIKE WE NEEDED SOME MORE TIME TO ASK QUESTIONS.
SO WE SCHEDULED A SECOND MEETING.
UM, AT THAT SECOND MEETING, WE ALSO DISCUSSED, UH, SOME OTHER ISSUES THAT WE HAVE BEEN, UH, LOOKING TO HAVE ADDRESS.
AND THE PUBLIC HAS BEEN CON YOU KNOW, BRINGING TO OUR ATTENTION IN TERMS OF SICK DAY PAYOUT.
UM, AND I DO HAVE A MOTION THAT WE ALREADY PROBABLY KNOW ABOUT, UH, COMING YOUR WAY.
AND THEN I JUST WANTED TO HIT BRIEFLY.
WE DID HAVE, UH, THE COMMITTEE MET WITH, UH, BUFORD COUNTY COUNCIL AND I WANT TO THANK STEVE RODMAN, PAUL SOMERVILLE, JOE PASSAVANT, AND THE REST OF YOU FOR COUNTY COUNCIL, UH, FOR INVITING US OVER.
WE HAD A CONVERSATION THAT WAS, UM, FRANK AND AT TIMES EARNEST.
UM, AND I FEEL LIKE WE HAMMERED OUT AND UNDERSTANDING, UH, AT THE END AND IT WAS OVERALL I THINK,
[01:00:01]
A GOOD CONVERSATION.AND I JUST WANTED TO UPDATE THE BOARD IF YOU DIDN'T ALREADY KNOW THAT THEY ARE NOT GOING TO BE REROUTING TRAFFIC AROUND BUFORD HIGH, THEY ARE NOW LOOKING AT A DIFFERENT PLAN.
UM, SO WE CAN KIND OF PUT THAT BEHIND US, AT LEAST FOR AWHILE.
UM, AND THEN FINALLY I WILL CONCLUDE WITH THE MOTION, UM, WHICH I ANTICIPATE WILL IMMEDIATELY BE FOR, UH, POSTPONED, BUT I'LL MAKE IT ANYWAYS, A RECOMMENDED MOTION.
OH, I'M SUPPOSED TO READ THEM, HOLD ON PAPER AND EVERYTHING.
SO THE RECOMMENDED MOTION, I MOVED AT BUFORD COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION AUTHORIZED THE ADMINISTRATION'S RECOMMENDATION TO PAY EMPLOYEES ONE HALF OF THEIR DAILY RATE OF PAY FOR LAPPED SIX DAYS, SICK LEAVE DAYS AND OR VACATION DAYS AT THE END OF EACH SCHOOL YEAR.
UM, THE DISTRICT BEGAN MAKING PAYMENTS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THIS INITIATIVE ON JULY 1ST, 2023 FOR DAYS LAPSE DURING THE 20 22, 20 23 SCHOOL YEAR FROM THE GENERAL FUND BUDGET.
DOES THAT CAPTURE IT? THOSE, THOSE, THIS WRITING CAPTURE GAVE ME THE MOTION TO READ.
I'M JUST, YOU KNOW, THAT'S A LONG MOTION YOU START WITH.
I'D LIKE TO AMEND THE MOTION TO, OR POPE'S POSTPONE THIS MOTION TO THE WORK SESSION, WHICH IS IN THREE DAYS.
MOTION ON FLOORS TO POSTPONE THIS UNTIL THE WORK SESSION FRIDAY.
DID I, DID I GET A SECOND TONE? MY EMOTIONAL, I KEPT READING.
I THINK SO MY REASONING, SECONDARY EMOTIONAL SMITHS AND RACHEL, JUST SECOND.
SO I'D LIKE TO JUST SPEAK ABOUT IT.
YOU KNOW, THESE THREE, THREE MOTIONS TONIGHT ARE TWO OF THE THREE, THEY'RE ALL, ALL, UM, CORRELATE TO EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION.
AND I THINK WE SHOULD LOOK AT COMPENSATION AS A, AS A WHOLE, YOU KNOW, A BIG UMBRELLA AS OPPOSED TO PICK AT PIECES TWO PIECES TONIGHT AND THEN ANOTHER PIECE IN JUST THREE DAYS.
I KNOW TRISHA DOESN'T AGREE WITH THAT FROM WHAT SHE ALREADY SAID, BUT YES, I DO THINK THEY'RE RELATED EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE NOT IDENTICAL.
UM, I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANY HARM IN WAITING UNTIL FRIDAY.
I JUST DON'T THINK THAT, UM, WE HAVE TO, BECAUSE WHEN YOU SAY THEY'RE RELATED, WHEN, WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THIS PAY, THIS, THIS IS, THIS IS PAY FOR CERTIFIED TEACHERS.
WE ALREADY DID CERTIFY TEACHER SALARY AT A DIFFERENT TIME.
SO THIS IS LOOKING AT CERTIFIED TEACHERS.
WHEREAS THE STUDY IS JUST NON-CERTIFIED AND ADMINISTRATORS.
AND SO I DON'T SEE WHERE, WHERE THIS IS TIED INTO THAT.
THE ONLY TIE IS THAT MS. CROSBY DID SHARE WITH THE OPERATIONS COMMITTEE IS HOW THE MONEY COULD BE ALLOCATED THAT IF WE DID X, THEN WE DO Y AND SO ON.
BUT WE HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT DOING THIS FOR A VERY LONG TIME.
UM, AND SO I DON'T SEE ANY, I MEAN, I DON'T SEE WHY WE COULDN'T DISPENSE IT THIS TONIGHT, BUT SO I'M GOING TO VOTE.
NO, BECAUSE I'D LIKE TO DISCUSS THIS TONIGHT.
THAT'S WHY WE CAME FOR, WE, YOU KNOW, WE HAD A LONG OPERATIONS COMMITTEE ABOUT IT, A MEETING ABOUT IT.
SO, UM, I THINK WE COULD DO IT TONIGHT.
UM, I AGREE WITH MS. FIDRYCH, UM, I ATTENDED THE OPERATIONS COMMITTEE AS WELL, SO I FEEL LIKE I HAVE A GOOD HANDLE ON THIS AND THAT.
I THINK WE CAN DISPENSE OF THIS TONIGHT.
I SEE IT AS I THINK SHE MADE IT KIND OF CLEAR WHAT THE STUDY COVERED AND WHAT THIS STUDY AND WHAT THIS, UM, SICK DAY COMPENSATION.
I THINK WE HAVE A LOT OF EMPLOYEES THAT ARE WAITING FOR US TO ACT ON THIS.
THEY'VE BEEN, UM, VERY PATIENT WITH US AND WE FINALLY HAVE SOMETHING TO BRING FORWARD AND I'D LIKE TO DO IT SOONER THAN LATER.
SO ALSO I WILL NOT SUPPORT POSTPONING.
IT KNOW HE DISCUSSES THAT THE STAFF, YOU KNOW, VIETMENTLY DEFEND THIS PRESENTATION AND THE FACT THAT WE SHOULD PRESENTED THIS TONIGHT AND THEY RECOMMENDED GO FORWARD WITH THIS PORTION OF THAT, THAT RECOMMENDED THE NIGHT AS OPPOSED TO WAITING TILL WE GET BACK IS GOOD.
IT DID A LOT OF WORK BRINGING BACK INFORMATION TO OUR COMMITTEE SO WE COULD HAVE THE FACTS FOR THIS.
MAYBE OUGHTA DO EVERYBODY JUSTICE BY PAIRING IT OUT.
I AGREE WITH BOTH OF MY COLLEAGUES HERE ON THE BOARD, I THINK THAT THIS CAN BE DISPENSED.
SO I DO THINK THAT, UM, ONE OF THE REASONS
[01:05:01]
WE BROUGHT IT TO THE BOARD, THE BUSINESS MEETING, AS OPPOSED TO THE WORK SESSION WAS JUST OUT OF A, REALLY A DESIRE TO GET THIS DONE AND, AND BE ABLE TO MAKE THIS ANNOUNCEMENT TO, UM, BECAUSE A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE REACHED OUT TO US ABOUT THIS.ON THE OTHER HAND, I DO THINK HAVING A MORE COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH TO COMPENSATION IS A GOAL THAT BOARD SHOULD STRIVE FOR.
I THINK THAT WE ARE NOT THERE AT THIS POINT.
WE KIND OF DO IN GENERAL GET BITS AND PIECES, AND I THINK IT WOULD BE NICE TO SEE HOW ALL THE PIECES FIT TOGETHER AT ONE TIME.
SO I THINK THAT'S A GOOD GOAL.
I'LL JUST POINT OUT, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THREE DAYS.
I DON'T HAVE A BIG DOG IN THIS FIGHT.
UM, BUT I THINK, I THINK THAT THERE'S TWO ISSUES.
ONE WANTING TO GET THINGS DONE.
AND TWO ALSO WANTING TO HAVE A CON I MEAN, IT GOES BACK TO WHAT WE DID IN EXECUTIVE SESSION, RIGHT? WE'VE GOT TO GET THIS DONE BECAUSE IT NEEDS TO BE DONE, BUT WE DON'T HAVE THE FULL PLAN.
IT WOULD BE NICE TO KIND OF HAVE THOSE THINGS MERGED TOGETHER.
I'M JUST POINTING OUT THAT THE DIFFERENCE IS THREE DAYS SPAM.
I'M GOING TO SUPPORT THIS MOTION.
AND IT'S PREDOMINANTLY BECAUSE IN REVIEWING THE MATERIALS FOR THE MEETING, IT HAS EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION PROPOSALS, AND IT'S PRESENTED IN A TOTALITY AND IN A HOLISTIC APPROACH, WHICH I PREFER WHEN TALKING ABOUT BUDGET THINGS AND MAKING ANY CHANGES.
I UNDERSTAND THAT SOME OF THESE HAVE ALREADY BEEN ALLOCATED, BUT I ALSO UNDERSTAND THAT FUTURE ALLOCATION IS GOING TO REQUIRE YOUR OVER YEAR ANALYSIS.
SO WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE IMPACT OF INITIATING A PROCESS LIKE THIS IN INITIATIVE ONE AND TWO IS GOING TO LOOK LIKE IN YEAR TWO.
AND WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE SALARY STUDY AND COMBINING THOSE, IT MAKES ME A LITTLE BIT APPREHENSIVE TO SAY LET'S JUST PIECEMEAL THESE DIFFERENT COMPENSATION STRATEGIES.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO DO IT ALL TOGETHER.
UM, SO I'M IN FAVOR OF THIS MOTION, MR. SMITH.
WELL, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, UH, IF I'M CORRECT, I BELIEVE THAT THE OPERATIONS ALSO DID HAVE A SPECIAL MEETING SO THAT THEY COULD GET THIS DONE BY TONIGHT'S BOARD AND BOARD MEETING.
UM, IF, IF, IF I, IF I'M, UH, IF I'M CORRECT, I BELIEVE THEY DID SO THAT THEY COULD PRESENT THAT TO, UH, TO THE BOARD TONIGHT TO GET, TO HAVE THIS VOTED ON.
UM, BUT MORE OR LESS TO SAY, THEY'VE BEEN A LOT OF PEOPLE WAITING ON THIS.
AND THIS GOES BACK TO THE EARLIER VOTE THAT WE TOOK COMING OUT OF EXECUTIVE SESSION.
THE SAME THING WITH THE, UH, WITH ONE OF THE WAS ONE OF THE PIECES EARLIER ABOUT NOT, NOT HAVING INFORMATION.
AND IT'S JUST A, UM, IT'S JUST CONCERNING HOW CERTAIN THINGS WE PIECE TOGETHER AND CERTAIN THINGS THAT WE DON'T PIECE TOGETHER, A DEPENDENT, DEPENDING ON WHERE INFORMATION IS, UH, IS GIVEN.
UM, I'M JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE, HOW SOME OF US SUPPORTED THE, A VOTE EARLIER WITHIN THIS, WITHIN THE SAME, ALMOST IN THE SAME REGARDS TO THIS AND WHERE WE'RE AT.
I MEAN, I, I JUST SAID, WELL, BASICALLY WHAT I NEED YOU TO SAY, BUT I WILL, I'M GOING TO SUPPORT THIS SO WE CAN GO AND GET OUT OF THE WAY.
THE MOTION IS TO POSTPONE THIS MOTION UNTIL THE WORK SESSION, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, RACHEL.
I'M GOING TO JUST PUT ONE FOOT IN EACH, IN EACH CAMP AND ABSTAIN AS I CAN'T DO THAT, I CAN'T ABSTAIN.
I MENTIONED, ESPECIALLY MAN, I'M STANDING ON THE MOTION TO A MAN.
THE MOTION MOTION FAILS, BUT IT TAKES US BACK TO THE ORIGINAL MOTION.
I'LL WAIT UNTIL IT GETS UP THERE.
MAY I? UM, I WOULD RECOMMEND THAT WE HAVE MS. CROSBY, UM, MS. WALTON, UM, SHARE WITH US THEIR THOUGHTS BEHIND THIS.
AND, UM, SO THAT THE WHOLE BOARD HEARD WHAT WE HEARD AT THE OPERATIONS COMMITTEE MEETING.
[01:10:04]
JUST MAY I JUST ADD THAT GUYS? THIS IS GREAT NEWS.I JUST WANT TO PREFACE THIS BY SAYING, DON'T FORGET PEOPLE NOW GET $10 A DAY FOR THEIR LAPSED SIP DAYS.
AND $10 A DAY FOR THEIR REMAINING DAYS AFTER WHEN THEY RETIRE.
HE IS THE ARCHITECT OF PUTTING THE NUMBERS TOGETHER FOR US.
SO I CAN TELL YOU WHAT OUR BASELINE WAS WHEN WE DID THIS.
WE WANT IT TO LOOK AT WHAT WE CURRENTLY DO FOR EMPLOYEES THAT SPEND YEARS AND YEARS WITH US TO SHOW THEM THAT WE APPRECIATE THEM.
AND WE ALSO WANTED TO USE THIS AS A PART OF OUR COMPREHENSIVE RETENTION PLAN.
WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE KEEP TEACHERS IN THE CLASSROOM.
WE WANT TO ENCOURAGE TEACHERS NOT TO TAKE DAYS BECAUSE THEY FEEL THEY'RE THROWING THEM AWAY AT 10 A DAY.
SO THIS IS A PART OF OUR LONG RANGE LONG-TERM RETENTION PLAN.
WE WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH FINANCE AND PUTTING THIS TOGETHER.
WE HAVE BEEN WORKING ON THIS FOR PROBABLY A YEAR OR SO.
IF YOU CAN REMEMBER AT ONE WORK SESSION, I BELIEVE COLONEL GUYER GAVE US A DIRECTIVE TO GO BACK TO OUR DESK AND COME BACK WITH A PROPOSAL TO FAIRLY COMPENSATE PEOPLE FOR DAYS THAT IT DID.
I USED BECAUSE THEY'D RATHER BE IN SCHOOL WITH CHILDREN.
AND AS OUR BOTTOM LINE, WE WANT TO SAVE INSTRUCTIONAL HOURS, NOT LOSE THEM, KEEP TEACHERS IN THE CLASSROOM AND COMPENSATE THEM FAIRLY FOR WHEN THEY DO THIS FOR US.
SO IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW WE DID THE NUMBERS, HOW WE WENT BACK TO COMPARE THE NUMBER OF DAYS THAT WE PAID OUT OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS, AND WE DID THIS OVER ACCUMULATION OF HOW MANY DAYS WE TEACHERS LOST WHEN THEY RETIRED VERSUS LOST WHEN THEY DIDN'T USE THEIR DAYS DURING A YEAR AND CAME UP WITH THE RECOMMENDATION FOR 50% OF THEIR SALARY.
SO WE HAVE A FIVE-YEAR STUDY THAT, UM, I BELIEVE IS IN BOARD DOCS, UH, WAS THAT YOU PROBABLY DON'T HAVE IT TONIGHT, BUT THAT WAS HOW WE CAME UP WITH WHERE WE ARE TODAY.
UM, AND WE ARE EXCITED ABOUT THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR.
AND THANK YOU, MS. WALTON AND MS. CROSBY FOR YOUR WORK ON THIS.
UM, I DON'T WANT MY PREVIOUS VOTE TO REFLECT ANYTHING.
MY, I SUPPORT THIS, UM, PROPOSAL.
UH, MY MAIN QUESTION IS IN REGARD TO THE LAST SIX DAYS.
AND WAS THE COST FOR THE INITIATIVE OFFSET AGAINST ANY POTENTIAL SAVINGS FROM NOT UTILIZING, UM, THE SUBSTITUTE CONTRACT? IS THERE, UH, A COST SAVINGS THAT WAS ASSOCIATED WITH THAT? YES, THERE'S A COST SAVINGS.
AND THEN THAT'S REFLECTED IN WHAT THE TOTAL INITIATIVE COST IS HERE OF THE 350,000, OR IS THAT NOT INCLUDED? I BELIEVE SOMETHING TO LET TANYA SPEAK TO THAT.
I THINK ONE OF THE REASONS WHERE YOU'RE TELLING ME, I THINK ONE OF THE REASONS WE WANTED TO DO THIS IS BECAUSE THE COST SAVINGS FOR THIS PARTICULAR INITIATIVE WOULD MOVE DOWN TO THE THIRD INITIATIVE, WHICH IS THE SALARY AND A COMPENSATION STUDY.
SO I'M GOING TO LET TANYA KIND OF TALK ABOUT COLOR COORDINATED TODAY.
WE PLANNED, UM, THE INITIAL, UH, COSTS WERE DETERMINED BY, UM, UH, THE HUMAN RESOURCES STAFF BASED ON NUMBERS OF DATE.
UH, HISTORICAL STAYS OVER A PERIOD OF ABOUT FIVE YEARS.
AND SO, UM, THE AVERAGE, THE ESTIMATES THAT I RECEIVED, UM, TO ALIGN WITH THE BUDGET, UM, WERE A TOTAL OF $1.5 MILLION FOR THE TWO INITIATIVES.
UM, AS FAR AS WERE THEY OFFSET AGAINST THE SUBSTITUTE DAYS.
UM, I AM NOT, UH, BASED ON THE INFORMATION I HAVE, I DIDN'T SEE ANY OFFSET, UH, ON THAT.
SO THAT WOULD BE ADDITIONAL SAVINGS THAT WE WOULD RECEIVE.
UM, IN ADDITION TO THE 1.5 MILLION.
SO THE COST SHOULD COME DOWN FROM THAT NUMBER.
SO THEN JUST A FOLLOWUP TO THAT.
THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT I WOULD ANTICIPATE TO SEE, OBVIOUSLY PLAYING OUT OVER TIME, BECAUSE WE DON'T
[01:15:01]
KNOW IT'S JUST A HYPOTHETICAL AT THIS POINT, WHAT THAT SAVINGS WOULD BE.BUT I THINK WHEN WE LOOK AT THIS YEAR OVER YEAR, THAT'S A NUMBER THAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE, TO UNDERSTAND WHETHER OR NOT WE'RE SEEING THE ROI ON THIS INITIATIVE.
AND WE CAN DEFINITELY TRACK THAT.
UM, SICK LEAVE PAYOUT DAYS ARE TRACKED WITH A SEPARATE PAY TIGHT CODE IN OUR SYSTEM.
AND SO WE CAN EASILY, THAT'S HOW WE PULLED THESE LAP STAYS, UH, CAN EASILY PULL THAT INFORMATION.
THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN, UH, WHEN THIS WAS DISCUSSED AT A OPERATIONS COMMITTEE, UM, I THOUGHT YOU SHOULD GET A FULL DAY SALARY, NOT HALF HALF OF IT, BUT I WAS CONVINCED THAT WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE PRICE IS GOING TO BE OF EVEN A HALF.
SO RIGHT NOW THE PRICE OF THIS IS SOFT.
BUT INTUITIVELY I BELIEVE THAT BY INCREASING IT FROM $10 TO HALF, THAT WE WILL SEE AN IMPROVEMENT IN TEACHERS DECIDING WHEN I GOT THE SNIFFLES, I'M GOING TO COME INTO WORK BECAUSE I WANT TO BUILD UP MY SICK LEAVE, OR IF I THINK I WANT, I REALLY WANT A LONG WEEKEND.
SO I'M GOING TO, I'M GOING TO TURN IN SICK.
AND IF YOU LOOK AT OUR STATISTICS, UH, MONDAYS AND FRIDAYS SEEM TO BE REALLY SICK DAYS, UH, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN IT ONLY COST YOU 10 BUCKS.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT EVERY DIME THAT WE SPEND FOR SUBSTITUTES THAT WE DON'T USE AT THE END OF THE YEAR, GO BACK TO TEACHERS.
AND I THINK THERE'S SAVINGS THERE, BUT I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH THAT IS.
SO I THINK A HALF IS A GOOD START.
AND THEN AFTER WE HAVE A YEAR OR TWO OF DATA OF HARD COSTS, THEN PERHAPS WE CAN RAISE IT TO THREE QUARTERS OR MAYBE EVEN A FULL, BUT YOU HAVE TO HAVE SOME, YOU HAVE TO HAVE SOME HARD DATA TO BE ABLE TO MAKE THAT KIND OF FINANCIAL RISK.
SO, UH, MS. CROSBY CONVINCED ME THAT THIS IS A BETTER COURSE OF ACTION IS TO TRY IT WITH HALF THE DAY'S RATE OR THE 12 DAYS.
AND YOU CAN, YOU CAN, UH, YOU HAVE A LIMIT ON HOW MUCH YOU CAN SAVE UP TO THEN TURN IN WHEN YOU LEAVE OR RETIRE.
IS THAT CORRECT? WHAT IS, WHAT IS THE LIMIT OF HOW MANY DAYS? 90 DAYS VACATION.
SO ONE IS, UM, THE FIVE-YEAR STUDY LSU REFERENCE.
SO YOU WENT BACK AND LOOKED OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS, HOW MUCH, UH, UM, SICK DAY AND VACATION LEAVE PAYOUTS WERE DONE AT THE $10 A DAY, RIGHT? YES, WE DID.
DALE, ARE YOU ON THE LINE? YES MA'AM.
CAN YOU WALK US THROUGH THAT PLEASE? YEAH, SO WE WENT BACK TO THE, UM, THE 20 17 20 18 SCHOOL YEAR AND STARTED LOOKING AT THE NUMBER OF DAYS THAT WERE SO BACK AT THE $10.
UM, ON AVERAGE, WE WERE LOOKING AT ABOUT 242 DAYS PER YEAR THAT WERE, THAT WERE SOLD BACK AT $10 A DAY, UM, VERSUS THE, AND I DID IT AT THE FULL RATE.
SO I HAVE HER FULL, THE FULL, THE FULL TOTAL AMOUNT, LIKE FOR 2017, 2018.
UM, WE HAD, WE HAD 46 EMPLOYEES WHO RETIRED AND SOLD BACK 1,948 DAYS AT A COST OF $10 DAY.
IT WAS 19,000 4 87 AND HAD IT BEEN PAID OUT AT THEIR FULL DAILY RATE, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN 5 17, 3 18.
SO I'VE DONE THAT FOR THE LAST PAST FIVE YEARS AND LOOKED AT, UM, HOW MANY HAVE RETIRED AND HOW MANY LAP STAYS THAT WE, THAT WE WERE ABLE TO RECORD.
AND, UM, AND, AND IN, FOR EXAMPLE, LIKE THE LAB STAYS 2017, 2018, THERE WERE 207 EMPLOYEES WHO LOST DAYS DURING THAT SCHOOL YEAR.
AND THERE WAS A TOTAL OF 1,200 OR 1,320 DAYS AT THEIR FULL DAILY RATE.
THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN A COST OF, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE OVER $400,000.
SO, UM, ON AVERAGE, YOU'RE PROBABLY LOOKING AT ABOUT 45 EMPLOYEES RETIRING, UM, EVERY YEAR AND ABOUT AN AVERAGE OF 242, UH, INDIVIDUALS WHO COULD POTENTIALLY LOSE DAYS DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR.
AND CURRENTLY RIGHT NOW AT THE END OF THIS CURRENT SCHOOL YEAR, WE HAVE A POTENTIAL, UM, OF 202 EMPLOYEES
[01:20:01]
LOSING DAYS BY THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR.SO I GUESS MY RESPONSE WOULD BE, BUT DON'T YOU, IF YOU'RE INCREASING THE PAY FOR THESE, UH, UM, UNUSED DAYS FROM $10 TO HALF OF WHAT THEIR, UM, NORMAL RATE IS, I THINK YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE WAY MORE PEOPLE UTILIZE THIS, UM, WHICH OBVIOUSLY IS THE GOAL TO KEEP THE TEACHER IN THE CLASSROOM.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T HAVE A SUBSTITUTE IN THE CLASSROOM.
WE ALL KNOW THAT LEARNING IS PREFERABLE WITH THE, WITH THE TEACHER THAT'S ASSIGNED TO THAT CLASSROOM.
SO WAS THAT TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT WITH YOUR CALCULATIONS THAT YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE LIKELY LOTS MORE PEOPLE NOT, UM, USE AS MANY SICK DAYS THAT'S, THAT'S, THAT'S POSSIBLE.
AND WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT THAT, BUT I THINK THAT RIGHT NOW WE PROBABLY WE'RE NEAR NEARLY $3 MILLION A YEAR IN TEACHER SUBSTITUTES.
THAT'S A LOT OF, THAT'S A LOT OF MONEY.
UM, SO IF WE CAN REDUCE THAT, I THINK AS MR. STRIVEN JURY EVEN COMMENTED, UM, IT COULD POTENTIALLY BE, BECOME A WASH BECAUSE OF THE SAVINGS AND THE NUMBER OF DAYS.
SO THAT NUMBER IS A GOOD NUMBER TO KNOW THAT THE 3 MILLION FOR THE SUBSTITUTE.
SO MY SECOND QUESTION IS SO, SO WHO DOES THIS AFFECT? WHO, WHICH STAFF MEMBERS, TEACHERS, ADMINISTRATORS, IT AFFECTS BUS DRIVERS, EVERYBODY, EVERYONE.
IT'S ONLY FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES.
YOU HAVE TO KEEP IN MIND THAT YOU WERE, YOU'RE LOOKING AT A 45 DAY CAP AS WELL AS A 90 DAY CAP.
IT TAKES AN EMPLOYEE EIGHT YEARS TO GET TO 90 DAYS.
AND I SEE IN THE NEXT PART WE GET ONTO THAT THEY HAVE TO BE EMPLOYED CONSECUTIVELY FOR FIVE YEARS.
AND I JUST WILL ECHO WHAT DOCTOR WAS, WAS NEVSKY SAID, MY, OUR MOTION TO POSTPONE, PLEASE DON'T INTERPRET THAT AS I'M NOT INTERESTED IN APPROPRIATE COMPENSATION FOR OUR STAFF, I'M ABSOLUTELY INTERESTED IN IT.
AND I PERSONALLY THINK IT WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER GROUPED ALTOGETHER, BUT THAT WAS NOT THE BOARD'S WILL.
WELL, MY APOLOGIES, IF THIS WAS ALREADY DISCUSSED AT THE PRIOR MEETING, THE COMMITTEE MEETING, UM, WHAT IS THE AVERAGE HALF DAILY RATE OF A RETIREE? WE HAVE A NUMBER FOR THAT.
I DON'T KNOW IF WE HAVE A NUMBER.
WE PROBABLY CAN GIVE YOU A RANGE, BUT YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER ALL HOURLY RATES OR DAILY RATES ARE NOT EQUAL.
THAT'S WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR, LIKE AN AVERAGE.
SO I COULD DO SOME BALLPARK NUMBERS IN MY HEAD, BUT DALE, NO, I DON'T HAVE WHAT THE AVERAGE DAILY RATE WOULD BE ON THAT.
BECAUSE IF YOU'RE DOING AVERAGE, YOU'RE GOING TO FACTOR IN OUR LOWEST PAY, UM, BAND AS WELL AS OUR HIGH PAY BAND.
SO THAT'S GOING TO GIVE YOU THE AVERAGE.
SO, MR. CRAWFORD, COULD YOU MAYBE JUST GIVE US WHAT WOULD A TEACHER WITH 28 YEARS AND WHAT WOULD AN AVERAGE, WHAT WOULD THAT DAY HALF DAILY RATE BE FOR A TEACHER AT 28 YEARS? CAUSE THAT'S ABOUT, THAT WOULD BE RETIREMENT.
WELL, I DON'T HAVE THE SALARY SCHEDULE IN FRONT OF ME, SO I'M NOT REALLY SURE WHAT, AND THEN OF COURSE IT DEPENDS ON THEIR DEGREE LEVEL AS WELL.
THEY COULD BE, UH, AN A BACHELOR'S BACHELOR'S 1830 OR, OR PHD.
SO, SO THAT, THAT SALARY SCHEDULE IS IN, UM, THE WEB ON OUR WEBSITE, THE DISTRICT WEBSITE.
SO YOU COULD LOOK AT WHETHER AS THE, BACHELOR'S A, MASTER'S A PLUS 30, THE, THE, YOU KNOW, PHD AND SO ON AND HALF THAT DAILY RATE.
UM, I APPRECIATE YOUR INDULGENCE CHAIR, STRIVEN JER.
I JUST WANT TO SAY TO MY COLLEAGUES, THIS IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO.
TO COMPENSATE OUR TEACHERS, TO ENCOURAGE THEM NOT TO TAKE THOSE MENTAL HEALTH DAYS.
WE DON'T WANT TEACHERS COMING TO SCHOOL AT THE SNIFFLES, BUT WE ALSO WANT TO ENCOURAGE THEM TO STAY IN THE CLASSROOM INSTEAD OF THAT MENTAL HEALTH DAY, OR JUST SAYING, HEY, IT'S NOT WORTH IT FOR $10 A DAY.
SO IT'S ABSOLUTELY THE RIGHT THING TO DO.
CAN YOU PUT THE MOTION BACK UP THERE BECAUSE EMOTION DOESN'T HAVE FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES THAT IS NOT IN THERE.
WELL, IT'S, IT'S A GIVEN THAT, UM, PART-TIME EMPLOYEES DO NOT EARN SICK DAYS OR VACATION DAYS.
[01:25:06]
YEAH.I THINK CENTRAL POINT IS HOW MUCH SUBSTITUTES WE LEAVE OUT OF THE CLASSROOM FOR A YEAR AND HOW MUCH MONEY WE SAVE THAT VERSUS PAYING TO HAVE THE HALF DAY RATE FOR THE TEACHER.
AND I MEAN, THAT'S, THAT'S A CALCULUS.
THAT'S HARD TO GO TO PIGEON DOWN TO A NUMBER AS A RACIAL QUESTION, BUT THE IDEA THAT'S BEHIND IT, ALL THAT WE'VE GOT THAT REGULAR TEACHER IN THAT CLASSROOM, AND THAT'S ANOTHER DOLLAR VALUE THAT YOU CAN PLACE ON WHAT, WHAT WE'RE GETTING ACCOMPLISHED COVERING AROUND IT.
WE SAVE A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS BY NOT GIVING THIS HALFWAY BECAUSE WE SUBSTITUTES ARE A LITTLE BIT CHEAPER.
AND I WILL ARGUMENT THAT WE TRY.
AND SO THAT'S THE OTHER DYNAMICS AND THAT'S THE REAL IDEA BEHIND IT ALL ALONG WITH HAVING TEACHERS FEEL LIKE WE CARE ABOUT THEM ENOUGH TO KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, BE GETTING 88 DAYS AT THE END OF MY YEARS AT HILTON HEAD HIGH SCHOOL, $10.
I DON'T EVEN REMEMBER GETTING A CHECK.
SO YOU DID MISS A CAMEL, BUT AFTER WE TOOK TEXAS OUT OF IT, AND THEN HE LOOKED AT YOU, HE LOOKED AT YOU, WE DON'T WRITE CHECKS FOR VERY SMALL AMOUNTS.
IT'S NOT COST-EFFECTIVE THANK YOU, CHAIRMAN STRIVEN, GER.
I WANT TO ECHO ALSO WHAT COLONEL GEIER SAID.
I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO LOOK SINCE THIS IS IN SOMETHING, A NEW INITIATIVE AND I'M SUPPORTING IT, UM, THAT WE LOOK AT IT, YOU KNOW, HOW DOES IT TURN OUT FIRST YEAR, SECOND YEAR COULD, BECAUSE ADJUSTMENTS MAY NEED TO BE MADE, YOU KNOW, TO SAY THAT THIS IS STAMPED IN STONE FOREVER GOING FORWARD.
AND, AND THAT'S KIND OF WHAT I WAS, UM, GOING TO GET TO CAUSE INITIATIVE ONE TO ME SEEMS PRETTY, PRETTY CUT AND DRY.
BUT WHEN I LOOK AT INITIATIVE TWO, MY CONCERN IS THE ACCRUAL OF THE SICK DAYS OVER TIME.
UM, THE FIVE-YEAR CONCESSION, THERE'S A LOT OF, UH, QUALIFIERS IN THERE AND ADDITIONAL THINGS THAT NEED TO BE CONSIDERED WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT HOW MUCH IT WOULD COST THAT WHEN I WAS TRYING TO DO A NUMBER IN MY HEAD, I COULDN'T EVEN COME UP WITH, YOU KNOW, DOES THIS JIVE WITH MY OWN MATH? AND IS, IS IT CORRECT? THAT THAT MAXIMUM ACCRUED SICK DAYS COULD BE 90? THAT IS CORRECT.
AND THEN THEY GET ABOUT, WHAT IS IT, 12 A YEAR ACCESS.
AND THEN SO FIVE YEARS, THAT'S 60.
SO SAYING WE HAD SOMEBODY MEET THE MINIMUM AND THEY BANKED ALL OF THESE.
I'M JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT, CAUSE I THINK IT'S A HUGE INCENTIVE LIKE DR.
QUAD SAID THAT TO GO FROM, FOR THOSE RETIREES TO GO FROM $10 A DAY.
UM, AND THEY RECOGNIZE THAT WE WANT TO KEEP THOSE EXPERIENCED TEACHERS IN THE CLASSROOM AS WELL.
UM, I'M JUST THE SECOND ONE IS THE ONE WHERE I THINK WE, I WAS CONCERNED ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT WE NEEDED TO PUT A CAP ON IT OR CHANGE THAT 90 DAYS.
I WASN'T SURE IT, I THINK THAT WE NEED TO BE FLEXIBLE AND I'M NERVOUS ABOUT PUTTING THAT ONE IN A HARD LINE.
I'M GOING TO ECHO WHAT MEL SAID.
THE PAY OFF IS HAVING THE TEACHER IN THE CLASSROOM.
THAT'S THE PAYOFF AND WE CAN TRACK THE MONEY OVER TIME, BUT WE ALSO HAVE TO TRACK WHETHER WE BREAK THAT FRIDAY, MONDAY CYCLE.
CAUSE THAT'S, YOU KNOW, THAT'S A CLASSIC MORALE PLAGUE THAT YOU HAVE A MORALE PROBLEM.
UM, SO WE HAVE TO TRACK BOTH THOSE THINGS.
CAUSE I THINK THE MONEY IS GOING TO BECOME IRRELEVANT, UM, BASED, YOU KNOW, THE SIZE OF WHAT IT COSTS US COMPARED TO HAVING THAT TEACHER IN THE CLASSROOM AND THE STABILITY OF HAVING THE TEACHER CLASSROOM JUST DON'T WANT TO GET TOO HUNG UP IN THE MONEY.
ACTUALLY I HAVE MY HAND UP MS. CHAIRMAN, FALANA JUST HAVE A QUICK RESPONSE TO MISFIT RICH'S QUESTION.
I DID A QUICK CALCULATION PULL THE SALARY SCHEDULE UP ON THE WEBSITE.
A BACHELOR'S IN 28 MAKES 70 2004 11 ON THIS SALARY SCHEDULE DIVIDE THAT BY 190 DAYS GETS A FULL DAILY RATE OF 3 81.
SO DIVIDE THAT IN HALF IS $190 PAY UP.
UH, ONE OF THE THINGS I GOT HUNG UP ON WAS THE, UM, THE FIVE-YEAR THAT BOUGHT THE FIVE YEARS WAS IT COULD BE A BIT MUCH IN REGARD REGARDS TO,
[01:30:01]
IF YOU HAD SOMEONE WHO WAS FROM BUFORD COUNTY AND WORKING IN A RICHLAND OR SAVANNAH, WHO'VE BEEN DRIVING BACK AND FORTH AND THEY KIND OF AN OLDER PERSON AND THEY'RE GETTING CLOSE TO RETIREMENT.THEN IF THEY DON'T COME AND WORK HERE FOR FIVE YEARS, THEN THEY GET, AND THEY CAN'T GET THAT PAYOUT.
SO THAT IS A CONCERN OF MINE, YOU KNOW, OF HAVING SOMEONE COME IN AND DO THEIR LAST THREE YEARS OR FOUR YEARS HERE AND, AND, AND, AND, AND, AND WANT TO MOVE BACK CLOSER TO THE HOME WHERE THE, OUR TAX PERIOD, I, I KINDA GOT CAUGHT.
I KIND OF FEEL SOME WAY ABOUT THAT FIVE YEARS, EVEN THOUGH I DO UNDERSTAND THAT WHAT WE ARE, WHAT WE'RE DOING IS VERY, UH, IMPORTANT IN THIS.
BUT I THINK THAT FIVE YEARS WAS POSSIBLY JUST A LITTLE TOO MUCH OR FOR ME, JUST BECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT WE HAVE THAT SEASONED TEACHER WHO WHO'S, WHO, WHO, IF SHE COMES TO BEAVER COUNTY, SHE, SHE WON'T GET THAT.
SHE WON'T GET THAT, UH, THAT, THAT PAYOUT.
SO THAT IS A CONCERN OF MINE THAT I DO WANT TO PUT THAT OUT THERE.
I'M NOT SURE HOW MY COLLEAGUES FEEL ABOUT THAT, BUT THAT FIVE-YEAR DOES CONCERN ME A LITTLE BIT, BUT EVERYTHING ELSE I'M PRETTY MUCH ON BOARD WITH.
CAN WE VOTE ON THIS NOW? ANY OBJECTION TO VOTING ON IT? SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE I'M CLEAR WE'RE VOTING ON JUST THE INITIATIVE NUMBER ONE, CORRECT.
CAUSE THE ONE ON, CAUSE THE WAY IT WAS ON THE AGENDA, I WANTED TO MAKE SURE RIGHT.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, ANGELA MIDDLETON, THAT'S UNANIMOUS.
MOVING ON TO INITIATIVE NUMBER TWO, WHICH SHOULD GENERATE LESS DISCUSSION SINCE I THINK WE'VE COVERED IT PRETTY THOROUGHLY.
UM, I MOVED THAT THE BUFORD COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION AUTHORIZED THE ADMINISTRATION'S RECOMMENDATION TO PAY OUT ACCRUED SICK DAYS FOR EMPLOYEES RETIRING JANUARY 1ST, 2023 OR AFTER AT ONE HALF THE EMPLOYEE'S DAILY RATE FROM THE GENERAL FUND BUDGET, EMPLOYEES MUST BE MINIMUM OF PHI MUST HAVE.
SO EMPLOYEES MUST HAVE A MINIMUM OF FIVE CONSECUTIVE YEARS OF SERVICE WITH THE BUFORD COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT AT THE TIME OF THEIR RETIREMENT TO BE ELIGIBLE.
WELL, I GUESS THAT WAS, I GUESS THAT'S WHERE MY, UH, WELL, MY COMMENT COMING IN, EXCUSE ME, IF I MISUNDERSTOOD IT, I GUESS THAT'S A LITTLE OF MY UNDERSTANDING OF THE CONVERSATION.
UH, I THOUGHT IT WAS KIND OF RUDE TO SAY, UH, LET'S JUST MOVE ON.
I THOUGHT IT COULD HAVE BEEN CLARIFIED THAT WE WERE GOING TO SAY THIS OR THAT THIS WAS THE NEXT MOTION.
UH, BUT, UH, BUT ANYWAYS, UH, I WILL RESPECT THAT THIS IS, THIS IS WHERE I GUESS I SHOULD.
SHOULD'VE SAID ABOUT THE FIVE YEARS, THE FIVE YEARS DOES CONCERN ME WITH MY COLLEAGUES.
I JUST WANTED TO REITERATE THAT.
I WOULD, UH, SUGGEST THAT FIVE YEARS IS PRETTY, UH, GENEROUS.
UM, AND WHEN YOU, IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR, YOU SWITCHED JOBS.
UM, AND YOU'RE ONLY SOMEPLACE FOR TWO YEARS.
I DON'T THINK YOU GET THAT BENEFIT.
AND I KNOW FROM LIVING IN AN AREA THAT WAS VERY CLOSE TO STATE LINES, UM, THE DELAWARE PEOPLE WOULD RETIRE IN DELAWARE AND COME UP TO PENNSYLVANIA, PENNSYLVANIA PEOPLE WOULD RETIRE FROM PENNSYLVANIA AND GO DOWN TO DELAWARE, BUT TO GET REINVESTED IN THOSE STATES, THEY HAD TO DO, YOU KNOW, THEIR TIME.
SO I THINK FIVE YEARS IS FAIR.
HOWEVER, IT'S JUST IN, IN, IN, IN THE NOTION THAT ON ONE HAND, WE'RE SAYING THAT EDUCATION IS YOU CAN'T PUT A PRICE TAG ON IT ON, WE SAY THAT ALL ON ONE NOTE.
BUT WHEN WE SAY ON THE FIVE YEARS, I FEEL THAT WE'RE DEFINITELY SAYING THE SAME THING.
AGAIN, WE'RE PUTTING, I FEEL THAT WE'RE PUTTING A PRICE TAG ON IT.
WE'RE SAYING, LOOK HERE, WE WANT YOU TO COME.
YOU'RE EXCELLENT TEACHER, BUT YOU JUST WON'T BE ABLE TO GET THE FRUITS OF ALL YOUR LABOR DUE TO THE FIVE-YEAR SITUATION.
AND SO THEREFORE AFTER THAT, THAT'S WHERE WE'RE PUTTING A PRICE TAG ON IT AS THOUGH SOME OF MY COLLEAGUES HAD SAID EARLIER THAT YOU CAN'T REALLY PUT A PRICE ON IT BECAUSE IT'S ABOUT EDUCATING THE KID.
AND THAT'S, WHAT'S MOST IMPORTANT IS HAVING TEACHERS IN THE CLASSROOMS. SO THAT'S, THAT IS WHERE MY, MY LITTLE AND MY, AND MY INTERJECTION COMING AT.
BUT ULTIMATELY I DO, I DO UNDERSTAND THAT FIVE YEARS, FIVE YEARS, I WOULD NOT AS MUCH AS OTHER PLACES, BUT I JUST DON'T WANT TO RENDER SOMEONE COMING TO THIS DISTRICT WHO MAY BE CLOSE TO RETIREMENT.
AND SHE JUST CAN'T DRIVE AS MUCH TO ANOTHER DISTRICT.
AND SHE DRIVES BACK AND FORTH EVERY DAY.
THAT'S WHAT, THAT'S MY ONLY POINT.
I MEAN, EVEN IF WE COULD HAVE SOMETHING WHERE THIS CONDITION,
[01:35:02]
THAT'S ALL CURRENTLY, UM, THERE'S AN INCENTIVE FOR PEOPLE TO COME HERE AT WHATEVER TIME.AND THAT'S OUR NEW COMPENSATION SALARY FOR, FOR EDUCATORS, RIGHT? WHICH HAS TAKEN US FROM 53RD IN THE STATE TO NUMBER ONE IN THE STATE, WHICH GOES, OR TWO, ONE OR TWO.
I'M NOT SURE HOW IT'LL END UP, BUT FINALLY KEEPS TELLING ME TO, YOU KNOW, GIVE THE CAVEAT OF THERE.
AND, BUT, BUT YOU KNOW, TO, TO, TO THAT POINT, THAT GETS FACTORED INTO THEIR RETIREMENT, THAT, THAT ADDITIONAL SALARY, THAT ADDITIONAL COMPENSATION GETS FACTORED INTO THEIR RETIREMENT.
BUT, BUT TO SAY THAT SOMEBODY WHO'S BEEN HERE OR, UH, YOU KNOW, 10, 15, 20 YEARS AND, AND, UH, AND HAS DEDICATED THEIR CAREER TO, UH, THE STUDENTS HERE IN BUFORD COUNTY AND SOMEBODY CAN JUST COME IN IN A LAST YEAR RETIRE OUT OF HERE SO THEY CAN GET THEIR PAYOUT WITH THEIR DAYS.
UH, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY FAIR TO THE EMPLOYEES WHO HAVE BEEN HERE AND, AND DEDICATED THEMSELVES TO OUR STUDENTS HERE FOR THE LONG HAUL.
WE HAVE TO KEEP IN MIND THAT THERE'S A STATE STATUTE THAT SAYS, IF YOU ARE IN THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND YOU TRANSFER FROM ONE DISTRICT TO ANOTHER, YOU CAN CARRY 90 DAYS WITH YOU.
SO I COULD WORK IN RICHLAND ONE AND DECIDE THAT I WANT TO COME TO BUFORD AND WORK AND I CAN COME HERE.
YOU FOR, IT HAS TO ACCEPT 90 DAYS.
SO THAT PERSON IS ALREADY AT THE MAX.
IF THEY DECIDED THEY WANT TO WORK FOR US FOR SIX MONTHS AND WANT TO RETIRE, THEN WE ARE OBLIGATED.
IF WE DON'T HAVE SOME, UM, CAVEATS ATTACHED TO OUR PAYOUT, WE ARE OBLIGATED AT THAT POINT TO PAY THEM FOR THOSE DAYS.
SO THE 90 DAY, UH, THE FIVE YEARS IS TO PROMOTE INVESTMENT IN A DISTRICT FIVE YEARS.
WE'RE TRYING TO CREATE SOME CONTINUITY.
SO IF YOU'RE GOING TO COME AND WORK FOR BUFORD, GIVE US FIVE YEARS, AND THEN WE WILL REWARD YOU FOR THAT, BUT NOT COME AND WORK FOR US FOR SIX MONTHS.
AND WE REWARD YOU FOR SOMEONE WHO'S WORKED FOR US FOR 30 YEARS AND GIVEN ALL THEIR TIME HERE.
SO THAT'S ONE OF THE RATIONALES FOR THE FIVE YEARS.
UM, I'M VERY MUCH FOR THE FIVE YEARS.
I THINK THAT'S THE WHOLE IDEA BEHIND IT IS TO GET PEOPLE WHO RETAIN AND GET LOYAL EMPLOYEES.
SO YOU MAY HAVE ALREADY SAID THIS SO YOU CAN CARRY IT UP TO.
SO THE MAXIMUM PAYOUT IS 90 DAYS AND IT'S, SO EACH YEAR, WHAT DOES DO THEY ACCRUE? ONCE YOU REACH 90 DAYS, YOU GET 12 DAYS ON TOP OF THE 90 DAYS EVERY YEAR.
SO IF YOU DON'T USE THOSE 12 DAYS, YOU LOSE THEM.
BUT THEY WOULD BE PAID OUT OF WHAT WE JUST PASSED.
THEY WOULD BE PAID OUT AT 50%.
SO IF YOU DON'T, HAVEN'T REACHED 90 DAYS.
SO EACH, EACH EMPLOYEE GETS 12 DAYS.
AND IT CAN BE USED EITHER FOR VACATION OR SICK.
YOU HAD TWO CATEGORIES OF EMPLOYEES.
TEACHERS ARE ON 190 DAY CALENDAR AND THEY HAD NO VACATION DAYS.
UM, 260 DAY EMPLOYEES THAT WOULD INCLUDE ADMINISTRATORS, PEOPLE THAT WORK AT THE DISTRICT OFFICE GET ON TOP OF THE SICK DAYS, ANNUAL LEAVE DAYS OF 20.
SO THAT'S WHERE YOU GO TO THE 45 DAY RULE THAT YOU CAN MAX OUT AT 45 DAYS.
THOSE ARE YOUR ANNUAL LEAVE DAYS THAT YOU USE WHENEVER YOU WANT TO.
TEACHERS DON'T GET THOSE DAYS.
SO, SO THE ADMINISTRATOR WITH A 260 DAY CONTRACT GETS, SAY THE NUMBERS AGAIN, HOW MANY SICK DAYS, HOW MANY VACATION DAYS? 20 VACATION, 12 SICK.
SO I HAVE A PERSON DON'T USE ANY OF THIS SICK BELIEVE THEY OWN, THEY ONLY GET PAID FOR 90 DAYS.
YOU SAID THAT'S IT? I THINK THAT'S, I DON'T THINK THAT'S FAIR.
I MEAN, YOU CAN'T, IF YOU DON'T GET SICK, THAT'S NOT TRUE.
I MEAN, YOU KNOW, EVERY TALKING ABOUT IT, WASN'T COMING IN, SPENT FIVE YEARS BEFORE TO GET AT THAT'S THAT'S,
[01:40:01]
THAT'S NOT FAIR.WHEN WE ARE LOOKING TO BRING GOOD PEOPLE IN THIS DISTRICT AND THEN THE PERSON COME IN WORK THE WHOLE TIME AND NEVER GETS SICK.
I, I'M NOT PULLING THE NEWBIE CARD.
I HAVE RELINQUISHED MY NAVY CARD, BUT I'M STILL, YOU KNOW, I HAVE TO MAKE AN OBSERVATION.
WE SPEND A LOT OF TIME IN THIS BORE.
WE GET INTO THE WEEDS, WHETHER IT'S BONUSES AND, UH, WHAT DATE WE CUT IT OFF AND WHAT CATEGORY OF EMPLOYEE.
AND I DON'T THINK THAT THERE'S A PERFECT SOLUTION TO THIS.
MY PARENTS RETIRED AND THEY PAID OUT THEIR SICK LEAVE AND TEETH.
THERE'S A LOT OF OTHER THINGS THAT YOU CAN DO.
YOU KNOW, YOUR COACHING STIPENDS, YOU CAN ALL THESE DIFFERENT THINGS FOR RETIREMENT TEACHERS KNOW ALL THE TRICKS.
UM, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO HAVE IN THIS CLIMATE OF RETENTION.
SO MY THING WOULD BE TO MY FELLOW BOARD MEMBERS WOULD BE, LET'S GET, LET IS A GOOD STARTING SPOT.
AND WE MAY NEED TO TWEAK IT BECAUSE I DON'T THINK WE'RE GOING TO COME TO ANY KIND OF PERFECT CONCLUSION AND COME UP WITH JUST A BRILLIANTLY EXECUTED PLAN.
AND WE'LL JUST KEEP WORKING AT IT.
I WAS JUST GOING TO MAKE ONE LAST COMMENT IN REGARD TO THE NUMBERS AND ROLLING EVERYTHING AROUND IN MY HEAD.
UM, I THINK WE SHOULD GO AHEAD AND APPROVE THIS TODAY AND JUST REVISIT WHEN WE NEED TO.
UM, BUT SOMETHING THAT GAVE ME SOME COMFORT WAS ME SITTING HERE ASKING YOU ALL THESE QUESTIONS AND RUNNING THE NUMBERS MYSELF, AND BASED ON WHAT I'M LOOKING AT OF THAT AVERAGE NUMBER OF HALF DAY RATE AT ONE 90, EVEN IF THEY HAD NO SICK DAYS GOING INTO THE FIVE-YEAR RULE, THAT GIVES THEM 60 DAYS YOU'RE WE WOULD BE PAYING OUT ABOUT HALF.
WELL, SO SUBSTITUTE WOULD BE 6,000 AND THE TEACHER WOULD BE LIKE 11,400.
SO I'M LOOKING AT HAVING THE EXPERIENCE EDUCATOR IN THE ROOM AND THE SAVINGS WE'RE GOING TO HAVE FROM THE SUBSTITUTES.
THIS IS A NO BRAINER TO ME AT THIS POINT.
SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR ENTERTAINING MY QUESTIONS.
LET'S VOTE ALL THOSE IN FAVOR.
OPPOSED MR. CAMPBELL AND MR. SMITH OR A POST AND THE MOTION CARRIES MR. EARL CAMPBELL.
I AM NOT A POST OR AT LEAST START THROWING MORE THINGS AT YOU WHEN YOU WALK IN THE BUILDING.
SO THAT PRETTY MUCH CONCLUDES THE OPERATIONS COMPAR, UH, UH, REPORT.
I DID WANT TO SAY THAT WE WILL HAVE, UH, THE PRESENTATION FROM MGT, UH, TO DISCUSS THE, UH, COMPENSATION ANALYSIS ON FRIDAY.
AND, UH, OUR NEXT MEETING WILL BE NEXT WEDNESDAY, WHICH IS, I DON'T HAVE THE DATE IN FRONT OF ME A WEEK FROM TOMORROW, UH, AT BATTER CREEK HIGH.
AND I BELIEVE THE TIME IS FOUR O'CLOCK.
[Superintendent’s Report]
THANK YOU.UH, MR.
STRADDLES AND WORKED OUR WAY TO THE PODIUM.
UH, ONE OF THEM IS A DISTRICT WRITING PLAN AND THE OTHER ONE IS THE SC READY AND SC PASS RESULTS, WHICH HAVE BEEN EMBARGOED.
AND THE STATE, UH, HAS LIFTED THE EMBARGO ON SC READY AND SC PASS TODAY.
AND SO, UH, WE WILL SHARE SOME PRELIMINARY INFORMATION WITH YOU ABOUT THE, THAT DATA.
SO WITH THAT IN MIND, I KNOW EVERYBODY NOW IS GOING TO BE PAYING ATTENTION TO THE WRITING PLAN TO SAY, WOW, THIS IS LIKE BEING IN FRONT OF LUNCH.
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR TIME THIS EVENING.
UM, AS YOU KNOW, I'M MELISSA MURRAY, THE DIRECTOR OF LITERACY.
I HAD THE PLEASURE OF PRESENTING THIS TO ACADEMIC COMMITTEE, UM, BUT I'M JUST REALLY GRATEFUL TO BE ABLE TO PRESENT TO THE FULL BOARD.
UM, SO THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE SCHOOL YEAR, LAST YEAR, THERE WAS A COMMITTEE REPRESENTED BY ALL OF OUR SCHOOLS.
IT WAS A VERY FLUID COMMITTEE BECAUSE AS YOU KNOW, WE HAD TO BE AWARE OF WHEN PEOPLE COULD LEAVE THE BUILDINGS.
UM, BUT ON AVERAGE, WE HAD 10 DIFFERENT SCHOOLS REPRESENTED AT EACH COMMITTEE MEETING.
DURING THAT TIME WE LOOKED AT STUDENT WORK SAMPLES, WE DISCUSSED WRITING, WE DISCUSSED STANDARDS AND WE USE THAT TIME TO DEVELOP WHAT YOU WERE GOING TO SEE HERE TODAY, WHICH IS, UH, A WRITING PLAN, UM, OR AN IMPLEMENTATION FOR THIS SCHOOL YEAR TO SUPPORT WRITING INSTRUCTION FIRST.
UM, I WANTED TO FRAME THE VISION FOR THE WORK.
SO AS A COMMITTEE, WE CAME TOGETHER
[01:45:01]
AND WE DECIDED THAT THERE WAS THESE VISIONARY PIECES THAT WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE'RE FRONT FIRST AND FOREMOST, UM, ONE STUDENT SHOULD EXPERIENCE DIRECT EXPLICIT INSTRUCTION IN ALL STRANDS OF WRITING SO THAT IT STRANDS IS THE LANGUAGE FROM OUR STANDARDS.SO INSIDE OF OUR WRITING STANDARDS HAVE ASKED STUDENTS TO WRITE ACROSS DIFFERENT STRANDS, INFORMATIONAL LITERARY OPINION, LEARNING SHOULD BE MODELED, SUPPORTED, AND REFLECT GRADUAL RELEASE OF RESPONSIBILITY AT ALL LEVELS.
SO BECAUSE AT EACH YEAR THERE'S GOING TO BE NEW LEARNING AROUND WRITING.
SO OUR EDUCATORS ARE GOING TO MODEL AND SUPPORT THAT GRADUAL RELEASE IN DIRECT AND STUCK STRUCTURING.
AND STUDENTS SHOULD BE EXPECTED TO WRITE FREQUENTLY AND WIDELY ACROSS ALL CONTENT AREAS.
SO WITH THIS VISION, DRIVING THE WORK, WE WILL INCREASE THE QUALITY OF WRITING.
AND WE WILL ALLOW SCHOOLS TO HAVE PRECISE DATA THAT WILL DEVELOP THE TEACHING AND LEARNING, AND ALSO TRANSFER OF WRITING ACROSS SUBJECT AREAS INTO THE STUDENTS.
THE BLUEPRINT TO GUIDE THE WORK COMES FROM OUR TESTS, TESTS, BLUEPRINT.
UM, SO FOR SC READY YOU SEE ON THE SCREEN.
NOW, THIS IS THE BREAKDOWN OF QUESTIONS THAT STUDENTS RECEIVE.
WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT FOR THIS WORK IS THAT YOU SEE THAT THERE IS AN AREA OF WRITING FOR SE, READY, THAT SCORE IS PULLED OUT SO YOU CAN GET A HOLISTIC SCORE OF ALL ELA, BUT YOU CAN ALSO GET A READING AND A WRITING SCORE.
YOU NOTICE THAT THERE IS A DIFFERENCE.
SO YOU CAN HAVE NINE TO 11 QUESTIONS OR EIGHT TO 10.
SO THAT MEANS THERE IS AN ISSUE IN PERCENTAGES, BUT OVERALL, THE WRITING PORTION OF SC READY COUNTS ABOUT 40% OF THE STUDENT'S TOTAL SCORE.
AND INSIDE OF THAT TEXT DEPENDENT ANALYSIS WILL COUNT ANYWHERE BETWEEN 13 TO 16% OF THE STUDENT'S TOTAL SCORE.
SO THAT ACTUAL WRITING PIECE COUNTS 13 TO 16% FOR THE ENTIRE SCORE FOR STUDENTS.
UM, WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO MENTION HERE THOUGH, IS THAT TEXT DEPENDENT ANALYSIS QUESTION IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO OUR READING STANDARDS.
SO WE HAD TO KEEP ALL OF THIS IN MIND FOR TWO REASONS.
ONE BACK TO THE VISION, JUST BECAUSE TDA IS THE TYPE OF WRITING.
WE STILL NEED TO WRITE ALL MODES AND WE STILL NEED TO WRITE ACROSS ALL CONTENT AREAS TO GIVE STUDENTS A LOT OF EXPERIENCE WITH WRITING.
BUT AT THE SAME TIME, WE REALLY NEED TO HONOR THE WORK OF WHAT A TEXT DEPENDENT ANALYSIS ASKS OF OUR EDUCATORS AND OUR STUDENTS FOR THIS YEAR.
WE KNOW THAT WE REALLY NEED TO FOCUS ON INTER-RATER RELIABILITY.
SO WHAT THAT MEANS IS ACROSS OUR DISTRICT, WE ACTUALLY CURRENTLY ARE ENGAGING IN WORK WHERE WE ARE LOOKING AT WHAT STUDENTS PERFORMED, THEIR FIRST INITIAL WRITING.
AND WE ARE MAKING SURE AS EDUCATORS THAT WE WOULD SCORE VERY SIMILARLY, AND THAT WE ARE USING THE RUBRIC TO CREATE A COMMON LANGUAGE FOR INSTRUCTION, BECAUSE IN TURN THAT'S, WHAT'S GOING TO END UP TRANSFERRING OVER TO THE STUDENTS.
AND SO WE NEED TO MAKE SURE OUR SCORING IS VERY TIGHT THIS YEAR AND, AND FOCUS ON INTER-RATER RELIABILITY THAT WORK TYPICALLY HAPPENS IN YOUR PLCS OR COLLABORATIVE PLANNING TIME, WHICH YOU'VE HEARD ABOUT, BUT TO SUPPORT THE WORK, THE COMMITTEE PUT TOGETHER A MATRIX.
SO I'M GOING TO TAKE YOU THROUGH THE DIFFERENT PORTIONS OF THE MATRIX.
THIS MATRIX IS ACTUALLY OVER A HUNDRED PAGES LONG, UM, BUT IT'S HYPERLINKED BEAUTIFULLY SO PEOPLE CAN GET TO WHERE THEY WANT TO BE.
UM, BUT YOU'LL SEE, SECTION ONE, WE ACTUALLY BROKE DOWN FOR EVERY SINGLE GRADE LEVEL KINDERGARTEN, ALL THE WAY UP TO 12TH GRADE, EVERY WRITING PRODUCT BY STANDARD, BY WRITING STANDARD AND ATTACHED TO THE CORE CURRICULUM FROM THE STATE DEPARTMENT THAT WE ADOPTED.
SO EVERY SINGLE EDUCATOR WILL KNOW IN EACH GRADE LEVEL, THIS IS THE TYPE OF WRITING THAT WE'RE BEING ASKED TO DO IN OUR ELA CLASSROOMS. SO THAT IS ALL OF SECTION ONE, SECTION TWO OF THE MATRIX.
WE HAVE COLOR CODED EACH STANDARD.
SO THE EXAMPLE HERE IS 12TH GRADE.
YOU'LL NOTICE IN THAT COLOR KEY, WHERE THERE CHANGES IS NOTED.
SO WE KNOW WHAT IS NEW TO 12TH GRADE, WHAT CAME IN SEVENTH GRADE.
SO THE TEACHERS CAN ACTUALLY SEE HOW THE STANDARD EVOLVES ALL THE WAY FROM KINDERGARTEN TO 12TH GRADE.
AND SO THERE'S A COLOR CODED SYSTEM.
AND AGAIN, THAT HYPERLINKS, AND THEN YOU CAN SEE NEXT TO IT.
IT DRAWS ATTENTION TO THE WRITING TASKS IN OUR STATE ADOPTED RESOURCES THAT CONNECT TO THAT STANDARD.
THE THIRD SECTION STARTS DIPPING INTO THE TEXT DEPENDENT ANALYSIS WORK BECAUSE THOSE TEXT DEPENDENT ANALYSIS QUESTIONS WILL COME FROM OUR
[01:50:01]
READING STANDARDS.SO WE'VE DONE THE SAME COLOR CODING WITH EVERY SINGLE READING STANDARD THAT THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION HAS LET US KNOW.
IT COULD POSSIBLY BE ONE OF THE QUESTIONS THAT TEXT DEPENDENT ANALYSIS HAS PULLED FROM.
SO IT DOESN'T DRILL DOWN A LOT, BUT IT GIVES A LITTLE BIT OF GUIDANCE OF WHERE WE NEED TO FOCUS, PROTECTS DEPENDENT ANALYSIS.
AND AGAIN, THAT THAT'S COLOR-CODED, SO THE EDUCATORS WILL KNOW THIS PIECE OF THAT STANDARD IS NEW FOR THIS YEAR.
THE NEXT PART OF OUR MATRIX IS WHAT WE CALL THE ANATOMY OF A TEXT DEPENDENT ANALYSIS PROMPT.
SO ALL TEXT DEPENDENT ANALYSIS PROMPTS HAVE THREE PARTS IT'S VERY CONSISTENT AND PREDICTABLE.
SO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE OFFER THOSE TYPES OF QUESTIONS TO STUDENTS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
UM, SO I GAVE YOU A SAMPLE HERE, BUT IN THE MATRIX WE'VE ALSO TAKEN THE, WE HAVE PROVIDED SOME TEXT DEPENDENT ANALYSIS PROMPTS THAT MATCH THE ANATOMY OF THE PROMPT TO SUPPORT OUR EDUCATORS, DEPENDING ON WHICH STANDARD THAT THEY'RE IN, UM, AS THEY GET STARTED IN THIS WORK, THE LAST PORTION OF THIS, UM, IS SIMPLY ALL THE HYPERLINKS.
UH, SO EVERYTHING IN HERE, YOU CAN ALSO FIND THEM IN THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND WEBPAGE, BUT THEY ARE NOT IN ONE SPOT.
UM, SO NOW EVERYTHING THAT WE USE TO CREATE THIS MATRIX IS HERE.
EVERYTHING THAT WE COULD POSSIBLY USE, UM, TO WORK WITHIN OUR PLCS AROUND WRITING IS NOW ALL IN THIS ONE SPOT.
AND IT'S HYPERLINKS THAT GOES STRAIGHT TO THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION WEBPAGE.
SO THAT'S THE SUPPORT INSIDE OF OUR PLAN.
WE ALSO ARE GOING TO PROGRESS MONITOR, UM, AND UTILIZE THE WORK IN PLC.
SO RIGHT NOW OUR SCHOOLS ARE DOING THEIR FIRST TEXT DEPENDENT ANALYSIS, UM, WHICH MEANS ALL STUDENTS ARE PRACTICING OR GETTING A BASELINE.
UM, BUT THIS TIME WE ARE GOING TO FOCUS ON ALL OF THE ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE INDICATORS OF THE SC READY RUBRIC.
SO YOU'LL SEE THE WHOLE RUBRIC THERE.
UM, OF COURSE WE'RE AIMING FOR EXCELLENCE.
SO WE'RE LOOKING AT THE FOUR, UM, NEXT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE YEAR, WE'RE GOING TO AN ADD ANALYSIS.
SO AT THAT POINT, THE ENTIRE RUBRIC WILL BE UTILIZED, BUT WE WANTED TO GET FIRST THINGS FIRST AND MAKE SURE THAT THE STUDENTS UNDERSTOOD THE TASK, HOW TO WRITE, HOW IT'S ORGANIZED.
UM, AND THEN BASED ON THE STUDENT DATA, THAT'S GOING TO DRIVE THE WORK OF OUR PLCS AND THEN FUTURE INSTRUCTION IN THE CLASSROOM.
AND THAT IS AN OVERVIEW OF OUR WRITING PLAN.
I REALLY LIKED THE WAY IT'S LAID OUT, BUT A PLAN IS ONLY THE START.
IT'S HOW THE PLAN IS EXECUTED.
AND SO BY THE END OF THE YEAR, I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR THE RESULTS OF THIS PLAN.
I WOULD LOVE TO LEARN ABOUT BEST PRACTICES, THAT HOW SCHOOLS HAVE TAKEN THIS PLAN AND EXECUTED IT ON THE GROUND AND WHAT RESULTS CAME OF IT AND ARE THOSE BEST PRACTICES SHARED SO THAT WE'VE LEARNED AND, AND WE CAN ADVANCE DISTRICT-WIDE.
AND I THINK THIS IS SO IMPORTANT THAT WRITING IS THE KEY ESSENTIAL OF EDUCATION.
IF YOU CAN'T WRITE AND CAN'T COMMUNICATE WHAT YOU'VE LEARNED, YOU'RE WORTHLESS.
I WOULD BE, I WOULD LOVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME BACK AND DO A CHECK-IN AT THE END OF THE YEAR OF HOW THIS PROGRESSED.
SO ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I THINK IS IMPORTANT, UH, TO THE POINT, I THINK YOU'RE MAKING, UH, COLONEL GEIER IS THAT, UH, WHEN W WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT IMPACTING AND IMPROVING SOMETHING LIKE WRITING, RIGHT, A CRITICAL COMPONENT IS A FEEDBACK THAT STUDENTS RECEIVE AS A RESULT OF THEIR WRITING.
RIGHT? AND, AND, AND SO WHEN YOU'RE LAYING IT OVER A RUBRIC, UH, THAT, YOU KNOW, MELISSA IS TALKING ABOUT AND DESCRIBING IN THIS TYPE OF PLAN, UH, THERE'S THE OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE STUDENTS WITH CLEAR, SPECIFIC FEEDBACK ABOUT THEIR WRITING, WHERE IT'S GOING WELL, RIGHT? AND, AND WHERE THAT IMPROVEMENT IS NEEDED TO HELP GET THEM TO THE NEXT LEVEL.
BUT WRITING IS SOMETHING THAT I HAVE NOTICED, UH, IN OUR SYSTEM THAT WE NEED, UH, THERE'S OPPORTUNITY FOR GOOD SOLID IMPROVEMENT AROUND IT.
[01:55:01]
FABULOUS.THE HARD WORK I'M BECAUSE ALL THIS INFORMATION HAS BEEN OUT THERE, BUT IT'S NOT BEEN IN AN EASILY ACCESSIBLE PLACE FOR THE TEACHER.
FOR PLANNING PURPOSES, FOR PLC PURPOSES AND EVERYTHING.
SO, UM, I THINK THIS, THIS LOOKS VERY STRONG.
WOULD I BE CORRECT IN SAYING THAT THE DATA WE'RE GOING TO HEAR FROM SC READY AND SPIT BROKEN DOWN INTO READING, WRITING, AND MATH? RIGHT.
I DON'T KNOW IF IT GOT THE READING SCORES BACK, BUT WOULD WE, WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS PLAN COULD WIN THIS YEAR, BE THE BASELINE.
THEN YOU'VE GOT THIS IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS PLAN, THEN YOU'LL HAVE THE SC READY WRITING PORTION, THE END OF THE CURRENT ACADEMIC YEAR.
AND YOU CAN THEN DETERMINE WHETHER SOME PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE.
WHAT IS THAT CORRECT IN, IN TERMS OF HOW THEY BREAK, UH, INFORMATION OUT ON REPORTING PURPOSES? UH, I THINK THAT IS CORRECT.
I THINK WHAT WE HAVE THUS FAR THAT THEY HAVE LIFTED EMBARGO ON IS AN ELA SCORE AND A MATH SCORE AT THE MOMENT.
SO FOR TODAY, BUT WE SHOULD GET IT BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT THEY'VE DONE IN THE PAST.
AND SCIENCE TODAY, THEY DO NOT BREAK IT APART FOR THE EOC.
SO THAT'S THE ONE AREA WE WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO TRACK IN THAT WAY.
WRITING ACROSS THE CURRICULUM.
THAT'S BEEN A STICKLER IN MY BUY IN FOR 40 YEARS IN EDUCATION.
I WANT YOU TO WRITE, AND THEY WANT YOU TO WRITE IN MATH AND A BUNCH WRITE IN SCIENCE, ALWAYS DONE.
AND MY QUESTION IS, HOW ARE YOU GOING TO ASSURE THAT IT, THAT THROUGH WRITING THE TECHNICAL ELE FORMAT, BUT THAT KIDS ARE CONTINUALLY WRITING AND THESE OTHER COURSES, BECAUSE THAT'S A, THAT'S A TRICKY AKIA, BUT I THINK THOUGH, RESEARCH TO SHOW YOU THAT SCHOOLS THAT RIGHT ACROSS THE CURRICULUM USUALLY GAIN A LOT MORE THAN SCHOOLS THAT JUST WILL CONSIDER WRITING.
BUT THE WRITING AND BATH IS NOT THE SAME, JUST A LOT MORE TECHNICAL WRITING THAN IT IS THERE.
AND IS THERE A PLAN FOR PHASING IT IN AND GETTING THAT CONCRETE MATH TEACHER, THAT THOSE ONLY NUMBERS AND THE DIRECTIONS TO WRITE MORE, NOT A PART OF THIS PLAN.
SO THAT IS, THAT IS IN SERVICE OF WHY WE ARE REALLY FOCUSING IN ON INTER-RATER RELIABILITY AND HAVING THE COMMON LANGUAGE OF THE RUBRIC.
UM, BECAUSE WHEN YOU ANALYZE THOSE PIECES OF THE RUBRIC, IT WOULD APPLY TO MATH SCIENCE AND SOCIAL STUDIES, BECAUSE IT'S REALLY ALLOWS THE CONTENT AREA TEACHER TO ASK THEIR QUESTION AND THEN EXPECT A COMPLETE RESPONSE.
UM, AND SO WE WILL HAVE TO NAVIGATE THAT A BIT.
UM, BUT THE DOOR IS OPEN TO THAT.
AND I THINK THE OTHER LARGE CHANGE THAT HAS HELPED OPEN THE DOOR TO THAT IS THE WAY THAT THE STAFF, THE SCIENCE STANDARDS ARE WRITTEN.
THE SOCIAL STUDIES STANDARDS ARE WRITTEN, EVEN THE MATH STANDARDS ARE WRITTEN, ARE NOW REALLY, YOU KNOW, BEGGING FOR STUDENTS TO WRITE.
IT BRINGS OUT THE IDEAS THAT YOU MAY NOT THINK IS THERE THAT HELPS.
WHEN DOES THIS GO INTO EFFECT IT'S IT'S HAPPENING? YES, SIR.
UM, THE SCHOOLS THAT HAVEN'T BEEN FALLEN BEHIND IN YEARS WHO DIDN'T GET ANY EXTRA HELP.
WE DO HAVE HELP AVAILABLE MR. CAMPBELL.
WE'VE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY OF TWO INSTRUCTIONAL COACHES, ONE FOR ELEMENTARY, ONE FOR SECONDARY RIGHT NOW OUR SECONDARY COACHES ASSISTING DIRECTLY AT A SCHOOL SITE PART OF THE DAY.
AND THEN DOING ACTUALLY CONDUCTING TRAINING AT THE HIGH SCHOOL, JUST FINISHED AN INTRODUCTORY LAST WEEK, ADDITIONAL SCHOOLS AT THE SECONDARY LEVEL FROM FREEDOM MECHANIC, OR WE'LL HAVE A HANDS-ON TRAINING WITH HER SAID AT, AND I'LL LET MELISSA GO INTO GREAT ELABORATION, BUT HE HAS TO GO IS ACROSS THE DISTRICT, PROVIDING ADDITIONAL SUPPORT TO THE SCHOOLS BASED ON THE INFORMATION THAT WE GET FROM THE FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS.
SO WE CAN LOOK AT THE DATA, IDENTIFY THE NEEDS, AND THEN HELP DEPLOY EVEN MORE ADDITIONAL HELP, GREAT PROGRAM.
UM, AND IN TERMS OF A TIER TWO OR TIER THREE SCHOOL, WHAT IS, WHAT DOES THIS LOOK LIKE?
[02:00:01]
BUT ALSO IN TERMS OF STUDENTS THAT MAY HAVE, UH, THAT MAY BE IN SPECIAL ED OR HAVE IEP, HOW IS THIS? BECAUSE I, YOU MAY HAVE A STUDENT THAT WE HAVE STUDENTS THAT WRITING MAY BE DIFFICULT.SO WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE IN TERMS OF TIER TWO AND TIER THREE STUDENTS? YES, SIR.
UH, SO A FEW OF YOU, THINGS ARE IN PLACE.
SHATTO SPOKE TO ONE ABOUT OUR DISTRICT LITERACY COACH IS BEING UTILIZED.
IN ADDITION, WE HAVE MONTHLY COACHES MEETINGS, SO EVERYONE WILL BRING SAMPLE DATA, UM, ACTUALLY ON THE 13TH.
UM, AND THEN THIS WILL BE SOME OF THE WORK.
SO THEN AT THE DISTRICT LEVEL, SOME OF THIS INTER-RATER RELIABILITY IS MEASURED AND THEN THEY CAN HAVE THEIR OWN STUDENT DATA SAMPLES TO LOOK FROM, AND THEY'LL BRING IT BACK TO THE SCHOOL.
BUT IN ADDITION, BASED ON OUR COMMITTEE WORK THAT WE'VE PREVIOUSLY DONE, WE LOOKED AT STUDENT WORK SAMPLES FROM LAST YEAR AT ALL DIFFERENT LEVELS OF STUDENTS.
AND SO WE ACTUALLY HAVE SUPPORTS IN PLACE FOR THAT ALREADY.
SO DEPENDING ON HOW A STUDENT RESPONDS AT THE ORGANIZATIONAL LEVEL, WE HAVE AGREED UPON THIS IS A STRONG STRATEGY TO SUPPORT THEM IN THIS.
NOW, UM, IF IT'S THE ANALYSIS LEVEL, WE ALSO HAVE A STRATEGY.
AND SO THIS WILL ALLOW US TO HAVE A COMMON LANGUAGE ACROSS THE DISTRICT AND GET IT OFF THE GROUND.
UM, EVENTUALLY STUDENTS WILL OUTGROW THOSE STRATEGIES AND THEN WE WILL, WE'LL DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT.
BUT RIGHT NOW WE, WE HAVE SOME GOOD STRATEGIES THAT WOULD BE IN PLACE TO SUPPORT THE DIFFERENT SCHOOLS DEPENDING ON WHERE THEY ARE.
UM, BUT I THINK THE BEAUTIFUL PART ABOUT THAT THOUGH, IS GOING TO HAVE STILL HAVE A COMMON LANGUAGE OF EXPECTATIONS ACROSS ALL THE OTHER SCHOOLS, BECAUSE THERE'LL BE DOING A SIMILAR STRATEGY.
AND ALSO IN TERMS OF SPED STUDENTS, HI, HOW ARE WE
WHAT IS WRITTEN WITHIN THE IEP IS A PRIORITY.
UM, OUR SPECIAL EDUCATION EDUCATORS WILL BE TRAINED AS WELL IN THE WRITING TOOL.
THE EXPECTATIONS AT THE IS ACTUALLY COLONEL GEIER PUT FORWARD IS THAT ABILITY OF WRITING ACROSS SO THAT A STUDENT WOULD AN IEP OR AN EYE LAP WILL HAVE THAT AVAILABILITY TO COMMUNICATE.
SO YES, MODIFICATIONS AND ADDITIONAL STRATEGIES WILL BE NEEDED, BUT I THINK THAT'S THE MAGIC OF WHAT OUR EDUCATORS ARE ABLE TO DO AS WELL.
UM, I JUST WANTED TO THANK YOU BOTH FOR YOUR WORK ON THIS.
THIS IS EXTREMELY, UM, COMPLEX FOR THE AVERAGE PERSON TO LOOK AT.
UM, I DIDN'T REALLY BEGIN TO APPRECIATE WRITING AS A SKILL UNTIL I WAS IN MY GRADUATE COURSES.
UM, AND IT WAS VERY VALUABLE TO ME.
I HAD A TEACHER THOUGH, THAT WHEN SHE WOULD RETURN ONE OF YOUR WRITING PAPERS, YOU COULDN'T TALK TO HER FOR 48 HOURS BECAUSE IT GOT EMOTIONAL.
SO I THINK WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE IS THAT WE'RE CREATING CONFIDENT WRITERS AND THAT'S A SKILL THAT'S GOING TO BE VERY VALUABLE TO THEM WHEN THEY ENTER THE WORKFORCE.
AND I JUST REALLY WANT TO THANK YOU FOR, FOR YOUR WORK ON US.
I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHEN YOU'RE WRITING FOR DIFFERENT PURPOSES, YOU KNOW, AND IF YOU'RE WRITING, IF I'M WRITING TO CONVINCE YOU OF SOMETHING, RIGHT, YOU KNOW, THAT'S ONE STYLE I'M GOING TO USE, AND I'M GOING TO HAVE A CERTAIN TACTIC.
WHEN I DO THAT, IF I'M WRITING TO GIVE YOU MY OPINION, UH, THAT'S GOING TO BE DIFFERENT, RIGHT? SO WE NEED OUR RE WE NEED OUR STUDENTS, OUR SCHOLARS, RIGHT? TO LEARN THE ART OF WRITING IN THESE DIFFERENT FORMS. RIGHT.
YOU KNOW, MEL SPOKE ABOUT, UH, ACROSS THE CURRICULUM, YOU KNOW, WRITING IN A SCIENCE CLASS IS VERY INFORMATIONAL BASE IS VERY, UH, UH, AND THE READING IS INFORMATIONAL BASE.
AND SO THAT, THAT IN AND OF ITSELF IS CHALLENGED, BUT WRITING WILL HELP READING, WRITING WILL HELP READING.
I WOULD SAY ALSO WHO, HOW DO YOU GET TO BE GOOD AT WRITING? WRITE MORE? YOU GOTTA WRITE, WRITE, WRITE.
AND ALSO THE OPPOSITE OF WRITING MAKES YOU A BETTER READER, A BETTER READER MAKES YOU A BETTER WRITER, TOO.
UM, THEY GO HAND IN HAND TOGETHER.
AND I DON'T THINK PROBABLY A LOT OF, UH, YOUNGER STUDENTS REALIZE HOW IMPORTANT WRITING IS THROUGHOUT THEIR LIFE AND PRETTY MUCH ANYTHING THEY DO.
WELL, IN WORDS, YOU, YOU, UH, THAT, THAT HELPS YOU A LOT IN SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS.
I WOULD SAY IN MY CAREER AS AN IN MEDICINE, I WRITE ALL THE TIME ALL THE TIME AND YOU WOULDN'T THINK, OH, NO, YOU'RE A DOCTOR.
YOU, YOU KNOW, LOOK IN PEOPLE'S EARS OR WHATEVER.
[02:05:01]
AND FOR DIFFERENT PURPOSES.WELL, UH, AND IN TURN OF ME ASKING THAT ALL THOSE QUESTIONS IS BECAUSE I INCORPORATE ACTUALLY, I DID HAVE A TEACHER OF MS. ROSIE LAD AND HER WAY OF, OF TALKING TO YOU WAS TO MAKE YOU RIGHT THEN.
AND THEN THERE WAS A CERTAIN GROUP GROUP OF STUDENTS WHO, UH, HAD TIME WOULD NOT WANT TO ALWAYS WRITE.
AND SHE WOULD MAKE, MAKE US TAKE THE TIME OUT TO WRITE.
BUT ALSO SHE ALSO TOOK THE TIME OUT TO INTEGRATE WHAT WE WERE, WHAT WE WERE SAYING, AND ALSO BREAK, BREAK IT, BREAK IT DOWN TO ME AND MAKE US USE A DIFFERENT SET OF WORDS.
SHE WOULD SAY THOSE TWO AND THREE LETTER WORDS ARE NOT, NOT CONDUCIVE FOR, FOR THIS GRADE LEVEL.
SO, I MEAN, IT'S ALSO IN TERMS OF ALSO WHERE YOU ARE AT, AS IN, HOW WOULD WE SAY INTENT INTAKING OF STUDENTS WHO MAY BE IN HEADSTART OR REGULAR REGULAR SCHOOL WHO MAY COME TO US SPEAKING 50 WORDS VERSUS 250 WORDS, BUT ALL THAT, ALL THAT COMES INTO PLAY IN TERMS OF WRITING, BECAUSE YOU HAD NOT ONLY GOT TO HAVE THAT VOCABULARY, BUT YOU ALSO HAVE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE WRITING AND MAKING SURE THAT YOU CAN WRITE, BECAUSE WRITING IS NOT A SKILL THAT YOU JUST COME UP ON.
IT'S A SKILL THAT'S MAYBE DIFFICULT FOR SOME, FOR SOME VERSUS OTHERS.
UH, MR. FALLON, WILL YOU COME UP AND MARY DON'T GO TOO FAR.
SO WHAT WE WANT TO, UH, UH, TO DO TODAY, AS I MENTIONED, UH, NOT TOO LONG AGO TODAY, UH, THE, THE STATE LIFTED EMBARGO ON, UH, THE SC READY AND SC PASS.
SO THAT'D BE READING AND THAT'D BE MATH, UH, AND THAT'LL BE SCIENCE.
AND SO, UM, THEY'VE BEEN WORKING FEVERISHLY TO PULL TOGETHER SOMETHING, TO BE ABLE TO SHARE WITH YOU THIS EVENING BASED ON PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS.
AND SO, UH, THERE, THERE IS, UH, GOOD NEWS THAT'S IN HERE.
UH, BUT THERE'S ALSO, WE KNOW THERE'S ALWAYS WORK TO BE DONE EVEN THOUGH THERE IS GOOD NEWS.
AND I, AND I'LL MENTION THIS TO YOU IN ELA.
UH, I'M GONNA TAKE A LITTLE BIT OF HIS THUNDER, BUT HE'LL SHARE IT AGAINST THE, HE'LL GET TO SAY IT AGAIN.
UM, OUR SCORES ARE ESSENTIALLY, UH, PAST, UH, PRE PANDEMIC LEVELS.
IN FACT, S C READY ANY L WAS, UH, STARTED IN 2016 AND WE HAVE SCORED THE HIGHEST THAT THE DISTRICT HAS SCORED, UH, IN ELA, SINCE THE INCEPTION OF THE ASSESSMENT IN MATH, IN MATH, WE MENTIONED LAST YEAR, THIS SIGNIFICANT IMPACT THAT WE SAW AS A RESULT OF, UH, THE PANDEMIC IN MATH, WE SHOW GROWTH ACROSS GRADE LEVELS, BUT WE'RE NOT WHERE WE NEED TO BE.
AND EVEN THOUGH, AND EVEN THOUGH, UH, WE HAVE, UH, SCORED IN THE HIGHEST OF THE DISTRICT TEST SCORED IN ELA.
UH, IN, IN, IN, UH, THIS SC READY ASSESSMENT, IT'S STILL NOT WHERE WE WANT TO BE.
BUT THOSE ARE CELEBRATIONS IN HERE, UH, THAT I THINK YOU'RE GOING TO GET TO SEE TODAY.
UH, AND WE, KNOWING THAT WE ALL HAVE WORKED TO CONTINUE TO DO A LOT OF IT, DANIEL, AND THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.
ANY QUESTIONS? UH, SO GOOD EVENING, MR. CHAIRMAN, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN OF THE BOARD, UH, TONIGHT AS DR.
RODRIGUEZ MENTIONED, WE ARE GOING TO BE SHARING SC READY AND SD PASS ASSESSMENT DATA.
UH, BUT WE'RE ALSO GOING TO, UM, NOT SHAMELESSLY HIGHLIGHT AREAS OF SUCCESS.
UH, AND ONE OF THOSE THAT YOU'RE NOT GOING TO SEE IN THE DATA, BUT WE DO HAVE TO CONSIDER IS THE HARD WORK OF OUR EDUCATORS OVER THIS, THIS, THIS TIME, OVER OUR TIME.
BUT AS DR. RODRIGUEZ ALSO MENTIONED, UH, WE ALSO VERY, VERY, VERY SERIOUSLY UNDERSTAND THAT WE HAVE THE NEED FOR CONTINUED GROWTH, UH, COMING OUT OF THIS PERIOD OF INTERRUPTED INSTRUCTION.
SO THE FIRST PART OF THE PRESENTATION, I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU THE WHAT, SO WHAT ARE THE ASSESSMENTS THAT WE'RE GOING TO REPORT? I'M GOING TO TELL YOU WHAT WE'RE GOING TO GO OVER.
WE'RE GONNA DO THREE DATA SLIDES.
AND THEN BASICALLY IF YOU JUST GO TO THE LAST PAGE OF THE PRESENTATION, IT'S EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW AS A POCKET GUIDE OF WHAT TO TAKE FROM THE SE READY AND THE PASS ASSESSMENTS.
SO THIS EVENING, UM, FC READY, THAT IS OUR STATEWIDE ASSESSMENT AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS AND MATHEMATICS.
IT IS ADMINISTERED TO, UH, GRADE THREE AND EIGHT, THREE THROUGH EIGHT STUDENTS.
IT IS ADMINISTERED IN THE LAST 20 DAYS OF EACH ACADEMIC CALENDAR, AND WE DO NOT HAVE 2020 DATA.
OF COURSE IT WAS SUSPENDED DUE TO COVID-19 CLOSURES, SOUTH KIND OF PALMETTO ASSESSMENT OF STATE STANDARDS OR SC PASS, UH, IS A STATEWIDE ASSESSMENT PROGRAM FOR SCIENCE IS ONLY ADMINISTERED IN GRADES FOUR AND SIX.
THAT AGAIN, IN THE LAST 20 DAYS OF THE ASSESSMENT OF THE CALENDAR, AND THEN AGAIN, NO DATA FOR 2020.
[02:10:02]
SO WHAT ARE WE GOING TO COVER? DATA-WISE THIS EVENING, WE'RE GOING TO GO OVER THE GRADE LEVEL, PROFICIENCIES THAT'S MEETS AND EXCEEDS.WE'RE ONLY GOING TO DO MEETS AND EXCEEDS.
THAT'S WHAT WE DETERMINED THAT A FEW YEARS AGO ON ESSAY WRITING ESSAY PAST DATA.
SO WE'RE GOING TO DO THAT BY GRADE LEVEL, BUT WE'RE ALSO GOING TO AGGREGATE, UM, THE PROFICIENCY PERCENTAGES BY SUBGROUP.
AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO TAKE A LOOK AT THAT SUBGROUP PROFICIENCY, UH, BETWEEN THE YEARS 19 AND 21, AND THEN 21 AND 22 TO SEE ANY LEVEL OF GROWTH THAT OCCURRED BETWEEN THOSE SUBGROUPS.
SO OUR FIRST SET OF DATA IS THE LONGITUDINAL PROFICIENCY PERCENTAGES.
UM, IS IT ON YOUR SCREEN BY ANY CHANCE? UM, YEAH, IF YOU'RE ON ZOOM OVER THERE.
ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS LOOK AT THE COLOR.
SO WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS GRADES THREE THROUGH EIGHT.
I, THIS DATA IS BROKEN DOWN BY GRADE LEVEL.
IT IS REPORTING B FOR COUNTY DATA, AS WELL AS THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA.
SO THERE'S, THERE'S ELA, ENGLISH, LANGUAGE, ARTS, DATA MATHEMATICS DATA, AND THEN SCIENCE THAT'S SC READY AND SE PASS.
AND THEN THE YEARS THAT WE'VE INCLUDED AS 20 19, 20 21 AND 20 22, 20 19 BEING THE BASE BASELINE BEFORE THE PANDEMIC OR BEFORE THE INTERACTIVE INTERRUPTED INSTRUCTION, WHAT YOU WILL NOTICE AS, AS DR.
RODRIGUEZ MENTIONED, UH, IN 2022, EVERY GRADE LEVEL, EVERY SUBJECT IS AT OR ABOVE THE STATE, THE STATE LEVELS OF PROFICIENCY.
RODRIGUEZ MENTIONED, WE'RE NOT STOPPING THERE.
WE REALIZED THERE'S STILL WORK TO BE DONE, BUT COMING OUT OF WHAT, UH, THE TWO YEAR PERIODS THAT WE'VE HAD, UM, THAT IS A SUCCESS.
SO IN ELA, ALL GRADE LEVELS ARE AT OR ABOVE THE STATE.
THESE ARE ALSO THE HIGHEST PROFICIENCY LEVELS SINCE THE INCEPTION OF SC READY IN 2016 WITH THE EXCEPTION OF SEVENTH GRADE, UH, IT'S HALF OF A PERCENTAGE POINT AWAY, UH, FROM ITS, UM, ITS HIGHEST RANK, WHICH WAS IN 2021.
SO MATHEMATICS, ALL GRADE LEVELS ARE ABOVE THE STATE.
ALL THE TWO GRADE LEVELS SHOWED IMPROVEMENT OVER THE 2021 DATA.
THE TWO GRADE LEVELS THAT DID NOT SHOW IMPROVEMENT LAST YEAR WERE GRADES FOUR AND EIGHT.
AND THERE'S ACTUALLY A RECENT ARTICLE RELEASED AT THE END OF LAST WEEK, COMING FROM THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATIONAL STATISTICS.
UM, THEY REPORT ON OUR NAPE DATA, UM, WHICH IS, UH, A NATIONAL ASSESSMENT GIVEN TO FOURTH AND EIGHTH GRADERS, UM, NAPE.
SO THAT REPORT TITLED A SOBERING PICTURE OF PANDEMIC EDUCATION READING AND MATH SCORES DROPPED SHARPLY.
THEY'VE ONLY REPORTED ON NINE-YEAR-OLDS.
THOSE ARE FOURTH GRADERS, UH, AND THAT DATA, UH, SHOWS A BRA, UM, A SEVEN PERCENTAGE POINT DECREASE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE HISTORY OF NATE BRINGING THE NATION IN THE NATION'S REPORT CARD, UM, TO A 30 YEAR LOW ON MATHEMATICS COURSE.
SO JUST WANTED TO POINT OUT THAT THIS IS A, UH, A GREAT THING THAT, AND THERE'S MORE INFORMATION COMING FROM THE NATIONAL EDUCATION STATISTICS, BUT THEIR, UM, THEIR FIRST, UH, GLANCE THROUGH THE DATA IS SHOWING THAT IT IS IMPACTFUL TO EVERYONE.
THERE'S NO AREAS THAT WERE LEFT ON UNTOUCHED BY THIS, THE SECRETARY OF EDUCATION REPORTED, UM, THAT THERE ARE THAT, THAT IN MATH, UH, WIPED OUT SEVERAL DECADES, DECADES, SEVERAL DECADES OF ACHIEVEMENT IN MATH.
AND THAT'S, THAT'S, THAT'S A WHOLE THAT THE NATION HAS TO CRAWL OUT OF.
AND YOU KNOW, WE'RE NO EXCEPTION.
AND THEN FINALLY IN SCIENCE, UH, BOTH GRADES ARE HIGHER THAN THE STATE AVERAGE FOUR AND SIX, BOTH GRADES DID IMPROVE OVER THE PRIOR YEAR.
AND GRADE SIX IS NEARLY AT PRE PANDEMIC LEVELS OF PROFICIENCY.
MOVING ON, WE GET TO A LONGITUDINAL SUBGROUP.
SO WHEN YOU SEE ALL STUDENTS OR YOU SEE HISPANIC, LATINO STUDENTS, THAT'S ALL STUDENTS IN GRADES THREE THROUGH EIGHT COMBINED INTO ONE METRIC, UM, THAT IS TO HELP, NOT ONE FOR CONSUMPTION, BUT ALSO FOR TIME.
UH, IF WE REPORTED THIS BY GRADE LEVEL, THERE'D BE 252 DATA ELEMENTS TO GO THROUGH.
UH, AND IT'S A LITTLE MUCH TO CONSUME AT EIGHT O'CLOCK AT NIGHT.
[02:15:01]
WE HAVE HERE IS THE SAME EXACT DATA IT'S JUST BROKEN DOWN BY OUR REPORTING DEMOGRAPHICS.SO WE HAVE BEAVER COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT, ALL STUDENTS, WE SEE 20 19, 20, 21, 20 22 AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS.
WE ALSO BREAK THAT DOWN INTO THE HISPANIC, LATINO STUDENTS.
AFRICAN-AMERICAN WHITE STUDENTS, STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES, MULTILINGUAL LEARNERS, AND THEN PEOPLES IN POVERTY.
THAT WOULD WHAT YOU WOULD CALL SOCIOECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED.
THE NEW TERM IS PEOPLES IN POVERTY.
SO IF WE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, WHAT I'VE DONE IS I'VE TAKEN 2019 AND I'VE LOOKED AT THE GROWTH OF EACH INDIVIDUAL SUBGROUP COMPARED TO ITSELF 2019 TO 2021.
AND THEN 21 TO 22, THE ALL STUDENTS THAT ROW WILL NEVER BE HIGHLIGHTED GREEN BECAUSE THAT'S THE COMPARATIVE, THAT'S THE COMPARISON GROUP.
SO TO WORK OUR WAY THROUGH THE DATA, 2019 TO 2021 CHANGE AND PERCENT MUSIC SEEDS FOR THAT THREE-YEAR PERIOD OR TWO TEST CYCLES, UH, WITH A PANDEMIC IN BETWEEN, UH, BEECHER COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT, ALL STUDENTS LOST, UM, ROUGHLY 22 HUNDREDS OF A PERCENTAGE POINT IN PROFICIENCY.
WHAT WE SEE IN THE NEXT LINE, HISPANIC AND LATINO STUDENTS, THEY ARE GREEN BECAUSE THEY GREW HALF A POINT.
AND THAT IS MORE OBVIOUSLY THAN THE, THE TWO TENS LOSS AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDENTS LOST FIVE TENTS, CAUCASIAN STUDENTS, 1.6, 1.16 STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES GROUP 2.9, PERCENTAGE POINTS, MULTI LEARNERS, UH, LAST TWO POINTS AND THEN PEOPLES IN POVERTY, BASICALLY.
IF IT IS LESS OF A LOSS OR MORE OF A GAME COMPARED TO THE ALL STUDENTS, DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? GREEN GOOD GREEN, GOOD ON THE CHART.
AND WHEN WE LOOK OVER TO ELA, WHEN WE LOOK AT 2122 AND THE ONLY AREA AND THESE THREE SUBJECT AREAS BETWEEN 21 AND 22 THAT DID NOT HAVE GROWTH.
UM, AS OUR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES INSIDE OF ENGLISH, LANGUAGE ARTS, I DID LOSE TWO TENTHS OF A POINT.
UH, ALL OTHER SUBGROUPS DID GROW.
IF IT'S NOT HIGHLIGHTED, IT JUST DIDN'T MEET OR EXCEED THE ALL STUDENT GROWTH.
THE SUBGROUP IS STILL GROWING, BUT JUST DIDN'T EXCEED THE ALL STUDENTS.
WE'LL LOOK AT A 21 TO 22, UH, ALL SUBGROUPS GROUP.
THEY ALL STUDENTS GROUP, AND THEY ALSO GROUPS OUTGREW THE ALL STUDENTS.
AND THEN FINALLY MATH SCIENCE.
UH, THEY, ALL STUDENTS, UH, GREW ROUGHLY SIX POINTS.
UH, ALL OTHER GROUPS GREW AS WELL WITH, UH, AFRICAN-AMERICAN, UH, CAUCASIAN AND STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES, UH, OUTGROWING THE ALL STUDENTS.
WE WERE HOLDING QUESTIONS OR NOT.
SO ON THAT LAST SLIDE AM, AM I CORRECT THAT? THAT'S SORRY, CAN YOU GO BACK TO THE LAST SLIDE? AWESOME.
THE GREEN IS SIMPLY REFLECTIVE OF A PERCENTAGE OR PERCENTAGE OVER THE ALL STUDENTS.
IT'S THEIR, THEIR PROFICIENCY COMPARED TO THEIR PROFICIENCY.
I DID NOT GIVE YOU A GAP TO THE ALL STUDENTS.
I MEASURED HOW MUCH EACH GROUP GREW.
AND THEN WHETHER THAT GROWTH EITHER SURPASSED MET OR FELL SHORT OF THE ALL STUDENT, BUT THE GAP WITH THE PANDEMIC IS IN THE FIRST COLUMN WITH THE 19 TO 21 20 20 TO 2021 IS WHEN THE PANDEMIC WAS AT ITS HEIGHT.
NOT SAYING THAT 21, 22 WASN'T IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PANDEMIC AS WELL, BUT THE 2019 DATA WAS THE BASELINE.
WE HAD A LATE SCHOOL START BEGINNING IN 21.
WE HAD CLOSURE OR VIRTUALS AND 20 GOING INTO 2021 TESTING.
THAT IS A DIRECT RESULT BETWEEN THE TWO.
SO YOUR 2019 DATA WAS, WAS THE LAST UNINTERRUPTED SCHOOL YEAR WITH DATA 2020.
THERE WAS NO ASSESSMENT, 21, OBVIOUSLY IT WAS INTERRUPTED, YOU KNOW, WITH ALL THE FACTORS GOING ON IN 22, UH, HALF OF THE YEAR.
UH, AND SOME, YOU STILL HAD OVER 11,000 ARGENTINES AND ALL SORTS OF STUFF LIKE THAT.
I WAS JUST LOOKING TO SEE IF THERE WAS A CHART OR A GRAPH THAT SHOWED PRE PANDEMIC NUMBERS OR, OR 2019 NUMBERS.
AND WHAT LOOKS GREEN NOW BASED ON THE DATA THAT WE HAD ON NOT TO THIS ON, ON, ON THE, ON THE LONGITUDAL ON THE LONGITUDINAL.
WELL, I WOULD JUST SAY, UM, THE
[02:20:01]
ANSWER IS NO IN THIS PRESENTATION, JUST KEEPING IN MIND THAT JUST GOT INTO THIS TODAY.UM, SO THE FINAL SLIDE, WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED? UH, IT'S A LOT AND I WILL GO OVER IT QUICKLY.
UH, BUT BEFORE THE PATIENT IS EXPERIENCING A PERIOD OF ACADEMIC RECOVERY.
SO WHEN WE HIGHLIGHT ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS, AGAIN, ALL GRADE LEVEL PROFICIENCY PERCENTAGES ARE BACK TO PREPAREMENT RATES, UH, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF GRADE SEVEN, IT'S ONLY HALF A PERCENTAGE POINT AWAY.
SO WE COULD, WE COULD SAY WE'RE AT THAT LEVEL.
ONCE AGAIN, ELA PERCENTAGES ARE THE HIGHEST AGAIN.
UM, THE HIGHEST SCORES WE'VE HAD SINCE 2016, ALL SCORES ARE EQUAL TO, OR GREATER THAN STATE.
UH, 22 TO 2022 ELA SCORES ARE GREATER THAN SCORES IN 2019 AND ALL GRADES EXCEPT SEVEN, WHICH IS SHOWING JUST SLIGHTLY SLOWER GROWTH.
AND ALSO GROUPS SHOWED GROWTH WITH THE EXCEPTION STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES.
WE COVERED THAT ON THAT SLIDE, UM, BUT ALL SHOWING GROWTH BETWEEN 2019 AND 2021 MATHEMATICS, UH, ALL SCORES ARE EQUAL TO, OR GREATER THAN THE STATE AND ALL GRADE LEVELS.
WHILE 2022 MATH SCORES HAVE NOT YET REACHED THE LEVELS OF PROFICIENCY OF 2019.
EACH GRADE LEVEL DID INCREASE OVER THE 2021 SCORES.
ALSO GROUPS SHOWED GROWTH BETWEEN 21 AND 22 ASSESSMENT ADMINISTRATIONS.
AND FINALLY SCIENCE SCORES REFLECT VERY SIMILAR TRENDS AS MATHEMATICS.
UH, BOTH GRADE LEVELS ARE ABOVE THE STATE PERCENTAGES.
WE HAVE NOT QUITE REBOUNDED TO THE 2019, UH, PERCENTAGES OF PROFICIENCY AND ALSO GROUPS SHOWED GROWTH BETWEEN THE 21 AND 22 ASSESSMENT ADMINISTRATIONS FOR QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT INFORMATION.
IT WAS A LITTLE TOUGH ON THE NECK TO SEE EVERYTHING.
SO WE'LL PROBABLY GET INTO A LITTLE BIT MORE, BUT IT KIND OF TIED IN, I WAS ACTUALLY, UM, WAS OVER AT THE HIGH SCHOOL, PICKING MY SON UP FROM SCHOOL THIS WEEK.
AND I, WHILE I WAS WAITING, I RAN INTO THE PRINCIPAL AND I WAS GOING TO SEND YOU AN EMAIL AND SAY, UM, AS A COMPLIMENT TO MR SCHUDRICH AND TO THE SCHOOL AS WELL.
BUT THE ENERGY IN THE SCHOOLS IS SO MUCH DIFFERENT THIS YEAR THAN LAST YEAR, I HAD A NINTH GRADER AND IT WAS GOING TO SCHOOL.
IT WAS A SLOG AND EVERYONE SEEMED DEPRESSED AND IT JUST SEEMED THE ENERGY WAS LOW.
AND MY SON WAS A NINTH GRADER.
HE SAID, MOM, 80 PLUS PERCENT OF THE KIDS DON'T CARE.
YOU KNOW, THAT'S THE ENERGY I HAD LAST YEAR.
AND IT WAS SO NOTICEABLY DIFFERENT.
UM, OF COURSE IT'S THE BEGINNING OF SCHOOL YEAR, BUT I THINK WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SAY, I DO THINK I WAS GOING TO SAY THIS IN MY EMAIL.
I THINK WE ARE IN A PERIOD OF STRONG ACADEMIC RECOVERY.
I FEEL LIKE WE HAD A DIP AND LIKE, UNLIKE SOME OF THE OTHER DISTRICTS AROUND THE NATION, I DO FEEL LIKE OUR COUNTY IS EXPERIENCING A MUCH BETTER REBOUND.
UM, BECAUSE I HAVE FRIENDS WHO HAVE KIDS IN SCHOOL AND WHO ARE ON SCHOOL BOARDS ALL OVER THE UNITED STATES AND THEY'RE NOT HAVING THE SAME ACADEMIC REBOUND.
SO I WANT TO SAY, I THINK THESE NUMBERS, I, I HAVEN'T REALLY GOTTEN A CHANCE TO LOOK INTO THEM, BUT I CONCUR WITH YOUR ASSESSMENT THAT WE ARE IN A PERIOD OF ACADEMIC RECOVERY.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT REALLY STRUCK ME THAT I THINK NATIONWIDE THE PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT IS GOING TO, UH, PUBLIC SCHOOLS ARE GONNA HAVE TO GRAPPLE WITH KIDS NO LONGER SEE SCHOOL AS IMPORTANT, BUT LIKE, IT WASN'T IMPORTANT FOR TWO YEARS WE COULD STAY HOME AND BE IN OUR BEDROOMS. WE COULD, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS NONE OF THAT SENSE OF PURPOSE.
UM, AND SO I READ A GREAT ARTICLE THAT SAID, WHAT PUBLIC SCHOOLS NEED TO DO IS THEY REALLY NEED TO RECONNECT KIDS TO THEIR, WHY, WHY ARE YOU LEARNING TO WRITE? YOU KNOW, EVEN IF YOU'RE A DOCTOR YOU STILL NEED TO WRITE, WHY ARE YOU LEARNING MATH? IT'S EVEN IF YOU'RE A PLUMBER, YOU'RE GOING TO NEED TO KNOW MATH.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A PHYSICIST TO, UM, TAKE, YOU KNOW, ALGEBRA.
SO I THINK THAT SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE DONE A GOOD JOB ON, OBVIOUSLY WE DO A LOT MORE WORK.
ANOTHER NUMBER THAT I AM INTERESTED IN IS THE GRADUATION RATE, BECAUSE I AM CONCERNED ABOUT THAT AS THE LAST COUPLE OF BRAIDS CAME TO GRADUATION AND DIDN'T HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR ACADEMIC RECOVERY.
SO I DON'T WANT TO APPLY THESE NUMBERS AT THIS POINT.
THEY'RE TOO NEW, BUT I DO WANT TO STRONGLY SAY, AND THIS WAS ALREADY ON ME THAT I WANTED TO SAY THIS.
I DO FEEL LIKE BUFORD COUNTY IS IN A STRONG ACADEMIC RECOVERY MODE.
UM, THANK YOU, DAN DANIEL, A QUESTION.
SO ONCE THESE ARE, THESE ARE NOT EMBARGOED ANYMORE.
IS THERE A, UM, ACCESS TO OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICTS? IS THAT PUBLISHED SOMEWHERE? SO IN OTHER WORDS, CAN WE LOOK UP OR A COUNTY OR GREENVILLE OR, YEAH, SO UP UNTIL 1230 THIS AFTERNOON, UH, THERE WERE NO EXCEL FILES OR NO EASILY CONSUMABLE DATA, UM, AND, UH, ON AN EMBARGOED OR NON EMBARGO SENSE.
UH, SO THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN COMBING THROUGH WEBSITES AND WRITING NUMBERS DOWN.
UM, NOW THAT THAT DATA IS OUT, YES,
[02:25:01]
WE, WE HAVE PRELIMINARY LOOKED AT SOME, SOME DISTRICTS, BUT YES, IT'S MUCH EASIER NOW FOR US TO GO IN AND START SLICING THE PART DATA.SO WE CAN GO BACK AND TELL THE INSTRUCTIONAL PEOPLE, WHAT ARE WE LOOKING AT? THEN WE GET TO THE CONTENT COORDINATORS WOULD GET EVERYBODY GOING.
SO YES, THAT, THAT ANALYSIS IS TO COME.
THE FIRST WAS, LET'S TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN STUFF, GET A REPORT AND GET IT OUT.
UM, AND THEN WE CAN START REALLY DIGGING IN AND HAVING INSTRUCTIONAL CONVERSATIONS AND ISD.
SO, SO IT'S NOT LISTED ON LIKE THE SOUTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION.
YOU HAVE TO GO TO DIFFERENT SITES, YOU KNOW, SO IF YOU GO TO M 80 TO SC.GOV, UH, SHOULD BE IN THE TOP RIGHT-HAND CORNER, YOU'LL SEE DATA.
UH, IF YOU CLICK ON DATA THERE'S ASSESSMENT RESULTS AND FOR ASSESSMENTS AS THE READY SE PASS, AND THEN IT GOES INTO THE ACTUAL DATA.
I DO THINK THAT IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT, UM, WHEN YOU GO THERE, IT, IT DOESN'T, IT'S NOT, UH, IT'S NOT AS ACCURATE OR AS SIMPLE AS PICKING OUT, UH, ANY, ANY SCHOOL DISTRICT AND THEN LOOKING AT IT AND THEN SAYING, OH, LET ME COMPARE THAT TO THIS OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICT, RIGHT? BECAUSE THERE ARE MULTIPLE FACTORS THAT, THAT, UH, DISTINGUISH SCHOOL DISTRICTS FROM ONE ANOTHER, YOU MIGHT HAVE A SCHOOL DISTRICT LIKE OURS, WHICH IS APPROACHING 57%, UH, STUDENTS OF POVERTY.
AND YOU MIGHT HAVE ONE WITH 20% STUDENTS OF POVERTY, RIGHT? AND SO YOU, THAT'S NOT THE SAME COMPARISON, PARTICULARLY WHEN YOU'RE ON THE HEAT JUST BEHIND YOU HAS BEEN A TWO TO THREE YEAR GLOBAL PANDEMIC.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS WE NOTICED HERE IS THAT 80% OF STUDENTS IN CERTAIN SECTIONS OF OUR COMMUNITY CHOSE TO GO ALL VIRTUAL, RIGHT? AND IN OTHER SECTIONS OF OUR COMMUNITY, 80% OF STUDENTS CHOSE TO COME FACE TO FACE WITHIN THAT, JUST RIGHT HERE IN BUFORD COUNTY.
THERE'S A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN THE IMPACT OF THE PANDEMIC, UH, THAT WE'RE ALREADY SEEING, YOU KNOW, AND, AND GRADUATION RATES AND OTHER THINGS LIKE THAT ARE ALSO LAGGING INDICATORS WHERE, YOU KNOW, MAYBE WE DIDN'T SEE THE INITIAL EFFECT OF, UH, UH, THE PANDEMIC IN LAST YEAR NUMBERS OR, OR WHAT HAVE YOU.
BUT AS THOSE STUDENTS MOVE THROUGH, THERE ARE SOME, SOME LAGGING EFFECTS THAT YOU CAN SEE AS A RESULT OF THE PANDEMIC.
SO, I MEAN, ONE OTHER, UH, UH, VARIABLE, YOU KNOW, UH, WHEN YOU LOOK AT, UH, 20, 21 DATA, THE STATE REMOVES STIPULATION ON HOW MANY STUDENTS YOU TEST RIGHT NOW, WE TESTED ALL OF, ALL OF OUR STUDENTS, RIGHT? WE WERE UP OVER JUST OVER 90% OF OUR STUDENTS THAT ACTUALLY CAME IN TO TAKE A TEST DURING THAT YEAR.
BUT THERE ARE MANY, MANY DISTRICTS WHO DIDN'T HIT THAT NUMBER, BUT YOU'RE NOT GOING TO FIND THAT WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT IT.
SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THOSE COMPARISONS, IT'S NOT THAT EASY, BUT IT'S STILL GOOD TO LOOK AND POKE AROUND.
YES, THAT'S NOT FULL DISCLOSURE.
SO BUFORD COUNTY, WE TESTED 91.4% OF OUR POPULATION IN 2021.
UH, THE STATE AVERAGE WAS 87.9.
IT'S A RANGE FROM 99% DOWN TO 25% TESTED.
UM, ONE PIECE OF DATA I DON'T SEE THAT I'VE SEEN IN THE PAST IS GENDER DATA.
I'D LIKE TO SEE THE GENDER DATA.
I THINK I REALLY BELIEVE WE HAVE A GENDER ACHIEVEMENT GAP AND OUR YOUNG, UH, YOUNG MEN AND OUR, YOUR YOUNG LADIES, AND THAT HELPS US TARGET A LITTLE BIT.
SO I APPRECIATE SEEING THAT, UH, SOMETIME THANK YOU.
UM, WHY DO YOU THINK SEVENTH GRADE IS MUCH SLOWER? MIGHT HAVE COME UP WITH AN ANSWER FOR THAT, ALL THOSE, UH, YOU KNOW, DR.
STRADDLES, WE'LL SHARE SOME INSIGHTS ON THAT MAYBE, BUT, BUT ALL OF THE, THOSE TIDBITS OF THINGS ARE THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO DIG INTO AND DIG INTO WITH OUR SCHOOLS.
IT CAN BE, UH, UH, ANY MULTIPLE, UH, LAYER OF REASONS, YOU KNOW? UM, BUT, BUT THOSE ARE THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO DIG INTO.
YOU KNOW, IF WE WANT TO KEEP MOVING, RIGHT, YOU HAVE TO, YOU HAVE TO KEEP LIFTING THESE ROCKS UP AND SEEING WHAT'S UNDERNEATH IT.
AND WHAT'S CAUSING DIFFERENT THINGS.
YOU KNOW, EVERY, EVERY TIME, EVERY TIME YOU GET DATA, WHETHER IT'S DIAGNOSTIC DATA, WHETHER IT'S THIS KIND OF DATA, YOU HAVE TO KEEP DIGGING AND LIFTING THE ROCKS UP.
SO YOU CAN, YOU CAN SEE VARIOUS THERE'S SOMETHING YOU WANTED TO ADD TO THAT.
[02:30:01]
STANDARDS AS A STEP CURRICULUM, THAT STEP FROM SIXTH TO SEVENTH GRADE IS A LITTLE LARGER STEP.SO YOU HAVE TWO FACTORS THAT HAPPEN IS A LARGER JUMP AND THAT WE DON'T HAVE A SPIRAL CURRICULUM WHERE THINGS GET TO BE TAUGHT RETAUGHT.
IT'S A BIGGER STEP FOR THE STUDENTS.
SO IT IS, IT THERE'S A LITTLE MORE COMPLEXITY AND ANOTHER ISSUE POSSIBLY IN MATH, WHEN YOU LOOK AT SEVENTH GRADE DATA, IS THAT SOME STUDENTS TAKE ALGEBRA ONE IN SEVENTH GRADE, AND THEN THEY TAKE GEOMETRY IN EIGHTH GRADE, OR SOME STUDENTS TAKE ALGEBRA IN EIGHTH.
AND, AND SO WHEN THEY DO THAT, THEY TAKE ANY OSI.
SO, SO YOU'RE LIFTING THEM OUT OF THAT NUMBER THAT SITS IN YOUR REGULAR SEVENTH GRADE CLASS OR YOUR, UH, SO TH TH TH THOSE ARE ALL FACTORS THAT AGAIN, YOU'VE GOT TO TEASE OUT, UH, SO YOU CAN REALLY SEE WHAT'S WHAT'S HAPPENING.
OH, HOW WAS THAT THERE TOO? THE TRADITIONAL SCORES FOR SEVENTH GRADERS? YES.
AND, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT SEVENTH GRADERS, THEY'RE NOW IN A MIDDLE OF THE MIDDLE SCHOOLS, THEY GOT TO THINK ABOUT THE SOCIAL ASPECTS OF THAT TOO.
THEY'RE COMFORTABLE ENOUGH TO NOT DO A WHOLE LOT, BECAUSE THEY'RE GOING TO BE THE BIG DOSE IN EIGHTH GRADE.
SO THAT'S GOING TO DRIVE THEM TOO MUCH FOR THE INCENTIVE, BUT TEST SCRIPTS THOSE, BUT IT'S GREAT.
IT'S GOT A DIFFERENT ACCENT EVERY DAY.
YOU'VE GOT TO GET A NINTH GRADER GOING TO CARRY A GOOD RECORD, THE NINTH GRADE.
SO THEY, THEY GET A LITTLE DEEP.
SO THAT'S NOT THE THOUGHT ABOUT THAT CONCLUDES OUR SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT.
UM, THE CONSENT AGENDA THAT WE APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA SECOND BY MR. EARL CAMPBELL, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, UNANIMOUS FUTURE AGENDA TOPICS.
MR. SMITH, UH, THE EXECUTIVE, THE EXECUTIVE SESSION FOLDER INFORMATION.
UM, HOW DO, UH, TH THE PROCESS OF THAT
UH, SOME OF THAT STUFF THAT WE HIT, THAT WE HAVE IN THOSE FOLDERS, AND ALSO, UH, YOU KNOW, JUST LIKE TODAY, I WAS, I GUESS, A CHASE DOWN JUST TO, TO GET THE FORWARD.
SO I'M JUST WANTING TO UNDERSTAND HOW WHAT'S THE PROCESS OF THE, OF, OF, OF WHAT, WHAT WE DO WITH THOSE PHOTOS.
AND ALSO, UM, ONCE, ONCE, ONCE, ONCE INFORMATION IS VOTED PUBLIC, THAT THEN THAT INFORMATION IS, UH, ONCE IT'S LOADED ON AND THE INFORMATION IS PUBLIC.
UM, SO I JUST WANT TO TALK ABOUT THAT PROCESS, BECAUSE THAT HAS BEEN A PRODUCT, THAT'S BEEN SOMETHING, WHAT IS THE PROCESS OF EXECUTIVE INFORMATION, THE EXECUTIVE SESSION INFORMATION.
THAT'S SOMETHING WE'VE TALKED ABOUT BEFORE, BUT THE PROCESS OF IT, BUT YEAH, I JUST TO GET INTO IT ANNOUNCEMENTS SECOND
[Second Public Comments]
PUBLIC COMMENTS.THERE IS NO ONE HERE, BUT THEY HAVE SOME ON THE PHONE.
UM, THIS IS RAM I'M CALLING AND PUTTING YOU ON SPEAKER FOR LEVEL COMMENTS.
ARE YOU READY? ALL RIGHT, HOLD ON, PLEASE.
HI, GOOD EVENING, MR. CHAIRMAN, BOARD MEMBERS AND STAFF.
[02:35:01]
THANKS FOR GIVING ME A CHANCE TO SPEAK TONIGHT.UM, I HAVE TO SAY, UH, IT'S GREAT TO HEAR SOME GREAT NEWS FROM YOU, UH, IN REGARDS TO EVERYTHING EVERYTHING'S PASSED TONIGHT AND INFORMATION AND TESTING.
AND, UH, FOR THAT I'D LIKE TO SAY THANK YOU.
UM, AS A PARENT, I CAN APPRECIATE THE HARD WORK THAT'S BEING DONE TO, TO GET THE RESULTS THAT YOU'RE, YOU'RE AIMING FOR.
UM, ONE OTHER QUICK QUESTION IS IF IT'S POSSIBLE FOR YOU TO, UM, MAYBE REVISIT, UH, MY COMMENTS PREVIOUSLY REGARDING THE PROTECTION OF PEOPLE'S RIGHTS AMENDMENT, THAT'S 20 U S CODE 1232 H.
UM, IT'S COME TO MY ATTENTION THIS YEAR ALREADY.
MY SON HAS BEEN ASKED TO SIGN TWO DIFFERENT DOCUMENTS, UM, WITHOUT ME BEING PRESENT.
AND, UH, WHILE THEY MAY BE RELEVANT TO SOME PEOPLE, UM, IT'S IS THE BAD HABIT OF, TO HAVE A MINOR CHILD SIGNING DOCUMENTS WITHOUT PARENTAL CONSENT.
AND, UM, IF, UH, IF YOU COULD PLEASE, UH, LOOK INTO LETTING YOUR PRINCIPALS KNOW, AND THE TEACHERS KNOW THAT IF THERE'S SOMETHING HAS TO BE SIGNED BY A PARENT, THEY SHOULDN'T REALLY TELL THE STUDENTS TO SIGN IT AND ADVANCE.
UM, LAST THING WOULD BE, UM, LOOKING INTO ADOPTING POSSIBLY, UH, A RESTRICTED STUDENT CELL PHONE POLICY.
IF THERE ISN'T ONE ALREADY IN PLACE.
UH, I THINK THAT'S KIND OF A LITTLE BIT OF A DISTRACTION FOR, FOR SOME OF THE STUDENTS.
AND I KNOW IT'S DISTRACTING FOR SOME OF THE TEACHERS AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, UM, ANY CHANCE WE CAN GET THE AIR CONDITIONING WORKING IN MY SON'S CLASSROOM OVER AT HILTON HEAD ELEMENTARY.
I'M SURE WHAT COURT HAS BEEN PUT IN, BUT I WOULDN'T BE A DAD IF I WASN'T ASKING FOR A LITTLE BIT HEALTHIER ENVIRONMENT FOR THE TEACHERS AND MY KIDS HAVE A GOOD NIGHT.
THE ONLY THING LESS LEFT ON THE AGENDA IS ADJOURNMENT.
NOW ANONYMOUS CONSENT THE COUNTY CHANNEL IS ALSO AVAILABLE ON VIDEO, ON DEMAND, GO TO BUFORD COUNTY, SC.GOV, SCROLL DOWN TO PUBLIC MEETINGS, CLICK WATCH NOW, AND THEN CLICK THE VIDEO ON DEMAND BUTTON AND SELECT YOUR PROGRAM FROM BELLIS CALL TO ORDER IF YOU'D LIKE A DVD OF THIS PROGRAM, CLICK ON THE LINK ON THE RIGHT AND FILL OUT THE ORDER FORM.
AND THANK YOU FOR WATCHING THE COUNTY CHANNEL I'M NATALIE HEFTER.
AND THIS IS YOUR VIEW FOR COUNTY MOMENT.
OYSTERS PLAY AN IMPORTANT PART OF OUR SOCIAL SCHEDULE DURING THE WINTER MONTHS.
I'D ALWAYS THERESE, BUT FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS, THEY'VE BEEN IMPORTANT TO OUR HISTORY HERE.
NATIVE AMERICANS USE THEM FOR FOOD.
WE USED IT FOR PROCESSING INDIGO, AND EVEN FOR FERTILIZING FIELDS OF COTTON OYSTER FACTORIES WERE USED IN THE BUFORD COUNTY AREA, ALL THREE OF THE 19TH AND 20TH CENTURY TO PROCESS OYSTERS AND CANNED THEM AROUND TOWN.
YOU CAN SEE EVIDENCE OF TABBY ARCHITECTURE THAT'S MADE FROM OYSTER SHELLS, BUT ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS THAT WASTERS DO FOR US IS FILTER OUR WATER SEVEN GALLONS OF WATER PER OYSTER PER DAY.
THIS IS WHY IT'S SO IMPORTANT TO KEEP OUR WATERWAYS CLEAN OF STORMWATER.
AS THESE ARE FILTERING ALL THE TIME, REMEMBER TO RECYCLE THOSE OYSTER SHELLS WHEN YOU FINISH YOUR OYSTER ROAST.
SO WE HAVE NEW PLACES FOR BABY OYSTERS TO GROW, ENJOY THE SEASON.
AND THIS HAS BEEN YOUR BUFORD COUNTY MOMENT TO SEE MORE ME FOR COUNTY MOMENTS, GO TO THE BUFORD COUNTY LIBRARY HOMEPAGE AND CLICK ON THE LOCAL HISTORY TAB, EARNING A TOP ENDORSEMENT.
THE BUFORD COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICTS OFFICE OF EARLY CHILDHOOD HAS BEEN NAMED AS A PARENTS, AS TEACHERS BLUE RIBBON AFFILIATE.
WE ARE EXCITED TO BE NAMED A BLUE RIBBON PARENTS AS TEACHERS AFFILIATE, AS IT'S A DIRECT RESULT OF THE DEDICATED TEAMWORK, STRATEGIC PLANNING, AND PASSIONATE SERVICE BY OUR PARENT EDUCATORS AND TEAMS. SO MOM, WOULD YOU TAP ON THE BOOK AND GO AND STUDY THE BLUE RIBBON ENDORSEMENT RECOGNIZES THE PARENTS AS TEACHERS PROGRAM
[02:40:01]
FOR DELIVERING OUTSTANDING SERVICES TO CHILDREN AND FAMILIES AS THEY WORK TO PROMOTE AND ENCOURAGE LANGUAGE, INTELLECTUAL GROWTH AND MORE OUR PARENTS AS TEACHERS PROGRAM IS ONE OF THE HIGHEST QUALITY PROGRAMS IN THE HOME VISITATION AND PARENT FIELD.WE SEND OUR PARENT EDUCATORS INTO THE HOMES OF FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN, BIRTH THROUGH KINDERGARTEN.
THE PARENTS AS TEACHERS PROGRAM DOES MORE THAN JUST WORK WITH CHILDREN.
THE PROGRAM EMPHASIZES TO PARENTS THAT THEY ARE THEIR CHILD'S FIRST AND MOST IMPORTANT TEACHER.
OUR ULTIMATE GOAL IS TO BUILD STRONG, SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES, THRIVING FAMILIES, AND TO ENSURE ALL CHILDREN WILL BE SUCCESSFUL IN KINDERGARTEN AND BEYOND THE DISTRICT'S PARENTS, AS TEACHERS PROGRAM WILL BE HONORED FOR THEIR ACCOMPLISHMENT AT THE 2022 PARENTS, AS TEACHERS INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE NEXT YEAR IN COLORADO FOR THE BUFORD COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT RAMOS.
WHAT ABOUT THE RED SQUARE? GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYONE.
IS THAT CORRECT? IS IT MY TURN? ALL RIGHT.
UM, THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE HERE TODAY, AND IT'S A, AS I'VE SAID TO SO MANY PEOPLE HERE TODAY, THERE'S SO MANY OF YOU WHO HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN THIS.
AND AS WE GO THROUGH TODAY, WE WANT TO TRY TO RECOGNIZE AS MANY OF YOU AS, AS WE CAN.
IF WE MISS ANYBODY, I WANT TO APOLOGIZE IN ADVANCE BECAUSE I KNOW THAT THERE ARE LOTS OF PEOPLE THAT ARE, MAYBE WE'RE GONNA OVERLOOK WHO DIDN'T HAD A LARGE PART IN THIS, BUT ANYWAY, LET ME START OFF SAY GOOD AFTERNOON.
AND, UH, THANK YOU FOR COMING OUT, UH, TO THIS GRAND OPENING AND, UH, AND WELCOME TO THE LONG ANTICIPATED.
I THINK THAT'S REASONABLE LONG ANTICIPATED OPENING OF CRYSTAL LAKE PARK.
IT'S BEEN IN THE WORKS SINCE WHAT, 2005, I THINK SO IT'S LONG ANTICIPATED.
I WANT TO MAKE A FEW COMMENTS ABOUT THE HISTORY AND THE LONG VOYAGE THAT MANY OF YOU HAVE MADE OR BEEN ON IN ORDER TO GET TO THIS POINT TODAY FOR THE GRAND OPENING OF THIS 25 ACRE PASSIVE PARK, THE BUFORD COUNTY HAS INVESTED ABOUT THREE AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS IN OF YOUR TAX DOLLARS.
UH, PUTTING THE, UH, THE PIECES OF THIS PARK TOGETHER TOOK, UH, OVER FIVE YEARS, UH, THE FIRST PARCEL WAS PURCHASED IN 2004, AND THAT WAS A FOUR AND A HALF ACRE PIECE, WHICH INCLUDED BUTLER MARINE.
I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY OF YOU REMEMBER BUTLER MARINE IS IT'S WHERE THAT CURRENT BUILDING IS, WAS PART OF BUTLER MARINE.
UH, BUT THAT WAS OUR, THAT WAS OUR FIRST TOE IN THE WATER OF THAT FOUR AND A HALF ACRES.
UM, AND THEN THE SECOND PURCHASE WAS FROM THE OIL PURCHASE DONATION WAS FROM THE STUART FOUNDATION.
I KNOW DICK STEWARDS HERE, THE STUART FOUNDATION DONATED EIGHT OF THE 12 ACRES WE GOT FROM THEM, INCLUDING THE ACTUAL LAKE ITSELF, WHICH WAS A HUGE BENEFIT TO US ALL.
UH, ANOTHER FIVE ACRES WAS PURCHASED IN 2005 FROM THE DUKE PRIEST FAMILY, UH, IN, UH, 2007, THE ROBINSON FAMILY, WE PURCHASED ANOTHER 1.2 ACRES.
AND FINALLY, IN 2009, WE PURCHASED A TWO AND A HALF ACRES FROM THE CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF CHARLESTON, WHICH GAVE US A COMPLETE 25 ACRES, WHICH IS WHAT WE HAVE HERE TODAY.
MEANWHILE, IN 2006, THE COUNTY COUNCIL AUTHORIZED, UH, FINANCIAL AND STAFF SUPPORT FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF CRYSTAL LAKE PROPERTY AS A PASSIVE PARK AND PROGRESS BEGAN IN ORDINANCE.
THAT WAS 2005 IN 2011, A CITIZENS COMMITTEE WAS FORMED IN COOPERATION WITH THE BUFORD COUNTY PLANNING DEPARTMENT TO FINALIZE PLANNING EFFORTS AND OBTAIN COMMUNITY INPUT AND FEEDBACK.
AND LET ME TAKE A MOMENT TO RECOGNIZE AT LEAST SOME OF THE FOLKS WHO WERE MEMBERS OF FRIENDS, OF CRYSTAL LAKE PARK, WHO WORKED TIRELESSLY AND MANY, MANY THANK TIMES.
THANKS, LESLIE, TO BRING US THIS BEAUTIFUL PARK THAT WE HAVE HERE TODAY.
I'M GOING TO NAME AS MANY AS I CAN.
AND IF I MISSED ANY, I APOLOGIZE.
UH, FRANK GIBSON WAS TREASURER.
UH, RICK KURTZ WAS INVOLVED, UH, CLARENCE WASHINGTON, UH, JOE ALLARD, MICHAEL BROCK, JIM HICKS.
UH, FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE YESTERDAY, WE BURIED HIS WIFE.
SO WE UNDERSTAND WHY HE'S NOT HERE WITH US TODAY, BUT HE WAS A HUGE PART OF THIS CREATION OF THIS PARK, MARGARET DPA, TRO, I THINK FOR THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, UH, LAURA LEE, UH, PAT HARVEY WITH THE, UH, WITH LIPPA AND SOME OTHER LIBERAL MEMBERS AND SUPPORTERS, FATHER, ANDREW OF, UH, OF THE ST PETER'S CATHOLIC CHURCH.
AND OF COURSE THE, UH, THE BUILDERS, UH, BUFORD CONSTRUCTION, I BELIEVE LEITH W
[02:45:01]
WEBB WAS A MANAGER AT THE TIME, UH, TO DO THE BUILDING UPGRADE.AND, UH, STEVE PATTERSON TO PATTERSON CONSTRUCTION DID THE BOARDWALK AND ENGINE ANDREW'S ENGINEERING WAS HEAVILY INVOLVED.
AND, UH, THE ARCHITECT WAS ROBERT MONTGOMERY.
THE, UH, THE FINAL PHASE OF CONSTRUCTION, UH, THE BOARDWALK AND TRAIL BEGAN IN 2018.
AND OF COURSE THE RENOVATIONS TO THE, UH, TO THE BUTLER MARINE BUILDING WAS THE FIRST PHASE OF THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE BOARDWALK IS HERE.
ANOTHER GROUP THAT I WANT TO RECOGNIZE TWO GROUPS ACTUALLY ARE THE MASTER GARDENERS AND MASTER NATURALIST WHO VOLUNTEERED AND PLANTED THEM IN MAINE AND MAINTAIN THE POLLINATOR GARDENS.
SO LET ME JUST START BY ASKING HOW MANY NATURAL START WITH, UH, UH, MASTER GARDENERS, HOW MANY MASTER GARDENERS IN RAISE YOUR HAND.
AND I KNOW EVERYONE HERE APPRECIATES THE VALUE OF POLLINATORS.
I HAVE THE LARGEST GRAPEFRUIT ORCHARD IN BUFORD COUNTY, SO I PARTICULARLY APPRECIATE THE POLLINATORS.
AND THEN WE HAVE THE MASTER NATURALISTS, HOW MANY NAT IN THAT MASTER NATURALIST.
SO IF YOU WOULD RAISE YOUR HAND AND BE IDENTIFIED, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR ALL THE WORK YOU ALL HAVE DONE AND CONTINUE TO DO TO MAKE THIS PARK A BEAUTIFUL PLACE.
THE, UH, BUFORD COUNTY OPEN LAND TRUST, AND THE BUFORD COUNTY SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT, UH, BEGAN OCCUPATION OF THAT BUILDING IN 2017.
AND THEY HAVE BEEN AND CONTINUE TO BE EXCELLENT STEWARDS OF THE BUILDING AND THE PARK.
THEY PROVIDE SECURITY, THEY PROVIDE ORIENTATION AND A LOT OF SERVICES FOR THE FOLKS WHO COME HERE TO SEE THE PARK.
ALSO WANT TO GIVE A BIG SHOUT OUT TO THE BUFORD COUNTY STAFF MEMBERS PAST AND PRESENT WHO WORKED TIRELESSLY ON THIS PROJECT.
AGAIN, I MAY NOT GET THEM ALL IF I DON'T, IF I DON'T, I APOLOGIZE.
CHRIS SOTELO IS STANDING RIGHT THERE, WHO WAS OUR DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT FOR MANY, MANY YEARS.
AND HE WAS A VISIONARY ON THIS PROJECT AND, UH, NO TELLING HOW MANY HOURS, COUNTLESS HOURS, UH, AND SWEAT AND TEARS.
HE PUT INTO THIS, INTO THIS PROJECT.
AND TONY, I WANT TO THANK YOU, STEPHANIE.
THERE SHE IS, UH, WHO IS OUR DIRECTOR OF PASSIVE PARKS AND WHO WAS VERY ACTIVELY INVOLVED AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE VERY ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN THIS PARK IN THE FUTURE AND OUR ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT.
WE HAD A WEST CAMPBELL AND ROB MCPHEE.
THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU ALL DID.
AND OUR DIRECTOR OF PROPERTIES, MARK ROSE.
NOW I KNOW HE'S HERE AND, UH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
AND ERIC GREENWAY, OUR CURRENT DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT, WHO'S ALSO PUT A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF WORK INTO THIS, AND OF COURSE, UH, PATTERSON'S CONSTRUCTION.
I THINK I MIGHT'VE MENTIONED THEM ALREADY.
UH, THE GREEN TECHNOLOGY THAT WAS USED, UH, TO, UH, RENOVATE THE OLD BUTLER MARINE BUILDING.
I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU ALL REMEMBER WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE, BUT IT NEEDED A LOT OF HELP.
AND, UH, WE USE GREEN, REALLY GREEN TECHNOLOGY AND THAT IT WAS USED, AND IT WAS SO SUCCESSFUL THAT, UH, BUFORD COUNTY IS NOW RECEIVING REFUND CHECKS FROM DOMINION ENERGY.
IT WORKS, GREEN ENERGY WORK, GREEN TECHNOLOGY WORKS, AND YES, THAT WILL BE USED TO OFFSET YOUR TAXES.
YOU'LL SEE THE SMALL REDUCTION IN YOUR TAX BILL.
UH, AND FINALLY, UH, I THINK EVERYBODY'S AWARE OF THE DIVERSITY OF WILDLIFE THAT WE HAVE HERE.
WE HAVE EGRETS, HERONS AND DINGOES CORE MORAN'S MIGRATORY AND RESIDENT AND RESIDENT SONGBIRDS, ALLIGATOR, AND DEER.
AND THAT WE KNOW OF, UH, AND WHO KNOWS WHO OR WHAT ELSE MAY MOVE IN OUT THERE.
SO WE'LL KIND OF KEEP YOU POSTED AS THAT DEVELOPS AND, UH, WHO MIGHT TAKE UP RESIDENCE IN THIS BEAUTIFUL LOCATION.
BUT AGAIN, I WANT TO THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE TODAY AND, UH, LET'S CUT THE RIBBON AND I KNOW I'M NOT GOING TO CUT IT BY MYSELF.
SO ALL THE PEOPLE, ALL THE PEOPLE THAT WERE MENTIONED, INCLUDING THE NATURALIST AND THE MASTER GARDENERS AND THE ENGINE, EVERYBODY JUST COME FORWARD FOR THIS PROCESS.
THERE'S ONLY ONE PAIR OF SCISSORS, BUT YOU CAN ALL JOIN IN FOR THE PICTURE TAKEN
[02:52:39]
I WANT TO EAT, I NEED TO EAT APPLES AND BANANA.WHY CAN'T I EAT APPLES, SUPPORT THE FEEDING AMERICA NATIONWIDE NETWORK OF FOOD BANKS TO HELP PROVIDE MEALS TO THOSE IN NEED, JOIN US@FEEDINGAMERICA.ORG.
I WOULD SAY, DO SOMETHING THAT YOU LOVE, RIGHT? SO YOU DON'T FEEL LIKE YOU'RE OVERWHELMED.
I WANT TO SHOW YOU A COLLEGE RESEARCH WEBSITE AND THAT'S, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT HAPPENED IS THAT BALANCE IS BEST TO BE A SCHOOL COUNSELOR.
IT MEANS THAT YOU ARE IN A POSITION WHERE YOU HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN A CHILD'S LIFE EVERY DAY.
AND I KNOW YOU'RE VERY CREATIVE, SO I CAN SEE YOUR, YOUR JUICES ARE ALREADY GOING AND TO DO THAT.
YOU ARE LOOKING AT THE WHOLE CHILD.
AND SO EVEN ON YOUR WORST DAY, YOU JUST KNOW THAT YOU ARE STILL SOME CHILD'S THAT'S HOPE AND HELPING THEM OVERCOME BARRIERS AS A SCHOOL COUNSELOR, I FEEL LIKE MY NUMBER ONE RESPONSIBILITY IS TO ADVOCATE FOR STUDENTS AND TO HELP THEM LEARN HOW TO ADVOCATE FOR THEMSELVES.
IT MEANS A LOT TO ME TO BE A SCHOOL COUNSELOR, THE ABILITY TO IMPACT STUDENTS, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO HAVE BARRIERS TO LEARNING IS ONE OF THE MOST REWARDING EXPERIENCES FOR ME, ALONG WITH WATCHING STUDENTS SET GOALS FOR THEMSELVES, BE IT PERSONAL SOCIAL OR ACADEMIC CAREER.
SO THIS FINDING COLLEGES, NOT EVERY COLLEGE IS FOR EVERY STUDENT.
SO YOU WANT TO FIND WHAT WORKS BEST FOR YOU THAT I REALLY ENJOY THE MOST ABOUT COUNSELING IS THE ONE-ON-ONE INTERACTION WITH OUR STUDENTS AS A MIDDLE SCHOOL COUNSELOR.
YOU KNOW, YOU'RE REALLY TRYING TO PRIME THOSE STUDENTS AND REALLY START THINKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE THEY GOING TO DO AS A HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT? YOU KNOW, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO AS A, AS A, A GRADUATE AFTER HIGH SCHOOL, WE REALLY WANT TO HELP THEM TRY TO FIND THEMSELVES AND UNDERSTAND WHERE THEY ARE, WHAT THEIR PLACE IS IN THE WORLD.
SCHOOL COUNSELORS ARE OFTEN THE HEART OF THE SCHOOL.
WE WORK WITH EVERYONE, STUDENTS, TEACHERS, PARENTS, ADMINISTRATORS, COMMUNITY MEMBERS, AND WE OFTEN HAVE OUR FINGER ON THE PULSE OF WHAT IS GOING ON WITHIN THE SCHOOL BUILDING AND CAN HELP BRIDGE GAPS AND MAKE CONNECTIONS THAT OVERALL ARE THERE TO
[02:55:01]
ENSURE THE SUCCESS OF OUR STUDENTS.YOU GOTTA BE READY AND PREPARED FOR A NEW CHALLENGE.
IT'S GOING TO BE DIFFERENT EVERY DAY.
AND I THINK THAT'S, I THINK THAT'S AWESOME.
I THINK COMING IN AND DOING THE SAME THING EVERY DAY IS PROBABLY KIND OF MUNDANE, BUT, YOU KNOW, HAVING THAT ABILITY TO CHANGE UP AND JUST, YOU KNOW, TALK TO EVERYBODY INDIVIDUALLY AND MEET THEM WHERE THEY ARE IS A GREAT EXPERIENCE ON A DAILY BASIS.
YOU ARE A MEDIATOR, YOU'RE AN ADVOCATE.
YOU ARE AN ACADEMIC ADVISOR, YOU ARE A STUDENT CHAMPION, AND YOU'RE ALL OF THOSE THINGS.
THERE IS NO TYPICAL DAY FOR A SCHOOL COUNSELOR.
IT MAY BEGIN WITH A SCHEDULE IN PLACE, BUT MANY TIMES THAT SCHEDULE IS GOING TO BE INTERRUPTED BECAUSE I'M ALWAYS GOING TO PUT THE NEEDS OF OUR STUDENTS FIRST.
AND IF I HAVE A STUDENT SHOW UP IN MY OFFICE IN TEARS, I'M GOING TO DROP WHATEVER I'M DOING AND HELP THAT CHILD.
I THINK THE PERSON WHO IS A GOOD SCHOOL COUNSELOR IS COMPASSIONATE.
WE DON'T KNOW WHAT EVERYONE'S GOING THROUGH WHEN WE SEE THEM.
THEY MAY NOT BE WILLING TO SHARE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES THEY FACE OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL.
SO MAINTAINING THAT COMPASSION, EVEN WHEN SOMEONE'S DOING SOMETHING THEY SHOULDN'T BE DOING, I THINK IS KEY PATIENCE, A WILLINGNESS TO COLLABORATE AND WORK WITH ALL KINDS OF PEOPLE, STAKEHOLDERS, COMMUNITY MEMBERS, PARENTS, TO TRY TO MAKE SURE THE STUDENT IS GETTING WHAT THEY NEED.
THEY'RE GOING TO BE SOME DAYS WHERE, YOU KNOW, YOU MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO FIX EVERYTHING.
THERE'S ALWAYS A NEW DAY TO TRY TO ADDRESS THAT SITUATION.
YOU KNOW, IT MAY NOT BE THAT YOU FIX IT THAT DAY, BUT HAVING THAT STUDENT COME BACK, THAT'S PROBABLY THE MOST CHALLENGING THAT YOU CAN'T FIX IT RIGHT.
THEN SOMETIMES YOU JUST CAN'T FIX IT.
RIGHT? ONE OF THE HARD THINGS RIGHT NOW ABOUT BEING A SCHOOL COUNSELOR IS JUST HAVING ENOUGH TIME TO HELP ALL OF THE STUDENTS THAT SINCERELY NEED HELP.
COVID HAS PRESENTED CHALLENGES TO EVEN OUR STUDENTS THAT TEND TO BE WELL ADJUSTED.
SO THERE IS A NEED FOR SCHOOL COUNSELORS EVERY DAY TO HELP THE STUDENTS WORK THROUGH ANXIETY, WORK THROUGH ANY CHALLENGES THAT ARE COMING THEIR WAY.
RIGHT NOW, KIDS ARE VERY HONEST AND THEY ASK HONEST QUESTIONS AND THEY LOOK TO YOU FOR, FOR GODDESS.
AND THEY PRETTY MUCH HANG ON TO YOUR EVERY WORD.
SO IT'S JUST, IT'S JUST A BEAUTIFUL THING.
BEING ABLE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
THERE ARE ALWAYS STUDENTS THAT NEED YOUR HELP AND NEED YOUR ASSISTANCE AND YOUR GUIDANCE, BUT NOT ONLY STUDENTS, THERE ARE TEACHERS, PARENTS, ADMINISTRATORS THAT NEED YOUR SUPPORT AND HELP AND GUIDANCE.
I DO THINK PART OF THE JOB OF A COUNSELOR IS HELPED BY THE STAFF THAT WE WORK WITH.
IF ANY ONE PART OF THE CHAIN IS NOT WORKING CORRECTLY, IT MAKES IT HARDER FOR US TO DO OUR JOB.
SO WHEN WE CELEBRATE NATIONAL SCHOOL COUNSELING WEEK, I THINK IT'S REALLY A CELEBRATION OF THE WHOLE SCHOOL TEAM, BECAUSE WITHOUT THEM, WE ARE ABLE TO DO WHAT WE NEED TO DO FOR STUDENTS.
I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, JUST AS A SCHOOL COUNSELOR, WE COME IN EVERY DAY WITH OUR HEADS UP, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO DO THE BEST FOR OUR STUDENTS AND FOR OUR SCHOOL AND FOR THE COMMUNITY.
AND I THINK PARENTS REALLY CARE ABOUT WHAT WE DO AND THEY LOOKING OUT FOR THEIR KIDS.
AND SO OUR COUNSELORS, THIS IS WHAT WE'RE HERE FOR EVERYDAY.
IT ALLOWS YOU AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE LIFE OF A CHILD.
AND THAT IN ITSELF IS JUST A BEAUTIFUL THING.
AND I TOLD YOU, IT WOULDN'T WORK ITSELF OUT.
IT IS A MUCH MORE MANAGEABLE LIST AND YOU CAN SEE HOW YOU CAN TAKE SOME TIME TO PLAY WITH THIS.