Good evening. Today is Thursday, April 23rd, 2026, and the time is 6:30 p.m. I will now call the regular meeting of the ISD 191 Board of Education to order. Welcome to those of you in the audience tonight. It's great to see all of you, and welcome to anyone who may be watching from home. Um Director Director Saxby, will you please lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance? Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. Um first, um it will will need to approve the agenda for this evening. Is there a motion to approve the agenda? So moved. Moved by Director Chester. Second. Seconded by Director Werb. Any discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor say I. I. Opposed? The motion passes unanimously. All right. First up on the agenda this evening is a school report from Hidden Valley Elementary. Um our speakers are Dr. Chris Belmont, Assistant Superintendent, Christine Black, Principal, Carrie Komar, building from the building leadership team member, and Shireen Badri, one of our students. Welcome to each of you. Thank you, Director Hume, Superintendent Daniels, members of the board. Our um our Hidden Valley uh staff and students are here kind of soaring into our school board meeting tonight to share about some data-driven work that they're doing to create sustained and high-impact school improvement at Hidden Valley Elementary. So, Principal Black. Dr. Daniels, Chair Oates, um and Directors, thank you so much for having us tonight. I'm really proud to be here. I'm going to go ahead and let my guests introduce themselves to you. I'm Christine Black. I'm the principal at Hidden Valley. Um I'm Carrie Komar. I serve as the in the role of SSLS, student student leadership specialist. Um I also I'm a school psychologist. I've been at Hidden Valley for about 9 years, but I have a very long history with Burnsville. I graduated from Burnsville High School. I started working here in 2001. My mom was an EA for 30 years in this district, and my daughter is currently a fifth grade teacher at Neill. >> [laughter] >> I'm Shireen. I'm in fourth grade. Shireen's one of our leaders at our school. So, you'll notice in our presentation, you're going to see some of the B words that you've heard Dr. Daniel talking about believe, belong, build, and become. And those are words that are really important and resonate with Hidden Valley Elementary. We um believe that the foundation of our school is our the relation the relationships that we build. We work really hard to build relationships that are strong with our students, our staff, and our families. We also know that when we have ownership in our school, that people will feel welcome and they will want to belong. And so, we are working really hard to increase that feeling of belonging at our school. One of the things that helps us in that is by building um additional room for voice. Asking our parents to tell us, "What are we doing that they want us to do more of or do differently?" We want to hear from our students as well. Sometimes we listen to our parents, but we haven't asked our students and we need their voice as well. And then it's our sincere desire to become the highest achieving school that we can become and to braid that together with cultural proficiency and trust for all of our stakeholders. So, I'm first going to talk about belonging for students. I'm not going to talk about the P celebration because that's Shareem's um part tonight. But one of the things or some of the things that we are doing that we feel really good about at Hidden Valley to build belonging for our students. Um this winter, we started an affinity group um putting together students from Eagle Ridge Middle School and Hidden Valley and having a Hispanic um affinity group. So, students have from Eagle Ridge have come over to Hidden Valley. Hidden Valley students have gone over to Eagle Ridge, and they're working with teachers and students to talk about their culture and talk about their needs and to really increase that feeling of belonging in our school. We also are using surveys with our students, not only the ones that are done through the district, but we've added some additional ones to ask some really personalized questions of our students and our staff. We have lots of family events, and we've been increasing those. Carrie talk a little bit more about that. And then we've been working really hard on recognizing our students, not just those students that are the highest performers or advanced learners, but some of our students who are really really struggling, but have made incredible growth, aggressive growth, and we have a lot of students that have done that. We've recognized over 100 students that had aggressive growth this spring and or this winter, and we're hoping to do even more students this spring. Our Peace Site Celebration was on February 27th, 2026. Whenever Whenever we gather, we remember SOAR. That means safe, on task, accountable, and respectful. We We here We are lucky to have Mayor Christine Kelly, the mayor of Savage, join us. The fourth graders and fifth graders did the whole thing the whole ceremony. The whole thing. We made slides based on the book we have here. And marvelous The meaning of marvelous is kind, respectful, and being nice to everyone like they show kindness to you. That That the slide you made, right? So, we had students work by themselves. We had them work in groups, as well. Nice. We're going to show another part of our celebration, and this is a a combination [clears throat] of student artwork that was built. Hidden Valley is an international peace site, so every year we go to rededicate that. And so, we're going to share some of the artwork, and that was a surprise that was shared with us by our DLS teacher, Lindsey DeYoung, and our art teacher, Jessica Kitzman. And then, we have one other surprise that we want to show you. When we were having conferences, we did a a quilt. And this quilt was created by our art teacher leading all of our students and staff members in creating this quilt. So, Shamaine and I are going to show this to you. >> [music] [music] >> If you come up here. >> [music] >> And what you will [singing] see is there are big squares in there, and that's all we did for our school, >> [music] >> creating different squares. And then, all of the students [music] chose the the fabric squares. And then, parents and students, volunteers, and teachers came in and sewed during conference time. After that, we have two >> [music] >> of these, and it's our representation from our dedication. These will be brought to Sleeping Heavenly Peace, a nonprofit organization. So, this is one [music and singing] of the quilts. And we have two of these. The backing was >> [music] >> was sewn by a long-term resident from our community. >> [music] [music] [singing] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> So, this was not only a surprise to me, but it was a surprise to the students. So, when they came in, we played this for them so they could see their artwork. They loved it. So, I'm going to talk a little bit about how we engage our families um at Hidden Valley. So, our liaisons and our multilingual teachers are phenomenal. They do a wonderful job of inviting our families in, connecting with our families um during the the unfortunate issues that happened in November and December, um I happen to share a a room with our ML teacher, and just to hear some of those students come in and talk about the tragedy tragedy that was happening to their families, and and then to have our ML staff and our liaison step up and figure out how can we support these families was unbelievable. Um the other thing that was organized by our staff was we miss you bags. So all the students that went virtual we made we miss you bags for each of those students that had in some coloring books and some little toys and then each classroom that the students came from they made little cards and put them in the bags and then the staff delivered them to the families. And the families were so I mean they invited us into their homes and they wanted to share stories and you could tell they really missed being in school. The other thing is is we have a re-energized PTA. Last year we had about two active members of our PTA. This year we're up to six to eight and they have organized things in the fall. They organized a fall festival where we had hundreds of participants show up. They also just recently in the winter organized a movie night at Hidden Valley. So after school hours invited families in to watch a movie. And finally what I want to talk about is how are we getting family voice into our setting. So last year in the spring the student or the family survey the we only got 26 families to respond last spring. And we have 500 plus almost 500 students in the in the building. So one of our SIP goals was to increase that. And so what we did is we created a QR code and we also have a paper copy anytime we had families into our building for like the peace program or the movie night or snacks with snacks and stories and snacks. >> Stories and snacks. We would ask them to fill this survey out. In order to give us their opinions about what we were doing and basically between between the surveys which we have 87 to date and the surveys that the families just sent back in, we have quadrupled the amount of voice that we have gotten. And um some of the data that I have is 95% of the respondents thought that the events were well organized. These are based on those QR codes that we gave them. Um 97% indicated their feedback was valued and considered. 95% feel the variety of school events meets the entrance in interests of their family. And then finally, 91% would like us to continue and expand our family events. So, we are dedicated to continuing to get more family voice and involvement at Hidden Valley. Thank you. I'm going to talk about believing. And one of the things that we are continually focused on is raising and improving our achievement at Hidden Valley. So, every year I've come in the winter. And I've been able to share some of our data for the winter. And we are starting to look at data in deeper and deeper ways. And so, one of the things that Well, you'll notice our school improvement goal. By spring 2026, the percentage of students in kindergarten through fifth grade at Hidden Valley Elementary who make typical to aggressive growth will increase from 55% in the spring of 2025 to at least 58% as measured by the Fast Early Reading and AReading assessments. If you look at our 25-26 data on the left side of the chart, what you're going to see is we have already surpassed that goal. We're at 60.8, and that's wonderful news and really exciting. When you start digging deeper, what you'll see in a 3-year trend is that we are going up in the winter and our trend is that we're going down in the spring. >> [snorts] >> And so that means we have some work to do. And so um you'll see in red with yellow interrupt this pattern. And so as a school we are spending dedicated intentional time in our collaborative teams. We have data days that are planned. Our interventionists and our access teachers are working with our classroom teachers. We are working with our continuous improvement coach with grade level guarantees and with standards and looking at making sure that our expectations match the rigor that they need to match so that we can turn that around and really interrupt that pattern. We've been working on that this um this winter and spring and we are very hopeful. We do our testing in a couple of weeks and so we're really excited to see our work pay off for that. On the right hand side, um there's a chart that talks about proficiency. And so we have traditionally had a 3% proficiency rate um that we're asking to raise. And so you'll notice that in '23-'24 it was 2%. We didn't make our goal. In '24-'25 we did make 3% and then we are we're at 49% in the winter. And so our hope is that when we are strengthening and raising our expectations and really digging into data, not just the surface, not just the data that we like to see, but the data that challenges us and confronts us with what we need to do differently, then um we are going to see that proficiency raise and our hope would be that it would not just be 3%, it would be 3%, 6%, 9%. That is our goal. We really believe that we can do that. And so we are going to um continue on that path. And so um what you'll see is that we've been working on increasing our percentage of students that are making typical and aggressive growth. We're looking at scoring our proficiency levels higher. We're strengthening our core because what we know is we can't outperform our foundation. And so if we have not strengthened that foundation then um we will have holes. And so we are working really hard in that area by tightly aligning our standards and our grade level guarantees and having really high expectations, but also working to maintain our high relationships. So high expectations with high regard. So we've made that declaration that we're going to hold ourselves accountable and challenge ourselves in every way that we can to raise our achievement. And with all of those pieces coming together, we have this beautiful community with many business partnerships and church partnerships, our families and our students. We're really proud of our school. We work really hard and we know we have work that we need to continue to do and we are we're on the way. Thank you. Thank you very much. Um board members, are there any questions? Let me just say something. Oh. Yeah, no real questions. I just comments. Always look forward to the school reports. They're always very motivating and then enlightening and so I definitely want to say thank you for coming and talking about the hard work that you're doing, the results that you're starting to see, um and uh uh that that you're going to continue uh to see. Uh great news about things like the PTA and kind of expanding some of that uh participation. Uh love the idea of um you know, they're captive audiences. Give them those surveys, you know, when they're there and kind of trap. That's uh great to uh is a great way to be able to increase that participation, to be able to get that feedback. You know, it it's really important to be able to have that. And um also just uh lastly, Sharam, thank you so much for coming and speaking. It is not easy to come to a room and talk to a bunch of strange adults. And so, very kudos to you um for being here and doing so well with your presentation. Thank you. Thank you. Uh Director Anderson. Thank you. Um I'm going to second um your ideas um for engaging families. I jotted some down for my kids' school. >> [clears throat] >> Um so, I'm like, "Oh, that's a good PTO idea." >> [laughter] >> Um >> [clears throat] >> I I'm curious how it's going to come out um to see the correlation between the students who you recognized in the winter and the students who are going to have made growth from winter to spring. Um and I I I want to see that data. So, please share even if you have to just email it to me. Please share that data. I would Um cuz I really believe that that's you're going to see a correlation there and I'm excited for that. It's great. Thank you for showing up for our students. Thank you. Anyone else? David? Uh I just want to thank you. I I went to Hidden Valley for all six years of my elementary school education and I feel like I'm living proof of a lot of things that you said. So, want to thank you for that. And also want to thank you for your honesty when it came to looking for the data that isn't always in your favor, but seeking that out and making improvements is a very brave thing to say, and I know the students appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you. Um Oh, okay. I just don't want to speak over anyone else. Um thank you for coming and sharing. I Um as other board members have said, I really enjoy the school reports. Um I just love hearing about the engagement also and just getting um more of the feedback and the creative ways that you're trying to get the feedback. I just think it's so important, you know, um to have that feedback from families cuz otherwise you don't really know like if you're doing good or not. Um but coming from I I was at William Byrne when we only had like two two PTA members, and then we were able to like get it flipped to where we had like we grew it to like I don't know, it was very large. So, I think that's great that you're able to expand it, and and I think it's like a snowball effect. It's like once you have that many people, then more people start to to join as well. So, I hope to see that for Hidden Valley as well because the the the PTA is like very important to like getting people engaged. So, that's very exciting. I'm glad that that's growing in your your school. Um Also appreciate hearing about your um peace site. That's very exciting, and I had not heard about that before. So, that's very interesting um to to learn about that. So, thank you for sharing. Thank you. And thanks Sharon for coming and uh presenting, and you're going to be probably a a great speaker one day. >> [laughter] >> Dr. Chester. Yes. Um no, I love the presentation, especially how much work you put in with belonging and the believing um pieces, and like the the video with the with the sense of the community that the fact that this was a two community made quilts, I think are outstanding. Um I think they if anybody I think they'd be many offers to purchase them um if that's a thing in the future, but um and when I first um joined the board, I attended uh Hidden Valley's peace um re- um rededication and that it's an amazing experience and yeah, I would welcome anybody to part um participate in that. It It It's It's unique to to Hidden Valley, unique uh part of our district too to have a peace site and I think that's really really neat and to have so many um ceremonies or sense of belonging and community that comes out of that rededication is also um amazing. That I would love to feel how we could like like involve our other schools to to share in that that ceremony too, I think would be kind of neat experience for our uh students who aren't at that site. Um and Sheram, you are a wonderful leader. I think you're going to do great things and it's amazing to see not only your presentation, but how you spoke of your your leadership in your school and what you brought here tonight. So, thank you. Any other comments? All right, I don't have anything really beyond what my colleagues have already said so eloquently. I do especially love the the talk you had about the the connections with the family and building that sense of belonging. That really hit me hit me where I would like to get hit. So, something >> [laughter] >> that sounds weird. I really liked it though. It was very very good. It was powerful. Um I also especially like the Did you call them the miss you bags um during Operation Metro Surge? I thought that was really important. I've heard of other districts where they've done things like that and I think that really I'm sure it meant a lot to the students and the families when they were not able to be in person. So, thank you for all that you and others did to make that happen. And if there are no other questions, I will thank you all for presenting this evening and >> Thank you. have a lovely evening. Thank you for the opportunity. Next on the agenda, we have student performance and achievement committee presentation around graduation and college and career readiness. Um speakers will be Amina Optedahl, director director of curriculum, instruction, and assessment and Matt Deutsch, teacher. Welcome to you both. Thank you. >> [snorts] >> Dr. Hume, Dr. Daniels and members of the board, thank you for the opportunity tonight to share a report updating you on the comprehensive achievement and career readiness goals focused on students completing their educational journey with us. Joining me this evening is Mr. Matt Deutsch, who is a career and tech ed teacher at Burnsville High School. Tonight we will provide you with information around two of the indicators on our district strategic road map. One is graduation rates and the second one is enrollment and completion of rigorous coursework. Also this evening, Mr. Deutsch is going to share some information about our pathways program around career and technical education. >> [gasps] >> A brief reminder that the comprehensive achievement and career readiness goals are that all students are ready for career and college and all students graduate. Here we are looking at the trend in four-year graduation rates from the past four years. We are able to see increases for the district and at each school site. So, it was consistent across um all school sites um with the state staying fairly flat. Seeing beyond the single number of a four-year graduation rate for students overall, it can be helpful to see how the increases play out across specific demographic groups. For the class of 2025, these increases were shared across all demographic groups. Um with the greatest variability over time with our native and indigenous students, primarily because of the small group size. And the positive growth for our Hispanic and Latino students, which we'll see consistently throughout this presentation, at the highest rate in four years. Since we know that many students continue on at our sites, this graph shares the ongoing graduation rates for cohorts for five- and six-year graduation rates. Seeing the higher rates for students at the five-year mark indicates our ongoing commitment in the system to those students who find themselves needing another year to complete their credits. And so, this one is very multicolored, but to see the difference in the first section of four-year graduation rates, and then to see those consistent increases for each of the sites for their five-year graduation rates, really representing how we support our students who do find themselves remaining with us for that additional year. A closer look at Burnsville High School indicates a 4% increase from the class of 2024 to the class of 2025. I also want to remind you that the class of 2025 was the first class to have all four years of high school uninterrupted by pandemic, hybrid learning, temporary school closures, and required home quarantines. While still still experiencing high levels of the absenteeism, the school system was able to provide consistency for their entire high school uh career. This graph of the BHS class of 2025 by race and ethnicity shows the higher rates of graduation shared by many groups, with improvement seen with Hispanic and Latino students at their all-time high. You'll notice that while the overall rate for the high school is 85 or 84% um you can see that uh many of our of our demographic groups are all also in those higher 80% Slide eight, this one, uh is Virtual Academy, which shows a significant drop last year in graduation rates demonstrated a strong bounce back building up past up to uh close to their 2023 rates. You can also see the number of students who choose to remain at VA in the second graph um to complete their year is impacting the five-year grad rate. So, students who are in VA are remaining in VA if they needed to continue on. The school continues to be impacted by the small group size. Um they increased their graduation uh cohort to 48 in 2025 from 22 in 2024. So, it's an increasing group as well. Burnsville Alternative High School. This is really the area I just want to highlight the BAHS's incredible growth. Um this school's graduation rate continues to grow consistently. The concentrated efforts and the personalized learning supports that are provided in the setting of BAHS serves as an example to alternative schools across the state with an 18% growth in four-year graduation rates with students who enter already behind the four-year graduation on track over the last four years. This This Principal Iran and her staff have really worked on being creating a personalized environment with personalized goal setting for every student on a regular basis every week to ensure that every student knows exactly what their plan is and what kind of progress they're making toward their plan. And it's it's really resulting in some very powerful growth and an emphasis on four-year graduation and that accelerated growth for students who enter already behind. Another area that is focus for our achievement integration plan is rigorous coursework and has become more and more of a valuable commodity within our our high school choices. Enrollment in rigorous coursework, that is courses that carry the opportunity to earn college credit, continues to be a focus for recruitment and retainment at Burnsville High School. The decrease in enrollment this year for students in grade nine has been an area of strategic focus. Pulling together the efforts of administrators, teachers, counselors, deans, and principals in order to respond to this decrease in interest and participation. And so they are and I don't want to steal the thunder from the high school principals as they share their their specific strategies, but there are specific strategies. They are engaging their sixth, seventh, and eighth grade teaching staff. As we are moving through our curriculum development, we are also uh building a scope and sequence of skills for those ninth grade rigorous courses so that teachers are being very specific in their sixth, seventh, and eighth grade classes saying, "This is a skill for this ninth grade rigorous course. This is a skill for you to take this AP course as a ninth grader." And we're already seeing those increases in enrollments for this uh coming year, but it really is a concerted effort that um uh uh uh Principal Sandoval and his staff, as well as uh Dr. uh Austin and uh Principal Helkey have been working on as a collaborative team. Addressing the access and the participation of students of color in rigorous courses is a goal under the district achievement integration plan. And you can see that there are increases in the percentage of students identifying as native, black or African American, and Latino in the in uh enrollment with BIPOC student representation increasing overall, as well. While the disparity between our BIPOC students and represented and our white students continues, we are making progress toward more representation. Here you see that students are enrolling in college credit eligible courses in different ways. Um while advanced placement seems to be the most recognized, there continues to be a slight decrease. And I know it says 17% and 17%, but those are the the decimal points. So, we went from 17.4 to 16.9. >> [laughter] >> So, they they round out to 17. Um but there is an increase in percentage of students who are continuing to seek concurrent enrollments, whether that's through the um uh AA program or other concurrent enrollment courses, such as College in the Schools. Um that continues to increase, and we are continuing to see a decrease in the number of students who who selecting PSCO, meaning that students are choosing to earn their college credits on our campus rather than going off our campus. And now to share some really fascinating work um and responsiveness that's happening in our career and technical ed program. Mr. Matt Dodge. Thank you, board. Dr. Daniels, thanks for um having us in tonight to learn about some of our innovation that's happening at Burnsville High School. Our pathways encompass courses from every department on campus with many of them in career and technical education or CTE. Our students and families tell us over and over that college credits and certifications are an important part of our programming and they help drive our registration across campus. We have many stories to share about these credits and certifications and how they have an impact on the lives of our students. The class of 2025 graduated 41 students from the Associate of Arts degree program, one of which, coming up in the next school year, is accept is accessing a full ride scholarship through our Grow Your Own Future Educator Grant. The class of 2026 will graduate 30 students in the AA degree with one additional student who will have that full ride scholarship through the GYO grant. In addition to college credits, one of the most important parts of our wall-to-wall pathway model is the opportunity for certifications. Two certif- certifications that I'd like to highlight tonight is students who completed their OSHA 10 certification, which according to Deed is one of the most sought-after certifications by Minnesota employers, only uh second only to the driver's license. And in that certification, our students have 100% success rate. Additionally, over 120 students in hospitality classes have completed ServSafe trainings, often resulting in an immediate raise at their after-school jobs. So far this year, students have had a 90% success rate on ServSafe food handler and 82% success rate on the ServSafe allergen certification. Beginning in the next uh beginning in this school year, we offered new college credits in child growth and development. And beginning next school year, we're offering offering an introduction to business and society in partnership with Inver Hills. Thank you. Innovation in our CTE coursework is largely funded through federal Perkins grants, the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act. We work with a regional consortium to manage these funds, which allocate about $100,000 directly to our school each year. We use these funds primarily for industry standard equipment and simulations. Examples that we purchased this year include a robotic arm for our use in manufacturing classes, uh childhood stages simulation in our education pathway, um embroidery machines for upcycling and embellishment, a new course in our design pathway, and a dough sheeter for use in our new baking and pastry class. And 2 weeks ago, we just made our first on-campus croissants. These funds also support professional development and vital field trip experiences. My colleague, Mrs. Aikton, took students to elementary schools for teaching field experience. And Mrs. Spees is leading a student-curated fashion show at Ebenezer Senior Living next week. The Perkins grant funds are intended to spark innovation leading to career readiness that can be sustained then by the school district. Thank you. The data confirms our impact. We track concentrators, students who take more than two courses in a career field. In the class of 2024, 85% of all of our students graduating in that class were concentrators. These students achieved a 91% 4-year graduation rate, 11% higher than the overall average at Burnsville High School. The above-average graduation rate rate is consistent among most student groups. Um and it's interesting cuz the state and federal data also shows us specific um different groups. For example, students who have parents who are active military, um students who identify as um living in a homeless situation. So, it's interesting to see those data points change across the years. The data points uh to an important relationship between our pathway structure, student engagement, and graduation. It also shows consistency with the class of 2025 with a graduation rate of 92.3% among CTE concentrators. These positive graduation results highlight the important work we're leading here in 191 and we're warrant further research about the impact of our CTE programming and pathway structure on and our student success. This um success carries into earning potential as well. The data shows that students with intensive CTE training reach a state-determined living wage within 7 years of graduation compared to 11 years for those without it. Um gaining a 4-year head start on financial stability. We're proud of our continuous improvement model as well. The state requires a comprehensive local needs assessment every 2 years and because of that we operate on a much faster curriculum review cycle compared to most departments district-wide. Instead of one comprehensive update every decade or so, we make yearly updates to curriculum and equipment to stay competitive. Our process is rooted in design thinking. Our CTE teachers meet monthly to empha- empathize with student needs and we use annual surveys to ensure our programming remains relevant and high impact. Some key changes based on our student feedback just in the last year include updated projects in our technical education classes, the addition of intro to business and society class, and the development of pathway one-pagers in family and consumer sciences. Our data shows that students aren't just taking classes. They are intentionally choosing the pathways that align with their future career plans. They are indeed exploring career fields, planning course sequences, and being introspective about future skills needed. Um it's interesting with this question, one of the options was I took the course because it was fun. And um >> [laughter] >> designing the survey, we thought that was going to be one of the the higher percentages. So, we were really blown away when um we saw how deeply the students were thinking about their future and the skills that they need. And it shines through when you have conversations with the students, too. They say things like I took this class because and it's not fun and it's not friends. It's actual skills that they want. Student feedback, we know, is vital to our growth. 52% of our students reported that they agree or strongly agree that the pathway model has had a positive impact on their education. Our data shows that the unsure or disagree responses over on the left come primarily from ninth graders. So, it's really interesting when you take the ninth graders out to see how the survey results change. We're proactively addressing this through better communication by aligning our curriculum with middle school partners and using our pathways relaunch grant to bridge that gap earlier in their school career in 191. We are excited to be recipients of two grants related to our pathways. A greater Twin Cities United Way building up movement grant. That's for $10,000. It is a grant that we've received previously as well when we were launching the pathways. In addition, we have a $20,000 grant $20,000 grant from Bosch. We're in the planning process for the implementation of these grants to relaunch our pathways after our first 10 years of this work. Thank you for your time and for supporting our pathways in 191. I personally see the impact of our pathway model on our students and community every day and I look forward to helping move our work into the next phase. As we work with partners across the region, I'm confident to report that 191 is still a leader in this important work. Thank you. Thank you very much. Board members, are there questions or comments? Dr. Chester. Um for um Dr. Oftedal, um in your report on uh the graduation rates, how does BEST fit into into those? So, BEST students are considered as continuing. So, when you look at the numbers under Burnsville High School, you'll see the continuing number and those are our BEST students. So, they're not considered graduating until they finish their transition time, but they are considered continuing and so they count into our sixth and seventh year graduation rates. >> Okay. Okay. Which are why they look so great because they are >> Yes. >> [laughter] >> And then um thank you about the pathways here. Um I sit on 917's intermediate board and um hearing about um what 917's wanting to do to be a good partner with with pathways and hearing from other districts, we are so far ahead of our some of our member districts in terms of pathways. I mean, just in offerings of opportunity of pathways, not just like we have automotive. It's like, no, we have automotive we have culinary, we have, you know, like it's it's expansive and and so it's something I like to brag about when I'm at 917 meetings for [laughter] sure. Um and I love the opportunities that our students have, not just in exploring the pathways, but then to have that, you know, paired with an AA degree um that those components, I think, really set for such success. And, you know, selfishly, professionally speaking, I love all grow your own programs and so I look, you know, and to be able to have, hopefully, our future teachers want to come back into our district to be our teachers is something that that I really admire within our district, too, as well. So, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Director Ward? Yeah. Uh Director Oftedal. So, um I was curious about you'd said the alternative high school was exceeding like other alternative high schools. So, not all districts have alternative high schools. So, like what comparison in comparison like what how many is that that it's compared to? Do we know or is it There there are hundreds of um alternative or area learning programs across the the country. Some of them are consolidated or um part of consortiums of school districts or an alternative learning center may serve multiple districts. Um we do have, because of our size, have the opportunity to have our own alternative learning center um and alternative high school, which we do draw um folks from various places because of the high quality of programming that we have. Okay, thank you. Um I and uh I just wanted to say too, one of the things I'm most proud of about our district is the Pathways program and I was so excited because I was like oh, when my kids get to the high school, they have all these opportunities for like picking a career and trying different things out um because I wished I'd had that when I was going to high school. I think it would have made it a lot easier for me to pick a career. >> [laughter] >> It just I something just fell into my lap, but I think it's easier for like they they don't even realize how fortunate they are to have this available to them because they didn't know what it was like like 30 years ago [laughter] have something like this um and even getting the AAS degree, but um and just hearing like my daughter told me and she's you know, she's in seventh grade, but she was like I think I'm interested in like um health care like, you know, maybe I don't know, a nurse or whatever and my son was you know, very interested in the culinary program. So you know, it's exciting to hear about that because I'm excited for them because it's like yay, they get to do this and it's like we have it here in our own district. So um just very proud that we have that here. Thank you. Any others? Well, he does before me. Let's go around. >> [laughter] >> It's a circle. Um one comment, one question. Um first is thanks for the report. A ton of positivity um in this report this year um which is great to see, but especially noting how much the alternative high school stood out. Um I think not only the steady [snorts] and continuing increase in the four-year graduation rate, but equally important is seeing like significant portion of those that don't graduate in four years sticking with it. Um that that [snorts] to me says that program is doing exactly what it's supposed to be doing um and really delivering on the vision of that. So, that's fantastic to see from that perspective. The question, you may not have the answer to this in front of you and I'll take the blame for that because I dug up last year's report because I remembered something that had just resonated with me and that was the percentage of students in AP courses taking the exam. Cuz I looked at from the 23-24 data, it kind of stood out that we had about 400 students at the high school in an AP course. And over 60% of those who tested had got the credit. So, going through the course was preparing them very well to go ahead and actually succeed in that exam and get the three or higher to get those college credits. But 45% so almost 200 of those students didn't take the exam. And I think that like we talked about like it was clear in the research that you did with students, college credit is important to them. So, there's just things I was wondering if you're curious if that had changed this year or or other things that we could be doing to really drive that forward and get them to take the exam. You know, I think personally speaking with having an 11th grader and looking ahead at college and being like, you know, you have at least a semester if not a year of college that will be taken care of through these by taking those exams. But I think for others I think who are even maybe just for planning purposes if they think they might want to go to college, if they can get to the end of high school and look and see, I don't have to take these general courses for the first year of college. I can get right into the program I'd be interested in. That could have an impact as well. So, just not sure if you have the numbers with you or I don't have the numbers with me but I certainly will be able to share with those probably by Monday. I'll I'll have them. Sounds good. And we can certainly do that comparison. Perfect. Thank Thanks for asking the question. Sure. Thank you. Dr. Anderson. Sorry, you got to wait till my turn. No problem. I'm more than happy More [laughter] than happy wait. Um, I I'm I'm kind of stuck on this um um slide 19 where you have why the students chose the CTE. Um, and I'm looking 70% I like the creativity hands-on class. And I'm wondering um how can we take that information and translate in it that into the way we teach K-12. Mhm. Um they like hands-on. They they want to use uh their bodies. Studies show that we learn better when we're using tangible items. Um I know we've already started things and I know even in Spark and and individual teachers are doing that um but when we're choosing curriculum, is that something we're looking at um when when we're choosing that, how how are we making this be tangible? Um, and so uh what are the tools that keep students engaged in the content? Are I mean that is part of our rubric review and wanting to evaluate materials as well as the instructional pedagogy. Really taking a look at how many times do students get to talk? Is that built into the the structure of the lessons? It's like where do students get to move? Where do students get to talk? And is that an embedded part instead of something that a real a highly skilled teacher gets to put in there? And so that is part of kind of as we were just looking at and examining uh the literacy curriculum pieces was how many times do students get to actually do something and work in collaborative groups. When we looked at science curriculum, we looked at how many times do students get to work together in collaborative teams. And continuing to use that as part of our evaluation system um because we know that that's I mean that's how children engage and part of it is part of the is part of the play whether you're 16 years old or not. When you get to touch food, that's play. And it's it's just different ways of looking at the play and and we know that we that we learn better that way. And so yes, it is part of the embedded process of when we're looking at curriculum and teachers are very attuned to it. They want to have you know, a buzz. They want to have the students feel like they're doing things and moving intentionally and with purpose. Okay. Thank you. Mhm. Dr. Michaelson. Uh >> [laughter] >> thank you. Um a quick question and maybe a couple of other comments. Um but a quick question about credit recovery and um when a student cuz please remind me. I know you have said this at some point over the last year and I don't remember. Uh when somebody else said when a student takes credit recovery uh technically after graduation, um you know, that summer after what would be their four-year graduation, does that count it toward the four-year rate or is that count it toward the five-year rate? Um there's a period of time which it it's still eligible uh for the four-year rate. So we do have some students who will finish within by that specific deadline and I don't know what that deadline is off the top of my head. And after that deadline, they move into the five-year graduation rate. They're considered continuing. either one. Yep, sure. Um and uh just in terms of like rigorous coursework, I kind of see definitely, you know, in your slide yes, there's the the shift between uh the way that it's being delivered, um but it kind of seems like overall the percentages, you know, at least over the last couple of years kind of seem to be fairly flat, you know, that that looking forward to hopefully over the next, you know, couple of years really seeing just that percentage itself in total across the different rigorous coursework programs growing. Um, so I know it's something that that we're really emphasizing. So, I'm looking forward to to that. And And just the convenience that building out the on-campus uh ability, so it isn't transportation that could be an issue in fitting it into schedules is really great um to help to increase that. Um And uh then um uh I I'm just trying to remember the last thing that I wanted to ask and I don't remember and so I will stop talking now. Um I do I do think that there is a consensus amongst uh within the system that uh convincing students early that they are capable >> Yes. and welcome in those rigorous courses is part of it. And when we think back to Hidden Valley and we think about that feeling of belonging and we think about that believing piece, that's where I think a lot of the work is um amongst our middle school students making sure that they believe in themselves and they know that other people believe they are capable of doing that high-quality rigorous work and creating that pathway and really um building that into our ninth grade academy. When we see those decreasing numbers in rigorous courses for our ninth grade, we don't offer very many college credit eligible courses in ninth grade and so we really want to focus on that because that becomes the gateway for so many students to say, "Well, I could do that one as a ninth grader. Sure, I can do more." And so really making sure that we're creating that culture and that um system of supporting students in that personal belief and creating systems that that you know, I I know that um that we're signing kids up for stuff and then telling them, well, we signed you up because we believed you could do it. And really making sure that they understand that as as a team, we believe that they can do that and we expect them to do that. And so, really wanting to focus on that early early understanding and belief around students is is really been the focus for our middle school and our high school teams. And that actually I can just a second so just remind me what I was going to say was love your comment about really getting into like the eighth graders and emphasizing like the pathways and as we're moving pathways into the earlier grades is terrific that in that transition, you know, we've talked so much about the transition from elementary to middle school and then that middle school to high school and and where we lose some of our students and whether that middle school to high school, you know, and within high school losing them whether it's to no school or to other schools or where that that really emphasizing what it is that our pathways offer and I think the surveys and the data that you've shown here is showing the real life practical application and benefit the real practical benefit that these can offer our students is is really significant and so thank you very much for your effort in trying to communicate that as early as possible so they can see that value and see how it's going to benefit them to really be involved in the kinds of opportunities that that they'll have starting ninth, 10th, 11th and so that's just fantastic that great to hear you're starting that in that eighth grade year. And reaching out. All right. Sure. >> [laughter] >> Thank you very much. I just have a couple of quick comments. Um, I do appreciate and was very pleased to see the increase in our graduation rates. I think it was pretty flat statewide and the fact that we did better than the state average, I think is says a lot for the progress we are making as a district. And I also appreciate, even though my son was one of those seniors, the reminder that his was the first class that had had all four years at the high school cuz I hadn't quite connected those dots in my head apparently. Um, and my hope is that as we get further and further from kind of the peak pandemic years, we'll continue to see those graduation numbers on the rise each year. I think we're doing a lot of really good work and I think this this report shows that. Um, as others have mentioned, I was especially pleased about the increases at BAHS and the impact there. I know, um, when I've when I had a meeting with, um, Principal Ron a couple years ago, she was talking at the time about the the desire of the school to um, increase the family connections and I think that connects with everything else we've been talking about both in this report and the one before it about having those family connections really leads to student success. So, I think we're seeing that um, at the high school. I think we're seeing that at BAHS. I think it's it's really it's really exciting. Um, and I also liked the, um, the connections between, I think you call them concentrators, and the graduation rates and how their graduation rate was noticeably higher. So, I think that's another thing to really keep an eye on and be thinking about how can we get even more students to be concentrators as we continue our pathways in the coming years. So, those are my comments, I guess. So, thank you very much. Have a great evening. >> Next is an FY27 budget feedback report. Our speaker will be Dr. Latanya Daniels, our superintendent. Thank you, Vice Chair Hume. Um, this evening I am going to share with you all the feedback that um, we have received as a result of the budget presentation presented on March 12th at the school board meeting. This agenda will entail me sharing the feedback by the numbers, the positives, so the positive feedback we we've received, um, the feedback we've received around the challenges that people see with the budget proposal we have presented, as well as the questions that um, people have as a result of the budget proposal. So, when you think about by the numbers, I presented the budget, um, proposal on March 12th. On March 13th, um, Director Tinklenberg opened up the portal for us to receive feedback. That feedback portal was open, um, on March 13th. It remained open until April 9th. And during that time we received 42 online, um, form submissions. We also provided, um, a public presentation to share the proposal here actually in this room, and we had three attendees to attend that public presentation. Um, that's Director Sovali, myself, and um, also Director, um, Tinklenberg. And then we've asked all principals to share the presentation, um, at the site level for teachers and staff members to understand what is being proposed in the budget for next school year. As we rolled out this, um, presentation module, we there were three questions that we asked. And one of the questions, the first question was, what are the positives around the budget proposal? And the themes that continue to emerge in the feedback that we received was the focus on core instruction. Um, if you just even think back to Principal Black's, um, presentation, her, um, school report, she said, we cannot out intervene ourselves, um, out of poor core instruction. Um, and so something that we need to work on improving as a district, as core, and it's certainly rigor and engagement in the core, which is something that we even just saw with Director Abdallah, and also um Mr. um Matt, this I can't think of your last name right now, doing uh presentation. >> [clears throat] >> Um and so we also um are being um praised for moving resources um into the buildings, and people are seeing that in our learning coach model by having someone a learning coach or someone in each building to to provide support around the priorities that we're implementing insights in their programs. Um also, we were praised for maintaining class sizes across the district, and the reorganization that has taken place to strengthen special education and student support services. Another question that was asked, the second question was, "What are the challenges that um you see in the budget proposal?" And overwhelmingly, ubiquitously, it was the challenge that we heard about was the reduction in advanced learning specialist. Moving from eight advanced learning specialists to four advanced learning specialist um has been seen as an issue or concern for um parents. Um what has been um very clear is that um the model that existed two years ago, that schedule did not work for students, it did not work for families, and um it also didn't work um ideally for our advanced learning specialist. And so we are working to improve the model and schedule, and we are working to ensure that students are engaged and challenged. Um with our current advanced learning specialist model, the advanced learning specialist work with all students, and so we want to continue to um to to leverage that and to move forward with that model, but we have to do it with um reduced FTEs with advanced learning specialist, and I'm looking at Dr. Bellmont because he's been working very closely with the advanced learning specialist. I think also in partnership with um Director Opted Out in order to redesign the the next model with the feedback that we received from parents in the portal, as well we've had um parents email the Board of Education, email me as the superintendent, and we've also had parents show up for listening sessions to express their concerns as well. Lastly, the third um question was what questions do you have um as a result of the new um budget [clears throat] proposal. And um the wanderings were how will the new structure continue the current work? Um what will the new system what will new systems to address student behavior look like? And what is the role of the learning coaches? And um as we looked at these questions, we felt like these questions are a direct reflection of the work that we need to do as a district to improve our communication with our um stakeholders, especially our stakeholders um who are in-house and work with us. And so part of that process um we've engaged in thus far is identifying what the priorities are for next school year and helping people to understand just because we've begun work, it doesn't mean that certain work will not continue, but there will be work because obviously, and what easily comes to mind for me, is when I think about the new social studies curriculum that's being rolled out um at the secondary level. That needs to be a priority. Or the new ELA or not ELA, but the literacy curriculum that's being rolled out um grades 3 through 5. That obviously needs to be a priority. So it doesn't mean that work that, you know, has begun will just completely drop off, but there are things that will be new things added to teachers' plates that are supposed to shift the needle around it even [cough] that we need to pay attention to in order to continue to hear the results that we're hearing in the school reports that we just heard from. And so, um I know that [clears throat] we've closed the portal and we're no longer collecting information or feedback about the new, um, the new proposed budget for next school year, but I do want the community and stakeholders to understand that their feedback is valuable, and whether they see that their feedback actually changing our of action, what the feedback actually does is give us gives us information to make informed decisions about the model, especially for advanced learning specialists. We just finished the listening sessions and um, parents have concerns around reductions in music and band. That is information for us as well as we're looking at next year's budget and like, okay, where is this concern coming from? And so, as people lift their voices and share their voices and concerns, it becomes information for us to dig deeper and work more collaboratively with our partners to come up with the best model that will work to serve students and families, um, ultimately in District 191. So, that concludes my report. Thank you. Any questions? He took [clears throat] his mic. Oh, sorry. >> [laughter] >> Any questions? >> [sighs] >> I got to circle back. Just real quick, I uh, just something as far as, um, I guess to clarify or get this out there is around the advanced learning specialist, um you know, what I'm hearing you say is, yes, we're going back to four, but this isn't going to look like it their goal is that it will not look like it did two four years ago. Correct. >> That that's really what you were emphasizing there, that yes, it's dropping down to four, but it's we're not backtracking, it's not going to look like it did. Right. And and the reason and how we can ensure that it will not. Thank you, Director Mickelson, for um clarifying that. Um it's because we're working with the advanced learning specialist, Dr. Belmont, and he's bringing up bringing in others. We're working at the table with the advanced learning specialist to truly engage their voices, their brilliant ideas to think of and create a model that will not take us back to where we were 2 years ago, but will advance us knowing that even next year we're going to have to make even more cuts um if we don't increase our enrollment. And so, um how do we do this more efficiently and yet still remain effective and serve the needs of all students. So, yes, that is the goal. Mhm. That's it. Thank you. Thank you. Any other questions? Um I don't know if it's a question, but um but I want to hold space for this thought. Um >> [laughter] >> anyway, um when you talk about um one of the takeaways is that um the district itself needs improvement in communication and that you're um making a choice to improve that. Um I think that's something that um as member of the community I really appreciate and um I think it's important to be said that the unknown is frightening and scary and um and it and it induces anxiety. And so, a lot of the um the the things that we're going to hear, the negative feedback that you might hear, is because of the unknown and the um better we communicate as a as a community, uh the less fear and anxiety people will feel. And so, I appreciate your commitment to that. Thank you. >> Thank you so much, Director Anderson. And I knew that that could be real, you know, that, you know, especially when we have operated in a model for several several years and when I talked to my team and even the principals at the beginning of the year >> [snorts] >> and talked about, you know, the things that impede change. It's it it was three C's that I've added a fourth C, but it is it's it's it's comfort, it's conflict, it's complacency and I think it it can also be competence, right? those things can get in the way of us truly saying, you know what? We're going to do something different. And I do think that we need to do something different and when people don't understand what it will look like, how will it be implemented and they have all these questions and wonderings, that's real, that's natural, but I'm trusting the process and I'm working closely with my my team who have been very supportive. You all have been supportive as well that you know what? I believe we're going to figure it out. And I'm trusting the process and I know that we're going to see um an improved outcome for students. I'm believing that and so as the leader, I have to believe it and in order to lead it and so I believe it. Thank you. Mhm. Thank you. Others? No? Um I was going to say basically what Director Anderson said that I think the looking at these questions and some of the feedback that I've heard, I think how we answer those questions and how we communicate both with our staff and with our families is going to be very important. Mhm. Um to get them on board and supportive of of the changes. So, I'm glad that you're radar as well. And with that we will move on, I suppose. Thank you so much. Thank you. All right, next we will have committee board appointment and school assignment reports. So, I think we'll start with committee reports. Um is there a policy committee report? Um yes, we uh had our uh policy review committee uh meeting this last Tuesday. Uh and um I guess one of the uh uh items to note is uh the fact for [snorts] uh better or increased efficiency within the meeting uh for policies without changes, we're going to kind of be handling them more as a group uh and uh helping to move things through uh the process a little bit more efficiently uh hopefully uh using that new process. Um but uh that is uh nothing uh of particular note other than that. Okay. Um legislative? Yes. Uh legislative committee meet uh met on Tuesday just this uh 21st. And um we were discussing um opportunities or what would be you know, potential opportunities in order to uh promote advocacy amongst our community. Um we as a district cannot do that. We're not We're not We can't lobby. We can't you know, as a district. But each member of our community, each person individually sitting at this table can be um contacting your legislators. And so, we are working to um share individually >> [laughter] >> um text contacts uh to be able to contact legislators um as well. So, in in in points of looking even going back to the budget presentation, yes, we want to look at increasing enrollment or at least stopping enrollment loss. The other The other thing we can push with our legislators is funding to inflation. Compensatory. Um uh you know, not having special ed suffer a $250 million cut. You know, funding cross subsidy. These are all the things we need to advocate for as individual members of our community on behalf of our students in district cuz that would also help with us not having to make difficult decisions about cuts in funding. Okay, concludes that report. I can share 917 unless you want to go to negotiations first. Let's go to negotiations, but I suspect we'll be back to you in about 10 seconds. >> Okay. You can kick it back over to the 917. >> [laughter] >> We're going to negotiations. There's no update this evening. Uh so, 917 um met on April the 7th and as in a new way, we met at Concord Educational Center. So, it was nice to be able to go to a different site than versus DCTC where their headquartered office is. And so, it was great to get presentations from the staff from that site. Um we were able to celebrate uh employees of the quarter for spring and winter. We had a a wonderful presentation on some of their interventions called Nurtured Heart. Um we had a CTE update >> [laughter] >> from from them too and are really wanting to stress collaboration with member districts. Um I think the biggest thing of note that impacts our district and something that is on our agenda under new business is they are right now wanting to extend uh just a one-year lease with us as they have pursued an agreement with expansion of that location site with Bloomington Public Schools. So, that is what is going to occur. So, what's on our Our tonight is to approve a one-year extension of our agreement for Cedar School with their intent to move into um Bloomington to expand their program. Um the other big thing too coinciding with funding is they um shared this wonderful uh video about special education funding to try to educate like the average person of what special ed funding looks like. Um and it's something um I don't know how to share it with everybody, but I will see if Dr. Shayla will be able to share it uh with the member districts too cuz I think it is something really interesting to to see. Great. That concludes that report. Thank you. Are there any other board member reports this evening? All right. We will move on to the um business portion of our meeting. First up is the consent agenda. Although board action is required, it is generally unnecessary to hold discussion on these items. In the event a board member wishes to discuss an item, that item will be moved for separate consideration. Um do board members want to move any items? Is there a motion to approve the consent agenda? So moved. Moved by Director Anderson, second by Director Saxby. Um Yes, all in favor? Aye. >> [laughter] >> Any opposed? All right. Motion carries unanimously. Um Next up is preliminary approval for the Travel Club international trip to Japan. Speakers are Dr. Chris Balmont, assistant superintendent, Alicia Vanderhaar, teacher and Travel Club advisor, and Gloria Webber, teacher and Travel Club chaperone. We brought a third wheel, too. And one more person who I'm sorry, I recognize I've seen you before. Thank you Director Hughes, Superintendent Daniels, members of the board. Um here with the our travel club who I've found to be like super proactive um and and that has resulted in more inclusivity and and less barriers for our students. So I'm I'm glad to be here discussing 2028 and a trip Mr. Parkin, Ms. Vanderhart, and um Ms. Webber here for uh preliminary approval of a trip. If you could just load up the slideshow. Do you want me to just keep going? Um I have Okay, you got it. Our command center will locate it. Perfect. [laughter] Wonderful. Thank you all for seeing us again. I know you're probably getting used to seeing our faces. Um I'm Alicia Vanderhart. I am the travel club advisor, um the one who coordinates this. Gloria Webber. I chaperone, um general dogsbody, you know. Enjoy myself immensely on these trips and hanging out with the kids. Landon Parkin. Uh they need a male whenever WE GO ABROAD. >> [laughter] >> THEY NEED A MALE. PART OF OUR POLICY YEAH. YEAH, that's to be clear. It is. We have to have [laughter] We have both We have both genders represented always. So um Mr. Parkin has uh been so kind as to travel with us. So Thank you for your sacrifice. >> Yes. Yes. >> [laughter] >> Twisting my arm. So just a quick update. Um we are heading to Switzerland and Italy this summer. 67 days I believe until we take off and so we are very excited. Um we are happy to report that we have covered all of the tips that the students need to pay um via fundraising. So all of that was covered with our grocery bagging and various other um things that we've done. So there's no extra expense for the families. So, we were really really happy to have that work out. Um our travel dates are June 29th through July 8th. And that's what we know at this point. Yeah. All right. So, we are here um to talk about Japan, Land of the Rising Sun. So, our proposed trip is uh where we get to see um a a a look into the past, uh which is a very long past and history of um Japan. We start in Tokyo, and then we go into Kyoto, and then we end up taking one of the high-speed trains down there. Um the kids get to experience things that are ancient and then things that are hyper modern, right? Sometimes uh moving ahead of the game in many ways. Um the biggest thing for us is that when when we I started this back up in 2022, this is my fourth year here. Um students have been asking for a trip to Japan. It is the most requested, hands down, uh the most requested trip. And so, we thought, you know what? Let's do it. And so, um Gloria is going to speak to why we're here for 2028. Um we are looking at this so far in advance because the cost is a bit more than some of the European trips. Um by scheduling this out this early and offering it this early, it does make the cost more manageable for families. It gives them more time to spread out those payments. Um there is as um Alicia said, there has been huge interest in this trip. And we know for many of our families that something like this is is difficult to pay for. So, we wanted to basically open it up to as many people as possible and allow those families to plan ahead. Um just as a side note, we have been kind of, you know, mentioning to students that this is we're planning it, nothing official yet. Um, the level of interest has been unreal. I have had so many kids asking about it. Um, so we're hoping that it will be a a rather large trip. Yeah, we um, when we it allows us to be able to do our fundraising very early. Um, we talked about how there will be two holiday seasons between now and when they travel. They have um, more opportunities for us to offer fundraisers for them and it allows the families to become really involved too in the process, which is always fun. We love when our our parents and caregivers come to the meetings and are learning. We just had one today. Um, come to the meeting and they ask amazing questions and um, you know, it's just a really fun activity and it's very community building for us as well, which is super important. Uh, so in addition to that, we also want to offer as many fundraising opportunities as possible because it is a lot of money to go on these trips. Um, so some things that we've done in the past and we're planning on continuing doing are we've been doing Cub Foods bagging groceries monthly um, for our Europe trips this summer and it's something we plan on continuing. The our partners at Cub Foods all over Burnsville have been really happy to have us and we've raised a consistent amount of money. It's been fantastic to see kids show up and not only be able to raise money for this trip, but also get kind of real world experience like interacting with people and asking and and advocating for themselves. Um, we're also planning on partnering with local restaurants to do fundraising nights at different restaurants. Um, there's also a fundraising organization called Cherrydale where uh, students can offer a link and people can buy different things off of their website and then part of that money goes back to the kids. We raised $700 >> for our kids in the fall and then this spring we offered it again and and it was about $150 even. Just a little extra money for the kids to be able to have for and it goes directly to them each individually, so they can take that and turn that into um if it's going towards the payments or being able to use it on the trip. Trying the best we can to make sure that everything is accessible for our kids. Yeah. Students uh we also offer scholarships. Um the organization themselves does so students can apply and get approved based on different merit and needs-based situations. And then also we are always looking to hear more opportunities from families and partners in the community as well. Um also with the trip um each student has a specific fundraising page that's connected to them that they can share out as well. And so they can share that link with their family members, so family member could or family members or friends or anyone can donate directly to that link and that just goes right into taking money off of that account. >> Immediately, yeah. And then also there are smaller monthly payments the farther ahead they book in advance. So obviously if they were to book sooner, they'd have to just make smaller payments over time. Mhm. So um I have Crimson as a student right now and she's absolutely amazing and she is actually traveling she traveled with us in 2024 and then saved all of her pennies so that she could travel again as a senior in 2026. And she keeps telling me how she cannot wait to travel with us again. So um it's been just a joy to see [cough] so many of my students talk about the trip and the things they're excited for. Um and we're hoping to be able to bring all of that excitement to our kids who are looking forward to a uh trip to Japan. So thank you. Um Dr. Hume, I recommend that the Board of Education approve the preliminary application for an international field trip for the Travel Club trip to Japan in 2028 [clears throat] um first to meet questions. Thank you very much. Is there a motion to a provide preliminary approval for the travel club trip? So moved. Moved by Director Webb. Second. Seconded by Director Chester. Any discussion? This can we sign up? >> [laughter] >> You actually could be chaperones. Cuz this is this is Japan is actually my husband's bucket list and so I know like you would want [laughter] to help volunteer chaperone if feasible. I will say we have had quite a few people come up and say, "So, what are you What do you need chaperones for?" Um and we are hoping to bring >> [laughter] >> We're hoping to bring a considerable number of kids and what's really wonderful with EF Tours because they've been doing this for almost 60 years. Um they've been they're like the leading in in tours and which I know you all know because we've been here This is our fourth time now. Um being here, but they have their requirement of the 6:1 ratio. And the schools is like our districts is 10:1. And so they even have a tighter um uh restrictions hence why there's three of us going. Um so we're really hopeful that we'll be able to have a great experience for all of the kids. That's great. I I also appreciate the update on this year's trip and the fundraising for that. That's amazing that how much fundraising [clears throat] you all were able to do. Um is there a 2027 trip or is this the trip for the next 2 years basically? So that was what you um that was one of the uh pieces in the consent agenda. Our goal was to do a spring break [laughter] 2027 Okay, I'm not calling YOU OUT, OKAY? OKAY, UM SO UH NO, WHAT IT WAS WAS WE HAD A 2027 spring break trip planned, um but with everything that has been happening in our community, um a lot of uh plans have been pushed out and decisions could not be made. And so we decided under um uh advisement from our amazing EF Tours partners to push it out to summer 2027 because then that way because families actually get a 365-day cancellation. So, they can cancel up to the and with no repercussions except for I believe the $95 sign-up fee. So, there's very little repercussions if if it does come to that and if we were to continue to pursue the spring break one, they would not have that benefit. So, we decided to push it off to summer, requested that today simply because we wanted to give families more time. And so, that was the plan is to have the 2027 trip. Normally, we do every 2 years. We were trying the spring break trip out. Plans change as they sometimes do and we're flexible humans, so we'll see how that one goes as well. And we're hoping to if if if approved tonight, relaunch it with the Japan trip as well. So, if there's any families maybe they're graduating seniors next year who might be interested in going with us to Budapest, Vienna, and Prague. Awesome. All right, thank you. Any other questions or discussion? All right, all in favor say I. I. Opposed? The eyes have it. Congratulations. >> Thank you. And we'll be back with an update eventually here. >> [laughter] >> I will look forward to that. >> Absolutely. All right, next is the early childhood special education stretch calendar for the 26-27 school year. Um speaker is Stacy Sobine. No? Not Stacy? >> [laughter] >> Well, my printout says the wrong name. Let me check the agenda. Yes. >> right here. Oh, Christie Wanzek, sorry. There wasn't a space. I jumped [laughter] down too far. >> I know. Hi Christie, I know you're not Stacy. Okay, so good evening Director Hume, Dr. Daniels, and members of the board. I'm pleased to present the 26-27 stretch calendars on behalf of our birth to three early intervention team program. Um following referral for our youngest learners um ages birth to age three, our early intervention team is required to complete an evaluation and set up a family service plan for those learners within 45 calendar calendar days from the referral date. These learners may also need a part B special education evaluation if the team determines there are still concerns and with an IEP in place prior to their third birthday. This year the staff have been strategically placed into two teams with different disciplines to allow for a multi-disciplinary team, which is required for elevate um required for evaluations of these young learners. Um these and these [snorts] calendars provide the flexibility for the teams to meet those federal and state mandates. So, the recommendation is for the board to approve the 2026-27 birth to three stretch calendars. And you should have a copy of them. I don't know. >> Yes. Yep. Yep. Thank you. Is there a motion to approve the stretch calendar? So moved. Moved by Director Mickelson. Second. Seconded by Director Anderson. Any discussion? Seeing none, all in favor say I. I. All opposed? The motion passes unanimously. Thank you very much. >> Thank you very much. Uh now we will approve premiums and rates for FY27 employee benefits. Our speaker now is Stacy Solvie, executive director of administrative services. Thank you, Director Hume, Dr. Daniels, members of the board. Uh following up our uh work session at our last board meeting with uh a recommendation to accept the premiums for FY27. This includes a 5% increase on our self-insured medical plan, a 5% increase on our uh in uh self-insured dental plan, no increase on our accidental death and dismemberment insurance, and a slight decrease in our long-term disability insurance. So, you can see the rates and the total cost for the the premiums listed here, and the contribution from the district and the employee is negotiated in each collective bargaining agreement. So, those amounts will vary depending on what bargaining unit they are part of. So, it is my recommendation that the Board of Education approves the FY27 premiums and rates for employees as listed below. And um that's what I got. Thank you very much. Is there a motion to approve to approve Stacy's recommendation? Moved by Director Saxy. Second. Seconded by Director Anderson. Any discussion? Seeing none, all in favor say I. I. Opposed? The motion passes unanimously. All right. And the I believe the last thing on the agenda this evening is approval of a one-year extension of the Cedar School lease with Intermediate District 917. Our speaker is once again Stacy Sobride. Thank you. As Director Chester has alluded to, we are coming to an end of our partnership with 917 at Cedar. We've had that partnership since 2013. So, nearly 14 years now. They have needs to expand. We don't have additional room at Cedar because of our own programming that is there. So, we're looking at a one-year extension with the rates that are included on the amendment that was provided for you. It goes through the end of June of 2027, but we do have some lead time in July and August for them to exit the building and for us to take uh come uh take over in certain areas such as the office area, uh different things in which we're going to want to be moving into as well. So, it is my recommendation that the Board of Education approve the 1-year extension of the revised lease for a portion of our Cedar School with Intermediate 917. Thank you. Is there a motion to approve the recommendation? So moved. Moved by Director Chester. Is there a second? Seconded by Director Saxby. Any discussion? Seeing none, all in favor say I. I. Opposed? The motion passes unanimously and with that, it the time is 8:01 and having no further agenda items, I call this meeting of the ISD 191 Board of Education adjourned.