[4:26] tonight is monday april 12th and we do have a quorum so i'll call this meeting to order due to the current [4:32] federal and state emergency declarations and guidance about limiting person-to-person contact [4:38] due to the coven 19 pandemic this meeting of the edina public school district school board is being conducted [4:44] online in accordance with minnesota statutes 13 d 021 people may monitor this meeting [4:51] from a remote location by using the district's youtube channel meeting participants are reminded to [4:56] keep their computer on mute please remember to utilize the raise hand feature [5:01] and then wait wait to be recognized by me i will determine the order in which participants wishing to speak will be [5:08] recognized before we start the meeting i wanted to take a moment to recognize that we are meeting [5:15] virtually in accordance with the curfew set tonight by governor walls as a response to the unrest in our [5:22] neighboring communities our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of dante wright the larger community and [5:29] all those affected by this loss of life including our own families staff members [5:34] and all students who are already navigating the stress of this pandemic and could be feeling additional stress [5:41] from the derrick shoven trial this school board meeting is clearly not going to solve [5:47] society's ills but i do believe consistency for our students is important during times of unrest and in [5:54] our schools right now we are growing leaders of today and tomorrow so let us continue with our meetings for [6:00] tonight but remember the backdrop under which we are working [6:06] um the first order of business tonight is agenda approval do i have a motion to approve the agenda [6:11] for tonight is there a second second second [6:19] we'll now vote by roll call to approve tonight's agenda allenberg hi fox [6:26] aye green i jones aye michelson [6:38] tonight's agenda is approved um john will you please quickly review the agenda for us [6:44] yes we'll start out right after this with excellence in action recognizing the editing high school [6:49] girls basketball team's care package project we will hear from members of the public [6:54] that john topo read we have a consent agenda that has items on it we have for presentation uh [7:03] present uh our may referendum presentation uh that's the information uh webcast that we are taking out to uh [7:10] different community groups um the in discussion you'll discuss the 2021 positive bond review and comment [7:17] that the mde has provided you'll presentation on the long-term [7:22] facilities maintenance bond and a discussion on the physical earth science course design and [7:28] curriculum and then in action you'll approve uh the purchase of the issuance of that bond [7:34] and um excuse me the purchase of that issuance of the bond yes and then uh [7:39] purchases of buses and then approving the equity consortium proposal that was discussed in [7:44] in the work session earlier and then we have some announcements right at the end great thank you super nun schultz um [7:51] speaking of leaders of today um in tonight's excellence of action we're going to talk to the [7:58] edina high school girls basketball team and and learn about their listen learn care [8:05] project that they created in partnership with the black student union on the project was their way of learning [8:11] more about racial inequities and provided a platform for them to share and we're providing them a [8:16] platform to share about what they learned um here is ali murphy to tell us more so welcome [8:24] thank you um i was informed that jamie were you going to say something before i [8:30] start the presentation i apologize here is our head basketball [8:36] coach to um tell us more before the presentation no problem i just um would like to [8:42] proudly announce our student leaders who are on tonight we have senior captain ally murphy [8:48] junior katie getzman junior maya dawson and junior martin [8:53] fullerton thank you and welcome all of you thank you for coming [9:00] um i'd like to take a moment of silence to acknowledge the tragic death of mr dante wright [9:09] thank you um i will present now [9:28] all right hello i am ali murphy i'm a senior at edina [9:35] high school and a captain of the edina girls basketball team i'd like to talk to you tonight about [9:40] our team's racial justice efforts this season it's called it's bigger than basketball [9:46] i'll tell you how it began how it evolved the impact we had and most importantly our plans for the [9:53] future but first we'd like to sincerely thank mr troy stein for supporting this [9:58] educational effort and also the school board for creating an environment where edina students are [10:04] encouraged to become tomorrow's courageous leaders today where it began most of you are aware [10:11] athletes have used their platform to shine a light on the need for racial justice black disproportionately [10:18] experience increased police violence and shootings just because the color of their skin [10:23] this has to stop our country is better than this this fall i read about two black high [10:29] school basketball players in florida who chose to wear black lives matter warm-ups for their game they not only were not allowed to wear [10:35] the warm-ups they were pulled out from the court the game was canceled and they were threatened with suspension [10:42] at the same time destiny adams one of the best high school players in the country requested to wear a black lives matter [10:48] warm-up shirt in order to peacefully advocate for racial equality and her request was [10:53] denied by her school board when i read this something inside snapped [10:59] at that moment i decided i was going to use my platform as a citizen and as an athlete to shine a light on [11:05] the need for racial equality conversations education and positive change [11:12] i've been inspired in my advocacy for social justice by my basketball trainer and long-time mentor mr pj hill [11:19] pj is a wells fargo financial advisor a former pro athlete and a vp of the naacp [11:28] pj often explained to me white people can choose to care or not to care that people of color are treated differently [11:35] that they don't feel safe when they call 9-1-1 people of color don't get to choose to care this [11:40] inequality and is their life every day that really hit me i decided to choose [11:49] to care and i have the courage to care i decided to step up get out of my [11:55] comfort zone and care first i requested permission to wear these warm-ups [12:00] from mr stein one of the most exciting days of my life when he agreed and offered his support [12:06] thank you mr stein second i asked the black student union eddie dyna for their permission and [12:13] their partnership in this effort i took the lead from them they wholeheartedly agreed to partner [12:18] and were thrilled that edina athletes would use their platform to advance racial equality then i [12:24] approached my coaches i asked for the time to speak to the team after practice about the plan to [12:30] wear the blm warm-ups and why the coaches agreed as a side note i'd like to thank our [12:36] coaches jamie guard chapman jared chapman and kevin chan for their support in these efforts [12:42] i know this was outside of everyone's comfort zone but it's a hundred percent right and i appreciate their courage [12:48] i told the team i was designing blm warm-ups and i would aware i would be wearing them at each game i [12:54] explained with documented statistics the impact of systemic racism next i invited black edina alumni who [13:03] played basketball to come back and speak to their team about their personal experiences with racism this was a profound experience [13:10] it was eye-opening for the white players then current black teammates asked if they [13:16] could have the time after practice to speak about their experiences with racism and why they don't feel safe one [13:22] teammate said it was the first time she felt like a proud black woman at edina [13:27] meaningful conversation started on the team the moment of truth came right before the first game i had a warm up [13:34] for everyone if they chose to wear one the church the shirts said black lives matter on the front [13:39] and listen learn care on the back because i think it's time for white people to listen to black voices [13:46] learn the fact learn the facts about systemic racism and start to care like pj hill taught me [13:52] white privilege is the choice to care or not to care it's time to choose to care we can't [13:58] wait any longer at our first game and for every game this season every dyna high school [14:03] basketball player chose to wear a shirt encouraging people to listen learn and care about ending racism not [14:10] only our team some of our opponents requested warm-up shirts here's a video from our game against [14:23] [Music] [14:28] hopkins [14:36] we were in great company this season athletes across the country decided enough is enough [14:41] and they advocated for change the u of m gophers lay high women's basketball and even [14:46] stanford women's basketball decided to advocate for change from the warm-ups and the educational [14:53] speakers and articles from our team our efforts grew we realized we had an opportunity to educate ourselves [15:00] and others teams we presented a snack box to the opposing team before each game with yummy snacks [15:06] hand sanitizer and a letter explaining our efforts to promote racial equality along with a pivotal article from the nba [15:13] great kyle korver explaining white privilege in racism i'll give you a moment [15:18] to read this letter [15:27] the response to our advocacy efforts with other teams was more positive than we ever imagined [15:33] in fact it started real positive conversations on social media [15:40] here's an excerpt from a very popular post from the st louis park coach and his [15:45] respect for our team comments included edina has come a long way this is hopefully news that the future [15:51] is bright and my heart really needed this my favorite was [15:57] that's so dope other programs need to follow edina's lead [16:03] this season took on a meaning much bigger than basketball it meant proudly advocating for basic [16:09] human rights don't get me wrong it wasn't seamless and easy people don't like to go outside their [16:15] comfort zones at first but there's nothing like feeling it there's nothing like the feeling of standing up for something [16:21] that's bigger than yourself thank you once again to mr stein our coaches [16:26] in the school board for the real life opportunity to learn about courage integrity true edina values and choosing [16:32] to care but it's only begun i'm a senior and the next generation of edina girls [16:37] basketball leadership is already planning their education and advocacy efforts i'd like to turn to introduce katie [16:44] getzman maya dawson and martin fullerton [16:51] okay hi i'm maya dawson and as being one of the only people of color on the team and not having much [16:58] diversity let me present myself actually so everyone can see me [17:07] one second [17:18] oh i guess that didn't work okay i'm just going to okay sorry it's okay okay okay i said as [17:25] being one of um the only people of color on the team and not having much diversity down in high school [17:30] this group and the important discussions we have had have been so important to me personally because it's provided me a sense of [17:36] feeling accepted and has given me an opportunity to be heard amongst my teammates through being able to share my life [17:42] experiences as being a person of color this also made me [17:47] excited that we're able to protest racial injustices through our warm-up shirts and kneeling this was the first step to [17:53] making real change within the community and hopefully open people's minds and views on what the black light matter movement [18:00] truly stands for this all gave people on the team a way to show support in a way they wouldn't have that [18:05] would have had access to otherwise this idea started small and became something that brought not only our team [18:12] together but other girls basketball teams to become more interested in the black lives matter movement [18:17] and gave them an opportunity to show support [Music] [18:24] hi i'm katie getzman um my passion for black lives matter matter [18:30] um started after the tragic death of george floyd something like this had never happened so close to home [18:35] close to home before after seeing the video and how truly awful it was it opened my eyes to the harsh realities [18:40] that black people face on a day-to-day basis people like me who have never felt any racial racial prejudice in their life [18:47] could have easily gone about my day and ignored what was happening um but instead i decided to educate [18:53] myself on issues such as such as systemic racism racially inequalities and one of one thing that [19:00] really impacted my passion was white privilege white privilege is a live and present thing and seeing the advantages that [19:06] advantages i have as a white person changed my whole view on this matter instead of using this to my own personal [19:12] advantage i am trying to use it to help voice these issues and be an ally to the black community [19:18] the days following the death of george floyd i could have stayed home and let the protests and riots pass and acknowledge and not acknowledge [19:24] anything but instead i went out and protested and began speaking out on social media it was definitely uncomfortable for the [19:31] first time because i never vo spoke out about anything on social media or voiced my opinion [19:37] um but these conversations about racism and inequalities aren't easy topics but if we want to see change in the world we [19:43] must have these hard discussions the initiative started by ali is definitely something that should be talked about [19:48] having these hard conversations with a group of people you feel comfortable comfortable around is definitely something very influential [19:55] it had a significant impact on me and all my teammates and we are definitely going to continue this initiative next year [20:03] hi i'm martin fullerton and these conversations meant a lot to me also because i was a person [20:09] who was really looking for some way to contribute more because i knew that racism was an issue and i was looking for ways to [20:17] expand my knowledge and my group of people that i could talk to [20:22] about and it was really comfortable for me to be able to talk in a setting a basketball setting where [20:28] i trusted everyone i think it's really important especially in edina where [20:34] we're wealthy and mostly white i think it's really important that we have these conversations [20:39] since most of us will never some of us may never recognize our privilege [20:45] and it's important that we do regarding the future of our conversations about race more [20:51] specifically we um our partnership with hopkins will continue in a meeting of our two teams this [20:58] summer we look forward to utilizing our mentors and cindy murphy and troy stein who connect us with [21:04] important speakers and opportunities finally we hope to continue building our profile for group activism and [21:10] management for college applications we want to continue to provide ourselves and our team members with tools to [21:16] combat everyday racism and white privilege as well as education on systemic race [21:28] issues that is the end do any people have questions [21:36] do any board members have questions or comments [21:42] julie yeah hi i don't have any questions i just wanted to commend [21:48] um you ladies for coming on and sharing your experience and sharing the work that you did [21:54] um it is really hard to be intentional with your work and things that you [21:59] choose to do and just as hard to have such an important impact and you guys manage to do both [22:05] so i just want to thank you for showing us the adults the way here um because um that's what you've done [22:11] tonight explaining this and all the work that you've done in the continued work so i just wanted to say thank you [22:20] thank you julie anyone else john i will add that having this presentation [22:27] on this day just gives me great help of the uh the consciousness [22:34] as well as the conscience that these young people have brought forward and i'm very proud to be part of the [22:40] dyna community that uh is modeling this so i want to thank you for bringing this forward on another day [22:48] in our culture where we are um mourning the loss of a member of our [22:55] community thank you superintendent schultz erica [23:01] can i just add to sorry i couldn't get to my raised dancing um that one of the things that struck me [23:08] that you guys were talking about is that i think martin i think you said it that you were [23:13] you felt like you were in a setting with trusted people and i'm just wondering if [23:18] you know if there's advice that you can offer maybe through troy or through coaches to help other students find those safe spaces to [23:25] have conversations like this where you're thinking kind of above and beyond your own self and [23:30] educating yourself on stuff so that was just a maybe a suggestion that you kind of [23:36] think about that and share that experience [23:42] um i just wanted to wrap up by thanking you for coming here to present this i think it [23:49] takes a lot of courage to engage in these conversations in [23:54] general um but to bring it to our board and to do it publicly [24:00] um in front of the edina community takes a special kind of courage and to do it um as eloquently as you guys did um [24:08] i i i didn't quite frankly know exactly what you guys were presenting so in my opening when i talked about um [24:16] that we're preparing the leaders of today if you guys demonstrated that it looked like i [24:21] prepared for that but i didn't so thank you you you guys uh really set me up well with that you [24:28] guys are just outstanding clearly outstanding leaders and um you're lucky to have these ladies on [24:34] your team coach garb so um so thank you for coming tonight i appreciate it [24:41] well thank you for having us it's a true honor to come and present to you guys i think lenny and troy have something to [24:48] say i'm sorry i totally missed that yeah apparently this raised hand function doesn't work for you erica [24:54] that's why janie just spoke out but i i don't have a question but i am really impressed with the [25:00] presentation and i'm really impressed with the initiative that you took [25:06] in sort of starting this and to me it is courageous to go out and say [25:11] here's what i want to do and to go public with it i'm very impressed i think it's great [25:16] so thank you troy rumor has it you have your hand hand up so i would like to call on you [25:23] thank you chair allen berger i appreciate it and i want to echo a couple of the thoughts uh that were said and and and just say [25:30] that you know one of the one of the things when we were um meeting with coaches over the summer [25:36] we talked about equity and inclusion one of the things that coach said uh in in in one of our meetings was we are [25:43] missing the boat as coaches if we don't give um authorship an opportunity for our students right now [25:49] to continue to talk about these issues and um use extracurriculars as [25:55] that platform for them to continue to advocate so i want to applaud our girls basketball coaching staff [26:00] for continuing to work um with these fine ladies and and they did a [26:06] tremendous job i want to echo those thoughts and we will continue to grow in in this [26:11] area and i appreciate everybody's efforts so thanks again [26:16] thank you an excellent excellent leadership as well from you troy and coach gard and the [26:24] i mean just all around i'm really proud of everyone in the community right now so thank you [26:32] you guys are welcome to sit through the rest of the board meeting but i highly recommend that you exit so [26:39] so thank you for coming tonight and joining us thank you guys thank you thanks for [26:45] having us thank you thank you thanks bye [26:50] thanks um we're now moving on to hearings from a member of the members of the public [26:56] and obviously we're planning on being able to have people from the public come tonight to be able to make comments so i [27:02] just wanted to apologize if people were planning on doing that and weren't able to make it hopefully [27:08] next month we'll be able to meet in person um we do have three emails for director [27:13] tope to read and so i will pass it along to um director tope to read those um emails [27:20] that were sent to us good evening trey allen bergen members of the board can you hear me [27:26] okay the first commenter begins with members of the board thank [27:32] you for your service during this extraordinary time it is appreciated i am writing today [27:38] about the secondary science curriculum proposals and asking for clarification on commitment to scheduling students on [27:44] different pathways in the agenda documents for the april 12th meeting it was not clear what [27:51] science class options will be available to the ninth grade students of 2223 [27:57] that are in the compacted science pathway and completed the new earth science [28:03] requirements in eighth grade can you be specific on what science class will be guaranteed to [28:09] be available scheduled in ninth grade for these students [28:14] can it be assumed that a version of the enriched physics curriculum utilizing math at or above algebra 2 [28:21] level will be available and guaranteed to these students in ninth grade [28:26] in the recent past if classes were not part of the standard pathway for a grade there was no guarantee [28:32] and very little likelihood of a student being able to successfully get the class on their schedule it is one thing to say [28:40] there will be a pathway for students it is another to say that the administration will guarantee to [28:46] schedule the pathway or at a minimum put in writing the rules around priority for scheduling [28:52] and then have transparency on how those rules have been applied equitably [28:58] as shared by parents who currently work in stem during the project lead the way advisory council meetings [29:05] completion of ap physics is a key element in being successful within a college engineering [29:10] curriculum we need to be extremely clear about what options are available to a student who [29:16] wants to take regular slash enriched physics in ninth tenth or eleventh grade in order to [29:23] support taking ap physics in a later grade may i suggest there be a defined pathway where [29:29] physics can be taken concurrently with either earth science in ninth or chemistry intent [29:35] where the administration will commit to the physics class being scheduled [29:41] i know there are many moving pieces right now and the science curriculum changes are just one more thing [29:47] but i am concerned we will be doing all future students interested in stem careers a disservice [29:53] if we do not ensure a pathway to advanced physics courses thank you heather pete's parent of edina [30:00] 7th and 10th grade students [30:06] the next letter begins with good evening school board members four years since my first visit to the [30:12] school board and i do not see urgency as edina schools plod through a literary process [30:18] literacy process excuse me personally i am panicked that as many as 65 percent [30:23] of edina students are not receiving appropriate reading instruction next month when the proposed literacy [30:30] plan comes before the board i ask for the board's due diligence in examining the proposed plan [30:37] will it address the needs of all students will it continue edina's weight to fail method where children fall three [30:44] or more years behind their peers before there is enough concern to try to help them [30:49] does the new plan continue to knowingly allow 25 percent of our students to move through high school and graduate [30:57] even though test scores show they are not proficient in reading minnesota's focus on balanced literacy [31:04] is failing our students while edina's 25 of students lacking proficiency is far better than state [31:10] average nobody wants to be the one in four who graduate without the most basic skill [31:16] of proficient reading a large percentage of our students need more than what our schools are providing [31:22] for many edina families that means private schools private tutors and reading summer camps [31:28] it means expensive privatized for other edina families it means a [31:33] lifelong struggle because students needs are never identified or addressed [31:38] does the new literacy plan provide the necessary code-based explicit systematic sequential and [31:45] diagnostic instruction that helps all students learn to read does the new literacy plan move away [31:51] from the guess and skip methods of guided reading and balanced literacy will our first [31:58] grade students still have to cover the pictures of the leveled readers while they guess and skip words that they don't know or [32:05] will they work with decodable readers and learn the needed foundational skills that they are currently missing [32:12] where are teachers with the new literacy plan are they receiving and engaged in letrs [32:19] training if not how do they develop expertise that can be shared with students [32:25] are all district teachers knowledgeable about best practices in literacy instruction if not how will [32:31] they embed literacy into instruction as current standards require [32:37] reading is equity in the foundation of education and kids know they know when they are [32:42] not reading at the level of their peers they know when teachers don't know how to help them [32:48] the kids know but they believe they don't receive the help they need because they are too stupid to learn [32:54] by not appropriately supporting these students the lack of reading creates equity and mental health issues [33:01] fix this make sure udina's new literacy plan is not simply a repeat of the old [33:07] literacy plan this board is the last stop before another 20 years of failed literacy [33:13] in edina that was sarah hermana [33:23] the uh last comment comment uh letter begins with edina school board members thank you for [33:29] this opportunity to address you tonight our names are karen gabler twee eying [33:35] fox eleni glarum sherry rosen and nikki williams and we are writing tonight [33:41] representing vote yes eps vote yes eps is a community group formed [33:47] around supporting the yes vote on this spring's referendum of renewing the technology levy and approving the facilities bond [33:56] we want to thank the edina public schools school board members who have already shown their support behind [34:01] renewing the levy and approving the bond we know that you understand the importance of continuing the basic [34:08] and critical technology infrastructure needed to serve our students over the next 10 years [34:13] and investing in facility improvements that will make a difference for students family and staff the renewal of the [34:21] technology levy is important because without this six and a half million dollars will need [34:26] to be cut from the budget in the first year alone that will impact every school this [34:32] technology levy supports things like media specialists educational hardware software and [34:38] information systems technology infrastructure like network bandwidth firewalls cyber security and [34:44] phone systems and provides funding for maintaining school security systems cameras and alarms these are essential [34:51] items our schools need in order to prepare students for the world they are encountering today and into the future [34:59] bond issue provides additional capital for some unmet safety and transportation needs anyone [35:05] who has spent time around countryside creek valley and valley view schools knows that there are traffic flow issues [35:12] that pose safety concerns for pedestrians vehicles and buses in addition this [35:17] one-time issued bond paid over 20 years will allow us to bring our special education busing in-house [35:24] resulting in annual cost savings for the district for any community members watching [35:29] tonight we encourage you to learn more about the vote and how you can support our students at our website voteyseps.com [35:38] and follow us at our vote yes eps facebook page you're also welcome to [35:44] contact any of us with questions we are a community that values our youth [35:50] and realizes the power of a quality education we look forward to the opportunity to [35:55] reinvest in edina public schools the gift of a quality education is something that will serve our children [36:01] well today and for the rest of their lives we know that when a school district is strong it [36:06] can be a great indicator of a strong community we trust that the people of edina will [36:12] stand with vote yes eps and get out and vote yes for renewing the technology levy [36:18] and approving the bond issue early voting is open now and you can cast your vote anytime [36:23] on or before may 11th let's come together to show our support for edina [36:29] public schools and our students thank you karen gabler twee eying fox [36:34] eleni glarum sherry rosen and nikki williams [36:40] thank you very much um john and i just wanted to remind um the [36:45] public that um hopefully we'll be back um in person next month um just a reminder that our [36:53] room capacity is limited to around 15 people but you are if you would like to address [37:00] us publicly you can come and address us publicly [37:05] we will continue to read all emails sent to the board and you can also email us and we will [37:11] read your email um if it's sent to us by noon the day of [37:16] the board meeting and if you have any questions please call the superintendent's office [37:22] we're going to move on to our consent agenda um is there anything anyone would like removed from the [37:27] consent agenda um do i have a motion to approve the consent agenda it's removed [37:38] to approve the consent agenda ellenberg hi fox hi [37:45] green hi jones hi michelson hi [37:52] shawla hi roland friedman hi the consent agenda is approved [37:59] uh we now have a presentation on the may referendum i'm superintendent schultz and director [38:05] of district media and technology services steve buettner are going to present some information [38:11] on the may referendum yes we thought we'd take the opportunity [38:16] to share our webcast that we put together to provide the [38:21] information about the may 11th referendum which has two [38:30] two parts to it one is the uh renewal of the technology um levy and the second one [38:36] is asking for uh a bond uh to accelerate some of the construction [38:42] work at uh at uh actually three schools which will all be in the webcast to describe what [38:48] those projects are we had a successful presentation [38:53] at the league of women voters last week um lots of great questions and that was a successful presentation [39:02] we have about 50 groups that we've identified some of those groups were invited to the [39:08] league and women voters being that we are in covid we weren't able to go to [39:14] many of the senior communities to do the presentation so we combined [39:21] those groups and invited them to that league and women voters and that is a ligament voters will post that uh [39:28] webcast uh as well as we will too as information so steve i know if you want to add anything [39:34] more as far as background and maybe uh launch the webcast [39:39] no just uh again thank you for giving us the opportunity to present the information about the technology [39:44] levy and the bond i'll start the video [40:02] hello this is superintendent john schultz i'm here with steve buettner director of media and technology [40:07] services we want to welcome you to the informational screencast about the 2021 edina public schools technology [40:15] levy and bond issue from time to time the school district appeals to residents for [40:20] funding in support of continued academic excellence for edina students [40:26] taxpayers living within school district boundaries have a long history of supporting the schools [40:31] which means they have invested in facilities infrastructure and most importantly our [40:36] learners we take seriously our stewardship of the community's investment in dyna public schools [40:41] and in sustaining all that we have built together this spring will be we will bring two [40:48] funding questions to the community for a vote on tuesday may 11 2021 [40:54] we will be asking for a 7 million 10-year technology levy and a 7 million dollar 20-year bond [41:02] issue both will support edina students directly and also in indirect ways by supporting the overall [41:08] school system and both will maintain stewardship of the community's investment in edina [41:13] public schools today we want to provide you with more information about each of these funding [41:19] requests i'm going to turn it over to steve buettner to talk about the technology levy [41:25] thanks john again my name is steve buettner and i'm the director of media and technology for indiana public schools [41:31] we are fortunate to have an exceptional foundation of technology tools and know-how in our district [41:37] this foundation has been built and sustained over many years through a technology levy [41:42] the current technology levy generates 6.5 million dollars each year it is a 10-year levy that will expire at [41:50] the end of the next school year in june 2022 this spring we will ask to [41:56] renew the expiring levy and increase the amount by 500 000 annually this new 7 million tech levy [42:03] is also a 10-year levy and would be in place through june of 2032. [42:10] technology provides an important classroom tools that enhance learning and offers engaging ways for students to [42:16] interact with learning technology also gives students platforms where they can authentically and [42:22] creatively express themselves the district is committed to the use of technological tools in the classroom [42:29] when they are the right tools to use the technology levy also supports key [42:34] staff positions including media specialists dinah public schools is one of the few districts that has a media specialist in [42:41] each and every school technology is also crucial in the operation of all district systems and [42:48] facilities the tech levy funds the phone system [42:53] information systems for students and employees an important safety and security systems [42:59] for physical facilities and for cyber security the levy also funds learning platforms including [43:05] schoology and seesaw that our students families and teachers use every day [43:11] tech levy also supports systems operations that you probably don't realize [43:16] for instance over the past several seven years improvements have been made to the air [43:22] handling systems at every school site these now operate via digital technology and make it easier to [43:28] fine-tune airflow in buildings which has been an important mitigation strategy during the pandemic [43:35] and recently all buildings receive new automated external defibrillators known as aeds that connect with the [43:43] building's wi-fi to monitor the battery life and functionality of these emergency devices [43:48] district technology provides the foundation all of these operational systems rely on over the past year our [43:56] district's strong foundation of technology has played a critical role in our response to the covid pandemic [44:03] technology provides an important conduit for learning it enabled us to maintain continuity of [44:09] education for edina students when we were in crisis mode last spring [44:14] it continues to support flexibility as we work to meet the learning needs of all students it is an important tool [44:22] in connecting students with teachers and one another technology is not just about hardware [44:29] our district's amazing technology staff have literally supported thousands of people including students [44:35] teachers and parents as everyone adjusted to learning models that relied on having dependable technology [44:41] resources as we look to the future we want to ensure that adidas students [44:46] have the technology they need to learn and that our teachers have the technology they need to teach [44:53] if you own a laptop or a cell phone or any other type of technology you know that it needs to be replaced and [44:59] upgraded from time to time likewise we want our students and staff equipped with the best technology to use [45:06] when it is the best tool for learning there is also an increasing need for assistive technology which is key to [45:13] educational access for special education students and technology also provides the [45:20] curricular resources needed for most subjects more and more curricular companies [45:25] provide digital textbooks in addition to their paper versions again we won't be getting rid of our [45:31] paper versions but as digital textbooks become more common there is an added cost for [45:36] software and licensing let's talk about the funding for the technology levy and how it is spent [45:45] you can see that more than half is spent on staffing and professional development [45:50] again many districts have to share media specialists between schools but in edina we have nine media [45:57] specialists in the district one assigned to each school media specialists are an [46:02] important part of the student's experience in our schools and we are pleased that the tech levy is [46:07] able to partially fund this position in every school professional development [46:13] in the area of technology is also important for our teachers to be sure they know how and when to leverage [46:19] the technology tools that they have to enrich the learning experience [46:24] additionally all of our media specialists and our schools are certified by common sense education [46:30] the nation's leading non-profit organization dedicated to helping schools and families make smart and responsible [46:37] choices in their use of technology the next highest expenditures are hardware and software [46:43] both areas are related to making sure students and teachers have the devices they need to maximize the learning experience [46:52] when compared to neighboring districts technology investment adina's current levy is in the mid-range [46:59] even with the proposed renewal and increase we are asked seeking edit public schools remain [47:05] in the mid-level of this comparison the tax impact of a tech levy is based [47:11] on property value this graph shows the additional 10 tax impact [47:17] in purple if the proposed renewal of the tech levy with an additional 500 thousand dollars [47:23] is passed by voters for example the estimated annual [47:28] tax impact of a four hundred thousand dollar home would be fifteen dollars in addition to [47:34] the two hundred twenty three dollars which is the amount of the renewal of the current levy [47:40] now we'll hand it back to john who will share information about the bond issue [47:46] thanks steve the district's appeal for seven million dollar bond issues to fund specific facilities [47:53] improvement these improvements will enable us to better serve families and enhance safety at three schools [48:00] about 200 edina students qualify for special education transportation services [48:05] special education buses have seat belts some have car seats and all have wheelchair lifts these [48:12] buses need to be stored in climate-controlled spaces to ensure lift equipment works properly [48:17] of the 26 special education routes we currently have 14 routes are served through contracts [48:24] the district has with outside transportation providers these contracted routes are more [48:29] expensive than if the district serviced the routes ourselves over time we plan to purchase or lease additional [48:36] buses so that the district will be able to provide all special education transportation this [48:41] would represent a savings of the district of 140 to 280 000 per year when fully implemented [48:49] and most importantly would allow us to provide better service to students with special needs as the bus fleet grows we will need [48:56] additional bays in the garage for new vehicles and additional heated areas within the current garage [49:03] the bond would also fund needed improvements to the bus loop and parking areas at creek valley [49:09] and countryside elementary schools currently those areas are shared by a mix of traffic [49:14] including buses parent drivers staff parking as well as bike riders and [49:20] pedestrians the goal is to create dedicated zones for each that will alleviate congestion [49:26] and improve safety for all the bond will also fund traffic flow improvements at valley view middle [49:31] school where the parking lot entry will be realigned and physical deterioration of the lot will be addressed [49:38] the tax impact of the bond issue is like the levy based on property value unlike the levy [49:44] it is a one-time bond issue and cannot be renewed with an annual tax impact for the life [49:50] of the 20-year bond for example the estimated tax impact on a four hundred thousand dollar home [49:56] would be six dollars annually on the six hundred thousand dollar home the estimated tax impact would be ten [50:02] dollars annually so thank you for taking the time to learn more about the 2021 technology [50:09] levy and bond issue early voting is now available you will find information about early voting [50:15] and election day polling locations as well as well as more information about the levy and bond issue [50:21] on the district web page on your screen as always we are grateful for your [50:26] ongoing support of the students families and employees of edina public schools thank you [50:33] [Music] so uh like any referendum any diner [50:39] there are a lot of people to thank um and uh i want to thank steve [50:45] and john tope and randy and the whole lead team and mary whitey especially for bringing us all [50:52] together to uh put the facts out there for for the referendum and of course uh the [50:59] citizens who continue to ask us questions to um uh refine our information so with [51:04] that chair allenberg is the presentation great thank you um we're going to move [51:10] on to our three discussion items the first is the 2021 positive barn review and [51:16] comments um director tope i believe you're up on this one yes [51:22] uh good evening sir ellenberg again and members of the board superintendent schultz uh one statute [51:28] 123 b 71 requires a district upon uh reviewing comments submission letter [51:35] from mde to at least discuss the letter in a regular board meeting so this is that [51:42] board meeting i've provided the md positive review and comment letter it's a three page letter [51:49] we will be publishing in the district legal newspaper just the first page of [51:55] that three-page letter that's also a requirement and i did supply the [52:00] uh the board with the actual review and comment that was submitted i know that board members have all [52:06] already seen that before so at that point i'll stop and see if there's any questions and any discussion [52:12] the board wants to have on that yeah do any board members have questions or comments about [52:19] the bond review this is matt real quick with a quick comment thanks john wanted to get this back in front of the [52:25] board so there's no questions about full disclosure and discussion this was approved last year by the full [52:31] board so we're just bringing this back because now we're getting to the action phase of going out to bid for this [52:37] director fox i think you're talking about maybe the next item on the ltf m bonds though this is [52:45] the the the bond that we're voting on yep i thought you jumped to the next [52:50] agenda i am wrong sorry [52:59] anything on this this one no okay um we'll move move to the l [53:07] um the lt fm bond now remember what i just said [53:15] john tope do you have anything to say before matt jumps in yes just a few uh framing remarks around [53:22] this the board did approve uh an intent resolution on august [53:28] 10th this is part of our 10-year facilities plan so this is the next phase [53:33] of bonds issued for our long-term facilities maintenance program that we have in the district [53:38] that will run for the summers of 22 and 23 these bonds they are also [53:44] backstopped by local pay as you go taxpayer levy dollars for long-term [53:50] facility maintenance projects as well so i'll leave that to mr fox for any [53:56] other remarks and then uh turn it over to jody zesva from ellers and associates to just go over briefly the bond [54:03] issuance hi jody please go ahead good to see you [54:11] good evening good to see all of you um the district has a 10-year plan for your facilities maintenance projects and that [54:18] is required to be approved on an annual basis each summer by the board and then by the minnesota department of education [54:24] the projects in the facilities maintenance plan are financed with a combination of annual pay-as-you-go [54:30] levies and then on a bi-annual basis from bond proceeds and we determined that mix of financing [54:37] for the annual levies and bonds based to try to maintain a nice level [54:42] tax rate for both your capital and debt service levies last summer when you approved the [54:48] 10-year plan you also approved that resolution of a tent that was referred to to issue bonds at amount not to exceed [54:54] 13 million 755 000 was actually the amount included in the resolution last summer [55:00] now that we're closer to the bond sale date just like we did your 2019 facilities maintenance bond issue which [55:06] was the most recent one we're updating our assumptions and our financial schedules and those are included in the pre-sale [55:13] report that you have for before you tonight and we're now estimating a bond amount of 10 million [55:19] and seventy thousand dollars with a nice low true interest cost rate of one point four five percent so at this point in time we [55:27] also have a resolution before you now that we're closer to the date that sets the parameters for awarding [55:32] sale and we're recommending that you leave that bond amount at the amount that you approved last summer just to give [55:38] yourselves maximum flexibility and we're including a true interest cost rate not to exceed [55:44] 2.5 percent just in case market conditions change between now and the sale date [55:50] so um the facilities maintenance bonds of course were taken into consideration when the board was moving forward with [55:56] its plans for the school building bond referendum this uh this winter [56:02] and then we also as you'll see on our pre-sale schedules have included the possibility [56:08] of the school building bonds as part of your long-term financing plan too so we are working in coordination on [56:15] both of those bond issues as we move forward the next steps in the process then after [56:21] the board considers the res the parameters resolution tonight is that we will move forward with [56:28] preparing the official statement we'll have our conference call with the rating agency again and then we plan to receive the [56:36] proposals and have the designated officials award the sale of bonds on may 5th [56:41] the board would then ratify the award of the sale at your meeting on may 10th and we plan to close on may 27th so that [56:48] you have the financing for your fiscal year 22 and fiscal year 23 projects as john mentioned [56:57] so those are the comments that i have and i don't know if you are interested in taking questions now [57:03] or if you want to wait till you get to the action part of the agenda i think either one is fine a matt did [57:10] you have a comment that you wanted to make no i think i made it prematurely i think [57:16] we're good well you're welcome to reiterate it do board members have questions they [57:21] wanted to ask no i think we're okay jody so [57:27] great thank you thank you very much thanks jody um we're going to move on to [57:34] our physical earth science course designing curriculum and we have um gavin mclean who is a sec [57:41] our secondary science lead excuse me katrina stern secondary science professional [57:47] development and course design support and um director d st who is the director of teaching and [57:54] learning here to review on the recommendation for the course design and curriculum for physical earth [58:00] science so welcome thank you chair ellenberg superintendent schultz school board [58:07] members uh colleagues and community members um thank you chair ellenberg for introducing gavin mclean and katrina [58:14] stern i'd also like to welcome and introduce deb richards um all three have been a team and [58:19] working with this uh science design team and leading the work that has been going on for science [58:25] in the past recently and will be into the future so the discussion tonight is about the [58:30] 9th grade physical earth science the report shared with you highlights the process [58:36] that was used for evaluating curriculum resources using the minnesota standards the [58:42] materials that we are recommending to purchase for our 9th grade physical earth science and the course design that we are [58:48] proposing to move forward with this is a although this is a ninth grade [58:53] course there are eighth graders that will be accessing the course next year [58:58] who are in the compacted science pathway right now we will have mrs stern highlight what [59:04] the students experience will be with the proposed resource materials and [59:09] then mr mclean will then briefly speak to the course opportunities that will occur for students [59:14] specifically taking this class as eighth graders when they enter into ninth grade into the high school [59:20] and when he is done the team will listen to feedback and do our best to answer questions so i'll turn it over to miss stern at [59:27] this point for the presentation point and the highlights about what the the materials will look like directly for [59:32] students thank you jody and good evening members of the board um [59:38] so i have um just a brief presentation that i'll present to you on my screen [59:43] here um because i the as jody said the um the um [59:51] information in the report that we shared with you kind of highlights the curriculu the process that we use to analyze materials [59:57] and arrive at this conclusion that we would like to use these materials um for the course this edc earth science [1:00:04] materials but you know just reading about it on paper is um you know not inclusive of being able [1:00:11] to understand what the experience will be for for our students and so um i'm going to talk a little bit about [1:00:18] the water unit which is one of the units that encompasses many of our standards in earth science [1:00:24] and the purpose of my presentation is to preview for you activities and kind of show you the kinds of things that [1:00:29] students will do in a typical unit in this course um and demonstrate some of the ways that the [1:00:34] learning experience is in the course and the concrete parts of this curriculum align with our [1:00:40] edina science guiding principles which have been kind of adapted from the ngss and and um [1:00:46] this guiding principles document that was linked in the report um sort of highlights the the big [1:00:52] picture of what we would like to provide for our students as we're aligning our curriculum to these new standards [1:00:59] so at the beginning of this unit and at the beginning of really every unit the [1:01:04] students engage in some kind of brainstorm where their the teacher would ask them to discuss some questions with with a partner be [1:01:10] prepared to share um this you know it explicitly says don't worry if you don't know all the answers and [1:01:16] this is really important in trying to align curriculum to these new standards because we're accessing students prior [1:01:23] knowledge and engaging them in in some critical thinking before they're you know ever introduced [1:01:28] to vocabulary or or any concept so some of the examples in the water unit of the brainstorm [1:01:33] questions that are in this curriculum um it asks them how do you think it's possible that water could become scarce [1:01:39] for communities list all the ways that you use water in a typical day week or year save this you'll use it later [1:01:47] and based on your current knowledge where do you think your water comes from and students would be asked to draw and label a diagram starting with their sink and [1:01:54] tracing the water as far back as they go it explicitly says don't worry if you're wrong so in in all of these kinds of [1:02:00] activities students are engaging in what we call the science practices you know they're [1:02:05] they're trying to construct explanations about how do we think water could become scarce they're creating a model of you know a diagram [1:02:12] of um the water system in their you know in their community and their [1:02:17] world and kind of thinking about how their local context of their house and their life fits into the global system [1:02:24] at the beginning of the unit students would also be asked to generate some driving questions around an essential question like this you know [1:02:31] a really thought-provoking question that'll engage them in big ideas and they're engaged in asking questions [1:02:39] and thinking about what kinds of things we need to figure out in order to understand this big question so as students then [1:02:47] learn move through the unit i'd like to illustrate for you the kinds of of ways that students would [1:02:53] get engaged in learning about concepts in with these curricular materials [1:02:59] um so in this particular unit around water the very first uh activity in the unit is about [1:03:04] students calculating their personal water use using some data that's provided to them you know they're connecting that with [1:03:10] that brainstorming question that they were originally asked right out the gate they're thinking about data [1:03:16] they're using mathematics to analyze that data and but thinking about it in a way that's connected to their lives [1:03:23] this is one of the one of the highlights that really sets this curriculum apart from other curricula that we reviewed is that it is [1:03:31] filled with data um and it's explicit in the introduction to the the textbook that [1:03:36] this was part of the author's goal was to build a curriculum around real earth science data that um you know from [1:03:44] real sources like nasa and um you know other sources like that that students can [1:03:50] access so after students do this activity you know thinking about their personal water [1:03:55] use comparing that with other regions of the world so they're also kind of you know thinking of [1:04:00] there's sort of an interdisciplinary aspect to it there they also analyze data to think about [1:04:06] the parts of their water use that they might not normally think of you know industrial water use and agricultural water use [1:04:12] you can see again here in in these pictures taken from the from the curriculum that there's maps [1:04:19] more data different kinds of graphs so students are going to be engaged in using those data analysis skills graph [1:04:26] analysis skills um they're going to be asked you know find where you live on this map compare where you live with [1:04:32] somewhere else so it's again connecting it with their lives and getting them to think about um think about important ideas [1:04:39] um and using science skills and developing science skills along the way um in some activities where you know [1:04:47] they're as they start to kind of develop their ideas of concepts so you know in a unit about water students are going to learn about the water cycle [1:04:54] but the activity that's in here is students kind of actively engage in learning about the water cycle by [1:05:00] using these reservoir cards and travel cards to to learn about some of the ways that water moves around in the [1:05:06] earth system and then they apply that to a scenario you can see the scenarios here so like [1:05:12] for example um scenario seven says how could a water molecule get from a finch in the [1:05:17] galapagos to a wolf in siberia so we're seeing application and higher level thinking skills we're seeing [1:05:23] collaborative learning that we know is really good for learning to stick with students um and [1:05:30] and good for right you know diverse learners um and so you know in a typical rather than having [1:05:37] a typical experience where the teacher might just tell the students about the water cycle and they would just memorize the [1:05:42] vocabulary we're kind of seeing a more integrated um experience for them of [1:05:47] learning and talk you know critically thinking talking with their peers about these ideas applying them engaging in higher level [1:05:53] thinking this unit also in has some hands-on lab activities which we know is really [1:05:59] important for students to learn how to design investigations and engage in inquiry so for example [1:06:05] they investigate surface water processes by using this plastic watershed table [1:06:11] but the activity really tells them you know build build a watershed and then test it out [1:06:16] drip water down different sides of it using a pipette collect your data what do you notice you know so there's there's kind of an [1:06:22] open-endedness to the investigations in this curriculum um where there's there's guidance and [1:06:27] and students know why they're engaging in that investigation but they're not just going through a list of steps they're they [1:06:33] are making some decisions for themselves which is what we want as in our as in the implementation of [1:06:40] our new standards another example is that students design an experiment to learn [1:06:46] how groundwater filtrates through different kinds of earth materials different kinds of rocks and soil [1:06:51] and they're given the opportunity to sort of design a microcosm using different kinds of earth materials [1:06:56] and they're allowed to design it the way they want to and test it the way they want to so again we have that open-endedness [1:07:02] that is really giving students the opportunity to act and behave like scientists [1:07:08] which is really important um in our new standards and was a really important part of our selection criteria [1:07:16] in the summative assessment for this unit students are asked to learn a little bit more about their local water supply so now they're bringing all of [1:07:22] this back to their local context and understanding it in a way that's relevant to them they're asked to create [1:07:27] a flowchart representing where local water comes from and how it's distributed so you might remember they thought they [1:07:32] were asked to think about that at the beginning of the unit and then in the summative assessment it comes full circle and they're asked to [1:07:38] apply what they've learned in order to show how their their understanding of that has deepened which is really important was a really [1:07:44] important part of our selection criteria and is really important um in the vision of what we want to provide to our [1:07:50] students they're asked to analyze past and future threats kind of construct an argument around [1:07:57] what kinds of things could threaten the water supply how is your local community um dealing with those things um you know [1:08:06] what kind of they are asked to do a little research about the kinds of ways that they've protected their water supply and so this [1:08:11] kind of arc of learning is really um that's not unique to this unit this is sort of the the general experience in [1:08:17] all the units um having students you know accessing prior knowledge thinking about something that's [1:08:23] important an important phenomenon that's relevant and interesting to them and then engaging in all different kinds [1:08:28] of activities along the way to deepen their understanding of those core ideas um in the report that we um that we put [1:08:37] forth um the we had kind of narrowed it down to this curriculum edc earth science and [1:08:42] uh another curriculum is an open source curriculum um called the new visions curriculum and so [1:08:47] just to summarize kind of why um this is the curriculum that we're recommending [1:08:53] um the unique strengths that were not shared by the new visions because they did have a lot in common in terms of the [1:08:59] um you know the structure of uh activities and units being involving students and sense [1:09:05] making being centered around phenomena um the edc earth science curriculum connects concepts to students [1:09:12] local context and their personal interests much more strongly than the new visions curriculum does and that was a criteria in the equip rubric [1:09:20] that nuvision scored quite low on um and the easier earth signs scored very high [1:09:25] the other piece is that students in edc earth science are analyzing those [1:09:30] robust rich sources of real world data that come from real scientific sources like nasa and noaa [1:09:38] um that are just there in the curriculum things that would be very difficult i think for um for teachers to to create themselves [1:09:46] or find themselves those are all all these sources of data are in this curriculum and all of the [1:09:51] activities are really aligned with our 912 earth and space science benchmarks in minnesota whereas the new visions [1:09:58] curriculum um touched on some high school level concepts but also some middle school science concepts and we felt that it [1:10:03] would require more from the more work from the teachers to really create units from scratch whereas [1:10:09] in this curriculum it's more just going to be kind of modifying and adapting in the way that is best needed [1:10:16] to suit the minnesota benchmarks [1:10:21] so thank you very much i'll turn it over to gavin um we'll talk about the um [1:10:29] the kind of course sequencing and um scheduling things that jody mentioned thank you [1:10:36] yeah good evening uh members of the board uh thank you for giving us some of your time as we try and update [1:10:41] you where we're at uh i did sign in a little later so i apologize for that but i did remember [1:10:47] here a member of the community raise a question about what is next in the sequence so hopefully i can try and address some of those questions as we [1:10:53] kind of go here so do be aware that what i'm sharing right now is kind of uh our proposal at sequence and we're [1:10:59] trying to and build and and it's still a work in progress so we're still building this so uh [1:11:05] kudos and thanks to the community members that are raising these questions uh do know we are working on it and do know that these are awesome questions so [1:11:11] please keep them coming um the question is well what happens afterwards or what is the sequence well [1:11:17] just to refresh your memory uh we have some students choosing the seventh grade science uh going into eighth grade science uh [1:11:24] they would then come into the high school uh taking this physical earth course as a ninth grader [1:11:30] we also have some students that are on that compacted or accelerated program so they're condensing those three years [1:11:36] down to two years so we call in that pathway two so we have some students that are currently in sixth grade that are on [1:11:42] that pathway too we currently have some students in seventh grade that are on this pathway too what are they going to do in the fall of [1:11:49] 21 so what are they going to do this fall they're going to access this physical science that you saw katrina sharing some of the kind of student work that [1:11:55] they're doing so what would they do when they get to the high school well obviously they've done their requirement [1:12:01] they've done their earth science requirements so they kind of done their graduation requirements for ensuring that they've [1:12:07] met those standards so they don't need to do that course at the high school they've kind of accessed it a year early [1:12:13] so what would they be doing i'll wait would be going in the fall of 22 uh so that's a year away they [1:12:19] would actually go into chemistry um traditionally that's currently our 10th grade cannas [1:12:24] course sequence that's usually a 10th grade course uh they're just going to be accessing chemistry a year early if you [1:12:30] like from there from there it's the building blocks for many things it's the building blocks or the premise or the basics for [1:12:37] going into biology so they might be accessing biology uh as then into 10th grade uh it's also [1:12:43] the building blocks for ap chemistry ap biology so if we've got students that wanting to access ap [1:12:49] chemistry they may have done chemistry as a ninth grader they may then be choosing to do ap chemistry as a 10th grader uh by that [1:12:56] point they should have a year of chemistry and they should have the foundations to be successful or they might choose to do ap [1:13:02] biology and choosing that early so we're kind of seeing the two kind of pathways can emerge uh [1:13:09] they're all going to go through this physical earth course it's just a matter of when they're going to be doing it are they going to do it at eighth grade [1:13:14] uh and accessing at the middle school which is going to be some students in the fall of this year or whether it's going to be [1:13:20] the the rest of the that particular grade level they're going to be accessing as a ninth grader so hopefully that addresses [1:13:27] maybe one of the questions and concerns by a member of the community what course would they do next it would [1:13:32] actually be chemistry and from there they should be able to kind of build that so we are actually building some of [1:13:38] this we're building the sequence we're trying to ensure that all students have the capacity and opportunity [1:13:43] of getting to all the courses within their kind of four years of the high school we're also aligning those with the math [1:13:50] uh because i think that was a question that come up before how does the math sequence play into this [1:13:56] and so we're kind of working with kudos to mark carlson for working with us to ensure that whatever [1:14:01] class that we put students in uh they're not compounded by a skill set that they don't have at that point [1:14:07] but they also have the foundation knowledge to kind of build on um and then we're also trying to tie [1:14:12] that with some of our stem electives our other electives our current offerings in science in the electives [1:14:18] as well as the the project lead the ways at what point would they do that and what point would they kind of build that [1:14:25] so we're hoping that this would then kind of look like a mosaic at some point and students would follow [1:14:30] that sequence now do know that this is a recommended sequence for the majority of students [1:14:35] but where but we fully understand that this would not be a one-size-fits-all right [1:14:41] uh there isn't one pathway it's going to solve it for 650 students so what are we going to have to do we're [1:14:47] going to provide flexibility so this is our recommended pathway but we will not have those prerequisites [1:14:53] there which does mean that a student that wants to kind of access this course maybe not in a [1:15:00] non-traditional uh sequence then absolutely they can totally do that that also does mean that some of our [1:15:06] courses would be not necessarily specific so take this physical earth we're going [1:15:11] to have some students have completed that in eighth grade we're going to have some students complete that in eighth grade [1:15:17] and the same is going to be true for chemistry we're going to have a large number of sophomores in there 10th grade but we [1:15:23] are going to have some students in there that have already done physical earth that are now doing it kind of a year earlier and they're going [1:15:29] to be accessing chemistry kind of a year early so they so chemistry blend or a mix of 9th and [1:15:35] 10th grade accessing that course so hopefully that might have addressed some of the questions [1:15:40] i'll uh turn it over to members of the board because i'm sure between katrina's presentation and myself you may have [1:15:46] some questions so if there's a is any members of the board that have any questions please let us know [1:15:58] uh what questions do we have from board members [1:16:04] randy you're not a board member but i'll let you go ahead okay thank you i think the question that [1:16:10] was proposed by the um one of the community members was around physics and particularly like [1:16:16] enrich physics kind of that physics pathway gavin can you speak to how physics fits in with this pathway [1:16:23] you mentioned chemistry you mentioned biology can you speak to physics a little bit yeah absolutely so traditionally we've [1:16:30] always had physics as a ninth grade course uh and we've kind of framed it that that's where a lot of students are going [1:16:36] to get those uh laws that govern science it's also a building block or give some context for ap physics that might come [1:16:43] later uh we currently uh are talking about making that we're still going to be offering physics we're still going to be [1:16:49] doing physics but it's not going to be the same kind of current 9th grade course of what we're doing [1:16:54] uh and so what we're doing is looking for what type of courses are we going to need and we've already established that we're [1:17:00] still going to need the ap physics that kind of does ap physics c and we're kind of looking at like what things [1:17:06] we're going to offer but we're also looking at other things too uh we're looking at physics one [1:17:12] this would be kind of a rigorous course an opportunity for students to kind of build or to take that course maybe as [1:17:18] they go into ap physics or it might be a case that many students just want physics on [1:17:24] their transcript uh because they wanted to cut four-year college bound and they want that physics on there to kind of recognize a a kind [1:17:31] of broad spectrum of science so therefore we're going to do it so what we are currently doing is looking [1:17:36] at what type of physics offerings that we're going to do um would they be grade specific like would they have to [1:17:42] do it in 12th grade no it'd be probably more based on your math level and and you know kind of more based on uh what's [1:17:49] appropriate timing for you to access that course but traditionally we're we're still defaulting to that course maybe a senior [1:17:57] course for some students just because they either want it on a transcript uh they want those building blocks uh to [1:18:03] ever cause science across the board so we we have not made a final recommendation for the board at this [1:18:10] time of what we're going to do for physics what we're hopeful to do is we're hopeful to do that [1:18:15] in the fall uh and propose kind of what this sequence kind of looks like so after chemistry's biology and what those [1:18:21] offerings are we're hoping to do that in the fall have a lot of those discussions which they call the groups and then make board [1:18:28] uh recommendations uh then by december to what course offerings that we're actually going to do [1:18:34] so we're still in discussions at this point uh we we recognize that there is still need [1:18:39] there is a need for physics and we will be offering that uh we also recognize that there's a need to build onto ap [1:18:45] physics and we need to ensure that students can access that uh i think the community member also [1:18:50] raised the concern about trying to ensure that you can do that in a schedule right so [1:18:55] we we are very cognizant to the fact that students need to pack this into their schedule you know they need to be able to do it [1:19:02] in such a way that they can actually pack this in with all the other things that students are trying to access so [1:19:07] we are still in the design phase uh we will be offering those we're hoping to have a kind of [1:19:12] a fall come back to stakeholder groups of the course offerings and from that then we're [1:19:17] hoping by december we'll be making recommendations of what courses we would be offering so um [1:19:24] correct me if i'm wrong the this class is going to be launched for eighth grade next year but ninth grade for [1:19:31] the following year is that right yes jeremy yep so this would maybe this is [1:19:37] approximately 125 i think it's actually 127 but approximately 125 students that have [1:19:43] accessed the pathway to um the are going to be taking this course a year early [1:19:48] the remaining students which is about 450 will be accessing this as a ninth grader [1:19:54] and okay so that i guess that's where my question is and maybe you guys have not made any decisions [1:20:00] on that but i was wondering um from an acceleration perspective for [1:20:08] for the students that are accessing physical earth in eighth grade their families [1:20:15] made a decision to accelerate them in science in sixth grade correct [1:20:21] so they correct compact science um which um impacted their [1:20:28] decision to get them to have earth science in eighth grade which then is getting them domino effective uh [1:20:36] where it is yeah so the same concern has been raised and so and we have to be cognizant of uh [1:20:42] we're gonna have new students at the high school so if we were to ever get new students at ninth grade [1:20:47] did they somehow uh miss the vote right did they somehow miss the opportunity um and so that's a very that's the very [1:20:54] topic that we're discussing right now um the science design team we're discussing the just because a family [1:21:00] or a student may have made their decision at the end of fifth grade going into sixth grade does that mean that they're eliminated [1:21:07] or narrowed their options by you know by junior year uh we didn't like that [1:21:12] as a system so we are currently looking at ways that there's off ramps and on ramps that students can still get back on kind of [1:21:19] kind of get on this track or still be able to pack it in and i fully empathize and [1:21:25] and i think that the community members raised an awesome point uh that you can't actually physically [1:21:30] fit it right so if you are if you're wanting to do ap physics you want to do how how do you package that [1:21:35] in such a way that it's accessible to all so we are trying we are currently discussing as a science design team [1:21:42] the possible on-ramps as a ninth grader or as a tenth grader uh that you can still do these classes [1:21:48] still get the graduation requirements and still have access to those upper-level sciences so a family has not [1:21:55] kind of missed an opportunity just because they didn't decide to take that that was appropriate for them as a [1:22:00] sick okay that was my basic question which is no we decided yep no we haven't been [1:22:05] recognized the concern yep okay all right and when will the board or when will that [1:22:12] discussion be um um available for the board to see what [1:22:20] if any like designs or decisions are made from that i would have loved to [1:22:25] tell you cherylenberg that we were going to be doing this last year uh that would be what i'd love to tell you the reality is though [1:22:31] unfortunately we did take a hiatus there for kind of almost a year and so the science design team [1:22:38] uh pretty much the last meeting they had was january 20 they didn't get going until january 21 it's almost been [1:22:43] literally a year before we've kind of got that going so unfortunately we are a little bit uh behind where we would have been [1:22:49] discussing some of these things so uh please be patient with us but we fully understand that there's a timeline [1:22:55] that's why i'm saying i would love to do this as a fall um as a as kind of a concept idea [1:23:01] uh to flush out some of those problems look at those pros and cons minimize those cons or find solutions to [1:23:07] those cons to be to be able to be in a position that we're making a bullet presentation by december [1:23:13] that we've already flushed out we've already kind of minimized those issues those concerns and we [1:23:18] kind of feel comfortable with it uh as of right now the science design team is a bunch of teachers that range from [1:23:26] middle school to high school they're all voluntary giving up their own time uh giving up their afternoons their [1:23:31] mornings and making asynchronous lessons at home to kind of compensate so kudos to them for giving up their time [1:23:38] to do so and we're trying to find those three hours you know uh to try and do this [1:23:43] so that's why i'm unfortunately i would love to say that we could go a little quicker the reality is that maybe four [1:23:48] before we're kind of coming back saying hey uh these are the types of uh on-ramps off-ramps [1:23:54] these are the types of physics courses that we we were hoping to that would solve a lot of these uh kind [1:24:00] of problems that many students are going to be identified with and then we can kind of also embed a lot [1:24:07] of those math cross-curricular and as well as this engineering so i'm hopeful for fall [1:24:12] we can start those initial conversations and i fully appreciate the the workload that our teachers have [1:24:19] been under and i just appreciate you setting an expectation because i think now that we [1:24:24] have an expectation when we can see things i think that's all that i'm looking for and board [1:24:30] members can look for but i i absolutely appreciate all the work that you guys have been doing so i don't [1:24:36] want you to think i was asking to no not at all not at all we get it uh we fully understand it was [1:24:42] just my way of appreciating the science design team that's given up a lot there on time so uh it was my way of recognizing them as [1:24:48] much as anything else nope okay um i uh ellen and i ellen and then had some questions and i think owen did [1:24:54] so ellen [1:25:05] so ellen you're muted i know you're worried again i can't see her so i don't know i [1:25:11] wasn't sure thank you did it again sorry i wanted i just wanted to mention thank you for all the [1:25:16] work you're doing on this it's i know it's a lot and um so i wanted to just uh [1:25:24] mention that i totally agree that there should be on and off ramps for getting kids into [1:25:32] physical earth in eighth grade and just because someone made a decision [1:25:40] in fifth grade to do a compacted course doesn't mean or not take one doesn't mean that they [1:25:47] should be not have that opportunity to take this course in eighth grade so i [1:25:54] i would like to see on-ramps to this um course um and the other thing is that [1:26:00] i just want to mention um that this is going to be on the on the trans on 8th grade science is [1:26:08] going to be on the high school transcript right normally that has happened in the past [1:26:14] with courses like this is that true uh yeah yes to answer your question yes [1:26:21] now that how that's actually done it may be a manual entering to ensure that that on their thing but [1:26:26] to answer your question yes yeah and um i know that in the past we've always [1:26:33] offered a regular science class an enriched science class and an ap science class in all of our [1:26:42] core required sciences and it does not appear that we are offering an enriched [1:26:49] physical earth science course is that true uh that is true for eighth grade only [1:26:55] we're not actually making any recommendations or any proposals at all for the ninth grade course at this point [1:27:01] um so if you're asking me are we having an enriched or regular eighth grade physical earth [1:27:06] no we're not oh we're not recommending that but we have not actually got to the point of making the [1:27:12] recommendation for ninth grade yet right um and i i would just urge you to [1:27:19] reconsider that thought that i believe that these are kids that [1:27:24] are are they're the high flyers they're the ones that are able to handle [1:27:29] a year and a half of science in a year and um and [1:27:36] from what i'm i'm hearing it would this is this is taught at a regular [1:27:44] science pace which is quite a bit different than what they have had um and what perhaps [1:27:51] their capabilities are so i would encourage you to design that enriched [1:27:58] course so then it's done you can offer it um in the next year so [1:28:06] maybe that we come back with some of those discussions and it may be that we come back with levels [1:28:11] um about that would be a fall conversation uh not a now conversation the now [1:28:17] conversation is just about the eighth grade science ellen i'm confused are you saying that [1:28:22] for eighth graders we should offer an honors earth science because [1:28:28] have they're being accelerated an entire year so them being in ninth grade [1:28:35] science is the acceleration so that would be it would be a double [1:28:40] acceleration double acceleration so you're saying so you're saying we should have four different levels of [1:28:47] science for our eighth graders i'm saying that that we would just offer [1:28:52] you would offer an enriched science for the eighth graders we do offer enriched science we offer [1:28:59] regular science for eighth graders we offer enriched science for eighth graders and then [1:29:04] we're offering ninth grade science or as creators for those that are [1:29:09] are basically double accelerated so then you're saying so erica you should also [1:29:16] note that that that the curriculum that's being recommended is and one of the things we talked about [1:29:21] in teaching and learning is that that curriculum is act technically written at a 10th grade level so [1:29:26] 8th graders by default are kind of already getting an additional step up and one of the [1:29:34] other reasons that it was being recommended is because it offered kind of those you know i'll use a middle [1:29:40] school term the depths of knowledge opportunities that deb has talked about before that kind of can differentiate [1:29:47] individual students pathways and how broad or how deep that they go and uh you know [1:29:52] i just wanted to make sure i understood that ellen that you are asking for an accelerated [1:29:59] of the acceleration no i'm just i'm i'm going to be um it's [1:30:06] it's and already it it will be the next grade level up [1:30:11] but what i'm talking about is the class itself [1:30:17] physical earth science when when normally when an enriched class is offered it it offers [1:30:24] different content at different at a higher level [1:30:30] than the regular course and so what i'm just saying is for those students who are ready for [1:30:38] the physical earth science and that are are going to be signing up if if they [1:30:44] were in the regular progression they would have the option [1:30:50] of a regular class or an enriched class these students would have been the [1:30:55] students that would have taken the enriched class and i'm only suggesting that we offer [1:31:01] one physical science physical earth science course [1:31:06] in eighth grade and that be the enriched one good question thanks for remember jones [1:31:12] we'll we'll certainly uh we're fully aware of that and that might be part of the on-ramp and off-ramp [1:31:18] conversation for ninth grade um and so that that is something we haven't [1:31:23] actually finalized yet that's something we're still discussing at this point um and so for tonight's purposes though [1:31:29] we were just talking about the eighth grade rather than ninth grade um but surely i'm hopeful that we have [1:31:34] those answers for you in the fall uh when you're pretending about the students on the on the traditional [1:31:40] pathway lenny right and and that's why i'm bringing it up now because [1:31:45] this is going to impact those students and as we're doing as we're talking [1:31:50] about how that it's impacting of course we'll be surveying them early i hope in the year [1:31:57] to make sure that this class is taught at the appropriate challenge level for them yeah yeah and i can ask you no we do [1:32:05] know we're fully aware of that and that's something at least we've started so i can ask deb richards step in a second if you don't mind but [1:32:11] this is something we've been talking about with the talent framework so for the last couple of months uh dev's been facilitating some of those [1:32:17] conversations about extended learning about enrichment classes uh and what those could look [1:32:22] like um we're still not at a point where we're proposing any ideas though [1:32:28] we're literally just going through and evaluating them and trying to figure out what what some of the the pros are what [1:32:34] some of the cons are with some of these models um but yeah we recognize your conversation we recognize your comments [1:32:39] and yes it will be something as part of the ninth grade of science but there [1:32:44] is going to add please and and i want to say the science department has done a great job [1:32:51] with and with handling these three levels at um at the high school level um the [1:32:58] other thing that i'm going to mention lenny wants to talk about so i just want to make clear [1:33:04] your question ellen for tonight only pertains to having an enriched earth science in eighth [1:33:12] grade for those who accelerated correct right okay that's what i thought we [1:33:18] are discussing ninth grade earth science and so as we are on the on the agenda is ninth [1:33:25] grade earth science and so i don't see a an enriched option in that proposal i'm just [1:33:32] mentioning that i was asking questions about it and you're talking about for the people who will be in eighth grade next year [1:33:38] correct right right right and we have talked about this before and my recollection was that there are less minutes of [1:33:44] instruction at the middle school level for science then there are minutes of instruction at the high school level so [1:33:51] by definition it is an accelerated class because they will have less class time [1:33:56] than the high school and we have talked about this at prior work session and prior board meetings [1:34:01] right thank you for bringing that up i did look into it and um it looks as though from the the [1:34:07] materials from lab aids that there are plenty of hours that we're being that we're we're using um that we [1:34:14] currently teach in our middle school to handle this curriculum [1:34:19] yes so i think everyone supports having earth science for our eighth graders [1:34:24] i don't think anyone's disputing that right so the last so the last the last thing [1:34:30] that i was going to i don't think ellen deb wanted to comment on this as well so if you can just hold on [1:34:37] so i think ellen what if i hear what you're saying you're really saying we've got kids that are used to going at [1:34:44] a much faster pace and so they're now going to come to 8th grade [1:34:50] earth science and your concern is if they're just doing a regular 8th grade [1:34:55] or science is that going to be rigorous enough and i think we're gonna have to let our [1:35:02] teachers get through this curriculum with these students and kind of make a determination [1:35:08] if in future years they'll they they'll have the time to do compacting or if [1:35:13] they need to do some more extended learning but i think next year in eighth grade the [1:35:19] teachers will just need to get through that curriculum and maybe they'll get through it a lot quicker [1:35:24] um so i think what you're driving is we need to pay attention to that student [1:35:30] engagement and the pacing yeah thank you yeah that's uh that's my major concern [1:35:37] and um and it's not just for them because we know that currently there's a whole lot of [1:35:45] students that are wanting to challenge themselves in science which is [1:35:51] which is fabulous and so i just wanted to make sure that we had those opportunities for [1:35:58] giving the enriched courses to the students that are interested in them my last my [1:36:04] well one of my last comments is with respect to our board graduation requirements and the state [1:36:13] graduation requirements and how this uh when we talk about the sequencing [1:36:20] and we talk about adding another course to [1:36:26] our program currently edina requires three years of science [1:36:33] one year of biology and one year of either chemistry or physics and [1:36:40] one year of optional when we add earth science into the very [1:36:46] beginning of the of our sequence at edina high [1:36:52] that then kind of creates a [1:37:00] no flexibility for those students this is this is the the concern that [1:37:07] the people that are not as interested in life sciences and are more interested in engineering [1:37:13] that's their concern and i would reiterate that concern and suggest [1:37:20] that you flip bio with chemistry so that you can give [1:37:26] students the ability to go on their career ready path [1:37:35] after handling all of the core curriculum in the first two years of their high [1:37:42] school career i would i would suggest that you consider that as another option [1:37:49] and and i know that this is our our high school requirements mirror [1:37:56] what the state's graduation requirements are and it just creates a um you know for [1:38:03] those students that want to do engineering careers in and [1:38:09] looking at that at the second year chemistry requirement they would prefer [1:38:14] to take physics maybe you just give them that option um instead of flipping the the two but i'm [1:38:22] just mentioning that as it's it is a real concern it's um and as a board we may want to [1:38:30] discuss um our our requirements for science [1:38:35] since it seems um times have changed we're i we're [1:38:41] acknowledging that engineering is a science and that life science isn't the only [1:38:48] um thing that we need to take but that does that does deal with the ngss standards [1:38:55] that you're i know you're trying to put into um this class um and then can i just ask [1:39:01] why why we're not calling it um earth and space or something and recognizing that i [1:39:08] i just don't you know you're just saying earth and yeah good question um there was actually [1:39:15] discussion about whether we could call it environmental science um there was a lot a bit about earth and space or just [1:39:22] space there were there was a bit of discussion there and i've had the same conversation with multiple districts [1:39:27] um and uh there was kind of a hybrid morph the reason for physical earth is to put [1:39:34] some tangibility that earth and space uh doesn't always necessarily align with what people think [1:39:40] it is whereas there's some kind of conception in people's head about a physical science and what that actually means [1:39:46] and there was some sort of raw understanding that if it's a physical science it's kind of the world around us a [1:39:52] little bit um or and as much as it is in spaces but the difference was there was a conception [1:39:58] about what type of things would make up that course and we're trying to make it so these courses kind of do build on each [1:40:05] other we are purposefully trying to say we want all students to kind of do some of these things and we're trying to elicit that these are [1:40:11] not separate entities they do build on each other so by kind of phrasing it as [1:40:16] a physical earth there's some connection that it builds onto physical sciences such as the chemistry [1:40:23] the physics the biology and that we're trying to purposely word it so they they connect to each other as [1:40:28] opposed to being completely separate entities which is what some people kind of perceived it as [1:40:33] um but the the actual title uh it wasn't a huge it wasn't a huge [1:40:39] decision it wasn't like this is so heavily weighted it was just trying to honor um a little bit of what we've traditionally done [1:40:45] we've been a physics first school it's trying to honor the connections of how people relate to the course when [1:40:50] they haven't seen it before and trying to establish that it's one that would actually build and you're going to cycle back to it so [1:40:57] when you're doing a unit in chemistry you can go oh oh i i kind of understand [1:41:02] the acid rain i see how that connected to that ninth grade course of that eighth grade cost and so we're hoping that those students [1:41:09] are going to make those natural connections in time [1:41:14] okay thank you [1:41:25] erica may i jump in with a question erica lost her uh computer feet so go ahead on with [1:41:31] your question oh and you're with me and julie oh thanks lenny [1:41:37] um i have a couple of questions of fact that my may lead on to [1:41:44] a substantive question so what we have right now is 9th grade [1:41:50] is physics chemistry is 10th grade biology is 11th and 12th is is at the discretion of the [1:41:58] student what we're talking about here is keeping chemistry intent in biology and 11th [1:42:03] but adding physical science in ninth grade is is that my understanding well [1:42:09] physical earth but yes physical or okay so that's and so this [1:42:17] will displace physics and so then we're thinking about putting [1:42:23] physics at 12th grade okay um so that means we're requiring one [1:42:31] more class is this this is then going to reduce the number of [1:42:36] electives available to our students is that correct uh yes and no [1:42:42] um potentially because some students will take all four sciences but there [1:42:47] will be some students that are not going to take physics as a senior so therefore there is going to be some students not doing that there will [1:42:54] also be some students that jump to ap biology and don't do regular biology before doing it there'll be some [1:43:00] students that do it so will it put pressure though on the you know that a lot of students might feel [1:43:06] that they need those four core sciences on their transcript will they put pressure on those electives yes [1:43:12] it will and will we see a slight decline maybe in some of those electives because of that possibly so to try and offset that or to [1:43:19] try and remedy that or to try and do that i've been very cognizant of like how what sort of years are students doing [1:43:26] right now we average about 3.8 years so the average student comes in and does 3.8 years of science yet we [1:43:32] only require three years so we actually have already pretty close to small students doing [1:43:38] four years already we're hoping with those on-ramps and off-ramps that would allow students to still [1:43:45] access and still be able to take some of those courses but yes for your concern is there a [1:43:50] potential that a student that's accessing multiple courses throughout the entire high school that may not be able to [1:43:56] necessarily fit into every single course they would love potentially yes but some of this is [1:44:01] puranas by the state and some of this is not a part of something we can control [1:44:07] okay so gavin you phrased it well that's what i just wanted to confirm that yes it is putting a little pressure on [1:44:13] the student's schedule and then the second point i wanted to confirm is that the reason we're adding this [1:44:21] class in ninth grade is because of the new state standards absent that we would not be doing this [1:44:27] is that correct uh absence of that we wouldn't do it on this time frame absent to that but we potentially would [1:44:34] have done because we had probably seen a growth in the ngs standards we have probably seen a growth [1:44:40] in more of environmental issues so is it possible that we would have still been you know doing this in the [1:44:46] future that's hard to kind of maybe for me to say one way or another but would we have done it with this fidelity probably not okay [1:44:54] um so our hand is being forced by the state standards but we may have moved into it anyway given what you just [1:45:02] yeah yeah and so i feel like if you look at some and the reason why i say that if you look at some of our courses such as [1:45:08] ap environmental science you look at courses such as environmental studies uh you are seeing a growth and you've [1:45:14] seen a continued need for some of that if you look at some of the student populations of groups and some of the [1:45:19] green uh communities that are starting to build within uh within our high school you've seen a you see an uptick of that [1:45:26] so i think that's possible we may have ended up there anyway uh but it's difficult to maybe answer in a parallel universe [1:45:33] if that would have happened exactly the way i think sure i think so this is the the uh the substantive question i [1:45:41] have then so we are adding a new class because of the standards um and it is [1:45:49] putting a little pressure on the discretion of the student for taking some other classes have we entertained the possibility of [1:45:59] answering the state standards by embedding that material in existing classes and so we wouldn't [1:46:05] have to add a new class because i know that sometimes we weave [1:46:11] state stan we weave in the state standards in other classes and so we don't have to [1:46:17] have a standalone class has that idea been entertained [1:46:23] yeah we have um and to do an integrated science so could we take the earth science standards [1:46:29] uh and kind of make it maybe a semester and embed those others or take the whole course and then uh kind of put a little bit in biology [1:46:36] where they're going to do it a little bit in chemistry where some students yeah totally uh to kind of help answer [1:46:42] that question or frame it i've often shown this um so forgive me if some people have seen it before uh but what this is is [1:46:48] the science standards that have been basically cut up and they've been organized into those discipline [1:46:54] areas they've been organized into the earth standards and so on um and i show people this raw picture [1:46:59] and i said look well this is to answer that question and help frame that a little bit look at these now look at all these [1:47:05] standards now obviously not every standard is exactly equally weighted so one you might do [1:47:11] longer than others so i recognize that but just to help kind of uh build a picture a little bit [1:47:17] these columns if i didn't label them and asked you which one is which a lot of people tend to think that the physics or the [1:47:23] chemistry is the long list and they think the earth standards is the short list um it's actually the opposite uh there's [1:47:30] actually a lot of standards and if you kind of look at the kind of list here and look at them you're talking nearly double the amount [1:47:36] now obviously it's not double the amount in time but it helps maybe frame the it's not an easy thing to have in [1:47:43] bed so if i kind of say hey why do we take all these standards and try and put them into biology try [1:47:49] and put them into chemistry uh it was kind of taking a square peg and putting a round hole we couldn't make it fit but it was [1:47:56] entertained it was discussed uh we looked at different permutations of could students do it in a cert you [1:48:02] know if you do if you do this certain uh combination of electives or do this combination of [1:48:07] courses could you still require it uh we found that too difficult to kind of plug [1:48:12] and it became pretty apparent pretty quickly um that you can't package this into a semester or embed it elsewhere or ignore [1:48:19] it it came pretty quickly that you're gonna have to do this with fidelity and it's a year-long course um [1:48:25] and that's pretty much the conclusion that pretty much every other school district around us has done which is quite a shift um because [1:48:32] traditionally in this state uh we've not had a standards of the high school or those people that are old enough can i say wasn't that 20 30 years [1:48:39] ago um but that's kind of where our is so it hopefully illustrates that you can't [1:48:46] integrate these as well but to answer your question yes we did look at it and it is a good idea and we we did try and [1:48:52] see if we could do it and we we ultimately landed with we can't and that's why we landed with this uh [1:48:58] when it was state required to graduate it wasn't something that we can kind of pretend we do or ignore that [1:49:05] we do it was something that we needed to do and do be aware that it's going to come up in the mca's in the [1:49:10] 23 24 maybe down to the 24 25 period so whether whether we pretend to do this [1:49:16] or not uh they are going to be probably recognized in the mcas in the future [1:49:22] and to add to that as well we've compared the um the standards that we have in minnesota with the benchmarks [1:49:28] that are in ngss because minnesota is not an ngss adopting state our standards are adapted from ngss but kind of tweaked [1:49:35] and added to in different ways um and minnesota the minnesota standards do have more earth science benchmarks [1:49:41] than ngss does um like a good handful of additional earth science benchmarks so it is as gavin pointed out [1:49:47] a long list of earth science benchmarks that students those standards that you [1:49:52] showed gavin are minnesota standards not the ngos okay correct and and that becomes [1:49:59] effective for us uh 20 22 23. uh yeah they just pushed that [1:50:06] back it was supposed to be gonna be the 23 school year but they're just pushing their back due to covet but ultimately uh after discussing with [1:50:14] all the school districts today uh in our neighboring areas um everyone's in the same [1:50:19] position and we're we're still going ahead with these changes even though they're pushing it back um so they are saying that some of these [1:50:26] questions are going to appear i think it was even last year they were asking for people is anyone interested in writing some of [1:50:31] these questions right so uh they're definitely uh building that way so it is a good question [1:50:37] um we we did look at it we we had exactly the same thoughts as uh many of you comments tonight [1:50:43] uh but the more that we we we got into the weeds of it we recognize that that wasn't something we can't ignore it uh we can't [1:50:50] just sort of make it disappear um i was also i did talk to the u of m and i said you know what's that going to [1:50:56] do because it's a little strange how the state is requiring earth science [1:51:02] biology and chem all physics but you as a you as a you know an entity as you as a separate college [1:51:08] you're going to be looking for physics as well so you're kind of looking for three the state's looking for three but [1:51:14] they're not the same and it's creating a situation where we're we're having to ensure that all students do four [1:51:20] um or have the capacity to do four um and you know they were they were very clear and their answers are what they'd [1:51:26] be looking for but they also said how they would change and so it is likely that about eight [1:51:32] years ten years colleges are going to be looking for earth science for students coming from minnesota [1:51:37] as much as what they currently are for looking for physics now that's for the non-science students right that may be [1:51:43] passing that way but that gives you an indication of where and thinking it's probably going to look [1:51:48] in the future even though that seems alien to me right now when i didn't necessarily always think of a science as something i did [1:51:54] right that takes a little bit of a shift so i totally understand the community that um feel that way because i i've had the [1:52:01] same thoughts and concerns myself okay thank you [1:52:08] julie thank you um thank you both so much that [1:52:14] presentation was really helpful and i just appreciate all the work that's gone into thinking through and [1:52:20] bringing this um bringing the science to where it is so i have two questions [1:52:26] one is i have are you guys concerned about at all about [1:52:32] if we move with physics being moved to potentially 12th grade that there's any um [1:52:40] impact on any parallel coursework with other subjects so for example you've got a student who [1:52:45] i know a lot of times a double someone who would be double accelerated in math would come in as a ninth grader [1:52:50] doing ap statistics and it always appeared i as i understand it paired well with physics [1:52:56] or ap physics and that kind of supported that class have you are you concerned about that or [1:53:01] are you thinking through that or no there was no yes i have been thinking [1:53:07] of that and no i'm not concerned just to delineate what those two answers were um yeah [1:53:12] no we're totally a cognizant to that we're we're trying to engage in a lot of conversations and katrina's been the fundamental part [1:53:19] of that too we're trying to engage in conversations from special ed ml as well as math sequence right so we do talk to [1:53:26] uh mark carlson who's our math curriculum coordinator we also talk with math teachers in our building [1:53:31] and say what type of curriculum are you doing what what is the norms if you like that students have come in with [1:53:37] so to give you an idea of like ap stats um no i don't think that you need to do [1:53:42] physics think concurrently or before ap stats for ap stats be successful um but the ep teacher might make [1:53:49] reference to something he may be kind of like hey there's uh you know you understand vectors we're [1:53:54] gonna we're gonna do this calculation with vectors uh but is it is it uh is it important [1:53:59] that they actually knew that to be successful in that no no they can still be successful in ap [1:54:04] stats that's different though and much more of a serious conversation when it comes to a course like chemistry [1:54:10] that's where we we are concerned we've got to make sure that students have the algebra skills to be successful in chemistry [1:54:16] so we are having those conversations uh we are wanting to ensure that students [1:54:21] that enter in a science class are going to be successful and they're not compounded because they're in the wrong [1:54:26] class or because there was an assumption made before um and so i feel like it's katrina and i [1:54:32] uh jordi's job to ensure that we communicate effectively with multiple departments to ensure that [1:54:37] we tell them the change is coming so they make those modifications over the next year so by the time that we [1:54:43] actually have implemented those changes it's seamless and the average student would not even know or recognize [1:54:48] that something has been different or changed so i'm not concerned and yes we are [1:54:54] having those conversations great great thank you thank you um and then my other question [1:54:59] is is there with the state standards that come out i know it's it's one standard class but is there [1:55:07] additional teaching that would go on between like pre-k and seventh eighth grade [1:55:13] that support that curriculum changed for when they get to eighth and ninth grade i mean i know we do [1:55:20] i'm sure we do i know we do physical earth um you know uh i'm trying to blank on what [1:55:27] i'm trying to say topic that's not the right thing um lessons i think i think i can speak to this a [1:55:34] little bit at least in terms of the middle school what the middle school standards are and this the just immediate experience [1:55:39] students are going to have right before entering this course but um in our new standards there's earth science standards at the [1:55:46] earth earth and space science standards at the sixth grade level life science at the seventh grade level in physical [1:55:51] science at the um eighth grade level and um we are you know working to coordinate [1:55:57] with those uh with that sixth grade curriculum to make sure that what um is going into this physical earth [1:56:03] science course is not redundant with the sixth grade benchmarks that it's substantively different and [1:56:08] really addressing her science at a high school level which is new um but we are making you know working on [1:56:13] that as well as um you know students are going to be coming out of the 8th grade curriculum [1:56:18] which for these pathway 2 students they've accessed the physical science eighth grade benchmarks in seventh grade [1:56:24] then as they come into eighth grade they have a physical science foundation with just some foundational ideas of matter [1:56:30] and energy which is part of also why we've titled the course physical earth science [1:56:35] because there's an undercurrent and kind of a theme of understanding matter and energy and so we would expect them to have some [1:56:41] background that's the appropriate background coming out of middle school to access this curriculum and that this [1:56:47] curriculum um and this this physical or science course will be building thoughtfully on what they experienced in [1:56:54] the sixth through eighth grade standards great great that's great um that's it [1:56:59] those are my questions thanks for answering them and again thanks for your work lenny [1:57:04] so i just want to follow briefly on the letter from the community member about physics and how it fits in on a [1:57:10] four-year track if they are not accelerated so it seems to me i mean [1:57:16] what that community asked for was a guarantee of a slot but it seems to me that if a student wants to take [1:57:22] earth science and physics in ninth grade they should be given the opportunity to sign up and [1:57:28] again it depends upon availability but at some point if they sign up in ninth grade and there's not a slot [1:57:34] and they sign up in 10th grade there's not a slot then they're guaranteed a spot in the 11th grade so they can take [1:57:39] ap physics so i think that we should create some sort of a hierarchy [1:57:44] that says that if you want to take ap physics and you want to take physics first [1:57:49] because you don't have to then there is going to be an avenue that you can do so and i think that's one of the things her [1:57:55] letter addresses the other thing is people students can who are accelerated [1:58:02] do physics on their own and simply jump into ap physics it's a small group of students [1:58:07] and i think that one of the things that we need to get better at is to let students know that you don't [1:58:13] have to take chem to take ap camp you don't have to take physics to take ap physics it's a small group of [1:58:18] kids but there are kids who consistently do that at our high school we just don't tell people about that [1:58:24] pathway so i think that we need to a tell people about the accelerated pathway that people can do independently [1:58:30] and b create for those who don't have that an avenue where they can [1:58:37] take physics in either 9th 10th or 11th so they can get into ap physics and i don't need an answer i just want you [1:58:42] to give that some thought no absolutely and thanks for your feedback and yes we uh have had [1:58:48] conversations about credit by assessment we've also looked at uh some you know we're currently talking about summer [1:58:54] courses either summer courses that can prepare students to go into uh ap cam or summer [1:58:59] courses we currently have and thanks to our ap bio teachers that currently have like a [1:59:04] a schoology course that students can independently do during the summer that helps them jump into ap biology as their [1:59:10] first year kind of course so uh we are we already do some of those things and yes we're [1:59:16] looking at some of those things and that might be part of that conversation in the fall about the on-ramps and off-ramps and yes [1:59:23] if a student was ever signed up for uh physics one and wanted to not wait until their [1:59:29] senior year they want to do their junior or sophomore ninth grade yeah absolutely we do it we will always run classes for enrollment [1:59:36] um so i think it's highly likely that we would actually deny anyone doing it just because they can 9th grade it's more [1:59:42] likely because they just can't fit into their own schedule you know they're trying to add so many classes or they've gone [1:59:48] beyond their seven but we will happily take them inside [1:59:54] ellen yeah um one last thing i we we're all [2:00:00] just trying to figure out a way to um maybe embed [2:00:07] some of these science courses into other courses and i i was wondering have you [2:00:12] looked at the engineering courses so that you could do [2:00:18] physics you know a physics class but it be part of a project lead the way or likewise a project lead the way that [2:00:26] has a bioengineering kind of tilt as well as uh yes as well as dual [2:00:33] credit classes you know so are there going to be ones where you can do a science and get a science as well as an [2:00:39] engineering kind of uh toggle uh or is it possibly ones that are not engineering there's ones that [2:00:44] are actually science and art right and so therefore for those students too so yes that has been part [2:00:50] of the conversation i would say that that's probably later after the core right now we are prioritizing towards students that are [2:00:56] currently in eighth grade uh but we are having that doesn't mean we're ignoring those conversations about [2:01:01] the other things we're we're talking about the core but yes electives um the growth of [2:01:07] electives and possibly new electives um as uh one of the board members already pointed out i think it was uh [2:01:13] michaelson that pointed out we might put pressure on some of those electives it might be that some of those electives might have to [2:01:19] change or modify because we're now doing this new physical earth course [2:01:24] we currently have some overlap with some of our electives so it might be that they get retooled a region [2:01:29] or in fact is a gaps um and so if you remember that kind of hexagon kind of the hornet nest looking [2:01:36] thing a sequence other those gaps are there going to be electives that maybe [2:01:41] we should be offering in 9th grade or 10th grade that we currently don't right now most of our electives are mostly for juniors and seniors [2:01:48] so is it possible that we might need to start adding some of those and some of those would include engineering too so yeah we are [2:01:54] congressman and thanks for your comments [2:01:59] uh lenny did you have another comment okay no okay i think that's all thank you very [2:02:06] much for uh presenting this and answering all the questions um and so we'll i believe that [2:02:15] we will see information again probably you said late fall gavin would be my guess okay [2:02:21] yeah so we're currently trying to follow that out so i'm hoping that late fall we can do that in that way at least it [2:02:26] provides a a timeline of conversation rather than anything that feels rushed to any any [2:02:32] stakeholder group so hopefully late fall we can circle back with those on ramp on ramps and we will have those many [2:02:37] and it will also answer a lot of questions about the pathways and and fitting it in as [2:02:43] well as those elections later and specific to the course design and [2:02:48] the materials that we um presented in the report tonight um that is coming back up for [2:02:53] the action soon action next month great so wait i just wanted to clarify [2:02:59] something does that mean that students that are currently in seventh grade would not have an uh we're not going to be [2:03:06] proposing an on-ramp for them i you know i can insert that i do and i [2:03:12] can follow up more on this ellen and and board members but i do know that our [2:03:18] middle schools um have designed some um tests and some opportunities for kids [2:03:24] to inquire about changing their pathway right so if they didn't access this and [2:03:31] in going into sixth grade there are opportunities for them to inquire about it within registration [2:03:36] in seventh grade so we need to look at that and get more tight about that communication and have a more consistent plan but um i [2:03:44] do know that our middle school is cognizant of trying to provide on-ramps even currently right now okay great thank you [2:03:53] thank you jody and please share with the whole science team our appreciation for the work that they've done yeah thank [2:03:59] you very much to kevin katrina and deb and we will pass that on to the rest of the science team so thank you all [2:04:05] thank you very much okay we're going to move on to our action items um do i have a motion to prove [2:04:11] the ltfm bond so move to is there a second second [2:04:19] um director tope is there anything that you wanted to speak to on this [2:04:27] uh nothing more to add other than what jody zesbaugh members went through with [2:04:34] the board sale may 5th approval by the board may 10th are there any questions from board [2:04:40] members okay we'll now vote by roll call to approve the ltfm [2:04:47] bond can i confirm that it was lenny who made the motion and janie who seconded [2:04:53] no i sneaked it julie thank you valenbird hi [2:05:00] hi green hi jones hi michaelson [2:05:06] hi shaw hi roland friedman hi the ltfm bond is approved [2:05:16] do i have a motion to approve the purchase of buses so moved is there a second okay second [2:05:24] oh who got in on the second was that owen was owen okay it was a quicker draw [2:05:32] uh yeah um uh director tope yes chair allen bergen [2:05:39] members of the board uh each year the district uh budgets an amount in our operating capital fund [2:05:45] for replacing aged buses uh we had a budget amount this year of [2:05:51] 450 000 i had david white uh receive some quotes [2:05:57] on the state contract pricing through hoagland bus and he is [2:06:03] recommending the purchase of four new buses for 477 passenger new buses [2:06:09] and we didn't purchase the extended warranties for the five new 77 passenger buses that we bought [2:06:16] last year and he is recommending those five extended warranties be bought [2:06:22] uh this year as well as the extended warranties for the four new buses that [2:06:27] we will be purchasing so the total price with the extended warranties uh which [2:06:32] includes tax but the title and license is extra is four hundred thirty thousand seven hundred and twenty four dollars [2:06:39] uh finance committee has looked this over and approved it and the finance committee also had a [2:06:45] initial discussion about electric buses that we'll continue with in the future thank you any questions for more members [2:06:55] we will now vote by roll call to approve the bus purchase ellenberg hi fox [2:07:02] hi green hi jones hi michaelson hi [2:07:10] shaw the purchase of buses is approved do i [2:07:17] have a motion to approve the equity consortium proposal [2:07:22] well i'll second it okay we'll have genie be the moving party all second [2:07:28] um i'll just give a little background information um this equity consortium proposal grew [2:07:36] out of the board's equity goal for the year and having four different equity [2:07:41] meetings with our fourth meeting being about sharing best practices with other school districts [2:07:47] the governor's committee wants to propose inviting districts to [2:07:53] share quarterly best practices across multiple areas of equity and to share where there have been measurable [2:08:00] tangible gains on the achievement gap and or opportunity gap so districts can learn from each other and [2:08:07] help implement programs that have been shown to be successful elsewhere the idea is to have a pilot meeting at [2:08:13] our may 18th work session and build from there we have um reached out to [2:08:18] a few different districts and have a few ideas of who we'd like to invite for the may 18th [2:08:23] meeting one is a district from texas to talk to us about dyslexia and reading interventions and best [2:08:30] practices one is a district to come talk to us about recruiting and retention practices for teachers of color [2:08:36] and the last thing i want to note is that this idea is conceptual in nature and a starting point [2:08:42] so if we feel that we need to limit the scope after a meeting or two we'll do that that [2:08:50] that this is an evolutionary process it's a starting point but we felt this was a good place to start [2:08:56] um for us as a district to um again learn best practices from other [2:09:01] districts i'll just ask lenny and janie if they have anything they'd like to add before [2:09:06] turning it over to other board members for questions or comments [2:09:12] so i'll just note that what the board originally approved going forward with is a meeting [2:09:19] with another school district that has shown success in [2:09:25] reducing the opportunity gap and so this is an alternative to that because [2:09:31] basically if we look around the country we can't really say here's a school district that [2:09:36] is similar to us that has been successful and instead the goal is to take pieces from [2:09:42] various districts and opportunities that districts have [Music] [2:09:48] encountered and been successful at so it doesn't really change what we're doing other than increasing the number [2:09:54] of districts that would be involved so that's kind of the way i look at it and [2:10:00] i will wait to make comments based upon what other people say [2:10:06] jane need a general anything to add no any questions or comments from fellow [2:10:12] board members [Music] [2:10:17] yeah ellen yeah i um i raised some some comments at the [2:10:23] earlier meeting and i just wanted to [2:10:29] you know um i understand now um from the way that [2:10:34] you've described this um lenny and um erica that [2:10:40] what you're seeing is you would like to talk to um other districts that have [2:10:47] proven through um objective measures that the what they're [2:10:53] doing is effective is that what i'm hearing correct okay and um and at the earlier [2:11:01] meeting we talked about what the objective was i wanted to just make sure that i [2:11:06] clarified that as well that one of the objectives is to [2:11:12] make sure that we're working toward minimizing our achievement gap [2:11:19] that's right correct and then i wasn't clear on what the [2:11:24] other objective was and if you could explain that to me that would be helpful is to ensure that [2:11:32] we're reducing an opportunity gap that if we see that there are [2:11:37] ways that we have limited opportunities for our students [2:11:42] um that we are limiting that as well because there are academic achievement gaps but like we [2:11:50] were talking about earlier from a social and emotional perspective that we have also seen evidence that [2:11:57] students of color or students that are for example [2:12:03] in special education have inclusion issues have um belonging issues and that's more [2:12:10] of an opportunity gap as i suppose as opposed to an achievement gap and so [2:12:15] if we see evidence that there are opportunity gaps in our district there might be other [2:12:20] districts that have had success from an inclusion perspective [2:12:25] from extracurricular perspective um ensuring that we're providing [2:12:30] the opportunity for all our students at the same [2:12:36] from this at the same rate okay that's um and that's a little [2:12:41] different than my understanding of what an opportunity gap is but if that's the going [2:12:47] um definition that's fine um and um and so i get that my [2:12:54] concern is that what i'd i'd like to do is make sure [2:13:00] that our board is working efficiently and effectively [2:13:06] with all of our committees being on honoring the staff time [2:13:12] and making sure that there is no redundancy [2:13:18] of mission and so when i i hear both of those [2:13:23] things those are those are the types of things that the world best workforce does and i am hoping that we could bring [2:13:33] in and make that committee a part of this process [2:13:39] of looking into best practices for closing the achievement gap which is [2:13:45] exactly what that committee is is tasked to do [2:14:01] so i am happy to talk to the world's best workforce i [2:14:07] think that what we do from a board perspective and a board committee perspective and how we [2:14:14] approach how we guide the district from a board [2:14:20] perspective is separate from the world best workforce committee and i think they need to work in [2:14:26] conjunction with each other and i think they clearly should not [2:14:31] duplicate effort but this committee is not an administrative committee this is a board committee so board [2:14:39] members can learn information so board members can understand what other boards are [2:14:45] doing so board members can learn best practices from other people and i 100 agree with you [2:14:52] that this should align closely with world's best workforce but i'm [2:14:57] not concerned that it's a duplication of effort [2:15:03] okay and what i'm hearing um so are you proposing a new committee to handle this [2:15:10] initiative well i think ellen we we don't i think [2:15:16] what we talked about was that we don't know exactly right we'd like to pilot it to see [2:15:22] not only what makes sense for our district but what makes sense for the other districts that are involved [2:15:27] so right now we're just looking to pilot this to have an initial conversation to see [2:15:33] who we can get to be a part of this and and go forward but i think as erica mentioned [2:15:40] we don't have a recommendation on the final results of the structure just yet because this is new and right now the [2:15:47] governor's committee owns this so this is this is the governor's committee owning this and the process [2:15:54] and the work so jamie lenny and i are absorbing all the work for this [2:15:59] okay so so what i understand is um then that this vote is going to [2:16:06] uh approve this initiative from the governance committee is that what what we're doing [2:16:12] yeah it's just basically letting janie lenny and i set up the these meetings and that's all [2:16:19] and that's right and that's fine and i and i but what i'm i just wanted to make sure [2:16:25] that i understood what we're setting out because there are a lot of things on our plates [2:16:31] and this is important work um and i wanted to make sure that it's not [2:16:37] um that our the com the community members that are stepping forward saying yes we [2:16:43] want to work on this are are their voices are going to be heard and so um there are there [2:16:51] aren't at this point any community members administrators anyone working on this other than jamie [2:16:58] lenny and myself right so but i'm saying moving forward that's why i would it's actually the [2:17:04] world's best that's why that's that's why i'm saying it yeah um actually i think that the world's best [2:17:11] workforce is a committee that is underutilized and i think that we need to strengthen [2:17:17] it and this isn't one opportunity that i think that could be used in order to both educate ourselves and [2:17:25] bring in the community members voices in that and speaking of which i actually am very [2:17:32] excited about the proposal if that's what this is going to be what it's about i have [2:17:39] always always brought up how we are are doing our job and tried to make sure [2:17:46] that we look at the best practices of other school districts [2:17:53] and i tend to do that quite a bit because i think we can always learn from other districts [2:17:59] so yes of course i would think this is a great idea i am concerned however that [2:18:06] um i'm seeing for the first time this holistic approach with an equity [2:18:11] framework and i would be much more comfortable not including something that looks [2:18:19] that the board has not discussed as a draft and or brought our [2:18:25] stakeholders to discuss whether or not this is the type of equity framework that [2:18:31] we would like to use going forward i actually haven't really looked at it i it might [2:18:36] be it might be great i don't know but we just saw it and [2:18:41] and did not discuss it at the work session and now we're being asked to vote and i don't know i don't [2:18:48] think that i'm i'm um the board has the board or um we are [2:18:56] um prepared to vote on a framework i would vote ellen maybe the [2:19:03] maybe it's the fact maybe it's the wording maybe it's the the framework wording that is the [2:19:10] problem because all of these subjects on this wheel are all parts of our strategic plan they're [2:19:16] all parts of what has been identified by reimagine minnesota as being the components to [2:19:25] components that we prioritize and focus on in order to achieve that lessening of the [2:19:31] achievement gap right like these there's nothing here that's not a part of our strategic plan [2:19:38] right it's just that they're laid out in this way so maybe it's just the fact that that [2:19:44] it's labeled as framework i mean these are just components that we've identified to say [2:19:51] these are the issues that we want to have conversations with and gain perspective from other [2:19:57] districts does that matter and maybe maybe if it was presented as these are our strategic initiatives that [2:20:04] deal with equity that would be much easier for me to you know that would i could see it [2:20:10] and we have many we have a whole initiative on equity and i have a great [2:20:16] deal of of desire to tackle those but to put it and put it into different type [2:20:23] of wording i'm just a little uncomfortable with that so um that's what i would say and then the the [2:20:29] other point is to label it a consortium means it um is a little different than how [2:20:38] this was described just now i'm just wondering why are you proposing that [2:20:43] we will be inviting speakers in to talk about their best practices or we're going to as [2:20:50] as it was um um i'm not really sure what the [2:20:57] what the consortium like is it going to be a set group of schools and and [2:21:03] can we just eric sorry i'm not dylan it's very simple it's like you did with [2:21:09] lac i did with testing committee we're just setting up a committee to go look at something and talk to other groups right [2:21:14] it's that simple we have there's no vote there's no money being spent there's no expenditure of rules there's [2:21:20] no there's no framework being instilled there's no world's best workforce being disenfranchised it's [2:21:25] literally having three board members go look at something it's that simple right that's what we're [2:21:31] trying to do okay that's it it it's not it's not wordsmithing consortium there's no speaker list coming in it's just [2:21:37] literally three people going to say what's best practices and saying can we go do this it shouldn't be a half hour [2:21:43] conversation it just shouldn't oh i'm so sorry matt i i tend to get you so frustrated okay [2:21:51] no no i'm just saying he he did he was frustrated by my questions and i i [2:21:57] wanted to i'm not hustling he's not using anybody's time at this point i'm just saying we should move on and endorse the three people to go look [2:22:03] at it or not i just don't think we should keep talking about how you champion this forever but you don't want to do it let's just [2:22:09] as a board decide it's running late it's running late i want to do it but i want to bring in the [2:22:14] world's best workforce that's that's what i'm trying to say okay so if the scope [2:22:22] moves to a point that it makes sense to bring a world-best workforce i don't think that's an issue i don't think that we know enough [2:22:29] to know if that makes sense at this point ellen i i just don't i i can't answer that [2:22:36] i agree and it may be that we end up finding districts who have something if there are other minnesota [2:22:41] districts that are going to have similar committees if they're out of state districts we want to make sure that that that the [2:22:48] conversations are happening on a somewhat level playing ground before we decide that [2:22:53] we're going to invite this other large group into it so i i agree i think what we're trying [2:23:00] to say ellen is we're trying to figure out what the best practice is to do and we can't answer all these questions right [2:23:07] now that this is a starting point that we are trying to it's it's harder to lead and to come up [2:23:15] with things than to follow and so we're trying to take a leadership role and to come up with something where not [2:23:21] only we can learn but we can help other districts learn and we do not know all the answers right now but we're [2:23:27] trying to get somewhere so erica can i ask a question which is [2:23:32] we already agreed as a board to invite another district to come in and work with us and we didn't talk [2:23:39] about doing it through world's best workforce we agreed as a board we were going to go meet with one other district [2:23:45] at least one other we should we i don't remember i don't remember the one other district [2:23:50] conversation i remember saying that we would look at best practices for equity no we we at the beginning of [2:23:56] the year set up four meetings on the last one round invite other districts in to share best practices so we already have agreed to [2:24:03] that as a board so at the moment we decided to move beyond that scope and say maybe this should be a set of [2:24:09] meetings we decided to bring this back to the board so the only thing that we really are asking for approval on is [2:24:17] having this as opposed to being one meeting to be a set of meetings that if if the [2:24:23] board thinks it's valuable and board members don't even have to attend because it would be an open [2:24:28] meeting is that we want to establish a set of meetings so we're not just talking about equity once we're talking about in a series of [2:24:35] meetings that's basically all this is and that i probably shouldn't have made the equity thing into a colorful wheel [2:24:42] because then it makes it look more permanent than it really is but all it is it's a reiteration of our equity [2:24:47] goals our strategic planning academic goals and two other things from reimagine in [2:24:54] minnesota that's all that is and i put it on a colorful wheel so i'm going to move on to julie and [2:25:02] owen to be respectful of our other board members julie [2:25:09] thank you um i just have a couple comments one thank [2:25:14] you um i think i want to thank you guys for the work to put it this that you put together you know you look [2:25:22] back at our strategic plan the priorities that we gave superintendent schultz the priorities of [2:25:27] our board and um this work that you guys have done is been at the at the top of that um [2:25:34] at the top of those lists it's bubbled up and we've talked about that all year and so you know if you think [2:25:41] about our students that came on earlier tonight at the start of this board meeting and the work that they're doing um [2:25:48] in terms of equity and moving a lot of million pieces to make a difference and have [2:25:54] impact i am i just really appreciate the work so i want to say that the second thing is i think that this [2:26:00] approach um to have a set of meetings is really organized and i see it as taking our [2:26:07] strategic plan in practice and so i just really appreciate that thoughtfulness because i [2:26:13] think as we are launching this five-year plan [2:26:18] it will it it really sets us up to have this on potentially a really strong ongoing [2:26:24] partnerships with other districts to really um have an impact for at the [2:26:30] you know for our students which is why we're all here so that's all i'm very much in support of [2:26:36] it and i just want to thank you guys for work thank you oh and did you have your hand raised yes this time i did [2:26:43] wait i'm going to tie myself i'm going to try to do this in one minute um [2:26:49] i think there's tons of good intentions with this and um all who are advocating for this [2:26:58] can take a bow and patch yourselves on the back because it your high intentions [2:27:05] i'm reluctant to endorse this for a couple of reasons one of which is i think it's a diversion i think [2:27:11] we've got structures in place right now world's best workforce we're working up a literacy plan and i [2:27:18] think we ought to execute on what we already have equity as it has the topic itself as it [2:27:24] has been defined over the years by the district does not have a good track record with me i have found it to [2:27:29] be divisive and not very effective and if we are to talk about good [2:27:35] practice my confidence would go up a good bit if we involve voices like bob woods and carol [2:27:42] swain and kendall quayles who are african-americans who have [2:27:47] a pretty different perspective on equity as i have understood the district to define it so those are my comments [2:27:54] and i got it in in one minute 10 seconds thank you i appreciate that my only thing that i [2:28:01] would say um is i i you don't know maybe a district [2:28:06] is using them and they would come to us as a best practice and say we used so and so and it was a best practice [2:28:13] those are the things that we're trying to learn from this so um but i'm going to turn it over to matt [2:28:19] thanks yeah i'll also be succinct um [2:28:25] when you have a board that's knowledgeable on a topic and successful that's their goal to drive something with excellence right [2:28:31] if we don't know how to close the achievement gap the smartest thing we can do is ask other people [2:28:36] what they've done a cozy achievement gap the presentation we had two sessions ago on this topic where there were 40 [2:28:42] slides but on slide like 24 i remember from two years ago [2:28:47] they showed that by allowing mcas or some final exams to replace the [2:28:54] standardized test to replace the final exam by putting an incentive in place we saw much better scores and some of the [2:29:00] minority populations is historically not done as well so that was a that was a tactic or an [2:29:05] operation that otherwise i'm not sure as a board would have recommended but the administration thought it was a good idea here [2:29:11] so i understand this just to be three people on the board willing to take more of their own free time looking for a little bit of [2:29:18] empowerment to say we're a subcommittee reaching out to say do you guys want to have brainstorming sessions [2:29:24] so if that's what i'm understanding this to be i don't understand other than grateful the only diversion [2:29:30] of resources or conflating of priorities would be if suddenly we were pulling in 20 community [2:29:36] members and putting a budget behind it and bringing in speakers and pulling students out of class i mean i [2:29:41] almost i understand we have to have votes to set up people [2:29:46] putting their time into something up there representing the broader board so it's a process but i'm grateful that any [2:29:52] three people want to look into this and spend time on it so um thanks for doing this and i think [2:29:58] it's really straightforward thanks matt julie [2:30:07] yeah the only thing i want to say is i i think i would just like to have a reset for [2:30:12] our board because i feel like at some point we need to get past talking about [2:30:19] whether or not equity is important to this board into our district and the conversations seem to come back [2:30:25] time and time again where we're having to discuss whether or not equity is a priority [2:30:31] we as a board have voted that the equity work is important in our district it's [2:30:36] important for our students and our student success and we we go back to that so i just i want to say that um [2:30:43] to the board here because we we keep going back to those same conversations so we have all decided we voted [2:30:52] on a strategic plan that includes this as a priority we voted on superintendent goals that included [2:30:58] equity work as a priority it's important for our students so i [2:31:03] i just wanted to say that again because i feel like we just keep going back to have those same discussions when [2:31:09] we've already decided that this is something important so that's it thanks julie owen [2:31:22] i must not have lowered my hand no i don't have another comment oh okay sorry [2:31:29] all righty i think we can move to vote um we'll now vote by roll call to approve the equity [2:31:34] consortium lindbergh i fox hi [2:31:41] greene hi jones hi michaelson name [2:31:49] shaw hi welland friedman [2:31:55] hi the equity consortium is approved um we will um get back with you guys as [2:32:03] soon as we know um people coming in may um and any next steps [2:32:09] thank you um leadership updates lenny would you please provide um the [2:32:14] board and community with the latest on the superintendent search sure uh so the governance committee has [2:32:19] been meeting weekly with school exec connect to just sort of touch base uh based on [2:32:25] those meetings we've gotten feedback that they're they are continuing to recruit and that they have had a number of applicants for [2:32:31] the superintendent position one of the changes we requested [2:32:36] for process is what people have noticed which is that we have added a meeting on april 22nd and so initially school exec [2:32:45] connect was planning on doing a training session on the 26th [2:32:50] for our first meeting on the 27th and we requested instead that the training get pushed to the 22nd [2:32:55] so on april 22nd at five o'clock we have a board meeting and the purpose of that meeting is twofold one is to provide training to [2:33:02] the school board in terms of the interview process and how to run an interview of superintendent [2:33:09] candidates and two to agree upon the questions that we'll ask in that first set of interviews and by doing it on the [2:33:16] 22nd it just gives us a few more days to reflect before we jump into the interviews on tuesday the 27th [2:33:23] on the 26th we will meet and school exec connect will provide us with a slate [2:33:29] of five or six candidates they will provide some basic background information [2:33:34] without having names assigned to the background once we approve the slate that will then [2:33:40] provide us with the names of the candidates that match up with the slate they just gave us as well as some additional [2:33:45] background information that becomes monday april 26th the 27th and 28th [2:33:51] are interviews of that initial slate of five to six candidates so we'll have either three and three [2:33:57] interviews on the 27th and 28th or three and two depending upon the size of the slate [2:34:03] on the 28th after we finish our interviews of the slated candidates we will then [2:34:09] narrow it to two or three finalists and so we will stay on the evening of the 28th a little bit later [2:34:15] we will discuss it there is a process that a school exec connect will work through us with [2:34:20] and on that 28th we'll pick our finalists that will then be interviewed on may 3rd 4th and 5th so we will have there will [2:34:27] be actually full day interviews for the candidates on the third fourth and the fifth but only some of that will involve the [2:34:33] school board then on the evening of the fifth after the third interview we will meet and decide upon who will [2:34:40] move forward as the final candidate for the superintendent when i say final [2:34:45] candidate will essentially be picking the superintendent on the fifth and it'll be subject to contract negotiations and i think that [2:34:53] that's the quick overview this is stuff that's been provided before but i just wanted to make sure everybody kind of had it still on their [2:35:01] radar and that's it did i miss anything jamie or erica [2:35:06] no julie did you have a question yeah just two quick things when does the april 20th is the date [2:35:13] that it closes is that correct oh yeah that's correct and then my other question is when we get down to [2:35:20] the two to three candidates you said full day interviews is that members of the community [2:35:26] and are members of the community interviewing is there they will have this month to [2:35:32] meet with the candidate yes okay it's towards the end of the day if i remember correctly [2:35:38] from ken saying and that the board members can also be present for that too [2:35:44] so to hear the community questions that's our opportunity to hear the community questions to the [2:35:49] candidates okay since we don't have conversations with the community members about it [2:35:55] right owen lenny thank you i've been wondering about that would you [2:36:01] be so kind as to put that into an email and send it to us i would love to actually get that in my [2:36:07] calendar and prepare for it so actually if you go back to the february meeting [2:36:13] these dates other than april 22nd are outlined in that meeting but i can i can shoot you there's a page from that [2:36:20] meeting so the only thing new is april 22nd and owen um i know other board members are [2:36:26] have been having trouble actually getting these on their calendar because of some glitch in the computer system and so [2:36:33] they should be auto populated on your calendar but if they're not um there has been an [2:36:38] issue with on the scheduling of the of the meetings [2:36:44] and them getting on your calendar and so you might want to sarah or nathaniel i was actually just going [2:36:50] to mention that to see if sarah could put them on the calendar but if they're already on there that means i'm not seeing them they are but i know [2:36:57] under it julian yes the writers have had trouble actually seeing them but they [2:37:03] are actually on the calendar but i know support some board members they're not showing up for board members [2:37:09] i i think owen was looking for the topics for each meeting the calendar that the dates are on the [2:37:15] calendar but i don't have the subjects for each of them okay we'll make sure you get those sarah [2:37:22] well put sir that's that was my question i have the cameras calendar entries okay [2:37:28] matt did you have a question no he didn't put his hand down from [2:37:34] before i don't know how to use that thing sorry down okay um the only update i had was that lenny [2:37:41] already went over this uh superintendent search meetings we have a work session coming up on april [2:37:47] 20th and we're going to be talking about the student staff and parent survey results [2:37:53] um a student summit and then a learning model update on the 20th so that is our board meeting [2:38:00] that we have coming up and i'm going to turn it over to john to give a superintendent update [2:38:05] [Music] you're on mute [2:38:12] sorry about that i think the only update i'll give is uh related to the learning model our incident command team will be [2:38:18] meeting tomorrow um the i talked to nick kelly uh before [2:38:24] this meeting um our um our case rates are [2:38:30] are are higher than they have been um hennepin counties at 33.46 which is a [2:38:36] about an eight point increase um edina is at 52.9 [2:38:41] and um and the if you use the cdc numbers forty point two per hundred thousand the [2:38:48] others are uh those cases per ten thousand so uh areas around us are increasing [2:38:54] and they believe this is due to the variant i also want to say that our principals [2:39:00] and our health office and nurses have [2:39:07] working a lot with doing a lot of contact tracing as we're experiencing a high positivity [2:39:13] rate within our secondary schools i want to thank the parents for helping [2:39:18] us with keeping their kids home after spring break i think that helped [2:39:24] in the high school increase in positive cases prior to [2:39:29] spring break so we will be monitoring these numbers we do [2:39:35] we'll talk about talk about all this tomorrow the incident command team but i really want us to continue to use [2:39:42] the mitigation strategies i want to encourage students and parents to continue to use [2:39:47] those mitigation the school district and partnership with united health group is testing [2:39:53] high school on tuesdays and thursdays are we're testing [2:39:59] the middle schools and all that information can be found on the website [2:40:05] the only change this week is that we're going to be testing at the high school on wednesday but otherwise it's tuesday and thursday [2:40:10] and that testing really does a great job of informing what's happening with the virus among [2:40:15] our student group continue masking we want to continue to ask for social distancing and just to [2:40:20] monitor kids activities outside of school to ensure we're not bringing in [2:40:27] the virus so we're monitoring that also there's been some questions on the quarantine [2:40:34] we do follow the quarantine decision tree that the minnesota department of health [2:40:39] provides us and i'll post that to the information section of this board meeting and uh we'll also put that in the [2:40:47] frequently asked questions um in the covent section of the website [2:40:53] so i just want to give that update did you have a question yeah um john [2:40:59] yep i was just wondering if you could give us a quick update on the testing program um how [2:41:05] many people how many students are are being tested [2:41:11] um julie do you have those numbers uh so the i so that we set what did we do 70 [2:41:18] middle school last week we did yeah we did about there were about 70 students last week um which [2:41:24] and then the week before spring break we did around 50 and we have though we have a close [2:41:30] i think over 500 students registered so um it's just been rolling it out [2:41:36] before spring break it's been a little bit of a stop start in terms of students coming in so um [2:41:42] we're working on strategies of getting the students to test and um but yeah but it it in all the tests all [2:41:50] the pool so far have been negative um which is fantastic so it was good [2:41:55] it's good to know that we had you know 60 students at a middle school that were negative it's good information for [2:42:00] teachers to know in the principal right and as a percentage of students who are attending school actually i mean because [2:42:08] this is the time that we were asking students not to attend right so exactly exactly so it's really hard [2:42:14] to know what that number is right it's almost impossible but um but yeah hopefully [2:42:20] if students are coming back um you know as they come back is as john said the high school will test [2:42:26] on wednesday this week and then middle school both middle schools will test on thursday and it's really a fast process so [2:42:34] the volunteers have been outstanding so [2:42:39] great thanks that's all i have charlenburg thank you i think that's it um we will [2:42:46] adjourn for the night um and everyone have a