RecordingTranscript available66:20

Edina Public Schools: August 5th School Board Meeting

Edina City CouncilTuesday, August 6, 2024
Watch on original source

Document Analysis

Analyze the transcript to extract topics, key quotes, people, and more — then generate focused stories for any topic.

Transcript
[0:28] um so we are going to get started with our board meeting tonight um tonight is [0:33] Monday August 5th and um we do have a quorum so I will call the meeting to order thank you for those that came out [0:40] uh this rainy lovely Monday to join us tonight so thank you um do I have our [0:45] first item of business is approval of agenda do I have a motion to approve tonight's agenda so moved do I have a [0:51] second second um we will now vote to approve tonight's agenda all those in favor say I anyone opposed um by a vote [1:00] of 7even to zero tonight's agenda is approved um Dr Stanley would you please review tonight's agenda for [1:09] us absolutely and actually first I have a few new individuals in our district [1:15] that I'd like to invite up and introduce to the community and so um Cynthia [1:20] Maldonado and Dr Amy Reid and H Alex hatom and assistant [1:29] superintendent um Nate swansson if you could all come up to the table that would be [1:35] great so we had a wonderful spring of hiring [1:40] um so that the community knows we had three administrators retire you can pull up extra chairs and sit at the [1:47] table we had uh a couple of our principals retire our assistant superintendent retired and then um we [1:55] are really excited about an addition that we're able to add into our system so I'm going to go ahead and start with [2:01] the principles and um super excited to introduce Cynthia [2:07] Maldonado she's our new principal at Countryside Elementary she comes to us [2:12] immediately from South Washington County Public Schools where she was a principal at a Spanish Immersion School an entire [2:19] immersion school and so we're really excited that she has um that background with emerging experience um she's been a [2:26] principal for more than nine years and so we're really super EXC excited to have her here I don't know if you'd like to offer anything else [2:34] Cynthia do you mind turning your microphone on sorry to interrupt you there we go it's all good should I [2:40] scooch in can you hear me okay so I just want to say I'm very grateful to be here [2:45] I love it I live in St Louis Park so this is a nice I know the area well and [2:51] Edina has been so warm and welcoming every single person from the custodians [2:56] to the front desk to Dr Stanley to every single person person I've really felt [3:01] warmly welcome family kids so I'm thrilled to be here Countryside is a [3:06] lovely school um I'm excited to have English and Spanish not just Spanish [3:13] because that's this is my 30th year in education and I think it's really important um so [3:20] I'm excited to be at Countryside so thank you for inviting me to talk to you all [3:27] today great to have you here and then we have have um principal Dr Amy Reed and [3:33] she is the new principal at Creek Valley and Amy joins us from most recently the [3:39] inoka henpen school district where she was a principal at an elementary school with 1200 plus students in the school 72 [3:48] SE 42 sections of um classrooms and she [3:53] has more than 15 years of experience as a principal and we're just really excited to have her exper expence and [4:00] have her join the community as well yes thank you superintendent Stanley and board members thank you for the warm [4:06] welcome I Echo Cynthia's Sentiments of just how welcoming it's been um just to [4:12] be part of the Adina family and the whole crew over here to get to know the leaders here and even the principls that [4:18] we were in a meeting this morning and the collaboration that happens in the district is really special I just left a [4:24] PTO meeting where I had a student ask me to be a part of his podcast um so you're EMP powering leaders and he said can you [4:31] be in a his name is Kai will you be in a podcast with me and you can share your leadership with our school and so kudos [4:37] to the team for empowering the kids to be leaders and to thrive in our district and thank you for the welcome and thanks [4:43] for having me that's great and then really um excited to introduce to the community [4:50] Alex hatom Alex um is an individual that we brought in to the system for a new [4:56] position that we have uh which is our emergency manager and Safety and Security coordinator uh [5:03] just really excited to be able to have him here to really help us continue to [5:08] increase and enhance our efforts around Safety and Security Alex comes to us he is a former police officer um it in many [5:17] different precincts he U most recently served as a police officer at um um MSP [5:24] airport and he has um experiences as with the Metro trans Department as well [5:31] yes thank you superintendent Dr Stanley um that is correct I come to you as a former police officer and I'm excited to [5:37] be here at the Adina uh Public School District as the new Emergency Management safety coordinator and uh as I [5:43] transition uh from my prior career into this one um I'm excited to uh be here and work with the staff of the din [5:49] Public School District and I think uh the creation this and formation of this position is a testament to the uh Safety [5:55] and Security uh commitment that the school district has to its uh staff and students and thank you very much for the [6:00] warm welcome and last but not least I'd like to welcome Mr Nate Swanson our new [6:08] assistant superintendent um Nate brings to US 17 years or more of um [6:16] administrative experience and we're just so excited he has hit the ground running [6:21] has been working with principals working with cabinet members working with the community um wore just one of the best [6:27] shirts ever to the fourth of July Edina parade if Community if you don't know [6:33] what I'm talking about just get out there and look at some of the pictures and um he most recently comes to us from [6:39] Little Falls has uh worked in Southwest Metro in Eden Prairie schools worked a [6:45] little bit north of us in AIO public school so welcome thank you Dr Stanley Stanley [6:52] members of the board thank you for the wonderful greeting it's been a pleasure to be able to get to meet you all uh [6:58] learn a a little bit about you as well um and I have just thoroughly enjoyed myself on boarding to Diana Public [7:06] Schools I get to work with these wonderful people and um in a system like [7:12] iina there's no stop so you just hit the ground and you and you start going and [7:18] uh it has been fun to get to know my cabinet members as well um so thank you [7:24] for the warm greeting and I just am grateful for the opportunity to serve here [7:32] no I was just going to say on behalf of the board and Community we want to welcome you um to our district and we're [7:38] thrilled to have you here and hopefully you'll acquire more green wear um in the [7:43] next few weeks so um but uh seriously welcome and uh hopefully we'll see you [7:49] at more board meetings coming up and yeah thank [Applause] [7:56] you all right now I'll go over the agenda um so we have excellence in action tonight [8:02] um we're going to have hearing from members of the community we have several conent um consent agenda items that the [8:09] board will go over couple of discussion items my 2024 superintendent 2024 2025 [8:16] superintendent goals we are receiving an update from um assistant [8:22] superintendent swansson and um Mr headstrom regarding school security [8:28] overview um we're bringing a couple things to action that have come before the board and work session the Dina [8:33] e-learning plan and um we're also bringing forward a [8:40] proposal for an approval of a collective uh bargaining agreement and then we have [8:46] several policies for review we'll have leadership and committee updates my updates and a [8:53] journ thank you very much Dr Stanley our next agenda item is excellence and action and for this this month's [8:59] excellence and action Community Education will be presenting the green superheroes of science teen Teachers [9:07] program a partnership between Edina Public Schools and the University of Minnesota [9:12] extension4 Ed high school students were teen teachers engaging younger students in science experiments that address the [9:18] environmental impact of plastics I'd like to welcome Hannah Christensen our community involvement program supervisor [9:26] welcome thank you um I'm filling in last minute for Cheryl gunnis so and I also [9:32] tried to get some of our teen teachers here but everyone is having fun at camp and um fishing and whatnot so you you're [9:39] suck with me for today um but yes like you said this is a com a collaboration [9:46] between Community Ed ad public schools and excited targeted Services alongside [9:51] our partners at the University of Minnesota [9:57] extension so the University of Minnesota 4 created this green superheroes of [10:03] science curriculum so the idea is that teens are going to teach younger Elementary School students all about um [10:10] science Plastics um but really the goal is to engage youth in experiments that [10:15] address the environmental impact of plastics while also building skills in science um and also engineering [10:24] practices so for us this looks like 7 11 to 14 year-old teen teachers all ad [10:32] public school students um they had to fill out an application they had to tell us why they loved um or we're interested [10:38] in science or we're interested in teaching other students um that was followed up by an eight-hour training [10:44] facilitated by the University of Minnesota 4 um this was a super cool experience because yes the um curriculum [10:52] makers were there um but the facilitators were also teen teachers so we had teens teaching teens who were [10:58] about to go teach Elementary School students um once they were ready they practiced all the experiments at excited [11:05] or summer targeted Services those seven um teen teachers taught 59 second [11:11] graders with a lot of energy um alongside myself and Matt G gabrielson [11:17] from Highlands and then those students put a combin of 216 cice hours in two [11:23] weeks which was incredible so cool I could talk about this all day um this is our an example [11:30] of one of our activities that they did so all the activities were really simple um a lot of baking soda and vinegar type [11:37] experiments the last one which was both the Highlight for the teen teachers and the students participating was creating [11:44] a water Soaker um out of a water bottle so we took recy cold water bottles um [11:50] they filled it up with water poked a hole in it saw how far the water would go and then they made adjustments and [11:56] estimations and hypotheses about how they could make the water go even further or spray with more Force um and [12:03] then our teen teachers ad libed at the end and let all the students spray them which is what you see in this picture [12:09] and like I said it was a highlight it was hot it was fun um it's a really great way to get them [12:16] thinking and since I couldn't have any of my friends with me today I just included some feedback that we got from [12:22] them um that stuck out to me so some student said I love teaching the kids about the environment and seeing them [12:28] see the relationship between the experiments that they did and helping the environment I thought it was really [12:34] fun and the kids really enjoyed the experiments and it was really fun and a completely new experience for me I also [12:41] want to add that it was so cool seeing their this teen teachers pedagogies develop throughout the week and kind of [12:46] figure out how they're going to Del deliver this material to different students um who might have different [12:52] understandings or interest besides the environment and that's all I got thank you so much board members do [13:00] you have any questions or comments I just had one was this the first year that we were doing this yes y [13:06] thank you for clarifying yep so we're hoping to keep this going but it was a new experience for myself for 4 for [13:12] excited um and this is our first time with our teen teachers and then for the applicants for the teens that were going [13:18] to be the teachers how did they actually find out about this program we mostly disseminated through the middle schools [13:25] directly U maybe some targeting of science teachers you have any students that you may be interested um another [13:33] part of my job is coordinating Hornet Central at Southview and so my counter part at valie we also were trying to [13:39] engage students that we thought might be um interested and might not have as many summer opportunities as others um but [13:45] really was a big collaboration with the middle schools great thank you yeah [13:51] thanks great thank you so much this looks like a great program thank you [14:01] um next on our agenda is hearing from members of the public um when you signed in and asked to speak you acknowledge an [14:07] understanding and adherence to board policy 206 which our community comment which are our community comment [14:12] guidelines pursuant to this policy each speaker has a maximum of three minutes to speak when those three minutes are up [14:19] you must conclude your remarks if you do not wrap up quickly your time allotment will end this time is not designated to [14:26] address items concerning specific staff students and personal attacks by anyone at the podium are unacceptable if this [14:33] happens you will be warned and if you persist you will no longer be able to continue remarks any feedback about [14:39] District employees needs to go to their respective site level leader the superintendent or be submitted in [14:45] writing to the board as such public comment period will be limited to 15 individuals per our updated protocols [14:52] the school board will give first priority to Edina Public School students individuals who have children attending [14:58] school in the district District individuals who reside in the district or individuals who are employed by the district the school board will give [15:05] second priority to individuals who wish to address a specific item that is on the agenda for that meeting if your form [15:11] was not filled out completely you are not eligible to be called to speak all efforts have been made to ensure [15:16] multiple viewpoints are expressed multiple individuals expressing the same Viewpoint or multiple people from the [15:22] same organization should consider consolidating their remarks if you are not chosen to speak your voice is not [15:29] any less important to us and please consider sending us an email at Schoolboard atas [15:34] schools.org finally during public comment period our role as a our role as a board is to listen but this is not the [15:42] place for the board to resolve any concerns and as such no comments will be made from the board issues will [15:48] potentially be referred to the superintendent for appropriate followup thank you for your cooperation and we do [15:55] have an individual that has signed up to speak tonight um Susan Crowley um you're welcome to come to the [16:14] podium good evening um members of the school board parents and everyone and [16:20] guests um my name is Susan Crowley I am a mother of an 11-year-old daughter who [16:25] is entering Miss Middle School in a few [16:30] short weeks um and also a local golf coach um I'm speaking today to discuss a [16:37] pressing issue that significantly impacts the learning environment and overall well-being of our children which [16:43] is the unrestricted use of smart devices in our schools I firmly believe that [16:49] implementing and re and enforcing a strict policy around smart device usage is essential for the following reasons [16:56] fir first let's consider the role of our teachers our dedicated educators are here to guide instruct and Inspire our [17:03] children however the constant presence of smart devices in classrooms transforms teachers into monitors and [17:11] continually policing these gadgets rather than focusing on their primary educational [17:17] responsibilities this distraction not only hampers the teachers's ability to deliver effective instruction but also [17:23] disrupts the learning process for all students secondly the impact on our [17:28] students cognitive functions cannot be overlooked research consistently shows [17:34] that our young brains are particularly susceptible to the distractions posed by smart devices The Continuous [17:41] notifications and the Allure of social media make it challenging for our students to concentrate on their studies [17:48] this constant shift of focus undermines their ability to absorb and retain information ultimately affecting [17:54] academic performance moreover let's talk talk about the importance of face-to-face [18:01] communication the interpersonal skills our children developed through direct interaction are invaluable these skills [18:09] eye contact active listening and empathy are the cornerstones of effective communication and [18:15] collaboration over Reliance on digital communication erodes these fundamental [18:20] skills leaving students ill prepared for real world and social interactions in [18:26] the professional environment we must also address the severe issue of [18:32] bullying and its correlation with smart devices cyber bullying has become a [18:37] rampant problem with devastating effects on students mental health the anonymity [18:42] provided by digital platforms often emboldens bullies making it easier to [18:47] harass and demean others this constant connectivity means that the torment [18:53] doesn't end when the school day does it follows children home contributing to increased rates of dep depression and [19:00] anxiety furthermore the misconception that having a cell phone makes our children safer needs to be dispelled [19:08] while it's comforting to think that immediate contact is always available the reality is that during school hours [19:14] children are under the supervision of trained professionals that you all have chosen in a controlled environment in [19:21] emergencies schools have protocols in place to ensure student safety the [19:27] presence of a personal device is not only redundant but also adds unnecessary stress and distraction Mrs Crowley can [19:34] you wrap up your remarks please yes thank you in conclusion it is imperative that we [19:41] enforce a strict policy on smart device usage within our school by doing so we can create a conducive learning [19:47] environment where teachers can focus on learning students can engage fully in their education and the well-being of [19:52] our children can be safeguarded thank you your time thank you for to speak um and that [20:00] was our only um public comment tonight so we're going to move on to our consent agenda is there anything anyone would [20:06] like to remove from the consent agenda do I have a motion to approve the consent agenda so moved do I have a [20:14] second second we will now vote to approve our consent agenda all those in favor say I [20:20] I I anyone opposed um the consent agenda is approved and we're going to move on to [20:27] our discussion item our first discussion item are superintendent goals and I'll turn over to Dr [20:36] Stanley thank you chair elenburg um [20:41] so have had um just a really good time working on [20:49] goals and looking over um the work that has been done the past three years as I [20:55] move into the fourth year of setting goals and I brought goals to the board [21:00] work session a few weeks ago and now I'm bringing them back um embedded some of [21:05] the suggestions um very specifically there were suggestions um about specifically stating the artifacts [21:14] um or measurement items that I would actually bring to the board um at the [21:20] end of the year or maybe for mid year evaluation so I modified and I add that [21:26] added that specific information for each uh goal area another request that the [21:32] board had was for uh social emotional or [21:38] culture and climate goal very specific to teachers that um it be more quantitative and so uh we use the [21:45] Panorama survey and so I've set a goal based on Panorama survey um belonging [21:51] and so uh that metric is in there in addition to that I just provided a [21:57] detailed outline of historical process and how uh the board got [22:03] to actually adopting this model um I did [22:09] link the entire uh msba um evaluation model in there so the [22:15] board each board member would have that information in detail and how the msba [22:22] model lays out how goals should be set and the different areas under msba that [22:31] are to be evaluated so hoping that that um brings [22:37] greater Clarity and I am open for questions or comments board members [22:44] questions or comments I just wanted to say thank you for um adding the artifacts piece of it [22:50] that helps with a lot of clarity for for my standpoint um but overall thank you for the the change [22:59] dor g i Echo um director arum's um gratitude for that and I had a question [23:05] on the evidence for the belonging indicator can you remind me [23:11] um how much we've been seeing that growth in the past couple years and [23:18] I yeah so sorry about that so we started [23:24] using the um arama survey in [23:32] 2021 in the spring before I started um that first year we saw some growth on [23:40] average it was two points um last year we saw I believe it was five or six [23:47] points and so I've taken an average of that to determine um the growth for the [23:54] goal uh I will say that even in those years um and and the board received a report [24:01] about this general public if you're wondering about it board received a report in June and so the full [24:08] information should be available on the board packet but we um are making statistically significant growth in in [24:17] um each one of those um specific benchmark [24:25] areas other comments or questions director bman I just wanted to say thank [24:31] you again um not only for the artifacts but also the clarification I asked last time was where the Strategic initiatives [24:38] that were a part of the different performance goals they were there before but they were in a different sort of labeling this makes it a little bit [24:44] clear for someone like me to be able to see that so I appreciate um that connection from that standpoint and the level of detail that you provided in [24:50] correlation to that was very helpful so thank you I had one question piece of feedback [24:59] and I don't know it has to do with the bullet point around um the the cell [25:04] phone use under evidence of I'm sorry I'm um it's probably go [25:13] yeah sorry goal two evidence of performance to the last bullet point um [25:19] and I was just wondering given some of the conversations that we've had [25:25] about working with the board around policy and understanding some of like [25:32] the security issues I don't even know if it's for this document quite frankly but I I was [25:38] just wondering is the ultimate goal for the year to have a [25:45] um a districtwide like updated cell phone policy and would that ultimately [25:51] be the goal um for you or us as a district or [25:56] is the goal would is your goal right now reads more [26:02] around getting updates from the assistant superintendent so I'm I wasn't sure and that's my only question [26:09] is so um within the framework for [26:15] msba there's the actual goal um that is set um the connection to the msba Masa [26:24] standards as well as our strategic plan priorities and then there's evidence of performance under the evidence of [26:32] performance there are benchmarks and so that isn't a goal to advise the super the assistant [26:38] superintendent to frequently monitor cell phone protocol implementation and [26:44] ensure the school board receives a detailed report on implementation efforts that's that's a benchmark that's [26:50] a key indicator of progress that I am moving in the direction toward meeting [26:55] my goal so um in their model they do not call those [27:01] benchmarks key indicators of progress in the model that we use here in the district that I use with cabinet and [27:07] principles we do have key indicators of progress the artifact what I would be [27:12] providing you um with [27:18] is um cell phone protocol implementation progress report and that is scheduled to [27:25] come to the board on the agenda in in November and that is to give you an [27:31] update that will include a variety of different data points in relationship to where we're at [27:38] with that um March 15th we are required to have [27:45] a policy around cell phones in place it doesn't have to be a separate policy [27:50] right now we have information about cell phones in policy 506 and we have information in cell phones in policy 524 [27:58] I think it will be up to the policy committee to determine whether or not they want to pull that information out [28:05] into a separate policy and I believe um director gabri could talk about that um [28:13] if that's the direction that we should go so that's not a goal it's not my goal [28:20] to to advise the super intendant My ultimate goal is to make sure that we're [28:25] supporting and improving and enhancing the district culture and climate and the cell phone process as part of that [28:40] okay anything from anyone else I guess I have a question but this may be I guess [28:47] about the uh cell phone plan that in so in November we would get a update on [28:52] that plan that would already be instituted at that point yeah yes so um you'll remember [28:59] that in May the board received information from the task force about [29:06] the recommendations so what for what we were going to do with a cell phone plan [29:12] and protocol and you'll remember that um K8 cell phones are um not to be used [29:21] they're way for the day they will not be in the schools and you remember that for [29:26] 9912 they um um the task force brought forward that there would [29:31] be a a three-prong protocol process there [29:38] will be times where because teachers have students use their cell phones for learning at times and so a teacher may [29:44] say no cell phones a teacher may say cell phones during this part of the [29:50] lesson or teacher may say we will be using cell phones all during class and [29:56] so um that that is what the plan is now in [30:03] order to bring policy to the board we know [30:08] that we would have to bring that to you as as late the very latest in January [30:14] because it would need to come to the policy Committee in December it would go [30:20] to the board for uh first review in January it would go to the board for [30:27] second review in February and then it would come to the board for final action [30:32] in March and so that's why you're not receiving multiple updates um throughout [30:38] the year because we would bring you that update in November we're going to take that information um [30:46] under uh the chair of the committee director gabler's direction we will use [30:51] that information to determine what the policy will look like we'll work on that [30:57] we'll bring that to um policy committee again in December we'll bring that first [31:03] view to the board in January get feedback if there's any changes we'll [31:08] bring that second view in February and then the board would actually act on that policy in March okay and then so if [31:17] I can keep asking questions that's fine so when school starts here in a month will there be a new policy enacted in [31:24] the schools or not yet when we have that update in November will that be of the task force work so I think there's a [31:30] couple of things I think there's policy and I think there's protocol we will not have a [31:35] new policy because policy 5 well 524 is coming through tonight again and then [31:43] 506 has already been approved so those are the policies right now when protocol [31:49] yes we do have a new protocol that will come into our systems [31:54] K8 and then 912 is what I outlined before which is a new protocol as well I [32:03] guess as a board member I guess I would have I think that should have maybe come to the board prior to I feel like [32:11] um we we're we're instituting and I I guess we can call it a protocol I feel [32:16] like we we're bringing a policy into our schools before we're necessarily approving it or have we've really talked about it I don't know if that's and [32:22] that's just me I'm not saying that's will of the board or anything like that I don't know if other people feel that same way or completely different I'd be [32:28] interested to hear um feel like I feel like as a board I [32:34] would like to have maybe talked more about that in the sense that we the task force um was doing great work but we [32:42] didn't really know anything about that work going on um I guess I would have [32:48] liked to have more of a robust discussion at the board table considering we'll see things two and [32:55] three times either in our our subcommittees or or at the um work session um just speaking for myself I [33:03] know I've gotten questions from people in the community email things like that [33:08] um saying well what's going to happen with this or and and not having really a good sense of what that roll out looks [33:17] like or what that policy looks like um I mean we can call it a procedure we can call it a policy it feels a lot like [33:22] it's a policy um and we rou L update our [33:28] policies and I you know and I would like to hear from the board if if people have feelings way to see if it's just me and [33:34] if it is that's that's totally fine um but I feel like we could have had a much more robust discussion on a policy [33:41] that's really going to impact every building in our in our district that has students in it [33:47] um but that's just kind of my two cents on it I'd be interested to see if other people thought or were kind of taking [33:53] back because I we don't want to have surprises at the board table and I was pretty surprised hearing from other [33:59] parents saying something's going to come forward and we're going to hear from parents obviously that aren't happy with that um and if we don't have answers as [34:08] board members it's we're going to either have egg on our face or just going to be a lot more difficult to Institute that [34:14] procedural change or policy change whichever we want to call it if we don't have more information especially at our [34:21] level in my opinion at least but I'm interested to hear more so I'm going to suggest that any discussion about this [34:27] we move to either The Retreat or it becomes an agenda item of its own could that any further discussion here needs [34:34] to be about specifically changes that we want for Dr Stanley's goals um and that [34:41] um concerns that people might have about cell phone specifically that we address [34:47] like I said that that it's a discussion point of itself so we're not violating [34:53] um open meeting law for this agenda item in and of itself um um I don't think [35:00] it's necessar I I the only thing I do want to address is that what we are rolling we have not [35:07] made any updates to policy though Elliot I just want to make it clear that we haven't changed any sort of policy um so [35:16] I think that um that nothing is nothing is being [35:22] rolled out that um is uh [35:28] needed any sort of board approval per se so I just I don't want anyone to think that we've missed some sort of Step from [35:35] a board process perspective um but I'm open to setting up additional time for [35:41] us to discuss this at another work session or like I said at The Retreat I just don't want to violate open meeting [35:47] law um and discuss this further at this point in time so [35:58] yeah I I think it warrants us maybe talking about putting it on the another [36:03] topic or figuring out together and maybe we can do that at the retreat or something if we because if I understood [36:09] this the report was going to come back to the board in November and so maybe just outlining [36:16] even just having a conversation the seven of us of like what the process will look like and I know Dr Stanley I [36:22] read in a back to school email that there will be correspondents going out to families this week right so so [36:30] families will have that information um so that's one of the steps in this process that um people can expect on [36:37] that but I think we could certainly find time to talk about this as kind of a [36:43] board and have it as an agenda item I think that would be because we are you're right we are I [36:49] mean there's a lot of we're hearing from members of the community it's obviously in the news a lot and so I think it's [36:56] top of mind for a lot of people so so we could we could spend some time putting it on an agenda item if the board wants [37:02] and I would just make one policy clarification we do have language in a current policies that provide something [37:09] related to cell phones that meets the legislative requirement if I'm not mistaken is that correct well on the [37:15] legislative requirement does not go into action until March 15th right so we don't have to have anything [37:20] legislatively in a policy until March 15th right um the the question was then [37:28] what were we going to do in terms of this and so administratively we're there's things that are being looked at and then eventually it will come back [37:34] through policy end of the discussion with the board as to how are we going to incorporate what Clarity on the policy [37:42] whether that's in current policies or we have to create a new policy around this topic that's where that would then get [37:48] to from that standpoint that's my understanding from the policy committee standpoint that's where we were that's [37:53] the track we were on right and I think we're reluctant to put in until we see how this rolls out here in the fall and [38:00] we get that report in November it doesn't make a lot of sense for us to change the the verbage because we'd have [38:06] to come back and change it again should we change should we decide to take it a step further or adjust it and during [38:13] that conversation I think um I made a note to myself I will be very interested [38:19] as the chair of the policy committee to see what the will of the board is if the will of the board is we would like to [38:24] have a specific policy about this or if they would like to see it embedded in one of our existing policies so that's [38:31] something that I know I [38:44] just I'll make a motion to uh create [38:50] discussing the institution of uh cell phone procedure at Retreat is that you [38:57] don't have to make a motion oh I was just saying if we need to do that because it seems as though there's some discussion willing to have there if I'll [39:04] make a motion if we need to [39:23] but is oh there we go um and if anyone has any further comments on Dr Stanley's [39:29] goals um if someone want has a comment related to the verbiage about cell phones as related to Dr Stanley goals I [39:36] think that's open for [39:41] discussion okay well thank you now we will move on to um our next discussion item um and [39:50] that is school security overview I'd like to welcome n Nate swensson [39:55] assistant superintendent and Alex hatom Emergency Management and safety [40:10] coordinator chair allenburg members of the board Dr Stanley thanks so much for [40:15] the opportunity to come and share with you a little bit of information about our Safety and Security plans for Adana [40:21] Public Schools joining me tonight is Alex hatom uh you all met him earlier [40:26] he's our new Emergency Management and safety coordinator and full disclosure he will be leading the presentation [40:33] should you have any questions during the presentation please let us know and we'll be happy to take them at the end [40:39] of the presentation as well thank you school board thank you very very [40:44] much for your time it's good to see you all again uh for the public again my name is Alex hatom I am the uh Public [40:51] Schools new Emergency Management and safety coordinator as you are all aware UD [40:58] Public Schools is very committed to the Safety and Security of all students staff and visitors to our uh [41:05] institutions as a testament to that commitment to Safety and Security and [41:10] under Dr Stanley's leadership I was brought on uh just last month to advance [41:16] our safety security and Emergency Management uh policies procedures and preparedness uh throughout the school [41:24] district starting from the uh District level um we currently have a district [41:31] emergency emergency response team which is outlined in policy 806 and it's comprised of all district cabinet [41:37] members and Leadership staff this District level emergency response team is designated to bring organization and [41:44] structure to incident response and is essentially there as a support and guidance uh and resource uh mechanism to [41:51] each of our schools uh the structure of the emergency District Emergency Response [41:57] Team team is based on the FEMA's uh incident command system structure uh but is tailored to the needs of the din [42:03] Public School District at the building level we uh have school or site specific building [42:11] emergency response teams which are comprised of school level staff that are not typically classroom facing um staff [42:17] members uh meaning that uh typically they're uh who serve on our bird team [42:23] are uh front office staff administrative staff uh School nurses and and the like [42:29] and they are um our operational component in the schools um they're the boots on the ground first to respond uh [42:36] staff members um to respond to incidences or emergencies in our schools and they are specifically trained to um [42:43] uphold the safety of our students staff and visitors and uh maintain a health [42:49] healthy and safe uh environment uh our burp members as well [42:55] as our district Emergency Response Team um receive training throughout the year um they do so at the beginning of the [43:01] year then periodically throughout um on various topics relating to uh Safety and [43:06] Security so the public can be assured that uh their uh children are are safe [43:11] while they're in our custody um throughout the school year as you know uh the din Public [43:18] School District adopted the I love you guys Foundation standard response protocol um if there was an emergency or [43:24] any type of incident that occurs uh within our school schools um the first [43:30] uh action would be one of these five uh steps typically so um for each type of [43:36] uh incident there's a standard response protocol um to start uh incident [43:41] response with um from hold which is typically uh students remain in classrooms and business as usual for [43:48] some kind of Maintenance issue or low priority issue in the school to secure and lock down which have to do with uh [43:54] threat response uh evacuation and shelter which are uh common but have to [44:00] do with uh formerly called fire drills and tornado drills and things of that [44:05] nature um annually uh our leadership team uh conducts a Safety and Security [44:12] refresher course and that was just conducted um just last week uh during our 2024 leadership advance and [44:18] throughout the year our leadership uh staff um both at the school and District levels will uh continue to uh train on [44:26] both best practices and uh procedures that udina public schools has in place for Emergency [44:34] Management policy 806 which is the district's Emergency Management policy um outlines um our response protocols [44:41] and things of the like um that policy has been updated to include my position [44:46] the Emergency Management safety coordinator which is a new position to the ud Public School District previous [44:51] to me that position was a supplemental set of job duties to a a different director level position so again as a [44:58] testament to um this District's uh commitment to Safety and Security uh [45:04] everything Emergency Management Safety and Security is now uh in my role which is a dedicated position focusing on that [45:11] and so policy 806 has been updated to reflect new language um for reporting uh within the district uh to [45:18] myself as you know our police and fire Partnerships are incredibly important with us um we collaborate closely with [45:25] uh our police and and Fire Partners at Adina police department and Adina fire department um we conduct um quite a bit [45:33] of uh training and and tabletop exercises with them and we'll continue to do so uh throughout the year um in [45:40] fact I just met with uh their leadership staff um about a week ago or so and uh came up with some ideas to do uh [45:47] tabletop discussions and continue collaborating on Safety and Security so our uh Protocols are uh in line with [45:54] their response protocols uh to for more of a seamless um interaction to improve [45:59] safety in our schools uh as you know about a year ago or so we implemented our Raptor visitor [46:06] management software which is a layer of security that we have um for all visitors to each of our schools uh it is [46:13] a software application that allows visitors to be identified through their governmen issued photo ID and it uh [46:20] Compares their information to a database that Raptor hosts and uh it allows us to [46:26] um verify um visitors have um are safe to enter our schools and uh our staff [46:34] have been using it for about a year now and they have commented that is easy to use um it provides a layer of security [46:41] and it's an efficient system so they they seem to be quite proud or quite happy with [46:47] it for 2024 to 2025 school year um the goals of my position are to continue [46:53] hosting ongoing Safety and Security Training events with our school staff and leaders host tabletop exercises with [46:59] our district emergency response team members and our police and fire leaders to continue collaborating with uh Safety [47:05] and Security strategies solidifying our reunification sites and having uh backup [47:10] plans in in case of a disaster and uh perform Safety and Security audits at [47:16] each of our schools to uh not only identify but mitigate emerging Safety and Security risks to again keep our [47:23] students staff and visitors safe that is all I had for you if you have [47:28] any questions or comments I would be happy to hear them board members questions or [47:33] comments director two questions one might not be for you it might be for Daphne um from the I love you guys [47:40] Foundation um the nomenclature and all the the words is that shared with the parents or is that only shared with the [47:46] staff at this point in time the I love you guys standard response protocol is a a public facing [47:53] set of instructions um so the hold secure lockdown evacua shelter is posted publicly throughout our schools um the [48:00] the purpose of it is for students um to be familiar with it as they graduate through our system so there's a [48:06] standardization in language so um there is a parent or Guardian facing um [48:12] documents to that outline and kind of highlight the standard response protocols using that same language and [48:18] we do have a website that was created and that was set out to families we send that out every year and it um has videos [48:26] it deeply outlines the standard response protocol goes into the reasons why we're using it things like that thanks I was [48:33] just I was mainly asking because you know a if a student sends a text message and says we're in lockdown that can mean [48:39] a lot of different things for people but they might only use that one term so I just didn't know if that was being socialized amongst that and then the [48:46] second question I have might be for you Dr Stanley um last year we did that kind of open form security meeting is there a [48:53] plan to do that again this year or is that was that just a um uh in response or a onetime event last year we don't [49:00] have a plan to do that again this year um it was we had just onboarded I love [49:06] you guys and several other protocols and we wanted the community to know about that so that's why we held it last year [49:14] is that something that the board would be interested [49:19] in I didn't I'd be interested in hearing you [49:27] know getting Alex on board and seeing where he kind of lands with things and then maybe even every other you know but [49:34] I don't feel I don't feel the need to have one [49:40] this year unless it would come from you that you feel like you're hearing that that's fine with me I was just [49:48] asking I think it might be something good to integrate in like um parent nights that we have at the sites where [49:55] parents are there and we have Administration available to again to make it a normalized part of the culture [50:02] as opposed to um something special that we have a captive audience um so [50:08] something like that potentially but I don't feel the need to have a a special event this [50:16] year any other comments or questions from board members I um I just had a comment really [50:24] and I wanted to welcome you to our school system and I'm really thrilled [50:29] that you're here and I also just wanted to let the community know that um [50:35] appreciate Dr Stanley for having this position but also let the community know that um the fact we're creating this [50:42] position doesn't mean that there is an elevation and security issues in our district it's really an indicator about [50:49] how um how seriously we take the security of our students and our staff [50:55] and how important this is and how how complex security issues have become this day and age with um cyber issues um and [51:03] things like that so I just wanted to make sure the community understood um the reason behind the hire and really um [51:11] give kudos to Dr Stanley and your team and um really excited to have you on [51:16] board and um also reiterate what um director arum said um to really pay [51:22] attention to some of the language that we're using and that there's a lot of emergency that happen that um I know as [51:29] a parent my heart always goes to um a safety incident with my kiddos at the [51:34] school and there's a lot of um safety things that happen sometimes like uh [51:40] toast getting in uh smoke or something happening that we're trying to use consistent verbiage so if parents can [51:48] help us in the partnership between parents and um school and the community [51:53] really understanding the language that we're using and why we might be using some of that language it can really help [51:59] us out um in understanding what's going on in our um school system so that was [52:05] all I had to say so thank you very much and just to add that is on the Dina [52:10] Public Schools website under Safety and Security you can find all of that language defined and outlined [52:18] explicitly thank you thank you board that was our last discussion item [52:23] so we'll move to our action items um do I have a motion to approve the [52:29] e-learning day plan for 2024 2025 so moved is there a second second I would [52:36] like to welcome jod D St Hubert director of teaching and learning Nathaniel Lind Lindley is he [52:43] here oh I would like to welcome Jody D St Hubert director of teaching and [52:48] learning welcome thank you good evening Dr Stanley Chair allenburg uh board [52:53] directors uh colleagues and community members um the E e-learning plan was [52:58] brought to you in July for a discussion by our director of media and Technology [53:04] Nathaniel Lindy and Brianna Buck our new digital learning coordinator um there are no changes to the plan in front of [53:11] you right now and it is here for Action tonight so if there are any questions or [53:16] comments I'd be happy to take them please thank you I just have a quick [53:21] question which again might be for Daphne um I was wondering what our plan was for [53:27] communicating this plan and the time around it I just remember last year I think we communicated in the winter and [53:33] we have some parents that were confused that we actually were having an e-learning day so I was just wondering [53:40] when we were going to communicate the updated plan and if that's not on the raadar yet [53:47] that's fine I just yeah we' still need to finalize a date for when we're going to send that out no problem I I can say [53:55] historically what we've done is once it's approved principales send that information out in their newsletters to [54:01] make sure that families have it okay thank you and we're excited that it is here in front of you in August to be approved [54:07] this early so that that communication can happen anything [54:13] else um all those in favor of approving the E e-learning day plan for 2024 2025 [54:20] say I I anyone oppos the Edina e-learning day plan for 20242 25 is [54:26] approved thank you do I have a motion to approve the 2024 2026 collective [54:32] bargaining agreement between Independent School District 273 in the din Professional Association of support [54:38] staff so moved is there a second second I would like to welcome Sonia sailor [54:43] Director of Human Resources and Mer Woodard Director of Business [Music] [54:51] Services I didn't know if you're planning on coming up but you are now so [55:04] chair allenburg Dr Stanley and members of the school board um Mr Woodard and I [55:11] are pleased to announce that the Adina Professional Association of support staff commonly referred to an Adina as [55:19] Epass um have ratified the tenative agreement that is before you for a new [55:24] two-year collective bargaining agreement agement effective July 1 2024 through June 30th [55:31] 2026 um our school district's e pass uh unit includes our department Specialists [55:38] our principal Administrative Assistant our facility schedulers Welcome Center [55:43] Specialists due process Specialists and our media and office assistants our [55:49] negotiation teams work collaboratively and creatively to reach a settlement [55:54] that both values the import work that they do every day um and also respects [55:59] the school board's Financial parameters we would like to commend our eepass negotiations team comprised of [56:07] Doc kersner Nancy canson Kim Maguire and Patty Lewis for their dedication to this [56:14] important process um the financial highlights of the proposed agreement [56:19] include step advancement for eligible employees in both years of the agreement and retroactive [56:26] application of the new agreement to July 1 2024 a 4% Improvement to the wage [56:33] schedule in both years um an increase to the school district's contribution towards single health insurance to [56:40] better align e pass to other similarly situated employee groups that will go [56:45] into effect as a January 1 2025 and a $25 per Monon District [56:51] contribution towards dental insurance as of January 1 2025 [56:56] um language was modified within the agreement to communicate Clarity um align with past practices and provide [57:03] consistency with other school district agreements position classifications were [57:08] modified to acknowledge and align positions with similar essential job [57:14] duties and levels of responsibility the two-year total package for this proposed agreement is [57:22] 7,646 197 which res repres presents an increase of [57:31] $557,000 using the Minnesota school boards Association casting formula the [57:36] 2-year percentage increases 7.92% this tenative agreement is within [57:43] the authority um provided to the school district's negotiations team by the [57:48] school board and as a result we seek your approval for this agreement do you have any questions [57:57] director gabler thank you both for your work on this um and thank you to the [58:02] Epass members that served on the committee too for the work on this um this is good work I just had a general [58:08] question um for my own understanding I noticed that in the marked up version [58:13] like there was a appendix B which had anou that was taken out is that pretty standard practice or is that like how [58:20] did those come to be and how did they kind of work themselves out of contracts as well so we actually moved some of [58:26] that language into the contract from the mou so there was an mou that specifically talked about a performance [58:32] incentive based on um job duty job duties and performances performance of [58:39] Epass members as evaluated by their supervisor and so we did take that [58:46] language specifically around the performance incentive and put it into the body of the contract um often M us [58:54] are added to contra cont TRS to try something out and then if it is something that's going to continue [59:01] beyond that first um twoyear term then you look at moving it into the body of [59:07] the contract in this particular case it had been there for I think two or at [59:13] least two rounds I think probably three rounds actually I know it had to have been at least three rounds um because it [59:20] was before I came to the district so the we looked at it and seem to be [59:26] working we're going to tweak some of the performance requirements and we talked that through with our um with the [59:32] negotiations team and then moved the specifics about the incentive into the [59:38] body of the contract thank you for explaining that sure any other questions [59:46] comments okay um all those in favor of approving the 20124 2026 collective [59:52] bargaining agreement between Independent School District 273 and the Dina Professional Association of support [59:57] staff say I I anyone opposed um the collective bargaining agreement between [1:00:03] Independent School District 273 and the D Professional Association of support staff is approved thank you thank you do [1:00:11] I have a motion to approve policies 103 113 414 415 524 and [1:00:18] 806 is there a second second I will turn it over to policy chair Karen gabler [1:00:26] thank you chair elenberg um board members you will notice we had no policies up for discussion this month [1:00:32] were you I'm sure you were all missing that um that the policies that are before you for Action there have been no [1:00:38] changes to these policies since they were reviewed and up for discussion at the July 8th meeting so are there any [1:00:46] further questions all right I'll turn it back to you then cherberg okay do I have um all those in [1:00:53] favor of approving policies 103 113 414 415 524 and 806 say I I anyone [1:01:01] opposed um the policies are approved um do we have any board leadership or [1:01:07] committee updates okay do we have any [1:01:13] superintendent updates um I just want to give a shout out to our Community [1:01:20] Education Program they held programming that they're going to come and talk about a little bit more in detail but [1:01:25] that had 8,000 students in programs this summer which was absolutely incredible [1:01:31] and how they do that with what seems like effortless I [1:01:38] have no how no idea how they do that but I had a chance to attend a few classes and the classes were absolutely [1:01:45] outstanding High engagement with students and um just really proud of them for their for their growth with [1:01:51] their programs and then of course school will start before we know it and so um [1:01:57] we have our band together night on August 22nd and all of the proceeds for [1:02:05] that goes towards supporting uh our mental health e efforts in the district and they have quite a few wonderful [1:02:12] bands that are um scheduled to perform and just really encouraging the [1:02:19] community to come out and join us um as we work to support the mental health efforts in our schools [1:02:26] thank you Dr Stanley um without any other content for the meeting um um do I [1:02:32] have a motion to adjourn the meeting so moved do I have a second second all [1:02:38] those in favor of adjourning the meeting say I I anyone opposed um the motion is approved and [1:02:45] the meeting is adjourned thank [1:02:54] you [1:03:24] e [1:03:54] e [1:04:24] e [1:04:54] e [1:05:24] e [1:05:54] e e