All right. Good morning. How are you all doing today? >> Good. Awesome. Awesome. Well, um I want to first off say I'm hold on one second. Let me give me one minute. Okay. >> So, I'm going to say good morning, Dr. Briggs, and welcome to Visa Public Schools. Uh, thank you for meeting with us about becoming our district's superintendent, next superintendent. Today, our school board members will rotate asking you questions and we will all be taking notes. Please know we are listening carefully and do not intend to be disrespectful. We have provided a copy of uh the questions for you. There are 14 questions and our last question will be whether you have any questions for us. The interview is scheduled for 1 hour 45 minutes and Barb Dawn from MSBA sitting to my right will notify us when there is 1 hour remaining, 30 minutes remaining and the final 15 minutes remaining in our allotted time. Please be aware of these time constraints and plan the length of your answers accordingly. I'd like to open the interview by asking each board member to introduce themselves so you know get to know them at least a little bit. >> Okay, we can start with Paris this time. >> Good morning. My name is Paris Bendy. Uh this is my third year on the board. >> Awesome. >> Good morning. Uh nice to see you again. Um my name is Valentina and this is my third year. >> Awesome. >> Heidi Kater this is my fifth year and I'm treasurer of the board. >> Dr. Milan Sahonyi, my fifth year as well and I'm I'm the chair of the board this year. >> Awesome. >> I'm Sheila Prior. This is my fourth year on the board and I'm vice chair. >> Awesome. >> Morning Dr. Briggs. My name is Dan Janestra. This is my I've been on the school board for two years and I'm the clerk. >> Awesome. >> Alicia Little and this is my second month on the board. >> Welcome. >> Thank you colleagues. And we will now begin with our first question which will might be mine. Um, you have been asked to prepare a presentation with a 15minute time limit to share your proposed transition plan with our board with our board. The floor is now yours and please go ahead. >> Yep. Well, um, first off, I want to say thank you and I'm honored to be um, here in this space with you today. um as you will see um if I'm chosen to be the next superintendent here in Weisetta um you will get to see today um just a quick glimpse of what my entry plan will look like. Um you should also have a a detailed entry plan um in front of you, but on the screen you will see a overview of what that entry plan will uh consist of. So, um, right here, um, I did have another slide that I added last night. Um, of course, it didn't show up, uh, in the presentation, but that slide consists of the six steps to social change. And that slide, um, consists of something that Dr. Martin Luther King um came up with around the beloved community and it had um information gathering, education, um commitment, um discussion, negotiation, um direct action, and then also reconciliation. So, you will notice throughout this presentation all six of those things to some degree playing out um in what my entry would will kind of look like. So to start us out here, we have the contents of what you're going to see uh today. We have the executive summary um which is a part of it. You have the guiding principles. You have the three phases of listening and learning, assess uh and engage, plan and act. And then the alignment to the 20 uh 23 2027 um strategic roadmap. And as you can tell is just really around the corner. So there will be a need to start processing about what does the next strategic road map kind of consist of and look like and then uh the closing uh commitment. So here we go. The executive summary um as you can see here a structured um transition plan for myself entering the district um is totally grounded in Wisetta's uh mission. Um and that mission is to ensure a world-class education that prepares each and every student to thrive today and excel tomorrow in an everchanging global society. Um, and then also thinking about the three phases of three-phased approach, uh, listening and learning, uh, assess and engage, and then plan and act. It's all designed to honor the district's momentum that is currently in place, the traditions, um, some of the things that you have leaned into with uh, Dr. Chase, things that you've leaned into with the other leaders in the district while continuing to streng strengthen relationships and then to lead with integrity and clarity. Um and also vision. Uh the guiding principles achievement, collaboration, community, community, equity, integrity, and respect. Achievement is maintaining the district's culture of excellence and high expectations. Collaboration, building trust, and working alongside staff, families, and community to ensure that continued uh success uh of excellence and community. Honoring the deep sense of belonging and which that defines Weisetta's eight communities. Equity listening deeply to understand gaps in the access for and outcomes. Ensuring that we're not leaving anybody behind that we're meeting needs um of all students and all families in in our eight from our eight communities. Integrity acting with honesty and transparency and consistency. People love consistency. People love ensuring that you have honesty and that we're transparent. And then respect, valuing, uh the diverse uh talents, cultures, and backgrounds that we have in the our district. And looking at phase one, uh listening and learning, the first 30 days are dedicated to deep listening, relationship building, and gaining a thorough understanding of Weisetta's culture, strengths, challenges, and aspirations. You look at these things here. You look at the internal uh stakeholder relationships, community and family engagement, student voice, organizational and financial understanding, and then the strategic roadmap immersion. I think about internal stakeholders. You think about our students. You think about our board members. You think about our staff leaders. Uh you think about our then you move into community and family engagement. You think about what are our families really wanting to share um by way of having special nights with them to to to have roundts uh listening sessions. Student voice. How are we bringing student voices to the table? Uh obviously digging in deeper into the financial understanding of the district as I work in Iowa uh and also I worked in Wisconsin. it's a little bit different here um in Minnesota and just getting a grab grasp on that and then making sure that I emerge myself deep into the uh strategic road map further than I already have because there's a side of that road map that I don't get to see on the outside that is internally a little bit deeper than what I get to see on the outside and things that you can expect as deliverables a stakeholder listening log with themes organized by constituency groups. Uh initial state of uh the district observation documents shared with you as a board. Uh implemented structure communication protocols and leadership meeting schedules with uh cabinet and leadership. Uh reviewed and confirmed urgent decisions or time-sensitive items requiring early actions. And then lastly there published uh a welcome message to an initial community communication. Looking at phase two, assess and engage. Um for the second 30 days, um it shifts towards analysis and deeper engagement. Um assessment of uh current systems, validating observations with data and evidence. Uh and engaging more broadly across the classrooms and schools. um looking at datadriven assessments, looking at school and uh classroom visits, staff engagement and culture, strategic direction review, external and community partnerships. Right around this time, school will be starting. So, it it really puts me in buildings with with students, with staff to really kind of visit those classrooms, start to visit classrooms, start to see things, start to ask some questions. um and really thinking about the the seven um strategic directions that we have. Really making sure that there's some some clear alignments to those things while also connecting externally with our partners in the community, whether that's some of our civic groups, that's police departments, fire departments, rotaries, things like that. And the deliverables that you can expect uh from there is a comprehensive district assessment report organized around the seven strategic directions. Equity gap uh analysis with initial recommended responses. All buildings visited with documented observations. And those observations aren't um um evaluative. Those are observations that really allows me to see the functionality of our schools. Um so on and so forth. and then staff culture and engagement baseline established and then a draft um year one and superintendent priority framework ready for board um review and then heading into phase three plan and act um this the final 30 days will transition from listening and assessing to communi communicating a clear vision and initiating strategic action you know we have our board partnership and governance that's really digging into the partnership that that we have um you as a board and myself as a superintendent. Year one strategic priorities, academic excellence uh and equity, operational excellence and stewardship, and culture, communication, and community trust. Um and what you can expect as deliverables um is a formal 90-day entry plan presented to the board of education. Um a year one superintendent priority framework published and distributed to all stakeholders. uh cabinet structure and leadership meeting cadence launched and then student and community advisory councils established and then equity uh action plan announced with clear timelines um and and owners that will oversee those things. And what I want you to do here is just take one minute to just take a look at this. I'm not going to read it to you, but I want you to see the entry plans connections to the seven strategic directions as I would enter the district. As you can see, these seven strategic directions are vital to the success of the Whit Zetta School District. And anyone coming into this position um as you think about entering the district should have their priorities aligned to what that success um could look like as it relates to that roadmap. That's our northstar. The road map of this district is our northstar and anything that we do should be tied to that with outcomes that support students, staff, community um as a whole. So, as I as I begin to close here, um I want to say that I am honored to be standing before you. I am honored to have had the opportunity to interview in the first round because this is a remarkable place. I learned so much yesterday in the schools as I got to see instruction, as I got to interact with kids. And you have some of the most exciting ambassadors that took me around in the schools. And there's one in particular um at Bir I think it's Birch View. She was unbelievable. She will probably be the president of the United States one day. She was amazing. And um it really showed me why for the past three consecutive years why Weisetta was ranked the number one public school district. These three years um at the top um for you isn't by stance by happen stance. It's actually very clear that we have a thou we have thousands of teachers. We have thousands of staff members, students, families, and the community that really has shown me since I've been in this space why you're number one. And for me, I want to be a part of that. I feel like that's something that I um can can continue supporting um this district with obtaining. And these things that you're seeing right now are not a checklist. They're commitments from me to you as a district and as a community. I commit to you that I will listen before acting. I will lead with integrity. I will champion every student, every staff member, and every part of this community as the eight communities come together. And lastly, honor and trust. I will honor uh the the trusted place that you've kind of given to me as the next superintendent. Every day, every decision, every student, the vision of Weisado public schools calls for the model of excellence. You know that. I've seen that. And everyone in the state has seen that for the past three years. And I just want to thank you for giving me the opportunity um to play out your vision um as we do this work every day. The vision will guide every meeting, every decision and every action of okay um of every action that will take place uh in this district. So thank you. >> Perfect. >> Yes. Perfect timing. Thank you, Dr. Briggs, for your presentation. We'll start with questions now. >> Yeah. >> Take your time. Get settled. >> We're good. Let's go. Thank you again for your presentation. >> Yes. >> Visetta public schools as a community has not had to experience a change in superintendent position in decades. This will be a big change for our families and our staff. How do you lead through change? >> Yeah, I think um change is hard for a lot of people. Um but I would tell you people often don't fear change, they fear loss. Um, and when you think about the time that Dr. Chase has been here, that leadership, 18 years, that's going to be a big loss, right? Because the school district has been successful under his leadership. Um, but I will tell you this, um, the things that some of the things I just covered in the presentation, but first and foremost, being a good listener, listen, listening before acting is is one thing that I will do. Um, I will be communicating often. I think the communication not only between myself and and you as a board is really important. I also think the communication between those that I lead um the community um is also very important. Um, and I will anchor myself when you think about those seven um um strategic directions, those are critical. Making sure that those seven um strategic directions are not something that's just sat on a shelf to look at, but making sure that there are living actions that we're doing in the district that people have already gotten to see for the last couple years, right? So, making sure that that happens. Um, and then lastly, I would say thinking about the human side of who we are as people. That's really, really important to me. So, making sure that people know that they are seen, they are heard, um, and that they belong here um, in this district. Yeah. >> What do you feel are the key elements of building a strong and high performing board team? How do the roles of school board members and superintendent integrate with and complement one another? >> That's a great question. Um, I would say first and foremost there's the the level of open communication. I think that's really really important. Um I also think clarity of roles really knowing the role that I should play and the roles that each and every one of you should play as it hinges on the governance model. Um, I would also say that the the way that I go we go about creating a healthy culture within this community and also with ourselves um and the roles that we'll play in that uh mutual respect and trust that's that's really really important as well. And and and lastly, I would say just thinking about the commitment that we're making to the community. That partnership with me with you and you with me is important for our community to know that we're we're together and we're also together with them. >> Thank you. Mhm. >> Next question is, how do you balance sustaining and growing programs in Wisetta with the uncertainties of state and federal funding mechanism for public education? >> Um, I would first and foremost say making sure that we don't lose students. That's probably the biggest one. ensuring that our um enrollment is increasing and not decreasing. Um we know that funding that we receive is is really based on student enrollment um for the most part. Um so ensuring that we are doing everything we can to recruit and retain um families uh within the district. I would also say thinking about the funding streams that we have throughout our district and how we're utilizing our our funds by way of our strategic roadmap. If there if anything that we're spending on does not align with any of those seven um strategic priorities that we have, we shouldn't be spending those funds. Um, I would also say making sure that we stay focused on um, I obviously said the strategic map, but also staying focused on the needs of students um, and staff. When I think about, you know, how we think about professional development, the needs that we have funding wise, how does that professional development support our strategic plan that we have in place and that we want to focus on? Um, and I'll leave it there right now. Oh, and lastly, I'll say continue to advocate um to our public officials um for the need for additional funding regardless of the side of the house, whether it's special education, uh whether it's general education, but uh ensuring that we continue to advocate with our legislature and and our public officials. >> Okay. Thank you. Um, >> special education needs for students are increasing in both numbers and complexity. What are your experiences providing outstanding services to all students? >> Yeah. Um, for me, I would first off say as a student who was um labeled with a disability as a youngster and the experiences that I had, there's that's one thing to me that is always on my mind is ensuring that our students feel like they belong, ensuring that they feel like people care uh for them in our schools. Um, I would also say that it's important for us to think about the experiences not only for myself as a youngster, but the experiences that I've had to lead. You know, as a director of elementary teaching and learning, um, there's that inclusiveness that I always ensured was a part of our system. Um, our systems aren't created and shouldn't be created to exclude any of our students regardless of their disability, uh, regardless of any challenges that they face. Um, so the experiences that I've had has always been to be inclusive. Um, I do know that not every student will will be able to be in a classroom um, all the time. Well, I don't think many of us as adults can always sit in a space all the time for the length of times that our the kids sit in spaces. So, a part of it is understanding who our students are, understanding what they bring to the table and being willing to make adjustments to support them. So, the experiences I've had have been all of those things that have caused many the districts that I've worked in to have students feel included, feel like they have a sense of belonging, um, and that they can come to school every day and not feel like they're going to be made fun of. So, my experiences have really been to to really dig into that. um think about funding for um our students in a way that doesn't also, you know, single them out, so to speak. Um and also thinking about staffing. We know right now that staffing and special special education is one of the most challenging positions to to to keep. Um so ensuring that we find a way to recruit and retain our our special education staff members um our student services staff as well that that leans into um supporting on the special education side as well. >> Thank you. >> Thank you for being here. Next question. Wisetta Public Schools is headed to a capital projects and technology levy referendum in April. What are your experiences leading schools and school districts through construction or maintenance projects? >> Yeah, I can go all the way back to uh when I was director of elementary education first off. Um, and at that time we went to referendum for a $70 million referendum that was going to be um causing us to build a new elementary school. Um and as the director of elementary teaching and learning, I was um highly involved in that process um to ensure the design of the buildings, the uh building being constructed um and all the way through that process. Then I jump ahead to where I'm at um today. Well, let me go back to as a superintendent when I was superintendent in Barabou. Um, we went to referendum for a I think it was 70 75 million and it didn't pass. And then I sit where I'm sitting today as the chief operations officer for the De Mo public school district and we go to referendum for 265 million that just passed. And in that process, um, there's designs of, uh, facilities prior to that bond being passed that I worked very closely with. I oversee the construction department, oversee the facilities and custodials uh, departments as well. Um, but on the construction side, we have a a construction department, you know, in the district that I oversee. So, when I think about the uh meeting with the architects, meeting with the con the construction team, the builders, um I've been in all of those meetings for the last four, five months, excuse me. Um as well as projects that are happening outside of the referendum. So, we have a lot of projects kind of going right now. Um, so I've had nothing but um, great experience and a lot of experience with that currently um, in my current role. >> Thank you. >> Yep. >> Next question. Academic excellence is a core value here at Weisetta Public Schools. How have you and how will you ensure that student outcomes show growth for each and every student? What does this look like for all students or for our students including those who are high achieving, maintaining or struggling academically in our schools? >> Um so the multi-tered systems of support is a system that's should be all-incclusive. Um so first and foremost I would um ensure that that system is operating the way that it's intended to operate. And what that means is ensuring that there's data uh we have a universal screener that's indicating to us that we do have students that are not proficient. Um and it also should indicate to us the levels in which students are not proficient. um that does not it does not matter whether that student is a special education student or a a um a general education student. That system should be a system that's allowing our teachers to also engage in professional learning communities so that they can unpack that data that we're getting back from the universal screeners that we are doing three possibly four times a year. uh from that data um I should as a superintendent have some understanding as to how well we are doing how what percentage of our students that are proficient um and those students that aren't proficient I should also understand the plans or know that there's a plan for those students to be moving and making growth um by way of whether that's interventions that they are receiving whether that's literacy math uh interventions that they are receiving or if it's behavior uh interventions that they're receiving to show some level of growth uh over time. Um but that would also take place with some conversations and meetings that I would also have with um my my team um as we will definitely unpack data often to kind of really see where we are and also bring that data to you as a board to keep you a breast of how well we are progressing. Um, I want to make sure I didn't miss anything with that question. Um, so I gave you a little bit of what it looks like for students. When we think about our, um, the assessments, you think about the interventions for students. Um, and like I said, regardless of whether the student is a student with a disability or a student um in general education, our goal is to ensure that regardless of who the student is that we are um providing the the due um instruction and education for them to be successful. >> Thank you. >> And let me I can't miss this. I don't know why I wasn't think professional development. Um ensuring that our staff um have the professional development that they need to also provide highquality instruction when we do have students who may be struggling or students that's not making the the growth that we um hope for them to make. >> Thank you. >> Yeah. Teachers are one of our most important stakeholder groups. How do you view superintendent's role in building a strong productive relationship with teachers and their representatives? >> Yeah. Um I think my my role would be and my role number one is is very important to the success of um all of our educators. Um now when I say teachers, I'm thinking I'm talking all of the staff that we have. um our custodial staff, our lunch um our our food service staff, our our bus drivers, they all play a vital role in the success of students that we have in our buildings. So for me, it's ensuring that I'm inclusive in all that we do to ensure that those individuals also feel like they matter in the district. So that's first and foremost is is being very clear that there's not one educator in the district that should not feel like they are important to the outcomes of the work that we will do. Um so that's first off building those relationships being in the space um with these individuals so that they know that they are valued and their positions are are valued. But I would also say through the leadership team um by the directors that we have ensuring that they are also making connections with these different departments um and not just their own departments I think is really important for people for us to cross over and really see uh the impact um that each of us are having from our departments into other departments. So that's also inclusive of of of leaders being a part of um that work and and those productive relationships with the educators um in the schools. >> Thank you. >> One of the things that Weisetta prides itself on is the rich, unique, and powerful voices that make up our administrators and our teachers. Please speak to what you see as the cabinet's role and how you plan to bring out the strengths of our diverse voices. Along those same lines, how would you respond if a member of your administrative team failed to follow district protocol or governance norms? man people. >> No, um you you kind of heard me just kind of speak to the importance of the leadership team also being a part of what's happening in the spaces of the buildings. I think that's um just vital to the success of educators. I think educators want to see um leaders um in the spaces with them at times. So ensuring that there's some cadence um for us to get out into the schools. I know one thing that um I've I've done and then it's also something that we're doing right now is that we do um data visits where or visits to schools. Um so each each week right now uh we visit schools and uh the principles kind of lead us through what's going well uh what are some challenges that they are are having at their building level and that's the cabinet that will be joining that meeting. and then we take a tour of the building. We go into some classrooms. We see instruction taking place. So those are some of the things that I would initially uh hope um that we can we can kind of engage in cuz I think that um really helps us understand you know the boots on the ground you know at the school levels um as well. Now, if if there's a a leader that has not followed protocol, um my hope is that's only happened once so that we can engage in conversation around that um and and put some things in place so that that does not continue. Um if if if that continues, I think we're having a different conversation that may lead to some level of um maybe discipline on on some level. um because that should not be how we operate. Uh we want to make sure that we're doing what's expected um in the work um that we do together and the impact that it's going to have on students um and staff. >> Thank you. >> Yep. >> Thank you. Uh considering the conversation around reading instruction and the practices designed to bring more students up to grade level in reading, what have you learned through your own experience or seen succeeding in other states or districts that require leadership from the superintendent? How do you monitor and measure the effectiveness of these literacy programs? Um, cool. That's a really good question. Um, as a superintendent, I think it's it's also the superintendent's responsibility to make sure that the systems that are in place are um effective. Um, number one, when we think about data, if we don't have a strong way to receive data, uh, by way of a universal screener, let's just say, um, and we're just willy-nilly collecting data. Well, we we'll take that piece, we'll take that piece. That's not a system. So having a system around data collection is definitely the responsibility of the superintendent to ensure that it's in place. Um I would also say making sure that you know we have voices um students staff voices are are critical. So, when we think about some of the surveys, uh, whether that's perception surveys, sense of belonging surveys that we're utilizing throughout the district, um, for students, for staff, also for parents, um, that gives me as a superintendent a really good glimpse of how things are going so that if there's things that we need to shift or adjust, um, as I know us to be a continuous improvement district, that allows for some of that change um to kind of take place, but take place based on data um without having feelings connected to it, but really having data to drive um some of those shifts and changes from my own um experiences. Those have been some of the things that I've kind of used in in the past to kind of support um me in in that position. And let me um we and how do I monitor um those things? I monitor those things a couple different ways. I monitor them by number one ons um and those are one-on-one meetings that I have with each of the the directors. Um first off, really as a a check-in with them, see how things are going. um and to see if there's things that we do need to shift, do different to support them in their work um as they connect with the the principles and and other educators in the in the schools. Um and that lets me know um how we're doing from their perspective. Um and then you have the surveys that also kind of share information from the other side of things also. Um, but then I would also say to know that our literacy programs are being effective, it's going to be our our data, our, you know, progress monitoring tools that we're utilizing, our universal screeners that we're utilizing um over time, of course, um throughout the year. Those those assessments should be given three um hopefully three to four times a year and we should hopefully see some growth as we unpack those things as we go throughout the year. And you as a board would also be that one minute. >> One hour. >> Oh, one hour. All right. I'm good. I'm good. Um, so you as a board would also be um kept up with that because the hope would be that you are getting an update um during board meetings um throughout the year as well. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. Mhm. So next question is Wisetta public schools has a strong tradition of being a place that welcomes each and every student and by extension each and every family. What do you think the role of nonpartisianship has in it? What role do I think the role of what do I think the role of nonpartisanship has in the tradition and extension? I personally I don't I don't think it has um a role in it that takes away from the tradition, the expectations, um the love and care of the district. I think we have to think about ourselves as human beings and think about how we can come together and create a culture and climate and community that stands together um in ensuring the safety and security of our students. um the love that we should be displaying with each other um that creates the the excellence that we've seen over the years here in Wazetta. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Thank you. Weisetta Public Schools benefits from strong business, community, and parental support of our schools. With that comes both opportunities and challenges. Please describe how you would engage with these school communities to build trust and collaboration while maintaining boundaries that support and ensure the district's internal systemic integrity. >> Yeah, you you kind of have in front of you as a part of the uh entry plan. Um, in that entry plan, it talks about the partnerships, uh, the relationships that will be established, um, as I enter the district. Um, finding out who are the community partners, um, and who aren't the community partners that I should be connecting with. um despite having the community partners that we already have, um I believe in growth. I believe in ensuring that the partners that we don't have, we find a way to to get them to be partners because that's only better for the community uh and better for our students. um as they have an opportunity to have, you know, possible internships, as they have the opportunity to have experiences um you know, that they otherwise wouldn't be afforded um in our in our district. So I think the importance um of and the benefits of a strong business and community and community relationships is extremely high on on my mind as I would be coming in as a superintendent. Um I also think not only for me but I know those businesses in the community they want to be a part of something great. um and and how how do how I go about how other leaders kind of go about connecting with um businesses in the community and organizations in the community um will determine the success of our our district also because those communities are definitely a part of that. Um I want to make sure I don't miss anything there. And uh how I would engage them? Um I would engage them by um setting up meetings with them, having some some listening sessions initially with them. Um I would have uh some cadence of meetings. So maybe once a month meeting um with each um of these different businesses that we have partnerships with. Um possibly have some level of a um I don't know if I want to call it a gayla or something like that. that support, you know, our businesses all coming together um so they can also build um relationships with each other as well. Um but it's it's really that human side of of really connecting with these different businesses and community organizations um by being present with them. >> Thank you. >> Yep. All right, we have um one final question for you before we ask if you have any questions for us. >> Yeah. >> Final question. Please provide a summary statement of why you feel you are a good fit to lead Wisetta Public Schools and please share your vision for what you would hope to accomplish during your time here spent as superintendent. >> Man, you said I got an hour, right? >> No, just joking. Just joking. Um, I would first off say, um, for my statement, um, and why I think I'm a a good person to be the next superintendent here, I would say my experiences, um, across the board from not wanting to be in education and now being in education for 24 years. As a youngster, I've had many challenges myself. As someone who has been in education, the most amazing person that's in education to me is my wife. And she has caused me to get into education. She was the person that tricked me into getting into education. And from that day, I have never looked back on why I got into education. But she was a big part of that. And why I'm the next person best or the the right person to be in this role for you all is because the experiences that I've had has caused me to say that Weisetta is producing, leading, providing opportunities for students in a way that number one I didn't get to have but I know is right for kids. they have the right staff members in position to also support those opportunities for the students in this district. And personally, I want to be a part of that. I want to continue that tradition. I want to continue that excellence. I want to continue that that giving the access and opportunity to the students as they wake up every morning and come to this to the schoolhouse. Um, and lastly, um, as I think about, you know, this is the only district that I've applied for because I believe in what you do here and I want to be a part of that. And the second part of that is what can I hope to accomplish? I would say closing the gaps that I've seen that exist in this district. And when I say those gaps, I think about our students that are performing below proficiency. When I think about the access that our students kind of have, ensuring that they that access continues to grow um for our students. I know right now at the high school um there's a need to provide more C um CN more nursing classes. Uh there's no space but with the bond ensuring that space is created to provide more opportunities for our students. I would also say ensuring that our students have that students that don't see themselves going to college but that that but providing them the opportunity to do things in our schools that can ready them for the world. Um and then lastly um I would say ensuring that you all know that you hired the right person to lead this district in the way that you expect it to be led. Thank you for that. Um, we do have one more question. It's what questions do you have for us? >> Yeah, let me get this out here. >> I do have a couple questions. Um, you guys ready? All right, cool. Um, how does the board approach decisions that are politically sensitive in the community? >> Let me let me take a stab up in that. Um, >> one of the questions that was asked of you was about nonpartisanship >> and that is what the board board's mantra is. We we believe we are nonpartisan. We and we day in and day out that is what we what we try to achieve. And when there are pushes and pulls and tags from from the community from a political angle, um I believe we do our best to stay non-political, nonpartisan and do what is what we are sitting here at the board table for and that is students outcome. >> Awesome. Student outcome should not be related to political agendas, political ideologies and therefore we we I don't believe we we exhibit any partisanship in our decision-m process. >> Awesome. Thank you. >> I'll add to that I um agree with you Dr. Sony on all of that and um I'll tell you why has a long tradition of nonpartisanship. We fight for it pretty hard to make sure that we're able to include every student and every family regardless of what their belief system is, what their faith background is. But we want our students and our community to choose Wisette as their first choice. And so it's really important that we create spaces that are welcoming to each and every one of them. Um, and so as a board and the tradition of the board, you know, I don't I'm not a traditionalist, but I believe in things that drive us forward and and those that's one of the values I think that really drives us forward and continues to do so. Our community expects it of us. Um, and really values it even when times get tough, they know that we can come back to it. Um, and interestingly enough, it was one of the values that our students brought forth through this process of a superintendent search. Awesome. >> So, it's it's something that is deeply visetta. >> Awesome. Thank you. >> What does a successful first year look like? Um, oh, I'm sorry. >> Oh, sorry. >> I'm sorry. >> No, you're good. Again, echo with what Bill and Heidi said. Um, I would also say, um, our community plays really big role into it. Um we all acknowledge um you know how the world is and where it's heading but we've seen from our community members from our teachers from our parents over and over again that they prioritize educational outcome student experience first. Whenever we get any questions any challenge every individual who raises that they want to help and they want to participate. So it's never something you know thrown over the wall. They want to come to the table. They partner with us and they want to solve problems. I think that's that's unique to Weisetta and that allows us to be more nonpartisan because we all know that irrespective of our you know thought process and backgrounds we are all focusing on students and that allows us to be nonpartisan. >> Awesome. Thank you. Thank you. Anybody else? Good. All right. Thank you. Um, what does a successful first year look like um to the board and how will you know when you see it? >> I will speak as someone who is the newest here at the table. Um, and we do have a very, you know, young board in many ways, uh, in our experience and background. And um I think for me looking for a superintendent, it's really important to feel like there's going to be someone who has a balance of confidence and vision, but also a willingness to learn from what we know about the district. Um you know, personally, someone who's new to the board, but not new to the district. I've been here for a long time and um I know I have a lot of value to add in some ways, but I'm still very much learning in other ways. And I think everyone at this table, that's the beauty of having a board of, you know, seven community members is that we all have different um things that we feel strong about and also that we're still trying to learn. So knowing that somebody who can come in to this district and lead in a way that's going to take all of that knowledge and perspective and then be able to channel it in a positive forward motion for the district. >> Thank you. I would say it is communication and trust. Um not all decisions, not all policies are favorable. Um but why we do what we do and communicate with our critical stakeholders, students, parents, community members, board, why we are doing certain things and what are the pros and cons. Be transparent, be that really good empathetic communicator and start building that trust. So again, even if certain decisions are not favorable, we know why that decision is being made or why that decision is being proposed and just help building that trusted long-term relationship with our constituents. >> Cool. >> Let me add one more thing. I have sometimes been asked the question about who our bosses are or who our bosses, right? The board. Superintendent reports to the board, administrators report to superintendent and and it goes down, right? So in in on the orc chart technically we are up at the top, right? People ask me often so who who's your boss? And my my common answer every time is it's the community. >> Mhm. >> And that is how we we make decisions. We listen to the community knowing that they are the one that put us in these chairs at this table and therefore we are answerable to to them for sure. >> Yeah, that that is that is the way I approach things and I'm around. Yeah. What do you see as the top two priorities for this superintendent that's coming in to address or to take on? Dan wants to answer that, but you stole my question that I was going to follow up with, but that's exactly what I was going to ask you, but yeah, let's uh let's see what board members have to say. >> Okay. >> I think that's an absolutely fantastic question. Um, as I'm as I'm sure you're aware, we are headed to a referendum and so I think a key issue uh is meeting our growing enrollment as well as our increasing student needs. Um, that applies to special education uh more specifically. So I would I would center it around those two items. We have um more students coming in meeting that need with increased programming and capacity as well as understanding that our students have more needs than in previous years. Gotcha. Cool. And then my last question is what is the board's commitment uh to its own professional development around governance best practices? >> I can answer that. Um we do have a strong commitment to the governance model. Um we have periodic board development sessions. Um and you know we it's kind of a constant um game. Well, it's not a game. It's a it's kind of a um our interactions with the superintendent and the staff. It's always this kind of dance. That's probably a better word than game. It's a dance where you know we are sometimes invited into manage you know like where where we're given um we don't make the decisions but we are given input and we're asked for our input in return and uh we do try to stay in our governance lane though and trust that the superintendent and our wonderful staff are you know making the decisions for the district for the best of our students. >> Gotcha. That's it. >> That's it. Okay, sounds good. Thank you. So, we are going to Oh, you have a question. >> I tried to say several times um I'm all of a sudden blank on the author of a book. It's uh says on speaking on their behalf. Uh what I liked about it, uh it is speaking that boards need to spend more time on student outcome. uh not actually talking about adult input output it needs to be for student outcome. So uh we need to discuss data and based on data we need to come up with solutions like where the needs are not met where to be uh where you need to allocate more staff what can you do to help out and I I personally feel it's more about not even going into grouping students it's basically looking at the results and making decision to help uh the students putting money into students because after all education is for students. >> Absolutely. Thank you. >> I think right. So, I do have one question and followup. So, in reference to your presentation, um, what would your comprehensive district assessment include? So, at the very beginning, you said you'll do a comprehensive assessment. I'm curious what that would look like. >> Yeah, that that comprehensive assessment would uh number one, it would be um meeting with these individuals first off one on one ones to kind of learn more about what has kind of happened within their departments. So getting a clear picture of what's kind of taking place in the department where um they currently are um with their their goals um and um completing those goals in the year in the year prior. Um I would also say that also leans into um going into the schools and just kind of seeing like how are we functioning within our schools and our spaces. Um that report may already be somewhere. It may already be done somewhere around the functionality of of schools um in the district here. Um, but it would be asking that first and then if that doesn't exist, kind of just being out in the schools to kind of see how things are are kind of going. So that's what that would kind of consist of. >> Thank you for that. >> Yeah, >> I have a follow-up question and it's kind of related to your first presentation, the uh 15-minute presentation. The first question we asked you, you don't have to agree with Director Janestra's priorities. Yours could be different. So, so I'm asking you that same question. What would be your top two priorities be? They could be the same as what he said, but also could be different. So, what would those two top priorities be when you come to the district as superintendent and hit the ground running? >> Yeah, I think uh the very first priority cuz I think the um this is probably the most important one is meeting people, building relationships. Um although I know the the referendum or the bond would be in conjunction obviously with that but I think that's a part of building the relationships and building trust not only with people in the community but also my team you as a board um that's a a number one priority for me because I think that's how you move to get things done the way that you are expecting them to be done as a board. Um that's first and foremost. But then I'd say the second thing would be ensuring that the actions of the bond passing when that passed in April um ensuring that it stays on target. Um that the things that will be needing to be done with that are happening the way that they need to happen. But then I'm going to give you a third one. Um and that third one is is ensuring that what's expected for our students to grow is happening. I know we have some gaps. So having a focus on those gaps that exist to kind of see how can we turn the tide um for that. >> Thank you. >> Any other follow-up questions? If not, uh thank you Dr. Briggs. Uh thank you so much for joining us. Um Barb Don from MSBA will be in contact with you following our board's deliberation later today and we'd really really appreciate your interest in becoming our next superintendent. So thank you so much. >> Thank you all so much.