It has so much to do. A lot of like college students do that come back. >> Okay, we're going to call tonight's meeting to order. Joan, roll call. Director Chrisp here. Here. Director Hawker Here. Director Kelsenberg Here. Director Lawler Here. Director Parker Director Zeelander Here. Chair Sherman Here. You have a quorum. Great, let's stand for the pledge. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> [laughter] >> Okay, we're going to approve tonight's agenda next. I'll go ahead and make a motion to approve. Can I get a second? I'll second. Great, Director Zeelander with the second. All those in favor of approving tonight's agenda, raise your hand and say I. I. >> I. Opposed? Agenda is approved. We'll move on to the consent agenda. There are four items for today and um I will entertain a motion to approve consent. I'll move to approve. Great. I second. Great. We've got Katie with the um motion and Chris with the second. All those in favor of approving tonight's consent agenda, raise your hand and say I. I. I. I. Opposed? Consent agenda passes. Okay, our first item uh is a report from Brookview Elementary and we're going to bring Principal Brett Stringer in and I guess I'll just say really quick we had this going on quite a bit um and the previous was I guess last year um and we did skip Brookview. There was some We had leadership transition last year. >> leadership transition and so we had skipped it. So we're coming back Yeah. um and we're welcoming you. So thanks for coming here and updating us on Brookview. Great. Thank you so much for having me. Um so good evening everybody. Um good uh really proud to be up here. Oh, thank you. Um and have an opportunity kind of share about the work that we've done over the last year or so and the work that we have moving forward. Um so um I had the um opportunity at the end of last year to work with the staff um really intently and listen between January and the end of the year and that's kind of a unique situation for a new principal coming in. Um and so it gave us the opportunity to really hit the ground running at the beginning of this year. And the three themes that really came out of last year from our community and our teachers is that they wanted um they wanted to feel more joy in the school. They wanted um to feel high expectations both academically and behaviorally and they wanted accountability. Um and so at the beginning of every meeting that we've had this year whether it be with our PTA or our staff, we start with these. It's joy, high expectations and accountability. And yes, you can have all three um together. You can be joyous and you can also be accountable. So, I just want us to start there cuz that's really what's framed this entire year. A little bit about Brookview. We are different from the district averages in the sense that we have a higher free and reduced. The 12% of our multilingual students, those are just the students that are currently receiving multilingual support. When we talk about the students that are blessed to speak multiple languages, it's a much higher number and it's really it's really the piece that makes Brookview such a wonderful space is that we have so much language and culture and backgrounds in our in our building. Our special education is a little bit lower than the district average and our students of color is higher and we'll talk a little bit about that a little bit later. We're currently sitting about 610 students. That's pre-K through five. Next year our enrollment is a little bit lower. It's mainly because we have a really big fifth grade class that's moving on. So. Our strengths and our challenge our strengths, challenges and opportunities. Strengths, diverse community, student belonging, the building culture. That's both the building itself, but also the act of building our culture this year. And then our data-driven decision making. Challenges opportunities, diverse community is also one of our opportunities. Our year-to-year achievement is something that we're really looking and diving into as we move forward. Systems of support and communication. These are all some of our opportunities. Start with our community. So, if you I didn't put it in here, but I'm going to give a plug for our Instagram account. If you want to see joy, if you want to see creativity, you want to see student voice, we really try to highlight that on our social media. And so, this was a video that was put together earlier this year from our multilingual team that highlights some of the 27 languages that are spoken in our school. And so it's our students saying six seven in a variety of different languages and it's fun now to say six seven and watch eyes roll because it has like a trend. I mean as fast as it came in, I think when we came back from Christmas it was gone. >> [laughter] >> However, this video got about 350,000 views. >> Wow. And so we shared our community throughout the world and it was really cool to see the comments because people were like, where is this school? What is this school? Or people would add in, oh six and seven my language is this. So people started really interacting with our with our students just globally and so it was really cool. And there was just a tremendous sense of pride in our students when we got to show this and see see the popularity. So we can we can play it if we if we can hear it. sechs sieben sechs u 25 That's awesome. >> [laughter] >> It is awesome and it's it was just really cool in the moment too to just see the the pride that students had. Um you know, and just showing their language, right? And so language is such a beautiful way to tell our story. Um and to tell um and to share our culture. Is it going to work if I go to the next one? I know it's not working. It's not allowing me to connect. No, oops, sorry. Don't tell me to get rid of that. One sec. I got fancy by putting in a new a video. Well, anecdotally um I think Dr. Hawker and I can say because we live in the area, it's definitely the word of mouth is spreading and we hear a lot um I just do with in my circle, so Good. it's definitely drawing attention, so Good. Um so yeah, so one of our strengths um the other focus that we've been having our motto this year is you belong and so it's really we've been really intentional about creating a sense of belonging. Um like all the other elementary schools we um have administered two uh sense of belonging tests this year or sorry, assessments or surveys this year and so as our built team we looked at it, we saw where our strengths were that that highest one there I think is at 88% of our students um feel that their teachers care for them. So that's huge, right? So that they they really feel that they are cared for. The one that's on the bottom there, um it's still at like 60 66% um or so, but you can see that's what our built identified and it says that I um that I'm I consider myself an important part of the classroom. We wanted to dig into that and so we asked our kids, what would it mean to be an important part of the classroom? Um and it was great because you know, kindergarten it's everything from if I I in the front of the line that day. You know, to the fifth grade if my teacher's calling on me and sharing, right? So like we were able to dig into it and so we did see an increase in that because we asked and then we also showed them that we were listening. Our building culture We started the year Mark is here I believe and so just the building when the building was built there are nine words throughout the building that are on the locker bays and we ask questions what do these mean and and they're what you know our students are not able to say what they mean and so what we did at the beginning of the year was we created as a staff definitions for all those nine words. What does it mean? What does it look like from a student perspective? What does it look like from a staff perspective? And then there's nine words nine months and so we focused on a word each month and then we also celebrate our staff and our students based on the values that we're focusing on that month. And then we also just find regular opportunities for joy. The picture that's in that one is I bought matching jumpsuits for myself and our my assistant principal for our school wide rock paper scissors competition that we did. And so and and many people followed suit. There was a lot of tracksuits in the building that day [laughter] but we just had fun. So Data driven decision making we really have been focused on built and bolt. So built is our instructional leadership team bolt is our operational leadership team. And so when we look at our action cards the first three action goals are built and the fourth one is more of an operational. And so our built meets once a month our bolt meets four times a year. And every built meeting and bolt meeting we're looking at some data that's related to our action cards or to what we're looking at. We utilize bar we are a bar school we're heading into our fourth year we're just finishing our third year of implementation. We just spoke at the bar conference last uh 2 weeks ago about, you know, our process and how we have reset some of the expectations. Um, and then we really utilize our green room data to support students both proac- proactively and restoratively and making sure that we um are responding to our students' needs. On to our challenges and opportunities, again, um within our strength as being a diverse community, it's also an a challenge and an opportunity. Um, the picture that I showed of our staff, we have amazing staff, but if you look at the makeup of our staff compared to the makeup of our students, it looks very different. We bring very different backgrounds and very different stories into um into our into our building, which is a great thing, but we also need to acknowledge that the backgrounds that we have aren't aligned with some of the stories and the backgrounds of our kids. And so we have the work to do in front of us of understanding our community better. And so that's some of the work that we're going to be doing as we move into next year, um looking at our our culturally responsive teaching practices, um really looking at ourself and what our inherent historical biases may be. Um, and then authentically engaging with our community um for feedback and decision-making. So that's a huge piece as we look into next year as we're looking at our whole community and how do we get as much feedback on our decisions and the ways that we're supporting it, um and not just the historical um populations that we listen to. Um, with that we are a uh our school is a racially isolated school, um which I know there's been discussions at the board of kind of what that means, um but uh really um you know, we our student population, we have more students of color than other schools in the district percentage-wise. With that comes support, and with that comes a really um robust plan that we are creating that speaks to some of the goals around next year around addressing our biases, looking at culturally responsive opportunities for kids. Um Currently, uh the achievement integration plan play uh provides our engagement specialist and specifically at at Brookview, we have um Miss Ali who's absolutely amazing. Um and she is our uh Somali engagement specialist. With um the support that we're getting from MDE, we're we're looking to add more engagement specialists, but specifically um one to support all of our engagement specialists support all of our students, but also um we're looking for a Hmong uh engagement specialist that would be housed at Brookview. So, again, serve all students all students in the district, but utilizing the space that we have in the community that we have um specifically with our Hmong population cuz that is our second highest um uh population. Um and then as part of our plan, we'll look for our students to engage in other with other elementary students across um the district, but also outside the district um for real authentic engaging experiences. Um and then the the final piece was to focusing on teacher equity goals. That goes back to when we look at our professional development plan and our goals for next year as a staff. Um the uh the achievement in in integration plan will be integral as that. Can I ask a question on this slide? Um the engagement specialist, I think we all know what they do and how they work with uh students and families and honestly, whenever I think any of us go into the schools, they're quite popular and everyone's running to them and it's awesome to see. Can you speak maybe a little bit more broadly about at a at your school, which is more diverse, kind of how impactful those that that position is in within the building? Oh, yeah. I mean, she is a voice our community outside of our school, Um which is huge. And so, you know, our students, specifically our Muslim and our Somali students, really, you know, they see themselves in a person in the building, which alone is a huge thing. For our students to see themselves in our staff creates it again another higher sense of belonging. I think, you know, what Miss Ali does within our building, it's everything from one-on-one meetings that I may have with families that she has an inroad with the family or has a historical back or relationship with the family that would benefit my, especially in my first year, really understanding. I also she's also in the classroom supporting. She supports with communication. When we have our celebrations, she's front and center. She's she she and I are standing at the front door every day greeting students. She, you know, we also provide space for prayer. And so, and so, she really supports our families that. When we look at Ramadan, for example, that's a huge that's a month-long within our building. And so, she becomes that liaison between our Muslim community and the school to make sure that we're supplying what we need to with our students. And then also our non-Muslim, our non-Somali students to have that experience and to learn from her and to learn from others is really important, too. Great. Thank you. Mhm. Challenges, opportunities, you know, I think when you look at both our reading and our math achievement over the last few years, it's not the trajectory that we need it to be. And so, you know, this year we really focused on creating that sense of belonging and making sure that people still feel feel seen and heard. We focused on um expectations because ultimately what we want is we want our students in class learning from the wonderful teaching um that our teachers provide. And so um and that will increase um our achievement as well. So, um again, our our reading and then uh math scores over the last few years, it's not the trajectory that it that we need to be and we have um plans as we move into next year to be much more purposeful. Um um like all other elementary schools, we implemented a new literacy program this year um uh literacy curriculum and so real curious to see how kind of what we've seen from a weekly basis and a monthly basis with the with the unit planning, how that correlates to um uh to the MCA. Um we've seen some growth within East Bridge, but we'd like to see it obviously with MCA as well. Um And then finally, our opportunities uh systems of support. So, one thing moving into next year, um we're about into next year, which is about 60 or 70 students 60 or 70 um students >> [laughter] >> um less than we currently are and as you all know with the challenges that we've had uh moving into next year with budget, one of those pieces was that we've been blessed to have a half-time uh assistant principal between us and Lake Elmo. So, we won't have that heading into next year, which is a bummer. It It really because um not only is the position um been very uh supportive of our staff and our students, but also the person in that position um I've grown very close with and we work really well as a team. And so with that is just thinking about all the things that he has been working on this past year. I was also in that position in the previous year and so where are where is the support that how how he spending his days, right? And so we've looked at everything that we've collected this year around behavior and just support and and really think about how do we support and empower teachers, especially around those tier one behaviors, to build relationships with the kids and the families, but but still have the support of administration. Um I will say that from last year to this year, where we currently are, we've tracked all behavior incidents and we've been really into um in purposeful and looking at what the expectations are for our students, utilizing our behavior matrix. Everything's grounded in restorative practices. But to say like here's the behavior and here's what here's here's the response if we see this behavior over time. And being very clear with students and families around like if this, then this. Um and so, we have seen a right now it's between last year and this year, we've seen a 65% decrease in behavior incidents. And we're tracking everything. And so, again what that means is higher expectations, but it means that kids are in class. That's really what it comes down to is they understand what is expected of them, but also now they're in class learning more often from again the great teaching that our teachers have. So, to that will continue into next year and and we'll kind of evolve the system to make sure that we see that trajectory heading into next year as well. Um so, in summary, um can't say it loud enough, our diversity is our strength. That's something that I absolutely every school that I have led or taught in, I was a multilingual teacher in Denver, Colorado at a at a high school that was the second language magnet for the city other than Spanish. That's how I began my career. My first classroom had 23 kids in it with 11 different languages and none of them were English. And that was my very first teaching experience. And so when I say our diversity is our strength, I mean that wholeheartedly because it benefits all of the kids and all of the students in our entire community. Um our goal is that all students and staff will feel that they belong, are challenged to grow, and are supported to succeed. Um and I really feel when we look at this year, we have built the conditions for success. We've been clear. We've focused on clarity, consistency, and culture. And I think it's really set us up for next year. Um you know, this year was you belong, next year is level up. And so we're really focusing on leveling up everything that we have, our systems and our um and everything that we've built this year. Um and there's some great things here. Um before I close, I'm just I'm not going to walk around, but one thing that we've really focused on like I said is we've defined our our our uh our values. This month's value is collaborate. Um and our staff um defined it as a space where um staff, students, administration, families really work together for a better a better school environment. And so we end every staff meeting with buttons. It's very TGI Fridays, but >> [laughter] >> buttons. >> Flair. Um it's flair. It is flair. I'm not I don't hide from that. Um it is flair and so we end with just that we circle up and we give each other shout-outs based on our values. And so I did bring a collaborate pin for all of you um tonight because I do really feel the partnership between us is really important. And so I thank you for your collaboration. I also brought a ask me about Brookview pin um which you two have, I know. Um but when we're out in the community, we would love it if you could just kind of sing our praises and talk about the great work that we're doing. >> The raffle presided over here, sir. >> Sorry, I'll look on this side. >> [laughter] >> I'll focus on this side. I'll sing your praises. >> West Side Story. >> [laughter] >> Um yeah, just you know, we're doing so our teachers are doing it's teacher appreciation week. Our teachers are doing amazing work. We're just we're just working on system to make sure that they feel supported to do the great work. Awesome. So, that's it. I'll take any questions you may have. >> Questions? Good good stuff. Um so you had your I Love to Read Day uh a while back and I got to spend a good part of the day there reading Pete the Cat stories to all these different classes. And one is you have there's a lot of energy there. But also my takeaway was there was respect in every classroom that I went to. The kids were attentive and um and very respectful. And I know that comes from the teachers and then the kids um I just didn't see kids left out of the group. They're all part of it and I really admired that and wanted to point that out. So thank you. >> something that's built over time but we've really focused on it this year. It's making sure that people feel belonged. There's not there's not someone on the outer ring that we invite them in. So that's good to hear. Yes. So you said you give space for prayer. Mhm. And um so like in a like for Ramadan, I mean is there an opportunity to bring the whole school into that to to provide some some cultural awareness around I think yeah, I do yes, I do think that when we look at the different things that happen throughout the year, whatever the tradition of the culture may be, um that there's an opportunity there. I don't know that we've done it as well as we can. I think that like um for example, our um our multi lingual team has on every Friday has a culture club. And so at I think it's 1:30 every Friday, the students from different cultures kind of get together. Um this month they're presenting it, right? And and so they're having it's basically like kind of like a tri fold science show, right? Where but we're getting a chance for all students to come through and to students to share about their different cultures. I think we could do more things like that um throughout the year where students have a better understanding of like what that means when um okay, what is Ramadan? Um you know, what is the Chinese New Year? What is all of these things that we can do? I think we can be a much more purposeful in it. Okay. Yes. Thank you. Thank you for coming. This has been a great presentation um about Brookview. It's my home school, so I'm a little biased, but >> [laughter] >> Um but the slide where you talked about um your improvements in behavior and kind of how you guys were studying that, I wish you could talk a little bit more about are there any key learnings that can be shared with other schools? I mean, that's a drastic drop and I and I fully recognize sometimes just sometimes when classes mature or move through matriculate, sometimes that changes culture um in a school, but have there been have you guys been able to like pin down any key things that have really impacted that um behavior culture in your school? Yeah, I think that um you know, when we look at all of the leaders within the elementary schools, we've spent some time together thinking about or talking about um you know, our responses to behavior, right? And number one, we've sat down once or twice. We I I wish we could do it more and I think we probably will this summer is like, okay, here's the sense here's the incident that happened. How do you respond to it? Um and seeing where the similarities and the differences are. Um and so I think that's some more work that we can do. What we found initially is that we all have very similar approaches. I think philosophically we believe um in restorative practices. We we believe that every every every opportunity is a is a learning opportunity. Every incident is a learning opportunity and there's high expectations. I think the I think I can only speak to Brookview. I think the difference this this year is that we really kind of doubled down on how we talked about the expectations. I mean, I gave a presentation to all third, fourth, and fifth graders at the beginning of the year between the relationship between making making jokes roasting and bullying. Right? And how they're all related really and really the differences like roasting we can roast each other on the basketball court and we can roast each other but as soon as whoever you're roasting is no longer finds it funny and they tell you to stop and you continue well that's where we turn over into bullying, right? And so we've been real intentional in in in our conversations and and and also you just have to repeat it. You just have to repeat it, repeat it, repeat it and so now students are getting to that space where they recognize it and they recognize that like oh if you do this this is going to be the response and so I'd rather not do that. So I I can only speak to Brookview that that like that's what we've really really focused on is the language within the behavior matrix but also just like the supports that we have for our students. Our greeters, our paras, like who are those people? I always ask people who are the people your students who are the five adults in this building that you trust and it never fails that everybody always has five. Do you have five adults in this building that you can trust then go to that person when you feel unsafe. They also know that my number one job is safety. So that's that's above anything else is to make sure that they feel safe so that they can learn. Yes, Dr. Funk. I'll answer that question. Consistency, clarity, and follow-through. That's the difference. That makes sense. Yeah. And I love hearing that you're using the behavior matrix because we did a lot of talk around the racial identity harm protocols and the behavior matrix. And so to see those being used to such a great success. I mean, that's kudos to you and your staff for reducing that those behavior referrals. So >> Yeah. Excellent. Mhm. Uh Principal Stringer, thank you for your time and the great work that you're doing at uh Brookfield. Um along with those buttons, hopefully you can pass around some of that those really sweet uh tracksuits as well for all the >> [laughter] >> Sure. They weren't expecting As soon as they came, I was actually surprised. I was like, "Oh, this is higher quality." cuz I think I paid like 20 bucks. [laughter] >> Yeah. No, pretty retro. Um so, you had mentioned, you know, obviously one of the biggest strengths and the you know, challenges is diversity. And so, with other of your your peers in different buildings, uh you know, what do you share What can you share? What do you recommend is that you have such a rich culture because of that diversity that some of the schools that lack that a level of diversity, you know, how can they best incorporate those types of things in the ways that uh maybe can't be fully replicated um and maybe we can't always do that full collaboration where students from Brookfield are going to Rutherford or wherever, you know, because of logistics. But what do you share with them as you look at ways that they can enhance their understanding, awareness, and um empathy? I mean, not to be like a plug for BAR, but I think that plays a big piece of it, right? When we talk when we we have, you know, every Wednesday afternoon, most of our Wednesday afternoons, if it's not a staff meeting, it's a BAR meeting. So, it's a small block or it's a big block. And so, as part of that, you start number one with strength-based. You talk about the strengths of the kids. And number two, you talk about their connections to the school and and otherwise. And through that, you really I mean, we have, you know, spreadsheets of like, we really know our kids. And so, within that, we know the different cultures. We know the different uh backgrounds. We know their families. Um and so I would think number one it's again it's just a it's a system to know your kids. It's a system to know your families. It's one thing to say diversity is our strength and and then just stop there. It's another thing to really be intentional about how you're learning the different um backgrounds of the different members. I think any of our schools when you look at our schools yes our school is is more diverse but I think any of our schools has they have so many things to celebrate. Um you know and I mean I think I saw a couple schools this year that during November they had uh Native American families come in and do drum circles and things like that. You may not have any students that are that identify as Native American but to have somebody come in and do a rain dance or to do a drum circle is so beneficial for everybody. So I think it's again it's it's intention and it's and it's being purposeful in your plan at the beginning of the year to say this is what we're going to do these months because it's so easy to get into the months and then it just like oh November just went by and we didn't do anything to honor this group or whatever it may be. So it's just to that that level of intention. Thanks. Thank you. Can I just piggyback off that? Um if there were any opportunities for to interact um bring Brookview with I don't know Stone Bridge or some something to bring them together. Um I would love to hear about those opportunities. I know um Caitlin I'm looking at you. I was definitely listening in your um A&I plan that there that is one of the things that we're working on is trying to have that inter school um learning opportunities. So I would love to hear next year or the year after. >> and that's a big part of what Caitlin and I were working closer to kind of figure out what that actually looks like. Awesome. Thank you. You may have told me or somebody did but I think you also have record numbers of kids entering band and orchestra programs. Maybe I heard that from you or from Dennis Lindsay. And I think that's great in a number for a number of reasons. One is your diverse school and you have a lot of these people entering band and how that's just going to feed the uh middle school and the high school uh programs down the road. Is that true? You still have a lot of people >> have a really high participation. I think it's in the single digits of students that aren't participating. We had um we had a big day six is always when they get together and so they were all in the cafeteria this afternoon. Um and so yeah, it's a it's a very high number. Thanks. Can I ask um just because when I was looking at the presentation before the meeting, I don't know if it wasn't on there or I didn't understand this so I just want to make sure I'm clear. The survey that you conducted that was a student survey? Yes. Okay. Every every elementary gives that survey. Every building in the district gives that survey. Oh, okay. Sense of belonging. Okay. That's great cuz that was my question where I'm like is that kind of going out to everyone and then do our teachers get um included in that belonging survey or do you know? It's actually been a an idea of like >> Oh, okay. So we we're talking about our students. What is our teachers' sense of belonging? I think that we do things on a district level. Um you know, but I'd love to kind of figure out something with the staff, too. Right. Um and then I know part of that diverse culture, I remember at the partnership plan um they were talking about the cooking club. Do you guys still do that? >> Mhm. Yep, that's the culture club. So the culture club >> culture club worked with the partnership plan and so where culture club is, there's a bunch of opportunities. >> I love I just that that has always stuck out at me because like every like other things, food and culture hand go hand in hand and it was just really cool to they used to do like a recipe book and I thought I got to get my hands on one of those. >> [laughter] >> But thank you very much. And then I just want to acknowledge you know, I appreciate your honesty about losing the assistant principal. I don't think there's anyone at this table that you know, is happy about that. And so just wanting you to know and your staff to know that what we are trying to do Dr. Funk his team and the board is advocate for for better funding so that we can put those we know that that's a key position in in our build in our larger building. So Thank you. I know it's going to be more on you and more on your staff and so we're just appreciative, grateful and cognizant of the challenges it brings. So Great. Well, thank you so much for this update. I'm so glad that you're having a great year and kudos to you mentioned it's staff appreciation week and so we were going to bring that up later. I'm sure someone along the lines but it's a good time just to shout out all of our staff and all of our buildings and how much we appreciate everything they do. So thank you. Okay. Great. Thank you. Thank you. Appreciate it. Thank you very much. All right. Our next item here is a report and it's a curriculum adoption update for Amigos Unidos. So welcome Sky and Caitlin. Good evening. Okay, welcome. Good evening. Thanks Thank you for having us. If you remember a little over a year ago Sky and I were here asking you for a substantial amount of money to um implement the English literacy curriculum adoption. So fast forward a little over a year now and we have completed the review process for our Amigos Unidos K-5 curriculum review process. And so we're here tonight to walk through what that process look like and give you our final recommendation as well as a price point and then we'll be back in two weeks to ask for an action on that. Um I'm basically just going to bookend this presentation [laughter] and mostly leave it to Sky to talk through. Um but the the main reason for the delay, like why did we not come to you a year ago when we adopted English was we were waiting for additional guidance from the Department of Education specific to immersion programming related to literacy and the Read Act. Um and while that guidance didn't look the same as it did for English where it was very specific and there were very specific curricula that you could consider, um there were specific characteristics that they identified of things they want to see within a curriculum. So we used that to guide this adoption. Thank you. Hello everyone. It's good to be back uh talking about a very similar thing that's very important to me. >> [clears throat] >> So as Caitlin said, we started our journey as soon as we got information from the state, which was early October. And so we created our committee of teachers. Uh we had representation from our ML teachers, our special education teachers, our classroom teachers, a principal, as well as district leadership. And um we went fast and furious through it. We hit the ground running with we had some ideas of what some good curriculums were just based on districts around us, based on the Read Act, based on the rubrics that we had. And so we took a look at four of them um between November and December. We started looking at What happens is they come in, they present to you, they show you all the bells and whistles, but then you actually get to get your hands in there and um actually feel the materials and see what's in there, which is great. Uh from there, we ended up narrowing it down to two. There were really two frontrunners. One of them being Benchmark Adelante, which is the counterpart of our current K-5 adoption, Benchmark Advance, as well as um Caminos, which is an Amplify product. And so those are two very highly used ones. Um and they are two very different curricula. So it was an interesting uh experience to go through both of them. And in March we were able to get parent and community feedback. We had a great turnout at Lake Elmo. Um several families, several teachers were coming through, even a couple of community members were just curious to see them, gave us some really good feedback and were able to say that they've been hearing from their teachers what they were looking for and really advocating for what they wanted for their students. And from there we came back together and I'd say our committee was about 50/50 at that point between which one they wanted. And so that final day uh we thought about how are we going to get them you know, to sort of agree. We always said it doesn't have to be 100% unanimous because we didn't want to hold off. We knew we needed a new curriculum, but we wanted it to be a major majority. Um and so what we did is we stripped it all the way down to There are two lessons that they're going to sit here and plan. And so we went uh full in on one of the curricula. They planned for the same standard across both curricula and really got their feet in there. How does it work to plan? What are the slides or what are the pieces I need to be able to pull up? What am I prepping for and about how long did it take me? And from there we got great feedback from the teachers of it was a completely different experience and that I have them stand up, line up on like where are you at from one side to the other and I thought that they hadn't started yet because they were all standing together and so then I prompted them again. Like I need you to go where you're at on the on which side you're at. And they're like, "No, we're done." And I was I thought we were going to be there for another good 45 minutes kind of sparring back and forth, verbally sparring, not physically sparring, about [laughter] which one they wanted and they had all gone through that experience and decided that they wanted to go with Benchmark Adelante. So here is I did a lot of talking on that slide, but here's a really cute picture of our kindergarteners at the emergent program practicing their letter formation. And this is the process that we go through. This is with all committee processes. So, our math committee follows a very similar one. It doesn't matter in language of you form your committee, you review curricular presentations, you narrow it down, you deep dive in, and then we get feedback. Also, our feedback from our community members and families was also 50/50 split. So, going into that final day, I was like no matter which one we choose, we'll be a really good curriculum for our students, families, and teachers. Here we're at with our Benchmark Adelante, which is the same as Benchmark Advance just in Spanish. And what really stands out about this is its rich diverse text, as well as the comprehensive literacy approach. And so, what we mean by comprehensive here is that you're going to do your learning to read, your learning to comprehend, your writing, your speaking, and your listening, hitting all of those standards within one block and one curriculum broken up throughout what it looks like throughout the day. And with a huge focus on critical thinking. So, what does it mean to think deeper about an advanced text? And it provides teachers with professional development, as well as support, and a big digital integration piece there that fully fits in with what we already have going. So, our clever badges, families will be able to see through the program the same way that they're logging into everything else. It won't be an additional step. Here is a graph. It's pretty small up there. Um but what you'll see here is the purple are non-Benchmark districts, and the blue are Benchmark districts. And what you'll see is that over the first year, and this is standardized testing including Minnesota, as well as California, and Colorado, as well as Michigan. So, four different states, they found that students using Benchmark Adelante or Benchmark Advance were making about 15% growth even over the first year. I don't have finalized FastBridge data. It finishes up on Friday, but hopefully by the time we're coming back here, we'll be able to say if we are seeing the exact same type of growth, which is an exciting piece here. >> have MCAs in the fall, right? And we will have MCAs in the fall. Yes, this is a good moment to remind everyone that because it's a new MCA this year, there's rule setting that happens over the summer, and then we get these in the fall. Normally though, after that, we will get them in the spring in alignment with everything else. I am excited to see how we do on a new test with a new curriculum. We have a lot of changes that will factor into this coming year. Um this graph is looking at the similar data, except for what you'll see is the purple one is districts who do not use Benchmark programming. Um and then you'll see in the middle the Benchmark Advance. So, that's your English only, and then on the end, those are your dual immersion program. So, schools that are using both the Spanish and the English side here. >> [clears throat] >> This is pretty in aligned with what we see with dual immersion programs. And as well as that you'll see faster growth later on. And so, it's important to note you don't always see it right away in the kinder and first grade data, but you see more growth over time, and that has been consistent within our district as well as that dual immersion kind of takes off in that third, fourth, fifth when it comes to standardized testing measures, um and more growth over time. This is a good graphic that shows what our literacy block really does look like. So, we are developing those strong foundational skills. So, this will be in Spanish and in English, and then they start to build knowledge through vocabulary, different perspectives. They read really diverse and um engaging texts. And so, what families will see is each unit comes with uh we call them magazines. So, they're a paper magazine that the student gets to take home with them at the end that really dives into different texts within the unit, different responses within it, and then on the back it also has activities for families to dive a little bit deeper. And that will be in Spanish as well for our students. And then really teaching to reach each learner. So, that doesn't mean using small groups. We've actually found that a robust tier one for all is the best way to start that. So, holding all students to that academic excellence piece while supporting students to get there. I get this question a lot. So, I wanted to take the opportunity here of what does it mean to be dual language? What are we shooting for by the end of a dual language program at Stillwater? And so, this is a look at our knowledge building piece of our ELA block. So, in kindergarten, that's completely in Spanish. So, 100% of that is going to happen in Spanish as well as first and second grade. Then when we get to third grade, we start to add in that English side. So, it's an 80% Spanish starting to introduce a 20% English in there. So, with this new curriculum, it will look like out of 10 units, two might be completely in English whereas eight will still be fully in Spanish. By fourth grade, we're getting to that 70/30. So, even more so. And then by the end of fifth grade, we really do want it to be a 50/50 split in Spanish and in English to get that dual literacy piece there. What this will look like over time. So, I did bring this up. A typical adoption in any ELA program, you're not going to see it in one year. You have to look at it as a full 3 years because it is a big block. So, we're talking 120 minutes of the day over 3 years, we get really good at it. Year one, we're just trying to get in alignment. What does it look like to teach it? What does it look like to learn it? And then year two, you start to refine that. Now that we have all the kinks out, how do we go deeper into the content? And then year three on, you're really working to sustain it and really make it our own. So year one, it's like out of the box, what does this look like? And then by year three, we look at it out of the box, but what do we need more in Stillwater, too? What have we found through data and through our experience that makes this really special here at Stillwater? Our expected outcomes and accountability, we will continue to give a survey throughout to get our teacher um feedback as well as analyzing our data from standardized tests. That's both universal screeners, their unit assessments, as well as the MCA at 3:00 through 5:00, and giving it [clears throat] time for student progress. It's always important to note when you do a K-5 adoption, although that is the best way to adopt and that's been proven time and time again, it does leave your third, fourth, and fifth graders a little bit in the dark for a minute, right? Because they're missing that K-1-2 experience within it. And so to see a little bit of an implementation lag of wait, what does this look like? I've been in school for a long time and this is not how I usually did it. That goes away over time, too. So our fourth graders going into fifth, they already know the routine. So next year we'll start off a lot faster for them as well. And you get to talk about the money. >> to talk about the money. That's the not fun part. So uh we are looking at a total implementation cost over 6 years of 172,593. Uh that is like front-end costs and it will cover 6 years of implementation. So it will be something that we would pay now and then it would get us through the next 6 years. It includes the materials for teachers, the materials for students, professional development, and then ongoing support as we need. I think um when I was trying to budget for this, I tried to extrapolate, okay, here's what we spent on Benchmark Advance for X number of students and classroom sections, and apply that to Amigo Sanitos sections, and I very quickly learned that that math doesn't math. So, um something that I just think is important for you to know is that the texts for uh our Amigo Sanitos curriculum are authentic Spanish texts, which means we're getting texts from Argentina, from Spain, from Mexico, um from all over places across the world, and that comes with a higher cost, right? So, we have additional shipping costs, additional taxes and tariffs that we are navigating. So, it does make it a more expensive purchase. Mhm. This is not a fair question cuz you weren't in your role. I don't think it's a fair question for you, either, Skye. How much has the district spent on curriculum during the first seven or eight years? Probably just K-5 at Lake Elmo, or has this been a building-level initiative? That, the second. Um I mean, I to your point, I couldn't quote you like specific numbers because I came at this a little bit later in this in this role, and then they were already established, but it has been a very like grassroots, ground-level, building-level uh program development over time, and with that meant there was a lot of fractured curriculum. There's some good things and some good pieces, but they are not consistent across classrooms, across grade levels. Um the PTA has been amazing at supporting with additional supplementary type curricula. Frankly, that should be our responsibility, and we're rectifying that now. Also, we've scaled that program, right? So, it when it started, it was a two classroom, you know, two teacher, four teacher. When you're talking about a program that small, you do it does make a lot of sense to kind of manage these things at the building level. Well, now we're up to 14 or 15 teachers K-5 and it it needs a real systems level look, which is what we're doing um with this curriculum adoption and frankly what we did with our K-8 program. We hired a consultant to really dig deep and review what are the needs of immersion to uh grow and improve um what we're already doing. [cough] So, the the point being this is a significant ask and it's paid for through capital dollars. So, this is not coming out of our you know, when you're looking at the 5.5 million um reductions we're doing. Um but you know, Caitlin and I met with the teachers two, three months ago and they are doing great things in that building. Um but there has never been till now, really, a district level uh investment besides staffing into the program. And so, um you know, I I think and you know, I met with the uh parent group of Amigos Unidos last November and with Carissa. And one of the things that they were really clear about is, you know, all right, is this important to the district? We need to see that, you know, this is important. Why don't we have a new curriculum? And we told them it's coming and and now it's here. So, uh I think this is a investment that is well worth it um as these kids uh as we continue to expand the program and this will help us best meet their needs. Great. Thank you. Any questions from the board? Or Second, Aurora. Yes. Staying on this slide. Um so, total implementation over 6 years, is there additional cost going forward then that will be an ongoing cost that you can anticipate or Beyond the 6 years, yeah, we would have to replace um the student materials. Sometimes we need to replace teacher materials or um buy more of Hopefully, we're going to grow enrollment, right? And then we would have to invest in additional teacher materials and and at the end of the 6 years, student materials. Would it be the same amount or would you expect it to be less? Is there anything that will be sustained longer than 6 years? I would anticipate less. You might know more, but we won't have the same level of in-depth support and PD necessarily. We'll probably be able to do some of that internally, in-house. So, I suspect it should be less. I am learning a lot about the costs associated with um immersion-specific materials because you are pulling them from places that aren't necessarily the publisher in Minneapolis, right? So, I say that with caution. And we wouldn't need to buy the large set of teacher materials again at the 6-year. Like those would stay throughout. So, it would be replacing those student year-by-year pieces of it, um which can depend on enrollment. We might have um more or less just in storage as we go through as well. Great. Thanks. Go ahead. I would just say I don't know what my basis of thought here is, but that sounds like a small number. You [laughter] know, it doesn't seem like like that's a lot to ask for cuz especially considering the success of the program and and the growth. I mean, it's just it makes a lot of sense. So, again, I'm not not a materials expert, but Yeah, I wanted to go to Q really quick. Yeah, I don't know if this is the end and the time for questions or I can I can save it, but it is all right. take >> [laughter] >> Um This is a K-5 curriculum, but we also have uh um the AI now in uh or AU in uh sixth grade, right? And will be sixth >> Mhm. We have currently? Yep. Yep. So, our our This is the first cohort of AU is moving to the high school next year. But this particular curriculum is K-5. Does it feed well into whatever's happening in sixth, seventh, eighth grade? It does. Um what they're what they're doing right now is a lot of teacher-created curricula that they've written. Um it's it's good. It's aligned with standards. There is definitely some work to be done still. Um that is certainly more information I could bring back around the consultant and the work that she has done in evaluating our program and kind of our best next steps as a district to grow and improve. And there are opportunities. Um we're looking at I mean, Skye's going to be doing social studies work next year with all of our teachers and a component of that social studies work is also at the middle school it's the 6-8 program. We do a Spanish The the AU program takes social studies in Spanish. So, there's some opportunity to tie some of that work with a curriculum review next year for social studies. Um and then we also have just hired an AU immersion coordinator. And so, a lot of that she will bring that expertise to how to scale this uh curricular work up into the sixth through eighth grade and beyond. We're looking at some some good courses uh specific for our AU students moving into the ninth grade next year. Okay, let me say that back. So, they um it's they're they're for the K-5, but they will also work with the 6-7-8 grade. This curriculum doesn't. >> coordinator though. Yeah, the the curriculum coordinator will. Yep, the curriculum coordinator Well, she's a AU immersion coordinator. so she'll work K through eighth and and support at the high school as they're starting to build out courses as well. Okay. Dr. Funk. Yeah, I just want to say thank you to teaching and learning. You know, this is the third um oh really second, the third one is math coming up. Um but it's the it's the third second literacy curriculum that we have adopted. And Sky, you've been here, you know, as long as I have now. And every single time we adopt a curriculum we hear about the collaboration between our administration our teachers our feedback from the wider community and and the impact on students. And so this is just a great example of us working together to best meet the needs of our students and we do it time and time again in a year's time from now or in a year from now, I'm hopeful to hear what we're doing with math. So, kudos to you and and the team in teaching and learning. Thank you. Good job, Sky. Oh, you go ahead, Amy. >> Yeah, no, I will also Dr. Funk and I would echo those sentiments. Um you know, appreciate the passion and enthusiasm that you uh both bring to um all things curriculum. So, it's definitely exciting as a board I think to be able to feel uh so confident in the the comprehensive process and the collaboration that takes place to try to put forth the best curriculum for our kids so that they can be future ready um and we can best prepare our teachers to be successful in the classroom as well. So, uh big kudos and thank you to you both. Um as this curriculum relates to uh maybe some of our uh peer districts um how does this compare? It seems like this there was kind of two main players it seemed like that kind of came to the top. Is that pretty much what other districts see? Does this going to help differentiate us as we look to attract students and continue to grow you know the UA program? That's a great question and one that we looked at as well. I would say that most of the districts especially surrounding us are either an amplify district or a benchmark district and it seems to be one or the other. We even had some families who came to the night of the immersion night where we were showing curriculums where they said, you know what's weird is in my district that these are the two that we came down to as well and then we went with this one like teachers who are teaching in other areas. And so I do think that those are the top runners. We know that Forest Lake we've been partnering with Forest Lake there a couple of years ahead of us on the adoption and so they both have an immersion program as well as use benchmark in their English programs. We were able to bring some teachers there to learn some things from their teachers and then we've traded with they've come to us to learn about you fly because we're a couple little bit ahead on them. So we're really trying to build out that collaboration with other districts. We've also worked with Edina. They're in a very similar spot as us as having adopted the English side this year the Spanish side going into next year and so trying to build that collaboration so that we're not feeling like we're doing it alone especially with the changes of the read act and it's a big overhaul. It's almost 50% of a teachers curricular time and day when you change literacy and then what we did was we changed two of our literacy ones all at once and so our teachers have worked so hard this year to do so much for our students and I am just grateful that they're sticking with it. A new curriculum is really hard. It changes everything and so I'm excited to go into next year. I've been hearing more and more like oh it's starting to make sense or I'm starting to see the payoff which is what you want to be hearing in the spring and so going into next year I'm excited to see how we get even further into that too. Sounds like a good marketing opportunity, so. >> [laughter] >> So, one cute story here. So, the the sixth graders they I went with them on their trip to the capital and the Fort Snelling. And it's a great group of kids. They're just fun to to spend the day with. But at the capital the guides and then also our representatives would come and address these kids and talking to them in English. And then the teacher then to follow up with the kids would speak in Spanish. Just to the surprise of the guide or the representatives like they didn't know these were Spanish immersion kids. They just were kids. And so all of a sudden they're speaking in another language to them. These These other adults are just giving them a real funny look at what is going on here. But the kids were really good and I just really appreciated glad to have this opportunity to say that. Great. Um I think I just wanted to clarify too when we're looking at this investment this is all um based on the science of reading. And it's it compliant with the READ Act. And so it's really taking a significant I mean this is not a small little boutique program anymore. This is half of the Lake Elmo Elementary School almost in a large part. So, we're talking these kids who are currently not benefiting from some of that structured literacy curriculum that we have. So, um I mean I I would love if we were getting full funding for everything we're doing with the READ Act. But >> [laughter] >> um But I But I don't know that's going to happen and um in the meantime we have kids that need to learn how to read. And um we know that this is a proven way to do that. So, I appreciate your time and your effort and um and the board's support in getting our students what they need to to do that. So, Well, thank you. I think that for me the one of the favorite things about this specific adoption is that I got to learn so much, right? Because I am I don't come to this from a background of dual language immersion programming. So, to sit through and and listen to the teachers and listen to how they think about teaching and by literacy was just a a wonderful experience for me as well and I I cannot speak highly enough of our Amigos Sin Nidos team at Lake Elmo. So, thank you for joining. >> Great. Um so, this is just a report. If you have questions, um go ahead and get those to Dr. Funk and Caitlyn. And ask them all. If I don't know how to answer them, I'll Okay. Great. Okay, thank you very much. Um so, before we recessed to tour Lake Elmo Elementary as a board, we're going to go offsite again and do our second elementary tour. I just wanted to acknowledge the efforts of Zach and Aurora. This will be our last meeting with them um as they graduate and and wrap up their responsibilities. So, I wanted to if you had any um farewell words you wanted to say or if any of the board directors want to share comments, but I'll start with you guys. Yeah, I can start. Um it's been really fun being part of the board. I feel like at the beginning I was like really nervous, but all of you guys have been really welcoming and really nice. So, yeah, that's like about all I have, but I got definitely like more comfortable in this position and learned a lot. And then, sorry. Um to piggyback Sorry. [clears throat] To piggyback off what Aurora said, it's just been an honor to work with all of you guys. All the leadership skills that we've learned here and outside the board, inside the board, it's just been truly amazing to work, get all the experience and try to make our school a better place and we can't thank you guys enough for this opportunity. It's been a great year. Well, thank you. Um any any comments from the board or Director Kelsenberg? We're all nervous when we start out also and sitting up here in front of everybody. And I've I've run into you in town in different places, and I know that you're not just you're your student representative, but you're also working in town. I see you at Starbucks. I see you at at Cub Foods. You guys are doing things and in this as well. So, well done. Thank you. Yes. And I would say like your predecessors before you that that have served in in that position, you guys have been great to be willing to share your ideas. You know, I mean the the student voice is so important in in what we're doing, you know, because it could easily get lost. You know, we we're talking about numbers and you know, and all that and it's like but but what's the impact? So, thank you and best of luck moving forward. Yes. Thank you. Um thank you both. Um I think it's just great to see young people who are um participating um and just engaged in these processes that I think can seem really tedious and boring and um and and maybe not feel impactful and but these are the things that that keep our civic institutions running and just the engagement um from the younger generation. I just I think it's great. So, thank you both so much. Did you Yeah, no, I Well, thank you both. Uh you both have been really great to have on the board. Just great people, really excited for uh your future endeavors and um you know, you're definitely going to uh make Stillwater proud just like your predecessors. So, we've been very lucky to have some really great people come through as board representatives and uh you guys have definitely done that and more. Um so, just want to wish you the best and and thank you. And uh you know, just keep us posted on all your uh successes and fun things that are happening uh as you continue to uh move forward into adulthood. So, so thank you for sharing your time and and just, you know, kind of saying a word to what Sarah mentioned, you know, just kind of setting the the stage and the tone for people to follow because it's never easy to kind of lead from the front and put yourself out there. So, it's been really great to see you guys both grow and learn in your roles and I know only will be make you more successful as you move forward. So, thank you. Thank you. Um everybody said it so well already. Um but you guys have been just wonderful to work with and I really appreciate all all of you showing up and coming and participating. That's a huge part of this. Um and I'm curious if you guys don't mind sharing, do you are you thinking about going into any kind of leadership positions or pursuing leadership in another way, maybe in your next chapter of life? I'm I'm not sure exactly what you guys are doing after this. >> are you doing if you don't? [laughter] Maybe you can I'm going to Montana State University for nursing. Excellent. So, I'm not like doing like direct direct like leadership like politically, I guess, but like I definitely want to like be able to make my way up. I want to become a CRNA at some point a nurse anesthetist. So, there'll definitely just be a lot of leadership. I feel like that'll come naturally just through like my work and what I end up doing. Yeah, in the hospital. [laughter] And then I'll be attending Loyola University in Chicago and as of right Oh my gosh, sorry. >> [laughter] >> As of right now, I'm doing marketing and I really want to do in-person marketing leadership opportunities and just you know, Chicago's a great place, lots of stuff going on. So, not sure exactly what I want to do more specifically, but I have a general idea of what I would want to do and I'd love to continue leadership. Great. Awesome. Thanks, guys. Dr. Fung? Yeah, I just want to say thank you to both for your candor and your courage. You know, we we are doing a lot of changes in our district, you know, over the past few years. And we are making these recommendations and decisions to improve the student experience. And, you know, one of them we're going through right now is our high school schedule. And I really have appreciated hearing the excitement from you cuz it's not necessarily popular. Okay, we're asking our teachers to do some things that are are different and it's it's it's a change and, you know, when you have an organization where folks have been doing the same thing for you know, 25 years and suddenly now we're saying, "Okay, we want you to do something different." Um it it can be hard and we you know, we appreciate all the efforts that they are putting into getting ready for next next fall, but I think it was real important for the board to hear and for Mr. Bach and his team to hear your level of excitement even though you guys are moving on. But you were able to to really represent the high school student body and share your your thoughts and and you know, what what the student uh perspective of that impact was going to be. And these things are not necessarily the most popular, but what we're trying to do is I said that is what's best for our students and and ultimately what's best for the district and you played both have played a very significant role in that. So, thank you for that. Thank you. Um just I mean, I would echo everything that's already been said, but just on a personal level, I I have so appreciated both of your guys' level of engagement. I think people in the community don't understand exactly the work and the time that you do put in in you know, out before you get to these meetings, you're you're aware of the agendas, you're studying the same information, you're asking the same questions. I know both of you spend a lot of time talking to staff, talking to students, and reaching out outside your circle um of friends and influence to really get um tapped into a broader perspective. And you've been both you're so good at sharing that broader perspective here on some really pivotal initiatives. And although you weren't here for the decision that we made on some of these, but the calendar, the personal devices, you actually were the ones that kind of saw it live and year one and in action and your um steadfast kind of feedback along the way was so helpful for me. And Aurora, I remember just you at the MSBA conference, that was the first. And I hope it's the first of future leadership opportunities that our Stillwater representatives, student representatives take because that student voice is so and I mean that's why we're all here. And so it often gets lost in the conversation and you really specifically, thank you for your efforts in preparing um for that. And I hope that you learned something from it. It was certainly really well received. Um and so I just hope that everyone here knows that Zack and Aurora, they both just put a lot of work and time into this. And um and so it's greatly appreciated. It helps us be a better board. Um and it helps provide that information to our decision makers, our educational leaders, and to the board itself. So I you always I always say this like you've got the your your um people coming next year have big shoes to fill. And I feel like that's we're privileged because every year I feel like we're saying that. Um and the next kind of generation, next year's team will come up and do just as good. And um we are just so fortunate to have some amazing student representatives. So uh thank you for everything you've done. THANK YOU >> [applause] >> ALL RIGHT. WELL, YOU GUYS ARE INVITED, BUT I know you're it's end of year flurry and busy for you, but we're going to recess here. We'll adjourn at Lake Elmo. So, we will go to our our new building. So, thank you guys. We're on recess and we'll meet at Lake Elmo.