WELL, GOOD EVENING, IT'S 7:01, WELCOME TO THE GARLAND INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT
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DISTRICT AFFAIRS COMMITTEE MEETING.OUR COMMITTEE MEMBERS ARE HERE AS WELL AS THE REST OF THE BOARD.
ITEM NUMBER TWO, THIS MEETING IS BEING HELD IN ACCORDANCE BY THE ORDER OF
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GOVERNOR GREG ABBOTT'S EXECUTIVE ORDER ON SEPTEMBER 17TH.2020 AND THE TEXAS HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES.
THESE MODIFICATIONS ARE NECESSARY TO PROMOTE THE HEALTH AND SAFETY OF THE GARLAND ISD COMMUNITY AND TO COMPLY WITH GOVERNMENTAL ORDERS, AS WELL AS GUIDANCE FROM HEALTH AUTHORITIES.
ITEM NUMBER THREE IS A PUBLIC FORUM.
MECHELLE DO WE HAVE ANY CARDS FOR READING TONIGHT? OK, WE HAVE NO NO PUBLIC COMMENT TONIGHT.
WE'LL GO TO NUMBER FOUR, WHICH IS SUPERINTENDENTS MESSAGE, DR.
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LOPEZ.TODAY, WE GOT SOME MORE REALLY DEEP CONVERSATIONS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN WITH OUR PRESENTATIONS, PARTICULARLY WITH OUR SPECIAL ED AUDIT UPDATE.
I'M REALLY ENCOURAGED BY THIS AND ALSO OUR ACADEMIC RECOVERY PLAN.
SO YOU GET AN IDEA OF TWO THINGS THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE DOING THAT REALLY SERVE OUR CHILDREN AT THE DEEPEST LEVELS.
WELL, LET'S GET RIGHT INTO IT.
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INFORMATION ITEM NUMBER FIVE, STARTING ON PAGE THREE, DR.JAVON WELLS, MELISSA ROBERTS, WE'RE GOING TO SEE THE RECEIVE THE PRESENTATION ON THE SPECIAL EDUCATION AUDIT UPDATE.
COMMITTEE CHAIR MILLER, TRUSTEES.
THIS EVENING, YOU WILL RECEIVE A DETAILED PRESENTATION FROM REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE PUBLIC CONSULTING GROUP, ALSO REFERRED TO AS PCG.
MELISSA ROBERTSON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF SPECIAL EDUCATION AND I HAVE BEEN PLANNING A MEETING WITH THE TEAM EACH WEEK AND WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF SCHEDULING FOCUS GROUP MEETINGS AND INVITATIONS ARE GOING OUT.
TRUSTEES WILL ALSO BE INVITED TO INTERVIEW TO SOLICIT SOME INFORMATION ABOUT OUR SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS AND GARLAND ISD.
JUST TO LET YOU KNOW, THIS PROCESS HAS BEEN VERY STRATEGIC AND BOTH MS. ROBERTSON AND I HAVE ENJOYED WORKING CLOSELY WITH THIS TEAM OF EXPERTS AND WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO THE FINDINGS AND THE PLAN FORWARD TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE IMPROVING ALL ASPECTS OF SPECIAL EDUCATION IN GARLAND ISD.
SO AT THIS TIME, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO I'LL INVITE MS. ROBERTSON TO THE PODIUM TO INTRODUCE THE TEAM AND BEGIN THE PRESENTATION.
CHAIRMAN MILLER, BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND DR.
LOPEZ, THANK YOU FOR HAVING US THIS EVENING.
AS DR. WELLS MENTIONED, WE'RE GOING TO BE INTRODUCING THE PROGRAM REVIEW PROJECT TO YOU THIS EVENING.
AND SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE DR.
JENNIFER MILLER, WHO IS HEADING UP THE TEAM OF NATIONAL EXPERTS WHO ARE COMING IN TO HELP US WITH OUR REVIEW.
WE ARE SO EXCITED TO BE HERE AND HAVE THOROUGHLY ENJOYED THE WORK WE'VE DONE SO FAR TO GET GOING ON THE SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAM REVIEW.
I'M GOING TO BE WALKING US THROUGH THE PRESENTATION AND ALSO INTRODUCING YOU TO SOME OF OUR OTHER TEAM MEMBERS WHO ARE PART OF THIS WORK LIST IF YOU WANT TO MOVE RIGHT AHEAD.
SO WE'RE GOING TO DO QUICK INTRODUCTIONS.
WE'RE GOING TO TALK YOU THROUGH WHAT THE NEXT FEW MONTHS WILL LOOK LIKE.
AS DR. WELLS MENTIONED, WE ARE ALREADY UNDERWAY AND WE HAVE A LOT OF MILESTONES TO MEET FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS.
AND WE'RE EXCITED TO BE A PART OF SUCH A FAST MOVING DISTRICT AS WELL AS PROJECT.
AND THEN WE'LL HAVE SOME TIME FOR QUESTIONS AT THE END.
ALL RIGHT, I COME TO THIS WORK AS A PRACTITIONER, I SPENT 10 YEARS IN AN URBAN DISTRICT IN SPECIAL EDUCATION ADMINISTRATION MOST OF THE TIME, AND SO ALL OF OUR WORK IS FOCUSED ON MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS AND PROJECTS ACTIONABLE FOR SCHOOL DISTRICTS.
THAT'S HOW OUR TEAM COMES TO THIS WORK.
AND THAT'S WHY WE WHY WE ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT WHAT WE DO AS WE SEE THE IMPACT IT CAN HAVE.
I'M GOING TO LET MY TEAM INTRODUCE THEMSELVES.
MATTHEW, IF YOU WANT TO GO AHEAD, DO A QUICK INTRODUCTION.
VERY HAPPY TO BE HERE AND PRESENTING FOR YOU THIS EVENING.
I'VE BEEN WITH A PUBLIC CONSULTING GROUP FOR THREE YEARS AND I SUPPORT ALL OF OUR SPECIAL EDUCATION CONSULTING WORK AND PROGRAM REVIEWS NATIONALLY FROM A PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND DATA ANALYSIS PERSPECTIVE.
I COME TO THIS WORK HAVING SERVED IN HIGHER EDUCATION AND ROLES AND INSTITUTIONAL
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EFFECTIVENESS RESEARCH AND ACCREDITATION.I'VE BEEN WITH PUBLIC CONSULTING GROUP FOR ABOUT TEN YEARS.
I'M A SOCIOLOGIST OF EDUCATION AND I HAVE TWENTY FIVE YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN THE FIELD OF RESEARCH AND EVALUATION AND MOST RECENTLY BEEN WORKING WITH JENNIFER AND MATTHEW AND MARY ON SPECIAL EDUCATION REVIEWS NATIONALLY.
SO GLAD TO BE WITH YOU THIS EVENING.
I WORK IN EQUITY INCLUSION AT PCG.
I'VE BEEN HERE JUST ABOUT THREE YEARS AND PART OF MY BACKGROUND IS IN HELPING DISTRICTS TO FIND EQUITABLE SOLUTIONS TO PAY ACCESS AND IMPROVE EDUCATION OUTCOMES FOR ALL STUDENTS.
THAT INCLUDES SOME WORK IN DISTRICTS SUPPORTING STUDENTS WITH THE MOST SIGNIFICANT NEEDS.
BUT BEFORE COMING TO MY BACKGROUND WAS IN COACHING AND IN EDUCATION RESEARCH.
I'M JUST GOING TO SUE [INAUDIBLE] IS NOT JOINING US THIS EVENING.
SHE IS A NATIONAL LEGAL EXPERT IN SPECIAL EDUCATION AND ALSO IS DOING PORTIONS OF THIS WORK WITH US SO THAT WE CAN ROUND UP THE TEAM WITH ALL OF THE EXPERTISE THAT WE NEED.
VERY BRIEFLY ABOUT PCG OR PUBLIC CONSULTING GROUP.
WE ARE AN INTERNATIONAL CONSULTING FIRM.
WE HAVE THE LARGEST PRESENCE IN THE UNITED STATES AND QUITE A BIT OF WORK IN TEXAS.
YOU MAY HAVE HEARD ABOUT SOME OF OUR WORK REALLY FOCUSED ON MEDICAID REIMBURSEMENT.
WE'VE BEEN IN THAT SPACE FOR ABOUT 15 YEARS IN TEXAS, DIFFERENT TEAM THAN THIS TEAM THAT YOU'RE MEETING TONIGHT.
BUT WE DO HAVE THAT BACKGROUND AND BRING SOME FOLKS IN ON THE BACK END TO HELP US REALLY GET ORIENTED VERY QUICKLY TO TEXAS.
AND I ALSO WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT WE ARE A FIRM WELL, WE'RE MOST OF OUR WORK IS FOCUSED IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR.
WE DO SPEND A LOT OF TIME GIVING BACK TO OUR COMMUNITY.
AND SO WE IT'S DOCUMENTED THAT WE HAVE ABOUT FOUR HUNDRED AND FIFTY HOURS THAT OUR STAFF HAVE SPENT VOLUNTEERING IN THE CENTRAL TEXAS COMMUNITY.
THAT'S A VERY IMPORTANT VALUE TO PCG.
WE DO WORK IN LOTS OF DIFFERENT AREAS.
THERE ARE A FEW AREAS I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT HERE FOR YOU THIS EVENING.
SOME CORE WORK AROUND STUDENT OUTCOMES, LEADERSHIP PROCESS REVIEWS LIKE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THIS EVENING AND ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGN.
THIS WORK IS DONE AT BOTH THE STATE AND THE LOCAL DISTRICT LEVEL AND REALLY RANGES FROM PROVIDING PROFESSIONAL LEARNING AND COACHING OPPORTUNITIES, WHICH IS THE PROJECT SUCCESS.
ONE PROJECT THAT WE HAVE LISTED HERE, WE'VE WRITTEN COURSE MATERIALS FOR PARA EDUCATORS AND DONE LEADERSHIP TRAINING FOR NEW SPECIAL EDUCATION DIRECTORS IN THE STATE OF LOUISIANA.
WE'VE DONE MANY, MANY PROCESS REVIEWS.
THIS IS JUST A VERY SHORT LIST OF THE ONES THAT I'VE LED FOR THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES.
AND THEN WE ALSO DO A LARGE SCALE STATE KIND OF REORGANIZATION ANALYSIS REVIEWS, AS WELL AS THE CURRENT WORK THAT'S STILL HAPPENING IN THE STATE OF ALABAMA.
SO TO GO VERY BRIEFLY THROUGH OUR PROJECT APPROACH, WE WANTED TO SHARE WITH YOU THIS EVENING BECAUSE WE'RE HOPING TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK WITH ALL OF YOU AS BOARD TRUSTEES AS PART OF THIS PROCESS.
WE COME TO THIS WORK REALLY FOCUSED ON LARGE STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT.
WE WANT TO HEAR FROM LOTS OF FOLKS, AS YOU'LL HEAR WHEN WE GO INTO THE FOCUS GROUP DESCRIPTIONS.
WE, I THINK WE COUNTED WE'RE UP TO SEVERAL HUNDRED PEOPLE THAT WE HAVE ON THE AGENDA TO BE TALKING WITH THEM IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS.
SO OUR INTENT IS TO HAVE LOTS OF DIFFERENT VOICES AT THE TABLE TO HELP US UNDERSTAND WHAT'S WORKING IN GARLAND ISD, AND THEN THE AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT, EVERY SYSTEM HAS OPPORTUNITIES IN SOME AREAS TO IMPROVE, BUT WE ALSO WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HIGHLIGHT THE GOOD THINGS THAT WE KNOW YOU HAVE GOING ON.
FOR US, WE REALLY WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE CHALLENGES ARE IDENTIFIED WITH RECOMMENDATIONS, BUT THAT THE WORK DOESN'T STOP THERE.
THE WORK REALLY THEN IS THE LAUNCHING PAD FOR YOU TO BE ABLE TO CREATE THAT INTENTIONAL, THAT AMBITIOUS AND URGENT SENSE OF WHERE YOU'RE GOING TO GO FROM HERE.
WE'RE GOING TO PROVIDE THAT DIRECTION AND THE STRATEGY AROUND HOW TO GET THERE.
BUT THIS IS THAT ROADMAP FOR THE NEXT THREE TO FIVE YEARS.
AND THIS PROCESS, WE WE KNOW, BASED ON ALL THE CONVERSATIONS WE'VE HAD SO FAR, WILL BE THAT STARTING POINT FOR YOU TO CONTINUE TO ACCELERATE, PARTICULARLY IN SUPPORTING STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES.
OUR APPROACH IS COLLABORATIVE.
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WE DESIGN IT THAT WAY.WE WANT TO WORK SIDE BY SIDE WITH OUR CLIENTS.
SO THAT MEANS SOMETIMES WE MODIFY THINGS, WE MODIFY OUR APPROACH TO MAKE SURE THAT IT REALLY SUITS THE NEEDS AND THE CULTURE OF THE ORGANIZATION.
WE'RE WORKING WITH ALL OF OUR STUDIES ORGANIZED AROUND THOSE FINANCIAL QUESTIONS.
THOSE RESEARCH QUESTIONS DRIVE THE WAY THAT WE COLLECT OUR INFORMATION, THE WAY THAT WE DO OUR ANALYSIS, THE WAY THAT WE STRUCTURE THE OUTCOMES THAT WE PRODUCE IN THE REPORT.
WE WANT THESE REPORTS TO FEEL ACCESSIBLE IN TERMS OF INFORMATION, BUT ARE VALIDATED BY THE RESEARCH THAT WE'VE COLLECTED, THE DATA THAT WE'VE COLLECTED THROUGH THE RESEARCH.
THEY'RE MULTIDIMENSIONAL, MEANING THAT WE COME TO THIS WITH BOTH QUALITATIVE DATA COLLECTION APPROACHES, WHICH WE'LL TALK MORE ABOUT AS WELL AS QUANTITATIVE.
AND THEN, AS I MENTIONED, WE'RE REALLY FOCUSED ON CHANGING, HELPING GUIDE THE CHANGE IN CULTURE SO THAT THERE'S ACCOUNTABILITY TO FOLLOWING THROUGH ON RECOMMENDATIONS AND ENSURING THAT STAKEHOLDERS CONTINUE TO BE ENGAGED IN THE PROCESS, NOT JUST IN THE DATA COLLECTION, BUT IN THE OUTCOMES AFTER.
THIS FOCUS, THIS THIS REVIEW, WE HAVE FOCUSED IN SIX DIFFERENT AREAS, SO MUCH OF IT IS REALLY UNDERSTANDING HOW SERVICES ARE DELIVERED FOR STUDENTS WITH IEPS IN GARLAND ISD SO THAT FIRST WE FOCUS ON SERVICES AND PLACEMENT.
WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? HOW DOES THE CONTINUUM OR HOW OUR SUPPORTS ORGANIZE TO HELP STUDENTS ACCESS THE GENERAL EDUCATION CURRICULUM TO THE EXTENT POSSIBLE? AND WHERE DO INCLUSIVE PRACTICES FALL IN THAT IN TERMS OF INSTRUCTION AND ALSO JUST OVERALL CULTURE LEADERSHIP? SO WE KNOW YOU'VE HAD A RECENT CHANGE.
YOU HAVE A NEW DIRECTOR AND SPECIAL EDUCATION.
SO THERE'S OPPORTUNITY TO KEEP THINKING ABOUT THAT PATH FORWARD.
AND REALLY, WE WANT TO BE FOCUSING ON HOW ARE YOU ORGANIZING YOUR STAFF AND YOUR LEADERSHIP TO BE FOCUSED ON IMPROVED OUTCOMES AND THAT POST-SECONDARY PREPARATION FOR STUDENTS WITH IEPS.
THEY'LL BE QUITE A NUMBER THAT WE'LL TALK WITH AT DIFFERENT LEVELS IN THE COURSE OF THIS PROJECT.
WE'LL DO A DEEPER ANALYSIS INTO HUMAN CAPITAL.
SO HOW ARE YOUR STAFFING RATIOS LOOKING? HOW IS IT THAT YOU ORGANIZE SERVICES TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE ACTUALLY ABLE TO PROVIDE THE SERVICES THAT ARE ON A STUDENT'S IEP? AND THEN FINALLY, WE'LL LOOK AT RESOURCES WHEN IT COMES TO FINANCES, WHEN IT COMES TO COST DRIVERS WE WANT TO UNDERSTAND.
BUT IS IT THAT IS THE BIG FOCUS WHEN IT COMES TO SUPPORTING STUDENTS DISABILITIES? AND HOW IS THAT FUNDING ALLOCATED IN THAT IN THAT WAY? WE HAVE A FOUR PHASE PROJECT, AS I MENTIONED, WHERE WE'VE BEEN UNDERWAY AND WE'VE GOT QUITE A NUMBER OF MILESTONES IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS TO BE WORKING TOWARDS.
SO WE ARE WELL INTO THE END OF PHASE TWO, REALLY INTO PHASE THREE NOW.
AND THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ALONGSIDE DR.
WELLS AND MR. ROBERTSON TO DO THIS PLANNING PHASE.
SO WE DID A STAKEHOLDER KICKOFF WITH ALL OF THE DISTRICT LEADERSHIP.
SO PRINCIPALS AND OTHER CENTRAL OFFICE ADMINISTRATORS HAD A SIMILAR PRESENTATION.
SO THEY UNDERSTAND HOW THEY'RE GOING TO BE INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS.
AND NOW WE'RE AT A POINT WHERE WE'RE SCHEDULING FOCUS GROUPS.
WE'RE WORKING THROUGH OUR PROTOCOLS TO TAILOR THEM FOR GARLAND AND CONTINUING TO MAKE SURE ALL OF THE STAKEHOLDERS LIKE YOURSELVES ARE AWARE OF THE PROCESS.
W'RE ABOUT TO ENTER PHASE THREE IN THE NEXT TWO WEEKS WHERE I'M SORRY, PHASE 2.
WE'RE STILL IN PHASE TWO WITH THE DATA COLLECTION.
PHASE THREE WILL THEN BE IN APRIL, WHERE WE'RE ACTUALLY DOING THE ANALYSIS AND WRITING THE REPORT, AND THEN IN JUNE BEING ABLE TO PROVIDE SOME INFORMATION ON THAT FINAL REPORT ABOUT THE NEXT STEPS.
SO, AS I MENTIONED, REALLY AN IMPORTANT PART FOR US IN THIS WORK IS TO BUILD THAT STRONG FOUNDATION AND MAKE SURE THAT THERE IS BROAD STAKEHOLDER INPUT.
WE FIND THAT HAVING FOLKS UNDERSTAND UP FRONT WHAT THIS PROCESS IS ABOUT REALLY HELPS TO MAKE THEM FEEL COMFORTABLE.
IT CAN BE UNCOMFORTABLE AT TIMES FOR SCHOOL STAFF AND OTHERS TO SHARE REALLY WHAT THEY THINK THEIR OPINIONS.
AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY FEEL THAT THIS IS A SAFE SPACE TO DO IT.
AND THAT STARTS BY HAVING THEM UNDERSTAND THE BIG PICTURE AND THE PROCESS THAT WE'RE GOING TO FOLLOW AND HOW THEY CAN BE INVOLVED OVER THE COMING PARTS OF THE PROJECT.
OUR APPROACH HERE IS WE ARE LOOKING AT THE CURRENT STATE, SO WE WON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT'S HAPPENING RIGHT NOW.
WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT COVID.
OBVIOUSLY, THAT IS A DRAMATIC OVERLAY TO EVERYTHING THAT'S HAPPENING IN OUR WORLD RIGHT NOW AND IN PARTICULAR SCHOOLS.
SO THAT WILL CERTAINLY BE A PART OF OUR WORK.
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WE'VE CONTINUED TO DO THIS WORK OVER THE PAST YEAR DURING THE PANDEMIC AND REALLY HAVE FOUND THAT IT'S DISTRICTS IT'S BEEN INTERESTING, HAVE BEEN ABLE TO COMPARTMENTALIZE WHAT HAPPENED BEFORE, WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW, AND THEN ALSO START TO ARTICULATE HOW DO WE CREATE THAT NEW VISION OF WHAT WE WANT THE NEXT THAT TO BE THE FUTURE, KNOWING THAT WE'VE ALL LIVED THROUGH SOMETHING THAT'S HAD A DRAMATIC IMPACT ON SCHOOLS, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, THAT WE'RE GOING TO INVENTORY THIS PROMISING PRACTICES THAT ARE COMING FROM PRIOR TO COVID AND THEN ALSO NOW AND THEN THE STAKEHOLDER OUTREACH IS A CORE PART OF THAT.SO AS WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, WE HAVE LOTS OF FOCUS GROUPS COMING UP FROM PRINCIPALS TO SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS, GENERAL EDUCATION TEACHERS, RELATED SERVICE PROVIDERS, THE FULL GAMUT OF FOLKS, ANYBODY, I THINK IT COULD HAVE ANY SORT OF CONNECTION TO SPECIAL EDUCATION, WHICH REALLY IS ACROSS EVERY OFFICE.
SO WE WANT TO HAVE THAT REPRESENTATION, BOTH FROM SCHOOL BASED STAFF AND YOUR CENTRAL OFFICE LEADERSHIP AS WELL.
THAT WILL BE THE EQUIVALENT OF ABOUT THREE DAYS.
THE STUDENT FILE REVIEW FOCUS GROUP IS THE NEXT PIECE THAT WE WILL BE DOING.
THIS IS A SPECIFIC DATA COLLECTION FOCUS FOR US WHERE WE ARE LOOKING AT IEPS AND OTHER FILE DOCUMENTATION SPECIFIC TO STUDENTS WITH IEPS.
AND REALLY WE'RE TRYING TO UNDERSTAND SOME OF THE CONSISTENCIES THAT OCCUR BETWEEN SCHOOLS IN TERMS OF APPROACH TO DOCUMENTATION, APPROACH TO DECISION MAKING IN THE IEP TEAM, AS WELL AS IDENTIFY DIFFERENCES.
THEY'RE GOING TO BE SOME DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SCHOOLS, BETWEEN GRADES.
SO WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO SEEK OUT WHAT THE COMMONALITIES ARE AND HOW TEACHERS UNDERSTAND WHAT THEIR ROLES ARE WHEN IT COMES TO THE IEP DOCUMENTATION.
WE'RE GOING TO THEN DO A PARENT SURVEY.
SO BE LOTS OF OPPORTUNITY FOR ENGAGEMENT IN THAT WAY.
AND THEN ON THE QUANTITATIVE SIDE, WE HAVE ALREADY ASKED FOR QUITE A NUMBER OF DOCUMENTS AND AND DATA RELATED TO ENSURING THAT WE CAN DO A DEEP ANALYSIS AND COMPARISONS, BOTH AT THE STATE LEVEL AND THEN ALSO TO NATIONAL DATA SO THAT YOU UNDERSTAND FROM A BENCHMARKING PERSPECTIVE WHERE GARLAND ISD FALLS IN MANY DIFFERENT CRITERIA.
WE ORGANIZED OUR RESEARCH AREAS BY DATA COLLECTION METHOD, SO YOU WILL SEE THAT WHEN IT COMES TO UNDERSTANDING EDUCATIONAL BENEFIT OR SERVICES AND PLACEMENT FOR STUDENTS WITH IEPS, THAT WE REALLY ARE GOING TO BE SEEKING A LOT OF THAT INFORMATION ACROSS ALL THE DIFFERENT DATA COLLECTION MEANS THAT WE HAVE THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO MAKE SURE THAT WE SEE ALL THE DIFFERENT AREAS THAT WE WANT TO BE ASKING DIFFERENT STAKEHOLDERS ABOUT AND ENSURE THAT OUR PROTOCOLS AND OTHER INFORMATION THAT WE'RE COLLECTING IS ORGANIZED IN THAT WAY.
SO I THINK I'M GOING TO PASS THIS OVER TO MATTHEW, WHO'S GOING TO TAKE IT FROM HERE WHEN IT COMES TO WHAT HAPPENS AFTER WE DO THE DATA COLLECTION.
SO WE WILL SPEND A BULK OF OUR TIME, AS JENNIFER MENTIONED, IN THAT PHASE THREE, STARTING TO DIG THROUGH THE ANALYSIS AND WORK THROUGH THE ANALYSIS AND DRAFT THAT FINAL PRELIMINARY REPORT.
AS JENNIFER PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED IN OUR FINAL REPORT WILL FOCUS ON OUR OVERALL FINDINGS, WHICH WILL INCLUDE BOTH STRENGTHS AND RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE FOUND THROUGHOUT OUR CONVERSATIONS AND VARIOUS DATA COLLECTION ACTIVITIES DURING THIS PHASE WILL UNDERGO A STAKEHOLDER REVIEW IN THAT WE ARE PLANNING ON SUBMITTING A PENULTIMATE DRAFT.
IT'LL BE AND IT'S ALMOST FINAL FORM.
WE'LL TAKE A QUICK LOOK AT IT TO REVIEW FOR ANY KIND OF ERRORS OR MISUNDERSTANDINGS THAT WE MIGHT HAVE HAD THROUGH THE PROCESS AND SOME OF THE PROCESSES AND PROCEDURES.
AND THEN BASED ON THOSE FEEDBACK IN THAT REVIEW PROCESS, WE'LL DELIVER A FINAL REPORT.
AND THROUGH THAT, WE WILL ALSO DRAFT AN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY TO BE BROADLY DISSEMINATED THROUGHOUT YOUR COMMUNITY THAT WILL HELP CAPTURE SOME OF THOSE HIGH LEVEL FINDINGS, STRENGTHS, RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT AND [INAUDIBLE].
AND ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENTS OF THIS PROJECT IS SETTING GISD UP FOR SUCCESS IN THE FUTURE AS IT RELATES TO PLANNING FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION.
SO WE'LL PRESENT OUR PRELIMINARY FINDINGS AND FINAL REPORT TO THE BOARD.
BUT WE'LL ALSO FACILITATE A SERIES OF ACTION PLANNING SESSIONS WITH THE DISTRICT, WITH MELISSA'S TEAM TO HELP START DRAFTING A ROADMAP THAT THAT PULLS IN THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE IDENTIFIED INTO A THREE TO FIVE YEAR PLAN AND WALKING THROUGH THE PROCESS OF PRIORITIZING THOSE ACTION ITEMS TO HELP IMPROVE OUTCOMES FOR STUDENTS.
AND THEN IF THAT SUMMARIZES IT RIGHT THERE AND AS WE'LL ALSO PARTICIPATE IN A
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PROCESS TO HELP DISSEMINATE THAT PLAN AND WORK THROUGH THE PROCESS AROUND WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE IN ITS DELIVERY.AND AS JENNIFER MENTIONED, COVID-19 HAS BEEN A FACTOR.
WE'VE BEEN CONDUCTING THESE REVIEWS THROUGHOUT 2020.
THE BULK OF THAT WORK, ALL OF IT OCCURRING IN VIRTUAL FORMATS LIKE THIS.
AS JENNIFER MENTIONED, WE FOCUS OUR WE'RE INTENSE IN HOW WE FOCUS OUR QUESTIONS AND OUR INTERACTIONS AND ESPECIALLY IN SURVEYS FOR PARTICIPANTS TO REFLECT ON THEIR EXPERIENCES PRIOR TO COVID, DURING COVID, AND THEN THAT IDEAL STATE ABOUT WHAT THEY WOULD LIKE THINGS TO, HOW THEY WOULD LIKE THINGS TO WORK AS SCHOOLS REOPEN AND THEY GET BACK TO TO THE BUSINESS OF EDUCATING OUR STUDENTS.
AGAIN, WE'VE FRAMED DISENGAGEMENT TO BE FLEXIBLE, AND THAT'S A KEY PART OF THIS.
SO RECOGNIZING THAT THERE COULD BE DISRUPTIONS IN CERTAIN SCHOOL SCHEDULES, YOU ALL HAD SOME VERY TERRIBLE INCLEMENT WEATHER THAT CAUSED DISRUPTIONS AS WELL.
BUT A BIG PART OF THIS IS TO BE FLEXIBLE AS WELL AS EMPATHETIC AND THE PROCESS THAT WE'VE ALL ADAPTED TO MANY DIFFERENT CHANGES DURING COVID.
SO SOME QUESTIONS THAT WE GET ASKED FREQUENTLY WILL FOCUS ON HERE.
AS JENNIFER MENTIONED, OUR AIM AND ALL OF OUR FOCUS GROUPS AND INTERACTIONS IS TO SPEAK WITH A BROAD GROUP OF STAKEHOLDERS, AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE.
SO EACH OF OUR GROUPS, WHICH WE'VE JUST BEEN WORKING THROUGH, I THINK I'M COUNTING OVER 70 SO FAR, THAT INCLUDES UP TO AT LEAST 20 INDIVIDUALS THROUGHOUT OUR WE DO KEEP NOTES DURING THOSE FOCUS GROUPS AND INTERVIEWS.
HOWEVER, WE DO NOT ATTRIBUTE SPECIFIC NAMES, POSITIONS OR POSITIONS IN SPECIFIC SCHOOLS, I SHOULD SAY.
RATHER, WE WRITE OUR NOTES TO SPEAK TO BROADER THEMES AND OVERARCHING FINDINGS SO THAT WE DO MAINTAIN AN ANONYMOUS PROCESS AS WE'RE CONDUCTING OUR INTERVIEWS, AS WELL AS THE SURVEY PROCESS AS WELL.
AS WE MENTIONED BEFORE, OUR FINDINGS WILL BE AVAILABLE TO THE BOARD FOR BROAD DISSEMINATION AND FOR THE DISTRICT.
AND AS I MENTIONED IN THAT SLIDE REGARDING OUR PHASE THREE AND THAT REPORT WRITING PROCESS, WE ARE VERY PURPOSEFUL IN HOW WE STRUCTURE OUR REPORT AND THAT WE DO PROVIDE OUR IMPORTANT FINDINGS BASED OFF OF THE DATA ANALYSIS, BUT ALSO HIGHLIGHTING THE STRENGTHS OF THE DISTRICT SO YOU CAN CONTINUE TO BUILD OFF OF WHAT'S WORKING REALLY, REALLY WELL IN ADDRESSING SOME OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND SOME OF THE OTHER AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT.
SO THE NEXT STEPS, SO WE ARE CURRENTLY GEARED UP IN THIS PROCESS.
AS JENNIFER MENTIONED, WE HAVE OUR FOCUS GROUP SCHEDULED.
WE WILL BE DEVELOPING OUR PROTOCOLS FOR SURVEYS.
SO THAT'S SOME INFORMATION TO KEEP A LOOKOUT AND TO ENCOURAGE BROAD STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT IN THAT SURVEY PROCESS.
AND THEN AGAIN, AND ENCOURAGING THE PARTICIPATION IN FOCUS GROUPS AND INTERVIEWS THROUGHOUT THE DISTRICT AND YOUR STAFF, AND THAT'S REALLY A KEY PART TO THE SUCCESS OF THE PROGRAM.
SO THE PROGRAM REVIEW AND I BELIEVE WE'LL TURN IT OVER TO QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS.
WE'VE GONE THROUGH THE PROJECT METHODOLOGY.
ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS PROCESS? YES.
I JUST WANT TO MAKE A COMMENT THAT I'M EXCITED.
THERE ARE SEVERAL MAJOR DISTRICT WIDE PROJECTS WE'RE DOING WITH THIS LEVEL OF INVOLVEMENT.
AND I'M GLAD TO SEE THAT THIS PROJECT PLAN WITH SPECIAL ED IT IS AS INCLUSIVE AS SOMETHING ELSE WE'RE DOING.
AND I JUST HOPE THAT WE'RE ABLE TO BALANCE ALL OF THIS GOING FORWARD AND MAKE THE RIGHT DECISIONS FOR ALL OF OUR STUDENTS.
SO THANK YOU FOR SUCH AN ORGANIZED AND STRUCTURED PROCESS.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, MR. GLICK.
EARLY ON, YOU REFERENCED IN BOLD.
FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND ARD HAVE BEEN COMPLETED IN PCG'S ED PLAN SYSTEM BY TEXAS SCHOOL DISTRICT.
COULD YOU PLEASE EXPLAIN WHAT THAT MEANS? SURE.
SO THIS IS THAT'S WORK INDEPENDENT OF THIS PROJECT AND OF THIS TEAM.
THE INTENT WAS TO HIGHLIGHT OUR UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THE IEP PROCESS OR THE ARD PROCESS WORKS IN TEXAS AND THAT WE ARE DEEPLY AS AN ORGANIZATION, SEATED IN UNDERSTANDING THAT PROCESS AND DIRECTIVE FROM THE STATE IN TERMS OF HOW THE PROCESS FLOW WORKS.
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WE HAPPEN TO HAVE A TECHNOLOGY THAT DOES THAT.BUT REALLY THE EMPHASIS HERE IS ON THE PROCESS AND THAT WE HAVE VERY SPECIFIC TEXAS BASED KNOWLEDGE THAT MAKES SURE THAT A NATIONAL TEAM LIKE THIS CAN GET UP TO SPEED VERY QUICKLY ON WHAT IT MEANS TO BE LIVING AND WORKING IN SPECIAL EDUCATION IN TEXAS.
I'M NOT SURE I THAT REALLY ANSWERED MY QUESTION.
WHAT IS THE ED PLAN? SO ED PLAN IS A TECHNOLOGY THAT OUR COMPANY HAS, THAT IS CASE MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE WHERE TEACHERS AND OTHER SCHOOL BASED PROFESSIONALS DOCUMENT THEIR IEPS OR ARDS IN TEXAS.
SO THAT THAT IS THE TECHNOLOGY SYSTEM THAT HOUSES THAT PROCESS FOR MANY OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICTS.
AND WILL THAT BE ONE OF YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS? YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT YOU HAVE A CURRENT SYSTEM.
WE COME TO THIS WITH AN INDEPENDENT LENS IN THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT THE EFFICACY OF HOW ALL OF YOUR SYSTEMS ARE USED WHEN IT COMES TO STUDENTS WITH IEPS.
SO IT COULD BE THAT WE'LL HAVE RECOMMENDATIONS AROUND EFFICIENCIES OR DATA COLLECTION OR DATA USE.
IT'S HARD FOR US TO KNOW THAT NOW UNTIL WE REALLY GET DEEP INTO THE ANALYSIS.
WE ARE VERY INTENTIONAL ABOUT BEING A SEPARATE EVALUATION TEAM IN THAT WE ARE WE REMAIN AS AGNOSTIC AS POSSIBLE WHEN IT COMES TO UNDERSTANDING.
IF YOU IF YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN IF GARLAND WOULD HAVE BEEN USING A ED PLAN, WE WOULD HAVE DONE THE SAME KIND OF SEPARATION WHEN IT COMES TO THAT ANALYSIS AND COMES TO OUR APPROACH TO BEING APPROPRIATELY CRITICAL I'LL SAY OF EVERY PART TO REALLY UNCOVER ALL OF THE THEMES AND THINGS THAT COULD BE IMPROVED UPON.
SO FOR US, WE WE ARE VERY INTENTIONAL IN THAT WAY.
JUST REAL QUICK AND I DON'T KNOW WHO TO DIRECT THIS TO, BUT REVIEW FOR ME AGAIN THE INVOLVEMENT THAT YOU WOULD LIKE FROM THE BOARD MEMBERS AND WHEN WILL WE HEAR FROM YOU OR SEE YOU AGAIN? I'LL GO AHEAD AND ANSWER THAT, I DON'T KNOW IF MELISSA WAS GOING TO JUMP IN THERE, TOO.
SO I THINK PROBABLY BY TOMORROW, ACTUALLY, YOU WILL HAVE AN INVITATION.
WE'RE WORKING OUT SOME OF THE LOGISTICS OF THAT RIGHT NOW.
WE ARE DEEPLY IN THE PROCESS OF THE ORGANIZATION, OF THE FOCUS GROUPS.
WE'RE GOING TO BE SENDING OUT INVITATIONS FOR TWO BOARD MEMBERS PER FOCUS GROUP.
SO THERE WILL BE SEVERAL FOCUS GROUPS FOR THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES.
AND YOU'LL BE RECEIVING, AS JENNIFER SAID, AN INVITE TO TO THOSE MEETINGS.
SO YOU WITH ONE OTHER BOARD MEMBER.
AND MS. CHELSEA BURCH IS WORKING ON THOSE INDIVIDUAL INTERVIEWS AND SENDING OUT THOSE LINKS, AND MY ASSISTANT MS. JOY NORRIS IS HANDLING ALL OF THE FOCUS GROUPS.
DURING WHICH MONTH WOULD THAT BE.
WHAT TIME FRAME ARE WE TALKING ABOUT, THE FOCUS GROUPS AND THE INTERVIEWS WILL BE STARTING ACTUALLY THE WEEK OF MARCH 22ND.
INTO THE BEGINNING OF APRIL AND THEN WILL THERE BE PERIODIC UPDATES OR PROGRESS REPORTS OR WILL WE JUST WAIT FOR THE FINAL REPORT AT THE END? YEAH, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
PCG TEAM, WHAT IS YOUR THOUGHT ON THAT? YOU KNOW, GIVEN THE SHORT TIME FRAME, WE WE GENERALLY WOULDN'T DO A DEEP UPDATE WHEN IT COMES TO THE ANALYSIS BECAUSE WE'LL BE REALLY IN IN THE THROWS OF IT REALLY IN APRIL AND MAY.
TYPICALLY, WHAT WE CAN PROVIDE AND DO PROVIDE IS JUST THE STATUS OF WHAT WE'VE ACCOMPLISHED.
SO IN TERMS OF HOW MANY STAKEHOLDERS WE REACHED OUT TO THE PARTICIPATION RATES.
SO THAT IS SOMETHING WE ABSOLUTELY CAN DO.
MR. SELDERS, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
I WANTED TO GO TO THE SLIDE WHERE YOU GUYS TALKED ABOUT THE FOCUS GROUP REAL QUICK AND I WANT TO MAKE SURE I HEARD THIS CORRECTLY.
I THOUGHT I HEARD 70 GROUPS, 70 FOCUS GROUPS WITH 20 INDIVIDUALS.
IS THAT ACCURATE? I'LL CLARIFY THAT.
SO THERE ARE 70 SEPARATE GROUPS.
SO MORE OF AN INDIVIDUAL INTERVIEW, BUT THE HALF OF THEM, AT LEAST HALF OF THEM HAVE ABOUT 20 INDIVIDUALS IN EACH ONE.
SO THERE ARE SEVERAL HUNDRED FOLKS THAT WE'LL BE TALKING TO IN THAT PROCESS.
AND THEN AS FAR AS RECRUITING INDIVIDUALS TO PARTICIPATE IN THESE FOCUS GROUPS, HOW IS THAT GOING TO BE DETERMINED? YEAH, GREAT QUESTION.
SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE WORKING ON THE PRINCIPLE GENERAL EDUCATION
[00:30:05]
TEACHER AND SPECIAL EDUCATION FOCUS GROUPS, AND WE'VE ASKED EACH OF THE PRINCIPALS TO LET US KNOW WHICH OF THE PRINCIPALS OR ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS WILL BE PARTICIPATING FROM THEIR BUILDINGS.SO WE'LL HAVE ONE FROM EACH OF THE BUILDINGS.
WE'LL HAVE AT LEAST ONE GENERAL EDUCATION TEACHER FROM EVERY BUILDING AS NOMINATED BY THE PRINCIPALS AND A SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER.
AND THEN WE WILL ALSO BE RANDOMLY SELECTING SOME OTHER TEACHERS TO FILL OUT THOSE GROUPS.
BUT WE WANTED THE PRINCIPALS IN THE BUILDINGS TO HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO NOMINATE SOME PEOPLE FOR THE FOCUS GROUPS.
AND THEN AND THEN WE WILL BE ADDING SOME OTHERS.
AND THERE'S A VARIETY OF GROUPS.
SO OUR DIAGNOSTICIANS, FOR INSTANCE, 20 OF THOSE WILL BE RANDOMLY SELECTED.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO GET MANY OF OUR GROUPS IN IN A IN A RANDOM SELECTION SO THAT IT'S NOT, YOU KNOW, THE DISTRICT CHOOSING PARTICULAR PEOPLE.
BUT WE REALLY DO WANT A VERY WIDE KIND OF BREADTH TO WHO WE'RE TALKING WITH.
I MISSED THIS SLIDE EARLIER, I WANTED TO GO BACK TO SUCCESS STORIES THAT YOU GUYS TALKED ABOUT EARLIER, PARTICULARLY UNDER STUDENT OUTCOMES WITH WASHINGTON'S OFFICE OF SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION.
AND I WAS JUST CURIOUS, WHAT ADDITIONAL WORK DID YOU GUYS DO WITH THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM THERE? I KNOW THAT THERE'S A LOT OF WORK THAT'S GONE INTO IDENTIFYING AREAS OR ATTRIBUTES FOR BOARDS IN THE CORRELATION TO BOARDSMANSHIP WITH RESPECT TO STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT OUTCOMES.
IS THIS DONE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THAT OR IS THIS SOMETHING COMPLETELY SEPARATE? I BELIEVE THIS IS SOMETHING COMPLETELY SEPARATE BASED ON YOUR DESCRIPTION.
SO THIS IS WITH THE STATE AGENCY IN THAT WE DEVELOPED PARENT EDUCATOR COURSES FOR TEACHERS AND FOR LEADERS WHO SUPERVISE EDUCATORS.
SO WASHINGTON IS A UNIQUE STATE AND THAT THEY HAVE SOME PRETTY STRINGENT LEGISLATION AROUND SUPPORT FOR EDUCATORS AND THEY NEEDED A TRAINING PLAN OR A TRAINING PATH FOR THAT GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS.
AND SO WE WROTE THE CONTENT FOR ALL OF THE COURSES THAT CAME TO SUPPORT TEACHERS AND LEADERS SO THAT THEY CAN BETTER SUPPORT EDUCATORS IN THEIR GROWTH.
LAST QUESTION MIGHT BE FOR YOU, DR.
YOU KNOW, MS. GRIFFIN ALLUDED TO, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE PROCESSES THAT WE'RE ENGAGED IN, LIKE I THINK ABOUT SOME OF THE WORK THAT GIBSON IS DOING FOR US IN TERMS OF INTERNAL AUDIT AND THE WORK THAT PCG IS DOING WITH US IN TERMS OF SPECIAL ED AND BEING ABLE TO LOOK AT OTHER PROCESSES OR PROGRAMS THAT WE HAVE IN THE DISTRICT AND HAVING A SIMILAR AUDIT PROCESS FOR THIS SO THAT WE CAN KIND OF SEE WHERE THINGS ARE AND HOW THAT FALLS OUT IN TERMS OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS GOING FORWARD.
WHAT THEY'RE LOOKING TO DO TO EXPAND LIKE THINGS THAT COME TO MIND, I THINK ABOUT LIKE AVID, YOU KNOW, I KNOW WE'VE DONE SOME PROGRAMMATIC REVIEWS AND THAT'S GOING TO BE COMING TO US.
BUT I WAS JUST CURIOUS, WHAT WERE YOUR THOUGHTS IN TERMS OF HOW DOES WORK LIKE THIS SORT OF FACTOR INTO GIVING US SOME VISIBILITY INTO OTHER PROGRAMS OF THIS MAGNITUDE? WELL, IT'S VERY ESSENTIAL THAT, YOU KNOW, WHENEVER YOU PICK AND CHOOSE, THOSE ARE THE ONES THAT YOU'RE GOING TO HYPERFOCUS.
LET'S TALK ABOUT THE TRANSFORMATION THAT HAPPENED, LIKE IN TRANSPORTATION.
TRANSPORTATION IS OUR HIGHEST LIABILITY OPERATION BECAUSE LIABILITY FALLS ON US AND WE'RE NOT PROTECTED.
SO WHEN WE DID THE TRANSPORTATION AUDIT, WE INVITED A PARTNER THROUGH THAT PARTNER.
WE SAID WE NEED MORE EXPERTISE TO GET US THROUGH.
AND RIGHT NOW WE'RE [INAUDIBLE], OK, MUCH OF THE SAME WHEN WE DO A NEEDS ASSESSMENT OF A BIG PROGRAM SUCH AS SPECIAL EDUCATION.
THESE ARE THE KIDS THAT NEED THE BIGGEST PROTECTIONS AND NEED THE BIGGEST ADVOCACY BECAUSE THEY CAN'T VOICE IT THEMSELVES.
AND SO OUR SYSTEMS, OUR CULTURE, OUR BELIEF SYSTEM IS GOING TO BE REFLECTED THROUGH OUR PRACTICES.
AND SO GETTING A PARTNER LIKE THIS THAT IS INDEPENDENT, THAT'S NOT IN THE SYSTEM, THAT COULD ACTUALLY PROVIDE US WITH FEEDBACK AND GUIDANCE TO GET TO WHERE WE NEED TO BE IS ESSENTIAL.
WE COULD HAVE ALMOST EVERY PROGRAM, BUT IT'S TIME MONEY.
AND SO WHAT WE DO ON A BIG PROGRAM REVIEWS THIS IS THIS IS GOING TO BE OUR HYPER FOCUS.
SO WE KNOW SPECIAL ED IS GOING TO BE OUR HYPER FOCUS FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS.
WE'RE GOING TO INVEST IN THE KIDS.
WE KNOW WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO SPEND MONEY, REALLOCATE STAFF, REDESIGN FACILITIES.
WE KNOW WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO DO THAT TO BEST SUIT THE NEEDS OF ALL OF OUR STUDENTS.
SO BUT WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT A PROGRAM LIKE AVID, THAT'S VERY DIFFERENT.
OR OTHER PROGRAMS. SO WE DO PROGRAM REVIEWS AND WE DID A HIGH LEVEL ONE WHERE THEY JUST CAME IN AND
[00:35:02]
THEY SHOWED HOW INTENSE IT IS.SO YOU CAN SEE THESE TAKE MONTHS.
AND SO WE GOT TO GO WITH YES, WE GOT TO GO WITH WE GOT AN EQUITY AUDIT COMING IN.
SO WE GOT TO BE ABLE TO GO WITH WHAT WE CAN MANAGE.
BUT THE SECOND THING IS WE'VE GOT TO GO WITH HIGH IMPACT.
AND SO THAT'S THE SECOND THING.
NOW, THERE'S A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A PROGRAM LIKE AUDIT AND A PROGRAM REVIEW.
PROGRAM REVIEW IS MORE LIKE, OK, THIS IS HOW MANY KIDS WE HAVE IN HERE.
IT'S REALLY JUST LOOKING AT DATA.
ARE WE BEING SUCCESSFUL AND WHERE ARE WE GOING TO GO? SO BOTH OF THOSE HAPPEN.
AND SO AS WE'RE MAKING OUR BUDGET ASSUMPTIONS AND WE'RE GOING THROUGH IT, WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS STAY AWAY FROM PROGRAMS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
SO WE HAD AND MR. GLICK AND I LAUGH ABOUT IT, BUT WE WERE LIVING WE WERE LIVING LIKE KINGS WHENEVER WE WERE GOING THROUGH OUR GROWTH SPURT.
AND WHAT HAPPENED IS WE KEPT LIVING LIKE KINGS AND WE DON'T HAVE KING TYPE MONEY ANYMORE.
OK, SO OUR STUDENT TO TEACHER RATIO WAS LIKE IDEAL.
WE WERE LIVING IN THE LAP OF LUXURY AND NOW WE'VE GOT TO MAKE IT MAKE SOME ADJUSTMENTS.
AND IF WE CAN MAKE THOSE ADJUSTMENTS AND TIGHTEN OUR BELTS AND LIVE WITHIN OUR MEANS, WE COULD STAY AWAY FROM PROGRAMS AND BUT EVENTUALLY, IF WE DON'T INCREASE ENROLLMENT, THEN WE'RE GOING TO INCREASE TAXES.
AND IF NOT, THEN WE'RE GOING HAVE TO REDUCE PROGRAMS. SOMETHING'S GOT TO GIVE.
AND THEN THAT'S WHERE IT STARTS HITTING AND HURTING.
I HOPE I ANSWERED YOUR QUESTION.
OK BOARD ANYBODY ELSE? WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH TO YOUR GROUP FOR COMING OUT AND OR STAYING IN RATHER.
FOR STAYING IN AND TALKING TO US VIA ZOOM, AND WE REALLY LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR INPUT TO THIS PROGRAM IS VERY NEAR AND DEAR TO THE TO THE BOARD'S HEART HERE.
AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO SERVING THESE KIDS IN THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE.
OK, WITH THAT, WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE NEXT AGENDA ITEM, THIS IS ITEM 5B THE 2021 2022 ECONOMIC RECOVERY PLAN.
AND I BELIEVE DR. JOVAN WELLS IS UP AGAIN.
THANK YOU, COMMITTEE CHAIR MILLER.
CHAIRPERSON MILLER TRUSTEES AND DR.
LOPEZ ON BEHALF OF THE CROSS DEPARTMENTAL COLLABORATIVE TEAM RESPONSIBLE FOR CONTRIBUTING TO THIS PLAN.
WE DO HAVE REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE WORK, INCLUDING DR.
CADDELL, ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT OF CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION, DR.
HILL DIRECTOR OF TEACHING AND LEARNING DEVELOPMENT, AND MS. VERONICA JOYNER, DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH ASSESSMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY.
AND THEY'RE GOING TO BE HELPING TO SHARE THIS DRAFT PROPOSAL WITH TRUSTEE TONIGHT.
IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THROUGHOUT THE ONGOING NATURE OF THIS PANDEMIC, OUR TEAMS HAVE BEEN REFOCUSING THEIR EFFORTS ON MITIGATING THE LEARNING LOSS THAT WE KNOW HAS OCCURRED WITH OUR STUDENTS.
AND SO ONE OF OUR GOALS TONIGHT IS TO SHARE THE INFORMATION THAT WE'VE COME UP WITH, WITH THIS CROSS DEPARTMENTAL TEAM AND REALLY PROVIDE THIS AS A DRAFT PLAN FOR YOUR REVIEW AND FEEDBACK.
AND THEN OUR GOAL IS TO COME BACK AFTER WE COLLECTED ADDITIONAL FEEDBACK WITH A DOCUMENT SIMILAR TO OUR ONE GOAL, ONE FOCUS.
AND SO THIS DOCUMENT IS A STRATEGIC PLANNING DOCUMENT AND IT'S REALLY HELPED IS DESIGNED TO HELP US TO RECOVER FROM THIS PANDEMIC AND WHAT WE'VE SEEN WITH OUR STUDENTS, BUT ALSO TO TRACK THE PATH AS WE GO FORWARD, EXCUSE ME, INTO THE FUTURE.
SO YOU'RE GOING TO SEE GOALS ALL THE WAY THROUGH 2030.
AND THAT'S HARD TO BELIEVE IT WE ARE GOING TO BE FOCUSING ON 2030, BUT WE DO NEED TO BE PROJECTING OUT THAT FAR.
SO I'LL JUST GET STARTED WITH JUST REMINDING US OF JUST HOW, YOU KNOW, A BOLD ACTION WE TOOK WITH THE ONE GOAL, ONE FOCUS.
AND IF YOU RECALL, YOU KNOW, IT WAS YOU AND THE TRUSTEES AND DR.
LOPEZ, WHO REALLY CHARTED THIS PATH FOR THE ENTIRE DISTRICT.
AND BECAUSE OF THAT, WE ACTUALLY ALIGN THESE GOALS WITH OUR CAMPUS PLANS, OUR DISTRICT PLAN.
AND WE SAW SOME SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS AS A RESULT OF THAT FOCUS ON THESE GOALS.
AND IT WAS THESE NINE AREAS THAT YOU SEE LISTED.
HERE IS WHAT WE WERE FOCUSED ON PRIOR TO THE COVID PANDEMIC.
WE WERE OFF TO A GREAT START WITH THESE GOALS.
WE HAD NEARLY MET OR EXCEEDED EVERY ONE OF THEM THAT WE HAD SET THE TARGETS FOR.
AND SO NEXT SLIDE, WE'LL TALK ABOUT WHERE WE'VE BEEN LATELY HERE.
SO WITH COVID-19, YOU KNOW THAT WE'VE BEEN THROUGH A VERY CHALLENGING TIME WHEN
[00:40:11]
IT COMES TO DELIVERING INSTRUCTION TO OUR STUDENTS.AND SO IF YOU LOOK AT THIS, THIS CHART HERE KIND OF GIVES YOU SOME MAJOR POINTS THAT WE'VE SEEN OVER THE PAST YEAR.
AS MR. BEACH SO POINTED OUT EARLIER IN A COMMITTEE MEETING, WE WERE ALMOST COMING UP ON A YEAR WHERE WE HAVE BEEN IN THIS COVID PANDEMIC AND OUR STUDENTS POTENTIALLY NOT REALLY LEARNING THE WAY THEY HAVE LEARNED IN THE PAST, ALTHOUGH WE HAVE FACE TO FACE AND VIRTUAL LEARNING OPTIONS, THIS IS NOT WHAT WE WERE DELIVERING PRIOR TO THE PANDEMIC.
AND SO ON THIS SLIDE, THESE ARE JUST SOME MAJOR POINTS THAT WE THINK HAVE IMPACTED THAT ABILITY TO BE ABLE TO DELIVER THE QUALITY INSTRUCTION THAT WE NORMALLY DO.
SO I'LL GO THROUGH THESE QUICKLY AT THE BEGINNING, COVID OF COURSE, FORCED US TO STOP OUR IN-PERSON LEARNING.
AND THAT WAS RIGHT BEFORE MARCH, OUR SPRING BREAK LAST MARCH IN 2020.
NEXT, WE DEFINITELY PIVOTED QUICKLY TO ONLINE LEARNING.
HOWEVER, WE WERE ALL RELYING ON GOOGLE CLASSROOM, WHICH WAS NOT IDEAL FOR ALL OF OUR STUDENTS TO LEARN LONG TERM.
OF COURSE, WE DID NOT REALIZE THAT IT WAS GOING TO BE THIS LONG, BUT THAT WAS AN ONLINE OPTION FOR STUDENTS TO CONTINUE LEARNING AT HOME.
WE WENT ON TO REMAIN REMOTE FOR THE ENTIRE SCHOOL YEAR.
AND SO WHAT WE'VE STARTED TO SEE IS THAT WE NEED TO LOOK AT A DIFFERENT LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.
AND SO WE WENT WITH IMPLEMENTING CANVAS AND CANVAS, OF COURSE, WAS WAS CHALLENGING FOR SOME OF OUR TEACHERS, BECAUSE IF YOU LOOK AT ELEMENTARY, WE DID NOT HAVE A LOT OF OUR TEACHERS WITH A ONE TO ONE DEVICE OR TRAIN ON THAT TOOL.
SINCE THEN, WE'VE CONTINUED THAT TRAINING AND WE'VE SEEN IMPROVEMENTS IN ACTUALLY HAVE DESIGNED SURVEYS TO GET SPECIFIC FEEDBACK FROM THOSE TEACHERS.
SO WE WERE ABLE TO DESIGN THAT TRAINING TO REALLY MEET THEIR NEEDS.
IT'S STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS, BUT WE WE DO KNOW THAT IT'S BETTER.
OUR CAMPUS IMPLEMENTATION IS MUCH BETTER.
ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS I WANT TO POINT OUT IS WHEN WE STARTED TO LOOK AT OUR ASSESSMENT DATA AND WE ALREADY HAVE SEEN THIS TREND ACROSS THE COUNTRY, BUT WE SEE THAT MATH IS SIGNIFICANTLY DECLINED IN PERFORMANCE AND READING IS ALSO TAKING A DIP.
SO THIS PLAN REALLY HELPS US FOCUS ON WHAT ARE WE GOING TO FOCUS ON, WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO DIFFERENTLY? THIS IS THIS CANNOT BE THE SAME PLAN WE HAD PRIOR TO THE PANDEMIC.
IT HAS TO BE DIFFERENT THINKING, INNOVATIVE THINKING.
AND OUTSIDE OF THE BOX, THINKING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE GOING TO BE ABLE TO MITIGATE THESE LEARNING LOSSES, AND SO I'M EXCITED FOR YOU TO BE ABLE TO SEE SOME OF THE THINGS WE'VE COME UP WITH THUS FAR AND ALSO GET YOUR FEEDBACK AND INPUT ON THIS PLAN AS WE PLAN TO BRING IT BACK TO YOU IN ABOUT ANOTHER MONTH OR TWO.
CADDELL TO COME UP AND SHE'S GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE WORK UNDERWAY IN THIS TEAM THAT WE PUT TOGETHER TO REALLY CREATE THIS PLAN FOR YOU.
IN JANUARY OF THIS YEAR, A CROSS DEPARTMENT TEAM WAS ASSEMBLED WITH THE PURPOSE OF COMBINING EFFORTS AND EXPERTISE.
TOGETHER, THIS GROUP FORMALIZED EMPHATIC BELIEFS ABOUT TEACHING AND LEARNING, HIGHLIGHTING BELIEFS THAT WE MUST HOLD WITH CONVICTION IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE OUR DESIRED STUDENT OUTCOMES.
THE DRAFT ACADEMIC RECOVERY PLAN BEING PRESENTED TONIGHT REPRESENTS OVER FIVE WEEKS OF CONVERSATIONS, COLLABORATIONS AND CRITICAL EVALUATION OF WHERE WE ARE AND WHERE WE WANT TO BE BEFORE SHARING THE WORK.
I'D LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THOSE WHO ARE JOINING US THIS EVENING IN SHOW THEIR SUPPORT OF THIS WORK, AS WELL AS BE ABLE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE TO BEGIN WITH.
HILL, DIRECTOR OF TEACHING AND LEARNING, AND VERONICA JOYNER, DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH ASSESSMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY, AS WELL AS GRADYNE BROWN, ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES, AND MARY GARCIA, OUR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF STUDENT SERVICES.
TONIGHT, WE STAND BEFORE YOU AS PARTNERS.
OUR GOAL IS TO SEEK YOUR INPUT ON ONGOING DEVELOPMENT OF THIS PLAN.
AS YOU CAN SEE, WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE ADDITIONAL STAKEHOLDERS THAT WILL BE INCLUDED IN THE VETTING AND DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, INCLUDING OUR DEIC MEMBERSHIP TEACHER AND CAMPUS ADMINISTRATOR FOCUS GROUPS, AS WELL AS PARENT AND STUDENT FOCUS GROUPS.
THIS INPUT WILL BE VERY HELPFUL TO IDENTIFY AREAS OF NEED, PARTICULARLY AT THE STRATEGY LEVEL WHERE WE WANT TO FULLY UTILIZE STRATEGIES WITH PROVEN IN DISTRICT SUCCESS, BUT ALSO CHALLENGE OURSELVES TO BE BOLDER THAN EVER BEFORE TO AGGRESSIVELY PURSUE OUR DESIRED STUDENT OUTCOMES.
DURING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE 2018 ACADEMIC PLAN, THE DISTRICT ESTABLISHED SIX VALUE STATEMENTS WE BELIEVE EVERY STUDENT CAN LEARN.
WE KNOW EVERY STUDENT DESERVES OUR BEST.
WE VALUE AND CELEBRATE ALL CULTURES.
WE RESPECT ALL STUDENTS, FAMILIES, STAFF AND COMMUNITIES.
WE DEMONSTRATE ETHICAL BEHAVIOR AND EDUCATION TRANSFORMS LIVES.
ACCORDING TO MERRIAM WEBSTER, VALUES IS DEFINED AS RELATIVE WORTH, UTILITY
[00:45:01]
OR IMPORTANCE.WHAT IS MISSING FROM OUR CURRENT VALUE STATEMENTS IS THE HOW HOW DO WE ENSURE THAT WE PROVIDE THE SYSTEMS AND LEADERSHIP SO THAT OUR VALUES CAN BE SEEN THROUGHOUT THE SYSTEM.
THAT SAME MERRIAM WEBSTER'S DEFINES BELIEFS AS A STATE OF MIND IN WHICH TRUST OR CONFIDENCE IS PLACED IN SOME PERSON OR THING, AS WELL AS A CONVICTION OF THE TRUTH OF SOME STATEMENT.
THE ACADEMIC BELIEFS STATEMENTS DISPLAYED ON THE SCREEN TRANSFORM OUR VALUES INTO ACTIONS.
THESE EIGHT BELIEF STATEMENTS EXPLICITLY INDICATE THE UNDERLYING ACTIONS ACROSS THE ENTIRE PLAN.
IN ORDER TO BRING THIS DOCUMENT TO LIFE AND REALIZE OUR DESIRED STUDENT OUTCOMES.
NOTICE THAT THE COMMITMENT TO ACTION BEGINS WITH THE FIRST TWO WORDS GISD MUST .
KEY PIECES OF THESE EIGHT BELIEF STATEMENTS INCLUDE SYSTEMATIC FRAMEWORKS FOR DATA ANALYSIS, MONITORING AND EVALUATION.
TEACHERS IS THE NUMBER ONE DETERMINANT OF STUDENT SUCCESS MUST BE PROVIDED WITH RESOURCES, ONGOING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND COACHING.
HIGH STUDENT EXPECTATIONS ARE ACHIEVED THROUGH RIGOROUS CURRICULUM AND TARGETED INSTRUCTION.
AUTHENTIC RELATIONSHIPS WITH FAMILY SUPPORT STUDENT LEARNING.
BARRIERS SHOULD BE REMOVED TO POSITIVELY IMPACT OUR STUDENTS.
GROWTH MINDSET IS REQUIRED TO CHANGE AND ADAPT.
THERE'S A HIGH SENSE OF URGENCY AND EQUITABLE AND INCLUSIVE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENTS ARE A MUST.
IF WE TRULY WANT TO FULFILL OUR ACADEMIC GOALS FOR OUR STUDENTS, THESE ACADEMIC BELIEFS NEED TO BE MORE THAN JUST WORDS ON A PAGE OR IN THE WORDS OF RAPPER MONTELL JORDAN.
TO ENSURE THAT THERE IS AN ALIGNMENT BETWEEN OUR GOAL VALUES, BELIEFS AND STUDENT OUTCOMES THE WORKING GROUP GENERATED NINE NONNEGOTIABLE.
THESE NINE NEGOTIABLES WILL SERVE AS A REFERENCE AS WE CONTINUE TO DEVELOP.
DO YOU WANT ME TO CONTINUE TO SING? THAT'S THE FIRST TIME I'VE EVER SANG AT THE BOARD MEETING.
OK, THESE NON-NEGOTIABLE WILL SERVE AS A REFERENCE AS WE CONTINUE TO DEVELOP THE ACADEMIC RECOVERY PLAN.
FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN DEVELOPING OUR STRATEGIES, THE NON-NEGOTIABLE WILL SERVE AS GUIDING PRINCIPLES OR QUESTIONS TO ENSURE THAT WE MAINTAIN A TIGHT ALIGNMENT.
IS THERE ACCOUNTABILITY FOR SUCCESSFULLY IMPLEMENTING AND MONITORING A SPECIFIC STRATEGY? WHO IS ACCOUNTABLE TO WHOM AND HOW WILL IT BE MONITORED? HOW ARE OUR TEACHERS AND COMMUNITY INVOLVED IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS STRATEGY? HAVE WE GOTTEN THEIR INPUT? HAVE WE COMMUNICATED TO AND WITH TEACHERS AND COMMUNITY? WHAT DATA WILL BE AVAILABLE RELATED TO THIS STRATEGY AND HOW WILL THAT DATA BE USED TO INFORM DECISION MAKING? AND WHAT DECISIONS WILL IT IMPACT? WHAT SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES DO WE CURRENTLY HAVE IN PLACE TO SUPPORT THIS STRATEGY OR OUR CURRENT SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES EFFICIENT, EFFECTIVE.
WHAT NEW SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES MAY BE NEEDED? AND ARE OUR SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES DOCUMENTED SO THAT THEY CAN BE EASILY REFERENCED AS NEEDED? HOW DOES THIS STRATEGY IMPACT INSTRUCTION? HOW WILL WE KNOW THE INSTRUCTIONAL IMPACT? WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? WHAT DOES IT SOUND LIKE? HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE A COMMON UNDERSTANDING OF A NEEDED INSTRUCTIONAL IMPACT? IS THIS STRATEGY CLEARLY COMMUNICATED WITHIN AND ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION? AND HOW FREQUENTLY IS THIS STRATEGY DISCUSSED? IS THIS STRATEGY PROVIDED WITH EQUITY WITHIN AND ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION? AND HOW CAN EQUITY BE ACHIEVED? AND DOES THIS STRATEGY CONSIDER THE WHOLE CHILD, AS YOU CAN SEE, ASKING QUESTIONS RELATED TO THESE, NOT NEGOTIABLES, NOT ONLY IMPACTS OUR PLANNED DEVELOPMENT, BUT THE IMPLEMENTATION, CONTINUOUS MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF OUR PLAN.
SO LAST NOVEMBER, WHEN TALKING ABOUT BUDGET CONSIDERATIONS AND IMPACTING DECISION MAKING AT THE DISTRICT LEVEL, DR.
LOPEZ IDENTIFIED FIVE GUIDING PRIORITIES CLOSING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS, COLLEGE CAREER MILITARY READINESS, RETAINING QUALITY TEACHERS LITERACY AND NUMERACY.
AND DOES THE PROGRAM GENERATE FUNDING WHEN LOOKING AT OUR CURRENT ACADEMIC REALITY AND OUR DESIRED STUDENT OUTCOMES BUILT ON ACADEMIC RECOVERY? THESE FIVE GUIDING PRINCIPLES ALSO INFLUENCED OUR REFOCUSING FROM OUR NINE CURRENT KEY PERFORMANCE AREAS TO SIX KEY PERFORMANCE AREAS K THROUGH EIGHT LITERACY PERFORMANCE AND GROWTH.
MATHEMATICS, PERFORMANCE AND GROWTH.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ACQUISITION, POST-SECONDARY READINESS, WHOLE CHILD
[00:50:07]
DEVELOPMENT AND SUPPORTS AND TEACHER GROWTH.AND WHILE ON THE SURFACE LEVEL THIS MAY APPEAR TO BE A REDUCTION, IT IS ACTUALLY A REFINEMENT OF OUR FOCUS TO KEY CRITICAL AREAS AND AN EXPANSION OF OUR ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OUTCOMES.
AS NOTED IN THE CONFIDENTIAL DRAFT OF THE ACADEMIC RECOVERY PLAN YOU RECEIVED IN ADVANCE OF THIS EVENING'S PRESENTATION, THE COMPREHENSIVE NEEDS ASSESSMENT IS EXPANDED TO LOOK AT STUDENT OUTCOMES BY GRADE LEVEL AS WELL AS GRADE LEVEL GROUPINGS.
THE SIX KEY FOCUS AREAS YIELD TWENTY FOUR PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION.
INDIVIDUAL SCHOOLS WILL NOT HAVE AS MANY.
THEY'LL BE LIMITED TO THOSE THAT ARE MEASURED IN THEIR GRADE LEVEL GROUPINGS.
AND THE CURRENT DRAFTED STRATEGIES INDICATE ACTIONS AT THE DISTRICT LEVEL TO PROVIDE LEADERSHIP AND DIRECTION FOR TEACHERS, CAMPUS ADMINISTRATORS AND OUR COMMUNITY.
BEFORE WE TAKE A LOOK AT THE TWENTY FOUR DRAFT PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES, IT IS WORTH A REMINDER THAT TONIGHT'S ITEM IS BEING PRESENTED TO SEEK YOUR INPUT.
IN ADDITION, YOU'LL NOTICE THAT BECAUSE THE DOCUMENT IS STILL IN DRAFT FORM, THE 2021 PERFORMANCE OUTCOMES ARE CURRENTLY BLANK.
ONCE WE HAVE OUR END OF YEAR PERFORMANCE OUTCOMES, WE PLAN TO BRING THIS ITEM BACK TO YOU WITH OUR 2021 BASELINE DATA AND OUR ANNUAL TARGETS.
ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU, DR. CADDELL, BOARD OF TRUSTEES, DR.
WHAT I WANT TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT IS NOT THE GOALS THAT ARE NECESSARILY ON THE SCREEN SINCE DR. CADDELL MENTIONED WE DON'T HAVE OUR OUTCOMES YET.
WHAT I WANTED TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT IS THE HOW WE'RE PLANNING TO ACHIEVE THESE GOALS, THE STRATEGIES AND WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO DIFFERENTLY MOVING FORWARD TO MEET THESE TARGETS.
LOOKING SPECIFICALLY AT LITERACY K THROUGH EIGHT LITERACY, PERFORMANCE AND GROWTH.
WHAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT MANY, MANY TIMES IN THE PAST IS OUR ELEMENTARY INSTRUCTIONAL MODEL OF BALANCED LITERACY.
THIS IS A MODEL WE BELIEVE IN.
WE ARE SEEING GREAT STRIDES IN OUR STUDENTS MEETING THEIR LITERACY GOALS.
IN THE PAST, IT'S BEEN A STRATEGIC PIECE AND US MOVING TOWARDS THOSE THIRD GRADE LITERACY GOALS THAT WE'VE HAD IN THE PAST.
WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT DIFFERENTLY THIS YEAR AND MOVING FORWARD TO THE YEAR 2030 IS MOVING THAT THROUGH SIXTH GRADE.
WE KNOW WITH OUR STUDENTS COMING UP THAT THEY ARE LOOKING AT GAPS WELL BEYOND JUST ONE YEAR OF INSTRUCTION IN COMBINATION WITH GAPS THAT WE WERE SEEING, EVEN PRE COVID.
SO WE BELIEVE THAT A BALANCED LITERACY MODEL THAT INCORPORATES READING AND WRITING AND SMALL GROUP INSTRUCTION THROUGH GUIDED READING INTO MIDDLE SCHOOL IS GOING TO BE AN EFFECTIVE WAY FOR OUR TEACHERS TO ACTUALLY ADDRESS STUDENT GAPS.
THE ISSUE WITH THAT IS THAT OUR MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHERS ARE NOT TRAINED ON HOW TO TEACH STUDENTS HOW TO READ.
BY THE TIME THAT WE GET STUDENTS TO MIDDLE SCHOOL, THE ASSUMPTION IS OFTEN THAT STUDENTS DO ALREADY KNOW HOW TO READ.
SO OUR TEACHERS DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE THE BACKGROUND AND THE SKILL SET TO TEACH LIKE WE SEE OUR KINDERGARTEN FIRST AND SECOND GRADE TEACHERS.
BUT THAT'S A GAP WE WANT TO ADDRESS.
WE MAY NOT BE TEACHING STUDENTS TO READ IN SIXTH, SEVENTH AND EIGHTH GRADE, BUT IN ORDER TO ADDRESS THOSE FOUNDATIONAL SKILLS, A TEACHER NEEDS TO KNOW HOW IT HAPPENS IN ORDER TO PERSONALIZE LEARNING FOR THOSE STUDENTS.
SO TO PREPARE OUR TEACHERS FOR THE BALANCED LITERACY IMPLEMENTATION, WHAT WE ARE PLANNING TO DO IS EXPAND THE USE OF READING ACADEMIES.
IF YOU THINK BACK TO SOME OF OUR PRESENTATIONS ON HOUSE BILL THREE AND THE PAST READING ACADEMIES ARE MANDATED BY TEA FOR ALL KINDERGARTEN THROUGH THIRD GRADE TEACHERS, REGARDLESS IF THEY'RE JUST A MATH TEACHER OR JUST A SCIENCE TEACHER, EVERY SINGLE TEACHER WILL ATTEND READING ACADEMIES, AS OUTLINED BY HOUSE BILL THREE.
HOWEVER, WE ALSO HAVE THE OPTION TO EXPAND IT UP THROUGH SIXTH GRADE.
WE FEEL LIKE THIS IS GOING TO BE A CRITICAL PIECE FOR OUR UPPER ELEMENTARY AND BEGINNING MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHERS.
THE READING ACADEMIES FOCUSES ON THE SCIENCE OF TEACHING READING, WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE.
TEACHING READING IS A SCIENCE AND IN DOING SO IT'S GOING TO HELP THEM UNDERSTAND WHEN THEIR STUDENTS COME TO THEM WITH A ONE YEAR TWO YEAR OR THREE YEAR LITERACY GAP.
HOW TO TARGET THAT SPECIFIC INTERVENTION TO CLOSE THOSE GAPS.
WE ARE IN YEAR ONE OF READING ACADEMY IMPLEMENTATION RIGHT NOW.
SO EVEN DURING COVID WE CONTINUE WITH OUR IMPLEMENTATION.
OUR EARLY LITERACY TEACHERS, OUR ELEMENTARY PRINCIPALS AND ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS, OUR INTERVENTIONIST, ARE ALREADY IN THE MODULES.
CURRENTLY, IT HAPPENS WITHIN CANVAS THROUGH TEA THEY'RE USING THE SAME ELEMENTS THAT WE ARE AND IT'S GOING REALLY, REALLY WELL.
IT'S IN-DEPTH, IT'S CHALLENGING, BUT IT'S VERY EYE-OPENING FOR EVEN TEACHERS WHO'VE BEEN TEACHING FOR 20 PLUS YEARS TO LOOK AT HOW CRITICALLY THEY HAVE TO TO REFINE THEIR
[00:55:02]
STRATEGIES TO HELP CLOSE STUDENT GAPS.SO WE'RE EXCITED FOR THAT TO CONTINUE THROUGH OUR MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHERS AS WELL.
THAT SCIENCE OF TEACHING READING IS A CRITICAL PIECE.
SO STARTING IN JANUARY OF 2021, TEA REQUIRES TEACHERS WHO HAVE AN EC THROUGH SIX.
FOUR THROUGH EIGHT ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS CERTIFICATE TO HAVE THE SCIENCE OF TEACHING READING CERTIFICATION AS WELL, WHICH IS GREAT NEWS MOVING FORWARD FOR THE TEACHERS THAT WE'RE GOING TO HIRE.
THE CONCERN IS THAT OUR TEACHERS THAT WE ALREADY HAVE THAT ARE GOING TO BE WORKING WITH STUDENTS WHO HAVE TREMENDOUS GAPS IN FOUNDATIONAL LITERACY SKILLS, WON'T HAVE ATTENDED THAT TEST PREP, WON'T HAVE THAT CERTIFICATION.
SO WHAT WE'RE PLANNING TO DO IS WORKING WITH DR.
BROWN OUR HR TEAM IS FIRST START ACTIVELY RECRUITING TEACHERS THAT HAVE THE SCIENCE OF TEACHING READING CERTIFICATE, BUT ALSO WORKING TO GET OUR CURRENT MIDDLE SCHOOL AND UPPER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHERS CERTIFIED TO BE SCIENCE OF TEACHING READING CERTIFIED TEACHERS.
IN DOING THAT WE'RE WORKING WITH A UNIVERSITY PARTNERSHIP TO HELP THEM PREPARE FOR THE TEST.
AS I SAID, IT'S VERY IT'S A VERY COMPLEX, RESEARCH BASED FOUNDATIONAL PRACTICES SKILLS TEST.
IT'S GOING TO BE INCREDIBLY HELPFUL FOR THESE TEACHERS TO KNOW THE HOW TO INSTRUCT STUDENTS ON LITERACY GAPS.
SO WORKING WITH THAT UNIVERSITY PARTNERSHIP AND THEN ALSO INCENTIVIZING OUR TEACHERS WHO PASS THE TEST IS OUR GOAL TO GET OUR EXISTING, LET'S SAY, SEVENTH AND EIGHTH GRADE ENGLISH TEACHERS WHO NEVER EVEN NECESSARILY TAUGHT A READING CLASS, BUT EQUIPPING THEM WITH THOSE SKILLS.
SO THEY'RE NOT ONLY TEACHING ELEMENT OR TEACHING ENGLISH TO MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS, BUT IT ALSO GIVES US THE FLEXIBILITY TO WORK WITH STRATEGIC SCHEDULING.
SO HOPEFULLY THEY CAN START PICKING UP SIXTH GRADE READING STUDENTS AS WELL.
SO THAT'S A KEY PIECE THAT OUR DIVISION OF LEADERSHIP IS GOING TO BE WORKING WITH US ON AS WELL TO SCHEDULING STUDENTS WE'RE ANTICIPATING A LARGER THAN EVER NUMBER OF STUDENTS COMING INTO MIDDLE SCHOOL THAT NEED READING INTERVENTION.
WE DON'T HAVE ANY NEW READING TEACHERS.
WE DON'T HAVE NEW READING TEACHER POSITIONS.
SO WE WANT TO LOOK DIFFERENTLY AT THE TEACHERS WE HAVE AND EQUIP THEM TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY CAN MEET THOSE STUDENT NEEDS.
LOOKING AT MATH, THE FOCUS IS VERY SIMILAR.
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ON GRADE LEVEL PERFORMANCE, ACADEMIC GROWTH AND STAAR PERFORMANCE LEVELS AT THE MEET STANDARDS.
SO THOSE THOSE EXPECTATIONS HAVEN'T CHANGED AND THAT FOCUS HASN'T CHANGED.
UNFORTUNATELY, WE DON'T HAVE A DESIGNATED PATHWAY FOR MATH LIKE WE HAVE FOR READING ACADEMIES, WHICH IS A PERFECT OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO DEVELOP IT OURSELVES.
AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE DOING.
JUST LIKE IN READING, WE'RE WORKING ON A FOUNDATIONAL MATH SKILLS COMING INTO SIXTH GRADE OR COMING INTO NINTH GRADE.
WE'RE GOING TO SEE STUDENTS IN THOSE ESPECIALLY IN THOSE TRANSITIONAL GRADE LEVELS, PLUS ALL THE OTHER GRADE LEVELS.
LOOKING AT GAPS FROM SEVERAL SEVERAL GRADES PREVIOUS.
SO VERTICALLY ALIGNING OUR CURRICULUM IS A CRITICAL PIECE OF WHAT WE'RE GOING TO BE WORKING ON AND TEACHING AND LEARNING, MAKING SURE THAT OUR TEACHERS HAVE THE SKILL SET, EVEN THOUGH THEY MAY BE IN NINTH GRADE ALGEBRA TEACHER TO GO BACK AND ADDRESS SEVENTH AND EIGHTH GRADE OR POTENTIALLY SIXTH GRADE SKILLS, BECAUSE THOSE BUILDING BLOCKS HAVE TO BE THERE FOR US TO HAVE SUCCESS AT THE UPPER LEVELS.
WE'RE ALSO ADJUSTING OUR PACING CALENDARS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE SPIRAL REVIEW BUILT IN TO TAKE THE QUESTION MARK OUT OF TEACHERS WHEN THEY COME IN, HAVE THEIR STUDENT DATA AND LOOK AT IT TO KNOW WHERE THEY NEED TO SPECIFICALLY WORK IN SMALL GROUPS FOR INTERVENTION FOR THOSE KIDS AND THEN ALSO MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE FLEXIBILITY IN THE CALENDAR, WHICH IS SOMETHING WE STARTED IMPLEMENTING THIS YEAR TO ALLOW FOR RETEACH AND INTERVENTION EVERY SINGLE SCHOOL DAY, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT OUR STUDENTS ARE GOING TO NEED TO GET CAUGHT UP.
SO ALONG WITH THESE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND CURRICULUM REVISIONS, AS I MENTIONED IN THE LITERACY SECTION AS WELL, H.R.
IS GOING TO BE WORKING TO HELP US RECRUIT MATH, FOCUS TEACHING CERTIFICATES TO MAKE SURE, ESPECIALLY SIGNIFICANTLY AT THE MIDDLE SCHOOL LEVEL, THAT OUR LOWEST PERFORMING KIDS OR OUR STUDENTS WITH THE MOST SIGNIFICANT GAPS ARE IN A CLASSROOM WITH A TEACHER THAT HAS THE MOST SKILLS AND INTERVENING WITH THOSE SPECIFIC GAPS.
ALL RIGHT, MOVING ON TO OUR K THROUGH 12 ENGLISH LANGUAGE ACQUISITION GOAL, YOU'RE GOING TO HEAR A FEW REPEATS BECAUSE A LOT OF WHAT WE'RE DOING IS AN INTERCONNECTED THREAD THAT ALIGNS TO ALL OF OUR GOALS.
WE ARE SPECIFICALLY LOOKING WITH THESE GOALS IN REFERENCE TO LONG TERM GOALS AND WHAT WE'RE DOING DIFFERENTLY TO PROGRESS THROUGH LANGUAGE ACQUISITION.
YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE HEARD ME SAY THAT NOW THREE TIMES.
IT'S A REALLY KEY PIECE OF WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO.
AND OUR AREA DIRECTORS ARE REALLY PLAYING A BIG PART IN HELPING US DEFINE WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE IN CAMPUSES.
AGAIN, WE DON'T HAVE MORE RESOURCES.
WHAT WE DO NEED TO DO IS USE THE RESOURCES AND TEACHERS WE HAVE THE MOST EFFECTIVELY AND STRATEGICALLY.
SCHEDULING STUDENTS INTO SPECIFIC CLASSROOMS IS GOING TO MAKE A HUGE IMPACT.
WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CONTINUE OUR SHELTERED INSTRUCTION IMPLEMENTATION THAT SAYS NOW WE'RE COMING THROUGH YEAR THREE SHELTER AND INSTRUCTION AS A REMINDER, AS LINGUISTIC ACCOMMODATIONS FOR ENGLISH LEARNERS IN A GENERAL EDUCATION CLASSROOM
[01:00:04]
SETTING.THESE ARE STRATEGIES THAT ARE GOOD FOR EVERY SINGLE STUDENT.
THERE'S GOOD FOR ESPECIALLY OUR ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS.
AND MAKING SURE THAT AS PART OF ONBOARDING, WHEN YOU BECOME A TEACHER IN GARLAND ISD, OR IF YOU'RE AN EXISTING TEACHER WHO HAS SOMEHOW MISSED OUR EXTENSIVE TRAINING IMPLEMENTATION, THAT YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT SHELTERED INSTRUCTION IS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE, WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE, AND HOW IT HELPS KIDS IN YOUR CLASSROOM.
THE NEXT THING WE'RE DOING, WE TALKED ABOUT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, BUT ALSO THAT CURRICULUM AUDIT, MAKING SURE THAT IN OUR LITERACY AND MATHEMATICS CURRICULUM HERE IN GARLAND ISD, THAT THE ELPS, THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY STANDARDS ARE EMBEDDED WITHIN OUR CURRICULUM FRAMEWORKS.
OUR GOAL IS TO MAKE SURE WE'RE ADDRESSING THE NEEDS OF ALL OF OUR STUDENTS WITHIN OUR CURRICULUM.
AND THAT IS A BIG PIECE OF IT BECAUSE WE HAVE SO MANY ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS, OUR TEACHERS SHOULDN'T HAVE TO GO TO ANOTHER RESOURCE OR ANOTHER PLACE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO SERVE THOSE STUDENTS AND SHOULD ALL BE EMBEDDED FOR ALL OF OUR STUDENTS.
THESE STUDENTS WILL ALSO BE IMPACTED BY THE IMPLEMENTATION OF READING ACADEMY.
SO READING ACADEMIES HAS A SPECIFIC BI LITERACY TRACK.
SO CURRENTLY OUR TEAMS, WE HAVE A BI LITERACY COHORT THAT ARE WORKING IN THAT MODEL THAT WILL CONTINUE AS WE START KINDERGARTEN AND FIRST GRADE TEACHERS NEXT YEAR AND CONTINUE ON THROUGH SIXTH GRADE TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE LEARNING RESEARCH BASED PRACTICES THAT ARE DESIGNED SPECIFICALLY FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS.
OK, I AM NOW GOING TO TURN IT OVER, I THINK, TO MS. JOYNER.
GOOD EVENING, TRUSTEES AND DR.
SO CONTINUING WITH THE POST-SECONDARY READINESS, THESE PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES ARE FOR POST-SECONDARY READINESS AND THEY ARE ALIGNED TO THE COLLEGE CAREER AND MILITARY READINESS INDICATORS THAT THE STUDENTS MUST MEET IN ORDER TO, AS OUTLINED IN THE TEA ACCOUNTABILITY MANUAL.
MANY OF THESE INITIATIVES ARE AREAS THAT YOU ALL AS TRUSTEES HAVE ALREADY APPROVED AS BUDGET SPENDS TO SUPPORT STUDENTS.
SO, FOR EXAMPLE, THE COLLEGE ASSESSMENTS, THE SAT, PSAT, AP EXAMS THAT WE PROVIDE TO ALL OF OUR STUDENTS, THE STUDENTS WHO ARE PARTICIPATING IN THE DUAL CREDIT COURSES AND EARNING AT LEAST THREE COLLEGE CREDIT HOURS.
SO THOSE ARE PART OF OUR POST-SECONDARY READINESS, AS WELL AS THE STUDENTS THAT ARE SUCCESSFULLY PREPARED FOR THESE POST-SECONDARY OPPORTUNITIES.
SO OUR STUDENTS THAT ARE EARNING THEIR CERTIFICATIONS ALONG THE WAY.
SO THESE ARE THINGS THAT YOU ALL AS A BOARD HAVE ALREADY APPROVED AND ARE ALREADY SUPPORTIVE OF.
OK, WITH REGARD TO THE WHOLE CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND SUPPORT, THESE ARE FACILITATED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF GUIDANCE AND COUNSELING AND STUDENT SERVICES, SO FACILITATING THE GROWTH OF SOCIO EMOTIONAL, PHYSICAL, CREATIVE AND COGNITIVE CAPACITIES IS ESSENTIAL FOR A CHILD'S WELL-BEING AND ACADEMIC SUCCESS.
THE GUIDANCE AND COUNSELING STUDENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT PLAY AN INTEGRAL PART IN SUPPORTING GARLAND ISD STUDENTS, STAFF AND FAMILIES TO MAKE RESPONSIBLE AND CARING DECISIONS, MANAGE EMOTIONS, ACHIEVE PERSONAL AND COLLECTIVE GOALS, AND CULTIVATE WELCOMING ENVIRONMENTS THAT PROMOTE EMPATHY, ENCOURAGE EQUITY AND FORMS OF COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIPS TO LEVERAGE OUR STUDENT VOICE, ATTENDANCE, DISCIPLINE, PARENT ENGAGEMENT AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OUTCOME DATA.
THESE DEPARTMENTS HAVE CREATED OBJECTIVES DESIGNED TO ENHANCE THE CHILD'S DEVELOPMENT.
AND WITH REGARD TO TEACHER GROWTH, THE TEACHER LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES AND GROWTH ARE THE FOCUS OF THESE PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES.
THESE PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES ARE ALIGNED TO THE TEACHER INCENTIVE ALLOTMENT, WHICH WE ARE IMPLEMENTING OR COLLECTING DATA FOR THIS YEAR AND THE 30 HOURS OF DISTRICT FOCUSED PD WHICH ARE WITHIN THE EXISTING CONTRACT DAYS.
SO WE ARE RECOMMENDING THAT WE MAINTAIN OUR DISTRICT ONE ACADEMIC GOAL, BUT WHAT'S DIFFERENT IN TONIGHT'S RECOMMENDATION TONIGHT, IT PRIORITIZES SIX KEY PERFORMANCE AREAS WHILE MAINTAINING AGGRESSIVE STUDENT OUTCOMES THAT WILL REQUIRE ACCELERATED ANNUAL PROGRESS.
IT FOCUSES ON DISTRICT ACTIONS TO LEAD STUDENT AND TEACHER OUTCOMES.
IT FOCUSES ON STUDENTS AND STRUCTURES FOR SUSTAINABILITY OF OUR STUDENT AND TEACHER OUTCOMES.
IT INFUSES DATA DRIVEN DECISION MAKING, INCLUDING WITH THE ALLOCATION OF STAFFING AND SCHEDULING TO PROVIDE OUR BEST SUPPORT WHERE IT'S NEEDED MOST.
IT EMPHASIZES LITERACY AND MATHEMATICS AS FOUNDATIONAL FOCUS, CONSIDERING BOTH
[01:05:06]
PERFORMANCE AND GROWTH.IT EMPHASIZES BUILDING AND SUSTAINING TEACHER CAPACITY, INCLUDING THE DEVELOPMENT OF CORE INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES.
AND IT REQUIRES A DISTRICT LEVEL COMMITMENT BASED ON OUR PREVIOUS WORK WITH LOW PERFORMING SCHOOLS.
YOU MAY REMEMBER [INAUDIBLE] OR THE ESF EFFECTIVE SCHOOLS FRAMEWORK.
WE KNOW THAT WHEN THE DISTRICT COMMITS TO PROVIDING THE NECESSARY COMMITMENTS, OUR STUDENT PERFORMANCE OUTCOMES SOAR.
SO WHILE TONIGHT'S DRAFT MAY APPEAR IN FORMAT TO BE WHAT YOU'VE SEEN BEFORE, THE CONTENT WITHIN THE PLAN IS A COMMITMENT TO VISIONARY LEADERSHIP, WHERE BOLD ACTIONS WILL LEAD THE WAY FORWARD ON ACADEMIC RECOVERY AND ACHIEVING NEW HEIGHTS.
AS WE MENTIONED THIS EVENING, YOU ARE RECEIVING A DRAFT OF THIS WORK UP TO THIS POINT, WE WANT AND NEED YOUR INPUT TO CONTINUE THE DEVELOPMENT AND THE REFINEMENT.
AFTER RECEIVING TONIGHT'S FEEDBACK, YOU CAN SEE THAT WE HAVE OUTLINED OUR NEXT STEPS FOR THE CONTINUED REFINEMENT OF THE ACADEMIC RECOVERY PLAN WITH A TARGET OF PROVIDING TRUSTEES WITH A FINAL DRAFT ON MAY 25TH TO BE FOLLOWED WITH A SUBSEQUENT PRESENTATION ON THE RECOMMENDED ANNUAL TARGETS ONCE WE RECEIVE OUR END OF YEAR 2021 DATA.
IT'S WORTH NOTING THAT OUR WORK ON THE ACADEMIC RECOVERY PLAN DOES HAVE IMPLICATIONS FOR OUR CAMPUS IMPROVEMENT PLANS THAT WILL BE DEVELOPED THIS SPRING.
AND SO AT THIS TIME, TRUSTEES, WE ARE EXCITED TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE AND RECEIVE YOUR FEEDBACK OR INPUT THAT YOU MAY HAVE ON THE CONTINUED DEVELOPMENT, THIS PLAN.
BOARD QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? FEEDBACK, INPUT.
IS THIS A STRATEGIC PLAN? IS THIS BOARD GOALS OR ARE THESE DISTRICT GOALS? AND WHAT'S CONFUSING ME, I THINK, IS THAT EITHER I JUST DON'T GET IT OR WHAT'S CONFUSING ME IS THE, I GUESS, THE TITLE OF AN ACADEMIC RECOVERY PLAN.
WHEN I THINK ABOUT THAT AND BEFORE I LOOKED AT THIS IN DETAIL, WHEN WE GOT THE INFORMATION, I THOUGHT IT WAS AN ACADEMIC RECOVERY PLAN OF US RECAPTURING THE LOST OF THE COVID SLIDE.
CLEARLY, THIS IS NOT WHAT THAT IS.
SO MY DEAL IS WHAT IS THE RIGHT LABELING OF WHAT THIS IS? AND WHEN WE DID THE ONE GOAL, ONE FOCUS BEFORE, IT WAS AS A RESULT OF WHAT WE ARE ADVISED TO DO AS BOARD MEMBERS, AS START WITH BOARD GOALS FIRST, THEN DISSEMINATE THAT OUT, AND THEN WE WE END UP WITH DISTRICT GOALS.
SO I JUST KIND OF WANT CLARITY ON AM I THE ONLY ONE THAT SEES IT THIS WAY? AND IF I AM THAT, I'M FINE WITH LEAVING IT WHAT IT IS.
AND THEN MY NEXT QUESTION ALONG WITH THAT IS WHY IS THIS IN TO 2030? AND.
WELL, I WISH I COULD SAY IT'S TILL 2030, BECAUSE THAT'S WHEN MY CONTRACT IS TO, BUT I CAN'T SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, IT DOESN'T GO.
IF YOU IN THE PRESENTATION, WHAT WE WANTED TO DO IS START WITH WHAT IS OUR FOCUS BEFORE WE GET INTO THE TO THE STRATEGIC GRANULES OF WHAT THE PLAN IS GOING TO LOOK LIKE, PART OF WHAT THIS ACADEMIC RECOVERY PLAN IS.
IF YOU CAN GO INTO THE FIVE OR SIX AREAS THAT WE WERE RECOMMENDING WAS THAT IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S LESS, BUT IT'S KIND OF MORE BECAUSE THERE'S LIKE TWENTY FOUR DIFFERENT PARTS TO IT.
AND SO WHAT WE WANTED FEEDBACK FROM THE BOARD IS AS WE'RE GOING IN OUR ACADEMIC RECOVERY.
OK, AND WHAT ARE WE GOING TO HYPER FOCUS ON.
OK, SO FOR INSTANCE, THIS IS JUST ME THINKING OUT LOUD.
OUR GRADUATION RATE WAS NINETY FOUR PERCENT THIS PAST YEAR.
WE'VE GONE UP FOUR PERCENT FROM WHEN WHEN WE FIRST STARTED TOGETHER AS A TEAM.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S GOING TO BE THE FIRST YEAR COVID OK.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S GOING TO BE.
BUT WHAT I, WHAT I'M SAYING IS IF THAT'S NOT THE FOCUS ANYMORE, BECAUSE WE ARE
[01:10:02]
EXCELLING, WE'VE BEEN ABOVE THE THE 90 PERCENT MAYBE WE SAY, LOOK, LET'S NOT WORRY ABOUT THAT.LET'S WORRY ABOUT NUMERACY AND LET'S FOCUS ON JUST THESE CORE AREAS.
AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE GOING TO HYPER FOCUS ON.
SO THEN FROM THERE THEN WE KNOW WHAT THE STRATEGY IS GOING TO BE.
AND THIS WILL EVENTUALLY TIE INTO MY EVALUATION IF YOU GUYS WANT TO USE THESE SAME MEASURES.
OK, AND THEN AND THEN WHAT WE DO IS THEN WE START ROLLING OUT WHAT THAT PLAN LOOKS LIKE.
SO THIS IS HOW WE'RE GOING TO HYPER FOCUS.
DR. HILL WAS BRILLIANTLY GOING OVER THE READING INITIATIVES AND THE LITERACY AND NUMERACY.
THAT'S A STATEWIDE INITIATIVE.
BUT AT THE SAME TIME, THAT IS A FOCUS FOR US.
OK, I WANT YOU TO THINK ABOUT THIS.
IN OUR DISTRICT, WE HAVE READING FOR EVERY KID THAT MAKES SENSE.
WE HAVE READING FOR EVERY KID, BUT WE HAVE ADVANCED READING FOR THE ADVANCED READERS.
DID YOU KNOW WE HAVE THOSE COURSES ADVANCED READING FOR THE ADVANCED READERS? WHAT DO WE HAVE FOR THE READERS THAT DON'T READ ADVANCED.
SO THOSE THAT CAN WE GIVE THEM MORE, THOSE THAT CAN'T WE DON'T GIVE THEM WHAT THEY NEED.
OK, SO THE THE THE AREA OF FOCUS HAS TO SHIFT.
IT HAS TO HAVE A DIFFERENT DYNAMIC, ESPECIALLY SINCE WE HAVE SO, SO MANY KIDS THAT HAVE LEARNING LOSS OR HAVEN'T BEEN IN SCHOOL.
OK, AND AND THAT'S WHAT THAT'S WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, BECAUSE ON A BACKWARDS DESIGN MODEL, YOU START WITH THE BIG PICTURE AND THEN YOU BUILD BACK.
OK, SO THEN THAT WAY YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE FOCUSING ON.
AND THAT'S WHAT THIS INITIAL PRESENTATIONS FOR.
I HOPE THAT GIVES SOME CLARITY.
IT'S INTERESTING BECAUSE MS. GRIFFIN AND I DID NOT TALK ABOUT THIS AT ALL, AND I MY COMMENTS WOULD HAVE BEEN ALMOST EXACTLY THE SAME AS HERS, WHICH IS KIND OF INTERESTING.
I WAS THINKING WHEN I SAW THE TITLE, OH, OK, WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT WHAT IS IN EVERY NEWSPAPER, EVERY TELEVISION, EVERY MAGAZINE IS RECOVERY, RECOVERY FOR WHAT'S HAPPENED.
AND WE'RE READING ABOUT THE PERCENTAGES OF KIDS AND FUTURE GENERATIONS.
AND THAT'S NOT REALLY WHAT THIS IS ABOUT.
SO MY ASSUMPTION, I THINK I'M CORRECT NOW, IS THAT THIS IS GOING TO BE OUR NEW BOARD GOALS.
IS THAT CORRECT? NO, THAT'S I'M GOING TO GET TO THAT.
IS THAT CORRECT? SO WHAT WE'RE GIVING YOU IS RECOMMENDATIONS ON WHAT COULD BE THE BOARD GOALS.
THESE ARE THINGS THAT WE COULD FOCUS ON.
YOU COULD LOOK THROUGH IT AND SAY, YAY, NAY, LET'S GO A WHOLE DIFFERENT DIRECTION.
OK, SO OUT IS WRITING, BUT WE KNEW THAT WAS GOING OUT ANYWAY BECAUSE THE STATE'S NOT GOING TO TEST THAT ANYWAY.
WELL OUT IS THE MEASUREMENT OF WRITING WILL BE EMBEDDED WITHIN THE READING TEST.
THE TRUTH BE, IT'S GOING TO BE HARD ON ALL.
IT'S LIKE GETTING STAAR BRAND NEW ALL OVER AGAIN.
SCIENCE THAT WE TESTED SCIENCE WE'RE TAKING SCIENCE OUT THAT I DIDN'T SEE IN HERE ANYWAY.
THOSE ARE THE TWO THAT I LOOK AT HERE PRETTY QUICKLY AND SAY THEY'RE OUT, OK.
SOCIAL SCIENCES, WHICH HAD WANTED TO BE IN AND TALK TO ME, LOOKS LIKE THEY'RE OUT ALSO.
ALSO, MS. GRIFFIN SAID 2030, WHAT'S THE RELEVANCE OF 2030 AND AGAIN, AS I'VE SAID IN TERMS OF YOUR REVIEWS.
SEVENTY FIVE, SIXTY FIVE, 62, 80.
WE'RE PICKING A NUMBER WHERE WE'RE GOING TO BE IN 2030.
DOES THAT EVEN MEAN ANYTHING? AND WE DON'T EVEN CARE AND WE'RE PICKING A NUMBER AND PUTTING IT IN BOLD.
WE'RE BOLDING A NUMBER NINE YEARS FROM NOW WITHOUT EVEN KNOWING WHAT OUR CURRENT NUMBER IS LIKE.
HOW DO WE DO THAT? WHY DO WE DO THAT? I MEAN, IF THE NUMBER CAME IN HIGHER THAN WE EXPECTED, THEN WOULD WE RAISE THE BOLDED NUMBER? IF IT CAME IN LOWER, WE WOULD LOWER THE BOLDED NUMBER.
DOES IT EVEN MATTER WHAT IS IN THE BLANK SPACE? I MEAN, THESE ARE THE QUESTIONS I HAVE.
SO EVERYTHING ELSE WE'VE INCLUDED, IT APPEARS THE AP AND IB THE SAT STUFF IS THERE.
WE'VE PUT MORE EMPHASIS ON MATH, WHICH I THINK IS IMPORTANT.
WE USED TO JUST DO EIGHTH GRADE MATH OR ALGEBRA.
NOW WE'VE TAKEN AND I SAID FOURTH WE'VE PUT MORE MATH.
[01:15:04]
AND SO I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT.WE'VE HAD TROUBLE TALKING ABOUT OUR GOALS TO 2025.
NOW WE'RE ADDING ANOTHER FIVE YEARS.
I JUST THINK WE HAVE TO MAKE A DECISION.
DOES IT REALLY MEAN ANYTHING? I'VE TRIED TO POINT OUT WHAT I THINK OUR INADEQUACIES, WHERE WE WE BEAT OUR GOAL AND YET WE GO BACKWARDS AND SAY EVEN THOUGH WE GOT TO TEN AN EIGHT IS GOOD THIS YEAR, WE'VE DONE THAT MULTIPLE TIMES.
AND I'VE POINTED IT OUT WITHOUT SUCCESS, OBVIOUSLY.
SO IF WE'RE GOING TO REALLY DO THIS AGAIN, LET'S HAVE SOME MEANING TO IT AND LET'S REALLY BE ABLE TO SAY IF WE SUCCEED, THEN WE HAVE TO RAISE THE GOAL.
IF WE DON'T, THEN LET'S UNDERSTAND WHY WE DIDN'T AND MAYBE LET'S CHANGE THE GOALS AGAIN.
LOOKING NINE YEARS DOWN THE ROAD, WHAT DOES THIS MEAN AND I DON'T KNOW AT THIS POINT, I'M GOING TO HAVE TO LOOK AT IT AND REALLY STUDY, WHICH I WILL BEFORE THE NEXT TIME TO SEE THAT THESE NUMBERS REALLY GET US TO WHERE IF OUR GOAL.
I HOPE IT'S I KNOW IT'S MY GOAL, YOU KNOW, AND I'VE SAID IT HERE MULTIPLE TIMES FOR US TO BE THE BEST URBAN DISTRICT, LARGE URBAN DISTRICT IN THE UNITED STATES, I THINK THAT'S A FAIR GOAL.
THE BROAD FOUNDATION SAID WE CAME CLOSE.
AND THEY'RE THE ONES WHO MEASURE IT.
YOU KNOW IT BECAUSE YOU GOT THERE, YOU GOT PRETTY CLOSE WITH YOUR DISTRICT.
YOU UNDERSTAND THAT? ARE THESE THE TYPE OF NUMBERS THAT GET US WHERE WE NEED TO GO? AND THAT'S IT.
AND THOSE ARE REAL GOOD POINTS.
I WANT TO CLARIFY A FEW THINGS JUST FOR THE PUBLIC.
THE MEASURES THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS IN A [INAUDIBLE].
OK, SO WE'RE NOT LOOKING AT MINIMUM PASSING RATES.
WE'VE GOT TO REMEMBER, WE'RE LOOKING AT MEETS PASSING RATE.
IT'S ALMOST THE HIGHEST LEVEL.
SO WHEN WE SAY THAT WE'RE GOING TO HIT A CERTAIN MEASURE, LIKE SOMEBODY MIGHT LOOK AT IT AND GO, YOU'RE SATISFIED WITH 80 PERCENT OF YOUR KIDS AT MEETS EXPECTATION AT THE READING LEVEL IN THIRD GRADE, 80 PERCENT OF OUR KIDS AT MEETING LEVEL IS WILL PROBABLY BE BEATING OUT HIGHLAND PARK RIGHT NOW.
OK, LIKE PEOPLE DON'T UNDERSTAND THE NUMBERS.
SO WHEN WE LOOK AT THE NUMBERS AND WE SAY 80, WHAT DOES IT MEAN? WE'VE GOT TO FIRST OF ALL, REMEMBER, THAT'S PROBABLY BEATING A LOT OF THE MOST OF HIGHLAND PARK IS THE MOST AFFLUENT SCHOOL DISTRICT IN THE STATE OF TEXAS WITH ZERO PERCENT ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS.
SO WE GOT TO REMEMBER THE STANDARD IS VERY HIGH.
LET'S SET THE MARK AND LET'S SET A YEAR VARIABLE, WHATEVER THAT MAY BE, OK? AND THEN WE CAN DECIDE HOW WE MEASURE IT 2030, NINE YEARS FROM NOW IS IT'S HARD TO PROJECT.
WE DIDN'T PROJECT WHAT HAPPENED IN 2020 AND 2021.
OK, SO WE DON'T HAVE A CRYSTAL BALL OF WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN WITHIN THE REMAINDER OF THIS DECADE.
I JUST KNOW THE FIRST TWO YEARS HAVE BEEN YEARS I HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED BEFORE AND I HOPE IT DOESN'T CONTINUE.
BUT, BUT INSTEAD OF LET'S INSTEAD OF GETTING THOSE MARKS, I THINK WHAT WE DO IS LOOK AT THE GOALS AND SAY, IS THAT SOMETHING WE REALLY WANT TO SPEND TIME MEASURING? MS. GRIFFIN KEEPS GOING BACK TO THE BANDWIDTH OF THE DISTRICT.
DO WE HAVE THE BANDWIDTH TO DO EVERYTHING WE'RE GOING TO SAY WE'RE GOING TO DO? OK, OR YOU MIGHT LOOK AT THESE AND SAY, LOOK, I LIKE WHAT IT SAYS, BUT IT DOESN'T TALK ABOUT SUBGROUPS AND WE'RE DOING A WHOLE EQUITY STUDY.
WHERE IS IT ON SUBGROUPS? HOW ARE WE DOING SOMETHING WITH OUR BLACK AND BROWN POPULATION TO CLOSE THE ACHIEVEMENT GAPS? MAYBE THAT'S MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE OVERALL SCORE RIGHT NOW.
WE WANTED TO GIVE YOU A TASTE BECAUSE ONCE WE DO THIS, THEN WE START THE STRATEGIES, THEN WE START THE IMPLEMENTATION, AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO GIVE YOU LEVELS OF STRATEGIES, NOT GO THROUGH EVERYTHING, BECAUSE WE'LL BE HERE FOR FIVE NIGHTS, ESPECIALLY WITH TWENTY FOUR MEASURES.
BUT THEN YOU'LL GET AN IDEA OF WHAT THE GAME PLAN IS GOING TO BE AND THEN WE'LL KNOW HOW LONG WE HAVE TO GET THERE.
WE'RE GOING IN BLIND RIGHT NOW AND I REALLY DON'T KNOW.
BY THE END OF THE DECADE WE'LL GET SOMEWHERE.
BUT YOU KNOW, ALL OF THOSE CAN BE CHANGED BY THE BOARD.
AND WHAT WE WANT TO DO IS CREATE SOME SORT OF SYNERGY.
SO IF THIS DOES CHANGE FROM THE BOARD, IT SHOULD CHANGE FOR OUR TEAMS AND THEN FOR OUR TEAMS. EVERYBODY SPEAKING THE SAME LANGUAGE.
SO THESE ARE JUST OUR ACADEMIC AND RECOVERY.
WE WANT TO PUT THIS OUT THERE SO YOU CAN SEE IT.
NOW, IF YOU LOOK AT IT, WE LOOK AT GROWTH FOR MAP.
WE'RE TRYING TO LOOK AT DIFFERENT AREAS, NOT JUST STAAR, BECAUSE LIFE IS BEYOND STAAR.
AFTER AFTER THEY GRADUATE, NOBODY TAKE STAAR AGAIN.
[01:20:01]
OK, SO WHAT WHAT ARE THE MEASURES THAT WE REALLY WANT TO ANCHOR ON AND HOW DO WE WANT TO ANALYZE IT? I'LL GIVE YOU ANOTHER ONE THAT COMES TO MIND.OUR STUDENTS OF COLOR ARE OVERREPRESENTED IN SPECIAL EDUCATION.
DO WE WANT TO MAKE THAT A GOAL? OK, IS THAT GOING TO BE SOMETHING WE THINK WE SHOULD LOOK AT? OUR STUDENTS OF COLOR ARE UNDERREPRESENTED IN GT.
IS THAT SOMETHING WE WANT TO LOOK AT? THOSE ARE OTHER THINGS THAT WE CAN PUT ON HERE.
IT DOESN'T ALL HAVE TO BE THOSE TWENTY FOUR ACADEMIC THINGS THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
SO THIS IS GETTING THE CONVERSATIONS GOING.
AND THEN AS WE GET DIRECTION AND REFINEMENT AND WE GET DATA, THEN WE'RE ABLE TO PROCEED FORWARD BECAUSE OUR ANALYSIS OF SPECIAL ED AND GT OR THOSE TYPE OF PROGRAMS DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE TO WAIT TO STAAR ON THAT.
THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT WE COULD START WORKING ON NOW, BUT BY THE TIME WE GO INTO THE BOARD, AT LEAST YOU GUYS HAVE A FRAMEWORK OF WHAT WE'RE THINKING AND YOU CAN SCRATCH ALL OF THIS UP.
AND THEN WHEN WE HAVE OUR BOARD WORKSHOP, THEN WE CAN WORK ON THIS SOME MORE ON MY EVALUATION INSTRUMENT AND THEN WE MOVE FORWARD FROM THAT.
DOES THAT SEEM FAIR? JUST TO REMIND TRUSTEES, WE HAVE RESET TARGETS, ANNUAL TARGETS AND EVEN IN GOALS BEFORE BASED ON PERFORMANCE.
AS AN EXAMPLE, OUR ALGEBRA ONE MEETS GRADE LEVEL PERFORMANCE WAS RESET BECAUSE WE HAD SO VASTLY EXCEEDED EXPECTATIONS FOR MULTIPLE YEARS.
I THINK TWO YEARS IN A ROW WE WERE LIKE, THIS IS NOT AN ANOMALY.
YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT TO READJUST OUR GOALS.
SO THAT'S NOT OUTSIDE OF THE QUESTION.
ALSO, YOU ALL HAVE ONE CURRENTLY ONE DISCIPLINE GOAL.
WELL, THE ONE DISCIPLINE GOAL IS AS MEASURED BY A SINGLE DATA POINT.
BUT MONTHLY OR BI MONTHLY, MS. GARCIA PROVIDES A PRESENTATION THAT ACTUALLY DISAGGREGATED THAT DATA BY A VARIETY OF STUDENT GROUPS THAT INCLUDE RACE, ETHNICITY, ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED AND DIFFERENT PROGRAM PARTICIPATIONS.
SO WHAT WE COULD POTENTIALLY START WITH IS THIS LOOK AT HOW YOU SEE THE GOAL, THE GOALS POTENTIALLY WORDED HERE, AND THEN PROVIDE A DISAGGREGATED SCORECARD THAT LOOKS AT STUDENT GROUPINGS IN A VARIETY OF WAY.
HOWEVER, WE WANT TO DISAGGREGATE THAT DATA BASED ON THE OUTCOMES OF THE EQUITY ASSESSMENT THAT'S UNDERWAY.
WE'VE ALSO HAD CONVERSATIONS ABOUT HOW TO MAKE THIS INFORMATION MORE ACCESSIBLE TO OUR CAMPUSES AND OUR COMMUNITY.
AND SO WE CURRENTLY HAVE A COVID DASHBOARD ON OUR DISTRICT WEBSITE.
CAN WE PUSH OUT A DASHBOARD ON OUR DISTRICT WEBSITE SO THAT, YES, YOU ALL CAN STILL HAVE YOUR POCKET ADDITIONS OF THE BOARD GOALS THAT MAY BE A LOT LONGER IF WE EXPAND TO 24 MEASURES, BUT YOU ALWAYS STILL HAVE YOUR METRICS THAT WE'D BE MORE PUBLIC AND MAKE THAT INFORMATION AVAILABLE.
WE COULD MAKE THE DASHBOARDS PRESENT BY ANY KIND OF DISAGGREGATION THAT WE WANT TO HAVE DISPLAYED THERE ON THE SCREEN.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
I THINK I WAS A LITTLE BIT LIKE MR. GLICK AND MS. GRIFFIN WHEN I SAW THE TITLE.
I JUST ASSUMED SOMETHING DIFFERENT.
BUT THEN WHEN I STARTED LOOKING THROUGH THE OBJECTIVES THAT WERE LISTED, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WAS JUST STRUCK BY WAS THAT EVEN WITHIN THE LAST YEAR WITH COVID AND OUR INABILITY TO REALLY GET GOOD QUALITY MAP AND STAAR DATA, WE STILL RELYING ON MAP AND STAAR DATA AS OUR PRIMARY WAY OF DETERMINING HOW WE'RE PROGRESSING.
AND SO I WAS HOPING THAT WE WOULD HAVE SOME ALTERNATIVE MEASURES OR INTERNAL SYSTEMS THAT WE COULD USE OUTSIDE OF THAT.
THAT WOULD GIVE US AN INDICATION OF WHERE OUR STUDENTS PERFORMANCE IS AND HOW WE CAN CARRY THAT FORWARD AND THE THINGS THAT WE NEED TO DO TO ADDRESS THE DEFICITS OR THE LOSS OF LEARNING.
SO CAN YOU GUYS SPEAK TO THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE WITH RESPECT TO THE DOCUMENT THAT YOU GUYS HAVE? SO I'M SURE THAT IT'S IN THE DOCUMENT.
AND DR. HILL, CAN YOU EXPAND MORE ON IT.
BUT WE DO HAVE CYCLE BASED ASSESSMENTS BUILT INTO OUR CURRICULUM SO THAT AT THE END OF EACH GRADING CYCLE, INSTRUCTIONAL UNIT CHUNK, THERE IS A STAAR ALIGNED ASSESSMENT THAT COVERS THAT CONTENT.
WELL, YOU DID AN EXCELLENT JOB, SO I MAY NOT BE NEEDED, BUT THAT PIECE OF IT THEN ALSO SPECIFIC TO LITERACY AT THE YOUNGER GRADE LEVELS, BECAUSE, AS YOU SAID, MAP THIS YEAR HAS PROVEN TO BE UNRELIABLE THUS FAR.
I KNOW WE HAVE SOME SYSTEMS IN PLACE TO IMPROVE THAT RELIABILITY.
WE ALSO HAVE FLUENCY ASSESSMENT.
SO DRA AND EDL WHICH IS THE SPANISH VERSION, I THINK WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THAT IN SOME OF OUR LITERACY PRESENTATIONS TO YOU.
WE'RE STILL DOING THOSE, OUR TEACHERS ARE STILL CONDUCTING THOSE.
SO WE HAVE OUTSIDE OF JUST OUR NORMS BASED ASSESSMENTS, WE HAVE FREQUENT CHECKS.
[01:25:01]
WE HAVE CHECKS FOR UNDERSTANDING BUILT INTO OUR CURRICULUM EVERY SINGLE DAY AND SOME SUBJECT AREAS AND EVERY SINGLE WEEK FOR THE REST.SO WE HAVE THOSE CHECKPOINTS THAT GIVE YOU OR GIVE TEACHERS A MORE ACCURATE AND JUST DAILY ALMOST REFLECTION OF HOW THEIR STUDENTS ARE DOING.
AND THAT REALLY IS WHAT DRIVES INSTRUCTION, IS THAT FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT PIECE.
SO IT MAY NOT BE SOMETHING THAT WE CAN LOOK AT AND TRACK AT THE DISTRICT LEVEL THREE TIMES A YEAR LIKE WE DO FOR MAP.
AND MAP IS VERY POWERFUL AND HELPING DRIVE INSTRUCTION.
BUT WE WANT TO EQUIP OUR TEACHERS TO BE REALLY GREAT PRACTITIONERS OF THEIR DAILY DATA WITH STUDENTS.
CADDELL MENTIONED, THOSE THE ASSESSMENTS THAT OUR TEAM DEVELOPS, THAT OUR STUDENTS TAKE ONCE A GRADING CYCLE, SOMETIMES MORE FREQUENTLY, AND THEN ALSO THE MORE INFORMAL ASSESSMENTS.
BUT THAT'S WHERE OUR TEACHERS THAT THE TEACHER TRAINING PIECE IS REALLY CRITICAL.
WE TALK ABOUT MEETING OUR STUDENTS WHERE THEY ARE.
WE HAVE TO EQUIP OUR TEACHERS WITH WHAT TO DO WITH THOSE STUDENTS WHEN THEY MEET THEM THERE.
SO HOW DOES WHAT YOU JUST DESCRIBED CORRELATE TO WHAT YOU GUYS HAVE IN THIS DOCUMENT AS IT RELATES TO THE OBJECTIVES? LIKE IF WE DON'T HAVE MAP AND WE DON'T HAVE STAAR, HOW DO WE UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU JUST DESCRIBED IN TERMS OF WHAT'S HAPPENING AT THE CAMPUS LEVEL IN THE CLASSROOMS TRANSLATES TO THIS IF WE HAVE ANOTHER YEAR WHERE WE CAN'T ASSESS THESE THINGS.
SO THAT'S THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION BECAUSE WE'RE WORKING UNDER THE ASSUMPTION THAT WE ARE NOT GOING TO HAVE ANOTHER YEAR WITH UNRELIABLE DATA, BUT THEY SHOULD CONNECT TO EACH OTHER.
THERE SHOULD NEVER BE A HUGE GAP BETWEEN WHAT A TEACHER SEES IN A CLASSROOM AND WHAT THE DATA PRESENTS IF THE STARS ARE ALL ALIGNING CORRECTLY.
SO IT'S LIKE A CHECKS AND BALANCES ON BOTH SIDES BECAUSE MAP IS A COMPUTER BASED ASSESSMENT.
SOME KIDS DON'T DO WELL ON COMPUTER BASED ASSESSMENTS.
EVEN IN A REGULAR YEAR, THEY CLICK THROUGH I OWN ONE OF THOSE CHILDREN AT HOME.
AND IT'S NOT ALWAYS A REFLECTION OF WHAT THEIR TRUE SKILL SET IS.
THAT'S WHERE THE FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT PIECE SERVES AS A CHECK AND BALANCE FOR THAT DATA.
SO THERE'S NEVER JUST A SINGLE DATA POINT WE GO OFF OF.
LET ME ROBERT, WHAT THE BOARD WANTS TO MEASURE.
IF THEY FEEL STANDARDIZED ASSESSMENTS ARE MORE IMPORTANT AND RELIABLE THAN WE USE STANDARDIZED ASSESSMENTS, IF THEY FEEL LIKE OUR INTERNAL INFORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS ARE MORE RELIABLE, THEN WE DO THAT.
AND YOU CAN'T COMPARE THE TWO AS MUCH AS YOU LIKE SHE SAYS IF THE STARS ALIGN, ONE EQUALS THE OTHER, BUT THEY REALLY DON'T.
OK, IT'S LIKE SAYING IF YOU DO WELL IN STAAR, YOU'RE GOING TO DO WELL ON THE SAT.
THEY ARE TWO TOTALLY DIFFERENT TESTS.
SO AS A BOARD WE HAVE TO DECIDE THAT.
IF WE FEEL THAT STANDARDIZED TEST IS WHAT DRIVES THIS DISTRICT AND IT DRIVES OUR RATINGS AND IT DRIVES US, THEN WE NEED TO STICK WITH IT.
AND THERE'S GOING TO BE YEARS THAT WE DON'T GET RELIABLE DATA.
YOU KNOW, IT COULD BE, FOR INSTANCE, THIS NEW YEAR OF HOW THEY RECALIBRATED LITERACY.
IT'S NOT GOING TO BE RELIABLE BECAUSE THE KIDS HAVE NEVER DONE A COMBINATION TEST LIKE THAT BEFORE.
OK, SO THAT'S A RECALIBRATION YEAR.
AND AND THEN THE QUESTION SAY, WELL DIDN'T WE SEE THIS COME IN, WHY COULDN'T WE DON'T KNOW HOW THAT TEST IS GOING TO COME OUT EVERY TIME THERE'S A NEW TEST, IT HITS US, THEN WE MIGHT GO WITH A MAP AND SAY, WELL, MAP, WE WANT TO SEE HOW THEY'RE DOING.
WE'LL USE THAT INSTEAD OF STAAR.
BUT WE MIGHT HAVE OUT OF THIS WORLD MAP RESULTS BECAUSE THERE'S A FOCUS ON IT.
AND THEN WE DON'T HAVE THAT GREAT OF STAAR RESULTS BECAUSE THERE'S A FOCUS ON IT.
AND THEN PEOPLE SAY, WHERE'S THE DISCONNECT? SO WHAT YOU DECIDE AS A BOARD, WHAT WE WANT TO MEASURE WILL REFLECT OUR VALUES.
AND WE GOT TO REALIZE THAT THERE'S NOT ALWAYS GOING TO BE A CONDUIT TO SAY, WELL, IF THIS DOESN'T WORK, WE GOT THIS.
AND IF THIS DOESN'T WORK, THE SCHOOL SYSTEM ISN'T BUILT THAT WAY BECAUSE NOT NONE OF THE NONE OF THE THINGS TALK.
SO WE CAN TALK THEORY THAT IN THEORY THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS, BUT WE HAVE TO REALIZE WHAT IS IT THAT WE WANT TO MEASURE AND CALIBRATE.
IF WE DIDN'T HAVE COVID, WE WOULDN'T BE TALKING ABOUT THESE MEASUREMENTS RIGHT NOW.
WE'D BE TALKING ABOUT THE OUTPUTS SO AND SO IT JUST IT MAKES US RECALIBRATE.
IS THIS YOU MIGHT SAY WE DON'T WANT TO MEASURE STAAR ANYMORE.
WE WANT TO MEASURE SOMETHING ELSE, THEN WE'LL MEASURE WHATEVER IT IS.
BUT IT HAS TO REFLECT OUR VALUES AND WE GOT TO REALIZE THAT NOT EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE TOTALLY ALIGNED.
WE DO HAVE INFORMAL INTERNAL ASSESSMENTS, BUT THOSE ARE HIT AND MISS WITH TEACHERS.
DEPENDS ON THE TEACHER, IF THEY FOCUS ON IT, HOW THEY USE IT, IF THE KIDS TAKE THAT SERIOUSLY.
THERE'S SO MANY INTANGIBLES, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO KIDS, WE COULD SAY, WELL, WHY DON'T WE USE SAT THEN THE ARGUMENTS GOING TO SAY, WELL, IF WE FOCUS ON SAT, SAT IS NOT CRITERION BASED.
SO NOT ALL KIDS CAN CAN GET STELLAR RESULTS, THEN WE CAN SAY LET'S DO ACT.
ACT CRITERION BASED, BUT NOW YOU'RE GOING TO TAKE AWAY FROM KIDS MAKING NATIONAL MERIT
[01:30:01]
STATUS.RIGHT? SO THERE'S ALWAYS A GIVE AND TAKE AND WE JUST GOT TO DECIDE WHERE DO WE WANT TO FOCUS.
YOU GUYS MIGHT SAY, FORGET IT ALL.
WE'RE GOING TO FOCUS ON NAEP, OK? WE WANT NAEP SCORES.
SO WE'RE GOING TO FOCUS ALL OUR MONEY ON NAEP AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO FOCUS THE KIDS AND WE'RE GOING TO MONITOR THEM THROUGH THERE.
BUT THERE'S NOT ANALYTICS TO TO BACK UP EVERYTHING.
WE CAN'T TURN AROUND, SAY, WELL, WE'RE GOING TO USE THIS DATA AND THIS IS WHAT WE'RE GOING TO USE BECAUSE THAT'S GOING TO HELP US PREDICT OUR TOSS SCORE OR STAAR SCORES.
[LAUGHTER] SO I GUESS I MEAN, I UNDERSTAND YOUR POINT.
I GUESS FOR ME, WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO HAVE AN ACADEMIC RECOVERY PLAN? WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR US TO ACTUALLY RECOVER FROM THIS COVID SITUATION? SO MAYBE THAT'S WHAT I NEED HELP UNDERSTANDING.
WHAT DOES THAT ACTUALLY LOOK LIKE? BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S GOING TO DRIVE THE DECISION IN TERMS OF WHAT WE WANT TO LOOK FOR IN TERMS OF METRICS AND WHAT WE EXPECT, BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
AND THAT'S WHY WE'RE ASKING FOR DIRECTION ON WHAT YOU WANT US TO FOCUS ON, BECAUSE WHAT THE BOARD WANTS US TO FOCUS ON, THEN WE DESIGN BACKWARDS FROM THAT RATHER THAN DESIGN UP.
AND THEN WE SAY THIS IS WHAT IT'S GOING TO LOOK LIKE.
AND THEN THE BOARD SAYS, WE WANT YOU TO LOOK AT ABCD&E AND THEN WE HAVE TO REDESIGN EVERYTHING.
SO MAYBE THE QUESTION SHOULD BE, WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK ACADEMIC RECOVERY LOOKS LIKE FOR GARLAND ISD WITH OUR STUDENT POPULATION? BECAUSE THAT WILL HELP ME UNDERSTAND WHAT I WOULD WANT TO SEE.
BUT I THINK THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE TRYING TO SAY.
GIVE US THE GOALS THAT YOU WANT US TO FOCUS ON AND THEN WE DEVELOP THE PLAN TO MAKE SURE THAT'S OUR PRIORITY.
YOU KNOW, I MEAN, YOU'RE ASKING US FOR GOALS, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, WE HAVE GOALS THAT WE'VE HAD AND WE'VE JUST TRANSLATED THEM DIFFERENTLY.
SO I GUESS MAYBE I'M A LITTLE CONFUSED.
I'LL JUST TAKE A MOMENT AND LET SOMEBODY ELSE ASK A QUESTION.
WELL, MR. SELDERS, IF I CAN JUST ADD ONE THING TO THAT, SINCE YOU SEEM TO KIND OF ASK OUR NOT OPINION, EVEN THOUGH WE NEVER HESITATE TO GIVE YOU OUR OPINION EITHER.
BUT I WOULD JUST MAYBE GIVE A LITTLE BIT MORE CONTEXT TO THE COLLABORATIVE GROUP, ALL OF THOSE DIFFERENT ICONS THAT DR.
CADDELL SHOWED AND THE THINKING BEHIND THE FRAMEWORK THAT WE PUT IN FRONT OF YOU TODAY FOR YOUR FEEDBACK WAS WAS THE INTENTIONAL DECISION TO FOCUS ON GROWTH RATHER THAN THE SUMMIT OF DATA.
AND THAT WAS REALLY THE MINDSET THAT I PERSONALLY TOOK TO IT, BECAUSE YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.
THERE IS NO CRYSTAL BALL THAT'S GOING TO TELL US 2030 WHERE THE OVERARCHING NUMBER OF OUR STUDENTS IS GOING TO BE.
BUT WE FELT LIKE IF WE LOOKED AT IT FROM, TO ME, THE PERSONAL STUDENT LEVEL, IF I THINK ABOUT MY TWO BOYS AND THE GROWTH THAT I NEED THEM TO MAKE TO GET WHERE THEY NEED TO BE TO FINISH THEIR EDUCATION IN GARLAND ISD, THAT WAS REALLY MY MINDSET IN LOOKING AT IT.
SO A THIRD GRADE READING GOAL, WHICH THE THIRD GRADE READING GOAL WE HAD BEFORE, WHICH WAS VERY AMBITIOUS THAT WE WANTED TO ATTAIN.
AND THAT GOAL WAS PROBLEMATIC IN THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE GOALS OUTLINED FOR K FIRST AND SECOND GRADE.
SO KIND OF WHAT YOU TALKED ABOUT, MR. GLICK.
SO WE WANTED TO ADDRESS THAT PIECE IN THIS PLANNING AS WELL TOO TO SAY WE DON'T HAVE A STAAR FOR K 1 AND 2 THANK GOODNESS, BUT WE CAN SAY IT IS MEASURABLE GROWTH GOALS FOR EVERY SINGLE STUDENT.
AND THEN DR. LOPEZ SAID, IF THAT ALL WORKS TOGETHER AND WE KNOW THAT EVERY STUDENT IS GROWING THE WAY THEY SHOULD, THEN THAT THIRD GRADE STAAR GOAL SHOULD BE MET.
AND THAT'S WHERE WE REALLY JUST LOOKED AT SHIFTING IT FROM THAT SUMMATIVE PIECE TO.
IN MY OPINION, WE'RE TEACHING STUDENTS INDIVIDUALLY MORE THAN EVER, AND THAT'S THE ONLY WAY WE'RE GOING TO CLOSE THESE GAPS.
SO THAT WAS JUST CONTEXT FROM MY EXPERIENCE AD AS PLANNING THESE THE NUMBERS, YOU KNOW, WE DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING REALLY TO GO OFF OF.
IT WAS JUST KIND OF AN ESTIMATION BASED ON WHAT WE'RE SEEING AND WHAT WE'RE FEELING BASED ON STUDENT PERFORMANCE AND WHAT WE'RE SEEING WITH TEACHERS.
BUT STUDENT GROWTH FELT LIKE SOMETHING THAT WOULD APPLY TO EVERY SINGLE STUDENT AND NOT JUST AT CHECKPOINTS, BUT ACROSS ALL GRADE LEVELS.
I MEAN, I THINK GROWTH IS A GOOD WAY TO LOOK AT IT.
I THINK WHAT WOULD HELP ME JUST KIND OF BE ABLE TO BECOME MORE COMFORTABLE WITH SOMETHING LIKE THIS IS JUST UNDERSTANDING THAT WHEN, LIKE, WE DON'T HAVE A CRYSTAL BALL AND WE DON'T KNOW HOW LONG THIS COVID SITUATION IS GOING TO HAPPEN, WE DON'T KNOW IF WE GET TO NEXT YEAR.
AND, YOU KNOW, THE COMMISSIONER SAYS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GOING TO SCRAP STAAR AND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GOING TO GET MAP HOW WE GOT IT THIS PAST YEAR.
LIKE, THAT'S A WHOLE NOTHER YEAR THAT WE STILL DON'T KNOW.
AND ARE WE COMFORTABLE SAYING WE STILL DON'T KNOW? WE THINK WE'RE DOING THE RIGHT THING.
WE THINK OUR STUDENTS ARE GROWING LIKE, IS THAT GOOD ENOUGH? IS THAT OK? NO.
WE HAVE TO KNOW THAT OUR STUDENTS ARE GROWING.
AND THAT'S WHERE THE DETAILS OF WHAT THIS PLAN LOOKS LIKE IN ACTION IN CLASSROOMS IS REALLY GOING TO COME INTO PLAY.
AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT MATTERS ON THE GROUND DAY IN AND DAY OUT IS WHAT WE'RE DOING WITH STUDENTS EVERY SINGLE DAY TO MOVE THEM FORWARD.
AND THEN THAT'S WE'LL GET TO THOSE GOALS.
BUT IT'S REALLY HARD FOR A TEACHER TO LOOK AT AT AND END GOAL, EVEN IF IT WAS
[01:35:02]
2024., 2025 AND KNOW WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE IN THEIR CLASSROOM.AND THAT'S WHERE HOW WE LEAD IN OUR CLASSROOMS AND HOW WE WORK WITH TEACHERS AND WITH STUDENTS I THINK IS REALLY GOING TO GET US THERE.
THOSE STRATEGIES AND I GAVE YOU THAT REALLY HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW, WE HAVE TO SHARPEN THAT TO LIKE VERY PRESCRIPTIVE, DEFINITIVE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING WITH KIDS.
I MEAN, YOU TALKED ABOUT HELPING TO, I GUESS, DEVELOP TEACHERS THAT HAVEN'T HAD TO TEACH KIDS HOW TO READ.
AND WE TALK ABOUT HIGH LEVEL INSTRUCTION AT ALL GRADES.
YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT LEVEL OF INSTRUCTION IS AT SUCH A HIGH LEVEL THAT YOU'RE NOT GOING TO NEED REMEDIATION OR THE STUDENTS ARE GOING TO NEED REMEDIATION.
THEY CAN BE ABLE TO GO FROM THE GREAT THAT THEY WERE JUST INSTRUCTED INTO THE NEXT GRADE, CARRY THAT LEARNING FORWARD SO THAT THEY CAN ACTUALLY START REALLY LEARNING MORE.
AND SO THAT'S A WHOLE DEVELOPMENTAL PIECE THAT HAS TO HAPPEN.
THOSE TEACHERS STILL NEED TIME TO DEVELOP THAT, THAT THE SKILL SET TO BE ABLE TO TEACH THAT WAY.
SO I JUST THERE'S SO MANY DIFFERENT PIECES OF THIS.
AND I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE'S A LOT OF WORK THAT'S GONE INTO THIS AND THERE'S STILL MORE WORK TO BE DONE.
I WAS JUST KIND OF SHARING MY THOUGHTS AS I WAS LOOKING AT THIS.
I CAN SPEAK A LITTLE BIT TO THE TARGETS THAT YOU SEE JUST IN THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE PRESENTED HERE FOR PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES.
SO IF WE JUST LOOK AT THE K THROUGH EIGHT, RIGHT.
SINCE 2018, WE'VE BEEN FOCUSING ON THE GRADE THREE READING PERFORMANCE THAT MEETS GRADE LEVEL WITH THAT 80 PERCENT TARGET.
AND AS WE'VE ALL ACKNOWLEDGED, WE HAD NO KIND OF LEADING INDICATORS TO LOOK AT K THROUGH TO FORMALLY.
THAT DOESN'T MEAN WE DIDN'T INFORMALLY HAVE AND WE JUST WEREN'T NECESSARILY REPORTING THEM TO THE BOARD.
SO WHAT YOU SEE HERE IS THAT WHEN WE STARTED TO LOOK AT OUR DATA AND KIND OF WHAT LEADING INDICATORS DO WE HAVE AND NOT JUST DO WE HAVE, BUT DO WE WANT TO MAKE PUBLIC, DO WE WANT TO MONITOR AND DO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE PROVIDING THE LEADERSHIP AND SUPPORT TO GET THE OUTCOMES THAT WE WANT BY THAT THIRD GRADE AND BEYOND.
THAT'S WHEN WE TURN TO OUR MAP DATA.
AND SO THE FIRST PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVE THAT YOU SEE HERE LOOKS AT MAP ON GRADE LEVEL PERFORMANCE.
WITH ON GRADE LEVEL PERFORMANCE DEFINED AS THE 41ST PERCENTILE OR ABOVE.
MAP IS A NORMED REFERENCE ASSESSMENT.
OK? IT IS DESIGNED TO PUT KIDS INTO FIVE PERFORMANCE CATEGORIES, LOW, AVERAGE LOW, AVERAGE, AVERAGE HIGH AND HIGH.
BY DESIGN, YOU SHOULD HAVE 20 PERCENT OF YOUR STUDENTS WITHIN EACH OF THOSE BANDS.
AND IF YOU DO, THEN YOU ARE GETTING THE ANTICIPATED OUTCOMES.
SO WHEN WE STARTED TALKING ABOUT SETTING GOALS FOR PERFORMANCE RELATIVE TO AN ACHIEVEMENT TEST DESIGNED TO PUT KIDS INTO FIVE DISTINCT GROUPS, IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE OR IF YOU WERE TRYING TO SET GOALS FOR ON GRADE LEVEL AND ABOVE, YOU'D BE SETTING GOALS AT WHO IS ITS AVERAGE, AVERAGE HIGH, SO AT 60, RIGHT? WELL, WHEN YOU LOOK AT OUR GOAL THAT WE'VE SET, WE ARE PROJECTING TO SHIFT THAT TO THE RIGHT.
SO WE'RE NOT COMFORTABLE WITH JUST SAYING OUR GOAL IS TO PERFORM BASED ON THE BELL CURVE.
WE ACTUALLY ARE SETTING A GOAL WHERE 75 PERCENT OF OUR STUDENTS ARE GOING TO BE AT THAT AVERAGE, AVERAGE HIGH AND HIGH PERFORMANCE LEVEL.
MAP AND WEA RECALCULATES THEIR STUDENT PERFORMANCE OUTCOMES EVERY THREE YEARS.
SO EVERY THREE YEARS THEY'RE RECALCULATING BASED ON STUDENT PERFORMANCE AT THAT TIME AND THEN RESETTING THOSE STANDARDS.
WE JUST HAD THAT DONE THIS PAST SUMMER.
SO WE ARE NOW OPERATING UNDER 2020 NORMS, WHEREAS PRIOR TO THAT WE WERE ON THE 2017 NORMS. SIMILARLY, WHEN YOU LOOK AT PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVE TWO, IT'S THE SAME THING.
WE'RE LOOKING AT GROWTH AS MEASURED BY MATH.
THE WAY THAT MAP TALKS ABOUT GROWTH OR DETERMINES HOW MUCH GROWTH A STUDENT SHOULD MAKE IS YOU LOOK AT WHERE THEY WERE AT THE BEGINNING AND THEN WHERE THAT NORMING GROUP OR COMPARISON GROUP WHERE THEY ALL ENDED UP AT THE END OF THE YEAR, THAT POINT AT 50 PERCENT.
IF WE ARE MAINTAINING IF ALL OF OUR STUDENTS ARE JUST MEETING THAT MINIMUM GROWTH EXPECTATION, WE'RE NOT ACTUALLY ACHIEVING ANY GAINS.
THEY MET THEIR GROWTH, BUT THEY MET THEIR GROWTH TO KEEP UP WITH WHERE THEY WERE.
WE'RE ACTUALLY NOT LIFTING KIDS UP.
SO ESPECIALLY FOR OUR LOW AVERAGE AND OUR LOW BABIES THAT WE WANT TO GET THEM ON GRADE LEVEL, WE NEED TO BE MAKING MORE THAN EXPECTED GROWTH.
SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THAT PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVE TWO STATISTICALLY BY DESIGN, RIGHT.
[01:40:01]
IT SHOULD BE A RANGE OF FORTY SIX TO FIFTY FIVE PERCENT OF YOUR KIDS MEETING THEIR EXPECTED GROWTH TO BE ACHIEVING WHAT WOULD BE STATISTICALLY ACCEPTABLE.SO WHAT WE'RE ACTUALLY RECOMMENDING IS, AGAIN, SHIFTING THAT TO 80 PERCENT.
NOW, EVERY TEACHER'S HEART IN THE ROOM IS SAYING NO ONE HUNDRED PERCENT OF KIDS SHOULD BE MEETING THEIR GROWTH.
AND ABSOLUTELY, YES, 100 PERCENT OF OUR STUDENTS SHOULD.
BUT BASED ON THE STATISTICAL CALCULATIONS, THAT'S JUST NOT THE WAY THAT TEST WAS DESIGNED.
WHEN WE GET INTO PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVE THREE, WE DID NOT WANT TO LOSE THAT FOCUS ON MAP BECAUSE WE KNOW WE STILL ARE GOING TO HAVE FOR SEVERAL YEARS GAPS IN ON GRADE LEVEL PERFORMANCE AND GAPS WITH GROWTH.
SO WE MAINTAIN THAT FOCUS ON MAP DATA IN THAT FOUR THROUGH EIGHT GRADE LEVEL AND THEN ADDED ON AS A LAYER.
THE STAAR MEETS GRADE LEVEL PERFORMANCE BECAUSE, AS DR.
LOPEZ INDICATED, MAPS NOT GOING TO GET US AN A.
AND UNLESS THERE'S BEEN A SHIFT AT THE BOARD LIKE WE WANT THAT A.
WE WANT TO BE THE DISTRICT OF CHOICE, THE BEST PERFORMING URBAN DISTRICT.
AND SO THE ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEM IS SET UP, SO THAT MEETS GRADE LEVEL PERFORMANCE AT 60 PERCENT IS REALLY HOW YOU SHOULD BE ON TRACK TO BEAT, TO EARN THAT A? AND SO WE'VE KIND OF ECHOED WHERE WE HAVE BEEN WITH OUR MEETS GRADE LEVEL PERFORMANCE, BUT THEN EXPANDED IT TO ALL OF FOUR THROUGH EIGHT, NOT JUST THAT THAT THIRD GRADE FOCUS.
SO IT WASN'T JUST HAPHAZARD OR RANDOM.
LET ME LET ME SHIFT TO MR. JOHNSON, WHO'S BEEN WAITING QUITE SOME TIME.
ONE, I KNOW THAT BECAUSE AS DR.
HILL, I HAVE KIDS THAT ARE IN THE DISTRICT, TOO, AND THEY'RE GETTING READY FOR STAAR COMING UP.
MY UNDERSTANDING, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, BECAUSE IT'S NOT A REAL SOLID UNDERSTANDING HERE, IS THAT THE STAAR TEST WILL NOT BE VIRTUAL.
IS THAT CORRECT? THE STATE DOES NOT ALLOW FOR REMOTE TESTING.
WE CAN COMPUTER TEST BUT YOU HAVE TO BE ON OUR PHYSICAL SITE.
AND MY UNDERSTANDING IS WE ARE NOT FORCING PEOPLE TO COME TAKE THE STAAR TEST ON SITE IF THEY REMAIN UNCOMFORTABLE WITH RESPECT TO COVID PROTOCOLS AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE, THEY EFFECTIVELY WOULD MISS THE STAAR.
IS THAT CORRECT? THERE IS A POTENTIAL, YES.
CAN YOU DESCRIBE KIND OF THE PROTOCOLS THAT WE SET UP, AS WELL AS THE TIMELINES TO ENCOURAGE OUR REMOTE STUDENTS TO COME ON SITE IF YOU'D LIKE AN ELABORATION, AN EXPLANATION OF THAT.
IT IS POSSIBLE THAT A LARGE CHUNK OF OUR REMOTE STUDENTS MAY NOT PARTICIPATE IN STAAR TESTING.
I THINK THAT THAT MIGHT BE SOMETHING FOR ANOTHER DAY.
BUT THE POINT BEING IS THAT I KNOW TO KIND OF FOLLOW UP ON MR. SELDERS POINT, WE'RE NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO RELY ON STAAR DATA AS TO BE A THE USUAL SNAPSHOT OF WHERE WE ARE AS A DISTRICT WITH RESPECT, BECAUSE WE'RE NOT EVEN CERTAIN IN FACT, WE'RE ALMOST PROBABLY FAIRLY CERTAIN WE'RE NOT GOING TO GET HUNDRED PERCENT COMPLIANCE WITH THE STAAR TEST IN THIS YEAR.
AND THE MAP SCORES WHILE BEING SOMEWHAT ILLUMINATIVE EARLIER OF SHOWING OF SHOWING KIND OF THE DECLINE FROM THE COVID CLIFF, SO TO SPEAK AT THE BEGINNING, WE DIDN'T GET COMPLETE COMPLIANCE WITH MAP OR SOMETIMES WE FELT LIKE IN SOME GRADES, THE MAPS WERE A LITTLE TOO GOOD BECAUSE MAYBE THEY'RE GETTING A LITTLE HELP AT HOME WITH SOME OF IT.
I GUESS THE POINT BEING IS WHAT LARRY KIND OF STARTED OFF WITH THE BEGINNING.
WE STILL HAVE A BLANK HERE UNTIL WE KNOW WHAT THAT BLANK IS.
IS ANY OF THIS IS ANY OF THIS RELEVANT? I MEAN, I KNOW WE HAVE TO GET STARTED WITH THIS BECAUSE WE CAN'T WAIT FOR THE BLANK TO BE FILLED.
BUT AS FAR AS THESE NUMBERS AND STUFF, I DON'T KNOW IF WE CAN REALLY ASSESS GOALS UNTIL WE KNOW HOW FAR WE'RE DOWN.
I THINK WE'RE GETTING GRANULAR.
SEE, AND THIS IS WHY WE DIDN'T GO INTO STRATEGIES.
IF WE WENT INTO STRATEGIES, THEN PEOPLE WOULD TALK ABOUT, WELL, HOW DO WE KNOW WE'RE GOING TO GET THE BANG FOR THE BUCK WITH ALL THE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING? OK, LET'S NOT GET INTO THE NUMBERS.
WE SHOULDN'T HAVE PUT NUMBERS THERE.
LET'S JUST PUT IT TO LET'S JUST PUT IT TO THE OBJECTIVE.
IS THAT AN OBJECTIVE THAT WE WANT TO MEASURE? OK, THAT'S WHAT WE NEED TO LOOK AT, ARE THOSE OBJECTIVES WE WANT TO MEASURE.
AND WHAT WE NEED THE BOARD TO DO IS START LOOKING AT EACH OF THOSE AND WRITE IT IN.
AND MAYBE BECAUSE WE'RE GOING TO SAY INCREASED, DON'T LOOK AT THAT.
JUST LOOK IS SOMETHING THAT WE REALLY WANT TO PUT ALL OUR MARBLES IN.
[01:45:03]
AND THEN FROM THERE, WHAT WE DO IS BECAUSE REGARDLESS SO YOU GOT TO REMEMBER TWO FOLD, YOU'RE GOING TO GIVE US A FOCAL POINT BECAUSE WHAT I WANT TO GIVE.SO THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT WE'RE GOING TO GO RAZOR-SHARP IN.
BUT WE DON'T TURN AROUND AND SAY, YOU KNOW, AND MR. GLICK IS GOING TO GET MAD AT THIS.
BUT WE DIDN'T SAY, YOU KNOW, GRADE FIVE MAP IS NOT ON MY EVALUATION.
DON'T YOU WORRY ABOUT GRADE FIVE MATH, OK? DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT.
WE STILL WORRY ABOUT GRADE FIVE MATH, OK? WE STILL WORRY ABOUT GRADE SIX MATH.
WE STILL WORRY ABOUT GRADE SEVEN MATH.
WE STILL WORRY ABOUT ALL THAT.
BUT IT JUST WASN'T A FOCAL POINT.
AND THE THING IS, WHAT WE'VE LEARNED IN ALL OUR MEETINGS, WHEN YOU FOCUS ON TOO MUCH, YOU GET LESS DONE THAN WHEN YOU HYPER FOCUS ON A FEW.
WHAT IS GOING TO BE THE THING THAT CARRIES US THROUGH? RIGHT.
AND THAT'S WHAT WE WANT YOU ALL TO KIND OF LOOK AT.
WE'RE TAKING A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE.
AND AND AND THAT'S WHAT IT IS.
BUT IT DOESN'T ALL OF A SUDDEN, YOU KNOW, IF WE GO INTO IF WE SAID WE DON'T WANT TO DO WHOLE CHILD DEVELOPMENT, AS PART OF OUR FOCUS.
IT DOESN'T MEAN WE SAY, WELL, GUIDANCE AND COUNSELING.
ALL RIGHT, WE'RE NOT DOING A WHOLE CHILD DEVELOPMENT ANYMORE.
NO, WE'RE STILL GOING TO DO WHOLE CHILD DEVELOPMENT.
IT JUST WON'T BE THE HYPER FOCUS AND EVALUATIVE OF THE BOARD.
BUT THAT'S WHAT I WANT TO MAKE SURE.
YOU ASKED US THE QUESTION EARLIER, SO WHAT GOALS DO YOU WANT, WHAT MEASURES DO YOU WANT? AND THAT'S FAIR, THAT'S FAIR.
I WILL TELL YOU FOR ME, WES JOHNSON, I THINK, GETS BACK TO LONESTAR GOVERNANCE.
I WILL TELL YOU, I WANT TO FOCUS ON THE ISSUE ON WHERE THE DECLINES HAVE BEEN MOST STEEP, AND I DON'T KNOW THAT YET.
I MEAN, THAT'S WHERE I WANT TO FOCUS.
AND I SUSPECT EARLY CHILDHOOD LEARNING HAS SUFFERED TREMENDOUSLY IN THIS OVER THIS LAST 18 MONTHS OR YEAR.
I SUSPECT THAT I DON'T KNOW IT.
I MEAN, I HAVEN'T SEEN THE DATA, THE LITTLE BIT OF MAP DATA WE WERE ABLE TO SEE KIND OF, I THINK SHOWS SOME OF THE DECLINES THAT WE HAVE, BUT WE STILL DON'T KNOW.
SO I CAN'T TELL YOU WHERE I WANT TO FOCUS UNTIL I SEE, BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE I WANT TO FOCUS.
I WANT TO FOCUS ON THE STUDENTS THAT HAVE BEEN HARDEST HIT.
SO THE THING THAT WE'RE LISTENING TO IS GOING TO BE THEN IF YOU'RE TELLING ME INSTINCTUALLY TO USE MY INSTINCTS AS AN EDUCATOR, THE THINGS THAT ARE GOING TO BE HIT THE HARDEST, THE TWO MEASURES WE HAVE ARE MATH AND READING.
THOSE ARE GOING TO BE THE TWO HARDEST HIT.
WE KNOW THAT THE MAJORITY OF THE KIDS ARE GOING TO HAVE IMPOVERISHED BACKGROUNDS AND BE MINORITY BACKGROUNDS.
OK, SO IF YOU WANT US TO STRATEGIZE JUST ON THOSE TWO PILLARS, K THROUGH 12, THAT COULD BE JUST OUR HYPER FOCUS, OK? AND THAT WILL THAT WILL ALLOW US TO LOOK AT ALL OF THAT.
AND THEN WE JUST DESIGN EVERYTHING ON LITERACY AND NUMERACY.
WE DESIGN OUR MASTER SCHEDULES ON LITERACY AND NUMERACY, WE DESIGN OUR STAFFING ON LITERACY AND NUMERACY.
WE MAKE SURE THAT INSTEAD OF OFFERING SOME ELECTIVES THAT IF THEY'RE STRUGGLING, THEY GET MORE MATH OR MORE READING.
OK, THAT SIMPLIFIES THE PROCESS.
OK, THAT'S WHERE WE CAN GET DEEP AND GET DEEP RESULTS QUICK.
IT DOESN'T NOW IT DOESN'T MEAN WE'RE GOING TO IGNORE SCIENCE, OK? DOESN'T MEAN WE'RE GOING TO MR. GLICK, OK.
DOESN'T MEAN BUT IF THAT IF WE WANT TO KEEP IT THAT SIMPLE, THEN WE CAN DIG DEEP.
WE START ALL OUR STRATEGIES AND MASTER SCHEDULING ON THAT NOW BECAUSE THAT DETERMINES NEXT YEAR ON HOW WE'RE GOING TO STAFF AND PRIORITIZE OUR CLASSES AND OUR PRIORITIZE OUR REMEDIATION AND THEN WE'RE ABLE TO TO MOVE FORWARD.
WE WON'T KNOW THE DATA, BUT WHEN WE GET IT, HOWEVER BAD OR GOOD IT IS, WE KNOW THAT THAT'S OUR FOCUS.
WE HAVE TO DO THE READING ACADEMIES.
WE'VE GOT TO RETRAIN A LOT OF TEACHERS.
WE'VE GOT TO TEACH THEM ON THE NEW STAAR.
BUT IF WE KEEP IT THAT SIMPLE AND THE BOARD SAYS JUST JUST WE KNOW THOSE TWO AREAS ARE THE MOST CRITICAL FOR ANYBODY, THEN THAT'S WHAT WE'LL DO K THROUGH EIGHT.
BUT THAT SOUNDS LIKE AN ACADEMIC RECOVERY PLAN.
IF YOU GUYS WANT TO DO THAT, THEN WE'LL DO THAT.
THAT SOUNDS LIKE AN ACADEMIC RECOVERY PLAN.
BECAUSE YOU JUST YOU JUST MENTIONED YOU JUST TALKED ABOUT HYPER FOCUSING.
WHEN I LOOK AT THESE TWENTY FOUR OBJECTIVES, THAT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE HYPER FOCUS.
WE'RE GOING TO GET THOSE TWO PILLARS.
I HADN'T EVEN STARTED TALKING.
WHOLE CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND SUPPORT TOO MUCH IN HERE.
WE ALREADY SAW THAT WITH ONE GOAL, ONE FOCUS WITH INCIDENTS THAT DID NOT
[01:50:05]
EXPLAIN DISCIPLINE.IT DID NOT SHOW OVERREPRESENTATION.
IT DIDN'T SHOW DEFICIT THINKING.
AND NOW WE GONNA BURY IT SOMEWHERE ELSE HERE.
AGAIN, CLOSING THE GAPS HAS TO BE A FOCUS.
WE CAN NOT IT HAS TO BE SOMEWHERE.
WE CANNOT KEEP SAYING IF WE DO THIS AND WE BRING THESE KIDS UP, THAT THE GAPS HAVE CLOSED.
I'VE HEARD THAT FOR FOUR YEARS.
SO THOSE ARE MY TWO ITEMS AND WHOLE CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND SUPPORT TOO MUCH.
IF WE GOING TO KEEP IT, WE GOT TO BE FOCUSED.
YOU LOOK AT THIS AND IT JUST IS TOO MUCH INTO ONE PARTICULAR THING.
AND FOR THE RECORD, WE'VE SEEN IMPROVEMENT ON OUR BLACK AND BROWN STUDENTS AND EVERYBODY THAT'S BEEN DOING, INCLUDING THE [INAUDIBLE] HAS BEEN ASTOUNDED BY THE IMPROVEMENT WE'VE SEEN IN OUR BLACK AND BROWN.
THE DIFFERENCE WE HAVE TO LOOK ON OUR VERBIAGE IS, ARE WE LOOKING AT IMPROVEMENT AND OUR BLACK AND BROWN STUDENTS OR ARE WE LOOKING AT THE CLOSING THE ACHIEVEMENT GAPS? THIS IS THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT BECAUSE WHEN YOU CLOSE THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP, THAT MEANS WHOEVER YOU'RE COMPARING YOURSELF TO IN OUR TOP TWO PERFORMERS ARE ASIAN AND WHITE GROUPS, MEANS THEY HAVE TO PLATEAU FOR US TO MOVE UP AND CLOSE THAT GAP OR YOU HAVE TO DOUBLE DOWN AND THEY HAVE TO BE MORE ACCELERATED THAN THE ONES ON TOP.
WHAT'S HAPPENING IS WHEN ALL ALL WHEN THE TIDE COMES IN, EVERYBODY'S RISING, EVERYBODY'S BEEN IMPROVING.
THE ASIAN GROUP, THE WHITE GROUP, THE BLACK GROUP AND THE HISPANIC GROUP ALL HAVE SHOWN IMPROVEMENT.
ABOUT THE SAME TYPE OF IMPROVEMENT.
SO WE'VE GOT TO REMEMBER, THERE'S BEEN IMPROVEMENT AND WE'VE SEEN IT ON OUR CHARTS.
THEY'RE MOVING UP, BUT EVERYBODY'S MOVING UP.
AND SO IN ORDER FOR US TO CLOSE THAT GAP, THAT MEANS THE BLACK AND BROWN STUDENTS HAVE TO BE DOUBLED DOWN.
SO THAT WAY THEY MAKE MORE GROWTH THAN EVERYBODY ELSE.
JUST WHEN I READ THIS, I'LL TELL YOU, I HAD A TOTALLY DIFFERENT FEELING THAN HAS BEEN VOICED SO FAR TONIGHT, BECAUSE IN MY WAY OF THINKING, THERE IS I MEAN, I ALMOST WANT TO CALL TOM OUT, GO GRAB THE KIDS WHO DON'T READ ON GRADE LEVEL, PULL THEM OFF TO THE SIDELINES AND JUST LET THEM READ UNTIL THEY CATCH UP AND THEN WE PUT THEM BACK IN THE GAME.
THAT'S HOW IMPORTANT, I THINK THE READING, THE LITERACY, THE MATH.
I MEAN, IF YOU CAN'T READ YOUR SCIENCE BOOK IN ELEVENTH GRADE, YOU'RE NOT GOING TO MAKE THE GRADE.
IF YOU CAN'T READ AT GRADE LEVEL, YOU JUST KEEP GETTING FURTHER AND FURTHER BEHIND.
SO IN TERMS OF INITIATIVES, WHEN I WHEN I WENT THROUGH HERE AND I SAW ALL THE THING, ALL OF THE GOALS YOU HAD FOR READING AND LITERACY AND MATH, YOU WERE KIND OF HITTING ME WHERE I'VE BEEN CONCERNED.
MY CONCERN COMES FROM MY PERIPHERAL BECAUSE I CAN'T GET NEAR AS DEEP IN THE NUMBERS AS YOU ALL DO.
BUT MY LOOK AT OUR OUR TESTING AND WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON WITH THE KIDS, I JUST HAVE THIS GUT FEELING THAT THAT IF OUR KIDS CAN READ ON GRADE LEVEL, IT'S GOING TO MAKE A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE.
I DON'T KNOW IF STATISTICALLY THERE'S ANY WAY IN THE WORLD WITH A LARGE MINORITY DISTRICT THAT WE CAN MEET THOSE GOALS IF THE GAP SOMEHOW DOESN'T CLOSE.
YOU KNOW, STATISTICALLY, THOSE THAT ARE NOT OVER THE BAR HAVE TO GET OVER THE BAR.
AND IF WE DO THAT, I THINK THE GAPS ARE GOING TO CLOSE.
AND NATURALLY, I DON'T KNOW, STATISTICALLY, IT CAN IT CAN WORK ANY OTHER WAY.
SO, YOU KNOW, I WAS KIND OF EXCITED TO SEE THIS.
I MEAN, IT TOOK ME A LONG TIME TO READ IT.
AND I ACTUALLY WENT THROUGH ALL THE REPORTS AND THE NUMBERS AT THE BACK AND AND I SEE HOW YOU ORGANIZE IT.
BY THE WAY, I THOUGHT IT WAS VERY WELL ORGANIZED YOUR PRESENTATION THROUGH THE WRITTEN MATERIALS THAT WE GOT.
I WENT ALL THE WAY THROUGH TO THE END.
AND SO MAYBE MAYBE IT JUST IT JUST HIT ME WHERE I WAS THINKING, WE NEED TO SPEND TIME.
I'M NOT THINKING WE NEED TO SPEND THIS KIND OF FOCUS FOR THE NEXT NINE YEARS.
BUT IN MY WAY OF THINKING, LOOKING AT THE GAP AND THE CLIFF AND EVERYTHING ELSE IS MAINLY READING, WRITING AND MATH.
MAN, I DON'T I DON'T KNOW THAT WE COULD HIT THE BALL MORE SQUARELY THAN IF WE'RE ABLE TO ACHIEVE SOME OF THESE OBJECTIVES.
[01:55:01]
YEAH, I THINK THE BOARD NEEDS TO CHIME IN AND GET ON ONE PAGE.ONE OF THE PROUDEST MOMENTS WE EVER HAD WAS WHEN WE WORKED THROUGH THE LAST DOCUMENT AND WAS ABLE TO TAKE ALL THE DIFFERENT IDEAS WE HAD AND GET THEM TOGETHER.
AND I THINK THAT WAS LARGELY BECAUSE DR.
LOPEZ AND Y'ALL BROUGHT US THE TEMPLATE THAT MADE SENSE AND WE ENDORSED IT.
WE DIDN'T REALLY DESIGN THAT KIND OF DESIGNED IT AND BROUGHT IT TO US, MUCH LIKE WHAT YOU'VE DONE HERE TONIGHT.
SO NONE OF THAT NONE OF THIS OFFENDS ME.
I THINK THERE'S BEEN SOME REALLY GREAT QUESTIONS AND I UNDERSTAND THEM.
I THINK THAT'S THE VALUE OF THIS BOARD.
THERE'S SOME REALLY GOOD PEOPLE, REALLY SMART PEOPLE.
AND I KNOW THAT THERE'S A LOT OF THE MAIN THING IS EVERYBODY CARES ABOUT WHAT THE KIDS ARE DOING AND HOW WE'RE HOW WE'RE ABLE TO HELP THEM.
SO LET'S KEEP CONNECTING WITH THAT.
IS MY TWO CENTS WORTH GOING BACK TO LONESTAR TRAINING? GOVERNANCE TRAINING IS, YOU KNOW, IF WHATEVER WE'RE DOING IS HITTING THE KIDS WHERE WE NEED TO HIT THEM, I'M ALL FOR IT.
I DON'T REALLY CARE HOW MUCH IT COST.
THAT'S WHERE THE RUBBER HITS THE ROAD.
IF A KID CAN'T READ BY THIRD GRADE, I'VE JUST NOTICED THAT EDUCATION KIND OF ACCELERATES FROM THERE.
YOU EVER LEAVE ON A TRIP THIRTY MINUTES BEHIND SOMEBODY AND TRY TO CATCH THEM? IT'S HARD.
THEY'RE SO FAR AHEAD, IT'S HARD TO CATCH THEM.
AND WE'VE GOT THAT SITUATION WITH SO MANY KIDS.
DR. LOPEZ HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD.
UNLESS YOU HOLD ONE GROUP STAGNANT, IT'S GOING TO BE REAL HARD TO CLOSE THE GAP.
I'M NOT SAYING IT'S IMPOSSIBLE, BUT I MEAN, I LIKE IT.
MY TWO CENTS WORTH IS I LIKE IT.
IT MAY NEED TO BE REFINED SOME.
SO, YOU KNOW, I ENJOYED READING IT, OBVIOUSLY, BECAUSE I READ ALL 40 BILLION PIECES OF DATA AND I THOUGHT IT WAS A VERY GOOD REPORT.
SO WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO IS WE'RE GOING TO FOCUS ON TWO THOSE TWO PILLARS K THROUGH EIGHT.
AND WHAT WE NEED TO DO IS IN BED WITH THE TRAINING IS GOING TO BE FOR TEACHERS, HOW WE'RE GOING TO GET THE BEST TEACHERS IN FRONT OF THE NEEDIEST STUDENTS, HOW WE'RE GOING TO ENSURE THAT ALL KIDS GET THAT ACADEMIC AND SUPPORT FOR NUMERACY AND.
READING K THROUGH 8, OK, THAT'S GOING TO BE OUR K THROUGH EIGHT PRIORITY, KIDS ARE GOING TO BE READING AT GRADE LEVEL OR I SHOULD SAY PRE-K THROUGH EIGHT NOW.
SO KIDS ARE GOING TO BE READING ON GRADE LEVEL AND THEY'RE GOING TO BE DOING THEIR NUMERACY.
AND IF THEY DO WELL AND THEY START ACCELERATING, THEN THEY NEED TO WE NEED TO ANSWER THE PLC QUESTIONS.
WHAT DO WE DO WHEN THEY GET IT AND WHAT DO WE DO WHEN THEY DON'T? SO IT'S EASY WHEN THEY DON'T.
BUT IF THEY'RE IN THOSE CLASSES AND THEY DO, THEN WE'VE GOT TO FIND A WAY TO KEEP THEM CHALLENGED SO THEY DON'T THEY DON'T PLATEAU.
NOW, FOR HIGH SCHOOL, WE'VE GOT TO HAVE AN ACADEMIC RECOVERY TO MAKE SURE EVERYBODY PASSES THE EOC NO, NO, NO.
NOBODY'S GOING TO BE LEFT BEHIND.
EOC FOCUS, CCMR FOCUS AND GRADUATION.
WE CAN IF OUR NUMBERS ARE LOW GRADUATION.
OK? AND IF THEY HAVE A HISTORY ALREADY OF FAILING THE STAAR AND THEY'RE IN NINTH GRADE, WE ALREADY KNOW THE RED FLAGS, THEY'VE GOT TO BE DOUBLE BLOCKED IN MATH AND READING TO MAKE SURE THEY PASS THOSE THEIR FRESHMAN YEAR.
SO LET'S START WITH THAT RECOVERY.
SO WE'RE GOING TO ALSO NEED PRINCIPAL TRAINING, WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO DO, AND WE'RE ALSO GOING TO NEED TEACHER TRAINING, ALL OF THOSE STEPS.
SO THEN THAT WAY WE KNOW AND WHAT THE MASTER SCHEDULES HOW THEY'RE GOING TO BE CHANGED.
THAT WAS PROBABLY MORE FUN THAN ANYBODY THOUGHT IT WAS GOING TO BE.
AND THANK YOU ALL THE BOARD MEMBERS OF STAFF.
WE HAVE ANOTHER COUPLE OF THINGS TO DO HERE TONIGHT.
AND I BELIEVE WE GO TO ITEM FIVE C AND GRADY BROWN.
IF YOU'RE STILL WITH US, COME UP AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT THE HUMAN RESOURCES ANNUAL REPORT.
I'M GOING TO TAKE MY MASK OFF, WHICH IS NOT SOMETHING I DO OFTEN.
[02:00:13]
NO, NO, WE'RE BROADCASTING.HE JUST LOST THE PICTURE FROM THE COMPUTER.
I'LL ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE.
WE'RE HAVING TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES WITH OUR POWERPOINT, SO GIVE US JUST ONE MOMENT.
SORRY FOR THE DEAD SPACE HERE, BUT WE'LL BE WILL BE RIGHT WITH YOU.
MIC] WE RESET OUR COMPUTER, ANYBODY SEE THE CLOCK? 9:05 WE WILL RESUME AT 9:10.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THANK YOU SO MUCH.
IT'S BEEN A LONG NIGHT, BUT OUR COMPUTER FROZE.
WE COULD NOT GET OUR POWERPOINT TO WORK.
IT IS NOW UP AND WE HAVE CALLED GRADYNE BROWN TO TALK TO US ABOUT OUR HUMAN RESOURCES REPORT.
PRESIDENT SELDERS, CHAIRMAN MILLER, BOARD OF TRUSTEES.
SUPERINTENDENT LOPEZ, IT IS MY PLEASURE TO PRESENT FOR YOU THIS EVENING OUR REPORT FOR OUR HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT FOR 2020-2021.
THIS REPORT IS GOING TO INCLUDE SOME MAJOR SECTIONS AND AN OVERVIEW OF YOUR INFORMATION AND ACTIVITIES FOR THE PAST YEAR.
DURING THE PAST YEAR, WE'VE WORKED ON SEVERAL KEY INITIATIVES.
[02:05:05]
ONE OF THE INITIATIVES THAT WE FELT LIKE YOU WOULD LIKE TO HEAR ABOUT IS SOMETHING CALLED STAY INTERVIEWS.STAY INTERVIEWS ARE DESIGNED TO LEARN WHAT KEEPS THE EMPLOYEES WORKING FOR AN ORGANIZATION AND WHAT ASPECTS OF THE ORGANIZATION MAY NEED IMPROVEMENT.
WE SURVEYED ABOUT 2000 EMPLOYEES, TEACHERS WHO HAVE BEEN IN THE DISTRICT BETWEEN ONE AND FIVE YEARS.
AND THE NEXT STEPS ARE TO CONDUCT FOCUS GROUPS.
WE CONDUCTED FOCUS GROUPS LAST FRIDAY AND WE ARE STILL IN THE PROCESS OF EVALUATING THE INFORMATION FROM OUR FOCUS GROUPS.
THE INFORMATION THAT YOU HAVE IN YOUR PACKET AND THAT YOU SEE THIS EVENING IS SOME PRELIMINARY INFORMATION THAT WAS COLLECTED FROM THE SURVEY.
PART OF THE STATE INTERVIEW AND THE STATE INTERVIEWS SURVEY INCLUDED THE FIVE OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS, WHICH THE RESPONDENTS ANSWERED, AS WELL AS OPEN ENDED QUESTIONS.
ONE OF THE FIRST QUESTIONS WAS, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS EXPECTED OF YOU AT WORK? AND ABOUT 90 PERCENT ANSWERED THAT QUESTION, EITHER AGREE OR STRONGLY AGREE.
THE NEXT QUESTION WAS, YOU HAVE THE MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT THAT YOU NEED TO DO YOUR WORK EFFECTIVELY.
AND WE HAD ABOUT 75 PERCENT OF OUR RESPONDENTS WHO ANSWERED THAT QUESTION EITHER AGREE OR STRONGLY AGREE.
YOUR SUPERVISOR OR SOMEONE AT WORK SEEMS TO CARE ABOUT YOU AS A PERSON.
EIGHTY FIVE PERCENT OF OUR RESPONDENTS ANSWERED THAT QUESTION.
AND THEN THE NEXT QUESTION AT WORK YOUR OPINIONS SEEM TO COUNT.
AND ABOUT 70 PERCENT OF OUR RESPONDENTS ANSWERED THAT QUESTION.
AND THEN THERE'S A NEXT QUESTION.
IN THE LAST SIX MONTHS, SOMEONE AT WORK HAS TALKED TO YOU ABOUT YOUR PROGRESS.
82 PERCENT OF OUR RESPONDENTS AGREED WITH THIS STATEMENT.
IN THE LAST YEAR YOU'VE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN AND GROW.
AND EIGHTY SEVEN PERCENT OF OUR RESPONDENTS ANSWERED EITHER AGREE OR STRONGLY AGREE.
SOMETHING THAT WE LIKE TO LOOK AT IS THE WORD CLOUD.
AND THE NEXT SLIDE IS A WORD CLOUD.
AND THE WAY A WORD CLOUD WORKS IS THAT YOU HAVE OPEN ENDED QUESTIONS AND IT PICKS OUT THE NUMBER OF TIMES A WORD IS USED IN RESPONSE TO THE OPEN ENDED QUESTION.
AND THEN THE CLOUD IS FORMED TO CREATE LARGER WORDS WHEN THE RESPONSE IS USED MORE OFTEN.
FOR EXAMPLE, YOU SEE STUDENTS IS THE LARGEST WORD HERE AND STUDENTS WAS REPORTED ONE HUNDRED THIRTY SIX TIMES.
AND WHAT RESPONDENTS WERE SAYING IS THAT THEIR LOVE FOR STUDENTS KEEPS THEM WORKING IN GARLAND ISD.
AND THEY CONSISTENTLY MENTIONED THAT THEY CONTINUE TO WORK IN THE DISTRICT BECAUSE OF THE SUPPORT THAT THEY RECEIVE FROM THEIR CAMPUS AND OR DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION AS WELL AS THEIR RESPECTIVE TEAMS. THE NEXT ONE, WHAT MIGHT TEMPT YOU TO LEAVE GARLAND ISD.
NOW, REMEMBER WHAT WE SAID ABOUT THE BIG WORDS? THE TWO BIG WORDS HERE ARE DISTRICT WELL, THREE, ACTUALLY, DISTRICT BETTER PAY.
AND THERE WERE A VARIETY OF RESPONSES TO THIS QUESTION THAT ACTUALLY SAID NOTHING WOULD TEMPT THEM TO LEAVE THE DISTRICT.
BUT THOSE WHO SAID BETTER OR HIGHER PAY, THERE WERE QUITE A FEW WHO SAID THAT THE OPPORTUNITY TO TEACH OR WORK IN A COMPLETELY VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT AND THE MAJORITY OF THE OTHER RESPONDENTS WERE SAYING THAT IF MORALE OVERALL SUPPORT CHANGE, THAT WOULD TEMPT THEM TO LEAVE.
WHAT MIGHT MAKE YOUR JOB MORE SATISFYING? AND THE RESPONDENTS CONSISTENTLY REPORTED THAT THEIR JOB WOULD BE MORE SATISFYING IF THEY HAD ADDITIONAL RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES.
NOW I KNOW YOU SEE THAT THE WORD STUDENTS IS THE BIG WORD THERE.
BUT IT WASN'T THE STUDENTS THAT WOULD MAKE THEM MORE SATISFYING.
THEY WOULD BE MORE SATISFIED IF THEY HAD MORE OPPORTUNITIES AND MORE RESOURCES FOR THEIR STUDENTS.
THE NEXT SECTION AND I'M GOING TO TRY TO.
GO THROUGH THIS IN AN EXPEDITIOUS MANNER, THE NEXT SESSION IS TALKS ABOUT
[02:10:04]
RECRUITMENT, AS YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TWO RECRUITMENT COORDINATORS AND THEY DID LAST SEMESTER, THEY DID 17 VIRTUAL JOB FAIRS.MANY OF OUR JOB FAIRS THAT WE NORMALLY GO TO WERE NOT HELD LAST SEMESTER.
AND SO THE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES WERE TRYING TO ADJUST TO OUR VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT.
IN 19-20, WHICH IS WHEN OUR PANDEMIC BEGAN, WE HAD PLANNED TO 57 JOB FAIRS, BUT ONLY ATTENDED 28 BECAUSE THEY, THE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES SHUT DOWN IN THE SPRING.
THIS YEAR, WE PLAN TO ATTEND 63 JOB FAIRS.
WE HAVE SHORTAGE AREAS THAT ARE ELEMENTARY BILINGUAL, HIGH SCHOOL MATH, HIGH SCHOOL SCIENCE, HIGH SCHOOL ELAR, SPECIAL EDUCATION AND MINORITY TEACHERS.
I'D LIKE TO TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SHOW OUR APPRECIATION TO THE BOARD BECAUSE THOSE TOP FIVE SHORTAGE AREAS, WE ACTUALLY HAVE STIPENDS, ADDITIONAL ANNUAL STIPENDS THAT THE BOARD HAS APPROVED FOR THOSE TEACHERS WHO ARE IN THOSE TEACHING AREAS TO RECEIVE THE BILINGUAL TEACHERS.
ELEMENTARY BILINGUAL TEACHERS ANNUALLY RECEIVE A FOUR THOUSAND DOLLAR STIPEND.
IN ADDITION TO THEIR SALARY, OUR HIGH SCHOOL MATH TEACHERS, HIGH SCHOOL SCIENCE TEACHERS, HIGH SCHOOL ELAR TEACHERS RECEIVE A THREE THOUSAND DOLLAR STIPEND IN ADDITION TO THEIR ANNUAL SALARY.
AND THIS YEAR, FOR THE FIRST TIME, OUR BOARD APPROVED FOR OUR SPECIAL EDUCATION SELF-CONTAINED TEACHERS TO RECEIVE A STIPEND OF THIRTY FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS ANNUALLY AND A SPECIAL EDUCATION RESOURCE STIPEND OF TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS ANNUALLY.
OUR RECRUITING EFFORTS REALLY HINGE AROUND ESTABLISHING RELATIONSHIPS AND BUILDING NETWORKS, NOT JUST WITH COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES, BUT WITH ORGANIZATIONS AS WELL AS WITH THE COMMUNITY.
WE GET EMAILS FROM COMMUNITY MEMBERS, SAY MY MY FAMILY MEMBER IS MOVING HERE OR EVEN CALLS MY FAMILY MEMBER IS MOVING HERE.
CAN WE FIND A JOB FOR THEM? OUR BOARD POLICY DIA LOCAL, IS CORRELATED WITH OUR [INAUDIBLE] COURT ORDER.
AND ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT ARE THAT IS REQUIRED IS THAT WE VISIT SEVEN HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES AND THAT FOUR OF THOSE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES BE OUTSIDE THE STATE OF TEXAS.
WE HAVE A LIST HERE OF THOSE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES.
AND THIS WAS POSSIBLE THIS YEAR BECAUSE OF VIRTUAL JOB FAIRS.
WE'VE REALLY KIND OF WE KIND OF LIKE VIRTUAL JOB FAIRS BECAUSE WE GET TO GO A LOT MORE PLACES AND DO A LOT MORE THINGS.
WE ALSO KNOW THAT OUR STUDENT POPULATION IS A LITTLE OVER 50 PERCENT HISPANIC AND WE FIND AND RESEARCH UNIVERSITIES WHO HAVE HIGH ENROLLMENTS OF HISPANIC STUDENTS AND THOSE ARE CALLED HISPANIC SERVING INSTITUTIONS.
THIS YEAR WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO 13 JOB FAIRS AND ALL VIRTUAL WE HAVE NOT DONE ANY IN-PERSON OR FACE TO FACE JOB FAIRS.
WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO 13 JOB FAIRS IN THAT MANNER.
I KNOW SOME OF US LIKE TO SEE DATA.
THERE IS RESEARCH THAT SAYS THAT STUDENTS, PARTICULARLY AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDENTS, ACHIEVE HIGHER LEVELS WHEN THEY HAVE TEACHERS WHO LOOK LIKE THEM.
AND I'M JUST GIVING YOU SOME DATA HERE.
THIS SHOWS THE PERCENTAGE OF TEACHERS IN OUR ETHNICITY GROUPS AND THE PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS THAT WE HAVE IN EACH OF OUR ETHNICITY GROUPS.
AND IF YOU TAKE TIME TO LOOK AT THE DATA, YOU'LL SEE THAT WITH THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDENTS AND TEACHERS WELL, FOR 18-19, THIS IS OUR TAPR DATA AND THIS IS WHAT WE HAVE.
IT WAS ALMOST MATCHING AND IS A LITTLE BIT CLOSER FOR 19-20 AND WE ARE WAITING TO SEE WHAT IT WILL BE FOR 20-21.
WELLS AND I WERE WE WERE JUST KIND OF CONGRATULATING OURSELVES BECAUSE WHEN WE GOT THE FIRST OF MAY, WE HAD MAYBE ONE OR TWO PRINCIPAL VACANCIES AND WE AND WE WERE LIKE, ALL RIGHT, BY MAY 10TH, WE HAD TEN PRINCIPAL VACANCIES.
AND SO WE'RE GOING, OH, NO, WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?
[02:15:01]
SO WE DID OUR FIRST, QUOTE, UNQUOTE, ASSESSMENT CENTER, AND THAT WAS PRETTY MUCH AN ALL CALL JOB FOR PRINCIPALS ONLY.WE DID HAVE QUESTIONS WITH RUBRIC'S AND SO FORTH FOR EACH OF THE INTERVIEW TEAMS TO USE.
BUT SINCE THEN, WE HAVE DONE QUITE A BIT TO INCREASE THE ACTIVITIES IN OUR ASSESSMENT CENTER, WHICH INCLUDES VIDEO INTERVIEWS, ROLE PLAYING, LEADERLESS GROUPS.
BUT IT'S A TOTAL EVALUATION OF THE CANDIDATE WE HAVE DONE IN BETWEEN 2019 AND 2020, WE HAVE COMPLETED 18 ASSESSMENT CENTERS.
THE NEXT SECTION THAT I HAVE FOR YOU IS CALLED PANDEMIC PIVOTS.
THERE WERE A WHOLE LOT OF THINGS THAT WE HAD TO CHANGE WHEN WE SHUT DOWN.
WE COULDN'T MEET FACE TO FACE AND WE HAD TO LEARN TO DO THINGS VIRTUALLY THAT WE HAD NEVER OR WE HAD DONE VERY LITTLE OF BEFORE.
FOR EXAMPLE, GOOGLE MEETS AND ZOOM.
SOME DAYS I FEEL LIKE I'M ZOOMED OUT BECAUSE I'M ZOOMING ALL DAY LONG.
BUT YOU CAN TAKE A LOOK AT SOME OF THE PIVOTS.
WE HAD TO BE ABLE TO THINK OUTSIDE OF THE BOX BECAUSE WE COULDN'T DO THINGS THE WAY WE'VE ALWAYS DONE THEM.
AND GUESS WHAT? WE'RE PROBABLY GOING TO CONTINUE TO DO THINGS LIKE WE'VE BEEN DOING FOR THE PAST YEAR BECAUSE WE'VE FOUND THAT THEY'VE BEEN HELPED US WITH OUR EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS.
AND I TRIED TO FIT IT ALL ON ONE SLIDE, BUT IT WAS A FIT.
SO YOU GET TWO SLIDES OF THAT.
I THINK WE CAN ALL READ AND I AND I TRY TO PUT MY STUFF, YOU KNOW, [INAUDIBLE] IN THE FIFTH GRADE ANYWAY.
BUT I WANT PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT I HAVE TO SAY.
OI'M NOT GOING TO READ TO Y'ALL IN OTHER WORDS.
ACCOMMODATION'S REVIEW COMMITTEE, OK? SO WE KNEW THAT WHEN SCHOOL STARTED THAT WE WOULD HAVE SOME PEOPLE WHO MAY NOT BE ABLE TO WORK WITH OUR STUDENTS FACE TO FACE.
BUT WE WOULD ALSO HAVE SOME PEOPLE WHO WOULD HAVE SOME CONCERNS ABOUT WORKING FACE TO FACE, AND WE WOULD NEED TO PROVIDE A WAY FOR THEM TO DO THAT SAFELY.
AND SO WE ESTABLISHED AN OFFICIAL ACCOMMODATION'S REVIEW COMMITTEE.
AND THAT COMMITTEE INCLUDES PEOPLE FROM HUMAN RESOURCES, FROM LEGAL MS. RAY ACTUALLY SERVES ON THE COMMITTEE FROM OUR RESOURCE MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT AND NURSE K, WE MEET AND INITIALLY WE MET LIKE TWO OR THREE DAYS A WEEK SO THAT WE CAN REVIEW ALL OF THE REQUESTS.
BUT NOW WE MEET BIWEEKLY AND WE REVIEW THE REQUESTS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT.
ADA, YOU MAY HAVE HEARD IT TALKED ABOUT WE HAVE REVIEWED THREE HUNDRED SEVENTY EIGHT DIFFERENT REQUEST AND THAT'S THREE HUNDRED SEVENTY EIGHT FOR THE MOST PART, INDIVIDUAL PEOPLE.
AND BECAUSE IT IS AN INTERACTIVE PROCESS, MANY OF THEM HAVE BEEN INTERVIEWED OR NOT INTERVIEWED, REVIEWED MORE THAN ONCE.
AND I'LL TRY TO CONTINUE TO BE EXPEDITIOUS.
THERE IS SOME SALARY INFORMATION HERE.
ONCE AGAIN, WE APPRECIATE APPRECIATE YOU FOR PROVIDING THE RAISES AND EQUITY ADJUSTMENTS THAT WE NEEDED IN ORDER TO GET OUR SALARIES COMPETITIVE AND MAINTAIN COMPETITION WITH OUR NEIGHBORING DISTRICTS.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE SLIDE WITH THE SALARY, THE TOP LINE, THE BLUE LINE IS OUR SALARY AND THE LINE BENEATH THAT IS THE REGION 10 SALARY.
SO OUR TEACHER SALARIES ARE COMPETITIVE WITH AREA DISTRICTS FOR 2021.
THAT WAS NOT THE CASE FOR 19-20.
WE ALSO ASKED TASB TO LOOK AT THE OVERALL SALARIES FOR CAMPUS ADMINISTRATORS AND FOR OUR PROFESSIONALS, FOR CAMPUS ADMINISTRATORS.
THEY ARE STRONG AND WELL ALIGNED WITH THE IN THE MARKET AND FOR OUR HEALTH CLINIC PROFESSIONALS.
OUR TECHNOLOGY POSITIONS THEY ARE ON AVERAGE WITH EVERYONE AS WELL.
OUR PARAPROFESSIONAL SALARIES ARE SOMETHING THAT THEY LOOKED AT AS WELL.
AFTER WE DID A ONE PERCENT MIDPOINT ON OUR 20-21 BOARD APPROVED INCREASE THAT HELPED.
BUT OUR SPED AIDS ARE STILL SLIGHTLY BELOW MARKET, AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE
[02:20:02]
MAY NEED TO LOOK AT.THEN WE ALSO LOOKED AT OUR AUXILIARY SALARIES.
THE GOAL LINE IS THE REGION 10 AND THE BLUE LINE OR BLUE BARS OR GISD.
AND BOARD ONCE AGAIN, BECAUSE YOU DID RAISES AND EQUITY ADJUSTMENTS LAST YEAR, YOU CAN SEE THAT OUR DISTRICT CONTINUES TO BE COMPETITIVE WITH OUR TASB SALARY REPORTS FOR AUXILIARY EMPLOYEES.
THE NEXT SET OF REPORTS IS SOME INFORMATION THAT I THOUGHT MIGHT BE INTERESTING TO YOU AND THE CERTIFICATION RULES.
ABOUT 15 YEARS AGO, FOR THE FIRST TIME, OVER 50 PERCENT OF THE TEACHERS WHO WERE CERTIFIED IN THE STATE OF TEXAS WERE CERTIFIED THROUGH SOME TYPE OF ALTERNATIVE CERTIFICATION PROGRAM.
AND THIS YEAR, OF THE FOUR HUNDRED EIGHTY SIX TEACHERS THAT WE HIRED, TWO HUNDRED FORTY FIVE WERE ON SOME TYPE OF ALTERNATIVE CERTIFICATE OR A PERMIT.
AND THOSE THEY'RE IN A PROGRAM.
WE HAVE A DISTRICT OF INNOVATION FOR OUR CAREER AND TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM.
AND THAT DISTRICT OF INNOVATION ALLOWS US TO GIVE EXPERTS IN AN INDUSTRY A PERMIT THAT IS PROVIDED BY THE DISTRICT.
I ALSO INCLUDED SOME INVESTIGATIONS, INFORMATION.
AND JUST TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE CONTEXT ON THE INVESTIGATIONS, I KNOW IF YOU LOOK AT THESE NUMBERS, YOU GOING TO SAY THAT'S A LOT OF INVESTIGATION, BUT THINK ABOUT IT LIKE THIS.
WE HAVE WHEN YOU ADD SUBSTITUTES TO IT, WE HAVE A LITTLE OVER EIGHT THOUSAND STAFF.
SO THAT'S SIXTY THREE THOUSAND HUMAN BEINGS IN A VERY SMALL GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION.
AND SOME OF THOSE A LOT OF THOSE HUMAN BEINGS ARE ADOLESCENTS.
SO BUT THESE INVESTIGATIONS, FOR THE MOST PART, INVOLVE THE ADULTS.
BUT CONSIDERING THE CONTEXT, THIS IS THESE ARE THE INVESTIGATIONS AND GRIEVANCES.
AND AS YOU KNOW, PEOPLE DON'T ALWAYS GET ALONG OR AGREE ON THINGS.
SO THIS IS THIS INFORMATION FOR YOU.
STAFFING TRENDS IS THE NEXT SECTION.
OVERALL, SINCE 2016, OUR STAFF HAS DECREASED.
THE NUMBER OF STAFF HAS DECREASED FROM SEVEN THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED FORTY TO SEVEN THOUSAND ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY FIVE.
THE NEXT PAGE JUST KIND OF GIVES YOU AN IDEA OF THE CLASSIFICATION OF OUR STAFF.
ABOUT 50 PERCENT OF OUR STAFF, TEACHERS, THEY ARE TEACHERS.
AND THEN THE OTHER PERCENTAGE IS OR AS YOU READ THE WE TALK ABOUT TEACHER TURNOVER.
ONE OF THE REASONS THAT WE DID THIS DAY INTERVIEWS IS BECAUSE WE KIND OF BECAME CONCERNED ABOUT OUR TURNOVER RATE A FEW YEARS AGO AND HAVE CONTINUED TO DO THINGS EACH YEAR TO TRY TO DECREASE THE TEACHER TURNOVER RATE.
BUT THEN WHEN WE TOOK A LOOK AT OUR REGION 10, WHICH IS THE RED LINE ON THIS GRAPH, YOU CAN SEE THAT WHEN WE COMPARE THE GST TURNOVER RATE, WHICH IS THE BLUE LINE ON THE GRAPH, WE ARE DOING A BETTER JOB OF KEEPING OUR TEACHERS THAN SOME OF OUR NEIGHBORING DISTRICTS.
AND WE CAN, BECAUSE AT ONE TIME THIS TURNOVER RATE FOR GISD ABOUT SEVEN OR EIGHT YEARS AGO WAS LIKE ELEVEN POINT FIVE PERCENT AND THEN IT WENT UP.
BUT THAT'S WHEN OUR ECONOMY STARTED GOING UP TO, YOU KNOW, WE HAD TEACHERS WHO BY PROFESSION WERE ENGINEERS.
AND THEN WHEN THEY COULD GET ENGINEERING JOBS, SEE YA, I GOT TO GO MAKE THEM.
IF YOU LOOK AT THESE TWO GRAPHS, IT SHOWS THAT WHILE ENROLL AND YOU'VE HEARD ENROLLMENT DECREASE ALL NIGHT LONG, WELL, ENROLLMENT DECREASED.
OUR PERSONNEL BUDGET SPENDING WENT UP.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE COMPARISON OF THE OUR PER STUDENT COST WITH THE STATE PER STUDENT COST AT ONE TIME, GISD, WHICH IS THE BLUE LINE ON YOUR GRAPH, PER STUDENT COST WAS ABOVE THE STATE PER STUDENT COSTS.
BUT JUST IN 19-20, WE CROSSED THE LINE WITH THE STATE AND OUR PER STUDENT COST DID GO DOWN A LITTLE BIT AND IT IS LOWER THAN ACTUAL STATE PER STUDENT COST.
THIS IS JUST A REVIEW OF THE LEAVES THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO OUR STAFF, EVERY STAFF MEMBER RECEIVES FIVE STATE DAYS, WHICH THEY CAN CARRY WITH THEM FROM ONE TEXAS SCHOOL
[02:25:05]
DISTRICT TO ANOTHER, BUT ONCE AGAIN, OUR BOARD OF TRUSTEES ALLOWS US TO PROVIDE TWO LOCAL LEAVE DAYS PER YEAR, BOTH SETS OF DAYS ACCRUE IF THEY DON'T USE THEM, THE LOCAL LEAVE DAYS, THEY CAN'T TAKE WITH THEM, BUT THEY CAN ACCRUE THEM AS LONG AS THEY STAY WITH GARLAND ISD.WE HAVE SOME 260 DAY EMPLOYEES, THOSE PEOPLE WHO GET TO WORK DURING THE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS AND THE SPRING BREAKS AND THE SUMMER BREAK WHO EARN ACTUALLY EARN 10 DAYS VACATION.
ALL EMPLOYEES RECEIVE A ONE TIME ALLOCATION OF 30 DAYS OF EXTENDED OR SUPPLEMENTAL LEAVE.
AND WHAT THAT MEANS IS THEY RECEIVE PARTIAL PAY FOR THE ABSENCES AFTER THEY USE UP ANY OTHER DAYS AND BUT THEY DON'T GET ZERO PAY.
JUST WANTED TO SHARE WITH YOU A FEW WEEKS AGO, I CAME TO YOU WITH A RESOLUTION ASKING YOU TO CONTINUE FFCRA LEAVE AND ONCE AGAIN, APPRECIATE YOU FOR DOING THAT.
AND THIS THESE TWO GRAPHS SHOW YOU THE DAYS THAT WERE USED FOR FFCRA AND THE AVERAGE DAYS PER MONTH.
THE BLUE IS DAYS PER MONTH PRIOR TO DECEMBER 31ST AND THE ORANGE IS DAYS PER MONTH SINCE DECEMBER 31ST.
AND FFCRA I'M SORRY I USED THAT ACRONYM.
FAMILY FIRST CORONAVIRUS RELIEF ACT IS WHAT THE FFCRA STANDS FOR.
AND THEN I HAVE SOME MORE DATA THAT I JUST WANTED TO SHARE WITH YOU ABOUT PROFESSIONALLY VACANCIES THAT ARE OCCURRING DURING THE YEAR.
AND WE DO HAVE VACANCIES, MORE VACANCIES THAN WE'VE EVER NOT THIS YEAR, WELL WE HAVE MORE THIS YEAR THAN WE HAD LAST YEAR.
BUT WE HAVE I THINK SINCE STATE RULES CHANGED A LITTLE BIT, WE'VE HAD MORE PEOPLE RESIGNING PRIOR TO THE END OF THEIR CONTRACTS THAN WE HAVE IN THE PAST.
I WON'T READ THOSE TO YOU EITHER.
THEN THE NEXT GRAPH, WHICH IS SHOWING WHERE THOSE RESIGNATIONS ARE, ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE SCHOOL, HIGH SCHOOL AND DEPARTMENTAL.
AND THEN THE NEXT GRAPH SHOWS WHERE THE RESIGNATIONS ARE IN RESPECT TO OUR SHORTAGE AREAS.
AND SO I'VE TRIED TO EXPEDITIOUSLY TELL YOU ABOUT OUR INITIATIVES FOR THIS YEAR, MARKET SALARY INFORMATION, SOME STATUS REPORT, STAFFING TRENDS.
AND NOW WHAT'S NEXT? NEXT YEAR WE HOPE TO AND I KNOW YOU ALL KIND OF TALKED ABOUT RECOVERY.
WE HOPE TO DO RECOVERY AND RESTARTING, AND I HOPE EVERYBODY GETS VACCINATED SO WE CAN ALL BE FACE TO FACE AND IN SCHOOLS.
AND WE'RE ALSO GOING TO LOOK AT KIND OF REVAMPING OUR ONBOARDING PROCESS, NOT JUST FOR TEACHERS AND PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYEES, BUT FOR EVERYONE.
AND IT WILL BE BASED UPON, I CAN'T SING EITHER.
THIS IS HOW WE DO IT AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO WORK ON RETENTION AND REFINEMENT OF OUR DIGITAL PROCESSES AND REFINEMENT OF OUR H.R.
DASHBOARD AND CONTINUE A REVIEW OF OUR DEPARTMENTAL PROCEDURES.
DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OR DISCUSSION? I DON'T KNOW ABOUT QUESTIONS, BUT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE YOU LAST FROM NOW ON BECAUSE YOU PROVIDE THE COMIC RELIEF.
I DON'T KNOW IF ANYBODY HAS ANY QUESTIONS.
AND MAYBE THE INFORMATION COULD BE FORTHCOMING IN AN INSIGHT LATER.
AT WORK, YOUR OPINIONS SEEM TO COUNT.
TWENTY PERCENT OF OUR EMPLOYEES WERE NEUTRAL OR WORSE.
I WOULD THINK THAT DESERVES SOME MORE COMMENTARY SOMEHOW MAYBE TO USE A WORD FROM NEW YORK UNIVERSITY WE MIGHT WANT TO UNPACK THAT ONE SOME.
AND THEN WHAT MIGHT MAKE YOUR JOB MORE SATISFYING AND THE COMMENT WAS STUDENTS THE BIG WORD.
AND IT'S THAT IF THEY HAD MORE RESOURCES FOR THEIR STUDENTS, I HAVE NEVER HEARD THAT WE WERE LACKING IN RESOURCES.
AND I WISH THERE WAS A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHY THAT WAS WORDED THAT WAY.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I DIDN'T MENTION WAS THAT THEY WANTED TO BE FACE TO FACE WITH THEIR STUDENTS.
THEY WANTED TO BE FACE TO FACE WITH THEIR STUDENTS, THEY AND SOME OF THEM
[02:30:01]
SAID WANTED.I WANT TO TEACH STUDENTS VIRTUALLY ONLY.
SO SO BUT YEAH, BUT A LOT OF THEM DID SAY IF THEY HAD ADDITIONAL RESOURCES OR OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS.
OK, IF THERE'S ANY WAY TO EXPAND ON THAT A LITTLE BIT FOR ME, BECAUSE I HAVE NEVER I HAVEN'T HEARD THAT IN THIS DISTRICT BEFORE, THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE RESOURCES LIKE THAT.
I DON'T KNOW OF ONE GROUP DOES COME BEFORE THIS BOARD AND SAID WE JUST DON'T HAVE THE RESOURCES BECAUSE THIS BOARD HAS BEEN SO GOOD TO PROVIDE THAT EVERY TIME THERE'S BEEN A REQUEST, IT'S BEEN FILLED.
SO I HOPE IT'S NOT SOMETHING OUT THERE THAT WE DIDN'T HEAR ABOUT.
THAT MAY COME OUT IN THE FOCUS GROUPS.
I DON'T HAVE THE FOCUS GROUP INFORMATION YET BECAUSE THE FOCUS GROUP THEY ARE GOING TO MEET WELL THEY MET LAST FRIDAY.
I'LL PUT IT IN INSIGHT THIS WEEKEND.
BOARD ANYTHING ELSE ON THIS? THANK YOU SO MUCH.
OK, I THINK WE HAVE ONE MORE ITEM.
[Items VI & VIII]
WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT CONSIDERING APPROVAL OF A WAIVER FOR LOW ATTENDANCE.CHAIRMAN MILLER, DISTRICT AFFAIRS COMMITTEE MEMBERS, TRUSTEES AND DR.
THIS EVENING'S PRESENTATION WILL COVER THE STEPS WE NEED TO TAKE TO RESPOND TO THE UNPRECEDENTED WINTER WEATHER EVENT WE EXPERIENCED THE WEEK OF FEBRUARY 15TH AND THE INCLEMENT WEATHER DAY WE HAD ON FEBRUARY 11TH.
I WILL PRESENT EACH WAIVER TYPE AS THEY'RE BEING APPLIED CHRONOLOGICALLY.
AND SO THIS PRESENTATION ACTUALLY COVERS BOTH BOARD ITEMS, IF THAT'S OK WITH YOU ALL, OK? SO HERE ARE THE TYPES OF ATTENDANCE WAIVERS WE'RE REQUESTING FOR THE INCLEMENT WEATHER WE EXPERIENCED LAST MONTH, THE NEXT SLIDES WE WILL SHOW WE'LL SHOW THE SPECIFIC WAIVER WE ARE REQUESTING FOR EACH DAY WE MISSED.
SO THE TWO TYPES OF WAIVERS ARE LOW ATTENDANCE.
WE'LL BE REQUESTING ONE OF THOSE AND THEN MISSED SCHOOL DAYS.
AND SO WE'LL NEED THAT FOR SIX OF OUR INSTRUCTIONAL DAYS THAT WERE MISSED.
SO THE FIRST WAIVER IS A MISSED SCHOOL DAY WAIVER FOR THE INCLEMENT WEATHER WE HAD ON FEBRUARY 11TH.
AND JUST SOMETHING IMPORTANT TO KNOW ABOUT THIS ONE IS WE HAVE ENOUGH MINUTES WITHIN OUR REGULAR CALENDAR TO COVER THE MISSED INSTRUCTION THAT WE HAD ON THAT DAY.
BUT BECAUSE WE HAVE REQUESTED AND WILL BE RECEIVING FUNDING FOR THE ADDITIONAL DAY SCHOOL YEAR, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ATTEND 180 DAYS.
SO BY SUBMITTING THIS, WE WILL HAVE THAT WAIVED.
AND THE TEA IS EXPECTING THIS WAIVER TO COME THROUGH, EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE ENOUGH DAYS IN OUR CALENDAR.
THE NEXT DAY IS FEBRUARY 12TH.
WE'RE ASKING JUST FOR A LOW ATTENDANCE WAIVER FOR THIS PARTICULAR DAY BECAUSE WE DID EXPERIENCE A 10 PERCENTAGE POINT DIFFERENTIAL IN OUR ADA FROM THE PREVIOUS SCHOOL YEAR AT TWO CAMPUSES THAT WOULD BE SHUGART AND CENTREVILLE.
AND SO WE'RE ASKING THAT THAT BE WAIVED BECAUSE IT IS SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER AND WILL AFFECT OUR OVERALL PERCENTAGES.
AND THEN WE HAVE THE WEEK OF FEBRUARY 15TH THROUGH 19TH, WE'RE REQUESTING MISSED SCHOOL DAY WAIVERS FOR THOSE PARTICULAR DAYS AND OF COURSE, WE DID HAVE AN EMERGENCY DECLARED.
AND SO FOR THOSE PARTICULAR DAYS, WE DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THE ADSY FUNDING FOR THOSE DAYS.
AND AND WE ARE JUST GOING TO GO AHEAD AND SUBMIT THAT BECAUSE WE WILL BE ALLOWED TO GO THROUGH WITH THOSE PARTICULAR DAYS WITHOUT HAVING TO MAKE THEM UP AT ALL.
SO WE'RE NOT HAVING TO MAKE UP ANY OF THE DAYS THAT WE HAVE MISSED.
AND WITH YOUR APPROVAL OF THE WAIVERS AT OUR MARCH TWENTY THIRD BOARD MEETING, WE WILL BE ABLE TO SUBMIT THOSE TO THE STATE FOR THEIR APPROVAL.
AND DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE WAIVERS? THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION, MR. GLICK.
I'M A LITTLE HOW MANY ACTUAL DAYS WAS THE DISTRICT CLOSED? WE WERE CLOSED FOR SIX DAYS.
SO WE HAVE THE 11TH AND THEN THE FULL WEEK OF THE 15TH THROUGH THE 19TH.
AND I'M SURE, WHAT I'VE HEARD IS WE HAVE NO INTENTION ON MAKING UP THOSE DAYS.
WE'RE NOT BEING ASKED TO MAKE THOSE DAYS UP, BECAUSE.
[02:35:01]
THAT'S NOT MY POINT.I KNOW YOU SAID WE'RE NOT BEING ASKED TO MAKE THEM UP.
WHY ARE WE NOT MAKING THEM UP? BUT YEAH.
AND LET ME EXPLAIN WHY I'M ASKING THAT QUESTION.
WE'VE BEEN TALKING EVEN TODAY FOR THE LAST I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY HOURS OF WHAT'S GOING ON FOR THE PAST YEAR, HOW MUCH SCHOOL BECAUSE KIDS HAVE MISSED.
I'VE TALKED ABOUT ALL THE ARTICLES THAT THEY DON'T THEY KEEP COMING ON THE PERCENTAGE OF KIDS HAVE MISSED THE GENERATION LOST.
WE JUST TALKED ABOUT GRADUATING CLASSES.
WHO'S GOING TO HIRE THESE PEOPLE? IT'S TERRIBLE WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING TO OUR KIDS.
AND NOW WE HAVE, AS YOU SAID, SIX DAYS, MORE DAYS.
THAT USED TO BE THAT I REMEMBER WHEN MY KIDS WERE THERE, THERE WAS TWO SNOW DAYS AND THEN YOU HAD TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THAT.
AND THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN VERY OFTEN HAPPENED LIKE ONCE OR TWICE THAT I REMEMBER.
LOPEZ, I'M DIRECTING TO YOU, BUT I'M SURE THAT'S AN ADMINISTRATION PROBLEM QUESTION.
WHY ARE WE NOT EVEN TALKING ABOUT HELPING THESE KIDS? I KNOW WE'VE DONE A LOT.
WE'RE IN SESSION THIS WEEK, AND YET WE'RE TAKING FULL SIX DAYS OUT OF THERE, OUT OF THEIR EDUCATION, WHICH ON A PERCENTAGE, SIX OVER 180 IS A PRETTY FAIR NUMBER.
AND NOT EVEN TALKING, THE BOARD IS NOT TALKING ABOUT MAKING IT UP.
I'M AGAIN, I'M ADDRESSING THIS TO DR.
I WANTED TO WAIT BECAUSE THIS IS THE TOPIC, THE TIME TO ADDRESS IT.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE IN ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY DAY SCHOOL YEAR.
WHY AREN'T WE MAKING IT UP TEA SAYS, THE FIRST FIVE DAYS FOR THE SNOW DAYS ARE GOING TO BE MAKE UP DAYS.
I'M GOING TO TAKE A LITTLE STEP FURTHER.
WHAT WAS UNIQUE ABOUT THE SNOWSTORM IS THAT IT AFFECTED ALMOST EVERY PERSON IN OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT, OK? SOME WERE ABLE TO KEEP POWER MOST WEREN'T.
THE WAY THEIR HOUSES WERE AFFECTED, THE WAY THINGS WERE DONE.
A LOT OF KIDS WERE DISPLACED, FAMILIES WERE DISPLACED, AND NOW THEY'RE COMING BACK TO THE HOME.
AND WHILE WE ARE RECOVERED WITH ELECTRICITY, HEAT, IT'S NOT AS COLD OUTSIDE.
A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE STILL RECOVERING ON GETTING THEIR HOMES FIXED.
AND IF WE'RE RECOVERING, WHAT REMINDS ME IS THAT WE'RE RECOVERING IN THIS BUILDING.
WHAT ARE PEOPLE GOING THROUGH OUTSIDE OF THIS BUILDING? SO THE FACT THAT WE'RE OPEN RIGHT NOW, WE DO HAVE PEOPLE MEETING WITH THE ADJUSTERS.
THERE'S A LOT OF STUFF GOING ON.
OK, ADDING FIVE DAYS TO THE SCHEDULE WOULD MEAN, A, WE WOULD TAKE OFF THIS WHOLE INTERSESSION WEEK.
DOESN'T MEAN GUARANTEE PEOPLE ARE GOING TO COME.
AND IF THEY DO, IF THEY DON'T COME, WE CANNOT APPLY FOR A LOW WAIVER.
AFTER THAT, YOU CAN'T APPLY FOR CORRECT? THAT IS CORRECT.
SO THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
AND SO WE LOOK AT IS FOR ME, PERSONALLY SPEAKING, THE FIVE DAYS WERE GRANTED FOR THE ENTIRE STATE.
WE HAD THE THE SLEET AND SNOW DAY, THAT'S FAIR.
THIS WAS THE FIRST YEAR I ADDED MINUTES TO MY EMPLOYEES WORKING AND MY SCHOOL CHILDREN GOING TO SCHOOL, WE ADDED MORE MINUTES.
SO ESSENTIALLY, WE'RE GOING ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY FIVE DAYS.
IF THEY GO BY MINUTES, NOT ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY DAYS.
THEY'VE BEEN THROUGH ENOUGH THIS YEAR AND WE MAY NOT GET THE IMPACT.
PEOPLE MIGHT NOT SHOW UP TEACHERS.
THERE'S TOO MANY VARIABLES THIS LATE IN THE YEAR.
WE WOULD HAVE TO TAKE AWAY A HOLY DAY, POSSIBLY IF WE DID THAT FOR ALL SIX DAYS.
SO IT HAD BEEN THIS WEEK AND THEN POSSIBLY A HOLY DAY OR MEMORIAL DAY.
PEOPLE HAVE ALREADY HAD PLANS FOR ALL THAT.
AND IF THE STATE WAIVED IT, THE LOGIC IS, YOU KNOW WHAT? FOR THOSE THAT NEED TO BE REMEDIATED, WE HAVE NINE THOUSAND STUDENTS THAT SHOWED UP YESTERDAY.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE COUNT IS TODAY FOR INTERSESSION THAT'S BIGGER THAN SOME DISTRICTS.
WE NEED TO STRATEGICALLY MAKE IT UP.
BUT HAVING THOSE FIVE DAYS ISN'T GOING TO GUARANTEE LEARNING LOSS DEPENDING ON WHERE IT IS IF KIDS ARE DISCONNECTED OR NOT.
AND SO THAT'S WHERE THE LOGIC CAME IN.
AND I APPLAUDED WHEN WE ADDED THE EXTRA MINUTES, OK, BECAUSE WE ADDED AN EXTRA
[02:40:04]
BASED ON THE MINUTES, WE ACTUALLY WHEN WE WENT FROM ONE, WE ALWAYS TALKED ABOUT 180 DAYS OF EDUCATION, BUT SOMEHOW WE GOT TO 175 AND NOW WE WENT BACK TO THE 180.WE'VE BEEN TALKING TODAY ABOUT THE LOSS OF LEARNING, AND YET THERE DOESN'T SEEM TO BE ANYBODY WHO THINKS WE'RE TAKING AWAY SIX DAYS FROM THESE KIDS, JUST LIKE, OH, OK, I'M THINK I'M MISSING SOMETHING HERE AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M MISSING, BUT WE'RE NOT EVEN REPLACING ONE OR TWO OF THE SIX DAYS.
DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER ITEMS OTHER THAN EXECUTIVE SESSION? I'M ASSUMING WE DO NOT HAVE AN ITEM.
SO THE NEXT THING ON THE AGENDA IS I NEED A MOTION FOR ADJOURNMENT.
THANK YOU.
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.