[0:16] September

[0:24] to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic which stands

[0:30] one nation under God, indivisible, liberty and justice for all.

[0:44] So exciting. All right.

[0:50] request to address the governing board. We have request

[0:55] pursuant to Arizona revised statute

[1:00] 38-431.01.

[1:04] This agenda item open to the public allowing individuals an opportunity to

[1:08] address the governing board on any issue within the jurisdiction of the governing

[1:13] board. Members of the public wishing to address the governing board are required

[1:17] to complete a public participation form and submit the completed form to the

[1:20] superintendent prior to the meeting. Individuals recognized by the board

[1:25] president must state his or her name. Speakers may comment on any item on the

[1:30] agenda or topics not listed on the agenda. No personal attacks on the

[1:34] governing board staff or other community members will be allowed. Individual

[1:39] comment will be limited to no and no more than 30 minutes will be

[1:44] devoted to the public comment of the agenda.

[1:48] If I can please have Christine Walker come forward.

[2:00] » Thank you governing board. I appreciate your time today. My questions are uh

[2:05] multiple and I don't expect answers today but I want to bring to your

[2:11] attention the teacher retention rate in the United States is at 7% in Arizona we

[2:16] are at a 14% attrition rate. What is Aguafria Union High School District

[2:20] doing to retain teachers and keep them qualified and certified here within the

[2:26] district? Second question, bell schedules. I was

[2:30] looking today to find the bell schedules for the published of 202728. They are

[2:36] not, but your community calendar is or your academic calendar is. I was

[2:40] wondering where the bell schedules can be found.

[2:44] Summertime meetings, you move them to 4 p.m. I really want to try to understand

[2:48] why that's a 400 p.m. instead of a 6 pm because I'm pretty sure all of us are

[2:52] working until four or five. Why does it go to four o'clock on the two months

[2:57] that are probably the single most important two months of your decision

[3:01] making before the school year? And I want to understand why it's not at 6 PM

[3:05] as you can see a full room of people. [clears throat] And I understand there's

[3:07] other things on the agenda today for that. And I'm sorry that I'm bringing up

[3:12] such questions. But these are things that I really want to find out. Why is

[3:16] it four o'clock and not six o'clock? The biggest thing I'm here for today is

[3:22] I want to understand what your failure policy is for your students. Do you

[3:28] allow them to fail? If they have earned a failing grade, are our students

[3:32] allowed to fail the class? This is the utmost important time of their life to

[3:38] learn how to fail. Take the criticism, take the critique, learn, grow, develop,

[3:44] and understand what they did wrong. this is the safe place for them to do so. Do

[3:49] you allow students to fail or is it because you want an Agrade school that

[3:55] you don't allow that to happen? That's the biggest concern I have here today.

[4:00] Second concern. No. One, two, three, four, excuse me.

[4:04] Fifth concern, class sizes. What are we doing about class sizes? Are you

[4:07] ordering trying to gain more teachers? Are you ordering more classes to be

[4:12] filled so that when teachers have their off period that they are teaching a

[4:17] class? Do we have furniture accom to accommodate this growth that we are

[4:22] seeing here in the West Valley? Those are the major concerns that I have and I

[4:26] don't know if the other public does but truly just clarity on those types of

[4:31] policies would be fantastic. One thing I do want to know regarding the attrition

[4:37] rate here, is it going to be a published number or is that something you're going

[4:40] to have to research somewhere? Somebody has the statistics for that. And I would

[4:44] just love to know where Iowa Frea stands as far as the rest of the nation is

[4:48] concerned. Are we at 14%, are we at 24%, are we at 3%. That's the numbers that

[4:53] I'm looking for. Thank you.

[5:00] » Thank you.

[5:04] 4.01 recognition.

[5:16] » Good evening, governing board president Actton, governing board members,

[5:19] superintendent ESOS, and this amazing Alfria community. Thank you for um

[5:24] allowing us to be here this evening. We are excited that our uh superintendent,

[5:29] academic superstars, is back uh to be represented here at our governing board

[5:33] each month. And so we're excited to be able to shout out the academic

[5:38] excellence among our students across our entire district. And so we will start to

[5:42] do that each month going forward. Um tonight we have Dr. Sarah Pearson coming

[5:46] forward to um shout out our first superstars for the year.

[6:02] There we go. Thank you, Superintendent Eastless, Governing Board Actton,

[6:06] governing board members and our Fria community.

[6:10] Excited to be here tonight to kick this off this initiative. The launch of the

[6:15] academies of the southwest valley has brought many tremendous partnerships and

[6:20] our celebration tonight is a testament to the commitment of those partners

[6:24] investing in our students. Through our ongoing medical summits last year, every

[6:29] medical partner voiced the need for more healthcare workers in the West Valley,

[6:34] an area with tremendous opportunity for high demand, high wage careers. One

[6:39] identified barrier is admission to nursing programs and healthcare programs

[6:43] sometimes for joining weight lists and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona made a

[6:47] $40,000 investment in our students to help address this barrier. So the Afria

[6:52] High School District, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona and Accelerate ASU

[6:58] formed a strategic partnership to develop a structured healthc care and

[7:02] nursing pathway with the goal of strengthening Arizona's future

[7:05] healthcare workforce and expanding college access to West Valley students.

[7:11] So through ASU universal learner courses, these students that we'll

[7:15] recognize tonight will be uh taking nursing course uh nursing foundation

[7:20] courses that are all prerequisites for applying to ASU's uh nursing program.

[7:26] And these are all credits that also transfer to instate uh colleges. So, at

[7:31] a recent awards celebration hosted by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, our

[7:36] students were recognized for their poise, attentiveness,

[7:39] uh, and communication skills. So, we're grateful to have Alio Gainer from

[7:44] Arizona State University and Washington Coina, the vice pres president of

[7:48] commercial verticals and strategy for Blue Cross Blue Shield with us tonight.

[7:53] We are excited to celebrate our students. So, with that, students, uh,

[7:58] I'm going to call up by school and our school principal will join us, hand them

[8:02] their certificates, and we'll get a group picture of everyone afterwards.

[8:06] So can I hear principal Daniels come

[8:17] from aa high school we have Dianis Valer [applause]

[8:34] Natalyia Dominguez >> [applause]

[8:41] » Pearl Ruby Martinez [applause]

[8:48] and Reagan Stevens [applause]

[8:59] » and we have Mr. Santenno, assistant principal from Cany View, who will be

[9:03] standing in for Principal Reed,

[9:15] » Chamilleia Garcia, [applause] sorry

[9:23] Devin Howard, [applause]

[9:29] Nadia Barrera, >> [applause]

[9:34] » and Paige Merrill. [applause]

[9:40] Principal hand,

[9:55] DESIREE CAMARO [applause]

[10:03] EVA LARA, [applause]

[10:09] Jayla Malone, [applause]

[10:15] and Kimberly Menhavar. [applause]

[10:24] As principal Bundy makes her way up here, you see that the students have

[10:27] beautiful engraved plaque that Blue Cross Blue Shield provided them. So, did

[10:32] a great job recognizing these students for this

[10:35] great accomplishment. All right. Elani Shabaria,

[10:40] [applause]

[10:44] Bella Martinez, [applause]

[10:50] Destiny Lopez, [applause]

[10:55] and Matteo Curiel. [applause]

[11:04] and Principal Le

[11:19] from Verado High School. Allison mimeto, [applause]

[11:26] Isabella Gaxiola, [applause]

[11:35] Natalie Rose, [applause]

[11:40] and Nicholas Maldonado. [applause]

[11:48] Congratulations to these students. Everyone stay up here. We're going to

[11:51] grab a picture with you guys. Might need to scooch in a little bit. Let's give

[11:53] them a round [applause] of applause.

[12:12] » Yeah.

[12:18] people here.

[12:28] [applause]

[12:32] » Sorry, one more. Sorry. Sorry.

[12:41] » [applause]

[12:45] » Thank you.

[13:13] Okay, we'll move on to more student recognition.

[13:19] » President Actton, members of the governing board, Superintendent Heless

[13:23] and our extended our Pria community packed house tonight. It's always great

[13:28] to celebrate students and the continued work that they do. Um, I'm going to

[13:33] introduce Dr. for Kristen Tiffany to come up and talk about our freshman

[13:36] mentor program. Uh we have some students here. They're going to talk to you about

[13:40] the impact that the freshman mentor program has had in just a short time in

[13:45] our district. So, Dr. Tiffany, if you want to go ahead.

[13:50] » Thank you so much, President Actton, Vice President Landis, Superintendent

[13:55] Elas, and our incredible AARA community. I'm honored to be up here tonight uh to

[14:00] introduce the representatives that are going to be speaking to you. um one from

[14:04] each of the five schools that have our freshman mentor program. So, come on

[14:08] down. Come on.

[14:12] [applause]

[14:17] Excellent.

[14:22] All right. this group, oh, this group of wonderful uh mentors will

[14:29] share some information with you guys tonight about our mentor program that's

[14:33] been districtwide for about five years now. Um, as well as share some

[14:37] testimonials about uh how the freshman mentor program has impacted them and

[14:42] impacted the freshmen on their campuses. Um, what who we have tonight is Nathan

[14:47] from Desert Edge. There's Nathan. [applause]

[14:52] Uh, we have Carly from Millennium. [applause] Yay, Carly.

[14:58] Josie from Verado.

[15:02] Luis from Mafria, [applause]

[15:06] Alexa from Canyon View, [applause] and then to represent our incredible

[15:12] adviserss that work with these uh wonderful mentors, we have Sabrina Booth

[15:16] uh representing our adviserss from Breto. [applause]

[15:21] Awesome. So, I'm gonna turn it over to Nathan to kick us off.

[15:27] » Uh, hello. My name is Nathan. Uh, I go to Desert Edge High School and I'm here

[15:31] to tell you guys why the Freshman Mentor P program matters to me. Uh, the move

[15:36] from 8th grade to 9th grade brings new opportunities, relationships,

[15:40] expectations, and challenges as students begin to find their place in the high

[15:45] school community. Our freshman mentor program connects connects incoming ninth

[15:49] graders with juniors and seniors senior student leaders who have helped them. It

[15:54] helps them navigate the transition from eighth grade to 9th grade. I know for me

[15:57] personally coming from a completely different school than anyone else. It

[16:01] really helped me connect with the new students, make new friends and bring the

[16:05] community all together. uh you get to build relationships and a sense of

[16:08] belonging by just getting involved with the school helps with that by uh

[16:12] extracurriculars like marching band, theater and all that. It helps you get

[16:16] involved with community and know more people um be become connected to the

[16:21] people activities and opportunities on campus. Like I said, we had our club

[16:25] rush two weeks ago and we got so many new people for all those different clubs

[16:29] and really help those freshmen get get with those people that have that same

[16:33] interest with them. Uh, and they get to develop confidence and skills for

[16:37] success in high school. If it wasn't for theater, I don't know how I'd be doing

[16:42] this because it's a bit scary, but being able just to talk in front of people and

[16:47] doing all this helps communicate with the with others and it really helps you.

[16:51] [snorts] And then every freshman should have

[16:54] someone at school who knows them, supports them, and helps them find their

[16:57] place. Just by getting to know people who have the same uh likes as you, it

[17:02] can help bring in the group of friends that you never thought you would have in

[17:05] the beginning. Thank you. [applause]

[17:12] » Hi. Um I'm Karly Johnson. I go to Ming High School. I'm talking mainly about

[17:16] the peerto-peer model of support. Um for freshman family, um we call it Pride

[17:23] Pack. Um juniors and seniors apply to uh act as mentors to the freshmen. Um

[17:30] specifically, we go in like once a month, talk about things going on at the

[17:34] school. Um and at the very beginning of the school year, we go and do

[17:38] presentations and stuff and get them all settled in. We give them tours and

[17:42] stuff. It's really um at least it was for me when I

[17:46] was a freshman, impactful. It kind of helped you to get a better understanding

[17:50] of like where you are and what's going on. Um, for the freshmen, uh, especially

[17:55] since we're there full year, um, we act as like familiar faces, especially in a

[18:00] school where you kind of don't really know anybody, especially in my case

[18:03] since I came from El Thomas Hec. Um, there's not a lot of kids at Millennium

[18:07] who come from El Thomas Heek. Um, we act as guidance and encouragement um,

[18:13] throughout freshman family. When I'm there, I open it up to Q&As's

[18:17] frequently. um it's helpful to the kids especially when they have a lot of

[18:21] questions that they're kind of embarrassed to ask teachers or something

[18:23] like that. Um so I think that that helps in general. Um a greater awareness of

[18:28] school resources and opportunities. We give a lot of presentations about a lot

[18:33] of things that happen at the school. Um so resources and opportunities being uh

[18:36] counselors um different numbers that they may need to call what whatever the

[18:41] situation may be. Um and a stronger connection to the school community.

[18:44] Again, like he said with the uh clubs and stuff, the club rush, uh we had a

[18:49] whole long list of all the clubs and and sports and teams and whatnot that they

[18:54] were able to join and a lot of kids found um that they wanted to join a lot

[18:59] of those clubs. And so that was quite nice. And then for us mentors, uh it

[19:04] provides great leadership experience um throughout learning and being a freshman

[19:10] family member and a a mentor to these freshmen. Um I have grown a lot as a

[19:18] person. Um, I I used to be super anxious and stuff and I still am, but at this

[19:24] moment in time, I find it a lot more a lot easier to, you know, go up and talk

[19:29] to people despite the fact that I may be a little shaky. Um, also an opportunity

[19:34] to positive positively influence younger students. Um, a lot of kids come in

[19:39] really anxious. A lot of kids don't know what they're doing, don't know where

[19:42] they're going. Um, I know the first day of school, one of my freshmen from my

[19:46] class came up to me and she was like, "I don't know where I'm going." So, it was

[19:52] I think I I'm hoping I have and we have positive impacts on these kids um

[19:57] especially as they're coming into high school because this is such a pivotal

[20:00] point for them. So, you know, THANK YOU [applause]

[20:17] Good evening, governing board, president, president Actton, board

[20:20] members, superintendent, Islas, and community members. My name is Josie

[20:24] Owens. I am a senior at Vado High School and a secondyear freshman mentor. I am

[20:28] honored to be able to speak with you about my privilege to be your freshman

[20:31] mentor during my time as an upperassman. When I first joined, I will admit it was

[20:35] a little intimidating. Uh it's a little intimidating to attend freshman day and

[20:40] then stand in front of a class of freshmen I didn't know um who I will be

[20:43] working with all year to try to connect with and guide them. But as time went

[20:47] on, it got easier. I was able to form bonds and still talk to freshmen that I

[20:52] met last year. Uh I catch up with them where they currently are and still give

[20:55] them advice when they need it. It was such a privilege to become a safe space

[20:59] for people who are in a spot that I was once in, giving them constant support

[21:03] and advice that I felt I personally needed when I was at that point. We were

[21:07] also able to attend our FMP summit last year um which hosted FMP members from

[21:11] across the district which allowed me to formulate connections with different

[21:14] mentors from different schools and areas. Another rewarding aspect of the

[21:18] program uh was also the part of giving tours to new students. Uh when new

[21:23] students arrive, they will typically get assigned a freshman mentor to give them

[21:26] tours and take them to their classes throughout the day. Uh, I have done a

[21:29] few myself and I have to say that being a support system for someone going

[21:32] through a massive and often scary change is an incredible experience and

[21:37] responsibility. You truly become a sort of rock for many people while in this

[21:41] program. And that relationship lasts much longer than the scheduled time you

[21:45] were given with them. And being able to watch the people you get the privilege

[21:48] to mentor grow and find their place in high school is amazing to witness and is

[21:52] something um that I hope will continue to grow

[21:56] even further with the program after I graduate. Overall, this program has

[22:00] gifted me more than I ever thought it would. It allowed me to form allowed me

[22:03] to help many different people grow in a new and scary environment while also

[22:06] forming new connections. It gives many people besides myself a sense of purpose

[22:10] and gives others a support system for where they feel they may not be

[22:13] comfortable speaking to an adult. they can instead speak to someone who is

[22:16] still experiencing the high school experience and very recently was also a

[22:20] freshman themselves. The program is rewarding to both parties and I

[22:23] encourage others to join whenever I get the chance to. Um, all in all, this

[22:27] program has done me a great service to me and others and I'm extremely grateful

[22:31] for the opportunities it has presented me. Thank you for this opportunity to

[22:34] speak about my experience in a program that now has 291 members. I hope this

[22:39] sheds some light on Bar and the district's FMP program and all it has to

[22:43] offer. THANK YOU. >> [applause]

[22:54] » GOOD EVENING, GOVERNING BOARD.

[22:58] This first question asks, why is the freshman uh freshman mental program

[23:02] important to us? I believe it's important to us since most of us I agree

[23:08] uh if you guys can agree with me that we all really enjoy supporting and

[23:13] welcoming others to the school really. So we can all agree that when we all

[23:19] first came into high school we had that big intimidation when we first walked in

[23:22] through those gates, walked through those metal detectors and see all these

[23:26] big buildings, big classrooms. We all that big intimidation and like oh we are

[23:30] so scared. What are we going to do with ourselves? And I believe it's important

[23:34] to me because I can now step in with these freshmen and really help them

[23:39] build that bridge between that middle school setting into this high school

[23:42] setting and really help them build that bridge between them because we all

[23:45] understand how it felt when we first came into high school, right? And it was

[23:49] it was a really great experience to really step in and help these freshmen

[23:53] all the way around all the way around through the year and really get to know

[23:56] them and build a really good connection with them for them to be comfortable

[23:59] with us. not only with us but with their teachers and their peers and know how to

[24:03] get through navigate through high school altogether.

[24:07] Question to ask, what impact do they uh what impact do they hope to make by

[24:12] being a part of the freshman mentor program? Well, I hope to uh make create

[24:17] an impact for is to pass on kindness to with these freshmen. Obviously,

[24:23] um, when I was, uh, a little younger, my freshman year, I didn't really know how

[24:28] to talk to people. As a freshman, they don't know how to really put themselves

[24:33] out there and really use our voice, right? And so, with us stepping in, we

[24:39] can help them, encourage them to really get out there and get out and do stuff

[24:43] for them. So, with us, we welcome them. We assure them that

[24:50] everything's going to be okay. And with that kindness, we can really motivate

[24:54] them to pass that on. And when I say pass that on, I don't mean for them to

[24:58] pay back to us. I encourage them to pass it on, to really encourage them to do it

[25:02] to the new generation of class that comes in. And I really believe that can

[25:06] leave a like a great impact into the program because it could be a new

[25:10] tradition that we could build upon these like new grade levels that come in

[25:14] through year through year through year. and I really believe that it would be a

[25:18] really great benefit to high school in general.

[25:23] Thank you. [applause]

[25:29] » Hello, my name is Alexa and I want to talk about the FMP program and how it's

[25:34] given me time and time again the platform to promote unity, strengthen my

[25:38] leadership skills, and foster schoolwide community. I've been able to make a

[25:42] meaningful and deeply personal impact on Canyon View and not just the underassman

[25:46] like the freshman I mentor but also all Canyon View students. I've had the

[25:50] opportunity to grow closer to a lot of my own peers, a lot of mentors, um

[25:55] become friends with them and establish those connections and also making them

[25:59] feel seen, heard, and ensuring that they feel connected on campus. Whether it is

[26:03] a freshman that's trying to find their way or it's another mentor trying to

[26:07] find still trying to find their place on campus. FMP has allowed me to explore

[26:11] new opportunities and expand my interpersonal skills all whilst being a

[26:15] strong leader for underassmen. Thank you. [applause]

[26:23] » Good evening members of the board and superintendentless. My name is Sabrina

[26:27] Booth and I'm the FMP adviser for Vado High School. I have been a part of the

[26:31] freshman mentor program since it first began and it has been amazing to watch

[26:34] the program grow and see the connections that have been built over time. One of

[26:38] the most positive impacts I have seen is the sense of connection it creates for

[26:41] our nth grade students. Starting high school can be very overwhelming and

[26:45] having a trusted person they know they can go to gives students an additional

[26:48] layer of support as they adjust academically, socially, and emotionally.

[26:54] What has been especially rewarding is seeing those relationships continue

[26:57] outside of scheduled mentor meetings. You see mentors and students connecting

[27:00] in the hallways, checking in with each other and building relationships that

[27:04] may have not happened otherwise. This program has also had a positive

[27:08] impact on our mentors. It gives staff the opportunity to connect with students

[27:12] outside of their traditional roles, celebrate their successes, and be

[27:15] another person on campus who is looking out for them. It has been very rewarding

[27:19] to watch this program grow and to see the relationships it has created between

[27:23] students and staff. Ultimately, it helps our freshmen know that they have people

[27:27] on campus who know them, support them, and overall want to see them succeed.

[27:32] Thank you for the opportunity to share the impact of this program and for your

[27:35] continued support of the work being done across our district. I am excited to see

[27:39] how the freshman mentor program continues to grow and positively impact

[27:42] our students and staff in the years ahead. Thank you. [applause]

[28:07] I know. I know.

[28:25] » [applause]

[28:40] » Okay.

[28:50] Who's presenting that one?

[28:57] trying to get through everybody. >> Great job, guys. Thank you for coming.

[29:03] [applause]

[29:14] » Recognition.

[29:31] Good evening board president Aton President um superintendent is and the

[29:36] community. Sorry my voice is a little soft so I do apologize. On behalf of

[29:41] everyone involved in this AIU partnership, we would like to express

[29:46] our sincere gratitude for the opportunity to partner with AIU. This

[29:51] collaboration has provided a meaningful opportunity for our employees and myself

[29:56] to continue our education. Tonight, we are honored to recognize our graduates

[30:02] from the class of 25 and 26 earning a master's degree.

[30:07] [clears throat] Congratulations. I would like to introduce Azie and JC to come

[30:12] up.

[30:16] » Um I I just want to say uh obviously to [clears throat] Superintendent Eles and

[30:20] and the board um it's an absolute honor to to be part of this partnership. It

[30:25] has uh given educators the opportunity to continue their education and um it's

[30:32] something that that as a superintendent and as a board you guys see the the

[30:37] importance of that and we uh it obviously it it it makes a difference in

[30:43] the classroom and beyond. So we are it's an absolute honor to be part of this

[30:47] program and partnership and uh look forward to continuing that. So thank you

[30:52] very much. >> [applause]

[30:58] » If we can get everybody that's graduated to please stand up so we can

[31:02] [clears throat] kind of clap for you and congratulate you and all that stuff. So,

[31:05] [applause]

[31:16] » thank you. We appreciate it.

[31:21] I love the recognition. That was great. >> Moving to

[31:27] item five, information construction project updates.

[31:39] » Good evenings, uh, President Actton, members of the board, Superintendent

[31:42] East, and members of our community. I was looking for a clicker here.

[31:46] um just here like three weeks ago I think it was giving you a construction

[31:50] update. A lot has happened during these three weeks. You'll see uh you guys can

[31:54] kind of slowly scroll through the Millennium pictures. Here you can see

[31:58] the Millennium High School. Last time we focused on the eight new classrooms and

[32:02] two new locker rooms that had gone in underneath the auxiliary gym. This week

[32:05] we're showing you several aerial pictures of the giant hole um where a

[32:10] spectacular classroom is going to grow out of that hole starting very soon. Um

[32:16] it it's on time right now. Things are going great and we really look forward

[32:20] to coming back with the completion of this first phase. Uh as these pictures

[32:25] wind down, you can see they've got all the underground utilities and everything

[32:29] in. And as it comes up on the last picture here in just a second, all of

[32:33] that's in ready to go. It's covered over and ready to start pouring kind of

[32:37] slabs, foundations, and and start coming out of the ground. Now,

[32:44] next up is going to be there's the final picture of of Millennium. Next up is

[32:49] going to be the Aua Fria project. Um, it was almost finished last time and and

[32:55] and it's h complete now. Here you see the new window into the school along

[32:59] Daart Road. We did a lot sprucing up the landscape, some new signage, and it's

[33:03] just kind of fresh and new as you pull up to the school now, which is which is

[33:07] awesome. We like that landscape so much. I don't think Adam knows this, but we're

[33:10] going to try and expand and do a little more landscaping to kind of complete and

[33:14] tie tie some of our projects together. Here you see the entrance to the

[33:18] auditorium. Last week when the last month when the auditorium was just about

[33:21] complete, uh it was shown wide open at its full capacity. What you're going to

[33:26] see here is the pods are flipped around in the auditorium to where they kind of

[33:30] serve as individual learning spaces and classrooms. Um so it's kind of the

[33:34] smaller version of the auditorium that's set up there. When I popped it in

[33:38] yesterday to take a few of these pictures, uh Kim Hill, the department

[33:42] chair and theater director and speech and debate and a bunch of things at

[33:44] offer you, she was there and she was just giddy with excitement over her new

[33:49] space and she actually offered to come in tonight. She goes, I I'll be happy to

[33:52] come in and tell the board how awesome this is. And I'm like, I will be happy

[33:55] to convey your message um that you're enjoying your new space. Um we look

[34:01] forward to getting the board over there sometime soon. I believe we're going to

[34:03] do our grand opening in October uh to coincide with their first big

[34:07] performances of the year at Aua Fria. And then finally, um I'll tell you when

[34:13] to go through these, please. Um the Hilltop, it's 29 days

[34:18] » till opening day at the Hilltop. Um that kind of makes me a little nervous,

[34:23] but but super duper excited. Here you see this is what the entrance looked

[34:28] like today. Uh they're doing the ephus, the kind of the coating of the building

[34:32] right now. They're working around the building. This scaffolding is going to

[34:36] start coming down literally in the next couple days. Um and you'll see the

[34:40] completed front of the school, which is going to be awesome to see. Uh next

[34:45] slide, please. Um here you see the lobby. The lobby's pretty close to

[34:50] finished at this point. Uh starting on Monday, the flooring's going to go in

[34:54] and that's going to take about eight days. Once the flooring is in, then by

[34:59] then all of our large hanging lights will be in uh and we'll start installing

[35:04] those and then that space will be be pretty much complete at that point. Next

[35:09] slide. Here you see the theater and concert

[35:13] hall. Um this picture is actually taken. This is the back right section which is

[35:18] actually called the Goodyear section. There's six sections in the auditorium.

[35:22] Each one of them's named after one of our current schools. Uh which is kind of

[35:25] cool. So, this is from the back of the Goodyear section. You can see the stone

[35:29] caps are on the railing there. The carpet is in in the lower section. It's

[35:32] it's covered to protect it for right now. The carpet is just being finished

[35:36] in the upper section. The chair company is working on laying out where all of

[35:41] the seating is going to be and drilling holes as we speak. And uh seating is

[35:46] going to come in somewhere around the 12th or 15th. And that's when it's going

[35:49] to be installed. That will take about a week. Also, you can see here the big

[35:53] speakers in the front of the auditorium are up. All of this sound treatment, the

[35:57] fabric on the walls to make the sound work better. Is uh it's in place now.

[36:02] You see the beams in the ceiling. So, things are moving fast in this space and

[36:07] they're ready to kind of start tying everything together in there as well.

[36:11] The next picture, go ahead. you'll see is is this is actually on the stage and

[36:16] this is where I would say really the vast majority of the work is taking

[36:20] place now is in all of the audio visual. Um there's a lot of technology in this

[36:25] building and I think that the lighting and sound is going to be uh outstanding.

[36:29] Um our contractor and subcontractor are entering the final stages of this

[36:34] install. One of the interesting things is is

[36:37] literally literally about the last thing they do as they walk out of the

[36:40] building, the contractors paint the stage. Uh that's about the last thing

[36:44] that you'll see happen. Um I think there's two more pictures. This is

[36:49] actually the serving area for Modern Grind Coffee Shop. So there are partners

[36:53] in this project and there are tenants and um some of their equipment is

[36:58] actually starting to be installed now and they're training to be open on the

[37:02] same day that we open. And the last picture is just looking the other

[37:05] direction from that space. So you can see it's really starting to come

[37:08] together. Now, one of the cool things about this space and our partnership is

[37:12] is that this is also going to double as a student art gallery. So this is going

[37:16] to give our student artwork a lot more exposure and maybe the opportunity for

[37:20] some art sales along the way as well. And that's my update for tonight. Any

[37:24] questions?

[37:28] » All right. Thank you.

[37:49] Yes. >> Both. Yes.

[37:57] » Action items. We have an approval for expendure.

[38:09] I'll come up and this is normally a procurement item. So, usually Mr.

[38:12] Sheepard addresses it. Um, but I told him I' since it's an action item this

[38:16] month, I'd be happy to to talk about what's on here. Tonight's item is for a

[38:21] uh upgrades to our air conditioning system at Desert Edge High School. Um,

[38:27] we'd had some minor issues over time and that became more significant issues and

[38:31] we found the source of what we believe those issues are which was some changes

[38:36] that need to be made in the piping and u that's what this item is for. Um, this

[38:42] item is not eligible for school facilities division uh funding which is

[38:46] why we are funding it out of our bond funds and the procurement is through the

[38:50] one GPA cooperative. >> Thank you for addressing

[39:10] Yes. Thank you.

[39:21] Yes.

[39:25] » Moving on to our

[39:30] discussion.

[39:37] » None tonight.

[39:48] » Yes.

[39:55] as an active members of the board. With your approval of the consent agenda

[40:00] items, we recognize that you have promoted some employees in our district

[40:06] that we're very proud of. I'm going to ask

[40:10] deputy superintendent of academics uh to please take that over. Thank you.

[40:14] » Okay. Thank you, President Actton and members of the board. Superintendent

[40:18] Heless and the Owl Fria community and especially the Owl Fria High School

[40:23] community. I knew that I knew I was going to get the hoop. Um, you know

[40:28] what's great about being a part of this school district is if you're here long

[40:32] enough, you get to see some really great things. Uh, we got to see some

[40:37] absolutely awesome student presentations. And you know what's the

[40:41] only thing that's second to that is to be able to celebrate long-standing

[40:45] members of our Awolf Fria district community. Uh put their hard work,

[40:50] perseverance into being the very best employees they can and to be rewarded

[40:54] with that work. And so um both gentlemen that I'm going to talk about tonight um

[41:00] have been a part of our leadership cadre which has been a absolute great program

[41:05] to really help foster and continue to grow our own. And so that dedication um

[41:10] is isn't um taken for granted. And so the first person that I want to talk

[41:15] about is I want to talk about Mr. Josh Jovenelli. Mr. Jovenelli, can you come

[41:19] up here please? [applause]

[41:26] » Mr. Joanelli has been with us for what 13 years now.

[41:31] » And so uh he's been he spent that whole entire time at Alfria High School.

[41:37] um I won't tell his whole story, but um there was a certain point in time where

[41:41] Josh didn't believe that he was going to be at all for or maybe even be a

[41:44] teacher. And so um now we fast forward 13 years and I know I've had the

[41:51] pleasure of working personally with Josh on so many different projects um both as

[41:55] a math teacher in our district and as an assistant principal and athletic

[42:00] director. And um you want to talk about a man of character. Uh this is

[42:04] definitely um when you open the book, this is a man of character right here.

[42:08] And so I I appreciate everything that you've done for our district. Um and I

[42:12] know I'm going to give opportunity for Miss Daniels to principal Daniels to

[42:15] come up here as well. Um but uh from the district, um we're excited to have you.

[42:21] Uh I know Alfria High School is a little probably upset with me when I made this

[42:25] announcement um because he's meant so much to that Alfria community, but we're

[42:29] excited for him to come up uh and lead our safety department here as a district

[42:32] office. So congratulations, Mr. Gentlemen.

[42:36] [applause]

[42:40] Principal Daniels. Um I I feel like you know we did uh even though that we took

[42:47] someone away from her campus, we also gave her opportunity to uh give a

[42:53] muchdeserved promotion uh to to an individual who has uh really been great

[42:58] for us here in the district. And so I will let her talk about Mr. Bill Babiar.

[43:04] Um, and so, Principal Danny, you want to come up and introduce your new assistant

[43:08] principal and athletic director? >> The honor to introduce our um, newest

[43:14] owl to our leadership team. We have renamed our group chat booty crew. It

[43:20] was deciding between the A team or the hoodie crew. So, who do that? Um, one of

[43:24] the greatest privileges of leadership is watching leaders grow and thrive. Um and

[43:29] so it is an absolute privilege to um have him join our team who he's been

[43:35] part of our team. He uh has been an owl and part of our owl family for a really

[43:39] really long time. Um it is a full circle moment for me tonight. Uh especially to

[43:45] recognize Bill who I first knew as Billy as a former student. Uh and when he was

[43:51] a student even then his energy, his leadership and his investment in school

[43:56] were impossible to miss. He was in clubs and sports and officer um and going to

[44:02] all of these conferences and always so well spoken and presentable. Uh he was

[44:07] allin or as we callin at Awafria and the same passion has followed him throughout

[44:14] every stage of his career. Later I had an opportunity to be his athletic

[44:18] director where he was an incredible golf coach uh and also a phenomenal film and

[44:23] TV teacher and actually won us a excellent award. um through AIA through

[44:28] the spirit award which was fantastic. So we got to collaborate. It's been a p

[44:33] privilege to also see him thrive as our academy coach asmies of the southwest

[44:39] valley and he has been such a leader amongst his team and it was really tough

[44:44] for him to break the news to um such a dynamic team that he has really sh

[44:49] helped shape and lead. All of these qualities make Bill a natural leader

[44:54] who's driven, passionate, creative, dependable, and full of owl pride. We

[44:59] call him Mr. Al Pride. He won that award last year at our lunchon. You can always

[45:04] count on him for an hour of slow clap or a hoodie who you heard much of tonight.

[45:09] And the ability to balance having fun with knowing when it's time to get

[45:13] serious and get the job done. Uh, one of his greatest strengths is his

[45:17] efficiency, organization. uh he leads field trips to GCU. He coordinated

[45:22] graduation. He established Olympics which is a community event of teachers

[45:27] to get together and join in friendly competition and community as an al

[45:32] family together. At each of these events that he is the lead of you know that

[45:36] there's a spreadsheet or a checklist or a to-do list, a plan to keep everything

[45:40] moving and going in the right direction and he thinks ahead and one who makes

[45:45] things happen. He's also uh a has a gift for building community and strengthen

[45:51] stren strengthens our AL family. He's a great networker, develops partnerships

[45:56] and constantly is investing in we over me and how can I help? He has jumped in

[46:02] so much. Um and this time last year if I asked him are you ready to jump into

[46:07] this? Um he probably wouldn't have had both feet in but I know that he is all

[46:12] in and he's going to give 100%. Um those qualities that I just shared make him

[46:18] who he is and they will serve him so well in this position as he steps into

[46:23] ADAP. Um last year I talked about Bill who Billy who's now Bill last year was a

[46:30] full circle where we got to take a graduation picture together and years

[46:34] ago as Billy we took a graduation picture as um a TOSA and a student. So

[46:40] having him lead graduation and all of the logistics and operations, he just

[46:45] knocked it out of the park. And that was such a proud moment to stand behind him

[46:49] years later. Now I get to stand beside him and lead with him. And I am so proud

[46:54] of you and I'm so excited to see the impact that you're going to make on our

[46:58] students and staff and community and the great things that you do. And to my Bill

[47:03] aka Billy Woody who baby. [applause]

[47:17] Okay, since we did the consent agenda, we are

[47:21] going to comments andor.

[47:34] Thank you, President Actton. Uh, governing board members, members of the

[47:38] community. How cool is it when we get to celebrate the promotion of people that

[47:44] work really hard as Mr. Non and M. Daniels put it, it's sense of pride,

[47:52] right, to see people grow in our district and for you to support

[47:57] and the movement.

[48:01] So, very proud moment for us our district. Congratulations to Josh and

[48:05] Bill. I know they're going to do a great job in their

[48:10] um also very proud of our school district for many things. And one thing

[48:15] that's going on tomorrow is that we have a national conference. It's actually a

[48:20] national conference that's going on and as you know

[48:29] to make sure that our school district

[48:35] and how could we be of service and Peggy Overton

[48:41] is actually last couple days has been bringing all those participants from all

[48:47] over the country.

[48:51] from the airport here.

[48:56] So, Peggy, thank you very much to you and your team for doing that. I know

[49:00] that it's a lot of coordination and it's really great to see how she goes above

[49:06] and beyond. There's people inside the airport.

[49:24] lots of work that we put into that. Along with that, tomorrow right in

[49:29] downtown Israel Park, the street will be closed

[49:36] social

[49:41] and we have a broad gentry via

[49:48] working to set up tables, chairs, sort of hosting social

[50:10] and how we're working.

[50:15] Also want to mention one thing as as all of our schools are getting started

[50:22] and as you know first

[50:29] school for the arts you know from presentation

[50:38] and last night was extremely impressive for Alex

[50:43] put together a hilltop volunteer

[50:47] She members of mostly parents

[50:57] that came over to

[51:10] special thanks to her staff. Elsa Chapa Sanchez and Angie

[51:18] Merley

[51:22] from the district office

[51:29] equip.

[51:34] We had I think 80 packets

[51:43] between

[51:47] We also had

[51:57] last night

[52:11] atmosphere.

[52:14] And kudos to everybody. Thank you so much for everything.

[52:24] Thank you.

[52:53] You're standing there really impressed

[53:00] very impressed with I actually got to go

[53:08] And it was really neat to see

[53:18] my teacher

[53:29] going.

[53:49] Um, so we've been cutting a lot of ribbons lately in this world, but I

[53:54] actually had the opportunity to attend a partner ribbon cutting last week.

[53:59] school district.

[54:03] Um I was honored to get to represent alongside Peterson and Mr.

[54:10] members of our team as well as mayors from cities around

[54:16] uh wing leadership from the air force base and of course leadership from

[54:22] school district. Um on a professional note that was a

[54:26] beautiful thing to be a part of it really

[54:29] looks like. On a personal note, my husband station,

[54:35] which is the same squadron that Trojan was a service member of and my

[54:40] brother-in-law was with him and I were crushed. So, on a personal note, it was

[54:45] a beautiful honor to experience watching, his wife, and her children be

[54:50] honored by their district and our community as a whole in such a beautiful

[54:55] way. So, aviators, all the little ones little

[54:58] sunglasses on the house upside down. So, it was a beautiful experience. I was

[55:02] thankful to represent our district.

[55:11] » Okay. Can you hear me? All right. >> I can, but I am sitting right next to

[55:17] [laughter] >> I'll give it a shot. Good evening

[55:21] everyone. Sorry I can't be there today, but it's great to be here with you live.

[55:27] I just wanted to congratulate all our teachers, staff, administrators for such

[55:32] a great start to the school year. Also like to provide congratulations to our

[55:37] healthc care and nursing pathway students as well as it was nice to hear

[55:42] the presentations from our freshman mentors and a huge shout out

[55:47] congratulations to our staff uh and their graduations.

[55:52] Secondly, um part of the reason I'm not in tonight's meeting in person is I had

[55:59] a wonderful opportunity and I'll share the details next time but I was asked to

[56:05] um participate attend and tour the United States uh base here in San Diego,

[56:12] California. And my purpose in coming was one simple thing and that is what is it

[56:19] our United States military branches offer our students in workforce

[56:25] development opportunities. And so um during these four days have the

[56:30] opportunity to see every phase really of every component of our of our Navy and

[56:37] also be able to see how the very things that we're creating for opportunities

[56:42] for students uh in our district whether it's four-year institution, community

[56:47] college, workforce development options, trade schools, you name it. um how what

[56:53] I'm seeing is such incredible opportunities for our students who

[56:57] choose to serve uh the United States military in our country um with a

[57:02] specific skill or talent. And when I was yesterday on the United States uh

[57:08] Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier to see that there were up to 5,000

[57:14] different people with a purpose and a job and to see how it is that um

[57:21] students can have a a really incredible life with some great choices, great

[57:25] options and those that want to travel the world can do that too uh while

[57:30] serving their country and using their craft and their skills. So I'll a little

[57:34] bit more about it next month. But such a thrill to be here finding out about

[57:39] another great option for our students

[57:46] » fun.

[57:49] So I got the opportunity to thankful

[58:01] I know that there's a lot of

[58:09] I saw that

[58:14] some of the food that night and great

[58:21] uh tonight really enjoyed the student presentations. As I sit there, I picture

[58:25] them already.

[58:36] Um, I want to give a shout out to our AIU graduates and superintendent who

[58:41] brought forward this partnership with some of our public

[58:50] teachers and other district

[59:05] And with that being said, I would say thank you all for all your hard work and

[59:11] hard workers ready

[59:22] to

[59:28] just to make a comment on the healthare and nursing pathway. Those students as a

[59:34] nurse in our community, they we need nurses so bad, everyone in healthare.

[59:40] And so to be fostering that at a young age and putting them on that successful

[59:46] giving them resources, it builds my nursing heart.

[59:53] So great opportunity

[1:00:04] Josh and Bill, congrats. When I got updated, I think I was like, "Yes, I

[1:00:10] mean, there are better choices." So, congratulations.

[1:00:16] And then, um, to everyone who helped recruit and getters,

[1:00:24] everything that further

[1:00:28] having 80 plus people show up to volunteer for our students and

[1:00:35] to me it's just further confirmation that

[1:00:46] that's all I have and we will move on to future items.

[1:00:58] We will

[1:01:08] » second.

[1:01:16] We're going to move into session. Everyone is welcome to

[1:01:22] around.

[1:01:27] We'll take a minute.

[1:01:46] Thank you.

[1:02:14] board adjourns the executive session board meeting.

[1:02:22] » Yes. >> Um be it resolved the governing board

[1:02:27] adopts the superintendent goals for the 2026 2027 contract year as presented in

[1:02:33] executive session. >> Second

[1:02:38] acting yes resulting board address board meeting September 2nd 2026.

[1:02:46] Yes.

Regular Board Meeting and Executive Session - Sep 02 2026

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