1 00:00:01,200 --> 00:00:07,840 Good evening. I would like to welcome everyone to the School Board of Education meeting that is held in public for West Aurora School District 129. 2 00:00:08,280 --> 00:00:17,960 Mrs. Secretary, please go on the roll. Mr. Gonzalez, Mrs. Dykstra, here, Mr. Lathen, Mr. St. Jewells, Mrs. Saberson, here, Mrs. Stone, here, Mr. Kerns. 3 00:00:18,120 --> 00:00:19,980 Here, please rise and recite the pledge allegiance. 4 00:00:33,340 --> 00:00:33,980 are 5 00:00:39,320 --> 00:00:41,840 there any in the audience wishing to be recognized? 6 00:00:45,550 --> 00:00:47,050 There you go. 7 00:00:47,990 --> 00:00:49,030 Anyone else? 8 00:00:52,290 --> 00:00:52,930 Good. 9 00:00:53,170 --> 00:00:53,530 Glad to hear. 10 00:00:54,510 --> 00:00:59,330 Mr. Secretary, do we have anyone wishing to make a public comment to a gender and non-agenda 11 00:00:59,330 --> 00:00:59,610 item? 12 00:00:59,830 --> 00:01:00,210 We do not. 13 00:01:01,650 --> 00:01:05,770 Then I'd like to turn it over to Mrs. Gonzales to those who make a difference, who 14 00:01:07,880 --> 00:01:08,060 aren't 15 00:01:08,060 --> 00:01:08,280 here. 16 00:01:10,020 --> 00:01:11,920 I will feel this one. 17 00:01:13,480 --> 00:01:21,000 As we shared with our newest selection of our student board members for the 22-23 school 18 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:27,840 year. Tonight is a great evidence of the the busy schedule that our students have and 19 00:01:27,840 --> 00:01:33,620 both of our young ladies have prior obligations and so we're not able to be here tonight. 20 00:01:34,760 --> 00:01:40,300 Tonight was supposed to be the night where we acknowledge our two sitting student board members 21 00:01:40,920 --> 00:01:46,220 or we give them plaques say nice things about them and then we take the plaques away and we 22 00:01:46,220 --> 00:01:48,400 We represent them at the Senior Awards tonight. 23 00:01:49,340 --> 00:01:55,360 So if I might, we would push this, see if we can make sure we clear schedules for the 24 00:01:55,360 --> 00:02:00,360 May 2 board meeting, which will be the last board meeting that they will be attending. 25 00:02:01,040 --> 00:02:05,360 And then the following meeting in May, we would see our three new board members with the 26 00:02:05,360 --> 00:02:06,660 oath in the entire process. 27 00:02:08,540 --> 00:02:09,040 Sounds great. 28 00:02:09,400 --> 00:02:09,580 Great. 29 00:02:09,760 --> 00:02:10,020 Thanks. 30 00:02:12,070 --> 00:02:16,110 So we come to the consent agenda where we have items we have discussed from previous 31 00:02:16,110 --> 00:02:24,230 meetings. Do I have a motion? Yes. I move that the Board of Education approve the items contained in the consent agenda for April 18, 2022. 32 00:02:24,870 --> 00:02:27,970 I flag in the motion. Are there any questions or comments? 33 00:02:29,630 --> 00:02:31,750 Here in none, Mrs. Secretary, please call the roll. 34 00:02:32,130 --> 00:02:35,930 Mrs. Saperstein. Mr. Lathan. Mr. Gonzalez. 35 00:02:36,170 --> 00:02:37,130 Hi. Mrs. Dykstra. 36 00:02:37,410 --> 00:02:38,210 Hi. Mrs. Stone. 37 00:02:38,530 --> 00:02:39,570 Hi. Mr. St. Jewels. 38 00:02:39,690 --> 00:02:40,390 Yes. Mr. Kern. 39 00:02:40,810 --> 00:02:42,210 Hi. The motion passes. 40 00:02:42,210 --> 00:02:46,050 We now come to the information part of our agenda and it turned over to Dr. Gray. 41 00:02:46,630 --> 00:02:47,650 Thank you, President Crohn's. 42 00:02:47,790 --> 00:02:53,030 Tonight, we have round two of our elementary school improvement presentations. 43 00:02:53,850 --> 00:02:56,890 And I asked Dr. Woodell to introduce our presentation. 44 00:03:01,920 --> 00:03:02,380 Thank you. 45 00:03:02,920 --> 00:03:07,540 As you saw the last time with our Nicholson and Schneider Group, we have some exciting work 46 00:03:07,540 --> 00:03:09,080 happening at our elementary buildings. 47 00:03:09,620 --> 00:03:11,900 Last time, the group focused on a specific program. 48 00:03:11,900 --> 00:03:19,660 Tonight you will see more about the day-to-day work of a building of building a culture of learning that's happening to some extent in all of our buildings. 49 00:03:20,160 --> 00:03:30,340 It is an honor tonight to introduce Jeff Hattrick, Principal at Goodwin, and Janna Reame, Principal at Freeman, to illustrate the work that they are doing around building a culture of learning within their schools. 50 00:03:36,010 --> 00:03:36,490 All 51 00:03:41,130 --> 00:03:45,190 right, good evening, and before we get started, we do have our assistant principals with us. 52 00:03:45,190 --> 00:03:48,810 So Melissa Reiter is at Freeman and Regina Gerdy is at Goodwin. 53 00:03:49,570 --> 00:03:53,910 So we are excited tonight to meet with all of you to share with you the thinking and 54 00:03:53,910 --> 00:03:56,190 the growth that has been going on in our buildings. 55 00:03:57,010 --> 00:04:00,910 Over the past couple of years, we've all had the opportunity to pause and reflect on 56 00:04:00,910 --> 00:04:04,830 the culture of education broadly, but more specifically within our building. 57 00:04:05,410 --> 00:04:09,710 The pandemic has brought with it numerous challenges, but it's also given us the time to reflect 58 00:04:09,710 --> 00:04:13,790 on our instructional practices within our buildings and how those have impacted our 59 00:04:13,790 --> 00:04:19,930 students' experiences. When we've kind of reflect on our instructional practices we've really 60 00:04:19,930 --> 00:04:24,850 noticed that we often focus on the product of learning rather than the process. So we noticed 61 00:04:24,850 --> 00:04:30,110 that we were focusing more on how students were succeeding on standardized assessments as opposed 62 00:04:30,110 --> 00:04:34,390 to really looking at evidence to indicate whether or not students were deeply learning and critically 63 00:04:34,390 --> 00:04:34,990 thinking. 64 00:04:38,760 --> 00:04:43,620 As we began to have conversations about the culture of teaching and learning we started 65 00:04:43,620 --> 00:04:46,320 to notice a plateau, if you will, in our practices. 66 00:04:47,260 --> 00:04:50,440 Instead of committing to teach the same thing, 67 00:04:50,680 --> 00:04:52,060 same way in our classrooms, 68 00:04:52,820 --> 00:04:56,160 our curiosity caused us to ask why we do some things 69 00:04:56,950 --> 00:04:58,720 and discuss and explore. 70 00:04:59,740 --> 00:05:02,660 As administrators, we visit our classrooms a lot. 71 00:05:03,240 --> 00:05:05,080 We know we possess our staffs, 72 00:05:05,120 --> 00:05:08,300 possess a wide diversity of experiences, 73 00:05:08,740 --> 00:05:10,820 skills, and instructional styles. 74 00:05:11,500 --> 00:05:17,440 This year, the challenge was to find a way for our teachers to experience what we 75 00:05:17,440 --> 00:05:22,280 experienced to step out of their comfort zones, open up their doors, and learn 76 00:05:22,280 --> 00:05:26,280 from each other to ensure that we are moving closer to a culture that 77 00:05:26,280 --> 00:05:27,600 embraces our district vision. 78 00:05:32,140 --> 00:05:35,120 After noticing these trends, we became curious about 79 00:05:35,120 --> 00:05:40,000 how to move out of our comfort zones and really take that road less traveled, which 80 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:45,720 can be kind of scary for us yet also interesting and allows for, you know, the need for reflection 81 00:05:45,720 --> 00:05:50,460 and definitely deeper thought so that we can move into that culture of learning. This ties 82 00:05:50,460 --> 00:05:55,040 closely with our district's commitment to dialogue and we know that in navigating our journey 83 00:05:55,040 --> 00:06:00,860 towards meeting that commitment, we are staff indicated that established relationships and that trust 84 00:06:00,860 --> 00:06:06,060 between colleagues who are really necessary to engage in that true dialogue. So we needed to really 85 00:06:06,060 --> 00:06:11,200 build up our systems and habits of dialogue among ourselves as professionals but also hopefully 86 00:06:11,200 --> 00:06:16,140 to transfer that to our students. So ultimately we really want students to be able to engage in that 87 00:06:16,140 --> 00:06:19,240 dialogue rigorously and see that transfer into the classroom. 88 00:06:24,540 --> 00:06:26,660 So during administration collaboration 89 00:06:26,660 --> 00:06:32,460 meetings we began to notice that both Freeman and Goodwin had common themes in our school improvement 90 00:06:32,460 --> 00:06:38,900 plan. We identified that both buildings were headed on a similar trajectory in developing a 91 00:06:38,900 --> 00:06:43,820 culture of learning. We found that we needed to dig in with our staff to build trust, 92 00:06:44,480 --> 00:06:49,400 embrace vulnerability and move beyond those collegial relationships to explore 93 00:06:49,400 --> 00:06:55,800 partnership and then engage in solitary talk with one another as well as in our learning 94 00:06:55,800 --> 00:06:56,220 environments. 95 00:07:03,050 --> 00:07:07,410 So as Regina said we really wanted to start by focusing on how to create a culture of trust 96 00:07:07,410 --> 00:07:14,570 within our buildings. We know that trust is an incredibly complex construct. We know that it 97 00:07:14,570 --> 00:07:16,750 It moves beyond just being friendly with our colleagues. 98 00:07:17,030 --> 00:07:20,890 It involves being vulnerable, being willing to ask for support when we need it, and 99 00:07:20,890 --> 00:07:24,850 being willing to recognize that it's okay to experience failure from time to time, 100 00:07:25,010 --> 00:07:26,730 as long as we're learning from those failures. 101 00:07:27,650 --> 00:07:31,310 So we as administrators were curious how to create that culture of trust. 102 00:07:31,950 --> 00:07:35,930 And moreover, we were curious how that trust could lead to joy within our staff and 103 00:07:35,930 --> 00:07:40,250 our students, and then deepen the opportunities for learning with our students in the classroom. 104 00:07:40,250 --> 00:07:40,370 from. 105 00:07:47,870 --> 00:07:52,470 So as Mrs. Williams spoke earlier, we know that throughout the pandemic, we really 106 00:07:52,470 --> 00:07:57,830 recognize that our educators recognize the value that we placed on having those relationships 107 00:07:57,830 --> 00:08:02,290 really developing and maintaining those relationships not only with our students and our families, 108 00:08:02,610 --> 00:08:08,170 but as well as with each other as colleagues and as staff overall. Because of the strong relationships, 109 00:08:08,510 --> 00:08:14,890 it was evident that trust was being built due to those relationships. As we return to full 110 00:08:14,890 --> 00:08:18,370 in person learning this year, we really wanted to leverage what we learned over the last 111 00:08:18,370 --> 00:08:25,770 couple years of being away from the classroom in person and really leveraging that impact 112 00:08:25,770 --> 00:08:27,990 of relationships that we were able to identify. 113 00:08:28,750 --> 00:08:33,870 So we began to question if the quality of the relationships that we had were really aligning 114 00:08:33,870 --> 00:08:37,190 with our vision of embracing that curiosity, complexity, and joy. 115 00:08:37,870 --> 00:08:41,870 And if we've really used these relationships to challenge our students as well as ourselves 116 00:08:41,870 --> 00:08:42,770 to think more deeply. 117 00:08:42,770 --> 00:08:43,930 And 118 00:08:47,510 --> 00:09:00,610 as we focused on developing those relationships and building a culture of learning, we realized that we needed to foster a sense of agency and cognitive independence for students rather than a pedagogy of compliance. 119 00:09:01,310 --> 00:09:07,670 What we want is our students become self-directed and independent learners versus dependent learners. 120 00:09:07,670 --> 00:09:08,710 Last 121 00:09:18,660 --> 00:09:23,360 year, our building leadership team embarked on a journey together through a book study 122 00:09:23,360 --> 00:09:26,320 in which we read Culturally Responsive Teaching by Zoretta Hannon. 123 00:09:27,280 --> 00:09:30,500 Every time we met, Dr. McCall challenged us to do four things. 124 00:09:30,760 --> 00:09:39,060 Number one, stay engaged, two, experienced discomfort, three, speak our truth, sorry, and 125 00:09:39,060 --> 00:09:43,040 four, to expect and accept nonclosure. 126 00:09:43,740 --> 00:09:46,440 As we opened up, we became vulnerable with each other. 127 00:09:46,440 --> 00:09:50,340 The dialogue became deeper and we learned more about each other and our perspectives. 128 00:09:51,120 --> 00:09:56,620 We decided this to be a powerful experience that needed to be experienced with the rest of our teachers. 129 00:09:57,420 --> 00:10:01,900 The norms followed in our book study, our expectations we found important for progress. 130 00:10:03,380 --> 00:10:09,700 As we opened up with each other, we began looking for ways to challenge our teams to experience and 131 00:10:09,700 --> 00:10:15,300 discomfort and present specifically present in front of their colleagues in various large group settings. 132 00:10:15,980 --> 00:10:24,740 Fear of judgment and taking risks in front of peers is a barrier that we found to need to bust through. 133 00:10:26,020 --> 00:10:30,780 This has been a success this year as staff have risen to this occasion in our buildings to 134 00:10:30,780 --> 00:10:33,700 present to their colleagues in those settings. 135 00:10:39,170 --> 00:10:42,230 So as Jeff said during all of our staff gatherings or 136 00:10:42,230 --> 00:10:46,270 meetings we really focused on the norms that allow us to build trust so that 137 00:10:46,270 --> 00:10:49,670 includes listening to understand different perspectives and being willing to 138 00:10:49,670 --> 00:10:54,190 stretch our thinking. As building administrators we also tried to show vulnerability 139 00:10:54,190 --> 00:10:58,810 by trying some new instructional strategies in the classroom through some social 140 00:10:58,810 --> 00:11:03,690 emotional lessons and as often as we hope that these lessons succeed they sometimes 141 00:11:03,690 --> 00:11:08,330 do not. So we emphasized with staff when those lessons didn't succeed and really 142 00:11:08,330 --> 00:11:14,470 talked about how those opportunities allowed us to grow just as much as when the lessons were successful. 143 00:11:15,930 --> 00:11:20,330 During our staff gatherings, we also challenged our staff to think about times that they wished 144 00:11:20,330 --> 00:11:25,190 that they had done something differently. And then we had our staff kind of think about common 145 00:11:25,190 --> 00:11:29,990 themes that came up during that discussion. And this was not necessarily professionally, 146 00:11:30,090 --> 00:11:34,450 it could also be personally. When they were talking about common themes that arose during their 147 00:11:34,450 --> 00:11:39,270 discussion. It really aligned with Daniel Pink's work which indicated that regrets of inaction 148 00:11:39,270 --> 00:11:44,270 are far more common than regrets of action. So we pushed our step to think about how does 149 00:11:44,270 --> 00:11:50,570 that impact them in the classroom setting? Does our fear failure cause us to become stagnant 150 00:11:50,570 --> 00:11:55,790 in our instructional practices? And will we then regret that we didn't take action to continue 151 00:11:55,790 --> 00:12:00,790 to grow as educators? So we then presented the question to them, how do you want to be as 152 00:12:00,790 --> 00:12:05,550 an educator as opposed to what do you want to do as an educator. Our hope with that is 153 00:12:05,550 --> 00:12:10,010 that that would help us then emphasize how we want to be and lead us away from just 154 00:12:10,010 --> 00:12:16,910 a culture in which we are filling out checklist or engaging in simply compliance so that we 155 00:12:16,910 --> 00:12:19,710 can take more risks and continue to grow as educators. 156 00:12:27,260 --> 00:12:31,340 So as a staff we definitely made sure that we asked them what needed to be present to feel 157 00:12:31,340 --> 00:12:35,520 safe sharing and really what gets in the way and this is how we started the school year 158 00:12:35,520 --> 00:12:39,760 with our staff. We identified that there were common themes that they really needed to be felt 159 00:12:39,760 --> 00:12:44,280 like they were being listened to one another, being able to be open-minded and that feeling 160 00:12:44,280 --> 00:12:49,460 of non-judgmental. We also saw that there were the fears of failure as well as being judged, 161 00:12:49,640 --> 00:12:55,020 were identified as some of those barriers that kind of got in the way. With having that 162 00:12:55,020 --> 00:12:59,080 knowledge of our staff barriers, we really needed to develop an understanding of staff's 163 00:12:59,080 --> 00:13:04,020 release around trust and what that meant to them. So we started with this bottom image of 164 00:13:04,020 --> 00:13:06,240 of a comfy couch and a Shramp-Heeze artist, 165 00:13:06,660 --> 00:13:10,100 and really asked them if staff, or if I'm sorry, 166 00:13:10,280 --> 00:13:12,400 if trust was best represented by the comfy couch 167 00:13:12,400 --> 00:13:13,860 or by the Shramp-Heeze artist, 168 00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:15,500 and where they kind of felt like they aligned 169 00:13:15,500 --> 00:13:17,040 themselves along that continuum. 170 00:13:17,540 --> 00:13:18,580 At the beginning of the year, 171 00:13:18,780 --> 00:13:20,840 all but one or two of our staff members indicated 172 00:13:20,840 --> 00:13:22,880 that they really resonated with the comfy chair 173 00:13:23,440 --> 00:13:26,100 rather than the Shramp-Heeze artist 174 00:13:26,100 --> 00:13:28,320 as they felt that they could relax in the comfy chair 175 00:13:28,320 --> 00:13:29,780 without having to take risks 176 00:13:29,780 --> 00:13:31,040 in which they might find failure. 177 00:13:31,040 --> 00:13:36,460 More recently, we asked the same question to our staff again, and they placed themselves 178 00:13:36,460 --> 00:13:41,260 along that continuum from the computer to the trapeze artists, and more of staff indicated 179 00:13:41,260 --> 00:13:45,680 that willingness to take a risk knowing that failures will be seen as opportunities for 180 00:13:45,680 --> 00:13:46,020 growth. 181 00:13:46,840 --> 00:13:51,000 So, this school year has definitely presented us with many complexities as well as the need 182 00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:54,700 to be flexible, vulnerable, and being okay with that discomfort. 183 00:13:55,540 --> 00:13:59,440 Although we know we have curriculum maps and guides, pacing guides, there really is no 184 00:13:59,440 --> 00:14:04,300 clear path as to always meeting the varying learning needs and styles that we see on a day-to-day 185 00:14:04,300 --> 00:14:09,780 basis. So we really had to embrace the unknown and the discomfort to stretch little by little, day-by-day, 186 00:14:10,040 --> 00:14:12,580 and take the step into the unknown to propel us forward. 187 00:14:16,970 --> 00:14:19,430 As Melissa said, stepping into the unknown 188 00:14:19,430 --> 00:14:24,590 can kind of be uncomfortable for many. However, once you realize you have others to help you, 189 00:14:24,670 --> 00:14:30,370 that can bring a lot of comfort, which brings me to the idea of taught partnership. Now taught 190 00:14:30,370 --> 00:14:36,590 partnership is the process of sharing ideas and experiences with one another so 191 00:14:36,590 --> 00:14:41,350 you can learn from each other. It's not to be confused with just giving advice 192 00:14:41,350 --> 00:14:47,390 because both people engaging in a taught partnership learn from each other so 193 00:14:47,390 --> 00:14:50,790 they walk way through and lead through a process of discovery. 194 00:14:56,830 --> 00:14:57,830 So much like the 195 00:14:57,830 --> 00:14:59,770 this ray of Legos that you saw on it earlier. 196 00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:29,300 Like, we really thought that, or we know that thought partnering can be messy at times and really even uncomfortable. So we started to explore how we can turn to one another to really build that trust and navigate the unknown. And staff identified what conditions needed to be present for themselves to be able to thought partner. And so they felt like there need to be trust or needed to be a feeling of judgment free and that relational, relational dynamic so that it's also reciprocal and not like a transactional feeling. One that is authentic. 197 00:15:29,300 --> 00:15:31,120 and we're listening to it's present. 198 00:15:31,640 --> 00:15:33,140 So we needed to make sure that we were having 199 00:15:33,140 --> 00:15:35,420 those explicit opportunities to be a thought partner. 200 00:15:36,120 --> 00:15:38,340 And it's really allowed our team to discover the value 201 00:15:38,340 --> 00:15:40,480 that one another brings in every interaction, 202 00:15:40,900 --> 00:15:43,300 gaining that courage to openly share all perspectives 203 00:15:43,300 --> 00:15:47,220 even if unpopular and really deriving 204 00:15:47,220 --> 00:15:49,760 that new thought and action as a result of thought partnering. 205 00:15:50,420 --> 00:15:52,620 So as we've continued with the idea of thought partners, 206 00:15:52,800 --> 00:15:54,520 we've continued to come back to this question 207 00:15:54,520 --> 00:15:56,660 of how do we want to act and implement 208 00:15:56,660 --> 00:15:58,940 our instructional practices that will enhance 209 00:15:58,940 --> 00:16:03,960 or student curiosity, complexity, and joy to ensure that our conversations really are 210 00:16:03,960 --> 00:16:05,640 going deeper and having more meaningful. 211 00:16:11,620 --> 00:16:17,060 So as we talk about being a top partner, we realize the importance of having good questions 212 00:16:17,390 --> 00:16:21,380 and that questions are way more important than having the right answers. 213 00:16:22,700 --> 00:16:30,980 And so along with that, we realize that the reason having questions is because it requires 214 00:16:30,980 --> 00:16:37,060 is the mind to analyze and to lead you through a process of self-reflection and learning. 215 00:16:45,420 --> 00:16:51,880 And as we talk about leading through a path of discovery, we realize that this year our 216 00:16:51,880 --> 00:16:57,840 teachers needed to learn from one another. So what we did was we introduced them to learning 217 00:16:57,840 --> 00:17:04,160 walks. And a learning walk is a brief classroom visit, 8 to 10 minutes, where teachers have 218 00:17:04,160 --> 00:17:05,840 an opportunity to learn from one another. 219 00:17:06,320 --> 00:17:10,540 The focus is on learning, not on what the teachers do 220 00:17:10,540 --> 00:17:12,100 and bother what the students are doing 221 00:17:12,100 --> 00:17:13,900 and how the students are learning. 222 00:17:14,440 --> 00:17:16,200 So this year has been a great opportunity 223 00:17:16,200 --> 00:17:18,900 to introduce our teachers to learning walks. 224 00:17:28,540 --> 00:17:31,920 In addition to having learning walks, 225 00:17:32,100 --> 00:17:33,820 we also wanted to engage in that partnering 226 00:17:33,820 --> 00:17:35,080 with our staff as well. 227 00:17:35,700 --> 00:17:37,080 So we had an explicit opportunity 228 00:17:37,080 --> 00:17:38,520 where we met with great level teams 229 00:17:38,520 --> 00:17:40,900 to talk about what dialogic strategies 230 00:17:40,900 --> 00:17:44,280 they might want to try with their students in their classrooms. 231 00:17:44,800 --> 00:17:48,760 We challenged them to think about what would be the purpose or the intention of that strategy 232 00:17:48,760 --> 00:17:53,400 and then what evidence would they be looking for to know whether or not they met that intention. 233 00:17:54,060 --> 00:17:58,120 We also wanted them to think about how that strategy might impact the student experience 234 00:17:58,120 --> 00:18:00,300 in terms of curiosity, complexity, and joy. 235 00:18:01,260 --> 00:18:03,480 Afterwards, we met with the teams again, 236 00:18:03,980 --> 00:18:07,760 and we wanted them to reflect on regardless of the success of the lesson 237 00:18:07,760 --> 00:18:09,180 and really what they learned from that, 238 00:18:09,400 --> 00:18:11,560 so that they could take that with them moving forward 239 00:18:11,560 --> 00:18:12,360 in their instruction. 240 00:18:12,960 --> 00:18:14,000 So we do have a video, 241 00:18:14,260 --> 00:18:16,720 just kind of showing some of the thought partnering 242 00:18:16,720 --> 00:18:18,380 that our staff engaged in. 243 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:42,440 Congratulations. 244 00:18:43,080 --> 00:18:45,400 It's accepting others for what they believe in 245 00:18:45,400 --> 00:18:47,000 and not necessarily always what I believe in. 246 00:18:47,260 --> 00:18:49,120 And I think it's challenging each other, 247 00:18:49,260 --> 00:18:51,340 but in a positive way. 248 00:18:51,540 --> 00:18:52,800 I mean, I don't always agree with, 249 00:18:52,940 --> 00:18:54,160 we don't always agree and that's okay. 250 00:18:54,580 --> 00:18:56,700 Yeah, but again, this level, 251 00:18:56,880 --> 00:18:58,360 it's like that very first seed, 252 00:18:58,360 --> 00:18:59,360 Do you know what I mean? 253 00:18:59,520 --> 00:19:00,280 Like it's just... 254 00:19:00,280 --> 00:19:01,260 This is very basic. 255 00:19:01,620 --> 00:19:02,240 And I'm a result. 256 00:19:02,780 --> 00:19:02,900 Right. 257 00:19:03,340 --> 00:19:08,300 To be able to listen to somebody, recognize their opinions or their feelings on something. 258 00:19:08,860 --> 00:19:15,720 And if you disagree like being humble and respectful enough, to at least look at that perspective. 259 00:19:19,080 --> 00:19:26,120 And I think on the explore part the next day, rather than asking them the question, have 260 00:19:26,120 --> 00:19:31,200 them a couple questions and more about survival with this but have them question the cover like 261 00:19:31,840 --> 00:19:35,980 What questions you about this cup and see I can connect a survival part and if they don't bring it 262 00:19:35,980 --> 00:19:40,340 We had the day before then you bring up the word and say okay think about survival. What questions 263 00:19:40,340 --> 00:19:45,240 You have about survival with these antifers and see what they can see and then hopefully they'll start a conversation 264 00:19:45,780 --> 00:19:50,900 Between students like if somebody asks a question maybe someone else a come with an idea like have them share what they know 265 00:19:50,900 --> 00:19:52,380 So it's more back and forth between them 266 00:19:56,120 --> 00:19:58,120 I think it's just always being conscious of like, 267 00:19:58,400 --> 00:19:59,900 I mean, I want my students to feel like 268 00:19:59,900 --> 00:20:02,020 their power classroom is a safe space 269 00:20:02,020 --> 00:20:04,860 for them to share their thinking and share their thoughts 270 00:20:04,860 --> 00:20:06,000 and share all of those things 271 00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:08,680 and that really comes to like, you know, 272 00:20:08,780 --> 00:20:09,920 the community that we have built 273 00:20:09,920 --> 00:20:13,060 and sometimes you even hear a student maybe make a reaction 274 00:20:13,060 --> 00:20:15,060 or make a giggle when someone answers something 275 00:20:15,060 --> 00:20:17,240 and those are all conversations that we have to have 276 00:20:17,240 --> 00:20:20,420 as a class of then that one opportunity 277 00:20:20,420 --> 00:20:22,300 and that reaction by that other student knocks 278 00:20:22,300 --> 00:20:24,120 that student down so many steps back. 279 00:20:24,120 --> 00:20:27,900 So there's just, I feel like there's so many layers that really go into all of this 280 00:20:31,440 --> 00:20:32,480 I feel 281 00:20:35,140 --> 00:20:40,800 like my focus is more on me and like how am I going to 282 00:20:41,580 --> 00:20:43,840 Rod them to 283 00:20:44,420 --> 00:20:48,320 Get deeper because we have I'm not that we have the conversation piece nailed 284 00:20:48,320 --> 00:20:52,640 Certainly they talk over each other in that sort of thing they're eight 285 00:20:53,260 --> 00:20:53,540 but 286 00:20:53,540 --> 00:21:02,340 But I feel like I am the one that needs to be more mindful of how am I asking the question. 287 00:21:05,910 --> 00:21:10,230 But I think a piece in a dialogue that I would like to hear is to hear them being able 288 00:21:10,230 --> 00:21:15,350 to restate what someone else has said or comment, and oh I agree with someone so or I disagree. 289 00:21:16,190 --> 00:21:20,030 It was so-and-so because I feel like the piece of dialogue that is often missing in my classroom 290 00:21:20,030 --> 00:21:21,570 is being listening to the others. 291 00:21:25,510 --> 00:21:30,470 I just want to go with that because even if I let them talk to a friend, they don't talk 292 00:21:30,470 --> 00:21:33,710 about what they're supposed to be talking about because they're with a friend, so they chat 293 00:21:33,710 --> 00:21:34,490 about other things. 294 00:21:34,830 --> 00:21:39,190 When I put them with someone who they're not necessarily friends with, they don't talk 295 00:21:39,190 --> 00:21:39,470 about that. 296 00:21:41,050 --> 00:21:41,450 So 297 00:21:46,920 --> 00:21:51,960 we feel that this video demonstrates our staff engaging in that partnering about the intention 298 00:21:51,960 --> 00:21:57,980 of dialogue, how to spark curiosity among students, how they can improve on their questioning 299 00:21:57,980 --> 00:22:02,520 strategies and perhaps most importantly being able to commit when they're struggling with something. 300 00:22:03,260 --> 00:22:07,140 These conversations are very different from conversations we had at the beginning of the 301 00:22:07,140 --> 00:22:11,980 year when staff were really unsure of why were we engaging in so many conversations about dialogue 302 00:22:11,980 --> 00:22:16,640 and the intention of dialogue and when they were very hesitant to admit when they were having 303 00:22:16,640 --> 00:22:17,700 difficulty with something. 304 00:22:23,310 --> 00:22:27,770 Long term or long term goal is when our kids talk and want them 305 00:22:27,770 --> 00:22:30,090 and exploring with each other. 306 00:22:30,510 --> 00:22:32,890 We want them expanding on their communication skills. 307 00:22:33,270 --> 00:22:36,370 We want them asking more questions of each other, 308 00:22:36,750 --> 00:22:38,450 more questions with their teachers. 309 00:22:39,510 --> 00:22:41,410 In order to do so, we felt we wanted 310 00:22:41,410 --> 00:22:45,190 to put our teachers through some experiences 311 00:22:45,190 --> 00:22:47,130 so that they can use those experiences 312 00:22:47,130 --> 00:22:50,950 and have that be funneled and reflective in their own teaching. 313 00:22:52,630 --> 00:22:56,270 As a vehicle, to think more deeply about instruction, 314 00:22:56,270 --> 00:23:01,010 and we also put our staff in engaging reflective dialogue 315 00:23:01,010 --> 00:23:02,110 as we were talking. 316 00:23:07,660 --> 00:23:09,720 We started our journey with challenge of learning this 317 00:23:09,720 --> 00:23:10,740 while we were with the baseline. 318 00:23:11,220 --> 00:23:14,140 One of the common and overarching observations 319 00:23:14,140 --> 00:23:17,260 in this report that we saw between our buildings 320 00:23:17,260 --> 00:23:19,960 was the evidence of teacher-driven destruction. 321 00:23:20,820 --> 00:23:23,520 When teachers asked a question to give the answer 322 00:23:25,620 --> 00:23:27,820 by changing how we respond to students, 323 00:23:28,300 --> 00:23:30,760 we can start to push students to explain them 324 00:23:30,760 --> 00:23:32,580 and extend their thinking. 325 00:23:33,760 --> 00:23:36,840 In shifting some of the learning responsibilities to students, 326 00:23:37,240 --> 00:23:39,880 we began discussing the steps of the school to talk. 327 00:23:41,080 --> 00:23:43,240 Instead of just moving on with instruction, 328 00:23:43,680 --> 00:23:45,700 we encourage questioning on a deeper code. 329 00:23:56,480 --> 00:23:57,400 You're with, sorry. 330 00:23:57,780 --> 00:23:58,940 And knowledge will of those barriers 331 00:23:58,940 --> 00:24:00,700 die on the shredding of such hard-to 332 00:24:04,730 --> 00:24:05,350 -spent official 333 00:24:05,350 --> 00:24:07,590 as a vehicle really deepening that's understood. 334 00:24:09,500 --> 00:24:11,300 As a staff, you've been able to really understand 335 00:24:11,760 --> 00:24:13,880 how students are thinking as well as the role 336 00:24:13,880 --> 00:24:15,920 as we play in facilitating our future. 337 00:24:18,290 --> 00:24:20,470 We started a homework pack and set a reflected event 338 00:24:20,470 --> 00:24:21,950 who was doing most of the lifting 339 00:24:21,950 --> 00:24:24,190 and focusing on the learning, the injury practice. 340 00:24:29,320 --> 00:24:31,680 While we're still in the early phases 341 00:24:31,680 --> 00:24:34,660 of introducing stories where we talk, our teachers 342 00:24:35,120 --> 00:24:38,440 are now being more purposeful in how they question. 343 00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:39,860 Now just asking questions, 344 00:24:39,860 --> 00:24:41,500 we're thinking of the questions 345 00:24:41,500 --> 00:24:43,860 that help deepen understanding. 346 00:24:44,700 --> 00:24:48,740 And our students are now using more questions 347 00:24:48,740 --> 00:24:51,120 in small group distortions, 348 00:24:51,460 --> 00:24:56,240 let me say first things to help one another to build upon answers. 349 00:24:58,020 --> 00:25:00,680 Ultimately, our students are now being asked, 350 00:25:00,900 --> 00:25:03,180 what are they learning first, what they were doing. 351 00:25:04,280 --> 00:25:06,280 And we are working with our teachers 352 00:25:06,280 --> 00:25:08,780 to help them become independent collaborators. 353 00:25:09,480 --> 00:25:11,700 So, when they're working in small groups, 354 00:25:12,040 --> 00:25:13,920 they're sharing ideas and thoughts 355 00:25:13,920 --> 00:25:16,900 rather than just sitting close to another partner 356 00:25:16,900 --> 00:25:18,380 sharing materials. 357 00:25:24,520 --> 00:25:27,720 So we also wanted our staff to really have a deep understanding of what 358 00:25:27,720 --> 00:25:33,320 exploratory talk is. So we had them really think about what is the intention of dialogue 359 00:25:33,320 --> 00:25:38,620 or exploratory talk and what evidence exists if it's occurring in their classroom. We presented 360 00:25:38,620 --> 00:25:43,360 during some of our staff gatherings a variety of information about exploratory talk which either 361 00:25:43,360 --> 00:25:48,780 solidified or challenged their beliefs about it. We also prompted our staff to engage in some 362 00:25:48,780 --> 00:25:52,940 exploratory talk about some sensitive topics, I will say. 363 00:25:53,620 --> 00:25:55,900 So for example, thinking about our implicit biases 364 00:25:55,900 --> 00:25:57,120 about our community. 365 00:25:57,980 --> 00:26:00,120 Afterwards, we had them kind of engage 366 00:26:00,120 --> 00:26:03,520 in how talk about how their understanding of dialogue 367 00:26:03,520 --> 00:26:06,020 and exploratory talk has changed or evolved. 368 00:26:06,680 --> 00:26:07,920 At the beginning of the year, staff 369 00:26:07,920 --> 00:26:10,100 use words such as conversation, communication, 370 00:26:10,460 --> 00:26:13,640 and sharing to describe exploratory talk and dialogue. 371 00:26:14,180 --> 00:26:16,360 But our most recent staff definitions of dialogue 372 00:26:16,360 --> 00:26:21,680 include common themes such as listening to understand, reflection, challenge, and above all growth. 373 00:26:22,360 --> 00:26:27,120 For example, one of our staff member indicated dialogue is challenging, comfortable, and thought 374 00:26:27,120 --> 00:26:31,880 provoking all rolled into one. The relationships we develop with others are based on how well we 375 00:26:31,880 --> 00:26:35,920 converse and listen to others. The more we challenge one another, the more we grow. 376 00:26:40,820 --> 00:26:45,740 In shifting some of the thought processes and practices, we understand that time is a key 377 00:26:45,740 --> 00:26:51,640 component of our journey. Both Freeman and Goodwin have been deliberate about making sure to slow down 378 00:26:51,640 --> 00:26:57,140 and reflect. Without carefully reflecting on experiences in collaborating with our peers, 379 00:26:57,680 --> 00:27:03,120 we understand that we would run the risk of fracturing the process just to achieve an outcome. 380 00:27:04,200 --> 00:27:09,440 We have come to identify what our paths look like and embrace that it may change along the way. 381 00:27:10,380 --> 00:27:15,360 There must be a progression from actually stepping out of our comfort zone to 382 00:27:15,740 --> 00:27:20,880 achieving self-growth, developing these steps is something we've experienced with staff 383 00:27:21,560 --> 00:27:27,500 and can directly attribute progress through being open-minded, being vulnerable with each other 384 00:27:27,500 --> 00:27:29,300 and stepping out of our comfort zones. 385 00:27:36,120 --> 00:27:38,520 So we know that we're on the path to moving towards having 386 00:27:38,520 --> 00:27:43,720 a culture of learning. Where learning mindset is encouraged, we thrive on innovation, risk-taking, 387 00:27:44,020 --> 00:27:48,380 and understand that mistakes are valuable. We're aware that our path is not linear, 388 00:27:48,380 --> 00:27:52,860 and there will be detours along the way to continue to answer and reflect in a 389 00:27:52,860 --> 00:27:58,220 day after how it's thinking is visible. So how do you want to be? How do we 390 00:27:58,220 --> 00:28:02,080 impact the curiosity complexity and joy of our students and how uncomfortable 391 00:28:02,080 --> 00:28:06,060 might? So as we continue to create our culture of learning we will engage in a 392 00:28:06,060 --> 00:28:10,240 continuous cycle to really seek, share and apply knowledge that allows for 393 00:28:10,240 --> 00:28:14,980 self-improvement, improvement of others and improvement of the whole. So what does 394 00:28:14,980 --> 00:28:19,800 progress look like. We know that evidence of progress looks very different to us. It is 395 00:28:19,800 --> 00:28:23,680 important to understand that much of our work will not produce quantitative data to show 396 00:28:23,680 --> 00:28:28,560 numbers improving or not. Rather, we're looking for that qualitative information, really such 397 00:28:28,560 --> 00:28:34,320 as our thoughts and how those thoughts are being produced. For we, as educators, we're engaging 398 00:28:34,320 --> 00:28:39,160 in deeper thinking with each other and asking more questions of each other, and in turn, 399 00:28:39,340 --> 00:28:43,220 bringing that level of thinking back into the learning process and environment for our students. 400 00:28:47,330 --> 00:28:50,930 Thus, we are striving to build a culture that embraces our vision. 401 00:28:51,730 --> 00:28:58,190 Digging in to go beyond the surface, staying curious a little longer, being flexible, embracing 402 00:28:58,190 --> 00:29:03,950 different perspectives, being open to all possibilities and ideas, and finding the joy of learning 403 00:29:03,950 --> 00:29:04,450 for all. 404 00:29:05,490 --> 00:29:05,870 Thank you. 405 00:29:16,470 --> 00:29:18,790 Board members, any comments or questions for the team? 406 00:29:20,010 --> 00:29:21,810 I just have a couple of comments if you don't mind. 407 00:29:21,810 --> 00:29:23,970 First of all, thank you for the presentation, 408 00:29:24,270 --> 00:29:26,410 and I'm glad that we teach in our kids how to think 409 00:29:26,410 --> 00:29:27,650 instead of what to think. 410 00:29:28,030 --> 00:29:31,530 I also have a concern with the discomfort part. 411 00:29:32,230 --> 00:29:34,130 There's some kids who are painfully shy. 412 00:29:34,950 --> 00:29:37,430 How is the staff dealing with helping them 413 00:29:37,430 --> 00:29:38,670 assist them succeed, 414 00:29:39,430 --> 00:29:42,510 being just not being comfortable, 415 00:29:43,230 --> 00:29:46,450 speaking out loud or sharing their experiences? 416 00:29:47,990 --> 00:29:50,450 I think that's actually a comment that came up 417 00:29:50,450 --> 00:29:55,670 quite a bit in some of those that partnering conversations we had with our staff so there's been 418 00:29:55,670 --> 00:29:59,930 a couple of different perspectives you know we have to give them explicit opportunities to 419 00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:29,640 Overcome their fear of sharing with others, but how do we do that in a way without creating high levels of anxiety for them. So some staff have talked about things like, you know, just having them share with one other person in the classroom, having them share with just the staff member, then moving it slowly to, you know, then having conversations with two or three peers. So how do we then kind of scaffold it for them, so it's not all of a sudden we're expecting them to share their thoughts and ideas in an overwhelming type of setting. 420 00:30:29,640 --> 00:30:36,320 So that is something that I think we don't necessarily have an answer for, but we have ideas for that we've been talking through with our staff. 421 00:30:36,940 --> 00:30:37,580 Thank you. 422 00:30:40,960 --> 00:30:44,640 I was happy to hear about your, the learning walks. 423 00:30:45,000 --> 00:30:58,160 There's something to be said for even observing another classroom for five to ten minutes to not only pick up on something that the teachers doing, but that the students are doing, because it also shows we can learn a lot from each other. 424 00:30:58,660 --> 00:30:59,580 That's great to hear. 425 00:31:04,450 --> 00:31:09,570 Actually, just one quick thing that kept me as Mr. Gonzalez was asking that question, have 426 00:31:09,570 --> 00:31:14,290 you utilized technology at all and possibly, you know, with the Chromebooks and the video 427 00:31:14,850 --> 00:31:19,730 capabilities they have, they might make a video that they could do something and then share 428 00:31:19,730 --> 00:31:24,450 it with the class that feels, I think, a lot less anxiety-driven if they got to stand 429 00:31:24,450 --> 00:31:25,870 in front of a class and say something. 430 00:31:27,450 --> 00:31:31,050 I think sharing thoughts can look different. 431 00:31:31,050 --> 00:31:34,330 It doesn't have to be stand in front of the class and share your thoughts. 432 00:31:35,350 --> 00:31:40,110 Even independently, taking time to think and then writing down your thoughts on paper, 433 00:31:40,450 --> 00:31:46,370 that's a mode of sharing, that's a connection that a teacher can make with that child. 434 00:31:46,950 --> 00:31:51,570 So yes, there's different vessels to capture that thinking and share with people. 435 00:31:51,910 --> 00:31:56,770 It doesn't have to necessarily be publicly in front of, you know, the poor believers. 436 00:31:56,950 --> 00:31:57,050 Yes. 437 00:31:58,350 --> 00:31:58,970 I 438 00:32:01,690 --> 00:32:08,810 like the analogy you have with the trampoline or the trampoline. 439 00:32:09,510 --> 00:32:15,610 Troopies people and the comfy, comfy sofa. 440 00:32:16,190 --> 00:32:21,050 And I'm wondering how, Mark, that was for the teacher side, 441 00:32:21,210 --> 00:32:24,510 how does it impact the students and because if you think about where students are, 442 00:32:24,990 --> 00:32:27,490 they're always in this comfy couch currently. 443 00:32:27,490 --> 00:32:31,470 and do they stay there, or do they make a move along with the teachers? 444 00:32:34,340 --> 00:32:38,220 We definitely, I would say the second time that we posed that question to our staff, 445 00:32:38,620 --> 00:32:41,540 we didn't ask them to move again on the continuum, but we did ask like, 446 00:32:41,640 --> 00:32:44,080 where do your students, where would they fall in that continuum, 447 00:32:44,580 --> 00:32:47,820 or where would they maybe need you to be thinking about? 448 00:32:48,340 --> 00:32:53,100 So I think we've started to see shifts in classrooms about how they present that information 449 00:32:53,100 --> 00:32:57,240 to their community, or how they're really promoting the risk taking, 450 00:32:57,240 --> 00:33:00,040 or making mistakes and being okay with even sharing 451 00:33:00,040 --> 00:33:01,500 when they're not maybe fully confident 452 00:33:01,500 --> 00:33:03,220 that they have the right answer 453 00:33:03,220 --> 00:33:04,400 or explaining their thinking. 454 00:33:04,880 --> 00:33:06,880 So I don't know that everyone has presented 455 00:33:06,880 --> 00:33:08,120 that image to their students, 456 00:33:08,280 --> 00:33:11,340 but we are really trying to promote perseverance 457 00:33:11,340 --> 00:33:13,180 and working through those tough situations 458 00:33:13,180 --> 00:33:14,400 and embracing challenges. 459 00:33:18,570 --> 00:33:19,450 Any other questions? 460 00:33:21,270 --> 00:33:22,250 I was just gonna say, 461 00:33:22,490 --> 00:33:25,210 I really like your analogy of like the regrets of inaction 462 00:33:25,770 --> 00:33:27,770 is more than like the regrets of actions 463 00:33:27,770 --> 00:33:28,410 that you're seeing. 464 00:33:28,410 --> 00:33:33,310 I think that just I love that we're challenging our teachers to do the same thing we're asking our students to do 465 00:33:33,310 --> 00:33:37,690 Like that whole culture of learning and creating that in a whole building, you know 466 00:33:38,370 --> 00:33:43,830 And I think because we've got amazing teachers that have done this forever and have done a long time like they've been teaching 467 00:33:43,830 --> 00:33:50,010 And they know exactly what they're doing and just challenging everyone to really step out and think and grow along with their students 468 00:33:50,010 --> 00:33:50,930 I think is awesome 469 00:33:51,730 --> 00:33:56,790 So I really love what you're doing. You know, I love the dialogue and getting students thinking and learning 470 00:33:56,790 --> 00:33:57,850 I think it's really great. 471 00:33:58,030 --> 00:33:59,030 So thank you for all you're doing. 472 00:33:59,570 --> 00:34:00,210 Guys are awesome. 473 00:34:01,450 --> 00:34:01,670 Yes. 474 00:34:03,350 --> 00:34:04,170 One other question. 475 00:34:04,310 --> 00:34:08,070 How has the dialogue translated to parents and families? 476 00:34:14,450 --> 00:34:17,090 I think, you know, this year has been challenging 477 00:34:17,090 --> 00:34:19,650 in terms of the community, just in terms 478 00:34:19,650 --> 00:34:21,750 of such different perspectives on everything 479 00:34:21,750 --> 00:34:23,810 that's been going on in our world today. 480 00:34:24,070 --> 00:34:26,530 So I think that's probably one of the next steps 481 00:34:26,530 --> 00:34:28,050 that we want to take with our communities. 482 00:34:28,050 --> 00:34:29,330 I don't want to speak for good one. 483 00:34:29,830 --> 00:34:31,530 We haven't explicitly talked about this. 484 00:34:31,530 --> 00:34:37,770 But I don't know that we have talked with our families about how to engage in dialogue with our students. 485 00:34:38,010 --> 00:34:42,110 And I think that that would be really helpful for them, just even conversations at home. 486 00:34:42,210 --> 00:34:45,570 You know, when you're working with your students on, you know, what did you learn today? 487 00:34:45,730 --> 00:34:49,970 It's not just a, you know, if you're assisting them with math homework, it's not just what's the right answer. 488 00:34:50,110 --> 00:34:53,030 But how do you know what strategy did you use to get there? 489 00:34:53,090 --> 00:34:57,730 So I do think it's a, that's an important next step that I just don't think we've gotten there this year. 490 00:34:58,030 --> 00:34:59,390 So do you have anything to change? 491 00:34:59,390 --> 00:35:06,150 So one of the processes that we've gone through with our teachers with exploratory talks 492 00:35:06,150 --> 00:35:12,750 specifically, we're talking about question threads that we can provide our teachers that 493 00:35:13,470 --> 00:35:17,730 in the one slide that we talked about, the importance of the E. Instead of just accepting 494 00:35:17,730 --> 00:35:22,670 an answer and moving forward with instruction, be prepared with questions that you could 495 00:35:22,670 --> 00:35:27,910 answer if you hear such and such a response. Or even A response, just be prepared, tell 496 00:35:27,910 --> 00:35:33,650 more. Tell me more about what you're thinking. And I think that process as we explore like 497 00:35:33,650 --> 00:35:37,970 you said, Ms. Stone, with our teachers and our students, we can extend that to our families 498 00:35:37,970 --> 00:35:43,350 to teach them how to effectively respond to students as they're helping with homework 499 00:35:43,350 --> 00:35:50,550 or reading before bedtime. So I think as Ms. Reem said, you know, that is, it's got to be 500 00:35:50,550 --> 00:35:54,850 the next step so that we're keeping that school family partnership alive. 501 00:36:00,230 --> 00:36:04,390 Thank you, Freeman Griementing or Goodminton, thank you appreciate it, nice job. 502 00:36:04,890 --> 00:36:05,230 Thank you. 503 00:36:07,550 --> 00:36:15,450 All right, now we move to our discussion portion 5.1 and that is our textbook adoptions and I would remind the board. 504 00:36:15,690 --> 00:36:23,470 I know that there was some questions after this Wendell's presentation at our last board meeting. 505 00:36:23,650 --> 00:36:29,210 There was some follow up questions and wanted to make sure all the board members had were armed with all that information 506 00:36:29,630 --> 00:36:35,890 and Liz has graciously tensed like in case there was any questions she could respond to in person. 507 00:36:36,490 --> 00:36:41,510 So if you have any questions, if you want to make your feel good, you can ask a question. 508 00:36:47,690 --> 00:36:51,730 I was looking at Mr. St. Jules, but he wasn't paying attention. 509 00:36:56,280 --> 00:36:56,820 No questions? 510 00:36:58,220 --> 00:37:04,540 So if you're okay, if there's no challenges to this, we'd like to move this forward to approval for our May 2nd board meeting. 511 00:37:04,540 --> 00:37:07,820 Thank you, and thank you, Liz. 512 00:37:08,240 --> 00:37:09,420 Thank you. 513 00:37:10,040 --> 00:37:12,260 So that I have, sir, turn it over to you. 514 00:37:13,280 --> 00:37:15,760 Great, well, without any public comments, 515 00:37:16,160 --> 00:37:18,180 we now turn it back to you for superintendent comments. 516 00:37:19,420 --> 00:37:23,780 I just have one thread of conversation I want to share, 517 00:37:24,020 --> 00:37:30,060 and that's really starting to get into that time-honored 518 00:37:30,060 --> 00:37:39,220 tradition in the spring time of that the grind of this multitude of events and you know 519 00:37:39,220 --> 00:37:45,240 since 20-some years ago when I started as a high school principal and then the last eight 520 00:37:45,240 --> 00:37:52,260 or nine I guess is a superintendent this was that time of year where you kind of find 521 00:37:52,260 --> 00:37:59,440 that last reserve of energy and gear up and get ready for this stretch until the end of the 522 00:37:59,440 --> 00:38:08,160 school year and my my comment is this is that I hope that we don't forget the 523 00:38:10,700 --> 00:38:14,860 the environment that we found ourselves in the last couple of years especially 524 00:38:14,860 --> 00:38:21,100 when we look back to that that Friday afternoon about 4.05 pm on March 13th of 525 00:38:21,100 --> 00:38:26,420 2020 when all the things that we were asked to consider about are we canceling 526 00:38:26,420 --> 00:38:30,660 we post-poning, or we pushing it, we're all taken away from us. 527 00:38:31,720 --> 00:38:37,680 And the swiftness of that erasure of all things 528 00:38:37,680 --> 00:38:39,760 that we knew to be normal at that point in time, 529 00:38:39,760 --> 00:38:43,660 where we celebrated our staff, we celebrated our students, 530 00:38:43,800 --> 00:38:47,560 we celebrated our community was all gone in a blink of an eye. 531 00:38:48,340 --> 00:38:52,240 And so rather than lament or even kind of go, 532 00:38:52,380 --> 00:38:55,860 geez, how do I get through these every night 533 00:38:55,860 --> 00:39:02,540 events or even the overlapping events that happen, I absolutely want to make sure that 534 00:39:02,540 --> 00:39:08,980 we take the moment to truly enjoy these coming events where we're celebrating academic excellence, 535 00:39:09,540 --> 00:39:17,100 the performance of our peers, the performance of folks that are graduates of West Aurora 536 00:39:17,100 --> 00:39:22,500 School District are coming back to us in the form of the Hall of Honor, our educators of 537 00:39:22,500 --> 00:39:27,740 the year awards, there's so many different events that are coming up for us to be able 538 00:39:27,740 --> 00:39:28,340 to celebrate. 539 00:39:29,020 --> 00:39:33,160 And I want to turn a positive to that rather than the burden of that. 540 00:39:33,820 --> 00:39:38,980 And just a friendly reminder that a year ago, we didn't have this two years ago, we didn't 541 00:39:38,980 --> 00:39:39,440 have this. 542 00:39:39,900 --> 00:39:44,600 And now it's in front of us and I look forward to what tomorrow brings and just want to give 543 00:39:44,600 --> 00:39:45,360 that perspective. 544 00:39:46,640 --> 00:39:48,100 I'll get off my soapbox now. 545 00:39:48,800 --> 00:39:49,480 That's all that I have. 546 00:39:49,860 --> 00:39:50,120 Thank you. 547 00:39:50,500 --> 00:39:51,080 Thank you, sir. 548 00:39:51,080 --> 00:39:55,540 Since we don't have any student board members, I turn it over to our board member comments. 549 00:40:00,200 --> 00:40:05,340 In that vein, I am looking forward to the Hall of Honor celebrations this week and 550 00:40:05,340 --> 00:40:05,900 this weekend. 551 00:40:07,520 --> 00:40:15,220 One of the recipients, Stephen Goslin, is my godfather and I'm very excited for him and 552 00:40:16,800 --> 00:40:20,180 for him to have his day, he's a great graduate of West Aurora. 553 00:40:21,080 --> 00:40:28,060 In that vein, a person who, I frankly believe, could have at any point in time throughout 554 00:40:28,060 --> 00:40:36,160 his life been placed in that hall of honor, passed away yesterday, William Foote. 555 00:40:36,680 --> 00:40:43,200 He was a graduate of West Roar in 1950, tended Harvard, Harvard Law School, came back to 556 00:40:43,200 --> 00:40:51,740 Aurora, and frankly, was during his careers in attorneys was not only one of the best attorneys in Aurora, 557 00:40:51,940 --> 00:40:57,880 but probably one of the best attorneys in Illinois, we lost the good one, and I just wanted to acknowledge that. 558 00:41:10,920 --> 00:41:17,660 Well, welcome back, actually from our sort of second spring break here with the long weekend. 559 00:41:17,660 --> 00:41:21,080 again, but are there any other questions or comments? 560 00:41:23,700 --> 00:41:25,600 Hearing none, Mr. Secretary, please call. 561 00:41:26,100 --> 00:41:31,140 We have a, actually we have a need to adjourn from our open meeting, do we have a motion? 562 00:41:32,280 --> 00:41:34,000 And move to our adjourn from open meeting. 563 00:41:36,090 --> 00:41:39,050 It has been moved in a second, Mr. Secretary, please call the roll. 564 00:41:39,270 --> 00:41:39,730 Mrs. Stone. 565 00:41:40,230 --> 00:41:40,330 Aye. 566 00:41:40,650 --> 00:41:41,130 Mrs. Saberson. 567 00:41:41,590 --> 00:41:41,750 Aye. 568 00:41:42,110 --> 00:41:42,790 Mr. St. Jules. 569 00:41:43,110 --> 00:41:43,230 Yes. 570 00:41:43,390 --> 00:41:43,850 Mr. Lathan. 571 00:41:44,290 --> 00:41:44,450 Aye. 572 00:41:44,630 --> 00:41:45,270 Mrs. Dijkstra. 573 00:41:46,010 --> 00:41:46,190 Aye. 574 00:41:46,530 --> 00:41:47,270 Mr. Gonzales. 575 00:41:47,270 --> 00:41:48,530 Mr. Kerns. 576 00:41:48,610 --> 00:41:48,950 Aye. 577 00:41:49,290 --> 00:41:51,230 The west-roar school board meeting has adjourned. 578 00:41:51,250 --> 00:41:54,150 Our next regular meeting is scheduled for Monday, May 2. 579 00:41:54,590 --> 00:41:55,410 Have a great night.