[0:00] >> Welcome to the Eagle County School District Board of Education meeting.

[0:03] Wednesday, September 9th, 2026.

[0:07] Please join us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

[0:31] Thank you all for being here this evening. We're going to start with the consent agenda,

[0:37] which includes routine, non-controversial items approved by the board through a single

[0:43] motion and vote and. This week, we just have the standard minutes

[0:49] and personnel list and monitoring reports for the month.

[0:55] Would anyone like to make a motion?

[0:58] >> I move to approve the consent agenda. Second.

[1:02] >> Thank you, Lou, and thank you, Rachel.

[1:06] Oh I'm sorry. Thank you Gretchen, I appreciate it.

[1:11] Natalia Miss alter. Hi Mrs. Conlin, I miss Kowalski, I miss

[1:18] Hovey, I Mr. Mcqueeney.

[1:21] I Mr. >> Peña.

[1:23] I. >> Miss Tvarkunas. I.

[1:25] >> Thank you. The motion passes unanimously.

[1:27] Thank you, Natalia. And we have a report from the

[1:31] superintendent to start. Mr. doctor summers.

[1:37] >> is this working okay? All right.

[1:39] Good evening everybody. Welcome to our September 9th

[1:43] meeting. So just a few.

[1:46] I tried to keep the bullets pretty succinct this evening.

[1:51] And I put strong start here in parentheses because I know we kind of talked about this

[1:55] at the last meeting, but it really has been such a super strong start.

[1:59] And we are getting into the groove, so to speak.

[2:03] So what's that movie like? The Emperor has a new groove.

[2:07] And not to make it about like any sort of official positional thing, but it's really

[2:11] cool to see just how students are settling into the year.

[2:14] We've got a lot of routines that are already established, and our staff are just doing an

[2:18] amazing job. So I wanted to call out our students and our

[2:22] staff as well, because they are showing up with excitement with hopefully energy that we

[2:29] can maintain and continue to build from.

[2:33] And the whole known and supported and challenged and inspired is, I think, really

[2:39] on display as we work through different schools and classrooms and all that great

[2:44] stuff. So just wanted to, to echo that appreciation

[2:48] and that acknowledgment. And then I think most well, many of you had

[2:51] the opportunity to be at the very first lights, and I put above the peaks in

[2:55] parentheses as well, because when I was having this conversation with Matt, he was

[3:00] kind of like, I'm not sure that the lights were above the peaks.

[3:04] Sorry, Matt. I just had to because you really got me

[3:06] thinking about that. And I'm like, no, they were below the peaks,

[3:09] but they were on. And our students and our community was

[3:13] totally on display. So the very first outdoor under the

[3:17] lights volleyball match. And just what an incredible example of our

[3:22] community coming together. Really appreciated just all of the effort

[3:27] that went into that so much sponsorship and event organization.

[3:32] And then to see our student athletes as well as the coaches and parents and families and

[3:38] fans, it was just a super cool experience. So and of course, congratulations to,

[3:45] although it was a tough, it was a five setter.

[3:48] So it was so close. But there's always next year, right?

[3:53] So those are some celebrations. And then just wanted to, to share a few

[3:58] updates relative to listening and learning, continuing to set up so many different touch

[4:04] points with not only our, our staff and our families, but really also trying to extend

[4:10] that to the community as well. So a big shout out to all of our community

[4:15] partners. Just really appreciate the warm welcome.

[4:19] I think you maybe had a chance to see a recent piece in the Vail Daily, and we're

[4:24] going to continue to get information out in so many awesome ways.

[4:28] So thank you for, for all of your support as well.

[4:31] You guys have been great. Wanted to spend a moment on leadership

[4:35] transition and actually meant to add a s their leadership transition.

[4:39] So just a update to let you know that Jess Beauchamp, who I think most of you had the

[4:44] opportunity to meet a couple meetings ago, is officially onboarding with us for our very

[4:49] first official start date is actually on Monday.

[4:52] And we're just diving right in, hitting the ground running there.

[4:56] But I also want to take a moment. So those of you that had the chance to

[5:01] see a recent update in our Friday update, Melissa Reinwald, who on us is

[5:07] approaching retirement, which is like super exciting, but also I think maybe a

[5:14] little bit bittersweet.

[5:17] And so you've given so much to our district over many, many years.

[5:22] I didn't like add them all up, but there's several.

[5:26] And you've played just an awesome and such an important role to the organization.

[5:30] And so we're super grateful for your service and your knowledge and the support that you

[5:35] have given and will continue to give. So to make it official as part of the

[5:40] personnel report, Melissa will be transitioning into a month of no work

[5:46] whatsoever because those are the the para rules, and that will be in October.

[5:52] And then she will be rejoining us in November and helping us see through all of the work

[5:58] that is still very much in play. As she then finishes out the year.

[6:03] And then we'll be looking, obviously, at some transition in terms of positional structure

[6:09] and some additional support. So there's big shoes to fill, and I know that

[6:13] we'll have more of an opportunity. This is not like an official like farewell,

[6:18] but it is a chance for us to at least tip our cap and say thank you.

[6:22] And she's she's doing a good job without I don't know if we brought the Kleenex next

[6:27] next to her, but thank you so much. We we we.

[6:36] Thank you as well.

[6:41] And then just one additional update. And I think by now, everyone hopefully knows

[6:47] that there is an official ballot issue number and that is five B.

[6:52] And so we are sharing information with the community and making sure that we are, of

[6:58] course, are abiding by our Fair Campaign Practice Act guidelines and, and sharing that

[7:04] information. But it is our and my responsibility to make

[7:08] sure that our community has that clear and factual information about the measure and

[7:12] what it will fund and financial impact. So we have a great website.

[7:18] There will be additional information that we'll continue to pass out to the community,

[7:23] and I will continue to keep the board apprized of additional opportunities that

[7:28] that has for us. And I think that was the bulk of what I

[7:32] wanted to touch on. So, President Conlin, I will turn it back to

[7:35] you. >> Thank you.

[7:36] >> Thank you. That was a lot.

[7:37] That was great. Next, we'll have some board reports.

[7:41] I think if anyone has anything they'd like to add.

[7:47] >> I actually want to share that. Last week I attended an amazing fundraising

[7:53] event called Move With Me. Books put on by our amazing

[7:58] Rachel. And I just want to say, it was so inspiring

[8:03] to see you interact and connect with all these kids.

[8:06] It was wonderful. So yeah, you're amazing.

[8:15] >> You. I love reading and playing and moving with

[8:17] kiddos. So speaking of reading, Melissa has done so

[8:22] much with our literacy and our schools. And I just thinking about you having like a

[8:27] month to have a reset and reprieve and celebrate all the things you've done.

[8:32] Congratulations. I just want to say thank you.

[8:34] And for those who don't get to attend the work sessions, I feel like they're so

[8:41] inspiring. And we had a really great, healthy discussion

[8:45] about technology use. And I think it's important for those who

[8:49] maybe are watching or just who get to come to these and don't see the work sessions that we

[8:55] do take it very seriously. When people come for public comment, our

[9:00] teachers, our parents, our students, we are listening and we are working.

[9:06] So I just want to say that.

[9:15] >> All right. Well, thank you, Lou, and thank you, Rachel.

[9:18] Next, we're on to public participation.

[9:24] Are there any blue cards? >> I did not see any blue cards.

[9:27] Anybody have a blue card? No.

[9:31] All right. All quiet.

[9:33] >> Thank you. Then in that case, we will move to

[9:38] new and old business. Our next meeting is September

[9:43] 23rd, and we're going to have continue a discussion on some of

[9:50] our committee work and work session board self assessment,

[9:56] and funding allocations.

[10:00] Is there anything else anyone would like to hear about?

[10:04] We don't have anything scheduled at the moment for regular session, so if anyone has

[10:10] anything, they always love to hear about or anything they've heard about and are

[10:15] interested in hearing more.

[10:18] >> A couple of meetings ago, we got a book from one of the teachers from the high school on

[10:24] Restorative Justice and just wondering where we are on that.

[10:29] I know we've been looking at discipline and, you know, changing different policies and

[10:34] things just to make sure everything's in line.

[10:37] If we could get an update on that, that would.

[10:38] be wonderful.

[10:44] >> All right. Thanks, Harry.

[10:49] >> I think at some point, I don't know if it's for next meeting, but thinking about the MLO,

[10:56] I think some work that would be good for us to do is meet with a board, because they have

[11:03] their own board and maybe just connect with them and inform them.

[11:08] >> I wonder if they, you know, they're part of the school district and, you know, maybe it

[11:14] would be good just to do a little work session with them and give them the tools

[11:20] they need to spread the word also on in their school, just a thought.

[11:27] A thinking of the MLO. I don't have my calendar with me, but I know

[11:31] Ifac is doing two virtual. Community community engagement conversations.

[11:36] Does anyone know the dates for those?

[11:40] And I don't know where they are. I'm like looking right now to find them.

[11:42] But there are dates for the community. We can maybe put them out somewhere.

[11:49] >> Did you want to have like a discussion around that or are you just were like letting the

[11:55] public know? Oh, okay.

[11:57] Thanks.

[12:06] All right. Thank you.

[12:08] All that sounds like a lot of great, interesting stuff.

[12:14] We'll move on to some big items here.

[12:19] Our first is a new legal counsel engagement.

[12:24] And Doctor Somers is going to present the exciting news.

[12:29] >> Thank you, President Conlin, board members. So what we have in front of you on this item

[12:34] is a engagement letter that is prepared by Kaplan and Ernest.

[12:39] And as you all had an opportunity before we got started here tonight, we do have two

[12:45] representatives from the firm here, Kristen Edgar and Sam Jones.

[12:49] Rogers. So I if you're okay, Kristen and Sam, you can

[12:53] feel free to come on up as well. I'm just going to share a little bit of

[12:57] background and rationale. And then if there's any questions from the

[13:01] board, of course, give you an opportunity to say a few words as well.

[13:04] That would be. That's awesome.

[13:07] Sounds good. Just just so we have you on cue.

[13:09] Absolutely. So let me just share a little bit of

[13:12] background and some rationale. We did recently conduct a request for

[13:15] proposal of legal service, and the purpose of that was to evaluate current legal counsel

[13:21] resources and, where appropriate, expand them to make sure that the district is well

[13:25] supported as we move through a period of transition and continued work.

[13:31] So following that RFP process, we did make a recommendation and have selected Kaplan and

[13:36] Ernest to provide general counsel services.

[13:39] So the engagement agreement that is before you establishes the firm as our district's

[13:44] general counsel across a comprehensive range of matters.

[13:49] And as I just alluded to, both Kristen and Sam would serve as our primary and secondary

[13:54] points of contact. So thank you for being here with us this

[13:57] evening as well. I do want to just specify, because

[14:02] we do also see value in continuing where needed.

[14:07] We've had obviously a long relationship with Lyons and Gaddis, so existing matters that do

[14:13] fall under their purview do not necessarily have to be transferred.

[14:17] So we're going to manage those legal assignments on a case by case basis based on

[14:22] the needs of the district. And of course, we do value their history with

[14:26] the district and their knowledge of our organization.

[14:30] But what I think we were very impressed by and really looking forward to in this, this

[14:35] new relationship is Kaplan. And Ernst is really a pillar in the legal

[14:40] community in Colorado. And, you know, provides a level of service

[14:45] that I think really meets the district's needs.

[14:49] We do have the specific rates and terms that are set out in that engagement, and they are

[14:54] all on an as needed basis. So we do, again, just want to make sure that

[15:00] the board is aware and informed. Happy to answer any questions that you may

[15:04] have, but our recommended motion is to approve the engagement of Kaplan and Ernest

[15:08] to provide legal counsel services to Eagle County School District and authorize the

[15:12] superintendent to execute the engagement agreement.

[15:14] So with that, President Conlin, I can turn it back to you and maybe have Kristen and Sam

[15:19] share a little bit more. >> Yeah.

[15:21] Thank you so much. We would love for you to say something.

[15:26] If you have something prepared.

[15:30] >> Okay. I think this is working.

[15:33] Good evening, members of the board and Doctor Summers.

[15:35] I'm Kristen Edgar, I'm a partner at Kaplan and Ernest.

[15:38] And as Doctor Summers have said, we would be I would be your primary contact.

[15:42] I'll let Sam share a little bit about her. I've been working with the firm for 20 years,

[15:46] doing school law during that time, working largely as general counsel, supporting

[15:50] districts across the state, including rural and mountain districts that are much like

[15:54] your own. We're really excited.

[15:57] We have worked with Doctor Summers in the past, really looking forward to working with

[16:01] him again. Thank you so much for letting us come up and

[16:04] have dinner and meet all of you in person, and get to know a little bit your amazing

[16:09] administration. It's clear that as board members, you all

[16:12] have a very good rapport. You conduct a very efficient and great

[16:16] meeting, which we love to see as likely that you will not see us that frequently.

[16:20] We will spend a lot of our time working with Doctor Summers and supporting him and his

[16:25] team in the legal work they need, and I know we're new to you.

[16:29] We care quite a bit about relationships. We look forward to earning your trust.

[16:33] We do like to take opportunities to come up and see our clients in person when we can,

[16:37] even if it's outside of a legal relationship. So we really just wanted to be here tonight.

[16:43] And thank you so much and I'm happy to entertain questions.

[16:45] I'm going to let Sam say a little bit about herself, and then we will answer anything you

[16:49] have. >> Thank you.

[16:51] Good evening, board members. I'm Sam Jones Rogers.

[16:53] I'm an associate at Kaplan and Ernest in our school law section.

[16:56] I've been with the firm for four years previous.

[17:00] Prior to that, I served as director of Legal Services with the Colorado Association of

[17:04] School Boards. And then it seems like many lifetimes ago at

[17:07] this point. But then before I was working with Casb, I

[17:10] served as a guardian ad litem representing children's best interests in truancy,

[17:15] neglect, dependency and neglect, and truancy cases in Denver County.

[17:19] I'm one of kind of the rare attorneys, at least in the school law realm.

[17:23] I went to law school knowing that I wanted to support, knowing that I wanted to support

[17:28] schools, specifically K through 12 schools. And so that was my focus throughout law

[17:33] school. So as Kristen mentioned, we're very pleased

[17:36] to be able to have the opportunity to support you all in your important work.

[17:41] And we're we're available and at your call. >> Thank you.

[17:46] Thank you so much. And thank you for driving all the way up

[17:49] here. We really appreciate it.

[17:51] Does anyone have any questions?

[17:57] >> No questions. But I just want to say thank you.

[17:59] And it was wonderful just hearing a little bit more about you.

[18:02] It sounds like you're bringing an extensive background to us and we're looking forward to

[18:07] or I'm looking forward to working with you more.

[18:10] >> Thank you. >> Thank you so much.

[18:15] Yeah, no questions now. But they will be coming.

[18:20] Dun dun dun. >> I was.

[18:24] I was just going to ask if their billing us for coming down here just I'm totally joking.

[18:31] Totally joking. >> This is an action item with someone like to

[18:37] make a motion. >> Well, on that I move to approve the

[18:40] engagement of Kaplan and Earnest LLC to provide legal counsel services to Eagle

[18:45] County School District and authorize the superintendent to execute the engagement

[18:49] engagement agreement. >> Second.

[18:53] >> Thank you, Juan and Lou. Natalia, Miss alter.

[18:58] I miss, I miss. I miss.

[19:02] I Mr. Mcqueeney. I Mr. Peña.

[19:04] >> I miss Tvarkunas I thank you. The motion passes unanimously.

[19:15] >> All right. Next, our favorite presentation

[19:19] of the year, Mr. Tim Moffitt, we welcome you to the podium.

[19:37] >> Will the. >> Presentation come up here?

[19:41] The slide deck.

[19:45] Great. All right.

[19:50] So yes, it's the annual swap presentation for for this year just to update the

[19:56] administration and to update you the board.

[20:00] What's happening with the swap program. I'm joined tonight by my my colleague Kathy

[20:05] McCahill, who is with the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation.

[20:09] She's my partner. She keeps me in my lane.

[20:13] And, and, and so but more from Kathy in a moment.

[20:18] And I'm also joined by Jayden Vizcaino, who is going to help me with the presentation

[20:22] tonight. And he's going to share a little bit about

[20:26] his experience since graduating from Eagle Valley a year ago, a little over a year ago.

[20:32] So, Natalia, can I move this slide deck with the buttons?

[20:36] Okay, I'm going to cruise through some of this because I definitely want to give Kathy

[20:42] and Jayden a chance to speak without being rushed.

[20:46] A lot of, you know, some of what what this program does.

[20:50] I partner with Kathy at Dever, and the swap focuses on working with kids age 15

[20:57] to 24 who have mild to moderate barriers to employment.

[21:03] And we we focus on whatever they need. I have 21 year olds who have never had a job

[21:08] before. I have 16 year olds who've been working for

[21:11] three years. So it's just kind of what they need exploring

[21:15] careers. Let's get a resume together.

[21:18] Let's. How do you apply for a job, whatever, however

[21:21] that works. And I'm old school in that I like face to

[21:25] face and I like meeting with kids as much as possible in, in, in person.

[21:31] So that's, that's kind of the overview on the program.

[21:34] Kathy, I can let you do you want to jump in on this one?

[21:38] >> Hi everyone. I'm Kathy McCahill, I'm with the Division of

[21:43] Vocational Rehabilitation.

[21:46] And we basically help people gain, maintain or regain employment.

[21:53] Tim and I work a lot together. He works more with the kids.

[21:57] I work more with adults 24 and up.

[22:02] I could give you a whole nother presentation on our adult program, but I

[22:08] won't. But I did bring some brochures and my card.

[22:12] So if any of you have any questions at all, please reach out to Tim Meri.

[22:18] And we're more than happy to answer any questions that you might have.

[22:24] I think it's a great program. I do want to say that I think Tim is doing a

[22:29] phenomenal job with the kids in our schools.

[22:33] Really probably better than me.

[22:40] But he's just in there. He's doing it.

[22:43] He's with the kids, and I just think it's one of the the better things that

[22:49] we could have ever done was was hired Tim to do this job.

[22:54] >> So yes, if you have any more questions about the adult program, please reach out to me and

[23:01] I'll turn it back over. Well, Kathy, thank you. Welcome.

[23:07] Thank you. Okay.

[23:10] Let me keep cruising along here. Come on over here.

[23:13] Yep. Let me keep cruising along here.

[23:17] We've covered this. Kathy.

[23:20] The way it goes is I will get a referral for a student or a young person if they have an

[23:26] IEP or a 504. It's kind of the requirement.

[23:28] Kathy and I go over that and determine their eligibility based on those things.

[23:33] And we sign kids up. Let's see what else I work.

[23:37] It's it's kids. Kids who are in and out of school.

[23:40] Jaden is done with school, but we started working together before.

[23:45] So I work, I well, I'll go into it more later.

[23:49] All right, so let's see that one didn't show up.

[23:53] That's okay. Oh, here we go.

[23:55] While kids are in school, of course they need to focus on their coursework.

[23:59] I don't pull I'm not allowed to pull kids out of academic classes.

[24:03] So I pulled them out of a lab, homeroom or or advisory, something like that.

[24:09] That's when I can meet with them, pull them. We'll go sit in the conference room and get

[24:12] caught up. We talk about self-advocacy, career training,

[24:16] work based learning experience, and I'll talk a little bit more about that and just sort of

[24:21] general case management. If a kid needs mental health services, I can

[24:26] connect them with those services. Kathy.

[24:29] Kathy. Services and so on.

[24:33] And after they're out of school, all sorts of things, whether it's career, you know, career

[24:38] path, exploring different things, how to quit a job properly, how to move on to something

[24:43] else, just depends on what they need. I shadow kids a lot.

[24:49] They hate it because who's the white guy in the corner?

[24:53] That's me. And because that's what I do, I go stand

[24:58] around and observe. I spent well, all right, I'll tell you in a

[25:01] minute. I spent the more I know, I spent the morning

[25:03] this morning with a young lady who's just. I'll show you, I'll show you this.

[25:07] But it's a lot. Onboarding is hard.

[25:08] You may remember last year I talked about.

[25:13] Can the kid do the job? They can.

[25:15] Can they get through the application, the onboarding, the i-9s, the government forms,

[25:20] the training, the manuals? Can they get through all that?

[25:23] They've never done it before. I don't care what the kid is.

[25:26] It was new to all of us. At one point, you know?

[25:29] And so I spent the morning this morning with a young lady.

[25:32] I'll show you. But let's talk to Jaden.

[25:36] Jaden. All right.

[25:37] Jaden has some remarks that he's prepared, and I'm delighted to work with Jaden.

[25:42] And he's had a he's had an interesting and incredible path, incredible growth,

[25:49] determination and heart talking to the thing and take and take your time.

[25:55] Everybody wants to hear what you have to say. >> Okay.

[25:59] Hello everyone. My name is Jaden Vizcaino and I've

[26:02] graduated from Eagle Valley High School in the spring of 2025.

[26:08] I live here in Gypsum with my family.

[26:12] I joined the swap program while I was still in high school at EVHS.

[26:18] Through my future pathways, I earned a scholarship to attend CMU tech Welding

[26:23] program with a bunch of other peers interested in the trade.

[26:28] Working with Mr. Moffitt, we build my first resume, explored other jobs in the community,

[26:35] practice interviewing, and walk through every step it took to get ready for college.

[26:42] After my first semester at CMU tech, I made a tough decision to come back home.

[26:49] I realized the specific path wasn't right fit for me just yet.

[26:54] As the youngest person in my family, I had everything taken care of me.

[27:00] I had to. I had to take on new responsibilities very

[27:05] quickly, even though I met a lot of cool people, I didn't have a roommate, so it was

[27:11] very much so. I was very much on my own, which was both

[27:15] good and bad.

[27:18] As soon as I got back, Mr. Moffat and I got busy looking at new jobs opportunities.

[27:25] I decided to apply at Amazon and I got the job.

[27:29] My experience since then, since graduating this path this past year, I

[27:34] was working at Amazon and helped me grow up fast.

[27:39] I've learned how to manage my time and my schedule.

[27:43] I work. Sorry, but I work with a lot of kind

[27:49] of coworkers, managers, and I handle my own baking.

[27:56] And speaking up for myself, having a steady job allows me to take care of my brother and

[28:02] help my family, as well as myself.

[28:05] Most important, these skills have helped me become an independent man.

[28:12] Working with Swap Program has helped me with perspective and learning that there's

[28:19] other people who need help like me.

[28:24] Some kids know exactly what they want to do, but I wasn't sure I knew I wanted to

[28:31] work with my hands, but I wasn't sure what jobs or path I should take first.

[28:39] Programs like Swap Matter because life doesn't always go according to plan A.

[28:46] Having a coach in my corner helped me turn a tough decision decision into a

[28:52] successful career step. Thank you for supporting this program so

[28:58] other students can find their path to.

[29:07] >> Thank you, thank you. Of course, of course.

[29:11] So there's a bit of back story. I hope I may run a little long.

[29:15] Is that okay? Natalia, is that all right?

[29:18] All right.

[29:21] There's just a lot. And.

[29:23] And I would like to see a show of hands from admin and from the school board who had their

[29:29] act together right out of high school.

[29:33] You might have had a plan. I had a plan.

[29:37] Oh, I'm going to go to the University of Minnesota.

[29:38] Well, and then I. So nobody raised their hand.

[29:42] You didn't have your act together out of high school.

[29:44] All of your things.

[29:48] Everybody in this room, everybody in this room has a college degree.

[29:53] Most of them have a post-graduate degree. Many letters after their names.

[29:59] I bet most people in here don't even have an educational degree.

[30:03] But they went into something else. And this is where they found their passion.

[30:07] Everybody in this room is here for you guys. Everybody here works for the students in this

[30:12] district. I hope that feels good.

[30:15] It does. Yeah, that's what everybody's here for.

[30:18] That's the whole reason. Okay, so tell me, the other day when we were

[30:23] talking, you said that you learned that there were other people.

[30:28] Like you. Can you talk about that a little bit?

[30:32] >> Like it's good to have other people that like, support you?

[30:38] I learned that there's like people that need help and guidance just like me.

[30:44] And with this program, it helps you.

[30:47] And it just like it. It's a relief to me knowing that I will be

[30:53] helped. And yeah, it's just a good program.

[30:57] >> Awesome. Thank you.

[30:58] >> Thank you. So getting into college, some of you have

[31:02] kids are in college. Some of you are kids heading to college.

[31:06] Jaden and I, last summer, last spring we met over at.

[31:13] After we graduated, we met over at the Gypsum Rec and he confronted an admissions advisor,

[31:19] a student success advisor, an academic and program advisor, a financial aid advisor, and

[31:26] a scholarship advisor. Through my Future Pathways.

[31:30] That was just a few emails. That's just a few.

[31:34] We sat together over at Gypsum Rec and we had to figure out meal plans at Miss at CMU tech,

[31:40] you had to pick and you had to send a deposit.

[31:44] We had to figure out dorm selection. You had to pick and you had to send a

[31:48] deposit. Now you have to download an app to find your

[31:52] roommate and connect with potential roommates and do all of that.

[31:56] You have to get your student ID card, and you have to set up your student ID portal with

[32:02] your student ID, your brand new student ID, email, and then they load your food program

[32:08] onto your onto your card so that he can wave it at the when he wants to get something to

[32:15] eat, got to figure out parking, got to figure out roommates, got to get immunization

[32:21] records sent to the campus. Then there was all the requirements that my

[32:26] future pathway had for their scholarship cohort.

[32:30] Because all that. We had to sit and figure out what tech

[32:35] requirements students were to have on their laptop, how much horsepower, how much spit.

[32:41] This is what we did. Hours of sitting and doing this.

[32:45] And he did it. It's a lot, wasn't it?

[32:48] >> Yeah it was. >> It's a ton.

[32:50] >> So the DVR plan. >> Oh, there's also.

[32:54] there's there's Kathy's. There's Kathy's paperwork.

[32:57] Okay, I appreciate it. Let me let me keep cruising through here a

[33:00] little bit. >> Thank you.

[33:02] We have to add public. >> Speaking to your resume.

[33:06] Did you just did. This is like a real meeting.

[33:08] All right.

[33:13] So. This is my whole meeting.

[33:16] This is my whole morning. This young lady, she did the youth power.

[33:23] Education program over the two summers ago.

[33:28] She got hired at Red sandstone to help with their early childhood program all year with a

[33:32] brutal commute, two busses to get home. And this morning we spent the morning

[33:37] onboarding her at the Vale Child Development Center.

[33:43] So she is like full time at the Vale Child. But she's smart.

[33:46] She built her resume all on all on early childhood education.

[33:52] So I'm super psyched for her. This is a good day.

[33:56] We do campus tours. I am grateful forever for Shannon

[34:00] Grant. Who? Who?

[34:03] Lets me draft off of her program often. She's extremely generous that way.

[34:08] Campus tours at CMU tech. Jaden did one of those a couple falls ago.

[34:13] I love this, the young man in this young man you probably see at Costco regularly.

[34:19] He has just been promoted to a supervisory position.

[34:21] He's in the swap program and he's training another young man who is also in the swap

[34:26] program. I know I couldn't get supervisor on his red

[34:29] vest over there. I'm like, dude, what's that?

[34:32] >> Oh, I got promoted. I was like.

[34:35] >> Why didn't you tell me? This young man, I think you may remember from

[34:39] last year, he's a lance corporal in the Marines, and he's doing munitions and blowing

[34:43] things up. This young man just graduated this spring and

[34:48] picked up a PSI plumbing intern apprenticeship.

[34:51] He will be paid to learn. And he's on a path.

[34:55] He's on a really good path. >> I'm just.

[34:58] Yeah. >> This young man, another one where I have

[35:02] Shannon Grant to thank through the career wise program he finished in May.

[35:06] He finished his two year apprenticeship at Vale Health as an inventory specialist.

[35:12] And according to plan, they offered him a full time job.

[35:16] So he is now a full time job and all the goodies that come from working at Vale

[35:20] Health. Ski bonuses or ski Christmas bonuses.

[35:24] And yeah, she's she's set very happy services while kids are in school.

[35:31] I mentioned some of these things. We focus on this stuff, getting kids ready,

[35:35] but they, they need to keep their head in their classroom first.

[35:38] So I'm hearing good feedback that a lot of what we what I can cover that sometimes the

[35:44] teachers cannot get to. We do some work based learning experiences.

[35:50] I'm often able to pay kids for this. And we focus on following instructions.

[35:54] What do you do when you screwed up? How do we undo this?

[35:56] We got to redo it. Well, what did you do wrong?

[35:58] And let's figure it out. And so dealing with paperwork, and time

[36:02] management and strengthening their adult communication, which is a big deal.

[36:10] I have monthly workshops at both of the big high schools.

[36:13] These are some of the topics that we cover. Next week I'll be doing one on being

[36:18] proactive. That was a suggestion that came to me from

[36:21] the team at Battle Mountain. They said kids need to be thinking ahead a

[36:26] little bit more. So we're going to that's a work skill and

[36:29] it's also a school skill. So that will be next week.

[36:35] Oh, this was a thing I did because I don't have very many young ladies in the program.

[36:41] I don't. So I'm leaning on trying to do some work

[36:43] based learning experiences for the ladies. So we did an acrylic nail thing and that was

[36:49] a hot mess. I bought all the stuff.

[36:52] I don't know how to teach. We had a blast.

[36:55] They had a great time, but it was, oh yeah, I had help, I did, I had help, we did the same

[37:01] thing with the eyelash workshop, with the rubber faces.

[37:05] And you got to do all this. It was a lot of fun, but it's wow, there's a

[37:11] lot to getting long eyelashes.

[37:15] Some community volunteering, the animal shelter.

[37:18] I've been volunteering there with a young man this year, and that's been great because you

[37:24] just see how they pick up, and he knows more than I do.

[37:27] And he runs. Yeah.

[37:29] Anyway, food pantry habitat, of course, those have been good things this year.

[37:34] I'm a little tough on numbers. My contractual outcomes.

[37:38] I don't have a lot of information this year because there are some changes at the federal

[37:44] level that are affecting DVR and CD ability to get me updated information.

[37:49] There's a lot of changes happening right now that are impacting our what we do.

[37:56] So I know 44 kids were served in the program.

[38:01] I don't have some of this information closed. Rehabilitated is a successful case closure.

[38:05] I met it by half, but that's also needs to be adjusted once we're working on that.

[38:13] I'm delighted that 86% of my caseload was working this summer.

[38:17] 80. Almost every kid on my caseload, in some form

[38:20] or another, and kids in college or in college programs.

[38:24] I have one young man at work at Job Corps, and that's going well.

[38:28] He's he he's going to come out of it with a flooring certificate after a two year program

[38:33] of learning how to install floors, all kinds of floors.

[38:38] My targets this year are very similar to last year shooting for delivering services to 50

[38:43] kids. My current caseload is 31 right now.

[38:47] Collaborating with the Sped teams is like one of the coolest parts of the job I am seen and

[38:53] included. The Sped teams are amazing in both big

[38:57] buildings and the ongoing workshop. I'm going to still stay on the state task

[39:01] force. Partnerships are a big deal.

[39:05] I could put many more up here, but these are some of the biggies that you all recognize.

[39:11] I could put all these different employers up there as well because they're all partners.

[39:15] Okay. And so that's a few other things.

[39:19] I it's a year round program. I work all year community

[39:23] based. And you see, you see what all of this is and,

[39:27] generator, you know, cultivating relationships with, with employers and

[39:31] finding the right employers is a big deal.

[39:36] If kids finish up and they're on a glide path, Kathy and I will close them as a

[39:41] successful case closure. But if they need to circle back, and we

[39:45] talked about this, if they need to circle back and we just do that and they reengage,

[39:51] that's it. I'm over time.

[39:53] I know I'm so over time, how long did I I should have put my timer on.

[39:58] Does anyone have any questions for Jayden or Kathy or me?

[40:07] >> No, but you're amazing and I'm so proud of you.

[40:10] My son graduated in 2025 and just hearing you up here and be so articulate and clear.

[40:15] And I was actually talking to my son today, and I don't know where I heard this, I don't

[40:20] know the reference, but it was obstacles, our detours that you're headed in the right

[40:26] direction because it's hard and you're doing it.

[40:29] So good for you. >> Yeah.

[40:30] Thank you. >> Thank you.

[40:34] >> Yeah. Jaden, thanks for coming.

[40:36] It was great meeting you. You should be very proud of yourself.

[40:39] You've accomplished a lot since you've graduated.

[40:42] So good for you. And then team, as always, thank you for

[40:46] everything you do. You're such an asset to our district.

[40:49] We are very fortunate to have you. Thank you for everything

[50:13] >> Yeah, I was trying to make a list.

[50:18] Yeah.

[51:08] So that's the.

BOE Meeting 9/9/2026

Transcript