Apr 21, 2026 Board Meetings

[00:00:02]

GOOD EVENING. I CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER. LET THE RECORD SHOW THAT A QUORUM IS PRESENT AND THAT NOTICE OF THIS MEETING HAS BEEN POSTED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE TEXAS OPEN MEETINGS ACT.

THE TIME IS 6:15. THE SMITH ELEMENTARY CHOIR WILL LEAD US IN THE PLEDGE AND THEN A SHORT PERFORMANCE. THANK YOU.

HELLO. GOOD EVENING, SUPERINTENDENT DR. GUTIERREZ, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, AND ALL OF OUR GUESTS.

MY NAME IS TERESA SANDRAGORSIAN, AND I AM THE MUSIC DIRECTOR AT SMITH ELEMENTARY. TONIGHT I AM REALLY PROUD TO PRESENT MY STUDENTS THAT HAVE BEEN WORKING HARD ON THIS TUNE. THIS IS GOING TO BE AN ELLA FITZGERALD TUNE THAT SHE RECORDED EARLY IN HER CAREER CALLED A- TISKET, A-TASKET.

IT'S A JAZZ VERSION OF THAT CHILDREN'S NURSERY RHYME.

THANK YOU FOR SO MUCH FOR HAVING US, AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT OF OUR FINE ARTS PROGRAMS. WE DO HOPE YOU ENJOY OUR PERFORMANCE OF A-TISKET A-TASKET.

EXCUSE ME, WE'LL START WITH THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.

I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. HONOR THE TEXAS FLAG.

I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THEE, TEXAS, ONE STATE UNDER GOD, ONE AND INDIVISIBLE.

A BISCUIT, A PACKET, A GREEN AND YELLOW PACKET. I WROTE A LETTER TO MY MOMMY AND ON THE WAY I DROPPED IT.

I DROPPED IT, I DROPPED IT, YES, ON THE WAY I DROPPED IT. A LITTLE GIRL, SHE PICKED IT UP AND PUT IT IN HER POCKET. SHE WAS DRIVING ON DOWN THE AVENUE.

WITH NOT A SINGLE THING TO DO, SHE WENT PICK, PICK, PICKING ALL AROUND. WHEN SHE SPOTTED ON THE GROUND A TICKET, A TICKET, A GREEN AND YELLOW BASKET. I WROTE A LETTER TO MY MOMMY, AND ON THE WAY I DROPPED IT.

I DROPPED IT, I DROPPED IT, YES, ON THE WAY I DROPPED IT. A LITTLE GIRL PICKED IT UP. AND PUT IT IN HER POCKET.

WAS IT— NO, NO, NO, NO. WAS IT— NO, NO, NO, NO. WAS IT RED? NO, NO, NO, NO.

IT'S A LITTLE YELLOW BASKET. A LITTLE YELLOW BASKET. THANK YOU SO, SO MUCH, ADRIAN.

[00:05:36]

[III.A. Superintendent's Students of the Month]

THIS SPECIAL RECOGNITION ALLOWS US TO CELEBRATE THE EXCELLENCE AND POSITIVE CONTRIBUTIONS OF STUDENTS ACROSS OUR DISTRICT. THESE STUDENTS EXEMPLIFY OUTSTANDING ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT, STRONG CHARACTER, LEADERSHIP, AND A DEEP COMMITMENT TO LEARNING. THEY TRULY REFLECT THE VALUES OF DEL VALLE ISD AND HELP CREATE A NURTURING, SUPPORTIVE, AND HIGH-QUALITY EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT FOR ALL.

ES UN HONOR PARA MÍ, PARA MÍ, EMPEZAR ESTA NOCHE RECONOCIENDO A NUESTROS ESTUDIANTES DEL MES.

ESTE RECONOCIMIENTO ESPECIAL NOS PERMITE CELEBRAR LA EXCELENCIA Y LAS CONTRIBUCIONES POSITIVAS DE LOS ESTUDIANTES EN TODO EL DISTRITO. ESTOS ESTUDIANTES EJEMPLIFICAN LOGROS ACADÉMICOS SOBRESALIENTES, UN CARÁCTER SÓLIDO Y LIDERAZGO, Y UN PROFUNDO COMPROMISO CON EL APRENDIZAJE.

ELLOS REALMENTE REFLEJAN LOS VALORES DE DEL VALLE ISD Y AYUDAN A CREAR UN ENTORNO EDUCATIVO ENRIQUECEDOR, SOLIDARIO Y DE ALTA CALIDAD PARA TODOS. NOW WELCOME OUR DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT, DR.

MARK CANTU, TO RECOGNIZE THESE STUDENTS.

GOOD EVENING, FAMILIES, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, DR.

GUTIERREZ. WE'RE GOING TO GO AHEAD AND KICK THIS OFF.

THIS IS ONE OF OUR FAVORITE AWARDS TO PASS OUT, AND WE'RE GOING TO START WITH FROM GILBRIDGE ELEMENTARY, CARLOS ANGELES MARTINEZ. FROM DEL VALLE MIDDLE SCHOOL, NICHOLAS ESPINO JR. FROM HILLCREST ELEMENTARY, GUADALUPE GARCIA MUÑOZ.

FROM NEWTON COLLINS ELEMENTARY, SAGNIT RAWAT.

FROM CREEDMOOR ELEMENTARY, ALEJANDRO PEREZ REYES. FROM DALEY MIDDLE SCHOOL, STAR FONTENOT.

[00:10:14]

FROM POPPEN ELEMENTARY, LUZ VICTORIA HERNANDEZ. [FOREIGN] FROM SMITH ELEMENTARY, VALERIE MARTINEZ-BARON.

AND THAT'S EVERYBODY. LET'S GIVE THEM ONE BIG ROUND OF APPLAUSE AND WE'LL TAKE SOME PICTURES.

[III.B. Recognition of Students Who Read 1000 Books Before Kindergarten]

DR. KATRINA BAILEY, YOU'RE UP.

OH, IT HELPS IF YOU TURN THE MICROPHONE ON. GOOD EVENING, EVERYONE. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR COMING, UH, TO THE BOARD MEETING TONIGHT AND HELPING US CELEBRATE SOME OF THE YOUNGEST LEARNERS.

[00:15:01]

AND OBVIOUSLY THIS WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE WITHOUT THE HELP AND SUPPORT OF THEIR PARENTS, SO WE THANK EACH AND EVERY PARENT THAT IS HERE TONIGHT TO HELP CELEBRATE WITH YOUR CHILD AND THEY'RE TEACHERS. SO WE ARE GOING TO CALL UP OUR KIDDOS ONE AT A TIME, BUT WHEN YOU COME, PLEASE COME WITH YOUR PARENTS AND THEN JUST STAY AND WE'LL GET EVERYBODY KIND OF LINED UP. IS THAT GOOD? LIKE, WE'LL JUST DO A BIG GROUP PHOTO.

OKAY. ALL RIGHT. SO TO START WITH— OH YEAH, YEAH, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.

YEAH, WE'LL DO THAT. YOU'RE THE BEST. THIS IS MISS ANNA, OUR CENTER COORDINATOR.

HERE TO CELEBRATE WITH US TONIGHT. GOOD EVENING, EVERYBODY. ALL RIGHT, FIRST UP IS SOL GALLEGOS.

NEXT UP IS THEODORA ROHN-ZORELLA. NEXT WE HAVE ELIJAH REYNA. AND THEN FOR OUR LITTLE OVERACHIEVER, ROBBIE SANCHEZ.

[III.C. Science Fair Winners]

[00:20:09]

HI, GOOD EVENING.

SO STUDENTS FROM DALE VALLE MIDDLE SCHOOL, NEWTON COLLINS, GILBERT, HORNSBY, POPHAM, AND SMITH COMPETED AT THE GREATER AUSTIN REGIONAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING FAIR. SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING FAIR. AND SO WHAT THIS MEANS IS STUDENTS COMPETE AT THEIR SCHOOL IN THEIR SCHOOL SCIENCE FAIR, AND THEN THEY GO ON TO COMPETE AGAINST STUDENTS ACROSS THE REGION, UM, IN THE— WHAT WE CALL THE REGIONAL SCIENCE FAIR.

AND 15 STUDENTS FROM DEL VALLE ISD RECEIVED FIRST PLACE HONORS AT THE SCIENCE FAIR. AND SO TONIGHT WE'RE GOING TO RECOGNIZE THOSE STUDENTS.

SO FIRST UP, FROM NEWTON COLLINS, WE HAVE RILEY GILLISON.

SORRY. AND THE TITLE OF HER PROJECT WAS FLOATY BROOMS. NEXT UP, FROM— ALSO FROM NEWTON COLLINS ELEMENTARY, WITH THE TITLE OF THEIR PROJECT BEING WHICH BOTTLE IS THE BEST? WE HAVE JET FAGAN AND LEVI OTSUKA.

NEXT UP, FROM NEWTON COLLINS ELEMENTARY, WITH THE TITLE OF THE DIZZINESS PLAYGROUND, INAR JANHANGIR. ALL RIGHTY, FROM GILBERT ELEMENTARY, SUPERSIZE MY CRYSTAL, THE BORAX— THE BORAX TEST, EXCUSE ME, ALINA JAIMES. ALSO FROM GILBERT ELEMENTARY, THE CRYSTAL RACE. TEMPERATURE VERSUS GROWTH, ALLISON LOPEZ AND EVELYN MARTINEZ.

EVELYN'S OUT. EVELYN'S OUT.

ALRIGHTY, ALSO FROM GILBERT ELEMENTARY WITH THE TITLE OF FAYA I LIKE THAT.

WE HAVE RAYANN MUHAMMAD. FROM HORNSBY ELEMENTARY, TITLED THE PENNY CLEANER PROJECT, DELILAH ROSE HENRY. FROM POP'EM ELEMENTARY, DNA DETECTIVES, MADELINE RIVERA.

FROM SMITH ELEMENTARY, THE BREAKABLE LIFE OF W.E.D., IRAM TIRADO. ALSO FROM SMITH ELEMENTARY, WHY DOES FRUIT TURN BROWN? ISABELLA CRUZ.

FROM SMITH ELEMENTARY, HOW DOES MILK TURN INTO PLASTIC?

[00:25:02]

THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR FAMILIES FOR JOINING US. WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOUR STUDENTS. GRACIAS A TODOS NUESTRAS FAMILIAS POR ACOMPAÑARNOS.

ESTAMOS MUY ORGULLOSOS DE ESTUDIANTES. GIVE THEM TIME TO EXIT. NEXT, WE HAVE PUBLIC

[IV. Public Comment]

INDIVIDUALS WHO WISH TO PARTICIPATE DURING PUBLIC COMMENT SHALL SIGN UP BEFORE THE MEETING BEGINS AS SPECIFIED IN THE BOARD'S PROCEDURES ON PUBLIC COMMENT AND SHALL INDICATE THE AGENDA ITEM TOPIC ON WHICH THEY WISH TO ADDRESS THE BOARD, EXCEPT AS PERMITTED BY BOARD POLICY AND THE BOARD'S PROCEDURES ON PUBLIC COMMENT.

AN INDIVIDUAL'S COMMENTS TO THE BOARD SHALL NOT EXCEED 3 MINUTES PER MINUTE.

SECRETARY WEGNER WILL GIVE YOU A 1-MINUTE WARNING, AND FIRST UP WE HAVE HELEN HERNANDEZ SPEAKING ON HOURLY SUPPORT STAFF.

DO WE HAVE HELEN HERNANDEZ? GOOD EVENING, UH, BOARD MEMBERS, SUPERINTENDENT.

APOLOGIES, MY FIRST TIME SPEAKING TOWARDS THE BOARD, SO I WAS CONFUSED OF WHAT DIRECTION TO GO FOR. I'M SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF THE WAGES, MAYBE POTENTIALLY A RAISE FOR PARAPROFESSIONALS.

DO I START THE TIMER, OR IS THAT JUST— OKAY, THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT, SO THE REASON I'M HERE TODAY IS TO SPEAK ABOUT MY EXPERIENCES WORKING WITH PARAPROFESSIONALS, UH, SPECIFICALLY TAS THAT WORK AT OUR SCHOOLS.

UM, WHEN I THINK ABOUT THEM, I THINK ABOUT THEM IN THE CLASSROOM DOING THE SAME AMOUNT OF WORK AS TEACHERS. I CAN THINK OF 3 DIFFERENT TAS RIGHT NOW CURRENTLY IN THE CLASSROOM TEACHING FULL CURRICULUMS, TEACHING STUDENTS, TEACHING, MAKING LESSON PLANS, DOING EVERYTHING THAT A TEACHER DOES, YET BEING PAID AS A TA.

IT SEEMS UNFAIR FOR THEM TO ONLY BE CONSIDERED FOR A 1.5% INCREASE FOR A WAGE WHEN THEY DO JUST AS MUCH WORK AS TEACHERS. THEY'RE THE PEOPLE THAT MAKE RELATIONSHIPS WITH STUDENTS. I COULD THINK OF A TA THAT SAID, UM, TODAY THAT IN THE GROUP CHAT THAT WE HAVE, THEY WERE SAYING THAT THEY'VE BEEN SEEING THESE CHILDREN GROW AND THEY FEEL CONNECTED WITH THEM, AND THEY ARE HERE EVERY DAY FOR THE KIDS.

THESE ARE THE TEACHERS THAT WILL MEET WITH KIDS WORK

[00:30:02]

THANK YOU. THANK YOU. NEXT UP, WE HAVE MARIA ALLEN SPEAKING ON SPECIAL EDUCATION.

IS IT ON? OKAY. GOOD EVENING, MADAM PRESIDENT, BOARD OF TRUSTEES, AND SUPERINTENDENT DR. GUTIERREZ.

I AM SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF MYSELF. MY NAME IS MARIA ALLEN. I AM AN EARLY CHILDHOOD SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER HERE UNDER VALLE ISD.

I'VE DEDICATED 21 YEARS TO THIS DISTRICT. I DIDN'T START AS A TEACHER. I STARTED AS THE MAIL CLERK, THEN WORKED IN THE FRONT OFFICE, BECAME A PRE-K AIDE, A BEHAVIOR AIDE, WORKED IN PEIMS, AND RAN THE AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAM.

I WENT BACK TO SCHOOL AS A WORKING MOM, GRADUATED ALONGSIDE MY OLDEST DAUGHTER, AND FOLLOWED MY DREAM OF BECOMING A TEACHER. I DIDN'T JUST CHOOSE THIS PROFESSION, I WORKED FOR IT. TODAY I SERVE SOME OF THE MOST VULNERABLE LEARNERS, OUR YOUNGEST STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES.

MY CLASSROOM IS WHERE CHILDREN LEARN HOW TO COMMUNICATE.

REGULATE THEIR EMOTIONS, INTERACT WITH OTHERS, AND TAKE THEIR FIRST STEPS TOWARDS INDEPENDENCE. THESE ARE LIFE-CHANGING SKILLS, EVEN IF THEY DON'T SHOW UP ON A STANDARDIZED TEST.

AND THAT'S WHERE MY CONCERN COMES IN.

WITH THE CURRENT STRUCTURE OF THE TEACHER INCENTIVE ALLOTMENT, EDUCATORS LIKE ME WHO ARE NOT IN TESTING GRADE LEVELS ARE OFTEN LEFT OUT OF MEANINGFUL OPPORTUNITIES FOR ADDITIONAL COMPENSATION.

DESPITE THE COMPLEXITY OF OUR WORK, THE DATA WE COLLECT, AND THE PROGRESS OUR STUDENTS MAKE, OUR IMPACT IS HARDER TO MEASURE IN THE WAYS THIS SYSTEM REWARDS.

IT LIMITS OUR ABILITY TO EARN A LIVABLE WAGE, NOT BECAUSE OUR WORK IS LESS IMPORTANT, BUT BECAUSE IT CANNOT BE CAPTURED BY A TEST.

THE REALITY IS MAKING MANY OF US STOP AND ASK HARD QUESTIONS.

CAN WE AFFORD TO STAY? CAN WE CONTINUE TO DO THIS WORK THAT WE LOVE KNOWING OUR COMPENSATION DOES NOT REFLECT OUR IMPACT? I'M STANDING HERE TODAY TO TELL YOU HONESTLY, I CANNOT AFFORD TO LIVE ON THIS SALARY LONG TERM WITHOUT EQUITABLE OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH AND RECOGNITION.

AND I AM NOT ALONE. WHEN COMPENSATION SYSTEMS PRIORITIZE ONLY CERTAIN ROLES OR GRADE LEVELS, IT SENDS A MESSAGE, WHETHER INTENTIONAL OR NOT, ABOUT THOSE WHO WORK— WHOSE WORK IS VALUED.

BUT EVERY EDUCATOR IN THIS DISTRICT MATTERS, ESPECIALLY THOSE OF US IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND SPECIAL EDUCATION, WHERE THE FOUNDATION OF ALL FUTURE LEARNING IS BUILT.

DEL VALLE HAS ALWAYS BEEN A LEADER, A DISTRICT THAT OTHERS LOOK TO BEFORE MAKING DECISIONS. AND RIGHT NOW YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEAD AGAIN, TO LEAD BY ENSURING THAT ALL EDUCATORS, NOT JUST SOME, ARE VALUED, SUPPORTED, AND ABLE TO SUSTAIN A CAREER IN THIS DISTRICT. I'M ASKING YOU TO CONSIDER THE LONG-TERM IMPACT OF THESE DECISIONS.

IF WE WANT TO RETAIN EXPERIENCED, DEDICATED EDUCATORS, IF WE WANT STABILITY FOR OUR STUDENTS, WE MUST ENSURE COMPENSATION SYSTEMS ARE FAIR FAIR, INCLUSIVE, AND REFLECT ALL THE WORK HAPPENING.

I FOLLOW MY— BECOME A TEACHER IN THIS DISTRICT. I WANT TO STAY.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU. NEXT UP WE HAVE IRVIN CAYLEY SPEAKING ON SLP COMPENSATION.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN OF THE BOARD, DR. GUTIERREZ, MY NAME IS KAYLEE IRVIN AND I AM CURRENTLY WRAPPING UP MY 6TH YEAR IN DEL VALLE AS A BILINGUAL SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST. I'M HERE TODAY TO SPEAK REGARDING COMPENSATION AND TO ADVOCATE ON BEHALF OF OUR DISTRICT SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGISTS AS WELL AS MY FELLOW EDUCATORS AND REQUESTING THAT THE DISTRICT APPROVE A 4% RAISE FOR ALL EMPLOYEES.

BEFORE I DO THAT, IT'S BEEN A WHILE SINCE I SPOKE TO YOU.

FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR A WHILE, I'VE SPOKEN YEAR AFTER YEAR ON THIS TOPIC. SO I WANT TO SHARE WHAT A SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST DOES.

SLPS, SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGISTS, ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR WORKING WITH STUDENTS IN OUR SCHOOLS WHO HAVE SPEECH AND/OR LANGUAGE IMPAIRMENTS.

STUDENTS LIKE IN MS. ALLEN'S CLASS.

WE WORK DIRECTLY WITH STUDENTS EVERY DAY, HOWEVER OUR ROLES ARE VARIED.

WE PROVIDE SPEECH THERAPY TO QUALIFIED STUDENTS ON OUR CAMPUSES. WE SUBMIT SHARS BILLING, THAT'S IMPORTANT.

WE COMPLETE IEP PAPERWORK, WE PLAN AND FACILITATE ARD MEETINGS, WE EVALUATE STUDENTS TO DETERMINE ELIGIBILITY FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION, AND WE COLLABORATE WITH OTHER PROFESSIONALS ON OUR CAMPUSES. NOW, THAT BEING SAID, AS YOU CONSIDER RAISES FOR EMPLOYEES, I ASK THAT YOU CONSIDER— WHEN YOU CONSIDER COMPENSATION, PLEASE ENSURE THAT ANY RAISES ARE APPLIED ACROSS THE BOARD TO ALL EMPLOYEES. MANY EMPLOYEES WITH LESS TYPICAL ROLES, SUCH AS SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGISTS WHO DON'T QUALIFY FOR TIA, WHO DON'T QUALIFY FOR ALL OF THOSE LEGISLATIVE REQUIRED RAISES.

WE'RE ON ADMINISTRATIVE PAY SCALES RATHER THAN THE TEACHER PAY SCALES. SO WHEN RAISES ARE GIVEN TO TEACHERS, WHO TO BE CLEAR ARE VERY DESERVING AND NEED THOSE RAISES, BUT NOT

[00:35:03]

SO IN SUMMARY, I'LL LEAVE YOU WITH TWO KEY POINTS. ALL EDUCATORS DESERVE A 4% RAISE.

YOU HAVE ONE MINUTE REMAINING.

MANY EMPLOYEES WHO WORK DIRECTLY WITH STUDENTS ON A DAILY BASIS, INCLUDING SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGISTS, EDUCATIONAL DIAGNOSTICIANS AND SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS ARE ON THE ADMIN PAY SCALE, NOT THE TEACHER PAY SCALE, SO THIS RAISE NEEDS TO BE GRANTED ACROSS THE BOARD. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME, AND I APPRECIATE, UM, YOUR SUPPORT.

THANK YOU.

NEXT WE HAVE MELISSA MILLER SPEAKING ON THE 2026-2027 SALARY CHANGES. THANK YOU, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN OF THE BOARD. DR.

GUTIERREZ, MY NAME IS MELISSA MILLER. I AM ALSO A BILINGUAL SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST HERE IN OUR DISTRICT. I AM ALSO HERE TO ADVOCATE FOR MY FELLOW DISTRICT SLPS AND OTHER FELLOW EDUCATORS.

APPROVE THE $3 PER HOUR WAGE INCREASE FOR HOURLY WORKERS AND THE 4% RAISE FOR STAFF AND ADMINISTRATORS, INCLUDING YOUR SPECIAL EDUCATION EVALUATORS AND SERVICE PROVIDERS. AS MY COLLEAGUES HAVE SHARED WITH THE BOARD IN THE PAST, AS MS. ERVIN JUST SHARED, SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGISTS WEAR MANY HATS.

WE ARE EDUCATORS, WE ARE EVALUATORS, WE ARE CASE MANAGERS, AND WE PROVIDE SPECIALIZED SERVICES IN OUR— TO STUDENTS IN OUR DISTRICTS, FROM OUR YOUNGEST 3-YEAR-OLDS IN OUR HEAD START AND OUR ECSE CLASSROOMS ALL THE WAY UP TO OUR HIGH SCHOOLERS AND OUR YOUNG ADULTS ENROLLED IN THE OPPORTUNITY CENTER.

UNFORTUNATELY, I DO SPEAK FOR OUR ENTIRE TEAM WHEN I SHARE THAT WE ARE UNDERSTAFFED, WE ARE UNDER-SUPPORTED, WE ARE OVERWHELMED, AND WE'RE BURNING OUT. WE ARE IN A RAPIDLY GROWING DISTRICT WITH HIGH-NEED STUDENTS, AND OUR DISTRICT RESOURCES AND SPECIAL EDUCATION NEED TO REFLECT THAT GROWTH.

I ENCOURAGE THE BOARD TO REMEMBER THAT SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGISTS, SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS, EDUCATIONAL DIAGNOSTICS, AND OTHER MEMBERS OF OUR SPECIAL EDUCATION EVALUATION TEAM— AGAIN, WE'RE PAID ON THAT ADMINISTRATIVE SCALE— WE DID NOT RECEIVE THE TEACHER RAISE THAT WAS APPROVED LAST YEAR.

SO AS YOU CONSIDER YOUR BUDGET OPTIONS FOR THIS COMING SCHOOL YEAR, I ASK THAT YOU CONSIDER THAT ALL DEL VALLE STAFF DESERVE THE PROPOSED WAGE AND SALARY INCREASES, AND THAT ANY RAISE APPROVALS BE GRANTED ACROSS THE DIFFERENT PAY SCALES. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR SUPPORT AS YOU MAKE THESE— THANK YOU.

OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS JESSICA MARQUEZ, SPEAKING ON COMPENSATION. GOOD EVENING, MADAM PRESIDENT, BOARD OF TRUSTEES, AND DR. GUTIERREZ.

MY NAME IS JESSICA MARQUEZ AND I WORK AS A MATH TEACHER AT DEL VALLE HIGH SCHOOL AND I SERVE AS PRESIDENT OF DEL VALLE EDUCATION ASSOCIATION.

DBA LEADERS HAVE SPOKEN AT THE PAST TWO REGULAR BOARD MEETINGS ON AN ISSUE OF SALARIES AND WE ARE HERE AGAIN TO PRESENT THE CASE OF MEANINGFUL IMPROVEMENT IN EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION.

COMPENSATION.

TOO MANY OF OUR HOURLY EMPLOYEES LIVE IN POVERTY, AND MANY WORK TWO JOBS JUST TO MAKE ENDS MEET. ALL EMPLOYEES OF THE DISTRICT SHOULD BE ABLE TO LIVE WITH DIGNITY, AND ONE JOB SHOULD BE ENOUGH.

THIS IS WHY DBA AGAIN CALLS FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A $3 AN HOUR PER RAISE— I MEAN, $3 AN HOUR PER RAISE FOR PARAPROFESSIONALS AND AUXILIARY STAFF.

MOST OF THESE STAFF LIVE LOCALLY AND SEND THEIR KIDS TO DEL VALLE ISD. FACED WITH RISING FOOD BILLS AND INCREASED RENTS, THEIR PAY HAS NOT KEPT UP WITH INFLATION, AND THEIR INCOME HAS SIGNIFICANTLY DEGRADED. TOO MANY DO NOT EARN A LIVING WAGE AND FALL BELOW THE $23.71 PER HOUR THAT MIT HAS DEFINED AS A LIVING WAGE FOR THE AUSTIN AREA. WE HAVE A MORAL OBLIGATION TO DO BETTER. LAST YEAR'S 1.5% RAISE FOR HOURLY WORKERS REPRESENTED JUST CENTS ON THE DOLLAR. A LIVING WAGE FOR OUR EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT PROFESSIONALS MEANS A LIVING WAGE FOR MANY PARENTS OF OUR STUDENTS. CARING FOR OUR STUDENTS MEANS CARING FOR THEIR PARENTS EARNING A LIVING WAGE.

NEXT ARE LIBRARIANS AND NURSES.

THEY WERE PART— THEY WERE NOT PART OF THE STATE RAISE LAST YEAR AND WERE REMOVED FROM THE TEACHER PAY SCALE.

THEY SHOULD BE MADE WHOLE BY BEING PUT BACK ON THE SCHEDULE.

396 EMPLOYEES LEFT AT THE END OF THE 2024-25 SCHOOL YEAR.

THIS MEANS MORE THAN, MORE THAN 1 IN 5 EMPLOYEES LEFT

[00:40:01]

YOU HAVE A MINUTE REMAINING.

THIS IS WHY WE SEEK A 4% RAISE FOR TEACHERS BASED ON THE SALARY AND NOT THE MIDPOINT.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST, FOR THOSE ON THE ADMINISTRATIVE PAY PLAN ON GRADES 1 THROUGH 9, WE ARE ALSO ASKING FOR A 4% RAISE.

THIS IS 4% TO HELP PAY RENT BECAUSE SO FEW OF OUR STAFF, MOST WHOM ARE UNDER THE AGE OF 40, CANNOT CURRENTLY AFFORD TO GET ON THE PROPERTY LADDER. TIMES MAY BE HARD FOR SCHOOL FINANCES, BUT THE DISTRICT CAN'T AFFORD TO DRAW DOWN ITS FUND BALANCE.

FOR INVESTMENT PURPOSES.

WITH LARGER FUND BALANCES THAN ANY OTHER NEIGHBORING DISTRICT, IT'S TIME TO INVEST. INVESTING IN DISTRICT EMPLOYEES IS ALSO INVESTING IN STUDENTS.

IN THE WORDS OF DR.

MARTIN LUTHER KING, THERE IS NOTHING BUT A LACK OF SOCIAL VISION TO PREVENT US FROM PAYING AN ADEQUATE WAGE.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. THANK YOU.

NEXT WE HAVE PAULA FLORES GARCIA SPEAKING ON LARGE CLASS SIZE. GOOD EVENING, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD AND DR.

GUTIERREZ.

MY NAME IS PAULA FLORES GARCIA AND I AM A KINDERGARTEN TEACHER AT BEATTY ELEMENTARY. I AM HERE TO SPEAK TODAY ABOUT THE INEQUITIES IN CLASS SIZES WITHIN OUR DUAL LANGUAGE KINDERGARTEN PROGRAM.

CURRENTLY, WE HAVE 4 KINDERGARTEN CLASSES, 2 DUAL LANGUAGE AND 2 MONOLINGUAL.

THE DUAL LANGUAGE CLASSES HAVE 22 AND 23 STUDENTS, WHILE THE MONOLINGUAL CLASSES EACH HAVE 12. WHILE WE ARE TECHNICALLY WITHIN THE TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY REQUIREMENT —OF A 22:1 STUDENT-TEACHER RATIO, OUR DUAL LANGUAGE CLASSES CONSISTENTLY SIT AT OR ABOVE THAT LIMIT AS STUDENTS ENROLL AND WITHDRAW THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. MY CONCERN IS EQUITY.

AT BEATTY, APPROXIMATELY 80% OF OUR STUDENTS ARE HISPANIC OR LATINO, MEANING A LARGE PORTION BENEFIT FROM DUAL LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION.

HOWEVER, OUR CLASSES DO NOT REFLECT THAT REALITY.

MONOLINGUAL CLASSES SOMETIMES HAVE AS FEW AS 8 STUDENTS PRESENT DUE TO ABSENCES.

THESE STUDENTS RECEIVE MORE INDIVIDUALIZED ATTENTION, MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO PARTICIPATE, AND MORE SPACE TO LEARN. MEANWHILE, DUAL LANGUAGE STUDENTS WHO MAKE UP A LARGE PORTION OF OUR CAMPUS ARE LEARNING IN SIGNIFICANTLY MORE CROWDED CLASSROOMS WITH FEWER OPPORTUNITIES FOR THAT SAME LEVEL OF SUPPORT. IN MY 5 YEARS AT BEATTY, I HAVE SEEN CLASS SIZES STEADILY INCREASE.

MY FIRST YEAR, I HAD 16 STUDENTS. THIS YEAR, I HAVE REMAINED AT OR ABOVE THAT MAXIMUM FOR MOST OF THE YEAR. BASED ON KINDER— UM, SORRY, BASED ON CURRENT PRE-K NUMBERS, I ANTICIPATE THIS ISSUE WILL CONTINUE NEXT YEAR.

I AM ASKING THE DISTRICT TO CONSIDER ADDING AN ADDITIONAL DUAL LANGUAGE KINDERGARTEN TEACHER TO ENSURE EQUITABLE LEARNING CONDITIONS FOR ALL STUDENTS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR, YOUR TIME AND CONSIDERATION.

THANK YOU.

NEXT WE HAVE AMINA DASANI SPEAKING ON HEALTH BENEFITS.

GOOD EVENING, BOARD MEMBERS, DR. GUTIERREZ, DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION.

MY NAME IS AMYNA DOSANI. I'M SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF SELF. I AM A DVISD COMMUNITY MEMBER AND A COUNSELOR AT DEL VALLE HIGH SCHOOL.

I AM SPEAKING TODAY IN OPPOSITION TO THE PROPOSED 6.5% INCREASE IN THE COST OF DVISD EMPLOYEE HEALTH COVERAGE. THE BUDGET PROPOSAL DOES NOT INCLUDE ANY RAISES BUT INCLUDES— BUT INCREASES EMPLOYEE HEALTH CARE COSTS BY 6.5%, WHERE THE DISTRICT WOULD PASS THE BILL DOWN ONTO EMPLOYEES THAT TRS IS INCREASING THE COST OF. THIS IS EFFECTIVELY A NET PAY CUT. ALL WHILE THE COST OF LIVING AND HEALTHCARE COSTS CONTINUE TO INCREASE.

JUST BEFORE THIS BOARD MEETING, GOING OFF SCRIPT, JUST BEFORE THIS BOARD MEETING, I WAS ON THE PHONE WITH MY, FOR IMAGING TOMORROW, AND I'M ABOUT TO SPEND $1,500, MORE THAN $1,500 ON JUST TOMORROW. I PAY FOR A REALLY GOOD HEALTHCARE PLAN,

[00:45:01]

AND AT ALL. THERE'S SO MANY OTHERS LIKE ME. UM, OVER THE PAST— OVER JUST THE PAST FEW YEARS, THE COST OF PREMIUMS HAVE CONTINUOUSLY INCREASED IN DEL VALLE ISD, AND THE DISTRICT HAS CONTRIBUTED LESS AND LESS, WHETHER THAT BE THROUGH COST OF PREMIUMS OR A CONTRIBUTION TOWARDS FLEXIBLE SPENDING ACCOUNTS, THINGS LIKE THAT.

UH, WE HAVE GREAT BENEFITS. WE NEED TO KEEP THEM. I I WANT TO ADDRESS SOMETHING.

IT'S LAST SUMMER IN JULY WHEN APPROVING THE SUPERINTENDENT, DR. GUTIERREZ'S, UM, CONTRACT, AN ADDENDUM WAS ADDED. SO ON TOP OF THE 1.5% RAISE, THERE WAS AN ADDENDUM TO THE CONTRACT ADDED TO PROVIDE, UM, COMPLETE COVERAGE FOR PREMIUMS FOR MEDICAL, DENTAL, AND VISION INSURANCE TOTALING $9,146, ALL WHILE CUTTING OUR SOCIAL WORKERS. YOU HAVE 1 MINUTE REMAINING. I BRING THIS UP NOT TO CRITIQUE FUNDING FOR THAT LEVEL OF HEALTHCARE.

I BELIEVE THAT ACCESS TO QUALITY HEALTHCARE IS A HUMAN RIGHT FOR EVERYONE IN THIS ROOM. WHEN CONSIDERING HEALTHCARE COSTS FOR EMPLOYEES, WE BELIEVE ALL EMPLOYEES SHOULD RECEIVE THE SAME BENEFITS. IF WE PAY A CERTAIN AMOUNT FOR THE SUPERINTENDENT, THAT AMOUNT SHOULD BE EQUIVALENT TO ALL OTHER EMPLOYEES THAT WORK FOR THIS DISTRICT.

YES, I CAN ACKNOWLEDGE THAT IT'S TRS WHO IS INCREASING THE COST. TRS ALSO STOPPED OFFERING PPO PLANS BEFORE, AND WE MISS MORE WORK BECAUSE OF THAT, HAVING TO GO THROUGH MEDICAL HOOPS.

HOWEVER, MUCH LIKE, MUCH LIKE WITH BUDGET DECISIONS OVERALL, THIS IS WHERE ADVOCACY COMES IN.

THIS IS WHERE THE BOARD, THE SUPERINTENDENT, THE DISTRICT LEADERS SHOULD BE COMMUNICATING WITH TRS, STATE REPRESENTATIVES, TESTIFYING FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION AT THE CAPITOL, WHICH OUR LAST SUPERINTENDENT USED TO DO, AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS. WE NEED TO BE COMMUNICATING WITH THEM TO MAKE THESE DECISIONS. WE HAVE TO ADVOCATE.

WE ARE ADVOCATES AFTER ALL.

THE DISTRICT CAN ALSO— THAT'S YOUR TIME. THANK YOU.

AND LASTLY, WE HAVE BRETT COVINGTON SPEAKING ON PAY AND BUDGET PRIORITIES.

MADAM PRESIDENT, DR.

GUTIERREZ, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, I CAME HERE TONIGHT TO CAUSE SOME GOOD TROUBLE.

UM, Y'ALL LOOK A LITTLE TIRED.

YOU'VE HEARD A LOT OF CONCERNS AND A LOT OF SPEECHES, SO I AM SPEAKING FROM THE HEART. I WANT YOU TO LOOK AT THESE LADIES STANDING UP.

I INVITED THEM HERE FROM THE CHILD NUTRITION DEPARTMENT. I ASKED IF A FEW COULD COME.

LOOK HOW MANY CAME.

THEY NEED A PAY RAISE. THEY FELT STRONGLY ENOUGH AND THEY NEEDED ENOUGH THAT THEY SHOWED UP. THIS IS JUST FROM DEL VALLE HIGH SCHOOL, FROM THE MAIN CAFETERIA, ON ONE DAY'S NOTICE.

NOW THAT THEY KNOW HOW THIS WORKS, THEY MAY BE BACK. WE NEED TO TREAT OUR PEOPLE WITH THE RESPECT THAT THEY DESERVE.

AND WORDS DON'T PAY THE BILLS.

THEY NEED A DECENT PAY RAISE TO ACCOUNT FOR INFLATION FOR THE LAST 2 YEARS. AND I'M HERE TO TELL YOU, THESE LADIES MEAN A LOT TO ME. I EAT AT THE CAFETERIA, AND EVERY DAY THEY MAKE ME FEEL LIKE I'M AT HOME.

THEY KNOW IF I'VE BEEN ABSENT.

I'M NOT A KID, I'M A TEACHER, BUT IT MATTERS TO ME. THEY MATTER TO ME, AND I WANT TO SEE THEM.

PAID FOR THE HARD WORK THEY DO.

THIS IS— INTRODUCE YOURSELF, PERHAPS, MRS. GUTIERREZ, YOU COULD TRANSLATE, BECAUSE I SURE CAN'T. THANK YOU.

GRACIAS. THANK YOU. THIS

[00:50:16]

[V.A. Superintendent's Comments]

NEXT UP, I WILL TURN IT OVER TO DR. SUPERINTENDENT, DR.

GUTIERREZ FOR SUPERINTENDENT'S COMMENTS.

GOOD EVENING, TRUSTEES AND COMMUNITY. IT'S BEEN A GREAT FEW WEEKS ACROSS THE DISTRICT, AND I'D LIKE TO TAKE A MOMENT TO HIGHLIGHT A FEW OF THOSE CELEBRATIONS AND CONNECTIONS.

WE HAD A WONDERFUL TURNOUT AT OUR APRIL 9TH SUPERINTENDENT COFFEE CHAT AT CREEDMOOR ELEMENTARY.

I TRULY APPRECIATE EVERYONE WHO TOOK THE TIME TO JOIN, WHETHER TO HEAR UPDATES, ASK THOUGHTFUL QUESTIONS, OR SIMPLY STAY CONNECTED TO THE WORK HAPPENING ACROSS THE DISTRICT. THESE CONVERSATIONS MATTER, AND THEY REFLECT THE STRONG PARTNERSHIP WE HAVE WITH OUR COMMUNITY.

OUR LAST COFFEE CHAT OF THE SCHOOL YEAR WILL BE HELD AT SMITH ELEMENTARY ON APRIL 23RD AT 8:15 AM.

I ALSO WANT TO RECOGNIZE A VERY SPECIAL MILESTONE FOR SOME OF OUR STUDENT AND RESIDENT TEACHERS. ON APRIL 2ND, WE CELEBRATED OUR FUTURE TEACHER SIGNING DAY, WHERE 14 OF THESE INDIVIDUALS OFFICIALLY COMMITTED TO RETURNING TO DBISD AS FULL-TIME EDUCATORS THIS FALL. THAT'S SOMETHING TO BE PROUD OF, AND THEY REPRESENT THE FUTURE OF OUR PROFESSION AND IT'S INCREDIBLY MEANINGFUL THAT THEY ARE CHOOSING TO BEGIN THEIR TEACHING CAREERS RIGHT HERE IN OUR DISTRICT.

WE'RE EXCITED TO WELCOME THEM BACK IN THIS NEW ROLE AND TO SEE THE IMPACT THAT THEY WILL HAVE IN OUR CLASSROOMS. ANOTHER HIGHLIGHT WAS OUR FINE ARTS FESTIVAL ON MARCH 28TH. THE EVENT CONTINUES TO BE A SHOWCASE OF THE INCREDIBLE TALENT AND CREATIVITY OF OUR STUDENTS ACROSS VISUAL ART, MUSIC, DANCE, AND THEATER.

ONE OF MY PERSONAL FAVORITE MOMENTS WAS SEEING A STUDENT'S ARTWORK THAT INCLUDED ME. IT WAS BOTH HUMBLING AND A REMINDER OF HOW DEEPLY OUR STUDENTS OBSERVE AND ENGAGE WITH THE WORLD AROUND THEM. I'M GRATEFUL TO OUR FINE ARTS STAFF AND CAMPUS TEAMS WHO MAKE THESE OPPORTUNITIES POSSIBLE FOR OUR STUDENTS.

FINALLY, AS WE WRAP UP STAAR TESTING ACROSS THE DISTRICT, I WANNA COMMEND OUR STUDENTS FOR THEIR EFFORT AND PERSEVERANCE. THESE ASSESSMENTS REQUIRE FOCUS AND DETERMINATION, AND WE'RE PROUD OF THE WAY OUR STUDENTS HAVE APPROACHED THEM. I ALSO WANT TO THANK OUR TEACHERS AND STAFF FOR THE TIME, ENERGY, AND CARE THEY PUT INTO PREPARING STUDENTS.

NOT JUST FOR A TEST, BUT FOR SUCCESS BEYOND THE CLASSROOM, AND YOUR WORK DOES NOT GO UNNOTICED. AS WE LOOK AHEAD, IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE THAT WE JUST HAVE ABOUT A MONTH LEFT IN THE SCHOOL YEAR. THIS IS ALWAYS A MEANINGFUL AND BUSY TIME ON OUR CAMPUSES, FILLED WITH CELEBRATIONS, MILESTONES, AND IMPORTANT MOMENTS FOR OUR STUDENTS.

I ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO STAY ENGAGED, FINISH STRONG, AND TAKE TIME TO RECOGNIZE THE GROWTH AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS WE HAVE SEEN. THANK YOU. NEXT UP,

[VI.A. Committee Updates by Board Trustees]

DO I HAVE ANY UPDATES? THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES VICE PRESIDENT CISNEROS. HI, UH, GOOD EVENING. SO I ATTENDED THE AUSTIN 2030 NETWORK, UH, ADVISORY BOARD MEETING THIS MONTH WHERE WE MET WITH PROGRAM DESIGN AND DATA WORK GROUPS, AND WE APPROVED THE DRAFT RECOMMENDATION ON THE COLLEGE PROMISE PROPOSAL.

SO WE ARE MOVING RIGHT ALONG WITH THE, UH, THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS COLLEGE PROMISE, AND I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT BRINGING THAT HERE TO DEL VALLE AND, AND OUR STUDENTS BEING A PART OF THAT. SO THAT'S WHERE WE'RE AT WITH THAT. SO THANK YOU.

OKAY, NEXT WE HAVE TRUSTEE FRANCO. YEAH, RECENTLY— THANKS, THANK YOU— I RECENTLY ATTENDED THE CAPCOG, THE CAPITAL AREA COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS. I WAS FINALLY ABLE TO ATTEND THOSE MEETINGS.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR MAKING THAT HAPPEN, MARK.

UM, IT WAS SUPER INTERESTING.

THERE WAS, THERE WAS FOLKS FROM ALL AROUND.

FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT AREN'T FAMILIAR WITH CAPCOG, COMPRISED OF ELECTED OFFICIALS FROM DIFFERENT PARTS OF CENTRAL TEXAS, MAYORS OR CITY COUNCIL PERSONS, OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICT LEADERS.

REALLY, IT'S A PLACE FOR, FOR COMMUNITY, FOR ELECTED OFFICIALS TO COME TOGETHER AND TALK ABOUT SIMILAR PROBLEMS AND SIMILAR ISSUES AND TRY TO HAVE A COLLECTIVE ANSWER FOR SOME OF THESE THINGS.

THIS, THIS MEETING WAS, UH, 2 WEEKS AGO, UH, AND THIS ONE IN WAS A WORKSHOP THAT COVERED, UM, GRANTS, UPCOMING GRANT OPPORTUNITIES FOR, FROM THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

THEY HAD A WONDERFUL SPEAKER FROM THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE THAT COVERED THEIR 3 MAJOR GRANT EFFORTS.

UNFORTUNATELY, NONE OF THEM ARE AVAILABLE TO US AS A SCHOOL DISTRICT.

MOST OF THEM ARE FOR CITIES AND MUNICIPALITIES, MUNICIPALITIES AND COUNTIES.

BUT THE CONVERSATION WAS LIVELY, AND IT WAS GREAT TO BE INVOLVED WITH ALL THOSE FOLKS. MADE SOME REALLY GOOD CONTACTS, REPRESENTED DEL VALLE WELL,

[00:55:02]

AND OUR STUDENTS ARE DOING GREAT THINGS, SO HAPPY TO BE ATTENDING THOSE MEETINGS.

THANK YOU FOR THAT. AND THEN NEXT UP, I GUESS WE HAVE THE LSG COMMITTEE UPDATE. I'LL GO AHEAD AND TAKE CARE OF THAT.

WHAT WE ARE BRINGING HERE TONIGHT AND LATER FOR ACTION IS WE'VE— AND IT'S GOING TO BE TWOFOLD, BUT WHAT IS FOR ACTION TONIGHT IS GOING TO BE THE SHORT-TERM TWO-WAY COMMUNICATION, AND ALL WE'RE ASKING IS THAT IF YOU ARE ABLE TO AND CAN COMMIT FROM HERE TO THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR TO ATTEND TWO DIFFERENT EVENTS AND JUST TALK ABOUT WHERE WE ARE WITH OUR GUARDRAILS AND, AND OUR GOALS, UM, WE DO HAVE SOME QUESTIONS THAT ARE AVAILABLE FOR YOU. THEY SHOULD NOT JUST BE OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS. THAT QUESTION SHOULD BE REGARDING GOALS AND GUARDRAILS, AND IT'S JUST KIND OF TALKING TO THE COMMUNITY DOING THIS.

AND THIS IS ONLY IF YOU ARE ABLE TO COMMIT RIGHT, WE UNDERSTAND IT'S THE END OF THE YEAR, WE ALL HAVE DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES MAYBE WITH OUR STUDENTS, WITH OUR KIDS, BUT THOSE OF US THAT ARE ABLE, WE WOULD TO DO AND COMMIT AND DO THIS, WE WOULD LIKE TO BE ALLOWED TO GO AHEAD AND CONTINUE DOING THAT. SECONDLY, WE DID HEAR EVERYBODY'S OPINIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FROM THE LAST BOARD MEETING REGARDING WHAT, UH, THE LONG-TERM SYSTEM SHOULD LOOK LIKE. AND WE WOULD LIKE TO— WE'VE, UM, AT OUR LAST MEETING WE MET WITH DR.

CANTU, AND WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS WHEN OUR SCORE'S COMING IN, LOOKING AT THE CALENDAR, WHEN ALL THAT INFORMATION GETS DISAGGREGATED SO THAT WE CAN SET UP THOSE TWO-WAY COMMUNICATIONS, THE TOWN HALLS, LISTENING SESSIONS WITH THE COMMUNITY. WE LOOKED AT BEGINNING OF YEAR, MIDDLE OF YEAR, END OF YEAR, AND THAT WILL BE FORTHCOMING ONCE WE GET RECOMMENDATION WILL COME LATER ON, MAYBE IN JUNE IS WHAT WE DISCUSSED, HOPEFULLY, RIGHT? BUT FOR TONIGHT, WE'RE JUST LOOKING— WE'RE GOING TO VOTE ON THE TWO-WAY, THE SHORT-TERM TWO-WAY COMMUNICATION. AND LIKE I SAID, IT IS NOT— WE DON'T WANT TO MAKE IT MANDATORY FOR EVERYBODY.

WE JUST WANT TO, YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE ABLE TO, THAT'S GREAT. AND IF YOU'RE NOT, THEN WE WOULD LIKE TO— CAN THOSE OF US THAT CAN COMMIT AND ARE ABLE TO AND HAVE THE TIME WOULD LIKE TO CONTINUE TO DO THAT JUST ON THE SHORT TERM.

BUT ANY QUESTIONS ON THAT? ALL

[VII. Consent Agenda]

NEXT, WE'RE GOING TO GO AHEAD AND MOVE UP TO THE CONSENT AGENDA. DO I HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR DO I HAVE A MOTION? I'LL MAKE THE MOTION TO PASS THE CONSENT AGENDA AS PRESENTED. SECRETARY WEGNER MAKES A MOTION.

DO I HAVE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND THE MOTION. TRUSTEE FRANCO MAKES THE SECOND. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? MOTION PASSES UNANIMOUSLY.

[VIII.A. Two-Way Communication]

VICE PRESIDENT CISNEROS MAKES A MOTION. DO I HAVE A SECOND? TRUSTEE BURTON MAKES A SECOND.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? THERE IS A DISCUSSION.

QUESTION? YES, MA'AM. SO CAN WE GO TO THE PART OF THE POWERPOINT WHERE IT HAS THE QUESTIONS? ARE THEY ON THERE? IS THAT IT? I'M NOT CERTAIN.

MAYBE THE NEXT ONE.

OKAY. OH NO, IT WAS ON THE LEFT SIDE. ASK 3 QUESTIONS.

THOSE ARE STILL OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS, AND THAT'S UNACCEPTABLE. AND SO I REALIZE WE SAID NOT FROM THE DAIS, BUT THAT'S WHAT'S PRESENTED.

SO WE HAVE A CONFLICT.

THAT'S WHY I MADE THE CLARIFICATION THAT THEY SHOULD NOT BE OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS.

THEY SHOULD BE REGARDING THE GOALS AND THE GUARDRAILS.

OKAY, THANK YOU.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? THANK YOU.

ALL RIGHT, DO I HAVE A MOTION? THE MOTION WAS MADE BY VICE PRESIDENT CISNEROS. THE SECOND WAS MADE BY TRUSTEE BURTON.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? ALL THOSE AGAINST? MOTION PASSES 5 TO 1.

AND THE NEXT— PRESIDENT GUADIAN, IF I CAN JUST SAY SOMETHING REAL QUICK. TRUSTEE FRANCO.

[01:00:01]

ON THE GREAT JOB THEY DID PUTTING ALL THIS INFORMATION TOGETHER. AND THE LSG COMMITTEE HAS BEEN WORKING ON THIS QUITE A BIT, BUT THEY'VE REALLY SPEARHEADED THIS WORK. AND THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR DOING THIS, ESPECIALLY JASON.

[VIII.B. Discuss, Consider and Possibly Act on Submission of Waiver for Remote Homebound Instruction for Special Education Students]

UH, DR.

BAILEY. GOOD EVENING, BOARD OF TRUSTEES. UM, I'M NICOLE ROBERTS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF SPECIAL EDUCATION, AND I'M HERE TO PRESENT ON THE REMOTE HOMEBOUND WAIVER WE'RE SEEKING APPROVAL FOR TONIGHT.

SPECIAL EDUCATION HOMEBOUND REQUIREMENTS. UM, AS A DEPARTMENT, WE ARE COMMITTED TO PROVIDING A CONTINUUM OF SERVICES, AND HOMEBOUND SERVICES IS PART OF THAT CONTINUUM. IT'S OFFERED TO ELIGIBLE STUDENTS RECEIVING SPECIAL EDUCATION OR RELATED SERVICES AS DETERMINED BY THE ARD.

IT'S WHEN STUDENTS ARE EXPECTED TO BE CONFINED TO HOME OR HOSPITAL, HOSPITAL BED FOR 4 OR MORE WEEKS WITHIN THE SCHOOL YEAR.

DUE TO MEDICAL OR PSYCHOLOGICAL REASONS AS DOCUMENTED BY A STUDENT'S PHYSICIAN. WHEN WE CONSIDER REMOTE HOMEBOUND SERVICES, IT IS AGAIN DETERMINED BY THE ARD COMMITTEE DOCUMENTED IN A STUDENT'S IEP.

ALL OTHER REQUIREMENTS RELATED TO HOMEBOUND SERVICES ARE MET EXCEPT FOR THE FACE-TO-FACE INSTRUCTION FROM THE HOMEBOUND TEACHER, AND THERE'S ALSO A BOARD APPROVAL IN ORDER TO SUBMIT THE OTHER WAIVER TO TEA. SO TONIGHT WE ARE REQUESTING TO ALLOW FOR INDIVIDUALIZED INSTRUCTION FOR TWO STUDENTS RECEIVING SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES THROUGH REMOTE HOMEBOUND.

SERVICES WILL BE DELIVERED REMOTELY, BUT ALL OTHER REQUIREMENTS WILL BE MET IN REGARDS TO THEIR HOMEBOUND INSTRUCTION.

ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS? TRUSTEES, DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? I HEAR NO QUESTIONS.

DO I HAVE A MOTION? VICE PRESIDENT WEGNER— SECRETARY WEGNER MAKES THE MOTION. DO I HAVE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND THE MOTION.

TRUSTEE FRANCO MAKES A SECOND.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? MOTION PASSES UNANIMOUSLY. THANK YOU.

[VIII.C. Spring Math Benchmark Goal 2 and Goal 3 Monitoring]

ALRIGHTY, GOOD EVENING, MADAM PRESIDENT, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, AND SUPERINTENDENT DR.

GUTIERREZ. TONIGHT I AM PRESENTING OUR SPRING MATH BENCHMARK RESULTS, UM, AND JUST TO KIND OF ACCLIMATE US TO THE DATA THAT I'M GOING TO SHARE TONIGHT, THIS IS DATA, UM, IT'S A FEW MONTHS OLD, BUT IT IS OUR BENCHMARK DATA, AND IT'S JUST WHERE IT KIND OF FELL IN OUR MONITORING, UM, PLAN. SO THIS IS DATA FROM OUR STUDENTS TAKING THE MIDDLE OF THE YEAR BENCHMARK, UM, FROM LATE JANUARY TO EARLY FEBRUARY, AND I'LL POINT THAT OUT KIND OF AS WE GO ALONG THE WAY.

BUT I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT I SHARED THAT AS I GET STARTED THIS EVENING. SO, UM, TONIGHT I'M PRESENTING ON GOALS 2 AND BOARD GOALS 3. SO SO EARLY MATHEMATICS, AND THEN ALSO 7TH GRADE MATH ALSO, ALTHOUGH I'LL BE PRESENTING— ALRIGHTY, SO AS WE START OFF WITH OUR 3RD GRADE GOAL, REMEMBER OUR 2030 GOAL IS TO GET OUR STUDENTS TO 60% AT THE MEETS LEVEL OR ABOVE BY 2030.

AND SO JUST TO START OFF WITH THIS PARTICULAR, I WANT TO SHOW YOU EXACTLY, I WANT TO GO OVER, EXCUSE ME, EXACTLY WHAT YOU SEE. SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE TARGET LINE, OUR BASELINE OF 30% AT THE MEETS AND MASTERS LEVEL, THE GOAL FOR THE END OF THIS YEAR IS 32%. WHEN WE LOOK AT, AND THAT'S BASED ON STAR PERFORMANCE.

WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE BENCHMARKS, WHICH IS WHERE YOU SEE THE TRIANGLES, LAST YEAR'S BENCHMARK, LAST YEAR, EXCUSE ME, STAR RESULTS WERE 30% AT THE MEETS AND MASTERS LEVEL.

THE BENCHMARK SCORE FOR LAST YEAR WAS AT 11.8%.

COME TO THIS YEAR, OUR GOAL IS 32% AT THE MEETS AND MASTERS LEVEL BY THE END OF THIS SCHOOL YEAR.

OUR BENCHMARK SCORE SHOWED AT THE MIDDLE OF THE YEAR, SO SAME TIME, 18.1%. SO THAT'S A 6.4% INCREASE.

AND SO WHY IT'S NOT AT THE 32%— WHAT WE DO IS WE UTILIZE THIS DATA TO SHOW US, ARE WE ON TRACK AND ARE WE MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION? AND SO AS YOU CAN SEE BASED

[01:05:01]

SO BREAKING DOWN THIS DATA BY CAMPUS, ALSO WANT TO KIND OF ACCLIMATE US TO THIS PARTICULAR CHART BECAUSE DATA THAT SHARED WITH YOU, UM, AND PART OF THAT IS BECAUSE READING IS MORE CYCLICAL THAN MATH. MATH KIND OF FOLLOWS A, A PRETTY CLEAR TRAJECTORY AND READING IS A LITTLE MORE CYCLICAL IN HOW IT, UM, PROGRESSES OVER THE COURSE OF THE SCHOOL YEAR. SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THIS DATA, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE FIRST BAR GRAPH WITH THIS, WHICH IS THE BLUE BAR GRAPH, THAT IS A 2025 BENCHMARK.

SO SPRING BENCHMARK 2025 MATH.

THE GREEN BAR GRAPH IS THE 2026 BENCHMARK. THAT'S THE BENCHMARK THAT WE TOOK THIS YEAR.

AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE PURPLE BAR GRAPH, THAT'S ON STANDARDS TAUGHT. SO AGAIN, READING IS A LITTLE BIT MORE— IT'S MORE CYCLICAL IN THAT THOSE STANDARDS REPEAT OVER THE COURSE OF THE SCHOOL YEAR. MATH IS KIND OF HIERARCHICAL IN THAT IT FOLLOWS A VERY SPECIFIC PROGRESSION.

SO WHEN WE LOOK AT STANDARDS THAT WERE ACTUALLY TAUGHT UP INTO THAT POINT, YOU CAN SEE AT THE DISTRICT LEVEL, AGAIN, YOU SEE AN UPWARD TRAJECTORY.

SO ON STANDARDS, NOT EVEN COMPARING JUST BENCHMARK TO BENCHMARK, WE SEE AN INCREASE.

BUT THEN ALSO WHEN YOU LOOK AT STANDARDS THAT WE TAUGHT, WE SEE OUR STUDENTS GO EVEN A LITTLE BIT HIGHER.

SO MOST OF OUR CAMPUSES SHOWED AN UPWARD TREND BENCHMARK TO BENCHMARK AND ON CAMPUS ON STANDARDS THAT ARE TAUGHT. I DO WANT TO POINT OUT TWO SPECIFIC OUTLIERS, AND SO I'LL START WITH DEL VALLE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, WHICH YOU SEE IS LIKE, OKAY, WHAT IS GOING ON AT DEL VALLE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL? THE SAME QUESTION THAT WE ASKED, WHAT'S GOING ON AT DEL VALLE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL? WHILE WE DEFINITELY CELEBRATE THE TEACHER, WHAT WE KNOW, AND SPECIFICALLY IN TALKING WITH THIS TEACHER AND ALSO TALKING WITH THE CAMPUS ADMINISTRATORS THERE, IS THAT THIS TEACHER FOLLOWS A VERY— WHEN THE TEACHER IS PREPARING THE STUDENTS FOR THIS TEST, BECAUSE ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE KNOW, AND DR. CANTU AND I TALKED ABOUT THIS TODAY AS WELL TOO, IS THAT, YOU KNOW, THE FORMAT OF THE TEST IS ALSO A STANDARD THAT WE NEED TO TEACH, RIGHT? AND SO WE KNOW THAT WE'RE TEACHING THE STANDARDS, BUT STUDENTS ALSO NEED TO KNOW AND UNDERSTAND THE BLUEPRINT OF THE ASSESSMENT.

AND SO WITH THIS PARTICULAR TEACHER, THIS TEACHER FOLLOWS IN PREPARING THE STUDENTS A REALLY, REALLY CLOSELY ALIGNED TO THE ACTUAL ASSESSMENT. AND SO WE SEE THAT IT'S HAVING SOME SUCCESS THERE. HOPEFULLY WE SEE THAT SAME TRAJECTORY, UM, WHEN WE ACTUALLY, UM, GET OUR STAAR RESULTS BACK HERE AT THE END OF MAY, EARLY JUNE.

AGAIN, I WANT TO ALSO POINT OUT ANOTHER OUTLIER, WHICH IS COLLINS ELEMENTARY. AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE KNOW THAT HAPPENED AT COLLINS ELEMENTARY, AS WE KIND OF LOOK AND SEE, OKAY, WHERE DO WE SEE CHANGES, IS ONE, WE KNOW THAT WE HAD A TEACHER CHANGE IN THAT PARTICULAR GRADE LEVEL.

AND THEN IN ADDITION WE'RE MOVING FROM CHANGING THE— REALLY HEAVILY CHANGING THE ACTUAL, UM, CURRICULUM AS WELL TOO AT THAT PARTICULAR CAMPUS.

AND SO WHEREAS WE TYPICALLY SEE PRETTY HIGH PERFORMANCE OUT OF THE CAMPUS AND STILL ON AN UPWARD TRAJECTORY COMPARED TO SOME OF OUR OTHER CAMPUSES, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE KNOW THAT IS PARTICULARLY IS CONTRIBUTING TO THE DATA THAT WE SEE THERE, WHICH IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WE SEE AS THE TREND AT THE OTHER CAMPUSES, IS DEFINITELY A TEACHER CHANGE IN THAT PARTICULAR AND SO AS WE MOVE ON TO 4TH GRADE, THIS IS WHERE WE START TO TRACK COHORT TO COHORT.

UM, SO AGAIN, THE FORMAT OF THE, THE CHARTS ARE EXACTLY THE SAME, THE DATA IS THE SAME, BUT WHEN WE BEGIN TO LOOK AT COHORTS— SO WHEN I LOOK AT MY LAST YEAR'S 3RD GRADERS THAT ARE THIS YEAR'S 4TH GRADERS, WE SEE A 6.7% INCREASE BENCHMARK TO BENCHMARK.

I MEAN, HOW STUDENTS ARE PERFORMING ACROSS THE DISTRICT. AND AGAIN, WE STILL SEE THE SAME SORT OF UPWARD TREND WITH A COUPLE OF OUTLIER CAMPUSES WE STILL SEE THE SAME UPWARD TREND BENCHMARK TO BENCHMARK. AND THEN ALSO ON THE STANDARDS THAT WERE ACTUALLY TAUGHT UP UNTIL THIS POINT, WE SEE THAT STUDENTS ARE PERFORMING BETTER.

THERE ARE, UM, SOME CAMPUSES, AND ONE THAT I'LL POINT OUT IN PARTICULAR, AN OUTLIER ON THIS PARTICULAR GRAPH, UM, IS POPLAM ELEMENTARY. AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE REALIZED EARLY ON, UM, IS THAT THERE WAS DEFINITELY A CHANGE IN STAFFING AT THAT PARTICULAR GRADE LEVEL.

AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE RECOGNIZED WAS THAT TEAM WAS THAT WE NEEDED TO PROVIDE SOME SUPPORT TO THE CAMPUS.

AND SO OUR TEAM AND I— A LOT OF THEM ARE SITTING BACK THERE IN THE BACK, SO I'M GOING TO HAVE THEM JUST WAVE. UM, THAT'S OUR TEAM. UM, DEFINITELY PULLED, UH, PULLED TOGETHER AND LOVED ON THIS CAMPUS AND WORKED ALONGSIDE THE TEACHERS AND ALSO THE PRINCIPALS, UM, TO HELP SUPPORT WHAT WAS HAPPENING AT THE PARTICULAR CAMPUS ALONGSIDE THE TEACHERS.

AND SO AGAIN, WHEN WE SEE THIS, WE'RE ALWAYS GOING TO ROLL UP OUR SLEEVES, UM, AND WE'RE GOING TO GO TO WORK JUST AS MUCH AS WE EXPECT FROM OUR TEACHERS. OUR TEAM IS GOING TO SHOW UP EVERY SINGLE DAY TO SUPPORT OUR STUDENTS AS WELL TOO. THEN WE MOVE TO 5TH GRADE AND WE SEE ANOTHER CHANGE, AND I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THIS LATER ON.

UM, 5TH GRADE IS WHERE WE START TO SEE THE IMPACT OF OUR GAPS, RIGHT? WHEN STUDENTS DON'T HAVE NUMERICAL FLUENCY, WHEN THERE IS GAPS IN

[01:10:01]

AND WHY REALLY THE PLC BECOMES REALLY EVEN MORE IMPORTANT AND STAYING FOCUSED ON THE CURRICULUM BECOMES REALLY IMPORTANT. SO AGAIN, OUTLIER CAMPUSES, WE SEE DEL VALLE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, GILBERT ELEMENTARY, HILLCREST ELEMENTARY. THE THING I'LL ALSO POINT OUT ABOUT DEL VALLE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IS MISS MEDRANO, UM, IS A PRINCIPAL WHO'S VERY FAMILIAR WITH THE MATH CURRICULUM BECAUSE IN HER PREVIOUS, UM, ROLE AS AN ACADEMIC DEAN, ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL PREVIOUS DISTRICT, THEY ACTUALLY USED, UH, THE BLUEBONNET MATH CURRICULUM.

SO SHE'S VERY FAMILIAR WITH IT. WHEN SHE SHOWS UP IN THE CLASSROOM, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE SHE'S— SHE IMMEDIATELY KNOWS WHERE THEY SHOULD BE AND WHAT IT SHOULD LOOK LIKE. SO THAT'S PART OF WHY WE'RE ALSO PROBABLY SEEING THE GROWTH THERE AT THAT PARTICULAR CAMPUS.

HUGE GROWTH AT GILBERT ELEMENTARY. AGAIN, UM, SHOUT OUT TO THAT CAMPUS TEAM.

THEY'RE VERY STRONG INSTRUCTIONAL TEAM.

AND THEN THE SAME THING AT HILLCREST. WE CONTINUE TO SEE THE GROWTH THERE ON THOSE CAMPUSES. AND THAT'S NOT TO SAY THAT OUR OTHER CAMPUSES DON'T HAVE STRONG INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERS.

BUT IF I HAD TO POINT OUT SOME MODELS OF WHERE I SEE HIGH IMPLEMENTATION, I WOULD POINT OUT THOSE CAMPUSES. THEN WE MOVE ON TO 7TH GRADE. SO 7TH GRADE, WE'RE NOT SEEING AS STRONG OF GROWTH, AND ACTUALLY WE'RE SEEING A LITTLE BIT OF A SLIGHT DECLINE AT 7TH GRADE COMPARED TO 3RD GRADE.

SO THIS IS WHERE WE START TO SEE AGAIN, UM, THE IMPLEMENTATION GAP, RIGHT? AND SO ANYTIME YOU HAVE NEW CURRICULUM COMING IN THE FIRST YEAR, YOU CAN START TO SEE A DECLINE OR IMPLEMENTATION DROP. AND SO THAT'S WHERE WE SEE THAT SLIGHT DROP HERE IN OUR 7TH GRADE PERFORMANCE.

IN ADDITION TO THAT, REMEMBER, AT 7TH GRADE IS REALLY WHERE OUR ACCELERATOR LEARNERS GET.

SO OUR 7TH GRADE— MOST OF OUR 7TH GRADE ACCELERATED STUDENTS ARE TAKING THE ACTUAL 8TH GRADE ASSESSMENT, AND YOU'LL SEE THAT SHOW UP IN OUR DATA A LITTLE BIT. SO AGAIN, WE START TO SEE THOSE GAPS KIND OF COMPOUND, RIGHT? AND AS, UH, MR. WILLOUGHBY ALWAYS SAYS, IT'S LIKE IT'S COMPOUND INTEREST, LIKE IT CATCHES UP WITH US LATER ON.

SO AS WE SEE STRONG PERFORMANCE IN 3RD AND 4TH GRADE, WE START TO SEE THOSE GAPS WIDEN WHEN WE GET BETWEEN THAT 5TH AND THAT 7TH GRADE LEVEL. SO AGAIN, FOR STUDENTS WHO DON'T HAVE STRONG PROCEDURAL AND ABSTRACT KNOWLEDGE IN MATHEMATICS, THOSE GAPS BEGIN TO SHOW UP IN 6TH GRADE. SO I DO WANT TO SHOUT OUT DALEY MIDDLE SCHOOL BECAUSE ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I SHARED EARLIER ON IS THAT THIS PARTICULAR MIDDLE SCHOOL, EVEN THOUGH WE KNOW THAT WE HAVE A NUMBER OF VACANCIES AT THAT PARTICULAR CAMPUS, ESPECIALLY AT THE 7TH GRADE LEVEL, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DO SEE IS REALLY A TIE INTO SMALL GROUP INSTRUCTION.

SO THEY'VE BEEN HEAVILY FOCUSED ON PULLING SMALL GROUPS, THEY'VE BEEN HEAVILY FOCUSED ON THEIR INTERVENTIONISTS INTO THE CLASSROOM. THEIR ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL IS ACTUALLY TEACHING SEVERAL SECTIONS OF MATHEMATICS ALONGSIDE THE TEACHERS, AND WE START TO SEE THAT SHOW UP IN THEIR DATA JUST A LITTLE BIT. UM, SO AGAIN, WHEN WE LOOK AT THEIR PERFORMANCE AND HEAVILY, HEAVILY DEFINITELY IMPLEMENTING THE NEW CURRICULUM, WE START TO SEE THEIR DATA LOOK A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WE SEE AT THE OTHER MIDDLE SCHOOL CAMPUSES.

SO AGAIN, ALSO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT ALSO SHOWS UP HERE AND WHY WE'RE NOT SEEING THE ACCELERATION AS WELL IS THAT WE'RE NOT TEACHING TO THE LEVEL OF THE STANDARD.

SO WHEREAS WE STILL HAVE OUR ADVANCED LEARNERS IN THIS DATA IN 6TH GRADE IF WE'RE NOT TEACHING TO THE LEVEL OF THE STANDARD, WE'RE NOT GOING TO SEE THE, THE OUTCOMES. WE'RE NOT GOING TO SEE IT IN THE STUDENT.

AND AGAIN, MOVING ON TO 7TH GRADE, AGAIN, THIS IS WHERE OUR ACCELERATED LEARNERS SKIP, RIGHT? SO OUR 7TH GRADE— SO OUR 7TH GRADERS THAT ARE TAKING THE 8TH GRADE STAAR EXAM OR TAKING ACCELERATED PATHWAY IN MATH ARE NOT NECESSARY— THEY'RE NOT INCLUDED IN THIS DATA. SO THAT'S WHY YOU SEE THAT BIG DROP-OFF IN THE DATA IN THIS PARTICULAR GRADE LEVEL.

AND AGAIN, THIS IS WHERE RATIONAL NUMBERS SHOW UP FOR OUR STUDENTS.

AND SO AGAIN, IF YOU'RE NOT FLUENT IN YOUR MATH FACTS, ESPECIALLY MULTIPLICATION AND DIVISION, THIS IS WHERE YOUR GAPS WILL SHOW UP AND THEY'LL SHOW UP BIG. SO AGAIN, WHEN WE THINK ABOUT OUR ADVANCED NUMBERS, OUR ADVANCED STUDENTS BEING REMOVED, AND THEN ACROSS ALL OF OUR GRADE LEVELS, ESPECIALLY AT THE MIDDLE SCHOOL LEVEL, THOSE DUAL LANGUAGE SUPPORTS BEGIN TO DROP OFF, RIGHT? BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE DUAL LANGUAGE PATHWAYS WHERE WE HAVE OUR NEWCOMER STUDENTS. YOU KNOW, IF WE HAVE NEWCOMERS THAT ARE ENTERING IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOL LEVEL, THEY'RE NOT ALSO GETTING THOSE SAME SUPPORTS THAT THEY WOULD BE GETTING NECESSARILY IN A DUAL LANGUAGE PATHWAY AT THE ELEMENTARY LEVEL.

SO SOMETIMES THAT SHOWS UP IN THIS DATA. I WANTED TO POINT THAT OUT. AND THEN WHEN WE GET TO 8TH GRADE, AGAIN, THIS IS WHERE OUR ADVANCED LEARNERS COME BACK INTO THE DATA.

IT'S ALSO WHERE CALCULATORS SHOW UP. SO UP

[01:15:01]

SO THEN WE SEE ONE— OUR ADVANCED LEARNERS ARE IN THIS PARTICULAR, UM, GRADE LEVEL. SO THAT'S WHY WE SEE THAT HUGE DROP GOING BACK UP 11— I MEAN, GO— EXCUSE ME, INCREASE 11.4% INCREASE HERE IS WHEN OUR ADVANCED LEARNERS ARE INCLUDED BACK IN THIS DATA.

THEN ALSO STUDENTS ARE ALSO ABLE TO USE THE CALCULATOR. SO THAT'S WHERE YOU SEE THAT, THAT DIFFERENCE, RIGHT, IN 5TH, 6TH, 7TH GRADE THAT YOU DON'T SEE IN 8TH GRADE. AND THEN AGAIN, WHEN WE LOOK AT OUR ALGEBRA 1 DATA, WE ALSO SEE HUGE THEY'RE 3.7%, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF IF YOU LOOK AT THAT GAP BETWEEN OJEDA. AND SO I WANT TO BACK UP. WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE OJEDA DATA, BECAUSE THIS IS OF COURSE AN OUTLIER TO ME, WHEN I LOOK AT WHERE MY 7TH GRADERS WERE, MY 8TH GRADERS WERE AT OJEDA, 18.9%, AND THEN I LOOK LAST YEAR THAT THEY WERE AT 82%, AND I'M QUESTIONING, OKAY, WHY DO WE SEE THIS HUGE DROP-OFF IN GAP? WELL, IT'S BECAUSE THERE WAS A BIG GAP BETWEEN WHERE THEY WERE AND WHERE THEY NEED TO BE THIS PARTICULAR SCHOOL YEAR. SO IT'S A, IT'S A, IT'S A DIFFERENCE, RIGHT? AND SO WE HAVE TO CONTINUE TO BE CURIOUS AS TO WHY WE SEE IT. AND AGAIN, YOU SEE THAT IMPLEMENTATION IN OUR ALGEBRA 1 STUDENTS BECAUSE AGAIN, OUR, OUR ACCELERATED STUDENTS AT 8TH GRADE THAT ARE TAKING ALGEBRA 1 THAT ARE GOING TO TAKE GEOMETRY IN 9TH GRADE ARE ALSO INCLUDED IN THIS DATA AS WELL.

THAT'S WHY YOU SEE OUR MIDDLE SCHOOLS OUTPERFORMING OUR HIGH SCHOOL, UM, IN ALGEBRA 1, BECAUSE THE ACCELERATED STUDENTS ARE ALREADY TAKING THE— ALL RIGHT, SO ON TO PROGRESS MONITORING. SO GRADES 3 THROUGH 4 IMPROVED MATH PERFORMANCE, UM, COMPARED TO THE 2025 PERFORMANCE ON BENCHMARKS. WE'RE MAINTAINING AT THE 5TH AND 6TH GRADE LEVEL AT THE MEETS LEVEL WITH NO REGRESSION YEAR TO YEAR.

AND THEN 8TH GRADE IS ON TRACK, PERFORMING WITHIN 10% OF THE END OF THE YEAR TARGET. AND AGAIN, REMEMBER, THESE ASSESSMENTS WERE GIVEN LATE JANUARY, VERY EARLY FEBRUARY, SO WE'VE HAD MONTHS OF INSTRUCTION, MONTHS OF INTERVENTION SINCE THESE ASSESSMENTS WERE GIVEN.

CONSISTENT HIGH-QUALITY TIER 1 INSTRUCTION CONTINUES TO BE AN AREA OF FOCUS FOR US.

STRONGER PLCS AND A FOCUS ON PLANNING, AND I'M GOING TO SHOW YOU WHY THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT HERE IN A MOMENT.

INCREASE RIGOR THROUGH PROBLEM SOLVING AND STUDENT DISCOURSE, AND THEN TARGETED STUDENT PERFORMANCE. UM, EXCUSE ME, TARGETED SUPPORT FOR CAMPUSES NEED, AS YOU SAW WE DID AT ONE OF OUR CAMPUSES WHO WE RECOGNIZED NEEDED THAT, AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO DO THAT.

SO THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE MATTERS. AND SO OF COURSE, I'M ALWAYS GONNA LEAVE YOU WITH SOME KIND OF A STORY. I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO BRING IT INTO CONTEXT IN OUR DATA.

UM, SO ONE OF MY FAVORITE STORES TO GO TO IS QT. AND THE REASON I LIKE IT IS ONE, BECAUSE IT'S LIKE THE BUC-EE'S OF THE CITY IN MY OPINION.

BUT I GO, I WENT TO QT AND I THINK MY TOTAL WAS $4.87 AND I GAVE THE CASHIER $5.13. AND SHE REPEATEDLY TOLD ME THAT I HAD GIVEN HER TOO MUCH MONEY. AND I WAS LIKE, YES, I KNOW.

AND SO I FINALLY JUST SAID, OKAY, IT'S FINE. JUST HERE'S THE $5. SHE GAVE ME 13 CENTS AND I PUT IT WITH MY OTHER 13 CENTS AND I HAD 26 CENTS AT THAT POINT.

BUT I'M GOING TO SHARE THAT WITH YOU, AND I'M GOING TO SHOW YOU WHERE IT SHOWS UP IN OUR INSTRUCTION. SO THIS WAS A CLASSROOM WE VISITED, I BELIEVE IT WAS 2 WEEKS AGO, WHEN I SNAPPED THESE PICTURES FROM ONE OF OUR CLASSROOMS. SO WHEN YOU— AT FACE VALUE, WHEN YOU WALK INTO THE CLASSROOM, THESE ARE ALL OF THE THINGS THAT WE WANT TO SEE WHEN WE WALK INTO A CLASSROOM.

AND WHAT I DO WANT TO SHARE IS THAT THESE ARE FROM MULTIPLE CLASSROOMS, AND THESE ARE PHENOMENAL TEACHERS.

THEY'RE GREAT TEACHERS, BUT THIS IS WHERE WE HAVE TO COME ALONGSIDE OUR TEACHERS TO SUPPORT THEM. WE EXPECT TO SEE ANCHORS OF SUPPORT IN CLASSROOMS, SO TEACHERS HAVE ANCHORS OF SUPPORT, STUDENTS ARE ENGAGED IN LEARNING, THEY'RE SHOWING THEIR WORK, AND OUR TEACHERS ARE UTILIZING THE CURRICULUM.

ALL OF THOSE THINGS WERE PRESENT IN THIS CLASSROOM— STUDENT DISCOURSE, TEACHER TEACHING, STUDENTS ENGAGING WITH THE TEACHER. GREAT, PHENOMENAL TEACHER. HOWEVER, THE INSTRUCTION WAS NOT ALIGNED TO THE INTENT OF THE STANDARD.

RIGHT, AND STUDENTS, AND THEY'RE WORKING VERY HARD.

SO WHAT SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED AND WHERE IS THE MISALIGNMENT, RIGHT? AND HOW DOES THIS SHOW UP IN OUR DATA? SO THE LESSON IS PART OF THE BLUEBONNET LEARNING CURRICULUM, SO IT'S A PART OF OUR MATH CURRICULUM WHICH IS DESIGNED TO BUILD CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING THROUGH MODELS AND STUDENT THINKING BEFORE WE INTRODUCE FEATURES.

SO I WANT TO BACK THIS UP SO THAT YOU CAN LOOK AT THE ANCHOR CHART.

SO YOU SEE THE ANCHOR CHART THAT WALKS THE STUDENTS THROUGH STEP BY STEP WHAT ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO DO TO SOLVE A PARTICULAR PROBLEM.

AND THE STUDENTS ARE FOLLOWING EXACTLY WHAT THE TEACHER TELLS THEM TO DO BECAUSE THEY'RE, THEY'RE GOOD STUDENTS. WE HAVE GREAT TEACHERS.

THE STUDENTS ARE GOING TO FOLLOW WHAT THE TEACHERS TELL THEM TO DO.

BUT HERE'S WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN.

SO THE STUDENTS ARE PRESENTED WITH A PROBLEM.

THE STUDENTS REPRESENT 55 CENTS

[01:20:01]

AND SO THE STRATEGY THAT STUDENTS ARE SUPPOSED TO USE— AND THE TEACHERS ACTUALLY SAY THIS IN THE CLASSROOM, LIKE, GET TO A FRIENDLY NUMBER, RIGHT? ALL AT THE SAME TIME, WE'RE JUST TEACHING THEM PROCEDURAL, RIGHT? SO THE STUDENTS ARE SUPPOSED TO ADD 55 CENTS UP TO A DOLLAR. SO THAT WHAT THE STUDENTS ARE SUPPOSED TO DO AND SUPPOSED TO LEARN IS THAT 55 CENTS, I'M GOING TO GET TO A FRIENDLY NUMBER, WHICH IS THE NEXT 10. SO 55 CENTS PLUS 5 GETS ME TO 60, SO I KNOW THAT 40 MORE GETS ME TO A DOLLAR.

I ADD THAT 5 BACK IN, I GET 45 CENTS. THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE ALL KNOW VERY CLEARLY, WHICH IS WHY I CAN GIVE A CASHIER $5.13 AND THEY CAN GIVE ME BACK A DOLLAR, RIGHT, BASED ON MY CHANGE.

WE KNOW THAT BECAUSE THAT'S BEEN OUR EXPERIENCE, RIGHT? BUT MOST OF US WERE TAUGHT THE VERY PROCEDURAL UNDERSTANDING WE WERE TAUGHT TO JUST BORROW ACROSS ZEROS. WELL, OUR STUDENTS DON'T NEED THAT. THEY DON'T NEED TO BORROW ACROSS ZEROS TO SOLVE PROBLEMS UP TO 100 OR UP TO A DOLLAR.

BUT THAT'S WHAT'S HAPPENING IN OUR CLASSROOMS, AND THAT'S WHY THOSE GAPS— AS MR. WILLOUGHBY SAYS, THE COMPOUND INTEREST, IT CATCHES UP WITH US IN 5TH, 6TH, AND 7TH GRADE BECAUSE THIS IS A 2ND GRADE SKILL THAT STUDENTS SHOULD LEARN IN 2ND GRADE. AND WHEN THEY HAVEN'T BEEN TAUGHT THAT AND WE'VE ONLY TAUGHT THEM THROUGH PROCEDURES THEN IT CATCHES UP WITH THEM LATER ON, BECAUSE THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO FLUENTLY KNOW THAT 55 CENTS AND 45 CENTS IS A DOLLAR.

AND THIS IS WHERE WE'RE SEEING THE GAP. AND AGAIN, AND WE HAVE GREAT TEACHERS, BUT WHAT ENDS UP HAPPENING IS THAT IF I DON'T CATCH THIS AT THE PLC LEVEL AND IT SHOWS UP IN THE CLASSROOM, THEN IT'S ALMOST TOO LATE, BECAUSE NOW, YES, WE ARE GOING TO GET BEHIND BECAUSE I'M GOING TO HAVE TO GO BACK AND COACH THE TEACHERS TO GO BACK AND RETEACH, RIGHT? AND SO THEN THE CURRICULUM CONTINUES TO MOVE ON AND WE END UP CREATING GAPS LATER ON BECAUSE THEN MAYBE I HAVE TO RUSH THROUGH. SO I SHARE THAT WITH YOU JUST TO GIVE YOU JUST THE REAL CONTEXT OF WHAT IT IS THAT WE'RE FOCUSING ON AND WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO AND WHERE WE'RE GOING NEXT.

AGAIN, WE HAVE TEACHERS THAT ARE IMPLEMENTING THE CURRICULUM, WE HAVE TEACHERS THAT ARE SHOWING UP EVERY SINGLE DAY FOR OUR STUDENTS, BUT WE AS A TEAM, MY TEAM OUR CAMPUS LEADERS, OUR INSTRUCTIONAL COACHES, OUR PLC LEADS. WE HAVE TO GET BETTER AT RECOGNIZING THIS ON THE FRONT END SO THAT OUR TEACHERS ARE PREPARED BEFORE THEY ACTUALLY STEP INTO IT. SO AGAIN, WE CREATE CONCEPTUAL— SO THIS IS WHY IT MATTERS, AGAIN, BECAUSE WE CAN— WE CREATE CONCEPTUAL GAPS BECAUSE WE HAVE JUST A PROCEDURAL FOCUS AND NOT ON THE UNDERSTANDING BEHIND THE CONCEPTS.

AND THE LONG-TERM IMPACT IS THAT IT SHOWS UP LATER ON.

IN OUR STAR PERFORMANCE. SO GOING TO OUR SPRING 2026 BENCHMARK DATA, AND THEN WHAT ARE WE DOING? SO AGAIN, WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE OUR FOCUS ON CONSISTENT IMPLEMENTATION OF HIGH-QUALITY TIER 1 INSTRUCTION ALIGNED TO THE STANDARDS AND CURRICULUM IN EVERY SINGLE CLASSROOM.

HAVE TO DO THAT. WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE FOCUSING ON FACILITATING DISTRICT-WIDE PLCS TO STRENGTHEN TEACHERS' IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CURRICULUM, BUT THEN ALSO THAT EMPHASIS ON INTERNALIZING AND REHEARSING.

SO FROM THE OLD MATH TO THE NEW MATH, AS PARENTS SAY, I DON'T UNDERSTAND THIS NEW MATH THAT Y'ALL ARE TEACHING, BUT IT'S THINGS THAT WE HAVE LEARNED OVER TIME, RIGHT? EVEN THOUGH WE MAY HAVE ALSO BEEN TAUGHT WITH PROCEDURES, WE DON'T WANT TO TEACH OUR STUDENTS WITH PROCEDURES.

WE WANT THEM TO HAVE THAT CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING, BUT WE HAVE TO GET TO OUR TEACHERS FIRST. SO LEADERSHIP— SO THIS IS WHERE THE WORK WITH BIG ROCK EDUCATION COMES IN. SO WE HAVE TO BUILD THE CAPACITY OF OUR INSTRUCTIONAL COACHES LEAD STRONG PLCS, AGAIN CATCHING IT BEFORE TEACHERS GET TO THE CLASSROOM AND START TEACHING.

CONTINUE CALIBRATED CAMPUS WALKS WITH OUR CAMPUS LEADERS TO ENSURE ALIGNMENT WITH HQIM AND INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES.

CONTINUE LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT, COACHING, AND MONITORING OF CAMPUS INTERVENTION PLANS.

AND THEN PROFESSIONAL LEARNING, SO MAKING SURE THAT WE CONTINUE WITH THAT JOB-EMBEDDED PROFESSIONAL LEARNING TIED DIRECTLY TO CLASSROOM AND STUDENT PERFORMANCE.

DR. BAILEY, AND I JUST, I THINK YOU EXPLAINED IT, ARTICULATED IT VERY WELL, BUT I WANT TO GO BACK TO THE MONTHS I, I FIRST CAME TO THE DISTRICT AND I SHARED WITH THE BOARD SOME OF THE CONCERNS THAT I SAW IN SOME OF THE CLASSROOMS. IT GOES BACK TO TEACH, NOT JUST TEACHING THE STANDARD, MAKING SURE THAT KIDS ARE LEARNING ON GRADE LEVEL, IT'S ENSURING THAT WE'RE TEACHING TO THE RIGOR OF THAT STANDARD.

AND AS DR. BAILEY SHARED WHAT HAPPENS IS THAT GAP WIDENS, AND I DEAL WITH THAT WITH MY OWN KIDS AND, AND THE FOUNDATION NOT BEING THERE WITH ONE OF THEM AND A 6TH GRADER. AND JUST EVERY NIGHT, 15 MINUTES, FLASHCARDS, MULTIPLICATION AND DIVISION, BECAUSE THAT FLUENCY MATTERS AND IT'S SO IMPORTANT.

AND SO, BUT WHAT I'M, WHAT I'M EXCITED ABOUT IS THE NEW CURRICULUM AND THE RESOURCES AND SUPPORTS THAT WE HAVE IN PLACE. AND AS THESE KIDS MOVE UP INTO THE SYSTEM THROUGH SYSTEM,

[01:25:04]

THAT IS AN EXPECTATION FROM HERE ALL THE WAY DOWN TO OUR SCHOOLS. BUT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE ARE WORKING THROUGH, AND WE'VE HAD PL— A LOT OF TIME SINCE THIS BENCHMARK TO PUT IN PLACE SOME INTERVENTIONS TO PROVIDE SUPPORT TO OUR STUDENTS WHO ARE NOT WHERE WE WANT THEM TO BE YET. AND OUR TEACHERS HAVE BEEN LASER FOCUSED ON INTERVENTION AS WELL, SO I WANT TO GIVE CREDIT TO THEM FOR THAT LASER FOCUS.

BUT IT'S ESSENTIAL THAT, AND WHAT I'M EXCITED ABOUT, ARE THE BOARD GOALS THAT WE— GOALS THAT WE HAVE IN PLACE, THAT WE HAVE THAT FOCUS HERE ON THE DAIS THAT TRANSLATES HERE INTO THE, THE ROOM WHERE I MEET WITH FOLKS, ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE CLASSROOM. IT'S ESSENTIAL THAT EVERY KID HAS ACCESS TO GRADE-LEVEL STANDARDS EVERY SINGLE DAY BECAUSE OF THE IMPACT IT HAS LONG-TERM BEYOND THIS BEYOND MIDDLE SCHOOL, BEYOND HIGH SCHOOL, IN THAT EXPERIENCE THAT DR.

BAILEY SPOKE ABOUT AT QT.

THANK YOU, DR. BAILEY. I DO HAVE, UM, I GUESS A QUESTION OR COMMENT BECAUSE I HAVE A SECOND GRADE GRANDDAUGHTER THAT I HELP, RIGHT? BUT I DON'T UNDERSTAND THIS MATH, AND AT HER AGE SHE CAN'T COME AND EXPLAIN TO ME WHAT SHE'S DOING.

I LOOK AT IT, I'M OLD SCHOOL MATH. RIGHT. SO AT THIS POINT, I WANT TO SIT DOWN WITH YOU SO YOU CAN TEACH ME THIS, BUT HOW DO WE RELAY THAT TO PARENTS? BECAUSE THAT— I MEAN, WE WANT TO HELP THEM AT HOME, BUT WHEN THEY— THIS IS ALL NEW TO ME, SO IT'S HARD FOR ME TO TRY AND HELP HER TO UNDERSTAND IT.

SO THERE'S SOME FAMILY CONNECTION DOCUMENTS THAT WE'VE SHARED ON THE WEBSITE.

THEY'RE, THEY'RE ON THE CURRICULUM WEBSITE. SO THAT PARENTS CAN SEE THEM AS THE UNITS ARE COMING UP.

AND WE HAVE TO DO A BETTER JOB WITH OUR TEACHERS. WE POSTED THEM ON THE WEBSITE FOR PARENTS TO HAVE ACCESS TO, BUT WHAT WE NEED TO DO A BETTER JOB WITH, WITH OUR TEACHERS AND ALSO WITH OUR CAMPUS LEADERS, IS SENDING THOSE OUT BEFORE THOSE UNITS COME UP. SO THAT WAY WE CAN BRIDGE BETWEEN WHAT PARENTS WANT TO DO, WHICH IS— IT'S— I ALWAYS COMMEND PARENTS, IF YOU'RE HELPING YOUR KIDS AT HOME, THEN HELP THEM AT HOME, WHATEVER THAT LOOKS LIKE.

OR GRANDPARENTS, IF YOU'RE HELPING YOUR GRANDKIDS AT HOME, HELP THEM.

UM, BUT WHAT WE NEED TO DO A BETTER JOB WITH IS, BECAUSE WE HAVE THE RESOURCES AND THEY'RE THERE AND THEY'RE AVAILABLE AND THEY'RE ON THE WEBSITE, A BETTER JOB OF POINTING, UM, PARENTS AND OUR TEACHERS AND ALSO OUR CAMPUS LEADERS AT SENDING THAT OUT IN THEIR WEEKLY EDUCATION SO THAT YOU KNOW WHAT'S COMING UP AND YOU KNOW THE LANGUAGE TO USE WITH THE STUDENTS AND HOW TO HELP THEM AT HOME TOO.

BECAUSE NOW I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE DOING THERE, BUT YOU KNOW, ALL RIGHT, UH, JUST SECRETARY WEGNER.

SO I LOVE THIS. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AND I'M GOING TO TRY NOT TO GET INTO THE WEEDS.

ON THE PAGE WITH THE PROGRESS MONITORING FOR SPRING 2026 BENCHMARK, IT'S GOT THE TABLE. WHAT IS THE LAST ONE? EB. WHAT IS THAT, PLEASE, MA'AM? EMERGING BILINGUAL.

OKAY, THANK YOU. AND THEN MOVING ON TO GRADE 3 MATH BENCHMARK. I'M TRYING NOT TO STATE THE OBVIOUS, BUT— AND I DON'T WANT TO GO INTO DETAILS, BUT ARE WE HELPING AT BEATTY? BECAUSE THAT WAS LOW TO BEGIN WITH AND DROPPED LOWER.

SO, OKAY, ABSOLUTELY. YES. SO BEATTY IS ALSO ONE OF THE CAMPUSES OUR TEAM IS ALSO SUPPORTING.

OKAY. UM, HUGE— YOU KNOW ME— HUGE SHOUT OUT TO DELL VALLE ELEMENTARY BECAUSE— AND THAT DEFINITELY IS SOMETHING TO DUPLICATE. UM, POPPLE ON THIS ONE.

SO GRADE 3 MATH, THEY BROUGHT IT UP, WHICH IS PHENOMENAL. MY CONCERN IS WHEN YOU GO TO 4TH GRADE AND THEN 5TH GRADE, THEY DROPPED AND THEN HELD THEIR OWN FOR 5TH GRADE. SO I MEAN, WITHOUT STATING THE OBVIOUS, DID ANYBODY ELSE— Y'ALL ARE WORKING WITH ALL OF THEM TOO? OKAY, COOL.

UM, AND SAME THING WITH BEATTY, FROM 3RD GRADE TO 4TH GRADE TO 5TH GRADE. 5TH GRADE DID REALLY WELL LAST YEAR, BUT THEN NOT SO WELL THIS YEAR.

SO I'M HOPING THAT WE CAN BRING IT UP.

AND I REALIZE EBBS AND FLOWS, AND THEY DON'T HAVE— I MEAN, I HATED LEARNING MY MULTIPLICATION, BUT I COULD TELL YOU IN MY SLEEP WHAT THEY ARE.

SO, YOU KNOW, IT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS WE JUST HAVE TO DO. SO WELL DONE.

I LOVE IT. THANK YOU. THIS IS A LOT OF GOOD INFORMATION.

THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES TRUSTEE SIERRA. FIRST OF ALL, GREAT JOB ON THIS PRESENTATION. WAS

[01:30:01]

SO I APPRECIATE ALL THE EXPLANATION, ALSO COMING BACK AROUND TO GIVE US AN EXAMPLE.

UM, OUR TWO GOALS, THIRD GRADE AND SEVENTH GRADE.

THIRD GRADE, I THINK IT LOOKS LIKE EVERYTHING WE'RE DOING IS WORKING AND MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.

THE SECOND GRADE DATA ALSO IS SHOWING THAT WE'RE MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. I BELIEVE SEVENTH GRADE, I UNDERSTAND HOW WE GOT HERE.

UM, CAN YOU SAY A FEW WORDS ABOUT THE THINGS WE'VE BEEN DOING IN 7TH GRADE WITH THESE STUDENTS TO HELP MOVE THEM FORWARD? WHAT'S WORKING? WHAT'S NOT WORKING WITH 7TH GRADE? ABSOLUTELY.

7TH GRADE IS— IT'S A CHALLENGE.

AND I'LL— AND I WILL TELL YOU, IT'S NOT A CHALLENGE THAT'S UNIQUE TO DEL VALLE. A BIG PART OF WHY IT'S A CHALLENGE IS BECAUSE OF ACCELERATED IN MATH.

UM, AND SO THE STUDENTS, UM, THAT ARE STILL TAKING 7TH GRADE MATH ARE TYPICALLY OUR STUDENTS THAT DO HAVE THE LARGEST GAPS.

BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT ON THAT ACCELERATED PATHWAY.

AND SO WHAT WE ARE DOING RIGHT NOW TO COMBAT THAT IS, ONE, WORKING WITH OUR TEACHING AND LEARNING TEAM, OUR MATHEMATICS DEPARTMENT, DOING— SO WE HAVE CARNEGIE LEARNING THAT'S ALSO ON-SITE, ON THE GROUND, WORKING ALONGSIDE OUR TEACHERS IN PLCS.

WE'VE DONE SOME RESTRUCTURING, UM, IN PARTICULAR AT A COUPLE OF OUR CAMPUSES, BAILEY IN PARTICULAR FOR SURE, OJEDA, AND THEN AT DEL VALLE MIDDLE SCHOOL, ACTUALLY AT ALL OF THE MIDDLE SCHOOLS. WE'VE REALLY BEEN TRYING TO HAVE THIS FOCUS ON SMALL GROUP INSTRUCTION, UM, BECAUSE ESPECIALLY, UM, WE KNOW THAT WE NEED TO ENGAGE ESPECIALLY WITH OUR MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS IN A DIFFERENT WAY, ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY HAVE GAPS IN THEIR LEARNING, RIGHT? BECAUSE THAT ENGAGEMENT JUST NEEDS TO LOOK DIFFERENT SO THAT YOU CAN PULL OUT OF THEM WHAT YOU NEED TO, BUT THEN ALSO THAT THEY RECEIVE.

AND SO WE'VE HAD A HEAVILY— A HEAVY FOCUS ON THE PLCS AT THOSE PARTICULAR CAMPUSES.

WE'VE HAD A HEAVY FOCUS ON PULLING FOLKS INTO, ESPECIALLY AT THE 7TH GRADE LEVEL, TO SUPPORT THE CAMPUSES BECAUSE THAT'S ALSO WHERE WE OF UNFORTUNATELY THE GREATEST NUMBER OF VACANCIES IN SECONDARY MATH IS AT THE 7TH GRADE LEVEL, UM, BECAUSE IT'S, IT'S HARD. IT'S HARD IN A LOT OF WAYS, UM, FOR TEACHERS. SO WE TYPICALLY DON'T HAVE EDUCATORS THAT ARE WILLING TO CHOOSE THOSE PARTICULAR GRADE LEVELS.

AND THEN RESTRUCTURING ALSO HOW WE UTILIZE THE INTERVENTIONISTS ON THOSE CAMPUSES AS WELL TOO, BECAUSE THOSE ARE OUR CONTENT EXPERTS THAT ARE ON THE CAMPUS. SO THEY ARE PUSHING INTO CLASSROOMS AND WORKING ALONGSIDE TEACHERS IN FULL AND SMALL. CAN I FOLLOW UP? WITH THE SMALL GROUPS, YOU MENTIONED THAT, I MEAN, LANGUAGE SUPPORT DROPS OFF.

AND I'M CURIOUS TO WHAT DEGREE, LIKE, IS THE LEARNING CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING THERE AT THE SAME LEVEL? WE'RE JUST NOT ABLE TO TEST IT BECAUSE THE LANGUAGE SUPPORT DROPS OFF? OR I DON'T KNOW, IS THERE ANYTHING THAT'S BEING DONE OR THAT OTHERS HAVE DONE IN THAT SPACE TO HELP OUR EMERGENT BILINGUAL? SO FOR SURE, SO WE KNOW THAT AFTER, AFTER 5TH GRADE, STUDENTS CAN NO LONGER TEST IN SPANISH.

SO THAT'S ALSO GOING TO BE A CHALLENGE. SO IF THEY STILL— SO WHETHER THEY'RE A NEWCOMER STUDENT OR A STUDENT WHO STILL PROBABLY WOULD BENEFIT MORE FROM HAVING AN ASSESSMENT IN THEIR LANGUAGE, THAT WOULD DEFINITELY BE A PLACE WHERE WE DEFINITELY ARE GOING TO SEE A DROP-OFF BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT GOING TO GET THAT LANGUAGE SUPPORT ON THE ASSESSMENT. THE OTHER THING THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON, AND I KNOW, AND IT WAS, IT WAS LIKE, I DON'T WANT TO SAY IT WAS A CATCH LATER ON.

SO FOR OUR STUDENTS WHO ARE EMERGENT BILINGUAL STUDENTS, THERE, THERE ARE SUPPLEMENTAL SUPPORTS AND AIDS THAT WE CAN GIVE THE STUDENTS, BUT IT'S, IT REALLY TAKES OUR TEACHERS UNDERSTANDING WHAT THOSE LANGUAGE SUPPORTS ARE. EVEN THOUGH THEY CAN'T HAVE THE TEST IN SPANISH, THERE STILL ARE SOME LANGUAGE SUPPORTS, WHETHER IT'S A DICTIONARY, BUT THAT ALSO NOW I'M BOGGED DOWN WITH LOOKING UP WORDS VERSUS FOCUSING ON THE MATH.

THAT CAN ALSO BE A CHALLENGE.

THERE ARE SOME OTHER ACCOMMODATIONS THAT WE CAN PROVIDE TO STUDENTS WHERE THERE ARE GAPS. BUT IT TAKES OUR TEACHERS UNDERSTANDING WHAT THOSE ACCOMMODATIONS ARE, AND IT ALSO TAKES OUR CAMPUS LEADERS. SO, UM, IN TERMS OF JUST LANGUAGE SUPPORT, ESPECIALLY FOR OUR EMERGING BILINGUAL STUDENTS, THAT IT DEFINITELY IS, IS A PLACE WHERE WE DEFINITELY SEE A NEED FOR SUPPORT.

TRUSTEES, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES VICE PRESIDENT CISNEROS. UH, THANK YOU, DR. BAILEY, FOR THAT INFORMATION.

UM, I'M NOT SURE IF I MISSED IT IN THE PRESENTATION, BUT WHAT IS THE OVERALL PERCENTAGE FOR 7TH GRADE MATH AT THE MIDDLE OF THE YEAR? IT IS 1%. 1%. AND, UM, THE END OF THE YEAR, UH, I THINK— WHAT DID WE SET IT AT? 12%? WE SET IT AT 12%.

OKAY, SO WE'RE AT 1% AT THE MIDDLE OF THE YEAR.

OKAY, SO, UM, WITH THAT, UM, I, I DO LIKE THE INFORMATION THAT YOU LISTED, THE WHAT NOW. SO THOSE ARE STRATEGIES THAT WE'VE ALREADY DEPLOYED, CORRECT? SO WITH THOSE ALREADY IN PROCESS, WE SHOULD SEE A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE BY THE END OF THE YEAR, CORRECT? WE SHOULD SEE AN INCREASE FOR SURE.

OKAY, ALL RIGHT. THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES TRUSTEE FRANCO.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT PRESENTATION.

AS ALWAYS, THIS INFORMATION IS GOLDEN, AND YOU ALWAYS DO A

[01:35:03]

SO I'M GLAD TO KNOW THAT WE'RE— THERE'S— WE'RE SEEING SOME OF THE REASONS WHY THAT EXISTS.

BUT BESIDES JUST GETTING US TO— TO TRUSTEE CISNEROS'S POINT, BESIDES GETTING US TO KIND OF LIKE PARITY, ARE WE— ARE THERE ANY THINGS WE CAN BE DOING AS A BOARD OR ANY RESOURCES WE CAN BE PROVIDING THAT CAN GET US MORE TARGETED ATTENTION ON THIS GRADE LEVEL? BECAUSE IT SEEMS LIKE THIS IS THE ONE THAT'S STRUGGLING, PLUS WE ALREADY HAVE THIS DIP.

WHAT COULD WE BE DOING WHAT DO YOU NEED FROM US? I THINK CONTINUING TO HAVE THESE CONVERSATIONS, I THINK IT KEEPS THE FOCUS ON OUR STUDENT OUTCOMES, RIGHT? I THINK US CONTINUING TO HAVE THIS CONVERSATION AND US RAISING IT AS A TOPIC OF CONVERSATION BECOMES IMPORTANT BECAUSE OTHERWISE IT'S EASY TO JUST PUSH 7TH GRADE TO THE SIDE BECAUSE 7TH GRADE STRUGGLES.

TYPICALLY WHAT YOU HEAR IS, OH WELL, 7TH GRADE STRUGGLES STATEWIDE, AND THAT'S, THAT, THAT'S TRUE, BUT WE HAVE TO KEEP THE FOCUS. SO I THINK AS A BOARD AND AS A TEAM, WE CONTINUE TO KEEP THIS AT THE FOREFRONT. WE CONTINUE TO KEEP— RIGHT NOW WE OFFER A STIPEND FOR OUR SECONDARY MATH EDUCATORS.

SO WE DO OFFER A HARD TO SAY— I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU CALL IT.

WHAT IS IT CALLED? IT'S NOT A RETENTION STIPEND, BUT IT'S A HARD TO FILL. SO IT'S ONE OF THE AREAS IN WHICH WE OFFER A STIPEND BECAUSE WE RECOGNIZE THAT IT'S HARD TO FILL SECONDARY MATH POSITIONS.

SO I THINK CONTINUING TO STAY, IF WE CAN CONTINUE TO KEEP THAT, THEN WE CAN CONTINUE TO TRY TO RECRUIT, BUT THEN ALSO JUST CONTINUE TO SUPPORT US IN THE WORK BECAUSE IT, IT IS, IT IS, IT'S HARD WORK, BUT AT THE SAME TIME IT'S NOT DOABLE BECAUSE WE UNDERSTAND WHERE THE GAPS ARE. AND SO IF WE CAN STABILIZE OUR STAFFING BY CONTINUING TO REMAIN COMPETITIVE, CONTINUE TO OFFER THE STIPEND AT THE SECONDARY LEVEL SUPPORTED BY THE BOARD, THEN WE CAN CONTINUE TO SUPPORT OUR TEACHERS ALONG THE WAY TOO. BUT JUST, I THINK JUST US HAVING THESE CONVERSATIONS KEEPS IT AT THE FOREFRONT FOR US.

IT KEEPS US AT THE FOREFRONT OF THE COMMUNITY, BUT THEN ALSO FOR OUR CAMPUSES AND OUR TEACHERS AS WELL TOO.

DR. BAILEY, COULD YOU ALSO SHARE— WE UTILIZED S3 STRATEGIES TO WORK SPECIFICALLY WITH 7TH GRADE AS WELL.

WE DID, AND I, AND I MISSED THAT IN THE PRESENTATION. SO WE DID, WE ALSO DID WORK WITH S3 STRATEGIES AT DALEY AND AT DEL VALLE MIDDLE SCHOOL IN PARTICULAR AT THE 7TH GRADE LEVEL TO HELP SUPPORT US GETTING THAT INCREASE, UM, IN PERFORMANCE.

TRUSTEES, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? WITH THAT, DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE? I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE PRESENTATION.

SECRETARY WEGNER MAKES A MOTION. DO I HAVE A SECOND? TRUSTEE WRIGHT-HAYWOOD MAKES A SECOND. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? YES, TRUSTEE FRANCO.

JUST FOR CLARITY, UM, AND WE DON'T HAVE TO DO THIS THIS TIME, BUT I THOUGHT THERE WAS A— IN LSG WE LEARNED THAT THERE IS— WE DON'T ALWAYS HAVE TO APPROVE THESE THINGS IF WE'RE NOT NECESSARILY COMFORTABLE WITH THE DATA. UM, AND WE COULD, WE COULD ALWAYS ASK FOR THIS INFORMATION TO COME BACK TO US IN A MONTH OR TWO IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN. DO ANY OF Y'ALL REMEMBER WHAT THOSE STRATEGIES WERE? THIS IS A QUESTION FOR MEMBERS OF THE DAIS.

TRUSTEE PANTOJA. TRUSTEE FRANCO, THAT'S A GREAT POINT.

YES, WE'RE ABLE TO PULL AN ITEM.

IT DOES HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE PORTION OF MAKING THE MOTION TO PULL IT, SECOND, AND VOTED TO BE MOVED ON TO A LATER TIME. TONIGHT, SINCE IT IS AN ACTION ITEM, WE DO HAVE TO— WE CAN EITHER VOTE ON IT OR WE CAN AGREE TO WE WOULD HAVE TO VOTE TO MOVE IT TO ANOTHER MEETING. THAT IS THE PROCESS THAT WE WOULD NEED TO TAKE IF YOU WOULD WANT TO MOVE IT TO ANOTHER MEETING.

I HAVE A STATEMENT. I THINK THIS IS— WE'RE ACCEPTING THE INFORMATION, RIGHT? YES.

THAT'S WHAT WE'RE VOTING ON.

RIGHT. THIS IS THE MID-YEAR BENCHMARK. IT'S NOT GOING TO CHANGE IF WE BRING IT BACK.

THERE IS NO BRING IT BACK.

THIS IS WHAT IT IS. AM I MISUNDERSTANDING SOMETHING? NO, NO, I'M JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THIS PROCESS WAS.

EXACTLY, THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT I WAS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT. IT'S ACCEPTING THE INFORMATION WAS PRESENTED, RIGHT? SO WITH THAT, I HAD, UM, SECRETARY WEGNER MAKE THE MOTION AND, UM, TRUSTEE WRIGHT-HAYWOOD MAKE SECOND.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? THANK YOU.

THE MOTION PASSES UNANIMOUSLY.

[VIII.D. SB 546 Required Reporting on School Bus Seat Belt Costs]

PRESIDENT GUADIAN, DR.

GUTIERREZ, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN OF THE BOARD, TONIGHT'S PRESENTATION IS A CLARIFICATION IN A DISCREPANCY OF DATA THAT WAS PRESENTED AT THE LAST BOARD MEETING.

[01:40:01]

AND IN DEL VALLE ISD, WE HAVE 19 SCHOOL BUSES THAT ARE NOT EQUIPPED WITH SEAT BELTS.

PREVIOUSLY, WE PRESENTED 4 THAT WERE OPERATING, UH, WITHOUT SEAT BELTS, BUT IN TOTAL, WE HAVE 19 THAT WE OWN THAT DON'T HAVE SEAT BELTS.

WE HAVE 20 BUSES THAT ARE EQUIPPED ONLY WITH 2-POINT SEAT BELTS, AND WE HAVE 64 BUSES THAT ARE EQUIPPED WITH 3-POINT SEAT BELTS.

THE RETROFIT COST ESTIMATE TO RETROFIT 31 BUSES WITH 3-POINT, UH, SEAT BELTS IS LISTED AS $981,852.20. 8 ACTIVITY BUSES WITH 2-POINT SEAT BELTS CANNOT BE RETROFITTED BECAUSE OF THEIR AGE. THE PURCHASE COST ESTIMATE TO REPLACE THOSE 8 ACTIVITY BUSES COMES IN AT THE AMOUNT OF $887,632.

THIS INFORMATION MUST BE PRESENTED TO THE, UH, STATE TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY AFTER THIS PRESENTATION. AND WHAT THE RECOMMENDATION IS, THE ADMINISTRATION RECOMMENDS THAT THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE BUDGET DOES NOT ALLOW FOR THE DISTRICT TO EQUIP 39 BUSES WITH 3-POINT SEAT BELTS. ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE? TRUSTEE PANTOJA.

THANK YOU FOR THIS. UM, AND MR. WILLOUGHBY, I KNOW YOU WERE NOT HERE AT THE TIME, BUT I BELIEVE WE DID A REFRESH ON OUR BUSES YEARS AGO.

DID THAT NOT HAPPEN? IT DID.

WE RECENTLY— WE HAVE RECENTLY BROUGHT 14 NEW SCHOOL BUSES ONLINE THIS YEAR. OKAY, SO THEN I GUESS I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND, BECAUSE I KNOW THIS LAW— THE LAW HAS BEEN IN PLACE FOR SOME TIME NOW, SO I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND HOW DO WE HAVE A TOTAL— I KNOW THERE'S ONLY 4 THAT ARE BEING USED, BUT HOW IS IT THAT WE HAVE A TOTAL OF 19 WITHOUT SEAT BELTS? I MEAN, WE'D BE OUT OF COMPLIANCE FOR LIKE 10 YEARS NOW.

SO THOSE BUSES ARE— THOSE 19, EXCEPT FOR THE 4 THAT ARE ASSIGNED TO ROUTES, THOSE ARE USED AS SPARES. AND SO IF A BUS GOES DOWN, BREAKS DOWN, NEEDS REPAIR, THEN WE HAVE TO PUT ONE IN IT. SO, UH, THOSE HAVE BEEN PHASED OUT OVER TIME, AND THAT'S WHY IT SEEMS SUCH A LARGE AMOUNT.

BUT WE CURRENTLY HAVE UH, 64, 20, 84, 88, 89 ROUTES, UH, THAT ARE RUNNING THE, THE, THE ROADS RIGHT NOW FOR OUR TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT, AND OF THOSE DON'T HAVE SEAT BELTS.

THANK YOU. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? HEARING NO OTHER QUESTIONS, DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE? TRUSTEE PANTOJA MAKES THE MOTION.

DO I HAVE A SECOND? WE JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE MOTION IS ACCURATE, THAT THE RECOMMENDATION IS THAT THE BOARD ACKNOWLEDGES THAT THE BUDGET DOES NOT, UH, ALLOW FOR THE RETROFITTING OF THOSE BUSES— WITH 39 BUSES WITH 3-POINT SEATS. THANK YOU FOR THE CLARIFICATION. SO TRUSTEE PANTOJA MAKES A MOTION, SECRETARY WEGNER MAKES A SECOND.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? MOTION PASSES UNANIMOUSLY. THANK YOU.

[IX. Closed Session]

THE TIME IS 7:59. WE WILL NOW RECESS TO EXECUTIVE SESSION AS AUTHORIZED BY CHAPTER 551 OF THE TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE UNDER SECTIONS 551.071 AND.074.

AND BOARD MEMBERS, PLEASE NOTE THAT ADMINISTRATION IS NOT BRINGING FORWARD A RECOMMENDATION AT THIS TIME REGARDING THE POSSIBLE HIRING OF THE OPPORTUNITY CENTER DAP PRINCIPAL, AS INTERVIEWS ARE STILL IN PROGRESS. AS A REMINDER, EXECUTIVE SESSION IS, IS A CONTINUATION OF THE BOARD MEETING. I RESPECTFULLY ASK THAT THE AUDIENCE MEMBERS REFRAIN FROM APPROACHING THE DAIS AND BOARD MEMBERS AT THIS TIME.

THANK YOU. OKAY, WE ARE BACK IN OPEN SESSION. THE EXECUTIVE SESSION ADJOURNED AT 9:07, AND WE ARE BACK IN OPEN SESSION.

THE TIME IS 9:09. DO I HAVE A

[X.B. Discuss, Consider and Possibly Act on Superintendent's Recommendations for Contract Renewals for Administrators, Other Certified Staff, and Other Professional Staff with Chapter 21 Probationary and Term contracts for School Year 2026-2027.]

[01:45:03]

DO I HAVE A SECOND? TRUSTEE SIERRA MAKES A SECOND. ALL

[X.C. Discuss, Consider, and Possibly Act on Employment of Non-Chapter 21 Professional Staff for School Year 2026-2027.]

SECRETARY WEGNER MAKES THE MOTION. DO I HAVE A SECOND? TRUSTEE SIERRA MAKES A SEC— MAKES A SECOND. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? DID SOMEONE— OKAY, YEAH, MOTION PASSES UNANIMOUSLY.

THANK YOU. WITH THAT, DO WE HAVE ANY NEW BUSINESS FOR FUTURE BOARD AGENDA ITEMS? OKAY, THANK YOU. UM, DO I HAVE A MOTION TO ADJOURN? TRUSTEE PANTOJA MAKES THE MOTION.

SECRETARY WEGNER MAKES A SECOND. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? MOTION PASSES UNANIMOUSLY. THE TIME IS 9:11.

THANK YOU.

* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.