Oct 08, 2025 Board Meeting

[00:00:06]

I AM CALLING TO ORDER THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF CECIL COUNTY MEETING OCTOBER 8TH, 2025.

[1. Regular Meeting - 4:30 p.m]

IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND? OKAY. ANY DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES UNANIMOUSLY.

WE ARE NOW IN CLOSED SESSION. ALL RIGHT. WE ARE

[2. Closed Session]

[3. Open Session - 5:30 p.m.]

MR. DAVIS, BOARD REFLECTION, PLEASE. THE MISSION OF THE CECIL COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS IS TO SERVE EQUITABLY THROUGH POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS AS A SAFE AND COLLABORATIVE COMMUNITY.

WE WILL ENSURE ALL LEARNERS ACQUIRE THE KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND QUALITIES TO BE RESPONSIBLE, CARING AND ETHICAL CITIZENS. THANK YOU. IS THERE A MOTION FOR THE ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA, PLEASE? I MOVE THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION ADOPT THE MEETING AGENDA AS PRESENTED.

IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND. THANK YOU, MR. FERDINANDO.

ANY DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES UNANIMOUSLY. THE CONSENT AGENDA.

[4. Consent Agenda]

IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND. THANK YOU. ANY DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES UNANIMOUSLY.

SORRY. I'M SCROLLING DOWN. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS.

[5. New Business]

I HOPE THE FIRST MONTH OF THE SCHOOL YEAR WENT WELL. I KNOW IT WAS GOOD FOR ME. SINCE THE LAST FULL BOARD MEETING, I'VE DONE A FEW THINGS THAT I'D LIKE TO TOUCH ON IN THIS REPORT.

TWO WEEKS AGO, I ATTENDED THE FIRST COUNTY COUNCIL STUDENT COUNCIL MEETINGS.

IT WAS GREAT TO TALK TO STUDENT LEADERS FROM AROUND OUR COUNTY'S HIGH SCHOOLS AND HEAR ABOUT WHAT THEY'RE CURRENTLY DOING IN THEIR RESPECTIVE SCHOOLS. DOCTOR LAWSON AND MISS HAWLEY ALSO STOPPED BY TO TALK ABOUT GRADUATION WITH US, WHICH WAS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO HEAR INFORMATION DIRECTLY FROM THEM ABOUT GRADUATION. I ALSO, THROUGHOUT THE PAST MONTH, TALKED TO SENIORS ABOUT GRADUATION, AND GATHERED FEEDBACK THAT I SHARED AT THE WORK SESSION TWO WEEKS AGO. IN TWO WEEKS, I PLAN ON ATTENDING THE SECOND DAY OF THE MABE ANNUAL CONFERENCE.

I HOPE TO HAVE A CHANCE TO CONNECT WITH OTHER STUDENT BOARD MEMBERS AND TALK TO THEM ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON IN THEIR COUNTIES CURRENTLY AND PROJECTS THEY ARE WORKING ON. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU, MISS METCALFE. MR. HAMPTON. GOOD EVENING.

THIS MONTH I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO ATTEND BOTH BAINBRIDGE ELEMENTARY AND CHARLESTOWN ELEMENTARY'S OPEN HOUSE, WHICH WAS A GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO HEAR FAMILIES WHAT THEY LIKE, QUESTIONS THEY HAD AND CONCERNS.

THAT'S ALL I HAVE. THANKS. THANK YOU, MR. HAMPTON.

MR. FERDINANDO. I HAVE NOTHING NEW TO REPORT TODAY, MR. DAVIS. THANK YOU, MR. FERDINANDO. MR. DAVIS. I YIELD MY TIME TO MY COLLEAGUE, MISS DIANE HEATH.

WOW. WELL, WE'RE GOING QUICK TODAY. I JUST HAVE A COUPLE OF ITEMS. I WAS ABLE TO ATTEND THE TEACHER OF THE YEAR STATE BANQUET.

IT WAS A GREAT EVENING CELEBRATING THE TEACHERS OF THE YEAR ACROSS THE STATE OF MARYLAND.

SO I'M REALLY HAPPY THAT I WAS ABLE TO ATTEND THAT.

I ALSO HAVE BEEN SPENDING MY TIME VOLUNTEERING IN CECILTON ELEMENTARY'S FIRST GRADE CLASS AND IN A KINDERGARTEN CLASS IN GILPIN MANOR WHICH I THOROUGHLY ENJOY BOTH OF THOSE. AND THEN TODAY I WAS IN THE MABE´S LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE MEETING WHERE WE ARE JUST LOOKING AT THE 2026 LEGISLATIVE SESSION PRIORITIES FOR MABE, AND I WILL BE ATTENDING MABE ANNUAL CONFERENCE IN TWO WEEKS, AS WELL AS MISS METCALFE. THANK YOU. DID A BUNCH OF THOSE THINGS, TOO.

LAST MONTH WHEN WE WERE TALKING ABOUT BACK TO SCHOOL THINGS, AND NOW HERE WE ARE WITH HOMECOMINGS AND MARCHING BAND COMPETITIONS AND SENIOR NIGHTS.

[00:05:08]

I PLAN TO ATTEND OTHERS AND ALSO GETTING SOME BOOTS ON THE GROUND IN SCHOOLS, EVEN ADMINISTERING A SPELLING TEST AT CONOWINGO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ALONG WITH DOCTOR LAWSON. DURING THE PAST MONTH, WE WERE ABLE TO CELEBRATE A FEW FOLKS FIRST BEING, AS MISS HEATH MENTIONED, MISS TAYLOR SCHAFER FROM NORTHEAST MIDDLE SCHOOL, WHO IS OUR CECIL COUNTY TEACHER OF THE YEAR AT THE STATE TEACHER OF THE YEAR GALA.

SECONDLY, OUR FORMER SUPERINTENDENT, DOCTOR CARL ROBERTS.

HE WAS THE FIRST RECIPIENT OF THE CECIL COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE'S LEGACY OF LEADERSHIP AWARD.

SO WE WERE ABLE TO SEE AND CELEBRATE HIM AT THAT.

AND THEN ONE OF THE THINGS I LIKE TO DO BEST IS INTERACTING WITH STUDENTS.

AND IN ADDITION TO CATCHING THEM AT GAMES AND IN THE CLASSROOM, I WENT TO NORTHEAST HIGH SCHOOL ON A SATURDAY MORNING AND WAS ABLE TO TALK TO SENIORS AND THEIR FAMILIES WHO WERE PAINTING THEIR PARKING SPOTS AND WHICH, BY THE WAY, IS SO FUN TO SEE. AT SOME OF THESE HIGH SCHOOLS, YOU'LL SEE THAT THERE'S PARKING LOTS, SPACES PAINTED BY SOME OF THE SENIORS AND REALLY, REALLY GOOD PIECES OF WORK.

AS MISS METCALFE MENTIONED, DOCTOR LAWSON AND I ALSO ATTENDED THE COUNTY COUNCIL OF STUDENT COUNCILS MEETING AND HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH STUDENT LEADERS FROM EACH OF THE HIGH SCHOOLS. AND JUST ONE THING I WANT TO MENTION ABOUT THAT IS THAT I AM ALWAYS SO IMPRESSED WITH THE INITIATIVE, THE ATTITUDE, THE THINKING SKILLS.

JUST ABILITY TO ASK REALLY GOOD QUESTIONS, LISTEN, DISCUSS ISSUES WITH MATURITY, WITH GRACE.

I JUST AM VERY IMPRESSED WITH OUR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS FOR BEING ABLE TO DO THAT.

SO ALSO YOUTH EMPOWERMENT SOURCES, DRUG FREE CECIL YOUTH COALITION'S PLANT YOUR PROMISE, ALSO ON A SATURDAY.

AND THERE WERE ABOUT 20 STUDENTS THERE. AND IT'S REALLY GOOD TO SEE OUR STUDENT LEADERS FROM DFC WORKING ON PREVENTION EFFORTS IN THE COUNTY. AND THEY DO A LOT OF THINGS. STUDENT LEADERS IN THE COUNTY, THEY ARE DOING A SPOOKTACULAR.

I THINK IT IS OCTOBER 25TH TO SATURDAY FROM 11 TO 1.

YOU'RE GOING TO SEE A LOT OF TRUNK OR TREATS COMING UP.

BUT THIS IS ONE SPONSORED BY DRUG FREE CECIL.

IT'S ALSO A PRESCRIPTION DRUG TAKE BACK DAY. SO IF YOU HAVE MEDICINES THAT YOU NEED TO PROPERLY DISPOSE OF, THEY'LL TAKE THEM THERE. FOOD, FUN, GOOD FOR THE WHOLE COMMUNITY.

SO ALSO, FINALLY SOME HOUSEKEEPING. IT WOULDN'T BE A BOARD REPORT WITHOUT ME TALKING ABOUT DILIGENT.

WE'RE USING OUR NEW PLATFORM, WHICH IS DILIGENT COMMUNITY.

IT IS REPLACING BOARD DOCS. WE ARE PHASING OUT BOARD DOCS, AND WE ARE CONTINUING TO WORK OUT SOME KINKS WITH THAT.

JUST LIKE WITH ANY NEW PLATFORM AND THE WAY THAT PEOPLE REGISTER FOR PUBLIC PARTICIPATION WILL BE CHANGING.

IT'S ALREADY. YOU ALREADY CAN DO IT. IT'S ON THE WEBSITE.

YOU CAN REGISTER THROUGH THE WEBSITE IN ORDER.

YOU CAN DO IT THROUGH THE WEBSITE. YOU CAN CLICK ON A MEETING. YOU CAN REGISTER THAT WAY.

BUT WHILE WE'RE DOING ALL THIS AND WORKING OUT ALL OF THESE TWEAKS, YOU CAN STILL EMAIL THE PUBLIC PARTICIPATION EMAIL ADDRESS FOR THE NEXT FEW MONTHS SO THAT WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE GETTING EVERYBODY WHO WANTS TO REGISTER.

SO IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT, JUST FEEL FREE TO EMAIL ANY OF US.

AND I THINK THAT'S ALL I HAVE, DOCTOR LAWSON.

THANK YOU, MISS HAWLEY. I HAVE A FEW RECOGNITIONS AND RESOLUTIONS I'D LIKE TO SPEAK TO.

OCTOBER IS A BIG MONTH FOR THAT. I'D LIKE TO START WITH THE NATIONAL PRINCIPALS MONTH.

WE HAVE 29 PRINCIPALS. SIMPLY PUT, THEY'RE THE GLUE THAT HOLDS THE SYSTEM TOGETHER.

ANY SUPERINTENDENT WILL TELL YOU THAT, YOU KNOW, THE 29 PRINCIPALS WE HAVE.

WE ARE SO LUCKY. THEY'RE JUST ALL HIGH QUALITY INDIVIDUALS THAT DO A GREAT JOB OF LEADING THEIR BUILDINGS.

THIS IS ALSO NATIONAL PHYSICAL THERAPY MONTH.

PT´S, AS WE CALL THEM, ARE RELATED SERVICE PROVIDERS.

THEY PROVIDE THE PHYSICAL THERAPY SERVICES NEEDED BY SOME OF OUR STUDENTS WHO HAVE DISABILITIES.

IT'S ALSO NATIONAL SCHOOL LUNCH WEEK, WHICH IS OCTOBER 13TH THROUGH THE 17TH, AND CCPS WILL SERVE 1.2 MILLION BREAKFASTS AND LUNCHES THIS YEAR. SO SCOTT HECKERT IS NOT HERE THIS EVENING, BUT THANK YOU TO SCOTT AND HIS STAFF.

IT IS FACILITIES PERSONNEL APPRECIATION WEEK.

MISS SHARON THOMPSON IS HERE REPRESENTING FACILITIES, AS DOES DOCTOR BOYER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES.

[00:10:05]

WE'RE APPRECIATIVE OF THE WORK BUS DRIVERS DO.

I'VE DECIDED WHEN I RETIRE, I MIGHT WANT TO DRIVE.

AND WHAT I DRIVE WON'T TALK. I DON'T WANT TO DRIVE HUMANS.

YOU GET WHERE I'M COMING FROM. AND THEN ALSO, IT IS NATIONAL SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY AWARENESS WEEK, AND WE HAVE SEVERAL OF OUR SCHOOL SITES WITH US THIS EVENING.

AND I'D LIKE TO ASK YOU TO STAND FOR A MOMENT, PLEASE. JUST BE RECOGNIZED.

PLEASE. COME ON. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE. THEY ARE THE BOOTS ON THE GROUND PEOPLE SUPPORTING OUR STUDENTS WITH MENTAL HEALTH AND AWARENESS. WHETHER IT'S PERSONAL ISSUES, ACADEMIC ISSUES.

WE CERTAINLY APPRECIATE WHAT THEY DO. AND THEN I'LL CLOSE OUT MY REMARKS, IS THIS YEAR.

SOME OF YOU KNOW, LAST YEAR ONE DAY A WEEK, I WENT TO BAYVIEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND JUST PUSHED INTO A SECOND GRADE CLASSROOM TO SUPPORT AND HELP THE TEACHER.

AND THEN FOR THE SECOND HALF OF THE YEAR, I ADDED A CLASSROOM AT LEEDS.

SO THE SECOND HALF OF THE YEAR, I WAS TWO DAYS A WEEK.

THIS YEAR I WILL BE SUPPORTING MISS [INAUDIBLE], WHO IS A SIXTH GRADE LANGUAGE ARTS TEACHER.

AND YOU KNOW, SO I'VE BEEN IN THERE NOW FOR THREE TIMES.

SHE IS JUST AN OUTSTANDING TEACHER. AND I THINK THE MESSAGE AND THERE'S SOME NEW FACES IN THE AUDIENCE, AND WE APPRECIATE THAT. THE MESSAGE IS THAT WHEN YOU JUDGE PUBLIC EDUCATION, CAREFUL JUDGING FROM FACEBOOK OR LOCAL NEWS CHANNEL OR YOUR FAVORITE SOCIAL MEDIA OUTLET, REACH OUT TO ME AND I CAN MAKE ARRANGEMENTS FOR YOU TO GO AND SIT AND WATCH AND GO INTO A CLASSROOM AND WATCH A TEACHER TEACH 25 KIDS AND DO AN OUTSTANDING JOB.

AND I GUARANTEE YOU, WHEN YOU DO THAT, YOU WALK OUT WITH A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE OF WHAT'S HAPPENING IN OUR SCHOOLS.

IF YOU DON'T GO INTO SCHOOLS AND YOU ALLOW THE ISSUE OF PUBLIC EDUCATION TO BE FRAMED BY FACEBOOK, YOU WILL ONLY HAVE A CERTAIN FLAVOR FOR WHAT'S GOING ON.

AND THAT'S JUST NOT FAIR TO THE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WHO DO THIS FOR A LIVING FOR MANY, MANY YEARS.

SO AGAIN, I WOULD URGE YOU TO REACH OUT DIRECTLY TO ME IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN SEEING A CLASSROOM.

SEE A CLASSROOM, SPEND A COUPLE HOURS, WATCH, AND THEN YOU TELL ME WHAT YOU SEE.

AND WITH THAT, THAT'S IT. THANK YOU. NEXT ON THE AGENDA, WE HAVE OUR CCPS EMPLOYEE ORGANIZATIONS.

I SAW MISS HRINKO COME IN. MISS HRINKO FROM THE CECIL COUNTY CLASSROOM TEACHERS ASSOCIATION.

WELCOME. GOOD EVENING. GOOD EVENING, PRESIDENT HAWLEY, DOCTOR LAWSON, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, LEADERSHIP TEAM AND GUESTS. TWO WEEKS AGO, SOME OF YOU WERE THERE.

IT WAS A WONDERFUL EVENING. WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO RECOGNIZE MARYLAND´S TEACHERS OF THE YEAR AT A GALA HOSTED BY MSDE.

TAYLOR SCHAEFER, OUR CCPS TEACHER OF THE YEAR WAS THERE TO BE RECOGNIZED, ALONG WITH ALL THE CANDIDATES FROM ALL OF THE COUNTIES.

AND I'M HAPPY TO SAY WE HAD TWO TABLES FULL OF CECIL COUNTY STAFF, ADMIN AND JUST HER FRIENDS THERE TO CHEER HER ON.

AND IN TRUE CECIL COUNTY FASHION, I THINK WE WHOOPED IT UP BETTER THAN ANY OF THE OTHER COUNTIES IN RECOGNIZING HER.

SO IF YOU HAVEN'T MET TAYLOR, I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT SHE DOES AN AMAZING JOB BRINGING HISTORY TO LIFE.

SHE'S A MIDDLE SCHOOL SOCIAL STUDIES TEACHER. SHE HAPPENS TO BE IN MY BUILDING. AND COINCIDENTALLY, I WALKED BY TODAY AND THEY WERE DOING A LIVE ACTION MODEL OF THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS.

SO WITH QUILL PENS AND ALL. SO SHE REALLY DOES BRING THAT TO LIFE FOR HER STUDENTS, AND WE'RE VERY PROUD OF HER.

AND ALL THE OTHER TEACHERS THAT WERE RECOGNIZED.

AND JUST A NOTE THAT ALONNA SOWARD-PURYEAR FROM FREDERICK COUNTY WAS NAMED THE MARYLAND STATE TEACHER OF THE YEAR.

BUT AGAIN, TAYLOR'S OUR TEACHER OF THE YEAR. AND WE'RE JUST SO THANKFUL THAT SHE'S ABLE TO REPRESENT US IN THE FASHION THAT SHE DOES.

DOCTOR LAWSON MENTIONED A LOT OF THE FOLKS WITH THE RESOLUTIONS TONIGHT THAT ARE ON THE CONSENT AGENDA.

AND I'M GOING TO MENTION A BIT ABOUT EACH OF THEM BRIEFLY, BECAUSE WHILE TEACHERS TEND TO GET THE SPOTLIGHT, NOTHING THAT WE DO HAPPENS. THE SCHOOL DOES NOT RUN.

AND KIDS DO NOT LEARN WITHOUT ALL OF THE OTHER PEOPLE HERE.

SO IT WOULD BE WRONG IF I DIDN'T RECOGNIZE THEM.

SO OUR PRINCIPALS THERE. WHEN THE BUCK STOPS HERE, THE BUCK STOPS THERE, RIGHT? SO OUR PRINCIPALS LEAD OUR SCHOOL COMMUNITIES BOTH FOR ACADEMIC RIGOR AND SAFE AND NURTURING LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS.

THEY WERE A LOT OF HATS. THEY JUGGLE VARYING NEEDS OF STUDENTS, STAFF, AND FAMILIES BECAUSE IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG WITH A KID, THEY WANT TO TALK TO THE PRINCIPAL. IF THE TEACHERS ARE HAVING A BAD DAY, THEY WANT TO TALK TO THE PRINCIPAL.

IF THE PARENTS ARE HAVING A BAD DAY, YOU GET IT. THEY WANT TO TALK TO THE PRINCIPAL. SO HATS OFF TO OUR PRINCIPALS AND ADMINISTRATORS.

OUR CUSTODIANS AND MAINTENANCE STAFF ARE MIRACLE WORKERS.

SPEAKING FROM A PERSON IN A SCHOOL BUILT IN 1932.

[00:15:03]

THEY, YOU KNOW, I FEEL LIKE WE NEED A PARKING SPOT JUST FOR THEM.

THEY ARE, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE FROM THE LITTLEST THING TO THE BIGGEST THING, THE ROUTINE MAINTENANCE WHEN THEY'RE ABLE TO GET TO IT AND THE EMERGENCIES THAT HAPPEN, YOU KNOW, FAR TOO OFTEN IN AGING BUILDINGS. SO THANK YOU FOR OUR MAINTENANCE STAFF AND OUR CUSTODIAL STAFF THAT JUST KEEP THINGS WORKING DAY TO DAY.

WE REALLY, TRULY CAN'T DO IT WITHOUT THEM. OUR CAFETERIA STAFF, THEY'RE LIKE THE UNSUNG HEROES.

THEY KNOW WHAT KIDS LIKE. THEY KNOW WHAT KIDS DON'T LIKE. THEY KNOW WHICH KIDS NEED A LITTLE EXTRA HELPING, EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO GIVE IT. AND THEY GIVE THE EXTRA LOVE AND ATTENTION TO OUR KIDS THAT.

THEY'RE EACH INDIVIDUALLY RECOGNIZED. AND WHEN KIDS TEND TO FLY UNDER THE RADAR, THEY CAN THEY CAN BE QUIET AND MAYBE NOT BE NOTICED ALL THE TIME.

SOME OF OUR CAFETERIA WORKERS AND OUR CUSTODIANS ARE THE ONES THAT REALLY, LIKE, RECOGNIZE AND MAKE THOSE KIDS FEEL SEEN.

SO AGAIN IT'S NOT JUST THE LUNCHES THAT THEY'RE SERVING.

IT'S THAT EXTRA. IT'S GOING TO SOUND CHEESY, AND I DIDN'T EVEN WRITE IT IN, BUT IT'S THE HELPING OF LOVE. THEY'RE GIVING LOVE. SO THANK YOU TO OUR CAFETERIA WORKERS. YEAH. I SHOULDN'T DO THIS.

PROBABLY. OUR SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS SUPPORT WITH MENTAL HEALTH, LEARNING BEHAVIORS.

HELPING OUR KIDS SUCCEED ACADEMICALLY, EMOTIONALLY, SOCIALLY.

IF THEY ARE NOT CONFIDENT IN WHO THEY ARE AND WHERE THEY ARE IN THAT MENTAL SPACE THEY'RE IN.

THEY'RE NOT LEARNING ACADEMICS. AND SO WE REALLY CAN'T DO IT WITHOUT OUR SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS AND OUR PHYSICAL THERAPISTS.

YOU DON'T ALWAYS THINK OF OTS, PTS IN SCHOOLS, BUT OUR PHYSICAL THERAPISTS ARE HELPING OUR STUDENTS WHO ARE STRUGGLING WITH MOTOR NEEDS, BALANCE, POSITION, STRENGTH, MOBILITY, COORDINATION SO THAT THEY CAN MOVE NOT ONLY THROUGHOUT THE SCHOOL BUILDING AND PARTICIPATE IN SCHOOL ACTIVITIES, BUT REALLY HELP BUILD THOSE SKILLS SO THEY CAN MOVE OUT IN THE COMMUNITY AND THROUGH THE REST OF THEIR LIFE. AND SO WE HAVE OUR SCHOOL BUS DRIVERS, RIGHT? ANY OF YOU WANT TO VOLUNTEER TO BE A SCHOOL BUS DRIVER? SPECIAL SPOT IN HEAVEN, RIGHT? HOW MANY KIDS DO THEY HAVE BEHIND THEM? SO SHOUT OUT TO THEM AS WELL. AND SO ALL OF THESE FOLKS, LIKE.

AND THE MANY MORE THAT AREN'T BEING JUST RECOGNIZED IN THIS NEXT MONTH OR TWO, THEY MAKE OUR SCHOOLS, RIGHT? AGAIN, THE TEACHERS GET THE SPOTLIGHT RIGHT, YOU KNOW BUT WE CAN'T DO IT WITHOUT THESE FOLKS.

AND WE CAN'T DO IT WITHOUT OUR PARENTS, OUR COMMUNITY. SO IF YOU SEE SOMEBODY WITH A CCPS BADGE OR ANOTHER SCHOOL BADGE, AND YOU HAPPEN TO KNOW THEY WORK IN SCHOOLS. DOCTOR LAWSON MENTIONED STUFF IN THE NEWS, RIGHT? THERE'S ALL KINDS OF STUFF IN THE NEWS. THERE'S ALWAYS BEEN STUFF IN THE NEWS, BUT THERE'S STUFF GOING ON EVERY DAY IN KIDS FAMILIES THAT YOU KNOW ABOUT AND SEE ABOUT, AND THAT WE DON'T ALWAYS EVEN HEAR ABOUT. AND OUR FOLKS IN SCHOOLS ARE TASKED WITH MEETING ALL OF THE KIDS WHERE THEY ARE AND HELPING THEM MOVE NOT JUST ACADEMICALLY, BUT EMOTIONALLY AND SOCIALLY AS WELL. AND SO IT TAKES ALL THESE PEOPLE TO DO IT.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MISS HRINKO. NEXT WE HAVE OUR CONSTRUCTION REPORT.

DOCTOR LAWSON. THANK YOU, MISS HAWLEY. SO REAL QUICK, WE´LL LEAVE ON THE TEXT THERE FOR A MINUTE, WOULD YOU? THERE YOU GO. JUST OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE THE NEW SCHOOL, AND I HAVE A COUPLE PICTURES THERE IN A MOMENT.

THAT'S COMING. CECILTON ELEMENTARY IS HAVING A BOILER CONVERSION PROJECT IN THE PROCESS OF BEING COMPLETED.

THAT AREA OF THE COUNTY NOW HAS ACCESS TO NATURAL GAS.

AND SO WE'LL BE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THAT. THERE IS A PORTION OF ELKTON MIDDLE SCHOOL THAT IS DUE FOR AN AIR CONDITIONING REPLACEMENT PROJECT, WHICH IS RATHER COSTLY, FRANKLY, BECAUSE OF THE STEEL AND THE ROOF MOUNTING INVOLVED.

IF YOU SCROLL ON UP, WE HAVE A SIMILAR PROJECT AT RISING SUN HIGH THAT JUST COMPLETED.

THE ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES CENTER. EXCUSE ME.

IF YOU DON'T KNOW, IS THE BUILDING THAT'S RIGHT NEXT TO BAYVIEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.

IT'S THE OLD SCHOOL OF TECHNOLOGY. WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF REPLACING A BOILER THERE, AND THE ROOF, WHICH BOTH ARE ORIGINAL. AND I WANT TO SAY THAT BUILDING WAS PROBABLY BUILT IN THE 1960S.

SO WE ARE REPLACING BOTH THE ROOF AND A BOILER THERE.

AND WE EXPECT TO HAVE BID OPENING TOMORROW FOR A COMPREHENSIVE HVAC REPLACEMENT AT CECIL MANOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, WHICH AGAIN, IS LONG OVERDUE. THAT'LL BE A NEW HEATING SYSTEM AND A NEW AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM AT CECIL MANOR FOR UPWARDS OF $4 MILLION.

SO IT'S QUITE COSTLY AND IT'LL TAKE THE BETTER PART OF THE YEAR.

AND IT'S ONE OF THOSE PROJECTS WHICH WE WILL COMPLETE WHILE STUDENTS ARE IN THE BUILDING.

WE TRY TO AVOID THAT. BUT SOMETHING THIS COMPREHENSIVE, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO DO THE PROJECT YEAR ROUND.

SO GOING DOWN TO THE PICTURE, WHICH IS LIKE THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE MEETING, IT WOULD BE THAT.

SO I'VE PUT. WE. STAFF HAVE PUT LETTERS. SO A IS THE GYMNASIUM.

B THIS IN HERE'S THE AUDITORIUM. YOU CAN SEE THERE'S A DIRT FLOOR.

IT WILL BE CONCRETE. THAT'LL BE THE LAST CONCRETE FLOOR TO BE POURED.

[00:20:03]

IT'LL SEAT A LITTLE BIT OVER A THOUSAND TO INCLUDE A BALCONY, WHICH IS WONDERFUL.

C IS THE MIDDLE SCHOOL WING RIGHT HERE. IT'S THREE FLOORS.

DOWN HERE'S THE CAFETERIA. D IS THE HIGH SCHOOL WING.

E OUT HERE ARE SOME. THE MIDDLE SCHOOL ATHLETIC FIELDS.

IN HERE IS GOING TO BE A COURTYARD LOOP WHERE TRAFFIC WILL COME UP, TURN INTO THE BUILDING, LOOP AROUND, DROP KIDS OFF, COME BACK AROUND, BACK OUT TO IRISHTOWN ROAD AND OFF THEY GO.

IRISHTOWN ROAD WILL BE EXPANDED TO FOUR LANES IN BOTH DIRECTIONS JUST IN FRONT OF THE SCHOOL, AND I BELIEVE IN FRONT OF WHAT WILL BE A NEW NEIGHBORHOOD OUT HERE SOMEWHERE.

IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE. THESE ARE THE ATHLETIC FIELDS FOR THE MIDDLE SCHOOL, WHICH ALSO SERVE AS GEOTHERMAL FIELDS FOR HEATING AND AIR CONDITIONING.

IN TERMS OF HVAC CONTROLS, THE HIGH SCHOOL WILL CONTINUE TO USE THE EXISTING FIELDS, EXCEPT BASEBALL FIELD, THE BASEBALL FIELD WILL BE BASICALLY LEVELED, AND A NEW BASEBALL STADIUM WILL BE CONSTRUCTED WHERE THE CURRENT SCHOOL IS BASICALLY. AS SOON AS THE SCHOOL IS OPEN FOR STUDENTS TO COME IN, THE PROCESS OF TEARING DOWN THE OLD SCHOOL WILL BEGIN.

AND THAT'S WHERE SOME FIELDS, INCLUDING THE BASEBALL STADIUM AS WELL AS MORE PARKING, WILL BE PUT THERE.

SO THAT'S KIND OF WHERE WE ARE IN THE DIFFERENT PROJECTS.

AND IF THE BOARD HAS ANY QUESTIONS, EITHER MYSELF, DOCTOR BOYER, DOCTOR BUCKLEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS BY THE BOARD? RIGHT NOW, THE WHOLE PROJECT FOR THE NEW SCHOOL IS RIGHT AROUND $190 MILLION.

AND IT'S ON PACE, MAYBE EVEN A LITTLE BIT AHEAD OF PACE.

THANK YOU, DOCTOR LAWSON. THE MCAP RESULTS 2025.

DOCTOR LAWSON, INTRODUCE OUR. YES. SO WE HAVE ASKED DOCTOR JENNI HAMMER AND HER TWO SUPPORT FOLKS, DOCTOR FOYE, DOCTOR JOHNSON AT THE SECONDARY AND ELEMENTARY LEVEL, RESPECTIVELY, TO SHARE WITH THE BOARD MCAP RESULTS.

AND I THINK YOU'RE GOING TO FIND THIS VERY INTERESTING. THERE'S A LOT HERE.

I JUST WANT TO MAKE IT KNOWN ON THE FRONT END.

I'VE ASKED HER TO SHOW OUR WEAKNESSES. THIS IS THE KIND OF THING WHERE WE COULD SHOW 1 OR 2 SLIDES AND PAINT A PICTURE THAT ALL IS GOOD.

WELL, YOU KNOW, YOU PEEL BACK A LITTLE BIT. WE'VE GOT AREAS WHERE WE NEED TO IMPROVE.

AND SO WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT THOSE. AT ANY TIME, IF THE BOARD HAS QUESTIONS FEEL FREE TO ASK.

YOU CAN INTERRUPT, I WOULD RESUME DURING THE PRESENTATION, JUST ASK AWAY OR YOU CAN SAVE IT TILL THE END.

WHATEVER WORKS. BUT ON THE FRONT END, YOU KNOW, I'VE ASKED DOCTOR HAMMER AND HER STAFF TO PUT TOGETHER REALLY WHAT THE TEST IS, HOW WE PERFORMED AND WHAT WE'RE DOING BASED ON THE RESULTS WE'VE SEEN.

AND SO WITH THAT, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO DOCTOR HAMMER. THANK YOU, DOCTOR LAWSON, PRESIDENT HAWLEY, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, DOCTOR LAWSON LEADERSHIP TEAM, AND ALL OF OUR GUESTS HERE THIS EVENING. WE ARE GOING TO BE SHARING WITH YOU THE MARYLAND COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT PROGRAM 2025 RESULTS.

THESE ASSESSMENTS ARE TAKEN IN THE SPRING OF EVERY YEAR.

AND REALLY PROVIDE DATA FOR US OF HOW OUR STUDENTS ARE PERFORMING ON THE MARYLAND COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS STANDARDS.

SO AGAIN, IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, JUST LIKE DOCTOR LAWSON SAID, PLEASE INTERRUPT US AS WE'RE GOING.

WE'LL BE COVERING BOTH THE MATH AND THE LANGUAGE ARTS ASSESSMENTS THAT WE HAVE.

I WANT TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE HISTORY ON THE COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT PROGRAM.

THIS IS FEDERAL LAW. AND FEDERAL LAW WAS DEVELOPED BY THE ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT, ESEA, AND IT WAS REAUTHORIZED IN 2001 WHERE IT WAS CALLED THE NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ACT.

THAT IS WHERE THE ACCOUNTABILITY METRICS STARTED TO COME INTO PLAY.

ACCOUNTABILITY ON HOW STUDENTS ARE ACHIEVING THE GRADE LEVEL STANDARDS THAT ARE BEING PRESENTED TO THEM.

HOW ARE THEY DOING WITH THOSE STANDARDS? THAT ACT WAS REAUTHORIZED AGAIN IN 2015, AND IT'S CALLED NOW THIS EVERY STUDENT SUCCEEDS ACT.

IT'S CALLED ESSA. YOU KNOW, ACRONYMS IN EDUCATION THAT GO HAND IN HAND FOR SURE.

WE'RE GOING TO BE COVERING WITH YOU TODAY THE MATH AND THE LANGUAGE ARTS RESULTS.

BUT WE DO HAVE RESULTS FOR ALL OF THESE OTHER CONTENT AREAS, INCLUDING SCIENCE, SOCIAL STUDIES, STUDENTS WHO ARE ON ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENTS AS WELL AS KINDERGARTEN READINESS ASSESSMENTS.

BUT THIS IS FEDERAL LAW THAT TRANSLATES INTO THE STATE OF MARYLAND LAW AS WELL.

OKAY. SO AS WE MOVE, WELL, LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT MCAP AS WELL.

IN MY 32 YEARS IN EDUCATION, THERE HAVE BEEN FOUR ITERATIONS OF THE MARYLAND ASSESSMENT PROGRAM.

[00:25:01]

RFP STANDS FOR REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS. SO THAT MEANS THAT THERE WILL BE YET ANOTHER ITERATION.

AT THE SAME TIME, SEVERAL OF OUR CONTENT STANDARDS THAT ARE BEING ASSESSED ARE CHANGING, ESPECIALLY IN THE AREA OF MATHEMATICS.

AND YOU'RE GOING TO SEE THE AREA OF MATHEMATICS DOES NOT SHOW TREMENDOUS PROFICIENCY.

AND WE HAVE CONCERNS AS TO WHY, BECAUSE WE ARE WORKING REALLY HARD TO MEET THE STANDARDS THAT ARE BEING PRESENTED TO US.

SO I WANT TO SHOW YOU JUST AN OVERVIEW, AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO GET DOWN INTO SOME MORE DETAILS ABOUT THE DATA.

SO OVERALL THERE ARE SEVEN GRADE LEVELS THAT ARE ASSESSED.

AND FOR LANGUAGE ARTS AND MATH, OF THOSE 14 AREAS, 11 WE SHOWED GROWTH IN FROM 2024, WHICH WE'RE PROUD ABOUT.

WE ARE PROUD ABOUT THAT UNDER CHALLENGING CIRCUMSTANCES THAT WE HAVE BEEN FACING OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS WITH OUR RESOURCES.

WE HAD LARGE CLASS SIZES IN SEVERAL OF THESE CLASSROOMS WHERE THESE ASSESSMENTS WERE TAKING PLACE, UPWARDS OF 4045 STUDENTS IN CLASSROOMS. WE ALSO HAD A VERY LIMITED PROFESSIONAL LEARNING PROGRAM.

AND WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT AN INCREASE OF TEACHERS WHO ARE CONDITIONALLY CERTIFIED, HAVE NOT BEEN THROUGH TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMS, THAT'S CONCERNING. SO WE DID NOT HAVE THE SUPPORT THAT WE WANTED TO HAVE IN PLACE FOR THEM AS DEEPLY AS WE WOULD LIKE TO HAVE IT.

WE HAVE NOT, OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS, BEEN ABLE TO REDESIGN A CURRICULUM, REDESIGN ANY ASSESSMENTS BECAUSE THE FUNDS WERE NOT THERE TO DO IT.

WE PRIORITIZED FUNDING FTES OR FULL TIME EQUIVALENTS TO PUT INTO OUR CLASSROOMS TO WORK DIRECTLY WITH OUR STUDENTS.

SO AS WE ARE WORKING THROUGH GRANTS AND WHATNOT, WE'RE TRYING TO REBUILD THAT INFRASTRUCTURE SO THAT WE CAN HAVE THOSE SUPPORTS IN PLACE TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR TEACHERS ARE TEACHING AND MEETING THE NEEDS OF OUR STUDENTS WHERE THEY ARE.

AT THIS POINT, I'M GOING TO INTRODUCE YOU TO DOCTOR FOYE, BUT I THINK WE HAVE A QUESTION.

WHERE THEY WERE NOT REMOTE LEARNERS. IS THAT CORRECT? CORRECT. THANK YOU. YEP. THANK YOU. SO AT THIS TIME, I'M GOING TO INTRODUCE YOU TO DOCTOR FOYE.

HE IS GOING TO REVIEW WITH YOU SOME SUB OR SOME LONGITUDINAL DATA.

SO HOW WE HAVE BEEN DOING COMPARED TO THE STATE.

HE'S ALSO GOING TO BE SHARING WITH YOU SOME DISAGGREGATED DATA FOR SOME OF OUR SUBGROUP PERFORMANCE.

AND HE'S ALSO GOING TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF A QUIZ.

SO GET READY. DOCTOR FOYE. GOOD EVENING, PRESIDENT HAWLEY.

DOCTOR LAWSON, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, LEADERSHIP TEAM AND GUESTS.

THIS SECTION, THE GROUND. SOME OF OUR WORK IN MATHEMATICS.

AS DOCTOR HAMER MENTIONED, WE WILL START OFF WITH A MATH PROBLEM.

NOW, THIS MATH PROBLEM DATES BACK IN THE 1980S, BACK WHEN I WENT TO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AROUND THAT TIME, PROBABLY LATE 80S, ACTUALLY. IT WAS AROUND THIS TIME.

I POINT THIS OUT SO AS YOU CAN SEE THE SAMPLE QUESTION, A BUS TRAVELS 15 MILES IN AN HOUR.

A CAR TRAVELS FOUR TIMES AS FAST AS THE BUS. HOW FAR WILL THE CAR TRAVEL IN THREE HOURS? SO YOU LOOK AT A QUESTION LIKE THIS AND YOU'RE LIKE, OKAY, I CAN DO THIS BY MULTIPLICATION.

I'LL DO 15 TIMES FOUR. WE WOULD END UP WITH 60.

AND THEN YOU SAY, OKAY, THAT'S FOR ONE HOUR. YOU COULD DO REPEATED ADDITION IN ORDER TO GET TO THAT ANSWER.

OR YOU CAN DO A MULTIPLICATION. YOU CAN DO 60 TIMES THREE AND GET TO THAT FINAL ANSWER.

I POINT THIS OUT TO YOU BECAUSE THERE IS AN ANSWER.

ONE ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION. SO LET'S FAST FORWARD THIS TYPE OF QUESTION TO WHAT STUDENTS EXPERIENCE TODAY.

THIS IS A FIFTH GRADE QUESTION LOOKING AT MCAP.

SO THIS IS THE TYPE OF QUESTIONS STUDENTS HAVE FOR THEM.

SO DANIEL USES PLASTIC BRICKS TO BUILD 200 FIGURES IN FIVE HOURS.

HE BUILT 60 FIGURES DURING THE FIRST HOUR AND 50 FIGURES DURING THE SECOND HOUR.

DURING THE FIRST TWO HOURS HE USED THREE BRICKS TO BUILD EACH FIGURE.

DURING EACH ADDITIONAL HOUR, DANIEL USED FOUR BRICKS TO BUILD EACH FIGURE.

WHICH THREE QUESTIONS CAN BE ANSWERED USING THE GIVEN INFORMATION? SO THIS QUESTION IS TOTALLY DIFFERENT. REMEMBER I SAID TO YOU BEFORE IT WAS JUST ONE ANSWER.

THIS ONE HERE YOU HAVE TO CHOOSE THREE CORRECT ANSWERS.

SO ANY HANDS? NEVER MIND. I WILL SKIP THAT PART.

BUT AS YOU CAN SEE. GO AHEAD. I'M NOT GOING TO ANSWER THE QUESTION, BUT IF YOU.

CAN YOU SKIP PROBLEMS DURING THE MCAP? LIKE, AND THEN GO BACK TO IT AT THE END? OKAY. BUT AS YOU LOOK AT THIS TYPE OF QUESTION, WHAT A STUDENT WOULD DO, THEY WOULD HAVE TO GO THROUGH EACH OF THESE ANSWERS.

[00:30:01]

HE DOES HAVE ENOUGH INFORMATION TO SAY THAT. SO YOU WOULD SELECT A, THEN YOU WOULD GO TO THE NEXT ONE FOR B.

HOW MANY BRICKS DID DANIEL USE DURING THE FIFTH HOUR? SO I'M LOOKING AT THIS INFORMATION, LIKE, I DON'T HAVE ALL THAT INFORMATION.

MAYBE I'LL COME BACK TO THAT ONE. THEN I WOULD GO TO C.

HOW MANY BRICKS DID DANIEL USE DURING THE SECOND HOUR? WELL, YES, I HAD THAT INFORMATION. SO YOU CAN LOOK RIGHT THERE AT THE SECOND BULLET AND FIND THAT.

THEN YOU LOOK AT THE OPTION D, DURING WHICH HOUR DID DANIEL BUILD THE GREATEST NUMBER OF FIGURES? WELL, I DON'T NECESSARILY KNOW THAT. I NEED MORE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.

THEN YOU COME DOWN TO E. WHAT IS THE TOTAL NUMBER OF BRICKS DANIEL USED TO BUILD ALL OF THE FIGURES? YOU WOULD SELECT THAT ONE. SO AS YOU CAN SEE HERE.

SO NEXT TIME YOU HEAR SOMEBODY BEMOANING THE FACT OF HOW LOW TEST SCORES ARE, I PROMISE WHEN SOMEBODY COMES HERE AND STARTS SAYING THAT, I'M GOING TO OFFER A CHALLENGE, THAT IF YOU CAN PASS THE EIGHTH GRADE TEST, I WILL BUY YOU LUNCH.

THEY ARE THAT HARD. AND I'M NOT SAYING THAT AS A RANDOM GUY.

I TAUGHT MATH FOR A DECADE. I TAUGHT MATH BACK THROUGH THE 80S AND 90S WHEN THEY WERE THOSE KINDS OF TESTS.

AND WHAT I'M TELLING YOU NOW IS, THIS IS NOT THE MATH THAT I'M LOOKING AT YOU, AND NONE OF YOU ARE 20.

THIS IS NOT THE MATH YOU TOOK WHEN YOU WERE IN SCHOOL.

THIS IS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. ABOUT 10, 15, MAYBE 15 YEARS AGO, DECISION WAS MADE TO REALLY RAMP UP THE STANDARDS AND MAKE THEM HARDER.

WELL, LET ME TELL YOU, THEY HAVE SUCCEEDED. AND THIS AGAIN, JUST TO RESET.

THIS IS FOR 11 YEAR OLDS, OKAY? THIS IS NOT, YOU KNOW, OUR MATH, I GUESS IS WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY.

GO AHEAD, DOCTOR FOYE. DOCTOR FOYE, CAN I ASK YOU A QUESTION? YES YOU MAY. IS THE TEST TIMED? SO YES, THERE IS A DURATION OF TIME THAT STUDENTS HAVE TO SIT FOR THE TEST.

SO IT IS.

IS THESE TESTS ARE TAKEN ON AN IPAD OR A CHROMEBOOK.

AND SO WHY DO I THINK THAT MATTERS? BECAUSE I THINK THERE'S REALLY A PLACE FOR PAPER AND PENCIL TO REALLY FIGURE THIS OUT.

SOME OF YOU WHO FOLLOW ALONG, THERE'S A WEBSITE OUT THERE, THE BALTIMORE BANNER.

AND THE BALTIMORE BANNER LAST YEAR RAN A SAMPLE FIVE QUESTION EIGHTH GRADE.

AND IT WAS LIKE, OKAY, HOW MANY OF THESE CAN YOU GET RIGHT? AGAIN, MATH TEACHER, I GOT FOUR. I GOT ONE WRONG.

I WAS STEADY WITH THE PAPER AND PENCIL, YOU KNOW.

AND SO I DO THINK THE CHROMEBOOKS OFFER A REAL CHALLENGE TO OUR YOUNGEST LEARNERS FOR DOING THE MATH.

ANOTHER QUESTION. ARE OUR KIDS PRACTICING THESE TYPES OF QUESTIONS ON CHROMEBOOKS OR ARE THEY PRACTICING THEM ON PAPER? ON CHROMEBOOKS. ALSO, TEACHERS DO SUPPLEMENT WITH SCRAP PAPER BECAUSE STUDENTS CAN USE SCRAP PAPER IF THEY NEED TO DO IT LONGHAND.

I MEAN, THE MOST NUANCED STUFF OF MOVING THE CURSOR AROUND AND DRAGGING A BLOCK DOWN TO THE RIGHT ANSWER AND THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.

IF YOU GO AND YOU WATCH A THIRD OR FOURTH GRADER TAKING ONE OF THESE TESTS ON A CHROMEBOOK, YOU CAN SEE JUST WHAT A CHALLENGE IT IS FOR THEM TO MANIPULATE THE CHROMEBOOK.

ONE QUICK QUESTION, DOCTOR FOYE. ARE THOSE IN THAT EXAMPLE YOU GAVE FOR THOSE THREE QUESTIONS? IS IT A RIGHT OR WRONG? IS IT A BINARY CHOICE, OR DO YOU GET CREDIT FOR HAVING ANSWERED SOME OF IT RIGHT? SO FOR THIS ONE HERE THEY ARE ASKING FOR THREE OF THE ANSWERS.

SO THEY'RE LOOKING FOR THREE OF THOSE NOT ON THIS ONE HERE. BUT THERE ARE OTHER QUESTIONS WHERE THAT IS AT PLAY.

AND DOCTOR JOHNSON WILL TALK ABOUT THAT WITH ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS.

IF YOU GET THE FIRST PART RIGHT, YOU MAY GO TO THE SECOND PART AND THOSE QUESTIONS CAN BE SPLIT.

THIS JUST ISN'T ONE OF THOSE KIND OF QUESTIONS.

DOCTOR FOYE, I DO THINK THIS IS A GOOD EXAMPLE, AND THIS IS FIFTH GRADE, BUT IT HIGHLIGHTS THAT STUDENTS NEED TO HAVE GOOD READING AND COMPREHENSION SKILLS BEFORE THEY CAN DEMONSTRATE THEIR MATH SKILLS.

DO YOU KNOW THE APPROXIMATE PERCENTAGE OF OUR STUDENTS THAT ARE PROFICIENT IN BOTH ELA AND MATH? AND I SUSPECT WHAT THE DATA WOULD SHOW IS THAT IF A STUDENT IS PROFICIENT IN ELA, THEY MIGHT BE PROFICIENT IN MATH.

BUT IF THEY'RE PROFICIENT IN MATH, THERE'S A MUCH HIGHER LIKELIHOOD THAT THEY ARE ALSO PROFICIENT WITH ELA.

YEAH, WE CAN ANSWER THAT NUMBER. SO OF THE STUDENTS WHO TOOK THE ASSESSMENT, THERE WERE 5480 STUDENTS WHO TOOK BOTH THE READING AND THE MATH ASSESSMENT.

1142 OF THEM WERE PROFICIENT IN BOTH. SO THAT'S 20% OF STUDENTS WHO WERE PROFICIENT IN ELA WERE ALSO PROFICIENT IN MATH.

BUT THE MORE NUANCED ISSUE I THINK YOU'RE GETTING AT IS HOW MANY STUDENTS ARE PROFICIENT IN MATH BUT NOT

[00:35:03]

BACK WHEN I TOOK TESTS, IT WAS STRAIGHT DOING THE NUMBERS, WHETHER IT WAS GEOMETRY, ALGEBRA, CALCULUS, THE WHOLE THING. THIS IS AS MUCH OF A LITERACY EXERCISE AS IT IS MATH.

LIKEWISE, WE HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION FOR YOU FROM THE 1980S TO TAKE A PEEK.

AS YOU CAN SEE, THE QUESTION BEFORE YOU, WHICH ONE OF THE FOLLOWING BAR GRAPHS COULD REPRESENT THE DATA FROM THE CIRCLE GRAPH? AS YOU CAN SEE, THE OPTIONS YOU LOOK AT THE PICTURE, YOU LOOK AT THE IMAGE AND YOU SAY WHICH ONE LINES UP THERE.

ANYONE IN THE AUDIENCE? SEE? OKAY, THERE WE GO.

LOOKING GOOD, LOOKING GOOD. THAT'S WHAT I LIKE TO SEE. THERE WE GO.

OUTSTANDING JOB. SO THIS IS IN THE 80S. NOW LET'S FAST FORWARD.

EIGHTH GRADE. JOURNEY IS LIKELY YOUR FAVORITE BAND.

SO HERE'S ANOTHER SAMPLE FOR YOU, WHICH STUDENTS ARE FACE DOWN AT THE EIGHTH GRADE.

A PERSON PURCHASED TEN ITEMS TO DONATE TO A SCHOOL.

BACKPACKS THAT COST $25.75 EACH, AND NOTEBOOKS THAT COST $4.25 EACH.

THE TOTAL COST OF THE ITEMS IS $150. THIS SITUATION CAN BE REPRESENTED BY A SYSTEM OF EQUATIONS WITH A UNIQUE SOLUTION.

WHAT DOES THE SOLUTION TO THE SYSTEM OF EQUATIONS REPRESENT IN THIS CONTEXT? SO HERE WE HAVE SOME OPTIONS. AS YOU CAN SEE ON THIS QUESTION HERE, THERE'S NOT A LOT OF NUMBERS HERE.

ANYBODY IN THE CROWD? YOU CAN GO THROUGH, EACH ONE IS THERE.

WE'RE JUST TALKING ABOUT ALL THE BACKPACKS FOR A.

ARE WE TALKING ABOUT JUST THE COST OF THE NOTEBOOKS FOR B.

THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF MONEY SPENT ON JUST ITEMS. OR. I WILL TELL YOU THAT IN 1991, 2, 3, I TAUGHT HONORS ALGEBRA TWO.

THIS WAS A PROBLEM. THIS KIND OF PROBLEM, AND THE TYPICAL QUESTION OUT OF THAT INFORMATION WOULD BE HOW MANY BACKPACKS WERE PURCHASED? THAT WOULD BE THE MOST LIKELY, YOU KNOW. SO BASICALLY YOU'RE GOING TO SET UP A TWO VARIABLE EQUATION AND YOU'RE GOING TO SOLVE FOR EITHER X OR Y.

AND THEN X WILL EQUAL THE NUMBER OF BACKPACKS, Y WOULD EQUAL THE NUMBER OF NOTEBOOKS.

SO THAT THE ANSWER WOULD SIMPLY BE HOW MANY NOTEBOOKS COULD YOU BUY.

WHEREAS NOW IT'S ASKING YOU A MORE ABSTRACT QUESTION.

YOU KNOW, HOW. YOU SEE WHAT I'M SAYING? IT'S JUST ASKING THE RAW STRUCTURE OF THE ANSWER AS OPPOSED TO WHAT IS THE ANSWER.

IT'S JUST, AGAIN, A LITERACY EXERCISE AS MUCH AS IT IS MATH.

WHAT A LOT OF QUESTIONS. SO AS YOU CAN SEE, OUR ANSWER FOR THIS ONE WOULD BE D.

AND IT'S LOOKING MORE AT THAT COMPREHENSION PIECE HERE.

AND STUDENTS HAVE TO GRAPPLE WITH THIS AS THEY'RE TAKING THIS ASSESSMENT.

SO AS WE JUST GOT A CHANCE TO PRACTICE, NOW LET'S LOOK AT SOME DATA, WHICH YOU HAVE BEFORE YOU IS A COMPARISON BETWEEN THE 2024 SCHOOL YEAR COMPARED TO THE 2025 SCHOOL YEAR. HERE YOU WILL SEE THE GRADE LEVEL AND THE GRADE BANDS.

AS MENTIONED EARLIER, WE HAVE SEVEN GRADE BANDS FROM GRADE THREE ALL THE WAY UP TO ALGEBRA.

WHAT I WOULD POINT OUT AND NOTE TO YOU IS THAT OUT OF ALL OF THE GROWTH AREAS, WE HAVE SEEN GROWTH FIVE OUT OF SEVEN AREAS.

WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT MATHEMATICS, STARTING FROM GRADE THREE, GRADE FOUR AND GRADE FIVE, WE DO HAVE A SLIGHT DIP.

HOWEVER, AS YOU LOOK AT GRADE SIX, COMPARING FROM YEAR TO YEAR, YOU CAN SEE THE GROWTH THAT IS HAPPENING IN GRADE SEVEN THERE'S GROWTH HAPPENING.

WHAT'S INTERESTING, IF YOU TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT GRADE EIGHT, WE GO FROM 15%, 16% DOWN TO SEVEN AND DOWN TO SIX.

AND WHAT HAPPENS? AND THE REASON WHY YOU SEE THIS DROP IS THAT STUDENTS WHO ARE IN EIGHTH GRADE, THEY'RE SPLIT, THEY'RE IN A DIFFERENT TRACK. SO OUR EIGHTH GRADERS, THEY TAKE TWO DIFFERENT ASSESSMENTS.

ONE, THEY TAKE THE MCAP EIGHT. THAT'S FOR OUR CORE STUDENTS.

HOWEVER, FOR OUR STUDENTS WHO ARE MOVING AT AN ACCELERATED RATE, THEY'RE TAKING A YEAR LONG ALGEBRA WITH US, OR THEY'RE TAKING A HYBRID. SO THEY'RE TAKING ALGEBRA DURING OUR EIGHTH GRADE YEAR, AND THEY'RE A PART OF THIS NUMBER HERE.

THAT'S THE REASON WHY YOU SEE SUCH. SO ANOTHER WAY TO LOOK AT THAT, IS THAT OUR TOP PERFORMING EIGHTH GRADERS DON'T TAKE THE GRADE EIGHT MATH TEST.

THEY TAKE THE ALGEBRA TEST. SO THAT THAT EIGHTH GRADER THAT'S IN ALGEBRA, HIS OR HER SCORE IS NOT REFLECTED IN THE GRADE EIGHT RESULTS.

THAT SCORE IS REFLECTED IN THE ALGEBRA RESULTS, OKAY? SO EIGHTH GRADE IS REALLY A WONKY, QUIRKY KIND OF SCORE TO LOOK AT FOR MATH IN MARYLAND.

AND WHAT IS IT GENERALLY, ABOUT A THIRD OF EIGHTH GRADERS TAKE ALGEBRA? I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY PRETTY CLOSE. THE NEXT TABLE THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, WE'RE LOOKING AT SOME

[00:40:06]

WE ALSO HAVE THE MCAP STATE RANKING FROM THE OTHER 24 LEAS, WHICH ARE THE LOCAL EDUCATION AGENCY, OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICTS WITHIN THE STATE. OUR COUNTY WEALTH RANKING FOLLOWED BY FUNDING RANKING.

SO AS YOU CAN SEE, SOME OF THE PROFICIENCY FOR EACH OF OUR GRADE LEVELS, BUT ALSO WHERE DO WE LINE UP AND STACK COMPARED TO THE OTHER DISTRICTS IN THE STATE OF MARYLAND? AND WHAT I WILL SHARE WITH YOU HERE, YOU WILL SEE ALSO IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS.

TYPICALLY, AS WE START OUT IN THIRD GRADE, WE GET BETTER AS STUDENTS BECOME ACCLIMATED TO OUR SYSTEM.

SO AS YOU CAN EVEN SEE SOME OF THE RANKING AND HOW DO WE PERFORM TO OTHER STATES.

SO WE'RE AT 21 BY THE TIME YOU GET TO ALGEBRA.

AS YOU CAN SEE SOME IMPROVEMENTS FROM THAT. WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT HERE ON THIS GRAPH IS A LINE GRAPH.

AND WHAT I WILL HIGHLIGHT FOR YOU, THE BLUE LINE.

IF YOU CAN SEE THIS BLUE LINE, THIS REPRESENTS CECIL COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

THIS IS OUR AVERAGE PERFORMANCE. THIS IS MORE LONGITUDINAL DATA.

SO WE'RE LOOKING AT FROM 2019 UP TO 2025. IF YOU CAN PUT YOUR EYES ON THE RED LINE, THIS IS THE AVERAGE FOR THE STATE OF MARYLAND.

AND THIS IS LOOKING AT FROM GRADE THREE, GRADE FOUR AND GRADE FIVE.

AS YOU CAN SEE, THE STATE IS OUTPERFORMING US IN THESE AREAS.

THERE'S A GAP HERE. AND OUR PLAN IS ALWAYS TO TRY TO CLOSE THAT GAP.

BUT IT IS NOTED HERE. THIS IS LOOKING AT THE MIDDLE SCHOOL.

WHAT I WOULD POINT OUT AT THIS GRAPH HERE, THAT'S A LITTLE DIFFERENT.

I THINK IT'S MORE GLARING ON THIS ONE AS IT IS IN THE ELEMENTARY.

IF YOU LOOK AT 2019, WHICH WAS, YOU KNOW, RIGHT BEFORE COVID, YOU CAN SEE WE'RE OUTPERFORMING THE STATE ON AN AVERAGE.

AFTER THAT, WE HAVE KIND OF DECREASED IN OUR AVERAGE PERFORMANCE IN EACH OF OUR SIXTH GRADE, SEVENTH GRADE AND EIGHTH GRADE. NOW WE'RE ON THE UP SPIN TRYING TO CLOSE THAT GAP AS WE KEEP GETTING CLOSER AND CLOSER SO WE CAN GET BACK TO WHERE WE WERE IN 2019, WHICH WAS ABOVE THE STATE AVERAGE. IF WE ZOOM IN AND TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT THE ALGEBRA MCAP RESULTS, AS YOU CAN SEE, THE SAME PHENOMENA APPLIES HERE.

BEFORE, IN 2019, WE OUTPERFORMED THE STATE DOUBLE ON THE AVERAGE.

WE TOOK A DIP. NOW WE'RE TRYING TO CLOSE THE GAP.

AND OUR PURPOSE AND OUR EFFORT IS TO OUTPERFORM THE STATE.

OKAY. ON OUR MARKERS WHEN WE CAN. I KNOW WE'VE BEEN THROUGH MULTIPLE DIFFERENT, LIKE DOCTOR HAMMER WAS SAYING, MULTIPLE DIFFERENT TESTS THROUGHOUT YOUR CAREER.

DO YOU KNOW THE DATES OF WHEN THOSE TESTS CHANGED? WELL, I CAN TELL YOU THAT IF YOU LOOK AT HERE, WHAT REALLY JUMPS OUT AT YOU IS THE SCHOOL YEAR 2020, 2021. THAT'S THE YEAR THEY REPRIORITIZED THE ALGEBRA STANDARDS AND THEY CHANGED THE TEST.

AND MANY OF THE SUPERINTENDENTS WERE CONCERNED WAS WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN AS A RESULT OF THAT.

AND SURE ENOUGH, YOU KNOW, IT'S SOMETHING THAT EVERYBODY HAS STRUGGLED WITH.

AND WE TOOK A HIT. I MEAN, BECAUSE AT THAT POINT, WE WERE EXTREMELY GOOD AT HAVING WHAT WE TEACH ALIGNED WITH WHAT THE STATE TESTS WILL TEST. IT'S JUST THAT SIMPLE. AND WHEN THEY REPRIORITIZE THE STANDARD, IT TURNS OUR CURRICULUM UPSIDE DOWN.

AND THAT GOES BACK TO WHAT DOCTOR HAMMER WAS SAYING. WE'VE NOT HAD A CHANCE TO RECOVER. AND THAT'S SOME OF WHAT YOU'RE SEEING RIGHT THERE. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON 2020 TO 2022, THE STATE INCREASING.

THAT WAS ALL DURING ONLINE LEARNING, WASN'T IT? MOST OF THAT? SO WHAT WAS THE STATE? WHAT WAS HAPPENING WITH THE STATE DOING BETTER THAN THAT WHILE WE WERE? THAT WAS OUR DROP. LIKE, DO WE KNOW WHAT SCHOOL SYSTEMS DID BETTER DURING THAT ONLINE LEARNING? AND WAS IT BECAUSE THEY HAD A LOT OF THAT ALREADY IN PLACE BEFOREHAND? WE COULD CERTAINLY FIND OUT WHAT SYSTEMS DID BETTER.

JUST BE CURIOUS IF THEY HAD ONLINE LEARNING ALREADY AS PART OF THEIR CURRICULUM.

BY THAT TIME, MIKE FELL, WHO WAS THE COORDINATOR OF SECONDARY MATHEMATICS, HAD ACTUALLY PREPARED AN ALGEBRA ONE MCAP PREP GUIDE, AND HE PUBLISHED THE WHOLE THING, AND IT WAS JUST CHOCK FULL OF THE STUFF.

AND WHEN THEY CHANGED IT, THAT ALL CHANGED. AND I KNOW WE'VE HAD A TOUGH TIME RECOVERING SINCE THAT CHANGE.

KEEP IN MIND, MR. FERDINANDO, THAT WE ARE PERFORMING 14TH IN THE STATE AND THAT'S WHERE OUR SCORES ARE.

WE'RE 14TH IN THE STATE OUT OF 26 JURISDICTIONS.

SO THAT'S SAYING SOMETHING ABOUT THE ASSESSMENT.

I DON'T THINK IT'S IN HERE, BUT DO WE KNOW WHAT THE TOP THREES ARE?

[00:45:03]

THE POOREST COUNTIES IN THE STATE OF MARYLAND.

SOMERSET, BALTIMORE CITY, P.G. THEY TEND TO BE AT THE BOTTOM EVERY YEAR, REGARDLESS OF THE SYSTEM, REGARDLESS OF WHERE IN THE COUNTRY. SYSTEMS ARE CHALLENGED BY TRYING TO OUTPERFORM THEIR DEMOGRAPHICS.

IT'S JUST THAT SIMPLE. YOU CAN'T DECOUPLE A POVERTY LEVEL IN A COMMUNITY AND STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT.

THAT'S NOT TO SAY POOR KIDS CAN'T LEARN. IT'S NOT SAYING THAT.

BUT WHEN YOU START COMPARING TENS OF THOUSANDS OF WEALTHY KIDS TO POOR KIDS, THE WEALTHIER KIDS CLEARLY DO BETTER, AND THAT'S REFLECTED IN WHETHER IT'S SAT, AP, STATE TESTS, COLLEGE ACCEPTANCE.

SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT CECIL COUNTY, WE TYPICALLY.

OUR WEALTH IS ABOUT 16TH OR 17TH DEPENDS ON THE YEAR.

OFTENTIMES OUR SCORES TRACK RIGHT AROUND THERE.

THE OUTLIER IS PROBABLY SECONDARY OR 10TH GRADE READING AND WRITING, WHICH IS WHERE WE'RE USUALLY IN THE TOP TEN.

THIS YEAR, WE WERE 12TH. AND SO WHERE I TRY TO HANG MY HAT IS, YOU KNOW, WE KNOW WHEN OUR KIDS COME IN, WE STRUGGLE TO MEET THESE HIGH LEVELS OF PROFICIENCY.

BUT BY THE TIME THEY LEAVE US IN 10TH GRADE, WE'RE AMONG THE TOP IN THE STATE.

AND THAT'S, YOU KNOW, AND THAT BODES WELL FOR KIDS THAT COME IN.

AND THEY STAY WITH US FOR THEIR ENTIRE K-12 EXPERIENCE.

ARE THOSE TOP SCHOOLS 60, 70, 80% PROFICIENT OR ARE THEY STILL LIKE 45, 50 AT MAX? WORCESTER IS AROUND 60. OKAY. MAYBE A LITTLE HIGHER THAN 60.

WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS, NOT NO ONE'S CLOSE IN MATHEMATICS.

I MEAN, WE SEE IT WITHIN COUNTY. YOU CAN LOOK AT THE MOST AFFLUENT SCHOOLS AND THE SCHOOLS WITH THE MOST POVERTY, AND THE SCORES JUST TRACK. I MEAN, LISTEN, I'M JUST CALLING IT AS IT IS.

MAYBE THAT MIGHT NOT BE POLITICALLY CORRECT. BUT WHERE THERE'S POVERTY, THERE'S LOW ACHIEVEMENT, HIGH DROPOUT RATES, HIGH INCIDENCE OF SUSPENSIONS AND THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.

AND IT'S THE KIND OF THING PUBLIC EDUCATORS HAVE BEEN GRAPPLING WITH FOR 50 YEARS.

IF YOU TAKE A LOOK AT THIS GRAPH HERE, WHICH REPRESENTS OUR SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS, OUR RELATED SERVICE PROVIDERS, PARAPROFESSIONALS, STUDENTS WITH DISABILITY, IF YOU PUT YOUR EYES ON THE RED LINE HERE, THIS REPRESENTS THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITY THAT WE SERVICE IN OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM.

IF YOU LOOK AT THE END HERE, THIS IS THE 2026.

THIS IS OUR CURRENT SCHOOL YEAR. THIS IS LAST SCHOOL YEAR.

AND IF WE JUST TRY TO LINE UP SOME OF THESE, YOU CAN SEE JUST WITHIN THIS LITTLE BIT OF TIME, ONE YEAR'S TIME, WE'VE INCREASED THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITY BY 76 STUDENTS.

SO IF YOU CAN'T SEE THIS NUMBER HERE, 2925 STUDENTS, AND THIS IS THE STAFF HERE AT 470, IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE YEAR BEFORE, IF YOU CAN'T READ THAT NUMBER, THAT'S 2849 STAFF.

AND FOR STUDENTS WE SUPPORT. AND WELL, FOR STAFF, SORRY, STAFF THAT WE HAVE IS 465 STAFF MEMBERS HERE. SO ACCORDING TO THIS, ABOUT 20% OF OUR STUDENTS ARE IDENTIFIED AS STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES.

THAT'S CORRECT. DOES THAT INCLUDE STUDENTS WHO ONLY HAVE IEPS? HOW ABOUT 504 PLAN? LIKE WHAT? JUST IEPS. CORRECT. AND I THINK WHAT ELSE IS NOTEWORTHY HERE.

LET'S JUST START WITH 2022. 2022, WE HAD 2576 STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES.

AND NOW WE CURRENTLY HAVE 2925. SO WE'RE UPWARDS OF 350 ADDITIONAL STUDENTS, WHILE THE OVERALL ENROLLMENT IS TRENDING DOWN. SO WHAT YOU HAVE RIGHT NOW IS A SCHOOL SYSTEM IS WE HAVE STUDENTS.

OUR ENROLLMENT IS SHRINKING. AND THAT IS TRUE.

I HAD DINNER WITH A NUMBER OF DELAWARE SUPERINTENDENTS OVER THE WEEKEND, AND THEY'RE ALL SAYING THE SAME THING.

ALL OF OUR NUMBERS ARE DECREASING. AND FOR US, OUR SPECIAL ED NUMBERS ARE INCREASING, AS ARE OUR NUMBER OF STUDENTS FROM POVERTY.

SO I AM HERE TO TELL YOU AS A COMMUNITY, IF THAT TREND CONTINUES, IT'S AN AREA FOR CONCERN.

IF YOU SIMPLY HAVE MORE AND MORE STUDENTS WHO HAVE DISABILITIES AND MORE AND MORE STUDENTS WHO COME FROM POVERTY, I CAN TELL YOU, AND I'M NOT THE BRIGHTEST GUY IN THE ROOM.

I CAN TELL YOU WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN TO TEST SCORES. OKAY.

IT IS A TALE AS OLD AS TIME. AND SO, YEAH, YOU KNOW, 42 YEARS EXPERIENCE, 64 YEARS OLD.

I'M TELLING YOU NOW WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE. AND SO, YEAH, IT'S GOING TO BE A CHALLENGE FOR US MOVING FORWARD.

[00:50:03]

I THINK YOU'RE HITTING ON IT, BUT I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT, WHAT YOU'RE STATING DOESN'T APPLY TO THE INDIVIDUAL, AND THE GROUP. IT DOES. SO OUR BEST PERFORMING STUDENTS VERY WELL MAY BE ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES.

IT COULD BE. BUT WHAT DOCTOR LAWSON SAID IS, IF YOU HAVE 100 STUDENTS THAT DON'T HAVE ANY OF THOSE CATEGORIES ASSIGNED TO THEM, AND 100 STUDENTS THAT ARE ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES, FOR EXAMPLE, MORE STUDENTS HISTORICALLY ARE GOING TO ATTAIN THE SCHOLASTIC THRESHOLD FROM THE GROUP THAT DOESN'T HAVE ANY OF THOSE CATEGORIES. AND THAT IS HISTORICALLY TRUE ENOUGH THAT WE CAN PROJECT WITH HIGH CONFIDENCE THAT HOW THE TEST, OR HOW THE OVERALL DISTRICT WIDE TEST SCORES WILL.

SO WE HAVE A GRAPH COMING UP THAT WILL SHOW THE PERFORMANCE OF OUR GIFTED, TALENTED AND HONORED STUDENTS.

OBVIOUSLY, THEY'RE GOING TO BE VERY HIGH. FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE LIKE DATA GEEKS A LITTLE BIT.

THERE'S A GREAT THING IF YOU GOOGLE IT, SIMPLY CALLED THE COLEMAN REPORT.

AND IT CAME OUT IN THE MID 60S AND IT CAME OUT OF THE CITY OF DETROIT.

AND WHAT IT LOOKED AT WAS, HOW DO THESE MASSIVE FUNDING EFFORTS ON THE PART OF PUBLIC EDUCATION PERFORM WHEN YOU LOOK AT HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF KIDS? THE SAD NEWS IS, NOT VERY WELL. BUT WHAT COLEMAN DIDN'T LOOK AT CLOSELY WAS, HOW DO WE AFFECT KIDS AT THE SMALLER, GRANULAR TEACHER LEVEL? THAT'S WHERE THE PROMISE IS.

WHEN I MENTIONED MISS ZIMMER AT BOW MANOR, SIXTH GRADE.

THAT'S WHERE THE MAGIC HAPPENS, IN THAT ONE CLASSROOM WITH A GIFTED TEACHER WITH 25 KIDS.

THAT'S WHERE THE GOOD STUFF HAPPENS. AND SO, YES, THE COLEMAN REPORT FROM, I THINK, 1965 OUT OF THE CITY OF DETROIT, IT'S. YOU CAN READ LIKE A TWO PARAGRAPH ABSTRACT.

IT'S REALLY WORTH THE READ AND IT'S QUICK. I DO HAVE ONE QUESTION ON THIS.

SO THE RATIO OF THESE NUMBERS OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES TO THE SUPPORT STAFF RANGES FROM AROUND 5.7 IN 2015 TO 6.2 IN 2025. WHAT SHOULD RIGHTS LOOK LIKE? OR IF FUNDING ISN'T A CONSTRAINT, WHAT SHOULD THAT RATIO BE? SO I KNOW WHEN OUR SPECIAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT, WHO IS WELL REPRESENTED HERE THIS EVENING, 9 TO 1 IS A NUMBER FOR TEACHERS THAT WE'VE ALWAYS TRIED TO STICK NEAR.

WHEN YOU SAY THOSE KINDS OF THINGS, THOUGH, MR. HAMPTON IS THAT ASSUMES THAT EVERY STUDENT WITH A DISABILITY IS THE SAME.

AND THEY DON'T QUACK THE SAME, FRANKLY. SOME STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES, IT'S A VERY NUANCED, MILD, KIND OF SUBTLE THING. OTHER STUDENTS WHO HAVE DISABILITIES, IT'S PROFOUND.

AND IT IS LIKE HERE IN YOUR FACE ALL THE TIME.

AND SO JUST KNOW THAT THAT'S LIKE A NUANCE I THINK, THAT BEARS.

BUT IF YOU LOOK FROM 2015 TO 2026, WE PICKED UP, WHAT IS THAT, 65 POSITIONS, TO SERVE THAT DIFFERENCE INCREASE IN STUDENTS. SO THE MORE YOU KNOW, WE ARE SPENDING MORE AND MORE ON PROVIDING SERVICES FOR OUR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES.

I GUESS I DO HAVE ONE MORE QUESTION. I THINK YOU KIND OF ANSWERED IT BECAUSE IT REALLY DEPENDS.

BUT THESE ARE DISTRICT WIDE. AND SO IT'S LIKE 6.2 STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES TO A SUPPORT STAFF.

I WAS JUST WONDERING IF. YOU SAY SUPPORT STAFF.

THAT INCLUDES TEACHERS. WELL, THESE 400. OKAY.

THE 470 LISTED IN 2025, THAT IS SPECIAL EDUCATORS? ALL SPECIAL ED TEACHERS, RSPS, WHICH IS RELATED SERVICE PROVIDERS.

THIS IS DISTRICT WIDE. IS THAT CONSISTENT AMONGST ALL THE BUILDINGS OR ARE THERE, IS THERE A LOT OF VARIANCE BETWEEN THE BUILDINGS? I CAN ANSWER THAT QUESTION. SO WE TRY THE BEST WE CAN TO STAFF BASED ON SERVICE HOURS.

SO EVERY INDIVIDUAL EDUCATION PLAN, IEP IS BASED ON THE NEEDS OF THE CHILD THAT'S PRESENTING.

SO YOU MAY HAVE A CHILD THAT ONLY MAY HAVE THREE HOURS A WEEK OUTSIDE HOURS, OR ANOTHER CHILD WHO MAY ONLY HAVE TWO HOURS A WEEK OUTSIDE HOURS, AND ANOTHER ONE WHO MAY HAVE 10 OR 15 HOURS A WEEK OUTSIDE HOURS.

SO WE TRY TO STAFF AS BEST WE CAN BASED ON THOSE SERVICE HOURS.

SO THAT ADDRESSES THE SEVERITY OF NEED THAT WE'RE SEEING IN OUR STUDENTS.

AT THE ELEMENTARY LEVEL, WHAT WE TRY TO DO IS, ONE TEACHER TO TEN STUDENTS AS BEST WE CAN, DEPENDING ON THE SEVERITY OF NEED. AT THE SECONDARY LEVEL, OUR RATIO IS ABOUT 1 TO 15.

SO IT'S A LITTLE SKEWED HERE BECAUSE THIS DOES INCLUDE ALL OF OUR SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS, THOSE RELATED SERVICE PROVIDERS AND PARAPROFESSIONALS, BECAUSE THEY'RE ALL A PART OF OUR SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAMING.

AND THIS NUMBER ALSO INCLUDES STUDENTS WHO ARE IN OUR CHILD FIND PROGRAM, OUR INFANT AND TODDLER PROGRAM,

[00:55:03]

SO IT'S ALL IN ALL FOR BOTH STAFF AND STUDENTS IN THIS.

SO STAFFING IS. THIS TEAM WILL TELL YOU IT IS EXTREMELY CUMBERSOME TO STAFF A BUILDING.

AND IT'S A MOVING TARGET BECAUSE STUDENTS ARE CONSTANTLY MOVING IN AND OUT.

AND SO YOU MAY BE STAFFED WELL IN SEPTEMBER. AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN YOU HAVE 4 OR 5 STUDENTS ROLL IN WHO HAVE SIGNIFICANT NEEDS.

AND THAT HAPPENS A LOT IN THE MONTH. LOOK AT THESE PEOPLE.

IN SEPTEMBER, THAT'S WHAT THEY'VE WE'VE BEEN DEALING WITH.

THESE NEW STUDENTS ARE PRESENTING AND WE'VE GOT TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO MEET THEIR NEEDS. SO IT INVOLVES SHIFTING OF STAFF.

THANK YOU. WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO IS ZOOM IN A LITTLE BIT MORE WITH OUR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES ON THIS NEXT TABLE. SO IF YOU LOOK AT THIS BAR GRAPH HERE, THIS IS THE PERFORMANCE OF OUR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITY ON THE MCAP ASSESSMENT LOOKING AT MATHEMATICS. AND THIS IS COMPARING OUR AVERAGE PERFORMANCE TO THE STATE'S AVERAGE PERFORMANCE STILL WITH THE SUBGROUP OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITY.

WHAT I WOULD START WITH IS ALGEBRA HERE. AS YOU CAN SEE THAT THE STATE IS OUTPERFORMING US AS FAR AS ON AN AVERAGE COMPARED TO OUR PROFICIENCY LEVEL.

LIKEWISE, ON EACH OF THESE AREAS, WE'RE GETTING OUTPERFORMED WHERE WE'RE TRYING TO CLOSE THE GAP, BUT NOT MAKING IT NARROW ENOUGH. IN THE EARLIER GRADES, OF COURSE, THERE'S A LITTLE BETTER PROFICIENCY NUMBER, BUT STILL THERE'S A GAP PRESENT. AND THIS IS ONE OF THE AREAS THAT WE'RE CONSTANTLY TRYING TO FIGURE OUT.

HOW CAN WE SUPPORT THE STUDENTS WHO HAVE NEEDS EDUCATIONALLY? JUST FOR EVERYBODY'S EDIFICATION, EACH BAR FOR CCPS REPRESENTS, THIS IS BACK OF THE NAPKIN MATH HERE.

EACH BLUE BAR REPRESENTS ABOUT 175 STUDENTS. AND SO FOR THE STATE, WE'RE ABOUT 2% OF THE STATE'S POPULATION. SO IF EACH BLUE BAR IS ABOUT 175 STUDENTS, EACH ORANGE BAR IS PROBABLY UPWARDS OF, I DON'T KNOW, I'M GOING TO GUESS MAYBE 3 OR 4000.

THAT'S ROUGH. WELL, NOW A QUESTION, YOUR Y AXIS IS A PERCENT PROFICIENT, RIGHT? OKAY. CORRECT. AND THEN ON THESE TWO CHARTS, ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED AND THE STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES. IF YOU HAVE A ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED STUDENT WITH DISABILITY, ARE THEY COUNTED IN BOTH CHARTS? YES, THEY WOULD BE. OKAY. AND THIS KIND OF GETS TO DOCTOR LAWSON'S COMMENT ABOUT CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS.

SO THOSE BARS, AND THIS IS NOT AN EXCUSE FOR CCPS, BUT IT IS CONTEXT.

HOW DOES OUR AVERAGES, OR WHAT IS OUR REPORT FOR EXAMPLE.

WHAT CHART ARE ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED. WHAT IS THE PROPORTION OF OUR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES.

YES. YEAH, RIGHT. AND HOW DOES THAT COMPARE TO THE STATE? WE CAN FIND OUT FOR YOU. SO, YEAH THAT ONE I DON'T KNOW OFF THE TOP.

HAMPTON, IS THAT RESEARCH SHOWS THAT STUDENTS FROM POVERTY ARE MORE LIKELY TO HAVE DISABILITIES.

YEAH, THAT'S. I KNOW THAT'S PRETTY CLEAR IN TERMS OF WHAT ARE THE EXACT NUMBERS IN CECIL COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOL WHO ARE BOTH STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES AND FROM POVERTY.

WE CAN FIND THAT OUT PRETTY QUICKLY. SO AS YOU SEE IN THIS BAR GRAPH, THIS IS OUR ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS WHO ARE COVERED IN HERE. AND AS YOU LOOK THE SAME, IF WE STARTED ALGEBRA, THE GAP IS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ON PAR AS FAR AS ON THE AVERAGE, YOU'RE LOOKING AT 10%.

THIS IS 9.8%. THAT IS PRETTY CLOSE. BUT WHEN YOU LOOK AT EIGHTH GRADE, YOU DO SEE A GAP HERE.

BUT ON THE OTHER AREAS WE'RE KIND OF CONTINUING TO, I GUESS, COMPETE TO BE ABOVE THAT AVERAGE.

HERE'S A BREAKDOWN LOOKING AT GENDER PERFORMANCE.

OUR MALE STUDENTS ARE IN THE TOP CORNER, OUR FEMALE STUDENTS ARE IN THE BOTTOM CORNER, AND YOU CAN STILL LOOK AT THE SAME CHARTS.

HOWEVER, WHAT IS NOTABLE IS, IF YOU LOOK AT THE ALGEBRA AND TAKE A CLOSE DETAIL, AND I KNOW THAT'S PRETTY SMALL, BUT IT'S AT 20% AND OUR MALE STUDENTS ARE OUTPERFORMING THE STATE ON THE AVERAGE HERE.

OKAY. THERE'S A GAP HERE. BUT EVERYWHERE ELSE YOU DO SEE THAT THERE'S A LITTLE SLIGHT DIP AS FAR AS OUR AVERAGE PERFORMANCE COMPARED TO THE STATE.

WHEN YOU LOOK AT OUR FEMALE STUDENTS, IF WE START WITH ALGEBRA, THE STATE IS OUTPERFORMING US AS FAR AS FEMALE STUDENTS.

BUT IT'S NOT A HUGE GAP. WE'RE STILL WORKING TO SEE IF WE CAN CLOSE THAT, AS YOU LOOK AT THESE GENDER PERFORMANCES.

[01:00:03]

THIS IS OUR GIFTED AND TALENTED STUDENTS. THIS CHART ONLY SHOWS CECIL COUNTY.

THIS IS NOT A COMPARISON TO THE STATE, BECAUSE THE STATE DOES NOT IDENTIFY IT AS THAT.

THANK GOD. THAT'S WHY YOU DON'T LOOK AHEAD.

SO AS YOU CAN SEE, OUR STUDENTS WHO ARE GIFTED AND TALENTED ARE, YOU KNOW, OUTPERFORMING OUR REGULAR STUDENTS AND OUR REGULAR CLASSES.

BUT AS YOU CAN SEE THOSE PROFICIENCY IN MATHEMATICS.

SO MSDE AND OUR OWN INITIATIVES FOR FOUNDATIONAL NUMERACY SKILLS, WE HAVE OJP ONGOING ASSESSMENT PROGRAM IN WHICH WE PROVIDE TRAINING TO OUR TEACHERS, THE MIDDLE SCHOOL SCHEDULE, WHICH IS DIFFERENT.

WE ALSO HAVE A COMPREHENSIVE MATH PLAN THAT WE PRETTY MUCH ALIGNED TO WHAT THE STATE IS ASKING US TO DO AS FAR AS THE MATH POLICY, WHERE WE'RE LOOKING AT GOALS AND OBJECTIVES NOT ONLY FOR THE SINGLE YEAR, BUT LOOKING OVER MULTIPLE YEARS WHERE WE WANT TO BE, AND PUTTING SOME HIGH YIELDING STRATEGIES IN PLACE FOR US TO REACH THOSE.

I'M SORRY, AND I DON'T THINK I WAS I THINK I WAS PAYING ATTENTION.

THE MIDDLE SCHOOL SCHEDULE, WE HAVE DOUBLED THE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT ALL MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS WILL SPEND IN LANGUAGE ARTS AND MATH THIS YEAR, SO THAT EVERY SIXTH AND SEVENTH AND EIGHTH GRADER WILL HAVE MATH AND LANGUAGE ARTS FOR 90 MINUTES EVERY DAY.

AND THAT IS A BIG, BIG LIFT THAT SHOULDN'T JUST FLY UNDER THE RADAR.

THAT IS A REAL COMMITMENT ON A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT LEVELS TO FURTHER SUPPORTING OUR MIDDLE SCHOOLERS WITH ADDITIONAL TIME IN MATH AND LANGUAGE ARTS.

WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ILLUSTRATIVE MATH, I HAVE HAD A HANDFUL OF COMMENTS FROM PARENTS CONCERNED ABOUT THAT WHERE THEY HAVE THEIR STUDENTS ENJOYED MATH LAST YEAR AND DID WELL, AND THIS YEAR THEY'RE FRUSTRATED.

THEY'RE GETTING POOR MARKS. SO WHAT IS BEING DONE TO ENSURE THOSE STUDENTS AREN'T LOST? AND TO, I HATE THAT THEY HAVE STUDENTS THAT ARE CAPABLE OF MATH GET TURNED OFF AND FRUSTRATED AND DON'T WANT TO DO IT.

SO WHAT'S BEING DONE TO ALLEVIATE THOSE FRUSTRATIONS? THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION. THANKS FOR ASKING. SO 13 OF OUR 17 SCHOOLS HAVE TRANSITIONED TO USING ILLUSTRATIVE MATH THIS YEAR.

AND AS WE GO THROUGHOUT THIS SCHOOL YEAR, THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN HOW THE INSTRUCTION IS OCCURRING.

SO IT'S PROJECT BASED. IT'S A DEEP CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING OF MATH.

SO ON OUR END, WE'RE SUPPORTING OUR STAFF THROUGHOUT THE YEAR WITH PROFESSIONAL LEARNING TO GIVE THEM SUPPORT SO THAT AS THEY'RE TEACHING, THEY CAN IDENTIFY STRUGGLING LEARNERS AND GIVE THEM THE BEST SUPPORT AS NEEDED.

WE'RE ALSO TAKING PARENT FEEDBACK AROUND WHAT'S HAPPENING IN CLASSROOMS AND HOW STUDENTS ARE FEELING, SO THAT WE CAN GIVE THAT FEEDBACK TO OUR STAFF AND ADJUST OUR IMPLEMENTATION.

SO, MR. HAMPTON, IF I CAN WEIGH IN BECAUSE I HAVEN'T WEIGHED IN AT ALL, THESE GUYS ARE PROBABLY SICK OF ME. SO IN MY REMARKS, I MENTIONED THAT STARTING JANUARY OF LAST YEAR, I STARTED GOING TO TWO SCHOOLS A WEEK, AND I SPENT AN HOUR AT BAYVIEW IN, WELL, MOLLY BIDDLE, THE NAME OF THE CURRICULUM.

ILLUSTRATIVE. ILLUSTRATIVE AS IT LEADS. ENVISION.

ENVISION WAS AT BAYVIEW. SO AGAIN, MY BACKGROUND WAS HIGH SCHOOL MATH.

BUT I SAW AN HOUR OF ENVISION. AND THEN THE NEXT DAY I WENT AND I SAW AN HOUR OF ILLUSTRATIVE MATH.

I WOULD PREFER ILLUSTRATIVE. THE REASON I THINK WE SAW MANY OF OUR PRINCIPALS GOING THAT WAY THIS YEAR WAS BECAUSE THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, OUR TWO TOP PERFORMING, TOP IMPROVING MATH SCHOOLS WERE WERE LEEDS AND CECILTON, AND THEY WERE OUR ILLUSTRATIVE SCHOOLS.

SO I DO EXPECT, YOU KNOW, WE I DON'T KNOW HOW NUANCED YOU WANT THE CONVERSATION TO BE, BUT I THINK THE ELEMENTARY ILLUSTRATIVE IS MORE DISCOVERY FOR STUDENTS TO HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO THINGS TO HELP THEM UNDERSTAND MATH.

MY CONCERN, HAVING WATCHED ENVISION FOR A GOOD BIT WAS WAS WHAT I THOUGHT MIGHT HAVE BEEN AN OVERRELIANCE ON TECHNOLOGY.

THERE WAS A PROPENSITY TO WATCH LESSONS ONLINE DURING CLASSROOM TIME.

AND MY AGAIN, THIS IS MY OBSERVATION OF ONE CLASSROOM, BUT FOR A GOOD WHILE.

I DON'T KNOW HOW ENGAGED THE STUDENTS WERE. I FOUND THAT SOMEBODY WAS TRYING TO TUTOR AND HELP THE KIDS.

A LOT OF TIMES THEY WOULD HAVE THEIR EARPHONES ON.

AND SO AS I'M KIND OF LURKING BEHIND THEM WATCHING, I COULDN'T HEAR WHAT THEY WERE HEARING.

SO I'M WATCHING THE SCREEN, TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THEY'RE TRYING TO DO.

SO IT PUT ME BEHIND THE EIGHT BALL TRYING TO HELP THEM.

AND SO YEAH, THAT'S JUST MY ANECDOTAL OBSERVATION, HAVING BEEN IN A LOT OF CLASSROOMS WATCHING THOSE TWO MODELS.

AND I THINK IF WE GIVE IT TIME, THE SUPPORTS.

DOCTOR KUBIK IS HERE. SHE'S OUR ELEMENTARY MATH COORDINATOR.

[01:05:02]

BUT IT IS DIFFERENT. IT IS A DIFFERENT KIND OF MATH.

SO DO YOU THINK THAT SOME OF THE FRUSTRATION IS COMING FROM YOU KNOW KIDS WHO HAVE BEEN TAUGHT A DIFFERENT WAY AND NOW, OBVIOUSLY THEY'RE, THEY'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT THIS NEW FORMAT, I GUESS.

AND SO PROBABLY THE ONES WHO ARE COMING UP, IT WILL NOT BE THAT WAY BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY THEY'RE THEY'RE GOING TO BE JUST GOING.

YES, THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE SEEING. RIGHT. SO ENVISION WAS VERY PREDICTABLE.

THERE IS A VIDEO WE'RE WATCHING SOME DIRECT INSTRUCTION THEN WE PRACTICE.

WHEREAS ILLUSTRATIVE MATHEMATICS IS GIVING STUDENTS A PROBLEM ASKING THEM TO WORK COLLABORATIVELY TO MAKE SENSE OF CRITICAL THINKING.

YES. AND THEN HOPEFULLY SYNTHESIZE THAT LEARNING TO WHAT THEY'RE DOING.

AND SO THERE HAS BEEN A CHANGE IN WHAT'S EXPECTED OF THOSE STUDENTS. YEAH.

AND THE LAST PORTION HERE IS DOCTOR LAWSON MENTIONED WITH THE MIDDLE SCHOOL SCHEDULE, WE'VE MADE SOME MAJOR CHANGES, SPECIFICALLY AT THE MIDDLE SCHOOL LEVEL, WITH THOSE ADDITIONAL MINUTES ADDED TO MATH AND LANGUAGE ARTS.

AND WHAT I CAN SHARE WITH YOU, NOT ONLY DID WE INCREASE THE TIME, WE ALSO INCREASED SOME OF THE WAY IN WHICH WE DO INSTRUCTION.

THE SECOND PORTION OF THAT CLASS IS REALLY DEDICATED TO WHAT THE STUDENT REALLY NEED.

AND SOME OF THOSE RESOURCES WE PUT IN PLACE, SUCH AS IXL, WHICH DOES HAVE A LITTLE COMPUTER ADAPTED PROGRAMING TO IT.

BUT THE KEY THING, I THINK, IS THAT WE'RE INSTITUTING THE SMALL GROUP SCENARIOS THAT THEY HAVE, TYPICALLY AT THE ELEMENTARY LEVEL, WHERE A FLEX GROUP CAN COME TO THE BACK OF THE ROOM TO WORK WITH THE TEACHER ON SKILLS AND CONCEPTS THAT THEY LEARN DURING THAT LESSON.

AND A LOT OF THIS INFORMATION, AS YOU GUYS MENTIONED EARLIER, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE OTHER SYSTEMS DOING? WORCESTER DOES THIS SAME 90 MINUTES BLOCK AND THEY OUTPERFORM EVERYONE ON THE MCAP.

SO DOCTOR BRINKLEY WENT DOWN THERE AND MET WITH THEIR STAFF, HAD A CHANCE TO GO INTO CLASSROOMS AND BROUGHT BACK SOME OF THE STRATEGIES THAT THEY DO.

SO WE CAN MAKE SURE WE CAN REPLICATE AND IMPROVE UPON OUR NUMBERS.

SO WHAT I'LL DO NOW IS TURN IT OVER TO DOCTOR JOHNSON.

THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING, PRESIDENT HAWLEY, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, DOCTOR LAWSON, LEADERSHIP TEAM AND GUESTS. I'M GOING TO DO THE SAME THING, BUT FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS. SO WE'RE GOING TO LOOK AT THE SAME DATA. BAR GRAPHS DO TERRIFY ME.

SO PLEASE EXTEND YOUR GRACE AND WE'LL TALK THROUGH SOME ASSESSMENT ITEMS. AND WHAT WE'RE SEEING AS A DISTRICT AS WELL. SO TO GET STARTED, HERE'S A SAMPLE THIRD GRADE ASSESSMENT FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS FROM THE 1980S A LITTLE BIT BEFORE MY TIME, BUT MY OLDER SISTER PROBABLY TOOK THIS ONE.

HERE'S LEO THE LION. I'M NOT GOING TO MAKE YOU PRACTICE WITH ME, BUT I WANT YOU TO TAKE A GOOD LOOK AT THAT SHORT PASSAGE, GRAPHIC, MINIMAL NUMBER OF CHOICES FOR STUDENTS TO TAKE, RIGHT? THAT'S A THIRD GRADE. LET ME SHOW YOU THIS YEAR'S PUBLIC RELEASE ITEM FOR THIRD GRADE ELA.

FOLKS, THESE ARE NOT THE SAME THING. NOT IN ANY WAY.

KEEP IN MIND THIS IS A DIGITAL ASSESSMENT. SO STUDENTS ARE BEING ASKED TO HIGHLIGHT AND ANNOTATE ON A CHROMEBOOK.

NOT TO MENTION TYPING THEIR RESPONSES, WHICH WE KNOW TYPING CAN BE A REAL CHALLENGE.

WHEN ARE WE INCORPORATING TYPING INTO OUR SCHOOL CURRICULUM? YEAH. GREAT QUESTION. WE DO HAVE ACCESS TO TYPING CLUB FOR OUR STUDENTS.

AND SO WHAT HAPPENS IS IN THE ELA CURRICULUM WHEN THERE'S TIME AVAILABLE.

TYPING CLUB IS A PIECE OF CURRICULUM. IT'S NOT A CLUB FOR TYPING.

YES. OKAY. SORRY. JUST TO BE CLEAR, THAT'S A GOOD POINT.

SO DURING THOSE BLOCKS OF TIME IN ELA, WHEN THEY FINISH WITH THEIR INDEPENDENT WORK, THEY DO HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO PRACTICE KEYBOARDING BECAUSE IT IS AN ESSENTIAL SKILL THAT THEY'RE GOING TO NEED TO MASTER. YEAH. AND I ALSO POINT OUT TO YOU THAT THE KINDS OF QUESTIONS THAT ARE BEING ASKED ON THESE ASSESSMENTS ARE DIFFERENT.

SO, YOU KNOW, THAT FIRST ASSESSMENT I SHOWED YOU HAD TO DO WITH, YOU KNOW, WHAT WAS THE LIONS NAME? WELL, YOU'RE NOT GOING TO GET ANY QUESTION LIKE THAT. YOU'RE GOING TO GET WHAT PASSAGE BEST SUPPORTS THIS IDEA OR WHAT PARAGRAPH GIVES YOU THE MOST INFORMATION AROUND THAT. SO IT'S A DIFFERENT KIND OF ASSESSMENT AGAIN.

HERE'S AN EIGHTH GRADE ASSESSMENT AGAIN FROM THE 1980S.

YOU HAVE A SHORT BODY OF TEXT AND IMAGE. AND LOOK AT THAT 3 OR 4 ANSWER CHOICES.

NOW UNLIKE MY COLLEAGUE DOCTOR FOY, I'M NOT GOING TO MAKE YOU SOLVE ALL THE PROBLEMS. RIGHT.

BUT I WANT YOU TO LOOK AT THAT NOTICE ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THAT TEXT BLOCK.

YOU SEE THAT YOU HAVE TO SCROLL BECAUSE THERE ARE PASSAGES ON THE TEST.

YOU CANNOT SEE THE ENTIRE PASSAGE. SO YOU HAVE TO YOU HAVE TO SCROLL THROUGH THE TEXT MARKING IT AS YOU GO IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS.

WELL THAT WASN'T, I CAN'T BE TRUSTED WITH THE CLICKER.

SO ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE THEN YOU SEE SOME SOME PROMPTS AND IT HAS TO DO WITH DETERMINING ACCURACY.

THE DIFFERENCE HERE IS WE'RE ASKING STUDENTS TO MAKE IMPLICIT REFERENCES FROM TEXT WHERE WE USED TO ASK THEM TO MAKE EXPLICIT ONES.

[01:10:07]

AND SO SIMILAR TO WHAT DOCTOR FOY SHARED WITH YOU REGARDING MATHEMATICS.

HERE'S THE SAME DATA FOR OUR STUDENTS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS GRADES THREE THROUGH TEN.

I WANT TO POINT OUT SOMETHING TO YOU THAT HAS BEEN MENTIONED BEFORE, BUT I THINK NEEDS TO BE RECOGNIZED HERE.

IF YOU LOOK AT STUDENTS WHO ENTERED OUR DISTRICT AND, YOU KNOW, BEGAN PROFICIENCY IN THIRD GRADE AT 41%.

TAKE A LOOK AT THE 10TH GRADE PROFICIENCY RATE 64.1%.

SO WHILE WE WOULD ALL LIKE TO SEE EVERY NUMBER ON THIS CHART HIGHER, WE ARE PROUD OF THE FACT THAT CONSISTENT EXPOSURE TO OUR CURRICULUM OVER A STUDENT'S EXPERIENCE IN SCHOOL INCREASES THEIR PROFICIENCY ON THIS ASSESSMENT.

GENERALLY SPEAKING, AGAIN, FOR THE AUDIENCE, EACH CELL REPRESENTS ABOUT A THOUSAND KIDS, MAYBE 1100.

DEPENDS ON THE GRADE. BUT ALL OF OUR GRADES, YOU KNOW, VARY BETWEEN 1000 STUDENTS AND 1100 STUDENTS.

SO IF YOU'RE MOVING ONE OF THOSE ROWS BY 20%, YOU'VE INCREASED THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS WHO ARE PROFICIENT BY ABOUT 200.

I'LL ALSO POINT OUT FOR THE BOARD'S REFERENCE, AN ITEM WE'VE ALREADY DISCUSSED. BUT JUST TO SHARE WITH YOU AGAIN, THAT GRADE THREE PROFICIENCY NUMBER IS GOING TO BE IMPORTANT, EVEN MORE IMPORTANT IN THE COMING YEARS BASED ON OUR IMPLEMENTATION OF MARYLAND STATE LITERACY POLICY. AND WE'LL TALK MORE ABOUT THAT AT THE END OF THIS PRESENTATION.

BUT THAT'S A NUMBER WE'RE WATCHING BECAUSE THE POLICY WOULD ALLOW FOR RETENTION FOR STUDENTS WHO ARE NOT DEEMED PROFICIENT ON THIS ASSESSMENT AT THE END OF THEIR THIRD GRADE YEAR. SO SIMILAR TO THAT DATA THAT YOU SAW FOR MATHEMATICS, HERE'S THE SAME INFORMATION.

AGAIN, YOU'VE GOT GRADES THREE THROUGH TEN, THE PROFICIENCY RATE ON THIS YEAR'S ASSESSMENT, THE RANK OF PERFORMANCE AGAINST OTHER ELAS IN THE STATE AND THEN OUR COUNTY WEALTH RANK AND FUNDING RANK.

I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE, AND DOCTOR FOY EVEN ALLUDED TO THIS, IF YOU LOOK AT THAT COLUMN THAT'S LABELED MCAP STATE RANKING, THE THIRD COLUMN IN, LOOK AT HOW THE RANK CLIMBS THROUGHOUT A STUDENT'S EXPERIENCE IN OUR DISTRICT.

SO THAT BY THE TIME THEY'RE TAKING THAT 10TH GRADE ASSESSMENT, THEY'RE IN THE TEEN AREA, RIGHT.

SO THEIR PROFICIENCY HAS STEADILY INCREASED. WE'LL DO THE SAME WORK NOW AT LOOKING AT SPECIAL POPULATIONS OF STUDENTS, AND WE'LL DISAGGREGATE THE DATA. AND SO THIS IS THAT LONGITUDINAL LOOK HERE ARE STUDENTS IN GRADES THREE FOUR AND FIVE.

THE CCPS AVERAGE AGAIN IN BLUE. THE STATE AVERAGE IN RED.

WE ARE WORKING FOR THE SAME GOALS. WE BELIEVE THIS DISTRICT CAN AND SHOULD EXCEED STATE AVERAGES.

AND WE'RE PROUD OF THE PROGRESS THAT WE'RE MAKING TO ADDRESS THAT AND WANT TO CONTINUE DOING THAT ACROSS THE SYSTEM.

THAT SAME CHART FOR YOU, BUT FOR GRADES SIX, SEVEN AND EIGHT.

AGAIN, CONSISTENT WITH WHAT YOU SAW ON THE TABLE, IF YOU TURN YOUR ATTENTION TOWARDS THAT EIGHTH GRADE GRAPH, YOU'RE SEEING THAT WE'RE JUST ABOUT TO CROSS THAT STATE LINE AND CONTINUE TO RISE IN PROFICIENCY AGAINST OUR PEERS ACROSS THE STATE.

SOMETHING THAT HASN'T BEEN MENTIONED YET. AND I THINK IT'S RELEVANT.

YOU KNOW, IF YOU TAKE A LOOK AT RISING SUN LITTLE LEAGUE, I'M SURE THE COACHES UP THERE WILL TELL YOU THAT, YOU KNOW, THIS YEAR'S 11 YEAR OLDS ARE SO MUCH BETTER THAN THIS YEAR'S TEN YEAR OLDS.

THESE KIDS KIND OF TRAVEL IN GROUPS LIKE THAT TALENT WISE, AND WE SEE THE SAME THING IN SCORES.

WE CALL THEM COHORTS. SOME COHORTS WILL COME IN AND THEY'LL SCORE WELL, AND THEY SCORE WELL IN EVERY GRADE, ALL THE WAY THROUGH THEIR TRAJECTORY IN OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM.

SOME SCHOOLS OR SOME COHORTS DON'T. I PERSONALLY WAS PROBABLY A LITTLE DISAPPOINTED IN THE PERFORMANCE OF LAST YEAR'S THIRD GRADERS, WHO ARE NOW THIS YEAR'S FOURTH GRADERS. WE WON'T KNOW IF THAT'S REALLY A COHORT ISSUE UNTIL WE SEE THEM PERFORM FOR YEARS IN A ROW.

YOU MIGHT BE LOOKING AT A CASE WHERE YOU HAVE A PARTICULAR GROUP OF FIFTH GRADERS WHO ARE VERY STRONG OR NOT, AND IT'S JUST IT'S JUST REALLY IMPORTANT TO KEEP IN MIND HERE.

HERE'S OUR PERFORMANCE ON THE STATE GRADE TEN MCAP ASSESSMENT.

AGAIN, YOU CAN SEE CECIL COUNTY SCORES HAVE OUTRANKED STATE AVERAGES IN THIS ENTIRE CHART.

IF WE CONSIDER THE PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES, WE SEE LARGELY SIMILAR TRENDS IN OUR STUDENT PERFORMANCE, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF OUR GRADE TEN ACHIEVEMENT FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES IN THAT AREA,

[01:15:01]

OTHERWISE, WE'RE CONTINUING TO MONITOR THAT GAP BETWEEN PROFICIENCY FOR A STUDENT WITH A DISABILITY AND ONE WITHOUT.

AND WE ARE WORKING HARD THROUGH THE IEP PROCESS, AS WELL AS INTERVENTION PROGRAMING TO IDENTIFY AND ADDRESS CONCERNS FOR PERFORMANCE EARLY ON. THIS IS THAT SAME CHART, BUT FOR STUDENTS WHO ARE IDENTIFIED AS ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED.

AGAIN, I'D JUST DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO HOW THAT GAP IS SMALLER THAN THAN IT WAS ON THE OTHER CHART.

AND THAT AGAIN IN GRADE TEN, WE'RE OUTPERFORMING OUR DEMOGRAPHIC THERE.

SIMILAR TRENDS ACROSS THE BOARD HERE FOR PERFORMANCE.

BASED ON GENDER THAT DOCTOR FOY MENTIONED TO YOU AND POINTED OUT SOME DIFFERENCES THERE.

SO AGAIN, THE BLUE BARS REPRESENT THE PERFORMANCE OF IN THE TOP LEFT, THE MALE STUDENTS, THE BOTTOM RIGHT FEMALE STUDENTS, AND THEN THE ORANGE BARS, THE STATE AVERAGE.

HERE'S OUR GIFTED AND TALENTED DATA AS AGAIN, THIS IS A CHART IDENTIFIED AND COMPARING CCPS STUDENTS ONLY.

SO THE PROFICIENCY RATE FOR STUDENTS WHO'VE BEEN IDENTIFIED ARE TAGGED AS GIFTED AND TALENTED AGAINST THEIR PEERS WHO HAVE NOT.

DO WE KNOW HOW MANY KIDS THAT IS GIFTED IN TOWN? I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER RIGHT NOW, BUT WE CAN GET IT FOR YOU. WE TAGGED THAT IN OUR.

LIKE NOT IF YOU'RE THINKING STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES IS ABOUT 20%.

IT'S NOT ANYWHERE NEAR THAT PERCENTAGE TO KNOW.

IT'S NOT. JUST. YEAH, OKAY. NOT THE SAME. OKAY.

BUT WE'LL DOUBLE CHECK ON THAT FOR YOU AS WELL. AND THEN JUST TO WRAP UP, I'VE ALREADY ADDRESSED A COUPLE OF THESE IDEAS.

WE ARE WORKING HARD TO ADDRESS FOUNDATIONAL SKILLS.

SO ONE OF THE CHALLENGES IS AS I'VE ALREADY MENTIONED, WE WANT TO GET STUDENTS TO READING PROFICIENTLY BY THE END OF THIRD GRADE.

AND SO TO DO THAT, WE NEED TO BEGIN RIGHT NOW WHEN THEY BEGIN IN PRE-K OR KINDERGARTEN.

SO WE'VE SUPPLEMENTED OUR CURRICULUM WITH WILSON'S FUNDATIONS PROGRAM.

WILSON READING IS A PROGRAM THAT'S BEEN AROUND FOR A LONG TIME, EVIDENCE SUPPORTED, AND DEMONSTRATES A LOT OF SUCCESS IN TEACHING STUDENTS THOSE EARLY LITERACY SKILLS, WHICH ARE SO IMPORTANT. ALSO, AS DOCTOR LAWSON AND DOCTOR FOY MENTIONED, WE'VE DOUBLED THE AMOUNT OF TIME OUR MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS ARE GETTING IN LANGUAGE ARTS LINKED HERE FOR THE FOR THE BOARD'S REFERENCE, AS WELL AS A COPY OF THE STATE LITERACY POLICY.

AND I WANTED TO POINT OUT TO YOU THAT. ONE OF THE COMPONENTS OF THAT POLICY THAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT SCHOOL YEAR IS THAT WE'LL BE IMPLEMENTING STUDENT READING IMPROVEMENT PLANS FOR EVERY STUDENT THIRD GRADE AND UNDER WHO FAILS TO MEET A BENCHMARK.

AND WE REGULARLY BENCHMARK OUR STUDENTS. AND SO IF THERE'S A IDENTIFIED CONCERN, WE'RE GOING TO COME TOGETHER, IDENTIFY WHAT THE CONCERN IS, AND MAP OUT A PROGRESS IN COORDINATION WITH PARENTS TO ADDRESS THAT CONCERN.

AND FINALLY, WE'RE PROUD THAT CECIL COUNTY HAS OBTAINED ABOUT $5 MILLION OF GRANT FUNDING FOR A FIVE YEAR OVER A FIVE YEAR PERIOD THAT'S GOING TO SUPPORT STRATEGIC LITERACY INTERVENTIONS. IT WILL INCLUDE SEVEN FULL TIME LITERACY COACHES THAT WILL BE ASSIGNED TO SCHOOLS.

AND IT'S ALSO GOING TO GIVE US AN OPPORTUNITY TO IMPLEMENT A DATA ANALYSIS SYSTEM THAT'S GOING TO HELP US USE DATA IN A WAY TO DRIVE INSTRUCTION, AND ALSO TO MONITOR HOW WE'RE INTERVENING FOR OUR STUDENTS.

CAN YOU EXPLAIN A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT THE LITERACY COACHES WILL BE DOING.

ABSOLUTELY. SO IN THE SEVEN SCHOOLS WHERE THEY'RE IDENTIFIED, THEY'LL WORK WITH TEACHERS DIRECTLY, GO INTO CLASSROOMS, THEY'LL MODEL LESSONS, THEY WILL OBSERVE TEACHERS AND GIVE THEM SOME INFORMAL FEEDBACK ABOUT WHAT THEY'RE SEEING.

AND THEY'LL ALSO PROVIDE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR TEACHERS.

AND ADDITIONALLY, WE'LL HAVE THEM WORK WITH SOME OF OUR STRUGGLING LEARNERS AND IMPLEMENT INTERVENTIONS FOR THEM AS WELL.

WITH THAT, I'LL TURN IT BACK OVER TO DOCTOR HAMER. BOOKWORMS IS STILL PART OF THE CURRICULUM, RIGHT? IT IS. AND THAT IS DO YOU THINK IS CONTRIBUTED TO THE ELA PROFICIENCY? SO WE'VE IMPLEMENTED BOOKWORMS NOW SINCE 2017, 16 OR 17.

AND YES, I BELIEVE THAT WE'RE WE'VE JUST FINISHED THE TRANSITION TO THE NEWEST EDITION OF BOOKWORMS. SO WE FINISHED OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH UD. AND IN ADDITION, THAT'S WHY WE'VE SUPPLEMENTED WITH IN PRE-K TO THREE THE FOUNDATIONS PROGRAM AS WELL.

THANK YOU. SURE. I'LL TURN IT OVER. DOCTOR HAMER.

AND I DO NOT HAVE GRAPHS FOR YOU. I PROMISE YOU'RE DONE WITH THE GRAPHS FOR THIS EVENING.

SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE. AND IF YOU WANT ANY FURTHER DETAILS, I'M PLANNING TO SEND AN EMAIL TO THE BOARD FOLLOWING THIS PRESENTATION WITH A FEW MORE

[01:20:04]

SO ASSESSMENT PROGRAMING IS ONE OF THE PIECES OF A QUALITY INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAM.

YOU'RE ASSESSING HOW YOUR STUDENTS ARE DOING. BUT YOU ALSO HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT ONCE YOU SEE HOW YOUR STUDENTS ARE DOING, YOU HAVE THE INSTRUCTION THAT MATCHES THE WHERE WHERE STUDENTS ARE PERFORMING. AND YOU ALSO HAVE THE CURRICULUM.

SO IT'S THIS TIERED APPROACH OF HOW WE ARE SUPPORTING OUR STUDENTS IN THEIR INSTRUCTION.

SO IT IS AN IMPORTANT THING. SO WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO ABOUT THESE RESULTS ESSENTIALLY IS IS WHAT IT IS.

SO OUR SYSTEM IS TRYING TO DEVELOP A DATA DRIVEN CULTURE.

SO THAT INCLUDES HAVING A AN ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORK FOR OUR SCHOOLS AND OUR DEPARTMENTS, WHERE THEY ARE REGULARLY CONDUCTING SHORT CYCLE ASSESSMENTS THAT ARE PREDICTIVE IN NATURE.

SO WHAT I MEAN WHEN I SAY THAT IS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, WE'RE GOING TO BE HAVING DATA ANALYSIS OPPORTUNITIES, WHETHER IT'S FORMAL OR INFORMAL. I'LL GO INTO A LITTLE MORE DETAIL IN THE NEXT SLIDE ABOUT THAT.

WE ALSO WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE OPPORTUNITIES TO ANALYZE THESE DATA.

SO THAT REQUIRES COMPUTER PROGRAMING. INSTEAD OF JUST LOOKING AT SPREADSHEETS AND TALLYING.

WE ACTUALLY HAVE SOFTWARE THAT ENABLES US TO DRILL DOWN TO A STUDENT LEVEL AND SPECIFIC STANDARDS THAT THE STUDENTS ARE STRUGGLING WITH, SO WE CAN MEET WHERE THOSE STANDARDS ARE AND HOPEFULLY BUILD THEM TO PROFICIENCY ACTION.

THAT'S THAT TEACHING THAT HAS TO HAPPEN, HIGH QUALITY INSTRUCTION THAT HAS TO BE TAKING PLACE TO MEET WHAT THE DATA IS TELLING US.

AND THEN FINALLY, THAT CULTURE OF DATA DRIVEN WORK IS WHAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN.

SO THE DATA TO US IS LAGGING DATA, AND THAT IS DATA THAT IS IN THE REAR VIEW MIRROR.

IT IS SUMMARY OF LAST SCHOOL YEAR, BUT OUR GOAL IS TO TRY TO IMPACT THAT DATA FOR NEXT YEAR.

AND WE'RE GOING TO DO THAT THROUGH LEADING DATA. STUDENTS IN THE SYSTEM GO THROUGH UNIVERSAL SCREENER.

SO WE SCREEN EVERY STUDENT FROM KINDERGARTEN ALL THE WAY TO EIGHTH GRADE IN READING AND MATH TO SEE WHO IS AT PROFICIENT.

AND THE STUDENTS WHO ARE NOT BELOW THAT PROFICIENCY LINE RECEIVE SOME TYPE OF INTERVENTION.

SO WE SCREEN, RIGHT. WE JUST FINISHED UP SCREENING IN SEPTEMBER, AND WE KNOW WHO THOSE STUDENTS ARE AND WE ARE MEETING THEM TO MEET THEIR NEEDS.

ALSO, THESE BENCHMARK ASSESSMENTS HAPPEN THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.

JUST IT'S ALMOST LIKE CHECKING YOUR OIL, MAKING SURE STUDENTS ARE WHERE THEY NEED TO BE.

AS WE'RE CONTINUING THROUGH THE SCHOOL YEAR AND THESE ASSESSMENTS ARE PREDICTIVE IN NATURE, THEY ALIGN TO WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE MCAP PERFORMANCE AS WELL.

ALSO, THE PROGRESS MONITORING IS ANOTHER PIECE OF THAT LEADING DATA THAT WE THAT IS THAT CAN BE FORMAL OR INFORMAL IN NATURE.

IT COULD BE A TEACHER WALKING AROUND A CLASSROOM AND SAYING, YOU THREE KIDS ARE STRUGGLING WITH WHERE YOUR FRACTIONS ARE.

COME SIT AT THE BACK TABLE WITH ME. OR IT COULD BE A UNIT ASSESSMENT WHERE WE'RE LOOKING AT ITEMS THAT STUDENTS ARE DOING WELL OR NOT DOING WELL ON.

OKAY, SO WE ARE WORKING TO BUILD THIS CULTURE BY TRAINING WITH OUR ADMINISTRATORS.

AND THAT INCLUDES CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT STRATEGIES OF THAT PLAN DO STUDY, ACT CYCLE.

IT'S A PDSA CYCLE THAT IS IN SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT CYCLE THAT WE USE TO TAKE A LOOK AT A GOAL, GET ACTIVITIES IN PLACE, STUDY HOW THE RESULTS ARE, AND THEN MAKE CHANGES AS NECESSARY.

WE HAVE BEEN ENGAGING IN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, LEVERAGED LEADERSHIP.

WE TOOK TWO YEARS TO COVER THAT WITH OUR ADMINISTRATORS AS WELL AS WE JUST STARTED.

DRIVEN BY DATA 2.0. SO THESE ARE TWO REALLY GOOD PROFESSIONAL BOOKS THAT WE HAVE BEEN ENGAGING IN TO LEARN ABOUT THE PROCESSES THAT WE HAVE TO HAVE FOR THIS DATA DRIVEN CULTURE. THEY HAVE BEEN ENDORSED BY MSDE. AND THE LAST THING AND I WILL INVITE IF ANY MEMBER OF THE BOARD WOULD LIKE TO JOIN US, WE HAVE CLUSTER MEETINGS. WE ALSO HAVE DATA MEETINGS THAT WE ARE TAKING PLACE WHERE EXECUTIVE ATTENTION IS BEING PAID TO OUR DATA PROCESS, OUR PROGRESS. YOU'LL SEE DASHBOARDS THROUGHOUT THIS SCHOOL SYSTEM.

WHAT IS ON YOUR DASHBOARD? WHY IS IT THERE AND HOW ARE YOU DOING WITH IT, JUST LIKE YOU HAVE IN YOUR CAR? WE'RE KEEPING OUR EYES ON THE PRIZE TO SEE HOW WE'RE DOING.

I'M GOING TO QUOTE EDWARD DEMING, WHO IS A SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT EXPERT, AND HE SAYS, WITHOUT DATA, ALL WE HAVE IS AN OPINION. SO IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT DATA IS CENTRAL TO OUR WORK.

AND WE'RE NOT JUST MAKING GUESSES ABOUT THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING.

SO THIS THIS IS THIS IS BUSY. I'LL ADMIT THAT IT'S NOT A GRAPH THOUGH.

SO WE HAVE IDENTIFIED KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS FOR THE SCHOOL SYSTEM, AND THIS IS A DOCUMENT THAT I WILL BE SENDING TO THE BOARD.

THESE MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF OUR GOALS ARE IN ALIGNMENT.

THE FIRST THING YOU'LL SEE HERE ARE SOME METRICS THAT THE MARYLAND STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION HAS IDENTIFIED FOR US THAT WE NEED TO MEET.

YOU'LL SEE ACTUAL RESULTS AT THE BASELINE FOR THIS PARTICULAR STRAND, WHICH HAPPENS TO BE LANGUAGE ARTS IN THIRD GRADE.

YOU'LL SEE WHAT OUR TARGET WAS, WHICH IS FIVE POINTS ABOVE THAT BASELINE.

[01:25:01]

SO OUR GOAL IS TO TRY TO HIT THAT TARGET. YOU'LL SEE WE HAVE ALSO ON THESE KPIS WE HAVE LEADING METRICS.

SO THIS IS THESE ARE THESE ARE YOUR DIPSTICK TESTS ALONG THE WAY TO SEE HOW STUDENTS ARE DOING ALONG THE WAY.

YOU CAN SEE WHAT OUR ACTUAL WAS, WHAT OUR TARGET WAS.

AND WE ACTUALLY MET OUR TARGET WHICH WAS AN EXCITING THING.

TO SHADE THAT GREEN. WE ALSO HAVE DISAGGREGATED DATA ON THESE KPIS.

AND YOU CAN SEE THIS HAPPENS TO BE STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES WHERE WE MET THE MARK.

AND THEN WE HAVE OTHER MEASURES THAT ARE NONACADEMIC IN NATURE.

SO THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS, HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WHO ENROLL IN ADVANCED COURSES, IF THEY'RE IN THE AVID PROGRAM.

SO THESE KPIS, WE ACTUALLY HAVE 101 OF THEM, WHICH SEEMS A LITTLE OVERWHELMING, BUT THEY ALIGN TO THE GOALS THAT ARE HAPPENING IN EACH OF OUR DEPARTMENTS SO THAT OUR SCHOOLS WILL CHOOSE THESE GOALS.

AND IT ULTIMATELY, ULTIMATELY DOES. JUST WHAT THE COLEMAN REPORT SAYS IS IT GETS TO THE CLASSROOM, BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE WE REALLY WANT TO SEE THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD. WITH THESE GOALS AND ACTIVITIES.

ALL OF THESE, WE HOPE, ARE GOING TO LEAD TOWARDS STUDENT SUCCESS. SO, DOCTOR HAMER, HAVE WE TALKED AND HOW MUCH FEEDBACK ARE WE GETTING FROM OUR TEACHERS WITH ALL OF THE BENCHMARK YOU KNOW, ASSESSMENTS WE'RE DOING AND ALL THE DATA DRIVEN ANALYSIS THEY HAVE TO DO AND ALL OF THAT, ARE THEY FEELING OVERWHELMED BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO DO THOSE THINGS AND TEACH, AND HOW DO WE HELP THEM WITH THAT? SO IT'S IT'S PHILOSOPHICAL. OUR GOAL IS TO HELP THEM UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS ONE OF THE PIECES OF THE INSTRUCTIONAL PROCESS.

IT IS HEAVY IN SEPTEMBER FOR SURE, BECAUSE AS STUDENTS ARE WALKING IN THE DOOR, WE'RE WORKING HARD TO SEE WHERE THEY ARE SO THAT THEY KNOW WHERE TO TAKE THEM.

SO IT'S PART OF THE PROCESS, AND WE'RE TRYING TO HELP THEM TO UNDERSTAND THAT THAT'S PART OF THE PROCESS.

SOME SCHOOLS ARE WORKING TO BRING TEAMS IN TO HELP WITH THE ASSESSMENTS, TO MAKE IT A LITTLE EASIER, BECAUSE IT'S SIT, SIT KINDERGARTNERS DOWN TRYING TO HAVE THEM GET THROUGH THOSE ASSESSMENTS.

BECAUSE IT WAS A LEADING QUESTION, BECAUSE I KNEW THE ANSWER. BECAUSE MY NIECE IS A KINDERGARTEN TEACHER, AND SHE SENT ME A TEXT AND SAID, AUNT DIANE, COME HELP.

I AM TRYING TO GET THROUGH THESE ASSESSMENTS.

CAN YOU COME AND HELP AND BE IN MY CLASS WHILE I'M TRYING TO GET ASSESSMENTS DONE? AND SO I DID. AND SITTING THERE WATCHING 24 KINDERGARTNERS AND HER PULLING THEM EACH ONE ASIDE TO TRY AND DO THESE ASSESSMENTS.

I WAS LIKE, YEAH, WE NEED TO HELP. SO ANOTHER PLUG FOR ME WITH VOLUNTEERING, WE CAN GET OUR COMMUNITY TO HELP IF WE CAN GET OUR COMMUNITY HELP.

THESE TYPES OF SITUATIONS ARE HUGE HELP FOR OUR STUDENTS.

ANOTHER THING I JUST WANTED TO, WHILE I'M ON MY SOAPBOX YOU KNOW, WE KNOW THAT WHEN PARENTS ENGAGE WITH THEIR STUDENTS, THE STUDENTS ARE MORE LIKELY TO HAVE ACADEMIC SUCCESS, WHETHER IT'S TESTS OR SOCIALLY YOU KNOW, JUST IMPROVE BEHAVIOR, EVERYTHING. SO HOW DO WE CONTINUE TO GET OUR PARENTS ENGAGED? AND THAT'S OBVIOUSLY A CHALLENGE WHEN WE HAVE HIGH POVERTY LEVEL, BECAUSE THAT IS DIFFICULT WHEN PARENTS ARE WORKING AND PARENTS ARE, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO JUST PUT FOOD ON THE TABLES FOR THEIR KIDS.

WE NEED TO STEP IN THERE AS A SCHOOL SYSTEM AND TRY AND HELP.

AND I KNOW WE DO HAVE SOME, YOU KNOW, THINGS IN PLACE, BUT I THINK WE NEED TO I AGREE WITH THAT SENTIMENT.

I THINK WE DO IT AS A COMMUNITY AND WE HAVE A VARIETY OF STRATEGIES WE'RE USING, AND WE'RE TRYING TO HIT THOSE STUDENTS WHO ARE IN MOST NEED.

I'M EXCITED ABOUT THE CONCENTRATION OF POVERTY SCHOOLS BECAUSE WHERE WE DON'T SEE AS MUCH ENGAGEMENT, THEY'RE ABLE TO DO SOME MORE OF THAT OUTREACH AND GET THOSE FAMILIES TO THE TABLE.

ONE THING I KNOW WE DID DO AS WELL, DOCTOR JOHNSON, AND WE PUT IN THE PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCE AGAIN.

AND I THINK THAT'S A HUGE STEP AS WELL. WELL, AND IT'S ALSO REQUIRED BY BLUEPRINT, MANY OF THESE ACTIVITIES THAT WE'RE DOING, WE'RE COMPELLED TO DO NOT ONLY BECAUSE WE KNOW IT'S RIGHT AND IT'S RESEARCH BASED, BUT WE'RE REQUIRED BY LAW TO DO SOME OF THESE THINGS LIKE PARENT ENGAGEMENT.

SO I ASKED THIS QUESTION A FEW YEARS AGO, AND I THINK IT'S CHANGED. WHAT'S THE INCENTIVE FOR THE STUDENTS TO TRY AND CARE ABOUT THIS TEST? BECAUSE FROM PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE AND FROM JUST TALKING, IT'S MORE OF A NUISANCE WITHIN THEIR THEIR YEAR OR THEIR DAY AND NOT SOMETHING I DON'T KNOW THAT I'VE EVER HEARD A STUDENT EXCEPT FOR A FEW OF LIKE THE TOP 1% THAT ARE JUST THEY DON'T WANT TO EVER GET LIKE A BAD GRADE ON ANYTHING.

AND THAT'S JUST A SMALL AMOUNT OF THE STUDENT POPULATION THAT IS JUST THAT UBER COMPETITIVE. THEY'RE LIKE, THIS DOESN'T MEAN ANYTHING TO MY GRADE. IT'S MORE OF I JUST HAVE TO GET THROUGH IT THAN I CARE WHAT MY SCORE ENDS UP BEING.

I SEE SOME OF THIS MAYBE NOT WANTING TO BE MET WITH BECAUSE YOU'RE UNDERPERFORMING.

I SEE THAT BEING, YOU KNOW, A KIND OF NEGATIVE, NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT.

LIKE, THEY WOULD WANT TO SCORE AT LEAST GOOD ENOUGH NOT TO HAVE THOSE MEETINGS.

BUT I KNOW WHEN I WAS IN SCHOOL, IT WAS IT WAS JUST SOMETHING THAT WE JUST DID TO GET BY.

[01:30:04]

JUST LET'S GET THROUGH THESE THESE ASSESSMENTS.

WELL, WE CERTAINLY HAVE STRATEGIES TO TRY TO ENCOURAGE STUDENTS TO DO WELL AND BE AT THE TEST, ETC.. SOME OF THIS. OUT TOWARDS GRADE IN ANY.

WELL, LET ME I CAN TELL YOU. YEAH, YEAH. OKAY.

SO WE ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DO IS THAT IT DOES LEAN TOWARDS YOUR COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS.

SO IF YOU ARE IF YOU ARE PROFICIENT IN THE ENGLISH TEN, OR IF YOU'RE PROFICIENT IN ALGEBRA, IT WILL DEEM YOU COLLEGE AND CAREER READY, WHICH LEADS YOU DOWN DIFFERENT PATHS THAN IF YOU ARE NOT CCR.

WE ALSO IN SCIENCE AND SOCIAL STUDIES, WHICH IS A DIFFERENT TOPIC.

WE DO HAVE END OF COURSE ASSESSMENTS THAT DO COUNT TOWARDS THEIR FINAL GRADE.

AND THAT HAS COME THROUGH THE MCAP PROGRAM THAT THOSE END OF COURSE ASSESSMENTS CALCULATE IN AS A PERCENTAGE OF THEIR FINAL GRADE.

BUT THAT'S NOT AN ELA. THAT'S NOT ELA. AND MATH, WHICH THERE'S NO SELF BENEFIT IS WAS ONE OF MY QUESTIONS.

YEAH I WAS CURIOUS IF MAYBE THERE ARE OTHER LIKE I KNOW THAT WEALTH IS A KEY INDICATOR, BUT ARE THERE OTHER COUNTIES THAT DO WELL THAT FIND A WAY TO EITHER, YOU KNOW, REWARD OR, YOU KNOW, I DON'T WANT TO SAY PUNISH, BUT, YOU KNOW, IS THERE A REWARD SYSTEM WHEN THEIR SCORES ARE UP HIGH THAT WE COULD GET INVOLVED IN? I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE. I MEAN, KEEP IN MIND THE SCORES.

I'M SORRY. THE SCORES DON'T COME BACK TILL SUMMER.

YEAH. THAT'S RIGHT. KIDS AREN'T EVEN IN. YEAH, IT'S JUST SUCH A HARD THING.

AND THAT, I THINK IS IS HUGE. I JUST DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S OTHER SCHOOL SYSTEMS THAT FIND A WAY TO GET THEIR KIDS TO CARE MORE ABOUT THAT, BUT IT'S HARD. IT IS HARD TO CARE ABOUT SOMETHING THAT DOESN'T REALLY AFFECT YOU IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM. IT AFFECTS THE SCHOOL SYSTEM. IT MAKES IT MAKES OUR COUNTY LOOK OR GOOD OR BAD ON OUR GRADES.

BUT I DON'T KNOW THAT A SIXTH GRADER IS THINKING, I BARELY THOUGHT ABOUT THAT.

BUT I THINK THIS IS ALSO A IT'S THE SAME TYPE OF THING WHERE IF YOU HAVE WEALTHIER COUNTIES AND THE PARENTS ARE PAYING ATTENTION TO THEIR GRADES, THEIR SCORES THAT COME BACK, THOSE STUDENTS PROBABLY CARE MORE BECAUSE THEY KNOW THAT THEIR PARENTS ARE GOING TO SEE IT AND CARE WHERE, YOU KNOW, WE MAY NOT HAVE THAT ALL THE TIME OR SOME OF THE, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE PARENTS JUST AREN'T PAYING ATTENTION.

THE KIDS KNOW THAT THEIR PARENTS AREN'T GOING TO PAY ATTENTION. YOU'RE NOT GETTING THE SCORES BACK, THOUGH. IT'S JUST I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF I EVER HEARD ABOUT HOW MY KIDS DID.

I'M ASSUMING THEY DID WELL AND THEY WERE GOOD STUDENTS, BUT I DON'T KNOW THAT I EVER DID HEAR ABOUT IT BECAUSE IT'S SO FAR DOWN THE ROAD.

SO ANYWAY, WELL, IF I COULD ADD AND I THINK THE BLUEPRINT IS LEANING TOWARDS THIS WAY, WE'RE MAKING A BIG PUSH THIS YEAR AND EVEN LAST YEAR WITH SOME OF OUR STUDENTS WHO FIND THEMSELVES PROFICIENT OR EVEN NOT PROFICIENT, SOME OF THE INCENTIVES SPECIFICALLY FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IF YOU ARE PROFICIENT IN MATHEMATICS OR ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS, YOU GET IDENTIFIED AS BEING COLLEGE AND CAREER READY, AND AS A RESULT, YOU GET AN ENDORSEMENT ON YOUR TRANSCRIPT.

SO EMPLOYERS, COLLEGES CAN SEE THAT ENDORSEMENT THAT SAYS THAT YOU ARE COLLEGE AND CAREER READY.

LIKEWISE, WHAT A STUDENT ALSO CAN GET IS YOU GET ONCE YOU ARE COLLEGE AND CAREER READY, YOU TAKE A CERTAIN PATHWAY.

THERE'S THREE PATHWAYS. YOU HAVE YOUR DUAL ENROLLMENT PATHWAY MEANING YOU'RE TAKING COLLEGE CLASSES.

SPECIFICALLY CECIL COLLEGE IS OUR PARTNERSHIP, LIKEWISE ADVANCED PLACEMENT.

THEY CALL IT COLLEGE PREPARATORY PROGRAMING OR YOU TAKE CTE.

SOME OF OUR PROGRAMS, ALL THOSE THINGS ARE FREE TO STUDENTS WHO ARE COLLEGE AND CAREER READY.

SO IF YOU ARE IDENTIFIED AS CCR, COLLEGE CAREER READY, THAT MEANS THAT YOU CAN TAKE COLLEGE CREDITS FOR FREE ON CECIL COUNTY DOLLAR. SO WE GET MONEY FOR STUDENTS BEING COLLEGE CAREER READY.

IN TURN, WE SAY STUDENTS WHO ARE COLLEGE CAREER READY, YOU CAN TAKE UP TO FOUR CLASSES WITHIN A CALENDAR YEAR FOR FREE AT NO CHARGE TO THE STUDENT. AND THAT MEANS BOOKS. THAT MEANS THE REGISTRATION ANY FEES THE PARENT AND THE STUDENT DOES NOT PAY.

LIKEWISE, THAT IS THE CASE ALSO FOR STUDENTS IN ADVANCED PLACEMENT CLASSES.

SO TYPICALLY TO TAKE THE EXAM, IT'S AROUND $100 TO TAKE THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT EXAM.

IF YOU ARE A STUDENT IDENTIFIED AS COLLEGE CAREER READY, WE WAIVE THAT CECIL COUNTY WE COVER THE FREIGHT ON THAT CECIL COUNTY SCHOOL OF TECHNOLOGY. SOME OF OUR CTE PROGRAM HAS CERTIFICATION TESTS THAT STUDENTS TYPICALLY HAD TO PAY FOR.

BUT IF YOU'RE IDENTIFIED AS COLLEGE CAREER READY, WE ALSO COVER THAT.

AND WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS MAKE A BIG PUSH TO MAKE SURE STUDENTS ARE AWARE OF THIS, BECAUSE THE GOAL IS, BY THE CONCLUSION OF THEIR 10TH GRADE YEAR, THAT THERE ARE IDENTIFIED AS COLLEGE AND CAREER READY.

IF NOT, WE HAVE OTHER MEASURES IN PLACE BECAUSE IT'S NOT ONLY THE ASSESSMENT NOW THAT MEASURES WHETHER OR NOT A STUDENT IS IDENTIFIED AS COLLEGE AND CAREER READY.

THERE'S OTHER MARKERS THE ASVAB ASSESSMENT, S.A.T., YOUR GPA, ALL THOSE THINGS CAN ALSO DEEM A STUDENT COLLEGE AND CAREER READY.

[01:35:08]

YEAH. AND THEY WANT IT TO BE COMPUTER ADAPTED AS WELL.

MUCH LIKE THE MAP BATTERY WE GIVE. EVEN IN MY ADULT CAREER, THE THINGS THAT I FIND OUT ABOUT NINE MONTHS LATER WHETHER I HIT MY GOAL OR NOT, I DON'T HAVE TIME TO. ACTUALLY, BY THE TIME I FIND OUT THAT I WASN'T DOING WELL IN THAT IT'S SNOWBALLED TO AN EFFECT, IT'S HARD TO GET CAUGHT BACK UP. SO YEAH, THEY SHOULD WE SHOULD KNOW WITHIN 30 DAYS.

I MEAN, I DON'T WITH IF IT WAS A COMPUTER GENERATED IT SHOULD BE LIKE THIS.

I MEAN AND THAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LAGGING AND LEADING DATA. SO THAT'S LAGGING DATA FOR YOU, YOU KNOW. THANK YOU. IT'S AUTOPSY DATA. YEAH.

THAT'S WHAT WE CALL IT. YEAH. SO I'M I'M KIND OF HUNG UP ON SPECIAL ED FOR A SECOND.

SO GIVEN THAT 20% OF OUR STUDENTS ARE STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES AND THAT IS GOING TO DROP SCORES LOW, AND GIVEN HOW OUR PROFICIENCY NUMBERS HAVE SEEMED TO DECLINE WITH THAT POPULATION, IT IMPLIES THAT SOMETHING HAS TO CHANGE WITH SPECIAL DELIVERY. RIGHT. AND HAVE WE COMPARED WITH OTHER COUNTIES WITH SIMILAR DEMOGRAPHICS THAT MAY BE HAVING SUCCESSES IN THEIR SPECIAL ED PROFICIENCY RATES? AND IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WE COULD DO? I MEAN, I DON'T YOU COULD YOU COULD GO AND PERUSE THROUGH OUR SISTER COUNTIES, THE ONES WE COMPARE OURSELVES TO SAINT MARY'S, CALVERT, WICOMICO AND CECIL ALL ARE IN THE 15,000 STUDENT RANGE, SO THEY TEND TO BE THE ONES SAINT MARY'S AND CALVERT, BOTH ARE PROBABLY A A GOOD STANDARD DEVIATION ABOVE US IN TERMS OF WEALTH.

WICOMICO? NOT SO MUCH. WICOMICO WOULD PROBABLY BE A GOOD COMPARISON.

AND WE CAN GO. ALL THIS STUFF IS PUBLICLY AVAILABLE ON THE STATE WEBSITES.

WE COULD ACTUALLY GO IN AND TAKE A LOOK AT WICOMICO.

I'M TRYING TO THINK MAYBE A CHARLES A LITTLE BIT LIKE US.

WASHINGTON'S A LITTLE BIT LIKE US. BUT YES, I THINK IS THE.

I MEAN, JUST TO SEE LIKE, WHAT ARE THEY DOING THAT, THAT MAYBE WOULD WORK FOR US TO GET OUR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES TO ACHIEVE A LITTLE BIT BETTER THAN WHAT THEY'RE DOING. WE CAN CERTAINLY LOOK AT THAT.

AND THEN DOES ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANYTHING BEFORE I SAY MY LAST ONE MORE THING.

AND I GET THE IMPORTANCE OF DATA. DATA IS VERY SIGNIFICANT, BUT I JUST DO SOMETIMES FEEL LIKE IT DOESN'T REALLY MEASURE FULL SUCCESS. RIGHT? IT TEST SCORES ARE JUST KIND OF A PART OF THAT.

AND SOME OF THESE MCAP SCORES ARE JUST DREADFULLY LOW, ESPECIALLY IN MATHEMATICS ACROSS THE STATE, NOT JUST IN CECIL COUNTY BUT ACROSS THE STATE.

AND I MEAN, EVEN WITH OUR GT KIDS, OUR PROFICIENCY RATES WERE LIKE 60 IN THE 70S, RIGHT? BUT YET WE HAVE STUDENTS WHO ARE DOING SOME PRETTY AMAZING THINGS AFTER THEY GRADUATE.

SO IT LEADS ME TO BELIEVE THAT THE MCAP SCORES, ESPECIALLY IN MATHEMATICS, AREN'T REALLY THE BIG PICTURE HERE.

SO I GUESS THE STATE LOOKING AT THE TEST ITSELF IS SOMETHING THAT IS BENEFICIAL.

I JUST BECAUSE THIS PLATFORM TELLS YOU OTHERWISE, IF YOU LOOK AT THIS PLATFORM, YOU WOULD THINK WE'RE DOOMED, RIGHT? AND THAT'S NOT WHAT WE REALLY SEE IN REAL LIFE.

MEANWHILE, LAST YEAR WE HAD OVER 100 AP SCHOLARS, AP SCHOLARS.

THEY ARE STUDENTS WHO TOOK THREE OR MORE AP CLASSES AND PASSED THE TESTS.

THESE ARE KIDS WHO ARE ALL HEADING TO TOP TIER ONE RESEARCH UNIVERSITIES, MILITARY ACADEMIES.

THE WHOLE THING. AND SO I DO THINK MARYLAND HAS REALLY FROM AN IMAGING PERSPECTIVE, SOME OF THE MCAP SCORES JUST I MEAN, MY COLLEAGUE MARK BEDELL, THE SUPERINTENDENT FROM ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, FORMERLY THE SUPERINTENDENT OF KANSAS CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

HE SAYS ALL THE TIME IN SUPERINTENDENTS MEETINGS, I DON'T KNOW HOW MARYLAND HAS PUT ITSELF IN THIS SITUATION WHERE IT'S BECOME A PUNCHING BAG BECAUSE OF MCAP PROFICIENCY SCORES. AND I THINK WHAT'S HAPPENED IS THE TESTS HAVE GRADUALLY GOTTEN HARDER AND HARDER AND HARDER.

AND MEANWHILE, WE'RE TRYING TO KEEP UP WITH IT.

BUT BUT TO MR. FERDINANDO POINT, BY THE TIME THE STUDENTS HIT, YOU KNOW, ADOLESCENCE, EIGHTH, NINTH, 10TH GRADE THEY'RE NOT AS CONCERNED ABOUT THE TESTS FOR DIFFERENT REASONS.

SOME DON'T SEE THE TEST DIRECTLY RELATED TO THEIR FUTURE SUCCESS OF COLLEGE EMPLOYMENT CERTIFICATIONS, AND OTHERS DON'T SEE ANY ACADEMIC EXERCISE TO BE LIKE, VALUABLE.

SO THERE'S LIKE DIFFERENT REASONS. BUT THE NET EFFECT IS WHEN THESE KIDS HIT 15, 16, 17 YEARS OLD,

[01:40:02]

YOU KNOW, IF YOU TRY REALLY HARD, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A PIZZA PARTY TOMORROW, YOU KNOW. AND SO WHEN YOU'RE LEFT DOING THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.

IT'S A HEAVY LIFT. SO AS YOU'RE GOING THROUGH SOME OF THESE BENCHMARKS, TESTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, CAN WE GET MORE FEEDBACK AS WE GO THROUGH THE YEAR RATHER THAN JUST HAVING FEEDBACK AGAIN THIS TIME NEXT YEAR ON THE MCAP, JUST HOW OUR ONE OF OUR BIG ASSESSMENTS THAT WILL BE COMING WILL BE OUR MID-YEAR MAP ASSESSMENT.

AND THE MAP ASSESSMENT IS DEVELOPED BY THE NORTHWEST ASSESSMENT EDUCATIONAL ASSESSMENT.

AND WE HAVE BEEN DOING THAT ASSESSMENT FOR PROBABLY TEN YEARS.

WE HAVE DEEP LONGITUDINAL DATA ON THAT. SO WE SEE WHERE THEY ARE IN THE FALL.

WE SEE WHERE THEY ARE AGAIN IN THE WINTER AND CAN MAKE ADJUSTMENTS WITH OUR INSTRUCTION.

SO WE CERTAINLY CAN BRING THE MID-YEAR MAP DATA TO YOU.

IT'S A VERY STRONG PREDICTOR OF HOW STUDENTS ARE GOING TO DO ON MCAP.

VERY STRONG CORRELATION. BUT YES, OUR FALL MAP TESTING WINDOW JUST CLOSED, AND WE WOULD HAVE THAT DATA AVAILABLE PROBABLY IN THE NEXT WEEK OR TWO.

AND WE CAN COMPARE FALL TO FALL TO FALL. YEAH OKAY.

THANK YOU GUYS VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, DOCTOR HAMMER. THANK YOU DOCTOR FOY. THANK YOU, DOCTOR JOHNSON. THERE'S A LOT OF WORK, I APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU. THREE OF YOU. NEXT ON THE AGENDA, WE HAVE OUR CCPS BID NUMBER 26-02 ASC, A BOILER REPLACEMENT REBID. DOCTOR LAWSON, YOU HAVE A RECOMMENDATION? YES. I'M TRYING TO FIND IT.

I TOLD YOU HOW MUCH I LOVED IT. I RECOMMEND THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF CECIL COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS AWARD A CONTRACT TO RF WATER INCORPORATED FOR THE AMOUNT OF $338,876. IS THERE A MOTION? SO MOVED. SECOND.

ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? OKAY. ALL IN FAVOR? SO THIS THIS PROJECT WAS APPROVED FOR FUNDING IN THE CAPITAL BUDGET.

BUT WHERE IS IT? IN THE CAPITAL BUDGET? WHAT LINE ITEM IS THIS? THE SOPA. YOUR MICROPHONE. THIS PROJECT IS ACTUALLY LABELED IN THE CAPITAL BUDGET.

SO IT HAS A IT HAS A LINE GOING BACK TO THE BUDGET PROCESS.

SO IT'S NOT ONE OF THE PRIORITIES. SO THE ONLY THING WITH ASC WAS WAS I? YEAH. IT THE BOILER, IT HAD THE ROOF WHICH WE VOTED ON FOR SURE.

YOU WANT TO THIS WAS ONE OF THE PROJECTS THAT WAS APPROVED BY COUNTY GOVERNMENT.

OH OKAY. IT'S PAYGO. OKAY. GOT IT. I JUST I. SMALL CAP PROJECT.

GOT IT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? OKAY. WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND. NO OTHER DISCUSSION.

ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES UNANIMOUSLY.

NEXT, WE HAVE THE CONTRACT AWARD FOR THE NORTHEAST MIDDLE HIGH SCHOOL REPLACEMENT PROJECT 31, A SITE WORK, WHICH IS A CHANGE ORDER? YES, A CHANGE, A CHANGE ORDER FOR JUST UNDER $740,000.

AND THE BOARD HAS BEEN BRIEFED ALONG THE WAY.

THIS IS A RESULT OF THE OLD PRACTICE FOOTBALL LACROSSE FIELD AT NORTHEAST HIGH SCHOOL.

TURNS OUT THAT FIELD WAS BUILT ON BASICALLY CLEAN FILL TO INCLUDE ROOTS, TREE STUMPS AND THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.

AND THAT WHEN THE CONTRACTORS CAME IN TO BUILD A NEW SCHOOL, THEY LEARNED THAT WHAT WAS THERE WAS NOT STRONG ENOUGH TO SUPPORT A PARKING LOT, WHICH IS WHAT'S GOING TO BE THERE. SUBSEQUENTLY, THEY'VE BEEN ASKED, WELL, THEY ARE IN THE PROCESS OF GOING IN AND DIGGING, PROBABLY ABOUT THE SIZE OF A FOOTBALL FIELD, GOING DOWN AS DEEP AS SIX FEET AND AS SHALLOW AS THREE FEET.

SO THAT'S QUITE A BIT OF DIRT. THEY DUG OUT ALL THE OLD FILL, AND THEY'RE PUTTING IN NEW AND PACKING IT DOWN.

AND THE CHANGE ORDER IS JUST UNDER $740,000. SO THAT'S JUST SOME BACKGROUND BEFORE I ASK FOR A VOTE ON THIS.

QUESTIONS FOR DOCTOR BUCKLEY OR MYSELF? WITH THAT, I RECOMMEND THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF CECIL COUNTY AMEND AMEND RFP 2415 FOR THE NORTHEAST MIDDLE HIGH SCHOOL REPLACEMENT PROJECT 31 A SITE WORK TO INCLUDE THE PRESENTED CHANGE ORDER FOR A TOTAL OF $739,515.04 PER THE RECOMMENDATION. IS THERE A MOTION? SO MOVED. SECOND. OKAY. ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES UNANIMOUSLY.

NEXT, WE HAVE OUR FISCAL YEAR 2026 BUDGET UPDATE.

MISS SOPA.

[01:45:13]

THESE WERE AMENDMENTS THAT ACTUALLY OCCURRED DURING THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER THAT WE SHARE IN OCTOBER. SO YOU CAN SEE HERE THE TOTAL ADDITIONAL REVENUE AND THE ADDITIONAL EXPENSE. AND WE GET INTO THE DETAILS OF THE ADDITIONAL REVENUE AND THE EXPENSE ON THE NEXT PAGE.

SO RESTRICTED OTHER REVENUE THIS $16,000 POT OF MONEY HERE COMES FROM SEVERAL DIFFERENT BUSINESSES OR COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS GIVING SPECIFIC GRANTS TO SOME SPECIFIC SCHOOLS. SO SCHOOL OF TECHNOLOGY FOR THE DIESEL PROGRAM, FOR THE HORTICULTURE PROGRAM AND AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES PROGRAM, THE AMERICAN LEGION GIVING A DONATION TO RISING SUN MIDDLE AND THEN A DONATION FROM MOUNT PLEASANT CHURCH TO SUPPORT PBIS PROGRAM AT RISING SUN ELEMENTARY, SO THOSE TOTAL COMMUNITY AND LOCAL BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS TOTAL TO AN ADDITIONAL $16,075 FOR THE BUDGET.

THE BULK OF THE BUDGET AMENDMENT FALLS IN UNRESTRICTED OTHER REVENUE.

AND SO IF YOU LOOK AT THESE TOP THREE AREAS HERE THAT SAY CARRYOVER, WE RAISE MONEY FOR CERTAIN THINGS OR GENERATE FUNDS.

SO FOR EXAMPLE, FOR THE UPPER CHESAPEAKE SUMMER CENTER FOR THE ARTS, FOR THIS UCSCA CAMP, STUDENTS PAY TO ATTEND THE CAMP. WE COLLECT THOSE FUNDS DURING FY 25, AND THEN WE HAVE TO CARRY THEM OVER INTO FY 26, BECAUSE THAT'S WHEN THE CAMP IS ACTUALLY HELD.

SO WE'RE RAISING MONEY. WE'RE COLLECTING MONEY.

THEN WE RECOGNIZE THE REVENUE IN 26 SO WE CAN PAY THE EXPENSES FOR THE CAMP THAT'S HELD AT WASHINGTON COLLEGE.

THE STEP PROGRAM AT THE SCHOOL OF TECHNOLOGY IS A SELF-SUSTAINING PROGRAM.

SO THE STUDENTS RAISE MONEY AND THE PROGRAM ITSELF RAISES MONEY THROUGH IMPRINTING AND MAKING PRODUCTS.

AND THEN THAT MONEY GOES BACK INTO THE PROGRAM TO SUPPORT EQUIPMENT OR NEW SUPPLIES FOR THE PROGRAM.

I'M NOT SURE WHAT HAPPENED THERE. SO THIS IS RECOGNIZING THE $36,000 THAT'S CARRIES OVER FROM FY 25.

YOU CAN SEE WE HAVE A BALANCE OF A VAPE SETTLEMENT.

SO WE DID RECEIVE MONEY FROM THE VAPE SETTLEMENT.

I CAN'T REMEMBER IF IT WAS LAST YEAR OR THE YEAR BEFORE. AND I KNOW THAT WE HAD TALKED ABOUT OR WERE LOOKING INTO ADDITIONAL VAPE DETECTION SYSTEM, BUT WE WERE HAVING AN ISSUE WITH CAMERAS COMMUNICATING WITH THAT.

AND I KNOW THERE ARE SOME NEW CAMERA SYSTEMS COMING ON BOARD, BUT THIS IS JUST RECOGNIZING AND CARRYING OVER THE SAME VAPE SETTLEMENT FUNDING REVENUE THAT WE RECEIVED IN PRIOR YEAR. ALL THESE LINES THAT YOU SEE THAT GO AHEAD.

SO THAT MONEY'S JUST WAITING UNTIL WE FIGURE OUT, OKAY.

AND THEN WE'LL USE IT FOR WHAT WE WANT TO SEE HOW THE NEW CAMERA SYSTEM INTERFACES WITH THE VAPE DETECTION SYSTEM BEFORE WE COMMIT THAT.

ALL THE LINES THAT SAY USE OF COMMUNITY USE FUNDS.

SO WHEN OUTSIDE ORGANIZATIONS USE OUR BUILDINGS, THERE ARE CHARGES FOR THE USE OF THE BUILDING.

AND SOME OF THOSE CHARGES GO RIGHT BACK TO PAY, ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAVE TO HAVE A CUSTODIAN AFTER HOURS WITH OVERTIME, GOES BACK TO PAY THAT OVERTIME. AND THEN SOME OF IT IS USED TO ACTUALLY REPAIR AND REPLACE THINGS THAT GET USED OVER TIME.

SO WE'RE ABLE TO TAKE SOME OF THE COMMUNITY USE FUNDS AND FIND SOME PROJECTS.

SO WE SIT DOWN AND WE MEET WITH MEMBERS OF OUR MAINTENANCE AND FACILITIES DEPARTMENT.

AND THEY HAVE PROJECTS THAT NEED TO BE DONE THAT ARE USED BY THE COMMUNITY.

AND THEN WE CAN USE SOME OF THE MONEY THAT WE RAISE BY RENTING OUT OUR FACILITIES TO HELP IMPROVE OR REPAIR SOME OF THOSE THINGS.

SO YOU CAN SEE SOME MAINTENANCE OF BLEACHERS, YOU CAN SEE SOME REPAIRS TO SOME PLAYGROUNDS, GYM FANS FOR A COUPLE SCHOOLS REPAIRING A GYM FLOOR AT THE HIGH SCHOOL.

AND WHEN YOU SEE SEED AND FERTILIZER FOR VARIOUS SCHOOL SITES.

OUR FIELDS GET A LOT OF USE FROM OUTSIDE SPORTS ORGANIZATIONS, SO IT'S KEEPING UP WITH THAT AND PURCHASING A MOWER.

AGAIN, WE HAVE A LOT OF FIELDS THAT NEED TO BE CUT THAT ARE ALSO USED BY THE COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS.

MORE CARRYOVER FOR COLLEGE AND CAREER NIGHTS.

SO WE STARTED COLLECTING IN FY 25. COLLEGE AND CAREER NIGHT WAS HELD LAST WEEK.

AND SO THAT'S JUST CARRYING OVER WHAT WAS RAISED FOR COLLEGE AND CAREER NIGHT IN FY 25.

AND THESE LAST THREE ARE DONATIONS. WHEN IT SAYS DONATION FROM A SCHOOL, IT'S THEM USING THEIR STUDENT ACTIVITIES FUNDS TO MAKE PURCHASES FOR THE SCHOOL.

SO THIS TOTAL IS $618,451. AND THAT JUST SUMMARIZES THE ADDITIONS TO REVENUE FOR FY 26.

QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS. I RECOMMEND THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF CECIL COUNTY APPROVE THE OPERATING BUDGET AMENDMENT FOR $34,526 AS PRESENTED. SO MOVED. SECOND, ANY FURTHER

[01:50:06]

[6. Public Participation]

MISS OLSON.

GOOD EVENING EVERYONE. ALL OF THE GUIDELINES FOR PUBLIC PARTICIPATION CAN BE OUTLINED, CAN BE FOUND IN POLICY BDD.

AND I WILL OUTLINE SOME OF THEM. JUST AS A REMINDER, THE BOARD WILL TAKE TIME TO LISTEN AND CONSIDER.

THEY WILL NOT RENDER A DECISION ON PUBLIC PARTICIPATION ISSUES WHEN THEY ARE PRESENTED.

THE AMOUNT OF TIME ALLOTTED FOR PUBLIC PARTICIPATION HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED BY THE BOARD PRESIDENT.

IN GENERAL, A MAXIMUM OF 30 MINUTES WILL BE RESERVED FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.

THREE MINUTES ARE ALLOTTED TO EACH SPEAKER. WHEN THE ALLOTTED TIME EXPIRES, THE SPEAKER WILL BE PERMITTED TO COMPLETE A SENTENCE.

NOTICE WILL BE PROVIDED WHEN 30S REMAIN AND YOU WILL HEAR THE SPELL.

PERSONAL MATTERS PENDING APPEALS, GRIEVANCES, LITIGATION, EMPLOYEE AND OR COLLECTIVE BARGAINING, NEGOTIATIONS AND SPECIFIC STUDENT DISCIPLINARY MATTERS MAY NOT BE DISCUSSED.

ABUSIVE COMMENTS AND PROFANITIES MAY BE CONSIDERED OUT OF ORDER.

MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC MAY EXPRESS OPINIONS FAVORABLE AND UNFAVORABLE ON THE PERFORMANCE AND CONDUCT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT LEADERSHIP TEAM, AND ELECTED OR APPOINTED BOARD MEMBERS IN THEIR PUBLIC ROLE ONLY.

COMPLAINTS CONCERNING SCHOOL SYSTEM ADMINISTRATORS, TEACHERS AND OTHER NON NON-ADMINISTRATIVE INSTRUCTIONAL STAFF SHOULD BE COMMUNICATED DIRECTLY TO THE SUPERINTENDENT. SPEAKERS MUST STATE THEIR NAMES AND MAY NOT SPEAK ON BEHALF OF AN ANONYMOUS INDIVIDUAL, AND THE BOARD PRESIDENT MAY INTERRUPT OR TERMINATE AN INDIVIDUAL STATEMENT WHEN IT IS TOO LENGTHY OR VIOLATES THE GUIDELINES.

SO WE HAVE THREE PEOPLE SIGNED UP THIS EVENING.

WE'D LIKE TO HAVE EVERYONE PREPARED TO MOVE UP ONCE THE OTHER PERSON HAS FINISHED.

OUR FIRST SPEAKER, MR. SHAUN, IS ALREADY AT THE TABLE AND HE'LL BE FOLLOWED BY MEGAN SHAW.

SHAW KNOWS TO PUSH THE BUTTON ON THE MICROPHONE UNTIL IT TURNS GREEN, AND A BOX IS PLACED ON THE CORNER OF THE TABLE.

IF YOU MAY WISH TO LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS. I'M SHAWN BRIM OF NORTHEAST.

MY FIRST AND MOST IMPORTANT SCIENCE TEACHER WAS LAURA CHAMBLEE OF NORTHEAST HIGH SCHOOL.

UNLIKE MOST TEACHERS, SHE WAS A TEACHER OF MINE FROM ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ALL THE WAY TO MY SENIOR YEAR IN HIGH SCHOOL.

SHE HAD A UNIQUE POSITION TEACHING ASTRONOMY FROM EITHER THE PLANETARIUMS AT NORTHEAST HIGH OR ELKTON HIGH TO STUDENTS FROM ALL LEVELS OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM.

NORTHEAST HIGH HAD A PLANETARIUM BUILT INTO IT WHEN THE PRESENT BUILDING WAS CONSTRUCTED AT THE HEIGHT OF AMERICA'S RACE TO THE MOON IN 1970, AND IS COMPARABLE TO SOME OF THE PLANETARIUMS THAT SOME SCIENCE MUSEUMS I VISITED.

IT HELPED TO FUEL MY IMAGINATION AND IMMERSE MYSELF IN THE FIELD OF ASTRONOMY.

MISS CHAMBLEE TAUGHT ASTRONOMY FROM ABOUT 1978 THROUGH TO 1992 OR SO, WHEN THE ASTRONOMY PROGRAM WAS DISCONTINUED.

I WROTE MY FIRST NEWSPAPER OP ED IN RESPONSE TO THE NEWS WITH THE HEADLINE, CANCELING THE ASTRONOMY PROGRAM IS A MISTAKE.

EVEN AS A YOUNG MAN, I WAS NOT AFRAID TO TELL TRUTH TO POWER.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. LAURA CHAMBLEE EXEMPLIFIED THE BEST OF NOT MERELY CECIL COUNTY TEACHERS, BUT WHAT AMERICA ASPIRED TO BE IN THOSE HEADY DAYS OF AMERICA'S SPACE PROGRAM THAT RESULTED IN OUR BEING THE FIRST TO SET FOOT ON THE MOON.

A COUPLE OF PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS CECIL COUNTY DEMOCRATIC CLUB JOYFULLY THANKS LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR ARUNA MILLER FOR BEING OUR KEYNOTE SPEAKER AT OUR BARBECUE AND FUNDRAISER FOR OUR CECIL COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP. OUR SCHOLARSHIP IS BASED ON AN ESSAY SUBMITTED BY ANY CECIL HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR, AND HIS SUBJECT IS, HOW WILL YOU AIM TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN YOUR COMMUNITY? OUR TWO AWARD RECIPIENTS THIS YEAR INCLUDE SENIORS FROM NORTHEAST AND BEAUMANOR.

THE FIRST WISHES TO USE MUSIC AND THE ARTS TO PROMOTE CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS WHEN TACKLING DIFFICULT TASKS AND TO BE A MUSIC EDUCATOR.

OUR OTHER RECIPIENT RAISES FUNDS BY HOSTING A WALK FOR THE BOBBY JONES CSF FOUNDATION.

AS HE SAYS, I WANT TO HELP OUR FUTURE GENERATION LIVE BETTER LIVES THAN I DID HERE.

HERE THIS SUNDAY, OCTOBER 12TH AT THE COMMUNITY AT THE ELKTON COMMUNITY CENTER.

ACROSS THE YARD FROM HERE AT 2 P.M. WILL BE A TOWN HALL HOSTED BY FORMER GOVERNOR AND SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATOR MARTIN O'MALLEY ON THE TIMELY SUBJECT OF THE FUTURE OF SOCIAL SECURITY. OUR SPECIAL GUEST WILL BE ONE OF THE GREATEST POLITICAL FIGHTERS THAT I KNOW OF.

[01:55:02]

THANK YOU, MR. BRIM. THE NEXT SPEAKER IS MEGAN SHAW, AND SHE WILL BE FOLLOWED BY WAYNE ROUSH.

HI. MY NAME IS MEGAN SHAW. I'M HERE TO TALK TO YOU TONIGHT ABOUT GRADUATION.

EVEN THOUGH THE DECISION MAY ALREADY BE MADE, I DIDN'T REALIZE THIS QUOTE WAS UP HERE ON THE WALL, BUT WE'LL TALK. I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT.

I GRADUATED FROM NORTHEAST HIGH SCHOOL TEN YEARS AGO, AND I'VE BEEN PRESENT THERE A LOT.

SUPPORTING OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS FOR THE LAST TEN YEARS.

I HADN'T HEARD ANY RUMORS OF GRADUATION MOVING, BUT ONE OF THOSE EVENTS WAS LAST YEAR'S GRADUATION.

WHEN MISS HAWLEY, YOU SPOKE ABOUT PEOPLE ASKING IF GRADUATION WOULD BE MOVED BECAUSE OF THE CONSTRUCTION.

BUT YOU TOLD THEM YOU COULDN'T THINK OF A BETTER BACKDROP, AND I AGREED WITH YOU.

WHEN WE HEARD THAT LAST YEAR'S FRESHMEN WOULD BE THE FIRST TO GRADUATE FROM THE NEW SCHOOL, WE PICTURED THEM GRADUATING AT THE NEW SCHOOL.

DESPITE MY OWN DISAPPOINTMENT ABOUT MISSING MY COUSIN'S GRADUATION AT NORTHEAST HIGH SCHOOL THIS YEAR BECAUSE IT WILL BE MOVED.

THE MAIN REASON I'M HERE IS TO REMIND YOU THAT THIS QUOTE APPLIES TO EVERYTHING THAT YOU DO.

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE COMMUNITY. MY QUESTION IS, WHY WERE YOU NOT AS GENEROUS WITH THIS INFORMATION ABOUT THIS MOVE AS YOU WERE IN THE PAST, ABOUT THE BUDGET ISSUES? I'VE SEEN THE ESTIMATED PRICES LESS THAN A TEACHER'S SALARY, SO IT'S KIND OF SHRUGGED OFF. BUT THAT LOGIC COULD BE USED FOR A LOT OF OTHER UNNECESSARY ITEMS AS WELL.

I SPOKE ON BEHALF OF CCPS AND YOU TWO YEARS AGO AT THE COUNTY COUNCIL MEETING, AND I STILL BELIEVE THAT IT WAS RIGHT FOR YOU TO SHARE THAT INFORMATION.

I STILL BELIEVE THAT WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO, BUT PLEASE DON'T MAKE A HABIT OF BEING SELECTIVE ABOUT THE INFORMATION YOU CHOOSE TO SHARE WITH THE PUBLIC BASED ON YOUR OWN PREFERENCES, OR MAYBE THOSE OF YOUR FRIENDS.

AS A TEACHER IN THIS COUNTY FOR SIX YEARS, IT'S CLEAR TO ME THAT THIS MOVE WILL BE AN OBSTACLE FOR MANY FAMILIES.

EVEN WITH BUSSES, WE TALKED A LOT TONIGHT ABOUT POVERTY IN OUR COMMUNITY, AND I HOPE THAT YOU PLAN TO COMPARE ATTENDANCE OF GRADUATIONS THIS YEAR TO YEARS PAST TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU'VE MADE THE RIGHT DECISION. AND IF YOU HAVEN'T, I HOPE YOU'LL BE HUMBLE ENOUGH TO MOVE IT BACK.

IF THE DECISION FOR THIS YEAR WAS DISCUSSED AS A BOARD BEFORE SEPTEMBER, I BELIEVE OUR COMMUNITY HAD A RIGHT TO KNOW EARLIER THAN WE DID.

AND IF IT WASN'T DISCUSSED UNTIL SEPTEMBER, I DON'T BELIEVE YOU HAD ENOUGH TIME TO DO YOUR DUE DILIGENCE AND ENSURE THAT THESE FANCY BENEFITS OF THE BOB CARPENTER CENTER REALLY OUTWEIGH OUR COMMUNITY'S WANTS. I KNOW YOU CAN'T PLEASE EVERYBODY, BUT TAKING ON YOUR ROLE MEANT THAT YOU WOULD DO THE HARD WORK, SHARE THE HARD INFORMATION, AND MAKE THE HARD DECISIONS REGARDLESS OF YOUR THOUGHTS AND THOSE OF JUST YOUR FRIENDS.

I HOPE THAT THIS CAME ACROSS GRACEFULLY, BUT I WON'T HOLD A COUNTY COUNCIL ACCOUNTABLE TO YOU AND THEN NOT HOLD YOU ACCOUNTABLE TO THE PEOPLE THAT YOU SERVE.

IT'S ALSO A COMMUNITY THAT I SERVE, SO PLEASE REMEMBER THAT.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. AND I DO THANK CCPS FOR BRINGING UP STUDENTS WHO ARE WILLING AND ABLE TO SPEAK OUT WHEN IT'S NECESSARY.

THANK YOU, MISS SHAW. AND THE FINAL SPEAKER IS WAYNE ROUSH.

POLITICAL SADISM. SADISM IS CELEBRATING THE MURDER OF POLITICAL OPPONENTS.

POLITICAL SADISM CANNOT BE ALLOWED IN OUR AMERICAN BODY POLITIC AND OUR COMMUNITY.

THANK YOU FOR PROVIDING THIS FORUM FOR US AS A COMMUNITY TO COME FACE TO FACE, TO REASON TOGETHER.

THIS IS A PRINCIPLE OF OUR AMERICAN BODY POLITIC.

CHARLIE KIRK LIVED THIS PRINCIPLE WAS MURDERED, EXERCISING IT MORE SO THAN THIS.

CHARLIE KIRK WAS OUR FIRST AMERICAN CHRISTIAN MARTYR.

STANDING UNDER A BANNER READING JESUS IS LORD CHANGED MY MIND.

AND SHARING THE GOSPEL AND LOVE. ONLY A FEW CONVERSATIONS BEFORE HE WAS MARTYRED.

IF HE FELT THIS HEAVINESS IN YOUR SOUL IS BECAUSE AS BELIEVERS, WE ARE ALL ONE IN THE BODY OF CHRIST.

CHARLIE KIRK WAS A BRIGHT LIGHT, AND WHEN SATAN SNUFFED IT OUT IN OUR FALLEN WORLD, THE MAGNITUDE OF ITS IMPACT ON THE BODY OF CHRIST WAS EQUAL IN INTENSITY OF HIS BRIGHTNESS. AND THEN TO SEE FELLOW AMERICANS CELEBRATING THE MURDER OF ANOTHER AMERICAN VIOLENCE TO OUR SOULS LAST CENTURY EVIL MANIFESTED IN THE FORM OF LYNCHINGS TO STOP ANOTHER MOVEMENT.

WOULD YOU ALLOW YOUR EMPLOYEE TO POST ON SOCIAL MEDIA CELEBRATING A LYNCHING? WOULD YOU ALLOW THE EMPLOYEE TO WORK FOR YOU AS A TAXPAYER? I HAVE A RIGHT TO ASK THIS QUESTION. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.

THANK YOU, MR. RUSH.

OKAY. UPCOMING EVENTS. DOCTOR LAWSON. YEAH. THANK YOU, MISS HAWLEY.

[8. Upcoming Events]

ON OCTOBER 19TH, 20, 21ST, MYSELF, MISS HAWLEY, MISS HEATH WILL ATTEND THE MABE CONFERENCE DOWN IN ANNAPOLIS.

[02:00:06]

AND THAT'S ALL I HAVE. MISS METCALFE, YOU'LL BE ATTENDING THE MEETING.

MISS METCALFE IS COMING, TOO. OKAY. I THINK YOU'RE ONE OF THE FIRST STUDENT BOARD MEMBERS WHO ARE COMING TO THE CONFERENCE, SO. YEAH, THAT'S PROBABLY WHY YOU MISSED IT. ALL RIGHT, WE HAVE REACHED THE END OF OUR AGENDA.

THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING. THANKS FOR ALL OF YOUR FEEDBACK.

AND HAVE A GOOD EVENING. MEETING ADJOURNED.

* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.