Sep 25, 2025 Board of Education

[Pledge of Allegiance]

[00:00:14]

ORDER AND WE WILL START WITH THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE FOLLOWED BY

A MOMENT OF SILENCE. >> OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.

>> THANK YOU. >> FIRST ON OUR AGENDA WE HAVE

[Calvert County Foundation Awards]

OSTENSO FORWARD. >> GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS DONA OSTENSO AND I AM A RETIRED EDUCATOR AND MEMBER OF THE CALVERT COUNTY SCHOOL FOUNDATION. THE CALVERT COUNTY SCHOOL FOUNDATION IS A NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION THAT PROVIDES SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING IN THE FORM OF GRANTS TO CALVERT COUNTY TEACHERS AND EDUCATIONAL STAFF AS THEY WORK TO BRING INNOVATIVE AND CREATIVE PROGRAMS NOT FUNDED BY TAXPAYER DOLLARS TO THE STUDENTS OF CALVERT COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS. FOUNDED IN 2007, THE FOUNDATION IS LED BY A VOLUNTEER BOARD OF DIRECTORS WHO REPRESENT OUR DIVERSE COMMUNITY. ON THIS SCREEN YOU CAN SEE WHO OUR BOARD MEMBERS ARE. THIS EVENING SOME OF THE PEOPLE ON THE SCREEN ARE MISSING. MELISSA CARNES IS FROM THE CALVERTHEALTH, CANDACE THOMPSON IS HERE FROM THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEMS FEDERAL CREDIT UNION . STEFANIE BARONE IS REPRESENTING CONSTELLATION. CATHY PAGE , A RETIRED EDUCATOR IS NOT WITH US THIS EVENING NOR IS GODFREY SMITH WHO IS ALSO RETIRED EDUCATOR. MARGO GROSS IS OUR SUPERVISOR OF EQUITY IN EDUCATION AND WORKS AS A LIAISON FOR OUR TEAM BU SHE HAPPENS TO BE AT A CONFERENCE HERSELF. OUR BOARD IS A LITTLE SMALL TONIGHT BUT THAT'S OKAY. THE FOUNDATION IS EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE, AND THIS IS REALLY WHERE WE NEED THIS HUGE DRUM ROLL, THAT WE ARE AWARDING OVER $37-- $37,000 IN GRANTS FOR THE 25 - 26 SCHOOL YEAR AND I HAVE TO SAY THAT NUMBER AGAIN BECAUSE IT'S LIKE SOMEONE NEEDS TO PINCH ME. OVER $37,000. AND AS I WAS PREPARING TONIGHT I CAME ACROSS THE NEWSPAPER CLIPPING FROM OUR VERY FIRST YEAR WHEN WE GAVE OUT GRANTS AND WE GAVE FOUR AND THOSE FOUR TOTALED $3000. SO WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT FROM 2017 TO WHERE WE ARE IN 2025 I THINK THAT SPEAKS A LOT ABOUT OUR FOUNDATION BUT ALSO ABOUT THE INNOVATIVE AND CREATIVE IDEAS THAT OUR STAFF HAS AN FORTUNATELY WE ARE ABLE TO FUND MANY OF THEM. ONTO THE GRANT RECIPIENTS FOR THIS YEAR. IF I COULD HAVE PEYTON GREGORY COME UP FRONT PLEASE? PEYTON GREGORY IS BEING AWARDED GRAND FOR $3000 TO PURCHASE A NATIONAL FISHING

[00:05:05]

COULD HAVE CASEY GRENIER . ALL RIGHT. WE HAVE MISS GRENIER FROM BEACH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. MISS GRENIER IS BEING AWARDED A GRANT FOR $1998 TO PURCHASE A 3-D PRINTER FOR THE BEACH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL LIBRARY MAKER SPACE. HER 3-D PRINTING FOR CREATIVE'S EAGLES PROJECT WILL BRING THE TECHNOLOGY OF 3-D PRINTING TO THE ENTIRE BEACH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL POPULATION. STUDENTS CURRENTLY LOVE USING TECHNOLOGY TOOLS BUT MOST OF WHAT THEY CREATE OR BUILD ONLINE STAYS ONLINE. WITH THIS TECHNOLOGY STUDENTS WOULD MOVE BEYOND PASSIVE ONLINE ENTERTAINMENT OR CONSUMPTION TO ACTIVE ONLINE CREATORS. IMAGINE THE EXCITEMENT OF A STUDENT WHO USES THEIR COMPUTER SCIENCE AND CREATIVITY SKILLS TO CREATE SOMETHING ONLINE AND HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO WATCH THAT OBJECT BECOME SOMETHING THEY CAN HOLD IN THEIR OWN HANDS WITH THE HELP OF A 3-D PRINTER. MOST OF THE FINANCIAL INVESTMENT COMES WITH THE INITIAL PURCHASE OF THE PRINTER ITSELF, FUNDING FOR FUTURE REQUIRED CONSUMABLE AND MAINTENANCE RESOURCES WILL COME FROM SCHOOL-BASED FUNDING.

CONGRATULATIONS, LADIES.

>> IF I CAN HAVE ANGELIQUE LOEFFLER COME UP ? SHE IS BEING AWARDED A GRANT FOR $1044.56 TO CREATE ADAPTED BOOKS FROM BOOKS THAT ARE ALIGNED WITH CALVERT COUNTY'S CURRICULUM FOR THE STUDENTS OF PRIMARY SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL REGIONAL PROGRAM AT WINDY HILL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. THE STUDENTS LOVE TO READ AND TO BE READ TO BUT TRADITIONAL BOOKS TEAR EASILY AND BINDINGS LOOSE IN. BY LAMINATING EACH PAGE OF THE BOOK AND SPIRAL BINDING EACH BOOK AS WELL AS ADDING MOVABLE ANSWER CHOICE PIECES, STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO HANDLE, TRANSPORT AND UTILIZE THEIR MATERIALS TO AND FROM THE PSER IN GENERAL EDUCATION CLASSROOMS FOR THEIR INCLUSION OPPORTUNITIES WITH THEIR PEERS.

THIS PROJECT NOT ONLY CREATES MATERIALS THAT ALLOW PEOPLE TO ACCESS GRADE LEVEL CURRICULUM AND ENGAGE WITH MEANINGFUL LITERATURE, BUT BECAUSE OF MISSES LOEFFLER 'S DEDICATION OF THIS PROJECT, AND I SAY THAT BECAUSE ALL OF THE LEGWORK TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN IS BEING DONE BY HER TWO HANDS, THE BOOKS WILL BE PROTECTED AND BE ABLE TO BE ENJOYED BY UP-AND-COMING LEARNERS FOR YEARS TO COME. CONGRATULATIONS.

MISS JENNIFER MCCULLEY ? MISS MCCULLEY IS BEING AWARDED A GRANT FOR $2488 TO PURCHASE RESOURCES FOR THE PATUXENT HIGH SCHOOL GOVERNMENT TEAM . THE GOVERNMENT TEAM IS WORKING TO INCREASE THE SCORES OF THEIR UNIT. MARKS AND STATE GOVERNMENT TESTS. THE GRANT WILL ALLOW THEM TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF RESOURCES AVAILABLE IN THEIR CLASSROOMS TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THEIR DIVERSE STUDENT DEMOGRAPHIC. HAVING APPROPRIATE AND SUFFICIENT MATERIALS ENSURES THAT THEY ARE ABLE TO MEET THEIR STUDENTS WHERE THEY ARE BY DIVERSIFYING METHODS,

[00:10:02]

MISS PATTON CANNOT BE HERE THIS EVENING. NOTHING CHANGED, RIGHT? SHE HAD EMAILED SAYING SHE HAD A MIGRAINE EARLIER BUT I JUST WANT TO TOUCH ON THE FACT THAT SHE IS RECEIVING $3000 FOR THE ELA TEAM AT PLUM POINT MIDDLE SCHOOL. THEY HAVE FOUR NEW TEACHERS THERE AND MISS PATTON IS SPEARHEADING BOOK CLUBS THERE SO HER GOAL IS TO CULTIVATE A LASTING LOVE OF READING FOR EVERY STUDENT AT PLUM POINT MIDDLE SCHOOL. WE WILL GET HER HER CHECK AT ANOTHER TIME.

KATIE DAVIS AND KATHERINE BANHOLZER? I'M GOING TO START READING AS THEY ARE COMING UP. MISS DAVIS AND HIS BANHOLZER ARE BEING AWARDED A GRANT FOR $2184.77 TO PURCHASE DURABLE REUSABLE STEAM MATERIALS THAT WILL ENHANCE LEARNING FOR CURRENT AND FUTURE CANCERS IN IGNITE AND SPARK CALVERT STEAM SUMMER CAMPS . IF YOU HAVE NOT HEARD ABOUT THE SUMMER CAMPS I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BLURB BECAUSE I HAD NOT. THE PROGRAMS ARE WEEKLONG CAMPS HOSTED AT THREE STRATEGIC LOCATIONS ACROSS CALVERT COUNTY SERVING STUDENTS IN THE AND NORTHERN CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN REGIONS. IGNITE IS HANDS-ON STEAM LEARNING EXPERIENCE FOR STUDENTS ENTERING GRADE 1 THROUGH FIVE AND SPARK IS DESIGNED FOR STUDENTS GRADES SIX THROUGH EIGHT. THE CAMP INTRODUCES STUDENTS TO FOUNDATIONAL CONCEPTS IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING ENCOURAGING HANDS-ON EXPERIMENT IN TO SUPPORT -- EXPLORE MOTION AND ENERGY. STUDENTS INVESTIGATE TOPICS LIKE FORCES OF MOTION, STATES OF MATTER, THE ENGINEERING DESIGN PROCESS, CIRCUITS AND CODING, MUSIC LESSONS EMPHASIZING THE SCIENCE OF SOUND WHILE SELF-EXPRESSION IS FOSTERED THROUGH INTEGRATED ART PROJECTS. THE WEEKLONG CAMP AIMS TO SPARK INTEREST IN STEAM CAREERS. THE FUTURE OF OUR NATION DEPENDS ON A STRONG FOUNDATION IN STEM EDUCATION AND THAT FOUNDATION MUST BEGIN EARLY. THANKS TO THESE TWO LADIES IT IS AN CALVERT COUNTY.

AWARDED A GRANT FOR $3000 TO IMPLEMENT A NJROTC ROCKETRY PROGRAM AT PATUXENT HIGH SCHOOL. 'S PROJECT WILL BUILD A STUDENT LED CERTIFICATION PROGRAM TO BE REPEATED ANNUALLY THAT WILL PROVIDE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR NAVY JUNIOR RESERVE OFFICERS TRAINING CADETS TO LEARN ABOUT THE PRINCIPLES OF ROCKETRY, TO BUILD THEIR OWN ROCKET, AND CREATE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR STUDENTS TO WORK WITH A MULTITUDE OF ORGANIZATIONS AND PROFESSIONALS THROUGHOUT THE LOCAL SOUTHERN MARYLAND COMMUNITY. THIS WILL LEAD TO LEVEL I CERTIFICATION THROUGH NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ROCKETRY FOR ALL STUDENTS INVOLVED THROUGH A SUCCESSFUL LAUNCH. AND THEY REALLY WILL BE LAUNCHING ROCKETS IN SPRING.

THIS IS AN EXCITING PROGRAM AS WELL COMING TO PATUXENT HIGH SCHOOL, SO CONGRATULATIONS.

>> MISTER ROB JAMES? MISTER JAMES IS BEING AWARDED A GRANT FOR $3000 TO IMPLEMENT HUNTINGTOWN HIGH SCHOOL MARYLAND 250 CALVERT EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY CELEBRATION , TO CELEBRATE THE 250TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE AMERICANREVOLUTION AND MARYLAND OLD-LINE REGIMENT THAT SAVED GEORGE WASHINGTON'S ARMY AND THE PATRIOT CAUSE. IF YOU EVER THINK YOU ARE TOO OLD TO LEARN SOMETHING NEW, THINK AGAIN. BECAUSE WE INTERVIEWED MISTER JAMES AND THE DAY WE INTERVIEWED HIM, WE ALL FOUND OUT THAT WE HAD SOMETHING REALLY COOL TO LEARN ABOUT. LIKE, WE HAD OUR OWN BOSTON TEA PARTY RIGHT OUT HERE IN THE CHESAPEAKE

[00:15:01]

APPLAUSE ] >> MISS KELLEE SHOEMAKER? MISS SHOEMAKER IS BEING AWARDED A GRANT FOR $2250 TO IMPLEMENT A WATER SAFETY PROGRAM AT PLUM POINT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL FOR THE CURRENT FIFTH GRADE STUDENTS. THIS PROGRAM IS BASED OFF THE AMERICAN RED CROSS WATER HABITS ARE LEARNED EARLY TALES. THE PROGRAM TEACHES STUDENTS HOW TO REMAIN SAFE IN ON AND AROUND THE WATER IN A FUN AND ENTERTAINING WAY. THE GRANT WILL ALLOW THE STUDENTS THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRACTICE AND REINFORCE WATER SAFETY KNOWLEDGE IN A PRACTICAL SETTING WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE EDWARD T HALL AQUATIC CENTER. I DO HAVE A DISCLAIMER THAT I NEED TO SAY. THE CALVERT COUNTY SCHOOL FOUNDATION DOES NOT TYPICALLY RENEW A GRANT. YOU'VE HEARD ME SAY THIS EVENING HOW EVERYTHING IS BASICALLY RENEWABLE IF YOU CONTINUE WITH WHATEVER STARTUP WE ARE PROVIDING . HOWEVER THIS GRANT WAS RENEWED FOR MISS SHOEMAKER. DUE TO CIRCUMSTANCES THAT WE BELIEVE ARE OUT OF HER CONTROL IT IS OUR HOPE THAT MISS SHOEMAKER AND MISTER WATSON WITH THE CALVERT COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOL LEADERSHIP TEAM CAN INCLUDE A WATER SAFETY PROGRAM IN NEXT YEAR'S SCHOOL BUDGET FOR ALL FIFTH GRADE STUDENTS IN THE COUNTY LIKE ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY AND CHARLES COUNTY HAVE BECAUSE IF THAT DOES NOT HAPPEN THE FIFTH GRADE STUDENTS AT PLUM POINT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WILL NOT HAVE THIS OPPORTUNITY NEXT YEAR.

AT LEAST HE WILL NOT HAVE IT THROUGH THE FOUNDATION. KELLY WE WERE HAPPY TO DO IT, WE BELIEVE IN YOUR CREATIVE IDEA SO GOOD

LUCK TRYING TO GET THAT FUNDING. >> IF I CAN HAVE ALL OF MY GATE RESOURCE TEACHERS ? KATIE DAVIS, MEAGAN JEFFRIES, TINA MASLOW, JESSICA MEADOR, BONITA MOGAN AND MELISSA SYDNOR COME UP PLEASE? I LOVE YOUR SHIRTS, TOO. AND IF DOCTOR RICKS COULD JOIN US AS

WELL? CRYSTAL? >> MISS DAVIS, JEFFRIES, AND THE OTHERS EACH SUBMITTED AN INDIVIDUAL GRANT TO ATTEND THE 2025 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR GIFTED CHILDREN ANNUAL CONFERENCE TAKING PLACE IN PITTSBURGH. COLLECTIVELY, THE BOARD AWARDED ALL SIX GATE RESOURCE TEACHERS AND DOCTOR CRYSTAL RICKS A GRANT FOR $6144 TO ENABLE THEIR TEAM THE OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE IN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT THAT WILL PROVIDE STRATEGIES, TOOLS, AND RESOURCES TO SUPPORT ADVANCED LEARNERS, BUT ALSO THAT STUDENTS WITH POTENTIAL ARE IDENTIFIED, NURTURED, AND CHALLENGED EQUITABLY. THE IMPACT OF THIS GRANT WILL EXPAND FAR BEYOND THIS CONFERENCE ENHANCING CLASSROOM PRACTICE, STRENGTHENING DISTRICTWIDE GIFTED SERVICES AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, BETTER SERVING GIFTED LEARNERS AT ALL LEVELS. CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF YOU.

APPLAUSE ] >> IF I COULD HAVE REBECCA AND

[00:20:08]

THANK YOU, MISS MULLEN. I KNOW THAT WAS A LOT BECAUSE THAT WAS ONLY MAYBE ONE THIRD OF THE APPLICATIONS WE ACTUALLY RECEIVED AND READ THROUGH AND RATED AND SCORED AND GOT TO THIS POINT. SO IN CLOSING I WOULD LIKE TO RECOGNIZE CONSTELLATION ENERGY AND EDUCATIONAL SYSTEMS FEDERAL CREDIT UNION FOR THEIR ONGOING SUPPORT AND ENHANCING EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES FOR STUDENTS ACROSS ALL SCHOOLS, GRADES, AND LEVELS OF ACHIEVEMENT. I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO TAKE A MOMENT TO RECOGNIZE TWO PAST MEMBERS, FOR THEIR LONGTIME COMMITMENT TO THE FOUNDATION AND WISH THEM WELL IN THEIR FUTURE ENDEAVORS. I WOULD LIKE YOU TO KNOW THAT THESE TWO LADIES WHO REPLACED JANA AND DOMINIQUE , THIS IS THEIR FIRST TIME HERE SO I KNOW IT WAS PROBABLY A LITTLE OVERWHELMING FOR THEM. YOU GUYS DID GREAT. I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE A SPECIAL SHOUT OUT TO DAWN SIFLER WHO FOR THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW ORCHESTRATED THE SOLOMONS HIGHLANDER ROPE AROUND. IF YOU'VE NEVER DONE IT BEFORE YOU SHOULD PARTICIPATE THIS COMING YEAR. SHE IS ABLE TO CONNECT --

[00:25:02]

EVENING. >>

[Bid Approvals]

>> HI. COME ON UP. UP NEXT ON THE UMBRELLA-- AGENDA IS BID APPROVALS. WE WILL WAIT FOR THAT ONE. THERE WERE COMMAS BUT I

WASN'T PAYING ATTENTION. >> GOOD EVENING PRESIDENT, DOCTOR NEWSOM, PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD. I NAME IS SHELDON TAYLOR AND I'M THE SUPERVISOR PURCHASING. TODAY I HAVE TWO RECOMMENDATIONS IN JOINING ME IS MISTER MATT POTEET DIRECTOR OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND MISTER JOEL PARMER TO PROPOSE A DISTRICTWIDE CONTRACT FOR HELP DESK SOFTWARE FROM ZENDESK WHICH IS CURRENTLY BEING USED BY OUR IT AND TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENTS. USING THE OMNIA PARTNERS NATIONAL IPA TECHNOLOGY COOPERATIVE COOPERATIVE CONTRACT #2018011, BOARD APPROVAL IS REQUESTED TO UPGRADE THE EXISTING ZENDESK SOFTWARE PACKAGE TO SUPPORT THE ENTIRE SCHOOL DISTRICT. A COMPARISON OF QUOTES RECEIVED SHOWED THE NATIONAL IPA TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS CONTRACT WAS AT LEAST $36,000 LESS THAN THE CLOSEST COMPETITOR AND OVER A THREE-YEAR CONTRACT TERM WHICH WOULD PROVIDE THE DISTRICT WITH ZENDESK SOFTWARE THROUGH JUNE 2028. WE RESPECTFULLY RECOMMEND THE BOARD AWARD THE CONTRACT FOR THE PURPOSE OF THE ZENDESK SUITE SOFTWARE, VERNON HILLS, ILLINOIS FOR $237,523 WHICH IS BROKEN DOWN AND PAID ANNUALLY OVER THREE YEARS. ALL FUNDING WILL BE THROUGH THE CCPS SOFTWARE AND DATA PROCESSING ACCOUNT .

>> MOTION TO APPROVE? >> THERE IS A MOTION AND A

SECOND. IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION? >> I HAVE A QUESTION. SO THE FIRST YEAR IS 39,600 WHICH IS THE BAIT AND THE THIRD YEARS ARE $99,000 A YEAR. WHY IS IT LOWER THE FIRST YEAR?

>> GOOD EVENING. I WILL TAKE THAT QUESTION. THE WAY THE VENDORS DECIDE TO ENTER THEIR MARGINS IS FULLY UP TO THEM.

THEY HAD ASKED IF IT WOULD BE ADVANTAGEOUS TO US IF THEY WERE ABLE TO KEEP YEAR ONE COSTS DOWN. I INDICATED I WASN'T SURE BUT IT CERTAINLY COULDN'T HURT SO THEY DECIDED TO NOT GET MUCH OF A MARGIN IN YEAR ONE AND GET MARGINS IN YEAR TWO AND THREE WHEREAS THE OTHER TWO VENDORS SPLIT THEM ACROSS THE OTHER FISCAL YEARS. I WAS SHOCKED THEY CAME IN QUITE A BIT LOWER AS WELL AND EXPECTED THEM TO BE MORE SPREAD OUT BUT THAT'S THE

MODEL THEY PRESENTED. >> ARE WE PAYING JUST THE FIRST YEAR OR ARE YOU PROPOSING TO PLAY-- PAY THE ENTIRE?

>> JUST 39 THIS FIRST YEAR IN THE SECOND WOULD NOT BE DUE

UNTIL JULY 1 OF 2026. >> MISTER JOHNSON THAT'S ALREADY IN THE BUDGET? THANK YOU.

>> ANY QUESTIONS ? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? I. MOTION CARRIES 5 - 0.

>> JOINING ME NEXT IS DOCTOR CRYSTAL RICKS, SUPERVISOR OF GIFTED ADVANCE LEARNING, ARTICULATIONS, STEM AND MESA AND ROBOTICS COMPETITION AND A PROUD TO RECOGNIZE THE GENEROSITY OF MISTER JACK BELL WHO PROVIDED A DONATION OF $95,000 THAT HE WOULD LIKE TO BE USED FOR THE PERSIS -- PURCHASE OF A LAMBDA 2 PROJECTION SYSTEM THAT WILL ASSIST WITH REVITALIZING THE

[00:30:01]

>> GOOD EVENING PRESIDENT, DOCTOR NEWSOM AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD. MY NAME IS CRYSTAL RICKS AND I SERVICES SUPERVISE IT OF

GIFTED-- LEARNING AND STEM. >> I AM JACK BELL AFTER 25 YEARS OF TEACHING SCIENCE WITH MY LAST DECADE AT THE PLANETARIUM AT THE

SCIENCE CENTER. >> THIS EVENING WE WOULD LIKE TO BEGIN WITH A STORY THAT CONNECTS OUR HISTORY TO OUR VISION FOR THE FUTURE BUT BEFORE WE START A AND GET INTO THE PLANS WE WOULD LIKE TO GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND INFORMATION TO SHARE ABOUT THE PLANETARIUM AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE. THE PLANETARIUM HONORS ARTHUR STORER WHO WAS THE FIRST ASTRONOMER IN THE AMERICAN COLONIES. HE RECORDED OBSERVATIONS OF HALEY'S COMET RIGHT HERE IN CALVERT COUNTY. THE WORK WAS SO IMPORTANT THAT SIR ISAAC NEWTON INCLUDED IT ON THE GROUNDBREAKING WRITINGS THAT SHAPED MODERN DAY PHYSICS AS WELL AS ASTRONOMY SO WHEN STUDENTS STEP INTO THE ARTHUR STORER PLANETARIUM THEY ARE NOT JUST EXPLORING THE STARS. THEY ARE STEPPING INTO A LEGACY THAT LINKS OUR COMMUNITY TO SOME OF THE GREATEST SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES IN THE WORLD. SINCE OPENING IN 1977 THE PLANETARIUM HAS SERVED AS BOTH AN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE AND A SYMBOL OF SCIENTIFIC'S ROOTED RIGHT HERE IN OUR COUNTY. JUST AS IT HAS INSPIRED GENERATIONS OF STUDENTS I'D LIKE TO SHARE A STORY OF HOW SPACES OF THIS NATURE HAVE IMPACTED MY JOURNEY ALONG THE WAY. GROWING UP I LOVED VISITING, LOVED VISITING THE MUSEUM OF SCIENCE IS IN MACON, GEORGIA WITH MY MOTHER AND AT THAT LOCATION THERE WAS A PLANETARIUM. THOSE EXPERIENCES SPARKED MY INTEREST FOR AND LED ME TO THE PATH HERE EVEN AS THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE STEM AMBASSADOR. THE ARTHUR STORER PLANETARIUM HAS PLAYED THE SAME ROLE IN THE LIVES OF SO MANY STUDENTS HERE, AND FAMILIES IN CALVERT COUNTY. IT'S A PLACE WHERE LASTING MEMORIES HAVE OCCURRED AND I'VE HEARD SOME OF THOSE STORIES FROM SOME OF YOU AND IT'S A PLACE WHERE STEM SPARKED THE ENTRIES OF SO MANY STUDENTS IN THE DISTRICT. I HAD A CONVERSATION WITH DOCTOR SUSAN JOHNSON LAST YEAR AND ASKED IF I COULD TAKE ON THAT PROJECT AND SHE GRACIOUSLY AGREED AND SUPPORTED THIS PROCESS. ÚIMMEDIATELY AFTER OUR TEAM VISITED CHARLES COUNTY AS YOU SEE ON THE BOARD, WE VISITED THE JAMES RICHMAN SCIENCE CENTER TO GIVE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION TO WHAT TECHNOLOGY NEEDED TO BE UPDATED WITHIN THE PLANETARIUM AND THAT'S WHERE I MET MISTER BELL. RESEARCH SHOWS THAT WHEN STUDENTS GAIN ACCESS TO HIGH-QUALITY STEM OPPORTUNITIES IT INCREASES CHANCES OF GOING INTO STEM CAREERS AND WE'VE ALREADY BEGUN THAT TASK SO WE STARTED UPDATING THE PRINT IT PLANETARIUM AND REMOVING EQUIPMENT THAT WAS OUTDATED TO MAKE SURE WE ARE IN FULL ALIGNMENT WITH WHERE STUDENTS SHOULD BE WHEN THEY GO INTO STEM PATHS. TODAY WE STAND AT THE EDGE OF THAT FUTURE AND IT'S MADE POSSIBLE THROUGHOUT THE COMMITMENT OF OUR DISTRICT AS WELL AS GENEROSITY OF COMMUNITY PARTNERS WHO BELIEVE IN OUR STUDENTS. IT IS NOW MY ABSOLUTE HONOR AND PRIVILEGE TO REINTRODUCE MISTER JACK BELL WHOSE INCREDIBLE GIFT OF $95,000 HAS HELPED US TAKE THE NEXT

STEP. >> THANK YOU DOCTOR RICKS AND GOOD EVENING. MILE -- MY WIFE WAS A LIFELONG EDUCATOR AND SHE WAS MY INSPIRATION FOR BECOMING A TEACHER . OVER HER CAREER SHE TAUGHT STUDENTS FROM PRESCHOOL THROUGH ADULTS THROUGH NEW YORK VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. SHE WAS CERTIFIED IN BOTH REGULAR AND SPECIAL EDUCATION. SHE RETIRED FROM CHARLES COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN 2019 AFTER 37 YEARS IN THE CLASSROOM. PEGGY PASSED AWAY ON MAY 1 OF THIS YEAR. ONE OF HER WISHES WAS FOR HER BODY TO BE DONATED FOR MEDICAL RESEARCH. SHE FELT THAT IN THIS WAY SHE WOULD CONTINUE TEACHING EVEN AFTER HER DEATH. TO FURTHER HER TEACHING LEGACY OUR CHILDREN AND I FELT THAT A GIFT TO THE

[00:35:03]

>> IMMACULATE CONDITION ALTHOUGH IT HAD NOT BEEN USED FOR 10 YEARS.

BUT THE EQUIPMENT WAS FROM THE LAST CENTURY AND I KNEW THAT MAINTENANCE WOULD POSE A PROBLEM. SO TO BRING 21ST-CENTURY TECHNOLOGY TO THE PLANETARIUM I CHOSE HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE FROM DIGITALIS EDUCATION SOLUTION INC.. THE DIGITALIS TEAM CONSISTS OF EDUCATION EFFORTS ALL OF WHOM HAVE TAUGHT AT PLANETARIUM'S. THEIR STATE-OF-THE-ART SYSTEM WILL TRANSFORM THE EXPERIENCE FOR EVERY STUDENT WHO ENTERS TURNING LESSONS INTO BREATHTAKING, IMMERSIVE JOURNEYS. THEIR TOTALLY ELECTRONIC SYSTEM ALSO CONVERTS THE PLANETARIUM INTO AN IMMERSIVE 360° THEATER . MY DESIRE FOR STUDENTS ACROSS CALVERT COUNTY ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO MAY NOT OTHERWISE HAVE THIS KIND OF ACCESS, IS FOR THEM TO LEAVE THE PLANETARIUM AND ALL AND SEE THEMSELVES AS SCIENTISTS, ENGINEERS, AND INNOVATORS. EVERY LEVEL OF THE NEXT GENERATION SCIENCE STANDARDS CONTAINS ONE OR MORE TOPICS IN ASTRONOMY. IN A TRADITIONAL CLASSROOM SETTINGS THESE CONCEPTS CAN BE DIFFICULT TO PRESENT. BUT IN THE PLANETARIUM STUDENTS WILL HAVE AN EXPERIENCE GEARED SPECIFICALLY TO THEIR GRADE LEVEL AND WILL PARTICIPATE IN A RELATED HANDS-ON ACTIVITY. IN MOST GRADES THIS IS A MAKE AND TAKE PROJECT FOSTERING FURTHER CONVERSATION AND EXCITEMENT . BY THE YEAR 2030 THERE IS PROJECTED TO BE A SHORTAGE OF 4.3 MILLION WORKERS IN THE TECHNOLOGY SECTOR. THOSE CAREERS WILL BE IN DEMAND FOR DECADES. THE PLANETARIUM OFFERS A UNIQUE WAY TO SPARK THE INTEREST OF STUDENTS NOT JUST IN ASTRONOMY BUT IN ALL AREAS OF ARTS, SCIENCES, AND TECHNOLOGY. IN THE PLANETARIUM WE MAY BEGIN IN SPACE BUT WE TRAVEL THROUGHUT THE CURRICULUM. IN ADDITION THE PLANETARIUM WILL HOST NIGHT AND WE CAN PROGRAMS FOR FAMILIES AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS. PRESENTATIONS WILL INSPIRE PARENTS TO LOOK TO THE HEAVENS WITH THEIR CHILDREN AND VIEW THE WONDERS OF THE NIGHT SKY. IN CONCLUSION I WOULD LIKE TO QUOTE ASTRONOMER CARL SAGAN . A PLANETARIUM IS A CELESTIAL TIME MACHINE, A PORTAL TO THE UNIVERSE WHERE WE CAN STAND OF THE EDGE OF WHAT'S KNOWN TO THE UNKNOWN FINDING OUR

PLACE AMONG THE STARS. >> IN THE PLANETARIUM STUDENTS WILL NOT JUST LEARN ABOUT THE STARS. THEIR VISIT WILL BECOME A PART OF THE STORY SO THIS TIME WE WILL TAKE QUESTIONS OR

COMMENTS. THANK YOU. >> CAN WE DO A MOTION AND A

SECOND FIRST? >> MOTION TO APPROVE.

>> SECOND. >> I JUST FIRST OF ALL WANT TO COMPLIMENT YOUR TYPE. VERY APPROPRIATE. AND I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR GENEROUS DONATION. TOWARDS THE PERSON PURCHASE OF THE PROJECTION SYSTEM FOR OUR PLANETARIUM. THIS REMARKABLE CONTRIBUTION WILL PROVIDE OUR STUDENTS WITH THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPERIENCE VALUABL ASTRONOMY AND SCIENCE EDUCATION. I CAN PERSONALLY REMEMBER GOING TO VISIT A PLANETARIUM WHEN I WAS IN SCHOOL AND IT'S A LIFELONG MEMORY. THANK YOU SO MUCH AND WHAT A BEAUTIFUL TRIBUTE TO YOUR WIFE.

>> THANK YOU. I HAVE SOME OF THOSE MAKE AND TAKE ITEMS I

WOULD LOVE TO GIVE TO YOU GUYS. >> WONDERFUL, THANK YOU.

>> I ALSO JUST WANTED TO THANK YOUR VERY GENEROUS DONATION AND IT IS A FITTING TESTAMENT TO YOUR WIFE AS WELL. ONE QUESTION I HAVE IS HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE TO GET UP AND RUNNING?

>> OUR PLAN IS TO REOPEN IN SPRING. WE ARE RECEIVING A LOT OF ITEMS THAT WE ORDERED BECAUSE THEY WERE ON BACKORDER SO THAT'S OUR PLAN. TO SPRING INTO STEM AND WE WILL MAKE SURE WE

KEEP YOU UPDATED. >> THANK YOU SO MUCH.

>> HI, I HAVE ONE QUESTION HOW ARE YOU?

>> I'M GREAT HOW ARE YOU? >> I'M GOOD.

>> IN CONJUNCTION WITH THIS GENEROUS GIFT FROM MISTER BELLE, IS THERE ADDITIONAL FUNDING NEEDED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DO

[00:40:01]

>> ABSOLUTELY. THERE IS A NEED FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDING AND I AM HAPPY TO OUTLINE THOSE ITEMS AND SHARE WITH THE DIRECTOR OF INSTRUCTION BUT WE WELCOME YOUR COMPETE COMPLETE SUPPORT OF THIS PROJECT. I THINK IT'S A GOOD TIME OF YEAR.

>> DO YOU THINK AN ORDER OF MAGNITUDE OF FUNDING THAT YOU MIGHT NEED IN ADDITION TO THIS GIFT?

>> AT THIS TIME I DON'T KNOW THE EXACT NUMBER BUT I AM HAPPY

TO FOLLOW UP . >> I HAVE BEEN ON FIELD TRIPS TO THE PLANETARIUM WHEN MY KIDS WERE LITTLE.

>> THIS PLANETARIUM? >> WHILE I WAS GOING TO BRAG BUT

NEVER MIND. >> DOCTOR RICKS I THINK YOU AND I HAD A CONVERSATION MAYBE IT WAS TWO STEM EVENTS OR, I DON'T KNOW. THE TIME SEEMS TO GO BY SO FAST AND WHEN YOU SHARED THIS WITH ME I WAS SO EXCITED TO HEAR THIS. SOME OF MY FONDEST MEMORIES AS A CHILD I ENTERED SCHOOL HERE IN , 1979? SOMETHING LIKE THAT. ANYWAY, AND I GREW UP IN CALVERT COUNTY AND THIS WAS ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS ALTHOUGH COMING FROM CHESAPEAKE BEACH TO PRINCE FREDERICK IT FELT LIKE I WAS ON A BUS FOR A VERY LONG TIME AS A KID AND NOW REALIZING IN MY ADULT LIFE IT'S 20 MINUTES SO I AM VERY GRATEFUL TO YOU FOR TAKING ON THIS PROJECT AND MISTER BELLE THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THIS GIFT. WE GREATLY APPRECIATE IT AND IT IS A WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY FOR OUR STUDENTS AND OUR COMMUNITIES SO THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH.

IN FAVOR? I. MOTION CARRIES 5 - 0. THANK YOU.

>> THANK YOU, MISTER BELLE. >> IF I CAN INVITE MISTER JOE

[New Math Standards Presentation]

STANDARDS PRESENTATION? WELCOME. >> GOOD EVENING PRESIDENT POST, DOCTOR NEWSOME PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD. WITH ME THIS EVENING IS JULIE MORISSON, ELEMENTARY SUPERVISOR OF MATH ATTICS AND WE ARE HERE TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON THE PRE-K-12 MATHEMATICS POLICY.

THE MARYLAND STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION IS ADOPTING A NEW MATHEMATICS POLICY TO STRENGTHEN STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT, EQUITY AND CAREER READINESS. THIS ALIGNS WITH THE BLUEPRINT FOR MARYLAND FUTURE AND REFLECTS FEEDBACK FROM EDUCATORS FAMILIES AND

STAKEHOLDERS. >> THE POLICY IS DESIGNED TO ENSURE THAT ALL STUDENTS ACROSS THE STATE HAVE EQUITABLE ACCESS TO HIGH-QUALITY MATHEMATICS INSTRUCTION THAT PREPARES THEM FOR COLLEGE AND CAREERS. THE MARYLAND STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION HAS IDENTIFIED OPPORTUNITY AND ACHIEVEMENT GAPS IN MATHEMATICS ALONG WITH UNEVEN ACCESS TO ADVANCED COURSEWORK AND INCONSISTENCIES IN INSTRUCTIONAL TIME AND PRACTICES

ACROSS MARYLAND. >> THIS POLICY RESPONSE TO CHALLENGES BY ESTABLISHING A COHESIVE, INTEGRATED MAP ATTICS CURRICULUM MANDATING SUFFICIENT DAILY INSTRUCTIONAL TIME, PROVIDING EARLIER EXPOSURE TO KEY MAP RADICAL CONCEPTS AND ELIMINATING EXCLUSIONARY TRACKING PRACTICES. THROUGH THESE ACTIONS THE POLICY SEEMS TO STRENGTHEN LEARNING FOR EVERY STUDENT AND BETTER EQUIP MARYLAND GRADUATES WITH THE SKILLS NEEDED TO SUCCEED IN A COMPLEX AND DATA-DRIVEN WORLD.

IN RESPONSE TO DECLINING SCORES SINCE 2013 THE AUTHORS OF MARYLAND'S LOU PRINT FOR THE FUTURE CONDUCTED A STUDY TO ESTABLISH A NEW BENCHMARK FOR GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS. THE SHIFT IS REFLECTED IN THE SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED RIGOR OF ASSESSMENTS. RECOGNIZING THE DISTRICT CURRENTLY LACK THE NECESSARY STRUCTURES AND SUPPORTS TO MEET THIS ELEVATED STANDARD THE BLUEPRINT INCLUDES STATE-LEVEL REQUIREMENTS TO ENSURE THAT ALL DISTRICTS RECEIVE THE SUPPORT NEEDED TO SUCCEED AND AS A RESULT THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION HAS EMBEDDED INTO POLICY A SERIES OF STRUCTURAL CHANGES THAT MUST BE

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

>> IN THE 2027 - 28 SCHOOL YEAR MARYLAND WILL BEGIN IMPLEMENTING THE INTEGRATED ALGEBRA ONE COURSE AND OFFER SECONDARY PATHWAY OPTIONS ALIGNED TO COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS.

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING WILL BEGIN TO SUPPORT TEACHERS AND THE UPCOMING STANDARDS. GRADES THREE THROUGH SEVEN MATH PROGRESSION PROCEDURES WILL BE REVISED BASED ON GUIDANCE AND MODELS FROM THE MARYLAND STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS WILL BE PROVIDED TO PROVIDE THE WEEKLY EQUIVALENT OF 60 MINUTES OF DAILY MATH INSTRUCTIONS FROM PRE-K TO 8. THIS IS ALREADY IN PLACE FOR GRADES KINDERGARTEN THROUGH FIFTH GRADE. MIDDLE SCHOOLS CURRENTLY RANGE FROM 50 - 54 MINUTES DAILY. MODELS ARE BEING EXPLORED TO MEET THIS NEW REQUIREMENT. IN THE SCHOOL YEAR 2028 - 29 WE WILL HAVE THE FULL ROLLOUT OF THE INTEGRATED ALGEBRA TO COURSE AND A STATE MATHEMATICS ASSESSMENT WILL BE ADMINISTERED AROUND FEBRUARY MEASURING STANDARDS FROM INTEGRATED ALGEBRA ONE IN THE FIRST HALF OF INTEGRATED ALGEBRA

2. >> OUR IMMEDIATE NEXT STEPS ARE TO EXPAND AND REFINE AN INTEGRATED AND MULTI TIERED SYSTEM OF SUPPORTS FOR MATHEMATICS ACROSS ALL GRADE LEVELS, PROVIDE TARGETED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ALIGNED TO NEW STANDARDS AND POLICY SHIFTS, BEGIN PILOTING TOOLS AND PROCESSES FOR TRACKING STUDENT PROGRESS IN MATHEMATICS, FORMER LIGHT FORMALIZE AN ACCELERATION FRAMEWORK AND IN COLLABORATION WITH THE GIFTED AND LEARNING SUPERVISOR AND GUIDED BY MSD

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EVALUATING PANORAMAS CAPABILITIES FOR ORGANIZING STUDENT SUPPORT PLANS AND TRACKING INTERVENTION EFFECTIVENESS , CONTINUE REVIEWING ADOPTING TRAINING AND IMPLEMENTING HIGH-QUALITY AND STRUCTURAL MATERIALS TO ENSURE ALIGNMENT WITH STANDARDS AND STUDENT NEEDS . WHILE THERE IS MUCH TO ATTEND TO IN THIS POLICY CALVERT COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS HAS MANY OF THE SHIFTS IN PLACE AND IS FINE-TUNING THE WORK TO

FULL ALIGNMENT. >> AT THIS TIME I LIKE TO OPEN

THE FLOOR TO QUESTIONS. >> HOW ARE YOU? THANK YOU FOR THAT. WILL THESE CHANGES REQUIRE US TO REPLACE ALL OF OUR

EXISTING MATH CURRICULUM? >> NO. THE CURRICULUM WE CURRENTLY HAVE IN PRE-K THROUGH FIVE IS ALREADY-- WELL LET ME SAY IT CORRECTLY. IT IS CURRENTLY BEING EVALUATED OFFICIALLY AS HQIM. BUT I HAVE NEXT TO NO DOUBT THAT IT'S GOING TO PASS THE STATE'S REQUIREMENTS IN ORDER TO BE DESIGNATED THAT WAY. THE ONE WE ARE USING RIGHT NOW THROUGH CURRICULUM ASSOCIATES IS ONE OF THE FIRST TO BE EVALUATED AT THE

ELEMENTARY LEVEL. >> I CAN ADD ON TO THAT. JULIE AND I HAVE BOTH BEEN SELECTED AS CONTENT LEADS TO LEAD WORKGROUPS THAT ARE EVALUATING WHAT ARE THE SHIFTS THAT NEED TO BE MADE IN CONTENT TO BE READY FOR THE SHIFT NEXT YEAR FROM PRE-K TO

EIGHTH? >> AND THAT WILL ACTUALLY CUT DOWN ON SOME OF THE COSTS FOR US BECAUSE CURRICULUM ASSOCIATES FOR INSTANCE IS DOING A LOT OF THE LEGWORK TO DO THE ALIGNMENT TO THE NEW STANDARDS IN PRE-K THROUGH 5 SO THAT SUPPORTS US AND TEACHERS AND MAKES THE LIFT A LITTLE LIGHTER.

>> WITH THESE CHANGES IS A GOING TO BE GETTING RID OF HONORS

MATH? >> IT WILL BE. PART OF THE POLICY IS TAKING A LOOK AT REMOVING INEQUITABLE PRACTICES SUCH AS TRACKING AND QUALITATIVELY INFERIOR MATH COURSES SO WE HAVE SOME WORK TO DO TO MAKE SURE TEACHERS ARE READY TO SUPPORT A WIDE VARIETY OF SKILL LEVEL WITHIN ALL OF OUR CLASSROOMS AND THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WE BEEN SO FOCUSED ON BUILDING UP THE MULTI TIERED SUPPORT SYSTEM IS NOT JUST A TEACHER RESPONSIBILITY BUT A SCHOOL RESPONSIBILITY TO HELP

KIDS GET THE HELP THEY NEED. >> AND AT THE HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL I KNOW LAST YEAR OR THE YEAR BEFORE WE STARTED GETTING RID OF PREREQUISITES FOR CERTAIN CLASSES. 'S IS GOING TO ELIMINATE THE REST OF THE PREREQUISITES AT THE HIGH SCHOOL

LEVEL? >> I'M NOT SURE EXACTLY WHAT PREREQUISITES WERE ELIMINATED. WE INSPECT THEM EVERY YEAR AND AT THE HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL WE JUST HAD CORE LEADS INSPECT AND MAKE SURE PREREQUISITES ARE APPROPRIATE FOR EACH COURSE SO WE HAVE SOME PREREQUISITES FOR COURSES AND SOME GUIDANCE. AFTER INTEGRATED ALGEBRA 2 WE ARE REALLY LOOKING AT WHAT CAREER PATHWAY DOES A STUDENT WANT AND WHAT IS THE MOST APPROPRIATE MATH OPTION AS OPPOSED TO IN THE PAST IT USED TO BE THE STRONGEST MATH STUDENTS AUTOMATICALLY WENT TO CALCULUS THROUGH CALCULUS TO AND SO ON TO THE OTHER OPTIONS AND NOW IT'S MORE BASED ON WHAT BEST FITS YOUR DESIRED PROFESSION.

>> THANK YOU. >> SO YOU ARE SAYING THAT WE WILL NO LONGER HAVE AN HONORS TRACK ? IS THIS GOING TO BE

IMPLEMENTED NEXT YEAR? >> WE HAVE TO LOOK AT WHAT WOULD BE A RESPONSIBLE TIMELINE FOR PHASING THIS IN AND WE WOULD STILL HAVE ACCELERATED MODELS LIKE WE DO. WE HAVE VERY FEW HONORS COURSES WITHIN OUR PATHWAY RIGHT NOW. IT IS MORE TELESCOPE COURSES WHICH IS THREE COURSES TAKEN BY STUDENTS OVER A PERIOD OF TWO YEARS AND RIGHT NOW THAT HAPPENS AT THE SEVENTH GRADE LEVEL SO IN SEVENTH GRADE THEY TAKE ALL OF MATH 7 AND ALL OF 8 AND IN EIGHTH GRADE THEY TAKE THE OTHER HALF OF MATH 8 AND THEN ALGEBRA SO WE WOULD STILL HAVE THOSE KINDS OF ACCELERATION STRUCTURES IN PLACE WHICH ARE VIEWED DIFFERENT LEAD BY BOTH THE STATE AND NATIONAL RESEARCH AS A GOOD THING.

>> I'M CONFUSED. I MEAN, WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE CHILDREN WHO ACCELERATE AT MATH AND WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THEY ARE CHALLENGED

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>> YES AND NO AND I CAN GIVE YOU A LITTLE MORE. STUDENTS THAT ARE READY FOR EXTRA CHALLENGE WE ARE REQUIRED TO PUT TWO ACCELERATION PRACTICES WHETHER THAT'S TELESCOPE COURSES OR COMPACT CURRICULUM. THERE ARE VARIOUS MODELS WE ARE LOOKING INTO TO MAKE SURE THOSE STUDENTS ARE PUSHED HIGHER LEVELS. WHAT'S BEING ELIMINATED IS TWO FACETED. THEY NEVER MADE IT THROUGH TO ALGEBRA TO BACK OR THAT SORT OF THING-- ALGEBRA 2. WE NO LONGER HAVE THE TWO- PERIOD ALGEBRA 1 AND WE'VE ALREADY DONE A LOT OF THAT LIFT SO THERE'S NOT GOING TO BE MUCH THAT WE NEED TO DO THERE. THE OTHER THING THEY ARE LOOKING AT IS , THERE SHOULD NOT BE TWO VERSIONS OF THE SAME INTENDED, IT SEEMS TO MAKE SENSE THAT WE NEED ONE VERSION FOR STRONGER STUDENTS AND ONE FOR THOSE WHO NEED SUPPORT, WHAT RESEARCH SHOWS TIME AND AGAIN IS THE STANDARDS AND EXPECTATIONS IN THE LOWER COURSE DRIFT AND DROP AND WE END UP NOT PREPARING STUDENTS FOR THE NEXT COURSE IN SEQUENCE SO THAT IS KIND OF THE INTENT OF THIS FROM THE STATE.

>> WILL THAT IMPACT AP COURSES? >> ACCELERATING IN MODELS LIKE WE HAVE NOW , ALL THE WAY THROUGH CALCULUS 2 AND I DON'T ANTICIPATE THAT CHANGING. I ACTUALLY THINK THAT WILL BE

GROWING. >> MISTER HARRISON?

>> I JUST WONDER IF , I SEE THIS DURING THE ELECTION CYCLE BUT IT SEEMS LIKE WHEN WE DON'T DO WELL LIKE WITH THE MCAP AND IN GRADE 10 FOR MCAP MATH WE WERE NUMBER ONE IN THE STATE. BUT THE PRIOR THREE YEARS WERE WORSE. SO WE DID SOMETHING REALLY WELL TO GET THOSE 10TH-GRADERS TO BE NUMBER ONE IN THE STATE.

>> I THINK YOU MAY BE THINKING OF ELA RIGHT NOW?

>> WHAT I'M TRYING TO GET TO IS THAT WHEN WE DO SOMETHING RIGHT WE SHOULD DO MORE OF THAT. AND WHEN WE ARE NOT DOING SOMETHING RIGHT WE SHOULD DO LESS OF THAT. IT SEEMS LIKE NOW THE STATE IS KIND OF COMING UP WITH THIS PLAN BECAUSE THERE'S APPARENTLY SOME IN EQUITY SOMEWHERE THEY ARE TRYING TO SOLVE, I JUST WONDER HOW DOES THIS-- HOW IS THIS CHANGE GOING TO HELP WITH OUR PREPARATION FOR TEST SCORES AND MCAP MATH .

>> I THINK YOU'RE PROBABLY GOING TO ASK SOME QUESTIONS OF ME AND THE SCORES IN THE NEXT PRESENTATION. NO ONE IN THE STATE HAS BEEN ABLE TO DO VERY WELL ON THE NEW EXPECTATIONS FOR MATH AND IT'S GETTING PROGRESSIVELY MORE DIFFICULT TO REACH THE LEVELS WE WANT TO SEE THE HIGHER STUDENTS GET. SO THESE ARE KIND OF THE ASSOCIATED SHIPS AND STRUCTURAL CHANGES THAT THE AUTHORS OF THE BLUEPRINT BELIEVE WILL HELP US TO REACH THOSE AIMS AND STOP HAVING THOSE LOWER PROFICIENCY SCORES THAT WE BEEN SEEING ACROSS THE STATE FOR THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS. BUT I DO AGREE THAT WE VERY MUCH BELIEVE , WE NOTICE WHAT WORKS, WE AMPLIFY THAT AND TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT'S NOT WORKING AND REMOVE THAT FROM OUR SYSTEM. A LOT OF THESE THINGS THAT ARE BEING RECOMMENDED IN THIS POLICY HAVE BEEN RECOMMENDED BY RESEARCH IN THE FIELD FOR THE PAST 1 TO 3 DECADES BUT IT WAS DIFFICULT TO GET ENOUGH MOMENTUM FOR LARGE STRUCTURAL CHANGES UNTIL IT'S BECOMING POLICY AND REQUIRED OF ALL DISTRICTS. THERE HAVE JUST BEEN SO MANY OTHER PRIORITIES.

>> SO WE HAVE THESE STATE REQUIREMENTS BUT I WONDER FOR CALVERT COUNTY, THAT'S WHAT WE CONTROL RIGHT, I WONDER IF THERE IS NOT SOME WAY-- SORRY I'M DOING THE BEST I CAN. I'M WONDERING IF THERE'S SOME WAY THAT WE COULD STRENGTHEN OUR OWN PERFORMANCE EXCLUSIVE OF WHAT THE STATE EXPECTS . SO HAVE WE LOOKED AT PERFORMANCE IN SOCIOECONOMIC CATEGORIES ? HAVE

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>> YES WE HAVE AND WE DO VERY OFTEN AND ONE OF THE THINGS , WE ACTUALLY HAVE TWO THINGS THAT GIVE US HOPE FOR WHAT'S COMING.

THE FIRST IS THAT WE HAVE A CERTAIN LEVEL OF AUTONOMY ON HOW WE PHASE-IN THESE CHANGES IN THE SECOND IS WERE NOT GOING TO WAIT FOR THESE CHANGES TO HAVE TARGETED STRATEGIES IMPLEMENTED

WITHIN THE DISTRICT. >> SO WHAT IS THE WEAKEST POINT NOW AND WHAT ARE WE DOING IN THE NEXT 6 TO 12 MONTHS TO ADDRESS

THAT ISSUE? >> I WOULD SAY OUR WEAKEST POINT RIGHT NOW LOOKING AT THREE-YEAR AVERAGES AMONG OUR MCAP COURSES IS ALGEBRA ONE , OVER THE THREE-YEAR AVERAGE 121% OF STATE PROFICIENCY RATE WE TEND TO BE BETWEEN 120 AND 188 -- 180% OF PROFICIENCY RATE. WE GOT SOME LOWER RESULTS THAT GOT US DOWN TO 121% IN ALGEBRA SO THAT COURSE REALLY HAS OUR ATTENTION.

I HAVE FIVE ACTION STEPS WE ARE TAKING AND I CAN GO OVER THEM NOW OR WAIT UNTIL THE PRESENTATION.

>> IF I COULD ADD ON TO THAT , THERE ARE TWO PARTS ONE GOING BACK TO THE DATA ANALYSIS YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT AND ONE OF THE THINGS WE WILL BE SHARING WITH YOU IN A LITTLE DETAIL IS THAT MODELING AND REASONING WHICH IS THE BULK OF POINTS FOR THE TEST ARE CONSISTENTLY AN AREA OF IMPROVEMENT REGARDLESS OF STUDENT GROUP BECAUSE IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT IT'S THAT ABILITY TO TAKE THE THINKING YOU HAVE GOING ON IN YOUR HEAD AND BEING ABLE TO EXPRESS IT OUTWARD. THAT IS SOMETHING WE WORK ON CONTINUOUSLY AND IT WAS NOT JUST SOMETHING WE STARTED THIS YEAR. IT'S BEEN A FOCUS AT THE ELEMENTARY LEVEL AND THE SECONDARY LEVEL FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS. BUT ALSO THAT MULTI TIERED SYSTEM OF SUPPORTS WE WERE TALKING ABOUT, LAST YEAR THAT TRAINING WE WERE TALKING ABOUT WE STARTED AND MADE SURE THAT ALL OF OUR LEADERS IN THE BUILDINGS HAVE HAD THE TRAINING AS WELL AS OUR CLASSROOM TEACHERS. ONE OF THE THINGS THEY HAVE BEEN ABLE TO COME TO HIS THEY LOOK AT TIER 1 AND THEY SEE THE DIAGRAM WE HAVE AND SAY TO US, I COULD BE DOING THIS. I COULD BE DOING JUST THAT LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT FOR THIS PARTICULAR STUDENT OR GROUP OF STUDENTS BUT THERE IS ALSO TIER 2 SO THAT A STUDENT IN ADDITION TO THAT 60 MINUTES WOULD BE GETTING A FEW MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO BE ABLE TO PRACTICE THAT MATH AND BE ABLE TO BUILD BECAUSE AS WE SAY IN ELEMENTARY WHETHER YOU ARE A KINDERGARTEN TEACHER, SECOND OR THIRD GRADE IT DOESN'T MATTER. IT'S ALL THE FOUNDATION WE ARE BUILDING LEADING TO WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU GET TO SECONDARY.

>> THE STRATEGY WAS TWO-PRONGED. THE NEED TO BUILD CAPACITY AND UNDERSTANDING OF BEST PRACTICES BUT ALSO THE NEED FOR LEADERS TO UNDERSTAND HOW DO WE SCHEDULE FOR THIS TO HAPPEN? WE WERE NOT PREVIOUSLY SCHEDULED FOR THAT SO THIS PAST YEAR WE WORKED SIDE-BY-SIDE TO HELP LEADERS BUILD SCHEDULES THAT WILL ALLOW FO MORE OF THIS KIND OF SUPPORT.

>> I'D LIKE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN TO RETAIN THOSE GOOD TEACHERS. IS THERE ANY PLAN IN THE BLUEPRINT FOR ADDITIONAL PAID? WHAT IS YOUR TAKE ON THAT?

>> THE ENTIRETY OF THE PILLAR IS ABOUT ELEVATING THE PROFESSION WHICH COMES WITH RAISED PAY FOR ONE BUT ALSO FOR TEACHER LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES WITHIN THE TEACHER LETTER SO THAT NOT ONLY CAN THEY ADVANCE BUT THERE ARE MORE OPPORTUNITIES THROUGHOUT THE DAY FOR THEM TO COLLABORATIVELY HELP EACH OTHER, WORK WITH OTHER STUDENTS AND SO ON. THAT'S ONE OF THE FIVE

PILLARS OF THE BLUEPRINT. >> LAST QUESTION IN MY DAUGHTER'S GOING TO KILL ME. WHY DON'T WE DO MORE HOMEWORK?

WHY ISN'T THERE MORE HOMEWORK? >> NEVERMIND YOUR DAUGHTER ,

I'M ABOUT TO HIT YOU. >> WE CAN MAKE IT MORE.

>> ONE RECOMMENDATION I GIVE TO TEACHERS, WHETHER OR NOT IT'S GRADED WE CAN ALWAYS ENCOURAGE STUDENTS TO DO MORE WORK AT HOME. THAT HAS ALWAYS BEEN MY LINE. IF YOU WANT TO EXPLORE MORE HERE IT IS OR IF IT IS ASSIGNED THIS IS THE ASSIGNMENT BUT I THINK AS THE PROFESSIONALS IT IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO ENCOURAGE KIDS TO REACH THE HIGHEST HEIGHTS THAT THEY CAN.

>> I THINK WE NEED TO DO EVERYTHING WE CAN FROM HERE TO SUPPORT THAT. I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DO EVERYTHING

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FOR CALVERT COUNTY THAT WE CAN. >> THANK YOU.

>> JUST A COUPLE THINGS. I FEEL THE INTENTION OF ALL OF THIS IS TO ULTIMATELY RAISE THE COLLECTIVE FLOOR SO WE CAN INHERENTLY INCREASE THE CEILING ON THE BACKEND. IS THAT WHAT WE

ARE GETTING AT? >> I DON'T KNOW IF I WOULD CHARACTERIZE IT THAT WAY BUT I CAN SAY THAT WE DID AN EQUAL WEIGHTING STUDY AND FOUND THE CUT SCORE FOR PROFICIENCY FOR MATH IS AT THE 79TH PERCENTILE NATIONALLY SO WE REALLY ARE TALKING ABOUT WHAT ARE THE STRATEGIES WE CAN USE TO TAKE STUDENTS AT THE BOTTOM FOUR AND RAISE THEM TO BE AT THE TOP? ONE OF THE THINGS WE BEEN CAREFUL WITH THIS TO NOT OVERFOCUS ON CHANGES IN A WAY THAT MAKES US LOSE STATEWIDE LEADS. WE JUST GOT A RESULT FROM THE STATE THAT WE RANKED THIRD IN TERMS OF PASSING AP MATH SCORES PER 1000 STUDENTS SO WE ARE PRETTY HAPPY

ABOUT THAT. >> THAT'S AWESOME. ON THE SECOND SLIDE YOU HAD SOMETHING ABOUT REMOVING EXCLUSIONARY TRACKING. CAN YOU GIVE AN EXAMPLE OF EXACTLY WHAT THAT

MIGHT BE? >> RIGHT NOW WE HAVE TRACKING IN THREE DIFFERENT PLACES IN OUR PROGRAM. THERE'S NO TRACKING CURRENTLY IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS. ANY MODELS TO DIFFERENTIATE ARE NOT A MATTER OF HAVING DIFFERENT COURSES OF THAT LEVEL. WHERE WE DO HAVE AN HONORS AT A NON-LEVEL COURSE ARE MATH SIX AND GEOMETRY AND ALGEBRA II IN SOME SCHOOLS. SOME SCHOOLS HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING RESEARCH AND EXPERIMENTING WITH CAN WE DO BETTER BY OUR STUDENTS BY HAVING A-- MODEL? SO WE HAVE SOME GEOMETRY AND SOME ALGEBRA II AS WELL AS MATH 6 THAT WE WILL HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO PHASE IN WHICH SUPPORTS THE NEEDS WITHIN THAT COURSE. IT'S A MODEL THAT EXISTS IN A LOT OF DIFFERENT PLACES AND IN SOME PLACES STUDENTS ARE ALL WITHIN THE SAME CLASSROOM. SOME STUDENTS DO ADDITIONAL ASSIGNMENTS TO EARN KIND OF AN HONORS DESIGNATION BUT THEY ARE ALTOGETHER LEARNING AND LEARNING FROM EACH OTHER.

>> THANK YOU. >> ANYONE ELSE? THANK YOU VERY

MUCH. >> GOOD EVENING. I APOLOGIZE FOR

[MCAP Presentation]

>> YOU WILL SEE ON THE LEFT THE STATES PERFORMANCE IN GRADES 3 TO 5 ELEMENTARY MATH. ON THE RIGHT YOU WILL SEE CALVERT COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS PERFORMANCE. RANKING THIRD IS THIRD GRADE OUTPERFORMING THE STATE BY 18 POINTS . RANKING FOURTH HIS FOURTH GRADE OUTPERFORMING THE STATE BY 14 POINTS. RANKING FIFTH HIS FIFTH GRADE OUTPERFORMING THE STATE BY 12 POINTS. GRADES 3 AND 5 CONTINUE TO GROW IN PERFORMANCE WITH GREAT FIVE WITHIN THREE POINTS OF FIRST-PLACE. VERY SMALL MARGIN. ALTHOUGH FOURTH GRADE SHOWS A SLIGHT DIP , IT IS LESS THAN 1%. 8/10 OF A PERCENT. YOU WILL SEE ON THE LEFT THE

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>> HERE'S THE MCAP ELEMENTARY LANGUAGE ARTS DATA. STATE DATA IS ON THE LEFT . CALVERT COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS DATA IS ON THE RIGHT . RANKING SECOND HIS THIRD GRADE OUTPERFORMING THE STATE BY 18 POINTS. RANKING FOURTH HIS FOURTH GRADE OUTPERFORMING THE STATE I 14 POINTS. RANKING SECOND IS FIFTH GRADE OUTPERFORMING THE STATE BY 15 POINTS. HERE IS THE MCAP SECONDARY ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS DATA. AGAIN, STATE DATA IS ON THE LEFT AND CALVERT COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS DATA IS ON THE RIGHT. RANKED THIRD IS SIXTH GRADE OUTPERFORMING THE STATE BY 16 POINTS. RANKED FOURTH IS SEVENTH GRADE OUTPERFORMING THE STATE BY 13 POINTS . RANKED FOURTH IS EIGHTH GRADE OUTPERFORMING THE STATE BY 12 POINTS . RANKED FIRST FOR THE THIRD CONSECUTIVE YEAR'S 10TH GRADE OUTPERFORMING THE STATE BY 20 POINTS. MISS HUFFMAN AND I WOULD LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT THAT ON FIVE OUT OF SEVEN ASSESSMENTS CALVERT COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS DEMONSTRATED GROWTH AND AN AREA OF FOCUS FOR US IS COLLABORATION TO SUPPORT GROWTH AND WRITING STANDARDS. THEY WAY MORE IN THE OVERALL CALCULATION OF THE SCORE OF A STUDENT BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY WE KNOW THAT WRITING IS CRITICAL TO STRENGTHEN OUR

STUDENTS' THINKING AND LEARNING. >> AT THIS TIME WE ARE PLEASED TO TAKE QUESTIONS. I WOULD ASK THAT YOU DIRECT THE QUESTION FOR THE LEVEL AND CONTENT AREA SPECIFICALLY TO THE SUPERVISORS

IN CHARGE OF THAT LEVEL. >> MISS GRENIS?

>> ON SLIDE FOUR -- >> MATH OR ELA?

>> I'M SORRY, MATH. >> YOU STATED THAT FOR THE FOCUS AREA IT WAS INCREASING STUDENT PROFICIENCY IN ALGEBRA ONE. BUT WHEN I LOOK AT THAT GRAPH ON, SEE WHAT PAGE THAT IS . I THINK IT'S ON THREE. LOOKING AT MATH FOR GRADE 8 WE ARE AT 11% WHICH IS VERY CONCERNING. IN EIGHTH GRADE TODAY HAVE THE OPTION OF

GENERAL MATH OR ALGEBRA II? >> THE TWO OPTIONS ARE MATH 8

AND THE ACCELERATED MATH 8 . >> SO MATH 8 IS THE GENERAL?

>> YOU COULD SAY THAT I SUPPOSE. >> SHOULDN'T THIS BE A MAJOR FOCUS SINCE IT HAS THE LOWEST PERCENTAGE OF PROFICIENCY?

>> IT ISN'T A MAJOR FOCUS OF HOURS BUT NOT JUST AT THE MATH 8 LEVEL. WHAT WE SEE HAPPENING IS AT MATH 6 AND MATH 7 WE HAVE HONORS AND ACCELERATED STUDENTS ALSO TAKING THAT COURSE AND THEY TEND TO SCORE HIGHER THAN THE STUDENTS THAT ARE ON MATH 6 - MATH 7 COURSES. IT'S KIND OF MASKING THE SAME PROBLEM THAT EXISTS IN SIX, SEVEN, 8 IN HIGH SCHOOL ALGEBRA 1. TO GET ALL OF

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BEING EXPECTED OF US. >> I ALSO SEE WE ARE RANKING 11 WHICH MEANS 10 OTHER COUNTIES HAVE FIGURED OUT SOMETHING. THAT TO ME IS ONE THAT STUCK OUT . HAVE WE DONE ANYTHING TO KIND OF COLLECT DATA FROM TEACHERS TO FIGURE OUT WHAT'S GOING ON?

>> WE HAVEN'T FIRST I WANT TO SAY MATH 8 IS A FOCUS OF HOURS BUT IF YOU LOOK AT THE THREE YEAR RUNNING AVERAGE WE ARE STILL PERFORMING AT ABOUT 150% OF WHAT THE REST OF THE STATE IS DOING SO WE TEND TO LOOK MORE AT THREE YEAR TRENDS THAN ONE YEAR FLAT LINES LIKE THAT. BUT WE HAVE GATHERED TEACHER DATA. I AM IN CLASSROOMS ALL THE TIME AND TEACHERS ARE ALWAYS ASKING ME, I'M ALWAYS ASKING THEM WHAT'S GOING ON AND WHAT SUPPORT WOULD HELP. ONE OF THE CHALLENGES WE ARE FACING IS MAKING SURE WE SUPPORT ALL STUDENTS TO THIS PATHWAY ALL THE WAY UP THROUGH THE HIGHER COURSES. THERE ARE NOW STUDENTS ACCESSING COURSEWORK THAT THEY NEVER HAVE IN THE PAST AND WE ARE LOOKING TO SEE WHAT ARE THE STRUCTURES AND SUPPORTS THAT ARE NEEDED FOR TEACHERS TO FEEL SUCCESSFUL? BECAUSE THAT'S FRUSTRATING TO WORK THAT HARD WITH KIDS ALL YEAR AND I'VE SAID THIS BEFORE, TO THEM IT'S NOT 11. IT'S THE KIDS THEY WORKED WITH ALL YEAR AND THEY THOUGHT THEY HAD A CHANCE THIS TIME BUT WE HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO CRACK WITH THOSE COURSES YET.

>> HAVE YOU CONSULTED WITH WORCHESTER, HOWARD OR CARROLL COUNTY THAT ARE SCORING CONSISTENTLY HIGHER THAN US?

>> ON THE NEXT MATH LEADERSHIP TEAM AGENDA WE HAVE SITE VISITS AS ONE OF THE THINGS WE WOULD LIKE TO SET UP AND WHAT WAS THE

THIRD YOU RECOMMENDED? >> CARROLL COUNTY HAS ALSO BEEN IN OUR SITES IN THE PAST. WE HAD SET UP A SITE VISIT BUT COVID HAPPENED AND SHUT THAT DOWN ON US BUT WE THINK THAT'S A VERY GOOD STRATEGY FOR US TO GO AND LEARN WHAT ARE SOME THINGS THAT ARE WORKING, WHO IS IT WORKING FOR AND WHY.

>> I GUESS I DON'T PUT AS MUCH WEIGHT ON COMPARING US TO THE STATE . YOU KNOW? I LOOK AT SCHOOLS THAT ARE OUTPERFORMING US AND SOMETHING IS GOING WRONG WITH TEACHING MATH AND I UNDERSTAND WE ARE GETTING NEW DEMANDS FROM THE STATE .

>> THERE ARE THINGS-- I'M NOT HAPPY WITH THE RANK OF 11TH. WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO IN ONE OF THE THINGS I CAN SAY ABOUT THOSE DISTRICTS IS THAT THEY HAVE MATH COACHES AND WE DON'T AND THAT'S ONE OF THE STRATEGIES THAT COULD MAKE A DIFFERENCE. I DON'T WANT TO JUST SAY COACHES EQUAL HIGHER RESULTS BUT THAT'S ONE OF OUR THEORIES THAT WE THINK WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS AND NOT JUST DIRECTLY COACHING STUDENTS BUT HELPING TO FREE UP TEACHERS TO BE ABLE TO WORK WITH ALL STUDENTS THROUGHOUT THE SCHOOL.

>> NO THAT'S INTERESTING TO HEAR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. WHAT ARE THEY DOING DIFFERENTLY THAN US? THAT COULD DEFINITELY BE A PIECE. PERSONALLY I WILL TELL YOU ANOTHER THING THAT I THINK IMPACTS IT IS THE 50% GRADING POLICY. AND A QUESTION TO ALL SCHOOLS ACROSS MARYLAND HAVE THAT?

>> THAT'S A QUESTION WE COULD LOOK INTO TO SEE IF THAT'S CAUSING ANY SORT OF DIFFERENCE AND ARE THE TOP DISTRICTS NOT HAVING THAT KIND OF A GRADING FLOOR. BUT I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY A COMPLEX THING TO INVESTIGATE. I WOULDN'T WANT TO SAY IT'S THE COACH OR THE GRADING .

>> AND AS YOU KNOW WE ARE GOING TO BE INVESTIGATING THAT BUT WE'VE DONE OUR RESEARCH. THAT I DON'T THINK IS A FACTOR BECAUSE ACROSS THE STATE , I THINK IT'S ACCURATE TO SAY THAT ALL SCHOOL SYSTEMS HAVE SOME SORT OF WAY THAT THEY MODIFY FAILING GRADES SO THAT THEY DON'T WAY AS WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT DISPROPORTIONATELY AGAINST A STUDENT'S GRADE AND CERTAINLY IN HIGH-PERFORMANCE COUNTING COUNTIES YOU WOULD SEE THEY ALSO HAVE MECHANISMS SUCH AS THAT MAY NOT BE EXACTLY THE WAY WE DO IT.

THAT IS SOMETHING WE WILL OBVIOUSLY BE LOOKING INTO. I DO WANT TO SAY THAT THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT WERE PUT IN PLACE

[01:20:04]

>> I KNOW THAT COMPARING OURSELVES TO THE STATE IS AN IMPORTANT BENCHMARK AND I DO RECOGNIZE THAT. AND IN COMPARING OURSELVES WE ARE DOING REALLY WELL AND THAT IS SOMETHING TO BE COMMENDED. WHEN I LOOK AT THESE THINGS I AM MORE CONCERNED WITH WHERE WE'VE HAD A DECREASE IN GROWTH OR WHERE WE HAVE REMAINED STAGNANT IN ELA AND IN MATH SO WHILE IT'S GREAT TO KNOW THAT WE ARE FIRST OR SECOND OR 10TH OR 11TH, ARE THE STUDENTS GROWING AND IS THEIR GROWTH YEAR AFTER YEAR? WHAT ARE WE DOING TO IDENTIFY WHY THERE MAY HAVE IN SOME SET STAGNANT PERIOD OR WHY THERE'S A DECREASE. IS IT SOMETHING ABOUT DIFFERENT PEOPLE IN DIFFERENT BUILDINGS OR, DO YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN?

>> I'D LIKE TO TAKE THAT IF I COULD. SO WE ARE EXCITED TO SEE THE LARGE JUMPS IN SIX AND SEVEN. WE WERE SURPRISED WE DID NOT SUSTAIN ALGEBRA I. WE DISAGGREGATED THAT DATA AND FOUND THAT HIGH SCHOOL ALGEBRA ACTUALLY WENT UP A LITTLE BIT AND IT WAS WHAT HAPPENED IN MIDDLE SCHOOLS. EVERY SCHOOL HAD A DIP BETWEEN NINE AND 20% APPROXIMATELY. SO WE HAVE PULLED TOGETHER A FOCUS GROUP OF SOME TEACHERS, MYSELF AND SPECIALISTS TO STUDY THIS PROBLEM AND COME UP WITH SOME ACTION ITEMS OF WHICH I WOULD LIKE TO DISCUSS FIVE OF THEM THAT WE ARE GOING

TO BE IMPLEMENTING. >> BEFORE YOU DO MADAM PRESIDENT, I'D LIKE TO SPEAK TO YOUR COMMENT ABOUT GROWTH. I WAS IN A SESSION WHERE WE EXAMINED GROWTH MEASURES AND WE LOOKED AT ALL 50 STATES AND THERE WAS NOT A SINGLE STATE THAT HAD A MODEL THAT WAS ABLE TO ADEQUATELY MEASURE GROWTH MEASURES FOR INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS IN MIDDLE OR HIGH SCHOOL. YOU CAN DO IT TO SOME DEGREE IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL BECAUSE IF A CHILD IS TAKING MATH IN THIRD GRADE YOU CAN MEASURE THEM BUT THE COURSES ARE DIFFERENT SO IF YOU ARE IN ALGEBRA ONE AND THE NEXT YEAR YOU ARE IN ALGEBRA TWO OR GEOMETRY YOU CAN'T MEASURE THE GROWTH FOR THAT STUDENT. SO TO MEASURE ONE STUDENT'S COHORT IN 2024 AGAINST A COHORT IN 2025 ANY TEACHER WILL TELL YOU THAT THERE ARE SOME YEARS, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO THE COHORT THAT YEAR BUT IT SEEMS THAT ONE YEAR THEY ARE STRONGER THAN THE COHORT FOR THEM OR THEY ARE WEAKER SO I THINK THAT'S WHY IT'S IMPORTANT THAT YOU MENTIONED LOOKING AT A THREE-YEAR AVERAGE. IT WOULD BE IDEAL IF WE COULD HAVE A MECHANISM TO MEASURE GROWTH FOR INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS AND WHAT I SAY IS WE WANT EVERY STUDENT TO PROGRESS AT LEAST 12 MONTHS OVER

A 10 MONTH SCHOOL YEAR. >> I WANT TO GIVE THE OPPORTUNITY, I DON'T WANT TO CUT OFF JOE AND I KNOW OUR ELA FOLKS WANT TO SHARE AS WELL BUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT HOW WE MONITOR DATA WE ARE NOT JUST LOOKING AT HOW EIGHTH-GRADERS DID THAT LAST YEAR AND THEN THIS YEAR BECAUSE IT'S NOT THE SAME GROUP OF KIDS SO WE ARE MONITORING DATA ACROSS GRADE LEVELS BUT ALSO LOOKING AT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT COHORT MODEL WE ARE LOOKING AT HOW STUDENTS PERFORM ON A DIAGONAL. SO WHEN THEY MOVE FROM 6 TO 7TH GRADE HOW DID THOSE STUDENTS GROW? SO WE ARE LOOKING AT THE DATA IN A LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS SO WE CAN SEE IF THERE'S GROWTH OR LACK THEREOF AND NOT JUST COMPARING ONE YEAR TO NEXT FOR SOME OF THE SAME REASONS THAT DOCTOR NEWSOME

SAID AS WELL. >> WHAT ARE WE DOING DIFFERENTLY THIS YEAR THAN WE'VE DONE FOR THE LAST FEW YEARS WHERE THE

DATA HAS BEEN STAGNANT? >> I WOULD SAY FOR SECONDARY ELA , AND WE CAN GO TO THAT SLIDE. I WILL SHARE TWO THINGS. THREE

[01:25:08]

ARE WE MEETING THE RIGOR OF THE STANDARD IN GREAT 8 COMPARED TO SEVEN? SOMETIMES IN GRADE 8 STUDENTS REQUIRED TO DO COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS. SO ARE THEY WORKING ENOUGH WITH TWO TEXTS AT THE SAME TIME OR ARE WE LINGERING IN ANALYSIS OF ONE TEXT FOR EXAMPLE? ARE THEY IDENTIFYING MULTIPLE POSSIBLE THEMES OR CENTRAL IDEAS AND FINDING EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT THAT AND EXPLAIN IT ACCURATELY, OR ARE WE STICKING WITH ONE? WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE UNDERSTAND THE STANDARD SO THAT WHAT STUDENTS ARE ASSESSED ON IS NOT A SURPRISE, AND TWO WE HAVE SOME NEW TEACHERS IN EIGHTH GRADE THAT ARE NONTENURED AND SUPPORT FOR THEM NOT JUST THROUGH OUR EVALUATION PROCESS THROUGH RATED AND NON-RATED OBSERVATIONS BUT ADDITIONAL TIME BEYOND DEPARTMENT MEETINGS, COACHING WITH A LEARNING SPECIALIST. I'M HOPEFUL THAT AT INDIVIDUAL SCHOOLS THAT HAVE NEW EIGHTH GRADE TEACHERS WE CAN SEE WHO IS THERE AND SEE OUR RESULTS THERE AND INTO THE FOLLOWING YEAR AS WELL.

>> IT'S MY TURN? WOW. SO FOR A MISS GRIMES AND MISTER HUFFMAN HERE'S WHERE I SAW THAT ELA 10 WAS NUMBER ONE IN THE STATE AND THERE SEEMED TO BE SOME DIFFICULTY IN 24 BECAUSE THE PERCENTAGE DROPPED SIGNIFICANTLY. WE SPENT A LOT OF TIME COMPARING OURSELVES TO THE STATE AND I HATE THAT BECAUSE THE STATE HAS SUCH GREAT DISPARITY. I WOULD LIKE TO BRING IT TO A MICRO FOCUS OF CALVERT COUNTY. DO WE HAVE A STRONG PERFORMING SCHOOL THAT TILTED THIS NUMBER OR ARE ALL THE SCHOOLS PERFORMING AT THE SAME LEVEL? JUST FOR ELA 10 FOR

EXAMPLE. >> THEY ARE PERFORMING PRETTY SIMILARLY. I DON'T WANT TO GET TOO SCHOOL SPECIFIC AND I'M HAPPY TO SPEAK WITH YOU ABOUT SPECIFIC SCHOOL DATA IF YOU'D LIKE BUT ALL FOUR SCHOOLS SHOW GOOD GROWTH AND THE CORE LEAD OR THE DEPARTMENT CHAIR FOR ALL FOUR SCHOOLS, WE CAN TOGETHER TWO TIMES PER MONTH TO WORK TOGETHER, TO ANALYZE DATA, TO LEARN PROFESSIONALLY. SO I DON'T KNOW IF WE ARE IN A SITUATION WHERE IT'S LIKE LET'S SEE WHAT THE SCHOOL IS DOING EXACTLY AND MAKE SURE WE MIRROR IT BECAUSE I THINK WE ARE DOING THAT TO THE BEST THAT WE CAN. I CAN EXPLAIN THAT-- I FEEL LIKE THIS IS GETTING LOUDER. I CAN EXPLAIN THAT IN THE 23 - 24 SCHOOL YEAR THAT 72% PROFICIENT CAME FROM AN EFFORT TO MEET A COLLEGE AND CAREER READY STANDARD FOR JUNIORS AND SENIORS. SO PREVIOUSLY STUDENTS COULD MEET A COLLEGE AND CAREER READY STANDARD IN ELA AND IN MATH ALMOST LIKE THE GOAL IS WE

[01:30:11]

TO 72 . >> I THINK I CAN ADD SOME MORE CONTEXT TO YOUR QUESTION. YOU TALKED ABOUT DISPARITIES ACROSS THE STATE . THERE'S A DIRECT CORRELATION BETWEEN FAMILY INCOME AND STUDENT OUTCOMES. TODAY I RECEIVED A SCATTERPLOT OF THE ASSESSMENT SCORES IN OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT AND THERE IS A LINE OF REGRESSION. IT FACTORED IN THE POVERTY LEVEL SO WE HAVE SOME PARTS OF THE COUNTY WHERE POVERTY IS HIGHER IN USING A FREE AND REDUCED MEAL AS THE MEASUREMENT. ON THAT REGRESSION LINE I LOOK AT THE SCHOOLS THAT ARE ABOVE WHICH MEANS THEY ARE PROBABLY PERFORMING HIGHER THAN YOU WOULD ANTICIPATE BASED ON THE POVERTY LEVEL AND THERE ARE A FEW THAT ARE BELOW. WHAT YOU CAN DO IN THAT CASE IS DEVELOPED SORT OF A PAIRED SCHOOLS MODEL WHERE YOU MIGHT COMPARE FACULTIES AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOMENT SO THAT YOU HAVE A SCHOOL THAT IS WORKING A LITTLE BIT BELOW THAT LINE OF REGRESSION AND ONE THAT IS WORKING ABOVE. IT PROVIDES, I THINK REALLY GOOD PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN COLLABORATION AND EVERYONE GETS BETTER WHEN WE COLLABORATE SO I THINK THAT ALSO ALLUDES TO WHAT YOU HAD TALKED ABOUT WHEN HE TALKED ABOUT GOING OUTSIDE OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT THAT I THINK WE CAN DO SOME OF THAT COLLABORATION WITHIN OUR DISTRICT.

>> THAT'S A GREAT POINT, THANK YOU. I JUST WANT TO BE ABLE TO FOCUS ON THINGS THAT WE CAN FIX AND THAT WE HAVE CONTROL OVER.

IF IT'S SOMETHING WHERE THERE IS DISPARITY FOR A SCHOOL IN A PARTICULAR AREA THAN I THINK WE NEED TO AT THIS LEVEL MOVE SOME RESOURCES THERE IF THAT'S WHAT'S GOING TO SOLVE THE ISSUE. YOU ARE THE EXPERTS. YOU HAVE TO TELL US. DO YOU NEED EXTRA TEACHERS? DO WE NEED MORE SAFETY RESOURCES? WHATEVER IT IS YOU HAVE TO TELL US THAT SO WE CAN MAKE SURE WE PLAN FOR THAT BUDGET YEAR. ARE WE GOING OVER THE BUDGET TONIGHT?

>> NO AND DON'T SAY ANOTHER WORD.

>> I WANT TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE THAT IN THE FRONT OF OUR MINDS SO WE CAN MAKE SURE THERE'S MONEY ALLOCATED TO THOSE SPECIFIC NEEDS THAT START TO ADDRESS THOSE DISPARITIES.

>> I APPRECIATE YOU SAYING THAT AND IT'S HELPFUL. I HAVE AN EMAIL ABOUT BUDGET DEVELOPMENT SO I WILL CERTAINLY KEEP THAT IN MIND AND I WILL SHARE THAT IN PART OF THAT TITLE TO GRANT MONEY FOR OUR HIGH SCHOOLS IT IS MORE FOCUSED ON OUR SCHOOLS THAT DOCTOR NEWSOME WAS SPEAKING ABOUT . SO TO A DEGREE WE ARE PUTTING MORE RESOURCES IN THAT DIRECTION TO SUPPORT TEACHER COLLABORATION AND LEARNING BUT IF THERE'S POSSIBILITIES IN THE LOCAL BUDGET FOR THAT AS WELL THAT'S GREAT TO HEAR.

>> NOW IS A GOOD TIME TO GET YOUR WISH LIST TOGETHER.

>> I KNOW WE WON'T BE TALKING ABOUT BUDGET TONIGHT SPECIFICALLY BUT WHEN YOU GET THE CHANCE TO LOOK AT THE BUDGET YOU WILL SEE SOME SPECIFIC THINGS WE ARE DOING IN ORDER TO

HELP GROW OUR SYSTEM. >> I HAVE THREE QUESTIONS AND I WILL MAKE THEM? SO FIRST FOR THIRD GRADE THE STATE MADE A CHANGE LAST YEAR AND I DON'T KNOW IF IT STARTS THIS YEAR BUT IF A CHILD IS NOT PROFICIENT IN READING THEY CAN OR WILL BE RECOMMENDED TO BE HELD BACK. AM I REMEMBERING THAT CORRECTLY?

[01:35:01]

>> PRE-K TO THREE LITERACY POLICY WAS APPROVED OCTOBER 2024 SO THE BEGINNING OF LAST SCHOOL YEAR. THAT IS NOT IN PLACE UNTIL 2027 - 2028. THERE ARE A LOT OF UNCLEAR DIRECTIONS AS FAR AS ALL OF THE REQUIREMENTS THAT GO IN WITH THAT . THEY ARE STILL COMING OUT WITH THAT INFORMATION BUT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE WILL BE HAPPY TO GIVE YOU MORE INFORMATION ABOUT AS WE GET MORE

FROM THE STATE. >> THAT'S WHAT WE HAD TALKED ABOUT. SO MY SECOND QUESTION IS WITH THE NEW STANDARDS WILL THE MCAP TEST BE REWRITTEN OR DO THEY ANTICIPATE THOSE STANDARDS WILL ALIGN WITH THE CURRENT TEST?

>> IT WILL BE ALIGNED THERE IS WORK THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE TO REALIGN PARTICULARLY PARTICULARLY AN INTEGRATED ALGEBRA I AND ALGEBRA II BUT ALGEBRA COURSES WILL HAVE

SIGNIFICANT SHIFTS. >> THANK YOU. MY LAST QUESTION.

YOU HAD MENTIONED EARLIER THAT MODELING AND REASONING PORTION IS WHERE WE STRUGGLE TO THE MOST. HAVE WE LOOKED AT HOW LONG THAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING AND IS THERE ANY CORRELATION WITH THE INCREASED USAGE OF COMPUTERS AND THE DECREASE OF PENCIL AND

PAPER? >> NO. I MEAN WE HAVE LOOKED INTO IT BUT IT IS ACTUALLY THE OPPOSITE BECAUSE WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT IT'S ONE THING FOR ME TO BE ON PENCIL AND PAPER ARE AND WORK OUT MY MATH AND THEN SHOW IT TO YOU AND IT'S SOMETHING TOTALLY DIFFERENT WHEN I HAVE TO THEN TAKE THAT AND ANSWER INTO THE COMPUTER WHICH IS WHAT IS HAPPENING. SO THE FACT THAT ON OCCASION, WE LIMIT THE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT THEY ARE ON A COMPUTER BUT THEY ARE GETTING AN OPPORTUNITY TO PRACTICE THAT AND FOR THE FIRST TIME LAST YEAR IT CAME LATER IN THE YEAR BUT THEY FINALLY GAVE US WHAT I WOULD CALL A BLANK TEMPLATE SO THAT IF A TEACHER WAS USING A QUESTION FROM OUR CURRICULUM THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO CREATE A SPECIAL QUESTION. THEY COULD GIVE THEM AN OPPORTUNITY TO PRACTICE USING THE TEMPLATE FROM THE STATE THAT IT DID NOT COME UNTIL LATER IN THE YEAR.

THAT'S KIND OF THE SAME THING WE WERE TALKING ABOUT WITH THE TIERED INTERVENTION BECAUSE WE STARTED THAT IN NOVEMBER BUT WE HAVE TO SEND TEACHERS TO IT IN SECTIONS SO A LOT OF THE TRAINING THEY RECEIVED WE PROBABLY WILL NOT SEE THE BENEFIT OF IT UNTIL THIS YEAR BECAUSE WHEN THE SCHOOL YEAR AS PART WAY OVER AND YOU ARE STARTING SOMETHING NEW YOU DON'T SEE THE FULL BENEFIT OF IT YET.

>> THANK YOU. >> THIS MAY BE DOWN THE ROAD BUT HAVE WE THOUGHT ABOUT HOW AI COULD SUPPLEMENT INSTRUCTION IN

BOTH ELA AND MATH? >> I WILL SAY WE STARTED LEARNING ABOUT AI. FROM A PERSPECTIVE OF SUPERVISING A CONTENT AREA RESPONSIBLE FOR TEACHING STUDENTS HOW TO WRITE, I HAVE SERIOUS CONCERNS ABOUT STUDENTS LOSING THEIR THINKING SKILLS OR DESCALING THEMSELVES . A SAYING THAT YOU WALKED IN HERE IS , WRITING IS THINKING ON PAPER. SO WHENEVER WE ARE LETTING SOMETHING ELSE DO THAT FOR US, WE ARE NOT KEEPING OUR BRAINS SHARP SO I HAVE SIGNIFICANT CONCERNS ABOUT THAT EVER REPLACING STUDENT THINKING. I THINK THERE IS CERTAINLY POTENTIAL TO LEARN HOW WE CAN HARNESS THE POWER OF IT TO SUPPORT TEACHERS AND POTENTIALLY SUPPORTING DIFFERENTIATION IN TERMS OF MATERIALS OR TOPICS OF INTEREST FOR KIDS. I HAD A TEACHER EXPERIMENTING RECENTLY WITH TYPES OF FEEDBACK THAT AI CAN PROVIDE BUT I ALSO FIND MYSELF CONCERNED THAT I NEVER WANT TO GET TO A POINT WHERE WE ARE REPLACING THE VALUE THAT A TEACHER BRINGS THAT ONLY A HUMAN CAN BRING. SO I WILL SAY YES AND NO. I THINK WE ARE TRYING TO DO OUR DUE DILIGENCE AND DIP OUR TOES IN AN TREADING CAREFULLY TO SEE THE POTENTIAL FOR IT . WE ALSO KNOW QUALITY IN, QUALITY OUT. SO IF IT WERE RELEASED TOO SOON, I DON'T KNOW IF WE KNOW WHAT WOULD OCCUR. I'D RATHER KNOW WHAT POTENTIAL RESULTS COULD BE THEN, LET'S EXPERIMENT AND FIND OUT BECAUSE IT COULD BE LIKE A KID MOVES THROUGH THEIR WHOLE MIDDLE SCHOOL EXPERIENCE WHILE WE ARE EXPERIMENTING AND

[01:40:01]

>> I THINK THAT'S GREAT TO TAKE A CAUTIONARY APPROACH TO THAT CERTAINLY. I THINK IT'S EXCITING BUT AS WE HAVE JUST RECENTLY SEEN HOW THINGS ARE BEGINNING TO UNFOLD AND THERE ARE A GREAT DEAL OF RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH AI ESPECIALLY WITH CHILDREN. WITH EVERYBODY BUT ESPECIALLY CHILDREN. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH

FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. >> I WILL LET YOU KNOW THAT WE'VE ALREADY BEEN ASKED TO COME BACK IN OCTOBER AND GET INTO SOME OF THE NUANCE OF THIS DATA. DID YOU CUT SOMEBODY OFF?

I WILL HOLD THAT THOUGHT. >> MINES PROBABLY THE SIMPLEST QUESTION. LOOKING AT THE PRESENTATION I NOTICED THERE'S ELA SEVEN, EIGHT, AND 10. WHAT HAPPENED TO NINE?

>> THERE'S NOT A NINTH GRADE ASSESSMENT BECAUSE THE STANDARDS ARE THE SAME WHEN YOU HIT HIGH SCHOOL. I THINK THAT MIGHT BE ANOTHER REASON WE SEE THIS INCREASE FROM 9 TO 10 BECAUSE IT'S VERY MUCH LIKE TWO YEARS TO PREPARE FOR AN ASSESSMENT

VERSUS ONE YEAR. >> MAKE SENSE,'S SORRY JIM.

>> NOW IT'S YOU, MISTER MCCOMB.

>> THANK YOU. WE'VE ALREADY BEEN INVITED BACK IN OCTOBER TO GO A LITTLE MORE DEEP INTO SOME OF THESE AREAS OF DATA WHERE WE CAN TALK ABOUT SOME OF OUR SUBGROUPS AND COHORTS AND WE CAN ALSO TALK ABOUT LITERALLY WHERE WE ARE MOVING KIDS WITHIN LEVEL II AND LEVEL III AND SO ON AND I WOULD ALSO SAY MISS HUFFMAN AND I HAVE SPOKEN AND WE WOULD LOVE TO TALK ABOUT THE WORK WE'VE HAD DONE BECAUSE SHE HAS DONE A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF WORK TO PREPARE US FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION. I HATE TO JUST CALL IT THE RETENTION POLICY BECUSE THE GOAL IS THE OPPOSITE. WE ARE PUTTING A LOT OF WORK INTO ALL THE SUPPORTS THAT WE CAN AND INSTITUTE THAT INTO OUR SYSTEM SO WE ARE JUST MAKING SURE THAT STUDENTS ARE ON GRADE LEVEL WITH THEIR READING ON TIME SO WE LOOK FORWARD TO COMING BACK AND HAVING THAT

OPPORTUNITY AS WELL. >> WE WELCOME THAT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. YOU HAD ENOUGH OF US? COME BACK ANOTHER TIME. WE WOULD LOVE TO HAVE YOU. UP NEXT WE WILL MOVE INTO PUBLIC COMMENTS.

[PUBLIC FORUM]

>> THE BOARD OF EDUCATION PERMITS THE PUBLIC TO ADDRESS THE BOARD ON ISSUES OF CONCERN. THE NUMBER OF SPEAKERS IS LIMITED TO 30. WHEN YOU ARE CALLED TO SPEAK PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME AND LIMIT YOUR COMMENTS TO TWO MINUTES. PERSONS ON THE SIGN-UP SHEET MAY NOT CONVEY TRANSFER OR RELINQUISH ANY PART OF THEIR SPEAKING TIME TO ANOTHER PERSON OR GROUP. IF YOU HAVE HANDOUTS OR A WRITTEN TESTIMONY PLEASE GIVE THEM TO KAREN TO BE DISTRIBUTED TO BOARD MEMBERS. TO PROTECT INDIVIDUAL CONFIDENTIALITY PLEASE DO NOT MENTION SPECIFIC STUDENTS OR STAFF MEMBERS IN YOUR REMARKS. ALL COMMENTS SHOULD BE MADE IN A CIVIL MANNER. ANYONE NOT FOLLOWING THESE GUIDELINES WILL BE ASKED TO STOP SPEAKING AND MAY FORFEIT THE RIGHT TO SPEAK AT FUTURE BOARD MEETINGS. PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT WHILE THE BOARD OF EDUCATION VALUES YOUR COMMENTS AND CONCERNS THIS IS A BUSINESS MEETING AND THE BOARD CANNOT RESPOND TO YOUR QUESTIONS OR ENTER INTO A DISCUSSION WITH YOU DURING THE MEETING. CALVERT COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS WILL RESPOND TO THE ISSUES YOU RAISE IF YOU PROVIDE CONTACT INFORMATION WHEN YOU SIGN IN.

WRITTEN COMMENTS ARE WELCOME AT ANY TIME. FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT THE ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT TO THE

BOARD. >> OUR FIRST SPEAKER IS

DANIELLE. >> AWARE YOUR PAJAMAS TO THE BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING DAY.

>> I AM DANIELLE, SHE/HER PRONOUNCE PLEASE, HUNTING TOWN MOM. I REALLY WANTED TO TALK ABOUT THE CONSENT AGENDA TONIGHT IT'S BEEN BROUGHT UP IN LOCAL MEDIA AS WELL AS OF THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS HAVE POINTED OUT THAT THIS IS A PRETTY BIG MISUSE OF THE CONSENT AGENDA THAT YOU BEEN DOING OVER THE COURSE OF THE LAST FEW MONTHS. PUSHING PUBLIC COMMENT TO THE END REALLY DEFEATS THE PURPOSE OF THIS WHOLE CIVIC ENGAGEMENT THING BETWEEN US THAT WE ARE SUPPOSED TO HAVE. BUT AS OTHER PLACES OF ALREADY POINTED OUT, THE CONSENT AGENDA IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE FOR CONTESTED OR HOT BUTTON ISSUES. THOSE REQUIRE

[01:45:02]

>> THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS. >> SHERRY

>> GOOD EVENINGBOARD MEMBERS AND DOCTOR NEWSOME. MY PRONOUNS ARE SHE/HER AND I AM A RESIDENT OF PRINCE FREDERICK. DID JEWISH NEW YEAR BEGAN ON MONDAY NIGHT. ROSH HASHANAH MARKS THE BEGINNING OF THE HOLY DAYS, A TIME FOR INTROSPECTION AND REPENTANCE. IT IS A PERIOD TO REFLECT ON THE PAST YEAR, ASK FOR FORGIVENESS AND RESOLVED TO MAKE POSITIVE CHANGES FOR THE FUTURE. WE ARE ASKED TO ATONE FOR MISTAKES AND RECONCILE CONFLICTS TO START THE NEW YEAR WITH A CLEAN SLATE. IT IS IN THE SPIRIT OF INTROSPECTION AND ATONEMENT THAT I ASK YOU TO THINK ABOUT WHAT YOUR WORDS AND ACTIONS HAVE DONE TO HURT SO MANY OF OUR CCPS COMMUNITY AND TO CONSIDER WHAT YOU CAN DO TO RESTORE THOSE RELATIONSHIPS. YOUR REMOVAL OF THE ANTIRACISM POLICY AND PLAN TO DISMANTLE DEI INITIATIVES DID MORE TO HARM OUR COMMUNITY THAN ANY REDUNDANCY POLICIES MAY HAVE. COMING FROM AND ALL - WHITEBOARD THIS ACTION WAS AT BEST INSENSITIVE AS WAS THE REMOVAL OF INCLUSIVENESS FROM THE MISSION STATEMENT.

LIKEWISE THE FLAG POLICY AND REMOVAL OF SPACE SAVE'S SAFE SPACE STICKERS HARM STUDENTS AND STAFF. OUR COMMUNITY HAS A RIGHT TO EXIST AND BE REPRESENTED IN PUBLIC SPACES. HUMAN RIGHTS ARE NOT A POLITICAL ISSUE AND TARGETING THIS COMMUNITY TO SCORE POLITICAL POINTS IS JUST WRONG. MISTER HARRISON. AT THE LAST BOARD MEETING YOU CALLED FOR UNITY BUT PUBLICLY PRAISED A MAN WHO MADE DISPARAGING HATEFUL AND DANGEROUS COMMENTS ABOUT BLACK PEOPLE, IMMIGRANTS, MUSLIMS, , WOMEN AND THE COMMUNITY. PLEASE GIVE MORE THOUGHT TO YOUR PUBLIC STATEMENTS, CONSIDER WHAT YOUR ACTIONS ON THIS BOARD MEAN TO PEOPLE IN CALVERT AND NOT JUST THOSE WHO VOTED FOR YOU. I HOPE YOU CAN ATONE FOR THE HURT THAT YOU HAVE CAUSED AND BEGIN TO MAKE POSITIVE CHANGES FOR THE FUTURE.

>> THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS. >> OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS LOLA

WYATT. >> GOOD EVENING PRESIDENT, DOCTOR NEWSOME AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD . I AM A STUDENT HERE IN CALVERT COUNTY AND DURING THE LAST BOARD MEETING THERE WAS AN OUTPOUR OF COMMUNITY MEMBERS HERE TO OPPOSE THE DECISION TO REMOVE THE ANTIRACISM POLICIES OF THE DISTRICT AS A STUDENT I ALSO WANTED TO SHARE MY PERSPECTIVE THAT THE APPEAL OF THE POLICY POSES A MAJOR HARM TO ALL STUDENTS IN THE COUNTY.

DESPITE THE COMMUNITY PUSH BACK DURING THE VOTE YOU WERE UNABLE TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE PERSPECTIVES STORIES AND VIEWPOINTS OF THE PEOPLE YOU SERVE BECAUSE OF THE DISTRICT'S RESTRICTIVE PUBLIC COMMENT POLICY. THIS POLICY DOES NOT ALLOW THE SPEAKER , OR DOES NOT ALLOW THE PUBLIC TO SPEAK UNTIL AFTER THE BOARD MEMBERS HAVE ALREADY VOTED REGARDLESS OF IF IT'S IN THE BEST INTEREST OF FAMILIES ARE NOT. AS A STUDENT I WOULD LIKE TO BE ABLE TO SHARE MY THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS SUPPORT OR OPPOSITION BEFORE YOU VOTE ON ITEMS THAT DIRECTLY AFFECT ME AND EVERYONE ELSE. I WOULD LIKE TO ASK THE BOARD TO MOVE PUBLIC COMMENT BEFORE BOARD BUSINESS OR CONSIDER HAVING TWO PORTIONS, ONE AT THE BEGINNING FOR AGENDA RELATED COMMENTS AND ONE AFTERWARD FOR GENERAL COMMENTS. I BELIEVE THESE CHANGES WOULD IMPROVE TRANSPARENCY, COMMUNITY COLLABORATION AND FOSTER A

[01:50:01]

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. >> THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS.

>> DEBRA HARRIS? >> DEBRA HARRIS. GOOD EVENING ON BEHALF OF THE NAACP CALVERT COUNTY I'M ADDRESSING AN IMPORTANT MISCONCEPTION. THE BELIEF THAT RACISM IS A SIMPLE FORM OF DISCRIMINATION AND THAT IT IS ALREADY COVERED UNDER THE SCHOOL SYSTEM'S DISCRIMINATION POLICY. LET US BE CLEAR, RACISM AND DISCRIMINATION ARE NOT THE SAME . AND BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT THE SAME, RACISM IS NOT ADEQUATELY ADDRESSED IN CALVERT COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS POLICY. SO DISCRIMINATION IS THE PREJUDICE OR UNFAIR TREATMENT OF PEOPLE BASED ON CHARACTERISTICS SUCH AS GENDER, AGE, DISABILITY, OR RACE. IT INVOLVES ACTIONS OR POLICIES THAT DO NOT EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES OR RIGHTS. FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN AN EMPLOYER PAYS A WOMAN LESS THAN A MAN FOR DOING THE VERY SAME WORK, THAT'S DISCRIMINATION. OR SCHOOL ONLY ALLOWING BOYS TO TAKE CARPENTRY OR HVAC. THAT'S DISCRIMINATION.

RACISM, HOWEVER, IS DIFFERENT. RACISM IS A BELIEF SYSTEM, AN IDEOLOGY THAT ONE RACE IS INHERENTLY SUPERIOR TO ANOTHER.

IT SHOWS ITSELF WHEN SOMEONE SPEAKS OR ACTS OUT ON THAT BELIEF. CALLING STUDENTS RACIAL SLURS. USING THE N WORD. TELLING SOMEONE TO GO BACK TO YOUR COUNTRY. SPRAY PAINTING RACIAL SPEECH ON A FOOTBALL FIELD OR PUTTING SWASTIKAS ON POLITICAL SIGNS OR SCHOOL WALLS. UNFORTUNATELY ALL OF THOSE THINGS HAPPEN IN OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM OR COMMUNITY BECAUSE RACISM IS NOT THE SAME AS DISCRIMINATION IT CANNOT BE DISMISSED IS ALREADY BEING COVERED BY EXISTING POLICY. WE URGE THE BOARD TO EITHER REINSTATE THE ANTIRACISM POLICY OR AT A CLEAR AND DIRECT SECTION ON RACISM WITHIN THE CURRENT SCHOOL POLICY. OUR STUDENTS DESERVE SCHOOLS WHERE RACISM IS

NAMED AND ADDRESSED. >> THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR

COMMENTS. >> OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS ANDREA.

>> THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING. ON BEHALF OF THE MEMBERS OF THE NAACP I WOULD LIKE TO TAKE THIS MOMENT TO WARMLY WELCOME DOCTOR NEWSOME AS THE INTERIM SUPERINTENDENT. WE WISH YOU THE VERY BEST IN THIS ROLE AND WE WANT TO ASSURE YOU THAT THE NAACP CALVERT STANDS READY TO PARTNER WITH YOU. PLEASE KNOW THAT OUR PRAYERS ARE WITH YOU AND WE ARE COMMITTED TO SUPPORTING YOUR SUCCESS. WE ALSO PAUSE TO EXPRESS OUR SINCERE APPRECIATION TO DOCTOR ANDRAE TOWNSEL FOR HIS DEDICATED LEADERSHIP TO TAKE OVER. 'S VISION ENGAGEMENT AND MOTIVATION WITH STAFF AND STUDENTS HAVE LEFT A LASTING MARK ON OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM. HIS LEADERSHIP, CALVERT COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS ROSE IN STATEWIDE RANKING FROM 14TH TO FOURTH IN MANY AREAS AND CURRENTLY HOLDS THIRD-PLACE. A TREMENDOUS ACCOMPLISHMENT THAT UNFORTUNATELY HS NOT BEEN PUBLICLY ACKNOWLEDGED BY THE BOARD. WE PUBLICLY THANK HIM FOR HIS SERVICE AND WISH HIM EVERY SUCCESS IN HIS NEW POSITION. BUT KNOW THAT HE IS THE FIRST CASUALTY OF THE BOARD AND WE ARE HERE TO SAY LET US NOT ALLOW OUR

CHILDREN TO BECOME THE NEXT. >> THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS.

>> CLARA HILL. >> GOOD EVENING. GOOD EVENING DOCTOR NEWSOME AND STAFF AS WELL AS STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES.

[01:55:02]

[FUTURE BUSINESS]

>> WILL NOW MOVE TO THE NEXT PORTION OF AGENDA. FUTURE BUSINESS. YOU SEEM EXCITED. GO AHEAD.

>> I WANT TO ADD A FINANCIAL OPERATING REPORT ONCE A MONTH.

IS IT POSSIBLE WE CAN DO THAT THE SECOND MEETING OF THE PRIOR MONTH? SECOND MEETING OF OCTOBER WE WOULD DO SEPTEMBERS OPERATING

RESULTS. CAN WE DO THAT? >> I WILL RESPOND TOMORROW TIMELINE SINCE IT IS NOW EARLIER FOR THE BOARD PACKET.

>> JUST TELL US WHEN IT CAN BE DONE.

>> WE CAN JOT THAT DOWN. THANK YOU. I WROTE IT DOWN. ANY OTHER

[BOARD COMMENTS]

MS. JONES? >> GOOD EVENING. FIRST I WANTED TO SAY CONGRATULATIONS TO THOSE WHO RECEIVED GRANTS TODAY . I WANT TO THANK THEM FOR THEIR INITIATIVE AND OUR SCHOOLS AND THE COMMUNITY AND FOR ALL THEIR HARD WORK . I ALSO WANT TO SAY THAT I AM SO VERY GRATEFUL THAT WE HAVE ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE ABLE TO FUND US AND GIVE US THE RESOURCES FOR THESE PROJECTS TO EXPAND OUR HORIZONS IN OUR COUNTY. SO A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT I'VE BEEN UP TO SINCE SCHOOL IS IN FULL SWING. I'VE BEEN SEEING A LOT OF EVENTS COMING UP. I'M VERY EXCITED TO ATTEND SOME. RECENTLY I HAVE ACTUALLY BEEN ABLE TO -- I'VE BEEN LUCKY TO BE ABLE TO GO TO THE MARCHING BAND COMPETITIONS. WHICH I AM VERY AMAZED BY THEIR HARD WORK AND BY THE PRODUCT THAT THEY BRING WHEN THEY PERFORM . SOME THINGS THAT I'VE BEEN WORKING ON IS A STATE VISIT COMING UP IN THE NEXT COUPLE WEEKS. HE IS VERY EXCITED TO MEET SOME OF OUR STUDENTS. I FINISHED THE STUDENT ADVISORY COUNCIL FLYER SO HOPEFULLY THAT WILL BE GOING OUT IN THE NEXT WEEK OR SO. I LOOK FORWARD TO GETTING TO MEET WITH OUR STUDENTS AND GAINING PERSPECTIVE FROM AROUND THE ENTIRE COUNTY. I'M CONTINUING TO COORDINATE SCHOOL VISITS AND I'M LOOKING INTO WORKING WITH SCHOOL MORNING ANNOUNCEMENTS TO SHARE WITH OUR STUDENTS WHAT IS HAPPENING AT THE BOARD LEVEL. HOPEFULLY I WILL BE ABLE TO START AT THE HIGH SCHOOLS AND EXPAND FROM THERE. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE THAT CAME OUT TONIGHT. I LEARNED A LOT AND I SEE A LOT OF PROMISE FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR AND I'M VERY EXCITED. THANK YOU.

>> THANK YOU. >> JUST ECHOING THE CONGRATULATIONS FOR EVERYBODY THAT RECEIVED A GRANT. A LOT OF GOOD STUFF TO HEAR ABOUT. A GREAT FOUNDATION YOU ARE RUNNING. IT WAS ALL FANTASTIC, I HEAR. WE DO LISTEN TO PUBLIC COMMENT. WE STARTED EXPLORING WHAT TO CHANGE ABOUT PUBLIC COMMENT SINCE THE LAST MEETING. THERE'S A LOT OF INFORMATION FOR US SO WE CAN LOOK AT ADDRESSING THAT POTENTIALLY.

THAT IS ALL I GOT. >> THANK YOU. MR. HARRISON.

[02:00:06]

>> I REALLY WANT TO THANK MR. BELL. THAT WAS INCREDIBLY TOUCHING STORY AND THAT REALLY IMPORTANT THAT I THINK WE SHOULD CONTINUE TO REMEMBER THE MEMORY OF HIS WIFE. THE ONE THING I WANTED TO CLARIFY FOR MY COMMENTS FROM LAST WEEK, I MET WITH CARRIE CAN WHO IS THE PRINCIPAL OF THE CPA -- CTA. SHE WANTED TO MAKE SURE I UNDERSTOOD THAT THE $180,000 WE RECEIVED IN THE GRANT FROM THE STATE OF MARYLAND IS FOR CALVERT TECHNICAL EDUCATION IN TOTAL NOT JUST THE CTA. SO ANYTHING ELSE THAT FALLS UNDER THAT UMBRELLA FOR THE ENTIRE AREA. THE LAST THING I WILL SAY IS THAT WE DO HAVE QUITE A BIT OF RESPONSIBILITY AND THAT WE ARE TAKING CARE OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM AND WE HAVE INTERESTED DR. NEWSOM TO CHAMPION OUR WISHES AND PLANS. YOU KNOW, I THINK WE ALL HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO DO WHAT WE CAN TO HELP THE SCHOOL SYSTEM. WHETHER THAT IS AS APPARENT OR AS A COMMUNITY MEMBER OR AS A TEACHER . THOSE ARE THINGS -- THAT'S A RESPONSIBILITY WE ALL CARRY. I THINK THIS COMMUNITY CALVERT COUNTY DOES IT VERY WELL. YOU SAW THAT TODAY WITH THE CALVERT SCHOOL FOUNDATION. THAT IS WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SAY ABOUT THAT. THANK YOU.

>> THANK YOU. MS. -- >> THANK YOU. I JUST WANT TO SAY THERE WAS AN ANNOUNCEMENT OR CEREMONY LAST WEEK OR THIS WEEK AT SOUTHERN MIDDLE SCHOOL FOR THEIR NEW S.T.E.M. LAB . I WAS SO EXCITED TO SEE IT. I AM OUT RIGHT AWAY TO SAY WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO TO GET THESE EVERYWHERE. THANK YOU FOR EVERYBODY INVOLVED. THAT IS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. I JUST WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT THE I.T. DEPARTMENT . THEY HAVE DONE SO MUCH GREAT STUFF TRYING TO KEEP THE COMPUTERS SAFE AND ALL THE NEW TECHNOLOGY THEY LAUNCHED. I KNOW I TALKED LAST MEETING ABOUT -- WE CAN AS PARENTS HELP TO SECURE OUR CHILDREN'S DEVICES BUT THEY ARE ALSO DOING A LOT OF STUFF IN THE BUILDING. I WANT TO SAY THANK YOU TO I.T. KEEPING OUR CHILDREN SAFE . THE MATH DEPARTMENT HAD TO PUT TOGETHER TWO PRESENTATIONS SO -- PLUM POINT MIDDLE SCHOOL HAS HAD LEAKS IN THE ROOF AND THE GYM FOR QUITE SOME TIME. THERE'S A LOT OF PROGRESS BEING MADE. THE LEAK WAS FOUND AND SUPPLIES ARE BE IN ORDER TO FIX THAT PROBLEM SO THANK YOU TO THE STAFF FOR MAKING THAT HAPPEN. ALLISON CUT OUT A LOT OF THE THINGS HAPPENING IN SCHOOLS. A LOT OF GOOD THINGS RIGHT AND ALSO MAKE SURE YOU GET YOUR TICKETS.

>> CONGRATULATIONS TO THE CALVERT COUNTY SCHOOL FOUNDATION GRANT RECIPIENTS. YOUR INNOVATION AND CREATIVITY WILL BRING MEANINGFUL OPPORTUNITIES TO OUR STUDENTS AND STRENGTHEN LEARNING ACROSS THE DISTRICT. WE ARE VERY GRATEFUL FOR THAT . I ALSO WANT TO SEND OUT ANOTHER THANK YOU TO OUR DONOR JACK BELL FOR HIS GENEROUS DONATION TO THE SYSTEM TO GET THE PLANETARIUM UP AND RUNNING. I'M EXCITED ABOUT THAT SO I WILL BE FOLLOWING

THAT. THANK YOU. >> I CERTAINLY ECHO ALL OF THOSE SENTIMENTS. I DO WANT TO TAKE AN OPPORTUNITY. I THOUGHT MRS. DENSLOWE IT WAS A WISE AND STRATEGIC MOVE ON YOUR PART TALKING ABOUT THE WATER SAFETY PROGRAM. IT IS NEAR AND DEAR TO MY HEART. MY CHILDREN GREW UP SWIMMING AND STILL DO. THEY SWIM FOR THE HIGH SCHOOL AS WELL AS MY DAUGHTER THAT JUST GRADUATED.

I HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO GO AND WITNESS FIRSTHAND THAT WATER SAFETY PROGRAM. IT WAS UNBELIEVABLE. WE LIVE IN AN AREA WHERE THERE'S WATER AND LOTS OF SWIMMING POOLS. IT IS A LIFE SKILL. I USED TO TELL MY KIDS EVEN WHEN THEY WERE COMPLAINING ABOUT GOING TO SWIM PRACTICE THAT IT'S A LIFE SKILL. LET'S GO. I STILL TELL THEM THAT EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE VERY GOOD

[02:05:01]